Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast Three bozos going absolutely nowhere
Speaker 1: from the.
Speaker 2: Chris Westling podcast studio. It's Around the NFL that was necessary.
Speaker 2: It was time to take a little air out of
Speaker 2: the blue in this room. Dan Hands is here, Creig Rosenthal,
Speaker 2: Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: That was just an op ed from Jason Sommore right,
Speaker 1: totally off book.
Speaker 3: It's definitely getting high off our own supply season.
Speaker 2: This is our twenty twenty three season Predictions and Awards show.
Speaker 2: How fun is that? Where we're going to go through
Speaker 2: all our picks that you actually you could read about
Speaker 2: on NFL dot com. Ali Bonpori and the team put
Speaker 2: together a nice rundown of all the analysts, a list
Speaker 2: that includes Judy Pettitt, Jeremy Bergman, how about that, Eric Edholme,
Speaker 2: New Power Rankings Guy, Michael f Florio, not the other
Speaker 2: Mike Florio, the realer Mike Florida, the one, Leslie Frazier,
Speaker 2: mj D, Steve Mariucci, Nick Chuk, Brandon Walker, Hard Knocks Guy,
Speaker 2: and I'll last but not least, Dan Hansis, Greg Rosenthal, Mark.
Speaker 1: I got this in just before deadline, So imagine if
Speaker 1: I had not been included in this exercise.
Speaker 2: I was hoping everyone would get it in last year.
Speaker 2: Not everyone got it in. I was meaning to look
Speaker 2: up who didn't get it in last year because it
Speaker 2: read havoc with this episode a year ago. I don't
Speaker 2: know who was it.
Speaker 4: It was probably you.
Speaker 1: I did get it in personally. I know that I
Speaker 1: hadn't to ask for an extent.
Speaker 2: I have to look it up.
Speaker 3: It probably was me. We don't need to look it up.
Speaker 3: Maybe you're right, it was probably me. I don't really remember.
Speaker 2: It was probably me, and yet you tried to put me.
Speaker 3: Well, now, once I once I thought about it, let's
Speaker 3: just let's just move on. I mean, yes, it is
Speaker 3: cool to be making picks alongside. Maurice Jones drew overrating
Speaker 3: his employer for like the seventh straight year.
Speaker 4: But I get it.
Speaker 3: Oh, he works for the Rams and it doesn't even
Speaker 3: work for the Jaguars.
Speaker 4: He's just a fan.
Speaker 3: He always overrates them too, But I think he nailed
Speaker 3: them last year because they had a nice little season.
Speaker 2: Mark you and I participated last year in the sex
Speaker 2: or Okay, I missed it.
Speaker 1: It's it's called being professional right at your workplace.
Speaker 2: Because you know, for Greg not to do this year ago.
Speaker 2: Meant he was blowing off emails from I don't think
Speaker 2: it was Blair, Gennaro, Police, all those great people.
Speaker 1: Don't have time for you, people who operate in cubicles
Speaker 1: and desks.
Speaker 2: And then he tried to brush this off with something
Speaker 2: we shouldn't even talk about by saying, oh, it's probably
Speaker 2: you Dan.
Speaker 3: I believe that in the moment, and then I thought
Speaker 3: about it and I was like, actually, that sounds like
Speaker 3: something I would do.
Speaker 2: You need to get going, Mark, I know you before
Speaker 2: the show. You're getting a little jittery. I so you know,
Speaker 2: I'm not unlike the two of you.
Speaker 1: I have multiple responsibilities in the city, on the planet
Speaker 1: and have somewhere with a tight deadline. And you know,
Speaker 1: we've done a lot of things today and we took
Speaker 1: a big long lunch in the middle, and so I
Speaker 1: really enjoyed that. But then it suddenly started a clock
Speaker 1: watch a little bit, gotta move, gotta.
Speaker 3: Be I'm expecting clip dancers from from market.
Speaker 4: You're doing the show.
Speaker 2: Because we we began with it's Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 4: Of course it is next.
Speaker 2: So we're going to try to get through this in
Speaker 2: a decent amount of time. For Mark, you to handle
Speaker 2: all the adult responsibilities that you had.
Speaker 1: I only care about. I only care about. I did
Speaker 1: not say that you don't have these responsible But if
Speaker 1: you did that, if one of you had the responsibility,
Speaker 1: we would have crank this thing. We would have been
Speaker 1: going thirty five minutes ago.
Speaker 2: You do have responsibilities right now, our responsibilities to the audience.
Speaker 1: To just what I say, is that care about the
Speaker 1: list and the co hosts that I work with.
Speaker 2: I think you care about driving fifty four miles per
Speaker 2: hour out of this building in exactly forty four minutes.
Speaker 3: I care about that too, Not as fast as he'll
Speaker 3: be out of the studio running.
Speaker 4: He's just wow.
Speaker 2: We gotta start getting a camera on Mark exiting the
Speaker 2: studio or any of our Shadowy League figure meetings. It's
Speaker 2: become my favorite.
Speaker 3: There was a classic quad on Monday where yeah, you were,
Speaker 3: you were through that glass door and.
Speaker 2: It was just like chair was spinning.
Speaker 1: Look, I spent like I had like twenty terrible corporate jobs,
Speaker 1: and I became involved in this industry to not do
Speaker 1: corporate meetings. So I have to learn on my tolerance
Speaker 1: to rise it. Because I'm a I'm not acclimated to that.
Speaker 2: We do that out of respect for you. We don't
Speaker 2: give you a hard time about it because usually in
Speaker 2: those meetings, Greg and I then have another ten minutes
Speaker 2: where the boss is still want to talk post meeting, Yeah,
Speaker 2: but usually thinke that way. It's taking that bullet for
Speaker 2: you every single time.
Speaker 1: Well, no, I've stayed to the end of many of them.
Speaker 1: First of all, it's a lot of it's a lot
Speaker 1: of like the we start talking about like pickleball and
Speaker 1: like like like you know what saw products someone? Yeah,
Speaker 1: just like just like it's not nothing like what what
Speaker 1: is the what are why are we doing this?
Speaker 2: Why are we here? Anyways?
Speaker 1: Big question that I'm adding multiple minutes to the show
Speaker 1: with the complaints, So.
Speaker 3: We are actually got to tackle that on the Metaphysical podcast.
Speaker 4: What are we doing here?
Speaker 2: Right now? We're gonna pick yes, our predictions and awards
Speaker 2: for the season. This is once that once it's on
Speaker 2: digital print for NFL dot Com, you can't go back
Speaker 2: on it. And then you go back I already did
Speaker 2: to the end of the season.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 2: And you know, listen, I remember Greg with his whole like,
Speaker 2: oh I picked the Eagles thing. I remember, we couldn't
Speaker 2: we couldn't stop hearing about that. And it's because Greg
Speaker 2: in his back pocket. And that's not even a shot
Speaker 2: on you. Greg. You knew you had this article in
Speaker 2: the digital archive that you could point to forever.
Speaker 4: I like that.
Speaker 2: Right now, we have an opportunity once again to be
Speaker 2: as annoying as Greg was a year ago.
Speaker 3: That's all you're going for in this sort of exercise,
Speaker 3: and opportunity to be annoying in the future.
Speaker 4: And it can go on and on mm hmm.
Speaker 1: And they offer this thing mid season where you can
Speaker 1: go back and change all your life. And I think
Speaker 1: we shouldn't exactly. We should all just say there's none
Speaker 1: of that happened.
Speaker 2: I always decline that one, but not out of disrespect
Speaker 2: for my colleagues. No, like Greg last year, because I
Speaker 2: stand on what it uh Will Smith saying Concussion tell
Speaker 2: the truth. I tell the truth here. I don't need
Speaker 2: to rewrite history in the middle of the season. I'm
Speaker 2: either going to be right or wrong. Probably wrong, but
Speaker 2: that's the fun of it. Let's get to it.
Speaker 4: We don't mention that movie.
Speaker 1: Yeah, out of loyalty to the employer. I never went
Speaker 1: and saw that didn't bite ticket.
Speaker 3: Don't believe it there's that anything, and there was like
Speaker 3: this Patriots player in the early aughts shit off field
Speaker 3: story we'd never mentioned.
Speaker 2: Shoosh. All right, let's get to it. Let's do it
Speaker 2: this way. Let's start by talking awards, okay, and then
Speaker 2: we'll get to the picks for the divisions wild cards,
Speaker 2: and then close with our Super Bowl picks. Which way
Speaker 2: do we want to go? Let's go from down to up.
Speaker 2: Let's start with Coach of the Year. All right, all right,
Speaker 2: and this is an interesting one. Let me throw out
Speaker 2: first of all, the NFL dot Com consensus was my
Speaker 2: boy Robert Sala, and I get it. The idea that
Speaker 2: seven first place votes or votes on NFL dot com
Speaker 2: Sala and who's plus sixteen hundred according to what is
Speaker 2: the DraftKings they're using there? Caesars? I think it's Caesars. Anyway,
Speaker 2: Sala got the most votes. None of us, though, voted
Speaker 2: for Sala. Take that all people the popping, but I
Speaker 2: get it. As a choice, I went with Mike Tomlin
Speaker 2: and he was the second place vote. And that might
Speaker 2: be teasing some of my my picks later on, but
Speaker 2: I think that Tomlin, who's plus eighteen hundred, by the way,
Speaker 2: Tomlin has never won Coach of the Year. Would you
Speaker 2: believe that?
Speaker 4: Wow?
Speaker 1: And I kind of would Actually, I think this it
Speaker 1: sort of tilts towards new face.
Speaker 5: I like that choice by you, plus for a guy
Speaker 5: who has been around forever, who is on a Hall
Speaker 5: of Fame trajectory, that is now building up another team
Speaker 5: that could be ready to make noise this year.
Speaker 2: And remember when Leo finally got the oscar for The Revenant.
Speaker 2: I believe it was and it was by far choice
Speaker 2: greatest performance. So it was like it was time we
Speaker 2: got to make up for the same thing. Denzel was
Speaker 2: Marty Marty score ses. They gave it to him for
Speaker 2: The Departed, which is a fun movie but not special
Speaker 2: like say Goodfellas or Raging Bowl or extra course correction,
Speaker 2: course correction. If even if the Steelers win ten games
Speaker 2: in their wild card team, I think they give it
Speaker 2: to Mike Tomlin and say, Mike, good job, we recognize you.
Speaker 2: Finally this revenue it.
Speaker 3: Needs more than that, I think to win Coach of
Speaker 3: the Year, I think you need to win the division,
Speaker 3: or need to win twelve games and somehow get boxed
Speaker 3: out in that division.
Speaker 4: Because now the expectations.
Speaker 2: Who says, I don't have Mike Tomlin winning the division right.
Speaker 3: Sure, I'm just I think that's what he'll need because
Speaker 3: we've had Cognizani like Mark leading the pack here that
Speaker 3: actually have elevated the expectations enough that I don't think
Speaker 3: the seventh seed would be enough for Tomin to do it.
Speaker 3: But I love that choice. They sort of wish that
Speaker 3: was my choice. This is the award that has the
Speaker 3: most differing opinions. Fourteen different people got votes here, and
Speaker 3: no more than seven out of thirty plus voters.
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be a tough road for Tomalin
Speaker 1: unless they have like a three or four game spike
Speaker 1: and win the division.
Speaker 2: All us I have Arthur Smith.
Speaker 1: I think he fits the narrative of what how this
Speaker 1: award goes out because it's.
Speaker 2: Like the Falcons have been competent under him.
Speaker 1: We've talked about them a ton, so I don't even
Speaker 1: need to reiterate at all, but like there's a vision
Speaker 1: and I think he's going to fulfill it.
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna make the playoffs.
Speaker 1: They're going to be a fun team and a completely
Speaker 1: different version of the Falcons than we've seen for a
Speaker 1: long time. And it's kind of like Arthur Smith newer
Speaker 1: face gets a lot of.
Speaker 3: Votes, so he actually is one of the favorites depending
Speaker 3: on where you look on Caesars as we're listing on
Speaker 3: the on the website, he's plus one thousand, which is
Speaker 3: one of the favorites.
Speaker 4: I hate it when people say.
Speaker 3: Like, oh, Dan Campbell's the favorite to win Coach of
Speaker 3: the Year, and then if he doesn't win it, it's like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 3: he was the favorite. It's like, yes, but he's plus
Speaker 3: eight fifty, which is an eight to one odds. It's
Speaker 3: like even calling the Lions the favorite in the NFC North,
Speaker 3: you should understand like, actually, the odds say it's more
Speaker 3: likely one of the other three teams. You know, the
Speaker 3: field wins over the Lions, but they are the most likely.
Speaker 3: So Coach of the Year is one of those awards
Speaker 3: where there's a million people with the chance, and I
Speaker 3: took one of the bigger long shots. I didn't realize
Speaker 3: it plus four thousand. I got Ron Rivera, which yes,
Speaker 3: is obviously giving away a little something because I actually
Speaker 3: think he fits a narrative to with what's going on
Speaker 3: in Washington. If he can save his job and if
Speaker 3: he can make the playoffs. I think he would be
Speaker 3: a very popular figure. He's popular with the media, and
Speaker 3: that would be a great little story.
Speaker 2: As the backstory because everyone knows he's hind of on
Speaker 2: thin eyes here and maybe not even all by his
Speaker 2: own doing, just the change and tumult around Washington. Okay,
Speaker 2: I think they're all good picks comeback player of the Year.
Speaker 2: This is interesting. So twenty two votes for an NFL
Speaker 2: media for Damar Hamlin. It's crazy to me that anybody
Speaker 2: else would vote for anyone other than Tomorrow.
Speaker 1: One really stands unless they Unless they they forget that
Speaker 1: Deamar Hamlin nearly died on the football field and now
Speaker 1: is he's on the Buffalo Bills this season as a
Speaker 1: football player. What we're you gonna say, Well, no, I
Speaker 1: think it's I think it's either you forgot or you're
Speaker 1: really trying to be a tad extra by picking someone
Speaker 1: else like I now, I think this is a person
Speaker 1: that's gonna essentially fulfill the concept of a comeback. But
Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley wiped off the face of the of the
Speaker 1: earth for gambling, essentially is a weird comeback story that
Speaker 1: I think the NFL would not got six votes.
Speaker 3: He got the second most out of votes, And I
Speaker 3: thought that the little extra star at the bottom the asterisk
Speaker 3: come back to Us, which notes that Caesar's isn't even
Speaker 3: offering Betty Lions at Comeback Player the Year, So I
Speaker 3: think that speaks to this is a weird, uncomfortable award
Speaker 3: to bet on generally, but especially with Tamar Hamlin.
Speaker 4: But other places are putting up odds for this.
Speaker 2: And Adam Shine come back to us, right.
Speaker 3: And Tamar Hamlin actually is a huge favorite to win
Speaker 3: this award, So there's something awkward about this.
Speaker 4: But he got all three of our votes.
Speaker 2: He's gonna win. The only other.
Speaker 4: One went Ridley. Oh, John Metchi would make some sense.
Speaker 2: That what you're gonna say the only other person John
Speaker 2: Metchu obviously battled leukemia after being a second round pick
Speaker 2: of the Texans, and he's going to be in the
Speaker 2: mix for Houston this year. I mean, Breeze Hall, sure
Speaker 2: Tua got a vote here? Odell Okay, Beckham Lamar, come on,
Speaker 2: you don't do not give away Comeback Player of the
Speaker 2: Year award somebody who just was okay as a player
Speaker 2: and missed, you know, four or five games.
Speaker 3: Christian Gonzales voted for Tua as the Comeback Player of
Speaker 3: the Year. This is not and I've done some digging,
Speaker 3: it's not the Christian Gonzales that was taking seventeenth overall.
Speaker 3: Oh okay, he's not working. It's a digital content producer.
Speaker 3: And he went to a defensive Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 3: Let's see Hansas.
Speaker 4: Sorry, that's funny.
Speaker 2: Hansas voted with the majority here at Jalen Carter, the
Speaker 2: defensive tackle of the Philadelphia Eagles. I just think it's
Speaker 2: been proven that the Eagles know how to assimilate these
Speaker 2: talented players and get the most out of them. And
Speaker 2: even if he doesn't play a huge amount of snaps
Speaker 2: as a rookie, they're going to find a way to
Speaker 2: make it count. And he's obviously stuteley coming out of college.
Speaker 2: So he was my pick. Who did you guys go with?
Speaker 1: So I am one of two people along with Nick
Speaker 1: Schuh so I feel good about this that went with
Speaker 1: again Steelers team Joey Porter Junior. I just feel like, uh, well,
Speaker 1: first of all, I have I was banging the table
Speaker 1: for the Steelers to take Joey Porter back in the
Speaker 1: draft because it's like, don't don't bypass the son of
Speaker 1: a Steelers legend.
Speaker 2: Just take them. I think they're it's gonna work.
Speaker 1: And I think cornerback is the kind of thing that
Speaker 1: you make a couple of big splash plays, you got
Speaker 1: a chance to be to get those votes.
Speaker 3: History says it's usually won by a pass rusher or
Speaker 3: a linebacker, So Dan voting Carter makes sense. I do
Speaker 3: think he might struggle to get a you know, more
Speaker 3: than fifty percent of steps. He could still win Rookie
Speaker 3: of the Year with that, But there's just so many
Speaker 3: good players. Will Anderson got eleven votes, so almost as
Speaker 3: many as Carter. I went with Brian Branch safety Wow
Speaker 3: slash Nickel, and it'd be pretty rare for a second
Speaker 3: round player in the secondary.
Speaker 4: But we did get three votes.
Speaker 3: Ow uh, he's had such a good camp and preseason
Speaker 3: that maybe we're getting two. But he's also the kind
Speaker 3: of guy who's got to make splash plays. I think interceptions,
Speaker 3: sack like, kind of like a Mike Helton up playing
Speaker 3: safety type where he's just in the mix with big
Speaker 3: plays on a team everyone likes the Lions. So I
Speaker 3: went Brian Branch, but history would say Anderson and Carter
Speaker 3: make a lot of sense.
Speaker 2: That's a nice arthrow. The Homer and me really wanted
Speaker 2: to go with Will McDonald who got two votes in
Speaker 2: this exercise as well, But I've managed to rein it in.
Speaker 1: That was really and you rand it in on Sola
Speaker 1: to him, this is again the integrity is just shining.
Speaker 3: Anderson is the favorite, by the way, the Jalen Carter
Speaker 3: is the number two betting favorite, and then Christian Gonzales
Speaker 3: that the Patriot is third. Tyree Wilson and Devin Witherspoon
Speaker 3: after that got.
Speaker 2: It offensive rookie in the of the Year. This is
Speaker 2: a runaway. In terms of NFL media voting. Twenty six
Speaker 2: of the twenty six of the thirty four votes went
Speaker 2: to Bjon Robinson. Can't get too cute, however, he got clever.
Speaker 4: Danny got a little cute.
Speaker 2: Well, this makes sense though, I got a little cute,
Speaker 2: because what's the one thing that could take out Bijon
Speaker 2: Robinson quarterback? Quarterback? And how about a quarterback that potentially
Speaker 2: throws for three thousand runs for ten.
Speaker 4: Rocks ten rocks? Is that? Is that how we're talking?
Speaker 2: I talk over you.
Speaker 3: I like that if you were going to pick one
Speaker 3: of the three quarterbacks. Richardson is actually longer odds in
Speaker 3: Vegas than Bryce Young, and I agree with you he
Speaker 3: would be the most likely rookie quarterback to win Rookie
Speaker 3: of the Year because I think he could just put
Speaker 3: up twelve hundred yards on the ground and be highlight worthy.
Speaker 2: J Stroud didn't even get a vote out of the
Speaker 2: thirty four in our ballot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I I it's gonna be a tough team to
Speaker 3: be I felt great about Beeson. I've been riding the
Speaker 3: Bejon as a top three or four fantasy pick. I
Speaker 3: think he could lead the league in rushing or close
Speaker 3: to it. So I love Bejon.
Speaker 2: Robbins. It happened to notice Jack and Harry Hans's time. Yes,
Speaker 2: Robson number one overall in our kids.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, you had the eleventh pick and he fell
Speaker 3: that far. And like many of Jack and Harry quote
Speaker 3: unquote's pick, I was like, Wow, this team has drafted
Speaker 3: remarkably well, incredibly well marauders. I would go as far
Speaker 3: to say the preseason favorites in this league from what
Speaker 3: I saw, when they say, you know how they do
Speaker 3: the thing after they were they do a draft recap
Speaker 3: where they predict your record. I mean, I bet it
Speaker 3: was like fourteen in one or some nonsense. I was
Speaker 3: just like every time there was great picks, I looked
Speaker 3: up and it was old Jack Harry.
Speaker 2: You know these two things you need to know. Hey
Speaker 2: predict for you obviously heavily involved. I'll tell you a
Speaker 2: couple of things. First of all, the projections, which are
Speaker 2: pretty bad, something we need to work on. Here have
Speaker 2: us finishing three and eleven? Wait really yeah, but that whatever.
Speaker 3: I'm shocked because I really did think you'rett But I
Speaker 3: also terrific.
Speaker 2: I in my league of a record. I once had
Speaker 2: a prediction of oh to thirteen and I won the
Speaker 2: league with Okay, so yeah, they don't miss so yeah.
Speaker 2: But if my sons were very you know, my youngest
Speaker 2: is six years old. If I left it up to them,
Speaker 2: it would have been Aaron Rodgers' first pick, yeah, Garrett
Speaker 2: Wilson's second pick. They would tried to pick Sauce third pick,
Speaker 2: and then they would have walked outside and played soccer
Speaker 2: like what So I am there to help them and
Speaker 2: and for instance, Aaron Rodgers coming off the board in
Speaker 2: round four is absurd when he should be there on round.
Speaker 3: Not in this league, which is which are mostly kids
Speaker 3: justin fields went third overall or something. People are doing
Speaker 3: crazy picks.
Speaker 2: I have, but also you turn your child into a
Speaker 2: football loving cyborg.
Speaker 3: I didn't turn them here so like he has such
Speaker 3: much more knowledge, but he still made crazy picks. He
Speaker 3: got upset when I entered the room, though, and tried
Speaker 3: to help him.
Speaker 4: But I did help my daughter.
Speaker 2: Ellis, what was the anecdote you told about your son
Speaker 2: a couple of shows ago. You remember it about Walker,
Speaker 2: which is beautiful and cute, and I love it. But
Speaker 2: what does he do? Now? What's this new thing he does?
Speaker 3: He took what that? He took Brady and mac Jones
Speaker 3: back to bed, no second, watching highlight, watching games. He
Speaker 3: turns on NFL Plus and starts scrolling through old games.
Speaker 4: I don't know which story.
Speaker 1: Beautiful, Yeah, company, a company man, it's a company child.
Speaker 3: But he's just like that. But it did make me
Speaker 3: proud from year one to year two. He didn't want
Speaker 3: my help this year, and he did a much better job.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't say it was an adult job, but much
Speaker 3: my boys didn't. There yet, no support Alis isn't either.
Speaker 3: I give her like an option of a handful of
Speaker 3: people and she picks it.
Speaker 2: All right, where were we there? Oh yeah, show idea?
Speaker 3: Sorry dad corner there Zay Flowers got to vote. I
Speaker 3: think that was a nice let's Jerry, that's Jeremy Bergman.
Speaker 3: That's what he's going out, Liar.
Speaker 4: That's a fun little plus sixteen vote.
Speaker 2: That's good, Jerry Bergman. Jerry going by that. No, no,
Speaker 2: but you might want to think about it.
Speaker 4: Jon is plus two seventy five to get it. I
Speaker 4: like that one.
Speaker 2: So what does that mean? If you put down one
Speaker 2: hundred bucks on beijon, what do you make.
Speaker 4: You got two seventy five?
Speaker 2: Oh that makes sense. That's a bad bet though.
Speaker 1: Well also, you're not allowed to you you particularly would not.
Speaker 2: That's how I don't know. Yes, I don't do those things.
Speaker 2: But Greg seems plugged in.
Speaker 3: But we're just listing what we're listing on the website.
Speaker 3: That's gotta be allowed.
Speaker 2: Defensive Player of the Year. Let's see. Let's see. Let's see.
Speaker 2: The number one vote getter is Micah Parsons of the
Speaker 2: Dallas Cowboys. You got nineteen of the votes in Caorrain
Speaker 2: from Greg Rosenthal.
Speaker 4: Love this.
Speaker 2: Mark Sessler went with I was.
Speaker 1: The lone individual in the entire organization that voted for
Speaker 1: Sauce Gardner, and I love it.
Speaker 2: God bless you, Chill. That has an absolute chance of happening.
Speaker 1: If the Jets are on television four thousand times and
Speaker 1: he has like three pick sixes and wins a game
Speaker 1: with a pick six and he's sort of just Drell
Speaker 1: Reeves two point zero.
Speaker 3: He has been positioned as that type of star, and
Speaker 3: they never mentioned everything.
Speaker 2: They never gave Darrell Defensive Player of the Year, which
Speaker 2: was an absolute travesty. But if he wins Defensive Rookie
Speaker 2: of the Year and then Defensive Player of the Year
Speaker 2: year one two, we're talking about a potential.
Speaker 1: It is a stretch that I think it's a little
Speaker 1: bit tough. It's gonna be tougher versus some of these TJ.
Speaker 1: Watts and Parsons and Miles Garretts of the world.
Speaker 3: I am buying and I think this is my favorite
Speaker 3: pick of all my picks in terms of like, look,
Speaker 3: even though he's the most likely guy Parsons, he's still
Speaker 3: plus four fifty and to me, I think he's got
Speaker 3: room to grow. We heard about it all offseason. I
Speaker 3: just think there's another gear for him to go and
Speaker 3: he's already one of the best defensive players I've ever seen.
Speaker 4: So I love me some Micah Parsons this year.
Speaker 2: And I've always been a fan of Miles Garrett and
Speaker 2: his upside, and he does deliver every season when he's healthy.
Speaker 2: But is this the year where he doesn't get slowed
Speaker 2: down by anything? And if that doesn't happen, and Mark,
Speaker 2: you've been watching him since day one, Yeah, closely. If
Speaker 2: he gets through a season where he doesn't get dinged
Speaker 2: up and slowed down, I think he's a guy could
Speaker 2: break the sack record bye week seven.
Speaker 1: I think it also like, so you did have Clowney
Speaker 1: there for a couple of years, but Zadarius Smith alongside him.
Speaker 2: That helps.
Speaker 1: I think it's like you can't ignore the other side
Speaker 1: of the ball. And there's been a couple of seasons
Speaker 1: where he was sort of an island, the lone guy
Speaker 1: and getting triple teamed and still getting numbers. I do
Speaker 1: feel like there's a little bit of bias against the
Speaker 1: Browns in general, just through this whole extra that we
Speaker 1: go into.
Speaker 4: I get to that I disagree.
Speaker 1: I disagree, maybe not Miles Garrett, but that team.
Speaker 2: We'll get to it. Let's get to it. Offensive Player
Speaker 2: of the Year, Greg, did you sit out this year?
Speaker 2: I know you.
Speaker 3: I actually did it for the first time ever, and
Speaker 3: I even got a response from our editors saying, wow,
Speaker 3: you did it this year.
Speaker 1: I did it, So I actually really a difficult employees.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I have principles and I stand by
Speaker 3: them until the one year I randomly don't.
Speaker 2: For the new listeners, why don't you like Offensive Player
Speaker 2: of the.
Speaker 4: Year because it's just like as a concept.
Speaker 3: Because it used to It's just like it should be
Speaker 3: the best quarter It's just the same as MVP because
Speaker 3: MVP is always offensive.
Speaker 4: It should be the same thing.
Speaker 1: It's like best picture.
Speaker 3: I guess I've been convinced that it's just a nice
Speaker 3: way to honor someone else that's not a qu minor tweak.
Speaker 2: Would be make Offensive Player of the Year non quarterback award? Yes? Absolutely.
Speaker 4: There were a number of years.
Speaker 3: Manning was one year there was a Rogers year where
Speaker 3: the quarterback swept the same guy, and that was when
Speaker 3: I would really was against it.
Speaker 4: But that hasn't been happening lately.
Speaker 2: That should not be allowed. I was a little surprised
Speaker 2: to see this and the vote was split heavily on
Speaker 2: this one, so the leading vote had only got seven votes,
Speaker 2: and none of us here did it, but Kevin Patrick did.
Speaker 2: Christian McCaffrey, I just you know, he's just so there's
Speaker 2: so many touches to go around there, and I know
Speaker 2: he's gonna get plenty in San Francisco. But is he
Speaker 2: gonna be able to stay healthy? You never know. Okay,
Speaker 2: so let's see where did I go. I went with
Speaker 2: Garrett Wilson. So there was my Jet fandom coming through maybe,
Speaker 2: but not really because Garrett Wilson to me, and I
Speaker 2: don't need to get into this because I've said it before,
Speaker 2: but when you watch him, he's one of those guys
Speaker 2: he just jumps off the screen and when the ball's
Speaker 2: in his hands, he's both smooth and violent in the
Speaker 2: way he runs, cuts, jukes. And now you pair with
Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers and the chemistry is absolutely there. I thought
Speaker 2: it was a nice little moment and hard knocks when
Speaker 2: their last play together on the field touchdown on a
Speaker 2: perfectly thrown Rogers ball, and Rogers went up to Garret
Speaker 2: well said, first of many bro, Aaron Rodgers knows he's
Speaker 2: special that's good enough for me. If he says healthy,
Speaker 2: I might have an onion hanger coming up when we
Speaker 2: do our sandwich props around Garrett Wilson, I'll hold it there.
Speaker 2: That was my pick.
Speaker 1: I uh, let's see. I went Jalen Hurts. Now I'm
Speaker 1: with you. I kind of think if I could organize
Speaker 1: the awards a certain way, it wouldn't be it would
Speaker 1: be quarterbacks.
Speaker 3: And he went it last? Did he or Justin Jefferson
Speaker 3: win it last year? I think Justin Jeffers's interesting. They're
Speaker 3: both twenty five hundred in Vegas. It's just weird because like, then,
Speaker 3: why was he Why wouldn't he be the MVP.
Speaker 2: Well, because there's someone else that very clearly could be
Speaker 2: the m v P.
Speaker 1: But you shouldn't be two quarterbacks, but it is so
Speaker 1: I look, there's on this list. There is Justin Fields,
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Labar Jackson, Tua Chase.
Speaker 3: Chase got the second most amount of votes in Vegas. Chase, In,
Speaker 3: Jefferson and McCaffrey are the top three most likely. I
Speaker 3: went totally wild. I went Chris o'lave saw that. I mean,
Speaker 3: I do I think this is gonna happen. I mean,
Speaker 3: probably not, but I just thought he would be nice
Speaker 3: to throw him in the mix as someone to keep
Speaker 3: an eye on, and that he would have a chance.
Speaker 3: I think he has a chance at like a fifteen
Speaker 3: sixteen hundred yard season. It's a bit of the long shot.
Speaker 2: I like it. Finally, Yeah, that's a good pick. I
Speaker 2: think a LaVey was basically Garrett Wilson South last year
Speaker 2: guy that was just different, special right away. Most Valuable Player?
Speaker 2: All right, so in this category, Mark, you and I
Speaker 2: both went with the great Mahomes. Yeah. I went with
Speaker 2: Mahomes because you know these MVP awards, you see it,
Speaker 2: they are not afraid to go on runs with guys
Speaker 2: the voters. They are okay with that. Brett Farva, I
Speaker 2: believe one three in a row. We've seen other players.
Speaker 2: Manning won multiples, players go on streaks. Brady, I believe
Speaker 2: did it back to back right? At some point? Did
Speaker 2: he never do back?
Speaker 4: He was he was quite Yeah, his three were pretty far.
Speaker 2: Let me look the state up. But I thought he
Speaker 2: if there's anybody and got a couple in a row,
Speaker 2: If there's anybody who the academy as it were would
Speaker 2: be willing to continue to reward excellence. It's this guy
Speaker 2: who's the face of the NFL. So I feel good
Speaker 2: knowing that Mahomes once again is gonna put up monster
Speaker 2: numbers for the best team in football, the Super Bowl champs.
Speaker 2: That's my vote, easy. But I think he is he
Speaker 2: just in the flesh he is.
Speaker 1: And you're right, it is the one category where it's like,
Speaker 1: we don't have to come up with a different name
Speaker 1: every year, like Coach of the Year and all these
Speaker 1: other ones, Like it's just Mahomes and it would be
Speaker 1: an upset to me if any of these other names won.
Speaker 2: But Greg, you went.
Speaker 4: Well last year.
Speaker 3: I nailed that MVP by choosing Mahomes and I'm honking
Speaker 3: about it right now. And not that many people. We're
Speaker 3: picking Mahomes last year, so you got it. You don't
Speaker 3: want to be a year late. So I moved to
Speaker 3: my guy in the division, Justin Herbert. So this is
Speaker 3: the year and he's unleashed, Kellen Moore going down the field,
Speaker 3: great offensive line, great weapons. I really do think he's
Speaker 3: got a chance for a five thousand yard insane statistical
Speaker 3: season and he's not one of the bigger long. You know,
Speaker 3: he's like the fourth or fifth favorite in Vegas. So
Speaker 3: I'm not totally coming out of left field, but I
Speaker 3: went justin Herbert Okay.
Speaker 2: And my long shot. We talked about it earlier or
Speaker 2: last week. Trevor Lawrence is a long shot. I kind
Speaker 2: of like, I don't know if did he get any votes?
Speaker 1: No, not one little surprise in Vegas.
Speaker 3: He's only the sixth, six or seventh most likely, which
Speaker 3: is not too low on the list.
Speaker 2: Here is just for you history buffs out there. Joe
Speaker 2: Montana went back to back eighty nine to ninety. Farv
Speaker 2: went back to back to back ninety five ninety six.
Speaker 2: There you go. Seven, that's insane, Hello, Larry, let's see
Speaker 2: Kurt Waterer one two out of three doesn't count. Peyton
Speaker 2: Manning went back to back O three. He shared it
Speaker 2: with McNair and then one on his own in four,
Speaker 2: and then Manning waned again back to back wow eight
Speaker 2: and nine h and then it kind of bounced around
Speaker 2: a little bit until Rogers went back to back in
Speaker 2: twenty and twenty one. So there is history, and Mahomes
Speaker 2: has never gone back to back even though he's won
Speaker 2: it twice. So if anybody if you were to set
Speaker 2: odds on like, who's a guy that's gonna have at
Speaker 2: least one stretches his career where he wins back to back.
Speaker 2: Come on, absolutely, it's Pat. Bad sketch had become a movie.
Speaker 2: We'll never know. We'll never know. I like Julia Sweeney,
Speaker 2: fine good communicating actors, a funny woman. They'd say that
Speaker 2: was a big misstep by old Lauren Michaels.
Speaker 4: Beurable SNL say the least four kids out there.
Speaker 3: It's Pat was a popular sketch on the show Saturday
Speaker 3: Night Live in the late nineties, early night, early day.
Speaker 2: Maybe even mid Okay, So there you go. That is
Speaker 2: all the award predictions. When we get back season predictions,
Speaker 2: including our super Bowl picks. Tease, we'll be right back.
Speaker 2: Oh but before we do. Reminder atn plus NFL plus
Speaker 2: New shows every Monday and Thursday, the Monday Show, it's
Speaker 2: our game of the week where we dive in watch
Speaker 2: it again together, share thoughts, insights, all sorts of good stuff.
Speaker 3: It's like what you're watching game Pass. You're going through
Speaker 3: the games because you enjoy watching the games again, and
Speaker 3: then you're like, oh, I'm not going to rewatch that
Speaker 3: game on game Pass, which is also on NFL Plus
Speaker 3: because I'm gonna watch the heroes talk about it, yell plus.
Speaker 1: A lot of rules, a lot of guidelines, but I
Speaker 1: think you want to follow these ones if you're a
Speaker 1: fanatic of the game. Yes, you do what Greg just
Speaker 1: said that seven or eight things he told you to do.
Speaker 2: You go do that, well, said Mark. And on Thursday
Speaker 2: it's going to be our Dreamatorium show lots of classic
Speaker 2: war horses of our show, favorite segments and new ones.
Speaker 2: In addition to a fan outreach where we ask you,
Speaker 2: the fans, to deliver us ATN your most creative video submission.
Speaker 2: Send them to ATN Fan of the Week at gmail
Speaker 2: dot com. If it's funny, if it's incisive, if it's weird,
Speaker 2: give it to us. We'll be right back. All right,
Speaker 2: we're back. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. Now it gets real because
Speaker 2: you know winning awards, Mark, that's an individual triumph. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that would be focused on self. But the idea in
Speaker 2: the end is for the team collectively to be hoisting
Speaker 2: that Lombardi Trophy. So let's talk about what really matters
Speaker 2: success of the teams. We're going to go through the divisions,
Speaker 2: pick the division winners also share our wild card picks,
Speaker 2: and then we'll get to the postseason. But let's start
Speaker 2: in the AFC, and let's do it. Let's start in
Speaker 2: the AFC East Mark. Who do you got coming out
Speaker 2: of this division as the champ?
Speaker 1: This was the toughest division for me to sort through.
Speaker 1: I spent probably eighteen to twenty seconds on this one.
Speaker 2: I went Bills, Good.
Speaker 1: Well, No, when you're filling this thing, are you kind
Speaker 1: of just you have been thinking about this for months?
Speaker 2: Yes? Bang through these There's two ways to look at it.
Speaker 2: You could labor over it, right or you're right? After all.
Speaker 2: The kind of conversations gout instant.
Speaker 3: I feel like I've been thinking about it. You think
Speaker 3: about it all off season. But I also had to
Speaker 3: contact the editors to change my answers multiple times.
Speaker 2: You weren't Greg, I don't know what? Like what you know?
Speaker 2: What did you go with? Greg?
Speaker 4: I went with the Bills. This one I didn't from
Speaker 4: what What did you change it from?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 4: This division? I didn't.
Speaker 3: I mean there were a couple other choices. It was
Speaker 3: the NFC wildcard situation. I kept going back and forth.
Speaker 3: We'll get to that.
Speaker 4: I felt good.
Speaker 3: I mean I led my over unders with the Bills,
Speaker 3: or I didn't lead it, but they were one of
Speaker 3: my picks of the over I just feel like they
Speaker 3: are one of the three or four best teams in
Speaker 3: the NFL still until I am shown otherwise taking them
Speaker 3: over your Jets.
Speaker 4: A lot of people took the Jets, though. That worry
Speaker 4: you Dan.
Speaker 1: More than ever in this exercise took the Jets. I would,
Speaker 1: I would gamble, So I think it was well if
Speaker 1: you go all the way back to peak Rex, I
Speaker 1: don't think they've had many people doing this back then.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they have them going over the Patriots. Maybe that
Speaker 3: one year there was a lot of maybe one twenty
Speaker 3: twelve votes for the Jets and twenty for the Bills.
Speaker 3: That sounds about right in terms of I'm surprised the
Speaker 3: Dolphins only got two.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I uh yeah, stunner, I went with the Jets.
Speaker 2: Patra In shook win Dolphins. Yeah, And that's that's okay too,
Speaker 2: because I see the Jets, who are at plus two
Speaker 2: to fifty by the way, Dolphins plus three hundred. You
Speaker 2: could make a case for either of those teams if
Speaker 2: things break the right way, and then the Bills come
Speaker 2: down just a little bit. It's very interesting and by
Speaker 2: the way, no votes for your darling Patriots, Greggy. But
Speaker 2: here's the good news. Someone that we respect very much,
Speaker 2: a former colleague, did pick the Patriots to win the division,
Speaker 2: Connor Orr, and he was met with furious blowback in
Speaker 2: the industry. Let's listen in Welcome back to a very
Speaker 2: recognizable show.
Speaker 6: Check In on Sports illustrates Connor Orr, who predicted every
Speaker 6: game on the schedule and has what do you know,
Speaker 6: the Patriots winning the af E East.
Speaker 2: What I do wonder whether, upon the return to Bill O'Brien,
Speaker 2: this is Connor's writing.
Speaker 6: Will assume that same kind of automatic competency.
Speaker 2: I like that.
Speaker 6: I like that a lot that defined the majority. I
Speaker 6: would add large majority.
Speaker 5: Really, I would add almost all, vast majority.
Speaker 6: Vast majority is even better of the Bill Belichick eras Brew.
Speaker 6: I didn't even write a question here, I was just
Speaker 6: going to pontificate. But do you have any issues with this?
Speaker 2: Yeah? This is ridiculous.
Speaker 1: First things first, fs one, that's gonna be a drop
Speaker 1: who's the gentleman?
Speaker 4: By the way, that was Christopher Sarrd.
Speaker 3: I do love how he prefaced it with Connor or
Speaker 3: usually does good work.
Speaker 2: I don't know that's a good way to like when
Speaker 2: you absolutely hate the take but don't want to come
Speaker 2: off as a jerk. I was kind of a pro move.
Speaker 3: I love you, Connor. You did it, and I think
Speaker 3: it could be a fun, spicy one. They're plus eight
Speaker 3: hundred to win the division, so it's a little crazy,
Speaker 3: but the craziest thing and we might have. I'm just
Speaker 3: gonna mention it now while we're talking pages, because we're
Speaker 3: not going to revisit it. They're not in any of
Speaker 3: our wild card picks. They were in any of the
Speaker 3: thirty six respondents wild card picks. Oh for for these Patriots,
Speaker 3: And I can't hate on it because I didn't pick
Speaker 3: them either. I don't think it's that, but I do
Speaker 3: like a little Patriots lying in the weed season.
Speaker 2: Well all right, that's fine, But like this is why
Speaker 2: I was surprised that I'm the only one that feels
Speaker 2: that fell Chick's safer than perhaps you guys do, just
Speaker 2: because the team's not that great and the division seems
Speaker 2: to be very good.
Speaker 4: The team, if they're not great, he is the most respons.
Speaker 2: He could coach this team up and they could go
Speaker 2: seven to ten. And it's not because he's bad at
Speaker 2: what he does. It's because think about it that.
Speaker 1: Wait, hold on, he's as a general manager. You'd have
Speaker 1: to say this overall roster is lacking.
Speaker 5: I think it's average, but that's it's a very average team.
Speaker 4: I think it's average. I don't think it's just not great. No,
Speaker 4: But I think it's.
Speaker 1: Reason we're talking about Belichick this year particularly, it's relative
Speaker 1: to all the other seasons where he was as safe
Speaker 1: as any coach in any sport. It's now Kraft has
Speaker 1: talked about this team this season, the Bill Belichick experience,
Speaker 1: the Matt Patricia experience, in a bit of a different
Speaker 1: way than we've ever heard him talk about Belichick. And
Speaker 1: I think, you know, these marriages come to a conclusion
Speaker 1: at times. This is a different feel. You have to
Speaker 1: say that, Dan, right in past years with Belichick.
Speaker 2: I like that. It's a different era. No, So that's
Speaker 2: why we're not special anymore.
Speaker 4: They're not.
Speaker 3: And yet I should have you know, I'm not showing
Speaker 3: my belief because I didn't put them as a wildcard
Speaker 3: or anything. There's just so many good teams in the AFC.
Speaker 3: But I am honestly optimistic that they can surprise teams
Speaker 3: winning with the defense of personnel that they have in
Speaker 3: a much more efficient offense. It just would not surprise
Speaker 3: me at all if they beat one of the end
Speaker 3: up ahead of one of these AFC East teams. The
Speaker 3: Jets are the Dolphins specifically that end up being a
Speaker 3: disciplined well.
Speaker 1: One of these teams will probably lose their quarterback for
Speaker 1: the year. It's like, I think, I see the Patriots
Speaker 1: like winning eight games. They're not a disaster.
Speaker 3: I say that, I think they have a chance to
Speaker 3: win ten games this year, but I did not saying
Speaker 3: it with my chest because they were als.
Speaker 2: Said, I am with you. I thought that last year,
Speaker 2: but I underestimated the Patricia disaster of it all. I
Speaker 2: think they're always lying in the weeds in that sense.
Speaker 2: And guess what, Bill Belichiche was gonna win Coach of
Speaker 2: the Year if they win ten games. I was nobody.
Speaker 2: He's never won.
Speaker 3: I was very down on them last year. This year,
Speaker 3: I feel I feel all better. I feel better, all right,
Speaker 3: Saucy more on some of these teams.
Speaker 2: In a bit AFC North, I.
Speaker 4: Greg Marcus checked his clock.
Speaker 1: I mean there's also I had a thing to show
Speaker 1: my function in the little a little, just like series
Speaker 1: started talking to you, A little thing showed up on
Speaker 1: my on my watch, so I looked at it.
Speaker 2: Greg and I both went with the defending champs, the
Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals. As I said last week, no team has
Speaker 2: ever won this division three years in a row. The
Speaker 2: Bengals are looking to do it. I think they will,
Speaker 2: but that's not that doesn't mean. Oh look, old Zeuster
Speaker 2: got the blurbed in this one. They came to me
Speaker 2: for the blurb. I love that. Don't remember writing it.
Speaker 2: Why Dan Hanris chose the Bengals. The clock is ticking
Speaker 2: for the offensive core that surrounds Joe Burrow. After back
Speaker 2: to back seasons of great success that fell just short
Speaker 2: with their seeing an all time high. Cincinnati, balanced, battle tested,
Speaker 2: and led by a true difference maker quarterback, will defend
Speaker 2: its division crown in a rugged AFC.
Speaker 1: Rugged nice graft. Where did you You don't recall writing
Speaker 1: that I knocked it out yesterday?
Speaker 2: I do remember, all.
Speaker 3: Right, tough schedule, but uh, I think if I had
Speaker 3: to just choose one team, you know, just the Bengals
Speaker 3: to me feel like the safest, even more than the Cheese.
Speaker 4: I really feel good about the Bengals coming into this year.
Speaker 2: What's not to like?
Speaker 4: Yeah, the division in the schedule, I guess.
Speaker 1: Yeah, or just something you know, so specifically, what's not
Speaker 1: to like about this team?
Speaker 2: Like, remember they went they were steaming, they won ten
Speaker 2: in a row last year. Once they figured things out
Speaker 2: and Burrow got healthy, I think it's gonna be a
Speaker 2: very similar vibe. I think they're gonna roll Burrow has
Speaker 2: you know, MVP vibes.
Speaker 1: I think they just got to protect against like another
Speaker 1: slow start. I mean the Burrough Calf thing. Eh, it
Speaker 1: kind of like freaks me a little bit, But he's practicing.
Speaker 1: Maybe he's fine as long as they manage that crew.
Speaker 4: And you the Steelers.
Speaker 2: You're in so deep with the Steelers now that you
Speaker 2: almost have no other choice.
Speaker 1: I didn't, I wasn't. I didn't do this as a
Speaker 1: trick or a folly. Like I think they're going to
Speaker 1: win the division.
Speaker 3: Well, you're run of four people, thirty four voters. I
Speaker 3: think I've seen the last couple of weeks. In the
Speaker 3: last couple of weeks, I'm starting to hear so much.
Speaker 3: I think the Steelers thing is becoming the vast opposite
Speaker 3: of original because it's everyone's starting to pile on and
Speaker 3: feel the Steelers.
Speaker 2: People put too much into the preseason.
Speaker 4: It's true, well were so fired.
Speaker 1: I also put this Mike Tomlin with bad Steelers teams
Speaker 1: or down Steelers teams, still pulls off nine wins.
Speaker 2: This is a better version of the Steelers than we've
Speaker 2: seen in a long time.
Speaker 4: Totally.
Speaker 1: They didn't have t J. Watt for most of last season.
Speaker 1: I think their quarterback, like I do, put into the
Speaker 1: preseason the way that Kenny pick it through the ball
Speaker 1: and looked.
Speaker 4: Okay, well that's a great point.
Speaker 2: Mark. It's just it's I feel like it's a runaway
Speaker 2: train now that because they are fish in on some
Speaker 2: preseason drives against it. That's what I wouldn't called a runaway.
Speaker 3: Runaway toy got half the votes the Ravens got.
Speaker 2: Maybe I'm talking about much just absurd. What about the
Speaker 2: the Sessler curse though that that was very real last
Speaker 2: year you took down multiple teams.
Speaker 1: Well that's ruesome, that's absolute, like you know, that's psychological warfare.
Speaker 2: Like if I'm a Steelers fan, I am furious by
Speaker 2: how excited you are about this.
Speaker 1: So little uncanny And how about this about this, how
Speaker 1: I'd leave the league and start build a house in
Speaker 1: the desk.
Speaker 2: About this, Greg the or Mark the X Browns fan
Speaker 2: gassing up the Steelers gas lighting in a reverse jinks
Speaker 2: for the Ages.
Speaker 1: And not gas lighting gas lighting And those are hard
Speaker 1: air quotes for the listeners. For Mark the X Browns fan, Well.
Speaker 3: What what if I had to pick some team? Yeah, well,
Speaker 3: hold on, whatever team I pick in this division is
Speaker 3: a former hated foe.
Speaker 4: So you've been down on the Ravens and he didn't.
Speaker 2: Pick the Browns, and nobody picked the Browns. So that's
Speaker 2: not a single voter. It thinks the Browns with the
Speaker 2: Shawn Watson could win this division.
Speaker 1: Okay, so divisions fine, but even we'll dig in later.
Speaker 1: It's like they just were largely ignored.
Speaker 2: I find that.
Speaker 3: I think there's Scottis yeah, but I don't think they're
Speaker 3: making the playoffs, So okay, no problem.
Speaker 2: Amision's a pretty AFC is deep deep deep deep AFC
Speaker 2: South not so deep now paratively, but thirty one votes
Speaker 2: for the Jaguars. Greg is a special little boy, so
Speaker 2: he said the Titans.
Speaker 3: I mean, why aren't you a special little boy when
Speaker 3: you've been making some of your.
Speaker 2: Out of left because, as I've said that you do
Speaker 2: not like the jack.
Speaker 3: Well, I do think there's someone. I do think there's
Speaker 3: opportunity here. The Jaguars are a heavier favorite to win
Speaker 3: their division than I believe any team is in the
Speaker 3: entire NFL. I guess they're the same as the Chiefs
Speaker 3: to win to win their division.
Speaker 4: That's too much to me.
Speaker 3: And why is that, though, Because because the view of
Speaker 3: the Titans is so low, and then rightfully it's low
Speaker 3: of the Colts and Textans, so it's about the rest
Speaker 3: of the division. But to me, the gap between the
Speaker 3: Titans and the Jaguars in all respects is not that big.
Speaker 3: I don't think it's big coaching take the Titans. I
Speaker 3: think the defense is really loaded, and I think Tannahill
Speaker 3: and Hopkins we'll see. But I think the Titans are
Speaker 3: kind of the poor Man's Steelers, whereas like even in
Speaker 3: their worst season like last year, they still find no
Speaker 3: way to get seven. I think they get to nine
Speaker 3: or ten, and I think that might be I think.
Speaker 1: What we're seeing here with it with just three votes,
Speaker 1: including yours, is that the Titans have been probably prematurely
Speaker 1: totally written off there's a couple of reasons for it.
Speaker 1: I mean, they didn't fix some of their own problems.
Speaker 1: We talked about the line. Their wide receiver situation is
Speaker 1: really variable. We don't know what we're gonna get with
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill or any quarterback behind them. But the things
Speaker 1: you mentioned are consistent and real.
Speaker 4: I am a special little boy, My mama.
Speaker 2: You are a special little boy. She's still ann and
Speaker 2: tell you that. I mean, she listens to the show,
Speaker 2: so maybe she'll give you a call and.
Speaker 4: Say she has been lately.
Speaker 3: I don't know if she actually used those words, but
Speaker 3: that's the feeling she left me with.
Speaker 2: Yes, I think good feeling. I think the window closed
Speaker 2: great mount on this Titans team and now they're in transition.
Speaker 2: And because the reason, the reason why I'm not feel
Speaker 2: good about banging the under on six and a half
Speaker 2: or whatever seven and a half is because of the
Speaker 2: reasons why what you're saying, Greg, I actually I think
Speaker 2: your take is fair that there might not be as
Speaker 2: big a gap between the Jags and Titans for this
Speaker 2: to vote, for instance, to be that crazy thirty one
Speaker 2: to three on NFL media. I hear you on that,
Speaker 2: but one team does have a potential generational quarterback entering
Speaker 2: year three really year two in Trevor Lawrence, and one
Speaker 2: has a thirty year old running back who's going to
Speaker 2: the Hall of Fame, Ryan Tanneh, who's aging and brittle
Speaker 2: at the stage, playing behind a bad offensive line.
Speaker 4: All fair, they.
Speaker 2: Got the tickle monsters on the defensive line.
Speaker 3: I'll get me wrong, and I'm usually an offense is
Speaker 3: what I pick, and they are.
Speaker 4: The offense is the Jaguars. They are a great looking offense.
Speaker 4: I hear you, all right.
Speaker 2: AFC West thirty two votes. You are a special little
Speaker 2: boy thirty two votes, including Hansas and hands this and
Speaker 2: Sssler go with the defending champion Chiefs and it is
Speaker 2: the Bolts according to Greg Now, you know you obviously
Speaker 2: don't actually believe this. This is the dude getting a
Speaker 2: little shine on the Chargers. Maybe you'll get some tickets
Speaker 2: down the line. Maybe, well that would be Daniel Jeremiah
Speaker 2: and Matt Muddy Smith reach out to you and say, hey man,
Speaker 2: good job on that pick. Here, come by me on
Speaker 2: the sea side of state, hang out for the weekend
Speaker 2: in the offseason. There's definitely some you motivating factors behind
Speaker 2: the scenes.
Speaker 1: You have because you have flipped off your internal pr
Speaker 1: campaign with the Rams and you've picked up the Chargers.
Speaker 1: Greg this is extremely Mackie Velli.
Speaker 4: This is none of that is true, but it is.
Speaker 4: You know, you don't believe. As a veteran, I do
Speaker 4: believe it.
Speaker 2: Tell me why the Chiefs are the best team of this.
Speaker 3: As a veteran takesman, though, I think you are hitting
Speaker 3: on something. Last year, you pick, you pick one special
Speaker 3: team that you really believe has a chance to do
Speaker 3: something special. For me, that was the Eagles, and you
Speaker 3: ride that right. Who's that special team this year? I mean,
Speaker 3: we'll get to the Super Bowl predictions and whatnot. But
Speaker 3: for me, it's the Chargers, and I'd pink.
Speaker 1: The seventh time in the last lst nine years it's
Speaker 1: the Charge.
Speaker 3: Sure, but it wasn't last year. I think this is
Speaker 3: going to be their year. I think their offense is
Speaker 3: going to be unlocked. I think year three of Staley
Speaker 3: gets better. I think the Chiefs and the Chargers in
Speaker 3: this division, you know, I think this division is easier
Speaker 3: than the North and the East. I think they both
Speaker 3: have a chance to rack up twelve thirteen wins. Maybe
Speaker 3: there's a little hangover effect from the Chiefs. I don't know.
Speaker 3: They've been so good for so long it's hard to
Speaker 3: discount them. But I think the Chargers have a better
Speaker 3: chance to be like a top five team in the
Speaker 3: NFL than anyone's given them credit for. I love what
Speaker 3: I see. I know it's on paper. I know it's
Speaker 3: the offensive line, but I think they got the quarterback,
Speaker 3: they got the line. I'm rolling Chargers this year.
Speaker 2: One thing that you see one of the keys with
Speaker 2: FRANCESSA you have to have a bunch of pregnant pauses.
Speaker 4: Yea, now I talked too fast.
Speaker 2: One thing that you'll miss in here. Okay, you're missing
Speaker 2: the fact that the Charges always find a way, and
Speaker 2: so does Patrick mahomes back after this.
Speaker 4: That's pretty good. It's got to end at some point,
Speaker 4: you know.
Speaker 3: So you got the blue per even even even even
Speaker 3: Belichick and Brady would actually keep rolling through verbally.
Speaker 2: The blurb selected. The man selected to write the blurb
Speaker 2: the AFC west uh Skill, Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: I think that you're right checking to see if I
Speaker 1: was still awake. I wrote what fact whisper or Idoda
Speaker 1: of Gossip suggests the Chiefs are about to be stopped.
Speaker 1: Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes will chop through a top
Speaker 1: heavy AFC and route to another conference title game, and
Speaker 1: they won't stop there.
Speaker 4: He went even further, he went, he went too far?
Speaker 2: Actually, actually, yeah, they once again spoiling. That are what
Speaker 2: are we spoiling?
Speaker 3: That's more the that's more the explanation for when you
Speaker 3: pick your Super Bowl teams.
Speaker 4: This was just the AFC West.
Speaker 2: But yes, guess who will do what they want? All right?
Speaker 2: So let's now go to our wild card picks. Okay,
Speaker 2: that's fun, all right. So I'm trying to think what's
Speaker 2: the best way to do this because this is a
Speaker 2: little hard.
Speaker 4: Don't we just each our three teams?
Speaker 2: Go ahead?
Speaker 3: Okay, So my wildcard teams in the AFC in order now,
Speaker 3: since I put the Chiefs not winning the division and
Speaker 3: in my vision, Chiefs and Chargers both win twelve or
Speaker 3: thirteen games something like that, so the Chiefs are my
Speaker 3: number one wildcard team. I included the Ravens as my
Speaker 3: second wildcard team. I do think their ceiling is extra
Speaker 3: high and I think the offense is going to be special,
Speaker 3: and I as my third wildcard team. Why am I
Speaker 3: forgetting right now? I put the Jets, I do. I
Speaker 3: wanted to. I kind of wanted to hate on the Jets,
Speaker 3: but I just don't believe it. I believe that they're
Speaker 3: going to be good enough on both.
Speaker 4: Sides of the ball, so they got in.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: I've got the Bengals as the first wild card team.
Speaker 1: There's no like disdain for the Bengals on any level.
Speaker 1: I think they're just gonna get nicked by the Steelers.
Speaker 1: Chargers second, believe a lot of what you said, Greg,
Speaker 1: and Jets third.
Speaker 3: So we're pretty chalky here. Even though I switched my
Speaker 3: teams around, they weren't crazy teams.
Speaker 2: All right. What about I have because I picked the
Speaker 2: Jets still in the East. But I still like the
Speaker 2: Bills a lot. Okay, so I have them as my
Speaker 2: first wild card. I have the Browns as my second
Speaker 2: wild card. I and I'm one of the only people
Speaker 2: the entire media group to even think they have a
Speaker 2: chance to even play January football.
Speaker 4: Four people put them into the playoffs out of thirty.
Speaker 2: And I do have three teams coming out of the
Speaker 2: AFC North. I have the Pittsburgh Steelers as the third
Speaker 2: wild card team, So that means that I don't see
Speaker 2: the Dolphins or the Chargers getting that spot and feel
Speaker 2: pretty good about it.
Speaker 3: I think we were all sensible. I like the Browns
Speaker 3: got some representation. I'm not in on it, but it
Speaker 3: seems to me they should be represented. It's interesting none
Speaker 3: of us put the Dolphins in the playoffs. And it's
Speaker 3: funny because if we had taped this podcast in May,
Speaker 3: the Dolphins very well might have been my Chargers that
Speaker 3: I just would.
Speaker 4: Have put it all.
Speaker 3: I was all into the Dolphins back then, and for
Speaker 3: some reason, by the time we got to the season,
Speaker 3: it just feels like there's nine or ten really good
Speaker 3: AFC teams and the Dolphins, after a bad August, got
Speaker 3: left out.
Speaker 4: Maybe I'm overrating August.
Speaker 1: I think I think they're getting dinged because of this
Speaker 1: of the injuries in the past couple weeks.
Speaker 2: In general, Who do I trust more?
Speaker 7: Though?
Speaker 3: The Bills, the Jets are the Dolphins. I trust the
Speaker 3: Jets more than the Dolphins. I just feel like they're
Speaker 3: on a little more stable ground. Who do I trust more?
Speaker 3: I trust Harbaugh and Lamar, you know, and I and
Speaker 3: maybe I'm crazy, but I trust the Chargers too.
Speaker 2: All right, NFC, let's move over there now. The NFC East.
Speaker 4: Nobody put the Patriots in.
Speaker 2: How dare they? Nobody? Clearly interesting? Let's see, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 2: you have the Eagles defending their division, so do you?
Speaker 2: Greg Rosehal I was among ten voters out of thirty
Speaker 2: four to pick the Dallas Cowboys. And I think it's
Speaker 2: not crazy to think that the Cowboys can come up
Speaker 2: just a little bit and the Eagles come down a
Speaker 2: little bit. I think this is going to be a
Speaker 2: great division race. I think this is one of those
Speaker 2: who's who they are they playing each other Week eighteen?
Speaker 2: I hope they are. You always play your own take
Speaker 2: a look division, mate, because that would be incredible theater
Speaker 2: if that's the case.
Speaker 3: And they're not heavy heavy favorites the Eagles. They're minus
Speaker 3: one twenty five and the Cowboys are plus one sixty five,
Speaker 3: so not like a crazy gap, kind of similar to
Speaker 3: the twenty four to ten votes gap. But yeah, I'm
Speaker 3: I stuck with the Eagles.
Speaker 2: What do we got, Roberts? What's the Week eighteen Cowboys schedule?
Speaker 4: Eagles have the Giants Bummer eighteen?
Speaker 2: What are they doing?
Speaker 3: They've got They've got the Cowboys on Sunday Night Week
Speaker 3: fourteen and.
Speaker 4: Wee Cowboys have Commanders Week eighteen. Nice timers, sweet perfect?
Speaker 2: Okay, Greg, you did you picked back there and you
Speaker 2: got the blurb on NFL dot com.
Speaker 3: I mean they know we're uh, we're top shelf writers here,
Speaker 3: and they go to us in big spots.
Speaker 2: Why Greg Roosevelt chose the Eagles, Colon go.
Speaker 3: The Eagles have the best combination of offensive and defensive
Speaker 3: lines in football. Jalen Hurts is their quarterback. Let's not
Speaker 3: over complicate things here.
Speaker 1: Greg's like, I'm getting out of this signment about four
Speaker 1: and a half minutes tops.
Speaker 3: I mean less than that, that's for sure, and half
Speaker 3: forty seconds all right, like.
Speaker 1: Texting while driving sending that in.
Speaker 4: Like, I'm just like, why why do we gotta even
Speaker 4: explain it? Look at this team?
Speaker 2: Not a single vote for the Giants or the Commanders.
Speaker 2: Let's move to the NFC North. Twenty votes for the
Speaker 2: Detroit Lions. So we are gassing up those lines, not
Speaker 2: all of us, though. Rosenthal's gassing them. Sesse is gassing them.
Speaker 2: I am a special little boy because I am among
Speaker 2: the group of people. I thought I picked the Vikings,
Speaker 2: but I didn't. I picked the Packers. Apparently, how about
Speaker 2: that that surprises me. But yeah, I said it on
Speaker 2: our last show that I know everything kind of checks
Speaker 2: out for the Lions here. Certainly it feels like it's
Speaker 2: there quote unquote time. But why do I think the
Speaker 2: Vikings and or the Packers. Not so much the Bears,
Speaker 2: not yet anyway, but certainly even possible for the Bears
Speaker 2: if everything broke the right way, come out of this
Speaker 2: as the division camp. I just don't like all the
Speaker 2: expectations on a Lions team that still has I know
Speaker 2: it's Jared Goffic quarterback. The offense played over its head
Speaker 2: a little bit potentially last year. I'm happy Ben Johnson's
Speaker 2: back there, but perhaps just perhaps the Lions aren't as
Speaker 2: good as we want them to be.
Speaker 1: I think it's, you know exactly, we haven't seen it.
Speaker 1: And the Lions are certainly the kind of team where historically,
Speaker 1: like I've attached myself to their caravan before and it's
Speaker 1: gone right off the side of a mountain.
Speaker 3: But you stuck with them, and you know, I've given
Speaker 3: you some grief and you stuck with him.
Speaker 4: You topped them. So I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: I think they have the potential to be the best
Speaker 1: team in a very confusing division.
Speaker 2: I think this is this is some point.
Speaker 3: It's not a good sign for the Bears that their
Speaker 3: only two votes were from Bears fans Alivon Pori and
Speaker 3: Adam Rank. You know, you know when they only get
Speaker 3: it from the fans. And I have noticed the odds
Speaker 3: have changed. Four months ago, the Packers were behind the
Speaker 3: Bears in terms of odds, and people have been kind
Speaker 3: of appreciating the Packers's chances more and more. Although the Vikings,
Speaker 3: despite not getting many votes and not getting much love
Speaker 3: from us, they're actually the second favorite in this division
Speaker 3: over in Vegas.
Speaker 2: Interesting. That means a lot of people in Chicago are
Speaker 2: guessing them up.
Speaker 4: No, the Vikings, the Vike favorite.
Speaker 3: None of us gave them love, but the Vikings are
Speaker 3: still a second favorite packersmmunicators producer.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I regret the air.
Speaker 1: You're multitasking, and I think everyone would forgive you if
Speaker 1: they understood the weight of your task.
Speaker 2: I'm sure there's a lot of Chicago fans that are
Speaker 2: also quote unquote yeah, the Bears.
Speaker 4: Mark and I are on the same page with a
Speaker 4: lot of these teams.
Speaker 2: I like that you guys are on the same page
Speaker 2: with a lot of things in life. I finally all right,
Speaker 2: NFC South, Now let's get into it. Let's get hot,
Speaker 2: let's get really. Let's let's zero in on a team
Speaker 2: that we could all finally agree on. Have we had
Speaker 2: one division winner where we're all on the same side.
Speaker 4: Does it happen yet?
Speaker 2: I don't think it now because of Greg? Essentially, how
Speaker 2: about the Saints. I mean, of course we're gonna get
Speaker 2: it with the Saints. Here we go. Hanss has them
Speaker 2: winning the division. That's it because you got oh god,
Speaker 2: the Falcons gas up crew here.
Speaker 4: No, you.
Speaker 2: Did the wrong because I am guessing up the Desmond
Speaker 2: Renner team.
Speaker 3: So the Saints are the favorite. They're plus one oh five.
Speaker 3: They got twenty votes. Falcons plus one ninety, a little
Speaker 3: longer than I would expect, twelve votes including Rosenthals Tesler.
Speaker 2: Uh. Maybe maybe that gives you a little insight why
Speaker 2: I feel like I'm taking crazy pills in the studio
Speaker 2: every single week. It's not because you guys speak about
Speaker 2: them like they could.
Speaker 3: Go twenty and oh now, I mean the second favorite
Speaker 3: in the division and they have a great it's somehow
Speaker 3: bigger than just like looking at the depth chart.
Speaker 2: For me, for them.
Speaker 4: It's just a feeling of their organization that they're on
Speaker 4: the right path.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think this is this is a low octane division.
Speaker 1: If someone stays healthy and has just a desire to
Speaker 1: absolutely take the top off of every other three houses
Speaker 1: in the division, that's what the Falcons.
Speaker 2: Are going to do. They're gonna beat you up, Dan
Speaker 2: and I.
Speaker 1: I get your exhaustion, but I think once you start
Speaker 1: to see them in the flesh, you're gonna understand where we're.
Speaker 2: Here's the thing that's annoying to me the most that
Speaker 2: I actually like what they're doing as well. And I
Speaker 2: was on that early in the spring. I was sharing
Speaker 2: that sentiment with you, like I that there are things here.
Speaker 2: You guys were You guys were premature in the first
Speaker 2: two years.
Speaker 1: You were wrong, and I'm right on that's incorrect. No,
Speaker 1: you guys are gassing them up for this series. Yeah,
Speaker 1: wait a minute, we were saying that they were. They
Speaker 1: were overachieving to some degree, like they.
Speaker 2: Won more games. That's writing history.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not go listen to any of those episodes.
Speaker 2: And now in year three of the program, I actually
Speaker 2: think they can matter instead of this cute little game
Speaker 2: you guys have been playing with the Falcons for years.
Speaker 2: I can't do it anymore because you guys are guessing
Speaker 2: them up so much that I have to pull back.
Speaker 3: Okay, bring some sanity to the great you know, congratulations.
Speaker 3: The Saints are the favorites. They're actually a pretty big
Speaker 3: gap between them and the Falcons, and then a huge
Speaker 3: gap to the Panthers and then the Bucks or even
Speaker 3: for the break.
Speaker 4: I figured it so hard to bed no.
Speaker 3: No, I figured out why Dan has always let's handed
Speaker 3: the Falcon.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd love to hear this. It's going to be brilliant.
Speaker 3: Let me take you backical psychologist, you do, let me
Speaker 3: take you back to London. October twenty twenty one. A
Speaker 3: young Dan Hansis is on the sidelines watching this.
Speaker 8: Little boy, his little boy that will lead him, I hope,
Speaker 8: Zach Wilson. Oh yeah, we finally found their quarterback, Zach Wilson.
Speaker 8: And he's going up against a moreribun Falcons team who
Speaker 8: came into that game not look and he's on the
Speaker 8: side and there's these big, hulking men in this handsome
Speaker 8: young quarterback. Oh, this is the guy that's gonna finally
Speaker 8: lead us into the future. And you know, who comes
Speaker 8: out of that game with a big win, pretty convincing
Speaker 8: the Atlanta Falcons, and ever since then he's held it
Speaker 8: against them.
Speaker 1: How about you go find the tape of me being
Speaker 1: sold on Zach Wilson on this podcast.
Speaker 2: Well you had a t shirt about him, didn't you.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Zach is good or something.
Speaker 2: If you guys understand that I have a sense of humor,
Speaker 2: yes I did have that. Shit.
Speaker 1: We've really gotten under your skin in the last ten
Speaker 1: to twelve.
Speaker 4: You have you.
Speaker 2: I've been exceedingly patient.
Speaker 1: What if you bozos about the Falcons for years and
Speaker 1: I just can't do it anymore.
Speaker 2: Start the games.
Speaker 4: I love it. Start the games. Let's get to the
Speaker 4: NFC West.
Speaker 2: Wait.
Speaker 4: I think we all agree. I think we got one.
Speaker 2: Finally, the San Francisco forty nine ers. We're all in lockstewn.
Speaker 1: Man, Gregor, I thought you were gonna go Seattle.
Speaker 4: No, I already I don't know in my heart.
Speaker 2: Thirty votes NFL Media for the Niners, just two four votes.
Speaker 2: Excuse me for the Seattle Seahawks. I mean, yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: talk about trying too hard. The Niners just seem I
Speaker 2: want to I want Nick Bosa on the field. But
Speaker 2: even even with that up in the air, I feel
Speaker 2: confident about this one.
Speaker 1: Well, just the way that, like last year, these two
Speaker 1: teams mostly intact and similar to today, San Francisco just seemed
Speaker 1: to completely solve Seattle one.
Speaker 2: In the fact that the Rams are a totally unknown
Speaker 2: situation the Cardinals aren't even trying. It makes it then
Speaker 2: a Seahawks versus Niners, And who's gonna unless you're a
Speaker 2: Seahawks fan really feel like they're the better team right now?
Speaker 3: Right I think the Seahawks could be significantly more complete
Speaker 3: as a team, and they could even win more games.
Speaker 4: They won nine last year. I think they could win ten.
Speaker 3: Or eleven, and I still think that's not gonna be
Speaker 3: enough in this division.
Speaker 4: It's just a belief in the forty nine Ers. Is
Speaker 4: not a discounting of the Seahawks for me.
Speaker 2: All right, Let's look at our wild card picks, and
Speaker 2: yes I have the Cowboys winning the NFC East. But
Speaker 2: it doesn't mean the Eagles are a flop this season.
Speaker 2: In fact, they think they're gonna be very good again,
Speaker 2: which means they're gonna get the first wild card.
Speaker 4: See, I didn't go there.
Speaker 3: I like to have my cake and I eat it too, Dan,
Speaker 3: So I'm still high on those Seahawks. I make them
Speaker 3: my number one NFC wild card team. And I see
Speaker 3: a nice little name next to me. Well, I'm used
Speaker 3: to it. I picked the Seahawks too, and I filed
Speaker 3: this before, Greg, so kissing corner. Well, I wouldn't know
Speaker 3: what you filed kissing corner, kissing cousins.
Speaker 2: What is it? The cousin kissing cousin?
Speaker 1: And West West and I both were pro Kirk cousins
Speaker 1: for a bit.
Speaker 2: Wild card too. I have the Seahawks, so I feel
Speaker 2: good about the Seahawks as well. Not in the class
Speaker 2: of the San Francisco forty nine ers, but you know,
Speaker 2: ten wins. What do you got, Greg?
Speaker 3: I mean, this is almost getting scary. I mentioned on
Speaker 3: our last show. Actually they were in the NFC at first.
Speaker 3: I left the Cowboys in the out of the playoffs.
Speaker 3: This is where the emails started coming back for I
Speaker 3: had him in.
Speaker 4: I had him in. I was just so stupid.
Speaker 3: I was trying to be too taky, like there's no
Speaker 3: reason not to believe that.
Speaker 1: The Cowboys are going to Winboy games. Yeah, I got
Speaker 1: the Cowboys too.
Speaker 4: We have the exact same again, guys are basic.
Speaker 2: What do you mean? I mean, you're lockstep on everything.
Speaker 4: I mean.
Speaker 3: But yeah, just as a weird I think we've figured
Speaker 3: out how sell you what like?
Speaker 1: So I should pick the Cowboys not in the playoffs.
Speaker 4: Give me here, we're going to disagree on this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I need you guys to disagree on something.
Speaker 1: I have the Falcons in the playoffs twice. Now, I
Speaker 1: picked the Falcons as a wild card, and.
Speaker 2: That's true wild card three. I Uh, I surprised myself here.
Speaker 2: I did put the lines of the playoffs. I haven't
Speaker 2: a wild card.
Speaker 3: Okay, so there's a lot of agreement. They're not too
Speaker 3: many crazy teams here. But I'm putting the old Commandos.
Speaker 3: I kind of them mentioned it earlier.
Speaker 4: Rivera.
Speaker 3: I think that line, that defensive line. I think Howell's
Speaker 3: gonna be fun. I just think they're gonna have a
Speaker 3: great spirit about them and find their way to ten wins.
Speaker 3: They managed to win seven or eight games with Rivera
Speaker 3: these last three years despite a lot of so I
Speaker 3: think they get that third wildcard spot.
Speaker 4: Keep his job.
Speaker 2: I don't think that's crazy. I went giants.
Speaker 1: I guess one thing that this isn't the same level
Speaker 1: of annoyance as you feel about the Falcons, but this
Speaker 1: everyone just looking at last year's Giants season, and I
Speaker 1: get it, maybe inflated win total, they're no problem, but like,
Speaker 1: are they really well coached? They have some pieces? Have
Speaker 1: they added some pieces? Do they have a really defensive coordinator?
Speaker 4: I love?
Speaker 2: Do? I love Brian Dable? Like Giants? On my third
Speaker 2: te I'm glad you represented the German. Yeah, who's to
Speaker 2: say they can't be building off last year? Why does
Speaker 2: it have to be? You know, they they are cooked in.
Speaker 2: Daniel Jones stinks that that's just negative talk.
Speaker 3: So there's there's so many teams that got multiple except
Speaker 3: so many teams including the g Man that got multiple
Speaker 3: votes for that last wildcard spart it was really split.
Speaker 3: But actually the team that got the most that would
Speaker 3: get the in theory consensus seventh spot was the Vikings
Speaker 3: among the voters.
Speaker 2: That's actually I thought what I had I had emailed
Speaker 2: in because I do have this weird feeling about the
Speaker 2: Vikings being better than people think, because everyone kind of
Speaker 2: like the Giants, and they were similar in that they
Speaker 2: were both kind of very fortunate in one score games
Speaker 2: in a way you don't usually see. But yeah, I
Speaker 2: think the Lions are better team, but probably this point.
Speaker 3: Saints got seven total points, Packers six Bears got four
Speaker 3: people voting for them for the last spot. And and yes,
Speaker 3: that RAMS employee mj D is one of two people
Speaker 3: to put.
Speaker 4: The Rams in.
Speaker 3: The Saints are the team that I had in multiple
Speaker 3: different versions of this and kept taking in and out,
Speaker 3: in and out, in and out.
Speaker 2: So do you have the Cowboys?
Speaker 3: I have the Saints out? None of us have the
Speaker 3: Saints in, and Saints Twitter is going to come.
Speaker 4: After us because there's.
Speaker 1: Check Twitter, So mind me in a different mailbox.
Speaker 2: So you have do you have the Cowboys in third
Speaker 2: place or last place?
Speaker 4: Second? Second?
Speaker 3: No, I had him at second my second wild Cars,
Speaker 3: they are the second one Commanders.
Speaker 4: Commanders are in the playoffs is third place?
Speaker 2: I mean I'm JD's vision here.
Speaker 1: Maybe some sort of mushroom vision comes to in the
Speaker 1: Rams or in the playoffs like that would be one
Speaker 1: of the weirder stories after this offset.
Speaker 4: Well it is.
Speaker 3: It reminds me of the year coming off Baker's good
Speaker 3: year in Cleveland that there was like four Browns fans
Speaker 3: who all picked them to make the Super Bowl or
Speaker 3: AFI Championship and you were one of them Joe's kitchens.
Speaker 4: Of them as well.
Speaker 2: Yes, I won't make fun of that because we're not
Speaker 2: done with this episode yet. If you have the Cowboys,
Speaker 2: we gotta go the Eagles and the Commanders on the playoffs?
Speaker 2: What do you have the Giants at one? In sixteen
Speaker 2: two and fifteen Greg this year and it's almost like
Speaker 2: in a little bit of an agenda there a little.
Speaker 3: Bit I don't feel good about my Giants over under
Speaker 3: under that I put out there.
Speaker 4: I really don't.
Speaker 3: I regret it, and because I got bleeped out with
Speaker 3: my one of my other over unders.
Speaker 4: But guess what, Oh that's Greg Inner love.
Speaker 2: For go ahead?
Speaker 3: What is that the two of the best years of
Speaker 3: my life? Forty two is already happened, forty six is coming.
Speaker 4: I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2: Go ahead?
Speaker 4: Are we doing Super Bowl picks? Can I go to him?
Speaker 3: Because I know you have to bleep me out here
Speaker 3: with the Chargers over Under, but now we know we're
Speaker 3: going over because we're putting them in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: Let's go Bolts.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna have them lose though to the I'm sticking
Speaker 3: with the Eagles, so the Eagles. I'm sticking with them,
Speaker 3: but they got they win over the Chargers and finally
Speaker 3: in the end, someone takes down Justin Herbert. But Eagles,
Speaker 3: Chargers two next gen quarterbacks on the biggest of stages
Speaker 3: in Vegas. Walker Rosenthal will be watching.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 2: Hopefully the Los Angeles Chargers in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: I think they're that talented. I think they are a
Speaker 4: top six story.
Speaker 2: That would be going from blowing a twenty seven to
Speaker 2: nothing wild card playoff lead, let's go and losing, Yes,
Speaker 2: having what many people believe to be a coach that's
Speaker 2: in and over his head, Yes, and then to turn
Speaker 2: it all around, let's go and.
Speaker 1: Go all the way to the team, like a way
Speaker 1: back when there was a team that had a magnificent
Speaker 1: regular season and we're completely upset and stunned by the
Speaker 1: Jaguars in the playoffs. The late nineties, Broncos, they came
Speaker 1: back around like Shanahan the next year, devastated Gunn and
Speaker 1: won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: Is he gonna do it? I've got a lock.
Speaker 1: Wait, I'm not picking the Chargers to do anything close
Speaker 1: with those I'm just saying that would be no, that
Speaker 1: would no.
Speaker 2: The Broncos not going to this.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the Broncos didn't get anywhere you want mine?
Speaker 2: I got the forty nine Ers.
Speaker 1: Okay, taking out the Chiefs. Mmmm, revenge. Finally Kyle Shanahan
Speaker 1: gets it. It's gonna be brock Purty. He's gonna go
Speaker 1: wire to wire. They're gonna have a seventy seven yard
Speaker 1: pick six of Mahomes with seconds to go the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter and win the game of it.
Speaker 3: Wow, you got when you get that specific it is,
Speaker 3: it is sort of lost to history. I feel like
Speaker 3: somewhat the Chiefs were down ten points in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 3: not just.
Speaker 4: Down ten points, there were down ten points to the
Speaker 4: Eagles too.
Speaker 2: At halftime. They have Jimmy g has an open man downfield,
Speaker 2: Emmanuel Sanders fourth quarter. If he hits the pass, it's
Speaker 2: ova Johnny. I mean it is over twenty four to
Speaker 2: twenty and he misses him and leaves the door open
Speaker 2: for the great Mahomes, who wasn't even having that great
Speaker 2: game at that point.
Speaker 3: All right, forty nine Ers finally get it done. That
Speaker 3: would be really well in my fantasy world. Impressive after
Speaker 3: being to the NFC Championship Game what three out of
Speaker 3: the last four years, and to keep coming back.
Speaker 4: That is an incredible organization. When you keep getting back, you.
Speaker 2: Know someone's voice I haven't heard in a while, and
Speaker 2: I miss him, and I hope everything was cool, because
Speaker 2: I thought he would be at the Hall of Fame
Speaker 2: where two Jet greats we went in were inducted, and
Speaker 2: then they played the Hall of Fame game against the Browns,
Speaker 2: and then I thought we'd see him on heart knocks.
Speaker 2: But we did not see him on hard knocks. Let's
Speaker 2: let's hear from Joe Namath.
Speaker 7: I think we got to ankle a shot of winning
Speaker 7: and meet anybody in the world, and I think we're
Speaker 7: gonna win next Sunday. Yes, name of it is on
Speaker 7: the hot seat. Most of the pressure is on him.
Speaker 7: He has said that the Jets are going to win.
Speaker 7: He doesn't even predict him. He said, I guarantee a
Speaker 7: Jet victory. Attitude is a whole lot in life, and
Speaker 7: I had a terrific attitude about that game.
Speaker 2: I know we're gonna win. I have that attitude. I
Speaker 2: feel that way, and it's not over confidence.
Speaker 6: They has football sense talking about guaranteeing we're gonna win.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. That's the way we felt. That's the
Speaker 2: way we felt fifty five years this January, Joe Name,
Speaker 2: it is guaranteed Super Bowl three over the heavily favored
Speaker 2: Baltimore Colts, sixteen to seven win altered Pro football forever.
Speaker 2: I've got news for you. We're gonna win the game.
Speaker 2: I guarantee. It was his quote by the pool. A
Speaker 2: young Brent Musburger was there sure, amongst other reporters, Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers in twenty twenty four. Same these now that wouldn't
Speaker 2: be as impactful.
Speaker 4: Samezas.
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's see, it's the quote Aaron. Let's actually we'll
Speaker 2: get an edit on that. He's too well spoken for that.
Speaker 2: It's I said on the Hard Knocks podcast, it's time.
Speaker 2: It's been time, and so many things have to happen
Speaker 2: to fall into place, but it does for so many
Speaker 2: other teams. The Chiefs waited forever, the Eagles waited forever,
Speaker 2: and it happened for them. Now it's time for the
Speaker 2: Jets to end. They're tortured half century drought. Get back
Speaker 2: to the super Bowl. And if you're gonna go to
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl, winn thing. You can't get to the
Speaker 2: super Bowl and not win, and I think they will.
Speaker 2: The guy who is the guy the on Hard Knocks.
Speaker 2: He was like the guy that looked into the future
Speaker 2: and he predicted the mentalists predicted Jets thirty one, forty nine,
Speaker 2: Ers twenty one. That works for me. We back baby,
Speaker 2: Jets finally win the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers was
Speaker 2: a legend to rival any New York hero that's ever lived.
Speaker 2: Why not us? And he's out dan setting himself up.
Speaker 2: Oh damn blah blah blah. Often I always thought if
Speaker 2: I ever got to the Super Bowl as a fan,
Speaker 2: not just winning the game, I've always and we've been
Speaker 2: up close for years, that fun that two week break
Speaker 2: between the games and all the fans have flood into
Speaker 2: the city. That's part of the glory as well, Like
Speaker 2: that build up to that game. I just want to
Speaker 2: experience that once. Even this offseason when Rogers got there
Speaker 2: at the end of April, like people are saying, like
Speaker 2: Jets fans are getting in over their skis and getting
Speaker 2: so excited. That's okay, Like we've been able to enjoy
Speaker 2: this summer and express hope and optimism. But that's all
Speaker 2: in the past now now we need to see results,
Speaker 2: and man, the logic checks out. Now, we just need
Speaker 2: it to happen.
Speaker 1: I mean, why do you do all this if you
Speaker 1: don't have those two weeks, If you don't have that moment.
Speaker 1: Patriots fans have had it multiple times to the point
Speaker 1: where it's like it all becomes almost normalized on some level.
Speaker 1: I'm not speaking for you, Greg, but like for a
Speaker 1: Jets fan, it isn't even just you haven't been there.
Speaker 1: You've been a laughing stock. You know, you have to
Speaker 1: defend your team in our newsroom all the time. Out
Speaker 1: at taverns and bars, when people find out you're a
Speaker 1: Jets fan, they giggle at you behind your back, like
Speaker 1: this would happen all behind my back, right in front
Speaker 1: of your face. But I actually think, after all we've
Speaker 1: been throwing the show too. You've done it could have
Speaker 1: been hyper annoying about the Jets draining all this.
Speaker 2: I don't think you have been.
Speaker 1: I think you've have been kind of stoic about it.
Speaker 1: It's like that would be a pretty incredible sports journey,
Speaker 1: and I think the most winding, bizarre, unbelievable NFL taiale
Speaker 1: that I could have, I could imagine. So I would
Speaker 1: love to see it your your dad, I mean, give
Speaker 1: me a break. Think about not just your sons, because
Speaker 1: they have a long, long time to see what happens
Speaker 1: with the Jets. Like your dad has been waiting and waiting.
Speaker 1: I hope he'd be your guest at that game. I'm
Speaker 1: pretty sure he would.
Speaker 2: Oh you know, he would be. Yes.
Speaker 3: Stoic would not be the word I would use to
Speaker 3: describe Dan's fandom of the Jets.
Speaker 4: And I love him.
Speaker 1: I mean, these couple months, you haven't been, you know,
Speaker 1: going nuts and.
Speaker 2: Defensive sure, yeah, I don't know that. It's there's so
Speaker 2: many outcomes that work against this happening that makes sense
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 3: It's one little fun subplot of this season because I'm
Speaker 3: looking back there at our producer Eric Roberts with his
Speaker 3: Bill's head on. Is that a Bill's head yep? Old
Speaker 3: school Bills hat? And I'm thinking how many of these
Speaker 3: teams in the AFC feel just like those Jets fans.
Speaker 3: If you look at who have the best quarterbacks, long
Speaker 3: tortured fan base waiting for their title. The Buffalo Bills,
Speaker 3: a long tortured fan base with a great quarterback. The
Speaker 3: Cincinnati Bengals, who are just there, uh, not a great franchise,
Speaker 3: but a tortured fan base with great quarterbacks the Los
Speaker 3: Angeles Chargers, who I have in the Super Bowl, Like,
Speaker 3: there are a lot.
Speaker 2: Of waiting a long time.
Speaker 1: They have had a rough road.
Speaker 3: A lot of great possible stories with great, great players
Speaker 3: leading them in the AFC, there's got to be a
Speaker 3: lot of disappointment. But that's why we're bored of the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: We got to get someone else.
Speaker 2: And what's what's a little bit annoying is Browns fans
Speaker 2: like and that's what complicates their situation. Yeah, is that
Speaker 2: that's the one fan base that feels like it. You
Speaker 2: can't really feel the same way for But they made
Speaker 2: their bed and they picked their quarterback to try to
Speaker 2: get over the hump, but complicated their situation. That would
Speaker 2: be a very different two weeks. I think you're right,
Speaker 2: all right, we got everything.
Speaker 3: I mean, yes, we famously think we're read show. It's
Speaker 3: going to be about twenty minutes shorter. So Mark apologized.
Speaker 3: Children who are waiting note on the street corners right now,
Speaker 3: I play.
Speaker 2: Them this episode in full.
Speaker 1: I'm an absolute professional and re arrange some plans while okay,
Speaker 1: while we were doing the show, I haven't had absolute.
Speaker 4: Blas Really, Yes, he's like Colton.
Speaker 3: Remember that day I told you I taught you how
Speaker 3: to drive in case of emergency, Just use that legacy.
Speaker 4: I don't know how exactly was.
Speaker 2: Leg extenders. All right, we are done for today, but
Speaker 2: just starting off a huge week. As we steam towards
Speaker 2: the Thursday night opener between the Chiefs and the Lines,
Speaker 2: we could finally stop talking about what's to come and
Speaker 2: experience it all until.
Speaker 3: I got the Hard Knocks recap finale tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Think Wednesday's show after that, then the preview. That's all happening.
Speaker 2: Heed the call.