Transcript of Secret Santa, Coaching Carousel and Broncos-Chargers Preview with Colleen Wolfe and Jourdan Rodrigue

Welcome to NFL daily where we're in the holiday spirit so much that we're gonna drug our dogs and bring them to the mall.

That's right. Sasha met Santa. What What did you do last night?

I am in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio with my friends, Colleen Wolf and Jordan Rodrigue. I recapped, a Monday night football doubleheader.

Good for you, Greg. Shook.

And you mentioned Drake May 14 times.

Oh, I knew you would get on me. And we only spent we only spent, like, 4 minutes on the Drake May conversation. I had a whole different intro planned, but the you showing me that picture of you and your dog, but mostly your dog and

Oh, yeah.

Santa Claus at the mall is is amazing.

You're And

it was, like, such a beautiful image. And then you told me well, but I drugged the hell out of him today.

I gave him trazodone, and he he gets triggered easily by, pretty much everything and anything. So bringing Dasher to a mall where there's people and then other dogs and Yeah. You know, there's just things around every corner. You don't know what's gonna happen.

Who among us has never popped a gummy and walked the mall?

Sure. It just felt like it was puncturing my idyllic, you know

So Dasher had a great night, and then he just melted into the couch afterwards. Awesome. Yeah.

Do you think the Santa was drugged up? Or

I cannot confirm. Was he friendly? Because very friendly.

Because poor Eric.

Think. Yeah.

I don't know if you got a mic on you right now. Eric goes to the mall earlier this week, brings his, you know, lovely baby for for the very first time. They're panicking. He doesn't have a mic on him right now. And the Santa wasn't friendly to them at all because his baby you explained.

Yeah. So he me and my wife walked up to the Santa Claus, and I think he kind of connected the dots that, hey. This baby's a baby, 6 months old. He didn't play the role at all.

Connected the dots.

He kinda just talked to me and my wife like it was some regular dude, and he's talking as if my baby saw him. He's like, who the hell is that guy? No. It's like, yeah. He didn't give you a ho ho ho, a jolly laugh.

What?

You should've got a real illusion immediately for an impressionable young child and

a never broke character with Dasher.

That that's Your dog got a better experience than my baby. That's a professional Santa there. Now I do get it on some level as a parent, there is that year where you'll say whatever the hell you want in front of your baby because it's a baby. It doesn't really understand anything. And then you realize after a certain

point, you

you can't you can't say anything.

The problem is, though, Eric, you're gonna have to be careful about how you tell that story, because that's gonna be a great story eventually that you and your wife tell over the holidays. Mhmm. But now you're gonna have to be careful about how you tell it and who it's in front of because imagine saying Santa broke the illusion.

Yeah. You can't you can't tell that story. You you'll tell that 1 when he's like, oh, you know, he put you. He you gave him me. You googoo gaga.

You wanted to rattle or whatever, and he laughed the day away or whatever. Yeah. I'm getting a lot of a lot of hard questions from from my, my son Uh-oh. This year, 9 years old. That's about the time.

We got a big show today. I'm excited for this.

It just keeps getting bigger and bigger too.

We it's beef the show.

We okay. We're giving Christmas gifts. We're giving Christmas gifts to teams that that need it. It's a little bit of, like, a secret Santa. Yeah.

And that's gonna be really exciting. We're gonna preview Broncos and chargers, but we're gonna start with a very short segment that I added to the mix. And, oh, everyone with Uh-huh. Anxiety isn't thrilled that we added a segment at the last second about the coaching carousel. I just feel like we have a

I like to bring something to the show, like information

You do. You know a lot. You you've been around the league. You have takes, and the thing is this is gonna be really quick.

Okay. Great.

We talked about maybe this could be its own show, but I just feel like now is the time. The coaching moves are gonna happen. So what we're gonna do, we're gonna put a minute on the clock max. But I don't even think we need a minute. I just wanna go through all the potential situations of what's out there for the coaches and who could and could not be losing their jobs over the next couple of weeks.

Okay. Lovely to discuss right around the holidays.

Yes. Okay. So let's go. Let's let's put let's put a clock on. So 3 teams, by the way, have already you'll fire their coaches.

We don't need to talk about them. That's the Jets, the Saints, and the Bears. I only I have 4 categories. 1 category is he gone, which

is

Doug Peterson and the Jaguars. I don't think there's much to say here. I appreciate, actually, that they just decided we're just gonna keep him the rest of the year. He's the best coach in the building, and we'll we'll handle everything. It is interesting.

Our friend, Ollie Connolly, reported that Bill Belichick had a conversation with the Jaguars. He said that on his podcast, so I feel like that's public now. And it did not go well. So they were already talking to people that you know about Peterson's.

Well, like I mentioned, that early in September, the time of year, I I kept bringing this up about the Jaguars in particular, that the vultures were starting to circle around a couple of jobs specifically that would undoubtedly be losing their head coaches either in season or at at the end of the season. The Jaguars were 1 of those teams that kept coming up in those conversations as coaches who are currently free agents were identifying and putting together staffs, Bill Belichick included.

Yeah. And, he obviously didn't get that job. They'll probably replace it.

I wonder if my rival will end up there just back in the division.

Yeah. It doesn't seem like the Browns are gonna hire him. He's in the building there. So the next category, it's 3 teams. I just solid chance.

Like, there's a decent chance.

Okay.

So Doug would take it to 4 changes. There's usually about 6 to 7. We could have more this year. Start with the Giants. The they've been publicly out there, John Mara, their owner, that they're committed to Brian Daboll.

There's, like, a lot of people outside this room right now.

Yeah. You gotta you gotta worry.

That's a word we're talking about.

Some kids. We're waving at them.

We're recording right now. Hello.

Will the Giants be waving bye?

There you go.

Brian Daboll.

I I think he's probably gone

Yeah.

The way this is going. I don't believe John Mara in this case. Like, I believe he meant it when he said it, but you got the you got the airplane going overhead. But

The only thing that trips me up on this is he so publicly said he was gonna give them another year both of them.

Time though.

I I get that, but he also like, why not do it already then? Right? That's that's the only thing. It keeps tripping me up. Like, we kind of already have known that Doug Peterson is a foregone conclusion.

And by the way, ownership hasn't come out and emphatically stated he's gonna give him more time. That's what's tripping me up about this situation with John Mara, and you hear kinda, you know, people go back and forth up in that market. Well, could could they really get give them more time or not? It's just the fact that it hasn't already happened is what's tripping me up about this.

That's why I say solid chance. That that 1, I'm I'm gonna go, like, 6040.

Okay.

Antonio Pierce in Vegas?

Gone. I know he just said that he's under contract for next year, but I know.

Bad sign. I think the Tom Brady factor is is a real factor. People around the league, you know, those in the know, they think Tom Brady's gonna be a pretty active owner considering the relatively low percentage stake

he has. Davis was on the record with my colleague, D'Shaun Reid, last week at the league meetings or at the the 1 of the many league meetings that take place saying he was gonna be a significant factor in making decisions for this franchise. You know he has Mark Davis' ear already, and that's a factor here. Mhmm.

Yeah. Wanna have to Sean back on the show. We were talking about having him back on the show, and then the Raiders just they're just

He was he was out talking to Mark

I was they're so not relevant. I said, look. If they if they make a coaching change, we gotta get I hope that's not the only time he he can be on, but let's get him back on the show. Let's go to the cowboys. Mike McCarthy, the longer this goes and the more reporting around the cowboys is actually that Mike McCarthy has a decent chance to stay.

Is do you think, like, Jerry Jones and Steven Jones and their sources are just, like, gaslighting us? Because it's a pretty surprising development that the season went as poorly as humanly possible, and Mike McCarthy would be back. That doesn't make sense to me.

Uh-uh. No. Especially with what Dax said when he was, like, you know, if McCarthy comes back and is allowed or sort of, like, you know, given a little bit more, I don't know, responsibility,

to run

the offense. Decision. Yeah. To do his thing.

I don't buy it. I actually still think McCarthy is more than likely gone. I just think they're, like, raising the intrigue.

I think this is another way of planting the seeds to get us to talk about the Cowboys for a lot longer into the off season. But the fact that Dak Prescott was lobbying for McCarthy, that is someone that Jerry Jones is gonna listen to. And he won't necessarily listen to a lot of people, but Dak Prescott, who he just paid the most money to any player he's ever paid, like, he's going to listen to Dak Prescott.

Jones is getting up there in life too, and it's like, do I really wanna find another coach that might I might not work with well? Mike McCarthy is very comfortable. He knows his place in the cowboys ecosystem.

The reverse of that.

They like each other personally, clearly.

I'm time is ticking. And do you wanna just, like, keep shooting your shot?

Well, yeah, if McCarthy can get another contract out of them, like, go go get it. He he has exceeded any reasonable expectation for how much money he has made, And good good on him.

Ever since that subscription. Let's You know?

Let's go to the, let's go to the less than likely. This is under 50 percent percent chance, but I'm gonna put it a maybe. I have 2 teams here. It's Drod Mayo, and it's Todd Bowles in Tampa, which would sound crazy because the the Bucks are playing well. We'll start with Mayo.

He he's part of my next segment, so I won't even go on here. Okay. I'm gonna give him a a just a short gift, but I don't know. Every week, there's something here.

But this is, like, the beginning of the beginning. So I feel like you need to give him at least another year.

Sometimes when you know, you know, though. And it would be admitting defeat if you're Robert Kraft, but I don't

know. I don't know. I think I feel like he should get a longer runway than,

I think,

some of the external there have been some big snafus. Like, don't get me wrong. I'm not excusing those. But we've seen young head coaches who have gone on to be very successful have some of those, like, public verbal f ups. Dan Campbell.

I wouldn't call that an f up, but everyone was making fun of Dan Campbell. Everyone was making fun of Nick Sirianni. Now I'm not saying Drod Mayo is necessarily gonna evolve into that caliber of a coach. I mean, Nick Sirianni is still having verbal snafus left and right even when nobody asked.

But the what about what about the football snafus? That's the bigger thing is they look lost. Yeah.

But I think if you are a young head coach and you are being given the reins by ownership like this, with the understanding that you're gonna adapt and evolve in the job. Like, there's ownership and timeline patience and ecosystemic patience, and then there is impatience from the outside in. And I think those 2 are not concrete.

1 of the most poorly coached teams in in the league, and you have you have a gift in That

that can be true. Yeah. That can be true. It doesn't mean that it has to stay that way. That's my that's my only point.

Like

Right.

People who are football people who are committed to that type of evolution. Okay.

We're way over. Let's go to Todd Balls. We'll be I

thought you wanted to talk about the Patriots a lot.

No. We're we we would go on the we've been actually good going to the minute every time. Todd Bowles stays. The only reason I brought this up Why? It first of all, they would have to lose down the stretch and probably not win the division.

But in that scenario, I just think they can't let Liam Cohen out of the building. And they have promoted from within a couple times before for what it's worth. So there is some history with this ownership. I just think if it's gonna cost you Todd Bowles and Ollie Connolly, who was on the show, he he's made this point too. Like, then you need to just find a way to keep Liam Cohen.

It's just too important.

That PR hit, I I mean, like, I just don't see the

With who?

I mean, getting rid of Todd Bowles, he's had the success. If they end up winning the division and they're in the playoffs, like, how can you get rid of Todd Bowles and promote Liam Cohen? That would be such a slap in the face.

If they win the division, you're right. And people make these this is why it's in a way less than likely. But if they lost 1 of these games and the Falcons somehow get it, it's unlikely. I just I just think it's so important to have that offensive coach letting Cohen lead. Maybe I can give him a lot of money.

And then the final section, it's 5 guys in the, and these can be quick. I think most of them would would be quick. Zach Taylor, I don't believe that this would happen, but this leak, this has been a fiasco this year.

Kinda depends on what Burrow wants, really. It's going to. We don't know what he wants or doesn't want in this case.

And so much has just been bad luck and bad timing.

Why why is that?

I just think, like, the way that Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are playing, like, the defense is bad. I feel like Lou Anarumo, potentially. Yeah.

He's he's

probably gone, but I don't think this is on Zach Taylor. Like, he still has the players with it. They still wanna play for him. They wanna be involved. Like, it's like you're not losing the locker room at this point.

This would be, probably better, though. More nuanced on, like, a longer segment. But the a lot of what owners ask themselves this time of year is how many other teams would immediately go hire that guy if I were to fire him?

Yeah.

Or if I were to let him go? And then, also, do I already have someone in mind who I can guarantee will be better than that guy?

And then the Jags fire Zac Taylor after getting rid of Press Taylor.

Right. I think the answer for Zac Taylor would be he wouldn't get hired.

I I just

He's got great he's got great things.

Christmas. Right?

Jamar Chase and and Joe Burrow examples to me is is the proving the point again. Stefanski Stefanski, by all accounts, is going to be safe. So despite that record, it really does sound like they're they're gonna go back for the 2 time coach of the year and that he would be safe. Steichen, I just wanted to mention, he's gonna be on the hot seat most likely going into next year when you're you're going into year 3, but I think they're gonna be committed to him. Dave Canales has helped to improve everything in Carolina.

I will say I've seen it so many times that all the surprising moves happen when surprising things happen the last couple weeks. Like, if the if the floor just fell out and they lost 3 straight games like they lost to the cowboys, then any who knows? Anything's on the table.

I actually I politely disagree. I think that Canales and his offensive staff will be safe. I think that they're he's going to wanna bring in his own choice for defensive coordinator. And Ajiro ever was gonna go get a job somewhere else, but we have to remember what some of the reporting was before entering the year where other teams thought that they could get a Jiro out of the last year of his contract and were courting that possibility. And Dave Tepper did not let him go.

That's not Dave Canales' hire. And now after this year, I think that that's what he might do is go and look, for his own guy to bring in and and do make that hire versus being paired with somebody. And somebody a team is gonna get a great DC and a Giro if that's the case.

Yeah. He he would get hired quickly. And then finally, Kyle Shanahan. I'd I

would say the Falcons too, by the way, if he ends up anywhere else. I don't know why. That's just like the

As a DC? Yeah. Oh, hell yeah.

Yeah.

That would make sense.

He could. I mean, he he he'll probably have have options of where he could go.

Hiring committees. Are you listening to colleagues? Yes.

I have no reason to believe that John Lynch and the 40 niners are anything but truthful on their stance that Kyle Shanahan is gonna be there forever. I but when Troy Aikman throws it out there on Monday Night Football, like, he just starts talking

about chaos.

Caleb Caleb and Kyle Shanahan, and that they should try to trade for Kyle Shanahan. I was like

So chaotic.

I was like, Troy I I could be wrong, but I feel like Troy wouldn't just throw that out there. You know what I mean? It's like when you have reporters just say things, like, they're not just saying it. It's coming from something. So I'm like, alright.

Well, if Troy threw that out there

You're saying he doesn't have an original thought like that? He would.

But I don't I don't think he would throw I think he's careful enough. He wouldn't throw it out there in that spot

unless Millions of people watching.

He knew something.

My crazy my crazy my craziest take, if the tiny table was here, I would stand on. I do think because there's a gap between maybe the perception of coaches who are ready, who are offensive coaches, who are ready to take the big job, and the actual existing hiring pool, it's like Ben Johnson who may or may not even wanna go to your franchise depending on the situation. And I think the bears genuinely are looking into the possibility of trading for somebody.

Mhmm.

But my my hottest theory take, it's not based on any reporting, but just based on what this team has to be and is looking for right now. You know, Kevin O'Connell has not gotten his extension yet for some god only knows why reason, and he's got until 2025. How what if you what if you try to what if you're the bears and you say how much would

it never do

it, Greg. I know. You're giving me Greg face. I know that. But I'm just saying, the hot like, the crazy Greg's

face.

The crazy It always rears its head.

Like, that that's, like, just imagine you're like the Vikings, and you're like, oh, yeah. You know what? We could find another 1 of these. They haven't extended them yet. Extend the man.

They should extend him.

He could he could leverage this maybe into,

I'm just saying, I wouldn't be surprised if you heard, like, some weird, crazy, like, shenanigan rumors about this based on trying to get that extension done.

He is the new favorite for coach of the year. We did it we did it quickly. I think it was good. Just just a little, like, where we're at. Mhmm.

Temperature check. Temperature check. We're we're at 4 head coaching openings if Doug is gone as we expect. I'm putting the over under at 7 this year. I feel like there's gonna be a handful more.

It'd be interesting. Watch this space. Alright. Let's get to I mean, that is kind of, like, Grinch stuff. That's why it's even better not to do it on our next show, which we're taping on Christmas Eve morning, so that would be

Yeah.

Rude for that. Colleen, we're gonna try to check-in with your your family maybe. I'll take it all. Back in Philadelphia.

For the holidays.

We're

we're keeping it warm here. Let's do something nicer. Let's give out gifts to teams. Let's let's be the secret Santa that these teams need. I think in your all red, get up today

That's you

should go for it.

Sweatshirt and a hat, but yes. Okay. Yeah?

Go for it.

Yay.

Alright. Oh. So here we go. Oh, wow.

Chris Smack.

I was thinking about giving Jerry Jones window treatments, like some curtains. Oh. But I

don't know.

He's such a tough person to shop for. I like this 1 better.

What do you get for the man who

has Has everything. Everything. Except for playoff wins. Okay. Watches are a really popular gift

this

time of year. I prefer a men's wear watch that looks expensive but isn't if anybody wants to be my secret Santa. But, specifically, I would like to give a pocket watch to Caleb Williams. And to be honest, I feel like I'm doing more of a service than giving a gift with this. We need him to learn when to get rid of the ball.

And, like, I'm here to wish him a happy and healthy New Year, but considering he's been sacked a league leading 58 times, he needs a lot more than my well wishes at this point. 58 sacks. It's the 3rd most by a rookie quarterback since 1970 and 13 more than any other NFL quarterback this season. I get it. It's not all on Caleb.

The offensive line has allowed a ton of unblocked pressure, so I'll throw in some of Phil Swift's flex seal just as, like, a guy that's here. Nice. But Caleb is top 10 in longest average time to sack this season. So a pocket watch or a stopwatch, you know, whichever has faster shipping on my Amazon account is what I will be doing here.

Nice. I love it. Yeah. That offensive line, every time I watch them, I'm just dumbfounded by that group. It when I'm like, I so let me also be clear.

Like, I appreciated the aggressive calls in the first half on 4th and short, 4th and 1. There are some of the side angles of the lack of push and, in fact, the inversion and implosion of that. That offensive line was just getting moved backward off the spot. If you can't gain a yard on a must have it season already lost, but reputation on the line kinda situation when it has been stated and mandated that you're going to be aggressive Yeah. Trying to do anything you can to actually just win 1 or get points on the board, and you're getting pushed backward like that, I mean, that's embarrassing.

But to your point, I agree that the offensive line has been an embarrassment, but I think Troy Aikman, again, he was pretty pointed. He did

not hold back, Troy.

He did not hold back at all.

And he's just like, yeah. There's a 1,000,000 wide open guys that Caleb's staring at, and he's not throwing it. And Missing a it's okay to like, multiple things can be true that he he's maybe got coached too hard to not make a mistake, and he's just a little frozen there. And then he said Troy is. Troy, that is, said Caleb is his harshest critic.

Like, he was saying, there's all these throws that I just keep missing that I wouldn't miss in college, and you saw it. Like Yeah. He just missed open receivers

Mhmm.

On throws that were there. It's just he's a little scrambled.

Down, I think, to Keenan out loud. Bears. So I do love this gift Yeah. Colleen, because you're also it's a symbol in a way.

Pocket A pocket

play on words.

Just Exactly. I love a play on words.

I love it. The the concept of time being so crucial for Caleb. Mhmm.

Love that.

Just give it a couple more cycles around this here pocket watch, and things will get better, buddy.

Very important for the entire

end. Multiple levels. Gonna say.

That 1.

Yeah. Thank you. I overthink everything, and sometimes it works out.

That was amazing. Yes. Bears, please. We know you're gonna be in prime time 5 to 6 times every year, especially with Caleb Williams. So this is important for this show.

It's important for the entire NFL. Get this higher. Right? I mean, the Bears

But most importantly, this show.

Yeah. They could miss they could miss it.

They're gonna trade.

I'm gonna give, a present. I'm gonna give CJ Stroud. Whole merry Christmas. I don't know if we can do that all every time. It's too intense.

I like I think we should. I like I like the I like the the sounds, but the

The reindeers?

Yeah. The Santa. The Santa. He almost sounds like the Christmas story guy, like, ho

ho ho. You got a real problem with Santa.

With the yeah. You're with the guy who, was messing with Eric's lovely boy. I mean This is

where it all started.

I'm giving CJ Strato a weighted blanket. Okay?

I love that.

Weighted blankets can help put your nervous system into rest mode, actually. It helps with anxiety, helps reduce, some symptoms of that, and often gives, you know, people that that have the weighted blanket an overall sense of calm. And I just think CJ's gonna need it. It's also good practice for how it feels to have a defensive lineman on top of you, during a game. So it's just like you'll get you'll get used to that.

He During a game. He is He. Right. Being

Important clarification. Thank you, Greg.

He, he's being asked a lot. Like, he just looks stressed. They come out of their bye week, and you think, okay. Our our coaches are gonna come up with a plan for it. You know, we're gonna call plays, maybe a little more under center, stuff that helped me out last year.

The protection's gonna be better. And for 1 drive, they looked like the 2023 Texans. And then the rest of the game happened, and it was a total disaster upfront and all these unblocked pressures. Meanwhile, he's kicking back watching my guy, Troy and and Joe Buck on Monday Night Football, and he's hearing them talk

3rd Troy reference.

He's hearing them talk about potential head coaching candidates for Caleb Williams, and he mentions Bobby Slowick, the offensive coordinator. It's like, well, he will be available because, like, this guy is putting so much stress on CJ Stroud's life because they are not helping this kid out. And this is sort of what it looks like when what's happening to Caleb Williams is happening, but the player is just more ready for the moment and is better and is making everyone else around him look better because he's holding it up to at least a good enough level. But, man, he's he's gonna need this weighted blanket. I think it's gonna soothe him and realize, like, I'm in a good place in my my career, and, like, we're we're gonna make the playoffs, and it's probably not gonna go that well.

But, overall, like, I'm doing well. They'll they'll help me out.

He's taken so many sacks this year. He must feel like he's already under a weight

of penalties. There you go.

Right? I mean, like, just watching the difference from last year to this year, he was able to extend so many more plays last year and just make these throws on the run, and he just it just isn't on the same page with his receivers.

You know what? He did it pretty well Sunday against the Dolphins. It was kind

an improvement.

It was kinda back to, okay. Let's just have CJ fix everything. And he did for a game, but they had under 200 yards in their dominant defensive effort.

Certainly not sustainable for a 17 plus game season to play like that. Like, as if you're trapped in a chimney. Right?

Like Also, I'd like a weighted blanket. Doesn't that sound

You did. When you were opining about it and you kinda had your hands clasped in front of your heart, I was just is this what Greg wants for Christmas?

It does sound great. I mean, I'm not my wife has a heated, you know, pad that she always lies on on the couch. You know those.

Oh, yeah. That's nice.

You know, those are nice. You're just always Is

it weighted too?

Those aren't weight that's not weighted. They're separate. So that's nice. And sometimes I'll go over to her little couch area and steal that little warmth in the morning with You get a weighted 1. Right.

But then the next level would be the weighted blanket.

That's what

I have.

Weight oh, you do have it. Mhmm. It's great.

Well, it's

only like an it's like a neck 1, so it's not that big. But sometimes I'll just, like like, put it like a blanket instead of wearing it around my neck, and it's awesome. Highly recommend.

Sneaky cold, you know, in the mornings and at night in those beach towns. I mean, everyone feel bad for us.

I will always lose, the heat from my space heater right in the morning, and I couldn't figure out for the longest time, like, where it was going. And then I realized my dog, Tucker, is getting up from his bed and standing with his butt to it and facing in into the room. And so he stands there so he has his he could feel the space heater on his butt floofs. Like, he's got really fluffy hindquarters

Yeah.

Legs, so he likes the heat. And I'm like, where was my heat going? And then I I realized

Wind was touching my butt. Very good.

Bravo. Bravo.

Surprise drop of the

year out

there by Eric Roberts. That was your Christmas present to me. I don't expect anything else. That was it. Thank you very much.

No doubt. Alright, Jordan. You're up.

Well, my gift is not going to someone in need.

Okay. To the Green Bay Packers, my gift to you is a command c, command v button to copy and paste what worked for you in

the first half on Sunday night for usage into the post season. Very sustainable way if you can do it. They got Josh Jacobs going early, got movement immediately on the line of scrimmage against that ascending young front, Seattle, that's been playing very well lately. This Packers offensive line, all drafted and developed, most of them middle round players. They've all played the majority of snaps together this season and at their own position, which any coach will tell you, it's not just continuity of health, but continuity of staying in 1 spot for most of the season that really makes a difference this time of year.

These are a group of big, badass dudes moving in gorgeous synchronicity, and moving the ball like that on the ground the way that they did. Josh Jacobs touched the ball, had 9 touches out of first 10. It really settled Jordan Love in. I've been trying to figure out I'm trying to, like, get a read on, like, how what makes him most comfortable entering a game and and gets him to, you know, really settle in quickly, and it's that. It's physically running the ball, that they that they they have been doing, and he has

Or maybe he has a weighted blanket.

That's maybe the maybe this offensive line is his weighted blanket metaphor.

It's very,

very heavy.

I love that for him. But it's clear that when he is settled as early as possible with what which is what they did, which is what their script was essentially in the openers, like, he is absolutely an astonishingly efficient thrower, but also making, like, some really gorgeous throws down the field that are just electric. And I think, like like, a weighted blanket would be or, like, a heated weighted blanket would be. This is I'm going off the rails. I just think so this the they were also getting pushed on the other side of the ball early in the half.

You know, the Packers' defensive line was brought to life in this way that was yes. The Seattle offensive line is a complete and utter disaster, has been all all year. But just asserting themselves and dominating up front the way that they did so early, that is December football, that is January football. If they can command c, command v, copy paste via this gift that totally exists that I'm getting Right.

It's gonna be difficult. I guess if you open it up, it's just last week's game plan. It's, like, copied and pasted.

Well, I guess if I was gonna follow the game correctly, that's what I should have said. But, you know, I'm I'm thinking more We're just making

we're making this up as we go along.

We're making up the

I love a copy and paste. I use it all the time.

Yeah. And I just think that that particular if I were gonna create a gift create a gift in this very real game that we're playing, if I'm gonna create a gift for the Green Bay Packers, I think no no team is gonna hang with them easily. No team is gonna hang with them easily, especially into the postseason if they are able to come out of the gate in that particular style and with that ethos.

They came out so fast, and that was the emphasis because Jordan Love talked about it afterwards saying how they didn't do it before, and that's been sort of an issue for them. So coming out strong and then having Josh Jacobs. I mean, they ran on those 2 touchdown drives. They ran 18 plays, and Jacobs had the ball on 11 of them.

Love a love that balance. 1 thing that I'll think to put on my list next year is a better understanding of the game No. I think it it works. It works. It's not

a game. We're just giving

We make up the rules.

We're just giving gifts.

Sometime Colleen, to your point, sometimes I overthink things, and it doesn't work.

I I love it.

Same girl.

And, look. This Packers team is on the list of teams that if they won the Super Bowl this year, I wouldn't be that surprised.

I agree.

Maybe that's a maybe that's our segment next week. Like, what is that list? It's probably about 6 or 7 teams for me. 5, 6, 7 teams. And the Packers are 1 of those teams.

It's gonna

be it's

gonna be tough for them. They're gonna have to win 3 road games. Well, I think about last year.

Playing, but again That's possible. That's that's what I factored in when, you know, inventing this gift for them out of technology that we definitely definitely have at this point in in our lives. This if you are gonna be on the road, if their playoff seating is such to where they are gonna be on the road to start out, this is exactly the style of football that gets you wins on the road in this type of environment, like, with the stakes so high. And, again, like, I've I've sort of been suspicious of this in a positive way with Jordan Love for a while now that he is he is absolutely like, there is no ceiling for him at a certain point. As long as he gets settled and really gets is comfortable early on, gets settled, feels the rhythm of the game, importantly, feels that space that his line is creating for him Mhmm.

He can really understand very, very quickly, and among the best in the league right now, at understanding how to manipulate that to his advantage once he does get settled. If he's not settled early, he can be a bit erratic.

Yeah. I like the gift of gift like, space and time too

that you Oh my god. I know. Thank you for saving me.

Space and time.

Over 9 yards, adjusted yards per attempt over the last month in aggregate, and, like, that is MVP level numbers, at least, from Jordan Lev. Alright. Let's take a quick break. We got a lot of gifts to hand out.

Some real, some not real.

Jordan's gonna try to refigure out what the segment is all about after this. It's like the magic

of crisps.

Alright. We're outside of, our weighted blankets that we all were under. During the break, we've all taken some muscle relaxers.

Trazodone. I passed them out.

Get loose for this next round of secret Santa. If we go fast enough, maybe we'll do a couple rounds here, and then we'll talk some t n f. Colleen Okay. I bet you're a great gift giver. Well, it's always last minute,

so that's kind of an issue. I'm someone who says, you know what? I was gonna get you, and it's something really, really thoughtful, but I never executed on time. So, you know, the thought I

was just thinking about that counts. Yesterday that it's not the thought that counts. If the thought counted, I'd be awesome. Yeah. But I never you know, I rarely am going through with the the nice things that you think about.

So it's not the thought that counts. They they're lying to you, kids. Yeah. I mean It's the action. Like, it that's it.

The action. Action that counts.

The follow through.

Yes. That's okay.

I saw Steve Wyche in the newsroom last night, and I was like, I haven't bought 1 gift yet for anyone. And he's like, oh, Wolfie. I got my Christmas shopping done

Yeah.

Before Thanksgiving. Oh. Before Thanksgiving.

That does not surprise me 1 bit, knowing why

I'm giving it. Then.

Okay. Fine. This is my second gift, I guess, that I'm that I got and I'm giving. Okay. You know, it kinda feels like you need 27 different streaming services to watch shows this year.

So I would like to give Giants fans the gift of access to joy once again. Now this is actually quite personal for me because I just recently signed up for another streaming service to watch a show that debuted 22 years ago. That show is The Wire, and that streaming service is HBO Max. And, you know, I thought of Giants fans now.

They they don't like it anymore.

Okay. Max. So whatever. Max. And I thought of Giants fans because we're both watching a lot of the Homicide Unit, at this point.

Fine, a fictional drama. There's a terrible reality show. But I want to bring back the good times, the smiles for Giants fans with the gift of Max. So you can rewatch the off season hard knocks since that's when their season Oh. Merry Christmas.

This this is I wanna say beneath you, but you're so small as it is. You know, it's it's hard to get there. I love it. I love it.

And catch us on Fast Channel.

Yeah. Please do. Joe Shane. I didn't mention him in the whole coaching thing.

But Oh, I

was gonna bring that up if that's a package deal or if you could see maybe Brian Daybell going and not or Joe Shane going and not Daybell.

I think that is how they will split the baby, which is a weird phrase, but I think Joe Shane will stay. There's something about Joe Shane that I just think John Mara wants to work, and he wants to have He desperately wants stability. He wants to be the Rooneys, and that that'll be, like, the closest he can get is, I think, keeping Joe Shane at least. And I think more teams are doing that in general, like keeping front offices, keeping the structures, but but changing out the coaches and or sometimes the the GM is gone, but a lot of the people underneath them stay.

Joe Shane has the caliber I mean, it's hard to argue for any of this. Right? But, like, he has the caliber of what this draft class's potential is, of some of the non Saquon related moves in

They they had a good they had a good draft.

And so I think that's where because you can see process, product, and result looks terrible. But if you can see process, if you're Mara, and then you could also see that on the coaching side, and you're maybe not thrilled with any of it, that this could be potentially it. But, again, this trips me up because of what he so emphatically said, and I just don't think he likes being embarrassed like that. Like, he there there was some interesting stuff that market they were, like, saying, okay. Well, you know, it's he doesn't mind booing.

He doesn't mind strife in a in a moment with a some sort of a fix at the end of it. But it's like people not caring or people, being embarrassed by by his decisions is what he can't handle. And I don't know. It's it's like they've got at least a young girl.

Done it before, though. I was living in New York at the time. Like, he's said we're not gonna fire the coaches, and then he fired the coaches. So that's that's kinda what

his reputation now.

That's what I'm going off of a little. I love to that

That was a great

Colleen just loves punching down on the Giants, as a rival, which I get. There was something tear it's a it brings out the worst in you because Yeah.

Which is actually the best.

Right. Because, like, no matter how good the patriots were and how bad the jets were, that was the 1 team you just you just wanted to be, and it it It's like a stress ball. And and saying that that was the peak of their season, they weren't happy even then. The expectations were very low, and they were getting made fun of, like, even during that season with Saquon. But you're right.

It really was the highlight. I'm gonna give a book to the entire Ravens team. So everyone in the organization, all the players, it's gonna be a book. It is called Never Rest Easy or Never Easy, Never Pretty. It's by a man called Dean Bartoli Smith.

I'm also gonna give out from our friends at NFL Films a copy of America's Game 2,012. This book is is about the story of the 2012 Baltimore Ravens and America's Game, of course, are are great documented, documentary that we do after after every Super Bowl win.

Mhmm.

And it's a story of a team that John Harbaugh coached that was worse than literally every other team that John Harbaugh ever coached, and it won the Super Bowl. That's wild. And it's a reminder that sometimes it's not the season that was pretty throughout. You know what the 2012 Ravens were doing around this time of the season? Losing 3 straight games.

You know what their defense was doing all season? They looked like trash. It was by far the worst defense Ed Reed and Ray Lewis were ever associated with. They were a lot worse than this defense. You know what they did at the end?

They won the Super Bowl, and that was after 3 straight years where if you look at the point differential and the DVOA and the all that stuff, those Ravens teams were among the very, very best in the league. And the numbers would say even this year they are, but I know they've lost a lot of games. There's a different feeling. And it's a reminder to Lamar Jackson. Like, no 1 remembers everything Joe Flacco did before or really after.

No. You just gotta play your best for 4 games in the playoffs, and that's all that matters. And to me, this is a much better team than the 2,012 Ravens that ended up winning that Super Bowl. You just gotta play your best then, and then it's gonna be a reminder for this team. Like, may maybe it's the year that you don't see coming.

They sound like they also could use some sort of magical button that exists to reapply certain strategies, to the current model that was used in the past. Like, a command c, command like, some sort

of Mhmm.

Some sort of metaphysical, like, button that Yeah.

Yeah. That would be great.

Yeah. I agree. I think that would be awesome. Great gift idea, Greg.

And what a great book it is by Dean Bartoli Smith. I gotta admit I have not. I could there aren't many books out there

There's no books anywhere.

About the 2012 Baltimore Ravens. But never rest easy, never pretty. Never never easy, never pretty. I remember you, Ravens. Like, that was not a good team.

Sometimes, teams that aren't that good actually win the Super Bowl. And, actually, I think this Ravens team is quite good.

What? Like, the Giants?

They just have yeah. Like, they weren't great during I'm kidding. During the regular

season. Kidding.

I just mean during during that regular season. Yeah. Like, Harbaugh had been around at that point, I think, for 4 years. And all the other teams, if you look at, like, there's a value that Pro Football reference has. Like, they were all way better teams.

They were 11 win teams, 12 win teams, all this. This was this team had so many problems. And, like, does literally anyone remember that at this point? Like, no 1 cares. All that matters is the playoffs.

Alright. Give me a gift. Not me.

You'd give someone a gift. Subliminally placing that in my brain. Once again, I will show my absolute mastery of the theme here.

So we don't know if Pat Mahomes is gonna be

playing the next couple games. He said, Tuesday morning that he's gonna try with dealing with an ankle sprain that's not as serious as 1 that he had before. My gift also based it totally in reality

Mhmm.

To Patrick Mahomes, if he does play for the next couple weeks, is he is allowed to pick any 2 NFC tackles. They don't have to be on the same team to protect him in the games.

What a gift.

In the games leading up to the Super Bowl, the only rule is that he cannot use them in the Super Bowl itself.

Wait. Why?

Because they could potentially be on a team that he's playing.

Okay. I

mean, come on. But, like,

also in the playoffs. Yeah. You gotta make it realistic. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. I mean Yeah. So that's what they're NFC tackles. So I'm I am so, obviously, there's a little context here. I know people know the history of the situation that he's going through, but DJ Humphries was signed to help alleviate issues inclusive to injury and performance between the tackles, the left tackles, Juanie Morris and Kingsley Sue and Mattaya.

DJ Humphreys was not active this week. He's dealing with the hamstring issue. They've moved Joe Tooney at times, which means that they're sort of, destructing deconstructing a really still very solid interior offensive line in order to patch different holes, which if what I said at the top, continuity position is also incredibly important this time of year. And hats up to Dan Pizzuto for tracking this. 7 or Patrick Mahomes has taken 7 or more hits in a game for the 7th week in a row, which ties the record for most such games since 2000.

Oh, so yeah.

Not sustainable. So my gift to him, I think he is not only wants it, but very much in need of it if he does play. And I'm gonna go in their NFC tackle, so I'm gonna go Pena Sewell on the right side.

Okay.

And Andy Reid can also use him as a receiving threat.

Okay.

He does.

Love it. And I'm going with Tristan Wurfs at left tackle.

Okay. Who

are you guys picking? Who

are you? I think those are the 2 those are the 2 all pro tackles.

Yeah.

If Lane Johnson didn't get, like, banged up, maybe I'd put Lane in there.

I would say Lane would be good because he knows he knows how to get there in the postseason, and he's sorta like that long haul trucker.

I mean, if Lane Johnson's banged up, I'd hate to see what he looks like, you know, healthy because he didn't give up a single pressure last week against TJ freaking Watts. So I don't know. He is alright. I'm I'll go Lane Johnson just for some just to

make Some spice. Mix it up. And spice.

Yeah. Tristan Wertz. That is a great gift. He would love that. And,

Thanks, guys. I needed that.

It's okay. I think I think sometimes it's Christmas. You wanna live in a fantasy world.

This is like when people

buy can't make it happen, like, just imagine it, and and suddenly Joe Tooney will be Tristan Wurf's

out there. This this is the gift equivalent of when your significant other buys you a star. You know? Like, you don't actually own that star. Oh, yeah.

You have a piece of paper that says, this is your star, and some, like, you know, bull romance trope, but it's not really your star. It is the universe's star, and it has died long before you can even see the light from it.

Yikes. That's neat. It's kind of or or when they

I'm doing great. Here's a dead star. Merry Christmas.

They sell these, you know, they sell these trinkets, so it'll be like, you can, like, adopt this dolphin for $50, and you get a little certificate. And they're they're probably, like, stealing half that money.

So this is my gift. My Not that worth it. Equivalent of that too, Patrick.

By the way, Lane Johnson only missed 1 play, but it was so scary that it just worried me that maybe there would be some type of lasting of happiness.

Was playing, like, hurt the rest of the game, and he was still awesome. It's it's crazy. I did get my son a certificate of adoption of a koala, I remember, know, like, 5 years ago or something. And it was Where was where was donation. It's like a donation to the Koala Society in Australia or whatever, something like that.

And they they give you a little certificate, and you get a newsletter. Alright.

Have you checked in with it recently?

I've I I really wanna go to Australia to go to their little they have a little, you know, koala party going on there.

Woah. Yeah. Okay.

The preservation society. I

don't know.

Have my attention.

Let's go. Alright. Last gift

for Kelly.

Or it could be

Very speed

if you got any speedy ones, just

this is for Bills fans.

Okay.

And it's a collection of Hailee Steinfeld's music and movies

to

thank her for unlocking Josh Allen's full potential. Because since they got engaged during the Bills' bye week

Oh my god.

Josh Allen has 14 total touchdowns, 0 turnovers, 0 sacks taken, and the Bills are averaging 42 points per game in those 3 weeks. So, Haley, on behalf of Bills Mafia and my friend, Buffalo Terry, who lives in Buffalo, obviously, if that's her name, gave me permission to say this so I can. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

That is amazing. Yeah. Like, that as good as he has ever been, like, this is even better.

And He is on a a heater right now.

I mean, it kinda makes sense.

Went to

a job. Man that is that

Happy.

Happy in his life. Love. It doesn't mean you have the, you know, the the room here, Bills fans, to do any blaming if it turns south at some point. There there's I've seen

too much that. Standard too.

Yeah. The other the other side of it has not been great over the years sometimes in in these situations. I am gonna give a gift to NFL daily, actually. So everyone behind just

So to yourself. Okay.

Well Is

it a real gift or is it a star?

It's more for for the NFL. We're gonna go ahead and buy some ads on Micah Parsons' podcast in the off season because this is gonna be the podcast of the off season. I don't know if you saw the cowboys soft launching their new off season story over the weekend, Micah Parsons trade candidate. It that is gonna make the Micah Parsons podcast, like, 1 of the fastest growing podcasts

Mhmm.

In the game. I think there could be a lot of carryover with listeners, like, enjoying both. So I I'm giving NFL daily. I'm sure Iheart, if you're listening out there or the NFL will support you.

Of a budget?

Yeah. We've had no complaints, and they've been great. But, yeah, we're gonna do some advertising on the Parsons podcast because this is gonna be the story of the off season, which Ian Rapaport helped, to introduce. So thank thank you, Ian. It was like

His gift to us.

Yeah. It was these quotes it was these quotes from Steven Jones where he was saying, well, it's a balancing act you need to look at. Are we paying our top 2, you know, our top players too much money? Maybe we need to spread it out because when those top guys get hurt, like Trevon Diggs and whatever, like, you really see we're missing the depth, and it very much felt like a soft launch either of a mostly fabricated story just to get attention or Micah Parsons who's

The Cowboys have never done that.

Kinda known as being a little bit of a high maintenance player. You know, maybe they would be considering actually trading, like, the best pure pass rusher I've ever seen come into the league. I I I think this podcast is gonna go off. That would be insane.

That's what they want you to think so that you keep talking about it, Greg. We've been over this.

Well, that was what I said. It's it's it's 1 or the other, but I I actually think they're

I think Micah gets too.

To do this.

I think Micah understands it understands it too. I think he and and Jerry Jones can sort of pull all of the levers and be the Woody Harrelson GIF of crying into their fistfuls of money at the end of this.

It's called the the edge with Micah Parsons.

It's a great show.

By the way.

Very candid.

And I think, yeah, this if if he is on the trade block, like, I can just picture it's not that far away. We're at the combine. We're doing a show from there, and everyone is talking about the biggest story of the day is what Michael Parsons said on the edge with Michael Parsons about the trade rumors going around. That's that's only, like

I wonder. 2 months away.

And then everyone's like, wow. What was the ad for that really cool podcast? Obviously. NFL daily during

With Greg Rosenthal. Yeah.

Do you think that there is gonna be a situation with Cam Jordan's Off the Edge podcast and Micah Parsons' The Edge

podcast? Course. I don't

know which 1 was first. I assume it was off the edge with Cam Jordan.

Yeah. Keith's been doing that for a minute.

That's that's not fair. I don't like it. Alright, Jordan.

Okay. Guys, Mike Evans has hit at least 1,000 receiving yards per season in each of his 10 NFL seasons. He's 251 yards away from exactly 1,000 yards with 3 regular season games left. 2, if you're a put 17 games person, which, in fairness, that's that is a valid thing to me. My gift to Mike, you're gonna keep your streak intact.

I don't care what happens over the next 2 weeks. You get your streak. You are joy on a football field. Your existence and excellence for so long makes me and so many others who appreciate the craft of your game happy. You are getting your streak, Mike Evans, my gift, the world's gift, the universe's, football's gift to you for giving so much to it over the last 10 years.

Only 251 yards away.

Mhmm. He went off this weekend, and He really did. He would tie Jerry Rice's record of 11 consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards.

He and this streak is a rare streak that everyone agrees on. Like, everyone's happy that

That's what Christmas is all about.

I love it. Just a couple quick ones too that just thrown out. These are more, like, stocking stuffers. For drawed mayo, I'm just gonna, like, give them a filter. I I I didn't get 1.

Like a Brita? Like a Brita? A Brita filter?

I don't know. This is more of a metaphysical 1, kinda like you're you're giving out. Just like I didn't realize this until pretty recently in life. I'm not even kidding. You can have unexpressed thoughts.

You know what I mean? Like, if something comes

moment for you, Greg.

If something comes into your head, you don't have to just immediately say it. There can be a there can be something in between when you think it and when it comes out of your mouth.

Yeah. Or it just doesn't come out of your mouth,

the thought. That's that's what the filter's for.

Yeah. I have

You could hold it for later. You could hold it for never. But I think Gerard could use it.

I have a, very timely story about this, actually, Greg, because you and I were texting, earlier this week.

Uh-oh.

And you texted me a take about Drake May.

And We don't need to go back to more Drake.

I said, well, I know this is the arc of the Greg Universe always cycles back to Drake May. So you texted me this take that you had, and I said, oh, you said I I'm about to post it on Twitter just to feel alive. And I said, oh, RIP. And then you said, nope. You were the buffer between me actually saying it, except you said it anyway on the last show.

Oh, yeah.

So It

wasn't that how to take oh, the the podcast is different than setting a on Twitter. Just that if you're in a redraft, I think he's a absolutely reasonable QB 1 now. He would be the number 1.

A second time. Yeah.

Oh, alright.

Well, that's good.

That's it. It's different. Twitter's angrier. They get they get all worked up. Podcasts, we're we're friendly here.

And then We're we're we're the weighted The Arizona Cardinals. I just wanna give them a night out without the kids. You know what I mean? I don't think they're enjoying the moment enough. They're, like, 77.

No 1 pays attention to them. It's like, this story is great. They're over under before the year was like 5a half. Like, it just feels like the vibes aren't as good as they should be. Like, the way they're coaching up this relative lack of talent, be happy with what you are.

And also just they do need a little love and attention. So just a night out, maybe to get pampered without the kids, and we find out, on Tuesday, as we're taping this, that they're getting put in prime time on NFL Network.

Greg, that's some real host stuff right there.

Yeah. Nice. Nice 1.

This gift was was written down before I knew the NFL Network tripleheader, which, by the way, in a couple Saturdays, Colleen, I read as part of the press release, is hosting this whole day. Wait. You're giving me a look now. You're giving me I am. Break face.

I I did I forgot that I was doing it.

You are aware of this. Right?

It's a doubleheader. I just remembered that I'm doing the doubleheader this Saturday too. It's And I recently remembered that.

It's pretty good on NFL. Awesome. Tripleheader, chargers, patriots. Mhmm. So you got Drake May, Justin Herbert, which I I think is probably his best comp in the NFL.

Maybe it's it's Justin Herbert. That's a fun quarterback match. You have Bengals, Broncos, which depending on the results of this week's TNF. Bengals could be right in it and hope that the chargers are collapsing. Either way, though, they should still

Well, Denver also, if they beat the chargers on TNF, that they could clinch a playoff spot.

So that's fun too. And then, yeah, the the cardinals haven't gotten a lot of pop this year, I feel like, despite all the fun. You wanna prove it? Come to Hollywood. You got Jordan Rodrigue up in the press box.

It's a Saturday night game. Everyone's watching their playoff. Lives will be on the line. That's fun.

Yeah. I mean, I think 1 of the previous games they played this year was the lowest watched game in recorded broadcast history. Right? The 1 on was that the Cardinals? ESPN plus?

Oh, yeah. Well, that doesn't count. That's fair. They'll be in prime time. They'll be able to I hopefully I mean, you know what?

They might even feel extra charitable this holiday season and get Trey McBride a touchdown. That would be That would be I mean, generally, as long as we're giving things That would be

absolutely great. And I

love fun.

I love that this division is coming down to these last couple weeks. The Rams will have the Cardinals and Seahawks back to back, and those 2 games will help decide it. Alright. We are taking another break. We're gonna come back.

We're gonna talk a little. Broncos, chargers, yes. That game will inform your triple header. Mhmm. It's Colleen Wolf season on NFL Network.

It's the winter of Josh and Colleen.

Oh. Yes.

Hey, now. Where was this 1? Is this, like, Trans Siberian Orchestra?

This is my style of Christmas music.

This is very, like, NFL game It's holiday coverage type of music, which is probably why it's in our music library somewhere. It was it was like the t n f 2017, like, intro.

Blink 182 cover. I was thinking the other day, like, I can't believe that Fox is still doing football robot too. Like, that has been a thing for so long, football robot. I It's still there. Mascot?

Yeah. Oh, I think people are lots of years he fella. People are attached to it maybe now that if they took it away, they'd be mad. They're still doing the drawings, you know, the drawings that make you look like a superhero or just weird or way hotter than you actually are. It's like 1 of the 1 of the 3.

Justin Herbert, not a guy who who needs to be made any better looking. A fine looking young man who is gonna be going up against Bo Nix and this Broncos team. The chargers won the first time around, so they could sweep them. They would have the better seed in the AFC. I think that could kinda matter, because if you can get the best wild card seed here or even the the second best, you might avoid the Bills.

Who knows, though? It it's a lot of guesswork how how it will work out even if you're

in the ballpark. Of these, like, different combinations and,

you

know, all of the you go into the lab this time of season, so I kind of rely on that.

That that is true. And that's why this game is in a weird spot. Sometimes games like this happen where both teams are probably in, but it's a bigger game for the chargers because they're a game behind. And if they lost it, they would fall to 87, and suddenly, they would be in a situation where they they would not be able, to stumble down the stretch, with with some easier games. Broncos coming off a good 1.

Like, they just seem like they're a better team now than the chargers. Yeah.

How about they won 4 straight?

Because I I'm always kinda rooting for the chargers. But, I have to admit the broncos are just like, when you're better and I think about this every game for the broncos. Is their offensive line better than the other team's defensive line in this game despite Joey Bosa and Cleo Mac? The answer is yes. Like, the charges just haven't been rushing the passer well.

And then on the flip side, is their pass rush better than the other team's offensive line? Again, the answer is yes. When the answer to that is yes, almost every week, you win a lot of games.

1 of the things I to that point is these are both units on either side

of the ball that have gotten better and better

and better and better as time has passed. In Denver. And the chargers have either stayed the same or have deteriorated in some ways, sometimes due to injury, other times just due to, like, a lack of completeness or dimension that exists within that team right now. You know, I've remained really impressed with what Jesse Minter has done with that defense, considering what they entered the season with. But the Broncos are just playing more complete.

And that's how I kinda describe the Broncos right now. This is the time of year where you want to be as complete a team as possible in in every phase. The defense isn't just solid. They are attacking. The, you know, the Broncos and the chargers defense are, 2 of the 3 teams that are leading the league right now and limiting points per game.

What is the 3rd team? Your favorite? Wait. What? The 3rd team that's the the 3rd team that there that's a that's a 3 way tie and teams that are, limiting score.

For Christmas, I'd like to get Colleen, like pay attention, Colleen. I don't know.

I was trying to I was trying to tee up the Eagles for you, Colleen. Well, I

was just teasing. Eagles, but I wasn't actually, all the way tiled in

on that. Eagles defense. Right, Estelle. But but the difference, though, is that the Broncos are scoring. They lead the league in scoring defense right now.

They've they've accounted for 34 points between interception returns for a touchdown, fumble recoveries for a touchdown, and safeties. And that's the difference. And the chargers, I think, have scored once on defense this season. I'd have to fact check. I'm sure someone will tell me, online at some point after this runs.

But the this is that's the difference is it's not just the completeness, but they also attack, and they're asserting. And on the other side of the ball, I don't feel the chargers attacking teams very effectively. It's like a banged up Justin Herbert throwing to a banged up Ladd McConkey, and that is really fun and exciting, but they're not running the ball effectively. Mhmm. Meanwhile, the Broncos just seem to keep getting better as time passes.

Or even if better is not exactly the right word, completeness. You feel this completeness with what they can do.

And the Broncos, they had this late buy, which is always helpful. They've won 4 straight. The chargers have lost 3 of their last 4. And I like, when you think about that game against the Chiefs, how it came down to the very end, Justin Herbert. Now he's dealing with this ankle injury on a short week.

They need to fix things. They don't have time to fix things. They don't have time to heal. I expect the pass rush to absolutely get after Justin Herbert. He's not gonna be as mobile, obviously, and we saw what they were able to do against Anthony Richardson, who is a lot more mobile.

And I just think that the Broncos pass rush, they'll have time to get to Herbert because I saw that Patrick Sertan, he was on the estimated practice report, a full participant. So the secondary, I expect them to hold up and give the pass rush even more time. I don't think it's really great for the charge.

Okay. I don't either, but I'm trying to make the case for it. Now the offensive line for the Chargers really struggled with the Bucks blitzes last week. The Chargers are actually second in the league in terms of giving up unblocked pressures. So just no one's blocked.

There's total confusion where to where to block the guy. And yet they're right in the middle of the pack in total pressures, which to me is a Justin Herbert stat, which he gets rid of the ball. I do remember this first game. They went on these long drives. The chargers did.

They got out to a huge lead in Denver. It was probably their most impressive performance of the season to that point. Herbert was finally healthy and moving around. And I do think even though this wasn't the case last week, he's such a smart player that I worry about blitzing him because I think sometimes that plays into his hands that he knows where to go with the ball, and it gives him easier answers. And his guys don't get that open in general.

So if there's less guys in the secondary, they can be a little more open, and he's such a smart quarterback that it almost helps define what he needs to do for an offense that's struggling to create open receivers. That said, the the Bucks cooked him up pretty good last week, especially after there was a play where they fell on his ankle. Yeah. His numbers before that injury, 8 for 10, 1 0 for a 101 yards. After, he was 13 for 23 for 94 yards in an interception.

So

They were shut out in the second half.

Yeah. So it got ugly, and we'll see. Like, I do think, like, you just need Justin Herbert to be the best player in this game by a decent amount, and that's just the chargers' best hope that they have him and the Broncos don't. They have Bo Nix who struggled the last couple weeks.

That's part of the reason I think they're gonna try to throw stuff at him and and get him not just, in a vulnerable position physically for, you know, taking hits or or whatever, but in a vulnerable position where they're gonna see how well he can move on that leg, which is going to be harder to do as the game goes on because you can treat it up the way that you, you know, you do before a game. But as time passes through that game, if a team keeps attacking, attacking, attacking, like, I almost wonder if they really get after him early. The problem too with the chargers right now is the lack of dimension in the ways that they can protect him. 1 of the ways that you can protect a quarterback who is banged up is with a run game, and they haven't been running the ball effectively. And, again, part of that is is due to injury, but the other part is they just have not been executing very effectively.

And then the most effective and efficient play becomes put the ball in Justin Herbert's hands. He didn't

even try to run last week.

Yeah. Because he's the best player on the team. So put the ball in his hands. And on the 1 hand, you can understand the logic, but then on the other hand, it opens them up to get killed out there. So they're in a tough spot.

The the line to walk for an effective game plan when you do have a superstar quarterback, but he is hurt in this way and banged up in this way, is so, so thin in terms of what kind of a plan. And I just believe because I've seen the Broncos, especially their defense and now their offense, win in a couple of different ways this season that they'll be able to adjust to what the chargers try to do.

I think because they can't establish the run, they're gonna just be forced into obvious passing situations. And if Herbert's ankle is still a a real issue, the Broncos are gonna win this, and they'll clinch their 1st playoff spot since 2015.

On the flip side, the chargers' defense got cooked by the Tampa

in the second half

of that game. It look. They were they were head by 4 at halftime. It was 1713. And there are some similarities, I think, between the Bucks and the Broncos in terms of they their quarterbacks get the ball out really quickly.

Their coordinators can really scheme up open receivers that both teams are really good blocking for their receivers on the perimeter and just kinda creating first read football. And that's what Bo Nix needs. When when you take away his first read, he is just not nearly as effective. That is the charger's best hope in this game is that Bo Nix's slump, if you wanna call it that, continues. Now last week, he was 2 for 8 for 33 yards and 3 picks.

When throwing over 10 yards, He struggled. He he it was the first time since September he looked like the Bo Nix from September, and they closed out the game okay. And people were like, oh, yeah. He bounced back and had a couple touchdown passes. And it was, like, just a swing pass to, you know, a wide receiver where they had got blocked up and then 2 other guys that are wide open.

And we know he can hit the 1st read. So if they can open up plays like that, but he he just seemed a little stuck in his head. He was at 3 or 4 yards per attempt. And remember the game before that, thereby, he threw 3 interceptions in that game as well. So that's that's 5 picks in the last couple weeks.

That that would be the hope for the chargers.

I do wonder if the Broncos try to get his pocket moving a little bit, but also get him moving a little bit. Picking up gimme yards, different things. You know? This late down the season, you obviously you don't wanna put your quarterback in danger. But what you said about, you know, the Broncos and the Bucks reminding you of each other, like, Baker and Bo Nix remind me of each other Yeah.

A lot in that regard where some of these games that Baker has won for the Bucks, and Sean Payton certainly has an eye on this tape, is, you know, he's picking up some of the gotta have it yards by himself. That way, extending the run game out to the flats, extending the run game into what the quarterback can actually do, and that'll change the way a defense has to play. You you might be able to open up some of that short stuff because you're sending 1 extra defender maybe out into the side or the flat area to try to counter the potential that the quarterback can pick it up with his legs.

I'm amazed that charges are favored in this game by 2a half.

It's a home is it not it's a home game right at

the time. Home, but it really just feels like the broncos have been a better team lately. And even though I'll wear my biases, like, I want the chargers to win this game. I'm picking the broncos just because you gotta pick the team that you think is a better team. I do think they're the better team.

Yeah. I think the broncos win.

I am picking the broncos. I actually do think it will be very low scoring between both teams, because I I think Jesse Minter's defense will rebound in a little bit of a

Love that. And,

the

Bronco Broncos don't have much of a running game either. And Mm-mm. If when you're making Bo Nix and and they're passing him a little 1 dimensional, you're right. That could be that could be a low scoring game. And shout out to Nick Benito.

I love watching him play.

The Broncos fans are pushing, like, the defensive player of the year stuff, and it is you know? It's got it's a tough ass because the 1st 5 or 6 weeks of the season, like, he had a extremely low pressure rate. Like, he was, by the numbers, a below average pass rusher for 5, 6 weeks of the season. But words are funny sometime. If you do something crazy in this game after having these back to back pick sixes and you have 11 sacks, if he ends up leading the league in sacks, like, he gets to 15 in sacks, and he has 1 more, like, really crazy memorable play, he's gonna have a chance.

So go out there and be special, Nick Benito, because you you're pretty fun to watch.

I know. His ascension since week 7, next gen has him the 7th highest pressure rate among, you know, all edge rushers with at least a 150 rushes. So it's not exactly, like, if you start the season hot, it's ascending. It's kinda like he is kind of to me embodies what a lot of this team has done over this year is they've started to ascend, figure things out, and really go from, reacting and responding to what teams try to do them to asserting in different ways. And Nick Benito, I think, embodies a lot of that.

He's a microcosm of the team.

And he's the there's actually not an obvious defensive player of the year right now, so maybe. Go a little crazy. That was it. This was fun. This was the last Christmas themed episode until our next 1, which will be on Christmas Eve morning.

No. I don't know if that'll be Christmas Eve.

I don't have any more themed

No. I'm just saying.

I could come

up with something.

Okay. You you're not even gonna be here.

Yeah. But maybe I'll just throw some ideas out. We just need

we're just gonna do an isolated fan cam on Colleen as she celebrates her family Christmas.

Hey. It'll be entertaining. I promise. Maybe we Christmas carols.

Maybe we can get play. Your brother, Tim on the show.

Hey, man.

Finally give him some pop. Right? Enough. Alright. Look, when we're breaking down, NFL Network's got a triple header with with Colleen in the mix.

You know football is back. See you Wednesday.