After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season 2, The Dixie Mafia. Available now on the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later.

There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. It's time. It's time for the Lions to get back to 500. It'll be the first time in a long time, and for people to get on board. I'm hoping that Lions fans are so fired up, and they're starting to believe for reals.

Not believe while waiting for the other shoe to drop, but believe for reals. In Jared Goff, in new talent like Jamison Williams, but in talent like DeAndre Swift, Jamal Williams, Amenra St. Brown, and then that defense that's getting better. They're young.

They are inexperienced. Yes, they've given up a lot of points, but it's on the uptick, and they've won five of their last six. In fact, in one of those games, they only gave up 14 points. That was the Jaguars.

40 to 14. That was quite the score. I also love the piece that's Aiden Hutchinson and the energy and the effort that he brings to that side of the ball. I check all the boxes. So there's a lot to like about this team.

I suggest you get in on the ground level if you're searching for a team. Dan Campbell, he incites enthusiasm. He incites energy. He also, I think, incites belief and confidence.

And then what did Panay Sewell say about him? I mean, I can't say it. He'll have to say it. I don't know if Jay's going to play it or not.

In fact, really funny about this. When he first gave me the cut, I listened to it. I didn't know what Sewell said. I actually, I said to Jay, wait, what did he say?

Well, I can't say it, so you're going to have to either play the cut or no. Who's got some nuts on, bro? Like that's as simple as that.

I couldn't find another word. But yeah, Dan Campbell's going to be here and nobody's going to change that. And that's what I love about him. Dan Campbell's got some little thunders on him. I guess it would be the little lions. Dan Campbell's got some little lions on him.

Who's got some nuts on, bro? Like that's as simple as that. Okay, okay, okay.

In fact, when Jay gave me the cut, he said sorry before I even knew what Sewell was saying. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refund, it's yours. Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, Rocket can. A lot to look forward to. Week 15 in the NFL. Man, it's the first games or the first weekend of the last month of the regular season. And it starts out tonight with the Niners. All of the weapons they've got around a rookie quarterback in Brock Purdy who makes his second career start, but also that defense that gives the offense quite a buffer. Seattle Seahawks have dropped three of four. Pete Carroll says we made progress last week against the Carolina Panthers, but if they want to get back into the playoff bracket, if they want to stay relevant, this is where they have to step up.

It's got to be about effort. It's got to be about intensity and edge, recognizing this might as well be a playoff game for them against the division leaders. So that starts off week 15 tonight and then we've got a triple header on Saturday as well as a slate on Sunday plus Monday night football game that likely would have been very high profile, say, last year, year before. Not as much this year with the Rams. Though it's Baker Mayfield who will retain that starting job as long as he's healthy. Oh, Baker Mayfield, the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. What do you think about them apples? Against the Green Bay Packers where Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the pack are coming off a buy.

I don't know if they all went and showed off their belly button the same way that he did, but you know, to each his own. And so Green Bay and Los Angeles wraps up week 15 and then we are sailing fearlessly into Christmas week and Hanukkah too. It's the holiday season.

My tree is decorated. The baked goods are here. In fact, I've been passing them out. It's the after hours baked goods taste testing show. So not only has Jay been trying more of them, he's been instructed to not open the tin that I have for his family.

That's it. I'll never trust you with baked goods again if you eat out of that tin. The tin is sealed. It's tied with a ribbon. I'm going to need to ask your mom whether or not the tin made it home with the ribbon still tied up.

Can I slide it off? If you do, I'm never speaking to you again ever. I mean, I wouldn't tell you probably. You would lie? I don't know. I wouldn't even bring it up. You don't think I'm going to ask? If I'm on the way home on a long ride and I just need something quick.

And then pull off the highway and run through a Dunkin Donuts or a McDonald's. Not as good. Agreed, but we have a deal. All right.

I let you taste test everything earlier in the week. You cannot be eating out of that family tin. That's your family's Christmas present. They'll be all right. I don't think this is funny at all.

I mean, I'm laughing not because I think it's funny, I'm laughing because if I don't laugh, I'll cry. I don't trust you. Have I ever told you that? Sorry to hear that. All right. So if you want to see what the guys are taste testing this morning, well, check out the photo.

Jay shared it on Twitter. Oh, and my Grinch slippers. That's all I'm going to say. And you don't have to ask why they're at work. Although that's kind of an interesting question. Why are there slippers at work? I mean, work slippers. Not everyone has those.

I just keep them in my locker. No, there's a reason why the Grinch slippers are here at work. Anyway, the Grinch is eyeing the baked goods. Jay is eyeing the baked goods. The After Hours and CBS Sports Radio crews are taste testing the baked goods. So there's a photo up on our show, Twitter After Hours, CBS.

My Twitter is A-Law Radio, Facebook too. Somebody actually asked me if they're gluten free and dairy free. No, why? Why would I do that?

What would be the point of that? Ever? If you don't like baked goods with dairy and gluten, well, then you don't have to eat them. But I actually want people to like them. So no, sorry. And then somebody else asked me if I made them. No, I bought them in a store and then I put them in a Tupperware. So it looks like I made them. Yeah, that would. Do you think that should be insulted? I should be insulted by that, right? No, but I mean, that wouldn't be that wouldn't be a good move for anybody to buy cookies and then put them into like a homemade tin to make it look like you made them. And then just share it on social media? That's not right. What would be the point of that at all?

That goes against the entire spirit of anything. Thank you, producer Jay. All right, well, I'll still don't think you should be opening up the tin for your family, but I'll at least try to trust you.

Try? After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Facebook and also on Twitter. Thank you for all your holiday messages. We really appreciate it. And also the amount of traffic we've had on our social media over the past couple of weeks.

I think it's a testament to football. I hope it's a slight validation of the work that we're doing here. Appreciate those of you who listen to our interviews on podcast. And many of you have responded to the conversation we had with Stefan Kriesnick in Starkville, Mississippi, about Mike Leach. You want to know more about Mike? Well, Stefan shared personal reflections and favorite stories after covering Coach Leach and the Bulldogs for the last three years.

So all of that's available on social as well as our podcast, After Hours, AmyLawrence.com. Some anxious moments for the Golden State Warriors, as if it wasn't bad enough that they can't win on the road. Now this. Halliburton to Smith. Runs it to Jerome. Goes up. Blocked by Jemichael Green.

Looney gets the ball. Curry's hurt. Curry's hurt. Curry collided with somebody and he has hurt his left shoulder.

Oh my goodness. Bent over at the waist. Curry in real pain here. And this game in Indiana is taking on a very scary turn right now as Curry walks over to the bench under his own power.

But he is not using that left shoulder for anything. He's going to get an MRI tomorrow. So, you know, he was ruled out, you know, midway through the fourth training staff told me he wasn't going to play the rest of the night.

And we'll see. We'll see how he is tomorrow. Steph was working on a classic game to 38 points in 30 minutes. He was already five of 10 from beyond the arc, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Now this is in the third quarter in which the Warriors were attempting to rally from a 20-point deficit against the Pacers. So they had given up 47 points to Indiana in the second quarter. But they come back in the third quarter and they're outscoring them by double figures. And so they're back in the game except they don't go without Steph. They have a lot of new pieces around that core and their defense specifically has been putrid on the road. Which means Steph's ability to score and create shots for himself become even more important than they are at home.

Yeah, the Warriors fall to the Pacers. They're now two and 13 on the road. They always allow at least 114 points. They've never had a game on the road this season in which their opponent has scored, the home team, has scored fewer than 114.

And so Dante DiVincenzo, he's sitting in the postgame press conference talking about how embarrassing this is. There's a standard plan for the Golden State Warriors. And I think the biggest message is we've got to play like freaking Warriors. I think that's the biggest thing is like we have to have that energy.

And when we came out the second half, I think we really started that second half playing like the brand of basketball that we should be playing. This has been a tough start to the season. We're in a tough stretch. You know, maybe it's going to get tougher if Steph's out for a little while. I mean, if he's out, it'll for sure get tougher. But it's just got to persevere.

You just keep playing and you keep fighting. Steve Kerr has been on his team's rear end about how badly they're playing defense on the road. Again, it becomes infinitely harder when you're losing one of the top scorers in the NBA.

Though I suppose I shouldn't jump the gun. I just hate it. I would hate it for Steph, for the Warriors, and certainly for the NBA. Because here we are going into that stage where people say, oh, the NBA is actually in season.

The NBA season starts with Christmas. And without Steph Curry, not only is there, I would say, significantly less interest among casual fans who just want to see guys like Steph or LeBron or Donovan Mitchell or Giannis or name some other stars I'm missing. Jimmy Butler. Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant, thank you. Yes, Kevin Durant. And of course, Kyrie Irving, his running mate. There are plenty of fans who tune in to national broadcasts like those on Christmas simply because of these big names. The NBA does a brilliant job at marketing its superstars. Much better job than, say, Major League Baseball. And so because of that, this is also a blow for the league if he is out for an extended period of time. But I'm going to believe that potentially it's nothing more than a bruise or a sprain, something like that. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

I mentioned stars. Well, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell on the same floor last night. Here's Mitchell. He'll unload a three. Bullseye, Donovan Mitchell. That's what I'm waiting for. It's the three ball.

That's what I'm waiting for. Mitchell to the right side. Bounce to Allen in the lane. Pop to Mobley.

Pow. The throw with the throw to Moe. Mitchell in the center circle to the left wing with a stutter step into the lane.

Up and under with the right hand. Scores. And that'll bring a timeout.

That could have been the daggers. Last game we came out flat. You know, it was disappointing how we started the game, how we played really the whole game until the end of the game. So the biggest, you know, message tonight was to come out strong. You know, they got a really talented team and, you know, we set the tone from the jump. You know, we had a few mishaps and we were able to bounce right back. And that's what we got to do on a continuous basis.

So it's a good win tonight. We got to go back home and do it again. We was rooting for him. He got hot. He had the hot hand. He just kept going every single time down. And that's what we need from him.

And next time it might be someone else with the hot hand. We just got to feed their energy and play off them. Donovan on Bally Sports Cleveland. Before that, Tim Alcorn, the Cavaliers play-by-play. And what they get with him is not only similar to Steph, a self-starter, somebody who can create shots, but he's tenacious. And the desire there because of the, you know, some of the time that he's missed and the playoff utility kind of running into that glass ceiling with Utah. So I love that he feels that freedom and he knows that with the ball in his hands, the Cavaliers trust him.

So he ends up with 34 points. Luka Doncic, he's actually complimenting the Cavaliers for this game on Wednesday. They're a really good team, man. They have two seven-footers in the paint, which is tough to get to the paint. They have Stevenson, they're really strong and big. So they have, I mean, and then on the offense, you know, Darius and Mitchell, they're going to do their own thing. So I think they have a pretty big team and a great team. 30 points for Luka to go along with a half-dozen assists.

I wish I had those bunnies. People tune in to see Luka as well. He's an international sensation. Little bit of the night in the NBA. We've got more to come. AFC edition of QB News. So looking at Week 15 through the eyes of the quarterbacks and Roger Goodell speaking about the commanders sale and whether or not it's pending. Straight ahead, though, we hear from the wife of Grant Wall, who was speaking to CBS this morning about her husband's passing in Qatar.

And then it was a privilege to welcome Jesse Bradley back to the show. Former pro soccer goalie, a little bit of a reflection about Team USA and what makes your skin crawl no matter how absurd. I want to know tales without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear.

I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to your weirdest fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Or rewind your local sports and news and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to.

So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season two, the Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. What happens next in the wake of the World Cup?

So we'll bring back part of that, too. Good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for hanging out with us.

Happy Thursday. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Good morning to you. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. This is my last hour until next week, until Sunday night slash Monday morning.

My younger niece graduates from college tomorrow morning, so I have a bit of a drive ahead of me. I won't be with you after Thursday Night Football, but I will be listening to Thursday Night Football as I drive. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Grant Wall and his death in Qatar certainly have changed my perception and my feel around this World Cup. He was synonymous with U.S. soccer as a journalist.

That's quite the accomplishment. The premier voice in journalism when it comes to soccer, both men's and women's. And for him to pass away suddenly like he did was a major jolt. His wife was on CBS this morning, Wednesday, speaking out about his death, wanting people to understand what happened to Grant. He had an autopsy done here in New York by the New York City medical examiner's office, and it showed that he had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured. Which means what?

OK. So an aorta, that's the big blood vessel that comes out of your heart, sort of the trunk of all the blood vessels. And an aneurysm is a ballooning of the blood vessel wall. And so it's weak and it's just one of these things that had been likely brewing for years. And for whatever reason, it happened at this point in time. Celine Grounder, Dr. Celine Grounder on CBS this morning talking about Grant and wanting people to know that this was not something that could have been prevented by better medical care in Qatar. It wasn't something that Grant did to himself. It was something that had been developing that he did not know about that they did not know about.

But she's still as shocked as she is and as sad as she is, still wants people to know what an incredible man and. I want people to remember him as this kind, generous person who was really dedicated to social justice. You know, I think that's another aspect of soccer that was really important to him that, you know, promoting the women's game.

You know, the recent statements he had made about LGBT rights. That was that was Grant. That was Grant. Grant Wall, such a devastating tragedy and certainly soccer looks a whole lot different without his lens. But he died doing what he loves. I don't know how much consolation that is, but he had dedicated his life to promoting the sport and to covering the sport objectively. U.S. soccer itself was sharing a message of condolence and also its sadness over his passing, which to me speaks volumes. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, Dr. Celine Grounder, the wife of Grant Wall.

I appreciate her speaking out on CBS so that people know what happened with her husband in the Middle East. We were excited to spend a few minutes with Jesse Bradley, former pro soccer goalies, played on the international stage as well as here at home. And he has been our analyst throughout the World Cup. And we did a preview of Argentina with Messi attempting to win his first World Cup and what will be his last appearance against France, the defending champion.

You definitely want to go check that out. But also really intriguing to hear his thoughts, his kind of wrap up, not so much a eulogy, but a synopsis of what the United States accomplished and its performance, its run to the knockout stage in the World Cup. So we pick it up because I was asking him about the youth movement. This was the youngest team United States has ever sent to a World Cup. And I wanted to know if he felt like it was a positive or a negative. A huge positive is that they played fearless. You know, a lot of teams probably anticipated the U.S. to be more cautious, a little more defensive shell, maybe try to counterattack.

That's not what they did. We have midfielders who can run, who have skill, who put pressure. Our midfielders made England nervous. I think when the Netherlands were preparing for us, they retreated somewhat.

And, you know, with everything you have a strength and the flip side of that can be a weakness. And I think because we were gaining confidence in midfield, we didn't really keep our shape well in the back and we left ourselves vulnerable. And because of that, I think the savvy of the Netherlands showed up. And when you have a coach that's a little newer and players that are newer, sometimes you just don't, you know, make the key decisions and the key moments. And soccer is a game where it comes down to just a couple plays. And if you kind of fall asleep tracking guys back on defense, that's the difference between winning and losing. So I think the Dutch, you know, they use their experience well.

They beat us in that regard. I mean, some of our players that are very talented, Reina, you know, didn't really show up much on the field. So trying to keep the young guys, you know, solid, focused.

Sometimes when you're young, you just assume you're going to be back here three or four times because you have a long career ahead of you. But you really need to play like it's your last one because there's no guarantee that you're going to be healthy, that you'll make the team, that the team will be back. And I think, you know, if we we had a good balance, especially our defense had some older guys and the goalkeeper was great to Matt Turner. I just think we there's no replacement for experience and you can't simulate playing in the World Cup. And I think we just lost our shape enough on defense, got exposed. But overall, you know, the interest in America for soccer just keeps growing. There's momentum, the MLS, you know, making it to the 16 this time, hosting it next time. Like overall, the positives outweighed the negatives and the setbacks, for sure. Since the team has returned stateside, we've heard from Greg Berhalter that there was an internal issue with Gio Reina.

So son of Claudio, a lot of people remember him as a first generation U.S. World Cup. Gio responded on his social media and said, hey, I was hoping this would stay in house, did appreciate the accountability of the team. What's your reaction to how that was handled by Berhalter?

You know, it's a tricky situation. Any time people make some bad decisions, it puts a lot of pressure on the leadership. And you could tell they were managing, they were navigating, they were getting a lot of questions.

How come he doesn't have more playing time? And really, it was held secretive during the World Cup. So kudos that it didn't leak, that, you know, that didn't get more attention and more distraction. And, you know, for Reina, being able to apologize to the team, that's a significant step. There's a lot of superstars that wouldn't do that. They wouldn't humble themselves.

They've got too big of an ego. And we need more apologies. We need it in marriage. We need it in friendships. We need it in coworkers.

Like, we need to be able to apologize, forgive each other, and stick together. So I think the team managed it fairly well. I think for, you know, Reina, the disappointing part later on was that it did leak. And I don't think Berhalter was trying to draw attention to him. I think he did acknowledge that, you know, yes, there was a problem off the field, and it did put some tension on the team. You know, he probably shouldn't have said that looking back, because then they start putting one and one together, and it looks like two.

And then pretty soon it gets revealed, and you just can't keep stuff quiet. So it'll be interesting. One of the biggest decisions the U.S. needs to make is, do they keep Berhalter for the next World Cup or not? I think they'll keep him a little bit longer, because he clearly made progress. The team is better than when he took over. You can't say that about all leaders of the Americans over the years with men's soccer. But clearly there's been improvement. The question is, how far can he take them?

And some people think he got a little bit outfoxed in the round of 16. He could have had a different approach, and we could have had more success. You know, what's going to happen next four years?

What's his ceiling? And that's something that they're going to have to assess carefully. They could bring in a top coach. You mean an international coach? Yeah, an international coach, and someone who already coaches at the highest level. You know, week in, week out, and already works with that level of talent, and has already faced some of the tactical challenges. And so it'll be interesting. There's some big names right now.

There's going to be a lot of interest, I think, amongst coaches. But, you know, again, Burr Holter played. He got to the Final 16 as a player, and then he led them to the Final 16 as a coach. I mean, he's made a phenomenal contribution, and he had great leadership. He really kept the team together. I think his choice of the captain, you know, a 23-year-old captain, Tyler Adams, that worked out really well. He made a lot of good decisions.

And even in terms of who he chose to play, overall, it was a strong World Cup for him. But I'll tell you, if trust breaks down, any relationship, any team, any culture, any setting, the core relationship is trust. And when trust breaks down, and right now that's going to be a point moving forward for the coach, the player, and then some of the other players wondering, like, okay, are we really keeping this in-house or not? But a good coach and a good leader will rebound from that, and we'll pull them together. So he's going to be tested because how much can the team improve, and then how much can he keep that team united together? But the talent's going to be there, and the players are going to have so much more experience four years from now that I think they're going to show up differently in the key games.

And this will be a great learning experience. You know, for a lot of us, we need a taste at one level to be able to go back and then move to the next level. And they got their taste this time, and I think that will suit them well. Next World Cup is one in which the United States does not have to qualify, so we'll miss that stressful process.

No anxiety there, although I, well, you know what happens when you assume. I would hope they would build on this particular performance by qualifying outright, but the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will be hosting the Next World Cup. It's a North American Cup, and so the excitement three and a half years from now, I hope that it continues to build and that people get behind our national team.

Should be a lot of the same guys. Interesting thoughts there from Jesse Bradley. We also talked about Messi seeking his first World Cup title back in the final, so you can catch that.

You talked about France as well, and a little bit about Grant Wall and what he meant to the soccer community. Always get great feedback to our conversations with Jesse in Seattle, so you can find that on our podcast, After Hours, AmyLawrence.com. Little more about NFL Week 15 QB news.

on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season 2, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season 2, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

There's so much talk about the weather in Buffalo. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. The AFC version of QB News. If you missed the NFC version, make sure you check out the podcast.

We talked about the Lions and Jared Goff and the award I think he should win. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. Hey, there's an awful lot of conversation about the weather in Buffalo. Here's a hint. It's Orchard Park. It's western New York. It's middle of December.

I mean, is it really rocket science? It's going to be freaking cold. There's likely a chance it's going to be windy and there could be snow because it's the lake effect.

But these are a lot of the questions being posed at both Tua and Josh Allen. I can speak for myself that it's a mindset thing, really. And if I'm too focused and worried about is it too cold? Is it can I can I really grab the ball?

Can I not like then I would say I'm focused on the wrong things. It'll be hard to play that way going down there against a really good team. It snowed in Alabama my first year. Yeah, so it snows in Alabama, guys. We know it's going to be snow. That's and I asked our our guy, Jeff Mazurek, I go, what do we expect? He just said snow.

That's it. So it's going to be snowy and cold for them. It's going to be snowing cold for us.

We'll have to deal with it to the best of our abilities. And it was snowy and cold last week. Some rain mixed in there as well. But for Bills and Jets, it was similar December weather in Orchard Park, New York.

I get we're fascinated by it. I just love football in the snow. So I'm rooting for the snow. I'm the girl who prays for the snow.

You can blame me. After hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio, Josh Allen has a new weapon added to the Bills roster. Cole Beasley is back in Buffalo. It's good to have him back. Obviously, we've missed him.

Just his presence. You know, everybody in the locker room loves that guy. Now, I kind of found out about it last week being kind of told me, like, hey, thinking about doing this. You know, I was like, I'm I'm all for it.

And I know that the guys in the locker room would feel the same way. So, yeah, happy to come back. I just knew I still wanted to play. You know, the retirement was more of it wasn't the situation I thought it was going to be going to Tampa. So all I knew is that wasn't where I wanted to be. I didn't like the way things ended here. I told him that.

And, you know, when I first got here, my me and my family fell in love with this place. So I just wanted to get back to that and ended off right. You may remember that Cole Beasley did not opt to get vaccinated. And that was really the beginning of the end of his tenure there in Buffalo. It's not the players, whether or not they agreed. It just it wasn't what Cole wanted to do. And the NFL had its rules.

Well, it turns out those rules no longer apply. Cole is back in a locker room that really appreciates him. And in Tampa, he said he just wasn't going to get the rep. So it wasn't a good fit for him there.

All right. Thinking about the rest of the AFC East, we know Mike White has banged up ribs. We did find out that Zach Wilson is active this week. So after not being active the last two weeks, Joe Flacco was the backup this time.

It's Zach Wilson, who's QB two. And he was asked, of course, if he thinks he'll play again this season. I hope so. I mean, but that's not up to me. And so, you know, like I said, it's it's control what you can. And having that mindset of each and every day trying to attack the day and get after it and try and improve. Do you still feel like you're the future? Yeah, I definitely believe in myself. You know, of course, I have all the confidence in the world and I think that's how it should be.

But, you know, you've got to be able to prove that. And like I said, that goes back to just attacking every single day. So Zach Wilson at least is closer to seeing the field. It seems as though Mike White is going to be able to tough it out and be out there. But Zach is now one snap away from being pressed into duty. So I guess that speaks about the confidence the team has. Remember, they were putting him through a reset and essentially working on basics and fundamentals with him.

And I think mentally as much as physically trying to get him ready in a way which he would be confident in himself. So he sounds like it. It's the Jets hosting the Lions this weekend. That should be fun. Looking at the matchup between the Bengals and the Buccaneers. It's one of those where people are going to tend to focus on quarterbacks. I mean, this is QB News, so we have permission to do so.

Joe Burrow and Tom Brady together again. He gets the ball really fast. You know, he understands what he's looking at. I think he epitomizes toughness at the quarterback position. He's a great leader. I mean, he's the greatest of all time for a reason.

He's the total package. Joe was asked about the comparisons between he and Tom. And he said, he's Tom, I'm Joe. It is what it is. He kind of reverted back to the is what it is, which if I hear an athlete start a soundbite with that, I generally tend to not use it. I don't know why. It's one of those phrases in sports that makes me not want to listen anymore.

I tune out. So, yeah, Bengals and Bucks. That's coming up on CBS week 15.

It's after our CBS Sports Radio. We are in the AFC where we've got Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs who will be on the road at Houston. The Texans nearly upset the Cowboys last weekend. Patrick has been turning the ball over a little bit more lately than I think he would like to.

Three interceptions last week. But still, he's got Travis Kelce as his security blanket as the other half of this great married couple in sports. He talks to his consistency. Obviously, he's a great player.

We know that. He's had this great run. But if you look at his career, he's just been consistently great every single year. And that tight end position is hard.

You take a beating, you're blocking, you're catching over the middle, taking hits. And he just prepares himself the right way that he can be out there and available for us every week. So a truly great player and a great teammate for sure. And every time he steps on the field, he seems to either take another step up the ladder when it comes to career achievements or set another record among tight ends.

Yes, durability, reliability, certainly consistency. I love to watch those two guys play. They not only make one another better, but they can finish each other's sentences. One of the old married couples and most productive couples in sports or duos in sports. So it's Chiefs on the road. It's Raiders at home. They lost last week, but they've got the Patriots in town now. Remember, the Patriots have stayed on the West Coast here.

They did not travel back in between these games. And they are on the inside when it comes to playoff picture, but it's very precarious. Meanwhile, for the Raiders, they've got work to do. Instead of talking about this season, people just want to keep asking Derek about trade rumors and his future with the Raiders.

I've always tried my best to, you know, as I've gotten older in my career, just eliminate all of those things. You know, Gru would always tell me, he said, all of those things are going to happen when you play quarterback in the NFL. You know, whenever you have a bad stretch of games or losing stretch of games or anything like that, that stuff's going to happen.

And so for me, I don't, you know, it's been I should have been traded for eight years now, you know, so it was just it is what it is. And we have passionate fans and we have passionate people that they just want to see us win. And so when we don't, you know, obviously they get mad and they think, well, then we got to fix something and stuff like that. And and you can understand that as fans. It's a strange question to be asking with a month to go in the regular season.

However, certainly there are question marks about the future. And I don't think that Mark Davis is going to be making changes in terms of the coach. He's been supporting Josh McDaniel's. They've shown some life. They're actually about to get Darren Waller back, which is huge.

He was designated to come off IR. Yeah, it's certainly not been the season that many people expected for the AFC West and the Raiders still struggling, despite the fact that they brought in free agents on defense, it's not been a defense that it's been able to hold leads. Remember, this is a team that has set a record or at least going back the last century, only team to allow for double digit halftime leads to slip away. They've squandered four double digit halftime leads and have lost those four games.

So think about it. They protect those four, just those four, not even win all their games. And instead of being five and eight, they are nine and four and they're second place in the AFC West.

So good stuff, scintillating matchups, a lot on the line. I mean, that's fairly typical every week in the NFL. I was saying earlier, I miss the fact that Von Miller is not in hot pursuit of quarterbacks. He had his knee surgery. We don't know the extent of the torn ACL could have been partial, could have been full.

But the doctor found it when he went in and did a scope. And so Von has been relegated to watching football, I wouldn't say like the rest of us, but trying to figure out how to follow all the games on a Sunday when it's jam packed. I am injured. So I needed like a sports bar that I had my game ready and I had my Norma Tech. And I told I told my assistant, I need to find a sports bar that I can be relaxed, that I can actually sit at from 12 noon in Dallas and watch all the games up until the Sunday night game versus the Chargers and the Chargers Dolphins, Chargers Dolphins. So I told Marnie, I told Marnie, which is my assistant, that I need a sports bar.

I'm going to be there for ten and a half hours. And you can imagine like some sports bars are packed on Sundays. But we found a place called Touchdowns in DeSoto and they just they rented it out to me and my family. They had a recliner and I did game ready Norma Tech, taking a nap. OK, so not quite like the rest of us renting out a restaurant for he and his family.

But I think that's awesome. He actually had his assistant find a place where they could be for ten and a half hours and a recliner. Penny would love that.

She's big into recliners these days. I left the house without my bag last night. I was just kind of running all crazy. I brought the baked goods. I forgot the bag, so I had to go back inside. I wasn't even in my car 45 seconds before I realized it.

I hadn't pulled out of the driveway. I turn off the car. I unlock the house. I go back in. Penny's not at the door where I left her. You know where she is? In my recliner. Forty five seconds and the dog was already in the recliner.

Are you kidding me? What is happening? The dog has been running my schedule for eleven and a half years. Now she's commandeering my furniture? Bring the dog out. No. No bringing the dog out.

I made her get down. I know people are going to be upset at me for that. People are always on the side of Penny and people love Jay more than they love me. They think I'm mean to Jay.

Mean to my dog and mean to Jay. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. How many baked goods have you eaten this week that I've brought for you? A lot of baked goods. Uh-huh. Interesting.

So would you care to comment now? No. There's even more baked goods. Just not the ones that I gave you for your family. Those are for your family. Hey, I told the newsroom and told the other shows that today is the taste testing day.

So I brought a whole separate Tupperware full of baked goods. The picture is up on, oh and look who's eyeing. You got to see who else is in the picture. The picture is up on Twitter, ALaw Radio or on our Facebook page.

Well, Sean Marash, who is part of the DA show here on CBS Sports Radio, about to come in studio. He actually filmed himself eating some of the reindeer chow. After hours with Amy Lawrence has made something called reindeer chow.

It's delicious. I don't think Dasher is going to fly this light really well if they're eating this. Sean, can you hear me? Probably not.

I wouldn't expect that the volume was turned up out in the newsroom. Can you hear him crunching? Jay, are you planning on filming your family eating the cookies and the baked goods? Please don't do that.

I wasn't, but maybe now I am. No, don't. So Sean Marash apparently likes the reindeer chow. Here's the reindeer chow. It's super, super easy. It's rice cheques.

You can use any kind of cheques. M&Ms, the peanut kind, pretzels, and then a ton of white chocolate melted. A ton, almost a pound of white chocolate melted, tossed with sprinkles. Oh, it's delicious. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio.

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