Speaker 1: All start to what you want to presents. Off the
bench with Jacob Hester and T bob Abert.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1: Off the bench with Jacob Hester and C bob Abert.
Speaker 3: I gotta come off the bench now.
Speaker 1: Here's Jacob Hester and T Bob Abert.
Speaker 3: Oh, off the band, guys.
Speaker 2: Monday, January sixth, twenty twenty five, and we are back.
It kind of feels like this is the official beginning
of the new year in many ways, right, the start
of a complete work week for many out there.
Speaker 3: Kids going back to school.
Speaker 2: Uh, winter has arrived, as the polar vortex is now
officially here.
Speaker 3: Very excited about that.
Speaker 2: So for once us Lousianians can get these winter fits
off without feeling like idiots when it turns to eighty
degrees in the afternoon and you're like, I really like
my coat, but I am now pouring sweat. Yeah, and
I have, and and I knew I shouldn't have, but
I did anyway, And here I am not today, and.
Speaker 3: At least not for maybe a little big guys.
Speaker 2: Hope everybody had a great weekend. We'll get into all
of it. Obviously, NFL has Tara laid out the uh
the name or the Yeah, the name of the game today,
I mean the the the biggest show in town. The
playoffs are set. Jake's bush League Boltz are in got
a very intriguing matchup.
Speaker 3: We'll get to all of the matchups. Talk to College
of Wall playoff.
Speaker 2: We got some sec basketball, both the men's and women's
side to break down. Transfer portal combat continues as LSU
set to Hope stay pretty coveted if.
Speaker 3: It's back this week.
Speaker 2: So if you want to hang out with us today,
YouTube dot com, Slash one, O four five, ESPN, and
you can go get in the jet there. Like guy
Daniel who had some kids recently, it's his first day
dropping the girls off at daycare.
Speaker 3: They crying face.
Speaker 2: So it begins, Yeah, so it begins. Yeah, only gets
crazy and crazy. I mean, I don't even know I'm
selling the very young end of it.
Speaker 3: Anyway. How are we doing, Jake? What's up man? How's
your weekend?
Speaker 4: It was great, it was fantastic. You know, got a
lot done this weekend. We had a great indoor soccer
game yesterday against Jetpack. Oh hell yeah yeah our boys.
So it's fun to see the boys go out there compete.
The Bushley Bolt. As you said, not only did they win,
they bettered their playoff seeding and now they're gonna be
playing the Houston Texans.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a good first round matches.
Speaker 4: So I am going to cover the Cotton Bowl on Thursday,
the games on Friday. We got stuff on Thursday. Saturday,
I'm going to fly home. I think this is a plan.
Grab Jackson and then we're going to boogie over to Houston.
Oh nice to go watch the Bush League Bolts. Working
on getting him on the you know, to meet some
some Bolt players, some of his favorites there. So we
the fly if we don't have the time to drive,
but we will be in the number. The Bolt's playing
a playoff game this close, we have to go, have to.
So it's gonna be a crazy kind of Thursday through Sunday.
Speaker 3: But you know what, it's a good kind of crazy. Yeah,
it's gonna be though.
Speaker 2: Yeah, those those memories are the ones then never go away.
I remember driving to Birmingham with my old man to
watch the US men's team play Guatemala back in the day,
even though I had five am runs the next day
and we get back and I don't know, like two
am or something, but it was again, those are the memories.
Speaker 3: They win, Yes they did. Yeah, take that, Mario, Yeah
they did win. It was it was it was really cool.
Speaker 2: It was really we'll see them landing Donovan and everybody
live fantastic. But again, it was more about being with
my dad and going out of your way to go
do some some cool sports stuff and getting to go
on the field before an NFL playoff game is going
to ratchet that up even more. Uh A, Landra, A
big day for you. How are you doing today? You
feeling good? You had a good weekend?
Speaker 5: Yeah, great weekend.
Speaker 3: I'm not really sure why.
Speaker 5: It's a big day for me, but.
Speaker 3: Oh, I don't know. You said it like she had
something like on the horizon like January sixth.
Speaker 2: I mean no, just kidding, yes, Kitty. Uh hey, how's
your weekend though? Oh? Good?
Speaker 3: So it was pretty chill when I talk to you
this morning. Yeah, I just did.
Speaker 5: The men's basketball game. Had some serious Sunday scaries yesterday
just because it was like the first.
Speaker 3: Full week back.
Speaker 2: Well, as we said, yeah, this is the Monday of
the year.
Speaker 3: Yes, so we are we are in you know.
Speaker 2: People say it's turtles all the way down reality today,
it's Mondays all the way down.
Speaker 5: I've actually never heard that saying before.
Speaker 4: So the Turtles does it feel like that for you though,
because we've been working like we hadn't really Uh.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it still does though, because like there's just you know,
it's a new year, so new.
Speaker 4: Plan today, like the first day of the new year
for you without a doubt, Okay, without a doubt because
you know we've.
Speaker 3: So your drive starts today. Well, no, I'm I'm actually
in the midst of dry January right now.
Speaker 2: I did January from about Saturday at eleven till Sunday
at about ten thirty when I found myself at Superior
get in Margarita.
Speaker 3: So so you did it while you're sleeping.
Speaker 2: So then I got back on dry January last night
after I had a nice whiskey watching Gladiator two. So
what did you think, drid January picked in about eleven
again or no? No, probably about nine? Sorry nine again? Last
night the Gladiator two five.
Speaker 3: Out of ten.
Speaker 2: Yeah, uh so strength visual except for the CGI animals.
Freaking loathe CGI animals except the guy writing the rhinos
kind of tights, So a rhinos hide and anybody's like
a digital artist. Feel free to tell me I'm an idiot,
but as I understand it, kind of harder carapisses hides
like a rhino's kind of shield, almost like leathery skin
is easier to make realistic than like flesh and hair,
because that's like in District nine back in the day
movies whose special effects STI hold up very well.
Speaker 3: That's why they made the bugs. What is it chittnus?
Speaker 2: Is that the word where they have like the hard
like like bug bodies. That's why they made them that
way is because it looked more realistic. So again visually
except the cege animals. Uh yeah, water steam was tight.
Speaker 3: Oh it's awesome.
Speaker 2: That's cool as cool as hell's visually awesome. I'm big
favor of Roman history, so anytime somebody pours a ton
of money into recreating Rome, I'm always gonna meaning that
costume design a plus miscast story just an absolute mess.
Speaker 3: Yeah. In miscast, I think on the main character at
all of it, he didn't seem so I felt.
Speaker 2: I don't know where to parse between where's the bad
writing start and the acting that's not landing begin? Because
to me, the plot like the backbone of the movie
was just a scattered mess.
Speaker 3: It was all over the place.
Speaker 2: They got way too grandiose in their scope, Like there's
a million stories you could have told about a gladiator
doing something, and they went like big big, I don't know, Yeah,
the plot, everything was an absolute mess.
Speaker 3: So five out of ten probably we'll never watch again.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but Demzel was too much like Denzel see.
Speaker 3: I would have been.
Speaker 2: I actually liked how Denzel played that character.
Speaker 3: I just I didn't give me, give me some accent,
no accent at all. I don't, I don't, I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't mind the accent thing as much because at
the end of the day, you have a bunch of
people doing English accents.
Speaker 3: Yeah, for a bunch of I.
Speaker 2: Feel like it's yeah, yeah, yeah, it always becomes English accents.
Speaker 5: No always and Greek I feel like, but like, I
feel like the story was there, like it was there
you Like, you had the Evil Twins, you had the
sun coming back from vas and its just like it didn't.
I don't know, it just didn't.
Speaker 2: Like you had cool character, like the first Gladiator was
about Maximus. Yeah, this movie was hardly about the main character.
But I guess that's what happened when you kind of
cast like a no name guy and then you have
to Deel. You're like, well we got to give then
delbut screens TI, We're gonna do this.
Speaker 3: So I just thought.
Speaker 2: I thought the story again, two Grandiose lacked a bit
of focus.
Speaker 3: It was a bit just then.
Speaker 4: Also, when you're comparing it against the first one, well, yeah,
I mean that's gonna happen.
Speaker 3: It's one of the greatest movies all time.
Speaker 2: Also, we've been desensitized to violence when you first Maybe
it's because I was a kid, but when I first
saw Gladiator, those special effects during the fight scenes were
truely shocking. I had never seen anything like it before.
Now I've seen Game of Thrones where the mountain literally
squeezes Pedro Pascal's head into jelly. So it's like, what
getting you know, like it's spoiler alert. It just doesn't
hit that's on you. Yeah, that's true. Also Pedro Pescal again,
a lot of good actors.
Speaker 3: In it was due.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it just didn't didn't necessarily anyway, Uh, te, how's
your weekend?
Speaker 6: It was great.
Speaker 7: If you guys can see on the desk right there
in front of those two football helmets, we now have
an official Betony Zidaco puck. Oh, I was at the
game Friday. It's the whole family, and one of our
listeners gave it to me. So, uh, really we got
the official would.
Speaker 2: You like it?
Speaker 3: Brad this Idaco guy?
Speaker 6: It was Brad the Zidaco guy.
Speaker 2: For those that don't know, we have somebody in the
YouTube chat every day, Brad this Idaco guy. It was
Brad straight up letting you know, well, that makes me
very happy that he now is physically represented.
Speaker 7: Yeah, so we got the Uh, it's like an official
punk too. It looks like it was used to like
in the game. So see, pretty cool.
Speaker 2: We give a puck about the Zydi coodhere doo. You
just know you're starting to do your pretty well over
there too.
Speaker 3: Uh okay, well that sounds like a lot of fun, man.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's a good time.
Speaker 2: You know what was a good time for one half,
even though I guess it was never really a bad
time because again it's a bit of a silver lining
game for the Saints yesterday, but the Saints looked very
good to open up the Buccaneers game yesterday. And as
we get this discussion started, let's go and get the
show started.
Speaker 1: It's time to get to work courtesy of Tiger Labor
and Staffing where they can help take care of screening, training,
payroll and more. Now for starters, it's right.
Speaker 2: Tiger Labor and Staffing are your local staffing solution experts.
They're reliable and if you need warehouse, construction or manufactured positions,
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Speaker 3: Every morning at five am. So Saints Bucks yesterday.
Speaker 2: Saints come out and really control the game the entirety
of the first half. You could tell they were giving
the Tampa fans the hebgb's event. The announcers kept talking
about it in the booth, but you could feel the
tension building as the Bucks know the entire season comes
down to this win and you win the division and
you're in.
Speaker 3: Lose in, you're out.
Speaker 2: And for much of the first half, Baker Mayfield and
that offense could not see the fields. The Saints put
together extended drive after extended drive. Unfortunately, as is generally
the case in the NFL, the better team ended up
taking over the game. By games end, whatever the offense
had in the first half completely disappeared in the second,
and Baker Mayfield, who is a gamer, found a way
once again to win.
Speaker 3: So the Bucks win.
Speaker 2: My Evan Sin's a pretty impressive record, and the Saint
season comes to a merciful end. I mean, honestly, you know,
it's probably the happiest you will ever be at after
a loss, especially a loss to Arrival, because it kept
the Falcons out of the playoff, and it didn't a
win just would have hurt draft stock unfortunately at the
end of the day. So the result maybe not as
interesting as what comes next. And maybe, like what you
think about Spencer Rattler, So I.
Speaker 4: Wonder like watching this game, and Spencer Ratler did a
nice job of getting the tight ends involved. He got
the running backs involved in the past game, and you know,
Juwan Johnson Faalster had some big plays in the game,
and you just you wonder if he had NFL receivers
like what he could have done. And I'm not trying
to be disrespectful to the guys there, but it's it's
guys off the street, that's what it. I mean, literally,
like there's players that hadn't played in the NFL since
twenty twenty two, that are out there running around and look,
they made a couple of plays here and there. But
I wonder what Spencer Rattler would have been like if
he had Chris Olive, if he had Rashichi head in
this game, because as the games continue to go for him,
he did start to understand, Okay, if it's not there,
hit your checkdown. If it's not there, find the intermediate stuff.
And it's gonna be tough to kind of grade him
this season, in his rookie year, and certainly now that
all these rookies across the NFL Bo Nicks and Jade
Daniels and Michael Pennock Junior are just lighting it up,
and so you're going to compare Spencer Ratler to that
even though he was a fifth round pick. Those guys
are top ten, top twelve picks. But there's something there.
But see, I wonder if it's going to be enough,
how are they going to grade him? How are they
going to view his progress knowing he's throwing to a
Cedric Wilson junior, a Dante Pettis, a Kevin Austin junior,
Like how is that going to be graded and what
do they think of him inside that building? Because right
now as you sit, you're in the top ten.
Speaker 3: What is this quarter of a quarterback class look like?
Speaker 4: And are you going to be able to get a
quarterback at nine that you think can be the future
of your team because of where you're at in the
cap you still have Derek Carr's contract. I don't know
that you can do anything else outside of drafting your
quarterback if you want a new quarterback.
Speaker 3: Not a.
Speaker 2: Not a great year for quarterbacks, or at least it
doesn't feel that way. You feel like it looking at it,
and you never know with quarterbacks, right That's kind of
the triggery part about the draft is that guys that
are for sure hits go busting. I mean, okay, you
know who. I keep thinking of Bryce Young. How in
the world are you supposed to evaluate quarterbacks when Bryce
Young exists? Because of course he was put into awful
situations at first, and then helping him made him look awful,
but then he was benched earlier this year for Andy
Dalton looked truly awful. Remember the first Saints Panthers game.
He did not look like he could play in this league.
Well yesterday, I think he is the highest EPA per
dropback of any quarterback in the NFL. Like, the Panthers
got consistently better as the weeks went on. After he
got done with being binge and he got back into
starting lineup, Bryce Young started to dominate. So I don't
know who's gonna be good. I have no idea how
to evaluate. Sometimes you think you're awful and then you
get good. Look at Sam Darnold, what's going on there?
Speaker 4: Like, I so, you're right, I mean in a winner
take on, like if they lose this game, you know,
and the Falcons are going to playoffs, and so like,
the Falcons had to win this game. So they were
giving Bryce Young every single thing that he could handle,
and he puts up forty four points. Yeah those were
two fifty one and three touchdowns, no turnovers, and so yeah,
to your point, that.
Speaker 3: Is somebody we all like. There's memes, there's jokes, there's everything.
It's like, well, actually, he's pretty damn good. I know.
I mean, the little kid, he's so tiny out there.
Now he's kicking ass.
Speaker 2: So because when I look at Rattler's play yesterday, you
see the potential. There were some mind blowing accurate throws
in there, but then there were also some very frustrating
easy throws missed that ended up cost you a bit.
So I mean, you know what, honestly I thought, I
thought the best throw of the day was the second
MVS touchdown that didn't count, where NVS only got one
foot inbounds. But the window that he put it in
is true, true NFL, you know, six inch target.
Speaker 3: Type of situation. So what do you do next year?
Speaker 2: Do you cut Derek Carr, eat the cap, hit, ride
Rattler for a year and just see what happens. I mean,
it's definitely a recipe for a bad year, but you're
gonna have a bad year anyway in all likelihood, unless
unless you get some sort of miracle turn around, which
they don't know how that would take place. Has Rattler
done enough where you try to give him a young
like year, new coach and see if he can figure
out what he could maybe do, Or is Derek Carr
gonna be your quarterback again?
Speaker 4: I think whoever you yeah, whoever you hide, I think
we all, I think most of us believe unless it's
Aaron Glenn, it's going to be an offensive minded head coach.
Speaker 3: So if it is, he gets the choice, do you
want to roll out there? Car? Do you want Spencer Rattler?
Or should we draft a quarterback?
Speaker 4: And no, if we draft a quarterback, you're gonna be
tied to him, and if it doesn't turn out well,
you're not gonna turn out well.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 2: Coming up next, and let's get to a name that's
starting to be bandied about, an offensive name potentially as
the next Saints head coach. We also got to talk
some NFL playoffs again. Guys, you want to get involved,
you two dot com, slash one for five, ESPN, hit.
Speaker 3: The like button. We got more OTB coming hum next,
Off the bench.
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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the best morning sports show around sorta.
It's off the bench with Hester and T Bob.
Speaker 2: So I hadn't even been in the office five minutes.
That was a good video you sent Alundra at the
Bittersweet Symphony. I you can see it's got you in
the move here.
Speaker 5: I mean, this song does stuck in my head after
I said that.
Speaker 2: I mean, this song definitely reaches straight into your nostalgic
heartstrings and rips out emotion through sheer force of will.
But I walk into the office this morning, hadn't been
here thirty seconds when Taylor follows me to my office
and starts taking and he told me something truly disconcerting signals. Taylor,
who did you tell me that these Saints are considering
for head coach?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 7: So this came out Saturday. Diana Rassini was the first
to report it. We actually put an article out about
it on All Louisiana Sports dot Net.
Speaker 6: Can I interest you guys in, Matt Naggy.
Speaker 2: Get the FLT get out of the office right now?
I mean, Jake, am I crazy for that being my reaction?
Speaker 3: No, you're not. Why would you credit this man for
any of the chief success.
Speaker 4: And somebody's already failed again as a head coach And
you just went through that with Dennis Allen.
Speaker 3: And don't you know about Tom Land.
Speaker 4: This is somebody that doesn't call the plays like he said.
Sure he's in there, and maybe maybe Andy lets him
raise his hand and ask a question once or twice
here in a meeting. But Andy Reid puts that game
plan together, he executes the calls, and also like Mahomes
is probably more of a coordinator than Naggy is.
Speaker 3: Like, what are we talking about?
Speaker 2: That has to be a smoke screen if that is
a legitimate report, And Mickey Loomis and I know you
got to do your due diligence, but I don't think
the due diligence in that front is very hard.
Speaker 3: It's oh, he's having success. Where is he? He's a
kid's city.
Speaker 2: Okay, never mind, move on, Yeah, what are we talking about?
And so Taylor, we mean every time I was warre
and he's like, yeah, I mean it's Patrick Mahomes, like
it's it's a team with not just it's Andy Reid,
the offensive mastermind. Pat Mahomes just got the fifth one
seed of his career. How many different offensive coordinators has
he had during that time?
Speaker 3: Does it matter?
Speaker 2: It's Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. I am not going
to attribute any of that. Plus, the offense isn't even
good this year. I get a shocking to they've gotten better.
They've done always made sure. Yeah, but they have. I
mean now that you know they get Hollywood and Xavior Worthy,
the guy Zavier whether comes along like it's it's gotten
better down the stretch, but it wasn't even overwhelming good.
But even then, I don't blame Maggie for the failure.
I don't blame nagg for any of it. Give him
no credit for nothing. And so I think that is
if you want a name to trigger people immediately here
at the start of the search, that is about as
triggering as I could have possibly fathomed that you would
want to bring in the man from the Chiefs because
he's having success coordinating the Chiefs offense, which is so
clearly only like the genius of it is due to
the genius of Andy Reid and him and Pat Mahomes
just being perfectly made for one another, just wild. And again,
as Jake said, like even if he hadn't failed as
a head coach previously, I wouldn't be into it, So
I wouldn't give him any credit for what's going on
in Kansas City. The fact that he has makes this
it pushes it to the level of absurdity. In my mind,
this is some real gum smacking. Haven't you ever heard
of Tom Landry ass logic from Mickey Loomis here.
Speaker 4: I mean, you look at what he did as a
head coach. There was nothing like, there's nothing to hang
your hat on, and you would just go back to
the same situation. I mean, outside of the first year
in Chicago. It you know, it's a losing record. So
I just this one's me is head scratching, not a
name that I thought any of us would hear. And
yet he did go twelve and four his first year
in Chicago, which is much better. It is a double
doink you right, Yes, much better than anything that Dennis
Allen ever did when he was a Raiders head coach.
But then it's a Nate eight eight, six and eleven
and gets fired. So yeah, this is this is not
one that would fire up the fan base. This is
not one I don't think that would get anybody motivated.
And I'm look, I'm not even saying the guy's a
bad coach. Okay, Andy Ree brings him right back to
Kansas City, so I'm not saying he's a bad coach,
but he's just not a head coach.
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 2: And look, I'm always open to being wrong, right, Like,
I don't have to celebrate the hire if I think
the evidence says it's bad. If they hire him and
he does great, then I'll gladly eat Crow. But I
just think this feels awful on the surface, like I
would so, even though I think I am with Jake's
theory about you know, when you have a coach that's
on one side of the ball, that's towards actually lies
and he fails, you generally want to switch it up.
I would much rather go Aaron Glenn over Jim Naggy,
Jim Nagi, Matt.
Speaker 4: Naggy, Hey, Jim GM, Yeah exactly, I mean Jim's already interviewed.
Speaker 2: I wish you were looking for GM. Yes, a little
tier says y'all. Do realize that the agents putting out
this info, right?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Look, I mean look again works again. I hope, I
hope there is not a lot actually here. I'm just
getting it on the record, per the Rassini report, how
I feel about it, and we'll move. We'll see, we'll
see what happens from here on out.
Speaker 4: If if you could hire, if you're Mickey Loomis minus
the bubblelicious, if you could hire the next Saints head coach,
you get the choice.
Speaker 2: Again, I don't I don't know that there's anybody that
would do good next year?
Speaker 4: May I mean I'm ain't even really talking about necessarily
next year. Has Munkin been a head coach in the
NFL before? By the way, Doug Peterson literally just got fired,
like just came across the world.
Speaker 3: Doug, Doug, No, Doug not saying for this. Yeah, I
was gonna say, Doug, Dug Dan that's open. Oh oh, no, job.
Speaker 4: So you were just about to say Todd Munkin, Yeah,
was he a head coach?
Speaker 3: Jackson was No, he's been a coordinator in the NFL,
head coach in college. Okay, yeah, yeah, that's right. I
would go get Todd Munkin right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I mean Munkin's like, why not be
the one to give him again? I I actually like
the Saints maybe giving a coordinator and an opportunity here because
they're not going to be in a great spot anyway.
It's like a young guy who's at the top of
his game maybe makes the most sense in terms of
being innovative and trying to figure things out that maybe a.
Speaker 3: More traditional head coach.
Speaker 2: Uh. And when you look at Munkin, I mean, why
hasn't Georgia won and Natty in a couple of years.
I firmly believe a hefty, hefty portion of it is
no longer having Monken. Look at what Lamar's done this
year now with Monkin, and I understand you want to
have near the amount of personality has there, but that
would definitely be.
Speaker 3: That's the name that popped into my head when you
ask me the question.
Speaker 4: Okay, and I've known Todd Munkin for a very very
long time. He recruited me when he was at Oklahoma State.
He coached here at LSU when I.
Speaker 2: Was Yeah, I remember I went on a visit when
he was a wide receivers coach here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's a receivers coach here.
Speaker 4: When Les first came over for two years, he blew
eye and then he went to the NFL. But he
has taken different quarterbacks, different offenses, and he's made them
work like he looks at what he has and then
he makes that work, not what he does and makes
the players try to figure out what he's doing. I mean,
he's doing great things in the run game in Baltimore.
And look, I know they got Derek Henry, but still
like the innovative stuff that they're doing.
Speaker 3: Lamar's passing numbers are through the roof right now.
Speaker 2: And you got AK, I mean AK still she showed
you this year. AK takes care of that body like
he he still got He's still got juice, And yes he.
Speaker 3: Is Jeff Munck and the Army's coaches cousin. I never
knew that I was wondering.
Speaker 2: I just figured there was just a coincidence so that
that would be a name that I would look into.
I'll be very intrigued to see what the New Orleans
Saints end up doing.
Speaker 3: But again, just be very wary of.
Speaker 2: Choosing a man who's not actually running the offense, like
as Jake said, not not calling the place and whatnot
Chat is saying. John Gruden, speaking of nostalgic experiences, I
feel like every coach opening for about a decade there,
college or NFL, it was John Gruden. They're all kinds
of rumors that Gruden was coming to LSU, his.
Speaker 3: Daughter goes here or something like that. I can't remember.
Saw him in Knoxville. He's going to this Yeah yeah, yeah,
uh for sure.
Speaker 4: John Green, same with a little bit, not to that level,
because you're right, every job but Jack del Rio too, oh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Jack del Rio to LS. You know his daughter did.
Speaker 4: Actually, yeah, I know his son, like when he was
trying to figure out what he wanted to do kind
of after football, Like he came and co hosted Hang
with Hester with me like two or three times.
Speaker 3: Oh wow, Luke. Yeah, and now he's now he's coached.
I think he's a college coach. Was probably coaching.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but he was like, I want to get plenty
of good roads to to go grind out.
Speaker 4: Sea where Luke is now offensive analysts for the Washington Huskies. Okay,
Shadow Staff was.
Speaker 2: A Commanders assistant quarterback coach last year. M bad year
to get out of being a Commander assistant quarterback coach. Yeah,
could have could have could have felt a lot better
having JD five back there versus who was the.
Speaker 3: Sam h Man Daniel about Grid saying he's a freaking
barstool with Minci.
Speaker 2: I know who does the Saints like Campbell and Glenn
out of the building and fire Matt n Aggie, uh
and hire Matt Knight. Yet that'd be that, that would
be how about you know what's the name that we
never mentioned? Guys that got away Alex Hanzloni you know,
oh yeah, the make it last night all over the
place and now just like I don't know what this
team ever did without Alexanzeloni. Same thing they say about
Zach Bond and the Eagles, saying about Trey Hendrickson and
the Bengals.
Speaker 3: Henderson so good, it's crazy, it's crazy, we'd have to
go back.
Speaker 4: I mean, like I remember those conversations, but not in
detail of you know, make it because he played well
in New Orleans, Like who they kept instead of Hendrickson.
Speaker 6: It was so was Marcus Williams.
Speaker 7: They didn't want to pay him both they they they
kept Marcus Williams, but even even they moved on from him.
Speaker 2: Two years after well, the Minnesota miracles just like think
poisoned things with because because like even in that year
Marcus Williams was actually awesome, but that single play just
poison things to atended.
Speaker 3: Chat, says Kaiden Ellis. That's another one. He's playing well.
Speaker 2: M So maybe they're drafted like better than we thought. Sure,
just not keeping the guys.
Speaker 4: I don't know, maybe not developing at first round picks,
like okay, at the middle rounds.
Speaker 3: In terms of.
Speaker 4: I don't know, Cad and the son Marcus made this
huge deal and he's like bounce around practice squads.
Speaker 3: Right now, so we'll see again.
Speaker 2: It's it's tough to get excited about a rebuild when
you don't necessarily believe in the front office. But nobody
believed in six they somehow found the magic combination to
make it work. I certainly hope that Mickey Loomis can
prove us all wrong and that we will be eating
crow once again, though I.
Speaker 3: Don't feel very positive about it.
Speaker 2: All right, coming up here on OTV, let's look at
the NFL playoffs.
Speaker 3: As the field is set, Off the bench.
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Speaker 1: Welcome in to the best morning sports This show around
off the bench with Esther and T Bob.
Speaker 4: You see.
Speaker 3: What's heaving y'all. Welcome back to TV. Hope everybody's having
a great Monday here.
Speaker 2: The polar vortex has arrived and even though it's nice
cold outside, things are.
Speaker 3: Heating up on the football field as we are. The
playoffs are set.
Speaker 2: Eighteen weeks of the NFL season have led us to
this moment in what a football few weeks we are
going to have we have our first ever college football
final four team used to be a team, I mean
a tournament final four in which you had to earn
your way to the final four. And we now have
the AFC NFC playoff pictures fully set as once again
for the fifth time and Patrick Mahomes's career, the Chiefs
take home the one seed while the Lions continue their ascent.
They beat the Vikings. It was the final score of
that game. I turned it off. I think what it
was like, seventy nine. Okay, yeah, yeah. It had the
feeling of a game that was about to go sideways
on the Minnesota Vikings, and sideways indeed indeed end up going.
So the Lion's been a massive matchup to get the
one seed, not knock the Vikings all the way down
to the fifth seed. Absolutely brutal break. But coming up Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
we'll get Bill's Broncos, Ravens, Steelers, Texans Chargers, and then
in the NFC side, Eagles, Packers, Buccaneers, Commanders, and then
Rams Vikings. Very exciting times, Tye. Give me your biggest
playoff takeaways from over the weekend.
Speaker 7: The fact that the Bucks looked like they were going
to lose. Now they're all the way up to the
three seed thanks.
Speaker 6: To the Rams.
Speaker 7: And then you know, we had talked about, oh where
the Saints going to end the Bucks season. It didn't
matter because the Falcons lost. Of the Panthers say they
were able to sneak in there.
Speaker 6: I don't look. He said, such a great year.
Speaker 7: I hate to criticize him, but I guess a great
team with the seed with the one seed on the line,
Sam Donald goes eighteen of forty one, so you know,
if you're the Vikings again, he said, such a great year.
But it seems like all season long, everybody's like, when
does Sam Donald revert back to what we've seen him
be his entire career.
Speaker 6: He did it in a big moment.
Speaker 7: He's got to go against the Rams, who's a team
that's getting healthier and healthier. That's a spot where I
look for a potential upset Bucks. Commanders is going to
be phenomenal with Eagles, Packers is going to be phenomenal.
Speaker 2: I think, man, I feel bad for Sam Dar' that's
the It's just like, what an impossible place to exist.
Speaker 3: You go fourteen and three people like, oh, you still assumed, George,
You're not They're good.
Speaker 6: Well, and that's the thing.
Speaker 7: So like he he doesn't play well the last regular
season game, what if he goes in there and and
and craps the bed against the Rams? Did they just
roll with JJ McCarthy next year?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I I have I have a buddy
who works for the team, and last night he was
rage texting about how done he is with Darnold. Yeah,
he sucks. I'm so ready for JJ. So yes, you
know what it has the feeling of Jake. What do
you remember the Case Keenum text? No, the Case Keenum
Vikings champions are the one that beat the Saints.
Speaker 3: And then who was the quarterback the following year?
Speaker 6: It was, uh was it Kirk? Did they replace him
with Kirk?
Speaker 3: I think so?
Speaker 2: Right, Like Case Keenum had this incredible year, but at
the end of the day, they still were like, well,
unfortunately you're still Case Keenum.
Speaker 7: Yeah, likes winning the Super Bowl where the team to
beat him?
Speaker 3: Yeah, sorry, all good with Nick Foles?
Speaker 6: Right, yeah, with Nick Foles.
Speaker 7: But like that was they were they were great, Like
they were like one of the betting favorites to win
the Super Bowl going into the playoffs, so we'll.
Speaker 3: See what ends up happening there.
Speaker 2: But of course, Sam Donald's still gonna have ample opportunity
to right, you know, to to shut everybody up.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: You win in the playoffs, and that's all that matters
at the end of the day.
Speaker 4: His contract and then the whole situation will be very
interesting because the Vikings, you know, they got the first
round pick that's going to be waiting in the wings,
and he was going to be the start. He had
already won the job before he got hurt, and so
you know they're gonna have him be their quarterback. And
what are they going to do with Sam Donald? You know,
what kind of money does he get on the open market?
You know, Baker kind of had that same situation where
he was bouncing from team to team and then all
of a sudden he has the year with the Bucks
and then he gets paid a three year contract where
it was three like three years ninety million something like that.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was like two three, eight years.
Speaker 4: It's still kind of crazy underpaid, but but yeah, do
we think Sam Donald's gonna get something like that?
Speaker 3: Bakers? Baker had more highs to that point. It was
more than just a play.
Speaker 6: With the Browns and all that. It wasn't just a
flash in the pan.
Speaker 2: Also, I think the thing that the Bucks like about
Baker maybe more than anything else, is that is it's
a lot of the intangibles. It's the leadership, it's the
vibe that he brings on the locker room. When you
have a first round quarterback on the roster, is it
even possible for Sam Darnold to be the guy?
Speaker 3: You know what?
Speaker 2: It's a much harder hill to climb for where Baker, like,
who's he looking over his shoulder at nobody? So he
was able to yeah, exactly, so he was able to
come in there. I we'll see, We'll see what ends
up happening, all right, I saw. Look, we got a
ton to get to with the playoffs. Let's talk about
let's start very surface level when we get back, or
very kind of like top of the mountain level when
we get back, and let's just talk about who we
think will eventually emerge out of these two sides. Keep
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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the ninth ranked morning sports show in America.
Off the Bench, Nice.
Speaker 3: What hedding?
Speaker 1: Y'all?
Speaker 2: Welcome back to OTB TA, Bob, Jacolandra and Tata Hanging out.
Speaker 3: With you here.
Speaker 2: I hope you're having a nice chili polar vortex sort
of a morning.
Speaker 3: Speaking of chili.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Taylor just told me a Cleveland Brown stat that
it would be so depressing if you're a Cleveland fan,
if you Saints fan, just know that, you know, things
can always be worse. Since nineteen ninety nine, you said,
or ninety eight, it is nineteen ninety nine with Bailey's appy.
Starting yesterday, the Cleveland Browns have started forty different quarterbacks
for zero.
Speaker 3: I mean, including a guy that just got fired and
Doug Peterson. He's on the jersey.
Speaker 2: He is.
Speaker 3: That is Oh wait, he's in that number. Yeah, he's
on the jersey.
Speaker 7: So it's it's a Tim kalch jersey initially, Yeah, and
then the names after.
Speaker 3: I thought Tim was gonna be awesome. Who did it all?
Speaker 2: Right, guys? AFC is it? I mean it's just the Chiefs, right,
definitely not the Chargers.
Speaker 3: No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You gotta feel
pretty good about the week one matchup.
Speaker 4: Huh oh yeah, I mean that's why winning against the
Raiders yesterday was so big. Yeah, I mean you go
from having to go to Baltimore to go into Houston
big time, and they played well against Baltimore earlier this year.
But come on, if you're choosing between the two, you're
gonna choose Houston. I think Houston doesn't have really good players,
and I think a lot of Demico ryans, But I mean,
Baltimore in the playoffs is just different.
Speaker 3: I've played him in the playoffs. They are just different.
They I mean, they raise their.
Speaker 4: Level of play and and I know Lamar is looking
for that playoff success, but that's just that is a hard,
hard place to go play in the playoffs, and so
it looks like a team that has figured some things out.
And I know, again, I know Lamar in the playoffs,
a lot of people wanting to see more. He feels
like a different Lamar this year. Yeah, I mean, oh yeah,
getting Houston for sure.
Speaker 7: Well, and teams aren't key and in on him as
much because of Dereck Henry, like all the all the
pressures off of him in the running game, like he
only really runs when he has to.
Speaker 6: This year.
Speaker 2: One thing about Monkin as well, at least of his
time at UGA, him and Bennett would be at their
best in the biggest games like that UJ offense just
kind of pitter around during the regular season, but during
the playoffs and the Nasal Champish they would go off.
So uh, maybe he could take some of that postseas
success with him. Funny Houston stead here, Jake Houston five
and two in wildcard games since twenty eleven, so they've
had some success in these spots and never played the
Chargers before in the playoffs, and Jake, I would ask you,
are you suffering any PTSD from the last Chargers playoff trip?
Speaker 3: Oh, from losing a twenty seven to nothing lead.
Speaker 2: Yes, no, the thing that made everybody be convinced that
Trevor Lawrence is actually awesome and you get two hundred
million dollars.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, that those things are expected. Oh yeah, it's
just par for the course. Yeah, it would be man.
Speaker 4: It would be nice, though, just to win a playoff
game after winning five games and the franchise just looking
like a hot mess and hardball. You're getting the most
out of so many different players. Lab McConkie looks awesome.
Quintin Johnston looks awesome. He had almost two hundred yards
receiving yesterday for a player that his first year couldn't catch.
I mean, so, no, the guys you drafted are playing
much better than they were a year ago. It feels
it feels like we actually have some momentum now in
the AFC.
Speaker 2: Maybe this is the question, Bills or Ravens better challenger
to knock off the Chiefs.
Speaker 7: I think the Bills are a better challenger for the Chiefs,
But the Ravens are a bad matchup for the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 6: They can't stop the run. The Ravens love to run
the ball.
Speaker 7: So that matchup like, Bill's got to get past the
Ravens first.
Speaker 4: And then Okay, Jake, what do I think the Ravens
the Bills are great? But it's so much around Josh Allen,
Like if for some reason Lamar has an off game,
like you still have a nineteen hundred yard rusher.
Speaker 3: Well, and to your point.
Speaker 2: Defensively, the Ravens randomly found their strive mil the season.
Last seven games, they're number one in the NFL, only
giving up fifteen points a game.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I mean they've got incredible dbs.
Speaker 3: They got Rokwan right there in the middle.
Speaker 4: Van Ney's been a monster off the edge, but I
think he's got twelve and a half sacks, So yeah,
they have found something. And I just the Ravens right
now feel like a team that can go win and all.
Speaker 2: And then on the NFC side, definitely not a prohibitive
favorite all lot of the Chiefs because we've seen the
Chiefs do this so much recently.
Speaker 3: But are the Lions your favorite to make the Super Bowl?
Speaker 2: I mean a lot of injuries, man, he just wonder
if your lines and what happened, if you still have
eight hutchs and everything, I think you would be an
overwhelming favorite.
Speaker 3: At that point. Yeah, and he says he can be
back for the Super Bowl. Oh he does. He says
he can. We'll see, Yeah, we'll see if he can
be back.
Speaker 4: But after what Detroit did last night, I mean, I
don't know how they couldn't be. They're gonna be playing
in that building. Obviously, they got a great home field advantage.
When you look at some of the other teams, you know,
there's good teams that are solid teams, but I just
don't know that they can beat you as many ways
as the Lions can beat you, even with all the injuries.
And they're starting to get some of those pieces back.
So if you get Montgomery back and ta te I
believe that's something. I think he's going to be back
for their first playoff game. I mean, they got a
two hit of mont shirt running back. They got a
very confident Jared Golf who's got, you know, a number
one receiver. He's got a number one tied end, like
of guys that would play on any team in the league.
And their defenses is not It's not the best by
any means. I can sit here and tell you a
lot to you that it is. But they're you know,
when the opportunity presents itself, they dot they do make a.
Speaker 3: Lot of plays.
Speaker 2: Taylor, how about this little Baker? So again I mentioned
Baker being underpaid. I didn't fully realize this. So Baker
wraps up this season second in touchdown passes with forty one,
third in completion percentage seventy one point four percent, and
third in passing yards forty five hundred, and he makes
barely over thirty millions.
Speaker 3: Insane. That's a fifty.
Speaker 2: Million dollar year stat line. Can the Bucks get a
little frisky? No?
Speaker 6: Their defense is too bad?
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, all right, to give me your second team
out of the Is it just the Eagles and.
Speaker 6: Eagles again Rams.
Speaker 7: If they can get healthier than they they rested their
starters and.
Speaker 6: On the Commies, that's a team.
Speaker 7: And then yeah, the commanders of Jayden can get hot.
I just worry about a rookie QB.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree, but we'll see man NFL playoffs about
the cover. Very excited.
Speaker 2: Already got some sec basketball to get to as all
some portal combat.
Speaker 3: Continue to keep it locked on. Off the bench, Off
the bench, ye