NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Wildcard Recap : Rams-Cardinals and Bengals Deep Dive with Paul Dehner Jr

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal recap the SoFi playoff experience and the Rams win over the AZ Cardinals as wildcard weekend officially comes to a close. The athletics Paul Dehner Jr. joins the show to talk about the Bengals and what they need to do for the upcoming divisional round game. Mike Mayock is out at GM for the Raiders, so what does that mean for Derek Carr? We close the show by reading some apple podcast reviews. Yikes. 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. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast. Quarantine. More like Quarineas. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. I'm Dan Hansus Heroes here. Greg Rosenthal. Mark Zessler. I actually, this is interesting. Okay. So this more. morning, Tuesday morning, Money and I, we do our power rankings taping as we do every week. You check that out on NFL Network every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific. And after we finish taping, one of our producers, the great Matt Tanton, I believe it was, rolled in with a piece of paper and said, hey, we have money tags to read for the ATN show.

And Money, who's been doing it now, you know, he's the voice of God of the show for eight years. nine years, almost 10 years, without a single cent of pay. And I think it's starting to get on his radar a little bit. I'm just saying it now that I'm there. Anyway, I get to watch him record roughly, I'm going to say 50 money tags today, including that one. And we got some real bangers coming out. So thank you to everyone who sends in money tags through Twitter and at Ricky.

Good element of the show. How much do you think we'd owe him over the course of the entire show? I mean, he's doing 50 at a time. I feel like we owe him thousands upon thousands of dollars. We probably do, but money is, I think, sneaky rich. He has like 14 jobs. He's very smart financial. Remember, we even had a short-lived bit on this show where money talks money.

Right. And we use the Pink Floyd song. Are you sneaky rich when your nickname is money, though? I don't know if it's, I don't know if it's, I don't know if sneaky is the, we just don't know. So I think he has. a bunch of investments in the water. I mean, he has the most popular drive-time show in Los Angeles for a decade or whatever it's been now.

He's the voice of the Rams. He's got a bunch of jobs here. The Chargers, sir. I do think, or the Chargers, wow, what a mistake. That's the great J.B. Long, by the way. My friend, who I'll be hanging out with Summer Solstice, get ready. But just think of the exposure we've given. That's like how they pay, you know, you pay interns or whatever.

Oh, yeah, well, this will be great exposure. You go on radio shows exposure. Like, the audience that money has been introduced to is, it's irreplaceable, that value. That's perfectly said, Greg. How would, you know, 15-year-old guys in Eastern Norway know about Matt Money Smith without our show? Right, like Petros of Money, big-time show in Southern California. Wonderful show. But what kind of range does it have in Wales?

It's limited, just by its nature. Anyway, welcome to the show. Big show coming up today. The wild card round officially in the books, kind of a dud. Let's be real about it. The last chance we had was Ram Cardinals. We were all three of us were at the games with our friends and family,

at the game with our friends and family. And we saw an absolute slaughter. And this was an interesting stat I saw on Twitter or a little tidbit that there were six wild card games played and not a single one of them had a lead change in the second half. So what that tells me is we're due, boys. We're due for the divisional round, which is always the best weekend of football of the year,

to be an absolute haymaker of, like haymaker after haymaker of classics. And to kind of talk about Mark's theory throughout the course of the season in general, which is like he has no time for teams that aren't real threats. We just got rid of a lot of teams that had no business, in the playoffs. It almost felt like most of them. And now we're with eight teams. And I know like the Bengals face some long odds here, but it's like, couldn't you see any one of these eight teams winning the Super Bowl? All four of these matchups are great. It's, it, when you have no upsets, and in the 49ers was a mild upset, and then you have a bunch of blah, it's like

that means the next round should be all the more better. Yeah, the football collective took the trash out. And I can even remember back to, you know, Sunday night where I was, there was a part of me thinking that it was kind of delightful and chaotic that the Steelers were beating the Chiefs and might maybe even knock off the Chiefs. What a mental state I was in because I, like, we are dealing with the teams we want to deal with now. And the lesser has beens, and we saw one last night, are out the door. Right. Because there were no real upsets in the first round. That means there's not that divisional game. Or it's like, all right, there's one game that We kind of know what's going to happen because a team snuck by in the wild card.

No, this is going to be a lot of fun. We've had championship games like that over the years. I do not think we're getting that in any way in any matchup this year. And I like to bring up the power rankings again, apologies, but I have the Rams as my number eight team. And like you were saying, Greg, the Rams could absolutely win the Super Bowl. Did you see the Rams on Monday night? They're number eight. Yeah, but like there's seven really good teams ahead of them.

Like really good teams. I'd put them ahead of the Titans and the Bengals and, you know, maybe that's it. Maybe the 49ers probably. All right. So six to eight, whatever. All right. So speaking of the Rams, they had to take out the garbage and we don't want to be cruel. The humans involved with the Arizona Cardinals are not garbage humans.

I don't know them personally. Maybe some are. But overall, not all garbage. However, the team, by the end of the 2020, 21 season was trash, and they were treated as such at SoFi Stadium. Set it up, baby. Chase Edmonds is the back next to Kyler, ready to call for it, three to his right, takes the snap, sets the laces, bounces in the pocket, hit from behind, flips it forward.

It is intercepted, intercepted, a pick six. David Long Jr. plucks it at the one. Oh, boy. Well, this wasn't technically. to clean Monday night football, but it's our last chance to hear the song for a while, so we'll roll with it. Yes, that was the nail in the coffin for the Arizona Cardinals who no-showed in Los Angeles on Monday night, 34-11, the Rams roll.

That pit six. By the way, so I went to the game with Zumwalt, diehard Cardinals fan, as the listeners of the show, surely know, and he wasn't confident at all entering action, but excited, as he should be. you got a chance to see your team in the playoff game. But just watching the way that game started, the Rams had 21 points before the Cardinals had a first damage. That's what we're talking about. So this is a game that the better team obviously won and moves on,

and the Cardinals, a lot of questions. Mark, that pick six that we just heard from the great J.B. Long. I'm going to think about that one for a long time when I think about Kyler Murray, because I know a lot of the heat's going to be on Cliff Kingsbury, but that picks six. Ooh, that one's going to stick to my ribs when I think about where to put that guy in the conversation of quarterbacks.

Yeah, I think we need to quiet. We need to grow to a hush when it comes to offseason MVP concepts and projections and sticking Kyler Murray into that conversation again. He's not there right now. And if anything, I give the Cardinals credit for closing their story in appropriate fashion because they've essentially been like a vessel screaming towards Earth for the past month plus. I've not wanted to believe it. I thought they could do a little bit more last night, but Kyler Murray's performance was a heightened version of what we've seen for weeks and weeks,

where the offense looks so out of sorts. And I guess you can just say, look, they don't have DeAndre Hopkins, so they weren't the same. But that tells me a lot more about who the Cardinals are in general. If you lose one guy, this is happening to teams all over the league. I think there's a lot going on here. And it was a rough, rough night. And to me, I came out of it thinking that Cliff Kingsbury, who is 16 and 43 as a college and NFL coach after the seventh game of a season, needs to learn how to manage an NFL season. That is a startling statistic. And I know we brought that up before, but Kyler Murray's star has fallen right now. That play encapsulated everything that's been wrong with them. And I kind of wonder from

a cardinal's angle, how do you sell coming back with this same offense next year, this concept, this playbook? Because it seems figured out, or at least seems. to not last for a full season. And the Rams, I mean, this version of the Rams can win this Super Bowl and any Super Bowl. I mean, if you got what you got last night, all the players they added, the OBJs, the Von Miller, Stafford throwing four.

Are you getting on a new vessel, Sessler? The Rams vessel? I was honestly thinking, is this my new pet team, but I'll only doom them if I do that. So I'm going to just hold off. But massive respect. And I brought my son, Colton. And Colton said to me two things during the game.

He said about eight minutes, and he said, this Cardinals' offense is just not very good. I was like, bingo, you're right? When did the Cardinals turn into the lion? Get it in the booth. It's pretty amazing because we all have gone with our kids, too, to hear what they have to say and to be at that experience. It was incredible to be at the game.

It was honestly the coolest thing I've done as a father with Colton, I think, in like a decade. And he became a Rams fan because of how stellar. They were perfect last night. They were pristine. You don't see teams play games like that. Yeah, you want to get fans Los Angeles to join you. for the next generation just like win playoff games i mean that's that's what got my daughter ellis three years ago she went to the cowboys one where they won a playoff game and she went from a

bucksish fan to a rams fan and then last night enjoying that one walker's a pats fan but he's he's joining in the rams party we're up in up in the 500 section i got the binoculars out and that you know there's one thing about being up there i think it's great you're essentially get the all 22 if you want to watch the pass routes or you can do the binoculars and you can get kind of the end zone angle and watch the line play and that was what in walker's watching i just say another advantage is if you're also in the same section you could watch gregg rosethal use binoculars yes which i i heartily endorse go ahead you know a lot of people use binoculars at football game although not a lot at frankly rams cardals no not maybe not at the rams cardals the mismatch when the rams were on defense in terms of

their defensive line is what makes this team different right now than it was in October and makes it similar, I believe, to what they were at this point a year ago when they didn't really have an offense. The offense on Monday night was okay. It really wasn't great. They punted four times in the first half. They had three, three and outs, including twice where they got the ball at the 50 or in Cardinals territory where they didn't do anything. It was all about that defense to me. And Von Miller's played his best game as a ram three games in a row now. He was dominant. Gaines and

Aishon Robinson, I keep mentioning, are winning their matchups. And when you watch Donald get all this attention, like, okay, that helps. Like, now Von Miller gets a one-on-one matchup against a struggling offensive line. And that's where it started. We can get into how bad the Cardinals are

and definitely the collapse. But I just think they were overmatched in terms of their offensive line, especially. Even if Kyler had played well. They had been relying on Kyler to pull Magic out of his keyster the last month or so just to get any offense going and they didn't have it last night. And I give the Rams defense a ton of credit for that. Give them a chance this week too. Yeah, I think they do. I think they kind of match up well with the weakness of the bucks, which might be their offensive line

after the events of Sunday. I think the, this is a big confidence builder for L.A. after I would imagine and they were a little bit shook, even if they're not going to tell you after the 49ers came back on him in week 18 and stole that game. So now you kind of, you got your chest out again. You're feeling really good. And I don't think they're going to be intimidated by the moment. I think Matthew Stafford getting that first playoff win. That's a positive thing. And it's interesting, you're absolutely right about Von Miller.

He went from being a bit of an afterthought in the initial weeks after the trade. And I know he was still getting physically right because he was banged up at the time to now being a guy that's showing up time and time again, not just in the box score. But yeah, when we're in the real-time all 22 seats, you could see the game in a different way and you could see how active he was. So Miller has been, that was a smart trade. It's been working out.

And the O'Dell trade is turning into one of the more difficult trades to kind of make sense of because in somewhat like we were killing O'Dell last week. And if you look at his numbers, they're still not great. But he certainly has brought another element to this offense. And he's been a God save for them. because with Robert Woods going out of the lineup, but I think maybe it's like recalibrating expectations a little bit that he's not going to be that all-time game changer he was early in his career.

But he does bring things to this team, whether it's in the red zone, he could pull off a trick play. He's still got great athletic talent. So he brings an element to that offense that wasn't there. So I think those two trades and the team be less need and Sean McVeigh being aggressive and going all in as the social media account told us has paid off here. and it's made them a better team.

I'd give you another name, too, Cam Acres. I mean, Cam Acres and Sony-Michel, I mean, they ran the ball at a higher rate early in the game last night than they have all year. Cam Acres, watching him live, I mean, to come off an Achilles injury, which, you know, that's the one that kills running backs for, you know, multiple seasons.

He looked explosive to me. He's a total X factor for them down the stretch. Tony Michelle has been good for them, but they have much more balance than they were able to have at other times in this season. Their offense, to me, like, I don't need Matthew Stafford to throw for 450 yards. You've got to find different ways to beat teams. And I love that Akers, who I thought would have maybe been like a top five rusher this

season with the way I thought they would use them before he was injured, is back in the mix. And to have Odell and to have Stafford when you get the good game from him, this offense is pretty fiery and excitable and almost as excitable as one of my favorite things about the game in general was the female actress, Nita Strauss. She's got her number one hits. But every time you're at that stadium and they cut to her, I always text, Man, like, she's on fire cranking these songs. I love the in-game experience for that reason alone. Does Simone know about this thing that's going on with you

and the blonde guitar player at SoFi Stadium? Well, she, yeah. No. Does the guitar player know? I mean, I saw her in the parking lot, in the NFL media parking lot, leaving the game. And it was almost like seeing Spider-Man, Spider-Man just like out of their natural habitat.

It was just like, oh, you exist in another world other than just shredding on the big. Was she carrying her axe around? And Mark also wants to know what is her license plate number and state. Right. License plate, state, you know, social security. And just like a general make on the cars, sedan, what are we talking, SUV? Hey, let's hear Cliff Kingsbury sounding sad and forlorned and totally confused about what to do next.

You know, you come out against a really good team and don't do anything right for the first two quarters. That's what's going to happen. I've got to give them credit. they played a great game and we didn't do much right coaching or playing the first half why do you feel like this team came out like that i'm not sure um that's something we got to figure out you know that's what those guys are talking about in the locker room um got to use as as motivation and come back stronger from it um because that's not indicative of who we want to be and uh unfortunately that showed up tonight.

All right. So with Kingsbury, I think his path is pretty clear that he's going to be okay this year, I imagine, and then he'll be on the hot seat next year, and they're going to need to show that they're not going to fade again. If they fade again, my guess is they start over. The Kyler Murray thing, and you could tell me that I'm going to be too hard on him here, but I think I'm starting a waiver on Murray here, and it's for two reasons, because you could say, Well, he wasn't the same once again after he came back from that injury.

So maybe he wasn't physically right. Okay, in that case, that's back-to-back season that a somewhat undersized quarterback has been compromised by a very physical game. Or you could look at the other way and take the injury or the possibility wasn't healthy out of it and say, okay, he lost his number one wide receiver, but then could do nothing to make a team better. And it's like Joe Burrow, to use an example. Joe Burroughs, the type of guy to me, you could take Jamar Chase out of the lineup.

think he'd still move the team. Tom Brady, obviously it's proving. You take some guys out. He's still going to move the offense. I'm starting to wonder if Kyler, for all the hype and how exciting he could be as a player, has ultimately been overrated by us in the football cognizanti. You've been the one pumping him up the most. And I wonder, well, that's what I'm saying. And I wonder if that interception in the end zone is going to be remembered as a turning point in his career. I have a bit of a hunch. Man, I disagree so hard. Because Zumwalt's been tough on Kyla Murray for a while about his size. Is he all out at this point?

I mean, that would have been a... He's never really been all in. So, yeah. But that's just more the first time I had, like, sincere doubt about him. I know that's not really a popular opinion because everybody's going to come after Cliff, Greg, and say he's the problem or this is the problem or that's a problem. But I'm starting to get in a vibe. Eventually, the finger is going to end up at QB.

Well, but then make it clear that you're pointing it. I guess I disagree so hard. made myself clear just now. Right. I, I disagree hard because I think the best way to evaluate these guys is over 16 games. For instance, like his year-end QB index ranking, just as one way to do it, as a rookie, 13th, really good for a rookie. 10th is second year, seventh this year. He's a third-year quarterback who just played a terrible playoff game, like we've seen many young quarterbacks, like Peyton Manning and many others, start their playoff career terribly. Now, am I worried about the marriage of Kingsbury and

Kyler? Yes, because I think with the talent and with what was around Kyler and Kyler's abilities, that ultimately you can't have this happening. Because I disagree on that he didn't lift his team because the only times they moved the ball over the last five weeks, and I've been banging this drum, is Kyler Murray making like huge big time plays. And

everything else is like a four-yard throw to Ertz. Now, Now, does Murray bear some responsibility for that? Sure. But he sort of won that game in Dallas by himself. He put up, Greg, that was the only time they won for the entire season after he came back in the buy. My point is not much is happening within the natural progression of the offense. And I do put that more on Cliff when I see Kyler have every trait possible, not just the arm strength, but generally the decision making and the running. And again, like I said, over a 16 game schedule, like he has improved steadily every single season.

That's what we want. And I thought it's not like I thought he played poorly down the stretch for the most part. Like he made some big time mistakes once they were trailing games. And last night was an absolute fiasco. But I tend to not put too much more on one playoff game or even two playoff games than I do a whole career because I think those things tend to balance out in general. I mean, the way, one way I agree with you, Greg, is that I think we just naturally have a human tendency to isolate the results from the quarterback. And it's, it's like the way that an offense runs, it's like so systemic, it's so environmental. He's packed into something that might not be advantageous for him.

I wonder if he's in the wrong offense. It's like also their offensive line issues were horrendous for him when he came back. And all that business, there have been injuries. But I don't like, I also look at the Kalimer experience. He's had some incredible plays, and he's done calumary things. But I would think it's a little bit shaky for me, too, that like this suddenly is a guy that we still look at as an MVP. I just don't right now.

But no one, no one. I mean, people put it in in preseason articles like they did with Matthew Stafford every other year, including this year. And he's never. In week nine. Right. He's never been that guy. I guess.

In week nine, I did. Right. He absolutely was. And then he struggled down the stretch. But he's also, how old is he? 24? I mean, he's younger than Joe Burrow. That matters.

that matters to me. Like the fact that he's a third year quarterback, I have major doubts about Kingsbury, and we've had a lot of people, including Spice Rack, who thinks he's one of the worst coaches that's ever gotten a head coaching job. I don't think that's played out that way,

but I do think it's absolutely fair to say whether he's the right coach for Kyler Murray. And if they did fire him, I think, and they had a great idea of where to go next, I wouldn't kill him for that. You know, it would feel like a Josh Rosen type of move out of Arizona. Like, I'm not even totally,

a hundred percent convinced Kingsbury's back. If you wanted to be bold and you don't feel like he's the guy, okay, do it, I guess. I, that's what I think they, I think they should. If they have doubts, if they think that Murray faded and the Cardinals faded down the stretch because of the coaching, you know, you have a finite amount of time to really cash in on this guy and he's on his rookie deal still. I just, I just, that's kind of to me a little bit predictable in the sense that I kind of knew this is how it's going to play.

But all the blame's going to go on the coach here. It's not all. He had a terrible game and the team was bad by the end of the year. It was a poor team by the end of the year, including Kyle Murray. I think what you're saying is what basically everyone else is going to be saying as well. And I just, I don't know, there was something about the nature of way this season ended that I don't know how you can't be a little bit nervous about Kyler based on how things ended. I mean, he melted down last night. That's a concern.

He did. He did. Well, what about Steve Kime, who seems to escape all critiques. all the time. I mean, it's like the roster looked good at one point this year, but I think last night was the capstone of like there's issues when there were

injuries, there's no one to fill in, there's depth problems. I mean, I just, I think he's done a pretty good job, Steve Kine, but he's part of the soup too. I don't think anyone's blaming it's, you can't just blame the coach the quarterback and then no one else. This is a team that failed. I mean, JJ Watt had it right, a

massive failure. My thing is more sample size. I really do think the season and in the overall trajectory of a career is more instructive than a game. Like Peyton Manning, for instance, and I know he's, I don't think he's going to be Peyton Manning. But I think we've established he's probably a top 10 quarterback three years into his career, which is incredible to find one of those. Peyton Manning's first three playoff games, 19 for 42, loss, 17 for 32, loss, 14 for 31 to nothing loss. You know, that, and I know we didn't have Twitter back then, and I know some quarterbacks play well in the playoffs,

but I just, it was one game on a bad Cardinals team. And it's crazy because five weeks ago, we might have said this was the best team in the NFL. And over the last five or six weeks, they were like obviously a poor team, which is great. It is crazy that's turn. I try to, I guess I just, my final thought on is I try to avoid these spicy takes

that you would maybe see on certain talking head shows. I don't know. I just got to, maybe it was being at the game. Maybe Zumwalt in my orbit. Maybe this, maybe that. We'll see. We'll see where they are this time next year, but Kingsbury obviously is a part of this conversation. It's a big part. All right. That is the wild card round. But we have so much more to get to right after this. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero.

We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see? See the Colts Pretzel. That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break

down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. It is time for a guest.

And listen, like the rest of the world, we are caught up in Bengals fever. We want to get closer to this team that's becoming a lot of ways America's sweetheart here. So we brought on a big gun. He's senior writer and podcast hosts covering the Cincinnati Bengals and more for the athletic. Once was dubbed the man who set social media on fire. I don't know if he got any of the. New York Times money connected to the athletic

that's not that's a question that will come it's pronounced Danaer and don't you forget it Paul Daynor Jr., welcome to the Around the NFL podcast. What's up? Thanks for having me on guys. All right, so Paul, you have been covering

the Bengals for a decade. So you're kind of like, as the rest of us are trying to come to terms of the world in which Cincinnati is producing the most exciting football team in the country, what's it been like for you

as someone that's covered the team so closely and been through the highs and lows mostly lows I mean it's kind of as people got to witness on Saturday night become as much as it's about Joe Burrow and it's about the turnaround

it's about the excitement of the team Saturday night and was the culmination of a season that in many ways has been about this city that has been as everybody heard heard by now 31 years without a playoff win, but it wasn't just that they had been 31 years without a playoff win. It's that they had all been heartbreaking in the fashion in which they had

gone down. You guys are familiar with that. I miss Wes because I always love talking to him about the Bengals and his angst over how things had gone down every time I would see him. And he would get so fired up about it. And so you guys know, I mean, those that follow the Bengals know, like that the city is so hung up and frustrated by this black cloud that hung over them because no matter what they did well, how many good

draft classes they turned out, how many big regular season games they won, how many shrewd moves they made, it was always invalidated by the last line of, yeah, but you didn't win a playoff game every single time. And so

for that to be gone, to no longer have to discuss the 90s Bengals or the meltdown at Paul Brown or any of the Carson Palmer's injury and Kimo Von Olhoff. It's never have to discuss that again and just talk about the future and Joe Burrow has been a game changing not just night but season for the city and now they can all it can be about them now it can be about that team that is so exciting to watch on the field. Yeah, when Zach Taylor said everyone can take a deep breath, I almost

thought, oh man, this is Zach Taylor again, you know, play being almost a little tight in the moment. I thought in terms of how he coached the second half of that game and that the whole point of it isn't to get over relief. But it seems like he actually had a pretty good finger on the pulse of the city and that's where he was getting at. It was just seeing him and Burrow back to back with Burrow with the tinted shades, kind of being like, I expected to do this quicker than we did. This is nothing. Let's go on. That's a big dichotomy. But you spoke about the fans. So I just wanted to follow in that because it seems like the fan. are incredibly confident, and I'm including the Wesleyan brothers in that, of which you could

be one, just the looks, you know, with the facial hair and the shaved head. You could be a Wesleyan brother. It almost feels like this Bengals fandom, though, has gone the complete other direction where they're expecting them to go to the Super Bowl. There's a lot of confidence with this team right now. Oh, there is. I always like to say bald is the new hair, by the way. It's in, okay, so don't even forget about that. But the thing is, you know, it is amazing in the lead up to that game, a city that was so scarred, a fan base so scarred to expect the other shoe to drop, didn't have that at all. And I suspect, is this city suppressing its emotions? I've done that before. When I suspect something bad, I'm feeling something bad inside. I just talk over it

with optimism a little bit. It felt like that was happening because they didn't want to think about the idea. But also, I think the city, the same way the team follows Joe Burroughs lead. And he just changes everything you know you talked about him down playing it afterwards i mean he's basically partially that's him i mean that's who that guy is he is the type of guy that is very calm and and he's going to be always thinking about bigger things but he also i talked to a bunch of people about what is the it factor what has that tangibly looked like and the line that always stuck out to me from that was he just has this innate feel for human dynamics and human interaction and what people need what every person needs and how that's different and when somebody needs a pat on the

back someone needs confidence someone needs a stern look whatever that is he knows that this the team needed to settle down and understand that this was not a big deal and he was trying to project that out to the team in the same way this is not a big deal you know this is the expectation this is what we are going to be he called it today the bare minimum going forward that they'll win playoff games every year i think everybody kind of looked at it and said yeah I think I believe that guy. I think he's right. I think it is the bare minimum here going forward. Well, I love what you say about his leadership. And, you know, I'm a Browns fan. And a year ago, I was sitting in this place thinking, we're the team from Ohio that wiped away all these terrible talks about the last time we won a playoff game with Bill Belichick beating Bill Parcells in the early 90s when I was in college.

Now it's the Bengals. And I think their star seems to be so much higher. I mean, one of the reasons that West dropped the Bengals, the primary reason that I thought it was, was ownership. It was the way the team was run that like, you know, every other team in the league is dug in on real scouting services. The Bengals are doing something from 42 years ago. Like they were not active in free agency. But now they are. The team is building. They're drafting well. You look at this roster. You look at the quarterback. Do you think that ownership at this point is in the deep distance that the way the Bengals can operate to have the bare minimum be playoffs every year, the thing that annoyed West, would he look at this team differently and say, I'm not so concerned about how it's run, because this is a rock.

rocket ship just taking off at this point? I think so. I mean, Joe Burrow covers a lot of franchise warts, organizational warts, and he's done that. That said, they have performed off the field differently in the last few years. I mean, you can't look at their last two off seasons and say that they've looked like the same old bengals when you look at the amount of money they spent in free agency. And a lot of times that can be, you're okay, free agency, I'm going to flush about half of that down the toilet, but hopefully the other half turns out good. The Bengals hit on almost every free agency move that they made this offseason and some that were very controversial.

And then they hit on the most controversial, maybe pick of the entire draft, at least most talked about, leading up to it, between Jamar Chase versus Penae Soule and what that has turned out to be for them. And you have seen a different feel. And now you have players that love being here and they love every aspect of it. And I think ownership has skewed younger. brought in the Blackburn's, you know, Katie and Troy Blackburn have even brought in their daughters now who are involved and have played a big role in reconnecting with the fan base. It's been a two-year journey for them to try to do that. They've done new uniforms.

They've done Ring of Honor. They've made a huge push, spent a ton of money on their social media and on improving their game day experience, all things that they deservedly were ripped for forever. How about get a practice facility? That would be good. For that, they've come a really long way. You know, I wish, and I hope he is maybe somewhere listening to all that because that was kind of going to be my follow-up question. Like, what tangible steps were taken to change an operation that felt like it was stuck in the dark ages?

And I guess getting younger, different voices in there has made a big difference. And Zach Taylor is another guy I wanted to ask you about Paul because, you know, he was something of an unknown entering this year, even though he had been there two years. We weren't seeing a lot of growth. Obviously, the borough injury was a killer last year in terms of the development of the development of the team. And I really like this, your colleague, Mike Sando, the Cook Index, which is, by the way, great name, great hook, where you actually can statistically see how a switch got flipped with Taylor and this offense and how they became more aggressive, starting with that bad overtime loss of the Niners, where they marched down the field and then kind of got cute and

ran it twice and then failed on third down. And he said he lost sleep about it. And you wrote about this and check out all Paul stuff on the athletic. And it's, It's not like lip service or beat writers looking for something to a narrative to craft. It's there in the pudding. They completely changed the way they ran their offense. Yeah. And it wasn't even as much about what happened in overtime, which was part of it. It was watching what Joe Burrow was in the fourth quarter and overtime of that game.

He was that next level, truly elite guy. And part of that went back to, they finally felt really comfortable with his pocket presence, pocket movement and his confidence back. there. People don't realize him. Yes, he's been playing all year, but he still had to mentally been working through the knee injury as the year has gone along. I mean, when you remember when he came out of LSU, his pocket presence back there was his superpower. It's what separated him. And he wasn't able to really totally be that guy throughout the first half of the season. So they protected him. They had a line that wasn't great. So they protected him with a game that was, they had very run heavy game plans. They knew they could still win that way. They had enough guys, Joe Mixen, whatever. They could

their defense was playing good. They could win that way. Well, as it went by, and particularly at the end of that San Francisco game, you saw, okay, Burrow is all the way back, and he is playing lights out. Let's lean into this. And they didn't just lean. They leaned all the way and opened it up. And that's early in games, really getting after people throwing the ball.

And what happened? I mean, Baltimore, Kansas City. You saw it even early, they get up by letting Burrow throw it. And they play from ahead. They've played from ahead. and all of these four games in a row that they've won as he's kind of been on this heater. And that's a big part of just saying, just go all the way in on realizing that Burrow is going to be the reason that we get there.

Yeah, I know the line isn't great, but he can overcome that. He's proving right now he can overcome that. Paul, I have a question for you because, like, you know, this is all wonderful news, very sunny. We're all enjoying the journey. But, you know, like the average beat writer, I mean, typically the games, the travel, you know, the endless stories would have ended for you about two weeks ago. Is it slightly annoying on some level that if they go on for another three or four weeks, you're just taking it work-wise?

Tough question. You've got to answer it. There is no doubt. I mean, I used to say, because remember, I covered this team from the 11 through 15 run where I had the perfect job because the team was relevant and interesting. I got to talk about the postseason instead of talking about the draft in December, and then they lost, and I was immediately off to my off-season. Right. They took the first exit out of the playoffs.

It was the perfect setup. And now here I am wondering, like, are I going to be working into February with this? So, but you know what? The way it goes now, though, full season, it's like the cycle doesn't end. If it ended, if they would have been out, then I'd be doing mock drafts and everything else.

So what does it matter anymore? Right. It's like those Patriots reporters over the years, Mike Reese and Tom Curran. They like put in three extra seasons compared to most writers. Very quickly, because I know we're going to have to let you go. I do just want to get a little bit of a look at this game and what you think are the concerns because I'm concerned now that I'm kind of rooting for the Bengals, the line play on both sides

and the coaching, frankly. So that's three things, but especially the coaching matchup, but the line play on both sides with the injuries on the defensive line and just generally matching up that offensive line against Tennessee's front, like how do you think the Bengals can over? that deficiency, because to me it does not, that part of the game looks like a pretty big mismatch. Yeah, I would agree. I mean, you know, the trenches is always going to be this team's issue when they reach the highest levels. I mean, they can overcome that with their weapons against teams that aren't as dynamic in the interior. But, you know, from practice today,

they look like they're not anywhere near as bad as shape as we thought they would be on the defensive line. They did lose Larry O'Kinjobie for the year. You know, Mike Daniels was on the practice squad all year and he heard his groin earlier in the game. So it's not a huge deal. Trey Hendrickson looks like he's probably trending in the right direction. That's massive. Josh Tupo, who is a really nice situational defensive tackle they have, is going to be able to step in. It looks like probably that helps lessen the blow, because B.J. Hill has played pretty well in Ogun Jobie's as a rotation guy. So I don't think they're as beset on the defensive line as you thought. And they were a team

that was pretty good against the run this year. So they've always kind of felt that was maybe one of the strengths of themselves defensively. I think you can point to that. On the other side, you know, they've just struggled against teams that have really dynamic interior pass rushers as you, you know, because they're just not good enough there. And so Simmons is a nightmare scenario for you. And you just got to find ways to try to take him out. I felt like they've done a decent job playing in this division, getting practice at it, dealing with teams with great edge rushers, Miles Garrett, T.J. Watt. They found, and then Crosby again last year, they found ways that those guys, maybe they win a bunch, but they don't kill you. But what does seem to hurt them is when they have the guys in the interior, they don't really seem to have a ton.

of answers there. So Simmons certainly scares you more than anything, but then you say, I don't know, you got Burrow. And it's sort of like the answer to every single question with this team right now. Well, I'll tell you what, Paul. And thank you for joining us, buddy, and follow Paul on the athletic throughout this whole journey, both throughout the season and then into the off season. If the Bengals do knock off the number one seed Titans on Saturday, I think they become the biggest story in football. And then that's a pretty good place to be as a beat writer, I would imagine, especially when you've been in the darkness, like when a certain linebacker ran into a tunnel when he thought a game was over and it wasn't over. Those days are gone.

If you want me to come back and tell Vantes Burfx stories for a while, I will do that, but you might want to, I don't know, are we good on censorship because they're not pretty. That sounds like an awesome off-season podcast, to be honest with you, just like the memoirs of Vantes. All right. Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it, and good luck the rest of the way. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Paul. There goes Paul. And I'll tell you what, Ricky, that is one of those guests where it's like, all right, you put him in the good side of the legend.

Oh, he's already on a list. He's on a list. We got a Cincinnati guy. I interrupted Dan saying he was good. So I think we all agree that that was, you know, and he does feel like the, I'm sure that the Westlings, there are probably other Wesleyan brothers out there. They had so many kids. You can't keep track of all of them. Maybe he is a Wesleyan brother.

We just, we don't know that. Well, there's also some conspiracy. theories that some of them aren't Wesleyan brothers, but that's, you know, that's again for an off-season podcast. It is telling to me, though, you know, West was so out there about not being a Bengals fan, but I don't know if he's having in-depth conversations with every team's beat writer. You know what I mean? So, I mean, he was with some, to be fair. To be fair, he was with some, but he was tracking the Bengals much closer than most teams. know what? And Greg, you and I were texting a little bit about Wes yesterday and how you feel

his absence always, but certainly in certain shows, playoff time, of course. And I was just thinking myself now, as Paul was explaining the changes that the Bengals made, I wonder what Wes would have thought about that, having that insight from someone who has ear to the ground there. But it's certainly, it can't, it can't be from futility and poor decision making to all a sudden the operation running smoothly without changes happening behind the scenes. But, you know, at the same time, I think it's important to point out that the quarterback can change everything because Cincinnati, for all the Brown family distrust, they were going to the playoffs every year.

They just didn't have a truly dynamic guy out front. And now they do. And that's, I mean, a Patriots fan like you, Greg knows better than anyone. It changes everything. I did not hear a single word that you just said. and Greg are having separate text conversations with me not involved about things that matter to us? What's the dynamic here? Why is that occurring? Greg, do you want to take this one? No, I don't. No, it's better just leave it hanging, leave it open. Well, it is left out there

hanging and I will, I'll think about it, you know, roughly 12 times a second for the next two or three days. All right, let's, I love that. Let's take a break and we'll hit some news. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody?

Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team-building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision-makers,

and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHard.

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. Before we get to some iTunes listener feedback, let's hit a little bit of a league news as the personnel carousel. That popped in my head while I was sitting in the 500 section at SoFi Stadium yesterday. Personnel Carousel. Not bad. That's what you're thinking about at live at the game.

I like that. It just happened. It just popped in there. You can't control that. Yeah, when you're an artist, like a real artist. Like when the inspiration comes, you just have to be open to it. I consider that. That's like part of your job.

Like I had Zumwalt with me and I just got up in a panic and just like sprinted away. And he just nodded his head and he's like, that's an artist at work. I mean, Zumwold at that point is just in a fetal position. So he's accepting any artistry that will come his way. I mean, that was an apocalyptic evening. All right, so, but yes, as I said, personnel carousel, Mike Mayock, will not be returning to the Las Vegas Raiders in the capacity of general manager. The team informed Mayak that they would not be signing to another contract. I think his contract was up.

I think that was. So I'm seeing it's fired. It's a little different when you just, you move away. That's kind of like we parted ways. Anyway, that doesn't matter. Career record 25 and 24 in Mayok's seasons with the team. Their first playoff appearance since 2016 and their only playoff appearance since 2002. Weather the storm numerous on and off the field controversies.

Remember how mad Mayok was on hard knocks when Antonio Brown froze his feet in the cryogenic chamber? It seems like a long time ago. But yeah, you know, the Henry Ruggs tragedy earlier this year. Of course, the John Gruden situation and his resignation after the offensive emails came to light. And Greg, I guess, first of all, sorry about your bad luck, Rich Bessatia, because I think the one chance that he had to keep the head coach job was probably Mike Mayock sticking around. But it almost feels like once Gruden got shipped out of Texas, down here. It meant that the whole thing was getting blown out, really regardless of how the

season turned out, which was kind of successful. Right. If this wasn't enough to keep Mayak's job or Rich Basacias, and I think Basaccia has a fraction of a chance to get that job, you never know, that nothing, nothing would have. And it's unfortunate. You think about Mayak, who's, you know, in his early 60s coming from television, you know, he started that late coming. up like he knew this was his one chance he was obviously appreciating this one chance and he had a mixed record uh over the three years wasn't good in terms of the first round picks was quite good if you look at some of the guys that they got later in the draft and even some of the moves this year like picking up casey hayward and in gockway and crosbie turns into this great guy it was a mixed

bag at best for Mayak overall. But if you're him, you're also thinking John Gruden screwed me over. He add Mike Mayock to the innumerable people that John Gruden ultimately let down. Because if they made the playoffs with John Gruden, I tend to think Mike Mayock's probably back in that same role next year, but it didn't work out that way. I mean, I'd also add that when you look at the draft history of Mike Mayock, and look, it's obviously spotty. He had 13 picks and the top 100. Two of them are probably viable players on the roster right now, but a lot of those picks were Gruden's picks, or at least heavily influenced by Gruden. It wasn't like Mike Mayock was in a separate personnel department giving the coach his players. I mean, there's always

collaboration, but there are a lot of Gruden picks in there that Gruden is not held accountable for right now. I kind of just feel like they inherited a huge mess. And this team this year was imperfect. We all see that. And they've, they've, every GM is going to miss here and there picks and maybe there maybe mayaq's record was you know lower than some but they created a playoff team and i i kind of just feel it's unfortunate and in just the way the job goes i'm so with you gregg that it had gruden tugged them into the playoffs and all that had not happened mayak would still be here because he's done a pretty good job of adding talent compared to where they started i just i find it to be kind of just like the the hazard of the job of a gm well it's

tricky because again, as we were told that it was 51-49 in terms of control of the team, the personnel, Gruden 51, Mayak 49. So at the same time, when you say that, you know, you can't, you ding Mayock for all the

bad moves they made in the first round and there were many. You also can't fully say it was all Mayok that ended up landing some of these later round picks that turned into really quality starters. Hobbs was another one. this year. Diablo looked pretty good. They brought in Darren Waller during Mike

Mac's run. I don't know who gets printed for that, but the slot receiver that Greg was very slow to come around on, but now was 100. That was the worst evaluation I've ever made on this show in my life. You did that because of his hairline and I won't think it could be anything else. But I think in a lot of ways, yes, the Raiders were imperfect, but the job opportunity was imperfect for Mac, but you understand why he ultimately jumped to it. He's 63 now. He was 60 years old. He was the king of Draft Mountain on NFL Network and doing a great job with that. And he had this opportunity to join Gruden and go for a ride and he took it. But I think ultimately when you're a personnel guy, you kind of want to have control of the ship and not be in that type of situation, especially as someone that's kind of, I don't want to say volcanic, but someone with an ego the size of John Gruden's that always seemed like a very tough situation to be involved with.

So I wonder if Mayak, if he does want to stay on this side of the sport, if he looks for a situation where he could actually have more say. I don't know if he gets a big chair, a GM chair again, but if he tries to take this from a different angle. I think that was a unique opportunity. I don't know if it's going to come up again. It doesn't mean he couldn't possibly get a personnel job somewhere in the league, not as the top guy if he wanted to go that route.

But, yeah, I feel like we've been kind of, you know, bearing the, you're at least not talking about the L. in the room, which is what does this mean for Daniel Jeremiah? Because I think that's, that's what I thought immediately upon this, this news. And, you know, he is the smiling assassin. He is Jeremiah, a guy that will pat you on the back as he rips your heart out. So, you know, the first thing he did probably was text Mike and, you know, say, hey, sorry about how things play out. You're the best and all that.

But at the same time, I'm sure his second call was probably the head of NFL network and basically said, back off. Don't even think about bringing this guy back in the building because this is my world now. I'm prom king. I am prom king. A slight projection. And we don't know that that's how this played out. I actually heard it. I walked by a conference room and I can't say it was definitely moved the sticks speaking to the highest of the shadowy league figures.

And you actually could hear, I'm prom king, bitch. Now, was that Jeremiah? I can't say for sure, but it definitely had the tone. I mean, it could be a lot of people at NFL network based on what we know about a lot of people at NFL network. So, yeah, but he fits the profile. I also wonder what it means for Derek Carr, because at this point, like, where is the overwhelming interest from Mark Davis to sign Derek Carr to a five-year extension? And I think, you know, we already know from Ian Rappaport and reporting in general. It's going to, the environment's going to change so much.

New general manager, new coach. What are we promising them if you're Mark Davis? What power do they have? And where does it leave Derek Carr? I mean, I think it's like, I wouldn't move on from Derek Carr because what do you, move on to what? But there seems to be trepidation to just hand him a big money extension. There's just no, there's no wording around it. There's no whispers.

Well, I thought Ian's report, you know, parsing it was really interesting that he said it would be a mutual thing. And he did make it clear that the contract was. a big part of it, that Carr wants more money. He hopes Passaccio is there, but Carr's been arguably one of the most underpaid quarterbacks. Now, when he signed his deal, it was top of the market. People thought they got paid too much. But it's gotten to the point where he's the 20th, 23rd quarterback in the league.

He has one year left on it. This is that offseason where it's kind of, you know, you make a decision on Derek Carr or not. So the timing of it is interesting. And I think Carr will push to get more money and to get some commitment. to not be, you know, floating in the wind this offseason. And maybe the new coach, whoever they hire, like, loves Derek Carr. I feel like that's a very realistic possibility that they're like,

hey, we can win with this dude. Let's give him the money. And Mark Davis goes along with that. We'll have plenty of time to speculate, but just for fun. I can't stop thinking about how the Steelers are going to make a move. Derek Carr in a Steelers uniform actually check some boxes for it. It kind of works. It kind of works.

I'm with you. It fits. Mike Tomlin, I think, would like him. The whole thing makes sense. I think he kind of matches what they're looking for. And at the same time, the Raiders, now that they're going to bring in a new team builder and most likely a new head coach, do you want to start building with a 30-year-old quarterback or your own guy that you develop?

There's something here because there has to be somebody that shakes loose to move the quarterback market. And if it's not going to be Russell Wilson, maybe it's their car. I got another one for you. I mean, I think we can't identify an owner who's more steamed at his quarterback. right now than Jermersey on the lines, of course, Carson Wentz. What about Derek Carr teaming with Frank Reich? They're both very religious men. I think they see the world the same way. I think he could maximize Derek Carr. So is Carson Wentz. I don't know. Yeah, but I'm just saying

that you're not bringing in some sort of like rebel from the countryside. I think Derek Carr is amenable to, you know, coaching. And on top of it, like Frank Reich, for all his skills, has been lodged with three different starting quarterbacks over three years since I, Andrew luck vanished into the mist. I mean, they would love to get someone like Derek Harrow. They can sign for the next five years and actually have consistency under center. I mean, Steelers fans, especially older Steelers fans, have had a lot of great things in their lifetime. So it's not like they don't deserve a little time rolling around in the mud with the rest of us. Thank you. But even the Steelers don't deserve late period Big Ben into Carson Wentz.

Or into musical chair has turned out that way. Or into Mason. Rudolph. I mean, the athletic wrote that all signs point to Rudolph getting a chance, to which I say, I don't believe that. Right. Until, until player X becomes available, or they, you know, behind the scenes. Was that your big Ben left? I don't know what it was. It was more, it was more like that would be the most evil thing to happen to Steelers fans. And yet, I don't believe it. Mike Tomlin in his press conference today said Haskins and Rudolph have put themselves in position to compete while also saying, you know, it'd be really great is having an athletic. quarterback. Having a quarterback that move. Mason Rudolph, not exactly the first guy or Duane Haskins that springs to mind when you think athletic quarterback. Actually, I have Mason. I have Ben Ralthusberger on the line right now. Hey, Ben, what do you think about either

Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins as the QB1 come week one? You would love it. Very limited vocabulary from Big Ben from what we know. All right, that's that. Before we close, Ricky had a good idea. It's been a while since we've changed. checked in on the iTunes comments. Everybody, it's very important in this podcast game for the shows to show growth and build juice within the industry to bang those five stars on iTunes, leave comments. It really does matter. It's weird.

The metrics game in our podcast world. And it matters. So if you could do that, if you could do us a favor and leave a comment about the show, positive or negative, we don't really care. No, flood them. flood them positive right now if you've made it this far in the show you better be positive yeah we need truthful we need a few um positives all right well that's oh that's foreboding all right rickie you uh the the boys here we have not seen anything that on on this uh side of things with the comments

you're going to pull some out and read to us go ahead start with you want to start with a good one or bad one guys whatever rickie wants all right rick you you're the captain i pulled a bunch here so this first one is love it five stars from cyclone seven two one listening to going to sleep favorite pod okay well a little bit of a backhanded compliment fine as long as someone you want to be with late five stars we don't yeah you can say what you want we're like that a big throw pillow that you used like to rest your aching hip at night absolutely like the pregnant you know the pregnant woman's pillow where it's curved like a soft oh yeah i want one of those oh those i mean i was using We can arrange it, Ricky.

I'm a pregnant woman right now. Okay, the show that made me love football, five stars, Ethan Osborne, 20. I've listened to the show since the first episode when I was 13, and I'm still here for the heroes. Miss Wes, every listen, but still feel like the ATN crew are a part of my life. Might have to lock it up as the best football podcast, nay, best podcast. Good comment. That's great comment, and we miss Chris West. That's crazy.

We've taken him from middle school. into almost college graduation. I never thought, I mean, it's one of the great blessings that we're on one of those shows that people use to mark time and the march of time and a ceaseless march that will end with a mark in the ground. He started as a virgin, and that's probably not the case now. Well, hopefully.

This one, goodbye, one star from Mad Kingslayer, and the comment just says, I've heard enough. Did that say Maga Kingslayer? Is that what that was right? This one, true football nerds from hair tie with a bunch of numbers. Five stars. Are they 13-year-olds in their parents' basements talking about football? Or are they grown men in a podcast studio importing football wisdom to the masses?

Either way, they are fantastic. The knowledge these men hold for the game of football is only the second reason I listen to the show. The first is their chemistry. They are like the Beatles of football podcasts. Of course, West's absence is felt, but the way these three keep his legacy alive is powerful. Shout out to my girl, Erica, too, who is a pioneer for so many.

You are the star that keeps this thing shining. A millennial female listener. Thank you, Jet. The only problem with the, we got to go, but the only thing that the Beatles thing was always tricky because that means someone's ringgo. Yeah. And then it just gets a little hard.

I think the idea of chemistry over knowledge, though, is an apt one. Knowledge, maybe not like the first thing that you need for myself. At least not from some corners. And by the way, if you watch that, let it be documentary on Hulu. Like Ringo, Sneaky the Coolest Beetle. So maybe it's that. All right, Mark, you can be Ringo.

I am not Ringo, first of all, suck it. But like, he's still alive, so I'll give him that. All right. All right, we got to go. Thank you to everybody for listening. We'll be back on Thursday with a preview of all the games to come in the divisional round. pound the best round of football all season. Thanks for listening and remember heed the call. Hey,

Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you in. the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Thank you.