01-06-25 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Mike Golic
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having an opportunity to take a deep breath and think about the playoffs too with the Super Bowl five weeks from tonight. Mike, thanks so much for a couple of minutes. Why is it important for Detroit to have the one seed for the first time?

Well, I mean, this was the most beat-up team in football. There's mass units every year. The 49ers were certainly a mass unit, but Detroit had more defensive players on IR than any other team. You know, you're looking to get a David Montgomery back. Terry and Arnold, the cornerback, hurt his ankle tonight. Kevin Zeitler hurt his hamstring tonight. So getting an extra week, I think, you know, a player or a team can justify having an extra week or not by saying, oh, we have momentum if we didn't get the extra week, or hey,

We need the extra week. Detroit really needed the extra week. Out of all the teams getting the extra week, they were the ones that really needed to get more rest out of players. I heard you and Ryan lauding the atmosphere there in Detroit and the fans, of course, who've waited so long for this. They trot out an A-list of celebrities tonight and lots of roars from the crowd. So what was it like to be in the building as they take another step toward history? It was...

unbelievably loud. It was as loud as we have ever heard that stadium. And even with Minnesota, you know, the team trying to buy up 1900 tickets for $2 million to sell to their patrons and put behind their bench. They were trying to grow the purple crowd there. But the Detroit crowd was just so loud. And I think there were two or three Minnesota delay a game. So

They were very effective in their cheering, that's for sure. There were a couple of important fours in this game. So Jameer Gibbs goes for the four touchdowns, but also 0-4 in the red zone for the Vikings. And they had so many snaps from inside the five. Couldn't...

Could not get into the end zone. What stands out about their failed attempts deep down inside? Well, that was amazing. And they were deep in the red zone. You're talking like the 5-4 yard line. And two times they go on downs and two times they end up kicking field goals.

of the four sides of the ball, the Viking offense defense, Detroit offense defense, the Detroit defense stood out the most because the Detroit defense was the most maligned. From weeks 14 to 17, they've given up 32 points a game, 428 yards a game, 321 passing yards a game. They had just not been good the last few weeks, and they absolutely stepped up tonight. Pressure on Sam Donald was four.

timely blitzes, not letting the Minnesota receivers get yards after the catch. They were really fired up and played well. If you are a defense that has to try to slow down and contain Jameer Gibbs, Mike, how do you do it? And it's not just Jameer Gibbs. The offensive line is phenomenal. It's just leaning on the defense. Laporta and Brock Wright are excellent blocking tight ends. They have the line and the tight ends.

to lean enough on the defense for Gibbs to be able to find a hole. And listen, he's been used to splitting time all year with Montgomery. Two games ago, he had 25 touches. Last game, 25 touches. Tonight, he had 28 touches. So he has kind of morphed into the running back carrying the load with no problem. Four touchdowns. I mean, it was incredible. And it was pretty impressive the number of times that he got through the line untouched.

Well, yeah, he actually leads the league in yards before contact and yards after contact. They're over two and a half each. And he started the game, his first six carries, he had one yard. And he ends up with 23 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns. So, again, it's a credit to him, but it's such a credit to that offensive line and tight end as well.

We're excited to have Mike Golick with us on Sunday night after the NFL wraps its regular season. 272 games ends with the Lions and the Vikings on Westwood 1, and he called it with Ryan Radke. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Yeah, can you remember back to your playing days, Mike, what it was like when the season was done after all of those games? 272, physically and mentally, what does that feel like?

Well, it's amazing because there are some teams that were still playing in it, but for the most part, teams knew they were out of it. So,

quite honestly, you're playing to put good play on video and not get hurt. So you're not rehabbing in the offseason. For a team like Atlanta, they were playing to still play the following weeks, and then as soon as Tampa Bay wins and they go to overtime, they know they're out of it. You go from thinking you have a chance to make the playoffs to cleaning out your locker tomorrow. I mean, it can be that quick. And I mean, you know...

The next day, you're cleaning out your locker. The team won't be the same next year. Will you be on the team next year? Will you be somewhere else? For the teams that are in the playoffs, it's business as usual. Whether you get the week off or not, you start preparing for your next opponent. You go in, you work out, you have meetings, you watch tape. It's kind of, like I said, business as usual. But if not, you start your offseason, and every player of the 53 on the active roster is in a different situation.

What would you rather have, Mike, a trip to the playoffs, knowing that you've got that when the regular season wraps up, or a $6 million incentives bonus? Oh, man. I mean, listen, being a team sport, I'd rather go, my wife would rather me have the $6 million bonus for sure. That's a lot. I mean, that's amazing. But listen, making the playoffs and making the Super Bowl is the name of the game.

We've got a ways to go, but just for fun, imagining what it would be like to have either the Lions or Vikings in the Super Bowl from the NFC and the Bills with teams that have never won it before. Wow.

Oh, especially Minnesota and Buffalo both losing four and knowing one of them is going to get off to snide. I mean, that would be something that you'd get a first-timer. Same, obviously, if Detroit made it. But listen, all three are certainly capable of being there and winning, no doubt about it. It's a pretty wide-open field.

Got a couple of teams that are back in after what have been extensive droughts, like the Denver Broncos haven't been there since Super Bowl 50. The Washington Commanders, they end a drought as well. So we've got the schedule. What's a game that jumps out at you immediately? I was talking about this at the end of the game. I look at the two seeds, Philadelphia and Green Bay and Buffalo and Denver, because two seeds you have to play. You don't get that by, but

Philadelphia and Buffalo could easily, easily make and win the Super Bowl, yet they have an extra game. You just don't want to slip up. You don't want to take it for granted. You're in the playoffs. You shouldn't, but it's just get out of that first game and stay in your rhythm. While we're talking about new entrants into the playoffs, of course, the Chargers are back too. And so I wanted to ask you, I'm sure Jim Harbaugh is in that conversation, who would be your coach of the year at this point, Mike?

You know, even though they lost tonight, Kevin O'Connell has to be right up there, right? Even though they're the fifth seed, 14-3 is a hell of a record. You know, Sam Darnold had a monster year. Didn't have a great night, but had a monster, monster year. And finishing 14-3 is just an absolute... I don't think any pundits... I know I didn't pick them to go 14-3, let alone make the playoffs. Mike? Mike?

Okay, I was just under a bridge.

Nice. Yeah. So you mentioned Kevin. We got most of that answer. If you have a vote for NFL MVP, now that the regular season's wrapped up, which way are you going? I would go Lamar Jackson. I mean, I know everybody says it's between Lamar and Josh, and I don't want to hear the argument that Lamar has a couple. So give it to Josh. That's a ridiculous argument. I think Lamar should get his third MVP. He's just had an unbelievable year.

Mike Golick is with us from Detroit now that he's from underneath the bridge. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. A team like Pittsburgh that really has played poorly getting into the postseason. They go on the road at a division rival. These two teams that know each other really well. What do you think about that Saturday night game? And that's the game Ryan and I are actually calling. I just think Baltimore's offense is obviously good. The defense had given up a lot of passing yards throughout the year, but had been playing better.

it's just a matter of Pittsburgh can score with them. That's the whole thing. How many points can they put up? Because their defense is tough and their running game is good, but can they match score for score on Baltimore? I think that's going to be the important thing for Pittsburgh. My niece lives right next door to that stadium in downtown Baltimore and she went to one of the last regular season games. I think it was week 16 where it was super cold. I know

you played in some cold weather, but are you prepared for what could be bitter colds? It's horrible, but I feel as a former D lineman, I have to have the attitude like I don't wear a winter coat. Now, I won't go sleeveless. I won't go that far.

Like I did when I played, which was really stupid. You know, you thought you had to be tough when you didn't think playing in the NFL was tough enough. I wouldn't wear sleeves. I'll wear sleeves, but I won't wear a winter jacket or anything like that. I'll try and be tough.

Mike, from a player's perspective, when you have a coach that gets fired after one year, like what we're seeing with the New England Patriots, this is coming on the heels of Belichick being planted there for 20 seasons in New England. What's the reaction when that happens?

I'm stunned. I mean, obviously, everybody's looking at Mike Brable, but I'm somewhat amazed when you do that for one year, and now you have to change the whole thing from head coach to assistant coach to systems offensively and defensively. It's so difficult. And I know the commissioner had been talking from the side of the NFL of owners being careful of,

having to pay too many coaches. How many years does Gerard Mayo have left that they're going to have to pay him? Now they're going to be paying a couple of coaches. It just gets to be a tough situation.

We seemingly have seven, eight coaches that get fired, head coaches that get fired every year. At what point does it just become ridiculous? Well, I think it does because, again, I mean, you don't get any continuity at all. And as I said, you're not just changing a head coach. You're changing coordinators. You're changing assistant coaches. You're changing philosophies. You're changing culture. Then with new free agents, I mean, there's just so much change. It's tough to build on anything, see?

I'm off the top of my head. I'm trying to think of the last coaches that, that,

our team did well when they just change a coach. You know, there's got to be some continuity unless the coach just completely loses the locker room, you know, where it's just horrible to go to work and it's just not meshing. I just, I don't understand, especially after a year of how you don't let, let it kind of marinate a little bit. You would think the league, some of the owners had learned from the Carolina experiment after all of the coaching changes. I'll,

Mike, before we let you go, big Notre Dame guy, of course, and the Irish are into the Final Four of this expanded college football playoff. What does Notre Dame have to do to beat Penn State and get to the championship game? Do what they've been doing. Run the ball well and play great defense. The one thing that I wonder about, the passing game. If Notre Dame...

gets behind in the game because they haven't really been behind in the game outside of Northern Illinois. They haven't really been behind. So what happens if they get behind and have to throw themselves back into a game? I'm hoping they don't get in that situation, but that's still kind of a question mark if they have to

pass themselves into a game, how they'll do. But they've been running the ball so well, the defense is fantastic. So I see a low-scoring, hard-fought game with Penn State. That's coming up on Thursday night. So is 12 teams enough for college football, Mike? Yeah, I know in 26 they're talking about going to 14, but I'm glad they expanded to 12. They need to tweak it a little bit. They need to not have the conference champs have an automatic buy.

You can just rank them in the top 12 and just have a final swap 12 ranking and seed them that way. I think because when there was a four-team playoff, remember, it wasn't long ago, obviously, a four-team playoff, three bowls were involved, two in the semis and one in the championship game. I think the first round in the 12 teams should be home field, and I think second round, the teams that got a bye should be home field.

should have home field as well. And then you have semis and finals, and you have three bowl games involved, just like you do with a four-team playoff. Because I do think the teams that get the bye deserve to have a home game as well. Fresh off of Westwood One's call of this big game in Detroit where the Lions grab the 1C, Mike Golick alongside Ryan Radke. They'll have the game on Saturday night between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. And are you waking up in a few hours to do your show with your son?

Yes, I am. I'll go get a few hours of sleep and then we'll get up and we'll talk football for a couple hours. Do you believe you were wrongfully terminated for speaking up against your employer? Wilshire Law Firm isn't afraid to go up against corporate giants and will protect you every step of the way. Get justice and feel safe. Call the experts at Wilshire Law Firm at 1-800-800-3333.

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