Nightcap Hour 1: Sam Darnold LEADS Seahawks to Super Bowl + Patriots win the AFC & are BACK in the SUPER BOWL

23:11They've been good.

23:12Shannon Sharpe:So very, very, very few times have the back end been exposed. No, but if you go back and look at them, the comeback, it was the secondary. If you look at them, Ojo, it's their offense. Because they score so much, they put so much pressure on you, you don't really get a chance. So now a team can dictate on their terms. Seattle was able to dictate the entire night on their terms. take JSN out Cooper Cubs guys would just I'm like well damn y 'all want to cover somebody and I agree look they got to Sam Darnold three times but if they didn't pressure him enough they let him outside and they let him buy time you got to pressure him and my concern was will Sam Darnold revert back thus far in the postseason he's been exemplary he's been exemplary can he be exemplary one more game.

24:06Shannon Sharpe:One more game. That's all it comes down to. And we look at Sam Donald. One more. The Jets let him go. The Panthers let him go. The 49ers are not getting the 49ers because Brock Purdy played extremely well. The Vikings let him go. Now the Seahawks got him and they're going to the Super Bowl. You know what? You know who could have, you know, when I sit back and think about it, I was watching the game and I know there's one receiver. There's one receiver that was watching the game tonight that I know he's pissed off. I know he's upset. he should have called management and whoever he needs to call and say why you let him get up out the door no no not DK I'm talking about 18 down there in Minnesota yeah this is what you let out the door after what he did because you believe the number 8 pick was the answer for the future and you see what we got now what are you doing what are you thinking about but anyway listen like you did say one more game no turnovers No turnover.

25:03And I was thinking tonight, what is McVay going to do to the Seattle Seahawks to rattle the quarterback? We're going to pressure him. We're going to get him off his spot. We're going to force him. We're going to speed him up and hope he can make mistakes and turn the ball over and give us one. He didn't do it.

25:20Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, look. He didn't do it. I'm not going to sit here. I thought that Sam Darnold would command the 50-plus million dollars on the market. So I was against that. I was like, Minnesota, don't keep him for$50 million. But for$33 million? Ocho,$33 million? Wait, hold on. He underpaid? Yes. But see, I thought they were going to have to go to one of those. I thought they were going to have to go a quarter of a mil where they're having to play in$50 million, you don't have to give him$130 million,$40 million. I was like, after one year? I don't know about that. Hey, I got a question. Now we're on the topic of money.

25:57I mean, he didn't sign a long term.

25:59Shannon Sharpe:He signed a three-year deal for$100 million. I think he got$37 million. Ocho, they probably tear that. If not this year, next year they're tearing that up. He'll never play to the end of that. No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Well, if he wins the Super Bowl, they're definitely going to tear it up. Oh, man, man. I'm talking about Rip it in four corners. Rip it to pieces. They're going to say five to that, Ocho. He'll never play another day. Hey, he win the Super Bowl? Oh, it's a wrap. It's a wrap. It's a wrap. They got to come see him. They ain't got no choice. Because I don't think the – it's easy to say now, but the play call down there and when they had two cracks at the end zone, I'm sure Sean would like to have some of those calls back.

26:43Shannon Sharpe:It don't look like now the field goal would have done them any good. Puka was this close to getting out of bounds and having Stafford over a chance of a Hail Mary. Hey, I'm confused. He went out of bounds purposely with the ball. Why did the clock keep going in that situation? Because they said his butt went down before he went out. That's what they're saying. They said his butt went down before he went out. But this was an unbelievable game. It's what we thought it would be. Two division rivals. They're very familiar with each other. We were, what, was a couple of, you know, less than a month ago, maybe a month ago, these two teams played, and it was up and down.

27:23Shannon Sharpe:It was a very similar game. Just like this, I think Stafford had over 400 yards passing. But Seattle made the plays, the two-point conversion, and so forth and so on. And they ended up winning in overtime when they went for two. And Mike McDonald, in only his third year, has this team in the Super Bowl. That's crazy. And listen, I know we talk about the coaches and the coaches having players in the Super Bowl. But what people also have to understand is he just happened to be the coach for the Seattle Seahawks. and he has the right players. He has the right personnel to make his chances of getting to where he's going much easier.

28:01So without the personnel, without the players, without the right people, the right foundation, it all starts with the quarterback. I have the right quarterback. And if you don't have a quarterback, then you have to have a stellar defense. Hey, he just happened to have motherfuckers. God, he just happened to have both. A good quarterback in the right situation with a very, very, very good defense that need their own identity outside of the Legion of Boom.

28:25Shannon Sharpe:I mean, and he came into a great situation. They had great pieces. Yes. I mean, you know, I think Wulon was there. I think they might have drafted Spoon the next year. They get Eman Worry. They get him. They get D-Law and free agency. They make the trade for Leonard Williams. They get Ernest Jones IV. I mean, you look at the pieces and how they kind of put this thing together, Ocho. And, you know, they had DK. They let DK go. They got JSN. They make the midseason trade. One of the best midseason trade that's going unnoticed is Rashid Shahid, who's been playing unbelievable football. You know, in free agency, you go get Sam Brown.

29:04Shannon Sharpe:Go ahead, Ocho. I was going to say, before you keep going, Rashid Shahid done won them by two games. He done won them by two games, but go ahead. And so you look at the pieces, kind of how they put this thing together. Mike McDonald and John Snyder has done an unbelievable job because we know Snyder can look. You look at what he did, how he assembled his team, and from Russell Wilson to Richard Sherman to Bobby Wagner to Smith and all those guys that they had that make the trade for Beast Mode, Cam, he knows what he's doing. And they put this team together. They got a young team. Now, I think Wolin is up.

29:43Shannon Sharpe:They're probably going to lose Wolin. You think so? You don't think they bring him back? What year is it? I think he a fourth year guy. What you going to do with Spoon? Spoon got two more, don't he? Or he got one more? He just finished his third. And you know what corners are going for? You saw what a Saul's gardener just got. Okay, Spoon, come see me. Yeah.

30:19Shannon Sharpe:You either going to have to pay him or trade him. You can't keep both, huh? And Sam Donald, you got to do something with Sam Donald. Right. I'm thinking, hey, what are you going to get? He's going to get a nice bag. Eman Worry is coming up soon. He's in his first year. Two years. You're going to have $300 million defensive players on your team and you got big Leonard Williams oh I forgot about JSN what about JSN next year oh wait hold on yes that'll be year three okay damn that's crazy that's what you want Ocho when you draft a player man I hope he performs they perform but the problem is that when they perform you gotta pay him and you can't pay everybody you can't pay Wolland You can't pay JSN.

31:15Shannon Sharpe:You can't pay Spoon. You can't pay Emanwar. You can't pay Sam Donald. Market price. Now, they might be willing to give you a hometown discount. It all depends on who their agent is. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Probably not. Ain't nobody get no discount. Probably not. I was just throwing that out there. Probably not. But I'm just saying, especially not my first contract. Now, maybe the second one, I thought I made me some big bucks, no whammies. I might consider it. But it's not even the top of my... When DeMarcus Lawrence joined the Seattle Seahawks after leaving the Cowboys, he said Dallas would always be his home, but he knew he would never win a Super Bowl there.

31:54Shannon Sharpe:He's headed to the Super Bowl for the first time in his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Damn. Hey, hey, and Matt, I know we're not on top of the Cowboys. They're not in the playoffs, but, well, we got some hell of a pushback on our comments and conversations about the defensive coordinator coming in for the Cowboys and then people they jump down my throat talk about oh don't you think things are going to change and I I'm confused after 30 plus years of the same thing and thinking just because you bring someone in new that something's going to change differently I'm confused how about this I do you one like this Ocho the New England Patriots have been to 11 Super Bowls since the Cowboys been to their last one could I interest you in that Okay.

32:43That's enough. Needless to say. I wanted to fire back and engage in the conversation, but I'm not a hater of the Cowboys. I was just stating facts based on what I've seen over the years. Since I was playing and since I've been going from the game, and I'm not sure where the confusion lies or the delusional of those that really don't understand the makeup of how it's going thus far. But anyway, that's enough of that. And the thing is, is that up until the last game of the season,

33:16Shannon Sharpe:Matt Stafford has done a great job. He had never lost until that one game that he lost to the Seahawks. And now this is back-to-back games in which he's lost to the Seahawks. But he can't – I mean, you can't play – 22-35, 374, three touchdowns. I don't know what – I mean, what else you want him to do? No, you can't. And, you know, if they don't muff that fumble, you know, on that punt. He's 58 in the last two games against the Seahawks. He's 51 of 84, 831, six TDs, but he's lost both games. So I don't know what else he can do. I mean, there's nothing else you can do because you're playing against another great offense on the other side of you as well.

33:57A quarterback that is also dealing at the efficiency that you are as well. Another team that had JSN that has receivers that match up just as well as yours. I mean, as well. So sometimes it comes to a mistake here, a mistake there, a defensive stop here, a defensive stop there. And you say it all the time. And those that are you in the chat that are watching the game, is you watch a game for three hours, right? You know, you enjoy it. And your team runs maybe 60, 65, maybe 70 plays. Out of all those plays that each team runs, it's about three plays that change the trajectory of a game. and that's what wins it for you.

34:38Three or five, that's it. Out of watching the game for three hours. Out of 100 and between the two teams,

34:45Shannon Sharpe:let's just say, Ocho, they have 120 plays. It's probably five plays, five to seven plays between the two teams that you can go back and say, okay, this is where we won or we lost. This is why we won. Yeah. But congratulations goes out to the Seattle Seahawks. They are the representative from the NFC. They're headed to Super Bowl 60 and a rematch of Super Bowl 49 with a thanks to a score of 31-27 over the Rams, a division rival. Sam Darnold again was 25-36, 346, three touchdowns. He had no interceptions. They ran the ball 26 times for 76 yards, one touchdown. JSN was sensational as he's been all year.

35:24Shannon Sharpe:Ten catches, a buck 53, one touchdown on 12 targets. So the Seattle Seahawks, your Seattle Seahawks in the 12th man, are going to San Francisco for a chance to win their second Super Bowl. We're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles. I'm going to ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the state fairgrounds. Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road. Nah, I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out. How is there signal out here? T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular are coming together, so the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits.

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38:26Shannon Sharpe:damn damn damn yeah take your time by defeating the Broncos in a snowstorm by the score of 10 to 7 after a 7 year drought the Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl New England are one win away from their 7th NFL title if their 12th appearance in the Super Bowl 4 more than the next closest franchise which happens to be I think us in it John's been to five Peyton went to two and Craig Morton went to one we not worried about who went to what I know who not going this year but uh we don't care who went to what I know who not matter of fact hold on before we finish hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on Okay.

39:24Shannon Sharpe:Man, here he go with some bull jack. Come on back, man. You ain't in show business.

39:38Shannon Sharpe:Man, what is this man doing? The Patriots beat the Broncos by the score of 10 to 7. Drake made 10 of 21.

39:48Shannon Sharpe:I thought you didn't have that jersey. i thought you had that jersey hey hey hey don't you say foot or ball tonight i don't want you to say play off i don't want you to say super oh hey y 'all hear that y 'all here man i ain't got that jersey that jersey don't mean nothing to me do me a favor hey hey hey say cancun on three cancun man i'm hurting that ocho don't do that don't do that oh joe hey nah listen hey hey hey hey they they go they're going to the super bowl i just happen to have a jersey from when i played there i ain't really do much there which is why i don't really claim you got to plan so clearly it means something huh oh no it means something because no i ain't frame this somebody took it they gave it to me as a gift so i kept it i was like well what you what you send me that for i ain't do nothing while i was there i said we use a party jersey you wore in the super bowl i bet you.

40:44Shannon Sharpe:Exactly, because you got it framed. Hey, hey, hey. Yeah, but that's me, though. That's me right there. The New England Patriots win by the score of 10-7. Drake May was 10-21, 86 yards. They ran the ball 38 times for$1.41. They had less than 200 yards of offense. It was a... Look, both teams had to play in that weather. I don't want to... I'm not going to blame it on the elements because it wasn't like the Patriots were playing in a dome and the Broncos were playing outside. But I will say this. I think Sean Payton started to believe his own supply that Jared Stidham could win him the game because if Sean Payton is as smart as I think he is, he looks at that weather forecast and says there's going to be a storm moving in the second half.

41:40Shannon Sharpe:points are going to be at a premium now we talk about this all the time we say when you have the momentum how much separation can you put between you and the team that you have the momentum of they had all the momentum and all they had was a 7 point lead one mistake by Stidham and all of a sudden it's a 7-7 ball game now you got to fight they get a field goal it's 10-7 and the Broncos get the ball, I said, and I tweeted, I said, this is the Broncos' best chance. They had them backed up. The guy shanked the ball. They get the ball at the 35-yard line. And they can come away with nothing. Now, it's being reported now that Will Lutz said that he might have been too close because they couldn't tell the distance between where the yard line was because you're supposed to be like seven yards back and it was shorter and the guy got a tip, got a tip, and he got blocked.

42:35Shannon Sharpe:But I don't know why everybody was so confident in Stidham. He was in New England. He was supposed to be Tom Brady's backup. I mean, heir apparent. That didn't happen. He goes to the Raiders. That's a prime opportunity. As a matter of fact, wasn't he there with Josh McDaniel? So, the guy that drafted him, Josh McDaniel, when he had him in New England, had him in the Raiders, couldn't get nothing out of him. And I think Sean Payton started to believe that. He started to convince himself because remember, Ocho, I told you, my coach used to tell us all the time, sometimes you gotta lie to him son he lied not only did he lie to them but he lied to himself because that's the only way I can explain him not taking the three points and making it 10-0 I mean he had no choice but to lie to himself he had to lie to the media during the week he had to lie to himself and lie to his actual player to give him the confidence that you can do this obviously they didn't get blown out we needed you to do You just that big.

43:39Well, you took the words right out of my mouth. You took the words right out of my mouth. And what they needed to do is before that storm came in, we need to get as many points as possible, whether it's six, whether it's seven, whether it's three. And extend the lead as much as possible before the storm comes in. Because if you look at the day Drake may have had today, because of the conditions, because of the elements, even though as a player you have to adapt to whatever comes your way, it was not in the favor of the Patriots at all. Stidham had, what, did he even have over 100 yards?

44:11Shannon Sharpe:Stidham had, he was 17-31 for 133. Remember he had that 52-yard like the second player of the game, third player of the game to Marvin Mims. Yeah, yeah, I meant Drake May. He was 10-21 for 86 yards. 86. And he had a long of 31. Yeah, he hasn't had a stat line like that. That's the stat line for an offensive series for Stidham. I mean, for Drake May, the way they played offensively this season. And another thing that we need to talk about, I know we had conversations throughout the season. For those in the chat, some of you, we talked about the MVP for the NFL this year. Many people said Matt Stafford.

44:48Obviously, Patriots fans are those who have watched the second-year player in Drake May. Some said Drake May deserves it. And after what he's done in completing this season and getting the Patriots to a Super Bowl and only a second year with Mike Brable's first year, Now think about some of the teams that Drake May had to beat to even get to the Super Bowl, to even be at this point. Three of the top defenses in the NFL, huh? Drake May, he had to beat the Chargers defense, huh? He had to beat the Chargers defense. Hell, he had to deal with goddamn DeNeal Huller and Will Anderson and that goddamn Houston defense, which is phenomenal.

45:20And then obviously today, tonight, or earlier today, the Broncos, who are the number two defense in the NFL statistically, and being able to beat those teams back-to-back-to-back, obviously, man, is a tremendous feat in a sense for a quarterback that's in his second year alone. Sometimes you have veteran quarterbacks that stumble when it comes to playing top defenses like he did three weeks in a row.

45:46Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I just think the thing is, Osho, is that a game like this here, Sean has to know. Sean knows, okay, you can lie to them, but you can't lie to yourself. And he lied to himself. He convinced himself that, you know, we got the momentum. Let's go for it. But look, even if you go for it, I don't necessarily have a problem that going for it on fourth time. I got a problem with the play selection because you just scored on that. You scored on that plate where you have rolled it and you hit Gordon Sutton in the back of the back in the end zone. So the one thing you know about the Patriots, especially when they got a very good coach, you're not going to beat them on the same plate twice.

46:22Yeah, no. And you're rolling it to the short side of the field

46:25Shannon Sharpe:and you're rolling with a guy that ain't got no wheels. He can't run. But, Unc, you got to understand, what do you want Sean Payton to do? You understand the limitations that your quarterback has. You understand that the playbook, as if you had Bo Nix, the playbook changes completely. The office of play calling changes completely. The thing that you can't do with Stidham, you can't do with Bo Nix. You've only had a week. Ocho, I ain't got no noodles. So guess what? I can't make you pasta. so you ain't got Bo Nix so you gotta take that into consideration how you call plays and that's why he called the safest plays he could for the quarterback he had at his disposal that is Jared Stidham he's a guy he's just a guy there's nothing special he has an average arm he has no speed he doesn't do anything that you says you know what he's a long-term solution.

47:24Shannon Sharpe:He's not, he does not do anything really well. So, I mean, he get in trouble, what does he do? He retreats. Bro, and then I don't know where he got this shoveling this, I mean, how many times did we see, and it cost him. We see him try to shovel the ball to Harvey, we see him try to shovel the ball to the running back. Bro, throw the ball out of bounds. You should not even have been in that situation. but Sean Payton has to know. Jared Stidham is my quarterback. I'm in the AFC Championship game. I'm taking as many points as I can get. I'm not taking any points off the board, Ocho. I'm not. And he's supposed to know.

48:05Shannon Sharpe:He's supposed to study the weather forecast. I guarantee you Brable knew it. I guarantee you Belichick would have known it. Mike Shanahan damn sure would have known it. So if you know that weather is coming in, you take the points. you gotta you gotta you gotta you gotta you gotta and rely listen not only take the points if you got a defense like you have if you have a defense like you have you know the weather's coming in there most of the time offensive you're not gonna be able to do much through the goddamn air and they damn sure not finna run the ball on you well first of all the Broncos hadn't been able to run the ball all year so what makes you think you're gonna be able to run it in those conditions I don't know do guys wear seven studs anymore guys don't wear seven studs anymore do they nah not really I don't even know if they have seven studs in the equipment room anymore because everyone's field, most of the fields are Bermuda grass, and if you don't have Bermuda grass, you have that turf.

48:55And no matter what the conditions are, no matter what the conditions are, the studs that they use now, you're not going to slip and fall.

49:03Shannon Sharpe:Did you not see everybody slipping and falling? Oh, yeah, I saw them today. I saw them today. I think that was grass. Yeah, we got rid of that. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, it's some field turf, but they have real grass with some synthetic sewn in. Okay, okay, okay, yeah. Mems, in conditions like that, the goal ball is not going to be where it normally is. I'm surprised that, Ocho, after like 15 yards, you got to look. The ball is not going to travel like it would. It's not going to be 42-4. Yeah, it's heavy. It's heavy, Ong. It's heavy. It's stuff like that, Ocho, that just like, bro.

49:41Shannon Sharpe:But this was Oshon. Hey, Ong, can I ask you something? You mad? No, not really. You're not hurt? Because I knew this was going to be the outcome. I tried to tell you, you got to have faith. No, I don't got no faith in Jared Stillman. I mean, I would give you false hope. I knew y 'all weren't going to win. I could have told you that. You can't give me false hope. I mean, hey, listen, the fact that you even talking football, let alone you shouldn't be able to say football. You shouldn't be happy. The fact that you even, we engaged in this conversation and y 'all lost tonight, I'm not even sure. Matter of fact, you know what?

50:17don't say play or off what were your broncos helmet tonight what happened to your bronco robe you were so happy you were so excited when y 'all won last week i don't want to what happened where's the energy you had come on man oh boy i'm i'm just saying the boy the patriots put belt really yeah yeah hey that they gave that michael urban that they gave that michael earth.

50:41Huh? What are we talking about? But it's okay. It's okay. Because y 'all still got next year. Bo Nix will be back. Most of the players on that defense will be back. Y 'all will be alright. But it's going to be a long time before that.

50:53Shannon Sharpe:You never know. You never know. I was fortunate that we lost a heartbreaking game in 96 and then went back to back. But Ocho, you don't know. I mean, think about it. Dan Marino went to that Super Bowl in his second year. and never went back again. Nah, it's hard. Never went back. You get guys like Joe Montana go to four and win. You get Brady that goes. You got Elway that went to five. You get Jim Kelly went to four straight. You get guys like Mahomes. But Aaron Rodgers went to one and never went back. Yeah. So it ain't no guarantee, oh, you were so close. I mean, sometimes things just line up in your favor, and you need to take advantage of it.

51:40Shannon Sharpe:Man, look here. They better be glad. Can you imagine if Patrick Mahomes was in this thing again?

51:49Shannon Sharpe:Everything that lined up, I mean, all the heavy hitters are gone. We're gone. Yeah, and you know what? The heavy hitters are gone. Most of them are gone because they didn't play well in the season due to injury. Obviously, we saw what happened. Lamar turned on this so we can't look at him as being an impediment to somebody. They got the big guy to win. That guy in Kansas City, they didn't play well all year long. That is the hurdle that everybody in the AFC was having to get over. Not Lamar. And this is not a knock on Lamar. Lamar has been great in the regular season. He's a two-time league MVP, but Lamar Jackson has not looked like Lamar come postseason.

52:32Shannon Sharpe:So he's really never been an impediment. He hadn't really stopped Joe Burrow or Mahomes or Josh Allen from getting to where they need to be. With that being said, with Mahomes out, Josh Allen got put out by the Broncos last week, and Joe Burrow and them didn't really have a chance because he got nicked early on. So when things, when the road open up, you got to travel on it. You got to. You got to take advantage of it. Obviously, Buffalo wasn't able to do that. But the thing is, with all these quarterbacks that we are talking about, and you talk about the Joe Marino, I mean, Dan Marino. You talk about Dan Marino getting there one time.

53:12The difference, I think, about today's game with all these teams that have those elite quarterbacks, I think those teams will always be in contention every year. Those teams will always have a chance to go no matter what, even though they fell short this year. Lamar fell short this year. They're going to be in contention next year. Was Green Bay not in contention every year? Mahomes.

53:30Shannon Sharpe:How many times did Aaron Rodgers lose? Huh? He lost to the NFC Championship game to Seattle. He lost to the 49ers twice. He lost to Tampa. So he was in contention. Did he get back? No, I know, but I'm just the possibility. You know, the sense of if you're a fan of those specific teams, you just know at least we have a chance. There are some teams, Unk, there are some fans, no matter what, going into a new season, you know damn well you don't even have a chance. You don't even have a chance. I think it hurts more the closer you get, Ocho. but listen but i i think it's even worse knowing going into the season you'll have a chance if you're a cardinals fan well hell you know you're gonna see the postseason you might well book your goddamn ticket in january to go back home if you're a raiders fan i mean what the hell what you expect if you if you're if you're a vikings fan hell you don't you don't have a goddamn quarterback right now what what you gonna do i mean there are a few other teams as well I think the Bills, the Seahawks, the Rams, the Ravens, the Bengals, if we can keep Joe Burrow upright, some of the teams with the better quarterback play, the Texans, because of their defense, I'm probably leaving some teams off.

54:40All these teams will continuously always be in contention, whether they win and lose in the postseason or whether they make it to the Super Bowl, they will have a chance to make it to the playoffs and contend. Some teams can't even be afforded that opportunity.

54:54Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, I think the thing is, I think what has the Bronco fans so upset is that Sean Payton knew this quarterback was limited. And he had an opportunity to take a chip shot field goal, 10-0. 10-0 gives you momentum. You make it seem like if you got that first down, it's not like if you got the first, it was a touchdown. I can see if you went forward and they stopped you. You still had to get more plays. So 10-0, the way you had been dominating, I think they had one first down, maybe ran like seven plays up until that point, oh, Joe. So 10 points might have felt like 14 based on how you had dominated them defensively.

55:34Shannon Sharpe:But the one thing, all that being said, the one thing that he couldn't do is what he did is turn the ball over in negative territory. All over. And that's – Changed the game right there. You know that – that's what lost the game. You know that, huh? you know of all the plays they ran nothing else mattered except that goddamn turnover that's all it came down to you know so i mean it's it's unfortunate i know you feel bad i don't mean to pile on you like this no it's okay it's okay i'm a realist see the thing is if i'd have bo nixon i'd have lost i'd have been i i might have been i might have been tearing some stuff down i ain't gonna lie to you if we'd have bowing lost yeah i'd have been upset but having jared skin him because I didn't expect to win.

56:21Right. They didn't. Yeah, I mean, yeah, man, it sucks. It sucks. You think the boys got to fly for Cancun already?

56:32Shannon Sharpe:Nah, because I think Sean had lied to them so well. They had convinced themselves because I heard the defense, oh, we can win with Skiddy. We can win the Super Bowl with Skiddy. If the other team don't show up, y 'all can win. But if they show up, y 'all not winning with Skiddy. let's be real I'm a realist and everybody knows I'm Bronco country through and through but I'm a realist also Jared Skiddle ain't winning you no big game but hold on you know you can rely on your defense and steal with a game if you get a pick six or you create something like that you strip sack and you give them a short field all they gotta do your chances of winning the Super Bowl even with him were still great.

57:20No, they weren't, Ocho. Because all you're going to do... Let's say you take the elements from the day out of it. It's an even game, Ocho. You take the elements out of it the day. You can't, Ocho, because Drake May

57:32Shannon Sharpe:played in that. It wasn't like Drake May was in a phone booth or in a dome. He played in the same conditions that Jared Skidham. The only difference is Drake May took better care of the football. And the one thing that the Broncos couldn't do based Based on that, was turn the football over, especially in negative territory. You basically gifted him seven points. And like I said, Sean has to know who his quarterback is. He has to know the weather conditions are going to change. He had to have known that. So why do you have all these analytic people? You have that on your staff. And so for Sean to forego those three points, like I said, I'd have called timeout to really assess what do I really do.

58:24I mean, damn, I don't have both.

58:27Shannon Sharpe:Points are at a premium here. Ten points are going to seem like a lot. And as long as we don't turn it over, because if we turn it over, Ocho, it's a tie ball game. Yeah. It's not like a situation if we turn it over and we still got the lead. you turn it over it's a tie ball game you got a seven nothing lead with a chance to go up 10 nothing with a backup quarterback in your building and the weather is going to get progressively worse

58:59Shannon Sharpe:yeah what made what made it worse Ocho it was not yes everybody's gonna look and say Sean Payton gotta know better than to forego three but his quarterback didn't help him by turning it over. Right. If you forego the three and he doesn't turn it over, you say, hey, if they drive the length of the field against this defense, don't you? I mean, I don't know what you want me to do, Ocho. I really don't. Because we got one of the two or three best defenses in all football. We can pressure the quarterback. But I thought Drake may use his legs a lot. Because he was jumping out the window a lot and scrambling for first down.

59:36Shannon Sharpe:And on the last play, again see he won't do his responsibilities 52 got contained damn man where you must be done gone now also you got contained why are you trying to get inside that's not your play to make trying to trying to no we don't need see you see if you if if i get beat doing my job i got beat doing my job i can't get beat trying to do somebody else's job that's the job yeah i call it playing hero ball i'm playing hero ball trying to do two things at once

1:00:19oh man i know oh broncos fans i'm sorry man i love y 'all i've been very supportive

1:00:25Shannon Sharpe:i thought i'm gonna be able to put my my sharp jersey on oh he had he had a little jersey you got a little jersey jersey got 84 got real stitches just like the official jersey. Yeah. Well, he's going to have to hold off to next year then. I ain't putting it on now. You're going to have to hold off to next year, little buddy. Ah, man. Don't worry about it. They beat the number one, the number two, and the number five defense. If they win, I think Seattle has the number three defense. So, that'll be a hell of a road. The fewest points scored in wild card, divisional, and conference championship game en route to a Super Bowl.

1:01:07Shannon Sharpe:Y 'all talk about the 2000 Ravens, but we score more points than the 25 Patriots, even if it's only seven. But look, Mike Grable, this is why you make the move. People are like, oh, man, Jerry Mel, they don't give it a bro. This is why you make this move. But the difference is, it's Josh McDaniels. I don't know why Josh McDaniels can't be a great head coach. I don't know why he can't be a good head coach, but he's a great offensive play caller. That's his calling. Yeah, it's calling the dialing up offense. That's his calling Ocho. He's never gonna be a good coach. He's never gonna be a good head coach.

1:01:47Shannon Sharpe:But as an offensive coordinator. Yeah, he's beautiful. He's beautiful. I'm trying to understand Last year, I mean, it's a linebacker man. Not it's a linebacker from last year that coach that I play with him too. Yeah, mr. Mayo, Brother Mayo, what is the difference in the team that Gerard Mayo had that went 4-13 as opposed to the difference in what Mike Brable had to work with with this team this year? Josh McDaniel calling the plays. Quarterback playing even better. They bring Diggs in. Boutte played better. Ramadre Stevenson and Henderson ran the ball extremely well. But the defense, they brought Chason in.

1:02:26Shannon Sharpe:They brought Harold Landry in. They brought Milton Williams in. They got Spillane in. They brought Spillane in. They're a better football team. They're a better football team personnel-wise. They're a better football team coach-wise. Just call it like it is. It's okay. I like Mel and I wish him success. But they had back-to-back years in which they won four games. And guess what, Ocho? They're going to the Super Bowl this year. That's crazy. This is Rabel's first year. You realize that, right? This is his first year and to take a team the first year, you're the head coach, with a second-year quarterback who is still going through the growing pains, who still hasn't seen that much football at that level, and he's beat two of the best defenses in the NFL?

1:03:16Like it's nothing. I mean, it is something. It means something. I'm just saying the fact that, dude, and he's almost, almost done it, mistake-free.

1:03:25Shannon Sharpe:Defense carried this round, Joe. Obviously, he had some easy. the Patriots defense have given up 26 points in three playoff games.

1:03:35Shannon Sharpe:In three. You know how many the Ravens gave up in four? How many? Three to the Broncos, ten to the Titans, three to the Raiders. They didn't give up any. So theoretically, Ocho, they gave up 16 points in four games because the seven that they gave up was a kick return. they give up 16 points and you know what i you know what's funny is that i don't i don't think people especially people that at that are of younger age right now i don't think they understand how dominant i don't think they understand how dominant that defense was there was no there was no weakness at any level whether the first second or third level the back end was phenomenal now obviously the second level was phenomenal and that front end was hell to deal with and then we We talk about damn near elite players.

1:04:22Damn near elite players at every position. And those positions that weren't elite, they were very, very, very good. I mean, you couldn't run the football on us.

1:04:31Shannon Sharpe:I mean, we were very simple. You just played cover too. But you couldn't run with Sam and Goo, rest your soul. You couldn't run the football. No, and you couldn't get y 'all out of cover too because you couldn't run the damn football. Or we might play some temperature and have Ray run down the hole. But you couldn't run it on us. And if you couldn't run it now, but you got to look at what we had. We had a defensive rookie of the year, Peter Boulware. I mean, Rod was in the second there. We had Ray was defensive player of the year that year. I mean, they were loaded. That defense was really, really good.

1:05:06Shannon Sharpe:And they had rotational JLA and Keith Washington and Powell. I mean, they could just run. New England's offense averaging 15.7 points per game, 4.4 yards of play, 13 of 43. The defense is allowed 8.7, 3.3 yards per play, 12 of 31 on third down, and they had eight takeaways with one score. And then, oh, but also, you know what? That 2000 defense wouldn't be able to play in today's game with the way the rules are. They would let you attack the quarterback. They wouldn't be able to play. Everybody, everybody on that defense, would have either got fined or suspended. One or the other. So they wouldn't be able to play in today's game.

1:05:53And now that we know the Super Bowl matchup, chat, I'm just curious, and don't be biased. Who you got, Super Bowl? Seahawks?

1:06:01Shannon Sharpe:If you make me pick right now, I would say the Seahawks. But. Why? Is that why? Because of the offense? Have you seen the Seahawks defense? I mean well obviously that too but that's secondary it's nice and they can pressure the quarterback Leonard Williams and D Law and those guys they can get out there but the question is can he avoid the turnover one more game the Patriots have feasted on opposing teams turnovers turning the ball over yeah I'm excited from an offensive standpoint I would get the upside obviously to the Seahawks offensively. Obviously, Stephon Diggs and Boutte and brother Matt Collins have played phenomenal all year, but I think they're a little bit more explosive offensively for the Seahawks.

1:06:55From the defensive side of the ball, we know what the Seahawks are, but the goddamn Patriots defense is just as good. Maybe not with all the notable names. not very many I hate using the word household name I hate saying that they play well collectively as a group very very well collectively and they're well coached and they're very disciplined so I'm excited I'm excited to see who's going to win I don't know who's going to win but if I had to take someone I'm just giving a slight edge to the Seahawks because of the explosiveness that they have on offense with JSN I don't know who's going to cover him.

1:07:36In the slot. Cover who? Yeah. In the slot? Hell, hold on. You're talking about in the slot. Who's going to cover him out the backfield? Who's going to cover him on the outside? I mean, obviously Christian Gonzalez.

1:07:47Shannon Sharpe:He don't want none of that. But the Christian Gonzalez. Not in the slot. To be able to lock in on him. Because J.S. I mean, but normally what Bill Belichick does and what Brable does is that they take away your best. Your best. Yep. And somebody else is going to have to beat me. Yeah. Somebody's going to have to beat me. I'm trying to think. And so I know the line, what does Seattle open up as? They're probably what, three, four? Four-point faves? Yeah, three and a half. So I'm not surprised they opened up as a three-and-a-half-point favorite. Yeah. It's going to be a good one. It's going to be a good one.

1:08:29Drake may have had to put them boys on his back. Drake got to put them boys on his back.

1:08:35Shannon Sharpe:I think for me, Ocho, is that in the Broncos, they're receiving. I mean, guys, I understand the weather is bad, but you got to make plays. Yeah. Courtland Sutton drops too many passes. Drop too many. Look, Jordan Humphrey, you get those opportunities, you got to come down with the ball. It's really that simple. In a situation like this, Ocho, you got to help this quarterback. This ain't both. You don't have the ability to come back. So every possession mattered. Every play matters. And I have...

1:09:06Shannon Sharpe:Drake may have three playoff wins in three playoff games.

1:09:14Shannon Sharpe:And on the second year. Hey, that's crazy. What you call them has... I think what you call them has what? Three, two, four. How many does Joe Burrow has? Joe Burrow has four. Lamar has three.

1:09:38Shannon Sharpe:Burrow has five.

1:09:45Shannon Sharpe:Lamar has three. How many does Josh have?

1:09:52Shannon Sharpe:Hell, he done passed Dak. Dak got two. Josh has seven.

1:10:01Shannon Sharpe:This is why the Patriots let go. Gerard Mayo, this has been a magical run for Mike Brable in his first season with the Patriots. He inherited a franchise that had won four games in 23 and in 24. Now they are the AFC champs once again with a 17-3 record this season, including the playoffs. That's crazy, man. That's dope. That's dope. That's dope. I mean, I was trying to put my finger on it too, Unc. That's why I asked you when we first started this segment, I mean, what is the difference? I mean, what is the personnel, the players that came in that just made a complete difference in what they looked like the previous year?

1:10:37Shannon Sharpe:Josh, what Daniel called and plays? Yeah, but, I mean, is just the play call and take you from 4-13 to 14-3? I think there are some philosophical differences between Mike Vrabel and Gerard Mayo. Gerard Mayo seems, excuse me, Mike Vrabel, you see how he waits on everybody, hugs everybody, he's slapping five, he's getting everybody credit. that's yeah Gerard male had more of a Belichick style Mike Braybill has his own style he always has mm-hmm and so when I look at it guys sincerely you hear guys say bill was the coach but we played for Tom hmm guys say we play for Mike I can see that hey he'll play as cool yes hey we've told He be out there in the drills.

1:11:27Shannon Sharpe:Milt Williams said they're staying overnight in Denver. Said Brable told him no curfew, but the bus leave at 8. And if you're not on the bus, you're not playing in the bowl. Ooh. Belichick would have had their ass on that plane. He had straight back to Boxborough. Hey, straight, straight back home. But you know what? They probably can't even fly out because of the weather. They inclement weather. But congratulations to the New England Patriots. They're back home. so it looked like the Patriot Invitational. They win by the score of 10-7 over the Denver Broncos. They go to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl 60 will be a rematch of Super Bowl 49.

1:12:08Shannon Sharpe:I don't think. Super Bowl 60. I don't think, Ocho, if they get the ball on the one-yard line, they're going to throw a pass. I think Kenneth Walker might get that ball. Absolutely, boy. Hey, he's an animal, boy. he's an animal Mike Braybill message to the team punching the ticket to the Super Bowl no curfew tonight the buses are leaving at 8 in the morning so if you ain't on it you ain't playing in the bowl Braybill spoke on the field about the possibility of being the first former player and current head coach the same Super Bowl I won't win it it'll be the players that'll win the game I promise you it won't be me that will win it I promise you that I'll do everything I can and I staff to have them ready for the game.

1:12:56Yes, coaches make a difference.

1:13:00Shannon Sharpe:Coaches make a difference. Yeah. Make a difference. They do. They just do. Yeah, you got to have good players. But we've seen teams that have good players. Right. And one coach can't get them over the hump. And another coach comes in and he can. And it's okay. It happens. Just like some players perform better under some coaches than others. That's okay.

1:13:32Damn. Oh, damn. What? Y 'all are one game away. What? Dang. Seems like a lifetime, Ocho. Yeah, yeah.

1:13:40Shannon Sharpe:And the thing is, Ocho, is that when you like this, think about how many times they came from behind. the likelihood of you coming from behind like that next year is slim to none. Remember Kansas City? All those games they won the previous year by coming from behind. They lost damn near all of them this year in one score game. Yeah, all the one score games. Yep, sure did. So I think the thing, the way they practice, I think the thing, the way they meet, the way you hold them accountable, I think some of the things if you listen to Ray Gerard Mayo was saying, hey, it's on the coach, it's on the players, all we can do Braves like look we got to do a better job of putting them in position to make plays sometimes it's just as simple as that sometimes it's tone sometimes it's voice inflection you never know what resonates with a player but it's your job as a head coach to know what button to push on each individual 53 players do you pat him on the back do you put your foot in his tail do you say congratulations do you yell do you scream because every player has a different stimuli to get them to form at their best it's your job as a coach to figure it out.

1:14:49Shannon Sharpe:Your job as a coach to get each player to go further than he thought he could on his own. I think Mike Brable does a great job of that. I like to play for a guy like Brable. I played against him when he was in the league, and I saw him. He was a solid player. He was where he was supposed to be. If he was supposed to be in the flat, he was there. If he was supposed to be in the hook, he was supposed to be there. If he was supposed to carry the tight end up the scene, he was there. If he was supposed to set the edge, he was setting the edge, and you weren't getting it. You wasn't hooking it. Mm-hmm.

1:15:16Yeah, I played against Brable one time when I was in Cincinnati earlier. I forgot what year that was.

1:15:22Shannon Sharpe:Ocho, Nick Benito say he's sick that they lost to Patriots because Denver is the better team. We're definitely the better team. Ocho, do you like Benito saying this after losing? Yeah, you can say that. I mean, that's how you feel. And he wholeheartedly feels that. I feel like we're the better team. And sometimes you go in games and sometimes you do things in life, and you lose the people that you feel inferior to you. Yep. And it happens. It happens. Nick Benito knows why they lost. He just can't say it. You can't throw anybody under the bus. You know, you guys might be the better team all around in certain areas.

1:15:55But not today. It comes down to one game. This is not a basketball series where you got multiple chances to try to win the game. It's who was the better team on that specific day. Now, you might be the better team, you know, mentally in your mind. Coming into the game, you're probably the better team. But you lost today. You weren't the better team today. That's all that matters.

1:16:13Shannon Sharpe:I don't have to be the better team. See, and that's the thing what people love so much about football. Because beating somebody four times or beating somebody three out of five, that's unimportant to me in football. Because every game is a game seven once you get to the playoffs. So with that being said, the Patriots were the better team that day, today. And that's all that mattered, today. Now, if they play tomorrow, could the Patriots win? Maybe, maybe not. But we'll never know. because they don't need to win. They didn't need to win Saturday. They didn't need to win Monday. They needed to win today, and they won today.

1:16:48Shannon Sharpe:So it's always tough when you lose a ball game like that. Yeah. But I don't know. You know, like you said, he knows he can't. Hold on. Oh, Joe, if you're sorry. Hey, you know what I just thought about? I'm wearing an Arsenal shirt, right? And Arsenal played Man United today. and Arsenal lost the Man United. So therefore, I'm wearing a team who's let me change shirts. Hold on.

1:17:32Whoa.

1:17:35Shannon Sharpe:Ocho. What you call it? This is JSN's third year. JSN may want to get back to the table. So, hold on. Before y 'all break, what you call him out, let me get a little something. Yeah, he just finished his third year. He had 100 catches last year. Damn, for real?

1:18:01Shannon Sharpe:Hey, Nick, I know it's tough, bro. I know it's tough. Drake, May 17th, Sam Donald 16th, have combined 33 wins and starting quarterbacks in this season, including regular season and playoffs. That's the most combined wins by the two starting quarterbacks entering the Super Bowl in NFL history.

1:18:27Shannon Sharpe:How long we have 14-2? Yeah. Because I think John and Chris Chandler, I think we had with 16-2. and what was the Falcons record? We finished them in the Super Bowl. Because I know we won 14 games. We won two because we were home. So we won 16. And what was the Falcons record going into the game? Falcons might have had to win.

1:18:59Shannon Sharpe:How many games did they win that year? So they should have been 17 and 16 too. So they won 14 regular season games, right? And then three postseason games. Because they were not, what you call it, was the home, was the one seed. Oh, it used to be two first-round buys, though. That's why. So it was 16 and 16, 32. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, hold on. Yeah, it used to be two first-round buys. But Drake made 17 wins. Sam Donald 16 wins. have combined 33 wins starting quarterbacks when you consider the regular season and postseason, Ocho. Most combined ever by two quarterbacks starting in the NFL, in the Super Bowl.

1:19:49Shannon Sharpe:JSN is the fifth player with 10 receptions, 150 receiving yards, and a touchdown in a conference championship game. Julio Jones did it in 2012. Pierre Garcon did it in 2009. I hear you did it in 2000 with the Giants. and Playmaker did it in 1994.

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