Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast. Shoot, add Mad Money Smith
Speaker 1: to the payroll. I can't get behind that. Welcome to
Speaker 1: another edition to Be Around the NFL Podcast. My name
Speaker 1: is Dan Hands. I'm joined and they were filled with
Speaker 1: heroes Mark Sessler, Chris Westling and the Gregg Rowth call.
Speaker 1: What is up? Boys? Hey Dad? All right? Money ain't
Speaker 1: getting paid by us? Yeah, you know, so there's somebody here.
Speaker 1: I don't want to go all west here. Somebody's gotta
Speaker 1: pay daddy a little bit more in the building. I'm
Speaker 1: going upstairs soon. I'm knocking at some doors. Well, money's
Speaker 1: earning that Moniker just got another a nationally televised show
Speaker 1: he's hosted with Tim Tebow coming up. So I'm excited
Speaker 1: to have who else there's a friend that's so like successful.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know if he'd consider us
Speaker 1: a friends, but we know him and he success. Colleague.
Speaker 1: That's colleague is probably the safer. He invited us out
Speaker 1: to lunch. Yeah, that's what a friend does. You don't
Speaker 1: feel like you have any other friends you would categorize
Speaker 1: as successful. Greg No, I mean I'm saying it's nice.
Speaker 1: It's nice to see it. Guy like Money doing well,
Speaker 1: generating multiple argumentative conversations before we get to the air.
Speaker 1: Can you imagine Greg table means it's Thanksgiving? Can you
Speaker 1: imagine what's going on in uh Wilbraham when Greg gets
Speaker 1: you know, a couple of wines in them and it's fine.
Speaker 1: I mean, no one, no one in my family has
Speaker 1: lived in Wilbraham and in a long decade. But uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I'm not the only annoying one at the
Speaker 1: Rosenthal family table, that's for sure. Greg gets more relaxed
Speaker 1: the more drinks. Yeah, no, I don't. I don't work
Speaker 1: on the opposite of I'm pretty chill. You're an anti
Speaker 1: contrarian with a couple of pops or whatever. Alright, this
Speaker 1: is the Week twelve preview show, uh in in case
Speaker 1: you missed it, uh the first three games of Week
Speaker 1: twelve a k Thanksgiving Thursday, November. We did a podcast
Speaker 1: that we released on Tuesday morning or Tuesday afternoon, depending
Speaker 1: where you are, that had the preview of Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Dallas,
Speaker 1: and Atlanta, New Orleans in addition to our recap at
Speaker 1: the Monday Night Classic between the Chiefs and Rams. So
Speaker 1: make sure you check that out if you haven't already,
Speaker 1: or if you're going on a road trip, like West
Speaker 1: is in a nightmare scenario, whereas paramore fiance Lakisha is
Speaker 1: saying you need to get up at five in the
Speaker 1: morning on Thanksgiving Day to drive up to Oakland when
Speaker 1: you live in l A. And West is like, but
Speaker 1: we're going out tonight, Wednesday night, and Lakisha is like,
Speaker 1: I don't care. It means a lot to me. And
Speaker 1: West is about to learn that when you get engaged,
Speaker 1: when there's a ring, you start losing battles. Yeah, sometimes
Speaker 1: though they're not going though it doesn't seem like they're going. West,
Speaker 1: You're right, and that's gonna be true, I'm sure over
Speaker 1: a long range. But West, I feel like it's a
Speaker 1: tough man to win an argument against, even if even
Speaker 1: if you're out. I think Lakisha is no pushover. He's
Speaker 1: just a new territory. And in this scenario, I blame
Speaker 1: myself for not realizing ahead of time that our game
Speaker 1: plan was flawed and any idea of of driving out
Speaker 1: of l A on a Wednesday is pure insanity. So
Speaker 1: now it's changed to drive out at five o'clock on
Speaker 1: a Thursday after partying with maybe the three of you
Speaker 1: guys and John and Colleen. It's it's a bad game
Speaker 1: plan from the I would just let it play out
Speaker 1: because so many variables could bubble up between now and
Speaker 1: that that make any sort of a five am departure
Speaker 1: not only impossible to you, but to her. She may
Speaker 1: be the one that comes out on This solution is
Speaker 1: let nature and take it close. Make sure Lakisha has
Speaker 1: a good time tonight. Yeah, and don't let her listen
Speaker 1: to this podcast or that. I would say, nobody ever
Speaker 1: has to really make sure Lakisha has a good time.
Speaker 1: All right, we're gonna get it. So we're gonna get
Speaker 1: into the rest of uh the week. Twelve games UM
Speaker 1: and two teams on by this week, the Chiefs and
Speaker 1: the Rams, which was because they deserved they were in
Speaker 1: Mexico or they were supposed to be, so I guess
Speaker 1: they built out a bye for both teams. It's probably
Speaker 1: why they did that, right smart after international games, every
Speaker 1: team has so they weren't going to change the schedule
Speaker 1: for by. So they're both off this week, so their
Speaker 1: last device of the season. That's it. That's it. There
Speaker 1: will be less scoring this week, but we have a
Speaker 1: lot of games to get too, So let's get right
Speaker 1: into its starting with the early games. UH and UH.
Speaker 1: The Oakland Raiders two and eight, gotta win UH last
Speaker 1: week against the Cardinals. So John Gruden, you got to
Speaker 1: see Chucky smile if that's something that you you care
Speaker 1: to see, or I feel like most of the country
Speaker 1: likes to see Chucky scowling and upset. But here's here's
Speaker 1: the good news. They're going to Baltimore. UH. And the
Speaker 1: Ravens are coming off a win there five and five
Speaker 1: and Mark Uh here's uh a Lamar Jackson another start
Speaker 1: for Jackson? What what are we hearing right now? We
Speaker 1: don't have an official word, but it sounds like they're
Speaker 1: very open to him. Go. It's weird because John Harbaugh
Speaker 1: has bristled at the whole quarterback thing during the week
Speaker 1: and seems to not want to talk about what you
Speaker 1: do long range. I think I would I would guess
Speaker 1: right now that they put Lamar Jackson back in if
Speaker 1: there's any issues with Joe Flacco being inflexible and being
Speaker 1: sort of a stone age pony in the pocket that
Speaker 1: can't we've you got a guy or you based your
Speaker 1: whole offense and loved it just like I don't know,
Speaker 1: like he just like you can't count on Flacco to
Speaker 1: do anything with his feet is not mobile? Are you
Speaker 1: calling fac Fluco? I think Fleco is what I settled on.
Speaker 1: He's like a little bit in between. Remember, I think
Speaker 1: this all hip injury has been has been strange. But
Speaker 1: I think they really would love to see Lamar Jackson
Speaker 1: out there for another week, especially considering the the opponent,
Speaker 1: and see what they can do, see what they can
Speaker 1: add to the offense. And I almost felt like, and
Speaker 1: I hadn't seen the game at that point, that the
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson first start, like everyone's taking it and stride like,
Speaker 1: oh that was cool, Like can't he keep doing it? Though?
Speaker 1: And I'm thinking, like I've never seen a game like
Speaker 1: that out of a quarterback in my life, Like, even
Speaker 1: if you can't keep doing it forever, it's incredible what
Speaker 1: he did. It's incredible to watch a team play offense
Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight teens so differently. And I
Speaker 1: thought he might be the best running quarterback to enter
Speaker 1: the league since Michael Vick. I still feel the same way.
Speaker 1: His burst is just amazing, and he did have it's
Speaker 1: almost eight year it's per attempting that game and make
Speaker 1: three pretty big third and long throws a second and
Speaker 1: seventeen conversion. He doesn't well. He also nearly threw a
Speaker 1: terrible interception on the run, and he did he did
Speaker 1: throw an interception in the run. Oh, it wasn't perfect
Speaker 1: by any means, but he made some plays with his arm,
Speaker 1: and it's just fascinating to watch, like even if like
Speaker 1: I don't know if he's gonna be a great next quarterback,
Speaker 1: but man, if you can't have fun watching Lamar Jackson,
Speaker 1: it's like he's from another planet. Also, if you're a
Speaker 1: coaching staff under fire and you want to make some
Speaker 1: pitch to stick around, don't you want to show that
Speaker 1: you can work with Lamar Jackson versus putting him back
Speaker 1: on the bench and doing what you've done with Joe
Speaker 1: Flacco forever. You're playing a terrible run defense, which is
Speaker 1: what they had against the Bengals last week, so you
Speaker 1: can do probably the same thing. You can try the
Speaker 1: same thing against And if you're the Raiders, um and
Speaker 1: who knows if they have the personnel to do this
Speaker 1: in defense, But you're looking at that table like you're
Speaker 1: probably thinking yourself, all right, our number one move here
Speaker 1: is to make this guy keep him in the pocket,
Speaker 1: don't let him get out. Uh, make sure if he
Speaker 1: beats you, you make him use his arm, because that
Speaker 1: was untested largely in his first start. So I think
Speaker 1: it's I would be highly I would be shocked if
Speaker 1: he ends up, uh, you know, approaching the same number
Speaker 1: as he had last week, because it's no longer a
Speaker 1: novelty acting. I mean, the Raiders have one game all
Speaker 1: year with more than one sack, So they can't rush
Speaker 1: the passer, and they can't stop the Raiders, and they
Speaker 1: don't travel well east. They're also one of the worst
Speaker 1: tackling teams in the league. They saw right, I think
Speaker 1: killed top it. Like I would take the over on
Speaker 1: a hundred yards from Lara Jackson because he in that
Speaker 1: game last week he had a lot of great runs,
Speaker 1: didn't have any like long runs and over five yards,
Speaker 1: and he just seems like against the Raiders, I would
Speaker 1: take my chances that he'll pop one for fifty at something.
Speaker 1: No quarterbacks rushed for a hundred plus yards and consecutive
Speaker 1: games since nineteen fifty. Uh and uh, this is the first.
Speaker 1: He was the first quarterback with a hundred plus yards
Speaker 1: since Colin Kaepernick in two thousand sixteen, who did not
Speaker 1: get a call from the Redskins when they was that?
Speaker 1: Was that a game against the Jets or was that
Speaker 1: later to that? How did he to do that later?
Speaker 1: Because I remember he flamed the Jets and next rhyme
Speaker 1: was like hair on the That was when he first
Speaker 1: started playing. Uh, and he had limited snaps. I don't
Speaker 1: think he did enough to get to a hundred, but
Speaker 1: he did flame the Jets and limited work that game.
Speaker 1: I remember that one. That was fun. The Timbo my
Speaker 1: latest gripe with Jon Gruden, who compares Jalen Richard to
Speaker 1: Charlie Garner. Yet it takes him three months to give
Speaker 1: him a major role in his offense. If he's Charlie Garner,
Speaker 1: why why doesn't even major rule in September and October?
Speaker 1: Give me a break. Let's move on and uh uh
Speaker 1: he we're you know, off to a little bit of
Speaker 1: a slow start here in the early games. So that's
Speaker 1: gonna be a theme. Uh. Next up the Jacksonville Jaguars
Speaker 1: season over MS and the Chiefs. That of the week,
Speaker 1: it doesn't look as good and some good teams on
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving to so three and seven Jaguars, who have lost
Speaker 1: six straight and seven of eight. Hard hard to figure
Speaker 1: out how they have collapsed at this level. Travel to
Speaker 1: Buffalo face the Bills. The Bills are coming off there
Speaker 1: by West uh, and of course they whooped the Jets
Speaker 1: and the metal ends UH in week ten. But this
Speaker 1: is a different story now. UH, it's a rematch if
Speaker 1: you would believe it. West of two wild card teams
Speaker 1: from a year ago. Now they both aren't pay for
Speaker 1: double digit losses. One of the worst playoff games I've
Speaker 1: ever witnessed, and um, this one might be worse. So well,
Speaker 1: both teams are much worse this year. UH. Josh Allen
Speaker 1: is supposed to practice this week in full, although it's
Speaker 1: not sure that he's going to start. UH. I was
Speaker 1: rewatching some Bills tape because I wanted to um get
Speaker 1: get as much info as I could on Tom Brady.
Speaker 1: If I'm gonna say he's in decline and this Bill's
Speaker 1: defense is it's so underrated and they hit hard. We've
Speaker 1: talked about the Raiders being one of the worst tackling
Speaker 1: defense in the NFL. The Bills might be one of
Speaker 1: the best tackling defenses in the NFL. I don't think
Speaker 1: the Jaguars, just because they're more talented, can expect to
Speaker 1: go in there and win, especially a Florida team coming
Speaker 1: up to Buffalo. Mean, the Jaguars feel like a philosophical dinosaur,
Speaker 1: where it's let's, you know, build our defense and hope
Speaker 1: we can do enough on offense. In their six game
Speaker 1: losing streak, Blake Bordles has thrown five touchdowns and they
Speaker 1: it worked against the Steelers. What the Jaguars want to
Speaker 1: be worked for almost the three quarter three plus quarters
Speaker 1: against Pittsburgh, And if you take the second half of
Speaker 1: the Colts game the week before, it feels like their
Speaker 1: defense has been playing pretty pretty well. And what happens
Speaker 1: at the end of that game. They played the Colts
Speaker 1: well overall. I mean not in the first half obviously,
Speaker 1: but like it wasn't a terrible game in the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter that I still put it on the offense. How
Speaker 1: many times in two thousand eighteen can you stop an
Speaker 1: offense like Pittsburgh Steelers. So I put that game on
Speaker 1: the Jaguars offense for picking up no first downs because
Speaker 1: that game should have been over and Jaguars fans have
Speaker 1: finally it's taken what five years. But I feel like,
Speaker 1: just based on Twitter, they've finally given up on Blake
Speaker 1: Boarders like fighting. It seems like they're coaching staff right
Speaker 1: they're fighting, They're not no longer fighting that battle, and
Speaker 1: they are wondering if you're not gonna let Blake Wort's
Speaker 1: throw and you're just trying to just avoid him, basically,
Speaker 1: like would we be better off would we be better
Speaker 1: off benching him at this point? Why not? I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, they don't have much behind him. That's gonna
Speaker 1: it's gonna look very different. And you look at the
Speaker 1: top of the draft next year. They keep losing all ASO,
Speaker 1: the Giants wanted a couple of games. Some of these
Speaker 1: finally are a couple of teams out of the mix
Speaker 1: Mark Cecil, including your Browns and my Jets. That won't
Speaker 1: be the quarterback hunt, which is very rare, but the
Speaker 1: Jaguars you think will be the Giants will be. And
Speaker 1: you gotta track how these teams finished because it will determine,
Speaker 1: uh likely whether or not they get the top quarterbacks
Speaker 1: in this dray Well. And the problem is because you
Speaker 1: can't play the game or you're hoping that they lose
Speaker 1: out if you're a Giants fan or jacksonp you have
Speaker 1: two coaching staffs that have to prove to the people
Speaker 1: above that they are the right coaching staff, so they're
Speaker 1: not gonna try to lose out and get the quarterback
Speaker 1: for next year, for the next regime. And one more
Speaker 1: little narrative before we move on. You back in in
Speaker 1: sunnier times in Jacksonville, Jalen Ramsey was having fun with
Speaker 1: the s and and you know, trashing a bunch of
Speaker 1: players that he didn't know personally. He called Josh Allen
Speaker 1: trash before he played an NFL game. I wouldn't mind
Speaker 1: if Jillen Ramsey a little humble pie and this with you.
Speaker 1: I think he could use several servings of humble pie.
Speaker 1: Let's let's move on and talk about the Seattle Seahawks
Speaker 1: five and five after that big Thursday night win over
Speaker 1: the Packers, So after a mini by, they traveled to Carolina,
Speaker 1: UH to face the Panthers, who are on a two
Speaker 1: game losing streaker. Really tough loss in Detroit last week.
Speaker 1: They went for two trying to steal the win. It
Speaker 1: did not work out. So all of a sudden, there's
Speaker 1: six and four in a bit of a dog fight
Speaker 1: uh in the NFC playoff picture. Um, Greg, this is
Speaker 1: a good matchup between two teams that needed w This
Speaker 1: is easily the best game at ten am this week.
Speaker 1: I believe too interesting teams, if flawed, who have traditionally
Speaker 1: played really good games. In the Cam Newton Russell Wilson,
Speaker 1: they kind of have a lot of a lot of
Speaker 1: close games. There's some playoff matchups, there's been some fights.
Speaker 1: It's just it's it's a quietly intriguing rivalry. Joe Person
Speaker 1: wrote about it uh this week, going back even to
Speaker 1: that they the Panthers once considered drafting Russell Wilson to
Speaker 1: make him Cam Newton's backup and have a little package there.
Speaker 1: I'm glad that didn't happen. But I don't know if
Speaker 1: the Panthers are a better team here, and I don't
Speaker 1: I don't think we We expected them to bounce back
Speaker 1: last week and they should have won that game, and
Speaker 1: they probably would have if they're kicker didn't struggle. But
Speaker 1: the problems that they've had defensively just haven't gone away.
Speaker 1: They've been there since week one. That they're not a
Speaker 1: difference making group, and so I think this is a
Speaker 1: game that Seattle can run the ball, that the Panthers
Speaker 1: defensive line hasn't played that well, and that's the type
Speaker 1: of game Seattle wants to play. And there is some
Speaker 1: there's something about the Seattle team. I mean, it's I'm
Speaker 1: going way off of the metrics and all that, but
Speaker 1: I think they have a little bit of mojo in
Speaker 1: them that maybe the Panthers don't. I think the pan
Speaker 1: there they're getting old. They have poured so much draft
Speaker 1: capital into their offense the last two years that their
Speaker 1: their defensive front seven is now filled with guys who
Speaker 1: are thirty or even thirty five and thirty eight. When
Speaker 1: Gentleman was there, he religiously kept restocking the front for
Speaker 1: the front seven, and they found a way to maximize
Speaker 1: inexpensive cornerbacks. And you had Sean McDermott doing what he does,
Speaker 1: and a lot's changed. And it's it's easy to not
Speaker 1: watch them and think it's the same old defense because
Speaker 1: you still have some of the same faces. But it's not.
Speaker 1: And I think I agree with you, Gregor. I think Seattle,
Speaker 1: the way they took care of business against Green Bay,
Speaker 1: it wasn't perfect. They got they got in my wheel however,
Speaker 1: win right. I I would honestly rather see them in
Speaker 1: the playoffs in Carolina. But you know my ripe with Carolina,
Speaker 1: I this is a big game for the playoff position.
Speaker 1: They've won three in a row in Carolina. Seattle has
Speaker 1: I am really Sometimes you think you have a figure
Speaker 1: a team figured out, and I felt really good about
Speaker 1: the Panthers last week and they didn't get it done.
Speaker 1: But can I imagine the Panthers losing three games on
Speaker 1: the road. I think they're a good team. I think
Speaker 1: they're a playoff team, and with this much on the line.
Speaker 1: Uh And I do respect Seattle and I think they
Speaker 1: do have some good juice to them this year. But
Speaker 1: I don't think the Panthers lose three in a row.
Speaker 1: And I am going to lock it up for the
Speaker 1: Carolina Panthers. Come on, guys, let's go. I like it.
Speaker 1: I I disagree with Greg and Mark. I think the
Speaker 1: Panthers are a better team Seattle's I think it could
Speaker 1: be getting better. Though. Doug Baldwin last week looked like
Speaker 1: Doug Baldwin, and he makes such a difference for that team.
Speaker 1: He's finally healthy and Baldwin and lock it on the
Speaker 1: outside I mean that is a great. That is a great.
Speaker 1: It was great, I think Seattle. I guess the reason
Speaker 1: part partly why I believe in them is I think
Speaker 1: they're a team that can get better throughout the course
Speaker 1: of the season, especially on defense. You have so many
Speaker 1: guys playing new roles, and you would hope Pete Carroll
Speaker 1: can keep coaching them up. The Bronx so into deep
Speaker 1: now to bail the seat, so you gotta stay in
Speaker 1: at this I don't think that's wrong. Point doesn't exist.
Speaker 1: Greg Will bailing on now, I'm bailing army. That's the point.
Speaker 1: That's the Yeah, there's no reason too but I was
Speaker 1: rooting hard against him last week. They just happened to win.
Speaker 1: Remember the Broncos or the other team that wanted to
Speaker 1: bring in Russell Wilson to be Peyton Manning's back up.
Speaker 1: I don't too much. Too much has passed, Too many
Speaker 1: things have happened. There were so many like the Eagles
Speaker 1: wanted Russell Wilson. Everyone that after the fact that they
Speaker 1: wanted Russell Wilson. And you know what, I hope that
Speaker 1: Packers game helped helped remind Pete Carroll and it was
Speaker 1: a little more pass heavy of a game that let
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson do his things. Sometimes they've been a little
Speaker 1: too run heavy. I know that. I know they're running
Speaker 1: for a hundred and fifty yards a game and everything.
Speaker 1: But when you let him try to make a comeback,
Speaker 1: he can make it. So maybe let him throw a
Speaker 1: little earlier. Remember when the Jaguars drafted a punter over Russell. Well, yes,
Speaker 1: it's that punter networking at right. Aiight up the street,
Speaker 1: moving on, so many great games to talk. Oh ark, Oh,
Speaker 1: you're so happy because the Browns they're back from there
Speaker 1: by only one loss out of the wild Cars. They
Speaker 1: just need to win only what no one's been saying
Speaker 1: that this week, only one loss out of the world car.
Speaker 1: I'm not worried about them total defense, in total offense.
Speaker 1: I mean, Cleveland has slay a few ghosts. They won
Speaker 1: go win a football game, Mark, win a football game.
Speaker 1: How about one on the road. They've lost twenty five
Speaker 1: in a row on the road. And if they lose
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati on Sunday, Wait what Yes, they have lost
Speaker 1: twenty five games on the road. And if that happens again,
Speaker 1: they tie the Detroit Lions from two thousand seven to
Speaker 1: two for the most road losses consecutively. Ever. We need
Speaker 1: to be running out of these like streak negative streak
Speaker 1: type things for the Browns. But that's the thing they've
Speaker 1: They've they've acts like three or four other of those things.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying. How are left this? This is
Speaker 1: the this is sort of the big one. Well, I
Speaker 1: mean there's also be good. Yeah, they'll make the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I think there's a whole like I don't know how
Speaker 1: many straight seasons they haven't gotten to six wins yet
Speaker 1: or seven. This is the is like the low foundation
Speaker 1: stuff and then we get higher up. But I but
Speaker 1: I watched that Bengals Ravens game, and part of the
Speaker 1: reason the Ravens were able to do what they did
Speaker 1: is that the Bengals run defense is just ghastly right
Speaker 1: now and it has been for so long. And I
Speaker 1: like the matchup of Nick Chubb and what the I
Speaker 1: think Freddie Kitchens did a lot in the last couple
Speaker 1: of games to help protect that is not simply not
Speaker 1: funny that that was also not funny. Just start delivering
Speaker 1: hits if you're going to come up with your This
Speaker 1: is Kitchens is very happy Thanksgiving, Yes, The only quarterback
Speaker 1: in the last five weeks to be hit less times
Speaker 1: than Baker Mayfield is Andrew Luck. That offensive line is
Speaker 1: starting to protect Baker may Something smells good in that kitchen.
Speaker 1: Keep going, you're hitting like a most like singles. Oo,
Speaker 1: some renovations underway in the kitchen. You know what? When
Speaker 1: I hear the Trabinsky is not going to start for
Speaker 1: the Bears, I had to ask myself, who do I
Speaker 1: believe in more Trabinsky sitting on the bench and Chase Dannard,
Speaker 1: or do I believe in Baker Mayfield? So nervous? Did
Speaker 1: you watch this last game? Lock it up? Crowns. It's
Speaker 1: a total apocalyptic scenario. If they lose, their season is
Speaker 1: essentially over, and I lose a lock, and this is
Speaker 1: the fourth time I've locked them up, lose sanity, and
Speaker 1: that will haunt us all on side. All I'm rooting
Speaker 1: for perfectly well, I guess I'm rooting for a few things,
Speaker 1: but I want Mark to be happy with his locks
Speaker 1: to that we're all happier. And this scenario, I can
Speaker 1: just smell a Chase Daniel victory on Thursday. I have
Speaker 1: no problem my lock. I'm sticking with Chasey was my
Speaker 1: making the leap two thousand and fourteen. Finally gonna happen Thanksgiving. Uh,
Speaker 1: and then you're gonna be thinking, oh, I shouldn't I
Speaker 1: should have just taken them. I mean, if it's such
Speaker 1: an it'll be such a terrible move, you feel free
Speaker 1: to you know, little lock offf scenario if anyone's feeling
Speaker 1: this great about the bell like that, worried if the
Speaker 1: Browns don't take care of business here, what happens? Actually,
Speaker 1: if I lose this lock though, I move into a
Speaker 1: new world of accepting I'm probably not going to win
Speaker 1: this contest. So it's kind of left. But then the
Speaker 1: Browns lost too, which takes them out of the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I'm not, No, I'm not. I don't see the man
Speaker 1: the playoff team, and I'm not sort of hanging every
Speaker 1: week on with I believe in Freddie Kitchens. He got
Speaker 1: Breshad Perriman to to be productive. He's got Nick Chobb
Speaker 1: looking like a great top ten back. They have things
Speaker 1: that you can be excited about. Their rosters better than
Speaker 1: the Bengals right now. The Bengals are basically a mess.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're seeing the Daltons, remember he was up
Speaker 1: there earlier. Guess where he was this week in QB
Speaker 1: index nice at seventeen, right back in the middle and
Speaker 1: like the biggest play last week was like a long
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton scramble, Like they're a highlight free offense. But
Speaker 1: a J. Green will be back at something. J Green change.
Speaker 1: It's not a small You ever ever had a moment
Speaker 1: in your life where it's a big job interview, or
Speaker 1: maybe it's outside the waiting room and your wife's in
Speaker 1: labor and you have that that feeling in the pit
Speaker 1: of your stomach. That's me about that game totally. I mean,
Speaker 1: don't you know. Let's maybe maybe I won't be in
Speaker 1: an awful mood if they if they lose and I
Speaker 1: lose the luck, maybe it just sets me free from
Speaker 1: this tangled drama that I don't need to be a
Speaker 1: part of to begin with. Let's move on the New
Speaker 1: England Patriots uh and the Jets both coming off there
Speaker 1: buys the whole a f C East was off last week.
Speaker 1: Uh so the Pats come back. Um, they lost in
Speaker 1: their Week ten game, which after six game losing streak,
Speaker 1: but of course that also uh. The loss of the
Speaker 1: Titans had some people talking people like Chris Westling who
Speaker 1: are wondering if Tom Brady at long last is in decline,
Speaker 1: and and even west I'll set you up with that,
Speaker 1: but also with this idea that, after all we saw
Speaker 1: Monday Night, what we're seeing in New Orleans this year,
Speaker 1: that it's starting to feel like the Patriots are a
Speaker 1: bit of an old guard and a new generation's taking over.
Speaker 1: How about that too? How about that? Well? I do
Speaker 1: think there's some truth to that, because the Patriots are
Speaker 1: growing older. And it's not just Tom Brady. It's that
Speaker 1: Josh Gordon's a step slower than he was in Cleveland.
Speaker 1: It's that Rob Gronkowski is a step slower and has
Speaker 1: been out maybe two Um. It's that you had a
Speaker 1: wide receiver playing running back for a few games. The defense,
Speaker 1: it's kind of hit or miss um. Yeah, I do
Speaker 1: think there's something to be said about that the Patriots
Speaker 1: don't have the firepower to keep up with a team
Speaker 1: like the Chiefs and or the Steelers. I think this year.
Speaker 1: The one thing I would say to that, though, is
Speaker 1: when I think of the Chiefs and the Rams being
Speaker 1: ahead of the league, I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: think schematically and in that way. I think the Patriots
Speaker 1: have been ahead of the league for much of the
Speaker 1: last decade, kind of breaking new ground, doing a lot
Speaker 1: of the things that the Chiefs and Rams have done offensively,
Speaker 1: and I think they still have that. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: the reason why their offense is ranked so high in
Speaker 1: points scored. It's not the most talented offense, and I
Speaker 1: think scheme and and concept and everything like that. Wise,
Speaker 1: they're doing well with what they have. But I think
Speaker 1: to West's point, they're not as talented as those teams.
Speaker 1: When I watched Brady last night, I watched his last
Speaker 1: five games, and so much of their offensive smoking mirrors,
Speaker 1: trick plays. So many of those points scored are blocked,
Speaker 1: punt returns, kickoff returns, defensive returns. It's not all offense.
Speaker 1: And I just wonder about the staying power um Brady's
Speaker 1: passes between the numbers are fine. Outside the numbers, there's
Speaker 1: a tendency for his ballton nose dive at the receiver.
Speaker 1: There are more passes because of that, And I don't
Speaker 1: think that he's like I'm not saying he's a liability.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying the ratio of throws that he used
Speaker 1: to make has decreased, and I think they're a team
Speaker 1: that is so based on timing and continuity and being
Speaker 1: on the same page with Brady, and they have not
Speaker 1: had that this year with their receiver and running back
Speaker 1: and tight end and all their skill posions. They haven't
Speaker 1: had any continuity. They haven't had the same group together
Speaker 1: their ninth right now in offensive efficiency, which sounds about
Speaker 1: right to me, like they're a good offense, but they've
Speaker 1: been very used to be in one or two or three.
Speaker 1: As a Patriots fan, I do think there is a
Speaker 1: hope here, not only that the schedules a little soft
Speaker 1: down the stretch, but that Gronk is returning for this game,
Speaker 1: that Sony Michelle is back, that Josh Gordon, you know,
Speaker 1: has the bio week Juliet like that you at least think, okay,
Speaker 1: the best that they're gonna be able to put together
Speaker 1: this year, Maybe they can put that forward over the
Speaker 1: next five weeks. On the jet side, like you, Sam
Speaker 1: Donald watched practice on Monday. He's now in a helmet.
Speaker 1: He was warming up today and taking part in you know,
Speaker 1: on a limited basis. He's not involved in the individual drills,
Speaker 1: And it doesn't sound like he's the only thing is
Speaker 1: and that's fine. I would love if he is healthy,
Speaker 1: because he's saying he feels great. Who knows what that
Speaker 1: even means. Like you want to see Donald go against
Speaker 1: the Patriots, you just do. I just don't want him
Speaker 1: to be out for weeks and weeks and missed this
Speaker 1: and have Josh McCown in there. I think that's what
Speaker 1: every Jets fan was excited about to see this, the
Speaker 1: new guard go against Brady and see where he's at.
Speaker 1: But a week seventeen and you got week seventeen. Maybe
Speaker 1: that's when it happens. Although who knows if the Pats
Speaker 1: will have anything to play for that week. I think
Speaker 1: they will. We'll see, and I do think I do so.
Speaker 1: I think the count plays, but it would be fun
Speaker 1: to see Donald play, as bad as things have gone.
Speaker 1: And if I look at the Patriots schedule, even though
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily believe in them this year, I think
Speaker 1: this is the year that they get whacked in the
Speaker 1: a f C playoffs. At some point. I still see
Speaker 1: eleven or twelve wins, so I think they're gonna be there.
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any way they're falling off a
Speaker 1: cliff or anything. And they still might even get to
Speaker 1: buy because what they do and what they've done for years,
Speaker 1: even when it's looked a little grim in November about
Speaker 1: will they get that by they take care of their
Speaker 1: business and then other teams seemed to fall back to
Speaker 1: the pack. We'll see if that happens again. I mean
Speaker 1: before that type. I think there is a chance we
Speaker 1: see a better pay and it's it's perfectly possible. I'm
Speaker 1: just hopeful because I'm an optimistic fan, and that's not
Speaker 1: going to happen. But throughout their history they do close strong,
Speaker 1: and I think it's very possible that we see a
Speaker 1: better team than we have seen, and more like the
Speaker 1: one that honestly everyone was pretty high on when they
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs, Bears, Bills and Packers in a row.
Speaker 1: And there were some fluky things in some of those games,
Speaker 1: but for the most part it was going in and good.
Speaker 1: Remember when far from two thousand nine to two thousand
Speaker 1: and ten he just simply fell off a cliff into
Speaker 1: total darkness, Like two thousand ten was so unbelievably hard
Speaker 1: to watch, But with Brady it is does seem like
Speaker 1: a truly gradual decline. Maybe you get a game where
Speaker 1: he's thirteen or fifteen and two after double digit losses
Speaker 1: in his career. I mean maybe, I mean, they might
Speaker 1: be not the week where we're gonna get bad page.
Speaker 1: We might be the third best a f C team,
Speaker 1: third or fourth, But it's like a lot of times
Speaker 1: the third or fourth best team ends up finding a
Speaker 1: way to get it done. And I would never count
Speaker 1: out Bill Belichick from coming with some playoff game plans.
Speaker 1: Maybe the bye week freshens him up. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: a there's a long running theory in football that older
Speaker 1: players declined throughout a season because of the hits and
Speaker 1: because you do get older throughout the season. Is playing
Speaker 1: this week, he is expected to play according to ESPN,
Speaker 1: but it's it's Wednesday as we're taping, and so that
Speaker 1: we don't have a ton of in anybody read that
Speaker 1: hit piece from miniche metabout that was laughable. I did not.
Speaker 1: That was like the New York media is on my
Speaker 1: radar in a way that they have not been on
Speaker 1: in a long time. I honestly think it it's so
Speaker 1: transparent and like W W E style that you you
Speaker 1: it almost is done with a wink of the reference Yeah,
Speaker 1: they had. They had Brady and Belichick holding up a
Speaker 1: dead Gronk of Weekend at Gronky's. I mean, I mean,
Speaker 1: they've just been wishing for it for years, and Erica's
Speaker 1: melting over there. You need to get as a Patriots fan,
Speaker 1: you get a get a stronger break feel, just like
Speaker 1: making Yeah, we're gonna see Erica crying in January. As
Speaker 1: you were never alive when the Patriots were a white
Speaker 1: hot disaster. So the second half of your life is
Speaker 1: going to be very difficulties. You go through decades and
Speaker 1: eventually you have to accept it, But now this is
Speaker 1: not the year to accept anything. They are seven and
Speaker 1: three and right in the middle of you can accept
Speaker 1: it around that's what you want to do as a
Speaker 1: as a as a sports fans, have your team in
Speaker 1: a playoff race that's no guarantee. Feel it feels like
Speaker 1: it feels very false. Yeah, speaking of Erica crying, the
Speaker 1: Eagles won the Super Bowl back in February. Uh sorry, um,
Speaker 1: but things have gone south in two thousand and eighteen.
Speaker 1: They are riding a two game losing streaks. So they're
Speaker 1: four and six, third place in the NFC East, and
Speaker 1: they may not have to win out, but they got
Speaker 1: to start winning with regularity, including a three game division
Speaker 1: swing right now, starting with the Giants hosting the Giants
Speaker 1: hosting the Redskins, and then at else. They might have
Speaker 1: to win all those games, but you gotta start here
Speaker 1: with the last place Giants and Greg. The Giants, if
Speaker 1: nothing else, are playing better football. They want two straight.
Speaker 1: And the way the Eagles are playing, I don't think
Speaker 1: you could look past any opponent, No you can't. And
Speaker 1: I think the Giants have kind of come up to
Speaker 1: their level. I don't think they were quite as bad
Speaker 1: as a a one win team, and I think the
Speaker 1: Eagles have have come down to to their level. Malcolm
Speaker 1: Jenkins kind of calling them out the rest of his
Speaker 1: teammates out this week for some of the attitude that
Speaker 1: he thought he saw on the field. But it's like
Speaker 1: they've been saying this every week. There's been a new
Speaker 1: like now we're running out of time every week, you know,
Speaker 1: between between Doug Peterson and the players and it and
Speaker 1: it never really changes. And I thought it was interesting. Uh.
Speaker 1: In that Peter King piece with which Chris Wesley recommended
Speaker 1: Highling was very good. He was embedded with the Saints
Speaker 1: last week, and one of the Eagles takeaways I had
Speaker 1: from that is the Saints defense really just wanted to
Speaker 1: put that game on Carson Wentz. That they did not
Speaker 1: believe he could make the throws necessary, and he did
Speaker 1: have a tough game, and I just found I found
Speaker 1: that that thought and approach interesting. I don't think he's
Speaker 1: getting as nearly as much help from his coaches and
Speaker 1: his skill position teammates, but that I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 1: All of his five deep shots down field fell to
Speaker 1: the turf last year. That was the complete opposite. They
Speaker 1: were so explosive and they could kill you with the run.
Speaker 1: I watching the Giants Bucks game, I thought I was
Speaker 1: gonna be bored out of my mind, and it was
Speaker 1: the opposite. I thought it was one of the best
Speaker 1: sequon barkley performance as yet. There was a play where
Speaker 1: he had so much rum to run, but I think
Speaker 1: he I think he liked the way he runs is
Speaker 1: unlike anyone else I've ever seen, where there he had
Speaker 1: a little scamper out into space and then just did
Speaker 1: a little leap through the air to stay in bounds.
Speaker 1: But he also ran better. I thought for short yardage,
Speaker 1: had a really tough touchdown like run that was about
Speaker 1: five or six yards. And this this is not an
Speaker 1: easy game for the Eagles. Their secondary is so banged
Speaker 1: up right now that it's good. It's it's arrow up
Speaker 1: for Odell Beckham, it's arrow up for Sequon Barkley. In
Speaker 1: this game, I agree with all of your analysis on
Speaker 1: se Kwon Barkley and Um. Because the Giants are now
Speaker 1: a playoff contender and ELI back Um. The Eagles are
Speaker 1: gonna have to lock it up. The Eagle's gonna have
Speaker 1: a hard time winning, but I'm gonna lock him up
Speaker 1: against this powerhouse. If the New York media has told us.
Speaker 1: The New York media has told us that this team
Speaker 1: is real. They beat Nick Mullen's forty Niners, they beat
Speaker 1: the worst defense in the NFL, and they are ready
Speaker 1: to rule watch Al Philadelphia. These Giants are a monster.
Speaker 1: ELI should probably be signed up for four more years. Lock.
Speaker 1: They are starting to build that case. Who wants that?
Speaker 1: The New York media, they are an absolute laughable, reactionary
Speaker 1: mess trying to get the New York City fired up.
Speaker 1: They are clowns in the media. There is a little river,
Speaker 1: There is a little bit of like George Bush and
Speaker 1: Condi Rice. You know, right or right before the Iraq War,
Speaker 1: they're like talking about you know, they're starting to build
Speaker 1: the case he slowly. Yeah, I'm saying like, oh, there's
Speaker 1: some weapons of mass destruction here, like you know, maybe
Speaker 1: they were behind nine eleven. They're they're just like slowly
Speaker 1: building up this false case which is gonna end up
Speaker 1: with Eli Man Dick Cheney off the hook there ye counterpoint.
Speaker 1: I do like this the pivot by Eli Hayters, like
Speaker 1: Wes and Greg and others. Oh, we don't get to
Speaker 1: kick dirt on his grave because he's playing better now
Speaker 1: he's not. Let's now turn to a hard mock that
Speaker 1: the Giants will now definitely resign he like because he's
Speaker 1: so good, and that way when he comes back down
Speaker 1: to earth again, you can then celebrate. It's all very
Speaker 1: very very predicted. Oh, we're the ones who are laughable here.
Speaker 1: Not the New York media are reactionary as the New
Speaker 1: York media with We've been saying the same thing for
Speaker 1: three years. And just because they just because he beat
Speaker 1: in a play action heavy game plan the worst defense
Speaker 1: in the league doesn't mean that he's back. It's hard
Speaker 1: to it's hard to have a team that's not watchable
Speaker 1: when you have se Quon Barkley and Odell not defending.
Speaker 1: I don't think here's I'm just saying, by the way,
Speaker 1: back in like week four, West you were you were
Speaker 1: allowing the Giants offense and saying they're about to take off.
Speaker 1: So if I think that's got treaded when I wasn't
Speaker 1: here for picking the Panthers against the Giants in a lock,
Speaker 1: I'm not the only people you know. All I'm saying
Speaker 1: is is that Eli is not gonna resign with the
Speaker 1: Giants there. He's just having everyone's jumping on this idea that, oh,
Speaker 1: now that John's gonna get sucked and this is just
Speaker 1: the temporary thing. That's it. I don't know, and that
Speaker 1: nobody's getting sucked in. I don't. I think the New
Speaker 1: York media they're they're getting sucked. This is what they're
Speaker 1: getting sucked in by, because I know this media very well.
Speaker 1: Three and seven, two game winning streak in a bad division,
Speaker 1: and they're saying, well, what could happen? And by the way,
Speaker 1: not for nothing, the Giants have had their share of
Speaker 1: fairy tales in the past, so they're doing what they
Speaker 1: have to do to juice things up, to make things
Speaker 1: more interesting. And what's otherwise a lost year in New
Speaker 1: York football. It's just what they do. I don't understand
Speaker 1: why you would hate the the gossip rag for being gossipy.
Speaker 1: What happened to journalism? The New York Post of the
Speaker 1: New York Daily News never said they were journalists the newspaper. No,
Speaker 1: they hold on the New York bad Boys do not
Speaker 1: have to. But the writers, the writers are different than
Speaker 1: the beat writers are different than the columnists, who are
Speaker 1: different than the headline makers. But that's the case. But
Speaker 1: you can't just roll out the baby with the bathwater.
Speaker 1: You have to understand who's writing what. It's not the
Speaker 1: entire here's the thing. I'm I'm with West, that shocker
Speaker 1: that they're gonna win this game. But I checked, I
Speaker 1: checked the weather report, uh for Sunday, and um, it's
Speaker 1: not like gonna be a hard rain, but it's gonna
Speaker 1: be like a little bit of sprinkling. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: a little bit of drizzling. And sometimes you know, you
Speaker 1: gotta you gotta be out emotional in these things. And
Speaker 1: even though I'm not like a huge Giants guy, Uh,
Speaker 1: sometimes you have rules in life, and the Eagles are
Speaker 1: favored by an incredible amount in this game. For a
Speaker 1: bad team come by a touchdown, they're favored by a
Speaker 1: touchdown and there and I kind of have rules. It's
Speaker 1: like if bad teams should never be favored by a touchdown.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna go with the Giants. What Giants offense
Speaker 1: isn't even the worst unit on their team. What if
Speaker 1: their defense is even worse defense and they have one
Speaker 1: of the worst pass rushes that can barely hold off
Speaker 1: the buck, you know, well, they can't stop the run either.
Speaker 1: Sunday is gonna be wild now because Mark is locked
Speaker 1: up the Browns and West is locked up against the Giants.
Speaker 1: What if the Giants win and the Browns lose, It's
Speaker 1: gonna be atomic in this room. So they're hoping for
Speaker 1: because you know, it's like a little drizzle the drizzle maker. Hey,
Speaker 1: the Giants couldn't The Giants could easily win against a
Speaker 1: bad Eagles team. They have beaten bad teams. Let's move on.
Speaker 1: You just locked up the Eagles, though, right they could win.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying this is a gimme. I mean, the
Speaker 1: Giants are a playoff contender. I learned that, alright, the
Speaker 1: forty Niners are not a playoff contender. There two and
Speaker 1: eight uh. Coming off a loss of the Giants, uh
Speaker 1: and then a bye, they travel to Tampa to face
Speaker 1: the Bucks, who steak. Who's their play caller this week
Speaker 1: is that the mascot. It doesn't matter because the Bucks
Speaker 1: are are irrelevant and their quarterback this week is Jamis
Speaker 1: Instant Ryan Fitzpatrick. Back to the bench mark, what is
Speaker 1: there to watch for in this game? You want me
Speaker 1: to come up with an answer to that, George Kittle?
Speaker 1: Maybe I'll say this. Kyle Shanahan has shown that he can.
Speaker 1: There's not a lot of coaches can do this, that
Speaker 1: can make the most of a backup quarterback and a
Speaker 1: third string quarterback on the other side of the ball.
Speaker 1: I feel like Dirk Cutter is authoring a new, updated, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, guide on how to get fired because you
Speaker 1: can't make either of your quarterbacks work. It's constant drives
Speaker 1: that are blowing up in the red zone. I mean,
Speaker 1: they go for it from fourth to one. Last week,
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick cannot sneak in for the first down. They have
Speaker 1: Jamis Winston fumbling the ball a yard outside of the
Speaker 1: end zone, which they're lucky resulted in a touchdown. They
Speaker 1: had to pick six. I mean they're eight. They can
Speaker 1: do a lot in between in between the red zones,
Speaker 1: and they can't do anything inside of it. I don't
Speaker 1: trust this team at all, and I think the forty
Speaker 1: Niners are gonna take him down. Kiddle is leading the
Speaker 1: NFL and in yards after the catch, and not just
Speaker 1: tight ends but tight ends and wide receivers, which is
Speaker 1: a pretty incredible thing for any He's been great tight
Speaker 1: end to do statistically like he is, he is maybe
Speaker 1: the best tight end in the league. Is he better
Speaker 1: than O? J. Howard across the side of the ball.
Speaker 1: I don't know. They just got moved to I R
Speaker 1: unfortunately foot an ankle injuries, so he's out of the mix.
Speaker 1: Uh And I don't know. Doesn't it feel like it's
Speaker 1: possible also that with the season already lost, that Winston
Speaker 1: might put up some big statistical games to make the
Speaker 1: Bucks think twice as they head into the off season. Yes,
Speaker 1: but it always comes a lot of two or three turnovers.
Speaker 1: Like I I the production is nice. I'd like to
Speaker 1: see him not be a liability every single time. He's
Speaker 1: in there. He's always gonna have mistakes, but I could
Speaker 1: see maybe the Bucks finishing clothes to make finishing stronger
Speaker 1: to make the ball hasn't been a problem that. I
Speaker 1: think the Bucks are first in the league, and completions
Speaker 1: over fifteen yards them in the Rams are the top
Speaker 1: two teams by a decent amount. That's a lot of
Speaker 1: that Fitzpatrick, but a lot of it's Winston two is
Speaker 1: averaging eight and a half yards p attempt. It's just
Speaker 1: the turnovers are at killer, and I do think he
Speaker 1: could be the Bucks quarterback next year. There's no way
Speaker 1: Deck Cotter is making that decision. It's Jason Lights probably
Speaker 1: not making that decision. So it's hard to say that
Speaker 1: whoever they hire to run their football operations is definitely
Speaker 1: gonna rule out bringing back Winston on a one year contract.
Speaker 1: When he looks at all the option, it's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 1: One Beason another coach telling us how it's gonna be.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be Gruden and Derek Carr Part two. All offs.
Speaker 1: Here's the thing. If you're we'll have the off season
Speaker 1: to talk about it. But if I'm the Bucks, it's
Speaker 1: like in you're drafting a quarterback, Like, why not draft
Speaker 1: a quarterback and keep Winston for one more year? I
Speaker 1: don't know, Like, what's the harm in that? And here's
Speaker 1: my favorite stat of the season so far. There are
Speaker 1: three quarterbacks in the NFL with eleven or more interceptions.
Speaker 1: Two of them play for the Buccaneers. Oh my god, right,
Speaker 1: and only Sam Donald and Josh Rosen have worse passer
Speaker 1: ratings since Week three than those two Bucks quarterbacks. And
Speaker 1: whoever is running the Bucks, they'll have to make the decision.
Speaker 1: To your point, mark Winston for all his ability, as
Speaker 1: they're on fifty five in or se sinceince the enter
Speaker 1: of the league. That's tied with Blake Portals the much
Speaker 1: belond Blake Bortles for worse than football. The guy's a
Speaker 1: turnover machine. Can he be fixed? He won't have O. J. Howard,
Speaker 1: who was out for the year and has been a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl level He has made the leap a Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl level tight end this year. That guy is gonna
Speaker 1: be incredible going forward next year. Let's move on the
Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals two and eight. Uh. They narrow loss to
Speaker 1: the Raiders. They really yak that one away. Uh, and
Speaker 1: now they travel to uh Carson California. I've never been
Speaker 1: to Carson Mark. You went to a Chargers game. I
Speaker 1: had a great time at that. What's car tell me
Speaker 1: about Carson though, it's like like a with out with
Speaker 1: and it's not a ton of traffic. It's like a
Speaker 1: fourteen minute it's you never been to the Ikea. I
Speaker 1: mean that it's nice. You wouldn't even know that it
Speaker 1: has a different name than just like part of l A.
Speaker 1: Like it's one of those things. I've been to the
Speaker 1: Ikea and Burbag. That's a nice establishment. Wow, that Carson won.
Speaker 1: Just the nice straight shot. You get down there, have
Speaker 1: some of those meatballs, maybe around forty five with the kids.
Speaker 1: There isn't like a giant sign welcoming you there. It's
Speaker 1: sort of in just tucked into the l A landscape
Speaker 1: for the most part. But StubHub, for all the issues,
Speaker 1: wasn't It was an incredible game d experience, great soccer
Speaker 1: crowd there. Anyway. The Chargers are seven and three coming
Speaker 1: off that. A lot of big box stores, I would say, yeah,
Speaker 1: a lot of big stores, shopping centers, strip balls. The
Speaker 1: Broncos beat him two a game. The Chargers had no
Speaker 1: business losing. Uh and Keenan Allen said as much. He
Speaker 1: straight up said, the Broncos suck after this game, Well,
Speaker 1: you know what, you got beat, so now you gotta
Speaker 1: bounce back. But luckily the schedule God's got your back, West,
Speaker 1: because the Cards probably aren't gonna be a road Warriors
Speaker 1: here right. Yeah, just when Joey Bosa comes back. They
Speaker 1: run into a Cardinals offensive line that seems to lose
Speaker 1: a guy a week. I think they lost d J.
Speaker 1: Humphries last week. He came out of the game. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure of his status this week. They had lost
Speaker 1: Justin Pew the week before um and they were already
Speaker 1: one the worst. Andre Smith gets beat by speed rushers
Speaker 1: this This feels like an incredibly lopsided matchup in the
Speaker 1: in the charge of favor as far as the pass
Speaker 1: rushing offensive line goes, I think that the Rivers is
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers had a lot of bad luck over the year.
Speaker 1: This year, he's I think it's turning around on him.
Speaker 1: Not just that he's getting help, but the schedule has
Speaker 1: obviously helped them throughout the season. And to get the
Speaker 1: Cardinals on the schedule right after you have that tough
Speaker 1: loss is beautiful and you want to see Joey Bosa
Speaker 1: look look a little more like Joey Bosa. He played
Speaker 1: about half the snaps last week, believe was supposed to
Speaker 1: play twenty made It made a player too, but it
Speaker 1: wasn't quite Joey Bosa. You wouldn't expect that the first
Speaker 1: week back. But I think that's kind of That's certainly
Speaker 1: one thing to watch in this game to see, like
Speaker 1: if he's going to get to his full potential, because
Speaker 1: if he does, then him and Ingram are right there
Speaker 1: with any tandem in the lead. They're pretty banged up
Speaker 1: on defense too. I did see positives in that game,
Speaker 1: and it was an awful loss against the Broncos. But
Speaker 1: Melvin Gordon ran as well as he has all year.
Speaker 1: Mike Williams made an incredible he I really like my
Speaker 1: Williams that they can find a way to use them
Speaker 1: a little bit more. But my one concern is just
Speaker 1: how messy and sloppy they were. They had seven penalties
Speaker 1: in the first quarter alone, and they just they were.
Speaker 1: They never found a way to separate from Denver, and
Speaker 1: that that was along with this game the schedule that
Speaker 1: said this is how they get to Pittsburgh. As a
Speaker 1: team with a chance for a buy and they shot
Speaker 1: themselves in the foot. I don't know if it's gonna
Speaker 1: matter in the f C, although it will against the
Speaker 1: Chiefs and it will against the Steelers, and those are
Speaker 1: two teams they played against. But I didn't know if
Speaker 1: last week was a little bit of laura Ville for
Speaker 1: their old line, which has been better all year, but
Speaker 1: got blasted by an improving Broncos defense. Great running back
Speaker 1: matchup here, Greg, I'm gonna I'm gonna give you an
Speaker 1: option here. Uh. Since Week eight, Johnson has been David
Speaker 1: Johnson has been a top five running back statistically. We
Speaker 1: know what he's done in the past outside of last year.
Speaker 1: If you're starting a team, Melvin Gordon or David Johnson,
Speaker 1: who would be your pick? I would take David Johnson
Speaker 1: based on his overall body of work and his exceptional
Speaker 1: receiving ability. But if you're just saying who do you
Speaker 1: want for the rest of the season, I'd take Melvin Gordon.
Speaker 1: Right now. I think Melvin Gordon's right there just about
Speaker 1: with any running back in the in the league. Because
Speaker 1: I kind of straddled defence there. Melvin Gordon's had a
Speaker 1: much better season than David Johnson, he's been he's been
Speaker 1: a top three or four running back. I think he
Speaker 1: Johnson has had like a good three weeks. Basically, Gordon
Speaker 1: has been so good. And I have liked him in
Speaker 1: the past, but you almost there's a little part of
Speaker 1: me that's like, gosh, why why weren't you? Are you
Speaker 1: gonna be this good every year? Because I think he's
Speaker 1: playing at another level that he's never played at. And
Speaker 1: so David Johnson's a guy who has been ultra professional
Speaker 1: and ultra good since the basically the day he entered
Speaker 1: the league. We continue through the late games. The Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Steelers seven two and one. They're riding a six game
Speaker 1: losing streak. They shocked the Jaguars speaking at Yakking Yaggs
Speaker 1: Yacht a sixteen zip lead and gave up twenty straight
Speaker 1: points to Jackson to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So the Steelers
Speaker 1: seven two and one, and now they traveled to Denver
Speaker 1: to face the Broncos, who you know, even though Keenan
Speaker 1: Allen says they suck, well, they're four and six, Greg
Speaker 1: and they gotta win against the Chargers last week and
Speaker 1: they have a faint, faint pulse in the a f
Speaker 1: C playoff picture, Well, if you want to have a
Speaker 1: real shot, you're gonna have to figure out a way
Speaker 1: to beat the Steelers in your building. Yeah, they're technically
Speaker 1: only one loss back. There's a lot of teams there,
Speaker 1: and they have very few, very little margin for air.
Speaker 1: Their defense has gotten better throughout the course of the season.
Speaker 1: I think it's one of I don't know, I don't
Speaker 1: even know where to put defenses anymore, Like, aren't they
Speaker 1: one of the better defenses in the league at this point.
Speaker 1: I would put the Broncos in the top five or six.
Speaker 1: I can take one right now, Yeah, I really would.
Speaker 1: I think I think they give you a lot of
Speaker 1: problems up front since Bradley Chubb has really come on,
Speaker 1: like that is an unstoppable duo, and they're pretty solid otherwise,
Speaker 1: they stopped giving up big plays. I think they've been
Speaker 1: pretty good since some statistically the middle of the road.
Speaker 1: But you're you're more talking, I don't know what you're seeing,
Speaker 1: and they're building. Von Miller is single handedly won two
Speaker 1: games for them over the last month. There's nothing wrong
Speaker 1: with von Miller. I questioned their secondary, and I've questioned
Speaker 1: their secondary all year. That they released. UM Football Outsiders
Speaker 1: has them fourth right now, and mostly because they have
Speaker 1: a pretty good past defense lately and Chris Harris. They
Speaker 1: don't look like that to me on the field of
Speaker 1: the fourth fourth best defense, I don't even know what
Speaker 1: that even means any right, That's the thing is, I
Speaker 1: don't know if they're there. There's probably not a lot
Speaker 1: of difference between the fourth best and I think the
Speaker 1: Steelers defense. They released Pacman Jones, who looked like he
Speaker 1: was running about a four nine forty on a kickoff
Speaker 1: return last week. The end of the road for pac Man.
Speaker 1: It's been quite an adventure. I'm curious how the Steelers
Speaker 1: will respond. I mean, that was a great, stirring road
Speaker 1: win last week. It's funny because they played so bad offensively,
Speaker 1: and yet I don't know that is that that is
Speaker 1: such an amazing win. I mean, that was such a
Speaker 1: classic Ben Roethlisberger game. And you were talking about it
Speaker 1: on Sunday, Dan, and once I got to see it,
Speaker 1: you were right. It's just like after having a three
Speaker 1: quarters like that then to have the finish that he had,
Speaker 1: it's just it was just somebody, I don't know. It
Speaker 1: might have been on Twitter came after me or us
Speaker 1: for outcome bias in that game. And yeah, they started slow,
Speaker 1: and so you don't want to just you know, throw
Speaker 1: flowers at Ben for an amazing performance. But the ability
Speaker 1: to close out a game on fire like that come bias,
Speaker 1: that's my favorite. It's like, well, the outcomes the outcome one.
Speaker 1: I mean also, I think it's that game is an
Speaker 1: example of staff not mattering at all because it's like
Speaker 1: they were shut down. The Jaguars had a good game
Speaker 1: plan Pittsburgh. Basically that's the game they lose every other year.
Speaker 1: They totally adjusted and blew them away in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: And that's the road to first round buys. You have
Speaker 1: to steal a couple of these games that you're supposed
Speaker 1: to lose. And then it's it's like they know F
Speaker 1: and Way game and Madden where you're you're designed to
Speaker 1: lose the game. And if you figure out a way
Speaker 1: to win that game, Ben, what happens when you figure
Speaker 1: out those things? Go to the Super Bowl? Maybe Erica,
Speaker 1: It's like like when you were crying after the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: that was just outcome bias. You should have looked at
Speaker 1: the overall picture that they had a lot of yards
Speaker 1: played pretty wouldn't even look at me? Is the still
Speaker 1: the funniest part about that night? About it now, but
Speaker 1: all of you were literally was earnest. It was earnest tears.
Speaker 1: It was a woman that was shattered, and we were
Speaker 1: just getting to know you at that stage. You know,
Speaker 1: we didn't know you that well. If you were doing
Speaker 1: the same thing, uh, you know, now, if it happened now,
Speaker 1: I feel like maybe our reaction would have been different.
Speaker 1: But it was a very kind of almost the startling
Speaker 1: to see you curled up in a ball in the
Speaker 1: middle of the concourse of the Super Bowl stadium sobbing.
Speaker 1: We also had four more hours, you had like four
Speaker 1: more hours, and so it's like, let's not jump in
Speaker 1: with a bunch of like insults right out of the ground.
Speaker 1: Another word would be unprofessional. That would be one. That
Speaker 1: would be one. I mean, well, you're lucky that Greg
Speaker 1: didn't unfurl what many of us typical insults then that, yeah,
Speaker 1: was I thank you. I'm gonna change my Twitter profile
Speaker 1: description to outcome biased. What what's like? What's what's everything?
Speaker 1: Everything should be done in theory instead of the field.
Speaker 1: I don't get that. I know we're I know we're
Speaker 1: way way off the Steelers game, but while we're talking
Speaker 1: last year Super Bowl, I I do want to point out,
Speaker 1: like all the little all the little uh needling you
Speaker 1: guys sometimes do during the podcast, but about the Patriots
Speaker 1: losing and this or that, you guys are certainly enjoying
Speaker 1: that you're rooting for that to happen. It is nothing
Speaker 1: compared to the fact that every week my daughter asks
Speaker 1: me whether the Eagles win are lost, because that's her
Speaker 1: favorite team. She's stuck with it. And I say, sorry,
Speaker 1: you know, Elis, it's been a tough season. You know
Speaker 1: they lost another one. And then immediately she responded, well,
Speaker 1: they did beat the Patriots in the super Bowl, and
Speaker 1: that that's a weekly occurrence that hits me so much
Speaker 1: harder than all the little needling you guys do during
Speaker 1: the week. It's just maybe some parental d programming is
Speaker 1: in order. What if what have I told you that?
Speaker 1: Let I worked with Emma to get that program in.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't doubt it, alright, Moving on the late games,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins five and five, the Colts, I've in five
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler uh two teams battling for a playoff spot.
Speaker 1: Big game Andrew Luck playing absolutely out of his mind.
Speaker 1: I've never seen Chris Wessling this excited about a player
Speaker 1: in a season since we're doing this podcast, I mean,
Speaker 1: are we really to believe that the Miami Dolphins, with
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill back on the field, are gonna be the
Speaker 1: team to cool down the Cults right now? No? And
Speaker 1: I would I would assassinate anyone that tried to lock
Speaker 1: up the Cults in this situation because they're so far
Speaker 1: and away the more intriguing team assassinated. You could not
Speaker 1: Would anyone disagree that you simply could not lock that
Speaker 1: game up with the way these two teams are going, Well,
Speaker 1: you gotta look in the mirror, that's all. I It's
Speaker 1: just that we finally are watching Andrew Luck protected. And
Speaker 1: there was this nugget in our little statistical packet that
Speaker 1: back in team when he had his full year with them,
Speaker 1: forty one point eight pressure rate highest in the NFL,
Speaker 1: constantly besieged, constantly on the run since Week six, eleven
Speaker 1: percent zero sacks lois in the NFL. And what are
Speaker 1: we getting. We're getting an offense that under Frank Reich,
Speaker 1: reminds you of last year's Eagles, not anything else from
Speaker 1: anyone else, that it's a team that can do so
Speaker 1: any things. The running games come up to life, and
Speaker 1: their defense is good too. I can't find one thing
Speaker 1: about the Miami Dolphins, and tell me if there is
Speaker 1: a scenario in years where the starting quarterback comes back
Speaker 1: into the fold and there's less excitement and less reason
Speaker 1: for it to make any difference for my at all,
Speaker 1: I disagree. I think it does with Tannehill. Yes I don't.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't name the name the memorable wind
Speaker 1: that from Bryan Tannehill. I don't believe in Tannehill overall,
Speaker 1: and I have no idea what you'll get out of
Speaker 1: him coming off a five weeks shoulder injury. But I
Speaker 1: do think brock Oswiler was getting to the point where
Speaker 1: he wasn't really allowing you to play offense or try
Speaker 1: to win games, and so I think Tannehill provides some.
Speaker 1: My point is that you that where if if if
Speaker 1: Tom Brady to come rolling in off his four game suspension,
Speaker 1: it's like it's it's massive, It's it lifts the entire
Speaker 1: concept of the team up. The idea that Tannehill is
Speaker 1: coming back into the fold has zero Q rating. And
Speaker 1: zero emotional response. I still don't know who the Dolphins are,
Speaker 1: what they represent, their five, what their direction is, if
Speaker 1: they're going forward or backwards. There to me a complete mystery.
Speaker 1: Are they going to fire their coach, keep their coach,
Speaker 1: fire their quarterback, keep their quarterback. Are they gonna be
Speaker 1: the best team in the league next year? Are they're
Speaker 1: gonna be the worst? No? And it's a complete it's
Speaker 1: a complete mystery. They're not gonna be the best team
Speaker 1: in the I think gonna be a playoff team next year.
Speaker 1: They're gonna lose four team games next year. I have
Speaker 1: no idea what to expect from this franchise now or
Speaker 1: going forward. There there a they're a below average offense,
Speaker 1: but not the worst offense. There below average defense, but
Speaker 1: not the worst defense, and they are great special teams
Speaker 1: and maybe a guy who can come up with some
Speaker 1: game plans every now and then that confuses people in
Speaker 1: out of date. Yeah, all I'll say is that could
Speaker 1: not look in the mirror and take the Colts. I
Speaker 1: had to pivot out of this lock. So do you
Speaker 1: see the Colts? Because you've been in on the Colts,
Speaker 1: and I think I've been with you on some level
Speaker 1: just enjoy watching them play. But do you see them
Speaker 1: as like a true Super Bowl contender West that's gonna
Speaker 1: keep getting better and better or more just like a fun,
Speaker 1: fun team that's gonna have a little ride that's fun
Speaker 1: to watch, you know what I mean? See them as
Speaker 1: this is a mark word, as a berserker in the
Speaker 1: a f C playoff field. Do you not want them
Speaker 1: in the mix if you're a different team, because they
Speaker 1: can beat anyone. Their offense is that good, um they're
Speaker 1: coaching is that good? Their defense, I believe is probably
Speaker 1: um taking advantage of weak opponents. I think that you
Speaker 1: can score on the Colts defense pretty easily and that.
Speaker 1: But I'd also say look at the Cults who they
Speaker 1: are over the last month and a half and just
Speaker 1: ignore what was coming before. Absolutely they are a materially
Speaker 1: different team. They were an injury ravage and mess. They
Speaker 1: had eleven starters out against I want to see what
Speaker 1: they do this week. I think people are getting you know,
Speaker 1: they had that win against the Titan. This will be
Speaker 1: where Miami wins. After all, we've just said no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. Well, here's the thing, I'm not at that
Speaker 1: point yet, and that's why I like, couldn't look at
Speaker 1: myself in the mirror that even though this is a
Speaker 1: dome game in the the Cults are suddenly being treated
Speaker 1: like one of the better teams in the league. There
Speaker 1: nine point favorites in that in this game. And that's
Speaker 1: why I look at these two five and five teams.
Speaker 1: I think it ends up being close. It wouldn't shock
Speaker 1: me if the Dolphins win. And even though the domes on,
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be raining there in Indianapolis and
Speaker 1: it's coming back. What are you are you doing this
Speaker 1: with like four to five games a week now? I mean,
Speaker 1: we're just gonna do it until the NFL stopped it
Speaker 1: in like a week. I would just keep the people
Speaker 1: wanting more. But you haven't made your problem. It's it's
Speaker 1: on your mind at all times. Clearly this it's like
Speaker 1: the third game. It's also poor analysis. The Dolphins are
Speaker 1: not good and the Coults can score thirty five on
Speaker 1: any team in the league. If it was if you
Speaker 1: don't really care about the Dolphins winning, you're simply in
Speaker 1: your desert. If it was five, I think they're getting
Speaker 1: too much credit that the Cults. If it was five
Speaker 1: or six, then you then you don't touch it. But
Speaker 1: when you go through every game scoring thirty five points,
Speaker 1: you just don't even pay attention. Then you're like, oh, no,
Speaker 1: they're not that good. I of course I think they're
Speaker 1: good it. But I think if you look at the
Speaker 1: balance of the season, it's more likely that this game.
Speaker 1: It's more likely that this game. Why why balanced the
Speaker 1: season with a September team that was different than I'm
Speaker 1: talking more about the Dolphins that I think the Dolphins
Speaker 1: are a middle are not road team. The Dolphins are
Speaker 1: all also different. Losing Albert Wilson, Jachim Grant, we don't
Speaker 1: even know if DeVante Parker is gonna play, Their offensive
Speaker 1: tackles are injured. What I mean, they're not the same team,
Speaker 1: I would say also saying that, not just using this,
Speaker 1: but saying that a game is going to be close
Speaker 1: or you're not I mean anything anymore. It's closer games
Speaker 1: than ever before in the NFL. I mean, well, that's
Speaker 1: why when when teams that are five and five area
Speaker 1: are favored by like a nine point that that gets
Speaker 1: your You're coming from a from a hobbyist, a desert
Speaker 1: hobbyist angle, which is completely different than and that's you
Speaker 1: may say, you know that that's a problem or cheap
Speaker 1: cheapening the brand, But what are you doing? You're you're
Speaker 1: you're watching on Thanksgiving and then you're sitting on your
Speaker 1: hands on Sunday. You're just like Nope, don't think any
Speaker 1: of these games are interested. Sorry, it's raining all year.
Speaker 1: Cycling back Greg is his third podcast, because this is
Speaker 1: not our podcast whatever. This is the reason going back
Speaker 1: to Yeah, like like, wow, what a shocking development. Someone
Speaker 1: introduces uh a part of the show with the weird
Speaker 1: sound drop that no one heard before, Like that didn't
Speaker 1: happen before. It's eating up real estate fun um. The
Speaker 1: reason why Greg asked West in that earnest manner, like
Speaker 1: the cultures that we haven't fun with the cultures year
Speaker 1: we've taken series because he knows what he knows what's censored. Happening.
Speaker 1: January three, six matchup Patriots hosting the Cults in the wild.
Speaker 1: That would be one team, Like, if I could pick
Speaker 1: that's what's happening, I could pick a team for the
Speaker 1: Patriots to lose. Two would be the Cults. Like I
Speaker 1: love watching standard. Are you a fan or not? I
Speaker 1: mean I am, but I'm just saying like I like,
Speaker 1: what kind of what are you? What are you see?
Speaker 1: The culture? Probably my second favorite team right now? I
Speaker 1: got Patriots. Charges, you're a literal Elliotts are your second
Speaker 1: favorite team? Would I would go Chargers. Then I'm just saying,
Speaker 1: I like, you like watching football games, like that's what
Speaker 1: what all we have to do? And so you start,
Speaker 1: you know, admiring a player like Andrew Luck and it's
Speaker 1: been a little while since we had him in our lives.
Speaker 1: It's just confusing. I am confused because of everything you
Speaker 1: just said to this and then now you're fine with
Speaker 1: the Patriots losing to them when you're also a Patriots
Speaker 1: and daughter with the comment about the Eagles and how
Speaker 1: it hurts them more than anything, and yet he's rooting
Speaker 1: for the Colts maybe to beat the Patriots of the playoff.
Speaker 1: I mean, and then there's rainfalling, and there's all sorts
Speaker 1: of stuff going on in track of it all, I
Speaker 1: am like our presidency, I'm just trying to just like
Speaker 1: throw a ton of information that means nothing to confuse
Speaker 1: the masses. And then, I mean, the other option is
Speaker 1: turning off the show if it becomes too confusing for
Speaker 1: the listeners. So let's you know, let's move to the
Speaker 1: prime time game, Saturday Night Football. The Packers four or
Speaker 1: five and one. They got um a really difficult loss,
Speaker 1: disappointing loss on Thursday Night Football, but then the rest
Speaker 1: of the week kind of worked out in their favors.
Speaker 1: So instead of being kind of a long shot at
Speaker 1: four or five and one, they are still in the
Speaker 1: mix in the NFC North and in the playoff picture,
Speaker 1: and as luck would have it, they get the Vikings
Speaker 1: right now, and the Vikings um. I mean, when you
Speaker 1: look at what's going on with the Vikings again, it's
Speaker 1: been a weird year for the Vikings where they they
Speaker 1: have looked sometimes like a team that was dangerous like
Speaker 1: it was last year, and then other times very vulnerable
Speaker 1: and west. Right now, I hazard to state that I
Speaker 1: believe that the Vikings are in another love. They've lost
Speaker 1: two of three. They got losses to the Saints, which
Speaker 1: is no sin to lose to the Saints. Understand. I
Speaker 1: understand that I didn't like that Chicago performance on Sunday Night.
Speaker 1: You had to win over the lines in between. I
Speaker 1: feel like the Packers are maybe catching the Vikings at
Speaker 1: a decent time. Yeah, who knows who the Vikings are.
Speaker 1: But then again, you say the exact same thing about
Speaker 1: maybe the Vikings are catching the Packers at the right
Speaker 1: time because the Packers can't get out of their own way.
Speaker 1: I love the Packers talent. I think they're a talented team,
Speaker 1: but there they're scheming, they're their situational game plan. Their
Speaker 1: situational game management is a mess. And can they fix
Speaker 1: that in one week? I don't know. I I lost
Speaker 1: all confidence in the Packers after last week. That was
Speaker 1: really yes, they yeah, that was an embarrassing loss. So
Speaker 1: they outplayed the Seahawks. It was different ways, and they
Speaker 1: they shot themselves in the foot over and over and
Speaker 1: over again. And that's maybe who the Packers are. And
Speaker 1: the counter is that that's kind of been what they've
Speaker 1: looked like all season, a team that and I think
Speaker 1: one of their players said it this week. They are
Speaker 1: less than the sum of their parts. Like the parts
Speaker 1: are great. I mean, Davante Adams looks great. David baktr
Speaker 1: might be the best left tack on the league. Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodger and Jones. Aaron Jones playing fantastic. You had you
Speaker 1: have some players, you know, playing well on defense, and
Speaker 1: it doesn't it doesn't add up right. Something smells wrong?
Speaker 1: Were you know? I was disgusted with McCarthy punching on
Speaker 1: fourth and two. You could kind of feel what was
Speaker 1: going to happen after that. But I don't think Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers should be absolved at all. I mean he maybe
Speaker 1: hasn't been the same guys as well. And that third
Speaker 1: and two in completion, that was stunning to see because
Speaker 1: this was a guy that's known for onions and to
Speaker 1: spike the ball like that. Um he took up. He
Speaker 1: had a role in that loss as well. So it
Speaker 1: was just a really a really um dark night for
Speaker 1: the Packers. Oh Greg. I don't know if Greg did
Speaker 1: as much, but I I kind of buried Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: on our recap last week. He he okay, so he
Speaker 1: he averaged over ten yards per tempt. He made some
Speaker 1: beautiful throws and with the game on the line. I
Speaker 1: have never begged a quarterback in my life to take
Speaker 1: a check down, and I did it more than once
Speaker 1: in that game, Like why are you what? What's what?
Speaker 1: The glory boy plays the cock shore way in which
Speaker 1: he wants to improvise on every play instead of taking
Speaker 1: the play that is there, take the first down. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's a guy trying to do too much. Well, I
Speaker 1: think he's been put in that position over and over
Speaker 1: and it's I last year's Packers from my radar, for
Speaker 1: the minute that he got hurt, they were one of
Speaker 1: the worst teams in football, and now they have They
Speaker 1: do have a lot of talented parts, and when they're
Speaker 1: not performing, that is coaching. And I think it's caught
Speaker 1: up to everyone if it hadn't already that Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: is deep on the radar. But the Vikings, this isn't
Speaker 1: a division that we could have easily in our minds
Speaker 1: said three teams get into the playoffs and we'd have
Speaker 1: no problem with that back in September. And every year
Speaker 1: you get a division, you find it's just not as
Speaker 1: talented and ready to roll as you think. And I
Speaker 1: feel that way about the North. I mean the Vikings
Speaker 1: against the Bears were utterly dominated for big, long stretches
Speaker 1: of that game last week, and in the Vikings offense,
Speaker 1: I don't trust them to get out of their own
Speaker 1: way either. Love this Week twelve game. It reminds me
Speaker 1: a lot of the Packers Seahawks last week, just because
Speaker 1: I know They're not the two best teams in the league,
Speaker 1: but there's just a lot at stake, and these were
Speaker 1: two teams we were so interested in coming into the season.
Speaker 1: They haven't figured out what they're gonna do, but there
Speaker 1: still is time. But there's not time for both teams.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is such such a big game. And Cousins,
Speaker 1: even though I think he's played well overall, I think
Speaker 1: everything else about the Vikings offense is worse. I think
Speaker 1: the play callings worse, at the offensive line is worse.
Speaker 1: I think the running game is certainly worse this year,
Speaker 1: and I think the defense is worse this year. It's
Speaker 1: it's not a bad defense, but it's not as good
Speaker 1: as it was. So Cousins is is not carried them,
Speaker 1: and he did not have a good game against the
Speaker 1: Bears at all. He talked about my Vikings fan friend
Speaker 1: who it's been on his radar that Cousins seems to
Speaker 1: do something and these losses that just kills them. Then
Speaker 1: he did it again with that pick six. I know
Speaker 1: he's had a good year on balance, but is he
Speaker 1: good enough to really lift this team out of what's
Speaker 1: been a semi slumber. It's harder to build a team
Speaker 1: when you when your quarterback costs as much as he
Speaker 1: does versus had you drafted someone that gives you a
Speaker 1: four year window to put money elsewhere. So it's not
Speaker 1: really acceptable that your friends is seeing that or that
Speaker 1: that's what we're getting with Kirk Cousins, who's been pretty
Speaker 1: good I think overall, but he's not a difference making
Speaker 1: guy that like has taken We thought we thought without
Speaker 1: case Keenum and you putting Kirk Cousins obviously will be better. Well,
Speaker 1: the line sucks. Let's start there. You're not allowed to
Speaker 1: be the twelfth best quarterback in the NFL. Like if
Speaker 1: you are, you're criticized. And he's he's had a good
Speaker 1: year and the twelve best, but he's also what the
Speaker 1: second highest paid quarterback. I would even put him higher.
Speaker 1: I'd put him, Well, you're right, and now that I
Speaker 1: look at it, and he's right around ten, eleven, twelve
Speaker 1: he was. He's paid to put him over the hump.
Speaker 1: It's a win now situation for them, but he's not that.
Speaker 1: I still I haven't. I know Mark is just waiting
Speaker 1: to bury this team, and I don't blame him, but
Speaker 1: I still haven't given up on the Packers. I know,
Speaker 1: I think they can win this game. Then their schedule
Speaker 1: of light and something. You have the Cardinals, Falcons, Fairs, Jets,
Speaker 1: and Lions, so I'm not confident they lose. My thing is,
Speaker 1: if they lose this, I don't want it here. And
Speaker 1: we're not doing that. We're saying the opposite that it's
Speaker 1: everyone else's fault. At Green Bay's four six and one,
Speaker 1: it's their fault. If they lose this game, then I'm
Speaker 1: with you. But I think they can win this game.
Speaker 1: If I had to pick it, I would pick the Packers,
Speaker 1: and I still think they can. At one point I
Speaker 1: picked the Packers too, and Mike McCarthy for all his
Speaker 1: warts and this could be it for Mike McCarthy and
Speaker 1: the reports that it is uh that this could be
Speaker 1: it if they don't make the playoffs. He has also
Speaker 1: been the head coach for all these late season runs,
Speaker 1: uh through the years. He's been there forever, So it's
Speaker 1: not like he's gonna be the guy now that causes
Speaker 1: them not to be able to get hot because he's
Speaker 1: always been there. Maybe he's just a limited guy. Ultimately
Speaker 1: we'll see. I like that they're still in the mix.
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham, by the way, he's gonna play with the
Speaker 1: broken thumb. Well, he's already not catching passes, so what's
Speaker 1: that kind of here? He heard that there's sandwiches on
Speaker 1: the line. They have to get to take some sandwiches
Speaker 1: away from Dan. So it's gonna be close, now, how
Speaker 1: dare he all right? Last game of the week Monday
Speaker 1: Night Football Big A f C South matchup the Tennessee
Speaker 1: Titoons Tunes coming off that ugly blowout loss at the
Speaker 1: hands of the Colts, UH have another tough road match
Speaker 1: up here. They go to Houston to face the Texans,
Speaker 1: who have won seventh straight after their oh and three start.
Speaker 1: Greg and Uh. There was assumptions made that I was
Speaker 1: gonna lock up the Texans, which I understand. I said
Speaker 1: I was gonna ride with him, but I didn't really
Speaker 1: yet you said that said stick with them the rest
Speaker 1: of the way. You know what, I didn't like what
Speaker 1: I saw from them against the Redskins. And I will
Speaker 1: also say that if any team in the league right
Speaker 1: now is due for a loss, it's time for the
Speaker 1: Texans to lose the game. And it doesn't mean the
Speaker 1: end of the world for the Texans. But I kind
Speaker 1: of see this is maybe the week with the hot
Speaker 1: and cold Titans. Maybe they're a little hot this week
Speaker 1: again on Monday Night football and they get a w
Speaker 1: I feel good about Tennessee this week interesting because I
Speaker 1: I mean, I I would agree with your points about
Speaker 1: the Texans, but there's a decent chance right now that
Speaker 1: Blaine Gabbert starts this game. And I think that's, oh
Speaker 1: wait a second, a real problem. We just don't know.
Speaker 1: They said it's a stinger injury, and it we're taping
Speaker 1: this on Wednesday. It's a Monday night game, and so
Speaker 1: that's just how it is. We're not going to know,
Speaker 1: and I don't think anyone's gonna know until uh later
Speaker 1: in the week. That the Texans, their offense is still
Speaker 1: limited like the Marrious Time has had one target last week. Uh,
Speaker 1: they're definitely a better run blocking than past you know
Speaker 1: blocking that the passing game hasn't really taken the next step.
Speaker 1: If you look at their total yardage, they had three
Speaker 1: twenty yards last week, which is pretty low for two
Speaker 1: thousand and eighteen. That was actually their second best game
Speaker 1: in terms of yardage and then last five or six.
Speaker 1: So the offense hasn't really improved throughout the course of
Speaker 1: the season. The defense has been good. Yeah, that Dolphins
Speaker 1: game through everyone for a loop. The analysis have been
Speaker 1: off on their offense since that game because people think
Speaker 1: that and that was a lot of busted coverages and
Speaker 1: Watson did a good job, but it was it was
Speaker 1: a little bit of a flukey game. They're a lot
Speaker 1: like the Titans. They they want to keep the score
Speaker 1: under twenty, which the Titans do too, and these are
Speaker 1: kind of mirror images in that way. I think that
Speaker 1: I feel like the Texans again. That Redskins game caught
Speaker 1: Washington where when its offense was at its worst, and
Speaker 1: it was a meltdown type game for the Redskins offense,
Speaker 1: and it massed a little bit. A pretty unimpressive game
Speaker 1: by Deshaun Watson. I thought he threw two bad picks
Speaker 1: in that and I you know, I know Lamar Miller
Speaker 1: had a had a US and outing. They just don't
Speaker 1: have like from a running angle, they don't have someone
Speaker 1: that impresses me that much and when to show when
Speaker 1: when when Hopkins is not getting open, which is what
Speaker 1: happened last week. Their offense is not very dynamic. This
Speaker 1: was a huge game though in that division race, I mean,
Speaker 1: Sexans are getting pretty close to almost locking this division up.
Speaker 1: I mean we still have the Colts Texans, which is
Speaker 1: obviously big two, but if Colts don't lose another game,
Speaker 1: there's no locking. Their kicker killed him too lest week.
Speaker 1: I'm kind of surprised no one's mentioned, you know, the
Speaker 1: elephant in the room here, which is what everyone's talking
Speaker 1: Brendan Scarlet fever. That was it. That is where I
Speaker 1: was going. Like, Brendan Scarlett came out of nowhere last
Speaker 1: week to have the number one overall Pro Football Focus
Speaker 1: Great of the week. Everyone's thinking, can he do it again? Scarlett?
Speaker 1: Back to back? Tune in Test It Tour Monday Night.
Speaker 1: That's a bit of a defenside joke, but I enjoyed
Speaker 1: it a lot. Um Uh and Greg get excited because
Speaker 1: I like to, you know, look forward to this time
Speaker 1: of the year after Thanksgiving. That's only fire up the
Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal calculator playoff codculing, and it's that time of
Speaker 1: year almost there's a lot of non scenarios. That's our calculators.
Speaker 1: I'm listening. Yeah, what about I like the Rainmaker much
Speaker 1: better than the calculate like to calculate it that has
Speaker 1: like the little ticker tape thing that comes out, prints out.
Speaker 1: I think this is that, but from you, we'll go
Speaker 1: back to the drawing board on that one. Is that
Speaker 1: an amarchus? All right, there you go. Um, that's it
Speaker 1: for the week twelve preview. The next time you hear
Speaker 1: hear from us, we will be recapping all the games
Speaker 1: that we just previewed. So check out the Sunday night
Speaker 1: Flagship show. Uh and uh. Thank you to everyone, and
Speaker 1: once again for you American listeners, Happy Thanksgiving and to
Speaker 1: everyone else you know whatever. Have a good week. I
Speaker 1: have a good week. I don't know what do you
Speaker 1: want from me? Stan Hanzas that's signing off poor a
Speaker 1: quiet storm, fool out riding on Sunday, the mail Man,
Speaker 1: the old Boss, Ricky Hollywood behind the glass until Sunday
Speaker 1: m hm