The Ringer NFL Show - NFL Combine Canceled, Divisional-Round Impressions, and the Coaching Carousel

Episode Date: January 19, 2021

Cole Wright and Ryan Shazier are joined by The Ringer's Kaelen Jones to discuss the news that this year's NFL combine is canceled due to the pandemic. They break down what this means for the league and how else to get good looks at promising players (01:35). Then, they discuss what was most impressive from the divisional round and what are the best outcomes going into the conference finals (06:23). All before discussing the potential new crop of coaches being considered for jobs with the Eagles, Jets, Chargers and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, what's up, gang? Cole Wright, alongside Ryan Shazir and special guest, Caitlin Jones. And today we're going to react to the Combine, essentially being canceled. Our thoughts on the divisional rounds, our championship picks, and some thoughts on the remaining head coaching openings. All that and more that's coming your way next right here on the Tuesday edition of the Ringer NFL show. All right, we know you set your clocks, you set your watches, you set any time-telling device by us every week. It is the Tuesday edition of the Ringer NFL show. We are busy, hard at work. I'm alongside my guy, Ryan Shazir, and also rolling with us.

Well, it's staff writer from the Ringer. It's Kailen Jones. It's a three-man weave today. And before we get dug in with our heels onto this program, be sure to listen on Spotify and check out all the other Ringer NFL show podcast, not once, not twice, but five times a week. And this week, we have a big announcement. That's because this weekend, immediately following the final game on Sunday,

well, the ringer NFL show will be going live and direct. So make sure you're subscribed to the ringer's YouTube channel. That's YouTube.com slash the ringer and following the ringer on Twitter at the ringer NFL. Now, Sunday it's going to be Kevin and Norprinciotti. And then Wednesday, it's going to be Warren Sharp and Chris Vernon giving their review of the weekend and getting you all set and ready for the Super Bowl. And fellas, well, we'll get into what went down this weekend. Divisional round. They were a bunch of great games.

But before we get into that, you know, when you think about what everyone's playing for, you're playing for a Vince Lombardi Trophy. The teams that aren't playing for a Lombardi Trophy, they're playing for the draft. And usually, you know, when you think about the draft picks and accumulating picks and trying to make yourself a better team, you do a lot of that. And it all starts in Indianapolis at the Combine. And Ryan, you know, the news, it just came down essentially that there's going to be no combine this year, of course, due to COVID-19 restrictions

and like you and I were talking about, and Kaelin and our producer, Arjuna, you talked about the fact that that was a time for you to really make a name for yourself in indie, on the turf, you really got after it. Yeah, man, you know, to me, it's very upsetting, especially for the players. Some guys, you know, when you go back to it,

you're like, hey, would you ever do the combine again? I would definitely say, no, I would not want to. But that's a one-in-a-lifetime experience. then it also lets you be on the platform with all the best guys that, you know, people think of, you know, when people think of the best guys, the best 200 guys that's coming into the draft, you know, that's why they go to the combine. And it allowed you to perform against all these other guys, you know. So I was, I was already kind of, you know, first, second round, you know, type of guy.

I knew I was going to at least go second. But then I had a really, really productive. combine and a really productive pro day, and those two things allowed me to become the first inside linebacker taking, you know, because it just really separated my speed and just my explosiveness to show teams what I can really do. You know, so the fact that other guys are going to be able to do that this year, obviously you're going to have your pro day, but it's not the same thing because you're already comfortable in that environment. To be in an environment that you're not really comfortable when it really shows teams, are you flexible, are you willing to adapt and what

kind of person are you under a lot of pressure? And I feel like for a lot of these guys, it's going to be kind of upsetting because they can't really perform that it would previous times. But for a lot of guys, it actually might be comfortable because now you're just doing everything back at your school like you've always been doing it. Yeah, Kaelin, it seems to be a sign of the times and no combine. Who knows the next time everyone's going to reconvene and converge on Indianapolis. But, you know, with that said, it's going to to be a little bit different. Like when you look at some of the other games that lead up to, like your senior bowls

and, you know, those games where guys are able to showcase their skills, those are going to be weighted just that much more. Yeah, no, it definitely puts a lot more emphasis on those, you know, All-Star type showcased games for these, you know, incoming prospects, you know, and I think it puts a lot more weight, like Ryan mentioned, you know, so much is now going to go into those pro days. and I think the other part of it too, the element of losing the in-person, I think, you know, ability for these teams to go down

and meet with a lot of these athletes. I think so much in the draft and so much for an NFL career comes down to fit. You know, where you land, it's part of the luck. It's, you know, you fall into the right system. You get taken by the right team. You know, it leads to, you know, getting an opportunity, whether you get the start or whether you're sitting behind

a player that may be able to help develop you and whatnot. But, you know, the fact that teams won't be able to, you know, get a read on these guys, whether it's understanding whether they fit their culture, whether or not they're driven, what they're like, you know, in terms of looking at the chalkboard and all that. So I think it's a major, it's a major missed opportunity, you know, not having the combine. And then, again, like you said, it just puts a lot more weight on the process leading up to the combine as opposed to, you know, years past. Ryan, your pro day, you said that's when you really separated yourself. you told this earlier, but let everybody at home know. Would you run that 40 in again?

Yeah, I was 237 and I ran a 4-3-40. I like the fact that you threw out that you were 237. Just let this putting everybody know, putting everybody on notice. Okay, I was 237. The thing is, if I was doing what I'm doing now, I'll probably be 212. Man, my wife got me over here intermittent fasting and I eat all goddamn damn hungry right now. So you're doing the, you're doing the keto thing too, aren't you? Yeah, it's like keto slash paleo slash intermittent fasting, but yeah, I'm trying to eat healthy right now.

So I'm trying to get down to 210. Do, do, where do cheeseburgers fit in on that mix? Because that's what I'm trying to jump in on it. That's, that's only for the weekends for me. So I can't, I can't have that right now. Look at that. Look at that. Like a steel trap.

Our guy, Ryan Shazier, just like that. You know what? Let's move from no combine, which is obviously. bad news to some good news, guys, because that divisional round, I mean, it was as good of football as you want to see. And there's now four teams standing. It's obviously Green Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay. And when it comes to players who went out there and impressed there were more than a few. But Ryan, I know there had to be one dude that really stood out to you. You know who stood out of me? This is somebody that most people are not going

to pick. I'm going to go with Chad Henning. He actually did a really good job. Anything is possible. Yeah, he did a good job coming in and just trying to hold the floodgates back, you know, especially with Mahomes being injured. With Mahomes being injured, that just gives you juice as the other team. Obviously, you don't want anybody getting injured in the games, but when you see that the star player, the face of the NFL is out, that just gives you hope, you know, so you've seen that there was surging back,

the Browns was surging back, and they got the ball back. You just never know how it was going to end. And just to see how Chad Eadney had that long third down run that almost got the first down. And then just to be composed in that fourth and one, when Tony Romo and everybody else in the world, they think they were going to really stop that ball. They sned the ball, got the ball to Tyreek Hill, and they allowed him to go to the, you know, the AFC championship. I thought he played really well.

He did his role. He came up as a backwood quarterback. He didn't turn the ball over, really. He just played well and just helped him win the game. You know, so I think, I think, I thought he did a great job in the game. So I'm going to go with Chad Hedy. He did have an interception. I'm sorry about that, but, you know.

Oh, there it is. I was about to say, hold on. We have to bookmark this moment, a Buckeye just heaping praise on a Wolverine. But, you know, then at the last second, he came like Salt Bay with just a little dash of hate, just like that. He's like, I build you up just so I can break you down, Chad Henney. I like that. But no, he was impressive, as impressive as it gets. Kail, how about you, man?

Who was out there really balling as far as you're concerned? Definitely agree with Ryan. You know, like that chat had definitely stood out. And like that was impressive. I guess I, you know, to be different here, I guess I'd say Aaron Rogers. Because not that we, you know, we didn't expect, you know, Aaron Rogers to play at a very high level. But for him to rip apart the Rams defense,

the way that he did with the ease that the Packers' offense looked, against him last weekend. I was not too surprised, but still, you just kind of appreciate it every time you watch Aaron Rogers do something incredible. And for the way that he did it with, you know, Devothe Adamson had an amazing game, got a solid game, but the way that, you know,

they were able to function without, you know, relying on him too much, very, very impressive going in the next week. Yeah, Aaron Roders in the postseason prior to Sunday. I mean, he was 0 and 2 versus the number one past defense in the league. The Rams had the number one past defense in the league. and, of course, he changed all those numbers. But, like, Devante Adams, I mean, he was just as impressive as Aaron Rogers.

I mean, just the fact that, you know, his numbers might not have been like, oh, look at these. I mean, this guy put the team on his back. But the fact that he was calling Jalen Ramsey out saying, hey, you know, at least from all accounts, said that he was like, okay, you and I, let's go one-on-one, let's get the people what they want. And we saw it on that one play. I don't know if that was a little bit busted coverage, Ryan, in the end zone on that touchdown for Adams. but either way, I mean, to go, you know, man up with Jalen Ramsey, that's no easy task. They made Jailet Ramsey run 150 yards before he caught a one-yard catch, bro.

Like, come on, bro. Yeah. You can't really, like, that's some bullshit, real. Like, there's no way, there's no way Jailen can stop that. Like, he ran with him from one side of the field. He tried to get back in position on the other side of field, and they spread back over. Like, you, somebody else has to be in position. to try to stop that because he didn't have any leverage to stop that play.

But the thing is, Devante Adams did win that battle. He didn't have 100 yards, but he got, they threw 10 passes his way, and he caught none of them. You know, so I feel like he won the battle. Obviously, that's the most, Jaylon Ramsey led up this whole season. I think the most, before this was 47 yards, and that was week one. So he won the battle, but they really pitted them in positions to win the battle. But, yeah, I can't get Devante Adams that one. You made him run 150 yards before you caught a one-yard pass.

I can't give you that. Whatever works, however you get in. However you could shake him off your tail, I mean, if that's how you got to get it done, that's how you got to get it done. And Green Bay, obviously moving on with that convincing win. But, you know, guys, I don't know about you, but, you know, one cat that impressed me, it had to be Devin White. I mean, Devin White and everything that was going his way, he was on it.

I mean, a fumble recovery, 11 tackles, you know, 10 solo tackles. I mean, you know why the man had 140 tackles during the regular season, if I'm not mistaken. Ryan, this dude was a bull in a China shop from start to finish, no doubt about it. You know, he had an amazing game. You know, that's one guy that I was thinking about seeing also. But, you know, I knew you had that one in your back pocket, so I didn't want to steal it from him. No, but, yeah, he played his tail off, man.

It showed you why he was one of the top lineback. because come out of his ear. Him and Devin Bush, man, I feel like you can't go wrong with either one of them, but he got to show his show who he was in a big stage. People love when it's only you on TV, you can show the world what kind of player you are. That's when Von Miller show up. That's when Aaron Donald show up. And now he's showing up and showing everybody, hey, I got snub for the Pro Bowl.

I don't give a damn about the Pro Bowl. We've got to go to the Super Bowl. Obviously, I don't think they're going to go to the Super Bowl. I don't think they're going to beat Green Bay. but that's the mindset that he has right now. And he's playing like it, man. He had a former recovery. Like you said, 11 tackles, a pick.

And he has a tackle for loss, man. You couldn't act for a better game as a defensive player. The only thing he could have did better was score a touchdown. But, hey, he did what he had to do for his team. Yeah, dudes out there balling clearly. And, you know, one thing may be evident that the shoulder pads at LSU, they're the most comfortable shoulder pads in all of the nation, because we see Devin White still rocking his purple and gold.

We saw Leonard Furnett with his LSU shoulder pads. And like, I don't know if they're going to win the Super Bowl, Kailen, but the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing, I mean, I wouldn't say 100%. Okay, I wouldn't say, you know, here's my money. Go ahead and take it. Green Bay, they're going to win this game 100% because it's Tom Brady. It's it's, it's all those guys right now. It's A.B. It's Mike Evans.

It's everybody that they have. that makes you say you can't really doubt Tom Brady in the postseason right now. Yeah, no. And you mentioned that whole supporting cast is why Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. You know, like this is a team that is literally star talent on both sides of the ball. And what's really interesting is, you know, against the Saints, we saw that it was the defense that really elevated the team and, you know, help them win that game. I think Tom Brady has a decent game at times.

He looked very, very old. But again, like you mentioned, you know, the supporting cast, even the less stars, I guess you'd say, or the unknown guys, like Scottie Miller making a big catch, Tyler Johnson making a big catch. And then, you know, like you just got guys just mentioned, the defense, the way that Devin White balled out. We saw it. We heard Sean Murphy Bunting's name like 20 million times because he was defending every single past thrown his way. Antoine Winfield Jr. making a play. Like it really came down to that defense playing at a high level. Now they're potentially getting Vita Vaya back this week in the middle of the defensive line,

which will be massive, you know, again, going up against Aaron Rogers. And by the way, you know, I know that, you know, everyone is expecting Green Bay, it's, you know, considering the form that they're in to blow them out. But, you know, Tampa Bay has won six games in a row. And earlier this year, they blew Green Bay out 38 to 10. Granted, it was in Tampa Bay and this is going to be potentially in very, very cold weather. Tom Brady's played in cold weather all his career. Not potential.

It is. My bad. Potential. I was thinking like blizzard weather. I meant to say like, blue, it's going to be cold. It's going to be cold. It ain't going to be like 75. It's potential snow.

Yeah, it might be potential snow. But it's going to be cold. Okay, so 205 Sunday. That one's going down in Green Bay. Ryan, you think there's going to be any tough guys? 205 central time. I'm in Chicago right now. I know 305 where you're at,

but I'm just going by my central standard time. I'm just saying. Any tough guys going shirtless pregame? I don't think any tough guys going shirtless, but America uses Easter standard time or precipit time. The other times in the middle, we don't really use those. So I'll just let you know that. All right.

I'll just be all to stay stuck in the middle. All right. No, but I think it's going to be a great game. The spread right now is three and a half. I definitely think Green Bayes covers that. But to me, I just, I don't really see Carlton Davis or how you say to do, the other quarterback's name? Yeah, Sean Murphy Bunton.

Sean Maiting, Bunting, yeah, he's going to be, yeah, he's going to be bunting, because he's trying to cover Devante Adams because I don't think they can cover him. I really don't. You know, I think Devante Adams is, and their offense is just one of the deadliest offenses that we've seen in a while. I don't think they're the Chiefs offense, but obviously this year they're showing that they're the best offense in the league. And Tampa Bay has a great defense, but I just don't think those cornerbacks can handle

the pressure that DeVante Adams is going to put on them. And then it's going to be a totally different game. Like you said, Tampa Bay has won their last, with six games you said. And their last seven or eight games have all been in warm weather cities. So it was kind of chilly, but it wasn't too bad.

But the last eight games, you know, Tom Brady has been playing in warm weather cities, you know, or he's been in a dome. You know, so he, you know,

it's fit, for an old guy to play football. And I'm not saying that, you know, that's why they're winning. But it's totally different going from Tampa Bay or in a dome to plan in 19 to 20 degree weather, you know, especially if you haven't been playing in it the last few weeks. You know, so I think that's going to be a tough adjustment for Tampa going up to Green Bay. It's a hostile environment. But I think it's going to be a good game.

But I definitely think Tampa Bay covers the spread. But Ryan, do you think that Tampa has the better shot between. obviously Tampa won, but they have a way better shot than New Orleans, only because of the fact Tom Brady, even though he hasn't played in the cold weather in, you know, in a few weeks, I mean, he played in cold weather for 19 years in New England. I mean, if anyone knows how to get it done, it's Tom Brady. I'm going to make you heat praise on a Michigan Wolverine once again. That's going to be twice.

I understand that. I understand that he played for 19 years. But whenever I go to Florida, I'll be in Florida for two weeks. the moment I get back to Pittsburgh, I'm like, man, fuck this, bro. Like, this is not, I'm not trying to be here right now. It's too damn cold, you know, so. No, I hear you on that. So I'm going to be honest.

I know what you're saying, but when that 19 degree hit you and you're flying from 80 degrees, man, it's a big difference, bro. It's a huge difference. That's a 60 degree, a 60 degree weather change, you know. So, you know, I think they'll be prepared for it. but I just still feel like Green Bay is the better team in this situation. You know, so I think that's why they'll win. Absolutely.

You know, that cold, it's a shock to the system. But, Kailen, if there's any team, like we were just saying, if there's any squad who can give Aaron Rogers and Green Bay a run for their money, it's got to be Tom Brady. I mean, he's still on the hunt for that seventh Super Bowl championship, man. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, again, like we just mentioned it, you look at the talent that's on that roster.

I think Tampa Bay's built, you know, the potentially compete. with Green Bay, especially when you look at their front seven. I think that they'll be able to generate more consistent pressure than Los Angeles was able to last week. And then, you know, moving forward to, I think, you know, obviously Tom Brady is the X factor for their offense. But I think Tampa Bay's run run game if, you know, they're off the line is healthy and provided, you know, Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette are running well. Their opposite line is really solid.

Top 10 in terms of run blocking grade, according to Perl football focus, like they've looked really solid over the past few weeks. weeks. They able to basically get what they wanted a lot of times against New Orleans last week. I think, and Green Bay's rush defense hasn't always been that great. Even last week against Cammakers and the Rams offensive line, it wasn't, you know, consistent, you know, throughout the entire game. And it was really big part of why L.A. was able to hang around for as long as they did. So I think, you know, if Tampa Bay's defense gets maybe one or two stops, they're able to establish to run and then, you know, rely on Brady when you need to, you know, again, I think it, comes down to the supporting cast, really helping elevate Brady and take him to the next level,

you know, in order to, you know, keep up with the Packers who, like Ryan said, I think they deserve to be favored in this one. Yeah. And Ryan, if anyone knows, man, it's you defensive players when they hear their name and the word disruptive attached. I mean, it always brings a smile to their face. And when you look at how disruptive Devin White was, I mean, that just allowed guys like in Dominic Su up front to be just that much more disruptive. And I feel like he's going to be an X factor too for this Tampa Bay defense moving forward. I mean, if there's anyone who's going to help get Aaron Rogers off his market, it's going to be a veteran like in Dominican Siu.

No, I totally agree. But the fact that Aaron Rogers can move better than Drew Brees and the fact that he can throw it better than Drew Breed right now, I feel like that's going to be the difference maker of this game. There's a lot of throws that you've seen that Drew Breed is either cautious to make or he wasn't making. He didn't throw one. I think they said he didn't throw one pass over 20 yards the whole game or something like that.

If he did, if he did, it wasn't more than two or three. And the one pass they did throw deep, it was from James. You know, so I feel Aaron Rogers can make all those throws. And Aaron Jones, he's not better than Camero when it comes coming out in the backfield. But I feel like when it comes to just moving around the pocket and just getting his guys in position, I feel like Aaron Rogers would do a better job with that right now than Drew Brees does. And he has way more zip on his ball. But I can see Devin White causing a problem.

I can definitely see it. But I just, I don't see Aaron Rogers having the type of game Drew Brees had asked me. Okay. Before we get to that nightcap, Kailen, I want to ask you, before I bounce back to Ryan, Drew Brees, have we seen the last of him? I mean, is he already in the booth?

Was he in that game? One foot in the announcer's booth, one foot on the football field? I would think so. You know, again, Ryan could probably spit to it better than me. You know, when he walked away, you know, and took his, you know, last second look back at, you know, the stadium when he was walking out. And then for him and Tom Brady, the reengaged back on the field afterwards, you know,

it kind of suggested that this was it. And, you know, it's unfortunate because, you know, the dude through three picks, you know, I don't think that's how you want to go out. Right. You know, and, you know, he's a competitor. You know, a lot, you know, you have to be, the type of competitor you have to be to be a professional athlete is probably, you know, the psychology behind that is probably crazy. But like, I'm not surprised that, you know, he went out crashing and burning. But I'll remember him for, you know, what he was able to do throughout his regular season career

because what he was able to do in terms of lasting this long and extending his career is very impressive. Ryan, what do you say? Is Drew Breeze? Does he, is there any convincing that man? You know, he's thrown for over 5,000 yards five times. No one else has even done it more than once. Is there any convincing Drew Breeze to maybe get on some kind of rehab,

get that arm just a little bit stronger and give it just one more run, Just one more run with Alvin Camara and Michael Thomas in the game. I don't really see him being able to do that. And the reason I say that is because once you're in your 40s, man, it's hard to get your arm stronger and to be able to throw the ball down and feel like the way you'll want to. And then also, Drew Brees has to just look into the future and just see, all right, look at our team right now.

Is our team a team that's going to be able to win a Super Bowl? And if he's not going to win a Super Bowl, then there's no point of him coming back. You know, and I don't see, and I don't see Drew Brees seeing himself leading that team to a Super Bowl right now. So, you know, once, and he got beat up a bit this year. His family is just probably saying, hey, you're one the greatest dudes of all time. You're first battle hall of famer. And I think it just might be time.

Time for Drew to just come on home. All right. Well, either way, just to double back to Tampa Bay and Green Bay. I almost want to smack myself for going against Tom Brady. But I got the Packers winning 32 to 24. That's where we're going to sit with that one right there. But let's move along last minute to that nightcap because it's a Buffalo and Kansas City. Now, Ryan, I don't know about you, but I wish they could almost have flipped these games

and had Buffalo Kansas City be the early game and then have the late game be, you know, Aaron Rogers versus Tom Brady for all the marbles trying to go to another Super Bowl. But that's here nor there. I'm not part of the scheduling department. Nobody asked me about any of that. But Buffalo, Kansas City, I mean, Buffalo, their offense, they're starting to fire away, but Kansas City, like we talked about earlier here all year long, they're that squad that they'll let you hang around.

You can hang around. But when all the dust is settled, oh, look up and you lost, Kansas City wins. You know, I think they're really looking out for Tom Brady because, you know, I think the sun's going to be out at three. You know, when it gets about six, it gets a lot colder, you know. Wow. Wow. The scheduling department, look it out for old time.

Okay. I got you. I'm messing around. Now, I think the reason that they chose this game is because it's one verse two. I feel like they think this is going to be really a shootout. I'm going to be honest. If Patrick Mahomes doesn't play this game, the Chiefs are going to lose. I think the Bills are a really good team.

They're a solid team. But I like Chad hitting last game, but he's not going to do it to win this game. You know, so the Bills' defense, they've been doing what they have to do. They held the Ravens to three points. Yeah, 17-3. Crazy. I really feel the Chiefs, they're, they're, The defense isn't good enough to just hold the bills out.

In the playoff time, the defense always plays well. I just don't think their defense is good enough to hold the chiefs out, meaning the bills out if they have Chad hitting a quarterback. If they have Mahomes there, now I think we have a shootout. And I think it's going to be just a bunch of back and forth. And I think that's why they won this game because I just, the over and under is 53. So I think they're expecting this kind of be a high-scoring game, you know.

So I'm excited to see. what this goes to. Kaelan, how about you, man? What do you think? Kansas City, can they get it done if it's Chad Henney? I mean, everyone right now is fingers crossed, toes crossed, everything, hoping that Patrick Mahomes is the guy on Sunday. Yeah, I don't know if they'll be able to get it done without Patrick Mahomes.

But, I mean, the thing is, you know, the bills didn't look all that great last week. And, again, you could probably attribute it the weather because the Ravens' offensive didn't look good at all. but, you know, I was expecting, you know, Josh Allen to have a better game than he did. He only went 23 or 37, which, you know, solid for him, which 62% completion rate, that's great for him. But at the same time, you know, if the offense isn't humming, which again, they have the potential, they're probably the only team in the AFC, if not the entire NFL, that can compete offensively weapon for weapon with Kansas City's offense. So if their offense isn't there, it gives me pause and maybe some reason for concern when these two teams met earlier in the year,

year. Again, a really weird, rainy game. I think it was during the middle of the week, too, one of those COVID-19 impacted games. It was 26-17, and, you know, the office didn't look all that great. Kansas City was able to run the football really efficiently in that one. And, you know, they won't have Clyde Edwards DeLayer. If Patrick Mahomes isn't, you know, 100%, it gives me cause for concern there too. But, you know, again, Andy Reid and Eric B. Enemy, like, the way that they're calling plays, a familiarity that they have and the trust that they have in those players, you know, I think that they'll be able to get it done should my home's play. Yeah, with that said, Andy Reid and Eric B. Enemy, their calling plays offensively that are, you know, making the opposition's headspin.

But when it comes to defense, Ryan, I mean, we've got to tip our cap to Leslie Frazier. I mean, the way Leslie Frazier had that Buffalo defense playing, I mean, to hold the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. And I know he went out of that game, but, you know, just to be able to stifle them and hold them just to three points. I mean, this is a team that, what do they do? They run the ball. And Leslie Frazier, he zoned in on that and said, you know what, that's not going down, not on my watch. Yeah, I thought Leslie Frazier did a great job, you know,

calling a great defense scheme versus Lamar Jackson. They kind of did what most people make Lamar do, well, not most people, what their successful teams that have been able to beat the Ravens been doing. They made Lamar beat him in the air, and they kind of take away his legs. Obviously, Lamar got away a few times. But at the end of the day,

it was too windy, first of all. And then secondly, Lamar is not the most accurate thrower. So if you're making him beat you with his arm and the weather's not on his side, man, that's just like a dream come true for a defensive coordinator. So he did a great job holding him to three points. And I heard Shannon say this earlier, man. Lamar is like Janus. And I truly believe it, you know, because he does all the great things throughout the regular season.

he can run the ball really well, you know, but when the playoffs come, man, you got to throw the ball to win. You know, you can't just run the ball up and down the field and expect to win these football games versus these teams that have dominant offenses and, you know, they have a solid defense, you know. So because now all we have to do is focus on

how to take you away for this game. We see you earlier. We know what you've been doing all season. We're just going to bring all that film together and then tie it down on what makes you ineffective. And I think that's what Les Refriger did. and the Buffalo Bills did a great job of it. Okay, so we'll have to do two different picks when it comes to this game.

One pick with Patrick Mahomes, one pick without Patrick Mahomes. And I'm going to go with Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City 28 to 20. Ryan, where are you going? If I'm going with Patrick Mahomes, I'm going to go Kansas City 34 to 31. Okay. Caitlin? With Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs 35, 30. Okay, without Patrick Mahomes?

Without Patrick Mahomes, I'm going Bill's 24 to Chiefs 14. Okay. Without Patrick Mahomes, I'm going to go Chiefs 24, bills 23. Without Patrick Mahomes, Bill's 38, Chiefs 24. All right. All right. That's where we have it right there. Hopefully we will see.

And no disrespect to Chad Henney, but hopefully we'll see Patrick Mahomes out there. just because obviously you want to see the best product on the field at all times. And there's no denying Patrick Mahomes is the best player in all the National Football League right about now. And, you know, we were talking about Leslie Frazier, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and current defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. And that got us to thinking about some of those head coaching positions that have been filled, some that are, you know, are yet to find someone put in place. There's, there's Philadelphia and, of course, Houston still vacant. But, you know, the Jets and the Lions and the Jags and the Falcons and the Chargers right now, they're all occupied.

And some of those jobs we saw coming and others we didn't. Ryan, I know the Chargers gig, Brandon Staley, I didn't see that at all. Everyone assumed, myself included, that it was going to be Brian Dayball from the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator because he and Tom Telesco, lo and behold, they went to high school together. I mean, if there's anything that made sense, okay, Telesco was a senior, Dayball was a sophomore, they played in the same squad together. They're boys.

If anything happens down the road, I get this job, don't worry, man, I got you. You'll be a head coach one day, and that's not what happened. Brandon Staley, he's now the front man for the Chargers. There's a lot of guys from my high school team.

I'm not cool with it, so. Right? No, but I'm going to be honest. You know, with Dan Campbell and Brandon Staley, I didn't see those two coming. I'm going to be honest. I didn't see your coach Meyer coming either. You know, I felt like some of these teams

have some really good coaches. The Lions, you know, I'm just going to see how that goes, you know, to go with a tight-end coach. You know, obviously he might have been, he did a great job when he was in Miami a few years ago, a lot of years ago. But Brandon Stanley, he had with the number one defense in the whole NFL. I think that the ownership and the GM was like,

hey, that's how we're going to start out. We have a young quarterback. At least if we're playing some defense, we'll get another, we can get a young quarterback coach in here. to help him out and develop him. But we just got to focus on defense right now. Our defense hasn't been playing well. And I think that's their whole mindset.

We're having Brandon Staley come in. And I think that's a smart mindset. Whenever you have a good defense, you're always in the mix. It doesn't matter what's going on. You're always in the mix. And I think that's why the charges decide to go with him. I think that's a good fit.

Coach Meyer, that one kind of threw me in the loop. But I really think Coach Meyer is going to do a great job, man. He has a great mind when it comes to offense. He's a very intense guy. So he's going to try to get the most out of all his players. And if you don't want to be there, he's going to make sure you're not there. So I think he can rebuild a program and he understands how to, obviously, he understands how to recruit guys really well.

But I think they're going to really have a lot of pieces around him. And I think they have some good cap space to actually bring in some free agents. Obviously, most guys don't like going to Jacksonville. But I think that they can bring in some good free agent pieces. And if he gets Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields, I think that I could really help him jumpstart into what type of team he wants to be. So I'm really excited about that one. Robert Sala, I think that's a good pick.

I think he's a great pick. He's a great coach. To me, just the Jets. J-E-T-S. It almost seems like a waste of talent. Robert Sala, I mean, what he brings to the table defensively to go there and have to start from scratch, it seems like every year the Jets start from scratch.

But I think he chose that job or they chose siblings because, hey, we can start from scratch. We'll give you the template. We'll let you do what you want to do, let you mix it up how you want to mix it up, man. And we're going to give you a few years. I think that's cool. He's going to get a new quarterback coming, most likely, you know, how the defense ran, how you wanted to be ran,

and have somebody he trusts that coordinator. I think he's a great coach. I think he's going to turn the franchise around. I'm not saying they're going to win any Super Bowl or anything, but I think he can turn them into some type of contenders or just have some fighting chance. in the AFC East. And then Arthur Smith, he's a great coach.

He did a good job in Tennessee. And I think that he can do a great job in the Falcons. We just have to see if they're going to keep Matt Ryan or if they're not. If they're going to keep Matt Ryan, you know, I think he can do a lot of good things with that offense. He has a lot of pieces on offense. If they're going to get a new quarterback, then we're just glad to see how he works with it there.

But I think all these jobs, I think that they, I think everybody did a good job of, hiring a new coach. I'm excited to see how these next two the Eagles and the Texans do. But the one question I have is Dan Campbell because I really, you know, to see how he does as a tight-end coach

and then going to a head coach, he could be successful, but it just, you know, it just threw me off a little bit. Yeah, that is kind of a big jump. Tight-ins coach, the head coach, the difference in responsibility, you know, it's night and day. Kaelan, when it comes to the five jobs right now

that seem to be spoken for, you know, which one do you think is the best higher, at least from a front office perspective? Man, okay. So long term, I think Robert Sala, I think that, you know, again, like I was making this joke the other day. Like, I'm 24. So I can't pinpoint a time in my life where, you know, the Jets haven't been really a laughing stock.

I mean, especially when we're talking about like Meyer, whether he was going to go to the Jets or the Jags. And it's like, you know, the Jack just went one in 15 and no one really cared. But the Jets, you know, they almost won three games. And we were cracking jokes on them every single week. So it's, you know, it's kind of a laughing stock there. But I think Robert Sahl has a chance to turn everything around. I mean, long term.

And really, when you look at the foundation in place for their defense already, I think Quentin Williams, someone that he's going to be able to build around. They have some other pieces. I know they're losing Marcus made a free agency potentially. But I think that, you know, as far as cultural fit, I think, you know, Robert saw as a chance in the long term to be a good, a good hire. And then I think short term, you know, it threw me off, but Brandon Sealy, you know,

I really like him. I really think, you know, watching a few of his interviews again, I've never met the dude. But, you know, he definitely comes off as someone who understands how the one build a culture to communicate and three, you know, put his, you know, star players in the best position to succeed. And you look at that charges defense. They got Joey Bosa in the front line. We'll see if they keep Melvin, you know, how he fits. within that system.

But then you have Derwin James in the secondary. There's some pieces for him to build around. I thought it was odd that they didn't hire again, Brian Davel, because, you know, the fit would be quarterback giving him a coach that, you know, understands or develop those guys. But I think, you know, that's going to be a really interesting hire. I don't think that they'll top the chiefs, but they have talent and they should be end up being a playoff contender immediately in the AFC next year.

Yeah. And Ryan, like we were saying before the show, we thought that it was going to be Brian Dayball going to the Los Angeles Chargers, his head coach, because he and Tom Telesco's relationship. But then it's Brandon Staley. I think it's probably because the chargers, you know, they like to pinch some pennies. And they said, you know what, we don't want to pay for Brian Dayball to move all the way across the country. Brandon Staley, he's already here. He's probably just going to move up the street. We don't have to pay any of those relocation fees. And we don't have to get any of that, no temporary housing. So let's just go with that right now. And that's where

they're at. But, you know, when it comes to the Philadelphia job and the Houston gig, you know, you see that Philadelphia is interviewing Eric B. Enemy via Zoom and Houston. You know, the league allowed them to speak to Eric B. Enemy. I mean, I feel like especially with the quarterbacks, whether it be Jalen Hertz or Dishon Watson, if Deshaun Watson stays in Houston and they're able to snag Eric B. enemy, that could be a match made in heaven. But if Eric B., if he goes to Philadelphia, I mean, who knows? Because Jailen Hertz, we've seen. seeing his potential, I think right now we just need a head guy. I say we, like I'm part of Philadelphia's organization, but I think what he needs and

what that organization needs is someone to be able to corral that talent. I feel that if I was urban enemy and I had to choose which team I would go to, I will probably go to the Eagles. And the reason I say this is because I feel like they have draft picks and they still, They have young receivers. They have young receivers. And they have a solid defense. You know, if you just bring another coach in there,

I feel like he can put some pieces around his coach. But the thing is about the Eagles, they have a very old team. So when it comes to the O line and things like that and the D line, but I think if you're trying to win now, I feel the Eagles is a good squad for him because they still have a pretty solid team. If you want to go to a team with a,

franchise quarterback then obviously you're going to go to the Texans. But I think the Eagles is a good fit for him because he can still build around him. He has a lot of young pieces around him. I feel the Texas is like, man, you're going there. The best thing you have is the Sean Watson, but then you have nothing else. Like you really don't have anything else. You have like a few pieces. Your defense is okay.

You know, you have J.D. Watt. Your offense is okay, but you don't have any draft picks, like not any good ones. You know, so obviously you find a lot of great talent in the end of the draft. like Antonio Browns and Antonio Gates and, you know, all these guys, but in Alvin Cameras, but any day, you don't, you don't know that when you draft them, you know what I'm saying? Like so, so at a day, he's just, I feel the best fit for him right now, to try to win now, and to probably go on in the future is probably the Eagles, but if you want, like, a superstar, bona fide quarterback, then it's to Texas, so.

Yeah, and, Kaelan, you know, one thing that, at least it's, is somewhat refreshing to see is the fact that, you know, these guys that are getting these jobs, they're not retreads. You know, it's all a fresh look. These guys all in their, in their first head coaching gigs in the National Football League, you know, obviously Urban Meyer, he's got a little bit of a resume, but he's never been in the league. But with that being said, you know, we've, you know, Josh McDaniels. He's taking interviews right now. And, you know, for me, that's surprising because I thought after everything that happened with the Colts that, you know, he was just pretty much going to be the, you know, the O.C or whatever capacity he was going to be in New England,

in New England for the rest of his career. But, you know, he's back out there making the rounds. Yeah, no, you can make a good point. Like, it is interesting now, especially for those two openings right now with Houston and Philadelphia. It's, I guess it's not too surprising, though, that, you know, these two jobs, which honestly, they're probably considered, yeah, at least from what we, from what we've heard, from reported from Adam Shepter that the Houston job is not wanted just because of the, you know,

organizational dysfunction that, that's happening over there. But, you know, it's not surprising that, you know, you're kind of picking retreats at this point. Leslie Frazier, someone that, you know, could be a really good coach.

I think Todd Bowles, I think giving him another shot would be interesting too. But I know that Houston also, you know, like you mentioned, you know, they've interviewed Matt Eberfuss from the Colts. and then you have Eric Bianami, who's also interviewed there. So I'm curious to see whether or not one Bianami, you know,

decides, hey, like, I'm going to go ahead and take one of these jobs, as opposed to I think you'd probably just be better off waiting until next year. Same with Brian Dable, who's apparently pulled his name out of, you know, consideration for both these jobs. So I think it might just be better for them the wait, you know, going in the next year to see if you have a better situation where, again, both these jobs filled up in Houston, And we've been talking all, it hasn't even been the off season, really.

You know, we've been talking about all this organizational dysfunction from the top coming down. I don't think that's a situation that you'd want to step in, you know, to be a head coach. Yeah. Ryan, what if you're Byron Lefich, you know, we've heard some chatter about Byron Lefich, I know right now his team's still alive and well. They got a game to play on Sunday, but that's just like Eric B. Enemy. Byron Lefich, I mean, we've seen the potential from him. Do you see him being a head coach sooner rather than later?

I definitely see him being a head coach soon. I don't know if it's going to be this season, but I can definitely see him being a head coach soon. But there's two things I kind of want to talk about. One thing I would want to talk about is I think that the NFL should make a rule that teams don't hire their coach until after the Super Bowl. Because I feel like a lot of guys are getting jobs right now. By default, because other dudes are wrapped up because their teams are still playing.

Right, 100%. And I feel like if everybody did a – The process isn't because think about it. The Falcons probably would have interviewed Airbnb or, you know, Ibo flu. But at the end of the day is they're still in the playoffs. You know, so at the day, you can interview them, but you can't hire me yet. You know, so I feel like every team should wait to the end of the season to really hire their guy or at least start interviewing their guys. Because then this list can look completely different.

But secondly, and mostly, if I was a black head coach, I would not be going to Houston. I'm going to just being honest. I wouldn't not go to Houston because right now it's just too much things going on over there

and it just like I just don't like the culture that they have over there. I understand that there was the past owner

who said what he said but his family still owns the owns the team and if I feel a certain way my dad probably feels that way

and my son shows that way too. So I just me personally I just as a black kid coach I wouldn't want to go there I know that's a sidetrack of what we're talking about

but if I was Brian Left for HR Airbnb I wouldn't even want to go to Houston The only reason I want to go there is because of Deshaun Watson, but not because of the ownership or management. Okay, so long and short of it.

And, Kael, I'm assuming that you agree that the better of the two jobs, the more appealing has to be Philadelphia only because they've got more picks. They've got a quarterback that's getting paid a whole lot less money. And organizationally, yeah, there's not that turmoil. You don't have all that turmoil, that inner, that infighting that's going. on right now down in Houston because, you know, not just winning football games on Sunday is going to be a hurdle that you'll have to jump over, but just getting those relationships all lined up and making sure that everybody's on the same page. That's going to be another task to tackle.

I think because of the Sean Watson, I think because he's proven to be, you know, at that superstar level, it might be a little bit more intriguing to me than Philadelphia. And it depends on whether you not, you know, you believe in Carson Wentz being fixable. I think. that's what it really comes down to. And then whether or not you know, you can deal with, you know, Harry Roseman, Jeffrey Lorry, you know, really directing how you're going to approach building the team, you know, like Ryan mentioned, that's a really older squad. You know, their time has kind of passed as far as being, you know, in the lead team.

There's some younger pieces on Houston, you know, like Charles of Manninghew, Lonnie Johnson. Like there's some guys on that side of the ball. And you have the Sean Watson, the offense who, you know, he, you know, if you get lucky enough, you could stumble into, you know, seven wins, eight wins, nine wins. Like, if you get extremely lucky having a talent to quarterback behind center, like consistently. So I don't know. That might be the temptation for me if I were a head coach. But, you know, I know, I know, again, Ryan said we're getting off track.

But I think, you know, Neil, nails, you know, hits the hammer on the nail here. Like, there's only two black head coaches in the league now at following the cycle, you know, unless a black head coach, you know, picks Houston or Philadelphia. I think that's really, really sad and really weird, you know, considering we had all this talk last off season about how the league was going to incentivize, you know, the league prioritizing, you know, giving minority head coach to a chance. I'm glad at Robert Sala got a chance. First Muslim head coach in an NFL history, I believe. But, you know, we went from, what, four or five black head coaches now to two. That's a problem, especially in the league that, you know, is, what, 60 to 70 percent black?

It's very strange. 70% African-American. I mean, it is crazy to see. And, you know, hopefully, you know, those two spots that are still to be occupied, we'll see someone of color, no matter who it is in one of those positions because there's a lot of talent. But like we said, in Houston, there's also been a lot of bickering going back and forth. All right, guys, we had a lot of fun.

We made some predictions. We looked forward to championship Sunday, quite possibly the best day in all of sports. but you know what? I don't mean to extend the time here, but Ryan, everyone always says championship Sunday is one of the best days, but you know what? I like divisional weekend a lot.

I mean, we got to see four games. You get two on Saturday, two on Sunday. I mean, championship Sunday, you only get two. No, I totally agree with you, especially when you have really good games, divisional Sunday. I mean, divisional weekend is a great weekend. You know, I feel like wild car weekend was just a lot going on.

And what was a lot? You just don't know what channel to watch. But no, I think the vision of weekend is definitely smooth. You get to see two, you know, four, you get to see four really good games. But the thing is, why people love championship weekend, because you know after this game, you gain the football. And another thing is that you normally would get really, really good football in this game right here. So it's exciting to see this game in these games.

And, you know, it just sad. but it's letting you know the season's close to an end, but we're about to get a champion soon. Absolutely. And Caitlin, just three games left on this NFL season, you know, before we started rolling when we didn't know

if we were going to get a season at all. It's exciting as a fan, I guess, that, you know, we got to see football. Like, we're always going to be investing. You know,

I'm glad that, you know, you know, they were able to, you know, without anyone getting, at least as far as we know, getting, you know, being significantly impacted afterwards by COVID,

you know, it's definitely still weird. Like, it's hard to be excited as a fan because, again, like, you know, they're playing in the middle of a pandemic. But I'm glad that, you know, at least through this point, we haven't had anything significantly, you know, hurt anybody, I guess any of the players

or coaches afterwards. That's probably the positive takeaway. But hopefully next year, we don't have to deal with this at all. That would be the preferred snare. Even though there was a log jam, you know, right before the season wrapped up just a little bit when it came to scheduling,

you know, this season. has helped provide somewhat of a sense of normalcy, and guys rolling along with you makes things that much better. And that's going to bring a close to this Tuesday edition of the Ringer NFL show with Ryan Chazir, Kailin Jones, and myself, Cole Wright. We're part of the Ringer podcast network. And as always, you can follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. And you can also follow us on Twitter at the Ringer NFL.

And next on the Wednesday, Ringer NFL show, Warren Sharp and Chris Vernon, those two cats, they're going to look ahead to. the championship round and they're going to wrap up the divisional round. They're going to provide some insights as always. And this weekend, you also may want to scribble this down because immediately following the final conference game on Sunday, the Ringer NFL

show, they're going to go live. So make sure you're subscribe to the Ringer's YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash the Ringer and following the Ringer on Twitter at the Ringer NFL. And Sunday, it's going to be Kevin and Nora Princiata. You won't want to miss that. And next week, we'll be back. We're going to take

a look to the Super Bowl. And put Championship Sunday under the microscope. For Kalin and Ryan, I'm Cole. It's been fun. We'll see you next time.