0:01

You know, it is Wednesday and

0:03

that means it's a doggy

0:05

dog world. But last

0:07

week I gave him the world. I

0:09

gave it to him. I was out.

0:11

I was on vacation. What does this

0:13

brother do? He rolls from that chair.

0:15

He rolls around here like he's skating

0:17

around here and all of this stuff.

0:19

Blowing stuff like it was debris on

0:22

the chair or something and gave some

0:24

whack opening or whatever. Now I know

0:26

the man has potential. And I want

0:28

to apologize to him on national television.

0:30

Do you know why doggy? Why is

0:32

that Stevie? Because when you ask somebody

0:34

to be you, that

0:36

might be a little bit too much. And

0:38

that's what I did. I asked doggy to

0:41

be me, my bad. It's

0:44

a new day though. I'm back. First

0:46

takes of that. Hi, hello everyone.

0:49

Welcome to the first take on a

0:51

Wednesday. As Steven A mentioned, you know

0:53

what day it is. Christine Williamson here

0:55

for Molly and Sinead Gumekay joining Steven

0:57

A and Mad Dog. Good to see

0:59

you. Hey, hey, hey, hey. You guys

1:01

are matching Steven A. We're matching Steven

1:03

A. And I was

1:05

rocking a similar color weeks ago

1:07

and Malika stole the show. Because

1:10

clearly I don't look better than her. Right.

1:13

And then today I'm thinking I'm going to

1:15

be looking fly because I do. And then

1:17

Sinead comes on the seat and she's looking

1:19

better. I mean, damn, y'all. I mean, damn.

1:22

Me and Mad Dog did get the pink

1:24

memo. I just said it anyway. You

1:26

look better than me. I sure do. Not better than

1:28

Sinead, but a better than you. You know what? To

1:30

be in your 60s, you do look

1:32

good, buddy. Not bad. You do look good. You look

1:35

good. I got to give it to you. I got to

1:37

give it to you. All right. All right. We're

1:39

going to get into N.B.'s return, the

1:41

women's final four. We also have Louis

1:43

Reddick stopping by to talk NFL and

1:45

WWE's Cody Rhodes will be here ahead

1:47

of WrestleMania XL this weekend. Okay.

1:49

Let's start in the association. Last night,

1:51

the Warriors overcame Luca Dontic's 20th

1:54

triple double of the season to be

1:56

the Mavs 104 to 100, snapping Dallas's

1:58

seven game win streak. and extending

2:00

their own win streak to strap five

2:02

straight games. Six Warriors, scored a double

2:05

digits, while Stephen Curry shot just five

2:07

for 18 from the floor. So

2:10

the Warriors are now free games ahead of

2:12

the Rockets for the final playing spot out

2:14

west. Golden State has seven games remaining this

2:16

season, including road games against the Rockets and

2:18

the Lakers. All right, I'm gonna start with

2:20

you on this one, Stephen A. Do you

2:22

still believe that the Warriors can go on

2:24

a run? I do. I do. Listen,

2:27

one of the things that I

2:29

monetitionate doggy is this. First

2:31

of all, understand how important shooting is. You got to

2:33

be able to shoot from the perimeter. You got to

2:36

be able to make free throws come playoff time because

2:38

obviously the game doesn't speed up if relatively slows down

2:40

to some degree. Obviously you can get through the free

2:42

throw line and you got a lot of teams that

2:44

aren't as efficient as the Golden State Warriors. So I

2:46

don't think we can ignore that. But let me tell

2:49

you tell y'all this. They're a five game winning streak.

2:51

First four of those games won the road.

2:53

They won all four of those games. This

2:55

is when noise was being made about the

2:57

Houston Rockets led by Emejadoka, nipping at the

2:59

heels and all of a sudden they go

3:01

on a winning streak and they go to

3:04

the month. Emej. There we go. All right.

3:06

So we got to pay attention to that.

3:08

Do you know that the Warriors are leading

3:10

everybody in defensive efficiency over that period of

3:12

time and basically four of the five opponents

3:14

held to 100 points or

3:16

fewer? We can't ignore that. Oh,

3:18

by the way, the wonderful, the

3:20

wondrous, the greatest shooter God ever

3:22

created in Steph Curry. Only

3:25

averaging 20 points over this

3:27

streak, but shooting 41% from three point range. Just

3:29

like he had last night when he had 13

3:32

points on five of 18 shooting, but he still

3:34

hit three of his five shots from three point

3:36

range. Other dudes are stepping up. I'm looking at

3:39

Wiggins showing that he has a pulse. Draymond Green

3:41

doing something for you offensively and we know what

3:43

he brings defensively. There's a collection of individuals that

3:45

shown up and I'm looking at it from that

3:47

perspective. Your ability to shoot, your ability to score

3:50

is one thing, but what was the ingredient to

3:52

the Golden State Warriors success throughout those years?

3:54

Defense. They played defense and that

3:57

is what they are doing now.

3:59

They are being effective with it. They

4:01

now have a three game cushion on the Houston

4:03

Rockets. So they don't really any longer have to

4:05

worry about being in the playing. They've got seven

4:07

regular season games left for on the road against

4:09

the rockets coming up against Dallas, against the Lakers

4:11

and against the Blazers. I believe they'll win at

4:13

least two of those games. They got two games

4:16

against the jazz at home. I think they'll win

4:18

both of those games. And of course they've got

4:20

a game against the pelicans. I'm just looking at

4:22

the warriors right now. Anytime you've

4:24

got a superstar who can explode

4:26

and you have shooters surrounding him

4:28

along with himself and they

4:30

could hit free throws. You cannot ignore the potential

4:33

impact they can have. Well, I beg to differ

4:35

on the shooting scenario. The best shooter God ever

4:37

created. You've never heard of Bill Schulman. Go

4:41

ahead. You never heard of. I

4:43

heard of Bill Schulman. Take

4:49

it easy on the winning streak. They beat

4:51

Charlotte. They beat Miami. Bullard in play. Take

4:53

it easy on the road winning streak. And

4:56

he never plays anyway. Bullard never plays these games. You'll

4:58

play in the postseason. If he's

5:00

not up three, if he's three, I always take

5:02

a day off. But yes, you're right. If he's two.

5:05

But so that's number two. And number three, Steve, be

5:07

careful here because look where they are understandings. They are

5:09

not going to overtake the Lakers because

5:11

they're two back. You're right. They're going to

5:13

get the play in spot because they're obviously

5:15

in a much better scenario than the than

5:18

the Rockets are. They probably to make the

5:20

main body of the postseason, they're going to

5:22

have to beat the Lakers in L.A. And

5:25

then they're going to have to go beat the

5:27

Sun King loser at the moment on

5:29

the road just to make the

5:31

postseason. Now they got a good road record.

5:33

They're 22 and 15. So they can and Curry

5:35

gives you a chance every game you play on the road,

5:37

because you can have one of those incredible

5:39

shooting days. But think about it. They're tense

5:41

right now. And Justin may be played Denver

5:44

in the first round. They got to beat the

5:46

Lakers in L.A. The Phoenix King

5:49

loser on the road. And then

5:51

they get the Nuggets most likely in a

5:53

seven game. I wouldn't say most likely. I mean

5:55

the Nuggets only have game up on Oklahoma City

5:58

and and Minnesota. with the same amount

6:00

of losses. So I wouldn't say it's likely. Let's

6:03

say they play Denver. Okay, let's say

6:05

they won't. Well, don't give me that.

6:07

You're moving to my argument. I do

6:09

interrupt the business. LA, Phoenix,

6:11

and the Nuggets. They're gonna lose to some of

6:13

those teams. Okay, there you go. Go

6:16

ahead, Janae. Look, Stephen A, I

6:18

really wanted to come on this

6:20

program this beautiful morning. We're matching

6:22

and keep that same energy, but

6:24

I have to disagree with you

6:26

because you prepped your argument on

6:28

the last five games

6:30

by the Golden State Warriors. This is an 82 game season.

6:34

And yes, you said that the defense has

6:36

been better. It actually has, but the

6:38

Golden State Warriors, their best version of a team that

6:40

can go on a run not only have the best

6:42

offense, which their offense has been a little bit subpar

6:45

in the NBA, but they also had a top

6:47

two defense. Right now they're in the middle of

6:49

the pack with the 11th best offense, and they

6:51

also have the 14th best defense right in the

6:53

middle of the pack. The last five games have

6:56

pushed those numbers up, but the last five

6:58

games have not told the story of an

7:00

82 game season. Now the Golden State Warriors,

7:02

they can go on a run, but

7:05

based on their unique challenges that we

7:07

have seen this season, they're more likely

7:09

to probably, as Mad Dog said, run

7:12

into a wall. Their biggest challenge right

7:14

now, which they have handled to some

7:16

degree, was handling the run of the

7:18

Houston Rockets right on their heels in the play-in.

7:20

Now if you watched last night, you would be

7:22

happy because they won with Steph only scoring 13

7:25

points. Draymond, talking about

7:27

defense, being back to being that dog

7:29

defensively, oh yeah, Maddie, you know what

7:31

I mean? They held the Mavs, and

7:34

Draymond single-handedly held the Mavs to shooting

7:36

six for 16 as

7:38

the closest offender, and then he scored on

7:40

those stops going downhill, especially in the

7:42

second half of the game. Also Wiggs, who

7:45

was their greatest X-factor two years ago, you

7:47

know, when they won the title, dropped 23 points. The

7:50

Warriors looked good last night, but that was one of

7:52

82, and one of

7:55

a really decent five-game stretch. Overall, this

7:57

season, the only thing consistent about them

7:59

is... All players not named

8:02

Steph Curry, they're inconsistency themselves being

8:04

up and down with their play.

8:06

They found a little bit of magic,

8:08

but still, even Steph, the greatest shooter

8:10

that we have ever seen, has had

8:12

shooting lows this season, this year, and

8:15

it's more likely they run into a wall than

8:18

go on a meaningful run. Well, first of all, clearly

8:20

you're not a Janet Jackson fan. What have you done

8:22

for me lately? I mean, that's the way I'm at.

8:24

I'm here by the way, 82 games. I'm

8:27

gonna leave on the last day. I'm gonna

8:30

leave on the last five. Last time I

8:32

said, last time I checked, I mean, the

8:34

bottom line is we got to pay attention

8:36

to the momentum that you have flowing into

8:38

the postseason. Now, the Lakers that won, recently

8:40

won five straight. They won seven of their

8:42

last eight. It should be eight of their

8:44

last nine because they're going up against Washington.

8:47

Them beating Milwaukee was an anomaly, an aberration,

8:49

Dame Dolly didn't play. I don't expect the Washington

8:51

Wizards to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, but I'm

8:53

looking at the Los Angeles Lakers right here. You

8:55

got Cleveland, you got Minnesota, you got Golden State

8:57

and New Orleans in four of your last five

9:00

games to close out the season. Let's see how

9:02

interesting that'd be. I don't think it's a lock

9:04

that they're gonna be the ninth seed and Golden

9:06

State's gonna be the tenth seed. So let me

9:08

throw that out of the way. Secondly, again, let's

9:10

omit Denver because we understand that's a different beast,

9:13

that's a different animal. And I can see that

9:15

Golden State is no match for Denver. That's their

9:17

kryptonite. You go up against the Denver Nuggets,

9:19

I don't think that's the team they're gonna

9:21

beat. That's the bottom line. But when you

9:23

look at the other dudes in front as

9:26

potentially number one seed, assuming that Golden State

9:28

as a tenth seed beats Los Angeles, beats

9:30

one of the other two teams, gets in

9:32

as an eighth seed, all right? The bottom

9:34

line is this. When you're going

9:36

up against young dudes that ain't been

9:39

there before, against veterans who are champions,

9:41

who clearly have been there before, you

9:43

know this just as well as I

9:45

do, Dougie and Janae. Sometimes that works

9:47

against you. That experience is a

9:50

bit too much for young thoroughbreds to

9:52

overcome, particularly that early in that early

9:54

stage. I look at Minnesota, I see

9:56

how formidable It

9:58

would be problematic. Obviously for the Golden

10:01

State Warriors. What if it was OKC? Who's

10:04

only a half game out same number of

10:06

losses in the lost column when your big

10:08

your definition of a big is Chet Holmgren

10:10

Okay, who I mean can compete with me

10:12

in terms of you know body mass or

10:15

what have you bottom line is I'm looking

10:17

at it From this standpoint and I'm saying

10:19

wait a minute now. Wait a minute. We

10:21

can't summarily dismiss the potential noise That

10:24

the Golden State Warriors could ultimately put

10:26

out there it is Possible

10:29

and that's all I'm saying Phoenix out

10:31

Lakers in a playing game in two weeks

10:33

the games in LA Loser goes home who's

10:35

winning the game? I'm sorry Phoenix Phoenix I'm

10:37

sorry said Phoenix Golden State Lakers playing game

10:39

in two weeks the games in LA who

10:41

wins the game I Think

10:45

Golden State got chance when I didn't ask you

10:47

that I think go to life on the line

10:49

chance That's not the answer Steve saying that the

10:51

chance Who wins the game

10:53

life on the line? I hate that analogy, but

10:55

life on the line. Okay, I give it to

10:57

you I've picked the Los Angeles. I picked the

10:59

Los Angeles. Okay, let's say they're wrong Let's

11:01

say they win the game and then they got

11:03

a play at Phoenix life on the

11:06

line just to make the playoffs Oh, I didn't

11:08

know that Phoenix. I give the Golden State I

11:10

would I got a minute. I'd give them a

11:12

better chance against Phoenix than I would against the

11:14

Lakers Well, I don't disagree with that. All right,

11:16

I have to win them both. Wait a minute

11:18

You ask me you can't you can't sit up

11:20

there ask me. What do I think gonna happen

11:22

with them in the Lakers? Okay, if they beat

11:24

the Lakers what will happen if Hey,

11:29

well, you know what I'd give them a better chance

11:31

to get the late They gotta win two road games

11:33

just to make the big body of work to road

11:36

games. Yes I have

11:38

to jump back in here. Yeah, I

11:40

have to jump back in here because Stephen a

11:42

tried to slander me on Janet Jackson Which I

11:44

will not let you down to me lately because

11:47

that's the way that my basketball

11:49

love goes Thank you

11:52

Stephen a well doggy. Thank you so much

11:54

for bringing up those two potential playing matchups.

11:57

They are we still vibing because versus the

12:00

Lakers will have the second best player on the

12:02

floor between LeBron James and Anthony Davis

12:05

versus the Suns. The Suns will have the

12:07

second best player on the floor between Kevin

12:09

Durant and Devin Booker. That's

12:11

the challenge that the Golden State Warriors

12:13

are up against. It's not Steph. It's

12:16

the second best player that they're going to

12:18

have to go up against over the course of

12:20

the entire postseason. And again, this makes me

12:22

want to scream. Scream Steven

12:24

A. Another great collaboration. Another great song. I wasn't feeling

12:26

screen. I wasn't feeling screen. I had me personally, I

12:28

wasn't feeling screen. That's why I didn't bring that up.

12:31

I just wasn't. I just wasn't. I wasn't feeling screen

12:33

by Janet Jackson. That didn't move me. Controlled it. But

12:35

that's a different subject for another day. The point that

12:37

I'm trying to make to you is this. When

12:40

you look at Phoenix, all right, today, what

12:43

has been their problem? They haven't been

12:45

performing in fourth quarters. Losing double

12:47

digit leads. Suddenly not being able to find

12:49

their offense. The defensive prowess that Frank Vogel

12:52

is known to scheme

12:54

and what have you. That hasn't been nearly

12:56

as effective as we had anticipated. We've

12:58

found ourselves asking many, many questions about the

13:01

Phoenix Suns. And when you look at

13:03

the big three, even though they haven't played

13:05

an abundance of games together, when you

13:07

look at the big three, Kevin Durant, Devin

13:09

Booker, Bradley Beal, excuse me, why are

13:11

you in the position where you're in a

13:14

playing game? I think if I was looking

13:16

at their record together with the games that they

13:18

played with one another, their record was like, what

13:20

was it? 21 and 13 or

13:22

something like that. I'm like, well, damn, they should

13:24

be better. They should be better. What

13:27

the hell is going on? Why is that a problem? I'm

13:29

looking at all of those things and I'm saying,

13:32

you know, Phoenix is there to be

13:34

had. I believe in KD, the superstar

13:36

that he is. And you know how

13:38

I feel about Devin Booker, but something

13:40

is clearly missing from the Phoenix Suns.

13:43

I think they could be had. Hey,

13:45

I'm Molly Karam. And thanks so much

13:48

for listening to the First Take podcast.

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16:10

Joelle Embiid finished with 24 points leading the

16:12

76ers to win versus the Thunder. It was

16:14

Embiid's first game in nine weeks following knee

16:17

surgery, Stephen A. Can the 76ers go on

16:19

a run in the East with Embiid, now

16:21

healthy? No, not to

16:23

me. I don't believe yet. I

16:26

want to applaud Nick Nurse, you know, and by the

16:28

way, Alan obviously, you know, just checked it. Yeah, bro,

16:31

I am looking for the fly. He just texted me

16:33

to tell me I was looking pretty fly. I just

16:35

wanted to let the world know that my boy, but

16:37

about the rest of everybody. My boy A.I. is watching

16:39

first. Right now, he said his boy Stephen, they looking

16:42

pretty damn fly. Thank you, my brother. Thank you, my

16:44

brother. Here's the deal. Okay. I

16:46

look at the Philadelphia 76ers. I want

16:48

to give props to Nick Nurse. I

16:50

think that he's done an outstanding job considering

16:53

the circumstances the head coach for the Philadelphia

16:55

76ers. Of these quick

16:57

and damp pace. We've seen the elevation

16:59

of Tyrese Maxie. We understand that if

17:01

Joel Embiid was there, the Philadelphia 76ers

17:04

would be battling for a top three

17:06

seed in the Eastern Conference. Without him,

17:08

they're like 14 and 27, something

17:11

along those lines. We get it. We understand

17:13

it. I get it. My

17:15

issue is, is that he's

17:17

not 100%. He's not going to be 100%. And

17:21

when I look at the Boston Celtics, that's a given. I

17:24

don't care about Milwaukee's struggles. I

17:26

think that they would have their way with

17:28

the Philadelphia 76ers because Embiid

17:30

is not helping, even

17:32

though he was out there last night. I

17:34

think the New York Knicks, if

17:37

Julius Randall and O.G. Ananobi come

17:39

back. Forget Julius Randall's

17:41

look at it. If O.G. Ananobi and Mitchell Robinson

17:44

came back, I still think that's

17:46

enough to beat this 76er squad. That's

17:49

where I'm at with it, but it's

17:51

really primarily because, I don't

17:53

have a lot of faith in the

17:56

health of Joel Embiid. He's such

17:58

a superstar talent. don't

18:00

think that he has the legs

18:02

to go through a lengthy post-season

18:04

run. I don't see it. I

18:06

see them going home once again

18:08

in the second round at the

18:10

latest. All right. Let's talk about

18:12

another matchup that went down last night. Nikole

18:14

Jokic in the Nuggets. Welcome Victor Bonama and

18:16

the Spurs to town. And this battle went

18:19

to the Joker. Jokic had 42, giving them

18:21

sole possession of first place in the West,

18:23

while Wim B had 23 points, 15 rebounds,

18:26

8 assists, and 9 blocks, a mere

18:28

quad double. Now, with that, he became

18:30

the fourth player with at least 20

18:32

points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8

18:34

blocks in the game since blocking him

18:36

official in 1973-74, joining Chris Weber, Akima

18:38

Lajuan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

18:42

He just missed becoming the

18:45

fifth player to record a

18:47

quadruple double. Stephen A, how close

18:49

is Wim B to being a top 10

18:51

player in this league? He's getting pretty damn close.

18:53

He's getting pretty damn close already. And the reason

18:55

I say that is because of this. He's 7-5.

18:58

And the impact that he has on the defensive side of

19:00

the ball, so much time we get caught up in the

19:02

offense. We forget that there's both sides of the ball that

19:04

need to be played in a lot of instances. Do I

19:06

think he's a top 10 player or close to being a

19:08

top 10 player offensively? No. Because obviously,

19:10

even though he's got a jump shot, he's

19:13

got a handle, you know, he's still rail

19:15

thin, and there are limitations when

19:17

you're that thin. But he has

19:19

skills. But where he really tips the

19:21

skills for me is how he impacts

19:23

things defensively. Yes, he went against Yokos.

19:25

And Yokos last night dropped like 42

19:27

and 16. This is Nikoli Yokos we talked about

19:29

here, okay? I mean, a man can't... He's one of the

19:31

most amazing players I've ever seen in my life. A man

19:34

can't jump onto a curve. He can't jump onto a curve,

19:36

or you can't stop him. Get up. There's nothing you can

19:38

do about it. I've never

19:40

seen anything like this. Unbelievable, you know,

19:42

and major, major props to him. But

19:45

even though he had 42 and 16, when

19:48

Mignon still had his 23, the man

19:50

had nine blocks. Nine. When

19:52

you're seven feet five, that's something that

19:55

you can't teach. And when you're able

19:57

to have that kind of impact on

19:59

both... both sides of the ball,

20:01

particularly surrounded with close to nothing,

20:03

because he is right now. If

20:06

San Antonio don't have much, they need a

20:08

whole bunch down there in San Antonio, okay?

20:10

I have to give credit where credit is

20:12

due. And more importantly, Shanae and Doggie, I

20:15

got to listen to the personnel, his contemporaries.

20:17

When they talk about this kid and

20:19

they talk about what he brings to the table and

20:21

they talk about how formidable he is, again, most

20:24

of it evolves around the fact that he's 7' It's

20:27

still the most embarrassing photo I've ever seen of

20:29

myself in my life when I was interviewing him

20:31

and I came to see him. And

20:34

I literally had to stretch to get that damn microphone

20:36

up. I've never had that experience in

20:38

my career. It was unbelievable. You know, I was

20:40

admitting me for crying out loud. It

20:42

was crazy, you know what I'm saying? But he's

20:45

7' 5", man. And

20:47

when you look at what he brings to

20:49

the table defensively, that's where it tips the

20:51

scales for me, which is why I say

20:53

he's not there, but he's close. Ah,

20:55

take it easy. Oh, come on, man. Wait, wait,

20:57

wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Marvin

21:00

Webster? You know what, Marvin, you were

21:02

going to Marvin Webster, you were going to the Super

21:04

Sonic, but there's nothing to do with him. We're bringing

21:06

up Marvin Webster. He didn't

21:08

know who that was. Well, I wasn't sure. You

21:11

got to be like, can I do something on

21:13

Wambayama? I did a little work on it today.

21:15

Okay. What was, what did he shoot

21:17

last night in the game? I'm sorry. 9 of

21:19

29. Okay, 9 of 29. Now

21:21

what did he shoot from 3? But that's one game,

21:23

Doggie. Oh no, time out! What did

21:26

he shoot for 3? He shot 2

21:28

for 11. Okay, and the opponent scored

21:30

how many points against him? And

21:33

who won the game? Denver. Okay, now

21:35

go look at Kareem. You guys

21:38

are making him out to be so much better than

21:40

he is. Go look at Kareem. You know what Kareem

21:42

did in his rookie year? He

21:44

averaged 29 a game. He

21:47

shot 52% from the field. This

21:49

guy shoots 46%. He averaged 14

21:52

and a half rebounds a game. And

21:55

his team went from 26 wins to 56 wins.

22:00

When you are a center, can I have

22:02

a few wins? They have won

22:04

17, 18 games. And

22:07

don't tell me that Kareem had a great cast,

22:09

because the year before they stunk and

22:11

Oscar wasn't there yet, the team was

22:13

terrible and Kareem went 56 to 26.

22:17

And I gotta listen to you now tell me

22:19

that he's a top 10 player. Listen, when Beyond

22:21

is from the watch, he's a pogo

22:23

stick, he's got a lot of ability,

22:25

he's gonna be great, but take it

22:28

easy. Rookie centers are expected to do

22:30

this. Look at Elijah Juan and Russell

22:32

and Kareem and Wilf and

22:34

Shaq. All this

22:37

Moses, all these guys,

22:39

they teams won. The

22:41

man has won 17, 18 games. And

22:44

you're gonna sit there and tell me what are your supporting

22:46

guests. Go look at Kareem's roster in 1970. I

22:49

did! John McLaughlin, Carlos Bouser,

22:51

what? Who knocked on the bar? Carlos

22:53

Bouser. Carlos Bouser. Carlos Bouser was the-

22:55

And the wrong guy, the wrong guy.

22:58

You're not just booing at the top, but go

23:00

ahead. You get the idea, you get the idea.

23:02

Carlos Bouser. And you're just gonna

23:04

be pointing at that 10. Oh, come on,

23:07

Steve, you are better than that. You're

23:09

better than that. I'll let Janae come in and

23:11

then I respond to your dribble that you just

23:13

spewed out there. Go ahead, Janae. Go

23:16

ahead, Janae. Respectfully,

23:19

doggy, my basketball playing

23:21

blood is boiling a

23:23

little bit because I feel like when

23:25

we talk about Kareem, we put

23:27

him the context of being the greatest

23:30

of all time. But how was the

23:32

center position being played back then versus

23:34

how was the center position being played

23:36

right now? When you looked at Nikola

23:38

Jokic, when you look at Joelle in

23:41

B, when you look at

23:43

Anthony Davis, the way the game is

23:45

right now, what Victor Webingama is doing

23:47

is out of this world. That is

23:49

why we're talking about him being compared

23:51

by one of the greatest of all

23:54

time in LeBron James to an alien.

23:56

The numbers that he's stuffing the stat

23:58

sheet from the blocks. Not only

24:00

like the blocks and the points, did you know in

24:02

the last 20 games he has 101 assists along

24:06

with the 93 blocks? To

24:08

me he is, I'm right there with Steven A,

24:10

he's knocking on the door of being one of

24:12

the top 10 or so players

24:14

in the NBA. Now yes, what would push

24:16

him over the edge to being in that

24:18

actual conversation is wins. But the San

24:21

Antonio Spurs right now are not designed

24:23

to win. They're designed to try to

24:25

figure out what roster in two years

24:27

can bring about those wins with a

24:29

Victor Webagnama that has acclimated himself to

24:31

the NBA. I mean, Wembley came into

24:33

the season with the moniker by Woj

24:35

as the greatest prospect that we have

24:38

ever seen. Everyone has rookie

24:40

seasons. Yes, maybe it's not as efficient as

24:42

you like because people back then with Kareem

24:44

or even Wilt were not shooting these three

24:46

point shots. But there are still

24:48

welcome to the league moments. But not everyone

24:50

is Victor Webagnama. He blocked Yo-Kitch, and this

24:52

is where I go to the defense, Steven

24:55

A. He blocked Yo-Kitch, the favorite for MVP

24:57

four times last night. Yes, he will always

24:59

give you 20 points. But

25:01

that defense, I think a lot of times

25:03

when we think about best players in the

25:05

game, it's typically skewed by offense. Oh my

25:08

gosh. Look at what, you

25:10

know, Yo-Kitch is doing from the assist standpoint

25:12

and combining his scoring. Oh my

25:14

gosh. Look at what Luca is doing.

25:16

It's typically skewed by offense. Now what

25:19

has translated immediately as a rookie has

25:21

been a defense. He instantly walked

25:23

onto the floor as Steven A mentioned and

25:25

put himself in the conversation of

25:27

could this guy potentially be a defensive player of the year

25:29

as a rookie? The defense is where he

25:32

excels, where he changes the game. His offense will

25:34

be a little bit slower. But I don't want

25:36

to fault the guy for taking the shot that

25:38

he will have to take in order to be

25:40

great. You see what he does with the ball

25:42

in his hands, with his ball handling, with his

25:44

touch around the rim, his face up. Yes, the

25:46

three point shot is probably his greatest limitation. But

25:49

over the course of this season, he's improved

25:51

at that. Yes, maybe not last night,

25:53

but overall his defense has always been

25:55

there as a rookie. His offense is

25:58

getting there. He's touching every stat. And

26:00

we're talking an isolated year where he's going

26:02

toe to toe. He blocked Giannis in a

26:05

statement way a couple months ago. He's blocking

26:07

Jokic. We're seeing someone in real

26:09

time having true impact. If his teammates were

26:11

better, he would be, they would be winning

26:13

and the conversation would be different. Appreciate

26:15

that. Let me get back to dogging a couple of things.

26:20

Number one, Carlos Bousa was born in 1970. He

26:23

was born in 1981. He was born in 1970. He's

26:25

22 years old. It's number one. Number two,

26:27

I love how you try to switch it. You

26:37

brought up Kareem and Shaq and all of these other

26:39

people. Nobody said

26:42

is when be being how

26:45

close is when be to being a top 10

26:47

player of all time or a top 10 big

26:49

men of all time. We're talking about now. The

26:52

season that's all we're talking about

26:55

compared to contemporaries playing in the

26:57

game today. And this is where

26:59

you get slick and you have

27:01

to be reeled in because

27:03

you see when you talk about today's player,

27:06

nobody complains about them more than you. So

27:09

in other words, me sitting up there and pointing out

27:11

how this dude is a candidate for defensive player of

27:13

the year, by the way, he's averaging 21 and 10

27:15

or 46% shooting from the

27:17

field. 31% but he's shooting 46%

27:20

from the field. How

27:22

about a little less? Okay, that's fine. That's fine. It's a

27:24

little less threes. But the point that I'm trying to make

27:26

to you is that at seven, five, at

27:29

seven, five, okay. He's shooting threes at

27:31

over 30%. It all improves,

27:33

but he shoots 46% from the field. He's

27:36

averaging 21 and 10. There's a couple of other

27:38

things because you like your number. So I will lift up some

27:40

numbers. One of these on track to

27:42

become just a 10th different player in NBA history

27:44

to average 20 and 10 with

27:46

three blocks per game in the season. Do you know

27:48

what the other nine are? Allow me to help you

27:50

out here. Elijah Wong,

27:54

Robinson, Kareem, Morning,

27:58

Ewing, Shaq. Bob

28:01

Lanier, Bob McAdoo, Alvin

28:03

Hayes, you like that? Okay,

28:07

that's the category that he's in, okay?

28:09

By the way, leads the NBA with

28:11

three and a half blocks per game

28:13

this year. One of only four players

28:15

average in 2010 and five

28:18

assists since the All-Star break. The

28:20

other three are Luca, Giannis

28:23

and Jokic. Now, again,

28:25

we're talking about now. We're

28:27

not talking about historically. We

28:30

get it, he's not there yet. But

28:33

when you look at today's game and

28:35

you take it to a count defense,

28:37

which when you leave first tape, you

28:39

definitely go on Mad Dog Radio, 3

28:42

to 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, every

28:44

weekday afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, on SiriusXM,

28:46

Mad Dog Radio. That's where his show

28:48

is, that's the host right there. You

28:50

always talk about, I mean, where they

28:53

gotta focus? I mean, everything is about

28:55

points, points, points. Where they gotta focus

28:57

on defense? It's not just about offense,

28:59

it's about defense. But when we

29:01

bring up Winbeiana, all of a sudden

29:04

you wanna ignore the point of

29:06

defense being an obviously integral part

29:09

of the game. That's what

29:11

you're doing, doggy, and you're not getting away with

29:13

this this morning. Well, here's the plan I have

29:15

with you. How many wins?

29:17

Great impression. We didn't bring up the wins. Well,

29:19

that doesn't count. No, not right now. He's got

29:21

18. Not for a rookie with no score. Not

29:24

for a rookie with no score. How about Alcindor?

29:26

He had nobody in his award game. Did it,

29:28

Sinead? They wanna spread things to games. Did it,

29:30

Sinead? Did it, Sinead? Okay, by the way, as

29:32

a female, one of the greatest analysts in America

29:34

right now, did it just educate you about how,

29:37

excuse me, times were different back

29:39

then. The game was played differently. Now we're

29:41

not sitting up there disrespecting the elders. We're

29:43

not doing all of that, okay? All we're

29:46

saying is that the game was far

29:48

different at that particular moment in time. And

29:50

the wilts and the creams and what have

29:52

you were practically a foot taller than everybody

29:54

they were going up against. And it wasn't

29:56

the level of parity that exists today. Not

29:59

to mention effect. face of play has changed,

30:01

it's more of an uptempo style. Not

30:03

to mention the fact that deep, you

30:05

know, from a schematic perspective, when you're

30:07

looking at sensors and what have you,

30:10

the game is power forward. You ain't

30:12

really, or now today's definition of a

30:14

power forward, a guy that's stepping away

30:16

15 feet from the basket and shoot

30:18

jump shots. Centers, yoke it, and then

30:20

be really are the only true centers

30:22

in the game, which they pointed out.

30:25

So are you listening? We hear you,

30:27

but are you listening to us? You

30:30

called them the greatest prospect of all time? I

30:32

did not say that. Who said that? I

30:35

didn't say that. Who, doggy, as much as I

30:37

want you to respond, we do have to get to break. I'm not

30:39

trying to pile this on at all, but I do want to

30:41

read a staff really fast. He's the second player with 100

30:43

assists, 90 blocks over any 20

30:45

games. Kane wins! But do you know who's the

30:47

other guy? Who's the other guy?

30:50

What was that set, I'm sorry. Second player

30:52

with a business, 90, thank you. It was

30:54

Kareem, so he's joining Kareem in the second player. He's

30:57

playing with James a tad bit better than you. Hey,

31:00

hey, I'm Molly Kareem, and thanks so much for listening

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to the First Take Podcast. Did you know that less

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Hey, Molly, Kareem here, and thanks so much for listening to

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Sports availability varies by zip code

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and requires choice package. Thanks so much for

33:06

listening to the first take, Paul. Have a

33:08

fabulous day. WrestleMania

33:12

XL takes place this Saturday and

33:14

Sunday from Philadelphia featuring a main

33:16

event between Universal Champion Roman Reigns

33:18

and the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes

33:20

will be live in studio today.

33:22

But another WWE star had a

33:24

message for Steven A. Take a

33:26

listen. Ladies

33:29

and gentlemen, my name is

33:31

not Steven A Smith. I'm

33:33

far too good looking and a

33:35

much better host. My name is

33:37

Paul Haman and

33:40

you're watching First Take. So

33:47

this critic is here by the way, Steven A.

33:50

Listen, let me tell you something. If I wanted to

33:52

do anything with wrestling, it would be

33:54

a heel as a manager, a bad manager. That

33:57

brother right. Paul

34:00

Heyman is sensational. He is the

34:02

real deal. I mean, I thought

34:04

I could talk some smack. Yeah,

34:06

I got nothing on it He

34:09

came in the studio Everybody

34:12

calm down now cuz you had swag going up going

34:14

in about that. Whoa, you don't want no piece of

34:16

that I don't want a piece of that. He said

34:18

no, he said I love that man. Yeah All

34:23

right, let's get things started in the

34:25

NFL to the NFL we go Robert

34:27

Griffin the third posted on X this

34:30

week asking his followers whether or not

34:32

step on Diggs is essential to his

34:34

quarterback Josh Allen's success in Buffalo one

34:36

fan responded essentially saying though So what's

34:39

Diggs himself ultimately responded you sure? All

34:43

right. So as I mentioned

34:45

Lewis Riddick here looking zapper I might say Per

34:48

usual I'm gonna start with you Chippendales

34:50

look today. I mean, it's very Professional

34:53

look today as opposed to you know

34:55

the usual, you know, the shipping deal

34:57

This is conservative, but you know, I

34:59

got I got a few things to

35:01

film after this today, you know, okay

35:07

We've got a few things, you know, it may

35:09

not be brick Listen

35:14

I'm here for everybody everybody I want

35:16

everybody to be successful. So I'm happy you

35:18

go you do yours I'm saying you know

35:20

that so let's okay Success

35:26

Speaking of success, do you think Stephen a

35:28

that digs is essential to Allen success? Um,

35:31

I think he is. Um, I just think that

35:34

they've missed their window That's

35:36

how I feel about the Buffalo Bills now That's

35:39

almost sacrilegious for the bills mafia and others to

35:41

hear because when you have somebody who's great as

35:43

Josh Allen There's always a chance and I get

35:45

that I'm only comparing it

35:47

fellas to what we were saying about

35:49

them Three years ago or so

35:51

after they had that divisional playoff encounter

35:53

at Arrowhead Stadium when they were going back

35:55

and forth back and forth and it was

35:58

such an incredible game and and

36:00

Kansas City ended up winning that

36:02

out. We looked at Buffalo as

36:05

being a step away. We looked at them as being,

36:07

okay, this is it, this is their

36:09

time. And then they turned around, and they lose

36:11

to Cincinnati in the playoffs. It was last year,

36:13

they lose, you know, again this year. We look

36:15

at them, and I'm saying, you see the fragmentation

36:18

kicking in. Your offensive coordinator's in, and then he's

36:20

out. This is after Brian Dable took the head

36:22

coach job for the New York Giants, okay? So

36:24

you're in, you're out. All of a sudden, there's

36:26

noise about McDermott and whether or not he's going

36:28

to last. We looked at Gabe Davis as a

36:31

number two. We liked him a lot, but he

36:33

departed. You get Curtis Samuel, but he's not

36:35

the threat that Gabe Davis is, or he's

36:37

not perceived as being that kind of threat.

36:39

Plus, we heard noise, and I reported that

36:41

Stephon Diggs was looking to leave. He wasn't

36:43

looking to stay in Buffalo entering

36:46

last season, okay, so certainly he ain't

36:48

feeling any better about them now than

36:50

he was last year. There's just too

36:52

many things going on that I think

36:56

that I believe Stephon Diggs, it's

36:58

not enough for him to overcome,

37:00

and that's where it is for

37:02

me, personally. And because of that,

37:04

when I look at them and I look at

37:06

the Jets imagining that they're healthy, I'm looking

37:08

at Miami, imagining what a threat they could

37:10

be, particularly when they're playing their South Beach

37:12

as opposed to playing in inclement weather on

37:14

the road. I'm looking at the rest of

37:16

the AFC. What is Transp-Hilah Mar Jackson? Joe

37:18

Burroughs coming back healthy. The Pittsburgh Steelers have

37:20

made some adjustments. We've seen enough from Cleveland

37:22

to know their threat. We've seen enough from

37:24

the Houston, Texas to know their threat. Can't

37:26

ignore Indy. Of course Kansas City is there,

37:28

and now Harbaugh is in Los Angeles with

37:30

the Chargers. There's just too many things that's

37:32

happening in the conference for me to look

37:34

at the Buffalo Bills in the same light that

37:37

I want to. Well, you want

37:39

me to go? Yes, you go, man. First off, now

37:41

we hear from Diggs. How about when he

37:43

dropped the pass, which would have

37:45

given Buffalo the win against Kansas City, and

37:48

he blew off the meteor after the game?

37:50

I mean, come on. Now I gotta listen

37:52

to him? When he dropped his pass, I

37:55

would have won the freaking game for crying

37:57

out loud. Ah, come on, please. things

38:00

who in the Hall of Fame in a playoff game

38:02

that pause Lewis has to be caught. Yeah,

38:05

I'm with you. I'm with okay. But see, you know, I

38:07

just want to one

38:10

other thing. Yeah, I got you. First off, he's

38:12

wrong. We're

38:15

not surprised. There

38:18

was six and six last year. Everybody wrote

38:20

the bills off. And if he catches that

38:22

ball, they might go to the Super Bowl.

38:24

Yeah. Because they could have beaten the Ravens

38:26

and they should have won this game. They

38:28

played great against Kansas City and Alan

38:31

played really well. Second half of the year.

38:33

He's young enough. There was six and six year

38:35

old. Wrote them off for dead. And they came

38:37

back and won five in a row. When you

38:39

have that kind of quarterback, you

38:41

will never, ever be out of the conversation

38:43

for being a team that can do something

38:46

in postseason play. Cause I think he's the,

38:48

I want to say third, because

38:50

burrow, I think he's top three in the AFC.

38:53

Now remember, okay. So the question is,

38:55

is big essential to Alan success? Josh

38:59

really burst onto the scene

39:01

when Stefan came into town there.

39:03

Okay. So since 2020, when

39:07

his first year in Buffalo that

39:09

being Stefan digs, he's

39:11

number one in receptions in the NFL

39:13

among wide receivers, 445

39:16

he's number two in targets. He's

39:18

number four in touchdown catches. He's

39:20

number three in first downs produced.

39:23

He's absolutely critical to Josh Allen success. Absolutely.

39:26

Now notwithstanding that play against Kansas, not in

39:28

that game. Okay. I get it. I get

39:30

it. And see, we're now we're talking about

39:32

specific moments. Now we're talking about team success,

39:34

right? So is he critical to Buffalo's teams?

39:37

Well, sure he is. Cause you see what

39:39

happens when you don't produce, you

39:41

see, you drop that pass is the difference between you going

39:43

to the Superbowl and, or potential

39:45

going to the title game. And then

39:47

look, it's, it's, it's, it's a huge,

39:50

huge thing for him to play well and for

39:52

him to be there. If he's not there this

39:54

year, let's just say for some reason, he's on

39:56

that roster this year. They

39:59

better be getting another. in this draft. If

40:01

you think they're gonna win the East, they

40:03

ain't getting there without it. Couple

40:05

of things to throw by y'all. Khalil Shakur, you

40:08

know him. Yeah. Caught

40:10

39 of 45 targets last year, 87 percent.

40:13

Averaged 15.7 yards per reception. Also caught

40:15

five or six deep passes, 20 or

40:17

more yards last season for 30, for

40:19

nearly 39 yards per catch.

40:21

Let's go to Stephon Diggs. Five game

40:23

winning streak, end of the season

40:26

for the Buffalo Bills. Five game winning streak.

40:28

He averaged five catches for 43 yards

40:31

with no touchdowns. Think

40:33

about that. Last 11 games, first six games,

40:35

he averaged 8.2 receptions per game. Last

40:38

11 games, 5.3. Receiving yards for

40:40

game, 103.3, first six games, last 11 games, dipped

40:44

to half that, 51.2. Let's think about that. 100

40:47

yard games. In last 11 games, Stephon

40:51

Diggs did not have one single 100

40:53

yard game. When I look at it

40:55

from that standpoint, I'm not

40:58

blaming him and his skill set or

41:00

lack thereof. I'm not questioning his greatness.

41:02

What I'm saying is something's missing. Somebody

41:06

that great, because Stephon Diggs

41:08

is great. Somebody that great, you

41:11

don't have those kind of numbers. In the

41:13

last 11 games of the season,

41:15

not a single 100 yard game and

41:17

your production dips from 103 to 51.2. Come on

41:19

now. Something's

41:23

not right. I just think that that's what we

41:25

got to pay attention to here. This is not

41:28

about his skill set. This is not about what

41:30

him and Josh Allen and

41:32

what they could do together. It's about what

41:34

they didn't do. It's about the frustration that

41:36

he's been wearing on his sleeve and the

41:38

kind of impact that will have because he's

41:40

saying, basically, I would rather

41:43

be elsewhere. He's really saying, you

41:46

know what? This reminds me of another situation. Remember

41:48

last year, in the second half

41:50

of the year, AJ Brown in Philadelphia went touchdown

41:52

list for a long time. I think for the

41:54

better part of maybe eight weeks, nine weeks, and

41:57

you're sitting there going, this is AJ freaking Brown.

41:59

How is he? not catching touchdown passes. And

42:01

I guess my point being this, a lot of

42:03

those things need context applied to him as to

42:05

why his production dropped. Is it because of him?

42:07

Is it because of play calling? Is it because

42:10

of defenses can make a concerted effort

42:12

to take one guy and try and limit him severely?

42:14

How much is a guy like Khalil Shakir benefiting from

42:16

the fact that we're committing to to him, we're rolling

42:18

coverage to him, you get one on ones, you're good

42:21

enough to beat one on ones. Now he's not there.

42:23

What do you think is going to happen to Khalil?

42:25

What do you think is going to

42:27

happen to Curtis Samuel? He draws a lot of

42:29

attention, a whole lot of attention, which brings us

42:31

back to the original point, which is, is the

42:33

essential? Absolutely. And if he's

42:35

not there, you better get something comparable because

42:37

otherwise you are not winning the East and

42:40

you duck for darn sure ain't winning the

42:42

ASC overall. He's not my homes, but

42:44

my home's lost till doesn't have great

42:46

receivers. He's got Kelsey doesn't

42:49

have great receivers and he didn't miss a

42:51

beat. One, two Super Bowls with let's face

42:53

it mediocre. Why not? Now, Alan is not

42:55

on that level, but a

42:57

great quarterback can figure out a way to

43:00

make receivers a little better than they

43:02

are. Last three post seasons. That's true. What

43:05

you know what probably leads us into an

43:07

even bigger discussion, which is like you

43:10

just see right there, what you just articulated

43:12

just kind of shows you just how much

43:14

Patrick on a different level. That's a

43:18

different conversation, but we still can't ignore.

43:20

Listen, last three post seasons for the

43:22

Buffalo bills, Josh Allen's those 16 touchdown

43:24

passes, not a single one to step

43:26

on digs. He can't be happy

43:28

with that. Yeah. Well, you're speaking

43:30

to something even bigger, right? I mean, this

43:33

is, this is, there's something that's going on

43:35

in this relationship in Buffalo. All right.

43:37

Speaking of the chief, let's go over to

43:39

the ASC West. As we know, after nine

43:41

seasons with Michigan that ended with the national

43:43

championship, Jim Harbaugh is headed into his first

43:46

season at the helm with the Los Angeles

43:48

Chargers. He's currently preparing for the NFL draft,

43:50

but of course he has had a few

43:52

months to take in his new coaching home.

43:54

He spoke to reporters about what the anticipation

43:56

for the upcoming season is like. start

44:00

of the new year, happy new year. That

44:02

first day of school just found out

44:05

your wife was pregnant. Hey we're gonna have a

44:08

we're gonna have a we're gonna have a child. Great.

44:10

I mean it's a lot cocked, ready to rock. I'm

44:13

just like let's go. Alright

44:17

Lewis I'm gonna start with you on this one.

44:19

Do you think that Harbaugh poses a threat to

44:21

the Chiefs and the AFC West? Yeah

44:24

he does because I mean

44:26

that which is wild man. I mean

44:28

he's a wild. But see what he said. Hey Dave Campbell

44:33

was wild too. Look he is a

44:35

good, I remember talking to John Harbaugh

44:38

this year before we did the week

44:40

18 game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh and

44:42

I was giving John his

44:44

props about just how good of a

44:46

football operations builder he is. Bringing

44:49

in coaches, changing coaches around, putting them in good

44:51

positions, how they had really then affected the performance

44:53

of the players on the field, getting a lot

44:55

out of stuff. And he had a bunch of

44:57

guys leave this year right who wound up getting

44:59

coordinator jobs. And he said you think I'm

45:02

good at this my brother is the best that there is at

45:04

that. At building organizations,

45:06

building coaching staffs, building

45:08

up players, teaching players

45:10

how to win. That's

45:12

something that's desperately been because every year we talk

45:15

about the Chargers and we talk about the fact

45:17

that this is one of the most talented teams

45:19

in the NFL that were being underutilized, underdeveloped, that

45:21

really weren't spreading their wings so

45:23

to speak to the degree that they should. He'll get

45:25

that out of them. He'll get that out of Justin.

45:27

He'll get that out of this offensive line once he

45:29

fixed the right side of it. He'll get it out

45:31

of Gus Edwards. He's going to be a battering ram

45:33

for them as a running back. And on the defensive

45:35

side I promise you this, as long

45:38

as Joey Bosa can stay healthy and Khalil

45:40

Mac are healthy, these two guys will

45:42

terrorize. They will terrorize and

45:44

Derwin James the same. Well number one,

45:46

eventually he'll get to my homes. He's

45:49

not getting into this year. Yeah. It's

45:51

gonna take a while. They have no

45:53

receivers. Eckerleaves. And I know you know

45:55

more about football than me. When I

45:57

see Bosa and Mac for this. Make

46:01

a big play in a big game on

46:03

defense. Call me. Call me. Call

46:05

me. I'm with you there. Call me. I

46:07

mean, listen, you got Herbert. He's a

46:09

very, he's one in the NFL. Eventually

46:12

they're going to be a good team. I'm not quite ready to

46:14

say they're going to challenge the Chiefs in 2024. Well,

46:16

I'm not trying. Listen, I

46:19

think that on its face, I

46:21

can't argue with you about that. What I would tell you

46:23

is this, do I get to look at a

46:25

resume? Do I get to look at

46:28

you in four years as the coach in San Francisco,

46:30

as an NFL coach, you went to three NFC Championship

46:32

games when nobody saw it coming? I think I get

46:34

to do that. Do I get to do it when

46:36

we didn't hear about Colin Kaepernick until you put him

46:38

in the starting lineup? I just do that. Do I

46:42

get to look at you restoring Michigan to national

46:44

prominence, even though that's on a collegiate level and

46:46

what have you, in terms of all the years

46:48

you were struggling against Ohio State, and then all

46:50

of a sudden you right at that ship and

46:52

you went to back-to-back postseason appearances and you won

46:55

a national championship before walking away? I

46:57

get to look at all of that. And

46:59

then I got to look at you and

47:01

your reputation and player development and how you

47:03

big up dudes and you find dudes that

47:05

nobody was anticipating, nobody was thinking about. I'm

47:08

also looking at Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.

47:10

I know these brothers can play, but

47:12

the reality is that you had two $20

47:14

million a year wide receivers that were missing

47:16

the playoffs with Justin Herbert as your quarterback.

47:18

And Andrew, he's had an obvious life to

47:20

do with that, but nevertheless, that's your reality.

47:23

And so I'm looking at a Jim Harbaugh

47:25

coming up in there and I'm saying he's

47:27

seeing all of this. Plus he knows how to

47:29

evaluate talent. And maybe he's finding diamonds in a

47:31

rough. I'm looking at a Quentin Johnson and Joshua

47:33

Palmer, Darius Davis, these are wide receivers that you

47:35

got. Never really paid any much attention to them.

47:37

Maybe he believes in them. Maybe he's looking at

47:39

them and saying, we need to get a bit

47:41

more rough house offensively. That's why we went out

47:43

and got Gus Edwards to run the football. He's

47:45

more of a bell cow coming out of the

47:47

running back spot than an Austin Echler would be,

47:49

even though I love me some Austin Echler, okay?

47:51

And then you look at what

47:53

you want to do defensively because they

47:55

had some problems last year as well. And

47:57

we know he's not going to tolerate that. All

48:00

I'm saying is when I look at Jim Harbaugh, he

48:03

gives me cause to pause and

48:05

makes me say, there's a

48:07

reason to believe if anybody can

48:09

disrupt the dominance of a Kansas

48:11

City, particularly in the AFC West

48:14

division. I think he's somebody that

48:16

figures out, I think he's the kind of guy

48:18

that's looking at it. This is who's standing in

48:20

our way. This is the- It may

48:22

not be right away. Yeah, that's my point. It's coming. I

48:24

agree with that. All right, gotta leave it there.