← Scoop City: Inside The NFL
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A
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. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance, Progressive Casualty Insurance company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
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B
Reggie, I just sold my car online.
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C
Let's go, Grandpa. Wait, you did?
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B
Yep. On Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered.
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A
A few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame.
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C
You don't say.
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A
Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow.
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B
Talk about fast.
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C
Wow. Way to go. So about that picture frame.
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B
Ah, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested.
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D
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E
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B
Kyle Shanahan pulls out a trick play that requires Juwan Jennings as he's about to be blasted so hard by Jaylon Carter. He earns a roughing the passer call, which is wild for a receiver, but releases a dime. 40 plus yards that Christian McCaffrey has to trust. Track in the wind with a safety coming not over his shoulder, over both shoulders and dive and catch. And it was just such a magical, audacious, outside the box moment that to me, it all felt as one.
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C
Welcome to a Wednesday edition of Scoop City. I'm James Palmer. Don't forget to like and subscribe. And remember, you can comment, you can like, you can interact. We will always look at those comments. I'll even jump in there. You know, I'll get the thumbs going or I'll type it on the keyboard. You never know. But I'll respond to those comments. So drop them in there. Tell us what you liked, what you didn't like. You agree? You disagree? Just tell us. It has been an insane, just absolutely bonkers head coaching carousel that just keeps spinning. We're up to nine, so why not cover the top storylines with somebody who's been covering this league longer than pretty much anybody. I'm not dating my good buddy and one of my best friends, Mike Silver, the senior athletic writer here. But I do want to just tell you that nobody covers games like him. And he was just at the Niners win over the defending super bowl champs in the Philadelphia Eagles. What's going on in both of those buildings? Silver will give us the conversations that he had as well as he went across the Keystone State and covered that Texans drubbing of Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers. Now, Silver's been very close to Rodgers for a long time and knew kind of some things going on there and that's why he made the trek there. So we'll break down what's next for Pittsburgh to Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers as well. And we'll also talk about Tom Brady and the Raiders. What's next there? Brady's talked to Mike Silver. All right, now joined by the best in the business. Mike Silver joins me. I know, Mike, you've been on a How much sleep have you gotten in the last couple of days? Because we're going to get to it. You were in Philly for the Niners and the Eagles. Then you went straight to Pittsburgh for the Texans and the Steelers. So where are we at in sleep right now?
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B
Well, I finally got a little bit of sleep back in California last night and I needed it because I got about 45 minutes from the time after filing my Aaron Rodgers column in Pittsburgh. I put my head on the pillow in the hotel room and the phone alarm went off because I had to go to the airport. Bad planning on my part. But, you know, sometimes you live this vagabond lifestyle back in the day, you know, following the Grateful Dead around from time to time. We you made it work in some wild circumstances, obviously mourning the passing of Bobby Weir on Saturday. It's been an emotional and wild run for me, but I am really happy to be back in California and a little bit rested. But I'm glad I went to both those games. They were really, really cool.
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C
Well, that's why you're here, man. And we're going to get to the ties of that 49ers team and the Grateful Dead and. But just I feel like this might be. And we'll get to it. It was a brilliant story you wrote after that game, just the ties that I think you were almost meant to be the one to write that story, man. And so let's stick though with the last game you covered and you mentioned you wrote the Aaron Rodgers piece and Mike, Tomlin is out and he steps away after 19 seasons there. Silver. And like, did you get that sense? Because, I mean, Art Rooney talked to us today and literally said, I thought was. And was hoping that this conversation was going to be. We're running it back again with Mike. Tom, that wasn't the case. Did you get that sense being in the locker room? You work it better than anybody that this was it for Mike.
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B
Well, I, you know, I think, you know, that in our, you know, little NFL community, there's been a sense for a while now that he may want to take a. Take a break, do some TV reboot. And so I've kind of had that sense for a while and this cycle has just gotten so insane that, you know, you kind of have to remind yourself maybe we're not done. And in this case, we weren't. Obviously, you, you know, you look back to that Raven Steelers finale, you know, and, and the misstep point and then the missed field goal. I guess Tomlin was leaving anyway. And it sounds like from Steve Boschotti's remarks.
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C
Yeah.
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B
That John Harbaugh may have been out either way anyway, obviously he's going to be in a great situation next year where he's choosing between suitors, Mike Tomlin, if and when he decides to get back into. He's a coach. So it'll probably be when is going to be incredibly sought after. But, yeah, I was, you know, I was kind of mindful going into that game, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to go so much, that it could be the end for Tomlin in Pittsburgh and certainly with Aaron, who I've, you know, known since he was in college and have covered all the way I wanted to be there. If it did turn out to be his last game, which it very well could, I would have hoped that it didn't end like that for him this season, season and possibly forever. And, you know, it's funny because even when it got to 176 after the first defensive score, I kind. I've seen Aaron do so many things over the years, I'm thinking he can still do this. And it was interesting to talk to people in the locker room. Adam Thielen, Marquez, Valdez, Scantling, who'd been with him in Green Bay, they absolutely felt that, too. They were like, oh, yeah, we just, you know, we were. We believed the whole time that Texans defense is a load. We can get to that. But I do think if Aaron does decide to keep playing, which I think is probably somewhat of a long shot, but if he decides to go that route, it's highly unlikely it'll be with the Steelers, even if they wanted him back, because that was more of a. Mike, I. I'm joining Mike Tomlin. Signing. That I'm joining the Pittsburgh Steelers. Signing.
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C
Yeah, totally. Let's. I kind of want to ask you because you've known, you've known Aaron for so long and everybody has so many different preconceived notions or opinions or whatever they are about Aaron, and especially in Aaron's second half of his essentially career Mike, like, what do you think time will do to his legacy as it continues to go? You know what I mean? As we continue to go further and further from that last game, what do you think time will do to Aaron's legacy?
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B
You know, I think people in the football world already know without the passage of time that he belongs in the conversation with the absolute greatest ever to do it.
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C
And I say top four, top five. Ish.
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B
I mean, I just know this is a charged topic and the Super Bowls obviously suck up a lot of the oxygen, and I understand it's a nuanced conversation. So I usually just say in the conversation, but, you know, first of all, Dan Marino didn't win a Super bowl, only got to one, and I'm putting him in there. I just, if you've seen him play football and understood, you know, what he actually did and how good he was, I know he did not win a Super bowl, and that's tough. But I put him in the conversation with Aaron and really with Brett, you. You wish they had gotten the chance to win more. But Aaron did so many epic things in postseason and significant regular season games where they had no chance. And he did things that are mind blowing and I've never seen. There's the overall excellence and just the appreciation within the football world for his incredible talent, the arm talent, the keeping plays alive, the incredible grasp at the line of scrimmage and the leadership. Though I know there are a lot of rough edges around Aaron's public comments and stances in the last few years that have freaked a lot of people out. But in those buildings, in those huddles, he is an incredible leader of those football teams. So, you know, look, to me, you know, Brady, because of the incredible winning, Montana, to me will always be the standard of what I've experienced in my lifetime. The magic and how it changed the game and obviously the, you know, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions in the four Super Bowls, et cetera, et cetera. I do think under today's rules, the Montanas and the elbows and the Marinos and obviously the Unituses and the Grahams would have played into their 40s potentially, and done things people can't even realize. But unfortunately for them, they lived in a world where their receivers could be grabbed, they could be pummeled legally. They just, you know, it's just too hard to compare. And obviously, you know, Peyton Manning is very much in the middle of that conversation to me, too. But anyone who thinks Aaron is in any way below the. The absolute great, we can argue who's above who and who is one and who is three and what would have happened if the rules were different. But Aaron is absolutely in that group, and I don't think we need time to pass to understand that.
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C
Yeah, I agree. I think he's considered. If you've done it, I've done it to people around the league, there might not be a better thrower of the football that we've ever seen in the NFL. And I like that you brought up the point about, you know, the perceived type of aspect of Aaron within buildings. I don't know many teammates that disliked Aaron Rodgers. One of the things that I always respected about him is what when he had problems, he usually punched up. He never really said anything about anybody who was below his status within an organization. If he had a problem, it was usually he was talking about the owner or somebody above him. He never really punched down towards anybody within a building. I think players always really kind of respected that. You know, Leflore really well. Mike, you and I saw him on the sideline a few weeks ago, and Aaron had. And I think Aaron's kind of like Howard Stern. Whether you like him or dislike him, when he steps in front of a microphone, everybody seems to listen. It carries weight. And he said some very strong comments about Matt LaFleur when he was, you know, speaking, and he didn't have to when he was speaking at the podium after what could be. And a lot of people believe his final game. What do you think happens with Matt? Do you have any information about what's going on? People are just waiting for pen to get paper. Like, what is the situation in Green Bay?
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B
Okay, well, first of all, do you want to share on that side? You know, that sideline interaction? Do you want to share what went down between me and Matt? Because I expressed some excitement about a topic, and he. He didn't seem to be quite as.
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C
It's something that means a lot to you, right? It's a topic that means a lot to you that you shared, and he didn't seem to be very excited.
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B
Go ahead and set the scene. Tell people how that went. Okay.
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C
Okay. We're standing on the side on the packers sideline before what felt like a playoff atmosphere in Denver. Right, Mike? Like it was. It was before a monster game. And you have been talking to everybody like you always do. This is how Mike works a game. It's better than anybody, like I said. And you're excited, you're jazzed about what's going on with the Cal Bears. Baby, let's go. This is. This is big time. This is a big change that's going. A seismic shift in terms of where we got a lot of good things going on with the COWS football program. And you made sure that you, you know, Mike asked you how you're doing, Matt asked you how you're doing. You said, I'm doing great. I think we got a lot of things changing in Cal that are going to really benefit us, and I think we're in a really, really good spot. And Matt LaFleur responded with Mike, I.
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B
Think he said, I don't give a bleep about Cal. And. And that is fair now. I think I segued a little better than that. I think we had just seen Davis, Webb or there was.
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C
Yeah, you were in a cow mode.
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B
Yes, that got me there. But he definitely smiled and told me, especially, you know, getting ready to coach a game against the Denver Broncos defense, etc. But, you know, you know, listen, you're. You brought that up about Aaron, and that's interesting because I once went out there after Aaron Cromer, who was then the Bears offensive coordinator, had admitted that he had given some anonymous quotes criticizing Jay Cutler was the quarterback there, and it was a whole to do. And Aaron said to me, on the record, when we were talking some really, really strong comments sticking up for Jay Cutler, who was his rival quarterback, said, it is so hard to be a franchise quarterback and to do this job, you need to feel like everyone's pulling together and for that type of thing to be happening. So he did that. He once stuck up. This might surprise some people because it wasn't that long ago, but he once stuck up really hard for Colin Kaepernick and the kneeling and his right to himself and against the criticism he was receiving in a conversation he and I had on the record. So you're right. He. He went out of his way not only to say nice things about Mike Tomlin, but to say that he thought it was ridiculous that Matt lafleur is on the hot seat and so it's one of those things James, it's. He's undeniably done a great job there in terms of winning a lot of games, getting them into the playoffs, the offensive scheme. And it's not easy. He took Aaron Rodgers, who had done it one way, merged his offensive system with Aaron Rodgers, and then had Jordan Love come in raw having, you know, sat and waited and got it going pretty quickly with Jordan Love to a pretty good level. And you've seen when Malik Willis comes in, a guy that the rest of the NFL gave up on, Malaflor can coach. And so it does seem crazy that anyone would be talking about a change. What's going on, though, is that you have essentially a new owner. They don't have an owner, but they have a president, CEO that. That's Ed Policy, who I know his father really well, Carmen, who was a big part of that 49er dynasty. I know Ed. I know how aggressive he is. And anytime there's a new owner or de facto owner, you wonder about an existing head coach and the staying power. And they did get into the playoffs and Micah did get hurt in that game that we saw. But they blew a big lead in the fourth quarter to arrival. And Ed Policy had said going into the season, I'm not extending Matt LaFleur or my general manager, Brian Guta Kunst. I'm. I don't like lame duck years. And they only have two years left, which means they only have one more after this. So that means they're either getting extended or let go. And I think because the way that playoff game went down, we're still kind of in that gray area. So it seems that they want him back. And I know Matt wants to stay there, but there is still a negotiation and a number to be hit. And if things start to feel unaligned in that, it could then reach a point where a change is being made. Matt LaFleur would obviously be highly sought after elsewhere, though a lot of those seats may end up getting filled. So if I'm at lafleur, I want some clarity quickly as to where we each are on the numbers.
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C
Yeah, that's a really good point, Silver. And what you brought up about Malik Willis, I think is something, if you talk to people around the league, it's. You want to see a sign of a good coach, it's us. When backups come in and they perform at a very high level, coaching is a huge part of that because a, they're usually a backup for a reason, and you molded them to play In a better sense, I think Jesse Minter did that in week 18 with a bunch of backups against the Denver Broncos offense. Everybody's going, this scheme is pretty good. This guy can coach. Same thing with Matt LaFleur and what he's done with Malik Willis, where a lot of people I've talked to believe he's going to be like a 15, $18 million a year quarterback possibly next year. And that's. That's because of Matt LaFleur. That's what he does with that position. And you're right, the negotiation side of things, I think that first offer that Ed Policy makes is going to be very telling. And, you know, the way things get around the league, I think other teams might know what that first offer was and then they'll know if there's a realistic chance of this thing going sideways and what the packers really think I would throw just. And I don't know. This. This is just me throwing everything against the wall. What if Ed Policy just loves Jeff Halfley and says, this is my number? But if you can't meet that number, we're cool. Making Jeff Athlee our next head coach and we'll find an offensive coordinator. I mean, that would be wild. I think the world of Matt LaFleur as a head coach, but I think that's why everybody's just looking and keeping an eye on what's happening there. Okay. We're gonna have a ton more.
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B
With myself, first of all, I would say that would be a violation of the Rooney rules. So you could do that in. In spirit, but you couldn't do that.
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C
You wouldn't just hire him the next day. No, but I.
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B
Listen, I know Jeff Halfley's getting a lot of attention and that's cool. I think if you thought you could replicate Matt LaFleur's results with Jeff Halfley as a first time NFL head coach, that would be very aspirational. But we'll see what happens.
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C
I think you're right. I mean, I don't know, maybe a team blows your doors off with some sort of offer. I don't know, in terms of trading for Matt, because that would. They would have to. Honestly, he's not going to be safe.
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B
Unless they agree to go their separate ways. They're so far apart.
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C
Yeah. They could part. Okay, all right, great. Great point. We got much more coming up with Mike Silver coming up. We got to talk about that shirt that he's wearing. We got to talk about what that meant to the 49ers and an unbelievable win. That they had over the defending super bowl champs. More Scoop City coming up.
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A
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D
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C
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B
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C
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C
Welcome back to Scoop City. It is a James Palmer Mike Silver day. I love it. I didn't know you're going to wear that shirt, Silver, but I almost kind of predicted it in my head. I know what that band means to you and I thought you brilliantly put it on the athletic in your article about what it means to a lot of guys in that locker room as well. Before we get to the actual game, do you want just a moment to just let everybody know about, like, Bobby's connection to the 49ers and this whole thing that kind of. I bet you were sitting in that press box going, this could all come together for something pretty kind of special here in Philadelphia.
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B
Yeah. I mean, honestly, it was heavier than that for me. I was born in San Francisco. I identify a lot with the city and with Northern California, where I've lived my adult life. Most of my adult life saw the Grateful Dead a lot, have seen Bobby Ware play live, more than any musician, and I've gotten to meet him and interview him, and it's been a wild ride. So that was a heavy night on Saturday when the news came out. And. And then on Sunday, you have a football team representing that region that is trying to do something audacious. And to me, it was a legitimate through line, even if you take away those connections to some of the players, which I'll get to in a moment. But just the San Francisco thing, that city. And for those who read my story, I referenced the Barbary coast and some other San Francisco things, but, like, really the foundation of that city, its evolution, its entire history, has been this kind of audacious, outside the box, crafting and conjuring a new way of doing things that didn't exist before. You know, kind of defiance that has kind of have run through all of San Francisco, certainly, including the Grateful Dead and the counterculture movement and all of that that endures. But the 49ers were kind of in that mode. To me, they're a team that I just didn't think should really be there with losing Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, their top pick, Mikel Williams, all the injuries they had throughout the season, Trent Williams really not playing close to 100% at left tackle. And then George Kittle goes down wearing the Bob Weir tribute cleats, which I'll get to. And. And now you. You know, Ricky Pearsall wasn't playing. Brandon Iuka's AWOL all season, so you've got, you know, cast off receivers. And Christian McCaffrey, thank heaven. And Kyle Usick is now your essential number two receiving target, your fullback and your halfback. McCaffrey is. Is WR1. And they. Kyle Shanahan pulls out a trick play that requires Juwan Jennings as he's about to be blast hard by Jayla Carter. He earns a roughing the passer call, which is Wild for a receiver, but releases a dime. 40 plus yards that Christian McCaffrey has to track in the wind with a safety coming not over his shoulder, over both shoulders and dive and catch. And it was just such a magical, audacious, outside the box moment that to me it all felt as one. And so. Yeah. Would I have forced Bob Weir into a Niner story the day after his passing? You bet you. Absolutely. But it didn't feel like I had to force it because. Because those guys, McCaffrey, Kittle, Jake Tonjas, Kyle Juszyk and Bosa had gone to the Sphere in May and had a real good time in the tradition of, of that band and its culture and gotten to know Bobby Weir a little bit. And George Kittle was wearing the, the messages on his cleats and they all were a little bit, you know, kind of sobered by that reality and knew what he meant to San Francisco along with the, the, the larger world. And so it all did kind of come together. And I wish, you know, I wish obviously I wasn't writing under those circumstances because I wanted to go see as many more Wolf Brothers shows and Dead and Company shows as I could. But, you know, the last part of this, in 1999, I did a cover story for Sports Illustrated on sports, hip hop and rock and roll. And I got to go have dinner at Bobby's house with him, his wife Natasha, and they're then newborn daughter Monet in 1999. And we talked a lot about sports and the connections. And one of the things we talked about was the way that band loved the 49ers. And Bobby said, we have this. He said we're all pathological 49er fans. And he talked about wanting to get Steve Young to come play in his flag football league in Mill Valley on weekends. He talked about wanting to tell Steve that yoga would be a good way to help him with his back issues. He talked about long set breaks. And Deadheads know the set breaks were long anyway, but like long breaks between that first and second set that on shows that coincided with big 49er games during the, you know, Walsh, Montana Young heyday, where if the Niners weren't a big playoff game and the first set ended, they were going to stay and watch and find out what happened before they came back for the second set. So I just know that, you know, Bobby loved that team and loved those moments that Montana used to do. And this was, I've, I've been following that team since I was a kid and covered them since 1980. 9. Beating the defending champs in that context, under those circumstances, is. Is etched in panels of the. The epic Niner triumphs.
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C
Yeah, for sure. And everybody go read that article. It might take you a minute because there's a lot of YouTube links you can just click on and then enjoy the tunes.
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B
And.
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C
And I love that you put those in the article. Silver, I thought that was outstanding. And Juwan Jennings 1 for 1 on throws over 15 yards. Jalen Hurts over 5 on throws over 15 yards. In that case.
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B
Yeah, I think. I think James, late at night, after filing my close friend Vic Tafer, who is one of our Dyer B writers.
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C
Who'S been on the show a bunch. Yeah, we love him.
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B
We went to college with. We ordered some late dinner, and we kind of are exhaling. And he asked me what I wrote, and I told him, and I said, what did you write? And he just said, I wrote that. Brock Verde. He said, I wrote that the 49ers had the two best quarterbacks on the field. I was like, ooh. Oh, man.
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C
Well, let's go there for a second, because you know this Eagles team well. You've been around them a bunch on super bowl run last year and. And over the years, and we all kind of know the type of player that Jalen hurts is. They make a change. Silver, at offensive coordinator, I find it very fascinating that I've. I've talked to some people in the building, outside the building, that there's, like, a variety of opinions on the appeal of this offensive coordinator job. I don't know if everybody that from the outside thinks would be interested in this is interested in this job, and it's very specific in the way that this off essentially kind of has to be run. When I talk to people that know offensive football much better than I do, and that's offensive coordinators around the league. Where do you think. Where do you think Philly is specifically on that side of the ball? Is this a team we should be watching this offseason in terms of getting themselves where they need to be, because the talent is still there. But there's a lot of moving parts that are going on there in Philadelphia.
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B
Well, they have some decisions to make. I do not believe this is as simple as plugging in a new coordinator. Now, they did that after Brian Johnson with Kellen Moore and won a Super bowl resoundingly. So I. I understand why they would think that. And obviously, when Shane Steichen was there, it. It looked a lot better. But they've now had twice with Brian Johnson and Kevin Petullo where it hasn't. And I'm not positive how much of that is, is on the coordinator. There seems to be a disconnect with the quarterback. So let me take a step back. As, as epic as that was for the 49ers, it was an abject failure for the defending champs. The bottom line is, you know, strength against strength. Kyle Shanahan's offense depleted as it was against Vic Fangio's defense. And you saw the two Quinon Mitchell interceptions. That made sense to me. Weakness against weakness. Because the 49ers defense without those guys and with all those young players and you know, a linebacker, probably most of you have never heard of fifth, sixth and seventh linebackers named Wallow playing. And another one who just came back off the street, Eric Kendrick, who's had a nice career, but they had the ball down four with a chance to win it got to the 20 yard line and couldn't do it. And that's a massive failure. This is a team that had Saquon Barkley running well, no Lane Johnson, but still a really talented offensive line. A.J. brown and Devontae Smith, maybe the best receiving tandem in terms of talent on paper in the league or certainly right up there.
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C
Yep, they're in the conversation.
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B
And Jalen Hurts, who twice in the super bowl has been amazing, but obviously that's a whole other topic. But they were not able to get that done and that that reflected how their season has gone. It wasn't like, wow, the offense looks so good all season and that it failed. It looked like it looked all season in those moments. And, and I talked to 49er coaches and players. They didn't do anything exotic in those last moments. They played what is essentially quarters coverage, four DBs across, they call it. McCheck didn't vary it. They've never, they haven't had a pass rush all season since Bosa went down.
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C
Well, they had less than 20 sacks, silver or something for the year.
- [31:58]
B
I mean, it's crazy. And, and yet they still were able to not only keep them out of the end zone, but they had him throwing into, you know, three triple quadruple coverage those last two plays. And so if you're the Eagles, you have to ask yourself, is this just a matter of getting a better coordinator or is this a matter of rethinking what we have at Jalen Hurts? Would they draft another quarterback? Would they do to Jalen Hurts what they once did with Jalen Hurts to Carson Wentz and bring in potential heir apparent? Would they bring in Competition. Are they going to trade A.J. brown? In fairness to A.J. brown, my pitch to them would be like, why are you paying me this much and not using me the way that I. I could be used? They're also paying Devontae Smith. So Howie Roseman's really good at this. The owner, Jeffrey Lurie, is the best owner in football, one of the best owners in sports. They're really, really good at figuring this stuff out. But I'm just a little suspicious of the notion that, hey, if we just change coordinators, we're good.
- [33:10]
C
Yeah, I think there's a lot more moving parts. Does Lane Johnson return or does he retire? Like, that's. That's a linchpin to your offensive line that you've had for 14 years? I think it was. And, you know, they've been starving, and that's my hometown for a wide receiver forever. They make them huge trade for AJ Brown, he has over a thousand yards for each of the last four seasons. There's only five guys that have done that over the last four seasons. It's him, CeeDee Lance, Jamar, Chase, Amon, Ross, St. Brown, and Justin Jefferson. He's in rare company. And just now we're having conversations of they gotta trade them. It's just there's a lot that you gotta figure out in Philadelphia, and I think they are gonna see because they do believe at times that this is Nick Sirianni's best trait, which is managing a room and managing people. Sometimes he's great at it. Sometimes there's other, you know, arguments that transpire. But I think that's why he's in the role he's in and has, let's. Can't argue a lot of success. Silver, like, a lot.
- [34:04]
B
I think Nick does some really, really, really important things in that building that a lot of other coaches who are good might not be able to navigate. So if you ask me, you know, when it comes to scheme and play calling, is Nick in the upper half of the offensive head coaches in the league? I would say most people would say no. If you ask me, in the things you said, managing, navigating a building with a very powerful gm, a very, you know, strong and involved owner, a, you know, headstrong players and incredibly high standards from a fan base that really cares in a big media market, Nick Sirianni is elite, and I don't want to shortchange him. And there are other things he does, too, that are really good. But, you know, I've come a long way. I kind of have wanted to to, you know, roll my eyes at him a lot when he's yelling at opposing fans or getting into it with Zach Ertz on the field or showing his emotion or the, the Greenlaw big Dom interaction, which came from Nick getting up in Greenlaw's face. But, but I, I've kind of come to see a lot of the brilliance of Nick, too, and how he does some of those things you said. So I, you know, I, it's, it's not a, it's not an easy building to navigate all that and to be the head coach. But I could see why a lot of people would want to try because you, you have such a, a great, you know, owner and such an aggressive GM that, to me, it's worth it.
- [35:47]
C
Yeah. I'll say. One small story. I talked to a lot of coaches in that building about the super bowl year, and you had two really good coordinators, right? And Kellen Moore. And we know how good Vic Fangio is.
- [35:57]
B
You and I both know him.
- [35:59]
C
And what he did was he would let them coach.
- [36:01]
B
But.
- [36:02]
C
But also meet with them and meet with their. Who do I need to push this week? Who do you need to make sure takes their game to another level this week? And then when that message comes from the head coach, you know, during stretching, hey, we need you for this. We need you to do this. It carries more weight sometimes, right, from the head coach. And so that communication with these coordinators to trust them, what they wanted to call and wanted to do, but then kind of push their message the right way throughout the week. A big feather in the cap of the way Nick Sirianni works. All right, we got one more block coming up here on Scoop City. I gotta ask Silver about his recent article about Tom Brady and the Raiders. That's coming up next on Scoop City.
- [36:40]
A
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- [37:59]
C
All right, closing things out on a Wednesday with my good buddy Mike Silver. We'll be hanging out this weekend, divisional round here in Denver. Him and I will be taking in that game together between the Bills and the Broncos. But you wrote an article recently about another AFC west team, and that was the Las Vegas Raiders and what they're going to do moving forward with their head coaching search with their minority owner, who's the greatest player in a lot of people's minds in the history of this league and Tom Brady and the greatest winner, obviously. What did you learn when you put that together? Because I know it took some time for you, Silver, to work on that too, that what do you, what do we expect from Tom and what did you learn kind of putting that together, going this could go in this direction or we expect him to do blank, blank and blank.
- [38:44]
B
Yeah. I mean, James, honestly, ever since he took over and I kind of knew how much influence he had in that building, you know, starting out, you know, with the firings of Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco and the coaching search and the quarterback with search, which ended up being a trade for Geno Smith. And all through the season I've understood how much influence he has. And this guy's not only the greatest winner that we've seen, but to me, you know, one of the most ruthless, relentless competitors, which I've loved about him, you know, and had the and I've covered so many maniacally competitive, you know, psychos. And I say that lovingly but, you know, from like Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, you know, so many. And Brady to me is, is, you know, just a level of insanity that way. So part of me thinks like, dude, I want to see you jump in and just go for it and be that guy because you obviously have that and that could permeate throughout a building and a culture. But Tom's style has been more to remain in the shadows. And in fairness, it's easy for me to say jump in, but I'm not getting paid. 37. 5 million a year. 37.5 million a year. Let's go.
- [40:13]
C
New York Times.
- [40:15]
B
Eddie does have, you know, children and who are living in Florida and the east coast, so it's easy for me to say, just go to Vegas, get in the building, and do it. But that's kind of what I would hope for the Raiders, like, because. And I. And I juxtaposed it with Peyton, you know, obviously Tom's greatest rival as a player, because Peyton's style is so different, you know, and Peyton hasn't jumped in and. And gone that route. But if Peyton Manning got an ownership stake at a team and the owner was like, peyton, lead us. You know how that would go? He'd be like, okay, I'm. I'm Peyton Manning. I'm now in charge. I've decided to fire Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco. I will be leading the certificate. And he would absolutely. It would be like, Peyton at the light of scrimmage, you know, like, full control. I am in charge. So, to me, it's not just a practical concern because Tom could do a lot of big decisions behind the scenes, but I kind of like that messaging in the building and out that, you know, you are. You are in. And so I'm not so concerned with the. Oh, it's a conflict of interest. He's announcing. He's doing production meetings and calling games with the Chiefs. Like, I know that's tricky and messy and annoying, but I. Whatever, dude. It's Tom Brady. Like, I. I'm not mad at him for that and mildly annoyed that the league is kind of throwing up their hands, but it's not a concern for me. But I. I would like to see. Because, you know, I was told they didn't sign Sam Darnold because Tom didn't think that was the way they should go, for example. And I would just love Tom to be up there telling people publicly a little bit like, hey, this is my thought. And also telling people in that building, this is what we're trying to do. Because when I ask people who are high up in that organization and have important jobs and, hey, the decision to shut down Max Crosby, who made that call, and they hem and ha and don't know right away, that, to me, is a sign that I'd like to see it be a little more obvious if it is Tom, and if it's not Tom, that's fine, too. Just make it obvious.
- [42:42]
C
Yeah, that's a great point. I put this point down when I retweeted that article, what I'm looking for, and you kind of mentioned it with the, with the Sam Darnold aspect of. There's so many comparisons to what John Elway has done as an executive and he was very good at it. And his best trait was probably luring free agents to come to Denver, Peyton Manning being the top of the list. But the list went on with DeMarcus Ware and Emmanuel Sanders and I think TJ Ward and Khatib Talib and all these guys. That was his great, great ability in the free agent world. But the thing that he always struggled with was evaluating quarterback talent. And I'm kind of fascinated to see if that's something that Tom can be really good at. Some people in sports that I've talked to have told me if you can do it at a level that very few people maybe count on one to two hands have been able to do it at that level, it's hard to evaluate other people doing it because you just don't get why they can't do it. Like John. Why did, why can't you just throw it like this? Like it's so easy to him. He could do it. It's an interesting evaluation with these quarterbacks. And I'm kind of curious how Brady's going to compare to John, who never really could find in the draft that quarterback. He famously did not even go and attend Josh Allen's pro day up the road in wyoming, just 130 miles north of Denver.
- [43:55]
B
Well, apparently Tom Brady's evalon Sam Darnold might not age well, for example, but yeah, again, he's so I listen when I think of John Elway, I don't think. And I think of quarterbacks. What I think about is he made one quarterback decision that changed their world and that was Tim Tebow just won a playoff game for us. He's a cult hero. Nobody understands quite how this is happening. And he's young and under contract and maybe we can get him more accurate and have him grow into this. And he went and said, no, I don't want that. I want Peyton Manning coming off four neck surgeries who may never be able to get back to what he was, but if he can, it's Peyton Manning. And I've always believed in my heart and from talking to Peyton and talking to John, that when those two got in the room and had that conversation, you know, we talked about the conversation. For greatest quarterback of all time, there are at most 8 to 10 humans who've ever lived.
- [45:05]
C
Yeah.
- [45:05]
B
Who could look each other in the eye and really communicate on that level.
- [45:09]
C
Yeah.
- [45:10]
B
And those were two of them. And so whatever that conversation was, Peyton was like, I'm going there. And John was like, I want you. And it happened. And they had great success. Won a Super bowl even after Peyton, you know, really lost his fastball. And so, to me, it's bigger than who you're going to draft or, you know, who are. Who's the offensive coordinator going to be. It's. It's the big, big, big, big moments at who you are and how you carry yourself and what the standard is and what you understand about competition doesn't mean it's going to work. We've seen great players in other sports and in football not have great success in those roles, but we've, you know, we've also seen Ozzie Newsom, you know, or Larry Bird, and it's like, oh, yeah. So I would just like if I. The Raiders have been so bad for so long. I would like to see if we can try. And it's easy for me to say, and, you know, I told Tom, it's easy for me to tell you what to do, but selfishly, because I do feel for those Raider fans, I would love to see Brady just be the guy who, you know, one time when I showed up at a training camp practice, had called his offensive lineman cows in the huddle because they weren't getting out on the sweep fast enough. And, you know, it wasn't always chummy, but, man, that guy knew how to prod people to be great.
- [46:45]
C
Yeah. I think that's why we all want to see him go out and do it. Like we. We. It's. There's very few people on this planet, you sometimes, and maybe wrongfully so, just expect greatness because that's what he's done with his track record.
- [46:55]
B
I feel like we've come full circle because the Grateful Dead were those people, among others. For me, I just want to, you know, take this moment to remember the greatness of Bobby Weir and, of course, the legacy of the Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia has been gone 30 plus years now. The music will never stop. We. We don't want it to, but for many of us, the ride is kind of now really over. And, you know, it's. It's a heavy time, but we have the songs, and we will. And because the Grateful Dead, we're such visionaries, we have the taste. We have every show, so it will. It will never die.
- [47:38]
C
Awesome. You're the best. I'll see you this weekend. I'm looking forward to hanging out, man. Appreciate you doing this.
- [47:45]
B
Thank you, man. I'll see you very soon.
- [47:49]
C
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A
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