← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Richard Sherman Podcast - Week 18 Reaction & Playoff Matchups: Seahawks, 49ers, Rams, Texans, Jags, Bills | Richard Sherman NFL
00:43:34
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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, everybody. I appreciate you joining us as always. You guys are phenomenal. You're the best in the world. You're watching the Richard Sherman Podcast. But if you could do me a huge favor and hit that sub button, it would be greatly appreciated. You would do a. A service for your boy Sherm. And I tell you what, I got your back, you got my back. All love. Welco. Back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And what a game. What a defensive battle. I love defensive battles. And the Seattle Seahawks put on an absolute clinic all game long. And it was wasn't just about the scheme. It wasn't just about schematically. Sure, Mike McDonald does some incredible things schematically. But it was the effort and intensity they were playing with that impressed me the most. And I said it during the game, while I tweeted it during the game, I said that effort got rewarded with the. With the interception and. And the fans were like, well, they didn't have to do anything. Christian just dropped that. No question about it, Christian. That was a drop. That was one I'm sure he wishes he has back had back. But in order to take advantage of that, you got to be running to the football, you got to be hustling, you got to have energy. And that was the frustrating thing all night watching his 49ers defense is they didn't have that kind of energy. And sure, they held the Seattle Seahawks second highest scoring offense to 13 points. That should be applauded. They did a phenomenal job. Some of it was a benefit of a miss field goal and some mistakes by the Seattle Seahawks. But sure, it still goes on the record. They held them to 13 points for the second time in a row. But there was a turnover. There was a point in this game. There's a couple points in this game that were really the turning points for me for this defense because they couldn't stop the run, they couldn't stop Kenneth Walker, they couldn't stop Sharpenay. And it just seemed like the Seattle Seahawks were resetting the line of scrimmage every single play on every single possession. And they were owning it. They were the more aggressive they were the more dominant team. They were. They had the mindset. They went in there with a plan and they executed it. Sam Darnold played really solid football. He didn't turn the ball over, but the one play where he had a chance to turn the ball over, where he got stepped on and he fumbled the ball away and it was down, it was a free ball for Anybody to go get. I didn't feel the sense of urgency. And that's what I mean when, when, when fans are like, oh man, they played really good. Are we watching the same game? Yes, we're watching the same game. But I watch it with a different lens because I know the fanatic pace in the desperation and sense of urgency that you have to have to play great defense. And I saw that with the Seattle Seahawks. I did not see that with the San Francisco 49ers. And now I didn't care either way. You know, I'm not, I just was loving a great game, but I was like that was missing when I watched the Seattle Seahawks defense get on the field. They're running, they're playing with swagger, they're running, hitting, everything moving. You see three, four guys at the football every play, every time you look like, hey, you got to count these guys on the field. Is it 12 because they're running and hitting. And then you look at the San Francisco 49ers and it just seemed like it maybe they just running out of gas. You know, this is a team that's been through a lot this season, dealt with a lot of injuries, dealt with a lot of heartache. But on third and 17 with your offense needing to get the ball back, they run a play not even expecting to get the first down. I don't think Clint Kubiak when he, when he drew this up, when he called this play expected, you know, he expect this is a give up play. Hey, we're going to run the ball, get us a couple yards, punt the ball away, get. And nobody was there to tackle him. Like he's not going to stop running if nobody's going to tackle him. He's not going to just give up on the play if nobody's going to tackle him. And that was the play that really frustrated me as a, as a, as a person watching a game and, and it would frustrate me watching either defense play like that because I'm a guy who loves to watch great defense and Seattle Seahawks gave me that today. They filled my cup up with great defense, flying around, hitting interceptions, sacks, guys in the secondary playing with swagger. Ernest Jones playing with Nick Emmett worry look like he fight. He looked like a guy out there today. He's been looking like a guy, but he looks like he's found his confidence on the field. His swagger, his leadership is he's comfortable doing what he's doing. But even, even my guy, Reek, Reek was still, was swagging out There a little bit too. But outside of a play by d' Amador Lenor on, I think it was fourth down on Charbonnet where, where Charbonnet tried to bounce it. D made an incredible play, but again he made the play by himself. By himself. The play, the third and 17 play is a play you cannot put on tape. Not a team fighting for the one seed, not a team that's won 12 games like that's as a defense. Because those things take no talent. The effort and attitude that you play with, it takes no talent running to the ball. It doesn't take talent. It just takes want to. It takes mindset. And that was the most concerning part watching this team. It just that that part wasn't there. And they still had a chance. They still had a chance. The San Francisco 49ers offense marched down the field, got inside the red zone and, and had a chance to win this game. And that's what you knew, that's what we talked about earlier today when I had did the preview. It's going to come down to the end of this game. It's not going to be a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. If The San Francisco 49ers score right there, which it looked like they were going to do, if Christian McCaffrey catches that football, then it's a, it's a 13 to 10 ball game and, and they got their timeouts. And we're trying to figure out what happens at the end. And that's with the Seattle Seahawks playing dominant football on both sides of the, of the ball. And that's what you want them to look like going into the playoffs. They look like the number one seed in the nfc. They deserve it. Everything's going through Seattle and I can't wait to watch it. The San Francisco 49ers likely are going to play the Philadelphia Eagles if the, if the Chicago Bears can come, pull out a win. But if not, then they'll go to Chicago and it'll be a rematch of a couple weeks ago. And that was a fun game to watch as well. But let's, let's talk about these playoff scenarios. Like I said, if the Rams win, they're the five seed. They play, they play whoever goes out of the NFC south, either Carolina or Tampa Bay, depending on what happens with the Saints and Falcons game. And we'll get to that in a second. Then you got the San Francisco 49ers playing either the Bears or the Philadelphia Eagles. And that Philadelphia Eagles matchup could be interesting because I think that's a matchup. It's a revenge game. And I know it was a couple of years ago, but when, when Brock Purdy got hurt and that, that developed into a little bit of a rivalry between Philadelphia in San Francisco for a while and it was, you know, Juwan Jennings going back and forth with him. If we would have had our quarterback, you know, it wouldn't even mean close. And I think that's a game the Seattle, I mean The San Francisco 49ers can win if they, if they, if they get that matchup. I think, you know, obviously they beat the Bears so they can clearly win that game. But it's going to be a dog fight either way and if not, then the Bears play the packers and that's going to be a cool matchup. And the Seattle Seahawks are waiting for, for the lowest winner of all of it and it's going to be a fun ride on the NFC side. No question about it. I can't wait. But right now, the Seattle Seahawks look like the class of the division. Mike McDonald, this is the reason they hired him. This is, I think the Seattle Seahawks front office and ownership group saw Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy in this offense struggle versus the Baltimore Ravens and multiple, multiple matchups with Mike McDonald. And I think that went into the decision to hire him because he does a good job against Kyle and he's done a good job this year in both matchups against Kyle Shanahan. He's finally got the system installed the way he wants to. It's year two and he has a deep rotation of the defensive line. I think they're the only team with with over four guys with 40 pressures and they look like a team that knows what they're doing. They're confident, they're swagging my guy. DeMarcus Lawrence said, hey, they're the dark side because they turning the lights off on people and everybody got to come through Seattle and see the dark side and that's what's going to be in the playoffs. If you want to win the super bowl, you're going to have to come in Seattle and turn the lights on. And I don't know if anybody can do that. We'll see. If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. 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What a game. What a game. And it's going to have a lot of implications. Seattle Seahawks are obviously going to enjoy their buy, but it's week 18 and we got these Sunday games to talk about. Got to bring my guy Mitchell back to talk about these. His Detroit Lions got an end out of got a win at the end of the season. That's got to feel good.
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It does, Richard. But I tell you what, watching last night's games? Holy cow. The NFC is going through Seattle and Seattle deserves it. Man, they look tough they look very, very tough. Cannot wait for the playoffs to unfold here. We got some more games to talk about the LA Rams. And let's not forget about what is at stake here. With a loss that The San Francisco 49ers will take the five seed. With the win, Rams get the five seed. No surprise. The Rams end up winning 37 to 20. Richard, how big of an upgrade is it for the Rams to play against the Carolina Panthers instead of the Philadelphia Eagles? Getting this win provides them with that opportunity to overcome Carolina on the road once again?
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It's, it's, it's good. Any team that played the NFC south opponents was, was going to feel good about it. Both teams were limping into the playoffs. Carolina getting in on, on a tiebreaker scenario where they actually lost the game head to head versus the Bucks, you know, each, each team one on one and then the Falcons beat the Saints and they get in the playoffs. So I think the Rams feel really good about that. They're excited about that. I like, I like the matchup for the 49ers against the Eagles. I think that's going to be a really good game. A Reid match of I think three years ago when Brock Purdy hurt his arm. An NFC Championship game. Obviously teams look a lot different since then, but there are some intriguing matchups for sure in the NFC side NFC north matchup between the Bears and the packers. And I'm sure the packers feel really good about that. It's a, it's a game that's come down to the wire both times with, with each team getting a win and they control majority of the game for both of those games. So I think the Green Bay packers will feel good about their matchup. The Philadelphia Eagles rested their starters. That's something, I'm sure it left you a little puzzled, but I think I understood it and I think Sirianni valued the rest and the recalibration for his starters, for his guys and allowing them to heal up some going into what they would hope to be a deep playoff run. I don't think they worried about the opponent and who the opponent was. I don't think that really mattered to them. They play at home either way. So I think they felt really good saying, hey, win or lose in this game, I think that the rest is more valuable to our guys and will help us more in our ultimate goal, which is, which is trying to get back to the super bowl and win it.
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Well, back to this game today. No surprise, Matthew Stafford, another four touchdowns, continues on his amazing MVP Run. Is it safe to say he's got this thing signed, sealed and delivered the mvp?
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I don't know. I don't know. I really can't call the MVP anymore because it's such a weird convoluted award at this point. And I'm not sure if it goes on the merits of who played the best or who did enough. And that's because of what they did to Lamar Jackson last season. Obviously cool, it went to Josh Allen and kudos to him, but it just took detour away from what it's been over the past couple years and, and maybe it'll do the same. I mean, Matthew Stafford has the most touchdown passes, had a phenomenal season, but he's on the west coast in la. Maybe it's going to be east coast biased and they're going to say, hey, the guy in New England, you know, the kid in New England who took a team who wasn't expected to do as much to a one seed or to a two seed and maybe they give it to him for that. But I think Matthew Stafford deserves it. I think he played at a high enough level and elevated each and every week. And there are stats out there about his, his stats against winning teams and playoff teams. And I think he threw 20 something touchdowns and only had one interception versus winning teams this season. And that, that has to matter, but we'll see what the voters say and, and who they give it to. But I think he's made as good of a case as he's ever made in his career to get that award and he definitely deserves it.
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And I know Week 18 did not matter for the Arizona Cardinals, but I tell you what, Richard, they found themselves a gem. Your Stanford Cardinal alum, Michael Wilson, I know you like his game, but they like Marvin Harrison Jr. A lot in Arizona. I, I gotta believe Michael Wilson has earned that number one wide receiver within their depth chart. Do you feel that they're going to approach him as being that guy going to next season?
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Sadly, I don't. You know, I think he, he deserves that. And I think a lot of teams, if they, if they are going to continue to tout Marvin Harrison Jr. As the number one, a lot of teams are going to be knocking on their door seeing if they can make him number one on their team. He showed some promise out of Stanford, no question about it. I think the quarterback situation kind of held him back. It held a lot of those receivers back. But he's getting to showcase his talent now and I think, I think he should be the Number one receiver in Arizona. I think draft position is draft position, but production on the field needs to matter. And if it matters in this situation, he's the number one guy out there.
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Let's take it to the NFC North. The Detroit Lions, my Detroit Lions played the NFC north champions Chicago Bears. It's hard for me to say, Richard, but Chicago trotted out there with all their starters today. They wanted that number two seed. Unlike Philly, who didn't seem to care one way or the other. There was a lot at stake going into this game. I know Detroit had nothing to play for, but reality is they're going against their former OC, Ben Johnson for the second time this season. Detroit was dominant in the first half, up 13 to nothing. Ultimately squeak off a win at the buzzer thanks to Jake Bates kicking the game winner as time expired for Detroit. I like to think this is a big win for them going into next season. You know, obviously they didn't, the season did not unfold like they wanted it to. It was very painful to watch it as a Detroiter, but you know, they finish fourth in the division, they get a cakewalk schedule going into next year, and they end up beating up on the division foe twice. You know, it sets a precedent for Ben Johnson that he might own this division this year, but he doesn't own the battle between Detroit and Chicago. Richard, I know you're, you've played in several meaningful games at the tail end of the season, but. And any of those that were not meaningful, how as important is it to come away with a win even when you're not going to the playoffs?
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It's very important for the facts that you just laid out. You, you establish, hey, you're a division rival. We don't lay down for anybody. You establish winning habits and show your team that no matter what we fight to the finish, regardless of the outcome, regardless of, of. Of what, what happens at the end. And again, you beat Chicago twice in a season, so this is the team that won your division. It shows you can beat them. It shows that you have everything. You have enough in your building to, to, to win this division. You just gotta be consistent. You gotta, you gotta be healthy. You gotta get your best players on the field consistently. You got to get Brian Branch back, Kirby Joseph back. Guys like that have to be on the field. When you have Pro bowl, all pro caliber players, it doesn't help you if they're not on the field. So obviously getting healthy will be a big deal for them. Getting a pass rusher will be a Big deal for them, reinforcing that offensive line, things like that. But it was a good win. What the concerning part if you're the Chicago Bears, is that you ran your starters out there and you got your butt kit. And that's the thing. You don't want to feel that during the playoffs. Going into the playoffs, you want to have momentum. You want to be feeling really good about yourself both sides of the football. You want to feel like you're hitting on all cylinders and to put what they just put on tape, which was an offensive struggle. Caleb Williams kind of reverting back to his old ways, trying to play cowboy football and be very cavalier, not hitting things on time, not stopping the run necessarily as well as they had. It's, it's. If you're the, the Green Bay packers, you watch that tape and feel like, hey, regardless of being the 2 and 7 seed, you feel good. You feel like you should be favored in this game. I mean, whether it's played in Chicago or Green Bay, the weather is going to be just about the same. So I don't think they're worried about that. And I think under those scenarios, under that situation, I would, I would imagine Green Bay packers are favored in this game.
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Early look at it indicates that they are. And you're, you're spot on, Richard. I mean, Chicago has played an outstanding brand of football and no question about it, they completely overhauled this team. The offensive line looks like a bunch of maulers up front. We've talked about this in the past. You gotta love what you're seeing with their tight end Colson Lovell in their first round pick out of Michigan. But like you said, Richard, what I saw today was Caleb Williams, that it didn't look like the same Caleb Williams I watched over the course of this season. And that is a cause for concern going into this playoffs specifically against a team that they just barely beat with a lot of luck. Let's not forget they covered an onside kick in that game to come back down 10 points late in that game. So we shall see. I got to believe Green Bay loves this matchup. Playing a division foe and it's going to set up to be a wild NFC one way or the other, whether Green Bay wins or the Chicago Bears win. But it's a wild match to see right out the gates with two NFC north foes going at it Week one in that wild card matchup, the Falcons and the Saints, a game that no one thought would ever matter because both of these teams are a hot mess, garbage out of the NFC South. But the Falcons improved to 8N and in doing so, the Carolina Panthers are on their way to the playoffs. Richard, if I had told you at the beginning of the season that three teams would finish eight, nine in one division and one of them would have a home home game in the wild card playoffs, what would your thoughts be?
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I would say the system is broken and I think a lot of people would agree with that. I don't know if you can ever eliminate a division champion from the playoffs, but you can definitely take their home game away from them. And I think any situation, any scenario where they finish below.500, you have to have some kind of change or adjustment where they don't get the home game. And I think that's it. I mean, I tell you what, the NFC south never ceases to amaze in the most absurd and obscure ways, the most odd head scratching ways. You're like, so you're going to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheer for one of their biggest rivals in the New Orleans Saints to get a win. The New Orleans Saints Twitter page and is trolling Buccaneers fans as they do it, like they're not going to try to win this game and go on to lose this game and eliminate the Bucks from the playoffs. I mean that'd be the equivalent of the, the Seahawks and Niners, you know, one of them being having a chance at the playoffs and the other one needing to win to make it happen. Not that they would purposely lose, but they're not going to go as hard as they could to win that game. Mitchell, I'm just telling you, and it was a weird scenario. I think something has to change about this playoffs. You got, you got 12 win teams fighting for their lives in the sixth and seventh seed and you got eight and nine team just comfortably going to the playoffs after another, yet another loss this season. And I just don't think that's what the NFL wants in the playoffs. That's what they don't want for their playoff teams. And not that it's not happened and led to upsets before. I remember the Seattle Seahawks and I'm sure Seahawks fans remember that vividly welcoming in the New Orleans Saints to town and the Beast quake and all that. They were a 79 team in the playoffs and ended up winning that game and going on to face Chicago. So it's not that they can't win. This is the National Football League. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. But is that the fair way to do it? Is you got teams playing all season and win 12, 13 games and you're letting teams in who just happen to be in a bad division. So I think that has to change. And, and you know, this Carolina Panthers team had some quality wins down the stretch. They beat the same Rams team that they're about to face just a couple weeks ago, where they controlled the clock majority of the game. They got after Matthew Stafford a couple times, picked him off a couple times and made some plays, and made enough plays to win that game, scoring 31 points in the game. So I'm sure the Rams aren't taking them lightly by any stretch of imagination. But, you know, I don't know. I, I don't know.
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Well, Richard, if there was ever a year for the competition committee to review this and make a change, it'd be this year. Because the winner out of the AFC north and the winner out of the NFC south are both going to be the four seeds. But if you just look by record, they would both be last place, they both be the seventh seed in the playoffs, and the NFC west would be 1, 2 and 3. And the NFC, I think, Richard, I think it's safe to say time for a change in the way the playoffs are seated. But before we leave the Saints game, I gotta ask you, Tyler Schuck looks like, it looks like the Saints might have found somebody that they can genuinely build around. I know a lot of the question marks about New Orleans coming into the season was their quarterback. Do you like Tyler Schuck's game?
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I mean, it's, it's solid. I think, I think our expectations in New Orleans are so low that, that, sure, we'll go with that. I mean, but, but it's, it's 17 points in a game. You know, I, if he comes in the starter next year, I think we'll judge him as a starter and not as a feel good story. And then we'll, we can, we can make the assessment accordingly. But I don't know. I can't really assess that. I'm not watching the Saints as closely as Saints fans are because they haven't been relevant and they haven't been winning football, playing winning football. They've, they've been fighting for top five draft pick all season long. So that's a tough ran football for me to, to really indulge in. But yeah, I mean it seems like he's played solid football down the stretch to help them get a couple wins. Obviously they lost this game, but with the right weapons around, I think he could be, he could be solid. He could be Serviceable. But we'll, we'll, you know, time will tell.
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Cincinnati Bengals suffered a feat against the Cleveland Browns thanks to two defensive scores by the Browns. And the highlight of this game obviously comes from Miles Garrett, who breaks the NFL sack record with 20, 23 total sacks coming late in the fourth quarter. Richard, how big of an honor is this for Miles Garrett?
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That's a huge honor. But you hear what Strahan said. Strahan said, well, I did it in 16 games, he did it in 17. But then of course, the Internet, the Internet is undefeated and they find the stats and they're going to make a point. And I think Miles Garrett did it on 400 and something snaps and Strahan did it on close to 600 snaps. So, you know, he still, he still got it done in a very efficient way and it was very effective player and he deserves credit for the record that he, he now owns. But that game was so odd. And I didn't, not like, I didn't like the, the, the commentary on that game. There was two defensive touchdowns and they got unsportsmanlikes on both of them because they were just having a good time. You know, you don't have nothing to play for. You just got a defensive penalty. And the commentators are like, well, oh, yeah, I'm sure the coach is upset about that. He's, he's, he's probably going to give him a stern talking to. No, he's not. They just got two defensive touchdowns in a game. He's likely not going to return next season. I don't think he's going to yell at these defensive players for scoring touchdowns and celebrate on the 18th or the 17th game of the season during their 4 and 4 and 13 season. I don't, I don't think that's where he's going with it. But yeah, that, I'm sorry, that just irked me watching that game. I was like, bro, just, just stop. Just stop. Sure, they got to celebrate. Sure, they got the penalty. Cool. Go move past it. But huge honor for, for Miles Garrett. Incredible player. I wish he would, would have allowed himself to be traded out of Cleveland so that he could have impact in the postseason in, in meaningful games. But, you know, clearly he, he enjoys being in Cleveland, enjoys being the highest paid, one of the, one of the highest paid defensive players in the National Football League and, you know, we'll see if he ever gets to make impactful plays in January and February.
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Do you foresee the Cleveland Browns sticking with Shador Sanders as QB1 going into.
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Next Year, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I foresee a lot of changes in Cleveland. Whether they stick with Kevin Stefanski is still up in the air. I think what they do with their front office is, I'm sure, up in the air. Haslam did not look happy in that box during the game. So we'll see. I'm sure it's going to be speculated the entire off season. The only people that know are the people that are in that building. I think he, he played well enough to make it an argument, to make it a conversation. Maybe they'll make it a quarterback battle of some sort all offseason to make them a relevant talking point. But I think, I think he's played and showed NFL caliber football. I definitely think he needs a better supporting cast, that receiver than he has right now in order to be successful. They got to strengthen that offensive line, but that's the story for just about every NFL team. So he could definitely do it. And if they're going to draft somebody in the higher rounds, a first round pick at quarterback, then I'm sure people will be calling the trade for him.
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No question. Well, I'll tell you what, Richard. We did not talk about the Cleveland Browns, hardly at all. I would say over the last several years. We've talked about them quite a bit this season and they're what, 5 and 12? So Shador Sanders has certainly added a conversation piece to this Cleveland Browns roster. So they got to appreciate that of all else. Let's move it to the, to the AFC South. The Houston Texans taken on the Indianapolis Colts. And Houston ultimately prevails with a pretty cool ending to the game of multiple lateral turns into a fumble recovery by the defensive tackle who trollops in for 15 yards for the touchdown. That same defensive tackle was supposed to get the ball at the goal line on a handoff from C.J. stroud earlier in that game. And C.J. stroud, I don't know if there was miscommunication between him and CJ Stroud, but Stroud ended up tucking it and running himself. So there's some irony there. But Richard, the main part of this game I, I that really intrigued me was how well Riley Leonard played. He was 31, 21 at 34 for 270 and two touchdowns. He did have an interception. He had a rushing touchdown, couple fumbles lost. But Alec Pierce is turning into a stud in Indy for catches, 132 yards and two touchdowns. Do you think Indy would have been in better space if they would have just stuck with Riley Leonard in terms of going and signing Philip Rivers.
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That'S a tough one because it's a lot of speculatory. They clearly didn't feel comfortable with it. If they did, they would have played him. So I can't say that. Give me one second though, because I want to check something before I give you my true thoughts on it. Because yes, this Jacksonville Jaguars game where he went 18 of 29 for 145 and was sacked one time and intercepted. You know, I just don't think they, they felt like, hey, this guy will gives us the best chance to win going forward. And nobody knows better than the team that drafted him and a team that has him in the building all season long. All season long. And if they felt like their, their chances were better with a quarterback that hadn't played in five years, I mean, it definitely was, it was saying something about what, what they thought about Riley Leonard. No question about it. So I'm not going to say, oh man, he should have started the whole sea. He should. They should have just put him in. They did not think he gave him the best chance to win. I got to trust that, that there's a reason behind that. I'm sure they'll be asked about it.
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Well, Richard, this Houston Texans team is ultimately going to play the winner of the AFC North. The more I watch this team, I know it was a tough, hard fought game against Riley Leonard. But the Colts are still prominent defensively and now the national media is starting to talk about the Houston Texans and they're also talking about the Jacksonville Jaguars. Richard, do you still like Houston more than Jacksonville at this point?
- [31:44]
A
Yeah, I like Houston almost as much as I like any team in afc. I think they're coming out of the afc, if I'm being honest. I think that pass rush in that defense is going to be the reason they come out of it. Will Will Anderson, Daniel Hunter, that interior defensive line, my guy Ziz, Al Shair, that secondary with Kalen Bullock, Kamari Lassiter and our guy Stingley, they're going to be formidable. And if CJ Stroud can, can continue to find Nico Collins, can continue to find rhythm offensively, they're going to be a tough out. And you got to give Jacksonville a lot of Credit. They lost 13 games last year and they had the biggest turnaround new coach with Liam Cohen and to. To. To win the AFC south in the, in the fashion that they did to get the third seed in the playoffs. Trevor Lawrence had a career season, 38 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 4,300 yards but again we're, we're back in the playoffs. They're playing a team that has a quarterback definitely that has had some success in the playoffs and Josh Allen and we'll see, you know, if they go out there and beat the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, I think that that pretty much puts the icing on the cake and establishes this team as, as for real and that they're, hey, they're here to stay and they're contenders in this afc but you know, that's what they have to do. And I know people are like it's unfair. We won 13 games, we're here. But if you win 13 games and go home and in the wild card, it kind of reinforces what everybody thought. This was a bit of a fluky season for you and, and congratulations. But if you go out there and you play as dominant as you did all season long and you go, go beat the Buffalo Bills and move on to the, to the divisional round of the playoffs, it, it, it definitely puts an exclamation point at the end of this season for them.
- [33:38]
B
Richard. The Denver Broncos have the fifth best point differential in the AFC but are going to land at the top of the AFC. They've got 12 comeback wins on the season. That's the most in NFL history. Obviously they have a heck of a defense. Their offense is the main question mark here. Do you believe that their offense has enough firepower to lead them out of the AFC this year?
- [34:02]
A
That's another thing that's going to be left to be seen. You know there are so many unknowns going into this playoffs. Usually we have some, some, some known contenders coming in, you know, with, with strong resumes. This year we do not, you know, we have a bunch of unknowns with, with no playoff resume with no playoff success under their belt. So we're going to, we're going to get some, some natural surprises this year. We got Justin Herbert and the seven seed Chargers going, going to New England to play the number two seed. Drake may lead Patriots. You know neither one of those teams have had a lot of playoff success in the last couple of years. Somebody's going to get to, to really establish their legacy. Does does Herbert finally get over the hump and get this team where they need to be without his two all world tackles? Who knows Detroit may continue this seller season and show that hey, this Patriots team is the Patriots of new not the Patriots of the last few years. They're really here to stay and they're going to be here and they're going to make a splash this postseason. We'll see. But you just never know. You think for an established team, you would say, hey, they're building winning habits. They're showing championship grit and grind, grind by coming back in those games and winning them and regardless, never giving up. But for a young team, you're like, hey, they're kind of figuring it out. Can they do it in the playoffs? Are the lights going to be too bright for some of these people? And every year, every season, it's too bright for some, and to others, you don't even notice it. To others, they look exactly as dominant as they did during the season. But it's a different game in the. In the playoffs. Everybody knows what you're going to do. Everybody knows the things you do best. They have 17 weeks of tape on you, and all your. All your tendencies, all your habits, they're studying you like. Like nobody's business. It's going to be like playing a division game. That's why it's so rare. It's not rare, but it's so weird to have blowouts in the playoffs because teams got to be so. Just ridiculously unprepared because, you know, you got 17 weeks to film. You're just out there blowing it. If you're not, you know, making this game tight, you're just not on the details. Guys that are on the details. These teams are some of the best teams in the National Football League, obviously, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in AFC because there's going to be a new. Some new representation in the championship game for change. You know, you're not, obviously not going to have the Kansas City Chiefs there, who have been there for the last, what, 10 times? You're not going to have, I guess you could have the Baltimore Ravens there, you could have the Buffalo Bills there, but you'll likely have somebody else. You'll have somebody else contending. So I'm looking forward to see what happens. There's not a lot enough information for me to really tell you, oh, man, it's going to go this way or that offense is going to really show up big in the playoffs, because you just really never know until they do.
- [36:49]
B
I'm right there with you. I'm excited to watch it.
- [36:52]
A
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- [39:04]
B
Richard, your line of thinking might have been right about three, four years ago when they were indeed in the Pac 10 of the Pac 12. But I hate to break it to you, Oregon's in the Big Ten now and got shellacked by Indiana at home. Don't sleep on Indiana. Everyone slept on them all year. You're going to wake a giant. I think Indiana brings home the national title. I can't believe I'm saying that, but having watched them over the last handful of weeks, they are a very well composed team of veterans. I like Indiana to cover this one easily. And the second game, Hard Rock Bet has Miami as a 3 1/2 point favorite against Ole Miss. Ole Miss beat Georgia in a thriller. Who do you like, Miami or Ole Miss?
- [39:44]
A
I like Miami Mitchell.
- [39:46]
B
The you.
- [39:46]
A
I just like him because I get to watch my guy do his thing. Michael Irvin go crazy on the sideline and he was whooping a water bucket the last game so I just, I just can't imagine where he's going with it this game. If they win. So I'm, I'm in it for the entertainment value. I'm sorry.
- [40:07]
B
Michael Irvin looks like he could still play, man. The guy shredded. Whipping the water station, doing whatever. I'm with you. I like Miami. I mean, they've proven a lot of people wrong. They didn't think that he. They even should be in the College Football Playoff. A lot of people like Notre Dame, but, yeah, give me Miami as well. I'm with you on that one, Richard. Well, Richard, it's been a pleasure sitting across from you every Sunday documenting all these games. We've saw some doozies over the course of the season. It all leads to this, to this playoffs. We'll be breaking down the matchups later this week, but before we go and before we leave the sunset of this regular season, we have some breaking news out of Seattle. Charles Cross, the offensive tackle, has just resigned on a mega deal. $104.4 million over four years. This is a sign that they love what they have up front offensively. We've been talking about it the last several weeks. How impactful is Charles Cross been to this organization? How much do you like the signing?
- [41:06]
A
He's been great. He's been great. And you knew this was coming down the pipeline. I believe they already paid Abe Lucas, the other tackle, so you knew they would eventually have to get to the left tackle and get him situated. And that's a great thing they did. And I think they got a bit of a bargain for him. They gave him 40 million in his first year, and then he gets the rest later on. But I think you got to do it. You got to invest in that offensive line if you're going to expect to have success in this National Football League. And I think that's what John Snyder has shown that he's focused on right now. They drafted Gray Zable in the first round. They just paid Charles Cross. They paid Abe Lucas. I think they're going to continue to invest in that offensive line this offseason and sure, up the center in the right guard position even more. So I think they're going to bring in more competition for that. But, yeah, I think this shows that they're serious about contending for a long time and they know the important positions that they have to have in order to do that.
- [42:00]
B
And before we sign off, Richard, what if I told you an NFL team has played 17 games and had not had one defensive interception on the season?
- [42:11]
A
Yikes. I'd say. Could you.
- [42:13]
B
Could you name that theme this year?
- [42:16]
A
I would guess it's the Jets. I mean, they didn't have one for quite a long time. And I'm sure.
- [42:21]
B
Is that, is that an indictment on Aaron Glenn, the former corner for, for the New York jets to have a team play, you know, that, that was supposed to be having this defensive identity not walk away with a single interception all season long?
- [42:34]
A
I mean, it's a bit of an indictment. It's definitely an a bit because there's too many uncertain. It's too many things that happen during a football game. Tip passes, Aaron throws, you know, where, where something just got to fall in your lap. And I'm sure it's happened to a. For, for these guys. I mean, it's not just an indictment on Aaron, Aaron Glenn. It's an indictment on the entire secondary, entire defense. Like, nobody has hands. I mean, like, you could accidentally catch one. You know, at some point, even a blind doll finds a bone. And you're telling me that, that what, there's 22 eyes out there and, and none of them could catch anything. None of them see the ball coming. Like, none of them had indicators where they thought they could. That's. That's the least impressive, most impressive thing I've ever heard.
- [43:22]
B
That is by far the least impressive stat I've ever seen. And for a guy that witnessed the team go oh, and 16 in the Detroit Lions, I, that might just take the cake, man. Honestly, I, I. What do we, what do we have here? But anyway, Richard, it's always a pleasure, my man. I will let you sign us off.
- [43:39]
A
As always, we appreciate you joining us. You could be anywhere in the world. This has been 17 weeks of fun with you guys, but the fun has only just begun. The romance is not over. We got a whole lot of love to give. These playoffs are going to be a lot of fun, a lot of competition. All you fans, stay tuned and hit that sub button if you're new, you know what I'm saying? Appreciate you. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.