The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - NFL Championship Round Predictions

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

Richard Sherman gives his predictions for the Championship Round of the NFL Playoff. Will Josh Allen finally beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship to slay his dragon and send the Buffalo Bills to the Super Bowl? Will Jayden Daniels continue to make history by leading the Washington Commanders over Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship? Also, Sherm reacts to the Detroit Lions losing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears as well as defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets, Kevin O'Connell inking a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, the Jacksonville Jaguars firing GM Trent Baalke,speculation about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's next contract, and Tom Brady agreeing with Sherm's position on the unnecessary roughness called last round on the Houston Texans. #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

The volume. Notice, sir. No balls for these. Your don't. Super Bowl. Championship. That should always be the expectation. All right, man.

That's you going here. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. You know what time it is. It's time to preview these championship games, both the NFC and AFC. and unfortunately, Mitchell, your Detroit Honolulu Blue Boys aren't in it, but we have some really intriguing matchups. What do you think about them? You know, a bummer of a weekend would love to have my Detroit Lions in this NFC championship game,

but I'm not going to run from it. I'm still going to rock their logo with pride. Next year's going to be a good year. Richard, I'm excited. Whether or not Detroit's in them, I'm excited. I want to start with the AFC because that to me is the matchup of the year. The Buffalo Bills are going on the road. against the Kansas City Chiefs.

And it's Josh Allen's time to really slay that dragon, if you will, with Patrick Mahomes. The bills won already this season while at home, 30 to 21 against the Chiefs,

and did so in what appeared to be pretty commanding fashion. Richard, how excited are you for this game? Like, where's your head at with it? I'm really excited about it because it's going to, this is when it counts. You know, I understand the regular season matchup,

was cool. The Buffalo Bills have won four straight in the regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs, the stickler, the issue, the problem to that is the postseason when all the chips are in and everything is for everything they have lost every single game. The Kansas City Chiefs are three and O versus the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs with Josh Allen at the quarterback position. And so that is the mountain they're going to have to climb. That is the heel. They're going to have to conquer. That is the dragon. As you say, they are going to have to slay. no Darius. And I think they'll have a solid of a shot as

as you could have. But again, when it comes down to Kansas City Chiefs is going to come down to the last possession. They have lived in last possession games this season. They have won every single one of them that they've played. And it's going to be telling, you know, Vegas has them as Kansas City Chiefs, has one and a half point favorites.

Usually when you're a true favorite, you're a three-point favorite at home. We've talked about that in the past. And so Vegas is seeing something. The Buffalo bill. at 35 takeaways this season. Most in the NFL, they had eight giveaways this season, least in the NFL.

They won the turnover battle in every single game that they've played. That has to be some kind of record. I don't remember hearing about a team having such a dominant ratio as this and not being a really championship team. And that's something we used to talk about and Pete Carroll used to talk about winning a turnover battle, when the turnover battle, and a lot of times you'll win the game.

But this is the seventh straight AFC championship appearance for the Kansas City Chiefs, and that matters. Pedygree matters. Understanding these moments, being in these moments before, that matters in these games. And I know we talked so much about the referees and the roughing in the passer calls and all that. It's still a really good team, a team that's been here before that has championship, medal championship pedigree. They have the foundational pieces. They have the pillars that have been there before.

We talked about Kansas City and their problems at offensive line at the tackle spot. They put Tuni on the outside. He's held his own. They've shuffled it as much as they can. Obviously on the right side, Jawan Taylor has had his issues with the penalties and the alignment issues. Can they overcome that? And on the defensive side, Chris Jones. I mean, this will be his, what, second game in four weeks or second game in six weeks, well-rested.

You know, he had a little, he was a little banged up, but he's, he's, he's, rested now and I'm sure he'll be impactful. McDuffie's been here before. Justin Reed has two rings on his hand. So Watson was part of their championship team last year. You've got a lot of guys who've been here done this. Carl Loftis had three sacks last game against the Houston Texans. These guys are showing up in big ways. And when you're going against Spags, this will be Joe Brady versus Spagged. What is it going to look like? Are you going to let Josh Allen beat you? Don't forget about James Cook. He's been incredibly impactful. Khalil Shakir, no drops. in the playoffs this season on 13 reception, 13 targets, no drops.

He's played a good game. Keon Coleman, you got all these pieces that have been playing complimentary football, but don't put it past as Buffalo Bills defense in the turnovers that they've been creating. That has been the difference. You're not lying about that, this Buffalo Bills team. It's a wild stat, 35 takeaways and eight giveaways. I mean, shoot, the Detroit Lions, my Detroit Lions had five last game. So the bills have four straight playoff games, like you said, with no turnovers.

If it comes down to it and Buffalo plays a clean game, do you think they win it? Because let's look at it. I mean, there's no lack of experience, especially playoff experience on this Kansas City Chief roster. I mean, they can win any way, whether it's a shootout or a grinded out game. But if the bills play clean, if they don't turn the ball over, they win this turnover battle again, do you think they win? I don't know.

I don't think it's that simple in this game. And it rarely ever is. They won a turnover battle 3-0 versus the Baltimore Ravens. And the Baltimore Ravens were one two-point conversion drop away from tying the game with a minute and a half left to go on the game. So it's not always that simple as to say, hey, they win a turnover better if they win the game. Because who knows, maybe Josh Allen comes back after Baltimore ties up, drives down the field, kicks a field goal. they win the game anyway and it's easy.

Or they go to OT and you never know what can happen. And Patrick Mahomes isn't going down that easy. He had two interceptions in the last game, got hit seven times. Can they protect him better? Can he protect the ball better? If Buffalo wins the turnover battle, obviously they're putting themselves in a great position to be successful and win that game.

I don't expect them to turn it over very much. They have it all year long. But that doesn't necessarily guarantee anything. Well, the Kansas City Chief should be motivated. I mean, they got, when do you think, hey, winning and winning, two straight Super Bowls, seven straight AFC championship appearances. How motivated do you think they are, Richard, to get this third championship under the belts? Because I want to bring you back in time because you and I've had conversations about your experience in Seattle

and about the team that you guys had formed and what you believed would could be the beginning of a dynasty. You win the first one or you get close the first year. You win the second year. and then unfortunately you choose to throw the football inside the two-yard line with under 30 seconds left in the game and ultimately lose, that would have been two in a row. And you said the following year that you guys kind of fell off the rails a bit. Everyone was, there was more, I don't want to say drama, but everyone started looking around and thinking about the past.

Like how motivated do you think the Kansas City Chiefs are to keep this train rolling and get the third, the third Super Bowl victory under their belt. Well, it seems like they're really motivated because they're here. They're an AFC championship. They went 15 and two. You know, you look at that and you say, yeah, they won a lot of nail biters. They won a lot of games in the last possession or missed field gold or blocked a field gold or, you know, whatever the case may be. But they did it.

And I think they deserve a lot of credit for that because it's tough. It's tough to be motivated when you got two rings on your finger. you're, you know, cleaning the trophy that's just going back into the case. Like, you got the best team in football, your quarterbacks doing all these commercials, you're tidying, everybody's fed, everybody's eating, everybody's having a great time. You had a great offseason. And now your coaches, for some reason, they're not getting poached, which is weird, you know what I mean?

Because you're not going to, is it all Andy Reid? I think that's what people believe. They believe offensively, it's all Andy Reid. So Eric B. Enemy didn't get a coaching job. you know, not a head coaching job, had to go coordinate somewhere else. He's kind of gone to the wayside now. They have Matt Nagy coordinating for him now. We saw how he did in Chicago.

It didn't go great, you know. So not every offensive genius works out to be a great head coach, but he's got two rings right now in Kansas City. And then you got Spags, who's had opportunities to be a head coach, has been one of the best coordinators in the National Football League defensively hands down over the last few years, you would have thought he would get an opportunity, but it hasn't happened.

So it's led to more continuity for the Kansas City Chiefs, which is great. Those coaches continue to innovate, continue to be at the forefront of creating game plans and schemes that give opponents problems. And I think this will be another one. Obviously, Josh Allen has done as good of a job this season has he done any season protecting the football,

that's a lot of the reason they're in a position to be successful, but I just think this is going to be a hard out. It's never easy, especially when you have to conquer the mountain that you haven't conquered before. It's easier when you say, oh, we can put it on the tape of a playoff game we've beaten them. Now, you can put on the tape of four regular season games. You've beaten them, and you've had success.

But in the postseason, home or away, you haven't found a way to get it done. And I think, again, if you get to these situations, you get deep in these games, and things don't go the way that Buffalo thought it would go. That seed of doubt starts to creep in, that seed of doubt. Like, oh, my God, it's going to be like last time. Oh, my God, not again.

That mindset kind of creeps in because it's in the back of your head. These are human beings. So you can say, oh, we know we can meet these guys. we know we come in, we expect to win. You do. These are pros. They're confident. But you haven't done it in the playoffs.

So that seed of doubt is always in the back of your mind. And the more Kansas City plays well, they get a lead, a touchdown, 10-point lead, then that seed gets a little bit of water on it. And that's what that seed gets a little bit of water. It starts to germinate because you start to believe, oh, my God, not again. Not Kansas City again. And Kansas City usually plays their best foot. when they have to have it.

Yeah, so we'll see. So who's it going to be, Rich? I mean, you got to make a pick right now. I need your prediction. Is it finally Josh Allen's time to slay that dragon? Or do you think it's yet again, Kansas City Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, and the crew? I want to give it to Josh.

I want to say, hey, Josh Allen and the boys, they're going to get it done. James Cook playing his best football. Joe Brady dialing it up. It's going to work out exactly like they see it is. Josh Allen's going to protect the ball. Their defense is going to play well enough. They're going to hit this win.

Can't do it, Mitchell. Can't go against the champs. Something tells me just don't go against them. Mitchell, I've done it. Now, I've played against them. Literally going against them. Didn't want it worked out. We had them.

Had them against the ropes. And it worked out. So I'm not going to go against them now. They proved me wrong enough times. Now, I'll go against them this time, Mitchell, and they'll prove me wrong again. And then Buffalo will win, of course. But I got to go with Kansas City.

I think Kansas City finds a way to get this done. I think there are evenly matched teams. But Andy, Andy Reed and their pedigree, and these guys just always find a freaking way to win these games, especially at home. They're a tough team to beat. Richard, if Patrick Mahomes is able, to keep this street going and the Kansas City Chiefs are able to get back to the Super Bowl

and ultimately win it. What does this do to his legacy? I know the conversation's already started. Let's not mistake that. Tom Brady is the goat right now, but Patrick Mahomes is not too far behind. What does this do to his legacy in that conversation for goat status? Well, Mitchell, he's a baby goat right now. He's a baby goat. And Tom Brady's the big old goat with the gray in his beard and he's standing on top of the hill and he can eat and eat the pastors and he can feel great. But this kid is nipping, Mitchell, he gets to another, he gets to another Super Bowl and finds a way to win that Super Bowl, gets another Super Bowl MVP. It starts to become a really, really, really, really, really interesting conversation at this

point in this career because his career isn't open. And everybody talks about the first half of Tom's career versus the second half. You know, there was quite a few years between his third Super Bowl and the next Super Bowl, et cetera, et cetera. But this kid's already got his third Super Bowl. And if he gets his fourth this season, it will depend on who saw him play. The people who saw Tom play will say Tom. They'll say this game has become watered down.

It's soft. They're flopping. Like, nobody can play defense in this, in this atmosphere. You don't barely, you barely can touch the kids, millennials, et cetera, et cetera, whatever they're saying, Gen Z. But the people who watch Patrick play, they're going to say Patrick. That's what it's going to be, especially if he wins this one. It's going to be who you watched.

And I know people will have differing opinions. There are people who think Montana's the best, you know. People watch Joe Montana think Joe Montana's the goat. and they don't, they will not hear anything else. People that watch Marino. Feel like Marino has an argument, even though he didn't win him a bowl. But that's what I think.

I think people will think it's, uh, whoever they watched. NFL playoffs. We're talking NFL playoffs. You bet we are. Get in on the action at Draft King's Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is key to winning

in the playoffs. And the key to you scoring big is betting on them at Draft Kings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Ready to place your first bet. Try betting on something simple like a player to score six. Go to the Draft King Sportsbook app and make your pick. Here's another reason to watch some of your favorite players crush it in the playoffs. New customers bet five bucks to get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Score big during the NFL playoffs with Draft King Sportsbook. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app today and use code Richard. That's code Richard for new customers to get $200

in bonus bets instantly when you bet just five bucks. Only on Draft King Sportsbook. The crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit www.1-800 gambler.net. In New York, call 8778-H-O-P-E-N-Y

or text H-O-P-E-N-Y 469. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 8-8-8-8-8-E-N-Y. 789-777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill, Casino, and Resort, licensee partner, Golden Nugget, Lake Charles, 21-plus age varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. See sportsbook.draftkings.com slash football, terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. Who would have thought the Washington commanders led by the rookie, Jaden Daniels,

would be on the brink of reaching the Super Bowl, and they play division foe, Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, and they split with them in the regular season, albeit in week 16, let's not forget the Eagles were without their starting quarterback, Jalen Hertz, for the bulk of that game. Saquant Barkley has been on an absolute tear all season long.

It just hasn't stopped. He's put teams away and games away late in the fourth time and time. and time again. But they're facing one of the hottest hands in football right now in Jaden Daniels. This matchup, while they've already played twice this year, is going to be a unique one of them. Richard, who do you like in this game? And let's start with Philly. Like, what kind of advantages do you think they have playing at home in front of this ruckus crowd in Philly?

What kind of advantages do they have? I mean, we take the crowd, take the home field, take all that out of it. They have a ton of advantage. They got the better team. Now, Matt doesn't always mean anything, but if you just look down the roster, they're the better team. They got the better running back. They got the better offensive line. They got the better receiving core.

Their defense has played better. Then you say, hey, they're at home. Now, do I think their coaching staffs better? No, no. I'm going to give my guy DQ. the advantage every single time and twice on Sundays. Do I think they have the better Mike linebacker than the Hall of Famer, the Hall of Pro? No, I don't.

At the quarterback spot, very interesting conversation, especially now that Quinnion Mitchell had the injury. We don't know what his status is for Sunday. Ladimore's there for the Washington commanders now. I'm sure they'll have him on all day, always open AJ Brown for majority of the game. You got our guy Big Play Slay, who had a great game against the Rams last. week. The safety position, I think, goes to advantage to Philadelphia, you know, although I like Washington's safeties, D-line, Jalen Carter and the boys, again, I think that goes to Philadelphia.

But again, as I said earlier, that last game, and I know Philadelphia fans don't agree with me, but, I mean, what's new? When I watched the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Washington commanders, Jalen Hertz got hurt earning that game. He was one for four for 11 yards or something like that, but got injured. Kenny Pickett played the rest of that game. Sequin did what Sequin does, had 150 yards, you know, did his thing. Ball control offense. They scored 33 points, but it was the other guy on the other side that really had me

looking very closely at the result of this game because you know what it told me, Mitchell? And I said it, and I want to say, I want to say I said it at the time in that, in the podcast, and I said, better be careful because that game gave them a weird belief. Because I understand Jaylen Hertz got, got injured. And their offense wasn't the same, et cetera, et cetera. But Kenny Picket played, okay? And you just ran the ball with Sequin. He ran the ball like he ran the ball the previous game, you know, about the same yardage.

He averaged 5.2, I think. He averaged 5.5 the game before when you played the commanders. So it wasn't that much crazier. Is Jaylon hurts a good quarterback? Yes, yes. We're not arguing that. But he doesn't play defense. And C.J. Gardner Johnson went out that game.

That's a big piece of that puzzle. Gotcha. But Quinnion Mitchell potentially may be out this game. Big piece of the puzzle. His QBR, Jaden Daniels, QBR in that game, not his quarterback rating, his QBR. out of 100 was 96.2. They turned the ball over.

Let me confirm this, because I don't want to lie to you. The Washington commanders turned the ball over five times in that game. They gave it to the other team five times. They still scored 36 points. The most points that Philadelphia Eagles gave up all season to a rookie quarterback, same weapon, same everything. His QBR was 96.

out of a hundred. The QBR puts a lot more into it than quarterback rating. It puts a lot more into it. He threw two interceptions and still was 96.2. I'm just saying, I'm not saying he has it all figured out. Not saying he played perfect. He threw two interceptions. But to overcome five turnovers and win that game with a rookie quarterback

going against a roster that's better than yours, you could say Jalen Hertz was out all you want. And that's the truth. He was out. Is he going to stop them from scoring 36 points? Like, what, the time of possession? People say it's a time of possession ball game. Mitchell, they said that's why Jalen Hertz was important in that game

because it's time of possession and they're a time of possession team. Can I tell you what the time of possession was, Mitchell? Let's hear it. The Eagles held the ball for 36 minutes, 18. seconds. The commanders had the ball for 23 minutes and 42 seconds. So wait, the time of possession wasn't the issue. That wasn't that much different. It was skewed greatly to the Eagles favor. And they still lost that game, Mitchell. And that's the part that gives me angst when picking the Eagles in this game. Remember when Jared Gough, your team, Detroit, had five interceptions in the game?

remember how good it felt to watch your team overcome that? That showed championship pedigree. This is a divisional game where all that could go wrong went wrong. And they found a way to win with the rookie quarterback. That's a team that's coming into this game. And I know that's what the tape that Dan Quinn is showing this team. Hey, this isn't something we can't get done. This isn't something we've never done before.

This is something we could do. And even though they hit the ball, most of the game, we turned the ball over five times. Our quarterback threw for five touchdowns and we won that game. That's what I'm saying, Mitchell. I got Washington. And you know what?

We have tape. We got receipts here if you want to replay that episode from Week 16 because you're absolutely right. I mean, you called it and we were talking off air. And I was like, well, yeah, they were without Jalen Hertz. You know, naturally the commanders would win that game with Kenny Pickett. Yes, he can come. in the game. But you said to me, hey, hey, Mitchell, you got to look deeper here. What

concerned me was the defense. And what I saw was Jaden Daniels overcoming a lot of adversity of his own. I mean, this kid is a flat out stud. And again, we got receipts also, our season intro. We said if Jaden Daniels can come in here and be a stud, the Washington commanders could make some noise and get into the playoffs. And here they are. The only team in the league right now to have two playoff wins or a half a playoff win period on the road. And they're going for number three on the road here again. But it's not going to come easy at all. This Philadelphia Eagle team, I feel like they've been knocking on the door of a

Super Bowl for a long time. Last season, they were the reddest of red hot teams until about week 11 of the regular season. And then they started to taper off. And this year, they kind of regain that flame. And the addition of Saquan Barkley, the blunder. the gift from the division foe, the New York Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles is what I think could really tip the scales in Philly's favor. If Jaden Daniels is able to go into Philly and come

away with this win, how historic would this moment be rookie quarterback entering the Super Bowl with a team that was picking number two last year? It would be historic. That would be history. but he's the sixth Ricky quarterback to start a championship game. But he's the first without a top three defense. That tells you something, Mitchell, and that's what I'm saying. Like, do I believe Sequin Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles can beat the Washington Manors? Surely. I was there on Thursday night when they played the first time, and they beat them.

But I also remember that game being closer than the scoreboard showed for a lot of that game until Sequin Barclay broke that thing open. And that's the thing, Mitchell, until Sequin Barclay broke that game open, and that's what he continues to do, makes him an MVP candidate, likely offensive player at a year, but they may give it to Lamar or Josh,

whoever doesn't win MVP, I got you. But Sequin Barclay has been the heartbeat. He's been the reason they've won a lot of these close games. And when the game is in doubt or it's close or it's tied, and they're just, hey, They're spinning their wheels. Bang, Sequin Barkley, 65-yard touchdown run, bang. Now all of a sudden they're up.

They're comfortable. Everybody's cheering. Side of relief, and it's happening. Nobody's been able to stop it yet. You know, the Rams, again, they were in that game. It's a dog fight. It's a battle. Bang, bang, bang.

Sayquan, bang. I'm separating this game. Oh, oh, the Rams feel like they got a chance. You know, they're breathing life into it. Bam, Sequant, ah, slapping his helmet. You are not stopping this man. if the Washington commanders, and they have not shown the capacity to do it yet, because they played him twice and he's had 150 in both games.

But 150 is okay. 150. Hold him there. If you can hold him to 150, and it sounds crazy. If you can keep him at 150, you've shown you could beat him in that game. They beat him after he had 150. And Jayton Daniels played out of his mind. Maybe Jaden doesn't play out of his mind in this game.

Maybe the Philadelphia Eagles. find some answers, find some game plans, adjust some things. But again, these mobile quarterbacks are an issue for defenses. It's not as simple as X's and O's and just draw up answers. It's going to be down to the Jimmy's and Joe's. It sounds like Quinnion Mitchell believes he can play. He's been limited in practice. But again, the Kobe Dean is out.

What is going to happen in this game isn't as black and white as people want to see, as want to say. On paper, the better team, Philadelphia, Eagles at home, veteran, guys have been in a Super Bowl, best offensive line in football, one of the best defensive lines in football, great receiving core, best running back in football, arguably, you know, someone would say Derek Henry, they debate that with somebody else. But I just feel like this kid is something special, and he's elevating, he's injecting a belief. You know, do you remember back in the day video games, it used to be like the quarterback when he's

hot, it like raises the attributes of all your other players and now 80, 85% players are 95s and this and that. When the quarterback's hot, that's where he's at, Mitchell. He's elevating. He's increasing the overalls of the players around him. And I think that's going to be enough for them to win this game. And I know Philadelphia fans are upset with me. Find the hole in my logic.

That's all I'm saying. Look, I'm here to listen. You can say, oh, you just hate on our team all the time. I'm just looking at the game that happened. And what happened in the game? Now, Jalen Hertz is going to play this game. Cool, I got you. It's going to be closer to Eagles fans think.

I know you guys want to say this is the same old commanders or Redskins team that you're used to playing. It's not. Dan Quinn is a motivator of many. He's a leader of men. Be careful with this team. Do not be surprised if you watch your team not play the way that you used to them playing. If they win, congratulations to the Eagles. You know what I mean?

Sirianni's done a great job. But I'm excited to watch this game. I'll say that. Well, back to your point on Jaden Daniels, elevating those around him, especially as receivers. Case in point, Diami Brown. I mean, this guy hadn't been anywhere, the first three years in the league or whatever it's been that he's been there. And now the last four weeks, he's wide receiver too in Washington, and he looks darn good at it. And the other guy ain't shot.

Kudos to him because there's so many wide receivers in this league that are, you know, quote unquote divas. and Terry McLaurin is certainly not one of them. I mean, this is a pro's pro. He's weathered the storm of dealing with teams that have finished in the top five of draft after draft after draft. And if there's anyone in this league that deserves a top like quarterback to throw him the ball, it's probably Terry McLaurin and he's taken full advantage of it this year. The other big thing in this is they are division rivals, you know, at the end of the day. And you played in a very, very historic division rival NFC championship game when you run

the Seattle Seahawks with the infamous to the New York or the San Francisco 49ers fans to play. I mean, how motivating was it for you? Obviously, you're motivated to win an NFC championship, but how extra motivated are you to make sure your division foe does not win that game and go on to the Super Bowl? Well, I think there's definitely some added motivation, but there's added familiarity. So, you know, you may watch, you know, a team going against a non-division team. maybe it's a blowout. Maybe, hey, they just overcome by too much talent.

But even when you have divisional rivals that you don't even feel like are evenly matched, rarely isn't a blowout because those teams just have too much pride going for each other unless one team is just totally inept. But this is going to be a game of teams that aren't afraid of each other. They're not afraid, you know, the Eagles aren't afraid of Jane Daniels. They know what he has to offer. They have experience with this team. They have experience with Terry McLaren.

But on the flip side, the same is true with. the Washington commanders, they don't have the fear of the Philadelphia Eagles or going into Philadelphia and trying to win this ballgame. I think they believe they're going to be able to win this ball game. The last time they played them, they did win. And it was in Washington, not Philly. But the time that they played in Philly,

they felt like they were in that ball game, a lot of it. You know what I ended up being a one-score ball game that Philadelphia Eagles ended up winning, I think it was by eight points or something like that. And so it's going to be a really good game. And I'm looking forward to it. I'll have my popcorn in hand. I will have my feet kicked up,

and I will have my notebook in hand because I will be taking notes because something tells me I'm going to be right. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called,

Hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do 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. 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. 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 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? 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. 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.

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. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast.

podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now obviously teams get eliminated from playoff contention and this coaching circuit has started to really take shape and unfortunately my detroit lines are starting to get cannibalized i mean we already lost ben johnson to the chicago bears erin glenn just took the new york jet's job congratulations to both those guys terrell williams just got the dc job with the patriots i mean it's you see three staff men members get poached within the matter of not even what four days since the lions exited. I want to start with Ben Johnson going to the Bears because I'm here in Detroit.

I got to listen to the Detroit local sports media and it's wild. I mean, how quickly a fan base turns on a team after a 15 and two season and losing. And a lot of these, you know, folks that are writing in on Twitter, or Facebook or Instagram, whatever social media platform you want to talk about or, you know, calling into the local sports talk radio shows are blasting Ben Johnson for not being prepared and not, you know, and taking interviews

in the lead up to that Washington Commander's game. And then exiting and allegedly having his staff already ready to go within two days of an exit, they're viewing it as a mega distraction and wanted them out of town if he was going to be distracted. Like personally, I don't buy that. Ben Johnson has given it is all here in Detroit. He's rivising this team and this offense up from the ashes.

He's deserved a head coaching job for the last couple years. He was very patient. He went for it in Detroit to next year when he certainly didn't have to stay. He was one of the hottest names in last year's coaching circuit. So I give him props. I think Chicago was a hell of a fit. But my question to you is, you know, how truly, how much of a distraction do you think it is?

Like, how turned off would you be as a player? seeing your OC exit stage left two days after you lose in devastating fashion to the Washington combatters. You don't make me switch hats, Mitchell. I don't know. We don't know about this. My problem with this, and this is the loyalty in sports that frustrates me. Because this is how quickly the loyalty like waivers for certain fans.

It's not all fans because, you know what I mean? Let's not generalize. But if you think about last season, Detroit had won their first playoff game in however many years, got to the NFC Championship unexpectedly. They were talking about building a statue of Jared Goughby wins this football. It's paid, does this thing, 15 win season, number one seat. Ben Johnson's coming back.

There's so much love in the city. There's so much greatness, so much happiness. and then disaster strikes. They lose. Now you're saying he was unprepared. It seems scored 31 points. Now you're saying Jared Golph isn't worth the contract he was getting at a really good season.

Didn't play great in this game. Sure. Give him criticism. But to almost like totally flip on these guys is the disappointing part for me. But that's the way losses affect fans. in some way, affect some fans. And that's why you don't expect loyalty from players because of how quickly people are to turn on you

because it didn't work out the way you wanted it to. Like, I don't think Ben Johnson wanted to lose that game. I don't think he was distracted. I don't think if he didn't do head coaching interviews, the game would have went differently. And, oh, my God, they would have came up with such a good game plan. They had a game plan. They scored 31 points.

Jared golf threw three interceptions. One of them was a pig six. Like, it's going to be tough to win that game. I don't know if it's because he's, because Ben Johnson wasn't prepared, Jared through those interceptions. Like, he just had an off game. I mean, when he threw the five interceptions,

you know, I don't think Ben Johnson was interviewing that week. And Jared threw five. You know what I mean? And they found a way to win that game. They didn't find a way to win this game. I don't think because Aaron Glenn was interviewing that, defense plate that they were decimated and they had been playing above their means for a long time

and unfortunately it caught up to them. They got it. They went 15 and 2. It was still a good season. They lost to a team that's hot right now. I'm sure those teams that lost to Eli Manning and those giants, you know, are filling away too. They're saying they're like, how did you lose to a team that's 9 and 7? But they beat an undefeated Patriots team.

Like, football is one of the craziest sports. That's why it's the best sport in the world because any, given day, anything can happen. That's why we watch. That's why we love this sport. You know what I mean? It's people overcoming. It's underdogs. It's good stories. It's storylines. It's to fight. It's the grit. It's the grind. For you guys that think he hasn't been building a staff for the next last two years. He hasn't been having conversations for the last two years of coaches, hey, if I take a job, are you coming with me? If I take a job, this didn't happen over the last week. Like, that's silly for you guys to think. It's silly for you to really even consider.

You think all these guys he's hiring, these conversations just happened two weeks ago. Like, that's silliness. These conversations have been happening the last two years. If he would have taken a job last year, it probably would have been the same staff. So, again, like, it wasn't a problem last year, and it shouldn't be a problem now. Like, don't be mad because a guy is prepared for his moment. Like, be happy for him. gave you his all. He did

what he tried, and he even stayed another year to try to do it again. I can understand frustration. Like, is it disappointing? No question about it. Detroit, I understand disappointment, fully disappointed. I can respect that, and you're not wrong for that. The problem comes when you don't

appreciate it. When you sit there and say, hey, was he doing a lesser job for us looking towards the future? Like, don't do that. Don't speculate. Don't speculate. Just take the loss and say, we weren't good enough this day. Don't start saying, oh, man,

our quarterback isn't the right guy? Like, was he the right guy for those 15 wins? Like, when did he stop being the right guy? When he threw the interceptions this day, like, come on. Like, it has to be more than this. Like, there's only going to be one team to win the Super Bowl this year. And so are the other 31

quarterbacks disappointing? Are they disappointments? Are they just not the right guys for the job? That's not true. You can't just turn on guys, you know what I mean, because it didn't go great this time. And that's the same problem I have with some of the San Francisco fans. That's why I have with a lot of fans in general. Like, there are lawyer fans and they don't stop being loyal to the team and the logo. They just stop being loyal to the players.

They just stopped being loyal to the players. Like, let's get rid of him. I guarantee you could do worse. You can do worse than Jared golf. It won't be as sweet without Jared golf. But to that point, no, I don't think, I don't think it was a distraction. I don't think Ben Johnson was in here. Like, oh, man, calling guys up to 1 o'clock in the morning, hey, would you be my office

Gordon? Would you be my, like, hey, would you be my, like, these conversations happen during all seasons. They happen during the season. They happen through agents. They happen all the time. You think somebody's going to take a job and then be like, let me get on the phone and see who's available. Like, no, people have to move their families.

They have to talk to their families, their wives, their husbands, their kids. getting the schools, like they have to be prepared when it happens. So give me a break. You know what? The Detroit fan base is so used to just lackluster management from the top down, from the general managers to the coaches. We've never seen, I can't tell you. I think the last time they had an OC hired to take a head coaching position,

I believe was Don Shula in 1963. Success hasn't been a thing for this Detroit Lion. program. And frankly, I think the Detroit line fan base has to come to grips with the fact that just because you're good and just because you're damn good, really damn good, doesn't mean you're going to win the Super Bowl. Richard, you've been on so many damn good football teams that should have won Super Bowls. And if there's anyone that can state how hard it is to actually win it once you get there, I would have to believe it's you. Because when that finally happens, when Detroit finally gets over that hump. And I believe that.

will. I think this championship window just started getting open. I think it just started getting open. And that will be a great day in Detroit's history. Detroit and this fan base should be more than flattered that both OCs got taken away from them.

It sucks. It hurts. It's devastating, especially coming off this unexpected loss to the commanders on Saturday. But what they're building right now, if there is any indication that what you're building right now in Detroit is the right way to build things. It's the fact that these guys are getting approached by other organizations, all of them,

and getting interviewed, and three of them have already been taken away. Dan Campbell has solutions, like you already said. Ben Johnson had these conversations in the offseason. Dan Campbell didn't know if Ben Johnson was coming back last year. So you know darn well, he's got a plan B in mind. Same thing with Aaron Glenn. He was the Aaron Glenn's number one advocate to get a head coaching job. If there's any better form of you're the man to Dan Campbell, it's having your OC and D.C. take head coaching jobs. So Dan Campbell should feel like he did a hell of a job. So Aaron Glenn taking the Jets job, do you think that's the right fit? Former Jett.

What are your thoughts with him? Well, I'm happy for him. You know, I'm happy for anybody getting a head coaching opportunity that wants it, that wants to pursue that. I'm sure that was a dream of his, especially to do it somewhere that he played. but I mean I'm salty you know what I mean I got a bad taste in my mouth just from the way the Robert Sala situation went the way Woody Johnson handled it they were two and three going to compete in Buffalo for the division he fires him coming off the London game where I you know what mean you know the quarterback didn't play a great game nobody really played great and then you know

to see the season kind of go to shambles for that team and everything that that kind of happened after that. I just hope that lessons have been learned by Woody Johnson and he stays out of it. You know, stay out of it. Let it play out. Let it play out. You know, let the coach coach. You know, if injuries happen and things put the, do everything you can with management and everything to put the best, you know, 53 man roster together, that's fine. But don't fire the head coach five games into the season and then say, oh, man, I'm doing this for the culture. the man's been there, let a man build a culture, let him see his contract through, or fire.

But don't fire him five games into the season. And so I'm happy for Aaron Glenn, and I think he's going to do a great job, and they have a talented team, and I hope that he's able to reach the players and the way that he was able to reach them in Detroit and maximize their potential and things like that. I just hope Woody Johnson stays out of it.

I just, that part of it, wishing him the best. How big of a decline do you see for Detroit next year, if any, losing the OC and DC? Well, I mean, it's going to be tough. It's just a tough division in general. So I don't know if I necessarily feel a decline as much as, you know what I mean? I just don't know what's going to happen in a division. You got the Vikings who are coming off a 14-win season. The Packers are battling consistently.

The Bears just got your offensive coordinator, and they already had a really talented team. They got a good defense. They got players. So, you know, I can't call it. They're still a really talented team, so I don't know, you know, 15 and 2 is tough. You know, it's tough to replicate that season, period, no matter how good you are. So do I think they're going to go 15 and 2 or 16 and 1 next year? I doubt it.

I think they're still going to be a good team and I think still going to be a championship contender in NFC. Another team in that NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings, they just signed Kevin O'Connell to a mega multi-year extension. How bright do you think the future is in Minnesota? The future is really bright. And great job. And congratulations to Kevin O'Connell and his staff and everything he's been able to do with Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins and maybe J.J. McCarthy in the future.

And I think that's the bright light for some of these offensive playcullers. And some of these owners, that's the beacon of hope is the job that Kevin O'Connell has done in Minnesota. And even to a small day, degree the job that Dave Canales is done in Carolina because everybody thinks they need a quarterback whisperer. Hey, they get a quarterback whisperer or play call it. Like Mike McDaniel when he first got to Miami and what he was able to do with Tuatunga Vailoa. It's like, oh my God, there it is. Look at that offense. Look at him like this team is just freaking skyrocketed to the top. Now they've

kind of come back down to earth, have their own issues. But still, Tuatunga Vailoa has progressed and has developed under Mike McDaniel. I think this is great. I mean, I think this is great. I mean, I think this is great for them. And I think it's, it really should be eye-opening to other fans to appreciate what you have, you know. Kevin O'Connell has done a great job and they, they've won a lot of games, but they haven't won anything in the playoffs. But that franchise is still showing appreciation and trust in his head coach in the direction that they're going. There are, there's teams whose head coaches team in the Super Bowls, NFC championships. And there are people, fans of that, those teams are saying, get rid of them. Like, it's time. Like, we've reached our peak. We've reached, like,

we had a bad season. Like, come on, guys. You've got to have a little bit more patience than that. And I think that's a lot of the issue in this league. It's like, if you don't win it every year or you're not in the Super Bowl every year, then people want to fire good coaches. And so it's good to see they're not doing that. Well, the big looming question in Minnesota is going to be what they're going to do at the quarterback position. Do you think that Minnesota is going to roll into this season with J.J. McCarthy as their starter? Well, I think it depends on what Sam Donald asked for in terms of a salary, how the deal is structured. I wouldn't. I wouldn't go into the season without Sam Darnold because that's a known commodity,

especially within this system, within this offense, you know what you're going to get? Do you have some problems on the offensive line? You need to fix this offseason surely. Do you think you have something great with J.J. McCarthy? I don't know. I didn't see the practices. I didn't see what he did.

But if they believe they got something special in him and Sam, if his demands are reasonable, I think given JJ time to heal and to, you know, mature and develop and see how a pro prepares each and every game, you know, how he goes through things. I'm sure he'll get his opportunity, but to throw him in the fire after a 14 and 3 season is tough. It's a tough ask for a rookie, but we'll see. If it's not Minnesota, where do you think the best landing spot is for Sam Darnold? That's a great question. The way the draft order has come out, you know, because you would have thought some of these teams like the Raiders and the Giants are going quarterback early, but they're not in a position to necessarily get the best guy early.

But if they have a guy they fall in love with, then sure. But, you know, I can see him being a bridge quarterback at some of these places. the Giants being one of them. You know, I really, you know, depending on what they do with Aaron Rogers and things like that, if they, if Aaron Glenn has a lot of respect for him, somebody in his own division,

it would be a crazy, crazy, crazy story. But Sam Donald, you know, prodigal son, returns home to the New York Jets, the place that threw him away like a bag of stale lays. I mean, it, it could happen. This is a national football league.

I don't put anything past anyone. But I can see that happening, the Las Vegas Raiders. If they get somebody, you know, if they don't feel like they can get the guy they wanting to draft, I can see them taking a shot at him. Yeah, those are the places I could see him going and having a chance to start this season. Everywhere else is pretty much I've counted for at the quarterback position, if I'm not mistaken. 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. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do 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.

And, well, 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, 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. 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 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. 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. 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 beaders 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. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app, search learn the hard way and listen now. I mean, Robert Sala, You think there's any way he goes back to your friends, San Francisco 49ers, and returns to Glory over there? Yes. Yes, I think that is definitely a possibility. Do you think, like, honestly, though, here, Richard, because ever since Sala left, there was a little bit of a time for D'Amico Ryan's.

Obviously, he then moved on. And then San Francisco's kind of been kicking through defensive coordinators, looking for that next guy. Like, is there any thought process that goes through Kyle Shanahan's mind that says, I don't know if I want to take Robert Sala back because I know he's going to be immediately looking for a head coaching position after this next season. Metro, sometimes you want that old thing back. You know, you may not have heard that song and I don't want to go, you know what I mean? I don't want to go back through that with you right now. But, you know what I mean?

It sounds like Kyle saying, I want that old thing back. And that's sometimes that old thing is what you know. And what you know is what go. A guy that he knows he can work with, been in championship games, Super Bowls, they built a great roster. You know, it's going to be that wide nine technique. Not a lot of coaches coach right now. And I'm sure Nick Bolsa will be happy to go back to a nine and be able to rush from that. This isn't the only, you know, old flame.

I expect to be, you know, investigated by the San Francisco 49ers. I expected him to call the Indianapolis Colts and see if the Forest Buckner, you know what I mean, would potentially like to return. I think they kind of try to go back to the way they know they can win football games. Having a ferocious front, rushing a passer, having a very efficient offense. And I think that's the direction they want to go. I think they know the pass rush helps the secondary. The secondary helps the pass rush.

But if you got some killers up front, you win a lot of football games. While we're talking about the San Francisco 49ers here a little bit, We got to talk about Brock Purdy. That is going to be the big question mark of the offseason for the 49ers is how do they handle his contract extension situation? Do you foresee Brock Purdy resetting the quarterback market? I think Brock Purdy gets $55 million a year. Now, I know some fans are like, oh, my God, that's so prohibitive. That's going to be killing the team.

That's going to do this. It's all about structure. And the 49ers have done a good job of structuring it. I'm sure they'll do a great job, especially of the quarterback of structuring his deal, whether it's, you know, per year bonuses or whether it's stretched. His signing bonus will be stretched over years. They'll have voidable years at the end. If you look at Joe Burroughs contract, for example, it's the voidable years at the end.

It's the way they stretch the contract that makes it a lot more feasible because you want the quarterback to stay within 17 to 20% of their salary. And I know you're like, oh, my God, $55 million isn't $7. 17% of the salary cap, but it's how it hits every year. What is the cap number going to be every year? And if you keep that cap number in the 46 to 47, 48% range, you're perfect. And I think the San Francisco 49ers can do that and still manage to have a good roster and still manage to pay the rest of the guys. Sure, they'll have to make some sacrifices with, you know, some veteran guys. I think they already talked about moving on from

Javon Hardgrave and guys like that. Charverius Ward likely won't be back. His family, his wife said she can't deal with the trauma of being in California. So that's unfortunately going to be a loss for San Francisco 49ers. But I think they're going to do it. I think $55 million is where they're going to be. Could they push it up to, you know, 56, 57? Sure.

Do I think he resists the market with $61 million? I doubt it. But even if he did, it'd be structured in a way that it would not it would not cripple or handicapped San Francisco 49ers. Well, that's got to be the most important part because like we talked about, there's still in this championship window,

but having to pay Brock Purdy, $55 million versus whatever he was making this year, $1 million, is a whole different ballgame. So John Lynch is going to be, I'm sure, up late at night for several nights trying to make this all work out. So we shall see with the 49ers.

Richard, we got a new fan of the program. Tom Brady. He's out there liking the Richard Sherman podcast post, and he specifically liked your take on the Patrick Mahomes hit against the Houston, Texas, when the Houston Texans were flagged for unnecessary roughness. Tom Brady had this to say, the reality for me is that offensive players need to protect themselves. When quarterbacks become running backs and they're out of the pocket,

they should lose their protection. If you don't want to get hit, you go down. you can run out of bounds. Richard, we got a new fan. What are your thoughts on the comments from Tom Brady? Well, thank you, Tom. We sure do appreciate you here at the Richard Sherman podcast. Again, whether you listen for a minute and hour a second,

we sure to appreciate you, brother. And he's right. And he's right. You got like, they put too much on the defense. Like, it's hard enough to play the game. If I didn't have to keep offensive players safe, if I didn't have to try to cover while guys are pushing and shoving and do it if I just knew where the guys were going.

Like, I'm reactionary to everything. So I don't know where they're going. I'm guessing. They know where they're going. I'm trying not to get penalized because as a defender, especially as a corner, there's 10 flags against me off the bat. Like, there's 10 ways for me to get penalized every play.

For the offensive guy, it might be a couple. You might get an unnecessary roughness, an offensive PI holding, you know, potentially a chop block, something like that. For defense, you can't hit them high. You can't hit the quarterback. You can't grab them by the back of their jersey, horse collar. And it's the slow-mo refereeing that's happening now.

It's like, oh, my God, did you see him when he pushed off the way Tradavius White last week got run over by Keon Coleman and people were yelling. Oh, my God, clearly passed interference. He was in his way. it's not his job to get out of his way. It's his job to defend him. And if they're both hand fighting and Kea Hart Coleman shoves him to the ground,

like it's a very frustrating place to be. So to Tom's point, yes, I agree. Like, it has, some onus has to be on the offensive player. Like, now you're using the rules against us because you're using the rules that put doubt in the heads of the defenders as your advantage as like a shield around you on the field. Now you're running and you're like, hey, oh my God, am I going to slide? Am I going to slide? Like, you don't know. Now I can't play fast. And I'm playing a really fast and violent side of the

ball. Like this isn't a finesse. Defense isn't a finesse side of the football. Like, all I'm trying to do is take the ball from you. Like my job, my only ambition is to take that ball and give it back to my offense. And so you have the ball. And you're sitting here running slow. And I'm sitting here like, hey, go down so I don't have to hit you. But if you're not going down, I'm going to punish you. And people are like, oh, my God, they're spearing. Yes, we're hitting hard as shit out there. We're trying to destroy.

We're trying to hit these people and dislodge the ball, like Tom was saying. It's a violent game. If you don't understand that fundamentally watching football, then don't watch it. Don't watch this game. Like, if you're saying don't be so violent out there, they're hitting too hard, then don't watch this game. That's literally the foundation on what this game was built on. That's what made this game.

great. Now, is there a health and safety to it where it's, you know, CTE and concussions have become an issue and become something to focus and the longevity of our players in the future? No question does not make it less violent. If we talk, that'd be like telling boxers, hey, don't hit each other in the face. Then why have the sport? Like, you know what I mean? At some point, you have to, there is an inherent risk in the sport. you're not going to be able to officiate that out of it. And that's what they're trying to do. And it's the slow-moes.

It's the calling players dirty. It's the nonsense like that that is really ruining the game. And it's going to ruin it for a lot of people. But people are like, people are going to stop playing this game. They're not. The people that play this game, they come from the slums a lot of times, the majority of the times. They come from really rough circumstances.

They don't come from affluence. So the people from affluence are sitting there saying, man, this is ruining their lives. This is ruining the game. They're getting too violent. I'm not going to let my kid play. Where I'm from, ain't nobody not letting their kid play football. So you're just giving more opportunities to kids that are deserving than, I guess. But like at some point, you're going to either ruin the game or you're going to stop over-officiating and let them play.

And I hope they let them play. At the end of the day, what's the solution to this? I mean, if you're on the NFLPA, you know, if you're on the competition committee, player safety committee, whatever it may be, I mean, there's a difference between the as Aziz Al-Shayr hit on Trevor Lawrence and the hit we saw the Houston Texans make on Patrick Mahomes. It is with the onus is on the quarterback, should there be conversation about telling the quarterback, hey, your slides have to be open and obvious. they have to be a yard further back than when you were originally starting your slide,

because we can't put defenders in this situation where they have to guess whether you're going to slide or not, especially with mobile quarterbacks, especially with guys like Patrick Mahomes that are able to get out of the pocket and fake going out of bounds and then run for another 15 yards up the sideline. There has to be a conversation about this exact set of circumstances because these penalties, especially when you're the Houston Texans, you're already the underdog in that game, You're already going on the road to Kansas City. Every yard matters in that game. When you get flagged for 15 yards in an automatic first down,

that is an absolute backbreaking penalty. What is the ultimate solution to this problem, Rich? It's probably that. It's probably something alone that, but they will never, that's the problem with the competition committee. And I have said as an NFLPA member in those meetings. So people are like, man, they need to have somebody like you in those meetings. I've said in them.

They don't listen to us. don't listen to guys who played the game and tell them, hey, you know how you say, see what you hit? Guess where your eyes are? They're on your head. Guess where your head is hitting, where your eyes look. And you just told them to see what they're hit. Now they're hitting what they see, and you're telling them to take their head out of it. You see how that's an issue?

No, you don't see it? You don't get it? Oh, okay. So you don't want them to see what they hit. You want them to turn their head away and shoulder what they hit. Okay, so now you don't want them to see it because if they see it, they're going to hit. it and they're going to use their head to hit it. Okay, I got it. You don't get it.

Because you're saying things that don't physically, like, make sense. Like, there are certain things that have to happen for you to be able to make these hits. And the same is true when it comes to this. They always feel like the owner should be on the defender. The defender should be able to add full speed, see, hey, this guy's going to duck his head, five degrees, are five inches lower. and I'm going to aim for that, but then you hit a guy in his knees and take him out, and now they're calling Kirby Joseph dirty.

And now Kirby Joseph is dirty because you said, hey, don't hit the guy high and don't hit him too low. Hit him right in his midsection, but every time you aim for his midsection, he drops his head, and I get a penalty and I lose $15,000. So the one place I can hit him in his legs, I know are going to be there, and now you're saying, hey, don't hit him in his legs because now you look dirty and I'm calling you a dirty player. And so there is really no winning for it. It's happening too fast for me to aim and change my trajectory and see where I'm hitting. So if you're telling me full speed, see what you're hitting, get your head out of there at the last second and still strike the person in the spot that I thought was going to be there.

You see how impossible that is when it starts to be logical and they won't see it that way. So I agree with Tom. The onus needs to be on an offensive player because the game is you have time in this. We don't. We don't have time and distance to change and do all this. You're watching and you can say, I could get a few more yards here, or I could step out of bounds right here. Patrick Mahones could have decided to step out of bounds two seconds ago.

Instead, he returns to the field of play, and then now there's an unnecessary penalty. A penalty that would not have happened if he just stepped out, and that's the frustrating part for defenders, because we're just playing fast. and all the things that we're asked being asked to do within this game aren't always feasible. Shout out once more to Tom Brady, the new fan of the program, and we appreciate all you guys. I will let you wrap things up, Rich. Please sign us off.

Well, thank you guys for joining us again for another championship preview. We appreciate you. We know you could be anywhere in the world and join your family and your friends hanging out, but you're here with us, and we sure do appreciate it. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you Sunday night after these games. Can't wait. 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. Nice.

We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it out. 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. Tired and sick.

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 a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Sumer me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you're not. you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the

moment and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.