Commercial Voice (2:42)

Yeah.

Tony Kornheiser (2:42)

You know, that's all I would have said about San Francisco as well. I'm going to go back to the Colts for a second because you're right, they're done. They're out of gas at this point. The injury to Daniel Jones doomed them. Philip Rivers coming in to me is a wonderful story. I think it's time to applaud Philip Rivers for what he did. He kept them close in Seattle. Seattle's a great team. They were right there within striking distance. And then last night he led them to 27 points, which should be enough to win a game. But I think, Mike, I think we have reached the point now where all the people in Indianapolis get up, they give him a standing ovation, and then they send him on his way back home and they make sure that the 10 kids in the suite get party favors, you know, because this is a Lovely story, but he's 02. Yes. He has lost to two great teams, either one of which could win the Super bowl. Yes. But he is 02. So the feel good story is gone right now. The Colts have a couple of games left and you know, they have quarterbacks on the roster. Play those quarterbacks on the roster and everything you said about San Francisco is right. And I don't think we can stress enough. You always say that the Bears division is the toughest division in football. It's not this year. This division in the west is the toughest by far. And Arizona should ask the league to get them out of that division. Just get out. Go to the NFC South.

Mike Wilbon (4:04)

Yeah. Be. Be relegated. Ask for relegation. Relegation, homes. Yeah. Let's turn to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who faced questions about his future in Baltimore yesterday. He told reporters he's not thinking about it, adding, quote I try to do the job, not keep the job. Close quote. The Ravens were among the early super bowl faves, but at 7 and 8, they need help just to make the playoffs. Tony Harbaugh won it all 12 years ago, but has just three playoff wins in the past 10 seasons. So does he deserve to be on the hot seat?

Tony Kornheiser (4:42)

The simple answer is yes, because The Ravens are 7 and 8. John Harbaugh has been there a long time. I believe this is his 18th season. He has had continued success and as you said, you know, he won a Super Bowl. His career mirrors Mike Tomlin's career in the same division. Same problem, same stuff. A few weeks ago when fans chanted fire Tomlin in Pittsburgh, a lot of people wondered, does that make any sense? They wondered, how has he Stayed too long. I didn't wonder about that because I've been in this seat for 25 years, so I'm not wondering about staying too long. I don't think you can pin on harbor the fact that Lamar Jackson is not now what he was. There's a lot of running plays, a lot of absorbed hits. He is a multiple MVP in the league who's had trouble in the playoffs. Only three wins in eight seasons in the playoffs. Maybe you can pin the deterioration of the defense on John Harbaugh, but to me, John Harbaugh has earned at least next year to try and fix the defense which has now given up. Mike. More yards than all but five teams in the league.

Mike Wilbon (5:47)

Tony, the defense was a stunner to us early on because that's how they got in the hole they were in that they couldn't dig out of. But let me tell you something. The offense is why John Harbaugh deserves to be on the hot seat. And if he continues to let Todd Monkin, the offensive coordinator, if he continues that tag team of dumbness where you don't give the ball to Mr. Henry after he scores a touchdown, you don't give it to him for the rest of the game. If you can't figure out that you've got a backup quarterback, I don't care if he fumbled the damn ball. Jim Brown fumbled the ball, Emmett Smith fumbled the ball, Walter Payton fumbled the damn football. If your tag team at the top of the offensive flowchart is too dumb to to give Henry the ball with a backup quarterback and sometimes one possession games, and this is the second year of questioning this. They don't have to be seven and eight. Even with the problems, even with Lamar Jackson reduced. Yes, I said reduced, not injured. If you can't figure that out, you deserve. I love him. He's a great coach. He's a Hall of Fame coach. It's on you that this Ravens team is doing what it's doing at 7 and 8 this year.

Tony Kornheiser (7:03)

You can fire coordinators if you fire the head coach. John harbor will have a job in 30 seconds.

Mike Wilbon (7:08)

Yes, he will.

Tony Kornheiser (7:09)

As Mike Tomlin would have a job.

Mike Wilbon (7:10)

In 30 seconds he would deserve.

Tony Kornheiser (7:11)

Let's turn to Draymond Green and Steve Kerr from last night. They were arguing with each other during a timeout early in the third quarter at home against Orlando. Green got up, walked to the locker room, stayed there until the start of the fourth quarter. Quote, tempers spilled over and I just thought it was best that I got out of there. Unquote, Green said afterwards. Green came back to the bench, did not play the rest of the game. Coach's decision. Kerr said later he did not think this would linger wilb on this incident. Big deal, little deal, no deal.

Mike Wilbon (7:40)

Tony, this is so a fascinating story. If this was almost any other team, any 28 of the 29 other teams or 29, it would be a huge deal. It would be an earth shattering deal. Seven point something on the Richter scale. But it's not. It's these two dudes. This isn't the first time, it isn't the fifth time. Sometimes it's in practice, sometimes it's in games. I know sometimes it's been in games, cuz I've been sitting there watching it. And then what reduces it even more than the being the two of them? They talked about it, they handled it as adult like and as responsibly as you can handle something that public. Draymond talked to reporters all night afterward. Steve Kerr said, I'm not going to talk about the specifics cuz it's private. But he addressed it over and over. And I'm thinking, my God, this is the warriors. This is Kerr and Draymond. And I think I'm gonna reduce it to little deal, if any deal at all.

Tony Kornheiser (8:41)

I'm going lower even than little deal. I think it is virtually no deal. And that is because of this circumstance. Because Draymond green has played 13 seasons now for Steve Kerr. Draymond Green knows Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr knows Draymond Green. You're right. Any other place it might be chaotic, but they have a long history. They have a history of championships and they have a history of crazy behavior by Draymond Green.

Mike Wilbon (9:04)

Yes.

Tony Kornheiser (9:04)

Walking to, walking to the locker room is not like putting a towel over your coach's head, which was done in this league. It's not like in a playoff game refusing to play cuz the coach didn't call your play. And you know who did both of those things? Draymond Green. Look, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr, they are going to get through this. Draymond Green is a known commodity. Ask Jordan Poole. You know, I mean we know who the guy is over a long period of time. We know Steve knows and he knows. Mike, I could tell you it was a more mature action than DK Metcalf taking a swing at that fan. I could tell you that it defused the situation. I would actually give Draymond Green credit for this.

Mike Wilbon (9:50)

You know, I would think they did diffused it. Tone, you're right about that.

Tony Kornheiser (9:54)

That's what I thought. Let's take a break.

Mike Wilbon (9:57)

Coming out of the Odd Couple. Great Odd Couple.

Tony Kornheiser (10:00)

Trent Williams praises Brock Purdy's confidence in the huddle. We're going to ask Jeff Saturday about that.

Mike Wilbon (10:06)

Well, also after to break down the Bears crazy trick play near the goal line that went awry and made me crazy Saturday night.

Tony Kornheiser (10:15)

But if this happens, Mike, if this.

Commercial Announcer (10:17)

Happens with a new Pardon the Interruption is presented by Grey Goose. Make time wait.

Jeff Saturday (10:23)

Please enjoy Response out here, days are getting a little cooler and mornings are starting with a few more layers.

Mike Wilbon (10:30)

It's a season for more time at.

Jeff Saturday (10:32)

The grill and more feed for your animals. That's why season after season, we're here for your life out here. Here Tractor Supply.

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Commercial Announcer (12:08)

Welcome back to Pardon the Interruption, presented by Grey Goose, part of happy hour.

Tony Kornheiser (12:23)

Time to dig into the NFL trenches with our great friend ESPN NFL analyst Jeff Saturday. Jeff let's start with the 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams, formerly in Washington, saying of Brock Purdy in the huddle quote, you got 10 grown men staring at you and you can't fool grown men. The confidence he has is a godsend. He's a baller. Unquote. How important is that in huddle Communication.

Jeff Saturday (12:48)

Oh, it's incredible. And that you get a guy like Williams who's backing you. I mean, is there, you know, this is a first ballot hall of Famer? Who is he Made. Made. You know, just runs people over on the regular. And he's. He's talking about the confidence that this quarterback walks into the huddle with. Like, there's not a. There's not a greater stamp of approval that you can get from your left tackle. And I think it's true. Like, when you look at quarterbacks as a. As a player in the huddle, you can feel whether they believe in what they got going or they don't. I mean, I don't care what. You can't hide it, right? You can't hide trepidation. You can't hide nerves. Like when a guy looks at you and goes, hey, we're going to run this. We're going to get open, we're going to score. Let's go make this happen. You know, if it's just lip service or if it's real, basically what Trent saying is, hey, it's real. When he gets in the huddle, he believes we can do it. He's going to drive us down and make it happen. That's a. That's a massive compliment coming from that cat.

Mike Wilbon (13:41)

Jeff, we're going to ask you to put your offensive coordinator hat on for a second and go back to the Bears packers game Saturday night. The Bears have been running the ball down their packers throat, and yet on 4th and goal, or 4th and 1, they line up in what looks to be a Wildcat play. It was botched, so we don't know exactly what it was, but you've been in that position where something's working and then you go to something else. Ben Johnson is known to have both of them working masterfully, but when you were watching in live time, what were you thinking?

Jeff Saturday (14:18)

It hurt me, right? So don't be too cute, right? When it gets to playoff time and, you know, we talk about this, like, 4th and 4, something like that. You want to bring that in and hey, we're going for it. We want to kind of train, but, you know, you're talking about less than a yard or right at a yard. Right. And, and, and to your point, they're very physical. That guard, center, guard, box that they got, they bring those tackles down, they can move bodies. You know, you got the tight end coming up underneath to fake, and it's going between his legs, and it's just high risk to me, as opposed to Tush push, whatever you want to call it. QB sneak. Let's try to go get the half yard or run a regular play and let's see if we can go run for it now. If it works, it's the coolest play ever, right? So it's always hard to balance those things. So I get it. You know, you run it 50 times in practice throughout the season. You want to work it. Unfortunately, it's a bad snap that costs you at an inopportune time. But look, I'm not going to question much about Ben Johnson. The dude's an absolute boss. But, but, but right there, you know, as an old lineman, especially now, 2020, right rear view. I say let's try to go get that Tush push and go make it.

Mike Wilbon (15:22)

Happen in real time. I was sitting there screaming, run the damn ball. So I didn't even need 2020 on that one. Jeff. In that same game in overtime, the packers botched an exchange on 4th and 1. Malik Willis took the blame. And saying that he changed his cadence with the play clock running down. I mean, how significant is that? Is cadence that huge where you could have that kind of miscommunication and.

Jeff Saturday (15:54)

Absolutely, it's. It's the timing of the play, right? And then you get into a rhythm as a center, as guards, as tackles. Like we listen for inflection. You can feel, you know, when his hut's going to come, right when the ball is going to be snapped. You know, everybody kind of times it up and it really does happen. And again, you're talking about Willis, who's the backup anyway, so he's probably getting maybe 10 snaps with the starting group anyway. And so when you either are quick with it or hesitate, you know, most of the time when it happens, it's typically the quarterbacks in the middle of a cadence and he tips off a blitz. So he wants to slow it down so the defense can't time it, and it ends up being bad. Here he's trying to hurry it, and instead you're trying to hurry the mechanics as well. Get the snap, get the play going, try to get the timing right. And again, inches matter in this point. All of a sudden, the snap is short or the quarterback doesn't ride you the way he's supposed to, his hands, you know, through the snap, and bad things happen. And listen, he owned it. I appreciate that. He owned it. It's both of us, right? It's both and. But it's the quarterback's responsibility. The ball comes up, he's got it, he's got to receive it.

Mike Wilbon (16:59)

He should have just gone. Omaha.

Tony Kornheiser (17:04)

We will get you out of here on this. This is. We're off until the new year, so we won't have the benefit of talking to you next week. Tell us right now, if you can, which team in the nfc, which team in the AFC looks the best to you.

Jeff Saturday (17:19)

Oh, that's tough. I'm going to go. I'm going to go Rams, nfc. And I get. They just had a bad loss against Seattle and they had a big lead and blew the lead and all that. It was a weird, you know, two point convert, the whole thing. I mean, like, when you look at the Rams, how they've lost a couple games, it's. It's perplexing, right? They're, they're, they're such a good team and they lost to Carolina a couple of weeks ago, but they're a complete football team. And I trust the qb, I trust the coach. So I'm going to, I'm going to stick with the Rams at this point. And then ASC is a little tougher for me. I'll probably lean Patriots. And look, I love, I love what Bo, Knicks and the Broncos are doing because of their defense, but there's something about the Patriots and Drake May and being able to come back like he did. Like, there's just something about these guys. And VRA kind of has this rhythm going now. They got to get healthy. I want to see Campbell back. I want to see Mil on the other. Milton Williams, I think is on the other side. They got to get help or one of the D linemen, so. So they got to get a little healthier. But I like both those. I will say this, though. This is the greatest year of football that I've either played or seen. Like, as far as, like, how many teams. There's a legitimate eight teams, in my opinion, that could win the super bowl. And that's crazy. I mean, I could, I can literally remember when I'm playing maybe three or four, you felt like really had a chance. There are eight legitimate. They get hot, they can win this thing. But that's where I am at this point. Two weeks before the playoffs start.

Tony Kornheiser (18:48)

Thank you, Jeff, as always. Thanks for being on.

Mike Wilbon (18:51)

Appreciate you.

Jeff Saturday (18:52)

Merry Christmas, y'.

Commercial Voice (18:53)

All.

Jeff Saturday (18:54)

Merry Christmas. Have a great one, fellas. Yep.

Tony Kornheiser (18:56)

Yep. Let's take one last break. Still to come, UFC and Notre Dame let their rivalry lapse. Who is to blame for that?

Mike Wilbon (19:03)

You know who to blame. You don't want to blame him, but you know who's to blame. I'll point it out if you don't Cavaliers Thomas Bryant takes the tumble while taunting. Good for him.

Tony Kornheiser (19:14)

You know you would blame Notre Dame. You would blame Notre Dame for inflation if you could climate you would blame Notre Dame. Climate warming or snow climate change.

Mike Wilbon (19:23)

I blame Notre Dame.

Tony Kornheiser (19:24)

Yeah, you. I understand that. That's. You know, that's why it's impossible to do a Notre Dame story with you. Because you hate Notre Dame. You do.

Commercial Voice (19:32)

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Commercial Announcer (21:29)

Pardon the interruption is presented by Great Goose. Make Time Wait. Please enjoy responsibly. Part of Happy Hour.

Tony Kornheiser (21:38)

Happy time people. Happy 62nd birthday Jim Harbaugh. Let's wish him happy Birthday with his favorite phrase, an enthusiasm previously unknown to mankind. Harbaugh is currently coaching the Los Angeles Chargers. He has them 114 guaranteed to be in the playoffs. They won seven of the last eight games. They currently sit fifth in the AFC playoff races. A win over Houston this weekend may not move them up, but will surely enhance them. Harbaugh came to the Chargers from Michigan, where he won the national championship in 2023 but had been suspended three games for violating the Big Ten sportsmanship policy. Harbaugh moves around a lot, and he wins a lot. 115 and 46 in college, 66, 29 and one in the NFL.

Mike Wilbon (22:23)

Tony if Harbaugh's Chargers were to win the super bowl this year, a couple of years after winning the college football championship at Michigan, you drop the mic, you walk away, tell people, I don't even want to hear from anybody for like the next five years. Bow your heads when you say my name. If he wins.

Tony Kornheiser (22:43)

If.

Mike Wilbon (22:43)

Big if. But he could. He's that good.

Tony Kornheiser (22:46)

Happy anniversary, Chaminade. On this day 43 years ago, the tiny NAIA school in Honolulu defeated number one ranked Virginia 7772 in what was considered the biggest upset in college basketball history. To that point, Virginia was led by Ralph Sampson. They had just beaten Georgetown with Patrick ewing and the Houston 56 Lamajama team. When the story went over the wires, many newspapers checked several times to make sure it was correct. Almost four decades later, another Virginia team became the first number one seed to lose to a number 16 seed in the tournament when the Cavaliers were beaten by UMBC in 2018. Just two years ago, number one seed Purdue with Zach Eady, lost to a number 16 seed, Fairleigh Dickinson.

Mike Wilbon (23:27)

The story went over to wires. They got the wire stories from Mike Wilbond story because there were no wire service reporters there. I was there. That's it. End of list. So they got the story from the Washington Post with a young reporter's byline on it. 23 years old with hair at the time.

Tony Kornheiser (23:49)

Thank you very much. Whatever happened to Mike Wilbon? He disappeared. Happy trails. Thomas Bryant, the Cavs center, scored a first quarter bucket against the Hornets, taunted defender Con Knippel with the too small celebration, then stumbled over himself onto the floor. It's a year out, but get ready to make the 2026 turkeys list. Thomas. As for Knippel, the rookie guard set an NBA record in Charlotte's loss, becoming the fastest player to sink 100 career threes. In fact, Knippel has the second most made threes in the league this season, just seven behind Donovan Mitchell, one more than Steph Curry.

Mike Wilbon (24:24)

Anybody who gives the too small should be suspended mandatory Suspension one game, one omission.

Tony Kornheiser (24:30)

Brooks Koepko leaving the LIV Golf Tour. The split is amicable. Koepko apparently wants to prioritize his family and be closer to home. You got any comment or can we get quick to the big finish? Let's go.

Mike Wilbon (24:40)

Let's do it.

Tony Kornheiser (24:41)

NBA reportedly considering new ways to keep teams from tanking. Is that necessary?

Mike Wilbon (24:45)

Washington wins. Yeah, but it won't work. It doesn't matter what they do. It ain't gonna work. Southern Cal and Notre Dame called off their rivalry for the next two years. Who's to blame for that?

Tony Kornheiser (24:56)

Well, you blame Notre Dame, even if I take the other side. But USC wants to move the game. Quarterback Linares Sellers will return to South Carolina rather than turn pro. Does that make sense?

Mike Wilbon (25:07)

It does. He has all the physical talent in the world. Some seasoning and some coaching. That kid could be great. The CFP quarterfinals take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. While we're off, which four will still be alive? And we're back.

Tony Kornheiser (25:21)

Upset Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon upset Ole Miss. Last one, Thunder at Spurs tonight. Will the spurs win again?

Mike Wilbon (25:29)

No, no, the spurs are coming. But the Thunder's gonna flex a little and be champs tonight on the road.

Tony Kornheiser (25:35)

We're out of time. We will try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Cornhotge.

Mike Wilbon (25:39)

I'm Mike Wilbon. We're off to Monday, January 5th, knucklehead. And by the way, moving a game ain't the same as canceling the rivalry.

NBA Christmas Day Announcer (25:48)

The NBA is happening Christmas Day. Five games, one unforgettable lineup.

Mike Wilbon (25:55)

That's what Christmas is all about.

NBA Christmas Day Announcer (25:57)

Buckets for breakfast, breakaways for dessert. It's the holiday tradition.

Mike Wilbon (26:01)

Christmas is our day with star power.

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From across the globe.

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The stars, they are going to be out.

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The best gift. You don't even have to unwrap it.

Mike Wilbon (26:10)

We want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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NBA Christmas Day begins at noon Eastern on ABC and espn.