Ross Tucker, Westwood One Analyst

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CBS and Westwood won. That is Ross Tucker joining us on the Zach Gelb show. Ross, great to have you on, as always. Thanks so much. How are you?

My pleasure, Zach. Doing great. Awesome to see you yesterday.

I love it. Why are you there yesterday? Just making sure you're you're always somewhere in the action.

You know, I'm just a hard-working person. I believe that if you're going to say a lot of things about people, you got to go to the big games and you got to see how they play on out. So that's why I elected to go there. And I was talking to Mahomes after the game. And he said to me something he's learned this year, right, because Mahomes is so great. Like what else is there for him to learn?

And it's kind of crazy that he could get better and better with age, which is scary for the rest of the league. But his big takeaway this season was he learned how to manage the game this year when they have such a great defense and just trust it and find not a way to throw the game away. And that's what you really saw in the second half.

Correct. Yeah, I mean they didn't score at all in the second half and we're very different narrative. I feel like today if the Ravens have been able to score themselves, right as a flowers gets in the end zone is Lamar Jackson doesn't throw honestly, probably one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen given the situation.

Just absolutely awful. If Mahomes doesn't do that, then you know, I don't know man. I think we have a different conversation, but he obviously has learned that he's got a really good defense and spags has been fantastic and they deserve a lot of credit for that because they totally Zach totally put the Ravens out of their game.

No, absolutely. And I was shocked, you know, I know Lamar's had some struggles in the postseason, but now this is going to become a bigger and bigger storyline. But the plate calling yesterday, I just thought was horrendous by Baltimore. They barely ran the football.

I know they were down, but it wasn't like the game was out of reach and they didn't really do that many design runs with Lamar or they didn't run the ball with their running backs. I didn't get Monckin's approach in that game. I was a little surprised myself. Yeah, I mean even when they did run it, it's like gun runs with Justice Hill as opposed to some of the downhill stuff with the Gus bus, Gus Edwards.

Not very many design runs for Lamar Jackson. I was surprised. I was surprised with the tactic that they took. I did think that spags got the better of Todd Monckin yesterday. I think they're both excellent coaches and I wonder how much of Monckin's mindset changed watching the Chiefs totally control the action with those 86 and 75 yard drives for touchdowns start the game. It's almost like Monckin played the rest of the game after that Zach thinking, hey, we really need to score a lot of points because we're not, we're not going to be able to and they're doing such a good job and it's going to be a high scoring game.

That's not what happened at all. I mean the Ravens defense settled in and really stuffed, you know, what they were getting from the Chiefs offense after that, but Monckin didn't really adjust. I guess in fairness, you know, the Chiefs held the ball 20 some minutes in the first half and the Ravens were down by two scores. It was clearly not a situation that the Ravens were accustomed to being in and they didn't handle it very well.

How do you view Lamar Jackson moving forward, Ross Tucker? Yeah, really good quarterback that does not play his best when they need him to. And we see that when we watch Mahomes and the plays that Mahomes makes to Kelsey and some of the throws he made and I thought Lamar had some good throws, but man, it felt like there were a lot of times, a couple to O'Dell, one to Rashad Bateman, they had man-to-man coverage. And by the way, I didn't think that the Ravens receivers did enough to get open against man-to-man coverage, against some of the lesser corners for the Chiefs, not even LeGari's needs.

That's part of the conversation for sure. But a lot of those balls from Lamar Jackson, they weren't even really giving the guys a chance. I mean, they weren't really even having an opportunity to make a play on the ball.

And I do think that that's probably one of the reasons why a couple of those, where I thought they could call interference, they didn't call interference. Talking to Ross Tucker right now. What did you say to Taylor Swift after the game? I saw you guys had an interaction on the field.

Yeah, not, not much. I was, you know, with West with one, I'm able to be next to the stage to interview the head coach and the quarterback after the game. And you know, Taylor Swift is from my hometown, the really small hometown, believe it or not.

It's called Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, the now or west of Philly. And so I've met her a couple times, but it was 2007 and 2015. Wow. But I know her dad and I went to her concert in Philly. So I thought, gosh, I gotta say something to her.

So I think I came up with something pretty good, Zach. I pulled up the picture on my phone of my daughters with her dad from, with her dad from the concert in May in Philly. And I said, hi, Taylor. I'm good friends with your dad.

I'm Ross Tucker from Wyomissing. And she looks at me and she's like, oh, yeah, I know you. I know you.

Meaning like, I guess that doesn't happen to her a lot. Which is funny because I missed a great all-time comeback where I could have been like, yeah, I know you. I know you. But you know, I said, I talked to your dad this week. She said, oh, okay. And then I, she was with Donna and Ed Kelsey.

Awesome. And I know Ed Kelsey too. So then I just said, hey, Ed, how are you? Like, I kind of, I kind of moved on from Taylor. Like, what else was I going to say? You know what I mean? It seems like Ross, if this does go all the way, and there's a wedding, I think you should get an invite.

I think that, that's what I was trying to lock up yesterday. That's what, that's why I went right from Taylor. I had to go immediately to the father of the groom and Ed Kelsey, trying to make sure that both sides are okay with me being at the wedding. Ross Tucker here with us.

How would you describe the decision-making in the second half by Dan Campbell yesterday in the NFC Championship game? 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.

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A Peanut Butter M&M's Production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. That's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll.

The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. I did not like it. I would describe it as overly aggressive.

I'm not a guy in hindsight. So first of all, when enough people, not enough people are saying that running the ball with David Montgomery on third down at the end of the game with less than two minutes remaining, that was inexcusable. That was horrible. Unacceptable coaching error. You cannot run the ball there because then if you get stuffed, and they did, you absolutely have to get the onside kick, which is such a small percentage. Cannot happen. Cannot do it. I mean, you're honestly better off in that situation, kicking the fugle on third down, then you are running it. And if you're going to run it, you got to have two plays ready to go. You got it.

You can't use the time out there. Correct. Correct.

So it was that was awful. I think the fuel goal or go for a fourth down decisions a little bit more of an interesting discussion. That's certainly who the Lions have been and they've had a lot of success with it. And I will say, you know, a lot to me, like we saw that with the Ravens and Chiefs yesterday, teams are going for it in fourth down situations that they never had before.

And it certainly feels like it's progress and that they're having success. I would just wonder. Are we are we sure that we're taking into account all the information? Because what I would argue Zach is not every fourth down decision is created equal. In other words, let's look at the first one. Okay, they're up 14.

It's 2410 like Ross. I'll just tell you right now. I was okay with that first one. It was the it was the second one.

When you're down three, I don't understand bypassing that field goal, but you could have tied up the game like I was okay with the first one. The second one. I was not. Yeah.

So the first one bothered me every bit as much as the second one. Okay, because let's play it out. Okay, let's say you get it which maybe that's 50% of the time you convert. Well, then you're still not guaranteed a touchdown. Good point.

There's still a pretty good chance. You're going to kick a field goal. And not only that, even if you get a touchdown, it's still you're up 21, but still three score game. Whereas if you go to go back up 17, you make it a three score game again. In other words that the difference between 21 and 17 is not even close. The difference between being up 17 and 14. It's either a two score game or three score game.

I thought that was really bad really bad. And then the second one I agree. I thought in both instances because of the score they should pick the fuel. Now for like they were down six or like there's other scores in the game that it could have been where I do. Okay. Yeah, I get it. It's fine. But if it's the difference in being up two scores and three scores or there's a dream tying the game or not.

I would have kicked the field goal in those situations and think you should have. I can tell you right now Dan Campbell and Lamar Jackson both could use of my front page story today. Tell me a little bit more about my front page story.com.

Well, they absolutely should and could and although they get enough publicity who doesn't get publicity in life. They're significant others, right? I mean, it's the best Valentine's Day gift I've ever heard of.

I know I've talked to you about it before that but for the new people listening my buddy started the company. You literally talk to a writer for 10 minutes. Tell me how great your significant other is way way better than getting like a gift card to the Isle of Garden or whatever you think whatever is in your head right now. I'm giving you something totally unique and different for once that for one my front page story.com tell them how great your significant other is they write this amazing story. Looks like it's on the cover of the newspaper framed beautiful pictures of you and them kids if you have them and just being able to say I had a story written about you is incredible and then make sure that if you do it this year, make sure you say to them. I just never thank her enough for all the little things. She does for the family like they cry every time it's amazing.

And then they have it hanging up in the house forever. So it's the gift that keeps on giving my front page story.com my front page story.com best Valentine's Day gift of all time. He is the love guru Ross Tucker Ross appreciate the time as always. Thank you. Good to see you yesterday.

Of course that great talking and great seeing yesterday. There you go. Ross Tucker joining us on the Zach Gelb show a peanut butter M&M's production in a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing one retired cop return. That's one retired quarterback read the script. Oh, sorry one retired quarterback returns to claim what's his um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll the Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl.

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