Tomlin's hot seat, Shedeur Sanders noise, Giannis trade rumors | Bomani Jones & Domonique Foxworth

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Right Time with Bomani Jones

Episode: Tomlin's hot seat, Shedeur Sanders noise, Giannis trade rumors
Date: December 5, 2025
Host: Bomani Jones
Co-host: Dominique Foxworth

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Bomani Jones and Dominique Foxworth delve into several of the week’s most-discussed sports topics, infused with their trademark humor, deep analysis, and candid perspective. The conversation covers Mike Tomlin’s coaching tenure and the Steelers’ struggles, the overblown noise around Shedeur Sanders’ performance, and the swirling Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors as the Bucks’ season falters. The discussion flows with honest takes on Black professional spaces, NFL coaching realities, generational defensive talent in football, and the bizarre world of NBA superstar transactions.

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1. First Fridays with Foxworth – Black Bougie Culture and Jack & Jill

Timestamps: 01:05–06:35

• Celebrating ‘First Fridays’
  • Bomani and Dominique rebrand the ongoing Friday segment, riffing about Black professional social traditions (“Don’t nothing a Black person with a degree love to do more than go hang out with other Black people with degrees.” (02:13, Bomani))
  • Dominique shares the cultural contrast between his upbringing and the Jack and Jill world—highlighting class divides within the Black community.
  • Reflections on Black Ivy League events, the dynamic of “rooms you have to qualify to get into,” and skepticism about exclusionary networking spaces.

Memorable Quote:

"I am apprehensive of any room, no matter who you are, that you have to qualify to get into."
— Bomani Jones (06:22)

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2. Mike Tomlin on the ‘Hot Seat’ – Steelers, Standards & The Coaching Trap

Timestamps: 06:35–24:22

• Is Tomlin’s Job in Jeopardy?
  • Bomani zeroes in on the Steelers’ recent playoff drought and community impatience, noting that expectations for Tomlin differ little from any NFL coach.
  • Comparison: John Harbaugh’s tenure in Baltimore and the risk of firing consistent but non-championship-winning coaches.
• Steelers’ “Standard is the Standard”
  • Dissection of Tomlin’s mantra—interpreted as “both everything and nothing.”

    “The master of those type of cliches… People, me, myself included, are like, ‘oh, yeah, you see the way he said that?’ and then you get home and you’re like, ‘he didn’t say anything, yo.’”
    — Dominique (14:08)

  • Discussion of the value of organizational stability versus the gamble of pursuing something “better.”
• Hiring Realities and Diversity
  • Anecdotes about Tomlin’s initial interview process and the coded language ("too hip hop") that kept him from a prior head coaching opportunity.
  • NFL’s rare tolerance for long non-title droughts among coaches—paralleling Mike Tomlin and Marvin Lewis.

Memorable Quote:

"You have to understand that the risk that you're taking is... What you're saying by firing your coach... [is] now, all right, we want a championship so bad that we're willing to entertain the idea of being trash."
— Dominique Foxworth (10:45)

Notable Segment:

• [15:22] Bomani’s vivid breakdown of Tomlin’s evasive yet artful canny in interviews

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3. Quarterback Carousel & Draft Uncertainty

Timestamps: 24:22–31:46

• Steelers’ Ongoing QB Dilemma
  • The franchise's decades-long challenge of finding franchise quarterbacks outside of Bradshaw and Roethlisberger
• Coaching Market Volatility
  • Perils of firing a good coach: “I could make an argument for firing anybody […] but…who were you going to hire?” (16:47, Bomani)
  • Penn State’s struggles to fill its coaching vacancy highlighted as a cautionary tale

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4. Shedeur Sanders – Noise vs. Substance

Timestamps: 25:44–29:54

• Media Reaction vs. On-Field Reality
  • Dominique laments the out-of-proportion scrutiny on young player Shedeur Sanders:

    “We got a lot of noise around a situation that does not deserve to be that noisy.” (26:16)

  • Assessments swing wildly with every game, obscuring a measured evaluation.
  • Bomani: There is not yet enough in Shedeur's resume to reasonably consider building around him.

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5. Miles Garrett, Reggie White & the Ultimate Defender Debate

Timestamps: 29:54–45:31

• Appreciation of Miles Garrett
  • Both hosts marvel at Garrett’s freakish athleticism, advanced footwork, and versatility.

    “We are approaching Lawrence Taylor territory in what we’re seeing, like Reggie White territory…”
    — Bomani (30:21)

  • Deep dive into NFL’s greatest defenders, comparing the “crazy” (LT, John Randle) vs. the “Jesus” types (Reggie White) and where Garrett fits.
  • Reggie White’s legendary strength visualized through anecdotes (“[He] picked up a grown man and threw him at another one like it was a bowling alley.” (33:18))
  • Repeat exclamations and genuine awe about Garrett’s viral pass-rush “Euro step” move, with Foxworth repeatedly guiding Bomani to the video (42:49–45:31).

Memorable Quote:

“He did a stunt by himself. He was the outside and the inside.”
— Bomani (45:14–45:16, on Garrett’s one-man pass rush move)

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6. Giannis Antetokounmpo & The Trade Machine

Timestamps: 37:04–41:58

• Will Giannis Stay or Go?
  • The Bucks’ crash in the standings stirs speculation; Bomani notes how player injuries impact trade value optics and how genuine Giannis is.
  • Speculation about possible trade fits, with OKC and Houston as franchises theoretically positioned to make a blockbuster offer.
• Modern NBA Superstars & Schemes
  • How social media “scrubbing” is now standard in the NBA trade-request process
  • “Don’t you automatically become a contender when Giannis shows up?” — Dominique (40:15)

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7. NFL Playoff Picture – Contenders Without "Great" Teams

Timestamps: 45:47–55:00

• Chiefs, Texans, and the Wide-Open AFC
  • Stakes for the Chiefs—another loss could end their season.
  • Praise for Houston’s shrewd rebuilding (the C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson draft combo)
  • Observation: This NFL season lacks a true “great” team; many fan favorites and top quarterbacks are likely to miss the playoffs.
• Quarterback “Star” Gap in Playoff Teams
  • The oddity of an upcoming playoff field missing Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, etc.
  • Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts are rare bright spots.

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8. The Weirdest Story: Lions' Center and the “Grade 3” Hamstring

Timestamps: 51:27–54:59

• Frank Ragnow’s Comeback Gone Wrong
  • Retired Detroit center tried to return, only to fail his physical with a grade 3 hamstring strain.
  • Dominique and Bomani riff on the absurdity of a lineman trying out with a catastrophic injury, the desperation of the Lions, and medical disbelief.
• Lighthearted banter about legendary centers—did they call Bruce Matthews or John Hannah next?

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The only two coaches...that have existed like this in modern times were him and Marvin Lewis.” — Bomani (08:29)
• “My only point is understand that you quitting your job... And the market out there right now is not for employees. It never is.” — Dominique (18:11)
• [On NFL Defensive Legends] “Ain’t nobody, nobody been like this man.” — Dominique (30:28)
• “He did a stunt by himself.” — Bomani (45:14)

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Episode Tone and Style

• Humorous, irreverent, deeply knowledgeable, and candid; the hosts move skillfully from cultural commentary and football nerdery to player movement in the NBA, never hesitating to puncture hyperbole or call out bad logic.
• Exchanges are fast, friendly, and marked with laughter, inside jokes, and genuine admiration for sports.
• Listeners get unfiltered real talk, smart analogies, and vivid verbal imagery.

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Recommended Segments (Timestamps)

• Tomlin & Coaching Carousel: 06:35–24:22
• Miles Garrett Hype & Analysis: 29:54–45:31
• Giannis Trade Speculation: 37:04–41:58
• NFL Playoffs & QB Landscape: 45:47–51:27

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This episode is a must-listen for fans of football front-office intrigue, real talk about the pressures and politics behind coaching, and anyone who loves a great story about the wild talent that shakes up pro sports.

Transcript

[Bomani Jones]

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[Dominique Foxworth]

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[Bomani Jones]

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 are a hater. It is. Hold on. We got a new name. First Fridays with Foxworthy.

[Dominique Foxworth]

It works, I guess.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, man, I'm telling you, you make.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Me feel guilty when you say it like that.

[Bomani Jones]

I ain't trying to make you feel guilty. I'm like, what can I do? You know what I'm saying? I'm down to make it happen. But it's First Fridays and that way now people can look forward to the specific occasion.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I miss it. I still get like randomly or not randomly more and more on the street people recognize me and say they listen to my show but for a long time where they see me on get up. But for a long time the thing I would get the most was like oh, I love you. And I'd be like I get excited a little bit on Foxworth Friday and I'm like yeah. I mean I think really me though.

[Bomani Jones]

No, but it is you though. But it is, you know, that's the thing. But also First Fridays of Foxworth has a phrasing that is very important to African Americans of certain bourgeois of our age is there was a time where a First Friday boy, let me tell you don't nothing a Black person with a degree love to do more than go hang out with other black people who have degrees where everybody knows that we're all here because we have degrees. And so we pat each other on the back for having degrees.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And first Friday was such an occasion.

That specific strain. Well, I guess it's different than Jack and Jill, but that's a whole nother conversation. Cause I don't know nothing about that world. That wasn't anything I was in. So when I first had kids and we had a little bit more money than, than I had as a kid, like people are like, you should do Jack and Jill. My wife, who grew up like more affluently than I did, was like, no, no, we're not putting our kids in that.

[Bomani Jones]

And I was like, this is why, this is why I love your wife. Because on paper Jack and Jill seems on the board, but no, she actually a real one. This is, this is important. I do look back on it though, because I. There was always that an emphasis or an emphasis. But my mother would try, and I understand it better now as an adult to put me in situations to be around other, other middle to upper middle class black kids because they went, but so many of us, right? So we all need to get together. But the thing is, I went to school with rural working class people, so I did not meet these people and feel like I was meeting my peers, right? Like I, I was just like, oh, this isn't my room either. And I always wonder if I had gotten like a little taste of Jack and Jill, maybe it would have been good for me to just so I wouldn't be so mean to those people now. Like, I don't like them at all. Like anytime somebody invites me to anything that I feel like got a whiff of that, I'm like, oh, you one of them, huh? Yeah.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Nah, it's. I would agree that.

You have this aversion to that group, which is probably by all, most times it's you're better off not. But like I mentioned at up in Martha's Vineyard going to like the black Ivy League thing. And I could feel the eye roll through the text. Like some of them are cool, Bo. Like some of them are cool. And my wife and I went to like black Harvard alumni weekend and I remember, like it's kind of cool to me that both my wife and I are alumni from this fancy school and we going to this weekend and it's going to be cool. And all my friends like, oh, that's dope. And Beau is like, oh, that's dope.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Watch out.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Don't, don't let, don't catch it.

[Bomani Jones]

First of all, I don't think I realized that your wife was also a Harvard of love. I misunderstood that part.

[Dominique Foxworth]

So.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay, I get it. It's a, it's a. And I mean I imagine there's another Dominique Fsworth walking around there somewhere.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I, I, yeah, my homeboy, he wrote his second book and he, we went to high school together and like he has a much different background than even me. Whereas like his, his brothers and his dad and all them, they was, they was a pharmacist and they did some time as a result of his mom was a teacher and he went on to like go to Harvard and, and now he's a professor there. And.

Yeah, he sound like we could kick it.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Absolutely could kick it. And there are a few others like that. But I, I get, I get your point. Because when I, the funny thing is like they had at that weekend, they have so many like meetings and conferences and seminars and whatever about all these different things. And then of course there are a few well attended ones about like how we can address inequality. And it does have a feeling of how can we fix them. N.

Is it like a little error of it? Yeah, yeah, like a little error of it. And not everyone is in there. Cause you look around at other people rolling their eyes too. But it all like, it's like, damn, what are we going to do for them?

[Bomani Jones]

You know what it is? And this is whether it be Harvard or any of these other things. Right. I am apprehensive of any room, no matter who you are, that you have to qualify to get into.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

You know what I mean? Any room where we tell people that you don't get in because you have not achieved whatever that thing is. She, man, they probably more fun than y'. All. Right? Like, like, like maybe that's what it is. I feel like you leaving the fun out the road. But I will say this. There's one black man that I feel like is everybody's kind of guy and his name is Mike Tomlin. And national television. Right. Talk about this all the time. That if it's going to look bad for you, don't make it look bad for you on national television. Because now this conversation goes from inside the house to outside the house and it feels like everybody is in on it. And I don't know how much those things matter in Pittsburgh where they seem to clearly move and operate at their own pace. But the bottom line is this Steelers Team is not good. Aaron Rodgers currently only has one hand that is operable and the other one is still 42 years old. Right. Can't lose sight of that. I bet he can't even hold his hand steady, you know what I mean? Like, you asked him to go like this and see what happened. But anyway, now is the time that everybody is remembering that Mike Thomas stopped winning playoff games when it wasn't a black man as the president no more. Right. Apparently, that was a condition that was somewhat necessary to really, you know, get to get to where he wanted to be. I'm just saying he won his first super bowl after Obama got inaugurated. You understand what I'm saying? Maybe. Maybe that's what it is, right? I don't know. Anyway, he ain't winning the playoff games. And in Pittsburgh, they don't give a damn about no goddamn Barack Obama or none of that. They kind of want to know what's going on with the playoff wins where those haven't been. It's a fair point. I don't know if the coach is the reason that this has been the case for those nine years, but it is also fair for people to say anybody else would have gotten fired. To the maybe it ain't as much racism. No mo People, if I were you and I were trying to make that point, I would say the only two coaches that I could think of that have existed like this in modern times were him and Marvin Lewis.

Hey. Yay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey. Hey. I'm just saying, forgive me. The devil don't need no advocate. I'm just saying that before they could say it, I' ma say it and make jokes about it. But Steelers look bad against the Bills.

This week. They play against Baltimore, who also look bad and have a head coach who has been there just about as long that I would make the argument needs to be fired. But if I am making the argument that he needs to be fired, it then becomes very difficult for me to not make the argument that Mike Tomlin needs to be fired. The difference in their two cases, however, is very clear. One of them has had a quarterback since 2018, and one of them is not.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, the. I am biased in both cases.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

For different reasons. And so, like, I think we can start with the Harbaugh thing is like, the one thing about Harbaugh that I respect and appreciate and I think would be you. I'd worry about losing is the ability to run a stable organization while changing parts is a hard thing to do and changing the way that they attack like, the transition from Joe to Lamar wasn't easy. And then the transition of the offense from. What's his name? Roman. Yeah. From Roman to Monkin hasn't been easy, but it worked. And then they had multiple defensive coordinator transitions where they launched a career one guy and they are working on another guy. And before that they were Wink Martindale. Crazy blitz. He's just like unique things that I think some of those things aren't as obvious in there and they're tough to do. I can understand, though, that the idea that you haven't gotten over a certain hump, that's fine. I think you and I are reasonable enough to know that it don't mean it's going to get better. You can look at Penn State, like, don't assume that it's going to get better. So you have to understand that the risk that you're taking is like, what you're saying by firing your coach, you're a good coach. So, like, if your coach stinks, then he's like, all right, can't be no worse. Get out of here. It's different. It's a different calculation. When you have a coach who has made things stable, what you're doing is now, all right, we want a championship so bad that we're willing to entertain the idea of being trash.

And people who are part of good organizations, like fans of good organizations like the Ravens and the Steelers, don't acknowledge. They don't even imagine what. What it's like to be a Jets fan or a Giants fan or a Raiders fan or a Cardinals fan. Like, look around the league. Most of these teams stink for long periods of time. And you guys are mad. Which, like, I get it. It's fine. You could want more and want better and expect more and expect better, but you guys are mad because you haven't won a Super Bowl.

So that's all. You just have to. That's the thing that I worry about, is people who are saying this don't. Aren't doing the actual calculation that the probability is that you're going to get a bad coach, not that you're going to get an improvement.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Now. And for them, they feel like.

[Dominique Foxworth]

No.

[Bomani Jones]

Because the last three coaches that they have hired over this span of 60 something years or nearly 60 years have been coaches who have not simply won Super Bowls, but have been to multiple Super Bowls. This has happened with both of them. The thing for me, with the Steelers, that I do think is worth pointing out and. And this is perhaps a function of my age.

The Tomlin lie that the standard is the standard. Well, what is the standard? Is the standard. But you didn't answer my question. Yeah, right. What exactly is the standard when people talk about Pittsburgh? Because people say the standard is Super Bowls and that is not true. They went to four Super Bowls in six years under Chuck. No, that mean. And that was an unreal run in a way that cannot be replicated in this day and age. But that was an unreal run since then as a franchise and this is over a span of 40 something years. They have been to four Super Bowls, right? They've been during the 80s. I think they went to one or an AFC championship game in there, I think in 84 against Miami. But otherwise, eh, they was just kind of there. Coward got the thing back rolling. But Cower also had like a three year dip where they did not make the playoffs. And then it's like win a playoff game here, win a playoff game there. He got that super bowl all the way toward the end. Tomlin. It was stronger in the beginning. I think that with the talent that they've had in the last few years, getting to the playoffs or whatever it has been is fairly impressive. They have a quarterback problem. They've been had a quarterback problem and they haven't made a big move to get another quarterback because that's between Ben, outside of Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw. They have had the meh quarterbacks over a span of decades. You can't do it with the, with Neil o' Donnell at this point in time. You can't do it with old Aaron Rodgers. They tried with Kenny Pickett. I could have told you that wasn't going to work. Right? So I don't know what exactly is expected, but I do think it's fair to say, bruh, how we ain't won not one playoff game in this time period. But not one of them has been a playoff game. I thought they were supposed to win, right?

[Dominique Foxworth]

But I mean I think that's why, that's part of the reason why you criticize the coach is like win the ones that you're not supposed to win. A coach who I think most people would argue wins a lot of regular season games that he's not supposed to. That's why he's made the playoffs a lot more than he was supposed to and been over 500 a lot more times than he was supposed to win. One of those playoff games that you're, that you're not supposed to win is a fair criticism over this amount of time because they've been, like, good this whole time. So, like, yeah, that's fair.

[Bomani Jones]

The.

[Dominique Foxworth]

The state, to the point about the standard is the standard. The. The reason why that's such a masterful thing is you can make it mean whatever you want. It's about. It's about showing up on time and playing hard. It's not about actually winning championships. It's about conducting yourself with dignity and respect. Like, he ain't say nothing. Like, the standard of the standard just means, like, yeah. Or the standard could be like, be happy, have a good time, be kind to people. Right? That's the standard. So, like, he ain't really said nothing. That's the. The. The master of those type of cliches or the. The genius of those type of cliches that you throw them out there. And people, me, myself included, are like, oh, yeah, you see the way he said that? And then you get home and you're like, you. He ain't saying, yo.

[Bomani Jones]

He's so good at keeping it simple and not giving you anything. But that should be feeling profound, don't it?

[Dominique Foxworth]

You know, like, when that.

[Bomani Jones]

When that person. I think. I think it was a woman. I can't remember, but asked him about COVID 3 against the FTS, and he said he did not want to explain it, but he was impressed by the depth of the question because it ain't no explanation, Mike. And for people who need to understand what's going on here, Cover three, there are three deep defensive backs, four verts. Those three gotta guard. Four people. Answer by Tomlin. Is y' all fucked up?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I mean, the. The answer to that is probably the. The. The whole defenders or the curl flat defenders will carry the verts, which then opens up the curl flat like. It's a much more complicated answer to that. There is no perfect answer for any of that. But, yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Giving somebody a compliment. And you the head coach, you, Mike Tomlin.

[Bomani Jones]

Well done.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That's a move there.

[Bomani Jones]

Well done. Well, well, well done. Well done.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Definitely your question.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, but I will. Your point about you don't know who you gonna get is an important one. Because the thing about the Steelers is we could operate on the assumption that they'll go get a good head coach, because they did 35 years ago, and then they did again 20 years ago, and they did previously 55 years ago. Right. Like, that's a. There aren't that many of them around here, and they have an infrastructure we are assuming that we think can support whatever it is. But you're right. For people who don't know what's going on at Penn State. They can't give that job away right now for whatever reason. Signing day has come. And I think they had class 125 because they only got like five people because they still don't have a coach. They got mad that day and decided they were sick of James Franklin. Understandable if you. You. I always say I could make an argument for firing anybody. Right. Okay, they did it. But you're right. Who were you going to hire? That should have been a little bit more clearly explained. I thought it was going to be Matt Rule, but apparently they thought it was going to be Matt Rule because it's not Matt Rule and they still don't have a coach. But if the Steelers mess around in this place where they're in, because they're still not going to have a high draft pick because they still going to be pretty good, right? What's it going to be? And Steelers fans, y' all don't know nothing about. Y' all don't know nothing about them hard scrabble mean streets.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And they gonna get to know it or they might not. Maybe they'll figure it out again. And I think, like, the. They've hired good coaches, but your point is good. When they don't have experience doing it. Like, it could be luck. And I think, like, no disrespect to Chuck Noel, but, like, I feel differently about pre free agency dynasties than I do about post free agency dynasties.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And like, it's a different situation. Like, yeah, things worked out. Y' all had a Hall of Fame, had 10 hall of Famers on defense.

[Bomani Jones]

All right.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And. And they couldn't go nowhere no matter what. They couldn't. They could not stretch your cap because it didn't exist. And like, it's a little different situation. And yeah, there were some advancements and developments made like, I respect that. But then the cower situation was more closer to reality. What you're dealing with now is it ain't reality, man. Like, this is not so. I get it. My only point is not that he doesn't deserve to get fired because, I mean, forget deserved.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. That's an irrelevant factor.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That's irrelevant factor. My point is not that it's unreasonable to fire Mike Tomlinson. It's reasonable to fire Mike.

[Bomani Jones]

Tom.

[Dominique Foxworth]

My only point is understand that you quitting your job and all and the market out there right now is not for employees. It never is. So, yeah, go ahead and quit your job if you want to. I don't know what you're going to end up doing. But you may not like it nearly as much as what you got now.

[Bomani Jones]

Yo, and right now this, this is not a time where I feel like I'm hearing the this is the next head coach name.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Right?

[Bomani Jones]

So for example, old Big brain Ben, I gotta stop calling him Big brain Ben because apparently some of that big brainedness was actually Dan Campbell and it's actually big boy Ben who take his shirt off and it's kind of swole and dance around with his players. But anyway, if, if the Steelers job is open last year, they are probably the move to that Ben Johnson makes even if they don't have the quarterback right now because they gonna give you the time and we gonna figure out, you know who it's gonna be is your, your, your best chance for success. I don't know who the name is. If you decide that Mike Tom is not going to be your coach anymore, I don't know who the guy is that you then say, okay, we're going to hire and make this happen. Now to be fair, we damn sure didn't know who the guy was when they hired Mike Tomlin.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Exactly. That's the same point, the same with, with Harbaugh. It's like apparently Mike Tomlin was someone that the Rooneys knew of and were really impressed by.

[Bomani Jones]

And because Tomlin got the Rooney rule interview with, it worked. I forget which team.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, Levitard always tells the story about how the Dolphins were going to hire him, but they did not because he was and I quote to hip hop unquote. And then they hired Cam Cameron and went 1 in 15. What an amazing tale. But I think that that's what the Bruties heard about was that interview.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Would you feel any differently about the two Hip Hop line if they wrote like, I don't think our fan base would, would be comfortable with it now. There's really no way to be like, he too black. There's really no way.

[Bomani Jones]

The thing about the two hip hop party is guys, we have seen Mike Tomlin, right, For a long time. He, he know how to act on an interview, right? Like he went in there like the Fresh Prince in jazz, like, hey, how you doing? Right. Dapped him up and then fell backwards like that. He was in there waiting on them like.

My bad. Who going first?

[Dominique Foxworth]

My name is Mike and I'm here to call you.

To hip hop. What would he have to do? He come in there and throw down some cardboard and start break dancing.

[Bomani Jones]

Keep in mind everything else about the interview was impressive enough that from the way the story is told, they thought that he was somebody that you should hire, except he was too hip hop. So what was he doing that was so hip hop? Or how low was the hip hop threshold such that you decided? Nope. Cam Cameron. He's our guy.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I, I mean, it seems obvious that it's just like, it's a euphemism like, yes, we don't want no black.

[Bomani Jones]

We don't want no. We don't want nobody black. And then when they. Many years ago, and I think this is a different ownership group, they eventually did. Did hire Brian Flores, who I think was a different kind of hip hop that they didn't like.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, they wasn't down for mob deep hip hop, little. They like looking back on it, Flores did a pretty good damn job. Like, maybe he's the guy that you should be looking at while he's in the middle of suing the NFL.

[Bomani Jones]

I feel confident saying through a little knowledge and understanding and paying more attention to the situation.

He will never be a head coach, and I will never complain about it.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Maybe you know more than I know.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, no, no. He.

He. I could understand why it is because basically the Dolphins got him out of there because they like, hey, man, don't nobody like him, bro.

He's a tough guy to be around, right?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I, I, Yeah, I won't push any further, but, yeah, there's lots of people who are tough to be around so that the results matter more than anything else. And I think that the. What the Steelers do next would be interesting.

[Bomani Jones]

Hold on, hold on. Sometimes how tough you are to be around has an adverse effect on the results.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Fair point.

[Bomani Jones]

Fair point. Yeah. Yes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Maybe. Yeah. Some people are also built to be coordinators, and I think you can look up in New England and say, all right, that man coordinated shit out that offense.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. I mean, Bill Belichick is built to be a coordinator. He just had Tom Brady.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That's fair.

[Bomani Jones]

And I think he did a great job coaching those teams, but he's built to be a coordinator because of how he act.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah. Mike Tomlin built to be a head coach.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, he is.

[Dominique Foxworth]

He was coordinated coach. He's a head coach, people.

[Bomani Jones]

Yep, yep. That's. And this, this is going to be something to see because they got this game against the Ravens and Lamar Jackson is playing like boo Boo. Yeah, I'm not hearing much about. I mean, you live closer, so maybe there is horrible talk that I'm not hearing, but if they don't make the playoffs, I don't see how he can still be your coach.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I mean, they chanted the same thing they did to Tomlin. I don't remember which game it was a few weeks ago. They were chanting fire Harbaugh. And I think a lot of that was tied to. Obviously it's tied to, like, their playoff disappointments, but a lot of it was also tied to the decision to start Cooper rush over Snoop. Fans didn't like that because Snoop has had success in the past. But then Lamar came back, they reeled off a few wins even though they were ugly wins, and everybody got quiet. If they end up missing the playoffs and losing a division to this not very good Steelers team, the conversations will pop back up, but I don't see it actually leading to anything unless there's some, like, conversation inside the locker room to be straight with you. Unless Lamar is upset. I don't see them reacting to the fans that way because I think that they have a situation there between Ozzy still being around, Dacosta being the general manager. I think they have an idea of a future head coach at some point. I, I don't think they think that point is now unless they. Their hand gets forced by just a. A terrible fall off.

[Bomani Jones]

It's very interesting that people think this division is terrible. I think the NFC south is probably worse. But we have seen this as a terrible division. And we walked into this year thinking that this division was rock solid. It just had the Browns in it. Yeah.

[Dominique Foxworth]

The Bengals. I don't know. The Bengals need to. That one super bowl run really got us confused about who the Bengals always is.

[Bomani Jones]

Specifically Zach Taylor. Yeah, like, we thought we. We knew. We thought we knew. And then they went to a Super bowl and.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And they keep reminding us every year. And I, I mean, I guess you forgive them because of the burrow injuries and the slow starts. The defenses have been bad, switching out coordinators. But I. I just had this before I got on with you. I was talking to my producers about the show that we're going to do, and they are trying to convince me to have a conversation about taking the Bengals playoff run seriously. And I won't do it. I won't do it. I won't do it. I didn't do it last year. I'm not doing it this year. I won't do it. And they were like, what if. What if they beat the Bills? So what if they beat the Ravens? So. And they were like, the last three games after that are definitely easy and winnable. I guarantee you they lose between now and the end of the season, they lose one or two of these five games, whether it's to the teams that are better than them or to the teams that are worse than them, I don't know. But not a serious outfit.

[Bomani Jones]

There is nothing better than what a Sam I am moment just jumps up out of nowhere. We did. Not in a boat, not on a goat. No, sir. Rebob. Going up next, I'm asking Dominique what he thinks about what Shador has looked like so far. And also Giannis might want to trade. All right, we are back with Dominique Foxworth. I have talked about Shador a couple times. Without you in your expertise as a defensive back and just a generally reasonable person, what we got here.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I mean, we got a lot of noise around a situation that does not deserve to be that noisy.

That's the best way I could put it. I think it's funny because you can't help but react to something that everyone else is reacting to. You don't have to, like, publicly react, but, like, you have a reaction. So, like, I think I've swung back and forth based on the, like, the. What I felt was the predominant, like, story around him or the predominant feeling around him through the draft and through his college career until now. It's like the pendulum swings. And I always feel like my reaction or my feeling about it is like, I don't really care about this. Everybody cares about this, but they're not seeing that this is different. And so the most latest thing is like, when he got his first playing time in the Ravens game, it felt like, oh, he's terrible. And I watched those. Those games and I was like, hey, guys, they didn't protect him. The two times they protected him. He went downfield. Well. The interception was a panicked, terrible throw. But generally, like, I think there's. There's nothing to really pull from this particular game. Then he goes and wins the next game, has that incredible throw, and. And then it feels like the narrative around him. I shouldn't use that word anymore. It's dead. It feels like the push behind him is like, see, he did it. He did it. He got to talk about his teammates more after he win, but he did it. And then I rewatched that game and I'm like, that play was incredible.

But he didn't really do much in that game. And it feels like we're still in a situation where we're trying to really assess this guy. And to be fair, he. If he were a first round pick, he would be giving us enough right now. I think for us to be like, all right, there's something there. We can build around it. But he's not a first round pick. And I don't think he's done nearly enough for us to be talking about like what they gonna do. Maybe they gonna build around him. Which it feels like some people are arguing that that's a. A real thing. They gonna draft some more quarterbacks. Guys. It's gonna happen as soon as they can, of course, which is next year. They got two first round picks.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean as, as soon in that draft.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

As they can. And by the way, I don't know if you'd seen this, but apparently I saw a report that said, oh, here we go. Browns open 21 day practice window for Deshaun Watson on nasty ass.

They are, they are trying to make sure that one of these many quarterbacks they have. Right. All of whom are kind of like the jack of hearts. Well, not even all to be honest. Some of them are like eights. But they are going to see if at all they have somebody there. And they are still entertaining the possibility that Deshaun Watson off an Achilles tear. Was it that maybe he still got something left.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, this is one of those situations where I would be. Which I guess the fact that he's shown that he can be an elite quarterback is enough that you would want to give it a shot.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Five years ago.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah. But I would be scared that he actually played well, which I never want to be in a situation where I'm rooting against my own guys, you know and so like I. If he played well for a short stretch, we talking about extending them. That's what we talking about doing guys which like would lead to some cap relief in the short term, but not in the long term. I don't know man. Let's see what this draft talking about.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, and, and by the way, for the Browns, as I look at this, their draft seems to have been okay.

[Dominique Foxworth]

They've had a lot of good drafts. Like the roster ain't terrible, man. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

And. And, and they have what I will just to stop this from becoming go to a place that's too far. Perhaps one of the best defensive linemen of all time.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Oh no, it won't go too far with me.

[Bomani Jones]

I'm just, I'll say it for myself.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Like, like we are.

[Bomani Jones]

We are approaching Lawrence Taylor territory in what we're seeing like Reggie White territory in what we're seeing.

[Dominique Foxworth]

If they had ever made any good runs in the playoffs, the way that we talk about him would be entirely different right now. Like we would be the. Like we talk about Aaron Donald like he's one of the best D tackle. Like he is the best D tackle ever. I think that that argument could be made in part because he has some memorable playoff runs. But I could think of other guys who were as effective and as important. Nobody. And maybe I'm gonna get myself in trouble. I watched a lot of football. Ain't nobody, nobody been like this, man.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Like it's. To me it's Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White in the, in the pass rusher category. Like, like pass rusher outright destroyed.

[Dominique Foxworth]

He's both though. That's right.

[Bomani Jones]

That's what I was about to say. The thing about Lawrence Taylor is those other two guys are so much bigger than him. Like there's a difference between. Now we just call them all edge rushers, but there's a difference between being a 4, 3 defensive end and Ranger White can also play and 5 technique also. But being a handout defensive end and being Lawrence Taylor outside linebacker at a time when the position didn't even really exist in the way it is now. But yes, Miles Garrett is a little bit of both with not as would he be bet. What do you think would help him more? Some of Reggie White's Jesus or a little bit of Lawrence Taylor's cocaine?

[Dominique Foxworth]

I'mma go ahead and say that on the football field.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I'm always leaning towards lt.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. I mean so a little of the cocaine. Because the thing was Reggie White would be out there talking about an Old Testament God with them. Yeah. That's like he was telling them that God was going to strike them down when he was coming.

[Dominique Foxworth]

But I think.

What is implied, obviously he don't need to actually have the cocaine. That's a different situation. But at least the way you asked the question, I was thinking like the way that he plays, he is.

Level headed. Like you never see him out there doing John Randall things. Yes, I know, I know he swung a helmet at somebody. But generally, which I know it sounds ridiculous. Generally he just out there whooping your ass and dapping you up.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Yeah. Lawrence Taylor is a different variety of crazy person.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like that. Like just when you hear him talk about playing, when you just like the, the, the NFL films clips of him, like he's a terrifying person as opposed to simply being a terrifying opponent.

[Dominique Foxworth]

As I go through my mind of the best defensive linemen or edge rushers that in the history. The, the archetype mentally is not the Jesus guy. Like we talking Charles Haley, we talking Lawrence Taylor, we talking John Randall. I mean, I guess maybe Derrick Thomas is a little bit more like on the mellow side. But yeah, I go with what I know.

[Bomani Jones]

Reggie White is just the strongest man, like strong in a way that you don't get from the gym. Yeah, the clips. Well, there's two of them, one that time. And I'm pretty sure Brian Billick was the offensive coordinator when this happened. And I just don't understand how he drew up a play that involved Chris Carter being the guy that had to block Reggie White. And all Reggie White did was pick Chris Carter up and throw him into Warren Moon. There were three hall of Famers in this play. One of them picked the other up and threw him at the third. And when, and you're, and when you hear me say that, you're like, he didn't throw Chris Carter at him. Go look it up. He picked up a grown man and threw him into another one like it was a bowling alley.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I remember that play. I remember it being the hump move. I'm just going to draw it up so I can see it. And also, like before him, did anyone like, that's a movie that Reggie Wright, Reggie White created. And how we long.

[Bomani Jones]

How long, how long, how long is the hump move? OG however, I've never seen the Howie Long move clips. I've only seen Reggie White, including the Greatest, which is on Thanksgiving Day. He repeatedly threw Larry Allen around. And it's like the hip toss in wrestling is what the hump move is. This is before we knew Larry Allen was Larry Allen, but we weren't blind. We Knew he weighed 350 pounds or whatever it was. Did you, did you get Chris Carter being thrown?

[Dominique Foxworth]

No, no, I, I, it was, it was worse than I remembered.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Cause you're right. I remember thinking that he was going up field and hit him with a hump move. Reggie White stopped his feet because he was like, oh, Chris Carter, what you doing here? Oh, you trying to block me? And then took one arm and bashed him.

[Bomani Jones]

That's a great point. You're like, hey, what are you doing on this side attack?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, he stopped like, this ain't your neighborhood.

Bashed him. But Miles Garrett has a lot of plays that are shocking strength wise like that also. And then he has that thing that he calls the Euro step that he did it to Trent Williams this weekend. I'm sure you can find that tape where he starts outside. And George Kittle, two of the best blockers in football. George Kittle and Trent Williams are trying to block him. This man gives George Kittle a shake, gets past him and then plants off his outside foot and throws his own body all the way to the inside. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to find it and jumps all the way to the inside. So much so that Trent Williams, the most athletic big man you've ever seen, can't get a hand on him. It's absurd.

[Bomani Jones]

He plays for bums.

And then he.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Has the strength on top of it. It's just he's got all the, the attributes except for the crazy.

[Bomani Jones]

Eddie can hoop like. Yeah, he like playing with dinosaurs and like I, I cuz it's so, it's interesting because he doesn't have the crazy, but he had a brother named Shawn Williams who played basketball ball at Boston College who appeared to have the crazy.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, like, like there was a little bit Sean.

[Bomani Jones]

If, if Sean Williams had his brother's temperament and Miles Garrett had his brother's temperament, both of them would probably be a little bit better.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Miles Garrett. There's a other series of clips. I'mma send them to you at some point where you can see what he does at his size and strength. He turns his lower body so like he'll sell upfield with his upper body and then he'll turn his lower body in order to make the cut to break inside on people. That's why his inside move is so ridiculous, because the O lineman don't see it coming because somehow he has the flexibility. He just, he just got it all. Man. Man.

[Bomani Jones]

Speaking of having it all, we gonna switch entire sports. It sound like Giannis and the Bucks are talking again about whether or not is best for him to play for them, it's best for them to play with him, so forth and so on. They don't really know what to do. I've said it. I. Oh, okay. It's worth noting that the last time I looked at the numbers, they were like fourth in the east and now they are 10 and 13. They have lost eight of their last 10 games. That's why they're having these conversations again. My bad.

Like stay or go. I just, I just don't know if it doesn't feel that easy anymore to trade me to a contender. The word contender is a little more vague and trades are a little harder.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Didn't he like grab something last night?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, Calf.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. In a way that if it wasn't Giannis.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Oh, yeah. He would. We would. The question of Shenanigans remember when he.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Hyper extended his knee?

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And we thought it was over that he scored 60.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, what a championship, as I recall.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I think, I believe that might have.

[Bomani Jones]

All been the same season. But no, after all these reports come out and then he hits the ground and say, my foot hurt. For many other NBA players, we'd be like, yeah, your foot hurts. In his case, I believe that he is actually hurt, which, by the way, y' all can talk all you want. If he got a calf injury, I'm gonna need to see them MRIs and everything else. Like, y' all gonna need to hit the zoom lens as tight as you can before you send them over and we start talking about a trade.

[Dominique Foxworth]

For sure. Yeah. Now that, that. I mean, the way it happened was kind of scary. It was one of those, like, it wasn't even in course of play. He just made a great play, great pass, and then he just. It gets a little scary. I get your point. My first thing when I saw that news this morning was to think that there was shenanigans. Then I watched it and I got real nervous and was like, I hope the MRI is all right. That is, I mean, normally you just. You heard it in practice. If it's shenanigans, you ask it a lot of yourself as a performer. It's unnecessary. And I mean, in this day and age, you only got to hurt yourself. You just tell, like in the NBA, tell them I ain't playing.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, also, also, you can't do it like that in, In. On the court in the NBA no more in these days and times, because quite honestly, they might. You might be under FBI investigation.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I forgot about that.

[Bomani Jones]

They about to go check the lines.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I, I believe y'.

[Bomani Jones]

All.

[Dominique Foxworth]

This is. And Yanis is a believable guy. He even did the modern day nonsense, which I guess is a nonsense. It's a thing now. It's the first step in the process is changing social media.

Whose job is that? Do you hire a company to do that? Yeah. All right. I can't imagine that Giannis is scrolling through deleting stuff.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, no, no, no, no, no. You get. You get somebody to do that. I, you know, talk about that a little bit more. But yeah, you get. You get somebody else to go through and make those moves. There are companies who do this, or whoever it is that you trust with the passwords to put all the inane, nonsensical posts that you put up to, to make the people feel like you engage with them.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

But he's. He Got a lot of that can't go back in him. And so that's why I don't think he would do that. Like, I think he always afraid he gonna get deported.

[Dominique Foxworth]

And, like, the move it to a contender thing is, I guess it this season kind of disproves that. But, like, don't you automatically can become a detender, a contender when Giannis shows up?

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, kinda. But it's a. It appears that you need to have, like, a deep bag of players rather than like, one with a really heavy thing in it. First of all, everybody playing for second talked about this.

[Dominique Foxworth]

They lost one game, man.

[Bomani Jones]

Everybody. And the craziest part is everybody's playing for second. And you know, what team is actually in a position to add Giannis without having to give up that much relative to what they have. Them. Yeah, they're the ones who could do that. They could make a decision if they wanted to, to just be like, nah, we'd rather our run be like 7 years instead of 12. So how about we give you, I don't know, Jayla Williams. Huh? We give you Jayla Williams and maybe a number one pick. Like, they, like, they could make the trade and then be like, nothing here. Here is different than it was before.

[Dominique Foxworth]

My gosh, could you imagine if that he started playing the role that we expect Chad to play? It's like. And they could have them both on his court at the same time.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, well, what if they. What if they call Milwaukee? And it's like, well, y' all can have Chet. Yeah. Houston had always been the team that I had looked at. And, you know, the Houston thing is, we will not trade Amen Thompson. And I think that's ridiculous. As good as I think that he could possibly be, I had him. Shingoon. All of y' all can go if we getting yachts.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I mean, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's positioning.

[Bomani Jones]

That's.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I mean, come on, y' all ain't crazy.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Like, I mean, look, to get Paul George, the Clippers had to give up now the second best player in the NBA. And look, none of us thought the Shane was going to be this good, but that was. That was the one. Presti's like, I ain't leaving without that one.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Sorry for the detour. Do you have TikTok?

[Bomani Jones]

If you send me something, I can look at it.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Okay. I mean, it's just a little. You didn't make the face that I was expecting when I told you about the Miles Garrett.

[Bomani Jones]

Move.

[Dominique Foxworth]

So I assume that maybe, which is reasonable, you didn't see it?

[Bomani Jones]

Cause. No, no, give me a look. Give me a look.

[Dominique Foxworth]

You weren't watching this nonsense the 49ers game?

[Bomani Jones]

No, I tried, I did. But yeah, I am now very curious to see what it is. Okay. And the answer to your question, am I on TikTok? No, but if you're on your laptop, you could watch it on. Oh my God. How did.

[Dominique Foxworth]

What this motherfucker teleporting.

[Bomani Jones]

Yo, that is. I've never seen any player make like. That's Barry Sanders.

[Dominique Foxworth]

This six five, three hundred pound muscle bound man out here teleporting.

[Bomani Jones]

I've never seen anybody on a football field make a jump cut like this is Marshall Falk caliber jump.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That man jumping 10 yard jump cut.

[Bomani Jones]

Yo, that's the kind of thing that makes a man Trent Williams age retire, right? Like, yo, I guess I ain't got it no more. Except then you go back and watch it on film and you're like, oh, could nobody else do that either? In fact, why doesn't he just do that every time?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Because he could just go through you or go around you. That's the thing is the man got the one of the best speed rushes and can drop that shoulder, get right edge. He got it all, man. And his defense is always really good in large part because he always out.

[Bomani Jones]

There and yet they as a collective stink.

[Dominique Foxworth]

He just driving people back to his power move is stupid.

[Bomani Jones]

I can't stop watching this.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That's why you could tell I'll be distracted. We did the yardist conversation, we get back to it.

[Bomani Jones]

But I'll be distracted the whole time.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Because I was like, Bomani really ain't react the way that I expected.

[Bomani Jones]

No, no, no, I missed. I didn't.

I. And after you said that and I put it on, I was like, well, maybe I'll need to watch it a second time to like fully under. No, no, no. Now that I'm watching it for the 12th time.

And by the way, number 68 on the other side was over there getting worked by the other defensive end. Like this was going to be a sack even if he didn't get it done. But there like somebody, he made that move and somebody actually pushed Purdy into it, which had to make it worse for Purdy. Purdy had to be like, hey, what are you like, what are you doing here? Do you remember the outside?

[Dominique Foxworth]

I'm in the Miles Garrett rabbit hole. Do you remember when he was dribbling a basketball on the field like Fake dribbling a basketball over the center for the Bengals.

[Bomani Jones]

Right before the snap. He was doing like the, like the low crosses and then, and then went for the rush. Yo, he would. I just realized what he did here. He did a stunt by himself.

[Dominique Foxworth]

He was, he was the outside in the inside.

[Bomani Jones]

He's the one man stunt. How is this possible?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. Sorry. For those of you who are not watching, I imagine that Ryan can put this in what they call them show notes.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Or something like that. But you, you, you need to see what it is that I just saw.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah. And there's so many of them. There's so many of them. Hey, that was against Tripp Williams. I'm looking at other stuff against guys who hate Trip Williams, the guys that.

[Bomani Jones]

Aren'T going to the hall of Fame.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That aren't a one man offense. You show up, your office get 10 points better immediately when Tripp Williams shows up.

[Bomani Jones]

It mattered not nothing, nothing that he had mattered right fast before we get out of here, either the. It feels like either the Chiefs or the Texans. It feels like one of their seasons going to end this week. But it feels a little dramatic to say. But I feel like if it's the Chiefs, it's over. Is that fair?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I mean, the Chiefs have had a number of big games already in this season and I feel like they've lost them all, which maybe.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, they beat Indianapolis, right?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, they did beat Indianapolis. That was a big game win, you're right. But this one. So maybe I was going to say that maybe my best, my best faith for the Chiefs is that they do, but maybe they not do because they got one big game win. But I mean, I don't feel confident for the Chiefs. Of course, Patrick Mahomes, we all respect them and we know it's possible, but the O line injuries combined with. I don't care if your O line is injured or not. That Texans defensive front is insane. And there are really no holes out there because it's like we don't have to blitz. We also don't have to sit back in coverage because we got cover guys like they could blitz if they wanted to, but they don't need to. And they could sit back and like double team everybody if they wanted to, but they don't need to because both of their corners are pretty good. You could attack the linebackers, I guess in pass coverage, but like that ain't a long. Like now you're gonna have to dink and dunk. It all the way down the field, which I don't know. I don't feel great about this. Of course it's Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, all that stuff. I had respect that they could get it done. But the question is, will the Texans offense be able to score enough points? Because I don't think that the, that the Chiefs offense is going to have much for this Texas defense.

[Bomani Jones]

But if the Chiefs win this, it is totally possible that they could win out.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah. And then if they get in the playoffs, then, I mean, I mean it's on the board.

[Bomani Jones]

The big thing is they need to catch the Chargers. Charters are two games up on them. I don't know what the tiebreaker is if the Chiefs split because the Chiefs lost the first game of the year, the charges. So I don't know exactly how it plays out or hope that Buffalo starts falling off, you know, which is, you know, which is 100% on the board.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Buffalo got the Bengals this weekend, so they might beat them.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, I will also, I want to say this about the Texans and I've said this. People have been reluctant to, to, to get back hip with this. But we got to be real. The Will Anderson trade worked out great. Right. Because it looked ridiculous at the time because we thought they were going to be back in the top five the next year. No, they weren't right. It turned out to be a mid to late first round pick that they sent to Arizona in order to get Will Anderson. So they got C.J. stroud and Will Anderson in the same year. They, they got the two things you want to build around right there and.

[Dominique Foxworth]

They got a great coach and we just thought that it was going to be smooth sailing for them some. For some reason they refuse to address the offensive line issues and the quarterback keeps getting hurt and their receivers, they losing receivers. It's rough. But this team was like expected. Will you remember when they both brought in both those rookies and they were great off the bat and we like all right, long Runway. They getting towards the time where it's time to start signing them people. And the Runway gets a little bit more precarious.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, but they're another one though. They have a winning out is on the board. Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders, Chargers and the not as good as they used to be. Colts.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, that's. I mean is this. Do you find this year.

Like more fun or less fun? I guess it's not a fair question.

[Bomani Jones]

But you get the point. It's a great question. I don't. I like there to be a great team.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, me too.

[Bomani Jones]

And that. And that ain't here.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, me too.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, unless you think the 11 and 2 patriots are great and I just can't. I can't get myself there yet.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Yeah, I mean, the 11 and 2 Patriots have some issues and of course they, the funny thing about that is they, they, their schedule hasn't been super tough. But then you look around and like, ain't nobody out here that's really that good, you know? Yeah, it just, it feels like we are in a little bit of a transition stage, but. Yeah, well, I don't know. I love it.

[Bomani Jones]

It looks like. But. But it also looks like all the good quarterbacks are not going to make the playoffs. Like that's the part that I don't know how anybody actually feels about that. Like if we look at who makes the playoffs right now, let me pull this up. So it gives me just who's gonna be in the playoffs right now. Okay, so the playoffs from the afc, if they started today. Drake May, who is good, but like not the guys we're used to, I guess is a better way to Drake May. Bo Nicks, Trevor Lawrence, I guess. Oh, Lamar Jackson, I've heard of him.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Justin Herbert ain't playing well though.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, right. He's not playing well. He's not healthy right now either. And then Daniel Jones in the nfc, we are looking at Caleb Williams, Matthew Stafford, who gave you a Matthew. One of the other kinds of Matthew Stafford games last week. Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold. Don't believe it. And Jordan Love.

This isn't, you know, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, like the guy. Joe Burrow, like the guys, they're not there.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Prescott, right.

[Bomani Jones]

Who is playing lights out football guys. Like there will be a football game played between this recording and you hearing this. So it's possible that statement could be laughable.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Nah, nah, it's not possible. He's gonna play a game, a game in the dark because he's continuing, he will continue to play lights out football. Y' all can. You can laugh at me if you want to, but I think I feel pretty safe. Especially seeing what Jordan Love did to that defense last week.

[Bomani Jones]

I don't want to talk about it.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Oh yeah, I'm sorry, I forgot. Oh, man.

[Bomani Jones]

Look, man, here's the thing. And this is they're hurt up and down again. And this happens with the 49ers too. The most physical team in the league also like, like the physics of it are such that you gonna take some of those blows too. Like I still think this has been a good team, and I think they. Their. The weakness we saw in week one is the one that got them. The interior offensive line has been big problem. They're down on defense like guys, so that's its own thing. But what do you make of this for people who don't know this story? Frank Ragn played center for the Lions for many, many years. He retired after last season. He wanted to come back this season. The Lions signed him. They gave him a physical, and he failed the physical. Not because it was like something wrong with his kidney or something deep down in there. He had a grade three hamstring strain and was trying to come play football. Does he love the Lions that much?

[Dominique Foxworth]

I have so many questions.

[Bomani Jones]

What was he doing, by the way, as a. As a non football player?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Like, what? How do you get that level? Maybe he's still training, but also, like, I've never, like, I've pulled a quad before, but I've never, like, had any hamstring issues. But, like, it hurts you. This grade three. Grade three mean. His white leg was black in that spot, and his muscle was not functioning without pain, but he. Offensive alignment. I. I have no idea what he thought when he showed up and knocked on their door and was like, hey, ready to play.

What he thought was wrong.

[Bomani Jones]

Imagine the look on their faces when they took that MRI and they held that bitch up to the light and they was like.

Come look at this. Is this. You see what I see? Right?

[Dominique Foxworth]

Well, he limped up to that, to the facility and knocked on the door.

What were all that. What were they thinking? Oh, you just. It's early in the morning. You still gotta warm up, get some blood down. I feel you. Creaky. It's creaky. I feel you. God, I don't get it at all. And so that they just like, all right, hi.

[Bomani Jones]

Bye.

[Dominique Foxworth]

They'll see you.

[Bomani Jones]

But the fact that the Lions entertained this at all tells you everything that you needed to know about where they stood at.

[Dominique Foxworth]

I assume they called him. I assume they called him, right? It's like they were having issues. They probably called his agent, like, hey, what you think? And he was like, yeah, cool. I mean, my hammy hurt a little bit, but it's no big deal.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, but who else did they call? Did they call Bruce Matthews? Did they call John Hanna? Like, who else? Who else? Kevin Ray? I was like, Lobos Brown.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Oh, my God.

[Bomani Jones]

Did you. Did you give these other guys a rig? I just got the grade three and I was. I saw without knowing the context. Like NFL players on Twitter being like, brother, grade three. I'm like, what do you mean? What are you talking about? And then it was like.

I don't.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Know the grading system, but I don't think I've ever heard grade three most strain or tear.

[Bomani Jones]

Because once it comes to grade three, the details don't matter.

[Dominique Foxworth]

We never got there because normally, like a strain is a tear or it's like a small tear. So that's what that's like. I'm assuming, like grade one. And then they say it's a tear. I'm like, oh, that's bad. That's grade two probably. I didn't know that you could do more than that.

[Bomani Jones]

That's like a Category 5 hurricane.

I've heard of it, but you didn't even need to tell me that. Just tell me to leave. All right, Gone now.

[Dominique Foxworth]

That's it.

[Bomani Jones]

Y' all need to go on. But that is Dominique Foxworth. Check him out on the Dominique Foxworth show, available where all five podcasts are given away for free. And here on first Fridays with Foxworth. My brother. I appreciate you.

[Dominique Foxworth]

Thank you, buddy.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, man. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on the right time. We do this four times a week. Ryan Brumley handed everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 323-596-7767. 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 are a hater. We'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy.

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