OverDrive - Golic Sr. on the Bills and Ravens' showdown, Henry's offensive skill set and the Chiefs and Lions' dominance

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

Westwood One NFL Analyst and Host of GoJo and Golic, Mike Golic joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NFL, Bill Belichick's college coaching, the Bills and Ravens' showdown in the AFC Divisional Round, defending against Derrick Henry, the Eagles set to play the Rams, the Chiefs and Lions entering the playoffs and more.

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new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, these great college players are going to get paid. Do you see a limit in sight or is it just going to keep going up and up? Well, I mean, it is wild to think of, I know we all think of when we were back in college what we could have made. I would have, you know, had a local bar probably give me a few free beers. Well, they actually did anyway. Right. The story for another day. I think eventually where it will go to, it's going to go to there will be a salary cap and it will be paid by the teams. Now there was already a lawsuit that the NCAA lost and they're paying money to the teams

and they're going to start paying it out next year to players. Kind of like a revenue sharing impact. But players still get NIL on the other side of that. I think eventually it's all going to go to the schools, they'll control it all and there'll be kind of a revenue sharing. So I think eventually there'll be a bit of a cap on it. Right now there's not so players are taking advantage of it. Like Carson Beck going to Miami to where his girlfriend is

and to play for Miami and make a bunch of money. So it's kind of the wild, wild west. It's basically college athletes have free agency every year where, you know, NFL and basketball and hockey, you actually, in the pros hockey you actually in the pros you actually have contracts so you can't be a free agent every year so there's actually more freedom in college movement than there is in the pros. What is your read on Belichick? Do you think it's gonna work for him in North

Carolina? Man I don't know I just don't know I I just don't know. I mean, just for what we talked about, if players don't like the what now players will, I think, like the idea of Bill Belichick, because all recruits, listen, 98% of players in the college think they're going to play in the NFL and 2% make it to the NFL. It's okay to think you're going to play in the NFL as long as you, you know, do your school and hopefully get your education to boot so when you don't make it, you're ready to go. But a lot of players will go there thinking that Bill will prepare them for the NFL. But you know, listen, he's a tough coach. Not to say that there aren't other tough coaches, but just what we talked about, if a player doesn't like his style, that player will leave.

The player will just go get offered money somewhere else and just leave. So it gets more difficult and listen, Bill is not going to change the way he coaches. There's no doubt about that. So it'll be interesting to see how the dynamics work. Absolutely it will. NFL playoffs resuming this weekend the nightcap on Sunday That's the game everyone's looking forward to Buffalo Baltimore of the two quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson

Who do you have more faith in that they will show up and play great on Sunday night? Well, I actually have faith in both of them I mean they're gonna be one two in in MVP right there and I calling this game. So obviously I can't make a pick in this game, but they're going to be one, two in MVP. And I think Lamar is going to win his third. Um, you go back and I don't know how much it counts in week four, uh, Baltimore just smoked the bill 35 to 10. I mean, ran for a ton of yards and that's what they're going to try and do again.

Now Buffalo ran for a lot of yards against Denver over 200 in the wild card week. But the one thing about these two quarterbacks, at least for this year, they haven't turned the ball over and that's a key. They can both run, they can both pass. Jay Flowers should be back for Baltimore. So that's going to help from the weapons side for Baltimore and for Lamar. But it should be a really good game because of these two quarterbacks.

Lamar has been a freak, I mean the MVPs, you're saying he's possibly going to win his third. What do you think he has to do come playoff time, Mike? Is it just simply be the man and get it done? Is that all he has to do to kind of break through and get it done here? Well, I mean, he's been the man two other times in the regular season to win the MVP, but got to the AFC Championship game last year and lost it. But they haven't done well in his time going to the playoffs. So that's the next hurdle for him.

If he were to win the MVP, there are six other players that have won at least three MVPs, and they all have won Super Bowls or in the case of Jim Brown, an NFL championship. So that's the next level for him, is he has to get this team to a Super Bowl champion, kind of like Josh Allen. Listen, Josh Allen, while he doesn't have any MVPs, has the weight of Buffalo being 0-4 in the Super Bowls and he's trying to break them from that. Now, he's got to get to a Super Bowl to be able to break it from that. But Lamar, listen, they were the top rushing team last year when they had Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbin. Now they have Derrick Henry. They're the top rushing attack.

But it's a different rushing attack. So much attention has to be paid to Derrick Henry that that's actually freeing up Lamar Jackson even more. He's the first quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards and rush for over 800, rush for over 900 yards and threw for over 4,100 yards. No other quarterback's ever done that and that's certainly because he's got a great, he's a great player, he's got a great old line and a hell of a back of Derrick Henry. Mike, you were a defensive lineman like trying to tackle Derrick Henry. Like do you, I'm sure you tried to, you had to tackle some just freaks in your career of course, but he is such a massive human being. He runs downhill. Do you ever wonder how would you

attack that? If you got him in the open field, how do you attack Derek Henry? So two things. First, probably one of the biggest backs I played against when I played was Christian Okoye for the Chiefs. He was a, they called him the Nigerian nightmare. He was like a freight train. Yeah. And when my brother Bob was in the league, my brother Bob, my brother Bob played against Earl Campbell and Earl was in Texas and Bob was at Notre Dame and then they faced each other in the NFL as well. Earl was a big guy. See here's the thing about a D lineman. D lineman don't really get the running back at full speed or have to tackle them in the open field, thank God, because it would have been very difficult to do. You kind of get the back as he's getting going. It's when

a Derek Henry gets to a second level or third level where he has speed built up, or he's stiff arming guys into the dirt, that's the worry. The worry is a DB seeing a freight train, Derek Henry turning the corner or breaking through the middle at full speed. For a D Lyman, A, we're bigger than he is, and B, he's not at full speed

when he's going through the defensive line. So we actually, as D Lyman, don't have to face the full speed tank, Derrick Henry. Man, he is such a beast. And I mean, that's going to be a great game, but you look at the previous game, the Eagles, obviously, you know, you're an alum, you know what they're expecting in Philly. But you got the Rams now coming across the country Rams have been playing really well down the stretch they beat up on Minnesota the other night. Eagles are expected to win

they're going to be a favorite in this game but do you do you think the Rams have a legitimate shot of going in there and winning this and if so how far could the Rams go these playoffs? and if so how far could the rams go these playoffs? The Rams, boy they have a young Calica defense. I mean they really did. You barely even talk of Aaron Donald being retired because they got Braden Fisk and Jared Burst to go along with the other young D Lyman that they have. It's been incredible what that defense has done. Now, of course, they played, they played the Rams earlier in the year as

well. And, and they won 37 to 20, they ran a lot over them. That's what that's what Philly wants to do. They want to run the ball. And while the Rams they sacked Sam Darnold nine times. And Philadelphia's given up on the regular season, 45 sacks, so they've given up sacks. There's no doubt about that. But they wanna run the ball. They wanna run the ball with Shaquon Barkley,

the 2000, Russer, Jalen Hurts, and then supplement with the pass. And they probably have, if not the best, one of the top three offensive lines in the league. So that's what they wanna do do and the offense for the Rams with Pukin Okula healthy Cooper Cup healthy Kyron Williams healthy and Matthew Stafford playing they have uncharacteristically toward the end of the year not scored many points that's been kind of a head-scratcher to me with that talent on

offensive firepower so they can put up in the 40s or I've seen them put up in the teams a couple of times. So they're going to have to score some points because this Eagles team is going to score some points. Absolutely. With Mike Golick, so you look at the number one seeds in Detroit and Kansas City, they're at home on Saturday, they've got Washington going into Detroit, Houston going into Kansas City. Either of those teams, or of the two, which one do you think is most vulnerable this weekend, Detroit or Kansas City?

Wow, that's a great question because Kansas City has been winning by one score throughout most of the season, but they have Patrick Mahomes. They get to play at home even though they proved they could play on the road last year. They have Houston Mahomes, right? And they get to play at home, even though they proved they could play on the road last year. They have Houston coming in. Houston had basically a mediocre year and won a very bad division, but then they look great against the Chargers.

The defense was stifling. So that defense is going to have to step up and slow down Mahomes. But Washington going to Detroit, I think that that is going to be very, very difficult to do. I don't know if Washington can put up the points to keep up with Detroit. Detroit can score so many points that I don't know if Washington, even though the secondary for Detroit has been struggling, if they can keep up I don't think either visiting team is going to win and and I just I actually picked the 20 Kansas City at the beginning of the year to meet in the Super Bowl I just I can't fathom picking against Kansas City until the Super Bowl

just because of Patrick Mahone we keep saying although only winning by one score by one score but you know what they keep doing they keep winning yeah yeah they do man they keep winning so do you're fighting Irish I guess we'll get you out of here on that question they've got the Buckeyes in the championship game do you think Notre Dame can do it and if so how do they pull this off I mean sure it's one game I mean anything that happened one game listen I know when you line up the rosters that Ohio State is, is, is looks better on paper. They have the number one defense, uh, in points scored, uh, in yards allowed. Um, you know, and their offense, they have the heavy hitters and Jeremiah Smith, the freshmen, uh, uh, wide receiver who only had one catch on three targets against Texas.

So it's, it's Notre Dame is man covered so they're going to man up against these these excellent Ohio State wide receivers. They're going to need to get pressure on Will Howard but Notre Dame's rushing attack it will it sometimes it takes a bit to get going they'll get stopped they'll get stopped and they'll break one they'll gain two yards one yards no yards and they'll gain five yards then they'll gain two yards then they'll gain ten then they'll gain twelve then they'll gain two yards, one yard, no yards, then they'll gain five yards, then they'll gain two yards, then they'll gain ten, then they'll gain twelve, then they'll gain fifteen. It's just as long as the score doesn't get to be a couple of scores away where Notre

Dame has to pass themselves back into the game because they've never had to do it this year. And so you don't know how the offense, the passing offense for Notre Dame can do if they have to pass all the time. Hopefully they won't get put in that position. If they're not in that position, hell, they can definitely win this game. I mean, I'm certainly going to pick them. There's no doubt about it.

It will be a hard, hard, hard fought game in Ohio State. What a rebound after the game against Michigan where everybody started talking about Ryan Day's job. They have just looked incredible since. No kidding, what a turnaround man, all the way to the national title game and heavy favorites at that. So we'll see, it's going to be a fun one. That's after we get through the first weekend.

Enjoy your time in Buffalo, Mike. Really appreciate you doing this. Thank you. Oh, you got it guys thanks. There's Mike Goulek senior of Westwood one and former Notre Dame fighting Irish and NFLer as well.