Hour 1 – College Football Playoff Set, Chris Simms

00:00:00
Speaker 1: You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, I hope you had a great weekend. Everybody's here ready to go on this Monday. Morale is high.

00:00:11
Speaker 2: Everybody back in the man cave here your phone calls always welcome on a Monday. Best and worst of the weekend. Once you saw that you liked you didn't like, Todd's here seat and Marv Pauley yours truly in the backroom guys as well. Stat of the Day is always brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the program. The autograph calendars. Non autograph calendars available at Danpatrick dot com. You can check out the Tailgate store to see how you can get an autograph calendar, and you can get that with select Tailgate Moonshine purchases while supplies last, and if you're ordering anything from Danpatrick dot com has to be done so by December eighth to ensure that it gets there in time for the holidays. Most cars on the road could use a little TLC. At Mako, they bring your car back to life. Affordable paint jobs like collision repairs. Get a free to me today, Oh better get Mako play the day, poll, questions, stat of the day, all to that forthcoming. We'll get to your phone calls as well. We say good morning. If you're watching on Peacock that's our streaming partner, download the app if you haven't done so, and our radio affiliates as well. Rick Neuheisel from CBS Sports will try to make sense of the college football playoff the matchups revealed yesterday and a couple of questions there, including Notre Dame not in and then they tapped out of a bowl game as well. Their athletic director Pete Bavaqua will join us. Coming up next hour. Chris Simms from NBC Football Night in America. We'll recap what we saw last night. Are the Chiefs done done? And what about the Ravens losing to the Steelers as well? It became more of who lost this weekend. Colts lose, they lose their quarterback, Chiefs lose, Bengals lose, Buccaneers lose, and the Ravens lose. But we'll talk about that as we move forward. We got a month left in the regular season.

00:02:01
Speaker 3: Eagles.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: If the Chargers coming up tonight, the Eagles are two and a half point favorites. All right, I was curious who is the favorite to win the national title. After the College Football Playoff Committee came out with their matchups. Ohio State is number one, followed by Indiana. Those are the two top heavies, and then it's Georgia, Oregon, Texas Tech, and then it dips down to Texas, A and M. So really you're looking at five teams, maybe Ohio State in Indiana, Ohio State plus twenty two forty, Indiana plus two fifty, then Georgia six hundred, Oregon plus seven to fifty, Texas Tech plus eight hundred, A and M goes down to plus eighteen hundred. Then it goes Ole, miss Miami, Alabama, Oklahoma, James Madison, and Tulane. The Notre Dame situation, this will lead to change with the college football playoffs, and well, we'll talk a little bit more about this with the Notre Dame athletic director next hour, because there was a report by Ross Dellinger that Notre Dame is guaranteed next year if they're in the top twelve ranked in the top twelve, they will make the playoffs. But that might be a moot point because I think we're going to blow past twelve teams. We're going to sixteen teams. But we'll talk about that with the athletic director at Notre Dame. I don't have any problem with Miami getting in. I have a problem with Miami getting in that they were ranked behind Notre Dame and if you want to put them in front of Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago, I don't have any problem with that. It just looks weird. It doesn't pass the eye test here. And if you think about it, and you think about, you know, sort of everything that we went through the last couple of weeks. You know, these ranking shows every week on the Mothership that puts the College Football Playoff Committee in a really bad situation because they're explaining their rationale weekend week out until they get to the point like yesterday where they really had a hard time explaining. Okay, so Miami and Notre Dame didn't play, but Miami jumps Notre Dame and that's okay. Miami jumps Notre Dame, neither play. Alabama loses to Georgia really wasn't competitive, and Alabama doesn't move BYU loses to Texas and drops one spot. So we're just trying to make sense of what is the rationale here, What are the mitigating factors here? Of why you're putting somebody here, why you're putting somebody there, Somebody goes up, somebody goes down. Those are the things you're just we want to know what are the rules we're playing by? And it feels like sometimes it's checkers and not chess and vice versa.

00:04:47
Speaker 3: And I think anybody who's.

00:04:49
Speaker 2: A college football fan just wants to know what exactly are you factoring in here and not factoring in here?

00:04:56
Speaker 3: Miami beat Notre Dame.

00:04:58
Speaker 2: A win in the beginning of the year should count as much as a win at the end of the year. And I don't have any problem with that, But I do have a problem when it doesn't make sense. And I gave you a heads up last week from my college football source, and he talked about it felt like felt like, and I can give you the information here, but it felt like they were going to set up Notre Dame for disappointment. Now this is my source saying this, but it feels like they're going to go to sixteen teams next year. But and I had so much information over the weekend with this. Some of it I can tell you, some of it I can't, but you know, it felt like, in his opinion, Notre Dame was being set up that they were going to be jumped here and not make the college football playoffs. Now that was last year.

00:05:56
Speaker 3: Okay.

00:05:57
Speaker 2: He does say the consensus across all conference meetings this week is the college football Playoff will be sixteen teams by next year. So there's a lot that was going on. And this is from somebody who's around this situation. I don't want to give too many details, but they're around the situation, and they're saying, you know, Alabama and Miami, like keep an eye on Alabama was what I was told that Notre Dame was being, in his opinion, set up to be disappointed. Those are his words. So that's where it gets a little tricky here. And the College Football Playoff Committee, now I don't know if they love this attention or not.

00:06:40
Speaker 3: We've talked about it. You want to talk about this more.

00:06:43
Speaker 2: You knew who I thought about immediately when Notre Dame got left out. Who's the one guy who could benefit from somebody else being the headline in college football? And that's Lane Kiffin because I thought, all right, Lane must love this. It's like anybody anybody talking about me didn't show up at college game day. Ole Miss is in the playoffs, but nobody was talking about Lane Kiffin for a day or two because everybody was talking about Notre Dame. I wish Notre Dame would play in a bowl game.

00:07:12
Speaker 3: I do.

00:07:13
Speaker 2: And once again, Pete Bavaqua with the athletic director is coming on and I want to ask him, you know, why not now they're going to have them play against BYU as the last two out. I guess bowl game. I think it was the Pop Tart Bowl. Oh, yes, I think it was the Pop Tart slapping the face to pop Tarts.

00:07:34
Speaker 3: I know, take that.

00:07:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, But you know there's just it's a lot of politics here. And yes, have I said before Notre Dame's brand, Yes, yes, that what was surprising. I mean, Georgia blew out Alabama. That was not competitive at all. Now I got to give Alabama credit. They got to the SEC title game. There's no other conference like the SEC. That's accomplishment. You were not competitive, and you don't you know, you weren't punished by it. But it comes back to Miami should have been ranked in front of Notre Dame. If you really felt that way, then put him there, and put him there a month earlier. And I don't think anybody has a problem because it was head to head. I'm fine with that. It's just where you go things that make you go hmm. And I had a few of those this past weekend, and then you get a spokesperson on there is try to explain it, and I feel bad. You know, you got one person out there taking the slings and arrows. He's Custer. You know they're firing. You know those arrows are hurting. But college football, you get through this and then we're gonna have great games. It shouldn't be lost on anybody what Indiana accomplished this year. Indiana is the losingest college football program in history. They have the number one team in the country. They are going to have the Heisman Trophy winner. If you're over the age of forty, I mean, just let that sink in.

00:09:10
Speaker 3: That's incredible. It's incredible.

00:09:13
Speaker 2: You beat Ohio State, You're the number one team of the country, and Kurt Signetti in two years accomplish the impossible. And I hope that people don't lose sight of that. Now they're probably not looking at Indiana go and they're going to win a national title. Look, you beat Oregon at Oregon, you got my attention. You beat Ohio State on a neutral site for the Big Ten title in a tough you know who's going to break first, great defensive game. You know, those are the kind of games that you go. Ohio State wins these games. They have so much talent. I think they're better or thought they were better than last year's team. Give credit to Indiana. We wondered this year coming into the season. Marvin goes, who do you think is this year's Indiana? And then we realized it's Indiana. Is in this year's Indiana? But pretty pretty amazing. That story should not be lost with everything else that's happened with Lane Kiffen, and certainly Notre Dame getting kicked to the curb. All right, we'll get to phone calls A seven seven three DP show email address DP at Danpatrick dot com, Twitter handle a DP show. Chris Sims will join us, coming up here in a little bit. Matt in South Bend, Hi, Matt.

00:10:28
Speaker 4: Oh, good morning, Dan. When I was getting the pie to the face a couple a few weeks ago. You guys told me you're I reminded you of Shanean Irving. And I'm not going to give a Shaye and Irving like grants, but just a little lost at how Alabama can lose the conference championship game and not get drafted, but BYU gets drapped and you know, Ohio State gets strapped and it a little little bit of a loss here in South Bend.

00:10:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I guess there's the element of surprise. I wasn't shocked because I'd been having a heads up that Notre Dame is cheetering on the brink. And uh and once again my source said that prior you know to this this weekend. Hey, it feels like Notre Dame's being set up to be disappointed once again, those are his words, being set up to be disappointed.

00:11:20
Speaker 3: Uh.

00:11:21
Speaker 2: That is kind of damning there that it feel it just feels like, you know, in the room and.

00:11:28
Speaker 3: We'll never get in the room.

00:11:29
Speaker 2: Though. Boy, wouldn't you love that I was told the ACC you know, that was a mess where you know what they were politicking for and do you get a team in there? Maybe the ACC should have let Notre Dame be their representative.

00:11:46
Speaker 3: Maybe that would have solved everything. Yeah, seton, you know, I think.

00:11:49
Speaker 5: Is a little cheesy. They had all day Saturday morning they would do like look ins at here's the selection committee. And it was like all of these you know, dudes sitting in these big chairs what you assume is watching lots of monitors on TV. They are, they're taking in all the games. Yet some of them had a laptop on their lap, like on their desk or come on, none of these dudes really want to be sitting there doing that altogether.

00:12:14
Speaker 3: Just put us in the room after.

00:12:15
Speaker 6: We don't want to do these TV hits.

00:12:17
Speaker 3: It's a little awkward.

00:12:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, look at them the hard at work, you know, taking making any last minute adjustments to what they're seeing here.

00:12:28
Speaker 5: I don't think they're like, Okay, we're sitting here for the ten seconds and then we're going back up to the buffet over there.

00:12:33
Speaker 3: All right. Great.

00:12:34
Speaker 2: Wouldn't it been funny if they're playing like Papa's shot eating wings got a keg stand.

00:12:39
Speaker 5: I't ever see them actually arguing about something like what are they talking about? Look at the ac secret that guy's going crazy whatever, you know, whoever just.

00:12:46
Speaker 2: Stage it that that'd be great. Yeah, might as well. It's all made for TV. Ah here they are, Yeah, Richard in Indianapolis, Hi, Richard, what's on your mind today?

00:12:59
Speaker 7: Good morning, DP.

00:13:01
Speaker 8: Best of the weekend. Obviously, my Indiana Hoosiers get it done. They get it done defensively, which I don't even know. That's just so surreal to me. The mood in Indianapolis is forever lifted. Mood in Bloomington has forever lifted. My worst of the weekend Omar Cooper goes down on the third play of the game. He's one of the only guys that stayed in the Signetti transfer there and he played his first season with IU in won three games, and he went out third playing the game from Indianapolis. That was really hard to watch. But we're celebrating, never stopping drinking.

00:13:37
Speaker 2: I love you all right, Thank you, Richard. Yeah, your colts aren't good. They've lost for their last five. They started seven to one. I don't think they're going to make playoffs. You got Danny Dimes done for the year. He's going to be done probably until next November. Achilles surgery. What do you do with Anthony Richardson. He's not healthy, got hurt in a locker room incident. You got to bring in somebody, and here's your schedules. At the Seahawks, play the Niners, play the Jags, at the Texans, and the Jags are playing well.

00:14:19
Speaker 3: And they were right.

00:14:20
Speaker 2: Nobody believes in you, No they don't, but prove us wrong. It was an impressive performance yesterday. But the Colts, you're at the Seahawks, you host, the Niners, host the Jags. You're at the Texans. By the way, that Texans defense, I told you their top three, they may be better than that. Just to ask Patrick Mahomes. All right, we'll take a break. Chris Simms will join us. Are the Chiefs done done? And if you're Josh Allen and you start to look around at all the other quarterbacks who won't be making the playoffs, this is your year, this is your moment, this is your time.

00:15:03
Speaker 3: Take a break. We're back after this Dan Patrick Show.

00:15:06
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00:15:42
Speaker 6: Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

00:15:46
Speaker 2: Pauline and I were just talking about Notre Dame turning down a Bowl bid. I don't like them doing that, but I understand why because they were gonna play BYU. At least that's what I'm told in the Pop Tart Bowl. They have none to gain if they beat BYU, which they should. Okay, what's it mean now? You can say, well, you get to play another game in the bowl game. If I'm Jeremiah Love, I'm not playing in that bowl game. I mean he's going to be the number one running back, would be a top fifteen pick.

00:16:15
Speaker 3: No, you're not going to play in that. You can't.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: You can't risk losing to BYU and then have everybody say the same thing. Yeah, see, never should have been in Notre Dame would be favored over probably I'm guessing at least seven teams out of the twelve on a neutral site, Notre Dame probably seven, maybe eight teams from what I'm told Las Vegas is saying this. But they would have been playing probably at A and M in a rematch with that game they lost in South Bend. Yes, Paulin, I.

00:16:47
Speaker 9: Know we got Chris Simms. But the other thing I've been thinking about is why would Notre Dame pass on the bowl game knowing the flak they're going to get for it. I think they Notre Dame has always thought of themselves and proudly as a different ends even the rest of college football, and they want to be treated that so, so I think they were conscious of the blowout and fallout from this, and they're like, yes, we're still above it, We're Notre Dame, and this enhances their brand.

00:17:10
Speaker 2: Chris Simms Pro Football Talk Live, co host Football Night in America and the Chris Sims Unbuttoned Podcast.

00:17:18
Speaker 3: All right, let me.

00:17:18
Speaker 2: Start with Notre Dame. Let me start with what the College Football Playoff Committee did?

00:17:22
Speaker 6: Your thoughts, Yeah, I think it's I'm with you for I think it's ridiculous right that Notre Dame doesn't get into the college like are they one of the twelve best play teams in college football? Without a doubt, Notre Dame could win the national championship. You know, I've been one that's kind of been saying for a few weeks when I do college football stuff here at NBC on Saturdays, it's the best offense in college football systematically, the players, it's the two best running backs, it's NFL receivers, it's a big time NFL tight end. So I'm shocked by that they just got healthy on defense a few weeks ago. They've been shut down on that side of the ball. I know their schedule was a little less than Tatley this year. They got them lucky. You can't ever sit here and tell me Notre Dame tries to schedule a cupcakes. They try to schedule everybody some years though it just doesn't work out. They had the two toughest games to start the season out of anybody in college football. I want the best teams right now. Right Miami's played, I mean, Notre Dame has played better football than Miami for the last two and a half months. Miami lost at home to unranked Louisville. They lost on the road to unranked SMU. Right, Alabama hasn't played good football in six weeks and then they go up a spot after getting they should have been blown out worse on Saturday. That to me is what doesn't make sense. And I don't care about fair I want the twelve best in. So I'm a little bit like, sorry, JMU and Tulane, I just don't give a damn about you. Notre Dame should be in. And yeah, it's a big travesty in my opinion, but this is where there's always change. You need to have something like this for change. And now you're gonna have change. And now it's gonna be sixteen team playoff. I know I've talked to Rick new heislb before and he's why don't we just go to twenty four? Like, I don't want to render the regular season meaningless, but I do. I want to encourage college teams to play quality opponents, right. I want to know if hey, if we end up with two or three losses, we can make the playoffs and we're gonna play great quality opponents.

00:19:19
Speaker 2: I agree, that's what I want. We all benefit from that. Nobody benefits from my team playing Samford.

00:19:27
Speaker 3: I know it's a bad right, you're right. Well, you're right. Teams like Texas and Notre Dame.

00:19:32
Speaker 6: Maybe they're just gonna go, hey, you know what, We're gonna play Northwest Louisiana Alabama State to start the year. For now, I'm sorry, Oh, your ratings aren't good. Oh sorry, Well, the committee's in a dacas if we lose to make a good game. So you know my fault there. And again, it's about the best teams right now. You know, I know Miami beat Notre Dame in Week one, but let's take into the context freshman quarterback playing on the road. Texas A and m they can win the national championship. They had to have a miracle play at the end of the game to win the f football game. So yeah, I don't love that Notre Dames and not in it. And I have no horse in this race. I just want to see the best teams be in it and the best college football product. And yeah, it feels like they messed up. Oh miss stays the same. Wait, what is the engine that has driven old miss the coach. That's why everybody wanted to pay them one hundred million a year. They stay and just the nothing gets That's like losing your quarterback, if not worse, they should have been dropped down spots at least. So I don't understand any of it. And yes, it looks like it was a little too much trying to be fair to everybody instead of just doing what's right and putting the best teams in it.

00:20:38
Speaker 2: Notre Dame Athletic director Pete Babakua will join his hour from now.

00:20:42
Speaker 3: All right, Kansas City Chiefs done done, done, done, done done.

00:20:46
Speaker 6: Yes, I mean it's I don't think they're going to make the playoffs, certainly not. I think it's done done as far as the era of far what we've seen, they're going to have to change their roster a little bit and change their team, right, So, yes.

00:21:01
Speaker 2: Play your finger on it, Chris, right, give me one or two things that changed with the Chiefs this year.

00:21:07
Speaker 6: Okay, First off, I think the first thing is, well, you know, they've never been a great running team, but some of these receivers they have, right, Xavier Worthy has not worked out to the capacity that they intended to as a first round pick Hollywood Brown, smaller receiver hasn't really been able to contribute that way. That's why a lot of teams don't like small receivers. Oh yeah, you run four two nine, But as soon as I do this and touch you, you run four seven five, and now you're not that scary, right, So I think they've missed on that right.

00:21:33
Speaker 3: The defense is not as special as it used to be.

00:21:37
Speaker 6: Right when they beat the forty nine ers in the Super Bowl, they were phenomenal, right, Lugerius Snead McDuffie, they had it all.

00:21:42
Speaker 3: They could do different things. They don't have that luxury.

00:21:46
Speaker 6: Chris Jones is definitely on the down side of his career to where he's good. But is he a superstar just take over the game weekend and week out kind of player anymore?

00:21:54
Speaker 3: No.

00:21:55
Speaker 6: Nick Bolton the linebacker not quite having the year right, So they're just they're good defense, but they're not dominant like years past. And then on the offensive side of the ball, it's just two Mahomes relyingt I mean, think about last night.

00:22:07
Speaker 3: Most of the plays that.

00:22:09
Speaker 6: Happen are him making magic, and they's just not enough of a systematical destruction of a defense on the other side of the ball.

00:22:16
Speaker 3: So that would be my two cents.

00:22:18
Speaker 1: Dan, I start to.

00:22:19
Speaker 2: Look at the AFC. You don't have Lamar Jackson, probably you're not gonna have Joe Burrow, or you're not gonna have Patrick Mahomes in there. You start to look at all these marquee quarterbacks in the AFC, and this opens the door for Josh Allen, like, this is white. I know Buffalo is not great, but if I'm Josh Allen, I got no excuses now I should be getting to the Super Bowl.

00:22:43
Speaker 6: Well yeah, I mean yes, I think you look at it at just its base like that premises right there. Sure, but have you seen Buffalo's defense?

00:22:53
Speaker 3: Yes?

00:22:53
Speaker 6: No, me neither, Right, we're waiting to see it. So yeah, that's an issue. You know, I say all the time, we're watching the modern day John Elway to me and it's like the eighties Broncos where you're like, the team's really not that good, but oh my gosh, this guy makes unbelievable plays every game and every big moment and they win and then he falls victim to well, they didn't win in the playoffs, is Josh Allen? It's like, well, he can't do everything all the time. I mean, again, that's another game, even to another level of mahomes. Go back and watch the highlights. I mean, it's fourteen to three in the second quarter, it's fourth and seven, and they're already like, we're gonna lose if we don't go for it right here, Josh Allen. And then he runs around for seven seconds and finds a completion. So he's unbelievable. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks I've ever seen. Really, he really is. But one man can't win the Super Bowl. You need a team. And that's what you worry about Buffalo. They're not real great at receiver, the defense is very average. If the run game doesn't work, there's nothing else that helps Josh Allen. And that's what I worry about with Buffalo and the AFC.

00:23:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, when I'm watching Football Night in America and you brought up to John Elway comparison, I said, that's apt because thank you was dragging that Denver offense to super Bowls and then they realized that that defense wasn't as good.

00:24:08
Speaker 3: They got burnt out all of those shit.

00:24:10
Speaker 6: And he took all the flat right, Oh, John Olway can't win the big game. John Holway can't win the big game. And that's where he's so great. No other quarterback in football could have gone the Super Bowl with some of those teams.

00:24:19
Speaker 3: That's how good he is. But you know, New.

00:24:21
Speaker 6: England's a complete team in the AFC Denver. We know the offense is just okay, but that defense is a super Bowl defense. And the team that I'll continue to say to watch out for is the team you saw last night.

00:24:34
Speaker 3: Houston could win and go to the super Bowl.

00:24:36
Speaker 6: Houston, if their offense is just average, they have a super Bowl twenty fifteen Broncos twenty thirteen Seahawks type of defense where don't be shocked for sitting their AFC championship Sunday, and the Houston Texans are in it if they can get in the playoffs.

00:24:51
Speaker 2: Here, when I'm watching the Ravens and they get the touchdown reception, it's called a touchdown, and then even the broadcasters thought that it was a touchdown. I thought it was you have the ball and you take two steps. Now I then realize after the fact when they said it's on a touchdown, now it's three steps when you catch the ball well.

00:25:17
Speaker 6: Yes, it's three steps, but it doesn't have to be three steps.

00:25:20
Speaker 3: It can be two steps and an act commonly known as a football move.

00:25:24
Speaker 6: Right, and he catches the ball and extends it like this, right off the back because he knows, oh no, this guy's going to try to reach and knock the ball in my hand. He takes two giant steps and is a millimeter away from the third step, hitting the ground right a millimeter like to where like, ooh, the decrete touched the ground. I'm not sure. Now he's not going to turn up field. He's in the end zone. And this is where we're lacking common sense at refereeing. Right now, you saw it live, you thought it was a touchdown, right, that was enough, and then on top of that, it was called a touchdown. And to me, this doing this stending the ball was a football move. Along with the two and three quarter steps he took. There were some questionable calls in that football game last time I checked. When you have to catch a ball, you have to survive the ground. Watching at a normal speed, Aaron Rodgers with the ball trapped on top of his helmet, and the other guy has two hands on the ball too, and we're going to say he caught the ball, even though the process of the ball and catching the ball is not complete until you survive the ground and stand up with the ball.

00:26:25
Speaker 3: That makes no sense.

00:26:26
Speaker 6: So yeah, Baltimore kind of got screwed over yesterday and that one, that's for sure.

00:26:30
Speaker 2: Okay, does this quiet down the Mike Tomlin situation in Pittsburgh at all in your opinion?

00:26:36
Speaker 6: Not?

00:26:36
Speaker 3: Right? I mean for now for a few days.

00:26:39
Speaker 6: But they're still going to be judged by how this ends and what it looks like here down the stretch.

00:26:44
Speaker 2: Okay, let me ask you what Yeah, all right, Yeah, here's a tough question.

00:26:48
Speaker 7: Right.

00:26:48
Speaker 2: You're a Steeler fan, and I say, you can make the playoffs, squeak in, but you won't win a playoff game, or you don't win, you don't make the playoffs, and then the fallout from that.

00:27:04
Speaker 6: I think that's what they want right now, right right? I think they want to change. I think they want change. Yes, just you know, even being there during the Green Bays Pittsburgh Steelers game on Sunday Night Football a few weeks ago, right being there, you could tell the fan base is annoyed with Tomlin and annoyed with the Steelers. So there is something there, and I understand it. I understand. Hey, I've said a lot. It might be like Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles. A time comes where it's just run its course and it's time for everybody to get a fresh new start. I would love if they fired him. I would love it because I want the Giants to get Mike Tomlin. That's what I would want, So please do that, all right? But yeah, I don't you know, Pittsburgh is one of those teams where you go, okay, I mean, yeah, if they're in the playoffs, But I don't know if I really want to see them in the playoffs.

00:27:51
Speaker 3: And they don't make me feel a whole lot.

00:27:52
Speaker 6: Better with the way they played yesterday to just go, oh yeah, they're fixing things and here they go on the road to recovery.

00:28:00
Speaker 3: Buccaneers losing, I mean, could Carolina win the division?

00:28:05
Speaker 6: I mean, I don't expect it. If you're gonna make me bet money, I'm still gonna bet on the Buccaneers. I do think the weather helped them, yeah, I mean hurt them yesterday. The Bucks have to win with their offense. Their defense is just not very good. And it can't make big stops in big moments. So they need That's where you know, Bucky Irvin being back, Chris Godwin being back, maybe they can get Mike Evans back, and Mika Buka's kind of, you know, falling by the wayside here a little bit here. So but they need. They're gonna have to win shootouts. That's the kind of football team they are. And I think the weather yesterday hurt them. And then Tyler Shuck is showing that he's gonna give the Saints some things to think about in the offseason, whether they want to draft a quarterback or stay with him as a starter.

00:28:44
Speaker 2: Talking to Chris Sims, Pro Football Talk Live co host, you guys, get the Vikings and the Cowboys.

00:28:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's what we got this week.

00:28:54
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:28:55
Speaker 6: I'm not even there yet, Yeah, but I think that's what we got, right, You're right.

00:28:59
Speaker 2: Okay, Vikings got a nice win. JJ McCarthy look good. Yes, I'm still not sure about him. No, No, And it's.

00:29:09
Speaker 6: Still early though, and I think we all have to kind of remind ourselves of that isn't a tough spot. There's things he's got to work on. There's no doubt about that. They can help him out a little bit too, you know, they can become a little bit better of a running football team. But his big thing is he needs to develop more variety of throws. I'm sure you've heard that enough now, right, It's the same throw every time, there's just not enough clubs in the bag. And then he's got to stay healthy so he can kind of lay down the train, the framework right to get better week in and leak out. Every time he kind of gets going, something happens as he misses a week or two of practice and can't play, and that's been a big issue too. But I know this is going to be an important last four weeks here to see JJ McCarthy and whether he can solidify himself as the starter there.

00:29:53
Speaker 2: The Browns announced Deshaun Watson is going to come back next year. But you do have Shador Sanders who played really well Tennessee. But he played really he played well, he made some big plays.

00:30:07
Speaker 3: I agree.

00:30:08
Speaker 6: Sad enough though, Yeah, I don't know if I've seen enough right. I would want to see more, but I'm seeing things I like. But you're gonna have a top four draft pick, right, I know they're they're set up right, they're gonna They made that trade with Jacksonville so they could go get Travis Hutter, So they got some picks and they got some things on their team. We know that defense is special. They can add just a little. So few playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.

00:30:35
Speaker 2: You go.

00:30:36
Speaker 6: Cleveland's not that far off. And Shador Sanders, as you see, plays big in the pocket, got a strong arm, has a pretty good feel for the game. He really does. He's in an interception yesterday. Okay, he's a rookie. That was a battery seven. For the most part, though, he's understood that his team's a defensive team. He's taking care of the ball and he kind of pushed the envelope when he needed to yesterday. And Tennessee defense is better than people realize. It's just their offense is so bad it makes their defense look bad at times. But yeah, I'm here. He's gonna put the pressure on the Browns organization. About this quarterback conversation.

00:31:08
Speaker 3: Do you think Deshaun Watson plays again? I don't think so. For Cleveland. I don't expect that. I you know, I know they they said.

00:31:16
Speaker 6: That he'd be back and all that, but if I remember correctly, they can kind of get out of the deal after you know this year, this offseason, they'll have to pay a little bit of a you know, dead money fine there, But all in all, no, I think the Cleveland Brown Deshaun Watson thing is over. It's run its course, and I don't even know why you'd want to flirt with it anymore.

00:31:35
Speaker 3: Right, just be done with it. It didn't work.

00:31:38
Speaker 6: Move on, start a new era with Shador Sanders or whoever they see fit.

00:31:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, And you know, at the start of the year, I said, I just hope that these you know, rookie quarterbacks get a chance, like we get a good sample size that we can go, Okay, that guy can, that guy can. That guy's just starter, that guy's not. And maybe we did that with Dylan Gabriel. They saw enough. Shad Or Sanders is going to give them at least a decision to make if they use one of their top picks to take a quarterback. What would you do if you're running the Browns.

00:32:09
Speaker 6: Oh, That's where I'd want to see these last four games a little bit. They got to protect themselves either way, I would still, no matter what, bring in some sort of veteran to go, hey, if it doesn't work with Shador and Dylan Gabriel, we got a guy here that we know we can put in and play. But I certainly think Shador Sanders looks the part and plays the part better than Dylan Gabriel. That's the one thing I'll sit there and tell you for sure. Yesterday was definitely a good building block. But yeah, before I'd make that call, I think these last four games and how he continues to kind of develop. The offense is expanding a little week by week, so he's more in the trust trade. Let's see where that goes. I'll give you a more definitive answer. Like early January, you got the Eagles and the Chargers. Tonight you got a better handle on which team. Well, I feel like if the Eagles can't run the ball right, which they, I mean, the history here this year tells you they've run the ball good in one game. It was the second time they played the Giants. Yuke are not going to beat the Los Angeles Chargers throwing the football. They have arguably really one of the most well coached, creative secondaries in the sport. So when they get you in to throw the ball. Throw the ball every play mode man and then then that's simple. As we know Philadelphia offense Jalen Hurts not making decisions and throws in the pocket to throw the guys there right, I'm going to take the Chargers winning a close one, even though knowing that the Eagles are the more talented football team.

00:33:35
Speaker 3: Thank you, Chris, Thank you guys. Dan, say hi to those jerks, all right? So I said hi, hey jerks, he says hi.

00:33:41
Speaker 2: And so Chris Simms Pro Football Talk Live co host his podcast Unbuttoned, and I'm telling him what game they have on Football Night America, Sunday Night Football Vikings Cowboys. That'll be a Sunday kickoff at eight twenty eastern. We'll take a break or play the day up next.

00:33:57
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Oh my God, the play of the day.

00:34:13
Speaker 2: God play This is the play of the day.

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00:34:19
Speaker 3: Fourth and one, Chicago.

00:34:22
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00:34:32
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00:34:36
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00:35:10
Speaker 3: By the way.

00:35:12
Speaker 2: On Saturday, the number one rank college football team, Ohio State lost. The number one rank college basketball team lost on the same day. The last time that happened was two thousand and three, when Oklahoma was number one in football, Kansas was number one in basketball.

00:35:29
Speaker 10: Stat of the Day, stat of the Day that past stat of the day. Stat of the day comes that What stat of the day got you buy Penini America? More of your phone calls coming up.

00:35:45
Speaker 2: We'll talk to the Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Babaqua in about a half hour from now. Just got the updated Super Bowl odds and it's the Rams, the Rams plus three to ninety. Then it's the Seahawks at plus six point fifty. Then it's the Packers. So the three best odds are in the NFC. Then it's the Bills, Patriots, Broncos, and then you have Eagles, Texans and the Jaguars. Rams made it look real easy. Matthew Stafford once again. I mean it's going to be a showdown neck and neck with Drake May and Matthew Stafford. That's the seventh game this season. Stafford has had at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Fourth quarterback in NFL history to have at least seven games in a single season. Tom Brady did it, Peyton Manning did it. Aaron Rodgers did it three times. Also, Josh Allen passed for three touchdowns who ran for another. He's the first player in NFL history to have fifty career games with at least a rushing in a passing touchdown. When he runs, I feel different than when Jackson Dart runs or anybody else. I mean Lamar Jackson. When Lamar Jackson was running, I felt like, okay, he'll find a safe haven there. When Josh Allen's running, it feels like the defensive backs are going, oh man, I got to make a business decision here. But he took off for forty yards and that's not a good I mean they're a good team, they're not a great team. This is how it sounded when Josh Allen took off for forty yards.

00:37:37
Speaker 3: Here's the staff back to pass blitz coming.

00:37:40
Speaker 6: Alan steps up in the pocket, forty thirty down to the twenty. Alan looking for the zone and he's in for.

00:37:47
Speaker 3: A forty yard touchdown. Rep The Beast has been released.

00:37:54
Speaker 2: Bill's Radio Network with Josh Allen. You knew who was a beast yesterday, Phoka Nakua. I think he averaged like twenty three and a half yards per reception. Here's Sean McVay, the Rams head coach, on his star receiver.

00:38:10
Speaker 3: He's outstanding.

00:38:11
Speaker 6: You know, he was great.

00:38:12
Speaker 1: I thought the two big in cuts that he caught early on in the game on back to back plays were big. You know, they really got us going.

00:38:20
Speaker 3: And he's you know, to be able to win on the double move.

00:38:23
Speaker 9: Some of the catches that he's making where you know, it's a contested catch, but then he's pulling guys.

00:38:27
Speaker 3: In to be able to score.

00:38:29
Speaker 6: He's a freaking stud love Pooka.

00:38:31
Speaker 2: He is, he is, you know, he's He reminds me of a modern day Jerry Rice from the standpoint of just the standpoint of he doesn't look fast, but he's always fast enough. Jerry Rice never looked fast, but he was all you didn't catch him, and you go back to the combine where he ran a four to six. You know, there's track speed and then there's football speed. And I always thought Jerry Rice had great football speed. And Knacuah same way, big guy, but it just feels like he's faster than you think he is. James in Virginia, Oh how about those commanders, James, thank.

00:39:13
Speaker 7: You for taking my call. But other happy Monday, DP, Dan that salute the commanders. Wow, DP. When I called you back after Week five and Washington was three and two with a big victory over the San Diego Chargers coming home to play the Chicago Bears in seven straight prime time or standalone games game of the weeks. I had no idea that they were going to drop eight straight games and thirty one and nothing against the Minnesota Vikings was very tough to watch. My wife was like, what's wrong, and I was like, just look at the tv, babe. She's like, oh man, oh yeah, Man. It's a tough year for Washington seeing Jayden get knocked out again, man, and you just hope that he can make it through the year and they can figure it out in the off season. Man. But for me, Man yesterday, I think you hit it on the head.

00:40:01
Speaker 3: DP.

00:40:01
Speaker 7: The Buffalo Bills is definitely got to be looking at it as this is their year to go to the Super Bowl and win it. I think the Houston text means, like I said last week, are definitely gonna be a tough out. But I don't know offensively if they can make a super deep playoff run. But that defense is certainly something amazing. And in the NFC, a team that surprised me yesterday the Chicago Bears. They did not play their best game by no means. Caleb Williams was not on point at all, but yet at the end of the game, they were right there with a chance to tie and send it into overtime. And if he just waits one more beat, DJ Morrik's coming wide open with a clear path to the end zone. So I'm excited to see what Chicago can do. But like I said, man, let's go Niners.

00:40:48
Speaker 2: Man, all right, thank you, James. Take the rest of the year off their James coming up, and about thirty minutes from now, we'll talk to the Notre Dame athletic director Pete Pavanka getting snubbed by the college football Playoff Committee and deciding to not play in a bowl game. More of your phone calls as well on this Monday, best and worst of the weekend.

00:41:11
Speaker 3: After this