Peter Schrager In Studio, Championship Sunday Preview + Fyre Fest Of The Week

Hey, Part of my Take listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music on Today's Part of My Take. We have our good friend Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football in person, we're in New York City. You probably are.

Superbowl Big game Going to the Superbowl, the Superbowl registered.

I'm very excited for that. We have fire Fest, we're going to talk Doc Rivers to the UH box. We've got a great Friday show, one of the last second, the last, penultimate football weekend of the year. Man, that's sad, but it's all.

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Okay, let's go.

It's been a while, probably.

Ooh, probably a year. Are you in charge of pressing the button?

I'm not in charge of pressing the button. I just, uh, yeah, I'm recording the show, we're sending all the files back to Chicago that's fully producing, editing the show.

Do you remember Hank? Like, I actually think about it, how crazy it was that you did all the producing and editing of this show, for how long?

Two, three years alone, probably three years.

Jesus Christ. Like thinking about back when we would do the Sunday episodes and it would be one in the morning. And it was just Hank. And he's just like, I got to just grind this whole thing.

The craziest was when we did the first Grit Week tour. And I was the only one that, like, really knew how to operate the bus, so I was also like, taking care of the bus. And then we would do interviews and I would film them, record the audio and do all that stuff that was bad.

You don't get enough credit. You would also have to empty the septic tank on the bus.

Yeah, sometimes, like, you know, Max, Max and memes, I feel like they give me a little bit of like, you don't do shit around here. And I'm like, back in my day, like I was doing all this on my own. Like they, they sometimes try and make me feel bad for like, you know, and I and I can feel that like, fuck you for leaving.

I remember we would show up to places for an interview and we'd we'd tell the people. I think we said this to, Uh, who was, who was the coach that we interviewed at Youngstown? Uh, Trestle, when when we, like, go into Trestle's office, we're like, Yeah, we need about five minutes to get our cameras and stuff set up, and Hank would just give us this look.

Like, What do you think, you fucking asshole? We don't need five minutes, we need, it's just me carrying everything. You're right, though, hank they they should not give you, uh, any guff, have any resentment.

And also on the blood, sweat and tears of me and Big Cat. Having to call Henry Lockwood at one o'clock in the morning to wake him up so that he could record the show.

I went on a boat.

It's one time you went on a boat on a Saturday, all right, so we're here in New York a little bit different. Uh, we're going to talk about Conference championship. We do have our friend Peter Schrager in person, which is great.

Got Jeff Van Gundy and the Celtics got. Wait. He's like a special assistant. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, he's like, earned an advisor type role.

Yeah, Doc Rivers just kind of installed himself from being an advisor to now head coach.

Yeah.

I feel bad for Adrian Griffin, I feel really bad for him. Like, you work your entire life as a coach to get a job coaching an N.B.A. team and they fire you after what 43 games?

In second place in the conference, they're currently in second place.

Yeah, I feel bad for him. Uh, they, they're kind of like blaming him for the lack of defense on the box. Which do you know what happened in the off season? Do you remember the the personnel change?

Drew Holiday Yeah.

And you got Dame, not exactly a lockdown, lockdown perimeter defender. And then you bring in a first year coach and you're like, Yeah, we're going to fire you. Because this advisor behind the scenes has been telling us that he wants to be a coach. And then I don't know if you saw the reports that WOJ was doing on ESPN on Sports Center. They were like, Well, can you talk us through how this whole situation played out? Behind the scenes? WOJ spent like three hours going on various shows, refining his message over and over again.

I so the only reason I don't feel bad for Adrian Griffin, um, and and the Doc Rivers part is is annoyed, like he was kind of set up to fail the fact that they brought in Doc Rivers. And he had his eyes on coaching that team, probably from the from the first second he walked in the facility. But the only reason I don't feel bad for Adrian Griffin and I might be minimizing the job of a coach in the NBA. But his only job was to make Janice like him, and maybe Janice never gave him a shot, maybe Janice was just never going to like him. But if you could just get Janice to like you, you do, you won't get fired.

Yeah, I would imagine that Janice was asked about this transaction.

I would say that all the reports is they didn't really see eye to eye, uh, from.

From the jump, but I still feel bad for him, yeah.

Like, as a person that you got to remember, he's got probably a family. They got to move, change, schools, millions of dollars, but that doesn't buy, yeah.

You know, he still gets paid, right?

He still gets paid, probably if they win the championship, he gets a ring, should get a ring, you should absolutely get a ring.

Yeah, I do. I feel bad for the guy, just on a human level, having that happen behind the scenes. I think you're probably right that if Janice liked him, if he was a disappointing head coach, let's say they were in like fourth, fifth place in the conference, but Janice liked them. They probably would not make this move because they're thinking in the back of their heads, we got to do, we got to keep this guy happy.

Right, if you want to keep your job in the N.B.A. for a couple of years, you could either one be so good that they can't fire you, or to make the star of the team love you. So I feel like, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, maybe like, I think I could become best friends with Janice if he gave me a shot.

You think so, yeah.

She'd be like, Whatever you want, Janice, whatever offense you want to run, whatever you want to do, we'll just do what you want to do.

He and I would simply go to to Raising Cane's every day and order 50 chicken tenders.

Exactly be like, Hey Janice, you got any other siblings you want on the team? Yeah, let me know, I can get everyone your son.

I love that time is a flat circle.

Time is a flat circle. So maybe that was Jim Harbaugh running the account. I think Jim Harbaugh will be in a Super Bowl within the next five years with the.

CHARGErs So Harbaugh is a great coach, a great N.FL coach, there's like a clock that you have to put on Harbaugh and we love him. But if you are like a GM, if you're another football guy in that front office. Harbaugh and you will probably get along really well for the first couple of years, then there will be an incident and Harbaugh will not like you anymore. Because you're not enough of a football guy for him. And then after a while, uh, things are probably not going to end fantastically out there when it doesn't. But you definitely have like a four or five year span where you guys are going to be an awesome football team and Harbaugh is going to be a very, very good head coach.

And I think, actually, like, I think he'll have more time this time. It depends on how they structure it with like. Does Harbaugh get to call the shots GM wise? Because that was the big thing in the Niners? He had the power struggle with the GM. And that's kind of what Trent Balky and that kind of fell apart. I just think that once he starts winning, which he will do, I think his his career N.FL record is like over 70%.

Yeah, I think that there was definitely. It had an impact on Harbaugh deciding to go to the Chargers, the fact that they play the Ravens next year, yeah.

Yeah, they were doing some great tweets. Yeah, yeah, he is a football.

Yeah, he wants, he probably wants to be buried inside of a football, yes, as a coffin.

Just like chocolate football for everyone.

Yeah, maybe maybe get like 30 footballs and just put his ashes in all those and then throw them out into the ocean.

I'm jealous, I'm jealous of the chargers. Uh, he will fix them right away now. Michigan I.

Mission accomplished.

Mission accomplished.

Hang the banner. He did what he was brought in to do. And, uh, congrats to, congrats to Michigan. you're probably pretty happy for Michigan fan like.

And I think he finishes three and one against Ryan Day, possibly, cause I know he could. He couldn't beat Urban. Uh, I think he was three and five overall. It might even actually be three and o against Ryan Day. Cause it canceled the Covid year.

Fantastic football coach and it's going to be interesting to see how how the Chargers deal with Patrick Mahomes. They got to beat him, he might be the best quarterback of all time.

They're going to just have to beat.

They're just going to have to beat Patrick Mahomes. Do you think that's part of the application process for somebody that's going to the AFC West? What's your plan to take care of this guy?

It is great that Harbaugh like. Cause when we're talking to different people, being like, what job is most attractive? It's like, Well, you don't want to be in the AFC because of, you know, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud. All these guys are gonna be good for the next 10 years. You really don't want to be in the AFC West. And Harbaugh's like, bring it.

AFC West Great coaches out there, great coaches. And, uh, yeah, I'm. I'm very excited to see how his return is to the NFL. NFL is better.

Do they get? Are they not building? No, they're not. I'm thinking of the Clippers, they're not building a new stadium.

He's going to, he's going to be pretty upset when he walks in and he sees, like, all this ram shit everywhere, yeah.

He's going to tear it down.

We're going to have to, we're going to have to put up some chargers stuff.

He might be the one who could bring back the Chargers to San Diego.

He might bring back Boltman, yeah.

I also, I just want to say I need an update on how that.

Chargers fans doing right now, yeah, the plant.

He's probably very excited. Oh, the plant.

Yeah, she's going crazy, she's nuts, she's crying.

Um, I know that there's a lot of fake news, Twitter accounts, people reporting stuff like the weird football, you know, like Football Insider Twitter account or whatever NFL rumors, NFL notifications did say. We've been told that Jim Harbaugh had real interest in coaching Caleb Williams in Chicago. GM. Ryan Polls decided to run it back with Matt Eberfluss, and Harbaugh ended up in L.A. Uh, I know this is probably fake, but it still hurts my feelings. I just want it on the record.

It should.

It hurts my feelings.

It should, I mean, imagine, imagine Caleb and Harbaugh together. Pretty good man, man.

All right, anything else before we get to the Games?

Uh, the Falcons are interviewing everyone.

Yeah, Vrabel and Belichick are going for the same head coaching job.

And yeah, and Slowik, Uh, I am, uh. My four year old son Chris and Blake are tracking Arthur Smith's jets. Okay, and uh, it's kind of a weird thing, cause they've also interviewed the defense coordinator for the for the UH Panthers. But they flew out, they picked up Vrabel, flew him to Atlanta, and then they put them back on their jet and they flew him to his next interview with Carolina.

Well, that actually, that actually makes sense because like, no one wants the job. So they're like, Yeah, fine, we'll treat you so well, like we don't care.

You can go talk to them. Yeah, you. It's actually like it's like dropping a hoe off at our next appointment. It's like, Here you go, I know you're not gonna stick up.

Yeah, right, it's, it's, uh, it's seeing apartments. And like, a real estate agent will show you a really shitty one, and then they'll show you one that's like, marginally bigger. And like, Holy fuck, this is a lot of space.

Yeah.

Like, they, they, just that's all perspective. Like, yeah, no problem, go, you can, you can go, you can even put on a Panthers hat, you can go pretend to be on that team.

I'm going to show you this penthouse and then I'm going to take you in my Mercedes Coupe that I drive for all the appointments. I'm going to take you to the worst slum in New York City. Yes, go check this one out, enjoy the cockroaches.

Let us know how it goes, let us know when you want to come back for a second visit.

Yeah, exactly yeah.

So I'm not, I'm not too worried about that.

Uh, no one else is interviewing Belichick, though.

Well, yeah, so we're going to have Schrager on. So we'll ask him like, is there a chance Belichick doesn't get a job this year?

I, it'd be interesting.

I'm going to have to ask him that, yeah, okay, we'll get into all that because that that will be very interesting if he doesn't get a job this year.

41 33..

Yeah, 74. So what was it? Can we look up what the actual game was? So we're looking for the over on the super cut to 32 super cuts high score of 75 points.

Or the 49ers samples.

Oh, San Francisco over San Diego, Jerry Rice went off. Natron means business. January of 95 Steve Young getting the monkey off his back.

That's exactly what it comes down to.

That's my analysis.

It's it's Patrick Homes versus the entire city of Baltimore right now, correct? They're bringing back the legends. You're going to have Ed Reed there, you're going to have Ray Lewis there.

Hell, yes.

You've got stavi Terrell. Yeah, stavi baby Ronnie. you mean, Ronnie? Ronnie? Ronnie will be there. Uh, they're going to have a Terrell Suggs who said that he's going back.

2019 Chiefs, 2019 2019 Cardinals.

Oh, that's weird, that's really weird. Uh, yeah, it's. It's basically the entire Ravens franchise. Against against, uh, Patrick homes, cause they're the better defense or the better overall offense, but they don't have Patrick. They have the MVP, but they don't have Patrick homes.

And it's hank, sorry to bring up Tom Brady here, but it does feel like that type of game where we could. I. I. In my heart of hearts. I do think the Ravens is a better team and they're going to win on Sunday. But if we're sitting here on Sunday night and we're like, the Chiefs are going to the Superbowl again. It's going to be very similar to a Tom Brady, like, how did they do it? Oh yeah, Patrick Homes. Oh yeah, Tom Brady.

And if he does play, that's a pretty significant injury for an off. It's alignment to be dealing with. Yeah, he's got a strain, which means like, partially peck, peck muscle, which you use a lot if you play offensive line. Obviously. Uh, they also have gay, gay is hurt, hurt, not injured. But he's going to try to play, but it's like a stinger in his neck.

And if which doesn't really work with Lamar Jackson, it doesn't, but it's.

Good to. It's good to have the spy there.

You need to spy, and then you need to, like, do a hybrid spy and then just let him loose, because it's if you if you spy. Lamar Jackson. He will just stand there and then when he wants to move, you're going to be like, flat footed, Oh fuck, where am I going? How can I? You can't spy him so fast.

You just need him. You would need a player that's as fast as Lamar, right spy to counter Lamar, and as good runner. But um, if if they have to go to a backup, I do think it's going to impact a little bit.

It's, um, yeah, and it's I think the Ravens will be able to run the ball. I think that's their key. Is cause the chief secondary is is pretty damn good, with Snead and McDuffie like.

Yeah.

Cause, I, I do think the Ravens defense is going to give a lot more of a fight than we saw from the Bills or the Dolphins. And like, I'm a little, we're a little skewed because you have to, you have to play the game in your head. Like we saw the Chiefs offense be broken for the majority of the regular season. Then they get to the playoffs and it looks like they're fine because they played. Is it because Patrick Mahomes is in the playoffs and he's like, we're just going to? I'm just going to elevate my game and elevate everyone around me. Or was it?

So they got last week, they got the MVS game. MVs played really well. Uh, I don't know if that's just who he is as a player now.

Yes, also the Ravens, we should note, because there are levels to this. The Ravens have played a lot of playoff teams this year. I think there's something like eight and one against playoff teams. And they've killed them all pretty much like they have. I think the Browns, that one loss is the Browns game.

Steelers.

Oh, yeah, that's right, so they're. They've lost a two, yeah, and that was also a game where they just Ravens dropped everything, so that, yeah, that's a possibility.

It went to overtime against the Rams, that was a close one.

Yeah, but they, they, they beat the Texas and made the playoff. They killed the Lions, who obviously are in the NFC Championship game. Uh, you know, they killed the 49ers, they killed the dolphins.

Obviously Patrick Mahomes greatest quarterback to ever walk the earth.

No, we did not say that.

Get him as plus money in the in the playoffs.

I think you said on track, he's on track to be in the conversation.

How does the conversation change, hypothetically if they lose by 10? Plus? I'm not here to have hypothetical.

Discussions about this hank.

Well, Brady lost in the Conference Championship game eight and three straight up in his career as an underdog. Um, hank, to answer your question, Uh, I. Patrick Mahomes is not as good as Tom Brady yet. he's not like, there's no debate on like Patrick Mahomes retired tomorrow.

I haven't admitted that, right?

Like, that's what it is. But yeah, Tom Brady lost Championship games.

Not until he won three Superbowls.

I mean, that's true.

So after he won three, he didn't lose a playoff game until he won three Superbowls.

He also didn't go to the playoffs the second year after winning one Superbowl.

And then what do you do the next two years?

You won two Superbowls. This would be the first back-to-back since then, right? Yeah, it would. It's very hard to go back to back.

Yeah.

I just you have to admit that it's just it. It is like repeating itself in terms of like this guy.

But he hasn't been crowned yet.

I feel like people are like, Oh well, but here's why he is on this path is because what we've just said for the last 10 minutes, the Ravens are the better team. But Patrick Mahomes, Yeah, so that's where that's, and like, that's an actual argument to be made. I also am very excited to see Steve Spagnuolo versus Lamar Jackson because it feels like they're. They can't blitz as much as the Texans, but Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. And it's going to be a great chess match.

Chess matches all over the chess field, on both sides, too. Because then you've got McDonald Mike McDonald, the coordinator for the Ravens against Patrick Mahomes, Yes.

Chess matches Ever against Andy Reid?

Yeah.

It's actually funny when you think about it. It's it's the it's the meme when the, uh, the Marines or whatever army guys are lined up. And there's one clown, so it's like, Mike McDonald, Todd Munkin, John Harbaugh, Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo, Matt Nagy. Yeah, he's a clown.

According to Mike Florio, the stoner that doesn't smoke weed. He thinks that Biennium might be giving some advice, some consulting to the Chiefs, and that's why the Chiefs offense has improved.

Oh, I like that.

I actually just made that one, that extra nugget up, because I like imagining a reason for the Chiefs offense to flip that switch. But he was saying Florida was saying if they make the Super Bowl, they could bring Biennium into be a consultant. I personally would just like to say I think that what's been happening, two things one. Eric Biennium has been providing secrets behind the scenes to the Kansas City offense to improve them. And also, Connor Stallions has been helping Harbaugh out after he had to be let go from Michigan. So he's helping John Harbaugh and the Ravens defense especially figure out the offensive signals.

Yeah, I could see John Harbaugh like hiring Connor Stallions to, like, come up with stuff and then just not using any of the reports. Just being like, I. I want to make sure that he's working for us and no one else or Jim Harbaugh probably.

Told Connor Stallions Hey, go help my brother out, go help him win another Super Bowl or get as far as they can. But also write down every fucking thing that happens to the Ravens. And then I'm bringing you with me to Los Angeles, and you're going to help me beat my brother next year, yes.

I liked it. Is that legal for Biennium to work for two teams at once? Well, he's not easy under contract.

He is, he is currently our offensive coordinator. Got it, so yeah, it is interesting. Legal, I don't know, I. I've just become kind of jaded to the fact that a bunch of shady dealings happen all the time. That are kind of outside the scope of what is legal and what is not. In the NFL.

Correct, correct, all right. Do you have a nerd nugget? Yes.

My nerd nugget of the week is that Ray Lewis is going to be a legendary honoree of the game in Baltimore this weekend for the Ravens. With last week's.

Win. They now have 17 playoff wins since 2000, most in the NFL for teams not named the Patriots. And you mentioned all the good teams. They've beaten 10 wins this season against teams at winning records, the most in any team in NFL history. That was a set. Yeah, that's a that's a good stat.

Our boy, Jerry Goff, cracked a few jokes. The reporter was like, You've got some very good players.

Hold on, let's do it, let's replay it, I'll, I'll be the reporter.

Okay.

Uh, you've got some really good players on your team.

Thank you.

Uh, you know, maybe not the superstars that everyone knows, like the niners.

Okay, nevermind.

It was awesome, it was, that was, that was insane.

Just punked him he. It was a great delivery by him to try and talk shit about his teammates like that. No, no, no, Jared's a good teammate, Jared's a good quarterback.

Division rival? I've, I've already been through this. I, I'm not rooting against them like, I'm not gonna be like, Fuck Detroit. They made it to the Superbowl, but I can't.

But you would be happy if they made it to the Superbowl.

I'd be happy for for my friends who are Lions fans and Detroit don and superfan, cause we'd be buying them tickets to the Superbowl. So I would be happy for that.

Superbowl week would be fun. And I, I don't. I don't hate the Niners. I like the Niners. I think that are a great team. I think they're probably, you know, they're favored for a reason.

Like most quarterbacks have on their offense, 49ers are 12 and one straight up in 10 and three against the Spread. When Debo Samuel starts and finishes the game, they are one in four straight up and own five against the spread. When he doesn't, the 49ers record when Debo Samuel gets at least one target, when he gets at least one target, they're 44 and 13 straight up. when he doesn't, they're nine and 10 straight up.

It's crazy.

It is that that when we look back at that Packers Niners game, that is way more significant than the rain. And like, how brock Purdy looked is losing Debo Samuel. I know people will be like, Well, that just proves the point that he's a system quarterback who cares?

So after talking to Chris Long about like the two levels of quarterbacks, that we can have the elite conversation and the game manager, I just think that Purdy is an elite game manager.

Yeah, that's a good one.

And that's fine, that's, that's lovely, that's a great, that's a wonderful thing to have for your team.

Yes, I do think the Lions are going to be able to run the ball. Uh, in this game. I want to see some man football out of Dan Campbell. I am nervous about, uh, the Lion secondary, especially if Debo Samuel plays, because, uh, the way the Lions play defense is from my friends at Sports Info Solutions. Uh, they play a lot of middle, middle of the field, open coverage.

These things getting the ball to kittle and then letting kittle run for like 45 yards, running through motherfuckers face, right?

Christian McCaffrey coming out of the backfield, catching passes. So, uh, it will be interesting to see, though, if the diners, who are very good running team. Going up against the number one rush defense in the Lions, it feels like, not to be cliche, this game going to be one in the trenches.

Oh, I like that. Yeah, old school football, right?

It's like, if the if. The Niners can run the ball and they can somehow stop the Lions from running the ball. As effective as they've been all season, all season, it feels like the Niners have a huge, huge advantage and if the reverse happens, it's game on Lions.

I'm concerned that you Check isn't going to be geared up for this game because he's going to be on. He's going to be online. Gassing up his wife for whatever Taylor Swift wears to the Baltimore game.

Simp of the year.

Simp of the year, by the way, can you imagine loving your wife that much? How gay is that?

I, I, I, I, uh was on Pittsburgh Radio this morning and, uh, the guys had a good idea. Taylor Swift should not go to the game this weekend because if she doesn't go to the game and they lose, she can be. Like, I was the I was actually the lucky charm here. If they go to the game and win it, she's going to be the big story in Vegas anyway. No one will kind of remember that she was not at the game in Baltimore, yeah.

I don't know if they'd welcome people with open arm.

I don't know if Buffalo Jason Kelsey was just partying with all.

I don't, I don't think that that. Buffalo welcomed Taylor with open arms. I think they woke. You have to take your shirt off to be welcomed with open arms, and Buffalo like Fitzpatrick. Unfortunately, Taylor thought that was beneath her to do that.

So she had her hat off during the national anthem.

Yeah, kept that on, allegedly.

Allegedly, allegedly.

Well, mincy, that motherfucker doesn't miss either. Ben Men's has years on the ground everywhere, but I, I don't know, I feel like Baltimore.

They got an edge.

They got an I like it, they got an edge to them for sure, but I don't know that. I don't think she's going to miss, I think she's going to be there.

I'm just saying it would. It wouldn't be the dumbest thing to just skip this one. Cause, like, like I said, if it gets to the Superbowl, it's like, Well, it's Taylor Swift's Superbowl. Yeah, and if they lose, you can be like, you needed me at every game.

The NFL definitely wants her there. Yes, it was like the most watched TV event ever.

It's they absolutely want them there. Yeah, um, okay, anything else from this game? I got something.

Do, do, do, do.

Oh, nerd nugget of the week, okay? On Sunday, the Detroit Lions are aiming for the first playoff win since 1957 when they beat the San Francisco 49ers. Detroit would then go on to meet the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship game, who would then relocate in 1996 to become the Baltimore. Ravens Is this a sign the Lions will once again beat the Ravens in the Superbowl?

Yes.

What about the Superbowl logo stuff?

Oh yeah.

The Superbowl logo is Ravens and Chiefs, so for the past two years, the colors of the logo have corresponded pretty closely to the teams that ended up making the Superbowl. Um, I think that every time I look at those logos, I just look at the old ones, and I'm like, those are so much better. Bring back the old Superbowl logos. That had, like, an identity, that had personality to them, yeah.

Also, there's a bunch of red teams and a bunch of purple teams.

It's also true.

So what do you mean like? They're saying it's, point out, the Vikings.

Oh, I guess that's pretty quick.

There's a lot of red teams. Yeah, I believe in that shit.

You think Roger Goodell before the season, he's like, I'm, you know what I'm going to? It's time to examine the logos for the Superbowl. They'll never pick up on this. I'm going to make them the exact colors of the teams that are going to be in there.

Will you admit that Patrick Holmes is on the Tom Brady path if he beats the, uh, Superbowl logo thing?

Yeah.

Yeah, cause that's big, that's significant. I'm just so so, oh, you taking the ravens.

I don't think I'm going to bet it because I've been so bad and it would just be doubly painful. But I think the Ravens smoke them.

How much actually, you know what? We'll ask Peter Schrager about this? But I always wonder cause Aaron Glenn and, uh, Ben Johnson are doing a bunch of interviews. How much that actually? It has to affect you a little bit.

It's a shitty rule.

I love that you should not do that.

I know you shouldn't have the Patriots.

Coaches weren't allowed to interview. I remember, until after the Superbowl, or until the the in-between week before the Superbowl, yeah.

Yeah.

The coordinator is doing interviews right before the biggest games of their careers, doesn't? It doesn't feel right.

Cause you're you're basically taking an interview for the biggest job of your life and you have nerves. You got to get prepared and it's that's has to take away hours from getting ready for the game.

If I were a coach, I would, and somebody was was interviewing me to see if I want to be a head coach somewhere. I'd be like, okay. So I didn't prepare for this interview at all because I'm laser focused on winning the NFC Championship game. And then, as an owner, I'd be like, that mother hired, Yeah, we want that guy, yeah.

I'm not even going to take this interview. If you want me, you can wait. Yeah, I care about my team, so much, care about the guys.

Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco, Yep.

Uh, Tom Brady, not Brady. Oh yeah, because this is the second season, Flacco, Big Ben, Mark Sanchez and one more.

Russell Wilson.

Oh, Russell Wilson, I was going to say, Andrew Luck.

Might've I said that?

Oh, you said that, yeah.

He won his first year and that comeback against the Chiefs. Oh, no, no, they lost to the Chiefs, right? That's right. They had a big lead against the Chiefs.

That was the 41 to 10 game.

Yeah, yeah, it was like the first Saturday game.

Yeah, yeah.

I had that flipped in my brain.

Yeah, um, okay, let's get to our interview with Peter Schrager. We're going to talk more ball, we're going to talk more. Conference Championship preview the Games.

Yeah, before we get to Peter Schrager, he's brought to you by. Pardon my cheese steak. I love Pardon my cheese steak. What better game day meal than a cheese steak? And big news.

Okay, we now welcome on a very special guest recurring guest in person. It's Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football, also NFL Network.

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So what does it feel like being just owned by the league?

Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's a burden. It's great, I get all the, uh, I get, I get to do the show on NFL Network. I get some of the perks in a lot of ways, being behind the shield. So people pick up my call when I call, but yeah.

Are you behind the shield or are you protecting the shield?

Interesting, I'm in the front lines, yeah.

And then you're the shield for the shield.

The tip of the spear.

Tip of the spear of the shield.

And they tell you before the season starts, who's going to be playing the Superbowl, right?

They lay it all out and they say, just play along with this script.

I saw that your pick was the Chiefs and the Niners. That's interesting.

So, uh, back in September, we have to make our picks. I have now had five straight years of picking the correct Superbowl champion and I take great pride and pat myself on the back for this. And, uh, that included the Buccaneers run with Brady, the Rams run with Stafford.

That's crazy, yeah.

And then this year I went and did a whole thing, cause I realized, in our world, if you don't promote yourself, no one else will. And so I was like, Well, they're certainly not talking about this on all the other shows, right? I'm going to talk about it on our freaking show. So I did a whole thing and I basically said, and I just don't know how it happens.

Holy shit.

So he's like, was he in diner? He was in diner. He was right across, uh, from from Barry Levinson while they were filming that.

Um, he could pass the test.

He knows all the stuff from the Colts teams from the sixties and seventies. So my son is seven years old getting into sports and he just loves Lamar. Jackson, loves Baltimore. And it's one of those like, heart versus mind versus my own career. Do I just ride with the Chiefs right now, or do I say, screw it?

Well, it sounds like you've hedged yourself nicely, which we just finished doing. We were doing the preview. And we're like, Baltimore is the better team overall, better defense, like a offense that has looked better for the course of the season. But it's Patrick Holmes.

That's the thing.

And that's it, it's Patrick Holmes.

You're watching last week against Houston and there was like five like false start penalties, there was a couple of delay against and that was just a crowd. And already they've said, who's going to be at this thing?

And yet it's wrong.

Don't forget about T-pain, t-pain and Afton. Yeah, yeah.

So fallout boy last week? No, not, fallout boy. I'm sorry our guys, uh, Jimmy, eat world last week.

Yeah, they should get Cisco back.

Why not? All right? So I want to talk about the Conference Championship games, but we, we had. While we were doing the show, we had a interesting thought that you're, you're so clued in. Uh, is there a chance Bill Belichick doesn't get a job this year?

Yeah, the only thing that was coming up was Atlanta, that was they met last week, right? Or, as we're recording this, it's Thursday.

It's crazy that he did a second interview.

It's crazy to second interview, and I tweeted this last night on the X. Um, I took to x. Uh. 14 different coaches I've interviewed for this Falcons job.

Yeah, what?

But 14 different ones and Belichick twice. So it's like, if it's not the Falcons, I don't have another team for him.

Yeah, here's a little nugget for you, though. To my knowledge, I think Belichick is the only one that got the vacation that took him to Antigua. That's it. All the other ones have taken place at the Falcons facility.

Well, what's going on? Like, what, what is happening that he's not like? If you want them, you should have hired, it's done.

Right, and it's you figure out the financials. And yes, you can bring McDaniels, and yes, you can bring everyone you want and bring your whole band of characters. And we'll rebuild New England here. Um, it hasn't happened yet, so it's Arthur Blank. Arthur Blank has um, a son who I think is getting more involved as well.

So that's what's the holdup is the Front Office. So if you had to put your money on it right now, who's going to be the coach of the Falcons? I don't know, you have no idea, I have no idea.

Potentially, Mike Vrabel, as we speak, is meeting with David Tepper and the Panthers.

Well, we were saying that that, like the the. If you go to the Falcons and you go to the Panthers, I don't think you have to be worried that he's going to go take the Panthers shop. That has to be the least excited job.

Why I like the Panthers Why I like the Panthers.

Is David Tepper paying you?

David Tepper will pay.

Okay.

Okay.

First of all, I guess you technically in a roundabout way.

Can I do a little tepper thing? And everyone could say, Well, you know, of course you're from the league, you're going to talk positive about the owner.

I don't think that's exactly what we'll say.

I don't think all the owners do talk about Tepper.

All right.

Do you know Tepper's career? Like, a little bit, yeah.

Yeah.

So this was a guy who was, like, truly the renegade of Wall Street, and I kind of liked that already. He worked at Goldman for years. And then, you know, after a bunch of years of being passed over, he's like, All right, I'm going to go start my own thing. Appaloosa.

Yeah, grudge, nice grudge.

Yeah, it's okay, so already we're kind of like, okay.

Seems well adjusted.

Okay, apparently you go walk into his office on Wall Street, the appaloosa thing you walk in and there's just two giant brass testicles.

Well adjusted, yeah.

Well adjusted, right? Yeah, um, and yet he's had employees there for 30 years and he's had....

He pays well, probably.

He's had remarkable success in Wall Street.

And then the other part of it is like, he three different times in his career. Um, cause I had to do a whole like study on it. Obviously. Uh, Black Friday, he was ahead of it, like, knew that was coming whenever that was in 87 or it was Black Monday. I'm sorry.

But all of this is nothing to do with football.

My point is this is a guy who has gone all in against the grain. I think it hasn't clicked yet with the football and I would say, Okay, I'll roll with that guy. And did he spill a drink on a fan from Jacksonville? Yeah.

It was not an accident. Throw was the word.

Do we have any idea what was going on before that? I'm not defending David Tepper, all right.

So now I do think you're getting beat by David Tepper. I have nothing to do with it. Spill a drink.

We don't know if the fan wanted to have that drink, I don't think he was.

I don't think whoops.

Sorry for spilling this at you.

So what you've told us is that, like, he's kind of a baby and he. He has successfully, uh, beaten the market, possibly through insider trading.

Can't work with others, yeah.

Can't work with others.

Yeah, like, basically has the....

Wants to win.

His people skills are essentially, I'll pay you money and then you'll, you'll stick with me.

I, I kind of like that. He's against the grain, he's a voice, he's a new owner, and he's kind of a voice in these league meetings, too. Where...?

Well, but hold on, you know how this league works. When, when all these guys and women get together. And they see, you know, a guy who's trying to do it his way and he keeps failing. They like him, they want to keep him around. Dan Snyder stayed around for a long time.

Jerry Jones loved Dan Snyder, that was his best friend. As far as owners go, yeah.

So I don't take what the owners say.

You think they see him and they say, Well, gosh, they're the worst team in football, keep them around.

They're the worst team in football, they don't have their number one pick. And like, the guy can't figure he's just. He's having meetings with Frank Reich, like twice a week, which any football coach would be like, what the fuck?

I think they're doing a good search right now. Obviously, now I'm already in the bag, it sounds like I'm just trying to....

Yeah, yeah, you put yourself in a corner.

I'm now fighting out of it. I would say the Dan Morgan hire was unexpected because everyone figured he would just wipe everyone out. Morgan was there. So you're going to bring him in. They're probably going to bring someone else who can handle some of the salary cap stuff and also the contract negotiations.

The best argument you can make for David Tepper as an owner is because of his background and his makeup and everything that he's done in his life. He will reach a point where he gets so sick of losing that he'll be like, Maybe I have to do it someone else's way. That's the best argument. I don't. I don't think he his way is currently working. But like a guy like that, they don't like losing and they don't like being a joke. So he will eventually hit that threshold where he's like, Okay, yeah, I probably should like, listen to someone else.

Yeah, and I'll tell you, it's. It's going to be an uphill battle, obviously, with no first round pick and that hurts. And you could say, well, their salary cap's a mess and all that thing, I don't know. I kind of like guys who Al Michaels calls games, right?

Okay, now, a Rascal, Rascal's a great word.

It's a great word and it's kind of like, all right, this is how I'm supposed to do things, I'm gonna do it my way. And I think he wants to win so badly and he's done it on Wall Street, which I think is as competitive as the NFL. And I understand that there's a lot of personal stuff and you could say, well, it's more about teamwork and chemistry than just some renegade out there.

Okay, well, I think that with with the character arc of a owner like this typically goes. You go in, you try to do it your way, you fail. Then you say I've learned my lessons. I'm now going to turn things over to football, people that understand football, but then you, No. But step number two is you say all those things, but you still meddle behind the scenes. Then step number three, third act, is when you actually take your hands off.

You're just like, all right, someone else can run this show.

If you're Vrabel, though, and you interview the Falcons and your son is signed to the team, I feel like that makes it a little bit more attractive, right, yeah?

I feel like that has to be if it's offered, right. I think it's interesting. Vrabel Belichick Both these guys. Pete Carroll hasn't even gotten an interview anywhere. It's like, I think everyone thought, well, if they're really going to still want to be coaches, all three of those guys would get first dibs in.

Yeah.

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It's tough because last week, Ben Johnson Who is the hottest name you're wearing? Obviously your Washington stuff. I think that's a good fit for them.

I want that.

I think you do, and I think he'd be great. He interviewed for three different jobs via Zoom on the Saturday before their game on Sunday. And you got to think, Well, God, that's the perfect time for these last second adjustments. And looking at Dave Canales, his opponent was also interviewing for the Carolina Panthers job the day before the same game.

Yeah, yeah, and we definitely would blame that.

Or if you're a coordinator for, like, a Super Bowl team. And then the day after the Super Bowl, if you lose, then you get hired in the same town that the Super Bowl was in.

That would be Jonathan Gannon, Yeah.

That'd be a strange look.

That was strange. Yeah, they paid the price for it.

I actually like what the Eagles are doing, I like I like Fangio.

I like Fangio, too.

He's the best.

Who would you guys want as the offensive coordinator? It literally is like an episode of the Bachelorette.

As a commander's fan, I hope that they just bring Ron Rivera over there.

As the offensive coordinator, I think they would Castillo.

They do like the Matt Patricia thing, where it's like, Okay, you know what you know, you know how to, how to beat a defense. Because we've seen how you play, so I feel like as an offensive coordinator, you'd be really good. That's what I like to say.

What's interesting is they have already a staff there and not all those guys have been fired. Sirianni is an offensive coach, gave up the play calling last year, so now you're in this weird deal. I know one coach, I'll even say Kingsbury interviewed for them. He did it via Zoom.

Is it, though, because I always wonder this, uh, like the Bears and the Eagles, the obviously different, because the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. But if you're an offensive coordinator candidate and you're trying to get this job, are you in the back of your head? Being like, this guy is on the hot seat already? That if it doesn't go well, we're all going to be looking for jobs again. Or does it not matter? Because, hey, there's only 32 of these jobs? You got to take whatever you can get.

No, it's a great question and an Eber Fluses case if you think he's a lame duck coach. And this was like the last year, and obviously Shane Waldron got the job. You'd also say I'm also taking on either a rookie quarterback and Caleb. Or I'm coming in with fields where I've got to kind of adjust to whatever, whatever they're putting around him. Um, the Eagles one is different, though, because you already have the fully built offensive line.

And you have the I didn't mean to compare them, yeah.

And no, no, but it's a good point. And then the question is, did they hit such a low this year that? No matter what, if you're the offensive coordinator, you're being praised and it's like, Okay, well, they fixed the offense. You can't get worse than what it was true.

All right, so let's talk about the games this weekend. Uh, let's start with the AFC Championship game. You have people around the league, you talk to everyone.

Yeah, it. I think John Harbaugh had a really cool quote yesterday, and it's actually from Steve Smith who said it years ago. He's talking about Roquan Smith, which I know it breaks your heart seeing.

Yeah, no, he's a perfect raven.

It's like, and he said, he goes. That guy has been a Raven his whole career. He just didn't know it till he got here, which is such a bad-ass comment. And they've had guys like that, whether it be the C.J. Mosley type, so the Terrell Suggs or even Haloti Nata. Those guys, they're like ravens, that's just what they are.

What about Kansas City's defense? So Kansas City's defense much better than it has been in the past. Chris Jones will just fuck you up. He just has a few plays every game where he's like, I'm going to fuck that guy up and he does it. And it seems like it's impossible to stop it.

Yeah, that's the thing I'm trying to envision. A situation where Lamar is completely stilted and there's been three games where he's struggled. The Colts, which was like in the rain at home early on in the season. They hit a wall in the second half against Cleveland in a game this season. And then they have one more loss to the Steelers early on, which was just weird.

Yeah, I think they're going to run a lot, so another team is going to probably try to run a lot. Well, actually, both the Niners and the Lions are going to run a lot, the Lions run. I know that you, you've talked to all the people in the building.

It goes even above Campbell. So when they first, you know, we're like, Okay, we're firing Patricia, we're going to start a new, we're going to look at this thing. There was two big hires, one of them was Chris Spielman, right?