The Drive with Jack
*Marty Makinen & Larry Herman discuss the Detroit Lions & more
(upbeat music) - Jack, I believe you're my good friend, Matt Sloatt, grab a Volcomist, lots of excitement at the two dealerships. What's new with Chevy and Nissan? - Well, Jack, great question. At Nissan, everybody seems to be talking about interest rates. We're offering 0% financing on new vehicles, and we have the all new completely redesigned 2025 kicks on the lot and ready for delivery. It is fantastic. At Chevy, same thing. People are talking about interest rates. Guess what? We have 0% financing on new, and as low as 1.99 used. You gotta come check it out. - Great time to get a car and great place to do it. Grab a Volcomist. (upbeat music) - Oh, welcome back. It is the drive with Jack the Spotlight Radio Network. Jack Ebling here with my producer, Boston Rob. Michigan State basketball today, kind of lackluster effort. 80, 62 win over Western Michigan. Pulled away late, had a 13-point lead at halftime, and then kind of on a treadmill for a while after that. Michigan State hockey tonight against Western Michigan. Number one, and number six in the nation, going at it for the Great Lakes Invitational title, but so much focus on the Detroit Lions and what they're going to do tonight out in Santa Clara and what they should be trying to do with the importance or lack thereof for this game, knowing that everything will be on the line next week when Minnesota comes into Ford Field. Very happy to welcome in a pair of distinguished economic leaders and guys who I do podcasts with on a weekly basis. Marty McEnan from Bethesda, Maryland, and Larry Herman from Southern California. Guys, the Lions and the Niners. This is not the game we thought it would be in terms of importance. Larry, as you look at where the Lions are, you want Dan Campbell to be resting some people? - You know, I would want him to be resting people, and I think that it would be the smart thing to do, but Dan Campbell's successful doing what he does. And if he worked to change what he's doing, it might actually change the chemistry in that locker room and out in the field. So what I'm hoping is he's gonna, as he's claimed, put the starters out there, they build up enough of a cushion and he feels comfortable taking a lot of the starters out and sort of dialing back on some of the players and they certainly avoid any further injury. - Marty, it only takes one play to get hurt and it can be in pregame warmups. But if this is a competitive game in the second half, would you expect to see Jared Goff taking steps? - I'm hoping that we'll see Hendon Hooker at the end of the first quarter. - That would probably be a good idea, or hey, Teddy Bridgewater, right? Is he in uniform tonight? - I hope he's in uniform, bring him in for the second half. So let Hooker get hurt either. - All right, Marty, thinking back to where we were in January, we had a great time out there, except for the second half of the football game. Thinking back to that night and what you were thinking, you were sitting in the stands, I was up in a press box, but what Alliance led 24 to seven, what do you think, and this is it? The going to the Super Bowl. - Yeah, I mean, that certainly crossed my mind and also crossed my mind that Kendall Vildor might have put his hands around that ball instead of letting it hit him in the face mask. And we might be talking about a repeat. - Larry, how much do you think the Lions are thinking about that game, have thought about that game? Do the coaches try to make them understand what happened there, has no relevance to now? Do they want it to sting a little bit? What happened there? Do you think they've watched that game as a team? Do you think they've just said, hey, that was then, and this is now? - Well, I think probably the point of the game all year long, and even up to yesterday, we thought that the game might actually mean something really important. So it's really hard to dial that down after you've been saying, okay, this is our chance for revenge, our chance to show where we belong in the number one feed and all that sort of stuff. So, but on the other hand, I mean, I'm always impressed by how most of the players and all the coaches are sensible and don't let emotion get the better of them. I mean, some players do unfortunately. So I'm hoping that Campbell's gonna be able to say to them that, look, we wanna win this game, but this game is the least important game for the rest of our season. So let's not do anything foolish out there. - All right, Marty, the idea that the Lions here could be a 14 win team and be a five seed. That is inconceivable. It never happened in national football league history, but it's either gonna be Detroit or Minnesota in that situation, right? - Yeah, and don't win tonight and don't win next week, yep. - Yeah, so when you think about the importance of getting that top seed and home field advantage, how much of the significance is having another week to rest with all these players and all trying to come back and how much of it is playing at home when you consider that this team has lost both of its games at Ford Field and they're perfect on the road, Larry. - Look, in terms of getting people back and having an extra week to, not only for the people who are out, but for even the people who have been playing every week, I think that that extra week is really, really important. But on the other hand, I don't know the statistics you might have them at hand, but my guess is that no more than half of the teams' lives have gone on to win at Super Bowl, so it's not like it's an absolute requirement. So, it would be really good to see them win next week. They're gonna be playing a really tough Minnesota team. I was really impressed in Minnesota through most of that game, the majority of that game, but I do think the Lions have what it will take to beat Minnesota, they've already done it, and I'm just hoping that they can find, that Aaron Glenn can find the right formula to get some pressure on Sam Darnold because that was the key to yesterday's game, the fact that Packers put no pressure on whatsoever. - Marty, when you think about the Minnesota game and where the Vikings have kinda come out of nowhere, I don't think most people thought they would finish first or second in the NFC North, and here they are, maybe along with the Washington commanders of being the best story in the year, how has Kevin O'Connell done this with the quarterback off the scrap heap? When J.J. McCarthy went down and we saw what rookie quarterbacks have done some other places, I said, well, that's it for the Vikings. They're gonna make Darnold the quarterback, and Darnold has played well enough now that he's gonna get a big contract somewhere. - Yeah, he sure well, and he has played extremely well, and he looks like where he was originally drafted. So he's sort of another Jared Goss story. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, and there are a lot of those. Larry would think about the quarterback who beat the Lions in Ford Field, and a guy they may have to face again down in Tampa. You see, sometimes the quarterback, it takes a little bit longer, and maybe you can throw a Baker Mayfield in that conversation. - Or Gino Smith, even though we beat him this year, we didn't beat him last year. You know, there are a lot of, we sometimes don't give enough credit to these quarterbacks who have experienced, and just haven't had success for a variety of reasons. But if they've got the arm and they've got the physical skills, and they've got the intelligence, because the quarterback position today is not the quarterback position of Terry Bradshaw's day. You've gotta be a nuclear physicist type of guy in order to run that offense unless your physical skills are so exceptional. And these guys, once they're successful, they get study and study and study. So when the right opportunity comes about, which is what happened for Sam Darnold in Minnesota, they are able to find success. And that's a wonderful thing, just like we feel so good about Jared Goff. They have a right to feel good about Sam Darnold. - All right, Marty, I wanted to play the percentage game, and we do this from time to time on Beyond the BS. But let's say the Lions get past the Vikings next Sunday, and they are the one seed. They have a week off regardless of who they play after that. What percent chance would you give them of winning the Super Bowl? - I would give them a 40% chance of winning the Super Bowl. - All right, let's say they lose to Minnesota next week and drop their third home game of the year and have to go on the road and let's say they wind up playing the Bucks again in the first round. What percent chance would you give them then of ending this drought? - It's 67 years. - And I think it drops way down to about 15%. - Okay, Larry, what do you think about those numbers? - It's funny because I was thinking exactly 40%, just like Marty was. If they have the buy. But I'm thinking that even if they don't beat Minnesota, but let's assume that they don't expose any additional weaknesses or have any additional injuries, I would say that they still have a 25% chance of winning. They have that extra week that they've got to play, which is going to be really harmful, but potentially harmful to them. But we don't lose against Minnesota. I think they have a good chance. It's just that they have to play that extra game. So I'll put out only the 25 and not the 15 like Marty did. - Larry, is there any team in the National Football League that you think would be a favorite over the Detroit Lions right now? - No, I don't think so. I think that they'd be favored in any game that they're playing. Certainly, I see that they're favored now by two and a half against Minnesota. That line has gone down from the original three or three and a half, at least to the side I looked at this morning. And I'm pretty sure that they will be favored over Philadelphia even if they get their quarterback back. So I don't see any team in the episode that they would not be favored against. - Marty, what about Kansas City or rematch with Buffalo or even the Ravens? If they met the Lions in the Super Bowl, do you think the Lions would be favored? - I think it'll depend on how the games have gone that get them there if any one of those teams, I think the Lions are even with all those teams that you just mentioned and what path they take and how they play in those games and what injuries any of the teams suffer as well. Of course, they will have all won if they meet in the Super Bowl. So it won't be a difference of winning or losing, but how they've won. If Kansas City continues to play with this, sort of lucky and winning by a few points all the way to the Super Bowl and the Lions were trampling all over their opponents, including the Eagles on the way there, then I think the Lions would certainly be favored over Kansas City. - All right, gentlemen, switching sports for a minute. They've been waiting to see who the Tigers will acquire, who they will add to the mix. And now with the signing of Torres from the Yankees. Larry, Southeastern Michigan has always been a union area. Do you think they're gonna have a big crusade with organized labor? - I think that he's gonna be a fan favorite whether we're talking about unionized workers and non-unionized workers in Detroit. And I think the Tigers have picked up a terrific acquisition because here you've got a guy who's betting on himself. He really wants to have a good year and I know every player wants to have a good year, but here's a guy who's turned down wheelbarrows full of money in order to have one good season as a one year free agent. I can't imagine picking up a better acquisition than that for a team like the Tigers who after that one year if he leaves us and if other players develop, we've got a sense of potential talent on the infield so we'll be in good shape. - Marty, you've seen Torres play when he's come into a DC area and you watch the Yankees enough. Do you think he is enough for the Tigers or are they gonna get somebody else? - I think they're gonna try to get somebody else. I think they're still in trying to line up that future Hall of Famer from Houston. - Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And we'll see where that goes. And then they're still some bats out there that they could go for as well. So I think they're gonna make another move. - Larry, do you want another bat? Or do you want a number two starter? - I could always use another starter, but I think that their priority right now is to get another right handed bat in there. So I'll tell you what, unlike Marty, I'd be very happy if they could give Alex Bergman for a reasonable price, but I wouldn't be desperate to get him right now. I think the Tigers are even right now, given the recovery from injuries that they have for the pitching staff and the talents that they have right now, unless we have another terrible start like last year, which I don't foresee, I think we're gonna be very competitive and maybe even leading the division for much of the year. So I'd be happy with what we have right now. - All right, we're talking with Marty McEnan and Larry Herman, distinguished international economists and die-hard Detroit fans. Also, big-time college fans, both with U of M Allegiance and Larry, one of those weird guys who is Michigan State and Michigan backgrounds and degrees. A lot of good basketball. I think Michigan is much improved. Marty, how could they not be after last year? But I think they're gonna be relevant and entertaining and are fun to watch all year. Michigan State and Michigan and UCLA, the only teams in the big 10 that are still undefeated in league play. But I wanna talk college football for a minute. Marty, Michigan going up against Alabama tomorrow in the Relia Quest Bowl. I'm betting if you had told the players from either one of those teams before the season started that hey, you're gonna face Michigan or you're gonna face Bama in Florida, they would have thought it would be in the Orange Bowl. - No kidding, this is one of the most irrelevant of Michigan Alabama matchups of all time. - Yeah, yeah. What do you think, Larry? How interested are you in this game and what do you think we're gonna see? Joe and Milro still gonna play for Alabama. - Yeah, I'm sorry to say my interest is more than Wayne. I haven't watched a college ball game. I'm not talking about the first round of the playoff games all year and my sister-in-law sent me a picture from the Holiday Bowl where her high school or her husband's high school marching band was featured and all I could see were empty seats. Nobody's sitting there. So I'm even wondering how many seats are gonna be sold at the Orange Bowl for the, for the Michigan is not at the Orange Bowl. Where are they playing? - Play in Tampa for the Reliac West Bowl. - Right, by the way, the stadium's calling. Sorry, in any case, I'm wondering if they're gonna sell out or whether that stadium's also gonna be half empty. - Yeah, Edward James Stadium there. It's a pretty interesting stadium actually, home of the Bucks. Marty, what do you see as the first upset? We're gonna see in the college football playoff chalk held last week, the five through eights at home. Beat the nine through 12s. They don't have home-filled advantage this week. Are we gonna see an upset? And what are you looking at as a national championship game? - Hmm, I would really like to see Boise State win so that we can see Gente a couple of times. - Yeah, yeah. I wanna see Boise State and Arizona State be for the championship and see Gente and Scatapoo go at it. I think that would be a throwback and big fun for people who don't care about seeing 500 passing yards. Larry, what do you think? What are we gonna see in the second round? - Look, I think that the game that everybody wants to see at least that I wanna see is the Ohio State and Oregon, especially with Ohio State apparently being savored in that game and my guess is that you'll hear a lot of talk that this is gonna be the true national championship game. I don't know whether it will be or not, but the winner of that game almost certainly will be favored, maybe even slightly, but will be favored to make it. Also, although I'm not rooting for them, Georgia, who almost missed, he was gonna miss the playoffs, against Notre Dame, I fully expect Georgia to win that game and it would be quite a story if they go ahead and they end up winning the national championship after having, you know, with the passes that they've taken. But I'm still gonna say that, I think Texas has a great chance, so I guess I'll go with, I'll go with chalk in the quarterfinals and by chalk, I'm gonna go with Oregon over Ohio State, even though Ohio State is favored, and then the others, Texas over Arizona State, even though Arizona State is a higher seed, and Penn State, I think, is gonna handle Boise State. - Okay, Marty, you know a little bit about Nike, you have a running background, extensive. Do you know how many different uniform combinations the Oregon Ducks have? - I do not know that, that fit your butt, but it's high, it's a big number. - Do you know they have added a new one this week? - No, I did not know that, what are we gonna see? - You're gonna see a winged helmet? - Oh, well that's nice, that'll distract the Buckeyes and make them have catatonic seizures there. They would look out and see those out there, go, no. - Yeah, yep, I can feel the collars getting a little tighter on those scarlet and gray outfit. - All right gentlemen, great to talk with you both, look forward to a big week of sports here and we'll talk to you early in 2025. - Happy New Year, Jack, happy New Year. - Hey Spartan fans, when you want the largest and best selection of Spartan gear, Alumni Hall is your ultimate shopping destination. Come get your officially licensed gear, Nike, champion, Columbia, Yeti, new era hats, tailgating gear and more, MSU students, faculty and military receive 10% off in store every day, and you can earn cash back with their haul pass rewards. Alumni Hall, located at Eastwood Town Center near the Apple Store, or shop anytime at alumnihall.com. 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