The Kevin Sheehan Show - Eliminated!

Episode Date: January 2, 2023

Kevin with his take on Washington's 24-10 loss to the Browns which eliminated the Commanders from playoff contention. He went in-depth on an ugly loss and discussed what's next at QB, for Rivera, and more. He also added one more "Smell Test" pick to his already 7-3 weekend of winners. 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. He's following McCoran, and that's the direction that Wendz is looking. And there's Denzel Ward looking for the pick. He's got it.

He chips on Garrett. Wentz, deep shot. Underthrown ball, and it's another Carson-Lex interception. This time, it's Grant Delpen. Back-to-back weeks with a pick for Delpit, his third of the year, second for Wins, and the booze rained down and land over yet again. Wentz, deep ball, Dotson in double coverage. Grant Delpitt had his hands on it, and it's picked off for a second time today by Delpit.

That boys and girls is called a montage. Not a pleasant montage, but a montage of Carson Wents' thwartes. three interceptions. Hey, he only got sack three times to me. And he didn't fumble. Oh, boy. What a debacle. A complete debacle yesterday against the Browns.

They lost the game, as you know, 24 to 10. I'm in early here Monday morning doing the podcast because I'm off of radio today. I'll be back on radio Tuesday morning. So I'm putting together this game recap podcast. and a little more on some of the other NFL, but not much. This is mostly on Washington's loss and the ramifications of it, et cetera. Look, you know it by now, 24 to 10 losers to the Browns at FedEx yesterday. That combined with the Lions beating the Bears and the Packers beating the Vikings means

Washington's done. Eliminated from the postseason. Still a game left. They've got a game against Dallas. As I'm recording this podcast, no time for the game against the California. Cowboys. They did announce the two Saturday games at the end of the Pittsburgh Baltimore game. That is, I think, going to be Chiefs Raiders and then Titans Jags for the AFC South title on Saturday night. You know, a lot of people think Green Bay Detroit on Sunday night football, but I think they have to play,

don't they? At the same time that Seattle plays the Rams for competitive reasons? I don't know. The legal announce the actual schedule at some point, and maybe by the time you're listening to it, you already know what time Washington will play Dallas Sunday. Dallas has something to play for. They're still in the hunt for the division, a win and a Philly loss to the Giants, even though the Giants are penciled in already as the six seats, so not much can happen to them, and they may actually look at it as a buy week. But Dallas was something to play for on what will be Sonny Jurgensen, Jersey

retirement day at FedEx Field. So I'm sure there was already going to be a lot of Dallas. Dallas fans and now it'll be mostly Dallas fans. I hope it's a nice day for Sonny Jurgensen, regardless of the game circumstances. Number nine being retired, it's been a long time coming. So the competitive portion of the season is over. I'm going to get to my game take, the things I like, didn't like, et cetera, coming up in a few minutes. Some of you, by the way, are going to absolutely hate my number one reason for the loss. Carson Wentz wasn't good. In fact, he was pretty bad, but he was not in my opinion, not in my opinion, the number one reason they lost the game.

I bet you can't wait to hear what was. Before we get to that, this, all right? We're going to autopsy the season when it's officially over. I mean, we've gotten used to doing that. They haven't had a winning season since 2016 when they went 8, 7, and 1. We know they haven't won a playoff game in 17 years. but we're used to doing the end of the season autopsy, which takes, you know, a few days.

Sometimes we stretch it into a few weeks, and we'll have plenty of time to do a super deep dive into that following next week's season finale. But I wanted to share just a few thoughts that I jotted down as I was preparing for this podcast that aren't necessarily, you know, game takes. Number one is this. This season was a referendum season on Ron Rivera.

It was a referendum season on Ron Rivera because for all intents and purposes, he pretty much implied that it was a referendum season on him. You know, he didn't need to put the pressure on himself. I said last year after they finished 7 and 10, there are no expectations heading into 2022. But he said, look, year three, this is going to be the first year. ready, this will be the first year of what will become a run of, you know, successful years, a sustained run.

You know, for me, there was always a scenario in which they could go 8 and 9 or 9 and 8 or 8, 8 and 1, which, by the way, was exactly my prediction, and not make the playoffs, but I would still feel like it was a step forward season. But the referendum on Rivera was tied to the referendum on his biggest offseason. decision, which was the trade for Carson Wentz. He put all of his eggs into the Carson Wentz basket, and by the way, overpaid for that basket when he didn't have to, but he was desperate, the organization was desperate, the owner was probably making it known that he wanted a quarterback badly, and they got taken to the cleaners by the Colts for a guy that two organizations

said no thank you to at great expense. He was wrong about wence. And there were big time red flags. But he told us, you know, remember when the report came out from Vanada and Tisha Thompson and that group that, you know, Dan had been involved in the decision? And he said, no, that's bullshit. You know, I did the analytics. I did the research. I was the one going through all this stuff at the Indy Combine when we made the decision to trade for him.

you know, they said they felt they had their guy. He said it, the owner said it. Remember, the owner said it to the Gaming Commission in Maryland before this season started. What a mark he is. My God. Oh, we got where the crowds are going to be back and we got our quarterback and yada, yada, yada.

I mean, a total mark. By the way, I was thinking the other day, total transgression here. I think the sale is moving forward and that is still the number one takeaway from the last couple of months. It's the best news. It's the biggest story related to this football franchise. And really sports in this city in a long, long time is that Dan appears to be moving forward with the sale of the team. And if you told me, you get to trade a wild card seven-seed playoff game for his decision to sell the team.

I mean, that's a no-brainer for all of us, or for most of us anyway. But I was thinking the other day, give. Even how almost everything he touches, you know, ends up getting screwed up. Could he screw up the sale of the team? You know, isn't selling the team destined to include a blunder or four? I don't know what those blunders would be, but I just hope somehow Bank of America make sure that this thing goes smoothly. And the league, too.

Anyway, back to Rivera. You know, Rivera, the coach, the head of the football operation, coach-centric organization head. He was wrong on Wentz. Not that he had a ton of other options. You know, that's true, and it's fair to say. They went all in for Russell Wilson. Lucky that didn't work out. They were interested in Garoppolo, but he had surgery and that killed that deal. And then with nobody else really interested in Carson Wentz, they appeared to have negotiated against themselves, gave up too many picks, and ate all of his 2022 salary of $28 million. I guess kudos to them for not biting and extending his contract to lower his cap number for this year.

That, as we had talked about all offseason, the fact that they didn't do that, that was a big tell on that for them even deep down, this was kind of a crapshoot trade for them. You know, this was a flyer. At least they can cut him with no, you know, dead cap money moving forward, which I guess is a consolation prize. I guess. But this season, we were told by the coach and football head, this would be the beginning of a run. And he decided to begin that run with a trade for Carson Wentz. And yesterday, in his first start after a long layoff,

but nonetheless, the biggest game of the season for the team, he was awful. So every Rivera egg into the Wentz basket cracked yesterday. cracked. Raw egg, shattered fragments of shell all over his face. You know, not a tasty omelet. You win some, you lose some, but he lost this one. Thought number two after the loss yesterday. This is more of a positive thought.

This season, when it ends, my overall feeling about the team's roster specifically is going to be much better than I thought it would have been at the beginning of the season. You know, yesterday, look, yesterday they were missing a lot of pieces on defense, you know, a lot. And then John Allen left the game. But what we saw from this team for much of the year, they've got a pretty decent roster. Defensively, they're good, they're young. obviously the Duran Payne decision will be a big one and we'll see what happens with the ownership situation and whether or not football people are going to be able to make decisions

in a timely manner as it relates to pain, franchise tag, extension, etc. But defensively, I mean, the roster, you know, front to back, I mean, look, we were concerned that the number one draft pick nuclei, is that the plural for nucleus? of, you know, Allen and pain and sweat and young might not turn out to be what we had hoped it would be, but it did. Alan and pain are terrific. Sweat is really good. And Chase Young, you know, pending, you know, it's kind of pending on Chase Young, but the quick, you know, early thought on his return,

encouraging. Two games back, encouraging, really looks athletic. You know, so, Offensively, you know, up front, strong, young. And by the way, we never saw Phil Mathis this year. We will next year. The linebackers, major question mark, Jamon Davis proved to be anything but a bust. You know, are we ready to say he was worthy of a number one pick, of a first round pick?

Not quite yet, but he improved dramatically. The secondary major question mark, one of the strengths of the team. offensively, Terry McClorn totally worth the contract extension. Jahan Dotson, worth the number 16 pick in the draft. Curtis Samuel, healthy all year, dynamic. Brian Robinson, Jr., yes, please. I think we're going to find out that Cole Turner and Armani Rogers are going to be players for this team.

Cole Holcomb's going to be back next year. He's got talent. You know, the dynamic duo of Robinson and Gibson makes, you know, the fact that we didn't even see Jady McKissick this year, and I hope he's healthy enough to play football, you know, in the future. But they have a roster that's as close to a playoff type of roster than they've had in a long, long time, minus a few offensive linemen and, of course, a quarterback, which gets me to my third thought before I get to my game take. quarterback once again top priority in the off season

I don't think there's any debating it Carson Wentz isn't the answer and you know for those of us by the way that said when they traded for him that this was a one-year flyer and we didn't think it would end up being more than that you know we can take a bow we were right I'll take a moment just to say that those of you during the off season who were just insufferable and I've been saving this for a while.

dated June 5th. Ben, She and I've been a fan of your show for years now, but I've had it with your Carson Wentz negativity. We get it. You didn't like the trade. Stop. We get it.

But they made it. So get on board or go to Minnesota and work there covering your boyfriend, Kurt. K-U-R-T. Yeah, Ben. You know, you and many of you. Not enough, fortunately, because if there were lots like you,

then the stadium wouldn't continue to shrink. But, you know, the negativity towards those of us that thought that the trade was a bad trade and that didn't think Wentz was the long-term answer. And look, I did say, you know, I thought Wentz had a chance to be better than what they had last year. You know, and I was loud wrong about that. Admit it. But I hated the trade. I didn't think it was the long-term answer.

I thought they way overpaid. And even if he had turned out to be good and more than a one-year answer, it would have looked cheap in hindsight, but that's not how you evaluate a trade. You know, they were going to cut the dude. Now, you had to trade for him because he probably, I don't know, maybe he wouldn't have had any other options and he would have signed with them anyway.

But the $28 million hurt them, and the picks are going to hurt them. But anyway, people like Ben and those of you, I don't know, man. It's like the get on board or get out with the decisions that the organization makes. Like, where have you been? What have you been doing? They haven't gotten most things right. Why would you just buy in hook, line and sinker,

and then try to silence those that don't agree with you? Like, thank God your tiny fraction of what's left of this fan base. Because you've been a part of the problem. Went stinks. all right, he stinks. And here comes the other part of the quarterback conversation. Taylor Heineke isn't much better. Taylor Heineke is worthy of a roster spot as a backup quarterback. And I hope he's the backup quarterback here. I think they should try to resign him for here. But if you're one of those people that think yesterday would have been completely different, they would have won the game if Taylor Heineke had started the game. I totally disagree. Why would you think that? because instead of fumbling twice with the game on the line, which is what he did in his final two starts, Wentz had two early interceptions, and that was much worse. Really?

Wence's early interceptions, excuse me, actually only cost the team three points. They weren't worse than Taylor's four fumbles in two games with three of those fumbles coming in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Come on. Yesterday's game felt different than a Heineke game because the defense didn't lead the way, as it has since early in the season. The defense had led the way over that stretch for the better part of nine weeks.

It was unfortunate timing for whence. Look, I'm not defending him. He was bad, and I'm going to get to him in my game taken. He is on the list of things that I didn't like from the game. But he comes back yesterday, and the defense is without Cameron Curl and without Benjamin St. Juice, and then John Allen goes down, and it has its worst game since week two. I mean, it gave up three straight touchdown drives in a game for the first time all year. The defense has carried the team into contention, and with several key players out yesterday,

it fell apart at the worst moment of the season. No team, not Detroit, not Philly, not San Fran last week. No team did what Cleveland did yesterday to this defense, score three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions. In fact, the Brown's 24 overall points were the second most that a team has scored offensively against Washington since week four, the Dallas game. San Francisco last week, Cleveland this week.

Only the third time since week three, the defense gave up three touchdowns in a game, period. And the three they gave up yesterday on long drives were the easiest touchdowns. Any team has scored against Washington's defense since Detroit in week two. The result would have been the same yesterday if Heineke had started the game. I don't think that they would have won the game with Taylor Heineke starting the game. Look, there may have been some things that would have been a little bit different. You know, I think he would, I think the ball may have come out a bit quicker on a few occasions. And he may not have had three picks because, of course, Cleveland would have dropped at least, you know, one of them had he thrown them.

Mr. Pixie Dust was 02 and 1 in his last three starts. and would have been 03 and 1 if he had started yesterday. Okay, he would have been. Maybe he doesn't have three picks. Maybe he's got two fumbles in a pick. Wentz stunk, okay? He stunk. And worse than that, he was tight and he choked.

Taylor wouldn't have been tight. I'll concede that. He's never been tight in his life. But I believed heading into this game, I didn't really think the results were going to be that much. different either way Rivera decided to go. I was fine with Wentz, but my expectations, I said it all week long, weren't much different than they would have been with Heineke. The defense needed to lead the way, run the football on offense, no mistakes, and win a coin flip game. The defense didn't lead the way.

They didn't run the football very well. And yes, the quarterback made too many mistakes. So here we are again. Quarterback is off-season priority number one. And really, unless they legitimately upgrade, even with a roster that's pretty good, you know, a team that has good defensive players, good offensive playmakers, you know, they could add a piece or two to the offensive line,

they could add a backer, they could add some depth, But without the quarterback, it'll be a team that can win like half of their games. Half of their games. All right? That's why quarterback is a priority and it won't be easy to solve. By the way, Sam Hal should start next week, I hope. I mean, with them out of it, let's see what he has against a team that's playing for something, too. Lastly, I just wanted to mention, you know, Ron Rivera and his staff,

I think have done a better job coaching than many of you think, but they certainly aren't clear of any criticism. The major criticism is that they had a team that was in control of its playoff fate, and in three of the last four games against two teams, all right, the Giants and the Browns, they were 0, 2, and 1 against those teams, and that's a bad result. that's a bad result against those two teams where there's not a lot separating Washington from those two teams. In fact, you could say they've got better players than Cleveland has and overall better players than the Giants have. And you start there.

You know, a team that was surging, a team that was improving, a team whose cultures improved, a team whose roster has improved, looked like they were heading to the playoffs. We still knew that they were going to need a quarterback next year, but they went 02-1 against the Giants in Cleveland. That's a result that really can't be forgiven in an all-important third year that was supposed to be the first of a sustained run of winning and contending. Those teams were beatable. San Francisco, fine. The Giants and Browns at home, 0-2, and in those two games, 22 total points, and way too many mistakes.

Limited at quarterback and yesterday on defense. Yes, you've got to win at least one of those games. The game against the Giants was a loss in which you're running back average 7.4 yards per carry and only carried the ball 12 times. Massive whiff, coaching-wise.

And then yesterday, you were facing a team that had scored three offensive touchdowns in their last four games. Let me say that again. The Browns, since Watson took over, had scored just three offensive touchdowns in their last four games. And then yesterday, they scored three touchdowns on three straight drives to start the second half game over.

So the feeling about this 22 season for Washington, you know, which went from hideous at one and four to optimistic. to on the verge of playoff bound to a choking, gagging finish. I think everything is in play and should be. Ron Rivera and his entire staff, the Marties and the Martins, and of course, you know, the ownership situation is going to have a lot to do with what happens and what can happen depending on the timing of the sale, okay? But in a normal situation, a conversation about whether or not to bring back a staff

that didn't produce one winning season and three chances is totally fair in my opinion. I think the culture of the locker room is the best that it's been in years, and that's an accomplishment. But to keep a job, you've got to win more than Ron Rivera has won. I'd be looking for solutions that are obviously better, but would only move, you know, in another direction. I'd only move away from him if I had someone that I felt great about. Like if you told me Sean Payton and Vic Fangio together, Sean Payton head coach,

Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator, sign me up right now. Goodbye, Ron, goodbye Martens and Marty and everybody else, clean house. You still need a quarterback, you know. And if you have the solution to the quarterback, you're hired. But I wouldn't fire Ron and his staff out of the thought. that the last three years have been a disaster. Because in this organization, 7 and 9, 7 and 10, and then either 8, 8, and 1 or 7, 9, and 1,

that's actually a good run for a Snyder coach. But again, bottom line is, while he has changed the culture, and I think in a positive way, locker room-wise, football operation-wise overall, he's done it without winning enough. You know, hovering around 500 for three straight seasons, with one fluke-ish playoff trip isn't enough. His future here should be on the table for whomever will be making that decision.

All right, my game take next. What I liked, what I didn't like in other observations from the 24 to 10 loss to the Browns, right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Pay attention. Here's Kevin's Game Take. All right, my game take is brought to you by MyBooky. go to mybooky.orgie. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C., and they'll double your first deposit dollar for dollar all the way up to a thousand bucks. By the way, the early line on Washington Dallas, if you care, is Dallas minus six at Washington.

I would have thought it would have been higher because I would imagine that Sam Howell is going to start the game. Ron Rivera didn't say that specifically after the game because he wasn't aware after the game that they could be eliminated from playoff contention yesterday. I'll get to that, I promise, here coming up in my game take. All right, let's get to the things that I like, the things that I didn't like. Again, my bookie.orgie. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C. They'll match your first deposit dollar for dollar all the way up to a thousand bucks.

All right, what I liked from the game yesterday, the second quarter touchdown drive. did you know that that was tied for the longest touchdown drive of the NFL this year? 21 plays, 96 yards, 11 minutes and 27 seconds. You know, this was the formula. You know, this was like the ideal formula drive for what they've been doing, you know, going back to starting Taylor against Green Bay. And really, they kind of had tried to start it even before then. But during that five one-and-one run, the six-one-one-run, if you count the Bears game, you know, that's what they wanted to do.

That drive consisted of 16 runs, five passes, some good down-and-distance, although they did convert a third-and-17 on the drive, but the other third-downs, a third-and-two, a third-and-five, and a third-and-four, and then the fourth-in goal from the one that they scored on. No other drive this year. No other drive this year had more third-down conversions. than that drive. Five third down conversions, five of them. And then the fourth and goal conversion. You know, over the top touchdown, you know, sneak by once. Anybody that tells me, by the way, that they think Heineke should start the second half in that moment that you were thinking, I mean, you've got to start Heineke in the second half. Those interceptions were just, he sucks, he's terrible. After that drive, to end the first half to take a seven a three lead? I'm not sure I believe you if you actually said that, or I hope you would have

told me the same thing after Heineke's first half against Green Bay and his first start of the year, because that first half was even worse than Wence's first half yesterday. Not that I'm into comparing, but that drive was truly near perfection, with one exception. The sack on second and seven when Winovich beat not only one guy, but two and did it quickly. And I don't know, the all-22 may show that Wentz held on to it too long, but he overcame it. He threw a third and 17 ball to Dotson for 20 yards and a first down. He had four excellent plays on the drive. He had that third and 17 throw to Dotson. He had the third and five throw to Thomas to Logan Thomas against the zone blitz.

The empty set, you know, pitch and catch to Logan on the third and four. That was a good one. Quick release. And then the fourth and goal leap over the pile for the touchdown. I actually thought in that moment that, wow, you know, this is so similar to that Green Bay game in which they overcame, they survived a brutal start by the quarterback. And they were right where they needed to be, you know, in the game, set to get the ball to start the second half with the lead. I think the Green Bay game got back to 10-10 at halftime after he had

two turnovers and nearly five in the first half, and then he hit McLaurin on a big play, and he got rolling. And I thought, here we go, this is the kind of game you want to be in. They ended the first half with a drive that produced a touchdown, kept their defense, which was struggling off the field. They had the lead. They were six for ten on third down. They had run it twice as many. They had run twice as many plays as Cleveland had. They had a two-to-one time of possession advantage. The first half, rocky to start, but ended with arguably their best drive of the season. Now, it wouldn't compare to some of the clutch drives that Taylor led.

I mean, his two drives in the indie game and then obviously the drive at the end of the giant game are the best drives of the season. But man, that was something else. I mean, 21 plays 96 yards with six conversions, five third down conversions and a fourth down conversion. That topped the list of things that I liked, that one drive. Brian Robinson Jr. is on the list of things that I liked from the game. I just love him now. I know I was slow on the take on him.

But my God, yesterday wasn't even his best game necessarily from a statistical standpoint, 24 carries 87 yards. But it's like almost all those yards were him. I don't know why he didn't get the ball on their fourth and one early in the game when they got stopped. I'll have more on that coming up. But he's just, I mean, the pile, they have to blow the whistle eventually, but I don't think they should blow the whistle. Let him keep pushing it.

He takes zero, turns it into four, take. Two turns it into six and takes four and turns it into 11. On the list of things that I liked. The pass rush? I mean, it's hard for me to give anybody on defense much of anything resembling a compliment. But I think pain, sweat, two hill, Chase Young at times. Pain and sweat in particular were difficult to deal with on dropbacks. They combined for three sacks.

They pressured Watson a ton. Cleveland seemed to get things going when John Allen left the game. The second half was easily the best Watson's looked since his return. I mean, he made a ton of plays inside the pocket, outside of the pocket, on time, off schedule. But there was pressure. Five sacks on roughly 23-called pass plays. That's pretty good.

You know, just too many plays made by Watson in coverage and tackling on the back end was the problem all day long. There you go. That's the list of things that I liked. That's it. The first half drive, you know, the longest drive in the NFL all season long, Brian Robinson Jr., and I guess, you know, the pass rush was pretty effective. Here are the list of things that I did not like. All right, and I'm going to put them in order of why they lost the game yesterday, and I know this is going to piss you guys off.

some of you. Number one on the list of things that I didn't like and number one on the list of my reasons, my reasons, you don't have to agree with them on why they lost the game yesterday was defense. I know a lot of you think I'm nuts by not listing Carson Wentz here as the top reason for the loss, but he wasn't in my opinion. The defense allowing 21 points on three straight drives to open up the second half in a game that Washington led seven to three. was the difference in the game. Washington has struggled to score guys all year long. In the games whence missed,

there were four games in which they had scored seven or less in the first half, six games in which they had scored 10 or less. So they were used to being in these kinds of games. It was totally similar to other games they had played. It was seven to three at halftime. That was the day. It was seven to seven last week. It was, you know, they were down 14 to 3 to the Giants.

I was, I mean, like I said, there were four games in which they scored seven or less, six, ten or less. So there wasn't that much different other than the two horrendous interceptions early, but it only cost them three points. But unlike in many of those games, the defense didn't give up three straight long drives for 21 consecutive points. and it was easy for Cleveland. The Browns on those three drives to start the second half

rolled up 222 yards. These weren't short field drives. 63 yards, 84 yards, 75 yards. And then, by the way, they stopped because they had a 24 to 10 lead and they were just trying to run the clock out. On those three drives, they averaged 8.2 yards per play.

Watson was six of 11 for 146 yards and three touchdowns on those drives and had two balls flat out dropped by wide open receivers. Najoko dropped one and People's Jones dropped one. He also rushed for 30 yards, used his legs to avoid a sack or two. He made some plays. He became Deshawn Watson on those three drives. Hadn't seen any of that since he came back. As I mentioned, in the four games that he's been back, they've only scored three offensive touchdowns in four games leading up to yesterday.

And they had three touchdowns in the second half on three consecutive drives. That was some horrendous defense on the back end. Bad tackling on the hitch to Cooper for the first touchdown by Fuller, open receivers, especially against their zones, wide open people. No camcourle, no Benjamin St. juice. No John Allen in the second half. I get it. They were hurt. They were thin. And it showed. It wasn't just those three drives, by the way. Chubb had 104 yards rushing on 14 carries, 7.4 yards per carry. He had 68 yards rushing in the first half on five carries. The only reason

he didn't get it more than that is Washington had a 21 play drive that took up 11.5 minutes of the clock. The Brown scored 24 points on 52 offensive snaps in the game. You know, keep in mind, too, they took points off the board in the first half to go for the fourth and goal from the three after they made the field goal, but Washington was off sides. I'm not sure why Kevin Stefansky decided to do that. That was the best moment of the game defensively, that fourth and goal stopped. But why would he go for a fourth and goal from the three? You know, in a game that they led three-nothing, they could have pushed it to 6 to nothing in a game that, you know, I'm sure he probably felt was going to be a close game. It was a bad day, guys, for the defense.

It pains me to say it because their performance all season long was the reason, the number one reason they were in position in these final few weeks to make the postseason. But the defense was number one on the list of why they got beat yesterday. one game, not an indictment on the defense for the season, which has been spectacular. And they were hurt, missing key pieces. They missed curl last week. They had St. Juice back. They missed St. Juice the two previous weeks.

Having them both out was really devastating. Devastating. And then losing John Allen, it really fell apart. Number two on the list of things that I didn't like. Carson Wentz. There he is. Other than the two scoring drives, that they had, the long drive, and then the field goal drive. He was horrendous. He was inaccurate.

He made bad decisions. His first interception was A, the wrong read, B, he stared it down, and three, he was late. That's the trifecta of bad. The second one was a deep shot that kind of acted like a punt, but I think the checkdown to Jonathan Williams in the flat was open, even though it was third and seven, third and six, I think Williams would have had a chance had he just checked it down. The last interception was a bad decision, but at that point with, what, three and a half minutes left down 14, he's taking a shot, but it still looked like it was the wrong read. Cam Sims appeared to be running wide open on a corner route to the end zone. I mean, some of the swing passes that he threw, I got to think that most of us could have completed some of those balls that he wasn't close. on. He was terrible, minus those two drives. I mean, on those two drives, he made some excellent

throws. He did. Quick-accure throws to Dotson and Terry on the field goal drive in addition to, you know, the four-third-down conversion throws on the long drive, and then the fourth and goal, you know, score. I thought at times he looked more nimble than he looked earlier in the season, but this was a D and probably closer to a D-minus. I mean, if not for the drive, the drive, it's an F. Unfortunately for him, you know, this D-D-minus game coincided with the worst game by the defense in months. Add to that, no short field opportunities, no real running game. So overall, just not much of a chance yesterday for them unless the offense came up big

and it needed to come up big at quarterback, and it didn't, and it couldn't, because he's not good enough. I thought he really started with the Heineke chance from the crowd after the second interception. Now, once he had that drive at the end of the first half, I thought he had settled in, and I thought, God, man, Cleveland's not very good. They're going to be able to run the ball. They're going to be able to have another drive or two like this in the second half and pull away. I really did feel that way at halftime. And by the way, Watson was terrible in the first half.

Their offense came from Chubb. So, yeah, I, but he was tight, and he choked. He did. Also on the list of things that I did not like. I just don't understand on that fourth and one, kind of like the fourth and goal last week with Gibson when they got stopped. Why wasn't Robinson Jr. in the freaking game? You know, they had Jonathan Williams in the game, and I like Jonathan Williams.

I have since the first time we saw him last year. But they pitch him going wide. That thing had no shot. Where's Robinson Jr.? On a big fourth and one? Where was he last week? I mean, I like Gibson in short-yardage. He's been okay, but he didn't reach the ball out.

And Robinson has just proven to be a guy that moves the pile three yards forward minimum. Also on the list of things that I didn't like. No takeaways. Zero takeaways. Don't overlook the following. Over the last four games in which they went zero, three, and one, just two takeaways. Remember, they had the Daniel Jones fumble on that opening drive in the Giant Game in the Meadowlands. They had the force interception against Purdy.

overall minus six in turnover margin during the 03 and 1 stretch. By comparison during the 6 1-1 run, 14 takeaways and plus 6 in the turnover margin. So here's what you got this year. All right? I mean, this is not like this lines up with wins and losses. During the 1 and 4 start, they had one takeaway, one. It was the interception at the end of the Jacksonville game during their 1 and 4 start. One takeaway minus 6 in the turnover margin category, 1 and 4 in the win loss column.

Then during that 6 1 and 1 stretch, 14 takeaways plus 6 in the turnover margin. Then, over the last 4 games, 0 3 and 1, 2 takeaways minus 6. That pretty much sums it up. When they took the ball away this year, they won. When they didn't, they lost or tied. No takeaways yesterday. They needed them in these games. Here's something else on the list of things that I didn't like.

Their starting field position yesterday was awful. It was their own 18.8 yard line. That was the average starting field position. They had two drives start at the two and the four-yard line. the four-yard line one was the one that they scored on. Their best starting field position of the day was the 36. 18.8-yard line was their average starting field position. They just, you know, with no turnovers, with the defense getting moved on consistently,

they just didn't have a great day. And by the way, their punter was outstanding on the day. Had that 64-yard punt, had two of them inside the five-yard line. he was great. All right. A few other observations from the game here real quickly. So Ron said after the game, I think it was Grant Paulson who asked him

if he was going to play Sam Howl next week if they were eliminated. And Ron didn't understand the question. He was incredulous. He was not aware. was very obvious that Green Bay and Detroit winning with Cleveland losing meant they were eliminated. Now, I've, you know, I think you got to know that as a head coach, you know, especially as a CEO kind of head coach where he delegates a lot to Jack and to Scott. I think you got to know that.

You know, when you're in a coach-centric organization, you got to know every, you know, granular detail about your playoff situation. but it's not the first time it's happened. I'm going to tell you right now, there were times, you know, there have been times when coaches, like, I remember Parcells specifically not having a clue as to what they needed going into the final week of the season because he was just, he was dialed into, I think he was coaching the Jets at the time, actually,

and he was just dialed into all I care about is what I can control, and that's winning the game. And, you know, a lot of these football coaches, they have that mentality. They do. And so that's, you know, that's probably going to be their answer. But, you know, I don't know, I think you got to know that not beating Cleveland could end your season. You know, especially when you're not involved in every X's and O decision. He's been more of a CEO kind of coach here than he was in Carolina.

It caught him completely off guard. I was surprised at that. What was the other thing? I saw the mascot. I don't have an opinion on the mascot, okay? I just don't. I hope the hogs that were there and Coach Gibbs were treated well and enjoyed the day.

I'm not aware of any blunders, which I'm sure I'll be made aware of sometime tomorrow as far as that's concerned. The crowd was, From all accounts, I was not there, but every week for home games, I get a dozen reports. Dead as a doornail when the game kicked. A very, very undersized crowd for a holiday when most people have off tomorrow for a one o'clock start. For a game, you have to win.

The upper deck was pretty much empty, I was told. The club seats pretty much empty. I know they listed 50,000. I was told there was no more than 40, $42,000 in the stadium for that game, whether or not that's true, really at this point, who cares? And hold on, let me just go through my notes. I had a couple of other things. How about Jacoby Burset coming in to sneak the ball on fourth and one?

He's a big dude, and I guess they don't trust Deshawn Watson to sneak it. I thought that was odd, but I think maybe they've done it before. Oh, I was going to make this one comment, one other comment about Brian Robinson, Jr. Remember the stat, I think, when they drafted him that he hadn't fumbled in like three years at Alabama or something like that or maybe he had never fumbled. I don't think he's fumbled, right, at all? Now, he's fumbled a couple of balls out of bounds. But man, there was a run where he had. It was like an 11, 12-yard run where he kind of broke free-firm.

a moment and Jadavian Clowney chased him down from behind and went for the strip big time. Didn't even budge the ball. I mean, not even a budge of the football. He's really, I mean, they've got some players, you know, I think, I don't know what's going to happen with this ownership situation. The whole coaching situation should be on the table. It should be up for consideration for a change. This is a very disappointing ending to his. season that had a lot of promise and three games against two teams that the results were just not acceptable. You know, to not come away with at least one win in the two home games against the Giants and the Browns, the Browns playing for nothing. You know, when the Browns haven't

scored offensive touchdowns against anybody, I know you were hurting. The Giants, you know, got away with our offensive coordinator going away from a guy that was averaging 7.4 yards per carry. You know, the last two home games are on that coaching staff, too. You know, I didn't list them specifically on the list of things that I didn't like because it wasn't as obvious as the, you know, as Scott Turner taking the ball out of Brian Robinson's hands in the giant game. But, you know, and, you know, a lot of it had to do with the players that were missing. but the energy thing and the urgency thing, I don't know.

I felt like they totally came out urgently against the Giants in that Sunday night game. I thought they came out fierce and competitively in the game last week. Yesterday, I don't know. I mean, they had an early fourth down stop. They had a super long drive. They had a 7 to 3 halftime lead. But they're just, you know, without the quarterback, And I guess many of you would say without a better coaching staff overall.

And again, I don't think it's a bad coaching staff at all. I don't. I think a lot of what they did this year, you could chalk up to overachieving, given what they were faced with. But, you know, it's certainly not good. It's certainly not elite. That's for sure. Real quickly, I mean, the NFL playoff picture is nuts. I mean, there were a couple of games yesterday.

How about the comeback from Tom Brady and the Buccaneers? I mean, they haven't shown that much offense in a long time. They exploded for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. You know, two long touchdown passes to Mike Evans in the fourth quarter. A Brady sneak after a big turnover. And yeah, they win the NFC South with. that went over Carolina. I think Carolina would have been the more dangerous team had they gotten in. And for three quarters, it looked like they were going to be that team. And New Orleans beating Philadelphia,

I've been telling you that New Orleans is nasty defensively. And it's probably a good thing. They're not going to win that division. But Tampa Bay, with Brady to Evans heating up, who knows, right? The 49ers, you know, getting the interception and overtime and then beating the Raiders. Now they're still in the hunt actually for the number one overall. Now they're a solid number two seed. But, you know, Pupperti had some big-time throws in the fourth quarter, you know, and at the end of regulation before Robbie Gold missed a short field goal. And then Jarrett Stiddam's first start, three touchdowns, 365 yards passing,

but he had two interceptions, both where he got his arm kind of knocked in the pocket. but interesting that the Raiders put up 34 and nearly beat the 49ers. I mean, that's as good a defensive team as anybody's going to face, and Stidham was outstanding in that game. The AFC playoff picture is a mess. I mean, you've got right now Baltimore, after losing to Cincinnati, Cincinnati can clinch the division by beating Buffalo later tonight.

If not, they'll play for the division. The Ravens have clinched a playoff spot, and they've clinched the sixth spot, but the Chargers now are on a roll, and man, they got Joey Bosa back, and they've got Williams and Allen. Look out for the Chargers in the postseason. But that seventh spot in the AFC is a battle

between New England, Miami, and Pittsburgh. The Jets were eliminated. Pittsburgh stays alive. And then in the NFC, you know, it comes down to Seattle, Detroit, and Green Bay. Seattle's in, if Detroit, beats Green Bay and Seattle beats the Rams. Detroit's and if they beat Green Bay and

they beat the Packers and Seattle loses the Rams and Green Bay wins with a win over Detroit at 9 and 8. They would win the tiebreaker over both Seattle and Detroit. So the Packers control their destiny playoff wise a win and they would be the seven seed and they would probably go to Sanford

Francisco now, the way it looks, with the Giants going to Minnesota. But Detroit's got a shot in that game at Lambo next week. What is that line? Green Bay's four and a half in that line. Detroit has to get help. Green Bay doesn't. Seattle has to get help as well. Crazy final week. Lots of seating, you know, up for grabs, including the number one, two, and three seats. and the NFC are all up for grabs and unsure of. The number one, two and three seeds all up for grabs in the AFC with a big game with Buffalo and Cincinnati tonight. One more thing to finish up.

I'm going to add another game to the smell test. Seven and three so far on the smell test. One game pending, the Cotton Bowl tomorrow, but I'm going to add another play when we come back right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Seven and three so far on the smell test this weekend, and how about the two semi-final games? I mean, TCU was outstanding.

One of the worst officiated big games I have ever seen, and I thought Michigan really got the short end of the stick, officiating-wise, but I was so happy for TCU. They deserved it. They played great, and I really think that in so many ways, they were just the better coached team over Michigan. And then what an unbelievable nightcap with Ohio State in Georgia. I do like Georgia early laying all those points, 13 and a half.

The public's going to be on the underdog. They're going to be on Cinderella, I think, in the final. All right, I seven and three from over the weekend, four and one on the college stuff Friday and Saturday, then three and two on the NFL yesterday. So seven and three. I've already given Tulane out as a selection. I am also giving out the under in Monday night football,

49.5 and a half. Under 49.5 Cincinnati, Buffalo, people are playing the over in a big way, and there's sharp money on the under. So add to Tulane plus one and a half. By the way, you can get a better number on that too, but I'll stick with the one and a half I gave out on Friday. And now the under in Monday night football,

and a half Buffalo and Cincinnati. All right, that's it for the show. I'll be back on Tuesday with Tommy.