After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Explore more at I'mListening.org. Oh, he snags it, but he didn't get in. Mooney is short of the goal line. Washington has come up with a defensive stand.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Iron Eagle on Westwood 1 and yes in fact Washington did that more than once. The Bears had 3 trips inside the 5 yard line and no points and coming up here momentarily we're going to head to Chicago and welcome a Commander's Insider who's there at the game. So we'll get the lay of the land.

Yes it's a win and it ends a 4 game losing skid but at the same time there is so much swirling around the commanders right now. So we'll talk to Ben Standing of the Athletic and our Washington DC affiliate 106.7 the fan. Whenever he's ready Producer Carlos can you tell me when? Is he ready now?

Ok got it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

When you need to cash out of your home and a simple way to get it Rocket can. Ben thanks so much for a couple of minutes especially since it's been a long evening for you. How would you describe the game that the commanders just survived and won?

Well yeah I appreciate the time and thanks for your patience. How would I describe it? I mean this day has felt like a week. This week has felt like a month and this game sort of just fits in perfectly with all that. It was ugly, chaotic, bizarre and for a later time for this team they came out with a win either on or off the field. So truly bizarre I mean the fact that like you said that they held the Bears to 0 points despite being inside what the 10 or the red zone on 3 occasions is fairly wild. I still don't even understand how Darnell Mooney didn't somehow get the ball over the goal line.

He was landing right on it but didn't do it and they win a game with Carson Wentz throwing for 99 yards. I really don't quite know how they did it but I think they're probably lucky they were playing the Bears tonight no offense to them but not exactly a juggernaut these days so it almost feels like a perfect way to cap off an insane week for this team. Yeah we'll talk about everything swirling around them even before they got onto the field but looking at this game and knowing what you know about their first 6 weeks what are the biggest issues for the commanders right now Ben? Well I mean I think on offense the offensive line has been kind of in shambles for most of this year that they're already down 3 starters from week 1 and as we saw tonight at times they were giving up this easy pass rush pressure and Carson Wentz among his concerns is he's got kind of a jittery presence in the pocket and that really is stifling a lot of their offensive production. They were able tonight as we saw get Brian Robinson in in his most extensive work since he returned to football and I think that's going to help them a lot but right now they just are really struggling to sustain drives. You know I mean look they scored what 12 points right? I mean that's hardly going to be good enough against teams you know what better teams they have coming up like Green Bay next week so I think that's the biggest thing. The defense has actually played pretty well the last 3 to 4 games at this point so there's some positive signs there but the offense they really got to figure out a way to start generating some points.

Just as a side note 12 points is all the Colts managed last week in winning at overtime so that's back to back Thursday night football games where the winner has only managed 12 points so yeah a little bit nutso with the product that we've seen to start off these weeks of football. Ben Stanig is with the athletic covering the commanders also with our DC affiliate 106.7 the fan and still in Chicago following Thursday night football it's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Brian Robinson maybe the bright spot the highlight certainly a story that goes far beyond football what have you seen and heard from his teammates as he's come back from not even 7 weeks ago being shot twice in the leg. Yeah I mean I think it's still kind of insane scenario I think everybody's pretty inspired watching this you know it's funny he's pretty nonchalant about the whole thing I mean we've only been had a chance to really talk to him on the record as reporters over the last week. But you know we've been in the locker room for several weeks now since he returned and you wouldn't have any idea that this guy just went through this and he's pretty you know casual about it and his teammates recognize how incredibly lucky he is and I think he does as well clearly.

But you know the yeah I think they took a lot of inspiration from that and you know in terms of just the football side of it he really looked sharp during training camp and in the preseason you know he he he's been there starting running back in his first two games in the NFL. Both coming after as you said he was shot twice I mean that's pretty insane but it also says a lot about what he showed this team during the summer and you know I think we saw some of that translate tonight. Ron Rivera admittedly had a really bad day on Monday and has taken ownership of his comment in which he essentially said that quarterback is the reason why the commanders are losing team and are sitting right there with the other teams in the NFC East and competing. Now he did try to explain it I know he apologized and he obviously spoke to the team but what what do you make of that moment is just not generally what you hear from Ron Rivera. Yeah he's been known to have a gap or two for sure that's what this was I think all of us in the room kind of knew what he meant but he you know you can't say why why are you guys trailing the other teams in your division and give a one word answer of quarterback without explaining it.

Matt Paris from the Washington Times did a good job of following up on that and then it was just kind of kept pecking away into it. I mean the thing about it is those of us on the beat know he has been very defensive of enough anybody criticizing Carson Wentz yes the president a few weeks ago came there and kind of savaged somebody who was criticizing Carson Wentz. They've really gone out of their way to defend this guy and I know Carson Wentz is the punching bag.

He's not been fantastic this year but he's not been terrible. He's definitely not the sole reason that they've been bad so I get why the outside world just assumed that's where Rivera was going. Regardless, he clearly created a distraction for no reason other than just he I don't know had a mental lapse or something that for a minute and I don't know what he was doing. What did he mean?

I mean you said that for those of you who are around him a lot and you hear him a lot you kind of understand what he was trying to say so what was he trying to say? Well that's what's funny what he was trying to say to be honest doesn't really make a lot of sense but what he was trying to say is that in the time that he has been there so he arrived in 2020 they have not been able to build around a quarterback. Which is true because they've gone through several different quarterbacks Wentz is the best one they've had so far in terms of least as pure talent. But the part that doesn't make any sense is he's then pointed to the other teams in the division that they've had this opportunity which is not really true. I mean Dallas yes has had Dak Prescott but he also hasn't been playing this year as we know for the last several weeks in Cooper Russia but not the script backup is you know winning all the games.

The Giants nobody is that excited about Daniel Jones but also he is with a first year coach this year learning a new system. So that's the same level as Carson Wentz and even with Philadelphia I mean look Janglin Hurts has been having a very good year but there were a lot of questions about him coming in so into the season so it was a weird point. I just think Rivera has been frustrated that they haven't been able to get this most important of positions and you know there probably is some frustration that Carson Wentz hasn't completely you know solved all their problems.

But yeah I don't know what he was trying to say exactly I mean that's what he was trying to say but his point still doesn't quite make sense. What do you make of the report then that came out on Thursday that obviously set Rivera off postgame that it wasn't him but it was Dan Snyder who pressed for Carson Wentz because I swear I felt like this whole thing would have essentially died after the game. You know we move on so quickly in the NFL there's so much happening in the new cycle but man that just added fuel to a fire to embers that maybe were about to go out but weren't quite there yet. Yeah I don't know if I've ever seen someone passionately stake a claim that they wanted a player who most people who pay attention to the league would think you wouldn't want to stake a claim to saying you wanted this guy. But I believe that Ron Rivera did in fact was behind this move again it's easy. You hear Dan Snyder supposedly wants this guy. Dan Snyder has been a meddling owner for the majority of his career and most of the time when he has meddled it's been a mess. And he's done that as recently as the 2019 draft when he wanted them to take Dwayne Askins when the rest of the organization didn't. But in this case I really do think Rivera was the one who wanted it and you know why he was so angry about it I don't I don't know exactly I think with a combination of being you know fired up because they just won and you know he's probably just had enough of all this.

But you know the spoiler for him there's going to be more coming there's always more coming it never ends and that's that's what he and everybody else to deal with. Maybe a little embarrassed too a little defensive because it is bringing back up what happened earlier in the week and the fact that that he still he put himself into the middle of it by what he said on Monday. Ben Standing is with us from Chicago after the commanders win and yet it's not a lot of mirth around them not a lot of excitement around it right now he covers the team for the athletic and also you can hear him on 106.7 the fan our CBS Sports Radio affiliate in DC it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. The Dan Snyder chants sell the team they were behind Brian Robinson on the Thursday Night Football post game on Amazon Prime so he's talking about getting shot and coming back and in the background you can hear the fans sell the team. Obviously Al Michaels addressed it as well on Prime we we played that here last hour how loud are the calls there for someone who lives in the market covers the team extensively how loud is that noise getting been. Oh well on the one hand it's deafening and then the other hand it's quiet meaning so many people have checked out that they just don't even care anymore but yeah I mean it's been people have been calling for this forever I mean what what's happened over the last couple of years as there's been these investigations into the organization has certainly brought a new a new focus on this but you know from a purely football perspective it's been a mess. You know for basically his entire time and you know I grew up in the area I was a fan of the team growing up and it is insane to think where they've fallen and it doesn't it just doesn't seem like it's going to remotely get any better anytime soon. And yeah I mean you know I think a lot of this what was in this report today is an interesting report absolutely it was some really interesting details for I think for those of us on the beat a lot of it was kind of a rehash with things we've already kind of known but regardless.

You know it's this is where we're at it just never ends and you know it's something we all have to deal with and everybody else can just sort of laugh at us and I get it. How much do you believe that his role with the team, even though he's been suspended and not supposed to be part of day to day operations but his role and the way he's run the team has to do with the fact that they haven't been able to find any type of any type of success in recent years. Yeah, I mean it's a it's a it's a kind of a vicious cycle. We have here, because, you know, in terms of the football side of things, you know, the more this goes on like he's had some interesting coaches that he's brought in over the last you know, during his tenure around Rivera among them, but there's always a ceiling that sort of capped because of Dan Snyder's presence I mean even in the case of say Ron Rivera.

Right. I mean, he has had some success at Carolina. He's also had the losing seasons in eight of his 11 years but he's never had front office responsibilities before, and in order to get a guy like Rivera Snyder had to give him those responsibilities and part of the issue with Washington is looking at their personnel and it's really not know it's not as deep as they probably wish it was from where they started a few years ago.

So it just all kind of just keeps going and going and. Yeah, I mean, the other weird part of all this is Snyder doesn't make yourself available I've covered the team full time since 2015 and several years sort of in a freelance way before that I have never spoken to him. Wow. I've only been in the same room with him.

I can count on the number of times on one hand. He's just not around and, you know, it just makes it. I don't know if that matters to the players, they probably see him but, you know, just in terms of the everything else that this is just another sign of this weird sort of dysfunction and yeah I mean it's, it's, you know, it's one of the things I would, I would, I would cry if I didn't want to, you know, really just wanted to, you know, immerse myself in the thought of just how insane that is. I'm sort of kidding about me but I know so many of my friends and family who are just beyond annoyed, angry or at this point maybe even just apathetic over the whole situation. Before I let you go, Ben, I just want to preface this question by saying I'm a huge Ron Rivera fan and I don't believe that it's ever as simple as being a coach's fault and as you mentioned he does have some administrative responsibilities and certainly some say over the roster.

Is his job in jeopardy? I don't think so. You know, I mean look, they won this game. They won this game.

It was one they did, they did win. And one thing about Rivera's teams, like the last, his first two years here, the first year they started 1-5, ended up finishing 7-9 which happened to be good enough that year to win a terrible NFC East. Last year they were 2-6, then ripped off 4 in a row to actually be in the position to be a wildcard team only for injuries and a COVID outbreak to kind of take them down.

So I think in their mind they're still in this but here's the problem. Just getting back to 500 even, let's just say that's possible, I know it's a 17 game so there's no 500, but in terms of just getting back to that middle, that's not enough. When are they moving to the next level? And I think that's where, you know, regardless of what happens the rest of this way, I could see at the end of the year there being a discussion about his future but I don't think it's anything that's imminent now or even during the season. Okay, because that's all they need is a little more trauma, a little more controversy around the team.

Although it seems like, Ben, you operate at this level. I mean what would you do if they were actually a winning team and there was no drama? Would you even know how to write or how to cover the team?

No, I don't. So many of my colleagues at the athletic felt like, you know, hit me up on our slack thread and they'll say like, I can't even understand how you deal with this. But on the other hand, it's never boring.

I know there are some teams where, you know, there's not much happening and that's a whole other situation. You know, fortunately I don't really have much of a lifestyle. I could just stay on top of this thing at all times and you have no choice but to do just that. Exactly.

It's all consuming. You can find Ben on Twitter at Ben Standig. S-T-A-N-D-I-G. Covers the commanders in the NFL for the athletic. Also with our affiliates in D.C.

Team 980 and 106.7, the fan. And I love the name of his podcast, Standig Room Only. That's fantastic, Ben. You are welcome back anytime. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes after Thursday Night Football. Hey, Amy. I really appreciate it.

Thanks so much. Good stuff with Ben. Seriously, that's the name of his podcast, Standig Room Only. And it took me a couple of times saying it out loud. I mean, I get it by seeing it, but that's cool.

Very clever. So yeah, could you imagine? I think it's a little bit like those writers and reporters who cover the Browns all the time. Never ends.

Ever. It's not one of those jobs that's the same. It's drama. It's nonstop. And as Ben says, I'm sure he's joking about not having a life.

But as Ben says, it definitely does require all of you all the time because the NFL never stops. So find him on Twitter. Really good insight and solid intel from Ben about the commanders on the field and off. You can find us on Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or on Facebook. About to put up our poll. The After Hours game of the week. And then we're going to step into the baseball arena.

Because you know, NFL can't consume the center ring of the circus all the time. Glad to have you with us. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. And the pitch on the way to Moore. Swing and a line drive into right field. Tucker comes in, can't get to it, drops in, a base hit.

Here comes Hamiger on to score from third. Moore with a base hit the other way. And the Mariners have the lead 2-1 here in the top of the fourth inning. This is After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. Seattle had a lead in this game.

Rick Riz on Mariners Radio. In the fourth inning, they generate a pair of runs. Though only had five hits in the game.

It wasn't just Franber Valdez, though of course he started for the Houston Astros. The way that they were able to generate these two runs I think is how they're going to have to do it. And yes, Luis Castillo is capable of making those runs stand up.

Except for when it's Jordan Alvarez. Doesn't seem like the decisions they're making for him are working out. Whether you put him on base automatically or you pitch to him, he is definitely the wild card and the center piece of this series so far. The Mariners did have opportunities. They left nine different runners on base in Game 2 on Thursday evening. They were one for six with runners in scoring position.

So they do get that lead. But then moving forward into what was the sixth inning and then the later stages. Once Luis Castillo was out of the game, obviously the Mariners are relentless. Excuse me, the Astros are relentless.

They just keep coming. The 0-1. Alvarez punishes one deep to left field, gives it goodbye! And there lands his Crawford boxes.

Astros lead it 3-2. Yordan does it again. Who's your daddy? He does it again. This time to left field with a flick of the wrist.

Hi, Poppy! Monos delivers. Line drive, base hit into right field. Racing to third base, Pena. He's around third and coming home. Put in a play by Hanager on two, hops the slide.

Safe! Down to third base goes Alvarez. Bregman drives it a run. Astros with the 4-2 lead. The 2-2. Swing and a miss! Struck him out on a curve ball.

And that is the ball game. The Houston Astros go up two games to none in the best of five American League Division series. Defeating the Seattle Mariners by a final of 4-2. Astros need one more win to get to the ALCS for a six straight year.

The voices of Robert Ford and Steve Sparks who was with us last night even as he was finishing up the scorecards and packing. Because as soon as the Astros won this game at Minute Maid Park, they were getting on a plane to head to Seattle. So we appreciate his time and I had a chance to ask him about Yordan Alvarez even before Yordan smacked his second home run in two games of the American League Division series.

It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. So in the sixth inning, he puts the Astros in front. So they're trailing 2-1 at that point. He hits another home run and this one actually had some history with it. It wasn't even a strike by the way. It comes off of Castillo's hand or out of his hand at 98 miles per hour on the gun. And it was four inches.

They measured it at four inches off the outside corner of the plate and Alvarez still managed to blast it nearly 375 feet. And so he is one of those guys that I think Dusty Baker said it best after the game. You do not go to the bathroom. You do not leave your seat.

You wait. You do not miss his at bats. And no, he may not have the numbers that an Aaron Judge had this season in that kind of history in the American League, but his second straight game with the go-ahead home run as the Astros were trailing in the sixth inning, in game two in the ninth inning with the walk-off in the series opener. He's 25 years old. And if you missed my conversation with Steve Sparks, Steve had a Hall of Famer that he pitched to in his big league career that he thinks makes a pretty sweet comparison to Jordaan.

You can get that on our podcast after hours, AmyLawrence.com. So nearly 42,000 strong there at Minute Maid Park. Never have we seen a player have more than one go-ahead home run in the sixth inning or later of a playoff game while his team is trailing. So Alvarez has done it twice in two games.

He's the only guy who's ever done it. I mean, it's crazy, right, considering the number of playoff games, the number of playoff series. But here are the Astros now, one win away from a sixth straight appearance in the ALCS.

Wowzers. Stretching things out now, like, say, the Kansas City Chiefs and the number of AFC championship games they've been to. Alvarez, though, with that loud pat. Not the only reason why, but certainly a big reason why. And Dusty Baker just loves watching. I mean, he's a big boy, and I call him grande. And, you know, he comes up big. And, you know, we love having him at the plate.

You know, he likes to be in the big moment. And his concentration and discipline is the way ahead of his years. And, you know, we just love having him. He can run. He can hit. He can hit for power. He can throw, play defense. So he's an elite, elite player in this game. And I'm super happy to be on his team. He's in the zone, and he's a super talented player. And he's made us pay here the last couple days. So, again, things happen. He's hot right now.

You know, we'll go back to our place and go from there. Not only did Jordin Alvarez smack that sixth inning home run of a ball, here's Scott Service kind of resigned to what Alvarez can do. But after they intentionally walked him in the eighth inning, they put him on base, and Alex Bregman comes up after him and drives in a run. And so Bregman, you hear him talk about everything that Jordin can do. And when we had Steve Sparks on the show last night, it's about 24 hours ago, he also pointed to Jordin's defense. Now, he's not always playing defense, but when he does, he's becoming a better defensive player.

He's certainly got the strength to be able to make those outfield throws and come up with the assists. So the Mariners, a bit stymied offensively, don't capitalize on their opportunities, and here are the big bads, the Houston Astros. Kind of funny, actually, and I said this with Steve last night, a team with 106 wins, all of the hatred toward Houston notwithstanding, a team with 106 wins actually flew under the radar this year, maybe because of the Aaron Judge home run chase, the Albert Pujols home run chase, some kind of feel-good stories around Major League Baseball like the Cleveland Guardians, with Tito Francona, youngest team in the game, and they make this unexpected run to the AL Central title.

The Braves obviously catching the Mets at the very end of the regular season to win yet another East division. For whatever reason, partly I think because Houston had such a large lead in the division for most of the year. I mean, remember back early in the season, the Mariners, the Mariners are the A's. One of those teams started out hot and actually had the lead in that division briefly. But for the most part, Houston's had a sizable lead, similar to what the Yankees had in the AL East or obviously the Dodgers in the NL West. And they kind of just flew under the radar, but they are very dangerous, and their pitching is exceptional. I know Justin Verlander got rocked in the opener, even though they ended up pointing with the walk-off. It's not just their starters, and it's Lance McCullers who will go in Game 3 on Saturday.

Very bullpen has the lowest ERA in baseball, and so the rich just get richer when it comes to the Astros. Houston at Seattle, I cannot wait for that atmosphere in Seattle on Saturday. Obviously, it's been a long time, and Dusty Baker knows that it's going to be really difficult to hear yourself think in that atmosphere there at the Mariners. Fans who have been waiting for this a long time. They're fans. I've got people in Seattle who's going to be sold out first time in 20 years. They're scalping tickets on the air and all kind of stuff up there, so it's going to be loud. And Seattle's a good place to visit. That third win is always the toughest, because I've been in this situation a couple times, and so you try to get it over with as soon as you can so that they don't have much life after that third game. But it's going to be tough. Dusty Baker, he's a great complement to the Astros.

I actually believe this is true, and Marco Balletti's here in studio. I get that people hate the Astros and they're never going to let it go. It's totally fine. It's a little bit like New England and Bill Belichick and Spygate. How many years has that been now? And people are never going to let it go, ever.

Spygate and then Deflategate. Right, of course. So with the Astros, they're just going to have to live with it.

That's part of the legacy they created. But I do think that similar to Brian Snitker last year, that Dusty Baker, if they would get back to the World Series, could be a bit of a sentimental favorite, if they would win. I'm not saying people are going to root for the Astros if they have no particular interest, but Dusty Baker, after all these years, he was a phenomenal player. He's been kicking around baseball forever. He's come so close. I mean, he's like the Susan Lucci, to use an old reference.

Susan Lucci of the Emmys, right? He's been the bridesmaid and never the bride so many times. And he chose to walk into this situation understanding what he was doing, but he loves to manage.

The man loves to manage. He's a baseball lifer. And I kind of feel like people would be happy for him. After they would win and it's already done, and then the story becomes Dusty, yes.

Unfortunately, all the other garbage that comes with it, just like last year, it would overshadow it. And Dusty Baker, it's unfortunate because, I mean, really, he's done such an amazing job as a manager through all his tenures. I mean, this is a guy that, I mean, he had the Cubs on the brink. He took the Giants there. He had the Reds in the playoffs. He had the Nationals there. I mean, like this, he's everywhere he's gone.

The Nationals the year before they win the World Series, right? Everywhere he goes, he turns them into winners. Everywhere he goes, he's a phenomenal manager. He's made a lot of mistakes, too, in big spots.

Everybody has. But he's also that guy, too. He's one of those people that, when you see her, like, if you want to be in a room with somebody hearing them talk baseball, there's not a lot of guys that I would pick before Dusty Baker. You know, it's almost like at dinner, if you could sit down and I could have Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker just talk baseball to me for like four hours. You know, you're just kind of like, oh, wow.

Just every story, one after another, and everything deadpan. Yeah, just awesome stuff. Okay, I know that we're going to get to your update here and you've got stuff looking ahead to the weekend, but I need your help because we were having a bit of a debate about the game of the week. I get it. Most people are going to go Chiefs-Bills or Cowboys-Eagles. We put Ravens-Giants in there.

We're having a hard time finding another game that could even remotely belong in the poll. So either you help me pick another one or we just go with three. I'd have to, I got to look at the slant.

Or maybe go with two. I'll be fair. I don't usually know every game on the top of my head. I'm looking at it right now.

So here are the other potential options. The Jets at the Packers. I know that sounds crazy, but don't they have the same record? Aren't the Jets three and two right now?

I believe they are, yes. The Jets and Packers have the same record, which is crazy. Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh.

It's Kenny Pickett starting at home. No. Okay. Alright, fine. Arizona at Seattle? No.

They score a lot? Okay. I mean, are you not going to let me finish?

Like make my case? No. We're not going Denver and L.A. on Monday night because that's gross. No.

I mean, maybe the Chargers will have a big game. No. So in other words, and I'm assuming you don't think we should go San Francisco-Atlanta. No. Okay. So I think you're done.

This is not helpful. No, no, no. I think you're done.

I didn't even mention Patriots-Browns, but... You shouldn't. So I would say the originals that you had there, there you go. That's it. So only three.

I should just do a poll with three. That's the end of it. Okay. Got it. Alright then, we're just going to go three.

Marco has been the final rule and Carlos and I couldn't really come up with another one either. Because there isn't. No.

Because the fourth one wouldn't be winning anyway, so I guess we could just not put it in there for show. No. No. Alright, that poll is going up literally in the next 30 seconds. So you can check it out on our show Twitter, After Hours, CPS.

Good stuff. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Sam must have put on the ball. Checks being made at the line of scrimmage. Snap back.

Fields. The pressure throws hit as he delivered and he had no juice on the throw. Swallowed up on the play by Washington's push up front. Justin on his back right now and slowly getting up with help from teammates. With 14 seconds left in the first half.

That dinged him a little bit. He's bending over and he's trying to get himself right as he heads back to the huddle. This time they rush three and drop eight in the pocket.

He's got to move up again. He throws on the crosser and is caught over the middle. By Pettis breaks a tackle, first out of the 45. Four seconds left in the half, they take a time out.

They get to the 45 and now Justin hit again, getting up rather slowly and this one taking a little more time to get himself right and with all the attention going on about the safety of players, especially the quarterback position, and he's bent over pretty good here. He needs some help. Everybody's mad.

I mean, nobody's happy about his loss. You know, just we always get told that we're almost there. We're almost there. Like me personally, I'm tired of being almost there. I'm tired of being, you know, just just this close feel like I've been hearing it for so long now, but on, you know, at the end of the day, all you can do is get back to work.

That's the only reaction you have. Live and learn. Get back next weekend, you know, keep keep going, keep getting better.

Here's Amy Lawrence. Justin Fields admits it's frustrating. I'm sure that he's in. He's in pain. He's sore. Certainly looked like he was taken every last second he could when he had to get up. Now he was still fired up. There were a couple of moments where you could see his offensive lineman were checking on him after he'd been laying on the field and he got up and he felt the juice and had a surge of energy and yelled. And in fact, he got knocked down after he threw the touchdown pass to Dante Pettis. So this is a guy who's game.

This is a guy who will give you everything he's got and he's very athletic and he does have skills. It's it's just so inconsistent, not all on him. But every time I see these flashes, I think, OK, there is a quarterback in there. Snap back to throw fields, going to toss it down the left side, going for Pettis over the shoulder, makes the grab in the end zone, touchdown, touchdown Bears. Justin Fields and his stomach took a hit. He's in pain again, but he just completed a beauty 40 yards to Pettis, who settled under it on the near side. And there's a penalty for too many guys on the field for the Washington Redskins. So he knew he had a free play. So that's why he threw it up to Pettis and Pettis made a great adjustment. Kendall Fuller to the end zone for the touchdown and Justin Fields in a lot of pain, takes his helmet off, leaning to one side.

It's got to be something rib cage or something like that because he's taking repeated hits. He keeps coming up in pain and the Bears are on the board, their first score of the day. It was the only score of the day, their only point. So multiple empty trips inside the red zone, but a 40 yard TD pass on the money from Justin to Dante Pettis, Jeff Joniak with the calls on the Bears radio network.

So yeah, frustrating all around. Matt Eberflus now sees his team fall to two and three, I'm sorry, two and four. We're into week number six, two and four. And considering how many times he was hit, how many times he was sacked, the fact that he was under siege, there are questions about whether or not they need to retool the offensive line during their break. We're going to reassess everything. I mean, everything we're going to reassess from scheme to, to, you know, players to everything, you know, and we're going to do a good job of that here coming up. And we're going to do a good job of really getting it to the players. You know, if it might be a lineup change or, or it might be, you know, technique fundamentals that all that scheme, how we're running certain plays, who are getting the ball to what we're doing well, what we need to improve on. So that's going to be, you know, we're going to look at all that for sure.

Assess everything. It's Matt Eberflus and yeah, he signed up for this. He's getting paid handsomely, but man, it's a lot.

And I'm sure it's a lot for Justin as well. It's after hours on CBS sports radio and on our show Twitter. I finally did it.

I'm not kidding. It took me four different times posting the after hours game of the week poll. The first time, well, I had four options and Marco talked me down off of the four options. So then I had to redo the poll and make it only the three games that I'm not even sure that the third option is going to get any votes. I'll be really impressed if the Ravens and Giants gets even 1% of the vote.

Maybe there'll be a groundswell in Baltimore and New York. But then I realized I left the W off show. So I had to go back and fix it. Then I decided I wanted to add emojis. And then I realized I got the time wrong, the length of the poll.

So Oh my gosh, it was, it was not easy. I'd give producer J a lot of credit. So the poll is up on our show, Twitter, or it's on my Twitter, a law radio. And then also I'm trying to put it up on our Facebook page, kind of hosting a show here at the same time.

So juggling a lot of things that that's pretty much standard for every night of the week. 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 2 2 7. Let's talk to Daniel who's in Athens, Georgia. Daniel. Sure.

Well, again, I agree with you. I think Daniel's on the phone. Hello, Amy. Yep. Hey, you there. Sorry. Did you just ask me if I'm here? I work here.

This is what I have to do all night. No, I know. I know. I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was on. How are you doing tonight? I'm fine.

Um, anyway, sorry, getting to the point, I guess. Talk to you last week, I think about brave, you know, making sure that they're going to be what we thought it would be. I think they still are talking about the Astros tonight. I think that, you know, you obviously saw what they're capable of. I mean, when I was at game one, I saw a lot of people leaving the game in the ninth inning with the, you know, part of the lineup coming up.

Acuna starting your ninth inning. Did you say you went to the game? Did you say you went to the game? Yeah, on game one. Yeah. Were you like in Houston for business or you went just for the game?

No, sorry. Sorry. The Braves game. Sorry.

The Braves game. Oh, okay. I thought you said you were at the game watching them come back.

Oh, but then you said Acuna. Got you. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. But I thought it was kind of crazy.

I saw a lot of Braves fans leaving. Oh, of course. Of course. But, you know, I thought like part of the lineup coming up down four. I mean, to me, that's kind of crazy. I know.

Oh, yeah. I mean, before Don Alvarez hit his home run, the walk off, I tweeted never leave early. I mean, you just you can't this time of the year, especially with the way that bullpens are. Absolutely. Cannot leave early.

Agreed. No, I mean, and that's the thing is like, you know, with the way things have been going this year, especially the way the ball's been playing this year, I mean, a little bit more than last year, I feel like, but, you know, it's just, you know, Braves can they can go after it at any time of the game, you know, and like, you know, the Astros, they've always been known to be like, ready to hit a home run at any point in the lineup. So well, and it's that applies to most of the teams that are left, correct? I mean, the New York Yankees can do the same thing. The Dodgers obviously live and die with the long ball. They've got some incredible hitters. We know what Seattle has done, what Cleveland has done to get to this point. Um, and so, yeah, I think at this, at this stage, as we go deeper into the playoffs now, second week, you're talking about really any team that can smash a ball or that can come up with these types of comebacks.

Otherwise they wouldn't still be alive in the post season. So cool. Thanks so much for that phone call next time. Maybe we'll start talking to you a little earlier, uh, since you didn't have to finish a phone call or it's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Thanks for hanging out with us on CBS sports radio.

What's up everybody. Guess who's hosting a new podcast. No mercy with Stephen A Smith. Listen as I pull back the curtain on everything beyond the world of sports interviewing, influential guests, outspoken celebrities, and thought leaders across the political financial and social spectrum.

You know me, I'll give you my unbiased opinion. A no mercy episode drops every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No mercy with Stephen A Smith, a presentation of cadence 13 and odyssey studio available on the odyssey app or wherever you listen to your podcast.

What's up everybody. Guess who's hosting a new podcast. No mercy with Stephen A Smith. Listen as I pull back the curtain on everything beyond the world of sports interviewing, influential guests, outspoken celebrities, and thought leaders across the political financial and social spectrum. You know me, I'll give you my unbiased opinion. A no mercy episode drops every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No mercy with Stephen A Smith, a presentation of cadence 13 and odyssey studio available on the odyssey app or wherever you listen to your podcast.