The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Champion Tyrann Mathieu!

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel start with Bobby still wearing a boot and Matt's recent hibachi experience.   Bobby's NFL Power Rankings has two QB's in the Top 5 that he doesn't really trust.  Bobby reveals a team that he doesn't think is going to lose again for the rest of the season.   Myles Garrett could be proving himself as the best defensive player ever.  Ja'Marr Chase gets caught spitting on Jalen Ramsey and Bobby looks at the history of this offense. Matt notes the power shifts happening in the AFC East and the AFC West.   Bobby gives the three best games for Week 12.   Super Bowl Champion Tyrann Mathieu talks about being a Heisman finalist in his sophomore year at LSU. He talks about finding purpose after retiring and looking forward to what's next in life.  Tyrann recalls his draft experience and where he thought he would play in the NFL.  How was he pitched by the Chiefs in free agency and won a championship under DC Steve Spagnuolo. Who is on Tyrann's Mount Rushmore of LSU Football?  Are the Cowboys a far better team than their record?  What does Matt think Sam Darnold needs to be known as elite?  Bobby gives his thoughts on Shedeur Sanders and how he rebounds from this week. Plus, who does Bobby think will be the next head coach at Arkansas? Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. We got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. Hey, what's up, everybody? We have Tyron Matthew coming up in a little bit,

which he's not honeybacker. Kevin, you're the producer. sir. He is the honey badger. He is. But he doesn't love being called Honey Badger. Yeah, which I never knew. I didn't either. It's a pretty cool nickname. Yeah. Unless it's yours and then for over

like 20 years, people only know you as Honey Badger, then I guess I can get that. No, but what a great name. I mean, ferocious animal, a little bit undersized, nobody's going to mess with you. I mean, it fit the profile pretty well. It's been a long time, but I've had the same nickname for a long time. So I get being in a little jumbo crotch.

Like, that's what they call me. that's why I stopped calling it. Yeah, it just got to the point where I didn't want to hear that anymore. So much like Honey Badger, I get it. You're embarrassed more by it than anything else, right? I am. It's hard to wear, swim shorts. It's hard to wear.

It's hard to go anywhere. It's hard to walk, right? That's probably the wear and tear on your ankle probably came from the weight of it. I'm still on a stupid boot, man. This boot sucks. I can't put any pressure on my ankle yet. I got another week before I can do any weight bearing. But it really doesn't fit my car.

crutch because the boot is so large. You ever been in a boot like this? Oh, 100% is the worst. And over time, how bad does it smell? Because normally... When they cut the cast off, there was definitely a whoo. Yes. Yeah, this, I take on and off. I have compression socks that I wear, but it's just so bruised that I think that's what hurts more than anything right now is my, basically from the bottom of my shin all the way to probably the edges, like the beginnings of my toes. It's just so bruised. And, I feel like this is the worst ever, but this is like the 53rd hardest surgery on your leg. This is not even hard surgery.

No, it's terrible. And I'm like, oh my God. Every surgery is terrible. Do you sleep with your leg elevated? I did. My wife bought me one of those pillows that has like a Oh, yeah, a slope. Yeah, a slope.

Yeah, I lifted crack as I was going to say it, but yes, a slope. And I was doing that for a while, but the doctor's like, you can now do it normal. But it's fine. I don't even talk about it because it's not a big deal. Are your toes black and blue yet? They are not. That's the coolest part. But it's just like I sleep.

And this is what my foot feels like. Oh, yeah. You feel your heart in your foot the entire time. Crazy. I'm sorry, buddy. That's what's my update. Your update, you went to Habachi. I went to Hobachi last night.

Dude, I have never had a bad meal. Watch the next time I go, I get food poisoning. I'm totally sick. But my kids love it. Habachi rocks. Yeah. They are literally giggling the entire time because the guy's coming in doing this show, funny, squirting my kid.

And I'll tell you what. Great meal. In the flavor profiles. I tend to fill up on rice, though. Oh, 100%. Way more than I should. Because that's what they give you first and you're starving. I tend to eat way too much rice.

I eat the whole thing. I know. It's good. It's good. About the time the meat comes, you're already 85% full. Yeah, you just got to keep stuffing yourself. You don't feel good leaving, but at the end of the day, you're completely satisfied. I like, I still like it when they throw the thing into the hat or the pocket.

Like, all the tricks still work. They were throwing the rice trying to catch it in the mouth. I miss mine. went way too much tongue outside the mouth. Oh, you missed? I missed. Everybody in my family, my 8-year-old, my 10-year-old, my 12-year-old, all catch it. I'm like, oh, I got this.

Boom. Blocked it with my own tongue. Terrible. You probably ran the route too short. I sure did. Sure did. Well, I don't know what it was. Great defense on my own part.

It's so embarrassing. I'm not going to ESPN. What happened? Oh, thanks for asking. So there was an article in front office. sports, which is a big industry thing, and they listed 11 potential successors to take over at ESPN for Paul Feinbaum. Wow. And I was one of them they named. Let's go. So you guys are in contract negotiations right now? We're not. But we did get mentioned, our show did you get mentioned here.

I just wanted to give you a shout out because without you? That's not true. You made me interview six times for the show. You didn't want me to first two candidates definitely went by the way. finally after the sixth interview, I'm stuck with this guy. He says Bobby Bones has the sports chops hosting a weekly NFL podcast with Matt Castle. Let's go.

In a case of filling in for the Rich Eisen show. But anyway, you got a little name check in the audience. But I think part of it too is when you fill in for rich eyes and you crush. So, I mean, that's a huge national show. I try to get you to come out with me and you were like, I can't. No, I said I can't. You were like, no, you're like, no, you're like, I'll show up for an hour. and I was like, well, no, if you're going to fly all the way out there,

did I see? Yeah. But I still came on. Yeah, no, you came on as a guest. It was great. Actually, won an Emmy. No, it did not. No, I didn't.

Sorry, you don't get an Emmy for one. For one, one, one Zoom guest. Talking about Larry is going to the restroom on the sideline. Well, what do you want to talk about? Because I'm going to let you go first. You can go to your notes down there. What an active NFL week. And I don't know what you have, but I don't know what you have.

got a few things I'd like to discuss. So I'm curious as, can you reach your notes? Why don't you start? Because I'm still trying to find my notes. All right. I go with my power rankings, my power ratings this week.

At number five, the Patriots at 9 and 2. Only at number 5. Only at number 5? Yes. Why? Still too young at quarterback. It's hard.

Still too young, dude. Have you watched them play? It's hard for me. to have trust in, and this is going to happen again later on the list. It's hard for me to have trust in a second year quarterback to go deep into the playoffs.

Right now we're talking to regular season, and you know his nickname. You know your boy's nickname, Kevin? Drake man, you know his nickname? The Savior? No, the schedule. Okay. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.

So we're still talking about this after the bucks? I know, I agree. I'm just saying that's his nickname. Who gave him that? Is that you? I didn't. No, I just heard it. So, but they are number five.

Here's what they have coming up, the Bengals. Yep. What do you have over there? No, I'm telling the Castle to check his phone. It's easier. Oh, Matt's like trying to find every, he's like digging. There's 50 sheets over here. I can't find anything.

Kevin, why don't you walk over and just hand it to him? I can print him another one, but I'm saying they're on his phone. He acts like these headphones on his head have him chained to the chair. You literally can move the microphone. I'm not getting up. Not out of this chair. I'm so comfortable right now. Okay.

Sorry, go ahead. He's tethered with the leather to this chair. Okay, number five, the Patriots at 9 and 2. The only reason they're not higher is because I don't trust them deeper into the playoffs because I think they still have some holes. I think they're doing a great job at masking their holes. And I think Drake May is playing MVP caliber ball, but I can't put a second year quarterback much higher.

I think the Broncos have a better defense is also. The Broncos is going to pop up in a second two. I think the Broncos have better defense than the Patriots do. But that's Bo Nex is also a second year. your guy. So I'll get to the Broncos. So before you say hypocrite, when I say the Broncos later, because they also have a second year quarterback. I'm telling you, I'm eight-miling myself and telling you what's about to happen and how you're going to come in me. Yeah, I'm going to probably still come at you. Go ahead. So who's your next pick? Number five, the Patriots at 9 and 2.

By the way, they have the Bengals. They should win that. They have the Giants. They should win that. Bills, toss up, ravens, toss up. Jets and dolphins. They should win those two. They should, evenly speaking, go four and two on the way out. Yeah, that's hopefully the worst that they go on the way out. Yeah, I think that's pretty freaking awesome. That's incredible. For a first year of rable team. First year of rable, second year quarterback, just completely turned it all around.

Unbelievable. And again, we are giving them a couple wins, but I think they'll beat the Bengals, the Giants, the Jets, and the Dolphins. To go 14 and 4. 13 and 4. Heck, to go 12 last year. To go 12 and 5 based on what they were, the hand that they were given. Right. That's awesome.

So Patriots are 5 right now. Okay. At number four, the Chiefs, 5 and 5. Oh, my. Oh, now you're, what are you doing? What do you mean? I mean, I can understand. They're still winning the Super Bowl.

I could understand if it was like two weeks from now and they're now back on track to, be, Indy, you know, all these things come into place. But right now, number four? Yeah, here's the thing on me. I don't give up easy. So at number four, the chiefs at five and five, they should have won that game. They didn't.

Broncos, they, heck of a defense. Patrick Mahal just sacked every time we looked up. It was crazy. It was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. The way that the Broncos come off the edge, and they only really rushed four people the entire night. I mean, they came with some subtle blitz late in the game.

They came off the edge and got a sack, but, I mean, it was four people disrupting and they were able to put more people into coverage. I mean. And they don't have to tame. They don't even have certain. They don't even have the defensive player of the year. The best cover corner in the league.

I have the Chiefs at number four. And I did say, and I happened to be wrong last week, and I will take it. I raised my hand and say I was wrong. I did say the Chief wouldn't lose another game. But I will say, as of this week, the Chiefs will not lose another game. Yeah.

They have the Colts. They'll beat the Cowboys. They'll beat the Texans. They have the Chargers. You know what? The Chargers getting a little kiss from an angel? They may not be as good as we thought. They're not as good as we thought.

They don't have an offensive line. They're lost. They're starters on the right, right tackle, left tackle. Yeah, they're gone. They have the Titans. They'll win that. They have the Raiders. They'll win that.

I think the Chiefs can lose two more games and that's it. I think if they win 10 games, they're in the playoffs. If they get to the playoffs, they win the whole thing again. Chief's number four. Just because you and Nick Wright have the same agent. That's a good point. But now, I didn't even know that. He is a homer, though.

But I'm not a Chiefs fan, but I chiefs at number four. Number three, the Broncos. Now, you could say, but you just said a second year quarterback. That's correct. The only reason I have the Broncos ahead of the Patriots is because I think the Broncos defense is better than the Patriots defense. I don't think they have the holes that New England is doing a wonderful job of masking. Now, looking at the schedule, the commanders, which they now suck,

and they should suck on purpose. They don't have Jane Daniels don't win any games. So Broncos won that one. Then they play the Raiders, and they win that. They're at 11. Packers, who knows. Jags, who knows. Chiefs, they'll lose, Chargers they'll lose.

Broncos probably end up 11, 12 wins. I'm going to put the Broncos number three. Now I've got two teams left here. Oh, go ahead. Say what you want to say. Well, I just make the argument that you're saying they've got a better defense, no doubt than New England. But New England's defense is pretty good.

But I would make the case, New England's offense is better than the Broncos' offense. But I'm not giving a second year quarterback the credit, so it doesn't matter. You're not even going to give Drake May any credit. No, no. And I'll not give him Bowenck's any credit either. But the credit. No, no. Credit comes from what?

Let me define credit. Yeah, where is that? Credit and me having faith that they will make a deep postseason run. Because I just haven't seen it. Right. It's a second year quarterback. We both know playing in the playoffs hard. It's a tough deal.

Like I have any idea. We both know. Yeah. So I give them a lot of credit for how they, especially Drake made, MVP type season. Yep. But my list is based on Super Bowl. Okay. Looking for it.

That's fair. And until they've done it, I need to see it done. Okay. Number two. And their offense sucks, but their defense is freaking elite. And I know their offense will find itself, at least more so, as Philadelphia Eagles. They are 8 and 2.

I don't know what's happened to them offensively. Do they have a different shape ball? Like all of a sudden they have like a trapezoid ball that they're playing with. They don't quite understand how to throw it. It's crazy how inept they are on the offensive side of the ball. Yeah, it starts. Look, this offensive line is not as dominant as it was last year by any stretch. And then they also just lost Lane Johnson.

right tackle, which is going to be even more of an issue. I are or out for a year. I are, I thought. Yeah, I are, but could possibly come back this year. Could possibly come back. That's a huge, huge loss. And then also, Mackay Beckton left in the offseason for free agency. So he was the right guard.

That guy's 365 pounds of pure muscle and was awesome. So they haven't been able to get the run game. But when you watch like the actual footage in the film of this, they're not creating a ton of separation. And I know people are, AJ Brown's not getting the ball. Well, he's not creating a ton of separation. And so that puts a lot of stress under Jalen Hertz. And he's not been able to just have it look good.

But their defense is real. And it travels. It is real. Just looking ahead, guaranteed victories, Cowboys, Bears, Raiders, commanders, commanders, that's five. They're going to win 13 games. They're going to win probably 13 games. I didn't list the games that aren't guaranteed.

They could probably beat the Chargers and the bill. I don't know. But I give them 13 wins. before I get to my number one team Honorable mention the Colts at 8 and 2 both the Colts and the Chiefs, let's circle it. It's coming up, babe.

They might make that jump this week. Let's circle it because if they beat the Chiefs, I'll probably move the Chiefs to number five of my power ranking next week. No, they might move up to three. Honorable Mitch, and they are going to play the Chiefs. I, listen, I thought the chiefs were going to be the Broncos.

All right, I'm stupid. But I do think that the chiefs win that. I think the Colts beat the Texans. Then it's tough because they have Jags, Seahawks, 49ers, Jags. That's a rough. Yeah, that's a good go at the end of the season for sure. So I have the Colts at six. But my number one team is the frigging Rams.

Yes. Matthew Stafford. I'd agree with you. Well, hardly. Freaking awesome. And we got to see a nice little game between Seattle and Los Angeles. and I don't think it makes me feel any less about Seattle. I think Seattle's still a really good team.

They had a chance to potentially kick a game-winning field goal, even after four turnovers. The Rams are awesome. Yeah, they're outstanding. And they got the bucks coming up. Let's see, guaranteed wins. Panthers, that's a win. Cardinals, that's a win.

Not the Lions, Seahawks. Falcons are going back. They got to go back. The cousins, right? Yeah, Pennix is out for the year. Yeah, he's out for the year. I think, and that you may find, you may find the actual number, but I think in his eight years of ball, like between college and NFL,

he's had like six season ending injuries. Yeah, he's got a lot of injuries. But yeah, Matthew Stafford is still that dude. The Rams is my number one team, my power rankings this week. I love your power rankings. I think it's always interesting. Yeah, I was going to move the Chiefs up to two, but I felt like with the loss, I couldn't put him ahead of the Broncos.

I almost did. So the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens have the same exact record right now, right? Yeah, sure do. I can't put the, I can't put the Ravens up there. You don't trust the quarterback? Well, it's not that. They're only five and five the Ravens are, so I can't. Right.

Don't they have the exact same record? Yeah. But they're not the Chiefs. Okay, that's fair. They're not, the teams have been to the Super Bowl three years in a row. Yes, that's true. And nine straight conference titles. Yeah, he's never not played in the AFC championship game.

He's unbelievable. And by he, I mean, Matt Castle. No, that wasn't me. Oh, okay, bad of the last eight years, by the way, for Pennix. He's had a season ending. I've got the last eight. That's a problem. The 2026 NFL draft is here,

and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday, and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks.

Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio, app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar.

Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits, to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season.

Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the I-Hourdes. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, what's got it?

Now that you have your nose. Well, gosh, I was searching all over. I was like, what did I right now for this thing? I want to talk about Miles Garrett because I feel like we're watching potentially the best defensive player to ever play the game. He's got 15 sacks through what, week 11? He'll probably set the all-time record. But I just, I feel bad for him because he's on such a bad team.

and he's going to do something historical potentially this year. Nobody's going to care. And they're not going to care because they're like, oh, how'd they do that? What they've finished with two wins. But when you watch him in his pure dominance, you talk about game wreckers and all that stuff,

he is at the top of the charts of that. I mean, he is such a generational talent. And the way that he plays the game, every time you go out there, you're just see him and you're like, this guy's a physical freak and a specimen. It just sucks that he's on such a bad football team right now. The fact that they see it coming and still can't stop it.

The fact that they double him. The fact that, and he still gets three, four, five sacks a game. Right. You're talking NFL, professional offensive linemen, doubling him. Everybody schemes for him. Yes, he is. We know two weeks prior. How can we stop this guy?

How can we chip him? How can we double team him? Whatever we have to do to not let him. And he does it throughout every single game. It's unbelievable. We never know what he does. others are going to talk about, which is kind of why I like doing this. But when you talk about Miles Garrett playing on a team that's terrible and nobody cares about, but he's awesome. I think of,

and I wasn't alive for his performance, but I've been able to read a lot about him as Archie Manning playing for the Saints. And how awesome he was, but how terrible the Saints were. So because he didn't win, he's not really held with the esteem of people who won Super Bowls. Or I think of like, and he's a Hall of Famer, like Ernie Banks, who won. like MVP on a last place team. Right. Wasn't Barry Sanders part of? Oh, that's another great one?

I mean, just an absolute stud, Hall of Famer, legendary running back. And played on a Saki San. That's, he retired because of it. Right, and he played on a terrible, terrible team.

I want to ask about Archie Manning. This is my assistant. This is my assistant. Hey, I'm making the parallel between Miles of Garrett and how dominant he is with the Cleveland Browns and Archie Manning and how dominant he was

with the New Orleans Saint. both teams being terrible while both players are super dominant. And because of the lack of team dominance, they aren't getting the notoriety they deserve. Can you draw that parallel for me and give some examples of both of them and their elite performance? Absolutely. That's a fun parallel to draw.

So let's run with it. You know, Miles Garrett is just this absolute force on the Brown's defensive line, right? He racks up sacks. He's a game changer. And he's basically one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. But the Browns as a team have had their ups and downs. And when they're not winning consistently, sometimes his superstar level talent doesn't get quite as much shine as it would on a dominant team.

Now, if you rewind a few decades, Archie Manning had a similar deal going on with the Saints. He was this incredibly talented quarterback doing everything he could on a team that was, well, let's say the Saints weren't exactly a powerhouse back then. Despite Archie's talent, the team struggled and he never got that place. playoff glory or national spotlight, a lot of other quarterbacks did. So you got these two guys decades apart, both playing in an elite level on teams that didn't give them the platform to really rack up the wins or the trophies. Miles Garrett is out there terrorizing quarterbacks, just like Archie was slinging passes

and making the most out of tough situations. But because the team around them didn't hit that top tier status, sometimes their individual greatness flies a little more under the radar. Who is that chick? It's my assistant. She's really smart. Yeah. Bobby,

did you see Castle's face at all during that? What in the world is that? Is that chat, GBT or whatever it is? It's just my assistant. Well, she is fantastic. I mean,

just jumped right into the pod. She just jumps right into it. Right in. She helps me a lot. Sometimes I'll just... Phone a friend. I'll just talk to her, but to learn stuff.

Yeah. It's brilliant. Yeah. She's very smart. Yeah, she is. She really is. All right. I'll go next.

So we saw the big fight with Jamar Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Yeah. And at first, it was Jalen Ramsey gets thrown out. Jamar Chase said, I didn't spit on him. Upon further review, he did spit. And it looks like it's going to cost him, what, $448,000? Full game, right? Yeah.

Yeah, so half a million bucks because he did spit. the difficulty now is there are cameras everywhere you're not going to get every angle you're not going to get away with it I didn't spit what we just literally slow mode you spitting on him and what's the deal with people players spitting on each other now I mean Jalen Carter week one I just don't understand it I don't understand it's the most disrespectful thing you could possibly do to another human is spit on them so Jalen Carter week one Torel Owen spit on DeAngelo in 2006 was

fine $35,000. Bill Romanowski, who just seems like a slime ball. He seems like a spitter. Yeah, he seems like he'd spit on like a kid walking by. Yeah, they used to say he would spit on the center's hand as he's sitting in the A gap, like just to mess with him. Oh, that's just brutal. That's gross.

He spit on JJ Stokes in 1997 was fine, 75,500 bucks. There was the college situation that happened earlier this year. And that happened right after the Jalen Carter thing, which was why it was so unbelievable because it was like, this just happened in the NFL. Do you not watch on Sundays? It's one of those where it's the biggest story. It's the biggest story. Oh, I'm going to do that.

I'm going to get some pub on this one. As a matter of fact, I think it happened on a Thursday night before the Saturday game. I believe that's even what it was. Florida lineman, he spent on a South Florida player. That's right. And it led to them kicking a field. They won that was a big way for them. And then Oriole second baseman Roberto Alamara in baseball spent on an

up during an on-field argument, got suspended five games. But here's what I'd like to say. Spitting on someone is about the least humane. thing you can do. 100%. That doesn't physically injure them. Right. That is so disrespectful.

So disrespectful. And you're going to get caught. You're going to get caught. And there's going to be a reaction, obviously, like, especially on the football field of all things where you're already, your competitive juices are flowing, everything else. You're trying to beat that guy up every single play within the lines usually. But then to spit basically in his face and you know, the reaction,

I don't think Jill and Ramsey should be punished. I don't think he should be fine because when you, slow it down and for anybody on the punishment council or whatever that you have to go up in front of and get the review board they're saying they're saying look i get why you did it you you can't fight with somebody but i get why you did it we're going to take the final way mostly i would disagree with vigilante justice so most of the times i would go like i don't know i think you still but you're right spitting is it's just a different level it is it's a different level mike tomlin said like hey i told my guys like you get spit on you got to handle whatever business you need to hand you to

handle. Yeah, I agree. You ever get spit on? No. Remember when that Taylor LeWan spit? What did he do? He spit right in somebody's face. They were fighting on the sideline. I don't think, I even think, and I don't know, Taylor, but I think even he admits it wasn't his finest moment. Can you see. Oh, T.J. Watt. Yeah.

Oh, Taylor was a wild man, like literally wild man. Did you play? I played with him. And he was, I mean, ultimately, competitor, no days off, would run sprints with the wide receivers. He was a freak athlete. So good worker to this. Oh, really hard worker, but just an absolute nut. I mean, the stuff that he would say to different defensive lineman when he was in a stance was stuff that is so comical and so out of line that I can't even repeat it.

But like, I remember one game. Didn't he get ejected from a game? He's like flicking off the fans and doing all that. Like that was just him. He was an emotional guy and played with emotion, but you wanted him on your side because he was a guy that would do anything for you. Hated him playing against you, but one of those guys. Love them when he played for you.

Loved him, especially because a lot of times, Lyman are a little bit more reserved than the defensive side of the ball. Now, they've got edge to them and play and all that stuff, but they can get back into a huddle where he had that mentality of, like, the defensive line where he's going to talk smack to you. He's going to try to hit you hard. He's going to try to finish you and rub you the wrong way just to get you out of your comfort zone.

And I love that about Taylor. All right. Give me your next one. All right. next one. I think there's a power surge in the AFC East, AFC West divisions. Okay. So AFC East has been dominated by the bills for what, plus five years. Obviously, the Chiefs in the West have nine

straight divisional titles. So you're saying AFC, I'm getting my, getting my things right here. You're talking about AFC East, AFC West. AFC West. Got it. There's like a little bit of the shift of guard, so to speak, because with the Broncos. Are you claiming the Patriots are already shifting the guard? Already. Already, bro. You guys are both such homers. It's crazy. But you have to take that into consideration.

It's not even a full season. You can't call guards. No, what I think about right now is. Oh my God. I got two Patriots here. This is insane. It's pretty amazing. Like, dude,

they're nine and two, okay? They've already beat the bills at the bills. I'm just saying it's interesting to see these divisions. That's the beautiful part about the NFL. What I'm saying is you've seen these divisions be dominated by particular teams at the top of the NFL for five seasons, nine seasons. and the beautiful part about the NFL is from one season and next,

you're starting to see some of these teams emerge, and the Pats are emerging right now to challenge for the division. The Broncos have emerged to challenge for the division, which nobody expected. And so I guess what I'm saying is... There's no shift. This is a temporarily blip. The dumbest thing, I like the...

You guys are making me not like the Patriots, and I like the Patriots. Well, that's all I'm talking about. They haven't even finished the season, and you're calling power shift. Well, they have so far up to this point, We can only talk about what we've seen this far. You guys are out of your mind. Can you imagine? You're both irrational.

Can you imagine if the Patriots go win the Super Bowl? How am I getting thrown in this? Because I know what you're thinking over there. I'm just helping the guy out. He's loving it. He is absolutely loving it. Hey, have a question. Did you ever sign a one-day contract and retire with anybody?

No, I'm still not retired. I think that... Are you really not retired yet, officially? I don't think I've ever signed any papers. I think they just knew, hey, he's been out for like five, six years now. I think he's pretty much retired. But I never did like a one-day sign. And who did you retire with?

Nobody. The Titans? I didn't even have to do anything. Yeah, after, no, after Detroit, I retired. Oh, you went to Detroit after here? Mm-hmm. For one year with Matt Patricia. First year he was there with,

remember Stafford, my buddy that I like to talk about? Yeah, yeah. So you retired a lion. I guess, yeah. I retired a lion. The one team I don't associate you with at all. Legendary. Legendary.

That's the one team I have no, I don't remember you playing with at all or like being a part of it. Can I remember here? Well, I literally was the veteran backup, and Stafford never came off the field. I mean, the guy had a broken back wouldn't come off the field. I was like, man, I might get some playtime here late in the seat.

No, he ended up playing the entire season, was an absolute warrior. So, you know, subbed in every now and then when I remember one game. I think we were playing the Rams. And he got absolutely blown up. There was a blitz. I thought he was dead. He hobbles over the sideline. I was like, okay, broken ribs.

I have no idea what he's got going on. So I go in for like the rest of that series. And all of a sudden he's like, I'll be all right. I was like, are you sure? Like, even I'm concerned. And I was like, dude, you don't look like you go back. He's like, I got it, I got it. And literally went out there and played the rest of the game.

I was blown away. And he's also a likable guy, right? He's awesome, dude. Yeah, that's the reason that I think I root for him now is because you've, on this show and also outside of this show, you've said such great things about them that like I like root for the Rams. And there's no reason for me to root for the Rams. No, I mean.

Because I'm a Patriots fan. We all know that. But you can appreciate, like, his career and his longevity and also. That I do, but it's a good, if he's a good guy. But he's a great guy. Like, you're the best guy. And if the best guy tells you somebody else is cool, then you're like, man, I root for them.

Oh, well, thank you. So I tell everybody that you're the best guy, too. No, I'm not doing that. I do. I do. I tell me you the best guy. See, I can even give you a compliment without you, like, turning it back on me. Why can I tell you that?

Because I don't, I don't feel comfortable. Because you only said that because I said it. You're getting flushed. You only said that because I said it. No, you look great. All right, it's time for the weekend preview presented by Draft Kings from first touchdown scored

anytime touchdown props or the thrill of live in game betting. Every snap is loaded with opportunity we preview the three biggest matchups of the weekend. We pick our winners. We tell you why.

The three biggest games are the Colts at Chiefs. Pick your winner there. Oh man, this is hard after your power rankings. It's not hard. It's the Chiefs. The Chiefs are going to belt to butt.

Belt to butt? You can pay, I mean, you go first, but I did. You went with the Chiefs. Why? Chiefs belt it? because the chiefs are the third best.

Wait, hold on. Yeah, your third best team. Maybe fourth. Hold on. They're the fourth best team. And they rank currently over the number six ranked Colts. So belt to butt chiefs over Colts. And they're going back to Canada.

They're in Kansas City. They do play better in Kansas City. Yes, I'm going to take the Chiefs at home this weekend. But I do have a feeling that Indianapolis could go in there and get a little win and then really mess up your power rankings. Yeah, they're not. because the Chiefs will be five next week. They'll fall a spot if they lose.

One spot. Okay, bucks at Rams. Wow, what an important game. This is going to be an awesome game for the bucks. At Rams? At Rams. I'm definitely going with the Rams still. I mean, just the way the defense played last week,

Stafford's playing at MVP level, got the run game. Like I said before, I mean, the identity of this offense, they just look like they're rolling. If you have one gripe about the Rams right now, it might be the kicking game, Like I'm saying, they've made their PATs, but they don't kick field goals because they don't have any trust in the kicker. They change your kicker midseason, all that stuff.

And I think they're long snapper. That's the one gripe. If that's your one gripe of the football team at this deep in a season, then they're doing something right. So I'm going with the Rams. I know I do have them ranked one, but this is a DOD game for the box. Do or die. They've lost two games in a row. They've needed to win both of those games.

They need to win this game. I'm taking the bucks. Boom. Because it's a dodd. It's straight Dodd game. So I'm going with the Bucks just because I think Baker, I guess I'm hoping. I want the Bucks.

I think their offense is going to put up points. Honestly, the defensive side of the ball has really kind of failed in these last two weeks because they've given up a ton of points to one, obviously, the Buffalo Bills. But the week before against the Patriots team, they ran the ball. They were able to throw the ball for big explosive plays. And so they've got to get better on the defense side of the ball or they're not going to win against a quality opponent like that. Steelers at Bears.

Steelers at Bears. What is the status here of our boy Rogers? Last I saw, it could be a small fracture in the old left wrist, but that's the last I saw. Okay, I still think he's going to play. What do you see? Same, and then Tomlin said he won't rule him out or in just yet. No, thanks.

Yeah. Yeah, that's helpful. Thanks, Mike. I think if Aaron's playing this game, I think that the Steelers win this game. If he doesn't, then I'm going to still go with the Steelers. Great. So I got a feeling you're picking the Steelers.

I'm going to pick the Bears because, I don't know. You're going to write the hot hand. They just win. Yeah, they're fighting ways, man. And I know that game ended up being a close game against the Vikings last week, but they dominated that game. Yeah. And again, I know the score was close.

Yeah, he's a work in progress. But I do think he can actually be a real. I do think it's there. I think. Yeah. I mean, I covered him in college and everything else. I mean, the guy's got a physical skill set. Now he's got to put it together.

He has not played well. He makes Justin Jefferson want to quit. Right. Accuracy issues, throwing into coverage, turnovers. And, I mean, what does he start now? Five games this year? I still believe in him, though. I still believe in turning out.

Sounds like you do. Well, I do because he has Kevin O'Connell as coach. Right. And I do think that Kevin O'Connell fixes quarterbacks. Yeah. I agree with that, but he hasn't been able to fix this one yet. Yeah, I'm going with the Bears. That was the week of previews.

you presented by Draft Kings, when your team hits the end zone, you could hit the payout. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app. Use the code to say, one word, as in our show, lots to say. The code to say, bet five bucks, get $200 and bonus bets if your bet wins in partnership with Draft Kings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 Gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-HopenY or text Hope & Why at 467369.

In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling called 888-78-777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casinoin Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.

Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then. Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents.

The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency. the Combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters.

From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season.

We'll tell you what's real. what's noise and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's get over to our talk with LSU legend, Super Bowl champion, Tyron Matthew, I'm not saying honey, honey, he doesn't want to be called Honeybagger, right? Okay.

We'll stay away from it. We're not going to call him that in the interview. In 2011, he was a Heisman finals, SEC defensive player of the year, and consensus all American at LSU went on to play for over a decade in the NFL, won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, just announced a new podcast called In the Bayou, and you can check it on on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. Here he is, Tyron Matthew. Tyrone, what's up, man?

How are you? I'm doing good, man. Can't complain at all. After 12 years, you decide to retire this year. First and foremost, how many teams have called you to try to get you at a retirement, and also what went into that decision? Oh, man, to be honest, man, not a lot of coaches hit me. me up. A lot of my former coaches, they want me to come coach, you know,

or one of those type of capacities, but I told them, man, I retired for a reason. You know, I don't think I'm too fond of, you know, a coach's schedule, you know, right now. So, but now, man, I think, man, I've had a great career. I had a great career, man. I'm proud of it. Proud of the way I handle myself and carry myself. You know, proud of some of the things I was able to overcome, you know, early on in my career. and yeah man like like i think i'm at a point in life man where like i'm absolutely ready for like the

next chapter you know so i don't want to hold on to this football thing forever so i'm looking forward to his next for me yeah i was going to ask you about next chapter because like my partner here he played in the NFL for over a decade and we have a lot of guys that come by that have played the NFL then it's like finding a sense of who you are after football are you going through that process right now yeah man because the truth is man you know since four or five five years old, man, that's all I've known. You know, it's football, you know, especially football, you know. So, you know, I'm pretty sure my coaches and, you know, teammates kind of speak to, you know,

the effect of my passion. And, you know, a lot of those guys were, you know, really surprised I retired because they assumed I was going to play for 20 years. You know, that's how much they knew I loved the game. But, you know, to be able to be able to walk on, to be able to walk off the field on my own two feet, you know, in my right mind and all those sorts of things, man. Like, that's a blessing.

It really is a blessing. It was so weird this first off season being out, knowing, you know how your clock just goes. Like you said, you've been playing since you were four. And I remember getting out for the first time and be like, wait, we're about to go to OT. No, I'm not. I don't have anything to do right now.

Should I go golf? Like, what was that transition like from a schedule? Because I felt like, for me, that was the biggest adjustment was not having that schedule set for you every single day. Yeah, I probably say that was, That was one of the bigger adjustments for me as well. And, you know, I retired right before training camp started. You know, I remember kind of waking up a few days later, like, man, like,

shouldn't I be like, you know, an individual drill right now? Or, you know, should I be watching film right now? You know, so, you know, you just got to find your groove, man. You know, you got to find your groove. You got to find your rhythm again. And, you know, you just got to have some type of purpose, man. You got to be looking forward to something. And I think that's what's really have.

me, you know, in a good state of mind is that, you know, I look forward to my kids and my family and, you know, just started a podcast of my own. So, you know, just looking forward to some of the good things ahead of me. Being a Louisiana native, an LSU die hard, you go on through the coaching search right now. One of the benefits they say at LSU is that everybody grows up wanting to be a tiger. Did you grow up always wanting to be a tiger? Yeah, absolutely. Which is why when they when they offer me a scholarship, I like committed right down the spot. It wasn't even official yet. I was like, yeah, I'm coming here.

And so, I mean, it's the flagship program. You know, I think that's the program that, you know, this state, you know, and the surrounding cities, they really do rally behind. And so, yeah, man, I probably say it was one of my greatest honest, man, as a Louisianaian to represent LSU. Not only did you represent them, but you went out there and absolutely dominated it. your second year at LSU, you're one of the Heisman finalists, which is unheard of. I don't even know if there's another safety that's ever been a Heisman finalist,

but talk to me about that season and just the mindset that you had, and then all the accolades that came with that. Yeah, man, I just really, man, remember being really, really motivated. You know, I had a really good freshman campaign, and, you know, I was able to kind of win some awards and, you know, obviously was the first defensive player to win the Cotton Bowl MVP as a freshman. And so, you know, I had some hot steam, you know, behind me, you know, going into my sophomore year. And I probably say one of the things that really kind of catapulted that season for me was, you know, like I said, I had a really good freshman campaign.

But the following season, they wanted to try something new at cornerback. And I just didn't quite sit well with me. And so, you know, for me, man, like, I just remember working so hard, like that offseason, trying to show it. everybody improved to everybody that, you know, like, I'm not just a nickelback. I'm not just like this gadget guy on defense that could do, you know, a handful of things. Like, you know, I want to be respected as, you know, one of the best, you know, all around DPs in the game. And so I just remember going into that season, man, with a chip on my shoulder, you know.

And, you know, we was able to get off to a high start. We had, you know, we played Oregon that first week of that season. And, you know, I was able to get off to a fast start that. day, man. And I think it just really kind of, you know, carried me, you know, throughout the rest of that campaign. Talk about the draft process, if you don't mind. And what I'm curious about is, who were you talking to specifically? Where did you think you would go? And obviously, we know where you went. But is that what you thought would happen the whole time? Did it fall as you were instructed? No, to be honest, man. I didn't think I was going to go to Arizona. I knew we had, I had a great

official visit with them. I thought, you know, me and the coaches, we got along. really well, but I didn't think I was gone there, you know, and honestly, I thought I was actually going to end up in San Francisco because, you know, those guys had told me, you know, that they will possibly trade back into the first round to come

get me, which is funny, because they actually ended up drafting my former teammate, Eric Reed, and, you know, so that kind of stung a little bit, but, you know, then I had to wait two more rounds to hear my name called, but, you know, you history, I really thought the Niners were, was going to come get me.

And then you go into the pros and you immediately make a statement because you're one of those special players, your versatility, everything else, and you were shining your rookie year. But obviously, you had some injuries early in your career with two knee injuries. What was it like having to go through that adversity so early in your career? Yeah, that was tough, man. That was a real challenge for me because, you know, I'd never really been injured, you know, before. You know, especially to like that extent, you know, I had a couple of ankle. roles in high school and college, but, you know, nothing that that ever really required,

you know, surgery or, you know, me missing a lot of time. And so, you know, that was hard for me, man, but I was grateful because, you know, it kept me grounded. You know, it kept me grounded, even though I had made it to the NFL and things were going good for me, you know, I feel like that was kind of like one of those things like, you know, God put in front to you to kind of keep you, you know, focus on the end goal, you know. And so I was grateful for that, man. I was grateful for my teammates too because, you know, I had dudes like Patrick Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald, you know,

in the locker room with me. And, you know, I think just working with those type of dudes every day, man, like, you know, keep things in perspective. You understand that, you know, this is a big game, man. It's not about, it's not all about, you know, your impact on the field. You know, it's about to impact off the field and, you know, how you're able to elevate a franchise and, organization and teammates. So, you know, I was grateful, man, to be able to be around those guys

because, you know, they kept me grounded and he kept me motivated, you know, looking forward to better days ahead. When you get to Kansas City, was it for you, we got to win a Super Bowl? Was that culture there? Did you feel like you could win it that quick? Well, we knew we had a good team. You know, we knew we had a good team. And, I mean, that was essentially the pitch for me, you know, in Free Agency was, man, like, we got our quarterback on offense, like we need a quarterback on defense. Like, we need somebody to come in here and, you know, get these guys to believe in, you know, defense again.

And so, yeah, I was thankful for that, man, because that's a great responsibility to have, you know, and I think at the time I was going into my six or seven seasons, so I was still kind of fairly young. But, yeah, man, like, like, that sparked me. You know, that definitely sparked me because I always felt like I was one of the better players on my team. But, you know, when I went to Arizona, like, that wasn't my last. defense. That was Patrick Peterson's defense.

You know, and then when I went to Houston for that stop there, that wasn't my defense. That was JJ's white defense, right? And so, you know, I finally got into a situation where, you know, this was my defense and I was going to be the alpha dog. I was going to be top voice in the room. And yeah, I took a lot of pride in it. Do you think it was a perfect fit, too, going with Spags and understanding that he'll put you in a position to be successful and allow you much more freedom, so to speak, because the way you play it, you can play over the slot, you can play it in the back, you could rush the passer,

but you did so many multiple things at the safety position, but I felt like the scheme itself was a perfect fit for the type of player that you were. Yeah, man, you know, kudos to coach Spags, man. Like me and that guy still have a really, really good relationship to this date. And I'll say, man, like, if I was to ever get in the Hall of Fame, like Spags would be a big reason why, you know, because I think what I was able to do within that scheme

and a free range that I had to do a lot of different things within the scheme. You know, he trusted me a lot. He empowered me a lot. And I think with that came great, like, responsibility. You know, I had to study more. You know, I had to come to work a little earlier, you know, leave a little later. You know, I had to do things during practice, right? But it was a great responsibility, man.

And I'm grateful that it all kind of aligned like that to where, you know, I was ready for that next step in my career. And then I got with a coach like Spags who, you know, essentially like gave me the keys to the car and, you know, it was comfortable with, you know, where I would take them. And so, you know, yeah, man, to win a Super Bowl and to be able to accomplish all those things, you know, going all pro and just all those things I was able to accomplish, man.

He was a big, big influence on that. You mentioned your podcast. We were actually talking about it before you came on. What are you doing over there? You love doing it? What's happening within the bio? Yeah, man, it's fun, man. Like me and my childhood friend, man, we grew up playing ball.

You know, we grew up playing sports. And, you know, obviously, both of us are from Louisiana. So, you know, it's just such a comfort level that we have. But, I mean, this is like our everyday, you know, conversation. You know, we're talking about, you know, everything under the sun. You know, obviously everything that's Louisiana and, you know, just trying to keep up with sports and culture and, you know, what's going on in the community. and just trying to highlight that, you know, trying to, trying to be a positive voice for the next generation, man.

So, but yeah, man, like, things going to be fun. You know, for right now, man, like, we're excited about it. You know, we continue looking forward to it. And, yeah, man, hopefully we could put together some good episodes, man, that people are able to really relate to. Was it a full circle moment for you to come back and end your career with the New Orleans Saints when you got to come home and basically be in front of your people? Yeah, man, that meant a lot to me because you got to go back, you know, 10, 11 years, 12 years, right? And, you know, before I got drafted, the talk was, oh, man, he needs to get away from Louisiana.

He needs to get away from those people, blah, blah, blah, right? And I did that. I did that for almost 10 years. And, you know, but I felt relieved to be able to come back home, you know, knowing that, you know, everything I've kind of overcome and all the different. university and, you know, really, man, to be a part of a franchise that, you know, it wasn't always about, you know, on the field, you know, it was more about, you know, how the Saints kind of showed up in the community, you know, and I remember vividly, man, like after Hurricane Katrina,

like just that organization, like, just taking on that responsibility, you know, and so to be able to represent that, man, for my family and friends who are all dying. high-heart, you know, you know, LSU and Saints, right? To be able to kind of give them that experience and, you know, that behind the scenes experience, man. Because a lot of them, you know, they didn't go to Saints games growing up, you know. And so for them to have that type of access and to be in the stadium, man, that did a lot for them, you know, in the community.

That just meant a lot to me. Final question. Give me your Mount Rushmore favorite LSU players of all time. Mount Rushmore, okay. Yeah, give me four. I'll exclude me. I'll probably say, you know, Billy Cannon. Billy Cannon is one.

I'll say Joe Burrow is two for me. I'll put Jane Dames in there. I think he's three. And then for it, man, like I got to go with my guy, Patrick Peterson. You know, like he was probably the most decorated high school, you know, defensive back, you know, of all time. You know what I mean? And so for him to pick, you know, Louisiana State and him being a Florida boy and, you know,

this, you know, Florida and Florida State, Miami, for him to just say, no, I'm not going there. I'm going to the Bayou. Yeah, man, he's a big reason why a lot of guys, you know, after him, you know, wanted to play DB for the Tigers. Hey, Tyne, I really appreciate the time. Everybody in the Bayou, get it where you get your podcast, watch on YouTube. Love watching you play ball and really appreciate the time you gave us here today on the show. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. See you, buddy. Good to see you. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.

Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents.

The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits, to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included.

You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis.

Listen to 40s and free agents on the I-Hour. heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, we have one more each. I'm going to go with the Dallas Cowboys. It's going to be my final topic of discussion. The record right now is 4, 5, and 1. Dax's got 2,500 passing yards. He's 21 and 6 on touchdown to interceptions.

Dude, he's playing out of his mind. Isn't that awesome? Yes. That's not just awesome. That's unbelievable. He's 21 and 6. His quarterback rating is 103, but the touchdown to interception ratio is superb. Yes.

he's got two excellent receivers. George Pickens is getting paid. Dude, George Pickens, they got a steal on that because why they trade him for a third rounder? He won't stay in Dallas because Jerry won't pay him. I don't know if Jerry wants to be smart and surround DAC with talent,

not just CD-LAM. He's going to pay him, but he's going to get a lot of money because that guy is phenomenal. He's awesome. Maybe he didn't have a quarterback in Pittsburgh, right? He's also, he needs to be in an organization that can manage. his crazy.

Yeah, because there is that element, right? And that's ultimately, would the Steelers, would the Steelers want to get rid of him? No, they wouldn't. But it was all the on the field, off the field issues, the argumentative nature in which you saw constantly on the field, that hopefully he's matured and he's in a good position now,

but they're feeding him the rock. He's got a capable quarterback to get him the ball. But with guys like that that are those alpha wide receivers that want the ball consistently, you've got to put him on a team with somebody that can get him the ball. and that's obviously why he's in a good position right now. And I think Cid Lam being the number one

kind of keeps him in his place a little bit too. Right. Cidilam is the alpha wide receiver there. CDLAM is also crazy in an awesome way. Incredibly good. Yes. No, I'm talking about also crazy. Yeah.

Well, not to that extreme. Like wide receiver, no, but he's wide receiver crazy. So it's hard for Pickens when he's not the number one to be crazier than the actual crazy number one. That's true. Who's a better wide receiver than him? But I honestly have not got the story yet. Why did neither one of those guys start the first year?

They just said coach's decision. No. Something happened. Yeah. So the two of them. It's like they had a slumber party and didn't invite coach or something. And then after the first touchdown, he ran over. He's like, I love you guys.

And they're all laughing. And I was like, why didn't they start again? Nobody knew, right? Nope. Can you pull up the Cowboys, the rest of the schedule? Cowboys are currently the 10th seed in the NFC behind the Panthers and the Lions. How about the date? Bryce Young has.

Oh yeah, great. Awesome. Unbelievable. Awesome. And even like Jacobi Bresset, although they lost, he would complete 47 minutes. 47 passes. Yeah.

Cowboys are second right now in the NFC East. The Eagles are at 8 and 2. The Eagles are in. I think the Cowboys, I'm not a Cowboys fan, so I say this from that of a non-Calboys fan. I think they have an outside shot to get the seven seed.

Do you really? Let me hear the schedule. Yeah. Only because their division is so weak. And if they, I want to hear how many more games they have against the command. Anders and Giants.

So go ahead. Eagles this week. Lost. That's huge. Okay. I'm going to do this. I don't know. This is, that's what is going to be exciting about this game.

If I were betting on it. Okay. Lost. 4-6 and 1. Go ahead. Chiefs. Oh, and for sure.

They're going to be 100. 4-7 and 1. Go ahead. At the Lions. Oh. I hear you, but the lions are like the 9 or 9. Okay. They lost again.

Oh, man. They're out. Yeah. Unless they beat. It does get a little. easier. Go ahead. Vikings win. Chargers. At commanders, win.

And then at the Giants. Boy, they're going to have to pull a couple out of their butt. Yeah, so if they beat the teams that they should, that would put them at, what, eight wins? You just name three? I think seven wins. That's not going to do it. No, it's not going to do it. They're going to have to be nine. Chargers and lions. Nine or ten

wins. They're going to have to. Ten gets them in for sure. For sure. Not, but they have a tie as well. So if they get nine wins, that probably gets them in because they won't be nine and eight. They'll be nine, seven, and one. Oh, yeah, the tie. In that regard, that's the only time the tie helps them. So they've won four.

What are the, let's say they beat, we're just doing an exercise here. Let's say they beat the commanders. That's five. They beat the Giants. That's six. They need three more games. What are they most likely to win? The Vikings.

Love it. They need two more wins. The chargers. They can definitely do that. With the injuries? Possible, yeah. Because that's at home too. And then one of the three,

I mentioned the next three weeks are the Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions. They've got to beat the Lions in. If they somehow and squeak out of Eagles win, which it's an indivision. If the offense goes off, Dallas is going to have to play incredibly well, but to go off against that Eagles defense

is going to be difficult. But then again, the Eagles aren't scoring a lot of points right now. Anyway, your final talk. Yeah, I mean, I know that there's been a ton of conversation about Sam Darnold, his performance, you know, four interceptions. And I think it goes back to last year in those games. One of those opponents were the L.A. Rams in the playoffs, right, where he struggled. And I think he's a really good quarterback.

He has played in an MVP-type level for most of this season. And I don't think that the narrative about him will change until he wins a big game like that. Like a playoff game? Do you think he's a playoff game? It's quality opponents when it's necessary to take over a division like it was last year against the Lions. And that was a game which he didn't play his best ball. But I think for him moving forward, he's got stuff to look forward to because he's going to play the Rams again. He might play the Rams again two more times in the season as they get to the playoffs.

And so I think he's a really good quarterback. But in the biggest moments in the biggest games, that's where he takes the next step to become an elite quarterback in the NFL. He feels like the Penn State of quarterbacks. Penn State's really bad though. No, but the James Franklin Penn State of quarterbacks, I should say. Like, wins all the games he's supposed to win. But when it's Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon, it's like, oh man. And like, you're not supposed to win those games, but it'd be nice if you win a couple. Right. I root for Sam Donald. I do. Listen, he didn't have a chance with the Jets. That is a, the Jets is a terribly

run organization all the way down to the very top. So no chance. Then he goes to the Panthers. Another terribly run organization. Baker Mayfield, by the way, was there with Sam Darnold. Same time. So I root, I hope that he's able to show that he was what, oh, he's a USC guy like you. He is a USC guy.

Do you root from because of that? Is that a reason? No. I just, I mean. Did you know that? Did I tell you that? You didn't know that. Did you go to USC?

I did know that he went to USC. I actually did know. I just think he's a quality dude and I like his story. Me too. I want him to succeed because it sucks when quarterbacks, for example, and I'll just use two here, like a Dylan Gabriel, he doesn't have a chance.

He's going to suck because he plays to the Browns. There's a reason that Brown's jersey has 41 names on the back of it. Have you guys seen the jersey with all the quarterbacks that have started? Yes. It's from Tim Couch. Crazy. Yeah, there's a reason that that's that team. Right. And so I want Sam Darnold to be able to prove it is the organization

that tainted him, not the other way round. And I think he's proven that. Now it's just, like I said, he's already proven. Win a big one, Sammy. He's a really good quarterback. Now to take that next step, it's in games like that. And I wonder if the narrative actually is any different this week. If they kick the 60-something yard field goal and win the game, they're still going to be saying, well, it wasn't good. Until the end of the year. It wasn't close enough to the end of the year. Well, it was still four interceptions. One of them, not his fault, but it's still three interceptions in a big divisional game. Yeah, that's a good point. What do you think about your boy Shador?

thing is going to come back strong? Okay. I want to give you an ill-educated opinion. Okay. Because compared to your opinion, it is ill-educated because you played. But it doesn't stop me from ever giving an opinion, right? I don't know how to have the crap to talk about.

For the same reason that any quarterback's going to suck with the Browns, imagine coming off the sideline cold against the Ravens, back up for the Browns. There's no chance. You don't have a chance. Everything's, and, but the one thing that annoyed me, because I do root for Shador because I know his dad. I don't know Shador.

But I do root for him to have success. I think on that team, you're not going to have it. And secondly, I didn't like all this Shador lovers that are like, you never got reps with the first team. As a guy who both started and played as a backup, how many reps during the week do you get with the first team? Maybe one. Rep?

One rep. Single. Okay. So that is a legitimate claim. And that was the other part is like he didn't have a chance, not just because of when he came into the game and who they're going up against and the way that the offense was going. But you don't get reps because there's only so many reps per period. You don't have the same amount of guys out there like you do in training camp. And so if you're not getting reps, there's one thing to take a mental rep, but it's completely different about getting a feel with different wide receivers, tight ends.

Even your cadence, you know, you heard on some of these shows that some of the linemen came out and said, we've never even heard his cadence. I mean, that is set up for failure without a doubt. If he had any possibility of playing that maybe you might get three reps at the end to give you a bone here or there, you might run, like a nine on seven drill, which is a run drill. And I will also say this, it's harder as a backup quarterback to go in later in the season. The further removed you are from training camp. Because at least in training camp, there's more reps to go around. You've probably played in preseason and actually felt the game a little bit more.

But as the season goes on, you're just sitting there watching and you're getting your reps mainly in scout team and your throws, but you're not working with the main dudes that you might play with when you get in there. So it's always the further removed from camp, all of a sudden you get out there and it's lightning speed. Because this is the national football league. The speed of the game changes dramatically. You're not used to it. You're getting hit. And then in addition to that, you don't have the reps. So it normally takes maybe a full practice week to where you're getting every single rep.

and they kind of modify the game plan to fit your skill set to where you might see him bounce back and have a better week next week. But again, like you said, the team itself is not very supportive of a young quarterback coming in and playing well. So I feel like he didn't have a chance, but also I didn't agree with the excuse

that people were making for him were, well, he's never had any reps with the ones. When backups don't normally get reps with the ones. No, but I 100% believe that it will hurt your performance because you're just not used to being in the huddle with those guys. The cadence is interesting. Yeah, the cadence, everything, making the calls at the line of scrimmage, everything that the quarterback position encompasses, it takes time and it takes development. And you don't have time during the middle of a season to develop the backup quarterback. Before we go, here are the odds to be the new Arkansas head coach. Oh, very important. I'm sorry, I'd put the most important story at the very end of the show. We might as well go there. We can move it up. No, it's fine here. It's a very, very, very young. At the very very.

So at number one right now at plus 100, he is the favorite Ryan Silverfield at Memphis. I like that. I would be happy. I like. They beat this year in Memphis. I don't know why we played in Memphis. We're so stupid. But we went to Memphis.

Yeah. Yeah. It was terrible. It was the beginning of the end. Yeah. I feel that. Number two, Alex Golish from the University of Southern Florida, USA. Yeah.

I like. Hot commodity. I like him. I like him a large. Program builder. Was the OC for Highpool at UCF and at Tennessee. knows what he's doing. His wife is from Northwest Arkansas. Oh, well, that's a selling point.

I went viral when I was like, hey, I'm not asking you about jobs, but hey, where's your wife from? Clip blew up. It was awesome. Number three, Bobby Petrino, who is the current interim coach of plus 800. So big jump there from two to three. I was going to say. Big jump from two to three. He's still got a chance, huh? You said that was a done deal. He's out. I don't think he gets the job. You think he gets the job only if those other candidates probably turn. down the job. For the most part, okay, we're stuck with him. I think he gets the job if like the top

four or five people that they want end up not taking the job. Okay. Then, and this is why I bring it up, we got two people here at plus 1,200. Eric Morris, the coach at North Texas, and they're playing great ball. Oh yeah. They're playing really good ball. And John Gruden. John Gruden. I don't want that, but Marcus Freeman isn't on that list. He's not leaving. He's not leaving for any of the jobs. I bet the Texas job ends up opening up. I don't, I don't know. I don't know. I don't think he would leak for that job. No, why would you? I don't think, well, that's cold.

I hate cold. I've ever said that on this show? I hate cold. No, never. And then Summerall at Tulane. So you got some candidates. Here's what I want to say. Without leaning into any names,

I've had at least three coaches call and talk to me personally that are being interviewed for this job. Really? They're interviewing with the body. Uh-huh. With the, it's not the board. but it's the committee.

Right. And all of the insiders are saying things like, A, B, or C. And I'm watching. And it's the first time that I've been on the inside and actually know things. Not that I want to, but they've called to ask questions about

the area, the people, etc. Got it? Insiders, they don't know anything. I say nothing about it. I don't get online and write. This is what I know at all. I am totally, keeping everything confidential because they called me as like a human being, not as like...

Right. So it's not on me to share their business. But I watch all these insiders that run all these boards and subscribe and... All you got to do is put clickbait out there. And people that are die-hards, they believe that because it's in print ad or it's been reported here... Print ad. What are you? Oh, yeah.

What am I? You know. In the Gazette? Exactly. What do you call it these days? On the internet? Twitter. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I watch all these Arkansas insiders talk about all the stuff they know. they're just not right. Yes. It's the first time I've ever seen people be so wrong. It even made you have discussed for it. People have no idea.

Yeah. I know nothing other than... Obviously, you know a little bit more of coaches are calling it. I've not followed up with a single one because it's not my business. Oh, you're not going to tell them about the area? No, no, no, I've talked to them. I thought you're calling to find out if do they have a Chipotle around campus. No, no, no, no.

I have talked to three coaches that have been interviewed. I have literally had conversations. That's what I'm saying. No, but I've not followed up after their interview. Okay. To be like, how did it go? Oh, you should definitely do that. Then that's real insider information.

I don't need the insider information. But do you get excited when the coach calls you? Oh, one of them I avoided it a few times. He called like three times. I just don't think you're the right fit. It's no, it's not even that. I just don't want to get caught on the phone. I hate talking on the phone.

And I knew this person wanted to talk a lot. And you're just like, I just don't have time for this. I did have time and I answer the third time. He would call it. He was doing the show or it was fine. But I think every single person that's called me, I'd be happy if they got the job.

Oh, wow. All three, yeah. Okay. That'd be great. All right. That's the Arkansas minute. That's the Arkansas three minutes. That's the Arkansas minute.

Thanks to artists formerly known as Honey Badger coming on. Stead. Yes. That's Matt Castle. That's Kickoff Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. We have had lots to say. We'll see.

We'll see you guys next week. Bye, buddy. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2026 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.

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