Vikings Fire Adofo-Mensah, Cardinals Hire Mike LaFleur, Rams extend McVay and Snead & More

00:00:05
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we have made it to the final week of the twenty twenty five season, even though it's February of twenty twenty six, very confusing.

00:00:14
Speaker 2: I'm Greg Rosenthal.

00:00:16
Speaker 1: I'm here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with my friend in his NFL network Polo. Oh okay, Greg, Oh stop it.

00:00:24
Speaker 2: It's Patrick Claybah.

00:00:26
Speaker 1: And yeah, it's fitting because at some point you were out on the road in July in the beautiful sun wearing that polo. And here we are, still in the beautiful sun in Los Angeles, and we're ready to crown a champion.

00:00:38
Speaker 3: Yes, shout out to our neighborly star ninety three million miles away providing us with all the energy that we use to enjoy this beautiful game.

00:00:44
Speaker 4: It's spin it with spectacular people, Greg.

00:00:46
Speaker 1: I mean, Patrick's energy is next level. It's almost unsettling because I'm not used to it. But I think fantasy lives done. We didn't do a game debut last week. He's just he's just ready to go. And that's why I've you know, pasted on even mentioning the guy in the other box. If you're watching on YouTube, it's Oli Connolly, he's from Manchester. We wanted to get all the most important members of the NFL daily family in on this Super Bowl week, so we got Ali joining us from Manchester to talk a little coaching news and some surprises that could swing the Super Bowl later.

00:01:20
Speaker 2: How are you doing, Oli.

00:01:21
Speaker 5: I'm doing good, trying to match the energy that Patrick.

00:01:24
Speaker 2: Is putting out.

00:01:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not really Oli's natural state. I don't think to, but we I think we can get there. Actually, it was kind of your state when you came up with an electric third act idea for Whiplash right before the show, where you suggested, what was it that Miles Teller?

00:01:43
Speaker 5: Do you have to beat the greatness into people?

00:01:46
Speaker 4: Greg?

00:01:47
Speaker 2: That is the theory of the case.

00:01:48
Speaker 5: That is often how NFL coaches up rate is you gotta beat the greatness into people and do not let the talent fight back.

00:01:54
Speaker 1: Okay, So in this case, though, you wanted Miles Teller to fight back and start beating the hell out of that doesn't actually happen in.

00:02:02
Speaker 4: No, unfortunately, and then have a happy ending to the movie.

00:02:07
Speaker 2: Okay.

00:02:07
Speaker 1: It's a larger conversation about you know, stick carrot, what works. I like to think of NFL Daily as a great vibes place, so there's there's no stick here. And what we're going to do is do one of the things people have been getting at after me and saying, we've really liked the news Coaching Updates show. They've given us a lot to talk about, but you were really diving into everything that's happening, and so much has happened even since Thursday when Ali and I last tape that we're going to hit a couple head coach hirings. We got a GM firing, there's a lot of coordinators, and that's going to be most of the show. A couple other items and news, and we'll just have a little talk about about Super Bowl sixty, which is obviously coming up later in this week to end the show.

00:02:50
Speaker 2: But let's start with Clint Kubiak.

00:02:53
Speaker 1: Because Clint Kubiak is expected to be the next Raiders head coach. We got to do this weird wording thing Patrick that the Raiders are zeroing in on Clint Kubiak for their head coaching vacancy. It's very similar to a Super Bowl media night. I remember well when I spent almost all of it interviewing Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan before what turned out to be a fateful night in his coaching career, talk around what it would be like if he actually did get the forty nine Ers head coaching job, and the types of you know, moves he would make if if that was the case. And we have a similar situation with a guy who was once you know, working for Kyle right at some point. I think they've been on the same staff certainly, and was once on that Washington staff underneath him as an offensive coordinator way back in the day.

00:03:48
Speaker 2: The Raiders hire him.

00:03:49
Speaker 1: It's really interesting that Clint Kubiak chose this job by if you just pull the reports kind of together in this like read between the line, not too subtly, I think he had the choice between Arizona and Las Vegas. Why don't we start with do you think Clint made the right choice before we get to whether the Raiders made the right choice.

00:04:09
Speaker 3: Well, I think as we you know, kind of we're able to allude to ahead of this game with Tom Brady up in the mooth calling the NFC Championship game and Clint Kubiak having the opportunity to not just interview for the job, but to interview with Tom Brady before he interviewed with the job, where it's kind of collectively, I guess interviewing for the job the entire time. I think evaluating the state of the Raiders was something that Kubiak was able to get a lot of insight too, because Tom Brady instrumental through that process where the circumstances in Arizona have been kind of nebulous for a considerable amount of time. That oddly enough, considering the way that the teams look, it seems like the right decision.

00:04:48
Speaker 2: To make, I think.

00:04:49
Speaker 5: So.

00:04:50
Speaker 1: I think it comes down to how much you believe in Fernando Mendoza. Just considering the coaches that you have to go against. Oh, they're pretty great in the AFC West too. The Raiders make make more sense to me. What do you think of Ali And I don't know how deep you've you know, gone into the college tape of but of the marriage just off the bat of Mendoza and Kubiak and what he could he could do offensively.

00:05:16
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think the thing I've admned about Kubiak this season is he's taking kind of the best of greatest hits version of his Dad's offense, infuse some of the Sean McVay stuff, and then you really using JSN and kind of pushing the bounds of what you can do with like a single standalone great player. So I think look at someone like Brock Bauers and saying it's probably not gonna look like a one to one, just pick up the offense from one spot and drop into a new spot. With Fernando Mendozer, I think will be completely centered around how do I maximize brock Bowers, How does that make everyone's life easier? And Mendoza to me is a really like point and shoot Jared goff Ish type quarterback and he'd be just a great decision maker and can he move a little bit with his feet, which is really where he's at. And so I think the Kubac it was I either get Fernando Mendoza and Tom Brady, which is a guy he really respects and trusts, or go into a kind of bleak Unshow situation in Arizona with a GM who might be out in a season and dealing with this kind of strange Kyler Murray situation and how that has a knock going to affect the cap and the quarterback.

00:06:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, you go with what you know, and sometimes it's the devil you know over what you know. I just appreciate, right that you and Ollie have cut through all the circumstances and yeah, the zeroing in and the yeah we got draft prep. It will be Banana Mendoza and it will be clear it.

00:06:26
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:06:26
Speaker 3: Man, I just love that we're there. Well, I appreciate it because it's honest, it's true.

00:06:30
Speaker 2: The Mendoza part.

00:06:31
Speaker 1: I guess you never know, but I thought it was interesting where I saw a few things about this higher that you know, first of all, like, well, well will Mike McDonald be able to replicate like the elite offense that that Klint Kubiak has helped to degenerate? And I was thinking, like, has it been an elite offense? It's kind of been an up and down season. I don't think that the personnel overall would indicate it should be an elite offense. So I think ultimate they finished what tenth I think in efficiency, and according to Dvoa, that sounds about right in the top top eight or nine, like those are really great. Often I think he did well, but he's been a guy that bounced around.

00:07:10
Speaker 2: I misspoke.

00:07:11
Speaker 1: He of course was on Kyle Shanahan's staff with the forty nine Ers just a couple of years ago as the passing game coordinator. He was not back with that Sean McVay shanahan group that Mike Lafleur, who will talk about in a second, was on in Washington back in the day that also had Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris and just like many of the Tree right, the main coaches that we've been talking about for a while. But one thing I also thought was in it was as well, Clint gets to, you know, hand pick his quarterback, and I'm like, well, not really, like the whole world just kind of decides Fernando Mendoza is your number one pick, and that's just what they're gonna do. It is weird how that kind of it doesn't feel like Clint Kubiak's hand picking. It was like, that's just gonna be his guy and he's gonna make it work. And like if it was another draft, I don't know if he would necessarily be the number one overall pick.

00:08:02
Speaker 2: Maybe he would be, maybe he wouldn't be.

00:08:05
Speaker 1: And so it's it's just fascinating to me that after all this Brady talk that like this is where we end up with the guy that he just announced doing like his best work in the NFC Championship.

00:08:16
Speaker 5: I think he hadn't picked him in the sense that he could have turned the job down or taken the Arizona job, So he must feel pretty good about if I'm going to take a swing, I may as well take a swing with this guy. And of all the people to valuate quarterbacks, and we've seen great players missivaluate quarterbacks all the time. But the reason why I just solidified Mendoz there is just the way he talks about the sport, the detail, how obsessive he is about I just you can picture him and Tom Brady just immediately being like a brain connection, where Brady's not gonna let that slide, and they don't really have any other option. I mean, what are you going to do dig into a free agent class that as Malik Willis or try to make a trade for Tua. I mean, the only option you can do is go first round quarterback. There's only one guy who will have a sure fire first round grade.

00:08:54
Speaker 3: And I'm also thinking back to the circumstances where Clint Kulbiac didn't necessarily have the quarterback of everybody's dreams. You know, to start this season the early season, remember the super explosive early season New Orleans Saints where Derek Carr was light up to night and then you know that that's.

00:09:11
Speaker 1: One of the most talked about two weeks stretches in recent NFL history.

00:09:14
Speaker 2: But it was fascinating.

00:09:16
Speaker 3: But he was able to coax that that level of production out of an offense that would really crater later on in the season and survive those circumstances. So I think there's cause to believe that, as you mentioned and Alli pointed out, he can take what's available and not necessarily be like, this is my system, this is how we operate, this is how we are going to play football. To evaluate the talent, utilize that unique talent uniquely, and nope, give some hope because they do have unique talent on.

00:09:43
Speaker 1: This roster, and I think it could work. You know, they have a left tackle in Colton Miller. That's a nice piece to start with. You obviously have Brock Bowers, you have Max Crosby, you have some high level players that you have maybe the worst roster in the NFL like spots thirty to fifty three, you know, or twenty to fifty three. Like, especially on defense, it's rough and it's a come up. And one thing I thought about with Clint Kubiak and Mike Laflora, who we'll talk about now, is they were the ninth and ten picks in what everyone was kind of saying was a thinner coaching crop, and so guys got a chance that maybe wouldn't have gotten a chance in other years. And Clint Kubak fills that profile of like, Okay, you know the name, he's in the system, blah blah blah. That's that's all true. And they're in the super Bowl. But like ten years ago, he was a wide receivers coach for Kansas City. He has bounced around every year. You know, talk about different quarterbacks that have a different coordinator every year, Like Clint Kubiak has a different job every year. He's he was the coordinator with Dafan Ski in Minnesota. Then he was with Hackett I think in Denver, am I right, for a year they all got blown out of the water. Then he's with Shanahan, then he was in with New Orleans with Dennis Allen, and that doesn't work. And then this year with Seattle, so he has bounced around and is a relatively young guy thirty eight years old, born a couple of days before me. So he's got a big one coming up, thirty nine. And I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued, but I don't think it was their first choice. And I really don't think Michae Lafleur was Arizona's first choice. And it's got to be a little bit of a weird feeling to know if you're Mike Lafleur that yet not only were you not the first or second choice, it doesn't it doesn't feel like in Arizona that even at the last second they were kind of checking with Clint Kubiak, and they had a two day meeting with Michael Fleur, they don't give him the job. Then then reportedly they talked to Kubiak again, but or wait for Kubiak, it doesn't happen, and in the end they take the job. It is fascinating Olie for him to take this job knowing he is going to have to go up against his mentor here one of his mentors, Sean McVay, and another one of his mentors Kyle Shanahan in the same division obviously as the NFC champions Seattle Seahawks, each and every time, and just kind of feel like, yeah, I can do this, I can I can come up with the plan that gets Arizona out of the basement. What do you think of what he's going to bring to the table and his chances of doing I think.

00:12:19
Speaker 5: It's a pretty poor hire. I'm confused why he decided to take it. It felt like it was the only job available, and so you take the only job available. You're the last guy upstanding for the last job available, and so you jump with whoever's left at the bar. We've seen this movie with him before. We saw in room one half of the building with the Jets. It was an unmitigated disaster. The thought process behind what they did was a complete disaster. It was diabolical. Nothing made any sense.

00:12:45
Speaker 2: What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that?

00:12:47
Speaker 5: I mean you have to sit down, Mike Lafleur and say, explain to us the thought process behind these different play concepts, playstyles. Why are you using motion in certain ways? None of it makes any appropriate sense to the way football is played. Just none of it motioning guys into free, open access defenders effectively all the time, constantly, just the way you're utilizing concepts from other people don't make any sense in the game plan or to attack the opponent, just fundamental areas of football. And that was him running one side the building with Robert Sala hands off offense, entyler yaws, do what you want throughout the week, build the game plan. I don't understand why a guy with that level of thoughts would then move on to more responsibility having to run an entire building and be successful. That I could be really wrong. Everyone's always wrong about coaching HighRes. But everything that happened when he was running one off of the building was as brutal as I've seen a coach do.

00:13:36
Speaker 1: This is a case where criticism for just well he was in the McVeigh tree, like let's hire him, Like it's on point. I mean, you asked why he got the job with more response, Well, just because he's working with John McVay and he's been in that system. And you know, he was ahead of Clint Kubiak in terms of kind of being up next because he had that same job Clint Kubiak did under Kyle Shanayan for four years passing game coordinator, which is a title you give to you know, give him a little more money, maybe try to prevent him from leaving. But he did end up leaving for the Jets play calling job. It doesn't go well, and you're basically looking for someone to replicate the success you see with the Rams, and you think, Okay, now he's older. He's not old, but he's thirty eight as well, and he's now spent three years in a successful building. What has he taken from that Jets experience that he's going to, you know, bring to the Cardinals And how did he convince them that you know, he was going to be the right man.

00:14:35
Speaker 2: For the job if it maybe just the guy that was available.

00:14:37
Speaker 3: Well, I think we've seen from Arizona that the convincing part may be the easier part than actually being able to execute what it is you would like to accomplish. I think for sure, you do get some experience in terms of actually calling the plays, and that's one part where you felt like, that's why Laflora got out of the tree. He left the comfort of the tree to be able to get that that portion of experience on the resume that says I have called plays because Mike Orshan are not going to let you call the plays, and then he winds up back under Sean McVay where he's not calling the place. And so, you know, as Ali points out, when you have the capacity to call the place and you're doing things that don't necessarily make sense from a fundamental level, A lot of that could be credited perhaps to the Jets organization and not necessarily setting its coaches up successful where I don't know if Arizona as an organization, if you believe that those issues are going to be fixed, So where does that leave us? And I see always, you know, questioning of Lafleur taking the job, that there are only so many of these jobs.

00:15:43
Speaker 4: You do need to take them when they become available, and you can.

00:15:45
Speaker 3: Get a chance, especially at a place where the power structure may be more amenable to your thought process because of a lack of success that they've had. You can get a good portion of control there if you're able to do something.

00:15:58
Speaker 1: That does That's true, But I think it's Matti austin Ford's franchise right now. They kind of gave him the keys and for instance, if there was a scenario where Michael Floor thought, I don't actually think we're gonna do better than Kyler Murray. I kind of would like to see what I could do him.

00:16:17
Speaker 3: That's the safest option to have another administration be able to say it's Kyler's fault. That's the safest option.

00:16:24
Speaker 1: For But I bring that up to raise the point, don't you think Ali, like, even if he wanted to, I don't think he's he's going to have that decision making power because I think I would have to imagine the front office and ownership kind of are presenting the job as like, Okay, we're moving on from Kyler, is what do you want to do at quarterback?

00:16:45
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would presume maybe there was a conversation of well, we'll explore the idea he could return if there's not a great off route there, or we call it a lot of the contract in some way. I just even it's easy to just throw it on the jets and say, yeah, the talent was pulled, and I'm not judging by the output. I'm judging by what he was in control of and the decision making process and him just going back to McVeigh and then getting the shine of being in the orbit of that. Well, mcvey's not coming with him. He's competing against all those guys in a loaded division. What added advantage does he give to you. He's not a great decision maker, he's not bill sustainably elite offenses on his own back. He's not a play calling savant. So I just find it completely befuddling that he's got to get more power, more responsibility, and somebody that's going to get you anywhere close to the top of that division.

00:17:33
Speaker 1: Jordan would be a great person to talk to here because she's she's covered him so closely. I don't I don't think it's a I'm at a school here where she thinks highly of him.

00:17:43
Speaker 2: I think he's a sharp guy. He's an impressive guy.

00:17:45
Speaker 1: He's the type of guy that Seohan McVay looks at and been like, hey, when he is available, I want to make him my number two. That that goes a long way. He does have knowledge of this division. Maybe he's like a little crazy to be able to take on this to think, okay, I can take on this job.

00:18:03
Speaker 2: That shows me a little bit of confidence.

00:18:05
Speaker 1: Maybe he thinks he has some knowledge of the rest of this division too, and Mike McDonald like, there's so much cross pollination too, and you can you can sell yourself on that. I don't think you can overlook like the life changing money though. I mean that's like people always say, like you're always like why why would you take on this job? Yeah, Like, how many people do you know wouldn't take a five hundred percent raise for maybe even more than that for the next five years and change your family's life financially when there's zero guarantee you're ever going to get that opportunity again, I don't most people are just gonna take.

00:18:35
Speaker 3: It a raise where you can call every single one of your boys and be like, hey, you want to come work with me?

00:18:41
Speaker 4: Like you can you can raise the village off this one chance.

00:18:44
Speaker 3: And if it's three years and you get fired, they have to buy you out.

00:18:48
Speaker 1: Cool, right, let's do it, right, I mean that's it's not ideal and like maybe I a Hall of fame, you know, coaching career, it does not make But I also think, like if I was Mike w Withffler in this weird world, like yeah, you just you bet on yourself. You hope for the best because like bird in the hand. Let's kind of just big picture. Look at look they hired Lafleur. The Clint Kubiak thing is is in weight. But we basically know the ten jobs that have been filled around the league. Couple defensive coaches, mostly offense. You have John Harbaugh who's kind of straddling the line. There as more of the CEO type of coach, a lot of young coaches. Certainly Robert Salah is the only person of color to get a job. But there are no black head coaches hired in this cycle. And you know, you look at the league now and there's three black head coaches total, with Todd Bowles, Aaron Glenn, and Demico Ryans two on the hottest of seats. Aaron Glenn especially bet Todd Bowles too, he's.

00:19:58
Speaker 2: Got to win now.

00:20:00
Speaker 1: And I think there's frustration with with a lot of the coaches in the league, a lot of the people covering the league, and certainly myself too, that that like this this keeps happening, and you look back at like recent cycles and it does kind of go in.

00:20:20
Speaker 2: Like different trends depending on like the time of year.

00:20:22
Speaker 1: But I think what's been consistent is, like we always come back to this trend and so that you know there are a lot of black defensive coordinators right now, at least compared to how many there have been historically. There's very few offensive coordinators. I think only two right now. We're going to get to one who got an elevation in a second. But it's hard not to notice when you take a step back, Patrick of like what this coaching cycle was like in general.

00:20:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think whenever there's only thirty two of something, the sample size is really going to shift dramatically depending on small numbers and subsets. And obviously Mike Tomlin having his position and for as long as he did and no longer being there changes the way things look. I think, because I know that there's always a lot of discussion about Rooney Rule and applications, there's a general societal discussion right with regards to hiring practices and opportunities and who gets them that I think the NFL, through the discussion of the Ruoney Rule, is able to facilitate. I know where you know globally, where there's been substantial discussion with regards to diversity and inclusion that has dramatically shifted over the past few years, and I think a lot of people got in, made their money and decided, you know, a certain aspect was no longer going to be supported by certain people, and they have made their money and gone to a grift elsewhere. But I do think, you know, it's important to have them to discussions right with regards to who's getting hired, what's the decision process, Like we've got multiple We've got a son and a brother being hired, brother not in that capacity that we're currently discussing. And you know, the forty nine ers are back with another head coach as the defensive coordinator, or you're able to get you're able to get quality guys with a lot of experience back in certain positions because of the way that they're viewed as as black coaches. And you know that there's still not necessarily going back to Limbaugh on countdown days, but the capacity for black coaches to have discussions about offense. You know, you don't necessarily get tabbed as the offensive genius in a lot of places, and there's so many different factors that go into it.

00:22:33
Speaker 4: But we can do better than three.

00:22:36
Speaker 1: And like, look, Steve Weisch was on Twitter, you know, commenting and everyone's comments like you've got to hire the best person for the job. And of course Steve's response is like, yeah, that's the point, like we everyone everyone knows that. I think it gets to something that it's a good point Patrick about like that the NFL has tried to systematically like address the topic in a way that it's it's bigger than that. To me, it's never been about the Rooney rule, like the runny roll does what it does, it's gonna like help or not, but it's not really about It's not really about the rule.

00:23:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, the global problem is not you can go to a credit union, right and get a better rate on a car loan, but it's not necessarily solving the relationship between labor and capital like you need. There's fundamental global issues at play that they generally need to be addressed, and you know, as a league with regards to hiring and interviewing, that's not going to be fixed, but it does allow us the capacity to at least have the converce.

00:23:35
Speaker 1: So one of the one of the changes in terms of the black Head coaches in just in terms of numbers is Raheem Morris losing his job in Atlanta he lands in San Francisco and he is the new defensive coordinator. He was on that Washington staff back in the day, which is a crazy one to look back on. And now he is working under Kyle Shanahan again.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: And I believe he was.

00:24:00
Speaker 1: On the offensive staff for him back in the day, so he was working under Kyush. And I always remember this this one night, Jeff Darlington took me to Hooters as like a young young reporter at the combine who didn't know anyone, and I was like, really, tell me more about just well Dalington and Greg Rosendalt out in town.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, he was a young guy at NFL Network. Both were so was I. We we knew each other when I was at PFT.

00:24:27
Speaker 1: PFT was a good spot to meet people because everyone kind of wanted to be mentioned on PFT. It was like, you know, especially at the time, but now it's like a little power broker seat and you know what I mean.

00:24:38
Speaker 2: And even just as as Mike's you know, assistant.

00:24:42
Speaker 4: A small organization outsiders.

00:24:43
Speaker 2: Good, yeah, you know, you met people. Anyways.

00:24:46
Speaker 1: I always remember going to Hooters during that combine and meeting the entire Shanahan coaching staff because he was boys with all of them, and they all showed up at the Hooters and we're just you know, having some wings and beer and like. That was pretty much the next decade of coaches in the NFL was that exact group Ali including Raheem Morris.

00:25:08
Speaker 5: All having a good what a setup.

00:25:10
Speaker 2: Everyone was fine.

00:25:11
Speaker 1: It was like a seven to eight pm, you know, actually get some food in our bellies before going out type of situation.

00:25:17
Speaker 2: It wasn't anything too crazy.

00:25:20
Speaker 5: Just there for the wings. I understand a guy to say on what Patrick was talking about. Or the thing that is disappointing when you reflect on the cycle as a whole, is if you take the league by its own criteria, just in this cycle, they massively tilt towards previous head coaching experience, whether the NFL or college. And then when you look at the defensive guys they hire. You mentioned that some of the Blake, the great black coach in the league right now, are on the defensive side, are in that genius vein, right It's Brian Flores, It's guys like that. And yet it's more in the vein of raw rah coaches they hire on the defensive side who have those kind of CEO capabilities. Of the defensive guys who were hired, Jesse Mint would be the one exception. And so it is frustrating to say that Vence Joseph Brian Flores guys who have a real schematic advantage right now and that might cycle out in two or three years, because that's the way defensive football works. Are just completely shut out and overlooked at a time when they really would injecttion me, freshen you into a franchise and give you a real chance to actually win some football games. Rarovin just kind of set the temple big top picture of what the franchise would look like with this hope they would be there for ten to fifteen years.

00:26:26
Speaker 1: It's a great point that those two guys specifically are providing a schematic advantage that's been proven that some of the offensive coaches that were hired certainly haven't proved been proven and would be logical hires. Brian Flores doesn't benefit from that, although he did get paid. We'll get on to him in just a second after the break. And yeah, Raheem Morris to San Francisco. Not that I thought they were really in a different tier to Seattle in LA. But this higher to me just makes this division a total blood bath. Good luck much right, just I think it could be an upgrade from Salah Who knows either way though, you're replacing Salah Ali with a different type of coordinator, but one where you can see the work a little more on screen, and I think could take advantage if they have any shortcomings and they're gonna get healthier on defense back to being right at the top of the Super Bowl contender list next year.

00:27:27
Speaker 5: I think what it will do is allow Raheem to be able to push Kyle Shannan more into the modern influx of defensive style where it's not just the four down and rush and drop into deep coverage. Every time Shannan has maybe vierd away from that slightly, whether it's Steve Wilkes or Nick Sorenson, it's a really short leash before they return exactly to what Robert salahran before those guys were in talent. Then he brought Robert saladback. So this is kin to thread the needle to me where maybe there can be a smidge of evolution with incoming, whether it's more of the blitz stuff on late downs, maybe it's changing the structure on early downs, which I think is probably more essential for them, But that close enough a line, they speak the same language.

00:28:04
Speaker 4: Way.

00:28:05
Speaker 5: If they do want to default back to just some of the Roberts Cella football that close way, it won't be this kind of friction intention as it was when Wilkes was there.

00:28:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can already feel like the off season conversations in my mind bubbling of just these these three teams and going after each other. And as much as I've thought the Rams and the Seahawks were the best two teams in the NFL this year, if you add Nick Bosa and Fred Warner and get a little healthier and make some good off season moves, the forty nine ers with Raheem Morris are right there. I can hear everyone in the back like looking at this long rundown and thinking, for the last forty minutes there has been an in and out truck delivering free wait, really fresh hamburgers, cheeseburgers, animal style.

00:28:54
Speaker 2: Fries. That's it. Like maybe they have.

00:28:55
Speaker 4: The shame get the fries well done in the truck.

00:28:58
Speaker 1: I would think you can get whatever you can order in the truck, and we're just honking, and we've barely made it through this rundown.

00:29:06
Speaker 2: We got to take a break.

00:29:08
Speaker 1: We're going to speed it up, and we're going to talk of what the heck.

00:29:11
Speaker 2: Is going on in Minnesota.

00:29:12
Speaker 1: Ram, I think Clayband's energy is contagious today because you guys didn't even mention how during that first segment my pen flew about fifteen.

00:29:32
Speaker 2: Feet across the room, a total pros.

00:29:35
Speaker 1: I didn't want to put you on bluff because my hands are flying around as they do.

00:29:40
Speaker 4: I thought you were angry at the pin.

00:29:42
Speaker 1: Chris Mabona has already cut it as a social clip and sends.

00:29:45
Speaker 2: To me, I don't know if it's going to be a.

00:29:46
Speaker 6: Social clip that he's just thought it was funny flying.

00:29:48
Speaker 2: Across the rooms.

00:29:50
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the vikings in a second, but let's give a little love to the rams we were just talking about. It's time for delivering results, presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, order Uber Eats. Sean McVay and Lesneid got new contracts on Monday. And you know, if you can't make it to the Super Bowl, that the next best thing is celebrating a financial freedom financial security. I mean, they had their financial freedom, but just just extend those contracts.

00:30:20
Speaker 2: You never know what could happen.

00:30:22
Speaker 1: Sean McVay actually spoke to the media on Monday and he talked a little bit about Mike Lafleur leaving in Arizona and what could be next offensive coordinator.

00:30:32
Speaker 7: Really happy for Mike, you know, awesome opportunity and shoot, we'll get to see him twice a year now, so happy for him. I did think that this was something that could occur. You know, so we've got great candidates in house. You know, you obviously just based.

00:30:46
Speaker 2: On the rules, and I think what is the appropriate thing.

00:30:49
Speaker 7: You know, you're going to do an extensive search to really just dive into, you know, what's going to be the best way to bring in new people that help us continue to build and grow towards where we want to be able to go.

00:30:58
Speaker 3: And congratulations to Mike lafloor and for the anti RAMS discussion on NFL Daily Contingency that is RAMS discussion about Mike Lafleur from Sean McVeigh discussion. We'll subtract forty five seconds from your overall tally. Congratulations to lesson Sean.

00:31:17
Speaker 1: Is is that a thing. It's still a thing. Well, it'll be sure. I wanted to just put it out there because you know, Nate Shieldhouse will be elevated very likely to offensive coordinator and you're going to hear in the feed forties in free agents. On Tuesday, I talked with Daniel Jeremiah, and I think Shieldhouse he alluded to really impress some teams and some people out there with his interviews. So I think he could be a very hot head coaching candidate next year. But it is great. It is wild to think about less Need and how close it sounded like he was to losing his job when the Jeff Fisher era went sideways, but he ends up staying with McVeigh and here he is, a decade later, winning lots of game that was delivering results presented by Uber Eats. When football makes it hungry, get game day deals on Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL.

00:32:12
Speaker 6: Order.

00:32:13
Speaker 1: Now the Vikings have fired quesse adophamenta not a shocking move in terms of the decision. The timing was weird because you know he's just at the Senior Bowl. It's three weeks after the season. What changed from two weeks ago to last week to make them, you know, want to get rid of quescia dophamensa.

00:32:38
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:32:38
Speaker 1: I mean you would like to think it's not Sam Darnold making the NFC Championship game.

00:32:44
Speaker 2: Either way.

00:32:46
Speaker 1: I really put this on ownership Ali, because the same thing happened with the last coach GM regime. And a lot's been written about this, and we'll get into it. I find this topic really fascinating, them firing him, And there's been a million really well reported articles out there, and we can get into some of them, but a lot of them haven't really mentioned the fact that that Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer also hated each other's guts by all accounts, and it was total drama. And the Wilfs, who have done a great job building a new stadium and they score high on the NFLPA thing and everything, they're living in New Jersey. It's pretty well known that like they're almost never there, and so I think you can look kind of globally of like you just let the same thing happen again, where you're talked about and written about as one of the more dysfunctional relationships in terms of coach GM and how you put those two guys together and you just did the same thing again. So maybe he deserved to get fired. And I think his record isn't great, but I do think you kind of got to look to the top of like why this even all happen in the first place.

00:34:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, the timing is just bizarre. It feels like they did this two week order of going through the franchise and where they think where they think things went wrong this season. Neveryone just kind of pointed upstairs and said it was Quezzy, and so they decided to throw him under the bus while he was at the Senior Bowl, and that could be fair. I think the track record has been really poor. I think the free agent additions were significant misfires, and I thought they were pretty solid going into last offseason. The draft record has been an absolute mess, and then he's made Paul calls with the three biggest calls he's made a quarterback. And when you have that many big misses, unless you have a good feel throughout the building and people like you and it feels like things are going in the right direction, then there's only going to be one decision.

00:34:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would push back a little. The free agent pickups in his tenure have been good to great. I mean the Blake Cashman year Van Ginkel. Now, how much credit does he get for that? How much is Flora's is like, it's all murky. There's been reporting that Flores and him didn't get along that like flora Is like one of the reservations he had and taking the job. I believe this was from ESPN or or Matthew Collier was which is purple insider. I was that flora Is, who has talked about their great relationship he has with Kevin O'Connell and loving to live in Minnesota, had an issue with with Questi and how that was all run. The only thing I'd put pushed back on the draft record is is horrible the trade. The trades he's made in general have been bad, including some of the draft picks like Dallas Turner. The free agency was pretty good. I think you got to put the quarterbacks more on O'Connell. Ultimately, I just can't really buy a world where JJ McCarthy isn't his pick on some level, and so it does feel a little untoward that all this after the fact burying of Questi, just like fire him, and and maybe you don't need to bury him.

00:35:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I don't want to.

00:35:53
Speaker 3: I don't want to lump you know, my criticism of the global conversations where there's a lot of in league circles and the word around this. I would just like some quotes regarding this this sort of rift from somebody so I can get a little context into what was what was the particular issue between QUESI and whoever it is in Minnesota, be it Kevin O'Connell. I think that that's where a lot of things, you know, were implied. And I also I'd like to push back a little bit on Dallas Turner because I think his versatility is a guy who can rush and drop. Okay, provides something happened that Brian Floyes was able to utilize successfully. But the general overall art idea that hey, he missed on Sam Donald. Collectively the planet Earth might have missed on Sam Donald. If that were the case, I sincerely doubt there was a circumstance where after the way that the twenty twenty four season ended, Questiadolfo Mensa was the only person insane in the Twin Cities that was like, hey, maybe the this whole Sam Darnold thing isn't viable long term. I feel like that was a belief held by more than just QUESSI And if that's the idea that, well he was wrong there, so he's got to go, then there's more people that need to go.

00:37:13
Speaker 1: It's been a lot, it's been a lot of covering your ass types of reporting. But when you look at the overall record, the draft picks have not really panned out. You're right, Dallas Turner's getting better, Donovan Jackson could be good their guard that they drafted this year. Jordan Addison's been a solid pick. So the top picks we're fine. The two twenty twenty two draft where he traded down a few times and then took Lewis Scene.

00:37:35
Speaker 4: Yea, and jml's being pretty successful in the trop.

00:37:38
Speaker 1: Kyle Hamilton was another guy they passed on for you know, Lewis scene Booth Andrew Booth was the pick ed Ingram like. There were some trades around if you if you kind of look, and Arifasan did maybe the best job of anyone at wide Left. Go go support people who are writing great content out there. He did a great kind of culmination of all of the mistakes that he's made, and probably the thing that stuck out to me the most was how unpopular QUESSI is in the analytics community around the league, where they don't think he really you know, he like made the types of decisions that made any sense, because if you look at like the draft value charts, like he's given up in trades to move around the board the equivalent of a number one overall draft pick plus if you add up all of his moves over the years, and a lot of his you know, decisions were just kind of confounding, and there was you know, talk among a lot of people in these articles that like it was a sometimes he didn't build relationships where just people in the building did not like the way that he maybe did things. And so it's a lot to talk about, like a GM of like this mediocre team, but I do think it was kind of like a fascinating window into covering your ass and quarterbacks and coaches and Kevin O'Connell who maybe never really liked this marriage either and for a team that's won a lot of games ALI over the last couple of years.

00:38:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, even the stuff about the paternity leave and who that came from. They won fourteen games after the offseason in which he took some paternal to leave, so it didn't seem to impact them all that much there. I think the defense on the quarterback stuff is the most defensible stuff. The Donald one is tricky, he was in the building. It is your job to make the big boy call of whether you persist with the first round pick up quarterback or you bring back Sam Donald. The Daniel Jones one, I think you get to complete pass on the Daniel Jones wanted a path to be a viable starter. That to me is on O'Connell to either make a decision or convince Daniel Jones as a chance he has that viable path. They put the money on the table to keep Daniel Jones there and he just chose to go with the Colts, and it was clearly the right decision for Daniel Jones at that time. I think the free agent misfires are more in that twenty twenty four class where it's not guides who are on the fringe of other rosters and Brian Flores turns them into superstars. It's spending the big money on the two interier offensive lineman Ryan Kelly has the health concerns. Will Frist didn't play very well on the defensive side. They bringing two in two defensive tackles. All of them play as well as the undrafted guy Jalen Redman, who's coached by Brian Flores. So I just felt like the big moves were misfires, and then all of the moves on the margins were so beyond like the pale of league stended. It wasn't as though many of them were defensible.

00:40:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I look, he he loses this job.

00:40:19
Speaker 1: You got Andrew Berry, who he worked with, kind of you know, holding up the quote unquote analytics flag in Cleveland.

00:40:26
Speaker 2: It's not great.

00:40:27
Speaker 1: It's not great for uh, for instance, my guy Alec Hallaby in Philadelphia, who essentially has been the number two to Howie Roseman for a while, but certainly the last handful of years has been basically out of like the analytics you know, portion of the building for a long time.

00:40:44
Speaker 2: And it's just like a flat out evaluator.

00:40:47
Speaker 1: But guys like him can't get jobs or you know, because ultimately the people in these interviews just see, oh, if you've got like a good education and you at any point worked in analytics. It's just sort of an audio Mattic cross off for you know, guys that are in these ownership meetings, like like a Troy Aikman Frankly or or.

00:41:07
Speaker 2: Like a or like in minute.

00:41:09
Speaker 1: You know, like the second I saw Troy Aikman was in the Dolphin, I was like, okay, you know that they're not going in that direction.

00:41:14
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:41:14
Speaker 1: And it's it's similar like in Atlanta, like when Matt it's Matt Ryan, Like Matt Ryan's not making those sort of hires and so uh, QUESTI turns out to be like an imperfect guy. The paternity leave thing, just even the conversation around it has just been I don't even it's.

00:41:29
Speaker 2: Not why he was fired.

00:41:30
Speaker 1: And like the thing that drives me a little crazy is like no one even thinks that has any reason of why he was fired or anything. It was just guys have to pretend that they're they're working hard, like during the office, like I know it's during training camp, and like it's a different work culture than other work cultures. But I also think there's a lot of like just bs of just like pretending to work hard, like he was still working, he was still at his house. Working during this entire time during training camp, it was it just annoys people in league circles.

00:42:04
Speaker 3: And I do think you know, with regards to those league circles, they do exist. Some of them are a little more inclusive than others. And when you have access to the agent insider complex, you're able to get certain narratives distributed out to people a little bit more, and perhaps people are a little more reluctant who offer these vague criticisms of you when there could be consequences for that, where I don't necessarily think, you know, when QUESTI gets fired and there's this overarching well, guys, if you had been paying attention to the league circles, you would have known this is coming. Right when you hear that, it makes me think that QUESTI didn't have access to those circles, and so I would just it's a long witted way for me to say, and I'm very long winded today. In my apologies to you guys, I would just like some quotes if somebody did something that other people didn't like, I would just like the specifics of that story. Don't tell me that in general, vague people that you won't tell me about didn't like person X, for reasons that you're not going to tell me. Tell me, what's the point of all this access that we're celebrating these hypothetical people for if you're not going to use this to provide me with the actual information with regards to what we're talking.

00:43:14
Speaker 2: Because you've got to keep the access to do what Greg right it, that's what's the point of the access.

00:43:20
Speaker 4: If we're not going to tell anybody what the hell's going on?

00:43:22
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, No, I get really frustrated with it too.

00:43:27
Speaker 1: That the last thing on on the paternity leave stuff was the part that annoyed me, was kind of circling back after the fact and saying, to be clear, it wasn't the Vikings who supported him throughout the entire process and did not hold it against him in any way. This was a storyline outside the building, not inside it, and I just don't believe that. I mean, yeah, it was a storyline outside the building, but I know how reporting works. And I also have seen Kevin O'Connell at a pode unprompted bring up the fact that JJ McCarthy chose not to be at that Thursday practice, and that's when the whole season went wrong, and I really do draw a line between those two things, because Kevin O'Connell brought it up at the postseason press conference that that JJ McCarthy missed that practice and that was the one practice that happened all season, and he's trying to have it both ways, and I think it's tough when things go against you for the first time in your career. I think he's a very good coach and he seems like a good guy, but it seems clear now like JJ McCarthy is no longer his guy. JJ McCarthy at one point was his guy, and uh, just all of it's a stew that that I find fascinating.

00:44:46
Speaker 2: We got to move on talk about long winded.

00:44:49
Speaker 1: Let's talk about just kind of the influx of these young guys getting hired around the league. Declan Doyle is Lamar Jackson's new offensive coordinator. I believe the same age. Uh, yepy none twenty nine. Anthony Weaver not really a young guy. But let's just package these items together.

00:45:06
Speaker 4: Sorry, Tony, he's my age.

00:45:08
Speaker 1: He's fine, you know, just like michae LeFleur, by the way, a guest of NFL Daily. So Michael Flair got that NFL Daily Bump after doing our interview in training camp. If any coaches are out there listening, that's what can happen to you. Anthony Weaver is back in Baltimore now. He's a defensive coordinator under Jesse Minner. That's a fun staff. The Eagles have hired Sean Mannon as offensive coordinator, just a couple of years after he was in the league. He's coming from Green Bay where he was the quarterbacks coach. Josh Gizzard, who was just running the Bucks offense, is going to be the pass game coordinator there.

00:45:43
Speaker 2: So they're combining a couple of young minds.

00:45:46
Speaker 1: And then I'll include the Bills hiring Jim Leonard here as a defensive coordinator. He's in his forties, but young in terms of coaches, hasn't been a coach for that long.

00:45:58
Speaker 2: Was just with Denver. A lot of intriguing names there.

00:46:02
Speaker 1: Ali what partnership stands out to you most that you're looking forward to out.

00:46:07
Speaker 5: Of that group has to be Declan Doyle and Lamar Jackson. This is the guy you're intrusting the kind of final embers of the prime to Lamar Jackson. He's now in the documentary is John Elway right, is he going to get one? Is he not going to get one? That's how his career is going to go down the rest of the way. And the guy we're interesting that too, is the twenty nine year old guy who's been coaching in the league what four years at this point. I am fascinated by Declan Doyle. I think the pedigree is outstanding. He's a excellent communicator. Is an awful lot of pressure I think to Boden, a first time played call with a first time at coach to say go and be the guy who helps Lamar get over the top.

00:46:40
Speaker 1: He was with Sean Payton in New Orleans and then he was he stayed there and he was with Dennis Allen in New Orleans and then he ends up going to the Broncos as a tight ends coach for a couple of years.

00:46:55
Speaker 2: So he is from that tree.

00:46:57
Speaker 1: Then, like like Ben Johnson who worked in to Sean Payton, he goes and works under Ben Johnson as a coordinator. But yeah, a guy who was in college not that long ago, like he was a student assistant in twenty eighteen when Brady was getting his last Patriots Super Bowl. That makes me feel old, and now he's an offensive coordinator with your guy you excited. That is a fun combo though, Doyle Minter and Anthony Weaver, I like all three of them.

00:47:25
Speaker 4: Yes, a brain trust. I would have liked some play calling experience.

00:47:29
Speaker 3: You know, you come up in the tree where these guys are not going to let go of play calling abilities, but you get a chance to see two of the best that do it, one of the best that's ever done it in my opinion, call plays and go through that without the you know, worry about being the administrator and being the entire head coach of a team, which is an offensive coach you'll have an opportunity to do if he successful, just snap the ball to eight, lock it up and have people get open.

00:47:55
Speaker 2: It'll be. It really makes them.

00:47:58
Speaker 1: They're always kind of the team I'm looking forward to most or very often in week win or two.

00:48:03
Speaker 2: What are they going to do next?

00:48:04
Speaker 1: But especially this staff, I'm I'm really gonna be curious to watch them in September this year. Same thing with Philadelphia surprising hire to kind of entrust Ali Sean Manyon, who doesn't have a lot of experience as a coach to be a first time play caller. They're going back to that after you know, struggling when they hired Brian Johnson a few years back. Obviously this year, last year didn't go well with the first time play caller, and now you have Sean Manyon with the help of Josh Gazzard, like a couple different voices. But it does make me kind of excited too that they're like trying to think of someone who will maybe present some new ideas to the Philadelphia offense.

00:48:49
Speaker 5: I adm them bringing you multiple foal guys as they go through someone else. Everything a lot is in getting the inbuilt insurance policy of Josh Grizzade. If things go wrong by week Kate, we throw someone else, We promote someone else in the middle of the season. I like them trying something a little different manuing from the floor camp that would be fastened to see that work with that Eagles talent. But it is telling to me that they were going down that list and they kept getting knocked back and kept getting not back until they ultimately settled on show Manya. I think that tells you a little bit about well the rest of the lead the league circles. Patrick so loves thinks about the situation and maybe the problems over there in Philadelphia.

00:49:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, Mike mcdan, I mean the coordinators who had their choice of jobs, at least according to the reporting, didn't want it. And that was Mike McDaniel and Brian Dables Specifically, Dabe would have been I don't know if I believe that Dable reporting. That would have been a wild combination, but would have been fun. Yeah, fist fights, look Dom doing his Joe Wayne. They run that organization. I mean the next Fog guy might be Nick Sirianni. Now it depends on the level of the Fall I mean, they did win a lot of games this year. They weren't a disaster, but if things went really wrong, I think they might just who knows, or or it could be Jalen Hurts.

00:50:03
Speaker 3: Well, I've seen I've seen the Hurts criticism as though he had Is Rogers level in terms of dictating, you know, how, how the offense is going to be structured, like we got there quick.

00:50:14
Speaker 1: Well, I think I think you're structuring it around his strengths. But I take it back, I actually think Jalen Hurts might be the next Fall guy. Man, We're we're going to break down all these coordinators in more depth throughout the offseason without well, I'm just saying it wouldn't shock me, and they've done it before. It wouldn't shock me if they draft a quarterback this year right at least as another option for Luck Siriani. It just wouldn't surprise me, like a second round pick. Maybe not get rid of them both, but I just don't sense that Jeffrey Luriy and Howie Roseman are just looking at their NFL team as like a lifetime appointment.

00:50:53
Speaker 2: I think they're always willing to make changes.

00:50:56
Speaker 1: Jim Harbaugh or John Harbaugh rather was expecting to hire Toddunk, so they didn't get him, and now Brian Callahan and Cliff Kingsbury are reportedly in the mix for the offensive coordinator job.

00:51:08
Speaker 2: We just talked about the Eagles.

00:51:09
Speaker 1: There was a report initially from Jimmy Kemski but backed up by our Mike Garraflow, that Garifolo that Vic Fangio's future it was potentially fluid in Philadelphia, but it was maybe more fluid a few weeks ago, and it's trending towards vic Fangio coming back, but that could be part of the whole Jim Schwartz situation in Cleveland, where Jim Schwartz wanted to get it out of Cleveland, but they have his contractual rights. And as these jobs get filled up and we hear a report that Brian Flores is making six million dollars a year from the Vikings, I mean, can Jim Schwartz say, Okay, I want more than what he's making in Minnesota. Cleveland has paid over the years. I bet they'd be willing to do that. Maybe cooler heads prevail and he ends up in Cleveland. A couple other moves, Tanner Engstron, who was the Jets off defensive coordinator, is now on Kevin Stefanski's staff. We got a move, though. I did think it's interesting to see the report that Jody Allen could be selling the Seahawks after the Super Bowl. Maybe something we talk about a little bit during the week. Not a huge shock if you think about it. It's always been this weird in between. She's the sister right of the Microsoft founder of course, and Paul Allen, and you know, it's kind of been this weird in between, and it's believed that they.

00:52:32
Speaker 2: Could be selling the team after the Super Bowl. That's new.

00:52:34
Speaker 1: The salary cap is going up by more than twenty million dollars. We found out about that, and then it was announced on Monday the Saints are going to Paris. Ollie, are you trying to get on with the talk sport? See if they'll increase the budget although I don't know what budget they're paying you and get you to Paris next year?

00:52:56
Speaker 5: All right, done has to be done. Mean the block potty guys rolling your on Paris Is. I think content for ever gone around.

00:53:05
Speaker 2: I would love to go watch an NFL game in Paris.

00:53:10
Speaker 1: There was a report that it's Brown Saints from a but the NFL has not announced that, and we are the NFL, so we are not announcing that, and we're not even confirming it because I have to say, over the last few years, there have been more than a few incorrect reports about these games overseas and who will be playing in them. They always get the like the home team right, but sometimes there was a change. I know that the Brazil change. For instance, the game was reported differently. It wasn't the Chiefs initially and then it turned out to be the Chiefs.

00:53:41
Speaker 4: So should we should we go with zeroing?

00:53:43
Speaker 3: In.

00:53:44
Speaker 2: I'm not even going to.

00:53:45
Speaker 1: Go zeroing in because with this type of reporting, I want it straight from the source, So I'm not trusting.

00:53:52
Speaker 4: Which is what I would prefer from all reports.

00:53:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would believe. I would believe that the Browns are in the mix or something, but that there's something behind it. But who knows.

00:54:00
Speaker 1: Uh, there will be games in Melbourne, Melbourne, that is Melbourne. Well that's how they say. I tried to say it like they say it. They don't really say that Melbourne like like US Americans.

00:54:11
Speaker 4: But I made it.

00:54:12
Speaker 2: I made a mess of it.

00:54:14
Speaker 1: It's gonna be in Rio, We're gonna go to Munich, We're in Madrid, and then there's three games in London.

00:54:19
Speaker 2: So that is a total of eight. I think that's the total number for twenty twenty six.

00:54:25
Speaker 4: Big number. It's big number.

00:54:27
Speaker 1: Should we take one more break and come back and do a few surprises that we know.

00:54:32
Speaker 6: Swing back on NFL Daily. You know, when you're.

00:54:44
Speaker 2: Building this show out on Friday, we got big.

00:54:48
Speaker 1: Eyes, you know, big stomach of like, oh, I'm not gonna get Patrick's thoughts on Super Bowl sixty the rest of the week on NFL Daily. I'll get him on NFL Network. People should check out game debut when it goes up. Our season finale might be the series finale. We'll find out. I've been doing this for six or seven years. I mean, at some point we'll find out. I I hope it's not, but it's been. It's been a thin slice of heaven. As Damashek would say, our picks champion this year, Patrick Claibnut, Well, that's a small sample size. I think the real wind happened in the regular season, and you took down an entire computer model in Cynthia and me.

00:55:31
Speaker 2: By quite quite a big margin. So congratulations to Patrick.

00:55:35
Speaker 1: But I wanted to get your takes and I wanted to hear a few surprises, just things you're keeping an eye on for Super Bowl sixty. Same thing with with Ali. You know, it feels like it's it's the end of the season. It's a big culmination. But I'm actually thinking about next week and like, I kind of need you guys on the show next week too, So we're not going anywhere. NFL Daily is gonna be around, but for the rest of this week, in terms of talking Bowl, we're not going to have your take. So I'm gonna I'm gonna get at least one surprise for each of you of like one thing you're keeping an eye on for this Super Bowl.

00:56:08
Speaker 3: Well, I'm keeping an eye on Greg. You know that one of my favorite things in the world is being right.

00:56:13
Speaker 4: I was wrong.

00:56:14
Speaker 3: I was very critical of my friend Greg Rosenthal when he pointed out the changes with regards to the Seahawks rushing attack run around week nine, where I thought that this was make believe it was a results of scheduling. They are the twenty fourth ranked rushing efficiency team, and now we're going into a Super Bowl against the number three rushing efficiency defense where I legitimately believe that Kenneth Walker.

00:56:35
Speaker 4: The third could be the Super Bowl MVP.

00:56:37
Speaker 3: Ooh, and I think that is That is my surprise that I am leaning on here, where I think the Seahawks rushing attack, as you pointed out, was getting better. Losing Zach Sharburney does hurt. I'm not saying that minus Sharbonnay equals plus more Walker and that's that's plus good. I just think they're running the ball better. They need to considering the way that the offense has been going, and it's working out there.

00:56:59
Speaker 1: They had they had a order of games. It was against the Commanders, who they blew out and they finished out that game well, But it was more against the Cardinals that got me excited. There was a second half of that game O Drive where they just kept hinting the.

00:57:12
Speaker 2: Cardinals knew they were running.

00:57:13
Speaker 1: I think they ran at like thirteen straight times, and I said, that's the moment they're running attack really came to life. Now if you look at the entire breadth of the second half, it was a little up and down. How do you think they are looking ali on film running the ball lately with Walker?

00:57:32
Speaker 2: Because it is a different attack too with Walker.

00:57:35
Speaker 1: But I guess those are two different questions, kind of the Walker of it all, but also how they're blocking it up.

00:57:41
Speaker 5: Yeah, the blocking it up isn't as impressed as Walker as he turns a lot of pretty poor opportunities into great opportunities. And I think that is the key for the Patriots is you can allow some chun you just cannot allow the huge explosive play that tilts the game against Kenneth Walker, the Super Bowl MVP, the thirty forty yardd Shop play, and the Seahaks is they've changed the kind of run scheme, and there has been putting more and more bigger bodies on the field where it's twelve personnel, thirteen personnel, two backs. The Pageot's been excellent down the close of the season facing those specific looks they have to struggle are when it's a bit spread out and they kind of have big bodies on the field themselves, when they can just go mass on mass, the Paget has been able to fund a real advantage jest. So that is one of the key battles I think I'll look for is can Kenneth walk just make a big guy miss and find some daylight and hid an explosive run. Or can the Patriots at least keep it neutral when it's kind of big on big in the trenches?

00:58:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I think the Patriots defense really has turned a corner in the playoffs. The weather has been a factor and the opposition has been a factor, but they have dominated this postseason in just a way that they haven't before. And I do think when you look, they're a very sound, really well coached fundamental defense, really good at tackling, preventing yards after contact after the catch. What worries me much when I watch them, is like guys scrambling on them, or guys just like making one on one plays against them, because maybe not the fastest, most athletic defense at every position, certainly linebacker, and so that's what Kenneth Walker to me. He's a boomer bust player. I think they missed Heart. I think they will miss Sharbonnay, because I do think he kind of does what the assignment is more often. But more importantly, I think he's just an asset on passing downs. He's just a little more consistent for them. So it's better to have two guys than one. But I think you're absolutely right. Walker could be, uh the Super Bowl MVP. Why don't you give me a surprise, Ali.

00:59:32
Speaker 5: Surprise, I guess will just be the se Oaks offensive line in general. Tison to Patrick's point about the run game in Kenneth Walker, I think Anthony Bradford is shockingly like the pivot player of the Super Bowl. He is one of the strangest plays to watch in the NFL.

00:59:45
Speaker 4: The right god pole where the.

00:59:47
Speaker 5: Ninety percent of the game he's effectively throwing up on himself, snapped the snap torpedoes his own cent just forgets the blocking assignment takes his own plays out, and then ten percent of the reps all playing a true hole fame level in which he will completely explode the point of attack and clear the biggest cosm you've seen on film all week, so no one has a wider variance from between the best plays and the worst plays. The Patriots will hunt and try and attack that guy. That is the entire style of that defense is a really small crop of blitz packages, but it's just dressed up slightly differently each time. And they just attacked the weekly relentlessly, and so I think they're going to try and put the game in the hands up. It's Milton Williams one on one with Anthony Bradford, was just attacking him with different buddies.

01:00:29
Speaker 1: So I'm not grinding the film all season long like Ali. I'm usually doing the condensed games here and there special assignments. I finally got to that Seahawks NFC Championship game later in the week last week, and he had one of the worst games I've ever seen an offensive lineman have in a big spot and You're right, there are a couple like fun snaps and everything where you know he is you can see what why people would get excited about him, But he was a He was a problem for them, and so is Sundell, their center who's come back from an injury. And that that showed up on the San Francisco tape. I thought too, where you know, he got beat clean by CJ. West for a sack or at least a pressure a couple of times against San Francisco, And then you think about where is the strength of the Patriots team bar Moore and Milton Williams, and you think, okay, well, there's one advantage in a game where maybe Seattle has a lot of them. I don't know why I keep calling it surprises. I think what I asked you guys was kind of just like just something that the average person isn't thinking about that that could swing it. Maybe that's surprised, Maybe it's not. Anthony Bradford, is a good answer. Do you have one more?

01:01:34
Speaker 2: Patrick?

01:01:35
Speaker 4: Well, I don't.

01:01:36
Speaker 3: I don't necessarily think it would be a surprise. The Seahawk have one of the better punters in the NFL.

01:01:41
Speaker 2: Okay, and now that's it.

01:01:43
Speaker 3: It has been consistent and I know that you know field position, field position man football tunnel possession like what we saw in that AFC Championship game. There's there could be a severe punting mismatch here that could really really make things rough for the Patriots.

01:01:59
Speaker 2: A lot.

01:02:00
Speaker 1: Probably hurts Bill Belichick watching the Patriots and everything going on with them now in terms of this FOMO. But he must be a gas that the punter disadvantage. He wouldn't he would never have allowed such a thing. Ali, that that's a good it's a good call. Yeah. I mean I wanted like just some like left of center ideas, and you're right that, well, that's that's where I no, No, I think that's I think that's that's a good one. Why don't you wrap us up, Ali with something else that cut your eye?

01:02:28
Speaker 5: I just think the Patriots is gonna have to have three or four trick plays, something that steals a possession wherever the fake punt, some kind of double pass, and I think they're gonna have to uncold them early and fairly often. You're just not gonna be able to get explosive plays on this Seahawks defense truly by design. Maybe you can spring one or two, but they limit explosives so much force to take the check down, then rally and tackle bed than anyone in the NFL. They want you to drive down the field, you know, long extended drives, and just given the ricketiness of the Patriots protection, I just don't know if trick making hold up for that for six, seven, eighth series. So you're gonna have to try and steal possessions where you count with with a fake pun or a couple of trick plays there.

01:03:08
Speaker 2: Well, you don't have to ask Josh McDaniels.

01:03:10
Speaker 3: No, he knows exactly what historical Patriots trick plays. He's gonna run it. There's gonna be Julian Edelman to James White, so I guess they're gonna be It's gonna be kase Sean Boody throwing to bald to trivia Okay, okay, And then you know, perhaps it's either that or it's the other Edelman postseason play where you know, Josh just goes back through his moments in postseason history.

01:03:30
Speaker 2: How about some you know, they like the flea flickers.

01:03:33
Speaker 1: They certainly like the direct snap to the running backs on the goal line, Which why don't you bring it back right after you just used it? In the AFC championship and everyone got mad at you. That would be a Patriots move only because it didn't work. I don't even think that's a trick play, because they do that enough that it just it's a good play.

01:03:49
Speaker 5: I think they've gotta find one of the verable events is we always hear about rise. He goes the rule book like no one else. He sits on the competition committee like no one else. Remembers the Michael Omannui the Ravens stuff where they had the eligible lineman, the fake ty ten stuff against the Ravens in an AFC divisional round. They've got to find something that causes real controversy after the game that we didn't know the rule, but Raves and mcdoniel did.

01:04:10
Speaker 3: What if Mike's been sitting on the absolute most game breaking rule violation that's not a violation for years and it gets unveiled this top Greg.

01:04:18
Speaker 1: I think it would be very fitting. I think it would be excellent. I've been thinking about that last Seahawks Patriots super Bowl like a lot lately, and that was fitting, Like in the that was coming, you know, that week was a lot about the flake gate, right and just and just the controversy and so let's let's restart it again. Let's play the hits. Let's play like Shane Veren at right tackle or whatever? Was he the one I was trying to I was heaven and high and trying to figure out was it Shane Veren who they were like playing as an offensive lineman to the point where John Harbaugh essentially lost his mind and lost the playoff game because of it.

01:05:00
Speaker 4: That is right.

01:05:00
Speaker 5: Yeah, they would have Michael ominaw Anuia on the line as a left tackle, but the running back would repull as tackle eligible, stood away from the formation, absolutely bunk his way to define the floor in the rule. Anyone can find it. I think it will be frades.

01:05:13
Speaker 2: Shout out to Shane Vereen, who I co.

01:05:17
Speaker 1: Hosted a Super Bowl between the Eagles and the and the Chiefs with a few years ago on talkSPORT where Ali gets it done. Uh, year after year was was outstanding doing doing the London games. Ali, we won't talk to you, I don't believe on the show before the Super Bowl.

01:05:36
Speaker 2: So enjoy it, my friend.

01:05:38
Speaker 1: Everyone check out Ali on the Read Optional podcast and uh yeah, we'll be talking to you next week. Same thing with Patrick. Check us out on NFL Network with game debut, and check out NFL Daily in the feed. Shortly we've got forties and free agents. That's a weekly show that's coming up. Cynthia Freeland and Iowa also get our final picks. It really bothered me last year wh we never picked the Super Bowl, Like we couldn't get the right time for her on radio row. So we're gonna tape it before we go. That'll be coming up too, and then off to San Francisco.

01:06:12
Speaker 2: We'll see you there.