Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Behind the Box Score podcast, a place where you can find all of your sports analysis, whether it's basketball or football, college or pro.
Speaker: Now, I won't lie, it's been mainly an NFL pod so far here over these past, you know, few months that I've been doing this.
Speaker: Headed into week 15 now of the NFL season, and I've been covering the gridiron hard.
Speaker: You know, that's been the main content.
Speaker: Me and Alex Comas mainly have been covering the NFL.
Speaker: I've h ad a couple of nice NBA conversations, had Ron Slay on, had my brother and Alex on.
Speaker: We talked to some NBA.
Speaker: I've got some college basketball and college football coverage coming up with Rocky Top Insider reporter Ryan Shumpert.
Speaker: I'm going to release that either later this week or next week.
Speaker: I'm recording this Wednesday, December 13th.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: Just so you know, you're going to be able to find all of the NBA coverage that you want here as we head on into that season and all of the college basketball coverage that you're going to want here as we get further into that season a little bit later into January, February.
Speaker: I'll have more of that content, but...
Speaker: Not going to lie, I've been knee-deep in the NFL world, and I don't know if that'll change here on the Behind the Box Corp podcast.
Speaker: Again, still working on getting on 104.5 The Zone's website, as they did sign me and this podcast over onto their affiliation, their website.
Speaker: So we'll be pushing content over on that website.
Speaker: You'll still be able to find this podcast wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, wherever, but we'll be a part of The Zone's podcasts here.
Speaker: And I would...
Speaker: probably estimate by next year here in the next few weeks.
Speaker: I don't know if we'll be able to get it all finalized just logistically.
Speaker: But here today, I'm sticking with NFL.
Speaker: We're going to talk the Monday Night Football doubleheader.
Speaker: I've got some things to go off from that, including Will Levis and his arm talent, his ability to will his team back, no pun intended, from 14 points down against the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker: What an amazing comeback.
Speaker: I mean, just incredible.
Speaker: I want to get into that.
Speaker: You know, as regular listeners know, I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan, born and raised, no bandwagon stuff here.
Speaker: But I do got to talk a little bit about that call, that Kadarius-Tony call against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Speaker: I'd be remiss if I didn't get that off of my chest.
Speaker: And then I've got some playoff predictions.
Speaker: I've got my seedings.
Speaker: We're going to talk some schedules and then some big Bill Belichick news.
Speaker: came out today.
Speaker: We'll end it there.
Speaker: So let's start with Monday Night Football.
Speaker: We had a doubleheader, and I'm not going to lie, I was not pumped about this.
Speaker: I mean, sorry, Giants, Packers, Titans, Dolphins wasn't exactly lighting my fire or getting me super pumped up for Monday Night Football, but...
Speaker: It was amazing.
Speaker: I loved every second of it.
Speaker: Both games were down to the wire.
Speaker: I got to watch the Italian stallion, Tommy DeVito, do his thing, bring his team and hometown their third win in a row.
Speaker: And by the way, Alex Comas, who usually joins me week to week on this podcast, unable to do so this week.
Speaker: I am by myself.
Speaker: He is a resident Giants fan.
Speaker: I can't wait to hear his reaction about three wins in a row.
Speaker: Maybe by next time he joins the pod, four wins in a row under Tommy DeVito.
Speaker: And
Speaker: As I'm finishing that game, watching Tommy DeVito will his team to a win against what was been a, you know, Packers team that was kind of hot.
Speaker: I look at the score of the Titans-Dolphins game, a game that I've been watching the whole time and go, whoa, the Titans came back after a cavalcade of mistakes.
Speaker: After two fumbles in a row, they're coming back.
Speaker: And so then I get to go watch that.
Speaker: I flip back to the channel and see the gladiator, Will Levis, flexing the whole time.
Speaker: And he should be because he was absolutely incredible.
Speaker: Let's start with Tommy DeVito.
Speaker: I've got written down in my doc, Tommy DeVito is amazing, and in parentheses, culturally.
Speaker: And then I've got Will Evans is amazing, in parentheses, literally.
Speaker: Now, that is a little bit, you know, just joking.
Speaker: But in all reality, I do think Tommy DeVito is actually pretty good.
Speaker: I'm starting to think that he actually might be okay.
Speaker: Eight pass touchdowns, three interceptions, 78.4 adjusted completion percentage in his short six weeks or so that he's been starting.
Speaker: A 96.5 pass rating.
Speaker: He's made some incredible throws.
Speaker: I mean, it seems that he's actually a smart quarterback.
Speaker: He's not unathletic.
Speaker: He can get out of the pocket a little bit.
Speaker: I mean, he's not going to be scrambling for...
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Actually not bad under center.
Speaker: He might be, if anything, at the least, I think he's going to be a solid backup.
Speaker: And that's a win for not only the Giants, but for Tommy DeVito, because he might be able to actually carve out a career here.
Speaker: And it may not just be some Linsanity, not to trash Linsanity, Jeremy Lynn actually was a decent basketball player, had a career.
Speaker: But this won't just be a two-month run where we go,
Speaker: oh, remember that guy with the chicken cutlets and he had the Italian hand gesture and he did all this?
Speaker: No, it actually might be, in all reality, we might be watching a quarterback actually grow into something, whether that's a career backup who's trusted in multiple franchises or a guy who leads a franchise to a playoff win and becomes a starter under center for years to come.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I'm leaning the former, but he's actually left that door open for the latter, at least.
Speaker: And a few weeks ago, that was not the case.
Speaker: Now let's get to Will Levis, because this is...
Speaker: been a guy that we've been talking about on this podcast.
Speaker: I had Rhett Bryan on of Titans Radio on 104.5 The Zone on just a few weeks ago talking about Will Levis after his debut against the Falcons, I believe it was, just going, whoa, the arm talent, whoa, the innate ability to just know what to do with the football in his hands.
Speaker: And we've watched that time and time again now over the course of the season.
Speaker: He's had some lows.
Speaker: He's had some highs.
Speaker: He's a rookie with a rough roster around him, to say the least, but he's made the most of it.
Speaker: And we saw that.
Speaker: on Monday night in the win against the Miami Dolphins, 28-27.
Speaker: First off, I just want to start with arm talent.
Speaker: How many quarterbacks right now in the National Football League have better arm talent than Will Levis?
Speaker: Off the bat, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert.
Speaker: Those are the non-negotiables for me as far as just at least as good, if not better, arm talent than Will Levis.
Speaker: Mahomes, Allen, and Herbert, those are the three strongest arms in the league.
Speaker: You get past that, I really start to question whatever name you're bringing up.
Speaker: Trevor Lawrence?
Speaker: Strong arm, but I don't think it's Will Levis.
Speaker: C.J.
Speaker: Stroud's never been known for that.
Speaker: That's not why he was drafted highly out of Ohio State.
Speaker: He doesn't have a strong arm.
Speaker: He's pinpoint accuracy, but he doesn't have incredible arm talent, the angles, back foot, no foot, out of the pocket, stepping up, whatever it may be, sideline, middle of the field.
Speaker: C.J.
Speaker: Stroud's one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league, but as far as arm strength is concerned, that's not it.
Speaker: Jerborough, he's never been in this conversation.
Speaker: Similar to Stroud.
Speaker: He's a pinpoint accuracy type guy.
Speaker: A timing type guy.
Speaker: Lamar has a great arm.
Speaker: He can make some fantastic throws.
Speaker: Hit a lot of points in the field.
Speaker: But it's... I don't think it's like Will Levis.
Speaker: I don't.
Speaker: I don't think it's there.
Speaker: Brock Purdy?
Speaker: Come on.
Speaker: Dak Prescott?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Matthew Stafford?
Speaker: I think back in the day, I think probably two or three years ago, during that Super Bowl run, you could still say Stafford was there.
Speaker: I mean, one of the best arm talents I've seen in my life, in my football-watching life, Matthew Stafford, has to be mentioned there.
Speaker: I think if Aaron Rodgers was healthy, I could hear that, having maybe still a stronger arm than Will Levis, because Rodgers' arm talent really hasn't faded at all when we've seen him play.
Speaker: But I'm not going to say that he hasn't played all season.
Speaker: So I'm not going to put him there just because of it's Rodgers.
Speaker: If you did, I wouldn't be upset about it.
Speaker: But for guys right now in the league, yeah, I think Will Levis is probably fourth.
Speaker: Jalen Hurts?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Not there.
Speaker: Not like that.
Speaker: We mentioned Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker: We mentioned C.J.
Speaker: Stroud.
Speaker: The actual other name that might have a stronger arm does come out of the AFC South, and that's Anthony Richardson.
Speaker: I just haven't seen quite enough.
Speaker: We only saw a few weeks, a couple weeks, really, of him playing in full.
Speaker: That arm strength is there, and it may be better than Will Levis' or at least comparable, but it's not objective.
Speaker: That's going to be tough, and this conversation is tough because it's not necessarily an objective one, but it's all eye test here, right?
Speaker: And there's some stats, and we'll get into those.
Speaker: Levis loves to use his arm.
Speaker: Since week seven, when he started his career, when he made his first start against the Falcons, he's topped in in air yards per attempt, how far the ball actually travels in air before it reaches its destination, which for him has been a lot of the times his receiver's hands.
Speaker: Fortunately for the Titans, he's tied for fourth in passes of 20 yards or more down the field since he started playing.
Speaker: He's tied for sixth and passes of 30 yards or more down the field.
Speaker: I mean, he's chucking it.
Speaker: He's using this arm strength.
Speaker: He's throwing with accuracy.
Speaker: He's finding mainly Akine and DeAndre Hopkins down the field.
Speaker: And he's doing this with around 2.5 seconds in the pocket.
Speaker: That's around NFL average, 2.5 seconds.
Speaker: But he's been sacked 20 times over that span.
Speaker: That's seventh most.
Speaker: And he's knocked down 40 times.
Speaker: That's nine more than second place.
Speaker: That's the most times a quarterback has been knocked down.
Speaker: And that's because the Tennessee Titans have a bottom five offensive line.
Speaker: I said bottom five.
Speaker: If I said bottom one, I don't know if I'd have a lot of argument.
Speaker: It's for sure bottom three.
Speaker: I think bottom five's generous.
Speaker: And adding on to the pressure, he's been knocked down the most times.
Speaker: We mentioned that 40 times.
Speaker: He's been blitzed the fourth most times in that span as well.
Speaker: Will Levis has been receiving heat from the defenses.
Speaker: I mean, they have been coming at him.
Speaker: And wisely slow, right?
Speaker: I mean, if you're a defensive coordinator, yeah, let's penetrate that putrid offensive line.
Speaker: Let's come after a rookie in Will Levis with one go-to option.
Speaker: And man, has he been going to him.
Speaker: DeAndre Hopkins, I mean, seven catches over 100 yards and a touchdown on that Monday night football game.
Speaker: A fantastic performance from him.
Speaker: And they've been developing that chemistry.
Speaker: And you hear Hopkins talk about...
Speaker: Levis is a baller.
Speaker: I mean, you saw him tweet some pictures of him pregame, postgame, stuff like that, but also a picture of Will Levis.
Speaker: And, you know, it's funny.
Speaker: It's joking.
Speaker: He's calling him a baller, but he's serious.
Speaker: And Hopkins, we've seen Hopkins play with, you know, over 20 quarterbacks at this point in his career.
Speaker: I mean, it's absolutely ridiculous.
Speaker: I kind of pulled that out of my ass, but I think that's actually real.
Speaker: I'd have to really go back and look at it.
Speaker: But, I mean, those Texans days, I mean, there were years where it was over four quarterbacks in one season.
Speaker: I mean, there were, I mean, the Cardinals, when he played in the Cardinals, he played with three or four quarterbacks in one year.
Speaker: I mean, he has not gotten lucky.
Speaker: as far as the quarterback's concerned.
Speaker: And he's been not quiet about it either when he's had complaints, when he's had disagreements with offensive coordinators or with play calls or with where the quarterback went with the ball.
Speaker: We've seen him and Levis just recently get into it on the sidelines last week against the Colts, I believe it was, and that overtime loss the Titans had.
Speaker: But he wasn't mad at him because he wasn't talented.
Speaker: He was just mad that he didn't get the ball that last week.
Speaker: And Levis, vice versa, was mad at him because he didn't run the right route.
Speaker: When have you seen a rookie get mad at an all-pro, pro-bowler, potentially Hall of Fame wide receiver in his first year, in his first two months of his career?
Speaker: Will Levis did that because he's passionate and because he wants to win.
Speaker: He's not scared.
Speaker: And Hopkins loves that.
Speaker: You can see that Hopkins respects him and the rest of the team respects him.
Speaker: And I don't think Will Levis has even gotten close to unlocking all of this.
Speaker: I mean, forget the arm talent, which is hard to forget, right?
Speaker: I mean, the guy's a sensation.
Speaker: I mean, and legitimately, back foot, no feet on, sidearm, getting hit while he's thrown, touch passes.
Speaker: He really does have everything from an arm perspective.
Speaker: But something that he hasn't necessarily unlocked is his legs.
Speaker: Will Levis hasn't even ran for the touchdown, I don't believe, yet in his career.
Speaker: He hasn't had a lot of chances to do that because of the times he's getting blitzed, he's getting knocked down, he's having to scramble out of the pocket, he's having to make way.
Speaker: He doesn't have a lot of running lanes in front of him.
Speaker: He doesn't have the ability to really... It's got to...
Speaker: One hitch, one read, get the ball out, or you're getting hit.
Speaker: You're getting pounded, and you've got to throw it away.
Speaker: Will Levis doesn't have that luxury of being able to roam around in the pocket, scramble out to his right, have two or three options, and then go run.
Speaker: But he has the athleticism.
Speaker: Let's be clear.
Speaker: He doesn't have that luxury due to the fact that he can't do it.
Speaker: No, it's due to the fact that the way this roster is built is
Speaker: Levis has all the ability.
Speaker: We saw against Jalen Ramsey, lowering his shoulder.
Speaker: He was unafraid.
Speaker: And again, that's an older cornerback.
Speaker: I'm not saying Jalen Ramsey's some...
Speaker: Tyron Matthew type hitter, Justin Reed type hitter to name two, one former and one current chief safety, just at the top of my mind.
Speaker: But I mean, name a hard hitter in today's league.
Speaker: He he's, he's not a Justin Simmons.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: This isn't some defensive back.
Speaker: That's cut.
Speaker: Read Blankenship.
Speaker: That's coming for you.
Speaker: It's, it's not like that.
Speaker: Uh,
Speaker: He lowered his shoulder, though, and did not care.
Speaker: Levis absolutely... It didn't matter if it was Blankenship.
Speaker: It doesn't matter if it was Ed Reed.
Speaker: I think Will Levis was lowering his shoulder and going for four or five more yards.
Speaker: That's what Levis was doing.
Speaker: And, however, he does need to be careful.
Speaker: He's potentially the franchise quarterback here for years to come for the Titans.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: He does have that capability.
Speaker: We've seen Ryan Tannehill when the Titans were at their best offensively.
Speaker: Tannehill using his legs, lowering his shoulder, getting extra yards, running in for the end zone with his signature finger roll celebration.
Speaker: Levis is going to have those moments and more.
Speaker: He is.
Speaker: It's going to happen.
Speaker: And once that happens, that is another layer of this offense that will be scary.
Speaker: It'll become a real threat.
Speaker: And then on top of that, it just feels like Levis has what it takes, right?
Speaker: It feels like he knows what to say.
Speaker: not only on the field to his teammates, but off the field in press conferences.
Speaker: It feels like Levis...
Speaker: is already a veteran, not only in some of his play styles, but again, in what he says off the field, listen to this.
Speaker: Shoot.
Speaker: I mean, yeah, this is a big confidence booster for us for sure.
Speaker: I mean, this is not the record we would hope to have at this point in the season.
Speaker: Um, not the position we'd hope to be in, um, in the playoff race and all that, but all we can do is just keep pushing.
Speaker: And we talked about that all week and we had opportunity to come in and spoil their party and, um, you know, be a really good football team and build confidence going forward.
Speaker: And I'm so glad we were able to do that.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: Yeah, I'm excited to watch that HBO episode.
Speaker: At the end, I'm excited to watch that HBO episode, talking about hard knocks, the NCs.
Speaker: I mean, yeah, just a little bit of a snip at the end.
Speaker: Like, yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm excited to rewatch my amazing performance.
Speaker: But did you listen to a lot of that comment?
Speaker: Us.
Speaker: I'm so glad we were able to do that.
Speaker: We gathered together as a team.
Speaker: He's saying the right things.
Speaker: It's not about him.
Speaker: It's not about what he did.
Speaker: He was the best player on the field.
Speaker: Both teams.
Speaker: He was the best player on the football field, Monday Night Football, in Miami.
Speaker: And yes, Tyreek was off for some of that game, but he was on, too.
Speaker: And he did have a couple great plays.
Speaker: It wasn't like he was completely hindered.
Speaker: It wasn't like he was at 0%.
Speaker: Will Levis was the best player in that football game.
Speaker: Tua Tungavailoa talked about being an MVP for two and a half months last season.
Speaker: Will Levis was better than him that night in prime time.
Speaker: He was.
Speaker: That's real.
Speaker: We need to be watching out for that.
Speaker: Get this kid a line.
Speaker: Get this guy some more weapons.
Speaker: Keep building on that defense that does have some serious legitimacy in the front seven.
Speaker: And this team's going to be something here in the next couple of years.
Speaker: This is going to be a Titans team that actually has something to look forward to.
Speaker: And on top of that, going away from the Titans, just kind of zooming out just a little bit to the AFC South, a lot of these teams are kind of in similar situations.
Speaker: Get C.J.
Speaker: Stroud a better offensive line.
Speaker: Keep building that defense, that young team, D'Amico Ryan's figuring it out.
Speaker: Anthony Richardson, get him an offensive line.
Speaker: Get some more defensive weapons.
Speaker: Get some more offensive weapons.
Speaker: Figure it out.
Speaker: Young coach and Shane Steinkin.
Speaker: Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker: The offensive line still has not been great.
Speaker: Figure out the defense.
Speaker: Because it's average at best.
Speaker: And then they've got an older coach, Doug Peterson.
Speaker: But still, you look at this division, the quarterbacks are absolutely scary.
Speaker: They are prime time, potentially elite guys in this league for years to come.
Speaker: We'll see who works out.
Speaker: We'll see who goes through more lows.
Speaker: We'll see who goes through more adversity.
Speaker: But the cards, it's in the cards.
Speaker: This is a possibility for the AFC South to be the best quarterback division, something that we were talking about, Alex and I, week four, week five of this podcast, about the AFC South having the potential to be
Speaker: A nightmare quarterback gauntlet for any team that's going to have to face that division for years to come.
Speaker: And I'm excited to watch it.
Speaker: And I would have CJ Stroud being the best of that bunch.
Speaker: But Will Levis can make a case for that based on talent alone.
Speaker: And you add on the leadership skills.
Speaker: You add on the fact that the team seems to like him.
Speaker: He seems to be saying and doing the right things.
Speaker: Titans fans should be pumped.
Speaker: Levis is that guy.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Let's go over to segment two of this week's edition of Behind the Box Score.
Speaker: Chiefs bills.
Speaker: I've got to get this out here.
Speaker: I'm aware.
Speaker: Listen, I'm not here to whine.
Speaker: I'm not here to pull my homes and scream and yell.
Speaker: But it did upset me.
Speaker: Now, I want to start with this.
Speaker: If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're under a rock.
Speaker: Go look up Kadarius Tony offside in the last play of the game.
Speaker: I don't know what to tell you.
Speaker: Let me start by saying this.
Speaker: The call was not the reason that the Chiefs lost.
Speaker: But I do think it was an absolute trash call.
Speaker: Now, here's why.
Speaker: He was offsides.
Speaker: That's not why.
Speaker: Dan Orvlosky went through each offensive snap of the game, and it showed that Tony was lining up offsides for the whole game.
Speaker: Kadarius Tony was lining up offsides.
Speaker: Now, was it as egregious as that last moment?
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I would say no.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: a huge moment late in the fourth quarter, the game on the line, officials, if they were doing their job correctly, they would have known that Tony had lined up like that all game.
Speaker: And so they would have either said, warned him, or they would have, you know, let it stand.
Speaker: So how are you not going to call that all game?
Speaker: And then the biggest play of the game, throw that flag.
Speaker: Now they didn't know it was going to be the biggest play of the game, but they knew it was fourth quarter game on the line, chiefs driving down by three, trying to get the dub with big playoff,
Speaker: implications in that game.
Speaker: Now, again, if you knew that that was happening the whole game, why wasn't it called?
Speaker: Is it when it's just egregious like it was in the last play when it was, you know, a few more inches further than he was the whole other game?
Speaker: You know, where is the line?
Speaker: No pun intended.
Speaker: Is it just when it's worse or is it when, oh, he was just a little bit offside those first four or five times.
Speaker: So, yeah, we didn't call it.
Speaker: And Andy Reid had never had that called on him in his coaching career.
Speaker: Over 20,000 offensive snaps as a head coach, he had never had that called on him.
Speaker: But do you know why that's true?
Speaker: Because he always got a warning.
Speaker: He had always received a warning from officials because that is the regular process.
Speaker: That's a normality.
Speaker: Matt Ryan, RG3, Donor Vlosky, a multitude of quarterbacks have come out and verified that exact notion that, listen, this is what's expected.
Speaker: At least one warning.
Speaker: I mean, there's a video of Matt Ryan saying, yeah, I'd usually get two or three warnings from the official saying, hey, man, make sure everyone's lined up.
Speaker: Make sure everyone's, you know, on the ball if they're supposed to be.
Speaker: So that, to me, is the official's responsibility to at least give a warning.
Speaker: Now, if you want to say that's not a rule, that's fine.
Speaker: That brings me to my next...
Speaker: Point is, we need a complete reset on the line of scrimmage.
Speaker: Linemen are false starting, and it's not getting called, or it's sometimes getting called when it's the exact same amount of a false start.
Speaker: They're lining up wherever they want.
Speaker: They're not consistent with tackles lining up at the center's belt line, including Jawan Taylor at right tackle.
Speaker: I'm not saying that he shouldn't be called for this, and he has been.
Speaker: He's the most penalized tackle in the league.
Speaker: He's one of the most penalized players in the league.
Speaker: But 11 times this year, offensive offsides has been called.
Speaker: So for people saying that it doesn't call it, it does.
Speaker: But let's look at that because that's a little misleading.
Speaker: Eight of those have been either quarterback sneaks or tush pushes.
Speaker: Those offensive offside calls.
Speaker: Three of them were for wide receivers, one of which for Tony.
Speaker: But you're going to tell me that we've only seen wide receivers line up offsides on offense three times this year?
Speaker: Of course not.
Speaker: You saw Tony do it more than that just that game on Sunday against Buffalo.
Speaker: So how do you make that call?
Speaker: Again, we need a reset.
Speaker: Either you have to give a warning if you're an official or there is no honor code and you
Speaker: You throw the flag when you see it.
Speaker: No matter how bad it is, if you see that, you have to throw the flag.
Speaker: And you can't tell me that an official did not see Tony lined up off sides four or five times previous because it was obvious every time, right in front of officials' eyes, did not throw a flag and they did not give a warning to Kansas City, to Tony, to Andy Reid, to Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker: And if I'm Andy Reid and I had over 20,000 offensive snaps under my belt as a head coach, I'd probably start to, and I always got a warning, I'd probably start to expect it.
Speaker: They say, oh, okay, well, that's all right because they'll tell me.
Speaker: I've been doing this for over two decades.
Speaker: They've always told me.
Speaker: So, of course, they'll tell me, right?
Speaker: Right?
Speaker: So, for that to happen at the end of the game, that did tick me off because I think we've got some serious inconsistencies within the NFL, specifically as it relates to the line of scrimmage.
Speaker: I want to reset.
Speaker: I want a complete rehaul on rules there, and we really need to verify what's going on.
Speaker: So, if officials need to give a warning, then that's the rule.
Speaker: Because we're not doing this well.
Speaker: We always receive a warning because teams, rightfully so, teams are expecting a warning because that's always what's happened.
Speaker: So either make it a rule or you need to throw it when you see it.
Speaker: You can't just throw it when it's worse.
Speaker: And I don't know what the official, but the official said, oh, it was really egregious that time.
Speaker: So we threw it.
Speaker: So, wait, so for all you rule hawks out there saying, well, it's the rules, it's the rules.
Speaker: Well, if it's the rules, the rules state that offsides is offsides.
Speaker: It doesn't say, oh, well, it's egregious.
Speaker: Oh, well, it's by more than four inches.
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Offsides is offsides.
Speaker: Imagine the other way around.
Speaker: I mean, if you're a Bills fan, you could be ticked off too, going, well, this guy lined up offsides all game.
Speaker: We didn't get one call.
Speaker: Are you kidding me?
Speaker: I mean, just flip it like that.
Speaker: That's, I think it's,
Speaker: Blasphemy, the officiating in that game.
Speaker: And I think that deserves more of a scathing review rather than Tony.
Speaker: That's where I'm at with this.
Speaker: Again, not saying it was the correct or incorrect call, rather, but I think we need a rehaul on how this is all done.
Speaker: And again, it was not the reason that the Kansas City Chiefs lost that game, let me be clear.
Speaker: And Mahomes reacted poorly, to say the least.
Speaker: He did.
Speaker: It was his first moment of...
Speaker: PR madness.
Speaker: I mean, seven years in the league and he's been just the golden child of the NFL.
Speaker: He says and does everything right.
Speaker: He wins games.
Speaker: He smiles.
Speaker: He's been perfect for the face of the NFL.
Speaker: And as everyone in life or in sports, you have a mistake.
Speaker: You make a mistake.
Speaker: You overreact.
Speaker: And that's what Mahomes did.
Speaker: And he noted that the day after the game, I believe it was Monday, on 6-10 Sports in Kansas City.
Speaker: Obviously, you don't want to react that way.
Speaker: I mean, I care, man.
Speaker: I love it.
Speaker: I love this game.
Speaker: I love my teammates.
Speaker: And I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win.
Speaker: But obviously can't do that.
Speaker: I mean, can't be that way towards officials or really anybody in life.
Speaker: So I probably regret acting like that.
Speaker: But more than anything, I mean, I regretted the way I acted towards Josh after the game because he had nothing to do with it.
Speaker: So I was still hot and emotional.
Speaker: But you can't do that, man.
Speaker: It's not a great example for kids watching the game.
Speaker: So I was more upset about that than I was about me on the sideline.
Speaker: I mean, there it is, right?
Speaker: It was his first big mistake.
Speaker: So if you're one of those people going, oh, Mahomes, I've always hated him.
Speaker: Yeah, you have always hated him and you are waiting for a moment to justify that reasoning.
Speaker: That's what it was.
Speaker: And that's fine.
Speaker: And that's besides the point.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: Mahomes has been a class act, and I believe he will remain as such, and I'm not saying he won't have another blunder.
Speaker: I'm sure he will.
Speaker: He's a passionate guy, and he needs to rein that in every now and then.
Speaker: He sounded like a whiny child.
Speaker: He did, especially the Travis Kelsey Hall of Fame comments.
Speaker: No one will deny that.
Speaker: Andy Reid, on the other hand, I thought was fantastic in his post-game press conference.
Speaker: You know, just calling it embarrassing, saying, you know, just saying objectively like I've never not gotten a warning.
Speaker: That's insane.
Speaker: It is insane.
Speaker: And I agree with Andy Reid.
Speaker: Again,
Speaker: Does it make it a rule?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Should it be?
Speaker: Let's talk about that.
Speaker: We need a rehaul because a lot of players and coaches are coming out in agreement of Andy Reid, in agreement of Patrick Mahomes and his frustration saying, well, yeah, that would be ridiculous if that happened to me.
Speaker: I would be ticked off.
Speaker: So I think some things need to be rethought there as far as the line of scrimmage are concerned and just tightened up.
Speaker: I feel like we've gotten a little bit too loose, a little bit too inconsistent over the years.
Speaker: Now, let's go to – I just had to get that off my chest, so thank you for bearing with me.
Speaker: I'm sorry.
Speaker: I just had to, okay?
Speaker: Let me get event session in here.
Speaker: It's my pod.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Let's go to playoffs.
Speaker: I mean, we're getting close, guys.
Speaker: We're at week 15.
Speaker: We got four weeks left of football.
Speaker: Buys are done.
Speaker: Every team, every week is playing.
Speaker: Let's go.
Speaker: So I just went through my seeding here and went through seven AFC, NFC, and kind of a little bit of reasoning for each –
Speaker: Because that's where we're at right now.
Speaker: And as a Chiefs fan, sadly, my brother and I were talking about pulling out the playoff predictor generator.
Speaker: What if I win this game and this team loses?
Speaker: And what's our conference record matched up with theirs in the head-to-head?
Speaker: And sadly, as a Chiefs fan, we're having to do that again.
Speaker: But I am getting reminded of how fun it is playing around with that.
Speaker: And I've done that a little bit here as I make these seeding charts.
Speaker: So let's start with the NFC.
Speaker: One seed, 49ers.
Speaker: Schedule's not bad the rest of the way.
Speaker: They're the best team in football right now.
Speaker: They are the one seed.
Speaker: They have a tied record right now at 10-3 with the Eagles and the Lions, but they're going to be able to figure this out and win this conference.
Speaker: I'm sure of that.
Speaker: Number two, I'm giving this to the Eagles.
Speaker: It is because of their schedule.
Speaker: Look at their schedule.
Speaker: They've got the Seahawks, the Giants, the Cardinals, and the Giants again.
Speaker: Now it's at Seattle.
Speaker: That's their game on Monday night.
Speaker: They're most likely to lose, but I just don't see it.
Speaker: And then you got the Giants twice and the Cardinals.
Speaker: We just talked about Tommy DeVito.
Speaker: Love the guy.
Speaker: I don't see him being able to beat a team like that, especially.
Speaker: in the matter of just three weeks.
Speaker: Third, I've got the Detroit Lions.
Speaker: Now, this division is not a wrap, but I think with the, you know, game and a half or so lead they have in the NFC North right now at 9-4, Vikings at 7-6, Packers-Bears 6-7, 5-8, I think the Lions got this.
Speaker: They play the Broncos this week.
Speaker: That's going to be a tough game.
Speaker: Saturday night football, by the way.
Speaker: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Speaker: We've got NFL football this week.
Speaker: That'll be fun.
Speaker: That's going to be a very good game.
Speaker: Broncos have been playing well.
Speaker: The defense has stepped up.
Speaker: The offense is efficient.
Speaker: That's going to be a tough game.
Speaker: We just saw the Lions lose 28-13 against a Chicago Bears team that, albeit has been playing better, but lost by two possessions to the Bears.
Speaker: It's not great.
Speaker: This was the team that was being talked about as possibly being able to earn the first seed, and that's not going to happen.
Speaker: Yeah, Broncos, Vikings, Cowboys, and then Vikings again.
Speaker: Now, if it was the Vikings and Josh Dobbs of old, I'd be a little more scared about that.
Speaker: But Nick Mullins, meh.
Speaker: I think the Lions should be able to win both those Vikings games, but it's going to be tough.
Speaker: I'm not counting that division out, but right now,
Speaker: The way the Packers and Vikings have looked right now, I'm going to go with the Lions there in that division at the third seed.
Speaker: Fourth seed, Falcons.
Speaker: I think the Falcons have this right now.
Speaker: I know they just lost to the Buccaneers, and it's going to come down to the wire.
Speaker: The NFC South, the most exciting division in football.
Speaker: It's a nail-biter.
Speaker: Look at their schedule.
Speaker: Falcons at Panthers this week.
Speaker: That's a dub.
Speaker: They'll host the Colts.
Speaker: That'll be a close game, but the Colts are just ravaged with injuries.
Speaker: Then they'll travel to the Chicago Bears.
Speaker: We just talked about the Bears.
Speaker: It's tougher than it used to be, but still the Falcons are a better team.
Speaker: And then they'll end their season at the Saints, another team that's just been...
Speaker: riddled with injuries, and Derek Carr now can't throw the ball further than seven yards down the field, it seems.
Speaker: So I don't know.
Speaker: I'm with the Falcons because I look at the Bucs schedule, and it just looks a little bit more difficult right now.
Speaker: They face the Packers, then they face on the Jags, then they'll host the Saints, and then they'll go again to the Panthers.
Speaker: But Packers-Jags these next two weeks, that could be two losses in a row, and that would take them out of the division.
Speaker: And that's where I'm at.
Speaker: And that's what I think might happen.
Speaker: So I'm going to have Falcons winning the division.
Speaker: I'm going to have Cowboys at that fifth seed just de facto.
Speaker: Packers coming in at six.
Speaker: And then the Los Angeles Rams coming in with the seventh seed.
Speaker: And I'm pretty excited about the Rams.
Speaker: I think this is a good team.
Speaker: Now, I don't think they're going to be able to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker: But I think they're a pretty good team.
Speaker: And they may make it exciting for a couple quarters.
Speaker: They've got the Commanders, the Saints, the Giants.
Speaker: They'll end their season with the 49ers.
Speaker: If they can win their next three games, which is completely plausible, two of them are at home, the one game that's not is at New York, which is probably the game you'd want to be away, they win those three.
Speaker: I think they're in.
Speaker: I think they will.
Speaker: There's a chance that that Week 18 game won't even matter against San Francisco.
Speaker: So that's my seven in order.
Speaker: 49ers, Eagles, Lions, Falcons, Cowboys, Packers, Rams for the NFC.
Speaker: To the AFC...
Speaker: Made me sad doing this, but I've got two Ravens with the one seed.
Speaker: They won on that crazy punt return touchdown in overtime against the Rams.
Speaker: Let's talk about that schedule because it is tough.
Speaker: Ravens at Jags, Ravens at Niners.
Speaker: They host the Dolphins, then they host the Steelers.
Speaker: The Steelers, you know, not that it was ever a super tough game, but they lost to the Steelers early on this season.
Speaker: Without Kenny Pickett, we'll see.
Speaker: It's crazy that I'm even saying that.
Speaker: Pickett hasn't been good, but that's just the way the Steelers are built right now.
Speaker: That's three tough games.
Speaker: At Jags, at Niners, host the Dolphins.
Speaker: So it's no cupcake.
Speaker: I just think with the cushion that they have, they'll be able to figure this out.
Speaker: Dolphins, however, I have as the three seed.
Speaker: I have KC at two.
Speaker: Here's why.
Speaker: Dolphins schedule.
Speaker: Jets, Cowboys, Ravens, Bills.
Speaker: Those are four tough games.
Speaker: I mean, the Jets just put up 30 against the Texans.
Speaker: Zach Wilson actually started to look good.
Speaker: And you heard him after the game.
Speaker: He just said kind of, yeah, because I got a screw-it mentality.
Speaker: I mean, what else do I have to lose?
Speaker: Are they going to bench me again?
Speaker: That's pretty much what he said.
Speaker: And he played like it.
Speaker: He has nothing to lose, and he doesn't.
Speaker: Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore host the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker: I mean, they're going to be underdogs in two of those games, and the other two of those games are division rivals, one of which is the Bills, who...
Speaker: just absolutely drug them through the mud earlier on this year.
Speaker: Different Bills team, different Dolphins team, but still division rivals.
Speaker: They know each other well.
Speaker: That is a tough schedule.
Speaker: They're putting them through the ringer this last month.
Speaker: And then the Kansas City Chiefs, it's the exact opposite.
Speaker: The Chiefs had their rough stretch early on in the season as far as strength of schedule is concerned.
Speaker: And this run is easy for them these last four weeks or what should be easy.
Speaker: They're at New England.
Speaker: They'll host the Raiders.
Speaker: They'll host the Bengals.
Speaker: They'll go to the Chargers.
Speaker: The next four quarterbacks that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to play, Bailey Zappi, Aiden O'Connell, Jake Browning, Easton Stick.
Speaker: And that's if Jake Browning can play, if he's healthy.
Speaker: That's the four quarterbacks that they're going to play.
Speaker: I think they're going to win those four games.
Speaker: I think the Dolphins are going to be able to drop one, maybe two.
Speaker: That puts the Chiefs at two, Dolphins at three.
Speaker: I've got the Jags at the four seed.
Speaker: They only have a game lead in the AFC South against the Colts right now, which is absolutely asinine, and the Texans.
Speaker: Texans lost CJ Stratton.
Speaker: I don't think he's going to be able to play, and I just think the Jags with this schedule are going to be able to finish it off and do what they need to do.
Speaker: You look at their next four games, Ravens, Buccaneers, Panthers, Titans.
Speaker: Lose this game to the Ravens, and the division could be tied up.
Speaker: But I think they're going to beat the Bucs and the Panthers, and the Titans should be, you know, it's not like it's going to be a walkover.
Speaker: We just talked about Will Levis and that Titans team, how they're trending upwards.
Speaker: It is a division rival.
Speaker: It is the last week of the season at Tennessee in Nissan Stadium.
Speaker: So it's definitely not a walkover, but I think they're winning two of those games, and I think that'll be enough to clinch that division.
Speaker: The rest of it, Broncos, Browns, Colts, those are my 5, 6, 7.
Speaker: I have the Bills missing out, and it's not because I don't think they're good enough.
Speaker: I think they're... You could argue that they're the best team in the AFC.
Speaker: You'd be probably wrong because it's the Ravens right now, but you could argue that they could make the Super Bowl, and I wouldn't even bat an eyelash.
Speaker: I've been talking about this team.
Speaker: I've been talking about Josh Allen and this offense.
Speaker: Josh Allen's been a top three quarterback this season.
Speaker: No ifs, ands, buts about it.
Speaker: He just has Dak Purdy in him.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: The defense has been trying to figure out their losses that they've had this year.
Speaker: It looked okay against the Chiefs.
Speaker: How much of an accomplishment is that?
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: But their next four games certainly would be an accomplishment if they were able to win all four.
Speaker: They host the Cowboys this week.
Speaker: We've talked about Dallas.
Speaker: Fantastic football team.
Speaker: Then they'll go to LA to take on the Chargers.
Speaker: That should be a dub.
Speaker: They'll host the Patriots.
Speaker: That should be a dub.
Speaker: Then they'll go to Miami.
Speaker: That's another tough game.
Speaker: Cowboys and Dolphins.
Speaker: It's just those two games.
Speaker: I just, they kind of have to win all four of these right now or at least three doable, but then they have to have things go their way if they just win three.
Speaker: So I'm leaving them out and I've got the Colts there at seven.
Speaker: Colts have been surprisingly good.
Speaker: The schedule, it isn't a nightmare.
Speaker: Just isn't.
Speaker: They host the Steelers.
Speaker: They'll travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.
Speaker: I think they'll probably lose that game.
Speaker: They host the Raiders.
Speaker: They host the Texans.
Speaker: I don't know what the Texans are going to look like in a month.
Speaker: I don't know what CJ Stroud, if he's going to be there, what that's going to be like.
Speaker: Tank Dell's hurt.
Speaker: Will Anderson's dealing with injuries.
Speaker: Their O-line's completely trashed with injuries.
Speaker: This is a Texans team that just wasn't, it's not the same as it was a month ago.
Speaker: Which is too bad because I think the Texans would be in the playoffs if it was.
Speaker: It's just not.
Speaker: That's the way football works.
Speaker: So those are my AFC teams.
Speaker: In order, Ravens, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jags, Broncos, Browns, Colts.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Done with the playoff predictions.
Speaker: Let's go over to some news of the day.
Speaker: Again, recording this Wednesday, December 13th.
Speaker: We'll come out later today.
Speaker: You may be listening to this on Thursday.
Speaker: Getting ready for week 15 to start with a little Chargers Raiders action.
Speaker: Get hyped.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Woo.
Speaker: Woo.
Speaker: But some breaking news did come out today in the NFL.
Speaker: Bill Belichick.
Speaker: Apparently, reports have come out saying that Robert Kraft has been known this decision for weeks now, that he's going to fire Bill Belichick at the end of the season.
Speaker: He's decided it long ago.
Speaker: Now, my first thoughts is, I'll believe it when I see it.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I haven't seen any, like, for sure reports.
Speaker: It's not like Schefter's come out and been like, yep, I've heard rumblings of this for a while.
Speaker: It's been Breitbart and a couple other reporters coming out and saying these things.
Speaker: So I'm just going to, first off, I'll believe it when I see it.
Speaker: Definitely don't believe it's completely false.
Speaker: I'm sure Robert Kraft's mulled over that thought a time or two, but I don't know if that's already a done deal, a decision that's been made.
Speaker: I don't think Kraft would do that, but then where is Bill going if he does?
Speaker: First gut thought?
Speaker: The aforementioned Chargers.
Speaker: If Brandon Staley gets fired, that would be a great pick.
Speaker: But it's just weird to see him with any other team, right?
Speaker: We've seen him with the Patriots for 25 years.
Speaker: I mean, almost his whole career.
Speaker: And who was before that?
Speaker: The Cleveland Browns.
Speaker: That's another team that I think it could go to, depending on what the Browns decide to do with Stefanski.
Speaker: Now, I think Stefanski's actually done a decent job there in Cleveland.
Speaker: I thought he was going to get fired in season right after Josh McDaniels, which I predicted.
Speaker: But he hasn't been.
Speaker: Stefanski's actually done a lot better than I thought and what a lot of others have thought.
Speaker: So I don't know if they'll be willing to fire him.
Speaker: But if Bill Belichick would consider coming back with that defense, what Bill Belichick could do with those guys,
Speaker: And an offense that at least has at times looked okay.
Speaker: Deshaun Watson near the end had a couple of flashes.
Speaker: I'm not holding out hope that he'll return to form of what he was in 2019, 2020, those sorts of years.
Speaker: But again, if he's 60% of that and Bill Belichick's got the best defense in the league, who knows?
Speaker: That's actually a spot where I could see him going.
Speaker: The Bears, D's been good as of late.
Speaker: They have assets and picks galore.
Speaker: That could be a spot he'd go to.
Speaker: I mean, how many teams would instantly call him up?
Speaker: Instantly.
Speaker: You'd think a bunch.
Speaker: So that'll be a story to watch, where Bale Belichick goes, what he decides to do, if he does go somewhere, if he is fired, which would absolutely be a mind-boggling story.
Speaker: The GOAT getting fired.
Speaker: Because he is the GOAT.
Speaker: Let's make that clear.
Speaker: Not all this, oh, it was all Brady.
Speaker: No, it was both of them.
Speaker: And it's harder for a coach to win a Super Bowl without that quarterback.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker: Just like it would be hard for Tom Brady to win a Super Bowl without a good coach, in which he did have in Tampa Bay, in Bruce Arians, and a fantastic roster that he had in Tampa Bay, filled with Pro Bowlers and All-Proers.
Speaker: So...
Speaker: Messing with that, Bill Belichick's a goat.
Speaker: If he's in another uniform next year, in different colors next year, be excited to see it.
Speaker: I'm intrigued to see what happens as these reports continue to come out.
Speaker: And we'll be, of course, covering it right here on Behind the Box Corps.
Speaker: Thank you so much for tuning in.
Speaker: Again, we'll be on the Zone's website soon, as 104.5 The Zone right here in Nashville has signed us on.
Speaker: Now, again, I want to make that clear.
Speaker: It doesn't mean this is a Titans-centric podcast by any means.
Speaker: I'm going to be covering every NFL team
Speaker: And every NBA team, once that time comes, we'll get into March Madness.
Speaker: We'll get into college basketball again, even before March coming up.
Speaker: Speaking of, I've got Ryan Shumpert again, Rocky Top Insider Beat Reporter for the Vols.
Speaker: Already recorded that pod, going to release that here probably in the next few days, maybe next week.
Speaker: So stay tuned for all sports coverage right here on the Behind the Box Score.
Speaker: Thank you so much for listening, you guys.
