Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on the Current State of the Silver and Black Franchise
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Insider Podcast, and we're excited to have you with us today.
00:11 This guy's back, my good buddy, the editor and publisher of thespun.com.
00:15 We've been doing this now for literally well over a decade, every single week, talking
00:21 sports.
00:22 I love to have him in Raider Nation because he is in New York, he's in Gotham, and he
00:29 covers the National Football League from a macro approach, so he looks at it holistically.
00:36 I'm dug in, covering it from a micro, just talking Raiders usually.
00:42 And I love to have him in because I think he brings some perspective that I think a
00:46 lot of you have grown to really enjoy, and I just enjoy being him.
00:50 Matt, I wish you were up here with me.
00:52 Temperature today is going to reach about -19, and if you've never been 9 yards from
01:02 a 1 ton bull buffalo in a thicket, so you couldn't pull your bow back if you had to
01:11 if you were rushed, I love the outdoors.
01:16 So I've been a lot of fun being out here, got some great pictures, some great family
01:19 time, Shannon's had a ball, so anyway, it's good to see you, friend, I miss you.
01:24 I miss you too.
01:25 I have to say, that's an experience I've never had.
01:29 I think the most I've ever been outside in any weather was probably, the wind chill was
01:35 probably in the negatives, but nothing like that.
01:39 We had some fun that night, you stayed at my house and we went outside and did some
01:44 stuff.
01:45 We did.
01:46 I actually watched the video probably, I don't know, maybe a month or so ago, I was telling
01:51 people about it, and I went back and did a decent job with my first time shooting.
01:58 You did, you did a really good job.
01:59 All right, we've got so much to cover.
02:02 There's so much going on inside Raider Nation.
02:06 As you know, we have said I expect them to name Champ Kelly the general manager, to name
02:13 Antonio Pierce the head coach.
02:16 Antonio got his interview yesterday, Champ got a follow-up interview yesterday.
02:21 It was first reported by my good buddy Tishon from The Athletic and can confirm it.
02:29 I was actually out and a little busy when it happened, but I can confirm that and I
02:37 expect that to happen.
02:38 I think I don't see anything else now interrupting that, but I'm a little surprised.
02:48 I would have thought they would have had the GM thing done before they begin it.
02:52 Leslie Frazier is going to get an interview today, but the process in its totality, I
02:59 expect to end up with Champ and I expect to end up with AP.
03:03 For you, and I love your outside perspective, does it appear to you, man, the Raiders have
03:11 kind of handled this differently than you would have?
03:14 Wouldn't it have been better to have named Champ and then go through and let him do all
03:18 the interviews or whatever?
03:20 Or do you think they've handled it probably just how you expected them to?
03:25 I kind of thought that this would be the way that they would go about it because of the
03:30 fact that we knew going into the search when the regular season ended, the amount of support
03:38 that Antonio Pierce had among players and fans and people within the organization.
03:44 And obviously I think Champ Kelly had a similar amount of support as well.
03:50 Although obviously Antonio Pierce being the head coach, he's more forward facing.
03:54 He's more of the guy who's out there for the franchise.
04:01 But I thought that the Raiders would kind of take some time and look at different guys.
04:06 We did know that there was interest on Mark Davis's part, at least from the coaching perspective,
04:12 about Jim Harbaugh.
04:15 And if you're going to go out and look at a Jim Harbaugh, you have to know that's a
04:22 guy that you talk to first about what his plan is with the GM before you hire the GM.
04:31 So I still kind of think that it ends up like you said with Champ Kelly and Antonio Pierce,
04:38 I think that Max Crosby coming out and putting his chips on the table and saying, "Listen,
04:44 if Antonio Pierce isn't hired, I may want to look for other options because this is
04:50 the guy that I want, who wants to lead in this franchise."
04:55 I think that definitely has some sway.
04:59 But I think overall, it's kind of the way that I expected the search to go.
05:05 It wasn't necessarily, while these guys were interim head coaches at GM and they had strong
05:11 candidacies, it wasn't necessarily something like the Patriots had with Bill Belichick
05:16 grooming his replacement, Gerard Mayo, for a long time.
05:21 I want to stick with the Raiders theme because I think it's fascinating.
05:28 I am privy to some coaches that want to come coach with Antonio and there's some really
05:36 good ones.
05:37 He's going to have his pick of tremendous guys.
05:44 Let's talk about the AP effect because I don't think that's getting enough recognition.
05:49 He may not have head coaching experience until he became an interim, but he's not afraid
05:56 to listen.
05:57 I mean, he's brought in Marvin Lewis, he brought in Tom Coughlin, he's talked to Herm Edwards.
06:04 He's not afraid to bring people around him who have more experience than him.
06:08 That shows you extreme confidence, not arrogance, extreme confidence and a very good leadership
06:16 style, doesn't it?
06:19 It does.
06:20 I think that when you're starting out as a head coach, it's good to lean on those outside
06:27 voices or good to lean on your influences because you don't know what you don't know
06:33 yet.
06:36 You read or talk to anybody who's ever been a head coach and the experience is so wide
06:42 ranging.
06:43 I can't remember who said it, but I know I've read something about, they said that you don't
06:50 really become comfortable in the NFL as a head coach until your third season.
06:56 In some cases, guys don't even get a third season or they enter that third season on
07:00 the hot seat.
07:02 It's a pressure cooker unlike anything else.
07:07 I think whenever you can rely on those influences and those outside guys and for advice and
07:14 counsel, it's a great thing.
07:17 It's also critical, I think, when you're a head coach, whether you're a coach with a
07:21 ton of experience or especially a coach with very little experience, you don't want to
07:27 seem arrogant like a know-it-all, like somebody who's unapproachable or thinks they have all
07:34 the answers.
07:35 A good way to not seem like that is to bring in those types of guys and lean on them a
07:41 little bit and see what their input is.
07:44 Yesterday, I did a podcast, Matt, where I broke down Max Crosby's statement.
07:52 It got thousands and thousands of views.
07:56 What shocked me was the response from the players.
08:01 I talked about there's only really one guy on this team.
08:04 You can make an argument that Devontae is, but I don't think he is, whose voice carries
08:09 that weight.
08:11 Max is a unicorn.
08:12 Earlier this year, he risked his leg to play with a chance that it was going to go septic.
08:20 Last several games of the year, he's playing at 60% capacity.
08:25 When the playoffs were out, he's still balling.
08:29 Maximum effort.
08:30 He doesn't embarrass your team.
08:32 He does everything right.
08:34 He is a unicorn.
08:38 I had no problem with what he said.
08:40 I know for a fact his teammates didn't because I heard from them, not everyone, but a ton
08:45 of them, that said to me, "He didn't say anything wrong."
08:51 He said, essentially, "The motto of this team is just win."
08:57 We're not.
08:58 Every time we start to, we make changes.
09:01 Stick with stability.
09:02 I had zero issues with anything Max said.
09:07 Again, no problem with it.
09:09 What did you think?
09:10 I agree.
09:11 I think that when you talk about that roster, he is their most influential player.
09:18 He is their best player, their most important player.
09:20 He's homegrown.
09:21 He's younger than Devontae Adams.
09:24 He's a guy that you build around and you're going to have long-term in your program, ideally.
09:31 What he says carries weight.
09:33 I think that it helps also that he's a guy whose reputation is beyond reproach.
09:41 He's a guy who plays 110% every time he's out there.
09:46 He's always available.
09:47 He's always giving great effort.
09:50 He doesn't cause any drama or issues like you said.
09:53 When a guy like that douches for the coach and says, "This may affect my future with
09:59 this team," and he's a pro-ball, pro-caliber talent, that's something that the owner has
10:06 to listen to.
10:08 I agree.
10:09 All right.
10:10 I want to talk about the AP impact on free agents.
10:15 I know for a fact of several free agents that are very interested in coming to play for
10:21 Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas.
10:25 I don't think this is giving enough run about him, but this is a big deal.
10:33 For years when I covered the Lions, I remember when Matt Millen was there, and they signed
10:40 Damian Woody.
10:42 They had to overpay him.
10:44 They wanted Dre Bly, who all pro corner, great guy by the way, both him and Damian,
10:50 great guys, had to overpay to get him to come as a free agent.
10:55 When you can get guys who want to play for a coach, so for example, Max Crosby, who has
11:01 a great agent, never talked to him.
11:04 So anyone says, "Oh, that's Hondo kissing up to the agent."
11:07 No, I'm not.
11:10 Agents make money based on player contracts.
11:13 Max took a very favorable deal to the Raiders to stay here.
11:18 He must have a great agent because the agent didn't fight him, and that cost the agent
11:22 money.
11:24 You got guys that want to be here, and then you got guys who come and say, "Okay, I'll
11:27 take a little bit less money to go to Nevada to play for AP."
11:31 People don't understand, and it's not because they're bad, Matt.
11:35 It's just because they only think about the on-field product.
11:39 All of these guys that want to come play for AP, both offensively and defensively, that
11:44 I know of, this is a big deal, is it not?
11:48 It has the potential to be, without a doubt.
11:49 I think that, especially coming off a team that's had two losing seasons in a row, even
11:56 though this year was an improvement over 2022, if he can attract that type of talent and
12:01 build that type of program where it's a destination, that's huge.
12:07 Now will it get people talking about it right now without him being named head coach?
12:13 Probably not.
12:14 It won't get that type of place in the national consciousness.
12:19 It may not even get it.
12:20 Even if he's named head coach, you may not really even start to hear people talking about
12:23 it for another month or so, or two months when we get to free agent time.
12:29 But it could be big.
12:31 He's a guy who has the reputation around the league of being an outstanding player.
12:40 He's a leader of men that guys want to play for.
12:43 So that's a great thing to have when you're starting off with a new head coach.
12:51 If those guys come in, once they're in, you have to win.
12:54 Because winning supersedes everything in sports, especially in the NFL.
13:00 So you have to produce.
13:03 But it certainly can give you a really nice base to have when you're forming your first
13:09 roster.
13:10 Yeah, totally agree with you.
13:12 All right.
13:13 I want to talk about Patrick Graham.
13:16 You know this.
13:17 I took a ton of heat when he first was brought over for the Giants.
13:21 And I said, this is a guy who should be a head coach.
13:25 This is a guy that the previous leadership in New York, horrible.
13:33 And did not get, you know, they wanted to micromanage him as a defensive coordinator.
13:39 So he looked terrible, but he wasn't.
13:42 They bring him in, as you know, because we talked about it last summer, I took a ton
13:46 of grief by saying, hey, this is going to be, I'm glad he's back for year two.
13:50 Now we see what he is.
13:52 This is a guy, Patrick Graham.
13:54 He's getting interviews.
13:57 I had said a couple of times that I knew of a team that was going to be interested in
14:03 him and hadn't requested an interview yet.
14:07 Yesterday, the Seahawks finally did request they're going to interview him.
14:10 This is, and I hate this now.
14:13 If a candidate is of color, oh, it's a roni roll interview.
14:18 I mean, that is so ignorant.
14:22 If you look at Patrick Graham's resume and you think he being interviewed is only a runy
14:28 rule, you're the problem.
14:31 This guy's resume is outstanding and he's got a legitimate shot at the Seahawks job.
14:36 Your thought about Patrick Graham.
14:37 Yeah, it's very patronizing to the, to the patronizing to the, to the coach, to the man
14:44 to say that, especially when you consider he's had head coaching interviews in the
14:51 past and he had them coming off a time.
14:55 He had them when he was with the Giants and they were a worse team than the Raiders were.
15:01 So this is a guy who has a good reputation around the league.
15:04 I think it, you know, people in charge of these different franchises know that at the
15:09 very least he's somebody worth talking to and worth, you know, getting a chance to pick
15:13 his brain and see where he's at.
15:17 You know, two interviews so far with the Chargers and Seahawks, we'll see if there's any more
15:21 coming.
15:22 If he doesn't get a head coaching job, I think it would be great.
15:26 And you know, say Antonio Pierce does get hired in Vegas.
15:29 I think it would be great to keep that continuity and keep Patrick Graham as a defensive coordinator,
15:35 because I'll say this, you know, obviously if, if the Giants tried to interview him again,
15:40 cause they have an open D coordinator spot, the Raiders could block the move cause it's
15:44 a lateral move.
15:46 But I would take him back as a D coordinator in New York.
15:49 And I think there's a lot of teams around the league that would certainly like to have
15:51 him as their D coordinator.
15:53 Yep.
15:54 I can tell you this.
15:55 I reported this last week.
15:56 I broke the story that a source within the Giants told me if he doesn't get the Raiders
16:01 job, they are very, very, he would be at the top of a list for a defensive coordinator.
16:08 Quite frankly, if I was the Giants, I'd boot the guy I got and bring him in as a head coach.
16:14 Well, you mean Dave, I mean, I don't know, but I think they're going to give him a third
16:18 year at least if they're making the playoffs in year one.
16:21 I know, but if I'm the Giants watching how my team is played, I'm going to be like, okay,
16:27 we're bringing AP home.
16:28 But hey, listen, I hope he stays right here with the Raiders and Patrick Graham.
16:32 I hope he gets a head coaching job.
16:34 I think he earned it.
16:35 And if he doesn't though, I expect him to be back as well.
16:38 All right.
16:39 I want to talk about champ Kelly.
16:43 As you know, when they got rid of Mike Mayock, I said this guy would have been a great choice
16:49 for the general manager.
16:50 Then he comes in, he's done a terrific job with the Raiders, is updating the scouting
16:58 department, which was not good when he got here.
17:01 And now it's, you know, it's lean and it is absolutely one of the best in the NFL.
17:06 His ability to evaluate talent.
17:08 He goes to Carolina and someone within the organization who I'm very good friends with
17:16 told me he killed it.
17:18 They're asking him questions about the roster.
17:20 No notes.
17:22 He's naming people.
17:23 He's telling what his evaluation is, what he thought was wrong.
17:27 I mean, he killed it.
17:30 This guy is showing a lot of people how good he is.
17:35 And the Raiders have a shot at getting their run.
17:40 Your thoughts on Jim Kelly?
17:41 Well, I'll be honest with you.
17:44 I didn't know a ton about him until started to look into him a little bit more when he
17:50 got the interim job with the Raiders.
17:53 But you know, I think a lot of it goes back to stability.
17:57 You talk about that stability.
17:59 You have a guy who knows the organization, knows the infrastructure of the Raiders, knows
18:04 the culture of the Raiders, knows what it's like to work with those players and coaches
18:08 and with Mark Davis.
18:10 You can start to build something.
18:13 And I think that there's a, to me, you can correct me if I'm wrong from an inside perspective,
18:20 from an outside perspective, it seems like a chant.
18:24 Kelly Antonio Pierce partnership would be more of an actual partnership and a union
18:30 to kind of grow as opposed to Gruden and Mayock where Gruden had the final say over
18:36 everything.
18:37 You know, you can.
18:38 So I think that this is, you know, it is an opportunity, I think, for the Raiders to kind
18:44 of lay some groundwork and really become a consistent team with a foundation, which is
18:50 something they haven't had in a long time.
18:53 Long time.
18:54 Yeah, Matt, trust me, that is a brilliant analysis.
18:57 You know, it is amazing to me, Champ is very selfless and he's a guy that's quiet.
19:06 He listens, he's very analytical.
19:09 He assimilates a lot of people's information, but then he's his own man and makes his own
19:15 decision.
19:16 And you know this, the general manager's job does not go well when you're an egomaniac
19:24 and you want all the attention because we all know the owners want to be loved.
19:30 And really, your coach has to because if he's getting ripped all the time, that impacts
19:36 the players.
19:38 And so you want your coach getting the love, your owner's going to want it.
19:43 And so if you're a general manager with an ego, there isn't that much love to go around.
19:47 I mean, reality is reality, isn't it?
19:51 No, you have to be comfortable working behind the scenes and being, you're going to get,
19:57 listen, if you're a GM, you're going to get credit if the team wins, you're going to get
20:00 blame if the team loses.
20:01 It's not like you're completely anonymous, but you have to be okay working a little bit
20:07 in the shadows where, you know, you're not, obviously you're not a player or face of the
20:12 franchise.
20:13 You're not the head coach who's the forward facing face of the franchise.
20:18 And you don't own the team, so you don't have supreme control.
20:22 But so you have to kind of be comfortable operating under those conditions, you know,
20:26 but you really can, obviously you are the entire, you are the influence of the football
20:32 operation and you set the tone.
20:34 So it takes a special set of skills.
20:36 It takes a special temperament.
20:39 We've seen to do the job, especially, you know, in the modern NFL.
20:44 I think if champ Kelly fits that criteria, then I think it would make a lot of sense
20:49 for the Raiders to give him the job now and let him run with it.
20:53 Yeah, totally agree with you.
20:54 All right.
20:55 I want to go in a little bit of a different direction.
20:58 Obviously we're going to stick with the NFL, but the playoffs I think have just been phenomenal.
21:05 I love the upsets.
21:07 There were a few upsets last week I did not pick.
21:12 But I said at the time, yeah, but I said at the time, I hope I'm wrong.
21:16 I love the Texans.
21:18 I love CJ Stroup.
21:21 So I wanted them to do well.
21:23 Did I think that they were literally going, you know, to just blow it up?
21:31 No, I didn't pick that one.
21:33 I thought the Browns' defense and, but it was great.
21:37 So let's get right to this week's games.
21:39 I want to talk to you about the first one is Houston.
21:42 Travels to Baltimore.
21:44 I think Baltimore's got a legitimate, I mean, every team left does.
21:49 I think Baltimore is super good.
21:54 I want Houston to win, but I really like Baltimore.
21:59 So either way, I'm fine.
22:00 But I'm taking Baltimore.
22:01 They're the home team.
22:03 Listen, I think that when you have a team that's playing hot like Houston is, and they
22:10 have a quarterback who is just playing out of his mind as a rookie like CJ Stroup, they're
22:16 a dangerous team.
22:18 They're going in there.
22:20 The Ravens have not played a couple of weeks.
22:24 Lamar Jackson hasn't played in three weeks because he didn't play in the regular season
22:28 finale.
22:31 I think the Ravens win the game.
22:32 I think the Ravens are the best team in the AFC, if not the entire NFL.
22:38 I think that this is their year to, at the very least, get to an AFC championship game.
22:46 But I think it's going to be close, and I think it's not going to be easy.
22:50 I think the Texans are going to give them all they have.
22:53 So I expect a good game.
22:54 I think that's one thing that we missed from the Wild Card weekend.
22:58 There were plenty of great storylines.
23:00 The football itself in terms of competitiveness was lacking outside of that Rams-Lions game.
23:05 A lot of blowouts, but I think we'll see some better action starting this weekend.
23:11 Green Bay, who you know, I picked to win the NFC Norris.
23:17 They peaked a little bit too late.
23:21 But Jordan loves the man.
23:23 I love him, but I'm riding with San Francisco.
23:27 I've said all along I thought they were a Super Bowl team.
23:29 I'm going to stand by it.
23:31 I'm taking the 49ers.
23:33 Your thoughts, Green Bay and the 49ers?
23:35 Yeah I think they have the best roster in the NFC.
23:38 It's either them or Baltimore is the best team in the NFL, in my opinion, on paper.
23:42 I know obviously Baltimore beat them in San Francisco on Christmas, so they have the advantage
23:47 there.
23:50 But I mean, that Packers performance, it could have been more impressive for Green Bay.
23:58 It could have been more disastrous and embarrassing for Dallas.
24:04 We've seen the 49ers have the Packers number, period, in the playoffs now going back to
24:09 when Jim Harbaugh was the coach there.
24:13 I think the Niners win this game at home.
24:16 But I think that if I'm a Packers fan, regardless of what happens Saturday, if they win, obviously
24:21 you're ecstatic because they're in an NFC title game.
24:24 And if they lose, you have to be really happy and excited about the future here because
24:28 I think, incredibly, you have your third franchise quarterback in succession.
24:35 You went from Favre to Rodgers to Jordan Love.
24:38 Right.
24:39 All right, next.
24:41 Tampa Bay headed to Detroit.
24:44 Baker Mayfield, Comeback Player of the Year.
24:46 What a great story.
24:47 The team is in salary cap hell.
24:51 So they take Baker because they can afford him.
24:54 Now the guys come out playing like a super.
24:56 It's good for Baker.
24:58 Everybody I know that knows Baker loved him.
25:01 Said, "Hey, the kid's got to grow up."
25:04 But they loved him.
25:06 They all said he's got to grow up, but he's not a bad kid.
25:09 And he's playing well.
25:15 My whole family's from Michigan.
25:19 Everybody's going, which, to their credit, people in the state of Michigan are Lions
25:23 fans, and they are loyal to a fault.
25:28 Your thoughts, Tampa Bay, Detroit.
25:30 I'm taking Detroit.
25:32 You know, I think I went two and four picking the winners last weekend, WACA weekend.
25:38 I was way off.
25:40 Me too, buddy.
25:42 I think, but the one game I got wrong that I was annoyed at myself was I really wanted
25:50 to pick the Lions.
25:51 I really did.
25:52 And if you remember, much to your surprise, I believed in the Lions to win the NFC North
25:57 before the season.
25:59 So I thought that they were going to be legit.
26:01 And I got caught up in the Rams are going to be a tough opponent.
26:05 Stafford coming home, McDay, all that stuff.
26:07 I didn't believe in the Lions enough.
26:11 This week I am, though.
26:12 I think that while I think the Tampa Bay story is great and Baker Mayfield's playing well
26:18 and Todd Bowles has gone from potentially being on the hot seat to potentially being
26:22 a coach here candidate.
26:24 And that's awesome for him.
26:25 Jersey native.
26:27 I'm taking Detroit.
26:28 I think Detroit's the better team.
26:30 They're at home.
26:32 They've gotten the weight off their back of winning a playoff game.
26:39 Finally, you know, snapping that drought.
26:44 All the.
26:46 Things that you would think could overwhelm team, you know, finally playing at home in
26:51 the playoffs, finally playing in the playoffs.
26:54 They hadn't been to the playoffs since 2016 before last weekend.
26:59 They got it out of the way.
27:00 They won.
27:01 So I think they'll they'll be even better this week.
27:03 I think their roster is better than Tampa Bay's.
27:06 I love Dan Campbell.
27:07 I think Detroit wins.
27:10 You like Dan Campbell?
27:12 I do.
27:13 You said Dave.
27:14 I did.
27:15 It's a big Dan Campbell.
27:17 I mean, I. I know you know what it is.
27:20 Dave Campbell, I think, isn't he the guy who does the Texas football magazines?
27:24 Dan Campbell, obviously, former giant.
27:27 I can give you.
27:30 All right, next Kansas City heads to Buffalo.
27:37 I think Buffalo is just going to run all over them.
27:42 I am.
27:45 This is just not the same Kansas City team.
27:47 I've got a lot of respect for him.
27:49 I think Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the National Football League.
27:53 But this team, they've got issues.
27:55 There's a lot going on there.
27:56 I'm not going to get into it, but there's a lot going on there.
27:58 I think this is Buffalo big.
28:02 I thought going into this this postseason, the way that they kind of got momentum and
28:08 won five games in a row, that this was Buffalo's year to make breakthrough.
28:14 There is there's a two seed.
28:16 So if they were to play Kansas City, which they are, they were going to get them at home.
28:21 Obviously, Baltimore is an excellent team, but, you know, you don't have that.
28:27 That beast waiting for you at Arrowhead the way that it's been with the Chiefs the last
28:32 several years.
28:35 To me, I think that if the if the Bills don't beat the Chiefs on Sunday, I don't know if
28:41 they're ever going to beat them in the playoffs with Mahomes and Allen, because.
28:47 If this is the the opportunity is there, Buffalo's at home, they're playing better at this point.
28:54 The Chiefs really haven't looked like the Chiefs at all all season.
28:57 I mean, they they drew a perfect matchup with Miami, who just looked like they wanted to
29:02 get home back to the sun and they won no part of that weather on Saturday.
29:07 That's Saturday.
29:09 I'm a little wary because we picked the four favorites, the four home teams, which usually
29:17 doesn't all come to fruition.
29:20 But I have to say, when I go over these matchups, I don't feel great.
29:26 Making my claim on one team to spring the opposite, I can see.
29:32 A path for these these visiting teams to win.
29:39 But I don't feel great about, you know, going out and maybe I'm a coward for it, but I don't
29:44 feel like I'm ready to just plant my flag and say one of these teams is going to get
29:51 the job done.
29:52 Obviously, the Chiefs have the championship pedigree, but I think this is the Bills year
29:55 to to to finally beat them in the postseason.
30:00 You know, with all that the Bills have been through as an organization, the Marv Levy
30:05 years, all of the I mean, getting there, this has really been a franchise minus the Super
30:14 Bowl with a standard of excellence.
30:15 I mean, that you they've been there at some point.
30:19 They're going to have to bust through, aren't they?
30:20 At some point, they are.
30:22 You think so, and especially at the very least, you would think that they're going to have
30:27 to have a year where they at least break through and get to the Super Bowl out of the AFC.
30:33 Because if you look at to me, if I'm naming the three best quarterbacks in the NFL, actually,
30:40 I mean, four best of you right now, the four best quarterbacks in the NFL are probably
30:47 all in the AFC with Mahomes, Burrow, Allen and Lamar Jackson.
30:52 That's not necessarily in order, but just I'm just throwing those four guys out there.
30:56 And CJ Stroud's got to be in there somewhere.
30:58 Stroud.
30:59 Yeah.
31:00 I mean, the it's crazy.
31:01 It's absolutely insane.
31:03 But when you think about it, you got an elite quarterback, Josh Allen, one of the top three
31:08 guys in the NFL.
31:11 You got to break through at some point.
31:13 Like, you know, even in the go back to the AFC in the early part of the 2000s when it
31:21 was Brady and Pate, Brady and Pate, Brady and Pate.
31:26 But you know, the Steelers got through with Ben Roethlisberger a couple of times.
31:30 And the Ravens got through with Joe Flacco that year and won the Super Bowl.
31:35 So there's there's there's room for another team to get through here.
31:40 I think that if the Bills don't do it this year.
31:45 I don't know if they ever will.
31:46 And you touched on a great point, because I thought about this last night, too, because
31:49 I was thinking about the franchises that have all been kind of in the playoffs this year
31:54 that have been starred as fan bases.
31:57 And you had in different ways.
31:59 You had the Bills, you have the Browns, you have the Lions.
32:02 And the Bills are different than those other two to me, because, yes, they had a huge the
32:10 playoff drop in 2000.
32:12 2016 was that's a long playoff drop, 17 seasons.
32:17 But you think about before that, from the late 80s through 1999, they had a lot of success.
32:24 You know, they got to the playoffs a lot.
32:26 They went to four straight Super Bowls.
32:28 I know they had the heartbreak.
32:29 That's what they're known for.
32:31 But they have a lot of success.
32:32 And now this run from 2017 and especially from 2019 on, they've been one of the best
32:37 teams in the league.
32:39 So I just feel like the time has to be right.
32:42 The Bills have to get to the Super Bowl, I think, this year.
32:47 Now, you get to the Super Bowl, you may not win it.
32:49 Believe me, they know.
32:51 But there's this year to get to get there.
32:55 It's going to be a lot of fun.
32:56 All right.
32:57 Lastly, I had an NFL general manager tell me one time.
32:59 There are eight teams in the NFL, 100% convinced their quarterback can go win a Super Bowl.
33:06 There are eight teams that are hoping, they think their quarterback can get them to a
33:14 Super Bowl, but they're not convinced.
33:19 Then there are 16 hoping to be one of the upper 16.
33:24 To me, I thought that was a fascinating analogy.
33:26 And when you look at it, I think if you have CJ Stroud, you're in that second group, you
33:31 think he can get you there.
33:33 If you've got Mahomes, you know he can.
33:35 If you've got Burrow, I think you know he can.
33:37 I think if you've got, you know, Josh Allen, I think you know.
33:46 Yeah, Lamar, I think you know.
33:49 I just find that fascinating that for all of the money spent everywhere, quarterback
33:54 is the number one position in the national football league.
33:56 Either you have a quarterback or you don't.
33:59 It is, and I think it's an interesting dichotomy between the four quarterbacks left in the
34:05 AFC and the four left in the NFC.
34:07 Because if you look at the AFC, Mahomes, the Chiefs know he's the best in football.
34:12 He's won two Super Bowls.
34:13 The Bills, I know they haven't gotten there with him, but they firmly believe Josh Allen
34:18 can win them.
34:19 They can win a Super Bowl with Josh Allen.
34:21 Lamar, same thing with the Ravens.
34:22 I know he hasn't gotten there yet, but they feel he's the MVP.
34:26 They can get there.
34:27 And if you're the Texans with CJ Stroud, you have to be over the moon.
34:32 The sky's the limit with your future, and you see what he's got this year now in the
34:36 playoffs.
34:37 Then you go over to the NFC, and you have, OK, Jared Goff got to the Super Bowl with
34:45 the Rams.
34:48 You hope he can win you one.
34:50 Brock Purdy got to the NFC title game last year, and that Niners roster's loaded.
34:56 They have Kyle Shanahan, Greg Flake, Kohler.
34:59 You hope, you think.
35:01 I think if I had to guess, I would say the Niners think that they can win a Super Bowl
35:06 with Purdy.
35:07 Then, you know, Jordan Love, this is his first action in the playoffs.
35:12 He looks like an up-and-coming stud, but you don't know yet.
35:16 You don't know yet what his ceiling is.
35:18 Baker Mayfield's a reclamation project.
35:20 You know, he's, it's just, you have four, the four quarterbacks in the NFC and the four
35:27 in the AFC.
35:29 It's so vastly different.
35:32 I think that's, it's going to make for a fun, you know, a fun, like I said, a fun dichotomy
35:39 on playoff weekend coming up.
35:42 I got to tell you, I loved what you said.
35:44 He's a reclamation project.
35:46 All right.
35:47 That is the great Matt Holadek from thespun.com.
35:50 Remember, check out thespun.com.
35:52 Put it in your favorites.
35:53 I do it every single day.
35:55 You guys just find stories and I'm like, where in the world did you get this?
36:03 But it's all sports and just the way you tie everything in and you do such a really good
36:08 job, Matt.
36:09 I appreciate you.
36:10 Next week by this time when we're talking, I'll be stunned if we're not talking about
36:14 champ and AP moving forward.
36:18 So remember, check us out.
36:19 We're part of the Fans First Sports Network.
36:20 I'm Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
36:26 Matt Holadek from thespun.com.
36:27 Thanks for joining us, everybody.
36:29 We'll see you again tomorrow.