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Rich Herrera with you. Everybody on hold, I'll get right to you in just a moment. But we're going to run out to our guest hotline joining us right now from the New York Post, football writer Ryan Dunleavy, joining us here on the Infinity Sports Network. Ryan, how are you? Good.
How are you doing? I'm good, brother. I appreciate you taking time joining us on this Friday. We've got games coming up. Kansas City, I was just throwing this out with fans, and we were trying to figure out.
When Kansas City finally starts to see the cracks in Chiefs' Kingdom and things start to go south. What's going to be the first thing we'll look at to see whether they're starting to slip and everybody else is getting closer to them?
Well, that's a good question. Uh maybe their offensive l maybe their line play like is Chris Jones still a top three defensive tackle. Can that offensive line, which Got harassed in the Super Bowl and they tried to rebuild it. Are they going to be able to hold up? Patrick Mahomes still has plenty of good years left.
And we've seen great quarterbacks change their number one weapon. I'm not overly worried about when Travis Kelsey retires, though that'll obviously be a hit. The defense is still young with like a 2022 draft class at its core.
So I would say probably when the offensive line struggles against opponents that aren't just the Eagles in the Super Bowl and when Chris Jones ages out of being dominant on the defensive line. It's so funny because Kansas City's been so good for so long. I think a lot of times people just assume if they slip or they lose, like let's say in the Super Bowl, that it was, oh, Kansas City must have slipped and maybe not giving Philadelphia enough credit. I wonder, do we appreciate Jalen Hurts as much as we should? The guy gets left for dead on the side of the road at Alabama, has to go to Oklahoma, comes to Philadelphia, doesn't have all the hype, but he's got a Super Bowl ring in Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen don't.
Yeah, exactly. No, exactly. Yeah, I think you you gotta give them Kansas City has been good for so long that this is like Petrius disease, where everybody's looking for like. I'll be this is the year that I'll pick against them and at the end of the year, whatever can The Patriots went to six or seven straight AFC Championship games.
So this is Oh, this is the year that it's it's boring if I pick the Chiefs, so I'm not going to pick the Chiefs. I'm going to pick one of these other guys. God knows there's three AFC quarterbacks who need to win a Super Bowl to establish their resume. It's been the big four for so long. But the problem is one guy gets to the Super Bowl every year, and Alan, Jackson, and Burrow.
You know, Burrow got there the once and didn't win it. But yeah, no, certainly I think we're not giving everybody else Uh enough credit when we talk about Kansas City taking a step back.
Okay, I'm going to get back to the Eagles for just a second, but I'm going to follow you with this idea of the four quarterbacks, but only one gets to have a ring. Would Josh Allen? Lamar Jackson, I'm going to burrow out of this conversation just for right now. What else do they need? What else possibly could you do to try to catch up with the Kansas City Chiefs?
When it was Brady and Payton, okay, so Payton got one every once in a while, but it was Brady all the time. But because I've got Mahomes and I've got those other two that seem like they just kind of beat each other up, and then whoever advances loses to Mahomes, how did these two get over the hump? That's a good question, too. I don't know if they need anything else. I mean, they're right there knocking on the door, right?
Like, uh, The Chiefs beat the Bills last year in the AFC Championship game. Right, that was last year on a about a pass that just fell out of the Hands of the receiver diving for it. And two years ago, they lost the Bills lost to the Chiefs. Their kicker missed a chip-shot field goal that would have tied the game, I think.
So they're right there knocking on the door. Couple years ago. Lamar Jackson was the MVP. They had the game at home, and he had his worst possible game in the AFC Championship. Zay Flowers fumbled at the one-yard line.
So it's kind of cliche to say they just need some of those breaks to go their way. But it's not like I could say, oh, like they need a. they need a wide receiver one or they need more pass rushers or whatnot, like I think the teams are good enough. It's just they have to figure out how to win the games. Yeah, when you know the old cliche of like making the winning plays experience matters.
Like they just have to figure out a way to do it once. And then I think they'll believe they can do it. I'm not sure, honestly, in their heart of hearts, they believe they can do it. Joe Burrow does because he's done it twice.
Well, it's interesting when you think about these players and the teams and the rosters and the coaches and how they've managed these teams and they've churned certain roster spots. They've done everything right, but there's just this little something. In baseball, we used to call it you need a little bit of pixie dust in all your pitchers to stay healthy in order to win a World Series. Here, it just seems like the only team that has that pixie dust that just knows how to win, whether it's Patrick Mollins throwing a sidearm pass that should never have been thrown to score a touchdown or not throwing an interception, they just have that little bit of pixie dust that I just don't know. Where Buffalo or Baltimore knows where to shop to find that little extra thing that they need.
Yeah, and it could be one of those situations where When they get through, is because somebody else did the dirty work for them, right? Like, is it possible that? Justin Herbert or the Broncos with their number one defense. Uh is it possible the Broncos take out the Uh Take out the Chiefs for you, and then the Ravens beat the Broncos in the AFC Championship game. Then you don't actually be the ones.
Yeah. Beat Mahomes, you beat the one that beat Mahomes. I feel like that used to happen sometimes. There was a year where I want to say the Steelers, who could never beat the Patriots, had to get to, they got to the Super Bowl, I think, the year against the Packers after the Ravens took care of the Patriots. And it was like the Steelers were never going to beat the Patriots, but once somebody else did the dirty work, then the Steelers had their path.
And we forget about that when we talk about the Steelers championship, that the road to the Super Bowl that one time did not go through Foxborough. Yeah, and it feels like every time they had to play the Patriots in the playoffs they lost. Yeah, no, 100%. Let me go back over to the game we were just talking about with Philadelphia. Jalen Carter, what do you think the league should do?
What's the reaction going to be to do it on the opening game of the National Football League in front of that national television audience? And the replays that we've seen that have gone viral are so absolutely blatant in what he did. What's the league going to do? What's the reaction going to be? First, let me correct myself because my New York audience is going to jump down my throat.
It was the Jets who took care of the Patriots before.
Okay, there you go. See, we didn't even remember who that was, right? Yeah, it was the Jets.
Well, I should. I'm here, right? It was the Jets who took care of the Patriots in the famous Bart Scott can't wait game, and then the Steelers beat the Jets in the AFC Championship. To answer your question on Jalen Carter, I don't know. I don't think he's going to be suspended.
There hasn't been a lot of history of suspending spitters. I think he'll get fined. And I think the Dak Prescott thing complicates it, right? Like, I haven't made many calls on this today. I was doing New York stuff, but like, It complicates it because you can see NBC did a good job with the breakdown on TV of.
Dak spitting in his direction and then nodding at him.
So, like, is that antagonistic? And you know, they're not going to suspend Dak Prescott.
So like it becomes hard then to suspend Jalen Carter.
So, my guess is they'll both get hefty fines. And look, there was coaches have told us this. There was a, Emphasis this year from referees on taunting plays or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, that that's going to get ramped up.
So, what do I think the league reaction is going to be? I think it's going to be a lot of coaches showing that play to their team and saying, don't do something stupid like this, because anything that you would have got away with in the past, you're not going to get away with in the future. Brian Dunlevy joining us right now for the New York Post. It's so interesting when the league puts down those kind of idiots.
Okay, listen, we are going to get rid of hand-checking down the field, and then they go, oh, that's a great idea. Let's open up the game. And then when I start getting a bunch of ticky-tack fouls, the fans scream and the referees have to put the whistles away. I wonder if they're going to say, hey, we're going to cut down the taunting, we're going to be more sportsmanlike the second it costs your team. A penalty, that owner, how does he call Roger Goodnell and go, hey, listen, this is getting ridiculous.
You just cost me a game. And we see that every time they try to throw down these edicts of let's clean the game up. Yeah, I mean that's possible. The one that comes to mind last year is They cut they tried to cut down on the uh mimicking violence gestures and then like all of a sudden the like first down signal became My receivers became too close to like the firing a gun. gesture and that started to It started to be a blurred line there, and look, I'm totally in support of like no firing gun.
Gestures, but like then the first, then pointing for a first down blurred the line.
So, yeah, totally. Agree with you, like it's gonna cost somebody, but I think the one thing we saw, whether it was past interference a couple of years ago or rough in the past, or is they tend to stick to their edicts. during the season and then There'll be a new edict or a lessened edict next season, but I think we'll play with the same set of rules for this all season at least.
Okay, you mentioned the New York teams. Give me your take on what the Jets fans and the Giants fans can expect this year. Yeah. Generally speaking, more misery, but maybe a little less. But for the Jets.
I don't think they're very good. I think they'll be in the conversation for the top three overall, one of the top three picks. They're going to try ground and pound like those Rex Ryan teams we just mentioned a minute ago. It's going to be a 30-carry per game offense between Brees Hall, Braylon Allen, and Justin Fields, and try to win on defense. I don't think Justin Fields is a very good passer.
I don't think the Jets have enough weapons to complement Garrett Wilson. Their offensive line just took a big hit with Elijah Vera Tucker out for the season.
So their formula, their winning formula is already uh down a key piece So I would say that team is looking at like, I think I picked four and 13. I don't think it's gonna be a very encouraging season. Aaron Glenn has a lot of, you know, uh command of that facility. But it's going to certainly be tested at 4 and 13. I think the Giants are a much improved team from where they've been.
What I say to people is: if you watch the Giants, I don't know, last year, three of the last four years. They haven't just been a bad team. They were embarrassing last year. They couldn't do. Basic things, get first down, score points.
Those days, I think, for now are over. This is a much improved, much more talented team that plays the hardest schedule in the NFL.
Somebody in your audience will say, You don't know how hard the schedule is for the games play, you can't use last year.
Well, you tell me if you think the Packers, Vikings, Lions, Chiefs, Chargers. And Broncos are gonna stink. And if you think those teams are gonna stink, then we can have a conversation. But I put all six of them in the playoffs.
So, those six plus your division, that's a pretty brutal schedule. Um I don't know that it'll show up in the record, but I think there'll be a much more competitive, much more aggressive, much more entertaining team that probably finishes about sixth and eleven. And then you just have that's a just a regular bad season and not the kind of season that gets mocked everywhere like last year. I have a question for you. How long have you been doing this?
The NFL, eight years altogether, twenty. What's been and I just 'cause listen, I love reading your stuff. You always have great insight. You always ask great questions. You always have answers for things when I'm looking for shows.
So to be honest, Ryan, a lot of times I just steal what you write and use it for topics on the show. But I'm interested in something. What's change the most. In all these years that you've been covering the National Football League, what's the biggest difference when you broke in first time walking into a facility to where you are today? That's a good question.
I don't know that I have a great answer for it off the top of my head. It's a good question. I'll probably spend the rest of the night thinking about it. Um I don't know, schematically. I mean, football schematically, I mean, football schematically, probably the.
Where you can't win with defense anymore. Like, I feel like even 10 years ago, you used to be able to win with defense. You watched the first half of that game last night. And it was just like if you get a field goal, if you stop the team to a field goal, that's a win. Uh I would say This season, I think we're headed back to 90s football with more running backs.
That wasn't the case when I first started. I think you're going to see a lot more heavy formations. And 1500-yard backs to take advantage of smaller, faster defenses. Uh Probably on the field, those are probably the main two things. I think probably off the field, less patience than ever with quarterbacks.
I was thinking about Alex Smith today and how he finally clicked with Jim Harbaugh in like his fifth or sixth season with the 49ers. There's no chance anybody's getting that long this year nowadays. People are ready to write off like. Caleb Williams, if he has a bad year, he was the number one overall pick.
So, like. Less patience probably than ever is another big thing. And then. You know, media-wise, it's like everybody every team has their own media now, and everybody has a blog, and there's just so much more information than there was. I'd sit there even eight years ago.
Yeah, it's so interesting.
So, I spent 10 years as an NFL sideline reporter. I did one of the national radio packages, so I traveled around for 10 years. On the sidelines looking at games. And for me, I think you're 100% right on the patients because. These teams have become less family businesses, like the Rooney's, or when I worked for, I used to work for Eddie DiBartolo, and now they become so corporate that there is no patience.
And if they don't get that immediate return on their investment, they just jerk the wheel here, jerk the wheel there. And I wonder how many football players we've churned through because they didn't let them get to their third and fourth year, still learning their trade. They wanted that immediate return on their investment, and they've moved on to the next, and the next, and the next. And that patience has just gone out the window. I don't think it exists.
They make so much money that they're not going to invest money and continue to throw money at a bad product. Yeah, no, that's exactly the case. And one of the big stories of last year was the For the force. Team quarterbacks who finally clicked, like Geno Smith. Sam Darnold and uh Baker Mayfield and Now, what are we talking about?
That was a big story last year. And what are we talking about this year? Two of those three guys are already on new teams. It clicked for Geno Smith, and then they were still like, nah, we still don't believe in you. You're out of here.
And it clicked for Dan Darnold and they were like, yeah, we're going to go with the rookie who's never taken a snap before in the NFL, even though we were knocking on the door to a Super Bowl last year.
So like, I think that, yeah, I think to your point, yeah, once you get labeled in this NFL, you're labeled and it's hard to overcome. And so you better be good right away, whether you're a quarterback or whether you're a coach. I feel like we have a coach who lasts one year now every season. Six guys get hired and one of them doesn't make it out of the first season.
Well, and like you said, there's so much more media out there. Every team has their own media. And I've worked in baseball. I worked for the team.
So I was a team broadcaster and everybody knew.
Now we have so many people that work for the team, it's hard to figure out who's objective and who's trying to sell tickets. I was very blatant. I'm trying to sell tickets and tell you how good my team is because that's what we do. We sell tickets, we sell hot dogs. My job is to bring you to the ballpark and tell you the best story I can.
I'm not going to lie to you, but I'm there to sell tickets.
Now I just don't know the agenda of so many people. And here's the other thing, Ryan. Since I'm not Working for the team, and I'm not working in the NFL on a daily basis, just sitting back that first weekend. There's so much. bad information out there because people are just so trying to create content that have no business creating content.
It is amazing on some of the stories that I saw from bloggers and on social media and podcasters. I'm like, do you people even watch the same game that I do? Yeah, there's you gotta you gotta trust who you gotta trust who you trust. Hopefully you read the people. uh year after year and determine for yourself who's got credibility and who doesn't.
And it does not I like to think at the post we have a ton of it. Nobody covers the NFL as thoroughly as we do. And uh but that's just not the big outlets. There are There are insiders everywhere nowadays and they you know you just gotta Track people's track records.
Well, that's why I always laugh. If you're really an insider, another team would have gotten to hire you by now if you really were an insider. And that's why I'm also excited for the post that we're going to get some West Coast coverage now as well. Yes, the California Post starting in 20 26, yeah. California Post will be out in LA and there'll be Sports coverage, politics coverage, news coverage, back pages, everything that the New York Post does will be in California.
I can't wait to see that. That's going to be amazing. Hey, Ryan, I appreciate I know this is a busy weekend for you, Final Friday before everything gets rolling.
So to come on with me means a lot to me. And like I said, I've read you, I appreciate you. I've stolen most of your stuff for topics on the show, and I always like when you get a chance to catch up with you. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.
I appreciate your reading. All right, take care. Ryan Dunlevy joining us in the New York Post, we'll continue. It's the Infinity Sports Network. You know how everything's a subscription now?
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Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Rich Herrera. We'll get back to the telephone calls in just a second.
Our reaction to Ryan Dunley, our conversation. Love to hear from you at 888-710-4476. Let me give you a quick NASCAR race preview. It's sponsored by WeatherGuard truck and van equipment. They're just as driven as the hardworking pros they serve.
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Eastern Time on USA Network and marks the first time a NASCAR Cup playoff race is held at the gateway. Weather conditions. Are expected to be ideal all weekend with mostly sunny skies. Temperatures in the mid-70s means the truck tires are going to be absolutely perfect and a minimal chance for rain. Fans can look forward to exciting playoff implications, great racing conditions, and historic moment for Illinois motorsports.
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Come on, brother. You're next on the Infinity Sports Network. Hello. Hello, hello, how you doing? How you doing?
What's going on, brother? Hey, by the way, thank you for holding through our interview. I really appreciate you sticking with me. You got all the time in the world, so go. You know what, I kind of was happy I listened to that because he gave a pretty good assessment.
You set it up pretty good. That leads to what your opening thesis was: talking about Jalen Hurts not getting respect. Nick Wright won't give him any respect. No one will. I thought to, you know, Herm Edwards said years ago, you know, you play to win the game.
You know, you play the one again. And uh and uh I I don't understand. I just saw a stat earlier we're But he's on a list of about seven quarterbacks with Montana and Brady and Manning and a few others. With a 70% winning percentage, 700%. That's ridiculous.
That's phenomenal. I think he's won fifteen in a row As a starter, not counting that game, he went out in his first few minutes with the Concussions. fifteen in a row.
So I don't know this this is what my take on on on the way I see it. I think I I think the way they're they do things and I was incorrect. They would rather look at Lovable losers like the Cubs were for years. I mean You you know, you got you got for baseball not just because you play baseball I play college baseball. You got a guy who hits sixty home runs Yeah, he's batten two four.
When you need a single, You can't get it. Right. When you need a a walk, you can't get it. But yeah, he's got sixty homers. But he's at 240.
That's what Bryce Harper went through a couple years ago. And he realized that he had to change and get back to to making contact with the ball. Jalen Hurst makes contact. And that's just the basics. of you know using the baseball analogy in the football He makes contact.
I don't want they wanted to see you. They weren't borough last year. Five thousand yards now he didn't make the playoffs. He hasn't made the playoffs the last two years.
So I don't I don't I don't know why they have a fascination with the with this pretty looking losing. I don't get it. Philip Rivers didn't win. Ben Rothensberger slipped in there a couple of times, and Rothensberger wasn't this great-looking quarterback. What is your true rate?
You know, so I don't know. What's what's your take on it?
Okay, so two things. Number one, I think it's driven by three things. One, Ryan Dunlevy Gett gave us, and I'm going to steal this like I told you. Listen, Ramona, I'm not afraid to tell people I'll rip things off for the show because I'll study and I'll look and I'll come up with different things and different ideas and I'll take something that Ryan said and I'm going to advance it. I'm going to hold on to this in my hip pocket from tonight.
He said this, and I never heard anybody else say this. It's an amazing, amazing observation. It's the label. once you get that label on you. You can't get rid of it.
Once you make that, you know, what do they say? You can only make one first impression. Once you get that first impression and somebody throws a label on you, Then you wear that label good or bad for the rest of your life.
So let's look at some of these labels.
Okay. Jalen Hurts has the label of. Ugh. Didn't get it done. Nick Saban gave up on him.
He's just not quite it.
So his draft stock falls. Nobody believes in him. They kind of look at him like, meh. He didn't finish his career at Alabama, ended up at Oklahoma, did well, but he's not elite.
So he's been carrying that. that label of not elite from his time at Alabama. To Oklahoma into the league. He wins, but people look at him, yeah, he's not elite.
Now let's look at Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow is the end-all, be-all, wins a championship for LSU. He's smoking a cigar. Everybody thinks he's the greatest thing in the whole world. He gets that elite title put on him, and now he's living that elite title life Even though he's not been as successful as Jalen Hurts.
You look at somebody like Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence has that elite title coming out of college. Everybody thinks he's elite. What has he done in the National Football League? That's right, nothing.
You look at Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant. He's going to have that label on him his entire life, and no one is ever going to believe in him. Why? Because he was the last player taken to the draft, and they don't believe in him, and they just think, ah, he's, yeah, it's just lucky.
It's just the system. Think about all the guys that have had these mediocre labels stuck on them. Everybody will stand in their head to justify why they're not that good. And everybody that's not that's just okay. That isn't that great.
uh will stand on our heads if they ever have that elite level put on them. But that's a And I like that point because You know, Justin Herbert deserves a lot of flight. Did he come out with that elite label on him? I think tonight is a big game for him. Oh, it's a huge game for him and for Coach Harbaugh.
It's a big game for both he and Harbaugh. For both of them, you go to beat a champ, you got to beat the champ. Hearst beat the champ, Brady beat the champ. No no one else is beer. I think When you're trying to ascend And when we look at Michael Jordan, when he had to beat Detroit, when you look at uh you know uh toby and san antonio all those years Shaq in San Antonio, he battled Duncan and Shaq.
You know, you got to measure yourself against the greats, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron. LeBron and Curry, you know, you got to measure yourself, you know, this year, you know, Shane kind of. You know, this was an odd year for basketball, but still, I think Justin Herbert's been giving a pass. I I didn't know if he did anything in college. I didn't follow him in Colossus.
Did he win anything in Connecticut?
Well, he was out in Alabama. They were the number one team of the nation. They were playing in a championship game. And he no, oh, Herbert. Yeah, Justin Herbert.
Oh, I thought you were talking about Jalen. Justin Herbert played at Oregon. He was one of the better quarterbacks. Everybody thought he was can't miss. Oregon didn't win the national championship, but he put up some amazing numbers playing at Oregon.
Hmm.
So again, once I get that, but here's the other part, and I'll be honest with you. There's a lot of people. There's a lot of people in sports media that are very insecure. Remote, if I make a mistake and I'm wrong about something, I'm not afraid to tell you. Nobody's going to take my job if I'm wrong.
I'm giving you my opinion. My opinion's not always going to come out true. I'm going to give you who I think is going to win a ball game. I'm never going to be perfect, right? And I'm not afraid to say, hey, listen, you know what?
I got that one wrong. I've been doing this long enough that I don't need to make a name for myself. People know who I am. People know my reputation. And they respect me or they don't.
And I'm not afraid to go out on a limb if it's something I really believe in.
Now, I also won't do. We were just talking about this off here. I won't give hot takes. I won't just say something for the sake of saying something because I owe it to you, the audience, to come with my best material and not just to say stuff just to get people riled up. But there's so many people that will put their name on something And once they put that label on there, they will never retreat.
They will never give an inch.
So, all these people that think that Jalen Hurts is meh, they're never going to change their mind. All the people that think Brock Birdie's meh, they're never going to change their mind. Everybody that thinks that Trevor Lawrence is elite, everybody that thought that Justin Fields is elite, everybody that loves Caleb Williams, they're never going to give back and saying, you know what, I missed on that one because they don't have the guts to do it. Yeah. So that's a great take.
I'm going to remember that. That's a great point, but I just don't understand. When did Winnings. It comes secondary to personal stats. I tell you what, Rob.
Oh, I got that one for you. I got that one for you. You want to know what it is? It's easy. You want to know?
It's fantasy football. It's fantasy football. How many people are going to take Jalen Hurts in the first round overall? Nobody. Why?
Because he doesn't put up gaudy numbers and he's got Saquon Barkley next to him, so he's not going to throw and score and win you a fantasy football championship. Who does everybody jump on? Who are the quarterbacks that everybody jumps on? It's not going to be somebody like Jalen Hurts. There's another reason why he gets disrespected because he's not a top fantasy football quarterback.
And of course, all those people that worry about their fantasy football team and are so good at being fantasy football GMs would never make it in the league as an NFL GM. Ha ha ha. Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate that. That was a good one.
I appreciate you for letting me out of time. Thank you. Absolutely. Hey, thank you, brother. Have a great Friday night.
I appreciate it. Let me go. All right. Thanks. Let me go to Alex in Miami real quick.
Hey, Alex, welcome. You're on the Infinity Sports Network. What's up, man? Hey, Rich, it's a pleasure to hear you all. Who better to pinch hit for JR than you?
I'm telling you. I'm telling you, I was actually thinking about you the other day. I was telling my wife, she goes, did Alex call? Because my wife, again, she's a Miami Hurricane fan like you. I said, absolutely.
It's all about the you.
So I'm glad I got a chance to talk to you after Miami beat Notre Dame. Thank you, man. I really appreciate it. Tell your wife that Alex from Miami says hi. That's perfect.
Yes, sir. When it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs. We got the We got the version of the Kansas City Chiefs where Bahomsa Through for fifty touchdowns and he Then we got the two point zero version where they won with good defense and clutch play by Patrick Mahomes. Right. Going forward, I think we're going to get version number three, the three point zero version.
I think it's going to be a little bit of both. I think it's going to be a mix between a little bit of defense with a little bit of offense.
However, um The arrowhead invitational might be over. But going forward, somebody has to prove that they could beat the Chiefs when it comes most. And I don't know if anybody is going to be able to do it because they play so well in the clutching when it comes most. They have that little bit of pixie dust, that little bit of magic that nobody else has. There's a book about the team I used to work for called The Extra 2%.
Meaning, you know, everybody goes, Oh, I'm going to give 105%.
Well, that's impossible. You can only max out at something. But there's certain players that have. that little extra Um That takes them over the top because there's guys that are better athletes that have stronger arms than Patrick Mahomes. But they don't have that little intangible.
And I think one of the things he has is. Ice water in his brain in his veins. He doesn't panic. When the pocket's collapsing, he just moves around, buys times, finds Kelsey, throws the ball down the field. Um You know, there's times, Alex, where you're getting ready for work.
You can't find your keys, you spill coffee on your shirt, you step in dog poop as you walk out to your car, the car won't start, it's raining, you forget your backpack, everything that can go wrong goes wrong, and then once you start that downward spiral, the entire day just unravels, and you're just heading into a you're heading over a cliff. We've all had that before. That happens in the game, that happens in sports when the game starts to speed up on you, and you mentally can't slow the game down enough to figure out what to do next. The good ones, the great ones, are able to slow the game down and not let the moment overwhelm them. I talk about this and you've heard I think I've talked about this with you before I worked with the godfather of sports psychology, and he used to preach to me.
Be comfortable. Being uncomfortable says there's no such thing as a clutch player, but what we do have are guys that are comfortable in those clutch moments and are able to slow everything down. Not do too much, just play up to their normal level, their normal standards in those clutch moments. While others let the moment overwhelm him, Patrick Mahomes does not let the moment overwhelm him. That's very well said.
The bottom line is when it counts the most, He gets it done. More than anybody else. And um That's why he's got rings. That's why he has rings. Exactly.
That's why there's such a tough out.
So let's see going forward. A lot of people are saying that Denver's going to win the division, that this and that. And uh They still Denver still has a long way to go. I know that they improved their defense and so forth, and they're going to have a top defense. By double-clicking on the ballot.
Yeah, you're talking about Patrick Molmes. Hey, Alex, I'm up against the clock. Thanks, brother. Appreciate the call. Always love when I get a chance to talk to my friend down in Miami.
Let me step aside right now. Rich Ackerman's ready to go. Here's your Infinity Sports Network Sports Flash. You know how everything's a subscription now? Music, movies, even socks.
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Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Rich Herrera. Does it sound like I've got a man crush on Jalen Hurts? I'm wondering this.
Does it sound like I've Ryan, does it sound like I've got a man crush on? on Jalen Hurts. I know I have one on Brock Purdy, and I'm very proud of that. It honestly doesn't. I feel like you're just defending a guy who's been efficient and won a championship now.
Okay, I just want to make sure.
Now, you've heard me enough, and by the way, that's Ryan, our producer, who's the backbone of the Jara Sport brief. I'm Rich Rare filling in tonight for JR. You've heard me long enough, and we've worked long enough when you were working on the weekends with me. I. Do I sound like I've got a man crush on Brock Purdy?
I feel like you have a man crush on the entire 49ers team. But to go in specifically, I don't think there's a specific love. Triangle between you and the Niners and Brock Purdy. It's just you respect the quarterback. He is better than what people think he is.
Okay. And people don't appreciate him. See, folks, this is live radio right here, and this is me taking a chance because Ryan and I didn't script this out. We didn't talk about this. I just put Ryan on the spot, and he could have absolutely destroyed me.
Because we, in fact, Ryan, we've I think we did all those Super Bowl uh pregame shows leading up to it for the 49ers. I mean, we've done a lot of weekend shows over the years, and everybody does laugh because there's a couple things that people laugh about, Ryan. And you, and Ryan, tell me if I'm if I'm not mistaken. People know that I'm going to stand there and brag about the San Francisco 49ers, especially now that they're good again. And I put I put Brett Boone on as a guest way too many times.
Are those both my reputation at the network? No, no, I feel like okay, the the Niners was yes, that's a yes, because I'm just a homer. I'm a homer. You're a homer. And I make no apologies about it.
Yeah, and then the red boom one was eh in between because. I don't know if I caught it in like a like I know he's coaching now, but I I just I don't think I had that many Brett Boone interviews. 'Cause everybody laughed 'cause Brett So Brett and I have done a podcast for Oh gosh, we're going since 2019, 2020.
So we're going like five, six years. And Brett. Brett and I have the same agent, so He said, Hey, can Fahita, can can you can you work with Brett? And it was during COVID, so I said, Yeah, I got nothing but time on my hand.
So I started working with Brett on this podcast, and then all of a sudden, it actually blew up, and it was just a way to get him back into the game. And it actually became an Odyssey original podcast. You can hear it on the Odyssey app.
So, Brett and I have been doing this podcast, and it's gotten very, very popular. There's probably two dozen players that have tried to. repeat what we've done and Let's be honest, they weren't able to keep up with Brett and I. And uh the podcast has just taken off. And uh it's gotten so big that Teams were paying attention, listening, and he got a call out of the blue to become the next.
Hitting coach of the Texas Rangers, and you've got people that are kind of whispering in the background: I think he's going to manage one day like his brother.
So when I started putting them on the podcast, or I started putting them on the show, people like, Who are you going to have on for guests this week, Herrera? I'll put Brett Boone on. Brett, you want to come on the show? Yeah, we can talk about the podcast, and I can ask you questions, interview you. And then all of a sudden uh they went from Carrera, seriously, you're going to put Boone on again?
To now, he became an Odyssey insider.
So he goes around to probably before he took this coaching job to about 20 of our major affiliates, and he goes on with them every week in Chicago, Dallas, and New York. And he was making all these appearances, all the shows. I'm like, yeah, where are all the people complaining because I put Boone on too much when I first put him on four or five years ago? And now he's got an Odyssey podcast and he's one of our insiders, and now he'll probably be a major league manager one day. Where are all the people that complained about me putting him on way too many times five years ago?
So I. I think my track record is okay, Ryan, as far as my takes of the people we put on the shows. It's visionary. You're a visionary with. What guest do I put on before they get hot and everybody realizes, Herrera, you did make a good call with that.
Anybody else retire recently? I don't know. I'm going to have to figure that out, or I'm going to have to figure it right out. Like, I was laughing, I told Ryan, I'll say this on the air. When I worked over at Fox, Um Stephen A.
Smith used to come on all the time. And I was like one of the first to put him on national radio. And he'd yell and scream, Why are you yelling at me, Stephen A. Smith? What are you yelling at me about?
So I laughed and I put him, Skip Bayliss, same thing. Skip Bayless, when he got fired for the Dallas Morning News. He was back way back in the day, he was doing a fax newsletter. Like, Ryan, do you know what a fax machine is? I know of one.
I've never used one. You've never used one before. See, that's how old. Ryan, do you realize? that I've been doing sports talk radio longer.
Then the internet? Oh yeah, oh wow. Yeah. That is just, that's, you know what? You know what I'm giving tonight?
I'm giving some Gen X energy. That works. Yeah. Hey, I don't even know what. I think I'm Gen Z, or I think I'm Gen Z.
Yeah, you're Gen Z. I'm Gen X. But I'm giving some Gen X energy tonight. I actually started when I first started doing radio, like we were talking with Ryan Dunleavy a little earlier about the New York Post is about to launch. a West Coast edition of that of the tabloid.
way back in the day when I first started doing SportsTalk radio, I would have to go. On Sunday To the new stand In Los Angeles, there were newsstands, like they sold magazines and newspapers, and I'd spend about $65. $65 a week on The New York Times Sometimes they can get the post. I get the Boston Globe. I get...
Uh Chicago newspapers I get I could get the San Francisco Chronicle in L.A. every day, but I would buy these newspapers that were. four or five days old. And I'd spend seven, eight dollars to buy a A week old n Boston Globe, and that was the only way that I could read all the Boston writers. And everybody thought, Wow, this guy must be really connected.
And then finally, I found uh someone who worked for one of the airlines, and when she would go on a four or five day trip, I'd say, hey, when you're collecting all the newspapers, grab the sports pages for me and let me bring them back. And she would.
So she'd bring back, you know, a Denver Post, she'd bring back. The Arizona Daily Star should bring back a lot of the money. A Dallas Morning News, and they were two or three days old. But I would be able to read all the columns and be able to say on my sports talk show, and these are national shows. Oh, well, according to the Dallas Morning News, people like, How do you know what the Dallas Morning News was?
Because nobody could get those local papers across the country.
So I was like a genius, and everybody thought I was like the smartest, most connected dude at all of sports. But I simply had a friend who was a flight attendant who would bring me back newspapers before anybody else got a chance to read them because there was no internet. Yeah, that's that's For now, now it's. Yeah, that's the issue. It's like now it's like you just go on your phone, you open the New York Times app or the news app on your phone, and it's all there.
Yeah, now I get everything instantly. But back then, way back in the day, you didn't get anything.
So I had to make all this up from scratch. That's why I'm giving off the Gen X energy tonight. On the program sitting in for JR.
Now, The NFL game is about to start. I'm bringing that up because I'm watching the The pregame show on um On YouTube. This game will be on YouTube, not on regular TV. It's on YouTube. And I believe anybody who.
who gets on the YouTube uh channel or the app You don't have to have YouTube TV to watch this tonight because that's how you get the NFL Sunday ticket, and by the way. The fact that the Red Zone is now going to have commercials really makes me mad. Um I gotta pay for it and I gotta get commercials. Ridiculous. But they're showing the pregame show.
Nobody has a jacket, nobody has a tie, everybody looks like they're going to Sunday brunch. In Bel Air or Beverly Hills or Midtown Manhattan, and they're all as casual as they could be. I don't know if I like this look for the league, but this is where they're going with the NFL pregame show. On YouTube, um, it should be available everywhere. A lot of our stations are going to break away to carry it from Westwood One.
We appreciate that, but I still got a lot more football to talk about with you. I'm going to say something that is going to make people mad coming up on the program. College football is heading to a 40-team super league. Will your team make it? And there's some big schools, I'm going to tell you, your football program is now destined.
For death. I'll give you all those schools coming up a little bit later here on the Infinity Sports Network. Rich Rare filling in for JR tonight. You open the fridge. There's nothing there.
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