Eagles Choke, Commanders-Giants Draw, Bruce Feldman on CFB

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to Not So Fast with Andrew Perloff and Paul Patz, where two longtime friends challenge each other on the biggest sports stories of the day. Here's Andrew Perloff and Paul Patz.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Not so fast, my friends.
00:00:17
Speaker 3: Welcome to Not So Fast. I'm Andrew Perloff. He's Paul Paps.
00:00:20
Speaker 4: And if you are a sad or confused football fan, you're in the right place.
00:00:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I'm in charge of clock management on this show always. Just get that going forward. Bruce Feldman, the college football weekend from The Athletic. He'll join us in a little bit. But Sunday, I think we have to start with the negative. We want to be positive.
00:00:35
Speaker 6: I think we have to start with the negative.
00:00:36
Speaker 4: Okay, we'll get to my Philadelphia Eagles in a second. Because as crazy as that ending was, the ending of the Giants-Commanders was one of the craziest endings in NFL history. 27-27 tie.
00:00:47
Speaker 3: Here's how it ended, Paul. So there's 12 seconds left of the game.
00:00:51
Speaker 4: Commanders have the ball in Giants territory, run this play, trying to get to the line, and they don't make it.
00:00:58
Speaker 5: There are so many things to pick through on this play. I've watched this play now 20 times. It feels like the offensive linemen aren't initially scrambling to get up because they think, that Jaden Daniels is going to throw it out of bounds or throw it to a receiver going out of bounds, which is the only play you would call in that situation.
00:01:12
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it makes no sense.
00:01:14
Speaker 4: He should have thrown it out of bounds, but apparently Jaden Daniels either lost track of the time, didn't know the play. Something completely went haywire with the commander's quarterback.
00:01:23
Speaker 5: Let me ask you, the play before, they run the ball and they let it go from 50 seconds down to 20 seconds.
00:01:28
Speaker 6: That was on purpose, correct?
00:01:30
Speaker 4: Oh, I believe so. I mean, if they hit the field goal in overtime, they win the game, but they didn't want any time in case they missed it for the Giants to come down and kick a field goal. So they were running out the clock, but somebody lost track of it. When I say somebody, I mean all 11 guys lost track of where the clock was.
00:01:45
Speaker 5: But I mean, this is not that confusing of a play. Us at home, we were sitting there at home going, okay, they're going to run this down. They're going to snap it with 20 seconds. They'll throw an out pattern, and if it's not there, you throw it out of bounds, and you run your guys on to kick it. It's like We at home are so conditioned to this, and an NFL quarterback also has to be conditioned to this.
00:02:02
Speaker 4: Yeah, it seems pretty simple. You know, when I was watching at home, I was confused. I was like, is there something I'm missing right here? Is there another period coming? What's going on? But one thing, it wasn't just Daniels. The whole team was very, very confused. And you know how I know that. Because he's down.
00:02:17
Speaker 3: No one's rushing him right now. No one is saying, get up as fast as you can.
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Speaker 5: And he's not calling timeout like a Chris Webber thing where he didn't have any. He doesn't think he has them. So he knew what he had and didn't have. The other thing is they let him back in the game. They let the Giants back in the game.
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Speaker 6: It's overtime. Now a national TV audience has all switched over.
00:02:33
Speaker 3: To the game.
00:02:34
Speaker 5: So their faux pas is on a national audience to chop up. What do you think of Dan Quinn after the game putting the blame on him? Is that faux or is that real?
00:02:43
Speaker 3: Oh, to me, it's 100% on Dan Quinn.
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Speaker 4: Really?
00:02:45
Speaker 3: 110% on Dan Quinn. Go ahead. No, go ahead. Well, listen.
00:02:53
Speaker 4: Somebody's got to be in his ear saying you got to do exactly this on the play. So they have the communication system. And if you're the head coach, it starts with you. Situational football. Why were the Patriots so good for so many years? Because Bill Belichick trained them to be great at situational football. Dan Quinn. Listen, you already blew the 28-3 Super Bowl lead. This was just as bad. You are not a great situational football coach if you look at history of the NFL.
00:03:19
Speaker 5: Okay, so you're saying he doesn't have his team prepared for this moment.
00:03:22
Speaker 3: Two things.
00:03:23
Speaker 4: Prepare for that moment, and he doesn't have somebody screaming to the team, do not do what you just did.
00:03:29
Speaker 3: Throw the ball out of bounds.
00:03:29
Speaker 5: But there's no way they called a play where Jaden Davis runs, looks around, and just goes three yards and gets buried. They had to call a play. Jane Daniels is not a rookie, and I wouldn't even let a rookie off on this one. Jane Daniels clearly had to know before that play started there were two options. You throw it out of bounds, you throw it to a receiver heading out of bounds. He chose neither of them.
00:03:50
Speaker 4: Are you sure a coach was in his ear saying that?
00:03:52
Speaker 5: Well, I think the play call is the play call, and he has to know at this juncture. I put this completely on Daniels because he has to know he can throw it anywhere. He can ground it. A grounding penalty would be better than this. He could take a delay a game if he doesn't know what's going on. I think Daniels, and he has not had a good year on or off the field, I think he got caught up and wasn't paying attention and either didn't know the situation or didn't check the clock before he snapped the ball.
00:04:15
Speaker 4: All right, let's hear from the Commander's quarterback who tried to explain it after the game.
00:04:20
Speaker 5: We've got to stop the clock. We've got to know his ozone situation.
00:04:22
Speaker 7: We've got to relay that as an offense.
00:04:26
Speaker 8: It starts from everybody top down, but ultimately it's on me. It does not fall on him. It's an outside throw or a clock. You know, those are the two, you know, out-of-bounds throw or a clock. And it has to come from me. I don't even have to put them into that spot. I can do that earlier. And we can finish, you know, the kick early. We don't need to gain more yards.
00:04:45
Speaker 7: So that's on me.
00:04:46
Speaker 8: I was going to say, why not just spike the ball?
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Speaker 4: Correct.
00:04:49
Speaker 8: Is that not communicated to him? No, we're just trying to gain more. We don't need to. Like, it's easy enough to say, hey, man, let's clock it right here.
00:04:57
Speaker 2: We're early enough.
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Speaker 8: Go get it.
00:04:59
Speaker 7: Okay.
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Speaker 4: Wow.
00:05:00
Speaker 5: Let's play the blame game there because it felt like different people were being blamed at different parts. Jay Daniels said, it's about what's coming into me. That's blaming either the offensive coordinator or the coaching staff.
00:05:11
Speaker 4: Well, Dan Quinn said it there. They could have just spiked the ball, but that was not the play call.
00:05:15
Speaker 5: Now, is that Dan Quinn calling out the play call by his OC? Because Dan Quinn is a DC.
00:05:19
Speaker 3: What?
00:05:20
Speaker 4: Even if that's the case, that's on the coaching staff, and that ultimately is on Dan Quinn. Dan Quinn, I think, was trying to get four or five more yards for his kicker, which they didn't need. Because in today's NFL... Kickers are pretty automatic from the 40s. I think it was about getting a few more yards, and the play wasn't there. They never should have tried that.
00:05:36
Speaker 5: How bad of an offense is this? You can't get rid of your quarterback. You can get rid of your head coach. It seems a little early. Is this a fireable offense?
00:05:44
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
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Speaker 2: Really?
00:05:45
Speaker 3: Oh, without a doubt.
00:05:46
Speaker 4: If the coach is 4-1 after this, then it's fine. But the commanders are going nowhere. Ever since they made the NFC title game two years ago, they've been going slowly downhill. The roster's not great. Darren Quinn doesn't seem to be doing anything to save this roster. I mean, you could argue that Jaden Daniels has been hurt, but you saw it there. The fact that they're a defensive team who's not playing any great defense and certainly didn't play great defense in the fourth quarter to let the Giants back in.
00:06:10
Speaker 5: Sometimes I think management makes the decision to fire a head coach at a certain point in the season, and then whatever happens, happens. I think they will make a decision on this guy and his future real soon. They may let the next four or five weeks play out, but you've got to think to yourself, this is not the guy, and it's still an attractive place to coach.
00:06:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know.
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Speaker 6: We'll get into that after the break.
00:06:29
Speaker 4: Why is that attractive? But I think the ultimate lesson here is the head coach. It's always the head coach. I don't care who messed up on the field. It's the head coach's job to make sure everybody is doing their job, and they were not.
00:06:40
Speaker 5: All right, let's brighten things up here. Let's send it out to London. And that game was a pretty decent game. Looked like the Eagles were going to win. Your Eagles were going to take care of the Jaguars. They get the late score. All is well. They're going to kick off, and then not so fast, Perloff.
00:06:52
Speaker 6: What happened?
00:06:53
Speaker 4: Okay. Okay. So the Eagles hit what looked like the game-winner with eight seconds left.
00:06:56
Speaker 5: Did you tweet out?
00:06:58
Speaker 4: Yeah, I tweeted out that the Eagles win. I learned some important lessons here. I have no problem with that tweet. Because what team kicks a line drive to set up the perfect return after the return game? The return defense has been terrible all day long. Of course, Cam Little, the Jaguars, hits the game-winner. I never saw this coming because I did not think the Eagles would make a kickoff like that. That kickoff was terrible. They should have kicked it out of the end zone. And afterwards, Nick Sirianni admitted as much. That was a coaching mistake.
00:07:28
Speaker 5: Okay, so when I'm watching that, I actually think the Eagles did the right thing. At the time, I thought they did the right thing because if you kick it out of the end zone, that means the Jaguars have the ball with eight seconds and no timeouts. But Trevor Lawrence can throw like a 20-yard out and set up his field kicker, Cam Little, who's, if not the longest kicker, top three in the sport.
00:07:45
Speaker 4: But they don't have a timeout, Paul. How are they going to throw a 20-yard out?
00:07:48
Speaker 5: Well, I think there's more odds of that than a 50-yard kickoff return by Amir Abdullah. So the deep kickoff, or the deep-ish kickoff, puts you in a position where all you've got to do is make a normal kickoff coverage at the 40 or the 35, and you go home. Because now Trevor Lawrence has the ball at, let's say, his own 40 with four seconds to go, and he's got to throw.
00:08:08
Speaker 2: It 70 yards.
00:08:10
Speaker 6: I think this is the right call.
00:08:11
Speaker 3: No, no.
00:08:12
Speaker 4: If they kicked it out of the end zone, the Jags would have had the ball with eight seconds left at the 35-yard line. That means the Eagles defenders just have to line up on the sideline so there's no sideline throw. Because any play inbounds, it doesn't get in the end zone, and the game is over.
00:08:24
Speaker 5: I think this is a classic example of the Eagles players thought the game was over as well. It's like, hey, are you going to tackle me? Are you going to tackle me?
00:08:30
Speaker 6: Nobody tackled him.
00:08:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, and the kick wasn't great. You have to get some air underneath it so your coverage can get down there. That was a mess. And wait, let's get to the blame game here. I think it's obviously Sirianni, if you're going to blame anybody.
00:08:41
Speaker 5: Yeah, you can't call the special teams coach because clearly you're going to cover that with Sirianni.
00:08:46
Speaker 6: Which seat is hotter, Sirianni's or Quinn's?
00:08:49
Speaker 4: So Sirianni has had a bit of a hot seat issue because the offense looks terrible.
00:08:53
Speaker 6: He's been on and off the hot seat before.
00:08:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, the team just doesn't look good right now.
00:08:57
Speaker 4: But I'll tell you right now, Nick Sirianni outcoached Liam Cohen pretty.
00:09:00
Speaker 3: Decisively on Sunday.
00:09:01
Speaker 6: That's going to be.
00:09:02
Speaker 3: A nice win.
00:09:03
Speaker 4: It would have been an amazing win because everybody's heard on the Eagles that The Eagles just had a lot more effort than the Jags. They were more organized than the Jags. They just made one mistake that cost them.
00:09:11
Speaker 6: And that's where I'm with you on this.
00:09:13
Speaker 5: I think Nick Sirianni did not have as bad of a day as people are making it out.
00:09:16
Speaker 6: He's an easy target.
00:09:17
Speaker 4: People really don't like Nick Sirianni nationally.
00:09:20
Speaker 3: And locally, he's very polarizing as well.
00:09:22
Speaker 5: It's weird.
00:09:22
Speaker 6: Usually you're liked either one or the other. He's liked it neither.
00:09:25
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:09:25
Speaker 3: All right, Paul.
00:09:26
Speaker 4: Let's get to helmet stickers for a second here. Because I have a helmet sticker out of the Jags-Eagles game.
00:09:32
Speaker 5: Okay, let's do it.
00:09:33
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:09:33
Speaker 4: Parker Washington on the Jags. This guy is elite out of nowhere. He is unbelievable. He kind of saved the Jags in that game. He had an incredible touchdown catch. He's one of the top five receivers in the NFL. I really believe that. He's a lot like JSN in Seattle.
00:09:50
Speaker 3: He can do everything.
00:09:50
Speaker 4: He can move the sticks. He's a deep threat. He is, in many ways, their whole offense. They have a good running back in Bashal Tootin, but they really need Parker Washington. Otherwise, this team, in my opinion, is not where they are right now.
00:10:02
Speaker 5: A couple things. Parker Washington, like you said, nobody knows who he is nationally. He's forcing the issue. Bashal Tootin, is that how you pronounce his name? He's a really good running back. Another guy. They have the weirdest star power on the Jaguars. Their quarterback's a star. Their defensive back is a star who doesn't play offense that much anymore, but the rest of their skill.
00:10:18
Speaker 6: Position players, nobody knows.
00:10:20
Speaker 3: Who do you got?
00:10:21
Speaker 5: I got Aaron Rodgers because I didn't think he was going to get a helmet sticker this year. Three touchdowns, no picks, carved up the Colts. Not the most exciting football game I've ever seen, but that was a nice, clean win for the Steelers. I'm going to predict right now, Pearl, roll on this one in the control room, the Steelers are going to win nine or ten games this year.
00:10:38
Speaker 6: And squeak into the playoffs and do nothing.
00:10:40
Speaker 3: What is that?
00:10:41
Speaker 4: Wait, I'm actually going to predict that the sun is going to rise tomorrow.
00:10:45
Speaker 3: And what does that mean? That means nothing. Of course, they win 9 or 10 games every year.
00:10:49
Speaker 6: The safest prediction of all time, 9 to 10 games.
00:10:51
Speaker 4: That's barely even a prediction. I'll tell you, Aaron Rodgers did okay, but wasn't most of his stats on one Jalen Warren screen pass?
00:10:58
Speaker 6: A lot of it.
00:10:59
Speaker 5: We don't get into the details here. We just give out helmet stickers. You know what we have to talk about before break? 49ers, Mike Evans, career resurgence, 7 for 113. And what did you think of that game before we break?
00:11:10
Speaker 4: Oh, I mean, I think it was a great rivalry. That's five straight for the road team in the Niners, Seahawks. I felt like either team could have won. It's one of those football games that comes down to three or four key moments. But, again, two great receivers. Mike Evans and JSN in Seattle were the dominant two players.
00:11:24
Speaker 5: No running game for Sam Darnold. It's really starting to show. You mentioned a couple weeks ago your worst call of the year. or the offseason was letting Kenneth Walker go.
00:11:31
Speaker 4: Oh, my gosh.
00:11:32
Speaker 6: No running game.
00:11:32
Speaker 4: These are the fumbles, and they know how to stop the Niners. They're the one team out there that can stop the Niners. They totally shut them down for most of the game, but eventually the Niners wore them down. Is that, in your mind, possibly an NFC title game preview?
00:11:45
Speaker 5: It should be.
00:11:45
Speaker 6: It should be right now.
00:11:46
Speaker 4: With the Rams kind of floating out there, too.
00:11:48
Speaker 5: Yeah, you trust the Seattle defense, and I do think Seattle may have to make a move at running back because they can't worry about a rookie, Jadarian Price, being healthy and doing a good job.
00:11:57
Speaker 4: I can speak for the Eagles here. If they want to give us a second-round pick for Saquon, us.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: Would you broker the deal?
00:12:02
Speaker 4: I would broker the deal. Second-round pick for Saquon Barkley, who has a hamstring injury. But at least have a guy who's going to hold on to the ball. Seattle's defense will win it for you. All right, coming up next, I defend the NFL kickoff rule, and Paulie breaks down college football and MLB.
00:12:17
Speaker 3: And a little Drake May as well. Not so fast.
00:12:19
Speaker 6: All right, I like this take here.
00:12:21
Speaker 3: The kickoff.
00:12:22
Speaker 4: You know what?
00:12:22
Speaker 6: I'm going to save it. I'm going to save it. What do I think about the kickoff?
00:12:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, I have enough trouble understanding it.
00:12:27
Speaker 6: It took me a couple years.
00:12:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then there's that Cooper Cup out of it.
00:12:33
Speaker 5: Back on Not So Fast, Paps and Pearl off. Midday pick-me-up time. Pearl, watch this catch. This guy's having an interesting season. He gets into it with the refs last week, and now look at this.
00:12:44
Speaker 3: He's unbelievable. Trey McBride, Cardinals. He is the entire Cardinals offense.
00:12:48
Speaker 5: When you look at that catch, there are points in that catch. That catch took like a minute and a half to happen. He tips it, and it's out here, and.
00:12:54
Speaker 6: He's falling backwards.
00:12:55
Speaker 5: You're like, well, this is never going to be a catch. And I love that review can help in a situation like that because they called it a catch on the field.
00:13:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was totally meaningless in the game, by the way. Just so we're clear here. The entire Arizona Cardinals season, totally meaningless. But Trey McBride, you know, I don't think they're going to trade him.
00:13:11
Speaker 3: Oh, God, no.
00:13:11
Speaker 4: I'd like to see him with a contender because he's amazing. Fantastic player.
00:13:15
Speaker 5: You know, we're doing warm takes, but we've got to talk about the trade they did make with Marvin Hanson.
00:13:18
Speaker 6: That'll be later in the program. Let's get to it.
00:13:20
Speaker 5: It's warm take time here. Just a little cozy stuff to get you into your Monday. All right. It was a very saucy college football weekend, kind of an impactful college football weekend, and we're due for one.
00:13:30
Speaker 6: Georgia took down Alabama. Alabama had a chance to win.
00:13:33
Speaker 5: A little P.I. call, non-call at the end of the game really hurt Alabama. I'm going to go back to that with Kalen DeBoer. Oklahoma taking down number one Texas. Oklahoma had a.
00:13:42
Speaker 6: Really spotty September.
00:13:44
Speaker 5: But you take out, you know, they throw out the rivalry games, you throw out the records, classic. Texas does not look like a heavyweight. They look like a mid-level heavyweight, just not closing anything down. UCLA football is 5-0. Kentucky football is 5-1. A couple basketball schools playing really well. And then I want to go back to the Alabama loss. So one of your wide receivers for Alabama loses his cool, returns serve in a fight and gets caught by the refs, costs you 15, and it was a big, big play.
00:14:10
Speaker 6: Kalen DeBoer, now.
00:14:12
Speaker 5: I don't want to be pick and choose here because Nick Saban can chew people out and can lose his cool on the sidelines. But Nick Saban would usually keep his cool together and pick his spots. Kalen DeBoer lost his mind when his player did that and took a swing at someone.
00:14:24
Speaker 6: He goes, you lost us the game. The game wasn't over yet, coach.
00:14:27
Speaker 5: You have to keep your cool when others are not keeping theirs. That would have been a situation where you said, nod your head, send him over to the position coach, let the position coach air him out so it's not on national TV. Look, I'm not saying you can't yell at players. I'm not, you know, too modern where I can't see a player get chewed out and yelled at.
00:14:44
Speaker 6: But you had a game to win, and you.
00:14:46
Speaker 5: Were losing your cool and yelling at this player while your team was still fighting that fight. So keep your cool. You had that game. Wait until afterwards to air him out.
00:14:53
Speaker 4: Did the fact that that player is getting paid at NIL change your opinion on that at all?
00:14:57
Speaker 5: I would say, yeah. I would say 10 years ago, airing out a college football player on national TV, You may have a little more sympathy, but he's a pro. Pros don't get aired out like this.
00:15:06
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:15:07
Speaker 4: I think it's a symptom of the NIL era that there's so many personal fouls. I think guys are not playing team football all over. A lot of guys are making it about themselves because they can transfer and they're already getting paid anyway.
00:15:18
Speaker 5: The other thing I would worry about, if I chew out a player on national TV on the sidelines, What's that player going to do? Is he going to yell back at me? Because he makes more than his position coach.
00:15:26
Speaker 4: Wow, that player they'd be better off without. Because they were going over his personal foul. You know, late hits drive me nuts. And college football, it's been really bad this season. The worst thing to do to hurt your team. Okay, I'm going to go back to the NFL for my first warm take. And it's on Drake May, New England Patriots quarterback. Do you remember a couple weeks ago, Paul, when everybody was done with Drake May? Terry Bradshaw and Patriots broadcaster and former quarterback Scott Zolak said bench him. Coming into last week's Buffalo game, Drake May had one touchdown and six picks, and the Pats were 1-2. Since then, he has completely torn up the Bills and then on Sunday dominated the Raiders totally, which proves to me one thing, Paul. Never overreact to the first couple weeks of the season.
00:16:08
Speaker 5: But that's what we base our industry on.
00:16:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's totally preseason for most of these teams.
00:16:13
Speaker 3: And you have to look at the schedule, too.
00:16:14
Speaker 4: The teams that Drake May struggled against were Seattle and Jacksonville. Seattle's defense we know is awesome. Turns out Jacksonville's pass defense is pretty great, too. So you see Drake May's numbers the last couple weeks. Dude's going to be fine, it turns out. I was part of the, I wasn't taking Benjamin like Terry Bradshaw and Scott Zolak, but I wasn't far off.
00:16:31
Speaker 5: Well, there's nothing funnier in this business than September takes being brought back October.
00:16:35
Speaker 6: We talked about that.
00:16:36
Speaker 5: But he was playing so poorly, and he didn't play that great in the playoffs and the Super Bowl. There was a little bit of a hangover with him. Was he second for the MVP last year?
00:16:45
Speaker 3: Everybody loved that.
00:16:46
Speaker 5: And then he kind of limped to the finish, even while making the Super Bowl. So you're kind of that thing. He had this awful September. I mean, he looked like a guy who, like Kryptonite Superman, where he just forgot how to play this position.
00:16:57
Speaker 6: And the past two weeks, it's a complete cleanup.
00:16:59
Speaker 3: Well, you know what?
00:16:59
Speaker 4: Last year, he was second in MVP voting because he had the easiest schedule in the NFL. I am sorry. The Raiders, I know they're getting a lot of hype, but that defense did not sniff him. He had all day in the pocket. That's a bad team they beat on Sunday. So he's good against bad teams.
00:17:13
Speaker 5: Which Drake May are we going to see for the next four weeks?
00:17:15
Speaker 6: September Drake May?
00:17:16
Speaker 3: Tell me who they're playing. No idea.
00:17:17
Speaker 4: If it's a good team, then I do not think they will do much. If it's a bad team, expect four touchdowns and one pick.
00:17:23
Speaker 5: Well, they play the Jets next week, which means the game is probably going to be like 14-13 early in.
00:17:28
Speaker 3: The first half.
00:17:29
Speaker 4: The Jets have somehow attracted monsoons pretty much every other week.
00:17:32
Speaker 5: I'll tell you, the Bears' defense will help out a thrower. They'll make any quarterback look good.
00:17:36
Speaker 4: Miami's defense has been pretty gritty, but I assume Drake May already owns them. Who knows with this? Then he goes to Germany. I think Drake May is fine. He obviously settled down. The idea that he was not the quarterback of the future has already passed. Although, I got to tell you, the guy who was drafted ahead of him, Jaden Daniels, might be in some trouble. But again, you overreact not only to a game, to an entire year. Drake May, just give it time to settle.
00:17:59
Speaker 5: I'm looking forward to contract time with some of these quarterbacks. Drake May, Bryce Young, CJ Stroud.
00:18:03
Speaker 4: I think May is fine. I think Caleb Williams is fine. Jaden Daniels, I don't know what you do with that.
00:18:08
Speaker 6: Because it's injury and subpar play.
00:18:10
Speaker 3: Right.
00:18:10
Speaker 4: Michael Penix is hurt all the time. Bo Nix can't play until there's four minutes left in the game.
00:18:14
Speaker 5: It's weird to say Penix's career could be in better shape financially than some of these other guys.
00:18:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, I know, and I think he's safer to only play six games a year.
00:18:22
Speaker 6: You love him because he's left-handed. All right, my next warm take, here we go. Let's go to baseball. Last night, Brewers take down the Dodgers.
00:18:27
Speaker 5: They're up 1-0. It's a long series, but they got a little momentum. That was a nice pitching matchup. Jacob Mizorowski, Tariq Skubal, top notch, but both didn't make it to the sixth inning, and that's not really surprising. These are star, air quotes, pitchers, and they're not going to the sixth inning, even in a playoff game. They didn't get roughed up. They didn't get torn up, and they had to be pulled. But you know what I love?
00:18:47
Speaker 3: Yamamoto.
00:18:48
Speaker 5: The Dodgers starter, he's fantastic. And you remember last year in the playoffs, he had two complete games in the postseason. Those will probably be the last two postseason complete games of the next decade.
00:18:59
Speaker 6: It doesn't happen. It's like a solar eclipse.
00:19:02
Speaker 5: I mean, I think the last guy to do it may have been like Curt Schilling or Roy Halladay to do it in the postseason.
00:19:07
Speaker 6: And the guy is unbelievable. He's 5'10.
00:19:09
Speaker 5: He's 165 pounds. He looks like a smaller version of Pedro Martinez or Tim Lincecum. But how come he can go seven, eight, and nine innings? He did it last week, Yamamoto. He went seven innings. Dave Roberts talked about what that does for him as a manager. Once he has a guy who goes past six into seven, that's two fewer innings he has to deal with with his pitching staff, with his bullpen. And it allows him to rest a guy he may not rest. That changes the next night's game. So Yamamoto has the biggest effect, bigger than anyone on the team right now, on the future of this team.
00:19:40
Speaker 6: And he only pitches one of every four or five days.
00:19:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. How about a Sandy Koufax? He was a little guy comp that, you know, a smaller guy. But I'll tell you one thing.
00:19:49
Speaker 4: I don't think. it matters with the Dodgers right now. They cannot hit. They had five innings of Brewers bullpen last night and they couldn't. They really weren't even threatening what's going on.
00:19:58
Speaker 8: Yeah.
00:19:58
Speaker 5: Mizorowski not to have his best stuff. He didn't have his kids like to say best stuff. He had a nice game, but their Dodgers aren't hitting. It usually works out over the course of seven games. Yamamoto tonight, I think there's a lot of pressure on him.
00:20:09
Speaker 3: Well, all of baseball. Nobody said that.
00:20:10
Speaker 4: I looked at a stat, actually, because I knew you were going to talk about Yamamoto. During the regular season, teams scored 4.48 runs per game. They're scoring 3.46 runs per game.
00:20:16
Speaker 3: It's the biggest dip.
00:20:20
Speaker 4: Between regular season and postseason in over 20 years, teams cannot generate runs. I think it's because everyone's throwing 100.
00:20:26
Speaker 5: Is that trend based on how pitchers are used in the postseason that you don't stay with guys longer and switch in a fresh sub?
00:20:32
Speaker 4: It's got to be more bullpen. The bullpen, last time Milwaukee's bullpen looked great. They were given the Dodgers' fits. Okay, I'm going to go back to the NFL once more for my warm take. Obviously, everyone is talking about the end of the Eagles-Jaguars game. To me, this is a result of the dynamic kickoff rules. Now, they're totally confusing. I'll give you that. They don't make any sense. I think the fans in London were wondering what the heck was going on, but it gave the Jaguars a chance to return this ball to field goal position. This is one of the great unintended consequences of the dynamic kickoff rule, Paul. It challenges head coaches in a way they have never seen at the end of the game. Because all you need, if you get to the 35 if it goes in the end zone or 40 if it goes out of bounds, all you need is 10 yards. And the way guys kick field goals today, boom, you're in play. I think, and I did the math with our producer Scott Messina this morning, I think if the Jaguars had gotten to their own 45... They would have trotted out their kicker, Cam Little, who's hit multiple 70-plus field goals.
00:21:32
Speaker 6: What would it have been from 45 yards?
00:21:33
Speaker 4: So from their own 45 would have been 67, I believe.
00:21:37
Speaker 7: Okay.
00:21:38
Speaker 3: No, no, no. Sorry.
00:21:39
Speaker 4: 55 would have been 72. That's totally in play for Cam Little. I don't know what the win was like in London, but he could have hit that.
00:21:45
Speaker 5: That would have been such a niche thing to do it in London, the longest kick and field goal history. I like the dynamic kickoff. Now, when they announced it years ago, I think it started in the XFL season. maybe, or one of those other leagues, the AAF or whatever it may be.
00:21:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you're right.
00:21:58
Speaker 6: I didn't like that they went with dynamic. Don't call yourself dynamic.
00:22:00
Speaker 3: Before you are dynamic. Oh, I love that. Dynamic kickoff.
00:22:02
Speaker 6: I like it now.
00:22:03
Speaker 5: Here, about 10 years ago, I looked it up. Touchbacks were all over the place. Most games started with a touchback. 75% of NFL games started with a touchback.
00:22:12
Speaker 4: Right.
00:22:12
Speaker 5: There's nothing more anticlimactic in sports. There was a couple Super Bowls where everyone's, da-da-da-da, touchback. And it just, the NFL got rid of it. They embraced this new rule. It looks really weird when everyone's standing, waiting to go, and they're saying, hey, go. But at least there's action on the play. It goes back to the NFL. They don't like things that are predictable and boring, like the Colts offense. But they got rid of the extra point. The extra point was 99%. And they said, we're going to move it back 10 yards to give a little action to the play.
00:22:39
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:22:39
Speaker 4: So there's been two games in NFL history, I believe. I have to fact check this, that have had two field goals in the last 10 seconds. They're both this year. So it's a combo factor with the length of the field goals that is really putting coaches into a pretzel. And, you know, Nick Sirianni obviously looked bad and Brian Schottenheimer with Dallas looked bad. But I think that's just the beginning. This is challenging coaches in a way that they've never seen before. There's no history to go on. Where, if you're Nick's variety, do you kick the ball? It's almost like a no-win situation.
00:23:05
Speaker 5: Yeah, you're kind of screwed in this little patch where you've got 10 yards to work with as a defense. And I got Brandon Aubrey. If it's 65 yards, I'd bet on him. And I think the fallout of this, college kickers are.
00:23:16
Speaker 6: Going to start playing.
00:23:17
Speaker 5: They already do. They're going to practice more and more 60-yard kicks because that's how they get noticed by the pros.
00:23:21
Speaker 4: And the funny thing is, Brandon Arbery's an amazing kicker. He's really bad at kicking off. He has a lot of trouble getting in the landing zone the right way. So there's another facet to kickers where they need to work on their kickoff. The Eagles kicker hit a line drive.
00:23:35
Speaker 3: That's the last thing you do in coverage, Paul. Remember in peewee football?
00:23:38
Speaker 4: If you didn't have time to get down there and set your block, I have no idea, but the whole thing was a mess. But I love unintended consequences, and that's what's happening here.
00:23:45
Speaker 5: I was always on the bench for peewee football, but I remember watching the kickoffs happen, and they looked like a lot of fun. Coming up next, we'll talk some college football with Bruce Feldman at The Athletic.
00:23:53
Speaker 6: Who's the heavyweight in the sport?
00:23:55
Speaker 5: Is it Georgia? Is it other? Find out next.
00:23:57
Speaker 6: Stick around. Not so fast. Yeah, I didn't play a lot on kickoff return or.
00:24:03
Speaker 4: Oh, I thought you at least got a kickoff return. I figured they threw you to the grind.
00:24:07
Speaker 6: When it was windy, they let me hold the ball.
00:24:08
Speaker 3: Oh, that's not bad.
00:24:10
Speaker 4: Welcome back. Not so fast. Andrew Perloff, Paul Paps, NBC Sports Now, and Peacock. Wild college football weekend as usual, Paul. And who better to talk about it than the athletics and college football insider, Bruce Feldman.
00:24:22
Speaker 3: All right, Bruce, I have a question. Is there an elite team in college football right now?
00:24:29
Speaker 2: Man, just one? I don't know if I would say just one.
00:24:32
Speaker 9: I feel like, you know, we had the big Georgia-Alabama game this weekend. I think both of those teams fit in the category of elite, have really good quarterback play, loaded in the trenches. I would say those two teams, I would put Ohio State and Indiana in there. And then after that, you know, maybe Miami and Notre Dame. The issue with Miami and Notre Dame is they haven't played anybody or anybody close to anybody good yet.
00:24:54
Speaker 5: When you see the end of that game, Alabama versus Georgia, And I think nationally we make declarations on how teams are, but it felt like Alabama could have easily won that with a call one way or the other.
00:25:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt.
00:25:07
Speaker 9: I mean, especially there was a really questionable no call on what looked like a pretty obvious pass interference.
00:25:13
Speaker 2: You know, they had a chance to win the game even after that.
00:25:16
Speaker 9: There was a few minutes left in the game, but that was kind of a gut punch to Alabama.
00:25:21
Speaker 2: I mean.
00:25:22
Speaker 9: You know, I think both teams are really close. I think it was a really good win for Georgia, Kirby Smart, and Georgia hadn't won there in a long, long time. But I suspect they'll probably play each other in the SEC title game in two months. So, you know, it's a lot longer season now than it used to be when we all grew up, when college football was, you know, a much different system without an expanded playoff.
00:25:46
Speaker 4: Another SEC team, Texas, loses to Oklahoma today. At the end, Arch Manning throws an interception. Sometimes, you know, they were the number one team, but Arch Manning looks like he's having trouble processing a reading. Do you put Texas' offensive woes on Arch or on Steve Sarkeesian or other?
00:26:04
Speaker 9: You know, I think it's shared. You know, there's been issues with Sarke's offense.
00:26:09
Speaker 2: You know, they go.
00:26:10
Speaker 9: They got out of Tennessee with a win. They barely won that game. They did not run the football well. It's a team, I think, that ranked 12th in the SEC in rushing, and they went in the portal and got two really good running backs. Last year's offensive line was young, and it felt like it was a year away.
00:26:26
Speaker 2: This was supposed to be the year.
00:26:27
Speaker 9: But on the flip side, Arch had two really bad decisions on throws, one that he sailed that turned into a pick six. And to be honest, if you look at Oklahoma— The previous three games, they hadn't scored more than 14 points in any one, any of them. We knew their offense was really shaky. They were going to need some help from Texas and Arch gave it to him. You know, I think Arch has talent, but just, he's been really, really inconsistent. I, I think that at this point, you know, he's a year and a half into as a starting quarterback, you're like, okay, there's some stuff you just can't do.
00:26:59
Speaker 2: And, you know, he stepped in it on a Saturday and it cost them.
00:27:03
Speaker 9: And I wouldn't rule them out because they still have a lot of talent and they have, really good talent on defense, but they make a lot of boneheaded mistakes, a bunch of penalties, and I feel like that's been something that Sark has had a real issue with. That's why I think it's not just an arch thing. I think it's much bigger than that.
00:27:20
Speaker 6: Okay, so Indiana makes the playoffs two years ago.
00:27:22
Speaker 5: They win the whole thing last year, and now I think the casual sports fan is like, who's the Indiana this year of college football? I was looking at UCLA and Kentucky off this weekend. They both feel like they're in a great place. Can either or both make the playoffs.
00:27:38
Speaker 9: Yeah, I think UCLA has a better chance to do it. Obviously, they're undefeated still. Kentucky does have the one loss. But if you look at UCLA's schedule the rest of the way, they should be favored in every game with the possible exception of the end of the year when they play USC. And to be honest, they get USC and Michigan, who if you looked at the schedule a month.
00:27:59
Speaker 10: Ago, you're like, okay.
00:28:01
Speaker 9: Those are the two toughest games. Right now, Michigan is a mess. and their offense has been dreadful. Who knows what's going on there? They may be a 6-6 kind of team. USC is better than that, and they're really good on offense, but USC's defense has been very suspect. And USC has to play both, uh, Indiana and Ohio state. If they lose both of those games, I'm not saying they definitely will, but I think there'll be an underdog in both of them. I think at that point you wonder what kind of shape they're in. And right now UCLA football has been just much more buttoned up than, than what USC has had. So I think they have a really good chance to make the playoff. Um, the way things set up, Kentucky has been a really good story. It's still more of a gauntlet for them, but they have a shot and, you know, credit to Will Stein.
00:28:50
Speaker 2: He's done a terrific job.
00:28:51
Speaker 9: The former Oregon offense coordinator, he's got a pretty good quarterback in Kenny Minchie and they got some weapons around them. And it's, it's a cool story because this was a guy who kind of bet on himself and, And when people were like, what makes you think you can win here? He was like, because of me. And for him to just kind of put himself out there, you know, credit to him because you got to think that way.
00:29:08
Speaker 5: No, it's a great point because it goes back to that thing when Kurt Cignetti was introduced at Indiana. He said, Google me, I win. And Will Stein said, I'm going to try the same move. And it worked out.
00:29:17
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what's funny?
00:29:18
Speaker 4: We got Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, and a Kansas quarterback is killing it in the NFL right now. What happened? Aren't these basketball schools, Bruce?
00:29:27
Speaker 3: What's going on here?
00:29:28
Speaker 11: I know.
00:29:29
Speaker 9: I mean, I'm glad Andrew, you, you touched, touched on Jalen Daniels. He was like one of my all time favorite college football players to cover. I mean, he's just got such a great story of like perseverance and, you know, Just to jump in this for a quick second, he grew up maybe 10 minutes from where I live out here in Los Angeles. When he was a freshman in high school— there were all these five-star quarterbacks out here. DJ Yu, who was a big deal, Bryce Young, and obviously CJ Stroud, who turned out to be a heck of a quarterback too. And then when anybody, he was like, I would Google my name and it would come up as Jaden Daniels because Jaden Daniels is also from, he's a year older, but he's also from the Southern California area and just was like, hey, I'm going to play the long game.
00:30:12
Speaker 2: I'm going to believe in myself.
00:30:13
Speaker 9: I mean, the kid was on When he was a sophomore in high school, they kept him on the freshman team, which was like a huge blow to him.
00:30:20
Speaker 2: And he just kept battling. And so I'm glad he's in the NFL.
00:30:23
Speaker 9: I thought it was awesome that he got a chance to start when Baker got hurt.
00:30:26
Speaker 2: And I definitely root for him.
00:30:29
Speaker 9: But again, basketball schools are really showing up big time in college football right now.
00:30:33
Speaker 4: All right, Bruce, everyone knows your freaks list is amazing. Notorious column. And Jeremiah Smith, obviously, have you ever had a freak who delivered like this on the football field to both combine the physical skills and the production at that position wide receiver?
00:30:50
Speaker 2: Not quite to this degree.
00:30:51
Speaker 9: I mean, like, Saquon was, you know, high up on the freaks list, and he was a phenomenal player. And you had, you know, guys like Jadeveon Clowney. But Jadeveon Clowney was, like, more of the hype. I mean, he was a good player, and he would make wow plays. But this guy, I seriously, you know, for the past, like, month, I'm in Studio Fox, and we're kind of like, wrestling with the idea of hyperbole for him you know is he the best player in college football yes is he the best player ohio state's ever had well archie griffin's the only one who's won two heismans orlando pace maybe the greatest offensive lineman that's a tougher conversation um but then you look at like is the greatest receiver who's in college football has ever seen and i think the answer is definite yes because we now have basically three years of sample size he came in He came in like Andre Johnson was when he was with the Texans, except he came in at a high school that way. And Randy Moss was probably the most dominant receiver who ever played in college football.
00:31:48
Speaker 2: He had two years at Marshall.
00:31:51
Speaker 9: He didn't really play high-level competition, not like Jeremiah Smith is. I mean, it's just awesome what he's been doing and keeps doing, and he just keeps getting better and better.
00:32:01
Speaker 5: All right, before we get you out of here, Bruce, we've got a big weekend of college football coming up. We do a thing here called Such Thing as a Dumb Question. I like to talk about uniforms. You probably see it on Twitter. I think you've commented before. I say right now the best uniforms, not football, but uniforms in college football, the Tulane Green Wave. Would you go with another squad? Whatever you pick, it's your preference.
00:32:23
Speaker 2: No, I, you know, it's funny you say that.
00:32:25
Speaker 9: So I, there's been times where I've commented on the uniforms I like, and it's like some of these cartoonish things.
00:32:31
Speaker 2: And I love the green wave mascot. I love the color scheme.
00:32:33
Speaker 9: I love when they did their Mardi Gras, you know, uniforms. I, it's funny you mentioned that. Cause I was like, there's no way he's going to go in the direction I'm going. Um, but yeah, I, I, I love the, you just don't see the blue green color scheme very often. I think, you know, it's a different version of it with the Seahawks, but, um, Yeah, I'm a big fan of that. Obviously, like, there's a lot of folks who are going to go, oh, yeah, Oregon's got some really cool uniforms. Like, I mean, Oregon's uniforms this past week when they really laid an egg against UCLA, I thought it looked a lot like the Nickelodeon football, like, monster stuff.
00:33:06
Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, that's a little overdoing it.
00:33:07
Speaker 9: But, yeah, I'm a big fan of the Green Wave color scheme.
00:33:11
Speaker 3: Great.
00:33:12
Speaker 4: We've got to end on that hard-hitting analysis right there. Bruce, thanks for the time. We'll talk to you later in the season.
00:33:18
Speaker 2: My pleasure. Good seeing you guys.
00:33:19
Speaker 6: That's just two guys simpatico on uniforms.
00:33:22
Speaker 5: He likes Tulane. I like Tulane. He also brought up his freaks list.
00:33:25
Speaker 4: He does this.
00:33:25
Speaker 5: If you haven't seen it, Bruce Feldman, his preseason freaks list. Who is the greatest college football, physicality-wise, football player you've ever seen? Not necessarily what he did in the pros. I'll go first. I would have to say one of my all-time ones that popped in my head. Indomitian Sioux and LeVar Arrington at Penn State. They look like they're playing with your little cousins in the backyard. So those are my two big freaks.
00:33:48
Speaker 4: Well, I mean... Bruce just laid out two, or I would put it ahead of him, Jadavion Clowney and Saquon Barker. Right. I don't know if those guys, I don't think he started the freak list when Sue was in college. But Sue is just a big, thick lineman.
00:33:59
Speaker 6: But he moved.
00:34:00
Speaker 5: He could move.
00:34:00
Speaker 3: But Jadavion Clowney could run a 4-4.
00:34:03
Speaker 6: Yeah, that hit.
00:34:04
Speaker 5: Everyone remembers the Clowney hit. I think it was the Sun Bowl versus Michigan and Vincent Smith, the running back. He hit him, knocked his helmet off in the air like a cartoon, and picked up the football. That's all time.
00:34:13
Speaker 4: Chase Young jumps to mind, too. But Jeremiah Smith, I... I think he said some interesting things. Best wide receiver in college football history. That's what we're talking about. And he's not a hyperbole guy. No, he is definitely not a hyperbole guy. All right, coming up next, we'll hear from Jim Harbaugh, not John, about his quarterback struggles and what's next for the Chargers.
00:34:31
Speaker 3: That's next. Not so fast.
00:34:33
Speaker 6: I've heard this clip, and it's not so good.
00:34:36
Speaker 4: No.
00:34:36
Speaker 6: It's going bad.
00:34:46
Speaker 1: But if the Titans have the number one pick in the draft, are you taking Jeremiah Smith or are you going to take a quarterback?
00:34:54
Speaker 12: I think Cam Ward still has it. I would build around Cam Ward. I think you've got to figure out that offense. But I think it's a fascinating situation for anyone who has a number one pick because of the depth of the quarterback class. And I'm talking about Darian Mensah. I'm talking about C.J.
00:35:09
Speaker 4: Carr.
00:35:09
Speaker 12: I'm talking about Drew Mestemaker. I'm talking about multiple other guys that could be in the first-round conversation.
00:35:16
Speaker 6: Cam Ward, he's 0-5. He's thrown three total touchdowns this year.
00:35:21
Speaker 12: It's not just Cam Ward, but ultimately the quarterback gets way too much credit when things go wrong and way too much blame when it goes bad.
00:35:27
Speaker 5: Back on Not So Fast, Paps and Perloff, NBC Sports here.
00:35:30
Speaker 6: I like Chase Daniel.
00:35:32
Speaker 5: I think Chase Daniel is being very friendly to Cam Ward there.
00:35:36
Speaker 6: Really?
00:35:37
Speaker 5: Yeah, because Cam Ward has not shown anything.
00:35:39
Speaker 3: No offense. He's got a good arm.
00:35:41
Speaker 5: Yeah, he has a very good arm. If it's a throwing contest for distance, I'd bet on him. But I don't think he raises up a franchise right yet. If you look at that, he's done nothing for you to back him. I know what you're saying is on that franchise, you have no idea what you're going to do. But based off what Chase Daniels is saying here, if you take a quarterback again next year, he's against that. I like that part of it. I like not taking quarterback again and just Malik Willis.
00:36:04
Speaker 3: So what do you disagree with him about? So you would not take a quarterback?
00:36:07
Speaker 5: No, I agree with him from the standpoint of You don't take another quarterback.
00:36:12
Speaker 6: But Cam Ward, there's nothing to stick with. He hasn't done anything.
00:36:15
Speaker 3: Well, I got to be honest.
00:36:16
Speaker 4: You look at the head coach, Robert Sala. We know quarterbacks performed when he was with the Jets. How do you judge Cam Ward? Based on this offense, Brian Dayboy, I believe he's his OC, who has really had one good year with Josh Allen, and that's about it.
00:36:30
Speaker 3: I just think he's in the wrong spot. I think you need to keep him.
00:36:32
Speaker 4: If you end up at the top of the draft, take wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and then see what Cam Ward can do.
00:36:38
Speaker 5: If you're the Titans, the number one pick, Jeremiah Smith, quarterback, or what if you get a big trade offer for one of those quarterbacks? That means you would have to pass on Jeremiah Smith.
00:36:47
Speaker 4: That's fine.
00:36:48
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:36:48
Speaker 4: I mean, you're talking about three or four first-rounders because you said if Cam Ward's no good, then what's the point of him throwing to Jeremiah Smith? We're going to have all spring. Will Jeremiah Smith go number one overall? But I think we do agree, don't take a quarterback there. All right.
00:37:02
Speaker 3: For our next clip, let's go out west.
00:37:04
Speaker 4: Jim Harbaugh does not have a lot of answers, as you can see from this clip after the Chargers fall to 0-5.
00:37:10
Speaker 11: Yeah, I don't know what that message is. The Um, it's just in the, yeah, the players that just fight their hearts out, you know, play, uh, give it everything they have. That's, that's the only way. That's the, that's the best way. But, uh, yeah, that's.
00:37:41
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:37:43
Speaker 4: All right.
00:37:43
Speaker 6: That was unedited.
00:37:44
Speaker 4: I mean, he's always said unusual things. This is a new position. Because one thing about Jim Harbaugh, he's always won. He usually wins really fast, and it's just not happening in LA.
00:37:53
Speaker 5: He's usually Mr. Positive no matter what the situation. This clip, when I first heard it, I was like, well, this clearly can't be Jim Harbaugh. I thought it was AI. He's like a motivational speaker who just took a bunch of melatonin. He feels like he's going to fall asleep up there. He had nothing good to say because there's nothing good to say.
00:38:08
Speaker 6: He couldn't even come up with something at this juncture.
00:38:10
Speaker 4: Well, the issue with the Chargers is Justin Herbert is completely collapsing on himself. Every game, there's massive mistakes at exactly the wrong time.
00:38:18
Speaker 5: I was trying to comp Justin Herbert, who had about three really nice seasons. Really nice seasons. Not all-time great, not Peyton Manning seasons. And then it feels like he's just not a good quarterback anymore. Carson Wentz had some really good seasons with the Eagles. Then he got hurt, and he stopped playing good football. But he did get hurt first. And then he stopped being a good quarterback.
00:38:35
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:38:36
Speaker 6: Can it be just confidence?
00:38:38
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's a great point. Carson Wentz, I still don't quite know what happened to Carson Wentz. I know he wasn't popular amongst the front office of Philadelphia.
00:38:45
Speaker 3: Or the team.
00:38:46
Speaker 4: You know, a lot of quarterbacks, when it's RG3 who falls apart, you always say it's the health. That has not been the issue with Justin Herbert. It's definitely something up here. But you would think with Jim Harbaugh as your head coach, great offensive coach, and Mike McDaniel coming over from Miami, the problem clearly now, he's not a fit for Mike McDaniel's offense. Mike McDaniel's offense ran very well with Tua Tungabailoa, who is the exact opposite of Justin Herbert.
00:39:09
Speaker 5: All right, let's get to another game that didn't work out so well for one team. The Chicago Bears lost big time going against Green Bay, the big rivalry game. Zaire Franklin is the Packers linebacker, and he heard a lot of the smack talk from Luther Bird and others this week.
00:39:22
Speaker 6: Here was his response after the blowout victory.
00:39:24
Speaker 10: Man, I feel like since I've been here, it's just been a bunch of them saying a whole bunch of stuff about, us. Them making a whole bunch of comments about us, doing a whole bunch of stuff about us, and all the things we've been doing is focused on being the best versions of ourselves. And that's the message that Coach LaFleur's been preaching, just being the best versions of ourselves. It's not about them, it's about us. And, you know, we see all the little weird stuff they be doing in the meet and all the different stuff they be saying. We got guys that never really made a real play in this league. talking about making somebody quit. That's weird.
00:39:51
Speaker 5: We don't do that.
00:39:52
Speaker 2: He quit today, by the way.
00:39:53
Speaker 10: He didn't want to play anymore.
00:39:56
Speaker 6: That went scoreboard. He's got a point.
00:39:58
Speaker 5: The Bears, the past couple years, have been sowing the roots against the Packers. The late season wins last year where it looked like the Packers quit. It was payback time.
00:40:05
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, was that a mistake to provide all that bulletin board material? Going way back to Ben Johnson's open introductory press conference when he ripped the... Yeah, that was a different team, obviously. I'm sorry about that.
00:40:17
Speaker 3: Oh, no, right team, Chicago.
00:40:18
Speaker 4: So... Green Bay came out like they wanted this win so much more than Chicago. I know Chicago has a backup quarterback, but still, do you think that the Bears should have played it differently heading into this game?
00:40:30
Speaker 5: Well, I think they should have started Case Keenum in this game. I think a lot of people in Chicago and a lot of Chicago media were protecting Tyson Bajent. Last week against the Jets, Tyson Bajent, he threw four interceptions. Now, three were called back, but the throws were still picked off by the other team. He threw two yesterday against the Packers. That's six interceptions on a team that doesn't throw a lot in two weekends.
00:40:52
Speaker 6: He is not playing well. He was better when he wasn't playing.
00:40:55
Speaker 5: Now when you see what he can actually do against two not really top-end teams. And if Caleb Williams comes back, this is all a memory.
00:41:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the defense obviously did not look good.
00:41:05
Speaker 4: Jordan Love and the Packers hadn't been doing anything. All of a sudden they looked like they did prime last year. Christian Watson with an incredible touchdown. This was a disaster.
00:41:13
Speaker 5: Yeah, this was a disaster for the Bears. Now, it can be a one-week disaster if Caleb Williams comes back, but Packers fans are enjoying this one.
00:41:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right.
00:41:21
Speaker 4: We have time for one more quick. Okay, in Seattle, this play drove me nuts, Paul. Seattle escape of a fumble TD at the end of the first half instead of kneeling. Coach Mike McDonald tried to explain why.
00:41:32
Speaker 7: We should be able to execute run plays. So we want to stay aggressive. I mean, he kicks a touchback. We're two plays away from field goal range, and we're in good shape. So we want to stay aggressive and get points into half the opportunity to get the ball coming out of the second half. But we've got to be able to execute our run game and hold on to the football.
00:41:56
Speaker 2: Straight up.
00:41:58
Speaker 5: Straight up.
00:41:59
Speaker 4: How come young coaches can be brilliant play callers and even win a Super Bowl and still have no situational awareness?
00:42:05
Speaker 3: That's the theme of this week, no situational awareness.
00:42:07
Speaker 5: Yeah, it does feel like I was going to bring that up. I may bring this up tomorrow, that the NFL– It's much more of a coaching situation league than it is a talent league. I think the teams are pretty well spread out evenly talent-wise to some level, but there's more games lost in just the past month because of decision-making by the staff.
00:42:24
Speaker 6: And thus your quarterback or defensive players.
00:42:26
Speaker 3: Well, this is recency bias.
00:42:28
Speaker 4: Teams have been blowing games since the miracle of the Meadowlands in 1978, but it feels like these young guys can do brilliant play calling all day long, but there's a minute left in the game. They need someone who's been there in their ear.
00:42:40
Speaker 5: And these days, there seems to be like an analytics person that tells you do this, do that. You can't do it in this situation. All right, coming up, let's get you ready for Monday Night Football and the Marvin Harrison Jr.
00:42:49
Speaker 2: Trade.
00:42:49
Speaker 6: Who won that one? If there was anyone who won that one.
00:42:52
Speaker 4: Stick around.
00:42:52
Speaker 6: Not so fast.
00:42:55
Speaker 3: If there was anyone.
00:42:57
Speaker 4: Someone's got to win.
00:42:58
Speaker 6: There can't be a tie.
00:43:01
Speaker 3: If someone screws up, there's a tie.
00:43:03
Speaker 5: Can you tie in a trade? You guys wanted to know, huh?
00:43:10
Speaker 3: Yes. All right. We traded for Marvin Harrison. See ya. Welcome back. Not so fast. Perloff and Paps.
00:43:17
Speaker 4: He said it that way because there had been a report all day long that Marvin Harrison Jr.
00:43:21
Speaker 3: Had been traded, but nobody knew what team it was. which is very confusing. Very weird.
00:43:25
Speaker 4: So D'Amico Ryans clears it up. Paul, what do you think of the trade?
00:43:28
Speaker 6: I think this is a terrible trade for the Texans.
00:43:30
Speaker 3: Here's why.
00:43:31
Speaker 5: You have a quarterback who needs wide receivers and needs quality wide receivers. Now you're taking a guy who doesn't appear to try that hard or have the ability to make big plays like he used to in college and has really disappointed. Why would I want to add that to my roster? Why would I want to give up a second-round pick for underachieving? Every coach thinks it's a reclamation project. I can make this guy into a star quarterback. It reminds me, not exactly, not a direct comp of Chase Claypool. Very good out of Notre Dame, goes to the Steelers, underwhelms, and the Bears are like, hey, let's trade for this guy, and he underwhelms. They're going to underwhelm. This isn't like a quarterback where they can fix what they have problems with. This guy doesn't play hard football. From what I've seen, he's not an impact guy. For whatever reason, does he not care? Does he not try? Did we misread him as draft analyst? I think it's terrible. I think the Cardinals did a great job of scoring a second for this guy.
00:44:19
Speaker 3: I hear what you're saying, but how do we really know who Marvin Harrison Jr.
00:44:22
Speaker 4: Is?
00:44:23
Speaker 3: He's been on a bad team.
00:44:24
Speaker 5: But he can play really well on a bad team. Look, you mentioned Parker Washington. That guy's making a name for himself.
00:44:29
Speaker 3: He had a great team with Trevor Lawrence slinging him the ball.
00:44:31
Speaker 5: But, I mean, he's not on a team that's so bad that you can't play your way out of it. It looks like he's moving at three-quarters speed when you watch the clips.
00:44:38
Speaker 3: Wow, okay. So he's reunited with C.J. Stroud.
00:44:41
Speaker 4: We know how good he was in college. I think that's part of your message.
00:44:44
Speaker 3: There's upside.
00:44:45
Speaker 4: Just because you have a huge grade on a guy coming out of college doesn't mean that he's going to be good in the pros. But listen, the Texans are just too dependent on Nico Collins. They need another outside receiver. I generally agree with you. They flashed a graphic during the game, or maybe during the post-show, that guys who were top five picks who were traded before their first contract never ever work out.
00:45:05
Speaker 3: It never works out, Paul.
00:45:06
Speaker 5: Yeah, it does seem like Trent Richardson was a running back because he gets traded to the Colts. They gave up a first for Trent Richardson after he bombed with the Cleveland Browns. The Reclamation Project's only at quarterback.
00:45:17
Speaker 4: By the way, I think it'll be a low second-round pick for Houston because they're typically in the playoffs. And I think, by the way, thank God they got a win. They need another receiver, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
00:45:25
Speaker 6: All right, let's go Monday Night Football. Bill's at Rams. This is a heavyweight matchup. I think the Rams are giving 3.5 per. Where are you going?
00:45:32
Speaker 4: Okay, I can almost guarantee this will come down to the last 10 seconds of the game. And it's going to be something to do with the dynamic rule. So I think the Bills lose the game but cover because it's going to be within a field goal. I think Josh Allen is actually going to play pretty good in this game despite the Rams' defense.
00:45:49
Speaker 3: And these teams are so evenly matched, something crazy.
00:45:52
Speaker 5: Yeah, Aaron Donald is back. Miles Garrett is not. I am picking the Rams as well.
00:45:56
Speaker 6: Should be a fun one. Perfect for Monday night.
00:45:58
Speaker 3: Oh, my God.
00:45:58
Speaker 4: This is a weird week where the best games were actually with losing teams.
00:46:03
Speaker 3: This should make up for all that. It should be great.
00:46:04
Speaker 5: It's time for constructive criticism. Your notes from the weekend, your comments from the weekend, your questions for us.
00:46:09
Speaker 6: I've seen some of these.
00:46:10
Speaker 5: They're really wonky. Let's go, Pearl. What is the first question? Who is more overrated?
00:46:15
Speaker 6: Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkeesian?
00:46:17
Speaker 4: Ooh, two former Alabama offensive coordinators. History shows both are pretty good.
00:46:23
Speaker 6: Pretty good.
00:46:24
Speaker 3: I mean, more than pretty good.
00:46:26
Speaker 5: Lane might be over-covered. Sarkeesian has never won the big one. So I'm going to go Sark by a close margin there.
00:46:32
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, I'm sorry. Lane's won the big one. Head coach or an assistant? Shark won the big one as an assistant, I believe. I have to double-check that. Yeah, I don't know if Lane's won the big one. It could be another tie. They're almost identical twins. They have the same rear back. I mean, they both had really dramatic firings at USC. So I think that's a tie.
00:46:53
Speaker 6: Yeah, they have that in common.
00:46:54
Speaker 3: But I don't think I like both coaches.
00:46:55
Speaker 6: Next question. Here we go.
00:46:57
Speaker 5: Did the Dallas Cowboys have the best showing of NFC East teams in Week 5?
00:47:01
Speaker 6: Wait a second, Nick.
00:47:02
Speaker 5: Okay, the Commanders, that was ugly, but they could have won it. The Eagles could have won it. So I would say the Eagles probably did the best in a loss. The Cowboys, did we forget what happened last Thursday night?
00:47:12
Speaker 4: No, the Cowboys did the worst. They were eight-point favorites or something like that over Tampa Bay, a team that had won a game with an undrafted rookie quarterback, and they lost. I believe that game was in Dallas at home. No, the answer is a flat-out no.
00:47:25
Speaker 6: I don't feel good about anyone in the NFC East.
00:47:27
Speaker 5: All right, last question.
00:47:28
Speaker 6: Here we go, Pearl.
00:47:30
Speaker 5: Okay, Lions window closed or entering a new phase. I love Lions window story. Okay, three years ago, they're in the NFC title game. I think they're up 24-7 at half. You're making trip to the Super Bowl plans if you live in Detroit. and they're getting further away. But they are quietly playing really good this season. The problem is everybody media-wise and nationally is off their bandwagon.
00:47:52
Speaker 4: What makes you think they're playing so good? Because they beat up a bad team? When they're against good teams, their defense is terrible, Paul. It's always been terrible, but now their offense, without Ben Johnson there, is not good enough to carry them to enough wins.
00:48:03
Speaker 6: The defense is a big, big problem.
00:48:05
Speaker 3: I think they are going into a new phase.
00:48:06
Speaker 4: I think their window did close. I hate to say that. But I really think the offensive coordinator leaving has hurt them tremendously. And Jameer Gibbs is their whole offense. They're just relying on him too much. He's going to wear down.
00:48:18
Speaker 5: I am curious what they do with Jared Goff next year if it doesn't work out this year.
00:48:22
Speaker 3: Jared Goff's amazing. Jared Goff's not the problem.
00:48:24
Speaker 4: He's been great.
00:48:25
Speaker 3: How much more can they get out of Gibbs?
00:48:26
Speaker 5: They may have to pay him one more time, though. All right, it's time for the feel-good before Monday Night Football.
00:48:30
Speaker 6: Great week here. Not so fast.
00:48:32
Speaker 5: Let's get to it.
00:48:33
Speaker 6: Feel-good, Pearl.
00:48:34
Speaker 5: I'm going to take you to Raiders at Patriots. Look at this guy.
00:48:38
Speaker 6: There he is, Fernando Mendoza, former Indiana Hoosier.
00:48:42
Speaker 5: Look at these guys. He's got the Hoosier jacket on, the Hoosier Mendoza jersey on. He was prepared for this moment.
00:48:49
Speaker 4: Looks like he's at the very top of that stadium, and it was not a nice day.
00:48:53
Speaker 5: No, but he was there hoping that either Kirk Cousins would score five touchdowns and be pulled early.
00:48:58
Speaker 6: Or give it up poorly like they did in Mendoza's interview.
00:49:01
Speaker 4: I got to tell you, I didn't realize it was raining that hard, but I watched Mendoza. I would not have known he was the number one overall pick by garbage time there.
00:49:08
Speaker 3: He looks like he has a long way to go.
00:49:10
Speaker 5: Well, he does not do the spectacular. He does the mundane constantly in a good way.
00:49:14
Speaker 4: Kind of like Kirk Cousins.
00:49:16
Speaker 6: Very Kirk Cousins-ish.
00:49:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, the Raiders definitely a disappointment, but that was a tough assignment.
00:49:21
Speaker 5: You can't wear that varsity jacket outside in the rain. The leather sleeves are going to get completely cracked in a couple years. All right, tune in to the Dan Patch Show tomorrow. Ross Tucker on the DP Show. Then come on, hang with us at Not So Fast, NBC Sports Now, Peacock. Enjoy the game.
00:49:34
Speaker 6: Enjoy the football. Take care.