← Scoop City: Inside The NFL
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- [00:00]
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- [00:33]
James Palmer
Knock knock.
- [00:34]
Chase Daniel
Ooh, who's there?
- [00:35]
James Palmer
A Boost Mobile expert here to deliver and set up Your all new iPhone 17 Pro. Designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever.
- [00:41]
Chase Daniel
You call that a knock knock joke?
- [00:43]
James Palmer
This isn't a joke. Boost Mobile really sends experts to deliver and set up your phone at home or work.
- [00:47]
Chase Daniel
Okay, it's just that when people say.
- [00:49]
Diana Rossini
Knock knock, there's usually a joke to go with it.
- [00:51]
James Palmer
Like I said, this isn't a joke.
- [00:53]
Chase Daniel
So the knock knock was just you knocking?
- [00:55]
James Palmer
Yeah, that's how doors work.
- [00:56]
Chase Daniel
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro delivered and set up by an expert wherever you are. Delivery available for select devices purchased at boostmobile.com, terms apply.
- [01:04]
Sponsor Voice
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- [02:25]
Chase Daniel
I Mean, let's just talk about real quick, the Nick Foles tweet. Oh, it was the tweet of the year. And our producers are going to put it in, but this is on. It has like 15, 16 million views. He talks about how the Patriots struggle with backup quarterbacks going in.
- [02:50]
Diana Rossini
Welcome to Scoop City on a Wednesday. I'm James Palmer. Please don't forget to like and subscribe because we got the dream team back together again today. We got Chase Daniel. We got Diana Rossini, the athletics senior NFL insider. Look at this. We got everybody in the house because it's a packed show. Who doesn't know about a backup quarterback stepping in to the top stage? Then Chase Daniel going to talk about Jarrett Stidham and what he could see from a guy that he knows very, very well, a coach that he knows very, very well. What could we see from Denver's offense? Chase Daniel will break that down for us. And speaking of breakdowns, he'll also break down a Drake May and Matthew Stafford X's and O's for us. O love when we get into the film and all the fallout from the Buffalo bills, Sean McDermott is out of a job. And then we have a very interesting press conference before we get to that press conference. Hello, friends. How are we doing on this Wednesday of championship week?
- [03:43]
Chase Daniel
It's just Yalls world. You know, we haven't been together in a long time. But the thing is, before the show, I was saying you guys are rocking it, by the way, and it's your season. I'm, like, very exhausted from college season and football season. But, James, you and Diana are just. This is your super bowl right now, and you guys are. You guys are crushing it. Let's go.
- [04:02]
Diana Rossini
Diana's been crushing it.
- [04:03]
Chase Daniel
Let's go.
- [04:04]
James Palmer
It's been relentless, guys. Like, it's. It's one of those, you know, you don't even have, like a minute to take a shower type of seasons, which I'm sure you can see that.
- [04:12]
Chase Daniel
Stanky.
- [04:14]
Diana Rossini
So I can't smell through screens, but smell.
- [04:18]
Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [04:19]
James Palmer
Look, James, I know everyone you talk to is saying the same thing that they're saying to me. No one's. No one has seen a cycle like this ever. Like, this is the most aggressive cycle in terms of firings and hirings and. And moving parts, really. Right. Because you have a lot of coaches that are playing this weekend. They're on the board for some of these openings, some of these coordinator positions as well. And this stuff needs to unfold. And I do think there's Like, a feeling of urgency, yet there's nothing you can do about it. You kind of have to just sit and wait. So. So as you see Buffalo, the latest team that.
- [04:49]
Diana Rossini
That's jumping in on this thing, it's unbelievable. Look, it's like Patrick Mahomes doesn't make the post season, and everybody goes, we got a chance for you to succeed.
- [04:56]
Chase Daniel
We're firing our head coach a third of the league. I mean, when was the last time there's been 10? Like, I don't. I don't follow it. What do you guys know the last time there was 10? I mean, usually it's seven to eight, but 10.
- [05:09]
James Palmer
I think it was, like, 2017. But, yeah, it's. It's. This is a lot I haven't seen. Like, usually some. There's usually some dork out there who puts it out. Historically, I haven't seen it, but I'm just trying to go off the top of my head of when. When was it the craziest.
- [05:24]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, but the category of coaches, it's.
- [05:27]
James Palmer
Not the amount of openings. It's which openings. Like, I can't believe we're talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills right now. I cannot believe that there's openings. The Bill's opening has got to be maybe one of the best openings since we saw Green bay Open in 2019 when Matt Laflor got it.
- [05:41]
Diana Rossini
And we were kind of saying that about the Ravens. By the way, our resident dork Jeremy says 2022. In terms of Diana's loving reference of the dorks out.
- [05:49]
James Palmer
Sorry, Jeremy.
- [05:50]
Chase Daniel
Last two MVPs, though. Last two MVPs open.
- [05:53]
Diana Rossini
That's what's crazy, you know, blue blood franchises, all these different things. Well, let's start with that. I'm gonna play for you guys. Just a little clip of Bill's owner, Terry Pula, who I saw in that Bill's locker room. He w a lot what I witnessed, which was a locker room that was unlike many I've ever seen in terms of the devastation that transpired. A lot of what happened in that loss in the divisional round to the Broncos maybe was because of the roster. Terry had a few thoughts. Mack, roll this.
- [06:20]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, can I interrupt? I'll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I'm not saying Brandon wouldn't have drafted him, but he wasn't his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player. And, you know, he's taken for some reason. Heat over it and not saying a word about it. But I'm here to tell you the true story.
- [07:04]
Diana Rossini
Is it over?
- [07:05]
Chase Daniel
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my entire life.
- [07:08]
Diana Rossini
It's over.
- [07:08]
James Palmer
Rule number one of Fight Club, you don't let everybody know who picked who, whether it was a home run hit or if it was an absolute bust. And to do that. And look, this is what's cool about being an owner. Nobody cares what you have to say.
- [07:22]
Chase Daniel
You don't answer to anyone.
- [07:23]
Diana Rossini
You don't care what you have to say, Diana. But you can't do anything about it.
- [07:26]
James Palmer
You can't do anything about it.
- [07:27]
Chase Daniel
You don't answer to anyone. You can say whatever the heck you want. Here's my thing. And I want to. I want your thought too, guys, because you guys are obviously much more adapted owners talking. But when you throw your coach who got you to the playoffs for the first time, like 15 years and old Coach Shamander under the bus. I mean, literally under the bus. And then Keon Coleman, who is still on the roster, if I'm Keon Coleman, right? And I'm from a player's perspective, bye, bye. Trade me. Get me out of there. You're literally talking crap about me. And then, I mean, X is undefeated. Twitter's undefeated. Because then, of course, right when that was said, everyone on Twitter finds the combine of. Of Brandon Bean saying, oh, I'm so glad he ran a 4, 61 or 4, 6 5. That'll make us get them a lot easier. What? Who's lying here? Like, like that clip. Like that clip goes completely. It's like, I don't get it. I don't get it.
- [08:27]
Diana Rossini
I don't know how Keon Coleman stays on this roster. Honestly.
- [08:32]
Chase Daniel
Get him out.
- [08:32]
Sponsor Voice
I don't.
- [08:32]
Diana Rossini
And I don't know what you do. I don't know what you do moving forward. He's the most popular. He's almost being talked about more than Sean McDermott coming out of this press conference because he is a current player on the roster. As Chase said, they thought he was going to have a very good year. It did not transpire that way. But you are. And the part that Diana, doesn't make any sense to me is when Terry Pegula says, and Brandon has taken a lot of heat over this. You're the general manager. I'm sorry, you take heat for when roster moves don't work out a criteria and it's part of the job. So we have general managers, right?
- [09:09]
James Palmer
We have general managers in football who Listen to the show. So listen up guys who are listening. This is the reality. The relationships that the general managers have with owners in football are always strong and usually better than what the head coach has simply because they're spending more time with them, because they are more communicative, because they've got more time. Right. Head coaches are slammed all day long, wall to wall with all the issues, whether it's players, whether it's just internal things. We know how much they handle. General managers don't have as much on their plate and they can communicate and they usually are the ones that are required to keep the owner in, in the loop. And I do think this helps. It's relationship 101. And the story of the general manager is going to land on the desk of the owner over the head coach just because of that. And I'm not saying that Brandon Bean is a bad general matter. I don't think that's true. They've gone in the playoffs eight times. It's. It's just the way this has played out. You would think Sean McDermott was a bozo and that is not the case. That is not the way the league feels about him. It's not the way that locker room feels about him. And I, I'm. The only thing that was a bit jarring was the Pugulas have always operated very classy. I was surprised. Their irritation and frustration with the way this ended came out in the press conference. The way in which it did, I thought I was going to see like, I get it. They're, they're, they're feeling it like the fan bases. But to blame Sean McDermott, I didn't think that that was fair.
- [10:50]
Diana Rossini
Can I just say what you should have said?
- [10:52]
Chase Daniel
Ready?
- [10:52]
Diana Rossini
I'm Terry Pegula. When I went in that locker room at the divisional game, I could see that we have gotten to a point that a change needed to be made. We consistently have gotten to a very high level. We need to make a change in some capacity. I chose Sean McDermott myself. But we have been right there. Thanks to Sean. We thank him for everything he's done for this organization. We were not perceived the way we've been perceived over the last eight, nine years for the last money prior to him getting here. So we have to thank him for everything that he has done. But I decided to make a change to get us to that next step. We're going to see what we can do with our next head coach and we're excited about it. And Brandon lead our search.
- [11:31]
Sponsor Voice
Golf.
- [11:32]
James Palmer
That's hosting. Stop hosting shows and reporting. Go to public relations.
- [11:36]
Diana Rossini
Because that's, it's simple. Like, it just, I feel like they have botched this from the beginning. You don't do the Brandon Bean promotion in the same press release as firing Sean McDermott.
- [11:47]
Chase Daniel
I just misprint too, by the way.
- [11:51]
Diana Rossini
Whoa. Police chase Daniel Griffin.
- [11:53]
Chase Daniel
Police versus AD adm. Like, but here, here's the thing from the locker room too. And I would agree with you, they are known as like a classy organization. I know most guys on that Buffalo Bills team. When you see an owner come out with a smear campaign on a coach that these Buffalo Bills guys did not want fired, you are not happy. You are not happy. Like, like you do everything in your power to send this coach off who, who, by the way, did so much for your organization. When it was at the bottom, they brought him in and it was at the bottom. I mean, it was, we were not talking about the Bills like it was Jim Kelly day. And then you go out and you smear. Now, I don't know if it was his intention to, but it just looks a little funny from a player's perspective. And here's the thing too, Diane, I'm going to add to your point about general managers watching the show. There is the week of general managers and head coaches. The head coaches are so busy, like you were saying, but they're usually in on conversations and they usually get time with the owner at some point during the week and they usually are talking to the gm. They're usually building game plan. You know, the three hours during the entire week that the head coach is not understanding of what's going on between the GM and the owner. You know, those three hours, it's called game day. It's called game day. So those three hours are the most important hours of the week on how the owner perceives the head coach because it's so easy. And I'm not saying Brandon Bean does this, but I know some GMs absolutely do. To nitpick from a suite in a box way up in the air and say, well, he should have done that different. Well, he should have done that different. And even if that's not the case, and then the, the head coach and the GM get on the same page after the game. Oh, this is why it happened. Those words time and time again can play into an owner's thought process. On moving on from a coach, the owner, the head coach cannot defend himself during those three hours of the week. And that's to me, that's to Me, what it looks like happened when they're sitting in the box and they're sitting in Buffalo's there and they're out there fighting for their lives in Denver. That's what it looks like happened to me.
- [14:00]
Diana Rossini
I've had that conversation multiple times with head coaches. It's, it's a big thorn in the side chase of head coaches the way they think. I'll add one little nugget because we do need to move on because Diana has news and we need to get to it. I like that it was phrased the coaching staff made that point. I do know a lot of coaches lose their jobs for loyalty to members of their staff. I'll just say this. I believe that was more of a staff pick than a Sean McDermott pick, to my understanding in terms of Keon Coleman. So that was Sean going to that for those on his staff in terms of who really, really wanted Keon Coleman and we'll see what his future is essentially there. Okay, let's stick with that spot in Buffalo, Diana and go where do things go from here? Who could they be looking at? Is it a familiar face that's from the region that could be a candidate to come into Buffalo and, and be their next head coach?
- [14:46]
James Palmer
Well, they're getting right to this. Right. So they had the press conference on Wednesday here and they're going to begin interviews with former New York Giants head coach Brian Dabel in person in Buffalo, followed by Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Anthony Weaver is going to be in that mix to the Dolphins defensive coordinator who's also up for those head coaching jobs with the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Arizona Cardinals. And from what I gather both the Ravens and the Steelers are staying in touch with him and his camp in terms of like, they like him. So I could see him being a finalist for those jobs. But Buffalo is in. Is it on Weaver as well? You have Joe Brady who's the offensive coordinator there. That's an in house candidate that they'll interview. Joe Brady is also interviewed for other head coaching openings like Arizona. So they're going to give him a shot to see if, if he could take over here. So the direction that I understand that they're to go in here, it's kind of a mix of what we've talked about in the past here, about what, what organizations are looking for. It's a bit of that sort of leader of men, you know, those qualities that we saw in Sean McDermott. But I'm, I believe they are leaning more towards the offensive side of this thing. Right? And it makes sense, right? Josh Allen, it's about his success and giving him that support. And I do think that's why someone like Brian Dable gets an interview. Obviously, based on what he did in New York, the report card is just okay. But what he's done with Josh Allen is a different story. So we'll, we'll see if that actually works. He's obviously from Buffalo. It makes sense. But I'm sure he's gonna have to explain a lot of things that went on in New York because of course, you know, you guys know this. Brandon Bean has very strong connections and a strong friendship with the general manager of the New York Giants and that being Joe Sh. So they've all been together, they all know each other well. They know their strengths, they know their weaknesses. So we'll see how this plays out. But they're gonna do some of these interviews up in Buffalo and then, then they're also gonna do some of them down in Boca in Florida where, where the Pula family resides.
- [16:58]
Diana Rossini
So the candidates get to say, hey, can I go to Miami for my interview?
- [17:02]
James Palmer
Or I literally had a conversation with the candidate about that today. He's like, any chance that we can have a choice, like if we could do Florida? I'm like, I laughed. I'm like, sounds, sounds good. But probably I'm Brian Dable and Lou Anna Rumo. I want to be in Buffalo and I want to be there right now. Right? And those are the interviews they're getting. Because teams do this on purpose. There's a reason why it's lined up the way it is. Anthony Lynn is also in that mix. Of course he has those connections and a history with Buffalo, so he'll meet with them on Saturday. So Buffalo is off and running.
- [17:33]
Diana Rossini
Okay, Buffalo's off and running. And now, and I want Chase's take on this next one. Mike McDaniel landing in, in Los Angeles with the Chargers. Now, Chase, you know, and I will first let you know, you give us why this happened, how this happened. Then Chase, follow up with what you expect to see out of this offense.
- [17:54]
James Palmer
Okay, so Mike has had a lot of options as we know. Guys, Chase, I'm sure you've been observing this from, from your seat. The offensive minded coach right now is missing in this, in this cycle. It teams are struggling with figuring out who is going to come in here and run the off, which I feel like in years past that wasn't a problem. But, but right now it is. And so that's why you see Someone like a Mike McDaniel come from, from Miami, get fired there, and now appeared to have a lot of different options. He backed out of the Cleveland Browns job because he knew this Charger thing was going to work for him. He had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles on the table as well as offensive coordinators. But he chose Justin Herbert. He put, he chose the Chargers organization, he went out there, he met with them, they had dinner all together and, and he was pretty sold on it all. Of course, family's always a part of this. His wife is from California. That doesn't hurt, right? If you're familiar with the area. So look, I think Philly was in on him hard. Tampa Bay was in on him hard. He could have had either of those. But in the end, he chose Justin Herbert.
- [19:00]
Chase Daniel
Who would you rather coach is the tweet I put out. Would you rather coach Justin Herbert? Would you rather coach just Jalen Hurts? Or would you rather coach Baker Mayfield Field? And I'm, I'm with you. I, I think that this offensive coordinator opening was the best job out there. I mean, I really do. I think, I think that Justin Herbert, in terms of offensive play calling and in terms of what Justin Herbert does, well, it's everything. I mean, here's the thing about Justin. He needs to get past the playoff game. He needs to stay healthy. He needs to win a playoff game. And if you look at the offenses that Justin Herbert played under, really, Greg Roman, like, I like him, right? And I, and I applaud Harbaugh for making a change when a change is needed. You've never really thought of Greg Roman as this throw the ball down the field, play action type guy. It's just really not sort of what he did. And he made it work in la. You look at Joe Lombardi, and I was there with him for Justin Herbert's, I guess the two years, three years he was with him. Well, I was there two years. I think Lombardi was there three. It's a different style offense you need. It's really, it's. It's the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints offense where it's a lot of quick game, some play action, throw it up shots, right? Then you look at what Mike McDaniel can do, and he is an under center at his core. Shanahan disciple that loves to use a lot of shifts, a lot of motions, a lot of personnel groupings and throw the freaking football down the field. You just look at his 2A days. He sort of switched his offense up a little bit because two Likes to get the ball out to is a one progression quarterback. In my mind. Justin Herbert is a multiple progression quarterback. So imagine the offense in Miami now maybe possibly getting to a second or third progression, throwing the football, pushing it down the field. And then the run game scheme to me is excellent. It's not just power, it's not just duo. It's not just all the. It's multiple different variations of the run game and personnel groupings. And you look at Omari and Hampton, you look at getting both those all Pro tackles back. Lad McConkey, Quentin Johnson, and you got to get, you know, maybe Keenan Allen comes back. Like it's going to be. That's why I think it's the best opening. And I just think Herbert ceiling is still there. Like, I don't think he's reached his potential. Not even close. And so you go with a good deal defense. It doesn't hurt that you go from Miami to la. It just makes a whole lot of sense for me.
- [21:34]
James Palmer
Yeah.
- [21:35]
Diana Rossini
Can you do what he does?
- [21:36]
James Palmer
I love that we have a quarterback on the show. I just. Because you lay it out in such real terms. Right. Like James and I know the game very well, but. But when you hear it from you, you. It's so clear. It makes so much sense. James, what do you think of the personality matchup between Jim and Mike?
- [21:54]
Diana Rossini
They're both quirky. Everybody. I mean, the tweets were flying. This is a buddy cop sitcom comedy. We need a reality show. All these different things. What I am fascinated. Chase laid out a lot of things and I think Mike does a lot of those. Diana. I really do. I think this team and I. And my understanding was they needed to modernize some things. They needed to change some things schematically to protect Justin, to kind of, you know, change the way they do it, to kind of push it through.
- [22:17]
Chase Daniel
Modernize is a good word.
- [22:19]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. And that was kind of the word that was given to me. But how much of this is going to still be. Because I was told Jim Harbaugh's offense, like, Jim is still going to be there. Like, I mean, Jim's still going to say we run the ball like I do. I am fascinated to see how this dynamic chase does work. And there's a young tight end in this, by the way, that you didn't mention that I also think is very talented.
- [22:40]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [22:40]
Diana Rossini
So, yeah, they got weapons.
- [22:42]
Chase Daniel
Well, here's. Here's my thought on. That's actually a really good point, James. If Mike McDaniel, like the inn you were saying was up for every single offensive coordinator job and even some head coach jobs. This makes me think that Harbaugh is saying, hey, we want to be able to run the football, but I'm giving you full anonymy on it. Like I am giving it all to you and to let you run it now. Of course Harbaugh's still going to have his hand in it and, and stuff like that. But this makes me think, I don't know, because of the fit personality wise, doesn't make sense. It just seems like he's going to have full control over this offense because how else would you get him away from Philly who has a two time super bowl quarterback, an mvp, super bowl mvp, all this stuff. Like I get it, I, I think he's going to have more control than maybe we think.
- [23:30]
Diana Rossini
Okay, Diana, you mentioned Philly very quickly if you can do this, because I know you have to run. Diana's got like 90 jobs. Can you touch on the attractability of Philly right now? Because I know they had kind of at the top of the list, Mike McDaniel, Brian Dabel, Dable still kind of fishing around and then possibly who Robert Sala's offensive coordinator could be in Nashville.
- [23:51]
James Palmer
Yeah, it's kind of all connected. Right, because you've got Philadelphia right now who they want to fill this role and they lost out on Mike McDaniel. They would like Brian Dable. Brian Dibel is going to be interviewing for what I would consider probably his dream job. He's. He's from Buffalo to be the Buffalo Bills head coach. So he's going to get that shot.
- [24:12]
Diana Rossini
It's every fan, Buffalo's job like dream.
- [24:15]
James Palmer
If he doesn't get the Bills job though, right. You still have other opportunities for him. And by the way, we're not even counting the coordinator jobs for the coaches that are in line to get the head coaching jobs. The coaches that are playing this weekend who have head coach opportunities who want Dable to go with them. Right. So he's really going to be able to have their pick. And from the sense I'm getting, Tennessee really wants Dable. I think Dable really wants to be there. This seems like this will work out if Buffalo were to go in a different direction from Dable. So that's great news for Tennessee if that works out because you've got Cam Ward. And I do think Dable being around a young quarterback that he can shape and mold is valuable over let's say Philadelphia, where Jalen's very set in the way he does it. And, and that Philadelphia staff is very set in the way they're doing it now. From what I understand, Philly was open to giving both McDaniel and Brian Dable a lot of control of this offense. Like this was their show. So of course it's still always going to be on the table for Dable in terms of Philly. We'll see what he winds up deciding in the end. But now the Eagles are going to have to put together a list of. All right, who else? And they, they have a list and they've been reaching out to different candidates. But you know, you look around the league, who's available that would make sense. Brian Callahan is out there. You have Zach Robinson from Atlanta, the offensive coordinator from last year. Is. Could that be a possibility? Obviously Bobby Slowik is another choice. So this is just something, I think Philly may have to be patient and wait a little bit before they get their guy. And if the Buffalo job is filled, let's just say it's an offensive minded guy and they decide they want to move on from Joe Brady, maybe Joe Brady becomes an option for the Eagles. So it's. You said it before and I think I read it on Twitter too, what your opinion about it. I don't think we need to do a lot of digging and, and reporting on how these coaches are viewing these jobs. In terms of the value of the quarterback. If Mike McDaniel had his choice and he picked Justin Herbert, I believe that tells you who he thinks is the best quarterback of those three. If Brian Dabel sits there and picks Tennessee, I think that also tells us a lot.
- [26:34]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, I mean, I have a question.
- [26:36]
James Palmer
Sure.
- [26:37]
Chase Daniel
So we've seen four head coach openings go to four former head coaches. How important is that factor James or Diana in teams searches that they want some stability. Maybe.
- [26:52]
James Palmer
Yes. Well, it's experience. Right. Nobody is patient. Nobody wants to sit there and, and go through the growing pains of a first year head coach. Especially if you have a team that's built to win now and even on the other side of it, you don't have a team built now to also have a head coach. Not knowing what he's doing is, is, is hard.
- [27:10]
Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [27:11]
James Palmer
And it's also risky to hire a first time head coach because you don't know what it's going to be. You don't know what it's going to look like. And most of these teams want identity immediately. And how can you guarantee that if you've never done it before? You have to really believe in somebody that they can do it. Which is why I think you're seeing a lot of these guys that have either been head coaches before or close to it. Like an Anthony Weaver really be, you know, kind of running the show right now.
- [27:37]
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
- [27:37]
James Palmer
First time head coaches are going to be behind the eight ball.
- [27:40]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. It is such a copycat league. It's almost like and I was hearing this about a couple of these organizations, Diana, whether they've had their coach for a long time in Pittsburgh, in Baltimore and Buffalo, it's like, whoa, whoa. If they moved on, then maybe we should move on. Like, honestly, owners are humans too. They think about things like this a little bit and it wouldn't be the same thought process obviously as who you're hiring to replace them as well.
- [28:01]
Chase Daniel
We need shirts made. Owners are humans too. And give us our every owner at.
- [28:04]
James Palmer
A press conference that appreciate that right now.
- [28:08]
Diana Rossini
I think some people do debate that. Diana, you're the greatest. Get back to work. Chase is going to break down some X's and O's with Drake May and Matthew Stafford next. You can't miss this on Scoop City.
- [28:21]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
- [28:43]
James Palmer
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- [28:59]
Chase Daniel
Come and gone once again, but if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now. You call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose? Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch limited time.
- [29:18]
James Palmer
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- [29:30]
Diana Rossini
All right. Welcome back to Scoop City on a Wednesday. James Palmer, Chase, Daniel with you as we break down these quarterbacks in the two conference championship games. We'll start with the AFC where Chase the role of a backup quarterback is what if your starter Goes down. Let's have you in a position to win a handful of games to keep this season afloat. We saw it with Davis Mills. We saw it with Mac Jones. Well, now these handful of games are two, and we need Jarrett Stidham to win them both. And he wins a Super Bowl. No pressure to our boy Stiddy, who's one of the best dudes in the league. You know him well. I was just talking to him on Saturday night before he had any knowledge of Bo Nick's postseason being over. How is this week going for Jarrett Stidham? Take us inside that building. You know Sean Payton better than anybody that's talking in front of a camera. And you know Jarrett Stidham this week. What is transpiring in Dove Valley?
- [30:24]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, it's so, it's crazy, man. First of all, before we even get into that, I know you saw it, and I know everyone saw it. Did you see. I mean, let's just talk about real quick, the Nick Foles tweet. Oh, it was the tweet of the year, and our producers are going to put it in, but this is on. It has like 15, 16 million views. He talks about how the Patriots struggle with backup quarterbacks going in key games. In key games. Look, I know that this, this sort of reminds me of the Nick Foles type thing, because I know what kind of players did them as I know Foles got some other games, as, you know, warmups. But when you're in a situation like this, like, I've been in a situation similar, obviously, like, not AFC championship game, but in 2018, short week week. Going into the Thanksgiving Day game for the Chicago Bears, Mitch Trubisky messes up his shoulder, right? And, and I think it was like the quickest turnaround time because we had played Sunday night, and we were playing like Thursday, like 30 minutes before the, I think it was like 11:30am start or something, whatever it was. And so we had very little time. And it was just one of those things where instincts take over. As a backup quarterback, like, you try not to think too much about the game plan. You, you just trust your ph. Ability. And with, with Jared Stidham, like the game in Sunday and it's hoopla, and all of a sudden, like, I, I, I can just, I know the feeling because Sean Payton's like, he comes up to the media, he says, the media. He didn't even tell the players. And then you go to.
- [31:58]
Diana Rossini
I was waiting for Bo Nix.
- [31:59]
Chase Daniel
We're sitting there waiting for Bo, and, And you go in. And then you probably go straight to Jared Situm. And. And I guarantee you this is how. Because I know, Sean, this is how the conversation went. Moment. Nick's broke his ankle. Let's go, bro. You're up and walks away like, that's it. Because you don't want to put too much pressure on them. And then the. The. The amount of thought process that goes in from Jared Stidham, you're probably thinking about a thousand different things. But ultimately, Monday, you're in the. You're in the building, and you're like, all right, let's put this game to breast. Let's get started on this Patriots team. And you're probably doing advanced scouting. Then Tuesday, I just. I know how this system works. Works. You're in there for eight hours on the off day, and you're watching the last four Patriots games, and Situm's doing his thing, the coaching staff's doing this thing. Okay, what does City do better? What does City do? Well, how do we get these. These matchups? And then Wednesday, like today, we're filming this on Wednesday, it's, dude, you're right into base first, second down. And I don't know how the Patriots or I don't know how the Bronx have been doing it, but a lot of times later in the season, it's almost like a walkthrough. And that's sort of. Of stinks for backup quarterbacks. Like, you want that full rep on Wednesday. So in reality, James, if they are doing a Wednesday practice, City's only going to get Thursday and a red zone Friday to throw with these receivers. That's the biggest thing I think, for a backup quarterback is like, Stitty has been running the scout team all year. City would have been Drake May against the Broncos starting defense if Bo Nicks was playing, if that makes sense. So now all of a sudden, you're. You're running your plays with your receivers, trying to get on the same timing. So it is a little bit of an interesting process. And here's one thing, and I'll let. I know I've been talking a lot, but I just. Here's the one thing that I think a lot of people may have wrong with this game. There is no way in hell that Sean Payton is going to not go out swinging, meaning Jared Stidham is going to throw the football all over the yard. Like, they love steady. They love what he can do. They're going to throw the football. First of all, they don't have a run game. You have to throw the football against this Patriots team, the one matchup I'm going to be looking at is how does he handle protections versus Patriots team that likes to blitz a lot.
- [34:13]
Diana Rossini
Great point. That's a great point. I'm looking at the receivers he has. Is Christian Gonzalez going to follow Cortland Sutton around? He was most likely going to do that.
- [34:20]
Chase Daniel
I would.
- [34:20]
Diana Rossini
Collins last week. I would. And the next two guys might be down, essentially, and Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant. So we'll leave Marvin Mims is that other receiver. Two other little nuggets that I have there is. Remember, on the first day of free agency with Sean Payton as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, he made three moves. Getting Jarrett Stidham was one of them. He paid two years, $10 million for Stidham. He wanted him in the building. And I also wanted to add this chase before we move on to your X's and O's on Drake May, the two things I would keep an eye on, and this is just from some offensive coaches that I texted cadence. You've heard it from one voice the entire year. For the. For the last two years, you've only as an offensive player heard it from one voice.
- [34:59]
Chase Daniel
Right.
- [35:00]
Diana Rossini
So even when it's delivered in the huddle, that's. It's only been one voice. Like you can misunderstand something that's just a little one. And then at the line, I think them being at home certainly helps, actually, because of the crowd noise. And the other one is timing. And timing being the other one with these guys.
- [35:16]
Chase Daniel
The cadence thing is actually fascinating because when I watch, and it's maybe to a blind eye, but when I'm watching starters like Knicks like, it's white 80. What he said hut. And he's. He's going out on the second set. Hut of. He's getting the ball and the center's going and everyone moves in motion. And I've seen some backups this year, it's like wide 80. Why did he said hut. And they're waiting for the ball. And it's. I'm telling you each and every play, if that offensive lineman is 0.3 to 0.5 seconds just behind, it's not in Denver's face favor. It's not in Denver's favor at all. So I actually think here's. Here's the wild thing. Here's the wild thing. I actually think being at home hurts them more.
- [35:59]
Diana Rossini
You just want to just go silent and go.
- [36:01]
Chase Daniel
I would way rather use silent cadence because they're used to it and it's easier now. Now, I don't think it's going to be a huge deal, but it's definitely something to watch. That's a great point by you.
- [36:11]
Diana Rossini
All right, cool.
- [36:12]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
Appreciate it.
- [36:12]
Diana Rossini
Thank you. Thank you for having a few. That's wonderful. Drake May, the quarterback on the other side. We have a bit of a breakdown here against this Denver Broncos defense. Little X's and O's. You want to take us through about a guy who is in the MVP conversation. Hell could win the mvp. We'll see. But that has yet to be determined. He'd like to be not attending that ceremony at NFL honors. He'd like to be preparing for us the super bowl in a couple of days. What do you see from Drake May when you break down the film chase?
- [36:38]
Chase Daniel
Yeah. Before we break down the actual play, like, I think that Drake May to me has played MVP level ball. And if you look at the stat sheet, just pure stat. If you're just stat watching from this Houston Texans game and you're saying, oh, low completion percentage, didn't throw for 200 yards, you're gonna say, ah, he probably didn't play that well. I thought Drake May and I called the game for the ESPN app, the Monday Night Football playbook, whatever for the divisional game. So I had a front row seat. Like I thought he played really, really well because he made some throws in critical situations in look, the pocket presence needs to be there. But let's roll the tape because this is one of the most critical situations. This is going to be a Cover 0 blitz. And when you're blitzing in Cover 0, you got to make sure you have answers. First of all, he, he says hut right. He protects it. You see him pointing left and that's Pop Douglas in the slot. It's clearly cover zero. Do you have a built in answer? Yes. That's actually pretty good coverage by Bullock. Right. But you're able to pinpoint he got a finger on this roll too.
- [37:42]
Diana Rossini
It was.
- [37:42]
Chase Daniel
He got a finger on it. But watch Drake May point to the left. He gets his protection set. He understands that the back is free releasing to the right. And he understands he has to beat the nickel pressure coming off the side. It doesn't get to him. Pop Douglas closes and closes, face against them and is able to. I just thought here, to me this is just such growth from May. All right, let's Mike 39 means send the center to the left. When we do that, hey, I know I got to beat 5 Petri, not so much. And then able to throw him open. And I just think the, the growth and the mindset behind what Drake May has done, specifically Josh McDaniels. And I think that's going to be a key this week is how Josh McDaniels sort of schemes open players versus Denver's team. And I actually really, I mean, you know, I like the Denver Broncos defense a lot. I, I think that the Broncos defensive line could have a huge day. Specifically the left side where the Patriots had go rookie left guard, rookie left tackle. How is, how are they going to handle that? Are they going to do overload fronts? Drake May's pocket presence hasn't been good. And I think that Drake May, to me, they're going to have to win this game through Drake May's arm. And so it's going to be fascinating to see how well they can do it, how well they have things schemed out.
- [39:06]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. The part that I'm looking at that ties in entirely to what you're saying is Denver Broncos top five team in pressure rate, top five team in blitz rate. Do they blitz that much Chase against Drake, who's had a tremendous season against the blitz, as you just showed it. And you know what, there's people in that locker room that I've talked to that said, we have Zach Allen, Nick Bonito, Jonathan Cooper, John Franklin Myers, Malcolm Roach this front. We don't need to blitz as much as we blitz. It's interesting, in an AFC championship game, would you change what you're used to doing? Because they do kind of have a way they do things defensively. Do you change your colors? Let's see. Because you know, I could see them doing that a little bit and going, hey, we can win. Look at what Houston did. They did win on that left side. Will Anderson, speed to power guy. Nick Bonito is a speed to power guy. He's the second fastest get off in football behind Miles Garrett. So I just. They're a speed rush team. Could they maybe change their sense in how they blitz a little bit? I think that's.
- [39:58]
Chase Daniel
Here's the one. Yeah, I do. And here's the one thing, like when you say blitz and a lot of people probably like, oh my gosh, they're bringing all these crazy.
- [40:07]
Diana Rossini
Like he likes Torres strong. He moves for a one on one matchup. There's five. Exactly.
- [40:12]
Chase Daniel
And that's what I'm saying. Like I, I don't think you change it at all. I think in fact you do more. Five man fronts. It's called a bear front. So left tackle, left guard, center, right Guard, right tackle, they're all covered by guys. Whether it's 1A linebacker or whether it's 5B lot, whatever.
- [40:25]
Diana Rossini
Win a one on one. Yep.
- [40:26]
Chase Daniel
I like that you want to get one on ones. And I actually think now hot take. I would just play press man the whole game. Like, I, I don't know if like Booty's gonna have a deep ball threat. I get that Diggs is really good lot. How do you get Diggs matched up possibly versus a safety or a nickel or something like that. But other than that, like I like Pop Douglas on that side. I don't know. And I think it's an advantage for Denver to just come out and play five man rush. Man. Now you're going to do more stuff than that. I, I get that. But I, I think early and often you hit Drake May. I think you can get a couple takeaways in the pocket off Drake May unless he protects the football really well.
- [41:05]
Diana Rossini
Yep. And they did that against Josh Allen last week, forcing a strip sack fumble by Nick Bonito there. And I do think facing James Cook, by the way, and then we're going to break this thing down real quick. This past week actually helps them in terms of the style of running, of bouncing things outside of what Treveon Henderson does for those explosive runs. Make sure you end it right. They changed what they were doing against the run halfway through that game and I thought did a pretty good job with it. What's your pick on this AFC title game, which is exactly the same as the one I was at 10 years ago, but it was Peyton Manning and Tom Brady playing in that one. Yeah.
- [41:35]
Chase Daniel
Two completely different quarterbacks. Right. City versus Drake May. Look, I think that Denver being at home is a huge factor. I really do. And I think that even though the Broncos have a backup quarterback, I like Sean Payton. Offensively minded coach and also strategy wise, been in this situation. I, I don't know if the Patriots can do what they did last week again against Houston's defense. It's a completely different scheme in Broncos. I actually like Denver winning this game. I think it's going to be like a 24, 211 game, a 23, 20 game. Rough, tough. Both defenses are really good. I think it will take city a quarter or two to get sort of, hey, under. All right, here we go. The speed of the game's completely different in a playoff game, but I, I, I'm going against traditional knowledge of like, oh my God, they got a backup court. This is not going to be a walk in the park in my mind for the New England Patriots.
- [42:33]
Diana Rossini
I think I might pick the Patriots. And it's not because Steady's playing. I think he may be fine. It's really that that defense chases the strength of Denver's team. Right. It has been the entire season. If Josh McDaniels can get the best of that defense, that might be really. That's, you know, that those two minds, man, vance Joseph, Josh McDaniels going against each other. If Josh wins that matchup, I think New England ends up winning.
- [42:55]
Chase Daniel
I think Denver has to somehow, some way score three touchdowns to have a chance. Now, the one thing you said, if they can score three touchdowns, somehow, some way, who Stiddy throw into, Right? That's sort of the thing of like, all right, you got Mims as the number two. Sutton has to get involved early, but yeah, I mean, it's going to be. It's going to be a fascinating game.
- [43:14]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, involved early is good. I mean, before the fourth quarter. That's what happened in the divisional game. He did not get targeted until the fourth quarter. Cortland Sutton, change that. Okay.
- [43:22]
Chase Daniel
All right.
- [43:23]
Diana Rossini
How about Sam Darnold versus The Rams and what we could see from Sam, obviously, and I think maybe this is a good thing. He's got that oblique. It's on the left side. I wanted to ask you this as a quarterback. So the oblique injuries on the left hand side, I thought rolling left might be a bit of an issue. How are things? He didn't have to throw a bunch. It's still going to be somewhat of something. But just give everybody from a quarterback's perspective, left side injury on your. On your trunk here. That's a very scientific term. Does that impact throwing the football or in anything playing the position?
- [43:54]
Chase Daniel
Well, I think any oblique injury left or right side will absolutely hurt it because the, the thing, the power you get from your left side, you have to actually open up as you're throwing. And that anything on the left side, like left rib, left, anything. Now right side, I get it would be harder because you can't stretch it as much, but it's. It's just something you're going to have to deal with. And look, vitamin T. Tortol is going to be huge for this. Right? Like that. That's something that you can manage. Here's the thing, though, with Sam Darnold, like, they haven't in the last couple games asked him to do too much. And I think the. That's actually genius by Kubiak because I think you run the football I think that you play really amazing defense. You get short fields, you get a couple takeaways, you get Rashid Shahid on a shot play and maybe a return to. And then you're winning the game and they're blowing people out. And I put out a tweet when they, when they beat San Francisco, and I know San Francisco was a little bit banged up. I was like, I don't see them losing again. Like, they're just that good.
- [44:52]
James Palmer
But.
- [44:52]
Chase Daniel
But I didn't say CC Sam Darnold because it does come down to the quarterback. It does come down to Sam Darnold. And I just, I don't think the Rams defense is all that good. And with Sam Darnold, you have to be able to. Here's the thing, like, if he can get, if Sam Darnold can get to a Super bowl, will we finally stop talking about it? Like, I know. Are we going to start. Start the narrative like, oh, well, it was team that carried him. Well, at some point the quarterback's making decisions and he's. He's made really good decisions. The one thing, James, before we move on to Matthew Stafford, how in the world does he handle pressure? He is not a great quarterback at handling pressure. If you get to him early and you hit him and you rattle him and you make him make that one mistake a lot more oftentimes than not, it waterfalls into multiple mistakes. And that is the one thing I'm going to be paying attention to. Can the Rams hit them early? Can the Rams get some pressure on them? A lot of quick game? Can they pick them off? Something like that?
- [45:56]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, I think that's a great call. I. He had more, I believe, tied for. What do you have?
- [46:01]
James Palmer
No.
- [46:01]
Diana Rossini
11 of his 20 turnovers happened when he was under pressure. That was his six picks and five fumbles when he was under a lot of that pressure. And this team brings pressure and they bring pressure without bringing extra guys, oftentimes with the way that they play this defensive scheme with Chris Shula. So you're right, that is something to watch. I do think he bounced back. Back okay. In both of those games that he played, he had six turnovers, six picks against the Rams this year, four and one and two in the other. So that's obviously not what you want to see, but, man, has he, has he taken some shots downfield if he's not pressured, he's been outstanding getting those shots downfield. And you mentioned one to Rasheed Saheed, so maybe we're staying on the same page there. No, Zach Charbonnet, just remember that he is out. But Kenneth Walker has been the starter and has been a good back against the Rams in both games. He's been really good lately. I think you just feed. Feed Kenneth Walker is what you're going to have to do. Okay, Matthew Stafford, this is going to be your other X's and O's breakdown here. Chase, tell me what we're going to see here with.
- [46:57]
Sponsor Voice
With.
- [46:58]
Diana Rossini
I haven't seen this with Stafford on the field running this Rams off.
- [47:01]
Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [47:02]
Chase Daniel
Before we break it down, I just. I want to go back to last game against the Bears and the Bears defense for, for leading the league in takeaways and turnovers and stuff. They haven't played super well. A lot of space in coverage and other than the first drive, I thought that Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh both had poor games. Yet you still win because. Yet you, You. You get this game to a point in overtime and you just do enough to win the game. Because, dude, Stafford's been there before. He's. He's. He's got a Super Bowl. He's. He's done this. He's. McVeigh's done this. The experience factor that comes in. So if you're purely weighing Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford, it's. It's Matthew Stafford. Without a doubt. He's going to be the mvp. And that's why it was hard to pick a throw. And we'll show you it right now for Matthew Stafford, but it was a third down in, in. In. Late, late, late in the game. He's on the right hash. Devonte Adams is down here and they just do an out route. And I'm telling you right now, the Bears defender tries to undercut this, but you pick the best view. I mean, pick the right throw. You two pick the right one to break down. Watch him move a right screen left and able to get. How, how are you able to throw across your body for a toe tap? And this might be the best one. It's just so subtle. It's just so subtle. But the, the, the difficulty on this throw. Look at him move to the right and he's. He's facing downfield because he doesn't want the corner to pick it off. He throws around. It is just those subtle differences in his game because when it's clutch time and when it's time to make a play, and I think this game, the quarterback just. Stafford is so good. Even though he didn't play well, now he's in another NFC Championship game. It's just, he's just so good.
- [48:53]
Diana Rossini
He is so good. And he's dropped back 79 times in two games against the Seahawks this year. He has not been sacked or committed a turnover. I think he's been hit just seven times. And if you give Stafford that ability to survey the field and make the throws like you just showed that are still so rare and so difficult and the technical aspect is a 10 out of 10, I guess you could say if he has time to make those throws chase, I think that's a big thing. We'll see if Seattle can get to him and maybe create some pressure to where then that secondary that's very talented and has a lot of different players back there can maybe make a play or two. And I think that might be a big part of this. Okay, then the pick on this one here is hooray.
- [49:37]
Chase Daniel
I mean, look, I, I, I'm going with both home teams. I, I think the Seahawks are just too good defensively. Man, they're just so well coached. They're a well oiled machine. You're coming off a, a really like a beat down against the 49ers. The thing that I'm going to be paying attention, I think the Rams can score. I just don't know if they can score enough. It's going to come down to special teams. It's going to come down to, to where's that block punt, where's that field goal miss? Where. And you just look at the special teams disaster and I know Harrison Mievis Miz thicker kicker out there won the game. But this entire year has been a complete disaster for the Ram special teams. And I think there's just a play, I do think there's a play where Seattle makes more in the special teams game to push them over the top. I think it stays close, but Seattle rolls.
- [50:29]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, I'm going with the team that maybe is the most complete team in football. I'm going back to when I asked a bunch of executives of just when the playoffs started, give me a description of each team and the universal one essentially was one word or another. Seattle's the best team in football in terms of most complete team. And so I think the Ram, I think these are the two best teams in football. These two. But I think the Rams might be the most complete team.
- [50:53]
Chase Daniel
So this is your Super Bowl?
- [50:54]
Diana Rossini
This is my Super Bowl. I guess. Even though I'll be at the other game. Yeah, this is my super bowl. And I want to see how Seattle's defense, if they can really find ways to, you know, be able to come downhill, Chase and stop that run game in the personnel that they want to play and you know what I mean by that. So in the personnel they want to play in the back, can they still come down and be able to stop the run? I think it's going to be fascinating. All right, you've covered a lot of college football this year. So when we come back, we're going to talk about the potential number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza and what Chase thinks about his his college game translating to the NFL catching with the Raiders. Talk about it next in Scoop City.
- [51:35]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliate potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
- [51:57]
Chase Daniel
Well, the holidays have come and gone once again. But if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now. You call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose? Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch limited time.
- [52:17]
James Palmer
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- [52:32]
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- [53:09]
Diana Rossini
Welcome back to Scoop City. I'm James Homer here. Now listen. You listen to us now. We want to hear from you. We're asking you to fill out a quick survey about you and your podcast habits by going to the athlet 26. That's three lucky entries now will win $100 worth of Amazon vouchers too. Oh, I like the sound of that. So whether you're a longtime listener or A new one. We want to hear your feedback. Go to theathletic.com survey26. That's theathletic.com survey 26. The link is. Is it backslash, by the way? I think I'm saying it wrong. Is it just slash?
- [53:46]
Chase Daniel
It's backslash.
- [53:47]
Diana Rossini
Oh, okay. The link is also in your episode description. You don't read those type of things very often. Thank you. All right, Chase, Daniel, back with me. And, Chase, I want to know about Fernando Mendoza. I want to give a congratulations to all those Hoosiers fans out there. Listen, you beat us in the Big Ten championship game. I'm fine with it because I'm happy for my buddy Rhett Lewis, who was a good buddy of ours over at NFL Network. Proud Hoosier.
- [54:11]
Chase Daniel
Played there. There. He went to Hoosier.
- [54:12]
Diana Rossini
No, he played there, man.
- [54:14]
Chase Daniel
I think he was like, that's awesome.
- [54:16]
Diana Rossini
I think he said he won, like. Like, I want to say won like, less games during his career than he won this year.
- [54:25]
Chase Daniel
16.
- [54:26]
Diana Rossini
Yeah.
- [54:26]
Chase Daniel
Oh, that makes sense.
- [54:28]
Diana Rossini
So I think. Or the same. Whatever it is. So listen, we saw Tom Brady and Mark Davis and everybody there watching in person to see Fernando Mendota. You're breaking down a lot of this film. And to make sure you always go see everything Chase is bringing down with quarterbacks. It's the best in the business. What are you seeing from Fernando Mendoza that maybe will translate or maybe won't translate? Just break it down for me about him going to the NFL level if he could potentially be that number one overall pick.
- [54:55]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, I mean, I think it's a lock. I think you can just like, lock it, throw away the key. Dunzo, number one pick for sure. The question is, is who's it going to be for? Does someone jump ahead of the Raiders? Do the Jets? You know what? What? I don't think that's probably the case. I think the Raiders are going to pick and stick. And the. The thing about Fernando Mendoza. Let's go backwards. The time at Cal, like, I. I thought he played really, really good football. Actually showed even. It's weird. It showed more arm strength to me. Maybe it was the type of offense they were running at Cal. And then you go in the portal and you don't know what. And then all of a sudden, Indian, you're like, okay, like Indiana, sure. Like, why not? You know why not? And you just see him grow so much over the course of the year. And I'm not just talking about physical tools. I'm talking about growing into a leader that you're going to be. I'm talking about every single person, person in that locker room loves you. I'm talking about. You are the same person on the field as you are off the field. You're not fake. You hold yourself accountable. You're. You're leading by exam. You're doing all these things. And I know the offensive coordinator very well, and so I have some inside information just about the growth process of what he's done. And then you go and you take Indiana, you take one of the worst college teams two or three years ago in a long, long time. And it takes two years, and you played for one year and you're able to do this. You're able to go 160 against the Blue bloods of the sport. I mean, starting with Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, they played. I mean, look, I mean, you guys only lost by three, so you guys are technically second place or whatever. But like, like my. Just like his, his college football playoff run, including that Ohio State big team. That to me, just watch those games right there. That to me should tell you everything you need to know as a GM and Tom Brady. And when you break down the film, this is your first look at the scouting report. Here's what I see, because I've done three or four games so far on the YouTube channel is the first thing that jumps off. And it's a little bit weird. I just love the way he plays. Like, I just love the way he plays, the way he carries himself on the field, right? The passion, the poise, the heart that he has. Like, there's a lot of tangible things. James, you know this. You've been covering the sport longer than me, for sure. There's a lot of tangible things that you can measure through this entire draft process. The hardest thing for GMs to measure is the intangibles. And with Fernando Mendoza, and I know some other people have said this, but I've been thinking this for a while. While the reason why I think the Raiders pick and stick is because I think that Tom Brazy sees himself a little bit in Fernando Mendoza. The way that everyone has doubt on the way that still people doubt him. Maybe not the strongest arm, but when you put on the tape and you watch Fernando Mendoza become an absolute assassin at a blitz pressure and pick it up with the offensive line, slide it the right way, throw it behind, it's just like. It's like clockwork. So you can't measure that. I do think that a lot of people are like, well, you know, he doesn't have a really strong arm. Like, okay, here's the thing. He's got a strong enough arm. He's more athletic than you think, as emphasized by that fourth and five national championship on the line quarterback draw. So he's more athletic than you think. The number one thing, and I've gotten this from other coaches, too, when I look, his eyes, James in the pocket are never in the wrong spot. He's never rush watching. His eyes are always in the right spot.
- [58:43]
Diana Rossini
Meaning.
- [58:43]
Chase Daniel
Meaning from an outsider's perspective, he's always starting with the right read. Now, they don't just do full progression reads either. So he's extremely smart. He knows what to do. And I just think he progresses really well. He sees it good enough. And the one thing that I'm like, well, Chase, you're giving all positives. Okay, well, what are the negatives? You know, because everyone likes the negatives. Right? He plays a little bit slow motion at times, and at the next level, he has to fix that. And I think his pocket presence and pocket awareness is not great. Right. You're gonna have to figure that out. Take some sacks. But, yeah, that's the scouting report. I. I just love the way. I love the story of the Hoosiers. Honestly.
- [59:23]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, I. I mean, begrudgingly. I do, too, Chase. Yes. As well. But you're right. I love what you said about the eyes. I mean, that's. That's just something that a lot of people and evaluators that you.
- [59:34]
Chase Daniel
I.
- [59:34]
Diana Rossini
You talk to. I talk to. Sometimes that can never be fixed if you don't have good eyes. Like, it just. It may never come. The pocket feel makes me a little uncomfortable because when do you ever throw with a clean pocket in the NFL? Yeah, that just doesn't happen. But, man, if anybody can see through it all and look and measure the intangibles, it's Tom Brady. He was Mr. Intangible. Like, he was that.
- [59:53]
James Palmer
That.
- [59:53]
Diana Rossini
That's. The little things are what got him to where he's at. And, man, I love those receivers in Indiana, by the way, too. I just want to throw my two.
- [59:59]
Chase Daniel
They're ballers, dude.
- [60:00]
Diana Rossini
Becker, man, Come on now, backer. I love Elijah Surratt. Like, I mean, like, that guy's like. I had some people in the India tell me, like, kind of a poor man's. Poor man's. Poor man's Puka Nakua. In terms of contested catches, shoulder stuff is awesome. Gets dirty in the run game. Like, you know, it's. There's some. There's some there's some football players coming out of Indiana. And how often have you said that? I mean, these are. That's the best compliment scouts give anybody is they're a football player. So. Awesome breakdown. Chase. Enjoy your championship weekend. We're going to be back talking about. About who's going to. It's a real sentence. We're going to be on Monday talking about who's going to the Super Bowl.
- [60:35]
Chase Daniel
Oh my gosh.
- [60:37]
Diana Rossini
It's been a year. Awesome. All right. For Diana Rossini. Chase Daniel, I'm James Palmer. Enjoy your weekend of the conference championships.
- [60:46]
James Palmer
Big news. Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones at home or work.
- [60:52]
Chase Daniel
Wait, we're going on tour?
- [60:53]
James Palmer
Not a tour. We're delivering and setting up customers phones so it's easier to upgrade.
- [60:57]
Chase Daniel
Let's get in the tour bus and hit the road.
- [60:59]
James Palmer
No, not a tour bus. It's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work.
- [61:04]
Chase Daniel
Are you a groupie on this tour?
- [61:05]
James Palmer
We deliver and set up phones. It's not a tour.
- [61:08]
Diana Rossini
Oh, you're definitely a groupie.
- [61:09]
James Palmer
Introducing store to door Switch and get a new device with expert setup and delivery wherever you're at.
- [61:14]
Chase Daniel
Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com this.
- [61:17]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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- [61:36]
James Palmer
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