The Kevin Sheehan Show - "They know they are close"

Episode Date: January 20, 2021

A short pod today with more thoughts from Kevin on Marty Hurney to start. Then, a story from ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler about Deshuan Watson included a quote from an NFC executive about Washington's current window of opportunity. Kevin also weighed in on the Phillip Rivers retirement and answered some anti-Mark Turgeon twitter lecturing. 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 Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. The podcast today brought you by MyBooky.ag. If you go to MyBooky.orgie.orgie and use my promo code, Kevin D.C. They'll match your deposit halfway up to $1,000.

Why would you want to use MyBooky if you've already got a place well to comparison shop for starters? You should be, if you're serious about this, you should have more than just one place to wait. You should comparison shop on point spreads, money lines, pricing, etc. And then you've got the benefit if you sign up at MyBooky of getting your deposit matched halfway up to $1,000. If you're new at this, you just want a place that you can trust. And I promise you, MyBooky is a place that's fair and will pay you if you win. MyBooky at mybooky.ag.

Use my promo code, Kevin D.C., and your deposit will be matched halfway up to $1,000. All right, I'm going to do a quick podcast today. Tommy today. He's tomorrow. No coolly today. He'll be with me on Friday to preview the two championship games. I'm going to do three or four topics and then get out of your way on this inauguration day. I'm going to start with Marty Herney. As of now, Marty Herney has not yet been officially named as Washington's new general manager. It's expected to happen and soon. For the purposes of this, let's just assume for the moment that Marty Herney is going to be the new Washington General Manager.

I can't summon up the energy to hate this like many of you. I am really surprised, not that I think it's unreasonable, and I'll get to that in a moment, but I am surprised at what I perceive to be based on my interaction or at least the responses I've gotten on Twitter and I didn't do a poll. I'm surprised how many of you are totally against this. I would just estimate that three quarters of you are against the hiring of Marty Herney. And I think I know why, and many of you have said why. First of all, his resume is not very good. It's subpar. He's, you know, he was the general manager for 15 years in Carolina from

2002 to 2012 and then from 2017 until earlier this year. His overall record of the teams where he was the active GM in Carolina, 107 and 121, 14 games under 500. In 15 years is the acting general manager of the Carolina Panthers. His teams were above 500 just four times, 11 times sub-500. His teams went to the playoffs just four times in 15 years. Now, one of those four was the year that the Panthers made it to the Super Bowl and lost to the Patriots following the 2003 season. They also made it back to the NFC title game in the 2005 season losing to Seattle. As a reminder, that was the last year that Washington actually won a playoff game. They beat Tampa and then they lost to Seattle.

That was the Carlos Rogers dropping of the pick six that would have given Washington a 10-0 lead. It was a competitive game. LeVar knocked out Sean Alexander. They played well, they lost. Seattle went on to the NFC title game and hosted Carolina and beat them and then went on to lose to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. But Marty Herney's record isn't very good.

So I get that. I understand that. And one thing I would just add, though, is to be fair to Herney, the players that he brought in during that stretch where they won three division titles when he wasn't there, 2013, 2014, 2015, all of the players that he brought in were instrumental in those three division title seasons for Carolina, when Dave Gettleman had replaced him as the general manager. Many people give Herney a lot of credit. it for that run. Three straight division titles, another Super Bowl trip following a 15 and one season in 2015, the year that they lost to Denver in the Super Bowl. But I get it. You know, it's his record. It's his maybe age. You know, he's an older guy at 65 years old. I think many of you expressed and have expressed that you are concerned that they're letting the next young talent get out of

the building in Kyle Smith. You know, you equate it to Sean McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan or Matt LaFleur. you know, examples of talented young members of this franchise that moved away from here and achieved great success elsewhere. That's not unreasonable to be concerned about that. But I would just say that the reason that I can't hate this move, and maybe it's more that I'm just, I'm not super passionate about it one way or the other. And it's not because I've become less passionate about the team altogether, which is probably true. in recent years. I think I've been boosted here during this season back into being very hopeful and being excited about seeing what this team can do with all of the caveats, obviously. But I think there are a couple of things that make me not hate it. Number one, it's a good sign

that Rivera is making this higher. I mentioned this on the podcast yesterday. We've had imbecils making these decisions over the years. You know, this is the first non-imbecile to make a general manager type hire in this organization since Marty Schottenheimer hired John Schneider to be his top personnel man in 2001. Secondly, Rivera's earned enough trust from me on the hiring of people. And I know that these are people that he's comfortable with and that he knows. And a lot of you have a problem with that. I don't. You know, this Carolina to D.C. thing, I don't really care. It's basically what almost everybody does when they've had some track record and some. reasonable length of stay in another place. They bring a lot of people that they're comfortable

with that they know and they don't take a lot of risks on hires. They want people that they know are capable that they work well with. And he's brought in from Carolina somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen people, but they've all seemed to work out. You know, Rob Rogers as the senior VP of administration, the cap guy, you know, Ryan Vermillion is the head athletic trainer. You're going to tell me that that hasn't worked so far comparatively. I mean, pretty low bar to cross, I understand. The coaches, Matscoe, the offensive line coach, did a phenomenal job. Scott Turner, I think, really proved to be a legitimate offensive coordinator. Pete Hainer did a great job with Logan Thomas in the tight ends. I thought Sam Mills eventually did a fine job with the most talented group on the team, the defensive front.

You know, the football operation and product is so much better than it was a year ago or two years ago or three years ago. It's also in a position for the first time in a long time where it just seems like, you know, there are adults in charge. There are adults making the football decisions, capable adults led by Ron Rivera. Now, is this going to be an elite group, Rivera Herney, Rogers, you know, a group that's going to produce, you know, real results for the first time during the Dan Snyder era? I don't really have any idea. Snyder himself is obviously going to have a big say in that. If he stays away and he lets the football people make the football decisions, there's a chance. And let's just assume for the moment and take glass half full, take the optimistic, you know,

and perhaps the naive route of saying that he does stay out of it for a while. Does that mean that Rivera and Herney and Rogers are absolutely going to kill it and they're going to be winners and they're going to be sustained winners? There's no guarantee of that. You know, Herney has been the GM of a team that's gone to the Super Bowl, and Rivera has been a coach. that's taken a team to a Super Bowl. But nobody has said about the Panthers franchise over the last 18, 19 years. If you add up all the years that either Herney was there with Rivera or one of the two was there without the other, no one would say about the Carolina franchise. Oh, that's an elite franchise. That's a really smart, really innovative, you know, insert any other glowing adjective you

want. Franchise. But on the other hand, nobody ever talked about them the way they've talked about Washington, they've been far from a bottom feeder, you know, they've been somewhere always in between. Even though personally I think Rivera's always been thought of as a pretty good coach, a guy that knows what he's doing. I think we saw some of that in his first year. I'm not going to sit here and shower him with praise over seven and nine. I'm just saying that the team that I watched this year was a well-coached team, the best coach team they've had here in many years. And I like the direction he's taking the team. So the hiring of Herney for me if it happens and it appears that it will. I just believe in Rivera's judgment,

period. You know, I was reading, by the way, a very interesting story written by Albert Breer at the end of December. And it was a story listing the GM names to watch in the offseason. And Marty Herney's name wasn't even mentioned on this list. And I'll give you like the categories. But I'm bringing it up because I want to make a point here in a moment. But guys like Nick Casario who got hired in Houston were, you know, top candidates that Albert Breer wrote teams would be interested in. Ryan Cowden, who the Skins interviewed from Tennessee. Scott Fitterer, who just got the job in Carolina as the GM.

He was in Seattle. Terry Fontenow, who got the job in Atlanta. He was in New Orleans. There were others, you know, names we've heard before like Jeff Ireland, Will McLeigh in Dallas, you know, the guy that got hired in Denver from Minnesota, George Patton. A lot of those names were among the names that he thought, Breer thought, and, you know, after talking to people around the league, would get opportunities. And then he had like a list of five guys that he called second chance candidates,

John Dorsey, Brian Gain, Ryan Grigson, Martin Mayhew, Rick Smith. We know that Mayhew. was interviewed. We know that Rick Smith was of interest to Dan Snyder a ways back. And then he had some wild card names to watch like Lewis Riddick and Scott Pioly and Peyton Manning and Daniel Jeremiah who works for the NFL Network. He also had like 12 rising names to watch. What was interesting about this list is Kyle Smith's name wasn't on it anywhere and Marty Herney's name wasn't on it anywhere. This was written at the end of December, you know, as sort of a preparation for the offseason of, you know, guys that would be candidates to be GMs. You know, the, the guys that he thought would be seriously considered, then some second chance guys, and then some

wild card names that I mentioned, and then 12 rising names to watch. You know, the younger guys that people have, that think will be GMs in the future. Kyle Smith's name wasn't mentioned. Marty Herney's name wasn't on any of the lists either. I bring this up to mention the Kyle Smith thing, which I'm going to get to here in a moment a little bit further, but to just say, you know, there is still a stigma around the Washington franchise. You know, even if they wanted to go out there and hire the best candidate, the most sought-after candidate, the biggest name, the biggest name, it just probably is hard to do it still here as long as Dan Snyder is the owner. Don't forget that. You know, I'm not saying that Ron Rivera's hiring just people that he's familiar with because he can't hire big names because of Snyder.

I think he's doing what he wants to do. I think he's hiring the people that he knows he can work with and that he really respects and thinks is good and has the same vision. You know, I have no problem with that. But don't forget that Washington's, still, despite seven and nine in a division title, even though they're being talked about as a team that is up and coming, Dan Snyder is still the owner. That is a big hurdle to clear for a lot of people that will have a choice in jobs. Don't forget that. This franchise, despite this playoff season, is still considered by people in the league to be a franchise to steer clear of as long as Dan Snyder owns it. Even though they do have respect for Rivera

and some optimism about what the team is turning into right now. I also just wanted to mention this about Kyle Smith. I don't think he's going to be a part of this group. That's hardly breaking news. But I just think that he's not coming back. So those of you that might hope that Ron Rivera and Marty Herney decide to retain Kyle Smith as a part of the operation as somebody who may report to Marty Herney and continue to do the great work that he's done on draft and scouting, I don't think

he's coming back. You know, that would be too bad because everyone that I know that knows him well thinks he's smart and good. But for whatever reason, he doesn't appear to be a good fit for Rivera. So anyway, I think Kyle Smith will get a job. I don't think he's going to be a general manager yet. I think he could be somewhere down the road. I think he's a talented evaluator.

And I think that even Rivera might admit that and has in the past. But for whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be a really good fit. Anyway, up next, Jeremy Fowler wrote a lengthy piece on ESPN.com about the Deshawn Watson situation. And there was stuff in there about the Washington football team and Watson. You'll hear it next right after these words. from some of our sponsors. Next topic on this very short podcast today. Deshawn Watson.

Jeremy Fowler wrote a really good story, long story, on ESPN.com this morning titled Deshawn Watson's trade value and destinations, plus what the Houston Texans do next. It just outlines how they got here, and it has a bunch of NFL executives and NFL salary cap experts, et cetera, you know, weighing in on the condition of anonymity. And the net of it is, let me just share with you, at least my takeaway is that most of these people don't think it'll happen. It's totally unique that a top five, a debatable top five quarterback, just signing a $156 million deal, the second biggest deal in the history of the league behind the Mahomes deal, it just doesn't

happen that that player all the sudden after one season is available. to be traded for. The big takeaway for me is what my gut instinct has been all along is that this just isn't going to happen, that they'll work it out. It's in Houston's best interest to have Deshawn Watson

as their franchise quarterback moving forward. There's no guarantee that you'll ever be able to replace him. They have one of those guys. So why would you get rid of them? Anyway, I wanted to fast forward to the portion of the story where Jeremy Fowler writes about five potential destinations for Watson,

because Washington is one of the five. Now, he writes that acquiring Watson might require not only three first rounders, but at least one very high pick, multiple evaluators say. That's why those same evaluators consistently point to two teams, the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins. Both teams have two things in this year's draft that the other three teams don't have. a top three pick and multiple first rounders. New York has the second overall pick and the 23rd pick acquired in the Jamal Adams trade. Miami selects third and 18th overall. Working with these two teams

gives Houston the chance to draft Watson's replacement or take on their respective current starters Sam, Darnold, or Tuatunga Vailoa, if they want one of them. If Houston does a deal with them, one AFC personnel man said, I bet they go after both. first in this cycle because that immediately helps them get better in a year that they've got limited capital referring to Houston's lack of picks in the first two rounds this year. In future years, you don't know what those picks are going to be. Both of those teams, by the way, could easily absorb Watson's contract as well. So the Jets and the Dolphins, according to multiple executives and evaluators, those are the two most likely destinations if there's

actually a trade of Deshawn Watson. The other three teams mentioned are the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears, and yes, your Washington football team. Now on the Carolina thing, apparently the Panthers are going to move on from Teddy Bridgewater. They're either going to select a quarterback in the April draft or they're going to try to find a veteran replacement. And that's why many league execs believe that the Panthers would be in on a Watson trade if he were available. By the way, Watson is a southeast, you know, native. He grew up in Georgia, so Carolina might be attractive to him. He's got a no trade clause, which will help him dictate the team that he gets traded to, again, if this happens. Many people think that the sleeper team

is Chicago, that there are people in that building who love Watson and want to fix what GM Ryan Pace screwed up a few years ago when he picked Mitchell Trabisky and passed on Mahomes and Watson. Then they talk about Washington. And it's not a lot written about the Washington possibility, but I'm going to read it to you because it includes a very interesting quote. As bad as the NFC East was this year, there's an improving team with a $35.4 million cap space opportunity and tons of intriguing young players who could make a move, the Washington football team. Quote, from an NFC executive, I think they will be involved in the QB sweepstakes in a big way.

They know they are close, closed quote. They know they are close. There we go. We're close. I've heard that before. I think if Deshawn Watson is available, Washington absolutely would be a team that would be. be interested and might be even aggressive in its pursuit of Dishon Watson. Again, I mentioned this yesterday on the podcast. For those of you that are convinced that Kyle Allen and Taylor Heineke

and Alex Smith or some young quarterback is good enough. I'm just going to tell you what the handicappers would say to you that that team may not even be picked to win the division. Dallas might if Dak Prescott comes back. It's going to be picked to be an 8-and-8 team and maybe a team that will vie for a wildcard birth or maybe even the division title. But it's not going to be viewed from a handicapping purpose standpoint as a true NFC championship contender.

However, if you put Deshawn Watson on that team, they would be one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl out of the NFC. Not the favorite, you know, Green Bay, Seattle, Tampa. but they'd be one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. I mean, let's not kid ourselves on Taylor Heineckee or Kyle Allen or Alex Smith next year or Kyle Trask or Mack Jones. Okay, Matt Stafford, to me, very intriguing. I think Matt Stafford puts Washington into the conversation,

definitely, of a team that could win 10, 11 games next year and be a serious late-into-January contender. But you put Deshaun Watson, on this team, and they're going to be a bunch of people that will say Washington, they're one of the teams that could go to the Super Bowl and win it next year. With that young defense, and now you've got the quarterback, Watson elevates everybody around him, even if you don't add a second receiver, even if you don't add a left tackle.

Look what he did with Houston offensively this year. He made him competitive with a bad team around him offensively, and a terrible team defensively. So, anyway, that quote about them being close. Let's just talk about that for one quick moment. I don't know how close they are. I just know they're improving.

I think a lot of people have jumped to next year. They're going to be a legitimate, legitimate Super Bowl contender. You know, I want to just make one thing very clear about next year. There are no guarantees. I think the guarantee is that they're doing things the right way. And as long as the owner stays out of it, things are going to continue to improve and get better. But I don't know if next year is the year. You know, if they don't have the quarterback next year and they go with, you know, Alan and or Heineke, and it's not really what you're hoping

it will be. That's going to be a massive limiting factor, as will be their schedule next year. I'm not a big schedule guy. Many of you know that. I think it's crazy to talk about schedules because you have no idea what that team's going to be like by the time you get to play it. In so many years we say, oh my God, that's a win, that's a loss, that's a loss, that's a win, and it ends up being the opposite because it's such a year-to-year league. But here's what you do know. You do know that they are going to have a schedule, if it's a 17-game schedule, which it more likely than that will be, where they're going to face the best quarterbacks in the NFL

if those quarterbacks are healthy enough to play. They're going to face Patrick Mahomes next year. they're going to face Tom Brady, Russell Wilson. They are going to also face Aaron Rogers and Josh Allen. The only quarterback that's a perceived top five quarterback that they're not going to face is Deshawn Watson. Every other quarterback. Mahomes is on the schedule. Brady's on the schedule.

Wilson's on the schedule. Rogers is on the schedule. And if there's a 17-game schedule, Josh Allen is on the schedule. By the way, I didn't even mention Justin Herbert is on the schedule if you think that if he takes the next step. The only teams that they play next year that don't have really good quarterbacks pretty much are the teams in the NFC East, although Dak Prescott, I think will be back with Dallas. Carolina is on the schedule, Denver's on the schedule, and the Raiders are on the schedule as well. By the way, I didn't mention Atlanta. They could be facing Matt Ryan, too.

I mean, think about the quarterbacks they faced this year. Carson Wentz, who was terrible. Kyler Murray was good. Baker Mayfield, when they caught him, was still coming on. Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Daniel Jones, DeMarco from JMU. They did face Stafford. Then they got one half of Burrow and one half of the NC State guy. Then they got Dalton.

They did get Rathlisberger, but then they got Mullins. They did get Wilson, but they got Bridges. Water, and they got Wentz again. I mean, I mentioned some good quarterbacks there. I'm not saying that they didn't face teams with horrible quarterbacks. I mean, they did face Lamar Jackson. They did face Matt Stafford. They did face Ben Rathlisberger.

They faced Russell Wilson. But next year, my God, they get the top, they get five of the top six quarterbacks in the NFL. Right? Mahomes, Wilson, Brady, assuming Brady. assuming Brady comes back. I mean, they might win the Super Bowl. Maybe he'll retire. Rogers. And then Josh Allen. I just gave you five guys that if they're there next year, those are five of the top six, seven guys in the NFL. And who knows? They might play the Chargers next year, and the Chargers may have Justin Herbert as a guy that's now a top 10 guy.

Drew Bree is probably not going to be back with the Saints. They do have the Saints on the schedule. Anyway, my point is this. I think things are going to continue to improve. I think, you know, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as long as the owner stays out of it. But I don't know if next year is going to be the year. I don't want next year to be a year that they're not competitive offensively because they weren't aggressive going after a quarterback that was getable.

So I do hope that they feel like they're close enough to be aggressive on the quarterback front. and to be realistic about what they have on the quarterback front. It could be Taylor Heineke. I think they really like Kyle Allen. But I do know that Matt Stafford and or Deshawn Watson would make them a legitimate, you know, NFC top three, four favorite to get to the Super Bowl. The others aren't going to do that. All right.

One last topic right after this word from one of our sponsors. I lot. Two more topics because I forgot I wanted to talk about Philip Rivers for, I swear to God, no more than 30 seconds to a minute. He retired today, for those of you who don't know. 17-year career, 39 years old. To me, a lock first ballot hall of fame. He's fifth in NFL history with 63,440 passing yards. He's behind only Breeze, Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Fav. He's an eight-time pro bowler. He's also fifth in league history and touchdown passes behind. Brady, Breeze, Manning, and Favre as well. I've been a big Philip Rivers fan for his entire career. I remember him at NC State. Maryland was really good in football during that stretch when he was at NC State. Ralph Regian had some really good teams. Scott McBrion was quarterbacking some of those teams. Philip Rivers Senior Day at NC State, Maryland went down to Raleigh in a huge game in the

ACC and rallied from two scores down in the final two minutes to win 2624 and spoil Philip Rivers' his senior day, but I remember thinking and watching him in college, man, he's going to be a good NFL quarterback, really good NFL quarterback. And there was just something about his style that I loved. I remember Bill Belichick said something, and I don't think he was really taking a shot at Tom Brady, but he said that Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers are the two quarterbacks in the history of the game that control the game more at the line of scrimmage than anybody else ever has. Rivers was a maestro. Like Peyton Manning, he controlled. controlled the game. He knew what to do. He had that odd throwing style, obviously. I thought he had

lost some physical strength in his throwing arm last year, but he had a good year this year. I'm actually surprised that he's retiring. Frank Reich wanted him back, said so after they lost 27, 24 to the bills a few years ago. Anyway, I was always a fan. I think he's a Locke first ballot Hall of Famer, and I think, you know, Eli Manning is too, and so is Ben Rathesperger from that draft. You know, three Hall of Famers from that draft. But anybody that thinks because Rivers didn't go to a Super Bowl or didn't have as much playoff success as Eli or or Ben isn't going to be a Hall of Famer or First Ballot Hall of Famer, I think you're wrong. In fact, I think out of the three, he was the best. It's close. Ben's was awfully good, but he played on teams that weren't nearly as good as some of the

teams that Eli won with and some of the teams that Ben won with. But I, I was surprised that he retired. I thought he had some time left. I thought another year in Indy that they were really good this year. I think they were underrated good. And think about it. If they had beaten Buffalo, they would have been at Kansas City over the weekend. Instead of Cleveland, Cleveland would have been in Baltimore.

I think that's the way it would have worked out. Anyway, last thing. Maryland lost to Michigan last night. Many of you, every time Maryland gets beat, the anti-Markturgent crowd, which is significant. I recognize that. I'm a Maryland guy, okay? And I, this is, this is as much of a sports love as anything else I have and have had throughout my life.

They got walloped pretty good by Michigan last night, 87 to 63, and so many of you, you know, tweeting me, are you going to concede now that Turgeon Dudd doesn't know what he's doing, that it's time to make a change, yada, yada, yada. And some of you getting really specific, oh, there are three-point defense is just terrible. Michigan's eight for 14. Oh, my God, they can't run offense. are so poorly coached. First of all, Michigan is really good. Michigan is one of the best two or three teams I've seen all year long.

I think they can win the national championship. Gonzaga is really good. Michigan's right there with Gonzaga. Michigan has, they've blown everybody out. I know they lost the other day. They were missing one of their best players when they lost at Minnesota. The league is so good. You're not going undefeated in the league.

They might lose another one or two times. I think they're going to win the regular season. I think Michigan and Iowa in the Big Ten are the two teams that are really, really difficult to beat. And certainly for a team like Maryland, both of those teams are just bad matchups for Maryland. But understand this about Michigan. They led Wisconsin last week by 40 points at one point during the game. Wisconsin's a top 10 team, and they were up 40 on Wisconsin. So for those of you who are really totally ignorant as to what they were.

were up against last night. Michigan is one of the two or three best teams in the country. They can win the national championship. They led Wisconsin by 40. They have been beating people by double digits for a month and a half. I know they lost at Minnesota on Saturday. They were missing Brooks, a really good player for them. And Minnesota is really good. They've got two seven footers. Anyway, about Turgeon. I actually think he's improved as a coach over the last few years. There are things that I still get bothered by because I do sort of know basketball a little bit more than I know the other sports because I've coached it on and off for, you know, 20, 25, 30 years. And so there are things that he's done over the years that, you know, have annoyed me like they've annoyed you. But I actually think he's gotten a lot of better, a lot better, improved a lot on those things.

I think they're a much better zone offense team than they've ever been. I think they're a better offensive team than they've ever been. The thing that I love about this team is it's undersized in a league with Biggs, and it really, really plays hard. They played hard last night. I thought they actually, as all of you were tweeting me to tell me how terrible they were in the first half, I actually thought they played pretty well in the first half. And even though many of you told me how bad they were defensively,

I actually thought that they played, there were some things defensively that were hard for them. You know, like they doubled the post. They doubled Dickinson. You know, the kid from Dematha who killed them in the first game on New Year's Eve. And, you know, they were a little bit slow on their rotations, but it's really hard to guard Michigan. I mean, they've got multiple low post guys, and then they've got shooters everywhere. And all of those shooters, if you fly at them, can drive it and create. They're just really good.

Like, Franz Wagner, I think, is going to be, Wagner is going to be a lottery pick. Dickinson's probably a future pro. Livers is a future pro. They're really good. If you want to blame Turgeon, blame them for not having enough horses this year. That's fair. Don't blame him for the coaching job he's doing with the group he has. They own two of the most impressive road wins in the Big Ten this year.

And I know Road Home doesn't mean what it typically does. At Illinois and at Wisconsin. There are two teams, and maybe a third in Minnesota, that are really difficult matchups because of the size. Marilyn doesn't have it. Blame Turgent for not having an answer for Jalen Sticks-Smith going pro-ear. That's justifiable. He does not have enough horses this year.

Don't blame him for the coaching job he's doing because you don't. It's specific to X's and O's and how his team's playing against the teams that he's matched up against. He's actually doing a really good job. I thought the Iowa game they looked a little unprepared for or looked flat for. The Clemson game, they were caught completely off guard. Don't forget, Clemson's been a top 10, top 15 team for much of the year. You know, following the Maryland game, they've proven to be really good, although UVA hammered them the other day.

I think they're ranked 19th or 20th right now. They're pretty good. But they've been pretty good in games against some really good teams, but they're a couple of really bad matchups for them because they don't have size. And Michigan and Iowa are two of those teams. And unfortunately, Maryland's schedule in the Big Ten right now has been the hardest and doesn't get any easier. Like they haven't played anybody that's perceived to be weak. They've played no games against Northwestern, Penn State, or Nebraska. The three teams in the league that everybody's pointing to and saying, yeah,

I mean, if there's weakness in the league, it's those three teams. People in the league are not pointing to Maryland and saying that's weakness in the league. They went to Illinois in one. They went to Wisconsin and won. Now, are they pointing at Maryland and saying, oh, be careful. You know, that's Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State. No, they're a middle of the pack Big Ten team, not standings-wise, but I think ability-wise. And the reason that they are two and six is because of the brutal Big Ten schedule they have faced. They played Michigan twice, Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin already in Illinois. They get Minnesota who's ranked 17th, Wisconsin who's ranked 10th as their next two, and then Purdue who will be ranked this week, before they

finally get a stretch of Penn State mixed in, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State again. But that comes at the end of the year. It would have been much better for Mark had the schedule been front-loaded with some of those teams. Because they're not bad either. They're not going to run the table on those teams. Penn State's decent. Northwesterns had a couple of big wins. Nebraska's probably the one team,

and they had their game postponed against Nebraska, their first of two because of COVID. Anyway, those of you who tell me that you think Mark Turgeon sucks as a basketball coach and you're pointing out specific things in game, you're wrong about most of those things. If you want to say that his recruiting stailed off here and that he should have had more horses this year and he should have had a replacement for Jalen Smith and for Anthony Cowan, okay, that's fair.

They've got a class coming in next year that I think is the number four class in the Big Ten, number five class in the Big Ten, a top 25 class. One of those kids is eligible right now. He got the accelerated high school thing. James Graham, he hasn't seen much action. They got two kids from Baltimore, Julian Reese, Cornish coming in. He's going to have to add more, though. He's going to have to have a good spring recruiting. They've got to get more athleticism and size. He'll also have maybe everybody coming back

because this year doesn't count. I don't know if Morsell will come back for a second senior year. You know, I'm sure Wiggins thinks he can play in Europe right now and start making a living. He should come back. But anyway, I think he's improving as a coach. There. I think he's a good coach. And I think he's improved as a coach. Anyway, I know I'm going to hear from a lot of you that disagree, and you're going to call me a Mark Turgeon apologist. And Sheehan, you know, you continue to make excuses for him. No, I'm not making excuses for him.

I think he's a good coach, and I think he's improving as a coach. I think he needs players. I think Damon Evans needs to extend him so that he's not recruiting as a lame duck coach here when we get to the spring with just two years. left on his deal. Look, it is a lot easier to talk about replacing him than it is to do it. Maryland is a perceived big-time job. I'm not about to diminish what Maryland should be as a job, as an available job. But for those of you who tell me, well, we'll just go get Chris Beard from Texas Tech. Chris Beard makes $4.5 million a year at Texas Tech. Maryland doesn't pay its basketball

coach, and it's not going to pay its new basketball coach if it were to make a change anywhere near that. It just doesn't have that ability. And it hasn't over the years. Anyway, have a great day. Back tomorrow with Tommy with Cooley on Friday previewing the two championship games.