Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast On How Antonio Pierce is a Change Agent in the NFL, Maxx Crosby Found His Voice, and We Go Around the NF
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00:00 the last time. Hi everybody
00:07 this is Hondo carpenter from
00:08 sports illustrated span nation
00:10 Las Vegas Raiders insider
00:12 podcast joined by my dear
00:13 friend. The one and only the
00:15 great Johnny guitars terrific
00:17 journalist well respected
00:19 attorney. And one of my
00:21 favorite people John you see
00:23 the comments you don't get to
00:25 see the emails. People want to
00:27 see the emails. I've seen the
00:30 emails three times and the last
00:32 time Hondo thought it didn't
00:34 sound well enough so- well I
00:36 could use some time to get it
00:38 but what I'd like to do is get
00:40 it directly into the machine.
00:42 So it'll sound terrific so
00:44 we're still sound testing them
00:46 but look there's thirteen.
00:48 Guitars here. They're in there
00:50 but I thought we were good to
00:51 go last time but the sound
00:53 wasn't quite right so- coming
00:55 back to the- yeah I can't do
01:00 it so remember we got to do it
01:02 today. Yes all right John we
01:05 have so much to talk about- by
01:08 the way I'm up here in the
01:09 middle of the north country and
01:11 negative it's going to get
01:12 about negative seventeen today
01:14 so I wish you were here. We got
01:17 about seventeen where I am and
01:18 that's good enough I wish I was
01:20 there too but I got a little
01:21 taste of it so I'll I'll I'll
01:23 I'll I'll take it that's fine.
01:25 I'll take it that's fine. I'll
01:27 take it last all right you know
01:29 you married well when your wife
01:30 says okay for Christmas I want
01:32 a hunting trip in a new hunting
01:33 rifle and a pink camouflage
01:35 outfit I did pretty good. I'm
01:37 married pretty well. All right
01:39 just married a country girl one
01:40 of the two all right. Lot to
01:42 talk about and we're going to
01:44 get into a bunch on the Raiders
01:46 but I want to start going
01:47 around the NFL the other night
01:49 on the Manning cast. Ray Lewis
01:52 who whether you like Ray or
01:53 not is one of the greatest
01:55 defensive players to ever play
01:57 the game. I think you could
01:59 certainly put him in an
02:00 argument with Lawrence Taylor
02:02 and there may be a couple of
02:04 others among the all time
02:06 greatest but I think if you're
02:08 doing a Mount Rushmore of NFL
02:10 defensive players from the past
02:12 who aren't currently playing
02:13 he's on that mountain gave a
02:17 clinic on angles and in
02:21 tackling and how he doesn't
02:22 get a lot of attention. What
02:24 were your thoughts on that.
02:25 Well they got Ray Lewis on a
02:27 good night on the Manning cast
02:29 during the Eagles debacle and
02:31 he just. Tore right into him he
02:33 was talking about how it looked
02:34 like the Eagles had quit for
02:36 weeks he was. Kind of beside
02:38 himself at how bad they were
02:40 tackling and he really got into.
02:43 People need to open their eyes
02:45 when they're looking at
02:46 tackling and how much of it is
02:48 angles what angles are you
02:50 talking about. Well Ray Lewis
02:52 was explaining what you could
02:53 see on a couple of the place
02:54 where some of the Eagles took
02:56 way too sharp a tackling angle
02:58 and as a result. To the house
03:01 and we see that a lot at the
03:02 college game we certainly see
03:04 it. You know when kids are very
03:06 small you may see it really
03:08 clearly but seeing it at the
03:10 NFL you don't see it as much as
03:13 often and if you see bad angles
03:15 look out for explosive play so
03:17 Ray Lewis was kind of given a
03:18 little bit of a break and he
03:20 said you know without coaching
03:22 that's one of the things that
03:23 probably. He was pointing at is
03:26 what are you coaching your
03:27 defensive backs to do. You're
03:29 not coaching and take a wide
03:30 enough angle you're not
03:31 coaching them to use the
03:33 boundary is their friend when
03:34 they can. And when it comes from
03:36 Ray Lewis as a viewer. Or
03:39 somebody that's covered the
03:40 sport you're thinking. Great
03:43 this is fuel and understanding
03:45 and or great I what I thought I
03:47 was going to see and I think
03:48 that's what I was going to see
03:49 over the season. I was also
03:51 seeing what it's a walking
03:54 defensive clinic when you hear
03:57 Ray Lewis Eli Manning Peyton
03:59 Manning talking about. This
04:01 defense has failed it's failing
04:03 and here's why here's how here's
04:05 why it shouldn't happen and the
04:07 other massive importance of
04:09 your tackling angles specially
04:11 at that second but if not that
04:12 third level the defensive backs
04:14 when we're watching these games
04:15 don't happen most often it
04:17 sounds to me like they don't
04:18 happen because somebody took a
04:20 good tackling angle rather than
04:22 one that was bad or too sharp.
04:24 When that happens. Look out
04:26 house. Yeah I remember one time
04:29 Brian and Paki Kelly the coach
04:32 at LSU former Notre Dame coach
04:34 him and Paki invited my wife and
04:35 I up. To watch a spring
04:38 practice. And we went up there
04:42 and I remember that. I mean he
04:45 spent I don't know 40 minutes
04:49 talking about angles and and all
04:52 of it. That clicked in my head
04:53 when you said it. And he talked
04:56 about how oftentimes people will
04:59 say a play affected one play
05:02 affected the game and I remember
05:04 Brian telling the team he goes
05:06 that's not true. Oftentimes
05:08 it's an angle. You can have 10
05:11 guys on the right angle and one
05:14 guy not and he's able to cut out
05:16 of it and rather than having
05:18 herded up against the boundary
05:21 he's now out in space and gone
05:23 and you know and that's what his
05:24 offense was out in space. And
05:26 you're absolutely right. I think
05:27 that was one of the things for a
05:29 long time we've seen the Raiders
05:30 struggle with tackling. That is
05:33 not something that you saw as of
05:35 late. Meaning you know after AP
05:38 took over and there were some
05:40 changes made you saw a lot of
05:42 emphasis put on that and the
05:43 Raider tackling was better. You
05:45 cannot overemphasize angles can
05:48 you. I don't think you can
05:50 because you know back in our day
05:52 we saw the rise in the relative
05:54 fall of a great defensive program
05:56 at Michigan State. And when you
05:58 see the fall a lot of times it's
06:00 because of the tackling angles
06:02 and somebody's running to the
06:03 house and you may say well maybe
06:06 that's just an athlete
06:07 difference. Maybe it is
06:08 sometimes but we're not talking
06:10 about an athlete difference
06:11 especially at the NFL level.
06:13 It's critically important and
06:15 what I hear to me it's such a
06:17 big deal to hear Ray Lewis say
06:18 it that that like one of the
06:20 first questions I want to ask my
06:21 new defensive coordinator
06:22 whoever it is. Let's say there's
06:25 a hooded sweatshirt coach coming
06:27 to Atlanta to coach. How do you
06:31 guys teach angles. What are some
06:33 of the things you look for. What
06:34 are some of the things that
06:35 matter from their college tape
06:37 when you draft them. The
06:38 tackling angles stood out like a
06:41 thumb because the Buccaneers
06:43 didn't really have a lot of
06:44 problems with that. And when we
06:46 watch these games this weekend
06:47 we're going to see them. And as
06:49 you mentioned as you saw the
06:50 Raiders defense tighten the
06:52 screws. My guess is that they
06:54 were getting something done
06:56 during the week on that matter
06:57 because as Nick Saban has
06:59 famously said if you're not
07:01 coaching it you're letting it
07:02 happen. So what is your
07:04 defensive backfield coach doing
07:06 about your defensive backs
07:08 taking good and not overly
07:10 sharp tackling angles. That's a
07:12 great question for all these
07:13 months in the offseason and OTA
07:15 that are coming. I remember last
07:18 year the Raiders loved
07:19 Kalyja Kansi out of pit. They
07:22 loved him. They didn't like him.
07:23 They love him. In fact they
07:25 love him so much we did an
07:26 interview with him because if he
07:29 had been there. Well I don't
07:33 need to get into any backdoor
07:35 stuff but they loved Kalyja
07:37 Kansi. They really wanted him.
07:38 They coveted him. They felt he
07:41 was you know if not the best
07:45 one of the best defensive
07:46 tackles in this draft and one of
07:48 the best in a few years. That's
07:49 how good they thought of him.
07:50 And they raved about his angles
07:54 that Pat had really taught him
07:56 well how to read the angles how
07:59 to understand the angles. And I
08:01 remember talking to Pat Narduzzi
08:04 during the offseason last year
08:06 before the draft and he goes the
08:07 kid just sees geometrically. He
08:10 just he is able. He goes Pat said
08:13 it this way and I'm not a golfer.
08:15 There are some guys that can come
08:16 up and read the green. They can
08:18 see every dip everything of the
08:20 and I'm not a golfer and know
08:22 where to hit the ball so that it
08:24 ends up in the hole. And he goes
08:26 they're able to see the green
08:27 geometrically and he used that
08:29 example to me of how Kalyja
08:31 Kansi saw the field. And I
08:32 thought that was very
08:33 interesting going along with
08:35 what Brian said when you talked
08:38 about Ray Lewis. All right.
08:39 Let's talk about Jason Kelsey's
08:41 going to retire. I think he's
08:45 the second greatest center to
08:47 ever play only behind Mike
08:49 Webster. I think he is an elite
08:53 player. I think he's a great
08:55 player. He's a glue guy. I don't
09:00 have enough high praise. I like
09:02 him a lot. Personally you know I
09:05 got to know him a little bit
09:07 when he was at Cincinnati where
09:09 one of my best friends Butch
09:10 Jones was the coach with him and
09:12 his brother Travis. I would love
09:15 to see him and Travis walk out
09:16 at the same time but that's not
09:17 going to happen. Travis still
09:18 has meat on the bone. But even
09:22 going back to the Bearcats he
09:24 was a special talent special guy
09:26 special locker room. I mean he
09:28 was able to convince Butch to
09:30 let Travis come back and he
09:32 basically co-signed for Travis
09:34 and Travis loves him and adores
09:37 him. His teammates love and
09:38 adore him. The game of football
09:40 lost a great player in Jason
09:42 Kelsey. I'd love your thoughts.
09:44 I think they lost him. Now I'm
09:46 curious who's going to be the
09:48 coordinators that come in and or
09:50 coaches that come into
09:51 Philadelphia. So I hold a slight
09:53 sliver of hope there. It is an
09:55 interesting story and one that
09:57 intertwines with changes in
09:59 programs which is which is
10:01 interesting from Mark D'Antonio
10:03 I suppose recruiting the Kelsey
10:05 family moves on to Michigan
10:07 State and then you've got other
10:08 coaches that come in and out of
10:09 Cincinnati. You've got the story
10:11 of Jason basically like you said
10:14 co-signing and pulling Travis
10:15 into that madhouse is how it was
10:18 described. Then you've got what
10:20 I see is a consistent
10:22 development in a player. So
10:25 there's a skill and a tool and a
10:26 skill set that the guy has.
10:28 There's a really master
10:29 professional continuing to carve
10:32 out and master his craft into
10:35 the latest innovation with the
10:36 push play. I don't know enough
10:39 about centers to know where he
10:41 would stack up to a Dermot Dawson
10:43 who was a dominant one in an era
10:45 not too far gone. But I see him
10:48 as a significant survivor. Look
10:51 what he's been through just in
10:52 Philadelphia. The highs of the
10:53 Super Bowl, a Super Bowl loss,
10:56 just remarkable train wreck of
10:59 an organizational decision or
11:00 two relative to Chip Kelly,
11:02 relative to Carson Wentz over
11:04 Doug Peterson. And he survived
11:06 which is tremendous because
11:09 sometimes with that kind of guy
11:11 what stands out to me is it's
11:14 hard to appreciate his value
11:15 until he is gone. How bad or not
11:18 good would the Eagles have been
11:19 had they not had Kelsey? Well,
11:22 we may find out as soon as next
11:24 fall. But something gives me a
11:26 little bit of hope that there
11:28 might be a window open if he is
11:30 very thrilled with whoever might
11:34 come down the pipe to lead the
11:36 offense next. Enormous amount of
11:39 criticism at a very high level
11:42 of the Eagles with Dan Orlovsky
11:44 laying it out on film, talking
11:46 about them running a college
11:48 offense, which at the NFL level
11:50 is a really sharp dig. So the
11:53 Eagles have some serious work to
11:55 do there. I think we all
11:57 massively underestimated the
11:59 losses that they took relative
12:01 to coordinating and the ability
12:03 to really evaluate what was
12:05 working and what wasn't and stay
12:07 fresh and stay innovative
12:09 because obviously people figured
12:11 the Eagles out and they look
12:13 like they imploded. They will
12:15 have a tougher time coming back
12:17 to put on the captain obvious
12:19 hat. It's going to be tougher
12:21 without Jason Kelsey under
12:22 center next year. But something
12:24 tells me just a sliver of hope.
12:26 Let's just maybe wait and see
12:27 just in case they pull somebody
12:29 to run their offense that he
12:31 says, oh, well, we can get back
12:33 to the Super Bowl. I believe
12:36 until the season starts, he's
12:38 not retired. I just I know how
12:41 much he loves the game. He loves
12:44 it. He's passionate about it.
12:46 And I hope he comes back even if
12:48 it's to another team. Which I
12:51 just know how much he loves
12:52 Philly. But now I just hope
12:54 he's not done. All right. I
12:55 want to talk about. The wild
12:58 card games because you saw to
13:01 a lose, which I thought was a
13:04 big deal. And then you saw
13:07 Dak lose. And these are two
13:11 guys that are up for some
13:12 contracts. That was not a good
13:16 way for them to end. I. I love
13:22 the Dolphins. I'm not a big fan
13:26 of finesse teams. You know that
13:27 to me, physical teams are the
13:30 way that you go in the modern
13:31 NFL. I think there's a swing
13:33 back to that. I'm not a buyer
13:38 on the Cowboys. I just and I
13:40 don't think it's Mike McCarthy.
13:42 I mean, 312 in five seasons. I
13:45 think it's organizational. I
13:47 think it's inside a sense of
13:48 entitlement. I'm going to I'm
13:49 going to share a conversation I
13:51 had with Nick and I had very
13:55 similar conversation with Bobby
13:56 Bowden that when and I had the
14:00 conversation with both of them
14:02 when social media was just
14:04 starting. The Internet was big.
14:07 And social media was getting in
14:10 its infancy. But Bobby Bowden
14:13 talked about these kids get on
14:15 there and read, oh, I'm a five
14:16 star and I'm great. And they go
14:18 to message boards and read
14:20 everybody talk about how great
14:21 they are. And Nick pretty much
14:23 said the same thing. And they
14:25 talked about how it's difficult
14:28 because players would get to
14:29 Florida State. Now, this is when
14:30 Bobby was coaching and things
14:31 were really humming and Nick
14:33 things were humming. And just
14:36 about now it's even worse with
14:38 social media. But they get in
14:40 their heads how great they are
14:42 and they think, oh, man, I've
14:43 already arrived and they haven't.
14:46 This is a I think that happens
14:47 in Dallas. They hear how great
14:49 they are. They're America's team.
14:52 And you see that. I mean,
14:53 listen, let's give Mike Parsons
14:55 credit. That guy plays balls to
14:57 the wall every play. But you see
14:58 guys almost. Well, we're going
15:00 to win. We're Dallas. I don't
15:02 see that as much of the
15:03 Dolphins. I certainly do. But
15:05 those two gentlemen cost
15:06 themselves some money in their
15:08 next contracts. What do you
15:09 think? Well, I thought a couple
15:12 of things, you know, and after
15:13 seeing a tremendous in-season
15:15 finale of hard knocks, I felt
15:17 the cold coming through the TV.
15:20 I mean, it strikes you just how
15:23 cold and how impactful that cold
15:26 was. So the first thing that I
15:27 took away from the Dolphins
15:28 thing is. They have to get home
15:31 field. They have got to get home
15:33 field. There is no way they're
15:35 ever getting to a Super Bowl
15:36 again without home field. They
15:38 had a shot out at this fall.
15:39 They didn't take care of it.
15:41 They obviously got way too
15:42 injured, but holy cow, was that
15:44 important? What we see with Tua
15:47 is not the same cap jail that
15:50 the Cowboys are in. Well, the
15:51 Cowboys have to extend Dak
15:53 Prescott because of cap pressure
15:55 that they have. It is an ugly
15:57 situation because they got a
15:59 59.5 million charge in 2024
16:02 with 62 million of dead money
16:05 if he is traded or released.
16:07 So what that tells me, probably
16:09 not going to be released and
16:11 nearly impossible to trade him.
16:13 So they have got to resign him
16:15 even if for nothing else reason
16:16 other, you wouldn't resign him
16:18 to cut him, but to trade him.
16:19 So I don't think he is going
16:21 anywhere. Tua is a different
16:22 situation. It looks like he has
16:24 got some more flexibility. It
16:26 is also, it is a little, it is
16:28 less clear, I guess, because of
16:29 the amount of flexibility he has.
16:31 There is always, I think, going
16:33 to be a durability concern about
16:36 Tua. But I don't see a concern
16:38 with how much the coach is in
16:40 love with the quarterback. When
16:42 he broke down, the reason that
16:45 Tua has gotten better is because
16:47 of the core strength and the
16:49 advantage that he sees in having
16:50 such a wide stance, kind of like
16:52 Drew Brees where he is pretty
16:53 much ready to quick release. I
16:55 don't think there is any
16:56 question that Mike McDaniel
16:58 wants to keep riding with Tua.
17:00 The question is, what can they
17:02 do for a lesser crunch in Miami
17:05 and I would think that the
17:07 simple answer is to craft some
17:09 kind of extension for Tua that
17:11 makes sense for the Dolphins and
17:13 for him. I don't have any
17:16 indication that Dak Prescott is
17:18 anywhere near a guy that is too
17:20 into him and not into the team
17:22 enough like a lot of folks in
17:24 Dallas. I don't think the issue
17:26 is Dak and I don't think it is
17:28 Micah. I think it is other
17:30 players. Yes, and to that
17:33 effect, there is none of that
17:35 issue with Tua. Tua looks to be
17:37 a team guy first also. Let's see
17:39 how these teams go from not a
17:42 stumble, obviously a face plant
17:45 for Dallas. I don't think Miami
17:47 face planted. They had guys off
17:49 the street and honestly, they
17:51 really got hosed on the big
17:53 missed call, on the big holding.
17:55 They really did. That was a
17:57 massive hosing. Let's see how
17:59 they go from here to there.
18:01 This very weekend next year.
18:03 My guess is that Miami is in
18:05 better shape to be further
18:07 along next year than Dallas.
18:09 Dallas is expected to lose Dan
18:11 Quinn. Dallas may lose the head
18:13 coach. Dallas does look a little
18:15 unsure. It looks like they were
18:17 plain shocked at what happened.
18:19 What they have needed there,
18:21 which is why some of us thought
18:23 Nick Saban would have been a
18:25 great hire there a decade ago.
18:27 I think they have a lot of
18:29 confidence in their organization.
18:31 They need somebody to push back
18:33 against the natural hospitality,
18:35 build up, hype, shoulder padding
18:37 that comes with being on the
18:39 Cowboys that starts at the top of
18:41 their organization. They need
18:43 somebody to shut the locker room
18:45 door and effectively say, those
18:47 people don't know what they're
18:49 talking about. None of that
18:51 means anything. You guys are not
18:53 as good as you think you are.
18:55 Now play like it. That has not
18:57 happened quite enough or late
18:59 enough in the season. That's why
19:01 that balloon once again in
19:03 Dallas went pop.
19:05 >> You know who I'm
19:07 talking about, but the fans won't.
19:09 I had a very good friend who
19:11 played for the Cowboys, was a
19:13 starter, was a legitimate player
19:15 there. He told me, he goes,
19:17 where he thinks it's bad is the
19:19 marginal guys, which is the
19:21 majority of the roster. You
19:23 can't go to a restaurant without
19:25 being treated like God. He
19:27 talked about the stars didn't go
19:29 out. They hung around. They
19:31 worked hard. They did their
19:33 thing. He shared so many stories
19:35 that it was hard to find guys
19:37 who wouldn't get mesmerized by
19:39 the love. I think that was
19:41 fascinating. I want to talk
19:43 about Jim Harbaugh. At the time
19:45 of this taping, obviously,
19:47 because you don't know when
19:49 people are going to watch it,
19:51 he's not in the league. He's
19:53 not in the league to watch it.
19:55 He's not yet picked a team.
19:57 He has made it very clear for
19:59 years he would like to go back
20:01 to the NFL. I know that that's
20:03 not been his wording, but it's
20:05 been his actions. And NFL teams
20:07 have not been interested in him.
20:09 And, you know, last year, he
20:11 all but begged for the Raiders
20:13 job. They didn't give him an
20:15 interview. It was not a
20:17 priority to them. Two things.
20:19 One, Jim Harbaugh is a
20:21 great guy. Two things.
20:23 I don't think Jim's in danger
20:25 of hurting his legacy at all.
20:27 At all.
20:29 But I find it
20:31 fascinating, and here's the
20:33 question I have for you.
20:35 At what point
20:37 will Michigan fan
20:39 get tired of the constant
20:41 flirting
20:43 and begin to turn on him?
20:45 Let me just tell you why I'm saying this.
20:47 I'm a
20:49 big Michiganian.
20:51 And I know everyone
20:53 corrects me when I say it's Michigander.
20:55 No, Michigander was invented
20:57 as a derogatory
20:59 term about people from Michigan.
21:01 They were called Michiganians.
21:03 I'm a Michiganian.
21:05 And I have
21:07 several family members
21:09 who I love them, but they're black sheep in the family.
21:11 They're not Wolverines.
21:13 They're not Spartans. They're Wolverines.
21:15 And so, you know, they're big
21:17 Michigan fans who love Jim.
21:19 And I have nothing bad to say about the guy.
21:21 He's a great coach.
21:23 But they're even
21:25 getting tired of it. Hey, if you don't want to be here,
21:27 go. At what point do
21:29 you think he's in danger
21:31 of having Michigan fan
21:33 turn on him, or is
21:35 he never in danger, he's won a title,
21:37 and he shouldn't be in danger?
21:39 I'm the latter.
21:41 I think, listen, this guy took you to a national title,
21:43 won it. I think
21:45 deal with his flirting.
21:47 Deal with it.
21:49 That's me. Where are you at on this?
21:51 I think this
21:53 year certainly bought some time.
21:55 So, after two years
21:57 of what looked like a full court press,
21:59 media, different
22:01 agents trying to shoehorn your
22:03 way, and then kind of a little bit of an embarrassing
22:05 situation in Minnesota where somebody
22:07 on his side seemed to leak that he was about
22:09 to get the job.
22:11 Humility strikes.
22:13 They have another year
22:15 that as of this taping is
22:17 intact. I think
22:19 the championship will buy him
22:21 at least two years
22:23 of a critical mass of
22:25 Wolverine fan and supporter saying
22:27 enough with the NFL push.
22:29 For those at
22:31 Michigan State and LSU,
22:33 they remember the NFL push
22:35 and pull with Nick Saban, and
22:37 as we learned earlier this week, maybe the folks at Alabama
22:39 didn't realize how much push and pull there was
22:41 during his time there.
22:43 Cowboys, Falcons, Giants, etc.
22:45 So,
22:47 how much time does Harbaugh have? Well, he's obviously
22:49 got free reign around Michigan for
22:51 at least a year and probably another one.
22:53 Now, had they gone
22:55 significantly backward this year,
22:57 I think you would have seen a
22:59 different story. So,
23:01 if for some reason, Jim
23:03 Harbaugh doesn't get out
23:05 into the NFL this year,
23:07 I think he's got two
23:09 seasons in a
23:11 rapidly shortening
23:13 college football
23:15 expectancy, as in it's okay
23:17 to build a program, it takes this many years,
23:19 that's getting squeezed without any question.
23:21 I think he's got two
23:23 seasons before a critical mass says,
23:25 "I think we've kind of squeezed
23:27 all that we can out of this thing.
23:29 It's time to go away."
23:31 Now, that being said, if we were betting
23:33 today, it feels
23:35 like it's at least
23:37 it feels better than 50-50.
23:39 It feels a lot more like he's going to get
23:41 an NFL opportunity this year than he did
23:43 the last couple where it looked like he
23:45 was just kicking
23:47 up dust. I'm sorry,
23:49 where I'm sitting, because we're so
23:51 high in the North Country, it's
23:53 the sun. Oh, that's
23:55 cool. I was staring
23:57 at the light. Looks like I'm in the spotlight.
23:59 Looks like I'm in the spotlight.
24:01 It's fascinating. The
24:03 interesting thing to me is
24:05 what's going to happen with the
24:07 contract? Because for folks that don't
24:09 know, we're NFL-focused,
24:11 the NCAA
24:13 has not recognized the three games that
24:15 he sat out at the start of the year.
24:17 There's a real good chance he's going to get
24:19 a six-game suspension for what
24:21 happened in 2020. That has
24:23 nothing to do with
24:25 the Pandora's Box that is
24:27 a three-year cheating scandal
24:29 that actually had in-game impact that
24:31 you can see on tape
24:33 where coaches and people are talking to each
24:35 other and changing plays. How do you
24:37 handle that one? Put that to the
24:39 side. It's very likely that
24:41 the NCAA is going to levy a suspension.
24:43 It seems that it's
24:45 approximately going to be three to
24:47 six games.
24:49 What happens? Does
24:51 that carry over to the NFL? That is
24:53 something that I know every team is
24:55 trying to figure out. And they're
24:57 running a business, so if they can buy their way
24:59 out of it or figure out some other way, I'm sure
25:01 they would rather lose a
25:03 low-round draft pick, for example,
25:05 than lose their coach. Who's going to
25:07 pay for that? This is a
25:09 bit of a wild card and a
25:11 bit of a mess. And for
25:13 some reason, it seems to me like
25:15 it's -- unless this
25:17 is all chargers and it's already
25:19 done, this is moving a
25:21 little slower than Jim Harbaugh
25:23 probably would like. It seems a little less
25:25 comfortable. And as we see more reports,
25:27 Atlanta may be interested
25:29 and Boston may be interested. I've got to
25:31 think that around the league of those 32
25:33 teams, people get a little bit
25:35 of a chuckle. Like, are we going with this again?
25:37 Like the last two years where the guy was kicking
25:39 up dirt and there was no there there?
25:41 Anybody that saw the Patrick
25:47 Mahomes game last week, his helmet
25:49 literally split.
25:51 Yes. I mean, literally.
25:53 And the manufacturer
25:55 comes on and says, "Boy, the helmet did its
25:57 job and he's safe. There's
25:59 no concussion."
26:01 But, man,
26:03 was that as big of an
26:05 indicator about how football
26:07 has changed, John?
26:09 In a good way, yes.
26:11 We can go back to 1999
26:13 if you remember. New York
26:15 Times article comes out saying
26:17 helmets have to change. Here's some
26:19 new technology to minimize
26:21 impact, manage impact.
26:23 Think about how a car crumples. Think about
26:25 how a helmet receives impact.
26:27 Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin at the time
26:29 goes on record saying, "Yeah, we got to get this done.
26:31 It's something like this. We need some improvement."
26:33 Nothing happens in the helmet industry.
26:35 You've got a helmet monopoly that
26:37 kind of...
26:39 We're just going to keep on going the way we are.
26:41 We see more and more
26:43 head injuries. We see more and more issues.
26:45 Thanks to the folks at Real Sport who unfortunately
26:47 highlighted a guy you mentioned earlier, Mike Webster
26:49 and others.
26:51 Now we see real innovation in helmets.
26:53 We've seen
26:55 Drew Stanton on this channel before.
26:57 Drew Stanton's college career ended because
26:59 a helmet literally failed and he was
27:01 concussed. It wasn't a
27:03 cold weather failure. It was a plain
27:05 old failure. Very rare to see that
27:07 happen. What we saw Saturday
27:09 was Mahomes' helmet
27:11 fail most likely because it was
27:13 freezing cold, but
27:15 the engineering inside of that
27:17 apparently protected it.
27:19 Now, he wasn't hit at maybe the most
27:21 vulnerable spot to have a concussion,
27:23 but due credit
27:25 to the helmet manufacturer there,
27:27 the shell breaks or whatever you call the
27:29 outside of it, but the inside of it is still
27:31 in good enough shape so he does not get concussed.
27:33 What I do think we have seen
27:35 is some innovation
27:37 and improvement in the helmet technology.
27:39 I know we saw some strange shapes.
27:41 I know we saw some strange
27:43 grilles.
27:45 Some of those
27:47 have been eliminated.
27:49 Some of the shapes, there's still a couple
27:51 things that stand out,
27:53 but what we're seeing is some
27:55 improvement and that is only
27:57 a part of the bigger
27:59 package that continues to need to happen
28:01 to the sport to take out
28:03 head injuries. Now, there
28:05 needs to be some yin and yang, some
28:07 give on that because we've seen guys
28:09 unfortunately with big leg injuries as recently
28:11 as this weekend. We can talk about that
28:13 in the offseason, but I do
28:15 think we're seeing some progress
28:17 and I think that the league needs
28:19 to again address the penalties,
28:21 make them graduated, clear
28:23 some things up, and really set
28:25 a baseline for the sport
28:27 kind of like USA Hockey did
28:29 way back when I was playing.
28:31 You've got to see what you hit
28:33 and if you don't see what you hit,
28:35 you've got to be penalized.
28:37 Maybe, just maybe, if we make that
28:39 the focus and bring
28:41 that up and in, it's
28:43 not that we want to bring back hits to the head,
28:45 but if a guy sees what he hits
28:47 and he's got his hands
28:49 up and his helmet happens to hit the other
28:51 guy that he's tackling,
28:53 that's a whole lot different than going
28:55 down and putting the crown in.
28:57 You know, John,
28:59 I've got a real problem
29:01 with
29:03 today's modern football.
29:07 I'll give you an example.
29:09 A defender's going in to make
29:11 a play and a quarterback
29:13 cringes and now it's helmet to helmet.
29:15 But when he went in to make the
29:17 play, it would have been helmet against
29:19 a shoulder or a helmet against
29:21 a sternum.
29:23 I, listen, we've got a lot
29:25 of players in the NFL, former and current,
29:27 that listen to this podcast every week.
29:29 They all know
29:31 I want them safe.
29:33 But even they've talked
29:35 about, it's almost like
29:37 they've gone to an extreme where
29:39 you have defenders now, "Oh my God,
29:41 I'm afraid to go in for a hit." What happens
29:43 if the guy, I'll tell you a great one.
29:45 Recently, my wife
29:47 and I were having dinner with a defensive
29:49 back good friend of ours. You know
29:51 him well. And we
29:53 were talking about
29:55 the game and he talked about
29:57 I'm afraid to go in for
29:59 a hit because if a wide
30:01 receiver ducks
30:03 and we go helmet to helmet,
30:05 I'm in a
30:07 no-win situation.
30:09 I get you have to
30:11 be careful. This takes us back
30:13 to what you and I have been talking about
30:15 since the start of the season. They've got
30:17 to add another official upstairs
30:19 with, and I simply
30:21 call him the common sense official.
30:23 He's got to be able to read it and say,
30:25 "Okay, when this defender left his
30:27 feet, he was headed for a shoulder.
30:29 This guy crunched.
30:31 We don't want it,
30:33 but we're going to let that one go." Where am I wrong,
30:35 John? You're not
30:37 wrong, but really the key is, and I've been
30:39 harping on this for years, these replays
30:41 they have to be run in real time,
30:43 in real speed, so you can make
30:45 a judgment. And maybe we just call him the game
30:47 judge. The game judge
30:49 takes a look at this play. He sees
30:51 in real time that when the tackle
30:53 began, the
30:55 offensive player, the ball carrier was here, and he
30:57 moved this way, and that created it
30:59 to be a helmet to helmet. I think
31:01 the league has gotten a little better at that.
31:03 We need it at the top
31:05 two levels of the sport. You've got to
31:07 review those kind of plays in real time,
31:09 and you've got to have a graduated
31:11 scale. You've got to
31:13 have, it's not a warning, but should
31:15 they all be 15 yards? No.
31:17 Like we saw the other day, and I think
31:19 maybe Ray Lewis talking about it,
31:21 these penalties don't offset. A personal
31:23 foul, or no, it's Peyton Manning. Personal foul
31:25 is 15, the holding is 10,
31:27 somebody's getting hosed out of 5 yards.
31:29 So there are improvements
31:31 that need to be made.
31:33 We talked about the competition
31:35 committee. Everybody on there has another
31:37 job. It's time not to bloat
31:39 it, but it's time to pull somebody else in
31:41 there who's just focused on this, so when they
31:43 do get together,
31:45 when they get together in the offseason especially,
31:47 we can go through these bullet points. Nobody
31:49 should have any question about, well, I don't even
31:51 know what we should talk about. Of course not.
31:53 You guys have been too busy. We
31:55 over here who do this all year,
31:57 the competition committee folks
31:59 who are working there all year,
32:01 they write down the bullet points. There's
32:03 improvements that can be made, but a combination
32:05 of technology improvements,
32:07 officiating and regulation
32:09 improvements, player improvements,
32:11 making sure you see what you hit, asking
32:13 guys or training players at a younger age
32:15 instead of hitting with your shoulder, you're
32:17 going to have to use your hands. It's not
32:19 two-hand touch. You're going to push a guy down
32:21 and then maybe there'll be some more hand and wrist injuries,
32:23 but I think these are longer term
32:25 answers that are going to take a
32:27 little bit more time. The short
32:29 term ones are kind of what you just
32:31 described. Give me a game
32:33 judge who's going to take a quick
32:35 look at a play
32:37 and make a determination
32:39 this
32:41 was the targeting or no
32:43 targeting here because
32:45 of the way in real time at real
32:47 speed the ball carrier or the
32:49 quarterback moved.
32:51 So, I
32:53 did not come up with this. I don't
32:55 know who did, but I've seen it
32:57 and I know you wanted to talk about it as well.
32:59 The idea about heated
33:01 fields, I love
33:03 this idea and it's not hard
33:05 to do. It's very easy to do
33:07 to be able to
33:09 flip a switch and heat the field
33:11 just because of the
33:13 softness. I'm
33:15 trying to remember, I think it
33:17 was Pat McAfee, I heard say this
33:19 recently, that he went
33:21 to play a cold weather game and I don't remember
33:23 if it was in Green Bay. I don't remember if it was
33:25 in Kansas City, but where it was.
33:27 And McAfee
33:29 had on his cleats
33:31 and the equipment guy's like, "Hey, you may want
33:33 to put on tennis shoes." He goes, "No, I'm wearing
33:35 cleats." He goes, he went out there, the first
33:37 ball he went to kick, like
33:39 Lucy and Charlie Brown ends up
33:41 on his back.
33:43 I know watching a
33:45 lot of games in cold weather, it's
33:47 like playing on concrete.
33:49 I don't like it. I hate it.
33:51 I'm all for heated fields. That's
33:53 something you can do to make the game safer
33:55 that doesn't change
33:57 the game. Your thoughts.
33:59 We may have seen that at a place like Green
34:01 Bay, but we also
34:03 saw Kansas City.
34:05 You saw in hard knocks, the folks that saw
34:07 it, the staff at Miami
34:09 basically said, "That's just frozen dirt.
34:11 It's painted."
34:13 What we saw this weekend, we all
34:15 saw multiple either concussions
34:17 or close to concussions because
34:19 the field was so hard. It is
34:21 not asking a lot to have
34:23 a minimum level of
34:25 warmth at the field level.
34:27 Some of the old, old, old timers
34:29 out there have some stories for
34:31 sure about Al Davis and the
34:33 Oakland Coliseum and all that stuff.
34:35 You guys, you know some of those
34:37 stories out there. Obviously,
34:39 not a problem for the Raiders,
34:41 but GHEA
34:43 field looked horrible.
34:45 You got to get some heat in there
34:47 for the safety of the players. We're now
34:49 seeing what we saw.
34:51 It looked like more guys were concussed because
34:53 of, or really close
34:55 to concussions, because of
34:57 the fields being too cold and frozen.
34:59 That's an era
35:01 past. Those guys were slower.
35:03 They weren't as large.
35:05 The impacts, the force weren't as big.
35:07 And/or
35:09 their brains were damaged. We've seen
35:11 the outcome of that. We don't want to see that.
35:13 Let's get a little better field
35:15 and I'm all for grass whenever we
35:17 can have it. That's not the problem.
35:19 We got to make sure that we have some cushion.
35:21 It wasn't a good look for the sport
35:23 last year. This is an easy place
35:25 where they can improve, I would assume
35:27 as quickly as next year.
35:29 I would love to see the NFL say
35:31 all outdoor fields
35:33 will keep the field at a temperature
35:35 of 36,
35:37 37, whatever they decide.
35:39 And
35:41 in any new stadium
35:43 moving forward, there'll be no artificial
35:45 grass.
35:47 I would love to see that.
35:49 Got a few more things I want to
35:51 talk to you about. My next
35:53 one is this. I think Pat
35:55 McAfee is good for the game
35:57 of football. I know
35:59 there's a lot of people that don't like him.
36:01 I know he irritates a lot of people.
36:03 I'm sorry. I like McAfee.
36:05 I have no issue with it.
36:07 I think he's good. What are your thoughts
36:09 on McAfee?
36:11 I don't
36:13 think he's going to be on the ESPN
36:15 air as long as he's going to be on the ESPN
36:17 air. I think that
36:19 there is an
36:21 upside to
36:23 his approach.
36:25 But historically,
36:27 in major broadcasting, there would be some
36:29 production and/or some kind of
36:31 governor. I'm not saying a governor
36:33 to cut him off because
36:35 he is pulling back some sides
36:37 and curtains of things that would never
36:39 be discussed that probably deserve
36:41 the light of day.
36:43 He's obviously in some real danger
36:45 of potentially losing his
36:47 ESPN deal for cause.
36:49 I believe that ESPN may
36:51 have that in their back pocket right now
36:53 if they want to use it. I don't know what's going to happen
36:55 after the season. But
36:57 we're seeing a different perspective.
36:59 It is a guy that played the game.
37:01 It is a guy that has some
37:03 obviously tremendous
37:05 connection with people
37:07 that he played with and that he knows in the sport.
37:09 There's a lot of good that can
37:11 come out. There's some
37:13 show parts or
37:15 acts or whatever
37:17 that
37:19 people can
37:21 decide to absorb that or focus on that
37:23 or they can look past that and
37:25 grab something out of the message that you're hearing.
37:27 I think to me, that's
37:29 where the value comes in.
37:31 It's a
37:33 time of transition.
37:35 What's going on on that college game day desk
37:37 is a massive time of transition.
37:39 Everybody knows that. I don't think it's
37:41 a great idea to get him involved in
37:43 that, in his show, in the NFL
37:45 all at the same time. I think that's probably too much
37:47 for one person to take.
37:49 I totally disagree
37:51 with you. I think he's good for college.
37:53 I think he's good for pro.
37:55 I love the fact he calls
37:57 out the NCAA. No one
37:59 at ESPN does that other than him.
38:01 No.
38:03 I think it's great.
38:05 I think the way he gets young people
38:07 involved, he's brought
38:09 a different demographic.
38:11 Would I do things the way McAfee does?
38:13 No. But that doesn't
38:15 mean he's wrong and I'm right.
38:17 Here's what
38:19 gets me. It's talking
38:21 to players all the time. They
38:23 love him. They love
38:25 that show.
38:27 This year,
38:29 having Nick on every week,
38:31 that was awesome. I think having
38:33 Nick was phenomenal every week.
38:35 I just think it's fascinating.
38:37 I think it's amazing to me
38:39 just what
38:41 he's done. I normally, we don't comment
38:43 on media here.
38:45 The reason I ask
38:47 is I told you,
38:49 having dinner the other night with
38:51 an NFL defensive back
38:53 who, I mean, he spent the first
38:55 half hour talking about McAfee.
38:57 My wife kept leaning over,
38:59 "Who's he talking about?" Because she doesn't
39:01 watch McAfee.
39:03 Finally, I said to her, "The guy on
39:05 College Game Day that you think is
39:07 really funny." "Oh, yeah, yeah,
39:09 yeah, yeah." She's never watched his
39:11 show one time but thinks he's great on College
39:13 Game Day. And it just made me
39:15 think, I think he's good for the game.
39:17 I think he,
39:19 you know, we all remember the...
39:21 I probably shouldn't talk about that.
39:23 But we just all know
39:25 I think sometimes the coverage
39:27 gets stuffy.
39:29 Yes, it's not sterile.
39:31 This is not a sterile...
39:33 This is not sterile. This is
39:35 a real mixer
39:37 in the drink that is
39:39 coverage of football. And the thing that
39:41 is really true that's hard to deny
39:43 is this is a grass
39:45 roots. This is not like a guy that
39:47 just came out from the top.
39:49 This is like a grass roots thing
39:51 that's come up from the ground.
39:53 That's why I think there's traction there.
39:55 You see J.J. Watt
39:57 on the show. You see Saban
39:59 on the show. You see a host of
40:01 folks beyond the controversial
40:03 or mistaken
40:05 whatever that was from Aaron Rodgers.
40:07 There's a lot of good there.
40:09 I'm curious to see how it's going to evolve
40:11 and be produced. But
40:13 you've got a relatively sterile and
40:15 homogenized situation there.
40:17 So a little spice every once
40:19 in a while is okay.
40:21 Now, how much do we dilute that spice?
40:23 That's the danger.
40:25 How do we
40:27 manage it or control it so it doesn't
40:29 explode but we don't
40:31 dilute it to the point that it's just another
40:33 empty suit if you will
40:35 or another person
40:37 saying the same stuff on ESPN.
40:39 I don't want to spend too much time
40:41 talking about media but I want
40:43 to say this about McAfee.
40:45 I'm concerned in our country
40:47 and I
40:49 think you share this as an attorney
40:51 just because
40:53 I know you as a personal friend
40:55 that okay, I believe
40:57 in free speech unless you disagree with
40:59 me.
41:01 You know what? You can't walk into
41:03 a movie theater and yell fire.
41:05 There are
41:07 limited... Your free speech
41:09 doesn't mean freedom from consequence.
41:11 I'm not
41:13 saying that it should be.
41:15 I always get nervous when
41:17 people start screaming for censorship
41:19 because I
41:21 want
41:23 people to be able to give their opinions and
41:25 whatever it is even if I disagree with them.
41:27 I just think...
41:29 I
41:31 did not realize how big
41:33 of an issue McAfee was until this dinner.
41:35 It
41:37 was fascinating to me. All right. I want to get
41:39 on to the next subject.
41:41 Let's talk about
41:43 the NFL had some interesting
41:45 coaching decisions and then we're going
41:47 to get to the games real quick. By the
41:49 way, I am waiting for a text
41:51 everybody that is something
41:53 that John and I could be discussing.
41:55 When you see me looking at my phone, I know sometimes
41:57 people in the comments, "Oh, Hondo
41:59 ignores John." No, I'm literally waiting for a
42:01 text that if I get the okay, we're going to talk about
42:03 it. John,
42:05 there was interesting
42:07 decisions. Yeah.
42:09 Let's talk about teams
42:11 playing it safe.
42:13 I didn't understand it.
42:17 I know Houston won.
42:19 A couple times I thought they played it safe.
42:21 What did you think of that?
42:23 There's a highlight
42:25 about the situation.
42:27 In the first quarter, the Texans
42:29 had a fourth and two
42:31 and they took the points.
42:33 Was that a good decision or a
42:35 bad decision? There was some
42:37 controversy there. On the one hand,
42:39 you think they're at home
42:41 doing the math.
42:45 98 yards the other
42:47 way. There's a lot of reasons
42:49 to go for it. On the other hand,
42:51 there are some folks that believe you
42:53 just simply accumulate points until
42:55 a certain point in the game or at least into
42:57 the fourth quarter. This was
42:59 criticized as a really bad
43:01 decision. I'm not so sure that
43:03 it was. Was it that bad to take those
43:05 points rather than go for the fourth and two
43:07 from the two-yard line in the first
43:09 quarter? I agree.
43:11 How about
43:13 Sam Lyons? I'm not a Lyons fan.
43:15 In fact, I got to tell you, I got so many
43:17 emails from Raider Nation
43:19 "Hey, I know you're rooting for the Lyons."
43:21 No, I'm not.
43:23 I'm not a fan. I'm a
43:25 fan of the game of football.
43:27 Yes, I have friends who play
43:29 for the Lyons. Yes, I have friends who work
43:31 for the Lyons. Yes, I have friends who coach at the
43:33 Lyons. Same thing with
43:35 the Raiders. I'm not
43:37 a fan, but
43:39 I love
43:41 Kevin Campbell and his
43:43 "Let's roll."
43:45 I like it.
43:47 It's easy to say that their decision
43:49 to go for it
43:51 on fourth and one from
43:53 the Rams from the two there in the
43:55 second quarter, it's easy to
43:57 say because it worked. It was a great decision.
43:59 But what I think
44:01 what this play reminded me of
44:03 goes back a while.
44:05 The Patriots were playing
44:07 the Colts and
44:09 fourth down that Belichick decided
44:11 to go for it and they came up short and he got hammered
44:13 for it. And that was really
44:15 a play that opened my eyes to
44:17 was that really a bad decision?
44:19 If you think
44:21 you're more likely to
44:23 win the game
44:25 by making the play going
44:27 for it on fourth down, I actually think it's the
44:29 right call nearly every single time.
44:31 So, in the old
44:33 fashion thinking, you know, we'd
44:35 always punt in situations or always take
44:37 points, but I don't know that that's the case.
44:39 So, not only did the Lions' decision
44:41 make some sense because
44:45 you had the momentum at a time
44:47 in the game where it's relatively
44:49 early. You're not going to be stuck
44:51 in the second quarter buried by it.
44:53 That's probably not going to happen. But they
44:55 also might have been thinking and Dan
44:57 Campbell seems to be, it's not that
44:59 he's favoring his offense, but he does not
45:01 seem afraid or lacking
45:03 any confidence that he's got plays
45:05 that his guys can make.
45:07 There are games that we would probably
45:09 have, we'd probably talk with
45:11 Belichick or Parcells. We'd
45:13 probably talk with Joe Gibbs.
45:15 We'd probably talk with Bud Grant.
45:17 We'd probably talk with guys that are
45:19 alive and have passed away.
45:21 If they looked at it now,
45:23 the way the game is played, they'd probably
45:25 say, "No, we would have gone for it." You know,
45:27 "We would have gone for it. We didn't have to worry about this guy getting
45:29 clotheslined or whatever it was."
45:31 So, what I think we're seeing
45:33 and for me it started with that very
45:35 controversial Patriots decision to
45:37 go for it on fourth down against the Colts, but
45:39 the message there was
45:41 I think we have a better chance to win the game
45:43 here on offense by getting the first down
45:45 than by kicking it and/or
45:47 in these situations, like the Lions, than by
45:49 taking the points.
45:51 We are in the era of people
45:53 have realized this and they're going
45:55 for it more often. I'm all
45:57 for it. If you, as the coach,
45:59 think we have a better chance of winning this thing
46:01 with the ball in our hands, go for it.
46:03 If not, kick that thing away.
46:05 But it's definitely a different era
46:07 that we're seeing.
46:09 It's a fun era. I gotta tell you, when you look at
46:11 Dan Campbell, D'Amico, Ryans, and now
46:13 you're seeing Antonio
46:15 Pierce.
46:17 Alright, I think I may have just fixed the light in my
46:19 eye situation. Alright.
46:21 I guess I didn't. But when you're looking
46:23 at the changes in the NFL,
46:25 I like these new guns coming in, don't you?
46:27 Yeah, because
46:29 they were coached by some greats.
46:31 They've been around.
46:33 They're somewhat similar age to all of us.
46:35 And we're seeing what
46:37 they've got to mix.
46:39 Now, the interesting part about those guys
46:41 is they all played.
46:43 Not everybody, like a Mike McDaniel, played.
46:45 There's nothing wrong with that, but it's
46:47 an interesting contrast.
46:49 And we are seeing
46:51 really much more of a four-down
46:53 sport than we ever have.
46:55 Obviously, but for some
46:57 of the older folks out there,
46:59 this is a remarkable contrast
47:01 to where you could practically be like, "Alright,
47:03 we're gonna punt. I'm gonna get up. I'm gonna
47:05 go walk the dog or take the trash out
47:07 or whatever, and I'll come back and the other team's got the ball."
47:09 That
47:11 era is gone. We are
47:13 now at a time, and we will see it
47:15 this weekend, there will be third
47:17 and fourth down, and maybe a late
47:19 clock situation
47:21 that will expose who is
47:23 coordinated in a late clock
47:25 situation
47:27 and who is not.
47:29 Let's quickly get to the games. We're up against a
47:31 hard break here. Houston travels
47:33 to Baltimore. I love
47:35 C.J. Stroud. You know that. I've said it
47:37 all along. I want
47:39 him to win.
47:41 I'm rooting for D'Amico. I'm
47:43 rooting for the Texans.
47:45 I want them to win this
47:47 game. I'm going with
47:49 Baltimore, but it's not because
47:51 I don't want Houston to win.
47:53 No moral victories in the NFL,
47:55 of course. A moral victory would be hanging
47:57 with the Ravens, just like
47:59 everybody else. I'm expecting the Ravens
48:01 to do real well at home and rest it.
48:03 Green Bay, you know I love
48:05 Jordan Love. I predicted them to win the
48:07 NFC Norris. They
48:09 just peaked a little bit too late
48:11 and the Lions were able to get it.
48:13 I love what the Pac's
48:15 doing. I love what they're becoming,
48:17 but I'm sorry going into
48:19 San Fran.
48:21 I'm going to feel guilty because I'm taking every
48:23 home team. I just
48:25 give this one, but you've got
48:27 to remember at this stage in the NFL,
48:29 the home teams are the teams that were better
48:31 all year. I'm taking San
48:33 Fran over the Pac. Your
48:35 thoughts? Green Bay
48:37 is so young and they're ahead of schedule.
48:39 Just like Houston, they're going to take some education
48:41 here. The young
48:43 sweat defense had some promise in Washington.
48:45 Obviously it ended.
48:47 The young Bosa
48:49 reunited in San Francisco.
48:51 Look out. The 49ers
48:53 are getting going.
48:55 I am a Baker
48:57 Mayfield guy. I have too many
48:59 friends of mine who played with them
49:01 who respect them.
49:03 He's grown up.
49:05 I think this is a great
49:07 story. He's not the same kid
49:09 that was in college.
49:11 I love his story.
49:13 I love what he's doing in Tampa.
49:15 I love the coach
49:17 in Tampa who
49:19 gets a question
49:21 this week from a media person
49:23 about how your team is going to
49:25 handle the cold in Detroit.
49:27 He's like, "That walk
49:29 a 20-second wide from the bus
49:31 ride inside the building will be tough, but we'll
49:33 be ready." He tried so hard to be
49:35 classy. Oh my God,
49:37 was that hilarious.
49:39 I
49:41 love Tampa.
49:43 I've got a lot of good
49:45 team in that organization, just like
49:47 I do with Detroit.
49:49 I'm taking the home team in the Detroit Lions.
49:51 Playing very well, the Buccaneers.
49:53 Incredible
49:55 caller of defense, Todd
49:57 Bowles. If the Lions
49:59 make how many mistakes? Two mistakes?
50:01 Can they get away with a third big mistake?
50:03 This is close. Lions by
50:05 less than four.
50:07 I'd be careful. I'm afraid that so
50:09 much emotion dumped out last week. Hopefully
50:11 it was more in the fans than the locker room in
50:13 Detroit because Tampa is
50:15 sharp. Their utensils are sharp.
50:17 They are not likely to beat themselves.
50:19 Lions by a bit.
50:21 I think this game is so close that if
50:23 they played it in Tampa, I'd be
50:25 picking Tampa.
50:27 Next, Kansas
50:29 City goes to Buffalo.
50:31 This is it.
50:33 This is going
50:35 to be a butt-whipping.
50:37 Your thoughts. I don't
50:39 see any kind of whipping.
50:41 I don't see a whipping.
50:43 I do see
50:45 a team that I thought would be in the Super Bowl
50:47 preseason.
50:49 I thought they'd been too injured. I'm still worried
50:51 that they're too injured, but they are
50:53 really playing well, and
50:55 they have benefited from the in-season
50:57 coordinator change that they made.
50:59 This train is going
51:01 forward. It's not
51:03 stopping here.
51:05 I expect a big party in Buffalo,
51:07 and then they've got to come back down to earth and realize
51:09 it's not the Super Bowl.
51:11 Look, we've seen who the Chiefs have been this year.
51:13 This is their chance to get them.
51:15 The Bills will ride
51:17 and jump from whatever snow pile
51:19 onto the tables once again.
51:21 All right, John.
51:23 Two quick questions, and I've got to get you out.
51:25 Max Crosby
51:27 comes out
51:29 and spoke vocally about his owner,
51:31 which I said, I don't think he did anything wrong.
51:33 He loves his owner, loves the Raiders.
51:35 He's a generational
51:37 talent who's earned the right to give his
51:39 opinion.
51:41 Some fans say,
51:43 "You're an employee. Keep your mouth shut."
51:45 Well, Mark Davis, this
51:47 is a business, and
51:49 Max Crosby doesn't
51:51 have to play for the Raiders. He's got a contract,
51:53 but he can hold out.
51:55 The Raiders made a business
51:57 decision when they moved
51:59 from Oakland to Las Vegas,
52:01 and I think it was a great decision,
52:03 but this is a business,
52:05 and he was willing to speak out because
52:07 he has the collateral. I had no problem
52:09 with him doing it. I was supportive. I don't
52:11 think he was wrong. Your thoughts?
52:13 I think he knew what he was doing, and he put
52:15 his stake in the ground at a point in his career
52:17 where it was okay to make it,
52:19 and I think it's probably
52:21 a little bit better for Max
52:23 than the Raiders, but I don't have a huge problem
52:25 with it. The only downside potentially
52:27 is if the Raiders were to have gone
52:29 or to go another way, it
52:31 potentially diminishes his trade value a
52:33 little bit, but I got no problem with it.
52:35 I think it's probably the right time, and this
52:37 is not something that Crosby's going to do
52:39 over and over again. He thought this
52:41 is the time to do it. He did it. No problem
52:43 with it. And the fact that they listened
52:45 to him is a huge deal. All right. Lastly,
52:47 Antonio Pierce.
52:49 He brings the swag.
52:53 He's smart.
52:55 Braylon
52:57 Edwards on this podcast has talked
52:59 about him that even though he was a jet
53:01 and AP was a giant,
53:03 he knew he was going to be a head coach.
53:05 Devin Thomas,
53:07 the other day, the great New York
53:09 Giant wide receiver was telling me how
53:11 just the way
53:13 he was and the way he
53:15 commanded a room,
53:17 I think this is
53:19 the NFL
53:21 at times,
53:23 a lot of times, goes in waves.
53:25 I think you're seeing with D'Amico,
53:27 you're seeing with Dan Campbell, you're seeing
53:29 with Antonio
53:31 Pierce, the wave now is moving.
53:33 Hey, we got to get
53:35 players. People have been in the game.
53:37 Not just some old guy
53:39 that never did anything. We got to
53:41 get somebody in there. I love this
53:43 new wave of bringing in these kind of coaches.
53:45 How about you?
53:47 Not everybody can do it,
53:49 but those guys can.
53:51 And obviously, Doug Peterson can
53:53 who wasn't really part of a wave.
53:55 But what struck me was
53:57 the command and what
53:59 struck me was that Antonio Pierce looked
54:01 more ready for this opportunity
54:03 than I think anybody would have necessarily
54:05 expected. If you look at his resume on paper,
54:07 you don't necessarily know, "Well, that's going to be the guy."
54:09 But folks, that's kind of the way it happens
54:11 sometimes. When Mike Tomlin was
54:13 hired to be the Raiders head coach,
54:15 I'm sorry, the Steelers head coach,
54:17 a lot of people were like,
54:19 "The resume's a little light and thin."
54:21 But when you checked in with players, especially
54:23 around, I think it was the Vikings,
54:25 they were like, "Oh no, this is going
54:27 to be a guy. This is
54:29 just looks like the right fit, the
54:31 right place, the right time, the right
54:33 guy." And again, I'm
54:35 not giving you a cheerleading. That's
54:37 just an evaluation from afar.
54:39 There are intangibles here.
54:41 There's a discipline, an organization,
54:43 an understanding of the
54:45 modern player that has some
54:47 significant value. I think
54:49 Antonio Pierce can get the most out
54:51 of his roster. And that's what the
54:53 Raiders are going to need. They need to
54:55 overachieve to get where they
54:57 want to go.
54:59 This era is about to begin.
55:01 I agree. All right, everybody.
55:03 I'm Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's
55:05 Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider
55:07 Podcast. You can follow me on IG @HondoSR.
55:09 You can grab me on
55:11 @X, formerly known as Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
55:13 Also, go to
55:15 si.com/NFL/Raiders
55:17 for all of our articles.
55:19 Yesterday, I think we did 10 or 11.
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55:37 We'll see you all there. Johnny,
55:39 great to have you. Can't wait to have you again next
55:41 week. Talk to you all later.