- 2 months ago
Scott Hanson, host of NFL Redzone, joins Willard and Dibs to preview the 2026 football season.
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00:00All right, continuing here on Willard and Dibs,
00:02it's not just any Tuesday here on 95.7 The Game.
00:05Obviously, this is the Tuesday we've all been waiting for
00:08because it's finally game week.
00:09We can finally stop saying the season is coming.
00:12But when the season does get here, I don't know about you all,
00:15this is the voice that's ringing inside my ears
00:19and obviously what my eyes are looking at.
00:22Joining us on the River Islands guest line,
00:24the host of NFL Red Zone, our favorite, Scott Hanson.
00:28Scott, how we doing, my man?
00:30Mark, good to be with you.
00:32Great to be in game week and happy new year, one and all.
00:37It is so good to hear you say that.
00:39What is the offseason like for you other than sending weekly tweets
00:43that send all of us into a frenzy about eight weeks until Sunday,
00:48seven weeks until Sunday?
00:49What has the offseason become for you in the wake of everything that you've built?
00:54You know, it's catching up on emails that I ignored from September to January
01:00or February into the Super Bowl.
01:03No, actually, offseason for me,
01:05especially when the players are on vacation like June and July,
01:08I like to travel.
01:09I like to volunteer.
01:11I like to adventure a little bit.
01:13And I still like to incorporate some football into it.
01:16So back in May, I went to Australia.
01:19I flew down to Melbourne, as a matter of fact.
01:23Or Melbourne, as the locals pronounce it.
01:26Kind of as a goodwill ambassador tour to get the fans down under,
01:30excited for this Rams and 49ers game that we're all going to watch here on Thursday.
01:36And that was great.
01:38Australians, they love sports.
01:40And there is a great chunk of society down there that loves NFL football.
01:47They are thrilled to get a game down there.
01:49They're putting it in the biggest stadium, not only in Australia,
01:53but the biggest stadium in the southern hemisphere of the world.
01:58MCG, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, more than 100,000 fans.
02:02It's going to be the biggest crowd for any NFL game this entire season.
02:07It should be a heck of a scene down there, down under.
02:10So I got to go down there and mix with the fans, get them fired up for the year.
02:13That was fun.
02:14Well, Scott, I mean, it leads to the obvious next question,
02:17since we're prepping so much for 49ers and Rams.
02:20If you've done this, what is your take on the whole body clock conversation
02:25we're having about both teams?
02:28Well, I'll tell you, for people that are into, like, the scientific diagnosis of it,
02:33we've got a great Petri dish right here between the two teams, two different approaches.
02:40You've got Kyle Shanahan going high comedy with his, well, so me, it's a Monday right now,
02:45but it's actually Tuesday down here.
02:47And then, you know, when we flew, we left it was Sunday and all of that type of stuff
02:50where McVay is coming in like, yeah, this is like a flight from L.A. to Vegas for us.
02:55We're coming in the day before.
02:57We're leaving the day after.
02:58Boom, bada bing, bada boom.
02:59We'll see which team has the good approach.
03:02And, you know, the funny thing is, we might not necessarily just see which approach works better
03:09during the three hours of game night or game morning there in Australia
03:15because the kickoff for them locally is, what, 1030 in the morning.
03:18Right.
03:19We might see it the next week or the next two weeks in terms of what impact at all
03:25does the body clock have on it based on going out days earlier or going out 48 hours earlier.
03:34I'm kind of of the mind, as a man who made that trip, you know, there and back,
03:39I'm kind of in the mind to think padding yourself with a few more days,
03:44especially in the front side of the season.
03:46It's not like these guys just played a game here, not the starters at least.
03:51I'm kind of in the mind to think that the 49ers approach is what I would do if I was
03:56a head coach.
03:56But we're all going to find out together which one might be better.
04:00I mean, when you went, how many days, how many hours until you felt like a normal human being?
04:05Well, the key is, for me at least, and I think a lot of experienced world travelers will tell you,
04:12you step on that plane in the United States, as soon as you step onto the plane,
04:18you act like it is the time and the day and the circumstances of where you're heading to.
04:25So I tried to do that on my flight from Los Angeles, where I live, to Melbourne.
04:30And that requires taking, you know, a sleeping pill or whatever else to try and sleep when you can.
04:36And I was good about a day and a half, two days in, I felt like, yeah, you know what?
04:42I'm kind of on Melbourne time.
04:44But then you would still catch yourself.
04:45There were moments where you'd have five straight minutes of like, oh, man, I'm fatigued.
04:50Oh, yeah, that's right, because it's midnight back where my home is right now,
04:54even though it's the middle of the day or morning or whatever time it is down there.
04:58So that was my approach.
04:59My guess is, look, they've got sleep specialists and athletic training staff and medical doctors and whatnot
05:05that have been running all the numbers and checking these guys' bodies out and whatnot.
05:10Both of them will think they have the better approach.
05:12I just hope for a great football game on Thursday.
05:16Scott Hanson is with us, host of NFL Red Zone.
05:19You know the deal.
05:20All of the scoring plays, all the action, every single Sunday, seven hours.
05:25NFL regular season and NFL Red Zone, by the way, available on NFL Plus as part of NFL Sunday Ticket
05:32on YouTube
05:32across all cable, satellite TV providers.
05:36If you need more info, go to NFL.com slash Red Zone.
05:39We love catching up with Scott.
05:42Speaking of preparation for games, I'd like to know what you do for yours, specifically this week.
05:49When you look at these matchups and the ones that you're going to be diving into, what is the preparation
05:56like for you?
05:57So we've got 12 games on Sunday, eight in the early window, four in the late window.
06:04And week one is one of the more challenging weeks to prep for Red Zone because, A, everyone's got a
06:11legitimate chance.
06:12We just know that by nature of the game.
06:14And, B, we don't really know who these teams exactly are.
06:18We think we know.
06:20Well, we don't know.
06:21This is when we actually start gathering real data.
06:25In the early window here, I got my eye on a couple different games.
06:29How about Bills-Texas?
06:32Yeah.
06:32Josh Allen, new head coach.
06:35You know, we think we know what the Bills are.
06:37Going to Houston to take on one of the toughest defenses, maybe the best defense in the NFL, in the
06:43Houston Texans, right out the chute, that is a potential playoff matchup.
06:47In the NFC, I've got Saints at Lions, which I think, okay, whatever.
06:53People have picked the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC South this year.
06:57Now, you might be able to do that with an 8-9 record.
07:00But, nonetheless, Tyler Shook showed some things, and then they're going to Detroit.
07:04How wide open, if it is still wide open, is the Lions' Super Bowl window?
07:10And Jameer Gibbs taking over the bell cow back roll, all three downs, he's going to be good.
07:17And he probably went number one in your fantasy draft or number two in your fantasy draft.
07:21That Saints-Lions game is a sneaky good one.
07:24We've got Ravens and Colts, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry against the Colts, who were red hot coming out of
07:31the gate last year.
07:32Remember the first month of the season when they didn't punt?
07:35Well, that's Daniel Jones' back.
07:39The Colts back at it.
07:41Jonathan Taylor, one of the elite backs in the game.
07:43That is a fun game as well.
07:45There's all kinds of things.
07:46But then you've got human interest stories.
07:48Jets at Titans.
07:49Robert Sala revenge game, if you want to call it that.
07:53They all say the right things going into the game, and yet at the end of the game, if they
07:58win that, they might just carry Sala off the field on that one.
08:02There are fun, fun storylines, and then other ones that we won't even anticipate that'll hit us during what we
08:09call the witching hour on Red Zone.
08:11And it'll be awesome to watch and awesome to present it to all of you.
08:16Can't wait for all this.
08:17Scott Hanson obviously is with us here on Weather to Dems 95.7 The Game.
08:20Scott, I do think it's funny that we like to act like you're preparing for the start of your season.
08:26I bet that August is actually your busy month, isn't it?
08:30Can you give people a sense of how many fantasy football cameo videos people like reaching out to you like
08:40crazy?
08:41I've even done it to you.
08:42Like, how many of these do you do in the month of August?
08:46Well, so this is breaking news, then, because I don't think I've said this on any other show that I've
08:50appeared on.
08:51I basically have just gotten through my busy time on Cameo, for those who don't know.
08:56Most people probably do.
08:57But it's the app or the website, Cameo, that you get celebrity shout-outs for birthdays or anniversaries.
09:04But for fantasy football leagues, I get hit up by hundreds and hundreds.
09:10The founder, co-founder of Cameo hit me up, Martin Blenko.
09:15He's a friend of mine.
09:16And he goes, Scott, you just tied a record for the most money generated in a 30-day window.
09:24Oh, wow.
09:25In the history of Cameo, which has been around.
09:27And I said, well, who else has the record?
09:30There was a few that had more than me.
09:32Jon Bon Jovi did an incredible 30-day window.
09:37And I don't know what year it was.
09:39But Jon Bon Jovi, Mike Tyson, John Gruden, he gets hit up for as many, if not more, Cameo requests
09:48than I do.
09:49And then, this is a throwback.
09:51See if you remember this name even.
09:55Carole Baskin.
09:56Oh, gosh.
09:57Does that mean anything to you?
09:58Isn't that the Tiger King thing?
10:01Yes.
10:01Yes.
10:02The woman who was the crazy woman in Tiger King who allegedly, maybe, possibly, had something to do with her
10:10husband's demise.
10:11And then, maybe, possibly, allegedly fed him to the Tigers in Tiger King.
10:16When she went on Cameo, when Tiger King was the most red-hot thing on the planet, she went on
10:22Cameo and had a 30-day run that was unlike anything that they had ever seen.
10:27And then, your boy just kind of got into that stratosphere.
10:30So, I put hard work into it.
10:32If any of your listeners got a Cameo from me, I promise you, I gave it everything I had to
10:37make your fantasy league feel like the only league on earth.
10:41So, it was good.
10:42It was a nice little financial feather in the cap, too, over the last month.
10:45I bet.
10:46I bet.
10:46Yeah.
10:47So, Scott, first of all, congrats on the record.
10:49And, second of all, nice job cleaning it up.
10:52You're way less twisted than what the previous record was, I guess.
10:58Well, hey, I do my thing.
11:01I try and keep it positive.
11:02I'm dealing with the greatest source material on earth, NFL football.
11:07And I love people.
11:09So, you know, I love talking ball and love making people's day when I can.
11:13Well, we love watching all of it.
11:15I always talk about how, to me, it's perfect television.
11:18It's absolutely the best thing on TV because, right, not just, I mean, the games, the unknown, the pace of
11:27it.
11:27It's the greatest reality show there is.
11:29And the energy you bring.
11:31Yeah, it's absolutely the best thing on TV.
11:33I was thinking about this, though, right?
11:34We're all watching football, and we know that after a game, the guys go through one hell of a recovery
11:41period.
11:41It's like, you know, they always say they go through a car accident every game.
11:46Well, you're sort of the broadcasting version of this, which is way easier to take.
11:50But what is post-red zone like for Scott Hanson?
11:54Is there a cold tub?
11:56What are you doing on Sunday night?
11:57Well, believe it or not, this is going to tell you how strange, I guess, I am.
12:04So I just came off of, you know, a seven-hour ad-lib show where I'm responding to dozens and
12:12dozens of streams of stimulus when you count the games that we've got going on.
12:16My producer in my ear, my director in my ear, my right-hand men sitting next to me in the
12:21studio giving me stats and facts and figures and all of that.
12:24Constant stimulus.
12:25So I end the show, throw to the touchdown montage.
12:28I pop my earpiece out.
12:30I go take off my makeup, change out of my suit, get in the car, drive home.
12:34I get here to my home in Los Angeles, and I have a media wall built, five big-screen televisions
12:43that I had positioned within inches of each other.
12:45I turn on all five TVs and have five different programs going, Sunday night football on the big screen, highlight
12:54show from NFL Network on a side screen, ESPN highlights going on a side screen, maybe a news program, and
13:02then like a Marvel movie or a Star Wars movie or something I've already seen that I can watch a
13:07movie on mute and not feel like I'm missing it.
13:10And I have more stimulus coming at me, and that is how I, quote-unquote, unwind from red zone.
13:16Plus a tall beverage in my hand because I've got to rehydrate after not going to the bathroom from seven
13:21straight out.
13:23Scott, you're an animal.
13:24You're an absolute animal.
13:27Yeah, what type of animal, I don't know.
13:29But, yes, I am a football animal.
13:31There is no doubt about that.
13:32That's incredible, man.
13:34I love it.
13:34Scott Hanson is with us.
13:36All right, hey, what do you think of the Niners this year?
13:38We've got wide-ranging opinions here.
13:40What do you think?
13:41I mean, look, health, health, health.
13:44It's location, location, location.
13:46And I don't mean to put those two things together.
13:47I'm not going for the low-hanging fruit that obviously is out there nationally.
13:52Look, can Kittle bounce back?
13:54Will Fred Warner be elite still?
13:56What can Bosa deliver?
13:58I think the offense is actually going to be sneaky good.
14:00I'm a Brock Purdy believer.
14:02I think you guys are going to be able to move the football.
14:06You know, CMC's got to play 17 games or as many as it takes to get into the playoffs
14:12and clinch a decent playoff seed.
14:14And then the receivers are going to have to step up.
14:17Mike Evans is going to still have to show gas in the tank.
14:19I like the young receivers that they have there as well.
14:23Look, at the Niners, it's a brutal division, especially at the top part of the division.
14:29And you've got four games this year where it comes down to it, the two against L.A.,
14:35the two against Seattle, let alone the non-divisional opponents.
14:41That'll determine if you get in the playoffs, where you get in the playoffs
14:45and where those games are played, and then you're on a couple grabs from there.
14:48But I like the Niners.
14:49I like my right-hand man, Tim Galanians, the most influential colleague arguably that I have.
14:55He literally sits within an arm's distance of me in the studio.
15:00Massive, massive Niners fans.
15:02So when I get Niners nuggets that I pass along on Red Zone, they come from Tim Galanians.
15:08He is one of you.
15:10Just know that.
15:11Bang, bang, Niner day.
15:12Let's go.
15:13Let's go.
15:14We love hearing that.
15:15And obviously when we think Red Zone, we think you.
15:17And last year we also thought Christian McCaffrey.
15:20He was so, so amazing in converting so many of those highlights that you were talking about,
15:27but coming off of just a million touches.
15:30What do you think he's got in store for us this year?
15:34It's tough.
15:35Historically speaking, CMC is in for a letdown.
15:40If you believe history, when you have that many touches, you either fall off statistically
15:45or can't manage that many touches again, or there's an injury that occurs.
15:49However, if anyone can buck that trend, I think it's Christian McCaffrey.
15:55We've seen his workout routine, whether it's posted on social media or whatnot,
16:00or you hear about all the money he puts into his body, weightlifting, plyometrics, diet,
16:06sleep science, all the rest of it to try and defy gravity and age when it comes to the position
16:13that he plays and the requirements that his offense places on him as one of the elite top 10 offensive
16:20talents
16:21in the NFL.
16:23So if you want to bet against Christian McCaffrey that he can't produce and can't get that many touches this
16:28year,
16:29do it with your own money because I won't bet against him.
16:32Scott Hanson, everybody, my friend, five days to go.
16:37Let's go.
16:38I can't wait.
16:38Let's go.
16:39Hey, you're the best for doing it.
16:41Thank you so much, Scott.
16:42Have a great season.
16:44Thanks, Mark.
16:44We'll see you on Sunday.
16:45Enjoy the season.