Nightcap - Nightcap - A Zach Wilson Debate & What's Wrong With the Bengals

Episode Date: October 2, 2023

Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco Johnson react to the Chiefs beating the Jets on Sunday Night Football, the Bills crushing the Dolphins, the Bengals losing once again, the Jrue Holiday to the Celtics trade, and more.  #Volume #Herd #Club See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Void in Ontario. See sportsbook.draftkings.com slash football terms for eligibility. Terms and responsible gaming resources. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance eligibility and deposit restrictions apply hello hello everyone welcome to another edition of nightcap i am sh Sharp, your favorite unk. He's your favorite number 85 Cincinnati bingo legend, Chad Ochocinco Johnson. Thank you for joining us. Let's jump right into it.

The game you just watched, Chiefs beat the Jets 23-20. I'm sure Vegas is very, very happy that Patrick Mahomes slid down in bounds because they were giving nine points and who knows what would have happened and Patrick Mahomes says you know what I'm not going to take a chance I'm not going to take a chance that we scored touchdown and they run the kickoff back on side and then something fluky happens so you know what they have no more timeouts I'm gonna slide down in bounds he also threw his 200th touchdown pass in his 84th career game, fewest to 200 TD passes in NFL history, surpassing my former colleague and HOF class teammate,

excuse me, Dan Marino of 89 games. What were some of your takeaways? Let's start with the Kansas City. We'll get to the Jets. Let's go with Kansas City. What was your big takeaway from the game with the Chiefs? I mean, obviously with the Chiefs, the Chiefs did what they could. I mean, it was very surprising with Taylor Swift being in the building that Travis Kelsey hadn't caught a ball into the third quarter.

You would have thought they would have featured him the same way the NFL has featured Taylor Swift and all of their somewhat commercials leading up to the game. But other than that, they play good football. They played good football. They didn't blow the Jets out like everybody thought. Everybody thought it was going to be a runaway game. Obviously, Super Bowl champ going to come in and just run the Jets out the stadium. But that wasn't the case.

They played good football. Obviously, Patrick Mahomes turned the ball over because of the great defense of the Jets. And I mean, that's pretty much it. That wasn't defense, Ocho. Ocho, that wasn't defense. Those throws. Those throws.

You see those throws. What did he say? Hold on. You read his lips. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?

What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? What did he say? was no pressure on him go back and read his lips he said throw the effing ball he was trying to guide it it wasn't no pressure on him when he threw the picks yeah did they pressure him yes but on those on those possessions those were those were self-inflicted wounds okay

what about the run game were you impressed with the uh kc's run game pacheco yeah most depth pacheco the real deal he the real deal. He's the real deal. As a matter of fact, I heard Collinsworth, the comparison between him and Marshawn Lynch. You see the similarities in their styles of running. Obviously, I'm not saying

he's Marshawn Lynch. I'm not by any means, but the style, the style, the force in which he runs with meaning, like a Marion Barber, Marshawn Lynch.

You know, it's one more that's on the tip of my tongue, where they ran with such anger. There was intent behind every step they took, especially when they ran into running to their opponent. Other than that, I mean, it was decent. It was decent from their side. I think the thing is that the Chiefs got to do something with that right tackle he's had 10 accepted penalties in four games let that sink in ladies

the record if i'm not mistaken is brandon browner i think in 2015 had 23 in a 16 game season he has 10 accepted not to count how many you know they got off the field, it was third down, and he got a penalty, and the plans were incomplete, or they got stopped or something. He has 10 accepted penalties. That's terrible. And you know what? And it's going to bite you when you least need it to come into play. Because he gave him two points.

He got him on the board. You know what the funny thing about it is? The offense is so efficient. The offense is so good. They're able to do, they're so well-balanced. I mean, in all three phases, they can run the ball very, very well. They can pass the ball very, very well. They're one of the few teams in the NFL that can overcome those penalties.

But like you said, at some point later on in the season in a game of extreme importance those calls are going to cost them you can't you're not going to overcome those against the buffalo you're not going to overcome those against the miami you're not going to oh some of the better teams right you're not going to you're not going to be able to overcome those type of mistakes because they put so much pressure on your defense now your offense because the jets is not an offense that you know you're like oh man we got to go score 30 the opposing team offense like we got to go skirt uh score 30 against jets offense right buffalo you know you got to go get 30 the dolphins you know you got to go get 30 or you're going to be in trouble and so so mistakes like that, turnovers, because turnovers allow bad teams,

you bring them up to your level. Because you see last – tonight, Ocho, it wasn't like the Jets were driving the ball until Kansas City created short fields for them, turning the ball over, and it got them some confidence. And all of a sudden, you can see, like, Zach Wilson started getting a little more confident. No, no, no. That's not what we finna do. We not finna do that.

Zach Wilson played good football tonight. What happened? What happened? You had a chance to take the lead. What you not finna do? You had a chance to take the lead. What'd you do? Tell me what happened. Wait a minute. We had a drop touchdown. We had a drop touchdown. A drop touchdown. We had a drop touchdown. We had a drop touchdown.

A drop touchdown? Listen, we had a drop touchdown. Hold on. We had an interception that Mosley could have picked off. These are game changers. They're about five or six plays able to change the dynamic of that game. What you're not going to do is sit there and talk about, oh, the offense got confidence and Zach Wilson got confidence because of what the Chiefs did. That's what you're not going to do is sit there and talk about, oh, the offense got confidence and Zach Wilson got confidence because of what the Chiefs

did. That's what you're not going to do. Hold on. We play good goddamn football. Hold on. Let me ask you a question. Think about it. Okay. In the game, the one game they won, they created four turnovers. The game that they got close, the team created two turnovers. So tell me the game in which

they didn't win in which the Jets have gone up and down the field but that had nothing to do with it they lost okay to your point they lost we lost we lost the game but tonight was a great foundation for us to build off offensively including Zach Wilson he played good goddamn and the fact that you're gonna sit here and not get this man any credit with the way he played I can't believe you how you're going to sit here and not give this man any credit with the way he played, I can't believe you. How can you sit here and do that? When it mattered the most, when he had a chance to go down and tag the lead,

tell the people that didn't see the game what Zach Wilson did. Don't get quiet now! Hold on. For the people at home, Ocho Cinco is going to explain to you the last series. Hold on just For the people at home, Ocho Cinco is going to explain to you the last series. Hold on just a second. I want you to explain to the people at home that maybe their cable went out or they don't get NBC on the reg. I need you to explain to the people what Zach Wilson did on the last series.

We didn't make it. We didn't do what we needed to do. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We didn't do what we needed to do. No, no, no, no, no, no. We didn't do what we needed to do. We didn't do... Listen, something... What? Hold on, hold on. Did the offensive line block?

Did the receivers go out for a pass route? I need you to give them a play-by-play. I need you to be the black Chris Collinsworth and walk us through... I can't even remember that play. I can't even remember what happened. I can't. I promise you I can't. Because I was. I can't even remember what happened. I can't. I promise you I can't.

Because I was so focused on all the good. Did you get mom coming to your house? I can't even remember the bad. I can't even remember the bad. I just know based on what I saw tonight, the sample size of play I saw from Zach Wilson, it leaves me with a great taste in my mouth and knowing that the Jets are going to be okay.

They're going to be okay. You want to talk about one series. We know what happened when the game was on the line and we could have taken the lead in the game. We know what happened. There's no need to harp on that. How many times do a game come down to a play? All the time.

All the time. It happens all the to a play? All the time. All the time. It happens all the time. It happens all the time. And I named some other plays. They're about five or six in the game of 78, 75 plays. They make a difference. I told you, the tight end. Wait, was that, yeah, we had to settle for a field goal.

Ball hitting right in the hands. That ball ain't stopping. The ball ain't flying. The ball ain't right. The man's sliding. What's that mean? What's that mean? I thought the dude played for the master

the way he was sliding trying to catch the ball. I thought he was a baseball player. For one, he had his hand placed entirely the wrong way. Any ball below your waist, your hands shouldn't

be like this anyway. Your hand's supposed to be like this, ready to cup the ball because it's already low. For one, that would've been a catch. joe what do we expect that would that would also been able to change the game what stuff like that happened let me ask you a question what do we talk about running one way and the ball coming behind you yes that's the way you do it but

a normal when you slide it's hard to open your hips up and turn your hands like this. It's a lot easier to be going away and put your hands like that. Yes, that makes the catch more difficult because it's going to hit your hands and go down. But it's really hard to run one way, open the hips, and get your hands up under the ball like that. Don't do that, Ocho.

You call balls for a living. Now you see what? Now you see him making excuses. You see him making excuses, and I'm telling you, you know those two plays, that drop touchdown and that interception, and just

the inch. It's a game of inches. It's a game of inches. Just like Al Pacino said, the six inches in front of your face, that's exactly what Zach Wilson missed Garrett Wilson on the deep ball. It was six inches. Yes. Six inches.

Yes. All these plays, those are the three plays right there that would have changed the outcome of this game. And it's just unfortunate that it didn't go our way tonight. It did go our way. But I'm happy with the play from Zach Wilson tonight. Hey, listen, even after the game, what did Patrick Mahomes say? Zach played

goddamn well and had some hell of a throws out there. They rolling him out the pocket, getting him comfortable. You can see the confidence in some of the throws he was making. They ran the ball a lot better tonight. But in order for you to continue this, to see this Zach Wilson,

your defense is going to have to continue to create turnovers. Are you comfortable that your defense is going to give you because the two games that they, one game they won, they created four. The other game they almost won, they created two. So the games in which they didn't create any turnovers, what happened? We lost. Yeah, but that's okay. Because the defense, remember, this is a great defense.

This is just not any ordinary defense. This is a great defense, and they're going to continue to cause turnovers. It's going to continue to happen. And with these turnovers, what we're going to have to do often, and you notice I'm saying we. I'm infiltrating because I support Zach Wilson. Yeah, because you dropped out. We have to get points on some of these turnovers. notice I'm saying we. I'm infiltrated because I support Zach Wilson. B, we have to get points on some of these turnovers.

If it's not a touchdown, we got to get touchdown. But if we can't get touchdown because the defense is playing so well, we got to get three points every time. I'm not saying every time. This ain't no video game. This is real life. But if we can get points every time we get the ball, especially on turnovers,

it would make the game that much better for us. Yeah. I mean, if I'm the Jets, I do see a little glimmer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But, Ocho, I can't go into a game saying, in order for us to win,

I got to count on my defense to get turnovers. You don't have to think like that. Yes, you do. You don't have to think like that. No, you don't. They haven't even come close to winning in games in which they don't create turnovers. Are we watching two different teams? We watching the same thing.

But I'm just saying, why you got to be so negative about my jest, man? Why you got to be so negative? I've got to paint a realistic picture. It's a realistic picture, but you don't know what's going to happen from game to game. They can come out next week based on the confidence. You know what? The offensive coordinator might sit back and look.

You know what? Zach is feeling a little bit more confident. Maybe I can open up the playbook a little bit more. Maybe I can do more. Maybe I can do more and add a wrinkle or two in, you know, so now that he has a little bit more confidence and he's letting the ball go. You do realize football games are like poker hands. Yeah.

The last hand I had has nothing to do with the next hand I get. Right. The last game you played got a damn thing to do with the next game that you played. So this notion... It show don't. But when you have a showing, when you have a showing like they showed tonight against the

Super Bowl champs, it makes you feel a lot better going into next week. It makes you feel a whole lot better. Because I feel goddamn good. They won against Buffalo, then how they look against the Cowboys? Since there's carryover, you're telling me there's carryover. So how do they look

against that Monday night? He came off the bench, reliever, went six strong innings, won the game. And then the next week, what happened when they started him? Okay, we're going to move on. We'll get back to that. We'll get back to our normally scheduled program a little later. I don't want to.

You tough, man. You tough. The Bills dominated your fans. Defense, unbelievable. Who's the best team in the AFC right now? The best team. It's four weeks, so we're at the quarter pole. Right.

Kansas City, Bills, Dolphins, Ravens. Who's the best team in the AFC? Well, obviously, until somebody unseats the Kansas City Chiefs, they will continue to always keep that reign as the top team in the AFC. Now, right now, just because Buffalo was able to dominate the Dolphins, I still see more upside with the Dolphins as opposed to Buffalo, even though they won the game. Even though they won the game.

Remember, when you play division opponents, tendencies, familiarity with what they do and what they like to do. So those games are a little bit easier from a defensive perspective on how to stop because you already know what they're going to do. But 48-0? I know you're going to say 48. If anything, I got them 2A and 2B. Can I do that?

Can I do that, please? And just for the sake of the conversation and the topic, let's go with the Bills first. The Bills 2A and the Dolphins 2B. And then I got the Ravens right after that. I got the Ravens right with the Bills first. The Bills 2A and the Dolphins 2B. And then I got the Ravens right after that. Okay.

I got the Ravens right after that. And right now, I don't know what's wrong with my Bengals. I want to put my Bengals number four so bad. We're going to talk about them. Not yet. We got them coming. But let me tell you why I like the Bills a little bit more than I like the Dolphins. And I like the Bills a little bit more than I like the Chiefs.

Because you see the pressure that they're bringing? That's without Von Miller. He's going to start practicing tomorrow. So within the next month or so, he's going to be back on the field. Now, they did lose Tredavious White to what looks like an Achilles injury. So it looks like he's lost for, yes, looks like he's lost for the season. But when you pair Vaughn with Floyd and Russo and those guys, Ed Oliver. Right. Oh, and Milano? Matt Milano?

Yeah. He's playing the second-best linebacker behind Fred Warner. You talk about 1A and 1B? He's right. That's a hard play in Jetson. Yeah, he right there with him. He's all over the field. He's making plays.

He's shooting gaps, getting in the backfield. He's diagnosing everything. And he's coming up with remedies for it immediately. So Miami, I mean, they picked the – Miami, the Buffalo. Josh Allen, 21 of 25, four TDs, a perfect passer rating, and he had a rush touchdown. You can't play any better than that. You can't play any better.

His only problem is turnovers. How many times do you say, if he doesn't turn the ball over, they're almost impossible to beat? Yeah, almost impossible to beat. That's the thing. You actually picking the bills, right? But then, obviously, Josh Allen had a great game today. But what Josh Allen are you going to get? Are we going to get

the same consistent Josh Allen that plays this type of football week in and week out? When you get to the postseason, can we get the Josh Allen performance that we got today? Because if this is what we get from Josh Allen from this point on leading up to goddamn February, you might as well get a-ass a goddamn Lombardi right

now because ain't nobody beating the Josh Allen Buffalo Bills that you saw today, especially with what they can do defensively. And goddamn him and goddamn, I don't know what the hell Stephon Diggs ate for goddamn breakfast today. I bet it was McDonald's. I bet it was McDonald's.

I bet that's what it was. He ate Dolphins defenders. That's what he ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because they had no answer. He was able to get the ball to Gabe Davis. They ran the ball fairly well. And then you always have to worry about him and his legs and his ability to make plays outside of the pocket.

That's what makes him, because to go back to the previous game, think about it. What was it at the end of the game that got Kansas City this win? It was Patrick Mahomes' legs. Patrick Mahomes. Third and goddamn. Third and a highway. What are we doing?

What are we doing? But the Bills played extremely well today. They put together a complete game. Like you said, division games are really tough. Buffalo made this look really easy, Ocho. Look, when you play Cleveland, you played Pittsburgh, and you played the Ravens. Those were nip and tuck ballgames.

27-24, 20-23. There was no 48-20 type ballgames because, as you said, there is such familiarity. We've been in this division for a number of years. We know the personnel. We know what you like to do.

Buffalo made this look extremely easy today. They made it look easy, but this is the thing, and I always say about the NFL, for the casual fans that watch the game, week to week, ain't no telling what's going to happen. Ain't no telling what's going to happen. We just saw Miami put up a 70 ball last week, so I guess in everybody's mind, going into the Buffalo game,

you're thinking they're going to run away with the game. But this is what happens. This is what happens week to week in the NFL. It's always a toss-up. It's always a gamble. That's one of the reasons why I don't play fantasy because you never know. You never know. If you think about it, what got them in trouble is that anytime they brought pressure,

they were relentless on Tua. They were going to make you make a decision right now. We're not going to let you have time to find those speed merchants. We're not going to let you find Waddle. We're not going to let you find Tyreek. We're not going to let you find Burrios. All those guys that can get down the field. And they were relentless with their pressure.

And if you notice, they were, okay, Buffalo got it scored. Miami scored. Buffalo scored. Miami scored. Miami scored. Buffalo scored. Miami scored. Miami scored. Buffalo scored. And then what happened? They started turning the ball over.

And then Buffalo scored again. And then Miami gets sacked. And then Buffalo scored again. And so even though they weren't touchdowns, they got points out of those drives in which Miami turned the ball over. And so if you Miami, you got to take care of the football, but you got to find a way to protect Tua. Sometimes that scat personnel with the empty in the backfield,

you hear them say scat, that means five linemen and all their eligible receivers are out on routes. You got to protect that quarterback. You got to protect Tua. And one of the few ways that you can protect them, because obviously some of the routes they were doing, there was really nothing short. There was either intermediate or there was long.

Man, get the quick game going. Get the quick game going. The stifle, the pressure that they are putting, get the ball out of his hands really quick, really quick, really quick. Get that front five, that front four, get them tired, and then you can go down the field a little bit after you mix up the run a little bit. They tried to get a couple of screens early,

but the edge rushers did a great job of getting their hands up and deflecting the balls because they had seemed like they had they had something going. Let's get to your bingos. One and three on two in the division. They have yet to they have yet to score a first half touchdown through four games.

Are you concerned? Is it time to panic yet? I don't think it's time to panic yet. I don't think it's time to panic yet. I don't think it's time to panic yet. We are one in three. It's a 17-game season. One thing my mama always told me in anything in life, when it comes to wanting to have success on the back end,

it ain't a sprint, baby. It's always a marathon. It's not a sprint. It's always a marathon. And the marathon goes in three phases. And right now we're in phase number one, and it's not too late for us, but we need to do,

but we do what we do need to do is get back to the drawing board offensively and figure out how all these teams have seemed to have figured us out to where the things that we've been extremely efficient on is not working as opposed to the way it worked the past two years. Well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I hadn't run a whole lot of marathons in my life.

As a matter of fact, I've run any. But I can tell you this, you can run a marathon, but you let those Kenyans run four and a half minute, five minute miles, and you run 12 minute miles and you see if you catch them. Listen, this is the thing about it. It's like running the 800 or the 1500 meters. Sometimes you don't need to be at the front of the pack. You just need to be right there in the middle or right there on somebody's hip

because at the right time, you got to know when to kick. That's all we're looking for right now. That's the position that we are in right now as a team. Look at your offensive line and look at Joe Burrow, and you tell me in all honesty, you feel comfortable with where you are right now. Can I tell you something?

Yes. You know we've been talking about and fussing about in general through the media because I'm on the other side now. We've been talking about that offensive line the past two years.

Do you know where we were last year? We were in the AFC Championship with that same offensive line. Let me finish. The year before that, you know where we were at with that same offensive line we talk about? We were in the AFC Championship with that same offensive line. Let me finish. Let me finish now. The year before that, you know where we were at with that same offensive line we talk about?

We were in the Super Bowl. That's where we were. Just FYI. I'm just letting you know that same offensive line. Offensive line is a problem for many and many of teams. So what do we do?

What do you do? You find ways to those who might be the weak link on your offensive line, you find ways to manipulate and hide it the weak link on your offensive line you find ways to manipulate and hide it there are ways you can do it i listen i'm not i'm not an officer line coach i'm not an officer coordinator but i do know there are ways that you can hide the weaknesses on your

line where you're struggling oh joe yes sir you and i have talked at nauseam about how one year has no impact on the next it doesn't you clap you climb the mountain and you get to the super bowl just because you almost got to the top that doesn't mean when you start at the bottom the next year you get back to where you got to the previous year so just because you guys started oh and two and you ended up in the afc championship game and you ended up in the super bowl what does that got to do You look at the way your quarterback is playing. You look at your offense have yet to score a touchdown in the first half. Did they do that in the previous two years?

Yes or no? No. They were on fire offensively right out the motherfucking gate. Orlando Brown was trending again. So tell me why an offensive line would be trending again for the second times in four weeks. Tell me why, Ocho. Wait, he was trending? Trending.

I don't know what happened. No, not this. Listen, all Bushes are, yeah, I was at the game. And Taylor Swift was not in Nashville. I was in Tennessee. You know I was at the game. Yes. So why was he trending if you were at the game? So you saw what a lot of people didn't see. No, no, I missed it because I left in the third quarter. I had to get back home.

So now you telling me something I didn't know. Hey, let's see. Joe Burrow versus the Browns, week one. Two sacks, 10 quarterback hits. Against the Ravens, week two. One sack, five quarterback hits. Against the Rams, week three. Two sacks, six quarterback hits. Versus the Titans, week four. Three sacks, five quarterback hits. Against the Rams, week three, two sacks, six quarterback hits.

Versus the Titans, week four, three sacks, nine quarterback hits. So, in other words, the man has been hit 30 times, and he's been sacked eight times. And you say, well, you know what? Hey, we've been here before. Tennessee, Tennessee Titans, Tennessee Titans defense. Where's their identity? Where's the strength of their defense?

The what? That front. Hold on. That front. We didn't just play no bunch of I don't want to be disrespectful. This is the NFL. Jeffrey Simmons and them young fellas.

What? I'm just being honest. That's your offense. You keep telling me, what do they do? What do they do? What do your offense do? When are you going to tell me something that they do? I don't talk about Tennessee. We'll talk about Tennessee in a minute.

We'll get to them and Derrick Henry, the legend of them running the football. Let's talk about your offense because you told me two years ago they were in the Super Bowl. Last year they went to the AFC Championship. And you told me just a minute ago that y'all started out on fire is that y'all had to get y'all feet wet on the defensive side. Now, again.

I think we've had the same offense that struggled. This is a tug-of-war. It's the same thing. It's a give and take. We've had the same conversation at the beginning of every season about the offensive line woes. We know there's really nothing I can say about the offensive line woes, except that they got to get back to the drawing board and figure out a way to mask and hide those that might have a weakness offensively. There's nothing I can say.

And I just said, offensively, what we've always done is we've always risen to the top on the back end when it mattered most. The fact that we're in a hole right now, we're 1-3. Yes, we are 1-3. There's only one way to fix it. There's only one way to fix it. But normally, a defense and an offense can only hide one player. Right.

As long as it's not your quarterback, we can hide a weak offensive lineman. You can't hide your quarterback, especially not in this day and age. You can't. You can't hide five offensive linemen either. But in the previous two years, let me ask you a question. In the previous two years, with Joe Burrow dealing with a calf injury, and seemingly I saw him on the sideline

doing something with his arm. His elbow got hit. So he was dealing with that in the previous two seasons. The calf injury and the elbow. He was dealing with that? Yes or no? No.

So you feel... So this year... I still feel good. Do you understand? Let me tell you something. Do you understand Joe Burrow is a pocket passing quarterback, right? That has the ability to run

and escape as well. Yeah. When they went on that Super Bowl run, what was it that Joe Burrow did? Got key third downs with what, Ocho? His legs. Yeah. Now he can no longer do that. He also can't get outside the pocket and find Jamar Chase.

T. Higgins has fractured ribs. So now, again, do you still feel as comfortable talking about the Bengals moving forward because of what they did the previous two years, considering your quarterback has a calf, an elbow, Tee Higgins has fractured ribs? Tee will be fine. Fractured ribs you can play with. Tee will put on the flap jacket. What do you call it? Yeah can play with. T would put on the flap jacket.

What do you call it? Yeah, flap jacket. If we put on a flap jacket, he would be fine. And I think, and Joe said it, obviously, in the interview, on how losing T Higgins, it hurt them. Because it hurt them tremendously because of some of the things that they're able to do offensively when he's in the lineup. Even though they have some quality backups,

it's still not the same with T not being in there. An 80% Joe Burrow, listen to me real quick, an 80% Joe Burrow that is hobbled but still has the arm and the mental capacity and IQ he has as a quarterback to get the job done is still better than other teams quarterback at 100%. If you don't mind me asking. Which is why I feel the way I do about the Bengals. I don't have to say over one and three, it's time to panic. That's why I feel that way.

How many in your career, how many receivers have you known wear flap jackets just because they wanted to? Why don't receivers wear flap jackets? It's uncomfortable because you can't put your damn arm down for one. Wow! So it's just going to be that even for T. Higgins to put one on and go play wide receiver, huh? Well, I'm just

saying, I mean, you're not going to have a choice. You got to protect your ribs, man. You got to protect your ribs. Listen, the flap jackets they have today with all the high-end technology stuff, it wouldn't be them big fat ones where your arms be sitting on your side like that. They got some stuff you can wear that can feel comfortable.

Yeah, but you still got to catch the ball. You got to get used to that ball catching or creaming off your body because it's not like you can catch every last ball in your hands. T. Higgins catch with his hands. Don't do that. Ain't no receiver in the history of the game caught every ball with their hands. Stop. I did.

I never used my body. No, you didn't. Yeah, I did. I pulled some tape, but I ain't going to do that. I'm going to let it slide, okay? But, hold on. Through four games this year, Joe Burrow has two touchdowns. Through four games last year, he had eight touchdowns.

In 2021, through four games, he had nine touchdowns. So, again, I'm going to ask you again. Hey, listen. Can I tell you something? Yeah. I just told you it's not how you start, right? I just gave you an analogy about the marathon and the sprint, right? It ain't how you start.

Just because he had your name and numbers from year to year, didn't you say you got to cut that? You just did that. But listen to me. Didn't you just tell me about climbing the mountain? Yes. And then when the next year comes, you got to start all the way back over? Yes.

Well, just because it didn't start the way it did the previous two years doesn't mean we're not going to get where we want to get to. But just what you said. You told me, even though we're starting bad, look at how we started last year. Look at how we started the year before. That's where the promise comes in at, where there's nothing to worry about because you know where it's going to get

to. It just didn't start off the way it did the two previous years. We still got the same regime. We still got the same personnel. That's how you know it's going to be all right. But your quarterback is not as healthy. Everything is predicated on him. Oh my goodness.

Listen, you're not listening to me. Joe Burrow looks the same to you. Joe Burrow at 100% is the second best quarterback in the league behind Patrick Mahomes. Joe Burrow at 80% is the third best quarterback in the league.

No, not even close. Not even close to being at 80%. Man, stop playing with Joe Shiesty, man. But here's the thing, Ocho, what you're failing to mention is that Joe Burrow at 100% can rise that sinking ship, which is your poor offensive line. But see, now Joe Burrow at 80%, they bring him down. They drown him. They drown the rest of this team.

It's not like you have the 2000 Ravens defense. That's not what you have. So now you need Joe to be almost 100% because of the inequities that you have, the glaring what you have in the offensive line. Your secondary, whoo, your secondary, hey, whoo, you can't keep losing the Vaughn Bales and the guys that they lost. Mm-hmm. Those are big subtractions that you got, Ocho.

Listen, we going to be all right again. Okay. Okay, I'm going to check back with you. We going to be all right. It's early. Matter of fact, check back in with me when we get about week six or seven. And then when I'm able to hit you with that, what I told you. What I told you about that marathon.

What I told you about when you run that 1,500. You don't need to lead the lap, the first three, four laps. All you need to do is stay right in somebody's hip pocket until it's time to kick. And when you kick, you make sure you kick at the right time. Ocho, you know, sometimes people just run a marathon just to say they ran one. I hope come week eight, y'all ain't just playing the remaining games just to say y'all finished the season, okay? Nah, nah.

Okay, I'm just saying. We not even built like that. The Kenyans, they're running to win the race. Sue Ellen, down the street, she's in the marathon to say she ready to chuck it off her bucket list. Okay? I don't want the Bengals to check off the last seven, eight games off the bucket list because they just

had to finish out the season. You a non-believer. And one thing we love to do, we love to make believers out of non-believers. You keep that same energy, man, when it starts getting cold. All right. Cowboys blow the doors off the Patriots.

The 35-point loss was the worst in Bill Belichick's career. The 55 points the Patriots have scored this season are the fewest they've scored in the first four games since he became head coach in 2000, Belichick's first year. When you look at we can talk, we can address the Cowboys

because, again, what did they get? A scoop and score, a pick six, that one touchdown. Now they are one, what, one red zone touchdown in their last eight trips. It's difficult to score in that red zone, man. I say it, I say it, I said it before and I'll say it again. It's very difficult. The closer you get to the end zone or the closer you get into the opponent's

territory and you haven't scored from, you know, 50, 60, you know, 50, you know, from the 40, it's very difficult to score. It's very difficult to score. But the fact that the defense is playing so well, playing so well yet again, and bails out the offense, that is a good thing because the tides are going to turn at some point

when the defense isn't going to play so well, when the offense takes over and it becomes their identity for that week. Kind of like last week against Arizona. Ooh, I don't know. Ooh, I don't know what happened. Bingo. Oh, hold on. You told. Ooh, I don't know. Ooh, I don't know what happened. Bingo. Well, hold on.

You told me when the defense wasn't going to play well, that was going to be the offense opportunity to bail them out. So I just went back to last week like last week?

I mean, listen. What happened with... What happened with the Dolphins and the Broncos last week? Whoa, whoa, whoa. And then you come... Then you come into a game against... Today against the Bills. Yes. And everything changes come into a game against today,

against the Bills, and everything changes. Week to week, different things change depending on who you're playing. When you think about it, you would have thought Dallas is going in and going to kill Arizona. I mean, that's just the nature of the beast in the NFL. Week to week, you just don't know.

We're going to find out a lot more about the Cowboys over the next four games. They're on the road Sunday night football against the 49ers. Then they get the Chargers. They get the Rams. And then they get, who do they play after that? Another team. The Eagles on the road.

Three of the next four games are on the road. So I think we'll have a better indication at the midway point exactly who the Cowboys are. So basically, out of the next three games, one of these games could basically be the NFC Championship. Yeah. Early NFC Championship. Basically, that's all it is.

Yeah. That's all it is for them. Because, I mean, it's really top heavy. Basically, you got the 49ers, you got the Eagles, and you got the Cowboys. That's it. That's it. But then what happens, you know, come playoff time, you get a game like, surprisingly, sometimes you never know.

You get an Arizona come out of nowhere, the way they played the Cowboys last week, and something like that could happen come playoff time where the team that comes out of nowhere and gets the opportunity and gets a shot and knocks off a team that you would suspect would beat them anyway. These games mean so much more, not only for purposes, because guess what?

Now we have a common opponent. We played you when it comes to home field. Now you come back to the Bay, or do we go to Dallas? You go to the Eagles financial field, or do you go to the bay or do we go to dallas you go to you go to the eagle financial field or do you go to dallas or do you go to the bay so these games are going to be very important because at the end of the day if it's an nsc championship game right i want it in my building you want to be home i'm it doesn't guarantee me anything but i want it in my building it doesn't i want it in my building i always doesn't. I want it in my building. I always thought about it. As a player, did you

buy into home field advantage? When I play away at away games, I can't even hit a crowd. When I play home, I can't even hit a crowd. Even though they're right there on top of you. Mentally, I'm in such a zone where I'm really not affected by any outside noise outside of what's going on

in that moment on the field. I'm Michael Kasson, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on Good Company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen.

Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide. And hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I was fortunate. I won one championship game at home. I won two on the road. The best part about winning on the road is like being able

to celebrate on somebody else's field and then the crowd is like leaving the stadium now you're at home and you lose those are your fans and you empathize we damn, we let them down, bro. We fought so hard to get home field so we could play this game in front of our fans. Right. And we didn't get it done today. You lay an egg. But give the Cowboys credit. The Cowboys,

again, a scoop and score, a pick six. They played extremely well. They made a one dimensional and they were able to put pressure on Mac Jones all night long. So that wasn't needed, even though he had good numbers. I think the thing that Mike McCarthy is going to keep preaching,

guys, we've got to cash these possessions in. Kick and field goal gets you beat against good teams. Scoring touchdown when you championship when you get into the red zone. And then you're going to play teams that have a high-octane offense that's going to score points. Yes. And they're scoring them from far out because when you play the 49ers, man, ain't no telling what the hell they're going to do.

When you play the Eagles, you got to deal with Devontae Smith and A.J. Brown. Then you got Swift coming out the backfield. You got all those guys.ters that can score from anywhere. So you're going to have to take, when you do get those turnovers, you got to turn them into points. And I'm not talking about three. Do you believe Coach Belichick can pass Don Shuler? He's 29 to win away.

Look, okay, Coach Shuler has 3299 i mean 347 career victories correct right career victories he has 328 regular season victories coach belichick has 299 so do you believe he can pass do you believe he can pass him i think i believe he could pass him? I think... I believe he could pass him, but he would have to coach him some more. Yeah, no disrespect. He would have to... I think maybe the quarterback situation. I think maybe the quarterback situation.

I don't know if today is a good testament or a test of Mac Jones. I think Mac Jones is who he is. We've seen enough of mac jones to to know that this this is what we're going to get you can't turn the ball you can't turn the ball over you can't turn the ball over because you don't have the offense to overcome turnovers you don't have that can't score on your possessions the opposing team can't score on your possessions it's hard enough to defend them when they have the ball right now you're giving them

points on your possessions? It's almost impossible to overcome that. They don't have the firepower. Obviously, Tom is not there. Tom is not walking through that door. And he ain't coming back. The offense is just different. It's just different, as opposed

to when times were a little bit simpler when number 12 was at the helm. Sometimes you don't realize how good you have something until it's gone. You know, everybody starts to believe, whether it's a relationship. You know, you're like, I'll find somebody else. There are more of me. There are more of you than there are of me.

And then you realize, well, damn, she did do an awful lot. She kept me organized. She kept me on point. She kept this in order. Got the kids ready. I didn't have to worry about all that. Then all of a sudden, sometimes I think Coach Belichick thought like,

you know what, man, that's all me, bro. I got this. I'm doing all the shopping. You know, I'm hiring all the help.

And nah, bro. I don't, I don't think, I don't, I don't think he thought that. There's no way he thought that and understanding how special. Did you read Seth Wickersham's piece about he wanted to get rid of Brady back in 2017 for Jimmy G?

You think so? Oh, yeah. Well, guess, did you, I know who went upstairs and told him to get Jimmy G out of here because I don't want that over my shoulder. So why would he have to do that if he wasn't trying to get rid of him? Okay. I mean, yeah, you're right. I didn't think about it. But sometimes, you know, that's like you have a girlfriend.

You have a girlfriend. I'm just using this analogy so people can get a better understanding of where I'm going from. Yes. Yes. People understand relationships. You got a girlfriend and you see something that is beautiful. Let's say you date in a seven. You see a 10.

And you think that 10 is so much better than what you already have at home. Right. You leave your girl and you're going to try and go date this 10. And it comes out to be nothing like what you had before.

And you end up regretting it. You end up being miserable. Right. And that's basically the situation at the end of the aisle. Give me the steady seven. That steady seven, that's going to be like my grandma used to say, like an old shoe.

That's going to be there. That's going to be tried and true. Every time. Every time. And there's a reason. There's a reason in the Bible. The number of completion is number seven. I'm taking seven with you all day.

When your shoe craps and you want to hit. Seven out. Seven out, baby. Talk to me now. Stay with me. The Bears blow the largest lead, I think, if I'm not mistaken, in the history. Justin Fields

was having the day of days. He was having the game of his career. Beautiful. Until the final three drives. He goes lost fumble to tie the game. Turnover on downs on a fourth that that was that was coaching because you kick the field goal and you put that you go up three and now you force them to either kick the field goal to tie you or get the touchdown to beat you and then the game

ending interception here's something that's very interesting ocho the bears might be tanking for caleb williams because not only if they tank, they get the number one pick, but they got Carolina's pick also, which could be the number two pick. So you could possibly get Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. You think, would they do that? Would they do that? Would they really sabotage the play calling offensively and defensively week in and week out to get Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison

Jr. We see them do it all the time in basketball. Listen, that, that takes us, that takes us back to the situation and the knowledge that we just explained and having something at your disposals, having something at your helm that you don't even know what to do with,

but you trying to say, you know what, forget this. I'm going to try to go get these new shiny toys that are doing extremely well at the collegiate level. Same thing again. Same thing again. We just talked about that. Yes, but I personally, Ocho,

I do not believe the Bears will pass on two quarterbacks because they had the highest grade, Bryce Young and Caleb Williams. I don't believe they'll pass on both of two quarterbacks because they had the highest grade, Bryce Young and Caleb Williams. I don't believe they'll pass on both of those quarterbacks. Right. Honestly, do you believe they will pass on both of those quarterbacks? I don't think so. I don't think so.

But again, if you didn't know what to do with the one you got now, if you don't know what to do with the one you got now, what makes you believe you're going to know what to do with the one you got now, what makes you believe you're going to know what to do with the one you get from USC? Well, another regime. Because here's the thing now. I believe another regime would come in.

If you stuck with Justin Fields, that's three regimes. That'll be his third regime. Now, you said it was Matt nagging and his play calling you said it's ever flues and that play calling whoever the oc is so we're at some point in time we got look as great as justin fields played in the first three the first up until those final three drives right he was awful the last three drives right so i mean you I mean, you, you basing, so you're not even taking what he did throughout the game where he was playing phenomenal football, great football at that based on,

you know, what he has showed us so far at the beginning of the season and the growth where it could, a one game, all we needed is a little confidence and boom, you have the kind of game you had outside of those, those last three drives. So you bas you had outside of those last three drives. So you basing this performance on those last three drives only?

Let me ask you a question. You've been to Vegas? You ever gambled in Vegas? Boy, I'm cheap. Now you know I ain't spending no money. But let's just say for the sake of argument, you go to Vegas. Okay, for the sake of argument. Okay, you play in poker.

You up $20 million. You got $20 million in chips. I'm up how much? You up $20 million. And then at the end of the night, you up 20 million. You got 20 million in chips. I'm up how much? You up 20 million. And then at the end of the night, you lost it all. Are they going to talk about that you was up 20 million, or are they going to talk about the fact that you lost? Oh, they're going to talk about the fact that I lost.

Okay, so what are we talking about right now with Justin Fields? Okay, I got you. Okay, when you put it like that. I got to put it into a context that I. Listen, when you put it to me like that, goddamn. Goddamn. Because how quarterback. What do we measure Tom Brady?

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, the greats. A lot of these guys, they got, they played bad the whole game. But when they needed to put something together, the last five minutes. They always come through. Always come through. Every time. And Justinil was having a day of his life throwing the football we know what his legs are his legs are magical but in

today's game you're not gonna win your way you're not going to run your way to a championship championship with your quarterback legs you're not you're just not because they've set the game up ocho for you to be able to throw. All this incidental contact, all this holding, all this hand to the face, all this, what, defenseless receiver. And you can only hit the quarterback in this area. Let that sink in, Ocho. You can only hit the quarterback in the width of his numbers. So this is 12 or this is 14 or whatever your quarterback number is.

That's the only target you can hit. Right. I mean, it is crazy when you think about it in hindsight. Another thing I would go back to is the NFL actually protecting themselves long term for anybody that tried to come back. That's a whole other topic. But again, they've

handicapped the defense to a point to where it's a pass happy league and it's almost unfair it's almost unfair you know for those that play defense to the point where those that are getting paid defensively cornerbacks they deserve every dime they deserve every dime they get because they can't do nothing nothing they can't do nothing nothing because it could it potentially if we go back and look, the Jets had gotten off the field, had gotten an interception from Patrick Mahomes,

and they got a little five-yard hole. It was 30-16. They get a five-yard penalty. On sauce. First down. That wasn't it, man. Robert Sala had every right to be going off on the sideline on that coach because that could have changed the momentum

and the shift of that game for them and they ruined it we we talked about this guy last week chase claypool my god chase he wasn't at the game the team told the team spokesman said he was told to stay away he was the steelers traded him for the 32nd pick in the draft. They're hoping they can get a fifth or a sixth round pick. I told you last week, imagine if TJ or one of your receiver teammates

has said, Ocho knows that's not that performance, that type of effort is not acceptable. That had nothing to do with why they told him to stay at home. I think they told him to stay at home because of the comments that he made when a reporter asked him, are the Chicago Bears using you right offensively? And his answer was no. And basically based off his answer and being honest and truthful

on them not using him the right way, because as you can see, the Bears aren't playing good football offensively. They're not using any of their offensive stars the right way, including DJ Moore or Darnell Mooney. Let me ask you a question. Yes, sir. Was Pittsburgh using him correctly?

Not to his full potential. They traded him because of what they had in the receiver room already. Hold on. Hold on. Wait a minute. Yeah. If he's what you said he is receiver room already. Hold on. Hold on. Wait a minute. Yeah. If he's what you said he is, cream rise to the top,

regardless of what's in that room. Right. If he's what you said he is, why does it matter that Deontay Johnson or George Pickens or whomever else is in that room, why does it matter if Chase Claypool is what you said he is? Listen, that's an issue and a problem with personnel in the Steelers organization and not wanting him around.

But I have an understanding of watching him, watching him in college. Who don't want good players? Huh? Who don't want good players around? But it's the NFL. Everybody good. It's the NFL. Everybody good.

That's why they feel, oh, we can get rid of him and get the production from somewhere else and somebody else. That's the nature of the business. That's the nature of the beast, and that is the way to think. And you know what? Sometimes you don't get that. Sometimes you don't replace what you think might be better. The grass ain't always green on the other side. Oh, Joe, you normally get one chance to go somewhere and then say, you know what?

They didn't use him properly. It's kind of like the James Harden situation. You can't force your way out of Houston, force your way out of Brooklyn, try to force your way out of Philly, and think people are going to empathize with you. You can't keep saying. When you putting up 21-13 and 8, yes, you can. No, you can't. Yes, you can.

Because you see what's happening right now, don't you? What? putting up 21-13 in eight? Yes, you can. No, you can't. Because you see what's happening right now, don't you? What? Because everybody going to say, how long before he's unhappy here? Man, anybody would take James Harden. Man, don't do that. We talk about one of the most prolific scores of all time, coming off the dribble.

Don't do that. Don't do that. Come on now. And I know you're not trying to compare James Harden to Che Claypool. That's two completely different spectrums. I'll tell you what. How about this here? Antonio Brown. Yes, sir.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got tired of him. The Oakland Raiders got tired of him. The New England Patriots got tired of him. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got tired of him. Don't tell me you can't wear out your welcome because you can, Ocho, and I don't care how great you are. Right.

Okay, was that a better comparison? How about A.B.? A guy came off a 100-catch season, 13, 14, 100 yards. And what did the Steelers do? Moved on. How has it been so far since he's been gone? How has it been for him? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. How has it been so far since he's been gone? How has it been for him? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

How has it been for him? How has it been from an offensive standpoint, a receiver production since he's been gone? I'm just asking. I'm just asking. You just told me you love George Pickens. You just told me that. I do.

I do love him to death. What do you mean? But you still didn't answer the question right what has the production been the same since he's been gone no and you just answered the question that's all i'm asking have we gotten the same type of production ab produced no way and he's did it why why are you now why so wait let me finish now stay with me now stay with me i'm gonna stay with you so we haven't gotten the same type of production. No.

And Jake Claypool is gone from the Steelers, right? Yes, yes. Because they're not using, they say they weren't using him right, right? That's what he said. I don't know. I don't know. You got George Pickens. You got Deontay Johnson. Are they using them fellas right?

They're using them correctly. I just don't know the guy that's throwing them the ball. I don't know if he's correct. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. If they were using them correctly, they would still be able to put up somewhat of the numbers that A.B. was, no? No.

Or am I tripping? No. Hold on. Are you comparing those guys to A.B.? A.B. can make a case that he's an all-decade receiver. Yeah. No, I'm just saying. He can make a case that he's an all-decade receiver. Yeah. No, I'm just saying. He could make a case that he's an all-decade receiver.

You just compared one of the best prolific NBA scorers to Chase Claypool. What's the difference? What I'm saying, you only get grace in moving a handful of times. You can't keep moving and saying, they're not using me correctly. At some point in time, you can't keep saying this organization is bad. Okay, you said Houston was bad. You went to Brooklyn. That organization was bad.

Now you're in Philly. Philly's bad. You want to go somewhere else. Hold on. I forgot. Hold on. I forgot about OKC. So OKC, Houston, Brooklyn, Philly, how many times do we get to change?

And the only common denominator, the organization is still going, what's the common denominator? The individual. So I'm just saying with Chase Claypool, I don't, Ocho, think about it. He went to, he's a big kid. I think he's like 6'5", 230.

Ran extremely well. Just like Brandon Marshall. If you look, his numbers, his Notre Dame numbers, didn't like, man. Whoo! Because a lot of people thought the kid was going to have to bulk up and move to tight end.

Something is going on with him internally. And I don't know what it is, these teams oh joe you know these teams will move on man yeah they'll eat 30 40 50 million dollars like it's nothing quick quick because they think they go they're gonna make it up anyway they're gonna make it they're gonna make it up anyway hey they're not gonna have you dragging your feet on there but he just got to make it up in his mind bro you want to play football or not? Right.

I don't know what's going on. If you got something at home, go ahead. He needs the right situation. I think he needs to be in the right. I don't know what the right situation is. I think he needs to feel welcome. He needs to feel welcome where he is. And that's all it takes sometimes, Shannon.

That's all it takes sometimes is for a player to be in a situation where he feels welcome. Where he's at a team where they want to use him. Where they want to make him a part, an intricate part of the offense. That's all. Sometimes that's all we want. You know where I feel most welcome? The bank. How you doing, Mr. Sharp? How are you today?

I feel so welcome when I walk up in that thing, Ocho. I don't know about you, but that's? I feel so welcome when I walk up in that thing, Ocho. I don't know about you, but that's where I feel most welcome at. When they say, well, Mr. Sharp, what can we do you today? What can we do for you today? Ain't that where you feel welcome? Sometimes it ain't even about the money. Sometimes they want to play for the love of the game.

Man, stop it. Stop it. I think it's frustrations. I think Chase Claypool's frustrations are about the love of the game. Man, stop it. Stop it. I think his frustrations, I think Chase Claypool's frustrations are about the love of the game, not the check. Because if it was about the check, he wouldn't be complaining about them not using him

the right way. So I'm standing with my receiver. Use that on that. They're not using him the right way. And I'm not finished because they ain't using none of the motherfuckers

they got over there. Oh, I cursed. My bad. They're not using none of the receivers they got. They're not using DJ of the receivers they got. They're not using DJ Moore, right? And, man, you know what?

DJ Moore had a nice game today. Yeah. Oh, today? We in week 200. He should have been having a nice game every week. Because if you want to win, if you want to take that donut so you're not 0-4, you got to get the ball. You got to get your special players. You got to get them involved in the offense

and make it for everybody else. You know what? I love how it's week 200 for everybody else except the Bengals. It's only week 4 for the Bengals, but it's week 2000 for everybody else. Well, listen. Well, the Bears haven't been in contention in a very long time. We coming off goddamn two AFC

championships, so it's different for us. We got a little leeway. We got time. We got time to get it together. When the last time the Bears been to the playoffs? I'm just asking. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

2017? Yeah. 2017, something like that? Yeah. C-Mac, Christian McCaffrey, another outstanding day. 106 rushing yards, 71 receiving full total touchdowns he's the third player in nfl history to have 600 scrimmage yards and seven scrimmage touchdowns in his first four games he joins emmett smith and jim brown who did so twice on is it time for us to start putting him in the mvp conversation or should he have

already been there he should have already conversation or should he have already been there he should have already been there he should have already been there because he was the way he was he was a workhorse when he was in Carolina yeah he comes to San Francisco and adds to the office that dynamic that they already had going on and now he's a workhorse here and he's doing things just broke Jerry Rice's record for most consecutive touchdowns in a game. Today, he had three, he had four, three or four. How many did he have? Like, what are we doing?

He's coming out of the backfield. He's running off tackle. He's catching sweeps. He's lining up at receiver. He's lining up in the slot. He's doing some of everything. And then we talk about who's the best running back in the game. And this is what I do when I think about the best set of position. I think about

all 32 teams, and I think about players that you can take, let's say you take Christian McCaffrey off the 49ers offense. How many running backs in the NFL can go into the offense and do the same thing he's doing right now? Probably him.

Thank you. And when I thought about it and i broke it down and thought about it based on what he's able to do as far as being a swiss army knife the only thing i can come up the only person i can come up name i can come up with was alvin kamara similar you know style wise you know you know different different in their own right but right but they can do similar but christian mccaffrey is the best running back in the game right now. He just is. He is. It is. He can do so many different things.

He can do so many different things and do them well. And that's the kind of player, when it's time to get paid, let's say if he hadn't already got paid, that's the kind of player that wouldn't have a problem getting his money as a running back because he does every goddamn thing. If I'm not mistaken, I don't think they've lost a regular season game since he's been there.

I think they were a 500-ball club when they traded for him, and I don't think they've lost a regular season game. But he's been outstanding. And if he were to win the MVP, he'd be the first running back to win the award since Adrian Peterson won it in 2012. Boy, Adrian Peterson was special, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, have mercy.

He almost got Edie's record, 2,097 rush yards that year. He's single-handedly. Because Christian Ponder was his quarterback. A guy was in the league. But Adrian Peterson single-handedly put that team on his back and ran them into the playoffs. Yeah. Unbelievable.

So you believe Christian McCaffrey should be in the MVP discussion? Yeah, he should be in the MVP discussion. Yeah, he should be in the MVP discussion. But as you know, when it comes to MVP being the most valuable player, it will always go to a quarterback. It will always go to a quarterback unless you are just immaculately special. What he's doing is great. What he's doing is great. But at some point, you know, your Patrick Mahomes is going to come through

and just – The two of us and all those guys. The two of us. And even though they – Josh Allen. Josh has a chance to win it. He's just got to be consistent. If he do what he did today and continue to do it, man, shit.

I don't know if you've been following, but the Rams have a guy. Goddamn Puka. Puka. Puka is duking on these folks in the NFL. He has more yards than all four first-round receivers combined. He has 39 catches, which is first in the NFL. 501 receiving yards, which is first in the NFL. And he just scored his first touchdown so his 501

yards beat anquan record of 463 through for uh his first four games his 39 catches breaks anquan's 30 catches also and he's doing it he was the 20th receiver drafted yeah no I'm not saying the 20th player. I'm saying he's the 20th receiver that was taken. And he's doing it all for a grand total of $811,000. Can I tell you something real quick? Yeah.

This is a testament to what I've always been saying about using the players at your disposal. That's exactly what McVay is doing. You have a guy that's a rookie coming out of college that is breaking all kinds of records. And in your scheme, you have the perfect scheme for him where you're getting the most value out of him. He's a bigger Cooper Cove.

He's doing unbelievable things. But look what happens. Look what happens. You see how easy it is? It's funny that the Rams have figured it out. But you know what happened? It's funny that the Rams have figured it out. You put your players in position to make plays,

and what do they do? Every team should be able to take whatever philosophy they're doing over there with the Rams because Cooper Cup did it when he had the triple crown the other year. Now you get someone who was the 20th picked receiver out of all the receivers when none of them are playing the way he is. But why is that? Why is that?

You got to factor this in also. He's getting the ref that Cooper Cupp would have gotten. Do you think he could have put up these numbers with Cupp in the lineup? Because all those targets would have been going to Cupp. That's letting you know, though. That's letting you know that it's plug in, plug out. Plug in and plug out. Antonio Brown is gone.

Okay, we're plugging in George Pickens and Deontay Johnson. The production should still be the same if you know how to use the players the right way. No, I don't believe if you had another quarterback, you would get this kind of production because Antonio Brown production, a lot of it was predicated on who? Big Ben.

Big Ben is going to the Hall of Fame. Now, he wasn't putting, A.B. was not going to be getting no 125 catcher with no picket. With no Kenny Pickett. He ain't going to be having no 15... No, stop it. Stop it. Listen, man, A.B.,

A.B. could... Mother Teresa could be our quarterback and A.B. can go 1,400. Don't do that. This ain't just your average receiver now. We not going to do that. No, but look, the thing is that the great, it makes it easier. Yeah, I see what you're saying.

It makes it easier, but then when you're a special talent, when it's not easy, you can still make it possible. Yeah, it goes way up. Yeah, okay. Look at, I mean, Jerry goes from Joe Montana to Steve Young. Two first ballot. Yeah.

I mean, me, when I look at a Dee Hopkins, and I look at some of the quarterback, I'm like, how the hell Dee Hopkins made all pro with Dee's quarterback? He liked that. I'm like, jeez. He liked that. His first, his last name is him. I mean, Case Keenum was throwing them passes.

I don't remember all the names of the quarterback carousel. Brock Osweiler throwing them passes. Man, he was getting it done with everybody. Yes. Yes. Look, I don't know, man. The Steelers got a tough go of it because it looked like

Kenny Pickett got dinged at the end of that ball. He left in the third. He left in the third and didn't come back. That wasn't his ACL, was it? The way he was walking, he was walking so gingerly.

It wasn't the ankle. He was walking gingerly like that. He grabbed his knee right away. Yeah. I'm hoping it's not. I'm hoping so also. It's just tough, man, because this is a very physical game. These guys

are getting bigger, they're getting faster, they're getting stronger, and the collisions are greater, Ocho. And you know what's not changing? The dimensions of the field. Nope. The dimensions have not changed one bit but everyone else is getting bigger faster and stronger so something gonna have to give i don't care how much you try

to protect the players something gonna have to give yeah you're playing you're playing an inherently dangerous game i don't care how safe you make the car when you increase the speed there's a greater risk that things gonna happen yeah oh yeah big trade we talked about uh dame getting trade to the bucks the celtics counter that move they they make up trade trade for uh holiday so now you got holiday brown tatum prozingas al horford and then now buck starting five is dame beasley Chris Middleton Giannis and Lopez still who you like who you with oh are you still with your not gonna have people making

fun of me obviously just just just for context being that I am a fan of the heat I purposely put the heat first but let me get into into my basketball terms and basketball knowledge and in what I know of the game. Obviously, the Bucs. Obviously, the Bucs are the best team in the East.

You like the Bucs over the Celtics? Oh, yeah, most definitely. They have a great squad. Obviously, they top heavy with just the top two. They top heavy with Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. I mean, when it comes down to stretching and you need a goddamn shot, there's only two people you can actually go to. You don't know what you're going to get from the rest of the fellas.

You don't like Holiday? Yeah, Drew is nice. Yeah, Drew is nice. But I'm talking about... And you got a defender. The only thing I'm going to say about the Celtics, they did give up some of their size with Robert Williams. Yeah, so they playing small now.

Yeah. You playing small small now. Yeah. You playing small? Yeah. I guess, you know, because my question is, who are you going to put on Giannis? You going to put Porzingis on him? You going to put Al Horford on him? Are you going to try?

Is Porzingis going to stay healthy? Yeah. How about that? Is he going to be healthy? Which Porzingis are you going to get night in and night out? Because the problem that you have is that you can't build a wall to try to keep Giannis out in the lane

now because you got Dane. He hitting you from anywhere. He hits you from 80 feet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're still a big team because you got Giannis, you got Lopez, you got Portis.

So you still go 6'10 or above. You got Middleton at 6'7, 6'8. Yep. Wait, but Middleton's 6'8? Yeah, Middleton's a big dude. 6'7, 6'8, yeah. So, yeah.

Holiday like 6'5? How tall is Holiday? Nah, Holiday ain't that damn tall, man. What'd you think? He might be 6'4"? He might be 6'3". He look about 6'3 on TV. I've never seen him in person. Holiday 6'5"? Holiday 6'5".

So that means everybody else just that much taller than him. They had me thinking he was about 6'3", 6'2". Yes, yes. Them guys are giant. I mean, guys that you think, oh, man, no, no, they're not. Middleton's got to be at least 6'7". He's 6'7".

Yeah, I told you. Yeah, I knew Chris was tall. So you got Giannis at 6'11". You got Lopez at 7 foot. You got Portis at 6'10 1 You got Lopez at 7 foot. You got Portis at 6'10 and a half. They got a big team. So the question is, it's going to be a great, it's going to be a tremendous matchup.

James Harden is unhealthy. And now you still got to, who are you going to put on a Joel Embiid if you're the Celtics? Or Zingas. You ain't got no choice. At 7'3 117 pounds

You have no choice Because you have no size There's nobody else you can put on him You ain't got no Draymond Green That got that dog in him That can just fight And crawl And scratch

You know what I'm trying to say That's going to get it out the mud You don't have that So you got to put size on him even though he lighten ass. You ain't got no choice. I mean, first of all, that man so skinny, he can look through a keyhole

with both eyes. You know, normally you look through the keyhole, you got a clover with the eyes, Ocho. That's how skinny that man is. Yeah, you're right. Miami, Miami is going to rule this because what they could have done is control their own destiny.

Because not only did you let Milwaukee get strong, you let the Celtics get strong also. Because now they got guys, they got three, four guys that can go get a bucket yeah in a crunch situation you got jt you got jb and you got holiday that can go get a bucket prasingas can stretch the floor knock down a three three so now you're gonna open up lanes

so those guys can get to the rack on you all three of those guys can put the ball on the floor holiday over the last three seasons is almost 40% from the three in the regular season. Man, this cripples your mind. We're behind the eight ball. We're behind the eight ball, but what we do do is we play team basketball

extremely, extremely, extremely well with no super, super, super duper star. We play together as a unit extremely well, but it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough to beat the Bucs, and it's going to be goddamn tough to beat the Celtics. Yeah.

It's going to be very, very, very, very tough. Very tough. So tomorrow night, the Giants take on Seattle. Seattle. Geno Smith, let's go, baby. I'm looking forward to that game. DK Metcalf, on Seattle. Seattle. Geno Smith, let's go, baby. I'm looking forward to that game. DK Metcalf, Geno. Walker III.

Kenneth Walker III. And we're going to see. I don't think Saquon's going to play. So, again, the ball is in Daniel Jones' hand. He's going to have to. You know what you're going to get. What are we going to get? What are we going to get?

What are we going to get, Ojo? We're going to get another example on why going to get? What are we going to get? We're going to get another example on why you should have paid your running back. Wow. And I have nothing against Daniel Jones. I mean, just like we... Hey, listen. Everybody talks about the quarterbacks

and seeing it is what it is and this is what you get based on the situations that they've been put in before. Yeah. What are we going to get? And you're playing a great Seahawks defense And you're playing a great Seahawks defense. You're playing

a great Seahawks defense. Man. I got... You want me to tell you the scoreline? What score? I can tell you the scoreline right now.

27-12 Seahawks. Wow. Yeah. 27-12 Seahawks. And I'm telling you right now, you heard it here first. So if you're a gambling man, you might want to listen to me. Throw something on the floor for me, I'm going to pick it up. Don't listen to that man.

The man told you he don't gamble. So don't listen to him. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for tuning in to Nightcap. I am Shannon Sharp, your favorite org. He's your favorite number 85, Chad Ochocinco Johnson. We'll see you tomorrow night, immediately after tomorrow night's ballgame. Oh, yeah. Call me if you need me.

I'm Michael Kasson, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company. The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen.

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