NFL Wild Card Weekend & CFB Semifinal Recap

January 15, 2025 01:15:17
NFL Wild Card Weekend & CFB Semifinal Recap
Sources from the Sofa
NFL Wild Card Weekend & CFB Semifinal Recap

Jan 15 2025 | 01:15:17

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Show Notes

Rome, Aaron, and Jaeson break down what went down for wild-card weekend in the NFL which was uneventful for many, but impressive for the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans. They then recap the college football semifinal games; first with Notre Dame's final second win over Penn State (35:53), and Ohio State's strip-sack win over Texas (47:31). They wrap things up with coaching rumors and updates for the NFL. 

 
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Episode Transcript

[00:00:01] Speaker A: What's up everybody? This is Rome, your host from sources from the Sofa. Today's episode, we're going to do a full recap of the NFL wild card weekend. The last two teams that I got, they're out. Steelers are gone. They didn't really show up. And Texas, they're out as well. They were so close to tying it up, so close to possibly winning it. Self inflicted wounds. But Ohio State, man, they are phenomenal. They look great. They're peaking at the right time and I feel like that their loss to my Michigan is what ignited the whole thing. But we talked about college football semifinal games and we even talk a little NFL coaching rumors. Get the update from Chicago Bears, Raiders. We have a higher already but the coaching circle is kind of moving a little slow this year. Role changes. A lot of, a lot of the candidates are still in the playoffs and if you're a coach and you make it the playoffs, there's like delayed dates on when you could do zoom interviews before you. When you could do in person interviews. So Vrabel, for instance, he was with the Browns. He was smart. He had his contract and a week before the end of the season. So he was able to be in person a week or two before everybody else. He got a pick of the litter. Is that the right phrase, pick of the litter? Either way, he's obviously now with the Pats. Don't go anywhere towards on the sofa. NFL wild card weekend is in the books and a lot of games were flat out ugly. The only thing that was really competitive can say his commander is Bucks Mayfield. He can't do no harm. Man, this guy's a really great guy. Really support his teammates. Had a lot of good things to say. Tough loss, but hats off to the Commanders. Everything else though, Chargers no show. Texans took care of business. That was a good call by me. I don't know how I did it. Must have been high on something. Drinking the sauce. Ravens. A lot of talk on Tomlin. Is it time to go? Six straight playoff losses. They haven't won anything in eight years. Is it six straight playoff losses? [00:02:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:21] Speaker A: Five game losing streak to end the 2024 campaign. Straight up disappointing. They look like they had no heart. They didn't show up at all. I'm disgusted. It's the time to talk again. Bills. They did what the Bills do. They looked really nice. They took care of the Broncos. Broncos had no chance up in Buffalo. Eagles were flying high. Took care of Aaron's Packers. He has that solemn, stoic look on his face right now. So I know he's feeling the loss, but he did call the win. You're not. You're not feeling it? [00:02:57] Speaker B: No, I said the Eagles would win. [00:02:58] Speaker A: No emotion. [00:02:59] Speaker B: I had the Eagles in the power rankings ahead of the packers for the last eight weeks. So not a shame. I believe when we went off the air last time, I said the Eagles would be in the super bowl. So. Yeah, I'll stand by that. [00:03:12] Speaker A: Wait, did we do that off air or on the air? [00:03:14] Speaker B: I don't remember. It's on the air. I did listen to the segment. [00:03:18] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:03:19] Speaker B: I went back. [00:03:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:21] Speaker B: Proofreading my work. My work, if you know what I mean. [00:03:23] Speaker A: I like it. [00:03:24] Speaker C: I can't trust Rome to document what our picks are. We got to go back and just listen to ourselves. [00:03:29] Speaker A: You know, I got all my notes right here. [00:03:30] Speaker C: Yeah, Rome's notes is. We got like, half of it right. And he's like, I don't. What did I write here? [00:03:35] Speaker B: Did I even say screenshot and said like, 27, 24, but no initials or he said anything. It's like, wait, like, there's an initial. [00:03:44] Speaker A: On the left hand side, but it's. [00:03:45] Speaker B: Not in the screenshot photo. Oh, so it's like, let me just go pit at right there. And I'll just say. [00:03:51] Speaker C: Yeah, I had to go back and listen. Just clip out the audio of, like, you know, my Nostradamus pick of the week, man. 27, 24. Another day. You know, I just told y'all it. [00:04:00] Speaker A: Was a good one. Really good one. And then Rams, Vikings. Rams just have the Vikings number. I don't know how else to put it. I think Vikings showed some heart in the second half, kind of. And pieces, if you could say. But Rams just like their defense. So they have like seven guys on every tackle. [00:04:20] Speaker B: Some teams just have some other teams numbers this year, Obviously, the Vikings are owned by the Rams and the Lions and the packers owned by the Eagles and Lions at the end of the day. [00:04:33] Speaker A: Yeah. So I don't know which way you want to break down the games, guys, or if you just want to talk about wild card weekend in totality, your views of all the games, the blowouts, or the ugliness of it. There's a lot of memes on socials and on. On the Internet of how terrible the playoff committee was for the NFL. I thought that was, like, a really good joke going around. And there's definitely a lot of Tomlin beams. [00:04:56] Speaker C: The Bengals, you know, they had. They had a tougher strength to schedule. They just didn't respect. The Bengals should have been in the playoff. [00:05:01] Speaker A: You know, if there was a playoff committee. Yeah, the Bengals definitely deserved it. It would have been like a big loss on the, on a proposed playoff committee for sure. Yeah. Thoughts, Jason? [00:05:14] Speaker C: Yeah, you already talked about it. None. Overly competitive games besides the Commanders Bucks game which was really the highlight of Sunday night. Eagles, packers like felt like it was a blowout, but then, you know, you go into halftime and it's only 10 nothing and Eagles kind of left the packers around a little bit. But even then it never felt particularly close. Bills, I, I mean early in that game, I think it was going when the, when the Broncos went down the field on that opening drive. [00:05:48] Speaker A: Yeah, the first one scored the first. [00:05:51] Speaker C: Touchdown, you know, held the Bills to a field goal in the first quarter. Even going into the half, you know, it's only a 107 game. Broncos feel like they're making it but you know, then Josh Allen just kind of takes over in the second half and Bonix just really couldn't, you know, find that magic. And the broadcast talked a ton in that game about Buffalo being an extremely difficult place to play. They listed off like the quarterbacks that had one on the road in Buffalo. And I don't know, was it like Mahomes and Brady and like Elway or something like that? [00:06:21] Speaker B: I think it was just Mahomes and Burrow are the only quarterbacks. Yeah. [00:06:26] Speaker A: Recently. [00:06:27] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:06:28] Speaker B: Maybe ever. Because I don't know, outside of the Jim Kelly era, I don't think Buffalo was ever in the playoffs. [00:06:33] Speaker A: You're right. You're right. Actually. Yeah, it's been a while. [00:06:36] Speaker C: Yeah. But difficult place to play and you know, Big Boninks had a fantastic rookie season. I know Aaron, you know, called that at the beginning where it's at. I think the sky will be up for him. But you know, the Broncos potentially overachieved in this first year. I don't think there's any, you know, negative you can really cast on their season. You get a rookie quarterback, you make a good run in a pretty competitive division that sent three teams to the playoffs and you know, you got to take the road. One of the harder roads going across country to upstate New York. We talked about in on the last pod. I think it was one of three days that it wasn't going to snow was game day. But you know, it has that Buffalo frigid conditions which is, you know, a little bit different than the, the cold in, in Mile High. But Josh Allen, man, I mean just. [00:07:21] Speaker A: It was really efficient and 20 for 26, 272, two touchdowns. Well, they had four field goals as well. Bass was clutch. [00:07:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I, I just go into it. I mean, they got J. James Cook really going, too, and I know we'll get, we'll go into more like, you know, matchup stuff versus the, the, the Ravens. But, like, you get James Cook really going. Josh Allen's able to be, you know, be an extra dual threat with the ball. He had like 46 yards rushing at the same time, too. So just a lot to like for Buffalo. It's kind of sad they're going to be going into like a matchup of like, two quarterbacks that the expectations are win a Super bowl at this point between, you know, between Lamar and Josh Allen and pretty much the 1 and 2 in the MVP. So we're getting a good, you know, getting a treat in this next round for probably what many consider probably the two best teams in the afc. If you ask Rome, because you don't want to give the Chiefs their due, but I mean, this, these are two teams that are looking to make that next step. They keep knocking on the door, knocking on the door to this Kansas City team. Buffalo answered early, undefeated at home so far this season. That continues, you know, a dominant win. That sets them up nice for the next round. [00:08:33] Speaker A: Aaron? [00:08:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, these playoffs, I mean, we talked about it. I mean, the Broncos getting in, the Chargers getting in, Vikings, these are all three teams that overachieved regular season wise and did not show up in the playoffs, all got blown out. Texans, that was a big win. Rome, you said they got some momentum going in with that last win against Tennessee. [00:08:57] Speaker A: I feel like they really needed that. And that really was. [00:08:59] Speaker B: They, you know, we, we asked each other, you know, Jason brought this up, like, what's wrong with the Texans? They haven't looked good. Well, they showed up when they need to at the biggest stage because that's the best the Texans have looked all year, all year. And can they carry that momentum going forward into Kansas City? We'll find out. It just got beat pretty bad there three weeks ago, but that should be a good game once we break that down. Steelers look like the Steelers of the last month. This is what, the second time in the last three years that Tomlin and his team has stumbled going into the playoffs where they lose like six in a row, like three, four years ago and now five in this season. They don't really have a quarterback they feel confident in. Pickens is, you know, he's running his mouth over there. They did not pick up Najee Harris's contract. So he's a three agent. [00:09:43] Speaker A: Really. [00:09:44] Speaker B: So there's a. There's a lot going on in Pittsburgh. Will Tomlin be there? Will he not? We just saw earlier today Dallas finally decided to cut ties with Mike McCarthy. [00:09:52] Speaker A: Surprising. We'll definitely talk about coaching stuff later. [00:09:54] Speaker B: On considering that his first interview is going to be with Jason. He's already shaking his head. [00:10:00] Speaker A: Get into that. Yeah, yeah, for sure. [00:10:04] Speaker B: But a dominant, dominant showing by Derek Henry, Lamar Jackson. We wouldn't expect otherwise. And then Buffalo. You know, Jason said it. Broncos came out first drive, right off the bat. Touchdown. I. I put that loss on Sean B. And he called a terrible game. Never gave Bo Nicks a real the chance to keep that team in the game. Maybe he just didn't feel confident in him. Maybe thought his defense could come through. But you've got to outplay Josh Allen at the quarterback position to beat him. So that showdown coming up with Baltimore is going to be great this upcoming weekend. NFC side Rams D line just dominated. Sam Darnold sacked nine times. That ties a playoff wild card record. [00:10:43] Speaker A: Really? [00:10:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Baker tough loss, man. That fumble down there at their own end of the end zone there led to a touchdown. That got the momentum back for the Commanders. Eventually they got the game winning field goal. A doink that went in. Obviously the Broncos doink didn't go in to tie that game at the half. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Unbelievable. [00:11:03] Speaker B: Philly, you guys said it. I mean, never seemed like they were not going to win that game. Even though it was like a one score, one plus score game. They were in control throughout. Packers just too many injuries. I think they lost five starters in that game. Two wide receivers, couple offensive linemen. They never had a chance. They just never did. [00:11:24] Speaker C: I'll go back. I want to go back to the Ravens. Steelers too. A little bit here. Okay, go ahead. It's your team. Rome, go ahead. [00:11:32] Speaker A: No, I already said my team looked like. Right. I'm disappointed. I was ranting on the Steelers on X and I was not happy about it. Derek Henry looked great, man. 180 plus with two touches, I believe rushing. Lamar add another 80 yards. We couldn't stop a run for. For Watt has not looked like a shell of himself. What for like what, six, seven games now? Ever since he was out after a few weeks. I just, I don't know what the. Yeah, I. I just. I'm. I'm at a loss of words. Yeah. [00:12:07] Speaker C: For. For Derrick Henry. Like man in a. In a entire league full of genetic freak athletes just there is something about that guy that is just. [00:12:19] Speaker A: I love watching him play. [00:12:20] Speaker C: I don't for how big he is. And like you get him in the open field and he's got a step and at. What is he, 30, 31 years old right now? When you think about a back that's that big and plays this bruising style and when he's in Tennessee, he's attacking defenders and that the fact at this point his body hasn't broken down when he still has that extra step to get away and just take off from people like it. It is a different element to that Baltimore offense that it Lamar has never had before. And Lamar didn't need to do too much because the threat is always there for your Steelers. Rome, like, look at the rushing stats like in this game compared to when they had Fields in the lineup early in the year. And we talked about this, I'm pretty sure a week or two weeks ago going into this, Najee Harris had six carries. Jalen Warren had two carries. And so we fall in love with, with Russell Wilson because, yeah, you know, getting into those. Was it the fifth or sixth game, whatever. It's when he started and he started really airing out the deep ball and stuff like that. And this is kind of a retread take right now, but you get into the playoffs, into a tight divisional game, and you don't even put it on the ground for your running backs, you're still trying to do all this stuff. With Russell Wilson, it just, it just was not. When this team won 10 games, the secret was, hey, we have this running game that is going to set up the pass and whether it's, hey, they can't move the ball with the offensive line and they have to resort to that. And that's the issue. Or we're just not believing it because something drastically has changed with the Steelers offensively. And you mentioned with the defensively, they just, they just aren't as sharp as they were early in the season. [00:14:04] Speaker B: Not. [00:14:05] Speaker A: Not as sharp. And. And Jason, if you ever want like any, any support for your dumb offensive, you know, movement for your Chicago Bears, this is it. Because even with the new offensive coordinator, we look like shit. We totally went away from like a more imaginative, more open playbook. They ran the ball more with fields. You kind of open that up. Yeah, Wilson was doing well for a small stretch when Pickens wasn't picking fights with other people. It's just the play calling just went down the drain really fast and just feels like another lost season. Lot. Lot. A lot of good players Especially on defense, a lot of star players, just not the right game plan. [00:14:49] Speaker B: Well, I think the play calling, but I think the execution was a big thing. I mean when they were winning, Russell Wilson wasn't turning the ball over. Then he started turning the ball over. So then they went away from him and started running. I mean Jason, I'm looking at the guys carries right now, six, three and two between Wilson, Warren Harris. But they got down 21 0, like right off the bat. [00:15:09] Speaker A: That was fast. [00:15:09] Speaker B: And now you're going against the number one run defense. You're down 21 0. So how do you get back in the game? Big plays. How do you get big plays? You got to throw the ball. Unfortunately, you're now going against a Ravens defense that over the last 12 weeks or six weeks, excuse me, it's number one pass defense now. So right now if you're looking at teams that got it rolling offensively, defensively, it's the Ravens. They're going to be a great showdown with the Bills coming up. But Wilson still threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Made the game somewhat interesting once they got it within two scores. But that was another game where like it was 28 14, but it felt like the Ravens won by four touchdowns. So I mean they need to go out and get a quarterback. And whether or not they want to bring back Russell Wilson on a, you know, kind of typical Sam Darnold, one year, ten million dollar deal, he's gonna. [00:15:57] Speaker A: Want more than that, right? [00:15:59] Speaker B: Tells you. I mean he's still getting paid by the Broncos or whatever. I mean he's made a ton of money. So I don't know. I mean Jason brought it up, I agreed with it. Aaron Rodgers is out there. I mean to me the discussion, I mean Sam Darnold just lost himself a lot of money with these last two games. He's not the answer. [00:16:18] Speaker A: Well, they were opponents. [00:16:22] Speaker C: You brought up Tomlin's job status. And while I really love Tomlin as a coach, so do I know. And so I think it is hard to part with a coach like that that has instilled such an identity to the Steelers and how it ties into the working class structure of Pittsburgh and you know, the type of guys they bring in there. I don't, I don't want to give them a slide on this. But when you think post Roethlisberger, what has been the quarterback plan in Pittsburgh? They there just hasn't been one. I mean look at the same thing with the Colts when it was post Andrew Luck. It's like, oh, we're going to, you know, we're going to sign a guy or we'll have a deep draft pick here and there. And like, the offense for the most part has had no identity. You know, post that Roethlisberger era, where, like, quarterback means so much. And I can say this as a Bears fan, and you go against Aaron's packers, where you always have the quarterback and everything else you can fill around, fill around that roster. The Steelers know we have the defense. They invest in the defense and then the trenches in the offensive line and what they could do in the running game. But, like, you don't have a plan for the quarterback. I don't know what you're setting up for your head coach to do. Especially when you're a division, when you have, what, two of the four best quarterbacks in the league? Two of the three best quarterbacks in the league. [00:17:39] Speaker A: It's a tough time to be in that division. [00:17:41] Speaker C: Right. So, you know, how are you, what are you doing to compete? If they go with Rogers, like, that may be Tomlin's last stand type thing, it's like, hey, this is, this is the guy I'm bringing in. This is kind of like the end of it. What's the succession plan behind it? Because if you go into the draft, it's been talked about, this isn't the best draft for quarterback. So bringing in, you know, Shador or Cam Ward or somebody like that, like, that's not going to be the answer next year. And I think, like you said Rome, the missed opportunity with some of the pieces they got on this roster that aren't getting any younger, you know, to be in a quote unquote championship window. [00:18:19] Speaker A: We're just stuck in purgatory because now we're just winning nine, ten games every year. Not shitty enough to get a higher draft pick and not bad enough. You know, it's just, it's just, it's just a tough place to be. [00:18:32] Speaker C: It's true. But in the NFL, it's not like the NBA. I, I saw that. Yeah, I saw that take on Twitter. Someone said, I think they're probably from Pittsburgh. Like, oh, we're at NFL purgatory because we're just like, really? A team. Yeah. And, and it's like, you think about, it's like, okay, but it's not like the NBA where, hey, you're locked into these, like, you know, like the Bulls, they got Lonzo balls, ate the 10 seed. Yeah. And it's like, hey, we're gonna be the 8 to 10 seed we're never gonna get bad enough to get like. But in, in basketball, it's, hey, one or two players makes a difference. You want to be as bad as potentially possible to get like these, you know, once in a generation players or whatever that you get in the first couple picks of a draft. NFL is just so deep. You can make some, you can make some depth plays. And sometimes it's not even great to have top draft picks because of, you know, the wage scale and stuff like that. A lot of people tell you it's better to have a bunch of second and third round picks because the difference between the 15th player in the draft to the 40th player in the draft may be minute as far as, you know, talent and production. And it has a big sliding scale. So I don't know if that's true. But at the same time, like, the quarterback, I think just means a ton as far as what your vision's going to be. And if you're not going, if you're just going to keep doing retreads and different stuff there in Pittsburgh, you're just going to wind up, yeah, you're just going to wind up with a team that's going to be around 500. And I think if you look at, I mentioned the Colts, you look at the Steelers, hey, there's all these good pieces around it, but every year I'm just bringing some different quarterback to go in and it's good enough to get me to, you know, nine wins, maybe the postseason. But it's not a Super bowl winning team. [00:19:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you guys, the Steelers need a quarterback. I mean, Jason, you said it in Rome. I think they spend the most money of any team in the NFL on defense, and their defense is always a top 10 unit. Their special teams is really good. They got the arguably the best kicker in the league. Their offensive line is solid. They've got good playmakers on the outside of Austin's Pickens and the tight end. Two running backs. What are they missing? A quarterback? Maybe another playmaker? Is Rogers probably The answer at 41? Likely no. But is he an upgrade over what they got currently now? I would say it's worth a try. Rogers will come in cheap. I mean, do they want to wait, you know, are they going to want to make a splash and move up in the draft and get one of these guys that are the quarterback, whether it's Ward or Sanders? I don't know. I don't think so. Teams are going to hold a lot over them. You know, I just mentioned you know, we've. We've talked a lot about Sam Darnold. These last couple games would determine where he gets placed. [00:20:58] Speaker A: I was actually thinking about that. I was trying to picture him. [00:21:00] Speaker B: If I'm the Vikings, I let. I let him walk. I mean, you got Daniel Jones. I would keep Daniel Jones and J.J. mcCarthy and go from there. I mean, you got a first round exit and 14 wins that your season basically means nothing now. So the Steelers, I mean, this is one thing why I, I picked against Tomlin and them to finish above.500. I didn't believe that they could do it, but Tomlin somehow every year pulls it, pulls a rabbit out of his ass and does it. [00:21:27] Speaker A: They were in the top in my power rankings for a few weeks. Man, they were not really nice. [00:21:32] Speaker B: They were nine and three and cruising. And then Pickens got hurt with that Hams and the offense, like, never regrouped from there, and the defense just got fatigued and tired. And this kind of seems like a common theme with the Steelers. While other teams are building momentum towards the playoffs, the Steelers are actually going in the opposite direction. And they've lost six straight playoff games. And all six of those playoff games, they've been down by a minimum 21 points or more in all six of those losses. So they have not shown up towards the end of the year and not showing up in the playoffs. If this was anybody outside of Tomlin and the super bowl winning coach, he probably would already be canned. But, you know, I'm a Tomlin guy. Does he want to stay there? We'll see. [00:22:16] Speaker A: It's like dating. I was, like, dating somebody. I don't know where I'm going with this. The Steelers, you know, it's. It's perfect in the beginning, and then all of a sudden the true identity shows up and you're like, oh, man, this person's batshit crazy. [00:22:34] Speaker C: Oh, well, I will say, I don't know about your analogy in this point, but you. The Steelers have. It's only long. It's only long term relationships. With the Steelers, you've had three coaches. Is it, what, your franchise history? [00:22:48] Speaker A: That's great. Yeah. [00:22:50] Speaker C: So it's a model of consistency, unlike other clown show franchises like the Bears that, you know, just hire a new coach every three to four years and a new GM every, like five to six years. So there's, There's a level of stability there. But, I mean, even for, you know, Bill Cower, there was a time he won the super bowl and kind of like found his way out there a Little more like there's a, there's a time that potentially goes there and it may be time to move on. I don't know if that's it with Tomlin. I still think he's got, he's maintained winning. You know, at least they get to 500 or they're above. But yeah, like the next one. What like the dynamic maybe Rome, you know, this thing. What, what power does he hold when it comes to some of this personnel stuff? If he tells them I need Rogers, are they listening to him? I don't know. [00:23:39] Speaker A: That's a great question, Jason. I don't know. No clue. Biggest surprise from this weekend, take away from wildcard weekend. Was it just the way the Texans beat up on the Chargers? Are you surprised the way Eagles manhandle the pack? Are you surprised the commanders come out again against the Buccaneers? That was a great game, great game. [00:24:03] Speaker C: But I'll start with the beginning with you said the Texans Chargers because we already talked about with the Texans really finding that spark in the last game and kind of starting. But the Chargers really, you know they, they've been competitive in every game. You know they weren't supposed to be 11 win team where they're at under Jim Harbaugh. But he's, he was finding a way to get there and it was very, just uncharacterized not what this team had done the entire year. Obviously the turnovers from Herbert in the game or interceptions made, made the big delta. But you know, for the most part this team's been super competitive in every game and like hey, they're, they're grinding out the clock. They're keeping it close. It's, it's about, you know, field position and possessions and in this one, you know, when Your quarterback is 14 for 32 and throwing four interceptions, like man, it was just wasn't what you saw from a Jim Harbaugh coach team the entire year. [00:24:51] Speaker A: It looked like a game at first. You know, they had Decker the kicker. Aaron, you talked about them and before the week in your prediction you said he's going to come through. He came through initially I think like in the first quarter and then the weapons. The reason why we liked the Texans so much before the season started is because they got Joe Mixon, Nico Collins. I think Jason was really big on Collins early in the year and they looked really great. They looked like the team that, you know, we wanted to look like early in the year. But they took care of business before receptions, like everything kind of like over sailed. He kind of looked like Donald almost against the Lions, like just the ball, just kind of carried away. [00:25:29] Speaker B: I think if you look at the interceptions from Herbert, I only put two of them really on him, I think feels really good. Yeah. Ladder McConkey is good. The Chargers, Jason hit it, said it best. Surely they overachieved. [00:25:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:42] Speaker B: I mean, they won 11 games. And if you would have told me before the season started, hey, the Chargers are going to make the playoffs. They're going to play in the road at the Texans. We all would have said the Texans are going to beat them. Texans have a better roster. They have a better team that showed up on Saturday. Texans at home are really good. You know, I was looking back at their numbers against quarterbacks this year. Herbert, four picks. Goff, five picks in one game against these guys. [00:26:04] Speaker A: That's right. [00:26:05] Speaker B: Josh Allen had his worst game of the year on the road out of Houston. Texas are a good football team. So, you know, there's a reason why I picked them to get to the super bowl before we even started the season. Yeah, they have, they have the weapons. Obviously losing Diggs and Tank Dill is going to hurt them for sure. Whether or not they can get by the Chiefs and get, you know, to the AFC championship game of super bowl, we'll see. But give them credit, the Texans. But for me, the biggest surprise was just the commanders. The poise. Jaden Daniels. This team looked confident. [00:26:36] Speaker A: They look like they'd been there, like they belong. [00:26:38] Speaker B: They, like they belong Rome. They weren't phased by the moment. Every time they faced a problem or issue, they stepped up to the challenge. I was really impressed with the commanders. Looking forward to a fantastic, fun game against the Lions. That should be a shootout in Detroit coming up. [00:26:57] Speaker A: I like the Commanders all year. You know, I've been really happy watching them play. It's been a nice revelation. But Jason, I kind of get it. [00:27:08] Speaker C: For what? [00:27:09] Speaker A: Just seeing them plot a victory like that. You know, I just kind of think about that Bears game. I think I was the first. I think I was like the first of like many, you know, last minute game win. Do they win like their last few games as well in the season as well? The same fashion. Just the, the poise. [00:27:29] Speaker C: There's a little, there's a little bit of, I don't know, team of destiny is the wrong word. But like there's, there's, there's things within these games that have just gone their way the entire year that like, you know, the balls, the ball has bounced a certain way. Obviously they've had, you know, Jaden's been great. Terry McLaren, man, they had that one throw where it was just like over his head and just like just puts the hands up straight there and looks at it. [00:27:54] Speaker A: I got a basket. [00:27:56] Speaker C: In a. In a league of elite receivers, I don't even know if there's like 10 guys in the league that can make that catch the way that was done. You got guys turn their head left and right. Like it was like a perfect form. Like that's, that's professional, you know, receiver stuff right there. The way he caught that ball. [00:28:15] Speaker B: Yeah, he's underrated. I mean. Yeah, you guys said it. I mean every bounce of the ball has gone the commanders way this season. Except for maybe one game was that game against Dallas and which was like a flute game where they were at home and they tied it up. They missed the extra point. Then the onside kick gets returned for a touchdown. You remember that one by Dallas. That was a wild, crazy game. I think another quarter. Another quarterback has actually looked pretty good and I'll see where he goes in free agency. Is Mariota with Washington. He's. He's played limited role this year, but every time he's come in he's looked pretty good. So I think he's another quarterback that maybe somebody gives him another chance to be a starting quarterback in this league. [00:28:55] Speaker A: I don't know. That's a. That's a pretty bold take there. [00:28:58] Speaker C: I mean, I don't agree with Aaron on that, but that's got Steelers written all over it. [00:29:02] Speaker B: No, I brought it up, man. [00:29:05] Speaker A: I'm good. Dude, we are good on the Mariota. I think he looked good for one game and then the next game when he was in for Daniels, I thought. [00:29:12] Speaker B: He was against Dallas. Week 18 and he looked good. Finished Carolina off. Not much of an opponent in sample size, but I'll have to. He might be someone worth getting another chance. Not the Steelers on the cheap. [00:29:26] Speaker A: I'll. I'll be rooting for him, just not the Steelers. Any other comments? Let's just take a quick preview then into the divisional round. Texans at the Chiefs, Manners at Lions. Rams at Eagles, Ravens at Bills. The way things stand. Hey guys, feeling about these matchups? [00:29:55] Speaker C: Main event of the week is obviously that Ravens Bills game. I think that's just. That could be a. That could be an AFC championship game. [00:30:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:04] Speaker C: You know, and any other year we're deciding between these two guys who's going to the Super Bowl. It sucks one of them is going to have to be out in the divisional round, but I mean that's the one I'm looking forward the most. Aaron talked a little bit about where the Ravens have been. You know, offensively, Josh Allen, he's, he's had his own stuff. It's basically a Showdown of the 12 in the MVP voting. You know, it's going to be a special matchup. A as much as Derrick Henry and we talked about him and you know, the element he has given Lamar James Cook, you know, I've been talking about him all year. His performance this week, I think that'll be the key in the game is how much James Cook can really, you know, be productive, draw attention, allow Josh Allen to do some stuff in the game. We'll talk about it more. I think that's the game we're looking to look at. I'm looking forward to the most. [00:30:53] Speaker A: I, I think they're all great matchups. I, I imagine if Texans played like the way they did this past week, they had definitely have a chance to take out KC and make Aaron's, you know, call become reality of not winning a game. Bills Ravens for sure is going to be a slug vest. You gotta imagine Lions commander is going to be a shootout. Depends on what version of the Detroit defense shows up, I guess. I know they've been getting pieces back and hell of a game plan at the end of the year and then Rams, Eagles kind of intriguing just early on. I, I think Eagles just take care of business like in a blowout. But Rams, they're just sneaky. Sneaky good. Yeah. All year round they've been. [00:31:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:40] Speaker A: Surprising us. [00:31:41] Speaker B: We have the heavyweight fight. Ravens, Bills, that's the game everyone's going to be keeping an eye on. You know, in most years this is the AFC championship or it feels like an AFC championship. Oh, for sure. I'm curious to see how the Chiefs look. They haven't played their starters really in three weeks. They haven't played since Christmas Day. [00:32:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:01] Speaker B: And who they beat and so they beat on Christmas Day. You're Steelers, Rome. That's not saying a lot now. [00:32:07] Speaker A: I don't remember that game. [00:32:08] Speaker B: The Texans, can they go in there? Joe Mixon said it best. They were embarrassed after Baltimore beat him. What 312 dogs are those? [00:32:19] Speaker C: My dog does not like Aaron's take right now. [00:32:21] Speaker B: Yeah, it doesn't. You know, he's not a big fan of the Texans. I guess he must be a charger dog in the background side. Not a Bears fan. But yeah, I mean for the Texans. How will the. Will the Chiefs look rusty or will they be rested like this? Game would go two ways. Like I think the Chiefs could come out, maybe blow them out or they look rusted and have to rally back like they've been doing all year and find a way to win a 2, 3, 4 point game. [00:32:47] Speaker A: Rusty and rusted. I feel like that's like a T shirt. That's a good quote, Aaron. Rusty and rusted. I like that. [00:32:52] Speaker B: You know we saw in the College Football Playoff every team that got a buy was off three weeks, did not perform well out the gate. Came out a little flat. Came out not as sharp. We'll see with the Chiefs how they look. Eagles. Rome, I tend to agree with you. I just think that Eagles defensive line, offensive line is going to be too much for the Rams short week, they got to travel all the way back to Philadelphia. That's a tough task against a Philly team in Commanders. You know Detroit, defensively they like to play a lot of man to man. That's usually not a good sign against a quarterback that likes to scramble like Jaden Daniels, that usually means you don't have eyes on him. He could have 100 yards rushing. That's a prop bet. I'll be looking to see what his total yards rushing guard for the game. I like the over. As long as it's below 60 or something. I think you'll have a big game on the ground. Should be a shootout too. I'm not a big believer in Washington's defense. Detroit will score points. Feels like a 35, 30 type ball game, but early Lions favored by 10. So that's a lot of points. [00:33:49] Speaker A: Let's do a quick exercise before we end this segment then we'll take a break and go into college football. But what do you guys think the over under is for? Texans, Chiefs? [00:34:01] Speaker B: I haven't looked. You want me to just give you a guess? [00:34:03] Speaker A: Yeah, let's just guess and try to guess the spread. [00:34:06] Speaker B: I already know the spread is in that game. [00:34:09] Speaker A: Do you guys all know the spread? [00:34:11] Speaker B: I don't know the over under in that game. I'm gonna say it's probably between 43 and 45. [00:34:16] Speaker C: Yeah, I was gonna go around the same. [00:34:18] Speaker A: I was gonna say 42 open at 41. 41 and a half. Do you already know the spreads for all these games, Jason? [00:34:29] Speaker C: The only one I saw like the Detroit one was like eight and a half nine the last time I saw it. [00:34:34] Speaker B: Yes, nine and a half. Now I'm guessing the overrunner is probably 53 and a half to 55. It's gonna be a lot. [00:34:41] Speaker A: I'm guessing 55 and a half. Yeah, nailed it. [00:34:44] Speaker B: Be a lot. [00:34:46] Speaker A: Rams Eagles I saw spread of six. [00:34:50] Speaker B: Over, under maybe 44, 46. [00:34:58] Speaker A: What do you think, Jason? [00:35:00] Speaker C: I was gna say 45. [00:35:01] Speaker A: It was close. 43 and a half. [00:35:03] Speaker B: Okay. [00:35:05] Speaker A: Ravens built over, under. [00:35:09] Speaker B: I think, I think the Ravens are favored by one. I think the over, under. I'm going to say 50. I'll say 48. [00:35:18] Speaker A: Jason won that one. 51 and a half. [00:35:21] Speaker B: It's a high one for that game. [00:35:22] Speaker C: Yeah, that, that one. I might be feeling the under. I don't know. [00:35:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:26] Speaker B: It's going to be cold outside. So. [00:35:30] Speaker A: It'S in Buffalo. Dude, that. That's awesome. That's so awesome. Sunday afternoon. All right, any last comments? We're good. Let's take a quick break and come back. College football semi final rec. Time for some college football. One game left. Ohio State against Notre Dame for the Natty on Monday, January 20th. Jason's got to be really happy, happy, nervous. Of course. I, we. We saw that quote of you early in the year, how you're never happy with your teams. It's what's nerve wracking. Let's start with the North Dane game though, because that was a hell of a game. They both were the hell of a games. Jason correctly called the final score 27, 24. Penn State had every opportunity to win that game and I feel like they kind of shot themselves in the foot with some really stupid costume mistakes. But let's go over it really quickly. Penn State gets off to a quick start three zero with a field goal just eight seconds into the second quarter. And that's kind of when everything kind of started. The first quarter was kind of like a feel it out kind of like a boxing match. Couple rounds, they're just swinging each other and then Penn State gets a what? They go up 10 0. Kind of feels like all the momentum's on their side. But Notre Dame luckily got a field goal before the half. They're down 10 3. But that field goal really played pretty pivotal at the end of the game. Second half, Notre Dame came out on fire. They had a, they had, they had a couple long 10 yard runs. Leonard to Williams with a nice double move for 20 plus yards that kind of like really kind of took the cells out of pan safe a little bit. Then Riley Leonard with a. With a rushing touchdown and they tied it up. 10, 10, 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. So really quick on the next run. They had a 72 yard template drive that just ate up a lot of Clock. Jeremiah Love with the rushing touchdown. They're up 1710. Notre Dame for 17 unanswered points is what we're looking at. And we're barely into the fourth quarter. A minute into the fourth quarter. Penn State response with two back to back scores on their own to go up 24, 17. They had a big drive and a big run by Singleton and then I think we had like a Leonard interception in between that. He got hurt, went out of the game, came back in. That was a little scary. Was that like in the half, right? That was in the first half. [00:38:15] Speaker C: That was in the first half, yeah, yeah. [00:38:18] Speaker A: And then Singleton had another touchdown from the nine yard line. 24, 27 with eight minutes to go. All these games in the fourth quarter were just like highly intense and I really loved it. Nordy response. A 54 yard strike for a big score. 24 tight up and then a big sack by Penn State. They just had like, they had like some really nice defensive coverages and those 52 seconds left to go. But all of a sudden nor damn gets the ball back. They have enough time. They kick a field goal with 7 seconds left. 27, 24. And a stat I found interesting was that Notre Dame was the worst field goal kicking team in the country. That's what they announced in the broadcast. But they came in clutch. That was one of the funnest games I saw in the year and really happy for Jason's team. Your guys takeaway from that game did. I thought Penn State had every opportunity to kind of break the game open and get a bigger lead, some cost mistakes, whatever. I thought the defense swarmed Leonard really well. But outside of that though, Notre Dame fought and really put up a hell of an effort. Freeman, your guy, Jason, hell of a coach. Great post game interviews. The team really loves him. And then on X everyone's replaying those clips of Chip Kelly, Nacho Kelly, Brian, Brian Kelly. Let's get those two days mixed up. Brian Kelly, you know, with this fan pair press conference going over to LSU to compete for a national championship. Three years out and Notre Dame is competing for a natty again. So Jason, take it away. [00:40:11] Speaker C: We talked a lot about Marcus Freeman this year and. Yeah, just you through the tv. I think any of us, at least I know what I'm watching. I want to go play with that guy. You know, I, I want, I want to be on that team and you know there's just an environment there and a culture that he has built there that is, is engaging and this team wants. You mentioned the team Fight. The Jeremiah Love 2 yard run was the example of how this team is, is going to fight and give it all they got in that effort on that, on that goal line play. Like I, that that touchdown was just. That's why I've praised Jeremiah Love all year. He was hurt coming into, kind of into this game. The broadcast was talking about like he's wearing the knee brace or like he's not going to be hurdling guys and this and that. I think there was twice in the game he attempted to hurdle, hurdle people because just from an instinct standpoint and then he's on this goal line just fighting for every inch to get across. [00:41:07] Speaker A: Four or five tackles on that. It was really beautiful. [00:41:09] Speaker C: Yeah, it just unbelievable play. There's a highlight of the game and that puts them up 1710 at that point, I'm feeling like, man, yeah, we are, we are in the driver's seat. And then, you know, Singleton scored the touchdown, tied things up. And then you talked about. It was really the, the where I thought the win was out of the sails of Notre Dame was when Riley Leonard threw the interception. And then they go right back down and Singleton scores. They're up 24, 27. And you just didn't feel all night that Notre Dame's offense, it felt like Riley Leonard was kind of playing into. We had two interceptions in the game and I think the last time he threw that many interceptions was the Northern Illinois game. And you're like, you can't turn the ball over like this and still be competitive. But they had a busted coverage or a player, you know, fall down, which led to that long pass. Yeah. That Notre Dame was able to score the tying touchdown to 24, 24. And like it felt something. There was just something there at that point that was kind of good at Notre Dame's way. And then I admire the not playing for the tie, I guess for James Franklin. But the interception on Notre Dame's end that really set up that field goal, you know, that just again, they. Notre Dame wasn't leaving any of the field. They were fighting. You know, it's. That's a hell of a catch. If you're a wide receiver, a defensive back basically making a diving catch and really like turned it around. [00:42:33] Speaker A: That was great. [00:42:34] Speaker C: I said, Aaron, I said in the pregame was going to be special teams and defense that made a decisive play, you know, that would decide the game. That was the decisive play that was decided the game because Penn State's trying to make it happen and get down the field with less than a minute remaining. And, you know, Drew Allard throws just really a costly interception on their own side of the field. And it was just an incredible play that sets up Mitch Jeter for that field goal. So, you know, as a Notre Dame fan, you know, I'm sweating the entire time. Penn State felt like they had a lot of control of the game. Notre Dame fought back, then played themselves out of the game. But this is where the fight's at. And it was. It was. It was the kind of that heavyweight bruising matchup that we expected it to be. It wasn't going to be the cleanest game. You know, it was going to be a lot of, like, forced turnovers and things like that. And, you know, I guess my one tip of the hat for the weekend, 27, 24, called it. And a defensive or special teams play decided the game. [00:43:33] Speaker B: Yeah, man. Notre Dame, heart of a champion, right? Heart of a champion. They played their asses off. We came into this game, we said, both these teams are pretty evenly stacked, carbon copies of each team. Good defense, running game, special teams. Jason said it. Defense going to come down to it, which quarterback wouldn't make the mistakes? Both made mistakes. Unfortunately for Penn State, they made the biggest mistake late in the game that was a. Costing them. But I thought. I thought Penn State's game plan as far as an offensive attack, running the ball was, like, fantastic. I mean, they rushed the ball for over 200 yards against Notre Dame. They did a lot of motions with the running backs, created lanes in the running game. They had all the momentum. They felt like they should have been up a lot more than 10, 0 early. [00:44:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:18] Speaker B: And then Leonard gets hurt or gets, you know, evaluated for concussion. When that happens, backup quarterback comes in, make some nice throws, almost has a disastrous play that gets, you know, called back for an incomplete pass where they recover the fumble. I forget what it was. They get that field goal there, and it felt like Notre dame being down 10, three was a win for them for sure. They came out second half on fire. [00:44:45] Speaker A: Yep. [00:44:45] Speaker B: Immediately right down the field, get a stop. Right down the field again. 1710. I was with Jason, I'm like, oh, they got all the momentum, and then Penn State rallied back, gets the touchdown. Then it gets the interception, Then they get another touchdown. It's just like, man, does Notre Dame have enough offense left in them? Then the DB slips and the safety slips. They get the big play, and it just feels like this game's going back and forth. Right. I throw a haymaker, you throw a haymaker. I'm Wobbly. You're wobbly. Who's going to stand at the end of the day? Defense. Special teams come through for Notre Dame. I felt like they'd be a little more detailed in the X's and O's and small execution. They were able to do that. Freeman has got this team playing well. Credit, man, credit. If I was James Franklin, I would just ran it out, gone to overtime. And it's interesting because I was talking with some people who are watching the game. Notre Dame, obviously, they were down about four minutes ago. Had they went down the field and got that touchdown with 10, 15 seconds, do you go for two there? Do you just go for the win? Do you try to win it right there? Go for two. That would have been a decision that would have been interesting to make. Obviously, they got the touchdown about three and a half minutes ago, kicked it off, got stopped, got stopped, and then got the interception. But I'm happy for Notre Dame, man. I mean, we, me and Jason, we've been high on Notre Dame on this bottom side of the bracket all year, so I'm glad they're in the final. And it should be an interesting, interesting matchup as we get to hear Ryan Day and Lou Holtz go back and forth at it leading up to this game. That's. That's what I'm looking forward to again. [00:46:21] Speaker C: Is the broadcast gonna get them dueling at some point here? [00:46:25] Speaker B: You know, I'm. I'm sure Lou Holtz is going to come out of whatever cave he's hiding in right now and make an appearance. No doubt about it. [00:46:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Hell of a game. Gotta feel for Penn State, man. Their coach, what he has, like, no wins against top five teams. Worst. One of the worst records against top five ranked teams, college football history. [00:46:46] Speaker B: I don't. Yeah. What is he, one in 15? One and 16? [00:46:49] Speaker A: Something like that. [00:46:50] Speaker B: Now as a. Now as an underdog against top five opponents, I mean, it's tough, man. It's tough if you're James Franklin, because this was a good Penn State team. They put up a great fight. [00:47:02] Speaker A: They're good, dude. They're really good. [00:47:05] Speaker B: This game could have went either way, man. [00:47:07] Speaker A: Most definitely. [00:47:08] Speaker B: But, yeah, I mean, James Franklin, I mean, we talk about not being able to win the big game. You know, he's lost three games this year against Notre Dame, Oregon and Ohio State, and two of these teams are now playing for the national title. That's tough. [00:47:21] Speaker A: Crazy. Any other comments on the game? We're good. [00:47:29] Speaker C: Good. [00:47:31] Speaker A: Next game. This is. This is so funny. This is tough to watch Ohio State 128 14. If you're watching the game, you think like, oh man, I state took care of business. It was close and I did not like the play calling, which has been like my main criticism for Texas the last few games, even at the end of the season going to the playoffs. But let's start there. Ohio State defense came out strong and they really swarmed the out of Texans. And then I think they go up what's initially 70. Then Texas response has a big touchdown tied up. And then our state responds again, a little bit of different game plan. It was really exciting in the first half. They kind of paused for a little bit or you think this going to be a slug fest. Ohio State goes in the half up 14 7. A big 75 yard touchdown reception by Henderson, which was the longest in playoff history. But this is the first. Are they considering like the BCS games like playoff history or is it just like now we're starting like a whole new record book? [00:48:43] Speaker C: No, probably the Final Four. Final Four, the 14. Playoffs. [00:48:47] Speaker A: Yeah, really exciting. I wasn't too bummed out. I was like, you know what Texas playing, you know, fairly decent. We'll see how it goes. Ohio State looks really great. Yours had like this crazy circus toss right after the half where it looked like he was about to go down, flings it up, it sets up a scoring passage touchdown. The next play from my boy Blue tied up 14:14 and we are early into the third quarter. Howard has a big run. It was huge. Which sets up a Touchdown by Jenkins. 21:14. Then that's where things get kind of weird, I guess. Texans go go for it on 4th and goal they had. I can't remember if it was like second and goal or third and goal where they did a sweep toss to the left side. And Ohio State's guys are fast. They were blitzing the shit out of Texas and that play looked like it had no chance of making it. He was already a few yards behind the line of scrimmage. I think it was second and goal, right? And then all of a sudden, next play Ewers, he. He cannot move in the pocket. This guy's stiff. And I'm not sure if it's all the injuries. I could have sworn he was like a lot more fluid last year. But he gets hit, doesn't see his boy Jack Sawyer on Ohio State hit him. It was a clean. It was like one of the cleanest strip sacks I ever seen in my life. And he was quick, man. Touchdown. 28:14. Two minutes left and that kind of felt like the game and that was it. They had a chance to tie it up and all of a sudden it's a seven point swing and now they're down by two touchdowns. Ohio State, man, four wins over top five teams this year, which is really impressive, really impressive. That Michigan loss feel like really woke them up and they're clicking at the right time of the year. They look unstoppable and I believe they're heavy favorites going to the championship game. What were your guys thoughts on this game? [00:51:05] Speaker C: Yeah, as much as I want to gloat that Ohio State won by the two scores I predicted, Rome wasn't anywhere remotely what I said. Texas did make it a really tight game and you were looking at, you know, 14, 14 at that point in the third quarter and then even, you know, they're going in to score potentially down 21. They should have scored right there and it should have been a tie game. So it was really close. I think the biggest, the biggest takeaway to the entire day and where I would have been more wrong in the prediction was and kudos to Texas on this. You know, Jeremiah Smith was just a non factor in this entire game. He had one catch for three yards and his last two games basically had two touchdowns versus Tennessee, two touchdown versus Oregon. And it felt like post Michigan game they were really finding something to get, you know, him involved. That was basically just taking the top off of defenses and just being dynamic. And Texas, you know, they were not going to let him, let him win in this game. And you know, they got the ball to Tate and you know, you, you mentioned that big play to Henderson. So they were forcing other people to get the ball. And you know that that was a great job by Texas defensively from a game plan standpoint because he was the one who really ended it from an Oregon standpoint a week prior that he was just going up and down against the Oregon defense. So it was a really great game. I mean the final score is not indicative, as you said, of really wit where things were at. You know, huge turnover to end, just massive swing. You don't see many of those strip sacks for a, for a touchdown going like 85 yards the other way. [00:52:43] Speaker A: I was laughing. I'm like, all right. [00:52:47] Speaker C: But I mean it was, we wrote Aaron and I gave a ton of crap to you for Texas, the entire team as far as you know. But hey, they were one of the best teams in the country. Being down to the final four is not a shock. They didn't play all the tough games that we thought they probably should have throughout the year. But, you know, they were every bit with Ohio State. But Ohio State, kind of as we talked through, like they fixed what they went wrong versus Michigan and they were going to be pretty much the top team in the tournament. And they look like it as they just dismantle Oregon, who was, you know, the consensus number one going in. I just, if you're a Texas fan, Rome, like you've stuck with yours. People are calling for Arch Manning all year. You know, was. It was. Was there a time that he should have been the quarterback, was going to be something better for this team offensively? Because it never seemed to take the offense to the next level where you were supposed to be like, hey, this potential Heisman candidate, he was. [00:53:41] Speaker A: Yeah, he was a favorite. [00:53:42] Speaker C: Yeah. And just offensively, I mean, you watch way more Texas than I did, but it never, it never felt like this, hey, this is, this is an offense that I want to be scared of every week. It felt like, you know, it was almost like Notre Dame, man, it's a labor to get to score points in a lot of this time when the type of athletes you got in this team is like, why, why aren't they doing more? [00:54:01] Speaker A: Texas really reminded me of the Tesbach Steelers. Yours had like some really nice deep balls. Like he's known for like a pretty fairly decent arm. And they have another quarterback who's really mobile, probably the most athletic Manning of the whole bunch and they just didn't utilize him. They could have opened up the playbook a little bit more. One thing about Ohio State, Henderson, I think Judkins had a couple breakaway runs. He was quick as hell, really impressive. And yeah, you're right about Smith, man, they really kept him at bay. And Tate took a big chunk of the big time plays for them. [00:54:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we've talked a lot of smack on Texas all year, but I've said it repeatedly, Texas is a top five talent team across the board that can compete with anybody in college football. You know, offensively. Rome, you said it for the last month, two months, too many inconsistencies in the offense. They haven't put together four quarters of consistent offensive play and they just have not looked good. And their defense, surprisingly, that's Texas's strength. They've got a really good defense. They showed up, they balled out, they took away Smith, did a lot of, you know, coverages you don't see in college. A lot where they had double team safety over the top corners underneath. A lot of NFL type Coverages on just one guy. Like, you rarely ever see that in college where a team's like, dude, we're going to implement the Bill Belichick plan, put two guys on them and just take them out of the game and you guys can have the other half of the field and work that. So give Ohio State credit. You know, Will Howard tried to throw, you know, throw one pass in there under pressure, it got intercepted. They kind of went away from that. The running game for Ohio State was different. Was decent with Henderson and Judkins. [00:55:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:55:45] Speaker B: And then Tate had a really good game. But Ohio State has a lot of good wide receivers. You know, Tate, he's really good. He'll be an NFL wide receiver one day, the other, you know, Ibaka. And then. [00:55:55] Speaker A: Is that how you pronounce his name? Igbaka? [00:55:59] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, something like that. [00:56:00] Speaker A: Gets nice catches. [00:56:01] Speaker B: He's a first round NFL wide receiver. Obviously Smith would probably be the number one wide receiver taken as an 18 year old if he was coming out. So they have a lot of weapons and defensively, man, Ohio State is, it's. [00:56:16] Speaker A: They are. [00:56:17] Speaker B: You know, they don't get a lot of credit for that side of the ball because you think Chip Kelly, you think Ryan Day, you think of all the, all Americans they have on offense, that that's their strength. You go back to that second and go out the one, they run the toss, they lose seven yards. [00:56:32] Speaker A: Did you like that play when it happened? No, I was like, what the hell? [00:56:36] Speaker B: And I had a feeling they were going to run that play and obviously Ohio State did too. And I was happy for it because. [00:56:42] Speaker A: Oh yeah, you were like, well, yeah, you know, they loaded it really heavy on the, on the left side. It had no chance and it just had. [00:56:49] Speaker B: It had no trance. And you know, I keep seeing a lot of people started talking and then maybe they should have. Should they brought Arch Manning in to run like that quarterback power that they did earlier in the game on a fourth and one and they converted to go down and get that touchdown to tie the game up in the second quarter. You know, my knock on Texas all year, Jason, I've said it. They got a cupcake schedule in the sec. To me, they weren't mentally tough enough. And at the end of the day, that came back to haunt them. They just weren't in enough big games. Romy said at Ohio State, four wins against top five competition. Competition. They're going to go for the record five if they can beat Notre Dame in the national championship game. No team in the modern era has beaten five teams in the top five in a single season. Ohio State has a chance to do that next Monday, but that was my neck, my knock on Texas. Like, you played one good team all year and Georgia beat you, you got another one and you went down again. And Texas against average, below average teams, they look great, but against the elite of the elite, they just aren't there as a program yet. [00:57:51] Speaker A: I thought they still look pretty good, man. They had a chance. Yeah. So. But I don't know. [00:57:55] Speaker B: I'm glad they're out. I feel vindicated all year on my Texas take. [00:57:59] Speaker C: Yeah, not really our Texas take. [00:58:01] Speaker B: Yeah, there you go. [00:58:06] Speaker A: So how you guys feeling about the championship game? Ohio State, Notre Dame. [00:58:13] Speaker C: We'll probably save some for later of the week as we do the previews. I, you know, I, I said it. Going into the Final Four weekend as we went through, Ohio State was the best team of the four remaining. So, you know, I don't, I don't love saying that as a Notre Dame fan right now because, I mean, I think the spread is indicative of. Of what everyone thinks right now. [00:58:36] Speaker A: They open up at nine and a half. Right. [00:58:37] Speaker B: I believe it's down to eight now. [00:58:39] Speaker C: Okay. I still think Ohio State's the best team in this point. A lot of things are have to go to Notre Dame's way. Where Notre Dame has excelled, has been defensively in the secondary, but this is going to be the toughest matchup they've had from a wide receiver standpoint. For them, you know, to keep up with, they're going to need turnovers in the game. And then Riley Leonard is going to have to be a lot more efficient to get the ball down the field without making the turnovers. Because I think two. Two turnovers against Ohio State's a loss for Notre Dame. [00:59:07] Speaker A: Oh, man. Ohio State against Texas. Their ends, man, looks so quick. They were so quick. [00:59:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot. I mean, whenever we later in the week, break down the game, you know Notre Dame's battling a ton of injuries, especially on that offensive line. Roland, we talk about that defensive front from Ohio State, one of the best in the country. Nor Dame's going to be about. They're already, what, left tackle? He's out. Another guy on that line is going to be out. Notre Dame feels like a fighter that's coming into this fight really, really banged up in Ohio State. Just feels like they've been sparring with people and feels fresher to me. We'll see how it plays out. Marcus Freeman's done A great job, but he's. Notre Dame has lost the last two years of this Ohio State team back in Columbus in 2022. And then last year when they had 10 guys on the field in the. Ohio State runs it in at the goal line to get that win. So this is the third time they're very familiar with each other. Notre Dame plays an aggressive defense. Like Jason mentioned, they pale out of man to man coverage. Will they stick to that game plan and play Jeremiah Smith one on one or will they implement a more Texas game plan with double coverage? That's going to be interesting to see how they do that because Notre Dame likes a blitz a lot. Texas played real conservative, kept everything in front of them. A lot of zone blitzes, gave a lot of different looks. Kind of confused Will Howard similar to what Michigan did. It'd be interesting to see if Notre Dame's D line can hold up. We just mentioned the game of 200 yards rushing to Penn State. So there's a lot of intrigue coming in this matchup. And Riley Leonard, Jason said it best. If he doesn't turn the ball over, Notre Dame's gonna have a good chance. If they lose a turnover battle, it's gonna be real, real tough for them to stay in that game. [01:00:53] Speaker A: One thing about, I liked about Leonard's postgame, he really gave credit to his team because he had some costly mistakes, maybe should have lost the game, but. [01:01:01] Speaker B: He made some huge runs to get some first downs, came back and fought 18 carries for what, 37 yards. But those are tough yards and they needed every one of them. [01:01:12] Speaker A: Yeah, intriguing. And Freeman played ball at Ohio State, so kind of fun. And last time Norden was in the championship game, they got killed. So they haven't done too well in bowl games this year. They're doing great, man. [01:01:32] Speaker C: A different, a different Notre Dame team than a decade plus ago. That was the end of the BCS era. You know, Notre Dame did probably have the toughest challenge. When you look at Aaron mentioned the offensive line, defensive line for Notre Dame, it's, it's much different than it was. But yeah, Aaron, Aaron brought up. I didn't mention the game. Notre Dame lost two offensive linemen in that game versus Penn State. So they had two backup offensive linemen that were going throughout that game that just stepped up. Like they got the heart. It's just whether that heart's going to match, you know, the town on the field going against this Ohio State team is going to be the biggest question. You know, I will. I have talked about Jeremiah Love in every preview. You know, only getting 11 carries in that last game. You know, obviously the huge touchdown run. Depending on his health and what he can be like. How can we anchor him? Because at this point Riley Leonard's kind of trying to do everything and they're just slugging this offense, you know, down the field like as hard as possible. Basically every yard is, is like maximum effort and hard. There's no easy yards. Notre Dame's getting offensively and, and there's going to need to be some plays. I mean they got, they got kind of lucky with the, with the slip down DB and stuff to get that, that one one. They're going to need some plays like that in this game to get some easier yards. [01:02:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. They're going to have to generate big plays. They're. They're not going to be able to just put together 12, 13, 14 play drives against this defense. I think they can take a few things away from Texas if they could catch them in man to man. I'm not sure. I'm sure Jeremiah loves pretty good coming out of the backfield because Texas really used blue to match up against the linebackers from Ohio State and they use that speed advantage to hit those will routes for two touchdowns. That was, that was where they were hurting Ohio State, Texas in the past games with the running backs, so that's something to look forward to. Leonard's a lot more mobile than Quinn so that's something they have going forward. They're going to have to use him a lot in the running game. But agree with Jason, they've got to come away with big plays and literally not just one or two. I think they need five or six 20 plus yard plays in this game to really, really put a lot of pressure on Ohio State and that's going to be tough against a Gym Knowles defense. [01:03:40] Speaker A: Yeah, excited to talk more about that. I just realized it's next Monday. Martin Luther King, right? Weekend. [01:03:45] Speaker B: That's right. [01:03:46] Speaker A: Three day weekend. [01:03:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Love it. [01:03:51] Speaker A: Is that it? [01:03:53] Speaker B: I'm good. [01:03:55] Speaker C: I don't want to bring it up, but are we talking about coaches? [01:04:00] Speaker B: You want to talk about that Friday or Thursday? Probably be better Thursday because it'll be more. [01:04:08] Speaker A: We can talk about like updated coaching rumors. Let's do that real quickly because the. [01:04:13] Speaker B: Only rumor we care about is the Bears. Let's just be honest before you go. [01:04:19] Speaker C: Rumors. We have an official coaching hire though. Since the last pod, we've, we've recorded too. [01:04:23] Speaker A: We did, yeah. Rabel, Jason, he's happy about that one. That's gonna be a quick turnaround. Man, I'd be nervous. [01:04:33] Speaker B: I did see, and I'd like to get Jason's take on it. I did see the Bears were going to ask for an interview with Marcus Freeman. Would you suggest he leave Notre Dame and go to the Bears if offered the job? Where would you rather him stay? [01:04:47] Speaker A: Just stay there. Yeah. [01:04:49] Speaker C: The Bears just want to ruin the only team that's good that I root for. Just like, let's take the great coach away. [01:04:55] Speaker A: Yeah, it took a little while, but McCarthy's out. That was announced today. [01:05:00] Speaker B: Or interviewing with the Bears on Wednesday, by the way. [01:05:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Couldn't come to agreement or something like that. [01:05:05] Speaker B: Jason's, Jason's front. Or Rome's front runner for the Bears position, Mike McCarthy, by the way. [01:05:09] Speaker A: It might be. Actually, I, I, I kind of joked about it. Yeah, I, we joked about, like, a few weeks back, but it's kind of lighting up like that. Right? [01:05:17] Speaker C: You are, you aren't, you aren't the only person. I, I, I saw some clips like Dan Orlovsky and a bunch of other, like, people saying that the Bears should be hiring him right now because they think they need the experienced coach. All I see is, all I see is this the offensive version of John Fox. [01:05:33] Speaker A: To be fair, man, he's won a lot of games with the Packers. It'll be like a good, like, f you back to the Packers. Right. If you go, if he goes to the Bears and turn that thing around and kind of builds on, on that rivalry a little bit. Deal with the Dallas Cowboys, even, like, down the stretch. They haven't had that kind of consistency in a while. It's just, I think I heard someone had a take where just Karthi just wasn't empowered in Dallas and couldn't really do much else. Right. It's Jerry Jones world, and he'll do what he wants to do. Who they want to hire, though, who they want to interview. That's pretty interesting. Dallas is a weird job. [01:06:11] Speaker B: Well, like Rome, it's, it's Jerry's team. It's Jerry's world. [01:06:15] Speaker A: So I would not take it. [01:06:16] Speaker B: I mean, I don't, I don't know how much longer Jerry's going to be around of us, but. [01:06:20] Speaker A: Yeah, too. Yeah. Starting to look like the guy from the Tales from the crypt, that old TV show from the 90s. [01:06:27] Speaker C: Hey, I don't think you guys watch the TV show. You guys, you guys don't watch Landman on Paramount plus, right? [01:06:32] Speaker A: No, I got it. [01:06:33] Speaker B: I did see his cameo, though. [01:06:34] Speaker C: That Was great. [01:06:35] Speaker A: Good. [01:06:36] Speaker B: That was great. [01:06:36] Speaker C: Jerry, man. Jerry's acting. Yeah. He's actor in opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm and he held his own. He carried that scene. [01:06:45] Speaker B: He deserves an award for that one. I did see that. Yeah. I'm gonna start watching that show pretty soon. But I did see that cameo. [01:06:50] Speaker A: I need to show my. Start watching it. To be fair, he was pretty good at Entourage. Do you guys ever watch that show? Yeah, I hope so. Jason said no. [01:07:00] Speaker C: I. I didn't watch one Trust. [01:07:01] Speaker A: No. [01:07:01] Speaker B: Really? [01:07:02] Speaker C: No. [01:07:03] Speaker B: Jason. I'm surprised he would like that one. I think he feels like he'd like. Why not actually like he feels like he's like a turtle or somebody like that. Right, Jason? [01:07:14] Speaker A: I don't know. [01:07:16] Speaker C: No, I just got it, you know, just. Just, you know, different HBO content for me. [01:07:20] Speaker A: So. [01:07:20] Speaker C: Spranos, the Wire. [01:07:22] Speaker A: You know, Soprano's overrated. [01:07:27] Speaker C: Bad take, shits take. [01:07:31] Speaker A: It was okay. I think it was good for the. [01:07:34] Speaker C: Time it started the era of prestige tv. [01:07:39] Speaker A: I think it was one of the shows. We'll have to do a pot on that one day. A breakdown. What do you guys think about the Raiders rumors with. With Tom Brady starting to take charge of the helm? Calling up Belich, calling up Johnson. [01:07:58] Speaker C: What I want to know, and I'm not the only person to talk through this right now. The conflict of interest of. It's a lot the. Of the Fox, you know, lead analyst on their main broadcast who's also part owner of a team, who's in charge of coaching hires and stuff. Basically influencing stuff. Like the one of these jobs kind of get a give at a certain point. Like is this Brady's like last year doing this stuff on Fox because there's already rumors like he's not allowed to like be in certain parts of facilities and things like that. [01:08:30] Speaker A: None of that. [01:08:31] Speaker B: You can't do any team meetings, interviews. [01:08:33] Speaker A: Nothing pre production meetings either. It's just life. He gets paid a lot. [01:08:38] Speaker B: He just shows up. Game day. [01:08:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I guess. I guess if Fox is just buying the star, I guess it is. But it's kind of like. I mean, Greg Olson was really good in that. Yeah. Number one spot that they had previously. Now you gotta. Now you got a guy like, hey, we're just going. I mean, I don't think Brady's been terrible this year. Like he's got better than. He's gotten better and fine on it. But yeah, it's. It's interesting how much. I mean, control he has over the organization. But does it turn into. It's Is it a Jordan Is it a Jordan like ownership thing that he turns into, you know, as far as these guys that are like the greatest at what they do but don't know how from a management perspective. I mean we saw Elway be somewhat successful in his Broncos run when he was kind of running the show as like team president or whatever. So you know, I think yeah, outside. [01:09:23] Speaker B: Of that he's terrible. [01:09:26] Speaker C: So I it'll be interesting. I will say up until the Mike McCarthy. [01:09:32] Speaker B: No, I don't think Elway was that one. [01:09:35] Speaker C: No. Elway got rid of Tebow and got it got Manning. [01:09:38] Speaker B: Yeah. And then he drafted the was it. [01:09:41] Speaker A: Cutler there with. [01:09:44] Speaker C: No color got cut color got traded by McDaniels as soon as he went as soon as he went to McDaniels took over that job. [01:09:53] Speaker B: Oh that was a stupid downslide was when he took that quarterback out of Memphis. [01:09:58] Speaker A: I can't remember when when colors on the team. I really like that team. [01:10:03] Speaker C: Smoking J was good man. He was the best quarterback in best quarterback in Bears history until Caleb Williams. [01:10:10] Speaker B: Hey, but where's that take you gave Rome like his Cutler still in general did he get out and the Bears won Because remember you said like the Bears were like owing to him Cutler in jail for 66 days or something. Remember that? He said you said some kind of a message out. [01:10:23] Speaker C: No, I think he got arrested or whatever. But it wasn't. He didn't. I don't think he's in jail. [01:10:27] Speaker B: But the bears were owing 10 like since his arrest. Right. Or something like that. [01:10:31] Speaker C: Hey, the Bears. [01:10:34] Speaker A: It was. It was. Yeah. With the pacwa. [01:10:38] Speaker C: Yeah, they're 1 and oh in 2025. The packers are 0 and 2 in 2025. You know it's a new year. [01:10:44] Speaker A: Color was really good and in the league I really like that show. That was a good show. [01:10:49] Speaker C: The league was a good show. [01:10:51] Speaker B: Yeah, it was not bad. [01:10:52] Speaker A: Not bad that said. Huh. [01:10:54] Speaker C: But yeah, going back to Brady and the Raiders, I I don't know where the Raiders are going to go with that. I'll be honest with you. Like up until the McCarthy news, like I was concerned the Ben Ben Johnson to the Raiders was gon announce at a certain point because he probably would get like whatever carte blanche authority he's he's. He's looking for. I mean there's a lot of random quote unquote insiders for the Bears like talking about how good the meeting the first interview was with the Bears on Saturday with Ben Johnson was he's apparently pulls his front runner. But it's about convincing Kevin Warren is the rumors as far as Ben Johnson, you know, that from a leadership and culture standpoint, it sounds like he passed, well, the first initial round. But I don't know. This McCarthy things got me shaking because these are all the things of like, you know, this is when the Bears rushed into hiring John Fox after he got, you know, fired from the Broncos. [01:11:44] Speaker A: Well, I don't like with the Broncos anyways, but yeah, you should have never got that job. This just came out like an hour ago or so when I was waking up from my nap. Deion Sanders. [01:11:54] Speaker B: Yeah. To Dallas. I mean, I don't like it. [01:11:59] Speaker A: He takes the interview. [01:12:00] Speaker B: Oh yeah, they've already talked. [01:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:12:02] Speaker B: Whether or not they've done an interview. But Mike McCarthy, I don't think he's going to get hired this round. I mean, usually, typically coaches that get fired, they usually take a year off kind of, you know, fired. But I mean, basically once you don't renew a guy's contract or extend a guy, you're basically, it's a nice way of saying we don't want you anymore. [01:12:22] Speaker A: They were talking and game planning for the new season. I think you, I think he walked away. [01:12:26] Speaker B: I think he wanted a long term deal probably in the four to five years and I think Jerry probably offered him a two year deal. [01:12:32] Speaker A: I would have walked away too. [01:12:34] Speaker B: That's my guess. You know, Ben Johnson, I still think he ends up in Jacksonville. That's where I ultimately think he ends up. [01:12:41] Speaker C: They think he's a no go. He's not impressed. And because they won't get her a Trent Balky, apparently that's. They said that's not that big enough steam at all. [01:12:48] Speaker B: So we'll see. I mean, you mentioned last week though Trent Balky would, you know, Khan would get rid of him if the right candidate came around. So we'll see Raiders, we'll see what happens there. I think Liam Cohen's going to get a job. Maybe he gets one in Jacksonville. The Raiders, his ties with Tampa. I think Brady's really likes him. I heard he might bring him in. So they want an offensive guy there. If it's not Belichick or Brable. I know you know, Brady reached out to both of those. So we'll see what happens. I mean, the jets is the interesting one. No one's really talking about them. Maybe Rex Ryan ends up getting that gig. I think he is. I think Rex Ryan's going to get that job back. [01:13:30] Speaker A: Like I didn't realize because typically we have like, like a lot of hirings already, but they changed all the rules with off season interviews and. And things in between the playoff games as well. So it kind of threw everything off. So it's. It's a. It's a little more of a gradual drag than we're used to from years past. [01:13:44] Speaker C: Well, yeah, the Bears are just, you know, interviewing 47 people for this position. [01:13:48] Speaker A: So many interviews. [01:13:49] Speaker C: All the time in the world. [01:13:50] Speaker B: How'd the interview go with David Shaw, man? How'd that one go? They say they leaked that one. [01:13:55] Speaker C: No reports on the David Shaw that I heard of. I just heard a lot about Vrabel and Ben Johnson. Aaron Glenn, the one I thought that was ridiculous. [01:14:04] Speaker A: Vance Joseph for the Raiders potentially, isn't. [01:14:11] Speaker B: Going to get a job. I mean, if there's going to be D corner to get a job, it's going to be Aaron Glenn. Someone's going to maybe go that route. Maybe the Saints. [01:14:20] Speaker A: You know, there's a lot of openings. [01:14:21] Speaker B: Magnolia, man. I mean, with the Chiefs bags. Will you get a job? Say hi about him, man. Yeah. And obviously he got a bad gig there of the Rams when he took over there, so. How many years ago is that, like 15 now? [01:14:38] Speaker C: Yeah, it was a while. That was pre Jeff Fisher. [01:14:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:14:41] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [01:14:42] Speaker B: So he's. He's a guy people speak highly of. So we'll see. Nagy. I've never liked Nagy. [01:14:50] Speaker C: The jets deserve Matt Nagy. [01:14:54] Speaker B: Maybe, because I know they're talking to their g. The whatever, assistant GM with the Chiefs too, so they might trying to combo that up. So. Yeah. [01:15:03] Speaker A: Yeah. All right. That's cool. We'll see what happens. That's it. Sources from the sofa. Peace.

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