Maurice Jones-Drew (4:42)

It's a big deal.

Paul Pabst (4:43)

The Bucks and the Thunder for the cup comes down to this. Yes, it does. There's a lot of money at stake as well. Ratings are down with the NBA and I don't know if you can pinpoint a reason. I always go back to if they don't care, I don't care. I think load management has turned people away. I don't know if we're glued to a TV set going, I can't wait to watch that game. And even if you do, you don't even know who's playing. But ratings have declined and I know they try to spice it up with the cup in season tournament. You're not enticing me if you say, hey, we're going to, you know, put some money at stake. Here. So wait a minute. They. They don't really try hard, but now they're really going to try hard. Therefore, now I should watch. It doesn't work with me. I love the NBA, grown up with the NBA. But there are times when I go, I don't care. You don't care. And that's the feeling I've gotten, actually. It's, you don't care. The players. I don't care either, but I'll watch. You know, I would watch anyway. It's a good game, but just because it's for the cup. And I know Rob Manfred has gotten roughed up a little bit in the media. A lot of people say, what are you talking about with this gold net bat where you can use that anytime you want? Maybe have Aaron judge, you know, he gets the bat twice in an inning and people would go, what? Oh, you know, the purity of the gate. What are you doing? Okay, we're past that. This is about getting eyeballs. And this is what Adam Silver is going to have to do. At some point, he's going to have to take a swing. He's going to have to have a gold net bat. He's going to have to have something that is interesting, intriguing, different, a tune in factor. Now, they've tried to do this with the basketball courts, and I'm fine with it. You know, you're looking for a younger audience, I get it. But maybe we add something to those colorful courts. You know, maybe there's a blinking three point line. Maybe there's something inside. Like I was told during the pandemic, and I was told by a great source that the NBA was looking at creating courts that would resemble pinball machines. So it would be a little bit more alive. Now, I know it sounds gimmicky, but I think you got to get to the point, where can we keep up? Can we keep our place in the sports landscape here? Because we've seen sports that just fall off. Horse racing, boxing, they fall off. Baseball, that was America's pastime, fell off. The NBA, they're kind of trying to hold on for dear life. The NFL is just bulldozing everybody. I get that. But you can still maintain your place, at least you hope to, on the sports ladder. But, you know, the NFL is up all the way at the top. And then you got people down the totem pole here. What are you going to do? What are you going to do when LeBron leaves? What are you going to do, LeBron, Steph, KD leave? Are you going. You trust the game? With the joker, Luca Giannis, great players, hall of Fame players. But then you got guys like Ja Morant. You can't trust him. Wonderful talent. Can't trust him. Zion Williamson reportedly on, you know, available if you want to trade for him. So you're looking at what is the future? You know, Cooper flag coming in. Like, there's always going to be, you know, fresh blood in there. The question is, who is a tune in factor person. The WNBA struck gold. They got Caitlin Clark. The NBA needs somebody, somebody like that. And I think this is where Adam Silver is going to have to, you know, have a golden at bat type thing of swinging for some things and trying some new things. Remember with baseball, the pitch clock. Oh, God, the base is going to be a little bit larger. Oh, nobody complains about him now. We actually had guys who stole bases. Games were quicker. Like there seemed to be more movement in the game. He's trying and I think that's what you want. You know, football, it doesn't matter what they do. This commissioner can't screw it up. Hey, we're going to do this to the kickoff. Now imagine if we were doing this years ago where we said, hey, this is what we're doing. Even you can't touch a quarterback. Imagine if we did that years ago. Oh, what's the game devolved into? Oh, I don't want to watch this. Put a skirt on him. Now we're like, no, you got to protect them. You got to protect momes and tua. The kickoff, like aesthetically, when you watch it, it's still weird to see you're just standing there, you know, like, you know, you're guarding the queen. Just standing there until. And go. And then you scra. You know, it's really silly looking, but the NFL can do no wrong. Hey, we're gonna outsource. We're sending games out of the country. They don't. Hey, we're gonna have you play three games in 11 days.

Maurice Jones-Drew (9:58)

Okay.

Paul Pabst (10:00)

Can't do any wrong. Double headers on Monday. You know, we're like, yeah, okay. But I think with the NBA, I think we're going to have to start looking and going, okay, where are we going? What is the future of the NBA? And you got to ask these hard questions. We see what's happening in college football, like, it happened quick and it's still evolving. And that's what you have to be able to get ahead of, you know, these kind of decisions or these seismic shifts that you have in sports. Crazy. But I think that's what the NBA. They're going to have to have one of those what ifs. Hey, there's no bad ideas here. Let's just put stuff out there and see what can we do. Now, the first thing I would say is, I want to know who's playing. That's. That's it. Are you playing? But don't tell me, hey, they're playing for money. Now, if you said the Bucks and Thunder had to put in their own money tonight, in the middle of the court, Commissioner brings a wheelbarrow out and says, they're playing for this money, and the Bucks and the Thunder put up the money. Okay, that's interesting. Not going to happen. But just because they're playing for money doesn't mean anything to me. I want you to play hard. Not, hey, we're playing hard because we can get some money. That doesn't do anything for me other than, I guess they're really trying now. It's like baseball tried back with the All Star Game. And Fox goes, nobody's watching the All Star Game. How about home field advantage for the World Series? Silly idea, but they were trying. Like, I'd rather have that commissioner who's trying to do something now. I don't want change for the sake of change, but I do want ideas. And I think we're not beholden to records anymore. It's not like you go, oh, my God, you got the bases larger. Well, that's not the same with Ricky Henderson. Yeah, we got all that. I get that. But I think you got to try. You got to be experimental or willing to be flexible there, because our attention span is getting shorter and shorter. You're going to flip through. It used to be you would just watch. Well, now you really have to give me a reason why I'm watching this game. I'd like that. The Bucks, Giannis and Dame are playing well, and Doc Rivers seems like he's going to keep his job. Okay. The Thunder, when they get Chad Holmgren back, you know, SGA is a really talented play. Not enough for me to tune in for that. And I love basketball, so I do think the NBA will have to look at something. I wouldn't be surprised if you start to hear, hey, they're considering this. Or they'll float it out. They'll leak it in the media and say, hey, we're thinking about this. What? And then all of a sudden, we discuss it. Yes, Marvin. Yeah, I would have lost some money because if we had made a bet at the end of last year's playoffs, I would have Said Anthony Edwards is the guy you have to hit your wagon to just because they had such a great run in the playoffs and he's such a great personality. And I don't know what happened. I don't. I mean, once again, I don't go, all the Timberwolves are playing. I'm going to tune in. But if I do tune in, I know that he'll stand out. They're above.500. But the Lakers, the Lakers, you know, that roster is not a winning roster. You know, they're an eighth seed team, it feels like. But LeBron's going to be done in a year, Steph. And maybe two years. Kd a couple. Then. Then what? I mean, These are all first ballot hall of Famers, top 15 players of all time trying to get guys nowadays who are going to play, want to play, win championships. The fact that Zion is available right now, I mean, the Pelicans, they almost had it. They almost did. And now they don't have anything. They're terrible. They're in last place. Zion couldn't miss. He's going to be a star. I don't even know if he wants to play. I don't know how much it matters to him. John Moran's got everything until he doesn't have anything. Anthony Edwards can be wonderful, but what did it come down to in the Olympics? Those same three old guys. Joker's great, but he's just great to watch. So I don't know. I think. I think the NBA's got a challenge here ahead of them because the last 10 years the ratings have been going down steadily, a steady decline. And this year, not good either. And who has the philosophy of a sport where you go, hey, our season starts in October, but wait till Christmas and then we're going to have some really good games. I'm going to take a couple of months off. It's not a great game plan for me if you're the commissioner. Hey, the season starts Christmas Day. I think we all feel that way. That's what he was trying to do this with, the NBA Cup. It's about the Cup, Todd. It's the cup tonight. Bucks thunder for it all. For some of it, not all of it. The. The cup. Yes, MARVIN. And the NBA's in even more trouble because the NFL's like, no, no, no, we got Christmas. Yeah, they roughed him up too. Like that was their prime time. Hey, guys, the seasons here are big matchups. We got five great games with 10 great teams. And NFL's like, I guess, you know, you know what the NFL said, hey, we're going to have our guys play on like two days rest. You guys up for it? Sure. You want to play football on Christmas, be away from the family? Sure, yeah.

Todd Fritz (16:06)

Paulie, I think after listening to everything you just said, what really stands out to me is the NFL is always pushing it and feeling more intense and playing more games and their players are playing. Nobody sits out as a healthy scratch. What bothers me about the NBA after listening to you talk about this for the past few minutes, the games lack intensity. No matter. They have star power. They have lots of star power, a lot of recognizable names. When I tune into a game, I watch guys running up and down, jacking threes and running back down and jacking threes. And that's what happens for about two hours. There's very little intensity. I don't need fighting or punching, but intensity of the game. They feel. The games feel casual, especially the first half of the season.

Paul Pabst (16:46)

I watched the Knicks and the Hawks the other night and I watched most of the game and really enjoyed it there. There was a feel to it, but that's because of Trey Young in the Garden against the Knicks. And that is a standalone game. I'm not saying you're going to get that all the time, but I'd like a little bit more of that where it feels like it really means something to the players. And it just feels like, hey, you know, we're going to work, gotta go out there, I gotta play, you know, about 34 minutes and then run to the next game and shoot a couple threes and then that's it. It doesn't feel. And maybe there's too many games. We've talked about that. But once again, I'm not beholden to the records the way I once was. I don't know if the American public is either, but I do think you're going to need a commissioner. And this commercial commissioner is a very bright man to maybe start to look at things. And I think the courts, that kind of had a shock value to it. You're like, whoa, what's this? Okay, do you want to do that all season long? Okay, like, the All Star Game is not worth tuning into now. We're tuning into what, the three point shooting contest? But we're bringing in the WNBA with the NBA and okay, you're trying. They can't do anything with the All Star Game unless it's the United States against, you know, everybody else in the world. Maybe that would be interesting. I just don't know if you'd have the depth. You probably have five or six really, really good players from around the, around the world. And then it would be a drastic fall off there. All right, we'll get started here. Got a poll question.

Todd Fritz (18:36)

Yes, Paul, we may have to play an impromptu good idea, bad idea later today where we say what we would give an idea to Commissioner Silver. Like, let's say, like you said, there's no bad ideas. All hands on deck.

Paul Pabst (18:48)

Well, he has, you know, to his credit, he has enacted some of the things I proposed to him. And that is you must play a certain number of games to qualify for postseason awards. And I think that that does help. Like, you know, you almost have to dangle a carrot and say, come on, you got to play. Got to play. And we took away from the positions on first, second, third team. He did that as well. Those were two things I asked him to do. Basketball's positionalists, take them off, you know, first, second, third team, and let's have a requirement of to be eligible for postseason honors, you got to play in a certain number of games. Shouldn't be that way, but that's what it is. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows@foxsportsradio.com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis, and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekly from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Cavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture.

Greg Olson (20:01)

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Paul Pabst (20:04)

To have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Cavino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and rich small business owners.

Dan Patrick (20:37)

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Paul Pabst (22:37)

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Maurice Jones-Drew (25:18)

Well, first and foremost, Dan, great to be back. Second, no Jaguar slander will be allowed while I'm on here. No more Jaguar slander. We've had enough.

Paul Pabst (25:29)

Okay. Okay.

Maurice Jones-Drew (25:31)

We've had enough.

Paul Pabst (25:32)

Okay.

Maurice Jones-Drew (25:32)

Start of the day. You know, unless it's positive, we don't, we don't want to talk anything negative about the Jags. All right? Start of the day was a little. That was a little tough for me to hear you say that.

Paul Pabst (25:43)

Okay. All right. I've learned my lesson. I'll try to be nice. Let me see if I can find something nicer. How about we'll do what I was.

Maurice Jones-Drew (25:52)

Gonna say it's okay, we can move on.

Paul Pabst (25:53)

Okay.

Maurice Jones-Drew (25:54)

You know.

Paul Pabst (25:54)

All right.

Maurice Jones-Drew (25:55)

You know, Jags near and dear to our hearts here in the Jones Drew household. Been a tough season, but we can move forward.

Paul Pabst (26:03)

Well, I did have this one. The Raiders have trailed by double digits in all 14 games this season.

Maurice Jones-Drew (26:09)

Yeah, that. That doesn't. That doesn't help either. That doesn't help. We're going the wrong way. Let's talk about the Vikings.

Paul Pabst (26:16)

Okay. How threatening are the Vikings?

Maurice Jones-Drew (26:20)

To me, I think the Vikings, when Sam Darnold is playing the way he's playing, they can beat anyone, especially in the NFC north now with Detroit going through all those injuries. And I know Dan Campbell's fired up about the challenge that'll be for his team, but in the NFL, it's about the creme de la creme. It's about the talent that you have on that roster and missing so many guys that they have right now on defense. David Montgomery out for the season, that's going to be tough to overcome. I'm not saying they can't do it, but the way the Vikings are playing, they're my favorite right now to win the NFC North.

Paul Pabst (26:57)

What would you do with Sam Darnold's contract moving forward?

Maurice Jones-Drew (27:03)

I would. I would actually sign Sam to a two to three year deal. Continue to let JJ McCarthy sit and learn. Very similar to what kind of packers do with Jordan Love. If Sam can continue to play this way, I think the Vikings have a great chance to continue to build a roster with him and then obviously move on from him in a year, two years, and then put J.J. mcCarthy in there. You're ready to roll. You got it. You had a winner. So to me, I think they put themselves in a position. Now, let me be honest, I wasn't a believer in Sam Darnold. I don't think many were because of what he did in New York. And I know he played better in Carolina. I know he sat with the Niners. But what we saw from him as a full starter in New York was tough to watch. Right. A lot of turnovers, a lot of mistakes being made. But kudos to him for working on himself, working on his game and going into Minnesota into a situation where you have a lot of weapons around you and he's really taking advantage of this opportunity. So to me, he's earned the right to play again next year. Especially being what, whether 12 and 2 right now and you have a chance to win the North. To me, that. That's a huge accomplishment for not only did the Vikings organization. But for Sam himself, pritzy.

Paul Pabst (28:20)

Give Mojo the poll question. The poll question is which NFL franchise feels like it is in the worst shape?

Dan Patrick (28:28)

Bears, Giants, Panthers, Raiders, Browns, Jaguars, Titans?

Maurice Jones-Drew (28:33)

What?

Paul Pabst (28:34)

In that group, who's in the worst shape moving forward?

Maurice Jones-Drew (28:37)

You know, again, I told you, no Jaguar slander.

Greg Olson (28:40)

My mistake.

Maurice Jones-Drew (28:41)

So you didn't have to put them in there. Also, Brian Callahan is a great friend of mine. No Titan slander. I feel like that franchise is on the rise, that they're, they have a good defense, they're rolling. To me, it has to be the Giants. And the reason being is you let go of, I want to say, two or three players in free agency that are playing well for the McKinney and Green Bay, obviously Saquon and Philly. And I wanted to say there was another player that's actually playing really well that they let go of free agency. You just can't let talent hit free agency and not bring them back. You just can't do that. And a lot of that was because they paid Daniel Jones a ton of money. Now you let you, you let him go. Right? And now you're sitting there in disarray trying to figure out what's going on. Another tough season for them. And like, what makes it worse for me is that they did the off season hard knocks and the way they were talking about their players.

Paul Pabst (29:36)

Right.

Maurice Jones-Drew (29:37)

And that to me just is kind of like, I don't know. Now, yes, the Browns have a tough situation. I think all those teams are in pretty volatile situations, but to me, the Giants, just how it went about it, what it looked like from the outside and then getting a peak on the inside. It looked exactly what we thought it was going to look like. And then the season you have just doesn't work well for me.

Paul Pabst (30:02)

Yeah, I, I was really surprised that they allowed those behind the scenes phone calls. And you have the, you know, the GM talking to Saquon Barkley. And it just, it was embarrassing because, I mean, not having, you know, read the room, understand what you're saying. You're saying it on TV cameras and you're basically saying to Saquon Barkley, yeah, go ahead and see if somebody likes you. But, you know, come back to us and let us know, man, I'd be out the door, be like, nope, not going to look back on this.

Maurice Jones-Drew (30:35)

Well, yeah, shout out to the scout, too. Or the one of the personnel people was like, are you sure you want to do this? Right. He was there to make sure. Like, are you sure you want to let Saquon walk. And they were kind of like, yeah, oh yeah, we're not going to pay a quarterback $40 million to turn around and hand off to a $13 million back. Like, well, guess what? Philly is more than happy to do that. And you know, to be quite honest, he shouldn't be. He should be paid 10 times that amount to what he's done for Philadelphia and their offense. Right. In a situation where he won them a couple games while guys are hurting, he's been the focal point of that offense. He needs to go back, you know, if it's me and I'm, I'm glad I'm not his agent because we'd be going back to the table, sir. I'd be knocking on the door like, we need a couple, a little bit more of this pie that you got going around here, you know.

Paul Pabst (31:21)

Maurice Jones, Drew NFL Network analyst I don't know if Kirk Cousins is your friend, but I have to ask you, is it time to bench Kirk Cousins in Atlanta?

Maurice Jones-Drew (31:30)

Yeah. Okay, so this is the thing. We had this conversation. I do a show every Monday for the people in the UK and Ireland for NFL and we do a Monday night show. We talk about it like, Kurt is a great guy, he's great in the locker room, but you can't continue to turn the ball over at the rate he turned the ball over. And to me I believe, look, if you want, if you're fighting for this spot and you want to win and maybe you feel like, hey, Michael Penix isn't ready yet or I got to go see that. I can't sit back and have this guy not throw a touchdown for what, four or five weeks, continue to lose games that are winnable games and put us in a position where we're not playing well. Now he does do a great job off a play action pass, but they've been in some, some drop back passing situations where he's just made bad decisions. And to be quite frank with you, I don't know if he's still hurt or if Father Time is tied up to him, but sometimes when he throws a football, doesn't seem like he has a lot of that pizzazz that he had on him when he was in Minnesota. And so for me, I just think it's time to see what we have. And I know they're in the race and I know they're still winning. And I love Raheem Morris, so I'm going to believe and trusted him. But if I was the coach, I would have pulled Kirk a while ago and saw the young guy was going to do.

Paul Pabst (32:50)

What's the difference with Josh Allen this year as opposed to maybe the last couple of years.

Maurice Jones-Drew (32:57)

Okay. So first and foremost, I think he's just playing with the confidence and understanding of this offense. And it must be the same offense, you know, obviously Joe Brady there and their connection. But watching him versus the Rams. So you got to remember this is again, I work. You said I work for the Rams. Big Rams fan. That's why I said no slander for the Rams, Jags, Raiders, we refuse that. And the Titans because my guy, Brian Callahan and Nick Holtz. But I saw Saquon Barkley versus the Rams and I was like, this is the best player I've ever seen in football. And my God, like, this is crazy, you know, Then double back a couple weeks later, the next week or something crazy like that. Here comes Josh Allen and I was like, no, this is the best player ever, right? He was throwing the ball. He had a couple throws. If they were arrows, they would have killed some of those receivers. The way he just hit him square in the chest, like he was putting the ball in positions. The Rams defenders were in great position and he was. The throw to Mack Hollins for a touchdown. A couple throws to Maury Cooper and then his ability to take off and run and he's. He's again your bigger. He's your biggest runner, right? So he. The goal line opportunities. Then you see the way he's running and taking the time. Well, he picks his spots when he wants to be Superman, if that makes sense. I think that's what, that's. What's the difference we've seen between Josh Allen now and Josh Allen before. He always wanted to be Superman, always wanted to make the throws, always want to do all these things. Now he allows the game to come to him, meaning they're going to run the football. He's not going to take chances. And then they have play calls where they probably talk to him throughout the week, like, all right, this is where you could be Superman if you need to be. These are the moments where we need you to be Superman. We need you to run the ball here. We need you to extend the play and throw the ball down the field here on this third down. Like there must be a code word that they tell him where he turns from, you know, Clark Kent to Superman and he goes out and does it. And again, a guy like, like I said, like, he's clearly right now, you know, obviously I'm a running back enthusiasts and I love arby's and I'm all over. But what he's done the last couple of weeks, scoring 40 points in back to back games against defenses that have played really well throughout this season. And I mean, what's that? You had 48 last week. He has 42 the week before. Whatever it might have been like, like, my goodness. And so to me he's just, he's really learning his. When the moment is for him to go out and show what he can do, but he's relying on his teammates and that's, that's what's great to see.

Paul Pabst (35:29)

Great to talk to you as always. Hope you're doing well.

Maurice Jones-Drew (35:32)

Oh, always. Well, we'll get going. Look, listen, I'm going to be honest with you. I had youth football, I had high school football. We lost the state championship game to the number one team in the country. I'm still. I haven't moved out of my bed in three days.

Paul Pabst (35:45)

Did you, did you cry?

Maurice Jones-Drew (35:47)

No, I don't cry. Just. I just, you know, replay the game over and over and over again. But our kids played really well. We just, we did. We had some opportunities we didn't take advantage of. And so I watched the tape. I'm sitting here, I mean, I silent cried, which means I didn't like boo hoo, but like a couple tears dropped. Yeah, because you know, just losing, losing is hard, but you can learn from losing. And I'm learning that I'm a terrible loser. And I'm getting, we're getting back to the drawing board. We're ready to go see the kids in a couple weeks. You know, is Christmas.

Paul Pabst (36:20)

What?

Maurice Jones-Drew (36:20)

Kids don't even get Christmas this year. Santa doesn't come to losers houses. You know what I'm saying? So the kids already know like Santa doesn't come. He doesn't like that. He loves winners. So we gotta, we gotta read, we gotta figure this thing back out again.

Paul Pabst (36:33)

Is your son being recruited?

Greg Olson (36:36)

He is.

Maurice Jones-Drew (36:36)

He is being recruited. He has offers by Cal in Utah right now. Has a couple other schools talking to him. So he's a sophomore. But he had a. He had a really good sophomore year and we're getting ready for our junior year here. Like I said, back to it. No Christmas this year.

Paul Pabst (36:52)

Good to talk to you.

Maurice Jones-Drew (36:54)

Good to talk to you as well.

Paul Pabst (36:56)

Thank you, Mojo. Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

Dan Patrick (37:07)

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Malcolm Gladwell (38:26)

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Paul Pabst (39:09)

Thursday Night Football is on and it's only on prime video. Make trick ass Touchdown. This week the Denver Broncos visit the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with big playoff implications. This is unbelievable. Coverage begins with TNF tonight. Not a Prime member sign up for a 30 day free trial to stream the game. It's the Broncos and Chargers Thursday only on Prime Video.

Greg Olson (39:32)

Restrictions apply.

Paul Pabst (39:33)

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Greg Olson (41:03)

You know, I think that's a great question. I actually last time I was involved in a game that Beyonce was also involved in, I lost the super bowl in Santa Clara. She was the halftime show. So I have mixed feelings. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully the result goes better for me this time.

Paul Pabst (41:19)

What's it like when the, there's somebody performing that a lot of people would probably want to go out of the locker room. Did anybody sneak out to see Beyonce perform?

Greg Olson (41:30)

Not to my, not to my knowledge. But you know, a couple of years ago, you know, when I called the super bowl in Arizona, Rihanna was the halftime show. So like, I mean the excitement of the crew. So we get ready to go to halftime and all week we're like, you know, it'll be cool, we'll get to watch. Rihanna got great and we've got the best seat in the house. 50 yard line up in the box and then like the second to last play or the last series of, of the second quarter, Mahomes gets rolled up on, he gets his ankle rolled up on, he gets limped in. So the whole halftime now instead of being able to sit down, catch our breath, watch Rihanna for five minutes, we had to scramble and do the whole, oh my gosh, could you imagine if Pat Mahomes doesn't come out for the second half of the Super Bowl? And thankfully he did. So I'm excited to watch Beyonce. I love Beyonce. I think it's going to be fun. I think the entire experience is going to be super cool for everyone that's participating. And I know our crew, Noah and I are super, super pumped to get together, work together for the first time and kind of see what happens.

Paul Pabst (42:29)

Can you see Mahomes modifying his style. I mean, we've had the ankle injury every year. Almost had a severe knee injury as well. But he's not a runner. I call him an opportunist, but can you see him maybe modifying?

Greg Olson (42:46)

You know, I just think at this stage in your career it is so hard to just change your play style. I think, you know, so much of what makes Mahomes so special and so such a generational player is his ability to play off script. Right. It's almost the entire underlying of their entire offense is his ability to extend plays, move in the pocket, remain a passer. To your point, he's not necessarily a scrambler in the sense of I'm looking to run with the ball, to convert. He's. He will run, he will pick up first downs, but it's his ability to stress the coverage because he just holds onto the ball so long without getting sacked. And I think that's kind of the balance that every team in the league is trying to say. It's one thing to hold the ball, it's one thing to stress the coverage, but as you're stressing coverage, you're also stressing protection. So it's finding that balance. That's what makes Mahomes and Josh Allen and now Jaden Daniels and you know, Lamar and just some of those guys are just such a handful because even when you defend everything, you still haven't defended everything. So I just don't know if there is any going back injury is part of it. Hopefully he dodged a bullet here with the ankle and you know, obviously his style of play is just incredible.

Paul Pabst (43:53)

We have a poll question. Fritzie, would you give Greg the wording on the poll question? Which team right now in the NFL.

Greg Olson (43:59)

Is in the worst shape now and.

Paul Pabst (44:01)

Going forward in the near future? And we had the Bears, Jaguars, Browns, Texans, Giants. Where, where are you on that?

Greg Olson (44:09)

Yeah, so I think it's combination of, you know, what does the current winning culture look like in the building? Are they doing it multiple years in with the same coaching staff and regime and then where are they in terms of finding their future quarterback? Right. So those are all the things you give first year coaches. You give first year rookie quarterbacks. Like I see what's going on in Chicago. I think that's an example of obviously the season's gone off the rails. Ever since they lost on the Hail Mary to Washington, it feels like things have fallen apart. I think they've lost eight in a row or whatever. But they've got Caleb Williams, they're going to get a new coach in there and a new staff. They've got, you know, good pieces in place. So that should be a pretty, you know, that should be a pretty popular destination, I would imagine, in this hiring cycle. But then you look at the Giants and I like Dable. You know, I thought he did an unbelievable job his first year. Making the playoffs, go on the road to Minnesota. I called that game. And they come out with the, with the upset victory. Since then, it's been a bit of a disaster. And, you know, but then you look there and you say not only have they had a culture of losing, they. They let Daniel Jones go, they don't have their future quarterback on the roster, and now they've got to start all over again. So, you know, I, as much as I hate to say this, because I just love Dable. I love who he is as a guy, as a coach, I think they're pretty far removed from having an ability to win. They're in a really tough division. It doesn't look like Philly's going anywhere. Dallas will bounce back. Washington's obviously the surprise team in the league. They've got a tough division, don't have their quarterback, and they're losing at his store.

Paul Pabst (45:39)

Great.

Greg Olson (45:40)

Other than that, other than that, things are good.

Paul Pabst (45:43)

How much coaching is done on an NFL level from the head coach as opposed to coaching in college?

Greg Olson (45:52)

I think it's different in every franchise model. So I think you look at the coaches that are also the play callers. You know, you look at a team that's having a ton of success. We saw him last night, you know, on national TV on Monday night play, you know, Chicago with, with Kevin oconnell and the Vikings. So you look at what Kevin oconnell is doing on a week by week basis aside from delivering messaging and addressing the team and putting together the plan and keeping the locker room and culture and vision intact. He's also in the, in the weeds of the game plan and he's, you know, on the sideline, he's charting plays and he's formulating his play call and getting his opening script done. So he's part offensive coordinator, part head coach. That's very challenging, right? That's Andy Reid, that's Kevin O'Connell, that's Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, you know, of those sense. So those guys are in the weeds coaching on a day to day basis. X's and O's and plays. Then there's other coaches where their impact on the team is just as Great. They're just not actually the ones on game day calling the plays directly, you know, to the, to the quarterback's headset. But, you know, you look at Dan Campbell, he's not necessarily calling the plays. He's got two very good defense and offensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, maybe two guys that are going to get head coaching opportunities this cycle, but he's involved in every single thing they do. Talk to him during the week. We can ask him about the offensive plan, the defensive plan. He knows both sides of the ball. Like, he's actually going to call the plays on Sunday. And then, of course, he handles all the game management and the motivation and the speeches before and after the game. So I think every coach is a little bit different as far as what their role is. But the best coaches are the best communicators. The X's and O's and the plays. That stuff will take care of itself. The best guys are the best communicators. They deliver the message, they put out fires and they galvanize a group. And, you know, you look around to the best teams in the league. It's not a coincidence that they also have some of the best leaders, some of the best, you know, messengers. It's a huge part of NFL football.

Paul Pabst (47:45)

Talking to Greg Olson, NFL on Fox. He'll be on the call on Christmas Day. The game is on Netflix. It'll be the Ravens and Texans kickoff at 4:30 Eastern. Speaking of these two teams, which one's more threatening come playoff time, Ravens or Texans?

Greg Olson (48:02)

It's a good question. I've kind of started diving into them this week just in preparation for, for next week's game. And you know, when you start with Baltimore, obviously, you know, we've seen them do it. Mvp Lamar, they add Derrick Henry. I mean, that is a, that is a scary group. And I would say when you've played well, you've come out of that game saying that's the best team in the league. And then there's been some other games where you go, okay, like, they're good, but can they just put the, you know, pedal down and just dominate somebody? And I think their defense is getting a lot better. I think their defense is much improved. Earlier in the year they had some ups and downs. They've started to string together some, some performances here of late. So I think as long as you have Lamar, I think Harbaugh is a fantastic coach. I think they have a culture and of winning, which, again, to our, to your earlier question is so important in this league. Guys expect to win, they expect to show up and have success, and that's very powerful. And then with Houston, I think what's. What's so unique about them is last year, all the Talk was about C.J. stroud, and he busted onto the seam as a rookie, and he was incredible. They win the division in him and Demico Ryan's first year, and everyone's saying, oh, my God, he's incredible. This year, it's been the defense. I mean, that defense is young. They are good. They can rush the passer. Daniel Hunter, Will Anderson, they've got two really good young corners. Derek Stingley might be the best in the league right now. And then Lassiter, who's the young rookie on the other side. So they're young, they're talented, they can rush the passer, they can dominate at the line of scrimmage, and then the offense is opportunistic. It's, you know, last week they forced four turnovers against the Dolphins, and they score 17 of their 20 off of turnover. So they're. They're making the plays. They have to. They're not as dominant offensively as they were. Even though I love their skill positions, their offensive line is the question mark. They. They struggle up front, they struggle to pass protect, and then everything kind of goes from there. So I think it's a fascinating matchup on paper to me at this stage. It's Lamar and that Ravens offense against this Houston defense led by Tomiko Ryan. Like, that is the matchup, and I think it's going to be awesome.

Paul Pabst (50:06)

Level of concern for the Lions is what.

Greg Olson (50:11)

Gosh, you know, you just. You can't help but just feel for him because four or five weeks ago, they were the best team in football. And it wasn't just because of the offense. It wasn't just because, you know, Goff's playing at MVP level and the offensive line has been good there for a long time. And of course, Ben Johnson's the bell of the ball. He's the coach everyone's looking for and the skill players unlimited. And then on the defensive side, they were so good, obviously, you know, losing Hutchinson and then losing Anzalone. Aaron Glenn's held it together as long as he could, but you go back to like the top two of their robster depth early in the season, I don't think anyone is left. And then of course, the other night in that awesome game, you know, they lose Alain McNeil, they lose Carlton Davis, they. They lose more starters. And then now the words coming out with Montgomery the back alongside Gibbs that he might be now out for the year. So it's just, it's unfortunate that this is the way it happens, but we see it all the time there. There is an element of luck to NFL runs. There is an element to the teams that stay healthy the longest make their run. But listen, if we've seen anything about Dan Campbell, he's going to alter his approach, he's going to get super aggressive, he's not going to apologize for it. And they're going to have to try to make up for what they're missing on defense. They are going to have to carry the load. Hence why he onside kicked with 10 plus minutes to go in the game. Like that was not just an arbitrary gut reaction. He understands the efficiencies of the defense. They can't stop anybody. So why is he going to let teams go 85 yards for a touchdown when just let him go the short way and get the ball back?

Paul Pabst (51:45)

I mentioned Josh Allen was like a better throwing Cam Newton when Cam won the mvp. That fair to either of these, both of these guys with that comparison?

Greg Olson (51:58)

Yeah, I think it's very fair. I think, you know, when you look at a lot of the things that Josh is doing, it's a very similar play style to how Cam played. I would argue that Cam was maybe used more consistently, especially those first five years or so in the run game. And then it was quarterback power, it was quarterback run, it was downhill. Like they use Josh, I think really smart. Like they, the way they activate him as a design, quarterback, runner, it's red zone, it's short yardage, it's perimeter runs, it's spread QB draw. They do a great job saying, okay, we're not going to just run them into the ground, but when we need them, ball is going to be in his hands because he's the best player in the league. So I think in that regard they're both physical, they're strong, they're. They can outrun you, they're powerful, they can protect themselves. I think that's an, that's an element that people are starting to see with. Yes, the quarterback run is such a weapon. And when you have a guy like Josh Allen and you have a guy like, like he's silly not to use it. But what guys are finding is over the course of a season, are you able to sustain it? Do you have a guy that is built to take those hits and can be a runner? If you're a quarterback, every time he's in space to get hit, just gives himself up and he's not willing to run through contact. You lose the advantage of running your quarterback. And that's where Cam was so unique is when he got in the open field, they didn't want to tackle him. Can't they bigger. Cam was at more risk standing in the pocket, getting to get injured, getting guys at his legs blindside than when he was actually on the offensive as a runner. And I would say the same thing about Josh. And then obviously his, Josh's ability to throw off platform and throw from outside the pocket and some of those throws he made the other, other night on the run against Detroit were just, I mean they were just out of this world. So I think he's the mvp. I, I think I can't, I mean I can make an argument for Lamar, I can make an argument for golf. I just what Buffalo's doing right now, I, they're, they're, you could argue they're the best team in the league right now and he's the best player.

Paul Pabst (53:57)

I was amazed when I first met Cam, how big he is. Like when you, when you see quarterbacks, like he's probably bigger than you.

Greg Olson (54:07)

Oh yeah. Cam's eye to eye with me and when we were both playing, he, we were probably within, I don't know, anywhere between 5 to 10 pounds of each other in any direction at any. Yeah, he, Cam could have played defensive end, Cam could have played tight end. Cam could have played outside edge rusher. When you talk about just unique physical specimens that have come through the NFL, Cam Newton's @ the top of the list. The first time I ever met him in training camp, I had just gotten traded to Carolina from Chicago and I walked into the training room and of course watched him at Auburn and watched him win the national championship and the Heisman and all that. And then. But again, to your point, when you see him in person, you don't realize just how imposing he really is. And you know, when I saw him I was like, whoa. And then obviously he got out in the field and the way he's able to run and he was long legged but powerful and obviously could just rip it. He was a unique physical product, but yeah, just his sheer size was very unique.

Paul Pabst (55:05)

Thanks for joining us. Happy holidays to you and our best to Ian Eagle. On Christmas Day on Netflix, it'll be the Ravens and the Texans. 4:30 Eastern. Thank you Greg, I appreciate it.

Greg Olson (55:17)

Always good to see you.

Paul Pabst (55:18)

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Maurice Jones-Drew (57:04)

Hey, what's up guys? I'm Nick Chubb, running back for the Cleveland Browns. The holidays get really busy for me, but I still want to pull up to events.

Greg Olson (57:11)

Looking nice.

Maurice Jones-Drew (57:12)

Abercrombie's latest job will party Looks is taking me through the season for dinner with the fam, drinks with the guys, and even New Year's Eve. They have outfits for every occasion. I'm mainly a jeans and T shirt guy, but Abercrombie has the dressier fits.

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That keep me comfortable.

Maurice Jones-Drew (57:26)

Shop Abercrombie for every night out.

Dan Patrick (57:28)

Welcome to TGL, presented by SoFi, golf's newest league. It's sharp and it's electric.

Greg Olson (57:34)

How is it sharp?

Dan Patrick (57:35)

How is it electric? Good questions.

Paul Pabst (57:36)

Try this on for size.

Dan Patrick (57:38)

Two hours of Hammer dropping overtime forcing playoffs on the line Golf with 24 of the best players from the PGA Tour split into six teams Atlanta, Boston, Jupiter, L.A. new York and the Bay.

Paul Pabst (57:50)

This isn't your average Sunday pickup game.

Dan Patrick (57:52)

Catch the inaugural TGL match January 7th, only on ESPN. Keep up.

Paul Pabst (57:57)

It's golf.