Divisional Recap: Rams End Caleb's Miracle, Seattle's Big D, Oh No Bo, Stroud's Meltdown, Josh Allen's Interception, and Michael Bay's Filmography

Summary

The Ringer Fantasy Football Show – Divisional Recap

Episode Title: Rams End Caleb's Miracle, Seattle's Big D, Oh No Bo, Stroud's Meltdown, Josh Allen's Interception, and Michael Bay's Filmography
Date: January 19, 2026
Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck

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Episode Overview

This divisional weekend recap dives deep into the NFL playoff drama—including the Rams advancing in an overtime heartbreaker, the Seahawks' defensive demolition of the 49ers, Bo Nix’s devastating injury, Josh Allen’s costly turnovers, and C.J. Stroud's meltdown. As always, the show delivers fan-favorite segments (including “Fart or Shart”), candid fantasy football takes, and offbeat moments—from coaching trivia to an impromptu review of Michael Bay’s movies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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Rams vs Bears: Caleb Williams’ Miraculous Throw—and Heartbreaking Loss

[01:29–08:55]

• Game Recap: Rams defeated the Bears 20–17 in overtime.

• Caleb Williams’ Fourth Down Miracle:

  • "That was one of the most amazing football plays I’ve ever seen at any level." – Danny Heifetz [01:56]
  • A “no, no, yes” play—vintage, improvisational, reminiscent of young Russell Wilson.
  • Williams evaded pressure, retreated nearly to the 50-yard line before launching a 4th-and-4 touchdown.
    • “It was like vintage Russell Wilson... running backwards and running and he does the run backward, then he does the double back. You know what I mean? Like he makes like an M.” – Danny Kelly [02:34]

• Game-turning Error in Overtime:

  • Caleb’s overtime interception blamed equally on a so-so throw and DJ Moore’s questionable route effort.
    • “It also looked like DJ Moore stopped running... didn’t finish that route.” – Craig Horlbeck [03:31]

• Legacy and Season Reflection:

  • The loss felt deflating, but optimism reigns for Chicago and their rising star duo in Caleb Williams and coach Ben Johnson.
  • “This season for Chicago reinvigorated football in Chicago.” – Danny Heifetz [07:43]

• Coolness Factor: Caleb’s poise compared to legends (“shades of Joe Montana”).

• Rams Critique: Rams win was not pretty; coaching, and Stafford’s injury hampered them.

  • “I wasn’t super impressed with the Rams in this game.” – Danny Kelly [09:27]

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Seahawks vs 49ers: Defensive Annihilation

[23:04–29:06]

• Seahawks’ Total Domination: 41–6 win—one of the least stressful Seahawks playoff games ever.
  • “This was a very fun game to watch... the Seahawks defense had an absolute hell.” – Danny Heifetz [24:27]
• Niners’ Injury Woes: Multiple key offensive players (McCaffrey, Kittle) injured. Team looks shell-shocked and will face an offseason of soul-searching.
• Defensive Line Play: Seattle got pressure with only a 10% blitz rate, completely stymieing San Francisco and QB Brock Purdy.
• Broader Implications: Niners’ struggles make the Eagles’ previous loss look even more embarrassing.
• Sam Darnold’s Efficient Game: Managed, avoided mistakes—helped by Seattle’s running game and defense.

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Texans vs Patriots: C.J. Stroud Meltdown

[52:40–63:43]

• C.J. Stroud's Brutal Day: 20-for-47 passing, 4 INTs. One of the ten worst playoff QB performances since 2007.
  • "He looked like he had actually sharted and was trying to play through that." – Craig Horlbeck [55:26]
  • “He was seeing ghosts. He had lost his mind.” – Danny Heifetz [54:03]
• Fart or Shart Segment: Stroud is officially declared a “shart” for this game—a major regression over the end of his rookie year.
• Defense Wasted: Texans D kept bailing out Stroud—huge forced fumbles, sacks, but offense wasted opportunities.
• Aikman’s Broadcast Quote: “CJ Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years... there’s a reason for that, and it has to be addressed.” – Troy Aikman [60:47]
• Host Consensus: Texans should've considered benching Stroud mid-game (MLB-style playoff ‘hook’), crediting the D for keeping them close.

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Broncos vs Bills: Bo Nix Injury & Josh Allen’s Costly Turnovers

[31:02–47:17]

• Bo Nix’s Shocking Injury: Suffered a broken ankle late—only discovered in post-game interviews.
  • “He gave the postgame interview, seemed fine... was on one leg.” – Danny Kelly [32:01]
• Bills’ Self-Inflicted Loss:
  • Five turnovers. Allen’s end-of-half fumble cost points.
    • “Josh Allen had more mistakes than he usually does... he was a little sloppy.” – Craig Horlbeck [47:01]
  • Ref controversies (Brandon Cooks’ non-catch/interception), but hosts unanimously agree: turnovers, not refs, doomed Buffalo.
• Coach Hot Seat: Debate whether or not Sean McDermott should be fired; consensus says not yet—talent holes at receiver blamed more on GM.
• Denver Outlook: Jared Stidham inherits a Super Bowl-caliber team after Bo Nix’s loss.
  • “We went from Josh Allen to Jarrett Stidham... it’s a terrible run out for everybody involved.” – Danny Kelly [33:14]

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Patriots Path & League’s Lack of Villains

[63:56–71:17]

• Do We Hate the Patriots Enough?
  • Playful debate among hosts: do they truly hate the Patriots, given the new, likable cast (Drake May, Mike Vrabel)?
  • “I hated it when they had Tom Brady. Now… I don’t hate them.” – Craig Horlbeck [65:02]
  • “They waited four bad seasons without Brady, and then they have Drake May and Vrabel—the team in the NFL set up for the next 20 years!” – Danny Kelly [69:09]
• NFL Lacks a True Villain:
  • With Mahomes too likable, Rodgers on the way out, who fills the 'bad guy' void?
  • “Nobody wants to be a villain.” – Craig Horlbeck [70:04]

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Game Theory, Play Calling, and Coaching Oddities

[18:24–19:25]; [72:12–74:56]

• Rams' Strange Gameplan: Heavy 11 personnel (3 WR), instead of favoring the Bears’ injured linebackers with 13 personnel (3 TEs).
  • “I don't get it... I don't understand why they were doing that so much.” – Danny Kelly [18:24]
• Sideline Style Watch: Vrabel & Ryans eschew hats in the snow; McVay/Ben Johnson wear beanies—“defensive dudes” vs “offensive gurus.” [72:12]
• Seattle ‘Dark Side’ Defense Nickname: Hosts find it forced compared to “Legion of Boom.” [76:44]
• Hook and Ladder/Play Design: Realization that hook-and-ladder plays now seem to almost always work. Calls for more creative, aggressive play-calling.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

- “No, no… YES!” — Danny Kelly on Caleb Williams’ miracle throw [02:59]

- “If there were no defender there and [Brandon Cooks] dropped it, it’s clearly an incomplete pass. So why wouldn’t it be an interception?” – Craig Horlbeck [36:38] (Ref controversy discussion)

- “CJ Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years. He’s not been the same player… there’s a reason for that, and it has to be addressed.” – Troy Aikman, via Danny Kelly [60:47]

- “I think teams should be more willing to bench their starter… just like in baseball playoffs.” – Danny Heifetz [54:03]

- “All you need to know about Pacific Rim is there are giant robots that have to fight giant aliens... and Charlie Kelly is the smartest person in the world.” – Danny Kelly [95:55] (On Michael Bay offshoots)

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Fun & Offbeat Moments

• Fart or Shart [51:38+] – America's favorite segment, this week focusing on C.J. Stroud’s playoff collapse.
• Spread Guessing Game: Regular staple—hosts attempt to “guess the line” for upcoming games (Seahawks-Rams at –2.5; Patriots-Broncos at –5.5).
• Cayenne Pepper Trick: Rams reportedly put cayenne in their socks to keep warm; hosts both skeptical and amused.
• Michael Bay Film Debate: Tangent on Transformers, Pacific Rim, Armageddon, and what constitutes “cinema.”
  • “Transformers is a perfectly good movie.” – Craig Horlbeck [109:19]
• Breakfast Segment: “Eggs Horlbeck” dish idea—a tableside breakfast scramble experience.
• Coaches Oklahoma Drill/Guardian Caps: Which NFL coach would win if games ended in a physical showdown between head coaches? (Vrabel & DeMeco Ryans are favorites).
• Sideline Apparel & Visors: Why do offensive coaches wear beanies/hats and defensive coaches brave the elements?

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Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Topic | |----------|----------------------------------------------------| | 01:29 | Intro; Bears–Rams reax, Caleb Williams’ magic | | 09:27 | Rams analysis; coaching, game management | | 23:04 | Seahawks 41–6 route of 49ers; Niners’ future | | 31:02 | Broncos-Bills, Bo Nix injury, Josh Allen/refs | | 52:40 | Fart or Shart—CJ Stroud’s meltdown | | 63:56 | Patriots future & “do we hate them enough?” | | 72:12 | Coaching hats vs. snow, sideline style analysis | | 76:44 | Seahawks defense “Dark Side” nickname debate | | 95:55 | Pacific Rim/Michael Bay defense | | 98:21 | Eggs Horlbeck—custom breakfast segment | | 102:40 | Least healthy breakfast: chicken fried steak | | 106:48 | Lincoln Park / Jay-Z / White Boy Wednesdays | | 107:35 | Karaoke philosophy | | 109:25 | Closing out; Michael Bay/Transformers defense |

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode blends serious football analysis (often with a fantasy angle), playoff drama breakdowns, and wild tangents you won’t get from any other NFL podcast. Whether you’re into advanced stats, sideline fashion, coaching philosophy, or arguments about 2000s action movies, The Ringer Fantasy Football Show brings a lively, nerdy, and hilarious recap. If you missed the weekend’s games, you’ll finish this episode caught up on the narratives, the stats, the culture, and the best running jokes in the world of football.

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Notable Quotes:

• “No, no… YES!” – Danny Kelly [02:59]
• “This was one of the least stressful games I can remember, considering it’s a playoff game against… probably the most hated rival.” – Danny Heifetz [23:04]
• “He looked like he had actually sharted and was trying to play through that.” – Craig Horlbeck (on Stroud) [55:26]
• “CJ Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years… there’s a reason for that, and it has to be addressed.” – Troy Aikman, via Danny Kelly [60:47]
• “We went from Josh Allen to Jarrett Stidham.” – Danny Kelly [33:14]
• “Nobody wants to be a villain.” – Craig Horlbeck [70:04]

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For more Ringer Fantasy insight, subscribe and check back weekly for both in-depth nerd-outs and genuinely original football banter.

Transcript

[Danny Kelly]

This episode is brought to you by Velveeta. Game day is all about the Tailgate spread. First things first. Who's bringing the Velveeta drip? Just like your favorite players on the field, Velveeta fans go all in on what they love. Creamy shells and cheese, melty Velveeta blocks and cheesy jarred quesos. They're taking down one taste bud at a time. Velveeta is the real MVP of the tailgate. You've got to respect the drip. Do yourself a favor and stock up on Velveeta. But before kickoff, this episode is brought to you by Taxact. Taxact helps tackle taxes, guiding you step by step so you can get your maximum refund. Get tips along the way, add expert assist to talk to tax experts or let our experts do your taxes for you with expert full service. Taxact helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve so you can get them over with. Visit taxact.com to learn more. More conditions apply. See taxact.com for details. Welcome to the Ringer Fantasy Football Show. My name is Danny Hypix and I am joined by Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck and the conference championship games are set.

[Danny Hypix]

Wow.

[Danny Kelly]

The Denver Broncos and Jarrett Stidham at quarterback will be hosting the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. And tk Your Seattle Seahawks will be hosting the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game. And we'll get to all that. But I mean Rams Bears just ended. The Rams beat the Bears in a walk off 2017 game. Almost all of overtime is used and honestly we're going to start the losing team. Caleb Williams is fourth and fourth touchdown throw to Cole commit. I thought God was real and that I was witnessing the rapture. DK I I don't know where to start. I thought that was one of the most amazing football plays I've ever seen at any level of my entire life.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean it's the second straight week he's made one of the most improbable throws we've ever seen. It was such a Russell Wilson play. That's what I felt like in the moment. Like the he backed up like reverse. He tried to reverse spin and then he didn't spin and then he just kept backing up. He went almost to like the 50 yard line.

[Danny Kelly]

I'll tell you for the kids, Russell Wilson used to be cool.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, right. That's true. They the ball was snapped at the 14 yard line and he threw it at the 40.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

Classic.

[Danny Kelly]

So in the middle of that, so Again, fourth and four. If you didn't see this play, you have to go watch it. But fourth and four, Caleb starts running backward. It was like vintage Russell Wilson in mid 2010s where he starts running backward and running and he does the run backward, then he does the double back. You know what I mean? Like he makes like an M. And when he went backward the second time, he lost like 25 yards. I literally said out loud alone to myself, I was like, oh, Caleb, no, no, no.

[Danny Hypix]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

Gonna end. It was the most. No, no, yes play of the entire year. And I'm like, I think Caleb Williams, especially if the Bears, the one that came, I know that was two of the best throws in the history of the NFL playoffs in back to back weeks. Between that and the fourth and eight Green Bay last week. And then that one was kind of. I don't know if it was better or what, but I, it frankly, it's almost deflating that the Bears ended up losing because that was.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, they're ruining it for us. They're ruining all the fun.

[Danny Kelly]

Godless Los Angeles kills the vibes of, of this magic season.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, if God is real, then DJ Moore is Satan. Because DJ Moore on that interception in overtime, I don't know that wasn't the best throw by Caleb, but it also looked like DJ Moore stopped running or didn't know the ball was coming and just like didn't finish that route. And then the Rams guy picked it off. This is a bummer. I fell in love with the Bears this year and I really, I really wanted them to win this game. I think the right team won. I think the Rams are better and I think the whole season the Rams were better and Rams Seahawks are the two best teams.

[Danny Hypix]

It felt inevitable.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Nfc, like this is right. Just like Jared Stum and Drake May are the two best quarterbacks in the afc. Like it feels right. But I can't help but wish that, that you know, the throw is still incredible. I don't know what nickname anyone's going to give him that throws so unbelievable. It's, it's a bummer they didn't win this game.

[Danny Kelly]

I, I think I saw, I have to tell you my intrusive thought, and this is a true intrusive thought I had watching just the, the aftermath after that Cole commit touchdown. Seeing Sean McVay like eyes bugging. How many crazy games can the Rams lose? Seeing Stafford kind of like stone faced and I'm watching Caleb and how calm Caleb was and I actually had this thought flash across my mind. Like, Caleb Williams is my favorite player in the NFL. And that happened. That happened during this game. And we talked so much about mvp. We should give out awards at the end of the season for mfb, because I'm serious. I think going into next year, Caleb Williams is my favorite player in the NFL.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's easily the most fun to watch, and he's new. It's like Mahomes still does crazy stuff. Josh Allen still does crazy stuff. But there's this something about Caleb, I think also the fact that Caleb is not perfect. And there are a lot of people out there who still think Caleb is not very good, which I think is crazy. And I think doing what he has done in just one season with Ben Johnson, getting this close to the NFC championship shows how good and how high their ceiling is. But he does still just like, make boneheaded decisions. Like, the pick on fourth down and earlier in the game was like, you could call it a mini punt, but he still does things that are a little bit questionable and will miss easy throws and then literally will make the greatest throw you've ever seen in your life. Like, back to back plays.

[Danny Hypix]

But you can already see bizarre. Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like the beginning of the season to now. He has already gone from like, it was 80, 20 in terms of 80% of it was dumb, 20% of it was great to now it's the opposite. And 80% of it is fantastic, and 20% of it is not. I was talking all season about how the. The regression was coming for the Bears, which I suppose was true. However, the Bears are so clutch and what they did on that throw right before it went to commercial. So it was fourth and four with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It cuts to commercial, but right before it does, the Rams call timeout. Everyone goes to the sidelines, and Caleb is laughing and smiling, talking to somebody just on the side. And I noticed, like, man, it's 4 to 4, 27 seconds left and the season is on the line. It's like 10 degrees out. And he was laug. And it cut to cut to commercial. It came back and he has the colcome at play. And to me, I'm like, that's all I need to see. Like, this guy has it.

[Danny Hypix]

It's like shades of Joe Montana. I think it was Joe Montana. This famous story is like, deep in the game, he like looked into the stands, is like, hey, there's John Candy.

[Craig Horlbeck]

John Candy. And was like, we should also say, was it Stafford last week against the Panthers that was like, let's Go rip their hearts out. So Stafford also has it. Yeah, but Caleb is like the next generation coming in clearly has it.

[Danny Kelly]

Born in the fight like baptized in the fires of Rihanna. Like just the Gen Z. I. I totally agree. I mean again I keep broken record. I no longer feel crazy. Kayla Williams is the. Is the next level of Aaron Rodgers or at least he's the next version of Aaron Rodgers. And I don't feel crazy anymore after watching like the free plays he was getting after offsides in this game. All the throws. But again to your point about all right. You see a finished product yet like because the interception, overtime. The truth is he had a lot of near interceptions in this game. The Rams were really close to a lot of balls. Like Caleb was probably forcing some throws that all got deflected. But the overall demeanor, I mean when you won, compare him to where Aaron Rodgers was through two seasons in his career. Aaron Rodgers has never played yet. But to me it's the really looking at how Caleb was today versus CJ Stroud and I mean Stroud has an extra season in the NFL. Also how about the, the, the diversion ever since the CJ Stroud big bro Caleb.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh God.

[Danny Kelly]

Even though they both made it equally far to the playoffs. I don't know. I mean I, I guess the way I'd say it because we should eventually talk about the teams that won. I think it's sad that this Bears season ended. It is very clear like it would have been just magical for the Bears to continue winning. But the reality is like this season is not in vain. This season overall 1 I can't remember another losing season division around that will be remembered as fondly as this one in Chicago because even the Lions last year like that was disappointing. The truth is that this season for Chicago reinvigorated football in Chicago. Like the Bears have just totally re sparked the love of the Chicago Bears in the city. And you see that happen sometimes and how it brings people together. Like I hate to say it but what the Philadelphia Eagles have done the last eight or nine years like people in Philadelphia are like closer to people from Philadelphia now after what's happened. And you see that happens when teams get back to being competing. And I feel like people in Chicago, it is so cool to see that team in those state in the stadium and how excited people are. It's too bad they didn't keep going. But I feel like you know, you never know how far in the future. But Ben Johnson and Caleb it just I think have a totally new thing going on now.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, I agree with that. And I think a lot of times, you know, and this is something we've talked about with Dan Campbell, a lot of times teams feel like, oh, this was their shot. Like, they got this far. They may never get this far again. With the Bears, it feels like they're an ascending team. Like, this is just kind of the beginning. I think I said this back in, like, week 17, that this team just feels like they're still a year away from, like, truly being a Super bowl contender. They obviously got very close here, but they just need to, like, grow up a little, get a little bit more weapons on both sides of the football. I mean, like, their defense actually played incredible. This.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It was their first year. Their win total this year was eight. They were supposed to go eight.

[Danny Hypix]

Nine.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Games in a row last year we were questioning.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. It just feels to me like they're the type of team that's just. They're. Their trajectory is still going up, whereas a lot of teams are like, oh, man, I don't know if they'll make it back here after. Yeah, after that, whatever, you know, so that's exciting for them. And then, like, flipping it to the other side, like the Rams, they. I don't know. I did. I wasn't super impressed with the Rams in this game. I think obviously it hurt that Stafford was. Had a finger issue and so, like, they couldn't really throw the ball very well. It felt like a kind of a strange game plan from Sean McVeigh, who, you know, they were running the ball well, and then they just kind of like, abandoned the run for whatever reason. It was just a strange game from the Rams. I do agree with Craig, what he said earlier. I think they're the better team. Certainly as a Seahawks fan, I'm more afraid of the Rams than I would. Would have been of the Bears. So that, you know, kind of sucked from my point of view. I'm like, I'd rather have even. Even with the Pope behind the Bears. I think I still would have rather had the Bears. But, yeah, the Rams, you know, tough win on the road in overtime. Respect to that kicker for making that kick, I kind of thought he was going to miss that.

[Danny Kelly]

I did, too.

[Danny Hypix]

So, you know, good for them to. To gut out a win even though it wasn't pretty.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Have you ever felt more confident about which game will be the late game next week than Seahawks Rams?

[Danny Hypix]

I think they already announced it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I mean, I would put everything I own on that being the night game, you think?

[Danny Hypix]

Let's see.

[Danny Kelly]

Let's see Jared Stidham being slated in football.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, you're right.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So, dk, you're more. You were more nervous about the Rams winning this game, and you were rooting for the Bears for. As a Seattle fan.

[Danny Hypix]

Well, yes, and I. It's nothing really against the Bears. It's more just the Seahawks have a long history with the Rams, and the Rams, for whatever reason, have even going back to when they sucked. They were always kind of the thorn in the Seahawks side. They always just put up really tough games against the.

[Danny Kelly]

You're also talking about the Seahawks here. We also have to admit, I mean, we'll get to this all week. Sam Darnold versus the Rams in the last. Oh, God, 53 weeks. I'm gonna. In order, here is one. When he was with the Vikings, Sam Darnold took nine sacks versus.

[Danny Hypix]

Why do you have to bring it up right now?

[Danny Kelly]

God. In the wild card round. Then he played the Rams as a Seahawk in the first game this year, and he threw four interceptions. Then they had that crazy game that Seattle ended up winning. But even in that one, Darnold threw two picks, including, I think, one at the goal line. And after five chances to win the game and all these improbable ways, the six ended up winning. But yeah, I mean, Darnold, I would say three of the worst five games of his career were against the Rams.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Last 53 weeks, and he has this oblique injury. We should do. I have an idea. We should do this thing where we, like, guess. We guess the line of what the. The spread's going to be for the games next week.

[Danny Hypix]

Interesting consensus here. Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. I don't know what we call that, but we could. We could try to guess the lines for next week. Like, do you think.

[Danny Kelly]

So?

[Craig Horlbeck]

The two Rams Seahawks games this year have been decided collectively by three points.

[Danny Hypix]

Total and, like, one yard.

[Danny Kelly]

So you want to see. You're saying guess. You want to, like, predict the spread or something?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, like, you know, like right after the games tonight, Vegas already puts out lines for the games next week. And I was like, what if we should just try to guess what those are? I would say right now, if I had to guess that the Seahawks are going to be favored by a point and a half.

[Danny Hypix]

That's exactly what I was going to say, Craig. That's what I had in my mind.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Maybe two and a half. But I would say. I would say one and a half is my guess.

[Danny Hypix]

One and a half yards.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the.

[Danny Hypix]

That's the line.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What is it?

[Danny Kelly]

If it's two and a half.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Two and a half.

[Danny Hypix]

And that's just because the Seahawks won an absolutely fucking dominant fashion in the.

[Danny Kelly]

Wait, I thought that was my guess. I didn't look it up.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yo, you guessed two and a half.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, okay.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, you're telling me it's one and a half?

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, I said, what is it?

[Danny Hypix]

You said you looked like you were looking at.

[Danny Kelly]

Why would I supposed to know? I'm. I'm guessing. That would be cheating.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I said, what is it?

[Danny Hypix]

You.

[Danny Kelly]

And you answer what? I was supposed to give a guess.

[Danny Hypix]

Before it is two and a half. After all that, he knew that it is two and a half.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Knew that.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude, that's such. If I just looked it up and then. Whatever, man. Doesn't matter.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I gotta say, this was a weird McVeigh game.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, oh, yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Didn't run the ball when they should. When it seemed like they just needed to get things going. They were throwing the ball three straight times in the middle of the field. And then when it got down to, you know, the important moments, they would run the ball and they wouldn't throw it. I mean, there was a crazy moment in the fourth quarter where there's 2 minutes and 7 seconds left in the game and they. They run the ball and then just punt it back to their bears.

[Danny Kelly]

It was third and 10 and there's 2 minutes and 7 seconds left, and the Bears had taken a timeout. So the Rams would have the opportunity to throw the ball and try to get the first down, which would really, really almost end the game. Maybe the Bears would get the ball back or get the ball with like 20 seconds left, because there's no benefit to running, because if you run in third and 10, it's just going to go seven seconds, two minute warning, and you're not going to. And the Bears, if between the action of passing the ball and the punt, it's going to go to the two minute warning before the Bears take the ball back anyway. So you think the Rams should pass it and instead they just do a draw and get like 3 yards and they punch it back.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

And they forego the opportunity to not give the Bears the ball back. And then the Bears came back and scored a freaking touchdown and tied the game, which would have been a huge issue. But overall, I agree. I. I think mc. First of all, we gotta go. Dennis Allen, the defensive coordinator for the Bears, out coached Sean McVeigh in this game. I don't know how else to say it. I. Unless you want to put the issues on Matt Stafford's little fingy being hurt and his back locking up after 20 weeks of it, not locking up in the Chicago cold or what you want to say. But the Rams have a larger offensive line against the very, very, very overmatched Bears front seven. Frankly, Bear linebacking units as hurt and defensive lines as bad as the Bears this year don't make it this far. And the Rams offensive line, they've poured a ton of money into bullying those kind of front sevens. And really, like they talk, not Collinsworth, who was doing that game. They were talking about Jaquan Brisker. I don't understand what happened, because the Bears, that was the pivot they made when the packers started like 21 nothing or whatever against the Bears. And then Dennis Howard started doing that kind of like secondary, getting the cornerbacks and safeties involved in blitzes. And that's kind of what threw the packers off. I don't understand how it was so effective against the Rams when they had a whole week to look at that stuff. But Jaquan Brisker, but Dennis allen out Coach McVeigh in this game, I mean.

[Danny Hypix]

There was all this talk during the week about how Stafford is not a cold weather quarterback. And like people, whether people trying to convince you one way or the other, whether that was true or not, obviously going back to like his time with Detroit, people use that as an example. But I mean, he was 20 of 42 in this game. Less than, less than 50% completions. I think that's the narrative.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He was great last year against the Eagles in the fucking snow. Also, who, who's perfect in the snow? Like when it's 10 degrees and news.

[Danny Hypix]

Flash, it's harder to throw in the snow, snowing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm like, who's throwing 80%?

[Danny Hypix]

Everyone's worse in the snow. Like Tom Brady or something.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's 37 at a hurt finger and it's 10 degrees. Everyone's going to be worse in that scenario.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, you try it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like, people were treating it like it was the golf, indoor, outdoor stats. Like, it's not at all. It's just really cold and it's going to be hard for everybody.

[Danny Hypix]

That being said, halftime, their offense kind of looked like it did.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Stafford didn't play well. But I don't think it's because, like, Stafford has never been able to play well in cold weather.

[Danny Kelly]

No, just everything was a little off. But at the end of the day, The Rams got 85.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It felt like Caleb was crushing. Caleb was also like 20 for 40.

[Danny Kelly]

I think he was weird.

[Danny Hypix]

He was 23 out of 42. Yeah, they both sucked kind of.

[Danny Kelly]

The Rams got 85 yards in their first drive and then they got like 89 yards in their next, like six or seven drives. And I.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And they abandoned the run mostly.

[Danny Kelly]

I think what's weird is it took so long for the Rams to get their tight ends involved. I think that's really. What's strange is the Rams are trying to chip and block all these Blitzig DBs, but that maybe that's really what the Bears keyed in on is that was to me, the Rams advantage in this game was that with all this three, like 13 personnel stuff, it's kind of like the Niners. The Bears don't want their linebackers on the field. Field. Their linebackers are hurt. And so the backups all suck. And you. I kind of thought the ramp like. Like Colby Parkinson and Ferguson were going to dominate and they eventually did get the explosives that got them. That other touchdown drive was like Parkinson said, a big rundown. But yeah, they couldn't do stuff in the middle. But overall, I don't know. I. It'll be fast considering how much this. The Seahawks beat the 49ers ass like just what a high the Seahawks defense is on. It is going to be pretty awesome that like this Ram Seah. I mean, for dk, he's probably going to want to crawl into a hole watching that.

[Danny Hypix]

Don't talk to me until after the game.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's the ideal NFC championship.

[Danny Kelly]

I would say it is. Feels representative of the season.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, it's objectively. I mean, according to a lot of different things, the two best teams in the nfc.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

So it's right. You know, I think it. Yeah. Maybe in the league, maybe in the NFL. Certainly feels like it's been inevitable. It feels like since week five, I've been saying like it's going to be the Seahawks versus the Rams in the end of this thing. And so yeah, I was One other thing to. Before we move on from the Rams, I saw this from Dan Pazuta. The rams were in 11 personnel in this game 85% of the time, which is a departure from what they've been doing. They, you know, that we talked so much about how they're playing 13 personnel and how that sort of dictates terms to the. Like wondering what. What the strategy there was, why they. Why they decided to do that.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't get it because I'm not as smart as Sean McVeigh. But the whole thing is the Rams, the Bears secondary is their advantage and Again, what we're talking about is when the Rams put three tight ends on, it's either you either match with linebackers or if you put smaller defensive backs out, then the Rams will run on you, which is why they're really effective running the ball. And so the Bears defensive backs are their strength. They're really, really good at defense, like talent wise defensive back and Dennis Allen, the coordinator, that's a specialty. So you think the Rams would want to run more three tight end sets? Because the Bears linebackers are all hurt and they're all like, you know, third, fourth, fifth stringers. I. I don't understand why they were doing that so much. I don't know what the idea was. I mean, obviously it didn't work. Like this was. The Rams almost lost this game because they couldn't move the ball, but, you know, they made it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

This game just felt like a, Like, Like a. Just survive in advance. Both teams were messy. It was all over the place. It was just like everybody was dodging bullets left and right. There were tip passes all over the place that were almost intercepted. It just felt like you just got to survive. I would not say the Rams outplayed the Bears significantly, and yet I would agree that I. The Rams are the. Are the better team, deserve to win.

[Danny Kelly]

Can we talk about one more thing before we move on from the Rams? So the Rams, as we agree, were affected by the elements. Do you. Do you guys think it's weird that the snow and the cold and the wind affected the Rams, even though it was very clearly reported that the Rams all put cayenne pepper in their socks to prevent chilling cold? Right.

[Danny Hypix]

I haven't heard that one before. Is that a thing that people have talked about?

[Craig Horlbeck]

It is a thing.

[Danny Kelly]

What do you mean it's a thing?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like it's a thing in football that people put cayenne pepper in their socks.

[Danny Hypix]

In their socks. Not in their jocks, though.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I texted some friends of mine who played high school football because I only played my freshman year and I was kind of a fifth quarter type of player. But I asked, is the cayenne pepper thing real? And they were like, yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

I got to tell you, I don't believe them. And I know it's a placebo, but I think it's really funny.

[Danny Hypix]

Kyan and I think we're socks.

[Danny Kelly]

We got to try this. I think one of us, when. For the super bowl, when we're together, we have to put cayenne pepper in our socks.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Unfortunately, it's going to be like 75 degrees so that won't be super fun.

[Danny Hypix]

You're going to get like all sweaty.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

When it mixes with the sweat. Oh, gosh.

[Danny Kelly]

Done that tonight. But I really want to put.

[Danny Hypix]

Your feet are going to be raw.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. How much cayenne pepper do you think it is? We talking like a tablespoon? How much?

[Danny Kelly]

That's what I'm wondering.

[Danny Hypix]

Like, how much Sprinkle.

[Danny Kelly]

They also bought the cayenne pepper that they showed. I don't know if they. If the broadcast had one from the Rams or if they bought their own, but it was the Whole Foods kind. That's expensive.

[Danny Hypix]

Whole Foods.

[Danny Kelly]

It charges a lot.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I want to know if you're the intern at the NFL who had to go buy that, please.

[Danny Hypix]

They allow smelling salts, but they don't. But. Or they don't allow smelling salts, but now you can do cayenne pepper willy nilly. What's that all about?

[Craig Horlbeck]

What if you snort the cayenne pepper? Is that fine?

[Danny Kelly]

And put the smelling salts in your feet.

[Craig Horlbeck]

On your feet. You get happy feet.

[Danny Kelly]

That's not that work anyway. I just don't clearly work. The Rams are worth like $8 billion and their players are putting cayenne pepper in their socks and they're like, oh, this does really help. Whatever. Dk. Yeah. Immediate. What is your. So Seahawks, we'll get to the game in a second. What's your immediate reaction to Seoks playing the Rams other than just dread?

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, it's just gonna be a great game. Gonna be an awesome atmosphere. Like, if you look at what the atmosphere was like in Seattle against the 49ers, I imagine it's gonna be very similar. I mean, it's great playoff football in Seattle. Love it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Some of the best crowds tonight in Chicago and last night in Seattle. Seattle, the Niners Seahawks game sounded like a college game. Yeah, it was rocking. And it's. It's going to be super cool.

[Danny Hypix]

Have some friends that went to the game said the. The vibes were out of control. Good. It felt like the 49ers didn't travel that well, which is great. I mean, even going back their years, the 49ers fans travel really well.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And they will. They were. They were going to. They all got hurt.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, you know what it was. The substation brought down all the Niners fans. Right, Right. Do you know the Seahawks actually, to your point this. I think what the Seahawks did is because obviously whether just season ticket holders sell their tickets or do you go, oh, yeah, right.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I saw what Seattle did.

[Danny Kelly]

So Seattle emailed them and politely told their season ticket holders. I forget what the exact language, but they were like, hey, just a reminder if we think that you're in the season ticket holder business to try to sell them as your primary goal, blah, blah, blah. Basically, they're like, if you sell your seats, we're. We got a whole.

[Craig Horlbeck]

We're sending a guy that looks like Big Dom to your door.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes.

[Craig Horlbeck]

If, if we get a sense that you might be selling those tickets, they're.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, if we're going to look at every Niner fan on this camera in the stadium and we're going to be like, what seats are they at? And we're going to get rid of your tickets. So it worked for the crowd.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So, I mean, how quickly did you know that this game was over? It's 41 to 6. The Seahawks beat the Niners. BTA, as Michael Irvin would say. How quickly did you know it was a wrap?

[Danny Hypix]

This was one of the least stressful games I can remember, considering it's a playoff game against one of the hate. Probably the most hated rival I could imagine. I mean, the Rams are up there too, but the 49ers, there's just so, so much history and bad blood there. Considering the stakes and the opponent. This was one of the least stressful games I can ever remember. Literally one of the least stressful Seahawk I can remember. It was so much fun.

[Danny Kelly]

Your whole line is always a familiar feeling after Seahawks win.

[Danny Hypix]

Misery, misery. I was not miserable for one second of this game. In fact, they scored on the opening kickoff. And after that I was like, this is just going to be kind of. This kind of game.

[Danny Kelly]

Fun fact. The Seahawks scored seven points in the opening kickoff and the Niners did not score seven points in the entire game.

[Danny Hypix]

Wow.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, it was like they. Rashid Shahid scores and then like the second play of the Niners, it looked like it was potentially a fumble return immediately. And I was like, oh, my God, this is going to be bad.

[Danny Kelly]

And then like zero.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh my God.

[Danny Kelly]

Immediately a turnover on downs and the Silks get a field goal and then the Silks get a touchdown and just. It was. It was an avalanche. It really was in both. First of all, the score margin was exactly the same as the Super Bowl. When the Seahawks destroyed the Broncos offense, that was like the best. Seahawks were the best modern defense. The Broncos broke every record for offense that year. And then defense wins championships. They kicked the out of them.

[Danny Hypix]

Yep.

[Danny Kelly]

And this game was, in terms of. It was over very similarly. It was immediately over. It felt just no one. The Niners never had a chance.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, yeah. And if you look at. Because look, the Seahawks played the 49ers two games in a row. It was kind of weird how the schedule kind of played out that way because they had the buy. But going back to two last. The last two games for the Seahawks, 54 to nine total points. The eight straight quarters against the 49ers without allowing a touchdown. They obviously, like you said, the 49ers didn't even outscore the first play for the Seahawks in that game. The Seahawks defense had pretty an absolute hell. I think they just came in knowing that they were gonna just kick the 49ers ass from the very beginning. And the 49ers really just couldn't do much at all. The Seahawks had. I saw this stat. I'm sorry, I don't remember who I saw it from.47 pressure rate on a 10 blitz rate. So they were just getting pressure without blitzing the entire game. It just makes it so difficult as a quarterback to deal with that. Another. Another game with Purdy. Basically, you know, his passing chart looks like something Bryce Young would produce in terms of just like dump offs and small little throws. So another thing, I don't know like exactly what is going on with 49ers but literally the last two games the CX played against 49ers, two of the three worst games by EPA per per drop back of Kyle Shanahan's coaching career.

[Danny Kelly]

I think the Seahawks are what's going on with the. The 49ers. They.

[Danny Hypix]

They just absolutely freaking dominated. So yeah, I mean this was, this was a very fun game to watch.

[Danny Kelly]

So I you mentioned the Niners. We have to mention. So Christian McAffrey heard his shoulder in this game. Jake Ton just was actually playing really well in with George Kittle torn his Achilles and then Jake Ton just himself got hurt. Jordan James, the rookie running back got his first touch of the season in the second half of this game. He played three snaps I think all year like the Niners. The substate Katie Nolan posted on Blue Sky Katie Nolan was like I we can all laugh about whether the substation, you know, EMF Rays are hurting the Niners. But like whether that's true or not, we do have to figure out what's going on with this team because the Niners are just all destroyed. I my personal theory is all the players that were hurt six years ago are still on the theme on the team and everyone's like still hurt but the Niners it's going to be a whole off season for them. I. I gotta tell you, I'm curious, you guys think. I think the team that was exposed in Seahawks Niners is the Eagles. Because the Eagles inability to move the ball at all on this Niners team with their fourth, fifth and sixth string linebackers and the ease that the Seahawks dominated all three phases of the game, I think it actually makes the Eagles loss look even worse in retrospect. I don't know. I don't know Craig, you feel that way, but.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, and I'm. I'm happy I text him. My dad is a huge Niner fan. I texted him after the game saying like, you know what, look, I think you have to look at the season as a win. This team was not a Super bowl team, especially with how injured they were. But one thing you did do is you saved all of us collectively from having to watch more Eagles football. And thank you for that.

[Danny Hypix]

I know I wouldn't have wanted to.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Risk the Philadelphia potentially beating Seattle and inching closer to a possible super bowl, which is worst case scenario. So I agree with you. I. It's remarkable that the Eagles couldn't do anything with that with all the talent they had.

[Danny Hypix]

Also, we didn't really talk about it, but the whole Sam Darnold saga, he got injured in practice like two days before the game. And I mean, we talked about a little bit on the, the previous show, the preview show, but yeah, that was like a whole different dialogue here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

How did you think he looked?

[Danny Hypix]

I think he looked pretty good, honestly. Like he didn't have to do a lot. He only threw 12 or he only had 12 completions in this game. But the few times that he kind of had to let it rip, there was that touchdown to JSN in the background, which was an incredible throw across his body. He's drifting to his left. Threw it to a spot in the very back corner of the end zone to jsn. I thought that was an amazing throw. But overall, like Kenneth Walker being able to run the hell out of the ball, like they didn't really have to do a whole lot with the passing game and, and they didn't ask a lot of them. He had 124 yards passing. So with the defense doing what it did, the run game, absolutely dominant. Rashid or Kenneth Walker had three touchdowns on the ground, which is hilarious because the 49ers, for whatever reason, love to talk to Kenneth Walker. Lenore, their corner was chirping all year and like, what's his name? Juwan Jennings just like, you know, talking so much trash. And then I felt great for Kenneth Walker to be able to go out there and do what he did because I think he was the target of a lot of their trash talk for whatever reason. But yeah, super fun game and you.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Should say that Zach Charbonnet got hurt. Hurt his knee.

[Danny Hypix]

Zach Chardonnay got hurt. He had a knee injury left for the rest of the game. It sounds like at least what I know right now, the indication is it's not season ending, it's not structural. So that could be a good thing. But yeah, they don't have like a good backup. I mean, Villas Jones Jr. Was the guy who came in after Charbonnet went out. So yeah, hopefully he, hopefully Charbonnet is not seriously injured for this next game.

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[Danny Kelly]

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[Craig Horlbeck]

Okay, well speaking of season ending injuries, should we.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I mean the Denver Broncos Bills game. There are so many bizarre things to talk about this game. And we could get into a lot of the refereeing with this game, but. So the Broncos beat the Bills 33 to 30 in overtime. But I actually think the craziest thing that happened all weekend was that while the Niners Seahawks game is going on, we find out that Bo Nix has a. Who gave the post game interview? Sean Payton does a post game press conference and then comes back and does another one. And then it turns out Bonix broke his ankle on a kneel down. And then I go back and watch.

[Danny Hypix]

No, he didn't break it on the.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It was before the kneel down. You can see the play where it happened. He's like kind of scrambling to the left and the defender like yanks his ankle. It doesn't look like anything bad. He kind of gets up and is fine.

[Danny Kelly]

So I think he got hurt in that play a little. And then he throws the pass to Marvin Mims. That gets pass interference. Then they move down. And then I think he made it worse on the next play. I don't totally understand what happened, but I.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Neither of them look that bad. And again, like you said, he gave the post game interview, seemed fine and then.

[Danny Kelly]

But, you know, it's so funny. So that was with, I think, Tracy Wolfson at cbs and then she posted that someone had taken a photo of them talking about and Bonix actually was on one leg the entire inner conversation, but I don't think she knew because she's like 5ft tall and she's just looking straight up at him. But, like, he's just on one leg and kind of in agony.

[Danny Hypix]

There was. So my buddy is a Broncos fan and he came over after the game to where we were watching the Seahawks game and he was like, I don't know, man. There was a video of Bo Nix at the very end of the game where he's kind of trying to like jump up and down a little bit on the sideline. And you can see him wince. Yes, Very, very, like in extreme pain. And my buddy was like, I don't know, man. You guys gotta, like, look into this. Because he looked like he was really hurt. And then like a few minutes later, we found out he broke his ankle. That was so you could see it on the. You could see it on the broadcast. He had like this moment where he was like, oh, God, something is seriously wrong here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's a massive bummer. Like, I know that we like blue balls don't make fun of Sean Payton and, and the whole thing, but this is such a rug pull for Denver fans. It was such a huge win for them. I mean, the whole Jared Stum thing is obviously depressing for, like, the larger super bowl possibility of, like, there's a world in which Drew Locke and Jared Stidham are playing each other in the super bowl in two. In three weeks, which is fucking terrifying.

[Danny Hypix]

Don't say that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm just saying that's. That is, like, relative.

[Danny Hypix]

I would take the Super Bowl, I guess.

[Danny Kelly]

I hope you have sons.

[Craig Horlbeck]

But, yeah, this is terrible. I mean, that was a great Broncos win. And, like, it was cool to see a new team kind of ascending. I mean, I wanted.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, no, it wasn't. I was rooting for the Bills, and it was.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I was, too.

[Danny Kelly]

But, like, I wasn't.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I wasn't going to be upset if the Broncos were in the Super Bowl. I would have been like, this is cool. We have a new team.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, we went. We. Let's just say it. We went from Josh Allen to Jarrett Stidham.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's a terrible fucking run out for everybody involved. No one is happy. From the fall to this game, the Bills fans are pissed and upset with their own team. They're mad at the referees. The referees are probably in hiding. And Broncos fans are, like, talking themselves into Jared Stidham, and they're looking. They're looking at Nick F. Tweets about being like, don't worry, the Patriots can't be backup quarterbacks. And Broncos fans under 40 are googling Jeff Hossetler. And, like, you know what I mean? Like, it's really. It's grim. And everyone involved in this, no one really came out that much better. I mean, the Broncos super bowl odds are lower now than they were before the Bills Broncos game began.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, starting quarterbacks are important. I mean, we saw, like, Richard, Sorry, Roger Sherman tweeted this during the last. During the last part of the games that I think, ironically, the Broncos are the only team in the NFL who did not have their backup quarterback take a snap this season or last season or last season. So Stidham hasn't taken a regular season snap since before last season.

[Danny Kelly]

It's. It's.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's a disaster.

[Danny Kelly]

We're going to talk about Stidham a lot this week, I have a feeling. But we have to get into this game. It. Bills, Broncos. And there's so much with this game, but we have to just get right into it, which is 33, 30. The Broncos win in overtime. But there is a lot of calls that were questionable. We have to get Right to it. The interception.

[Danny Hypix]

The Brandon Cooks people are still talking about this. This is a huge thing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I talked to. I got breakfast this morning. My waiter was talking about it.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Had a strong opinion. I have a very strong opinion. I lean a certain way. Do you guys. Do you want to just get.

[Danny Kelly]

I do, too. Did you think it should have been a catch or do you think it should have been an interception? Craig?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I think it should have been an interception, clearly.

[Danny Hypix]

DK My initial reaction watching the game was that. That they made the right call. And the more I've watched it, I. It's kind of like the bell curve meme. Like, I went and I watched it a bunch, and a lot of people were saying on Twitter, like arguing for it or whatever.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Screenshots are.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, it was a catch.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Whatever.

[Danny Hypix]

I think ultimately it was an interception. But I don't understand why other plays that are almost identical to this play have been called catches in both this. So this Bears Rams game, there was the devonte Adams catch. I don't understand how that was any different than the Cooks catch.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's completely different.

[Danny Hypix]

How.

[Craig Horlbeck]

How he. He came.

[Danny Hypix]

He.

[Danny Kelly]

He.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He recovered or he went to the ground. And. And what is. What is it called? The continuum. Like, he brought the ball to the ground with him and retained it through the play. Brandon Cooks.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't know about that, but here I think a better one. A better example was the. Was the Aaron Rodgers play from earlier this year against the Ravens where he batted the ball, got batted, he caught it, and then the Ravens took it away from him almost instantly. They called him down. How is that any different?

[Danny Kelly]

I also think, to be totally honest, I don't think comparing a quarterback catching a pass is anything like a receiver catching a pass 40 yards downfield.

[Danny Hypix]

My point is this is really inconsistently.

[Craig Horlbeck]

The simplest way for me to convince you that this is clearly an interception is if there were no defender there and it was just Brandon Cooks and the ball came out at the end, it's clearly an incomplete pass. Right?

[Danny Kelly]

I.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So why wouldn't it be an interception?

[Danny Kelly]

Unfortunately. Completely agree with Craig and the Bills fans. I love.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Unfortunately.

[Danny Kelly]

I would love Josh. I know. I just. I would love for Josh, not you.

[Danny Hypix]

He's like, this doesn't make good tv that we're all pretty much.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I completely agree. I wanted the Bills to win the game, but I was like, look, if there was no defender there, or if. Or if neither of them catch that ball, if it ends up in no one's hand, it's not a catch. And A fumble. It's an incomplete pass.

[Danny Kelly]

I agree. I hate. I know people got mad about the screenshot. I implore if anyone's like, listening to this being like, how is no one arguing against it? Watch the play in real time and do what Craig said and watch the play at full speed. Not slow mo, Not a screenshot shot. Pretend the defender's not there. And look how quick the ball comes out. The moment Brandon Cooks hits the ground, it's like not instantaneous, but might as well be instantly. The second Brandon Cooks hits the ground, the ball flies out. That happens every game in the NFL. A defender, a receiver has the ball hits the ground and it's. It's incomplete. It just looked weird because the ball ended up in the, in the. The defender's hands. That it looked like. It looks strange. But if the. I agree, Craig. If the defender wasn't there, it'd be simpler I just to go in order. Cause I know people were like, oh, 54 yards in the final drive. Overtime. The first pass interference. So after. Then it goes down. The Bills are on defense. The first pass interference, which was Taron Johnson and Courtland Sutton, was bullshit. That was a terrible call. Even that one kind of doesn't matter because Joey Bosa was also flagged for roughing the passer. Very justified. So that was going to be like 15 yards no matter what is the truth is because Joey Bosa totally roughed him. And then the second pass interference, which was the big one, which was the TR getting flagged for Marvin Mims, that was 100% pass interference. Trudevius got fucking cooked by Marvin Mims and he just grabbed him and like, almost brought it, tackled him from behind because he just was going to give up a touchdown in the game. So unfortunately, my take on the whole refereeing thing, the Bills, like, I know people were mad about the referee calls in overtime. The Bills would not have been in overtime if Josh Allen did not hand Denver three points at the end of the half. And that totally changed the game was the two fumbles.

[Danny Hypix]

They had five turnovers.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That was the worst turnover of Josh Allen's, like, recent career. Like him scrambling at the end of that half there with the ball, just hanging out and fumbling. That just giving up an extra field goal going into halftime, 20, 23 to 10 was unforgivable. And I think the Bills have been screwed a lot, obviously, historically, but even in the Josh Allen era, I think there are many other games that you can look to and be like, man, they got screwed there. Or it should have gone a different way. I mean, they changed the overtime rules because of the Chiefs Bills game. This game, I don't think is one of the. The pantheon Bills got screwed games. Unfortunately.

[Danny Hypix]

It's. It's shaping up to go down like that, though, Craig. Like, people are irate. No, because people are absolutely losing their mind.

[Danny Kelly]

Bills fans who are online, you just see people. Bills fans that I know in real life understand. James Cook fumbled on the second drive infield goal range. Josh Allen threw a pick four times, five yards outside of field goal range. And it can't stress enough. He fumbled. Like, the fumble at the beginning of the second half was like a great play by the Broncos. Still a strip sack that led to a field goal. There was two fumbles and three plays that led to six points for Denver in a game that went to overtime. But the one before half is what Josh Allen, I think, is like, weeping about at the press conference, which was horrible to watch, which is. He's, like, crying and saying, I let the team down. Which is terrible for a guy that obviously they would never be there without him. But that play, people were mad. Well, why are the Bills trying to score with, like, 13 or 16 seconds left or whatever it is? What are you doing?

[Craig Horlbeck]

The answer is, I didn't have a problem with that.

[Danny Kelly]

No. You know why they're trying to score? Because they trust Josh to not do what he did. And here's my issue with Josh on that play. And I think Josh's issue.

[Danny Hypix]

Hold the ball like a loaf of bread.

[Danny Kelly]

Holding the ball like a loaf of bread. Why is he.

[Danny Hypix]

I love that expression, by the way.

[Danny Kelly]

He'S holding the ball. It's so nonchalant that I think is the problem. It's not fighting for yards. It's not doing. He did. He was holding it in a way that was so. It's very like, dad at Thanksgiving. Like. Like. Like. You know what I mean? Backyard football. Like, it was so nonchalant.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You're going on a run at home, like, on. On the street, and you're, like, carrying your phone.

[Danny Kelly]

It was unprofessional. It was unprofessional. And the whole reason they're out there is, well, we know Josh. He didn't turn the ball over in how many playoff games? I think 200 pass attempts. Like, six playoff games. It was like an NFL record.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And he had gone 427 snaps without a turnover, and he had two in the next three snaps.

[Danny Kelly]

And he was like that all game. He actually almost got strip sacked, like, seven times in this game. But like, that one was did it. So I feel terrible for him. But the Bills did it to themselves. Both teams were sloppy. I mean, Broncos fumbled twice in their first two drives. The Bills didn't get either of them. You know what I mean? The Broncos. Pat Bryant got the first three catches from Bo Nix. He got hurt. Broncos offense couldn't really move the same. I mean, also, the Bills defense played great because I know they gave up 33 points in this game, but I look at this game, the Bills, unfortunately, the Broncos got a. Two touchdowns in this game by just a defensive back in. Buffalo got hurt. And then they came in and Sean Payton dialed up the perfect play to attack the defensive back on a double move that came in that. And they scored twice on guys. That defensive back just came in the game.

[Danny Hypix]

That's just smart right there, man. I actually, like, love the, the savageness, the brutal, the mercilessness of that. Doing that, it almost makes me like Sean Payton almost.

[Danny Kelly]

It's sad. This is sad. It's a sad loss.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, look, Bodex made some sick throws in this game too. Like, that throw to, to Marvin Mims for a touchdown late in the game was a dimension.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

So I don't know. Yeah. It's funny that we all kind of agree about that play.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, well, I, I. And I know maybe people are screaming and there's something we're not thinking about, but I can't stress enough that you're right though. Craig is. If the defender wasn't there, watch it in full speed. He hits the ground, the ball pops out like it's not a catch. It happened at the interception. It's weird.

[Danny Hypix]

I just.

[Craig Horlbeck]

This is how every catch is like 2, 2ft in bounds matters. But then you have to continue through the rest of the play. You have to hold the ball through the tackle into the ground, and if it pops out, that's not a catch.

[Danny Hypix]

And people popped out.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It just popped out into a defender's hands.

[Danny Hypix]

So many screenshots of the NFL playbook the last 24 hours. I'm like literally reading all the five or six things you need for it to be a catch.

[Danny Kelly]

This is one. I hate being the person who is defending the refs, but unfortunately you need referees. They fix the catch rule thing pretty well. There's a lot of pass attempts in every freaking game. I, I gotta tell you that there's always going to be issues at the margins. I think they did a pretty good job from where they were 10 years ago. But the Devonte Adams one from Earlier. I know you brought it up, dk. It's. He's on both. He's on two knees holding the ball, like, fighting for yardage and got like. It's totally different. He survived the ground. Like, I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't. I don't. I disagree with that, but it doesn't really matter.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I think ultimately it didn't even bobble in Devonte's hands. Like, he caught that. He had two feet down and he survived the ground. How is that not a catch?

[Danny Hypix]

I would argue that he didn't survive the ground. Ground, but it doesn't matter. We don't need to relitigate that.

[Danny Kelly]

So I was.

[Danny Hypix]

I just think it's inconsistently officiated, and that's one of the problems with the league in general is. And I think that's why people are so pissed.

[Craig Horlbeck]

But ultimately, it forced Jean Stertor to post, like, 200 words on Twitter, tweeting through it. Yeah, yeah. It's very jargony.

[Danny Hypix]

And, yeah, this is. This is. Yeah. I bristle a little bit about hiit saying they fixed the catch roll because I don't think they did, like, I.

[Danny Kelly]

Think 12,000 completions a year. What do you want them to do? You want none of them to be controversial?

[Danny Hypix]

I don't want it to be. I don't want to have to fucking talk about it every week, which it feels like we do.

[Danny Kelly]

What do you want to do? There's always going to be. I don't know what it rule is.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't know what the. I don't know what the, like, solution is. I'm just saying you saying it's fixed is not right if it.

[Danny Kelly]

I actually totally disagree because if it takes for a catch to be argued about for three days is where receiver comes down and a defensive back has to reverse somersault, come out like Willy Wonka, and, like, actually, I have the ball. And that's. Yeah, that's a weird play. It, like, never happens. That's what it took for us to be like, it happens kind of.

[Danny Hypix]

It's happened, like, at least three times this year, but.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, there's 12,000 fucking completions every year. It's hard to fucking decide the rule. I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

I think that the. If we're really getting into the nitty gritty, the a football play technically is, like, too generic. You know what I mean? That's what I think we're.

[Danny Kelly]

I think we used to argue about this. I think when I started the ringer in 2017, it was like there were like eight of these a week.

[Danny Hypix]

I think if they had fixed the catch rule, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

We talk about this every week.

[Danny Kelly]

Used to be one a game, man.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, but whose problem is that? Is that. Is that the ref's fault or is that ours? At a certain point, like being like everyone's arguing about it. It's like, well, the refs are just making calls and then we're pissed at home. Doesn't mean the refs call us wrong.

[Danny Hypix]

We don't blame me for this, Craig.

[Danny Kelly]

Also, I just at some point. And again, I think real Bills fans understand they blew the game because they only the real take that interception. There are four other turnovers of the game. They fumbled twice in three snaps. They gave the team six points. Like it. I don't know. I feel bad for the Bills.

[Craig Horlbeck]

They had a shot in overtime. They had a possession.

[Danny Kelly]

Didn't Josh Allen. I mean the play, honestly. The other one is that Josh Allen had the only throw. Josh had so many incredible throw.

[Danny Hypix]

He missed Knox on the seam route.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes. At the end of regulation. The reason they kicked. He had. It wasn't like an easy throw, but it's. Josh makes that throw all the time. Is he. He should have hit Knox for the touchdown. It would have been Bills take the lead in regulation. Would have been like a legacy Josh Allen drive. Or as Tony Roma says, legacy Mahomes drive.

[Craig Horlbeck]

How dare you. How dare you. It's hard to announce a game. There's a lot of names. There's a lot of names out there. Mahomes is always in the playoffs.

[Danny Hypix]

There's a lot of names.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He was playing the odds that it was Mahomes most of the time. You're right.

[Danny Kelly]

I actually understand why Romo in like back to back series called Josh Allen Mahomes. And he also got the down wrong. And I understand why he did it both times.

[Craig Horlbeck]

My dad can't even get me and my brother right. You know, it's like. It's hard.

[Danny Hypix]

It's a fair point.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. My dad's called me his dad's name, who's asked for years. But like I. They actually had a Josh vs Mahomes comparison graphic on like right before that play. And then they faded it out. And then he called him Mahomes. Like while it was still. The text was still up.

[Danny Hypix]

And then everyone did him dirty.

[Danny Kelly]

And then the downs, they.

[Danny Hypix]

The.

[Danny Kelly]

The graphics, they got the downs wrong. Like when he got the doubt. But then no one, they. They clip it put it online and no one knows that. I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

Brutal.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm not going to be the one to make fun of someone for getting a name wrong. I feel like that's kind of my wheelhouse.

[Danny Hypix]

Very brave of you.

[Danny Kelly]

Even though I guess I did make fun of him earlier. Anyway, anything else in this, this Bills.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Broncos game, I feel like I sound anti Bills, which I'm not. I wanted the Bills to win desperately. I wanted Josh Allen in the AFC championship desperately. But I was like, look, that's. That wasn't a catch and Josh Allen had more mistakes than he usually does. I don't know what to say. He was a little sloppy.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, here's my question, DK Bills fans are mixed. Do you think the Bills should fire Sean McDermott, the head coach?

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, God, that's a big question. I don't know. What did you guys make of the. The presser after the game? Like, oh, he was pissed.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, sorry. He's. He was right. This is the mistake the refs made.

[Danny Hypix]

They went through it really quickly.

[Danny Kelly]

They.

[Danny Hypix]

The.

[Danny Kelly]

The real issue the refs made was they didn't take the time to properly review that catch. That. I agree. That was insane that they didn't.

[Danny Hypix]

There's people that. That said because they went to overtime, the NFL was like trying to hurry the game along so they could get to the Seahawks. Seahawks, Niners game, I think, which is just like the worst reason. It's the worst reason to rush that.

[Danny Kelly]

I agree with that. And I also think that ends up being why it's so angry. Because if they had done the whole, hey, we're going to look at this four times thing, and then the referees came out and said upon further review, he did not survive the G.R. blah, blah, blah. But the lack of explaining it, I think. And that's what Sean McDermott was screaming about, or not screaming, but as presser, he was like, how do you. Not really.

[Danny Hypix]

He was. I agree he was angry.

[Danny Kelly]

They put the Niner seals game back 20 minutes and they're like, we can't spend five minutes on this play. I do think that's risk real.

[Danny Hypix]

I think to not to skirt your question. If I was going to fire anyone, I would fire the GM over. I would over firing McDermott if I was in position to run. Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Why? Because Josh Allen is throwing to the Tyrell Shavers and Brandon Cooks.

[Danny Hypix]

Although Cooks kind of looks good in this game. But yeah, I think the fact that you're having to sign a guy off the street or whatever this late in the Season. There's something wrong there. There's something that went awry in the. Especially when you're yelling at the media for like, not drafting a receiver and all that stuff. I got it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Brandon Cooks didn't look bad. Although Brandon Cook has had some tough playoff moments over the last five, six years on. On like four different teams. But you know what? You know the other GM I'm mad at Omar Khan, Pittsburgh. Why wasn't Brandon Cooks on the Steelers?

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know. I don't understand. Brandon Cooks looked like, what the hell?

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's a wily veteran that Aaron Rodgers Chargers would like. Why we have to get Marquez Val this scan like Adam Thielen. Brandon Cooks was good.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think they should get fire Sean McDermott. I think you got to run it back one more year.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I agree. I think it's the same thing like Leflore. Like. Like take a week and realize that you're in a. Still a pretty decent spot and you have a great team every single year. And you've almost made the super bowl, like every year.

[Danny Kelly]

You don't want to be out here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

No.

[Danny Kelly]

Speaking of which, though, we got it. So the Broncos are going to advance with Jared Stidham and they're going to play the New England Patriots.

[Danny Hypix]

Any chance they beat.

[Craig Horlbeck]

They beat the Patriots with Jared Stidham. Yeah, I guess there's. Mathematically as a chance. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Should we predict the spread, technically speaking?

[Danny Hypix]

Technically speaking, yes. They could win that game.

[Craig Horlbeck]

There will be 22 humans versus 22 other humans.

[Danny Kelly]

So maybe what?

[Danny Hypix]

Okay.

[Craig Horlbeck]

The spread. Oh, man.

[Danny Hypix]

I already looked. I already looked.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm going to say five and a half.

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, I think if Vegas wants people to bet on Denver, they're gonna have to give them. I'm seven and a half.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, maybe it's eight and a half instead of.

[Danny Hypix]

You should have followed your first instinct.

[Danny Kelly]

Is it five and a half?

[Danny Hypix]

It's five and a half.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

In the words of Bill Simmons, that's gonna move I.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, I was gonna.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That'll be seven and a half by Wednesday.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, before we get to even this, the Patriots we have.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Can we pick Ringer 107 right now? I'll take minus five and a half. Right.

[Danny Kelly]

Can we lock that in time for first Ringer 107. This episode is brought to you by TaxAct. Like an expert coach, TaxAct offers step.

[Danny Hypix]

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[Danny Kelly]

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[Danny Kelly]

See taxact.com for details.

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[Danny Kelly]

I think we boys, we need a special emergency session here of America's favorite segment though, which is fart or shart. And now it's time for America's favorite fart or short.

[Danny Hypix]

Damn, son, that's disgusting. I like the far door.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Sure, I love an air horn.

[Danny Kelly]

Do you think Ted Sarandos knows that that is like on Netflix.

[Danny Hypix]

It's just such a good radio bit. It's such a radio show from the 90s.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I would, I would get kicked off Netflix for that. If it meant that ted Sarandos was 50 minutes into our show. I would take that right now. Now. Okay. With that being said, Daniel, why Daniel Kelly.

[Danny Hypix]

Leave me alone. Hey, leave me alone.

[Craig Horlbeck]

For questions here, okay? C.J. stroud. Stroud.

[Danny Kelly]

Stroud.

[Craig Horlbeck]

The Texans lost 28 to 16 today against the New England Patriots. C.J. stroud was 20 for 47 for 212 yards, a touchdown and four picks, all of them coming in the first half. He was sacked three times in this game. According to our friend Matt Harmon at Yahoo, this CJ Stroud performance was the 10th lowest EPA per drop pack for a starting quarterback in a playoff game since 2007. The 10th. Basically the 10th worst playoff performance in the last 20 years. Yeah, what's funny is the, the number one worst is Rogers against the Texans last week. But kind of setting that aside, Brandon.

[Danny Hypix]

Cooks, where were you?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Where were you, Brandon? We needed you. DK Metcalf dropped that pass. A lot of people don't remember that. So, D.K. i bring this to you. C.J. stroud, who is, who has just completed the third season of his young career.

[Danny Hypix]

And he's three seasons in, three seasons.

[Craig Horlbeck]

In entering his fourth. The Texans are going to have to think about picking up that fifth year option on C.J. stroud. Where are you at? Was. Was, was year two and three after a really promising rookie season where he had 23 touchdowns and five picks. He was the next guy in the NFL at quarterback. The next two seasons, he's averaging 19 touchdowns and 10 picks per season, capping it off with the worst game of his career. Today, C.J. stroud, basically the last two years of his career. I want to ask you, Fart or sharp?

[Danny Hypix]

Shart. This was the moment where I kind of turned on Stroud. I think obviously it was close last week, but he had five fumbles and five picks in the last two games, and he lost two of those fumbles. And I was actually like, I. Maybe this was super reactive in the moment or whatever, but I actually was thinking the Texans should bench him in this game. I thought they should have gone to Davis Mills. I thought he looked like he was completely losing his mind. Like, he was. Couldn't. He couldn't complete a pass in the second quarter. In particular, he looked like he could not complete a pass. He was. He was like the Darnold seeing ghosts thing. He was completely out of it. He'd lost it. I was like, man, they should just go to Davis Mills. And this was actually going to be one of my intrusive thoughts later. But I. I think teams should be more willing to bench their starter. Kind of like, you know, in. In the Major League Baseball playoffs or whatever. Whatever game where a starter just doesn't have his stuff that day. And they go to reliever after. After one inning. Yeah, like even less than an inning. And they just go to the really reliever because this guy's not got his stuff. Let's go to the next guy. Like, they should do that in the NFL a little bit more. I understand the implications around it and what it would create over the off season. We got to, like, prove that we. This is our guy and all that stuff, but, man, the way he was playing in this game, they would have been way better off going to Davis Mills. I truly believe that. He was awful. He was so awful in this game.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It looked like he had actually sharted and was trying to play through that.

[Danny Kelly]

Right.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, he. You know, it's hard to kind of get into the mind of these guys. Obviously, on went from watching at home, but he looked like he had lost his entire. Every bit of his confidence was gone.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's funny, he had four interceptions and it felt worse.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. When you watch, he was trying. He tried to throw about four or five more in the game, and they just dropped him because it was rainy and crazy out.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I mean, just incredibly inaccurate. Really poor decision making. Looked super flustered. His pocket awareness was bizarre. The pick where he kind of got hit and the ball went up in the air. He was throwing the ball as if nobody was in front of him. He like wasn't almost like didn't take the defender seriously and got intercepted. It was an incredibly weird game and I it being the 10th worst playoff performance in. In the last 20 years. If you look at all the other quarterbacks on that list, none of them were good quarterbacks. Four of them were Texans. It's like all the shitty Texans quarterbacks. Brock Osweiler and things like that.

[Danny Kelly]

This game had a ton in common with that Brock Osweiler. Patriots lost in the divisional round. It had a lot in another elite Texans defense of like J.J. watt. I think Davian Clowney in that team. Like an incredible team that like just couldn't keep up. And Stroud looked like Brock Osweiler. Like if you just take away the. The name, you take away everything you know about Stroud, you would assume that he was a backup quarterback today. And I think that's what I'm so frustrated. It's bad sign when you hope that the explanation for CG Struts performances. Maybe he. His hand was hurt or maybe broken and. Or the weather was worse than you think. Like, and he's like, oh yeah, he's from Los Angeles. Like that's. Those are the explanations. I think what frustrates me is that even if those things are true, even his hands banged up or maybe the weather is like the grip on the ball. It was like kind of like, you know, raining in the beginning and then snow. The problem was he wasn't playing at all. Like it was slippery conditions and you have the best defense in the conference. I know that what I think was.

[Danny Hypix]

So putting the ball in danger on like every other play.

[Danny Kelly]

It was the dumbest version of hero ball I've ever seen. And I think it like because he was refusing to do what his job should be, which is if you're under pressure, don't turn the ball. Take a sack. Like I think they said the Patriots Rabel's advice to Drake May was every. Every drive ending with a kick is fine. Field goals and punts are fine. Stroud was playing like sacks, especially with defense.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, I know.

[Danny Kelly]

And that Stroud was playing like a sack was a turnover and he was trying to turn the ball over like he was trying to be hero ball, which was insane. And the fact that the Texans defense was so good makes it worse because somehow he threw Stroud through four picks. The Patriots didn't get any points off three of them. The only one the Patriots actually got points off of was the Pick six. Which I think makes it worse. I think the craziest out of the whole day is that Drake May had more picks and fumbles in this game than Stroud did.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Which is insane.

[Danny Hypix]

Stroud was 20 of 47.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Not lost fumbles, just total fumbles.

[Danny Kelly]

That's my point. Is the bounce like fumble, like the Texans defense created so many opportunities. They made Drake Funkle four times the one bouncer roller that somehow at the 10 yard line, the Texans couldn't pick it up and run in the end zone.

[Danny Hypix]

I think that Bill Barnwell maybe made this, this joke early in the game or midway through the game. If the Texans had just punted on first down, they could have maybe won.

[Craig Horlbeck]

This game for sure.

[Danny Hypix]

They legitimately were so good on defense. They had, they had Drake Mays, his like backswing of his hand. What is it called when you, whatever he's. When he's going back to throw the football. They had that time perfectly and they, they hit it out of his hands at least two or three times.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And, and like incredibly cleanly, like Will Anderson, his strips on Drake May. Those would not have been called as a foul in basketball. They were so.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, right.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It was just swiping only the ball.

[Danny Hypix]

It was cool. It was like a coaching point this week or something because they were on it.

[Danny Kelly]

I think that's the new peanut punch. I remember like 10 years ago when guys were just punching the football out for, for Fumble. It was like novel. And it was like, hey, we learned it from Charles Tillman. And now it's like a thing everywhere. I think this is the new thing where they're like, you actually don't have to sack the quarterback because you can be engaged with the lineman and just kind of bat the ball out. It's easier than. And I think it's going to lead to more quarterbacks getting their fingers hit. But I, I mean, Dante Koppelitz Fleming had this stat that players who've had three sacks. Only two players have ever had three sacks and two force fumbles in a playoff game since 2000. And it was both against Will Campbell and the Patriots this playoffs. It was not a good last week. And then Will Anderson for the Texans against the Ventures today.

[Danny Hypix]

So not good.

[Danny Kelly]

That's one of them. We're like, all right, maybe we were a little harsh on everyone talking about Will Campbell's our length at left tackle for the Patriots that take him fourth overall in the draft. And then now it's like, oh, everyone's just bull rushing Will Campbell back and then just Knocking the ball of Drake May's hands so effortlessly to the point it's never happened. No one else has ever done to Will in any playoff game what they've done to Will Campbell two weeks in a row.

[Craig Horlbeck]

There was an interesting quote with one minute left in the game. The game was over. And I love listening to Troy Aikman because he's like, angry Chris Collinsworth, like, Collinsworth is usually just positive across the board. And Aikman just speaks his mind, Frankie. And it feels like he. Sometimes he just says stuff that, you know is perhaps coming from conversations behind the scenes, things he's heard. He drops these little nuggets. He had a quote at the end of the game that I wrote down. He said, this is with a minute left in the game, the game's over. He says CJ Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years. He's not been the same player. We've not seen the development from him, and there's a reason for that, and it has to be addressed. Found that to be very interesting.

[Danny Hypix]

Nugget.

[Danny Kelly]

He started a podcast.

[Danny Hypix]

He had a podcast, yeah, because it was it. Because he was Big Brother, everybody.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So he basically like Chevy Chase, like, one year on snl, he's like, I'm the goat. Fuck all you. See you guys later. I'm going to do my own thing. And then it just completely didn't pan out.

[Danny Kelly]

I think that is what happened. I don't think it's like, the same, like, level of selfishness, but I do think it is the same level of he is trying to have, frankly, be a hero and have a more active role. Like, he doesn't know he's a game manager. And I can't. Like, that's what's frustrating so much of the first half is your job is to not turn it over and let the best defense of the year be like, a legendary defense. And he kept I. And here's the part that frustrates me about what you're saying. Craig. C.J. stroud fumbled five times one week ago. That's tied for the most in a playoff game ever. He fumbled five times versus Steelers. And then what do you think they're doing for a week? What do you think they're talking about? Imagine if you were quarterback and you fumbled five times and you won by 23 points because of the defense. And all you're thinking about is, it's snowing. You're like, I can't turn the ball over.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I was going to say, and it's like 20 degrees and snowing.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

This is what bugged me about the game in particular is because. So Texans fans maybe will think Nico Collins is out. He missed the game. Dalton Schultz got hurt early in the game.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes.

[Danny Hypix]

The weapons weren't there. They're relying on these rookie guys.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Terrible. Like maybe the worst, like right now, currently, maybe this was the worst offensive line, running back, tight end, wide receiver collection in the entire NFL, which is perhaps what the Texans were.

[Danny Hypix]

I think that's Titus Howard. That's a valid. That's a valid point and a valid argument. But I. The decision making was still really horrific. Yeah, it was just throws. It's like it was exactly what Heifetz was saying. He was forcing it. Stop forcing it. Just protect the football. Your defense can win you this game and you're throwing it away. You're literally giving the other team the game. Just fucking eat it and take a sack.

[Danny Kelly]

He looked. He looked like Max Brosmar. And it's. Which on the plays, he bet the place where he was good, he looked like off Brand Joe Burrow or Stroud from rookie year. But the other plays, he was like Max Brosmer. And so it's inexplicable. But I don't know, maybe this is the pie he needs to get better. But it's tough because the reality is the Texans defense are so good because they're better than everyone. And the problem with that is when guys get hurt, suddenly everyone's not better than everybody. And that's the problem why defense is harder to year over year. It's not to be the whole, like, depressing person who's like, they probably won't be as good on defense next year because it's going to regress. But, like, that's usually always true. And it's sad because, like, I don't know, it's crazy to think that you could fumble five times in round one and then come out through four picks in the first half in round two.

[Danny Hypix]

If you're looking for a silver lining, which this would be a very, very small one, is he did play slightly better in the second half than he did in the first half. He was falling apart in the first half. And I was like, they literally need to bench him. And he. He wasn't a complete disaster in the second half. I. I'm just. Again, I'm looking at very small silver linings here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I don't know if that generated enough momentum to sustain the offseason.

[Danny Kelly]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Danny Hypix]

It's just trying to throw him a bone here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You Know we should.

[Danny Kelly]

Josh Allen's like, I let the team down. And CJ Stroud said the same thing. We should show Josh Allen CG Stroud's game, be like, look, Josh, it's.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You're good.

[Danny Kelly]

You're okay, man. Don't worry, big guy.

[Danny Hypix]

All right.

[Danny Kelly]

I guess. Should we actually acknowledge the Patriots are playing? Can I tell you guys something? I think I've seen the future. I know what's going to happen. The Patriots are going to beat the Broncos, go to the Super Bowl. No offense, DK The Rams are going to beat the Seahawks. They're going to go to the Super Bowl. The Rams going to be favorites over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Bowl. And then the plucky underdog Patriots with their chippy second quarterback. And quarterback. The Patriots are going to, as underdogs, beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. And we're going to have another 20 years of the fucking Patriots. It's going to. All time is a flat circle. The dynasty rebuilds from scratch. Stafford wins the mvp. It's the MVP Rams offense. And then with their, you know, and just times a flat circle.

[Danny Hypix]

Don't love that, you know.

[Craig Horlbeck]

How are we collectively, as a trio here going to handle what's going on with the Patriots?

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, I actually. I'm glad you asked, Craig. Can I tell you my intrusive thought. I had intrusive thought this week while we were texting. My intrusive thought is Craig doesn't really hate the Patriots at all.

[Danny Hypix]

You don't hate the Patriots enough, Craig.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He doesn't hate the Patriots. I don't hate the Patriots enough.

[Danny Kelly]

No, you don't.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I hate. I hated it when they had Tom Brady.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, but now you kind of like him.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, they haven't done anything yet. And I like Drake May. And I like Mike Vrabel.

[Danny Kelly]

I know, but you can like those people. And still. I love Mike Vrabel and I love Drake Bay, but I hate them and I don't want them to win. And I think you're really soft on them.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, I think there's a difference. Okay, so you guys are talking shit about me behind my back, but how do I hate the Patriots Enough. Okay, well, here about. How about this? Do I want the Patriots to win the Super Bowl? No. Are they my last pick out of the four remaining teams that I would want to win this year? Bowl? Yeah, they're dead last. Does that mean I hate them? No, I don't hate them. I don't. But I still. I would. I Want the other three teams to win more than them.

[Danny Kelly]

What about the divisional round?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Out of the eight teams remaining?

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know. Do you get this sense that Craig doesn't hate them properly?

[Danny Hypix]

He's not as upset.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Was I supposed to? I'm confused.

[Danny Kelly]

This is.

[Danny Hypix]

I was totally joking earlier. Craig. I feel like I don't really hate the Patriots either.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

I. Of all the people in this group, I should hate the fucking Patriots. The Seahawks lost on that. The most horrific game ending play I've ever seen in my life, to be honest.

[Craig Horlbeck]

This is representative of the entire Patriots season. I feel nothing towards them.

[Danny Hypix]

That's kind of how I feel.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It felt like they just beat the jets, so I'm like, I don't know what I think about this team. And then last week they beat Justin Herbert and the shitty Chargers and then they beat the shitty Texans and now they're going to beat the shitty Broncos.

[Danny Kelly]

It's unbelievable.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I don't know what to think about this team.

[Danny Hypix]

Sucks, rigged. They're going to hit the NFL. That's what I really hate.

[Danny Kelly]

They're going to. They're going to. I mean, honestly, the truth is Jared Stidham is almost definitely going to play better than CG Stroud this week. It's actually incredible. The path that New England will have to the super bowl is fucking.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He is American.

[Danny Hypix]

I think the Broncos have a shot in this game.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm going to buy a Jared. We should all buy Jared stadium jerseys midweek next week.

[Danny Kelly]

Should we probably support our guy? I mean, it's the back.

[Danny Hypix]

Are they actually for sale? Can you buy one right now?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I imagine you can.

[Danny Hypix]

Would you have to do cost, right? Do I just get like a fan one?

[Craig Horlbeck]

You got to go on Etsy. Yeah. I'm curious. Bill right now is live on Netflix and I'm like, what? What is the move? If you're a Patriots fan, I think you have to acknowledge it and you have to go, look, we got super lucky. Our schedule is super easy. We've gotten super lucky in the playoffs. What are you going to do? I think that has to be.

[Danny Hypix]

You have to lean into it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, you got to.

[Danny Hypix]

You're not apologizing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Sometimes it gets lucky. Sometimes it's like the Boston Celtics championship run, you know, sometimes it's just like a really easy opponents the whole way through.

[Danny Kelly]

I think they're gonna know.

[Danny Hypix]

They're gonna say they dominated all the throw that grenade.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Sometimes it's like the 2023 Boston Celtics championship running. It's Just really easy. I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't know. I'm staying away from that one. But I do agree with you that you just kind of have to lean into it. You can only play the teams that you play. They didn't choose their schedule.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What are we gonna do?

[Danny Hypix]

I'm sorry that I don't hate the Patriots enough. High.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Fitz.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't get why you hate the Patriots. You fucking beat them twice in the Super Bowl.

[Danny Kelly]

I know, but I think when you spend so much time of your life, like, rooting. I spent a month of my life preparing to face the Patriots in the super bowl, and then you, like, end up hating the team because you spend so much time doing that. And, like, I. I guess it's not about. Because I. Again, I like the Rabel. I like. I love Rabel. I. I like Jake May. I guess what I'm saying is.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Okay, so you're also walking it back.

[Danny Kelly]

No, what I'm saying is.

[Danny Hypix]

Sounds like you love the Patriots.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What about the 2024 Celtics championship? What do you think about that?

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, we all know how I feel about that. Yeah, I was amazing. You know, I think it deserves an asterisk, really. But I know. I think. I guess someone made them. Honestly, my. My thoughts were summed up by a meme that. I don't know if someone sent us or they put it at us on Blue sky or whatever, but it was the Craig. It was the red carpet thing where Craig's giving. It's like someone's giving the interview. And they were like, that's Craig. Just complaining. Like, I don't want the Chiefs or Eagles fans in the super bowl this year. I'm tired of seeing the Chiefs and Eagles. And it was Jason Momoa sneaking up behind.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, it's a Henry Cavill and Jason Momoa.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's like the Patriots, which is the team being like, we're back to this. You didn't want Chiefs and Eagles. All right, here you go. It's the Patriots again. I know.

[Danny Hypix]

They were the villains all along.

[Craig Horlbeck]

How much? So, like, let's say the Pats make the super bowl, which I think we can all agree they probably will if they beat the Rams or the Seahawks. Will that be enough to make you say, okay, they're the best team?

[Danny Hypix]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

Because the problem is that they're likable. I think that that's the problem, is that they're likable. And I don't hate Drake May. And they're like, the Patriots fans. Get this again. They waited Four bad seasons without Brady and then they have Drake May and Vrabel and they're like the team in the NFL set up for the next. That's the problem is that they're good and cool and young and going to win. That's the whole issue.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It also sucks that Drake May is like this soft spoken.

[Danny Hypix]

Seems like a nice guy.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Really nice. Everybody loves him.

[Danny Kelly]

His wife's making Christmas cookies every day. People are upset, obsessed.

[Danny Hypix]

I know we'll get to the bottom of this. Someone's gonna have dirt on him.

[Craig Horlbeck]

We don't have enough villains right now.

[Danny Kelly]

No.

[Danny Hypix]

Who is the biggest villain?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I, I, I would have said that. Yeah, it's Mahomes.

[Danny Hypix]

But even he's like not super hateful personality wise.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's.

[Danny Hypix]

No one hates him. Yeah, he's got a weird voice. That's like the worst thing you say about him.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Nobody wants to be a villain.

[Danny Kelly]

I, yeah, God, I, Rogers is gonna retire.

[Danny Hypix]

Who's gonna, who's gonna be the source of or the, the target of all our ire once our, once Rogers is gone?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I think there's a chance that Sean Payton and Bo Nicks could do it.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, they're kind of there. I don't hate Bo Nix. I don't. I like Bo Nicks. I'm totally agnostic about. I think he, he was awesome and late in games this year and I feel really terrible that he's hurt. But I, yeah, Sean Payton, I, Sean Payton and talks slower than anyone I've ever seen.

[Danny Kelly]

That's why, that's why Bo Nicks was so mad about all the play calls.

[Danny Hypix]

This is something I brought, this is, yeah, totally. This is something I brought up at a crowd combine last year. He filibusters by talking extremely slowly the clock. You ask him a question and it takes him 10 minutes to give you an answer.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, something runs up the clock in the pressers. He's like 10 minutes.

[Danny Hypix]

Cool.

[Danny Kelly]

It's like three questions.

[Danny Hypix]

God. It's like, it's like the, you know basketball games when they don't have a shot clock. You just pass it back and forth like at half court for like two minutes. That's like him answering a question in a press conference or before the game. This is what made it thought of is before the game he got interview dude. And he took like a minute to say absolutely nothing. I was just like, man talks like a 98 year old man.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm bummed that Sean Payton and Ben Johnson are out of our lives for the rest of this NFL season because they're my two favorite coaches to listen to.

[Danny Hypix]

Well, he's still. He's still. Peyton's still there.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, I guess. I guess. God.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm already ready.

[Danny Kelly]

Eliminated them in your. I'm getting words. Broke an ankle in his. He broke.

[Danny Hypix]

They won. They won the game.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It would be cool if he doubled down and like, kept talking with Jared Stum and he's like, not worried at all.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, God, he's going to be insufferable if. If Stum could win this. Oh, my God.

[Danny Kelly]

You're going to hear a lot about Jeff Hosutler. Giants. All right.

[Danny Hypix]

So you're kind of think they could win though, legitimately.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the thing, is, of course they could win. Like Nick Foles made the Super Bowl.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. But you. You guys are looking at it like a foregone conclusion.

[Danny Kelly]

I. I'm not.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Okay. I am.

[Danny Hypix]

I.

[Danny Kelly]

It's not for God.

[Danny Hypix]

It's Craig. Clearly you are since he just said he's eliminated.

[Danny Kelly]

I. Craig literally is. Okay. So you're fucking out.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm fucking in any other.

[Danny Kelly]

Any other icks you guys had, clearly. DK Zick is Sean Payton and Craig Zic is, you know, the Patriots not playing any teams.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I was shocked that during the Patriots Texans game, it was snowing or sleeting, whatever you want to call it in that game. Mike Vrabel and Dimiko Ryan's no hat.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What? What Mike. Mike Vrabel's head at the end of that game was soaking wet.

[Danny Kelly]

I thought that was sick.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's. It was snowing on his head for the entire game.

[Danny Hypix]

You're gonna catch a cold.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, you're right. And so what I realized then switching to the Rams Bears game, Sean McVeigh and Ben Johnson. Hats and beanies.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Which that made me realize is the offensive guys are softer than the defensive guys. The defensive dudes, no hat. Snow on the head. The offensive gurus. Gotta keep your head warm. Gotta keep that brain warm so you can fire up those plays.

[Danny Kelly]

Defense is real, man. Offense guys just wish they were up in the booth.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That's right.

[Danny Hypix]

What's the difference? I'm gonna throw a curveball at you, Craig, here. What's the difference between the visor cap that so many offensive play callers wear? Because that's not keeping your head warm. In fact, it's designed to keep letting the rain come down on your head.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, I don't know if it's designed to let the rain hit your head.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't know why else they took the top off.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I I think it is specifically designed.

[Danny Hypix]

For Take the top off.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It is designed for sunshine.

[Danny Hypix]

You had to physically go in and take the top off of the visors. Why? Answer me that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I bet you know why. I think Josh McDaniel before the game, because he had a visor on in the fucking snow. I think he threw on the hat. And Vrabel is like, you got to take the top of that hat off. You can wear a hat. No top.

[Danny Hypix]

There's no top of hats in our building. No one on the sidelines are allowed to wear it.

[Danny Kelly]

You're so right. I can't believe Josh McDaniels wore a visor. He did, though. That's unbelievable. To wear a visor in the snow.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. Because I guess it keeps the snow.

[Danny Hypix]

The most nonsensical piece of clothing.

[Danny Kelly]

He's like, I don't want it on my eyes, but I do want it on my head.

[Danny Hypix]

The water can get in your hair and drip down your forehead.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I can't stress this enough. Mike Vrabel was soaking wet. Like, he just did the ALS ice bucket challenge. That's what he looks like.

[Danny Hypix]

This is something that we used to talk about with Pete Carroll all the time. It would be like raining. The rainiest game you could imagine in Seattle. And Seattle rains a lot. And he's just sitting there with a mop. Wet mop of hair. There was one game. I remember this in particular. He wore a beanie, and we were like, what's wrong with Pete? Is he okay? We're worried about you. Why is he wearing a beanie?

[Danny Kelly]

They don't have to see because they're not calling plays. Maybe that's part of it. Like, they're just kind of watch. But I'm like, don't you have to watch the game?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

What would you wear if you were a head coach? Craig?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I would wear one if it was raining. I would wear one of those. You know, those, like, personal umbrella hats.

[Danny Kelly]

Space jam.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. Imagine like, Mike Vrabel. It'd be badass if he's like, I'm gonna make that cool. I'm gonna win wearing that.

[Danny Hypix]

I want to have my get back coach just hold the umbrella over my head the entire game. You know, the get back guys.

[Danny Kelly]

But they can't have someone holding an umbrella.

[Danny Hypix]

Typhus, what about you?

[Danny Kelly]

I kind of like the umbrella hat thing. That's pretty good. I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

It's like the beer. The beer helmet.

[Danny Kelly]

I would go suit. I'd bring back the Tom Landry full suit with the Don Draper Hat, like.

[Danny Hypix]

See, I can get behind that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

We're like an old. Like a dress, like the 50s, like an old school raincoat. But I kind of like the idea of just bringing a suit back and just being soaking wet in your fucking suit.

[Danny Hypix]

I want to have a coach where like one of those. I don't even know what it's called. The coveralls. Coverall.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, that's it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Cover all.

[Danny Hypix]

Just get. We got to get a coach coverall situation going on. You know, the old 80s ski coverall things with, like, where the belt is a little bit in. I want something like that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Can you imagine if Mike Vrables is holding in a brush?

[Danny Hypix]

I kind of think it would be sick.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's not calling plays. He could do it, I think.

[Danny Kelly]

Who's the coach most likely to.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That's left?

[Danny Kelly]

No, just in the league.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He's not a coach right now, but Mike McCarthy. I could see him with an umbrella.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. You know, McVeigh. I think McVeigh might have to do it going forward. Maybe he couldn't see the plays.

[Danny Hypix]

McVeigh and a beanie was kind of a Nick.

[Danny Kelly]

The. Speaking of the rain, though. So the other one is the Seahawks defense is named the Dark side, and one of the reasons is, like, they're. It's dark in Seattle a lot.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I gotta say, Daniel, I wrote that down as an ick.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. I don't support that, by the way.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, okay.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't. I don't think I'm accepting that that's a thing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I was unaware of that until the. The game.

[Danny Kelly]

They just made that up. I think they just realized that they. If they went to the super bowl, they were like, oh, we're like the Legion of Boom, but we don't have a nickname. And they just really, really scrambled for a nickname toward the end.

[Danny Hypix]

This reminds me of, like, the Sonic and Knuckles thing where they tried to tell people to call them something.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, David Montgomery and J. Gibbs were, like, called Peanut Butter Jelly, and they thought that was lame. So they're like, where's Sonic and Knuckles? And everyone's like, all right. And it's like, Peanut Butter and Jelly League.

[Danny Hypix]

You're like, all right. The dark side thing doesn't do it for me.

[Danny Kelly]

Leonard Williams said the Seahawks defense just really wanted to differentiate itself from the Legion of Boom. And then fellow edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence said that it sign the dark side signifies that you cutting the lights off the opposing offense as if darkness itself was the 12th defender on the field. And Seattle's also Gloomy weather.

[Danny Hypix]

It's too much. It's a Star wars reference.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What are we talking about? Explain it. Also, if. If one of the two defenses were to be called the dark side, it's the Legion of Boom. They were. They were way more dark side energy. I feel like they were way meaner.

[Danny Hypix]

Right?

[Danny Kelly]

Way.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I mean, they were meaner. Way meaner than the Seahawks defense.

[Danny Kelly]

Way meaner.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, we can keep workshopping that. Guys, let's do something different.

[Danny Kelly]

My. My only other ick was the 49ers kicker on the opening kickoff trying to do. Trying to trip Rashid Shahid with, like, a soccer takeout, which I know I've argued for NFL players being allowed to trip, but if you're going to try to do it, tackle, you have to hit the guy.

[Danny Hypix]

Craig, were you pro that play? If he would have done that, you would have been pro that. Why not?

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's football.

[Danny Kelly]

If. If he does it. Yeah, absolutely.

[Danny Hypix]

Running kick.

[Danny Kelly]

First of all, if he stopped a touchdown, that changes the game. Maybe, but he. You can't whiff if you're going to be like, I'm taking his legs out. And if he had just kept running, could have got him.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Can I ask you a question, dk? Why don't they use Rashid Shahid more? I feel like every time he touches the ball, it's like a touchdown. And right when he was on New Orleans last year, this year, he is a good, capable receiver. With Clint Kubiak last year in New Orleans, he was like a top 10 receiver in fantasy before he got injured. He gets like one target a game.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't know. It's. It's been kind of strange that they haven't been able to integrate him into their offense more.

[Craig Horlbeck]

They gave him a reverse and he took it for like 30. I'm like, I don't know why they're not using him more. He's great.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, it's, I think, a combination of a lot of things. You know, they're trying to run a lot of two tight end stuff, and so he's off the field on. I think on those plays, A lot of the time he's not as good of a blocker as Cooper Cup. So Cooper cup is playing in it. So there's like a number of different things. But it is kind of frustrating that he hasn't been integrated into the actual offense more than a lot of these trick plays.

[Danny Kelly]

I think you can see. I think Shahid, with the speed, I think defenses take it seriously, and he can impact the game without getting the Ball. But I also agree he's been the spark plug for the team. The rams game, the 1. The Seahawks 1. In a way, the Seahawks have the 1 seed because they beat that. The Rams in that game. And like Rashid Shahid getting like a huge. I think it was a punt return or was one of the reasons the iconic Shaheed. Yeah, it's like that was totally changed.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Shaheed.

[Danny Kelly]

Shaheed fields the.

[Danny Hypix]

Fields the punt as Shahid is like running into the end.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Rasheed Shahid. Shahid.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. So I think Shahid will get the ball board that Rams game. Intrusive thoughts.

[Danny Hypix]

I got one.

[Danny Kelly]

Hit me.

[Danny Hypix]

This hook and ladder works too well. Why don't defenses know this is coming? There's a lot of them these days. It's much more common play.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I mean, I think there should be way more. I agree they're like 9 for 10 success rate every time they use them. But it's like.

[Danny Hypix]

This is what I'm saying.

[Craig Horlbeck]

But it's like once a game that teams use them, maybe it's pretty hard.

[Danny Hypix]

To know, but it's always in these situations where they desperately need 15 yards.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, it's in man coverage. There's no way to stop. There's no way to practice.

[Danny Hypix]

Why can't they sniff them out like they sniff out screenplays? That's what I want to know. Well, there's more of those, but it's too obvious.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm with Craig, that there should just be. There should be a hook and ladder like all. Every game you should be doing.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, I agree with that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like, the fourth down revolution has come and gone. Now it's like the last lateral. Fourth down is lateraling.

[Danny Kelly]

I agree. I agree. I think in 40 years, I think laterals. I think it's like options downfield. I think that just like it. Pros have to do it because you can't do hook and ladders and it not work because you'll get fired. But, like, if it works in the NFL, that'll actually trickle down as most football. It's like starts lower levels in the NFL, steals it. But I agree that working in the NFL is good for hooking ladders.

[Danny Hypix]

I think it does remind me, actually, as you guys are saying this, it reminds me a lot of the early days of the read option and how teams, when they didn't prepare for it or didn't know it was coming, were just. They looked so lost. I don't know what to do at the match point. What am I supposed to do?

[Danny Kelly]

Help me.

[Danny Hypix]

It's just.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's also so funny because that's one of them. When you watch a game with someone who doesn't watch football at all and they're like, so why is that so hard to defend? You're like, you know, it's a great question. Like, just do it more.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You're like, yeah, do it every time.

[Danny Kelly]

Weird toes seem to work all constantly.

[Danny Hypix]

My.

[Danny Kelly]

My intrusive thought is just, I feel like the Guardian caps get a little bit bigger every week.

[Danny Hypix]

Just slightly. It's a bit slightly, yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, I think.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I think Romeo Dobbs should be like the poster child for it. Like, I think he should own it and be like, I'm. I am the guy who wears the guardian cap. Like, that's. That's my thing.

[Danny Hypix]

He's the.

[Danny Kelly]

He will be, but he's the guy.

[Danny Hypix]

I think of when it's a guardian cat. Who else is there?

[Craig Horlbeck]

The most famous Guardian cap guy is probably him.

[Danny Kelly]

It's hn did it, but not for that long. Dobbs, I think, was the first person, the first guy. Which matters because a lot of the concern with doing it was they were like, players won't wear it. They think it's lame. But now way more players are doing it now than the beginning of last year.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Maybe Vrabel could wear that to block the rain.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, that's good. The coaches where they're great because you.

[Danny Hypix]

Got leadership comes from the top.

[Danny Kelly]

Williams last week, Milton Williams hit him in the face. If he a had Guardian cap, he would.

[Craig Horlbeck]

V should just be in a hell.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't think they have a big enough guardian cap to fit on V's head.

[Danny Kelly]

That's a good point. I. You're right. I. We should go back to baseball and like, the coaches should have to wear the pads and everything.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Pads in a helmet.

[Danny Hypix]

But you wear the pads and helmet of your era. So V's got like the giant neck roll.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And then if the game goes to overtime and the entire overtime period runs out and the game is still tied, then both of the coaches come out in their pads and they have to. The Oklahoma drill.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And that's how you decide who.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude. Tamiko Ryan's versus Rabel. Oklahoma drove. Rabel would win. I know old man strength. But like, that would be. Those are probably the top two guys in the whole league. I think those are 12 seeds. If you did an Oklahoma drill like March, I think I would.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I would take d'. Amico.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, he's. He's younger. He's not that much younger. Vrabel is huge who else is even.

[Danny Hypix]

In the conversation at this point?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's small. I mean, those are easily the number ones. One's the number two. See?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, right. Who's. Who's the. Who's the third guy?

[Danny Kelly]

Third guy. Let me go through this. McDaniel.

[Danny Hypix]

Sean McVeigh was the. Was the player of the year, I think, in Georgia high school over Calvin Johnson.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the best fake thing that I don't want to debunk. I don't believe that sounds true.

[Danny Hypix]

Wait, it's not true.

[Danny Kelly]

It's not really true.

[Danny Hypix]

What are you talking about? How. What does that mean?

[Danny Kelly]

I, I, I. We can look at it. Someone email us. We've gone through this before. It's not like I don't think mcvan. I don't think that, like, he was.

[Danny Hypix]

A make a wish kid or something or what. What did, what did Sean McVeigh do in high school?

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think.

[Danny Hypix]

I. Just give me his stats, and I.

[Danny Kelly]

Was actually up for it. Okay.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He was. He was. This is his Wikipedia. He was also named the Georgia four A offensive player of the year over future NFL hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, you know what? Why don't we go back and find the voters who decided that either way.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm still not taking Sean McVeigh over.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, Dan Campbell would be third, right? Dan Campbell's.

[Danny Hypix]

Dan Campbell's up there.

[Danny Kelly]

Dan Campbell versus Dude, dang. I'm gonna throw.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm gonna throw one out for you. I'm gonna throw one out for you.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Okay.

[Danny Hypix]

This is just pure physics. Andy Reid, fucking punt pass throw champion. Punt pass kick champion. Andrew Reed. I kind of think he would wreck.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Shots like Vita Vea. He's just there.

[Danny Hypix]

He's like. He's the fucking Kool Aid, man.

[Danny Kelly]

He would. I mean, imagine him versus McVay. He would destroy McVeigh. Dude. Now I want to see. I want to see this. See, Rabel was.

[Danny Hypix]

This is a fun. This is a fun, you know, category or whatever. We gotta. We gotta come up with a bracket for this.

[Danny Kelly]

Here's the key. Obviously, 30 coaches never do this. Mike Vrabel and Dan Campbell would actually do it. Mike Frable loves hitting people at practice. He, like, loves it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I feel like Pete Carroll would do it.

[Danny Hypix]

He would do it.

[Danny Kelly]

He would do it.

[Danny Hypix]

He wouldn't do well.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, dude. Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Harbaugh would do it.

[Danny Kelly]

Harb.

[Danny Hypix]

Har's too old at this point.

[Danny Kelly]

No. What? Cuz he had heart surgery. I would.

[Danny Hypix]

I would be worried About Harpa.

[Danny Kelly]

This guy has one cardiac ablation and now you think he can't do an Oklahoma.

[Danny Hypix]

I kind of think Mike Tomlin would have done well, but does he count anymore? Because he. He took the year off or whatever.

[Danny Kelly]

And you don't take plays off. You just take years off. This is good. Email us at ringer fantasy football gmail.com. we'll make a bracket. This is good. Okay.

[Danny Hypix]

Mike McDaniel, Daniel, honestly would not do well.

[Danny Kelly]

Probably last in the history of the NFL. I think, like Belichick at 70, at 70 years old will be a hired. See the McDaniel he plays.

[Danny Hypix]

Belichick would play with good pad level. He'd play with good fundamentals. What were we talking about?

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You know, what's another intrusive thought of mine? It's kind of funny that the refs have to explain the rules of overtime after out loud.

[Danny Hypix]

This just goes to my point. I say it every show. There's too many goddamn rules.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like, what other sport does that? It's like overtime in basketball. And the ref's like, hold on.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm gonna be honest with you, Craig. I kind of want them to do it because I forget every time.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's just funny. Like, just explaining the rules to the players to their faces. Right.

[Danny Hypix]

People still don't understand the rules.

[Danny Kelly]

It's like dodgeball. It is like the dodgeball.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

They explain the relate two 1288 D or whatever. They're like, all right, Sudden death. I will say I thought I, I, you know, it's our job. I'd like to think I know a lot of the rules, not all them. I don't know. Someone was like, what happens if the clock runs out? It's like, oh, yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

They just started over.

[Danny Kelly]

And then I'm like trying to Google, like, if there's more clock, does the possession end or does the possession continue? And I was like, I've never even thought of this.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, because the. Well, the phrase they use is it's a new game. So it's like, that's why you get three timeouts. You're just starting the game over.

[Danny Hypix]

So it's like, would they do another kickoff again? Flip.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So if the first quarter ends, the second quarter begins. And they kept saying it's a new game.

[Danny Hypix]

So they would do another coin flip after four quarters after the first overtime period.

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, because it just then goes into the second quarter. It's a new game.

[Danny Hypix]

Are you sure?

[Craig Horlbeck]

I believe so.

[Danny Hypix]

This is why they explain it realized.

[Danny Kelly]

When Craig said that they're like, it's a new game. I don't think I ever realized that that meant that they would go 15 minutes, 15 minutes halftime, and then that would end.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I wonder if there would be a halftime. I mean, if they're saying they kept three timeouts because it's a new game.

[Danny Kelly]

They hit the showers. One day this will happen in some crazy game where it's two four string quarterbacks in the rain or something. This is going to happen one day. Oh, my God. That's funny though. They have to explain it. Okay, the only other thing I want to mention for quote of the weekend, we mentioned Tony Romo saying Josh Allen's Mahomes. I also want to mention Aziz Al Shire, the Texans linebacker, talking about since the Texans are gone, they asked him about his mindset for the week and he said, my mindset doesn't even matter. We have this thing called White Boy Wednesdays in the weight room where they play rock music. There's this one song, I don't even know the name, but I know the part where it goes like, in the.

[Craig Horlbeck]

End, it doesn't even matter.

[Danny Kelly]

And I love the idea that Lincoln park is just White Boy Wednesday weight rooms for the pictures.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That shit'll fire you up.

[Danny Hypix]

Hell yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I love, you know, some, like some 41.

[Danny Hypix]

Some 41. Where did you pull that from?

[Craig Horlbeck]

That's some White Boy Wednesday.

[Danny Hypix]

It's the whitest boy that you can think of.

[Danny Kelly]

Listen to like Bulls on parade. They're like, this is incredible.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, my God.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And in the end, it didn't matter.

[Danny Kelly]

For the Texans because in the end, actually, it's Superman mattered, actually. Well, I guess really the beginning mattered with the interceptions.

[Craig Horlbeck]

But the only now they're numb because C.J. stroud is saying to himself, look what I've done.

[Danny Hypix]

I don't actually know the lyrics or songs, titles enough, you know, but I know what you're doing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What I've done is the end of Transformers. Remember that?

[Danny Hypix]

No, not really.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Really? Optimus prime is like standing on the cliff and he's like looking out and.

[Danny Hypix]

It'S like, Craig, I'm gonna be honest with you. I do not. I don't know if I've ever watched that full movie.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You've never seen the first Transformer?

[Danny Hypix]

They're so terrible.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, fixing a car.

[Craig Horlbeck]

The first one is.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean, I remember that part. Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And he's like, autobots, roll out. And it's like, what I've done.

[Danny Kelly]

That was my ringtone.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, my God. Oh.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, dude, that original Transformers. Good movie. Sam Witwicky isn't that shy.

[Danny Kelly]

Labs, Shiloh. Oh, yeah, same with Wiki.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, same. Witwicky.

[Danny Hypix]

That's his name in the movie.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, it is.

[Danny Hypix]

DK Wiki.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, sorry, his name's not Legolas. I can't believe you haven't seen that film.

[Danny Hypix]

Film? Don't call it a film, Michael.

[Danny Kelly]

How dare you besmirch Michael, maker of Bad Boys, to.

[Craig Horlbeck]

John Wick.

[Danny Hypix]

You don't like insulting to call that a film. It's insulting to other films to call.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It a film you haven't even seen.

[Danny Hypix]

It's a movie. Yeah, I've seen enough of it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You saw the first 10 minutes when she's fixing the car.

[Danny Hypix]

I've seen enough Michael Bay movies to know that it's suck.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Is Armageddon not a movie? Not a film?

[Danny Hypix]

No, that one's pretty good. That one's a film.

[Craig Horlbeck]

All right.

[Danny Hypix]

Well, after I, after I saw Pearl Harbor, I. I was like, nope, Bad.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Boys, not a film.

[Danny Kelly]

No Bad rock. Bad Boys 2 is like. They're throwing cars. He's like, you think? I don't see that. That's an old rock.

[Danny Hypix]

Is the rock is good.

[Craig Horlbeck]

What about Ambulance on Netflix?

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm not sure what that is. It's Michael Bay. Is it new?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Maybe five years ago or something?

[Danny Hypix]

What was, what was the plot as an ambulance driver? Just a Michael Bay thing, I think, or something.

[Danny Kelly]

It's always thought he did that as a.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Basically it's a lot of cars in Europe.

[Danny Hypix]

I think there was a, you know, the, the movie. Team America, World Police. There's a whole song about how Pearl harbor sucked and I miss you. And there's just like a bridge where he's like, why does Michael Bay get.

[Craig Horlbeck]

To keep on making movies?

[Danny Hypix]

Cuz Pearl harbor sucked and I miss you. Dk, I think your homework, greatest song of all time.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Your homework before you come out to LA for the super bowl is you have to watch Transformers. God, there's so many movies on my.

[Danny Hypix]

List, Craig, that actually are good and worth watching.

[Craig Horlbeck]

There are, there are worse ways to spend two hours than watch Transformers.

[Danny Kelly]

He's got a live post that. Sure, Craig. I think the alternative is if DK doesn't do this, we just keep sending your son dk. We just keep mailing him Transformers as gifts until he.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Watch it with him.

[Danny Hypix]

He likes Transformers, actually.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, watch it with him. Is that too inappropriate?

[Danny Hypix]

It's probably a little scary for him at this point.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Okay.

[Danny Kelly]

Watch that.

[Danny Hypix]

How dare you just. You're calling it a film.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Is it cinema crazy?

[Danny Kelly]

Sorry that you're gatekeeping. You're gatekeeping the format, Michael Blake. Michael Bay is the only one who understands what you know.

[Danny Hypix]

Are the Michael Bay defenders gonna come for me?

[Craig Horlbeck]

It'll be Michael Bay himself. It'll be Michael Bay himself. He's listening.

[Danny Kelly]

Michael Bay. If you were listening, email [e-mail]. i'd love. I'd love nothing more than to give you a platform.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I believe he was attached like a year or two ago to make the Skibidi Toilet movie.

[Danny Hypix]

I rest my case.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Seems like he backed off, so cooler heads prevailed.

[Danny Hypix]

Pearl harbor sucked.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I can't wait to see what he does next.

[Danny Hypix]

Miss you.

[Danny Kelly]

All right, wait, we got. There's one more quote here I want to get to you guys. I think the best announcer moment of the weekend, okay, Just. I know it's divisional round weekend, but we can't let this moment go without passing, which is Eric Collins, the best announcer in the entire universe. Had a great moment with the Charlotte Hornets. And Cam, if you don't mind playing.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, good, because I don't think I've heard this one.

[Danny Kelly]

Has Ayton in the crosshairs.

[Danny Hypix]

Just a blow.

[Danny Kelly]

Get in there. Look at.

[Danny Hypix]

Great balls of fire.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He hits a new octave. I've never heard Eric go that high.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, that was like he got scared.

[Danny Kelly]

He got.

[Danny Hypix]

He wasn't ready for whatever happened.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He was frightened by Lamelo's crossover.

[Danny Kelly]

Kim, can you play it one more time?

[Danny Hypix]

It comes quick as Ayton in the crosshairs. Just a blow. Get in there.

[Danny Kelly]

Great balls of fire.

[Danny Hypix]

Wow. That was good.

[Danny Kelly]

That's so good.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Whatever he's. Whatever he's. He's making, it's not enough. Double it.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, my God.

[Danny Hypix]

That was more of a film.

[Danny Kelly]

All right.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I don't know what. What you're doing here against Michael Bay.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm taking a stand, Craig.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, my God.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You like. I feel like you like Bad Boys and the Rock and Armageddon.

[Danny Hypix]

No, I like the Rock and Armageddon. That's fine.

[Danny Kelly]

The Rock is amazing.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, the Rock's great.

[Danny Kelly]

Not the Rock.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I won't.

[Danny Hypix]

I will not besmirch the Rock or Armageddon.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Michael Bay ushered us into the modern action movie. Okay. Optimus prime walked so Thor could run.

[Danny Hypix]

Okay, I don't have the movie knowledge to. To debate you on this, but I'm. I'm a little cynical that. That's correct.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, luckily, you'll be watching it in the Next two weeks.

[Danny Kelly]

All right, I'm gonna watch it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

Wait, how many are there?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like, 52.

[Danny Hypix]

There was like. What was the. There was another one that was Transformers esque that had Rihanna in it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You're thinking of Pacific Rim.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. It's like. Well, I just thought in terms of the action sequences and the crazy cgi.

[Danny Kelly]

Let me guys tell you about film.

[Danny Hypix]

But you guys liked Pacific Rim, too.

[Danny Kelly]

It's a masterpiece. Let me tell you something. Pacific Rim was phenomenal.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I haven't seen Pacific Rim.

[Danny Kelly]

Rim.

[Danny Hypix]

Pacific Rim is incred. Cam points out Battleship, too. Same. Same kind of.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Wait, no. Battleship is the one with Rihanna.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, I don't know if she was.

[Danny Kelly]

In Pacific Rim, but I can tell you everything about Pacific Battleship, the movie.

[Danny Hypix]

Based on the game we played as kids.

[Danny Kelly]

All you need to know about Pacific Rim is.

[Danny Hypix]

Is that right? I don't actually know.

[Danny Kelly]

No, that's true. That is true. I think that probably inspired the Barbie movie the. But the Pacific Rim, all you need to know is that they're giant robots that have to fight giant aliens that come out of the ocean. And Charlie Kelly is the smartest person in the world. Charlie Day from It's Always Sunny is, like, the smartest person.

[Danny Hypix]

He's really flexing his acting chops. Then that's good.

[Danny Kelly]

It's incredible.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So, dk, do you want to know how many Transformers there are?

[Danny Hypix]

Yes. I need to know how much time I'm dedicated to.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You just have to watch the first one. So you have Transformers the first one. And then there's the Transformers 2 and 09. Then there's Transformers 3 in 2011. And then there's Transformers Age of Extinction, where they replaced Shiloh LaBeouf with Mark Wahlberg. And then there's Transformers 5. And then there was a spin off. Spin off Bumblebee.

[Danny Hypix]

I remember that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

There's another one that came out in 2023 called Transformers Rise of the Beasts.

[Danny Hypix]

Did you watch all these?

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, I think I watched the first three. Yeah. Maybe four. I think I saw the first wall.

[Danny Hypix]

Were they all Michael Bay joints?

[Craig Horlbeck]

No, he stopped directing them, and they replaced Megan Fox.

[Danny Hypix]

He was probably executive producer or whatever.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, they replaced Megan Fox was like, some blonde chick and Mark Wahlberg.

[Danny Kelly]

And I was like.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And I, like, turned back in my day.

[Danny Hypix]

I was like, all right.

[Danny Kelly]

What happened to me?

[Danny Hypix]

It feels like you're agreeing with me deep down.

[Craig Horlbeck]

First, Transformers is a class.

[Danny Hypix]

Then I turned 20, and I was like, all right.

[Danny Kelly]

Dick is like, oh, so 22.

[Danny Hypix]

You're insinuating it's juvenile.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I was the perfect age when the first Transformers came out, which was 13.

[Danny Kelly]

Craig. Craig and I. A lot of things happened when we were 13, but Megan, kind of what.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm saying, fixing a car.

[Danny Kelly]

And then they released the Dark Knight, and those are pretty seminal things for a generation.

[Danny Hypix]

Well, I'm sorry to all the. To the. All the.

[Danny Kelly]

You don't see. Very sorry.

[Danny Hypix]

Really loyal fans of that movie franchise.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay, well, just a reminder. We do three episodes a week during the playoffs, covered all the way through the Super Bowl. After the super bowl, two episodes a week covering the off season. Danny Kelly, our draft expert, we're gonna go through the NFL draft, free agency, trades, offseason, the whole shebang. And then we do an episode a week, even after the draft. So we do it all year. Stick with us all year. And obviously preview fantasy football before the season. So stick with us. We. I think during the week, we'll hit a lot of coach news and a lot of stuff. The Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski. The Giants John Harbaugh saga. We can go hit all that this week. But the important thing we have to hit before we get to here is. Craig, you promised us that you would explain what the dish, Eggs Horlbeck would be.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, right.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, Benedict.

[Craig Horlbeck]

We talked about this guy named Eggs Mansky who invented basketball and. What, the forward pass?

[Danny Kelly]

No, Amos Alonzo Stag.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, right.

[Danny Kelly]

Was like inventing football and invented the forward pass and the linebacker and then worked with the inventor of basketball, and they had him playing the first basketball game ever, and it was nine on nine. He's like, I think five on five is fine. So this guy just made basketball five on five. Then on the 1940 championship, 700 champion Bears, eggs Mansky was the last college football player to play without a helmet.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Right. Which maybe he was onto something.

[Danny Kelly]

We actually had a little umbrella on the.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. And Eggs Mansky sounded like a dish, like Eggs Benedict. And then I told you guys that some of my friends call me Egg as a joke.

[Danny Hypix]

Right.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And then we were talking about Eggs Horrorbeck and how that sounds like a dish. And then I decided to come up with what that dish would be, and here it is.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, hell, yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

So it's a. So Eggs Horubek would be a scramble, but it's not with scrambled eggs. You know, when you order, you go to a breakfast place, you get a scramble, and it's like sausage and scrambled eggs and whatever else. It is a scramble, but it's not with scrambled eggs. It is with eggs. It would be sunny Side up eggs that come with crispy hash browns and maybe a little bacon. And then what they do is they mix it all together so the yolk from the sunny side up eggs mixes in with the hash browns and the bacon, and they roll it up to you, and they make it in front of you like a Caesar salad. You know what I mean? They're doing it in front of you.

[Danny Kelly]

What.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, that's what it would be.

[Danny Kelly]

They bring guacamole at a Mexican restaurant.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, they bring up. It's like you have, like.

[Danny Hypix]

You have, like, a cart that they bring to your table.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah, it's an old Italian man brings it up to your table on your plate, you have your hash browns and your bacon, and then they slap the two or three sunnyside eggs on top, and then he just starts going to town.

[Danny Hypix]

What about, like, doing it like the Japanese hibachi grill restaurants or whatever where they all.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Or not Benihana.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where they all cook it and you sit around the grill.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You know, I just went to a Benihana last week for the first time in 15 years.

[Danny Hypix]

Does it still hold up?

[Craig Horlbeck]

They use from when you were a.

[Danny Hypix]

Lot of butter years old. Okay.

[Danny Kelly]

The problem with.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's a heavy night.

[Danny Kelly]

The problem with watching people cook your food at a restaurant when you're older is like, half the joy of going to a restaurant is not knowing what. What it is in the food.

[Craig Horlbeck]

He is slinging knobs of butter on that grill like they are.

[Danny Hypix]

That's good. That makes it taste good.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It. Well, it does. And then an hour later, you feel like you.

[Danny Hypix]

It's going through you.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah. You feel like you could compete against Andy Reid in the Oklahoma drill.

[Danny Hypix]

Okay, so it is a.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's a scramble with sunny side up eggs.

[Danny Kelly]

I think this is. Craig, you're a man, of course. And I. I love this dish. I do this all the time. I don't do scrambled eggs. I do, like, sunny side up or over easy eggs in, like, rice. I love having, like, leftover rice. Yeah, we'll do, like, a ginger rice.

[Danny Hypix]

Wait, are there no English muffins involved in this?

[Danny Kelly]

English muffins suck.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Oh, I like English.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, that's. That's a weird take.

[Danny Kelly]

That was.

[Danny Hypix]

I.

[Danny Kelly]

That was very.

[Danny Hypix]

English muffins are delicious.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like the. Like the basic English muffins you buy at the store. I think even those are solid. But if you have a fresh English muffin, it's really good.

[Danny Kelly]

I.

[Danny Hypix]

God, I love English muffins.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't.

[Danny Hypix]

I would eat one every day if I could.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You could add hot sauce on the eggs. Horrible back. That's fine.

[Danny Hypix]

I'm into that.

[Danny Kelly]

That's a Craig. This is a great break. Can I tell you guys what I think I might do for breakfast tomorrow?

[Craig Horlbeck]

We stop. You got to keep reading breakfast when we do emails.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, I know some people slacking when you email us. Email us. Breakfast. Put the breakfast in your emails.

[Craig Horlbeck]

We won't read your email unless you tell us what you had for breakfast.

[Danny Kelly]

There you go. We'll have to institute that policy. Email us. Put your breakfast in the breakfast in the email. We won't read it.

[Danny Hypix]

Give me breakfast. I give you breakfast.

[Danny Kelly]

Jackie made some duck breasts. And we have an extra. And I think I might make.

[Danny Hypix]

That's bougie duck fried rice. I know.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, some Christmas things are going quite.

[Danny Kelly]

Well for the Heights.

[Danny Hypix]

We had caviar on the side.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, no, it's Christmas. It was left over. And then we like frozen. We never cooked.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You could have just said duck.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, that's not what it is.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm just.

[Danny Kelly]

Also, it's leftover. It's good.

[Danny Hypix]

It's good.

[Danny Kelly]

Buy duck. But I have duck. And I'm gonna go fancy. I'm gonna have duck for breakfast. Like a king duck breast in. In. Like with some rice and some eggs or some high.

[Danny Hypix]

Fitz is gonna have the gout in no time. No time. Flout.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Flat.

[Danny Hypix]

Gout is a more pop. More. More common thing than you guys would think. I have multiple friends with gout.

[Danny Kelly]

Gout. It happens.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Name them.

[Danny Hypix]

No, I'm not naming them.

[Danny Kelly]

They know who I. I named someone who I know that had gout on the show. And then I realized we had to cut it because I guess I shouldn't have announced there have been hip hop diagnosis. Right, Right. But a person I know who I care about, who's watching this.

[Danny Hypix]

What's his name rhyme with?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Got gout while we were together this summer.

[Danny Hypix]

And is it gout or the gout? That's what I want to know. I prefer the gout.

[Danny Kelly]

The gout sounds funnier.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And that's what we say in la. The gal the gout.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

Right.

[Danny Kelly]

And this person's like 32, and I.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Have the gout, so I had to get on the 405. That's what we do. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. The best part, though, is this person's fantasy football team name is Arby's. We have the meat. So then I just photoshopped it and I just made it Arby's. We have the gout.

[Craig Horlbeck]

You know what's like the least healthy breakfast of all time that I absolutely adore is a chicken fried steak.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude. Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

What does that mean? How do you chicken fry something?

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's like a chicken cutlet. You, you, you baste it in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Okay. Or a batter of sorts. And you fry it, but it's steak.

[Danny Kelly]

Chicken fried is like cover it in gravy.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's unreal.

[Danny Kelly]

It's the best thing you can say. Chicken fried steak. Imagine just you're making chicken cutlets and then there's just a T bone steak.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

And it's really, really good. Like, you can't. The rest of the day is.

[Danny Kelly]

It's.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's shot. You guys got to go home and like, binge Transformers movies. But it's a great meal.

[Danny Kelly]

Chicken fried steak is a once every, like five or six years for me.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like, if you think a hot dog is bad, you have. You have not met a chicken fried steak. You can have 200.

[Danny Hypix]

Eating one of them things is like smoking a pack of cigarettes.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Probably worse. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

It's.

[Danny Hypix]

I mean that the carcinogens are off the charts.

[Danny Kelly]

Email us @ringerfantasy football gmail.com. put your breakfasts in the email. Tell us what you had for breakfast that day. Shout out to that guy who had the energy drink and the vape and the bacon, egg and cheese, and pizza. Thank you, dk. Thank you, Craig. Thank you, Cam. Thank you, Austin. Thank you, Kai. Thank you, Carlos. Thank you ever for listening. Thank you, Ted. Sarandos. Because you listened to Farter Sharp maybe and didn't take us off. So if we, if we have another episode after this. Thank you, Ted.

[Danny Hypix]

If you're watching this, then, you know.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Thank you, Lord, lord.

[Danny Hypix]

Thank you, LinkedIn. Sorry.

[Craig Horlbeck]

LinkedIn Park.

[Danny Hypix]

That was wild. Wow.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It felt like you were thinking about that for like five minutes. Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park.

[Danny Hypix]

Oh, sorry about that. I don't. I don't know who to apologize, LinkedIn or Lincoln Park.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Probably apologize to Michael Bay.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Think he's just like now like, D's.

[Danny Hypix]

Like, whoa, we're gonna need LinkedIn after doing that.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I can't wait till you get to the final frame and Optimus Epilogue.

[Danny Hypix]

Jesus Christ. Were you guys Biggie Lincoln. Lincoln park people back in the day?

[Danny Kelly]

Not really Lincoln Park. I feel like when my ipod I got it was a big deal to get it.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I liked him, but, you know, I.

[Danny Kelly]

Feel like also Craig, I don't know, but I feel like this is gonna be our old people Story that when we say it, it's like, oh, we're old. It's like having ipods is like a little trigger.

[Danny Hypix]

An ipod.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, an ipod. And dude. Yeah. Linkin park, like, because, you know, it would skip some songs. The songs that were like corrupted on Limewire. It would like skip. And I had actually, like we had actually bought with the itunes gift cards the Lincoln park song. So I feel like it would. No matter what, like, I would always have the Lincoln park music along with like Eminem and randomly vertigo by YouTube, which is why I didn't know how to count in Spanish when I was young.

[Craig Horlbeck]

But I remember really liking the. The Jay Z Lincoln Park.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, those were num and Encore.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That was incredible. Sick.

[Danny Kelly]

That was the h to the ISA. Like, like the. The I.O. the Jay Z Linkin park stuff. Was.

[Danny Hypix]

Were those real collaborations or were they just mashups that so.

[Danny Kelly]

No, they were official. It was an official Jay Z Linkin park, like mashup. They were incredible.

[Danny Hypix]

Does that count as White Boy Wednesday?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I would say probably, but it was like Linkin park doing the original Problem Wednesday.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Well, dk, you'll have to tell me what you think about what I've done. The Linkin park song that plays at the end of Transformers.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude. Okay. Oh, dude. Honestly, you know, my favorite Linkin park song is ever is Bleed it Out. I know. I. When I was a kid, I knew every word to bleed it out.

[Danny Hypix]

I bet you still literally.

[Danny Kelly]

I probably still do that stuff. Doesn't really crazy how many things you forget. And then I could probably. If I hear the beginning, I could probably.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It is weird to have like, like innate memory about things that you've completely forgotten about or is not front of.

[Danny Hypix]

Like brain pathways and whatnot.

[Danny Kelly]

Should I pull up the instrumental and see if could do it or is that going to ruin the show?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Maybe we'll just make you do it in LA at karaoke.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, you just point like go and I'll do.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, no, that's good, Craig.

[Craig Horlbeck]

That's good.

[Danny Hypix]

Let's make him do karaoke.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, that's a. That's not a good karaoke song.

[Danny Hypix]

What is your karaoke song?

[Danny Kelly]

Well, Kara, the key people get karaoke songs wrong. Karaoke songs are not for you. They're for the crowd.

[Danny Hypix]

Right.

[Danny Kelly]

So if you get up and you do something that like you like just.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Like exhaling when I bitch starts to like tell him why karaoke's all wrong.

[Danny Hypix]

I actually agreed with him though, so I'll let it slide. But when you said people get it wrong.

[Danny Kelly]

I was just like, if I got.

[Danny Hypix]

Something, everybody's wrong about this very popular thing.

[Danny Kelly]

No, I love karaoke, but if I got up and was like, I love Bleed it Out by Lincoln Park, I'll do it at karaoke.

[Danny Hypix]

I think it's.

[Danny Kelly]

People get stabbed.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

I would agree that it's better when people know the song that you're singing because it's fun to sing along.

[Craig Horlbeck]

It's no different than being an actual artist. People want you to play with hits.

[Danny Kelly]

It's true. My. My go tos are Ain't no mountain high enough because it's. Everyone knows the words and it's short. It's like. It's like a minute 50.

[Danny Hypix]

There's not like a minute. Interlude. Instrumental interlude in the middle there.

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, drops of Jupiter is great, but man, that is a less like six minutes. And then the other one I love is photographed by Nickelback back. Because it always is funny. Let's do a Nickelback look at photograph.

[Danny Hypix]

Like, ironically, a huge crowd pleaser.

[Danny Kelly]

It is stoked. And you don't have to sing to do it.

[Danny Hypix]

Yeah, yeah. Nickelback would. They were. They got screwed over. I don't. I don't even necessarily like their music, but the fact that everyone thinks they're the worst band is. Is total. Dude, what's that?

[Danny Kelly]

Bowler Pete Weber? He's like, like me or hate me? You watched?

[Craig Horlbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Hypix]

They're probably still touring at this point.

[Danny Kelly]

They were touring last year once. You see, like, Springsteen a couple years ago, and then they're rich as hell shows. Yeah. All right. Craig's just like, what are we doing? Get the out of here.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm dumb.

[Danny Hypix]

Craig's defending Michael Bay, and I'm defending Nickelback.

[Danny Kelly]

All right, well, we can end this encore.

[Craig Horlbeck]

I'm not even, like, defending Michael Bay, but I'm like, Transformers is a perfectly good movie.

[Danny Kelly]

Goodbye, everyone.