1-5-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. If you are already awake on your Friday, you got a head start. Happy Friday to you. If you're not quite there yet, well, happy almost Friday. That's a thing, too.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. I am really, really excited to have a weekend at home. Now, my home is, well, it's chaos, and I can't even call it controlled chaos.

As my hubby said, it looks like a bomb went off, so, you know, there's that. Our goal is one room a week to get organized, and so we're working on the master bedroom. We're trying to get it organized so it doesn't look like boxes and bags and clothes and everything else everywhere, but yeah, both of us are kind of taking turns being a little overwhelmed by the size and the scope of the project. We're trying to get the house in order. Thankfully, there's no yard work to do this time of the year because that would be a lot on top of everything else, but he is about to experience his first snow this weekend, and by experience, his first snow, I just mean at home since he's now moved to New Jersey, and also different snow than Texas, right, because when Texas, at least Houston, gets snow, we're talking about a coating maybe, and the whole city kind of shuts down, but this is different.

Higher elevations in northern New Jersey. Looking forward to four to six inches is what I've heard, and now it'll be his first time for the dog to experience snow, and we're not sure what she's going to do. She's a mini Aussie, and she is a mini. She's the runt of a litter, so she's barely more than 16 pounds, and she's afraid of everything, and so he thinks she's going to be afraid of the snow. I think, like most Aussies, she's going to dig it.

I mean, usually Australian shepherds love the snow, and in fact, I could never get Penny inside when it was snowing. She loved it. She would roll on it. She would jump through it. She would eat it. She would plunge into it.

She would plunge her face into it. Yeah, so things are going well with the pet assimilation. People keep asking me, how are the two dogs getting along? Well, Daisy is already attached at the hip to Penny, except here's the problem. Penny's old, obviously, and she's a little slow, and it takes her a while to move around, to get up, to get down, to move around, and Daisy crowds her, and sometimes just walks over her. Like, Penny will be laying down, and Daisy will want to chase a ball, and she'll just run right over Penny, which of course is disturbing to Penn, and then the other thing that happens is I'll be petting my dog, and Daisy will get jealous. So Daisy's the new dog, and she's very jealous. She gets jealous when I talk to Penny, when I talk to the cat, and Daisy comes running, and so she'll crowd Penny out, which again is Penny doesn't care. She's really calm, except she doesn't want other dogs in her face. Kind of a disregard that I existed. Yeah, so I feel badly for Penny, and I'm trying to get Daisy to be sweet to her, but that's a little, at this point, lost on the puppy, and then here's what else is happening.

The sugar, the sugar element, going great. The three pets were following me all over the house together on Thursday evening, so there's no more hissing. It really wasn't a lot of hissing.

There's no real growling. They're fine being each other's space to the point where, again, I was trying to pet Sugar, and Daisy comes running because she wants to be the center of attention as well, and so then you've got Daisy and Sugar both wanting me to pet them. They sniff noses or touch noses and sniffed each other, and it's really going fine. The biggest challenge right now is that they're all eating each other's food.

Well, Daisy's eating everyone's food, and Sugar is not eating much, though she did try to eat Daisy's food recently. It's just a, it's like a zoo. I mean, I call myself a zookeeper on my Twitter, but I always thought I would stick to two pets from the point at which I lost my older cat in 2020. Three pets by yourself is a lot, and I decided I would never have three pets again.

Oh, so we've got a blended family. We've got three pets and boxes and bags and furniture and pillows. I never knew one person could have so many pillows. Bob has a pillow thing, meaning he has a hard time finding the right pillow, and so he will purchase more pillows to try to figure out the right pillow so he doesn't wake up with neck pain, and yet that's resulted in a lot of pillows. My entire, my entire spare bed, which we're going to get rid of, my entire spare bed is covered with pillows right now. It's just... So the pillows that don't function the way he likes them to, he still keeps them?

Yes. But they hurt him. Well, right, for spare beds, but he'll buy them and he'll put them on other beds, except now, well, so in his old house in Houston, he had two spare beds, you know, for his family when they would come visit. And now, because he had gone on this exhaustive search for pillows, there's all these extra pillows, and we ended up bringing, we used the pillows as packing material, right, but we ended up bringing all the pillows with us, and they're just, they're all over the place. There's pillows everywhere. Upstairs in the house, there's two bedrooms, there's pillows everywhere.

So you can just lay down and take a nap really wherever you want. Yeah, just on the pillows. In fact, I can say, I say the spare bed that I have right now is covered with pillows. We can't even really use it for anything else because it's got pillows stacked everywhere.

Here's the other thing that I wasn't expecting. There are towels everywhere, right? So we use the towels as packing material at two, and as I've washed loads of towels, once we emptied the trailer and the vehicles post move, now there's towels everywhere. And so we had to determine which pillows and which towels were going to get rid of.

I never thought that would be the biggest challenge, but I'm not kidding. There's stacks of towels on top of the stacks of pillows. And so, yeah, right now, the biggest thing is determining which dishes. So that's, that's a challenge because both of us have dishes from our grandmothers. We're going to use his grandmother's dishes, but I'm also getting rid of dishes that I have from my grandmother, which dishes, which pillows, and which towels. That's what they say is the most important things when you're moving a new house, right? Dishes, pillows, and towels.

Yeah. And then there's extra furniture and there's boxes. It just, who knew that combining two households could be so intellectually challenging.

Forget just the physical challenges of moving all over the place, but yes, it requires quite the thought. Who's keeping towels? Who's, which towels and where and which pill? I mean, I'm not kidding you. There have got to be right now in our house, two dozen pillows.

No, I swear to you. I'm not kidding. I'm going to take a picture of the pillows specifically for you when I get home on Friday morning and you will see the pillows are so tall that they they're stacked higher than, than I am on this, on my spare bed. And he's a big fan of pillows. Has he found one that he likes yet or is he still in the search? He's still working it out, still working it out. I know, right?

I mean, it's okay. I want you to have a pillow that allows you to sleep comfortably, but apparently it's a, it's a lifelong pursuit. I'm just, I'm just wondering, I guess the spare beds make sense, but so if he doesn't find one then he, does he have one that he's like okay with at the moment? He's still like, so he's still using one nightly. Yes, he has pillows that he will use, but they're not, they're still not perfect, if you will.

And actually, the pee kind of situation. Yeah, since we've been back in New Jersey, I think he's tried four different pillows and is still working on it. And he's bought them in Jersey?

No, no, no. These are pillows that he, right, so we couldn't leave any of the pillows behind. Again, we use them as packing material, but also he's, yeah, he's needing these pillows to, to work out.

And I don't want him to have neck pain. It's the worst. Yeah, no, it definitely is. And so I keep telling him or asking him how did that one treat you and how do you feel in this morning? And nope. Let's see, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I guess we're on to night number five now into Friday morning and he's tried four different pillows. Oh my gosh. Poor guy.

It's a terrible play in life. Has he tried a squishmallow? See, why didn't I think of that? I read only good things about them. About squishmallows?

All right, I feel like that's gonna be next. They're ergonomic, right? They are also, what a good word, Jay. Also, we're talking about those Tempur-Pedic pillows. Yes. The ones that will keep the shape or will conform to your body.

So it seems like those would work. But then he talks about how some of them are too tall, some of them are too thick. I'm like, oh my gosh. Okay, thank God. He just likes a normal standard size pillow, the extra longer ones.

Yeah. So apparently what's happening right now while he's sleeping is that it's a king sized pillow that takes up the entire bed. And he said, well, I can't use that one because there's no room for you. And my response was, well, I'm not sleeping there tonight. Feel free to use your pillow. So he likes that one.

So he got up and he went to get the pillow. So king sized and Tempur-Pedic and, you know, the ones that, shoot, Tempur-Pedic's the ones that conform to you, right? Right.

Okay. So yeah, that's what he's working with tonight. That sounds lovely. I mean, it might take more than one night. It might take like a week, but he's just going to have to kind of mold it, you know, that week's done and he molds it. That should be his pillow. Here's what I think. Only old people complain about their pillows.

That's true. But I guess also with a Tempur-Pedic pillow, what if he sleeps in a position for like two days that he doesn't like, and then the pillow's stuck in that position, right? You know, you gotta have the perfect sleep to mold that pillow or else it's screwed.

Don't tell him any of this. I just need him to find a pillow so we cannot have this drama. It's pillow drama.

Tempur-Pedics are perfect, actually. It gives a whole new meaning to pillow talk is what it is. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Producer Jay, happy Friday to you.

If you're waking up, I hope that your neck does not hurt and you have the perfect pillow so that you do not have to deal with anything like this. On Twitter, ALawRadio, if you'd like to vote for the After Hours Game of the Week, man, it's been a while since we've done a Game of the Week poll, but we're going into Week 18 in the NFL. We've got four games that have very real playoff implications and teams that are in control of their own destinies, if you're a big if you're a big fan of those types of, whoa, Jay, did you see our call screener? I just looked over at our call screener and it is, it's different.

Somebody's been playing with it. Yeah. Anyway, back to the poll really quickly. We've got multiple teams that are in charge of their own destinies. If the, for instance, if the Packers win on Sunday, Week 18, this is so ironic to me. No Aaron Rodgers.

He's been stirring up trouble. So there's no Aaron Rodgers, but there is Jordan Love and the Packers are now in position where if they win, they are in just like last year. Last year, they couldn't get it done. This year, however, there's a lot of confidence around the Packers at Lambeau Field hosting the Bears.

You know, the Bears would like nothing better than to play spoiler, but it's so ironic to me that a year later, a year without Aaron Rodgers and then the exact same freaking position that they were in Week 18 last year. Bums. Wow. That's rude. You're jealous, aren't you? You're jealous that they have a chance to be in the post-season. Maybe you think they shouldn't be in the post-season without you. How dare the Packers move on and play football without you? How dare they? You know what?

It's gonna be hard to cancel me. The insult. Are you kidding? The lack of respect. How can the Packers, a once proud franchise, move on and play football without you, the king of all? I'm offended. Me too.

How could you possibly say that? Raise your hand if you've missed Aaron Rodgers. Just raise your hand. Go ahead. Wherever you are.

I don't think so. Why are you so mean? I'm trying to do a serious show here about pillow talk and all. Raise your hand. No one can see you. Most people can't see you. I mean, if you're by yourself, no one can see you. Raise your hand if you miss Aaron Rodgers. You know who you are. The guy glows in the dark.

Okay, maybe someone can see you if he glows in the dark. I'm thinking in New York City where Aaron has, well, he's left the Jets in an unenviable position, but he's also stirred up trouble with his latest appearance on Pat McAfee. Did you know he gets paid a million dollars to do that?

That's insane. And, you know, he tends to get off the beaten path with some of his opinions, and so there's been a bit of a brouhaha. Now, I'm not going to tell you I don't care, only that I don't think it's worth talking about here on the show, but I will tell you this. On our New York affiliate WFAN, they have gone ape crazy over the latest Aaron Rodgers commentary, and it's been a major story. So, yeah, once again, he's not playing football, but he's still hijacked local radio. I'm not going to do it. Well, I am going to do it, but mostly just to say I thought I would miss him playing football this year. I didn't really. It seemed like he never went away.

Would I rather see him playing football than hear him yapping? Yes. Do you think there's another darkness retreat in his future? I could see something like that. Or is it ayahuasca? Ayahuasca.

Something along those lines, maybe something new, something more out there. He's one of those guys who's going to have a real hard time when he retires, because when you retire, kind of like this year, I wouldn't say it's instant. For instance, Peyton Manning and Peyton and Eli, they've managed to stay relevant. Our friend Boomer Esiason, he's still very relevant. He's on TV and radio almost daily talking about the NFL. Tony Romo, still relevant. Tom Brady, now as a podcast, will soon be in the broadcast booth. So there are some that manage to stay relevant, but for the the vast majority of professional athletes, once they're out, the fan bases move on. It's not that they don't appreciate what you've done, and I'm sure at some point Aaron will be honored in Green Bay. He is a Super Bowl champion and a multi-year MVP, after all, and a Hall of Famer. So no doubt they will honor him, but I think he's going to have trouble once he retires, because you don't have the same platform anymore.

Very few have the same platform. Could you see him going into media? Isn't he already in media? I mean more like being on the other side of it, like being the McAfee, having a show or like being Brady going into the booth. I don't think I could see that from him. I don't think he wants to share a microphone.

Yeah. I think he could do it, maybe do it himself. A podcast kind of thing. Why would you appear on someone else's show where you, except it's a lot of work. He may not realize it, but it's a lot of work to be successful. Micah Parsons works with Bleacher Report, right?

And he does this every week. As much as Aaron Rodgers has the name that will attract people initially, if you don't offer content that's interesting or keeps people coming back, well then you soon will just become one of the army of voices out there with the 8,942 podcast just devoted to the NFL. I mean there's so many different options that if you aren't offering something that's unique and interesting and stands out, well then you just become kind of one of the, you know, one of the crowd. There's lots of former athletes that are doing podcasts.

They're not all extremely popular. I think there's potential for him to be sure, but would he want to go through all the effort of doing it on his own, like striking out on his own, or would he prefer to be attached to another media name? I guess it's good work if you can get it, getting paid a million bucks for an hour-long interview once a week.

Not too bad. I would do that. Actually, one hour a week is not enough airtime for me, but I'd take the mill. I'd take the mill.

The cool mill. Allen is listening in Dallas. Allen, welcome to After Hours CBS Sports Radio. Allen, we're not calling you. You're calling us. Who's he calling? Who are you calling? I don't know.

Allen? How is he doing this? What if he says hello?

What do I do? This is Eric Flynn with Amy Kleene. I can't come to the phone at the moment. Please leave your name and phone number and I will call you back as soon as possible. At the tone, please record.

Oh, I'm gonna just wait. When you have finished recording, you may hang up or press one for more options. Hi, this is Amy Lawrence from After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. I actually have no idea who I'm calling, but somehow on our national radio show, your number was dialed. I honestly have no clue how or why, but Allen, if this is you, please call us back. The number is 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4227 and it's toll free and we'd love to connect sometime in the near future.

Happy New Year! What was that? I'll be waiting for that call back. How in the world did we end up calling someone else? I don't know how that happened.

I've never, I mean, I know this equipment comes from 1972, but how did that happen? I don't know. I don't know either. I just need this phone to ring from that number for a call back, so we'll see, but I don't know how that happened. I don't know what just happened. I don't either, but we just left him. At least I was honest about who we were and who, why we were calling. I don't want to be rude.

I mean, not a prank call, just... Oh well, all right then. Sorry, Allen in Dallas. We look forward to hearing from you again. Okay, coming up, waiting till you hear Rory McIlroy. I know it's just the very beginning of golf season and I wouldn't care for any other reason except that Rory has been an outspoken enemy, and I mean public enemy number one for Liv golf. Hit Liv. Hit Liv. Like I hit Liv. Hit it.

And now he's changing his tune. Weirdly enough, it's after... Okay, what's the number one reason you should try Instacart? Shopping over 1.5 million unique products from over 1,000 retailers and get everything delivered right to your door in as fast as one hour, all in one app, so you can spend more time with the ones who matter most. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time. $10 minimum per order. Additional terms apply. Blue Link Plus at HyundaiUSA.com.

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I would retire. That's how I feel about it. Seriously? Yeah.

I'd play the majors and then, but yeah, I'd be pretty comfortable. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is the voice of one Rory McIlroy who made his distaste, disgust, dislike, disdain for Liv golf.

Very clear. That goes back to July of last year, Jay. July of 2023.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. What a difference six months makes. Now Rory, I think of the PGA golfers that were outspoken about Liv. He was the leader of the pack. He became the self-described defender of the PGA Tour.

Going back to the birth of Liv, right? The first steps, the inroads of Liv to poach golfers from the PGA. But he was also blindsided by the PGA when this merger with Liv was announced. And instantly everyone wondered, how long until we hear from Rory? And what will he say? And he admitted that he felt betrayed.

He admitted that this was something he was having a hard time getting on board with. And he also predicted the demise of the PGA, or excuse me, the Liv Tour. Except that's not what's happened. And now Jon Rahm has bolted for Liv. And that tour is very much alive. And now fast forward to the start of the 2024 golf season and Rory is changing his tune.

It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. He was, I would say, kinder, gentler when it comes to the place for Liv in golf. But he also admits that there's been a major impact on the PGA Tour and he kind of has to be resigned to it. Competition is good, right? It makes people, but at the same time I think with the PGA Tour trying to compete with Liv and the Saudis' money is like completely unsustainable.

They can't do that. They just, it's not, you know, you're never going to win a fight if you're just, you know, money for money because I think we've seen in all sport like there's no one spending like the Saudis. So how can you, how can you tilt the odds in your favour so that you can make your product better, that you can make fans want to engage more with what you're doing? I think that's how the PGA Tour can, I don't want to say win this fight because, you know, there's negotiations going on and everyone trying to come back together, which I think would be good for golf. But it put the PGA Tour in a position where they had to spend a lot of money that maybe put them on a path that was unsustainable. And now you're seeing some sponsors are pulling out because the two are asking for so much money and the sponsors are like, we can't, you know, we can't afford that. We can't afford it.

This is Roy McElroy on the Stick to Football podcast. And he's essentially saying that it's an unfair fight or it's not an, it's not an even fight, not that it's unfair, but it's impossible for the PGA to compete with Liv because of the money. And that's what we've been saying going back to the announced merger, which still has no shape or form or solid terms, at least none that we've heard about. The merger was announced last summer and I still think it's a sham. I think it was the attempt by the PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan and the leadership of the PGA to get the lawsuits to go away and to get an infusion of cash. But the merger itself was never really part of the equation. They weren't ever going to bring the two entities together, add team golf to the PGA. And if they had any type of resolution, any type of structure for this merger, John Romm wouldn't have bolted to Liv unless he got smart and he bolted to get the money, knowing that he was going to get the smart and he bolted to get the money, knowing that the merger was coming down the pike. But I think it's all, I actually think it's a total sham. It's all just a trick to make it seem like they had come to an agreement to put their differences aside and work together when really what it boils down to is Liv is paying off the PGA. That's it. That's what it feels like to me. Here we have money to burn. Go do your thing. We're going to need a few concessions from you down the road, but here's some money to help it go down a little smoother.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. On the Stick to Football podcast, Roy was asked whether or not he feels like he's lost a fight. I think I've basically went through the last two years with this like altruistic approach of, I've sort of looked at the world in the way I've wanted to see it instead of just sort of, you know, going through life with three, not with, not like, not that I haven't, I've accepted reality basically, like this is what's going to happen and you can say what you want and do what you want, but at the end of the day, you're not going to be able to change people's minds.

You're never going to be able to make them to make a decision based on what you say. So I don't, have I lost a fight? I don't feel like I've lost a fight, but I've just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now. I've accepted the fact, I'm resigned to the fact that this is part of our sport now. So what would he do differently?

If he could go back and change it, what would he do differently? I was probably judgmental of the guys that went to the start. And I think that was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize not everyone's in my position or in Tiger's position.

And, you know, you, you get this offer and it's, you know, what do you do? It's, you know, we're all, we all turn professional to, to make a living playing the sports that we do. And, um, I think that's what I realized over the last two years. I can't judge people for making that decision.

And, um, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the, at the start. And he references Tiger Woods there, of course, because those were the two who brought the PGA membership together. Remember, I think it was in Charlotte and there was this big golfers only meeting in which they agreed to stay unified, stick together and stick together and not what they were trying to rally golfers and say, live is not a better option. They were trying essentially to choke out live so that live would die.

And yet that's not been the case. And Phil Mickelson gets smugger by the second. It's after our CBS Sports Radio. In response to these comments, Phil took to Twitter and urged fans not to quote, pile on Rory and also use this phrase. It's time to let go of our hostilities.

And this goes back to Wednesday. Phil wrote, let's not use this as an opportunity to pile on. What Rory said probably wasn't easy, wasn't easy.

But as much as that seems like a generous move from Phil, there's so much that you can read between the lines. This is him just taking the opportunity to say, oh, you know what? You're admitting you're wrong. All right, then let it go, dude. Let it go.

Let's let go of our hostilities and move forward as brothers. Honestly, as much as and I don't think fans pay attention right when you say don't pile on, blah, blah, whatever. It's just Phil reminding people, I told you so. This is Phil's way of reminding people that he said this all along, right? It's his version of I told you so. Phil didn't need to say anything.

He did not. And as much as it comes across as or if you're just reading it at face value, it comes across as generous of him. It's really passive aggressive is what it is. It's, hey, oh, I'm sorry. Did you say you have regrets or maybe you should have been so judgmental? Oh, well, here I am.

I forgive you. Right. Yep. It's all about I told you so. And no doubt he was cheering up one side and down another when the John Rahm announcement went public. He probably knew about it ahead of time and just couldn't wait. Rahm's signing is turning into a bridge to bring both sides together. Oh yeah, Phil. We're all kumbaya now. He's definitely feeling validated, right? And vindicated with the John Rahm signing.

But also remember there were predictions that maybe Rory even made one that Liv would be dead in a year. And in fact, it's the opposite. Again, I'm telling you, there's no merger. It's one of those fronts for laundering money. That's what it is.

It's just a way to have money change hands. And oh yeah, we'll get to that merger somewhere down the road. We're working on it.

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Out of network ATM withdrawal fees may apply. I love it. Defense is dangerous. Well, if you got a dangerous defense, then you are a contender in many cases. Think about the Cleveland Browns as an example, how that defense has kept them in games until they could find their footing offensively with Joe Flacco, Jerome Ford stepping in for an injured Nick Chubb.

How about Amari Cooper? And when he's on the field, the impact that he's made, but the defense has been relevant and kept them relevant all year. Even the Ravens as much fun as it's been to see Lamar Jackson in this resurgent system and the way that he's taken ownership and leadership under Todd Monken. That defense has been one of the best in the NFL all season long. Niners, another great example. How about the Steelers?

They're still hanging around. Possible playoff team because of that defense in large part. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. We'll get to the defense of the Steelers and their number one guy, but Buffalo and Miami. Last game of the NFL regular season with the AFC East title on the line and of course, Dion Dawkins. Everybody knows the stakes. Seems like the media and the people try to make it seem more bigger than what it is. You know, like we've been playing in playoff games for the last month, it seems like. So not that this is just another game. I don't want to dumb it down, but it's just another important game.

You know, like don't make it more than what it is. Leave it where it's at and just understand that it's still a game in our season and we have to, you know, play for a win. So as an offensive lineman, his job will be to try to block, not just for the run game, obviously to protect Josh Allen, but also facing the D line of the Miami Dolphins.

Now here's the big question. Can the Dolphins put up more of a fight than they did the last time they faced the Bills in the AFC East, right? So you've got a clash with the division title on the line, but also if the Bills don't win, there's a chance they could miss out on the playoffs altogether.

So as much as Dion wants to tell us that it's not any bigger than any other game, I don't buy it. Although they've had to fight for their playoff lies. I'll give them that. They've won four in a row, have the Bills just to get back to the point where they are relevant and they deserve a ton of credit for putting themselves in this position. As for the Dolphins, they've lost some critical pieces in the last couple of days, and that includes Bradley Chubb with the torn ACL. What a blow for the defense, but you're on Armstead. The Dolphins certainly understand why, as much as they've already clinched a playoff spot, why this game is uber critical.

Yeah, no, I don't think it's much much explaining needed at this point. Last game of the regular last game of the regular season, we got our goal number one in front of us when the winning division. So got to go out and execute.

Get that done. Yeah, another offensive lineman and very often, by the way, they are the best talkers on the teams and they've got the challenge of trying to battle in the trenches. Very often, the team that controls the line of scrimmage, the group that controls the line of scrimmage is the group that controls the game. And both these teams want to run the ball, right? Even if it's just run the ball to set up the pass, they both want to keep the opposing defenses honest. And so those old linemen stared at a huge challenge with the opposing defenses. It will not be cold though, this game taking place in South Florida. And I have heard that Bill's Mafia will travel well for week 18 under the lights in Miami.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. TJ Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers, they are hanging on to their playoff hopes even if they are on life support and he's excited to be a Pro Bowler yet again. Anytime my peers see the amount of work that I'm putting in and show that they have respect for what I'm trying to do, it's super gratifying because that's all you want at the end of the day is to have respect to the people that you work with day in and day out and just continually trying to get better on off the field as a leader to try to help this team in any way I possibly can. And I'd be lying if I told you this didn't mean something to me.

It doesn't matter how many times it is, each and every year I'm trying to find ways where I can get better and improve and I don't take this honor lightly at all. So congratulations to TJ and of course to the Pittsburgh Steelers at nine and seven. They need a couple of different dominoes to drop, right? But the big piece is they've got to beat the Ravens on Saturday afternoon. I love the TJ Watt component of that defense. He's dynamic, he's athletic, he's obviously explosive. It doesn't matter how many guys you send at him.

He usually finds a way. He gets very creative and innovative with his moves and he's got 17 sacks this season in the NFL. So even as we're talking about possible defensive player of the year candidates, right? He's never far from consciousness and he's tied with Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals.

How about that? Two teams from the AFC North who've got these sack leaders. Josh Allen of the Jaguars. No, the other Josh Allen. He's right on their heels at 16 and a half sacks and then Khalil Mack of the Chargers who will not be in the playoffs.

He's also sitting on 16. So much fun to watch these guys go to work and I do hope that we get a TJ Watt in the playoffs. So that's Pittsburgh.

Got to take care of their business and then see what other dominoes will drop. We know also the Colts and the Texans will play on Saturday and the winner of that game locks up at least a wild card spot. DeForest Buckner, man, he's a veteran in the NFL. These opportunities don't come around every year so he's all about it. The grit, you know what I mean, that this team has and obviously overcoming adversity with injuries, with suspensions. It's been a lot for the team in general.

So for guys to step up the way they did throughout the season and guys rallying around those guys that stepped up who weren't listed as day one starters just shows the type of culture that we have and the belief that we have in one another. The defensive linemen pointing to the change in the Colts said no doubt they are one of the big surprises of this NFL season. The fact that the Colts and Texans are nine and seven and one of them will get into the playoffs blows my mind. Now we'll wait and see what happens with the Jaguars. They are still the nose in front for the AFC South title but if they leave that door open another team could snatch it. Here are the Packers without Aaron Rodgers. They can host the Bears Lambeau Field Week 18 with a playoff spot on the line and Joe Berry understands, at least in part, the challenge of trying to limit Justin Fields. Incredible talent. It's been the age-old problem with mobile quarterbacks.

You have the the perfect rush or the perfect pressure or the perfect coverage and then guys that are able just to create things with their feet and he's every time we play against him I'm shocked at how big in stature he is. Justin Fields giving the Packers maybe a little bit of bulletin board material though I bet there are a lot of Packers inside that locker room who feel the same way he does that there's really not a whole lot to do in Green Bay except to watch football. That's not actually true. Not only do I have relatives who live in the area but I spent a bunch of time in Green Bay and there's plenty to do. It's a great it's a great town. I know their friends gonna be loud because there's not much to do in Green Bay except watch football but um please plenty of good food in Green Bay but I digress. Yeah it's so ironic to me that Aaron Rodgers departs for the Jets. Even the Jets. The Jets are not in the playoffs. Of course he didn't play at all. Well four snaps.

Instead the Packers have a chance to get into the playoffs where they didn't last year if they can win in week 18. Wow it's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Babysitter paid. Pizza ordered. Flowers delivered. You can do a lot of things with your phone and with Blue Link Plus you can even access your Hyundai Tucson Limited remotely. Doors unlocked. Temperature set. Lost car found.

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