The Ryen Russillo Podcast - NFL Wild-Card Recap With Tim Hasselbeck

Episode Date: January 11, 2021

Russillo shares his thoughts on Deshaun Watson wanting out of Houston (1:30) before he is joined by former NFL QB Tim Hasselbeck to recap all the games from NFL wild-card weekend and to tell some stories from his time in the league (15:00). Finally, Ryen answers some Life Advice questions (1:07:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

well that was a lot of fun congrats to all the wild card fan bases that moved on i was gonna say congrats to everybody for moving on but i'm sure there's a lot of matt steelers fans um after that late night late night for your squad it's the ryan rossillo podcast i am ryan rossillo tim hasselbeck's going to join us. We're going to talk all wildcard stuff and get some amazing Spurrier stories as well, and then life advice at the end as always. Thanks for checking out the Ryan Russillo podcast.

Tim Hasselbeck, as we mentioned, going to join us in 45 minutes or so. The Spurrier stories that he has are absolutely incredible. We used to always just stop him in the hallway at ESPN and be like, tell us a Spurrier story. They're great, so he's going to do a bunch of those. But we also want to break down everything that we saw, whether it was a great win by Baltimore where there was,

I think Lamar's run is one of the great running plays I've ever seen that we'll ever see from a quarterback in NFL history. I'm serious. The magnitude of what it meant, how it turned that game around, how many people could do that. Other quarterbacks, I never want to say to Mike, they can't do anything. I just don't know that if anybody else could do what Lamar did on that run.

It was incredible. But Lamar is in constant up and down of, is this guy the guy? I think that's, like I said earlier this year, I think it's going to be 10 years of this with Lamar. You're like, I want that to be better. So they move on. Buffalo and Josh Allen looks incredible again. I did some podcast stuff on Saturday night with Kevin Clark.

Um, but we're going to do all this. I don't need to run through every score and every single outcome. So there's two things that I actually do want to do, um, to start this podcast here. And I want to talk a little about Deshaun Watson, this podcast.

When we went back to the Chris long days, we were pretty early on the, Hey, not everything's great down there in Houston. Um, that Hopkins didn't like Bill O'Brien Watts didn't like him. I didn't know what was going to end up happening. And then O'Brien ends up moving on from Hopkins, which seems like a weird thing that you would let your coach do. If you were even close to moving on from your coach, be like, Hey, it's kind of like when a GM is going to get fired and they're like, yeah,

just run the draft real quick though, before you're out of here. Now, knowing the NBA side of that a little bit more, I will tell you that when your staff, the GM staff, and a lot of the staff will get to stay, and everybody's gone through the work, and they've been talking and having these conversations all year long, it's not the most ridiculous thing that somebody that's on their way out would still work with his staff to go, well, look, we don't want somebody new who's never had these conversations with you for the entire year is not as educated on the scouting staff's work on all these different prospects. But it just still, it still feels a little weird. So moving on from Bill was going to happen and Houston was terrible this year, terrible defensively, but Sean Watson was actually incredible. There's some arguments to be made that he was the most valuable player in the league this year. That's how good Deshaun is.

I am biased because I like Deshaun the player. And to this point, like his personality, I think is exactly what you would want confident, but it's not all about me, even though the arrogance at quarterback is something that's we expect. And at times like the threshold for it is, it can be a little bit higher because you're like,

you know what? That guy's like, think about it. All of you that have played sports, the quarterback's kind of a dick. Sometimes the high school QB college, definitely. And then the pros,

everybody knows how to kind of mask it a little bit more and try to say the rehearse thing. So they sound like they're the ultimate leader all the time. And some of those guys are real. And some of them are, I think Deshaun is always a guy that's been real. So we know that the history has not been great. So then we add in this year with this Jack Easterby thing that Albert Breer, who is very locked into the New England side of things was like, I don't know what's going on there. I've talked to a couple

of players are like, wait, what? The chaplain from New England, like he's going to be running this. And as we've said also, and remember when I first, first wanted to work in sports, but I actually want to work in a front office. And NBA GM was nice enough to take me out to lunch to spend time with me. And he said one specific thing. He said, if you want to work in a front office, if you really want a position of power, you know, because I was so much younger than when I had that, that it was, it wasn't an interview. It was just a lunch. He was like, you need to recruit ownership. You need to talk to people that may own a team one day.

You need to talk to people that are minority owners that could then own their own team at some point. He's like, that's exactly what I did. And that's how I became a GM. And in this case, it's clear that the Cal McNair, Jack Easterby relationship is such that Jack figured out a way. And part of it is you have to appreciate that he moved on from whatever role it was in New England to be running an NFL team, but you don't have to appreciate if you're Deshaun Watson. And that's why there's been more negative stuff written about it because you're just like,

what? Like, look, if tomorrow I were an NBA GM, let's, let's admit it. There would be a lot of people going, are you kidding me? There might be some that are like, actually makes some sense, but there would be a lot of people being like, there would be no open mind from some corners, okay, if that were to ever, ever happen. And that's kind of what you have here in the Easterby thing, all right? So now if you're Watson, you were told you would be part of the GM hiring process. You didn't ask for it. And this is according to talking to multiple people about this. You didn't ask for it. This is according to talking to multiple people about this. Watson didn't request a vote in this. He was told he would be consulted on. And then Houston, who paid, I think of thousands of dollars on these consulting firms when the AD that's supposed to be part of your job. But here we are at the pro level where everybody's being compensated. But I do think that it's

important to also point out the reason that consulting firms are hired is that when the media gets mad at somebody hiring somebody and then something goes wrong, they can say, actually, we did do our due diligence. We hired a consulting firm. Because if you ever had an ownership group that hired like two GMs in a row that flamed out without any consulting groups whatsoever, then media members would be like, well, how come you're not reaching out for any consultation on this? You just know, like that would be playing the results and people will do that over and over again. All right. So Watson, who is not a diva, was told he'd be part of the process and then wasn't part of the process. Now, if you're a front office, you can do things in three ways with your star players. You can listen to them. You can tell them you want their input. NBA, it's almost mandatory.

You're going to have to do it. Football, it still feels a little outdated in that sense, but I could also understand that you go, all right, and here's the problem. If you tell someone that you want to hear their input, they give you their input, and then you do something worse, that's worse than just ignoring them. So like I said, you could do one of three things. You can tell your star player you are going to consult with them and then have them be part of the decision-making process. And that may mean you have to make a decision that you don't want to, because then if you go against the player, he's going to be pissed at you. You can just ignore them, right? You can ignore them and go, you actually have no input on draft picks. You have no input on head coaching hires. Like I'm

not going to do any of that stuff because C1 above, or you can do number three, which was what Houston did where they said he was going to be part of it. And then he wasn't, which is actually worse than any of them. If you think Brady was in there going, Hey, Bill, definitely don't get any good receivers. Don't do that. Bill went with the, I'm not offering you anything, so therefore I'm not expecting anything, and you shouldn't expect anything from me. Watson expected something. So now we're in a spot where Watson doesn't want to talk to leadership because they went

with Nick Casario outside from New England. Watson is clearly annoyed by that. I know there are reports that he would like Miami. So let's talk about the real part of this. I don't know if Watson is, is wired that he's going to make it difficult. I don't think he can do a James Harden difficult on a franchise or an Anthony Davis slash clutch difficult on the new Orleans Pelicans,

because that's what you would have to do. You'd have to go Carson Palmer where Carson Palmer had 80 million. I don't know if he had 80 million in the bank. That's what his career earnings were. Clearly, tax is easy. Russo, don't go too far. But I just I don't know that Watson would say, OK, I'm not playing football because that's what he would have to do.

He would have to be so determined that he's scared the Texans ended deciding to move him. It is January. The draft is still months away. Forget the start of week one, 2021. Who the hell knows what that's going to look like? So as upset as Watson is now, and I will say this the last time,

he's justified in being upset. I don't want him to be there anymore either. All right? But I'm not quite sure he's wired the way where you have to make this nasty to get your way and we're so far away from the start of the season so anytime i'm seeing like oh he could like the dolphins what would the trade package be there he has to make the texans think he's not going to come back and play for any of this to be taken remotely seriously. All right. One other thing that I want to add to this open, and that is where we're at emotionally with the

ends of some of these games. These games mean a lot to so many of you. They mean a lot to me because, hey, it's what I do. I've watched basketball every single night since the NBA has restarted. And I know that might not sound like it's that surprising, but usually I try to give myself a night where I'm free of sports to reset the engine a little. And it's getting worse. It's getting worse in that the review part of the NFL and the NBA, it's ruining that emotional moment

that is the first reason why we fell in love with sports to begin with. Think back to 1998. I was thinking about this the other day. Bryce Drew playing for Val sports to begin with. Think back to 1998. I was thinking about this the other day. Bryce Drew playing for Valpo against Ole Miss, March Madness, and Bryce Drew throws an insane buzzer beater. And from that point on, you're wondering if it could happen. It happens. It goes in, and then it's a motion, and everybody's freaking out. You're looking at your bracket, and you're mad mad or you just love March Madness so much because the shot went in. And that's what I used to love

about March Madness. Like you just never quite knew what was going to happen. The Tyus-Edney coast to coast thing. There's just, there's just all of these plays. And guess what would happen? You wouldn't know what the outcome was going to be. You would watch the play and then it would either work out or not work out. Pretty simple, right? And you felt a certain way depending on that outcome. Or maybe you couldn't have cared less, like most of us about Valpo and Ole Miss. You just cared about your bracket. But then you have one of those moments, one of those March Madness moments.

You're like, oh, this is the best product in sports. Well, now, even though I love the NBA and the NFL, clearly the ends of these games are lacking that emotional part of this. They're actually hurting this product. I don't think the NFL cares because they can just run more ads. The NBA is not exactly absolved from that either. The money grab that we're going to see from some of these leagues over the next year or so. And I really don't get too caught up in like, oh, they're just doing it for the money.

Like, yep, that's what they're doing. They run a business. But the money grab and what we're going to see, I think it's happening still with plugging in a little bit more advertising than we're used to, or maybe I'm just getting older. But after what just happened with the pandemic, leagues are going to be trying to find a way to squeeze out any possible dollar that they can. But the whole reason that we have review and replay is because people kept saying, we want it right.

We want to get it right, but we're not getting it right. That's my point. To have replay be this big a part of our sports watching Saturday, Sunday, or any weeknight when you're watching the NBA, to have it be this big a part of it, you've got to get it right more often, and clearly they're not going to get it right. The Colts-Bills fumble play is a perfect example of this. It looked as if it were definitely a fumble, but the problem is the way the review rules are set up because none of you, trust me, none of you in the media or fans would want any system of review where the refs are allowed to say, hey, what do you think might've happened though? Because what might've

happened is that a Bills defender may have had his hand on the Colts offensive player while his knee was on the ground, but we don't know for sure. So that's why that was not overturned. And it was said that he was down, even though it looked like it could have been a fumble, right? I mean, it looked like it was probably a fumble, but they also definitively couldn't have said that his hand was off. And my point is, it's like in five minutes of a moment of a closing drive of trying to figure out if the Colts are going to tie up the Bills or God forbid for Bills fans that have had a long drought, have the Colts throw some ridiculous game winning touchdown and some broken play.

We do see in sports, but instead of wondering, like we're just at home guessing and then we don't like the outcome of it because it felt like it didn't look like what the rest actually told us. So if you want replay, get it right more often, but you don't. And my point has always been like, is it worth it?

Is it worth it to the product to remove the emotion, to remove the excitement? Because at the end of some of these NBA games, you're sitting there going, okay, what happened here? Am I excited? I'm not sure yet. Let me hold off. Am I going to be really bummed out? Well, I don't know. So let me sit here with this vague despondent attitude until I actually know the outcome of it. I mean, is that really what you want? Is that what you really want in some of these products? Hey, NBA shot goes in. Okay. I'm a player. What do I do? Wait, wait patiently. The game winner has been destroyed by replay. It has been, and not every single one of them, but for the most part that moment the reason we fell

in love with sports in the first place it's like no one cares about that part of the product being this diminished think about it this way all right what if you and your wife were in the delivery room all right and your wife gives birth to this beautiful baby boy healthy beautiful boy and just as you're about to be handed your child, a doctor and like a couple other doctors come in and they're like, hold up, wait. And they're like, we got to run some tests. Let's just be sure about this. And then you sit there and you look at your wife for like five minutes and you're like, I don't know. Should I be happy? She's like, oh, there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. I'm like, all right, but they've been in there now for a couple minutes.

Oh, don't worry. They just have to double check. This is a big deal. I'm like, okay. And then the doctor comes in and goes, it's yours. Good news. And you're like, yeah, but you know what? It wouldn't be the same.

There's no way that delay allows it to be the same, not only for you, but for the players and for the coaches. And then when things are normal, an arena full of thousands of people waiting on it. I'm not saying I have the solution to fix it, but I don't understand why everybody seems to be so okay with that moment being broken now. Okay, we've got Tim Hasselbeck. This is going to be fun. This is a guy I got to know pretty, pretty well. I don't know. Best friends would be an exaggeration,

but Tim Hasselbeck joins me live from his home, his, his museum. You know, what's funny about me living out here. I know you lived in Manhattan beach for a while, but I think towards the end of ESPN, every time you were coming in to do a hit with me,

you're like, are you on Zillow again? A couple of things. One, I thought we were best friends. That stung a little bit. That cut deep. I'd start there.

Yeah, pretty much every time I went on there, you either had like a new outfit with like stretchy fabric, and I was like really jealous because I was probably still in a suit from tv i was kind of like golly i'd love to have on a pair of lulus or some some roan stretchy fabric right now uh and then i'd look over and i mean i wasn't like checking in on what you were you know what was on your computer uh but i was like yeah he's on zillow again this dude's out of here but you were actually helping me out because you lived out here. So, all right.

Obviously, Tim, NFL analyst at ESPN. So let's get through everything we saw over the past weekend. I want to start with the last game. I feel great for Browns fans. Even if you never rooted for the Browns, you have to feel great. But the fact that it's 28-0, it's an awful start for Pittsburgh. Part of this is a, hey, good for Baker. And I think it'd be unfair to say,

well, look at that start. Baker didn't really have to, but they, he made some great throws in that first quarter that led to that. So what did you say? Let's, let's go positive first. What did you see from Baker in his first playoff game? Yeah. I thought what was great about things for Baker was that yes, you're right in the beginning, his week six game against Pittsburgh was probably the worst game he had all season. And so, you know, anytime that you're getting ready to play an opponent and you've played them before, like they're in your breakdown for sure. Right. So, you know, it's almost like punishment.

You have to watch yourself play horribly as you're getting ready. Like, it's not exactly like the best confidence boost, you know? So I think there's kind of an element. So you take that, take this like, hey, 17 years since they've won in Pittsburgh in this situation, the magnitude of the postseason, everything kind of surrounding that team with COVID and the protocols and all that stuff. And I thought he was great. He played on time, which I think he really is best when he does that. And then I think the other is best when he does that. And then I think the other thing, Ryan, too, is that there was a point,

like the thing got so lopsided that there was a point that there had to be discussions like, all right, what do we do? Do we start to slow this thing down and eliminate possessions so that these guys can't come back? And I think that what they didn't do was curl up into a ball like they still were trusting him to throw the football you know I think at one point it gets to a 13 point game like they're still a 12 point game they're still trusting him to throw the football and I thought that he kind of managed all of that stuff uh perfectly and really didn't give Pittsburgh an opportunity to fight back in. Ben, is he done? Here's what I would say.

I think that this year with the protocols and things of that nature, if you've been in the league a long time, you have kids that are going to school. You're kind of living a normal life as a guy that's around 40 and has kids that they live their lives and a wife that does the same thing. I think it's really hard. I know that there are a lot of sacrifices made by people who, they can't just isolate themselves. And so I think that probably plays a factor into this. Now, you know, I don't know how losing will sit with them.

He actually played, you know, in some ways, kind of played okay, threw it 68 times, you know? Like, threw for over 500 yards. I mean, the fact that this game was even a, hey, something weird happens on one of these next possessions, they're back in this, which is incredible, especially when the other team knows

that the only thing you're doing is throwing every single time. So I just think that you're smart to bring that up as a, because no one's ever going to really remember that in a couple more days. They're not really going to think of it that way. We're going to see him crying on the sideline. We're going to think 28-0. We're going to see him crying on the sideline. We're going to think 28,

nothing. We're going to think 11 and O to out in the wild card round and all those things. But yeah, I guess you'd probably have to look at the season as a collective and just go, okay, but was this ever anyone that you felt like threatened you other than the

receivers really is I think what the bigger issue is. Here's what I think in terms of, and I'm assuming you're saying, is he done? Like, does he retire? You know, is that what you were saying? Or are you saying physically, can he still play?

That was just a brilliant question because I figure you take it wherever you want. Yeah, yeah. Well, here's what I would say. And I mean this, whether it's Breeze, whether it's Rivers,

whether it's Brady, you know, everybody kind of, you know, talks kind of, you know, talks about all this stuff. Like these guys are making decisions based solely on their legacy and what they can accomplish. And when you play, like when you play as long as these guys have played and then they have kids that become to come to a certain age, 100% of the time when it's the players, still the player's decision, whether to keep going or not, that's what's deciding.

Like my brother could have kept playing. Like he played, you know, he could have been a backup and hung around for a while, but he's like, shoot, my kids are starting high school. Like that made the decision, you know, like, and I think the same thing's going to happen for Brady. He's going to look up and be like, oh, wait a second. I got a teenager now? Like, this is what I'm doing.

Or whether it's Rivers and I want to see my kids play because that's going to be over. So I think for Ben, you know, the tears kind of as you're alluding to, I think that's what it referred to. And in terms of ability to play, look, I think that when you're as good as those guys have been, you find other ways to be really good if you physically aren't as good as you once were. It's also a weird spot for Pittsburgh

because if Ben says, I want to try one more year, I would think at least most organizations would say we owe it to Ben to give him another shot at this it's not like we went 4-12 it's not like it was a disaster it wasn't the ending we ended up becoming a little exposed there and then on top of everything you just said the abnormality of this season that I think if he wants to give it another shot the Steelers are going to feel like they have to Belichick it may be a different story yeah well I think you he wants to give it another shot, the Steelers are going to feel like they have to. Belichick, it may be a different story. Yeah, well, I think you're right.

And in fairness to Ben and how this went, right, they were 11-0. Their receivers are dropping the ball like crazy. They couldn't run the football at all. I'm thinking, in fact, we're the worst team in the NFL in terms of running the ball. And then they had a bunch of guys get hurt on defense. And the defense still did a good job of fighting

and hanging in there. But, like, when you look at their collapse, I don't feel like it was Ben. And I'll say this in terms of the uniqueness of the season. I think something that really hurt those guys was the outbreak with the Tennessee Titans. Because the COVID outbreak with the Titans then essentially

just, you know, threw into a bit of a tailspin Pittsburgh season. They lost their bi-week. It got accelerated up. I mean, it kind of just threw everybody. I'm just not in, I don't know. I know what you're saying and I know they brought it up, but they brought it up all the time before that Colts game. They're down to the Colts big bi-week, bi-week, bi-week. You have no idea mentally you're up here. You eventually get over that you lost your by week because then they come back against the Colts and now you look like, okay, so what happened to the by week excuse? So that one, um, I think it's the fatigue of it though. What I'm saying is as I think it's the fatigue of it and listen, you're right. Eventually it is like, because I, you know, you hear people

say, Hey, listen, the offensive offensive line like we're banged up but then you turn the titans on you know prior to this weekend and you're like well dude that's your third string left tackle you know and you guys are just running the ball down everybody's throat so like you're right at some point like it can't be an excuse I just do think too, part of what happens is sometimes guys just, it's like, I need a, I need a break or you had it in your mind. Oh, I was going to get a break here. And instead we got it week three or whatever, whatever week that was. Was this a lot like Rob Johnson's last game with you guys when you were with Washington? Cause you, do you realize that you were, I believe you were there for the end of his career.

So I was, Rob actually told me I was there for the end of his career twice. I don't think the old ball coach was a real big fan of Rob. Spurrier didn't like him. I think they had a different philosophy. I'm just going to take a stab at that and assume that that might be true. Wait, was the philosophy? Because Spurrier wasn't exactly known as a grinder when he was at the NFL level.

Didn't you tell me once that he didn't know any of the guys on defense names? He didn't know their names? That was possible that I relayed that to you once or twice. Yeah. No, I think what happened was he was frustrated with Rob Johnson. They signed me just to have a guy, assuming that Danny Werfel was going to come back. And then Danny was like, yeah, I'm not coming back. And so like, okay, we're stuck with you. And we just cut Rob. There's no Ben, I don't believe, where it's the end for the other guy. Like the Rob Johnson end wasn't as dramatic and not as celebrated a career.

But maybe it's your brother where you're not even teammates with him. But, you know, as you alluded to before. Was there a time where like it was the end for somebody? I was with the Ravens in training camp one year and Randall Cunningham was there. And I don't think it was really the year and Randall Cunningham was there and and I don't think it was really the end for Randall Cunningham but um yeah I mean it was it was obviously I mean I was I think I was in third grade when I started watching him he had played for a while so yeah that one was interesting yeah I've certainly been around some guys I think for my brother that was the one that was was interesting because you gotta understand with my brother like you play like horse in the driveway

you know like not even competing against each other just like just shooting jumpers okay and he'd get hurt like he'd find a way to like injure i rolled my ankle but like do it we weren't playing one-on-one so like the fact that he, as long as he did, anybody that had ever been around him was like, how? How is this possible? You know they do the 225 rep test at the Combine? Had he been invited to the Combine, he'd have been pinned by the bar without registering a rep. So the idea that he played, whatever years this kid's kind of crazy yeah

that's right i mean he's still on he was starting games there with the colts five years ago at 40 years old like i had to look that up again to go like that that's right he actually did that okay um i'll go through some of the other games a little quicker here you mentioned the titans and you know their situation they get up Lamar, I was going through every... I was going to track his third downs in this game because the Titans were the worst third down defense, something I've been talking about all season long. And Lamar is...

What the hell is he doing? That pick is terrible. Oh my God, that 48-yard run on third down may be the greatest. If you think of game and situation and how impossible that would be for almost anyone that's ever played the position. Maybe Vic is the only other guy that could do it.

Maybe Kyler. But 48-yard touchdown, it might be one of the greatest runs we've ever seen in NFL history by a quarterback, considering what it did turning the game around. That every series where you're like, what the hell is he doing? And then the moment of that. I mean, that's exactly who I think he's going to be for the rest of his career so it's awesome that he got the win he's probably one of my favorite personalities whenever you hear him talk i'm like this guy's awesome uh but yet you could also turn around he sounds like a corner every time i like like we hear sound ryan clark would be like

he just he's like that doesn't sound like, like he sounds like a, like in the DB meeting room. Yeah. But a likable one, you know, that's, that's the difference where sometimes with defensive backs, I'm like, what are you talking about? Chris log did tweet out once he goes, I can't believe so-and-so did this. He goes, and now you know what it's like getting into any kind of argument with a defensive back as a teammate.

So is, is there cause the cause the win, the resume part? Hey, he'd been bad in the playoffs. Okay, now we have this, but I can't help but think there's also a moment of like that Titans defense isn't very good and there were struggles throughout. So now, you know, take it any direction you want to go in. Yeah, I think the interesting thing about the Titans struggles and you're right about third down, a lot of that was just like known passing situations, right?

So it wasn't like, oh, hey, they can't stop the run. What was interesting about how the Titans have played the Ravens in the past was they actually defended the quarterback run game unbelievably well. was they actually defended the quarterback run game unbelievably well. And, you know, whether it's because it was coached well or because they had the personnel and kind of speed at linebacker and safety to deal with it, they did a good job with it. Well, I think your assessment of kind of the situation and magnitude of that play and what it did for that team is spot on. The interception couldn't have been worse.

I mean, he's throwing a corner out he misses so badly on it that i was waiting to see if like the ball slipped out of his hand or if his arm got hit like he missed that badly on the throw and i thought oh my gosh is he gonna play terribly in this yeah exactly and you could hear greasy even like because on the call you don't want to be really nasty, but Greasy sometimes can't hide it. And Greasy's like, he's like, yeah, he goes, he's eight yards inside of where that throw should be. As if like, I can't believe an NFL quarterback missed that badly on the route. It was like, he was throwing a different route altogether, but go ahead.

But I think you're right about Vic. When I watched it, it was like, you know, they had that like a down on the field level camera angle where he's kind of running right at you. And you're like, well, surely Kevin Byard is going to make a play on him. And it's like, Nope. I mean, he just ate up, you know, his thing and it was third and long. And so, yeah, I think they're a good team. The way they ran the football at the end of the

season, they do a good job of the quarterback run game. People are doing a better job of figuring out how to defend the quarterback run game. And so now, what are the different things you can do off of the quarterback run game? There's a typical zone read where the quarterback is outside. Well, now they've done a lot of stuff with Dobbins because he's got good speed of him on kind of these perimeter runs, and now they're inside runs with Lamar. And so that was one of the things that helped the Ravens ice the game, and I think we're just going to see a massive amount of that going forward.

Yeah, that run by Lamar, too. Bayard, who's terrific, I felt like he was in a he was in a bad spot like he was going to get worked because the angle and that that part of his acceleration watching the guys on the back end i think one guy actually doesn't have a great angle because he doesn't close it out and run because he's thinking there's no way he's actually going to make it all the way down here and i think one door i think it was a dory jackson who by the way can fly yeah so there's a there's a moment where you go there's no way lamar's scoring and look you should run you should run out you should but it's almost this thing where the the defensive back was was thinking i don't have to go hard right now because

there's no possible way he's making it to the pylon. And then he's like, oh, no. As soon as you see it. All right. New Orleans wins against Chicago. That part is not remotely surprising. Anytime Breeze hits somebody, he hit Michael Thomas in the second half on a deeper throw, you're like, hey, look at that. Because you just don't see it that often.

What are you seeing from Breeze and their prospects of getting out of the NFC? Yeah, I think in fairness to Breeze, having Michael Thomas in the lineup is a massive differentiator for him. Michael Thomas is so good. And, you know, so, and that's his guy, right? That's the guy I think he's got the best rapport with.

He's got kind of reads his body language the best. You know, Thomas does a good job of being physical, kind of the moment of truth and creating space, you know, even when he doesn't have a ton of separation. So, you know, I think when you look at Breeze and kind of some of the things he's dealt with this year, not having Thomas is significant. Like, go look at any of these other quarterbacks and be like, all right, take away a guy that is a hundred catch number one receiver out of that offense. Like take him away from him and be like, well, how does that affect that quarterback? I mean, it would affect them all. Like, like take AJ Brown from Montana Hill, take, you know,

take TY Hilton away from, or take Stefan Diggs away from Josh Allen. It matters. So, you know, in fairness, you know, like for Breeze, look, yeah. I just think that it's a little bit like I said about Ben. When you're that good, you find different ways. The play to Latavius Murray for the touchdown is just an insane awareness and competitiveness in the pocket that a lot of guys can't make that play. pocket that there's a lot of guys can't make that play they're like well that guy's in pass pro now I'm just going to sprint outside the pocket you get pushed to the sideline you throw it away well for him he kind of just keeps it alive like finds a way to get it to him and so yeah I think there are such a unique offense to defend with different things they can do and then I think their defense is really good so um look it wasn't a surprise but I think their defense is really good. So, look, it wasn't a surprise, but I think, look, they beat Tampa Bay by 35 last time out. I think they're winning this weekend.

Okay, so then let's go back to the other games that we saw on Saturday. Tampa, the last game against Washington. We did a live pod after the fact, and Brady actually, his numbers are going, this guy's through for 380. This is incredible. But the standard that we have for them may be unfair because it's Brady or whatever, that we want to see it be more dominant. We don't want to see Taylor Heineke charging at the end of a game, maybe making this a really weird outcome.

And there's no way Tampa should ever in a million years lose that game. We know it's one, we know what's on the road, but I think a lot of us wanted to see more dominance, despite the fact that there are Brady throws in there that were incredible. The raw numbers look incredible, but if you watched it for three plus hours, you probably were underwhelmed. Yeah, and I think that Washington has a really good defense. So to your point, we should be impressed with 22 of 40 for 3-8-ing, two touchdowns and no interceptions. And, you know, they protected him well. Okay, the standard is so high.

It's almost like, you know, prior to the season it was like okay if New England doesn't make the postseason and Tampa does like oh last laugh for Brady right but like to your point like no one's ever satisfied it's like nope that wasn't good enough like if they don't you know and Arians probably doesn't help like if there aren't rings on our fingers then it was a failure or whatever he said like he probably doesn't help in If there aren't rings on our fingers, then it was a failure or whatever he said. He probably doesn't help in that. But look, I think they're a really good team. I don't think that they're as good as New Orleans. I just don't. And I don't think they're coached as well. And I think that's a big part of it. I think there are things that they do offensively that lead to big numbers, but don't always just help you win the football game.

And I think there were stretches during this year where they just didn't run the football. And I think that there are things they try to do in the passing game that they make it too hard, and they kind of expose themselves to potential for negative plays, and we've seen that. Is there a real part of this where you can see as a guy who played the position, can you, can you see where, and I'm sure you've watched a ton of Brady too, you know, knowing the family, the background, you guys all being from that area, you probably had to hear about them all the time,

even though you actually played the position, uh, where you can see where a coach and a and a qb aren't on the same page can you see that stuff better than i assume a lot of us can by watching it well i think that i think it's hard to see when the quarterback in the the coach on page i think it's easy to see like when a quarterback is not seeing things well right so you know when you're watching something you're like wait a second like he literally worked a route combination right into the secondary rotation and if he goes to the other side of the field you know he's got the exact matchup and route combination that he wants against that that coverage so i think it's easy to see that now is that hey the quarterback

just not seeing it or is that look not being on the same page as the coach i think that's easy to see that. Now, is that, hey, the quarterback just not seeing it? Or is that, look, not being on the same page as the coach? I think that's hard to tell. I think one of the things you see in Tampa, and, you know, I guess it's probably fair to say they've cleaned it up a little bit, but you would see receivers and quarterback not on the same page. And so I think part of why that happens is, you know, whether they're not meeting together, whether they're not, you know they're not you know going over the different things that that could happen but too often this year there were times where protection gets blitzed Brady's looking to try to get the football out and the receiver's running his route like everything's great like that I think is a lot of that was going on in Tampa

so we're talking like that hot route stuff like we saw that even with Evans in a couple times, which is a guy who's played a long time. And even not when things were hot. Okay, so now just based on the coverage, okay? Hey, it's third and nine. I think I'm doing this. But look, they're playing so soft. I want you to look as you're going vertical

because I might just give you the ball and let you try to split it and pick up the first down. I think in Tampa, especially the beginning part of the season, they were doing Bruce Arians stuff. And I think that there was a feeling in there and with other coaches that like, if we're not doing more of what 12 wants to do, then we're doing it wrong. Right. And like Ryan, you, like, you say that, like, right. Like, like shake your head.

Like, why wouldn't you? I can't tell you how many times that that doesn't happen. It's like, it's the coach's plan and they're not as concerned about the guy that's actually throwing the football. I love when you can kind of tell, as I had said earlier with that greasy comment on the Lamar pick,

where you can kind of tell where the former, especially with the former quarterbacks, like the analysts are going. And that's actually happened with Lamar a few games with different national broadcasters where you can tell the guy

in the booth's like, I don't know. That wasn't, it'd be a little tighter on that one. But Trubisky, I thought, Romo was telling you the entire Trubisky story in that game where it was a third down. It was like third and whatever, third and...

I don't know where the sticks were. I think it was third and less than 10, but it was a big third down. And he took the check down in front of the sticks, like no chance. And then to the right side, the guy on the route, you know, it was kind of an out route, but it was deeper. It was probably like 50. It's not an easy throw by me, but it's like, Hey, nothing's working. You know what I mean? You're lucky you even have three points.

You have to make that throw in this game, in this situation it's's there and you never even looked at it like see the check down go back go check down like take a look to the right and i thought romo basically summed up trubisky in 10 seconds he was really good right there on trubisky and it you know there's times too when a when a guy is talking especially the guys you know, there's times too, when a, when a guy is talking, especially the guys, you know, listen to the number one teams that each, you know, network, you know, that those guys have amazing access and oftentimes really good relationships with head coach, GM owner, possibly quarterback, maybe just people in general. And so when you say, when, when he says something like that, it's impossible. Like you're saying not to read into it. Like it's impossible. Listen, that one, I thought Romo was on the money with it. He was exactly right. The one for me where like,

I think I started sweating. Cause I started feeling bad for the guy was, was Aikman talking about golf and losing confidence and you know not playing well and like are you talking this week at the end of the regular season no I'm talking both yeah there was one of the other because I think the criticism for this week just isn't fair like that first and 15 throw that he had I go okay, okay, his hand is like, clearly he's post-surgery on the thumb. And they had mentioned in the broadcast, they said, you know, the staff was telling us, you know, he looks great. And then every third or fourth throw, it sort of flooded.

But you're right. There's an Aikman end of regular season game where I'm like, he's out on this guy. He's totally out on him. And again, it's hard not to do this but like then you start going all right how many rams games has acheman had in the last three years like look they've been a good team so the fact that they've been a good team like had these guys a few times right and you know then you start to go through that and you know i think that mcveigh

has probably been pretty candid with people in general about some of his players and his uh you know how he feels about him and so i was like oh man like this like i hope that golf's not one of those guys that like goes back and watches the tv copy because that one would hurt a little bit. Okay, all right, yeah. So I don't know that there's a ton to do on that game. I cannot believe that Rams defense, I'm not ever saying, oh, I can't believe the Rams defense played well

because we know how good they are, but I guess I just can't believe that I watched a game where Russell Wilson completed 11 passes. I think so much of him as a player that that was a little surprising. And now you're left with what happened to Seattle's offense. Nothing as dramatic as what kind of changes need to be made here. I wouldn't think. I mean, sure, coordinators get fired left and right and all that kind of stuff.

But the deep shots went away. Their offense went from really special. Wilson went from unbelievable numbers to just falling off a cliff on the deep numbers. He went from like one of the best guys on deep shots to one of the worst in the second half of the season. And a lot of that goes to that Rams defense. It gets there with four. But I thought when Donald went down, I go, OK, now Seattle's going to find a way to come back into this. And then it got even worse.

So I don't think it's anything more. I like to say this a lot, but because something happens, when something happens, it doesn't mean it's actually a thing. And he had a bad game, but I can't imagine it's actually a thing with Wilson. I don't think it's a thing with Wilson. And I think that it's surprising because they've got good wideouts, you know, and guys that have speed. So when you think about not throwing the ball well down the field,

you know, that's, that's a little bit surprising. Okay. I think that obviously like my background is on offense. I think we just naturally, maybe we talk about quarterback so much. We focus so much on offense and just just as media, TV, whatever, really don't focus that much on defense, even when it's a group that's really, really special. It's impossible to not realize that the Rams are really special on defense. They've got a couple of the very best players in the entire game on that side of the ball. And they're coached by a guy that pretty much is universally respected around the league as one of the kind of bright up-and-coming coaches in the NFL.

They might be that good. They might be that good on that side of the ball. And I think one of the things that happens is when you take somebody like Leonard Floyd, who people don't even really remember in Chicago. It's like, well, how many big plays did he ever make in Chicago? He was disappointing. I mean, he's a first-round pick. He comes out of Georgia.

I have a theory that all those guys in Georgia uniforms, the ends, all look like they're all going to be amazing. I don't know what it is about the uniform or the lights. It, it, you know, Sanford, I don't know what it is. Every time I see one of those guys,

like two 35 and looking like you, you could play football or basketball might also help. Like, like, I don't think you and I would look like that in Georgia. You, I mean, maybe you would, but I, I would not look like that in a Georgia uniform. So, all right.

So anyway, you're right, though, because there's a bunch of guys that pop up. I'm like, all right, there's Williams again who has the pick six. I'm like, I feel like that guy's making plays all the time. And I don't ever feel comfortable enough saying, hey, this is what I think about their interior safeties if I'm not watching a team every single week and actually not cluttering it by watching all the other teams. But there's more guys out there. The depth on the front line is terrific. So I'm with you. I think Staley, the defensive coordinator we've mentioned a couple of times here on this podcast, is starting to get more notice and people are talking about him a little bit more. It's hard to imagine like what are you doing at the quarterback position what is golf going to look like in another week when you know he doesn't look great when he's healthy at times and now and i'm giving him the thumb as the excuse because there's just too many throws even from that game

where i go that's just the thumb like that's just the hand and it's amazing he's even out there right now well and i in fairness to him in all seriousness, got three pins and 12 days removed. Like, I think it's not fair to judge him on that. Problem is, is he was playing poorly prior to it. Right.

And so that's where, so now you wonder like, all right, well, let's say the thumb is totally fine, which it won't be like, well, well,

how does he play? And I, and people need to realize this green bay's got a good defense like they're not the rams but they've got a good defense i've been saying i had a louisville game a few years back and jair alexander was there i remember watching him then being like this guy guy's amazing. And, you know, he kind of fought through a knee college. And look, they're good on defense. I think they could be more aggressive defensively.

To me, that ends up kind of being the story. I mean, just look at these teams with good offense, whether it's been Kansas City, New Orleans, Green Bay, all of those teams, their defenses, you know, have the ability to create turnovers, be really good. And so, yeah, I think this would be the end of the road for the Rams. But I do think that, you know, I think it comes down to golf. I don't think he plays well in it.

And I think that that starts to just kind of snowball again. If you could be any quarterback right now, would it be Josh Allen? Be like, I want to be him. What ways be him? Like, like play in that city for that coach,

that city, that coach, his ability now, physical. Wait a second. I get his ability now physical wait a second i get his ability too yeah yeah you get you could be any you can be any of the remaining because you don't want to pick rogers at this point because it's almost over i mean he's where taylor heineke's wearing a former number five in washington no listen i don't know but some of the heineke stuff out there you might want to be careful yeah no it's out there i've seen that that's pretty significant tat he's got going on his

arm too look i'd go um i'm still going my homes look i i think i've said this before andy reed i think is the best coach of quarterbacks in this generation. Right. So like prior to this, like people will say, Hey, Bill Walsh or that type of thing. When you look at Andy Reed's list of quarterbacks that he has won football games with, and many times multiple quarterbacks, it's amazing. You know, he takes over in Philadelphia and it was McNabb, Corey Detmer, AJ Feely, Jeff Garcia, Michael Vick, Kevin Cobb. Like, he ran through, I mean, guys at the quarterback position in Philadelphia and won with them.

You know, then wins with Alex Smith, then wins with Patrick Mahomes. Like, there isn't another guy on the planet that wins with that many quarterbacks. So, to me, I still think it's being around Andy Reid. I want to just touch more on the end of that Buffalo thing there, though, real quick, because I don't know what else there's. I think all of this improvement, although Mike Sando, who's terrific, we've had on the podcast a bunch, he was great in pointing out in that spot where Allen was still trying

to keep that play alive and fumbles it. It's recovered. It's like that thing gets lost because everybody's mad about the, the call that wasn't overturned on the fumble, which could have ended the game and then could have led to a game time. But like, you're right. Like that,

that play got kind of lost and like, wait, is Allen doing like a two, the first two year Josh Allen thing here where that could have been a devastating fumble, like four minutes or so left. And they went through it and they said it was like the only time somebody had taken a sack for that many yards or worse since 2000 in, in that spot, like a playoff game plus territory down a distance

time of game left up. And you're taking that kind of sack. Like it just doesn't happen, but I'm not going to turn this into, Hey, maybe Josh Allen's been in this barrage, but on the river side of this, what do you think happens with Rivers, and what do you think the Colts want to have happen there at the position? I could see the Colts moving on, and not because they don't like Phillip, but because – do you think Phillip would have a significantly better year than he had this year? I think this year's a success for him. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't amazing, but it was,

it wasn't terrible either. You know, would he, if you resigned him, if you were in their shoes, would you think that he would play better next year than he did this year, the same, or maybe a little worse? The safe money would be just a little worse, but I don't think it would be dramatically worse. And if my options are probably a lot worse than that, then I'd want him back for one more year if he wants to come back. Yeah. And I think that, and I think that they'll make that decision and kind of probably come to that same exact conclusion, but there's no race to make that decision because there are going to be other guys that are available, right? Like there is going to be movement at the position potentially. And so I think with that in mind, you go, all right, well,

he's not going to go just anywhere. He probably doesn't have the ability to go just anywhere. And he's also not in a super rush to make a decision like fair hope high school in South Alabama can wait a little bit. So, um, I, I just, so I think they kind of explore a bunch of different avenues before they come back to fill up. And by the way, there's a chance he's a little bit better. I mean, there's also a version of that. So I don't think he'll be a little bit better. No, I mean, the safer money would be him on a touch of regret.

I'm just not saying it's impossible is my point. Yeah. And listen, when you look at what, you know, we talk a lot about these other, you know, Brady and Breeze, but look, Ben and Philip, like what they've done is, is crazy, you know? And, you know, Phillip's emotion at the end of that game kind of made me feel like in some of the decisions, you know, like the, I say jokingly, but fair hope high school, I think that he's done.

You think he's done? Okay. All right. Before we let you go, I touched on a little bit earlier. You have to give us a couple of good Spurrier stories. You're not going to ruin his chances of being hired in the NFL again. I think that's done. I think the guys that are in the mix, the guys that I've been close with over the years, sometimes the backups tell the best stories.

I remember, I'm not going to say who told me the story, but someone was on, I don't know if it was practice squad, it was preseason, but Mike Singletary was their head coach. And Singletary called a momentum timeout. And so he calls a timeout, and he's waving people to the sideline. And the team, the actual team, I think it was the defense, called a timeout, and he was the defense called the timeout. And he was like, let's fucking go. And they were like, wait, it wasn't a game situation thing.

It was just an NBA kind of like, all right, guys, let's be set. Because the NBA has a million timeouts. I don't take that long. And then the guys on the team were like, did he just call a timeout to psych us up in a football game? That doesn't happen a lot. That doesn't happen a lot. So give me a couple Spurriers. So we're playing at the Giants.

It had snowed like six inches the night before. So it's freezing. Like it's just, it's cold. They had to shovel the field. It was still kind of like the AstroTurf thing. And it's probably like week 16 or something, too. So it's, you know, the Giants weren't very good. They had pretty much checked out at that point.

Well, we come out at halftime. You know, and after you're in the locker room and it's kind of warm, you know, you've been sweating a little bit because you're bundled up. Then you go in the locker room and you're warm. So you really kind of sweat, especially if you're a coach, like it's all like layered up with the winter coats. When you come back outside and it hits you like a ton of bricks, like you're freezing, like the real field temperature at that point, like it gets magnified. So, you know, at the Meadowlands at the time, you're sitting on those benches where, you know, it's a bench, but there's also like a little thing where your feet are,

and there's hot air that's coming out of there. So I'm sitting on the bench right next to Lavernius Coles and, you know, work fairly warm, you know, on the bench. Well, Spurrier literally is standing like, like almost like on my feet like he's standing right there now he's facing his back is to the field the game is going on and i'm good but he's not talking to us either one of us so we're just sitting there trying to get warm and lavernius is like yeah i mean he because he didn't really care he would you know he's like hey coach he kind of like scoots over a little bit he's like you want to sit down and he's like oh lc i wish i could i really wish i could you know like he just knew like i would love to sit down i'm freezing but i can't like that that was a good one for me um and then the other one by the, did you win that game?

That was you, right? 13-19. 13-19, just managing the game. A couple touchdowns, keeping the picks clean. That was the lone victory. It was face Jesse Palmer late in that one. Yeah. After Kerry Collins got knocked out.

Collins and Palmer. Take an L in that one. Yeah. No, then the other one was. Holy shit shit Palmer got sacked five times in that game I think Bruce Smith set some record getting sacked by by Jesse can I ask you this though because I've always wanted to do this and I'm not going to get the chance because I'm not going to be an NFL quarterback but if I were the third string guy active on the sideline, I would tell my buddies if like we lost to Tampa, I go, I'm going to go try to shake Brady's hands first before

the starter just to do it, just to freak him out. So in that spot, do you go and shake Kerry Collins hands and then say like, no, or do you go to Palmer? Cause he took over or you could say to Jesse, Hey, actually I got to get to carry first cause I started and you were the backup. I've always been. I don't know that this has been explored enough. There should be some kind of like quick NFL countdown feature for five minutes on what's the protocol.

And has anybody ever decided as the backup, I'm going to go to the legend first and then not shake the backup hand. I would have so much fun with this if I didn't play. the backup hand like i would have so much fun with this if i didn't play well listen well you're on to something because what a lot of guys want to do is not what taylor heineke did the other night like you know he looked like he was seeking an autograph from brady like you can't do that like we get it we get it you know but you gotta play it cool like you you literally gotta like you almost bump into the guy like you're just out there oh oh hey you're there like like the hunting the guy down can't do it like i don't care what the situation is you can't do it so that you need to explore that there's a

feature there you should get the countdown people on that i'm not sure that anyone would truly admit to it but like there is definitely something there where like here's what we played uh the patriots in a pre-season game and um and flutie was one of the backups in uh you know for new england and so it was like i you know i wasn't gonna go hunt him down you know but so it was like i just wasn't going to go hunt him down, you know, but so it was like, I just had to casually be there to be like, oh, hey, you know, we should grab a pick. Like we should totally grab, right. Should we do that? Yeah, we should do that.

Okay. I feel like I cut you off on one other Spurrier one though. So go ahead. Well, well, listen, you had to hear these all day, by the way. So go ahead. You had to realize like at that time, so the coach to quarterback communication was still, it wasn't like brand new, but it was still relatively new and unregulated,

you know, let's say. So, you know, the idea with the coach to quarterback communication is, it's supposed to shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock. Okay. So, you know, play comes in, Hey, you know, red, right. Fox two X, I hook. Okay. Boom. Like, and then they click it off. Well with Spurrier, like he liked to keep talking, you know? So he has like, yeah, I think it was like the former quarterback in him and he's got some ideas and look,

he did an amazing job of getting guys open. So we're playing Chicago and we essentially had this play where it was down in the red zone. If they were blitzing, we were going to get to the pass. If they were playing soft, we're going to run the drop. Okay. Well, so I walk up there and like, dude, like they're like, they've conceded the field goal, right? Like they might be rushing two guys at this point like everybody is soft so i'm like all right like i'm i forget who the right i'm

like gonna hand the ball off to trunk candidate or i forget who the running back was rock cart right you know like a hand like here we go i had a lot of hope for trunk candidate at one point so so i got one trunk candidate one for you too i swear if you if you got time. So, so he goes like this. He's like, he's in my ear. I'm walking up to last year. There's like five seconds left on the play clock. And he's like, throw it, throw it, go to the, check to the, check to the throw, throw it.

I'm like, I don't, I don't know that I, I'm like, I like, I mean, he's my coach. So I checked to it. They're soft. You know, I think I'm 0 for 9 at this point in the game. And I'm like, I would love to. They're soft. You know, I think I'm 0 for 9 at this point in the game. And I'm like, I would have loved a handoff right here. Like, I'm just, I'm looking for something positive. So he would do that.

But quickly on trunk candidate. Okay. So what happened to the play? What happened to the play? Oh, I think I threw it out of bounds. But in the process of throwing it out of bounds, I hit the upright. And I think I just was, like was like getting i was getting killed it was it wasn't good at all it was it was like catch it it's not there you know do that here's the

trunk candidate one for you so we're he we're watching film together and you know trunk comes through the hole and kind of does this move then ends up getting tackled and he stops the film and we're sitting there and i'm like is he gonna like is he gonna say something and he's like kind of points the arrow at him and he goes whatever because he came from st louis it was like a trade from st louis he was kind of like this that's right there was going to be this big deal because he came out of arizona he's the first round pick um. People really like, he didn't play at all that first year, but then he had six touchdowns in his second year there

and then barely played. He barely got any carries. I'm just looking at these numbers here again because then when he came to you guys in 03, he'd been in the league three years already and had that blip in his second year, but it was also one of those like sneaky fantasy guys too.

They're like, oh, this guy's going to kill it this year. All right, so back to you. Well, listen, not if you talk to Spurrierrier because he stops the film puts the red dot on him he's like guys whatever he had he lost it we're like can you are you allowed to say that like are you i don't know that you're allowed to say that you know but like and i mean this wait a minute what did trung do did he just sit there he just like made a move like on a guy no but was he in the room he wasn't in the room he wasn't in the

room okay all right this is the qb like which is why it wasn't okay but and I mean this wholeheartedly like kind of telling stories that that don't maybe shed good light but he was great like I can't tell you in many respects like how awesome he was like he from a personal standpoint like some coaches you're around them they can only talk football like he was awesome and he would find ways to get guys open like I remember I threw a touchdown pass to a guy named Darnarian McCants. My brother called me after the game and he's like, how did you know that there'd be open? I was like, listen, Spurrier was like, listen, take three steps, like eyes down to this guy and then throw it to, you know, kind of high end zone. And, and I'm like,

and you just got to trust it, you know, and you do it. And sure enough. And my brother's like, how did you know to throw it? And I was like, honestly, I didn't. I just like, it's what we were coached to do. I just trusted it. So look, he did a lot of things, right. And he, he, look in all seriousness, I joke with people about this, Ryan Lavernius Coles that year went to the pro bowl with like me and Patrick Ramsey as his quarterback okay so like and Rob Johnson in the room Rob Johnson relief against Buffalo but like think about how hard that is to do like name me a receiver that's going to the pro ball it's the

duh it's the um it's the Josh Gordon year there, or maybe Deandre Hopkins, where you look at the numbers and then you see who is throwing to him the entire time. No offense to you. But Lavernius Coles was incredible. 1200 yards that year, 1200 yards.

And you guys went what? Five and 11. And we weren't very good. Hey, those stories were terrific uh if you want to follow tim hasselbeck it's at tt hasselbeck and this has been too long i really appreciate this hey this is fun good to be on with you man you want details bye i. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork.

I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So, now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. I know people like Kyle, lifeadvicerr at gmail.com. Kyle is currently moving on up and he has a microphone issue, so he's not going to be able to chime in. So we might do, let's do this life advice,

RR at gmail.com. Let's do a Kyle themed life advice coming up soon. All right. So we'll, we'll do, maybe I should do more of a bio on Kyle. Decent size, salt of the earth would let you throw up in his car. He's not going to get

mad at you. If you did it a second time though, he might punch you. I really like Kyle a lot. So, and I'm not always the most trusting when it comes to this business and I trust Kyle. So you should trust him too. We'll do some younger guys here. Although younger guys aren't afraid to ask me what I think about stuff. So I appreciate that. Okay. so let's get to it. I didn't want to do this, but now I'm kind of enjoying some of the follow-ups on previous life advice, especially if it's coming from somebody in the medical field. A dentist checked in about the girlfriend sharing a toothbrush. She says, big fan, love the pod. I'd like to provide an expert opinion on the email you receive from a listener whose girlfriend has co-opted his toothbrush. Licensed dentist for the last 16 years.

Listening to you read this email caused me to physically retch. Sharing a toothbrush is the most unhygienic thing you can do. Ryan, you made the comment where you like the transmission of periodontal disease to STDs. This is actually a fairly apt comparison. All right. So I think I was a tad. I didn't know. Uh-oh.

The bacteria that caused dental... I think he may have... Let me try to summarize what he's saying here. There are health advantages to kissing in an intimate relationship. Your personal oral flora and fauna are unique. All right. Trying to explain the delicate balance of the makeup bacteria in the mouth can get very complicated. And your listeners don't want an oral microbiology lesson. So I'll leave it at this. One, don't share your toothbrush.

Two, maybe instead of sharing the toothbrush, the girlfriend could share his toilet paper or deodorant. Or how about they share contacts? Anything but the toothbrush. The mouth is a filthy place. Share it in moderation. Okay. Man, he was, he was like letting you have it there at the end. That's, that's what dentists will do that sometimes that they don't like your brushing habits. I remember, I didn't know when I was a little kid and I was about to go to the orthodontist, they brought in, they brought in like a real heavy hitter. He was like a Nick Saban of the dentist community. And he just, I don't know. It wasn't even saving like saving actually can be nice. I was trying to think of somebody who's like meaner. He was like, this guy was like Popovich to a sideline

reporter. You know, when Popovich does his routine, that's really not funny and played out for a decade. But this guy came in and I don't know, I was maybe nine or 10 and he was just like, you're a three on the brush scale. And I was like, ah, I don't know. Little kid, I'm sorry. I don't know. So, you know, then you try to,

then you try to, you know, make your habits a little bit better. But he came in here. Dennis, do not screw around. It's the point of what I'm trying to make here. Not the best. That's not the best content I've ever given you. All right. So I don't even think he was telling the truth. I think he was rounding down just to scare the hell out of me.

But I still remember it. Okay. This is one that we've I like that my man remembers this. Hi, you've I lost 100 pounds over the last 18 months and semi-frequently get compliments about my calves. You've pointed out several times the bias towards larger men having better calves. Trying to figure out the best response

because I don't want to play into this misconception. Past few times, I've come off like a fake humble jerk. Any thoughts would be appreciated. So yeah, I've said this before that, you know, if you're putting up, if you're 300 and something pounds and you're bragging about your calves, it's like, well, I've said this before that, you know, if you're putting up, if you're 300 and something pounds and you're bragging about your calves, it's like, well, every day, literally every day for most of your adult life, I mean like every step of every day has been a

calf raise. So you should have big calves. And for those of us that aren't 300 pounds, it's kind of like, you know, but then again, sometimes you go, Hey, who, who cares about the path? Let's focus on the result. And so my man has huge calves after he's lost a hundred pounds. So I wouldn't be, um, humble about it. Cause there's just too many mislead day guys out there. It doesn't matter. It's, it's, it's super annoying. I would say of any response that I've ever gotten in the last 10 plus years of social media, the biggest is, oh, what about leg day? Not realizing my legs are phenomenal. They just are. So I'm not going to be fake humble about it. They're great legs. And I've put a lot of work into them. I mean, I've really cranked it up. I mean, this has been a big...

2020 sucked for a lot of reasons, not for my legs. And if your legs look great, especially... I mean, it's way more important you lost 100 pounds, so be thrilled about that. But you don't have to be...

So don't worry about what I said. You've lost the weight. You've done the calf raises. You've put in the work. You've taken the steps. Don't worry about it just say hey yeah i got great caps thank you do that freaks people out some guy at the gas station i was wearing like a five inch legends workout short and it was just another dude at the gas pump he's like

man those are some serious legs i go they are thank you man he didn't know what to do he's like what fuck was that so you know everybody in this rush to be as humble as possible I mean you don't want to be an arrogant jerk about it all the time but why sometimes it's funny if somebody's like hey you have great cash back I know thank you

freaks people out you know sometimes if it's a girl, who knows? It could be an icebreaker for you. She probably wasn't expecting that. She told you she likes your calves. Maybe you don't need that icebreaker. Okay. Hopefully that worked out.

We got a couple others here. All right. Living in Denver. Shout out. Lived here two years. Dating for the last year. I met some great girls and some not so great. All right.

Really playing the field, bro. There's a girl I've got some history with, only as a friend, who I've kept in touch with since moving here. She lives in Chicago. We've been talking more and have really built some chemistry recently. And she's coming out to stay and ski for a few days. I really like this girl. She likes me. Here's the problem.

All caps. MF Doom. RIP MF Doom. She's 24. 10 years feels like a lot, but she's got similar interests and seems more mature than I know. I was at 24. All my friends are in their 30s and they've given me a hard time in the past for dating people in their 20s. You're 34 and you have friends that are, so this means like in your early 30s, they already started giving you shit about dating a girl in their 20s.

How do I make this okay with my friends? Or do I just not pursue this beyond her visit here? What's up with your friends, man? First of all, 10 years isn't... It's not like you're some weird 80s kid actor now dating a 19-year-old wannabe that just landed in LA and you're like 70. Right? 34-24 actually I think makes a ton of sense. Like a ton of sense.

I can't believe your friends would give you a hard time with this. So I would do this. Not worry about your friends. They're wrong. They're wrong on this one. They're totally wrong. They're absolutely wrong. You like her. She likes you. You're excited about the visit. So all of the things, you know, listen to all the emails, all these guys, Mr. Lonely heart corner over here. Okay. And you have somebody you like that you think likes you, she's coming to visit. So obviously it can't, unless she just really likes to ski.

Um, like, yeah, this guy guy sucks but he's pretty close to Breckenridge so those are the important things those are the important things and if you're friends I would just I would do I would work way more on not caring what your friends think about this situation and you could even go kind of you know know, verbal Viking on these guys where the next time one of them says something about you, hey, I like her. She likes me. That's what's important. Priscilla said 10 years is nothing. Shut the fuck up. Don't bring this up again. And guess who won't bring it up again? Your friends. last one. I can't believe that one. I can't believe, like, I appreciate the email and everything,

but I can't believe, like, that means, hey, they've been giving me a hard time about this. 10 years is, I don't think 10 years is really, I think 10 years,

people should pursue a 10-year difference. Okay, last one here. Thanks for reading the email. I'll be succinct with personal situation. Okay, I'll try to be as, all right, we got it.

All right, mid-20s. All right, here we go, mid-20 twenties, but working in politics since graduating college, I'm from a more conservative hometown and attended a more conservative than usual university. With that case, Republican internship volunteer opportunities are more readily available during college, which led me to my current role in DC working on the Republican policy. I've always leaned more liberal, but could somewhat identify with the less government intrusion perspective. Also working on behalf of folks like those from my hometown seemed admirable. However,

as I progressed in this career, I've only become increasingly disenchanted with my line of work. Recent events such as protesters breaking into my place of work have intensified the feeling that I need to make a serious change in career. I don't want this to be a political question. It isn't. In my case, I feel like my current job is a betrayal of the values I hold. I'm confident that plenty of young people become

demystified or even disgusted with the original allure of their one stream career. My question to Ryan regarding personal circumstances, essentially this, should I quit my job? Even though guarantee I'll quickly find a new one. The larger philosophical question is when standing on principle is worth it. I could end email there, but I'll continue with a few examples. Trial lawyers, despising clients, oil workers deeply care about climate change. All right.

So when does financial and career stability overtake one desire to maintain a particular life ethos? The last question, when does financial and career stability overtake one's desire? Usually I would say standing on principles a lot easier when you're older and you have money. All right. That's just the reality of it. So if you're in your mid-20s, and I can understand with everything that's happened not only last week with a bunch of people that apparently have way too much time on their hands or love reading certain Facebook posts, doing something as disgusting as what we saw last Wednesday, and you work in this and no, this is something that you're, this is where you actually work,

you know, needing a mental reset on, Oh, what the hell am I doing here? Um, that is not that hard to understand at all. So I totally get it. Uh, you're in your mid-20s, and this isn't even the pulling the curtain back of politics. I don't know. Look, I personally, when it comes to the political stuff, I don't know how you can get super passionate about almost any of these people. understand being passionate about beliefs. I can understand being passionate about, you know, this is where I think the country should go as opposed to this way. But I don't know. I just, it's, it's hard for me to imagine being like, this is this politician I absolutely love. And I'm going to be all in on this person because they're never going to betray me. And then it's like, oh wait. So I don't know what you expected when you got into politics. I would think if I were young and moved out to DC to work for the machine in some way, I would go into it expecting even as a naive 20 something. I would go into expecting me like this is going to be really weird when I see how the sausage is actually made.

But that, as you point out, is not even specific to that industry. I think a lot of us I mean, there are times in my career where I'm like, I can't believe this is how decisions are made. I can't believe this person is in charge of this group of people. Oh, wait, this person's a huge star. Wait, this is how it actually happened. And now like, it's just accepted. I think a lot of these industries are the exact same way. So then it comes down to, do I say, all right, I'm just going to play the game to further my career, and I've accepted that. Morally, maybe I feel not bankrupt, but not the exact same person. I mean, a lot of people could sit there and tell you how you should make all these decisions

that apply to their morals and their beliefs. But it's really easy for the outside person to give you the advice about what you should do when you're the one that has to worry about your path and having a family and putting food on the table and all that kind of stuff. So to be principled in your mid twenties, it's admirable, but nobody's throwing a fucking parade for you. Okay. So if you working in politics and especially with how awful this whole thing has been for a few years now, if you're looking at it that way and going, I don't like this, I'm out. I get it. But if you still actually want to work in it and feel like there's this pressure because of recent events that you feel like you should take some stand, you don't like seeing behind the curtain, but you still want to work in it.

You know, I think the scary thing, I think a lot of people would just end up being like, all right, I'm going to find a way to just, okay, now I know what the deal is. Now I know what the rules are. And now that I know I'm going to have different expectations for people and people around me, I'm going to have maybe different expectations about what I'm capable of accomplishing, but this is still the career path that I enjoy. And this is why I came out here in the first place. I mean, obviously you're pretty passionate about this stuff. If you were in your early 20s, started figuring out, um, how to, to get linked up with all this. I also wonder too, if there's a part of this because there's a Republican on his way out here, a Republican president, and you, even though you

said you're more liberal because you had better opportunities for the Republican side of this, if you feel like there's some guilt there, I don't know if that plays into it as well. I don't want to get super political on this podcast, um, because you just can't really win as I've learned the hard way. Uh, but yeah, I think that's what you have to really figure out. Are you doing this thing to stand on the moral ground because you kind of want to seem principled and it's really cool. And then you have no idea. Now, if you don't want to do this job, you don't want to work in this industry. Fine. Okay. But if, if you're bouncing because you want to get credit for this decision that you're super principled, I don't know that that's the best reason. And the best way to do this would be to line up another job before you do any of this stuff.

Life advice, rr at gmail.com. Okay, by the way, just a reminder for everybody, Bill Simmons and I are going to have a massive NBA podcast that we're going to drop probably late Tuesday night, early Wednesday. It's going to be huge. And we're really excited about it. Kind of recapping where we're at a few weeks into the season. Thank you.