After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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That's BetterHelp.com slash grow. That actually happened on the radio. I can't pretend like it was not completely authentic. It was one of those days. One of those mornings where I'm sure that the brain was not working.

Or maybe it was working too hard and overthinking. But whatever, it's live radio so these things tend to happen. I'm not even mad. It's amazing. Thank you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Thanks so much for joining us.

Happy Friday to you. If you have just found the show recently, we're glad you're aboard. Come aboard. We've been expecting you. Or if you're listening for the first time in a long time, that's awesome too. Maybe you are a faithful and loyal listener like the guy who found me on Twitter this week to say, I can't believe they haven't replaced you yet. Your show has been terrible for at least 10 years.

Wow. Thank you for being so faithful and true to the show that you've been listening for 10 years. I actually say that to people sometimes to explain to them how radio, sports radio, I'll speak for sports radio because news radio is a little bit different, but how sports radio is supposed to be a different phenomenon in that you want people to have an emotional reaction, whether it's positive or negative. What you don't want is for people to have no reaction, right? So if you're just background noise and people aren't paying attention and well, people fall asleep to this show all the time. So I guess I shouldn't say that, although I don't really find my voice soothing, but who knows? So the idea is to get people to pick a side, to have an emotional reaction.

I don't do hot take radio. I don't fabricate outrage. I just do me.

And this is what happens. But the loyalty that comes with people who really love the show, I mean, that's special and I always appreciate that. But the obsession that comes with people who can't stand the show or can't stand me is also just as compelling because those people have to keep listening to fuel their anger and to remind themselves why they think I'm the dumbest show host out there. Or they think that I should be replaced every year for the last 10 years.

That's all right. Whatever you do, however you do it to listen, we're good. Because, you know, the ratings don't actually take into account your emotions when you listen. Sorry, maybe someday AI will also include your emotion to the show, but for now they just determine whether or not you're listening. That's a scary thought.

It is a scary thought. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. So what is the After Hours game of the week? That is the question. You can't go wrong, right?

That sounds funny. You can't go wrong, right? You really can't go wrong because these are the four games that not only signify go time. Now, Wildcard Weekend is OK. There's a lot of postseason action. But if you remember, it's not all compelling postseason action. And there's some great storylines. We've had some cool performances. The Lions winning their first playoff game going back to 1992.

Yeah, there's awesome stories, but that doesn't mean the games were awesome. This week is where we get serious. No more messing around.

No more supersized Wildcard Weekend with 17 games and only one of them being separated by fewer than 14 points. OK, so this is where the games are about real battles and toe to toe and matching up and all of that. So I'm excited for this weekend.

I really can't wait. I've already told Bob either you watch with me or you're against me. It's one or the other.

Or you could do something else, I suppose. So the After Hours game of the week poll is up on our show Twitter. Easily. After Hours, CBS.

We don't try to make it complicated around here. And then on our Facebook page, too. And what we're looking for is also your tweets that will be bold predictions.

All right. So do you think the Texans are going to beat the Ravens? Do you think that the Packers are going to continue their hot run? I'm not sure which of these would stun me the most.

I'm thinking about it. The Bucks beating the Lions, I think would be a surprise only because as much as the Bucks offense had a field day against the Eagles. Did you see how poorly the Eagles tackled? And I'm not saying the Lions can't have a bad day.

Everybody can have a bad day. But the Eagles gave up one hundred fifty seven yards after the catch. And sometimes it's because their guys were wide freaking open. The Bucks didn't have any defense around them, so they were able to just roam free, if you will. That's not the Lions right there. They've shown more discipline.

So it could very well be a game. In which the Buccaneers have zero offense, but. They do have some talented athletes. If Mike Evans is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and we know that Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and members of this offensive line, they played together now for several years.

Baker just can't turn the ball over. But if the Lions can get takeaways, well, that would go off the rails quickly. But would I be surprised? I think I would be surprised if the Bucks beat the Lions.

I'm trying to think what else would. I expect the Ravens and Niners to win, but I don't expect them to blow out. Well, let me take that back again. Nothing would really surprise me, I suppose, except if the Bucks go into Detroit. The Packers are hot to trot, and that's powerful this time of the year. But the Niners defense is better than what they saw in Dallas.

Although we were told that the Dallas defense would would be providing more resistance. Last now, cry later. Right. No one's heard from Micah Parsons since the game. We're not even sure he still exists. There might have been a hole that swallowed him up. Oh, he fell off the edge. That's what happened. He fell off the edge. That's why they call it the edge podcast. Right.

Jay, what about you? Would there be a game that would really surprise like Bill's Chiefs is a toss up in my opinion. I have no idea who wins that game. The Bills are obviously playing their best football of the year. Josh Allen right now is the best quarterback in the league. Or when we see the Josh Allen we saw last weekend, he's the best quarterback on the planet. But neither one of them winning would surprise me. Because the Chiefs, I mean, they bid to five straight AFC Championship games could, you know, be making a sixth. The Bills are playing so well.

They know each other so well. Yeah, that game to me is coin flip. It could easily come down to who has the ball last, like it has before.

Yeah. Neither one of those teams winning would be a surprise to me at all. Houston, just because of the arc of their story in Baltimore would be a surprise.

But then again. Yeah, I mean, the Ravens defense is so tough and physical. And they're they're going to be feeling good because they had a bye. I don't know. These are all really tall orders other than Bill's Chiefs, which I think is more of a toss up.

If you're making me pick, I'm probably leaning in favor of the home teams. But that's the beauty of divisional weekend. Do you remember? Was it two years ago? It was two years ago when every single one of them was still hanging in the ballads with the last snap. And two of them went into overtime with with game winning field goals, if I remember correctly.

Just awesome, awesome stuff. Let's let's hope for that. I would be stunned if the Packers go into San Francisco and beat the Niners. Would you?

Yeah, I would. Even though they're playing some of the best football in the NFL right now. Yeah, they're playing great right now, but the Niners have been playing great pretty much the entire season. And except for that three game losing. So that's three games, but they seem to have figured that out. And just the dominance they've showed against the NFC really the whole year. I just feel like they're so far away, the best team where I mean, the Packers are playing great, like you said. But I think that would stun me at the 49ers or a second round their first game exit. I expected them to go to the Super Bowl this year or anything else was a bust. So I would be stunned by that.

Kind of nice when you have a bye and you win one game and you're in the championship. OK, that was easy. Staples button. That was easy.

All right. So we would like you to vote for the after hours game of the week and send your bowl predictions. Something interesting to me, and I don't know if it's because of the matchup and maybe it's outside Detroit.

It's a completely different feel right now. Bucks and Lions, not even 13 percent of the vote. And yet the tickets are going for nearly twelve hundred dollars on average.

Do you think it would be that much if the Lions say made the playoffs or won a game two years ago? No, no, I think it's a novelty at least right now. But then why isn't that game more heavily picked or chosen?

I guess would be the question. Is it because people don't expect it to be a competition? But see, to me, the Lions keep winning and they become a sentimental favorite. They become the story if they get to the NFC championship game.

Are you kidding me? It'd be like the Browns getting the AFC championship game again. So, yeah, right now, Chiefs and Bills is is lapping the field. Texans rave it so that right now the two AFC games are the ones that are in front where I'm kind of surprised because I thought Packers Niners would get more play.

Definitely. Just because of the fan bases, the history. I voted for Packers Niners. Is it because Jordan Love and not Aaron Rodgers? You think? No, I think Rodgers had very little success against the Niners recently. So in the playoffs, no.

All right. So you can vote on either Twitter or Facebook. And then, as I say, producer Jay is retweeting bold predictions or on a Facebook page. You can find there while we're talking about championship aspirations and talking about winners. I want winners. Coco Goff, the fourth seed at the Australian Open, a great American tennis player, is now into the round of 16.

So not that many left. One more step and she's in the quarterfinals. She won earlier on Friday, defeating Alicia Parks and only dropping two games along the way. So this may have been her best performance of the tournament so far. And we got to hear from her on Australian Open TV after. I'm really happy with how I played today. You know, the scoreline says different. She's a tough player. It's just a ball big.

And I've known her since I was like nine or eight years old, probably even younger than that. So our first time ever playing junior or pro, this is the first time. So hopefully we can have many more matches in the future. The match barely took over an hour.

Sixty one minutes. Only eight errors by Coco Goff. Now, her opponent, not a lot of experience, but Coco's 19 years old. And she's on quite a run. Ten straight wins in majors.

So matches that are on these these grand major stages. Love that Coco Goff feels good. Love that she is playing with a clear head. And that she continues to rep the red, white and blue.

All right, so. It's super hot in Melbourne. We know some of these matches happen really late at night. We've been hearing about this story line coming out of the Australian Open. Some of these matches, because of the late start time, are going until three o'clock in the morning down under.

And so she's got to find other ways to spend her time in Melbourne, in Australia. I'm mainly at the Crown. I have not gone to the casino yet.

So I did last year and I won in roulette so I can see how people get addicted to this. Which is 19. I guess the rules are different there. Or maybe down under you only need to be 18 since she said she went to the casino last year. Let's see. It's 18? Okay.

Awesome. Well, really excited about seeing her move on. She also took the moment when she was out there on the court to pay tribute to Mike Dixon, who's a British tennis writer. Now the tennis media is relatively small. Obviously you've got people from all over the world. But the group kind of moves in packs. The standard group that covers every tournament. I've worked for the Tennis Hall of Fame and it's amazing how tight knit that media group is. They all know each other. So Mike Dixon passed away yesterday while he was covering the tournament.

He'd worked for the Daily Mail since 1990. I just want to start off this press conference, sending my condolences to Mike Dixon and his family. And I know for you guys, it was a huge loss in the press room. And, you know, life is really precious. And I mean, I couldn't imagine what you guys and, you know, his family is going through.

I've had a couple of conversations with him in the past and I know he's been promoting the sport of tennis for a long time. So it's a huge loss amongst you guys and the players. And I hope that, you know, his family can breast him peacefully. And, yeah, thank you. Really sweet of her at 19 years old, as I say. You're talking about a young woman who's on the stage and who has all eyes on her and has felt the pressure herself and knows about real life. And to take that time to speak to Mike's family, I thought was very classy and gracious of Coco when the questions could all be about her and the fact that she is now into the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

So way to go rooting for Coco down under. All right. Coming up, we've heard from Mike McCarthy. We've heard from Mike Tomlin as these two will be keeping their jobs. But there's speculation about Bill Belichick and his next move.

And also, what's this conspiracy theory about who he might team up with at his next gig? OK. I really can't control that. That's true.

It's actually true. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. The coaches, the sports staff, the amazing staff here that supported me in every way, all the scouting and all the football support people from equipment training, security video operations, so forth, right down the line, dining room.

I mean, it's all first class. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of one Bill Belichick, who was classy in his exit from the New England Patriots, paving the way for one Gerard Mayo, who is the only head coaching hire of the eight openings so far this offseason. We've heard from Gerard and he gets promoted from that staff and we'll see how he fills out the other seats. One guy that will not be returning to New England, not this is a huge surprise after the terrible offensive year they had, but Bill O'Brien actually takes the job at Ohio State. So he's leaving the NFL again and going back to the college ranks, remember? So he went from Houston to Alabama, then goes to New England, reunites with Bill Belichick in New England, only to find that it was a total disaster.

And it wasn't all on him, of course, it was a group effort. But the Mac Jones to Bailey Zappi, that's a major issue. And so now he's decided that he wants to go to Ohio State. Maybe seeing that success of Michigan and Ryan Day, of course, needs to beef up his offense. So that's one guy that you don't have to worry about part of any NFL head coaching circles or rumors because he's going back to college.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Now there are seven other jobs available, not including Pittsburgh, not including Dallas, and I don't think including Philadelphia, though I suppose we've not officially heard. Have you heard, though, that the Falcons will be bringing back Bill Belichick for a second interview over the weekend?

I still don't get it. This is just me, so I'm not speaking from a place of disdain or dislike or disgust about the Falcons. This is not anything to do with the Atlanta Falcons, other than I don't know why he would want to go there.

Now maybe he doesn't have other opportunities, now that seems weird, but if you're looking for autonomy or some type of a control without an owner who sticks his nose into your business or wants to be part of the decision-making process, Atlanta wouldn't seem to be the right fit. Also, who's your quarterback? I honestly don't know the answer to that question, and I don't think that the Falcons do either, yet. So they fired Arthur Smith, they haven't been to the playoffs in six consecutive years, their Super Bowl appearance was marred by the Patriots, rallying from, as you know, the 25-point deficit. They do have some good young weapons, which is notable, so Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, I mean, Bill Belichick's always had an affinity for tight ends.

He's, in the past, used the two-tight end system a lot when he had the personnel to fit. They do have cap flexibility, which is also critical when you're trying to rebuild a roster, and they've got a couple of pro bowlers on the O-line as well as in the secondary. Okay, so they've got guys that can be stars, well, are already really good players could be stars in this league, but the problem is the quarterback, and the biggest problem is the quarterback. They've also interviewed Jim Harbaugh, but he's no doubt going to have other opportunities, and they've interviewed a bunch of guys from, you know, coordinator spots. Actually, including Steve Wilks, who's a former NFL head coach himself.

But the latest is that Bill Belichick will head, or I don't know if he's going there, but he will have a second interview coming up this weekend. Now, here's the wrinkle in time. Is it possible the Falcons will go after a free agent quarterback by the name of Kirk Cousins? The plot thickens. Just for a second, ruminate over that. Marinate in it.

I made some chili this week, and after a couple of days it's even better, because the flavors, they have a chance to marry. Just ruminate and marinate, and join these two high profile names in the NFL for a little bit, and just kind of see how it tastes. Maybe Kirk could win.

Bill Belichick and Kirk Cousins. Because Kirk will be a free agent. Now, he's indicated he wants to stay in Minnesota, and I can certainly understand why, but that doesn't mean anything.

The team may not want him back, though we've heard from them that they're interested in bringing him back. He was a guest on CBS Sports with Isabel Gonzalez, and actually spent some time praising one Bill Belichick. Great respect for him as a coach, like everyone else in pro football. I mean, if you go to that many Super Bowls, win that many Super Bowls, go to that many conference championship games, have the defensive production that he's had for years and years, it says it all.

We played him last year on Thanksgiving night, and once again, I noticed it several times, what he did coverage-wise was challenging, and it was different, and you always know when you play him that you're kind of… When the whole family comes together to watch the game, nobody wants to miss a second of the action to run to the grocery store. With Instacart, you can get all your weekly groceries in as fast as an hour. Less time shopping means more. Game time. Let's go. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order.

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Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. Looking over your shoulder and wondering if what you're seeing is correct because you know he usually is going to break the mold and do something different. And that's part of what has made him a great coach. Kirk Cousins praising one Bill Belichick, but oh, does the plot thicken? Isabel asked him would he ever play for Belichick? I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to play with a future Hall of Fame coach, but we'll have to see where March leads. It's just a lot of unknowns right now. So as I say, you'd have to let it marinate a bit.

I'm going to stew over it, but I've already seen some Twitterers throwing the idea out there that the Falcons could go get Kirk Cousins, free agent QB, and Bill Belichick would be his coach. I'm deliberate in stating that because I hadn't thought about it much until Thursday. I told you everything I know. That's always untrue.

It's never, it's never accurate. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. I don't know, Jay. Kirk Cousins, Bill Belichick. What do you think? Sounds like a pretty good combination. You think so?

I do. I think they have a lot of weapons there in Atlanta that would love to have Kirk Cousins behind center. Kyle Pitts, Frank London. Good point. I think that the narrative around Cousins, that he's just some stiff, has changed in the last couple years.

Agreed. His numbers, especially with Justin Jefferson, are off the charts. And until he got hurt, now that's the question, is that he's recovering from the blown achilles. How long will he be out?

I mean, he's not Aaron Rodgers, right? Or we get an update every week, and he's stringing us along. I don't know whether or not he spoke with Isabel Gonzalez about his injury.

I'm sure she asked him, but I didn't hear the update. But he blew his achilles, and a lot of times that takes a full year to recover from. Especially at, I'm going to use this phrase, which cracks me up, at his age. So he went halfway through the year. Actually, not even. Well, eight games, so almost. And he does plan to be ready for practice in the spring. That we know. If that's actually true, though, will he be ready to go full tilt? Now, he said previously he's made enough money already. He doesn't plan to make this next free agent decision based on the bottom line. What he wants is to win.

Again, there are some very attractive pieces in place. But does he want to leave Justin Jefferson? And I guess that would be an indictment of the Vikings if he doesn't believe that he can win there. They were rallying. They were coming back from the dead when he got hurt.

They were starting to play. Hadn't they won, like, I don't want to say, 3-4 in a row at some point? They had won a few games in a row. Justin had been hurt, which was part of the issue. And they had lost a bunch of other guys, too. So Dallin Cook was gone. They were doing a lot more with Alexander Madison. And I just remember that they won the first game after he got hurt.

And then the wheel started to come off a little bit. But they had been playing some solid football when he got hurt. I'm going to look and see, not their final record, but just to see what that streak was there in the middle. They brought in Dobbs and had that fun little run there. So they had won, always go with your first answer, they had won four in a row, if I remember correctly. No, actually they had won three in a row when Cousins got hurt.

Then Dobbs came in. He was from Atlanta, right? So they beat the Falcons. He was from the Cardinals. No, no, I mean, I think that's where he grew up, was Atlanta.

Like in the area, if I remember correctly, he was playing in front of the hometown or something like that. Anyway, at the Falcons, and then they beat the Saints. They beat the Packers in there, and they beat the Niners. So the Vikings won against the Bears, the Niners, the Packers, the Falcons, and then the Saints won five in a row. And the first three were with Kirk, well, until they got hurt. And then the next two were with Josh Dobbs, slash Nick Mullins, that was a mess.

So they still do have some really good players, and Justin Jefferson, one of the best in the league. I like Kevin O'Connell. I think he's building something there. But if he goes to Atlanta, meaning Kirk, what do they do, a quarterback? Oh, man. That makes me feel bad for Kevin O'Connell.

It's the nature of the beast. But does Kirk not think he can win in Minnesota? I think Atlanta was a quarterback away from winning that division. I think Desmond Ritter cost them games this season.

At least three, I can remember. I mean, Taylor Heineke might have too. Even, that furthers my point. So I think that they're a quarterback away from being a legitimate, legitimately running that division. I think they're better than the Bucks if they have a quarterback. I think they're better than the Panthers, obviously, if they have a quarterback. And I think if they had Kirk Cousins, a legitimate quarterback, they could probably have a nice little two- to three-year window where they're going to win the division and maybe four-year window and maybe go on a run.

Because they have some good young weapons, too. Someone asked me about, oh, a month ago, I think, maybe a little longer, who was going to be the top free agent of this upcoming class. And I was kind of throwing names out there, but I said Kirk Cousins, question mark, because I do think a lot of the teams that need QBs that were terrible last year will get them in the draft. But there are a few that are free agents. And isn't Baker Mayfield playing on a one-year deal? Yes, he is. He is as well. So a lot may be riding on his future, though he had syndicated he'd like to stay in Tampa.

And Todd Boles has talked about wanting him to stay in Tampa. But I mean, Kirk Cousins versus Baker Mayfield, there's no real challenge there. I look at the team like the Steelers, who need a quarterback and could be just a quarterback away. There should be a bidding war for Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins in Steelers, black and gold. Could you imagine?

I could see it being a big success. Don't the commanders need a quarterback? I think they're going to draft one, but they're not a quarterback away. That's true. They need a lot of things.

They're about seven or eight or nine or ten yards away. On the right track. How come no one's mentioned, speaking of commanders, how come no one's mentioned Ron Rivera at all in these coaching circles? Where is Ron Rivera?

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego and where is Ron Rivera? His coaching reputation has taken a huge hit. Really, it has. If you were a team, would you hire him? Because of the commanders, you mean? Yeah. Oh, yeah, I would.

Today? I don't know if I'd hire him as the head man. That's what I mean. But I would definitely hire him on my staff. He's a great human being and a great person to have around a team, it seems. I've never met him. But I don't think you could hire him as a head coach, no, based on what he's done in Washington. All right, I just googled it. And this comes from two days ago. He's had some NFL coaching offers presented to him, according to Ron himself.

Really? But he hasn't officially decided what to go forward with. He didn't offer any info on what the roles were, but according to SI, they're likely assistant coaching positions. I have several opportunities right now, according to Ron.

I just want to make sure it's the right one. And then he calls this past season the greatest learning experience he's had in a while. He also said, again, this comes from SI, a defensive coordinator role he thinks would be easy for him to step into.

OK, so maybe that's where he's looking. That was his background before he took the job with the Panthers and then, obviously, made the jump to Washington. He's a guy who's been around the league for years now. Let's see. He was with the Bears as their D coordinator 20 years ago. And before that, was in different roles.

Let's see. Oh, linebackers coach, because that was what he played in the NFL. Going back to 99 with the Eagles. So, we're talking about two plus decades in the league.

But, a lot of the last decade, well, most of the last decade's been as a head coach. But it takes pressure off. That's for sure. All right. What is the after-hours game of the week? We'll get QB news next hour as we look at this weekend through the eyes of the quarterbacks.

We always save the best for last, but we thought Kirk Cousins lighting up over possibly teaming with Bill Belichick was interesting. I know how interested you are on that subject. I am, for sure. Atlanta, how do you feel about that?

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No long-term commitments or contracts. That's stamps.com code PROGRAM. Facebook page two, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Music Here's the snap. Blitz coming. Allen steps up in the pocket, going to take off and run. That's the first down and more. To the 40, to the 35, 30, breaks away. 20, 10, 5, touchdown Josh Allen.

Yeah, give him a flex, Josh. You just scrolled them with their back turned for a huge touchdown run of 47 yards. It's 53 yards.

He was on his own side of the field. Faster than a speeding bullet. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Chris Brown on Bill's radio. Bill's Chiefs right now. By far the game that you are choosing as the After Hours game of the week. That poll is up and getting a ton of traffic during our show already, and it will run until the first game kicks off on Saturday afternoon. Right now, this is kind of crazy, Texans, Ravens, Packers, Niners have the exact same number of votes on Twitter.

So we're not factoring in Facebook here, but lots of you weighing in on Facebook. Buccaneers, Lions, you may have to pay $1200 on average for a ticket, but right now that game is woefully lagging behind, and I do not understand. I thought there would be more people excited about that game because the Lions are this incredible novelty for many of us who have never seen them.

You're back in the dumpers again. Right. Why can't we get flexed is really the question.

So Chiefs-Bills is better than half the vote. So I'm going to need you to cast your own vote, please, and every time I mention it, you all find it. Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or my Twitter, and then our Facebook page too. If you missed my conversation with Tracy Sandler, she is a longtime Niners insider for Fangirl Sports Network, and she joined us from the Bay Area.

We'll bring back part of that conversation next hour. Really good stuff with her about not just Brock Purdy and his growth, but also how they match up with Jordan Love and the Packers and the priority defensively. Hint, the Dallas Cowboys could not do this.

So check out that poll. We'd love to hear from you, and we know there's so many more people listening this time of the year because of the high profile and the high intensity, but also just the entertainment value of the NFL postseason. We're taking your bold predictions as well, and among those, I just saw this tweet from Rocky. Kirk Cousins is heading to Atlanta. His wife grew up there.

All right, well, I mean, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. They can move to Atlanta when he's done playing if they want because his career is only going to last for a few more years, and this is not Tom Brady we're talking about, although I shouldn't say that. I mean, these days, the way that quarterbacks, he's obviously coming off a very serious injury, but the way that quarterbacks are protected tends to give them a longer shelf life, if you will.

So maybe he plays into his late 30s, into his early 40s, but here's the part about Rocky's tweet that I find very interesting. I forgot about this dude. I could see Russ, as in Russell Wilson, in Pittsburgh. How did I forget about Russell Wilson? Oh, is it because Sean McVeigh convinced me?

McVeigh. Sean Payton convinced me that they might actually keep him in Denver? Really? So that whole charade about benching him unless he changed his contract, that whole thing, that was just smoke and mirrors to distract from the fact that you aren't making the playoffs again?

There's no way. So I take it back. Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, those could be three fairly enticing free agent quarterbacks. Now, they're all very different, as in very different. So you may love one or think one fits your team, but think the other one would be the worst decision ever.

So it's not like they're all three created equal. They've all got some unique talents, obviously starters in the NFL, but oh, gosh, the impact on your locker room could be very different with those three. So I'd forgotten about Russ. How dare I forget about Russ?

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Derek Carr, this time last year, was all the rage, right, because he, at the time, had declined to waive his no-trade clause, which meant that the Raiders were going to have to let him walk so that he could pick his own team. He ultimately picked the New Orleans Saints. Remember he flirted with the Jets, though? Oh, my gosh, how different things could have been. Oh, I forgot about that. Remember how they told him he could be a Hall of Famer if he won a championship with the New York Jets? It seemed like a sure thing at one point. Wow. Could you imagine?

Just think about how different things could have been. Now, he was playing hurt for a good portion of the season, and they did have some really impressive games, but still, offensively, it was hit or miss. They're keeping Dennis Allen in New Orleans, and Mickey Loomis, the general manager, recently sat down to tell us all. He taught us all a lesson we'll never forget, how several Hall of Fame coaches started out similarly to Dennis Allen. Bill Belichick, here's his first three seasons, 6-10, 7-9, 7-9. Tom Landry, 0-11, 4-9, 5-8, 4-10, 5-8. Hall of Fame coaches, all of them.

Bill Walsh, first year, 2-14, second year, 6-10. So I think the easy thing to do is just look at the results and say, oh, no, we've got to have a change. You've got to look beyond that. What are the reasons why we were 9-8 instead of 13-4? And look, it's collective. It's the players. It's the coaches.

It's me. It's our personnel staff, our roster. It's variables sometimes that we don't have any control of. And so my assessment is Dennis Allen is a good coach. And again, with Sean Payton, we went 10-6 the first year, but then we were 7-9, 8-8. I heard some of the same noise. But at the time, I knew we had a good football coach.

And so I think sometimes the hard thing to do is to be patient and recognize your other shortcomings and get those fixed. And that's what we're doing. OK, I can't unhear that. And how do I pay attention to anything that he said while he is smacking on his gum? Like he's Pete Carroll. Only Pete Carroll does it on the sidelines. Mickey Loomis is doing it in front of a microphone. Jay, did you hear a word he said? I was so distracted by the gum. It was like a farm animal. Worse.

A farm animal. One hour to go. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Around New Year's, we get a little obsessed with changing ourselves and forgetting the things we're already doing right, like taking our supplements every morning or scheduling me time into our day. Therapy helps you recognize those victories and keep up the good work in the new year without changing everything. BetterHelp offers affordable online therapy so you can try New Year's same you with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash grow today to get 10% off your first month.

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