1-1-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence: Hour 3

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Yep, Graybar does that. Hello listeners and welcome to the end of the year edition of the Hey Did You Know Podcast. So year end means holidays. Hey, did you know Americans eat 1.4 billion pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving? Well, year end also means the Hyundai getaway sales event. Hey, did you know it's the best deals of the season on Hyundai's most popular vehicles? Well, isn't that interesting?

And since we were talking turkey, hey, did you know only male turkeys gobble? Hey, did you know every new Hyundai comes with America's best warranty and three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance? Hey, did you know the Statue of Liberty is the largest holiday gift ever given? Hey, did you know when the year ends, so do the deals?

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Now during the Hyundai getaway sales event, offer ends January 2nd call 562-314-4603 for details. Welcome everybody. I mean, you might deep down inside of you know that it's true, but you don't want to admit it. His job is not in jeopardy because the NFL is making money hand over fist.

They are rich. Point is, ladies and gentlemen, Reid works. Roger Goodell may be your whipping boy football fans, and you may hate him and you may boo him. Come on, Billy, come on.

There you go. He loves it. He loves it. We are thrilled to have you here with us tonight. We are thrilled to be back here in Philadelphia. I'm telling you, the guy eats that stuff up.

I would tell you that it's not awkward at all for me. He's one of my favorite caricatures in sports. Thank you. You're welcome. It's time to have some fun.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Oh, Roger Goodell, I know he's the bane of your existence. And once again, the NFL with the commissioner as its poster boy, under fire for what many consider a very controversial ending to Cowboys Lions on Saturday night. Now I say the NFL is not so and I'm going to tell you that it's not as controversial as you think. And maybe, just maybe, that failed two-point conversion to end the game for the Lions, though they are already NFC North champions, no harm, no foul, but that failed two-point conversion after two successful attempts were negated by penalties, maybe it shouldn't have happened at all.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. It may be the new year, happy 2024 to you, but this is still my opinion. It will never change.

People hate me based on this one opinion. Are you ready? I'm going to restate it to start the new year. No game, as in no game in sports ever, but no game in the NFL, no game between the Lions and Cowboys on a Saturday night, even with playoff implications, is decided by one play, one snap, one flag, one blown call by the officials. No play ever comes down, no play ever decides a single game. No game ever comes down to one moment. If it did, they wouldn't play 60 minutes. Can a game be hanging in the balance late? Sure. Does a call or a moment late maybe carry heavier implications because there's less time to make up for it? Absolutely. But the Cowboys did not win the game on that one call by the officials that's now coming under scrutiny.

Of course not. Both teams had ample opportunities to win this game. Both teams had ample opportunities to do what the Ravens did to the Dolphins on Sunday. You miss and you squander opportunities earlier in the game. You don't score here, you score there. You settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. You turn the ball over.

How about Detroit Lions, if you don't want to be in that position, don't have an interception late in the fourth quarter that leads to a Cowboys field goal. Okay, every play is an opportunity. Every drive is an opportunity. Every possession provides opportunity. Don't let the officials at a call they might make or not make play such a critical role. How about don't leave it until the last minute?

Right? You are the athletes on the field who have a chance to affect this game for all 60 minutes. No game ever boils down to one moment or one flag or one play.

It's not that simple. And no, the NFL is not rigged. You'll never hear me blame officials for the outcome of a game.

To do that would be to take it away from the guys on the field who really matter. Are officials perfect? No. Has this officiating crew had some pretty high profile blown calls this season? Yeah. Which is why they're not likely to work the postseason. That's the report now coming out on Sunday. But is it why the Cowboys won?

No. The Lions still had another chance for the two point conversion. Not to mention, they could have gone for the kick and forced overtime.

You want to keep playing? How about go for the point after attempts instead of the two point conversion? That way you're still playing into OT. Ah, their own decisions. Their own execution or lack thereof is what decided this game. Not the officials. But I know it's easier to blame the guys in stripes.

Oh, and actually blame a female in stripes, right? Because Sarah Thomas was working the game. Love Sarah.

Sarah's worked a Super Bowl and has been on this show multiple times. So we're going to talk about it. We're going to let you hear it. But again, you're not going to change our mind.

People hate me for that opinion alone. But the rest don't decide games. The athletes do.

The coaches do. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We'll get back to your calls.

855-212-4227. In the meantime, on Twitter, ALawRadio. Where are you listening? How are you listening?

Because you can listen so many ways. Happy New Year to you. Happy 2024. We now welcome Alaska into the mix. One of the best vacations I've ever taken in my life. Hawaii, you're stragglers. You're coming in hot, of course. We'll be visiting you in May. We will be visiting you in May. That's actually the honeymoon destination.

So for those of you who are listening in Hawaii or have been, we'll take your suggestions. Alright, let's talk about this game between Lions and Cowboys. Under the Lights on Saturday night, it was a record-breaking game. Record-setting game for 1CD Lamb. And at home, now Dak and CD have a great connection. We've seen that prosper and flourish this season.

But at home, man, with that crowd at AT&T Stadium, it is dynamic to see these two go to work. Back to throw. They blitz him from the safety spot and Prescott escapes that.

Runs to his right. Throws on the run to the middle of the field. Lamb at the 50.

No one will get anywhere near him. Lamb could crawl in if he wanted to. CD Lamb 92 yards from Dak Prescott for the Dallas touchdown. Seven and a half minutes in the game. Snap to Prescott standing and looking and throwing right to the end zone. Brandon Cooks touchdown, Cowboys. Perfect route, perfect throw. Cowboys regain the lead. That is the great Brad Sham on Cowboys radio. The Brandon Cooks touchdown gives the Cowboys the lead middle of the fourth quarter.

So we'll come back to that point. But just to talk about CD Lamb, an incredible performance from him. The 92 yard score, I mean Dak Prescott nearly got sacked not once but twice. Actually nearly got sacked in the end zone for a safety.

And instead, he ducks, he dives, he jukes, he wriggles out of control. And the Lions defense watches him then chuck this ball downfield and it was just over the reach of the defender. And CD is able to get in for a 92 yard score. The second longest in Cowboys team history. He goes for 227 yards on 13 catches and that touchdown. An incredible performance for CD and now has more receiving yards in a single season than any other Cowboy receiver in history.

Andrew if you wouldn't mind racking up CD and letting me know. Just because it was such an incredible performance and yet he too was stressed. It's cut number 77. He too was stressed at the end of the game watching how this was going to play out. So yeah, love Dak to CD. It was a real moment for me. Obviously shout out to my guys. You know we've continued to work, continue to build, continue to grow and I mean it showed.

I wouldn't be able to do any of this without them. I love the way those two have grown up. Together to Dak a little bit older but he's found his number one guy. He's found his security blanket right?

He's found his dynamic, the other half of his dynamic duo in CD Lamb. It's the fourth quarter now that Brandon Cooks touchdown gives the Cowboys the lead over the Lions on Saturday night. Later in the fourth quarter Donovan Wilson intercepts Jared Goff which leads to a Dallas field goal. So how do you blame the officials for what happened at the end of the game with the Lions if not for that Donovan Wilson pick or let's look at it from the Lions perspective. A wasted possession late in the game. He throws a pick which allows the Cowboys to then pad their lead.

Right? Because that interception leads to a Cowboys field goal. And so as much as I understand why it's frustrating and the Lions have put themselves there to try to rally. I mean you throw an interception in the late stages of a tight game and you're asking for trouble, which they got. So the Cowboys were up 20 to 13 at that point. Now credit the Lions.

I love what I saw from them. Sam Laporta had had a really tough game but comes through in this moment. So very first opportunity Goff hits him for 10 yards in a first down. Then it goes deep on the very next snap and Laporta hauls it in for 25 yards.

So the rookie tight end was then finding a little bit of redemption. Later on a third and 10 now we're inside the final minute. Goff finds Laporta 15 yards moves the six again.

Alright so what we saw from Jared Goff to Sam Laporta on that final drive was really impressive especially against that Dallas defense. The touchdown goes to Amunras 8-Brown with 23 seconds to go and here's where it gets spicy. Alright so a series of two point attempts, two point conversion attempts. And again the Cowboys they're up by a single point here. So what could happen is Detroit could kick the PAT presumably would be good. Not that it's a gimme any day in the NFL but they could have gone for the tie in overtime. Instead they chose to go for the two point conversion. Goff takes turns, fakes the give to Montgomery, sets the pocket, throws ends on wide open.

It is caught! Taylor Decker two points! Oh my goodness are you kidding me? Ben Johnson! Ben Johnson! Ben Johnson!

Oh baby! Jared Goff to Taylor Decker! The Lions have the lead! What a play!

What a playbook! I was actually listening. The Hubs and I were listening to Dan Miller on Lions radio. We heard that call live. I love Dan. He's been on the show before.

He's a phenomenal announcer and he loses his mind. And so yes on that two point conversion it appears as though the Lions have come back to win. It sounds like they have and he's yelling about Ben Johnson the offensive coordinator for the Lions. Then we find out there is a late flag.

I mean it was a late flag. We find out that Taylor Decker, so big man TD there right? Taylor Decker according to the officials did not report in as an eligible receiver.

Ok so Decker is the starting left tackle for the Lions. Which means he's not generally allowed to touch the ball. That's why the flag is for quote unquote illegal touching.

It's one of my favorite calls in the NFL. Illegal touching. Cause there's legal touching but then there's illegal touching. It refers to the ball not a person ok?

Get your mind out of the gutter. So much of the illegal touching happens in the scrumbles when these guys are fighting for possession and no one can see what they're punching and scratching and jabbing. You hear players, usually retired players talk about what happens in those big scrums. Yeah talk about illegal touching. But in this case the illegal touching is because if he does not report in as an eligible receiver a no lineman can't touch the ball or can't receive the ball, can't catch the ball. And so according to the officials Decker did not report and that's why the flag was thrown, that's why the two point conversion was waved off. Ok so here's where the crazy, the craziness ensues especially on social media. There is a video and there are many snapshots.

You can find them online, you can find them on Twitter, anywhere you look right now. Which have both Decker and Dan Skipper who's a backup offensive lineman over talking to the officials before that play. The officials say that Skipper reported to them that he was eligible which means they have to relay it to the defense and not Decker.

Decker's the one who caught the pass. Both Decker and Skipper, again the two Lions offensive linemen are saying no we told the official it was Decker who was eligible. For some reason the official did not relay that to the Lions, instead relayed that it was Skipper who reported and is eligible. Two players can't report to be eligible on the same play right so you can't have both those guys doing it. So in the opinion and the report of the officials Skipper was the one who said he was eligible which is what they then tell the defense. So the whole idea is for competitive balance you can't just throw a guy out there who's not generally eligible and not tell the defense. So the Lions defense would have heard according to the officials that Skipper was eligible not Decker.

Wait I got that backwards sorry Cowboys defense my fault. Cowboys defense would have thought Skipper was eligible and not Decker which is why they would have known to guard against Decker if he had reported. But the officials were saying he did not. So it gets kind of convoluted but what you see is you see two guys go over to the officials, two Lions go over to the officials and presumably one of them reported. But the Cowboys defense has a right to know. Now here's what I heard this was actually really interesting what I heard from Scott Pioli on NFL network is that he's never seen two guys go over to the official at the same time. So of course the Cowboys knew one of those guys going to be eligible otherwise what are you doing over there. But Pioli said you almost always see just one guy go over.

And so yeah there must have been confusion. The officials either heard wrong or the Lions were trying to sleight of hand and only one guy reported in this case they thought it was Skipper. So the idea was that they were trying to fake out the Cowboys right. Send two guys over they don't know which one's eligible.

But that's actually not legal. Alright so you've got essentially the Lions against the officials here. The Lions are saying no the right guy reported the officials are saying no the other guy reported.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Ultimately though the Lions still had another opportunity actually two more opportunities. The second chance that also got in was negated by a penalty and that means there was one more opportunity for the Lions and the two point conversion. Ball sits just inside the four yard line. Lions down by one going for two twenty three seconds to go. Goff back looking throwing. It is incomplete off the hands of James Mitchell and the Cowboys are going to survive.

Would you be frustrated right now? I don't like losing Dave. That's what happened.

We lost. That bothers me. You know it bothers me.

I don't like having an L. So that's Dan Campbell very frustrated. He says no way we did exactly what we told the officials we were going to do. Decker reported we even let them know ahead of time that that's what's going to happen.

Again something got lost in translation. Here's the thing. There's no way the official would just lie.

That to me is so unlikely. It's loud in there. How about that. How about it's extremely loud inside AT&T Stadium. These guys are going for a two point conversion and the win which means Cowboys fans are out of their minds. Is it possible just for the sake of argument that the official either heard it wrong or heard the wrong guy or that the wrong guy said the wrong thing.

I don't know I'm just saying it's super loud in there. And the idea that both guys go over and only one reports is an attempt by the Lions to try to throw the Cowboys off. It's hard to talk in a stadium that loud.

It's hard to communicate effectively in a stadium that loud. Maybe the Lions did get jobbed right. Maybe Decker did report and what the official heard was the other guy. Maybe he just got the name wrong.

Maybe he got the number wrong. Sure there's a very real possibility he made a mistake but to act like it was intentional or that the officials in the NFL rigged this game is is ridiculous. Here's something else that I didn't know until I was researching on Sunday. And this comes from a report with Adam Schefter, the great and long time ESPN senior insider. Apparently even before that Lions two point conversion fiasco there was a tripping call that would have negated a Tony Pollard seven yard run. So a tripping call that was made on Dallas. So a penalty that was on Dallas for tripping. And so the Cowboys faced a first and 25 right.

So maybe if there's no first and 25 they end up moving the chains. Maybe it's a touchdown instead of a field goal blah blah blah. But going back to that the video what the NFL has discovered is that it was actually Aiden Hutchinson of the Lions. Not the cowboy player who got flagged for the tripping. So it should have been a call on the Lions not the Cowboys.

Right so my only point in saying that is that these guys are human. If they made a mistake on the two point conversion okay. But it's not like the Lions didn't have another opportunity and then another one after that. So they still had the last chance right.

They still had the opportunity to make good on the two point conversion. It's not as though the officials ended the game with the one that was called back or the second one that was called back either. And also they missed a call against the Lions just a couple minutes beforehand. Generally the calls even out. I know sometimes you've got higher profile calls that set the world on fire because the NFL stole a win blah blah blah. Nah in actuality these calls generally even out. But maybe it makes you feel better Lions fans to know this particular crew. Now every official this is this is true I'm not just making this up.

I've heard this from Gene Sterator I know this to be true. Every official at every position is evaluated on every play of every game. You guys every single play.

Not just the ones that are controversial. These officials are graded very harshly. And this particular officiating crew has made one too many mistakes. And because of that has had their postseason privileges revoked meaning they will not work as a team in the postseason according to the reports.

I guess that remains to be seen if those reports are accurate. But yeah they're going to get they're going to lose their opportunity to work the playoffs which means extra money and higher profile. Because they made a couple of big mistakes this year in the NFL. But the mistakes don't determine games. Again they miss one on the Lions just the possession before.

And the Lions still had the last opportunity right the Lions still had the ball in their hands with the chance to win this game. By the way this is what Taylor Decker had to say following this whole mess with the Diddy reporter did not report. All I really want to say on it just so I don't get myself into trouble is I mean I did exactly what coach told me to do and went to the ref for it. And yeah I don't know it was my understanding too that you know Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pregame. So I did did what I was told to do and did how we didn't practice a week and I mean that's probably all I'm going to touch on with that. It looked like Jared did tell you to go over there and you know we're all over there. Just yeah I mean there's not much more I can add to it I mean just see the video of it. Right so again Taylor Decker says he did what he was told to do and that Campbell had even given the official a heads up about what they might be doing.

And all of that may be true. Maybe the official made an egregious mistake but it's not what decided the game. I know unpopular opinion but it's still my opinion when it comes to officials. The Lions still had a chance and they had many chances before that.

And if you're Jared Goff and you throw a pick in the final couple minutes of a huge game I don't know how you can blame the officials. On Twitter ALawRadio also on our Facebook page so the Cowboys now are in position because of that win at home. First of all they remain perfect at home this season. Right so they end up 8-0 at AT&T Stadium for their first perfect home record since the 80s.

Since the early 80s so this team is a little bit different. They can win the NFC East title because the Cowboys have taken care of their business enough where the Eagles have been backpedaling. Right the Eagles have lost 4 of 5 now. So with a victory on the road. Oh there's the crux for the Cowboys. With a victory on the road in week 18 against division foe Washington they can capture the NFC East.

And again I think it's more critical for Dallas than it is for Philadelphia only because Dallas does have a decided home field advantage. Alright on Twitter ALawRadio also on our Facebook page. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Hello listeners and welcome to the end of the year edition of the Hey Did You Know podcast. So year end means holidays. Hey did you know Americans eat 1.4 billion pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving? Well year end also means the Hyundai getaway sales event. Hey did you know it's the best deals of the season on Hyundai's most popular vehicles?

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Fa-la-la-la-la-la Blinds.com. Rules and restrictions may apply. What's that sound? That's the sound of downy, unstoppable scent beads going into your washing machine and giving your clothes freshness that lasts all day long.

There it is again. It's like music to your ears or more like music to your nose. That freshness is irresistible. Let's get a Downy Unstoppables bottle shake. And now a sniff solo. Nice.

Get six times longer lasting freshness plus odor protection with Downy Unstoppables in wash scent beads. Snapped to golf. Look in. Throwing it to the left. It is dropped. Dropped by the tight end, Mitchell. And the Cowboys are going to have a one-point lead in the ball. Defense had the big takeaways in the two-point. I mean, that was in a two-point extravaganza, you know.

It looked like training camp. You know, it was a two-point game. You know, it was a two-point game. You know, it was a two-point game. It looked like training camp.

You know, line up and go at it for three or four plays. I don't want to talk about it. I explain every day pregame to a tee.

I did that. 70 reported, 58 didn't, or 68 didn't. We threw it to 68.

That was the explanation. Hits, misses, and messes. Time to talk football After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The Cowboys' version of the final call, as on Dallas Radio Network, Brad Sham. And no doubt, Babe Lofenberg are thrilled to just escape with the win, as many of the Cowboys felt that way, too. Not that they didn't earn it, only that those last few moments and those last few two-point conversion attempts were definitely tense and stressful. Again, the explanation that the officials gave to Dan Campbell, as well as to the league, and also to the, I would say the NFL audience as a whole, right?

This is their story and they're sticking to it. That two guys went over to them, one of them reported, and the one that they said reported to them as an eligible receiver was not the one who caught the ball. All right, so I think it's worth mentioning, from long-time NFL GM and front office executive Scott Pioli, who's now an analyst on NFL Network, he said, I've never seen two guys go over to quote-unquote report, and honestly, two guys can't report, so right, that was really a sleight of hand. It was a trick by the Lions to confuse the Cowboys' defense. Ultimately, the official does have to tell the other team, so that's the whole thing, that's why you report.

If you're going to be eligible on one particular snap, the defense gets to know about it, so they can adjust at the last second. Cowboys thought the other guy reported where it was Taylor Decker who caught the two-pointer. Lions had two more shots at it, actually. Can only blame the refs for so much.

On Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, happy new year to you. Some things never change, right? The NFL is still the best reality show on TV. We've got more to talk about. We're going to set the stage and the scenarios for week 18. On Twitter, ALawRadio, that's how you can find me. Let me know where you are and how you're listening on what is now January 1st, 2024. For the majority of our audience, Kathy is in Maine. Kathy, welcome to After Hours. Oh, thank you, Kathy, I'm 80 years old and I've been listening to you since you came on CBS.

Boom! And I haven't changed my channel yet. Oh, I love that! So you remember when we first went on the air January 2013? Yes, I do, and I love the musher, he was so good. That was a good time. Oh, Matt the musher, yes.

That was a couple years ago now. So Kathy- I know it, I know it. I am a recent widow, and my cat wakes me up every night and two o'clock he makes sure I get up, listen to you, and we both go to bed very early. But as far as the games were concerned, they were really good. I like homes and that, that was fun, watching that. And Bob and you, I'm so happy, I was glad to finally find your, you know, happy people make wonderful partners. For life. That's true.

Good point. Well, I'm so sorry about your spouse and your recent loss, but we're glad to keep your company at all hours of the day and night whenever that happens to be. But how do you listen? Do you listen on a radio station? I listen on a radio station out of Boston, and that's the one I can get. Okay, so it's W-E-E-I out of Boston. Yep. Gotcha. That's the one I listen to, and I was listening to this show after you with the partners.

I would say- Maggie and Perloff. I don't know what happened. After your show is over at six o'clock. We had- Eastern time, right? Yep.

Eastern time. Mm-hmm. So you mean, so are you talking about the local Boston state, the local Boston show or us here on CBS?

National, national. Gotcha. Okay. So it was, it was the DA show and now it's Maggie and Perloff. Oh, I like them. Yeah.

They're good too. It's hard to get your day going when you're listening to the radio all day, but- Well, like I said, we're happy to keep you company whenever you need us, Kathy. Happy New Year to you. Thank you for faithfully listening for 11 years. I'm glad you got back, I'll tell you.

I had a 40 year marriage and I'm hoping you have the same. Yeah, me too. I appreciate that. Thank you. Bye-bye. Happy New Year to you. That's really sweet of Kathy.

Yeah, anybody else out there who can say they've been listening all 11 plus years now to CBS Sports Radio, that's awesome. Thank you. Okay.

So we are going to get back to your phone calls, 855-212-4227. I know I spent a little extra time on that Cowboys Lions finish, but to me, blaming officials is to take away the credit or the blame from the guys who deserve it, which is the coaching staff and also the athletes. I get that the officials make calls that put teams sometimes in tough positions.

I do. And the NFL hates it when calls become the story, which is why this officiating crew has been graded harshly and even downgraded. But it's still the athletes who decide. How about give Donovan Wilson credit for the interception that he had against Jared Goff in the late stages of a tense game? How about don't blame the officials and instead give Donovan Wilson credit for his pick that led to a Cowboys field goal?

To me, that's putting the credit and the attention and the blame where it's due and not giving it to the guys or gals in stripes. Once again, happy new year. Glad to have you with us.

Hackers are weirdly enough in a very similar position to where they were a year ago at this time. And that's without Aaron Rodgers. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Here's our latest sports update.

And here's Manny Rodriguez. I'm Tony Kornheiser and this is my show. My friends come on and you know them. We talk about the sports you care about football and now basketball too, though we don't really pay attention until later in the year and the absurdity that is our lives line etiquette at your local pharmacy, the current phase of the moon, the importance of talking to a human being on the phone, and most importantly, the power of a box of that.

Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Snap fakes the Jones back to pass, looking, looking, loads up deep down the middle, got a man and it's caught for a touchdown. Jayden Reed running right down the middle in between the hash marks and love through a strike 33 yards on the pass play from love to read and the Packers lead nine nothing in the first quarter. Shotgun snap love is back to pass, looking, throws over the middle caught by Jayden Reed runs away from the defense across the 20, 15 to the 10, inside the 5, Reed to the end zone, touchdown Packers, Jayden Reed made the catch, ran across the field from right to left and scores. We're moving the ball into a rhythm, you know, I was trying to get the ball out of my hand quick and get it to the playmakers and let those guys go make some moves in space and that's exactly what we're doing and the run game was really great tonight. You know, Aaron Jones, AJ, PT, you know, those guys battled the whole time, O-line did great, so I think everybody's just executing at a high level tonight.

It's time to pull on the pads and hit somebody. On After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. How about the best game of his young career, Jordan Love has four total touchdowns. If we were doing Monday MVP poll here on After Hours, he would have to beat candidate four of them, three through the air, including a pair to Jayden Reed, long touchdown catches to Jayden Reed and the Packers were already up 23-3 over the Vikings at halftime on Sunday Night Football.

The call's there with Ryan Radke on Westwood 1. Aaron Jones, his best game of the year for the Packers, 120 yards on the ground and here we go. This is a phrase that a lot of people like to use, in fact I will use it for my own life, my own career here as we start 2024, Happy New Year. A lot of times the phrase, what a difference a year makes, will come out of my mouth and for me and my personal life, it definitely does.

In the year 2023, got married, moved a person and another dog into my house, our house, sorry babe, our house. The other half is here. I was going to call you my better half, but I don't know if I believe that, so you know.

I'm just kidding, I'm totally kidding, I'm teasing, love you. Anyway, so personally and professionally for a lot of us we can say, what a difference a year makes. For the Packers, yes, what a difference a year makes, Aaron Rodgers was their quarterback at this time last year, but here's the crazy part, irony at its finest. Even though Aaron Rodgers leaves, he goes to the Jets where he tears his Achilles, four snaps into the season and he's been watching from the sidelines ever since. The Packers in Green Bay, life goes on without you. This is just what happens. Sometimes we like to be missed, right, we like to know that our presence or our absence is felt, except in the NFL, granted there's no one else who's Aaron Rodgers, but no one's irreplaceable.

No one, eventually they find someone to replace you. And a year later, these same Packers are going into week 18 facing a win and get in game at Lambeau Field. I mean, how about that? Right on the heels of what's been one of their best stretches here, where Jordan Love and the offense have found a comfort zone. The Packers beat the Vikings in Minnesota, they moved to 8-8, and because of the nature of the NFC where you've got the top dogs and it's top heavy, and then a bunch of teams that are mediocre behind them, the Packers are the exact same situation they were a year ago. Win at Lambeau Field in week 18 and you're into the playoffs. They couldn't do it in the final game of Aaron Rodgers' career in the green and gold. Can they do it with Jordan Love at the helm against the Bears in week 18? It also meant something for the Lions last year, remember?

Because there was the Lions that beat them at Lambeau and kind of signified to the world that they were ready to take that next step. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, lots of you finding me on Twitter and on Facebook and letting us know where you're listening. This one comes from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that's Paul, on W, it's called the jocks in Birmingham via the iHeartRadio app, so a lot of you listen to other stations, but you do it where you are because of the power of the interwebs. The tournament is on Amazon Echo and listening at 92.9 the game, our great affiliate in Atlanta. Let's see, Mitchell is in Ontario, Canada on Lake Huron, currently out plowing the local roads.

Oh, please be safe, send some of that snow to me. Big Cowboys fan, they didn't play great but they found a way to win on Saturday. This is Colby in Dallas on our affiliate, 105.3 the fam. Another tweet listening in on 93.7 the fan in Pittsburgh, congrats to the newlyweds.

Hey, that's us. And Happy New Year. And then James says he's listening in Las Vegas on the Odyssey app. All right, let's work in some phone calls here. Actually first though, no, you know what, let's move on. Let's go back to our calls just because I know a lot of you want to weigh in 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. Let's see, let's talk to James who's in Arizona, wants to weigh in on the officials for Cowboys Lions it sounds like, James, Happy New Year. Can you hear me? I can but you got to turn your radio down because there's an echo. Alexa stop, is that better, sorry about that. Tell the girl to shut up. I'm listening through the Alexa app to 105.3 from Cowboys fans, from the fan in Cowboys fans.

All right, so what do you think? So when I was listening to the game, I was listening to the Joe Buck and Aikman call on the game and they have that ref that sits in the booth with them from the league office. And when that play happened and they called the foul, he had talked to New York or talked to one of the refs and they said there was actually three different calls they could have called on him. One is where they don't line up the right way on the line and the other was a guy was too far down the field. All three of them were five-yard penalties and they just chose the one to say the wrong guy, the wrong guy didn't say he was eligible. Gotcha okay, yeah I mean so that I understand why the Lions are angry about it but ultimately as you point out there are other moments and this could have been the case.

I know that Gene Sterator mentioned that generally you have to, if it's going to be a couple of guys over there, you have to have the right report because it's only fair to the defense that they know which guy is eligible right so. Well and even if they didn't call that one they were still lined up wrong. Yeah I got you, you're right they were and I've seen some back and forth about that. I just think it's most important to remember that this call did not decide the game. The Lions still had another chance, actually had two more chances on the two-point conversion exactly so it's frustrating to me sometimes when people blame the refs when the Lions were still in the same position.

They had a chance to do it all over again if that's what they wanted. And thank you for taking my call and congratulations on getting married. You guys are awesome. Oh thanks James, happy new year to you.

Let's see, let's try another one here. Dan is in California, Dan welcome to After Hours. Hey how you doing? I'm good thank you. Hey well congratulations on getting married and happy new year.

Thank you, you too. And I might have missed something, correct me if I'm wrong, but who do the refs tell on the Cowboys who's the eligible receiver? That's what I want to know. I haven't heard any specifics on who they told, no. Actually don't know that, I could look it up, but they do have to tell the defense right? So again it's almost like a game of telephone where it goes from the Lions to the official, then the official to the Cowboys. I mean there's a lot of different elements and again loud in AT&T Stadium and so whether or not the refs blew it, maybe they blew it royally. We're finding out that they've also messed up on another call that would have hurt the Lions or hurt the Cowboys but should have been against the Lions.

So this crew itself did not have a banner year, it sounds like they've been downgraded and out of the playoffs. So they're going to pay for it, but it's definitely not why the game was lost by Detroit. Well yeah and I understand that, but the thing is that if you miss two point tries, whether it's penalties or what have you, off dice, kick the extra point, tie it up and move back. That's just the karma thing.

If I roll the dice at a crap table and all of a sudden I haven't rolled a seven, I mean I might want to pull some money back or move some money around, but you know what I'm saying? He just gets so damn excited because of the position that they're in and I can understand that. He's got his hat tilted up on one call, he's talking to golf. We see everybody, most of the other coaches, they keep their hat down and they're keeping their cool. He gets really excited. I don't know if he's chewing tobacco either because it looked like he had a big brown spot at the bottom of his teeth.

I don't know, I don't care. But here's what I know is that it's funny, you're right, it seems as though Campbell's going to lose his mind, but have you ever seen Brian Daybell on the sidelines? The Giants head coach looks like he's going to spontaneously combust. I mean, we've got guys that used to get so red in the face that I would worry about them. So yeah, coaching is definitely hard on the ticker.

It really is. I understand that. And Daybell should probably take it easy. You can't be pushing those extra pounds, now Campbell's pretty well jacked. Okay, Mr. Nutritionist heading into 2024. All right, Dave, we're up against the clock, I have to let you go, but Happy New Year to you. All right, take care. Bye bye. All right, let's not overweight shame. Let's not be pointing to things that don't matter for the head coaches.

What matters is their minds, not necessarily their bodies. On Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence, where are you? How are you listening as we start 2024 together, together forever?

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