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Nick Wright
This is an I Heart podcast.
Damanze Taylor
I love that you created this system that revolves around you, creating pockets of peace. World Mental Health day is around the corner. And on my podcast, just heal with Dr. J, I dive into what it really means to care for your mind, body and spirit. From breaking generational patterns to building emotional.
Nick Wright
Capacity, I'm going to walk away feeling like, yes, I'm going to continue my healing journey.
Damanze Taylor
Listen to just heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from. NBA champion Stephen Curry comes Shot Ready. A powerful, never before seen look at the mindset that changed the game.
Nick Wright
I fell in love with the grind.
Damanze Taylor
You have to find joy in the.
Nick Wright
Work you do when no one else is around.
Greg Rosenthal
Success is not an accident.
Damanze Taylor
I'm passing the ball to you. Let's go.
Nick Wright
Steph Curry redefined basketball. Now he's rewriting what it means to succeed.
Damanze Taylor
Order your copy of the New York Times bestseller Shot ready today@stephencurrybook.com the NFL is rolling.
Greg Rosenthal
That's right, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60.
Nick Wright
It's in the name NFL Daily so.
Greg Rosenthal
You'Ll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all star cast of co hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio.
Nick Wright
App, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Greg Rosenthal
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited ends 2826 open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Nick Wright
Welcome to the Best of the Week for what's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. And enjoy. I didn't really sleep last night I didn't. Got up this morning, took your sister to school, picked your mom up from the gym. I don't know If I said 10 words to either one of them. I then just laid on the couch, which I never do in the mornings, and tried to like, take a nap. That didn't work. Now you know how I can tell your mom knows I'm in a teetering emotional place?
Damanze Taylor
I could probably.
Nick Wright
Well, here's how. Here's how I know that she knows and that she's empathetic because there were. She's doing like a whole giant house cleaning thing prior to her birthday.
Damanze Taylor
I knew it.
Nick Wright
Well, no, hold on there. Within the 90 seconds when I came downstairs, there were three things I saw her do that she had asked me to do previously. And she wasn't even mad at me.
Damanze Taylor
Yep.
Nick Wright
I was like, oh, she legit feels bad for me right now. She's like, she, she. She is really showing a real amount of empathy because I was supposed to put those coffee cups away. I was supposed to throw that backpack away. I. And she's doing all of it. And she's doing with a smile on her face, which means she has correctly clocked that I'm not doing great. Hopefully this will be my catharsis. Let's get to Monday Night Football.
Damanze Taylor
Shout out to Madre. So we saw what Trevor Lawrence did to the Chiefs yesterday. It was also his 26th birthday and he walked out of there with a dub. What do you want to talk about first? Your prince's success or your chief's downfall in this game?
Nick Wright
Okay. As much as I'd like to start with Trevor, we have start with the Chiefs. And here's the reason. That game is so, so much more upsetting than the Charger game or the Eagle game. And so much more upsetting than any recent memory regular season loss. One thing about the Chiefs being the Chiefs is they simply do not lose games like that now. They get outplayed sometimes. The offense we've seen over the last couple years get stuck in the mud. They, you know, there are ways that they can lose a game and other people panic or you know, talk about in what bad shape the team is in. And I do not because of the. The full confidence that by the end of the year, Patrick will have figured stuff out or the team will get healthier or whatever it is losing a game like that last night. They don't blow two touchdown leads. Every other team in the league might. They don't. They did last night. Countless, countless special teams mistakes. The. The Multiple the the same player, Jack Cochran, who held on a big kick return earlier in the game does the only thing he can't do on the final kickoff of the game, which is hold again because in that moment I thought while I didn't like what had happened. 23 seconds, three timeouts, the Chief's gonna have the ball around the 2530 yard line. I fully trusted that we were at least gonna get a kick to tie the game. But that hold has the double whammy of they returned it. So you burned six of the 23 seconds and you started on the 15 also with the special teams. Bucker kicking it out of bounds when he has been shaky. Buck, we are now 5 for 5 in games this year where Buckker makes a mistake either missing extra point. Miss it. Yes. Misses an extra point, misses a kick or kicks it out of bounds. And then, and I'm not this oddly is the part of the game that was least bothersome to me but was the most damaging was you know, Patrick made a mistake he simply doesn't make which is the 99 yard pick six that flipped the entire game. Now that you can fairly say that cost them the game. I mean that was a basically a true 14 point swing. But I, I know this is might sound odd to the audience. That is the least of my concerns. The. The committing that many penalties that consistently. And now what does make me feel like the Chiefs are very close to being the Chiefs again is there is a direct correlation to how scary the Chiefs are to the rest of the world and how quickly and loudly we get the idiotic conspiracy theories once again when yes, they missed a DPI on an interception. But this game would have been. Well, I don't know that it was. I don't know that it was worse than when the jags are down 14 nothing and it's third and 15 and there is a Phantom DPI that kept them in the game. Like calls get missed in both directions. The people got mad because Patrick correctly pointed out to the ref we get one yard on the rub route on Kelsey's touchdown and I don't know what the hell Russell Yur was looking at. He says that the play was snapped at the 2. Juju is setting the pick at the 1. That is the definition. You literally had the little hash mark showing you it was a yard. And so that I underst. Listen, they missed the refs missed a really bad call, there's no question about it. And the Chiefs got a pick out of it. The Chiefs were penalized. I think 10 times more or 9 times more than Jacksonville. That was not a oh the Chiefs got all the calls but also those weren't bad except for the DPI on third and 15. Those weren't bad calls against the Chiefs. They were making mistakes and here's the other piece of it and this is what is so and Patrick kind of said it without saying it when he said we've already lost too many games. They they had a nightmare nightmare opening two weeks of the season and they had the opportunity to make it all back by Week 5, go from 02 to tied for first in the Division 1 game out of first place in the entire conference and to and you guys notice I didn't have Kansas City -3 and a half in Knicks picks. I actually think Jacksonville is better than people gave them credit for and I was saying all week Jacksonville was 3 and 1 despite Trevor and that if Trevor played well they're a very dangerous team and we'll get to Trevor later because that was just a perfect Trevor Lawrence game. Some horrible mistakes, some great throws, used his legs, you know better than he usually does even though he's great with that the so I didn't it's not that I think losing to the Jags.
Damanze Taylor
It'S just that was a game that I feel like they they needed they really wanted that game and they didn't get it. And it was also like and it was the Jaguars at the same time.
Nick Wright
Like that's not they needed it Demons A they wanted it and they had it right like they the while the Chiefs don't blow teams out the way the other excellent teams in football do over the last few years, they just simply never beat themselves. And yesterday they beat themselves. Yesterday is the first game in four years the Chiefs have won the turnover battle and lost the game. There have only been three games in the last four years where they have won or tied the turnover battle and lost the game. Week one against Detroit couple years ago, the pick six Week one against the Chargers. This year neither team turned it over and then this week with a pick six and so all of that just it it's just a horrible loss. Let me add another thing before I get to the other side of it. My biggest concern with Kansas City after week one when every there have been let me rephrase it. There have been two concerns that I have had about the Chiefs basically from week one on that while everyone else was focused on Mahomes in the passing game, I was simply not worried. One was the lack of any type of burst or explosion in the running game. Now I thought that was Pacheco and Hunt's. Both of them, you know, one of their better. If not, they're each of their best games of the year. My hair's a mess, I apologize. But it still feels like that's a spot they need to upgrade. And Patrick leading the team in rushing is unacceptable and makes me nervous. But the other thing that was greatly concerning to me about week one was their total inability to generate a pass rush without sending a blitz. And I felt like you saw that again last night. So those. The running back position I think can be. Of all the weaknesses you can have that to me is the simplest to attempt to remedy because they should be able to relatively cheaply trade for an upgrade at running back. The pass rush just has to get better. And Chris obviously has a brutal film on the play when Trevor fell down and now I don't actually think him standing there or if he would have been going 100 miles an hour it would have changed the impact of the play. But that is brutal, brutal tape.
Damanze Taylor
I think he could have absolutely made a play on it. He could have stopped him from scoring a touchdown.
Nick Wright
You think So?
Damanze Taylor
I think 100% feel like he's watching the action from there. If he starts running off to the right, might be able to intercept Trevor Lawrence.
Nick Wright
Oh, I right. I agree right there. He starts running off to the right. My point is by the. I think he would have been going full bore. If he would have been going full bore, he wouldn't have. He wouldn't have beelined to the right. He would have gone up field and then. But it doesn't matter. Yeah, I want to make this clear. It doesn't matter that he wouldn't have made. I don't think he would have made the play. What matters is how the hell are you doing that in that spot. You know what I mean? Like what is the. He played it almost as if the chief's coaching point there was let them score so we get the ball back with a chance to tie it. But no one else on the defense was, you know, had that was feeling that way. And so all of those things demanze are truly greatly real like issues and why this has been so such a troubling 12 hours. Now the flip side, Patrick looks great and he looks great and the offense is. I mean they would they have 500 yards of offense yesterday almost like now again that's not. Andy said it and he's right. The. The goal of the game is not to put up a ton of yards, put up points, and our red zone issues. The. You know, he didn't say this. I'll say this. Patrick's bad mistake. The. The penalties, those things are how you lose football games. But Kansas City, particularly when Rashid gets back, I think is going to be back to being a very explosive offense again. So that part is great, but two and three is not. And you just. You had the opportunity, had you taken care of going into last night's game. You were like, there were. There's the 4 and 1 Bills who you play later this year, the 4 and 1 Colts who you play later this year. And the Jags were sitting there with one loss and you were playing them that night. And so it also puts a lot of pressure on next week. And next week is the Detroit Lions, who post week one have looked like the best team in the league. This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
Greg Rosenthal
Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week. That is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that? Yes. Might want to go back to the Colt Stadium.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah.
Greg Rosenthal
Might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Frank Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Nick Wright
By the way, LeBron just posted, I guess did Hennessy front run him on this. That's so funny. Real quick.
Damanze Taylor
Is that the announcement or that's.
Nick Wright
I'm just gonna let you guys hear it. I. I hope. Hold on, let me see if I can do this. Hold on. Well, here it is. No, I got. I'm just gonna do it like this. We'll do it old school. Well, everyone's on pins and needles across the country. You ready to go, LeBron? Where's the powder? Left it at home. LeBron fans, want to know where you're taking your talents this year. What's your decision in this fall?
Damanze Taylor
Man, this is tough. And this fall, I'm gonna be taking my talents to Hennessy. Vsop.
Nick Wright
Vsop. And this was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?
Damanze Taylor
That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
Nick Wright
Why? I feel like it's gonna give me.
Damanze Taylor
The best opportunity to win more at hosting. And not only that, win at signature cocktails, win at having a good time.
Nick Wright
Winning across the guests.
Damanze Taylor
Win that.
Nick Wright
Making memories we in that.
Damanze Taylor
Making it look easy. Win at leaving people wanting more.
Nick Wright
LeBron. Appreciate it. Okay, so real quick, quick sidebar.
Damanze Taylor
What a guy.
Nick Wright
Of course, like, now, listen, I would have been wrong. I thought it had something to do with Amazon Prime Day because he. He works with Amazon. But, Danny, yesterday, when LeBron sent that tweet, he came, he's like, you saw LeBron's thing? I'm like, yeah. And he asked, he said, do you think it's anything? I was like, I would bet anything. It's an ad. And he asked me why, and he thought my answer was kind of ridiculous, but it's why. I knew it was an ad. I said, because it's at noon. It's what he said it was going to be. And he's like, that's the reason. And I was like, yeah, it's like.
Damanze Taylor
More of like a night thing.
Nick Wright
Yes, it's prime time. Like, if LeBron is going to announce his retirement, it's not going to be noon on a Tuesday. I'm just telling you right now. It's just so I.
Greg Rosenthal
There.
Nick Wright
There was real, like, questions. I got texts from people or whatever about what we, like this show or the TV show or whatever, what are. What we want to do? And I don't want to say I ignored them, but I. In my head, I ignored them. I'm like, guys, I promise, this is not like intel. I didn't talk to. I didn't. I was so non plussed by this. Like, I obviously am real close with some of LeBron's closest people. Maverick's a dear friend. I see Rich a few times a year. You know, Rich works with my agent. I didn't even send any of them a text, like, with a question mark. Like, it was so obvious to me. To me, it was just like if. If he had sent the exact same tweet and it said Monday, 7pm My heart would have skipped a beat.
Damanze Taylor
I'd have been like, oh, man, rundown. Change it up a little bit.
Nick Wright
Yeah, like maybe. Like there might be. There might be something here, but Tuesday at noon. The guy is not announcing his retirement Tuesday at noon. Now, he was. If you didn't get the. And I didn't show you the. He's wearing the same shirt he wore to the original decision. Miami. Like, kind of Miami. Right. And the. The script is the. The questions he was asked, like, the no powder. That it's all the exact same beats of the original decision.
Damanze Taylor
But that was a good idea. Nice ad.
Nick Wright
Yes. Listen, Shadow, also, by the way, I don't know what Hennessy, you know, paid Bron, but I do know that they are now going to get a lot of free media out of it by simply LeBron sending one tweet, like, so I don't know what his tweets are worth, but that, you know, I would consider that likely. Money well spent. All right, back to the discussion we were having. What were we talking about? Oh, the Lions game now is massive. Oh, that's why I saw it, because I was going to Hard Rock Bet to see going into last night. Here's a fun one. Damanze. Wait, no, Going into last night, it was Casey minus a point and a half. Now, typically, oddly, when a good team loses, if they don't suffer real injury, they become bigger favorites by a tiny bit the next week. I don't anticipate that's what will happen here. So what. What do you think? Do you think the line moved or stayed the same? And if it moved in what direction.
Damanze Taylor
You said yesterday was minus one and a half.
Nick Wright
Kansas City favored by a point and a half.
Damanze Taylor
Point and a half. Yeah, I think it probably. What is it, minus two now? Minus two now?
Nick Wright
It's. It stay. It stayed the same. I thought there was a chance it would have gone the other way, but I think the reason it didn't was because the Chiefs offense did look really good and that Jags defense is legit. It's just so frustrating. And this is all I said going into it was if they don't turn the ball over, they can't lose. And they make. Listen, it was the worst type of turnover you can make with that defense.
Damanze Taylor
Being how good it is. Like Jacksonville's defense is. It's legit. They even came in, they got a pick six against Patrick Mahomes. Like with the Travis Hunter thing, I think it's so unfortunate that he wants to play on both sides of the ball because I think he would make the defense that much more dominant or if he wanted to be 100% offense he would just give Trevor Lawrence even that better of a hand. But I think because it doesn't seem like he's being super effective on either side, he's maxed out his long right now.
Nick Wright
No, right now it's kind of the worst of both worlds.
Damanze Taylor
Right.
Nick Wright
And listen, I know he made one really big play in this game.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah.
Nick Wright
But the Jags aren't at a shortage of weapons and right now the, the they. They trade. The only way you can justify trading what they traded for a non quarterback is because you thought you were getting two players. But right now he's having less of an impact than all the guys drafted around him who are just one way players.
Damanze Taylor
Right.
Nick Wright
And so that's the really disappointing part if you're Jacksonville like let me go to real quick because Mason Graham who was the fifth pick who was part of essentially the Travis Hunter trade has been great. Abdul Carter is making a real impact. Will Campbell's the everyday left tackle. Mason Graham has been excellent Genty. I know that there have been some questions about Genti. Genti's great. He's just that how often is he getting the ball and how often are they blocking for him. But you've seen more from him already than you've seen from Travis. Mimbo has been excellent at tackle for the jets even though they've been terrible. And Ted McMillan has made a bigger impact. The wide receiver for Carolina. For Carolina. No, that Tampa Bay receivers of Buka who's been unbelievable. But he was, you know he was a mid first round pick. He was 19 and so yeah, I do think that they, they haven't yet figured out how to use Travis.
Damanze Taylor
Travis.
Nick Wright
Now listen on the Prince. This is why he's such a tough player to quit. Because he can make that throw to Brian Thomas Jr. Down the sideline. And he is he at Clemson he ran a lot and he is big and strong and all those things.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah.
Nick Wright
And fast. He also loves that leap over the goal line QB sneak. That's not the first time it's been knocked out of his hands. He also will, as Aikman pointed out, miss some layups. And he, it's fair, is fair. He should be better at this point than he is. But he is now positioning himself where he is going to have a real opportunity to have, you know, another postseason. And the best moment of his career came in the postseason. And so now, like, it's starting to take shape a little bit. Right. It feels to me demanze like, like the playoff teams we can say with confidence are Buffalo, Indy, Jacksonville, the. The four and one teams. Like, we just got to give them credit. One team out of the AFC North. I can't write off Baltimore yet, but that's the only way Baltimore does it is if Pittsburgh. The reason I'm not saying two teams out of the north is if Pittsburgh just continues winning, Baltimore's cooked like Baltimore. Baltimore's path is going to be that nine wins can win you the division. So there's four. And then I obviously believe the Chiefs are going to be in the. I can't. I, I. It would be unfair for me to say pencil the Che. Like to put the Chiefs in pen. In pen because they're two and three. So if we have Buffalo, Indy, Jacksonville and an AFC north team, and then it would be Damon's. A Three spots for Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Patriots. Three spots for those four teams. And right now, the team that probably. Of those four teams this moment, which team do you think is most anxious? Because to me, I think it's pretty clear out of Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, Patriots. If one of them's gonna.
Damanze Taylor
Oh, Chargers, probably.
Nick Wright
Yeah.
Damanze Taylor
The most anxious here, it's the Chargers.
Nick Wright
I mean, to me, it's definitely the Charger.
Damanze Taylor
I'm Jayden Daniels is more respectable, but coming off an injury.
Nick Wright
Yeah, yeah, Jaden. And only scoring 10 points. And we'll get to that game later. Wow. The producers don't always nail it on this show. They always try with their humor, but sometimes they. They miss the catchy. This one's pretty good. Yeah, I. Because, you know, I obviously coined the tackle that turned the tide. And by the way, I. Given how Patrick has played since that moment, I think it's still. Even though they lost and he threw the pick six, I think it still applies. I thought Patrick was for 75 out of 76 plays excellent yesterday. Now, the one mistake he made, like, fair is fair. It flipped the game. And so I'm not, I'm not giving him a pass. But if I were, if I were saying, was that encouraging? Yeah, yeah. They said. Was that the pick that made Nick sick. And you know who suggested that? Vic.
Damanze Taylor
Vic.
Nick Wright
All right, all right. Well done. Well done, guys. But they said is Trevor's td. The stumble that started the succession. That's pretty good. I think that's pretty good.
Damanze Taylor
Singers.
Nick Wright
I think it's pretty good. I like it, guys. All right. You guys made me feel a little bit better. God, I'm. I was upset and I'm gonna have to deal with. It's one thing that I'm gonna have to deal with Colin in a couple hours. But you know who is privately, I'm sure take de Monte off camera. Reveling in this. In my pain. J. Mac. Oh, man. And the Chiefs. And the Chiefs loss. Oh, boy. That's not going to be fun. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. If you love betting on sports or you just love sports and want to try betting, Hard Rock Bet sportsbook app makes it simple. Plus packed with great insights and non stop promos every day of the week. I'm already looking ahead to Sunday night in Kansas City. Hard Rock Bet stats hub right there in the app. Here's what it shows me. Arrowhead we know this one of the toughest places to play for a reason. KC has won 12 in a row as a home favorite. And Kareem Hunt, after scoring again last week, has scored in seven straight October games. If you still haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet, there's time for you to still get $150 in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet and if it hits, you get not only your winnings but but also an extra $150 in bonus bets. New promos every day. Just open the app and check out what you've got. Any day of the week, download the Hard Rock Bet app today. Take a look around and make your first deposit payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, o Tennessee or Virginia. To play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-809 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia.
Greg Rosenthal
Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week. That is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. Sold that.
Damanze Taylor
Yes.
Greg Rosenthal
Might want to go back at the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Damanze Taylor
Things have not been going well over there in UNC for Bill Belichick. They are off to a 2 and 3 start. And there's even talks of the documentary being canceled. Well, I think that's actually canceled. And there's. There's other talks of Bill Belichick initiating his own million dollar buyout. You wanted to talk about this? Things are looking rough for Bill.
Nick Wright
Yeah. So listen, I think that it is noteworthy what Ali Connolly is saying. So you guys might be like, who is Ali Connolly? People that listen to NFL Daily, Greg Rosenthal's great pod are familiar with Ali Connolly. He also has substack and a newsletter called the Read optional. I think he also is involved in some of in. But he's in the uk. He's a. He's in the uk. I don't know if he's British, if he's Irish, I'm not sure. I think he's British. I know that that's one you don't want to get wrong. My apologies. Regardless, the reason I am mentioning it is he was the guy who broke Belichick to North Carolina and people initially like one of the reasons they. It didn't get taken as gospel initially was because it's like, why is this guy in the UK breaking this story? But he had it first by a lot. So he then yesterday sent out the following tweet thread that I want to read to the audience again. The guy who first had Belichick to Carolina told us this. Bill Belichick has discussed buyout options with North Carolina's hierarchy. Belichick has signaled a willingness to trigger his own million dollar buyout. If he can find a soft landing with another team or in media, he goes on. Members of Belichick's coaching staff have already spoken to other schools that are expected to be in the College Football Playoff about taking on roles during the postseason. From one coach, quote, the racks are leaving the ship. End quote. Some staffers believe a change will come within two weeks. Reports of serious recruiting violations remain under investigation at unc. Recruiting and practice violations have already been proven by the school. According to multiple sources, using recruiting violations to knock down a coach's buyout has become a standard practice. If Belichick cannot find a landing spot to trigger his own buyout, he's expected to accept a greatly reduced compromised rate. More on that in a second. I'll explain it Belichick's community back to Ali Connolly. Belichick's communication with his staff in the past two weeks has been described as weird and distant by multiple members of UNC's coaching staff. Multiple coaches were unable to get a hold of him during UNC's bye week. Last tweet from one UNC defensive assistant what we've done to these kids is effed up. End of tweet thread. So let me just give a little explanation about the buyout stuff so people understand. If Belichick gets fired, they owe him like 20 million. If Belichick leaves on his own accord with one thought, potentially for another job, they, Belichick or whoever's hiring him has to pay 1 million. What Ali is reporting is that it is now on the board that Belichick pays that million himself just to bounce, just to be out of there or if that doesn't happen, if he doesn't have, you know, like they said, soft landing, that he agrees to a greatly reduced number off that 20 million. But what Ali Connolly is reporting, the too long didn't read version, is this thing's already over. If you already have coaches talking about who they're going to coach this year's playoffs, it's over there. And that would be, we have talked about like can Belichick, is it fair? Can your legacy ever go backwards in sports? Right? Like all, all let's say Braun was in year 25 and averaged three points a game and was terrible. Like would that be fair to hold against him? And my general rule has always been you shouldn't, you should not be penalized for continuing to do something if, like if your legacy was here I'm putting my hand, if you're listening up to my eyebrows, basically. And if you quit it was going to end there, then continuing to play or coach. It doesn't necessarily have to raise it. But you shouldn't go backwards, right? There are rare instances though, where it feels like people do go backwards. I think Russell Wilson post Seattle, I think he went backwards a little. I think of Russell Wilson after when Seattle had said I'm retiring. And we never saw him be bad. We never saw him on awful teams. We never saw teams repeatedly move on from him. We, we would hold him in a probably higher light for Belichick, for the thing at Carolina, I didn't think he needed to be great there. But the fact that they are yet to be a Power 5 school, the three legitimate teams they've played have beaten them by an average of 26 points per game and they are averaging on scoring themselves 11 points per game. And he might just be ready to call it. Holy smokes, man. I. It is unfathomable that it would have gone on this road, this, gone this wrong. And I say this with all sincerity. It is a bit of a lesson and not just hubris, but in what can happen if you only surround yourself with acolytes and with yes men like Ballot. The GM is Lombardi, whose whole. Don't you know? The only relevance he has left in the NFL and in football is his relationship with Belichick. I don't listen, I don't relish saying that for I don't know how much of the audience knows this, but when I started with Fox, I did a three time a week, two time a week for a full football season podcast where it was just me and Mike Lombardi was called make me Smarter. I mean I know the guy, but I get Fair is fair. I have to call it what it is. Like he in the last decade his connection to pro football has been his connection to Belichick. Lombardi. Lombardi's kid is on the coaching staff. Both of Belichick's kids are on the coaching staff. They have. They have not. There is not a lot of new ideas coming in. They seemingly did a very poor job in the transfer portal. And I mean there was the quote. I wish I could tell you where.
Damanze Taylor
I saw it going against the integrity of the game with their recruiting process and all that. Like he's. It sounds like they were kind of cheating a little bit.
Nick Wright
Well, so that, so that. Listen, I don't know I.
Damanze Taylor
How much of that is true or.
Nick Wright
Yeah, I don't know enough yet about the recruiting violations. And I also, to be totally honest, don't even know what's legal and what's illegal in college. They're all like, I don't even know what. Like, it seems like I don't know how you could break the rules these days. Like. And so that part of it is odd, but set that aside. There was a quote from a coach of a non Power 5 school last week that said, yeah, I knew North Carolina was going to be screwed because they were recruiting all the same players we were. He's like, whenever there's a team that is recruiting all of the guys we're after, I know that team's not going to be able to compete at the top level. But they. So they. And that sounds mean from the coach, but it's that coaches, again, I'm not saying what school he's at because I don't know. But he's saying he's coaching a small school and so they should not be going after this. North Carolina should be able to get elite players. Players.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah.
Nick Wright
And didn't. Again, I don't want, I don't want to put you on the spot here, but you had a friend or someone you knew.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah, he was. But he, he ended up going to Colorado. But he, he, he. Yeah, he went on, did the whole process. I think he was going to do it. But he ended up playing at Colorado this year.
Nick Wright
Okay, so. But he was recruited by Belichick's crew.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah.
Nick Wright
As a transfer student. Right. He wasn't a graduating senior. He was transferring somewhere. Right. Those 70 kids that transferred into North Carolina did it.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah, yeah.
Nick Wright
And if we are five games in and they're already talking buyout and just giving up, that's pathetic, man. And I do think that, and I try to always be consistent and honest on this. I. So the revisionist history that some folks do, acting as if those first three Super Bowls weren't teams that were led by the defense, which Belichick was in charge of, I'm not down for that. And the final super bowl, they, they held the Sean McVeigh, Todd Gurley, good, Jared Goff, Rams to three points. So I am not going to act like Belichick was carried by Tom Brady. I don't think that is the case at all. I think they both helped each other greatly. But I'm also not going to act like that. The last half decade has not been an abject disaster for Bill. He stopped being able to draft. He made outrageous coaching staff decisions. His personal Life became very public and a legitimate distraction. He. All the bridges with New England seem to have been burnt and now he goes to North Carolina and we're talking about it being over already. That's a train wreck. And there is not yet any coach, any modern coach Damanze that has a close enough resume to Belichicks to start a real who's the best coach ever Debate. But if we get, you know, Andy is the obvious one that has a shot. But I. But I'm not trying to make this about the Chiefs. I'm not even really trying to make this about Andy. The point I'm making is this. If somebody gets close, how it is ending for Bill will hurt him. The fact that it was just rank incompetence across the board the moment Tom left even will make people do something that I think is unfair, as I said a moment ago, which is start to put a bit of a curve, negative curve on what he did with Tom. And so I normally would not lead with this.
Damanze Taylor
All the success came when he was with Tom. And then like every single thing he.
Nick Wright
Did after that has been a disaster.
Damanze Taylor
Yeah, it's.
Nick Wright
And so.
Damanze Taylor
And again that's why the UNC thing was. Is him trying to recover on that. It's like, oh, I went to college, look at what I did.
Nick Wright
Yeah, it's correct. Or. And that's one of the reasons he wanted to go to another NFL team to show he could do it. And so it will just like again, just to bring up the Andy piece of it. Like Andy had an awesome run without Patrick Mahomes. You know, like double digit playoff appearances, went to a Super bowl, multiple conference championship appearances. All like they didn't get to the top of the mountain. But was an excellent coach without Patrick. Now he had Donovan McNabb, he had Mike Vick, he had good. It's not like he had terrible quarterbacks obviously. He had really, really good quarterbacks. And so it's not an apples to apples comp. I'm not acting like it is but. And nobody cares about like where did Vince Lombardi see. You know how I know nobody cares? I don't even remember like Vince Lombardi, did he finish with the Saints?
Damanze Taylor
The.
Nick Wright
Oh no. Washington. Washington for a year. Like people don't tend to care about, you know, the final chapter of an all time legend. If it, even if it doesn't go well, but this has gone so horrifically. Like nobody do. Does the audience remember what Bill Parcell's final stop was?
Greg Rosenthal
And.
Nick Wright
It was the Dolphins, but he wasn't the head coach. He was the, you know, basically the. The guy in charge of everything. And so people don't. People don't typically hold that stuff against you. But this is such a train wreck that. And I, by the way, I believe Ollie Connolly. If Ali Connolly says this could happen in the next couple weeks, this could happen in the next couple of weeks. And what I think is now locked and why it's worth discussing and then we'll move on. I think it is now minus 1000 that Belichick is not the head coach of North Carolina next year, which leads us to this. And then I promise we will move on. I guess he's just not going to coach again. Like, if the NFL was leery of him after the Patriots stint, then I guess this is just how it ends. What a crummy ending, man. And.
Damanze Taylor
Hey, if you say they just start winning games, they're not good.
Nick Wright
I mean, I don't think they recruited the right players. I don't think they. And it seems like there was an article on W R A L. Yeah, I think. Which is like the rally. Raleigh, the city in North Carolina. Is it Raleigh rally? I'm going to pronounce it wrong.
Damanze Taylor
Raleigh.
Nick Wright
Raleigh. I think.
Damanze Taylor
I think it's Raleigh.
Nick Wright
Bomani used to live there. The. That about the dysfunction and the infighting amongst players about. It's a bad situation, man. By the way, if you're thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone 17 Pro, designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever, but you're also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store or transferring all your data. Good news. When you order a new phone online with Boost mobile, they'll send an expert to your home. How about that? Or home. Or work. To deliver your brand new iPhone pro and get you set up on Boost mobile within minutes. No hassle. So how about that? You get the new iPhone, it comes right to you, and a tech comes in, get all your stuff transferred, get you set up on the network. Visit boostmobile.com to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased@boost mobile.com terms, of course, do apply.
Greg Rosenthal
Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be Sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. Have you sold that?
Damanze Taylor
Yes.
Greg Rosenthal
Might want to go back to the drawing board at the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry, I would say. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Damanze Taylor
Your Chiefs in prime time again, this time against Detroit. Detroit, we know, has looked pretty well ever since that Week 1 loss in Green Bay. Kansas City is 2 and 3 coming off a brutal loss to Jacksonville. You guys really need this one. How are you feeling?
Nick Wright
Well, it would feel like it makes up for giving away the game to the Jacks, right? That after the aftermath after that Ravens game when they steadied themselves. If you had said the Chiefs are going to be three and three getting Rasheed Rice back, you just said, okay, like the now the assumption would have been they win at Jacksonville and lose at home to the Lions. I thought they could win both those games. They obviously, you know, could have won the Jags game. We spent a lot of time on it on Tuesday. We don't have to rehash it. They. They. They didn't do it. I am going to spend a lot of time on this game during our pick show because the line is interesting. Of all the games where you thought the Chiefs might be home dogs, this would have been high on the list and they're not. The Lions are the hottest team in the league and the Chiefs are coming off a. A mini meltdown against Jacksonville and the Chiefs are still the favorites. I. This is what I'll say. Being two and four through six weeks, not a death knell, but not great. So how badly do they need it? They need it. And I also think they. They have played so many high leverage playoff games that you don't want to be playing a ton of high leverage regular season games leading into the playoffs. And so the.
Damanze Taylor
You think the nonstop primetime games ever weigh on Kansas City?
Nick Wright
Well, listen, yeah, I think. I think the fact that they are the premier, I don't care what their record is. I don't care honestly that the Eagles won the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are the premier team in the league and because of that for five years or six years now, they get everyone's best shot every single week. Yeah, they, and they play, they're under the spotlight more than any other team. They have the, you know, the net, like you said, prime time pressure, all of it more than every other team. And I think they have dealt with it as well as any team in the history of the league since, you know, other than Brady's pats, to be totally fair. And they dealt with it to me as well as Brady's pats. But they're not typically in this position of a slow start right now. The last time they lost the super bowl, and I've said this many times, I'll say it again, they started that year three and four and if they lose this game, they're going to start this year three and four and you might say, well, they could start two and five. Their next game's against the Raiders and after that. So they should be fine on that front. But I, I, this is a huge spot and we'll talk about it more on Friday show. I know you have a couple quick follow ups on it though.
Damanze Taylor
Mahomes and golf have gotten into a legendary shootout against each other before. What were you expecting in this one?
Nick Wright
I think it's gonna, I think shootout is what it's gonna be, I think. And also golf, I believe, is one of the only active, maybe the only active starting quarterback that Patrick's played more than once that he's never beaten. I think he's 0 and 2 against golf, the 54, 51 classic on Monday night six, seven years ago and we, right, yeah, I, I think those are the only two times they've played and so.
Damanze Taylor
Oh, that's, that's pretty interesting.
Nick Wright
That's an interesting little wrinkle to it. The producers can tell me if I'm wrong on that, but I think that's in and that might be hard to look up in real time and so, but I think that's the case. Go ahead.
Damanze Taylor
Golf, we know is a different quarterback when he's under pressure. Are you expecting a crazy game from Chris Jones or what are you expecting from Chris Jones?
Nick Wright
Well, listen, I, I think Chris, you know, Chris has to bounce back. It's tough moment for him at the end of that game. I'm not going to overreact to. It was tough moment and you know, Patrick had a bad moment with the pick six. Chris had a bad moment with the play when Trevor fell down. And so you need your first ballot hall of Fame guys to respond. And I. And I expect they will. All right, next game.
Damanze Taylor
All right, so it looks like we got Mac Jones again. Purdy still dealing with that turf toe. You said there's no quarterback controversy in San Francisco, but if Mac Jones can manage to pull this one off against Tampa Bay, who's kind of been humming.
Nick Wright
As well, I don't think there will be a controversy in the building. I don't think Shanahan is going to, you know, consider not playing Brock when he's healthy, but I do think there will be a lot of noise surrounding it. And I also think the better Mack plays and the better the team plays, the more cautious they'll be with Purdy's injury that we're now told could linger all year. And I do think because of the injury, if Purdy comes back and plays really poorly, I think that there are. They have an out to go back to Mac Jones without being like, we benched Brush to be like, no, he's not healthy. And listen, I think Shanahan will just. They drafted a kid third overall, and before he had barely played. They were like, no, we're going with Purdy. They. You know, they are not. He will. He is willing to simply play whoever he thinks that season. Those games give him the best chance. And I've been skeptical of the Niners, but you have to give them credit for being 4 and 1, dealing with all these injuries. And, you know, at some Kittle will be back. The other receivers, you know, will be back. I don't know how much to expect from aiuk, but they're a dangerous team at this point. And San Francisco Tampa is just an awesome game. It's one of the games of the weekend.
Damanze Taylor
I love that you created this system that revolves around you creating pockets of peace. World Mental Health day is a around the corner. And on my podcast, just heal with Dr. J, I dive into what it really means to care for your mind, body and spirit. From breaking generational patterns to building emotional.
Nick Wright
Capacity, I'm gonna walk away feeling like, yes, I'm gonna continue my healing journey.
Damanze Taylor
Listen to just heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Greg Rosenthal
The NFL is rolling. That's right. And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60.
Nick Wright
It's in the name NFL Daily, so.
Greg Rosenthal
You'Ll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me Greg Rosenthal in an All Star cast of co hosts. For previews and recaps of every single game, NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com hey, this is Matt Jones, I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Nick Wright
Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game. From breaking down college prospects and NFL.
Greg Rosenthal
Rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision.
Nick Wright
Makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.
Greg Rosenthal
It's everything you need to understand the.
Nick Wright
Why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Damanze Taylor
This is an I Heart podcast.
Host: Nick Wright
Guests/Co-hosts: Damanze Taylor
Featured Segments: Chiefs “disaster” vs Jaguars, Bill Belichick at UNC, 49ers QB dilemma
This episode is a “Best Of” compilation from the week, highlighting Nick Wright’s strong opinions and emotional reactions to three major NFL storylines:
Wright shares his candid, impassioned takes—balancing deep analysis, personal disappointment, and wider implications for each subject.
Segment: [02:24–14:19]
Nick opens up about feeling “in a teetering emotional place” after the Chiefs’ loss:
"I didn’t really sleep last night... Now you know how I can tell your mom knows I’m in a teetering emotional place? She legit feels bad for me right now."
— Nick Wright ([02:24])
Calls the loss to Jacksonville “more upsetting than any recent memory regular season loss,” emphasizing it’s the type of game the Chiefs “do not lose.”
"Losing a game like that last night. They don’t blow two touchdown leads... and they did last night."
— Nick Wright ([04:20])
Details breakdowns:
Conspiracy Talk:
Nick rejects claims the Chiefs "get all the calls," emphasizing penalties and calls went both ways.
Running Game & Pass Rush Issues:
Glass Half Full:
Mahomes looks great, the offense “put up almost 500 yards,” and Wright expects them to return to form as injured receivers come back.
“Kansas City... I think is going to be back to being a very explosive offense again. So that part is great, but two and three is not.”
([14:19])
Segment: [14:19–32:09]
Playoff Anxiety:
Nick assesses the AFC landscape, saying the playoff picture is starting to take shape with teams like Buffalo, Indy, and Jacksonville pushing forward; the Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, and Patriots fighting for three spots.
“If we have Buffalo, Indy, Jacksonville, and an AFC North team... then it would be three spots for Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Patriots.”
([28:01])
Who Should Be Most Anxious?
Both agree the Chargers are under the most pressure, but the Chiefs’ margin for error is shrinking.
Personal Color:
Nick muses about having to face Colin Cowherd after the loss and mentions J. Mac is “reveling in [his] pain” ([32:09]).
Segment: [19:07–24:34]
"If LeBron is going to announce his retirement, it’s not going to be noon on a Tuesday... It was so obvious to me."
— Nick Wright ([21:40])
Segment: [35:27–51:31]
UNC Fallout:
Belichick off to a 2–3 start, documentary canceled, locker room dysfunction, and “serious recruiting violations under investigation.”
“From one coach: ‘The rats are leaving the ship.’ Some staffers believe a change will come within two weeks.”
([36:54])
Legacy on the Line:
Nick muses on the rare case where a legend’s legacy actually regresses, drawing parallels to Russell Wilson post-Seahawks.
"There are rare instances... where it feels like people do go backwards. I think Russell Wilson post-Seattle…"
— Nick Wright ([43:11])
Critical Analysis:
Points to Belichick surrounding himself with acolytes—and failure adapting or recruiting the right players.
Segment: [53:55–58:49]
Chiefs’ Urgency:
“Being two and four through six weeks, not a death knell, but not great. So how badly do they need it? They need it.”
"They play, they're under the spotlight more than any other team."
([55:57])
Mahomes vs. Goff:
Preview of legendary shootout potential; Goff unbeaten vs. Mahomes as a starter.
Defense Needs to Step Up:
Chris Jones’ “bad moment” against the Jags, expectation that “your first-ballot Hall of Fame guys respond.”
Segment: [58:49–60:32]
“If Purdy comes back and plays really poorly... they have an out to go back to Mac Jones without being like, 'We benched Brock.'”
— Nick Wright ([59:02])
On Chiefs' Loss:
“Yesterday is the first game in four years the Chiefs have won the turnover battle and lost the game.”
— Nick Wright ([11:02])
On LeBron’s Ad:
“If LeBron is going to announce his retirement, it’s not going to be noon on a Tuesday.”
— Nick Wright ([21:22])
On Belichick:
“If you only surround yourself with acolytes and with yes men… you don’t get new ideas coming in.”
— Nick Wright ([44:09])
Nick Wright is candid, emotional, sometimes overwrought but rational, mixing high-level analysis with personal anecdotes. The tone is conversational, analytical, and sometimes sharply critical, but always engaging.
This “Best Of” episode is a cathartic and comprehensive look at a tumultuous NFL week—anchored by the emotional whiplash of a Chiefs fan and analyst reckoning with his team’s mistakes. It provides insightful, unsparing analysis of coaching legends’ legacy challenges, rising team dynamics, and the ever-evolving puzzle of quarterback controversies. Essential listening for diehard NFL followers and casual fans alike.