The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

00:00:00
Speaker 1: You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio.

00:00:04
Speaker 2: Indiana does it? They complete the season a miracle season. And there was a website that said the odds for Indiana to win the national title. At the start of the year they were plus ten thousand, Fernando Mendoza to win the Heisman, plus five thousand. Their win total over under eight and a half. And here they are with a magical season and give credit to a lot of people here, Kurt Signetti, you got to start with him. Imagine you're at Alabama and you're working with Nick Saban and you say to Nick Saban, coach, I want to leave. I want to be a head coach. And you go, okay, where are you going? And he says, I'm going to Iu Pui And Nick Saban says, why do you want to do that? He wanted to be a head coach. He proved to be successful there. Elon James Madison, I mean, this isn't the normal route to become a national champion, but there's something about him. And he doesn't go after five star recruits or four star recruits because he couldn't because five stars and four stars aren't going to Indiana. If you're getting three stars, It's like, WHOA, all right, I like this. He's the kind of guy that goes after two stars and by the time he's done coaching them up, they're four and five stars. So that's a huge credit to him. Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, did what you want a Heisman Trophy winner to do, come up big when he needed to, and he did that. As for Miami, it's going to get overlooked because I think we looked at Miami like historically great program, while Indiana historically a bad program. But Miami and Mario Christobal did a great job this year to make the U relevant again, and they had their opportunities. I just didn't understand the coaching philosophy of the first half, the offensive philosophy. They had sixty nine yards of total offense in the first half, and they were in the game. They just kept running the ball. I got Malachai Tony. I want the ball in his hands twenty times.

00:02:23
Speaker 3: I just got it.

00:02:24
Speaker 2: Whatever it is, there's a chance that he could break every time he got the ball. You go, oh, you got to hold your breath if you're Indiana. But I didn't understand unless they were saying, we don't want Carson Beck to try to win this game. You're trying to control the clock a little bit, maybe, but they just kept running it up, running it up the middle, and then you end up with sixty nine yards of total offense. Second half, they opened it up a little bit and Carson Beck had a couple of plays there in the end, ended up with an interception. But give credit to Indiana. We've talked about this for the last six weeks, just how big this story is and growing up in the Midwest and growing up in Ohio. If you were going to schedule a school for homecoming where you knew you were going to win or parents weekend, Indiana would be tops on your list. And I couldn't help but think of one person last night when this game ended, and I thought Elite Corso, because coach Corso was there at Indiana and did a really good job. But you're going against Ohio State in Michigan, and here he is in failing health but a big contributor to college football, college game Day, and here he gets to witness Indiana winning the national championship in football. So the biggest play here is the interception. By Indiana to seal the national championship.

00:03:55
Speaker 4: Here's the statback Beck looks, throws it down the field and it is they are stucked by Indiana.

00:04:02
Speaker 3: What to play? Then it is Jamari Sharp who comes up with the big Jamari Sharp put what a play for.

00:04:11
Speaker 2: Indiana and Indiana is gonna win this thing. And Sharp is from Miami comes up with the interception. Fernando Mendoza from Miami, and here is his touchdown run. Gotta get to the eighth He's got takeoff on round.

00:04:27
Speaker 5: Mentoza, please his wife first and.

00:04:30
Speaker 1: Go diving todyan zone touchdown where you want my husband trophy.

00:04:39
Speaker 2: Chris Faller with the call because you're watching and you go, okay, he got the first down and then he just kept going and then got the touchdown. But Miami was resilient. They kept coming back, and Indiana knew that they weren't blowing this team out. Home game for Miami, but it was probably felt like a home game for Indiana. There were a lot of Hoosiers there. But congratulations, Indiana football has won a national championship.

00:05:06
Speaker 6: Dude, you've been doing this a long time. You just uttered that on national radio.

00:05:10
Speaker 2: Yes, I never ever thought in my lifetime I would say something like that, Indiana football has won a national championship. By the way, DraftKings just sent me the title odds for next year. Indiana and Ohio State have the same odds plus seven hundred. Then it's Texas and Notre Dame plus seven fifty Oregon, Georgia, LSU, Texas, tech A and m Alabama and Miami. All right, eight seven seven to three DP show email address Dpatdanpatrick dot com, Twitter handle a DP show Tyler sitting by to take your phone calls. All right, Seaton pull. Question for hour one is going to be what.

00:05:57
Speaker 7: The Indiana Indiana ball national title story is most similar to? Paul laid out these options. Okay, miracle on ice, twenty sixteen Chicago Cubs, the twenty sixteen Leicester City team that won the Premier League, or nineteen eighty three NC State.

00:06:20
Speaker 2: Okay, so we're putting a team on there, not Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson. Uh yeah, okay, because you can't you could, I mean, the twenty sixteen Cubs worthy of being put in here with this group.

00:06:34
Speaker 5: I think futility for one hundred and eight years is kind of similar. To the futility of Indiana football. But I would say Leicester City, well, yeah, would be the comp because they were a couple tiers down right Seaton for years and years and years.

00:06:48
Speaker 7: They had only been promoted a year or two before. Winning the Premier League is a pretty big turnaround similar to Indiana.

00:06:57
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, but somebody did predict that. Leicester City, Hello, hello Leicester, I called him Leicester City to Rebecca Lo, Dan, I know Lester, I know we were at the NBC studios and I remember, you know, they were talking Premier League and the great host of the Premier League, Rebecca Lo and I go, She goes, Dan, who do you like? Can I go? I like Leicester City. It's it's Leicester City. I said they're gonna win it this year. Yes, dud, I.

00:07:30
Speaker 8: Don't want to be that guy, but I've kind of been that guy at times with the show.

00:07:33
Speaker 6: So I'm just gonna say it.

00:07:34
Speaker 8: Can we overstate how big Indiana's accomplished it in the history of sports?

00:07:38
Speaker 3: Wait?

00:07:38
Speaker 2: Are you saying that we're overstating Indiana.

00:07:42
Speaker 8: I'm saying we're not there yet, but we are on the road to saying something like that. This in the history of anything that's ever happened on a field or a court or ice. This is the one.

00:07:52
Speaker 2: Pauli's head's gonna explode here. Yeah, yes, Marvin, I got to disagree, Fritzy.

00:07:57
Speaker 9: This is probably the greatest turnaround in the history of Americans. Like the Cubs, the Cubs were up and ready to go to the World Series in two thousand and three. Indiana wasn't like, Man, we were really close to winning the Big Ten in football.

00:08:08
Speaker 3: Never they've always a bottom fear.

00:08:10
Speaker 9: Besides that one year with Antoine Randall l they've never been anything to watch.

00:08:14
Speaker 8: Yes, don We also have to distinguish opposite between turnaround and upset. There's all kinds of words and phrases that could get garbled with one another. This obviously is a huge turnaround in two years, as opposed to Tyson Douglas, where it's an upset. This wasn't something in the making over a period of fights or something.

00:08:29
Speaker 2: You're right about the turnaround like when you think about turning around in two years, that's the remarkable part. Go back over two years ago and look at a home game at Indiana Football prior to Kurt Signetti, Like they're playing Akron didn't they go three overtimes against like Kent State or something.

00:08:50
Speaker 6: I think it was four against your zips.

00:08:51
Speaker 2: Okay, go back and just get a picture of what the attendance was like before Kurt Signetti got there. And look, I said it. I'm sure many people did. Coming into this year, I wondered who was going to be Indiana and it turned out to be Indiana. It's a great story. Once again, Indiana football has won the national championship.

00:09:17
Speaker 8: Wow, April fol Oh, no, what's today?

00:09:21
Speaker 2: Why are you a BUZZKILTA?

00:09:22
Speaker 8: That's terribly I'm usually a pretty positive you don't happy go look until I got like snarky and wise. Pauli rubbed off, I'm getting sparky in my old age.

00:09:31
Speaker 3: I'm getting very snarky. It was never like that back in the day.

00:09:35
Speaker 2: You are a negative guy.

00:09:37
Speaker 8: The Indiana call of that touchdown?

00:09:41
Speaker 3: What are you doing? This?

00:09:43
Speaker 2: Didn't love that?

00:09:43
Speaker 8: It was unfortunate. It's unfortunate. This guy's a legend, is a great bordcast. Unfortunately he got tricked.

00:09:47
Speaker 2: Into things he called. He called like, oh he's throwing it and he's running it.

00:09:51
Speaker 3: He's running it. It's a touchdown.

00:09:53
Speaker 6: Why why are you doing this.

00:09:56
Speaker 8: I was bummed for him because if I was a broadcast.

00:09:58
Speaker 6: That's gonna be playing that.

00:09:58
Speaker 8: Really it sounds like your we're gonna be talking about Indiana forever. We're gonna be talking about that call forever too.

00:10:03
Speaker 9: I wad they go together.

00:10:06
Speaker 5: Yes, but if if you watch that play, when Mendoza goes back, it's the last thing anyone expected.

00:10:11
Speaker 6: Herbstreet even broke it down.

00:10:12
Speaker 5: The safeties are so far back they like jumped forward and couldn't believe he was even going.

00:10:17
Speaker 2: It was a great play, but the second effort to get into the end zone, and uh, you know, I'm curious. We got Chase Daniel on and he looks at more film than anybody. A former quarterback watching Mendoza, I saw, I'm gonna go back and say what I said a couple of weeks ago, only because a scout told me this. He doesn't do anything great, but he doesn't do anything that you bring into question, like it just he's clean, but it you know, is he a little more athletic than you think? Is his arm a little more, you know, a little stronger than you think. Is he a little more accurate? Like he's got a lot of those, he's a little more than. He's a little more than. All I know is what a great reper reresentative that he would be for any football team. Now that doesn't mean he's a franchise quarterback, but he's going to be the number one overall pick. He came up when he needed to. He had some big plays when he needed to. But we'll talk to Chase Daniel about what he sees because okay, they won the national title. This is about a bigger picture of what happens next year, you know, when he gets to the NFL. Ross Tucker, CBS Sports will join us coming up as well. We'll get to your phone calls. Miami, they have a head coach. They took the Packers defensive coordinator Halfley, and the Titans hire Robert Sala. I think it's a good situation for Robert Sala and Titan and the Titans. His personality didn't do well in New York and going to the Titans. I like the job, you know, but once again, you have a franchise quarterback. I believe you got a lot of cap space more than anybody. Now, do you have the right people who will make these draft picks and bring in these free agents. That's the key. You can have the template here. You got to make sure that you're able to fill out that roster in the way that allows you to maybe turn this around like Carolina did or New England did, some of these teams that have three or four wins and then you know, next thing you know, you're banging on the door of the playoffs. But so we got a few more coaching vacancies here, certainly with Buffalo, the Steelers, Baltimore. Baltimore is going to take its time. Somebody told me yesterday. They they're never in a hurry. They they'll treat this the way they do the draft, where they're usually at the end of the first round and they just they're patient waiting for the right person to be their next head coach. So I don't know if it's one of those, I don't know, if it's somebody who's still coaching, I don't know, if it's a coordinator for you know, one of the final four teams might be. From what I'm told, I thought Robert Sala was getting that job. I thought that he would be the number one candidate. As for the Steelers, I think Mike McCarthy is truly in the mix, and you know he's a Pittsburgh guy. So multiple reports about Mike McCarthy maybe getting back into the mix as well. The Buffalo situation. I know, I get a franchise quarterback, but I got I have to go to the AFC title game, like the instant pressure. Now, they're not going to get rid of you after the first year, but you know going in, Okay, he got this far.

00:13:30
Speaker 3: Now.

00:13:30
Speaker 2: Would I have fired Sean McDermott. I would not have because I have to know, Okay, who's the next guy coming in and how do I know he's going to take us to the next level? You know, Mike Tomlin stepped down. Would I have fired John Harball? I would have because I don't I think there's a disconnect between Harball and Lamar Jackson ownership, the front all. It feels like there's something in play there, Todd Munkin and the offensive coordinator. It just felt like it was clumsy the Steelers, I get it. I think Tomlin was burnt. I think that he is not going to coach, not anytime soon. I don't know if he'll do TV. I think he might just chill.

00:14:11
Speaker 3: Be sure.

00:14:12
Speaker 1: To catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

00:14:21
Speaker 10: Hey is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now. In addition to hearing us live weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show.

00:14:34
Speaker 2: Yup, that's right.

00:14:35
Speaker 10: You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube every day. All you gotta do search Covino and Rich FSR on YouTube Again, go to YouTube search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon.

00:14:50
Speaker 2: Comment away. Chase Daniel from the mother Ship The Chase Daniels Show on YouTube Must See TV as he breaks down the playoff quarterbacks and Fernando mendo So, what kind of pro do you think Fernando Mendoz is gonna be? Chase so elite?

00:15:05
Speaker 4: You're talking like mahomes Lamar Jackson, borrow all those I like. I don't think he's gonna be like that, But I really like the way he's played in college.

00:15:15
Speaker 6: And you even go back to his.

00:15:16
Speaker 4: Time at Cal and he just has something about him, like I know the OC really well at Indiana, so I know the inner workings that he's extremely smart. And when you watch him, and you were watching him last night, right, he gets a bloody lip. He goes through and you look at the stat line and you're like, well, he didn't even throw for two hundred yards and no touchdowns, no interceptions, all this stuff.

00:15:39
Speaker 6: But you just really look at a couple plays.

00:15:41
Speaker 4: In that game, the fourth down to Becker, right, a couple of these back shoulder throws, and then his heisman moment, the National championship moment on fourth and five with Fernando Mendoza.

00:15:52
Speaker 6: You're calling a quarterback draw versus.

00:15:55
Speaker 4: That Miami defense, and Miami the de Coortner came out said, we even knew it was gonna have. He just finds ways to will your team to victory. I mean, look, he would have already been taken number one, but his playoff run going back to the Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, and then his entire playoff run against these defenses, to me, he's easily cemented himself as the number one pick.

00:16:19
Speaker 6: It's not even question.

00:16:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just not sure and once again, I know we're we just put the National title game to rest, but looking forward, moving forward, I don't know what I see there, Like I see see Kirk Cousins less athletic, Andrew luck Is, Joe Flacco, like I I'm not quite sure. And look, I would take that if I'm the Raiders and I get any one of those three. Yeah, but I'm just not sure what I'm seeing with.

00:16:49
Speaker 6: Well, and and I think a lot of people are.

00:16:53
Speaker 3: Are you Dan?

00:16:54
Speaker 4: That's why I was sort of hoping Dante Moore would come out because for me, when I break down Dante Moore, yeah he's not as polished, but the ceiling's much higher when you get for Nana Mendoza, he's already so polished and whatever you're talking about this next jump to the NFL where they're all grown man and they're all good stuff.

00:17:12
Speaker 6: You look at ceiling like how much better can you get?

00:17:15
Speaker 4: And so when I'm breaking them down, to me, the number one thing that I see in a scouting importance like I just love the way he plays like passion, poison heart, Like you can't measure that right. You have to have a strong enough arm to make all the throws, and I think he's shown that with these back shoulder throws. I think he's more athletic than you think. He's got a stronger arm than you think. The one thing that NFL coaches are gonna love, and especially Tom Brady when they take him at number one, is his eyes are never in the wrong spot, so he never gets confused. He's extremely smart, and I'm talking to some of these Indiana coaches and They're like, you're exactly right on that. He just knows exactly where to look versus pressure. He's a real cerebral type quarterback.

00:17:55
Speaker 3: I think he.

00:17:56
Speaker 4: Progresses really well, he sees it really well, and mechanically he's really solid. The one thing I think that a lot of people are gonna see is like, hey, his pocket mechanics, meaning how does he feel in the pocket versus money pot, because you're gonna get a lot of muddy pockets in the NFL. I think that's something that really needs to be improved on. I think there was a stat in the game to start the second half, three pass attempts, three sacks, right, and he ended up getting going in the fourth quarter, But that's sort of the early scouting report and it's just almost by default because the Raiders need a quarterback and there's really no other quarterbacks that even remotely stand a chance. So I think with great coaching, with good people around him, you have Ashton gent brock Bauers if you go out and get a receiver. The one thing I'm worried about the Raiders, Zough is that offensive line is pretty bad.

00:18:44
Speaker 2: Well, segue into the NFL. What has happened to CJ. Stroud?

00:18:49
Speaker 6: Wow, that is that's a great question.

00:18:51
Speaker 4: I actually called so the ESPN had an alternative cast on the app and.

00:18:57
Speaker 6: We called both of CJ. Stroud's game up there in Bristol.

00:19:01
Speaker 3: On the ESPN.

00:19:01
Speaker 4: The appts the playbook game where it's analytics, so I got to really dive into not only him playing the game, but analytically too. And I actually really thought he played a little bit better weeks one through I think eleven, not great. Still took a lot of sacks. Still, that offensive line's pretty bad. And then when he went out with injury and watched Davis Mills play for those three weeks, I thought he came back and was on fire. I think it was weeks thirteen through eighteen, I thought He played really really well, saw the field really well, and then it's just the regression in the playoffs. It's one of those things where if he's not seeing the first read clearly and he's having a hard time progressing within the pocket to his next read, that's where it gets muddy and he just makes bad decisions, right, you know it more than anyone quarterback play, especially in the NFL, is Yeah, you got to have all the arm strength in the throat. You can't make bad decisions. You can't turn the football over and expect to win. Right, He was the liability. And I think when you get in a point like that, and you get in a point where you're just pressing constantly, more bad plays are.

00:20:08
Speaker 6: Gonna happen to you.

00:20:09
Speaker 4: And it's just I don't think that they're gonna move on from I think they're gonna pick up the fifth year option. But it is getting to a point where if you aren't sure that CJ. Stroude your guy, you gotta start looking elsewhere. You know, everyone remembers the rookie season, but those next two have just been okay.

00:20:27
Speaker 2: And this is the danger that we see. We saw this with Tua, We saw this with Kyler that I gotta be sure if I'm giving you a couple of hundred million dollars, I'm sorry, I might be hurting your feelings. You gotta show me one more year. And even with CJ. Stroud, you might show me one more year. I'll franchise. Like I'm I'm just not giving you that kind of money. If you said to Miami you can do a do over, they would do a do over, you know Arizona with Kyler Murray. There's certain guy you know, Josh Allen got extended after I think three years. I understand that, or Joe Burrow, but these guys aren't Joe Burrow and Josh Allen. So that temptation of or I'm going to hurt your feelings if I don't extend you, Yeah, I'm sorry. This is big boy business here.

00:21:14
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:21:15
Speaker 4: I couldn't agree more In the way that it's situated with first round picks. I'm sure a lot of people follow and understand you have the fifth year option, then you can technically go back to back franchise tags, so you have a first year pick under contract for seven years without you having to actually extend them. Now, a lot of people don't do that a lot, Kirk Cousins, because it gets really expensive and those franchise tags are guaranteed money, so they still have a little bit of time. I think when you looked at and talked to Damiico Ryans or when he had his postgame interview, he was like, hey, we got a little bit of time here. But during that time, it's like, hey, we got to start looking at Hey, what's in the draft, what's there, and what's in free agency. So you do have a little bit of time because technically first round picks, you can have them under contract really for seven years.

00:21:56
Speaker 2: Chase Daniel ESPN NFL college football analyst and part of the Athletics Scoop City podcast and host of The Chase Daniels Show on YouTube. Would you have moved on from Sean McDermott in Buffalo.

00:22:12
Speaker 3: That?

00:22:12
Speaker 4: I mean everything I know about Sean McDermott, I love him, and I think he's one of the better coaches. I think this is something and I know it's been heard, but I've heard as well. It's like you almost reach a ceiling with him and the message gets stale.

00:22:28
Speaker 6: I think a little bit.

00:22:29
Speaker 4: Right when you get to the division round, you get the AFC Championship around a couple of times, and you lose to the quarterbacks.

00:22:34
Speaker 6: You lose to. This was the year Dan that they were supposed to do it right. They were playing really good ball.

00:22:41
Speaker 4: No Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson, no Patrick Mahomes, and in the biggest game of the year, Josh Allen Lay's an egg. And it's almost like, hey, you're really not to blame, but we got to change leadership. Right when you come back and I've been a part of teams like this, Like when you come back to a team after a big playoff run and you hear the same message again, You're like.

00:23:03
Speaker 6: Well, what's gonna change, right, what's gonna change?

00:23:06
Speaker 9: We have?

00:23:06
Speaker 4: We have, we have one of the best, if not the best quarterbacks in all the NFL.

00:23:09
Speaker 6: We have a decent team.

00:23:11
Speaker 4: We've constructed an okay roster with Brandon Bean. But when you come back as a player and you hear Sean mcgermott say this is what we're gonna do, and it really doesn't I'm not saying it doesn't change, right, I know I'm not in that room, but it's just the same message over and over again. You're expecting different results that the definition's insanity.

00:23:30
Speaker 6: It's a tough business.

00:23:31
Speaker 4: I mean, who would have thought ten ten teams would have been without head coaching jobs, and especially with the quarterbacks that they have. So this is easily the most important higher I think in Bill's history because you look at what you have with Josh Allen everyone. I mean, how do you think it would have played out with Hardball and Stefanski?

00:23:50
Speaker 6: Like, I don't think they go to their places.

00:23:51
Speaker 4: I think they go to Buffalo because it's, without a doubt of all the openings you have Josh Allen, And it's just it's a tough business.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: But if Sean McDermott a better coach, if Josh Allen doesn't throw interceptions, that's a great point. I mean really that's if they win, and then you're gonna have them against New England. He might be going to the shore. He's in the AFC title game.

00:24:17
Speaker 4: And that's why I think it's just so like there's so many decisions in a game, right, Like what happens if that's a catch rather than an interception?

00:24:24
Speaker 6: Yeah, what happens. But here's the thing though, did.

00:24:27
Speaker 2: You agree with Joel?

00:24:28
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:24:29
Speaker 6: Well, I mean you're gonna get me. I thought it was absolutely an interception.

00:24:33
Speaker 4: He never controlled the ball going to the ground, that the DB's hand was in there and the ball was coming loose, so I thought it was I thought it was the correct call.

00:24:42
Speaker 2: You know what, finding players, former players think it's an interception, where most fans think it's a catch.

00:24:50
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, who do you trust, right?

00:24:52
Speaker 4: I mean I think to me, it's like it's so hard to understand what a what a catch is nowadays. But you also look at McDermott, go back to McDermott. You look at the decision at halftime with sixteen seconds left to let Josh Allen throw the ball, Like, I get it. But your job as a coach is to, if you know your guy's going to be that aggressive, to take the stinger out of his hands, say take a knee, let's go, let's go, right, And I get it.

00:25:19
Speaker 6: There's like five or six.

00:25:20
Speaker 4: Plays dan in every single game, and sometimes ownership makes rass decisions at that time. Like I think mcurermot's going to get another job. I think he's probably the best coach out there. But at some point the message just gets still you got to move on.

00:25:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, you see these coaches that you got Tomlin and Harbaugh who couldn't get their team over the hump? What makes you think they can get their new team, the Giants over the hump, or if Mike comes back in coaches over the hump. It just feels like there's there's a couple of coaches who can get you there. But it doesn't work if your quarterback's not great, or you get a couple of bounces go your way. And yeah, I mean there's a lot of luck that that goes in, you know, to survival here. But I mean, did Pittsburgh tune out Mike Tomlin? Did they tune out John Harbaugh?

00:26:10
Speaker 3: You know? Yeah?

00:26:12
Speaker 4: I mean, look like I was saying, I do think the message gets a little bit stale. And it's some point like it's almost like Andy Reid leaving Philly, right, and and Sean Payton leaving New Orleans.

00:26:25
Speaker 6: Sometimes you just need a change, and not only.

00:26:28
Speaker 4: The change for the head coach, right, but a change for the team as well. And you look at the hiring cycles so far, and it's it's pretty interesting. The first four head coaches all have prior head coaching experience, so I know, happily with the head coach at BC. But I think that's where a lot of these things are moving now. I think you're gonna get into some offensive coordinator hires.

00:26:48
Speaker 2: All Right, is cam Ward a franchise quarterback?

00:26:52
Speaker 6: I mean yeah, I think so, without a doubt.

00:26:54
Speaker 4: It's gonna be interesting to see who who Robert Sala brings in to be the OC, because I was really surprised actually that they went defensive higher there when you have your franchise quarterback, I think, without a doubt he does. I think they need to completely renovate that entire offense. I think they need a little bit better help offensively, offensive line, the receivers. But what cam mood has shown in the short amount of time, it's been great.

00:27:21
Speaker 6: Now his.

00:27:24
Speaker 4: Next step to me is how does he handle the new offensive system right, because I wonder if they bring in an offensive coordinator that's an under center, play action type or are you going to bring in a spread it out type style like Mike m.

00:27:38
Speaker 6: Daniels. To me, makes a lot of sense.

00:27:40
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I mean, think about what he has and then think about cam Ward, who is a better thrower in my mind of the football than in to his offense with all those ships and all those motions and all this stuff like that. But I've liked Kim Mord every time I've seen him play, and he just he's the least talked about number one pick in the in the history of number one fix because he went to the Tennessee Titans and they sucked and they hired their head coach.

00:28:04
Speaker 2: And so he was in the same draft with Shadoor Sanders. So that's yeah, that's why he got over. I mean, Tyler Shuck had a really good year for New Orleans and nobody talked about that either. So I'll leave you with this. If you're Sean Payton and you got Jared Stidham, now, how do you like, what kind of offense can you have against New England?

00:28:27
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:28:27
Speaker 4: I mean I did the New England game up there at ESPN two on the app and the altcast, and and New England to me, defensively, they they do so many different things to confuse the quarterback. When I'm out there and I have the clicker and I'm just watching it on my on my iPad, I'm like, what coverage are they in? So imagine being on the field trying to see this and you haven't started a game in forever. The one thing about Jared Sidham as a quarterback, like the team loves him and not only loves him, but loves.

00:28:58
Speaker 6: What he could do. He He's played really well the times he's done.

00:29:01
Speaker 4: Here's one thing about Sean Payton, and this is talking from a backup quarterback standpoint, where I've come in in a short week's rest Thanksgiving Day twenty eighteen and was able to go out there and play really well. Sometimes as a backup, when you don't overthink it and you're not trying to get so involved in the game plan, you just go out there and play and just let your adrenaline take over and just let your pure progression passing take over.

00:29:23
Speaker 6: I like it.

00:29:24
Speaker 4: I think Sean, knowing who Sean is at his core, he's gonna make this work. And I do think they probably are more aggressive than a lot of people think throwing the football. He's not changing the game plan that I promise you that it is the exact same game plan. They're gonna go in and look, probably take the quarterback run out. They have to muster up some type of run game. But I really think they're gonna be aggressive throwing the football down the field, and I think City plays pretty well.

00:29:53
Speaker 2: Great stuff as always, Thank you, Chase, Thanks Dan. That's Chase Daniel. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live. He's Ross Tucker The Ross Tucker Football Podcast. He was in the booth for Westwood One for the Bears and the Rams, and he'll be on the sidelines for Seattle in Seattle for the championship game with the Rams. Look at you. The parapatetic, Ross Tucker.

00:30:29
Speaker 3: I don't know what that word means.

00:30:30
Speaker 2: You went to Princeton, Yeah, but.

00:30:33
Speaker 3: You gotta give me your heads up. I don't know what that word means. Is parapatetic? Good?

00:30:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're all over the place.

00:30:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm crazy parapatetic. I always have been.

00:30:43
Speaker 2: Yeah. So it's a good thing you're all over and you're covering college football.

00:30:48
Speaker 3: Also, how many of the d how many of the Dan nets right now could spell parapatetic?

00:30:55
Speaker 2: Uh, Todd, I don't think so.

00:30:58
Speaker 8: Once I'm spelling these in elementary school, I probably end up selling like parapathetic.

00:31:03
Speaker 5: Yeah, Paulie, I tried in my head and I had two things wrong in the personal four letters.

00:31:07
Speaker 2: If you got the first letter right right, Okay, in the last letter, see yeah, parapathetic not pathetic? Okay, ross Uh Let's see where do you want? Let me start in Buffalo, Sean McDermott got fired because.

00:31:24
Speaker 3: Because the organization decided that being good was not good enough. I actually think it's a fascinating dynamic when you consider where Buffalo is versus what Green Bay is doing with extending Brian Gudekunst and their head coach Matt Lafleur. I don't really like I think, Dan, you can make a strong argument for both instances. You know, and this is something I think everyone listening or watching on Peacock can relate to in life. Is being good good enough? Or should you take a risk in life to strive to be great? It's funny. I mean you could probably speak to this as well with anybody. Dan, You would have been good if you stay to ESPN. You know, you would have made good money. Things would have been good there, Like you would have been fine, But you took a big risk because you wanted to do something see if you could do something really special, and you've done that with the best radio show in the world, right like, you decided, you know what, just being good isn't good enough. I'm gonna try to do something really, really great. And I think on some level that's what the Ravens are doing, and that's what Terry Pigula and the Bills are doing, Whereas the Packers have decided that being almost good enough or close is good enough. And I don't I'm not begrudging them of that. But if you look at the Packers, they've been just good enough to not be good enough to get to the super Bowl for a long time now. I mean it's been a long time. They've had high level quarterback play and they haven't even gotten back to a super Bowl. Whereas Terry Pigoula and the Bills said, you know what, we want to try to win this thing. And by the way, there's a risk. Maybe they hire Brian day Bowl, maybe they go the wrong way, you know, they maybe they maybe they have a chief season and they win six games next year. This is a risk, but it's one that obviously Terry Pigoula felt comfortable with.

00:33:35
Speaker 2: What why did you have a problem with Sean mcdermot's post press conference.

00:33:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, well so, I think there's probably a couple of reasons why he did that. I think in fairness to him, Dan, he probably knew he was on the hot seat, and so by going that strong on the officiating and the calls, you know, maybe he could for blame, get it off of his shoulders, move it to the officials. Maybe that would be enough to save his job, or maybe that would be enough to even if he's gonna lose his job. Anyway, Bill's fans will remember him fighting for Buffalo darn it, and that the officials, you know, gave them a raw deal. I just look, I have two young daughters, they're twelve and thirteen. Now, I'm a huge believer in life, in personal responsibility, personal accountability. You know, they're both playing volleyball or tennis or whatever. You know. I don't like when people blame others. I watched that game, you know, I got the helmet right there. The Bills are my favorite team that I played for, and I have a strong affinity for the people in Western New York. Josh Allen's probably my favorite player. But Dan, they need to play better.

00:34:56
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, how much on Sean McDermott. He didn't throw the interceptions, and he didn't fumble the ball a couple of times. He didn't have a catch turn into an interception. Like, what is it that he did that was so egregious in that game where you go, we got to get rid of it.

00:35:13
Speaker 3: That's a fair point. And I don't think it's just that game. I think it's just the compilation of all of these years and there have been coaching issues that were I think more noticeable in other years. And I think they would probably even say to you that they're not ready to be a wild card team, and for the Patriots over the course of the season to have overtaken them in the AFC East. But you're a thousand percent right, Josh Allen. Not only the turnovers, but Josh miss Dawson Knox for the game winning touchdown. He had other misses in that game. And by the way, everybody's complaining about Brandon Cooks and was it a catcher? Hold on to the ball, don't let them rip the ball out of your hand like that. To me, epitomizes our society. You can either choose to say that's a catch we're getting screwed. That's a raw deal. Or you can say our guys should hold onto the ball.

00:36:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, we want to blame the official instead of if you hold onto the ball, you don't factor in the official.

00:36:19
Speaker 3: Exactly correct. Thank you.

00:36:22
Speaker 2: Talking to Ross Tucker and he was there in the booth for the Rams and the Bears, what did you think of, Like, if you're the Bears coming out of that game, you lose, but your feeling about the Bears is going to be what next year?

00:36:40
Speaker 3: Highly encouraged and optimistic because by far the two most important individuals in any NFL organization as the head coach and the quarterback. And I think you're feeling really good about both those guys. And I've told you this before, in particular your ability to get it done no matter what the situation is late in games. I believe that's worth a winner to a year, maybe even more. The belief that is throughout that entire locker room, that entire building, no matter what the score is in the fourth quarter, they believe they've got the guys, the head coach and more importantly the quarterback that finds a way to get it done in those situations. I don't know how he does it, and let me just say this, I'm gonna call it right now. Dan would not be surprised if there's a step back from the Bears next year. I think you're encouraged, and I think if you're a Bears fan like Paully, you should be encouraged. They're not gonna win seven games in the final two minutes next year. They're not gonna have by far the most takeaways and be plus twenty two next year. The Bears next year feel very similar going into the Sea as the Commanders this year, in the sense that there's a lot to be excited about, but you're probably gonna see some regression in a couple areas to.

00:38:10
Speaker 2: The means, Yeah, I think the Bears were a better story than they were a team, and I agree with you. But they got They felt like they got further than they were expected to, maybe a year ahead, like the Commanders felt like they were a year ahead of schedule. You got the Rams now against Seattle again, how do you think this one plays out?

00:38:35
Speaker 3: I like the Seahawks, you know, I thought the Rams were the best team most of the season. It kind of feels like ever since the fourth quarter of that Seahawks Rams game, that Thursday night game, whatever week that was, fourteen or fifteen. Feel like the Seahawks have been the best team. You know, Stafford has not played well under pressure in these last two playoff games. Wait till you play Seattle. I mean, those guys they come at you. Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Murphy and Mike McDonald's probably the best defensive mind in the NFL right now. And I just think the Rams it feels like they're running out of gas a little bit, whereas the Seahawks came flying out of the gate. They're young, they're healthy, they're playing at home. The only way, in my mind, the Rams win that game is if the you know, the disparity of quarterback is that significant. Well, Stafford has to play MVP caliber and Donald has to be average or below for the Rams to win.

00:39:46
Speaker 2: It's incumbent upon Seattle to be able to run the football, to put Sam Darnold in a position where he doesn't have to be Matthew Stafford.

00:39:56
Speaker 3: No question, it'll be a little bit tougher. You know, Zach Charboney torn acl you know, Charbonnay was huge against the Niners Week eighteen. There's a lot to be said for having that one to two punch. Walker's probably a little bit more gifted, but he's injury prone. Can he carry the entire load by himself for the entire game? That that is one thing that helps the Rams out a little bit, that the Seahawks don't have that one to two punch to come at you in waves. And those guys have different styles, so it's almost like two pitchers throwing different pitches at you.

00:40:32
Speaker 2: When you block for your quarterback. As a former offensive lineman blocking for Bow Nicks blocking for Jared Stidham, is it still the same?

00:40:43
Speaker 3: Yeah? I think the only difference would be Nix is more mobile, so you're more aware of having to hold your block a little bit longer. You're more conscious of him escaping the pocket and making sure you don't get called for a holding penalty, and so you're a little bit more aware of those type of things. Stidham is more of, you know, a classic pocket path. He can move a little bit. I gotta tell you, Dan, I don't think you would ever verbalize this, but this really works out well for Sean Payton. From a coaching legacy, standpoint. If they lose without bon Nicks, it's like, okay, look, their starting quarterback got hurt. We understand. It's almost like he's got a free roll of the dice. If they win with Stidham, Peyton's gonna get the lion's share of the credit, especially if they go on to win the Super Bowl. For Sean Payton's Hall of Fame candidacy, for his legacy. This almost couldn't have worked out better.

00:41:48
Speaker 2: I'll leave you with this. There was a moment with two minutes left where an offensive lineman for Indiana last night got called for a full start. When you go into the huddle, how many times are you told by your quarterback whatever you do, don't flinch, don't jump, make sure you go a little later, not early. You must not jump. And we saw that last night in a moment that could have changed the National title game.

00:42:18
Speaker 3: Well, it depends on the quarterback, depends on the composition of the offensive line. I'm guessing that they mentioned it, but you're a thousand percent correct. That could have been and almost was the difference. It's interesting because nowadays in the NFL, then on second and one in a clock killing situation, sometimes the defense is they'll intentionally jump off sides to give you the first down so that then they can use the timeouts on the first like in other words, they're gonna concede the first down because they don't want you to have four or five plays to finish the game. They only want you to have three plays that you can decline it or whatever. If you're that smart. And I was thinking that Miami might do that, that's the counter argument. That's why you don't do that, because they might drop the ball, the running back might slip, or the offensive lineman might false start, which changed everything.

00:43:16
Speaker 2: Do you have a false start story from your NFL career?

00:43:22
Speaker 3: Uh, you know the one that I'm trying to No, Actually, so I do have a couple of false starts. I don't remember them being that big a deal. It is a weird thing, though, because you feel like such a dummy when you come back to the huddle.

00:43:37
Speaker 2: Do you apologize? Do you apologize like you say.

00:43:41
Speaker 3: You say my bad and everybody's just like idiots, you know, because you're at the line. You're the only one that did it. You go back to the huddle, Sometimes they say stuff to you, sometimes they don't. It's interesting because I thought I had a false start as a goal line tight end once, but I didn't. I was just laid off the snap because the people don't tell you is when you're a center, obviously you can hear the quarterback. When you're a guard you can too. You get to tackle a little bit tougher when you're a goal line tight end. I could not hear bledsall. I could not hear the quarterback, so I was a little bit late on that d end. He end up making the tackle. We lost the game, probably the reason why we didn't make the playoffs. No big deal.

00:44:28
Speaker 2: Great to talk to you. Save Travels is always the parapatetic Ross Tucker, Thank you, Bud.

00:44:35
Speaker 3: I'm going to write down how I think you spell it first and then google it right now see.

00:44:38
Speaker 2: Yeah Ross Tucker Football podcast. Following him on social media at Ross Tucker NFL, and he'll be on the sidelines for the game in Seattle, the NFC title game.