After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

Imagine you're looking at a balancing scale, with everything you do for other people on one side, and everything you do for yourself on the other side.

If it isn't balanced, maybe it's time to spend a little more time on you. And therapy is a great place to start. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can help you find that balance and stick to it. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Hey, is that the new iPhone 15 Pro? Yeah, it's made with titanium and the Pro camera is epic. Just got it at T-Mobile. Nice. Yep, and I got their Go 5D Next plan, so now I have the freedom to upgrade my phone every year. Whoa, I gotta get to T-Mobile. Get our best deals on iPhone 15 Pro at T-Mobile.com.

One-year upgrade requires Go 5G Next plan, financing new qualifying device, and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. But we found out the truth is irrelevant, really, in many cases, especially when it comes to conspiracy theories about how the Earth is flat. And in the case of Bread Man from New Orleans, I'm gonna assume that's not his given name, he was sure that the sun and the moon are the same shape and size.

The pictures, they can all be doctored. Oh, I needed that. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. If you're waking up on your Friday, good morning to you. We nearly made it to the weekend, nearly made it to the weekend.

It's just been one of those weeks that kind of pounded me from every angle. And I want to say I cannot be held responsible for whatever stupid thing I might utter on this show, but it's too late for that and I'm definitely responsible. But at least I did not respond to the text message that asked me if I had a cat to give away.

Hey, Alice, I hear you have a cat to give away. At least in my exhaustion and the chaos of this week, I did not respond to a scammy text message. So there's that. That's a win. That's a win. And Friday's payday, though I haven't actually confirmed that my paycheck is in my account. So I suppose I shouldn't call it a win until I know for sure that it's there.

Yeah, definitely confirm that. What else? Oh, the loaded baked potato soup I made in the Crock-Pot on Thursday.

Delicious. Big, big hit with Bob. I forgot to bring you some. Sorry, I was a total disaster on Thursday evening.

No, no, no. There'll be plenty. There'll be leftovers. So Bob is in town. My brother is on his way Friday.

So also a win. I'm trying to come up with all the incredible positives. Oh, and as Jay knows, in the midst of all of my stress on Thursday, trying to get to the airport and seemingly every route was blocked by an accident. There was the most incredible sunset with painted pink and purple and golden clouds. I took, I know, don't yell at me.

Don't even say anything. I was sitting in traffic, so I was, I was not moving. It was easy to take photos. I was able to take photos out my windshield, which by the way, extremely clean because I took Princess Leia to the carwash, the full service carwash on Thursday. Yeah, that's a win.

That was in honor of Bob. Yeah. So because her windshield had been cleaned mere hours beforehand, I could take very clear photos through my windshield. You know, sometimes you have bugs and streaks, bird poop in my case, because I park under a tree. Right, right.

That too. And so I was able to get these phenomenal photos, a progression of photos of the most beautiful sunset. And I sent them to Jay and yeah, there's proof. Oh, they're amazing.

Yeah, they're nice. So maybe on Thursday morning, even though it's sunset, not sunrise, I will share them. But it was just a, it was a ray of joy and a reminder that, hey, this, this traffic too will pass. This too shall pass. Maybe, maybe I'll be stuck here forever and I'll not only see the sunset, but I'll see the sunrise.

Sometimes I think that. Oh man, Jay's had the worst sleeping week. I, yeah, I, I don't even know what sleep is anymore, but it's okay. It's okay because the weekend is nearly upon us. It's nigh.

The weekend is nigh. Jay, do you know how to spell nigh? In that context, n-a-nigh, nigh.

I was going to do n-a-i-y-e like nigh, nigh. Oh, okay. No, I'm wrong. Nay. Nay. How do I spell that? No, I'm curious. I think you should look it up. Oh.

You tell me. I, I think nigh is n-i-g-h, but you think nigh is n-a-y-e? Wouldn't that be the nays have it? I thought it was n-a-i-y-e. Nigh. I've never heard that word before. Nay. Nay-ay.

It's Kanye's new name. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. You guys are fun. This week you sent so many messages, hundreds of messages from mom's birthday.

Overwhelming. I just told her that you all wished her happy birthday. I couldn't read her all of those messages, so thank you for that.

We've had some pretty lively discussions about sports and about other things too. Penny took her all of five days to figure out how to extricate herself from the donut collar. So when I showed up at home on Thursday morning, arms full of groceries, walked in the door, thought I was gonna feed the dog and the cat and they were gonna be so happy to see me.

Oh yeah, she was happy to see me all right, wagging her tail. No idea where the donut collar was. It was gone. Oh man, it's been a week. And then, Jay, this is the crazy part.

Well, I'm thankful that the ducked dude showed up and had some extra expertise to share. I don't know if anybody else has ever had this experience, but he went to clean out the dryer vent, the dryer hose that goes from the back of the dryer where it blows the lint and has an exhaust, essentially. It's an exhaust pipe that goes out the side of my house. And I've seen it.

I know it's there. Every now and then the hood, the plastic hood that's on the top of it would fall off. And so I would put it back on the house. Well, he is going to clean the dryer vent and realizes that the hose is not attached. On the inside of the house, the hose is not there.

It has come detached from the piece that forms the hole on the exterior of the house. It's not there. He can't see it. He can't find it.

He doesn't know where the dryer hose is. Just emitting stuff into the open? Where the exhaust hose was. Actually, no, it was blowing lint and dirt and debris. It was blowing all of that into the inside of my walls. That sounds like a problem.

Yeah, it was crazy. He starts reaching his hand in and he pulls out fistfuls of mostly lint, but like dust and lint and just the kind of stuff that you would take off the lint screen. Right. Lint tray.

Whichever is that you use. And so he just pulls out fistfuls of that and piles and piles of that and dumps it in my backyard. He's just pulling out. I mean, he probably pulled out three dozen fistfuls of this stuff. And so who knows how long my dryer was blowing lint and other stuff on the inside of my house. But thankfully he was able to vacuum it all out. He found the hose. Finally, the piece that detached it had broken and had fallen. And so the hose had fallen off of it. But it had fallen on the inside of the house. And so he gets that out. He reattaches the hose, and then he screws the hood in with the hose so that it can't come detached again.

It can't be detached again. I was so grateful. Patrick did me. I mean, he's a good duck, dude. He was a great duck, dude. But he did me a solid. And so I gave him what I hope was a big tip.

It's hard to know sometimes when you have a tech at your house, how much you should tip them. Yeah. I mean, the bathroom's getting done. So there's a lot of garbage.

And we literally had to throw out a toilet yesterday, which is heavy. I mean, it's only the one guy. So you give him 20 bucks, throw him just for the day. Is that enough? I don't know. It's just the thought that counts, really, I guess.

No, it's not. It's the money that counts. Well, I mean, you're not going to give him a dollar, like a single. But I don't have singles.

I don't carry singles in my wallet. Anyway, I paid for the service, and he was cleaning all the ducks in the house. Not the D-U-C-K-S, but the D-U-C-T-S. He was cleaning them all. He was great.

He did a really good job. He said they probably hadn't been cleaned in 10 years, which is way before I bought the house. But then with the whole dryer thing, I gave him a $30 tip.

That sounds good. I mean, I don't know they're ready for cleaning ducks. I don't either. That's the thing. And I almost asked.

But then I thought, oh, Amy, don't be dumb. Just, you know, didn't have to give him. So, you know, it's nice. You don't think so? No.

I mean, no, that wasn't what he came there to do, right? Well, no, but he did fix it for me, and he did charge me to reattach it. He just didn't charge me to clean out the whole area. Yeah. Well, so you pay that. And then I think that there you go. It was a nice tip. I'd say that's good.

All right. So I was very thankful. And yeah, it was a little scary to think about how there could have been a fire ignited in the walls, inside the walls of my house.

That would have been really scary. So I'm grateful that he got to it and found it when he did. Being a homeowner is not for the faint of heart.

I've said this before, but it is not for the faint of heart. Seems like stuff always seems to come up out of nowhere. It's an education and an experience every single day. Earlier in the week, I learned about how I should trim the pine trees in my backyard. Of course. Yeah.

I learned all kinds of information about how and when and why. And you can't let those pine trees go untrimmed. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Right now, your first place choice, I would say your overwhelming choice for game of the week is Bengals and 49ers. But we've got some major implications for a lot of the games across the board. I mean, at this point, going into week eight, I could make a case for why any of these is the game of the week, whether we're talking about Vikings and Packers just because it's a divisional game, whether we're talking about Patriots and Dolphins and the Pats with a huge win last week over the Bills. The Dolphins, of course, they're trying to hold off the Bills in the AFC East. And for them, last week was a tough loss against the Eagles. So they've had two losses so far. Once again, one against Buffalo, one against Philadelphia.

And I think we've seen some of their flaws exposed. Can the Patriots do the same to them now on the road in Miami? Yes, love the Jacksonville-Pittsburgh matchup. And the Steelers, as I told Marco last hour, the way they grew up last week in the fourth quarter, I thought the offense showed maturity and showed poise and showed the ability to score under pressure. So two fourth quarter touchdowns in their rally against the Rams. And now they host Jacksonville, a team that has won four consecutive games.

So we'll do some QB news coming up. Philadelphia-Washington is an NFC East battle. I know the Washington commanders, gosh, sometimes I think they're like a hamster. They're just spinning the wheel. They're just over and over scampering around the wheel, really going nowhere.

And if they do go anywhere, it's because they fall out of the wheel and have to get back in. But it doesn't appear as though they're making up ground, if that makes any sense. Kansas City-Denver is a divisional game. Denver squeaking out a win, eking out a win last week. But right now, Kansas City is the best team in the AFC.

And then let's see, Ravens and Cardinals, not because they're both division leaders, but because the Ravens, they have, the Ravens have gone through some various iterations with their defense because of injuries. Lamar Jackson and the offense provided a cushion last week because they were, well, for more than a cushion, in the way that they went streaking against the Lions in the first half. They were four for four on their first four drives, four for four in the red zone. They seemingly cured their red zone problems. But can they take that on the road now in Arizona? Because that's been their major issue offensively, is red zone production.

So they had one really good week. Can they now take that on the road in Arizona against a game defense and continue to produce in the red zone? We know the Baltimore defense, despite all the injuries, has been very stingy. Fewest number of touchdowns allowed this year so far. Josh Dobbs still starting for the Arizona Cardinals, so maybe Baltimore has a few more opportunities for takeaways. But can they continue to make progress with their offense and continue to produce in the red zone?

So those are just a few of the questions that I have, not to mention Monday Night Football. We don't yet know about Jimmy Garoppolo, though he is seemingly on start. Oh my gosh, that's not what I was going to say. That's not what I was going to say. He's on pace to start.

He's on a path to start. And that would be at the Lions who got their kneecaps bitten. Ew. They had their kneecaps bitten and there was blood gushing from their kneecaps. You're back in the dumpers again.

Well, right. The hype train may have slowed significantly with the Lions running into the Ravens last week and their knees may be hurting. And so that's Monday night. But we don't yet know, as I say, about Garoppolo and whether or not he will start. He missed last week and it was a mess with Brian Hoyer and then Aiden O'Connell. So they need Jimmy G back.

But at Detroit, that defense much improved. Can they bounce back from an embarrassing loss? So on our Twitter, after our CBS or on Facebook, we're asking you to vote for the game of the week.

Lots of votes coming in already straight ahead. Well, this hour we'll do defense. We'll do a week eight preview through the eyes of the defense.

We'll do that after the update at the bottom of the hour. We gave you the perspective of the Diamondbacks and Nathan Evaldi, who's starting game number one for... Oh, no, I'm sorry. We gave you the perspective of the Rangers, but looking at the Diamondbacks through the Rangers eyes. So Bruce Bocci who was on with Jim Rome and then Nathan Evaldi just talking about being the game one starter for the World Series after he already had such an incredible World Series performance, one for the ages, even though he ended up losing in that game in 2018. You know, you're talking about kind of an epic... Well, it was the longest World Series game in history, but an epic stretch for him.

Does that help him now with some of the nerves maybe that he's facing and the anxieties that come with being on this platform and under the lights and everything that you want is right there, but you still have four wins that you need to secure. So two very hot teams, two very different teams going into the World Series, but obviously each of them can win based on how they got here and both very impressive. The Texas Rangers haven't yet lost a game on the road in these playoffs, and so they will start out at home, but can they protect their home field like they couldn't do against the Astros? And then the Diamondbacks rallying from multiple times down against the Phillies.

Yeah, they're the two best teams that have earned this opportunity. It'll be a lot of fun to watch starting on Friday evening as opposed to Friday morning because that would be weird. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Maybe you're still new to this whole EV thing, but those range fears? Turns out your all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 gets you to work and back all week on a single charge. And now every IONIQ 5 comes with a complimentary EV charger and up to $600 installation credit when it comes to embracing change or thinking of every mile. Hyundai, it's your journey. Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. 2023 IONIQ 5 rear wheel drive has an EPA estimated driving range of up to 303 miles.

Actual range will vary with options, driving conditions and habits, vehicle and batteries condition, and other factors available in limited quantities and select states only. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. First, I'm going to go home, talk to my daughter that thinks that she's my mother and spend some time with my grandkids and let the Lord tell me where to go and what to do with my life. And I still feel like I haven't done what I'm supposed to do in life, so I feel the Lord has some great things ahead for me.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Hearing that from Dusty Baker makes me smile. He's into his mid 70s now and he says he still doesn't feel like he's done what he is supposed to do. Wow, I like it.

A tenacity for life, a vitality. There's still a lot of humor. My daughter who thinks she's my mother. That's cute.

Big family guy. Dusty Baker, maybe not retiring, but stepping away from managing and is done in Houston. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio after the Astros fall in games six and seven to the Rangers in their own park in Minute Maid Park.

We started to hear the reports circulating. I saw at first in the athletic that Baker had privately been telling family and even telling the Houston front office that he would be walking away after the 23 season whenever that ended, and he did in fact make that official on Thursday, though it said it went by in a flash. It was probably the quickest four years I've ever spent in my life, but that's what happens when you're winning, you know, and when you're losing, it can be the longest three or four years. It felt like a decade in a short period of time. They were winning when I got here. They were winning while I was here, and I wish them well after I leave. Gave me an opportunity to, you know, to be a champion even though I always felt like a champion and gave me a chance to, you know, wear this ring because I haven't worn my Dodger ring from 81 in probably 30 years and fit in 30 years.

As I say, the humor is after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. At this point, just a chance to breathe. The last four years have resulted in very long seasons, and the regular season itself is a bear at 162 games, but you throw in the postseason, tack on October and the travel of that because over the time that he was manager, the Astros went to four consecutive American League Championship Series and multiple World Series. That's a long time. Essentially, by the time you breathe, you wake up and you breathe, you're into November. And this year, the World Series stretches into November, and so between an early start to spring training, not to mention what happens in hot stove, but a start to spring training that's, what, mid-February when pitchers and catchers report, you're really only talking about a short stretch where you're away. And while many of us would take that schedule, right?

We work 10 months, we get two off. That wouldn't be terrible. The issue is, of course, that the baseball schedule is extremely taxing. With all of the travel and the hotel stays, and I know they don't travel the same as everybody else, but it's still a lot to be on the road as much as they are.

And then when you're home, you're still at the ballpark for extremely long hours. So good for Dusty Baker. He was asked to show up at a time when the Astros were disgraced. Very few managers would have taken that job. Very few managers could have succeeded in that job, and he did. He restored some credibility. He obviously was able to win a World Series as a manager. Finally, the joy that came with that, and so he said he did hope that he left the Astros in a better place.

And yeah, he navigated an emotional and controversial transition from the trashcan Astros to an Astros team that only had four guys left from that 17 World Series. I wonder what the ratings will be like in terms of viewership. I know why the World Series, Major League Baseball would choose to start the World Series on Friday, Saturday, so it's opposite the NFL.

That's a major reason why. Now, you can't avoid the NFL on every night because it's the NFL, and we know they spread out. They've got urban sprawl, but what Rob Manfred and the baseball higher ups are hoping is that people will tune in because on Friday and Saturday there are no NFL games. You'll have some competition with college football, but there are no NFL games. And I think it was Monday Vikings Niners had three times the viewership of the game seven that night between Astros and Rangers.

Three times the viewers. That's a game seven versus a regular season NFL game. So baseball wants nothing to do with the nights when the NFL is all in. Of course, they can't avoid Monday, but the series goes Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, right? That's where they are right now.

Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. You heard from Bruce Bochy and Nathan of Aldi last hour. Zach Gallon will be the opposing starter for the Diamondbacks in the opener. And yeah, he actually did face the Rangers earlier this season, but it was over two months ago.

We didn't get a chance to see Evan Carter earlier in the year, so that's another fold that they added into the mix. And yeah, and they're playing hot too, so it's not going to be an easy task by any means. Obviously, Tori Lovello is not only speaking about Mad Dog and his broken promise to retire on the spot should the Diamondbacks rally to win game six and seven of the NLCS.

So I'm not telling you that was his entire press conference or that's where his focus is. Oh no, there's plenty to say about the Diamondbacks in the World Series for the first time since 2001 and just the second time in their franchise history. But if you remember, this was what Mad Dog said on his Sirius XM radio show before game six against the Phil's.

I've been wrong in Arizona from day one. A, I'm stunned to beat Milwaukee. I thought they'd get swept by the Dodgers. I never thought they'd even go back to Philly for a game six.

I'll try it one more time. I would not be stunned if they won tonight. I would be floored.

Floored. And I'll say this right now, just I'll say this right now. And Bob Raisman, write it down.

Why bother? If they win the next two days, they win the next two games and win this series in seven games, if they win, I will retire on the spot. Well, we now know he is not retired. And last time I heard him and I don't have the chance to listen live, so I have to catch it after the fact.

He was flaunting the fact that he was not retiring. I'm here. I'm here. I know I'm going to take a pounding today, but I'm here.

I'm not retiring. So what was it? A publicity stunt?

He never intended to follow through on his word. We know it got back to the Diamondbacks Clubhouse really quickly. And Tori Lovello is not letting it go. You can't back out of that one, Mad Dog. You got to do something.

I don't know if you're talking about TV, radio, but I do like Howard Stern's thought about walking with a billboard saying that I am whatever a liar and an a hole in Midtown Manhattan for half a day. That'll do it for me. But I'm going to forgive you until you do something unbelievable. Maybe show up here and say you're sorry to the entire team.

That's what I think he should do. You walk into that clubhouse and apologize for being a well, a jerk, whatever. Apologize for not keeping your word. You made this promise and this claim for all the world to hear. You used your radio show to trumpet how right you were about the Phillies and how right you were about the Diamondbacks, and they proved you wrong again. And so now you should have to make up for it.

I like Tori Lovello's suggestion. Invite him into our clubhouse. Make him eat a bit of humble pie or crow, if you will, whichever one he prefers.

I think I'd prefer the humble pie. It just comes across. It smacks of PR stunt, which I don't like.

Of course, as we talked about with social media these days, a lot of times there's really no accountability. And of course, he was never going to retire ever. That's the thing is that it made the rounds and it became such a big thing that was amplified all over in sports and in media. He was never going to retire. Never. He just said it. He should have to go and apologize in person in the Diamondbacks clubhouse for doubting them. But no one's allowed to film it.

No audio or anything. So he can't even get like the last from doing it. No, he can't use it on the air. No on the air.

No last. No, you can't be like Dion where there's seven cameras in his face to face. He's got to look all those guys in the eye and tell them that he effed up and he's wrong and then no one's got to film and that's it. That's it. So no one can find out about it. You can't use it as a publicity stunt. You can't use it on a show. That's it.

I like it. Producer Jay has got a good idea. No cameras. No recordings. No publicity. Nope.

Just you and the men in the room. That's it. No way. He would never show up and do that. That's what he should do.

That would be a proper punishment. What's the After Hours Game of the Week? You can find the poll on Twitter and Facebook. Coming up, you know defense wins championships. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. This music is so ominous and yet we love it. We dig it. We dig the defense, baby. And through the eyes of Week 8, there are some scintillating matchups and we know defense will play a major role, but you can't win a championship in Week 8.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Before we move on to Week 8, how about we take a peek back at Week 7 because it matters. The touchdown that you all chose for the After Hours TD of the Week came just before halftime between the Vikings and the Niners Monday night. Cousins on third and six. Big blitz like Pete said.

So Cousins fires over the middle and it is caught by Edison. 20, 10, touchdown! That time, Jordan Addison stole it from Tarvarious Ward and it's a 60-yard touchdown and the Vikings strike in the shadow of halftime and they lead 16-7.

Paul Allen on Vikings Radio. Yeah, it was a huge shift right before halftime and it looked like Ward had an interception until Addison wrestled it away, spun out of his grip, and there was nobody behind as a safety. There was nobody behind to try to track down Jordan Addison and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks takes full responsibility because he's the one who called the blitz that left the backside exposed. Take full responsibility for that call. I have to do a better job in putting the guys in a better position.

We have good players. I know that and can't really press the issue, you know, and with that, you know, moving forward, it's my responsibility to do that. So I, you know, wish I could take it back. Well, too late for that.

Now, who knows? The Niners certainly had opportunities where they could have won the game. It's not like they didn't have another half of football to play. However, the Vikings use that as a major stepping stone. Interestingly enough, Kyle Shanahan put it at the feet of Steve Wilks as the coordinator and then your other coaches, like the offensive line coach, Chris Forster, who's talking about how Kyle holds everybody accountable.

Kyle expects these guys to take responsibility when the call was theirs. That comes with the territory, with the job. You know, the more people sit out here, the more people fill those stadiums, the more people, internet, all the things that go on with it.

I know that one thing's happened through the course of that time is salaries have gone up. And with that salary comes the, you have to take the heat for the job that you do and you have to stand and be accountable for the things that you do because there is more people, there are more people interested. There are more people that are analyzing you on television and radio and everywhere else. And it comes with the territory, man. It's what it is. And you have to understand that, you know, you control what you control and what you do control is the job that you do and whether somebody appreciates the job you do or doesn't. And when the head coach, if he wants to stand up and say the offensive line didn't play well enough, he's the head coach, he's in charge.

And that's, does it bother me? He didn't play well enough. Yeah, Shanahan throughout the week said that he didn't like the call, that Wilks knows he messed up on that zero blitz call. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. All right, moving on. Niners have got to put it in the past because they do have, of course, big game this week against the Bengals.

That is one of the options for your after hours game of the week. We've got another though. How about Jaguars and Steelers and Alex Highsmith, Mike Tomlin. Well, they understand Trevor Lawrence poses a lot of problems. We know that in our division, you know, we have guys, you know, who, you know, who are lethal on the ground. You know, Trevor's the same way as well. You know, he can throw and he's a threat with his legs. So we know we got to keep him in the pocket and we just really got to contain him because if we don't, you know, he can get out.

He can throw on the run and he can take off and just run. Trevor is at the controls of all of it. He does a really nice job. Etienne is problematic as well, as I mentioned. And so there's a lot that has our attention this week.

They're a group that's really intentional about being aggressive from a gadget perspective. Oh, well, that's Doug Peterson, right? And no doubt the guys enjoy that Peterson will dial up wrinkles and also is extremely aggressive.

But yeah, you can put that at the feet of the head coach, Doug Peterson. Trevor Lawrence already has 1,650 passing yards this season. He's got eight touchdowns. And even though they're passing, he's got enough passing yardage, they're kind of middle of the road when it comes to their passing yard. Rushing yards though, they're well over 110 per game. Right now, they're in the top 10 in points that they score each week. And they've won four in a row, which puts them on top of the AFC South.

Another game that we've given you as an option for game of the week. Now, last week in week seven, the Browns won against the Colts, but gave up 38 points on the road in Indianapolis. The Seahawks, eh, I would be surprised if they scored 38 points, but Denzel Ward recognizes they've also got some talent and playmakers. They got a lot of dynamic players on that side of the ball. It's not just the passing game, the running game. You see they got a very dominant run game, got a good player back there in Walker, and try to get the run game going. And then also, I mean, got players like Metcalf and Lockett and Jackson on the outside.

So, like I said, dynamic players that they could get the ball to and make plays. The Seattle defense has been the Seattle defense gets a boost in the form of Frank Clark. Past rusher kind of bounced around the last couple of years, but he's rejoining the Seahawks.

Right back at home, felt like, you know, I feel like I got out of bed this morning, went to school, came back, and my bed's still messy, and I can get right back in there. I love that visual image. Frank Clark, welcome back to Seattle.

Another option. How about Cowboys versus the Rams? And think about what Matthew Stafford has right now to play with.

He's got Pukanuku. A Cooper Cup is putting up huge numbers since he returned 2-2 at will. Kyron Williams is on IR right now, so that does take away from the potency of the Rams offense. But man, it is definitely a challenge for the Dallas defense. So there's another option for game of the week. Micah Parsons, Aaron Donald on the same field.

How much fun is that? Obviously watching games on TV, watched him play fast. He fly around and put them all over the place and run all different types of stunts with him. And speed, he's relentless, and he found ways to make plays. Aaron Donald's the old grizzled veteran now that's even talked about retirement the last couple of years, going back to the Rams Super Bowl win, whereas Micah Parsons is kind of the fresh blood. My favorite thing about Micah is this part. Well, his play is exceptional, but I do love his podcast where he's just wide open. He's full throttle about everything that happened on the football field during the week.

It's the last now cry later. It's the edge with Micah Parsons and now he's gotta find an edge against Matthew Stafford. So it's a great challenge. Obviously he's a Super Bowl champion. He knows how to make the all the passes.

All the reads look you off and things like that. Super dynamic, you know the record don't show how really good they are, so we definitely got our hands full going into this Sunday. What is the after hours game of the week? You can find the poll on our Twitter after hours, CBS or on our Facebook page. Those are the four options through the eyes of the defense.

But oh wait, there's more. Tennessee divesting itself of at least one veteran piece. Could Derrick Henry be on the way out?

No, he doesn't play defense, but there are the rumors that the Titans are shopping Derrick Henry before the trade deadline and the Ravens are the team that is reportedly the most interested. OK, back to defense. Kevin Bayard goes from Tennessee to the first place Philadelphia Eagles. Just try to come in, learn the playbook, you know, develop relationship with the guys and just try to come in and help as much as possible. Obviously this team has it has a great culture of winning culture has great leadership here and I just want to come in and earn their respect.

All my teammates by first and foremost, preparing the right way, taking care of my body and doing all those little things. So should I do whatever I can to help this team win? Jay did not put Eagles and commanders as one of the options for game of the week, though the Eagles are sitting at six and one, so it's critical now in the NFC beast. It's not as beastly as it was a year ago, but six and one Cowboys are four and two, so they've already had their bye. Eagles have not.

Cowboys able to be home against the Rams, which is a big deal. Eagles have a battle inside the NFC East and it will be a battle. At least I expected to be because there's no love lost and those teams always go toe to toe.

And really it's it's gritty and it can be ugly and it's it's just in your face. They're probably gonna be skirmishes that break out, although we know Roger Goodell. He's he's about done with your pre and post game fighting. Alright, one more the Detroit Lions. Well that defense was chugging along. But not against the Ravens. Four touchdowns in the first four possessions. Everybody in Detroit Silver and Blue got punched in the gut and I don't know what it says. Yes, you do.

Aidan Hutchinson. How does your team bounce back? This game is huge man. We all know it's critical to win this one.

Going to the bye week with the win and going to the bye week six and two. So I think we're all preparing right now, you know, and locked in as much as we've ever been. So yeah, I think the preparation is being done right now and I think everyone in this locker room is really locked in. We don't yet know if Jimmy Garoppolo will be on the field. However, he is on track to start.

He's on pace to start. That appears to be the word coming from the Raiders. Do you know I still have a tendency to say Francisco the Niners, the Bay Area. When I think about Jimmy Garoppolo, that's still what pops into my brain. But no, he's a Raider now and yeah, he missed last week. It was a mess. Brian Hoyer threw two interceptions on.

In addition, Aidan O'Connell came in late in the game when it was already just. And when it was already, I don't want to say a lost cause, but against the Bears, the Bears had already done more than enough to win that game. Bears were able to rush for 173 yards against the Raiders. Josh Jacobs has been stifled and stymied and stuffed.

Oh, that was impressive. Stifled, stymied and stuffed, if you will. He got nothing. And so the Raiders lost to a team quarterback by Tyson Bajan. I cannot wait to see more of Tyson. Oh, do we know if Justin Fields is playing this weekend? He's not. OK, well, I'm not sad that we'll see Tyson Bajan again because this is a good story. The Raiders need to get their act together. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.