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[Assistant] Can't do the bootlegs once they can't run the ball. And then they don't have a drop back pass game. They don't have a drop back pass game. So Kirk Cousins has no chance to succeed when the game gets into like that. It just so lacks creativity on that side of the ball. And you know, hey, there you go, Cleveland, you can have Kevin


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[Assistant] Those are huge guys for them. Again, this is a Seattle scheme. Alright, so it's not about creativity. It's about the players and energy and their talent is what like makes that scheme really, really good. And those are three vital positions. Seattle was famous


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[Assistant] And the Seattle Seahawks run because they had Cliff Abrell and Chris Clemens and Michael Bennett coming off the edge.


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[Assistant] You know, yes, so they need D4 to go with Nick Bosa. And they need their Bobby Wagner, who's Kwan Alexander. And they need their Kam Chancellor, who's Jokloski Tart.


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[Assistant] And you see that they look like a different defense than those guys here on the field. They're just faster, more aggressive, they're smarter, everything about it. And they just had their way with Minnesota on both sides of the ball. I think that was the thing I was shocked by. Again, you know why I wanted, I thought the 49ers were gonna win the game.


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[Assistant] A week after the Vikings absolutely whooped the Saints up front, I just did not think that the 49ers would absolutely dominate them the way they did up front like that. And I think that was the thing that maybe shocked me the most. The other stuff I, you know, I feel, I want to say I feel like I kind of saw happening.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'm not gonna let last week, like, he did it already. I'm not gonna let just this game where- What do you mean he did it already? Well, he did it in Seattle. You know, he was awesome there. You know, he was awesome in New Orleans, on the road in New Orleans. So I've seen enough to know he can do it.


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[Assistant] Yeah, were there some shaky moments? Definitely. Listen, I'm not trying to like...


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[Assistant] But it was his first playoff game, and he was playing a pretty good defense, and


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[Assistant] I think this will go a long way for him being that much more comfortable this week. I really do.


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[Assistant] You know, hey, you can say all you want. When you get out in the playoffs, it's just, it's a different world, and you know you're the only game on.


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[Assistant] And, you know, just the intensity of the game and the moment and all that is so, so magnified. He made some shaky throws, some shaky decisions, uh, but I think it's really only going to make them better for, for this week. And they were able to escape it without him really hurting the team.


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[Assistant] I think they're a heavy favorite to win it all. I think so too. They probably are the best team. They're the best team. I don't think there's any way they lose to Green Bay unless they make mistakes. Like Jimmy G throws interceptions to what you're talking about or somebody busts a coverage. Like I don't see that happening. Now Kansas City, if they have to play Kansas City in the Superbowl,


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[Assistant] I would go, ooh, that would scare me a little. It would. Because Kansas City, like I told you, they had the big people who sold the run game. Spagnolo is pretty creative. He can match wits with Shanahan a little bit. They can pass protect in Kansas City as we saw yesterday.


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[Assistant] So that can maybe nullify the forward Nick Bosa factor just a little bit to wear that. So that is just interesting to me. But I think that yes, the 49ers are the best team left in football.


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[Assistant] Well, yeaah, I mean, it's harmony because there's a coach who just basically said, I don't care, I'll do whatever I gotta do to be a head coach. And they're like, that's what we wanted to hear. That's right, you'll listen to us and you'll like it. I mean, that's what they got. And that's what it is. First off, what excites you about Kevin Stefanski? And again, I would like to clarify this just before we start.


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[Assistant] I know Paul D. Podesta is a nice man. This is not personal as a human being. I'd like to have a beer with you. You're probably not going to want to have a beer with me after this segment. Okay? Same with Kevin Szymanski. No, he's a nice guy. I don't really know him. I know he's a good guy and all that. This is purely football. But like first, this is the first thing I would say.


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[Assistant] Over the last six weeks, when people have asked Mike Zimmer about his offense, he never brings up Kevin Stefanski. He talks about the things he talks about that he loves about the offense are Gary Kubiak related. He's actually said, what, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, that Kubiak was the best thing that's ever happened to him since he's been in Minnesota.


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[Assistant] There, like, you gotta look into the things that's not being said.


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[Assistant] And here's two years in a row and we haven't really heard like, Stefanski is the greatest thing we've seen or he's really held me out.


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[Assistant] Listen, I know he's done some good things, but what, you know, what we saw all year, this is where I just don't get it with Cleveland. Like, if the run game didn't work, again, Gary Kubiak run game didn't work.


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[Assistant] Nothing really worked in Minnesota, and they certainly couldn't rely on their drop back pass game. It's simple.


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[Assistant] I mean, it's, it's as simple as can be. It's a 6th grade offense when you break it down that way. So, yeaah, I have issues with the higher. Then I have issues with Cleveland, going like, what the hell are you thinking?


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[Assistant] It's just stupid. And then the fact that you start to hear these things where the analytics team is running the organization.


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[Assistant] I mean a guy who was running a baseball team is now telling a guy in football, the owner, how to run the football team. The same guy who the analytics said


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[Assistant] You have to send the game plan to them? Yeah. What? And then they're involved in in-game decisions? That's insanity.


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[Assistant] And you know what was there? The analytics department. So they suck too. That's all I can say. Analytics have always been part of the sport. Makes no sense what they're doing. They're way too involved. I don't know who Jimmy Haslam is listening to. He's been duped or fooled by somebody.


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[Assistant] And just makes absolutely no, no sense to me too. And you know, it's a shame too, because I look at a guy like Josh McDaniels and go, ah, he's perfect for there.


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[Assistant] But like, you know, you read reports that like Josh McDaniels had a seven hour interview and he was asking them as many questions as they were asking him. Of course he was. I mean, he came from the place who does everything right. And he's probably like, what? You do it what way? What? I need to ask you a few questions on that. Why do you do it that way?


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[Assistant] Oh, that makes no sense. Let me ask another question. That makes no sense. So, you know, I've given up on Cleveland. I don't care. I'm not rooting for him anymore. I've given up. Sorry, Annie.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, I mean, I get that. Those questions are gonna be there. Yeaah, and it's gonna be in their head. They still have a lot of young talent. And John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson.


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[Assistant] You know, I, I, yeaah, they have a certainly still a bright future.


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[Assistant] Listen, I'll say, you look at Houston and Seattle, they're not far off either.


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[Assistant] I mean, Houston's not. Houston, if they could get a pass rusher, sure up their defense a little bit that way, I mean, they're not far off. And same with Seattle.


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[Assistant] You know, Seattle is just, they got a, they got a few vital positions. They need an improvement too. They need a more of a pass rush. They need another cover corner for just like what we saw with games yesterday. When it's third and five or third and eight, they can't play man against anybody. And that's what you have to do in the NFL because you can't play zone on third and five.


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[Assistant] Because like Aaron Rodgers is gonna buy time and somebody's gonna move into a hole and he's gonna manipulate it and throw it in there. And that's what you see. The great defense is playing man in those situations. Seattle can't do that. So again, they're not far off these teams, but I guess, yes, if you made me pick one, I feel still really good about Baltimore.


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[Assistant] Next thing, I want to start throwing things because I'm so angry with that whole thing.


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[Assistant] Ahmed, you the man, always. Thanks, thanks for doing it. Uh, Chris Sims on buttons in the books.


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[Assistant] You know, rate, review, whatever. Wednesday, we're going to be back. I think we're going to stick with a little bit of what we did last week on NBC Sports or YouTube slash NBCSports.com where I did a little more of the breakdown, the X's and O's of matchups to come. So look for that. Uh, hope everybody's good out there. Talk to you Wednesday. Peace.


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[Assistant] Yo yo, what's up? Come on man, subscribe on YouTube to Chris Simms Unbuttoned Podcast. I need you, please hit the subscribe button, please!


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[Assistant] It feels like there is some sort of a knife and or ice pick that is jamming right into the bottom of my ass and when I stand up it, you know.


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[Assistant] It's not, it's not like, you know, the red hot poker that you talk about. It's more external. Right. This isn't going very well. No. But anyway, it hurts. Right now I'm fine. Right now I'm fine. And I ordered a butt pillow.


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[Assistant] It has like the hole in the middle, so you, you, you, you take the pressure off of the tailbone. By the time it arrives, I'll probably be healed.


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[Assistant] Bumped my ass 14 times from top down to the bottom. We can stop that now, that's very disturbing. Uhm, but, uh, but it was just straight down.


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[Assistant] Head up. Somehow I did not. You haven't been to my house, but Casey's been to my house. They are hard stone tile stairs. This isn't carpeted. This isn't wood. These are rocks.


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[Assistant] The gym is not standalone. It's not like I got a Gold's gym next to my house. It's a room in that house that has workout equipment in it. I doubt that I'm the only person in the world that has one.


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[Assistant] Well first of all, I'm very happy that they have removed the Chris Sims Christmas ornament and brought back evil Roger Goodell.


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[Assistant] Well, I think that if you dangle the carrot and make him think that he has a chance to save his job, you enhance your chances of winning. But again, for the teams that aren't going to make it to the playoffs,


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[Assistant] I'm a firm believer in not trying to win that last game or two because you're gonna find yourself lower in the pecking order than you would have been. Now, it's not gonna matter, right? Wait, what first round pick did they give up? They gave up this year's first round pick, so they'll have their first round pick.


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[Assistant] Uh, from the Odo Beckham Jr. Trade. That, that, that, that, that's gone. That's done. That was last year, right? Yeah, it's this year's that they'll get back. So, so it's important to them.


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[Assistant] And, and I'm surprised more owners don't think along those lines. There's only so much you can do to engineer a loss in week 17.


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[Assistant] They're not going to bench Baker Mayfield. They're not going to evaluate a slew of young talent. They'd like to get to seven and nine. Last year, seven, eight and one. This year, seven and nine. That's a huge accomplishment for how bad these Browns have been. I don't think it's going to be enough to save Freddie Kitchens if he's already out.


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[Assistant] And I'll be surprised if the Bengals beat the Browns. So, you know, this one's easy to me. For these week's 17 games, when you really don't know motivations, who's gonna be making business decisions? Chris, you've talked about that with Brandon Marshall. When he was at the end of his rookie contract, he was stressed out. I can't go out there and play until I get my contract. How many guys are thinking about


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[Assistant] That. This is a meaningless game. I don't want to get injured. I don't want to screw up my, my contract interests.


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[Assistant] I'm not gonna go out there and take unnecessary risks. I'm not gonna play hard. I'm not that it's gonna be pro bowl level, but I'm worried that some of these teams just aren't gonna have guys who are going all out and trying to win.


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[Assistant] The uh, the Falcons will be buoyed. Is it buoyed or buoyed? They'll be, they'll be boosted by the fact that Dan Quinn is going to be back. They've been playing hard for him. I don't think they're gonna take a break in week 17. I think the Buccaneers just...


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[Assistant] That game last week, they had the Texans beat and I just think it's going to be hard for Bruce Arians to hold everyone together. It's going to be a challenge to get Jameis Winston to avoid being the NFL's first 30 and 30 quarterback. I like the Falcons in this one, 27 to 24.


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[Assistant] Over the Buccaneers. And this is another one of those. Where's the motivation gonna come from? Who's gonna want it more? Who's gonna be making business decisions? And I think the Falcons are gonna be more intent on finishing on a high note to try to carry that over into next year and try to get people to realize this is not a team where 2016 was the fluke.


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[Assistant] This year, the start of this year was the fluke. They're gonna try to prove they're still a contender. And I think the fact that they're not gonna be going through a coaching change will allow them to, to remove that uncertainty, focus on the task at hand, getting it done and beating the Buccaneers.


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[Assistant] The Falcons only have 2 or 10 rather for the year, but you know, they don't play Jameis Winston every week. If they did, maybe they'd have 30. I think that he gets it. He's gonna try his damnedest not to.


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[Assistant] And I think he's gonna think too much about it, which is gonna cause him to make those mistakes. It's just like when he tries too hard.


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[Assistant] Is when he puts himself in that mode. And I think he should just get the two early and forget about it and then go out there and try to win the game. But I think he will get his two and he'll be the first 30 and 30 guy. The closest two ever came before that to 30 and 30 was Lynn Dickey in 1983 with 32 and 29.


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[Assistant] Let me say something. I'm very glad I didn't die when I fell down the steps the other day, but the one benefit to dying would have been I'd never have to listen to this your team shit ever again.


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[Assistant] And we talked about this philosophy during PFT Live today. What do you do when you're playing for nothing in week 17? And I keep coming back to what would Bill Belichick do, and I think Bill Belichick, after the way the Vikings played Monday night,


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[Assistant] The punishment would be, you bastards are playing on Sunday.


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[Assistant] And I want to see some better effort going into the playoffs. You can't rest on that as your final game for your starters. That, that, that game they played, that horrendous no-show with 139 total yards of offense. And I would put them on the field and if they get hurt, oh well, if you would have played better last Monday night, you wouldn't have gotten injured. And I think that's what Zimmer should do.


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[Assistant] He should play to win, he should play to get this offense ready, and if they don't show some improvement offensively they're gonna be screwed in the wild card round when they end up in New Orleans or Seattle or I guess Green Bay is still a possibility. But they need to get their stuff right and this is an opportunity to do it. So I think they will.


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[Assistant] And I think they'll beat the Bears by a slim margin. 24 to 21. Again, I don't know what the motivation for the Bears is going to be. They're playing for nothing. But, uh, you know, they're trying to, I guess, set the tone for next year. I don't know. I don't...


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[Assistant] It's like the Pro Bowl! I'm healthy enough to play one more game, why am I playing one more game? It means nothing!


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[Assistant] If the 49ers beat the Seahawks and the Packers beat the Lions, I think the Seahawks would be the 5 seed. Nevermind.


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[Assistant] I just, I think that the Vikings are screwed either way in the wild card round. Wherever they play, whoever they play week 17, that team I saw Monday night has no business sniffing the playoffs. And the Rams need to be kicking themselves in their ass bones repeatedly for blowing their shot to beat the 49ers.


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[Assistant] As we've discussed, and we'll be discussing coming up, they've had the horseshoe up their ass all year, and it's kind of fallen out recently. I think Seattle is the weakest of the options.


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[Assistant] I think they will, although I got to wonder what kind of calls the Saints are going to get this weekend from the officials now that the Saints have brought in Antonio Brown for a workout and I'm being


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[Assistant] But we know how the tinfoil hat crowd operates. If the Saints do get some bad calls on Sunday, there will be Saints fans who attribute it to the Saints sticking their finger in the eye of the league and flirting with Antonio Brown.


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[Assistant] I don't think any of that matters. I don't think any of that's real, but I do think the Saints, with every motivation to be the Panthers team, that is not trying to win. No, it doesn't seem like it.


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[Assistant] Exercising the billionaire's privilege to say, let's go with Will Greer, who's third string for a reason. They're going to finish five and 11. They're going to get better draft positioning and the Saints are going to get the win to fill out their portion of what they need to do to emerge with a bye week and possibly the number one seed.


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[Assistant] That determined the one seed if, if the 49ers end up winning this thing on Sunday night and it all came down to stopping them on fourth and two. They didn't and that changes everything. And now the saints are going to have to do it the hard way in the final two rounds of the NFC playoffs. It's amazing to be 13 and three. That's the same record that they had in


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[Assistant] Yeah, look, it's David Blau. It's not Matthew Stafford. I mean, at Detroit, I would have worried about Green Bay if Matthew Stafford was still playing quarterback. I'm not worried about...


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[Assistant] Green Bay losing to the Lions with David Blowett quarterback and with Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn both already secure and safe to come back next year. I think this is a game that Packers should win easily and I am scrolling here to find my score for the game.


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[Assistant] Actually, four teams that can end up with a one seed. The Seahawks are still a way they end up with a one seed. It's amazing how it all could play out.


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[Assistant] I uh, I think that the Jets will be highly motivated to win this game. Far more motivated than the Bills will be. The Bills are not gonna play Josh Allen the entire game.


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[Assistant] I don't know how much he's going to play, but they're not going to improve their playoff positioning. This is their way to rest and kind of regroup and get ready for a game at Houston, a game at Kansas City.


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[Assistant] They have nothing to play for, as you said. The Jets are playing for pride after that horrible start to the season. Uh, and, and I'll tell you what, I've learned the hard way. Before I start picking my teams to make the playoffs, I'm gonna look at their schedule to see.


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[Assistant] About Adam Gase's job security and you've got people in the New York media that, that are always looking for ways to criticize him. He's turned his team around and this team is finishing on a high note and they have a lot of things to be excited about going in to 2020. And I think they desperately want to win this game to finish seven to nine for them.


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[Assistant] More so than the Browns. For them, seven to nine versus six and ten is a huge, huge difference because it means six and two down the stretch instead of, uh,


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[Assistant] Just think about this. You take away week one when they were up 16-0 to the bills and blew it. You take away that loss to the Dolphins you mentioned. You flip, it doesn't, it just shows you how


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[Assistant] That margin can be between a playoff team and a non-playoff team. And you get a couple of those games bent your way early in the year, and all of a sudden, there you are. That's why I say in September, those wins, those ugly wins are money in the bank. It's one of the reasons why the Packers are on the brink of being 13-3. They won games early on when their offense was crap.


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[Assistant] And it's money in the bank, it's money in the bank, and then you get to week 16, 17, all those wins from September and October that feel like years ago, those are the things that are making the difference. And for the Jets,


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[Assistant] Couple of those things flipped around and they'd be a team that we'd be talking about in that mix for the sixth seed with the Titans, the Steelers, and the Raiders entering week 17.


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[Assistant] Yeah, look, the chiefs are trying to hold the three seed, and they're trying to climb to the two seed, but the Patriots would have to lose to the Dolphins, really. We haven't gotten to that game yet, but really. But here's the key. Avoiding the Buffalo Bills.


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[Assistant] That's all the incentive that Andy Reid and company need. You don't want Buffalo rolling into town in the wild card round if you slide to the four seed. So they've got every reason to hold serve at home, beat the Chargers,


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[Assistant] And I like in this game, if I can find it, the Chiefs 27, the Chargers 17.


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[Assistant] Oh, the Patriots are going to make the super bowl. There it is.


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[Assistant] The Patriots are sliding into that very dangerous mindset. You know everything changes at the end of the regular season. Once you flip it over to single elimination,


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[Assistant] Everything that happened week 1 to 17 doesn't matter. It's a different existence. It's a different mindset. It's a different approach. And no one handles it better than the Patriots. Do not sleep on the Patriots. You're falling into the trap, Chris.


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[Assistant] Has inside information on the Patriots. He was there for a long time. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn't matter. When you don't have the players, it doesn't matter. When you go into Foxborough in late December, it doesn't matter. If this game was in Miami, a lot more intriguing given the history of the Patriots struggling in Miami, which is the destination they're trying to earn a trip to in the Super Bowl this year.


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[Assistant] I think with the Patriots understanding the significance of getting that week off, yeaah, they're not gonna get the one seed, but they can still get the two seed. They've had the buy every year.


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[Assistant] Since 2009, 2009, the last year, they had to play wild card weekend. They are not going to fall into this trap and lose to the Dolphins. The stakes are high.


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[Assistant] The, the Patriots are gonna be ready to go. I think the Patriots win this game and they should win it fairly easily just because they are the far better team. And the score that I have here, if I can find it, here it is. I got 24-13. So I think I'm giving the Dolphins the cover here. Yeah, you are. But I'm giving the Patriots the win.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's the last game ever at the Coliseum until the Rams somehow end up playing there again someday, which I really don't think is going to happen. Uh, you know, the Cardinals are playing for pride and they're trying to lay the foundation for next year and they've won two in a row after losing six in a row. I really don't know what the motivation of the Rams is, but, but consider this.


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[Assistant] Changes are coming to that organization after the season. And I think Sean McVeigh has been paying very careful attention to who's with him and who's not. And he's gonna wanna finish with a win. He's gonna wanna see everybody put their best foot forward. And I think that what we see from the Rams on Sunday and what McVeigh sees is gonna help shape the decisions that he makes.


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[Assistant] For 2020 and, and I think that that gives the Rams enough of a kick. They're good enough to beat the Cardinals between finishing things out in the Coliseum, between impressing Sean McVay and keeping a job in 2020. I think those are factors that will push the Rams over the top.


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[Assistant] But remember, this game has real significance for the Oakland Raiders. Not that the Colts or the Jaguars care, but it's one of the dominoes that needs to fall to give the Raiders a shot. And it's not all that crazy for the Raiders to make it.


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[Assistant] If the Titans lose, if the Steelers lose, if the Colts lose, if the Raiders win, and if the Patriots win,


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[Assistant] The Raiders are in. Unbelievable. And the Patriots victory has something to do with strength of victory. It has nothing to do with the actual tiebreakers directly, but it's amazing. It's amazing, uh, to think the Raiders have a shot here.


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[Assistant] And it hinges on the Colts winning, and I think the Colts will win. Look, the Tom Coughlin firing didn't do anything to give the Jaguars a boost.


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[Assistant] I'm still skeptical about Marrone and Caldwell being on the short list to be fired. I think they already would have been gone if that was the case. And I think if you want to try to get the most out of Gardner Minshew as a potential franchise quarterback, you need to give him a chance with the guy who picked him and with the guy who groomed him. You bring in a new coach, new GM.


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[Assistant] All of a sudden, Garden Minshew may end up being a guy that gets forgotten. I think the organization is rooting for Minshew to become the franchise quarterback because they know they can make a lot of money off of Minshew Mania.


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[Assistant] If you are not committed to making him the starting quarterback, then you just gotta bite the bullet and get rid of him. You think so? Take the hit.


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[Assistant] Broncos are still a very good team and they've been better this year than the record would suggest. This is going to be a tough game for the Raiders, their last game ever.


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[Assistant] Quite possibly. As the Oakland Raiders. I mean, they've already blown their last home game as the Oakland Raiders. They still have this game as their last game as the Oakland Raiders, unless they can become a playoff team, which requires them to win. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I like the Raiders in this one, 20 to 17. I just think that, that that


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[Assistant] That memory of blowing their last home game as the Raiders is going to maybe be that little bump necessary. And with the Broncos again, I don't know what the motivation is week 17, a little business decision.


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[Assistant] You know, a little protect yourself, a little, uh, maybe don't go all out. And, uh, and the Oakland Raiders in their last game ever as the Oakland Raiders get the win.


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[Assistant] Alright, you ready? How many do we disagree on now? Is that three? Are we up to three? I think we are. Anybody keeping track?


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[Assistant] Yes, I think they will win because the Ravens are sitting a number of starters. Not despite, but because of it. I've seen enough of RG3 this year to know that he is not good enough to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think it's going to be a very low scoring game.


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[Assistant] I think the Steelers aren't capable of scoring a ton of points but they're capable of scoring enough points to overcome a Ravens team.


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[Assistant] Where they are right now, first of all, they don't believe that the Titans are gonna lose, so the Steelers don't get in either way, win or lose, but I also think the Ravens are confident that if they put their best guys out on the field, they'll kick the crap out of the Steelers, so they're not worried about not trying.


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[Assistant] There's just, there's a fundamental difference and look, you can put any quarterback out there on the field after Lamar Jackson and we'd be like,


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[Assistant] Oh god, bring back Lamar Jackson. I just think there is a fundamental difference in everything about RG3 in comparison to Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson is on a level here, and RG3 is down here. The way he moves, there's no explosion, there's just...


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[Assistant] All of the things that Lamar Jackson is, RG3 isn't, and it just, it does not, it does not...


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[Assistant] Farewell in comparison, and I think that, that, uh, we're gonna be reminded why RG3 was out of football for a full year before he landed in Baltimore as the backup to Lamar Jackson. I just, I, I, uh,


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[Assistant] Here's the thing, if you're gonna put more than a handful of your key starters in bubble wrap, how can you expect the other starters to go out there and bust their asses and put it on the line? You're telling them this game doesn't matter. You're telling them this is a preseason game, so you can't keep them out there for the whole game.


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[Assistant] up a spot in the playoff three from four to three. If the chiefs lose, they'll know though before kickoff or they should know unless the chiefs end up in overtime and it extends well beyond four 25 PM.


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[Assistant] Bill O'Brien has said he's playing his starters. That's the mindset they've had all week because they have to assume there is a chance to move from four to three. And if you move from four to three, you avoid the Bills and you also put yourself in position where if things go haywire in the divisional round, if the four seed,


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[Assistant] Or the five seed beat the one seed somehow. You're hosting the AFC championship game if you end up beating the two seed. And we've seen that with the Colts in 2006. And I think that's all the reason for the Texans to be ready to go for the win. But I think the reality is by the time they kick off, they'll know.


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[Assistant] They're stuck at number four, which opens the door for the Titans to win the game. And even though the Titans haven't won in Houston since 2011, this is unique circumstance. Titans are a good team.


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[Assistant] Titans are playing for the playoff berth. I think by the time the game starts, the Texans won't be playing for anything. And that to me adds up to the Tennessee Titans getting the victory, taking that number six seed 24 to 14 over the Texans. And then the Titans are going to be a very dangerous team for the Kansas City Chiefs to face in the wild card round.


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[Assistant] Uh, and we saw the Tennessee Titans win in Kansas City a couple of years ago.


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[Assistant] Yeah, Derek Henry's good to go, and if they regarded last week's game as something that would have made a difference in the playoff chase, they would have played him. Uh, he's ready to go, the Titans are ready to go, and I agree with you, the Titans are gonna win.


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[Assistant] Well, it's not with the NFCE's title on the line because the Cowboys still need the Eagles to lose in a separate game that's going to be played at the same time to have a chance to win it. I think the Cowboys will take care of their business. We saw them early in the year mop up the floor with inferior teams. There's a lot riding on it. This is Jason Garrett's last home game.


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[Assistant] Possibly last game ever as coach of the Cowboys, if the Eagles do indeed win. I think the Cowboys will win the game. I've got it.


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[Assistant] Dallas 30, Washington 17. The Cowboys are the better team. But you know what? They're the better team almost every week. They just don't win. They don't win enough. And this is all on Jason Garrett. He only has himself to blame when he gets fired by the Cowboys. And this game will be a reminder of how good they could have been. That's the thing. The Cowboys are at the point now.


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[Assistant] Where every time they have a game like the one we saw against the Rams, it's a reminder of how it could have been. Today's game, or Sunday's game, it's a reminder of how it could have been. And they've failed to live up to their potential, and it's all on the coaching staff, and I just think it underscores the reality that Jason Garrett and other members of that staff are gonna be gone when the season ends.


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[Assistant] And if I'm onto something here, it's a sign of behind the scenes. And we saw how salty Jason Garrett can be in the All or Nothing series. His vocabulary is even more colorful than yours when he's away from the normal


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[Assistant] That's why he did it in the first place. He doesn't like it. They forced him to do something he didn't want to do. So when his ass is on the line, he's going to do things the way he wants to do them. And now he's going to lose his job because of it.


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[Assistant] As soon as the Eagles beat the Cowboys, we're in the studio for Sunday Night Football, Football Night in America. Tony Dungey says, watch the Giants turn around and beat the Eagles, or words to that effect.


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[Assistant] And it wouldn't surprise me if the Giants win this game. Daniel Jones has played great in recent weeks. He's only the third quarterback in league history to, as a rookie, have three or more games with four or more touchdown passes, joining Fran Tarkenton from my Minnesota Vikings, as you would say, Chris, and Deshaun Watson from your Houston Texans.


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[Assistant] Uh, impressive year for Daniel Jones. Saquon Barkley's healthy again. He had a big performance in that overtime win over Washington. The Eagles are gonna have their hands full.


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[Assistant] But something happened to the Eagles at halftime of that game on Monday night against the Giants a few weeks ago. They were down 17-3, they tied it up, they won it over time, beat Washington in that crazy week 15 game.


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[Assistant] Uh, the, the win over Dallas, they're most impressive of the season. And, and I think they're gonna be able to do what they need to do to get past the Giants and win the division and send the Cowboys home. Uh, they've come too far.


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[Assistant] In, in, in, in a short period of time to stop now. I think the Eagles get it done 23 to 17. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be close, but I think the Eagles have enough to pull it off.


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[Assistant] And let me just say one thing. Let me just mark this moment. Please. This is the moment where you have conceded to me


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[Assistant] The championship in our head-to-head competition. Because we only disagree on two. There's only one game left. I'm up by four. I've clinched, baby. I'm popping the champagne. I've clinched. So, uh, thank you for that.


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[Assistant] No, no, no, it doesn't, no it doesn't, no it doesn't. Oh no, no, oh no my friend. The season ends at the end of the season. The post-season is a different competition altogether. It gives you an actual, actually a chance to win something.


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[Assistant] And the way that you set this up reminded me of something we've talked about in the past, and I am very encouraged to report that we had over 30 people in the house for Christmas Day, and not a single person asked me when I'm leaving for Seattle this weekend.


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[Assistant] Uh, because that happens to us all the time, right? It happens to you all the time. Hey, where are you going this weekend? Well, the same place I always go. Why would I go anywhere but the studio? Oh, you're not going to the game site? Well...


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[Assistant] For, for, for uh, Sunday night, yeaah, they bring everybody to my house. We hang out and watch football in my barn all day long and then we go do the show in my little TV studio above my garage. All five of us. Yeaah, that's how we do it. Anyway, I was very, I was very encouraged though. Nobody asked me if I'm going to Seattle.


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[Assistant] I hope I'm getting smarter as the season goes by. The Seahawks have, I feel bad, you know, the Seahawks are one of my, like, teams I have a soft spot for. I, I, I feel like I've been on board with the, the, uh, reloading, not rebuilding of the Seattle Seahawks since all the changes made after the 2017 season. But I'm sorry, Seahawks, I've got to get off the bandwagon right here. You lost to the Cardinals last week and you shouldn't have. The horseshoe has fallen out of your butt.


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[Assistant] The 49ers feel like they are destined to take this one seed. They have had that glow about them all year long. And I know that the 49ers are one in nine over the last decade playing in Seattle, including playoff games. And I know that the only time they beat the Seahawks in Seattle over the past decade has been with Tavares Jackson at quarterback in 2011. That's fine.


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[Assistant] The 49ers are a much better team than what we've seen really at any point in the last decade. I think this 49ers team is even better than the team that got to the Super Bowl and almost beat the Ravens.


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[Assistant] So they got to finish the job and get that one seed. And Kyle Shanahan knows the difference between one and five. They need the bye week. They have the extra day to get ready for the game because they played on Saturday night.


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[Assistant] I like the 49ers in this one. Close game, exciting game, fun game, hopefully. A big rating that is maintained all the way through until the very end of the game. And who knows, maybe they'll go back to overtime. But 49ers 27, Seahawks 24 is my pick.


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[Assistant] Regardless of what happens to the wild card, right? Let's say, I mean, let's say Jimmy G doesn't get it done in Seattle. And we can point after the fact to his play. Do you worry about him not being with the team in 2020 or is he done enough even if they end up the five seed and even if they potentially end up one and done in the postseason?


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[Assistant] Allow me to throw another ingredient into the stew or as the case may be, a turd into the punch bowl. What if? What if?


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[Assistant] Rick Spielman calls up John Lynch and says, can you conference in Kyle Shanahan? Let's have a conversation here.


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[Assistant] Uh, we've decided we don't want to keep Kirk Cousins, uh, not that they would be that candid about it, but that would be the mindset. What does it take? You can have Kirk Cousins. And look, maybe they can get Kirk Cousins if they play it right and not have to pay him the full $29.5 million. But you said all along,


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[Assistant] Right? That they thought they were getting Kirk Cousins. Yeah. The ship has come in.


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[Assistant] You can add Kirk Cousins to that defense, to that running game, to George Kittle, to all that stuff. You can swap out Garoppolo for Cousins and it's gonna cost you the same as what you would pay Garoppolo. We'll pay the difference. Whatever you were gonna pay Garoppolo, you pay Cousins and we'll pay the excess and you get him. Would they do that?


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[Assistant] But what if Jimmy G. chokes under the big lights, under the bright lights Sunday night and then loses the wild card round? Let's throw that extra twist in there. Not just lose, Sunday to the Seahawks. What if they go to Philly or Dallas and lose and they're done and they have a chance to get Kirk Cousins next year?


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[Assistant] I think Kirk Cousins has played better than Jimmy Garoppolo this year. I think he has. He's just had those moments that stand out because they happen in primetime, they happen in big spots.


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[Assistant] And they led to all sorts of consternation after the fact. I'm not saying the Vikings are done with Kirk Cousins, but you know what?


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[Assistant] It could be that on wild card weekend, the Vikings get the crap kicked out of them in one of the NFC games, the 49ers lose the other NFC game, and both teams are thinking, we need to change quarterbacks next year. And you just, look, we've seen crazier things happen. I'm just throwing that out there for conversation.


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[Assistant] I think, here's the problem. If you can't block for Kirk Cousins, he's a sitting duck. He can't escape the pressure. That's very true.


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[Assistant] And, and that's the problem. So you better be able to do all that stuff with the play action and the bootlegs. And when you don't have the running game, you can't do that. Right. So if the running game's not there, the passing game's not going to be there because the offensive line isn't good enough to give Kirk Cousins the time he needs to make his first read, second read. And a lot of these routes are probably two read cause that's all they have. Yeah. No, I, I,


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[Assistant] I'm gonna go first and uh, I'm gonna tell you right now, going into best bets. Full disclosure.


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[Assistant] This week is so difficult to pick winners against the spread because I really don't know what the motivation is. I'm much more comfortable with the over-unders. All three of my best bets are over-under propositions. I'm not picking any games against the spread as a best bet. So I'm going to start with the Buccaneers and Falcons. Over.


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[Assistant] I don't feel all that strongly that the Falcons are gonna win. I could see the Buccaneers winning, but what I feel in my bones, what I feel in my broken ass is over, easily over the what is it?


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[Assistant] 48 points. 48, it should be 58, and even then I'd say there's a good chance it's going over, although I picked, uh, I picked 27-24. I still think it's gonna be a very high-scoring game.


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[Assistant] And, uh, I think it easily goes over. I like Falcon's Bucks to have a lot of points. Because it's almost going to be like a Pro Bowl.


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[Assistant] Right? Some of these games are going to be like Pro Bowls where the defense isn't playing all that hard for either team. So the offense is going to be able to go out. There's going to be seven on seven in some of these games. And this is one that I think is the prime candidate to be the closest thing to a seven on seven matchup.


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[Assistant] Now, forget everything I said about a lot of these games being seven on seven, because I think some of these games are going to be ridiculously low scoring because the offenses involved just aren't good enough.


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[Assistant] To light it up to the extent that Vegas has set that over under marker. And I'm gonna go for my next one. Jets and Bills under 36 and a half.


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[Assistant] I don't think the combined score of any Jets or any Bills game this year has been above 36.5. And I think the Jets win, but I think it stays low scoring. The Bills aren't scoring a lot of points. Their defense is still going to be sufficiently motivated to keep the Jets from coming in there and scoring a ton of points. I think it's going to be under 36.5.


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[Assistant] My concern in that one is a backdoor cover by the Lions. If the Packers know they have the game in hand and they're up 17. Yes, I know. Take their foot off the gas, pull the starters off the field, and the next thing you know, they're up 10. That's my concern in that one.


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[Assistant] Alright, to complete the trifecta of over-unders, I'm going under when the Steelers go to Baltimore because of Duck Hodges and RG3. I don't see either offense being able to do enough.


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[Assistant] So I think that one's gonna be under, like so many of these Raven Steelers games tend to be, although in recent years they've been higher scoring.


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[Assistant] This one is gonna have a weirder vibe to it, and I don't see the Steelers having enough, I don't see the Ravens having enough offensively to combine to hit that number of 37.


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[Assistant] But just, you know, it's gonna be warm here tonight. It's gonna be like in the low 50s, so we're probably gonna build a fire in the fire pit and, uh, sit outside, have a little, uh,


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[Assistant] Have a little whiskey and or scotch. I'm gonna have you have some scotch in honor of Aaron Rodgers. Very nice of you. And smoke a cigar. Not a daddy cigar in honor of you. No, none of that. It's a shame. Just a regular cigar. Just relax and enjoy the last Friday night of the regular season. You know, for us, and I, look.


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[Assistant] This is not work. I'm not going to be like you and complain about all the stuff we have to do. But the reality is the only time of the week that things slow down is Friday night. So Friday night's a special night during football season where I kind of get away from it for a little bit. So this is the last Friday night of the regular season. We're going to get away from a little bit, relax a little bit, get ready for week 17. Week 17 should be a lot of fun.


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[Assistant] We made it! Championship Sunday, in the books, good games. One was really fun to watch, another one was a dominating football game, which was kind of like, ehh.


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[Assistant] Live podcast with Chris Simms on Budden and PFT. We're doing a live one. Joint collaboration next Wednesday. Alright, that is January 29th from 5 to 7 p.m. It's our first live ever podcast.


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[Assistant] It's happy hour with Florio and Sims. I mean, who would you rather spend happy hour with? Do you think you can drink more 1942 tequila than me? I don't know, we'll see. But I certainly plan on having a few drinks while we do this podcast. And we're doing it at the Playwright Irish Pub in South Beach.


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[Assistant] Uh, I would, we'd love a full place, packed house, we're gonna have fun, take questions from, from the fans, but it's free to attend, free to drink, I report. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I repeat, I don't report anything, I repeat, it's free to attend and free drinks on Florio. Wow. One free drink per.


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[Assistant] One free drink. But we're gonna do our picks in the game, Super Bowl props, questions from the fans, and you can claim a ticket on Eventbrite.


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[Assistant] I know we got a list of people we are reaching out to. I don't know who is confirmed yet. So either way, the list of people we're reaching out to, it's a win-win. It's not going to be bad. I know that.


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[Assistant] That's right, we got two of them. I would argue that maybe the Saints were dominant too for the regular season, right? But, but, you know, they, hey, whatever, they blew it in the wild card game, but I'm with you. And I will state that before the playoff started, I said it was going to be 49ers Chiefs, just saying it. Yep, I did, pat me on the back.


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[Assistant] But I think we are insured of a good matchup in this football game. You know, with the Titans and Chiefs, you're right. I mean, you could argue that both were certainly the best teams in their conference. If you didn't think the Chiefs were, you certainly thought that it was second best team in the AFC behind the Ravens. And we knew they matched up well with the Ravens as well, having beat them twice the last two years. Game's interesting.


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[Assistant] I mean, first off, it fell behind again. Fell behind again, right? And you're just thinking like, okay, I mean, the sun comes up the east and when Derrick Henry carries the ball, they run for 100 yards. It looked like that early on, right?


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[Assistant] I think here's the thing that's interesting to me, and I'll try to give a quick synopsis of the game. You know, first two drives of the game, yeah. Great job by the Chiefs, hold them to a field goal on the first drive. Chris Jones gets a huge pressure on third down. Hey, Chiefs go three and out. Titans go right back down.


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[Assistant] The theme of it early on was not necessarily the run game just gatching the Chiefs. It was more play action pass and just, uh, the Titans executing. I wasn't sitting there going, oh my gosh, the Chiefs are getting blown off the ball. They're in deep trouble. Not the first two drives. Then becomes the biggest drive of the year for the Chiefs. They come back, make a 10 to 7.


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[Assistant] Now to me, this is where the game, I got scared for the first time.


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[Assistant] To where the titans make it 17-7, that was to me the most physically dominant drive of the day to that point. And if anybody went back and watched that drive, that third, that third scoring drive, the one that got them to 17, that was a little bit of like, I went uh-oh, man the titans, I mean the chiefs got pushed around a lot on that drive. Alright? Now, what happens from there?


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[Assistant] You're going, oh no, this is not good. If they do that two more times, the game is over. The Chiefs are in trouble. Right. You're going, it doesn't look like they're gonna stop them. And that was the best drive of the day. Alright, well the Chiefs answer the bell. They make it 17-14. And then this is where the game changed to me, right here. 17-14.


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[Assistant] Chris Jones, for the first time all game, plays on first and second down. Alright? So causes a little havoc on the next drive. Chiefs are down 17-14. But here was the other thing that jumped out to me a lot here. And this is where it changed, where the people asked me like, well what did the Chiefs do on defense that was different? Okay. One thing is, I think they,


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[Assistant] They started playing downhill, where the linebackers were with this outside zone scheme, right? They're worried about like, oh, I need to shuffle along and stay in my gap and stay in my gap and stay in my gap as he goes offside. I'm supposed to be in between the guard and the tackle. Let me keep moving.


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[Assistant] When it got to 17-14, and I'm sure Steve Spagnola said something like, hey, when you see a gap and it's open, stop shuffling to it, go run through it, because the running back's going to run through there. Don't let Derrick Henry build up the game, the, the steam, right? Because he's kind of a long strider that way.


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[Assistant] And that to me was the difference right there. So Chris Jones gets off some blocks, causes some disruption, but I think the linebackers started playing like running backs, what we would say, where they just said, oh, there's a hole, I'm going to go run through it and meet Derek Henry before he can get the full steam and hit me and then fall forward for five yards. Yeah.


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[Assistant] So then, we get to the drive, the next drive, and we'll hit more about this in a minute. Mahomes, of course, scores the touchdown, right, the great scramble, uh, you know, 20, what was it, a 26, 28 yard scramble, 27 yard scramble, right, which is amazing, and we're gonna break that down in a minute.


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[Assistant] That, again, so now they go into halftime, Chiefs get the ball back, Titans get the ball, Chiefs go get a few first downs, gotta punt the ball. Titans get the ball, they get a first down, they have first and five, okay? And they don't convert a first down.


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[Assistant] They get first and five and this is where Mike Pennell, the linebackers playing downhill and it's like Titans domination of the run game stopped from that point on. From Chris Jones making a few plays at 17-14 to then the Titans being off the field for a very, very long time and then coming back and trying to reignite that magic.


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[Assistant] And that was when Ryan Tannell scrambled down the right sideline and got crushed, like tried to run over a guy and he ended up getting run over. But the game was never the same. And then the Chiefs go down, get a score, make it 28-17 and it's night-night. And once they get rolling like that, like you see them roll for the second week in a row, you're, you're,


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[Assistant] To do it differently, more creatively, more versatility, yes, but you're right. I mean, hey, nonetheless, we gotta give the Chiefs a lot of credit. Yes. They got better as a run defense the last half of the season.


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[Assistant] And it's something I know I said on this podcast, and I said on PFT a million times, I like what I'm seeing from this Chiefs defense. And, you know, again, I picked the Chiefs to win the game because I thought between the emotions of the game, the depth, the size they have up front, I thought, I think they can pose some problems. They got more aggressive. More aggressive, I think that's a great thing.


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[Assistant] Definitely. Played downhill. That was the biggest thing altogether. You know, Frank Clark.


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[Assistant] Honey Badger, Bashad Breland, they changed this defensive team around with Mike Pinnell, the defensive tackle who made a few plays, but there's depth, there's size, there's versatility and scheme. The Chief's defense is for real. They're going to pose some problems.


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[Assistant] Let's get back to the major ma-major player here in this-this game, okay? Because he's-he's the best player in the game right now. You wanna talk about your Mahomi? You know it. Because he's unstoppable. He's in a groove like I haven't seen since Rogers in the early 2010, 11, 12. Where you're-he's almost indefensible at this point.


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[Assistant] It is prime. It's, it's, it's, it's what we're seeing too. And he's using somewhat of the same formula too. That's what I look at and just go, ooh, this is scary. First off, like, Mahomes' ability to read and recognize and then appropriately take the right action since the playoffs have started.


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[Assistant] Okay, you almost are just no matter what defense you play at this point. Sorry for the bad language. It's your podcast. Okay, good. But he...


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[Assistant] You play zone, alright. He's gonna float around back there and manipulate the zone until somebody comes open and then he's gonna make a throw. You play man, he looks at the first guy.


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[Assistant] And then if opportunity presents itself to run the football, he knows, oh, it's man, everybody's chasing my receivers deep down the field. Hmm, maybe they have a spy on me. Oh, that's right. They did have a spy on him on that 27 yard touchdown. It didn't matter. He gave him the old okey-doke head fake and turn the corner on him.


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[Assistant] He just got a great feel of what defenses are trying to do to attack him right now, which is really, really special. And, you know, it came into play. Like, you know, we talked about this last week. Every team has their kryptonite. The Titans, they found their kryptonite.


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[Assistant] And that's why I picked the Chiefs to win the game. Well, certainly. Certainly. There's no doubt. You're right about that. I mean, that's a fair statement. But it went more into


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[Assistant] Patrick Mahomes, the weapons they have. The Titans are one of the bottom seven or eight teams in pass defense all year. And then the Titans can't rush the passer with four.


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[Assistant] They can't get to the quarterback. And how, I mean, you saw the game yesterday. I mean, Mahomes had a lot of time. Never had people around him a whole lot. When he did have people around him, it was really because he didn't like what he saw downfield. And then he started to move around and tried to manipulate the pocket that way.


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[Assistant] And all those little weaknesses from the Titans, they finally met a team who said, oh, you have weaknesses there? Oh, those are some of our greatest strengths and we're going to expose it. And that's what you saw, the accumulation of that and, uh, ended up kind of being a butt whooping on the scoreboard.


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[Assistant] Well, the key points again go back to something we just talked about. Mahomes is on another level right now with like recognizing how a defense is playing him. On this play,


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[Assistant] They went to a bread and butter, like he, like Mahomes just explained to Peter King, an all-go-special type of play. It's a play they run a lot. We've diagrammed it, we've showed it. It's three verticals from the left, and then Travis Kelce running across or from the right coming underneath all those verticals. But what Mahomes notices is they're doubling both Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce here.


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[Assistant] With a spy, okay? The first rounder from Alabama, Rashad Evans, is the spy.


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[Assistant] And if you can rewind that one more time, because if you're checking this out on, on the YouTube, uh, slash NBC sports, we got the dots and a diagram here. It's worth seeing. So Mahomes buys time. Okay. Now they're, they're playing man to man. As we talked about, this is dangerous against Mahomes. You're rushing three. So he's going to have time.


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[Assistant] Tennessee did nothing to control the rushing lanes when they pass rush. They just went after the quarterback, which is kind of suspect to me in general.


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[Assistant] But then he notices, whoa, two people are following Tyree Kill, two people are following Travis Kelsey, he gets the ball, he kind of moves around a little, he sees a gap to his left because the left tackle pushes the defense end way upfield, and as he's running, he sees Rashad Evans chasing him.


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[Assistant] He kinda gives him the slowdown, turns his head to the right, okie doke type play.


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[Assistant] And again, keep it paused here. Again, look at the distance where this is where their offense and their talent pressures you.


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[Assistant] Because okay, Mahomes will sit back there and we know he could throw in the run or sit on the pocket or throw off his back foot 50 yards. So now you're going, well, I gotta stay down the field with him. Look, there's two guys doubling Tyree Kill in the middle of the end zone up there by the F and Chiefs, right? Cause they're like, well, Mahomes can throw this easily. We never know where it's gonna come. So you're worried about that.


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[Assistant] But now there's all this space underneath where, yeaah, if that linebacker or the other linebacker don't make the tackle,


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[Assistant] This guy's a pretty athletic guy, and he turns it up the sideline, and as you go, you start to see, well, he fakes out Rashad Evans. Now guys are trying to rally to make the tackle, who were just playing man-to-man coverage.


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[Assistant] And that's where Imani Hooker throws out the shoulder. And Brock Sr., as you mentioned, is trying to strip the ball. And Mahomes makes the cut because he knows the time-out's there.


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[Assistant] It kind of like, because they're strippling the ball, stripping the ball, he can kind of keep his balance and fall into the end zone.


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[Assistant] I mean, that's just, that's them. They're amazing. He's amazing. He's playing at such a high level right now. Uh, he, he literally can beat anybody with the way, especially with the


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[Assistant] Oh, we have a spy with our first round linebacker there to make the tackle on the guy. We got all their key players covered. We got their two best receivers doubled.


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[Assistant] Okay, what are they gonna do? Oh, that's right, shit. I forgot, this guy's like, one of the greatest we've ever seen already. And he can just make a play like you're talking about. And uh, he's, he's amazing that way. He just, the big thing to me,


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[Assistant] You know, it's a little bit like our Will Fuller thing with the Houston Texans. Yeaah. And the Chiefs have all, you know, Kelsey Hill and Watkins. It's just, what do you do? Who do you stop? Let alone, you're also worried about a plan to stop Mahomes and him extending plays.


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[Assistant] So there's a lot to worry about, and then to your point, with the creativity and the aggressiveness of Andy Reid, he makes you defend every square inch of the field, and that's where they're dangerous. And then of course his ability to make plays off of that is second to none in the league at this point. And uh, he's, you know, their money is performing to them. Anybody who's listened to me and on podcasts, like,


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[Assistant] Hey, if you're looking at a team that you think is good, the first thing you need to look at is, is the money performing? Are their assets performing?


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[Assistant] We saw a team that's, yeaah, their assets are on the offensive side of the ball and they're, they've answered every clutch bell or question they've had to answer so far in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] And when he's healthy and everything, you know, he battles injuries always. That's been another issue for him. There's always a foot issue, an ankle issue, whatever it may be. So that hurts his production and, you know, hurts his place within the offense too.


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[Assistant] He's still a special talent and he's still a guy, you know, just on the play you mentioned or in some other plays too, where if you play man to man, you're rolling the dice on him because he's, he's got the strength and the straight speed.


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[Assistant] To beat you and make plays that way. And with the way Mahomes is seeing the field and I think he notices that teams are showing a lot of attention to Tyreek and Kelsey, he wasn't afraid to go to them. And in that play too, you know, that's another play where


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[Assistant] You know, okay, Brock and Sammy, Sammy Watkins are locked up. Brock falls down, right? They call the pass interference or defensive holding on Brock. Logan Ryan really is replacing the safety Bayard who's going to cover, uh, Tyree Kill on a shallow cross. So he's not thinking he needs to worry about getting deep.


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[Assistant] That's very fair, and their defense, other than a few missed assignments and weak, you know, in the divisional game against the Houston Texans.


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[Assistant] And then really, a handful of plays where they're gonna look at the game from yesterday and go, okay, we could have been better there, yeaah, we got pushed around a little. But for the most part, once they settled in, started to control the football game as well.


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[Assistant] You know, they got it all. You know, they really do. They got depth, size, creativity on the back end. They're different than years past in the secondary too, because when they want to play man to man, they can do it.


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[Assistant] They're playing man to man. They're screwed. They're going to watch out. Here comes a big play. So, uh, they're, they're a complete football team who's playing their best football, uh, in the most important time.


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[Assistant] One of the best, you're right, it is. I mean, whether it's the physicality up front, their creativity by Shanahan, you know, the versatility in the run game. You know, a lot of the times you see a team who's really good at running the ball, you go, ooh, you know, they're good at pulling guards, or ooh, they're a good zone blocking team.


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[Assistant] Not with Shanahan and the 49ers. You can't peg them for one or the other. They got answers for any defense you run. They have the right scheme to run it, and they're well coached, and they're talented, and that's why they dominate the line of scrimmage. I mean, they dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I mean, that's where it starts. And then, hey, we've talked about it. Again, you know, kryptonite.


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[Assistant] Because they played the team that was able to expose that and, you know, oh, what did we talk about all year with the Packers defense? Not big enough in the middle of their defense. Not deep enough either. So they're compromised because they know that and they go, oh, we're outmatched. So they're trying to play the bare front.


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[Assistant] So, they didn't get like safeties deep down in there because they're worried about the play action game, but what they did do was basically play five across the line every, uh, for a lot of plays. Like I said, they wanted to cover the guard, the two guards, the nose tackle. They had the two smith guys on the edge, so you got five there.


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[Assistant] Then, yeaah, a lot of the times it was either one or two middle linebackers in there that would only give them seven. You're right about that. Uhm, but it just didn't matter. One, they physically can't hold up to the San Francisco 49ers running attack. And then two,


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[Assistant] They just don't, because of that, they don't have enough answers to stop the other things Shanahan does in the running game. And Shanahan's just brilliant. I mean, we need to really just, let's go to it, the diagram of the first touchdown.


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[Assistant] But, because he's so creative, and he's fearless, and he has a feel for what they're gonna line up in, so he goes, oh, I, I, I know what they're gonna do here. And on this play, it was five across, but they're in like a nickel defense. Zedaria Smith is overneth, uh, over this center.


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[Assistant] Basically, because he's blitzing. They think it's third and eight. We want to get a mismatch. We want to get our best pass rusher on the center, right? To get some pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo. Well, Shanahan was ready for that.


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[Assistant] And the brilliance of the play is, he has the right guard, okay, come out and block Kyle Thackerel, who's over Joe Staley, and they're so well coached that Joe Staley knows, oh wait, this guy's coming, he lets him go.


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[Assistant] So basically Kyle Fackerel is allowed to just go in the backfield because they know the guards coming to knock him out. Now outside of Fackerel, if you'll see on there,


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[Assistant] Preston Smith's outside of them, they don't even block him because they know he's so far outside that the guard who pulls and hits Fackrell is also gonna get the way of Preston Smith who's going upfield thinking pass rush too, right? So one guy blocks too, and now Joe Staley who I said just gave the okie doke to Kyle Fackrell, he's up on the second level.


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[Assistant] Just waiting for the linebacker to come, and he cuts him off.


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[Assistant] And then there's Raheem Mostert and there's nobody there to even touch him because of the play call and the perfection in which it was coached. Raheem Mostert does not get touched.


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[Assistant] On a 30-something yard touchdown in the NSC Championship game.


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[Assistant] I thought it was on the Colts at one time too, if I remember right, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was just a practice squad, either way. Yes, he's a guy that...


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[Assistant] That is, what do I want to say? That accentuates his running style.


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[Assistant] And Shanahan, we've talked about this. This is why the 49ers are so talented right now. One, they got size, they got physicality, but Shanahan has an eye for guys who have no hesitation in their game. And I mean that with linebackers who are, they see a hole, they just run through it. They're like Bobby Boucher.


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[Assistant] And hit them. They don't care. There's no like, oh wait, this guy's really big. Let me like...


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[Assistant] Figure out how I wanna tackle him. He wants guys that just go, GO!


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[Assistant] Like, screw you, I'm running through the wall. And that's the same thing for his running backs. He wants to run his schemes, and he goes, I'm gonna design something, and when you see that hole, I want you to hit that hole, and run like a bat out of hell, and I don't care who's there. And you might get hit like a Mack truck, but that's, hey, we're giving you a hole, you gotta make something happen. And he just got the great


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[Assistant] He's supposed to keep contained, but he saw a Zeus check go inside too, and I think he thought, ooh, the run's gonna go in there, and he committed a little, and then he got sealed off and Mozart jumped outside and of course turned the corner.


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[Assistant] Yeah, and when they have the ball in their hand, they just look like they don't lose speed, right? I mean, usually guys with the ball in their hand lose speed and Samuel and Hill look like they get faster. And I think to your point with the comparison with Hill too, it's the acceleration that jumps off.


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[Assistant] It's just like, oh, they give the ball to Debo Samuel on a speed sweep or a toss reverse or whatever it may be.


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[Assistant] And he's, he's at full speed within two steps. So it's like, oh, he got the ball. And then it's like, whoa, he's at the second level already. And he, you know, he runs with no fear. He runs like a running back. He runs like just what we talked about with Kyle Shanahan once. So therefore then like safeties and corners are like, ooh man.


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[Assistant] He's a, he's a load to deal with and he breaks arm tackles and does everything like that. But the creativity, the versatility in the 49ers run game


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[Assistant] The talent they have up front and at the running back position, that's the difference. And they played a team that just can't stack up there. The Packers, this offseason, they gotta get bigger up front. That is something they gotta do. Uh, they're just gotta get bigger and get deeper. Uh, Ahmed, there was points in the game where the Packers are getting run on.


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[Assistant] But because they're not deep on the defensive line, they're playing nickel and dime to give their defensive tackles a rest. So they're going, they're actually getting smaller as they're getting pounded into the ground because they don't have enough guys to rotate in like a Kansas City or a San Francisco.


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[Assistant] Kudos to Kyle Shanahan for not letting him off the hook with it. You know, I think he saw it and he just like,


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[Assistant] We're gashing them in the run. And we're gonna wear them out. And they don't have enough depth. And they're not super talented inside anyways. So let's keep it going. It's the strength of our football team. And he just kind of never let them off the hook in that part of the, that aspect of the game. And of course they dominated it.


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[Assistant] You know, and that's one thing that's gonna be interesting about, you know, the 49ers. When they get forced to do that...


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[Assistant] Is there enough there in their passing game? Can the Kansas City team, can the Chiefs be that team that go, okay, we can stalemate you a little in the run game. Now, do you have enough in the pass game to beat us, Jimmy Garoppolo and company? That'll be the big question in the Super Bowl, you know, and then you flip it around and the Packers defense, you know, they want to play like the Titans do.


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[Assistant] They want to run the ball and control the ball that way, and then that opens up some play action passes for Aaron Rodgers. Okay, but none of that happened. They couldn't really get in the flow of the game.


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[Assistant] You know, without being able to run the ball, they need, they're like Tennessee. They run out of options in the pass game. They don't do enough in the pass game. And they don't have enough talent.


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[Assistant] In the past game, to scare you. There was never a moment where early in the game, where I went, man are they gonna back the 49ers off with anything? Are they just gonna let the 49ers just play downhill and fly around the field and never have to worry about anything? And yeaah, they did. And then added to that, you know, Ahmed, you go down 7-0,


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[Assistant] Okay, you get the ball back. You go, you know, you end up punting the ball. You let up a good return. The next drive starts at the 49 yard line.


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[Assistant] They get 15 yards, they get in field goal position, it's 10-0. Then, you go three and out again, and your punter shanks the punt, and now the 49ers got the ball at the 37 yard line.


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[Assistant] I mean, this is a team that's on fire and running the ball and you're giving them the ball at the 37 yard line? I mean, this just in, of course they're gonna score.


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[Assistant] So yeaah, there's a, a six play, 37 yard drive. Alright, and then you're going, alright, here they are, they're down 17 nothing. Oh great, now they have to throw every play against the best pass rushing defensive line in football. Good luck.


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[Assistant] And they're just not made to play like that either. And as great as Rodgers is, first off, he's not as great as he was four or five years ago, where maybe he could have made a few more plays, but there's just not enough help around him as a team.


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[Assistant] The scheme itself is not creative. The 49ers did nothing on defense. They did the same two defenses they always play. They played cover three, Seattle, press bail, and they played some man to man.


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[Assistant] Exactly right. And they are. They're just, they're, they are elite that way. And then you mess it up in the punt game and give them the short field and start to give them some momentum and everything like that. On the road, yeaah, you got no chance. And, uh, they really just were overwhelmed all together on both sides of the football.


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[Assistant] And yeaah, you know, down 27-0 and they finally got a score to make it 27-7. But the 49ers answered right back. I mean, there was never any doubt. And yeaah, you just felt like the 49ers were really in control of this game. Really from about the second series on.


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[Assistant] Right. Right. Early on. You picked the Browns. I did. I picked again, so that was about the time, goodbye you. Week five. I made the adjustment about right then, maybe a few weeks, two weeks later, where I said, 49ers is the best team in football.


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[Assistant] And then I went through a phase in like week 10, 12, 11 when they got to Baltimore and I went, I think Baltimore is a little bit better. But the 49ers are still the best team in the NFC.


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[Assistant] So you're right, early on, weeks 1 through 4, 5, I wasn't quite sure. But I think that was the moment. I think that Brown's game really was for a lot of people. I know I said on PFT one day, I go, I'm not picking against the 49ers for the rest of the year. I said the 49ers are real.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it was Pittsburgh without Ben Roethlisberger. It was, yeah, to your point, the Cleveland Browns who were still a dumpster fire at that point, they played the Bengals and the Buccaneers. So we were like, I didn't know where they were, uh, but they obviously are one of the best teams. And man, my man Kyle Shanahan, first father son duo to go to the Super Bowl, really special.


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[Assistant] You know, it's not that easy. Yes, he got the opportunity to have the dad to make the call to get him into the league and have that connection, right, to get him in the coaching cycle and all that. I was in Tampa when he, I remember John Gruden walking into the quarterback room right after my rookie year and being like, Mike Shanahan just called me. He said, he said, there's nobody I'd rather my son work for right now than me.


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[Assistant] And I said, okay, he got the job. So he came down as our quality control guy. Uh, and yes, from that point on and before that, I knew his goal was to be where he's at now. And I knew he would get very close to reaching that goal. He's obsessive, he's smart, he's got guts, he's got creativity and really


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[Assistant] I think if you look back at Kyle Shanahan's resume, I think people will be a lot more surprised.


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[Assistant] With what he did, to your point. Yeah, okay, he was, you know, he was with the Texans and they had two top five offenses there, but people kind of gave Gary Kubiak the credit. Sure. And I know that, like, didn't always sit well with Kyle as the competitor, because he wanted to be like, wait, I'm the offense coordinator, I'm calling the plays, and yet, I'm still not getting there. He goes to the Washington Redskins, and the same thing's going on, and they have some great years in offense.


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[Assistant] People are like, oh, it's Mike Shanahan, right? Mike Shanahan is doing good. You know, he goes to Cleveland and people want to call him a dumpster fire because they weren't like explosive that year, but still one of the better running teams in football. But they were a dumpster fire and there was issues there. And then he went to Atlanta, of course, and proved his worth. And I think people finally started to see it and they couldn't deny it anymore. They couldn't hate on him anymore. And uh, it's amazing where he is.


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[Assistant] You see it, right? That's what I was going to say. He's real. I mean, you know, he's more comfortable talking to the players in the locker room than he is on the podium talking to the media. He's in his element. And to your, to the last thing before we move on from that.


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[Assistant] Wait, what's the head coach doing over there? Dan Quinn wasn't calling the defense, and he's not calling the offense. What is he doing? Eating popcorn? He was allowed to say, Hey Kyle, run the ball here. Hey Kyle.


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[Assistant] I wanna take time off the, he didn't do any of that. So Kyle coached the team the way he coached the team all year long. I had an issue with that then, I still got an issue with it. Because like, I feel like Atlanta kinda like let him like sail, sail down that river. Like, here's the shit river.


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[Assistant] You go on it, we're gonna sit here on the bank and wave goodbye to you as you go.


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[Assistant] And they played aggressive all year. They were the best offense we've seen in the history of football. So he was just doing what they always did. Was it right? No, okay, yeah, right. It should've worked out different. It could've, but he was doing what he had always done the whole year. And it's the head coach's job.


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[Assistant] Well yeaah, I think Henry and Tannahill have to be towards the top of the list as far as who they need to re-sign back. I mean, come on, yeaah, you know, you did go to the AFC Championship game to what you just talked about. So close. You know, the team is built to run the football with the way they've orchestrated their offensive line.


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[Assistant] Can they afford a guy like Jack Conklin who wasn't really living up to a top 10 billing and then this year he really came on towards the end of the year especially. So can they find a way to pay him? I don't know if they'll be able to do that.


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[Assistant] Logan Ryan, that's another one. It's going to depend on what kind of price Logan Ryan's asking for out on the open market. But either way, I think the point, the point to be made is Henry and Tannahill are musts. They're part of the


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[Assistant] Alright, I know that's really shocking to the world right now, but it's just the truth, alright? That's the way I feel about it from what I've seen, okay? Uh, this team is not far off. They're not. I mean, they're really offensively.


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[Assistant] The only thing I look at offensively is just go, they gotta open it up more. You know, just yesterday was the perfect example. The run game gets slowed down.


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[Assistant] There's just not enough in the pass game for me to feel comfortable to go, Oh, they can win games when they have to play one of the better run stopping defenses in football and they'll find a way to drop back and throw some creative ways that way. No, certainly a little bit of a question mark there. So the pass game has to expand the Rolodex of plays on the defensive side of the ball. Don't think they're far off either.


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[Assistant] You know, they do some creative things. They got a pretty talented secondary.


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[Assistant] You know, maybe they try to do too much at times. I don't know. They let up a lot of big plays through the year. I think they played too much man-to-man early on. The biggest thing I think more than anything is...


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[Assistant] You know, yeaah, they didn't play as much man to man down the front. They played a little more zone down the end of the stretch, which I think helped their defense. But they gotta find a pass rusher. That to me was the biggest issue for them all year. And that's what happened. It reared its ugly head yesterday. They were unable to get there with four. Ever.


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[Assistant] And they didn't want a Blitz because they knew, man, Mahomes is pretty good against a Blitz and he'll find the right play or the right throw to make. And I don't think they were willing to risk their guys on an island with Sammy or Tyree Kill deep down the field. So they thought, let's see if they can make him drive the field. And Mahomes is a master right now and he can do that.


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[Assistant] He's one of the best defensive coordinators we've had in this, this league the last, you know, 15 or 20 years. He's really creative, really good that way. Uh, but they won't miss a lot because Vrabel knows that defense. He played under Dean Pease when Dean Pease was in New England as a defensive coordinator. So, uh, they won't lose a lot as far as skill.


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[Assistant] You're right. Those, those names right there. And then, you know, you're gonna be able to look at it and go, well look at Kyle Shanahan. He's got like three running backs and they're still really awesome. So what, do we really have to have a game breaker? But it seems like Henry single-handedly can take it. He can. He can.


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[Assistant] Yeah, agreed. I mean, agreed. And, and, and really their team, and I think their mantra, their team, and what Mike Vrabel wants as a football team is that, is Smash Mouth, we want to be out, out physical you, control the time of possession.


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[Assistant] You know, and then let our defense, you know, we're, we're, we're very multiple on that side. I mean, that's how they want to play. So will he get the most money if any running back? I think he's going to be very close to it. I do. Yeaah. I think it's going to be hard to stop him. The thing I would say too about Derek Henry, first off, is,


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[Assistant] He's pretty fresh for a guy this far in his career. The first two years, they didn't really overuse him.


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[Assistant] You know, he finds ways to not let people hit him square and, you know, oh, just a shoulder on the side or whatever. Yeaah, I went down, but he doesn't let you just square him up and crush him that way. Uh, but hey, Ezekiel Elliott's contract and, and Gurlis would scare me. And of course, Le'Veon Belles. They would all scare me. They would. I mean, Ezekiel Elliott's right now, just the way I look at it, it's a mistake.


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[Assistant] You could franchise him. The other thing they could do here, and depending on their situation, I mean they could find a way to sign him up here before the next league year even starts, right? So that would be one way they would avoid it. But two things, that would be a way to avoid it, okay, to get that before he hits the free agent market and can figure out what another team might want to do. The other thing too, you kind of take into account, is he's built something there too. So he does want to stay.


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[Assistant] Like if the chargers only offer, if the chargers, let's just say they did want them to be the starting quarter. If they only offered them like two or three million dollars or more per year or whatever, you don't go. You've built something.


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[Assistant] You've built somewhat of a culture. The team believes in you. The city believes in you. The style of play fits how you play. You did good things. You really want to risk it and go somewhere else and start over with, oh man.


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[Assistant] I don't know, the Chargers, this coaching staff might be in there last year. If they don't perform well, who knows what happens to this team. You know, they're, you know, so that you got to remember that too. He's going to want to stay in Tennessee.


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[Assistant] No, I think they are in the window. I don't think he's wrong there. You know, I think a few players here and there and they're a team that I go, whoa, watch out for. I mean, first off, I just like the Tennessee Titans. I would like to say this holds true. And you know, actually the head coach for the Green Bay Packers, you know where he came from? The Tennessee Titans.


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[Assistant] So, it's a similar thing here. They have to grow their passing offense.


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[Assistant] It's just too simple. It really is. And I used to say this about Mike McCarthy too. Now, Mike McCarthy didn't always run the ball like a Lafour did. Lafour has brought more to the table in their run game and I think that's what makes me feel a little bit better about their offense.


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[Assistant] What we saw in games this year too, where they couldn't run the ball, uh, they, they just can't consistently throw the ball between the scheme being somewhat simple and then really only having Devontae Adams as the only go-to guy.


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[Assistant] In the pass game. There's nobody else. You know, Jimmy Graham is not Jimmy Graham that we know from back in the Saints. You know, the other receivers are all kind of unproven and spotty. They need to get another difference maker on the outside.


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[Assistant] You know, the offensive line, they're in pretty, they're in pretty good spot. Yeaah, what they do with Balaga, I don't know how they feel about the backups, I'm not sure. But for the most part, that's pretty talented. The biggest thing,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For sure is interior defense alignment. 100%. They got the ends covered. They got the ends covered. They got the secondary covered. They got a great secondary. There's a lot of the like there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, you saw, I mean, the 49ers said, you know what, we're not even really going to mess with the secondary. We see another weakness and we're going to like, play that hand first until you prove to us you can stop that down and then we'll mess with, you know, Kevin King and Jair Alexander and Adrian Amos and Savage and company. There's some talent there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yes, you know, Kenny Clark is a good player. He's not a superstar to me. He's just real good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then the other guys that got around him, you know, there's not enough. I'm just, you know, Lancaster, Lowry, they're the guys you want coming off the bench for your second squad. They want, you want them as your backup detacklers. You don't want them as your starters. And they were compromised there. And then you go, you know, Blake Martinez, he does a really good, he's a good athlete. He's smart.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I know that too. I remember covering him there and he's, he is a good athlete. He's good in the pass game. He's good sideline to sideline. He's not a thumper though. Does Mike Petten want that? Mike Petten comes from Rex Ryan, New York Jets.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Demario Davis is our middle linebacker. Harris, like, they believe in like, oh, downhill, I could take out a pulling guard ball and throw him off me and make a tackle. That's not what Martinez is either. So they lose size and physicality in the interior of their defense and it compromised them all year. They always had to try to hide that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be manageable and they finally found the right team that, you know, kind of exposed them that way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The desk, well, I mean, hey, you gotta pick what's more important, and that was a tough one, but we took the desk, okay? And you know, the two Robbies, I love them, you're allowed to rent my desk anytime, but it's my desk, don't get that messed up, okay? It's mine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and it'll be back right after the Super Bowl, don't worry. Because yes, this is, this is, this desk we're on right now, like, to take a quote from them, it is Mickey Mouse. It is a little Mickey Mouse, right? It is a little Mickey Mouse.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now, the thing that's scary is the best player on the field is gonna be in the red jersey with the yellow trim. The quarterback. Marrying number 15. Right. I mean, so that, that is a, an equalizer, but I was surprised to see, I think I would have favored, you know, 49ers by a point and a half or something like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I don't know, for these two teams, they're explosive, you know, I mean, you can certainly see a 27-24 game, which would be dancing around it, right? 28-24, 31-28, all those are going to surpass, or that last one's going to surpass it, so, eh, it's a roundabout, it's pretty close. So I'm going to get a pick.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I mean yeaah, they're, they're cool. 1994, that was one of the best 49er teams ever. That's the uniform they wore. But Will, I don't know. You know, I know Mike Florio made the point, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, well they want to sell the jerseys with the patch on them and they might not have these throwback jerseys, right? Maybe they're, maybe they don't. Maybe that's what it is. Maybe these jerseys are not ready to be sold max quantity for the people that are down there in South Beach to say, oh, I'm wearing a Super Bowl jersey and then they come out in another jersey. I think that's probably the issue. I think Mike's probably right about that one.