NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL Week 16 recap

Episode Date: December 22, 2014

A room filled with heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- recap every Sunday game on the Week 16 NFL schedule and break down the playoff implications.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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My name is Dan Hansus, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What up, boys? Hey, Dan. I would never go to Cincinnati. Well, that intro is true for one of us. What? You are going.

I'm flying to Cincinnati on Tuesday. I think it was referring more to next week's Sunday night football games. game. We learned tonight Steelers, Bengals, to decide the AFC North. Game dropper, I should say. Well, they just announced it. Very good. Yeah, that is the showdown. And, Wes, you are in a great position, but also you said you're a little, you kind of, you're torn a little bit because you get the opportunity to watch Andy Dalton fail in prime time twice in a row, but if that were to happen, you don't get to see your holiday. Yeah, I mean, I would love to see. Nothing puts a bounce in my step like Andy Dalton flunking on primetime television, but that would ruin my

favorite holiday of the year if the Bengals didn't make it to the playoffs. What, oh, Christmas? No, the Bengals losing on the first Saturday of the postseason. No, there's nothing personal about Wesa moving away from the Bengals. He doesn't, you take joy out of the Bengals losing. Absolutely. Yeah, you say you don't root for anyone, but you root for whatever teams playing the Bengals. My favorite team in the NFL is the Bengals opponent.

That was like one of my worst, my least favorite, like, 80s T-shirts. You would see where I grew up and be like, I got two favorite teams. the Mets and whoever's playing the Yankees. It's like, whatever, shirt. Anyway, big Sunday show, big, big Sunday show. A lot of games to get to 13, in fact, including two Saturday games. We're not going to forget those because they were fun games to watch. But we need to start in a place where maybe we didn't think at week 16 we'd be talking about this team first.

But we got it, the Dallas Cowboys, who behind a near perfect day from, Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys clinch, the NFC East title with a 42-7 blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Dallas had a 28-0-0-0 lead at halftime, never look back. They improved to 11 and 4, and of course win the East because the Eagles lost on Saturday. Chris Wessling, there was no December fade for Dallas this year. No, this was never a game. As soon as Dewey McDonald dropped a fake punt attempt that left the Cowboys. deep in the Colts territory.

Next play goes to Des Bryant for a touchdown. It's 14 to nothing. The Colts just pulled up their tents after that. It was over. Am I the only person that has never heard of Dewey McDonald and had no idea that this was a human being before today? I worked with him at T.J.I. Fridays, I believe, in 2000. Oh, well, forgive me.

I thought he was part of Ducktail. He was a defensive back. I mean, it's amazing how this game wasn't even competitive. How many big games this year have been like this? Either the 425 slot or a primetime game, and these are two playoffs, teams facing off, and it was over. Matt Asselbeck had as many throws as Andrew Luck. How am I supposed to take the cult seriously?

And I know they didn't have T.I. Hilton and all that. And maybe they didn't need the game as much, but it was an important game for them. And to just put their tail between their legs and get embarrassed, get demolished. Again, we talked about this on Thursday show. Anytime they faced the team that was halfway decent this season, they got waxed. And this hammers at home, this team smells one and done to me in the playoffs. I know last night, I texted you guys and said in our picks thing, I am moving. away from the cults because T.Y. Hilton is not on the field,

and I got a lot of razzing from that saying, you know, that lacks courage. You know what it was? I changed mine too. No, you did too, but somehow you escaped the Bruhaha, but I was getting taken it on. I don't think they lost because of T.Y. Hilton was there. You think they would have won this game? I don't think so, but here's this game, I think, did it get out of hand? They're down 21-0, 15 minutes into the affair. Here is one takeaway that I have. I like that you called it an affair, by the way. The Colts can look at the other sideline to find a model of what they should be. Tony Romo has criticized his entire career because he had to carry a bad defense in no running game.

Andrew Luck has 200 more pass attempts than Tony Romo this year. Wow. Because he has to carry the entire team, and he can't do it. Did luck look bad today? I mean, the numbers don't look good. He did, but Colts dropped pass after pass after pass. He didn't have time to throw. He just never had a chance.

They ran the ball ten times. I mean, when you're down that much, when you get... For one yard. For one yard, you're not going to run it much. But we talked about it the last podcast. They have not played well on offense since their by week. It's inarguable. Well, here's a stat.

They haven't played well for six weeks on offense, and this is an offensive team. They were held under 400 yards of offense one time before the week to end by, and they've only gone over 400 one time since. We shouldn't bury the lead here. I mean, the Colts, I mean, the Cowboys, rather, were a team in the preseason. We were mocking. They were in the bottom. The whole country was mocking.

They were in the bottom five, and a lot of our power ranking. this is a NFC East championship team. They have an outside chance at a buy. Tony Romo, this was the most Tony Romo 2014 game ever. Two incompletions and four touchdowns. Tony Romo now leads the NFL in QBR and passer rating. And I got a little carried away with myself on Twitter. I said this has been a very bad season for the Tony Romo haters,

which is undeniable. I also said he's the best Cowboys quarterback ever. And, you know what, and Wes, you called me out about, about Roger Staback, and that's fair, and Troy Aikman, you can make the claim. But I do want to say one thing about that, because, Wes, you are a big proponent of a quarterback should be separated from team success,

but Staubeck gets the benefit of those rings in the 70s, and it gets put to his ledger as a reason why he's better. Meanwhile, Romo has no rings, but he's been a statistically superior quarterback. Well, even beyond the era. You can't compare it. Stalbeck's one of the six or seven best quarterbacks in NFL history. Romo is about 25th to 30th in NFL history.

Let's just say history did not begin before you were born or started consciously watching football. So I think your statement is accurate. There are smart football people who tell you that Stalbeck's the best quarterback ever to play. Belichick would say something like that. He puts Stalbock right near the top. But Romo's been a top five or six quarterback. And it's great as much as I expected this Cowboys team to fold down the stretch because of their defense. Their defense has been better.

The playoffs, aren't they more, they're more fun with Tony Romo and the Cowboys. I'm excited, and now I'm kind of flipping the whole other way. It's like, now I want to see them do really well and go far because it's interesting. I want to see Romo do well because he's been unfairly maligned and just piled on by people over the years. And he will make up for the Q-rating vacuum that is Ryan Lindley. He's not going to be started by playoff then, hopefully. All right, moving on. So, yes, the Eagles are history after the Cowboys won, as are the New Orleans Saints,

who were eliminated from playoff contention following a 3014 loss. to the Atlanta Falcons who are alive and well. We'll get to the Falcons, but to me this seems like a Saints story on some level more than anything. Greg, where does the Saints team rank with the most disappointing and recent memory? Well, they're by far the most disappointing team

in the league this year, a team that half of this group thought was going to win the Super Bowl and everyone thought was a top five team in the NFL. This is the low point of low points. I mean, I know Bountygate was low. The Falcons, their arch-rival,

And it's a real rivalry living down there. It is. The fans legitimately hate the Falcons. The game ended with a defensive touchdown by the Falcons to sweep the season series, to give them five straight home losses, and to literally end their season and eliminate them, to lose to this lousy Falcons team on a day where the Saints' defense played well enough to win. It was the Saints' offense that lost this game.

Even how the game ended, how humiliating for it to end on a walk-up, was it Uminiora walking into the end zone, like laughing? Like, it's just, what a disaster to lose five straight in that building. I think also this is the first Sean Payton coach team that is not well-coached. I don't think they've been well-coached on defense, and they're not responding to anything. I wonder, and I put it in my post. I just wonder if this is the team where something surprising happens in the off-season with Sean Payton. I don't think they would ever want to fire Sean Payton.

I just feel like this is a combustible situation, and you might have a surprising story, whether it's the right after the season or even a couple weeks later. Who knows what Jobs opened up? I don't know. The Falcons have a chance to win this division by winning one game outside the division. Right.

They're 5 and 0 in the division somehow. They won a shootout in week one, and then they won this one, which is more of a defensive battle most of the game. And Greg, you said that this game to you kind of represented a changing of the guard at the quarterback position in the NFC South. Well, yeah, we put it on our NFL

now, three takeaways video, if you want to check that out. Matt Ryan's the best quarterback in the division. I thought he has been for most of the year. I think he's been underrated for how well he's played this year. He was definitely the best quarterback in this game makes better decision, better deep throws. Julio Jones came out there. Wasn't 100% went over 100 yards, made a huge difference in the game. Well, your NFC South winner is either going to be a Falcons team that lost five straight or a Panthers team during the season that lost six. That is an outrage. It's crazy. For the first game all year, the Falcons had a pass rush.

I don't know where it come from, what happened, or what. But they had a pass rush. They lost Stephen Jackson to injury, and I think that really helped them win this game. Because Devante Freeman had a 31-yard touchdown and a huge third-down conversion where he made two people miss, and Stephen Jackson's not making those plays. We've been saying this since the summer.

Devante Freeman's better than Bishop Sanky, too. I think it could help them next week if Jackson is out. I hate saying that about a guy who's been great his whole career, but he's not helping this team. I agree. Paroddy White also is a guy that hasn't been helping this team. Yeah, he dropped a couple deep passes in this game, seemed to hurt them.

I really felt like they could have won by more. If you think about it, the Saints returned the opening kickoff 99 yards. If it wasn't for that play, this was all one-way traffic until the fourth quarter. The other thing, the Falcons might win this division and then turn around and fire their coach. Probably will.

Right. Even if they win some? I think that saves his job. But why, though? That would be ill-thinking. You won the division with the worst division in history? Strong finish. What's wrong with Atlanta is not going to help them next season?

That's fair, but there's no way. It's hard to just imagine that. After finishing the season fairly strong, if they do win the division next week now. Would that be unprecedented? Firing a playoff coach? Well, Marty Schottenheimer got fired after going on. 14 and 2.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, okay. All right, so the Falcons are alive in the NFC South, as are the Carolina Panthers, as we said, who remained in contention to repeat as division champs. That's never happened before in the South with a 17-13 home win over the Cleveland Browns.

Mark, it will come down to the Falcons v. Panthers for the South title on Sunday. What do you like? Let's start there. Well, it's in Atlanta, and I think that makes the Falcons a tough out. What I like about the Panthers is the big X-Factor was you get Cam Newton back this week after the car accident.

How is he going to look? He's going to be the way Tony Romo was in that Jacksonville Jaguars game in London where he looked like he was a man made out of wood. No, Newton looked spry to me. The guy can move. He ran for like 65 yards in this game and killed Cleveland on the ground.

He was smart when he decided to run and, you know, they don't have the most prolific passing game but he made plays through the air too that the Carolina did enough here to take care of a team that should have beaten and they did. Jonathan Stewart, your boy, Chris Wessling. This is great. Again, 122 yards.

He's looked good. The running game's been, I think, the key to their turnaround. I mean, they've won three straight here. They haven't looked great in it. But the running game's probably been the content. It's shocking that they've won three straight since Ron Rivera had his DeAngelo Williams taken away from him. Well, it's almost like you say in Atlanta, maybe if Stephen Jackson out of the mix, you kind of clear up the situation, give someone else a chance.

I think this team is better when they're not trying to give four different running backs carries. Just let the guy go. I think they're better than the Falcons. They've fixed their offensive line problem, which was their huge problem earlier in the year. And they've got Charles Johnson, who was not playing well or in the year. The last two weeks has been a demon. So I think you've got Charles Johnson, and then you've got Keakley and Davis. Those will be the three best defensive players on the field next week.

I mean, they had three sacks today. They had four quarterback hits. You know, you've got, Mansell got hurt in the middle of the game. Hoyer came in and they just, they gave both them a ton of pressure. Let's talk about the Browns a little bit, Mark, because they were eliminated on Saturday. So the game didn't mean anything necessarily. But we're getting into a tricky spot now for that organization that this went from a season with tons of promise to a season where even if they didn't make the playoffs is still a growth season. But now they've lost four in a row and they have one game left.

They could conceivably go out on a five-game losing streak. And Mansell has been, let's face it, a disaster now for two weeks. First game, you know, cost them the season. This week he was doing nothing and then he got hurt, which then compounds him the other fears about this guy that he doesn't. have the body type to last in this league. So the Mansell situation has to be alarming to you, right? Well, I mean, I think all those things, all those criticisms you just mentioned of him are accurate and true after what we've seen.

I mean, he's not, he just looks very small out there. He does not look like a pro quarterback, and he's not making up with it, making up for it with Russell Wilson type, you know, throw those stuff that Russell Wilson did as a rookie who thought, oh, he's beyond his years here. Why isn't that happening also? Well, I don't know. Is it something with the game plan, or is he not seeing the field? the way you should?

I don't think it's easy for anyone to come into the mix in mid-December where you've not played with these guys. I mean, Russell Wilson earned equal snaps early on in the summer. And he, from right away, became their starter and had a chance to grow. And they had to limit that offense with Russell Wilson added the gate for weeks and weeks. With Mansell, even when Hoyer came in and you can say what you want about him, they were able to play with tempo and pace. They used a little no huddle.

You seemed happy. You seem like they have a better chance. They actually did have a better chance to win, and they moved the ball. I think Mansell, though, it's like they're in a precarious situation. In this full off season, maybe that helps them. But also, maybe you just don't have a quarterback, and that's probably more the answer. Seven rushes for 16 yards in two games for Manzell. And for those that have asked us, I always get tweets on Sunday now,

Quiet Storm was not in the mix at all. The last two weeks, you've been, basically, you've accepted the fate that this isn't a playoff team. You seem to be just sitting back and letting it happen. Well, it was on Midway Saturday night, you find out they're not even in the contention. And also, even if they were, it's like you come to grips with any bad team at some point. This was probably a couple weeks ago, this is not a playoff team. It's tricky because there was a report this week, and it's kind of an obvious report, that they'll consider all possibilities, including taking a quarterback like Marriota first round.

And it's just crazy to think about the ecstasy that was going on with Mansell. But just the way these two weeks have been, and if you've done, doesn't play next week, it's a tough evaluation to just count on him. The one positive, a good front office doesn't want to stick with a bad decision for three seasons with the wrong quarterback. If it's not the guy, then bring in whatever competition you need to. But also, I mean, it's too early. They let him play too late in the season.

So you can't, I feel like if they went and burned a first round pick on a quarterback, that's a mistake. Because once you decide on Mansell, you've got to see it through a little bit. I mean, you could have the gut feeling the guy's going to stink. But that's too risky. People killed Jimmy Johnson for taking, you know, Steve Walsh after drafting Akeman. He turned around and traded one of them for picks. You can't do that anymore.

No, you can't do that. People value draft picks a lot more than now than they did in 1990. But here's the thing. You can say they should wait, but if he goes out and he lays an egg to start next season, the narrative would be, oh, Cleveland's front office didn't do enough to address this. That's why you're in a tough spot because they waited, wait in the season. So I'd say take action. Really?

You're ready to move on from him. I'm not moving on. I'm saying bringing competition. Don't just do nothing in a quarterback. Yeah, you can't go with him as you. and let them battle it out. I thought when I watched the game last week that Marvin Lewis got killed for that comment,

but what stood out to me was the lack of size that he had no throwing lanes whatsoever. It makes up for it with nothing. Right. All right. We'll go back to the NFC East where the Cowboys were able to clinch on Sunday because of what happened Saturday in Washington

where the Redskins played spoiler and a 27-24 win over the Eagles. Chip Kelly's team was eliminated from playoff contention a day later. Wes, a promising season for the genius ends in disappointment. What happened? Eagles had 200 more yards than the Redskins. They outplayed them, but a couple of mistakes.

The Mark Sanchez Interception late was a killer, and he had a strip-sack fumble early in the game, and this shouldn't be a surprise to Eagles lead the NFL in interceptions thrown and fumbles lost this year, and a lot of that's on Sanchez, who had 13 tonovers in eight games, I believe. Yeah, that was a tough one. I didn't think he played a terrible game. I mean, he had 375 yards.

He didn't play a terrible game. He was accurate. But when I watched him, so many of the things that frustrated me about Nick Foles, the exact same as Sanchez, not just the timely turnovers, but Maclin said it after the game. He was running free deep against Washington a lot, and Sanchez took a lot of the checkdowns and the 10-yard pass instead of going deep. And when McClain, your receiver's calling you out for that, you know it's happening. Well, in Sanchez's defense, that stuff's all true, and that's how Ertz ends up with 15 catches.

But Cody Parky misses two really makeable field goals back to back in the third quarter that took them from a lead to a deficit. And Bradley Fletcher, we've been saying this all year. The guy gets toasted every week. Deshaun Jackson just toyed with him. They wouldn't give him safety help until late in the game. Isn't this what we thought we would see much more often from the Redskins, which is Deshaun Jackson is such a game changer that whether or not you've got Robert Griffin 3 playing lights out or not, they're going to make these plays downfield. And this is kind of, wait a minute, we waited 16 weeks to see what we were writing about in the offseason. Jackson's been good for them.

I mean, he's had a... I mean, with a combination of RG3, too. He's had a nice season. Griffin had a nice game. Solid. Not great. He threw a couple pretty deep balls. For the most part, he was efficient.

It reminded me of his rookie year because there was a couple of those plays where he puts the ball in the belly of the running back, pulls it back out, and then just throws that slain over the middle. And he's good at that. He can't run anymore, though. I don't know if it's a, he changed. It's instinct. I mean, it's not just that he's not as fast. His instincts are weird. He doesn't know exactly where to run.

There was one run where he pulled it down, and it looked like he would have had a big gain. In 2012, he would have broke left and down the sideline for 70 yards. In this case, he broke in a little and then got down with an awkward slide, and he doesn't move in a fluid manner anymore, and like you're saying, it doesn't seem like he has a feeling of where he is on the field. But I do agree. I think he made some gains in this game,

so the Redskins probably are feeling a little better than they did two weeks ago. I think they're feeling a lot better, that's how much of a mess he was those two games before he got pulled. And he had at least had some composure this week. And Gruden did a good job of getting him clear looks down the field, too. Chip Kelly, though, said after the game, you know, he thought the cornerbacks could handle Jackson. You know, we thought he was the best option, Fletcher. You know, we didn't think we needed to send him the safety help.

We thought they could cover it. It was like, really? You know what? Chip Kelly bears some responsibility for this, too. If he had Deshawn Jackson on his roster, they're in the playoffs. Jackson has 12 catches of 40 or more yards which leads the NFL and it's also the same number as the entire Eagles team

We all talk to who's going to fill his shoes And no one really filled his shoes Riley Cooper said a brutal season Macklin's been great but you need more than that I think maybe this isn't the worst thing ever for the Eagles It really puts in laser focus That they need a quarterback And they need cornerbacks

And they just need to do whatever they're not really that close to being a Super Bowl team yet But you're right, but those are easily identifiable areas where they can improve. Right. If they get a secondary and they get a quarterback, I mean, it's easy to say that, but they'd be pretty good. I was going to ask Kay Rich for her opinion, but it looks like she took off from behind the glass. I'm sure she can't be feeling very well right now.

No, she wanted to get out of here. She knew we were about to start talking about the Eagles. That's true. All right, let's move on to the Detroit Lions, who clinched a playoff berth when the Eagles lost on Saturday, And on Sunday, Detroit managed to take care of Jimmy Clausen and the Bears in a 2014 win at Soldier Field. The lines are now 11 and 4, 3 and 0 in this month, and in contention for a buy to talk about the Detroit Lions. We've got to talk to around the NFL's biggest Detroit Lions fan.

He lives in Chicago where the weather is cold, but this man turns his collar up and he flexes his muscles. He's Kevin Patrick coming at you. What's up, buddy? What's going on, fellas? Wow, look at you with your Lions team going to the playoffs. You've got to be feeling pretty good about yourself. Yeah, it's good. I wish they could play better, but it's good.

It's the second playoff team since 1999. Enjoy it. This is all you got because they're not going to win any when they get there. Ah, you said it. I mean. So I sense that the, and I don't know if this is speaks for the entire fan base, but Lions fans, maybe it's a Matthew Stafford issue or this offense in general. You don't trust them.

This game, tell us a little about this game against the Bears because they won, but it was not a great resounding victory against the Bears team that was starting Jimmy Cawson. No, it wasn't. And Stafford looked awful today. He had two terrible picks in the Red Zone, just two brutal throws, one miscommunication with Golden Tate. Couldn't get in any rhythm. The running game looked good for the first time all year. Reggie Bush came back, played the whole first quarter, looked great. He finally has that speed dimension that they've been missing.

Joyce Bell was benched for the first quarter. And he really took advantage of it. And I thought that that was the one bright spot, I think, looking toward the playoff, that if they can get that one-two punch going, it could really help Stafford out. I know I asked the guys downstairs that I'd look at Detroit, not to completely echo what Greg said, but I just, I don't buy into them as a multiple playoff game-winning threat. But what is it? What are they missing in your eyes, Kevin?

Well, consistency on offense. Joe Lombardi hasn't really got much flak for the poor performance of the offense. It's always been some other reason. And they've squeaked out these games with a fantastic defense. And so I think that's gone by the wayside. People haven't really complained about him. But he's questionable play calling in a lot of spots, poor decision making. I don't really know what their office is doing. Sometimes they have one of the best receivers in the game and they don't look to them. And then, I mean, if it wasn't for Golden State, this team wouldn't be a playoff team, that's for sure. That said, they

literally are one game behind the best record in the NFL. It's like, that should get some credit for that. As much as we're – and style points, they haven't looked good each other. I mean, they are 11 and 4. It's pretty impressive that they've managed to pull that off. I think this would be the first game I watch on Game Rewind because a couple of highlights I saw Reggie Bush looked as electric as Reggie Bush has ever looked. Wow, that's saying something.

He did. He was really impressed, especially in the beginning of the game. He had a dynamic touchdown run for 16 yards. And I just didn't see it coming. The Bears, they'd do one thing decent on defense. it stopped the run, but he just was running through arm tackles, too, which you didn't see it all early in the year. But it was all the defense.

Where are we at with the weather in Chicago now, Patrick? Is it like 11 degrees with a 7,000 degrees minus wind chill? You know what? I'm going to knock on a bunch of wood, but it hasn't even snowed accumulated yet, which is exactly opposite of last year. I've heard everyone that knows Chicago says, that's a great place, but please avoid it from about, September until about July or something like that.

It's like a surly large window to avoid it. But it's like in that little sweet spot, it's the best place in the world. For your cushy behind living in L.A. for all these years, yeah. I'm sure it will be brutal. Patrick, I think we need a Jimmy Clauseen report here. And a J. Cutler pouting on the sideline report. Yeah, we need that even more. That was classic after the touchdown, just flashing.

And you knew the camera was going to flash right to J. Cutler. Did he have a cigarette? To be fair to Jay Cullough, that's the face he looks when he throws a touchdown pass. But Claussen did, what I think, more than anything, it underscored everyone saying that the bear should have kept McCown in the off season because he didn't make the brutal mistake. He wasn't flashy. He completed 23 of 39, which was actually better than Stafford on his 39 passes,

but only for 181 yards. And he was actually putting the ball in great spots. His wide receiver flooded down a bunch, especially at the end, it's seven drop passes. But he just did what Mark. Mark Thurston wanted playing inside the confines of the offense, make the right reads. He made some brilliant checks at the line. Oh, wow.

Imagine that playing, doing what your coordinator asked you to do. And then averaging 4.6 yards per throw, so that's great. Enjoy that. Hey later. Well, like I said, if he didn't have a couple drops, that would have ballooned, and they probably would have won the game. The drops really killed him. All right, Kevin.

I don't think it saves, sorry. I was going to say, I don't think it saves Trussman's job, but it does kind of prove his that maybe it wasn't just on him. It was kind of a lot on color. All right, Kevin Patcher, I want you to have a Merry Christmas, my friend. You too, buddy. See you in 2015.

See you. Bye-bye. Well, we could see him next Sunday. That would still be this year. I don't know. Who knows about anything with time. It's kind of overrated. By the way, how weird is it that a few weeks back

when we were talking about the playoff picture and we were thinking, Cowboys, Lions, Eagles, I think everyone kind of thought the Cowboys or the Lions would blow it. And yet they both get in, and the Eagles are the ones that are out. The Genius Fails. You were correct. Did I call that? I don't know.

I don't remember. 49ers? No one had them, I guess. Well, certainly take credit for that. Sure, sure. Yeah, I knew it all the time. The whole time. Let's move on.

Actually, yeah, the genius fails. Thank you, T.D. Beautiful work. You're welcome. Just to let you guys know, Dan was harassing me doing the show. Like, hey, let's get that genius job. in there. I'm like, very organic.

No, this is, I'll read the screen. Got a genius drop. TD's response, nah, had to take it off. What does that even mean? Why? Why not just do it? We talked about Chip Kelly. I have limited space on the sound drop for it, guys.

And then this is me, quote, harassing TD, question mark. What the hell does that even mean? That's very aggressive. And that TD responds, don't. Don't. Shorthand. That's how we do in the production room. Shorthand.

All right. Let's move to me and see. to a couple's counsel in it something. To the AFC. Where the New England Patriots have clinched a first round by for an NFL record fifth consecutive year. I almost fell asleep reading that sentence. They did so with a 17-16 win over the New York Jets

at MetLife Stadium. This was a game where the Pats prevailed. Even though they managed just 231 yards of total offense, Rex Ryan's defense, did a great job in this game. Brady was harassed into four sacks and never really got comfortable. Gronk had a touch now, but it really didn't do much. And yet, the Patriots did what they did.

You know, one team's 12 and 3, then the other team's 3 and 12. If the game's going to come down to a couple of plays, you can figure out how it's going to go. And that's what happened. And Greg, we were talking about this downstairs with the Jets. You were making the case that this Jets team, which is going to be either 3 and 13 or 4 and 12, is not a lot different than the 8-N-8 team.

It's just a matter of what happened in these type of games. Jets got swept by the Pats this year by a total of three points. They were much worse than their record showed last year, and they're better than their record shows this year. This is seven losses by one score. Calvin Pryor said it best. He said, we're the best three-and-12 team in NFL history. I'm glad to finally did something the best.

Put that on your T-shirt and wear that around all off-season. People forget that they got blown out more than any team in the NFL last season. Right. That's my point is that they were never particularly good. good to begin with. They were very lucky to get the eight wins. They were two six and ten wins, but the way it all broke down. Yeah, and Rex deserved better this game because to be able to do that, I mean, these guys, the bargain basement cornerbacks that he's playing with, to be able to coach up this team to keep them in it. And Gino Smith, the Gino Smith, the Gino coaster goes on,

hopefully not too much longer. I'm sick of talking about this guy. One more game, maybe? But he didn't play terribly in this game. But what kills you with Gino Smith is it always does He makes two or three big mistakes a game, and when your team doesn't have a lot of firepower, that does it. That usually does you win. He had an interception in the third quarter that led to the go-ahead touchdown for the Patriots.

And then in the fourth quarter, they had a chance to kick a field goal to take the lead, and he takes a 10-yard sack that makes a 43-yard or a 52-yarder, and they missed the kick, and that was it. But, Dan, I mean, a year ago at this time, we were a week away from the 8-and-8 Jets, you know, crying over themselves in the locker room and Woody Johnson announcing that Rex Ryan to be back

and it was this, you know, sweet moment. But you have to be almost thankful that the floor is just falling out because you need the GM to go along with the coach. Well, yes. I mean, what happened last week 17 was a product of how much those players loved Rex. So I don't even like look at that as like an embarrassing moment in the franchise history. Rex is just beloved by everyone he coaches.

But yeah, it's time now. Greg said this was a lost season by holding on to Ryan. I kind of disagree. I thought this was a John Izic joint that ruined this season, his inability to put together a real roster. Well, let's see. If he's still around next year, then you won't agree with me. Well, I don't think he'll be around next year.

This game is just more evidence that the Jets are going to lose Rex Ryan and someone else is going to get a great coach. I don't know if he's a great head coach, but we know he's one of the best defensive minds in the NFL. But do you think that sometimes, like, I feel with Rex Ryan, I couldn't agree more, get a good head coach, I think, sooner than later, but the thing with New York came to an end. Right, but he has no clue about half of the sport and the more important half.

Does John Fox? No, not necessarily. It doesn't mean he can't be in the right situation to be an okay head coach. But not only does he not have any clue, he's bad at hiring the right people to put in place, and then he doesn't interfere with them at all. So that's a problem. Give him a franchise quarterback. I was going to say Fox is the perfect example why Rex can be a star head coach in the future

and be a Super Bowl winning head coach. You just got to put them in that spot where a veteran quarterback that's an all-pro can lead the way on that side. And you can not worry about that. Let Rex coach him up on D. Put him on the Falcons. How did John Fox do with Jimmy Clausen is his quarterback before going to Denver? Not too well, by the way. Before we move on from this game, I know you guys think I'm, you know, an alarmist when it comes to the video.

Here we go again. Let's play a game. Let's guess what Greg's going to say. We got to give the Patriots some credit here. Five straight years is. Is that about that? No, no, I'm an idiot. The bills can go into New England and beat in that.

No, no, no, it's not that either. I like to look at what's actually happening based on, rather than just results and, okay, they're the Patriots, assume they win. Their offense usually ends the season peaking. I don't think there's any denying that the last five weeks, they haven't played four weeks, they haven't played particularly well in offense. They didn't in Green Bay. They didn't in San Diego.

They were dominated for a half in Miami, then had one good half, and then they got outgained here in New York. It's a team that always peaks late and their offense really hasn't played very well for a month. So how about this? That's what I'm saying. Go drop a 40 to 7 nuclear bomb on the bills next week. I don't care about the bills. The bills game didn't, I didn't even watch this game because this game didn't matter.

They could lose when it doesn't matter. The playoffs matter. It doesn't matter. It's not a great sign they're not playing well down the show. You can't raise that point without telling us why you think they're struggling. Their offensive line isn't playing particularly well. And I still think it's a team that struggles to make big plays. It's all on Gronk so much that that that's,

It's tough to count on that week after the week. Edelman wasn't in the lineup today. Edelman was out. That hurts. It's a condensed offense, you know, and if they're not protecting Brady, like you saw today, a team like the Jets can now gain you.

That's all. All right. You don't think a defensive of that. I think, note, subtext is major reasons for concern in New England. Some concerns. Major reasons for concern on your 13 and 3 team. Five straight years, though, with a buy.

That's insane. Greg is dancing Greg was so mad there The Baltimore Ravens came into Sunday's game against the Texans with a clean and clear playoff scenario

to spellout win out and punch your ticket but they lose 2513 to the Texans in Houston that complicates the issue

now we got to get another man on the phone he is Connor or from his New Jersey haunted mansion how you doing Connor no no this is not a good sign

have oh no Connor The ghosts have taken over What is going on? I seriously don't know where he is now at this morning Alright well it's been abducted That's not a good sign

Yeah This actually He tries to get Connor There is a paranormal Paranormal activity Hello? Hey there is! He's alive!

Connor, do you need help? You gotta watch out I told you, it's crazy in here Were you abducted? What was going on? Maybe this is us just starting some sort of mystery that we play out

over the whole off season that sounds really bad i mean you guys are the ones that started this ghost thing and i've never had a drop call out all of a sudden all the time of it in this house you know connect the dots so connor the ravens uh we've praised the ravens as one of the most balanced teams in the afc how do they not take care of business in this spot i i mean you know if you lose both of your starting tackles uh i mean that's a good way to start and then you're playing j j watt But, I mean, Romeo Crale had a hell of a game plan. I mean, you know, he was taking away all the throwing lanes.

He was throwing zero blitzes at Flacco all day, and Flacco just couldn't handle it. And, you know, and then when you face Case Keenham, the machine, I mean, you know, things are going to happen. So that's how you got the score you did today. You were loving watching Case Keenum. Tell us about how a guy looked after just joining the team earlier this week. That was so sunny house there. It's stunning. I mean, he was hunting on Monday.

think like last week and then all of a sudden they call 42 pass plays you know and uh i mean it was great i thought um you know the game plan bill o'brien was letting him throw deep up 16 with 45 seconds left in the half i mean there was just no concern you know for convention i think they you know he wasn't spectacular but i mean he didn't make a ton of mistakes and i think that's really all they needed uh you know why black go is as bad as he was because when you're bill o'brien you just got to let Your Case Keenham flag fly. Connor doesn't know, but Chris Wesleyan was the biggest and really only Case Keenham fan in the nation last year.

Until I realized he couldn't handle a blitz. There was a time where West would just be rumbling on this bandwagon all by himself and it almost looked like one of those ghost wagons from the old West. By the way, Connor was not joking, by the way. Case Keenom said after the game today that he was last week this time, he was sitting in a tree, I guess waiting to shoot some animal to death. I don't know. I guess that's what they do.

What else would you do if you're Case Keenna? I don't know. I never got the whole hunting thing. He's from Texas. I mean, none of these guys are great quarterbacks, but how does Ryan Lindley have a job in NFL and Case Keenum does not? Case, at least has good body language. Oh, you like the body language.

Wow. But I don't think a quarterback with Case Keenom's arm is ever going to play for Bruce Ariens. Mm, fair enough. What else did you take out of this game, Connor? Well, I mean, you know, I just can't, for someone who's been in the league as long as Flacco is, I was stunned at how poorly he handled Zero Bliss, like we talked about before. But also, I was stunned that it took Gary Kubiak so long to just call a screen

to sort of alleviate the pressure. He ended up scoring on that, that second touchdown to Tori Smith. But, I mean, you know, you wait until the fourth quarter to make that call. It was a little confusing to me. But, you know, I think the Ravens did this to themselves. I mean, the game was wide open. Case Keenham wasn't driving them to touchdown necessarily. Arian Foster through a touchdown pass.

So, you know, this is a game that the Ravens could. They could have beat Case Keenham and Johnny Mandel and walk into the playoffs, and now they're not going to be able to do that. You know what's scarier than the mansion that you're in right now is the fact that we talk to our NFL numbers, people downstairs. Yes. Bring the music up. And they basically said that there is still a mathematical chance.

It's very much alive that the Bengals and Texans could play a first-round playoff game. That's right. I mean, the Texans are alive here. Wes's ultimate nightmare. No, that would be great. I love when JJ's got a win there, though. You have not been a Texans fan this year. You have not taken them seriously.

Well, you have not been, you've never taken them seriously. Right, because they haven't beaten any good teams until today. All they got to do, they need to win, they need a Chargers loss, and they need a Ravens loss next week. And the Texans who blew this chance now need the Chargers to lose next week. They need to win, and that's what would get them in. And talk about, what about Gary Kubiak? not only does he get fired, but he comes back in with the better team

and thinks he's the offensive coordinator of the year and he walks in there and their running game just gets stuffed and they get sent out of there by Billy O'Brien. The moment was too big. By the way, Billy O'Brien, I know Bruce Arons is going to coach the year. Nice little year for Billy O'Brien. Comes in, this team is in the mix in week 17, and not a lot of people have picked this team to do anything

with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. Connor, by the way... The fact is still in playoff, contention is stunning. Yeah. Without their first round. draft pick even. I mean, it's ridiculous. But yeah, that's definitely a credit to him in Romeo. Connor, by the way,

I do want to mention that you actually, you know what? We'll get to that another week. I'm going to tease this. I have a big Connor or bomb to drop, but I'm not ready to drop it yet. I need to be prepared. TD and I have to talk about this. The nation gripped by Connor or news. I thought Greg put the

kibosh on bomb dropping. Did you? Well, this one should count. This one is a special one. All right. Connor or bombs should be fun. All right, Connor. Thank you, buddy. Have a happy holiday season. All right.

So the Ravens' loss was particularly damaging because of what happened on Saturday. The San Diego Chargers overcame a 21-point deficit and a franchise record 355 rushing yards by the Niners in a wild 3835 win in overtime. Chris Wesley.

You watch this one from the office and finally at long last fell in love with the team around the NFL, didn't you? Damn it. It was one of the wackiest games I've ever seen, though. I don't know if I've ever seen a team just completely dominated to the point that the charges were. Missing tackles all over the field, they give up 355 rushing yards and win the game because the Chargers trusted their quarterback to make plays from the pocket, and the 49ers didn't.

Well, there was a lot of other reasons. Well, down the stretch, the 49ers were playing not to lose, and Colin Kaepernick ran out of bounds in a four-minute drill. What a terrible play call that was. His game management skills have been awful all year. He calls so many timeouts when the clock's running down. That was crazy. There was so many times this was the most miraculous result of the season. I don't know if it was the best game of the season.

It was close. But I think it was the most exciting, improbable finish of the season. I think this is number one. What was it crazier than this? It was an incredible game. Well, how often do you tell someone, oh, the 49ers are going to rush for 355 yards? but they're not going to win this game. There was a sequence in the third quarter

where it looked like the 49ers scored a touchdown to go up three touchdowns. It was called back by penalty. The very next play, Kaepernick fumbled the ball and the Chargers scored a touchdown. I mean, the 49ers had so many chances to win, but the Chargers were also very lucky, but they were also very good.

Two fourth downs with the season on the line. They hit them both. Eddie Royal with a diving catch. I mean, that's pretty close. You've got to give Rivers credit in the first. fourth quarter with those two touchdown drives he's leaning on ronnie brown who was out of the league a few weeks ago and darnell inman an undrafted rookie who hadn't caught a pass all year before today's before that game and he's doing it with a bulging disc in his back he had some broken ribs earlier it was

pretty i mean it was pretty classic if you were a chargers fan obviously now you really want to win next week but that was that was just a game to remember talking about a guy who played through an ACL tear right of course he's going to play with a back entry well we're also talking about a guy you know three of us in here have kids he has seven children i don't even know how you can think straight when that's happening much less go out and you know orchestrate a killer fourth quarter there there is a chance because i know he's well compensated that each of those children have their own nanny oh so he's not you're saying he's not right you're cooking 47 meals that's true that you probably are putting more sweat equity into your kids sometimes at the end of a long day here

at the office sessler will get up and it'll turn down his laptop and be like all right got to go home and I got to bathe the kids and feed them and put them to bed. Which I love to do, but at number seven you were like a camp counselor at that point. I don't know what's happening. My parents had seven. All right, well. Let us inside. What happened in the Wessling House on a daily basis? Well, my mom was a stay-at-home mom

until the youngest was I think out of grade school. But yeah, she was there every day. She would lock the doors in the summertime and not let us around. We'd have to go outside and play for basically all day. Well, we'd come back inside for Kool-Aid and crackers right around noon. But then we'd get

Stay back out and play, it's a good strategy. Then go outside and play baseball the rest of the day. Would you all return? Would there always be seven that came back each day? We always came back. Maybe with neighborhood kids in tow, but yeah, we always came back. That was a charming little look into West's childhood. It was ideal.

Kool-Aid and crackers. Kool-Aid and crackers. That would keep me coming home. But that's not an untrue story. She locked the doors. We were not allowed in the house. Do we feel guilty, by the way? None of us even pick the chargers in this game.

I'm angry at it. Falling apart. I picked him last week and they burned me. And then I had him this week. I switched off him, active cowardice. I thought Rivers was more hurt than it turned out he was. They should have lost. But let's give him credit.

And by the way, this has been a rough team of ATL season. But this game, to me, kind of in a lot of ways, justifies our decision. This is a fun team. They don't quit. They're in the playoff mix. We could have done a lot worse than the charges. Well, what more could we have asked for?

We didn't want a Super Bowl-bound team with no drama. I mean, you knew that this was going to be a wild card type scenario. I think we'd want a team that had a winning record since we picked them, and they don't have that. Ah, forget that. Don't be such a downer. Or we could have picked the Cardinals like we said we should have,

and then we would have been rooting for Ryan Lindley right now. No, thank you. Pick the Steelers. I got a lot. Well, come on, they were never a nice bit, though. But you're right. You were right about them. TD, I got a ton of tweets, a ton of fires.

Streets were talking about the San Diego Superchargers. So let it rip a little bit. San Diego, Super Chargers, San Diego, Super Chargers. Yeah, keep it rolling. Your turn, Greg. Hit that Falceta. Super Chargers. They said Chargers for each time they fell on a fumble in a huge spot in that game.

Taking shots with the team around the NFL. I'm just saying it was the most crazy fumble luck game I've ever seen. That just went past seven seconds. This show now owes $420,000 to the city of San Diego. How about, you know, we're going to talk about the tuck game now? We're going to talk about Lucky Fumbles and all that stuff. The heart wants what the heart wants. The reality is none of us were too into it.

Now you're quoting Woody Allen. Sure. He's a great American. Well, let's be careful. At least he was talking about his underwriter. Judge the art, not the artist. You know, we don't know these players. I was wondering why Greg had that Bill Cosby plaque in his cubicle.

Wow. Yikes. Why? What's wrong with that? Just keeping it real in the studio, right? All right, let's move on. Greg does love Bill Cosby. I don't know where to stance is on Bill Cosby's career.

Here's your chance, Greg. I have no stance. Anti-Cosby. Pro-Alan. Pro-Alan is an American. The Buffalo Bills were so close to playing a meaningful week-17 game for the first time and a long time. All they had to do is beat the Raiders, but they failed.

The Raiders knocked the bills out of the playoff picture with a 26-24 win at the Black Hole. How could Buffalo fall flat in a game of this importance? You know, they just felt to me like they wanted to give this game away from the beginning. Kyle Orton starts... Weird. No, they didn't. I am sorry. That's just what it looked like.

Self-destructive franchise. How less urgent and motivated could you possibly be in this game? I thought that the Raiders looked like the better team. You know, they're three and two over the last five games, and they've been a laughing stock in the butt of jokes all year, but they looked like the better football team today with the better quarterback situation. And Latavius Murray, best running back on the field today.

Oakland's defense with Khalil Mack, very feisty. Kaleel Mack was all over the place. Bills could not run the football number one. 13 rushes for 13 yards. And when that happens to Buffalo, and you have to put it in Kyle Orton's hands, he threw two killer picks. His stats are a bit out of whack because he ended up with 329 yards

and they had a nice last minute drive to get within two points of this thing. But Buffalo to me, big, big lost opportunity number one. And you found out that when Marcel Darius was lost to injury, they were not the same defense. Oakland, Oakland suddenly had its way running the ball. And Oakland had 100 plus yards for the fourth time all year. They've not been able to do that. It was a weird game.

Is Jake Cutler a good fit for this team? The Raiders or the Bills? The Bills? No. I don't think he's a good fit for any team unless the coaching staff there thinks they can get inside his head. I agree, and I think that the one thing I want to avoid is some latching on of Jake Huttler. Send him to the Titans. That's where he should go.

Anywhere else, it's like we're going to have to spend all offseason talking about the re-energized offense with Jake Huttler under center. Forget it. No, you don't bring Jake Huttler to Buffalo. That sounds like a mega disaster to me. And what's your big takeaway this week? If you don't have a quarterback, you can't have nice things in the NFL? Well, and it was actually the Orton game that kind of, because the bills were a sneaky little wild card entry here, potentially.

What a disappointment to go to Oakland and have your season. Well, that's especially after what happened before. You beat the Packers, and then you lose to the Raiders. I think they are one of those teams where their home field advantage is very, very. Yeah, but they weren't good at home this year. Everyone, that defense was much better. Well, they wouldn't have won in Green Bay. They wouldn't won that game.

Sure. That's fair, but they didn't, they were good on the road for the most part, but I think the margin for error is always going to be thin when Kyle Orton's your quarterback. Then again, a lot of teams go to the black hole to get executed this year. Called Tony. Tony Spirrano is ending seasons in the black hole. The Chiefs go in there. Their whole season goes in a tailspin when they lose to the Raiders. The next one going in there, pretty much ends the 49ers Harbaugh era,

and this one sending Bill's Nation crying home tonight. And let's give Tony Spirano, let's appreciate Tony Spirano because we don't know. This could be the last time we see Tony Spirano win a game as a head coach. So let's enjoy it. And I think we have. Why? Do we need to appreciate Tony Sprano? Because Tony Spirano is awesome. And I'll tell you.

Listen, appreciate it. You came out here and you fought when nobody saw you would come out here and fight. Okay. Nobody gave you that chance except the people in this room right here. The people in this room, okay? It's a hell of the job. I'm proud of you guys. I really am.

Oh, what a guy! How do you not root for Barry DeBalls? I didn't know the microphone was there when I was giving you guys that pre-game speech today. I was going to say, how come we never get that? Isn't there some team in need of an offensive line coach that you can go do that? Hey, you know what, Wes? He's a nice little win for Tony Sparano. He's a blue collar guy.

A horrible coat. He wears sunglasses at all time. That's pretty cool. Nobody gave Sessler a chance to write two posts in 20 minutes right after the games ended without any typos, but he did it. I don't know. I don't remember that. We need that. But that was pretty good.

Buried the ball. That would be your version of the speech, I see. I'll miss him because I like his fiery speeches and his demeanor. That's all, Wes. I don't know. Maybe Mark Davis will go out with him after another win next week and just give him the job. I can see that out. Then you've got a Bay Area with Jim Tom Sula,

and this guy running the two teams in the Bay Area nightmare. The Steelers are headed back to the playoffs after a 20 to 12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field. You've been high on the Steelers all year, down in Tony Spirano, but high on the Steelers. How encouraged are you that they seem to have gotten over that proclivity to shoot a revolver into their foot? I think Steelers are a pretty good team, and I think if there's one new thing that they can take away from this game, it's that their defense is better than people thought. And the secondary is still a problem, but James Harrison has been a revelation since he was signed off the street. He missed the last two games and then came back today and was the best defensive player on the,

the field in a game which included the NFL's sack leader, Justin. Well, and who was he matched up against? Eric Fisher, Chiefs Tackle. The whole game. A reminder that the number one pick from last year hasn't exactly been a great pick. Harrison was great. Lawrence Timmons had a great game. Jason Worlds had a good game.

Cameron Hayward had a good game. The Steelers Front Seven showed up. We haven't seen anything out of this defense. Not even won a game or two to get excited that maybe they're turning the corner. You're saying this is that game. I'm saying if I was a Steelers fan I would be very worried about my secondary but if James Harrison and Timmons

and Hayward and Worlds play like this on a week-to-week basis you're in better shape than you thought you were a week ago I like it What a nosedive for the Chiefs Down the stretch of it. They were seven and three That Raiders game I made a joke about it but that really did

mess up their whole season Yeah I think none of us are really stunned though that the Chiefs were a team that fell out of the mix But if you're Kansas City, do you go into this offseason and say the combination of Reed and Alex Smith, we want to do this again for a third season? Or do you have to start to look at the quarterback position? I mean, it's not just Alex Smith. I know he's had – Alex Smith is, I think, underappreciated.

But what's the ceiling in Kansas City with this combination? It's a fair question, but they're not changing anything. I mean, he's their guy. I think you just need the defense to be dominant. You need more talent around Alex Smith, and that's your recipe. I agree with the best. too, right? They're not out of it either. We're talking like they're done. If they win next week,

they need the Ravens to lose and the Texans to lose. It's very unlikely, but they are mathematically alive. Moving on. Pittsburgh's, ooh, jaunty. Pittsburgh's win eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention. They played anyway, and the rookie defensive end, Terrence

Faday? I think that's his name. I like this kind of potter. Blocked the punt for a safety with seconds remaining, propelling Miami to a 37-35 win over the Viking. and the big news was after the game when Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced Joe Philbman will return in 2015 for the final year of his contract. Mark actually yawned as I literally yonned.

He literally yonned. It was not on purpose. That was great. And, uh, Wes, is this the right move to keep Joe Philbin to the building? I don't think any of us is excited that Joe Philbin is back, but I think if you're a Dolphins fan and he's watched Tana Hill actually make some strides this year, you have to be kind of happy that Bill Laser isn't going anywhere, and you don't want Tannahill starting over with a new offense. We talked about this in the last podcast, that this offense has really suited to his strengths, and he's not that dissimilar from the guy we just talked about, Alex Smith. He's getting it done with short passes. They don't do anything down the field. He's a really

good athlete and a good scrambler, but I think that's kind of the question mark to ask is fair. That's kind of puts a ceiling on what your team can do in a season. I think it's a move not so much about the head coach, but you're right, Tanna Hill and the consistency, and you don't want to put him into a whole new, you know, re-trigger the machine off-season again. And they've done good things under laser, and there's reasons. Look at last year everyone wanted Jason Garrett gone. In the year before, everyone wanted Jason Garrett gone.

That's a good point. You know, it's like maybe you need these coaches and quarterbacks need a little bit more time than, you know, society is willing to give him, number one. Well, the offense hasn't been the problem. The offense is overachieved, and the defense, which looked great for half a season, collapsed and it wouldn't be shocking just because teams when they're stuck in this rut always feel like you have to make some change that maybe they get a new defensive coordinator instead of Kevin Coyle. Yeah, back to Tana Hill real quick. This is how bad it's been for Dolphins fans

over the past two decades. He became the first quarterback since Dan Marino to throw four touchdowns in a game. Wow. Wow. And had the second most yards of his career with $396. Wes, you're starting a franchise tomorrow. Give you Teddy Bridgewater or Ryan Tannahill, will you take it? I think I'm... Greg, I noticed today, I don't know if he meant to make a bold statement, but he basically said, I'm dumping Tannenhill and going in feet first with Bridgewater.

Well, you kicked them out of your stable, boys? I didn't say that. There could be room for more than one quarterback. I think you made a statement that was similar to that, that you were on, if you had to choose, you would take Bridgewater. Well, you said something about Bridgewater is when they were ahead. Bridgewater's taking care of your boy as a Dolphins. And I was saying Bridgewater's my boy, not the Dolan.

I think the comparisons have been to Alex Smith and Andy Dolan, and I think he's a much better passer than those guys. And I kind of agree with Greg. If I'm starting a franchise, I probably take Bridgewater over Tannahill. I think he does the game management type stuff better, and he's better fundamentally. I don't think he's a, even though he's a rookie, I don't think he's a project like Tana Hill is.

I think he has a better chance to get to some sort of Drew Breeze-ish. Obviously, that would be the highest season. I'm just saying whatever the best possible guy with some limitations is going to be that wins from the neck up. You know, maybe he's that guy. When Ryan is lounging in the stable of boys, is Lauren ever around? Yeah. Yeah, the whole family's invited.

Oh, wow. The dogs, too. Everyone can come over. That's a big stable. It's a large stable. We've got to work on that. We've got to work on the cave of sadness sound effects, too, T.D. The O'Dell Beckham show rolled on on Sunday.

The rookie phenom, torched the Rams. for eight catches for 148 yards and two touches and a 37-27 win for the Giants at the Edward Ashley Olson Dome. Eli Manning threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns and as the Giants rolled over that once formidable Rams defense for 514 total yards. What happened to that Rams defense we were all excited about?

A couple weeks ago, back-to-back shutouts. Now they get half a thousand points dropped on it by the G-Men. That's what Odell Beckham does. Odell Beckham wins tight Can't fight it You cannot Anybody that is fighting I've noticed that it's out of control

Like the hype The way New York has embraced him And try to make him a legend But there's no fighting the production He's a legend He is a legend He has a thousand yards in the last eight games It's amazing what he's doing

And there was a move Oh my God That he put on T.J. McDonald Not T.J. I was the safety baron He did a move that just broke his ankles in half like two compound fractures

and just headed up the field and easily pulled in an 80-yard touchdown. There's like an 80-yard touchdown every week with this guy. And yet, Fethler's still yawning again. Oh, Mark, what is? Now it feels rude. Yeah, I apologize. It's not a reflection. I look at the box.

The change in the subject. I would just joke it around. If I were a fan, though, this is one of those days where you're just rolling because Eli Manning 390 yards, Andre Williams, 110, and not just Beckham, but Ruben Randall also had 132 yards. Beckham reminds me of that soliloquy that John Gruden had about Brett Farv, about how everyone that worked for Brett Farv. Brett Farv was responsible for a wing in his house,

and Brett Farb is responsible for this kid's college. I mean, O'Dell Beckham's going to be putting money in Eli Manning's pockets. He's going to be putting money in my pocket with my fantasy team wins this week and all the other fantasy teams. Odo Beckham is making people money. How would you win money with your fantasy team? Well, you can't do that. But you know what I say.

You can win a limited amount. By the way, this is a big. I call this conundrum week for Chris Wessling. He's got Andy Dalton the Bengals. They've got to win a primetime game to get to the playoffs potentially so Wes can have his second Christmas. But he also knows, Wes has been on the record saying that he would never go to the Hall of Fame ever in his life. If Eli Manning ever went into the Hall of Fame, got a bust, you know what? If Odo Beckham is as good as Chris Wessling says, Beckman was going to put Manning in the hall.

That's what I'm saying. I don't have any doubt anymore that Eli Manning is going in the Hall of Fame. Beckham's going to put him there. Whoa. Humma, Humma. O'Dell Beckham is going to be for quarterbacks what Randy Moss was when he gave Culpepper, Jeff George, Randy Cunningham, Kerry Collins, all these guys, the best seasons of their career.

Tom Brady. Tom Brady, the best season of his career. But, and not to devolve into another Eli conversation, but you can't just say because Beckham's there, he gets all the credit. Manning deserves credit for developing an instant report of the guy in and then put in the ball in his hands. Manning's playing excellent football right now. Because he has O'Dell Beckham.

Oh, come on. We're devoling. I'm going to get into a little argument about who the better athlete is between ODB, LeB, LeB, and Christiana, Ronaldo. I didn't even know who the last guy was. He's kidding. I may be. Bottom line, me and West disagreed on exactly what an athlete is,

but I agree that ODB is a freaking man. It's crazy to see a non-quarterback produced time and time again with such flashy plays. I take from our producer TD. Hey, no, we like it. We like it. Good stuff. It was good.

It's good. The Packers clinched a playoff spot and stayed in contention for a first round by after a 23 win over the lifeless Tampa Bay Buccaneers who stank. The win sets up Green Bay for a high-octane week 17 showdown with the lines to decide the NFC North. Mark, how confident are you

that Green Bay wins the North and did you learn anything from today's game? I'm very confident. I mean, this game was just to check the box and move on. You know, Aaron Rogers, he was, he was ill, I think, in the week leading up. They said he was more ill than people realized, and he tweaked his foot in the early on,

and you thought, this might be a game where he is not himself, but by the end, 318 yards, through a touchdown. Here's the thing. They had something like 268 yards, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay had zero. Wow. And it looked that bad. And it starts with the fact that Tampa Bay,

like Cleveland and other teams we talk about, potentially completely starting over again at quarterback. Josh McCown is a backup guy at very best. Mike Lennon, I think, that ship has sailed. They're going to have a high draft pick. I think they've got to think about what they're doing here. They have no identity on offense beyond Mike Evans. I mean, they just –

Yeah, we don't have to talk about the Bucks anymore. No, we don't. But Green Bay, Green Bay to me, this was the game we've seen over and over. You know, Randall Com, Nelson, these guys blew up for 100 yards each. I think this was – there was no trap game potential here. They are... It took care of business. And yes, I think they're going to win the North,

and I think they're going to be a very tough out. When you referenced Aaron Rogers as being ill before, was that urban slang, or was he actually under the way? No, it was not urban slang. He was physically dealing with a sickness. The Bucks could blow their chance at the number one pick, though. It's now looking like... Yeah, where are we at there?

It's down to them and the Titans. The Titans are in the one slot for now, but it could change based on strength of schedule. but the Bucks host the Saints next week. That's a pretty winnable game against a team that just feels like they could easily mail in the season and that game means more to the Bucks. No, that would be pathetic, but coaches don't think that way.

They lost 40 to 10 to the Panthers. So I'm just saying the Saints are capable of anything at this point. Lest Packers fans think that they have some dominant defense because they had seven sacks and 12 quarterback hits today. We can assure you the Bucks have the worst offensive line in the NFL. This is no surprise. far. All right, moving on. So the Packers, take care of business that we said. How about the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks checking with them? Sunday night football. The big matchup to decide

most likely who wins the West and the Seattle Seahawks. No contest. Take care of business. They romp Arizona, which a team that I think a lot of us predicted were going to be lifeless, a quarterback with Ryan Lindley back there. And it worked out that way. Seattle really was never challenging this game controlled the game even when it was close you never thought that Arizona was in striking distance and then the Seahawks put it away in the second half with a big beast mode run touchdown run and then a Richard Sherman pick so Seattle takes care of business we've all thought this whole time that they were going to steal this division in the end and it looks like that's going to happen well we we knew their defense has been playing really well but it's time to give

Russell Wilson some credit he's been playing phenomenally over the last few weeks we kind of had questions the few games before that that their offense was random and didn't have any structure, but now they're playing really well, and they're making big plays every week, too. Right. It was a one-score game going into the fourth quarter, even though it never felt that close. But the impressive thing about Seattle, I think the last three weeks, is it's not just their defense. I mean, the Seahawks blew way past 500 yards of offense against this Cardinals defense, which is very good. And, you know, it was tough for this Cardinals defense because they knew they had to carry the team today. But Seattle went up and down the field. It wasn't like they had that tough

of a time today moving the ball. I think Seattle, it reminds me of when they, before the trade deadline, when they were making a play for Jordan Cameron and other tight ends out there. And Luke Wilson tonight, huge game, two touchdowns. I think they've always wanted to have an active pass-catching tight-end. They've had a lot of injuries at that position. He has, he looked good tonight. I think Luke Wilson is one of the three or four fastest tight ends in the NFL, but I don't know that he's a guy they're going to count on every week to do something like this. They just need someone, though, to step up and make a player to. and Wilson is capable, I guess.

Paul Richardson is starting to be a factor, and he's going to need to be because Jermaine Kerr's got hurt in this game and might be out for a little bit. Some wild swagger on display in Seattle, too. I mean, this team is feeling good about itself. Near the end of the game, about five minutes to play. Russell, Wilson scrambles, gives a nasty stiff arm and walks into the end zone, and they cut to the sideline.

Pete Carroll's cackling wildly. Marshawn Lynch, who beast mode into the end zone 20 minutes earlier, is taking his cleats off on the bench. this team is rolling and you feel bad for the Cardinals because they put in all this work all season and set themselves up but they just ran into like a freight train

and at a certain point you lose too many quarterbacks you don't have a chance. With a Super Bowl champions are the team to beat for the Super Bowl again. Right, they're going to need to beat the Rams next week. They should.

That would get them the one seed. You know, the Cardinals, I don't think we're done with this team. Drew Stanton, it sounds like we'll be back for the playoffs. Hold on. What? Drew Stanton, not Carson Palmer.

I know. I'm just saying, are the Cardinals capable of winning a playoff game with Drew Stanton? Yeah, but they are. I don't know. They need to be at home, though. They need to be at home. Yeah, I think they need to be at home. Well, and I think that's not happening.

We're going to get a carbon copy of this to some lesser degree with Drew Stanton. I agree. And I think the NFC playoffs are going to take a while to really tighten up and be great, I think, because you're going to have that NFC South winner, blah. You're going to have this Cardinals team, blah. There's a 50% chance the Cardinals will be playing against the NFC South winner. And I would feel much better about that. chances if they were playing in Arizona.

Yeah, I would too. I'm just saying could they beat a Dallas, could they beat the NFC's whether or maybe? You want to back Drew Stanton on the road in a playoff game? I don't know. Coming off a knee injury. This team's shown us so much every week. They're 11 and 4 now.

They had this stinker. We all expected it. I just don't think it means their season is over. And you get to a point, though, where it's just like. It's nice of you that you're saying that. Thanks, buddy. It's nice of you, two Arizona fans that you're saying your season isn't over yet. All right.

So that is Sunday's NFL action and Saturdays. We covered that too. Thank you so much for listening. We will be back. When will we be back, by the way? We'll be back on Tuesday. We have a little different Christmas schedule this week. We're going to preview all the games on Tuesday.

Okay, good. One less show this week. I'll be in New York, but I will try to have some presents in the show if Greg will allow it to happen as the boss. Yes, well, you'll be on an airplane. I'm going to style my hair like Dan in the host chair. So that's one way you'll be here.

Greg, happy Hanukkah. Yeah, we don't do that. Chris Wesleying? That was racist. Merry Christmas. Thank you, Dan. Mark. Merry Christmas.

As to you, and I cannot wait to hear from you on Tuesday from your childhood bedroom. We celebrate Christmas. Do you? Yeah. All right. You're doing that. Now you know. We're going to give some gifts when we're not going to be talking about Jesus or anything,

but we're going to give some gifts. You will be talking about Woody Allen. know. I might watch some. Why not? All right, that's it. We're getting out of here. This is Dan Hansa signing off for Quiet Storm,

the mailman, the boss, and Tay D behind the glass of law back there, too. Good man, just getting to know him. We will talk to you this week. This is an IHeart podcast.