KGMZ-FM / 95.7 THE GAME
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Transcript
00:00He's one of our favorites. We want to get right to this. The Divisional Weekend is here.
00:04There's a lot to get to. NFL on Fox. Charles Davis is with us here on Willard & Dibbs on
00:10the River Islands Guest Line. Hey, Charles, how you been, man?
00:13I've been great, and just so we get it so none of us get sued, it's NFL on CBF.
00:19Oh, my gosh. You know what? I swear I think I did this to you last time you came on.
00:23Yeah, you did.
00:24Oh, my gosh. It's just like, I mean, we've been doing it for too long.
00:28Yeah, we need to get that. We need to get that. We need to get that purge.
00:32My bad.
00:33Yeah, we should probably start the whole darn thing over.
00:35Yeah, three, two. Charles Davis, NFL on CBS, joining us here on 95.
00:40Hey!
00:41Hey!
00:42We'll clean that up in the post-production, Charles.
00:43No, we sure will. Charles, anyway, it's always great to have you, and I wanted to start with
00:48this. We wanted to get into all these teams, but how surprised are you that the 49ers are
00:54not playing this weekend?
00:56I think all of us are surprised by the roster, what we expected out of them, all those things.
01:03But then when you go through a season like any NFL season, and you can point to pick
01:09your year, there's always that team that you're just like, how are they not in the playoffs?
01:13And then you look back and go, well, this injury happened here. This thing happened
01:17here. That happened over here. It's an imperfect world, as we well know, and the 49ers caught
01:22a lot of imperfections along the way. For us, on the outside, surprising losses at
01:28times. You know, Arizona kicking the field goal to beat them, among other things, early.
01:33Different things like that kicked in, but this is what happens every year, because what
01:38is the number? A minimum of four teams every year take the place of playoff teams the year
01:44before, and there's always a surprise or two in there.
01:48I think that's actually right. 10 of the 14 from last year are in it again, and one
01:54of the teams that is still in it is the team that ostensibly knocked them out, the LA Rams.
01:59What do you make of the Rams? They beat the Niners twice, including 12-6 in that weird
02:04one at Levi's, and yet they won their first playoff game on a neutral. What do you think
02:09about the Rams and their chances of keeping this thing going?
02:12I think they're better than maybe what people are giving them credit for. I like the way
02:17that they got it together and finished their season. It's a strange one, because playing
02:22Philadelphia, both Philadelphia and the Rams had early open weeks. The Eagles had the earliest
02:29one possible, Week 5. The Rams just followed suit in Week 6, and both of them, after the
02:36open weeks, caught fire, because the Eagles, from open week on, only lost once, that Washington
02:41game when Jalen Hurts got hurt in the first quarter. I think the Rams won nine of their
02:45last 11, one of them being Week 18 when they dressed at everyone, and the other one being
02:51when they got blasted by the Eagles in Week 12.
02:57It's been a very interesting year for both of them, but when I focus on the Rams, two
03:03straight years, abysmal starts, two straight years, terrific finishes, two straight years
03:08getting into playoffs when you have no business getting in based on your early record. What
03:13Sean McVeigh does there is pretty darn good, pretty darn remarkable in a lot of ways. It's
03:20hard to believe at times when you look back and reflect, guys, you remember three seasons
03:25ago, Sean McVeigh was going through all that angst about whether he was going to keep coaching,
03:30should I be in, should I be out? Remember he went through back-to-back off-seasons of
03:35almost going through that huge pit of self-reflection. What do I do? Do I take the $20 million from
03:42McVeigh, what do I do? And now he's all in, you can tell. He's all in, he's locked in,
03:48he's happy coaching, things are working well, and it's working real well for his franchise.
03:53Charles Davis with us, Willard and Dibbs, 95-7 the game. Charles, I think we all understand
03:58both sides of this, but I wonder how you unpack it. They're the Chiefs, they have home field,
04:04but I also feel like most of us don't really think that's the best team. So how do you
04:09sort of look at their chances? I'm not surprised by that. We've seen this happen throughout this
04:15season. I mean, they're 15-2, and I think when you spew that at people, they're like,
04:21what? They're 15-2? Yeah, because it just didn't feel like it. But they are that franchise now
04:28that's very comfortable with close games, very comfortable with games in the balance,
04:33very comfortable with having to make plays down the stretch. Their core guys may be,
04:38so I'm showing a little age at times, because Kelsey gets open, but he doesn't run away from
04:43you the way he used to, does he? When he catches the ball now, it's not an automatic, here comes
04:48another additional five, six, seven yards. I think he ended up the season less than nine yards to
04:53catch. So it was very strange, but he still finds a way to get open, and does he find that magic in
04:59the playoffs again? Holmes is certainly going to trust them. They're getting healthier at the right
05:04time. I think the thing that's still throwing me is it sounds like Joe Tooney's going to kick
05:08from guard to tackle to play in the playoffs. They trust him the most at left tackle, and I
05:13understand it. I also remember when the Eagles lost Jason Peters before the Super Bowl, their
05:20playoffs before the Super Bowl, and there was talk about moving Lane Johnson from right to left. But
05:25if you did that, then you'd have to replace Lane Johnson at right. So they put Halapul Avante Vitae
05:30at left tackle, let him absorb some stuff down the stretch, work through the playoffs, and they
05:36made one move on the offensive line, and they found a way to win a Super Bowl. This is where
05:42Kansas City's making two moves. Tooney's going to go from left guard to left tackle, and now you're
05:47back up. Mike Caliendo's coming in at left guard, rather than leave Tooney at guard and make one
05:53move with a DJ Humphries who they picked up late, or someone else. Now, having watched Wanya Morris
05:58play for the season, you're not going to let him play left tackle in the playoffs. You just can't.
06:03I mean, it just did not work for them. Humphries they hoped would work, but remember, he got hurt
06:07the first game he played, and I'm not sure he's totally healthy yet. So to me, that bears watching,
06:12because Houston's defensive front is pretty darn good, and that's the Neil Hunter, and that's Will
06:19Anderson, who'll be coming over that spot throughout the game. Let's see how that one plays out and how
06:24it goes. But to fully answer your question, until you knock them out, Kansas City's like, I don't
06:31care how you come at us. This team's tight. We're going to find a way, and you guys are going to have
06:36to prove that you can flat-out beat us. Buffalo, you do it during the regular season, but you don't
06:40do it in the playoffs. Baltimore, you just haven't done it. Let's see if either one of you can get us if we get past Houston.
06:48Fascinating to see, especially as we get now into year four of the one-buy-only era, and the teams
06:55that have had the buy are four and two, and two years ago, they both lost. So as you look at the
07:01rest versus rust angle with the Chiefs and the Lions, where do you weigh in on, you know, which
07:06one might be more of a big factor for these two teams? I think it's more of a factor for Kansas
07:12City, because it's not just the open wing. Hold on a second. Hey, really?
07:21We have a long history on this show of when the dog introduces itself, we need to hear a little
07:26bit more about the dog. But here's the kicker. That was just one. That was just Nolan introducing
07:31himself. Georgia and Trouble both decided to stay quiet. Nolan, you know, he works on his own
07:38schedule. Anyway, bottom line, back to the back to the the open week for me is bigger for Kansas
07:45City. Let me tell you why. They finished that season with that three and 11, remember three
07:51games in 11 days, and that was grueling in the whole deal. But then week 18, they were locked
07:55into number one. They didn't play anyone. So that week was an open week out of their main guys.
08:01Then you get the open week this week. And now you go play and up the number of days,
08:08because you remember, their last game that they played was that Wednesday,
08:12which I believe was Christmas Day. So they got all that time off, which looks wonderful.
08:18But you start to wonder about the rust, right? You want to do, do you come out of it a little
08:22sluggish? Do these things happen for you? That's going to be interesting to watch.
08:27And I'm reminded of years ago when Pat Ryan was coaching the Lakers. I think they blasted through
08:32their playoff series, you know, put everybody out, you know, three games, four games, whatever.
08:37And then they have like 10 days before the finals and he took them out in the desert somewhere.
08:43And they actually scrimmage like three times because he did not want them going into game
08:47one a little sluggish. Cause you know what it's like those games like the other team comes off
08:52of a seven game series. They're oiled up and ready to play. And who wins that game one?
08:58The team who appears to be tired. Yep. He doesn't want that. Let's see what happens
09:02at Kansas city. I think it's a bigger factor to me for Casey than I believe it is for Detroit.
09:07Charles Davis, CBS with us, Willard and dibs. Okay, Charles, I'll just ask it this way.
09:12You do whatever you want with it. Uh, Lamar or Josh.
09:16And what, what's, what's, what's the premise of the whole thing?
09:20I mean, it can be who has the most pressure because the question I've been getting is who
09:24has the most practice, right? But I, I like, I don't know, man, it's a playoff game. They've
09:28all got pressure. I wonder like, who, who do you think? Um, yeah. Who do you think has a better
09:34shot in this game? And also who do you think has a better chance to then do something with it
09:38after they win? Yeah, it's a fantastic question. It really is. First I've been asked it this
09:44way, the pressure angle to me, there's more on the Marjax two-time MVP. I think he's about to be
09:50a three-time MVP, but hasn't gotten to the NFC to the, to the, um, Superbowl yet. Kind of parallel
09:57and Peyton Manning early years, went a bunch of games, get through it, but never quite got there.
10:02Then finally got over the hump. I feel like it's going to happen for him. Is it this year? We'll
10:07soon find out, but having the one, two punch with him and Derek Henry in the backfield is a big,
10:12big addition for him. Josh Allen on the flip side, he went into the season and having lost
10:18quote unquote, the biggest weapon was to find digs. The team does not appear to have the same
10:22roster. There's a lot of, Hey, the jets could be able there. And, and here comes Miami.
10:28And they did it again because Josh, I feel like, I feel like he emulated my home for the last two
10:33years. I'm going to put this team on my back and you guys come along with me. And he's in the
10:37perfect sweet spot in his career. Veteran enough to have the savvy to do it still young enough to
10:42have the legs to do it. And he did it. He did it in a big way. I think there's way more pressure
10:48on Lamar Jackson to get it done than there is on Josh Allen. I still think Josh Allen is still,
10:53Oh, wow. That team, well, they actually did better than we expected.
10:57That's not what they're going to say about Baltimore. Not at all. Who has the ability to do
11:02at all? Who has the ability to do more? I think both of them do because here's the
11:07say a deal. Baltimore finally broke through the Pittsburgh issue. Remember Pittsburgh had
11:11beaten them eight out of nine. And then they beat them in the second game of the, of the
11:16regular season, beat them pretty handle it and blasted them in the playoffs. So that's gone.
11:21And they've been so close with Kansas city this year was what a toenail
11:25of going for two and maybe beating them. I think they'd like their shot again.
11:30And we know Buffalo feels they know they can be Kansas city. They've done it in a regular season.
11:35They just haven't done it in the playoffs. I think they both match up well with the ability
11:38to go on the road and play. But if you asked me to pick one, I will pick Baltimore.
11:44Yeah. It's going to be a really, really fun game to watch on a Sunday afternoon. I'm looking at
11:49Kansas city in Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia, and you've been to all these buildings for sure.
11:54Which one provides the toughest environment for a road team?
12:00Kansas city in Detroit, Buffalo and Philly and Philly. Ooh, geez. I'm going to, I'm going to
12:09anger three fan bases in a big way. Um, Buffalo combines everything because you're outdoors
12:18that builds mafias for real. You know, it's a heck of a heck of a heck of a thing. And by the way,
12:23they're going to kick off. It'd be a single digit that when they kick the thing off.
12:28So for this weekend, I'm going to go with Buffalo and it's a long suffering
12:32fan basis is dying to get there. But you know, when you flip it indoors and what Detroit has
12:37to offer and big Dan Campbell and crew, it'll be wild. But I'm going to go with Buffalo is
12:42the toughest one out of those four left. Charles, before we let you go, you got to
12:47help us. You're probably not going to be surprised by this, this whole city and metropolitan area
12:53is just kind of freaking out and having a daily debate over Brock Purdy, what to do,
12:58what's the right number. Can we wrap our head around numbers that big?
13:03What, what is your view? Um, league wide on, on Brock Purdy, what's about to happen and,
13:10and what should happen? Yeah. Oh boy. My view on him is that I like him a lot. I'm on record
13:17is really liking him. I think that he is better. And sometimes people want to give him credit for
13:22it. People want to say, Hey, he's got these receivers. He's got this thing. He's got that
13:25thing. I think that he has played himself into a position where he can go and have success at
13:30a place other than San Francisco. I don't think it's just, Hey, Kyle has schemed him and everything.
13:35This has worked. This kid had to be around and be the better quarterback where Kyle kept turning
13:41his head and saying, this kid has been better than the other guys I've got. That means something to
13:46me. Not just system wide. Okay. Kids experience from college, all the things we're talking about.
13:52The issue you run into is, as you said, the right number, he's going to get bigger than
13:58probably the right number. It reminds me a little bit of Carson Wentz. Remember at the time when
14:04signed the deal, which was the biggest one, which is a little over 30, if I remember correctly,
14:08and it was a heavy debate. Is this really the right thing to do? I think that's kind of where
14:14we are. And you know what the flip side is and Brock Purdy's people know it. Okay. Tell me,
14:19tell us the alternative then guys. What's your alternative? Who are you getting? Because this
14:24is not the 2024 draft of college quarterbacks, which out of the six, there wasn't a single bust.
14:33Think about that. Now people can talk about Caleb Williams, all you want that was bigger
14:37than Caleb Williams. Okay. That was a mass dysfunction of an, of an organization.
14:42And by the way, he played through it better than he probably got credit for
14:47Jayden Daniels. We know was incredible. Drake may really came on with new England on a really bad
14:52football team. Bo Nix went to the playoffs and then had a very nice rookie year to put it mildly.
14:58JJ McCarthy didn't get to play because of the knee injury. And when Michael Pennix got to play,
15:02he was a little bit of a revelation in Atlanta. Right? So when you talk about six like that,
15:08you're like, Ooh, these guys coming out this year may go high,
15:13but I don't know if they were rated ahead of the guys that came out last year.
15:18It's not the same class of players. Does that mean Shadour Sanders, Cam Ward won't be stars.
15:24I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, I think people may be a little more cautious about their
15:29picks here, but some teams may have to go early and say, guess what? They're going to be our
15:33quarterback because it's the best is coming out this year. And I don't mean that in a bad way.
15:37I think they're good players. I just don't know that they would have been rated as highly as last
15:41year's class. If that makes any sense. Sure does. Yeah, that's a really, really good point. Hey,
15:45man, uh, thank you so much. We love when you come on Charles Davis of CBS.
15:51We're on a 95, 70 game. Thank you, my friend. Hey, thank you guys very much. And don't forget
15:58one day we have to go back to my hometown to go, go on Halloween and see if they're still
16:03giving the full-size candy bars and Mr. Terry's house. Oh man. No doubt. Mark it down any, any
16:09year. Yeah. But you know how far people will go when they find out a house has the full size candy
16:19miles out of the way. Well, I heard, I heard a rumor that when JJ Watt was, you know,
16:24obviously I think he's still got a place in Houston at all. Heard that he did a great job
16:28on the Halloween candy. And they said the cops had to come because the line to try and get into
16:33his neighborhood. Everyone was trying to find JJ's house and get the full-size bar
16:40all for something that you could walk over to the grocery store and get for like a dollar and a half.
16:50And in New Paltz, New York, you can't get it from Mr. Terry. So look, you, you gotta,
16:54you gotta go. And by the way, if the three of us go, you know, that we'll be immediately
16:58arrested. Right. You know that. I'm looking forward to it. I'm willing to, I'm willing to
17:06take the chance. We'll try it one day. All right, man. Thanks so much. Thank you. Bye-bye. There
17:13he goes. Charles Davis, CBS. He's one of our favorites.