NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - What’s at stake in Super Bowl LI?

Episode Date: January 18, 2017

A room filled with heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling, & Gregg Rosenthal – discuss all the latest news from around the NFL including the LA Chargers hiring Anthony Lynn as their new head coach, and Mike Tomlin’s reaction to Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live video. Then, the heroes debut a new segment called “Wheel of Destiny” in which they answer the most pressing questions surrounding Championship Sunday and Super Bowl LI.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast can be bought with gifts. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I'm joined by a compliant little foursome, including myself, Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosthaw. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan. Well, I can guarantee that the humans hovering around the third floor of this NFL media establishment would not like to know where compliant little foursome came from. The background of it?

Yes, we will leave it right there. I don't know if they would agree either. Well, I'm sure they wouldn't agree. We're the agreeable ones. Hey, we're the compliant little foreshund. But I think Mark Sessler, I think agreeable. Hashtag CL4. This is a compliant little fosome.

Compliant little for some. We're now taking all the pre-show talk and now it's just part of the show. Yep. Even if it doesn't really make sense. Not all of it. There's no difference anymore. No. That's what they say, you know.

That's when you know you've made it when people say in interviews. He's like, he's the same on camera and off. That guy. That's just who he is. Either that or you've lost all discipline as a broadcaster. And you're just floating away now, which could be happening. We're about, what, 20 weeks into the season now. Yeah, we knew that we nailed, you know, the whole skit before the show

when Greg was trying to kill the pre-show bit. Yeah, that's the new level. Anyway, we'll save that for the pre-show banter podcast coming up this offseason. Today is Tuesday, the Around the NFL podcast. It's championship week. I've been led to believe on NFL Network. We just actually saw NFL Network's Greg Rosenthal do a, a saucy hit on all the happenings.

Hey, is that Enfield Network's Greg Rosenthal? Yes, it is. Ely, by the way, did one of the voices there. Yeah. And he's been very... Don't quit your day job. Yeah, he's a little bit self-conscious about it because it's maybe not taking off as well as like the Frags ones

in terms of critical response. That's NFL Network's Greg Rosenthal. You hear that voice and it just kind of burrows into your ears. you know, it's like, it's like a voice that should be hosting a podcast. That's true. Frags. Anyway, so Greg was talking about the matchups that will occur this Sunday. Of course, the Steelers and the Patriots and the Falcons and the Packers. What a great matchup in both conferences to decide who's going on the Super Bowl.

And as we get closer to that game, we'll have a full-on preview show on Thursday. Today we'll be more of a hodgepodge, I would say. Little appetizer. little appetizer. We will get to the news, including the fallout from Antonio Brown's questionable social media usage after the Steelers win over the chiefs

in the divisional round. Mike Tomlin's reaction to Brown as this has become a story now leading into this game. Another head coach hiring that we actually did not get to the last time you heard from us. Some other news around the league. Then we'll debut a news. a new segment.

Wheel of Destiny. I feel like we should be ushering our chief photographer, Ben Liebenberg, out of the newsroom right now. Oh, yeah, it's like, haven't we used this song before? But no, it's one of Dan's bits in the newsroom. Yeah, when Leavenberg, the photo guy rolls over and, you know, we like Ben.

He's agreeable. He's a nice guy. But then when he hangs around a little bit too long, I have to play that song to play him out. To play him out. And that's when he knows it's time. It's like, oh, there he goes. Chief photographer of NFL media, Ben Lieenberg.

And he goes. He does. He goes. He's got bits on bits on bits. Yeah. Anyway, so we will play Wheel of Destiny, the Championship Week version. And then we haven't done this one while. We'll check in on the iTunes, the iTunes reviews over at Apple,

and see what people are saying about the podcast. So a lot to get to. This podcast, of course, sponsored by Mr. Flames' economics class in the Hague, The Netherlands. so let's start the show by talking some news i'm not on snap face and all that so i don't really get those why so glum chum uh the great bill bellichick uh we will start with the pittsburgh stealers as i said um antonio brown after sundays win over the chiefs in the locker room uh chose to uh take his phone out breaking league protocol and do a live, a Facebook live video show, which went on for, I think,

close to like half an hour or something like that, you know, just hanging out in the locker room. But the thing that caught everybody's eye and ear was that he was doing it around the corner from Mike Tomlin and Ben Rufflesberger speech to players shortly after the game, a speech that included Tomlin complaining about the difference in time and how the Patriots have an advantage over them, a day and a half head start, also calling the Patriots buttholes. not exactly but holes but close same ballpark and uh Antonio Brown sent that to the world and of course it becomes a big story Mike Tomlin addressed it right out of the out of the shoot today in his press conference and you could tell he was not happy with a star wide receiver

the last element of the discussion is Antonio himself and I'll be bluntly honest here it was foolish of him to do that it was selfish for him to do that and it was selfish for him to do that and it was inconsiderate for him to do that. Not only is it a violation of our policy is a violation of league policy, both of which he knows. So there are consequences to be dealt with from his perspective.

We will punish him. We won't punish us. And we'll do so swiftly and we'll do so internally. And Mark, the key to me there was we will punish him, we won't punish us, which tells you that this is not going to be one of those quarter suspensions on Sunday

or anything like that he'll be playing, but he's definitely in the doghouse. Well, and he's also, he's probably something's going to happen from the league office, because if you read what the NFL rules are, it says the use of social media by coaches, players, and other club football operations personnel is prohibited on game day, basically beginning 90 minutes before kickoff until after all media access is done. But that's just the fine, right? That's the fine, but so there's the punishment. I have no problem with the Steelers, especially after the way the Tomlin came out.

I thought he completely lowered the boom on Antonio Brown. downplay it, that there doesn't need to be a game day punishment for this because the embarrassment was on Tomlin. It's as much as Tomlin wants to create. Honestly, it's the coach who is dropping, you know, sailors' language left and right and creating issues with the way he's talking about the Patriots and their organization that he didn't want out there. And so if they can handle that in-house, I think that's perfectly adequate. I like the fact that Tomlin didn't skirt over the issue. Yeah, I could care less about Tomlin's language in the locker room. That's probably as clean as any coach you'll hear in the league.

Certainly a word that Bill Belichick is familiar with from his own locker room. He might have been called that a few times in his life as well, Bill. I'm just guessing. Well, and Tomlin did not want that out there, though. I agree that the language is uniform across all locker. But he actually, it could have been a lot more offensive. He didn't really say anything. Yeah, Brown got lucky in a way.

You know, in a way, right. That Tomlin or Rathesburg when he spoke, didn't really say anything too antagonistic towards the Patriots. I mean, it's telling to me that Tomlin and Ben Rathosberger were much more offended than the couple of Patriots they bothered to ask who were like, what? Are we supposed to be bothered by this? I mean, they weren't going to get offended. And Belichick was asked about it, of course. And his response was classic Belichick, and you heard it at the top of the news.

As you know, I'm not on Snapface and all those. I'm not too worried what they put on Instachat, which is my favorite Belichickism in his press conferences is his very, very. trolly method to discussing social media. And we were talking about this when we were, you know, figuring out the show this morning. He knows exactly, he's not maybe not plugged into all the different social media. But this is all playing it up. It kind of feeds into the Bill legend a little bit.

This has been a multi-year bit going back to, I would guess five, six, seven years. I love the commitment to the bit that Belichick has. He used to be face space. Right. He's playing with reporters. He used to have like a MySpace. bit. He always tries to mispronounce it because he knows it gets a

rise out of guys like us. Yeah, his big one was in 2004 shortly after the draft and he referenced My Face, Your Face, Insta Face. I mean, I'd be concerned about any long-lived NFL reporter that still believes that Belichick has never heard of Facebook. I get

that you're in a cubbyhole doing your thing, but this is also something that's just... How small is this person? I don't know. He fits into a cubbyhole, but I mean, it's... It is a and I find it tired at this point, frankly. Oh, Mark. What, you think it's fresh?

It's not so much that it's fresh or not fresh. It's just Bill having a little bit of fun. He's just having a little fun with it. Because we don't want to take this too seriously. And I do think that he'll, even though he's saying he doesn't even know what you're talking about, I think he'll probably work it in. This is the same guy that before a Super Bowl, like, threw up the parade plan for the Eagles, I believe. He's not above doing that kind of stuff.

And I'm sure that he'll mention that they think that, you know, they were backed up against the wall because of the time and they think we're A-Hulls. I could see him do that. Oh, I totally think he'll share it with his team. It's not a big story. Don't you think his players care about watching the Steelers say that? Whether Belichick says he cares or not, I think a lot of the players do. I don't think the language really. But they didn't say anything offensive.

Yeah, I said they got a head start. I think if they had said something kind of specific about the Patriots, but they just kind of said, well, these guys, they got a head start on us. You know, I mean, it wasn't like anything. crazy. I don't think it's a secret that these teams don't like each other, but I mean, they use everything that leaks out of either team in some way. If one player on the Patriots

is motivated by this, it's worked. Okay, let's move on. Can I just say one last thing? I know what it's like to be in your 20s. You've got to impress everyone. You've got to be so cool. Stop during the season with these selfies and putting the stuff on. The Giants

receivers out before the game with no shirts on, taking pictures themselves. And then this, Antonio Brown's got to ignore his teammates while he's worried about putting this out there on social media. Stop trying to be cool. Uphill battle. Just stop trying to impress people. Well, that's the thing. I know he want to move on, but he wasn't even listening to Tomlin.

He was in the other room with his teammates. And so Ben Rathlisberger said he was annoyed because that's like the sanctity of the locker room. You're annoying. And Tomlin, the most pointed things he said we didn't even mention, which were, you know, he's a great player. But that does not help him in the locker room. and that's why you often see great players move from team to team. I mean, he said that about Antonio Brown. These are the types of things that you see great players move from team to team

because you get tired of stuff like this. Well, because all those teammates have to spend all week answering questions about it, and that's how you get tired of the Odell Beckham's and the Antonio Brown in this situation. Oh, these are the wide receivers. Let's move on and talk about the Los Angeles Chargers, who, our Thursday podcast, we talked about the big move that they made. They're making up the coast and a lot of the, you know, just a bad situation for the fan base. They ended that day by announcing that Anthony Lynn, who had served as the former Bill's interim coach

and their offensive coordinator for most of last season, they make him the new head coach that was announced officially on Friday night. It's a four-year deal with the team according to Rapsheet. It's a first head coaching job for Anthony Lynn. And Greg, your thoughts about this hire and where the charges go from here with Lynn. I like it better knowing Ken Wisenhuntz still the offensive coordinator, guy who's been around a long time, that offense works,

and he's been a head coach that helps Lynn out, who had never been a coordinator until this year at any level, has not been a head coach at any level. They believe in his leadership ability. I listened to him on our friend Matt Money Smith's show, and I thought he did a really good job. If I was a fan, I'd be fired up. And I like it even more if he gets Gus Bradley to be his defensive coordinator,

which is a guy he's zeroing in on. And I think he'll probably get him because Gus Bradley's apparently holding out in case Tom Cable gets this 49ers job. Doesn't look like that's going to happen. So if you had Gus Bradley, Wizz and Hunt, yeah, that's a nice looking team. That's probably the best team that hired a new head coach. He must have, he must make a good. good impression on people. In 120 days, he's replaced Greg Roman, Rex Ryan, and Mike

McCoy. Yeah. And he's also, it's funny because he took over for Roman after week two. He's never had an offseason where he went in preparing for a season as a coordinator and obviously as a head coach. So this is going to be a totally new experience for the guy on the other side of the country. The Chargers are just a, you know, a team in flux right now. And they have, his job, part of his job is going to be keeping things calm during a very choppy time. Great news for Spice Rec, considering the running game Anthony Lynn put together in Buffalo. Melvin Gordon has to like this news. And I think their defensive personnel, their talent is top five in the NFL.

That roster, especially if they keep Melvin Ingram by franchise tag or long-term deal, that's got to be a good place for a defensive coordinator to land. If you're Gus Bradley, what are you waiting on the San Francisco job, which is not a great job at all? He's buddies with Tom Cable from their time together in Seattle. Also, maybe he's waiting. Friendship is cool, but if you can join a loaded team down in L.A. As a defensive coordinator, you could rehab your image. For a guy that needs to rehab his image.

I mean, he can't really take another stop where things collapse. One of the things that impress me about Lynn, he said, you know, they asked him, how do you have time to prepare for interviews like this? And he said, well, I've spent many off-season preparing for head coaching interviews. He said, I had all the, you know, all this stuff. That's the time of the year that you come up with a plan of what you would do as a head coach. This is a guy who's never been above a rock. running back's coach.

So he was kind of ready for this moment. I mean, he's emerged as one of the more Machiavellian characters I can ever think of with. I mean, he continues to vault up the... Machiavellian. Well, I mean, he's replaced three people in three months. That's not... Yeah, but sometimes you're just, you know, in line.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just a survivalist. Well, Machiavellian, you're saying like he played a role in the departure. Right. Well, what do you say, Mark? Take from it what you'd like to take from it. You could just be a capable person. Well, sure.

Frame it that way. Do you know something? that we don't. Let's leave it there. Next topic. Speaking of Tom Cable, Dan, this is a great transition to some gently breaking news. Ooh, gently. I was hoping we had maybe a gently breaking news drop, but that's hard to do on the fly. Wes, what do you got? Our NFL networks, Mike Silver and Ian Rappaport are reporting that the 49ers job is Kyle Shanahan's to lose. And from the way Silver had the report, it's not certain that Kyle Shanahan's going to take the job.

But at this point, it's his job if he wants it. Yeah, I mean, in a related development, Patriots offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, this on Monday took his name out of the running for the job, telling reporters, quote, at this time, it's best for my family and myself to remain here. So you got cable involved, but it's Shanahan's gig. And there is a fairly dark timeline because I don't know if cable is a great fit up there, that if they don't get either of the guys that they really were gunning for and

they're with cable, maybe that's not the best setup for San Francisco, going to dig themselves out of the mud. You would hope they wouldn't get to this point with a strong indication that Kyle Shanahan is excited about this opportunity and would take it because if for some reason he doesn't take it, I mean, they look like total idiots and whoever they hire, whether it's Tom Cable or anyone else will be so far behind on hiring his staff. So Kyle Shanahan, if you're his agent right now, you can demand a lot.

And Ian Rappaport reported they're expected to get top GM candidates to meet with Kyle Shanahan next week when they are allowed to see who meshes well with them. So it really seems like Kyle Shanahan would be running the show. Well, and he also shares an agent with Josh McDaniels. So I wonder if when Josh McDaniels decides to, you know, and I do think that there. there's another side where he does have a big family. He talked about that at the Super Bowl a couple years ago,

did not want to move for the wrong thing, uprood his whole family, has one of the best jobs in the NFL. But maybe if you hear from your shared agent, the one who is also advising Kyle Shanahan, that Shanahan's going to get this job and he wants it, that you gracefully bow out. Kyle Shanahan has some history there, too.

His father made his name as the 49ers offensive coordinator. Yeah. Before landing in that. Something wrong about all this agent sharing. I hate it. Would you call it? Conflict of interest. Would you call it Machiavellian?

I would call it incestrian. I mean, there's only so many agents, though. You want one agent for every single coach and player. There aren't enough. You're creating jobs. I think the conflict of interest of coaching agents is extraordinary. You have agents who end up having a bigger deal of who gets hired than the teams itself. There should be more coaching agents.

There's money in it. Why not? Sounds like a good expose for you to write. As part of my law firm job in the 90s and, in early 2000s. Yes. We need a roll history on that, by the way. I was tasked with running conflict of interest checks every day as part of my job.

Wow. God, that sounds horrible. I didn't mind it. I mean, you didn't mind it? It's just running things through a database. It's better than delivering mail on the projects. Okay. That's fair.

That's a fair counterpoint. All right. Finally, in the news, the Houston Texans are in the market for a new OC. The Texans and offensive coordinator, George Godsey, mutually agreed to part ways the team announced Monday. I guess the writing was on the wall here a little bit because Gatsy began the season as Houston's primary play caller gave those duties or had them stripped by Bill O'Brien in week four. I don't know.

I don't know. So we're going to blame Godman over Brock Osweiler? How do you like this result of George Godsey? Rick Smith goes out and buys a $72 million boondoggle. Bill O'Brien stands up at the press conference and says, He checks all the boxes, and you're the one who gets fired because he stinks. It's tough business, especially, and this same thing happened in New York with the Jets, when a coach has a bad season but has enough rope to keep his job,

somebody still has to get fired, and the coordinators are many times in line, even if it's not really the ball. Oh, yeah, a lot of, it's mid-January is the time of Patsy's being taken down. I mean, you know Gatsy's under the radar when the patron saint of offensive coordinators, Mark Sessler's never even mentioned him on this, but I don't know if he's ever been. been mentioned. I've spared him by not mentioning him after what we saw from the Texas. I mean, what am I?

We were going to do a greatest moment to the God Sierra podcast, right? We had that all lined up for a July. That we didn't start back in 2014. Wow, that was fun. And speaking overmatched offensive coordinators, Rob Boris has found a job. I believe he's coaching the tight ends in Buffalo. I just want to. Yeah, anybody that was on hard knocks, I'm a little more plugged in on in terms of the coordinators, not to Mark's level.

But Boris overmatched. now he's coaching tight ends. Couldn't pick Boris out of a lineup. Mike Waffle also in Buffalo, who I liked a lot. You had defensive line coach who did a good job. Oh, was he the scary guy? Yeah, the big tall guy.

He's going to Buffalo as well. All right, good, good, good. That's what's happening in the news. All right, now, I don't know if this segment's going to work. I mean, this could be a disaster. Let's be honest. Got about a shelf of life of three days before Greg kills it. This is going to be a segment put together with Scotch.

You know what? Next bit I'm going to. kill as the Greg kills Bitspin. It's over. Might be a good move. But now I'm going to put on my game show hosting hat, and then I have my beautiful colleague behind the glass, the great Sidney Carlson, going to be a Vana White. So a little Sajak white team, and we're going to play a game.

That's Sajax the worst. Oh, bro. That's how we're going to start Wheel of Destiny? Every octogenarian in America just got angry with me. I mean, Wes with an anti-Sajak take in a big spot. Did not expect that. Dan is just speaking that you're in the spirit of Pat's in the spirit of the game show. Yeah, I'm not actually Pat Sajac.

He's just a long-running host. I think if we're going to call anyone attached to a big-time game show, I think we go with new money, though. I mean, we're going to get some new money if we win this thing. Why would Sajac, why is Sajc bad anyways? I don't know. That was a weird thing by Wes. First of all, he's not funny. He tries to be funny.

He's not funny. And all of his routine is like the Lawrence Welk show. It's all geared toward blue hairs and people and walkers. Hey, well, he's got a lane. So, you know, and he's doing pretty well. He's been doing it for 30 years. I mean, he's staring down at us from the Hollywood Hills with like multiple, multiple gigantic swimming pools.

Bro, no. Rooms of beautiful furniture. Rose and Malibu. No your audience, Wes. I mean, if you're the host of Wheel of Fortune, you have to be aware. Anyone watching that show regularly is brain dead. All right. I don't know what's happening.

I told you out of bed. It's a horrible show. This is great. Is Wheel of Destiny a different enough title from Wheel of Fortune? Yeah. We don't want to get sued. Is that a question? Yeah.

What about instead of Wheel of Four? Disc of Affluence. What about Disc of Deskity? You've got the alliteration. Okay. Anyway, we'll work on that. We're working on the whole thing. This is a game that we will go around the room with our three contestants.

And first contestant, of course, you know. him as the quiet storm. Mark Sessler. And then... Paint applause. Could do better, please. Next to him, it's back. It's a weekly occurrence now. I wonder if he dry cleans it or watches it, or if he just has many of them in his closet. The Man Cannon is out.

Chris Wesleying. And, of course, no introduction needed. NFL networks, Greg Rosenthal. We're a little hesitation from the audience. The audience is stationed about 400 yards away in the back of a warehouse somewhere. All right. So this is how the game works. You guys are going to take turns spinning the wheel.

It is going to land on a topic. You do not know what the topic will be, but you will have to answer. And I will say this. And my role as the host of the show, I am not here to say who's right and who's wrong. But if I sense someone else in the room wants to jump in for a steal, I'm going to throw it to that person. Let's see what they have to say about it. But jump in before the other person? After the other person says their answer.

If you disagree, maybe just raise your hand and jump in for the steal. Who in here would disagree with anything? I don't, you've got the wrong three guys. And then we'll let the judges decide who's right. The winner gets a lollipop. All right. So first up, before the game, we did figure out a coin toss. Mark Sessler will go first and spin the wheel of destiny.

Nice spin, Mark. That is... Oh, that's long. Intermittable. What do you got, Sid? All right, Mark, you landed on, save the bolts. Okay. You can keep the chargers in San Diego.

It will cost you an anonymous $850 donation. Will you pay it? Yes, I would. Without a doubt, out of my own bank account? Yes. Yes, I would. To save the entire city, then I just go down to San Diego. that I did it? No. Anonymous. Oh. Yes. Yes, I would.

Wow. Good question. Wait, would sit. I would. Do you want to know what? Be okay with this? Yes, $850 is, we are on a paycheck to paycheck household, but there is a lot riding here. In your heart, you know you did the right thing. That franchise is in a shambles right now. Correct course. You've affected the direct lives of hundreds of thousands of people if you do that. For $850. Where does it end? Like, what if I, what if I were to tell you five? thousand dollars though that wasn't the question that i think that it's true though eight 50s that's a good you can get over that five five gs yeah that's by the way nothing's anonymous i'll make sure a few people now i'll use it in spots all right uh i believe let's check with the judges that is the correct answer oh you can be right or wrong yeah marks on the board there's a grading

system how do you know what the right answer well this is the listen this is the game show host he's obviously right. He's making this up as it goes along. I told you. This thing, it's a second to second proposition. These guys are on their heels. Greg is not happy. You know, you know, who's really good inside who wins, you know, the audience. I'm not worried about him. That was me driving right down the field for a touchdown. All right, uh, Wes, why don't you spin the wheel? All right, let's do this. I mean, we could have gotten the wheel spinning not so much. Like right now, if it stopped, it'd be perfect. Labored spinning. Stop spinning. Stop spinning. Okay, what do we got?

All right, Wes, you landed on last chance. Wait, can I just stop, Sid, I need you to be a little bit more less new money and more you're a broadcaster. You are, you got to sell this a little bit more. Not so conversational. Wes. There you go. There you go. Last chance ever.

What remaining team is the most likely to never make it back to conference title weekend with the current quarterback? Wow. I need a second to ponder this. Anybody want to jump in with the steel? All I got to say is whoever made that question, great job. Well, obviously, Greg made it. All right? I've got an answer, but I'm not going to take it away from Wes.

No, I won't west. I'm going to say the Falcons. I'm going to say the Falcons because Kyle Shanahan's that important. And if he does take the 49ers job, Matt Ryan's only one year removed from people questioning whether he was a franchise quarterback and Falcons fans, frankly, calling him overrated. But not you. You'd have a really question.

You thought this is a good guy that you can back it up. And that's why I'm surprised to hear you say that. Well, look at the options. Tom Brady's got another six years in his career. Six years. They're dreaming, buddy. They have been to six straight, but he is up there in years. I think it's a tough question.

Greg, if you go Brady. No, I'm not going to go Brady. Greg Rosenthal for the steel. I'm going to go Ben Rathesberger because they haven't been to this game since 2010. Look at the surrounding talent on offense and defense. None of the options are great, but he is five years older than Matt Ryan, right? He's about 35 years old, I think, 34, 35. He hasn't been there since 2010.

That's a long time. And now he's going to be getting up there. He's had some trouble with injuries over the years. Maybe he doesn't have the longest career in the world. so if I had to choose one of them, I think it's Big Ben. That's the wrong answer. I'm going to go Matt Ryan because the Falcons are the one team in this mix that, yeah, they've been to the NFC title game under Ryan before, too.

But these other three teams seem to just get there every couple of years. Pittsburgh is going to get back there too. He didn't have Levion Bell and Antonio Brown together for those other seasons. Had him the other years. Not in the playoffs. Not together, but not the playoffs. Wes says Matt Ryan. That's correct, they say.

Oh, thank you. The judges have come down. Pressures on Greg. Matt Ryan. Don't get upset, Greg. Does Greg lose the point for his big bent faux pop? And now Greg's going to think that there's a conspiracy against him? This bit is killed.

No, I know. Sage Jack didn't make that question. The person who wrote the question knows the answer. All right. Listen. I'm down. All right. Now you're up.

And remember how you comport yourself. There are judges. They are professional, but they're also human. You have to comport yourself with a level of respect here. There should be. Decorum. I'm going full heel. All right.

Spin the wheel. A masculine spin by Greg. Strong silent type. You got to expect that. Okay. What do we got? Oh, that was special. Greg, you landed on QB Choice.

Your wife or Paramore has gone into early labor. Which of the four remaining quarterbacks would you choose to deliver the baby in an emergency situation? Oh, that's easy. That's a great question. Very creative question. And it reminds me of when I got home from the divisional round just two years ago, wife did go into labor and she basically said she held it she held little walker in until i got back until gino smith came into the room wow um i think i'm going to go with tom brady because to me

tom brady it's not just about football with him when you look at the rest of his life and everything that he does i think he probably does it at a higher level than certainly ben rothusberger if you're saying Who do you want to go buy some grocery? Ben-Rothlessburger is clearly number four on this. Who do you want to fix your house? Who do you want really to do anything? I'm going to take Tom Brady. And I think Aaron Rogers is hovering close to number four, frankly.

I'm not sure I want. Because he doesn't get along with his family? For multiple reasons. But Tom Brady, to me, is the easy, absolute choice. I just go as a father, my immediate instinct went to Tom Brady, no questions asked. He's got the most kids. Is he the only one with kids? of this group. I don't even know. I think Big Ben does.

West. Oh, I think Tom Brady's a winner. That's who you want. That's who you want to live. You don't want to lose that situation. You're going to win the situation. Tough judge. He's looking for someone to steal it with the correct answer. I'm just the host. It's not happening. We would, in this case, let's see what the judges say. Yep, that's a point for Greg. The judges would have accepted Aaron Rogers right now as well, just because he's so hot right now. There's no way he's going to fail. to pull that baby out from the woman's delivery zone. Has no experience with childbirth and, you know, some issues within his family.

I don't think the fact that he's not getting along with his parents has anything to do with his job as an emergency doctor. Also, he is this really smart guy. Very smart. A lot of doctors are jerks, by the way. It's true. They're all smart, but Rogers might be the guy on the MCATs that might do the best. He's the smartest in the group. Jeopardy winner.

All these think pieces on Rogers and his family. Has anyone ever bothered to ask maybe his family or creep? Yes, they have. They asked him this weekend. Okay. Maybe his family just aren't good people. No, that was not the impressional. You know what?

No, not that we're going on the story. Boo. Boo this, man. I think it will get. Maybe. He doesn't get fun with him. I don't think you heard that part when he said yes. No, it'll get figured out in time, I think, down the road.

But his dad, who's a doctor in Northern California, could not have come across as a better guy in this article. All right. So through one round, it's a tie. You guys all got them right. Good job. I think, you know, the questions could get more difficult. But then again, this is random. Mark, you're back up. Get that wheel going. God. It's getting longer. What do we got? Mark, you are the GM is your category. Sid, broadcaster. I thought that was fine.

I'm working on it. Whoa. You are a starting new NFL franchise. Pick one non-quarterback from these four teams to start your team with. Levion Bell, no questions asked. Anybody want to jump in with a steel? I've got to go Julio Jones. You know, Levyon Bell's had his injury concerns.

It's at suspension concerns. And I think wide receiver, if I could choose just having the best wide receiver, in the game or the best running back in the game. I'm going to take wide receiver. It lasts a little longer. A little more valuable. Falcon's winning games when Julio Jones isn't even on the field. I think if you're going to bring up the injury situation,

you would take Antonio Brown, who doesn't have injuries. Julio Jones has had many foot injuries. Yeah, but I don't want what I say in the locker room being broadcast. Oh, got you. That's fair point. That's fresh. That's contextual. I think I would agree with Mark.

I think I would take Levy on Bill. Are there any other options even? Well, let's see what the judges say. Oh. Judges said Julio Jones, the guy to build around. I don't like this at all. The Russian judges? Wow.

I don't like this at all. I mean, Levyon Bell has won serious knee injury already. I guess that's what they're talking about. He has had some substance issues. He's rivaling Jim Brown. Julio is definitely the right answer. It wasn't Alejandro Villano Nueva, the left tackle of the Steelers. I'm being told now.

that the off-the-field issues for Levy on Bell play a factor as well. I'm talking about building a player. I don't, listen. No, yeah, for John. I want to, I'm going to, I'm going to handle it well this time,

which is new. I like how seriously Dad's taking this. He actually put his hand up to his cans on his headphone when he was hearing from the judges. Spin the wheel. Wes.

All right. There we go, Wes. Has a chance to take the lead now. Long ponderous wheel spin. Greg had the Julio Jones there on the steel,

so let's give him a point. Oh, that's right. Oh, this is getting worse. All right. Wes, you play God. Sitting from your throne above, you have the rare power to make any player

an unforgettable hero on Sunday. Anyone from a starting quarterback to the most unlikely role player whose life do you change forever. Judges are going to struggle with this one. Yeah. Let's see. Especially considering the judge's anti-patriots

bias we know that can't do the judge say that tom brady can deliver the baby that's true yes that's the judges are fair i'm going to look at this from the vantage point of who has the most to gain and i'm going to say matt ryan i think if he wins the MVP award has a great game to follow up his previous great game against the seahawks goes to the super bowl has a chance to win this could put him from a guy who was i don't know the 12th or 15th best quarterback in the league a year ago, according to many people, to a guy with a good chance to get in the Hall of Fame when you consider the counting stats he is putting up.

He has a chance to go from a mundane quarterback to a Hall of Fame. Wow, anybody wanted to try to steal. What was the wording exactly, Vanna? Sid? Vanna, whatever. It was, if you could choose... You have the rare power to make any player

an unforgettable hero on Sunday, anyone from a starting quarterback to the most unlikely role player. Yeah, so it's... It's sort of a personal thing of... Right. I mean, if you're a big Matt Slater fame... Right. If you want to give joy to someone, you know, I would give it...

I would make it Malcolm Butler again, that he just starts building this legend. Because he's my favorite player on the Patriots. He's having a great season. And... Oh, you shut up! I got an answer. He already had it. He's a great guy, and I want him to do it again.

I want people to just think when they think, oh, coming up gigantic in a big spot, that's... That's Butlering it. I'm going to go with something that we actually saw in the Pro Bowl about half a decade ago when Center Alex Mack scored a touchdown in the Pro Bowl on a fumble and he rumbled all the way to the end zone, a guy that has been on one of the worst teams in professional sports his entire career,

a guy that reshape that Falcons line and is a big part of the reason that the Falcons are what they are. Matt Ryan can have an explosive huge game, but say it comes down to the final score, big fumble for the Falcons, but Alex Mac picks it up and runs 35 yards right through the defense for the weirdest game-winning touchdown of all time. Alex Mac!

By the way, that wasn't even his most memorable, proble experience. You're right, hanging out with Kevin Patra was. Wasn't it like a pond-gris all-night discussion on the commercial-binding industry? All right. The original answer, Chris Wesleyan, he said, Matt Ryan. That's correct. What are the odds that he got that right? By the way, and the judges are just,

telling me, Mark, that Alex Mac, it would be a great story, but if it was Joe Thomas, who's an even better personality than Alex Mac, that maybe would have swung it. These judges are out to destroy my life. That's such a good answer. I almost think Mark came up with that question.

I did not, actually. All right, one more in the second round. Then we have a final round where the points are worth double. So don't get discouraged, Mark. Greg, spin the wheel. Well, I'm doing well here. Well, yeah, I think it's... I stole a point at some point. Oh, what's that?

What'd you do? That's a missed turn. You lost the turn. Oh, no. And I just want everyone to know I had nothing to do with that. No, that's the wheel. You look at Banda behind the glass. The wheel spun, and that's right.

That's how it works. It spun on misturn. So this is just a game of chance. Well, that's how it works, Greg. All right. You're pretty good at games of chance. That ends round two. And heading into the final round, double or nothing.

Steel's still worth one. But if you get the question right, it's worth two. Mark, you have one point. Let's spin that wheel. Mark, spin the wheel. West, two points. Greg, two points. It's coming down to it now.

Greg, very discouraged after that. And I would be too. I understand that did not feel fair, but it is a game of chance and it isn't always fair. Mark, you're up. Mark, your category is bosom buddies. Once the off-season hits, the heroes will hang out with one of the four head coaches from championship weekend. Would you rather, A, go deep-sea fishing with Belichick off the coast of Martha's Vineyard on his boat. Well, he's more of a Nantucket guy, but yeah.

B, grab a few beers with Dan Quinn at the whaler. Ooh, the whaler. C, getaway weekend with Mike McCarthy at Big Bear. Or D, invite Mike Tomlin for the full experience of Wailer. Wesslemania 3. All right. Tomlin would be great. Well, we have hung out with Dan Quinn at, well, to some degree.

Round to applause for the humble bragging of a big spot. No, I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say that's what we did. But when you hung out with them? At media day? We had long talks. That's not hanging out. We had long talks with Dan Quinn. Sat at a table on 27 other journalists.

You're right. I just said right away, hung out maybe not three words. But I've had the Dan Quinn experience A plus. Great guy. You talk about combining what for all of us is the seminal off-season. gathering, Wesselmania, with a guy in Mike Tomlin, if you've ever been to any of these offseason coaching meetings, and this guy likes to throw some back. We know that.

He's a beer-drinking fellow. I like thinking Mike Tomlin is also someone that would stay up until about three, four in the morning with us. I am combining Mike Tomlin and Wesselmania, and I'm a Browns fan, so I'm telling you that's how fun this guy is. There are whispers out there that the Steelers management had to approach Mike Tomlin at some point and say, bro, you're very successful, but you've got to lower the profile. I don't know if they're whispers.

They're out there. By the way, the key phrase in the way that question was worded, was full experience of Wesselmania. Like Tomlin can handle it all. And I bet he would have fun playing cornhole. Does anyone want to jump in with a potential steal? There's nothing to lose on a steel jump in. Well, yeah, I would go with Belichick sitting on a boat with him.

You get to meet greatness. Do you just want to go have a party with... I'm going to have fun at Wesselmania regardless. It's going to be a great time. Can I have a experience I'll never forget for the rest of my life hanging with old... That's like a book or a movie, I can see it. Can I counter-argument real quick?

Sure, sure. If I bring Mike Tomlin to West... You're a legend. Greg is saying he's going to have a nice time and for himself on a boat. I'm bringing someone to the party so that everyone else can have a nice time too with Mike Tomlin. and 25, 30, 40, 50 people will never forget it.

It's about the group. People will have a great time when I write my book, as you mentioned. We'll find out. Saturday afternoons with Billy. All right. So, Mark Sessler said Mike Tomlin at Wesselmania. Is it the right answer? Wow.

I had to get back in this game. Huge. Again, two points score. So out of nowhere, Mark now is up three to two to two. But there's still two turns to go, and it's coming right down to the wire. Now, Wes, spin that wheel. Let's do it. I mean, this is the type of drama you live for.

Forget about the games. All right. Wes, you landed on body double. You have the power to step into the body of any human being involved in championship weekend. Any player, coach, or front office member, you become them. You'd have all their talents, but you'd know that it's you. you inside of them, pick someone. This one is easy.

It takes no time whatsoever. Aaron Rogers playing quarterback at the highest level it's ever been played. I think even if you are only a backyard athlete, at some point in your life, you've been in the zone. And I've done it in softball and basketball, and there is nothing like it. To me, that's the, at some point, it's the only thing which keeps you playing sports as you grow older to get in that zone again. Aaron Rogers is in it. Now there's no better feeling than being. At the highest level of the most popular game in the country

where everyone in the world is seeing him doing this. It's a good answer. Anybody want to try it with a steal? That's a good answer. I wouldn't throw away. It is, but I would love to know what it is like to be Bill Belichick in the biggest home game you've had. You understand something that we'll never understand covering the game

what goes through the mind of a coach from beginning to end because it's not, you'd be in this body for a couple days, how you prepare, how you do everything, the full cycle. It's a little, and then you'll write a book that absolutely outsells Greg's little, I took a little boat trip with an NFL coach book. It's a little tricky because you know you're you and yet you're somehow imbued with all the intelligence or game planning. I'd be a little worried about everything's going great and then suddenly it's Friday afternoon and you feel a sudden change. and you're in Bill's body, but all you do is have the mind of Greg Rosenthal.

Greg is trying to take my counterpoint. And then you get to the game, and it's the most embarrassing thing to ever happen. This is a strategy by Greg to not get me another point. Allow me to retort. I haven't even mentioned the Olivia Mum factor here. Well, but who knows, is that really an advantage over, let's say, Tom Brady or, you know, plenty of other players. I'd quitch while you're ahead on this game.

Yeah, I don't know about that. That might be a loaded situation. The paramour can hang out with us. Well, you asked the, you know, I'm not getting into it. Maybe ask the family. I'm not into the Aaron Rogers off the field stuff. Right. I'm just saying other players have attractive.

I'll hang out with Linda Holiday. How about that? Scenario or girlfriends. All right. Certainly. Let's see. So, Wes, you said Aaron Rogers. Let's see what the judges say.

That's correct. Wow. So how about that? West vaults up to four points. And now. I see how this is going with. Here we go. Danny pulling this.

Well, these are the stakes right now. Greg gets this right. He ties Wes going to sudden death. Mark steals it. He gets himself into a tie with Wes and Greg's out. So everybody's still got a chance right. This is like the Cowboys Packers came here. You know what Wes is rooting for after his experiences against me

and win West's toaster. He does not want me get this quested right. Wes, who is now denounced all trivia is trivial. No, not all trivia. His confidence rocked. Just the question to this. route. It's like if you don't get the questions right, they're trivial. If you get them right, great trivia. I never bought into that, Wes. I think you got to get back in the game.

Well, if we can do better than how many coaches left after their Super Bowl, I mean, as if it means anything. I don't know. Nothing means anything. Finally, Greg, spin that wheel. Here we go. It comes down to this. This is how legacies are made, folks. Wes with four points. Greg with two, Mark with three. Here we go. This is what it comes down to. This is why we lift all them weights. Greg, you landed on MVP or bust.

Does anyone have more on the line over the next three weeks than Matt Ryan? Oh, a loaded question. Yeah, that's tricky. Loaded. We know how Chris Wesleyan thinks in this one. It's kind of spoke about. Does anyone have more on the line in the next three weeks than Matt Ryan? I'm going to take the field

The answer is yes It's always the field It's such a Greg move I mean because it's a question that I'll even The judges are coming in You can't say the field You got to say who it is

Okay you have to say Okay I didn't know The question was does anyone It was a yes or no Yeah but we need to have an actual name Does anyone have more on the line Let's subtly alter the question Who has the most on the line?

I like to come up with different answers, but I actually think Matt Ryan is the correct answer. I will counter. I know Aaron Rogers could really put his name in another level in terms of the greatest of all time. And look, he could use a second Super Bowl. Anyone could when you're at that sort of level. But I think he's going to keep having chances.

He's in these final four, eight teams almost every year. I mean, he's been a six out of seven, you know, division. rounds. He's so good. He'll be back. Matt Ryan, this offense, if Kyle Shanahan is leaving, I don't know. He'll have other chances too, but this is his special year. He's only won one playoff game ever before this year. It's Matt Ryan. I will completely counter. I will completely counter. Mark Sessler. I'll tell you why. Because in this room, I think we've been zoned in on the Falcons appropriately. I think most of the country doesn't care about the Falcons, to be honest with you. and Matt Ryan is not on the minds of the average football fans.

But this is in their heart, in Matt Ryan's heart. That's why it's so important. If Aaron Rogers completes the task from what we've seen when he said we're going to run the table, which is a football life waiting to happen, and not just the television show, but his own. And they finish this off by winning the Super Bowl, playing at the height of powers we've never seen by any quarterback. I don't see any better finish to this season than Aaron Rogers going from wire to wire

and getting the job done. Matt Ryan does not get the engine revving the same way that Aaron Rogers. But that's the point that Matt Ryan should be getting the engine revving. And he's at a stage now with the Falcons like the Seahawks were a half a decade ago. It's a nice story. I just don't agree. Seahops were an NFL afterthought, just like the Falcons are now. And now the Seahawks are treated like one of the top eight franchises.

If the Packers lose this Sunday, everyone will still agree. Aaron Rogers is the best when he's at his best. You also want to be in the body of Aaron Rogers. why not Matt Ryan? Because Aaron Rogers is playing at a higher level. But that is a totally different question than who has the most on the line. I just see that if you are Aaron Rogers after a Peyton Manning-like run where you kept losing playoff games and you get your second Super Bowl,

Aaron Rogers is seen differently. The judges are ready to rule. Judges are looking through their wallets strangely. They're so bored. Well, no, either way. Judges checked out. Either way, we're going to have a tiebreaker. It just matters who will be facing West in the sudden death.

Is the answer the most to gain? Is that what it is? The most to gain from a Super Bowl victory. Is it Matt Ryan? Oh, no, Greg. Is it Aaron Rogers? Oh, oh, what an amazing. This is as surprising as choreographed as a Wednesday night,

WWE in Columbus, Ohio. Who would have thought? And then at the end, I lost the lead with old hands as pulling this trigger. Who could have seen this possibly coming? Shocking that the guy who last Thursday predicted that Aaron Rogers would join Tom Brady in the discussion for greatest ever would have the judges side. Well, because, yeah, well, listen, the judges. They're siding with Aaron Rogers, not me.

They realize what a nine-game winning streak and a Super Bowl title potentially over Tom Brady would mean for Aaron Rogers. and what that means, folks, for us. Show yourself, judges. That means that Mark Sessler has four points. Wes has four points. We will have a coin flip to determine who gets first crack at the sudden... We have one more question that we can at least ask.

Oh, yeah. Okay. We'll flip a coin. And Mark, you call heads or tails? Tails. All right. And if it's tails, you will get the first chance to answer. If it's heads...

Remember last time we did this? We lost the coin. Oh, yeah. It's heads. Wes will get the first chance. No wheel necessary. Oh, we need the wheel steal. Oh, yeah.

Well, what this game needed was overtime. Spin the wheel. All right. Wes gets first dibs. Who knows what the question will be. But this is what it's all about, folks. All right. Final question.

Meanwhile, on the... Pass. Passing to Mark so I can steal it. Whoa. Is that even a move? Yes. The judges say yes. All right.

Passes to Mark. I'm fine with it. Shows a lack of confidence. Mark, meanwhile, on the throne of sleaze, the Patriots only lost with Tom Brady this season came against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. How worried should Greg be that New England's lack of experience against good quarterbacks this season has masked flaws on defense? Wow. Interesting question.

How could there even be a right answer? I don't know. The judges will decide. I don't think that it's in New England's protocol. How worried you? Should Greg be or New England? Greg. Greg Rosenthal, yeah. I'm going to be honest.

Before the show, Greg was acknowledging that he's rather unplugged as a fan. That's not sure. No, I don't think Greg's M.O. is to get worried about the Patriots. Honestly, I don't think that Greg sits up at night worried about New England at all. So I think that Greg will be absolutely fine because New England prepares as well as any team in our lifetime. And I know that the judges probably don't like that answer. So I may have just, you know, hung myself on that. Well, Wes, what do you got?

like to steal this one. The Patriots should be, this should be a nine on the P scale right now, that Steelers have not lost since Donald Trump was elected. They can go into any team's field and win. Save it for the political podcast. They can go into any teams field and win. Big Ben can get as hot as any quarterback. Levion Bell and Antonio Brown can get as hot as any running back and wide receiver. And this defense leads the NFL in sacks since week 11 and is playing at a really high level. I think they should be absolutely scared that this is, This is more close to a toss-up game than people think. Well, then our throne of ease soundbite doesn't hold much weight if they're on nine on the P-scale.

They've hosted multiple playoff games at home and all but twice, I believe, wiped people out. They're one of the most proficient home playoff teams in our lifetime. The last time the Patriots played a team as good as the Steelers, like the question asked was the Seahawks. And they lost that game in New England. There you go. Let's see now. We'll find out. Mark says that the Patriots, or Greg, not very worried at all.

Let's see if that's the correct answer. Oh. Well, I knew it was going to go that way. And should they be worried? The pass! I had to go anti-patriots for the so-called judges to buy into that. Wait a second. You have to understand, though.

Greg, Greg could not be less worried about this game at any level. Not on any level. Are you worried about the quarterback situation? Greg, be honest. It's a tricky question. But the way it was phrased, Mark would be right. I mean, I'm not worried in that. That's controversy.

But Greg's undergone a weird metamorphosis lately where he's convinced himself that Ben Rathesberger is not a good quarterback. That's not the issue. Greg, I'm not a story to see controversy. This is not a slight on Greg. I think it's an honest place to be after a decade, almost two decades of success of your football team that it's not the same highs and lows and the meaning of when you were, you know, back in Louisiana watching them win their first super.

Super Bowl, it doesn't mean as much. I also have faith in them, like you said, to prepare. I think it is a toss-up game, but that doesn't worry me. I like their chances in a toss-up game. And somehow I lost this question. Well, what you should have done is one with the one that was spelled doom and gloom for the Patriot. Well, I know. I know.

I know. What's deferred to you? I know. He basically put the win on the platter for you and you gave it back to him. But you know what? I had to answer, honestly, and I'm all right losing a game show. There you go. That's it for today.

The game, anyway. Chris Wesleyan, congratulations. You got a lollipop. Round of applause for Wes. And thank you for everybody for playing along. This has been Wheel of Destiny. What's our next segment that ranges from 30 to 45 minutes? I think that's it for today's show, actually.

We're going to have to bump iTunes reviews, like Matt Damon on the Jimmy Kimmel show. He just really gives a boy in Mark. I think it would be better to hold off on it. All right. Always leave him one and more. Cut for time. Cut for time. It's also a good motivation for our listeners to leave some reviews for us on iTunes.

And the funniest ones will get mentioned soon on the show. Spin it, Greg. You know, and Mark, and this is not going to make you feel any better. But had I had the chance to do that again, since the question was about Greg, I should have had Greg serve as the final arbiter on that. Well, I mean, so Wes is won a lollipop. I'm going to get through this, I think. All right.

So there you go. Wheel of Destiny. We don't know yet. We'll find out if Greg is looking to get rid of it or if it will ever be seen again. You never know. Greg, your initial thoughts. Will we ever play that game again?

I will play it again. Yeah, right. So pompous. All right. Here we go. We'll be back on Thursday. It is the big conference title Sunday preview show where we'll break down

each game in depth and pick our winners and can't wait. We're down to three games in the season and this has the potential to be one of the best AFC NFC championship game tandems of all time. So we're going to start talking about those games real good on Thursday until then. Thanks, by the way, Sid. Great job. Thanks.

That's fun. Dan Hansa signing off for Quiet Storm, the mailman, the old boss and new money. Behind the glass. Until Thursday.