- 9 minutes ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Let's get it started. Saturday night, 8 p.m. in the Pacific Northwest. The 12s will be loud and
00:05proud as they take on the San Francisco 49ers. This line, Joe, seven and a half, some eights in
00:12the marketplace. You see the graphic about to pop up. It's now down to seven, even across the board
00:17as a favorite towards the Seahawks. And a total, which is around that 45 and a half, has dropped
00:22to 44 and a half. The walking wounded San Francisco heading into the Pacific Northwest, Joe,
00:27on a Thursday. Give me that spread line here. Well, it's great news for the 49ers, and it looks
00:34like the market reacted accordingly because it appears, I mean, just crazy development, right?
00:41Fred Warner has been practicing this week, and he looks like he is going to be available for this
00:48game. In fact, don't forget that ankle injury in October. We thought we lost them for the rest of
00:54the season, and I think the Niners did as well. But he has been a limited participant all week long
01:00now in practice, and it does appear as if a return is imminent. But not just him. Matos, their defensive
01:07end, also practicing. Ricky Pearsall, back on the field. Dominic Pune, their starting offensive guard,
01:15back on the field. Keon White, another linebacker, healthy. Dee Winters, also back on the field.
01:22So it looks like the 49ers are getting a whole lot of reinforcements back for this game. And the
01:28market, Donnie, we saw yesterday, nothing but 49er money finally hitting the board. Now flat sevens,
01:35juice to the under in some spots, starting to pop up here. I got a highest ticket count here on 75%
01:41on San Francisco. That money and public money starting to pour in on the 49ers, and why not? Some people
01:46looking at, hey, divisional close matchup here, Joe. I'll take the seven points. They went into
01:50Philadelphia. One is basically a touchdown underdog there outright. We'll see what they
01:54can do. But the number one seed is Seattle. We'll see how that plays out on Saturday night,
01:57Joe. Let's jump to Sunday night here. 630 start. The Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears. If we
02:03get that updated weather, 18 degrees, a kickoff, 12-mile-an-hour winds with no precipitation
02:08in the forecast. A dome team, the Rams, coming into the windy city to take on Chicago. This line
02:13has held firm just about all week long, Joe. Minus three and a half, not to the home team
02:17Bears in the higher seed, but to the lower-seeded Los Angeles Rams as the three-and-a-half-point
02:21favorite. And a total of 50-and-a-half, that opening number still creeping down at 48-and-a-half
02:26now. Rams and Bears, Joe. What's your feelings on the spread line on this Thursday?
02:32Interesting follow here. Number one, we are starting to see fours pop up throughout the day and throughout
02:38the last couple of days here. And really, three-and-a-half, four, what is the difference?
02:43They're dead numbers anyway at that particular point. But the total is the interesting thing.
02:49Donnie, we watched this yesterday. We heard a lot about the weather, and there were some
02:54question marks as far as whether DJ Moore, who hasn't been practicing, Adunzie hasn't been
02:59practicing. We saw that total get hit. Saw it as low as 47-and-a-half yesterday. But boy,
03:06oh boy, did we start getting all sorts of over money back up. 49s now, once again, popping up
03:12in the marketplace. And the train of thought here, I'm guessing, with the market, Donnie, is
03:17how in the world is that secondary and that defense of Chicago going to stop? Because Stafford
03:24has been practicing a full participant all week. The finger is not an issue. So how are they going
03:30to stop or slow down this offense here of the Rams? Apparently, the market, they're in the middle.
03:37Some people think it's going to be a dead under, but that over money continues to hit the marketplace
03:42this morning.
03:44Buffalo and Denver. That's going to be the first game on Saturday at 4.30 Eastern. You take a look
03:49at the weather temperatures in Denver. Not too bad, around 40 degrees and also light winds
03:52and no precipitation in the forecast. We finally had some movement this week, Joe. The opening
03:56numbers had the Buffalo Bills as the favorite at minus one-and-a-half. Just about every outlet right now
04:01is showing. The Denver Broncos now have flipped to the favorites at minus one-and-a-half, a total,
04:06which opened up around 46-and-a-half. You see that graphic, Joe? Still sitting at 46-and-a-half.
04:12The number one seed Denver Broncos at home. Now the favorites in their own building. What's your
04:17spread line for this game, Joe?
04:19Well, we were waiting for it, Donnie. All week, we've been telling you. At some point, we felt like
04:23exactly what happened in the Jacksonville line, that sooner or later, Buffalo would be
04:29the underdog. And sure enough, yep, came true yesterday. We've learned that Maxwell
04:35Harrison, their cornerback, hasn't practiced here. He's got an angle injury. Jordan Poirier
04:41with the hamstring. And we know Terrell Shavers already on IR there with the knee injury.
04:47However, Bernard, Dalton Kincaid, Espenza, Matt Milano, Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, limited in
04:54practice. But it does look like they'll have all of those guys available for this game. But it
05:00hasn't stopped the market from betting Denver to a now slight favorite.
05:05Back to the NFL. We go here on the early line on a Thursday morning edition. It's Donnie
05:09right side. It is Joe Renier. Let's get to some of those news topics that you love in the NFL. And
05:13sure, we're going to talk a lot about the Giants and Harbaugh and who they're expected to bring in
05:16as their offensive coordinator in just a few moments here. But in the meantime,
05:20Jay Daniels is going to participate in an upcoming Saudi Arabia flag football game. He'll be a captain
05:26along with Tom Brady. When we told you yesterday talking to Liv Goff, there is endless monies that
05:32the Saudis can give you, I guess, just for a flag football game. And that's why superstars are headed
05:37over there. What do the checks look like for this flag football game where they probably have to show up
05:43for an hour or two? Why does Tom Brady need, like, I don't understand, like, how much is too much?
05:52Like, I mean, you're talking about gluttonous here. It's unbelievable. And I'm, I have to believe the
05:58NFL is signed off on this. There's got to be some sort of connection where Goodell has signed off the
06:05owners. Something is going on here, Donnie, because I don't understand why it is. The PGA Tour wanted
06:11nothing to do with Saudi money, but now the NFL does? Interesting. The article states, too, it says,
06:18when the event was announced in September, various current NFL players were listed. Saquon Barkley,
06:23CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Sauce Gardner, Miles Garrett. Like, they're going after the top
06:27level flights, but I don't understand what this actually is. Is it a promotion of the NFL? Is it just
06:34like the Saudi Kings and Princes? Like, we have a lot of money. I just want to meet these guys and we'll set
06:39up a football field. Just throw the football around with us and you can go home. We'll pay
06:42you an endless amount of funds. Like, I don't understand this other than the players going
06:46like, how much are they paying? One day work? Okay, send me.
06:52It makes no sense to me here. Unless there's some, there's obviously a business angle here.
06:58It's got to benefit everybody. And the NFL wouldn't sign off and would not allow it unless
07:03they were involved in it.
07:04everybody's getting checks over there for a Dustin Johnson's even getting checks now over there. So
07:09there you go. The NFL having a Saudi flag football game. Excitement is on the way. Let's also take a
07:15look at Travis Hunter. Excitement was supposed to be on the way for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Oh no,
07:19he went down with an injury. That team kept getting better and better and better. Made a trade at wide
07:23receiver for Jacoby Myers. That turned out fantastic. He got extended. Now Travis Hunter's like, hey,
07:29even though you got a ton of wide receivers, I'd still like to play both ways here. How about you just play
07:32defense, but you are a great cornerback stack that defense, have some fun over there and just
07:36concentrate on defense. There's no reason that you're running over there as a slender wide receiver
07:40taking shots when you can deliver the shots, Joe. Well, I mean, listen, it's one thing if you want
07:47to practice that way, and that's the goal is to keep doing it. But let's be realistic when the season
07:53gets here, it didn't look like Jack, you know where Jacksonville could have used you on the defensive
07:58side of the ball for that game. That would have been fantastic against the Bills, but unfortunately
08:03you weren't available here. I would be Jacksonville tread carefully here with him, make him a one-way
08:11superstar. And I think all will be well here in a couple of years. I agree. Have a Kirk Cousins.
08:17And you know what? I'm getting up there in age at the quarterback position. I still think I can play.
08:21My team's eliminated. Let me go in the booth and talk a little football with the guys at CBS.
08:25Kirk Cousins in the booth. Oh, a little audition tape here. I like it, Kirk, but let's face it.
08:32The Jets will be calling you here shortly, and they're going to give you an inordinate amount
08:36of money as a bridge quarterback. So just wait for it, Donnie, because it's coming.
08:41Yeah. Wait for this one too. How about this statistic? The Houston Texans are fairly new
08:45in the NFL coming in around like the year 2000 or so. The Cardinals, the oldest franchise in the NFL.
08:50Do you know both of them in the same amount of playoff wins that the Cardinals, man,
08:53the Bidwell family? What an embarrassment. Yeah. Big, big time embarrassment. And it's
08:59just a shame that they're associated with one of the greatest wide receivers ever to play a game
09:04in Larry Fitzgerald. And they couldn't get him a championship. But yeah, they deserve a lot of
09:10the misery that they're going to continue to go through here. Yeah, there you go. Maybe you want
09:15to, Hey, how about just giving your players lunch and don't charge them for it? How about that?
09:18That'd go a long way to maybe winning some of those playoff games where the players will fight for you
09:22back. Ian Rappaport with a tweet yesterday, quote, Aaron came here to play for Mike. So it would most
09:27likely affect his decision. Do you know who was saying that? That's president Art Rooney. So yes,
09:32I thought he would be back if Tomlin is back. Tomlin is out. I think Aaron Rodgers is out too now,
09:38Joe. Yeah. Well, and you know, it's so funny how the Steelers owners are saying, yeah, they expect him
09:43to coach again in the near future. What's the near future? Interesting. And where, what team exactly would he
09:51be coaching for? Very interesting. Hear me out on this, Joe. He takes a year leave from the Steelers
09:56only to come back as the Steelers head coach. Come on. Oh, I like that. One year sabbatical,
10:03relax, recharge those muscles. He gets back up in front of that microphone after the Super Bowl next
10:07year and takes back over for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That makes sense, Joe. Come on now.
10:12That's how you do it. Recharge yourself for a second career there.
10:15I agree. Yep. Lame duck coach. Bring him in. Perfect. I'll tell you what's not a lame duck game.
10:21The Bills and the Broncos this weekend, the number one seed against Josh Allen. Who's standing in his
10:26way? Right back in. Oh, I can't wait for this weekend, Joe. I love football. And look, you know
10:32what sometimes you say to yourself? Like, I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Got knocked out last
10:36week by the 49ers. I'm still super pumped for this weekend because I love the game of football.
10:41Now, Joe, as a Jets fan, he loves the game of football because he never gets to cheer on his
10:45football team. So you sort of live through your B teams that you can watch. And also,
10:49it's fun to believe, handicappers and gamblers alike. Your favorite team, Joe, a lot of the times
10:53is just the team you bet on on that night or day that you could cheer as if they're your own
10:57because you have a vested interest. That vested interest could be in the Buffalo Bills or the
11:01Denver Broncos. We told you doing spread lines. Joe explained it well. Hey, the Buffalo Bills,
11:06the favorites to start the week. Now the Denver Broncos, the favorites,
11:09have minus one and a half and a total of 46 and a half. Joe, when I looked at the line when it
11:13opened up the week, and again, it's only a movement from one and a half to one and a half. I get it.
11:17But I thought it was a real disrespectful line to the Broncos, but also a stone cold line for the
11:22Buffalo Bills. Now that we see the Denver Broncos as the favorite, does it change your opinion on
11:27this game at all? Or you got this mapped out one way or another. Don't you worry about that spread?
11:31To me, this is, I'm going to wait until the very last minute, Donnie, to bet this game like I did
11:40last week with the Jacksonville game, because I did feel like Jacksonville money would become rolling
11:47in. And I think now Buffalo, like last week, is a great teaser leg here for this weekend,
11:54especially if you like Seattle to beat the 49ers, being able to get them down to minus one right now
12:00and maybe get at least Buffalo now, Donnie, at one and a half over a touchdown. I think that's the
12:06way to look at it. I don't know that the Buffalo money is going to come back in simply because
12:11we don't know really how healthy this team is. Question marks all over the place on the wide
12:17receiver spot. But is Ed Oliver healthy enough to go again, right? Is Milano, are the linebackers,
12:23Terrell Bernard, are these guys healthy enough to give this thing a go? Ultimately, if they are,
12:29Donnie, the question everyone has to ask it, who do you trust more to win a game in the fourth
12:36quarter with everything on the line, Bo Nix or Josh Allen? That's how you pick this game.
12:43I am fascinated to watch it play out too. And also understand this, unique circumstances on
12:48the Saturday game show. You saw the San Francisco 49ers go into Philadelphia, hard fought game all the
12:53way through, pull it out on the last play of the game. Now you got to travel back home. Then you got
12:57to travel to Seattle. And oh yeah, by the way, Seattle's been rested and waiting here with the
13:01bye week. It's the same thing with the Denver Broncos. And also Joe, the final week of the
13:05season, the Broncos were at home and had to win, but they were at home. They didn't even have to
13:08take a plane ride back from, let's say Houston. They were in Denver, won that football game,
13:13took a bye week and back home here. We'll see how that much makes a difference because you saw how
13:16hard fought that game also was in Jacksonville. Player props in this game at the quarterback position,
13:21Joe, they haven't moved. It's still two, 10 and a half as a passing prop for both of these
13:26quarterbacks, Bo Nix and Josh Allen. I'm interested to see what I get out of Bo Nix because you know,
13:30in order for the Bills to win, it's Josh Allen and nobody else, Joe.
13:35It really is. And again, who is he going to be throwing the ball to is my question. So you got
13:42Coleman, you got cooks now. Obviously Shakir was fantastic last week. The tight ends.
13:49Will that be enough? And I think maybe the bigger question is, can they get something going on the
13:57ground? We didn't think they would be able to against Jacksonville because Jacksonville was the
14:02number one defense against the rush this year. You know, Denver Blitz is all over the place here.
14:08I think they're going to have to be able to run the ball to have any success in the passing game here.
14:14I expect Josh Allen to have less passing, less attempts, less yards in this game that he did
14:21against Jacksonville. I think the running game is going to be more front and center.
14:25Yeah. James Cook and Josh Allen in that touchdown market. You're both listed at minus 105 a piece.
14:30The favorite, the clubhouse right now, you see RJ Harvey at a minus 135 price. Then Sutton,
14:35the wide receiver starts off the plus money numbers at a two to one price. I'd see that plus 210
14:40on that marker. And he looked, if you said, Johnny, just take two guys, Cook and Allen,
14:44one of those two are going to score. You basically push. I think both of them score a touchdown though.
14:48I do. Yeah. Kincaid. I think the tight ends also probably not a bad, a bad look in there. And,
14:56and even listen, even on the rushing side there for the Broncos, right? RJ Harvey is gotta be a guy
15:04you consider for an anytime touchdown, right? Who are they giving the ball to in the red zone here?
15:08It's not like Buffalo, some sort of stopping, you know, big time rushing defense. He's going to get
15:14his yards in this game. He is. Let's flip it over to the 630 game on Sunday night. That's the Los
15:19Angeles Rams. And it is the Chicago bears three and a half across the board as a favorite towards
15:24the Los Angeles Rams. And that total of 48 and a half. You wondered last week, any lingering effects
15:30for Matthew Stafford banging that throwing hand on a helmet, injuring a finger, which turned out
15:34to not be broken, which was great. I see the practice reports from yesterday on a Wednesday,
15:38Matthew Stafford full practice, full go this week, but they are a dome team going outdoors
15:44against the cardiac bears, cold weather temperatures expected in Chicago. The dogs are the bears here,
15:50Joe. How about that? Yeah, I think this is a, I think the Rams are going to have a lot of success
15:57here. It looks like they're going to get their top offensive lineman back in Kevin Dotson. They're
16:02also going to get Terrence Ferguson back. Uh, one of their tight ends that could absolutely
16:07stretch the field. Uh, that means full compliment of weapons, no injury to the finger. He's been a
16:14full participant Stafford all week long. I don't care what the weather is. This feels like the Rams
16:21are going to be able to pick the number that they want to put on the board in this game.
16:24I'm fascinated by this game. I am because it is that cold weather out there, but a dominant
16:28offense for the Rams. You know, that Chicago's bears defense stinks. And also how many times
16:32can you get yourself down in a football game and come back? The competition only gets stiffer.
16:37The more you move on in the playoffs to see the bears can come up again, technically they don't
16:41have to win the game. Like they could lose 23, 20, still get the cover with the Chicago bears.
16:45But if we are looking at some of those props, particularly at the quarterback position,
16:49Matthew Stafford, two 69 and a half, not much movement this week on his passing prop and Caleb
16:54Williams at two 20 and a half. I look at this game and say, yes, it is cold weather. There's
16:59no way the bears win this game. Unless Caleb Williams goes over two 20 and a half. It's almost
17:02a correlation to me. Hey, Caleb had a hundred. Yeah. What does that mean? They ran for 275 yards.
17:06Stop it. Caleb's got to be a God in this game. If they want to beat the Rams. If I'm looking
17:10at a pass or prop, he's got to go over two 20 and a half. And a lot of that Donnie is going
17:15to be in the second half because likely they will be trailing in this game. Like they often
17:21do. I mean, it's not, you know, it's not a wonder or it shouldn't be a shock to anybody.
17:27If all of a sudden, you know, come halftime, they're down a score or, you know, maybe nine
17:32points, 10 points, some long time where they're going to have to abandon the run and they're
17:37going to have to allow him to throw the ball around the field. And that's what it could
17:40take here to get it done. So I'm with you. I think the chance of anybody going over might
17:45very well be Caleb Williams here. Take a look at some of these anytime touchdown props
17:49in this game, Joe, if I'm going to do the double up here at the running back position,
17:52I'll go to Chicago bear side, Deandre Swift plus one 45 column and un guy at a plus two
17:5720. If you want to flip that over for me, Joe and go with the Rams, Kyron Williams, Blake
18:01Corum, both of those guys plus money prices as well. A lot of different ways to go. Cause
18:05I do expect, I don't know if we get 60 points in this game, but even though it's cold
18:09weather, these two teams should move the football. Again, we mentioned it yesterday. It's
18:15bears repeating. Um, the bears just came off a game in which the Packers, uh, in which
18:21they allowed four different Packer receivers to score a touchdown in that game. Give Puka
18:27Nikoa at minus one 15. Uh, yeah, daddy, I I'm good. I'll pay the 15. I'm good. Uh, no
18:33problem. Puka Nikoa will find the end zone in this game. Puka, by the way, 98 and a half
18:40is his receiving prop. Devante Adams, 53 and a half. The leader now looks like Colson has really
18:44settled in as that number one guy for the Chicago bears. He's 55 and a half, but then
18:48you get cheap numbers. Roma Dunze, 35 and a half. Luther Burden, 38 and a half. DJ Moore,
18:5228 and a half. Cole Komet, 10 and a half as well. By the way, Joe city of Chicago, it's
18:58cold this time of year. Did you know that the Chicago bears are using that now to their
19:02advantage? Yeah. Cause they could practice indoors, but Ben Johnson has been making the
19:05bears practice in the cold without heaters this season. That's what you should be doing.
19:09Wow. If you're Chicago be playing in, you know, practicing in 75 degree temperatures
19:13when you know, it's going to be 20 degrees, good gamesmanship there by Ben Johnson.
19:18Very good. And smart, uh, actually, cause it's not just this week. He's been doing it,
19:23uh, the whole season there, Donnie. So, uh, kudos to him. I mean, listen, if you're the bears
19:29and you're going to have a home playoff game, you want every advantage humanly possible.
19:33And it looks like they might have one against the Rams in this one with the weather loud crowd,
19:39cold weather temperatures, dome team going outdoors. We'll see if the Chicago bears can
19:43make it into the NFC championship game with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams. It's a Thursday
19:48right here on the early line on the sports grid network. Usually we be talking about a big NFL
19:52game coming up tonight on a Thursday night, but we don't have that. Why? Cause it's playoff football
19:56and it's divisional round football. Donnie right side, Joe Renier. It's welcome. And Adam Kaufman
20:00here, keeping the lights on in the wingland for at least one more week with another home
20:05game against the dome team. Adam, how we feeling? Well, feeling good about that. Obviously as a
20:11Patriots fan, my big takeaway really from the chargers game is simply, and I don't know if
20:16you guys would agree with this, but I think a lot of people locally where I am, we're breathing
20:22a little bit easier after the wind, because in some ways it just sort of validated, vindicated
20:28the season in a way that obviously a loss in that opening round would not have, you know,
20:33there were so many people we've talked about it, Joe, he's a schedule stand when it comes
20:38to this stuff. There were a lot of people that looked at it and said, yeah, you go from four
20:41to 14 wins. That's impressive, obviously, but who did you play? You had that one good win
20:46over the bills and who else did you beat? So I think the Patriots really, it's not like
20:51the season would have been a failure. If they lost, it would have been disappointing if
20:54they dropped that game, but to go out, win wildcard weekend against a, an excellent defense
20:59on the other side and the chargers and continue their season moving into the final eight, if
21:04you will, I think was, you know, just kind of a feather in their cap that you could say,
21:10okay, you've, you've proved yourselves. You're legit. You're good. You belong. Now let's see
21:15if they can make it another rung and beat the Texans.
21:18I'll say this, uh, Adam, I think that you learn what a young team like this, who is kind
21:26of been playing way better than expectations. The one thing that I took away from that win
21:31against the chargers is that they didn't need Drake may to be Superman to win a game that
21:39mattered. Uh, and I gotta believe that that's gotta be a step in the right direction for a
21:45team. That's still growing up here. Having said that this is by far the best defense they have
21:51faced all year. Chargers are good. They are not in this category here. So I'm still struggling with
21:58yeah, they're great, but are we not getting points in this game? I mean, it doesn't appear like the
22:03weather is going to be an issue. It still feels like points are coming. Are they not?
22:08Yeah. I mean, I, I would lean under, I think it's going to be more of a rock fight,
22:12a lower scoring game. Does it look like 16 to three? Like we just saw between the Patriots
22:17and chargers that I'm not sure of, but I do think it's going to be lower scoring, you know,
22:20to that end, the, the Texans, I'm sure you guys have talked about it are very much an under team
22:25at 12 and six this year, the Patriots, a slight over team 11 and seven in large part, of course,
22:31because their offense was so good against some really terrible defenses that they did see along
22:37the way. But I think that, you know, as you said, this is, you know, not only is this the best
22:43defense they're going to face this season. I mean, this is the number one defense in the entire NFL.
22:48So, you know, I think if you start looking at units, right, Texans defense versus Patriots offense,
22:54Patriots defense versus Texans offense, you can make a strong case that the number one unit of the
23:00group is certainly the Texans off a defense, pardon me, but I would follow that up with the Patriots
23:06offense. So I think that these two are kind of in for, you know, an interesting test in that the
23:12pass rush on that Houston side is incredible. You know, you're, you're looking at Hunter,
23:18you're looking at Anderson. There's so much talent there in the secondary, all of it, you know, I think
23:22there, there could be some room to exploit the run defense just a little bit by comparison. It's a
23:28very good run defense. Don't get me wrong, but the pass defense is superb. Really, it comes down to
23:34how does Drake may going back to what you said do and taking care of the ball because that first
23:39playoff game, while he had some really elite plays, you know, the touchdown pass in the corner to
23:46Hunter Henry, he made some big plays when he had to, it was not by any stretch, Drake May's best game.
23:53You know, he turned the ball over multiple times at the interception. He fumbled twice, lost one of
23:57them. Of course, CJ Stroud on the other side, as we know, fumbled the ball five times, lost two in that
24:02blowout win over the Steelers and was intercepted in the red zone as well. So it's not like either
24:07quarterback is coming off a phenomenal game. It's cliche to say, especially in games like this,
24:13that you think are going to be lower scoring, but I do think it comes down to that turnover battle in
24:17which team can play either a clean sheet or as close to it as possible. And between the two,
24:22I will say, despite the, you know, just aggressiveness and resilience that that Texans defense
24:29plays with every single week, and they are really, really good. Again, I think the Patriots
24:34between the two are more likely to play a cleaner game than that Texans offense that I, even without
24:40bias guys, I just don't trust CJ Stroud has regressed. He was really good year one last year. Not so much
24:46this year. He picked it up at points, but you know, when you really need them drops off again,
24:51I just don't think he and that offense are very good. And it's a good, not as good, but a good Patriots
24:56defense on the other side. Admitting your mistakes and moving on is certainly a key to a healthy
25:02franchise. Last year, we saw Gerard Mayo just wasn't doing it here. Vrabel comes in and voila,
25:06you have a team that's making a deep playoff run. Adam, we have a clip here on Robert Kraft
25:10talking about the Gerard Mayo decision. I would say that was one of the one or two hottest decisions
25:17because to fire a guy after one year, and by the way, it was very expensive because there
25:24were not only his contract, but 25 other coaches is the worst financial implication since we've
25:35owned the team. But I'm a fan first. And I thought, I can't, this just isn't the right situation.
25:46And, you know, that's on me and Gerard's a great guy, but I just didn't want.
25:54Just taking a look at that comment there. You like to see it those, I mean, owners had endless money,
25:59but admitting your mistake moving on and it couldn't have gone any better, Adam, for the coach
26:03and the season so far right off the bat. Yeah. If I'm going to bottom line the thing,
26:08absolutely. They got it right. They got, they, they saw that Gerard Mayo was in way over his head.
26:13It didn't work. They get rid of them, eat the money, obviously, and bring in a true tone setter,
26:20culture setter, former Patriots, Super Bowl champion, established NFL head coach, former coach
26:25of the year, leader of men, all of these things than Mike Vrabel was in Tennessee when, you know,
26:31they I'm sure are regretting getting rid of him just a little bit with what he's done here in year
26:35one, New England. And he comes back and it's just been a totally, totally different situation,
26:40you know, where, where I will push back just a little bit though, like maybe don't promise a
26:46guy the head coaching job years before you actually give it to him. They never should have hired Gerard
26:51Mayo in the first place, but they told him he was going to be the successor, the heir apparent to
26:55Bill Belichick and they got stuck. But, you know, had they known that Mike Vrabel was going to be
26:59available at the same time that Bill Belichick was going to be going out the door, they would have
27:03hired Vrabel a year earlier. Yep. That's Adam Kaufman rising and grinding the Patriots in a big
27:09one on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for talking with us Adam. We'll talk to you soon. We will be right
27:13back after this short break. How about the NFL? And one of the biggest questions in this all season
27:17is, will Travis Kelsey announce his retirement before next season? So the rule summary, Joe explains it.
27:23If Travis Kelsey announces his retirement from professional football before the 2026, 2027,
27:30regular season start date, you would cash this ticket for me. I absolutely don't doubt that
27:37he's not going to retire. I don't think he plays next year, but if he does, Joe, how about this next
27:41August? He announces this will be his next year. You cash in at this point on your investment. I like
27:47it. Yeah. I'm with you. I think yes is where the value is on this contract, Donnie. I don't think
27:54there's any reason to think that he's contemplating anything. I think the decision's already made. I
28:00I think it's just now timing, right? And I think that is a good timeframe for us to be able to
28:06to cash that contract out with a profit. If you invest a hundred bucks that he will announce his
28:13retirement before the start of next season, that's $139 back on your pocket. 39% you'll make back on
28:21that job. We're talking a little bit more money here for Kyle Tucker than what we're talking about
28:25with Travis Kelsey. Kyle Tucker's next team. He's got an AAV out there right now from the Mets
28:29at $50 million per year. So the Mets right now have a 26% chance, but it's crashing right now. Why?
28:38The Toronto Blue Jays up to 70% of 42% in recent days here. How about that, Joe? Mets, Toronto,
28:49Dodgers all listed at the top of the market. I had none of these markets. Am I ever not betting
28:55Dodgers? Sorry, not doing it. They've already shown Donnie that biggest free agents. Yep. We'll
29:02sign them. We'll figure out a way. We'll get it done. We'll come up with the money. It's hard pressed
29:07to. And now if this was a middle, you know, a middle reliever, or if this was, you know, somebody we're
29:13talking about like a third or fourth start, a mid rotation guy, you know, he's a DH. No, no, no, no.
29:20This is, if he's a big name on the market, yeah, the Dodgers would rather have them than compete
29:26against them. Rule summary on this one, Joe, if Kyle Tucker's next team is the Mets before March 25th,
29:322026. So it looks like we have a cutoff date on this one and it would resolve to a yes. Understand
29:37this. The Mets put out that a couple of days ago, $50 million is on the table. There's a reason
29:42he hasn't accepted that because he's taken that offer and shopping it to the Dodgers and
29:45Toronto saying, look, the Mets offer is really nice, but it's a shorter term deal. Work with
29:50me guys. Otherwise the minute the $50 million AAV came out, he'd be like, yeah, I'm signing
29:54with the Mets. What are you crazy? It's $50 million a year. I can't pass that up. Oh, he's
29:57passed that up already. I would be shocked if he signs with the Mets. A no investment, pays
30:02you back 136 on that. More hot topics on the way next. Feels like we're just getting started.
30:07The NFL, boy, takes center stage. And of course it should. It's the vision around action
30:11this weekend, two games, Saturday, two games, Sunday, the following week, Sunday, take center
30:15stage with the NFL and excuse me, the AFC and NFC championship games. And two weeks later,
30:20we get to the Superbowl in San Francisco, but a lot of teams saying we're out of the playoff
30:24race right now, but we want to start our franchise. Let's restart our franchise as it goes. The New
30:29York Giants, they're doing that. They've hired John Harbaugh overnight. The only thing left
30:33here is pen to paper, but everybody reporting Harbaugh to the New York Giants is all but done
30:39and also bringing along his offensive coordinator, Todd Munkin to the Giants. The 63 year old has
30:45found a home after coaching the Ravens. He's now the Giants head man and the Giants fans
30:50notably excited. Yeah. And I think it's a win, a great situation for the Giants. I think for the
30:57Giants fan base who has been, you know, waiting for that next great coach that, you know, wouldn't
31:05change teams in two years or be fired in a year and a half, so on and so forth. So Harbaugh coming
31:10available. Timing is everything in life, right? Harbaugh coming available at the point where the
31:17Giants are really at a crossroads. I mean, I think it's a perfect fit. And we're being honest,
31:24the Giants have more legit. They got the number five pick coming up in this draft and they've got
31:29more legit talent on both sides of the ball than a lot of other jobs that are available right now.
31:34So it's not a shock that Harbaugh decided the Giants is the place he wants to go.
31:40No, it's not. And again, you're going to get a ton of money. You're going to fall taught him in that
31:43organization. They're begging for a winner to come to town. You now have one. You can operate what you
31:47want. You don't have to worry about your quarterback. You figure you got him here. You got a good young
31:51nucleus. It makes a lot of sense for him to be the New York Giants head coach. We'll just see if you can
31:55get that production on the field, similar to what we saw with the Baltimore Ravens. Also bringing
32:00his staff along. There's not going to be any, Hey, we're going to hire the offensive defensive
32:03coordinators. No, you're not. John Harbaugh is going to handpick those guys. And it looks like
32:07it's probably going to be Todd Munkin once again, as his offensive coordinator. And that should be
32:11just fine. The guy's a good coordinator here. You saw him with a mobile quarterback in Lamar Jackson.
32:16Maybe he can do those same things here with Jackson Dart. So complete analysis of the organization
32:21now is going to run through John Harbaugh, Joe. And I'm telling you, maybe the guy in that building
32:27that should be the happiest is, is Jackson Dart. I mean, no Dable, no Joe Judge, no Pat Sherman,
32:35no Ben McAdoo. No, no, no. You're going to have stability and a offensive coordinator along with
32:41Harbaugh that have more experience than anybody else. And yes, they are exactly the combo. Coaching
32:47matters with young quarterbacks. This is exactly the kind of combo you want with a young quarterback
32:52to make them a franchise quarterback. By the way, just a few moments ago, Jordan Schultz retweeted
32:58out or tweeted out the giant steal for Harbaugh is five years, $100 million. So Joe, before I let you
33:06respond to that, you know what that meant yesterday on the plane? Like, what is it going to take for you
33:11to stay and knock it on this plane? The answer is agent. $100 million, done. What? Yeah. Oh,
33:18stop. You agreed to that? Yeah. Well, I guarantee you, John Mara, who is, you know, in a fight
33:27battling cancer right now, but he was instrumental the minute Harbaugh came available. And he was
33:33pretty adamant, apparently, that we are going to do whatever it takes to get Harbaugh in this
33:38building. And because guys like that don't come available and they were willing to pay for it,
33:43Donnie. And that's exactly what they did. Can you imagine that too? Because like you let the
33:48previous coaching staff go, like you're, it's not like your head coach is making 20 million. And
33:53then you said, you know what? Harbaugh is not going to be like, well, I'm going to make 20 million. You
33:56can pay my guys, you know, peanuts around me. They're all going to be as high prices you could
34:01possibly get at every coordinator position here. That's a huge investment for the New York Giants.
34:05We'll see if now, if it pays off on the field, other coaching moves, which include the Pittsburgh
34:10Steelers. Well, here's the Mr. Rooney talking about Tomlin's departure. As you know, uh, yesterday,
34:15uh, coach Tomlin and I met and, uh, Mike informed me of his decision to, uh, step down as head coach
34:22of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, uh, it was an emotional day for everybody, uh, in our organization
34:28yesterday. Mike's been, uh, a great, uh, leader of our franchise now for 19 years and let us,
34:35uh, with, uh, toughness, integrity, and, uh, always reflected the values of our organization.
34:42Uh, I think you all know his many accomplishments, uh, two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl
34:49victory, uh, many AFC North titles, uh, and, and many, many wins. And, uh, you know, bottom
34:56line was, uh, you know, we were always in contention with Mike and, uh, you know, that's, uh, that's
35:02what counts. Uh, more than his accomplishments, Mike was a, uh, a steady and respected leader,
35:08uh, cared deeply about our players, our staff, and the whole Steeler organization. He represented
35:14the Steelers with class and dignity every single day. And, uh, on behalf of my family, everyone
35:20connected with the Steelers, I want to thank Mike and his family for being part of Steelers football
35:25for the last 19 years. Uh, we'll always be grateful.
35:31There you go. Art Rooney II talking about Mike Tomlin. Also, they asked him a question
35:34later in that press conference about, you know, Mike probably doesn't want to coach, but if he
35:38does, you got it for two more years. And he basically said, you know, when that comes up,
35:41we'll deal with it. That's one of those things. Again, we talked yesterday. There's no way Mike
35:45Tomlin in a year gets refreshed, comes back, says, Hey, I want to coach him again. You still got
35:48it under one year contract where it's going to take two first rounders for you to go there.
35:52I think they would work out something amicably because that's what you do after almost 20
35:56years. Like he's not leading on bad terms here. Don't hold him hostage to a team he wants to go
36:00to work out some mild compensation and move on with it. Yeah. And that's exactly correct. And I
36:06don't think, you know, after 19 years, you said, I mean, the, the Rooney family, much like the
36:11Maris, they've been doing this a long time that, you know, the Steelers, the Giants been in the
36:16family a hundred years, uh, they know what they're doing and they're never going to sit there and burn a
36:22bridge with a guy that just gave them 19 years of his life. Not going to happen. Not with this
36:27argument, Mike, with the bidwells, but it ain't going to happen with the Roonies there, Donnie.
36:32Exactly. And they'll probably say, Oh, you're going to retire Mike right now. You owe us the
36:36final two years of your contract. Now that's what the bidwells will do as opposed to the Pittsburgh
36:40Steelers, but who's next on deck for the Pittsburgh Steelers. You take a look at Nate
36:44Shieldhouse. One of those guys connected with the Los Angeles Rams, anybody around McVay,
36:49you're ready to go. That's one of those guys that seems to be right as a fit for the Pittsburgh
36:54Steelers. The next up and coming young coach here, make them your head coach for the next 10, 15 or 20
37:00years. Or could it be, you're saying, you know what? Brian Flores could be that guy, an emotional
37:05defensive coordinator cut from that same mold as Mike Tomlin. You got options for the Steelers,
37:10but usually the Steelers, I think you go offense this time. I do. I think Shieldhouse,
37:14if he does get the job, is one of those perfect mold fits for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just feels
37:19right to me. Yeah, I agree. It's exactly along the mold that this is what the Steelers do. They're
37:26going to find a young upcoming guy that checks all the boxes that, you know, has learned the game and
37:33they are going to put him in a position to be successful and he will likely be there for the
37:38next 15 plus years. And how about this one? You talk about trades up there in the marketplace.
37:43As the Packers and Matt LaFleur continue to negotiate an extension, it's possible that a
37:48team looking for a coach will call Green Bay about a possible trade. What? Come on now. What are we
37:52doing in Green Bay? Yeah. I mean, potential trade for who exactly? What are we looking there? Yeah,
38:01no. I don't see that happening at all. I think ultimately it would be great in some capacity.
38:08I'm sure there's a few Packer fans that wouldn't mind it, but the reality is that that will all work
38:14itself out, I think, over the next couple of weeks. There are so many coaching jobs out there
38:19available. And again, like I joked with a tweet yesterday, like somebody's going to be, somebody's
38:22organization is going to be left with absolute bums out here. Two or three or four jobs open,
38:25quality candidates. Yes. Nine jobs open and the best candidate probably already off the board. So
38:30eight or left at this point, Matt LaFleur should just stay with Green Bay and probably his agents
38:34like, Hey, he can leave anytime he wants or force a trade. You better lock him up and keep him there.
38:39He is a good coach, but sometimes you're graded on, man, you got to start doing some damage in the
38:43playoffs and getting the NFC championship games and getting to the Superbowl, which he hasn't done
38:47yet. But the same way you've been talking all week, Joe. All right, you move on from LaFleur.
38:51Who's next then? Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I mean, don't forget, it was LaFleur that drafted Jordan
39:00Love, right? Even when Aaron Rodgers was there and what did he do? He turned out to be a franchise
39:06quarterback. So, you know, obviously there's not been the kind of success they wanted, but there
39:12has certainly been success with the quarterback position, which is all that matters. Absolutely
39:17here. The NFL, man, we're probably going to get more coaching hires before this weekend is even
39:21out at this point. Also, offensive coordinators like my Philadelphia Eagles. Come on, man.
39:26Sling for the fences, people. Cam Stewart's up next. He's going to hit home runs as well.
39:30Right back at it on a Thursday morning. The energy is high as it always is. You're going to hear
39:35laughing in the background. You're going to hear laughing on this show because it's the RS.
39:38It's Joe Ranieri and the prime minister of snow, the heat miser. It's Cam Stewart here.
39:44Come on, melt the snow here for us, Cam. He, miser. I'm Mr. Snow. I'm Mr. 101. No, I'm actually
39:52like my Mr. Like 16 Fahrenheit. Anyway, Donnie, my car is covered in two igloos right now. I don't
39:58even think I can get out the door. People are in panic mode. But anyway, I digress. Who cares?
40:03Wish I was on Joe's yacht right now because living in Canada close at this time of the year. Hey,
40:08your producer Tommy knows he's from Rochester. They get the same thing. I don't even know,
40:13Donnie. The question is, are they going to play the Buffalo Sabres Montreal game tonight?
40:16Who's getting there? If it's Buffalo got hit like us, which they usually do, they get it
40:20worse. I don't know what's going on. So keep that in mind. But Donnie, I didn't like what
40:23you said in the break there. I heard you whispering about the 49ers. Caught that in my earpiece.
40:27You better slow down. The prime minister has business to take care of this weekend.
40:31Oh, you do. And you better have business because all of a sudden your boy DRS is a huge Seattle
40:36Seahawks fan. Why? Because the Philadelphia Eagles didn't show up against the 49ers and got beat
40:41there, Cam. So I am on team Seattle this weekend, which means a seven point line and a total of 44
40:47and a half. The rested and ready Seahawks take on the injured 49ers. Cam, lay it out there for the
40:53people. Oh, I'll lay it out for you. And I'll tell you this coaching staff, they'll be ready to go.
40:57It's one of those situations where, you know, you talk about time off with McDonald and his staff.
41:01I have no problem with the extra time off. You catch the 49ers at a great time too. First of all,
41:06they beat them down. Seattle beat them down at the end of the season. They have even more injuries
41:09now. I get it. They're a special team right now. Shanahan, he should be actually, you know,
41:13they talk about coach of the year for what he did with that team and the injuries guys.
41:16Right, Joe? Right, Donnie? Like this guy did a great job, but I'm going to tell you one thing,
41:20Seattle, they're ready to rock in this game. They got to get to Brock Purdy. He did very well
41:24against the Eagles sliding. I know he made a couple of mistakes, but he avoided pressure and made plays.
41:28It's pretty simple. You stop Christian McCaffrey. I think you can stop the 49ers attack.
41:32Donnie, I know you're really disappointed with your Eagles. That was a pathetic performance,
41:35but don't worry about it. Sammy, the Seahawk, we're going to get them. It looks like a huge
41:39spread at seven, but I think Seattle will cover this number, and this time, points will be scored.
41:44No field goals, touchdowns. You're looking at it 44, 44 and a half. I like the over in this
41:49football game. I think Seattle can get theirs against San Francisco. It looks very tempting
41:53to take the pooch, but I'll be on the favorite in Seattle. I think we get it done and go to the
41:57NFC Championship game. I'm with you, Cam. I think points are coming in this game. I know they've
42:03played a couple of low-scoring games back-to-back, but I don't think that's going to be the case.
42:08I think points are definitely coming in this spot here, and then, of course, I got to ask
42:14you, because you and I talked last week. I said, you know, Bills all day long, and Bills
42:20all day long get it done, but now we're having the same thing. They started out as a favorite.
42:25Now they're a dog, Cam. Do you agree with that?
42:29I kind of do, Joe, and hey, I got to hand it to you, Joe. They won. It wasn't a blowout like
42:33we were talking about. It got real dicey. I didn't like the refereeing in that game, by the way. I don't know
42:37what Buffalo has to do to get calls when players aren't set and stuff, but anyway, I digress. They
42:42won the game. Now you got to go into Denver and play a rested team, well-coached with Sean Payton,
42:47but I'm going to say this. I do believe in Buffalo, Bill. I think Allen's going to take this team on
42:51his back, Joe. This seems like you got the monkey off your back. You could beat Denver. The thing
42:55about Buffalo, the defense, they did step up against Jacksonville, and that Denver offense can be spotty.
43:00I really like the Bills in this spot. Conversely, guys, I talked about over in Seattle. I know it's
43:05a low total, 46, 46 and a half under. I like the under in this football game. I think we're going
43:10to see some defense. I think Buffalo will do enough to win this game, but I'm looking for a low total
43:15over in Seattle, under in Denver in this game this week, guys, and I'll tell you, if Buffalo Bill wins
43:20this game, man, go to the FC championship game. This could be really interesting. I know AI said Seattle
43:24versus Buffalo in the Super Bowl. That could be, you know, Seattle still got to take care of business
43:30and they have to get by the winner of the Bears and Rams, but I'm telling you, I'm very, very excited.
43:35I didn't see this coming this year, and it's been a nice little run. But now, Joe, the way it usually
43:39goes down at the end of the show, we want to hear from the people. Here's our favorite public poll.
43:50Come on now. You know the topic we're going to ask you about. At Sports Grid,
43:53on X here, will Harbaugh bring the Giants to a Super Bowl? Two choices. Yes. Excellent hire. No,
44:00he will fail. Currently live. You see the 65% that's going to pop up on your screen on a graphic.
44:05It's actually lower than that right now, Joe. Live, 58 and a half. No, he will fail. By the way,
44:11is it really a failure if you don't win the Super Bowl? I mean, we're being a little bit harsh on
44:14this question here, but of course, as the Eagles fan, I voted no. That's the way you're supposed to do it.
44:17Well, listen, likely, I would say they got a pretty good chance because the cupboards aren't
44:26bare here, right? You've got a franchise quarterback. You've got a stud running back.
44:31You've got popularity. You've got the New York market. You've got resources. You got the number
44:37five pick. Yes, I definitely think he's on his way. Not next year, but within the next couple of
44:44seasons, I think they could be buying for an NFC championship. How about that? The Giants get
44:50their man. $20 million a year, $100 million contract for a coach. Yeah, that's the going rate at this
44:55point right now.
Be the first to comment