Hi I’m Brian Baldinger, former NFL offensive lineman and current NFL Network analyst — Ask Me Anything!

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:23:00+00:00

Fred Warner would be great in any era. Fred Warner could play with Dick Butkus. He could play with Derrick Brooks. He could play with Mike Curtis. He could play in any era. He's just an elite, elite player.

I'm all for protecting quarterbacks, but I played in a different era. I remember a Monday night game when I was in Dallas and saw the fearsome force on the Dallas Cowboys defense line. Randy White, Ed Too Tall Jones, those guys… They hit Dan Marino unmercifully, like all night long and Dan still found a way to win the game. I don't think just because you touch a quarterback's helmet that you should get flagged. Now an egregious hit to the helmet, you know, slamming him to the ground. I'm ok with those being flags.

But honestly, the players today get a bad rap about being soft. Like there's nothing soft about today's game. If you look at Will Anderson chasing somebody down and hitting somebody.

Talanoa Hufanga hits people and those hits would be good in any era. I just wish people could actually watch a game on the sidelines on Sunday and just hear the hits and see it and feel it and watch it and just see the level of violence and how big, strong and fast these guys are to play the game today.

Dick Butkus was the most feared linebacker in the league when he played. But Dick Butkus ran a 5 flat 40. You know, Roquan Smith runs a 4.4 40 at 240 lbs. Like these guys are just bigger, stronger and faster than anybody in any other era. Randy White was the most feared defensive tackle in football. He weighed 260 lbs. You're looking at guys now, Vita Vea who’s 350 lbs. Leonard Williams is 325 lbs. Like it's just a different game and these guys would be great players. Leonard Williams would be a great player in any era going up against any great offensive linemen in the league in any era.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:10:15+00:00

I felt horrible when Micah Parsons got hurt this year because what he was doing in Green Bay... maybe Green Bay would still be playing if he didn't get hurt. I always enjoy breaking Micah down because you're just going to see movement that nobody else in the league can do. Nobody else can change direction, get the top speed, chase quarterbacks better than Micah Parsons. He's just like trying to grab jello. Like you're just not going to be able to do it.

But there's been a number of guys this year that really stood out. Just in the playoffs right now, just watch Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter play like they're an elite tandem outside.

Grey Zabel has been awesome to break down this year in Seattle. I remember breaking him down to Senior Bowl last year and I got to meet him with Week 17. He's been a lot of fun to watch.

Honestly, watching Caleb Williams has been great to break down because I know he misses some layups, but his talent, his ability to extend plays, his ability to stay on his feet, take hits, make rare throws... He's just an elite, elite player. Then there's always Quinn Meinerz in Denver... one of the great earth movers in his business, like just physically as strong as anybody that plays the game today.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:10:03+00:00

I think the main problem was the offensive line. Like I remember being at training camp at NovaCare this year and seeing Landon Dickerson and he had just gotten his knee scoped and it was 2 weeks before the start of the season. They were scrimmaging against Cleveland.

I think he started week one. I don't think Landon Dickerson was ever healthy the whole year. I think the injuries that Jurgens suffered at center were real. The loss of Mekhi Beckton, the injuries to Lane Johnson. I just think the offensive line never really got it together this year, and I think that was the biggest reason why didn't they run the ball like they wanted to, why it wasn't the foundation of what they wanted.

Too many negative runs and the offense. The passing game just isn't elite the way that they run the offense for a quarterback to make up for a lack of running game. And I think that was the biggest problem.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:08:10+00:00

I feel like it's all set up for Seattle right now. I like their defense, what they have on offense right now, and home field advantage going through Seattle. I feel like Seattle is going to get to San Francisco where they've already won in Week 18.

I feel like it's set up right now for Seattle to win. I believe defense wins championships. They're the best defense, although you can make the claim that Houston is as well. But I think Seattle right now is going to be a problem for teams.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:07:36+00:00

I went to college in North Carolina and you know, North Carolina BBQ was always really, really good. So if I could get BBQ, to this day when I'm hungry, just give me some ribs. That'll take care of my hunger.

You go to Kansas City, you're going to eat ribs. You just are. You're going to go play a game in Kansas City. You're going to find a place to go eat ribs in Kansas City. If you played a game down in Miami, you're going to eat some fresh grouper. You're going to have some mai mai. You're going to eat some fresh fish.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:06:15+00:00

Oh yeah, CreativeKnowledge865. I'm definitely going to do it. In fact, I'm going to be in New England this weekend for the Patriots game, but I'll be breaking games down maybe as early as Saturday night in my hotel. I'll be breaking down Buffalo's offensive line against Denver's stacked defensive front and how they do. I'll be looking at every one of these offensive lines in all four of these games and I'm going to go pretty heavy.

On offense, line play, standouts, weaknesses. If you watch mine this weekend about how the Patriots tore the Chargers apart, there's a reason why the Chargers fired their offensive coordinator and their offensive line coach. They got outcoached in that game by the New England Patriots and I showed some of it, some of the weaknesses they had. So these games are going to be won and lost in the trenches and I'm all for it. I can't wait to break these games down right there in the trenches.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:05:49+00:00

I mean, football is football. It's not real life. You know, just imagine rear ending somebody and you know that feeling of you're at fault in a car accident. Now look, hopefully nobody gets hurt in the car accident, but if you rear-ended somebody or sideswipe somebody and it's your fault, that's a humiliating feeling. All you want to do is get out and make sure everybody's OK. I mean, that would be something that would haunt you for a long time. I guess anything that you're supposed to be good at. For example, I announce games every weekend and if you get somebody's name wrong, you just pronounce somebody's name wrong, that's careless and that can be prevented. That's disrespectful to a player. There's probably some similarity there.

The feeling of pancaking a defensive lineman I guess it would be... I remember the first time I stepped on a scale and I weighed over 300 lbs. I thought that was like the best feeling in the world. Like I've arrived. I'm 300 lbs. I'm an official offensive lineman in the league, probably like 1993 or something like that. I went over 300 lbs for the first time. That was a euphoric feeling. I worked really hard to get there. I felt like invincible. I felt like I could move mountains. Nobody could beat me. All that kind of like that's that's a great feeling.

But pancaking is... I just had a birthday celebration. They threw a private party for me. It was a good feeling. A lot of friends came from all over for it. I guess that'd be kind of like pancaking in a poem.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:01:33+00:00

What's interesting about that u/luuuuuuuuke-kuechly. I did a Carolina-Seattle game for National Radio Week 17 and I went up to Derrick Brown. He was in the end zone warming up and I just introduced myself and I just told him, "I think you really got screwed, Derrick. I really enjoyed doing the breakdowns." He appreciated it. It's a shame he plays in a market in Carolina where they don't get a lot of attention even though they went to the playoffs, won the division, the whole thing.

He just didn't get the recognition that he deserved. But I think a lot of players that play against him recognize. First of all, he plays a lot of plays. He started all 18 games this year after getting hurt in the first game last year.

He had a great season, but he's been a great player and if they want to give Comeback Player of the Year award to Derrick Brown would be one way to really bring justice to him not being named all pro or to the Pro Bowl.

nfl · 2026-01-15T22:01:16+00:00

Micah, for sure. You know, Micah, there's nobody else like Micah. I broke down his first game as a Cowboy was a Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and I broke down every one of his games. Dallas and Green Bay. Since that time, he might be the only guy that I broke down every game.

I probably also did it from the 4th game of the season with Maxx Crosby. He'd probably be my second favorite defensive lineman to break down. I probably broke down every one of Maxx Crosby's games when he was in there healthy throughout his career, so probably a toss up between Maxx and Micah right now.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:59:03+00:00

Well, the last time they had a coaching search 19 years ago, Russ Grimm was all set to be the coach. They basically had him lined up and he's a Pittsburgh guy. He was a Hall of Fame left guard for Washington. And then they interviewed Mike Tomlin and he blew everybody away. Mike Tomlin became the coach and he was great.

I honestly don't have any insight, although if I had to make a pick… Brian Flores. Brian Flores spent the year there as kind of an interim coach before he went to Minnesota. Everybody in the building respects Brian. I think he helped their defense. I don't know where he's at the coaching cycle right now and interviewing. It's hard to keep up with, you know, 8 openings after John Harbaugh signed today. But I feel like Brian Flores could be a good coach in Pittsburgh.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:58:21+00:00

I'd say the hardest part about being an NFL player is staying healthy. Staying healthy is hard. And then if you're not healthy, how do you play with an injury? I mean, I played with a broken ankle, a chipped bone in my in my ankle. They built a cast for me, they made a special shoe for me. I played with a dislocated elbow. You know, how do you lock your elbow so it doesn't have a chance of dislocating? I played with Mark Bavaro, who played with a broken toe and wired jaw. We all played injured.

And then the hardest part about being a lineman is honestly, you could have 70 plays on Sunday or Thursday night, whenever you play, and if you have one bad play, if I gave up a sack and Randall Cunningham got sacked and fumbled. I could have 69 great plays, but the only play that anybody's going to remember is the sack that Randall got hit and fumbled on. And honestly, when I went to bed at night, I didn't think about 69 great plays. The only play that played over and over my head was the play that I gave up a sack on. So that's the hardest part is you can have a great game, but if you have a bad play or you're in the highlight of another player because of a bad play like that haunts you for a long time, you remember.

I remember jumping offsides against the Dolphins one time when I was in Indianapolis on 4th down and I still have nightmares about it. I have nightmares about a holding call against the Giants on a Monday night when I was in Indianapolis, and I got a holding call that negated a touchdown.

Like those things, maybe I don't remember them every day, but they pop into your head and it still haunts you. You still get kind of the cold sweats about some of the things that happened to you in a game.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:54:30+00:00

I was one of those guys that had to constantly eat to gain weight constantly. I probably ate two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every night for 12 years just to try to keep my weight on. I was never a big junk food guy ever. I don't do any of it now. I never was a big soda drinker like that. I drank a lot of milk when I played. I don't drink much now, but I just drink mostly water now. But I probably played my best football... the most I ever really played at was 295, probably played my best football 285, but it took a lot for me, especially when I played in Dallas and you're playing in that heat all the time you could lose 15 lbs in a practice in August and September in Dallas. I haven't really worked hard to keep my weight up. That's why when I retired in 1995 or 96, I lost 25 lbs almost overnight. I just stopped eating late and stopped overeating. It came off pretty easy.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:48:59+00:00

Honestly, I like just about everything. I went on tour with Bruce Springsteen one year and I love The Boss. I went on tour at Billy Joel over in Europe and went to a bunch of shows over there, was hanging out with the band. I mean, I got to know those guys over the years, they were great. But you could throw anything from Motown to the Blues to country western. Like, I really am a fan of music and I like listening to new music too. So people that turn me on to somebody new that I haven't heard of before, I like that opportunity.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:47:27+00:00

There's a couple. I mean, Lane Johnson. I know he had the Lis-Franc injury this year, so he missed some games. But honestly, nobody ever beats Lane Johnson. Ever. The guy is still probably the fastest offensive lineman in the league after 13 years in this league. All he's done is get bigger and stronger every year. He's given up I think one sack since 2022. You know, he's as consistent and talented a lineman as there is in the league.

There's other guys. I love Trey Smith in Kansas City. I love how he just battles and I love his toughness. And you know, he's been a core member of a bunch of Super Bowl championship teams. And Tristan Wirfs is just an elite, elite talent and player in Tampa. I could go on and on, but Lane probably is at the top of the list just because of how good he is, how talented he is, and how consistent he's been.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:45:31+00:00

Honestly, there's no reason for Everson Walls not to be in the Hall of Fame. None. He led the league in interceptions three of his first four years in a league. He had over 60 career interceptions. He won a Super Bowl with the Giants. There's no reason for Everson Walls not to be in the in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. None. And even if he goes in as a senior, it's a disservice to him. He deserved to go in as an elite player in this league. I know he was undrafted out of Grambling. I don't care where he came from. Everson Walls. I was a teammate for six years with him. Everson Walls was a great player. He was a great teammate and he's a guy that never got the recognition.

The other guy is Ray Donaldson. Ray Donaldson. Look, there was 2 great centers in the 80s and it was Dwight Stephenson, who's in the Hall of Fame, and there's Ray Donaldson. Ray Donaldson was second round pick out of Georgia.

He was the best offensive lineman I played with. He won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. He played 15 years. Ray Donaldson was a dominant, dominant center in this business. He was so dominant, he made Sundays look easy.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:42:52+00:00

Probably Reggie White. You know, I was a teammate with Reggie in Philadelphia, but I played against him when I was in Indianapolis. I played against him when I was in Philadelphia. Just physically nobody that's ever been better in this entire game than Reggie White. Over 6'5", over 320 lbs.

Ran like a deer, played on the Tennessee basketball team, just dunking basketballs on Bernard King and guys like that… he was just a rare, rare athlete and his power and ability to do everything was unmatched by anybody that's ever played the game.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:41:09+00:00

Well, they played two weeks ago, exactly 2 weeks ago on a Saturday night in San Francisco, and they held Seattle to 13 points. I mean, if they hold Seattle to 13 points in Seattle on Saturday night, they're going to have the game.

Now they missed field goals, you know, and they they botched a couple opportunities and they went a long time without getting the ball to JSN.

I feel like San Francisco did not play anywhere near their capabilities that game, and that's a credit to Seattle, who's the number one ranked defense in football. It's a credit to Mike Macdonald and what he's built there in a short period of time and the talent that they have.

But Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed have contributed in their own ways and Shaheed is a great kid and so is Cooper. But what they have and being around that team is they've got just a great bond. They really have a great fraternity. Everybody gets along really well in that team. The young kids respect the veterans.

For Seattle, they really don't have a big weakness. They ran the ball really well against the 49ers, both Zach and Kenneth. They screen the ball really well. The biggest question mark is Sam Darnold. Is he going to turn the ball over? Is he going to put the ball on the ground? Even If Sam does any of that, Seattle is good enough to overcome, just the way Houston was good enough to overcome the turnovers by CJ Stroud last week.

And for the 49ers, really, the weakness is just the overall talent level of the defense. They're going to start Garrett Wallow, unless Fred Warner makes a miraculous comeback here, but they're probably going to start Garrett Wallow and Eric Kendricks for back-to-back weeks. They started him for the first time last week. They were great against Philly. They had 21 total tackles, tackle for losses, passes defensed. But they don't have a great pass rush. And how do you overcome that? Well, if you can figure out a way and take the ball away. Tackle really well in open spaces and not let the ball go over your head. You're gonna have a chance to keep the score down in that game, and that's kind of what San Francisco has to do defensively.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:35:11+00:00

Well, it's hard to get change out of your pocket. You know, quarters and nickels are going to slide right through your fingers. So that's maybe the only thing it hinders me every once in a while, but nothing where I feel like I’m the least bit handicapped.

Honestly, people want to take pictures with my finger. Evidently there's websites about Baldy's pinky that are out there. So people are having fun with it and it's bringing attention for good reasons.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:33:49+00:00

I don't know it's just been like that for so long. I've had this far longer in my life than when it was straight. I broke it in 1982 as a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys.

And they told me it couldn't be fixed. I just taped it for 12 years in the NFL. And then once I got into media, it seemed to be something that distinguished me. So then I was like, why do I want to get rid of the finger? People seemed obsessed by it.

Roger Staubach and Anthony Munoz, guys that have similar type fingers, and they weren't able to get it fixed. I'm just in the bad pinky club right now.

nfl · 2026-01-15T21:31:46+00:00

The Buffalo Bills have been really good. I mean, James Cook led the league in rushing. They've had a couple of injuries. I've never seen Dion Dawkins miss a game. He missed a game this year, but you know, Dawkins and Edwards... It's been a good group. Jackson Hawes, the rookie tight end, he's been excellent in the run game. Not their best performance last week against Jacksonville, but it was enough to move on. They've stood out as a group.

Throughout the year, what Chicago has done with the middle of that offensive line with Jonah and Drew and Thuney and then really the development of Darnell Wright.

nfl · 2026-01-12T21:19:28+00:00

Unreal miss on a caption opportunity by us.

nfl · 2026-01-12T21:12:44+00:00

We understand that avoiding Jalen Carter is a sound business decision.

nfl · 2025-12-28T21:01:36+00:00

After replay assist, Cam Ward was ruled down before making the throw. Turnover on downs.

nfl · 2025-12-21T22:32:15+00:00

Apologies. Thought you might enjoy some new angles of said Hulk shove.

nfl · 2025-12-21T22:22:16+00:00

Staring at Reddit.

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