BIlls “broken” by Broncos, C.J. Stroud struggles, Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. | 01.19

Summary

Podcast Summary – The Right Time with Bomani Jones (01.19) Episode: Bills “broken” by Broncos, C.J. Stroud struggles, Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
Date: January 19, 2026 | Host: Bomani Jones (with Ryan Brumley)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the weekend’s high-stakes NFL playoff games, focusing on the Denver Broncos’ emotional overtime win (and immediate loss of QB Bo Nix), the Buffalo Bills’ brutal defeat and future, C.J. Stroud’s playoff unraveling, and a reflective segment in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Bomani blends sharp sports insight with social commentary and listeners’ calls, all with his signature candor and humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Broncos Edge Bills in Overtime (00:42–12:38)

• The Broncos beat the Bills 33–30 in OT, but it’s “the most devastating game I have ever seen” because both teams walk away crushed.
• Bo Nix led Denver to their first playoff win in a decade, but postgame news reveals Nix suffered a broken ankle (out for the rest of playoffs).
  • “You got that big emotional win, and now your quarterback is out.” [03:48]
• Sean Payton names Jarrett Stidham as the next QB—Bomani and Ryan have deep skepticism about Stidham’s viability.
• Comparable QB injuries in playoffs are rare; Carson Wentz/Nick Foles for the Eagles and Tom Brady/Drew Bledsoe for the Patriots.
• Bomani and Ryan agree that despite their doubts, Nix was clearly a “starting NFL quarterback”—Stidham is not.

2. The ‘Broken’ Buffalo Bills (08:38–12:38)

• Focus shifts to the shell-shocked Bills. The loss felt “more devastating than any team I have seen lose the Super Bowl.”
  • “Josh Allen was not crying. Sobbing. This is not an exaggeration.” [08:38]
• Bomani compares the mood to "thousand yard stare" elimination games he has covered.
• Unlike previous playoff exits at the hands of Mahomes/Burrow, this was supposed to be the Bills’ year. Opponent was Bo Nix, not an all-pro QB.
• Discussion on whether this is the end of the Bills’ current era, with parallels to John Elway’s Broncos—teams sometimes never bounce back.
• “I'm just trying to figure out how it is that you get back up off the ground after that.” [10:32]

3. Quarterback Discourse: Head-to-Head or Not? (12:38–15:07)

• Social media heat over Bomani’s take that “if you’re Josh Allen, you can’t lose to Bo Nix,” even knowing QBs don’t play against each other directly.
• Analogies to games like Horse and golf, but ultimately: The better/expected QB must deliver.
  • “If you are the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills and Bo Nix is the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, your team needs to win that game, no matter what…” [14:07]
• Allen’s four turnovers (including a critical first-half fumble) are “the margin of the game.”

4. Accountability & the Josh Allen Narrative (15:07–22:19)

• Bomani praises Josh Allen’s accountability at the mic: “The most endearing thing about Josh Allen is that he is accountable at every turn.” [17:04]
• Critiques the media/fan tendency to shield Allen from criticism, contrasting with treatment of QBs like Lamar Jackson.
• This season, Allen was outplayed by Matthew Stafford and Drake May—he wasn’t even the top two QB this year.
  • “All this weeping for Josh Allen, this was his chance, right? On multiple levels. And he didn't do it.” [22:19]

5. Caleb Williams' Heroics & Quarterback Playoff Guts (24:18–38:23)

• The Bears’ Caleb Williams has, at times, been “the Caleb Williams experience”—inconsistent with flashes of magic.
  • “That might be the best throw I’ve ever seen.” (Ryan, on Williams’ game-tying TD) [24:37]
• Williams still misses layups and is risk-prone, but his clutch ability is remarkable.
• Bomani/Brumley debate whether to “go for two” after such a play—momentum vs. playing it safe.
• The future of Williams: Louder expectations for a leap in Year 3, but he must increase efficiency:
  • “You gotta get over seven yards a completion.” [37:31]
  • “The system is going to be Caleb Williams.” [38:23]

6. Saturday Night Blowout: Seahawks–49ers & Sam Darnold (41:31–43:07)

• Seattle defeats a depleted 49ers squad 41–6; Bomani credits Seattle’s intimidating defense.
  • “You want to score some points against Seattle, you’re going to need to intercept Sam Darnold and take it back…” [41:45]
• Question raised: Is it possible to win a Super Bowl with a QB who’s almost irrelevant? Only Ravens (2000, with Trent Dilfer) come to mind.

7. CJ Stroud’s Collapse vs. Patriots (43:07–46:59)

• Stroud throws four first-half picks, looking visibly shaken.
  • “He looked like the Peterman.” [43:23]
• Bomani: “It was written all over his face.” Texans’ extension conversations now complicated.
• Patriots won, but neither team looked good. “I am shocked by how bad their quarterback was in that game.”
  • “People have really been like, ‘Yo, y’all need to go to the bench.’ For Davis Mills.” [45:36]
• Discussion on “last name, last name” tight ends (Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid) as classic “get you 20 pounds and play TE” types.

8. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Reflections (MLK Day, 47:10–54:32)

• Bomani reflects on the tenuous nature of hard-won progress (voting rights, even MLK holiday).
  • “None of this is obligatory. None of this is required.” [47:18]
• King as “the finest man this country has produced,” unparalleled for “moral clarity.”
• On MLK misappropriation: “It’s the only way you can get it wrong. You have to do it on purpose.” [48:38]
• Encourages listeners to find and teach each other about King's writings, especially “Chaos or Community.”
  • “They cannot change what we teach each other.” [53:13]
• Warning: History/memory can disappear quickly if not actively preserved.

9. Listener Voicemails: Sneakers, ‘White Reggie,’ and Names (54:32–61:35)

• Caller 1: Why aren’t sneakers as “cold” as the 90s?
  • Bomani: “Y’all got lower standards… We now have such a vast repertoire of past things to draw from…” [55:17, 55:31]
• Caller 2: Story of “White Reggie” in Virginia; amusing anecdotes about names and race assumptions.
• Caller 3: “White Reggies” spotted in Tennessee, but never a white “Washington.” Reflection on how some last names shift across race/culture lines.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Bills' loss:
  “This may be over for them as a franchise… For this run and what it's been.” [08:38]
• On social reaction to sports analysis:
  “Y’all don’t want to read, and you can’t even click a button for 45 seconds to get to the end of it.” (On social media, [12:38])
• On Allen’s accountability:
  “I see no quality that you can have in a lot of work like he has that is more important than being accountable.” [17:04]
• On the nature of legacy and history:
  “They can change what they teach in schools... They cannot change what we teach each other.” [53:13]
• On MLK's clarity:
  "No one has ever spoken with greater moral clarity." [48:26]
• On generational sneaker culture:
  “The heat that we was wearing when I was in high school is still kicking the ass of what they put now for y’all to wear right now.” [56:22]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:42: Start of main episode; Bills-Broncos postgame collapse begins
• 03:47: Bo Nix injury revealed
• 08:38: Bomani on the Bills’ “most devastated” loss
• 12:38: Social media take on “QB vs. QB” narratives
• 15:07: Bomani praises Allen’s accountability, critiques media narratives
• 22:19: "All this weeping for Josh Allen..."—calling out unfair narratives
• 24:18: Bears, Caleb Williams miracle throw dissected
• 37:31: Why Williams must be more efficient: “gotta get over seven yards a completion.”
• 41:45: Seattle’s blowout of San Francisco, Darnold’s limitations
• 43:23: C.J. Stroud’s meltdown vs. Patriots (“looked like the Peterman”)
• 47:10: MLK Day reflection, significance, and importance of “teaching each other”
• 54:32: Listener voicemails on sneaker culture, White Reggie, last names, and more

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Final Notes

• The episode balances high-level NFL breakdowns (with stats, emotion, and historical comparison) and larger cultural reflections—particularly on vulnerability in sport, the fickleness of opportunity, and the importance of memory and activism.
• Bomani and Ryan’s banter is humorous and pointed, offering color and depth well beyond box scores and box office.
• The voicemails segment wraps the show on a lighter, communal note, linking the personal and universal.

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For listeners:
If you missed the episode, you’ll come away with a sense of the emotional weight of this NFL weekend, sharp analysis on the fragility of legendary runs, a lecture in sports accountability, a necessary annual reminder on MLK Day, and some playful cultural commentary about names, sneakers, and growing up.

Transcript

[Bomani Jones]

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[Bomani Jones]

Offers, giving you time to power through those New Year's goals you know you're gonna crush. Start the year off right. Download the Experian app based on fico's model offers an approval not guaranteed. Eligibility requirements and terms apply subject to credit check, which may impact your credit scores. Offers not available in all states. See experian.com for details. Experian. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right Time A Wave Original My name is Bomani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you. You are a hater. Wow. It is a weekend with a lot of football. We are going to start here with the Bills and the Broncos where The Broncos won 33:30 in overtime over the Bills. This is very interesting where this was a very close game and often an exciting game for Ryan. I would not say that it was a great game.

[Ryan Brumley]

No, no, it was sloppy.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. It was not very well played. Right. But it sure was compelling.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay, it was top to bottom compelling. And in the end it was the most devastating game that I have ever seen. And the reason that I say it was the most devastating game I have ever seen is I have never seen a game that ended with both teams so devastated. Now shout out to the Denver Broncos. I guess we ain't really get a real chance to look at them because the players hadn't found this out yet, but they won this game. And Shawn Payton did his postgame media stuff. He left. He came back and was like, oh, by the way, got to let you guys know something B. Knicks has a broken bone in his ankle. He's going to have surgery on Tuesday. He's out for the rest of the playoffs. I I that was a big win for that team. If I'm not mistaken, it was Denver's first playoff win in 10 years since the 2015 season when they won the Super Bowl. Right. They won this at home. They won it in overtime. They would. This was a make it happen sort of situation. They got it done. Their quarterback did not play badly. I did not think that their quarterback played well.

[Ryan Brumley]

He did make a couple of massive throws.

[Bomani Jones]

He did.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right. And. And we are combined in our Bo. Nick skepticism. But.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. No, no, but he made a big. I'm not going to pretend like he was terrible.

[Ryan Brumley]

Correct.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. There's no need to act like he played badly. He made those big throws and in a game like that, the ability to make those big throws matters. Right, Right. However, this was not a. See, we told you y' all was wrong about. But like it's not going to vindicate in either direction is. Is the point that I'm making there. But he's got a broken bone in his ankle.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Like you got that big emotional win and now your quarterback is out. And Sean Payton says that Jerus Stidham will be ready. Ready for what? You act like I ain't never seen him. Ready for what? No. All right, Auburn. Look, I've seen. No, I'm just telling you right now, man. Bless you guys hearts. And if you manage to win this, you got a boss ass defense. Don't get me wrong. Losing your starting quarterback is devastating.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. And so I'll put it like this, Ryan. Regardless of what our B. Nick skepticism is, I think we both agree he is a starting point quarterback.

[Ryan Brumley]

Starting NFL quarterback.

[Bomani Jones]

For sure. He's a starting NFL quarterback. Jerry Stum is not. Not okay. And look, may. Maybe I don't talked his ass into going out here and really making it happen. You know what I mean? I said Kirk Cousins wasn't a starting NFL quarterback. Ten years later he's made $857 million. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes it goes that way, but I. I can't. Can you think. Have you like I'm trying to think in the playoffs of a circumstance where a quarterback was just out. Just out of nowhere.

[Ryan Brumley]

No, I mean the. The closest comparison would obviously be, you know, Carson Wentz about eight, eight or nine years ago.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Early. Like in the. In the end of the regular season.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes, but that was in like I think early December.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumley]

And they were the number one seed and Carson Wentz was, you know, he was looking like he was going to win the mvp.

[Bomani Jones]

Right, but that was a long time ago, wasn't it?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes, correct. And that. And then, I mean. And then Nick Foles get.

[Bomani Jones]

Right.

[Ryan Brumley]

But. But Nick Foles is.

[Bomani Jones]

It's a weird case.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's Tom Brady compared to.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, he's. He's only good one place. Yes, but that one place. He's really good. But like, Tom Brady got hurt in the first half of the 2001 AFC Championship game and they had to go back to Drew Bled, so.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

But Tom Brady was back for the Super Bowl.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. You're going to the AFC Championship Game. Your quarterback is out. That is, to me, devastating. Like, if they can. If they can hold it together in spite of that fact that blessings to all the people that are involved. But that seems to be devastating. However, I personally in my life have never seen a team of professionals ever be more devastated than the Buffalo Bills appear to be after losing this game to the Denver Broncos. I've never seen anything quite like this. Especially since it wasn't the Super Bowl. Especially since it wasn't the AFC Championship Game. Now, look, I'm going to tell you this. This is one thing about covering sports that I don't hear people, like, talk this much about, but I will never forget this as long as I live. It was the first time that I ever went into a locker room of a losing team after an elimination game. It is the saddest, the mustiest, the quietest, the tensest scenario that you could have. It was the year 2007. Michigan State lost to North Carolina in basketball, the second round of the tournament at Lawrence Joel in Winston Salem. And I went in that Michigan State locker room, man, and them boys was just bombed out, okay? And it was just, just that, that thousand yard stare type situation. Like, what do you do, you know, like, this is a game with every. And as I recall, in that game, it was close all the way until like the last two minutes. And then Rayshaw Terry hit like three threes in the last two minutes. It was bananas. But they thought they had a chance and then they were done. Okay, now let's talk about this in the context of the Buffalo Bills. No, they did not win their division, but they had just been consistently getting knocked out of the playoffs by quarterbacks who most of us believe, well, Patrick Mahomes will be in the hall of Fame. And I think that most of us believe that Joe Burrow is on a Hall of Fame track. That's the direction it goes in. This time, though, there's no question that Josh Allen was the guy in the afc, right? He was the. That, that dude. This was his chance. His nemesis had clearly been Mahomes. Mahomes was not there. Burrow not there. This is for you. It is you on One side it is B Knicks on the other. This was the opportunity and they lost. And I cannot think of a time that I have seen a quarterback of a team at the podium after a game sobbing in the way that Josh Allen was not crying.

[Ryan Brumley]

Sobbing.

[Bomani Jones]

This is not an exaggeration. It was literal sobbing. Tears running down his face, eyes puffy, he was done for. Did you see Dion Dawkins in the locker room? Like these guys, this may be over for them as franchise. I mean, not like the, the Buffalo Bills will never win a game again. Right. But for this run and what it's been, I can't. I'm reluctant, like. Okay, so I'm somewhat reluctant to say that they cannot overcome what this was. However, the only reason I'm reluctant to say it is I'm not. I've never seen anything like this. Like, if, if any of you can think of a time that you've seen a team look this battered and this. They didn't feel like this after the 13 second game.

[Ryan Brumley]

No.

[Bomani Jones]

In that game they were way closer to having won than this one. Right. But this was the. Have they heard everything that we've been saying, Ryan? The if not now then win sort of situation. And I guess it didn't feel that way then. Right, right. Does. Is it that it feels this way now that it's year eight for Josh Allen, it's year nine for McDermott? Is it that everybody looked around and just said to themselves, damn, I guess we just not going to do this?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. I mean, I think that the only comp to me is almost maybe the LA Broncos, you know, losing three AFC Championship games.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. But they were losing Super Bowls.

[Ryan Brumley]

But then they came back and they had, they essentially had to retool the roster, including getting rid of the coach.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. It was. Had two coaching changes because Wade Phillips had a, had a, had a stop in between. But you were right. Those were the, the teams in the Rocket, in, in the, in the new Broncos uniforms. That was a completely different situation than the ones like the only real common thread there was John Elway.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right.

[Ryan Brumley]

And I think that might be the situation if the Bills ever get over the hump.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. And I will also say those years in between, they were down. Like those were not. They, they, they weren't, they were not a continuation of what it was. Those were down years. But I don't recall John Elway being broken. Like, I don't remember Dan Reeves. They got Dan Reeves out of there, cuz John Elway couldn't stand him anymore. But I just don't remember any. Them. Them feeling so broken down and defeated. And I'm not saying this as a judgment of these guys for feeling that way. I'm just trying to figure out how it is that you get back up off the ground after that. Like, I think about how many times we see a team that loses a Super bowl, and then they can't turn it back around. Like, it's so hard for them to get back up off the ground after this. This team look more devastated than any team that I had seen lose the Super Bowl. So I don't know where they go from here. Like, that is. It's. It's. It feels unfair to immediately start looking to the future about them, except what I saw there was so unprecedented. But if you want to talk about the present with them, we can talk about the present. Okay. And I'm sorry for you guys. Denver Broncos. We got a lot more time to talk about y' all a little bit later. And to be honest, I really don't know what to say about y'. All. Y' all got Jer Stum. He gonna be playing quarterback. I don't. I don't. I'm gonna need a little bit more time to figure out what to do about you guys, okay? But, hey, hey, Bo Jones, kf. Don't nobody else care. Don't you think I don't. Don't you think I'm out here ignoring you right now? Right? I'm trying to make sure I show you the proper respect. Now, we had this thing happen, right? We put out video on social media. And as many of you guys know, I've talked about it on here, talked about it with Ryan. I love people that way. But, you know, just generally speaking, I hate social media production, right? Like, it's. You know, the game is kind of sort of. We get out here and we. Y' all get mad at me. That really, like, gets what they call. What's the word, Ryan? Engagement.

[Ryan Brumley]

That. Yes, Engagement.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it get. Stuff gets y' all engaged. And so we had put out a video where I made the point that if you, Josh Allen, you can't lose a game to Bo Nicks. Now, in the video and on the podcast, I very clearly say, I know that quarterbacks don't play against each other, but it sure does feel that way, right? You lazy motherfuckers. It's amazing. Y' all don't want to read, and you can't even click a button for 45 seconds to get to the end of It. Right. Y' all was on my ass, boy. All over it all. This is stupid. Take. He think he's so much smarter than everybody else, but he think quarterbacks play against each other. Now, those of you who listen to this show, and Ryan, I bet you have noticed this about me. I am very careful about that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like, I. I understand that that's not really how it works, except sometimes it kind of is in application.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay.

[Ryan Brumley]

They. Just. Because. Just because they're not guarding each other doesn't mean it's not a matchup of the quarterback.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

There's a reason why we put those graphics up.

[Bomani Jones]

You know what? It's kind of like. It's kind of like a game of horse.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. When you're playing against somebody in horse, you're not really playing like. Like, I make a shot, you make a shot, I miss a shot. Da, da, da. Like, maybe that's. That's the way that we should look at this golf.

[Ryan Brumley]

Same deal.

[Bomani Jones]

Very, very similar sort of situation. Now, of course, the difference is in golf, everybody's playing against the same course.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, and maybe that's kind of sort of the thing in horse is not the exact thing, but sometimes some. Somebody throw the ball off the ground, off the glass, and it go in and you gotta do the exact same thing. Right. Like, sometimes. This is what it comes down to. Bottom line is we'll phrase it differently to make you feel better. If you are the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills and Bo Nix is the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, your team needs to win that game, no matter what the surrounding circumstances are. Now, if B. Knicks comes out there and B. Knicks throws for 400 yards on 30 of 40 passing. Hey, man, all you can do going.

[Ryan Brumley]

Back to the Nick Foles example. Nick Foles outplayed Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. No one got gets at Tom Brady.

[Bomani Jones]

That's right. That's right. Sometimes.

[Ryan Brumley]

Sometimes it's your day.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Sometimes it's your day. You tip your cap and you give that person credit. All right. But if B. Knicks just kind of sort of has a day at the office and you turn the ball over four times, including A. I hate so much that Dominique is not on this week because he had one of them turnovers that was reminiscent of that game in Houston with he was out there throwing bombs to square bodies at the end of the game. And this was at the end of the first half where he got out there and he decided to run and that. That old Josh came out of him and he Gave the ball up. And quite honestly, that's the margin of the game right there. Okay? I generally try to avoid that idea because everything, every play in a game is a function of the score, right? So if you change the score, you change a lot of actions, activities, or whatever it is. But on that one right there, no, man, I think that, that, that was it, right? You kind of swung the game right there. If you're a Josh Allen, there is no way. I don't care who you are. I don't care what quarterback you are. Four turnovers, it's on you. Four turnovers and you're the guy that Josh Allen is who we say he is. It is on you. There's no way around that. And the thing that I applaud Josh Allen for is, is Josh Allen got that right. He got up at the microphone and he said, I let everybody down, basically. Okay, now you, you have to worry, often worry about guys who do that generally, you know, because, like, as a main character syndrome situation, that often comes up when, you know, the guys are the ones that do that and people like, yo, so the rest of us ain't here, like those things that come up. But no, no, no, that was a dude taking accountability, right? And to me, the most endearing thing about Josh Allen is that he is accountable at every turn in this. He is proven to be accountable at every turn. Like, I need to get better at this. I'm going to, going to go get better at this. It is abundantly clear why everybody that is in any proximity of him loves him because he is that guy. And to me, I see no quality that you can have in a lot of work like he has that is more important than being accountable. Right? And I would think we need to applaud him for being accountable. And what I can't understand for the life of me is why so many of you won't let him do it. I have been talking about this for a very long time. It is the collective desire of people in my business to see Josh Allen do well. It is not simply that they are observing him or think he's good or trying to uphold predictions for reasons that I got guesses about. It's this rooting. It's this, oh, man, it hurts so bad for Josh Allen. Josh didn't get to touch the ball in overtime. So we need to change the rules so that Josh has a chance to get the ball in overtime because Patrick got the ball in overtime, right? It's those things. Josh hasn't won an mvp, so he Wasn't first team all pro, but we'll go ahead and give him one of these. Okay. What. We keep seeing this happen, and you got to stop. Right. It is ridiculous, and it is largely unprofessional. But the thing that I think makes it so interesting is, I don't know. Do you guys not realize that you're doing this? Like, can you honestly not see the huge difference in the way that people treated when Josh Allen comes up short? Right. And again, I understand why you might want it for him, but four turnovers. This was on him. Right. This wasn't on the refs for that. What? The interception. That could have been a catch or whatever. And I'm g. This is my take on that. All right. Could have gone either way. I thought that it was an interception. I never thought that Brandon Cooks had control in a way to make it a catch. And this is the biggest thing for me. When I see examples of simultaneous possession, in my mind at least, it always feels like the defense, in order to get a hold of it, has to, like, wrestle the ball away. You know what I'm saying? Ryan, I don't know if it looked this way to you, but it looked like he was just like, hey, let me get that right fast.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. I mean, they were like, almost caught it and then he rolled and he came up with it.

[Bomani Jones]

Right, Right. It wasn't. But you know what I'm talking about. Right? Like when those guys getting locked up.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. They rip. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

There's like this tugging sort of situation. I didn't see any tugging that was going on there. He just got it. He rolled over and he had the ball. But you know, part of why that went that way, because it. It was a little bit under thrown.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like, he. This was the chance.

[Ryan Brumley]

There's the 3rd and 10. Driving right before they kick, the field goal wide open. Misses them.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. And then it's walking for a touchdown.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. And that's. That's the. That's the margins of being, you know, a great regular season quarterback and one of the all time greats. It's. It's. It's a. It's a thin margin. Like, but he's nearly 30.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

That's. That's the thing. That's wild.

[Bomani Jones]

It's not over. Right. Like, it's not like he'll never get it done, but he's not. He.

[Ryan Brumley]

He is past the age of being treated with any sort of kid glove.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Y. No, no, no. He's here. He's got an mvp.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. And it's not like Lamar Jackson won an MVP at like 22.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, like he's got an MVP. He's been to championship games. All of his peers, except for Lamar have been to a Super Bowl. But guess what? Lamar been just as far as he has been. And we have, we have given Lamar his hell for this year. Right. But this is the thing that gets me about it in terms of how we deal with Allen as it relates specifically to this season. Most of us would say that the top two guys for the MVP this year are Matthew Stafford and Drake May. So that is to say in a year where Patrick Mahomes not only did he not play well, he also wound up getting hurt. In a year where Lamar Jackson was hurt for most of the year. In a year where Joe Burrow was hurt for most of the year, Josh Allen was not even the second best quarterback in the league. Do I think that Josh Allen is the second best quarterback in the NFL? Yes. Or at the very least the third. Like I think with he and Lamar, I still have that as being very, very, very close. All right. But two guys were better than him this year and that doesn't mean that they are necessarily better players. Like do I think Drake May is a better player than Josh Allen, but maybe not. But he probably was a better player this year. You understand what I mean? Like, it's a distinction that I do think has a difference. Okay. But even still another, this is Josh Allen's time. He was the MVP last year. Other guys played better than him. Then you come into a playoff game where Brian is safe to say Bo Nicks outplayed him.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. I mean turned the ball four times.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. And Bo, say Bo Knicks when he turned it over twice, right?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. I mean again, not the greatest game, but Bo Nicks outplayed him. Right. He did not play better than the rest of the quarterbacks in the regular season. He was not better than his adversary in this game this year for Josh Allen. All this weeping for Josh Allen, this was his chance, right? On multiple levels. And he didn't do it. Right. And I'm not saying that this means something like fundamental about his character, fundamental about his potential, any of this. But the bottom line is it didn't get done because he didn't do it. And you know who seems to believe that and understand that? Josh Allen. So why won't so many of you allow him to be the stand up, respectable sort of person that we typically admire? Right? Let him be that, be honest about it. You don't have to kick him while he's down. You don't have to pile on. But God damn, you do not have to lie. Stop lying. All right, we got ourselves another good one to wrap up. These have been great playoffs. Like the, the NFL playoffs are a little hit or miss in terms of like what it is that you're actually going to get. These have been really good so far, even though I don't think any of the teams are really good. These, however, have been really good. And look, the finish of that game is this can't be the Caleb Williams experience for like 15 years because people are going to have heart attacks, right? Correct. It can be what this is while he is young and it starts off a little slow. You don't know what's going on. He was this another game of like kind of sort of 50% completion. Right. Like right around in that zone. Three interceptions. Obviously that's bad news.

[Ryan Brumley]

Misses, terrible misses. Easy layups down the stretch.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, but. And I don't think we need to wall through the entire game. That touchdown pass, I can't believe that was real.

[Ryan Brumley]

Carry a prisoner a moment for the second.

[Bomani Jones]

Feel free.

[Ryan Brumley]

That might be the best throw I've ever seen.

[Bomani Jones]

It's up there. It's. I mean, if you do the math on it, right, the circumstances, and I mean this, the, the macro circumstances of the game. Fourth in the season. Right, Right. Throw in the weather as part of it. Throw in the fact that all the Rams, Merlin Olson, Deacon Jones, they was both back there, right, Chasing him around. And it's not that he just like. Or maybe it was just the oh, Hail Mary. It seemed to put that on the dot.

[Ryan Brumley]

He. He's going backwards from the 41. He's. His back foot's on the 41.

[Bomani Jones]

He's the 41.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes. And he's. And he's leaning backwards and throws into the back corner of the end zone.

[Bomani Jones]

On the dot.

[Ryan Brumley]

On the dot. It looked like the video game settings were too easy.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, it looked like he was going to hear about this all off season.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Like the set of circumstances that that led to that happening is insane. You did something wrong to get us to this place. But then to be able to say n it's cool and then make the throw. The catch is there.

[Ryan Brumley]

And he's been doing this. I don't know if you read Seth Wickersham's book, but Cale Williams is fe is very heavily featured in that. And this goes back to his high school days in Maryland is like they get down 28. Nothing they win 43 to 42.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, did you watch his college coming out party in 2021, the Texas Oklahoma game?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Spencer Rattler. And then just next thing you know it's like, who is this?

[Ryan Brumley]

He's. And he's pull. And that was the same season, you know, he's. He's pulling the ball from the running back to convert fourth downs and yeah, it was nuts.

[Bomani Jones]

It was also him firmly believing that he was the best player in the country while on the Oak as a true freshman and having a case. Yes, right. But the NFL, I mean, he has not been the best quarterback of his draft class his first year. I think we would agree. He was third, right behind Jayden Daniels and Drake May.

[Ryan Brumley]

And this year he was second.

[Bomani Jones]

This year. Yeah, this year he was second. Daniels was largely hurt. But he's one of these things, he's one of these cases where he's been a great fourth quarter quarterback, but I want a great third quarter quarterback. Right. We've talked about this on the show. I want somebody who just hands it off in the fourth quarter. This got to get out here and make magic happen.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's like one of the great analytics movements was, you know, what's better than third down conversions?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean it's a big thing, man. It's a big thing. And he just drops back and it spreads out and then he's just kind of like, okay, we'll figure this out in large part. Because I cannot believe that somebody his size has that arm. Right. Somebody coming in at around six, one and a half, six two. Right. Although I guess he's like park has talked about this last week, right. Like he is built like a house, like he's got it. But do you think Dan Campbell would have gone for two under those circumstances? And I asked that because big brain Ben is like clearly descended from that go for fourth down school of Campbell. And I was thinking to myself, if America's team, the Detroit Lions were in that circumstance, would I want them to go for two? And I think I reached the point where I say yes. A big part of why I say yes is I'm ready to go home. Like I'm not overtime overrated. Not really that big a fan of the whole concept. Let's just, if we can get out of here right now, let's go ahead and get out of here. But the problem, Ryan, I think is what we just talking about. It's one thing for Williams to do this with a little more space to operate, but a guy that has that has been good to miss some layups. Do you want to put it in his hands in that condensed space? Right. Like, Ben Johnson has demonstrated himself to be a lot of things. He ain't scared. Correct. And he decided that we needed to go ahead and kick and play this out.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think if you made a normal. Like a normal fourth down play, like, if you were. But you forget how fast it is. Like, oh, we just threw the. We threw the greatest pass ever, and now we got to get an operation in. In 40 seconds.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, so let's try this.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. I don't know the best word to use under these circumstances, but if I were one of these people listening to this show, I am going to use the word that they would use, even though they are speaking to a concept that I don't believe exists. Okay.

[Ryan Brumley]

Oh, okay.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay.

[Ryan Brumley]

I was curious what word you're using. Now I get what I. So the thing. They just got a bunch of.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There are many people who would. There are many people who would believe that in that moment that they would have something that they would refer to as momentum under those circumstances. Right. That you have just hit them with a swift kick in the gonads, and now maybe we just hurry up and we line up and they won't have it. Now what it is more likely to be, your guys are riding some confidence right now, and you're thinking that their guys might be a little bit dazed. Right. When they're a little bit wobbly. You notice nobody ever calls them momentum in boxing.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. Think of it like boxing, right. They a little wobbly over there, Right. You put them down, they getting back up, you could go right in on a straight line and give it to them. Or you could say, nope, let's dance a little bit more.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

And maybe that was the time to just come in there and hit him with the hammer. Maybe that was it. But it could go either way, Right. In the end, the guy that we're giving all this credit to went out there and threw a pick.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Now, that was the one, like going to a DJ Moore, where it's a question to ask whether or not the quarterback and the receiver are on the same page. Yeah. It didn't. It didn't look like they were. And by the way, if that's the case, that's kind of sort of a quarterback thing, too.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like, it's your job to get everybody on the same program, however it happens to go. But the other side, the mvp, the presumptive mvp, by the way both presumptive MVP guys. We'll talk about the other one, you know, but didn't play that well.

[Ryan Brumley]

No.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Stafford did not complete 50% of his passes. And as I say about Stafford all the time, he's gonna give you a chance. And he gave. There were chances to get the ball back around. There were two fumbles. There were also at least one or two of those where it's like, oh, you guys could have picked that off. I imagine, though, it's really hard to intercept Matthew Stafford if you don't see it coming. I think some of that is also with Josh Allen, who'll always give you a chance. They talk about autumn games in a row. Josh Allen hadn't had a turnover before he got them all in one game. I'm like, I don't see how.

[Ryan Brumley]

But that feels. That feels like, you know, result rather than process.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But here, here, here, think about it. I. I'm gonna run this by you. Me and my brother talk about this. My brother's got a buddy, Eve Ridison. Eric Riddison, played basketball at Alabama during the Wimp Sanderson days of Buck Johnson, Bobby Lee Hart, all those guys. Right? And my brother asked him about Magic because, you know, it played pickup with Magic. You know, stuff like that. And how it was that nobody ever took Magic's dribble. Magic's six, nine. Magic ain't have no boom, boom, boom, low cross game or whatever. No. Magic is dribbling that ball high, like, to his eyes. Yes. How did nobody ever take the ball away from Magic? And E told him, magic dribble that ball hard as hell. Right? Like Magic Bow, bow. Can you imagine how hard Magic Johnson like, It's one of those things you just don't think about is until someone points it out.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Case in point. It's not exactly the same, but somewhat similar. I've told you guys before, I went to Iceland in 2024. I went snowmobiling on a glacier, right? If I have not sent you the pictures of it, I will. It was.

[Ryan Brumley]

You have not really.

[Bomani Jones]

It was really incredible experience. Right? But fell off the snowmobile a couple of times. To this day, Doc, to this day, it's in my shoulder. But that summer. Okay, that trip was in February. Just so we're clear, so late. May I start coming back around? Right. I'm in Atlanta. I'm at Turner. We doing the alt cast for the rest of the conference finals. And I meet Brendan Haywood. First time I seen Brendan Haywood. Brennan Haywood for Those of you who don't know, 7ft tall, played center in North Carolina, played in the NBA for a very long time. Brendan Haywood, I don't know if he was happy to meet me or whatever, but he gave me a level of dap that set my back like three months.

[Ryan Brumley]

Just talk about he got the hard dribble to your hand.

[Bomani Jones]

Oh my God. Straight up and down. It was like, oh, man. And it wasn't like the, like the I shook Adrian Peter's hand situation. He dared to pop my, my arm out of joint just by, just by showing love. Right. That was Magic. Magic Johnson. Like you try to stick your hand in there and take the ball for Magic.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Walk out of that bad boy. Like, like, like, like when you see somebody finger get popped out of joint, except it's your shoulder. And maybe that's what happens when you don't realize that that Matthew Stafford pass is coming for you and you just can't get a hold. Like, yo, baby burnt. He burnt me. Like that thing was spinning. Like you might be able to hear that joint in the air. That's the only way that I figured the Cats ain't picking these passes off.

[Ryan Brumley]

Speaking of. Except know Stafford. Lot of pressure with the. The four quarterbacks left in the tournament are Sam Darnold.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumley]

Jared Stum. Yes. And you know who, who you know, you're 15 years older then. Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Now this is. I'mma just say this right now. The Rams don't win the Super Bowl. Ain't no we came shut this hall of Fame thing up. If they don't win. He the new Josh Allen. Right. Like, like Josh Allen had to. I mean, Right. He was dealing with that. Now it's the least scrutinized number one overall pick in the history of number one all overall pick quarterbacks. It's him. This is your time. You have the best two receivers. 1, 2 in the league where one guy led the league in catches and yards and the other one led the league in touchdowns.

[Ryan Brumley]

And talk about surefire hall of Famers.

[Bomani Jones]

Devonte Adams.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, it's one of those that you didn't really think about and then it happened. Right. Right. Like he is. Because you know, Antonio Brown's hall of Fame case is about to start and that's going to.

[Ryan Brumley]

That's gonna be a fun one.

[Bomani Jones]

That's gonna be a fun 1. The Devonte Adams case. I mean. And by the way, it's a no brainer on, on just football stuff. It's just a matter of whether they decide they don't want to let him in. But the devonte Adams case is very, very similar.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, when you get in there and look at it, I think the devonte Adams case is maybe a little more similar than Julio Jones, who I think will get in. But you and I have talked about this and maybe we might want to. This is actually a fun episode. We. I'll talk about this in front of people that we may be able to have of super bowl week, which is going through that hall of Fame ballot.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, it. It lets you know some dudes that ain't never getting in.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

That you've been trying to. Not you. But, you know, been trying to put in forever. Yes. I'm talking about Jason Whitney. But anyway, this will come up with Stafford also, by the way. But they. I think most of us would agree and I guess you could make a case for Peyton maybe. But I think McVeigh is the best coach that we've got left in this. I mean, we got a pretty good coaching situation. Right. You know, with all these guys, especially.

[Ryan Brumley]

To offense, to defense.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Yes. Like, I think we gotta. I think we got a pretty good, you know, set up there, but we're gonna see what happens. I mean, look, it's gonna be. Third time's the charm over there in the nfc. Right. We're gonna. We're gonna get a look at what goes on over there. But the future of the Bears is going to be very interesting with exactly how you deal with what the future of Caleb Williams should be and what is next year going to look like with him, because we're all now going to expect a leap. And I think that he made a leap this year because, I mean, I think going from 60 something sacks to 20 something sacks, that by itself, I.

[Ryan Brumley]

Don'T want to compare it to some other Chicago athlete who had a down first year and then had a great first, you know, great first moment in the. In the playoffs the second season where people started comparing him to God.

[Bomani Jones]

But, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

But it's. It's been a long time. That void that. That hole is there for Chicago fans.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. I will just say this, though, and I think this is important. You got to get over seven yards of completion.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, you could throw me all the advanced statistics all you want or whatever this. And I think that you gotta complete.

[Ryan Brumley]

More than 60 of your past.

[Bomani Jones]

And that's what it comes down to. Is that right? Like, I think efficiency is overrated in the way that we view football. But I also do think it is important. I think the ability to make big plays is more important. Like I'd rather have somewhat of the Caleb Williams archetype than the Alex Smith archetype. Right. Right. I think the.

[Ryan Brumley]

But that's how you become Drew Brees.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Yeah. Drew Bree is a different animal. Right. Like it was just like they, there's been one of those, if your thing is, I think he's the next Drew Brees, move on to somebody else. Like you're just asking for too much. Much. But they need, they're going to need him to make a jump. And a big part of why is it seems very clear to me, no matter what the system is that you build around him, the system is going to be Caleb Williams.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like that. That's, that's what this looks like. The system is going to be our guy can do unreal things and we're going to put him in a position to do unreal things. And that's what it got. That's what happened in the end. But hey, man, that's a, that's a, that's a high low life. Right? That's a, that's an up and down life. That's the EKG life. But it made for a season that I think these Bears fans will remember up until next year when they're gonna want to go to the Super Bowl. Every Friday from 6 to 7:30, it's NBA happy hour on FanDuel. Your pregame for the weekend. We're talking limited time specials you won't want to miss. Boosts, bonuses, surprises all dropping in the app during happy hour. So before tip off check the FanDuel app to see the week special. Then make your move before the shot clock expires at 7:30 Eastern. It's the perfect way to start your weekend. A little basketball, a little action and a whole lot of Friday energy. That's NBA Happy Hour every Friday from 6 to 7:30pm Eastern only on FanDuel. Official sportsbook partner of the NBA 21.

[Ryan Brumley]

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[Bomani Jones]

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[Ryan Brumley]

All right, Bo, Couple other games from the weekend. Saturday Night Seahawks blow the doors off of the 49ers, 41 to 6. Magic runs out for Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan. What was your biggest takeaway from this game?

[Bomani Jones]

Hey guys, I understand the 49ers are really low on bodies, right? I get that. But God bless anybody that has to try to score points against Seattle. Like that's the. You want to score some points against Seattle, you're going to need to intercept Sam Darnold and take him back to the castle. That's what it's going to take. And it, it feels like they be hitting hard too. Like, I mean it was like San Francisco, they're nasty. Yeah, yeah. Like I thought San Francisco's a great story this year and they gave it everything they had. I don't know what team you could have put into that situation. Like that's the first time in how many years they had fans in that loud ass stadium they were actually able to run the ball, which is something they had not been able to do, you know, like all of those things. But it didn't matter what Sam Darnold was in that game right now, torn oblique, right? Now, I mean, look, that's a trick bag, right? But can you, can you get to the super bowl without it mattering what your quarterback does? I've seen it happen before once, and that was maybe the greatest defense that I've ever seen. And that was in the year 2000, right, where the other team's quarterback in the super bowl was Carrie Collins. I don't know, guys. I don't know.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, so let's move on to the AFC. The Patriots beat the Texans. CJ Stroud struggled mightily, completing 24, 20 of his 47 passes, four first half interceptions. Bo, what was your take? Bo, you were tweeting about the Peter man in this game.

[Bomani Jones]

Yo, okay, so look, they lost that game to the, to the, to the Steelers. And you and I were both struck at how bad he looked.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes. I mean, that game was 7, 6 going into the fourth quarter.

[Bomani Jones]

And it was, it's not just how bad he looked. It was written all over his face, right? Like he was. He was shook about that. But they managed to get it done because the Texans, boy, they got some bullies over there on the other side of this. He threw four interceptions in the first half against the Patriots. And I was like, he looked like the Peter Band. All he had to do was come out the next half and throw one more. We was taught by Davis Mills, you got to get him off the yoke. And that was not simply because Stroud was playing poorly. It's because it was written all over his yes face. It was clear that he was totally consumed by this game, by this moment. I don't know what's going on. He looked was one of the best rookie quarterbacks that we have ever seen. Apparently it's been cheeks ever since then. And now look, after year three, that's when teams start talking about signing these extensions, okay? He's got Mulgetta representing him and he still got the leverage because it's going to be hard to go find another quarterback. But Texas can't break the bake on this man. Like, if this is. If this is what it's been looking like, and it appears that this is what it's been looking like, they have. AI. I could not believe how bad he looked because let me tell you who didn't look good in that game. Drake May. All right, The Texans were in this game into the fourth quarter like, and. But the thought was the Texans are going to need to like, turn around interception or fumble or something like that to get it done. But it was on the board because of how May was playing and how that defense was playing. What was it? Four minutes left. The Texans are down by 12, and they punted the ball. And I've seen people take that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Timeout left.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, people take that as Dico gave up on the game. No, sir. I think Demo concluded they had a better chance of scoring a touchdown on defense than they did scoring a touchdown on offense. Like, that's where they. I. I am shocked by how bad their quarterback was in that game. Like, it. I can't think of a time it's been a playoff game, and people have really been like, yo, y' all need to go to the bench.

[Ryan Brumley]

The bench. For Davis Mills.

[Bomani Jones]

For Davis Mills. And like, you know, we talk a lot about quarterbacks and black ups, but we was asking for Davis Mills, too. And I'm generally a little skeptical of last name, last name cats. You know what I'm saying? Like, you need to go gain you 20 pounds and play tight end. Then we might throw you the ball. Josh Allen, he got a whole team full of. Full of last name, last name cats. Was it Dawson Knox?

[Ryan Brumley]

Dalton Kincaid?

[Bomani Jones]

Dalton Kincaid. Oh, boy, I can look at that. See a sucker suit, you know, like, it's. It's all right there. But, man, they. They. I don't know what to say about the Patriots either, because they. I don't think they played well. They played against one of the worst quarterbacking performances that I have ever seen at that level. But he's like, okay, I'm not saying he's like, jalen hurts. Because I think Jalen hurts is better than him, it seems.

[Ryan Brumley]

But Jalen hurts doesn't come out there looking. Doesn't look shook.

[Bomani Jones]

No, no. But the same way that we have all our criticisms about Jalen Hurts, and then you say comma, but he outplayed Patrick Mahomes twice in the Super Bowl. Texans have won a playoff game. Three straight years with this guy. Three straight years. But they have a. They gotta figure something out. And they gotta figure it out. Cause they fired the offensive coordinator last year. Cause they thought it was his fault. What if it wasn't?

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, Bo. Today is Martin Luther King Day, 40th anniversary of America recognizing this holiday, you wanted to give some thoughts about Martin Luther King.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, so I want to say one thing right fast about the holiday, and I think that this is important. I told this story here before my buddy Joel. See, my buddy Joel hear that? Anyway, we were both at the national association of Black Journalists annual convention in 2005 in Atlanta. And Jesse Jackson was there. And I'll always remember it because Jesse Jackson was doing something that was very much, I feel like, on brand for a man of Jesse Jackson's age and stature at that time, I saw him talking on his cell phone on a hands Free Kit. And the Hands free kit, the one from back in the day where you put the earpiece in and then the cord went down and plugged into the phone. Right. Well, like, if you ain't know nobody had it in, you thought they was talking to themselves. Anyway, he was there because the Voting Rights act was up for renewal, and he wanted to make sure that there was, you know, an understanding of what was going on and awareness of the issue. And, you know, this is 2005. You know, Jesse isn't quite as relevant as he was then. And it felt to a degree like, you know, it felt a little alarmist. I think I've seen Joel use that word to describe it. It felt a little bit alarmist. And when the vote came up for the Voting Rights act that time, I want to say it passed unanimously through the Senate. As you guys know, it ain't no Voting Rights act no more, at least not in any way that actually factually matters. I had thought that that was a settled matter. Clearly it was not. Keep that in mind with this holiday. It ain't got to be one forever. You know, they just got that Juneteenth one there. Good luck keeping that one on the books. Like, none of this is. None of this is obligatory. None of this is required. Don't lose sight of that, because you may have to. We may have to snap into action to keep it, if it comes down to it. Now, King himself. I used to annually do, like more of a thing, and I would pick a passage from something that King had written and to speak on it. And, you know, the biggest thing for me with King always, and I've talked about this many times, is I believe that Martin Luther King is the finest man that this country has produced. A man good in such a way that I don't think that this country deserved him in a number of ways. And the biggest thing that I say about King that I think is very important, speaks to, you know, what he is or was, is that no one has ever spoken with greater moral clarity. And my greatest frustration with people who misappropriate his words or, you know, as this day goes on and people go and find the most benign quotes of his that they possibly can to put them out there, you know. You know, don't worry, be happy. Martin Luther King, right? You know, that kind of stuff, you have to do it on purpose. It's the only way you can't accidentally get it wrong. It's not possible. You know what was right and what was not. It wasn't just like expressed in slogan. It was always broken down. Because the thing about King that we also don't talk nearly enough about is he's really, really, really smart, right? Like the, the, the. The logic on his stuff. Like if you were doing it with arrows, like A implies B, B implies C, all that stuff. The lines are always so clear. There's so little noise that surrounds it at every turn, right? Like it's so clear. It's so. It's always there. It's so resonant. And it makes you stop and realize. And this is part of why King was so effective. Like, do you realize how, like, bad of a person you had to be to disagree with the things that he was talking about? Like how fundamentally rotten that you had to be? That's the only reason that like this holiday ever got passed or anything else is that it's like, ain't no leak in that ship, man. It's not there. It's not. And so with that in mind, I encourage you to go find anything the King has written. Chaos Our Community is the one that I typically recommend that people go to and understand. Man. He, at every turn was confronting the problem of race and how he got there squarely, right? There were no punches pulled. There were no dirty punches either, but there were no punches pulled. He was always so straight ahead at this point. And the greatness of King to me was another thing that was a settled matter, but we know that it is not. And we're going to have Howard Bryan on tomorrow to talk about his book that he wrote about Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson. And they made Paul Robeson disappear. Like full on disappear. Like he, like he never happened. Like it didn't. Like perhaps the most famous black man in the world in the 1940s, by the time he was dead in the 1970s, it's like he was never there. Like, the memories of these people can be made to evaporate very quickly without a conscientious effort to keep them alive. Now, something that I think is important when I make that point is this. And this is for everybody, though it has a particular. I think it has a special, somewhat special particular meaning for black people. They can change what they teach in schools. They can change the points that they use to decide is like some larger form of education. They cannot change what we teach each other. They cannot change what we preach on our own time. They can't do it. Everything I ever learned about black people, I learned for black people. It was never with any sort of expectation that I was going to learn this in school. It just wasn't it. Right? And we have to keep that in mind more and more and remember that at some point, it looks as though it is possible that we are going to have to teach each other again about Martin Luther King. And if we have to teach each other about Martin Luther King, I think it becomes imperative for a lot of us that we actually learn about Martin Luther King, because a lot of us depended on other people to give us that information. Nah, man. Information's out there. Go out there, get it. Be inspired. Be blown away by what you read, but don't be sitting around waiting. We got to do what we got to do, is what I'm saying. Let's make sure we do it.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, Bo, got some voicemails coming up.

[Bomani Jones]

Thank goodness for the white.

[Ryan Brumley]

Thank good.

[Bomani Jones]

Thank goodness for the nice, hard transform.

[Ryan Brumley]

Here's the first one.

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, Bo? First time call. Long time. Listen. Hey, man, this is Courtney Collins in Georgia. I have a question for you, man. I know that, like, during the 90s, man, like, y' all shoe game was so, like, cold. I mean, y' all had the air max. Y' all had the cross trainers. Y' all know y' all had kamikaze with the Sean Kemps, the Al Knobbins, and the pennies. It's like, man, all y' all shoes were so cold. So I just want to know, like, where did we lose the recipe? Like, why did the shoe game not. Not sustain itself? Why it ain't like how it used to be, where the shoes were so cold. I appreciate it.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, y' all got lower standards. If I'm going, keep it real, right? It's a generational situation.

[Ryan Brumley]

Okay, okay.

[Bomani Jones]

It's a generational situation.

[Ryan Brumley]

No, this is you kids.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Yes, yes. But. But this is the thing. I think it's not just shoes. It's everything else. We now have such a vast repertoire of past things to draw from that, you know, people like. And, you know, things work retroactively or whatever, but across the board, everybody's like, why would I come up with something new when it's some old shit that'll be. That'll be cracking, right? I think that's a gigantic part of a lot of these things. Like, I always say about music, why y' all still listening to rap? And I mean that in the sense of these young people should have come up with something that blew rap off the board. Like, there should have been a paradigmatic shift, but instead, everything just keeps drawing on what has already been here. Right? It's. The point has been made that having everything be so accessible just flattens all this stuff out in that regard. But you right, man. Like, the heat that we was wearing when I was in high school is still kicking the ass of what they put now for y' all to wear right now. That's a terrible break for you youngsters. It really is. But you know what? If I was you, I would be trying to get like, me, too.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, here's our next one.

[Caller]

This is Cy, first time, long time calling in from Virginia. You kind of sparked my interest to call in when you were talking about Austin Rivers agent Reggie. So I am the offspring of a white Reggie, and as you can imagine, most of my mom's friends, when she told them she was dating of Reggie, just made the assumption he was a black guy. On top of it, his middle name. Yes, it is Avon. So it's Reggie Reginald Avon. So he's got a lot working for him there. And then on top of that, my dad grew up in the rural south around integration, and he was integrated into a school that was primarily. Primarily black. So he was playing basketball, and he was the only white guy on his team. And they would go into plenty of gyms where, you know, they're facing off against pretty much all white teams. And it always would crack me up kind of thinking, oh, as they're doing the starting lineups, oh, here comes Reginald off the. Off the bench. And. Yeah, so that was always a little bit amusing to think about, too, that some of the head scratching that might have been going on there. Yeah. Love the show. Thanks. Have a good one.

[Bomani Jones]

I just need to know, and I appreciate that call greatly more than, you know, how do. Like, what was the tipping point before white people was like, fine, y' all got it. Reginald is yours, right? It's like, for example, the name Tyrone, Stephen Tyrone Colbert. Did you know that?

[Ryan Brumley]

I did know that. But, I mean, to be fair, I.

[Bomani Jones]

Know that because of you, we got Stephen Tyrone Colbert. At what point? Because, you know, in Ireland, they got lots of Tyrones at some point over here, they was just like, when you loan somebody a shirt and they stretch it out. Y' all got it. Like I said, I had a lot on Game theory was I said Basketball was like the name Tyrone. After a while, white folks just said, fine, y' all can have it.

[Ryan Brumley]

You can have it.

[Bomani Jones]

We don't even want it back no more, right? For a moment, I thought I got fooled, man. Somebody sent me something. And Austin. They said that Austin Reeves agent Reggie was white Reggie. I almost fell for it. I looked it up. N. He. He's. He's. He's Reggie. He's just a. He's just a regular old Reggie. Bernard, I feel like, is a name that at some point we got. But like, sometimes after. Sometime after Bernie Sanders. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Brumley]

But he. But he's burnt. He's never Bernard.

[Bomani Jones]

He is. You're right. He is Bernie. Right? That is the. That is an interesting thing, though, but.

[Ryan Brumley]

Brooklyn Dodgers fan Bernie Sanders.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, that's a great point. That is it. That says a lot about S. The silent generation's own Bernie Sanders. He's like boomers. Yeah, I hate. I hate kids.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, we had good shoes in my day. All right, here's our last one. Speaking of white Reggie.

[Caller]

Hey, Bo, this is Trav from Alcoa, Tennessee, just south of Knoxville. You know what I mean? Okay. I can confirm that there's three white Reggie in my area right now. I know they're few and far between, not seen few, but there's three here now. One's a transplant from Mississippi. So the one I ain't found, though, that I've talked to with the homies is I know a gang of Washingtons, but they ain't a pale face among them. I've seen a million people play Washington play sports. Not a pale face among them. So if you ever find a white one, white dude with the last name Washington, let me know, and I'll let you know. Have a good one, Bo.

[Bomani Jones]

Amen.

[Caller]

I don't know you, but I love you, brother.

[Ryan Brumley]

Take it easy.

[Bomani Jones]

I feel like I just talked to Bizarro Mike. Yes, they have a good one. Like, we're talking to Mike. I appreciate him calling, but. So I've heard people mention this, that all those Washington, Jefferson, like, they became presidents, and then suddenly there were no white people that had these names.

[Ryan Brumley]

Washington very famously didn't have any kids.

[Bomani Jones]

I did not know that until you said it.

[Ryan Brumley]

No kids.

[Bomani Jones]

Interesting. But he's right about that. All these stalwart white people names, they ain't none of them left. Yeah, but we out here. We out here. I love also that, like, word has drifted through the town of the presence of the white Reggies, including the transplant Reggie Right. Like Bigfoot?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, yo, just so you know, if you hear about. No, no, no. Still us. We're still good. Still. There has not been some sort of giant change, but, yes, this was the White Reggie episode of this show. I I and I ain't gonna lie. I appreciate it.

[Ryan Brumley]

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes, yes. We bringing the world together. Hey, look, I'm just glad to be reminded that I still got that demo in the audience. You know what I'm saying? Like, when I was in North Carolina, I heard from him all the time. We had to follow, you know, call. And I don't hear from as much these days, man. So shout out to all y' all for Holling at your boy. But ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here. On the right time. We do this four times a week. Ryan Brumley handled everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Remember, hit the voicemail line 323-59-67767. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you're a hater. We'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy.