The Ringer NFL Show - Lombardi's Week 9 Reactions | GM Street (Ep. 339)

Episode Date: November 6, 2018

Jason Garrett and the Cowboys fall to the Titans, the Saints upend the Rams, and the rest of Week 9’s standout moments. Plus, the weekly awards. Hosts: Michael Lombardi and Tate Frazier Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey guys, it's Liz Kelly. We have another live show coming up on Monday, November 12th at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Ryan Rusillo and the ringers Kevin Clark and Robert Mays are doing a live dual-threat ringer NFL show crossover. They'll be breaking down week 10 of the NFL and covering the major storylines from around the league. For more info and links to tickets, check out the ringers, Twitter, and Instagram. Welcome to GM3 part of the ringer podcast network. It is Tuesday. It is November 6.

And last night, we saw on Monday night football, Michael Lombardi, the Clapper and full force and the Cowboys are officially not back to being the great Cowboys that we knew that Michael Irvin loved back in the day. Lombardi, we have a lot to talk about today. How are you? I'm good. Election Day, Tate Frazier, make sure you vote. I hope you absentee, ballot it, you know, whatever you got to do, my man.

But it's great. It's a good day. Yeah, the NFL just got really interesting. You know, we always used to talk about when I was in the league, about 20 of us, always used the wreck of the Emmett Fitzgerald date, which is November 10th, as the signal date that really determines the NFL, you know. And so I think it happened a week earlier than the wreck did, but I think this is a great weekend. And clearly we, it's such a league of have and have-nots. It's remarkable. And the have-nots, we're on full display last night. I mean, I guess they do have a

lot. They have the star. They have the mantra as America's team. But they do have a lot of question marks right now at the moment. Jerry Jones came out after the game. He said, we have to play better. We did not play good for whatever reason. The spur of, of energy that we thought we had did not show through tonight. Of course, Amari Cooper was the big story going into this game for the Cowboys. People were excited to see what he would bring to the table after trading a 2019 first pick for him. He did get a touchdown, 58 receiving yards, was a good target early in the game on some short passing routes. But for the most part, that Cowboys often sputtered. And the Tennessee Titans bounced back after kind of fallen by the wayside the past couple of weeks

after going 0-N-3. They looked like a team with Marriota that was able to convert some third downs. and made the Cowboys pay. And in the end, people ask Jerry Jones about the job security of Jason Garrett. And he said, no changes would be made this season. So the Clapper will continue. We have eight more weeks of the Clapper, which is good news for GM Street fans. But maybe not good news for Cowboys fans. Yeah, we have to find somebody.

I mean, look, we have to find somebody else to talk about. You know, Tate Frazier, the reality of the Cowboys are, it's really not going to matter who their coach is. Because if Jerry's going to keep doing things that he wants to do and stay completely involved. It's too hard. The game has to go through the head coach's chair. And, you know, he talks about Garrett, like he's some kind of great coach.

And, you know, Garrett's got, you know, Garrett's had two playoff games, you know, or three playoff games. He's one and two in the playoffs. He's been there a long time. And there's not any progress. I think the offense just looks so stagnant. Like you have Dak Prescott, just run Mississippi State style of offense. Do more, do something, motion, shifts, you know, but they line up.

up and it's very generic. They do what they do and they think it's all about players. It's not about plays. And look, you know, they've got three wins this year. The strength of schedule of those wins is 29%. I mean, really, the victories aren't really dominating in the sense of where they are. So I just think to me that they should have protected that lottery, the pick that I went to for Mari Cooper, because it will be a lottery pick. Do you see the schedule they have coming up in the next couple weeks? Have you seen what they have in store for them? There is no, silver lining, it seems, for the Dallas Cowboys right now. Because you look ahead, it's not an easy situation moving forward.

And as you said, I mean, Garrett's record to date, 70 and 58, you know, came in 2010. Wade Phillips at the time was 1 in 7. And, you know, he has two playoff appearances, only one lone postseason win. We've talked about plenty of times ad nauseum. But you say they're, can they at least change the play calling? I mean, you're talking about Scott Linahan, who's in his fourth year, you know, calling these plays for these guys. I mean, is there something they can do in the offense so they don't sputter? I mean, the Allen Hurons double move for that touchdown, that showed a little bit of life.

But that's about all we saw from the Cowboys last night. Yeah, you never see them really attack the coverages. You see them run plays that beat the coverage. You don't see them attack the covers like the Saints do or like the Rams do or like the Patriots do. And so, you know, they throw the screen to Zeke and he makes plays. I mean, they've got some weapons. Look, Connor Williams, the left guard's killing them. You know, they're not getting production.

The offensive line, they fired Paul Alexander last week, which they had to do. That was a bad fit from the start. I don't know where the Clapper was when he interviewed Paul Alexander, but that was a bad fit from the start. Like Paul Alexander's been in the same system his whole career. He wasn't coming into change. He was going to do what he did in Cincinnati. That never works, right? That never is going to work.

It's the same thing with the Detroit Lions today fired Joe Marciano, the longtime special teams coach. I mean, Matt retained him on the staff. Patricia retained him. And to get him to buy into the Patriots special teams is just you were wasting your time. That was eventually going to happen. And so it's so hard to change people. at this point in their career. It doesn't mean Alexander or Marciano or bad coaches.

It just means it's hard to change them. And the run game isn't the same. They don't have a tight end that can really control the line of scrimmage. They can't attack the middle of the field. I just think this is a poor design team by the Cowboys. Their defense is good, but they play so much zone. There's throws you can make. Sean Lee gets hurt again last night with his hamstring.

You know, look, when you just go, they have a 1% chance of making the playoffs, according to football outsiders. Like, you know, that means they're going to be a lottery pick. You know, and I just don't see. Now, look, the NFC East isn't great. We know the Redskins aren't great. I mean, they got smoked by the Falcons. And we know Alex Smith hasn't played good all season

that Adrian Peterson, believe it or not, has carried that team. But the reality of it is, is there's no way that Cowboys are better than the Eagles and can beat them twice. It's just, I don't see it. You're in a situation right now. So Washington is two games in front of both the Eagles and the Cowboys.

Jerry Jones was talking about after the game as if the Cowboys have a real legitimate shot to make a run in these last eight weeks to go after that NFC East Crown. But as you said, I mean, the Eagles didn't sit back at the trade deadline. They go and get Golden Tate. They get a possession receiver. They get a guy and they get him for cheaper than what the Cowboys are willing to give up to get a guy like Amari Cooper who, you know, I mean, you can make the argument one way or the other. But at the same time, he basically plays at Golden Tate is a good, at best situation when you have him coming into that offense.

But when they made that trade, it looked like they put all their chips. on the table we're making a run for now, but the team isn't built for now. As Troy Aitman said, he said this team needs a complete overhaul. Yeah, I mean, look, Jerry thinks his team reminds him of the Los Angeles Rams. Now, I don't know what Ram team is watching, and I encouraged him getting an eye exam a month ago, you know, but the 2015 Rams. Yeah, I mean, seriously, like, they just, they're, they're so far, as the great uncle junior once said, they're so far out of race, they actually think they're winning, you know, and so that's the reality here. I mean, they just don't get it.

And we can make fun of Garrett all we want and we can do it. But institutionally within that building, it's not set up for success because the owner wants to be the general manager. The owner's on TV. The night talking about the Mari Cooper trade, it was hilarious. I mean, like he's explaining him like he's going to take the pressure off Zieg. Like he's coaching the team. Like no, no, no.

Nobody's going to adjust the coverage to Cooper. Nobody's going to sit there and say, you know, this is how it works. I mean, they put the graphic up there. before the game of all the receivers he's traded for and all the mistakes he's made for on receivers. And they just accept it like, this is okay. Oh, it's great. Jerry just traded for another receiver. Like Joey Galloway didn't work out for him.

Kishon didn't work out for him. You know, Roy Williams didn't work out. I mean, it's okay. You know, but we're just going to keep adding ones to the receiver cemetery and think it's going to be good. I mean, no wonder why. You know, look, look, the best team in the East, I don't care what I'm about is the Eagles because they can compete on both sides of the ball. they got Tate like you said you know the Redskins are just to me they're a paper tiger there's no way they're any good they lost three offensive linemen they're signing guys off the free this is

another year the Redskins can't stay healthy they can't stay healthy and all they talked about all summer long jrewd we're got to keep our team healthy not going to play them by the preseason meanwhile they're losing soldiers left and right they don't even get to the battlefield they're losing guys and they're in a situation now where you know they have this three game win streak we'll move on from the Cowboys we'll give them a break we know where they are I mean the worst news for them is Sean Lee going out with that hamstring and then Jason Garris is after the game. He's going to be out for a bit. I mean, we've obviously seen Jaylen and Van derrish, the rookie come in and step up for him.

But losing Sean Lee as your quarterback of that defense and obviously not having too much hope, even though Jerry says that Dak Prescott will be the Dallas Cowboys quarterback for their foreseeable future. It's not on him. I mean, I wish people would stop attacking the guy. Did he make a bad throw in the interception? Yeah. He threw it high to the back end of the line.

That's where he should. You know, the guy's double covered on the play, right? there was really, I mean, there was no outlet for him to throw the ball to. Should he throw it out of bounds? Yeah. The strip sack, that's on him. Okay, look, the guy got pressure from Connor Williams. Look, I think they haven't figured out what he does well. They need to run Mississippi State style of offense. They need to be more read option. They need to let him use his feet more. And they need to be able to motion people instead and be in some tight formations and run some things instead of being in three by one the whole goddamn game and just trying to hope they're going to athlete somebody else. I mean, their design is bad.

Their design is they don't take advantage of everything. And I know Jason went to Princeton. I know he's smart. And I know he's an offensive guru because that's what everybody's been telling us for the last eight years. But there's no rue in the guru. We can't find it. You don't sit there and watch Cowboy tape and say, wow, that's impressive. I like that.

I'm going to steal that idea. But you watch Ram tape. You watch New England tape. You watch the Saints tape. And you're like, wow, that's good. That's really good. That's a great concept. Never do it with the Cowboys.

Or like Mike Zimmer said this week. He had to change his whole defensive scheme because everyone was stealing it in the NFL. So people were used to what was happening because all the other teams were copying their blitz packages. So he's tried to change things up. And now it's a copycat league. We've talked about that in pretty much every league at this point. But that's what's happening. And no one is copying Jason Garrett, except for his clapping methods, which again, they're A1.

Tape Frasier, the best Halloween customer ever saw was that guy went out there, is Jason Garrett clapping. I mean, I thought that was good. I would have given that guy a whole goddamn bar, a whole jug of candy. That was to me, if that showed up in my door, I'd have given it to everything. It was unbelievable. He could have had the deed to the house. It was unbelievable. I was so good. Give him an Emmy. I mean, especially for the belt. The belt that he had on with all the different little, you know, gadgets and trinkets and all that sort of stuff. Because I'm always wondering what Jason get. Why does Jason have that on? Let's not get off. I mean, then everybody's like on Twitter.

Like, you're giving Garrett crap because he went out and was at the World Series. Like, give the guy a day off. Seriously, give him a day off. Like, we don't get days off in the NFL. If he worked for Al Davis and Al Davis saw him on TV at the World Series, that would have been hell to pay. Like, you got your team is a mess. You fire in your offensive line coach. You're trying to train a new line coach.

Wouldn't you stay in the office with Marco Colombo and spend time with his ass and get him up to speed? Go home early. Go to bed. You're flying all the way to L.A. I mean, what message does that send? I mean, guys defending them? I mean, it's a joke. One of the guys that defend them, then he calls me a fraud.

Like, really seriously? I mean, come on. Give me a break. Like, do you don't understand? You don't even have a clue what happens in the NFL. And you're saying that? Like, nobody's doing that. You sure take the night off.

But you got problems. The boat's freaking leak it. One time I went down to the, this is in the offseason, Tate Fraser. So I would go down to Pebble Beach every year when I work for the Raiders. And it was one year Belichick was playing. And this is a Saturday afternoon. Belichick's playing in the pro-amp. And so I went down there and I followed him around the course and I'm like telling

him about the holes because I played Tiger Woods so damn much. I knew the course like the back of my hand. You know, not that I play golf. Yeah, I'm like, you can't hit it over there, Bill. You can't hit it over there. You know, like, you can't do that, right? And he's like, what the fuck are you talking about? You don't play golf?

I said, yeah, but I play Tiger Woods. But anyway, so me, right, I'm on the 16th hole, right? And my cell phone goes off and it's Al Davis. And he starts, where are you? I said, well, I'm at Pebble Beach. I'm hanging out with Belichick. And he says, do you fucking realize Rome is burning? And I'm like, Rome is burning.

I didn't know we were in Italy. I mean, Rome is burning back here. Get your ass back here and get to work. You know, and I'm like, okay, all right. You know, of course, you know, Millie didn't talk to me for about a week after that. But anyway, I'll go head back, you know, like seriously. The NFL is not a job, like talk radio that you can, you get weekends off. Okay.

I'm sorry. It's not. You live in the NFL. You don't work in the NFL. you live in the NFL. And if you don't live in the NFL, you get a product like the Cowboys put out on Monday night. That's what you get.

If you're happy with that, enjoy. I want to know, when will it be the time that Jerry actually does want to change things? Because it does seem, he never changed. He's in the Hall of Fame. He's never changed. He's never going to turn.

Well, would that be the time? The Cowboys fans boycotted the games. It didn't go to watch this team play. Is that the only time that we see? Jerry makes some drastic changes because the bottom line is that he is still, you know, the bottom line, he's still making money at the end of the day, no matter what, if they're 8 and 8, if they're 4 and 12, if they're 14 and 2, the Cowboys are still, you know, profiting more than most any team in the NFL.

So it doesn't hurt his bottom line. No, he's never going to change it. He's just not going to happen. It's just never going to happen. I mean, that's that, you know, they are not one of the eight. I mean, let's just be real honest here. They're not one of the eight. They might win a year.

They may not. But they're not one of the eight. They don't have a culture that's conducive to sustaining excellence. They just don't have it. They'll hit with a player here. They have all the money in the world. They have all the money in the world, right? They have the greatest facility in the world, right?

They got a helicopter everybody. They're in one of the greatest cities in the world. They're America's team, but they don't have a culture in order to win. And so because of that, they're just going to be up and down. And if they think Jason Garrett's a top quality coach, then they deserve it. That's what they deserve. You know, as Belichick would often say, you know, we deserve. it. We suck. It's the truth.

It's the truth. And let's talk about two of those eight teams that actually do have a culture that's in place that actually, you know, that has two coaches that are revered in the NFL at this point. And two offenses that everyone wanted to see battle it out. And they did not disappointed. And that we, of course, I'm talking about the home New Orleans Saints taking on the Los Angeles Rams, the games that we talked about on Friday, a game that you thought the Saints would win and the Saints delivered. They hand the Rams their first loss of the season, despite the fact that Jared Golf really did have a good game. I mean, three hundred under 91 yards, three touchdowns.

But then you look at the other side, Camara, three touchdowns, Drew Brees, there's four touchdown passes and helps cement the fact that he may be the leader in the clubhouse right now as the MVP in the NFL. And Michael Thomas, a franchise record, 211 receiving yards. He did the touchdown celebration. It reminded me of the mid-2000s when T-O was doing things like this, even though he's probably producing a lot more than T-O was back when he was doing the popcorn and calling people.

Michael Thomas right now, probably one of the best receivers in the league. we saw it up close and personal. Just looking at this game, I mean, it seemed like a precursor for a shootout, possibly for the NFC championship to go to the Super Bowl. No doubt. I mean, it was a great game to watch. It was fun to watch.

Both offenses were incredible. You know, both quarterbacks played really well. I mean, let's face it, both guys never got sacked in the game. They got hit, but they never got sacked. Drew Brees's eyes are incredible. His decision-making and his eye control is at an all-time high. You know, and the Saints, you know, the Saints ran the ball 34 times in the game, which is remarkable, right?

And Breeze ran it four times in the game, which is really impressive. And I just think to me, these are the kind of games that because the conditions are perfect, it's hard to play good defense. But the Saints played great situational defense at the end of the half. They got the interception. They gained the extra possession. They got the turnover on the miss field goal, got the turnover on downs on the fake field goal. And they took advantage of it.

And, you know, they called the game. I thought they got conservative in the third quarter a little bit. I thought they were trying to sit on the lead a little bit. and I think when they went it at halftime at 35 to 17, they should have just said, hey, look, we're trail on. We've got to keep going and keep putting our foot to the pedal and keep going. And I think they got conservative. And then once they got out of that conservative nature, they did.

But I think Sean Payton's doing one of the best coaching jobs in football. That offensive line's really good. Their defense didn't play well in the red zone. They play better in two minute, but they still have issues on defense. But, you know, look, the Rams are a tough out. And this is an interesting stat tape, Fraser. whenever the Rams don't give Gurley the ball 17 times or more since Sean McVeigh's been there,

they're five and six in those games. When they give it to them 17 times or above, they're undefeated. And that's really the essence. I mean, Gurley averaged five to a carry in the game. You know, I mean, it wasn't like they took him out of the game. Now, they did a great job with Gurley in the passing game. Gurley had six catches for 11 yards.

That's really what you have to do. You got to clamp on Gurley. you got to make Gurley, you got to make other people beat you. You got to make, I know everybody loves Cooper Cup, but let him beat you. Let Robert Woods, let somebody else other than Gurley beat you. And if you can do that, you got a chance. Yeah, you got a chance. I mean, Malcolm Brown's a good player too.

Don't get me wrong. But, I mean, you got a chance. You really have a chance, but you can't beat them if the centerpiece of their offense is making plays. And he was. And I mean, once again, the Rams, really, when you boil it down, the Rams, you know, the Red Zone offense is really what's cost them. And I like this, too.

thought that the, I thought that the Saints, you know, they only play 26 minutes of defense. Think about this, Dave Fraser. They only play 26 minutes of defense and the Rams had 483 yards. Now, the Patriots played 26 minutes of offense, just like the Rams did and had 613 yards against the Eagles. So it's really about how less you can play. If the Rams would have had the ball 30 minutes and the Saints had a 30, they would have had 600 more yards. and probably two more touchdowns. Those four minutes made all the difference. And that's what it really comes down to.

And we see that weekend and week out, especially with these, you know, we talk about the eight teams that really are competing for a title. These are two of those teams. And it is the minute details and the minutes of possession and those sort of things that always come up as the difference in the game. I do want to point out, though, for the Rams fans.

I thought it was pretty impressive if you were watching that team, a team that was undefeated, a team that, you know, had the burden of, you know, a perfect season on their mind. They're down 21. points in this game on the road. And, you know, they didn't, they didn't seem to panic. They didn't seem to freak out. I mean, Brockers after the game, you know, said the pressure was off now moving forward. They don't have to worry about perfection anymore. But, but for that

team and McVeigh to get that team to fight back in that game, I mean, we did, you pointed out, the Saints got a little conservative on offense and, you know, kind of took their foot off the gas. But I did think it was impressive that the Rams stayed in that game and made it a game late. And until Thomas and those guys really, really, that 72-yard touchdown, of course, ended it. But I was impressed with the Rams ability to bounce back. That's good for a team that last year in the playoffs, obviously was one and done and a team that, you know, some people are questioning still their mental toughness despite their dominance, but I thought they showed a little bit of that in New Orleans.

I definitely, I think anybody who questions the Rams mental toughness haven't watched them on tape. They're mentally tough. Their offensive lines, they're mentally tough team. I mean, I think Sean McVeigh has taken a step as instead of just being the offensive coordinator sitting on the sideline. I mean, he can see he's trying to become more of a head coach. You can see it. This team's mentally tough. And even though they were behind, they didn't give a.

up. They were in the game. They got all the way back to 35, 35. I thought it was true. This is a game you build on. This is in a game you walk with your head down low. This is a game you build on and you learn from. And there'll be a rematch in this game. And there'll be adjustments to this game and it's going to go on. And I think, you know, when we see this game again sometime in January, we're all going to enjoy it the second time even more than we did the first time. And let's just take a larger picture at that NFC because, you know, most people, we watch that game and we all say to ourselves, well, you know, Those are the two best teams in the NFC. That's probably who we're going to see in the championship game.

We're going to see which one of those teams can make it to the Super Bowl. But when you pull back a little bit, we just watched the Falcons go in. I mean, they were at a position where it seemed like their season may be over. They've completely bounced back. We've seen Matt Ryan look like the MVP version of himself again. I mean, they dominated that Washington team. You know, Washington gets their second 24-point loss of the season, despite their defense having some really good moments as well. The Panthers take on the Buccaneers get a division win.

Curtis Samuel, you know, gets back involved in that offense. You just see more and more weapons coming out. Obviously, Greg Olson was great. And this one, the Panthers dominate. Cam Newton looks great. And, you know, they're six and two at this point. And that NFC South, those three teams in general, they're all battling for home field, as they were last year.

And whoever is able to jockey up front and keep that home field advantage, especially for the New Orleans Saints in that dome, then you have a nice path to the NFC championship game at least. And then you talk about the Eagles that are going to be involved. Just the NFC in general, there are so many teams that you could convince yourself or talk yourself into them being the right fit or the perfect team to make this run, despite the Saints being probably the front runner right now. But just the playoff picture there, it's going to be so up and down. And you said the Cowboys were a roller coaster. This is a fun roller coaster because we're not really sure how it's going to end or we're not going to see who's on top until we get in the nitty gritty of December.

But as it stands at the midseason point, the Panthers, the Saints, the Rams, even the Falcons are a sneaky team. And, you know, even Washington can be frisky. Even the bears with their defense. And obviously the Vikings are a team that sort of got lost in the shuffle. But overall, that whole NFC, there are so many different ways that it can play out and so many teams that are hitting their stride at the right point. No doubt. And I think this, look, the Rams, even though they lost the game and they're, you know, they have, obviously they don't have home field advantage at this point. I think eventually they're going to get it because the Saints, you know, the Saints have a tough schedule coming up.

I mean, the Saints have some tough games. And so, you know, when you look at it and you see. it and you see what they have to do and who they have to face. They, you know, it's not an easy road ahead for the Saints. I mean, they've got some tough games as they go forward. You know, they got SINCII, then they play Philly. They have Carolina twice within the, you know, they play Carolina in December 17th, then they come back and play this Carolina in the last game of the season.

So, you know, and in between that, but you know, they got Sincey, Philly, Atlanta. Then they got Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Carolina. I mean, that's hard. I mean, if they go 12 and 4, that's a great year with that schedule remaining. seriously. And so I think the NFC, the NFC South will beat up on one another. And that'll create the Rams to really have a better situation because let's face it, the Rams don't, you know, I mean the Rams have, you know, they've got Seattle this week. Then they go to Mexico City to play Kansas City tough game. Then they got Detroit win. Chicago, they'll beat Chicago. Philly will be a tough game, Arizona, San Francisco.

Where are you going to, you know, the Rams aren't going to lose more than three games. There's no way. There's just no way. You know, and the, and the Saints, they got a whole. hope they don't lose, you know, they've got a tough road ahead. So look, I think the Saints can still win the South. There's no doubt. I think the Saints can be the number two seed. There's no doubt. But in terms of ultimate home field advantage, you're right.

There's too many good teams in the South for the Saints to be able to offset the Rams. Absolutely. And that obviously benefits the Rams and gets them in the right position. But, you know, just playing at home for Los Angeles doesn't necessarily mean to win or give them the boost that it may give you if you're playing down in the Superdome. One thing I wanted to point about the Saints that got reported about. by Sheffielder today was they're going to work out Des Bryant and bring him in. And you talked about being content as a contender and what that can mean for a team and a franchise where it can become stagnant.

I watched the Houston Rock Rockets play last night. I watched them play here in Indianapolis. And that's a contender that seems to be a little content with where they are. I mean, they ended up winning that game late. But it seems almost like going through the motions waiting for the playoffs. Sean Payton and the Saints team, they have been active. They've been trying to add guys. They've been, you know, trading for guys at Bridgewater.

probably the one we point to the most. Just a way for them to prove that they're not willing to be what they are. They want to improve and get better. But bringing a guy like Des in just shows that they're trying to add more pieces because they know how deep that NFC is. Yeah. And I think this, and I said it when Des got cut, I thought the perfect place for Des is New Orleans, because Des is skill set right now is more conducive to be a big tight end,

a big inside slot. To me, if Des sign. Jimmy Graham. He could be Jimmy Graham, but really he could be Marquis. Colston. Remember him from Hofstra? Yeah, Marcus Colston. I think he could be that inside guy. That's really his position right now. And I think that's what Sean's thinking about. Can we add this piece in there to give us another weapon inside in the middle of the field to kind of offset, you know, help Benjamin Watson and help

some of those guys. Look, their offensive line is playing so good right now that they're knocking people off the ball. They push the Rams around in that game. I mean, they beat the Rams up up front. you know Donald is still a great player sue you can't hear from my fouler got a sack of the game but you know once he got once armstay got his hands on him he pushed him right by the passer uh look i i just think they're being smart about what they're trying to you can't be you can't be a content contender you always have to be a hungry contender the patriots are still hungry the patriots keep working out guys change their roster but you know some teams just think they're going to go with what they have you know why they do that though because i think it ultimately

comes down to laziness, Tate Fraser, is because when you bring a guy in now, you've got to spend time teaching them your system. You've got to spend time. You can't go watch the World Series. You've got to spend time teaching them your system. You've got to come in and put the extra hours in and really have a coach just specifically spending time with him and working with him and just devote all the hours to him because what good is it if you don't invest the time into them? But I think the Saints do that and that's why they're so successful. And let's talk about a team in an AFC who always is willing to invest the time and invest the man hours and watch the tape and do whatever it takes. And that's New England Patriots on Sunday night football taking on Aaron Rogers.

We got Rogers first Brady, a lot of eyes on this game. And I think the real star in this game ended up being the Patriots defense in that front floor. They got a lot of pressure on Rogers. And the Patriots were able to escape with a 3117 win. And now the questions are coming in with the Packers. Do they have a chance to make a run of the postseason? Now they're three, four, and one on the year. Obviously, we just discussed how deep this NFC is in the first place.

but was the big takeaway for you, Lombardi, that defense of the Patriots? That was the first thing they jumped out to me and how they got to Rogers. Yeah, I mean, look, they did a great job, so much better than they have in the past of controlling Rogers in the pocket. They held Rogers to just slightly over six yards per pass attempt, which is critical, you know, and they did, and they dared Rogers to keep trying to run the ball. They dared them in there to run the ball. I mean, Aaron Jones has got 14 carries for the game, 76 yards. for some reason, you know, Mike McCarthy wants to play Williams and get him involved. And yet, you know, that's fine.

But, you know, you've got to find a back. And of course, it's 1717 and Jones fumbles. But situational football, to me, was won by the Patriots. The Patriots went into the game saying, look, where are we going to get chunk plays from? How are we going to make big plays? So they get a 37-yard reception from White. They get a 33-1 from Edelman. Edelman makes a pass for 37 yards to White.

I mean, that's the big play. and then Josh Gordon gets behind the defense, one play. They made chunk plays. And then Cordell Patterson, I mean, look, I mean, Cordell Patterson has always been an extremely gifted player with the ball in his hand. He's hard to tackle. Okay. The problem has been is having him learn the offense well enough to be or have a role

as a receiver or have a role in some aspect. He's not been smart enough or had enough teaching to really develop. It didn't happen to Minnesota. It didn't happen in Oakland. And the Raiders just let him go basically for nothing. And the Patriots take him. They realize he's hard to tackle. He improves their kickoff return team immediately, right?

He improves that. And secondly, he gives them, they put him in the backfield. And you know he probably doesn't know any of the protections. Like he doesn't know Rip or Liz. He doesn't know any of the protections. Brady probably tells him, you've got to block this guy. But they give him the ball and he's got 11 carries for 61 yards. in the game and he looks like in terms of the back, he looks like the best back on their team.

I mean, he does. He looks like the best back on their team. You know, and so not that Sonny Michelle is not a good player. This kid's hard to tackle. Sonny Michelle is going to make you miss and be quick and all that. This kid's a load to tackle. And I don't think we've seen, though, even when Michelle comes back, I don't think you've seen the last of Patterson at running back.

Yeah. Ironically enough, they're playing against the, you know, the Packers who everyone gave them the, you know, the shrug, you know, the wide. I'd look when they put Montgomery wearing number 88 in the back field. Obviously, they traded him away not too long ago. But when they were doing that, people were confused. And I was want to give credit to a guy that I saw do that before anyone, Lombardy, at least in my lifetime.

And that was John Shoup. You know, John Shoup's a high school teacher in North Carolina now. I sent him a copy of my book. Love John Shoop. He was with me at the Raiders. I'll tell you great John Shoup's story. So John Shoup's, the tight end coach at the Raiders. And we just taught, and he was in the interview room when we interviewed.

Art Shell. He's my witness there when we interviewed Art Shell. And Art Shell was up on the blackboard trying to describe the Blitz and all that. It just didn't go very well. That's a long story. I don't really want to share that one. But anyway, then Shoup went into a meeting. We had to meet with Tom Walsh, the bed and breakfast owner, former offensive coordinator

of the Raiders that Art was going to hire as his offensive coordinator. So he and I go back in the room. We go back in this offensive meeting room. And Shoup staying on the staff as the tight end coach. He was the wide receiver. He was the quarterback coach. So we go in the back room. And so John asked the question, Tom, what do you think of outroutes? And the clock read 745 in the room. At 8.10, I got up and I went back to my office. Okay. And I needed to get some things done off my desk. At 850, I came back,

and I sat back in the same chair and Schupe looked at me and said, I have yet to say a word. Walsh went an hour and five minutes talking about, well, you know, you can throw this out this way. And if you can't throw it out way, that way, you can throw it that way. He just went on. And it was like, and Schupe looked at me like, save me, save me. And I had to get him out of the room. So I've always loved John Schoop. I've always, I've always, John Schupe is my witness for what happened during that time. And he knows the real story. And I always appreciate the great John Schupe. I'm sure John Schupe said, what about a jet sweep, though? that would have blown Tom Walsh's mind. Tom Walsh was one of these guys. It was never the players fall. It was never the coaches fall.

It's just how the players took your information. It was one of the most bizarre years of my entire life. It was so bizarre. You know what we call that now? We call that the Jerry Jones. I got to be honest with you, Tate Frazier. I would love to just watch the Cowboys

how they operate for like a month. Like I would love to go down. I mean, obviously my book and how the Cowboys run are diametrically completely different, right? And so, because the Cowboys aren't about culture. They're about players. And so, but I would love to just, because Jerry is so charming. And he, and as Bill Parcells eloquently put to me one time, he said, you know, he could talk a cat off the top of a fish truck. And he was there last night when he was going over the Amari Cooper trade. He was talking that cat right off that fish truck. And that's Jerry's, you know, that's why Jerry is

and we, we appreciate everything that Jerry, you know, brings to the table. And I'm glad we got a nice John Shoup story on this podcast because it was well deserved. And if you haven't watched it. We could have a John Shoup Hour, Tate Fraser. There's so many from that year. We could have a John Shoup Jim McElwain Hour because those are my two saving graces of that year. And then, of course, the defensive staff, too, Don Martindale and Rob Ryan and Chuck Pagano, those guys saved me. But that was awesome. Lombardi, you know that that was when North Carolina, we had Pagano and we had John Shoup and we had Butch Davis all together while I was there. It was a great time. I know. And Matthew, my son, I was there. Matthew, my son was dying to get into North

Carolina. We went down there, spent some time with the Shoups and tried to get him in school there. And, you know, it's so hard, as you know, to get into North Carolina as an out of state, out of state. But, you know, anyway, it was awesome. I mean, they had to go. Look at Butch. I know we got killed by Florida Atlantic this week. But But Butch has got Florida International going. I mean, Butch can get you going. I don't know if Butch can keep you going, but Butch can get you going. As he's been called, he's De Niro and Casino, and he makes it happen. He is a CEO.

You know, Hughes said that he didn't know how to be a CEO. Just go follow Butch Davis around, and you'll figure out how to be a CEO of a football team. All right, before we move on, let's take a quick break. Did you get the Yahoo Sports Mobile app yet? Are you ready for live football on your phone? With the Yahoo Sports mobile app, you get live, local, and primetime NFL games all season long. Never miss your local game. Never miss a big national.

matchup. All you need is the Yahoo Sports app. Seriously, go get the app. It's your ticket to watching live NFL games wherever you want. It's all football and all yours. Watch live NFL games on the Yahoo Sports mobile app now. And also let me tell you about Hotel Tonight. Here's a little insider travel secret from our friends at Hotel Tonight. There are tons of empty hotel rooms out there just waiting to be booked. And Hotel Tonight is partnered with these awesome hotels to help them sell those unsold rooms, which means you get incredible deals. Seriously, if you love scoring amazing deals, you've got to try Hotel Tonight. Forget scrolling through never-ending lists. Hotel Tonight shows you a select list of incredible deals at cool hotels they think you'll love, and they

even give short profiles of each hotel, complete with all the info you need and pictures of what the rooms really look like. Plus, even though their name's Hotel Tonight, they're not just for last-minute bookings. You can also book in advance. Perfect for spontaneous weekend, getaways, three-day weekends, staycations, road trips, business trips, booking a place with a pool, and more. And let me just tell you, I am in Indianapolis, Indiana right now. And I did not have a hotel book, so we had to use Hotel Tonight. And I appreciate Hotel Tonight for making it happen. So to start scoring amazing deals at incredible hotels, go to Hotel Tonight.com or download

the app now, back to GM Street. All right, and we are back. Again, we are at the mid-season point in the NFL. It's a very exciting time. We've got, you know, mid-season awards are coming out. We, of course, do awards every single week here on this Tuesday edition. We do Lombardi's big time reactions, which you just heard from the weekend. And then we give out our awards.

The first award that we have is time to go on the lamb, get out of Dodge, run away. Don't go in. If Jerry asked you to come to his office late in the afternoon on a Friday, and it's got to be the clapper, right? Lombardi, he deserves this. He's earned it. Yeah, no doubt. He's got to go on land.

But I have a question for you, Tate Frazier. You know, I had a rant like about two weeks ago, wondering what Hugh Jackson does on Tuesday. do you think Hugh Jackson's Tuesday this Tuesday is any different than his typical Tuesday was during the league? No catered lunch. That's all that's different. No catered lunch today.

That's it. There you go. Thank you. Anyway, I mean, look, if you're the Clapper, you've got to sit there and figure out how you're going to win these games. I mean,

your career is at a crossroad. I mean, look, they've, you know, you got Philly coming up. And Philly, you know, Philly is rested.

Wentz is healthy, getting healthier. Their defense, Tim Jernie. started practicing, that's a problem. You got to figure out this Connor Williams thing because he's not playing very good. And people put their best rusher over on you. And you got to come up with a different idea for Dak Prescott because it ain't working.

So either you go on the lamb and figure it out or you're just going to keep getting the same results. Good news is there is no World Series still going on. So he will have to be at the facility. Well, maybe he'll go to a MAVS game one night, you know? And maybe some of those guys that are defending them can enjoy them at the MAVS game. That'd be perfect. That'd be good. Mark Cuban and the clapper sit next to each other.

That'd be fun. good for entertainment. The next award we have, we have the Fred Palamara Award for this week. And who do you have for this one? I got to give it to the Steelers. Look, I think James Connor has been a great story.

You know, and let me, can I go on a Levyon Bell rant for a second? Is there a dumber holdout in all of freaking sports than Leveon Bell? I mean, seriously. Could you have a dumber hold out? Seriously.

Like, what do you think you're getting out of this? You're just taking $7 million and putting it in the pit, right? You're just throwing it in the ocean. Take the $7 million and give it to your favorite. charity, please. Like, you just saved, here's what you just did for the, you just did for the Steelers. You saved them $7 million of cash and you allowed them to answer the question of who your

replacement is. Now, how do you win in that situation? How do you win with that one? Maybe his win is resting for free agency. He's trying to, I think, I think he and Jimmy Butler sort of have the same. Yeah, but how is he, Treyfraiser, you're a smart guy. You're a Val Victorian. How is he getting his $7 million back?

He's not. Like, how is he? getting that back? How does he replace? How do you take $7 million and just treat it with no respect at all? That's the confusing part. You got to respect the thing. You got to respect the coin. Yes. Yes, sir. Yep. I mean, like, how do you get the $7 million back? You don't. Like, you just don't get it. Like, it just doesn't come back to you. And not only do you get, not only did you save the team that you're pissed off at, seven million dollars, they're happy as shit, right? Then you've also allowed another guy to come in and play in your place and

take your job from you. Because I'll give you the news, Take Frazier right now. Lavian Bell's never playing in 2019 for the Steelers. It ain't happening. I don't know if I were Mike Tomlin, I don't know if I would dress them for the rest of the year. I'd make them inactive. I'd make them inactive. I say, look, we don't need your ass around here. You know, we don't need you. I'm not giving you any job back. You know, these guys have been here since July. You show up here in week 10 to collect your money. You're just all about the money. Why don't you just stand over there and collect your money and we'll figure this out? But what happens if he doesn't, so he has to sign his tender, right, this week, or he won't get paid anything for this year?

He has to sign a tender by the 10th week of the season to get an accrued season or else he has to do this all over again. Okay. So look, I mean, nobody was more pissed off than Earl Thomas, right? Earl Thomas was pissed off. He had a contract. But Earl Thomas was smart enough to know that I got to come get my checks. Like, I'm not giving money away and being stupid. This is just plain stupid.

Like, this is plain stupid. Like, come in, get your $14 million. Get it all. Put it in the bank. Invest it. What are you getting at? Like, who's advising this? Oh, here's our strategy.

We're going to hold out for 10 weeks. And then they're not going to franchise us next year. And then we're going to go out and we're going to make $45 billion in free agency. Like, seriously? Seriously, who's advising them this? The question to me is, is there a team that is tampered with? Levyon that has told him they are going to give him that big contract. Lock and four are reported and Locker four is wired in the Steelers organization.

Whatever, you know, he's wired in that building. They didn't get any phone calls. Nobody, look, one thing about the NFL, every team has their own problems. They don't want your problems too. And they don't want your problems plus paying seven plus paying a bunch of money. So like, that's just not reality. And so like he's going to be a free agent and he's a really good player. But I thought Don Martindale had the greatest quote of all that

Conner's better than him and that's why the kids staying on jet skis in Miami. I mean, I mean, Martindale saw it on the tape. I saw it on the tape. Conner's played better. Conner, not that, but at this point, this isn't like we're just going to sign this guy and he's going to turn it on. No, he's not going to turn it on. He's going to pull a hamstring when he comes in. He's going to have quad tightness. He hasn't had pads on in six months. You think he's just going to, oh, I'm Superman. I'm showing up. Give me a break, will you? Stupid. Just stupid. I mean, look, I think he should get as much money as you can as players. Fight for it. Get it, right?

But don't be stupid. Don't piss $7 million away. Don't be dumb. Yep. And the deadline is November 13th. All reports say that Leveon is not going to be reporting to Steelers to the Steelers brass to try to figure out anything before the Thursday night game like a lot of people had originally thought. So that's really the date. November 13th, keep an eye on that and we'll see what happens with Leveon and what's next.

If he comes in, I'm sure the Steelers get an exact. they'll get an exemption for him. I'd keep him on exempt for two weeks. I would ignore them. I would use the law of threes, just like Coach Dale did in the movie Hoosiers. Just treat them like Jimmy Chitwood. Ignore them.

You're right there in Indiana. Treat them like Jimmy Chitwood. Just ignore them. If you don't want to play, no big deal. You can go. No worries. We'll play with four. We don't need your ass.

And it seems like that's pretty much where we're at with Rathustberger saying that at this point. We've had Mike Tomlin come out and say that. James Conner's been pretty great about not really saying anything one way or the other, just putting his head down and playing football. But that's kind of the kid he is and has always been. So that's the situation in Pittsburgh, but they are winning football games. I mean, they're going in one direction.

The Ravens are going in another direction. And can I ask you something? Can't the Ravens do something more with Lamar Jackson than just run read option? I mean, seriously. I mean, you know, we're in week nine. Can't they do something more? I saw Harbaal say today they need to have a more expansive package. Really?

Really? Jeez, that's a shock. You know, like Joe Flacco's killing you. Flacco is not making any plays. Your defense is playing too many plays. You've been in training camps since the 1st of July. Your team's exhausted. You need some life.

It's pretty clear. You need life. You need juice. This kid will give you a little bit of juice. Maybe he'll make some plays. Maybe he won't. But you're going to find out you're four and five. You got too good of a team to be four and five.

I don't think you got a great team, but you got a team that's better than four and five. You let a game get away in Cleveland. You let a game, you know, you're supposed to be a favorite going down to Carolina. That was a joke. Right. This week against Pittsburgh, a team who gained 450 yards on the last time you played them, you can't get anything. I mean, everybody thinks Alex Collins is this great running back. Alice Collins is a nice back. He's a second back. He's a straight line back. You don't have a running game. You can't run the ball. Your offense coordinator refuses to call any setup, any runs. And your quarterback's a play action pass. Play action pass quarterback. And you're wondering why you're not winning. Like, seriously, you wonder why you're not winning. All right. Next up, as we are prone to do, we're going to talk about the KGB award, the team that got snuck up on this. week, Lombardi, who do you have there? I mean, the Falcons, look, the Falcons were a good matchup this week. You know, I think oftentimes people that bet games, and you know, I do that betting across America, and they always have these things called trends and all that. But this game was a game

that kind of jumped out at me in the sense that the matchup was so bad for Washington. Washington secondary is not very good. They can't cover. They're not, they're not able to play man to man. And if you can block their front, you got a chance. And I thought Matt Ryan would make plays in this game, and they snuck up on them. And then add the fact that the Redskins offense is not very good. It's a run-based offense. then they lose linemen in the game. I mean, the Redskins are really hurting right now. I mean, if you're going to think the Redskins are going to turn this around anytime soon,

I mean, they lose their starting guards in Sharif and Lerro. You know, they lost Paul Richardson for the season. I mean, they're signing guys off of the street this time of the year. You know, they go down to Tampa. You know, Tampa's going to move the ball on them. They're not going to cover Tampa. And Tampa's defensive line probably will play better this week against a really bad offensive line for Washington.

So I think Atlanta did a great job. out. Atlanta's right now sitting as the seventh seed. They're four and four. They're still in this thing, right? And if they can fix some of their defense problems, they got a chance. And even when I discussed the NFC, the depth of the NFC, I mean, you have the Seahawks and the Falcons, two teams with two quarterbacks who have done a lot in the playoffs, sitting there right on the verge of being able to hop back in the race and really be one of those teams to contend in the playoffs, obviously. And the one good news is you just brought up all the problems in Washington.

If you are a Cowboys fan and you were on Jerry's side and you are an optimist at heart, then you have to say to yourself, that's the team that's leading our division right now, and they have a bunch of problems. So if the Eagles can't bounce back and Washington falls, the wayside, I guess we do have a chance to make a run. Absolutely. You know, maybe they do, but I just don't say, if they don't improve, look, if they don't

improve, they're not going to, you know, it's about how you're playing. And it's not about where you're going, and they got a tough schedule ahead of them. They're going to have to find a way to play a lot better for them to get more than seven wins. And I think they'll get six wins. I think they'll have six, between six and seven wins. And that ain't going to be good enough to get to the playoffs. That's not good enough for the playoffs in the NFC for sure. Last one we have here.

If you don't know, now you know, Lombardi, what do we know? that Vance Joseph cannot manage a game. I mean, what he did at the Denver game. Now, I admit, okay, I thought on GM Street, I thought Denver would win this game, because I thought that they would, Denver's defense would be able to control the game with their defensive front, which they did. They held them the 19 points, okay, and I thought that, you know, they would struggle to find guys open, and I thought they could move the ball. And Vance Joseph decides he was very giving at the end of the first half.

he felt it was necessary to give the Houston Texans three points. He sits there with 23 seconds left to go in the game, and he attempts a 61-yard field goal with the Texans having two timeouts left. So how many times on GM Street have I said you never look at the clock? You divide the amount of plays remaining into the clock. Six into 23, you're going to get four plays. So if we miss this field goal, the Texans will have the ball with four plays. they have two timeouts to get in a field goal range.

You don't make that call. You don't make that call. Naturally, what does he do? He misses the kick. They get a three points at the end of the half. That gift, a complete gift, a total gift at the end of the half. Thank you very much, Vance Joseph. Now, since I'm so giving, he's the Monty Hall of the NFL.

I'm so giving, okay? At the end of the game, he's coming down there. And on fourth and I think it was fourth and 12, Sanders makes a great play. Keno makes a great throw. They convert a first down. now all of a sudden they are in field goal range, field goal range loosely. Field goal range doesn't mean we're going to make the field goal. So he exchanges five yards for 30 seconds, saves his timeout, and they attempt a 51 yarder.

Instead of trying to get 20 yards closer to ensure you're going to make the field goal and win the game, Vance decides 51's good enough, we'll just put it on Brandon McManus and see if he can do it. And he loses the game. And of course, I lost my bet, which had made me upset, not that I put it, any money on it because I never bet any money. But, you know, it's what I should have had at least a push in the game, right? And so naturally, you know, he does it.

Like at some point, and John Elway's talking about how, you know, he's not, he's not making any changes during the season, obviously, because who's going to make head coach? But I think the Vance Joseph administration is coming to an end and it'll be probably the day after the season because there's no chance. There's no chance. If you read what DeMarius Thomas said today and you watch the games, what we're seeing, we know there's chaos in that building. And you saw the chaos.

I mean, there was this video that got circulated around on Twitter that was pulled from the game. But Bill O'Brien's running in the locker room and he said, thanks, Vance, you effing idiot. And you know, you see stuff like that and you see reactions from players. And you see him ice the kicker, which led to a made field goal, which ends up being the difference in the game heading in halftime. And you can tell that there's some problems. I do want to ask, though, just from a larger picture. I mean, Jerry comes out and says he's not going to make any changes during this. season. John Elway obviously comes out says he's not going to make any changes during the season.

Is there a chance we see another head coach fired this season or is everything going to happen after the season? I mean, look, I think Dirk Codd is certainly a candidate to get fired during the season. I think there's no doubt about that. I mean, I thought, you know, they rallied back. But the problem you have when you fire the coach is you basically take the players off the hook. Everybody thinks things were going to change in Cleveland because Hughes's gone. And somebody reported that Cleveland had the three best practices of the year when Hugh wasn't there. And they got smoked. They got smoked by Kansas City, you know. And so not that not everybody gets, everybody gets smoked by Kansas City, but, you know, that's such a fallacy because the players

are off the hook. Now it was just the coach why we lost. And then there's chaos in the building. The coaches start worrying about where they're going to gain employment, where their kids are going to go to school in the spring. There's so many things that just trickle down that affected. Unless you appoint a coach to say, okay, Marve Levy is not the interim coach. He is the head coach replacing Hank Bula and he's going to be here next year, you're not going to get anybody's attention. And that's really what most teams can't do. So I think firing the coach isn't always the recipe to have any success. It doesn't turn things around because if he wins like Ed Arsoron won, now you got to hire him. Now you got to hire him. And you keep them and are you better off

or would you be better off on the search? Yeah. Don't get caught up in the moment with those things. You can't look at it as just one move. It's really chess. You have to look at it as if I do this, what's my next move and what's my move after? And I think that that becomes very nebulous. And you can't really answer those questions right now. So you're better off just playing it through. And that's what Van's Joe. I mean, Van Gogh is going to coach the remainder of the season or until the final game.

I think some of these guys will get fired a week before the season ends because I think that'll allow the front offices to start vetting candidates without having to do it behind somebody's back. But I promise you, they're vetting candidates in Denver. They're vetting candidates in Tampa Bay right now because they know they're going to make changes. is Jerry vetting candidates in New Orleans and Dallas? Well, look, we know he loves that Sean Peyton would love to go back there. Would they be willing to give up a draft pick to bring Sean Peyton back?

I don't know. That would be the smartest thing Jerry could do if he didn't. We know he loves Lincoln Riley. Will he go up to Oklahoma and try to hire Lincoln Riley? I don't know. But to me, you know, those are the two candidates for Dallas. I don't think you need to look any further. Is there a chance that, you know, Jason Garrett gets promoted within the Dallas Cowboys organization

and moves up somewhere like in the front office? and some sort of capacity and they go after a Lincoln Riley to be the head coach? There's no doubt. I think they love, I mean, Jason's part of their family. I think, you know, look. Exactly. You know, he's 70, what you say? 70, 58 and one in his career.

You know, he's had two real winning seasons. He's lost, she's had one playoff win and two losses. I mean, the team never seems to get better. They can't get over the hump. But, you know, once you're in that family, you're in. It's a little bit like the mafia. Once you get in, you're in, you know? And so I don't see him getting out.

I really don't. Do I think Jason will go somewhere? Carlson coach, no chance. No chance. I could see Jason do TV. I could see that. But I could, you know, I think then he would have to call plays and be more involved and, you know, they don't cater to them. Right now in Dallas, they've done everything he wants to do. It's got an offense cord, I got defense cordial. But, you know, he doesn't have to do anything. He's the CEO. He's a CEO. I think Pitch Davis might be a better pick in, in Dallas. There's no doubt. There's no doubt he would be. I mean, he would be because Butch would, which would be able to recruit some. Butch would, one thing Bucch can do is find talent. That's really critical. And he could. So. So. So look, I don't see, you know, I don't see it. But I think those, that's the situation you face. Who are they going to promote? Who are you going to promote in Denver? The defense coordinator who's, you know,

are you going to promote Bill Musgrave as your head coach? You can't do that. It's too hard. Yeah, there's no one on that staff endeavor. I mean, it seems like it'll be a total new regime. I want to see if, uh, if some of these guys, some of these coaches, um, like a Shaw McVeigh or Sean Payton get, you know, a John Gruden, like offer from, you know, one of these teams that, you know, like Denver or Dallas that trying to go after

that's Sean McBay. rumor is all created by Bob Lamont, the agent for Shaw McVeigh. Sean McVeigh is on a contract. He can't go anywhere, but he needs a raise. He definitely needs a raise. He deserves a raise. He deserves a raise.

I mean, but, but, but Lamont is one of the great PR people in the world and he controls so much of the media, you know, and he feeds stories and stories get out there and he does a great job of, of making the average fan think something that can't really happen, the people that know, but McVeigh deserves a raise. I mean, he's a great coach. The Rams, the Rams are building a new. stadium. You know, they need Shaw McVey more than anybody else to go in there because if they lose Sean McVey, we might, golf might not be as good, you know, the offense might not be as good.

He's got them. And Sean McBae should make as much as he could make. Because if you're the CEO of a $2 billion industry, paying you $15 million really isn't a lot of money. It's really not. We can talk about John Gruden being overpaid. Look, John's running the franchise. 10 million is not a lot of money. Maybe 10 years is too long, but not a lot of money. But he's got to earn it. He's got to prove it. He can't be the offensive coordinator. He's got to be the CEO and run the whole team. And I think that's what McVeigh. That's why you get that. Now, Sean Payton, for example, hey, Sean Payton, you got to be willing to match the demands of Mickey Loomis. What Mickey Loomis is going to ask for Sean Payton at the end of the year, whether it's a one or a two,

whatever it is, you should pay it. Because I'm telling you, Tate Fraser, the longer I'm in this, the coach is as valuable, if not more than the quarterback. And if the coach is great, which Peyton is great, he can move the ball on anybody. You pay it. Yes, as you say, Lombardi, I mean, sometimes you just got to pay Peyton, whether it's Peyton Manning, Sean Payton, whatever Peyton it is. You just got to pay Walter Payton, any Peyton, just pay them if they're delivering the goods for your team.

And Sean Payton has been doing that, and we saw it, you know, in front of the entire world because I think a lot of people were watching that Rams Saints came to see if the Rams could hold on to being an undefeated and perfect team. and again, Sean Payton delivered. Again, we appreciate everyone who continues to listen to GM Street. We will be back on Friday to do Lombardi's five games lookout for for Week 9. Again, thanks for listening, and we will see you on Friday. Thank you.

Thanks again to Hotel Tonight by showing you top-rated hotels with unsold rooms. Hotel Tonight makes it easy to book your stay at an amazing rate. And even though their names Hotel Tonight, you can book in advance. Perfect for spontaneous weekend getaways, three-day weekends, staycations, road trips, business trips, booking a place with a pool and more. So to start scoring amazing deals at incredible hotels, go to hoteltonight.com or download the app now.