The Kevin Sheehan Show - Bengals, Rams, & Commanders?

Episode Date: January 31, 2022

Kevin today with his recaps of the AFC and NFC Championship games. Those followed by a call-in from Michael Phillips/Richmond Times Dispatch with his best guesses on the new name and new quarterbacks for the Washington Football Team.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Garapolo. Donald got there. So do you want Jimmy Garapolo?

Anybody want Jimmy Garapolo? I don't want Jimmy Garapolo. Jimmy Garapolo is a fighter. He's not a terrible quarterback. Jimmy Garapolo apparently is a great teammate. Jimmy Garapolo's got a super quick release. I'm not sure I knew it as much as I knew it this year watching him. Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be available.

If I am Washington, I am not interested in Garoppolo, even though I do believe he'd be an upgrade over what they have. That's the way the NFC championship game ended in SoFi Stadium and lovely Englewood, California, right near where the old great Western Forum used to be the home of the Lakers and all of their titles, most of their titles. To me, the memorable titles in the 1980s. The Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Byron, Scott, James Worthy, Worthy, Kurt Rambus, Michael Thompson, and the list goes on and on.

I love those Laker teams. Magic is my all-time favorite NBA player. And the Wizards slash bullets, they were the bullets then, weren't very good. So I was into the NBA and I was into the NBA playoffs and I just rooted for the Lakers. I rooted for the Spurs too because I was a huge George Iceman-Girvin fan. But only after the bullets were eliminated would I root for those teams. Anyway, I digress. But it is right next to where the forum used to be.

I don't think the forum is still there. Maybe it is. Is the Great Western Forum still in L.A. or not? Somebody can tweet me on that, you know, after you listen to this. at Kevin She and D.C. on Twitter. The show today is presented by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.ag or MyBooky.com. You can bet whatever you want to bet on every single sports available.

They got an online casino, and they're going to match your deposit, dollar for dollar, all the way up to $1,000 if you use my promo code, Kevin D.C. So go to MyBooky.orgie.org or MyBooky.com for that. On the show today, Michael Phillips from the Richmond Times Dispatch will join us. in the final segment of the show with the latest on the name. 48 hours from now, we'll know what the new team name is. I believe it's commanders, but I don't know that. I'm not reporting that.

And at this point, who really cares? We're going to know in less than 48 hours. That's what I believe it to be. I think it's going to be the commanders. I think it's going to be a very polarizing day for, those that still care. And that audience of still caring a lot is much smaller than it used to be, probably half of what it was, say, 10 years ago. But I think the people that care about the name reveal, most likely the people who are excited about it and may actually really come to like it

are younger. And I think people that are older and were around for all of the glory years. And years, the glory days, will probably be sickened on that day. And then, you know, there will be outliers in both of those demos. But I think it's going to be an age demographic response. I think the younger you are, the more excited you will be. You don't remember the organization when it was actually a competent NFL franchise that won all the time. And so your emotional tie to the name, the old name, isn't what it is for some of us. And if you are a little bit older, even if you're one that is open to and predisposed

to almost embracing change, I think when you finally hear that there is a new name and new branding and new uniforms, even though the color scheme promises to be the same, I think it's going to feel a little bit like a real slap. in the face. I do. I think it's going to be a wake-up call.

I think the last two years have been kind of fake. They have felt interim. For Maryland basketball fans, that's what this season feels like. It feels very interim. I think what happens on Wednesday will feel very permanent, and that won't feel good for a lot of people.

But many of you didn't feel good with interim. So I understand that as well. But Michael Phillips will come on with us later on in the show. He will talk about the, latest that he has learned about the name, take a guess on what the name will be. We'll get his thoughts on the name, and then we'll talk some quarterback with him as well. But let's take some time here to go through these two championship games from yesterday. We'll start with the last game, the 49ers and the Rams. Let me actually begin with, I'm taking a push.

on the Rams pick. The smell test hit on both of the unders. So that was 2 and 0. And I had the Rams laying 3. I said on Friday show, we're buying the hook here. We're buying the hook and we're playing the Rams minus 3. I know it was an expensive purchase for those of you that bought the hook to get it to 3 because there weren't really any threes out there.

Briefly, I think there was a 3 or 2 if you saw it on Friday. but for the most part, that thing stayed constant at three and a half. And I know it costs you minus 120, minus 125, minus 130 to buy that half point to get it to minus three if you were playing the Rams. Anytime you're buying three and a half to three, it's expensive. Anytime you're trying to buy, you know, plus two and a half to plus three, it can be expensive and it was yesterday. But I am taking it as a push because I would not have given the Rams out if I didn't

give the Rams out as a minus three by the hook selection on Friday. So a better smell test over the weekend, two zero and one. That gets me to within three games of 500 with Super Bowl Sunday looming. Last year I was two games below 500 and I had the first half under, Tampa in the first half, Tampa for the game and the under for the game. I hit on all four and I ended up two games above 500 after Super Bowl Sunday. So I will likely have the game, the total, and the first half game, and the first half total as well. I will tell you right now that my lean early on with the Rams minus four and the total at 50 is actually the Rams. I like the Rams. I like the Rams. a little bit in the Super Bowl, even though I really enjoy watching this Bengals team.

And I kind of like the over in this game. A little bit right now. We'll see. We've got time. But I think I'm definitely going to like the Rams. We'll see what happens to the line. It would not shock me, and this is typically the case with the Super Bowl, unless it's a very big point spread.

But I think this point spread is going to stick it four. You know, I doubt it drops to three. I think it's going to stay right around where it is. I think they nailed the number. When the game ended last night, I thought, you know, I was sitting there talking with a friend of mine, and I said, I think it's Rams minus three, you know, minus three and a half.

And ended up minus four. I think it'll stick right around there. But we have lots of time between now and Super Bowl Sunday, which will be the latest Super Bowl ever. So let's start with the Rams game. I want to start with. a couple of things in this game. First of all, I think the Rams played a little bit tight.

Sean McVeigh's two challenges in the second half were awful challenges. I mean, they were truly horrendous challenges. The first one on the Matt Stafford sneak, which wasn't close, and clearly was not going to be overturned on replay. And the second one on Use Check's third and one run that got stuff for a minus one-yard loss and then the ball popped out and he challenged that it was a fumble and it wasn't even close to a fumble. One of the things I didn't know before the game yesterday and Aikman and Buck pointed this out is that Sean McVay had only challenged one call all season long. That's amazing to me.

And he challenged two in the second half and had no timeouts after the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter. That could have really been crucial. I thought he was a little bit tight and really seemed desperate when they were down 17-7. I thought Stafford played a very good game. Don't get me wrong. I thought he had an excellent game, had a couple of throws that he'd like back. Obviously, the throw on their opening drive when they got into the red zone and he threw the interception, their second drive of the game, when he threw the interception on third and goal at the San Francisco three-yard line on a throw that was behind.

Cooper Cup that got deflected into the air and intercepted by Ward. And then the throw in the fourth quarter in a 17 to 14 game that was just a straight-up pop fly to tart and he dropped it. But I thought overall take a couple of throws out of the equation, I thought Stafford was really good in this game. He converted a lot of third downs, big third downs with big time throws. of one big time run on a third down. They were 11 of 18 on third down. And with the game on the line late, he really delivered on third down. He had a third and one throw to Blanton at 1717,

had a third and three slant to cup with pressure. It was a perfect throw. So he really came through late for the Rams like he did last week when the Buccaneers had tied up the game and he hit cut for 20 and then hit him for the, you know, the 40-yarder that got him into easy field goal range for the walk-off field goal at Tampa. Yesterday, we're last evening, after falling behind 17 to 7, he was 14 of 17 for 161 yards, a touchdown, and then two other drives that produced field goals on their last three drives of the game. Yeah, he had the one interception dropped. Got a little bit lucky on that. But, I mean, up below yesterday, once again, like last Saturday night at Lambo. I mean, Jalen Ramsey had two to three

picks right in his hands, and one of them was a pick six at 1717, right in his hands. I wanted to mention a few things about the first half, and then I'll get to the second half. I wanted to get to Stafford right from the jump. But the key to this game, more than anything else, was the Rams' ability to stop San Francisco's running game, to put the pressure on Garoppolo. To put the pressure, by the way, on Garoppolo to deliver even just accurate in-timing line of scrimmage throws, bubble throws to Debo, Samuel as an example. I mean, Samuel was spectacular. But the key to the Rams win. And really, I thought the Rams were the better team yesterday, and the fact that they were down 17-7 was kind of flukeish, to be honest with you. There was a

touchdown dropped in the first half by number 18 Scoronic. You had the interception in the red zone at the three-yard line. The Rams really, I thought, were the better football team yesterday and won a game by a margin that wasn't reflective of how much better they were. But it started with the Rams absolutely swarming the 49ers to stop their running game. They loaded the box, they were fast, and they are good up front on defense. And Aaron Donald really is a special player, as we know, Sean Robinson is excellent. Their linebackers were swarming, and the 49ers had eight rushes for 19 yards in the first half. You know, this is a team that's got to run the football, and they ended up 20 carries for 50 yards total in the game.

The Rams were outstanding defensively at the line of scrimmage, forcing Jimmy Garoppolo and any of their outside players to beat them. via essentially a horizontal passing game, which is what the 49ers then went to, and it worked a little bit. Samuel ended up with obviously the 44-yard touchdown on the bubble. They had a couple of other bubbles that worked to Mitchell, and they took a couple of shots, too. And, you know, Jimmy G threw some balls that should have been intercepted. He missed Kittle on their opening drive early in the game, way over through him. But he also delivered on some big-time throws. He threw a ball deep to Iuke.

I thought I should have stayed in bounds and scored. That was two plays before they scored anyway to tie the scored 7.7. But the key in the first half, and the fact that the Rams were down 10-7 seemed a little flukish considering how they had dominated the game statistically. But I thought the key to the first half and very much the key to the game was the Rams' ability to shut down. And I mean shut down the 49er rushing. attack. 20 carries 50 yards, eight carries 19 yards, and this is really what the 49ers, you know,

have prided themselves on. The ability to run the ball, even run it against a loaded box at times, and to run it creatively. You know, obviously with Samuel, a lot of the fly sweeps, a lot of, you know, misdirection stuff. They sent Trent Williams on that usech, on that usatch third and one in motion, came back as if, you know, with the fullback, he got stopped. The Rams were excellent up front against the run. Wanted to also mention a couple of things from the first half before I get to the second half and towards the end of the game. The Warner, the Fred Warner hit on Matt Stafford after Stafford's interception on that second drive of the game, which ended no points when they were at the three-yard line. You know, the interception was getting returned and away away from

the play, I'm sure you saw the replay, was Warner taking a major cheap shot. Helmet to helmet on Stafford. That was about as dirty as it gets. I would expect Warner to get fined big time for that hit. It was not called, he should certainly get fined big time. At half time, you know, I made this note. I'm like, the Rams are down 10 to 7. It just felt like they had dominated the game. And statistically, they had. They, you know, they had 200 yards. They were 7 of 10 on third down. They ran 42 offensive plays to the 49ers 20. They had a 2 to 1 time of possession advantage. But the 49ers got that one drive on the big throw to IUC and the touchdown bubble to Samuel. God, what a player he is. and then the Rams missed a field goal, which led to the ability to get in field goal range

with great starting field position at the end of the half, and then took a 17 to 7 lead on really what was, I think, their most complete drive. Garapolo hit the third and four to Iyuk for a first down, had a third and 10 throw to Jennings, which was short, but Jennings made a really good play to use his strength and bully his way really to a first down. And then Kittle was wide open on a really good. schemed up play for the Garoppolo touchdown, and it was 17 to 7. I still felt like the Rams were going to come back and make this a game, and the next drive was really when it started for the Rams.

You know, they got a pass to cup. They got several passes to cup. They had that little, at the end of the third quarter, the little wrinkle with the trick play, a little flea flicker handoff to the running back back to Stafford. He hits Blanton who was in for Higby, who got hurt. No Higby hurt them, but Blanton was pretty good. They need Higby, by the way, for the Super Bowl. And then on a third and one at the San Francisco 11,

Stafford to Cooper Cup for the touchdown and a 17-14 game. And really the rest of the way was difficult for the 49ers. They had the third down and two, the play that was charged. challenged by McVeigh, which was not a very smart challenge, a terrible challenge, in fact. And that cost him his third and final timeout with 1040 left in the game. The Rams had no timeouts. But the 49ers punted, and from deep in their own territory, starting at the 15, another third down fest, third and 10, Stafford to Cup for 16, third and three,

that third and 10 got him into field goal range down to the San Francisco. Go 25. Then they got stopped and they kicked the field goal after a big sack on third down. And then a three and out on the 49ers next drive, another lengthy drive. They converted a third and one to Blanton, a third and three to cup. And then Stafford took a sack and they ended up kicking the field goal with a minute 46 to go. And then the final possession for the 49ers where Aaron Donald was turned loose on Garoppolo and forced the little sidearm, backarm throw that got picked off to end the game.

You know, what's funny about the 49ers is Garoppolo is delivered in some of those spots. He delivered last week on the final drive of the game. He delivered in that final regular season game against the Rams in the same situation. Had to go 88 yards for a touchdown with no timeouts. In this situation, he needed to go probably 50 years. maybe like 35 to 40 yards to get them in field goal range to force OT. But up front, the Rams were dominant all day long.

And Aaron Donald, who you could argue was the best player in the game yesterday, ended it with the pressure and the forced interception of Garapolo. What's interesting is dominant as the Rams were up front in this game, and I thought they were. There were no sacks on Garoppolo. There were a lot of pressures. and Ramsey dropped two interceptions. And I think it was Hollins had another, was it Hollins or was it somebody else had a shot at one.

Nick Scott had a shot at one. Weddle had a shot at one. But Ramsey had two shots that literally one of them would have been a pick six. And he dropped both of them. And then Tart dropped the interception on the other end. But the Rams win the game 20 to 17. and they move on to the NFC title game. And, you know, they went for it in the offseason.

They went for it. They got Matt Stafford. He's been the difference maker, really the last two weeks in crunch time against the Bucks and against the 49ers. Ended up having a great regular season. He had some moments at times this year that weren't super smooth. and yesterday it could have ended up in the game very easily with two picks instead of the one, but he made some big, big time plays and the Rams are in the Super Bowl with a chance to win one. I thought McVeigh really got lucky that they won this game because he would have been crucified today

for the two real reach challenges that cost them all those timeouts. Those were bad. I don't know who he's getting advice for or from. on those challenges, but it was bad advice that McVeigh got. Ultimately, I really thought the better team yesterday won, the team with the better quarterback won. I say no to Jimmy G. And I say yes to what the Rams did last off season.

You got to go for it. You just have to go for it. And if you get shut out again, you know, it is what it is. And then you've got to deal with, you know, whatever, you know, is three, four, steps below landing on a Rogers, Wilson, or Watson. But Stafford would have made a big difference on this team. This team isn't as good as the Rams are, and it's certainly not as creative offensively as the Rams. And it's not the same organization that the Rams are.

But Stafford would have made a big difference on any team that was lacking a true top-tenish kind of quarterback. And I'm happy for him because I'm not a big, you know, winning. you know, record is a quarterback stat guy. I don't think your one loss record should really be the driving force and how you evaluate a quarterback. I do think the truly elite quarterbacks elevate their teams and they end up with better records than maybe sometimes the teams around them

would suggest they're capable of. And I don't know that Matt Stafford is that guy. I mean, you know, he's clearly not, or Detroit would have been better, you know, at times over the years. But let's not forget that Matt Stafford, You know, this isn't his first rodeo in the postseason. You know, they had seasons in Detroit when he had Calvin Johnson where they went to the postseason and played in games. You know, they were in the postseason in 2012 and lost a shootout where he played exceptionally well against New Orleans.

They were in the playoffs in 2015 and should have beaten Dallas, if not for a horrific, you know, picked up flag on what should have been a defensive holding or a defensive pass interference. to end the game. They were in the postseason in 2017. There were times in which he was elevating his team to a certain degree. But there were also times when he wasn't completely healthy in some of the years during his career. He played only half the season in 2019, and I've said this many times about Stafford. No dude showed up on an injury port more often than he did and then played. And he did that a lot in Detroit. But, you know, Detroit had a stretch where they were 10 and 6 in 2011. They were 11 and 5 in 2014, 9 and 7 in 2016, 9 and 7 in 2017.

They weren't, you know, always awful. You know, he had, you know, four solid seasons of nine wins plus, three of those seasons in the postseason. And then a couple of those years, they were seven and nine. and in the hunt. You know, they weren't, they were a horrible team a couple of times. They were.

But I, I'm glad for him because I think his overall talent and ability wasn't necessarily reflected in Detroit's one loss record over the years. And he's with a really good team. They're really good around him. I mean, they got, you know, OBJ, by the way, I didn't mention him. What a game he had, nine for 113, what a postseason O'Dell Beckham Jr. is having right now. But a good win for the Rams. And by the way, how about the fact they had to use the silent count at home?

Second straight game against the 49ers were playing as the home team. They had to use the silent count. That's not good. All right, when we come back, the earlier game, which included an incredible finish, an incredible comeback, and an incredible suggestion from the lead analyst. on the game for CBS. We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. From 31 yards, McPherson, and Cincinnati is heading to the Super Bowl.

He called it again, I'm sure. He walked up and he goes, can you believe, coach? We're going to the Super Bowl. And they did it. They beat Mahomes at home. Wow. Evan McPherson's fourth field goal of the day. a 2724 stunner at Arrowhead.

Cincinnati is on to Super Bowl 56. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. Rate us and review us wherever you can, especially on Spotify and Apple. On Apple in particular, I know that many of you have done it per our request, and I really appreciate it, but it's still literally like one-tenth

of the number of people that on average, listen to the podcasts. That means that 90% of you out there haven't rated or reviewed us. I know it's a pain in the ass, or it seems like it, but it really will take like 30 seconds. If there's any way you can do it in your spare time

or even just pause this show right now and just rate us five stars and write a quick one sentence telling Apple how much you love the podcast. It's big for us because it's really what advertisers look for. They look for the numbers, which we have, but they look for the results.

spots from the listeners, and that is reflected in your ratings and reviews. So if you have time, if you can spare some time to do it, it's a huge help for us. Wow, what a first game. It continued the trend of games ending on the final play of the game. It made it five straight playoff games, the four divisional round games last week, and this one in overtime yesterday, five straight playoff games ending with a walk-off score. Evan McPherson doing it for the second time. 12 of 12 Evan McPherson has been in the postseason kicking field goals. What a run for him.

Four for four yesterday. Last week in the win over Tennessee in the divisional round, four for four. And in the first week against the Raiders, four for four. I mean, 12 for 12. I was looking for information on whether or not that is a record number of field goals made in three playoff games. And I couldn't find it anywhere. It's got to be, though, right? And the percentage obviously couldn't be topped.

But, you know, it's pretty rare where you have three games in a row where you're four for four. To kick four field goals in a game is unusual. I mean, it's not, you know, I mean, how many games does it happen in which a game? kicker kicks four field goals in a game. One out of five games, one out of four games. He's done it in three straight games. He only did it once during the regular season in a win over Vegas, and he only attempted four in one other game,

and that was against the 49ers, a game they lost in overtime in Cincinnati, 26 to 23. All right, let's get to this game. Where to start? Well, I'm going to start with the Chiefs, because, Cincinnati will get a lot of credit for me coming up here in a moment. But the Chiefs choked this game away. Patrick Mahomes was awful in the second half. Awful.

And he didn't, it wasn't awful in the way that you would expect Mahomes to be awful, maybe some really bad decisions trying to make plays, running around, throwing some balls up for grabs. He missed guys badly. He looked like he completely tight. up. I mean, that game should have been over on this second play of overtime. He threw a pick six ball to Eli Apple that Apple just dropped. That ball was so far behind Robinson. You know, they won the toss and everybody's like, oh, that's it. They're going to go down the field like they did last

week. And by the way, it doesn't always happen. It's happened, though, 11 out of 12 times before yesterday that the team that won the toss in the postseason has won the game. And on seven of those on the first drive since the new rule was adopted in 2010. I am for a change or a tweak to the overtime rule in the postseason. I've come around on that. But Mahomes was tight. The first ball sailed over Robinson's head. The second one was right in Eli Apple's hands for a pick six to end it. Would have been 30 to 24. And then on third and 10, he threw to Hill into double coverage and had it picked off. I thought Mahomes was dreadful. in the second half.

Inaccurate, late, missed guys running around trying to make plays that he didn't complete in terms of making plays, which, by the way, he usually does. You know, I'm not going to sit here and say, what's he doing running around and twirling and extending the play? Well, that's who Patrick Mahomes is. That's who he's always been. That first touchdown passed to Tyreek Hill was unbelievable. The twirling around and the extension of time, he's great on that. And I would say that most times when he doesn't, I'm expecting it to end in a touchdown.

It didn't yesterday, not in the second half. But beyond that, he was missing people. He was late on throws. He was inaccurate on throws. I mean, this team in the first half rolled up nearly 300 yards. 21 points, we'll get to the last possession of the first half here in a moment. They were 4 for 4 on third down. Mahomes was 18 of 21 for 220 and three touchdowns.

Tyree Kiel had seven catches for 78 yards in the first half. half, Kelsey was five for 55. Toriq Hill did not have a catch in the second half. The first half was touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, and then they got stopped at the goal line at the end of the first half. We'll get to that in a moment. They were unstoppable in the first half. And then in the second half, they went punt, punt, interception, punt, field goal, interception.

like either Cincinnati made a significant number of changes, which I think is true. And I think one of those changes was to emphasize more taking to re-kill out of the game. He had seven catches and was killing him in the first half. But trying to take him out of the game doesn't always work, by the way. Mahomes was under pressure more in the second half. I also think that he played poorly in the second half. half. I also think they got away from the run in the second half a little bit. McKinnon in the first half was averaging, I think, over six yards per carry, or right

around six yards per carry. I thought they could have just kept feeding Jerich McKinnon. It's not really Kansas City style understood, but I thought that they could have continued to feed him. Now, let's go through the rest of this game and chronological. fashion. Because I think Mahomes choked. I thought he was tight, and I thought Kansas City was dreadful in the second half. I also think Cincinnati gets a lot of credit for it, because I think Cincinnati hung in there, and they were really good, and God, I was rooting for them. What I was really rooting for was the under, which we got. But I wanted Cincinnati to win the game. In the first half, you know, Cincinnati, they struggled.

You know, it was really close, right? Like, their opening drive, they had a third and four, and Burrow just missed Uzoma who got hurt. That's, you know, we got two tight ends in the Super Bowl injuries. Higby and Uzoma, who are, those are big losses if neither can play. On Cincinnati's second drive, they drove it down the field. You know, they couldn't, Burrow scrambled and made a third and five. He threw a tight throw to Boyd on a third and two.

That was actually the quick sprint out, third and two. through a pass complete to Boyd on a third and five, and then they were forced to kick a field goal, but they drove the ball in that second drive. The third time they had the ball offensively, they got a big run by Mixon, and they had a third and six near midfield, and Burrow went with kind of a screen to P-Rine,

but P-Rine went in kind of the wrong direction. I think that was that particular throw to P-Rine. That may have been the next drive. And then the next, no, that was that drive, actually. And he was a little bit upset with P. Ryan, because he said if you had stayed in the area in which the screen was supposed to go, we probably pick it up. And then on their last drive of the first half, seven plays, 70 yards, four minutes. And on a second and 12, they threw a screen to our boy, Somage, P. Ryan, who ran it in for touchdown. And the 21-3 was 21-10.

But did you even have any sense at 21-10 that they had a prayer? No. Because the Chiefs had gone in their drives, 11 plays 84-yard, 2. touchdown. Their second drive, seven play 75 yards touchdown. Their third drive, eight play 72 yards touchdown. It's 2110. And here they are, by the way, at the end of the first half on the move again. Is Cincinnati going to stop them? No. And Kansas City is scheduled to get the ball to start the second half. So I thought the game was over. I mean, I was just rooting for it to stay under. I really saw 35 or 38 to 10 or 38 to 17 coming. You know, I didn't want 38. 38.

17, that put it at 55. I needed 54 and a half. But I saw a blowout. It didn't seem like it was, you know, that there was a chance for Cincinnati in this particular game. And I know they came from 11 down to beat Kansas City in their regular season game towards the end of the year, but that was in Cincinnati. And it just didn't seem like it. The Chiefs seemed all the sudden be the Chiefs offensively. You know, last week against Buffalo, you know, in their game against Pittsburgh. Like all of a sudden, there's a lot. There's a lot. There's a. the Chiefs again on offense. And by the way, it's getting a little bit boring, watching it. And that was going to be my next comment about the Chiefs before we get to this final possession of the first half.

I made a comment early in the season when they weren't playing well and they were losing games. And people thought, ooh, the Chiefs, you know, the preseason favorite. You know, at one point, I think they were two and three when they got blown out by Buffalo. And I made the comment, that was right before they came here, I made the comment that they kind of looked bored. And I said, Mahomes kind of looks bored. And I thought they got a little bored yesterday and got a little arrogant, too. Like, hey, we're up 2110. There's no chance that we're going to lose this game.

So let's go ahead and run a play with five seconds to go at the end of the half, up 2110. We're getting the ball to start the second half. But it's at the one yard line. Let's go ahead and score and make it 2810. and then we'll score to start the second half, 35, 10, and then we'll start making plans for L.A. in the Super Bowl. Or at halftime, we can start making those plans. And they ran that play at the end of the first half.

Now, I didn't think it was a terrible thing that they were going to run one more play. But it had to be quick. The first down play from the one-yard line, with nine seconds to go, was a play that only took four seconds. It was an incomplete pass. He unloaded it quickly,

four seconds. The clock went from nine to five. So why couldn't they do that again and potentially hit something to Kelsey or to somebody for a quick touchdown? And if it's incomplete, it's incomplete. And now a four second play leaves one second for the field goal attempt. Or by the way, maybe they would then try to run it in, you know, on third and goal from the one. Because they they didn't run it. They wanted to throw it there because I thought they thought they could get a four-second play if they missed kick the field goal. But they didn't get a four-second play because Patrick Mahomes checked it down to Tariq Hill in the field of play, not in the end zone, and he got stopped. Like, even if, like, he got out of bounds, it was too long of a play. He had to,

it was a catch and run. It wasn't a quick throw catch, either catch, or incomplete. And what was really odd is that Patrick Mahomes was screaming. And, you know, yelling for a timeout, putting his hands together, making the T sign saying time out, time out, time out. How is it that Patrick Mahomes, with five seconds to go on the Cincinnati won in the AFC championship game, didn't know that they didn't have any timeouts? He didn't. Kind of arrogant to do what they did, kind of stupid in terms of the execution, and a little bit speaks to the boredom that Patrick Mahomes may have been in the state of,

like not really paying attention to the fact that they didn't have a time out. Weird. Kind of a weird situation at the end of the first half. Look, I didn't think in the moment, and I don't think any of you thought in a moment, that they were going to pay for it in a big way. I didn't think they were going to pay for it in a big way. I thought, well, I mean, it's 2110. It's good for me because I need the under.

So maybe they'll win 35 to 17 instead of 42 to 17 or 38 to 17. And then the second half begins with Kansas City punting on the first drive. There was a bad snap on third and six after they'd picked up a first down and Mahomes had to pick it up and then scramble and he threw, he actually missed Kelsey, threw it a little bit too far for Kelsey, a little bit inaccurate on a play that should, you know, his typical conversion. so they punt it. And Cincinnati gives it right back on a punt. And then they get another stop of Kansas City. After Kansas City picked up a first down, Mahomes takes a couple of deep shots,

misses on both of them, and they have to punt again. And then the Bengals come down and they make a field goal to make it 2113. And you're like, ah, they've had the ball twice and only generated three points, but it's an eight-point game. Probably aren't going to get another stop at this point. And the next drive, you end up with really one of the security. significant plays of the game. Mahomes kind of lazily throwing the ball out for Robinson on what looked like a little bit of a bubble, and it gets picked off by Hill to defensive lineman. I said

this to my producer Brendan this morning, and I didn't look it up. It seems like Mahomes threw a lot of interceptions to defensive linemen this year, like just kind of balls that he thought were routine balls that just kind of got deflected up into the air and somebody picked them off. I could be wrong. But the Bengals turn that into a touchdown. They go for two. And it's, by the way, the touchdown pass to Jamar Chase on

third and goal was outstanding. And then you get the easy pitch and catch to Taylor and it's 21-21. I still didn't in that moment think they were going to lose. Kansas City was going to lose the game. But on third and three on their next drive, they sack Mahomes. He's running around and he gets sacked. Hendrickson

was outstanding on that play. And then the Bengals give it right back on the one ball that Burrow, I think it's like the only ball, it seems like he's thrown poorly in several weeks. And he threw, he's trying to force it to chase and it got picked off by Sneed. But Cincinnati's defense came up big. They sacked Mahomes on third and six at the 50-yard line, and they had to punt it. And then Cincinnati gets the long drive, and McPherson boots through a 52-yard field goal, and it's 24 to 21. But there's six minutes left in the game. game. You're like, God, they needed a touchdown on that drive. I'm glad they didn't get a touchdown

because I had the under. But on the next drive, you know, it was Kansas City is going to tie this up or they're going to win at 2824, right? And they move the ball down the field. And they get to the Cincinnati five-yard line first down and goal at the five. And so I want to mention a couple of things. They clearly at that point, and Cincinnati kind of felt it as well, and I think we all felt it. It's like Kansas City is going to go for the knockout blow here. They're probably going to score a touchdown, but worst case, they kick a field goal and not leaving Burrow anytime. And, you know, best case scenario is for Cincinnati is for overtime, right? Although Mahomes had been a little bit careless with the ball, so who knew?

But it's the Chiefs. And I want to get to the Tony Romo comment with, and it came after Jerich McKinnon got stopped for basically no gain on first and goal at the five, all right? First and goal at the five, Cincinnati calls their final timeout, minute 26 left. They're protecting against the possibility that Kansas City scores a touchdown and they need the ball back, or they hold Kansas City to a field goal, which might still give them time to go down and get into field goal range. And Tony Romo suggested that one of the strategies that Bengals should consider is letting the Chiefs score. I've always been a Romo guy since the beginning. I think he's enthusiastic. I think he really knows the game. But I've been meaning to say this at various points during the season this year.

In listening to Tony Romo this year, I think he's winging it. I think his preparation is average at best. And I think he's not thinking some of these things through. I think he's totally capable of understanding how stupid a suggestion up three in letting them score is. That's one of the worst, you know, in-game strategy suggestions from a lead analyst on the number one team in a big spot. that I have ever heard. I was stunned when I heard it. I tweeted out immediately.

Tony, the let-em score strategy doesn't apply when you're up three. It applies in a tie game if the other team can win on a walk-off field goal. It probably applies if you're up one or two against a team like Kansas City. You don't want them to have a walk-off field goal for a one-point win. it also, by the way, applies if you're down by one, if they're stupid enough to score, you let them score, and then you get the ball back down eight. Although that really doesn't happen as much anymore

because teams are more aware of the let them score when you're down by one scenario. But they were down by three. And he was suggesting let him score so you can what, get the ball back into Burroughs hands with more time, no timeouts, down by four needing a touchdown? No, you're not letting them score up three ever.

That was a, and I saw on Twitter so many people agreeing with it. You guys were out of your minds. That was a terrible suggestion. And I think even Tony Romo, and maybe he's already come back and said, you know, I was just throwing stuff out there. But I'll get to what happened in overtime with Nance and Romo here in a minute. clearly, you know, the strategy is not to let them score. The strategy is it's seconding goal from the five-yard line.

Let's try to get stops on the next two plays and force a field goal, so we've got a chance to win the game, you know, at the end or in overtime or whatever. And they did get a stop. They sacked Mahomes twice. And on the third goal from the nine, I mean, it was vintage Mahomes trying to make a play. and so many times that play ends in a positive way. But he not only got sacked for a 15-yard loss, he fumbled the football. And the Chiefs fell on it, but can you imagine if Cincinnati had recovered that

and Kansas City couldn't even get the game-tying field goal attempt? It was a weird half for Mahomes. It was a weird ending to the first half for Mahomes. Mahomes is, you know, obviously an elite quarterback. I mean, one of the best we've seen in recent memory. You could argue the best in the game. And the touchdown throw that he had early to Hill was brilliant. I mean, he was on in the first half, on in a big way.

18 to 21 for 220 yards and three touchdowns in a half. Should have been enough at home to bury the Bengals. But give the Bengals credit. They did something defensively. They certainly took Hill out of the game in the second half. They got more pressure on Mahomes. Mahomes brought some of those sacks on himself on his own because he was trying to extend, extend, extend, and Cincinnati made some plays. I thought on the last sack before the game tying Butker field goal, I thought they showed an overhead view.

It looked like Hill was open briefly, but he didn't fire it. He didn't fire the ball, and he took the big sack. They recovered the fumble. The game goes to overtime at 2424. The coin toss, you know, goes Kansas City's way. Everybody thinks, you know, they're going to win the game. I did. I mean, I certainly thought there was a chance they'd go down and get in field goal range.

But remember, you know, also part of the ridiculous suggestion by Romo is that Cincinnati had stopped them on every drive, including at the end of the first half. That was Kansas City's first point since midway through the second quarter at the end of regulation. No, no, no, no. When you're up three, you're not letting them score. You're not letting them score. Now, if you're like in a college game that's, you know, 56 to 59 56, and the other team has not been stopped at any point,

and the other team's playing for just the walk-off touchdown, well, I still think you try to stop them. But I'm sure you can create in your own mind a scenario in which you think it makes some level of sense. but not really, not down three. You got to stop them. And it's a condensed field, and you had been stopping them, and they did stop them.

In fact, they almost had a fumble recovery to end the game before Kansas City could tie it. But in overtime, I mean, Mahomes, I've already said, the first two throws are terrible throws, and Eli Apple should have had a game walk-off pick six on a terrible throw by Mahomes. Then he finally gets picked off. And then came the other situation where I think,

thought Nance and Romo just, I'd have to go back and listen to it to see if it was as much Nance as it was Romo. But on the McKinon, excuse me, on the Mixon run for 13 yards from the Kansas City 25-yard line to the Kansas City 12-yard line, okay, that now puts them in, you know, chip shot fuel goal range. At the end of that run, Mixing got up, put the ball in. the ground and you saw Kansas City Chief come up and recover it clearly. And it was then that Andy Reed called a time out. And he called the time out because he wanted to make sure that the NFL

was, that the replay booth was looking at that play to see if Mixon actually fumbled the football because he wasn't touched before he went down. Well, he wasn't. touched by an opponent, he got tripped up by his own player, went down, thought he was tripped up by Kansas City Chief, left the ball on the ground, and there was a clear recovery. Now, some of you mentioned to me because I tweeted it immediately, and some of you said, I think that's exactly what I saw. I said, I think that Andy Reid wants them to review the play for that being a mix and fumble with a clear recovery, but I think he gave himself up. And I think that's the rule.

We'll read, you know, confirmed after the game that he called the time out there to say, we think he fumbled the football and they said the play was blown dead because he gave himself up. The runner declared himself down by falling to the ground by rule and making no immediate effort to advance the ball. And that's the rule now. It wasn't always the rule. There was a concede ability by an offensive player to clearly go down and say, I've conceded, and I know I haven't been tackled, but we need to get the time out or whatever to kick a field goal, you know, or with the clock running down.

There was a famous play with Victor Cruz, a Giants receiver against the Cardinals, and they ruled that he had given himself up. But then they added language to the rule that said, as long as the runner makes no immediate effort to advance the ball. And clearly, Mixon did not. Mixon thought he was down, gave himself up, put the ball on the ground, and celebrated the big run. But that's what Andy Reid had called a timeout about. Meantime in the booth, Romo and Nance are discussing whether or not Andy Reid's challenging

in a legal formation penalty that they think they saw on the play? Huh? First of all, on what planet of football watching, have you ever thought for a moment that you can challenge in a legal formation penalty? That was number one. Number two is, when you get to overtime, there are no challenges.

Every challenge is initiated by the booth. It's the same as the final two minutes of a game or a half. Okay, there's no challenging by the sideline. So they didn't know that the coach couldn't challenge, and then for some reason they didn't know that you couldn't challenge in a legal formation, and then they never picked up on what it was that Andy Reid called the time out about and didn't say anything about it. It was a bad day, I think, for Romo and Nance in the AFC championship game,

and I'm fans of both of theirs. Although, again, on Romo, I think he's gotten away from being better prepared for these games. I still think he's awesome at telling you, you know, what he's seeing sometimes in terms of scheme. But I don't think he's prepared as much for some of the other stuff. And I think his enthusiasm, you know, he thinks his personality can overcome the lack of preparation. I think I felt that way a couple of times in watching CBS games this year. But anyway, hell of a game. I'm happy Cincinnati one. I was really rooting for Joe Burrow. I wanted the game to stay under more than anything, which it did. But I really liked Joe Burrow. Two and 14 to the Super Bowl in two years, Cincinnati's pulled it off. This is what can happen when you get an elite quarterback, and Joe Burrow is on his way to becoming elite. I did want to mention two things before we get to Michael Phillips. The first of which is several of you tweeted to me that if Washington had lost one more game,

in 2019, they would have had the number one pick over Cincinnati. If they had finished two and 14, like Cincinnati finished two and 14, Washington would have had the number one pick. By the way, that's true because Washington had a weaker schedule, and the strength of schedule is the tiebreaker on that. And the team with the weaker schedule with the bad record actually gets the higher pick because, you know, the perception is if you had a tougher schedule, well, then maybe you should have lost all those games. With a weaker schedule, you shouldn't have. But let me remind everybody that that particular season, Cincinnati was 1 and 14 going into the final week of the season. And they knew before the final week of the season that they had the number one pick regardless of the result of their final game.

And the final game that they played that year was a win over Cleveland. My sense of it is is that if to keep the number one overall pick, they had to lose that, finale and finish one in 15, somehow they would have figured out a way to lose that game. So Washington going two and 14 is true, but if Washington had two wins going into that final game, they were two and 13 and Cincinnati was one in 14 going into that final week, I bet you Cincinnati would have ended up one in 15. The other part of that is that would Dan Snyder have allowed Ron Rivera in his first year in the 2020 draft to pick Joe Burrow number one overall.

I don't think so. I'm not totally convinced that Washington would have taken Burrow had they had the number one pick. I think if Cincinnati, it's let's just say, taken Tua. I don't know that Washington would have taken Borough number two, even though I think they should have. So there's that as well. Anyway, one last thing, Raphael Nadal's comeback

against Danil Medvedev in the Australian Open. final was incredible. I didn't watch the whole thing. I get up, you know, early. So I picked it up from basically the end of the second set in which he was down two sets to love and then came back for his 21 major. He's now the leader with 21, Djokovic and Fed each have 20. Obviously, Djokovic was the favorite before he wasn't allowed to play at the Australian Open. But it was an incredible comeback by an incredible superstar who has such a will. And to watch these long duration, five hours and 24 minutes this was, tennis events. You know, it's the same way you feel about these NHL playoff games that go to five,

six, and seven overtimes. The endurance, the stamina test, you know, mental and physical is just amazing to watch. And we've seen it in tennis so many times with some of these extra long five set matches, five hours and 24 minutes. Nadal down two sets to none. It was over. Medvedev, for those of you who don't know, won the U.S. Open, so he had just won the last major, and he was on his way to his second straight major. And Nadal was an underdog in this match. He was not supposed to win this match. It was so impressive. I still believe that my top three in order are Federer 1, Nadal 2, Jokevich 3. even though more likely than not,

Djokovic will end up with the most majors. I think Federer, at his best, is the best I have ever watched. And, you know, Nadal and Jokovic got a lot of those wins over Federer when Federer got, you know, a little bit older. I don't know if they would have gotten those wins facing Fed in his prime.

Anyway, all right, when we come back, Michael Phillips will be our guest from the Richmond Times Dispatch. We'll talk Washington name, Washington quarterback, right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, let's bring in Michael Phillips from the Richmond Times Dispatch, at Michael P-R-T-D on Twitter. It's always one of my favorite guests, whether it's here on the podcast, occasionally, much more frequently on radio.

Michael is covering everything that's going to be going on during the off-season, which is very often the active season if you're a Washington fan. But I wanted to, I read your story just moments ago that just hit in the Richmond Times Dispatch about the final countdown to Washington's new football name. So I'm going to start with some very basic questions. Number one, what do you think the name's going to be? I think it'll be commanders. There's so much smoke. I'm rooting for it to not be commanders.

Because if it's not commanders, then this organization pulled off just a really impressive feat, getting everybody to think, thing, then go in a different direction. And I think that would be fun if they were able to do that and talented enough to pull that off. But there's so much smoke. I don't see how you could think anything other than commanders at this point. By the way, as you and I have joked many times together over the years, what you just described is something that I don't think either one of us think they're capable of pulling off. It would be too clever. It would be too clever for them to have really given you this head fake that it is commanders and it isn't. I think that that little reflection on the window was a legitimate mistake by them.

Because of course it is. It usually is, right? In the last 20 years, you built up a track record. And so now when we play the game, mistake or clever fake, I mean, only a fool will continue putting money on clever fake at this juncture. Yeah, I mean, this is not, you know, stashing Mark Rippin on injured reserve with fake injuries for three years so you eventually can start them

and not have to pay them that much money. It's a different organization. By the way, how about all of the commemoration last week of the 30-year anniversary? Do you think in any other city that they would have spent as much time? Look, I was a culprit. I'm not suggesting that it wasn't worthwhile. while, I actually had conversations with people like Mark Rippin and Joe Jacoby and Jeff Bostic

and Frank Herzog that I really enjoyed. But it sort of was just a reminder of just how long it's been and how much we grab on to a pass that is now so distant. Yeah, I mean, I'll all age myself the other way. I don't remember a bit of it. And it's cool to see the videos. And obviously, it's just super resident for the people who lived in. That'll be me in 20 years when we do the Ovechkin interview and the Backstrom interview and relive the Stanley Cup and then the

Georgetown Fountains and all that. And, you know, there'll be kids rolling their eyes and geez, that hasn't been a relevant team in two decades. What are we doing here? I mean, hopefully not, but, you know, and we'll all be basking in it. So, you know, it's, for the people who lived it, that's a defining life

memory. And I'm pumped for them that they get to relive it. And I hope for everybody else's sake that we get some new memories in here in our A. All right. So you think the name will be commanders. I am with you on that. I think the name is going to be commanders. What do you think the reaction will be? Well, I think that they've got a lot of potential with the uniforms. And I mean, if you look at the NFL right now, I mean, uniforms drive so much of the conversation. The Rams didn't change your... I don't think Rams is a particularly cool or exciting name,

but you look at their uniforms what they did with them. People say, wow, that's cool branding. That's a cool thing. I want to wear that. I want to be associated with that. So there's a lot of pressure, I think, here to deliver a really cool product. I think that's why they got Chase Young and all those guys, you know, ooh and on over them in the videos.

Like, it's important that this be a cool visual. As for the name itself, I think the name is boring. I think that any name they would have picked was going to elicit a shrug for me, and I hope we get used to it. But what do you think the overall reaction is going to be? Like I think, you know, I think the options here are overwhelmingly positive, overwhelmingly negative, super apathetic or super polarizing. You know, maybe there's another option in there somewhere, but what's your guess on,

you know, how this will be received by the fan base as a whole? Like what will the net of the fan base as a whole be? Yeah, if zero is a bomb, you've bombed in 10 is everybody loved it and bought merchandise within 10 minutes online, I really think it's a six. I think I think it's more of an, okay, I'm glad we got this done with. I don't know, is that apathy maybe? I'd maybe score that as relief. Like, this has been such a brutal process.

and Jason Wright even had to comment on one of his radio appearances a couple weeks ago that, you know, it's like grandma's just sitting there in the casket, you know, the old name's just been sitting there through this whole thing while they've been football team. And it's been a brutal process for everybody. So I think relief is the dominant emotion of the day. We're done with this. It's finally time to move forward.

I don't think Amy's going to be juiced up about it, but I don't think he's going to hate it. I think there's going to be happy to be over. I didn't hear the grandma in the casket thing from Jason Wright. I mean, hopefully grandma was Irish because that meant there was a party going on around her. But really, there wasn't much of a party the last year and a half with respect to any of this. You know, the next thought I had, and I'm just going to ask you, do you think this is going to feel like on Wednesday, mid to late morning, like a complete restart of a franchise and sort of the death of another one, or it'll just be, yeah, no, this is the same

thing with just new, new, you know, a new name and new branding and slightly different new uniforms. I'm inclined to believe same thing, new paint. I just, you know, the Super Bowl happened, those memories happened, and that's still, I don't know, that's still the core of this team and who they are. I don't think you lose that in the rebrand. And unless you deliver. deliberately try to, and they're not deliberately trying to. It's that Reggie Bush giving up his Heisman. Like, you don't unsee what happened that year in those memories. I think that, you know, people still view this as the pro football franchise in town

and connect those memories. Look, Joe Seism is still going to be out there at the game. You know, it's still going to be essentially the same experience. I do think the one thing I flagged for you here, Kevin, as we look ahead, on Friday, night, they're hosting a tailgate party at the stadium for fans to get on board with the new name. And I think there's a lot of disaster potential around that event, because it's Friday night on the wrong side of the beltway from where most of your fans live at 6 o'clock. That's a tough place to get to. It's cold outside. I know some people are tough. I'm not tough. I don't like

being outside in the cold. It's going to be two whole days after the reveal. I worry that that's going to be a bad start to the commander's era. Yeah. I forgot about that, you know, drive-up kind of party thing. I mean, look, I think my reaction, and this is why I love, when I've talked to Michael over the years, it's been much more of a conversation than an interview, which I've always enjoyed. Michael's very opinionated, even though he is, you know, a columnist as well as a reporter for

the Richmond Times Dispatch. but I think the reaction is going to be very, it's going to be very age-driven and age-specific. I think people like me who remember the glory days, this is going to be a jarring blow. I mean, I'm talking about for the people that actually still care because a lot of those people are gone, and they're probably never coming back. And if there was a chance that they were coming back, it was with the old name and the old emotional, tie to the longstanding brand. I think this is going to be the death knell for many that we're still kind of hanging on.

But I think the organization, Michael knows this. I think the targeting for them from a customer acquisition standpoint will be a much younger demo. They're going after this generation that has grown up with parents that may have loved the team, but they didn't because it was such a terrible team. now it's like a total new start, and that's going to be the target for the future, and it's going to feel like a new franchise. But it seems to me that you feel differently. But I just think it's going to be age appropriate in terms of the reaction. No, I get that. I just wonder if you

haven't scared those people off yet, you know, if it's even possible to do that at this point, given what the last decade has looked like around here. You know, I, I, I, I, you know, I, I, I, I, I think, if anything, it really ratchets up the pressure on, I'll say Ron, because Ron's in charge of everything, to deliver a great quarterback and a winning product this year. I think it puts a flag in the ground here and says this is a very important season where, you know, if people react like you're describing here, and I'm not saying it's not going to happen. I think you've got your finger on the pulse of how those people feel. You can bring them back in with a good product, with winning football. you can confirm their decision with a season of bad dysfunctional football. And I think it really ratchets up the pressure on this season in particular to deliver an exciting winning product

that will rally everybody around the new identity. Yes, so, you know, I think part of that is correct. I think for many people, I think this will be like we finally lost the team because the uniforms have pretty much looked the same. We've been referring to them as Washington for two seasons. And so it was different, but it didn't feel totally different. This will feel totally different. But the only way to capture them or get their attention on what will be perceived as kind of a new thing is you've got to win and you better win quickly.

And by the way, that goes with any longstanding brand that changes their brand significantly. It better be an equal or better product. know, from the beginning or, you know, in the case of the football team or a sports team, it better win and win quickly or that opportunity is gone. Let's talk some football. Commanders is your pick. I'm with you on commanders and we'll see what the fallout is. Who's the quarterback?

I'm rooting for not commanders. I know. I know. But you think it's going to be. Of course. Yeah. I mean, I don't think that they are. I think there's still a lot of internal disorganization, let's just say.

And I'm not picking on anybody in particular. I just think it'll always be the case as long as Dan Snyder and Tanya own this team. I think it'll be disheveled at best. Who are the quarterbacks on the roster opening day next year? So there's a big four, as I'm terming it. And that's Rogers, Wilson, Watson, Carr. I mean, I think those are the four splash guys that you bring them in and you say, wow, this team's serious about competing.

They're going to compete right away. They're going to be good. They're going to be playoff-worthy, you know, crank up your expectations and excitement level. Like, you know, I think Carr is the most marginal in that group. I know some people wouldn't put them in there. I'm calling it big four. I'm putting them in there. I don't grow up below anywhere near that list.

But I think those are the four guys. guys. And I think Ron is really intent on landing one of the four. But I don't think that means to get one of the four because it's hard to do. Everybody wants one of those guys. The teams that have those guys want to keep those guys, DeFrey Houston, which who knows what's going on there, but, you know, Deshaun Watson's got a lot of power in saying where he wants to. It's hard to do. And so, you know, I get that they want one of those guys, but I think the prediction ultimately has to be that they don't land one just because it's so difficult, because there's so much demand there. I'm ultimately inclined to believe it's going to be a rookie, let's say

Malik Willis just for argument, but any of those guys, it's going to be some veteran they signed to bridge the gap, and it's going to be Taylor Heineke. That's my pick for those three, but I know they really want the big guy, the splash guy. But, yeah, look, I think they should go for, I wouldn't put Derek Carr in that group, but that's fine that you did. I think it's Watson Rogers, Wilson, that is. is, you know, that's the home run swing, and it would be great to make contact. I don't think they will. And then I think you have the next tier, which would be Derek Carr, and if Kirk Cousins is available, I put that as the next tier. And then you get to, I think, what I would call the third tier,

which quite honestly, I think Jimmy G's in that third tier with Trubisky and, you know, James Winston and Marcus Marriota, etc. and ultimately I think that's where they're going to land. And so in that group, you say, let's just say they don't, you know, connect on one of your big four. Do you think of the other people, who do you think they should aim for and do you think would be acceptable if they land on somebody from that other tier? I don't think they should aim for any of them, to be honest with you. I think all of them represent an unacceptable investment in the position of quarterback and what it takes to win in the NFL. I think all of them represent, we couldn't get what we wanted. Here's something pretty good.

We overspent to bring it to you. To me, you got to go rookie. If you can't go big, you've got to go rookie and you've got to try to make it work. And I understand that's a world of uncertainty there. But if you bring in one of those tier two, tier three guys, you just make a number of. the announcement, hey, we just cut a big check, but don't get too excited because this guy probably isn't taking us to the problem. Do you think that's the way they would sell it? I don't think so. Hey, we just signed Marcus Marietta because he was available for a free agent. Don't get too

excited because I don't think he's the guy, but at least he's better than Taylor Heineke. But see, here's the thing with you, and I know this about you. The reason that you think if they strike out on any of the big four, as you're calling them, that they should just go rookie, is because you think Taylor Heineke is equivalent to those other guys, don't you? I think Taylor Heineke is Tier 3B. He's not in the Tier 3, but for the cost you pay, he's better than Tier 3. Because you're paying him in Bud Lights next year, and any of those guys you've got to go get, you probably got to give 18 to 20 a year to because that's how the market works.

I'd rather spend that 18 on a good skill player and take your medicine while you've got to take your medicine. Yeah, I don't think we're talking 18 to 20 for Mitch Trubisky or Marcus Marietta. I think we're in the neighborhood of the Ryan Fitzpatrick deal, maybe even put – Look, you know, I think one of the things we talk about as guys in the media or fans that are listening that we typically don't get exactly. right is trade compensation and contract value. I think we always, especially on trade compensation, I think many times we don't understand that each one of these situations aren't necessarily driven by a comp, which is true because, you know, it's demand, you know, it's supply and demand.

And so with Brady retiring, now there's another team in the quarterback hunt, so it'll depend on how many people are interested in Mitch Trubisky. So you could ultimately be right that Trubisky. and Winston and Marriota and Tyrod Taylor could really benefit from all of these teams of being in the hunt. But my personal belief is that it's funny, Tier 3B, that there are at least two or three tier A's that won't cost you a lot of money that are an upgrade over Heineke and that that's where they're going to land on that, plus they'll draft somebody. I think that...

I like the that plus rookie model. I think if you strike out on going big, you need to get a rookie in the building, if nothing else, than just to get people semi excited that there might be something on the horizon for them. Michael, have you been a fan your whole life? Because, you know, it's funny,

as many times as we've talked over the years, I don't know a lot about you. Are you a born and raised Richmond person who grew up a Redskinned fan? No, I am from Wichita, Kansas. Really? Jayhawk. Yeah, so my dad is a huge baseball guy. We grew up Royals all the way.

That was the number one team in our house. But we certainly rooted for the Chiefs during football season. So that's the team I claim. But, you know, Royals was the, the, the, the flesh and blood. We went back for the World Series games a few years ago, which was, of course, an old-timer of a memory, you know, one I'll carry forever. But I, you know, I love watching Mahomes. I love that he's on a team I've got to. I've got a claim to. But, yeah, I'm a Camden all the way. So how did you get to Richmond and start covering this team?

I interned with the Nationals, with MLB.com, with Bill Rocket Lanson for a summer. And one of the, one of the writers from here was up doing that stuff. I said I didn't want to go home after the summer because I don't know if you know this, but it's Kansas. You know, I didn't say, you know, I want to want to be out here, want to be where the action is. And we're looking for people. And so I call the editor here and, you know, hey, I heard you have jobs. Yeah, you want to come be a sports writer here?

Yeah, definitely. I do. It took the job having never been to Richmond. But loved it. I met my wife here. She's from the area. and, you know, the kids love it here. So we're in.

I'm all in. And shoot, I've been here long enough now, I guess, probably about 15 years. So I feel like I've seen a few things. So it's been 15 years. And so you've been covering the team for 15 years? No, I didn't start covering the team. I did a stint with the University of Virginia for a few years. My first year was the Robert year, which I guess is a 10-year anniversary coming up this year.

So nine years, about to come on 10. Yeah, hopefully they're winning some games next year, so we don't have to do our G3 commemorative week-by-week segments on our various shows and columns. Michael, thanks so much. I always enjoy it. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Get you down the line.

Michael Phillips, everybody. That's it for the day. Back tomorrow with Cooley. And then Tommy will be with us this week on Wednesday.