12-1-22 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

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That's bluenile.com. I was listening to the Star Wars soundtracks. Sometimes that's just all I want to do is listen to Star Wars music. Hello there. General Kenobi. Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You'll need my help if you're going to arrest him.

For your own good stay out of his affairs. I was so engrossed in my Star Wars. I sense a great deal of confusion in New York Skywalker. I forgot the football game had started and was like uh-oh. I have the high ground.

Are you sure this thing is safe? It's not really a Star Wars weekend but now I'm thinking about it. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. From the mind of producer Jay, do you see why we get along so well? That's it.

That's all we had to connect over. Star Wars. Though admit it Jay, you are now much more of a Star Wars nerd since you met me. I'm rubbing off on you whether you like it or not.

I do like that and yeah it has definitely much more, much more. So when I first met him he was kind of into Star Wars. Kind of into it. And now this is what he does on his free time. Yeah now I like.

Well this is what we do on our free time because I can't just say it's him. Sweet. I like it. That was brilliant. A little bit of the prequels action but he took my words and used them.

Not against me necessarily but used my words. I had no idea that was coming. The prequels need love. They're really into the prequels lately. Oh goodness. Well ever since I watched Clone Wars and then Rebels and we watched Obi-Wan Kenobi, I know we've both been much more into the prequels and leading up to Star Wars A New Hope.

Yeah I was just telling producer Jay it's been too long. I start to break out in hives when it's been too long since I've had my Star Wars medicine and I was thinking about it this weekend because for the first time in a month I'm not traveling this weekend. So the past three weekends I've been away from home been on the road and I have not been able to just plop down in my chair but it's conference championship weekend in the NFL or sorry in in college football. It's week 13 in the NFL and USA soccer in the knock. Oh my god. I can't even say it. I'm so nervous already. This is why I'm trying not to think about it.

USA soccer against the Netherlands Saturday morning in the knockout stage the round of 16. Oh my gosh. So it won't be this weekend. All that to say my tension and my my attentions will be pointed towards sports yet again this weekend but it is December. It's December.

I'm also going to decorate my house this weekend. Maybe it's happening in your neighborhoods too. All of a sudden Christmas has come alive in my neighborhood everywhere.

Every house. Well yeah I wouldn't say every house because mine's not decorated yet but but every other house at least in my neighborhood now has Christmas lights so people are all in. December's here let's go and for the world of sports that means football football more football and this shared also means the other kind of football. Weird to have a world cup in December but I'll take it because this is super cool for the USA and for Americans who have been on board and I'm seeing from you on our social media that more and more you of more and more of you are getting sucked in a little bit like Jay with Star Wars. More and more of you are paying attention even if you don't claim to be a soccer fan or don't tell people that you enjoy soccer or watch it at no time and that's okay with me.

I don't care if you watch it any other time. You don't have to go to an MLS game. You don't have to watch an MLS game on TV. Actually soccer does not translate great on TV.

It's much better in person. It's a little bit like hockey but you can love this because of the Americans and I promise you the more that you watch this team the more you'll be all in because they are well they're they're gritty they're determined they have chemistry they give it everything they've got and and they are very talented and if they stay healthy and they stay together this could be our team for a decade the better part of a decade. Christian Pulisic finally has his Captain America moment his World Cup moment that he waited eight years for. Well he waited longer than that if you go back to when he first started dreaming about playing in the World Cup but didn't get there four years ago with Team USA and so what a redemptive moment for him.

Have not heard any update on him but we'll look for that for the last show of the week before Saturday morning for us here in the United States obviously Saturday afternoon in Qatar. I just want to say one more thing thank you so much for those of you who have reached out to me on both Twitter and Facebook because I've had a flood of soccer conversation and many of you thanking me for talking about the World Cup which you do not need to do that I'm I'm all in when it comes to Team USA. It's the only time I can say we about a team because I do believe that we will win. If you missed my conversation with Jesse Bradley he's been our World Cup analyst former pro goalie who competed internationally and so he understands what soccer means to the rest of the world how it's a life blood especially in African nations and there are a few that have survived to this point now where they're also in the knockout stage. That conversation is on our podcast after hours AmyLawrence.com. It's also on Twitter I shared the link on Twitter A Law Radio as well as on our Facebook page just look for the emotional picture moments after the U.S. closed out Iran.

Oh it's it's a picture that's worth a bazillion words not just a thousand. So yes check that out on both of our social medias or as I say on our podcast directly and we'll be talking more about the game against the Netherlands. We actually have a guest lined up for tonight who played on the U.S. men's national team so I'm looking forward to talking with him and and he has a soccer academy too so what about the growth of soccer in the U.S. I said this even before the World Cup started the key to growing soccer in the United States winning. You win on the World Cup stage and there will be a soccer explosion.

Yes kids play it. Yes junior high high school even some pockets in college but it's not nearly as popular as a professional sport though it is growing in popularity and you may have noticed the MLS continues to expand. It expands with more teams and they keep getting soccer only stadiums built.

That's what they want. They don't want to share stadiums with football teams. They want soccer only facilities but it's happening. More and more money is going into MLS. You're seeing more and more NFL owners or other team owners invest in MLS because there's money to be made there.

It is growing it's just more subtle growth but if you were around in 1999 or you were cognizant of 1999 and the women's World Cup triumph, Brady Chastain, sports bra yada yada yada that was the first I wouldn't say it was the first successful women's team but it was the first women's team that captured the heart of America and there was a massive explosion in the popularity of soccer because of that and the women's team has continued to dominate and we've seen more and more kiddos get inspired by several generations of US women's soccer but let's be fair the men have not done their part and if they do let's just say for the sake of argument they win a game or two in the knockout stage. I would be barely breathing. I already barely survived the game against Iran. Oh my gosh I was a total mess. The dog staring at me not understanding why we're not going outside I even I mean for once Penny had to take a back seat. Penny never takes a back seat. Penny had to take a back seat.

Penny never takes a back seat. That last 30 minutes felt like 30 hours. I'm actually envious of Jay now but Jay you tell me you did not know the result when you watched the game. No I had no idea. So you didn't watch it live you watched it on DVR but you did not know. No I did. Stayed off social media woke right up and went right to the DVR and watched the game that's first thing I did.

Interesting. I did threaten to blow up Jay's phone and tell him everything that was happening while because I woke up to watch it live I wanted to be part of the ongoing conversation but I didn't. Also he wouldn't know because his phone hates me and refuses to accept my text messages.

I feel like that's actually probably something you did. Did you block my number on your phone is that what's happening here? No I told you I wouldn't even know how to single out or delete a text if I even wanted to.

So when I show you that I didn't get it I'd be out of my control. And yet still he won't get a new phone. Doesn't matter we don't matter we don't need to communicate it's totally fine. I've actually told him I'm going back to 19 what is it 1995 dial-up email from now on I'm just I don't have a fax machine from now on I am just emailing him everything. That's it you want to talk about Star Wars you're gonna have to go through email. Just call me. Nah. You don't want to talk to me?

Nah. That's fair. Your phone doesn't like me?

Well two can play that game. Not my fault. You won't get a new phone whose fault is it? Expanses I'll get one soon enough. Soon soon. Should I tell people what what your deadline was for getting a new phone or no? There's a new one. I should just stop embarrassing you.

That deadline has passed. Jay's my favorite subject material next to Star Wars. Jay's my favorite too. You'll make fun of Star Wars. No definitely don't make oh well Christian Hayden Christensen is as Anakin he deserves to be made fun of.

Especially in episode two. We're so swiney why do you have to be so whiny? So whiny.

Gen Z thing. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family Rocket can. So yes we're working our way toward championship weekend if you haven't heard by now college football playoff will be expanding earlier than expected. The Rose Bowl got threatened with losing its tv revenue and weirdly enough decided to get on board right after that. So yes the Rose Bowl late to the party but that is the final member that needed to get on board for this to move forward and so now the agreement is expanded college football playoff after the 24 season. So the games themselves won't come until early 25 but we're only talking about two more years and then boom from four teams to 12.

And here's what here's how I explain why. If the windfall and the cash infusion from four playoff teams is good well 12 teams is better. I would love to tell you that college football the conferences the commissioners are doing this out of the generosity of their own hearts and the spirit of competition. We want more teams to be involved because we think it's better for football. I actually am going to hold out when it comes to my opinion about it because I'm not sure it's going to be better for college football. I think we can always ask for more but I don't know that it's going to make the competition that much better.

We'll see though with the transfer portal with more players moving around they're done with the transfer portal with more players moving around there does seem to be more parity not that there aren't still the upper echelon the elite teams and programs versus those that are not and I think we will see a delineation but that's down the road. Ultimately this is not done because the commissioners and the conferences want to share the love of college football and they want to spread the wealth nah it's greed and maybe it's done in the name of greed for their school or their conference and so it's altruistic it's not like they're taking the money home though it certainly doesn't hurt them when they get big raises this is done because of the almighty dollar. That's why the NFL expanded its playoffs. That's why major league baseball expanded its playoffs. That's why the NBA added this weird gimmicky wrinkle with the play-in tournament.

It's happening everywhere. The revenue is made in the postseason. The TV contracts are based on postseason games. That's where the teams make their money. Well teams that's where the conferences and the leagues make their money. Teams do benefit of course and so that's why and we've accelerated the timeline because we've got to get this show on the road get this party started get some more money let's go. College football really has turned into a version of a professional sport.

It's a different version. It's got some rules that keep it amateur but not really. I was saying this last hour and I haven't really fleshed this out completely. It's something that I may do a show on at some point or at least a couple segments but it has dawned on me lately how little college football and college sports because there is a ripple effect through the rest of the athletic departments with the rest of the sports how little it represents what we had say even 10 years ago.

It's the wild wild west and I'm sure it's going to come with its own set of problems we just don't know what they are yet. Harder to police to be sure that's been one of the big questions for Nick Saban and you don't have to agree with everything or even anything that Nick Saban says but I think he makes a good point about college football about policing it about how there are no rules how players can actually get exploited as opposed to feeling like they're coming out as as beneficiaries but all that is down the road we won't have a picture of that for years to come just it's changed it's all bets are off seemingly in college football and now the expanded football playoff in 2024 season. We're going to get you ready with another version of NFC QB news because we've got some fun matchups this weekend in the NFL straight ahead though we did we we did an extended diagnostic on the Denver Broncos safe to say they're going to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year and now there are questions of Russ in the locker room and whether or not the team has tuned him out already the Broncos don't really have an option to get rid of him because of the fat contract they gave him but what happens around Russ and why whether it's diamond earrings or an engagement ring Blue Nile can help you design something special made just for her at Blue Nile choose from thousands of diamonds and settings have your one-of-a-kind piece delivered right to your door in discreet packaging that won't give away what's inside guaranteed free shipping and returns and now Blue Nile is offering special holiday deals go to blue Nile.com and use code radio to save $50 on purchases of $500 or more hurry this offer expires soon blue Nile.com code radio the holidays are coming find a gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile Blue Nile offers an endless selection of bold gold styles gemstone jewelry and classic diamond pieces shop early and save up to 40% need your special piece fast in most cases jewelry can ship overnight guaranteed free shipping and returns and now Blue Nile is offering special holiday deals save up to 40% on the season's most stunning trends shine bright this holiday season at blue Nile.com that's blue Nile.com whether it's diamond earrings or an engagement ring Blue Nile can help you design something special made just for her at Blue Nile choose from thousands of diamonds and settings have your one-of-a-kind piece delivered right to your door in discreet packaging that won't give away what's inside guaranteed free shipping and returns and now Blue Nile is offering special holiday deals go to blue Nile.com and use code radio to save $50 on purchases of $500 or more hurry this offer expires soon blue Nile.com code radio why is it so bad Troy Rank gives us the cold hard truth that I want to bring part of that conversation back so you can hear it he does not pull punches it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS sports radio you are listening to the after hours podcast to me it's all gossip I mean I know how this locker room we have a fantastic locker room when you look at a guy like Russ I mean he's unbelievable I mean he works I've never seen somebody work that hard never seen somebody uh try to embrace a team like he has while he's here from everything that he does from walkthroughs to helping I mean how he is in the community I mean Russ is awesome and we just need to do better as a team it's that simple and all that stuff it is what it is um you know I love Russ this is after hours with Amy Lawrence the voice of one Nathaniel Hackett I like how he tacks on at the end I love Russ I'm not sure that's the question that wasn't really the question being asked the question was about Russ and the respect in the locker room and the reports about whether or not he's lost the locker room because that's now circling like sharks circling the chum first of all uh you know everybody wants to win we all want to win you know and uh nobody wants to win you know more than me and this team and what we want to be able to do I think also as well I mean I got great I mean I got great relationships in that locker room so whoever's trying to tear it down you can't this is a great great team you know and we got great players I'm honored to be here I'm honored to play with this team and these guys um you know and so you know there's always noise especially when things aren't going the way that you want it to um all the time I love Russ just a lot of chatter and this is what happens when teams lose and and certainly when their expectations are high and they come nowhere near meeting them is this rock bottom for the Denver Broncos it was into this that I asked Troy rank to join me and to help me figure out what has gone so horribly wrong because the unthinkable has happened in Denver they spend all this draft capital and they ship personnel to Seattle to get Russell Wilson they give him a huge contract and it's actually worse than it was over the past couple of years Troy rank is a longtime Broncos insider and Denver native actually with Denver 7 and I started out by reminding him our last conversation he joined me in the pre-season and it was all energy and excitement and anticipation for what was to come with Russ the new savior of the franchise they're all in I asked Troy to compare that with the attitude the atmosphere around the Broncos now yeah it's demoralizing it's just such a stark uh juxtaposition from where we were even before the start of the season and and they're not the NFL's most disappointing teams they're in the top three because Wilson was going to change everything with Hackett's energy caffeinate the building his offensive mind and Wilson you know this longtime pro bowler with a chance to kind of finish out the legacy part of his career and not only has it not worked it's just been a colossal failure offensively and it's not just Wilson not just Hackett I think separately their offensive strategies can work but together when you combine this recipe it tastes like pine tar they've been awful I mean 14 points a game it's their worst offense through 11 games since 1966 that's when they had the caricature horse on the side of the helmet they didn't even have a D on the helmet test so you know and they've had injuries they've had ineffectiveness coach jackets look like he's been mismatched for the role Wilson's dealt dealt with stuff between his lat and his hamstring but nobody cares the NFL I mean you know this Amy like 90 of the people don't care about your problems and the other 10 are glad you have them and this is where they are it's just a colossal disappointment for a team that thought they were going to end their six-year playoff drought and their streak of five straight losing seasons and none of that's possible now reporters continue to ask about the locker room and you use the word demoralizing but is that locker room staying together are they continuing to push forward are they still following Russ those are questions that keep coming up and there's been pushback but what do you see from the group has it stayed together despite the disappointment the report from NFL networks that he's lost guys in the locker room and I think you just think to make a delineation for and I'm in there every day covering it have some guys lost confidence in Russ and in this vision yeah they have they're three and eight they're if they're not the worst team they're right there with the Texans it's not even you know specific to Russ they've lost confidence in believing this thing could turn around but there's still a lot of respect for Russell and his resume it's just NFL Amy's about winning it's about one thing winning and when you don't win it draws all this stuff into question and Russell Wilson isn't for everybody I've covered with 12 quarterbacks since Peyton Manning then you're not going to have the entire locker room behind you that's just not the case the hard part for Russell is everything he does is scrutinize everything and he puts himself in this position too because he's active on social media it was more so in camp and early in the season he's lined himself up for some of this criticism as well but you asked about the locker room you know for the most part guys respect Russ you know they respect his work ethic they respect what he's trying to do but I've seen a lost confidence in kind of the process that you know like guys like Hackett I mean they're being realistic they're a terrible team right now that's just who they are they're three and eight and they just got punked by the Panthers so you start looking on their schedule who are they going to beat that was for me the last really winnable game other than maybe Arizona at home I can't pick him to win a road game they haven't won a road game all year except in London this is what you deal with when you're a bad team I've covered 15 years of the Rockies and now these last seven back on the Broncos beat this is the kind of stories that come out when you lose and especially when you had expectations for sure losing definitely exacerbates and exposes any little crack in the dam Denver Broncos insider Troy Rank from Denver 7 is with us after hours on CBS Sports Radio do you believe the Broncos with new ownership now and a second year general manager will give them the time to change or do you believe this is something that's going to result in changes in the off season I would be surprised if coach Hackett survives this I don't root for anybody to get fired but Amy he was brought in to fix the offense with you know a potentially hall of fame quarterback and not only have they not fixed it it's gotten dramatically worse and that falls on his doorstep and I'm not blaming him totally but that's what you sign up for he was brought in really for one thing bring energy build relationships but more than anything give us a functional offense and they've been horrible he finally gave up play calling a couple weeks ago to Clint Kubiak and it's looked a little better but that should have happened weeks ago it's just too many missteps that I don't think Hackett can survive that he ran training camp which is very light training camp with a lot of days off to prioritize health that was his whole goal and they're the most injured team in the league then you say well these guys they respect this way we're doing it it makes them sharper mentally and the way we're doing well they're the most penalized team in the league well they're going to be better offensively because of the scheme they're the worst offense in the league that those are the things and he had to hire Jerry Rosberg out of retirement after a couple of weeks because they couldn't get in and out of the huddle correctly I just did so many things that have worked against Hackett I don't know that he can survive this now again they were to win for their last six games and the offense would look like it's clicking and he's more comfortable in a coaching role and not being the coordinator you know maybe but he's put himself in a tough position because it's much easier to move on from him Russell they're going to have to trust for one more year they're not moving on from Russell after this year because of the cap hit even to move on from him after next year the cap hit would be enormous you know basically 75 million spread over two years but they're they're in with Russell at least for one more year if not two so essentially their wagon is hitched to his star regardless at least for now that's the thing you've got to try to make it work with Wilson so let's say you move on from Hackett you try to go get uh Dan Quinn and a Darrell Beville guys he's worked with I'm not even say that would work this is just me talking hypothetically or you get you promote uh every uh AJ Roque the defensive coordinator and bring in an offensive coordinator that can work with Russell I mean he's gone through some coordinators in Seattle that they've had trouble finding a fit for him his last few years there but whoever the next person you've got to get in and number one thing is to try to get him right and my concern is that if you look at since he hurt his finger and had surgery his last 19 games dating back to last season he's got 23 touchdowns and 10 picks if that's who he is even that's a problem that would be welcome based on what he's done this year but if that is who he is I would suggest you need to treat him like Tom Brady Tom Brady and Drew Brees and that you just get as much talent around him as possible that at age 34 he'll turn 35 next season he's not capable of just lifting guys by himself which most quarterbacks aren't and just surround him with more talent and I'm talking like five to six new offensive starters and make a run at it to see if that can revive this plan that you had when you originally acquired him because again no team's trading for him even if the money's carried down and the cap hit after one year would be basically accelerate almost 80 million into the cap so you'd be playing on a 53-man roster with like 30 rookies to balance the payroll because you'd be painting 80 million not to play for you but it's complicated and the easiest way out would be that Russell gets down around him and he revives and he looks better but it's just hard for Broncos fans to have hope right now because they thought this year was going to be different and it's been anything but it strikes me that now this is a team that resembles something like the Browns have been or the Panthers or even the Washington commanders though they have had a defense that has helped them but it's constant revolving door at the quarterback position it's a constant revolving door at some of the key coaching positions and I say it a lot it's it's not rocket science constant change in sports equals constant losing and here the Broncos are stuck in this cycle coming off of the Peyton Manning era and Super Bowl 50 they haven't had any consistency at the key positions that's been a huge issue is we thought with new ownership GM George Peyton Hackett and Wilson it would create stability and there's going to be some change that's a hundred percent certain how deep it goes we don't know yet but there's going to be some change certainly this offseason but when you look at it you know ever since Gary Kubiak Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware left it has just been an absolute mess since Kubiak you've had what five offensive coordinators you've had four head coaches you've got 12 quarterbacks like it just never ends and you can't stop the madness and that's why the Wilson thing was supposed to stop it but you're right when you look at teams that fail whether that's the Raiders since they were in that Super Bowl with Tampa Bay or the Browns or the Lions I mean what is the common thread constant turnover at coach GM quarterback yeah and if you can't get those positions right it's hard to win because what I've observed in the NFL which is different than college where one player like Caleb Williams could show up at USC and change a program one guy can't typically do that in the NFL I mean maybe a year of Josh Allen or a you know Lamar Jackson but it's an anomaly because it's so difficult in the NFL where the talent level is even for the most part to overcome dysfunction of your own franchise and that's what we've seen here the losing culture is so embedded after six and a half years of this I was talking to Nick Kossmider of the Athletic about this it's not that you can spray for breeze or hang one of those little Christmas trees from your rear view mirror the stench is in the in the floorboards it's not you can't just take it to the car wash it's embedded and it's going to take more than a coach and a quarterback to fix it the realization is clobbered is all over the head that this wasn't a two-man fix cold hard truth from Troy rank the entire conversation and there is more I even asked him about Peyton Manning and whether or not Peyton working with the team might infuse some type of optimism or hope there because he paints a very vivid picture of a rock bottom so the entire conversation on our podcast after hours AmyLawrence.com and we will share that on both Twitter and Facebook over the course of Thursday but really appreciate Troy's insight especially whether it's diamond earrings or an engagement ring Blue Nile can help you design something special made just for her at Blue Nile choose from thousands of diamonds and settings have your one-of-a-kind piece delivered right to your door in discreet packaging that won't give away what's inside guaranteed free shipping and returns and now Blue Nile is offering special holiday deals go to Blue Nile.com and use code radio to save fifty dollars on purchases of five hundred dollars or more hurry this offer expires soon Blue Nile.com code radio the holidays are coming find a gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile Blue Nile offers an endless selection of bold gold styles gemstone jewelry and classic diamond pieces shop early and save up to forty percent need your special piece fast in most cases jewelry can ship overnight guaranteed free shipping and returns and now Blue Nile is offering special holiday deals save up to forty percent on the season's most stunning trends shine bright this holiday season at Blue Nile.com that's Blue Nile.com ready to pop the question let your love sparkle with Blue Nile Blue Nile has helped millions of couples create their perfect engagement ring their easy online tools will let you choose the diamond shape size and clarity as well as setting style Blue Nile's bench jewelers will then handcraft her one-of-a-kind engagement ring the perfect ring to celebrate your love right now go to Blue Nile.com and use code radio to save fifty dollars on your purchase of five hundred dollars or more with guaranteed free shipping and returns since it's not a lot of fun to talk about right now it's gone from bad to worse the unthinkable in Denver you are listening to the After Hours podcast. Josh Allen 37 yards and the bills on the doorstep again very dangerous out of the pocket dangerous in the pocket so team defense playing with our leverage using our teammates help them being where they need to be being aggressive but it's he's a hard guy to get and you just can't stand there and watch them throw. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Bill Belichick's wisdom you can't just stay in there and watch Josh Allen throw. Kevin Coogler on Westwood won last we saw the Bills and Patriots they were kicking off on Thursday night football well Thursday football wasn't all Thursday night football it was Thanksgiving day it was turkey day football though for the Patriots it was against the Vikings at night and the offense was better than it had been better maybe than the criticism that was leveled at it the offense was not the issue against the Vikings because the Vikings do allow teams to move the ball which could be a good omen for the New York Jets and Mike White this weekend but the challenge for the Patriots now moving forward similar to the weapons that they saw against the Vikings with Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook and on and on and on well Josh Allen's got a lot of different options at his disposal too and Bill Belichick says you can't just stand there and watch him throw well his number one target is certainly Stephon Diggs and the connection they've developed is one of the most productive and and most in tune there's there's a lot of rhythm there between Josh and Stephon they love playing together going back to their Thanksgiving game we saw it on full display yet again versus the Lions so this is with yahoo sports in which Josh tries to describe their relationship and their connection I think we complement each other so well I think it's it started day one when he got to our organization here the level of trust that we have each other the way that we're able to talk and communicate he free balls a little bit when he's on the field but so do I so the connection that we have it's just like all right like I'm not going to give you a depth on this route like I don't care if you're at seven I don't care if you're 12 I'm going to look your way you go get open like that's that's what it is so I tell him he's got two rules he's got to get open and catch the ball and that's it and he loves that it's freed him up it's made him very flexible and you know how to run routes when to run them but again the dude just constantly gets open he makes it easy for me to trust somebody when it's one-on-one coverage outside like I know where I'm going here and he's going to win for me and he does it constantly I love that you've got two jobs get open and catch the football freestyle it it's backyard football but they have that kind of a rapport and that kind of a rhythm clearly comes with time but it comes with communication and it comes with heart and desire and both have that heart and desire to win and to be productive together we've been asking you with six weeks left in the NFL regular season what are your burning questions that have yet to be answered they deserve answers on twitter a law radio you can look for Pima Holmes father of two father of bronze Mahomes and you can also see it on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence but a little more on Thursday night football Mac Jones swell he's been throwing the ball better the Patriots offense is actually putting up a lot of yards putting up some points we're not talking about that 10-3 game against the Jets we're talking about since then we've seen them perform pretty well his completion percentage is high but the Bills defense is fierce they look like a really good defense great players at every level really well coached attacked the football you know they rally to the ball all the things that they've done for a long time and it's a great defense and a big challenge yeah forget X's and O's forget offensive defense Adrian Phillips he's out for revenge we went out there and it was what negative one and went out there basically basically got our face kicked in so uh you definitely think about that but you don't harp on that you look at what they did and how they were able to control the game and the plays that they were able to make and you think about them not putting the ball for basically two days two games like it's a big deal but at the same time you can't let that consume you because it's a whole different team a whole different mindset it's our first time playing these guys we know we got another one coming up soon you just try to go you go out there with a clear head and say hey do everybody do their job to the best of their abilities and the outcome will be the outcome jay do you remember the final score in the patriots bills playoff game i don't off the top of my head 47 to 17 i knew it was a 40 i knew that got into the 40s but i knew it was a blowout 30 but i couldn't remember the score 47 to 17 that of course served as the most recent reminder that the patriots no longer owned the afc east now they were back in the playoffs for the first time post tom brady but it was buffalo that was flexing its muscles uh all over the new england patriots so yeah uh that happened months ago and now adrian phillips is just kind of reminding people we got our faces kicked in it's time for a little bit of revenge we don't have time for that all right one more from shawn mcdermott and then we're moving on but this is an afc east battle on thursday night football it's always a challenge um you know they present a challenge as a team number one and they're a really good football team we're playing at their place um you know they they do a great job of getting the ball out and you know they do a lot of good things offensively it's just more fun to hear bel belicheck say we can't just stand around and watch him throw it's just so classic can't just stand around and watch him throw what do i look like you look like a football coach not a doctor i really can't control that thursday night football week 13 what burning questions deserve answers between now and the end of the regular season because it won't be long erin rogers has been talking about whether or not he would be shut down whether or not the packers should play jordan love whether or not erin would even be healthy enough to go this weekend pride for one love of the game uh been paying me to play um you know a lot of different issues but you know i'd love to compete and want to be out there with my guys those are the reasons why he's not going to sit the rest of the season out though he understands there could be a conversation if the packers are not going to put a few wins together and potentially going to put themselves back in the conversation in a weaker nfc well then could the team come to him and ask him to sit out the rest of the way so they can watch jordan love maybe he says that he's prepared if that happens though he didn't say oh yeah i'd be happy to sit out he's battling that rib injury from last week i've done a lot of rehab last few days and uh you know got some stuff i do at the house as well and always on my my herbs and my teas and all the other things that help me feel better so okay not surprised i'm feeling better i'm just uh happy to avoid a major injury i mean if it's tom brady and avocado toast i suppose herbs and tea it's just so different from a fierce two-time well back-to-back nfl mvp quarterback and he talks about herbs and tea i've given a lot less last couple years that sounds a little more like the aaron rogers that we what is the ohayahuasca is that herbs and tea that's what we're calling it these days herbs and tea it's after hours here on cbs sports radio uh don't know about justin fields yet still working towards starting week 13 but don't know if he will be on the field for that game against the packers which takes place at soldier field and also no aaron donald this week for the rams that they're also going from bad to worse there's a few teams in the nfl that are in that situation sometimes we wrap up our shows with audio or a headline a storyline that we believe we'll be making a lot of waves later in the day and we came across some audio from lebron james post game after the lakers got a win last night and he i don't want to say he took offense but he commandeered the conversation after he was asked about kyrie irving his former teammate in cleveland right they won a championship together he was asked repeatedly about kyrie with that whole situation over kyrie suspension and you all know the details then this is his surprising answer i was wondering why i haven't gotten a question from you guys about the jerry jones photo but when the kyrie thing was going on you guys were quick to ask us questions about that okay um hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on and i don't even want you guys to say nothing when i watch kyrie talk and he says i know who i am but i want to keep the same energy when we're talking about my people and the things we've been through and that jerry jones photo is one of those moments that our people black people have been through in america and i feel like it's a black man as a black athlete as someone with power and a platform when we do something wrong or or something that people don't agree with it's on every single tabloid every single news coverage it's on the bottom ticker it's axed about every single day but it seems like to me that the whole jerry jones situation photo and i know it was years and years ago and we all make mistakes i get it but it seemed like it's just been buried under like oh it happened okay we just we just move on and i was just kind of disappointed i haven't received that question from you guys lebron james changing the narrative at his postgame press conference after the lakers win last night i don't i'm not making light of this at all i believe he is entitled to use his press conferences the way that he wants and you may or may not agree with him but the obvious answer to that is he played with kyrie irving and so of course there are going to be people every time kyrie does one of these things that he does puts himself in the headlines for something other than basketball lebron is one of the first people that's asked about it because kyrie was his little brother because they played together because they won a championship together so that's the obvious answer i can only speak from my perspective and again lebron is entitled to his perspective and we don't have to agree i don't feel like the jerry jones photo was buried not only is it out there not only was it a topic of conversation but i can tell you right now what the photo looks like because i've seen it in all kinds of places i know what jerry said about it i never heard about it before the last week and now i know all kinds of details plus jerry's reason i guess because lebron claimed to be a cowboys fan for the longest time or grew up a cowboys fan maybe he expected there to be a question there i know it seems kind of random there are a lot of things that we could be asking you about that have nothing to do with basketball so that was his perspective you will hear more about it on thursday to be sure we're back tonight after football well the other football it's after hours with amy lawrence cbs porch radio boom whether it's diamond earrings or an engagement 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