From OKC’s Skid To College Football Chaos And NFL Black Monday Fallout

We trade December frustrations for real analysis: Indiana’s near-flawless turnaround, OKC’s midseason wobble, college football’s bye problem, and the NFL’s coaching carousel collide with strategy, matchups, and money. The thread through all of it is discipline over drama and process over panic.

• Indiana’s rise built on clean football and culture
• OKC’s skid framed by injuries, depth, and sample size
• Bye-week downside vs momentum in the 12-team playoff
• Texas Tech résumé questions and seeding context
• Oregon vs Indiana as physicality vs finesse
• Ole Miss vs Miami decided at the line of scrimmage
• NFL firings, Ravens reset, and OC accountability
• Best coaching openings weighed by assets and timelines
• Running back efficiency, usage, and market value
• NIL, portal, and coaching loyalty trade-offs
• Boxing notes on Shakur vs Teofimo and Bud’s legacy

Catch Ole Miss–Miami on Jan 8, 7:30 ET (ESPN) and IU–Oregon on Jan 9, 7:30 ET (ESPN)

Chapters

• 0:00 Cold Streaks And Holiday Catch‑Up
• 2:50 Indiana’s Shock Rise And Perfection
• 4:31 OKC Skid, Injuries, And Perspective
• 8:00 College Football Playoff Upsets And Bye Debate
• 13:15 Seeding Questions And Texas Tech Scrutiny
• 17:10 Oregon vs Indiana: Styles And Turnover Math
• 22:40 Ole Miss vs Miami: Trenches Decide It
• 27:10 Fan Psychology, Bandwagons, And Humility
• 30:05 NFL Black Monday: Ravens Move And OC Heat
• 36:30 Best Coaching Vacancies And Roster Realities
• 44:20 Browns, Falcons, And Building Philosophies
• 50:30 Playoff Picture: Matchups And Leanings
• 56:40 McCaffrey, Bijan, And RB Efficiency
• 1:05:10 Portals, NIL, And Coaching Loyalty
• 1:10:00 Boxing Notes: Shakur, Teofimo, And Bud’s Legacy
• 1:11:40 Closing And What’s Next

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:53

Yo, yo, yo, welcome back to another episode of the Epic Podcast. We are back from a small break. Holiday break, if you want to call it that. We got also Jared and Justin with us today, man. Uh, start with Justin, man. How's your sports, I guess, month been?

SPEAKER_03: 1:10

Uh, it's been cool. Yeah, it's been cool. You know, what I've been able to lock into most of that time, honestly, has been family time. So catch what I can catch when I can. But uh, yeah, so it's been cool. Been some some some good games to watch, you know, uh, beyond in you know, different sports realms.

SPEAKER_00: 1:27

So that's fair, that's fair. What about you, Jared? Man, how's your sports week been? Well, two weeks been rough.

SPEAKER_01: 1:34

I don't think anyone on my teams have won all December.

SPEAKER_00: 1:36

Oh wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:39

Like, man, we've been I've been catching L after L after L. Um The Bengals, trash. Ohio State in the month of December, absolute trash. Um uh UC basketball, I think I said them already. But no, I started off with the Bengals. Yeah, like we I've been getting just whooped. Uh yeah, it's been rough for me, but it is what it is.

SPEAKER_00: 2:01

Can't win every year. Yeah, man. In the same boat, man. I I honestly I don't think the coast was won in December either. Man, they didn't win, they win all December. Uh I mean Bama beat Oklahoma, but then looked horrible. Like, horrible against IU. Um, so yeah, Pacers are still Pacer in. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 2:33

Yeah, nothing. Like, yeah, it's rough, man. It's been rough, rough sledding for me, but I mean, you know, I'm so used to it and numb to it at this point, it's just like, yeah, whatever. My team suck. What else is next?

SPEAKER_00: 2:47

Yeah, yeah. Uh like I said, outside of Bama, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, a Pacers year last year was an anomaly, but look what it took for that to even happen the way it happened. Like, you know, so it's kind of like everything's came back to reality in Indiana. Outside IU.

SPEAKER_01: 3:10

This is turning this nominee this year. I think this is already the most incredible sports turnaround in the history of I can't think of more drastic than this. What we're watching right now from IU is is legendary. Like the 30 for 30 is gonna be crazy. Like, yeah, I ain't seen nothing like this. I mean, nothing even like remotely close.

SPEAKER_00: 3:29

No, for sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 3:31

Getting them the seven and five would have been whoa my god, two straight seven and five seasons would have been like, whoa. But what they've done, I mean, they almost need to be investigated. I don't know what kind of what is going on inside that building. What two losses in in two years? But that is three losses in two years of losing. That is that that is crazy. And the fact that I think they've gotten better since they beat us. Because, like, what they did after what they did to Alabama, granted, Alabama, this was a down year for Alabama, but I'm just like, I can't even believe our game was that close. Because they have no flaws. There is nothing that Indiana football is doing right now that they could be doing better. Everything is everything is elite. Everything. Yeah, they don't turn the ball over, they don't make mistakes, they don't commit penalties, they don't miss blocks. They they're literally doing everything perfect right now. So shout out to them.

SPEAKER_00: 4:29

Yeah, we're gonna definitely definitely get to them later on. Uh, but we're gonna start off right now talking a little NBA. Uh OKC. Uh started off the season 24-1. But now is, you know, over their last 12 on lost, they're 6-6, I should say, and Monday lost to the Hornets. Well, actually, Sunday and Monday. Yeah. Yeah. They lost to Sunday, they lost to Phoenix and Monday against Charlotte. So, um, and then the Spurs beat them three times in what? In five days, six days? Yeah, five days in December. So um, any concerns there? I'll start with you, Justin, man. Any concerns you you see with OKC right now?

SPEAKER_03: 5:13

No, I think it's a pointless topic. It's not even halfway through the season. And if I am mistaken, they're still the number one team in the West.

SPEAKER_00: 5:21

So what thing? Yeah, I still think they um I mean their record, they were 30 and 7 still.

SPEAKER_03: 5:28

I mean, so I'm sure it's probably the best record in the league. So we're talking about a team that lost six games in the last 12 and they still have the best record in the league. So what are we really talking about?

SPEAKER_00: 5:37

Yeah, and in the past two years, and and and and I mean, there's yeah, they're 98 and 21. I mean, even if you clue last season.

SPEAKER_03: 5:45

So what are we talking about?

SPEAKER_01: 5:48

Um what what do you think, Jared? No, I don't think I I think it's interesting being an NBA fan. I think it's interesting that they've experienced some turbulence, but I mean, the season's way too long. Like, I mean, they they probably they probably got a little bored, you know, with the process. I mean, they were gonna lose some games. It uh nothing to be worried about if I'm an OKC fan or player, a part of the game.

SPEAKER_03: 6:12

It's gonna happen. Like you said, it's an 82 game season. Like, I mean, let's just be honest. They just won the championship and start the next year 24 and one. You don't think them guys got a little bored? Of course they didn't.

SPEAKER_00: 6:21

Yeah, a little bored with the process for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 6:23

I think so.

SPEAKER_00: 6:23

And they have had some injuries too. Um, like people have been in and out of the lineup. I mean, of course, Jalen Williams, but uh Hardisan's been in and out, uh Caruso's been in and out, uh Jalen Williams has been in and out. So like they've they've had some injuries here and there, too. So I mean, but they also won the deepest teams, so of course we don't give them that excuse that we would normally give other teams. Um, but still, like, I mean, like you said, it could be boredom, it could, you know, be the shuffling of the the lineup here and there uh weekend week up. But I mean, like you said, they're still the best team in the league. Well, I mean, with the best record in the league and probably still the best team in the league. Um, I think probably the only team that really got their number right now is maybe the Spurs, but they're playing pretty good too right now. So you really can't knock that for them losing to them. I mean, the Spurs are looking really good. So I don't I don't see like I said, I don't see it being a problem. I like you said the we ain't even to the all-star break yet. Like, we're not halfway through the season, so it's kind of like we're what five games away from the you know the midpoint of the season, so yeah. If this was happening in August or something like this, I'm not August, April, you know, down the stretch, you know what I mean? Going into the playoffs or something like that, I'll be like, all right, like what's going on, you know what I mean? But right right now, I think we just sit back and just keep an eye on them and see if you know, if there is something going on or if it's not, you know. But right now, I don't think it's nothing to worry about. But you could overreact, I mean. Um, so yeah. Moving right along, man. Uh, college football, man. Uh, so we were we we talked about our last show was right before the playoffs started, so we didn't get the uh quarterfinals or to talk about the quarterfinals. Um yeah, uh some I ain't gonna say some upsets, but a upset with uh well no, I guess we can't say two upsets with uh the yeah that's what I'm gonna say. Actually, yeah, Miami winning. Well, I guess except for IU. Yeah, yeah, except for IU, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 8:36

Yeah, out of those out of those eight teams that had first round buys the first two years of the 12 team playoff, only one team out of the eight have won. That's something to pay attention to. I don't think that's at all.

SPEAKER_04: 8:50

No, I agree with that.

SPEAKER_01: 8:52

That really might have to be looked at. Um, if those teams are getting, you know, I won't say unfair advantages because I mean football is football, but if it's giving if that other team has that advantage coming in, playing a higher C, having already came off of a tough playoff win. Whether it was hard fought or not, they still played it. You know what I'm saying? So you think that benefits them? You say what now?

SPEAKER_00: 9:19

You think that benefits them? I don't I don't know. I mean like playing that extra game, and you know, I mean, getting, you know what I mean, instead of sitting around kind of waiting to see who you're gonna play, because you can't really prepare for a team until you know who you're playing.

SPEAKER_01: 9:30

Yeah, one and seven in the in the in and you know, I mean, we gotta look, we gotta talk about it. I mean, it, you know, I'm a big stat guy, and the facts and stats are that the teams are one and seven in that, and you know, with the higher seed in that second round. So I don't I don't know. I don't know if you know being able to play a game in front of your home crowd and getting it, but Miami went on the road and beat Texas AM. And then, you know, so I don't I don't know what it is. I just I don't know. I just think it's an interesting fact that you know those teams with those first round buys are you know sevens one and seven. So that means one, two, three, four went out first round that they played last year, and then two, three, four went out the first game that they played in this year's playoff. Like that's something to look at.

unknown: 10:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 10:15

What do you what do you think, Justin? You think should they do away with the buys? It's kind of something that me and Jared uh discussed, like with the expansion of the playoff possibly next year. Do you think they should do away with the buys, or should it just be one team getting a bye, maybe two? What do you think?

SPEAKER_03: 10:29

No. I mean, I think they're gonna end up messing this system up like they do every other system over time. That's just what they do. I don't I think the sample size, like I understand what Jared's in, but the sample size is too small. I mean, you you need more time to really process the see. I mean, football is all about matchups at the end of the day. I mean, even like the Ohio State game, like, I ain't gonna say how surprised Miami won. Not that I expected them to per se, but I also wasn't surprised that they won because of how they won. Like, oh, I I mean, all these teams have, you know what I mean, they all have places that they can be exposed. It's just a matter of if that team's gonna be able to expose them. You know what I mean? So I think in a different matchup, I mean, these numbers can change real quick. So we'll see. I think it it now in two, three, four years, if we're still talking about a crazy number like drastic like that, then maybe it's something to look at, but I just don't think the sample size is big enough yet.

SPEAKER_00: 11:19

Yeah. Um, something I wanted to point out. Did anybody feel like Texas Tech maybe should have been a lower seed? Like because I went back and I looked at their record, like looked at their schedule, and I'm just like, I know the Big 12 is the Big 12, whatever, but like they didn't really play nobody. And every team that they played, like that was good, like that they struggled. Like, yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01: 11:51

I don't know, like they just watch a little bit more of it. For one, I've yet to sit down and say, Oh, okay, Texas, Texas Tech is on. Let me watch this game. Yeah, so I don't really know what to expect. And I mean, same for Miami, you know. I I didn't really even know what to expect from them. You know, I knew our our flaws and our deficiencies, uh, but I I wasn't sure like with Texas Tech. I I I haven't I hadn't watched the game, so I can't even honestly say what surprised me or what I thought or what I you know I don't know. I I didn't watch them.

SPEAKER_00: 12:21

So like they're on like they lost to um they lost to Arizona State. But I was looking at their regular, okay, they play Utah, they whooped on Utah and they look whooped on BYU twice, but BYU, we already see what they were, like completely overrated. Um nobody else, Kent State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, uh, West Virginia, UCF. Like this is.

SPEAKER_03: 12:52

You definitely can get the idea of like, oh man, this team could be legit. I mean, if we're gonna be honest, I mean the country's still biased again with SEC teams. No offense, Alabama shouldn't have been in the playoffs to me. You know what I mean? Like, so there's teams that I've I've seen where I'm like, I don't think they've been good this year, but like my eyes tell me something different. You know, even like uh like I said, Texas Tech, if I was going just off the one game I watched, I'd say I thought they were I thought they played pretty well, honestly. I can't even remember who it was that they played. They've they've dominated. It might have been Utah, yeah. Like they for real, like they've dominated.

SPEAKER_00: 13:24

I'm like, I'm looking at like the scores 67 points, 62 points, 45 points, 34 points. Like they probably average 40 for the season easily.

SPEAKER_03: 13:33

Yeah, I think I mean I've seen some good things. I think even the game, I think I watched their backup game in the backup quarterback came in, and he he was doing his thing too. So it's like, you know, it's like all right, maybe Texas Tech is something, you know what I mean? But it's all it's always different, I think, when you get into a tournament with with any team, you know. That's it's that's a different ball game, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00: 13:53

Yeah, I was just thinking, I was just looking, I was like, let me go back and look. Like, yeah, did they play? Have they been tested enough? I like the team like BYU that we thought should have tested. And I was like, they spanked them like twice, like them they're the same way. Yeah, I was like, okay, so I don't know. I was just felt funny, like, especially like I was like, okay, let me see. You know, Oregon is a different opponent, it's not somebody you see all the time. So let's see. But to go to zero score zero points, and you've been putting up 40, 60, 60, 40 points like throughout the season. Like, I was like, all right, yeah, Oregon Brady's not a super, super defensive team either. Yeah, that's yeah, they're more finesse than like, you know, all right. That's now if it was a shootout, you know what I mean, and they lost by a score or something, I'd been like, okay. But like, you get shut out by Oregon, yeah, like so. I was just kind of thinking, like, was anybody like looking at that kind of like suspect? Like, was Texas Tech really legit?

SPEAKER_01: 14:49

Or yeah, I mean, you could question you could question everything in retrospect. Like, yeah, I think um, yeah, I mean, like, you you could question everything, and I hadn't seen enough of them to to be like, oh yeah, they're they're legit, or you know, they ain't shit. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_03: 15:07

I can't I question Miami being in it.

SPEAKER_00: 15:11

Yeah, you know what, and then it was crazy too, because we said the same thing. I was like, well, for them not to even play in the ACC championship, still get in. You don't let the ACC champion in, which that would have been dupe, which would have been totally crazy. Yep, but then you also got a Notre Dame sit on the outside looking in, and then you got a Texas team on the outside looking in, probably the next two best teams, you know, debatable between, you know, them, Vanderbilt, you know, whoever, you know, Missouri, you know, whatever. Who else you want to put after that? I said Texas. Oh no, I'm just saying though, like just ranking-wise and just yeah, yeah. Uh so kind of looking at that, and I was like, but I I again like Justin, you and you we kind of talked about this. We was talking about the Tulane and and the James Madison. I mean, I'm not really tripping on James Madison, but like Tulane, like that easily could have been somebody else, and probably got a way more competitive game against Ole Miss. Uh but then Ole Miss shows up again against Georgia. You know what I mean? They put 41 on Tulane, turn around, put 39 on Georgia. So I I That was a good game, too. That was a really good game, and I like I think they legit. Uh, but you know, kind of catching up. Oregon, Indiana. Now we always got this thing talking about beating the team twice. Mm-hmm. It's tough. What do we think?

SPEAKER_01: 16:33

I know what I hope. I know what you I know. I know I know what I hope. Jesus Christ, help me.

SPEAKER_00: 16:41

Yeah. It's gonna be a thing is that's gonna be so good. I hope it's good. I'll say that. I'll say that.

SPEAKER_01: 16:48

If I you just blew the doors off of them, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

SPEAKER_03: 16:52

No, but that's the one thing I will say, Jared, is I have to agree with you there. I the one thing that if if that happens, I think it's just gonna be IU is just they're just such a way more physical team. And I just think that they, like you said, Oregon being so finesse, it's one of those, as we we talk about it before in football. IU could go out there, punch them in the mouth, and Oregon never recover. Like they can just start beating them down. Like I could see that. Um but I think I think it's gonna be a good game, you know.

SPEAKER_01: 17:18

It's crazy. Like, I feel like Oregon is closer to us than they are to uh Indiana. I feel like we're a finesse team, but I feel like Oregon's a uh a finesse team with some heart and better play calling.

unknown: 17:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 17:32

Maybe, maybe a little less talent, but more heart and better play calling, which makes up for the talent gap for sure. So, like we'll it's gonna be it's gonna be apples against oranges, you know. Oregon is the furthest from a punch you in the mouth type of team.

SPEAKER_03: 17:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 17:49

Uh, but I mean it's really just gonna come down to can you can you force a turnover? Can you get IU to drop a snap? Can you get them to make a mistake? They haven't been making mistakes.

SPEAKER_03: 18:00

Yeah, you know, that's why they're so hard to beat. Because they don't beat themselves. So they don't beat themselves at all.

SPEAKER_01: 18:08

Because I mean they got it, we got an interception against them. All right, you know, I think um it might have been like a tip pass or but for the most part, they're just they're not they're not committing turnovers, they're not beating themselves, they're not committing penalties, they're just playing flawless football.

SPEAKER_00: 18:23

And I mean, I don't know what he's done to that team, but but I also too like with that interception, like I think it happened early enough in the game that it didn't affect him.

SPEAKER_01: 18:35

No, it didn't affect him at all.

SPEAKER_00: 18:37

Like it wasn't like a deciding factor, you know what I mean? It wasn't in the second half, it wasn't in the fourth quarter, it wasn't at a crucial time where maybe the momentum was changing. Like it was early. I think it was probably the first quarter of the game.

SPEAKER_01: 18:47

It was like you said, we did we did stuff to we we we did things to beat ourselves, and they just didn't make the mistakes, you know, because y'all know I'm gonna talk about everything exactly how I see it, and I'm biasedly in a in a lot of a lot of that game, we outplayed them. It's just we couldn't convert short short yardage, we couldn't make chip shot field goals, a little stupid shit. And they're just not doing any of that, and it's just like until a team can force that, I don't see how they lose.

SPEAKER_00: 19:18

Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. And Oregon's not a big turnover team. Like you said, they more zoned than anything, they're not manning you up, they're not forcing you to make tough throws, like it's more of a bend on break. And like you said, if Indiana comes out and hits them in the mouth early, then like you said, they can fold. So I I definitely agree with that.

SPEAKER_01: 19:43

I'm also not a Dante Moore believer either. Really? Yeah, no, I'm not. And I I think I think I could be my brain could be kind of warped because I actually seen him in high school. Um, his high school team came to Warren and played Warren his senior year, and you know, number one. In the nation, super hyped up. And Warren beat the sleeves off of him. So initially, like before he even got to college, I'm like, okay, overrated this guy. I'm just not in high school, you expect to see certain things, you know. And especially knowing Warren, like I do, I'm like, this isn't their best defensive team. They're not really that. I mean, they beat the doors off of them. And I'm just like, so initially before he even stepped foot in college campus, I was like, I don't really know about this dude. But it's just unfair, like something that's just in the back of my head. Yeah. But from what I see from him even at college, it's like, okay, does he show some could could I work with him? Do I think that I could, you know, coach him or I think he can be coached or whatever? Sure. But I top they got him top five pick. I don't see it.

SPEAKER_03: 20:46

Well, that's because we all know that NFL has a history of overdrafting quarterbacks and wonder why they keep why wonder why they keep going down the same stupid road and the same bad teams are bad and bad. Don't get me going down that. But long and short, the NFL is its own problem when it comes to that stuff. So just stupidity.

SPEAKER_00: 21:02

Totally agree.

SPEAKER_01: 21:03

Totally agree.

SPEAKER_00: 21:04

Same. Same. So the other game, uh O Miss and Miami. Um, I don't know. Do you want to say Battle of the Misfits? Uh I don't know. Like both of these teams are at their, you know, their own little turmoil as far as, like we said, Miami, probably not deserving to be in the playoff, a lot of people may think. And then, of course, Ole Miss with everything. Of course, you still talk about the lane kids and stuff. I mean, um, but they're two games in without any dope playing. Probably better than he was when he was there. Um, a lot of the players on the team have not committed to going through the portal or or going to LSU. Probably wouldn't be nice to say that now. But the ones they have ass, they have Zen all they're committed to, you know, O Miss. You know what I mean? But once the playoff is over, then we got that standard. Um, I see this being a very good game. A good offensive team against a good defensive team. Um, I think the playmakers, uh, coaching is definitely gonna come into this game on uh the opposite ends of the ball. Can Miami make enough plays on offense without wearing out their freshmen? Um, or their young playmakers and old miss, like can can their defense hold against the speed and the creativity of Miami.

SPEAKER_01: 22:26

If Ole Miss plays Miami, have we played Miami? Miami's gonna win. I mean, that running back, I I never heard a buddy. He was five yards, six yards, five yards, five yards. We watched it running like a big thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was right there. All we could do is just shake our head because it's like and then the soft coverage against Carson Beck. I could not understand it. My game plan would have been to make him throw down the field and we just let him six and seven. I mean, we gave him that all game six yard out route, six yard out route, seven yard out route. And it's got to a point where their drives were the same thing. First down, pistol, handed off five yards. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 23:11

He became very vanilla after a while.

SPEAKER_01: 23:14

I don't know what the strategy or the schemes were for that game. Uh, but I know Ole Miss probably is gonna do something different.

SPEAKER_04: 23:22

Be very crazy.

SPEAKER_01: 23:23

Probably as a coordinator, I'm making Carson Beck go crazy. In order for y'all to beat us, he's gotta be nice. And I think he finished our game with what 115 yards, maybe passing. Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00: 23:36

No, definitely was somewhere around there.

SPEAKER_01: 23:39

Um hopefully they watch that and be like, okay, so we're gonna have to press the receivers. Don't give them nothing easy. If he beat you deep, which he's not, so be it. That would have been my game plan. But I'm sitting on this with y'all.

SPEAKER_00: 23:52

So yeah, 138 passing yards. He was 19 for 26 in the touchdown. That's it.

SPEAKER_01: 23:57

19 for 26 for 130 something yards. That that shows you I'm just taking what the defense is given. And we were certainly given six, seven-yard pass attempts just every single, just wherever you went. Yeah, be 19 for 20. You said 19 for 26.

SPEAKER_00: 24:12

Yeah, 19 for 26.

SPEAKER_01: 24:14

That means he's not throwing the ball down the field at all. He ain't throwing the ball down the field at all.

SPEAKER_00: 24:19

He just did enough to substain drives here and there.

SPEAKER_01: 24:25

Get the first down, get the first down. They hadn't they had zero big plays from what I can remember. I don't remember them having any big plays.

SPEAKER_00: 24:32

They only had 291 yards total. Okay, there it is. Like, but no penalties, not one penalty.

SPEAKER_03: 24:42

No penalties in the defensive touchdown changed everything. So yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 24:46

Yeah, and we're we're we don't get penalties caught against us at all.

SPEAKER_00: 24:49

I think you only had two, but I'm just saying, I'm just looking at the difference.

SPEAKER_01: 24:53

I was saying, like, for the other team that we're playing, so I think we've had like one defensive pass interference against us in like two seasons, two complete seasons. So, like, we don't we don't we don't get calls, you know. So I don't know. I y'all know I'm not about to sit here and blame the refs. I'm just I'm just laying out the facts. I mean the listeners can just take that for what it's worth. I'm not the refs aren't the reason why we lost. That's that's bullshit. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 25:21

So this old miss Miami team uh game, who do y'all see? Who do y'all, if y'all had to pick, who do y'all see coming out?

SPEAKER_03: 25:29

If Miami's uh to me, it's gonna be if old Ole Miss's old line holds up, old miss is gonna win. If Miami's defensive line applies the pressure and and forces Ole Miss to play a different brand of football than what they like, Miami's gonna win. Because Miami's already showing you they don't need Carson Beck to be great to win. Because if their defense can control the games, they they they can control the you know, they can the time of possession and all that stuff, they can they can do that. He can dink and dump. That's not gonna be a problem. But like Jared's.

SPEAKER_00: 25:59

More specifically, they're they're D-line.

SPEAKER_03: 26:01

Yeah. Yeah, it's it's it's all Miami's D-line. Because they they got a uh some good, some some boys who can get after you up front. But what Jared said is probably my biggest question is can they force Carson Beck to not be able to go for those five to seven, eight-yard passes and force him to actually start throwing the ball a little bit more downfield? If they can do that, I think Ole Miss can win.

SPEAKER_00: 26:23

And also not allowed the running back to get, like you said, five to seven yards every run, too.

SPEAKER_03: 26:28

So I don't think Ole Miss is gonna give that up. I will say that. I don't think they're gonna give up that part of it, but I'd be curious to see if they press him enough on the outside to make them, you know, instead of the soft coverages, make make him make some plays. Be aggressive, and we'll see.

SPEAKER_00: 26:44

Because Miami have a lot of playmakers, so like they can they could throw short passes and expect their receivers and running backs to get a lot of yak. Um, so yeah. Now, like you said, if they press up on them and force them to make throws and push the ball, like you said, push the ball down the field. You know what I mean? Brings the safeties into the box a little bit closer to the line and force them, force them to put the ball in the air, force them to make some throws, some accurate throws. No, for sure, O Miss could definitely uh win that game. I think that's definitely a toss-up game between O Miss and Miami. Whoever really um dominates the line of scrimmage can win that game. And I think it's probably a consensus that it's probably gonna be Indiana, uh, unless Oregon gets on gets on Indiana. I don't I haven't seen Indiana play from behind. That's probably something they're not that's probably about the only thing they're not accustomed to to kind of get them out of their comfort zone. Maybe if you go up two touchdowns, you know what I mean, and get them kind of on their heels where instead of them being on the offense, but they gotta kind of be, you know what I mean? Play catches.

SPEAKER_01: 27:46

Literally get them to make a mistake.

SPEAKER_00: 27:48

Yeah, but see, I think I think if you go up a score or two on them and they feel pressured, you know what I mean, then you can force them to make a mistake if they press them to try to catch up. But if you give them the lead and they can kind of coast, like you said, they don't really have to push the issue, then should yeah, but that'd be that'd be an interesting one, too. Because like you said, you kind of got history on your side, too. It's kind of hard to beat the same team twice um in the same season. So this will be their second matchup. So it's gonna be interesting. But Indiana's been defying history, you know what I mean, the past two years.

SPEAKER_03: 28:26

Defining and getting some recruits in the portal. So man, recruits just waiting. I mean, they see what they're doing. So I mean, you gotta if you think about it, man. Why wouldn't you want to go there and play for them?

SPEAKER_01: 28:40

Yeah, I mean it told me that um that a lot of the the money that they had um going towards the basketball team has gone directly towards the football team.

SPEAKER_04: 28:48

I don't know how it be.

SPEAKER_01: 28:49

I don't know how true that is, but you know, because I mean we're we we talk about it, we've talked about every game, you know, for the past, well, every Ohio State game for the past three or years or so. Um and so we were just talking, just like, well, how like what is happening? How is this happening? And um he said he read something where you know a lot of that money that they were allocating towards basketball is going directly to football, so they have money to pay these guys. That still doesn't really explain Signetti having such a impact that he's had, but I mean that definitely explains.

SPEAKER_00: 29:21

But I think once you but I think once you start seeing I mean the coaching impact in the culture, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01: 29:27

If things start shifting, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00: 29:30

Like once you see things start shifting, you know what I mean? You look mid-season, you know what I mean, three-fourths of the season last year. You like, okay, we got something here. Now you get into the offseason, you start real reallocating funds, like, all right, we're gonna shift a little to some of this money, and then you start getting the donors, you know, IU alums and stuff like that. Now they start pulling that money in because now if I'm an alum, I'm not gonna just invest to invest. You know what I mean? I'm gonna invest once I see okay, we got something going on here. All right, come on, look, I'll put my dollars behind that. So you get that too.

SPEAKER_03: 30:01

Like, we still have to have if I had to guess, there was an agreement before he even came to coach at IU. You gotta think of how bad IU football has been. So I guarantee you there was something put in place for him taking that position where a certain amount of the funds had to be allocated for him to be able to bring over the guys he was trying to. Because think about all the players he brought with him. He brought a good amount of guys with him. He brought a lot of them from James. Yeah, he brought a lot of guys. So I think that they they had there had to be some kind of agreement to allocate some funds there. And then once they saw the success he had that first year, I think it was just more of them like, all right, let's put some more money behind him and let's see how far we really can go with this. Yeah, keep building it.

SPEAKER_00: 30:41

Yep. Because once you start winning, the money's gonna come in. So playing in these bowl games, you're getting the school's getting money for that. So, like, we're gonna we're gonna make the money back tenfold if we just keep winning. Yeah, so um, especially make to make it to the national championship, that'd be huge, boy. If they win it all, geez, boy, that's over.

SPEAKER_01: 31:02

My life is gonna be living hell. Literally unlimited unlimited funds. So if people could just learn how to chill with sports, and like I don't even say be humble because I feel like that's that's demanding, but just like be like cynical with it all, it wouldn't bother me so much. But it's just like all the people, bandwagon fans just ignore annoy me. Um how can you how can you be so bad for so long and you finally get good and you're not a humble fan, and you you just turn obnoxious overnight. That I just can't understand that, and that's the part that like that's why I want them to lose because it's like I need everything to be back normal.

SPEAKER_00: 31:45

But I think also, too, like they like once you're unlost for so long, like that that disappointment sits inside of you.

SPEAKER_04: 31:55

Well, I'm a bingo fan, bro.

SPEAKER_00: 31:57

I know I know, so it just sits inside you say just think about your think about your frustrations, like when the organization, like for the bingos, exactly, the organization hasn't been doing what they should be doing, you know what I mean? And then it's like that. You think we need to be doing that I was obnoxious about no, no, but I just think that people uh think these people are always been obnoxious, they just haven't had a reason yet.

SPEAKER_01: 32:21

Oh, I feel that. I'm just maybe I'm just not an obnoxious person, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 32:25

Yeah, so you don't get it, but it's like when you've just been that fan and you've never been had a chance to be kind of obnoxious, it's like now that you your team is doing something, it's like okay, I can actually be a fan now.

SPEAKER_01: 32:36

Yeah, I I can't, I can't. I I it's driving me crazy. I can't. When we went on that round to the Super Bowl, I was just chilling, like chilling. Like when uh when we beat the Chiefs, like I didn't look at my phone for the Chiefs fan, and just but that next year when we lost to the Chiefs, some guy just blew my phone up talking crazy. I'm just like, I must really have talk shit to me when my team loses tattooed on my forehead. I'll just be chilling. Can't nobody say that I've said anything obnoxious towards any of their teams, any stage of any level of sports, but they find me, they seek me out, boy. They find me.

SPEAKER_00: 33:15

So yeah, yeah, but I mean, like I say, like the way you handle it is the proper way, like you kind of brush it off, and you I think you realize that they don't like you, like Ohio State has been prominent for a long time, so it's like you you can be a laid back fan when it comes to college football because it's nothing to you, because we've you know what I mean. Yeah, every three to four years we're gonna be competing, you know what I mean? If nothing else, at minimum, you know what I mean? Like you got these things. Like, my teams are ass all right, but even with that, like it's just there's some people you still got like fans like Arizona fans, like Carolina fans, like there's Jets fans, like that are still obnoxious, you know what I mean? It had this this hopeful of obnoxious, like you don't even have really anything to really root for, but you're still obnoxious. You get one trade and just go crazy, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01: 34:13

So I'm pretty sure there were some obnoxious things. How you could be obnoxious after getting your head stumped in for 30 years and you finally getting some.

SPEAKER_00: 34:23

I kind of like I'm like, please go ahead and celebrate. Like, I'm not even gonna get offended because like there's a very good chance in the next two or three years, y'all could be right back to where y'all was.

SPEAKER_01: 34:32

And that's what I was thinking was gonna happen to IU because people forget week one, they beat O Dominion like 27 to 13, 27 to 14. And I was like, okay, they're back. Whew, I can relax. You know what I'm saying? I uh they're the I the IU that I know is back, like they're they're we're we're good, all is well, and then they just start turning up, and then when they beat Illinois like 60 something to whatever, and I'm just like, oh shit.

SPEAKER_00: 34:57

Yep, 63 to 10.

SPEAKER_01: 34:59

And I knew it. And it's just like I knew there, I was just like, okay, we play Illinois too. There's no way we're gonna come close to beating them how you did. I was just like, mmm, I don't know. That's why nobody can say I even guaranteed that win over them in the Big Ten Championship. Granted, I didn't care if we lost because I figured we were gonna run into them in the playoffs again, which we see that that didn't happen. Um, but I just I just watch football, man. And whoever it is, is it is what it is. But uh yeah, it's their time now. But I mean, I wish the fans would chill. Oh my god, they're driving me crazy.

SPEAKER_00: 35:38

Respectful. Well, y'all could definitely catch both of these games coming up this week. You got uh the old Miss Miami game first on January 8th, 7:30 on ESPN, and then you get IU in Oregon uh the next day on Friday, uh 7:30 on ESPN. So uh we'll be we'll be definitely talking about this next week, the results and uh preview of the national championship, man. So definitely gonna be exciting. Moving right along to the Grow Man's League, man. We finally to the playoffs, man. But of course, they call it Black Monday for a reason, man. We got coach firings. We're gonna start off with talking about some coach fires. Um a lot of firings. Uh Justin, we'll start with you. I mean, unfortunately, you know, your your coach was fired. What do you think about that? How do you how do you feel about that? I should say. You're probably cool with it.

SPEAKER_02: 36:25

Yeah, I don't don't bother me. You know, I I mean the Ravens coach got fired, not my coach got fired.

SPEAKER_04: 36:32

Well, I mean, your coach is a young roof.

SPEAKER_03: 36:35

Of course, not uh but I mean I think it was time. Um I'll be honest with you. I just think it's ran its course. Uh people don't want to admit this. And you know, I'm I've I've been rocking with Lamar since early on in his Louisville days. So like it's it's not even about that, but I think he's maximized what he can do there. Uh the rumor that I saw, which is if I'm if I'm Baltimore, I would have fired him too. Was well, I saw I read two things, but one of them was he didn't want to get rid of Todd Monk and his OC. He was he was pushing back on I wanted to get rid of the LC. So that's where they the ultimately I heard that why the firing even happened, I would have fired him too. Y'all know I ain't I ain't like Monkins since they hired him. Y'all know that. So he's been the go. Um, and then I uh then I heard also he started to lose the locker room and had guys questioned. You know, they say that about every firing, though, so who knows how true that is. So um then I heard uh which I wouldn't be mad at this, uh, but I mean we'll see. Uh they've said that um uh Ravens want to bring in Cliff Kingsbury for an interview. That was a Raven. I like that. Yep, I like that. He's an offensive guru. He is, yep, and I like that. So I mean, even if you look at it, and I'm like I ain't telling y'all nothing y'all ain't seen if you watched any Baltimore games. How many how many times this year throughout Baltimore's games did you say, why the heck did Derrick Henry not touch the ball more than 12 times?

SPEAKER_01: 37:59

Almost every week, actually in the second half, like everyone. Because even with that last offensive play before you guys kick that field goal, I'm just like hand it off to him. That's still a decently long field goal. Hand the ball off to him and let him get you know five yards. Yep. I agree. So Mark said me, I was like, okay, they got it, but that's still I would have went, I would have tried another play.

SPEAKER_00: 38:28

That was still a decently long field goal, especially in these close games, in these some of these close games, like the Bills game, that uh the Lions game.

SPEAKER_04: 38:37

It's all the coaching, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 38:39

The Vik the Vikings game, like it was so game, some games that were so close that if you you know I mean, like, and he didn't touch the ball in the second half hardly at all, especially in the fourth quarter and crucial moments. Like, this is what you bring him here for.

SPEAKER_03: 38:51

He didn't play. I think the whole four-quarter New England's game. And even think about it last, even think about it in the game. Now, don't get wrong, Baltimore made enough mistakes and some terrible plays. They shouldn't have been in the position, but it was you know, it's football, right? But I if I had to guess, Derrick Henry may have touched I he there's no way he ran the ball more than five times in the entire second half. Now, how crazy is that? He had over 100 yards in the first half, and if I had to guess, he I don't know, even know if he carried the ball five times in the second half. What in the New England game?

SPEAKER_01: 39:24

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00: 39:25

Against Pittsburgh. Oh, against Pittsburgh, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 39:27

And then my thing is I know he's had some fumble issues, and like he's made up for some of the fumbles in the same game, and then they still bench him down the stretch after he's already redeemed himself for the entire season. And they and they they bench him.

SPEAKER_03: 39:44

I and they refuse to adapt. I mean, think about it. This was by far uh one of probably Lamar's worst years, whether it's been him being banged up. I he never looked right this entire year. Um and he was banged up. I mean, hit the injuries, he he's just never, I don't think he came into the season healthy. And they've uh refused to adapt. Like, they still didn't run Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell on those. Like, they still refuse to do that. And I mean, think about it. They're dropping Cooper Rush back, throwing the ball, you know. Like, what are we doing? It's Cooper Rush. Like, hand the ball off. What are what like yeah, so Baltimore does Lamar, but they got they gotta make some changes, man. So I I'm not I'm not mad. It'd be I'll be interested to see who who they bring in, though, because I think they need uh they need a new culture change. The problem is, if I'm gonna be real with y'all, they won't do it, but they almost need a complete reset. But the problem is you wouldn't be able to trade Lamar. If he wasn't banged up and didn't play as bad this year, it would have been a lot easier to trade him.

SPEAKER_01: 40:46

Um I think of Arizona, I think a Las Vegas Raiders would be all over that.

SPEAKER_03: 40:51

Only well, it it depends. I agree with you to a degree, but the problem is the Raiders, even with Lamar, you you stink. The Cardinals are different.

SPEAKER_01: 41:01

I think it's a building piece, though. I feel like he's still young. I I feel like what are we talking about though, Jerry?

SPEAKER_03: 41:09

Well, you also gotta see who they bring in because they find their code too. But hold on, and and but think about what we talked about a lot, though, Jared. He's on the last year of that deal, so you Gary had to pay him 60. You know what I'm saying? So that's gonna hinder what you can do around him. I just he can't go to a team that's trying to rebuild. He needs to go to a team who has some pieces to like Arizona would be nice. They got running backs, they got two good receivers tight end that's real good, and you know how good Lamar is throwing to his tight end. Um I think Arizona, yeah. The one team I said I really wanted to see him on, but it it would just wouldn't happen, is I said I think he would go nuts in the Colts offense. That's why I was that's why I was waving my hand.

SPEAKER_01: 41:48

But there's no way, there's no way the Colts are just always gonna not do that one thing that would just set him up top 100%.

SPEAKER_03: 41:55

But they because they traded their first round pick, you know, for the city. Yeah, we don't have we don't we don't have a commodity. We would have to give up. Yeah, it's too much they would have to give up at that point. So, but I mean can can you imagine Lamar, a healthy Lamar running that offense? That that'd have been that'd have been tough. That'd have been tough.

SPEAKER_00: 42:11

But just to take a take a step back to the Derek Henry. Lamar's new offense is just going crazy. Take a step back to Derrick Henry real quick. I found the splits in the fourth quarter, either up, either up a score or down a score. He only has 31 carries. And this is for the whole season. 31 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

SPEAKER_03: 42:32

Well, you know how crazy it is. 31 carries for the entire year in the fourth quarter for a guy who for his career has been probably the best or one of the best four-quarter running.

SPEAKER_00: 42:40

Literally gets better with yeah, I was able to find the splits.

SPEAKER_01: 42:46

Yeah, it's just like I wish that they would have like some kind of competition committee or board or something. You should be up, you should have to speak to why certain decisions are being made. Like the biggest should have to speak to why why you feel or how you feel that Zach Taylor is the best coach, you know, to get y'all where y'all. These questions need to be answered. Why are you not running Derrick Henry in certain situations?

SPEAKER_00: 43:13

This is even worse. I found this last two minutes in the half. So that's the first uh half or the second half. 12 carries for 28 yards.

SPEAKER_01: 43:26

Now y'all mean to tell me that ain't crazy. Somebody should have to answer for that. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00: 43:30

Like victory margin. Wait a minute. It gets worse. Victory margin zero to seven, eighteen carries for 103 yards. Plus, if they're up 15 or more, 77 carries for 458. So you're running him more when y'all are winning than you are when you lost when you're losing. So that's that's those are the numbers right there. Like it's showing you like when you run him more, you win. Then when you run him less, you usually lose by a score.

SPEAKER_01: 43:59

Anybody.

SPEAKER_00: 44:00

That's what I'm saying. Like, it's just like looking at these splits, I'm like, this is ridiculous. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 44:08

And it's and it ain't it just been just last year, wasn't just year before. This has been bought Baltimore has been in Baltimore's way only. That's the only thing that's been in Baltimore's way for the past, I want to say, at least three years. I'm sure Justin, you could probably go back further than that. But like, I've just seen it too many times where Baltimore is just like, nah, I'm cool, y'all got it. Go ahead. Yep. But it's like you got things there, and it's just like, get a wide receiver, please. Get one. I like Zay Flowers. I like Zay Flowers, I like what he's doing, I like his speed, I like him in a slot, but like get you a legitimate number one outside guy. Yep, and then when you do get uh uh Hopkins can still catch the ball. Yep, but they didn't use it.

SPEAKER_04: 44:54

That's what I was saying.

SPEAKER_01: 44:55

Like in that direction, you don't go ahead and you do get guys, and then you don't use them when the Odell Beckham played when he played that year with y'all, he did the thing, he made some catches, he was decent.

SPEAKER_03: 45:09

But Baltimore said, no, let's give Mark Andrew three years, 30 something million dollars and bring him back.

SPEAKER_01: 45:17

I mean we just gonna make you the number one, just it. We just like that's but that's a receiver, a deep threat. We just gonna throw you out there.

SPEAKER_03: 45:27

You just did it. Man, I mean, like I somebody uh texted me earlier and I told him I said, and I could be wrong because I I didn't go back and look at the numbers, but I said, in my time of just paying attention to Baltimore, I'm not talking about regular season because they they're usually always a pretty good regular season team. Just think about the playoffs. We haven't really seen him win in the playoffs. That's the problem. Like with Harbaugh, he doesn't win. You won one Super Bowl in what the last 20 plus years, you know, something like that. Yeah, so it's like that's cool because yes, there's some organizations who haven't won. Like, I get all that, but I think you have to keep in perspective. Some organizations are just gonna be bad. Like to your to I've heard you say this, Jerry. Cincinnati's gonna always be in Cincinnati's where ownership is bad. Like Cleveland's always gonna be bad because they have bad owners. Like, so there's certain teams you can't put in the same mix as like Baltimore. So for me, Baltimore, you can't go as long as he's been there and not have success. More more than what he, yeah, like more than what he's done, and think he should, you know, still be there. I just they need a change. Uh because I don't I don't think if he stayed, I don't, I still I don't care what they did in the offseason, I I don't think they would have won anything and they would have ended up, you know, just wasting another season. So uh I think if they bring in a cliff or somebody like that, maybe that helps. But they they need to get rid of the offensive coordinator. Yeah, I know I've been saying that, so that just is what it is. Is he is he gone or is he hanging around? There's not a chance he stays. Yeah, no. Normally when you get rid of the head coach, you usually let they their staff go too. Once if that rumor's true, he's the one they want to gone anyway. And then I saw something like that. And I want to say I saw something a buddy of mine sent me, said Tennessee wanted to uh interview uh uh Moncken for their coaching job. I said, go ahead, they've been bad anyway.

SPEAKER_01: 47:25

Go ahead and have a coach either.

SPEAKER_03: 47:28

Yep.

SPEAKER_00: 47:31

Arizona don't have a coach right now. Um yeah, Gannon got fired. Uh yeah, Raiders, yep. Cleveland should not have a coach. Falcons, Falcons, Raheem Morris's ball. That was a bad though.

SPEAKER_03: 47:46

That was a bad firing. That was a bad firing. You think so? Oh, I mean, that's that's something I wanted to talk about. That's crazy. I mean, not only did he win the last four games, I mean, you gotta think they were one game back of winning the division.

SPEAKER_01: 48:00

In your franchise, yeah, they were nine and eighty out of lineup for two seasons.

SPEAKER_03: 48:04

Yeah. And and if we're gonna be honest, now that's a situation where, again, their offensive coordinator is terrible, if you ask me. Their offensive coordinator is a defensive guy, right? He's a defensive guy. He needed to get a new offensive coordinator that was gonna really utilize the talent that they had there on offense. I don't think they did a good good enough job exposing the matchups. You know, we've seen, think about some of the the real good offensive coordinators that you're talking about, all the quote unquote the Ben Johnsons and the McVeighs and all that. What makes them really good at what they do is they expose matchups. So no matter who they're going against, they expose matchups. Atlanta didn't have that. Like he he ran the pistol 99%. Why? Like, I hate when teams have no versatility in their offense and all they do is run out of one formation, 99%. I hate teams that do that because it is just cryptic uh motions. You're very predictable to me.

SPEAKER_01: 48:56

That's only so much you can do. That's us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's exactly what we be on. Cincinnati, we don't we don't look for matchups either. It's just like, how do you not, when you got the receivers we have, it's almost like we don't practice. Like we we just I've never seen a team week after week just be so unprepared for the opponent. No matter what the talent level is, it could be the Browns, it could be the Chiefs. We're never prepared. We're never prepared, like we just we're never prepared. Even some of the games that we win, we start off bad, we just look bad, we're just not prepared, we're not ready for what the other team is doing. We never can find a matchup and exploit it, but that's the coach that you just bring back again. Like it's they should have to answer to the league for that, man. I'm I'm sorry. I don't see what what what what um who's to say uh Mike Brown is against the Bengals every every season, every out there, you're you're clearly not trying to win. The way you draft, the way that you you don't sign free agents, like the way that you just run your organization, you clearly aren't trying to win. Like investigate him for cheating.

SPEAKER_00: 50:11

Yeah, I definitely like that you definitely gotta invest in the front office. Like, get you a GM, like get scouts, like get people to to go out and build relationships so you can make moves when it's time to make moves, like instead of getting strong armed by your players, because that really looks like you what you really be doing.

SPEAKER_03: 50:29

Like I got a question for y'all with uh with all the because I'll uh as you thinking about that. I think the only coach that I saw where I said I don't think he should have been fired was Raheem Morris. I can make an argument for uh what's his name? Uh Stefansky in Cleveland. Um I can make an argument, not but not that it's you know, whatever. But out of all those jobs, which one which one do you think is the best best situation? The best situation?

SPEAKER_04: 51:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 51:04

I think what uh just between the ones you said or just period? No, the the ones that are available. I I always uh the I think to me the Ravens is the best situation because it's really you could come in and you really gotta teach scheme. You ain't gotta worry about really acquiring too much. You you pretty much have what you need there as far as talent level. Like you said, maybe some receivers, but ain't no maybe. They need a receiver.

SPEAKER_03: 51:32

Well, I mean, I'm just saying, like, I'm just saying, like have no pass rush. That's another thing that people keep. Okay, but even that, I'm just saying about how do you in 20 years you can't fix the dag on pass rush, man? Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00: 51:46

I look okay. Well, let's just go Tennessee. You need you gotta you just drafted a quarterback number one overall, and you still don't have a quarterback. No, we ain't talking about them teams. We know I'm just saying, like, if you're just looking at the other jobs, I'm just like, I mean, if we start from the top, I mean you look at Arizona, okay, but again, like you got McBribe, Harrison, Wilson, Sweat, Nolan, and Budabaker. That's that's probably the the the pros of that.

SPEAKER_03: 52:17

But good foundation because they have a solid offensive line as well.

SPEAKER_00: 52:20

Yeah, but again, like they're I mean, they're injuries. I mean, the same, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_03: 52:26

That's that's every team.

SPEAKER_00: 52:27

Yeah, but you you look at the I mean the Raiders. I mean, outside of the number one pick, you really only got Brock Browers and in Gentry, like on the offensive side. Um you're probably gonna have to move Max Crosby. So not probably they should. You can get it. No, I mean I'm just saying though, like that's probably you can't even consider him as part of the team.

SPEAKER_03: 52:47

So no, no, no, but just think about the assets that you're gonna acquire by trading Max Crosby.

SPEAKER_00: 52:53

Yeah, I mean, but again, you gotta bring in a coach who's who's who you're gonna be patient with and allow them to build the team and the offense and instill some type of culture there. You know what I mean? Because it's been a culture roller coaster, you know. I mean, ever since they've been in Las Vegas, at least. Then you look at the Browns. I mean, I mean, Miles Garrison. That's who I like. That's who I like. Uh, but they will have two first-round picks. So that's who I like.

SPEAKER_01: 53:16

And they draft. Those are real good, those are real good pros. People people were asleep on on their draft this year, too. Really good draft. Crazy good draft. They had an elite Mason Graham, Sweshinger, uh, you got Shador. I really think he can be that guy. Uh, you got uh Harold Fannin. Yeah, they had a really good draft, and they get two first rounders this year. And Jeremiah Wushu Kormora didn't even play this year because he was hurt. Yeah, they had a really they had an elite draft.

SPEAKER_00: 53:47

So with that job, the only thing is you gotta come in and you can't let the front office get in your way. You gotta kind of come in, it gotta be somebody with some backbone in Cleveland. He didn't give the GM didn't get fired too. No, I don't think so. No, no, he's I'm actually looking at it. Brown's GM says new coach will have say in quarterback decision. I'm looking at it right now, so they didn't get rid of their GM. So that's what I mean. Like, whatever coach takes that job, you gotta come in with some backbone. And and probably somebody with some history too, who's been around the league for a while. Because anybody else, newcomers, then you gotta have somebody who's gonna halfway stand up to uh to the to the front office and and fight for the players.

SPEAKER_03: 54:34

Front front office ain't gonna hire you if that's the case. You gotta memory. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00: 54:37

Like, that's why I said they probably need somebody that got some years in who you know I mean have kind of like a proven record. Oh, like I said, uh with the Browns.

SPEAKER_03: 54:46

I do too.

SPEAKER_01: 54:47

So hey, they got some pieces, man. They just uh talk about what they already have. Then you could possibly flip Dalen Dylan Gabriel to something if you know somebody might want to take a chance over Las Vegas. Might want to give him a try. You might can flip, you know, flip that into something, and then also you got the best defensive player, one of the best defensive players damn near ever. Yeah, you know, on your field. You still got Denzel Ward. Um, I don't know what Njoku's situation is, you know, you got him at tight end. They got pieces. I mean, I'm if I'm if I'm gonna pick, I'm looking at that Cleveland job, like okay.

SPEAKER_00: 55:26

But then we can but then we gotta also look at the Atlanta job. Like they have all the young, they have all the young talent. You look at Bijan, you look at Drake, you got Bijan and Drake London, so that's your your your running back and your number one. You know what I mean? Like, you got uh on defense, uh Pierce Jr., you got Walker, uh Dolores Harrison, like was Watts, he had five picks this season. Uh like they got a lot, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 55:54

Well, that's the that's that's the reason why I asked you that though, Vernon. But I'm just I'm just thinking that. And in my head, I'm like, well, my thing they ain't even uh they ain't even in my top three in terms of jobs I would.

SPEAKER_00: 56:05

Well, my thing is is is a lot of these other teams, you're gonna have to come in and kind of like you're really gonna have to build because they're so young and they it's been so much instability. So I think it depends on what type of coach. Like, if I'm looking at myself as a coach, give me some give me some vets that I don't have to coach up so much. I can kind of instill my scheme because I think the Baltimore is really it's all like you said, they were stuck in that that that hardball, I don't want to say uck, but just that hallball uh scheme. And like you said, bringing in bad coordinators, you know what I mean? And I think that was kind of the Ravens problem. Like, but a lot of these other teams, you're gonna have to do a lot. It's a lot of young guys that you're gonna have to coach up a lot. And unless you bring in like proven, proven coaches that you know what I mean. Like, I like Baltimore because it's kind of a win now situation. I don't think anybody else is really ready, is built to win now out of these jobs.

SPEAKER_03: 57:04

I think Cleveland is, and I think Atlanta can win right now, too.

SPEAKER_00: 57:08

But I'm talking about like could go all the way right now. I don't think Cleveland is going all the way right now. Like, you have to commit to a uh uh probably a rookie quarterback because you you're gonna have to be John with Josh. You're gonna have to you you're really gonna have to commit to Sanders if if nothing else.

SPEAKER_03: 57:26

But you're gonna have a veteran available. And and and I mean, I don't there's no, I don't think there's an issue with quote unquote, because I don't think you have to commit to Sanders or Gabriel. I think I think if if the next coach that comes in, it's gonna be open competition in Cleveland. That's I mean, that's what you do with the quarterback, and you add those two first-round picks to what Cleveland has. I mean, think about it. Cleveland, Cleveland won five games with their roster this year, man. Five games. That's a lot of wins for a team that just was.

SPEAKER_00: 57:52

But that was also, I think, too, a lack of committing to probably the best quarterback. You know what I mean? It was so much BS going on in the in the in the organization, but all around here. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You know what I mean? That's what I'm saying. Like you got those, you got you got five quarterbacks on your roster, you know what I mean? And clearly the one the best available, you just BS'd around. You probably could have in the NFC North, you probably could have competed. You probably could have competed for the playoffs, you know what I mean? Or the or the or the uh the uh the division, but you you BSed around the beginning part of the season when you probably could have stole two or three more wins if you'd have played, you know what I mean, probably play Sanders. I don't think at the beginning of the year. Maybe that's not saying maybe. I'm just saying, but like all the turmoil, the upper now, the flacco to to Gabriel to finally Sanders, and you know I mean, all of that, like y'all doing too much. Yeah, y'all really should have locked in. Y'all really should have locked in. Like I said, you that probably would have been a more enticing job. But like right now, now you gotta kind of go in and kind of establish yourself, and then the most important position on the on the field, you gotta now have another open competition because we started off last season with open competition between five quarterbacks or whatever, or three quarterbacks. Like, we're now we're doing this all over again.

SPEAKER_03: 59:19

So yeah, but the open competition isn't a bad thing.

SPEAKER_00: 59:22

No, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's like at what point, like that's what I'm saying, you gotta come in and commit. Yeah, but you can't let the front because the front office clearly has some say so in what was going on on the field.

SPEAKER_03: 59:36

Yeah, I mean, there's obviously was a disconnect probably between the coach and the front office and what they wanted to do, but at the end of the day, that's not gonna be the case because I there's not gonna be another Shador situation, right? So that's what I'm saying. Like, that's that's why it's not gonna happen. But so really, at the end of the day, if you get a and and I'm be real, you get the right coach in there, they can go get Dag on Mac Jones and probably compete. In that division next year with the right scheme because they have weapons, they have things in place, and that defense can be elite. I mean, two first-round picks and other draft picks that they can bring in, plus they're gonna have some cap space. Man, you can do a lot when you ain't paying a quarterback all that money. You can do a lot, you can make a lot of moves. So I'm not questioning that.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00:20

Yeah, I mean we also, but we also, this is probably the best draft the the Browns have probably ever had. Because we've talked about them fumbling, you know, draft picks and and and players in the past, mainly at the QB position. But that's what I'm saying. If you come in and commit to that, then okay, we ain't gotta worry about QBs in the draft. Now we can go after what we really need. You know what I mean? Another receiver because you got J, but that's really all you got. That'll be all right. That's what I'm saying. Like, I mean, you if they do it the right way, and like we just we just stated that Cleveland's one of them organizations that hey, look, you it's right in front of you. They end up doing something randomly dumb.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:03

Plus, you gotta remember they're gonna win now. This so this whole idea that you're having as far as this is gonna take time, they don't have time. Miles Garrett is not a 22 not a 22-year-old pass rusher. Miles Garrett is in the last probably four or five years window that he has in terms of.

SPEAKER_00: 1:01:23

That's what I mean by you gotta come in. That's why I say I feel like it has to be one of uh an established coach that's not gonna let the the the front office, like you said, mess up this window.

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:35

But like what Justin said though, that that's not gonna be a problem because they're not gonna bring in nobody that they don't align with. So I don't even think you gotta, they're not even gonna give you, they're not gonna hire you if your principles don't align. So I I think that's a problem that in theory, I I think we both understand what you're saying, but with them being able to hire a coach, they're not gonna hire anybody that that they clash with like that. No, yeah, I don't I don't see that happening.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:02

I just feel like the I just feel like Cleveland's front office has had too much of an impact on the field to a sense where it's been detrimental to the team.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:12

I I I don't disagree with that, but I think this is their chance to do it over. That's what I said, and I hope I hope they do. I'm pretty sure they're gonna discuss the quarterback, they're gonna discuss all that everything before they they pick a guy for sure.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:26

So, yeah, but I mean, like I said, I'll me personally, I'll probably look at like I said, Baltimore first because I think they're just more win-ready now, and then probably Atlanta second, just because they're young.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:36

Yeah, I'm definitely going brown. It sounds crazy though, but I I'm probably going Browns over Atlanta. Okay. It sounds like it sounds crazy, but but it don't when you break it down, though, Jerry. Yeah, yeah. When you when you go through all of it, you know, from the outside looking in, of course, you know, Atlanta sounds like the but when you start looking at different things, like two first rounders coming off of the year that they had in the draft, this past draft. Yep, that's I mean, if they get and it then it gets to a point where just look at what you need. If they can just get a dog wide receiver, maybe a guy on the offensive line or two, where's their weakness? Defense is cool, defense is straight.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:20

Then, you know, and I still think they're gonna bring somebody in on their defense. That's the crazy thing.

SPEAKER_01: 1:03:25

I think that's wow.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:26

That's you wanna know who I think they're gonna go after?

SPEAKER_01: 1:03:28

Who's that? Caleb Downs. Man, they got him projected to go to us, but I I you know I love Caleb Downs, but he might just be too small for what we need. You think a dog? He's good, he's a dog, but I feel like we need somebody bigger than that.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:45

Like, we need a Cleveland already got that bigger safety with Grant Dale Pitt. That's why I think they go, I think that they could go that way because of Downs' skill set. I think it actually it it'll kind of balance out what Grant Dale Pitt where he ain't necessarily.

SPEAKER_01: 1:04:00

I would almost want to see him him do that route. I I just I don't I don't like my chances with Caleb Downs trying to tackle Derrick Henry, and that's our weakness. We need somebody that's a sure tackler. Yeah, I love Caleb Downs, but we he and he is a true tackler. I just don't know about the NFL. His size kind of scares me.

SPEAKER_03: 1:04:19

Yeah, I understand that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:04:21

But you know, so I wouldn't mind him going there and you know, if we could get a bang from uh from from Miami, Miami, yeah. We need a dog on anywhere on the defense, anywhere. I mean, it could be a corner, safety, linebacker, inside, interior, out there. We need a dog somewhere, anywhere we're gonna be a way better team. If we could have had maybe three crucial uh third down sacks this season at any point, we probably could have we probably could have done.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:04:51

You know, so we just need a dog somewhere. Love Caleb, but like man, his size just kind of scares me. I understand. Or a team that just can't, nobody on the team can tackle. Out of him, I just I don't really like that for him or for us.

SPEAKER_00: 1:05:07

You know, I understand that. That's fair. All right, well, I mean, let's look at this playoff picture, man. Uh pull it up. So in NFC, we got uh Green Bay and the Packers. Green Bay and the Packers. Green Bay and the Bears, San Francisco and the Eagles and the Eagles, uh, Rams and the Panthers, and Seattle gets the bye. And then AFC, we got Chargers at New England, uh, Buffalo at Jacksonville, Houston at Pittsburgh, and then Denver gets the uh gets the bye. So um, first round, man. Who who let's start with the NFC, man? Uh Green Bay and Chicago. Who we who we who we thinking?

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:57

Give me Chicago. I feel like uh the Green Bay Packers have underachieved all year. Like even the game against the Ravens. Of course, I'm you know, I'm quietly rooting for the Ravens per usual, especially if Bengals eliminated, it's all Ravens. But I don't understand how you give up that many points to the Ravens with you know without Lamar. That's crazy. They've had a lot of performances that's kind of like, what? Yeah, like and then losing the losing to the uh the uh Panthers. Like, I'm just like, huh? But I I really like what they got going on in Chicago. I think Caleb Caleb Williams is gonna be one of the ones.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:30

Yeah, I think he's gonna be right. But think about this though, think about this though, when you say that though, Jared. Carolina also beat the Rams when the Rams watched. So I think Carolina, again, I'm not saying they that it's because that's a rematch, you know, obviously in that first round. But Carolina's that team that they have weeks where you'd be like, Bryce Young threw for 350 and full touchdown.

SPEAKER_04: 1:06:54

Right, you're right, for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:56

So I don't know. That's gonna be a good game. I don't the my biggest issue with Chicago is although the defense gets turnovers, they're not very good, and their offense has been known to sputter at times, where they have weeks where they don't score. Who is that? The Bears. They have weeks where like, I mean, they've gone out and they've they put up what 17 points, you know, 20 points. It's like, all right, I don't know if that's gonna get it done considering the defense you got.

SPEAKER_01: 1:07:22

You know what I mean? So that's the part that works. That Lions defense wasn't that's not really a good performance. That no, it was that's a terrible performance, yeah. Yeah, that's a terrible.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:34

I mean, they've lost everybody on their on their yeah, yeah, true.

SPEAKER_01: 1:07:37

Definitely. I I should have said that. My apologies. I definitely should have made it. Yeah, they definitely everybody was injured, but they just weren't playing good basketball down and stretching for them. They only score 16 against them. Granted, it's a game that didn't mean anything, I don't think, but he played, so I just like I think that the most incredible stat about Caleb Williams that the part that I'm rocking with is he only had seven picks this year. Yep, like that's that that stood out to me more than anything. Uh, he doesn't really turn the ball over a whole lot. And somebody with his, you know, his ability to create and extend plays and and and you're not turning the ball over a lot, that's a good formula to have for sure.

SPEAKER_02: 1:08:17

I agree.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:18

So I agree.

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:19

So I would say that's a 50-50 for me.

SPEAKER_02: 1:08:22

I don't know how to do that.

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:22

Yeah, I'm definitely saying 50-50 too. Because when Green Bay play play well, they play really well. Yep. I don't know if I've seen it enough. That's the only thing is like it depends on what Green Bay team show up. Like, yeah, so no, I'm definitely with that. I'm definitely 50-50-50 with that, but I'm gonna lean a little more the bears' way. Uh, San Francisco and Eagles. I'm gonna go San Fran. I'm gonna go Eagles.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:48

Man, I can't disagree with the Eagles.

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:51

So much there's so much animosity with this team, with these teams. Like, they've been having a little rivalry going on. Uh so uh man.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:01

And it's hard for me to go, Eagles. Yeah, I'm gonna. But I just don't I I don't know how San Francisco has won you know the games that they won. That's that's part of my problem.

SPEAKER_00: 1:09:12

Yeah, they're like decimated on defense.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:14

Yeah, like they're decimated on the and I I said this, and I don't know what the total number ended up being, but I said if I'm Christian McCaffrey, I'm going back for another race. They're he they're gonna force that and retire. He touched he's he's had to touch the ball over 400 times this year, easily.

SPEAKER_01: 1:09:32

He almost had a thousand yards receiving and rushing, bro.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:35

Yeah, now yes, but his rushing was terrible. His his averages were terrible on the ground. So I'm I'd be curious to know how many. Well, he averaged almost four yards of rush, 10 TDs. I didn't think 3.9 is terrible, bro.

SPEAKER_00: 1:09:49

I mean that's not terrible, it's terrible. I mean, not when you not when you not when you also had 102 catches and averaged almost 10 yards a catch. Like I've always talked about, I'm just thinking about touches. So, yeah, when you talk about touches, yeah, 413 touches.

SPEAKER_02: 1:10:08

Jeez, oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01: 1:10:10

I always go by average a first down and three carries. I feel like if that's that's you unstoppable. If you can get if you average in 10 yards per every three carries, hey, even if you right at that mark, I feel like that's that's a productive running back.

SPEAKER_03: 1:10:24

Because I mean I'll say I'm not saying he's not productive. I said as a rusher, he just wasn't now. I'm not saying it's all him because I think Christian McCaffrey is good. He just think about it this way. I just I just hit this thing. Now, granted, it's at a high level, I'm not diving into it, but 3.9 tied him with the 39th best average in the NFL. I didn't know that. You could have been. Yeah, that's bad. 3.9 is bad, man. That's that's bad. I mean, I almost know I there is no I mean. I'm not gonna.

SPEAKER_00: 1:10:56

No, I'm just saying though, like, but when you also, like I said, when you also have 102 catches, also what does catching have to do with? Just just hear me. Like, like, I a lot when you gotta also just like bro, do you not realize like what a what catching 102 balls is? Like, that's a lot of work level on a person, too. So to to average, ask him to average maybe six yards of rush when I'm almost averaging 10 yards of catch. Also, like that's a lot. Like, so for I'm just saying for him, I think we have to grade him differently as a running back because I bet you none of those other running backs probably even have 60 catches on the season. You know what I'm saying? So I'm just looking at the workload is different. So if you're gonna, if you're gonna dock me for, you know, I mean, a yard, maybe a yard and a half per rush less, then give me a benefit of the doubt because I'm also doubling the catches of anybody, any other uh any other uh running back, and probably most receivers too.

SPEAKER_03: 1:11:59

So you so you have shifted the entire conversation. Me saying he's not an efficient runner, he has not been an efficient runner, has nothing to do with his production as a receiver. Nothing.

SPEAKER_00: 1:12:09

But I'm I'm I'm I'm saying that one could have an impact on the other. That's all I'm saying. Like 39, like, like kind of what Jared was saying. When you're run when if you're getting almost a first down every three runs, so they're basically you're basically if I hand it to you three times in a row in the possession, you can move us down the field, you can get us a first down and three carries.

SPEAKER_01: 1:12:29

Justin's point though, looking at these numbers, that is a that's the bottom third. I didn't know that. Yes, growing up playing football. I'm thinking, hey, if you average a if you can average a first down, then you're good. I mean, obviously, we're not saying to be sad. I mean no, no, no, no, no, no, really.

SPEAKER_03: 1:12:48

Let me give you an let me give you an example, just going off of your logic, Vernon. He averaged 3.9. Bijan averaged over five yards a carry, and he caught 79 passes. Okay. Cool.

SPEAKER_00: 1:13:03

That's still what 30 something. How many touches did he have running the ball? How many, how many can see? And I have to go back and look. But I'm just saying, like, I'm just I'm not giving him an excuse. I'm just saying when you're comparing with the.

SPEAKER_03: 1:13:16

So, okay, so why why would Bijan why wouldn't Bijan be closer to the bottom? Why would he be closer? Go ahead, because he I guarantee you his total numbers were uh were a lot higher than some of the other guys. So why didn't Bijan at the bottom? I just say yeah, where is he?

SPEAKER_00: 1:13:32

Yeah, wasn't he number one?

SPEAKER_01: 1:13:34

In terms of 287. He's uh fifth in aver well tied for fifth well fifth in uh yards per carry. And as far as attempts go, he is down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down. Damn, hold on. What did I say? 287. So yeah, he's fifth in attempts. So yeah, nah, it's very comparable situations. Okay. Christian was second, and B. John is fifth in in carries.

SPEAKER_00: 1:14:06

And Bijan, how many how many catches? You say he has seventy how many catches? 79. 79 for how many yards? Well, he's averaging per catch.

SPEAKER_03: 1:14:17

I don't know. I had to go back in because you're really starting to try to dig now. No, I'm just I'm I'm just saying, if we're comparing apples to apples, because he's averaging. But there's nothing he's averaging, he's averaging 10.4 a catch. Okay. So and McCaffrey's averaging 9.1 a catch. So again. It's almost comparable, yeah. It's more than comparable. Bijan's numbers are better in both. I just you just proved 1.4 me. He's averaging more per catch and more per rush. A lot more per rush, and a lot more per catch. Okay. That's I'm now I'm going off of your logic now. A lot, a lot more per catch? One yard more per catch? Is that not a lot in football terms, Jared? You the stats guy. Is that not a lot? It's decent, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:05

It's definitely with a 30 with almost one game of less carries. So it got 30 more carries. So if you had 30 more carries on the Bijan, you does that average change? Does that Russian average change? Yeah, I mean, if it stays at the same rate, then nah. No.

unknown: 1:15:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 1:15:27

And it ain't dropping to 3.9.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:29

Okay.

unknown: 1:15:31

Cool.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:32

How many yards uh Bijan had this year? Russian?

SPEAKER_03: 1:15:36

No, it's way more than no.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:37

I'm just asking. I don't know. I don't have his numbers in front. I'm just asking. 1478. Um Russian. Just 14? Just 200 more.

SPEAKER_01: 1:15:45

1878. So he had, and then 200 more than Chris. Well, two two eighty more? Almost uh yeah, two, yeah, two seventy six more. Yeah, yeah. Okay. So Christian McCaffrey had to down here. Christian had 10, Bijan had seven. That's just on the ground.

SPEAKER_00: 1:16:09

Christian has seven touchdowns receiving.

SPEAKER_01: 1:16:12

So how many Bijan have?

SPEAKER_00: 1:16:14

Four. Okay. So yeah, it's comparable.

SPEAKER_01: 1:16:20

They both dogs like shit, so I mean, he said this is an absolute thing. It's shocking that Chase Brown had more yards per carry than Christian McCaffrey, though. I would I would have took that into the bank for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 1:16:37

But he wasn't even the only one that had tripped you out. Because that that that that's wild. But you know which other one uh would trip you out though? Like when you think about that? When you start looking at like, and you look at like uh what's his name? Um uh Kenneth Walker from Seattle. Like guys like that, it's like, dang, like there's quite a few running backs in the league who I did not think had better averages, or even you know, from that standpoint, who had better averages than than McCaffrey. And again, this this is not saying McCaffrey McCaffrey's a dog. I like McCaffrey. You trying to twist it to make it sound like I said he ain't good. No, McCaffrey's a dog.

SPEAKER_00: 1:17:16

I I haven't said anything, I was just talking about his numbers.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:19

Oh Lord Jesus.

SPEAKER_00: 1:17:20

All right, I didn't say you said anything. Look, it's getting late.

SPEAKER_01: 1:17:23

Uh, it's about time for me to go at that point. Shout out to Trevion Henderson, boy. My dog, he's tough. I've been knowing. I've been knowing. Yeah, we kind of talked about him like not being used. People woke up on a screen pass against Texas last year, and I'm just like, Brad niggas been doing that for four years. Like, he's cold. He only got a hundred, he only got 180 carries and came 90 yards short of a thousand. He's cold. Yeah, he's one of the ones. Nine touchdowns.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:57

Yeah, he did his thing.

SPEAKER_00: 1:17:59

Yeah, nah. Every time I seen him, he was he was right making plays. Yeah, he's making plays. So they got some there.

SPEAKER_01: 1:18:09

He he went crazy, kind of cooled off towards the end. But to end with your team one and seven, and you still get 1600 yards on the ground, tough. 18 TDs, tough. I wonder who's gonna get the who's gonna get the deny for all pro running, but it there was some there was some decent seasons, right? James Cook. Yeah, he is.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:30

He won the title.

SPEAKER_01: 1:18:32

12 TDs. You want to know you want to know? Oh no. I mean, shit, you would you you might give it to John Taylor still. Or had 18 touchdowns.

SPEAKER_03: 1:18:41

Yeah. You wanna know what's on about though? If Baltimore had just ran Henry a little bit more, he would have won the rush. He was really close. I'm about to say he was really close.

SPEAKER_01: 1:18:52

26 yards behind.

SPEAKER_03: 1:18:54

Yeah, so just think if they just gave him part of me says, I wonder if they didn't run him because there was a bonus attached to that. Uh I wouldn't be surprised. No, like real. Like at all. It'd be stuff like that going on, man. And I'll be like, we don't even think about you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01: 1:19:10

And also, shout out to all these guys for playing the entire seasons. Yeah, the entire season. Yeah, there's not many guys. I'm looking at the the top, the top, you know, guys. It's a lot of guys that play almost all the games. Yep. So shout out to that too. I don't think we really had no real massive injuries from the running back position this year. Um, Bucky, Irvin, Miss Um Chargers, they've been on a struggle bus with they they they uh their entire offense. JK Dobbins. I I he ain't gonna ever get away from and he's so good when he plays, though. I I hate how how how how things are happening for him, but he's still I mean he's gonna job, whatever. But yeah, shot James Cook, Derek Henry, uh Jonathan. Taylor, Bijan, uh Kyron, Jameer Gibbs. That's that's who I really like too. Jameer Gibbs, McCaffrey. All these guys play all 17.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:11

That's what's I mean, a lot of these guys even play 16. That ain't even bad. No, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01: 1:20:20

The way the injuries be going.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:21

Yeah, yeah. You missing one game, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:20:25

Every single game is impressive. Impressive, rather. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:29

And a lot of these and a lot of these guys are touching the ball, shoot, 200 plus times. Like resurgence of a running back position, hopefully. Hopefully he start getting paid.

SPEAKER_03: 1:20:40

Like Yeah, you gotta think. You had 21 running backs touch the ball over 200 times, and the guy who was 22nd touched it 196 times.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:48

Yeah, that's what I'm looking at. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 1:20:49

That's what I'm saying. A lot of value coming back to the running back position for sure. For sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 1:20:57

All right, man. Well, well, we defunded, man. Man, these these coaches leaving in this portal. Oh, man, it's it's it's just getting out of hand. I like, I like the, and I ain't trying to extend this conversation because I know we all gotta go. But uh, bro, they gotta do something about these coaching changes. Uh, I'm not one to blame, but I find it awfully coincidental that you know Ohio State scored all those points all season. Our coach takes, you know, our offensive coordinator takes another job, and then all of a sudden we scored 24 points in the two most important total in the two most important games of the season. Find it a little hard to believe that you know our our our offensive coordinator being somewhere else mentally didn't play a role in that, but I digress. I agree to the season, though. It's almost like it's it's almost look at it like relationships, you know how they say you lose them how you find them. Why do you even want a coach that doesn't fulfill his obligation? You know what I'm saying? Like, why would you even want that energy? Because you you getting them, oh yeah, cool, we got our guy. He's leaving his team all the hell with them. Who's to say he ain't gonna do that to you? Why would you even want that energy in in the air? So they they gotta they gotta fix it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:22:13

Just bro, just how I think now they just they accept the the disloyalty that's gonna come with college football from now. When you put money in there, like it's it doesn't matter now.

SPEAKER_01: 1:22:25

It's an absolute mess. What if Ole Miss goes on to win a uh win a national championship? I mean, it's like like I mean I think it's still Calvin Lake.

SPEAKER_00: 1:22:35

You didn't coach him in the playoffs at all. No, what are you trying to do? I'm just saying, I think they can go. I mean, I'm just saying, like, on his resume.

SPEAKER_03: 1:22:44

No, no way. No way. Okay. Because to Jerry's point, my thing is this. I I don't like it because if I let's say I'm hiring one of these coaches, I want you to go coach in the playoffs. Because if you win a national championship, I can sell that. We got the we got the coach from the national champion, old miss coming. Like, yeah, I want you to go coach.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:05

You've seen you've you've experienced what it's like to win. That's like adding on to you know your resume. Like my money, that month, that that that seven million dollars that I was gonna pay you anyway, gonna hit way differently if you're going to win a championship.

SPEAKER_03: 1:23:19

100%. 100%.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:21

I just I don't get it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:23:22

I don't understand the logic behind that personally.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:24

I'm not hiring nobody until his season is over. And if my guy, the guy that I want season over, then I'm just gonna I'm gonna just chill.

SPEAKER_03: 1:23:33

And to your point, Vernon, if Lane Kiffin gets credit, and let's say they won and Lane Criffin Lane Kiffin gets credit, that's a huge flaw, and that is that is a travesty to football within itself. To give somebody credit for winning the national championship who did not coach the team at all in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:49

It's gonna look bad on him if he even accepts it. Oh, facts. Like I wouldn't, I couldn't even bring myself to even accept the ring or whatever that comes along with it if I left him before they took part in the playoffs. No, they gotta they gotta fix it, man. They they they gotta fix it. They have to. So yeah, that I'm defunding coaches and players and all this leaving before the season's over. It's just it's it's nasty work, man. I don't like it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:24:15

I agree. I'm with it. I am with it. Um oh man. Unless you pays Lane Kiffin all his college playoff bonuses. No matter what happens with O miss. And if they win the championship, he gets an extra million dollars.

SPEAKER_01: 1:24:37

Yeah, it's that's corny. I mean, I it's corny. It's is all of it's just cheesy to me. You just you just got money to waste, and you just gonna make it throw some glitter on you wasting money. Uh yeah, I I don't like it. Shout out to Lane Kippon, though. I ain't mad at that.

SPEAKER_00: 1:24:57

I'm I'm I'm I'm just used to, like I said, I'm used to the disloyalty now. Like it's gonna be that. No, as soon as they announced NILs and all that stuff, loyalty went out the window. Like they're not playing, they're not playing, they're not playing for nostalgia or you know I mean the love of the team or none of that. They're they're playing for money. So like, and I think Dion said the best, like these kids are moving around for for financial opportunities, like it's it's not about it's not about the game solely. So but you can't be mad at these poor college kids for doing that. And these coaches, these coaches either, like it happens in the NFL. Like a lot of these teams are still paying three or four head coaches. So man, wow, wow, yeah, you're right. Wow. So I mean, like, we can't we don't say that in the NFL when when the coach leaves or gets fired or whatever, like, or you know what I mean? Like, they gonna get paid until they get another head coach.

SPEAKER_03: 1:25:49

Three teams ago, like still getting bred, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:25:53

Right. Teams that's honoring contracts that this player wasn't even on their team when the contract happened, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_03: 1:25:58

So now it's just in college now, so only difference I will say is in the NFL, those players didn't have a choice. They got traded or released or something.

SPEAKER_00: 1:26:08

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, for sure. And a lot of time the coaches got fired.

SPEAKER_03: 1:26:11

So I mean, yeah. So it's a little bit different, but I ain't mad at nobody for going to get their money. So go get that.

SPEAKER_00: 1:26:19

It's out there. The colleges have been eating them, been been been pocketing money for years now. Yeah, so shoot. Yep. Why would I be loyal to them? They ain't loyal to me. They hadn't been loyal to us. We shoot, look at what we had to go through to even get to this point. So I'm not mad at it. Leave. Go get your money, go do what's best for you and your family. Who says you're gonna make it as a pro? Who says, you know what I mean? You ain't gonna get some kind of crazy injury, you know what I mean? Shoot. Yep, go get it while it's getting us good. Everybody get a billion dollars.

unknown: 1:26:47

I'm with it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:26:48

I'm with it. Uh what we got? Anything boxing coming up, man, early this year, man. Something we need to look out for?

SPEAKER_03: 1:26:56

Yep. January, I think it's January 31st. Shakur Stevens is back in the ring against TFI Mo Lopez. Should be a good one. So stay tuned for that. Looking forward to that one. That's gonna be, I think that's at Madison Square Garden. So it's gonna be on the zone, if I ain't mistaken. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:27:12

We didn't get your we didn't get your opinion on the re uh retirement. Uh, what do you think about that? Or do you think he's gonna stay retired or Crawford?

SPEAKER_03: 1:27:21

Yes. Uh, I in a short version, I'd say, um, as a person that just enjoys watching good boxing, uh, sad to see. Um, arguably one of, if not the greatest, fighter. I know people might not like to hear that, but especially of his generation. Um retire, but I understand it. I mean, he he's I mean, there's nothing less left for him to do, you know what I'm saying? In terms of there, people don't want to fight him anyway. You know, there's started after he retired, you started finding out like people like uh Jeron Enus and guys like that had opportunities to fight him and didn't fight him. So it's like, you know, guys that we wanted to see him fight had some of them had opportunities and didn't take those opportunities. So at this stage, there's nothing else for improved. So yeah, man, shout out to Bud, man, one of the greatest to do it. Um, and for me, you can definitely argue, you know, GOAT GOAT status in terms of what he what he's been able to accomplish and how he's how he's done it. Uh, I asked somebody before to answer your question with this. I said, tell me one fight he's ever had that's been close, or where you said, man, I wonder if Bud won that. I can't think of not one fight. He didn't always win pretty, but I can't think of one fight that I ever questioned whether or not he won.

SPEAKER_00: 1:28:36

So hey, if you got that on your resume then, shoe. Well it like you said, what else? What left is there to do?

SPEAKER_03: 1:28:46

Ain't many fighters you can say that about at all. So, yeah. So shout out to Bud, man. But I think he's I think he's done. The only way I think he comes back would be somebody's gonna have to, I mean, they're gonna have to back up that Brinks truck. And we're talking about 100 plus million to get him to come back. So I mean, I don't I don't I don't think if unless somebody's coming with that kind of bag, I don't think he's I think he's he's he's good. I mean, my man still lives in Omaha. He's chilling. Fair. He's chilling.

SPEAKER_00: 1:29:11

Fair, fair, fair. All right, man. Well, with that being said, man, this has been the Epic Podcast, man. We appreciate y'all tuning in. See y'all next week. Yes, sir.