Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast looks better than Gronk and
Speaker 1: a turtle knack. Welcome to another edition of the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL Podcast, presented by the United States Marine Corps.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hansis. I'm coming to you from
Speaker 1: a room filled with heroes. Mark Sesler, Chris Westling, and
Speaker 1: Greg Rosen. Thought, what is up? Please? Hey, d Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1: How is everyone's Chris mine? Uh? It had moments I
Speaker 1: for personally that we're very enjoyable and fulfilling and hours
Speaker 1: where I thought, you know, our house, uh, feeling like
Speaker 1: a nineteen eighties Lebanon scenario needed Uh some quiet. Also
Speaker 1: give us some example of the Lebanon scene. Well, when
Speaker 1: everyone is shouting and screaming and like, you know, there's
Speaker 1: I don't know, it's like, it's wonderful, it's wonderfully chaotic.
Speaker 1: I'll put it. I'll put a positive spin on it.
Speaker 1: Just beautifully cut out to our Lebaneese listeners. Eight leban
Speaker 1: On him today. I would imagine, Wes, how about you?
Speaker 1: You have a bun in the ove and so this
Speaker 1: is your last Christmas without a child, And that's that's interesting.
Speaker 1: It is Keisha's boss decided to be a good idea
Speaker 1: to schedule her at five in the morning on Christmas,
Speaker 1: even Christmas Day, So that's what we've been doing. And
Speaker 1: the day after Christmas just like that whip. Hey, we
Speaker 1: know she's gonna have a kid next year, so I
Speaker 1: gotta squeeze those Christmas ships while we can. Keisha Westling
Speaker 1: is the first lady of the NFL media newsroom. How
Speaker 1: is that happening? We gotta get you know, Eily's been
Speaker 1: he's kind of been edging to get back on the show.
Speaker 1: Like he'll do his stop eyes at our cubicles and
Speaker 1: you know, mentioned the Panthers or some type of league
Speaker 1: news and then have a little bit of a take
Speaker 1: and it's clear that he's you know, this is the
Speaker 1: boss of Laksha and but this is what we really
Speaker 1: need to get him on the horn to talk. Well,
Speaker 1: this is not the topic I would imagine he wants
Speaker 1: to come onto the show to discuss at length. But
Speaker 1: you know what that's not. He doesn't chili, You're famous
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Chili. You're feeling a little you know, that was
Speaker 1: an all night holidays. Wow, you know I went to
Speaker 1: see cats not sober so that was really, uh, really
Speaker 1: a lot of strange life decisions when you spend pretty
Speaker 1: much I spend almost all my free time all year
Speaker 1: long with our fans, with my family except for the holidays.
Speaker 1: Super humble, right, is a strange h strange interesting? Please
Speaker 1: tell me you were alone watching Cats? No? No, I
Speaker 1: went with a couple of friends. Something mind altering caused
Speaker 1: you to go see Cats. Well, knives out was sold out.
Speaker 1: That was the number one factor, and then we thought
Speaker 1: it might be uh fun and a unique experience. And
Speaker 1: you know what it was? Was Cats as bad as
Speaker 1: they say? Oh yeah, word, I mean it was. It
Speaker 1: was hilarious. You get the updated version. None of it
Speaker 1: made any sense. It was it felt like we had
Speaker 1: survived something afterwards. But it also was really hilariously updated
Speaker 1: c g I version of Cats. And I'm still working
Speaker 1: through last night my parents. Of course, Keith was on
Speaker 1: the show um Our last episode on Monday night. My mom. Uh.
Speaker 1: And then Emily and I we watched the new Sandler
Speaker 1: film Uncut Gems last night. Uh. And I gotta say
Speaker 1: that my Francessa performance, you kind of undersold it. Francessa
Speaker 1: knocked it out of the park as the bookie. He
Speaker 1: was great. I just said he wasn't in the movie
Speaker 1: that no, he wasn't, but I couldn't believe how natural
Speaker 1: he was. Maybe it's all been an act all along.
Speaker 1: Uncut Games was was amazing. Definitely put that ahead of
Speaker 1: Cats in your Alright, So here we are. We finally
Speaker 1: reached the end of the yellow brick road, week seventeen
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. Our league, this league, this league,
Speaker 1: not your league, not that, not that league, this league,
Speaker 1: but most importantly our league. You know how we know
Speaker 1: it's our league because we're here in a studio that
Speaker 1: looks like an interrogation room because no one else is
Speaker 1: in the building today. Um, and we just are. We're
Speaker 1: doing it. We might have this, that's not true. The
Speaker 1: entire newsroom is totally packed like a normal Thursday, but
Speaker 1: the the audio department is different. So we're about four
Speaker 1: third floor. Are we the most popular podcast to ever
Speaker 1: not have a producer behind the glass of our own
Speaker 1: podcast in the middle of a show? In the running?
Speaker 1: In the running? Clearly a right. I'll be handling the
Speaker 1: bulk of production duties. Um. So if you find that
Speaker 1: I seem scattered or not as sharp as usual, it's
Speaker 1: because you know, math is involved having a translation. We
Speaker 1: don't need little snarky tweets about what happened to Mike four.
Speaker 1: You know, between minute twenty and thirty, we've already laid
Speaker 1: it out to you. We are in a concerning scenario, alright,
Speaker 1: So let us get into it now. We do a
Speaker 1: draft style as we do every year every week, and
Speaker 1: this is it, man, this is Week seventeen. This is
Speaker 1: is all the games played in the Sunday early and
Speaker 1: late window and one primetime game. So we're gonna swing
Speaker 1: through six team games. We do have to work out
Speaker 1: one thing. We decided to kinda so this podcast isn't
Speaker 1: two hours long to do a speed round of games
Speaker 1: that don't have any really playoff to real playoff ties.
Speaker 1: Are we taking them out of the draft? That makes sense,
Speaker 1: So remove them from the draft, and now we will
Speaker 1: get to the process. Who picked last last week? That
Speaker 1: is a conversation. Do you pick first? So West, you
Speaker 1: are up, followed by Dan, followed by Mark, followed by
Speaker 1: Greg with the snake, So West, get us going baby
Speaker 1: the first pick in Week seventeen, I tried to find
Speaker 1: a game where both teams we're guaranteed to play their starters.
Speaker 1: The entire game, and both teams had playoff permutations on
Speaker 1: the line. They closest I could get was Titans Texans.
Speaker 1: And it depends on how much you believe Bill O'Brien.
Speaker 1: I do not believe him at all that he's gonna
Speaker 1: be playing his starters the whole game, no matter what
Speaker 1: I think that what happens in other games and what
Speaker 1: happens to his own players in the first quarter and
Speaker 1: how the momentum of that game is going will factor in. Uh.
Speaker 1: What I like about this matchup? Ryan Tannehill has a
Speaker 1: chance to make some history here. He's completed seventy of
Speaker 1: his passes at over nine yards attempt and he could
Speaker 1: become the first guy to do that since Joe Montana
Speaker 1: and eighty nine. Also the first guy to lead the
Speaker 1: league in passer rating and yards per attempt, which he's
Speaker 1: currently doined since Matt Ryan in two thousand and sixteen.
Speaker 1: So the way he's playing and Derrick Henry practicing fully,
Speaker 1: I like the Titans in this matchup. Well. I love
Speaker 1: how tanne Hill has been on third downs, Like for
Speaker 1: all the big plays that they've made when they've had
Speaker 1: a third and two, a third and six. I really
Speaker 1: think he's shown pretty significant progress from when he was
Speaker 1: in Miami in terms of his decision making. His one
Speaker 1: big you know flaw as he holds the ball forever
Speaker 1: and that's just who he is. Uh, that hasn't totally left.
Speaker 1: But you see him changing the play at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. Two of their long touchdowns came from that
Speaker 1: last week, and he just feels mentally a little more comfortable,
Speaker 1: advanced and great. I just don't it's crazy. You can't
Speaker 1: really make an argument that that he's outside the top
Speaker 1: six or eight quarterbacks right now, like in terms of
Speaker 1: just how he's playing right now. There are times where
Speaker 1: you get these compiled statistics like you just mentioned for
Speaker 1: Tannehillo over the court since Week seven, quarterback X has
Speaker 1: done this, but they don't really look like it. But
Speaker 1: I he to me, he looks like this guy in
Speaker 1: the field. And the Titans, which have been arranging four
Speaker 1: fest and snuck into some past postseasons before where you
Speaker 1: kind of just feel like you kind of just feel
Speaker 1: like get rid of them because they're one of those
Speaker 1: teams that you know you need six teams and they're there.
Speaker 1: They're gonna slide in and maybe even like they did
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs that one year and sneak on and
Speaker 1: move on. But this team would excite me to watch
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, and I feel like Ryan Tannehill has
Speaker 1: galvanized Tennessee's locker room entirely. The one thing I knowed
Speaker 1: for the Texans is that they do designate J. J.
Speaker 1: Watt to come off of I R. So it sounds
Speaker 1: like they will have him for the playoffs. But what
Speaker 1: is the playoffs set up here? So they do not
Speaker 1: necessarily the Texans have anything to play for by the
Speaker 1: time they start the game. If the Chiefs win early,
Speaker 1: the Chiefs clinch at least the three seed, and the
Speaker 1: Texans are locked into a home game next week against
Speaker 1: the Bills. If the Chiefs were too stub their toe early,
Speaker 1: and there's some question whether they're going to play their
Speaker 1: starters uh they play the Chargers, then Houston would have
Speaker 1: the option to try to move up to the to
Speaker 1: the three seed. There's a question whether you would even
Speaker 1: care about that. Granted, maybe you could get another home
Speaker 1: game that would take a lot of upsets, but you
Speaker 1: you possibly could be setting up a rematch with these
Speaker 1: Titans if if things fell a certain way, if the Raiders,
Speaker 1: uh and the Steelers both lost too, So that's confusing
Speaker 1: about the motivation. What about Tennessee though, is it winning it? Sorry?
Speaker 1: And then that's because if they lose, and there's a
Speaker 1: certain combination that I think it's the if the Raiders
Speaker 1: lose and the Steelers lose and the Colts win, they
Speaker 1: win the three way the three way tie, so that
Speaker 1: they they are rooting for a few different things, right
Speaker 1: there are there are four different scenarios I'm looking at
Speaker 1: it now in our great research notes. Out of four
Speaker 1: scenarios that could play out. Um, the Titans obviously winning
Speaker 1: gets them in. They lose, but uh, Pittsburgh and Indie
Speaker 1: lose as well, said Indie losing, they get in as well.
Speaker 1: But if Tennessee loses at Houston and Pittsburgh wins at Baltimore,
Speaker 1: the Steelers are in. So there is obviously a lot
Speaker 1: a lot cooking here. I want to see how Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry looks they you know, Ian Rappaport had the report.
Speaker 1: You see this, this is not one and this is
Speaker 1: a kind of a trope in these type of reports,
Speaker 1: like player X sat out this week, so he'll be
Speaker 1: one next week. In the big game that matters because
Speaker 1: of course last games, last week's game against the Saints, which,
Speaker 1: by the way, you have a fourteen nothing lead. We're
Speaker 1: not even talking about them needing help. If they just
Speaker 1: finish off of the Saints at home, they did not,
Speaker 1: they would have needed help. Though it was a weird
Speaker 1: scenario where they didn't need that game because it was
Speaker 1: a nonconference game, all right. They also did not finish
Speaker 1: off the game because we've been letting their defense slide,
Speaker 1: and their defense was absolutely Horrendousus these are two pretty
Speaker 1: bad defense. I'd also said, you know, in some cases
Speaker 1: it is okay to blame me and and if you
Speaker 1: needed you need, please please on my point being that
Speaker 1: just the assumption that Derrick Henry will be is an assumption.
Speaker 1: So what, let's see how he looks. Because as good
Speaker 1: as Tannehill has been, uh, Henry is the guy there,
Speaker 1: you know, and he and they are special on offense
Speaker 1: with Henry there. So Brian keeps saying that they're playing
Speaker 1: to win. When they asked if Watson was starting, I'm
Speaker 1: going to take the Titans as my lock because I
Speaker 1: liked their chances of winning this game either way, and
Speaker 1: like West, I'm not totally sure. I buy that they're
Speaker 1: gonna play all four quarters. I don't really know, but
Speaker 1: either way, I think the Titans just motivation and just
Speaker 1: talent wise have too much and they'll they'll find a
Speaker 1: way to win it on the road. And by the way,
Speaker 1: how could I'm locking up the Titans too? And you
Speaker 1: know why? You know what happens when they win this game?
Speaker 1: They go nine and seven. Well, that's a lock. We
Speaker 1: knew this. We said this from July. It was gonna
Speaker 1: be nine and seven. That's what would be their fourth
Speaker 1: straight year. And they will go nine and seven. So
Speaker 1: I too, will lock up the Tennessee Titans. To move on,
Speaker 1: all right, let us now move on with our next
Speaker 1: U selection. It is my draft pick. Oh my goodness,
Speaker 1: all right, what do we got? What matters? What? What
Speaker 1: do we care about? You know what? I want to
Speaker 1: see the Eagles close things out? Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1: I will I will check out Eagles at Giants. Hey
Speaker 1: the Giants are you know? They were a fun bad
Speaker 1: team last week with their offenses humming right now, But
Speaker 1: the Eagles have been really one of the Uh. They're
Speaker 1: not a gifted team by any stretch, but they got great.
Speaker 1: It's the one thing people can measure is what's going
Speaker 1: on in the ticker. That's what the Eagles are all
Speaker 1: about these last three weeks with Wentz leading the way
Speaker 1: and Doug Peterson, uh, you know, obviously making the most
Speaker 1: of what he has. Uh, their offense is uh not
Speaker 1: gonna blow you away. Jordan Howard, I think he's back
Speaker 1: in the mix, but uh, because things have been going
Speaker 1: so well with Sanders, he will continue to be a
Speaker 1: main guy in the offense as he should be west
Speaker 1: because he has been kind of the unsung hero for
Speaker 1: the Eagles. So I am looking at the Eagles a
Speaker 1: team that who who can you trust? The nfcast nobody,
Speaker 1: But I want to see how this regular season tail ends.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna have my eyes on that game. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think Miles Sanders is so much better than Jordan Howard.
Speaker 1: That's not even a question to me. He should he
Speaker 1: should be the focal point of this offense the way
Speaker 1: he's been playing so good in the passing game. Um,
Speaker 1: and Jordan Howard is a tel When he's on the field,
Speaker 1: you're gonna run the ball. It's funny because that was
Speaker 1: totally not Sanders is profile coming out of the draft.
Speaker 1: Just shows even no matter how much tape you watch,
Speaker 1: sometimes it's just how players are you. They're not being
Speaker 1: coached well. Because Miles Sanders that was supposedly maybe a
Speaker 1: liability for him in the path game, He's been fantastic.
Speaker 1: They have an identity. Greg Ward to me is almost
Speaker 1: an upgrade on Nelson aghil Are in the slot like
Speaker 1: he's absolutely made a lot of big play. Zach Ertz
Speaker 1: may not play in this game, though, so I just don't.
Speaker 1: I I fear for the Eagles because I do think
Speaker 1: it's a dangerous spot. The way that the Giants offense
Speaker 1: is playing last week. I mean, they are about as
Speaker 1: healthy all together, looking good at the same time as
Speaker 1: they have been all season. And maybe a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks off helped Daniel Jones because that was I would
Speaker 1: say his best passing performance of the season last week.
Speaker 1: I am this is a super risky I looked up
Speaker 1: and down this board in terms of locks. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: lock up the Eagles. UM, I don't love it. I
Speaker 1: feel like I'm probably gonna be, you know, very annoyed
Speaker 1: at myself. Um, come seven pm Eastern. But what I
Speaker 1: will do is say that I think that they still haven't.
Speaker 1: They have a lot to play for. They're not gonna
Speaker 1: be any sitting starters business, and give me a break.
Speaker 1: This is the team in the NFC East that I
Speaker 1: trust more than the Cowboys right now. I cannot believe
Speaker 1: what's happened with Dallas, and I do think the Eagles
Speaker 1: will find a way to take care of their own business.
Speaker 1: You're getting the best version right now of Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: that we've gotten all season long. He's the first quarterback
Speaker 1: ever well they say since forty eight, but nobody completed
Speaker 1: thirty completions in a game. To have thirty completions in
Speaker 1: a game for three straight games and no interceptions, and
Speaker 1: to me, that's that's what their offense is. It's a
Speaker 1: lot more short passes now, it's a more controlled offense,
Speaker 1: more easy completions, and it's working pretty well. My question
Speaker 1: is that team had to be literally wild, because who
Speaker 1: else was doing that back then? I don't. I think
Speaker 1: that's just how far their database goes back. I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody actually did that in forty eight. And you
Speaker 1: have Dallas Goddard, by the way, so even if they
Speaker 1: don't have verts, he had the best game of his
Speaker 1: career last week, and maybe sometimes these guys are when
Speaker 1: you have two great tight ends, one is some pressed
Speaker 1: a little bit. I've been waiting for them to feature him.
Speaker 1: It's so huge for ones because he's never closed out,
Speaker 1: he's never played at the end of the season. He
Speaker 1: hasn't been in big games in the end in the
Speaker 1: NFL that often. Um So I think it's really important
Speaker 1: for him and the way that he's leading this team
Speaker 1: that he's the identity, he's the one that's carrying them
Speaker 1: that even if they kind of sneak into the playoffs
Speaker 1: at nine and seven, it's important what he's done because
Speaker 1: he hasn't had experiences like this and back to Earth's
Speaker 1: as as we've said, he's banged up, it's a fractured rib.
Speaker 1: He is a true game time decision. He's listed as questionable.
Speaker 1: It's legit questionable. He didn't practice Wednesday, didn't practice today Thursday.
Speaker 1: Obviously that's a painful situation. And you imagine, I imagine
Speaker 1: that he could be if he does play on a
Speaker 1: snap count. So, yeah, Dallas got it. They're gonna need
Speaker 1: him to ball out once more. All right, So we
Speaker 1: got three locks locked in West still waiting to hear
Speaker 1: from him, and now picking next is Mark sees it well,
Speaker 1: I am being tasked with writing up one of these games,
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna get that done in the early spot,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to get that done with one last
Speaker 1: look at I want to see green Bay at Detroit
Speaker 1: because green Bay to me, coming off that game where
Speaker 1: they they're the team that stood up against the Vikings
Speaker 1: and showed to me they deserve to win this division.
Speaker 1: They've sealed it up. I'm not sure who's gonna play
Speaker 1: in this game. It doesn't sound like they're gonna sit
Speaker 1: a flock of people here because they still have something
Speaker 1: to play for. This is a playoff game, yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean they can. They can essentially know they can clinch
Speaker 1: the number one seed with the San Francisco law, So
Speaker 1: I I want to see what happens here and if
Speaker 1: they can follow up what happened last week. Is Darius
Speaker 1: Smith and that defense is playing as well as they
Speaker 1: have all year long, and Aaron's Jones. Aaron Jones had
Speaker 1: essentially his biggest, one of the biggest workloads of the year,
Speaker 1: So I feel like they are zeroing in on their
Speaker 1: their one guy on the ground as well. So for me,
Speaker 1: it's just Aaron Rodgers. This would be a good defensive
Speaker 1: showing for Aaron Rodgers to quiet some of the people
Speaker 1: that have looked at there is an interesting stat with
Speaker 1: him right now seven straight starts of under two fifteen
Speaker 1: passing yards for the first time in his career. And
Speaker 1: people point people have said, oh, they don't have any weapons,
Speaker 1: and Greg, I know you were saying the other night,
Speaker 1: Yes they do, but it doesn't look like it's sometimes
Speaker 1: with the way that offense loses its flow. Well, we
Speaker 1: see big plays from their passing game, but we don't
Speaker 1: see the one through four quarter consistency. And that's what
Speaker 1: I'd be looking for in this game against the doormat
Speaker 1: like the Lions. Lions picking third in the draft, that
Speaker 1: is not where we thought we'd be at the end
Speaker 1: of September, and defense is a total mess. So if
Speaker 1: it is, it is a good call. If the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers have any doubts, it's it's strangely on the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball, Go drop a forty burger
Speaker 1: and the Lions and get ready for the playoffs, right.
Speaker 1: I mean, the doubts to me are with Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: partly I mean, yes, you would rather have someone more
Speaker 1: experienced in Alan Lazard as your number two. He's the
Speaker 1: clear number two now in Coumarro and Alison are kind
Speaker 1: of splitting the three spot. But Rogers missed the throw
Speaker 1: is in those games. You know, the interception last week
Speaker 1: was a play he got tricked on, but there was
Speaker 1: about four or five throws where he just wasn't accurate
Speaker 1: in that game. And I don't think he's playing his
Speaker 1: best football, uh in terms of his instincts. Luckily, their
Speaker 1: defense is playing their best down the stretch. They the
Speaker 1: defense kind of goes as Kenny Clark goes because that
Speaker 1: areas Smith has been amazing all year. But when Kenny
Speaker 1: Clark is rolling suddenly, maybe you don't see as many
Speaker 1: double teams for Smith. I know, the Vikings basically didn't
Speaker 1: double teams Smith that much, and he ended up having
Speaker 1: a pressure against all five different offensive lineman Because you
Speaker 1: can put him anywhere. I mean, he is just he's incredible.
Speaker 1: He He's in my top three or so for defensive
Speaker 1: player of the year. But this is absolutely a playoff game.
Speaker 1: They win, they advanced past the first round of the playoffs,
Speaker 1: and they have a home game in the division round.
Speaker 1: If they lose, they risk uh playing in the wild
Speaker 1: card round, and like you said, they could climb up
Speaker 1: all the way to number one. So this is a
Speaker 1: huge game for the pack I think I was a
Speaker 1: little harder than after the Monday night game the Packers
Speaker 1: sort of suggesting that, uh, they don't. I don't see
Speaker 1: them as a buy team. I just don't when I
Speaker 1: think about the top four teams in the NFL. But
Speaker 1: to just imagine that they're gonna sit in that spot
Speaker 1: and loose, they could easily suddenly be in the NFC
Speaker 1: title game. I mean, it's just ridiculous to suggest that
Speaker 1: a home game is exactly so it's like these you know,
Speaker 1: it's up to them. What a great job by Matt Lafloor,
Speaker 1: who nobody seems to really believe in that much. Nobody
Speaker 1: in the media seems to have a ton of respect
Speaker 1: for him, and he keeps cranking out wins every week.
Speaker 1: That's absolutely yeah, that's fair dog, all right. But by
Speaker 1: the way, what do the Packers need to get that
Speaker 1: number one seed to win and forty Niners loss? That's it?
Speaker 1: Which is certainly possible there on the road. Of course,
Speaker 1: the Niners and they've been they get a bye was
Speaker 1: just simply a Saint loss, but no matter what happens,
Speaker 1: and they get a bye with a win, so that
Speaker 1: that that's the key as they control it, and they're
Speaker 1: they're not going to count on the Saints or or
Speaker 1: anyone stubbing their toes. Take care of business, Greg, you
Speaker 1: are up. Okay, I'm gonna take the Chiefs Chargers in
Speaker 1: the earlies lot because that first slot so vital and
Speaker 1: the chance to watch Patrick mahomes Uh is always tempting.
Speaker 1: I think he's the best quarterback in NFL history, at
Speaker 1: least I mean I do. I think he's. I think
Speaker 1: he's like I think I mean, not his record of achievement,
Speaker 1: but he plays the position to me, at the highest
Speaker 1: level I've ever seen anyone play it, just in terms
Speaker 1: of like everything he has. It's not that right like
Speaker 1: hot of a take when his twenty three year old
Speaker 1: m VP who follows that up with, you know what,
Speaker 1: he's probably the second best quarterback, is the greatest quarterback.
Speaker 1: Maybe maybe he's like it's poor wording, but to me,
Speaker 1: he's he has that the position at the highest level
Speaker 1: basically possible, like that that he has the highest ceiling
Speaker 1: and that he's in terms of the start of his career.
Speaker 1: He certainly is right air with anyone two eleven Aaron Rodgers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm taking two thousand eleven Aaron Rodgers. I guess I'm
Speaker 1: grading on a scale of the first his first two
Speaker 1: years as a starter versus anyone else's first two years
Speaker 1: as a starter in NFL history, and what I think
Speaker 1: his ceiling and potential to after two years as a starter.
Speaker 1: He maybe Marino could be in that conversation as well,
Speaker 1: but I he would be in that conversation. Yes, now
Speaker 1: we're talking, and I think, you know, I didn't know.
Speaker 1: I didn't gotta you know, pick here that just came out,
Speaker 1: um and and I love watching him play, and you
Speaker 1: know what, you know, you never know what Chargers team
Speaker 1: is gonna show up. Like the thing that I think
Speaker 1: is Anthony Lynn's biggest problem when he's presenting his resume,
Speaker 1: if there's any concern about his coaching future, is you
Speaker 1: never know what team is gonna show up. You never
Speaker 1: know which part of the team's gonna show up in
Speaker 1: which parts not. They could not be less consistent than
Speaker 1: as a team, and they have totally underachieved that's just
Speaker 1: a fact. I mean, twelve and four last year. That
Speaker 1: should buy any coach another year if they have. But
Speaker 1: if we are get better when they got healthy, remember
Speaker 1: everyone was like, oh every once they get back, and
Speaker 1: it's like they all came back, they weren't any better.
Speaker 1: Not to be reductive, but if Philip Rivers is a
Speaker 1: quarterback and deep decline, I don't think he is that well,
Speaker 1: then that's obviously for debate. But if if he is
Speaker 1: not the same guy who was last year, which I
Speaker 1: think it's hard to disagree with, Uh, that makes up
Speaker 1: the difference a lot between twelve and four and whatever
Speaker 1: they're going to finish. Now I get it, but they
Speaker 1: they're in the same division of the Broncos and the Raiders,
Speaker 1: and you just look at the rosters and you look
Speaker 1: at who's maximizing the fact that they could finish. That
Speaker 1: they're going to finish in last place, go on, well,
Speaker 1: it's a bad job. Injuries aside, like their roster provides
Speaker 1: no excuses for what's happened this season when a lot
Speaker 1: of those charges players have come back. I also not
Speaker 1: to be the dead horse, but it's an atrocious situation
Speaker 1: for any team to deal with that's their home stadium,
Speaker 1: quote unquote, the fact that nobody loves them. It's like,
Speaker 1: this feels like a deeply unhealthy organizational set up. And
Speaker 1: I wonder if that now you could say, well, Dan,
Speaker 1: you can say that last year and their twelve four,
Speaker 1: and that's fair. But after another year of this grind
Speaker 1: being in your building in front of thirty year and
Speaker 1: they overcame it as the best road team in the league,
Speaker 1: they still weren't that great out and that maybe that
Speaker 1: may help the coach and the coaching staff, because who
Speaker 1: are you going to lure into a even higher octane,
Speaker 1: strangely more bizarre optical situation next year in a much
Speaker 1: bigger stadium. And to be clear, the Chiefs will be
Speaker 1: playing to win. Certainly to start the game, they could
Speaker 1: have the option of scoreboard watching, and if the Patriots
Speaker 1: got out to a big lead, they would think, Okay,
Speaker 1: the by is not happening, and maybe Mahomes doesn't finish
Speaker 1: out the game. That's possible. But they clinched the number
Speaker 1: three seed with a win, and they still have a
Speaker 1: chance for the number two seeds. Yeah, you know how
Speaker 1: I know Philip Rivers is in decline. Tyrod Taylor warming
Speaker 1: up on the sidelines happen in Philip Rivers Prime, ever,
Speaker 1: and that's fair. He has thrown way too many floaters
Speaker 1: into open spaces that close when the defenders sits there
Speaker 1: waiting for the second most picks in the league, and
Speaker 1: in a number of them have been uncharacter He's he's
Speaker 1: thrown interceptions in bunches throughout his career at times, but
Speaker 1: they are uncharacteristic for him. Greg Enow snakes to you,
Speaker 1: And since we are our own production team today, I
Speaker 1: am going to get up and grab a water. Does
Speaker 1: anyone need it? Oh? I thought you were going to
Speaker 1: vocally make your own snakes. Oh I could do that too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: at least the least provided that was fantastic. But Aquafina
Speaker 1: doing all right? To thank you, Dan, I am going
Speaker 1: to take the Titans and Texans at four. How do
Speaker 1: how are you going to believe that's already been selected?
Speaker 1: I will be taking these Steelers and Raven. You're that
Speaker 1: guy the Fantasy draft he took five in the in
Speaker 1: the sixth rou You know, it's confusing. We don't have
Speaker 1: the headsets on there's certain games you can't take. I'm
Speaker 1: just I'm just blowing it. I think the Ravens backups
Speaker 1: could beat the Steelers starters. I think r G three
Speaker 1: is better and Duck Hodges, I think Gus Edwards is,
Speaker 1: you know, better than Jaylen Samuel's and Benny Snell's. And
Speaker 1: I think you can only sit so many players, and
Speaker 1: a lot of this Ravens defense is gonna be playing,
Speaker 1: and they're gonna be blitzing like crazy like they do
Speaker 1: every week. Steelers aren't. I mean, the Steelers are gonna
Speaker 1: be sitting some other guys too. Marques Pency can't play
Speaker 1: because of his knee injury. James James Conner looks like
Speaker 1: he's not practicing this week, So it's not like you're
Speaker 1: getting a fully loaded Steelers squad. What a dip in
Speaker 1: public opinion or maybe just Greg opinion. But I don't
Speaker 1: feel like what you're saying is something that a lot
Speaker 1: of people will disagree with. That we went from like
Speaker 1: really respecting the hell out of this gritty Steelers team,
Speaker 1: and they're great coaching and they're amazing defense too. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: but duck Dog Duck Hodges is terrible and this is
Speaker 1: not gonna work. But I think to be are there
Speaker 1: gonna win this, I think the Steer is gonna win.
Speaker 1: Just because Gregg says this every other day doesn't mean
Speaker 1: it's gonna happen. They are. The Steelers are favored, uh
Speaker 1: to win this game in Baltimore. Part of it is
Speaker 1: I think the Ravens are one of the great regular
Speaker 1: season teams we've seen and the bones of that, and
Speaker 1: I've heard them talking this week about how they want
Speaker 1: to get fourteen wins set the franchise record, Like there's
Speaker 1: still a great they're a great team one to fifty three.
Speaker 1: If you take off this you know, top seven players,
Speaker 1: they're much worse, but it's still a very good team. Well,
Speaker 1: the only thing is in every single time that r
Speaker 1: G three has come in, they have looked like a
Speaker 1: Week four preseason team, and they have not been the
Speaker 1: same on any level of the defense because it just
Speaker 1: kind of just running out the clock in those scenarios.
Speaker 1: Though anyway, typically there have been a couple of times
Speaker 1: where he's come on the field and just everything. You
Speaker 1: know what, maybe I'm wrong, maybe RG three throws for
Speaker 1: four touchdowns and for one, but like they are not small.
Speaker 1: I just think the way you play defense against r
Speaker 1: G three is completely different. Than what Lamar Jackson is testing. Okay,
Speaker 1: that's exactly And the disrespect of Greg to just just
Speaker 1: praise the Ravens deep backup defenders as if the Steelers
Speaker 1: first team defense isn't leading the league in Saxon takeaways
Speaker 1: all year and gonna they're gonna take care of that.
Speaker 1: That's what you need to adjust West's levels. You're starting
Speaker 1: to yell, here's here's the difference. Though. The Ravens played
Speaker 1: the number thirty two offense in the league and the
Speaker 1: Steelers have to play. Yes, they're not gonna They're gonna
Speaker 1: be a very diminished Ravens team, but even with ours,
Speaker 1: the Ravens are gonna run out this week is gonna
Speaker 1: be worse than the offensive Steelers are running out. No, see,
Speaker 1: I do you think Marshall Yonda is gonna be out
Speaker 1: there leading the offensive line. They are gonna sit Yonda.
Speaker 1: They outs and they sit sat Lamar Jackson, gonna probably
Speaker 1: sit Ronnie Stanley. But the Steelers are poorly code like
Speaker 1: they've been trying their hardest all year and they're the
Speaker 1: worst offense in the league. So they're still gonna be
Speaker 1: trying their hards I don't know, and they have a
Speaker 1: very tough man, very intriguing, right, I know. I thought,
Speaker 1: suddenly the Ravens, the third team Garden Tackle are better
Speaker 1: in the steel You can only here's the thing, that
Speaker 1: you can only sit so many players, half of their starters.
Speaker 1: I am remembering two thousand four a lot, which is
Speaker 1: when the Steelers backups went up to Buffalo and beat
Speaker 1: a hot Mike Malarkey team. In two thousand four the
Speaker 1: Bills us. The Bills assumed that they were going to
Speaker 1: the playoffs at nine and playing the Steelers backups. And
Speaker 1: this was the number one seeded Steelers, and they had
Speaker 1: the bones of a team that could still go out
Speaker 1: and win a tough game on the road. And they
Speaker 1: did it with just equate the Ravens to be hot
Speaker 1: Mike Malarkey team. No, the Ravens in this case would
Speaker 1: be the Steelers. It should be a hot Bill Coward team. Well,
Speaker 1: there are only a few weeks away from having their
Speaker 1: hearts Fitzpatrick, Come on, Greg, take me through Greg the
Speaker 1: computations on this one. Steelers. The Steelers need to win
Speaker 1: and they need the Titans to lose. It's pretty simple
Speaker 1: for them. They also can get in with a Tennessee
Speaker 1: loss and in Indianapolis win and in Oakland loss? Could
Speaker 1: they lose? And yes they are. They would be the
Speaker 1: benefactors of that UM three way tie. It's close to
Speaker 1: another topic. It's possible, it's possible. All right, Mark, you're up.
Speaker 1: I will take this one PM game that typically I
Speaker 1: would call it unattractive. But New Orleans at Carolina UM
Speaker 1: trying to spread my day out a little bit. So
Speaker 1: it's a personal goal versus how's Spicy doing with Will
Speaker 1: Greer that whole you? You know, I would say, I'm
Speaker 1: typically not in touch with Spicy unless it's a group
Speaker 1: text that suddenly blows up. And I looked down. There's
Speaker 1: eighty eight messages in four or five minutes from Spicy
Speaker 1: in the three of you. I haven't heard it from
Speaker 1: Spicy since he told me he was coming back to
Speaker 1: l A for Thanksgiving and would probably be at my
Speaker 1: house and then stayed in Cincinnati. And I other than
Speaker 1: David blow And and Will Greer, I don't hear from him. Spicy,
Speaker 1: of course, is the Spice rack reach out to us
Speaker 1: in Latust night year? Okay? Spice uh? Chris Westling's former
Speaker 1: his erstwhile desert Consigliaria now and now just undering the Midwest,
Speaker 1: who knows where. I think he's all right, though he
Speaker 1: can't be thrilled with what we saw from Will Greer.
Speaker 1: If what did we see from Will Greer, someone that's
Speaker 1: essentially walked himself out of being in the conversation for
Speaker 1: starting quarterback next season, I don't know if it was
Speaker 1: even I mean, I don't know what you what he
Speaker 1: could have showed. It wasn't great, It wasn't the worst,
Speaker 1: you know, first start you've ever seen. But if you're
Speaker 1: looking for something like great sparks that are going to
Speaker 1: get the next coach excited, that that was not there.
Speaker 1: I think it's interesting on I read this piece on
Speaker 1: PFF and that they you know, and it's their version
Speaker 1: of things, so it's going to be different than someone else's.
Speaker 1: But tracking every single one of these NFC powers, they
Speaker 1: view the Saints as the team that's been the class
Speaker 1: of the NFC the entire season, really from wire to
Speaker 1: wire without a major dip. And you know, they even
Speaker 1: looked at that loss to the Niners as a game
Speaker 1: where there were way more positives than negatives. And this
Speaker 1: is a team that's quietly scored thirty four plus points
Speaker 1: in five of their last six games. So the offense
Speaker 1: is humming, and you know, I think there's reason to believe.
Speaker 1: And Drew Brees a little bit more than where we
Speaker 1: were when he was coming off injury. Kamara looked better
Speaker 1: last week. So this is a tune up for basically,
Speaker 1: you know, and I look at them if they don't
Speaker 1: have home field. I I know it's a tad cliche
Speaker 1: to doubt them going into an outdoor environment on the
Speaker 1: road in January, but history has shown us that they
Speaker 1: have not really been. They've not been with Super just
Speaker 1: four days ago. Where was that though? That put that?
Speaker 1: I just don't know if they don't feel like as
Speaker 1: not a soft team, but like a lot of dome
Speaker 1: teams in general, when you put them out of their environment,
Speaker 1: they're built to be fast. They're built to be in
Speaker 1: a dome, and you put them into Green Bay and
Speaker 1: its negative eight degrees. I just they've showed up. They
Speaker 1: were have been a good road team. They won in
Speaker 1: Seattle this year, they won in Chicago this year. You know,
Speaker 1: they've they've done their work that they needed to. They
Speaker 1: want in Tennessee. They wanted that game more than the
Speaker 1: Titans did. They fell behind fourteen to nothing, could have
Speaker 1: packed it in, and they wanted the game more played,
Speaker 1: more physical, and uh Camara got a yardage boost on
Speaker 1: prevent defense at the end of the first half, and
Speaker 1: I thought any running back in the league could have
Speaker 1: run through the whole He ran through for a touchdown.
Speaker 1: So I'm not convinced he's back to any two thousand
Speaker 1: eighteen version of it. He wasn't making guys missed. They
Speaker 1: could be so unlucky though. If the Saints win this game,
Speaker 1: but then the Packers in the forty niners win as well,
Speaker 1: they are stuck as as the three seed with a
Speaker 1: thirteen and three record. You thought you thought the NFC
Speaker 1: Championship was bad luck last year, I mean that is,
Speaker 1: but to be a thirteen and three three seed is
Speaker 1: brutal luck. So they are rooting hard for either the
Speaker 1: forty Niners to lose or the Packers to lose, and
Speaker 1: uh they could move up a spot and get a
Speaker 1: buy if one of those happens. We know that they're
Speaker 1: going to be playing this game to win. The Saints
Speaker 1: because paying thirteen win wild card scenario was only happened
Speaker 1: like six times in League history Christian McCaffrey, like when
Speaker 1: the teams were buried behind, like the the Niners dynasty
Speaker 1: of old or the nfcm NC East scenarios. But it's
Speaker 1: not a recent thing as much. And mccaffe I mean
Speaker 1: the Panthers aren't even I mean, I'm sure they're going
Speaker 1: to try to win, but like their number one priority
Speaker 1: by far, you're getting Christian McCaffrey sixty seven yards. What
Speaker 1: they did last week was like wildly transparent that he
Speaker 1: had fifteen targets and they spent the entire second half
Speaker 1: just dumping the ball off to him, not really worried
Speaker 1: about the reth of the offense. He is inviting his
Speaker 1: entire family UH to this game because they want to
Speaker 1: see him get over a thousand, a thousand. The coach
Speaker 1: UH said it's going to be a priority. So this
Speaker 1: is like he's going to get that number. He needs
Speaker 1: sixty seven yards to do it. That's weird to me
Speaker 1: that that's the priority instead of getting two sixteen scrimmage
Speaker 1: yards to pass Chris Johnson for the old time record.
Speaker 1: Well you could do it both. Well, one of them
Speaker 1: someone someone's never done before the other one other people
Speaker 1: have done. Only two others have done it. Who are
Speaker 1: they marked to go? One thousand, one thousand, C J
Speaker 1: Wrong West, Roger, Craig Marshall, fall correct, Scott Turner, who
Speaker 1: is you know? A nice job by Dad. He got
Speaker 1: got him the O C role for the time being
Speaker 1: in Carolina, said that they're gonna get the ball. Quote anyway,
Speaker 1: Uh we can. To Mr McCaffrey, I'm a little surprised. West.
Speaker 1: Your point is a fair one about Kamara. That was
Speaker 1: a you could drive a truck through that hole the
Speaker 1: old Madden but uh he had alba Quarre said it himself. Well,
Speaker 1: now you tell me how much stockuputing it. He said
Speaker 1: he actually felt like he had his burst back, which
Speaker 1: he had not acknowledged before. After that win, he said
Speaker 1: that he's actually starting to feel himself. I put some
Speaker 1: stock into him saying that and telling the media that
Speaker 1: and coming off on yard game and a couple of touchdowns.
Speaker 1: We've talked about how he's to me the missing the
Speaker 1: final piece of if he does get back to Alvin Kamara,
Speaker 1: who's beating him now, getting the three seed would suck.
Speaker 1: I mean it's a coin toss in the NFC. By
Speaker 1: the way, don't do not try to use me again
Speaker 1: as a strong man with your little trivia nonsense and
Speaker 1: then just flip it to Wes. I was about to say,
Speaker 1: not Chris Johnson was not the man, but Roger Craig
Speaker 1: and marsh for falk where Okay, my apologies, at least
Speaker 1: let me finish, finish the sentence strategy answering question with
Speaker 1: the wrong answer the right answer by apologies to you, Mark,
Speaker 1: because it's Christmas time. Christmas is over. You're wrong. Okay,
Speaker 1: here we go. This is what what's a fun scenario
Speaker 1: for me? What is something I would enjoy? You know
Speaker 1: what I'd enjoy? Cowboys? The Patriots sweating hm hm, No,
Speaker 1: knowing this franchise and how brilliant they've been, they will
Speaker 1: drop a hammer on the Dolphins in their building and
Speaker 1: get that by for the unprecedented tenth year. But is
Speaker 1: it too? Is it? Is it absolutely bonkers to imagine
Speaker 1: a scenario where fits Magic goes up there. You know,
Speaker 1: he has no fear. He he's enjoying a really nice season,
Speaker 1: and that Patriots offense, which looked good again or looked
Speaker 1: competent against the Bills, goes back to the ways of
Speaker 1: what we've seen for most of this year and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden they're sweating out a game in the
Speaker 1: third or fourth quarter. I am gonna take this game, uh,
Speaker 1: Dolphins at Patriots on the hope that that's what happens here,
Speaker 1: because that that would be great because it is Greg,
Speaker 1: You're right. Why did I not take this game? Um?
Speaker 1: Because they are overdue to get picked off the other way.
Speaker 1: As you brought pointed out, Greg, It's happened a couple
Speaker 1: of times, including last year I believe, where the Patriots
Speaker 1: were not in line to get a bye and somebody
Speaker 1: stumbled near the end and the Patriots closed and they
Speaker 1: got the bye, which they deserved because they closed the
Speaker 1: other team didn't. Maybe this is a year, this weird
Speaker 1: topsy turvy Patriots here where it goes the other way
Speaker 1: and it's the Chiefs who sneaking through the back door
Speaker 1: and get to buy. So I'm tracking this game for
Speaker 1: that reason and that reason alone. It's one of the
Speaker 1: reasons that the they won their first Super Bowl, that
Speaker 1: the dynasty started, that they gotta they gotta buy with
Speaker 1: an eleven and five team, where the Raiders slipped up
Speaker 1: right at the end of the season, and that's why
Speaker 1: they had to travel to Foxborough. I don't think that's
Speaker 1: gonna happen this year because they're playing the Dolphins, and
Speaker 1: because I think to beat the Patriots, especially with the
Speaker 1: offense showing some signs of life, you know, you need
Speaker 1: a pass rush and that's just where the Dolphins are
Speaker 1: so lackluster. And I know it was Week two, but
Speaker 1: this was a forty three to nothing game. The first
Speaker 1: time around. There was no fits magic. You know, Fitzpatrick's
Speaker 1: history against Belichick has not been good. He's used his
Speaker 1: aggressiveness against him pretty often. And I just I don't
Speaker 1: think they're gonna slip up here. Defense is too good
Speaker 1: to slip up here, I think. And I can't bemoan
Speaker 1: their offensive struggles anymore because they were Chris last week.
Speaker 1: They were sharp Nikkio Harry to me, this is a
Speaker 1: huge week for him specifically because they upped his uh
Speaker 1: snaps and he was effective. And he's the only one
Speaker 1: in that receiver group other than them in with some juice.
Speaker 1: So how can they start integrating him as like a
Speaker 1: really important piece. And I think he could use the confidence,
Speaker 1: the timing and everything going to the place. We talk
Speaker 1: about fitz he being hot and He's been fun to
Speaker 1: watch all year and like a great story. But that
Speaker 1: happened last week against the Bengals, and I think that
Speaker 1: for that equation, Dan, from what you're wishing to see,
Speaker 1: you need. You need the Patriots right now to start
Speaker 1: drinking heavily and not stop drinking until Sunday morning, because
Speaker 1: they need to be mentally unprepared and physically unready for
Speaker 1: this game. There there's too much on the line. I
Speaker 1: know the Patriots aren't the same type of team that
Speaker 1: they've been in past years. And the Dolphins they put
Speaker 1: up a fight. I just don't know. You say put
Speaker 1: in my I mean put in Miami and you and
Speaker 1: there's something a little bit different happening. I don't think
Speaker 1: it's bonkers, but I do think as a Patriots fan,
Speaker 1: it was a great sign that that was their best
Speaker 1: game of the season last week. That has happened sometimes
Speaker 1: late in the season where they they put it together
Speaker 1: where where they're gonna start building. And Belichick has been
Speaker 1: saying all week, this is a playoff game, it's huge
Speaker 1: for their running this This their running game to me,
Speaker 1: is like everything. When they have Burkehead and Michelle and
Speaker 1: White going like they did last week they have a chance.
Speaker 1: And if you look at the a f C playoff scenarios,
Speaker 1: I think when you play the Chiefs and the Ravens,
Speaker 1: their only chance is going to be to run the
Speaker 1: ball against those two teams who are much better, you know,
Speaker 1: stopping the past. Like this is a big game. They
Speaker 1: need to establish that they can be multi demension. A
Speaker 1: hundred and forty plus yards on the ground in three
Speaker 1: of the last four games. So are they heating up
Speaker 1: the way that we fear? I don't know. I just
Speaker 1: want to see any dimensional. Well, last week they were
Speaker 1: pretty sad. They were good. Was not explosive, not explosive
Speaker 1: at all. Still, but Cris Sony Michelle is one and
Speaker 1: sixty two yard rushing rushing yards away on Sunday from
Speaker 1: delivering the worst one thousand yards season in NFL history.
Speaker 1: So just like Scott Turner and Charlotte, feed the ball
Speaker 1: to CMC, get him one thousand, one thousand, let's get
Speaker 1: Sony that I might try to do a show trade
Speaker 1: with you here narrowly topping out Carlos Hide. You know
Speaker 1: we've we've allowed those Jets to get to you all
Speaker 1: years now. It's war that was me and I would
Speaker 1: have traded the Jets easily for anything. Let's talk after that.
Speaker 1: When you took the Jets, I believe Greg and this
Speaker 1: side of my body he went, yeah, so this is
Speaker 1: my revenge? How did I go? Yeah, it sounds right.
Speaker 1: It's like screen, remember the Dean screen. Let's bring that
Speaker 1: back frash all right, marks like, get me out of here. No,
Speaker 1: I'm joining this. Let's let's continue just to spin on. Well,
Speaker 1: I want to take one of those four o'clock games,
Speaker 1: but I've already got one, So I'll go for Bears Vikings.
Speaker 1: I guess it's either that or Jets Bills, And I
Speaker 1: don't know. Jets Bills is in our five pack of sadness, right,
Speaker 1: that's it? Yeah, so there you go. That's your pick.
Speaker 1: So nobody is tracking those games? Is that what we're suggesting? Team,
Speaker 1: I'll certainly be tracking that game, but you'll be tracking
Speaker 1: the Browns. I'm well, we'll work on that off. We'll
Speaker 1: figure that out. We'll figure that out. But anyway, so
Speaker 1: you got the Bears, that Vikings a game that does
Speaker 1: not have um any meaning. The Bears are eliminated. The
Speaker 1: Vikings are locked in at the number six seed in
Speaker 1: the ENDFC. However, West, we decided this is a game
Speaker 1: we should talk about why because we need to see
Speaker 1: something out of their offense after laying the biggest egg
Speaker 1: we've seen in years, more than an egg on national TV,
Speaker 1: with the division on the line against your long time rival,
Speaker 1: and you have one of the worst offensive games that
Speaker 1: anyone has ever witnessed. Kirk Cousins does not know if
Speaker 1: he's playing this week. I guess he hasn't been told
Speaker 1: or he's not allowed to tell the media. But damn
Speaker 1: brought this up and and I totally agree. After doing
Speaker 1: what they did last week, I'd like to see this
Speaker 1: offense on the field. That's as a fan. I don't
Speaker 1: know if it means anything. I don't know if it
Speaker 1: means they're more likely to win in the playoffs if
Speaker 1: they play their offense this week. But I'd like to
Speaker 1: see them go score a couple of touchdowns. How about
Speaker 1: you know, a twelve place seventy four yard drive and
Speaker 1: then everybody celebrates in the end zone. You know, you
Speaker 1: could be a man, you could be a team again,
Speaker 1: because you weren't on Monday night. You don't deserve you know,
Speaker 1: drives off or haves off or in a game off
Speaker 1: at this point. Yeah, that like that was a crime
Speaker 1: scene last week, and I would be a little worried
Speaker 1: if you do sit your starters this week. First of all,
Speaker 1: it's at home. I hate treating the home crowd like
Speaker 1: it's a preseason game, right that they're just wasting their money.
Speaker 1: Second of all, you can get you can just very
Speaker 1: easily imagine a scenario where your last three games then
Speaker 1: are that Monday night meltdown, a game where you laid
Speaker 1: down against the Bears, and then you travel the New
Speaker 1: Orleans and you get the bloors doors blown off. That
Speaker 1: is a recipe to have a big fat house cleaning,
Speaker 1: Like I don't know. I wonder if that's even in
Speaker 1: their minds at off could be two weeks from now
Speaker 1: if that scenario plays out as you described they I
Speaker 1: am so happy though, that this game is gonna happen,
Speaker 1: because there's no team in the NFL more excited to
Speaker 1: not watch ever again than the mits Robinsky Bears, and
Speaker 1: he has to go, and I think this will be
Speaker 1: it and I don't ever want to see it. I
Speaker 1: do feel like if your Bears ownership and they're not
Speaker 1: a plug, they're not an ownership that you almost ever
Speaker 1: hear from. They seem to be deep in the distance.
Speaker 1: But and I know your GM. He obviously picked Rabinsky,
Speaker 1: traded up for him, and there's terrible. That's a bad
Speaker 1: look when you've got Patrick Mahomes counting to ten on
Speaker 1: his hand as he's marching off the field after the
Speaker 1: greatest quarterback of all time, counting off the greatest. I
Speaker 1: mean do if if I were the Bear's owner for
Speaker 1: a week or for I would come in and tell
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace, I demand you to find another starting quarterback.
Speaker 1: You you cannot just simply put a stamp on your
Speaker 1: own pick and say we're gonna roll into year three
Speaker 1: and a bunch of offseason narratives. I demand you. I'd
Speaker 1: like to see mc caskey walk in there and deliver
Speaker 1: that he can. But he can be Cam Newton's back
Speaker 1: up next year or Rivers is bad that this is
Speaker 1: the time of year when you realize how many beat
Speaker 1: writers in columnists are just held hostage and brainwashed by
Speaker 1: coaching staffs in front offices in their local cities. When
Speaker 1: they all say, no, you've got too much invested in
Speaker 1: Mitt Robinsky, and he and Pace and Naggie are tied
Speaker 1: at the hip. No, you did not only did you
Speaker 1: not see improvement, you saw regression. And for a guy
Speaker 1: in his third year, you need to see improvement or development,
Speaker 1: and you did not see that. I can't envision a
Speaker 1: scenario where this team wins with Mitch Drabinsky in two
Speaker 1: thousand twenty. You need to bring in, at the very
Speaker 1: least a guy like Andy Dalton who has a prayer
Speaker 1: of point O Ryan Tannehill and can at least come
Speaker 1: in and inject life because he's moved offenses before for
Speaker 1: games at a time, whereas Drabinsky, it's week to week.
Speaker 1: Whether you do the quote unquote open competition, competition, and camp,
Speaker 1: maybe lights to spark under Drabinsky and something happens there magical,
Speaker 1: But I think we know that this is probably not
Speaker 1: gonna happen with Mitch playing at a high level in
Speaker 1: the NFL. And then after the camp if if the
Speaker 1: other guy out plays him, you move on because if
Speaker 1: you're doubling down on a mistake, then that could be it.
Speaker 1: But if you get another quarterback, this team has weapons.
Speaker 1: Allen Robinson is a good number one Miller I think
Speaker 1: looks pretty good at the number number two, like you
Speaker 1: have a good defense. It is not a hopeless situation. Well,
Speaker 1: and and show us what Matt Nigge can accomplish without
Speaker 1: being hamped tied at the hip is right as if
Speaker 1: were a stone sinking in the ocean, dragging NIGGI along
Speaker 1: with him. Yourself, I will say this, we like, uh, well,
Speaker 1: most of us like Andy Dalton in this room and
Speaker 1: think he would benefit from a fresh start and could
Speaker 1: have good football in his bones still. But I brought
Speaker 1: this up to my buddy and Power Rankings producer Matt
Speaker 1: Tanton are Bears fan, Hey, how about Andy Dalton comes
Speaker 1: into town and he gave a big thumbs down. Bears
Speaker 1: fans had a very traumatic, you know, eleven months or so.
Speaker 1: And if out of this comes Andy Dalton as your
Speaker 1: quote unquote avier to get the offense back and track
Speaker 1: and get the Bears back to Super Bowl contenders, that
Speaker 1: is not going to be a cell that I think
Speaker 1: goes over very well with that fan base. Now that
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily matter, and if if the goal is winning
Speaker 1: just to appease your fan base, but just putting that
Speaker 1: out there, I feel like that would be met with
Speaker 1: a lot of criticism. I don't think John Draper could
Speaker 1: sell Andy Dalton success. You have to you have to
Speaker 1: just say the rest of the team is enough. Nobody
Speaker 1: could have sold Tannehill either, don't who cares what the
Speaker 1: fans think? Go do the right thing on that put
Speaker 1: Cam on this team, stinging shoot down. Why think NFL team?
Speaker 1: Who lives in the Westchester district of Los Angeles. Here
Speaker 1: is his address. No, how about you root for the
Speaker 1: team and then let the people who are paid to
Speaker 1: make the decisions make the root for laundry anyway, just laundry.
Speaker 1: This is how you get pressure on Tom Brady. You
Speaker 1: get up the middle. All right, here we go West.
Speaker 1: You are a snake and tried to avoid these four
Speaker 1: p in games, but I guess there's no avoiding them.
Speaker 1: I will take redskins at Cowboys, dead team walking Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1: They have not put forth much of an effort for
Speaker 1: the past month, which reflects on their head coach and
Speaker 1: really it reflects on their leadership. They just haven't played
Speaker 1: well and after reading our research packet this week, they
Speaker 1: might be the unluckiest team we've ever seen. And we
Speaker 1: know it's not just bad luck that they're that there.
Speaker 1: Close game failures have happened at the end of games,
Speaker 1: but the way luck works, it also happens in the
Speaker 1: first fifty minutes of the game as well, and you
Speaker 1: can have way too many bad breaks. They are probably
Speaker 1: gonna finish with the best point differential and yard is
Speaker 1: differential of any sub five team in the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: era unless they win this game. Is it bad luck
Speaker 1: or is it just dreadful inconsistency? That's on new because
Speaker 1: you said they're a dead team walking this time last
Speaker 1: week they were coming off a beat down of the Rams,
Speaker 1: and everybody was feeling a little bullish. But I cannot
Speaker 1: have plus fourteen hundred yard differential and be and be
Speaker 1: have normal luck. That's absolutely true. And yet when it
Speaker 1: mattered you remember, you know we say I'm saying in
Speaker 1: the game at the end. What what I'm saying is
Speaker 1: the course of their season. We talk about, Okay, this
Speaker 1: season starts around Thanksgiving. Let's start it even a week
Speaker 1: earlier for them, because they were playing the Patriots in
Speaker 1: those five games, their offense, which has been what they're
Speaker 1: built on, has been totally absent except for the Rams game.
Speaker 1: That Rams game has been an anomaly and changed Both
Speaker 1: of those two teams this season, but that the offense
Speaker 1: didn't show up four out of five weeks, and so
Speaker 1: you don't deserve to make that In the whole situation
Speaker 1: with the Marii cooper at the end of the game
Speaker 1: last week, we're just you know, they're part of luck
Speaker 1: is preparation and coaching. And you could point to Jason
Speaker 1: Garrett's legacy with Dallas and say this has been one
Speaker 1: of the weirdest um seasons by any team this entire century.
Speaker 1: But if I had to attach a coach to take
Speaker 1: a super powerful roster with good statistics and still wind
Speaker 1: up with Steven wins sitting into Week seventeen, it might
Speaker 1: be Jason Garrett. I also think they could lose this game.
Speaker 1: I'm shocked how they are massive favorites. I think almost
Speaker 1: two touchdowns. Uh, I don't know. I know Terry mclaurin's hurt,
Speaker 1: but case Keenum coming in put up twenty one points
Speaker 1: last week, had one of the drive, the one of
Speaker 1: the weirdest but epic, most epic drives of the year,
Speaker 1: nine yards to tie the game with the wild Plaze.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I could see case Keenum in this
Speaker 1: Redskins team like beating them and them just just being
Speaker 1: getting really ugly. Both things can be true that they've
Speaker 1: been exceptionally unlucky and poorly coached and don't deserve to
Speaker 1: make the playoffs. I can always agree. I agree. And
Speaker 1: there's what other note that Dak Prescott injured his shoulder
Speaker 1: in that Rams win and now he might have just
Speaker 1: gagged like her cousins gag last week, and that explains
Speaker 1: that performance. But it's also possible a guy with a
Speaker 1: sprained a C joint and his throwing shoulder having a
Speaker 1: poor game that might be connected. And that's not something
Speaker 1: that typically heals quickly, so that's gonna not even throwing
Speaker 1: in practice this week. So you know, they have a
Speaker 1: lot of things going going wrong. And yet you know
Speaker 1: if they're they're watching the Eagles Giants, they they have
Speaker 1: a realistic chance to make the playoffs. That when a
Speaker 1: ball game get a loss from the Eagles, they never
Speaker 1: signed their office the coordinator to jump in and play
Speaker 1: quarterback in a ben a come down for Kellen mar
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore was the offense was the one lefty quarterback
Speaker 1: in the league for a period, just saying in a pinch,
Speaker 1: you could player coach. We still without a left here
Speaker 1: right now, south paw quarterback. I can't think, maybe on
Speaker 1: a roster somewhere, but Ken was the guy for a
Speaker 1: year or two there on that tawboy step chart. Mark.
Speaker 1: Can I just take a quick pause to say you
Speaker 1: and this peak coat, it's working, and I think we
Speaker 1: all know it, and we've all been thinking about it
Speaker 1: throughout the show. And the way you have it pulled
Speaker 1: across your chest like Jack Carolac going for a journey
Speaker 1: to find himself, and and and and just wow us
Speaker 1: with his prose. That's you right now, an old man.
Speaker 1: It's twenty seven degrees in here. I believe though, because
Speaker 1: when West had one of these that I kept calling
Speaker 1: it a peacoat. Isn't it isn't it not? It is
Speaker 1: a pico You called it a petticoat. Petticot. That's right.
Speaker 1: Your hair is like a little curlier. It's definitely like
Speaker 1: a good eyebrow hair shirt combination. It's a messy time eyebrows.
Speaker 1: It's a little bit of a mat. I think I'm
Speaker 1: sitting under this sort of police procedural fluorescent light too.
Speaker 1: So all right, uh it now swings to you went
Speaker 1: twice right? West? You say uh, the old zeuser has
Speaker 1: to grab a game. I think there's only one left alright. Actually,
Speaker 1: it's pretty good. The Raiders of Broncos are still there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that's that's good. See, that's good. See you guys
Speaker 1: didn't want West to yell you, and that's why you
Speaker 1: didn't take the game. Why am I gonna yell at
Speaker 1: Because the Raiders can make the playoffs with some help
Speaker 1: first they can. I just don't find it. West. West
Speaker 1: yelling at me actually gives me life. It makes me
Speaker 1: feel a little more alive inside. I like it. Uh No,
Speaker 1: but the Raiders, it's gonna take a lot. But if
Speaker 1: if my final pick in week sevent team before we
Speaker 1: go to the grab bag of games is a team
Speaker 1: that can make the playoffs, and um, I will take
Speaker 1: that game. So the Raiders at Broncos. And by the way,
Speaker 1: in addition to this game having playoff meaning, um however
Speaker 1: dim it may be, and it's not that dim uh,
Speaker 1: it's also has a good chance to be a fun
Speaker 1: game to watch because the Raiders, obviously, with everything in
Speaker 1: the world to play for, I imagine they'll show up
Speaker 1: for this game. And the Broncos are kind of peeking
Speaker 1: now they're they're playing well, and Drew lock is an
Speaker 1: interesting guy to kind of get a final look at
Speaker 1: his UH end of season audition, which he's won three
Speaker 1: or four starts. He hasn't It's not like he's changing
Speaker 1: the league with his play, but just having someone that's
Speaker 1: young and has upside UH and they're winning games. That's
Speaker 1: a big change in the post Peyton Manning era in Denver.
Speaker 1: So that's that's something to watch and see how he
Speaker 1: closes out the season and if a really strong close
Speaker 1: to December potentially changes how Denver approaches their off season.
Speaker 1: That happens in our league all the time. So there's
Speaker 1: a lot on the line with the Denver Broncos and
Speaker 1: the Raiders. They need to win and a lot of help.
Speaker 1: How much help do they need, Greg remind the people, please,
Speaker 1: So they need to win this game, which I think
Speaker 1: might be they're tough at the toughest part of the
Speaker 1: equation on the road in Denver. But they also need
Speaker 1: the Titans to lose against the Texans, the Steelers to
Speaker 1: lose to the Ravens, and the Colts to win in Jacksonville,
Speaker 1: because that would create a four way tie. I want
Speaker 1: to clear up something a little earlier. They also need
Speaker 1: to beat Pittsburgh on strength of victory, which they will
Speaker 1: if one of four teams win, one of which is
Speaker 1: the Patriots. To make it a little clearer, Pittsburgh cannot
Speaker 1: lose and make the playoffs unless a lot more things happen.
Speaker 1: And they also have to beat the Raiders on this
Speaker 1: strength of victory tiebreak that takes the Lions, Chargers, Patriots,
Speaker 1: and Bears. It's not happening. Basically, the Raiders are in
Speaker 1: let me, they get these first four parts of the equation,
Speaker 1: and they're all things that can happen. But aren't you know,
Speaker 1: heavily favored one way or the other. It's essentially this,
Speaker 1: Raiders fans, is how you put it. Flip a coin
Speaker 1: four times and called in the air and get it
Speaker 1: right all four times. That's that's the amount of odds
Speaker 1: you have of making the playoffs. Actually about their odds,
Speaker 1: that's that's the percent, and that's about what they're getting.
Speaker 1: The Raiders winning is the is the is the challenge
Speaker 1: because they've really not played very well. And I would
Speaker 1: say this too, if you took a time machine ahead
Speaker 1: one year, this maybe this kind of game. If they
Speaker 1: met in weeks seventeen. Next year, I think one of
Speaker 1: them or both of them would have a chance of
Speaker 1: the playoffs because there's good young nucleus is on both teams.
Speaker 1: Like you, if you look at the last couple of drafts,
Speaker 1: especially last year for Oakland but the last two for Denver,
Speaker 1: it is among the best in the league in terms
Speaker 1: of what those player is a producing right now for
Speaker 1: both of them, So you know they're Oakland is not
Speaker 1: going to make the playoffs. I'm confidence saying that, let's
Speaker 1: see what happens. But Denver went from being the most
Speaker 1: depressing team at the end of September to one that
Speaker 1: if you started the season six weeks ago, I think
Speaker 1: they might make the playoffs themselves, potentially or threatened. I
Speaker 1: think it'd be fitting if everything breaks in the raiders
Speaker 1: favor and then they lose to a sixteen team, six
Speaker 1: win team that's better than them, right, because the Raiders,
Speaker 1: if they won by less than seven points, will have
Speaker 1: the worst point differential of any playoff team in the
Speaker 1: history of our league. So I think the fact that
Speaker 1: there twenty point differentials probably a better indicator of where
Speaker 1: they're really at. I think Gruden has done a good job,
Speaker 1: has done a good job. I think they're building it up,
Speaker 1: but they still have a long way to go. And
Speaker 1: we'll talk about Car in the off season. But you
Speaker 1: know the reports that you know, Grid wants someone who
Speaker 1: takes a few more chances, and they've been talking a
Speaker 1: Car about that. He played like that last week, he
Speaker 1: ran a little bit more. He he just doesn't have
Speaker 1: like the instincts. And I always go back to with Gruden,
Speaker 1: like he started with far fives who made him his career,
Speaker 1: and I think he likes quarterbacks like that, and Car
Speaker 1: is the total opposite of Brett five. He plays it.
Speaker 1: He plays it very safe. Uh, And I don't know
Speaker 1: if like instincts. It's funny how quarterbacks change over time.
Speaker 1: Because he was compared to far the physical skills are similar,
Speaker 1: and I think that's why Car and Gridden like spoke well.
Speaker 1: But I just think in terms of the decision making
Speaker 1: and things like the way he plays the game, kind
Speaker 1: of the instincts, the feel for the game, it's very different.
Speaker 1: Derek Carr right now setting career HIGs and completion percentage
Speaker 1: and pass are really good, but everybody's setting career HIGs
Speaker 1: because it's so much easier to pass. Now, let's see
Speaker 1: what if he if he has a real stinker in
Speaker 1: this game. The analytics love cars like the analytic like
Speaker 1: the completion percentage over average and e p A. And
Speaker 1: in the QBR and and Football Tiders they all have
Speaker 1: cars like a top seven or eight quarterback in total Nerds, Mark,
Speaker 1: I wanna put I wanna I want you to think
Speaker 1: about something. I'm gonna come back to you at the
Speaker 1: end of the podcast you mentioned a time machine. Uh.
Speaker 1: In about fifteen minutes or so, I'm gonna come back
Speaker 1: to you and ask you, Uh, if you had access
Speaker 1: to a time machine and you can only do one
Speaker 1: thing with it, what would you do. You can go
Speaker 1: forward in time, you go back in time. You can
Speaker 1: change something. You could just not change anything at all.
Speaker 1: You could pick a landing spot as anything you want.
Speaker 1: All right, I will think about it, alright. Moving on, Mark,
Speaker 1: you're up. Well, I believe that we've run through our
Speaker 1: We're into the seed round. Yeah, we're into the speed round.
Speaker 1: So I am going to be tracking Cleveland Cincinnati, and
Speaker 1: my one warning for the Cleveland Browns would be, uh,
Speaker 1: for a team where David Ajoku, you're first round playmaking
Speaker 1: tight end has not been playing because he is battling
Speaker 1: with Freddie Kitchens behind the scenes. Apparently two weeks ago, Yeah,
Speaker 1: two weeks ago there Joe Coup. Two weeks al you
Speaker 1: have Jarvis Landry jawing with Freddie Kitchens on the sideline.
Speaker 1: I don't really care what he says. That was actually
Speaker 1: about its bizarre look last week it's Odell Beckham. I
Speaker 1: cannot in years in a row think of a team,
Speaker 1: uh that had the head coach feuding with three star
Speaker 1: players three weeks in a row over the course of
Speaker 1: a season that's heading into total darkness. Has already reached
Speaker 1: that place. So my thing is, if you go into
Speaker 1: Cincinnati and somehow knock off a team that is the
Speaker 1: number one overall, picking is gonna make Joe Burrow probably
Speaker 1: a successful quarterback at some point in our league that
Speaker 1: you don't over assess that win. You have to take
Speaker 1: a hard look at what's happening here, and it is
Speaker 1: on John Dorsey to finally start answering some questions and
Speaker 1: not just pick a quarter not pick a coach that
Speaker 1: he has more power over, but try to lure someone
Speaker 1: in the control this clown her Well, here is they
Speaker 1: drafted him thinking that he could play that role, and
Speaker 1: he's not even on the field because he's not getting
Speaker 1: along or something's happening behind the scenes. That's a mess.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's a star based on what he's produced,
Speaker 1: so like he's very respected, uh the coach. I think
Speaker 1: that's that seems to be Probably that's my concern. It
Speaker 1: seems like they're they he's lost them in there. Lost
Speaker 1: to Cincinnati would be a recipe to just make this
Speaker 1: ownership group that might push him over the edge. You know,
Speaker 1: the parents who always try to be friends with the
Speaker 1: kids instead of disciplining them. That feels like Freddie Kitchens,
Speaker 1: like you're not gonna have respect for a guy who
Speaker 1: lets you get away with everything you want to know? Alright,
Speaker 1: Greg picked from the speed Pack. Okay, let's talk a
Speaker 1: little Colts Jags uh Act two Gardner Minshew. I feel
Speaker 1: like the second time around hasn't been quite as good.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's going to make a difference, um,
Speaker 1: but I do think like his starts since taking back
Speaker 1: over for full could maybe be quieting some of the
Speaker 1: excitement in Jackson. I think you'll have a chance to
Speaker 1: compete next year. Um, but I don't think his second
Speaker 1: pack of games has been as good as the first pack,
Speaker 1: which I'd argue it's also not an argument four folds,
Speaker 1: but fair enough. I don't know. I don't know how
Speaker 1: you evaluate a guy who has to run through a
Speaker 1: gauntlet just to get It's very it's very tricky, um,
Speaker 1: but I think he did an amaze a really good
Speaker 1: job and had those kind of pop games earlier where
Speaker 1: he would really see his potential and you haven't seen
Speaker 1: that in this four game stretch. That's it. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know what to say to other than when
Speaker 1: you have to go through an odyssey and a gauntlet
Speaker 1: every time you want to release a pass, I don't
Speaker 1: know how you expect him to lift the team that much.
Speaker 1: He's had a great rookie year. Let's move on. Next
Speaker 1: up will be Greg once more Snakes. Sure, let's talk
Speaker 1: a little Bills Jet, Sorry, Bills. I know you made
Speaker 1: the playoffs, but this game doesn't mean anything. We're already
Speaker 1: hearing that Matt Barkley might be playing a lot of it.
Speaker 1: So that's a good chance for Adam Gates to go
Speaker 1: get his uh seventh win. That's pretty good. Good analysis.
Speaker 1: I like it. Well, we're I thought we're all talking
Speaker 1: in the speed Round. Now we are we're all talking
Speaker 1: to the Speed Round. That we're all talking to the
Speaker 1: Speed Round. Yeah, the Bills now then play for the Jets.
Speaker 1: I kind of hit on my thoughts that Greg Williams
Speaker 1: has been unsung on the defensive side of ball. I
Speaker 1: do want to see uh Sam Donald close out the season. Well,
Speaker 1: I think he's been up and down overall. You could
Speaker 1: some of the same things that we're just saying about
Speaker 1: Minshew you could say about Donald. And he also had
Speaker 1: to deal with the illness which really jacked up essentially
Speaker 1: the first half of the season. But the one thing
Speaker 1: he's doing better Donald is protecting the ball. In the
Speaker 1: second half. He was um turning the ball over at
Speaker 1: an absurd rate uh midway through the season, and he's
Speaker 1: kind of pulled that together. What he does need to
Speaker 1: be a little better with is decision making, especially UH.
Speaker 1: One area of his game that's jumped out a few
Speaker 1: times is when he has a chance to run and
Speaker 1: pick up a first down. UH. He'll sometimes still try
Speaker 1: to make a big play to throw down field and
Speaker 1: that will lead to opportunities loss. But that's all stuff
Speaker 1: I don't worry about as much because I feel like
Speaker 1: that's a young quarterback figuring things out and we'll have
Speaker 1: time to talk about this. But go give this kid
Speaker 1: a real offensive line next year and let me see
Speaker 1: what he can do. Because I think a part of
Speaker 1: Chris Johnson the owners thinking is I don't want to
Speaker 1: fire at him gaze because and on top of everything else,
Speaker 1: then Donald will be on his third UH coordinator in
Speaker 1: three years. And to your point earlier, Greg, is that
Speaker 1: a reason not to make a change Sometimes when something
Speaker 1: doesn't feel like it's working, Uh no, it's not. But
Speaker 1: I think that is part of the process thinking here
Speaker 1: is like we're a little on the fence with Gates,
Speaker 1: but we don't want to reboot the kid again. And
Speaker 1: I think that's what's a part of the reason why
Speaker 1: Gates will survive. That is thorny territory because you you
Speaker 1: also don't want him to go a year deeper with
Speaker 1: the wrong guy, and they just don't. You don't want
Speaker 1: to be you don't want to be hearing those articles
Speaker 1: next year. And I can just see it where it's like,
Speaker 1: here we are entering Sam Donald's year four, and like
Speaker 1: what do we know about him? You know, he had
Speaker 1: that one year with with Jeremy Bates and now like
Speaker 1: the two years with Gaze. But maybe that's not his
Speaker 1: fault because Gaze, you know, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: like you want to avoid that. And by the way,
Speaker 1: whoever does uh succeed Gaye one day, beware because when
Speaker 1: things aren't going well, they can get real nasty. The
Speaker 1: New York Daily News Mini Schmida wrote a calm on
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve, Uh because I don't remember what the cover was,
Speaker 1: but here's the lead. It was the back page cover.
Speaker 1: Adam Gaze is a message for every long suffering Jets
Speaker 1: fan who has endured a lifetime of anguish. He doesn't
Speaker 1: care about you. The Daily News has learned that the
Speaker 1: embattled head coach is privately told people for months that
Speaker 1: Gang Green die hards have never mattered to him. I'm
Speaker 1: Riches has become gases go to line since taking over
Speaker 1: eleven months ago, according to sources, I mean this this.
Speaker 1: I like Veniche too. He's a nice guy. Every time
Speaker 1: you see him, we talk and he's friendly and I
Speaker 1: understand the angle he's playing here, but that is an
Speaker 1: outrageous hit piece in the Daily who's on Adam Gaze,
Speaker 1: and I I am friendly with someone who's very close
Speaker 1: to Gates, who said, you could say a lot about
Speaker 1: Adam Gaze. But one thing he's not is a material
Speaker 1: material guy. He he drives an old model car. He
Speaker 1: wears the same clothes every day. He is not a
Speaker 1: money guy. So I don't know what this whole thing
Speaker 1: is about, but it's just that is the pitfalls pitfall
Speaker 1: sometimes playing in the Big City as they call it,
Speaker 1: And that was our jets lightning round. He talked about
Speaker 1: the Browns a little bit too, my friend. All right,
Speaker 1: next up we need to hear that too. Good luck. Uh.
Speaker 1: Next up is Mark Well, I'll talk about Arizona at
Speaker 1: the Rams, and the Rams to me feel like a
Speaker 1: team that after a crushing, its soul crushing loss that
Speaker 1: I you know we mentioned Sean might have been Sean
Speaker 1: mcveigh's darkest moment, even considering the Super Bowl lost to
Speaker 1: some degree in terms of the way he reacted or
Speaker 1: people say, did they feel like a team shutting it down?
Speaker 1: That you they they're Camerda Silva, one of the Beat writers,
Speaker 1: said he'd be surprised if Jared Goff played If Todd
Speaker 1: Gurley played. Jalen Ramsey's already essentially been ruled out other
Speaker 1: guys too, So for me, it's a chance for if
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray is healthy and if he's in there to
Speaker 1: cap off what is along with Denver, I think a
Speaker 1: very hopeful second half of the season where you got
Speaker 1: Jay Glazer saying that Steve Kim, who was one of
Speaker 1: the more in battled gms and probably had to be
Speaker 1: tugged into the world of taking Kyler Murray to begin with,
Speaker 1: has saved his job and has essentially and secured his
Speaker 1: place with the Cardinals based on what I think the
Speaker 1: head coach did in terms of the head coach having
Speaker 1: a greater vision at the position than the GM. But
Speaker 1: the Cardinals fans have something to be hopeful about. That's
Speaker 1: not the worst sink compared to where they were three
Speaker 1: or four months ago. Yeah, this could be though. Brett
Speaker 1: Huntley the Cardinals backup versus Blake Bortles the Rams back up.
Speaker 1: What a way to say goodbye to the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Memorial Colisseum who's hosted more which has hosted more games,
Speaker 1: I believe NFL games than any stadium in NFL history
Speaker 1: except for like four I think it's fourth or fifth
Speaker 1: in in history. They've played so many times there and
Speaker 1: this is gonna be a stinker of a conclusion. I
Speaker 1: think it hurt mcbaish so much last week because his
Speaker 1: offense destroyed the forty nine ers. I mean like they
Speaker 1: had their best, like their offense had everything going against
Speaker 1: Robert Sala and one of the best defenses, and they
Speaker 1: still lost the game. With Dan's offensive Rookie of the
Speaker 1: Year race that he's been closely monitoring, it feels like
Speaker 1: a guy like a J Brown or DK Metcalff could
Speaker 1: capture it with a big game that propels his team
Speaker 1: into a win this week, while Kyler is playing injured
Speaker 1: or maybe not playing at all, and Josh Jacobs. I
Speaker 1: think Jacobs is gonna get it, but you're right, his
Speaker 1: status is up in the air. To DK Meca I
Speaker 1: didn't show up last week, he could have made a
Speaker 1: big run at the end of the seas. J Brown
Speaker 1: would be the guy I would want on my team
Speaker 1: if I had a team that other than Murray, of
Speaker 1: any of the if DK metcalf one and over Kyler Murray,
Speaker 1: I am puzzled by that. I'm not saying that there
Speaker 1: better than Terry McLaurin, and I don't think he's j A. J. Brown.
Speaker 1: I just I think there has to be You have
Speaker 1: to factor in the concept of playing quarterback as a
Speaker 1: rookie in a system where you essentially we're teaching veterans
Speaker 1: how to play that offense four months ago. I don't know.
Speaker 1: Our Speed round really wasn't that scary, Terry. It feels
Speaker 1: like a safe pick. Who would complain give the Redskins
Speaker 1: fans something they don't even know If he's playing this
Speaker 1: week he's yeah, I don't think he is, but I
Speaker 1: think Jacobs is gonna get it. We do have one
Speaker 1: more and more in the Speed Round is the Falcons
Speaker 1: at Bucks and it will be the great Dan hands
Speaker 1: Dan hands me? Okay talking about it? Um happy accident there?
Speaker 1: Uh well, all I really have is at thirty. This
Speaker 1: is it Jameis Winston touchdown interceptions. Uh. He has a
Speaker 1: chance here to do what no man has ever done
Speaker 1: in the history of our league, which is thirty thirty.
Speaker 1: Shout out to Grady Jarrett for making his first Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl overdue. Might be an All Pro too. He's played
Speaker 1: incredible For the fact there won't be many guys who
Speaker 1: made my All Decade team, which the article came out
Speaker 1: this week. Check it out. Uh and the All Pro Team,
Speaker 1: which the article will come out in a few days,
Speaker 1: and Julio Jones is gonna be one of them. He's
Speaker 1: gonna get the other All Pro spot for me opposite
Speaker 1: Michael Thomas with a fantastic December for performance. I think
Speaker 1: Aaron Donnald will be another one of those guys who
Speaker 1: makes both. Where did Darrell Reavers come down in your
Speaker 1: All Decades? You made the defensive back position because of
Speaker 1: your argument? Yeah, but you know I was shooting higher,
Speaker 1: shooting for the stars. One of those Patrick Patrick Peterson
Speaker 1: and Richard Sherman made could be the last tea. By
Speaker 1: the way, from Patrick Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald, he'll cover
Speaker 1: your Adams Humphries is out there. Reevas will lock you
Speaker 1: down well if this team ever takes the field again.
Speaker 1: But you know what, the big takeaway from that article
Speaker 1: was the greatest football game I've ever seen, Patriots over
Speaker 1: Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Seven guys from that team
Speaker 1: made the All Decade Team. Seven guys from that game.
Speaker 1: All Right, finally, uh so there is the speed round.
Speaker 1: Let's now moved to the final game of the regular season,
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty nine Ers twelve and three at
Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks eleven and for the winner is the
Speaker 1: NFC West champion. The loser is the five seed uh
Speaker 1: in the NFC. Is that correct? Yes, they're locked in
Speaker 1: at the five seed and with a help, the winner
Speaker 1: could also get a buy the forty Niners, you know,
Speaker 1: clinch home field advantage with the win the whole the
Speaker 1: Seahawks could win the game uh and still be the
Speaker 1: three seed. In fact, that's what I would expect to happen,
Speaker 1: because if the Seahawks won, they would need either a
Speaker 1: Packers loss to Detroit or a New Orleans lost to
Speaker 1: Carolina to move up from number three, So that loss
Speaker 1: they had against the Cardinals. Even if they win this
Speaker 1: week and win the NFC West, it will prove to
Speaker 1: be pretty costly for the Seahawks. Quite know. There will
Speaker 1: be a raucous atmosphere in Seattle, especially with Marshawn Lynch
Speaker 1: coming back. But the forty Niners have been the better
Speaker 1: team all year. I think they're the better team in
Speaker 1: Week seventeen, and I'm locking them up. Yeah, this is
Speaker 1: the other game I was debating whether to lock up
Speaker 1: the forty niners. I mean, the Seahawks have a lower
Speaker 1: point differential plus twelve than the Buccaneers this year. Whereas
Speaker 1: they have won eight games by two scores, the Seahawks
Speaker 1: have won one. Pet Carroll did mention that you know,
Speaker 1: and perhaps this is subterfuge. I don't. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I mean, you've got Marshawn Lynch coming in off
Speaker 1: the street. It's uh n lear what he was doing.
Speaker 1: Uh even seven days ago that Travis Homer wouldn't he
Speaker 1: was in the tail He was at the tailgate at
Speaker 1: the Raiders final home game, drinking men, and we know
Speaker 1: he was doing that. I'd say, we don't know what
Speaker 1: else he was doing. Wellero hadn't had this report that
Speaker 1: when he went to the facility a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: he got an idea that they might want to bring
Speaker 1: him back. So this wasn't totally out of nowhere. And
Speaker 1: he supposedly with his trainer, they as they said, I
Speaker 1: forget what they the words that they used, but they
Speaker 1: put him through a couple of weeks of intense training
Speaker 1: to get ready, so that this might have been telegraphed.
Speaker 1: Actually that he might. He might have come back even
Speaker 1: if there hadn't been two big injuries, which is crazy.
Speaker 1: This is his first game with the Seattle Seahawks and
Speaker 1: one thousand, five hundred and five days last appearance Week ten,
Speaker 1: two thousand and fifteen against the Cardinals. I think injuries
Speaker 1: are so big for Seattle. Number one. The Dwayne Brown
Speaker 1: injuries the bigger deal even than Chris Carson. I think
Speaker 1: there they can't pass protect and Dwayne Brown was a
Speaker 1: rock and was the one great player that they had.
Speaker 1: So now you're gonna have to try to block Nick
Speaker 1: Bosa with your backup left tackle. That is a major loss.
Speaker 1: And then Clowney coming back. Clowney has been a gamer
Speaker 1: throughout his career um Dan in terms of he's played
Speaker 1: through injury. That's why he kind of had this. Always hurt,
Speaker 1: but through it and the fact that it felt like
Speaker 1: they were maybe sitting him the last couple of weeks
Speaker 1: so he could come back with a vengeance for with
Speaker 1: the games that matter, he's had some all of his
Speaker 1: best games of his career have been in big spots
Speaker 1: like this. So he's a guy. Awe Niners just haven't
Speaker 1: really had. If you look up and down the schedule,
Speaker 1: a letdown game, not the Seahawks have. I mean to
Speaker 1: go and see what happened to them against the Cardinals
Speaker 1: last week. I just against the Falcons. I mean, I
Speaker 1: wouldn't call that like texok. I wouldn't call it like
Speaker 1: they laid down where they just vanished. I mean it
Speaker 1: came down to some freaky stuff at the end of
Speaker 1: the game. Have been beaten soundly four times, and then
Speaker 1: I have not been the overall trajectory of Seattle at
Speaker 1: this point. I'm still in the corner there with you, Dan,
Speaker 1: and yet still be good. That's important. And yet West
Speaker 1: and this took a little ding on Monday night. Uh,
Speaker 1: and yet at home and they're building in a playoff game,
Speaker 1: a game with huge ramifications. I would be shocked if
Speaker 1: this is a very close game. I think the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: despite the fact that, uh, they have not been as
Speaker 1: impressive as the Niners have been for a lot of
Speaker 1: this season. I don't think it's gonna be thirty eight
Speaker 1: seventeen and then and the Niners themselves have been a
Speaker 1: little up and down of late. They their defense obviously
Speaker 1: got lit up by the Saints, that got beat by
Speaker 1: the rains there's no sin there. The Falcons game, uh,
Speaker 1: the outlast last the Rams. I don't think they're playing
Speaker 1: necessarily their best ball this season. Ever. I think it
Speaker 1: is a good game. I agree with you. I can't
Speaker 1: disagree with any of that. And I think this game
Speaker 1: in particular is so hard to predict because they met
Speaker 1: two months ago and so much has changed since then.
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson was the m v P favorite the first
Speaker 1: time these two teams met and were in the discussion
Speaker 1: with the Patriots for best defense in the league, and
Speaker 1: since then, both Russell Wilson and the forty Niners defense
Speaker 1: have been average to below average in the last two months. Statistically,
Speaker 1: that's tough on Russ. Russ is nineteenth and td interception
Speaker 1: ratio since these two teams. This is such a good
Speaker 1: spot for him, though. This is such a dangerous even
Speaker 1: with the left tackle out for him to to ball out,
Speaker 1: get a little help from Lynch to get the crowd
Speaker 1: even more pumped up. It's a limited offense and now
Speaker 1: you don't have Carson the past. Protection, to me is
Speaker 1: the number one thing that I worry about winning in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. D Ford is not expected to return. I
Speaker 1: think the Niners this week. They're hoping to get him
Speaker 1: back for the playoffs. Oh and Baldi called Fred Warner
Speaker 1: the best linebacker and football. That was pretty high praise.
Speaker 1: All right, let's pick this game, mark, Um, I will
Speaker 1: go Seattle. Yeah, I'm gonna lock it at I locked
Speaker 1: it up a two point game, all right, I will
Speaker 1: go Seahawks. Field goal by Jason Myers wins it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm going forty nine. I'm still almost debating. I wanted
Speaker 1: to lock this game twenty. I think it's an offensive game.
Speaker 1: I don't trust use. The Seahawks don't trust you anymore.
Speaker 1: Both ways here, I mean street of this trust two
Speaker 1: street of not being on the corner. They're a good
Speaker 1: thing for the Seahawks fans if they lose this game
Speaker 1: or forty fans is you get to play the at
Speaker 1: the NFC East champion. So if you're going to play
Speaker 1: on the road in the first round, at least that
Speaker 1: UM look ahead to win about match. Tell us what
Speaker 1: happens from that game. No, No, I've suggested NFC East
Speaker 1: playing at home. That's something weird could happen there. But
Speaker 1: a lot of that when I was thinking about that
Speaker 1: was Dallas is upside, and I just simply don't believe
Speaker 1: in the Cowboys right now backing off that prediction. Not
Speaker 1: backing off it. I think it's totally possible because this
Speaker 1: is on the fence a little bit. This is happened.
Speaker 1: I just I'm not gonna go drop, you know, massive
Speaker 1: money on it. I'm not allowed to. So let's start there.
Speaker 1: But like just that's happened over and over since we've
Speaker 1: been here, and and like that has a certain like
Speaker 1: illogic too, and this game is like that too. This
Speaker 1: is the best Sunday Night season finale they've ever had.
Speaker 1: And it's a great matchup of like numbers and who
Speaker 1: deserves it and all the analytics and who's actually better
Speaker 1: versus just like Magic and Mojo and Marshawn lynches back
Speaker 1: and they just somehow find a way. It doesn't matter
Speaker 1: what the numbers say, like the Seahawks have that. It's
Speaker 1: a nice stage is set beautifully. I can't wait. We'll
Speaker 1: actually mix it up. I think we'll lead with that
Speaker 1: game on Sunday Night Show because the playoffs so much
Speaker 1: in the NFC is connected to this game as well,
Speaker 1: So we're gonna mix things up a little bit as
Speaker 1: well with the show on Sunday night and before uh
Speaker 1: we say goodbye. Two things. One again, we have our
Speaker 1: live show as Super All fifty four in Miami on
Speaker 1: the Thursday before the Big Game. H So go to
Speaker 1: the Miami Improv web website and under events you'll find it.
Speaker 1: And also at our Instagram page the A T N
Speaker 1: pod cast you can get the link in the bio
Speaker 1: to buy tickets. And lastly, Mark Sessler, do you have
Speaker 1: a time machine? What do you do with it? So
Speaker 1: I've thought about this a little bit. I kind of
Speaker 1: forgot that you would ask me that question. But the
Speaker 1: thing that comes to mind right away, I don't know why. Um,
Speaker 1: I would like to be like a backpacker type person
Speaker 1: that becomes friends with like um, like ruling class Victoria
Speaker 1: Victorian era, like British French type people, and just kind
Speaker 1: of mind my way into that world and find out
Speaker 1: what's happening. Because whenever I here's the thing, whenever I
Speaker 1: watch those movies, well, whenever I like watch those favorite
Speaker 1: ceiling is like eight feet high and there's like white
Speaker 1: paneled walls with art all over the place. I want
Speaker 1: to just get into one of those sessoles and see
Speaker 1: what was going on, because I think there's I don't
Speaker 1: even have toilet paper. Though I worry about stuff like that.
Speaker 1: I don't want to go too far back to me.
Speaker 1: I don't that goes back sure is a no go
Speaker 1: because it's like, oh, I'll travel to you know, the
Speaker 1: middle of Nevada forty years now, who knows what you
Speaker 1: len and just maybe a giant fire pit. So I
Speaker 1: want to go back to something that I can dig. Right,
Speaker 1: goes back to one of my favorite theories that it's
Speaker 1: better to be an upper upper middle class American than
Speaker 1: it was to be royalty two hundred years ago versus
Speaker 1: royalty two hundred years ago. I believe you've also extended
Speaker 1: that too. It's better to be like lower middle class
Speaker 1: now than a wealthy person, you know in the in
Speaker 1: the eighteen way back. While you're you're getting better dental
Speaker 1: you're gonna live a lot long here, you miserable. You
Speaker 1: have better entertainment, you can like do things after five
Speaker 1: CM at night. That's good. You have lights. But if
Speaker 1: you go back there, as you know, whether we have
Speaker 1: all these health benefits, you look like a shining star
Speaker 1: compared to all the royalty, maybe you take over a castle. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's hang out today, Twitter, I mean you don't have that,
Speaker 1: all right, that's a point in favor. Okay, Um, that's it.
Speaker 1: We will be back Sunday night, as we just said,
Speaker 1: So make sure, uh you tune in because when we
Speaker 1: come to you next we will have everything figured out.
Speaker 1: It will all be decided, and the big tournament in
Speaker 1: our league will be set and we will be excited
Speaker 1: to talk about it all. So until then, this is
Speaker 1: Dan Hansas signing off for the Quiet Storm and that
Speaker 1: gorgeous petticoat no no, no peep, count mail Man, the
Speaker 1: Old Boss, and literally no one behind the glass until
Speaker 1: Sunday night. S