The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - 49ers UPSET Eagles, Patriots DEFEAT Chargers, Bills EDGE Jaguars on NFL Wild Card Sunday

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff reacts following Sunday's NFL Wild Card Weekend games. John opens the show talking about how impressive it was for the 49ers to upset the Eagles despite all the injur...ies SF has suffered. Next, he talks about the Patriots defense stopping the Chargers from getting anything going on the offensive side of the ball, and finally he discusses the exciting Bills comeback win over the Jags. 03:52 - 49ers-Eagles Reaction 30:19 - Patriots-Chargers Reaction 36:00 - Bills-Jaguars Reaction 40:00 - Steelers-Texans Lookahead 50:30 - Matt Ryan named Falcons President Follow John on Twitter and Instagram for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
Starting point is 00:00:12 We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.
Starting point is 00:00:30 you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:01:04 Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with. laughs, tears, or tears of laughter.
Starting point is 00:01:32 Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Gianna Maria Riva on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry.
Starting point is 00:01:53 You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:02:09 The volume. What is going on, my people? How are we doing? John Middlecough, three and out podcast, brought to you by my friends at Zone Pouches. We have officially gone live and launched on Netflix. Well, I'm recording this on Sunday night, but if you're listening to this on Monday, we're often rocking on Netflix,
Starting point is 00:02:47 so you can go check that out. Subscribe to our podcast and all of our videos and everything we record here will be up there video-wise. So a pretty big deal for the show. Hopefully you guys, I know you will check it out and let me know what you think. Nothing changes, though. We will do a show tonight based on the craziness.
Starting point is 00:03:08 Obviously, Siriani and the Eagles. lose to the 49ers in just an all-timer. Drake May outplays Herbert. Josh Allen just goes Michael Jordan. We know the matchups. The bills playing the Broncos, the Patriots taking on whoever wins tonight. Niners, Seattle, and Ram, Chicago.
Starting point is 00:03:32 Matt Ryan has officially taken the Falcons job as the Grand Puba, the boss. and I'm going to have a baby this week. So we got a lot going on. Fluid situation. We'll still be recording pods all week, have a couple ideas. But the plan, I think, is to have a baby as of right now on Thursday. We have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:03:52 So if something changes and he's flipped around, then we just wait. Maybe you'll find out a little after I do. But other than that, I plan on having podcasts all week and recording some stuff. Just if I'm not able to do one on Thursday for Friday. but we will have shows. Saturday might be a little up in the air, the reaction to the, I guess it is the 49er Seattle game,
Starting point is 00:04:17 but hopefully we're back home by then. Come on, buddy. Other than that, you guys know the Drew. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the Three and Out podcast. And obviously Netflix, go check that out.
Starting point is 00:04:31 So let's just talk some football. Let's just start right off the bat with a man named Nick Cerexie. And I thought about it like this. Let's just pose a question. If I asked you or anyone, they don't even need to work in the NFL, just a football fan. If Nick Siriani was fired on Monday, would he get another coaching job this season? And when I say coaching job, would anyone hire him to be their head coach?
Starting point is 00:04:59 Since none of you are here, I will answer that question for you. The answer is no. Well, let's take some other guys who were fired. Miami, I think we kind of just assumed that Mike McDaniel is going to come back. Randomly in the middle of the week, see ya, you're gone. Mike McDaniel is fired. Kevin Stefansky a week ago was not shocking, also fired. Let's assume those guys realized,
Starting point is 00:05:24 Stefansky's interviewing for head coaching jobs, might as easily could land one. Mike McDaniel, also he's interviewing for the Cleveland Browns, who Mike Silver, Davis California resident, former legendary SI writer, wrote a book about like the Shanahan tree of that crew of guys, the former Washington coaches. Mike McDaniel was famously wrote a 32-page, essentially essay, to help Kyle Shanahan and himself get out from under the Cleveland Browns leadership in Jimmy Haslam, and they were able to resign and leave and go to Atlanta.
Starting point is 00:05:58 Well, Mike McDaniel, I think either has or is going to interview for the Cleveland Browns. But if Stavansky and McDaniel were not going to be head coaches and don't get head coaching jobs, both of those guys, and definitely Mike McDaniel, would be not only lock coordinators, people would think about firing their offensive coordinator to hire those two guys. They would have teams lined up all around the league to hire Mike McDaniel and Kevin Stafansky to call their offense for a ton of head coaches all around the NFL. No one would hire Nick Siriani to be their offensive coordinator. The Eagles don't want to.
Starting point is 00:06:32 let him call place. Let's be real. Let's look at the business world. Some people create, start things from scratch, and dominate that world, right? Whatever their individual industry is. Jeff Bezos created Amazon from nothing. Elon's created countless companies, right? Sam Walton created Walmart from thin air, built a thing up from scratch. Some people hit the lottery and get rich overnight. Where does Nick Siriani fall under that? I'd argue he hit the lottery. He got Howie Roseman as a general manager. He got an owner that's willing to spend unlimited amounts of money.
Starting point is 00:07:11 Not just on his own roster. They obviously have been well renowned now for front-loading contracts and being able to pay guys more cash up front and how they can manipulate the books. But a couple years ago, their defense was in Chambles. What did Jeffrey Lurie do? What's it going to take to get Vic Fangio? We will pay him the most of any coordinator in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:07:32 Most owners aren't willing to do that. Hell, the majority of owners get knocked for being cheap. So Nick Siriani's in a situation where he plays the 49ers, who when Kyle Shanahan addressed the team in the locker room, after one of his most historic wins as a head coach, he gave props to the two linebackers, neither of which were on the team a month ago. When it was reported this morning that Lane Johnson,
Starting point is 00:07:56 a future Hall of Famer was not going to be able to go, do you know the first thing I thought? Who cares? doesn't impact the 49ers. They're dead last in sacks. Nick Bosa is currently third on the team in sacks. He hasn't played in months. The 49ers defense, beside their secondary,
Starting point is 00:08:15 was a bunch of random practice squad free agent off the street guys. And somehow the Eagles couldn't do anything when it mattered. Brock Purdy threw two bad interceptions. The Eagles scored three points off both interceptions. I saw a tweet tonight. that the Eagles, if you remove defensive scores, averaged less than 10 points in the second half of games all season long. They have AJ Brown, who we can get into here in a second,
Starting point is 00:08:45 is obviously one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL. Terrible game tonight. But dude's big-time player. So over the course of the season, at any moment he should dominate. Devante Smith is a top 15 pick who's not only lived up to it is a stud. Sequin Barclay last year ran for 2,000 yards. Dallas Goddard, I think Tom Brady said a night, like that's his 12th touchdown of the year. He's one of the more productive past catching tight ends in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:09:12 They have a quarterback who is a true dual threat guy. He might not have the high end speed like Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray, but he is a runner. And I thought, listen, I got it wrong. I'd never thought when he came out of Oklahoma, and I'm a big Oklahoma guy because the guy before I got into this world, I worked in football. The guy that hired me when I first started out of college at Fresno State, he works at Oklahoma. So I've been dialed into that program for a long time and watched all Lincoln Riley's, the Baker Mayfields, the Kyler Murray's, and Jalen Hurts.
Starting point is 00:09:43 And I thought Jalen was probably going to have to play running back in the pros. I thought that was the craziest pick I'd ever seen when Howie took him in the second round. I was wrong. And then he became more than a productive passer. But one thing early on in his career, why I thought he'd be a running back, because I thought he could be like Frank Gore. He's not some blazing speed guy up the sideline.
Starting point is 00:10:08 His instincts as a runner are actually much more natural than even some running backs. You know what the Chargers would have done to have him just taking carries? He's patient, he has great vision. He's just natural instincts with the ball in his hands when he's moving. He even had a couple runs a day. One was called back. It's like, why didn't Jaylen have to be? have 10 plus runs. Say this about Lamar. Since Lamar became MVP caliber, he'll do whatever it takes
Starting point is 00:10:34 to win. You need me to run, need me to pass. I don't give a damn. I'll do what it takes to help the Ravens get a victory. Jayla's like, no, I want to play like Russell Wilson. Dominate from the pocket. You're not a pocket quarterback, man. You're a dual threat player. So watching the Eagles just completely crumble, I worked there for a couple years. I work for Howie. The pressure in that building is immense. Hell, I still get nightmares about it sometimes, which honestly keeps me on my toes, because the world I live in now, still there's a ton of pressure. I got a growing family. It's not like I don't have pressure to produce and to do well financially and professionally for my wife and my future child, but it's a little different. I don't walk into that office on pins and
Starting point is 00:11:17 needles, and that's what happens in Philadelphia, which is part of football culture. It was like that at Alabama. It's like that in Philadelphia. It was like that in Belichick forever. It's a natural environment in the football world, and it's very healthy. But they don't tolerate getting embarrassed. And tonight watching, or this afternoon, watching the Eagles get embarrassed by Brock Purdy throwing to DeMarcus Robinson, who looked like he was Jerry Rice, I was like, this is not going to go over well. George Kittle, who is not just one of my. favorite players in the NFL. He's truly one of the great tight ends I've ever seen in my life. He's going to have his number retired one time as a 49er. He's a complete badass and as
Starting point is 00:12:03 Christian McCaffrey said after the game, he's the heart and soul of our team. Let me repeat, the heart and soul of their team, who is already missing Fred Warner, who'd argue from some people that he was the heart and soul of the team. He's been gone forever. Nick Bosa, long gone. They're missing players left and right. And it didn't matter. Because it turned out the Eagles aren't very well coached. And they're just not a very good team. And the 49ers shouldn't be that good of a team.
Starting point is 00:12:33 They're missing way too many players. But there's like a character to them where they didn't fracture. When it would have been easy to when George Kittle is getting carted off the field, war is pretty clear. Yeah, his Achilles ripped. Yet the Eagles are forcing the ball to AJ Brown I don't blame them. He's a really talented player.
Starting point is 00:12:52 But it was pretty clear. He didn't really want to be there. And I think a big mistake the Eagles made was not trading A.J. Brown during the middle of the season when they could have. And they're going to trade them in two months. But when you go into these playoff games, you need to have people who are all in. And did A.J. Brown today look like a guy that was all in? And I'm not just saying that because he had a bad game. Like Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, had some drops.
Starting point is 00:13:20 probably not as many as he did in an individual game, but it happens. Like, it's football. Like, people fumble. People throw interceptions. Obviously, there are better and worse times to do certain things, but like, it happens. And watching that game the day, I went, I don't know. How does Siriani survive the next 48 hours? Because the offensive coordinator was probably going to get fired no matter what.
Starting point is 00:13:46 whether they, unless they won the Super Bowl again, he was a dead man walking. That's the way Philly works. They fire coordinators all the time. But I think this outcome against Kyle Shanahan, when I posed that question, who would hire Siriani tomorrow if he was fired? What if I flipped it to the 49ers?
Starting point is 00:14:06 Who would hire Kyle Shanahan tomorrow if he was fired? I think your answer would be 29 teams? 30 teams? Hell, more people would hire the 49ers. Niners defensive coordinator, who was just fired last year from the Jets, it's actually aged much better because that organization is an all-time clown show, than Nick Siriani. And the crazy part is, Nick Siriani's been to two of the last three Super Bowls.
Starting point is 00:14:33 But I think if we're all being honest, how much that he really had to do with that? He leads some team meetings. You know, he's good with personalities. But, like, it feels like he does nothing in the game. And he can't help the offensive. coordinator who was clearly over his head. His quarterback has got to this spot where it's like, what are we doing? Why aren't we utilizing your talents? Look at Brock Purdy. What does it take to win the game? You need me to run? You need me to dive forward? You need me to scramble and make a play?
Starting point is 00:15:06 Obviously, I'm a quarterback, so you're going to need me to pass and make the play, but we're going to need my legs in big spots. And I'm not just talking about quarterback sneaks. I'm talking about taking off and running. And Brock had one of the dumbest plays you'll ever see. And Brock had one of the dumbest plays you'll ever see because it was one of the truly great six or seven second at the end of a half play call. Because I was like, what are they going to do here to try to get six, seven more yards? They don't have any time out. You can't throw it over the middle of the field. The Eagles are playing against the sideline.
Starting point is 00:15:33 And they just ran a quarterback like power. And Brock kind of froze and he fumbled the ball. It was a complete disaster. But, listen, Purdy by no means was perfect tonight. That play, multiple interceptions. I'm a little baffled that during the prep, when all else fails, do not throw at 27. Throw at the other guy.
Starting point is 00:15:55 And listen, he tested him twice and got picked off twice. But what it mattered the most for a game-winning drive, it didn't matter what the play call was or what was needed. They just did whatever they had to do. Do you need me to run it? Do you need me to pass it? Do you need my Pro Bowl fullback to make crazy catches? Do you need Christian McCaffrey to make a catch?
Starting point is 00:16:17 and that's what happened. And that's why the 49ers drove down the field. Purdy had a huge first down run on that, on that drive. Because it never comes down to, I'm just a pocket quarterback. Or I'm just a Shanahan quarterback. No, I'm just a quarterback that will do whatever it takes on a given week to help us win the game. And yet when you watch the Eagles, they're the complete opposite.
Starting point is 00:16:39 Jaylon's like, I just want to pass. I don't want to run. And clearly he doesn't because you would call more quarterback runs. I'm watching Josh Allen. I'm watching the two quarterback Sunday night. I'll do it. You need me to take off, I'll take off. That is not the way Jalen plays anymore.
Starting point is 00:16:56 Maybe he doesn't want to get hit. Maybe he just doesn't want to run. He got a Super Bowl. He's made a bunch of money. And I have a lot of respect for Jalen, what he stands for, how hard he works, how serious he is. But in terms of as a player, you can't maximize your abilities as a player
Starting point is 00:17:12 when you won't do like one of the things you are best at. when you also have some clear deficiencies and you try to lean into them. Like, part of life to be successful at something is to double down on what you're good at. And do things you struggle at, I don't give a shit what you do. Avoid. Don't do that. Stay away from it. Like, I'll just be a pocket quarterback. This isn't really working, man.
Starting point is 00:17:37 This is get running, get moving. That's your, look at Drake May. Look at Justin Herbert, who didn't play well, but throws on the road. Look at Purdy. get out and move, get out and make some plays. You're a great athlete. Not a good athlete, a great athlete. But this comes back to coaching.
Starting point is 00:17:53 And this comes back to the situation. The Eagles are ruthless. They really are. And to get embarrassed like that at home by, you know, you got to remove the brand in Kyle Shanahan and put the players that he was rolling out. They threw a ball today. I've been watching the 49ers for three plus decades.
Starting point is 00:18:11 To number 81, I had never heard of this player. and then Kevin Burkart said, well, he hasn't played an NFL game or caught a pass since 2021. He's been on practice squads and bounced around. I'm like, yeah, no shit. I couldn't point this guy out of a lineup. But that's what the 49ers had to do today. Because of injuries, because of just the uphill battle they had to fight
Starting point is 00:18:35 against a team loaded with players defensively too. And listen, the Eagles defense is bad at all. You could win a Super Bowl with that defense. you cannot win a Super Bowl it's proven you can't win a playoff game with that offense which just as a fan of football as someone that just
Starting point is 00:18:52 would be sitting on my couch and watching it if I sold insurance or had to dig ditches Monday morning they would be one of the last teams in the league I will want to watch. I got so many texts from people like the Eagles are a terrible watch. I'm like yeah they really are. They're boring. There's no creativity.
Starting point is 00:19:10 Like the 49ers ran a trick play. For those of you that don't watch every 49der game, 49ers are not a trick play team. They actually have one go-to trick-play, and it's a wide receiver pass. Now, part of it is Joanne Jennings was once a huge high school recruited quarterback. It kind of went viral today on Twitter
Starting point is 00:19:30 that he was ranked ahead of guys like Sam Darnold, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson coming out of high school. Then he got to Tennessee, changed positions, and I don't think it went great toward the end because when he gets introduced in games, he doesn't even acknowledge Tennessee. It happened with Deshawn Jackson back in the day
Starting point is 00:19:49 because him and Jeff Tedford butted heads. It happens sometimes. Whenever you hear a player on TV, say like Davis Senior High School, you're like, something went bad with the coach in that program, right? Because usually the guys are excited. Like went to the University of Texas, went to the University of Oregon, go ducks.
Starting point is 00:20:04 Whenever you hear the high school or their hometown, you're like, something bad went down, which shouldn't happen as much now because guys are, getting paid so much money. I'd have a huge smile in my face. I'd be like $7 million, University of Oregon. But I do think when Kyle busted out that trick play,
Starting point is 00:20:22 I've been saying this forever with coordinators. I don't pretend like even the shittiest coordinators in the NFL. If you got them on a whiteboard or you got them in front of the room with high school coaches and just talked football, their knowledge and understanding of ball would blow us all the way. All of us.
Starting point is 00:20:42 We'd be like, what is this guy talking about? From splits to depths to route concepts to against, all these guys are great. Backup quarterbacks as well. But when you get them on the field as a backup quarterback as a player or as a position coach as a coordinator and they got to start calling the plays and the bullets start flying separates the men from the boys at the highest level. Speaks for college, no differ in the pros. And some people, and I was saying this the other day about Tony,
Starting point is 00:21:10 the little wide receiver from Miami who's a true freshman. Obviously, our experiences when we're young, shape our capabilities and our future talents in certain things. You know, obviously playing football, there are God-given metrics that you're going to need to play college or in the NFL, right? That there are certain, you're going to have to have certain, you know, intellectual capacity to be a doctor or to be an engineer
Starting point is 00:21:36 when it comes to math or biology, right? But once you get to that level, and you're surrounded by a bunch of other people at that level, they're going to be separating factors. And I remember watching Tony in that, the last game, thinking, like, this guy was born to play football. Like, his instincts and his feel for the game are just elite. I remember hearing a story when I was a kid. I grew up in Northern California, right by Sacramento. My dad was a huge cow fan, Cal football, and Cal basketball. And I remember being pretty young. It's probably like 10, 12 years old, when Jason Kidd was at.
Starting point is 00:22:10 at Cal. And there was all these rumors, you know, it took them like five times to pass the minimum level of SAT. Like, it's very academically challenging to get in Cal. And I don't think anyone would consider Jason Kidd like, you know, some intellectual genius. But in terms of basketball IQ, he's like Albert Einstein. And in sports, one thing I learned actually, Howie Roseman taught me this, I remember scouting a guy and talking about their GPA. It was like, this guy's not that smart. He's like, well, was he football smart? I'm like, yes, coach says the guy picks it up after one try, no problem.
Starting point is 00:22:47 Like, we don't care about his GPA. We're not doing GPA here. We're doing football, right? And that's lag in life. Like, your GPA doesn't always translate. Do your instincts at whatever you're doing, translate. And you watch Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy, the symbiotic relationship they had, calling plays, obviously the timing of that trick play.
Starting point is 00:23:07 And then you watch the Eagles offensive operation. And all you could say is like, what the fuck is going on here? And the answer is no one knows. Because if they knew they would change it and fix it. But they don't have the ability to because they're not good enough. It's really that simple. At the highest level of the NFL, the separating factor is like pretty small. And the difference of Kyle Shanahan and Robert Sala compared to the Siriani-Patola combination was a mile wide.
Starting point is 00:23:39 And the sad part is like Vic Fangio's big time. He ain't the problem. And that's why I ask, like, if you fire Siriani, why wouldn't you immediately go after John Harbaugh? He already has a defensive coordinator in place. Vic is close with the Harbaugh family, worked for Jim for years. You could Brig Tag Munkin, who worked with Lamar Jackson and helped, you know, a couple years ago had one of the best seasons like NFL history.
Starting point is 00:24:07 And boom, you're off and running. Here's the other thing. Jeffrey Lurie knows John Harbaugh well. He worked there from 1998 to 2007 before he got the Raven job. So when I know that the Miami thing, and listen, I thought like John Harbaugh go to Miami, Miami job's terrible. They have no quarterback. They actually do.
Starting point is 00:24:29 He's under contract for like $50 million. To me, the Eagles, you're having a long conversation all day tomorrow of like, not only do we move on, but if we do, do we just put all of our chips in the and just hire the guy down the road, who could basically just be a way better version of what we just had. Because our great advantage is working for us is awesome. We spend a bunch of money. We pick good players.
Starting point is 00:24:53 We're extremely talented. We just need the coaching on the field, something that only a small percentage of people know what they're doing. We got the defensive coordinator and staff in place. We just need a massive upgrade in terms of our head coach and our offensive capability. Because we just saw a guy who is elite. You don't go 9 and 4 with Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy
Starting point is 00:25:17 over the course of seven years and not be elite at your job. And obviously Purdy's better player than Jimmy Garoppel, but no one's getting Purdy confused with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. And it looked like I thought when he threw the second half interception, that was going to do them now. But he didn't. Because one thing the 49ers have going for them is,
Starting point is 00:25:38 mental toughness, and they're pretty unfaced, and they might go down, but they're going to go down swinging. And it felt like the Eagles, you know, the A.J. Brown situation was like, there's a disconnect. And that to me starts, like you're either coaching or allowed it to happen, back to the Belichick old saying. And it is true. And they got major problems. So the Eagles is definitely something to keep a tight eye on. And the 49ers move on to play Seattle, which I think the Niners and the Bears just had all-time validation season wins. Like, the 49ers with their injuries had no business going 12 and 5. And definitely no business winning a playoff game on the road as a big underdog.
Starting point is 00:26:22 The Chicago Bears, who've had one of the crazier seasons you'll ever see at down 21 to 3 at home, just honestly had no business winning that game. And winning those two games, there's almost a freedom like what do we got to lose moving forward. Now, I do think the bears are healthier, especially after Kittles gone, moving forward. They got more offensive firepower. But both defenses have major question marks, made some individual plays. But at any given moment, you were just kind of on your heels, like, I don't know if this is going to work.
Starting point is 00:26:54 But just pretty incredible moments, which shows you the power of coaching, shows you the power of offensive, innovative coaching. And I think the Eagles were a great example of the office. opposite. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, the official sportsbook partner of the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars. Duval is going to be jacked up this weekend. You know what I love doing with these standalone playoff games? Same game parlayes, baby. Lock in one matchup at a time and stack your picks. Maybe a quarterback throws for 250 yards. Maybe a running back hits 100. Tight end punches in a touchdown. Got you covered. And if you miss kickoff, do not worry. Hard Rock
Starting point is 00:27:42 Bet has live in-game betting, so you're never too late to the action. Find a winner or grab a player prop you meant to play. And live bet between snaps, it's just that easy, baby. So if you haven't tried your first bet yet at Hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to get $150 in bonus bets if you win. Just place a $5 bet, and if it hits, you get not only your winnings, but also an extra $150 in bonus bets. That's Hard Rock Bet. Download it now and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets, not a cash offer, offered by Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida, offered by Seminole Hard Rock
Starting point is 00:28:19 Digital LLC in all other states. You must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-8-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3. 3-3-3 play-wise. In Indiana, if you are someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800-gambler. Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts.
Starting point is 00:29:09 Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?
Starting point is 00:29:32 Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. but we could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Starting point is 00:29:50 or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest,
Starting point is 00:30:07 SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:30:25 Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.
Starting point is 00:30:42 We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live there. them listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and for more follow timbo slice of life 12 and the ticot podcast network on ticot the french open is one of the
Starting point is 00:31:18 toughest tests in tennis and i know firsthand because i competed there myself i'm rene stubbs and on the rene stubbs tennis podcast i'm breaking down everything happening at roland garris every match every upset and what it really takes to win on clay jen she win i mean she went down to and three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.
Starting point is 00:31:49 Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. big story that is not going to go away. I am guilty as charged. I have been a defender. I defend Justin Herbert and have consistently defended
Starting point is 00:32:20 Justin Herbert. I thought tonight he was pretty bad. There were a lot of throws in the middle of the game where balls are air-mailing people. Now as the game went on and he's just getting shellacked, the whole thing just crumbled. But there was a stretch where the
Starting point is 00:32:36 Patriots were basically trying to say, take the game from us. And a lot like the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh was going into this game, let's just make this thing weird. Let's muddy this thing up and make it weird. And it was. They just needed a couple plays from their $50 million quarterback,
Starting point is 00:32:54 who physically is as gifted as anyone in the NFL. But I thought tonight, in the meat of the game, when it was there to be like, hey, a couple touchdown drives, all of a sudden, you'd be up 14 to 6, 14 to 9. You would take a commanding lead in this thing. And clearly they are struggling. It's cold weather.
Starting point is 00:33:14 They lose their best corner. And he just didn't play very well. Now, I'm not out on him. I don't, you know, it's one of those situations where you're like, this is not nothing. He's 0 and 3 in the playoffs. And he clearly has not looked good. And tonight, he did not look good.
Starting point is 00:33:34 Now, I also think there's two parts to like the statement. He did not look good and, well, okay, we just got to figure it out. We got to just play through it. He's not going anywhere. What do you want to do? Get rid of them? What are your other options? There aren't any.
Starting point is 00:33:47 So, I mean, you're all in on this. Hell, I saw your backup quarterback play Denver in Week 18. Never do that again. So you just got to figure this out. And I think the best way to figure this out, I think it's fair to say, you're not Josh Allen. There's a level in which he is not peaking in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:34:10 And listen, he's missing. offensive offensive lineman to star offensive lineman. They're running back situation. They're rookie running back from North Carolina. Pretty big question mark right now. Looks pretty slow to me. I would be a little nervous if I was those guys big picture about that selection. For the next six months, I'm sending that guy to speed training.
Starting point is 00:34:30 We're going to work on explosion, short area quickness. I'm going to need a little more burst, big boy, because the speed in what you're running is just not good enough. But as stories like this grow when you're as talented as Herbert and you're viewed as one of the 6-7, 5-6-7 best quarterbacks in the NFL, your standard in the playoffs is way higher. And right now he's 0-3. And obviously last year he played one of the worst games in the history of the league, right?
Starting point is 00:34:57 Five interceptions. It was atrocious. Tonight wasn't that bad, but it was not good. And you're playing a guy who's playing his first playoff start in Drake May, who honestly throughout the game wasn't playing that well either. started heating up in the second half, making some runs, made a couple of big throws, and kind of just settled down. He'd be like, well, his team's a little bit better and definitely healthier. Kind of like his number four overall pick left tackle is getting picked up by Khalil Mack,
Starting point is 00:35:22 who's probably one of the stronger guys in league history, and just driven back into him constantly. But like Drake May outplayed him. Not that he played great, I'm not compared Drake May to Josh Allen on Sunday, but he definitely outplayed Justin Herbert, and Drake Mays played one real year of football. Because I definitely don't count last year, and his college crews at North Carolina. Did he ever play in a big game in college? Not trying to shit on the ACC here, but definitely that program is not like they're playing, you know, Alabama and LSU in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:35:52 So, like, this is a big game, Bright Lights game. Herbert's been there, done that. Played in Rose Bulls, started now in multiple playoff games. It should have been a huge advantage for him. He's got Jim Harbaugh on his side, right? The coaching, the Patriot coaching is elite. Vrable, Josh McDaniel,
Starting point is 00:36:10 so is Jim Harbaugh staff. Jesse Minter could be a head coach here in two weeks. Jim Harbaugh's won, how many playoff games guys won? How many games the guy won in his career? Greg Roben takes a lot of shit. I saw Greg Roman win a lot of games with Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. Lamar Jackson. His resume is not as bad as the way he gets discussed.
Starting point is 00:36:30 I think sometimes people talk about him like he's Raiders Chip Kelly. Like, no, guys, he's not bad. He kind of knows what he's doing. Is he perfect? No. Would you ideally want a little better? Of course. But he's not that bad. And you see tonight, like, I don't know. Something's just off.
Starting point is 00:36:45 I don't know even, I don't really have like some strong opinion. I don't know why. But oh and three. And it's just one of those stories that is just not going to go away. It happens sometimes. I love Barry Bonds as a kid. For a lot of his career, might have been pretty Jews. He didn't play very well in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:37:02 Alex Rodriguez had that happen. Baseball is a little different just because you only get so many at baths. you have five-game series, it can be a little skewed, but it wasn't nothing after a while. And that's what I would say about this Justin Herbert thing. It's going to be a massive story. And until he wins a playoff game, people that want to kind of go counterculture
Starting point is 00:37:22 and hang a left when everyone's hanging the right, kind of always can hang that above everyone's head. Wake me when he wins a playoff game. Don't wake me when Josh Allen wins a playoff game because he wins a lot of them. He just happens to not be able to beat the Kansas Sea Chiefs. Well, I took out my binoculars today and I looked. The Kansas Chiefs are nowhere to be found.
Starting point is 00:37:40 They don't exist in this playoff run. Patrick Mahomes, obviously, has a torn ACL and his team's not represented. So he's playing the Jags who were as hot as any team in the NFL. They're really, really good. Liam Cohen has done a great job. And he went in and kicked the shit out of him. Josh Allen was incredible today. He was a one-man wrecking crew.
Starting point is 00:38:03 He's really more like something you would see in basketball. He did it all. There was nothing he couldn't do on top of slamming his hand into a helmet, getting his knee twisted on a touchdown run. He took a quarterback sneak like 12 yards. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen that. He was just had the game where sometimes people like used to write about this type stuff back when newspapers existed and we had sports columnists
Starting point is 00:38:31 and I grew up reading them all of like this was a man that just wouldn't be denied. And that's what I felt like today. Because if you flip the quarterbacks in that game, Jacksonville would have won by 25 points. They would have killed the bills. I've come around on Trevor Lawrence. Over the last couple of years, like anyone that watched football is like, I'm out. I don't see it. There was no denying down the stretch of this season. He did look really good. Today was not that day. Made a couple good passes, obviously threw a couple touchdowns, but overall, he was all over the map. And sometimes these young coaches, and listen, Kyle Shanahan's probably the only guy in 2006 that will just keep calling runs and have no problem even when it's not working. Even Ben
Starting point is 00:39:14 Johnson, like, he's like, okay, I just got to pass. Most young coaches are past guys. Sean McVey is the skinny-jacked version of Andy Reid, wants to pass it nonstop. Do you see that game against Carolina? It's like, Sean, why are you passing so much? You know what? They love to pass. Kevin O'Connell loves calling pass plays. Liam Cohen. clearly likes calling pass plays. Watching this game, it's like you're running at will against these guys. Have you watched the bills in the playoffs over the last couple years? They're not that big.
Starting point is 00:39:42 You can lean on them. E.T.N should have 25 carries. But he just kept calling down the field passes, and it wasn't really working. And then at the end of the game, listen, I disagreed with Mick Dermott when he just scored on the essentially Josh push. I would have knelt it. ran it down to like high 20s, called the time out and ran that play three times.
Starting point is 00:40:06 Because I wouldn't have wanted to risk the way the kickoff rule is. I mean, their kicker can hit it from like 70 yards. I would have done that, but obviously it worked. A couple of plays later, they pick it off and the game's over. I thought, and listen, I also understand you don't want to tempt fate, a fumble, something weird happens. I get it.
Starting point is 00:40:25 But that was a massive win. And I think sometimes it's cool, and I've said this forever. I watched sports for the best players. I was lucky, right? I grew up in the 90s, like most kids, idolized Michael Jordan. I love golf, love Tiger Woods. Like, those are my two favorite athletes by far. And then my favorite baseball team had Barry Bonds from like when I was 10 years old
Starting point is 00:40:48 up until I was graduating college. So like I watched it. And then when I worked in radio with Steph Curry, I went to a ton of Warriors games in his heyday when he was winning MVP's. That's why I'm not a huge like watching for the little guy that could. Like that doesn't do it for me. I want to watch Peyton Manning. I want to watch Tom Brady.
Starting point is 00:41:04 I want to watch Steph Curry. I want to watch the best of the best. And I pay to watch Josh Allen. I really would. And listen, Trevor Lawrence, good player, but kind of like, you know, Jordan Love. They're like middle of the pack. When they're on, they can be, have top 10 games. But they're not top 10 quarterbacks, especially Trevor Lawrence.
Starting point is 00:41:23 He's on the low end of that. He got hot there for a stretch at the end of the season. But we saw at home in a very conducive environment. It's 75 degrees. It's funny also, like, I love the playoffs because you'll just go to Chicago and it's like a snow globe. You watch Philly. It's like, this thing is freezing. Like, Dom, I know you're a big boy, but how do you not have an extra jacket on?
Starting point is 00:41:46 How did some of these guys not have beanies on? And then you go to Jacksonville. It's like, yeah, we got no taxes and we're all in the pool. Sun's out, December 10th. We're sweating. Like, yeah, it's hard to beat that, man. I'm not going to lie. I'm a warm weather guy.
Starting point is 00:41:59 I'm like, I like that. But that didn't benefit them because Josh got loose and he got it. He worked him today. He really did. And I thought Trevor Lawrence just, his numbers don't look that bad. I think he was 18 to 30. But I don't know, man. I think it was closer to the guy that I remember than the guy that we thought he had
Starting point is 00:42:19 become the last couple months. And some of it's on his coach. Like, run the ball. Other than that, you know, we got, we know the games. now. We got Bill's Denver. We got New England playing whoever wins tomorrow. We got the Niners playing Seattle, and we got the Rams playing Chicago. That's a pretty good slate. And I think a quick look ahead to this tomorrow game, and I mentioned this to Coward when we were recording, is if this was a Disney movie, right, if this was, I just watched F1 the other day and like
Starting point is 00:42:55 the legendary guy got to win the last race, you would be like, Aaron Rogers going to throw a bunch touchdowns, the record on Monday night football is going to continue. It's going to be awesome. But this is the NFL. This is not reality television. I know people think they script this, they don't. And more than likely, like, this is not going to end well. Right. He's playing a team as an underdog with an elite defense. And I was flipping the channels this morning at the gym when I was trying to get a little sweat before the games. And Aidan Hutchinson was in the studio with the ESPN guys. And he was talking about his experience playing Rogers.
Starting point is 00:43:36 And he's like, it's not really fun because he's going to get rid of the ball so fast that however many plays you have on offense, they're going to be passes, let's say 40 to 45, you know, maybe less. You're going to have two or three chances over that entire time because of how quick he's going to get rid of it to sack them. And when you get that opportunity, you just better not miss. And the thing is, these Texan guys don't miss. DeNeil Hunter and Will Anderson are just not going to miss.
Starting point is 00:44:06 So if they get into a position where they are down, they would be in major trouble. And obviously, D.K. is going to have fresh legs, but is he out of rhythm? They're missing Darnow Washington with a broken arm. Let's face it. They are extremely lucky to be playing in this game. If John Harbaugh won, with 12 seconds left in a timeout, if he got a little more aggressive, that field goal should have been closer.
Starting point is 00:44:33 And it's a tough place to kick, but how often is the guy missing that kick? I know he's a rookie, but less than 25% of the time. So if he kicks it 10 times, he's hitting seven or eight of them. So the Steelers are very, very fortunate to be here, but part of the reason they're fortunate
Starting point is 00:44:48 is because their defense isn't that good. Like they've moved Jalen Ramsey to safety. He blew multiple things in that game that cost him. So he is an all-time great player. Jaylen in his prime was just elite. His versatility, his size, his physicality as a tackler. I'm a big Jalen Ramsey fan. But like at certain positions, when you get old, you kind of fall off a cliff.
Starting point is 00:45:11 He's just not quite the same guy. And their pass rush, isn't that great? And while Cam Hayward played the game of his, definitely over the last several years he'd been an older player, it was awesome. It was like watching John Randall or something in his prime. He was dominating that Raven. Can you do that again?
Starting point is 00:45:28 and I'm a Cam Hayward guys come on this podcast before. T.J. Watt, a lot of respect for him, but that injury, like, did you really notice his presence last week? I just have a hard time seeing this go well for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And if they lose that game, listen, I know we had kind of talked about it, but we've been talking about Tomlin forever. He never gets fired. I never expected them to fire John Harbaugh. Not a million years.
Starting point is 00:45:51 It was honestly one of the more shocking NFL news over the course of the last, I don't know, six plus months where you just see it. your jaw drops. You can't convince me if the Houston, Texas beat them by 7, 10, 14 points. The last two playoff games they played, they've been blown out by the Ravens and the Bills. If that happens again,
Starting point is 00:46:12 you've got all these older players, the conversation's going to only get louder. And now there are all these jobs open, like, would it be time to pivot? Is now the time? So, listen, I think it would be cool if the Steelers were to win this game with my heart, I would enjoy watching a throwback Rogers game.
Starting point is 00:46:31 It was awesome watching that fourth quarter against the Ravens. But I'm not betting on it. I'm actually betting against it. I'm going to take the Houston Texans in this game. I actually love the Houston Texans in this game. I think they could smother them and absolutely destroy them. And those runs that were going against the Ravens where Jalen Warren is breaking tackles like he's Walter Payton or Earl Campbell,
Starting point is 00:46:55 I don't envision that happening. on Monday night. And then, you know, I think this, you lose at home, all of a sudden it's not looking well. You get some booze. Like, you saw it today in Philly. When it doesn't go well at home, it can just get weird and it can get weird really quick.
Starting point is 00:47:13 It wasn't that, we're not that far removed from them like Channing Fire Tomlin. That wasn't, you know, six months ago. That was like two weeks ago. So it's like, guys, I just, think that I think we're seeing the end of it all. I really do. And I'm more convinced now than ever. This league, there's a lot of moving parts. We're going to learn more about LaFleur over the next couple days. I'll obviously have thoughts. However, that thing shakes out. This John Harbaugh situation,
Starting point is 00:47:42 the Siriani situation. We got a lot going on. And it's just a crazy time in the NFL, a lot like college football, but even on a much higher level, you can fire anyone at any moment. because paying someone 20, 30, 50 million dollars to these NFL owners now is like change that I could find in my desk drawer. It means nothing to them. Imagine paying someone to go away and owing them and the staff $60,70 million and not even blinking, not even thinking twice. Hell, the Raiders a couple years ago, before Brady and the money got involved, they paid Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler combined like $70,000. million dollars to leave. To pack your shit and go.
Starting point is 00:48:28 Mark Davis is not, you know, Steve Balmer, but he has that much money because of that's what the league generates from the media deals. So all these coaches at all times, unless you're Andy Reed, you just never know. Sean McVeigh and like Kyle Shane. It's a very short list of guys that are truly, totally safe. Any other guy, like if people have some conversations, you piss the wrong, guy off you you don't manage up well enough put your stuff in a cardboard box and get the hell
Starting point is 00:48:59 out of there that's how fast it changes and that's it makes the league a little more unpredictable you know the guys aren't just going to hold jobs for as long just because i like you look at rahe morris people love the guy he tied for first place now granted it was eight nine they given the owner a hug he's like his wife his family's hugs like after every game and like Rahim you got to go We love you, but you're not coaching this team, buddy. And I give Rahim props. Because if someone paid me, the American dream is not a white picket fence, a dog, couple kids. It's to be paid millions of dollars to not work.
Starting point is 00:49:40 That's, I can't even, and you know what I saw Rahim basically leak out. Like, if you don't hire me to be head coach, I'm just going to go TV. I would do that. Do that. Enjoy your life. That smart man. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new?
Starting point is 00:50:03 Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.
Starting point is 00:50:23 I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Starting point is 00:50:51 Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heartedly.
Starting point is 00:51:25 radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,
Starting point is 00:51:45 and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:52:16 And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genshin won. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.
Starting point is 00:52:47 Listen, Lerner Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world. right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:53:06 Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. I'll end on this. It's official now that Matt Ryan will be the boss in Atlanta. They created some title. He's above the GM and the coach. Matt Ryan made hundreds of millions of dollars playing football.
Starting point is 00:53:31 Because when you're a professional athlete, I mean, Matt Ryan played longer than most professional athletes, if you're at the top of your field as a quarterback, whatever position, as a baseball player, when you retire in your late 30s, you have accumulated an ungodly amount of money. Yet, especially a guy like Matt Ryan, you're healthy, you got another 40, 50 years ahead of you.
Starting point is 00:53:53 You probably got a young family. You got literally the world by the balls. And then you take some Cush CBS job, which is probably paying me a million bucks, just go in the studio, hang out, talk some ball. You do not need to sign up to go get back into the world of grinding. Because that's what football is. If you're going to go into the office every day, it is a grind.
Starting point is 00:54:15 It's not a place where people are smiling and having a great time every day. It's a very serious, stressful, kind of angry, environment, which a lot of people like. Honestly, a lot of these guys are addicted to that environment. You know, they said in the movie Heat, the action is the juice. I think a lot of these guys, you know what the juice is? It's not just Sunday running out there to play in front of 70,000. It's like the grind of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It's like the grind of showing up at the office to get a workout at 6 a.m. and be in there until 10 o'clock at night. It's the grind of just having to figure it out on the fly on a Wednesday with some injuries.
Starting point is 00:54:55 And just everyone on their fifth cup of coffee, third can of the week of Copenhagen, and just seventh pill of Adderall and just grinding in the office. Some people are just addicted to it. And Matt Ryan did not need to do this. Now, I'm not acting like Arthur Blanks paying him 200 grand to accept this gig. He's making millions of dollars. But like, not enough to change his life. His life's already been changed by the money he made playing.
Starting point is 00:55:28 So when you signed back up to go grind like this and you saw the clip of John Lynch on the sideline, another guy did not need to be doing this. Anyone that watched the Lway documentary was like, I missed it. I just wanted to do it. He became the GM of the Broncos. Like, these guys can go play golf, hang out, do whatever they want,
Starting point is 00:55:49 Involved in businesses, do some TV. I respect the hell out of these guys to just go, you know what? I miss the juice. I miss it. I miss the misery. And I do admire and respect that from these guys that are worth just so much damn money and don't need the misery in their life, but it kind of fulfills them. Because that's kind of what football is.
Starting point is 00:56:13 And working in football is not the games, like the three-hour game day that you and I watch on our couch is such a small sliver of the actual job. It's, it's probably over the course of a season, I don't know, two, three percent of the gig. So props to Matt Ryan. And I talked about this on a podcast a couple weeks ago because Pellasaro on the NFL network had reported that he was going to try to do both jobs. And he's, he shot that down. He said, I'm done with CBS. I was, I was watching him today when he talked about it. Like he thanked everyone. You can tell he's kind getting emotional and just saying like they gave him this opportunity and he was appreciative. And I would say the other thing, you know, the thing with quarterbacks, I thought I'd say this
Starting point is 00:56:59 with Philip Rivers, you know, Drew Breeze, a guy. I got respect for Drew Breeze, who I thought was terrible on TV, who's gotten much better. Like, they just happened to be, especially Matt Ryan 6'5 with a good arm. If Matt Ryan couldn't throw the ball five yards and just would have had to go work in economics, right? He would have ran a bank. He would have started a business to have been really, like Matt Ryan was destined to be a very, very successful guy. So I would tell you this, it would not shock me at all if he was a better GM than he was a quarterback. He was a good quarterback. Obviously, he had the one MVP season. That was the outlier. Mostly, it was just like a consistent somewhere between like seven to 12 guy, guy you could win with if you had a good team.
Starting point is 00:57:39 If he didn't, it could go sour fast. But he was always really, really impressed. and really, really sharp. I felt like he was smarter than he was talented. And if he really goes all in on this and leans on the people he knows, he's been lucky, he's been around a lot of coaches in his career in Atlanta. And if LaFleur became available
Starting point is 00:58:00 because Green Bay fired him, he was his quarterback coach when he won the MVP working for Kyle. Wouldn't shock me at all if they hired him immediately. So, you know, he's going to need to lean on people for the GM scouting aspect. Obviously, he's never done that. the thing when you're Matt Ryan and you want to get some intel and you pick up the phone and you call Lane Kiffin or Pete Golding or Ryan Day, guess what? They call you right back.
Starting point is 00:58:23 Text them. I guarantee you get a text back in five minutes. So he will have no problem gaining a network. And I think it's fair to say he's smart enough if he's willing to do this because you can't be willing to like kind of go half in half out. Like that was the knock. Like Magic Johnson always kind of want to do it, but then not really because he wanted the normal life, which I don't blame him at all. I would do. Dan Marino, same thing. I would be like them. I'd be like, I'm worth hundreds of millions. I'm going to go kick it. I'm going to go hang out. I'm going to go enjoy my life. I've already done this. But Matt wants to put his feet to the fire. So if I was an Atlanta Falcon fan, which I haven't had many good things to say about the franchise over the years, I would say this is, this is exciting.
Starting point is 00:59:06 TBD, see how it goes. But it's exciting when you get a guy of his stature. to say, yeah, I want this. And then I listened to his comments today, like, I'm doing this because we deserve to be in the playoffs, and we've been shitty for too long. So exciting times. And we'll be back again tomorrow, and we'll see how, hey, listen,
Starting point is 00:59:26 there are going to be some curveballs coming. I would imagine Monday or Tuesday, and by curveballs, hopefully I don't mean my son, say, I'm ready. I've kind of got my mindset on Thursday, but listen, can't play God here. But when I comes to football, I think some interesting stuff is about to happen
Starting point is 00:59:41 in the next couple days. I think we're going to enter the season where we start getting really weird. See you later. The volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?
Starting point is 01:00:04 Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being and asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
Starting point is 01:00:24 Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 01:00:54 Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having? sex sometimes. They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Gianna Maria Riva on the
Starting point is 01:01:25 Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.
Starting point is 01:01:51 This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.