NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Wild Card Weekend Recap: A trip to the Coliseum, Tone Loc & the scene from The Big Easy

Episode Date: January 8, 2018

A room filled with heroes- Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling & Gregg Rosenthal- recap all of the action from Wild Card Weekend, including a trip to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Rams-Falcons Wild Card matchup, which started off with an interview with Falcons CB Robert Alford (2:00); Their gameday experience at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, including a run-in with big name celebrities and a performance by an 80's hip hop star (10:00); How Marcus Mariota sealed his own fate in the Jags-Bills matchup (24:00); Is Andy Reid part of the problem in Kansas City after another early postseason exit for the Chiefs? (32:00); One of the best game calls of the year, which came from an unlikely source (39:00); Gregg Rosenthal calls in from the Big Easy to recap the Saints' exciting win over the Panthers (50:00); The heroes check in on David Ely, their newsroom supervisor and a diehard Panthers fan who's down on his luck (1:03:00); And much more!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. Second and goal. Davis Freeman, Devante, driving and pushing, and into the end zone for the Atlanta touchdown. Shotgun snap against a four-man Atlanta rush. Off his back foot, he deals. Nearside, end zone. Cooper Cup.

Touchdown, L.A. Ryan takes a snap, fakes it to Freeman, back. Foot throw, loop to Jones to catch. Touchdown Atlanta. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast presented by head and shoulders, joined by a stadium filled with heroes. Dan Hansis is Chris Wessling and Mark Sessler and also with us.

Another hero tonight at the Coliseum, Robert Alford, the cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, a 26 to 13 win for the Falcons. An upset, they say, wasn't an upset, really, though, Robert. Robert? I mean, it was a burn burner. I mean, you can't underestimate those guys. I mean, we don't really look into the predicaments. I mean, we just came out here and we just played outside of the bar and came away with the victory.

Robert had three-passed defense that led his team. You might remember last time they had a playoff game, the Falcons. Robert Alfred had a pick six and 11 tackles, blew it up. That didn't end the way you wanted it, but this is kind of the fresh start, right? You came to LA, you win a big game. Now you're going to Philly to face Nick Falls and the Eagles. You got to be feeling good. Good? Yes. I mean, we can't look too far past this game. We had to go in tomorrow,

look at the mistakes that we've done today, and then capitalize on them, and then, like we say, look forward to Philly and look at their scheme that they run and just learning it to the tee. In your week of preparation, Dan Quinn, the rest of your defensive coaching staff, what did they stress? Because you watch the Rams week to week, and it's just there's weapons all over the field, and they score points and bunches, and you guys just did, you lock them down kind of from why they never really seemed to find their flow tonight what was the goal coming in what was the thing you had to do we just had to go out there and just be fundamentally um sound we had to go out there and run the scheme and run it to the tee um just go out there and everything that we've seen

from film i mean they ran it at the end of the day we just got to go out there and just play our style of ball you know everybody's been talking about the eagles defense all year they've got a great front seven the secondaries played well but atlanta's over the second half of the season especially the past month one of the top five defenses how how good are you guys feeling right now about your deed? We're feeling real good. I mean, there was a goal for us just coming into the season was to be top five. And I mean, like you said, to know that we're top five, because I don't mean, I don't really look into it. I mean, that feels real good for us on the defense inside the ball and just letting us know that continue to do what we're doing and the sky's the limit for

these defense. Robert, as a hacky sports writer, I like cliches. And I think a cliche that I'm going to use for the Falcons, the way they seem today, where you seem today, battle tested. Like, You guys have been through it all. You've seen the highs of the playoffs, the lows of the playoffs. And this Rams team, they come in. It seemed like you were just kind of, your team was a little bit more under control. And you saw maybe the Yips with some of the players on that side. You guys just seemed like the better, more focused team in this game.

Is that safe to say? Yes, I mean, the main thing that coach stressed the beginning of this week was for us to go out there and just play out of ball. It's a normal game. I mean, each and every week during the season, we just took it one game at a time. And this was the next game, man. We just chose it like that. We weren't going to get too high when it wasn't going to get on too low. We're just going to stay metal and play our star.

Do you feel like the Falcons came into this season, people looking at the offense saying not quite at the level of last year and this Falcons team sort of up and down. Do you listen to any of that? Is there a little bit of like, hey, we feel a little disrespected and people don't quite understand how resilient we are. Last week's game against Carolina this week? No, not at all.

I mean, we don't listen to the media at all. I mean, we're going out there, making each other better each and every day, and going out there and just trying to progress each and every week. So you don't listen to our podcast on any levels of what I'm hearing from you? I mean, I'm most of the time studying film. Okay. I mean, so I don't really catch too much. We were told we were getting a podcast fan.

Someone's going to get fired. All right, so this is probably, I'm thinking, like, if you're a Falcons player, it was a long road just to get here based on how the last playoff game ended, the way Super Bowl 51 ended, this has to be an amazing feeling to be back in the dance and then have a big road win. It's got to be a good mood in the locker room. I'm sure you're happy to be with us right now. It's a good mood.

I'm ready to get back in there with my guys and just enjoy this time, man, and then get back to work tomorrow. Very good. And some shows, like if you watch a Thanksgiving game or whatever they have, like, here's the turkey leg or here's the bronze lock, do we have anything? Did we have anything in our budget to give Robert? Well, I would put that squarely on our producers. What did you guys produce? A lot of, like, bus throwing under the bus.

What about like an invisible leftover Christmas hand? There you go. This is for you. There you go. Enjoy. There you go. Robert Albert, you did it again.

You have played a great game. We're excited to see the Falcons next week against the Eagles, the number one seed. And I don't know, Wes. You're feeling good about this team now, aren't you? I've been in on the Falcons all year. year and especially of late this is a team like you said they're battle tested and if you look at the roster it's as talented as any team in the league i think it's just been a little rust a little bad

luck you know early in the season but what is seven two seven and two in the last nine games come on that's why we call him he knows what he's talking about oh yeah oh yeah he definitely i hear him he sounds like he knows what he's talking about i haven't critiqued your team once the entire season either same goes for yeah robert alford thank you very much and good luck the rest of the way stay healthy yes sir thank you all for having me all right thanks robert Robert Alfred, a star. He gets to celebrate. I'm sure he would like to stay with us, but he's not going to.

He seemed very remorseful to have to leave. So now... He races away from the set. Now it's just the three of us. Three amigos on a special day. We're missing Greg. We're missing Greg. We're here at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,

the Around the NFL podcast. It's pretty amazing that we're here. This is cool. This is very cool. Look at how cool these little mics are with our own emblem. We come a long way. It's fired towards the Bartlett and Company. But this is a Mike flag, Bartlett, with our podcast logo on it.

Well, to be fair, it actually was the old TV show that no longer exists. Probably was left over. Well, good job by digging that up in an old closet at NFL media, so well done. Yeah, this feels good, though. This was a interesting game, though. I mean, because, first of all, through the first two games of the playoffs, and we're going to get to all the games in the show, both the Saturday and the Sunday games. Oh, for 8, we went with our picks on Saturday.

but that's just the way it is in the playoffs. You never assume the favorites are going to win because it doesn't always work out that way. Yeah, Wes and I were alone up in the press box watching the Titans vanquished the Chiefs, and I just thought about the incredible amount of hubris that I showed on our last podcast, treating the Titans like they weren't even a playoff team.

This game, though, was more surprising to me on the level that the Rams just did not really produce the way they have all season. What was that? There's no dominant team this year. I think all these teams can be beaten, And we don't really know anything. I think that's the biggest problem.

Like, we just know nothing. I don't think any. All of us just, you know, a bunch of noise. And then the game starts, and the Rams come out and they look a little rusty. They've got, what, three fumbles? I think the game just turned there. They just, they were a little rusty. We were down on the field for the last five minutes,

and talking to Steve Weish, and the idea of the playoffs. And that's why we call it the Crucible. Because guys play differently in the crucible. Farrow Cooper is a perfect example. Could not hold on to the ball. This guy was a all-named all-pro special teams player. And I think that says a lot for the Rams in general. He was kind of symbolic in the sense of here was a team that had such a great season.

We thought that they were the team of ATL, and it's a bummer. We'd lose the team of ATL. It was a great run. But they came out tight, and they looked tentative. And the Falcons, on the other side, looked at a team that was battle-tested, that Newt has been through this dance before, and it showed in this game. One incredible, I thought,

active, really experienced by the Falcons where it came out because the Rams got hot just before half, and we went up into the press box to get, they served tacos, I believe it was, for... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't undersell this. I know you're a fooditarian. Danny Trejo tacos. They were great.

By the way, Danny Trejo, obviously a famous actor, runs a taco shop in L.A., it's popular. Trejo himself, not only delivered tacos. Say this thing about Trejo. Trejo gets it. Trejo understands the importance of journalism in this country now more than ever. Sure. So not only was he delivering free tacos to

the people, he was there and he at one point, he pointed to, I don't want to call him an underling, I don't know who he was, but he waved over and said, give me a sample, this is during halftime and he tried it out, gave a head nod, and then they continued to serve. Trejo, all in on his tacos

and I respected. I don't mean to knock them. I had some cauliflower tacos, which were, they were wonderful, That's terrible. Point being, though, we hung out with Kara Henderson Sneed, wife of Les Sneed, former NFL network host, and, you know, we were chatting for a bit. Suddenly the third quarter was half gone. The Falcons had put together a nine-minute drive. It came away with a field goal, but that taking L.A.'s offense off the field is what they did all day long. It's very effective. Well, I think L.A. took L.A.'s off the field, too.

You know, several times with the turnovers, and then Jared Gough didn't really do anything for the first quarter and quarter and a half. What do you have, minus three yards? They opened with five three points. It was startling. I'll give you some figures from the first half. Before the Rams got cooking, midway through the second quarter, they had, they averaged one point four yards per play in the first quarter. This is the Rams. This team averaged 29.9 points per game last year. Before that drive where they scored their first touchdown, Gurley broke a run and then there was a personal foul tacked on that led to a touchdown. They were at 45, total yards with six minutes to play

in the first half. They score a touchdown, they get a field goal before the half, and the game's 13-10, and you feel like the Rams have kind of survived, they've weathered the storm of a sloppy start where they drop down by 13 points, and then that

drive, even though it ended only in a field goal and Matt Ryan, who played out of his mind in this game, but to take up that much time of the clock and to take all the wind out of the sales of that offense, I don't think Sean McVeigh had something cooked up for all right now you're going to go on ice for half the quarter yeah it was in that Atlanta offense had remnants you saw again flashes of what they could do last year when

most of new making plays Julio Jones I think I should have known it would be a strange day when five minutes into entering the stadium I was in an elevator with tone loke it's just that's what LA football is I think it would not be happening in Green Bay necessarily I I kind of love it I have a tone loke take all right please I don't want to get too many detours but I should I want to share the experience of us being here And Snoop played halftime, which is a nice get. Yep, yeah. Even though he didn't play gin, juice.

Me and Bartlett were upset about that. But Tone Loke played the first quarter entertainment. And it's never a good side. Loke, you know, he's had a nice little career. He was in Ace Ventura also. But when he started doing the Wild Thing song, people left in the stadium, like 65,000 people left. And I felt bad for him at that moment.

That is a hot take. We were talking about how much do you think he got paid for that appearance? I thought it was a lot I'm going to set the over under You tell me How much did Tonloke get paid To play the first quarter Of a playoff game

I'm going to say Two grand over under I'll go over He got like Bartlett's paycheck I don't think you get him in the building For two grand But I mean maybe Your theory was

Maybe he paid to be here We don't know That was a private conversation Back to what you were saying Wes I don't even remember at this point I think The point Like the Falcons made everything

hard on the Rams. We were in all of one throw that Jared Gough made, where he stepped up in the pocket, climbed the pocket, and unleashed a laser pinpoint on the sideline. And that's what I think of about this game, that they just made it so hard on the Rams to get things done. The Falcons defense is legit.

There was, if you had to pick a player of the game, Matt Ryan made some throws. Julio Jones finally did some damage in the red zone to put the game away. But I'm going to give it to Mattie Bryant. Yeah. Robert Alfred was a great get by our team to talk.

But we were kicking around the idea of making a play to get Matt Bryant to talk into the game just because he hit everything. This guy's old. This guy's your guy's age. I mean, old. That ruined our plan to talk about MASH tonight. I think one of the year. Suicide is Payless is the best theme song of all time.

No, the biggest play of the game before the most new catch that set up the dagger touchdown for the Falcons was Matt Bryant, six point game. attempting a 54-yarder and if he misses that kick, the Rams are near midfield, down six in the fourth quarter. He hits that all of a sudden, it's a two-score game

and they never really did the Rams never really did recover from him split in the up rates like that. They never got closer. There were these moments where you, like we were saying, you kept thinking, oh, we're going to get for the next 10, 12 minutes, the Rams that we've expected, where they're going to fight away to score 14 quick points and the Falcons

just kept making that impossible. And I Really, this is not the game that I expected to see tonight, but I really do believe in the Falcons going forward because you get Philadelphia next and a Philadelphia team led by Nick Foles playing with Atlanta's defense playing the way they're playing right now? And maybe we slept on Atlanta's defense a little bit. They were top 10 in both points per game, loud, and yardage,

and they played like it. I mean... Didn't we focus endlessly on the offense? It's constantly, oh, where's the offense, where's the offense? Which is understandable because it was so great last year and it was so mundane at times this year, But I think it's really, they deserve a lot of credit for what they did in this game. And that Mike Silver piece from last week where he said that Sean McVeigh was listening to Tom Petty

and in his sunken place after they lost that game early last season where they put up like 30 or 40 points. Where is Sean McVe's mind out today? Because getting held to 13 points in your building, they just could not get it going, Wes. It's a second straight year that really the Falcons defense has come on late in the season. and gotten better throughout the course of the season. We kind of overlooked them in November and said, there's not one thing this Falcons team does better than last year. And it is.

It's the defense that's better. And I think it's considerably better. They've got stars now. Dionne Jones is one of the best linebackers in the game. Grady Jarrett, Keone O'Neill, Robert Alford had a big game. These guys are all kind of, they're all seasoned now, and you saw a big difference between the two teams in that area. Yeah, McVeigh can talk to Dan Quinn about wanting a playoff game back

and having to spend the whole off-season. in thinking about it. If you are Dan Quinn, though, I know this doesn't erase the Super Bowl on any level. There's no way to do that. But what happened over the last eight or nine days for the Falcons has completely changed the complexion of their season. And the NFC. Absolutely. It went from, and we've talked about it on the podcast, I was endlessly down. I'm glad thank you for not bringing up that I was down on the Falcons relentlessly this season. I don't think you're alone. I don't think you're alone yet. That would have been wrong. But you could really reset it. I mean, because now the Falcons, to me, although still they're maybe not as

explosive. I think they had less than 300 yards of total offense in this game. The Rams did not play a poor game defensively. They got killed by turnovers and Atlanta playing well in defense. But like, you know, I just, I don't know. I feel like they should be viewed as a real Super Bowl contender. And nobody would have thought that, like you said, eight or nine days ago. They've got the talent. I mean, what do they lack on offense? They've got three really good receivers. They could be using Gabriel more. Two really good running backs, a solid offensive line. And Matt Ryan is now one of the most statistically accomplished

quarterbacks in recent years in the playoffs. He has some of the best efficiency numbers of any quarterback. Let's go and talk about the when the game essentially ended. I know the Rams, they got it down near the goal line and had an actual touchdown overturned on replay, which I guess was a good call. We were down on the field, Humblebragg, so we didn't really get to see it. But before that happened, they are up 1910. And Mo Sanu, a really well-designed play. I got to give credit to this Rams crowd

because this was a tough game to be a Rams fan at where you're coming Saturday night playoff game, you're flying, and the team just cannot get it going. They keep shooting themselves in the foot. This crowd was in this game this entire time until Sunu ripped their hearts out with that 50-yard reception. And then where has Julio Jones been all season in the Red Zone? Well, when the lights were on in the play,

playoffs. Matt Ryan throws a perfect touch pass. Jones puts the game away. This stadium really exceeded my expectations. 86, 87,000 seat capacity. They had 75,000 about show up. And they were- 74, 300 distributed, probably less than that, but still a loud, filled crowd. I think 70 feels about right. They maintained that energy throughout the game. They had the towels waving like you're in Pittsburgh. I mean, it was, I was impressed with. Well, we were concerned because with me, Wes and I, well, you were not with us at that point. I was not concerned at all. Eight minutes to go before the game, empty seats everywhere.

And then suddenly, like, within the next 10 minutes, it packed out. And we were sitting in the strip below the press box. So we were really right on top of the fans, as we were in the Super Bowl last year. And there were Falcons fans here, too, a bunch of them. But this place was loud. I mean, it rocked. So it was a good crowd. You bring that, it's a good point because when the Rams got back in the game, they're down 13 zip, right?

In the second quarter, they score the touchdown. This place is going nuts. and then they get the ball back again. They get another three points. And Atlanta has a couple of possessions that kind of go nowhere. Matt Ryan takes a couple sacks. He gets a cut behind his ear. And it did bring, it is kind of funny that the last game we cut were at in person

happened to be the last Falcons playoff game, which, as we know, ended poorly on the first weekend of February. And it reminded me of that Super Bowl when the crowd was going nuts. and Matt Ryan was like thrown off his chin strap all upset and it felt like ooh is this team letting another one get away but they pulled together and finish this game. I really think it was the experience and maybe just I don't know players always say we're not thinking about what happened last year

I don't know you're a human being so I don't know how you don't but this time around whatever it was they didn't let it creep in enough to turn fate for them they just I thought this was the Falcons team that suddenly I fully find myself believe in it because the way they played and you're going to believe in them next week because once again they'll have more experience than their opponent. A lot of these Eagles guys were from the Chip Kelly era. They lost one game to the Saints, and a lot of them are new since then.

So, you know, going against Nick Fools with this defense, you could see it happening. I guess the flip side of that is no one's going to pick the Eagles, just like almost no one picked the Falcons. So maybe, you know, they go on the road again. The conditions are going to be worse. Will the Falcons travel if it's cold and miserable? But you've got to figure the Falcons are set up well to get back to the title game right. Be sure to track our picks and feel confident that whatever we say, with the opposite, is sure to happen.

What if Tone Loke listens to this podcast? I just thought of that. He's coming for you. It's unlikely that he's a listener? From the brief moments of interaction with him and his handlers, I didn't get a sense that he was a big podcast listener and spending a lot of time listening to our show. Sites and sounds takeaway before we get out of here

and move back to the studio for the second part of the show. Well, this is a little bit of a, game angle too. I mean, we talked about the crowd, but we saw a field tonight that was a very typical Los Angeles field. It was a little glossy and players were slipping. And when we were getting our food at halftime, there were ex-players out there saying this is how it always is in Los Angeles at night. So get ready. This is Rams games when they're going to have five or six Monday night games and 13 night games next year. Yeah, I think that's one of the things Kara was talking about. Kara Sneed was saying the field's always like this. It's just the

marine layer, you know, this time of night. Look at you. A little marine layer drop in the best spot. He's still living in the marina. Marine layer every day. June gloom, all that stuff. I love this place. This is, we might be, who knows how the ramp season closes out if they come back here. As a home team next year, we know how their season closed out this year.

But there might not be too many NFL playoff games in these type of, I'm going to call it an old girl. Is that weird? Is that allowed in this climate? She's an old girl, the Coliseum. And I think it's a lot of fun in this bowl setting where you just, now anytime we cover a Super Bowl or a big playoff game, there's 7,000 luxury suites and there's all the decks.

It was a fun environment, and I have to give credit to Rams fans. It doesn't feel like a fan base that's trying to, like, pretend like they're into football. It felt very authentic that they were into this game, they were into this team, and it didn't go the way they wanted to. But the only time it really felt synthetic to me was some of the, there was a montage that they played during one commercial break where it was a running down Dream by Tom Petty and they were playing some Rams Super Bowl highlights

from Super Bowl 30, whatever it was. And it was like, well, that's not really yours. And then they cut to Isaac Bruce at one point. It's like he got a polite applause because people like, oh, he's on my fantasy team. But that's the one tradeoff when you move around. You do lose a piece of your history, and it's hard to, how do you represent that? But otherwise, it was a really cool vibe here, and I think Rams football is back in L.A.

I don't think they have to pretend. Exactly. And the loss aside, I mean, where this team was a year ago, coming out of the Jeff Fisher experience, one of the dullest, ugliest teams to watch, I mean, was a chore to watch these guys on Game Pass. Where they've come in one year, I mean, the loss aside, there's a lot of hope. They're going to have five or six primetime games. Everything about them is young, and there's no reason to expect any sort of off-season drop-off in terms of personnel. You've got the formulas there.

Yeah, I think, you know, also look for a change into the guard in this whole division. You know, with Seattle, you don't know who's coming back from the Legion of Boom. You've got Jimmy Jean and San Francisco. The Rams should be good every year now. They've got a really good coach in Sean McVeigh. They've got Wade Phillips, and the town is there, so I think you're going to see the Rams every year now should be atop the division. You're going to have to do some damage control. uh west the paramour was in the game at the game today uh she was way in on this rams team

it did not work out tonight how you gonna handle it she's been there for you during your fight with the big c now you've got to be there for her well i think the biggest thing is i'll have to calm her down she's probably going to hear the isaac bruce thing and and she wore an isa jersey to the game but she's from st louis she's like a legit she's like in that small demographic of i was in st louis i moved to l a it worked out perfectly for her so Taramore, no disrespect to you, of course. Okay, I think she'll handle that better. Don't try to pass it off on me.

Well, look, you know, she's in after Isaac. Isaac Bruce played a couple years in L.A. before St. Louis, I think, you know, she interviewed him last week. I'm in trouble. I think he's invested in Isaac Bruce. Pretty clear, Wes is still formulating how to game plan this when he gets home. I'm Stonewater here. This is also the same woman that tweeted to the world last week that she had a nightmare in which I was trying to kill her. You bring that up in people.

I don't know what it is, but it seems to be somewhat universal. I'm a weird dude, I guess. You're a little strange. All right. So there it is. We had a lot of fun here. The shadowy league figures did us good by giving us a chance to come here and be at this game.

And we had fun. We had fun, right? Great time. Is this the first time we've ever credited the shadowy league figures on the podcast? Things are changing. Things are changing for the good. They're no longer our nemesis. Shout out to Danny Trejo and his tacos and his quality control system.

Shout out to Tone Loke. I'm sorry, man. Well, he's going to be loving. All right, now we're going to throw it back to us in the studio to go through the rest of wildcard weekend games, including our phone call with Greg Rosenthal, who's at the Superdome. Oh, my God, we have this covered. Let's move on. Marietta takes the snap, looks to his right, looking, looking, pumping, throwing into the end zone.

No, he kept it. Dove for the end zone himself and got in. Oh, my goodness. I thought for sure Marioita had thrown it. What a play. It was batted back to him. He did throw it. it. He caught it for a touchdown. Touchdown Titans. What a play Marcus Mariotta who just

threw and caught a touchdown pass. I mean, I mean, what else can you say about this? I mean, that was tremendous. Welcome back to the studio. Now, Mike Keith and WGFX team with the call. Marcus Marioada led the Tennessee tight tunes to a trio of second half touchdowns, including the one you just heard, a shotgun pass that deflected off Dorel Revis's hands, of all people, go home Dorel, and back into Marioada's hands. He dove to the pylon, held on to the ball, control that ball, Marcus Marriota. A turning point in the Titans, 22 to 21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead, stunning the Chiefs, who had entered the third quarter up 21 to 3. my goodness it is the first playoff win for the Titans in 14 years the Chiefs meanwhile are at a crossroads

after an inexplicable letdown in their building west I'll start with you on this one uh inexplicable doesn't matter how you want to explain it it cannot happen camp alone 18 point lead Andy Reid's first year they blew a lead against the Colts but that was on the road and that was a new uh chief's relationship with Reed this time though you have to close this game out, even if Travis Kelsey is out of the game, which he was in the second half. Yeah, there was a lot going on. In addition to Travis Kelsey, they lost Chris Jones, one of their best defensive players,

I think late in the third quarter, early fourth, Travis Buttkicker.com, as Andy Reg called him, missed a 48-year-old field goal in a game that was decided by one point. Orson Charles had a big third down drop. Tyreek Hill had three drops. There was a holding penalty on a clutch. Alex Smith scramble late in the game. There was a lot going against the Chiefs, and then you take the fumble that Derek Johnson returned for a touchdown and got called back, the two-point conversion that was returned for two points that got called back. You know, finally the Titans showed up in the second half, and I would give them a ton of credit for the toughness and resiliency they showed.

My question about the Titans was where was that team all season? I think the Chris Jones, it was easy to see how the loss of Travis Kelsey affected Kansas City's offense. But Chris Jones went out, and that's second half for the Titans, those three touchdown drives. The first one, the Marcus Marriota touchdown pass two, Marcus Marietta, was a 15-play 91, nearly nine-minute drive. You're completely wiping Kansas City out of the equation. They then have a six-play, 62-yard touchdown march, then an 11-play 80-yard march that swallowed up five minutes, and then they closed the game powerfully with this seven-play 39-yard thing

that just squeezed the clock out, ended the game. Derek Henry was fascinating. I mean, this is the game that we've been waiting for from him all season long. He was in total control on the ground. DeMarco Murray out with the injury. There was a blitz pickup that Derek Henry missed on the Derek Johnson sack that we'll get to in a minute because that was a controversial play. So maybe Derek Henry has some growth to have in terms of being a complete back.

But we saw what he can do, Wes, with the ball in his hands. He could be dominant. A franchise that had Earl Campbell and Eddie George never had a game with as many yards from a running back as Henry had on Saturday. And, you know, watching the second half, I had to go back and watch it when I got home because we were en route to the Rams game while this was going on. And it's just stunning that the Titans comeback happens when they go against what the coaches want to do. They want Mario to under center. They want a ground and pound attack. And it's not until they go hurry up, no huddle in the second half.

really started late in the second quarter, that they find the rhythm, and Mariotta is playing with a confidence that he hadn't had all year. Derek Henry's playing with a confidence in a rhythm he hadn't had all year, and it's sort of like the Patriots in your answered prayers. Your prayers are answered because Tom Brady is the greatest 40-year-old quarterback and the greatest 39-year-old quarterback in history, but your prayer is answered by losing Jimmy Garoppolo and compromising your next decade. The Titans' prayers are answered because they win a playoff game, and now Malarkey's still there in an offense that doesn't fit their personnel. Yeah, they put out

a statement this morning basically saying enough with the chatter and the gossip around Mike Malarkey. He's coming back. He's part of the process we believe in him. Which is nice to say, by the way, but they did not have his back before that announcement came, and that's probably because they were

going to fire him, but Malarkey was candid, probably at his chest out a little bit after what was an incredible comeback. Here's what he had to say when asked if all the rumors swirling, around him basically being a dead man walking had gotten to him usually you hear a coach say oh we block all that out but malarkey kept it real and was honest about his thoughts about his own organization so much of the national discussion today was about your jobs which is ridiculous

which is ridiculous do you feel that is the result what's an average approach today I can say it you know I don't think it's fair to my family so it has an effect of my family has effect on me. So yeah, I'd say it had a big effect on me. Did you feel you were secure no matter what happened in this game? No, I haven't had any support to say that I was. So no, I just assumed you know, the worst. Yeah, so Malarkey's safe, but he's not happy about how this was handled in his own building, obviously. Can I ask a question, though, because if this one game, and it was a remarkable comeback. It's one of the rare early Saturday wildcard tilts that delighted. Is this one game going to change the way an organization feels about their coach? Because one of

the things we heard was that the concern was about players not developing. So that's not going to necessarily change at all. You're at that same lingering issue. If that's the way they feel, does one playoff win that probably will melt away when they get wiped by the Patriots potentially next week? Potentially. Potentially. I'm just saying, like you could have maybe gone after Josh McDaniels, you could have gone after someone that could have changed this franchise. It's a tricky. Here's how it gets even more tricky, because 31 franchises in the NFL believe you never let your head coach enter a contract year. The Bengals are different than everyone else, but Malarkey's contract expires after next season. Does he get an extension now because

they want a playoff game? Not only is Josh McDaniels not coming to save Marietta, but Malarkey could be extended. I think it's an extremely unique situation. in that they were ready to dump him. They didn't think they were going to win this game, probably inside the building. They stunned everybody by beating the Chiefs, and we're going to get back to the Chiefs in a second here. And now ownership is kind of caught with their hands tied a little bit, and we'll see he's going to come back,

but maybe that ends up hurting both the team and Mariotta in the long term. I feel like that could be the case. The Chiefs, by the way, Andy Reid now, and we all like Andy Reid. He's a good coach. He's a good guy. But he has no ring. and all these years as a head coach.

And he's now one in four with the chiefs in the playoffs. And I mentioned it at the top of this game. They were down 38. They were up 38 to 10 against the Colts in the third quarter of the 2013 playoffs. Blew that one. And now Andy Reid has blown two leads of 18 points or more in the playoffs. And that's as many as every coach in the NFL since 1933. Is Andy Reid part of the problem in Kansas City after another meltdown in January?

I mean, I look at the, my reaction to the first 20 minutes of this game, if not the first entire half, is that I looked at Kansas City and thought, they can play, the way they are playing at that portion of the game, they could have gone into Pittsburgh or New England and won. And then we got the second half. And you see, is it Travis Kelsey alone? I mean, he's a huge part of their offense. But Andy Reid, there has to be questions around the way he managed the second half of this game. But what are you going to do about it? He's one of the top five coaches in the NFL. Their hands are tied. You're not going to find a better coach than Andy Reid.

Who's going to be an upgrade on him? I wonder if it perhaps in terms of the butterfly effect, does it prompt Alex Smith to be moving on now? Not that the game was his fault. He really got hurt by some drops in the second half and maybe a coaching plan that wasn't great. The Kelsey loss, though, was huge. I don't think there's any way they lose this game if Kelsey doesn't go down with that concussion. But it's just the way it works for the Chiefs, they are a curse team. If there is an upshot for you, you Chiefs fans that are listeners, you're back on the pain rankings. You got bumped off. Get back on after a loss like this. Congratulations. Again, though, with one game, like, I don't understand why it should usher Alex Smith out of the building, unless there's some internal mandate that you're

going to move forward with your rookie quarterback. Because what's wrong with Alex Smith taking another year as the starter? And letting Patrick Mahomes, who every, there's a lot to like, but everyone agrees that he needed this entire year and probably necessarily more. It worked for Aaron Rogers. It's worked for other quarterbacks of Jimmy Garapolo. What's the difference here? It's logical. It's crazy the vicissitudes on which these decisions rest. I didn't think Alex Smith was the problem in the second half of that game. There was just a lot of fluke plays

and a lot of stuff that didn't go the chief's way. But rap sheets report went from before the game to the chiefs will field phone calls and they're open to trading Alex Smith to Sunday morning. The chiefs are over the moon was the quote for Patrick Mahomes. And Rapshys expects the chiefs to trade Alex Smith. The nature of sports. And it doesn't always make sense.

But when you lose that game, an organization needs to react to that. We're not going to get rid of our coach or our GM or totally tear apart the roster. But maybe this type of loss is like, what should we do? Maybe it's time to turn the page and get. Because they are in a great spot with Alex Smith. And we could talk about all this as we head into the off season. But he's coming off a career year. His value's never been higher, so you could trade him, clean up in a trade with any number of QB-needy teams,

and then have this young kid locked and loaded. We'll see what happens. Shout out to Dick LeBow's defense, by the way. They deserve credit for what they did. And so do the Titans in general, who have been up until yesterday decimated by this podcast. And I think for fair reasons because they were an impossible team to watch. What they did in the second half is the team we've waited for all season. We've thought we would get.

Absolutely. They were the west of a stand in, weren't they? They were, but you can never rely on a non-Bengal's team to lose in spectacular fashion. And Mario dapp, particularly, the toughness he showed at the end of the Jacksonville game in the regular season finale, and the toughness he showed in that second half, I'm impressed with him. And, you know, maybe too much gets made of it, but I just love it. He's such a, he had such a complete game and even through the block that's drawn Derek Henry to salt away that game. Doesn't it make you think watching him play that second half? to just give him a good coach and he'll be back on his way to being...

I know. That's why they're in a tricky spot. Now they go to Fox... It's just like the Tim Tebow miracle overtime touchdown to beat the Steelers. And everybody's like, oh, this is Tim Tebow's team. And then a week later, they went to Foxborough and lost by 90 points. And everyone's like, oh, get rid of Tim Tebow. I wonder if the Malarkey thing's going to come back a week from now. Yeah.

That's a fair comparison. But the owner is now on the record. Well, right. I mean, I guess they had to do that. I'm not sure. Like you said, it creates a very complex scenario for a team that could be interviewing Josh McDaniels in another scenario, another universe right now. And we will get into next week's games in due time, but I just want all the Titans fans out there to know, if you ever went to Foxborough and beat the throne of Siles, you would never be called Titans on this podcast. Never again.

Ever again. They didn't earn that just by beating the Chiefs? No. Oh, almost. They're not getting called. I won't call them the Titans in relation to this game. But it goes away forever if you shock the world next week. Let me ask you one question, Dan.

Yes. Has Butterfly Effect officially closed the door on the sliding doors phenomenon? It feels like with the popularity of Butterfly Effect, nobody references the Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle anymore. It's fair. And maybe sliding doors is disappearing from the pop culture universe prematurely. It's one of the few things I have left. No, I'm sorry.

I enjoyed that movie. One last note before we moved to the next game, terrible officiating in this game. My God. And you know what? Jeff Triplett led the crew. I don't understand, and I'm not the first person to make this point, but let's make it again. I don't understand how any team, whether it's a podcast or a football team or the factory, like the coal mines where I grew up, like you always work better when you're with a crew that you know and trust and you get each other and you know the nuances. In the playoffs, in the NFL, they break up all the crews and just cobble together all-star teams, quote, and I'm not saying that's why they botched like five calls in this game, including some big ones like that sack by Derek Johnson, which should have been a fumble in the Chiefs ball, and it led to three points for Tennessee, and there are several other mistakes.

So bad was the game that Jeff Triplett, Adi Kinkabwala reported, today is retiring. I'm not saying this game's making him retire but it's probably time for Jeff to go just a poorly officiated game makes me wonder why the system is the way it is. To your point, what if we were suddenly doing this podcast, Dan, you were with like Nancy from accounting and Tim from sales.

Right, or it's like... Everyone's performed well in their department, so now you go do a podcast. We do 17 weeks together and then it's me, Ian, Judy Batista, and Mike Silver and I'm not saying it's not going to be a better podcast. I don't know. Judy Batista, Mike Silver, dynamic

with me like mixing it up. I don't know. See, I went Nancy from. accounting, because there is no Nancy from accounting. You've suddenly put three actual co-workers on the firing line with you. You know, those ties that bind from digging cool together. Yeah, yeah. That's the whole conceit behind the show Justified with Boyd Crowder and Rayling Givens

as the two main characters, dug cool together in their late teens and early 20s, and that whole phenomenon drives the show. Who said that you've been left behind in pop culture? Look at that. Justified. Justified ref in a big spot. That's from the past few years. All right.

I'm proud of you was. Wait, before we move on, don't you guys want to hear like one of the best calls of the year? It wasn't a radio call, so that might be why it wasn't on your radar. Oh, yes. But have to play this. That's right.

Just know this play, at the end of the game, the Chiefs looked like they might have stole a game in all-time fashion. It was later reviewed not to be a touchdown. But in the moment, one ESPN play-by-play man, got a little fired up. Derek Johnson, the all-time lead-tackler in the history of the Chiefs.

With a touchdown for Kansas City. Sean McDonough, baby. That's the most excited I've ever heard of the games. That's the most excited I've ever heard him. I also think this game had some impact on the lock off between us. Oh, a double. I am in a all-time skid. I think I've lost five in a row.

Greg is well. Well, we know one fair too well yesterday. No. All right. Now let's move. Sean McDonough, by the way. I don't know. The history of the games.

I kind of love it. I don't know if that's his last game because Gruden's gone now. McDonough got emotional saying about to Gruden. I wonder if the emotions, if maybe he called his last game. We'll see what the Monday night football crew does in 2018. All right. So that's the Saturday games. Let's move on now to the Sunday game starting with the game in Jacksonville.

Peterman drops the throw, throws it out to the right side. It is not. and picked off by Jalen Ramsey. He tipped it in the air. He made a diving interception, and it's the Jaguars football at midfield. Jalen Ramsey's acrobatic interception of Nathan Peterman. Yep, that guy ended a last gasp drive for the Buffalo Bills and allowed the Jaguars to escape with a 10-3 win at the chlorine pit.

That was every bit as ugly as the final score hint. Tyrod Taylor. couldn't move the bills on offense before he suffered a concussion late in the fourth quarter. And Blake Bortles couldn't hit the ocean from a boat, but the quarterback used his legs to make something happen for Jacksonville. Go figure, Mark Sessler. What an odd game. 17 punts for nearly 800 yards.

Oh! I mean, it was 10-3, when you think of a 10-3 game. That's what this was from start to finish. And Blake Bortles performed in a... a way that the final line was something so incredibly rare that how often does this happen? He ran for more yardage than he threw for. The only thing that Blake Bortles did that I thought was effective and it helped his team in the second half was use his feet.

And he is good at that. And he is fun to watch when he gets out of the pocket and scrambles. But the passing anti-clinic he put on was disgusting to watch. I mean, you can look at the wide receiver stats and say, well, he doesn't have a lot of wide receivers around him, but they have no ability to move the ball through the air. I'd be very concerned about that as they head into Pittsburgh. Their defense, though, and they didn't have a lot to deal with either in terms of Buffalo's. LaShawn McQuay performed admirably.

I think he's not healthy, but he looked okay. Tyrod Taylor could get nothing done. But Jacksonville's defense, I would not be surprised to see them give Pittsburgh problems again next week. Blake Bortles is so bad, though. Well, they're going to have to find a way to do more than. score 10 points in the game, and I'm not sure how they do that. Leonard Fournett had a really nice drive later in the game, but he still is not putting together four quarters. And Bortles, I think Tony Romo, who's a pretty positive guy calling this

game repeatedly was like, this is a tough situation for Blake Bortles, who's not a natural thrower of the football. Any type of conditions, in this case it was wind. The guy was missing just screen passes, any type of touch pass. It worked today because, he was able to get big first down scrambling. But, Wes, how does this work when the competition gets better in the next round of the playoffs? I tweeted after the 49ers game in week 16 that if I was a Jaguars fan, the one thing that would freak me out the most is that Bortle's mechanics reverted to 2016 form in the fourth quarter of that game. His mechanics were off against the Titans in the regular season finale,

and they were off again today. The difference in the game in the first half was his awful, awful throwy. And the difference in the game in the second half was him salvaging it with his legs. And it was, you know, I guess it's a double-edged sword with him. But you can't count on beating a really good team that way. The bills are not a really good team. And I think it brings up a philosophical debate with running quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor. Is it better to throw off the mark like Bortles did?

Or is it better to not even throw at all and just sit there and hold the ball like Tyrod Taylor does? They both result in the same thing. Yeah, when the Jaguars finally got into, they had one drive, it was a 15-play, 86-yard, it was the touchdown drive, where you saw Bortles start to regain a little bit of confidence because he was running, he was moving the chains with his feet. Leonard Fournett finally awoke after a very quiet first half, and you really need to kind of drag Bortles along with you behind a strong ground game, and I had it on that one drive.

But when that vanished for mostly the rest of the game, and Bortles is so quickly exposed, It's hard not to predict, kind of doom as soon as next week for them, because Pittsburgh is going to find a way to do what Buffalo couldn't, and that's move the ball. I mean, Buffalo, yes, it was a great defensive effort by Jacksonville, but Buffalo really did not challenge that defense with much of anything. And a great defensive effort by the Bills, too, who were shore tackling, pumped up, making plays. Lorenzo Alexander played out of his mind in this game. I mean, they really did show up to play, but they just didn't have the firepower to take on the, that Jaguar's defense, which is one thing after we got both Saturday games wrong across the

board. We all believe this is kind of how this game would play out. Maybe Jacksonville would score more points, but the fact that the bills wouldn't be able to move the ball, and they certainly did not. Blake Bortles, just going back to him one more second, one of the strangest stat lines that you'll see in playoff football, 12 of 23 for 87 yards, 3.8 yards per attempt, through for 87, 10 for 88 on the ground. He rushed for more yards than he threw, and it wasn't like a situation where, oh, he threw six passes. He threw 23 passes. He could not do anything, but the bills couldn't do it either. And that's, it was an ugly game and somebody had to win. For quarterbacks that throw 25 or more passes, but then run for more yardage, I was downstairs.

I believe it goes back to the 30s the last time that someone threw 25. He threw 23. Had he threw two more incompletions, he would have set an incredible statistic right there. Meanwhile, Tyrod Taylor, 3.6 yards per throw. I mean, this was, it looked this way. I also think it became, it was so ugly that it almost became beautiful at one point because it was such an odd, unusual football game. Did you get some of Greg's acid or something?

This game didn't bother me either. I kind of enjoyed it. It was like, you can't call it a great game, except it really was completely set apart from almost anything I've watched in years. I mean, it's not like watching Matt Castle against Jay Cutler. It wasn't that bad. I think what saved it, I guess, is that the stakes involved.

It's a playoff game. I mean, if this was a game on Thursday night football, we would have been saying it was one of the worst games ever, right? I mean, it was an awful thing. You got to give credit to the defense. That play by Jalen Ramsey was one of the best plays I've ever seen a cornerback make. That was a phenomenal play. And they almost, there was all this question about whether or not that final pick was a catch.

I thought his arm was under it. But they got it right. They got it right. And Romo called that. Romo had another great game, by the way. Romo called that well because that's what Riveron. has failed, in my opinion, in many people's opinion this year, is that he's taken the rule, which was,

don't touch the call unless there's overwhelming evidence that they got it wrong on the field. That could have gone either way if the referee was calling it on the field, but there was nothing clear in the booth. Sean McDermott, obviously, was hot in the pants about it. He had the hot pants because he sought out the official probably about that right as the game ended. The one thing that went through my mind,

as Nathan Peterman generated a first down with a minute plus to go, and then he threw a 14-yard completion. I thought Nathan Peterman is going to dial up a touchdown here. They're going to do something crazy to get the two-point conversion. And we're going to get Nathan Peterman and the bills going into Foxborough. I mean, you had to want Jacksonville if you want a competitive playoff picture next week to take the game at that point. You would have had to rewrite your entire post-game.

Oh, you know how that goes. I was like, that thing was 95% in the book. With all due respect to the Titans and the Jaguars, I've never been more confident that what everyone kind, most people thought Greg didn't. Greg thought every AFC team was a landmine for the Patriots. But this has always felt like a collision course between the Steelers and Pats. And I still, I don't see either of those top two contenders in the AFC struggling next week. Do you guys think that Jaguars D is good enough?

And Blake Bortles isn't bad enough that they can actually stay in a game in Pittsburgh? Well, I think everybody's going to point back to that early season game when the Jacksonville won handily and Big Ben. then through five interceptions, but these are two different teams now. Very different. The Steelers' offense is clicking on all cylinders with Antonio Brown, as Rap Sheets said, is going to be 100%. And they were not playing well entering that game against the Jaguars. Meanwhile, Leonard Fournett has not been the same back since he's been dealing with multiple

lower leg injuries. He doesn't have that explosiveness he had against Pittsburgh. And Bortles now has the mechanical issues again. The only thing I feel gets the kind of game, and I mean, listen, I got essentially almost all my game picks wrong last week. So stop listening and just fast forward for 30 seconds. But if you get a quarter or a quarter half into that game in Pittsburgh is nestled with three or seven points and Jacksonville's hanging around, it gets scary. I think they need to get off to a big start and shake up that. The Niners got into the head of the Jaguars defense so quickly with Jimmy G. I think the

Steelers need to follow that same recipe. Frank Frangy, by the way, WJXL had that call at the top of this highlight. So there you go, that Jacksonville Jaguars move on to play at Pittsburgh in the divisional playoffs. Let's now move on to the final game of Wild Card Weekend. Oh, yeah, it's had to Nola. Here's Newton under pressure, and he's going to be tackle and sack and drop, and it's two Saints who have him, Cam Jordan being one, and Von Bell being the other. And that is the final play of this game. Let's go to Minneapolis. Indeed, Jim Henderson, WWL with the call.

Cam Jordan and Von Bell seized upon Cam Newton on a fourth and long around midfield, a sack that sent the Superdome into a frenzy and clinched a hard-fought, 3126 win for the Saints who advanced to face the Vikings next week in the divisional playoffs. Now joining us on the phone from New Orleans is NFL.com's Greg Rosenthal. Gregie? Hey! Greg's got a couple hurricanes in them.

I know Greg likes to hit like a lot of the commercial haunts in the French quarter. For sure. Right? I still got to write this article, but I did probably wake up you know,

next to my hotel room that's trying to sleep. Greg, all right, let's talk about this game. You were at that frenzied Superdome. And in this game, we'll start here. Sean Payton asked his offense

to close it out, when that didn't work, yeah, boy, Cam Jordan and the defense did the job. Yeah, it was somewhat fitting, you know, based on this season that the defense ended up having to make some plays. I wouldn't say it was their best game of the year, but you've heard me honking about Cam Jordan all year, and this game was a reminder because they don't really have any other pass rush other than him, but when it came down to it,

he got those two QB hits right at the end. Three. Von Bell making a three-cuby hits right at the end, Von Bell making a play. And I love the way they ended that game. I love the fact that Sean Peyton went for it on fourth and two, and you still win the game that way. It's like, it's, it's, he and Drew Breez talked about it after the game. They were just like, we talked about it. We wanted to go for it.

You play to win, and in his words, it gave them a chance to go win the game twice. I love that thinking, because that's the only way they're going to keep advancing is if they just start. dropping bombs and dropping lots of points on everything they play. And your boy, Cam Jordan, who you've been pounded to the table for Jordan on our podcast, maybe he hasn't gotten the national love quite that he deserves, but he did get the post-game interview on Fox with Aaron Andrews, which is a nice start. So let's listen to that.

I don't know if you heard it, Greg, while you were up in the booth, but here it is. We wanted more. I mean, they've been in their Super Bowl. Let them go for another one next year. We went our run. I mean, honestly, we put in the work. You know, we were old, too. everybody doubted us and we still got you know we had a fight today to play next week i mean cam this

part i thought we i thought we sent him out we're not going to say you know somehow i mean that boy's blessed he came back in after a major hit that last reference is to cam newton who which that will be a big talking point gregg in this game um that cam uh appeared to take a shot to the head dropped to one knee walking back to the sideline uh and then this was about six minutes to play if this new strength and concussion protocol is done to code, he probably has to go back to the locker room and who knows if he even sees the field again, but instead he went back on the field,

and Ron Rivera explained that he was actually just poked in the eye. What did you hear about that, or did you hear anything downstairs or while you were there about that situation? They said he went through the protocol. He went inside the tent, and I don't know. I mean, they had the concussion doctor evaluate him. Clearly, he came back in the game and, you know, played, pretty well, got them a touchdown drive before that last one. So people are all fired up about it.

I don't know. It seemed like they, you know, he was in that tent for two or three minutes and ultimately it wasn't a huge deal. Greg, that was such, I thought, an emotional game for Cam Newton on the Panther side. I gained a lot of respect for him because he also dealt with it seemed to be a knee injury at one point. He was clearly just not healthy at all. And it came down to that intentional grounding call that Rivera said he thought that that was a bum call. Obviously, Cam didn't agree with it. Your take on that, because I think for a lot of fans, intentional grounding is a bit of a hazy territory. I thought it was intentional grounding.

I guess one of the officials, you know, Greg Olson said that he heard one official thinking that Cam was outside the pocket and then it wouldn't have been. Otherwise, to me, it definitely was intentional grounding. And the ending, it kind of overshadowed. The Cam played awesome. I mean, Drew Brees and Cam were playing. vintage games. Drew Brees had one of, if not his best game of the entire season. And the only reason they were in that game is Cam Newton was bawling. And like if Ron Rivera's defense or the running game that they went into the season wanting to have showed up, they win that

game because Cam Newton was the only reason why they were hanging in at all. The Panthers, you know, they clearly the Saints are the better team here. They beat them three times the season. but at the same time they're probably kicking themselves right now because Ingram and Kamara have been the engine that made the Saints offense go all season. They held them to a combined 68 total yards and they still couldn't get it done. And it just does illuminate what is kind of what makes the Saints team

so dangerous and special here is that even if that amazing duo gets shut down, Drew Breeze is still involved and he's very much still Drew Breeze. he had one of his best games of the season. That was really interesting with everyone talking after the game was the Panthers clearly did everything possible to stop Camara especially, but the running game in general because Camara had just swattered them in both their games.

And they brought a safety down, and they were pressuring with five. They basically had a five-me-line, and they were daring Drew Brees ultimately to beat him, which is great. Like you just don't expect a team to go into the team. Superdome and try that, but you kind of understand why they did. It's a desperate situation ultimately. It's like go ahead, try to beat us in your building

Drew Breeze. I can't help but wonder what this game would have turned out to be if Ted Ginn were still a Panther. I mean, Michael Thomas, let's, I mean, Michael Thomas, talk about Cam Jordan not getting enough love. I feel like Michael Thomas statistically and also game by game

is just like this completely obvious number one wide receiver who's a star in hiding almost. But Ted Ginn also, So they were closing out drives early while the Panthers' offense was moving the ball but stuck kicking field goals. And you can only wonder what would have happened if they'd broken one to the house early on.

Ginn extended his streak of at least one 50-yard touchdown in every game he's ever played in. So he's a pretty good player that Ted Ginn. He also was wearing kind of like a, I don't know if it was like a mink, but a furry sort of coat, and then he had a cane. Nice.

cane, like a decorative cane. So he's dressed as a pimp, basically. Like Slick from the WWF. Yes. You can't bring a cane unless you're confident you're going to score an 80-yard touchdown. I wonder if he is a Reverend Slick fan, Wes. Could be. Michael Thomas, though, diving catch to set up the Zach Line touchdown.

A 46-yard crossing route to set up Alvin Kamara's touchdown. And then he has a back shoulder reception against Captain Munnerlin. on that big third down play. He was, he had another play down in the red zone where he looked like he was going to go out of bounds. He stepped back in bounds and got past another guy to convert a first down. He was all over the field. A phenomenal game. That Brandon Cook's trade has really worked out well for the Saints. Yeah, because they picked up Ryan Ramcheck who started every game at right tackle. And you're right, I asked Pomis and Breeze about that third down play because that's like that's a high level play on one of the biggest snaps of the year where he's

where breeze is throwing the ball way before Thomas even turns around on a back shoulder and breeze basically just said like yeah everyone else is great but that's my guy that I trust that was who the fourth down play was you know designed to go to too was Michael Thomas that was what the Ted Ginn touched out play was originally designed to go to Thomas and Ginn just kind of saw something so you're right Mark like he doesn't. doesn't really get mentioned with the top receivers in the league, but he should. He's a true number one. He's bona fide.

All right. So, Greg, you were missed yesterday when we were at the Coliseum, but everything went well. We want to know just some general observations you've had in your latest trip to New Orleans on the NFL's dime. Wow. The first thing is like this, it felt like such a homecoming game. They haven't had a home game here in like six years. I thought you were referring to yourself. oh no not myself although that was nice too i love i get to walk to the stadium and stuff they got

manny fresh um you know i know mark you're a big big timers fan uh but they got manny fresh on the turntable before the game i mean back when i was in college it was like he was like paul mccartney and the beatles that's how popular he was here so they they had him on the turntable and then when when i'm walking you know into the locker room after the game the walls are just lined with ex-old Saints Grace. And when I left tonight, it was like Bejita and Reggie Bush and Tracy Porter and Breeze and Caiton. And they're all just kind of like reliving old times.

It was like you almost felt like Sean Payton didn't know if they're ever going to get a chance to do this again. So let's just blow it out and have like this awesome party. And Breeze even mentioned like none of those guys, you know, I played with. He's the only one that's left that played with all those guys. he's older than all of those guys, and they're getting kind of like, you know, Brady and Belichick. They're getting at least one more chance to kind of make a run that maybe people didn't really think they were ever going to get a chance to. I know, Greg, on a personal level, that the town was a buzz for your return.

You were there earlier in the year. Some controversial things happened to you out on the streets. Did you have a chance to tie up loose ends, you know, heal some wounds with some of the city's people that you, you know, potentially offended last time with your, late-night behavior after you filed your column. Greg's basically out of control right now. I don't know what you're talking about, but I might hit up some Daisy Dukes for some, you know, scrambled eggs and a Bloody Mary after I read you. How about that? You should.

You should. Shoot yourself, buddy. Just make sure you're back by Tuesday. We've got more pods to record. I've got a 6 a.m. flight. Oh, my God. I got something for your beloved saints here, Greg. Okay.

If they make a run all the way to the Super Bowl, there's a decent chance they'll never have to play outside of a dome they go to Minneapolis and then if Atlanta beats Philadelphia and Nick Fools they would go back to the Superdome and then if they win that game

they would go back to Minneapolis Hello There's so much There's so much better In fact everyone here is kind of thinking that which is ridiculous because they're going to face the best team in the NFC right now but everyone in New Orleans

is thinking St. Stopp and NFC championship, like, wouldn't that just ridiculous? You don't want to be overlooking the Vikings, not what the running game troubles at the same... The revenge of the parade float after 283. One last quote before we say goodbye to you,

Greg, because I think you'll appreciate this. Cam Jordan. And by the way, good job with the hip-hop pioneer that you were happy to see Spin, but we got to see Tone Loke play at the end of the first quarter at the Coliseum. He did Funky Colmedina. So, fucking Comedina, a song that really works when you're in your early 20s,

but I don't know if it works when you're 50. Anyway, I'll send you off with this, Greg. Cam Jordan, yeah boy, on Panthers left tackle, Matt Khalil. Let's call him Speed bump. Speed bump McGee. Ouch. I don't know what Matt Khalil does to Cam Jordan, but when he would beat him, he would just talk in his face for like 10, 15 seconds.

after every time that he beat Matt Cleo. Something's there. With a burning passion. All right, Greg, get your scrambled eggs and your Bloody Mary and then get on that plane. Come home. All right. I'll see you guys.

Bye. All right. There you go. Do we... Should we? Do we want to... David Eel, he's a big Panthers fan. He's dealt with a lot of setbacks in his life and disappointment,

and tonight was no different. I actually got... Many of them based on our behavior towards him, but yes. Do you think maybe we should give him just a call just to see how he's doing? He's here for another 15 minutes, It's according to his schedule. All right. Why don't we make a phone call, Lindsay?

We'll call the newsroom as we do and get Ely on the phone. Just check in on him. Let's be caring. Yeah, we're not looking to, like, you know, stomp on his heart. It's more, hey, Dave. I have some information that he's had an even worse day than you think. Okay. Well, let's say, hold on to that.

I just want to check in on him. He's like a little brother to us, you know? Yeah. And I'm on that work This is McKenna Hi McKenna Can I speak with Dave Ely please Yeah sure

Hold on one second Thank you McKenna she's nice Nice person She's very nice She travels a lot On the move again Do you know that as a fact

Yeah she has in separate instant Hey David Ely What's up body Dan hands us on the NFL podcast I thought this might happen Now you Well what's up How's it going

You might think we're calling you right now to give you a hard time and just be jerks. But actually, as Mark, you put it, this is more like we're checking in on your well-being. Dave is my supervisor. It's not a great move to offend him. Yeah. I'm doing fine. You know, it's actually funny on our IM clients, I told Mark at the start of the fourth quarter that there was only 15 minutes left in this tedious season for the Panthers. And then they just sucked me back in.

And you saw me. I was hopping up and down after the McCaffrey touchdown. So it was disappointing. You've dealt with a lot of disappointment in your life, haven't you did? It's ups and downs, you know. I have inside information that your day might have been even worse than you let on. What's that, Wes? Did you have car troubles this morning? Oh, no.

This is Charlie Brown stuff. So, yeah, I had an Uber to work this morning. Dan, you know, because on Friday I was doing laundry on my day off. Oh, that's so depressing. I was reading a book in my car and listening music, and then I had to get a jump on Friday and haven't used my car since then, and I guess it didn't drive around enough after the fact. So, yeah. David, the car thing, so I still have to get an Uber home.

Wait, be honest, Dave. Is your car also your home? No, no, it's not. Okay, so things aren't going that bad. David, you paint the picture of someone who seeks out and achieves sort of. of the high lifestyle that Los Angeles offers. Has any of this brought back into the fold your ex-love? Even contact with her or some remote chance of reuniting?

For new listeners to the show, Dave found love once in his life. She left him, and that's been kind of that hole in the middle. We didn't need to revisit that. This is the caring call we were discussing. I mean, if she has a car with a functioning battery, then maybe that would be good for me. to check in on. Is that a metaphor? I don't know. I don't know. That'd be kind of a weird metaphor. Do you want to talk football?

Not really. We just wanted to check in with you, though. But it seems like you're doing okay. I did get, I want to tell you, I want to be honest with you, I sit on the opposite end of the newsroom. I did get video of the moment of the camsack. I had video of you from a distance. I haven't decided whether or not to publish that on Twitter yet. I wanted to run it by you if you were okay with me sending that out to the masses? Maybe I'd like to vet it first. Like, how was it a good angle? It was somewhat flattering.

I mean, it was from 30 yards away. I zoomed in. I think we should just let it fly. Yeah, do it. Why not? I mean, for all I know, you're just playing it right now on the podcast as we're talking. No, Dave. You act like we don't want to see you be happy.

We do one day. We definitely do. Everything's going to turn up Ely. He's going to. No, that's not true because I remember after you and C won the national championship, after I hung up, you said that part of you had hoped that they had lost because it's a little more interesting. It is a show element, your disappointment, so you might be on to something.

And I can be a dick. That is true. And I apologize for that. It's all good. All right, Dave. Well, we'll see you back in the office first thing in the morning. Hang in there, buddy. Your dog is Cam also.

That's the name of your dog. You got that. You got a great dog. She's doing good She's probably a little disappointed right now But she'll get a walk When I get home So it'll even out

There you go A happy ending to the story Good doggy Danny Dog gets walked Bye boss Sure All right I'll talk to you guys

Bye buddy All right That's it That's it for the wildcard show We're just checking in with you That's all Great show An important show

For the podcast You know And thanks to everyone Behind the scenes That helped us With the What happened at the Coliseum and we have more football to come.

Wes, you got... Do you know what Monday is? What's Monday? My last chemo treatment. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Come, Wednesday will be... I'll be on for 48 hours.

I have to take my pump home with me, but after that, I should be done for good. Things are going in a great direction in 2018. I like the feel of 2018. All right, Lindsay Fulton. Let's get out of here. Good job by Lindsay today also. Everybody's brought their A-game.

This is Dan Hansa, signing up. signing off for the quiet storm the old man excuse me the mailman the old boss and lindsay paulta on the glass still Tuesday sorry Wes a gray beard Thank you.