1-2-25 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2
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So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on RAVs, Highlanders, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places. We did not do anything exciting on New Year's Eve. I'll tell you, I was coming off of working the night before, so not New Year's Eve, of course, but the 30th into the 31st. Had a little bit of work to do, and...

This time of the year, there's always something happening with college football or the NFL. So do a little work. And we did some cooking, which was really cool. We had a delicious dinner. For those of you who listen to the show, you know that we had been splitting our Christmas celebrations between the two families about two hours apart here in Texas. And because I wasn't with my mom on Christmas Eve, I was with my husband's family.

We didn't do our traditional Italian seven fishes. And so instead we did the fish dinner, the fish and shrimp and clams and squid. And I think we ended up with five fishes. We had some octopus in there as well. We didn't quite get to seven, but we had that big dinner on New Year's Eve, which was awesome. My mom and I had done some baking earlier in the day. Dessert was delicious. It was a really great meal. It was definitely worth the wait.

And then we played a game of cards. As for those of you who love cards, we played... What did we play? Five crowns. I got toasted. And then we... I'm trying to think who won. I think my husband won by three. He and my mom were going back and forth. And then we also played a game of Catan, which is a recent introduction to my mom and her husband. And yet...

Not only was it a really long game, but my mom nearly won. She and I went back and forth and it was fun. We enjoyed it. We were still playing until just after midnight, but did take a break to wish each other a happy new year. It was cool. It was neat to be able to celebrate with family. It's funny because someone asked me, what are your New Year's traditions?

Well, my New Year's tradition is generally work and football. Having been in sports radio for the past 25 years and at the network level since 2004. So you're talking about 12 years with what is now the Infinity Sports Network and before that another network.

My New Year's Eves have generally been spent either on the air, away from family, of course, or just by myself. Not that it matters, me and Penny and the cats and whatever. But taking that night off, if I didn't have to work, just being glad that I didn't have to be out on the roads. I'm not a big go-out person on New Year's Eve. And again, it's mostly just because the last 20 years of my life...

it's the football schedule that's determined whether or not I'm working on New Year's Eve. So I'd say the vast majority of the last 20 years, I have worked on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. And that included last year. So my first New Year's Eve as a wife, my husband was with me in studio. I was doing a show. Producer Pete, what did you do on New Year's Eve?

Try to stay awake. Oh, nice. Didn't do nothing. Does your son have any idea, or does it not matter? Well, my son has been under the weather, so that aided into our not doing anything. Gotcha. But he gets a little bit. All I know is that I was sleeping right at midnight. They had to wake me up, and my son was up. Okay.

Nice. That means you're old, Pete. Oh, yeah. And it's a milestone year. So, yeah, I am old. Yeah.

No, just kidding. So yeah, the New Year's Eve tradition for me has just been football for so long. I don't remember the last time that I spent New Year's Eve with family. I'd done a few with friends, but I don't remember the last time that I'd done one with family. Maybe never since I was in high school or college. So this was really cool to be able to hang out with mom and her husband and also Bob and the dogs until the fireworks started.

It was fun. It was calm. And then, boom, the fireworks started and the dogs were all kinds of nutso, all three of them. So we've got R2, Daisy, and now Flower. And we've also got my mom's dog. They just adopted an Aussie from a rescue in Texas. And he's one year old and he is nutso. So the three of them were kind of crazy. But it was a really nice evening. And then just a lot of...

We'll be right back.

and on Saturday we'll be back home in New Jersey for the first time in over two weeks. It'll actually be 15 days that we've been gone, which is a long time. I miss my cat. I'm sure my cat will have a lot to say. Sugar is already very vocal. And then, of course, we get to introduce Sugar and Flower, and so we'll see how that goes. Flower is very eager. I don't think she even realizes sometimes that she can break things with her tail.

But she's very enthusiastic, except for right now she's very tired and she is curled up at my feet. Oh gosh, wait until I tell you the story of what happened with her on New Year's Eve.

My goodness. Happy New Year. Right. I seriously thought that I adopted a dog and then I lost a dog. Twice, actually, in the span of about 15 minutes. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Online at ALawRadio as we get set for Week 18 in the NFL. We've got an ongoing poll. Producer Pete, I love this. Ryan took the initiative and put our MVP, NFL MVP poll up and did it over the course of six days. So we can continue to gauge...

people believe is the NFL MVP. Now it's a regular season award, of course, and it will take into account Week 18, though as we're finding out, we may not see a full complement of MVP candidates on the field come Week 18. But now we're getting close to

Well, between the two social media sites, we're getting close to 2,000 votes. And right now, Josh Allen still has a very healthy lead on both Twix and Facebook. He's running about 50%, not completely, 48% on Twix. But he's right now the odds-on favorite among fans.

I don't know if that is the same as the voters, but I know they'll wait through week 18, though they won't need to worry about seeing Saquon Barkley because he will not be playing on Sunday. And I'm bummed about this because I really wanted him to at least take a shot at Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record. No doubt Eric had more to celebrate than just New Year's Eve, right? Because he had said he did not want Saquon or anyone else to break his record that was set back.

Oh, gosh, in the 80s, right? Producer Pete said back in the 80s.

84, I believe. Yeah, it's been quite a while, and he's been pretty vocal about the fact that he doesn't want to give up his esteemed place in the record books. Well, we have been waiting to hear from Nick Sirianni, the Eagles head coach, speaking on Wednesday about his plans for Week 18. Obviously, a lot plays into it. Obviously, it's a very special record that's been, you

you know, standing for a very long time, uh, by a great player. Um, it's a team record, you know, it's a, it's a team record that everybody's involved in. So you take, you weigh in all those things, but at the end of the day, um, you just try to do what's best, uh, for the team. Coach asked me, uh, you know, what I like to do. We had a conversation, um, and, you know, call me back, uh, let me know that we're probably going to be resting and, um,

My reaction was kind of like I told my family. Obviously, my family probably wanted a little bit more than me. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is winning football games and winning the playoffs. So I got a bigger goal in mind anyway. I do appreciate that Saquon has taken the team approach, and that's what matters most. I'm sure this played into it a little bit, though I can't imagine it was the reason

The linchpin, if you will, the thing that pushed it over the edge. But I do think that they want to be careful about injuries and how devastating it would be in a game that really doesn't mean a whole lot to the Eagles. They still are technically alive for that one seed in the NFC, though it would take a bunch of different dominoes dropping. But if you think about it,

for the most part, their position is secure. They've won the NFC East. They know they'll be hosting a playoff game. And if Saquon or some of their other starters were to get hurt, it would completely change and maybe even derail their potential in the postseason. And that's what it's all about. Having gotten to the Super Bowl two years ago, a lot of these same guys, not all of them, of course, not Saquon, but a lot of these same guys, they came so close. Well,

Here's an opportunity to finish up with what was an unfinished pursuit of another Super Bowl. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. I will say when the news broke, I was disappointed. That was my reaction that Saquon is not going to pursue the single season rushing record. He's 101 yards shy. And I do understand the reasons, all of them, some of which have outlined for you.

It's kind of a head versus heart thing. I was really rooting for him to set the mark after what has been an extraordinary season, an incredible campaign. The Eagles have an identity again because of Saquon Barkley. The pressure that he took off of Jalen Hurts and that Eagles offense because of the bell cow mentality and the number of carries that he was averaging per game. All of that pressure.

In more than just the yardage and the number of yards from scrimmage for Saquon, when you consider what, you know, the balls he would catch out of the backfield. But the fact that he was able to give them some stability and steadiness and

and also put Jalen Hurts time and time again on the one-yard line where they could employ the tush push and Jalen Hurts could get the touchdowns. Yeah, Jalen is, by the way, still in concussion protocol. He was injured against the Commanders in Week 16. He didn't play this last weekend. And according to some of the Eagles, they weren't sure whether or not this was the right decision, but certainly understand, and I like the way that Lane Johnson put it,

Better to be safe than sorry. Yes, it's an opportunity to make history. But if it costs them an injury, if it costs them Saquon Barkley or someone else who might get injured, who's instrumental in their run to a potential Super Bowl appearance. Well, then you look back and you think, no way it wasn't worth it. And I had forgotten about this, but I was reading about it on Wednesday. Philadelphia had a buy in week five.

I think that was...

I'm trying to remember. I'll have to go back and look at the schedule. But week four may have been the earliest. So you're talking about among the earliest bye weeks that any team can have. Since then, the Eagles have played 12 straight weekends. And so that's another reason why Nick Sirianni and the front office decided they would err on the side of caution and tried to give these guys mentally and physically a break before they kick off the postseason.

855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. Regardless of whether or not he was getting the record, fact is he's only the ninth ever to reach 2,000 rushing yards. And I appreciate so much his humility and the fact that it's not all about him. How often do we – and I'm going to pick on receivers a little bit because they can be divas. How often do we see receivers –

Maybe even tight ends demanding the football. Why am I not getting the football? I'm not getting enough touches. Or if they want to play passive aggressive, hey, I was open. Or I can make a difference. I can make an impact. I don't call up the plays. I'm not the one who dictates where the ball is going necessarily.

You hear that a lot from receivers who feel like they should have had a more critical role in a game, especially when it's a loss. How come the ball wasn't coming to me? Well, Barkley has never made a peep like that. And so I appreciate his attitude, even going back to the first time that he was back at MetLife following the split with the Giants. The fact that he just wanted to put it behind him. He was glad it was over so he didn't have to keep talking about it. He was happy to be in Philadelphia and

And yeah, it would have been even more special to break the record against his former organization. And actually he said not because of revenge, but because he has a special relationship still with so many of the people in the Giants franchise that gave him his opportunity and that helped him get through injuries and get back on the field. So I'm bummed about it because I wanted to see it happen or at least wanted to see him pursue it.

I don't feel like 101 yards was out of his reach, especially not the way they're playing and especially not against the New York Giants. But instead, he'll sit out Sunday's regular season finale. And actually in this week 18 of the NFL season, we're going to see some faces pop up that we haven't seen in quite a while. And we'll discuss that coming up. But Chris is listening in Charleston and wants to weigh in about Saquon. Chris, Happy New Year. Welcome to After Hours.

Amy, how are you? I'm good. Thank you, sir. Did you just come from Houston? No, I'm still in Houston, actually. Oh, well, I grew up there on the north side of Aldean area. Gotcha. Well, so my mom is in the Magnolia area.

Oh, that's on the other side of town. Interesting. You know what? Maybe we could all sort of not look at the injury aspect of the Saquon Barkley thing and look at it as, you know, taking the high road. Eric Dickerson, actually, he set the record in 15 games. And then he had 98 in his 16th game. So...

Maybe Saquon can just look at it and say, hey, man, you know, and then I had all my chances to do it. And it's not like he has to go out there and get five yards. He has to get 100 yards. So maybe we should all just step back from the whole subject and say, hey, you know what? Let's let these guys take. I'm not saying that they are taking the high roads, but maybe let's all look at that and say, do you see what I'm saying, Amy?

So let's all just sort of step back and say, yeah, I'd love to see him. And I love Eric Dickerson, by the way. So I understand what you mean about Eric and the fact that it was fewer games. Same time, though, the carries actually are not that far off. So if we're talking about opportunities in games, Saquon Barkley has had a ton of work in this season. And

in terms of the way that the NFL has gone over the last 15 years, say, it's much more pass-happy. So I actually think it might even be more impressive for a running back to have this type of an impact and to make this type of a mark with a team in 2024 and 2025 when so much of the NFL has become about these potent passing attacks.

but the record will stand regardless. And Eric Dickerson can be happy like the Miami Dolphins, right? Because there's not another undefeated team in 2024. But I don't think this has much to do with the high road. I think it just has to do with what's right for the team and understanding there are bigger goals. And sometimes that can be hard, but you don't play a team sport for individual goals. That's never going to work.

Social media and just media coverage, it almost feels like if you marched him out there on Sunday to not get 15 or 20, you know, or even if it was 10 yards, it almost feels like, you follow me? It feels like he's just going like the Miami quarterback who played one half just to get his record, and he got vilified.

And so if you march Taekwon out there to get his 100 yards against the team that's not breaking, I mean, I would assume they would put 12, 13 men or the whole team on the line to prevent him from getting it. So it just, it feels like a circus kind of in a way. All right. You see where I'm going with that? I do. It's like, well, and I kind of enjoy the fact that

However the decision was made, if Saquon's on board and the coach and the owner, if they're all on board and say, you know what? This is pretty good. This is pretty darn good. And let's go win a Super Bowl. That would be fun. That's the most important thing. I'm not an Eagles fan. I hate the Eagles. Yeah.

Well, that's the most important thing. Chris, thanks so much for your phone call. Happy New Year to you. I do think it's about bigger picture and a bigger perspective. And as I say, the Eagles had a bye such a long time ago that it makes sense that they're...

physical bodies and their minds would need a break. And they're not going to have a break. More than likely, they're not going to have the bye. And thinking about the Week 18 game between the Lions and the Vikings and what's at stake there. So for the Eagles, this is their chance to take a bye, so to speak. And they've done...

great work, right? They've won the NFC East. They've beaten some quality opponents. They had a long winning streak and Saquon Barkley, a critical piece in all of that. And especially now with Jalen Hurts not having played how big he was this past weekend. So all of that is important. And I,

As much as it would have been fun to see him chase the record, I get the reasoning behind it. Just emotionally, I was hoping for an opportunity to see that record be broken because it stood for such a long time. At ALawRadio, who is your NFL MVP? You can also vote by finding the poll pinned to the top of our show Twix.

at Amy after hours. It's on our Facebook page too. A lot of you checking out the podcast, our final show of 2024. It was weird. It was in chapter form. I've never seen that before. Pete, is that something new that we're doing? The chapters? Um, I, I know. I didn't know if it was a change going into 2025, but it's really interesting. There were chapters. Each segment was podcasted separately, not each hour, but each segment.

That was different. It definitely was. Yes. Yeah, it was kind of funny to see that. But whatever, as long as it's out there and it's available for people. We had fun in that show. We're now launching forward into year 13 with the network. My gosh, that's crazy to say. But so many of you have been listening since the beginning. Even if you only jumped in two weeks ago, we're glad to have you. Happy New Year to you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

The Bengals trying to win it from the three-yard line of Denver. Burrow looking to throw his pass. It is caught by T. Higgins. Touchdown, Bengals.

And the final playoff spot in the AFC will not be decided until the final week of the regular season. The Cincinnati Bengals are still alive as Joe Burrow hits Tee Higgins for a game-winning touchdown. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Classic call from Dan Horde and Dave Lapham on Bengals radio. Yes, that one happening in overtime. Unlike college overtime, which I do not like and had to try to explain to my mom on Wednesday. She didn't get it. She's not alone. Lots of people don't get it. In the NFL, sometimes the overtime can be complicated as well. But the Bengals taking care of business and getting back to 500 with that victory against the Broncos last weekend.

So a three-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. A lot of conversation about Tee.

At JPM Healthcare, check out the Amex Golf Tournament from California, Inauguration Day, and the meeting of world leaders in Davos. Plus, the first Fed decision of the year. Get ahead of the game. Listen to CNBC on the Odyssey app. I will because he may or may not be a Bengal at the end of, well, by the time this airs,

NFL year is done. So the new year actually turns over in March. So they celebrate their new year in March. But by the time it's all said and done for the Bengals, yeah, they may make the playoffs. They may miss the playoffs. But there are obviously some bigger questions about them moving forward into 25. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Teagans was really...

focal point of that particular drive as well. So it was neat to see him get his due and he keeps the Broncos from making the playoffs and sets up a scenario now where you have in the AFC

Three teams who are still alive for that last wildcard spot. The Broncos are sitting at 9-7 after dropping back-to-back games, so they had two chances to clinch a wildcard spot. They've been unable to do it, which means the Bengals and the Dolphins at 8-8 are the ones who are still alive there for a playoff spot. And for T. Higgins, this is...

what it's all about. He was a guest on Sirius XM NFL Radio talking about them clinging to hope with that victory against Denver. We had full confidence because we've been doing all year in our offense and we got the ball first. We knew we was going to have to go down and draw the ball down and score, whether it be a field goal or a touchdown. But we fell short. Defense came back out there, got another big stop, and we was able to go finish it.

The T Higgins question will be answered after the season is done right now. They've got bigger fish to fry, so to speak. And a lot of you have pointed to Joe Burrow as a guy who should be the MVP of the NFL, despite the fact that they have a record of eight and eight, but thinking about all he's done when he's been out there on the field to keep them relevant, his numbers are off the charts this season in. And so for the Bengals, again,

They've needed everything Joe Burrow can give them. And I remember earlier in the season, he said, hey, I have to play a near perfect game for us to win. This was after their slow start, right? And he's done that. He's done everything he possibly can do to keep the Bengals and to pull them along with him, to keep the Bengals strong.

in that playoff conversation. And even though their hopes are on life support here and they need other things to happen, other dominoes to drop, if you will, T. Higgins certainly understands the value of what his quarterback can do and has done. He's balling out, man. He's been balling out all year. Definitely one of the best quarterbacks I ever played with, ever. He's definitely one of the best quarterbacks in this league. So, man, he's having a hell of a year. You know, proud of him.

T. Higgins, a guest on Sirius XM NFL Radio. Yeah, the scenarios are sometimes complicated. If you've ever heard my show when we're talking about the final week of the NFL regular season, I cannot go into all of the different scenarios. There are some that are easy, of course, some where you get

Hey, you win this game and you're in. You win this game and you have a playoff spot. You win this game and you are this seed or you're this division champion. And all of those questions will be answered. We'll be back on the air on Sunday night. So be

back in studio, which I'm looking forward to, even though producer Pete and I are working together tonight, still from the after hours, super secret pillow fort in Houston. He's in our headquarters back in the control room after his holiday break. And so we can't see each other and, and,

yeah, it's just, it's more of a challenge. People ask me about working from home sometimes and I always say like, no way. It's so hard when you cannot see your producer or you can't communicate non-verbally or with hand signals, which is what we do a lot of the time. Pete, when you were,

doing shows during the pandemic. Did you all have a video feed as well so you could see each other? Yeah, well, I was with, during the pandemic, I was with DA. Right. And they had the video cast throughout the, we were doing the video cast with Andrew Kaplan. So we had that feed and then we had a Zoom where we saw each other in the four box, which was the feed that Andrew Kaplan took. So it helped.

But I was the only one here and basically talking to myself and watching them at home. So it got a little, we got a system in place, but nothing ever beats the person in the studio, the host in the studio, and the producers in the studio. That's always the best way to do it as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, I agree with you, which again is one of the reasons why I hated working from home. Not to mention I have no access to equipment. I can't even control my own microphone. And so it's just a very different situation where I mean, trust producer Pete, but you work with people that maybe aren't used to remote or used to me and remote is what we call it when I'm on a woman. I'm at a remote location doing the show. And so I get very nervous about doing a show like this, though. There

There have been a lot of shows. Forget the pandemic. There have been a lot of shows that I've done from around the country, including Super Bowl weeks over the past 12 years. So it's become a little more familiar, but it's also weird to be staring into a wall of pillows here in my mom's spare bedroom. That's why we call it the pillow fort. So this is kind of fun.

Uh, I've shared this story before, but going back to Christmas of 21. So it would have been three years ago. I was doing shows from here in Houston for the first time. It, well, I had done shows from our, our Houston affiliate. Uh,

but I had never done them from mom's spare bedroom. And now a lot of our local affiliates around the country, they don't have people who are working the overnight hours. So there wasn't someone who could let us into the building at our Houston affiliate. And so instead of going downtown, driving downtown, we had to figure out a way to do it here. But yeah,

You remember, Pete, during the pandemic and even since then, people who work from home very often sound like they are broadcasting from a kitchen or their bathrooms because the audio is bouncing off of the tile floors or the hardwood floors or the walls. And so as we were setting up our makeshift studio going back three years ago here at mom's house at the time, calling it the after hours, super secret home base.

We were working with an engineer back at headquarters and what he said to me is find pillows. Put pillows in front of you. Line the wall. I'm using a desk right for my laptop and for the equipment. Put pillows all around you so that when you speak your voice is deadened by the pillows meaning it

it's kind of softened and doesn't bounce off the walls. And he also said as many pillows as you can put around the walls, carpets that you can put on the floor, throw rugs that you can lay down. There's a couple of beds here. So there's two twin beds, one on either side of me, and there are now pillows lining the wall. So Ryan dubbed it the pillow fort, which is what it looks like. Pillows from all parts of the house. We pulled as many pillows from couches and from

beds that we could possibly find. But it does sound good. You can't tell there's no echo as opposed to, I won't even name him, but one anchor, I swear for two years of him working from home, it sounded like he was in his bathroom. It was, it was audio and echoes just bouncing off the walls. And you would hear things in some of these locations too. You would hear pots and pans or you would hear, I don't think you would hear a toilet flush, but you would hear other things that would make you believe that that person's in a different room. Hmm.

I do remember, this is going back to my previous network, one very...

well-respected NFL insider that I used to work with and I was doing a show with, and I won't name him. He's actually passed away, but he didn't realize how hot the mics were or how much they would pick up. And he would say, Hey, I'll be right back. And he wouldn't either shut the door or turn off the microphone or no one, no one would turn off the mic and he would go into a bathroom that was adjacent and you could hear the toilet flush. So, yeah. So I'm glad we're not dealing with that. That's not going to happen here.

At ALawRadio, at Amy After Hours. Thanks so much for hanging out with us. I see some of you are sending messages about this New Orleans tragedy and the Bourbon Street. We'll get back to that because we're trying to update with as much information as we possibly can. And Amy,

as hard as it is sometimes to talk about sports and to think about games or scores in the face of such a thought of, well, it's an unthinkable tragedy, but a tragedy that claimed the lives of at least 15 people and injured dozens more. I know that that's part of our job to be able to pass along the information that we get. So we'll do that.

Even now, family and friends are identifying some of the victims. We've got the latest from the authorities as they continue this investigation. And yes, as much as we know right now, the Sugar Bowl will proceed on Thursday. This portion of the show is sponsored by the new 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid that has class-leading advanced safety features like the available blind spot view monitor to make your ride more enjoyable. 855-212-4227.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Here's our latest sports update, and here's Peter Schwartz. Infinity Sports Network Sports Flash. This report is sponsored by GoodRx. For simple, smart savings on your prescription, go to GoodRx.com or download the free GoodRx app. The Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed until 4 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday following the deadly truck attack in New Orleans.

In the college football playoff quarterfinals, we'll start with the Rose Bowl. First down and goal, Ohio State at the 8-yard line, moving to our left. Going under center is Will Howard. He's going to pitch it left side, Henderson. Around to the 5, tries to get him to the end zone, does! Touchdown, Travian!

Bravion Henderson, an eight-yard score, his second touchdown rush of the afternoon, and the Buckeyes have hit the 40-point mark, 40-15 over Oregon. The call on 97-1, the fan in Columbus, Ohio State over Oregon, 41-21.

In the Peach Bowl, Texas and Arizona State went to double overtime. Quinn Ewers hit Gunnar Helm on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Longhorns ahead. And then... Now Scadaboo shifts to the left side of the quarterback, Sam Leavitt, on third down. Play action. Leavitt looks. Fires for the end zone. It's intercepted!

Intercepted. Andrew Makuba. This ball game is over. Texas is going to the Final Four. Call the Longhorns Radio Network Texas over Arizona State in double overtime. 39-31. It'll be Texas and Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl National Semifinal on January the 10th.

From the NFL, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will sit out Sunday's regular season finale against the Giants. He will not break the NFL single season rushing record. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not play in Sunday's season finale against the Broncos. Carson Wentz will get the start in his place.

NBA, the Knicks win their ninth in a row, beat the Jazz 119-103, a triple-double for Josh Hart. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double, 23 points, 17 rebounds, 15 assists. Nuggets over the Hawks, 139-120. Kings beat the Sixers 113-103.

I'm Peter Schwartz. 855-212-4227. That's the number to get in touch with us, the Infinity Sports Network. Give us a call. 855-212-4227. Turning goal from inside the one. Ball in the right half. Matthew Stafford under center. Gives to Kyron Williams. Trying to slide through the right side. Fighting through contact. And he's in! Kyron Williams!

Punches it in. It took the better part of the first half, but with three and a half to go before the break, Ben Williams has his 14th rushing touchdown. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. J.B. Long with the calls on the Rams radio network. They have already won the NFC West, and this is an impressive...

I would say backup or follow-up. How about that? Impressive encore to what they did in 23 when they made the playoffs as a wild card. Now here they are as division champions again. And think about it. They remade their offense a year ago and brought in a bunch of young players or featured younger players. Kyron Williams being one of those who had a breakout season in 23, obviously. We also got Puka Nakua as a rookie offensively.

Cooper Cup, he's been on and off the field with injuries, but when the two of them are out there and they're both healthy, it's incredible what the Rams offense can do under the guidance of Sean McVay and his staff. You think about Tutu Atwell. I'm trying to think there was someone else that was injured too. It'll come to me here in a second. But they've had guys on and off the field

And now as they are division champions and they have nothing to gain in terms of standings. I'm not telling you there's nothing to play for in week 18, but nothing to gain in terms of their status for the playoffs. They're sitting at 10 and 6. There are some seeds online. They can on the line. They could finish with a three seed if they win or tie against Seattle Sunday or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose.

Actually, a Rams loss and a Bucs victory would give LA the four seats. So they're either a three or a four. They're going to host a first round playoff game. And instead of going out there and putting all their guys at risk, instead of

playing as though it's week 18 or bust, which isn't necessarily the case. They're going to think bigger picture. And how about this? No Matthew Stafford, but Jimmy Garoppolo will play in week 18. So welcome back, Jimmy G and Sean McVay giving us the reasoning for that decision.

I'm always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team. And, you know, it might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk reward, I think it's a great opportunity for Jimmy to be able to play. I think it's also an awesome opportunity for Matthew to be able to get, you know, rested, rejuvenated and ready to roll for the playoffs. You know, he's accumulated so much experience, uh,

And I think that's the important thing. We're also saying this is an important game for us. We want to go compete to the best of our ability. Don't minimize that. But ultimately, you're just kind of weighing the pros and cons and tilted in those scales. And those are things that we've kind of done when we've been in similar situations.

I just found out the other day, a couple days ago. Kind of had a feeling as I was watching the games this past Sunday. But, yeah, it's exciting. About time just to get out there with the guys and get some real football in.

Jimmy Garoppolo rides again. How about that? Kind of cool to think about him playing again. And gosh, his career has taken so many twists and turns and side roads, if you will. But he did play in a Super Bowl. He's a veteran QB. He's still earning a paycheck as a quarterback in the NFL. And good that Matthew Stafford can have some time off.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We always enjoy monitoring Bill Belichick and his media appearances now, though I suspect there'll be fewer when we get closer to the next college football season. By the way, he denies there is a 400-page manual or 400-page booklet for UNC. I

I don't know if I believe the reports anyway, only because people can't seem to decide what the manual or the 400 pages were for. Were they Bill Belichick's musings, Bill Belichick's

plans for creating a winning team at UNC or were the 400 pages requirements that UNC had to fulfill for him to take the job. There's been multiple reports out there. So he denies that, by the way. But he's still doing some media appearances that includes Let's Go on Sirius XM with Jim Gray. And I like his perspective.

about how you've got young quarterbacks, in fact, three rookies from those most recent draft who are part of the playoff picture. Daniel's had a pretty full career. He's played in a lot of big games. It's a transfer, so he's got a good career. Obviously, SEC's

that's all NFL players. They're just not in the NFL yet, but they're, they're going to be most of them. And, uh, so the level of competition there was very high and he was ready to go. Uh, honestly kind of same thing with Pennix. You know, he had a, a long career too in college, you know, at Indiana and then at Washington and, um,

Even though he's only been starting a few weeks, he's played a lot of football and played a lot of football at a high level in the Big Ten and the Pac-12 at that time. So those guys have a lot more experience going for them than guys like Caleb Williams and Drake May and guys like that that really came out after much less experience in college.

Yeah, looking at the playoff picture right now, he talks about Jaden Daniels. The commanders have already clinched their spot at 11-5. They've won four in a row. And so they will be a wild card in the NFC playoff picture, which means they'll have to hit the road.

Let's see, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons are both still competing for the NFC South title, which means Michael Penix, who, yes, as Bill Belichick points out on Sirius XM, he has a lot of games under his belt, a lot of experience. Remember, he dealt with some major injuries, some devastating injuries during his college career. So he took a little more time and had more of his eligibility left.

as he was getting older and most recently in college competed in the playoff about a year ago and really introduced himself to casual fans and to the NFL in a big way with his performances for Washington getting into the national championship game. And then as you're talking about rookie quarterbacks, you know, it's the, it's the guys at the, at the top that he points out,

like Caleb Williams for the Bears. He's one of those guys at the top who didn't have as much experience because of a limited career where he was. But I like the fact that we're going to have some young guys who will get even more potentially experience, real-world experience, if you will. Bo Nix, too, of course, for the Broncos if they get into the playoffs. We were talking about this earlier today.

this week. But I just think it's so significant that in the NFL, the average age of the starting quarterback is now under 28. And with so many rookies starting this year, the ones we've talked about Williams and Daniels and Drake may Michael Pennix now as well. Bo Nix, that's five of them. JJ McCarthy will join the fray probably next year, though. I guess we don't know considering Sam Donald success, but at some point they'll jump in with him.

So we've seen a bunch of rookies get out there and have opportunities to play.

It's not just these guys, the ones that we were expecting, but also other guys that we've seen too in the coming out of the recent draft, right? Like Spencer Rattler. He was a fifth rounder, but now is starting for the New Orleans Saints. So the average age of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL will drop even more after the 2024 season. It's like the coaches, right? The average age of NFL coaches is also dropping. There's a just...

Such a different wave for the NFL now because of the money that goes into these starting quarterbacks. Well, the rookie quarterbacks, but especially the starters overall, just the going rate and the way that every quarterback, especially the top flight ones, will earn an even greater per annual salary or per year salary. So these teams that draft rookies in the first round, especially NFL,

at the top of the draft, they need to know what they have and they need to know what they have more quickly so that they can see how these guys develop over one year, two years, three years before they would then turn around and pay them like they are franchise quarterbacks.

At ALawRadio is where you can find me online. Also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We're going to give you the latest from New Orleans. Even in the last couple hours, more details being revealed by both national and local authorities. And also the names of victims, the identities being revealed by family and friends. And I want to share those. From Houston, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence.