What the Football with Suzy Shuster & Amy Trask: CBS Sports NFL Analyst Charles Davis

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Find out how to bring your ideas to life at dell.com slash welcome to now. Happy New Year, everybody back with you here on what the football and thrilled to be such on this edition of what the football brought to you by game time the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports music comedy and theater events near you. Game time's got killer last minute deals all in prices.

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On Friday, actually, so I'm psyched about that. Hi, Amy. Hi, Suze. Charles Davis is going to join us. Your other companion on television besides me. Yes, he is. He's my CBS Sports colleague and thrilled that he's joining us. He just did the Ravens game and he'll have a lot of insights for us. We'll ask him about Michigan too because obviously he was a longtime college football announcer with Gus Johnson on Fox. We will ask him about that as well. And we can, of course, ask him about the game he's going to be doing this weekend because there's a lot of stories about the Eagles.

Yeah, but let's start first with Michigan because I have to tell you, yesterday was so much fun. Anybody who has a pulse that listens to this or listens to the Rich Eisen show knows that my husband Rich just bleeds blue, right? The blood comes out. It doesn't go red.

It's blue. And when you watch a game with him at home, he paces. He's like, why do I care so much?

And he freaks out for every game. That sounds pleasant. Oh, it's so much fun. So here we are and we go and we're so graciously hosted by the Rose Bowl. Our Fred Deaton takes us in and we were taking in this game. And Rich is like tense and he's left in the morning to go do a speaking engagement, what have you. We get there with all the kids.

And David Portnoy from Barstool is in the suite next door. Now watching the game was stressful in itself because obviously it started with what looked like a pick. And luckily, luckily for Michigan, the receiver, the corner was out of bounds. That said, the game was so insane because all it really was was defense, right? And just sack after sack and the Michigan defense played just like balls out, just amazing.

It was so stressful to watch. And the funny thing was is that Joel Klatt, the former quarterback from Colorado, that I covered when he was at Colorado, he's calling out what he thinks is going to happen. And he was dead on. I mean, that's what I love about analysts who really know what they're doing. And so he's seeing the thing, okay, watch this. There's going to be trickery.

Okay, watch this. And what it was was more than anything else is like, and it was so fascinating to watch, was just how much they confused Alabama at the line of scrimmage, all these quick change arounds, what have you. And it was just thrilling to watch. What was even more thrilling was watching my husband react at the end of the game. And the funniest thing is, is like it wasn't just for me because Dave Portnoy was taping from Barstool because apparently he bet a million dollars on the game.

Yikes. Now I don't bet anything. And obviously Rich is like, you know, unfrozen caveman lawyer. Like, what is this betting stuff? I don't understand what you're talking about because he works for the National Football League.

Meanwhile, this guy next to us bets a million dollars. Now he is sweating because it comes down to the last second of the game, the last play. And it looked like Auburn's got the A-frame. They're going to put their big quarterback up the middle.

Michigan stuffs. The guy wins like three quarters of a million dollars on this. And by the way, here I am taking a video, taking my cute little video, I'm thinking I'm going to give content for the Rich Eisen show.

Of course, I shot it straight up and down and not side by side, but here it is. Here's my entire family celebrating because Rich literally, he said this was the best day of his life. I would have hoped he would have said the day of your marriage was the best day of his life, but OK, I get it.

So he says that he says this is one of the best days of his life. And I said, well, you know, I just kind of like let him go. I don't really. I totally agree. I mean, I think that if you're a Michigan fan, Harbaugh basically. Well, you can't say what I was going to say, but he has not been successful in the last two bowl games.

Right. But this game pushing them into the national championship was one of the most thrilling college events I've ever been to. And I've covered a lot of great games. But it was just so much fun to watch this and so much fun to actually see the reaction of the Rose Bowl, because it's one of my favorite places to watch a game, period. But then the funniest part also was that, you know, my kids are now all over the Internet because of this guy from Dave Portnoy from Barstool. And and I got a kick out of it because they've now learned what it means to bet. And they've now learned what it means to be with their dad on the best day of his life. Well, again, I would hope that the birth of his children and the marriage to you would have constituted the best day of his life. But in all sincerity, I get it.

And I'm just having fun with what I'm saying in that regard. I was thrilled for Michigan. I worked with Jim Harbaugh. Thrilled for him. So many friends, loved ones are Michigan fans.

Yeah, Rich, I'm counting you as someone I love. Thrilled for Michigan. And I'm glad you showed. I'm glad you filmed and included here video of Rich's reaction, because that brings me to my one point I want to share the end of the game. When the Michigan sideline just stormed the field and you could see the ecstasy, it was palpable. My immediate thought was also to the Alabama students. It was a heartbreaking loss for them. Some games you lose and you kind of know the whole time you're going to lose the manner in which they lost was heartbreaking.

And so what I'm about to say is not mutually exclusive. Thrilled for Jim, thrilled for Michigan fans, thrilled for the Michigan team. But my heart also went out to see the expressions on the faces of the Alabama players as they walked silently off the sideline. As is said, the agony of defeat is truly agony and the ecstasy of victory is ecstasy.

Yeah. And Saban saying afterwards that they shot themselves in the foot on that last play. And obviously, this is what the story has been all year, these kind of versions of the tush push.

It's like, just let's shove the guys right up the center and let's just try to get the biggest guy with the ball into the end zone. But I have to say, with all the talk of Blake Coram and all the talk of J.J. McCarthy, and we'll talk about it with Charles Davis ahead, had it not been for just an unbelievable wielding catch, I think that this game... Oh, spectacular. Spectacular. And this is guys looking really pretty.

This is guys getting a lot of great looks on them before the NFL draft season unfolds. But it was really thrilling to watch. So I just wanted to bring that up to start the game.

See, this is the way I think. Because it was just like... And I guess the other thing I want to say is just that it looked like a day in which very little was going to go right, it seemed like, for the Michigan offense. And special teams, by the way, which is kind of like the craziest part.

Because special teams, again, the expression I want to use, again, starts with an SH and ends with an IT, and then it has to do with the bed. But it just seemed to me over and over again that they couldn't be getting out of their own ways, whether it was a fumble, a field goal attempt, a punt return. It was so crazy. But they found a way to win.

They found a way to win. So an incredible day for the state of Michigan, which brings me to Detroit. That was very well done, Ms. Schuster. You know, the whole segue, Michigan, Michigan, all in the same state. Yeah, thanks.

Very well done. Yeah, they pay me the big bucks. So Rich and I were watching the Lions game the other day, and we're just watching these two-point conversions over and over. And we watched like the entire world of Who Loves Football watched the referees. And obviously it was Brad Allen's team, seemingly just make the wrong decision on the spot. I was curious about your reaction to that, because they will be back on the field this Saturday. A lot of people thought that these refs would be demoted.

And instead, they are going to be trotted out for Ravens Steelers this Saturday. And I'm curious about, number one, your reaction in real time when you watched it. And then I'll ask you about your reaction to the NFL putting them on such a marquee game. In fact, the next game that will be ahead this NFL week.

I'll give you those two reactions and an in-between reaction. My reaction when I saw it unfold was different than when I learned additional facts. So initially it appears that the refs simply blew it. But as we have since learned, and this is why you always want all the facts, Detroit tried a little chicanery, if you will. Jerry Jones said it best.

The Lions — let me read his quote — the Lions tried to be fuzzy, but ultimately it was fuzzy for the Lions. They tried to be a little duplicity, which is having more men out there in that group with the officials so that Dallas wouldn't necessarily know which of those men had reported as eligible. So setting aside all of that and turning to what I think is your most important question, the league putting this officiating crew into a very important game immediately after that last game. That's a statement by the league. Officiating crews are not assigned by random chance. This is the league saying to everybody, we've got the back of this officiating crew.

Let's put to rest any discussion as to whether they should be demoted. We've got their backs. That's a bold statement. Maybe not a bold statement.

That's not the word I'm looking for. It is a clear statement by the league that enough with the discussion of whether the officiating crew was right or wrong as to whether Detroit was right or wrong to try to make things fuzzy as they did, whether the call was right or wrong, we've got this crews back. Yeah, but why? I mean, it was funny. I was listening to Dean Blandino on Dan's show on the way in, on the Dan Patrick show, and he said Detroit didn't do anything wrong.

Well, and that's the fuzzy part. Detroit, okay, they did have the right person report as eligible, but they tried to, and again, I'm using Jerry Jones' word, they tried to make it look a little bit fuzzy. By sending more people out there, the idea was, well, you're not going to know, Dallas, which of these men is eligible. Seventy is usually our eligible guy.

You see him out there. You're going to assume 70 is the guy who's eligible, but it's really not at 68. Detroit tried to be cute, and I'm not saying that was wrong, but at the end of the day, what I believe the league is saying is, okay, you tried to be cute. You tried to make things a little fuzzy.

It ended up being fuzzy for the officials, and that's why the result was what it was. But it shouldn't be. That's the part that makes me mad. Like, it shouldn't be, and I watched that. I saw the memes about the wife says this, and the guy says that, and here's the, we're seeing on, for those of you who are watching the podcast, we're looking at the photograph of Brad Allen, and it's Taylor Decker, and they're trying to ascertain where Brad Allen is looking, but the fact of the matter is, it's their job to get this right.

You're right, and Amy, and it's like, you know, that's what makes me kind of angry about this, is that it was Dan Campbell. And whether it was cute or not, the players tell them ahead of time, they're in the back, they're in the locker rooms, they talk about who's going to report. And what we're saying is not mutually exclusive, because I absolutely agree with you. It is the official's job to get things right, and if the official was at all confused, it is the official's job to say, wait a minute, you just rubbed your jersey, and it rubs the wrong word, but we all know what players do to show that they're eligible.

Which one of you is eligible? That's the official's responsibility. But it's not mutually exclusive to say Detroit tried to be clever and it backfired on them because the official was confused. That doesn't excuse the fact that the official should have tried to clarify the confusion.

Those things aren't mutually exclusive. My point is simply this. It's not happenstance that the league has appointed this crew for this next week in the game the league has appointed this crew to officiate. That's a statement by the league, we got this cruise back enough already.

Yeah, it's so interesting. We'll see what happens this Saturday, but I will tell you this. And part of it that makes me kind of enraged is you make a big mistake like that that has playoff implications, that has every implication in the world for the Lions. I make a mistake like that.

I'm fired or I'm demoted. I just think it is fascinating that the NFL not only stays with them, but doubles down. You know, a little nugget for Raider fans out there. You know who was never, ever, ever, ever, ever again appointed to officiate a Raider game at least through my years with the team?

Maybe he was after I left, I don't know. Walt Coleman. Oh, is this the... Yeah. Yeah. This is the tuck rule? Yeah. And by the way... The forward pass? You see what she's doing to me?

She's feisty today too. There is a process, by the way, within the league. If you don't like a call that was made by the officials or you believe they should have made a call and they didn't, there is a process within the league. Every team has the right to submit to the league in the day or so after the game. Video of calls made that they thought were bad calls or calls that weren't made that they thought should be made. Teams are limited in the number that they can send in each week.

I never paid attention to the limit. I said, send them all. What are they going to do?

I mean, send them all. If they don't want to watch them all, they won't watch them all. And to your point, and this is why I raise this, after the league reviews it, you have a conference call with them and they tell you whether they agree with you or they don't. And in instances where the league says, you're right, that was a bad call or that was a bad non-call, it does you no good.

I mean, that and a few bucks might get you a cup of coffee. Because they're not going to change the outcome of the game. Correct. And that's your point, Suzy. That's the smart point you just made.

What happened at the end of that game has big implications going into the playoffs for both teams. See, I think that's fascinating. I never followed that rule. How often did you send in stuff? Every week. How many? A lot. I mean, I don't know how many it was each week, but I certainly, I mean, like they say you're limited in the number you can submit. I said, submit as many as we want. What are they going to do?

Just not watch them all? Oh my God. Hysterical. I have a question. What would Al have thought of David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers throwing a drink on a Jaguars fan? I mean, now I'm also curious, God, I'm asking a lot of double questions.

My brother's going to be annoyed, but okay. So what would Al have thought of that first of all? First of all, Al would never, ever, ever, ever have done something like that.

And he would be very, think very, very poorly of someone doing that. Do you think the NFL now has a headache on their hands? I mean, I wonder, are the owners calling in and saying, you got to do something about this guy? Some are. Some are. I don't know that all are.

I doubt that all are. Look, Suzy, I learned the moment I joined the Raiders, the fans are the game. Without fans, there is no league as we know it. And fans are to be cherished and appreciated and thanked.

And to do that to a fan, the league has to address it. Yeah, that was not classy. Classy is Charles Davis.

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Visit prizepicks.com for restrictions and details. I am thrilled to welcome to What the Football, my CBS sports colleague, Charles Davis. I get to ask Charles a question every Sunday morning on that other pregame show and today, Susie and I have a lot of questions for Charles. But before we dive into football, do you have your Swifty bracelets with you?

Oh, do I? Okay, how many do you have, Charles? Right now, I'm going to hold up approximately seven or eight.

There are more in other locales, but I have them. And then, of course, I got a couple that go on the road and I rotate them out, usually two or three at a time, you know. For some reason, they become a conversation piece. Well, and I'm just kind of bummed we haven't yet seen you raise an arm on a broadcast. You broadcast magnificently, but boy, oh boy, would it be something else if we saw those Swifty bracelets. Is that what we call them, Swifty bracelets? Yeah, yeah. Swifty bracelets on a CBS Sports broadcast.

Swifty friendship bracelets. And let me tell you, have you guys been to the concert yet? Have you been to her concert?

I have not. I've been to two. I went to two this era's tour. So, Susie, did you go to both in LA or did you go other locales?

No, I went to Allegiant. I took Taylor to Vegas and then Xander and I went to the one here and got to sit with Kara Henderson and rock out with her. Oh, that is so great. Kara Henderson.

Oh. By the way, do you realize that both of you have daughters named Taylor? I didn't realize you had a Taylor. We have a Taylor as well.

Yes, indeed. And it sounds like we all have the same interest with the one who sings as well. So, let me tell you something real quick, at the concert in LA, this is when I learned the full depth. I love her music.

I love her performances, all that stuff. At one point where we were sitting, we had pretty decent seats, we were lucky, a person walks by and my daughter Taylor grabs my arm with a strength of Samson and says, there's tree. And I said, who's tree? And she looked at me like, what person doesn't know tree? Tree is Taylor Swift's publicist and she is the deal. If you mess up anything that has to do with Taylor and tree comes for you, you don't want that. So, I learned very quickly, do not mess with tree. She's got the whole thing under control.

How many people know a person's publicist on site? That's next level. Well, and the fact that you each have a daughter named Taylor and we're talking about Taylor Swift must be some sort of karma and again, thrilled. Well done. Do you like that? She so did not do that on purpose. Did you do that on purpose?

I did that on purpose. I may not have gone to a concert, but you know, I know what's going on. I know what's going on. Charles, thank you again for joining us. We will now turn to football and Susie, why don't you dive in? But can I first ask him what his favorite song is? What's your favorite song?

You know, I am really locked in right now on the 1989 and I got to tell you, for whatever reason, I ended up going back to style all the time. I really like it. Okay. I'm a cruel summer person myself. Oh, okay.

I like that. See different album, different, you know, but look, bottom line is this. I went to the, we went to the concert and the day after or two days after I think it's a day after I had to fly to Kansas city to go to their training camp. And you remember the initial conversation that the initial reporting was at Travis Kelsey tried to give her a friendship break and was rebuffed. Remember?

Yes. And I called Travis at camp and I said, Hey man, I just came from Taylor's concert. He goes, man, that's some concert. Huh? I said, yeah, blah, blah. I said, you okay. And he said, Hey bro, what's being reported is inaccurate. And I'm gonna leave it at that.

Oh, you had to scoop, but I didn't want to go any deeper. You know, I'm not, I'm not Shefty and those guys, you know, I'm not Jonathan Jones. They, they, they listen, I'm good. He said, Hey, what's being reported is not true. That's all I need.

That's cool. And then the best part was we talked about the concert and athletes look at her concert with different eyes. And he says to me, yo, you see the size of that stage? And I said, yeah, that's unbelievable.

I said, she worked that stage for three and a half hours. He goes, I know greatest cook. Great. This is my favorite quote ever about a Taylor Swift concert.

He goes, yo, her cardio is on point. I'm telling you right now, cause I knew that you were trouble when you walked in. I'm just saying this is awesome. All right.

We're done now for everyone's like, Oh God, stop the Swift stuff. All right. Let's get to some football. Shall we? Let's do it.

How was your weekend Charles? It looks like you saw somebody who was fearless in Lamar Jackson. Okay.

We're done. Um, is he as good as everyone says he is? I mean, we were talking about this before the podcast started just about the irony of the preseason and everyone just, you know, having a say about Lamar and again, a restricted free agent.

It wasn't like he was a free agent and he could go anywhere else and testing the waters, whatever. And here he is making such an incredible pitch for MVP. You got to see him playing the dolphins.

What did you think? He's better than he's ever been. And that's part of what we see out of the greats that we all know, the people that you've talked to on the show that have been guests that have gold jackets.

Some people you're going to talk to are going to get gold jackets. Those players, they didn't just hit at a certain point, level off and maintain that the rest of their career. They all got better in some way every year that they played. And then when some physical skills went away and they were still playing, they had that intelligence that FBI, the football intelligence to compensate and go in a different direction, emphasize something else that still made them great because it's all the marriage of everything is the mind. It's the body. It's the will.

Right? It's the, it's the willingness to train and prepare all the things we can go through and every cliche we want Lamar Jackson, if people haven't been watching the improvement and seen it, I don't know how to help them guys. I really don't because the way he played the game on Sunday, I thought encapsulated it all. There were times when he in the pocket, a, an alley or a lane would open and we all three of us know two, three years ago, he would fly into that lane and he would have hurt the defense in some way because he's such a skilled runner. He's got to 1000 yard season. Now he may fly to that lane, but the eyes are up and guess what?

All of a sudden flick. He's had someone get open because he's extended to play and opened up time. His ability to play straight from the pocket and hit the back foot and then on time and in rhythm, make those throws, the impressive, that's the thing that's impressed me the most because I think at the end of this year, if he is named MVP and he's got a great chance to be that, I don't think his numbers will be the same as 2019, but I will tell you my eyes and watching him tell me he is an improved quarterback and I think the players around him have gotten better. Even though he doesn't have 1000 yard receiver, he doesn't have 1000 yard rusher, but these guys have all come together and given them everything that they're supposed to and some people filled in quite well, like Isaiah, likely the tight end for Mark Andrews. So why do you think he's better?

Is it the new OC? He's put the time in and it's not just the time, Suzy. He's put the time in understanding where he wanted to go to get better.

Todd Munkins is new offensive coordinator. He's going to get plenty of credit for it and rightly so, but T Martin is the quarterbacks coaches with him day in and day out. He trusts T and T has helped take him to this next level. Lamar wanted to get there. T's helping him see how, and then they put the time into working with the drilling and you know, and then through the drill work comes the confidence to put it into action out on the field.

And then when you have success doing it out on the field, you do it more, it gets reinforced. So we're seeing all those things and he's trusting those receivers to make the plays they're supposed to make, and he's almost willing them to make those plays. Those guys are fighting each other for an opportunity now because they don't want to let down Lamar Jackson.

The last piece is the leadership. Ask anyone around the Ravens now. They will tell you Lamar has always been a good leader.

Guys have sent it to a different level. I think Humphrey told us last week that after a game, Lamar told him, yo man, we need you to be better going forward. You weren't, you weren't as good as you needed to be today.

You need to be better. Lamar wouldn't have done that a few years ago. Charles, I have two questions for you, one about the Ravens, but before I turn to that, do you have any observations about the Dolphins to share with us? I think that's a good football team and what Mike McDaniel and his crew have done, they've done quite well. They do have to answer for one and four versus teams over 500.

I do think they're different at home than they are on the road. And I thought that Sunday's game, remember Buffalo earlier this year, remember how big a game that was up at Buffalo? Remember the track meet that game opened up with both teams, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. Any reminder on Sunday, didn't it feel exactly the same way? And then Buffalo took charge, Sunday Baltimore took charge.

And I said, going into the game, speed, you know, speed will kill you, but if speed gets hit enough, speed slows down. Baltimore's physical on defense, Buffalo got some hits in when they played and it slowed them down just enough to allow them overall as a defense to adjust to things, to adjust to that fast motion out on the edge that puts you back on your heels to adjust to those things. And all of a sudden those throws that you were making earlier that were open now are being contested. And that's what we saw on Sunday, the same as it was with Buffalo. I thought those two games were, you know, you can see through the looking glass.

One was exactly the same as the other. And I actually watched that Buffalo game going in because I felt that it was the same type of a setup, the emotion of that game, the stakes of the game, the eyes of the public on that one to see what was going on. I do think Miami's a good football team. I don't know that they're right there with the big ones yet, but I will tell you, I wouldn't want to play them at home when they play in Miami. It's a whole different ball game for them. I just hate that they lost Bradley Chubb late on the game.

That's it. And they're playing at home against the bills and this is a huge showdown and the bills have been so bizarre this season that we don't really know what to expect coming in this Sunday. So what do you expect? Well, sometimes we get to that boxing analogy of styles, making the fight Buffalo is going to lean on what they did in the first game and try and recreate that blueprint. Have patience early survive the flurry because you know, it's coming because Miami's a good starting team. They get out of blocks fast.

Can you survive? Hold on and then be able to slug it out from that point on. The other part is I think since Joe Brady has taken over as the offensive coordinator, he actually meshes with Sean McDermott in a great way in the way is he will actually run the football. Sean's a defensive coach, defensive coaches, love offense coordinators who actually run the football. They love them.

And guess what? Joe Brady has been doing that for them and that will help slow down Miami to an extent as well. If they're able to run it successfully. So I'm eager to watch this game. I think Miami will bounce back from the Baltimore game. Well, Mike McDaniel sets a nice tone and this team believes in itself, but I want to see when we get into the second quarter, right? How things start to go because if they're able to continue to play fast break football, Miami's in great shape. If that game turns into a half court basketball game, then it's a Buffalo's game. Oh, I love that half court basketball analogy.

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Ships registry Bahamas. All right, Charles, I want to turn back to Baltimore. As we know, Baltimore has clinched and teams that have clinched going into week 18 have a big decision to make. I saw this while I was in the league.

I've seen it since. Do we rest a key player or two? Do we rest all of our starters or do we play them?

And there are clearly, clearly pros and cons to approaching it each way. If you start someone and lose them for the playoffs, it's why did you play him? If you sit him and you lose your mojo, you lose your rhythm. It's why did you sit him?

I'd love to hear your observations and views on the point. Play him, keep up consistency or sit him to avoid the risk. Yeah, Amy, it is, you know, you hate to be that coach having to make that decision because you're exactly right.

You are caught one way or the other. But I feel like if my guys are able to play, I'm going to get them some plays. They may not play the whole game. I'm not talking about that, but I want them to continue to feel good about what's going on and how we go. Is it a risk? Absolutely.

But it's a calculated risk I'm going to want to take. And with Baltimore, I'm going to leave it central to them. The scars of 2019 when they were the number one seed, they are still there because they talked about it this week before they clinched. Lamar Jackson talked about it with us in 2019. They clinched early, didn't play anyone the last week of the season, had the open week, the bye, and then played Tennessee and were flat.

Lamar referenced it. I think we should, you know, I think we might want to think about playing. John Harbaugh has a big decision to make with that, and we'll see where it goes. I would not be surprised to see them get some snaps and maybe just not go the full distance.

I would be surprised if they do go the full distance for the reason you stated. Calculated risk. Look, it's a risk reward analysis. If you put them out there, you're keeping the consistency, you're giving them reps, you're continuing what's working. But the risk is catastrophic injury. So I love, you're absolutely right.

It's a calculated risk and maybe splitting the baby, so to speak, is the way to go. Some snaps, not a lot. And I think maybe we just take the injury report, Amy and Susie. You know how the injury report says, full go, limited, doubtful, right, questionable. If you are questionable or doubtful, you don't play.

Yeah, like Christian McCaffrey. I mean, just sit. Right. You don't play.

All right. You don't play unless it's the Super Bowl, right? Or you are in the playoffs and you have to win to advance. If you're already covered there, guys who may have been, you know, been dinged early in the week and they're feeling good later, you get them some snaps. But again, you have to be smart and judicious about what you're doing because Baltimore has a number of injuries that we're not even talking about. Right.

Right. Brandon Stevens didn't play the starting corner in our game. Kyle Hamilton, the starting safety, who may be an all-pro as a second year guy, did not play in this game. By the time it ended, Rocky has seen who they signed to potentially be a starter. He'd been buried deep into the rotation. He played a lot in this ballgame and played pretty well. How many people would say, hey, I've got Arthur Millet. He's going to be my cover guy in the nickel slot. No one. Guess what?

He played awfully well in this game. They find a way to get it done. That playing like a raven is not just a mantra.

It's a reality if you wear those colors. And they did that on Sunday, but they sure would like to get those guys healthy and go through playoffs. But if it's questionable, I don't think they hit the field on Sunday. And another factor is the position that someone plays. There are positions which require a lot more timing and a lot more syncing up with other players.

And then you could be on the defensive line and you just line up and go after the opposing quarterback when the ball is snapped. But I do love the point you've made. You've got to be judicious and you've got to make the right decisions. And by the way, you are, of course, absolutely right as to Baltimore. It's that old adage, good teams find a way to win.

Yeah, they do. And both of you, I'm going to ask you to bring you into this as well. Never do you use a term, boy, this is the good that came out of COVID, right? Because COVID was catastrophic. COVID ripped apart families.

COVID did so many things that just hurt all of us. But when they changed the rules during COVID to expand the practice roster, the really smart teams figured it out early that the practice roster is really an extension of your roster. And you got to treat those guys like they're on your roster, not just, oh boy, guess what?

We got a guy hurt, go pull a guy and hey, coach him up this morning and get him ready to go. They are in the meetings. They get reps on the practice field. They're expected to know everything just like the guys on the 53 are. All of those things come into play. And boy, has that been a big deal for the best teams in the league when they insert players on Sunday that weren't part of the 53.

But guess what? They know the full defense. They know the full offense. They've literally taken reps with the people who are going to play on Sunday all year long. So when they hit the field, it's not this brand new, hi, my name is Charles. I'm on your practice squad. I'm going to play with you today. They know these guys.

Everything works. I think that's one of the things that helps a team like Baltimore. They utilize that practice roster like it's part of the regular roster. And it'd be interesting to me to see if teams continue to petition the league to eliminate as few call-ups as you have, because you get three elevations. And then he either has to be on the 53 or you have to let him go.

I think a lot of teams like to have those elevations eliminated or at least get some more in order to keep those teams and rosters together. Charles, you've got Eagles and Giants. What are you expecting this coming weekend? Well, the game's not in Philadelphia, so I don't have to get there on Friday and hear sports talk radio because you know it is just on fire and beyond right now. Yelling and screaming and words like water. Yeah, this is Charles from Southie and I said Southie, that's Boston. But anyway, get the idea. They're calling in and here's what happens when you're having this struggle now in your Philadelphia Super Bowl last year, you start out 10 and one this year, everything's rocking along and now they've hit the bumps.

All the things that these people supported, right? If you're a fan, Nick Sirianni has 15 pens in his hat. That's cute.

That's cool. Way to go coach. Now that's the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life.

What's with all the pens in his hat? Everything becomes game, it becomes fodder. This team needs to play a good game. And I'm not just talking about winning, I'm talking about playing a good game. Guys are openly in the media questioning how they're playing.

Even when they won, they beat the Giants on Christmas Day. And Devontae Smith's like, yeah, but we're not playing well. This isn't going well. That's what they need in this one, somehow find a way to put it together because they used to control all the tiebreakers.

That went out the window. Dallas controls it. If Dallas beats Washington and they're playing at the same time, doesn't matter what Philadelphia does. I think Philadelphia's whole focus this week is, okay, only a miracle will get us the division title. But let's win the game, be clean about it, so that when we go into the playoffs, we play more like the Philadelphia we expect to be and have been in the past than what we've seen in these last five weeks. Charles, put your NFL Network cap back on. Let's talk college ball for a second before we go. Who's going to go higher in the draft, Michael Pennix or J.J. McCarthy? I think Pennix will, as we sit here right now, Suzy, but you and I both know, and Amy knows this really well, what we're sitting here saying right now, the run up to the draft, it changes a lot. You know what it's like? It's like a fumble with a big pile of players, and we know the ball exchanges hands a couple of times.

Great analogy. Because what I've seen in the last few years is the rise of players. Let's keep it the quarterback position. Joe Burrow, going into his senior year at LSU, had a day three grade on him from almost every scout I talked to, meaning rounds four through seven, because when people hear day three, they're like, oh my God, that's a no. Rounds four through seven is not a disaster, but it's a far cry from being the top pick in the draft. And I'll never forget, his senior year, I went to New Orleans for a Saints game and talked to someone with the Saints that I've known very well, a high up, and he just casually said to me, yo, you seen the LSU kid play yet?

And I said, you know, it's funny, I was watching such and such, but I didn't get to see much of it. He said, hey, man, he might be number one pick in the draft. I said, he's got a third day grade on him. He goes, not anymore, he doesn't. Zach Wilson, for all the grief he's gotten now in recent years with the Jets, he was a third day grade. His senior year, or last year, goes up and becomes the number two pick in the draft.

Let's let all this play out. As we sit here now, I would say Pennax, because he's playing in the cauldron, and he's putting up the numbers and playing really well in the biggest games. When you go back, they weren't supposed to beat Oregon either time. They were the underdog in both of those games. And he was a big difference in both of them. How about last night against Texas? He was huge in that game. He is that guy now, because we're all vying for who's QB 3.

It's Caleb Williams, Drake May, who's the third guy. Pennax right now is sitting there. McCarthy from Michigan is a little bit of a sleeper, because Michigan runs the heck out of the football, and he's not throwing it 45 times a game. That shouldn't be held against him, but people got to dig a little more, because we see all the throws from these other guys. Let's find out what McCarthy brings to the table, leadership, game management, people believing in what he does, big throws at big times. Was there a bigger play down the stretch in that throw he made with the kid snatching and it ended up going down?

How about fourth and two from your own 30? Yeah. I got to tell you, I thought that was going to go over his head. I thought that was the catch of the game, that was the moment of the game. Someone extended and brought down a ball that he overthrew. Yeah.

Yeah. But the fourth and two on their own 30, you know how tight a person is going to get in that situation? He could have very easily two-hopped that pass, because he was so tight, I've got to make this, I've got to execute it. He executed it like, oh yeah, this is just a practice play, which tells me about the confidence of the young man, that he's in the moment and he's not going to be deterred. That was a big one. Great play call, but he could have very easily missed it, and he didn't.

He put it right on him and off they went. So we'll see how this whole thing plays out, and I'm going to leave you guys with this one on these quarterbacks. There are a number of these quarterbacks that we're talking about that still have eligibility left, and they are all going to jockey with each other up until the day your name has to be in for the draft about do I stay or do I go? Because in some cases, staying in school will rise their draft stock higher next year. If they come out, maybe there's not as many quarterbacks in the pool this year, it's better for me now. They're all eyeing each other across the board, who's staying, who's going, and a big reason why they're able to do that?

Three letters. N-I-S. Charles, you are spot on on your observation that we need to let this play out. The draft isn't a science, there's no enigma code, there's no Rosetta Stone. And what always astonished me during my years in the league, and I saw this firsthand within our organization, with our scouting department, with our coaches, is how they can be persuaded by grades they read on reports from people they're not working with. Look, you've got game film, we used to call it film back in the day, I get it, it's not film anymore, but you've got film, you've watched them play, you've been at the games, make your own decision. But teams really are swayed by public perception, so you're absolutely right, we've got to let it play out. I agree.

And it happens to all of us. Prediction for me on the national championship? I like Michigan, I think they're the best team in the country, they have been throughout the year, they proved it again on Saturday. Washington is nothing to be played with, though. This is a team that has gotten very comfortable with one-score games, I believe, I think last night was their ninth game this year, it was a one-score game. So they don't back down off of this, as a lot of coaches would say, they don't flinch. So it'll be fun to watch, but I do think Michigan has been the best team, starting about mid-season and throughout this time, and they proved it again the other night, because Alabama had them on the ropes, and they were one drive away from putting that thing away, Michigan didn't let it happen, and then came back and got them.

So I give them nothing but credit in that one, I like Michigan in a championship game. Thank you, Charles, for joining us, I look forward to seeing you Sunday on that other pregame show on CBS Sports Network, and we appreciate your time today. Charles, you're the best. Thank you guys for having me, I'm humbled to be on your show, and continued success, and as Amy and I like to say on the other pregame show, on the top show on Sunday mornings, good morning, Amy, what the football. Which I love and appreciate.

Such a great guy, and such a pleasure to have him on, he brought such a great point up about the day three. You know, when I was covering college football for ABC, Rich half the time would call me from the combine and say, do you know who this guy is? And of course you have. I'd heard of him, and my favorite story about that is Vernon Davis, who was the tight end in Maryland, and just a beast of a guy, and I did a lot of ACC games with Mike Tirico and Tim Brandt. And he calls me, he's like, do you know anything about Vernon Davis? And I said, he's like, he's taking the combine by storm. He's a beast. And I said, yeah, he's actually a painter.

He is very into figurative painting, and he spends half the time in the studio painting, blah, blah, blah. This is such sideline stuff, you know, the stuff you've got in the books. But it was just so funny because he was the perfect example of a guy that nobody knew who he was because it was a Maryland game. It was like, who, Ralph Regen, you know? So Rich would say all the time, like, go into your Rolodex, who do you have? But that was my favorite one. You just never know who these guys are going to be and then who's going to go up the charts draft potential wise because of their performance in the combine. Well you're absolutely right. And by the way, I love that Rich was calling you to say, Suzy, who are these people?

Help me, help me. And of course you're the one who knew. Two things about the draft. There are a lot of undrafted players in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

So if you're a player and you're either not drafted or you're drafted last like Brock Purdy or 199th like Tom Brady, that doesn't have to define your future. No, it's so true. So true. Well, our thanks to Charles Davis. I think he's the absolute greatest. Good to see you. I'm so glad you had a good holiday. And you as well. You as well.

Yeah. It's good to be back with you. We've got some great guests coming up. Ray Lewis is booked to come. Al Michaels will be coming on. Chris Fowler will be coming on. So we're keeping the rotation really tight and a couple more surprises for Super Bowl. So thank you so much for taking in this week's edition of What the Football.

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