The Ringer NFL Show - Lombardi’s Wild-Card Reactions | GM Street (Ep. 379)

Episode Date: January 8, 2019

The Colts topple the Texans, Dallas outlasts Seattle, the Chargers have a victory in Baltimore, and the Eagles eliminate the Bears. Hosts: Michael Lombardi and Tate Frazier Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer Podcast Network. I'm Liz Kelly. The Rwatchables podcast is officially back and will be coming to you every Tuesday in 2019. The season will kick off on January 8th at The Godfather, and you can catch up on all the recent episodes featuring Tombstone, Conair, and all the president's men. And with The Bachelor back for a new season, be sure to check out Bachelor Party with Juliet Litman for all related news and recaps. You can download and subscribe to both of those shows on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. It's a part of the Ring of Podcast Network. It is Monday, January 7th of the year 2019, and I am joined by the great Mr. Michael Lombardi. Lombardi, how you doing? Dave Brasier, I'm great. I am great. Big games tonight, you know, wow, four good games, pretty good games all the weekend. I mean, this is fun.

I mean, this has been fun so far. It's going to keep getting fun. Yeah, and it was Wild Card Week, and we promise you that we would come back and give Lombardi all of your reactions to everything that occurred. You mentioned that there were three good games, one, not so good game, but it was good for the Indianapolis. Colts, I assume that you're talking about that game. We're probably just going to do this in chronological order as we work through Wildcard Weekend. So we will start with that first game. Colts win 21 to 7.

Andrew Luck looks like he is back in full form. No punts in the first half for the Colts. And pretty much across the board, I mean, goes 19 for 32, 22 yards, two touchdowns, one pick. And had everything rolling. We saw Deshaun Watson sort of running for his life a little bit. That offensive line struggled. A lot of people asking about Bill O'Brien and what that future looks like in Houston with Deshawn and Bill O'Brien and what are they going to do about that offensive line.

But all in all, all those questions, what did you see in this game between these two AFC South rivals, Lombardy? You know, on Friday, Watson has to play 14 on third down. What's that? Yeah, and you could see, I mean... And you just got to accept it. And if you look at the numbers in this game, DeShon Watson goes 29 for 49, like you mentioned, 235 yards, one touchdown, one interception.

The real problem was Hopkins in this game, was sort of missing in action, called five passes, only 37 yards. So you pointed all that sort of stuff out, but I want to go back to what you said about Frank Reich because we saw after this game, they gave us the inside the locker room with the Colts. And Frank Reich, you know, it was very stoic. And the way that he was leading that locker room, you could see everyone was locked in on what he was saying. He said, you know, this is just another chapter. You got to go paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, word by word, to create a story for themselves. And you could see it was, you know, sort of

leaning into that underdog mentality that we saw in Philadelphia and continue to see this season, actually. So that was all good. And then we saw Jim Ursay come in. Did you see this when he, when he came in and gave his... Oh, I love it. Yeah, did that hype you up? I mean, that was something else. I think Frank Gregg was like, please, just let me get the last word here. Well, I mean, I kind of felt like, you know, I just, you know, it's all out in the open now. So I appreciate him being honest, if that was anything. I mean, maybe that's good for the locker. Yeah, that's what you need to hear. I also wanted to ask you about the third down stuff. You talked about this Colts team and you look at some of these guys like in-men, Ebron, they seem

always know where the sticks are when they're running those routes. And is that something that comes down to coaching and little specific things? And that's just what Frank Reich has been able to bring to that building. Or is it one of those things where if you have a quarterback like Andrew Luck, he's savvy and smart enough in the huddle to say, hey, make sure you get to this yard mark or, you know, before you make the cut or whatever it may be? Or is it just simply things are working out.

And Andrew Luck is making the right throws and the Colts continue to keep it rolling. I mean, they always seem to have the right play called at the right time. I mean, it's just fucking. I mean, it's just fucking. and Julian Davenport for the game. And it did come down to the trenches, which most people pointed out going to this game, because these teams were both so even. A lot of people are looking at draft boards now,

trying to figure out who they're going to bring in to help on that offensive line to kind of protect Deshaun Watson as much as they can. One of the bigger names that has come out is Ole Miss's tackle, Greg Little. So that's something to keep an eye on there. And also, if you just wanted to see a demonstration of how much this game came down to the trenches, just watch that one play where you get the Quentin Nelson, who's a rookie, obviously a guy that's been talked about being possible, the offensive rookie of the year,

pancakes Chadevian Clowny, a guy that's going to be a free agent and get paid a lot of money this offseason. And he just takes him down to the ground. And from there on out, it just seemed like that Colts offensive line had a lot of confidence. And despite going up against Clowny and going up against J.J. Watt, they were able to make things happen. And, you know, kind of run it down their throats a few times. They kicked their ass, pay forayser. I mean, look, let's be way where down. I mean, we talk, they have no depth to dumps and they trade.

You know, and I think when you look over the drafts and a really good player, I mean, I think that's really where they've struck. the most in terms of, you know, I mean, they need guys like that. That will, yeah, step up and play a major role. I mean, I have to ask before we move on to the next game. Is there a world in which Bill O'Brien, it all starts to come, and people start pointing fingers at him,

because I have seen a little bit of that, because Deshaun Watson was not really getting the vitriol, neither was Hopkins, and a lot of people were saying, what's Bill O'Brien doing? And, you know, there have been rumblings and rumors before about his job safety there in Houston. Well, he won the power struggle. Yep, so they're going to, you know, stick with it,

run it back, and they won the division. So as much as people are a little upset in Houston about how it all played out, I mean, the Colts are one of the hottest teams of the NFL right now. So they came down to Houston and made it happen again. Let's stay in Texas as we continue rolling through these wildcard games. Next game we have the Dallas Cowboys win this one. And one of the worst late game covers you'll see in the world of gambling. I'm sure Jim Ursay will tell you about that if you were to ask him.

Cowboys win this one 24 to 22. It was a game where Ezekiel Elliott basically has done what he's been able to do against certain teams, especially teams that are not the. the best at dealing with the run. 17th DVOA for the Seahawks coming in this game. Elliot picks up 137 rushing yards and a touchdown and on 26 carries. Also had four catches for 32 yards. Pretty much was the man in this game.

Dak Press got getting a lot of headlines and a lot of people very proud of him for some of those timely runs late in the game. Had a really big scramble there on a third and 14 that everyone was very excited about. Reached out and got lucky that the ball didn't get hit. So everything worked out well for Dak and for the captain. Cowboys and for the Clapper. Looking at this game, Lombardi, I mean, the Cowboys kept the Seahawks in it somehow, but what was your main takeaway, and do you think there is some confidence and maybe a little bit of momentum coming out of Dallas as they move into the next round?

You know, I do think there's momentum coming in Dallas. I think Dallas played really got Dak involved with the run game, which is what I've been screaming about all year. Dak is that this game was perfectly handicapped, was going to be problematic, and it was. Brian Schott. Yeah, and it's a situation where when you have a guy like Elliot, you know, who was similar to a Levi-on-Bel type, and you got a guy like Dach Prescott, who, you know, at his best of times, can be like a Cam Newton-type player. It's hard to stop, and they basically beat the Seahawks at their own game, being able to possess the football and be able to get in the end zone and make some nice scores.

You mentioned that Seahawks offense, just 11 first downs in this game, out game, 380 to 2199 on the day. That long pass that you talked about was the Tyler Lockett, a 53-yard bomb that didn't. We did not get to see the full replay on that, so that was interesting. There was also some comments that were made after the game about some of the calls, like a non-call and a deep Russell Wilson ball, where a Seattle receiver got knocked down. And, you know, people were pointing to one of the officials who was from Dallas, who was commenting on the game. So there's always just some drama going on in Dallas, as you can only imagine, Lombardi. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, but, Jay, right.

I think there was contact before they made the right call. And I will say, congratulations to Michael Gallup, because I have seen them try to throw that pass to him so many times this year. successfully. And he finally got that touchdown catch. And that was really the difference in the game for the Cowboys. And that was obviously a nice win for the Clapper and for Deck Prescott. And you could see the excitement on all those young guys in Dallas as they move into the divisional weekend. Let's get to the Sunday games. Next game we have, we have the Los Angeles Chargers, aka the Carson Chargers, taking on the Baltimore Ravens. Going into this game, Phil Rivers is very excited to be on the road, enjoys playing on the road. And we saw some of that excitement and some of his behaviors. You know, he chased down a punt to Mark, where, It went out of bounds at one point. We saw him do a delayed first down, you know, reaction to let everybody know that they got the first down after he ran for his longest run of the season.

So it was a lot of fun if you were a Chargers fan in this game. A lot of frustration for Ravens fans, some booze in the crowd as Lamar Jackson struggled to find his footing early on. Later in the game, though, was able to get some stuff going and ended up actually with 194 yards, two touchdowns and just a pick. Looking at this game, Lombardi, the Chargers look like a complete team, and they do look like a team that you have to reckon with as you move into the AFC Championship realm. And Phil Rivers said he knew about the record against Tom Brady, and he was excited to take it on. So when you hear stuff like that,

a lot of confidence coming out of that Chargers bunch. Yeah, and I'm not sure why. I mean, if you would have told me before the game, you know, if you would have told me before the game that the Chargers were going to have 33 carries for 89 yards, that Philip Rinders was going to throw for 160 yards, less than he did the last game, and they were going to score basically,

and they were going to be bad in the red zone. They were going to be one for three in the red zone and one for two in goal line and scored 23 points out of just said, well, I think the Ravens are probably going to win this game. You know, I kept waiting for the charger offense to play better. They never did. And got to credit the Ravens defense.

I mean, the Ravens' defense played well, but this game really came down to, look, I love Lamar. He played horrible. There's no doubt he was inaccurate. I think the offense wasn't very good designed by, but the fact is they couldn't block the charges. I mean, Melvin Ingram was impossible to block. They matched them up on every bad offensive linemen for the Ravens. And I think that's the untold secret of the Ravens.

I think, you know, Ozzie's stepping away as the general manager. I think Eric Acosta comes in and he's, and no one's more politically connected than Eric Acosta. He could control the Southern. I mean, I think DeCosta could get the ball built. I think he's ruining it. I think he could go down to D.C. and figure out some way to stop this work stoppage in the government.

He's so politically well-connected. But that being said, the talent level on this Baltimore team isn't very good. I mean, it's really, we know the older players, the weddells, the thugs, you know, some of these younger, but offensively, they're not very good. And they can't block anybody. Ronnie Stanley's the first-round pick, but hasn't really played very well. You know, and you look at them and you say, wow. And so to me, this game was about the charges,

winning that game up front, going to kick the ass of the Ravens' offensive line. And then that was the story. And then once the Ravens got it going, I mean, it's almost hard to imagine that the Ravens have the ball with 40-some seconds with a chance to win the game. Yeah. I mean, and if Justin Tucker doesn't miss the freaking field goal, they got a chance to tie the game. It was a very – yeah, no, it was a very uncharacteristic afternoon on both sides of the ball where, you know, you've had this, you know, offense for the Los Angeles Chargers

have been able to carry them all season, but they weren't able to figure it out. I mean, you talked about the goal – the first way to get a goal line stand where they ran the ball three times and they don't get in. And then when they do score, Melvin Gordon, the play before that, it almost was returned for a touchdown. But then the ball was down, he was down by contact because Eric Weddow got a piece of his foot. And then, you know, he scores on that fourth down. They go forward on fourth down and they score. But there were so many little moments in that game where it felt like the tide would turn and that Baltimore had a real shot to get a win there.

Lamar was great down the stretch, you know, trying to make some big throws to keep them in the game. And Phil Rivers after the game, you mentioned, you know, they shouldn't be excited. I mean, he wasn't very excited with how they played. I mean, he just basically mentioned that, you know, the reason that they won the game was for everybody else, including the defense and that front seven for them being able to get pressure because they struggled on offense. But again, like you said, I mean, the Ravens are the best, definitely the best defense in the AFC, possibly the best defense in all football at this point. So all in all, it was a very back and forth affair. But Phil Rivers and the Chargers move on. So people were very excited about that in Los Angeles, as you can imagine.

Should we get to the final game, the big story, the one that everyone is freaking out about, the Eagles taking on? to Chicago Bears. Are you ready for that, Lombardy? I'm ready for it, but I think he's got a wheelie. And I got a, you know, Jackson can do. Yeah, and we have seen that before where we get a college coach brought on to be the offensive coordinator. We saw that with Ryan Tannahill down in Miami not too long ago. So there's a chance Petrino could do that. I do want to mention out two other guys in this game that are familiar names. Michael Crabtree called both those garbage time

touchdowns from Lamar. And Antonio Gates had a pretty big day on some big third down plays. So, you know, Phil Rivers at the end of the day still has old reliable in Antonio Gates. So that's something to keep an eye on. move forward. And now let's get to the big showdown of the weekend. Really, a lot of big fans out here, a lot of Eagles fans out here. I was at a place where they were bickering back and forth. You can only imagine what that was like. A lot of emotions. In this game, Eagles down 15 to 10, five minutes remaining. And Nick Foles, I mean, has a chance to conjure up some magic again. And he was able to do so throw into a guy by the name of Dallas Goertert. And then also Nelson

Aguilar was able to make some great plays. Zach Hertz as well. Golden Tate. ends up making the final catch that ends up getting them the win. The Eagles, of course, continue. You know what was interesting about that play tape pretty should not interrupt you? No, no, please. It was fascinating about the last play of the game. It can't get anywhere, right? And so now they turn the exact same play that the Falcons ran on their fourth foot,

and they get the touchdown. The Falcons, Julio Jones runs, you stumbles in the route, and can't make the play. I mean, it's just so ironic, isn't it? They run the same play that the Falcons couldn't run. in the same situation, the same style of game, and on a visiting field, and they win the game. And it was a very eerie situation, too, just because of the score. I mean, it could have, it was 17, 15, 15 when the Falcons ended up losing.

I mean, it could have been the same thing. It ended up being 16, 15 Eagles. But that was because they went for two to make sure that if the Bears did indeed kick a field goal, it would be a tie game, and they don't get that. It was interesting to see Doug Peterson and Nick Foles, again, be able to just make this happen. And I mean, you mentioned the word luck. I mean, a lot of people would point to that. But I don't know.

I mean, it continues to happen. It just seems like once Nick Foles gets locked in, he's not afraid to throw the ball up to Alshon Jeffrey, as I've mentioned plenty of times on this podcast. But they find a way to win and they never look afraid of the moment, no matter what was happening. I mean, the Roquan Smith, that was the one play I wanted to ask you about and what you thought about that when. He wrestles the ball away from Smallwood and runs it back for a touchdown. They say he's down by contact. It was pretty bang, bang play at that point. they didn't blow the play dead there, which was good.

And then we have the long pass play where Trubisky links up downfield, and they go and review it. They say that it was, in fact, the catch because he made a football move, took about four or five steps. But then they blew the play dead when he fumbles and the ball is stripped, and the ref ends up picking it up. And you mentioned that you agreed with that decision. But what's the point of ever blowing the play dead in any of these situations? Because we do have the reviews.

We do have the challenges. Everything is there to be reviewed after the fact. So why blow a play dead? and basically, I don't know, I mean, it played a big impact in this game because the bears don't get the ball down there and have a chance to score a touchdown. Yeah, I mean, look, they were the only ones around the football. So it goes both ways there. The back judge is coming in and he's still going incomplete. So why pick up the ball?

I mean, if they would have given the bears, that would have been jacking for a freezer. Yeah, a field goal. I mean, they got a field goal. I mean, and they were, you know, they were able to scramble. And they did. I did see a lot of people responding and saying, you know, if you want to be the best, you got to beat the best. But when you have the choice maybe not to play the best and you are in control of your destiny a little bit and you can play a division rival, a team that you've had their calling card this whole season, I don't know. Maybe you make that decision. That's really what it came down to. And maybe there's a little bit of bravado that came in there where the bears thought that they were good enough. It didn't matter who they played. But you saw in this game the Eagles had been there before. They were not afraid of the moment. And Nick Foles delivers again. I mean, despite throwing two picks in this game, one of them was that Roquan Smith ripped interception. But he continued to make big plays and big throws. And that offensive. line. You talked about the defensive line for the Eagles, the offensive line, same thing. I mean,

Jason Kelsey and these guys, I mean, they're keeping Nick Full standing up and he's able to stand in the pocket and make throws down the field. And that really made the difference in this game against that Bears' defense. It really did. It really did take pressure. I mean, you know, and they had a nice plan. They got off to a good start. They got the field goal. They executed on third down and they were able to make some plays. But for me, I think when you watch it, you know, and look, I've said it all year. I think the Bears are a really good team. think they got better. They've managed Trubisky much better.

And you can say whatever you want. When you watch the game and they're going to say all the right things about Mitchell, but they didn't want Mitchell to affect them. And the guy tried to throw three interceptions. I mean, seriously. I mean, one interception in the end zone, hit the kid between the numbers, you know? And they've done a good now. Will they get better?

Yeah. But here's the other point about Minnesota. Like, one thing about Trubisky, he's, when he's had multiple reps against an opponent, he gets better. Like, so why not have him play Minnesota for the third time? Yep. Yep. Why have him play Philadelphia? I mean, it's just, to me, it didn't make any sense.

And, you know, the fact that they lost the home game, you know, to a team that they shouldn't have let in, to me, was it had nothing to do with the kick going off the wall. Now, we're now calling the kick that it was blocked. There was a Zabruder film. The Zabruder film from the Kennedy assassination appeared that, you know, we finally have someone on the grass Hit a fingertip. Yes.

It was claimed after the game. And you mentioned Mitchell. So Mitchell goes 13 for 20, 1908 yards and a touchdown following the intermission. He has that pass that you mentioned that hits a guy in the numbers in the end zone. Nick Foles throws a similar pass.

His gets picked off. So if you have all that happening and you're playing at home, sometimes you just feel like, hey, maybe there's something in the air. Maybe it may not call it luck. You may not call whatever momentum. But it just feels like things are going to go your way.

And then they get the kickoff return. And so they stopped the Eagles from getting two. Now they have a chance to win the game. They kick it off. Tariq Cohen, a guy that is beloved in Chicago, a guy that somehow is able to make big plays no matter what. We saw it earlier in the game. It was the first seam route that Mitch Mitchell threw a pass and a guy caught the ball and it just kind of set the tone that, hey, we can throw it down the middle of the field.

But in this one, he runs it back, big return. People are, you know, going wild. And then two backshoulder throws to Alan Robinson between defenders, Trubisky. And it sets up this 43-yard field goal attempt. and Doug Peterson does something that I've seen that it's been a little bit more taboo than it used to be in the past. It used to just be a given, but he does ice the kicker. And I have to ask you as a coach or as a GM or operations, whatever you may be in a building, what do you say to your kicker when you know you're going to get iced?

Don't kick it, right? So he kicks it and he kicks it right through the upright. And when you do that as a kicker, it's a mental game. It's like golf. I mean, you get in your head a little bit, and he kicks it right through the upright. He gets iced by Doug Peterson, which is a great to say. decision by Doug Peterson. People didn't know if he was going to do that or not, even though he has been prone to do that. And then he comes back, hits the next one, hits the left, upright,

hits the bottom. The mascot passes out, and the season is over, and it happens just like that. And a lot of Bears fans were freaking out when he kicked the first one, especially that it went through. It's better when you see it missed the first one, because then you can course correct a little bit. But it was a big time moment. And we've seen it in the playoffs before. We've seen the Vikings do this. Not too long ago, I think that was in 2015 when that happened. but to hit the upright right at the end of the game. I mean, it just breaks your heart. And you could see the frustration on Nagy,

but this is a young Bears team, obviously. So they have stuff to look forward to as you move on. But the Eagles, yet again, I mean, Doug Peterson's wearing a chain in the locker room, popping champagne, having a great time. And it just seems like they're playing with a certain amount of confidence that, you know, Tim Jernigan and Michael Binnan, these guys up front are going to continue to dominate

where they can win games by only scoring 16 points. I mean, yeah, they're playing their best football all the year. Now, can they continue this? I mean, I think the Saints game will be more challenging, but I don't think the Saints are going to blow them out like this at the first time, and I think the Saints can put some pressure on them. It'll be a tougher venue to play than even Chicago. But look, this is the Eagles play like champions,

and champions are hard to beat. And when you have a champion down, you better kick them down. I mean, look, there's a reason why, you know, that they, in the beginning of the Godfather, too, they were searching for that little kid, you know. The Mafia knows that if you don't take care of all the family, somebody's going to come back to get them. thing with champions. You don't take care of them? They're going to come back to get you. That's what

happened. I mean, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, they got, and it's really did. It's really, to me, people take it the wrong way. It's not, it's being tactical. It's not being fearful. When you come to the champs, you best not miss, and the bears had a shot right at the end of the game to, to, uh, to end their season, their magical run this year, and they, uh, weren't able to make it happen. Like, like I said last week, I mean, why pet the fucking tiger? Like, why I go up Dow Davidson and say, oh, how are you, Mr. Dave? How the fuck do you think I have? You know, really? You know the answer?

Like, seriously. Yeah, don't ask stupid questions. That's rule number one. I have a question for you, Lombardi. This is coming from a friend of the program, Matt Selman. He has asked me this. And he said, why can teams hire offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, whatever type of coordinator you have from other teams? Don't the assistant coaches have multi-year deals that keep them locked up slash exclusive to their own teams the way players do? And I want to give you the floor. What is the differentiation there between a player that is signed to a multi-air deal and a coordinator that has signed it?

Does it just have to be signed off by the organization for them to go and do these interviews? All right. So there's no designation for a coaching job in the NFL. If you are an intern, let's say, and you've signed a contract, or you are at the offensive coordinator, and you have a contract with years left on it, okay? The only way you can leave that organization is if the club grants permission. and the permission must be granted in writing and must be filled out by a form. Okay?

So that being said, if say you are like Kevin Stefansky, who doesn't have, whose contract, who doesn't have a, whose contract is expiring this year, right? He has to wait two weeks until you can become a free age, which gives the Vikings two weeks to sign him. Once the season's over, the second Tuesday after the season's over, he's a free age. agent, he doesn't have to ask for permission. He can go anywhere he'd like, just like John D. Philippa did last year after the Eagle season. His contract was up. He went anywhere he wanted.

But when they hold your rights, when they have you under contract, you can't leave unless the team gives you permission. So what happens, say, you don't ask for permission, you go and, you know, do a shady dinner, and you get an interview with a team owner, and that team finds out about you doing that, do you automatically get fired on the spot? Well, the team's going to get fined for tampering. and money. No owner's going to do it. There's that tampering rules.

That's what happens down at the senior bowl. You know, coaches that are under conscience. See, coaches want it both ways. They want to have the security, but they also want the freedom to get another job if they want one. And, you know, so like last year, Stefansky, he wanted to interview for the Giants' OC job, but he was under contract.

So what happened? Zimmer said, no. You were here when we were shitty, and I didn't fire you. Now we're good. lead. Okay, so you've got to stay. So he promoted him this year and now whether he comes back to Minnesota or he goes somewhere else to be an OC, I don't know. He interviews for the Brown's head coaching job. I can't imagine that they're going to give this guy the head coaching job there, but maybe they will. He's a bright young guy. So my point here is if the only way you can have viable

movement is as if you allow your contract to expire like Vic Fangio did last year and now the bears have to come to him and make him an offer. And if he gets another team competing, that's how the salaries of these coaches rise and rise and rise. Yeah. And a quick question about one of the situations, this is dealing more with college than NFL teams. But you have Cliff Kingsbury, a guy that was announced as the office of coordinator was going to come to USC. A lot of people excited about that. It does seem like he has reneged on that job and has decided to take interviews with NFL teams for head coaching positions because USC was not allowing him to do so. So now he is passed on that position. This is all

reported. I'm not sure if it's necessarily true, but what is that situation like? I mean, we've seen I guess like Nick Sabin, Petrino, guys like that that are going from college to the NFL, but are there rules that the NFL has in place with the NCAA or is it the NCAA has their rules and the NFL kind of follows along if they have to?

Well, usually typically college is there's no rules, you know? So like if the quarterback coach, he's not going back. Yeah, it's an interesting story. It also is one of those things where maybe if you drum up the idea that you are willing to sacrifice that job to get an NFL job. It helps sort of in the PR world of things.

But you also mentioned this before. It's not about being selected as an NFL head coach. It's about being elected as an NFL head coach. And that is why, you know, people throw out the name Big Fangio. And so far, no one's been able to bite on that. I mean, obviously, you know, the Bears will try to keep him because he loves playing deep. Oh, we'll keep him. Yeah.

I mean, in Denver, and Denver is going to talk to him, but whether, you know, he may be too rough for Denver. I mean, he may tell Elway to go talk himself, you know? Yeah. You know, who knows? You know, it's done. Broncos giving Vic Fangio his best chance yet. This is probably his best chance. And I had a former player that played with Vic Fangio, I won't say his name,

but he told me that he wasn't sure that Vic wanted to be a head coach, that he enjoyed coaching the defense and kind of doing his own thing and operating independently. So there could be a little bit of that in there. It's not always, you know, a one to two that everyone wants to make that jump. Sometimes people are happy where they are. Yeah, I think that you haven't gotten a head coaching doubt for long. Yeah, exactly.

So you just say screw it, you know? Another name that you threw out, I think you wrote for the athletic about this guy, and that's a defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, Don Martingdale, a guy that is 55 years old, a guy that probably should get a shot at one of these head coaching vacancies. But right now, it seems like no one's biting on the bait there. I've seen what he's been able to do with that defense in Baltimore. Yeah, like nobody wants defensive coaches. I think it's just unbelievable when you watch this weekend and you see how good defensive coaches have been,

you know, a great defensive coach who can, you know, play calling on defense is so important. Yeah, and, you know, that's one of those weird things where it does seem like everyone. The Shaw McVeigh effect is very real at this point where teams want to bring in the young, you know, well-groomed, handsome, offensive-minded head coach to change things around and make everything look different. But as you have said and on this program plenty of time, Sean McVeigh is a one-of-one. He's a very, you know, separate situation because he's been around football for so long. But in a lot of rooms with a lot of people and understands how to handle that NFL situation and a lot of these guys that are getting shots to come into some of these, you know, well-respected. programs may not have the same background or the same ilk as a guy like Sean McVeigh. And one of those guys that just got hired, not to say anything negative about Matloor,

but he goes from Tennessee with the Titans and that offense goes to Green Bay now to work with Aaron Rogers, one of the most well-respected quarterbacks in the game. And you look at that move right there, that domino effect with all these head coaches. What does that say and what does that show the world about, you know, what the hiring process will be this offseason with NFL head coaches? It's going to be all about Sean McVeigh. I mean, Sean McBade's neighbor might get a job. I mean, if the guy's good-looking and he's young, he's probably able to be a job because he's near him.

I mean, look, just like take Martindale, for example. Martindale plays a 51 passes. I told me to the neighborhood as they read the column in the after. Where, you know, the people that are in power that want to make the decisions, I mean, we see the trifecta down with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They're making pretty much all the decisions down there together. You know, we've seen it by committee, but, you know, Murphy right now with the Packers is a one-man band at this point. and he brings in his guy, an offensive-minded guy, so maybe Aaron Rogers will be excited about that,

that he'll be working on his side of the football. We've seen some frustration there with him losing one of his quarterback coaches going into the season that he was not a fan of that firing. So a lot of stuff to keep an eye on in Green Bay. Before we get out of here, I want to get one last takeaway from you for Wildcard Week. And it could be one team that stood out to you as we move into the divisional round. It could be just the theme of the entire weekend itself. But what was your major takeaway, Lombardi, looking at all the games this Wildcar weekend?

Well, I think this weekend coming up, the takeaway is there's going to be one road team that wins this weekend coming up, maybe two at the most. I mean, home teams are 23 and 9 in this. Sign up for the Clapper. And all those years of coming out to Oxnard, California, to do training camp finally may pay off so the Cowboys can get basically a second home game here out in L.A. in the Coliseum. So a lot of people will be excited about that. People will be excited to see Shaw McVeigh versus the Clapper. See those two offenses battle it out. Jared Goffers, Dak Prescott, obviously Ezekiel Elliott versus Todd Gurley.

you know, two of the most electric backs in all football. So a lot of fun, a lot of talking points that are coming to that game. And, you know, it's in the big city of Los Angeles, which you will be coming to Los Angeles very soon, Lombardy. I'm excited to have you back on the West Coast. Yeah, I've got to come back at a meeting for another book. So now you've got an opportunity maybe to write another one, but that would be a good thing. Yeah, no, you need a little break out here. It's raining today, so it's not as nice as you may expect out in Los Angeles.

Oh, yeah, it might be hardening up that Rams team, you know? Maybe this is good for Sean McFay. I'm going to spend all my time with the great. I'm very excited for you, and Coach Traveling is obviously a big fan of him on this program as well. And we'll keep an eye of all the wisdom that you get imparted upon. And we'll continue to share on GM Street. We will be back on Friday. We'll do the Friday forecast with Lombardi.

We will break down all the divisional games this weekend. Until then, thanks for listening to GM Street. Part of the Winger Podcast Network. We will see you on Friday. Thank you, Kay Frazier.