Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast. It's recognized by no one
Speaker 1: in the United States. Welcome back to another edition of
Speaker 1: the Around the NFL Podcast. My name is Dan Hansis.
Speaker 1: I'm joined the roof field with some heroes, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: Nick Shuck, Yeah you heard me, and Greg rosehal what
Speaker 1: is up? Boys? This is me Dan. I mean, you
Speaker 1: don't have to just try to take his spots and
Speaker 1: he's not gonna let go. This is definitely gonna be
Speaker 1: a Colin Kaepernick replacing Alex Smith type scenario potentially ruined. Man.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying because Nick and you just heard that
Speaker 1: he jumped in with the Hey, Dan, he's got the
Speaker 1: eye of the tiger. I mean, let's be honest. Thank
Speaker 1: you Wes Is you know, out having a very important
Speaker 1: minor procedure today. We wish him well. And it's the
Speaker 1: idea that he would post cancer, that he would be
Speaker 1: benched like during what a very thing. We all feel
Speaker 1: sympathetic towards him. That did you feel sympathetic for Alex
Speaker 1: Smith when he suffered a brain Yes, I did. When
Speaker 1: his team was surging like this team, and then the
Speaker 1: new guy came in, the younger guy, the buffer guy,
Speaker 1: and then just went nuts. I'm just I'm not wanted
Speaker 1: to happen or the fans in and the NFL gets
Speaker 1: so angry about it, it becomes more of a Colin
Speaker 1: Kaepernick getting boycotted from the NFL. So that version of
Speaker 1: scenario I was gonna say, can't even do that. I
Speaker 1: don't want to be completely shut out here well the outside,
Speaker 1: Well then for then, just sitting for today's show, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for all your help all season, and
Speaker 1: you're helping us out again today, Nick, And nothing that matters.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get We're gonna get into week sixteen, all
Speaker 1: the games. But I don't care. The only thing I
Speaker 1: care about is the tweet that came out a nerness
Speaker 1: dot com put together an expert um study of podcast popularity.
Speaker 1: And you heard at the top of the show that
Speaker 1: comment about you know, the United States, we doesn't care
Speaker 1: about our pocket Well, how about this according to nerdice
Speaker 1: dot com, and this is this is indisputable. The results here.
Speaker 1: The most popular podcast in the state of Rhode Island,
Speaker 1: The Thing for Everyone r some people, The Around the
Speaker 1: NFL Podcast, the most popular podcast in Rhode Island, according
Speaker 1: to the celebrated podcast website nerdiced dot com eat it.
Speaker 1: I have two questions here, Yeah, how does one become
Speaker 1: an expert on podcast popularity? And how many counties are
Speaker 1: in Rhode Island? Mm hmm, I don't know, but I
Speaker 1: do have Rhode Island fun facts for you. Did you
Speaker 1: know it's the home greg to the Tennis Hall of Fame? Yeah?
Speaker 1: They did, haven't been pretty good right Newport Also they
Speaker 1: have a small tournament. That's funny you bring up Newport
Speaker 1: because it's the first circus in the United States was
Speaker 1: held in Newport. Great Jazz Festival. I feel like tam
Speaker 1: Posty deserves some credit here. I know she's from New Hampshire,
Speaker 1: but it's like, what's the difference there is between New
Speaker 1: England's kind of like, I'm not even I'm serious. She's
Speaker 1: bringing in the locals. It's quite a stretch. They're like
Speaker 1: state revelries. There no New England. We sort of all
Speaker 1: kind of keep ourselves together. You know. I almost went
Speaker 1: to the United from New Hampshire much more like and
Speaker 1: much of Rhode Island is much more Boston than where
Speaker 1: than Western Massachusetts where I'm from. It's all like me,
Speaker 1: you would think all my hatred over the years towards
Speaker 1: the Patriots would actually lead to maybe lesser none. But
Speaker 1: I guess they enjoy the suffering that the Patriots have
Speaker 1: rained down on me until this season. Also one other
Speaker 1: reason why I think we connect Mark with Rhode Island.
Speaker 1: It never ratified the Eighteenth Amendment prohibition. No, they said, no.
Speaker 1: I like that, Like, we're out by the sea. We
Speaker 1: do what we want to do. We're not signing up
Speaker 1: for your hideous laws to try to truncate fund Again
Speaker 1: that that was good. We have so much to get
Speaker 1: for everyone. Road. When I learned to drive when I
Speaker 1: was you know, when I got a licensed, I was
Speaker 1: sixteen or so. Back then, like um, took a road
Speaker 1: trip from Rhode Island is very close to where I
Speaker 1: grew up in Like on the way back, well, let's
Speaker 1: just be shut off. There was there were no maps
Speaker 1: back then, like you there was no like phone map.
Speaker 1: I got so lost I did not get home to
Speaker 1: like four thirty in the morning. Some hideous highway. Surprising
Speaker 1: because it's a state that only covers one thousand, two
Speaker 1: d and fourteen square miles. It's wild to consider that
Speaker 1: we managed to colonize and then move all the way
Speaker 1: West across America with no maps. And it's funny that
Speaker 1: you mentioned colonize because Rhode Island was the final colony
Speaker 1: of the original thirteen. All right, great state, my favorite state.
Speaker 1: I always knew I like that state. Now I know
Speaker 1: for sure I have a reason for it. Let's get
Speaker 1: to the games. We'll start with the Saturday games. The
Speaker 1: Washington Redskins, who um you know, for all tents and purposes,
Speaker 1: their season ended when Alex Smith broke his leg. Uh,
Speaker 1: and it was starting to trend in a wrong, wrong
Speaker 1: direction even before that. I'm a little surprised. It's a
Speaker 1: little bit maybe this is where West would have jumped
Speaker 1: in no offense, shook and been excited about this Rhode
Speaker 1: Island thing, but a muted response. Overall, I feel the
Speaker 1: number one podcast in that whole state. I think we're
Speaker 1: just we're humble. We're like looking to get forty nine
Speaker 1: other states on that list. Right, was angry? Does Greg's annoying?
Speaker 1: I know why Greg's annoyed. I'm gonna tell you right now,
Speaker 1: because calling it the most popular podcast Rhode Island is
Speaker 1: not technically what their nerves was claiming. And Greg was
Speaker 1: all over this. I actually only checked that because you asked.
Speaker 1: Dan asked the question on Twitter, but you were like,
Speaker 1: so I went, technically, I went what I went, and
Speaker 1: I read the article. Yeah, and they said and he
Speaker 1: was holding back from trying to reign on the parade
Speaker 1: with more factual nuance to the to this, to what
Speaker 1: we present. You're right, I I could give to it
Speaker 1: about that. You've got a whole another podcast you care
Speaker 1: about more so are you Are you debunking this this award? No,
Speaker 1: I'm not debunking it. I'm surprised Gregg held up this
Speaker 1: long before bringing the rain. This is the true rainmaker
Speaker 1: right here. I think it's fine. I mean, it's it's good.
Speaker 1: I read it was a strange way they measured it.
Speaker 1: It was just like which state are you more popular
Speaker 1: in compared to all other states? It wasn't necessarily Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's cool too. That that the road it's it means
Speaker 1: the same. That's still Yeah. The Rhode Island people love
Speaker 1: us well. I mean, if you think about it, this
Speaker 1: is the New England area you're carrying this podcast right now,
Speaker 1: that's you. I just figured like there's only like sevens
Speaker 1: live in Rhode Island that this news is exciting too.
Speaker 1: We have a bunch of game previews to get with
Speaker 1: this thing. The Washington Redskins, they won sixteen thirteen over
Speaker 1: the Jaguars, uh and with a bunch of other teams
Speaker 1: in the wild card picture, losing with the Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 1: losing all of a sudden seven and seven with two
Speaker 1: to play gives you a faint pulse. And now they
Speaker 1: travel to Tennessee to face the tight Tunes. Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: This is a Titans theme that's been impossible to figure
Speaker 1: out all season. But one thing we do know for sure.
Speaker 1: Three straight wins, including their last two victories by a
Speaker 1: forty seven to nine margin. Are you now believing in
Speaker 1: this Tennessee outfit in the final weeks of the regular season.
Speaker 1: I mean they've been hyper streaky. I like that they
Speaker 1: the old Titans team of old we thought was just
Speaker 1: gonna run the ball thirty times a game and try
Speaker 1: to beat you up physically with their offensive line in
Speaker 1: their power sets and multiple tight ends and just you know,
Speaker 1: squeeze the life out of you. And the last the
Speaker 1: last two games. And I realized that that game against
Speaker 1: the Giants last week, there was some a weather aspect
Speaker 1: to that as well. But The split for Derrick Henry
Speaker 1: is simply unbelievably insane. Four eight yards and six touchdowns
Speaker 1: in his last two games before that, four hundred and
Speaker 1: seventy four yards and five touchdowns all season, So very
Speaker 1: got hot. He they're hot. They they isn't just a
Speaker 1: fluke too. I know he had the long run against
Speaker 1: the Jaguars, but their offensive line put it to the
Speaker 1: Giants last week, to the point where even Marcus Mariota
Speaker 1: on one play through a killer block to take out
Speaker 1: a Giants defender. It was whoa well for a quarterback,
Speaker 1: it was he leveled him. Well, don't downplay this. This
Speaker 1: is awesome. Well you're not. You're not a Titans guy,
Speaker 1: so this is not a good development for you. But
Speaker 1: put out his favorite team, the Giants last week. They
Speaker 1: have a little bit of identity, and they're playing the
Speaker 1: Redskins at the right time. The Redskins have allowed four
Speaker 1: hundred yards rushing over the last two weeks and a
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty on the ground and six of the
Speaker 1: last seven games, so it's good timing. And if they
Speaker 1: beat the Redskins, and if they ever found a way
Speaker 1: to knock off the Cults next week, According to the
Speaker 1: New York Times whole analytical business, they have a chance
Speaker 1: of making the playoffs, so they yeah, they just basically
Speaker 1: need the Ravens or the Steelers to lose one game
Speaker 1: between the two of them. Too. Along with the possible
Speaker 1: very possible, they're also a team that seems capable of
Speaker 1: of being in the fourth quarter of this game, and
Speaker 1: it's being way too close against Josh Johnson. I mean,
Speaker 1: Josh Johnson winning last week a game on the road.
Speaker 1: It was. It's kind of one of the more amazing
Speaker 1: things that's happened in the NFL this year for real.
Speaker 1: I mean this Redskins team, like the Browns didn't win
Speaker 1: a game period last year. Josh Johnson just won won one.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, this Titans team just seems capable
Speaker 1: of anything, Like I want this to be like an
Speaker 1: ugly game that actually means something in the fourth quarter
Speaker 1: and you start thinking like, could the Redskins actually enter
Speaker 1: Week seventeen with the pulse. But they're gonna be without
Speaker 1: Jordan Reid, he's out, Monty Nicholson, their safety, was put
Speaker 1: on injured reserve this week. There's not really much reason
Speaker 1: to believe they could do it. Other than that, the
Speaker 1: Titans are as inconsistent as any team in the league.
Speaker 1: Did you know that Josh Johnson was the fourth oldest
Speaker 1: quarterback to ever win his first part? Read that in
Speaker 1: our statistical manual who also finished ahead? And I don't
Speaker 1: recall that, So you don't know everything? Do you know what?
Speaker 1: Maybe Vince Evans, Peter Brock, Stan Gelball Ball of Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawks and Jamie Martin remember the old St. Louis Rams
Speaker 1: in two thousand five. You know how you like, I
Speaker 1: haven't heard of anything. You hear that phrase like this
Speaker 1: is the team no one wants to see in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: like because they're dangerous. This is the game between the
Speaker 1: teams no one wants to see in the playoffs, just
Speaker 1: because like they don't want to watch them, to watch
Speaker 1: these teams, I mean, especially for the right and and
Speaker 1: Derrick Ken you mentioned I haven't like Tennessee Titans haven't
Speaker 1: carried people to fantasy championships out of nowhere since the
Speaker 1: old Billy Vola Drew Bennett run of four out of nowhere.
Speaker 1: Some something going on with the Titans were a bunch
Speaker 1: of peoples of game that helped pay for a ticket
Speaker 1: for me over to Japan where I met my wife.
Speaker 1: Bullock and uh, I was in a highway. How did
Speaker 1: you meet your wife in Japan? That's she was friends
Speaker 1: with my best friend growing up. She was like in
Speaker 1: his small circle of friends, you know, friends of college
Speaker 1: and stuff. She went to college in the States. She
Speaker 1: was there, Billy Voi the matchmaker, Bam, I would I
Speaker 1: wouldn't go with this. If I had to pick the
Speaker 1: Titans in this week or the next week moving forward,
Speaker 1: and had to put my life on it, I'd rather
Speaker 1: fly a plane blind. Wow, that's the Titans. Absolutely not.
Speaker 1: I mean you'd probably die. I would say. The Titans
Speaker 1: at home against the Redskins doesn't seem that crazy. No,
Speaker 1: that that's how a little confidence I have in the Titans,
Speaker 1: just because they burned men that they have that. That's
Speaker 1: what West would say too if he was here, because
Speaker 1: just they have a way of reeling people in and
Speaker 1: then and laying a stink bomb. Let's see if it
Speaker 1: happens this week. Moving on the Baltimore Ravens. This is
Speaker 1: the Saturday night game. Oh and it's a gorgeous Saturday
Speaker 1: night game. Greg, I know you love it. You love it.
Speaker 1: This is the most interesting Ravens team I can remember
Speaker 1: versus like the chance that Philip Rivers to become a legend.
Speaker 1: Eight and six, the Ravens are took care of business
Speaker 1: against Tampa uh, and they are in playoff position. Uh.
Speaker 1: They just need to close strong here and they have
Speaker 1: to go to l A now to face the Chargers.
Speaker 1: And Nick, we know the last time we saw the Chargers,
Speaker 1: who were coming off a little bit of a mini
Speaker 1: by here, they had that tremendous um come back against
Speaker 1: the Chiefs with the two point conversion. Phil Rivers waving
Speaker 1: taunting the Chiefs fantasy jogged into the tunnel so high
Speaker 1: times in Chargers Land. How do you see this one?
Speaker 1: High times for a potential let down. And I'm one
Speaker 1: of the biggest Charger proponents you'll find this year. They
Speaker 1: were my Super Bowl pick before this season because I
Speaker 1: like to be I like to be wrong, and I
Speaker 1: thought I'd be pretty wrong there. But no, I think
Speaker 1: this is a Charger team that got a huge win
Speaker 1: last week and is facing a team that looks vastly
Speaker 1: different than it did in the first half of the season,
Speaker 1: and they might get caught just a little bit off guard,
Speaker 1: but it is the biggest game the history of stuff
Speaker 1: up center. I will say one thing that the Ravens
Speaker 1: galaxy and had some big games. Beckham brought a title
Speaker 1: to the UH one year. It's also not even a
Speaker 1: home field for the Chargers on any level. But despite that,
Speaker 1: I believe that they are going to take this and
Speaker 1: I'm locking this up for the Chargers. It wasn't allow
Speaker 1: to pick from. I feel good about that. The Ravens
Speaker 1: are an interesting team now. I like I actually had
Speaker 1: to look at a bunch of these games and say,
Speaker 1: you can't lock this up, you can't lock this up.
Speaker 1: This one I feel good about. I think this is
Speaker 1: um Why why wouldn't you pick against the Chargers the
Speaker 1: way they're playing? All this good mojo? But I'm kind
Speaker 1: of with shook a little bit here, Greg. Do you
Speaker 1: see the possibility of a little bit of a letdown
Speaker 1: the Charges still going to the playoffs either way, they
Speaker 1: could still take care of business next week at Denver
Speaker 1: and and solidify themselves as a twelve and five teams.
Speaker 1: I don't even think it's a letdown. I just think
Speaker 1: they're too relatively even teams. I mean, the Ravens just
Speaker 1: went to Kansas City and took them to overtime. They
Speaker 1: have a very defined style. The Chargers have the edge
Speaker 1: that they had more days to prepare for this game,
Speaker 1: and I think that's important because I think that Ravens
Speaker 1: are maybe the toughest team in the NFL to prepare
Speaker 1: for right now. If you look at the offense is
Speaker 1: certainly running a different scheme than just about anyone else
Speaker 1: in terms of the way they run the ball and
Speaker 1: the way you have to prepare and the way Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson's running ability gets receivers open, but even more on
Speaker 1: offense where the Chargers offensive line has been if he
Speaker 1: I would say over the last few weeks, this is
Speaker 1: a tough defense to prepare for all the protections. And
Speaker 1: we don't know if Keenan Allen's gonna play, Melvin is
Speaker 1: expected to be back, but I see these two teams
Speaker 1: as playoff quality teams. Marlon Humphrey is playing unbelievable for
Speaker 1: the Ravens right now, and I don't know. I I
Speaker 1: think it's a coin flip game. I give a little
Speaker 1: edge to the Chargers, but not much. And you wonder
Speaker 1: if the nature of not just this Charger season, which
Speaker 1: eleven and three and playing incredible ball. But also that
Speaker 1: prime time win is if there are Chargers fans in
Speaker 1: this region where we're doing this podcast. Dude right now,
Speaker 1: will there will be Chargers since in that building filling
Speaker 1: out that building? Or is it going to be an
Speaker 1: invasion of Baltimore fans? They're not really like, yeah, that's
Speaker 1: a good question. Two days before Christmas or the race
Speaker 1: Ravens gonna travel anyways, think then it will then the
Speaker 1: Ravens fans will turn into maybe some empty seats, which
Speaker 1: is even worse. But I mean there's no team with
Speaker 1: a more complex, you know, in relationship with a fan
Speaker 1: base that really is only two hours away, but many
Speaker 1: of them would have no interest at this point. I
Speaker 1: I want to see the Chargers make the super Bowl
Speaker 1: just for that reason. One thing on the letdown, don't
Speaker 1: the letdown could have come after they beat the Steelers,
Speaker 1: the game that I thought they were gonna drop and
Speaker 1: not show up to. They showed up to that, then
Speaker 1: they showed up again. And so this one to me
Speaker 1: is like they the Ravens have not dealt with a
Speaker 1: great run defense during this showy stretch and the and
Speaker 1: the Charges onlike a lot of these other teams in
Speaker 1: the playoff by situation are very balanced. This is this
Speaker 1: is the biggest test for Lamar Jackson. I'm fascinating to
Speaker 1: see him, but I've seen in West has talked about it.
Speaker 1: They've played a bunch of cupcake run defenses. Like I
Speaker 1: get it, but they also aren't just okay, they're good
Speaker 1: at right destroying them. They're the best running teams you know,
Speaker 1: by some measures, in thirty years over the last five weeks,
Speaker 1: so that's a lot. I mean it comes down to
Speaker 1: from the point of a defender who's playing against the
Speaker 1: Ravens is if you read pass and also Lamar pulls
Speaker 1: it down to run. He's hit a surprising amount of
Speaker 1: third and long passes, don't that many passing yards, but
Speaker 1: has a number of third and long conversions when teams
Speaker 1: are just preventing looking to stop there. Is it unfair
Speaker 1: that Rivers is not getting pulled into the m v
Speaker 1: P race at all. I'm putting him in there. I
Speaker 1: think if he wins this, I don't think he's gonna win.
Speaker 1: I think if he wins this game and Mahomes struggled
Speaker 1: in Seattle, I think he's got a real shot. Jared
Speaker 1: Goff has limited himself from the running, so you take
Speaker 1: the one more player out. I think it's Breeze, Rivers
Speaker 1: and Mahomes And I mean and if if Philip and
Speaker 1: in the Charges got the one seed after this closing stretch,
Speaker 1: I think he gets it. Uh, let's move on to
Speaker 1: a game. These are the Sunday games now in a
Speaker 1: game that had no business meaning nothing in Week six
Speaker 1: team but that's just the way things shook out this year.
Speaker 1: The five and nine Atlanta Falcons, who finally uh snapped
Speaker 1: a five game losing streak by beating up on the
Speaker 1: wretched Cardinals, travel to Charlotte to face the Panthers, and
Speaker 1: it will not be a game that features Cam Newton Um.
Speaker 1: The Panthers announced they were shutting down their star quarterback
Speaker 1: at least this this week and most likely next week
Speaker 1: as well, of course, with Taylor Heineke getting the start
Speaker 1: Greg So this is not a game the babe and glory.
Speaker 1: I know, I feel like I want to like email
Speaker 1: or you know, DM some you know what Panthers beat right,
Speaker 1: and just think what they think of Taylor. Maybe Tyler
Speaker 1: Heineke is gonna do some things. I don't know, I mean,
Speaker 1: because I don't think this Panther's team has been that bad,
Speaker 1: and and you hear some reports this week there's conflicting
Speaker 1: reports about Rivera's future, But I know that defense played
Speaker 1: their hearts out on Monday Night football. It is a
Speaker 1: division game, and the Panthers winning with Tyler Taylor Heineke
Speaker 1: wouldn't shock me at this point. The way Kim Newton
Speaker 1: was playing, I don't know, maybe better, and I know
Speaker 1: Ron Rivera is mostly in danger of losing his job,
Speaker 1: but that team on defense played its ass off and
Speaker 1: they kept you kept on thinking that then the Panthers
Speaker 1: will come out and go three and out and the
Speaker 1: Saints are that pretty good field possession position to be like, Okay,
Speaker 1: now the Saints are gonna pull away, But no, the
Speaker 1: Panthers kept on making stops, kept on putting pressure um
Speaker 1: on Drew Brees, and the offense just could not carry
Speaker 1: their side of this. So yeah, why I get a
Speaker 1: look at what a team can do with at least
Speaker 1: a healthy quarterback. Heineke's look like six ft one in
Speaker 1: a totally different physical specimen than Cam Newton, so let's
Speaker 1: see what that means. But the one thing about the Falcons,
Speaker 1: like they've been utterly disappointing. And I know they played
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, maybe the worst team that we've seen in
Speaker 1: half a decade. So put put all that pretty well.
Speaker 1: I actually think last year's Brown's team would wipe the
Speaker 1: floor with the Cardinals team that we see half the time. Honestly.
Speaker 1: I mean, we find out that Hugh Jackson probably took
Speaker 1: five wins away from last year's Brown Steve Wilkes, that's
Speaker 1: that's that is not something that we need and we're
Speaker 1: not going to get it. But I think the Falcons
Speaker 1: finally ran the ball with some huge players from Tevin
Speaker 1: Coleman last week, and so can they keep that going otherwise?
Speaker 1: I mean, we're two weeks away from putting both of
Speaker 1: these teams into the into a coffin and we'll see it,
Speaker 1: you know, at the owner's meeting. So if I feel
Speaker 1: like this Panther's team has been we're still talking about
Speaker 1: this guy. We're going on. But that was good, Tevin Coleman,
Speaker 1: nugget Mark, and you have a nugget on. I just
Speaker 1: I'm really interested to see what Taylor how did he does?
Speaker 1: He hadn't started a games and fourteen when he was
Speaker 1: at Old Dominion let's do it especially interesting. But I
Speaker 1: could also think of like twenty five things that are
Speaker 1: more of a fascination to me than watching time. You know,
Speaker 1: Heineke played football and Sunday. But you know what, I'm
Speaker 1: sure we'll be quite intriguing. It'll be nice for everyone.
Speaker 1: Dan was thinking, like, that's where we can catch up.
Speaker 1: We've been pretty heavy and nah, there's some trash baggers
Speaker 1: coming up to The Cincinnati Bengals are six and eight,
Speaker 1: and uh, they beat the Raiders last week, but they're
Speaker 1: playing out the string again and maybe this is the
Speaker 1: end of Marvin Lewis. And since he well here, he
Speaker 1: is now traveling with his team to Cleveland to face
Speaker 1: the Browns Mark Sessler, who got Delta setback. They took
Speaker 1: care of business against the Broncos on Saturday, but then
Speaker 1: the Steelers beat the Pats, which really kind of closed
Speaker 1: the door, most likely on magic and a potential week seventeen.
Speaker 1: Um uh party for the Browns. But still finishing the
Speaker 1: season strong and what's been a very positive season. That's
Speaker 1: a good thing too. The playoff thing felt like it
Speaker 1: was essentially last Saturday's fantasy and it went to bed
Speaker 1: on Sunday, that's fine. I mean they basically can get
Speaker 1: in if a bunch of teams were to lose out
Speaker 1: and the Cults and Titans tied in week seventeen. I
Speaker 1: feel like when they opened the seasons, Browns and the tie.
Speaker 1: So you know, you know when when we talked about
Speaker 1: these playoffs, I like that calculations Greg, when people have
Speaker 1: to throw in a tie, I feel like we got
Speaker 1: to keep that out of it. It's like a separate cough.
Speaker 1: I saw Mark's eyes just light up. I mean the
Speaker 1: Cults almost tied the Texans earlier. I mean, thinking Cults
Speaker 1: Titans feels like a game that might be more tie
Speaker 1: worthy than some others. So that's totally I agree. See
Speaker 1: it happened if all right, you give the logic if
Speaker 1: I'm picking a game that could tie the rest of
Speaker 1: the year India Tennessee up there, why because it's like
Speaker 1: it's like they're fairly even. It's in Tennessee. It could
Speaker 1: be ugly. It's like, you know, the defensive the Colts
Speaker 1: were in a six nothing game on the road in
Speaker 1: the division win. It's it's it is. That's my favorite analysis.
Speaker 1: Not only possible, it feels probable. I could come up
Speaker 1: with It would be a great cycling of karma if
Speaker 1: the Colts and Titans tied, putting the Browns in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: when it was the Colts and Titans game that knocked
Speaker 1: the Browns out of the playoffs in two thousands, which
Speaker 1: they sat Peyton manning like cowards? What happened to game? Sorgie?
Speaker 1: What happens if the the Colts and Titans tie and
Speaker 1: then the Browns losing Week seventeen, that would be that
Speaker 1: would s drive my car off a clip. This also,
Speaker 1: this is a win win game because the Bengals win
Speaker 1: this game and annoy you guys, it's like that's another
Speaker 1: year of Marvin Lewis. It's like groundhog Day. How is
Speaker 1: that a win win? Well, then you get keep Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis and but you you also you also have Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis in your life. So you're saying, we want fine
Speaker 1: with Marvin Lewis around. He's kind of fun. I'm saying
Speaker 1: as a Browns fan, I think, you know, like if
Speaker 1: they were replaced with Hugh Jacks, like groundhog Day, it's like, oh,
Speaker 1: the Bengals get a Week sixteen Week seventeen win, that
Speaker 1: means you'll see another seven years of Marvin Lewis. It's delicious.
Speaker 1: Here's how bad it's been for Cleveland and and honestly
Speaker 1: Cincinnatim anyways too. But the Browns have not swept the
Speaker 1: Bengals since two thousand two, and they have not swept
Speaker 1: any division opponent since that two thousand seven season. Knocking
Speaker 1: these little that's each week because last week was the
Speaker 1: Broncos thing. It's like, I don't forget the plaffs, like
Speaker 1: keep doing these little things and learn how to win
Speaker 1: week after week. And you're playing a Bengals team that
Speaker 1: is super banged up, backup quarterback No A. J. Green,
Speaker 1: They've got a bunch of players on defense out it's
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, you have Hugh Jackson House. You have no
Speaker 1: reason not to close your home slate with a big
Speaker 1: old romp over the Bengals. There have been few late
Speaker 1: season games where it's basically meaningless. It's safe for a
Speaker 1: miracle where there will be more vitriol for an opposing team. Cleveland,
Speaker 1: it will be ready for Hugh Jackson. And uh I
Speaker 1: did I did a QB index this week where I
Speaker 1: didn't experiment, like which quarterbacks would you take from the
Speaker 1: last four draft classes got Baker Mayfield number two, behind
Speaker 1: Mahomes ahead of Carson Wentz. So a couple of years later,
Speaker 1: you know, Sashi Brown. Not saying Sasha Brown deserves all
Speaker 1: the credit, but the process of the thought process that
Speaker 1: he went through. It's like, right now, I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people would take Baker Mayfield over Wentz anyways,
Speaker 1: and you and you got the Denzel Ward I think that,
Speaker 1: But didn't you only get Baker Mayfield because you went sixteen.
Speaker 1: There's a lot. There's a lot that went into it.
Speaker 1: You got a lot of luck. You've got a lot
Speaker 1: of good draft picks from John Dorsey, but you got
Speaker 1: a lot of good draft just saying I don't know
Speaker 1: how you was like honestly the best thing that ever happened.
Speaker 1: I'm saying, like the process, the thought process that went
Speaker 1: behind it, that you'll get your quarterback later with the
Speaker 1: better team around him ultimately came true. And the Denzel
Speaker 1: Award pick is kind of connected through those sas. We
Speaker 1: also can't overlook the fact that Sashy Brown bungled a
Speaker 1: trade with the Bengals for AJ McCarn That's part of it. Well,
Speaker 1: one Sashy draft pick who has sort of been on
Speaker 1: the fence. Jabril Prepper, like ja Bill Prepper, has had
Speaker 1: his best game of his career last week. I mean
Speaker 1: he made a real difference which he had been waiting
Speaker 1: for that. Garrett, that's a great draft class, all right.
Speaker 1: Moving on, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are five and nine.
Speaker 1: They've lost two straight. Ain't no magic in Tampa and
Speaker 1: Dirk Cutter. Uh, this is probably the end of the
Speaker 1: road for old Darky, but we'll see Nick Shook. They
Speaker 1: travel now to Dallas to face Do you know it's
Speaker 1: my kid brother Darky. They call him beef Dirky heard. Uh.
Speaker 1: They traveled a big d to face the Cowboys, who
Speaker 1: of course got humbled last week twenty three nothing shut
Speaker 1: out lost at the hands of the Colts. Uh. So
Speaker 1: this seems on paper and Nick to be a perfect
Speaker 1: bounce back opponent for the Cowboys if they want to
Speaker 1: lock down the NFC East and in a death march
Speaker 1: for the Buccaneers. Right and total defense against the past
Speaker 1: against the run Cowboys coming off not putting a single
Speaker 1: point in the board. Yeah, I think this is a
Speaker 1: great matchup for Dallas to get back on track as
Speaker 1: they head towards the playoffs, and they also have to
Speaker 1: hold off a pesky Eagles team they've beaten twice. But
Speaker 1: you know, you have to worry about them in their
Speaker 1: wild card implications that they could sneak in, so they
Speaker 1: still need to win games. I don't know the Bucks
Speaker 1: have been playing. I mean, I think people overrate, like, oh,
Speaker 1: they're not playing for this coach or this or that,
Speaker 1: if you wanted to put anything into it. They had
Speaker 1: a lead against the Saints pretty late in that game
Speaker 1: two weeks ago. The Ravens game essentially came down to
Speaker 1: the last possession. Vita veaz playing pretty well for them. Uh,
Speaker 1: the old hard knocks buddy Riley Bullock is now starting
Speaker 1: playing every snap. Levante Advid's playing pretty well. And then
Speaker 1: you watch this Cowboys team their second in the league
Speaker 1: in plays per drive in eighteenth and points. And that's
Speaker 1: to me them in a nutshell. They Jason Garrett was
Speaker 1: even seeing this league. We're like, we had a window
Speaker 1: of problems with the offense. We just need to finish drives,
Speaker 1: but we we've been moving it great all year. And
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, like, you're way too happy about having ten
Speaker 1: play drives that end up in field goals. I mean
Speaker 1: last week they got in their own way, like that
Speaker 1: game should not have been a shutout on any level.
Speaker 1: They just they could not figure out in the close.
Speaker 1: Throughout the week, everyone was like, well, this was a
Speaker 1: great reality check to bring us back to earth, to
Speaker 1: make us realize that we're not unbeatable. I'm like, win
Speaker 1: a win a game by two scores once. Also, who
Speaker 1: perceived you to be unbeatable? Right? Exactly? But that's how
Speaker 1: the Cowboys always think when they are there's no one
Speaker 1: handle success worth like beat a team by two scores.
Speaker 1: Over the last six weeks when they've supposedly turned the
Speaker 1: corner with Cooper, they essentially have scored as many points
Speaker 1: as their opponent. I mean, it's like it's they're they're
Speaker 1: better with Cooper, but Dak Prescott needs to have a
Speaker 1: good game. He is not put together a complete game
Speaker 1: and why I don't know. If this is the opponent though,
Speaker 1: that's going to actually allow them to figure something else
Speaker 1: out other than throwing it to a Mark Cooper. And
Speaker 1: and if they don't figure that out soon, they're not
Speaker 1: gonna be much threaten the playoffs. They're gonna lose the
Speaker 1: Seahawks in the playoffs. I do think Zeke is running.
Speaker 1: He seems to be picking up steam as the season
Speaker 1: goes along. He's like a running back. The more you
Speaker 1: like he looks better now they think that he did
Speaker 1: in September. The Bucks are not an automatic out though
Speaker 1: they like to Gregg's point from they keep hanging around
Speaker 1: in these games and it's their offense and their defense
Speaker 1: got a little bit better. So well. JPP has quietly
Speaker 1: had a nice season, his best season since the fireworks incident.
Speaker 1: Us another hard knocks hero of the past, Carl is
Speaker 1: it nassive or the see but passive? He's actually turned
Speaker 1: into a decent player. He a six and a half
Speaker 1: sacks for the Bucks, A nice white waiver pick up there.
Speaker 1: There's some talent on this roster, and I feel like
Speaker 1: with a new coaching staff, they could see a nice
Speaker 1: little jump next year. We're always waiting for the Bucks
Speaker 1: to make that jump, but it often it's the coaching
Speaker 1: switch that triggers. And it's probably gonna be Jameis Winston
Speaker 1: being their quarterback again one year, and he's probably gonna
Speaker 1: make more money than people think. Let us move on
Speaker 1: and speak of the Minnesota Vikings. Makes try to make
Speaker 1: sense of this Vikings team who uh took care of
Speaker 1: business at home against the Dolphins who were coming off
Speaker 1: that miracle went over the Patriots and they get they
Speaker 1: come down to her. See that's a team being brought
Speaker 1: down to earth. It's like you're you're thinking you're special.
Speaker 1: Of a sudden, you're in the playoff race, and it's
Speaker 1: like no, no no, no, no, you're literally pretty bad. Well
Speaker 1: they're gonna be below the earth soon exactly. Uh So
Speaker 1: that improved the Vikings the seven six and one. Now
Speaker 1: they travel to Detroit, greg another game on paper that
Speaker 1: it looks like the Vikings will be able to stack
Speaker 1: a win here during these precious final weeks of the season,
Speaker 1: especially with Matt Stafford taking absolute beating this season and
Speaker 1: the Vikings love to get out to the quarterball. Yeah,
Speaker 1: have the matchup stuff. This this, the first time these
Speaker 1: two teams played, was one of the most dominant defensive
Speaker 1: line performances of the season by any team, including the Vikings,
Speaker 1: who have had quite a few And you would think
Speaker 1: that's gonna happen again, and you would think some of
Speaker 1: the ways that the Vikings cooked up more offense last week.
Speaker 1: There was a good article in the Athletic Virifa san
Speaker 1: They doubled the amount of play action passes that they've
Speaker 1: had per game going into that week. Cousins has been
Speaker 1: one of the best play action quarterbacks in the NFL
Speaker 1: basically for five years. Dalvin Cook's break into calls looking explosive,
Speaker 1: it's all pointing to the Vikings. And yet this is
Speaker 1: a game. I think if you're an Egos fan or
Speaker 1: Seahawks or anyone else who has interest in the Vikings,
Speaker 1: you think it's a road game in a division, and
Speaker 1: crazy things happen sometimes road games in the division. It's
Speaker 1: kind of a a logical trend that's happened with teams
Speaker 1: that can't protect up front very well. Whenever they employed
Speaker 1: the play action they immediately become better as football and
Speaker 1: sometimes it's without even running the ball. Well. Now, it
Speaker 1: helped them last week with Dalvin Cook obviously, But yeah,
Speaker 1: this Vikings team, I can't figure them out. I mean,
Speaker 1: they here's what I figured about them. They did to
Speaker 1: your They had nine sacks against They broke Ryan Tannehill
Speaker 1: last week. They broke that offense midway through that game.
Speaker 1: And there's no reason to think they couldn't get up
Speaker 1: until those upper reaches again against this Lion. It's a
Speaker 1: huge I'm really interested to watch them this week because
Speaker 1: I thought that was their best game of the season
Speaker 1: by a decent amount. And if they do it again,
Speaker 1: they've got the players to be one of those teams
Speaker 1: that just that just changes gears and is a different
Speaker 1: Vikings squad than we saw a season. It would be possible.
Speaker 1: It would be a good way to build momentum going
Speaker 1: to that week's game against Chicago. I will believe it
Speaker 1: when I see it now, hecause they have they still
Speaker 1: have Cousins has come up as small as you can
Speaker 1: come up in a lot of these primetime affairs, and
Speaker 1: maybe this team just doesn't have it, but they're still
Speaker 1: in the mix and they control their destiny and they
Speaker 1: should be in good position going into Week seventeen. And
Speaker 1: if they looked like they did last week against an
Speaker 1: up and down Lions team mostly down like then you
Speaker 1: have to wonder if the Kevin Stefanski switched it offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator has a lot to do with it, because maybe
Speaker 1: sometimes these guys, their ideas and their thought process are
Speaker 1: being kept down by someone else above them. And we've
Speaker 1: seen it in Cleveland and it's if you get another
Speaker 1: game like this, you have to wonder where that what
Speaker 1: the Vikings offense had been all year long, held down,
Speaker 1: but the small sample sizes, they could go right back
Speaker 1: to what they were. That's that was called ess No,
Speaker 1: I'm with Dan, I like, it's so've done. You loved
Speaker 1: John d Philippo so so much. I'm saying that we
Speaker 1: have to wait and s keeping down have He was saying, Stefanski,
Speaker 1: you stay in that closet. This is my I set.
Speaker 1: A sample size is minuscule. We will find out. But
Speaker 1: this stuff, this happens. Come on five and nine losers
Speaker 1: last week, eliminated from the playoffs, travel to Indianapolis to
Speaker 1: face the Cults. Interesting how the schedule mark is shaping
Speaker 1: up as we go through these games. A lot of
Speaker 1: these teams that are fighting for their lives and need
Speaker 1: to win are getting a little cupcake on their schedule. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like a mirror It's a mirror game of the
Speaker 1: Titans Redskins. It's an a f C South contender playing
Speaker 1: a massive trash bag from the NFC East, and so
Speaker 1: you get the Giant Senies. Well the you know what,
Speaker 1: we can say that the Titans performance against New York. Oh,
Speaker 1: it doesn't count because it was in a downpour. But no, no,
Speaker 1: but the Titans ran all over the Giants. And then
Speaker 1: Giants have the best running back in the NFL who
Speaker 1: amounted for He had thirty one yards against Tennessee. I
Speaker 1: couldn't get it going. Eli Manning played one of the
Speaker 1: worst games he's played all year. That once they have
Speaker 1: ten penalties, they're slopping. Let's talk forget about the Giants.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying they're gonna take care of business the Cults.
Speaker 1: To me right now, their offensive line has been awesome.
Speaker 1: They Marlon Mack is their clear number one back right now.
Speaker 1: They ran the ball really well last week against Dallas,
Speaker 1: especially in the red zone. And I like this this
Speaker 1: storyline of Darius Leonard, who we can talk about. Oh,
Speaker 1: you know all these there's no such thing as a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl snub. He was a snub and he's so
Speaker 1: annoyed that he told teammates he's gonna have forty tackles
Speaker 1: in this game. And I would love that nothing more
Speaker 1: on the planet Earth. Tend to see him have forty
Speaker 1: tackles against I think they arrest Giants. I read that
Speaker 1: in one of his coaches. It might even been FRANKI
Speaker 1: was like, Bro, it's actually not possible to even do that, really,
Speaker 1: I mean, I know it's not, but what if he
Speaker 1: gets free? But I just love that the coach felt
Speaker 1: the need to just say, all right, he maybe bring
Speaker 1: it down a little bit. But even if he has
Speaker 1: you know, eight, you know, twenty eight tackles, that would
Speaker 1: be tremendous. Greg would be great. That's the thing I'm
Speaker 1: most excited for on Sunday, just to see what happens here.
Speaker 1: You're You're right that Marlon Max has been running well
Speaker 1: and it shows how you can build a running game
Speaker 1: in different ways. That the Colts have a pretty strong
Speaker 1: running game because of the offensive line and Marlon Mack
Speaker 1: improving in his second season, whereas the Giants are are
Speaker 1: up and down. Scan Barkley is great, but so many
Speaker 1: of his yards are through the year. I just love
Speaker 1: how this Colts team looks like a different team than
Speaker 1: the beginning of the year. They're a vet, they look
Speaker 1: like a veteran team. They use tempo better than any
Speaker 1: team in the league. I would include the Patriots even
Speaker 1: when that they're the fastest paced team in the league
Speaker 1: and usually you'd expect that to be a team that's
Speaker 1: been in the system a long time or a bunch
Speaker 1: of players who have been in the same you know,
Speaker 1: system a long time. But they've had players coming in
Speaker 1: and out all year. It's a it's a bunch of
Speaker 1: new players with a new coaching staff. They've done an
Speaker 1: incredible job. T Y Hilton's playing so tough, and the
Speaker 1: team of westl has come through for him. Well, here's
Speaker 1: the thing. The Colts are the one team in that
Speaker 1: wild card pack above any other team. I think that
Speaker 1: a division winner would not want to see on World
Speaker 1: Card weekend. But Greg, as you pointed out yesterday on Twitter,
Speaker 1: they don't control their own destiny. Despite having a nice
Speaker 1: set up against the Giants this weekend, being eight and six,
Speaker 1: they could still get POPA ten. They could if the
Speaker 1: Steelers and Ravens went out, which when I sent that
Speaker 1: tweet out, everyone told me is impossible. And I don't
Speaker 1: know why. I just have like a gut feeling that
Speaker 1: why is it impossible? I mean, because the Steelers play
Speaker 1: in New Orleans and Baltimore plays in l A. It's
Speaker 1: not impossible. They thought it's unlikely that both happens, which
Speaker 1: is true, they would have to win tough road games,
Speaker 1: but I think I just think that this is a
Speaker 1: time of years some of these teams, like the Colts
Speaker 1: and the Ravens, are playing their absolute best, so some
Speaker 1: of these teams might win out. I'm a big fan
Speaker 1: of this Colts team. Like you said, their offense is
Speaker 1: extremely diverse. They can attack you in a number of ways,
Speaker 1: and they even have a nice little change pace back
Speaker 1: and Naime Hinds and right now, you're right, you know
Speaker 1: there them and if we picked between them and the Ravens,
Speaker 1: I'm taking that was a dead dome. At the beginning
Speaker 1: of the year. The Colts fans were understandably kind of
Speaker 1: over this team, and now it's kind of rocking again.
Speaker 1: It's in a good football town again. I mean, if
Speaker 1: I could look in the mirror on this game, I
Speaker 1: would a lock up the Colts because they're gonna take
Speaker 1: care of business here. Even though the Giants, as bad
Speaker 1: as they've been in a lot of games this year,
Speaker 1: they are a team I think that couldn't put together
Speaker 1: a competitive effort pretty much any week. I do not
Speaker 1: think that the Cults are gonna let their season get
Speaker 1: ruined in their building by the Giants. Now you cannot also.
Speaker 1: But what I do want to lock up and I
Speaker 1: forgot to do before. But I am locking up the
Speaker 1: Vikings against the lines. Let us move on. The Jacksonville
Speaker 1: Jaguars are four in ten, going nowhere, Doug Moron another
Speaker 1: head coach, potentially in great danger. Uh, and they travel
Speaker 1: to Miami to face the Dolphins, who, Uh we're beating
Speaker 1: up pretty good by the Vikings. Nick. Um, And before
Speaker 1: I throw it to you, I want to share a
Speaker 1: pretty wild stat. I always love these types of stats,
Speaker 1: so I want to bring it up. Actually, no, let
Speaker 1: me throw it to you. While I look for that. Uh,
Speaker 1: start talking about this game between these two. Um, we
Speaker 1: could play some soft piano jazz. This is This is
Speaker 1: not a team or a game I'm looking forward to watching. Um.
Speaker 1: I hate to say it. I'm sorry. The Dolphins are
Speaker 1: very much a team that every time you see their potential,
Speaker 1: you also they get held back by having to play
Speaker 1: Brock Hoss, whether quarterback or not figuring out who their
Speaker 1: running back is. You know, last week it was suddenly
Speaker 1: Kylin Bullage, whereas Kenyan Drake was their guy before and
Speaker 1: Frank Gore got hurt. So it's just not a team
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to watching play against. The defense that
Speaker 1: has played well in spots, but for the most part
Speaker 1: has been, you know, an extreme disappointment compared to last year,
Speaker 1: and and an offense that's quarterback by Cody Kessler. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is there's not much to like about this game. No,
Speaker 1: I don't think and I mentioned it before with Josh Johnson,
Speaker 1: but it it sort of got lost in the shovel
Speaker 1: how completely off the rails and ugly this Jaguars season
Speaker 1: lost that they couldn't win at home against Josh. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is the best three weeks of Monish Meta's life
Speaker 1: watching What's Happened to Doug Maron? Here. Maron gets rid
Speaker 1: of Nathaniel Hackett and Blake Bortles on the same day,
Speaker 1: so he doesn't know who's really causing the offensive problems,
Speaker 1: and people think like and I mentioned this, and it's
Speaker 1: gotten so much worse. They have the it's the worst
Speaker 1: three game offensive stretch in Jaguar's history. According according to Yards.
Speaker 1: He made that change, not like it really matters in
Speaker 1: the long run, but it kind of does because it's
Speaker 1: making Doug Moron look bad and he's probably gonna lose
Speaker 1: his job partly because of that, all these other teams
Speaker 1: are switching coordinators or quarterbacks and they get a little jump,
Speaker 1: and the Jaguars went from like a d to enough
Speaker 1: minus well and Nate Cody custom twenty yards passing. I mean,
Speaker 1: how often does that happen in an NFL game? And
Speaker 1: and just in case you are not aware of who
Speaker 1: Miniche Meda is New York Delhi news columnist who almost
Speaker 1: single handedly uh destroyed and submarine Maron's chances of getting
Speaker 1: a job with the Jets after he left the Bills,
Speaker 1: and then has, like can you know, maintained an aggressive
Speaker 1: rivalry with him on social media, suspiciously a one sided
Speaker 1: rival rave but basically dancing on his grave. And unfortunately,
Speaker 1: because this Jaguars scene was kind of fun to watch
Speaker 1: last year, I think they're just gonna blow it off.
Speaker 1: But don't you think and I wrote about this in
Speaker 1: my mailbag that will come out tomorrow, don't you think
Speaker 1: the Dolphins? Someone asked this question. It's a good question, actually,
Speaker 1: what would you rather have? Would you rather have a
Speaker 1: total wash out awful draft pick like a manzille Um
Speaker 1: or Ryan Leaf or have a guy like a Blake Bortles,
Speaker 1: where he's not as supremely terrible and disastrous as those
Speaker 1: type of draft bus but kind of keeps your holds
Speaker 1: your hostage, your franchise hostage for a few extra years.
Speaker 1: On the worst scenario, I would want to be out
Speaker 1: of either one of those scenarios as quickly as POSTI
Speaker 1: takes the bigger bust. I thought you were gonna say
Speaker 1: Ryan tan Hill because there's an argument that, look at him,
Speaker 1: he's not at that level, but you know he They
Speaker 1: have been on the fence with him now for years.
Speaker 1: Are we sure Adam Gaze comes back to the Dolphins
Speaker 1: next Well, let me just finish this point. So what
Speaker 1: I was thinking was, aren't the Jaguars the type of
Speaker 1: team because I wrote you you definitely don't want to
Speaker 1: have the total bust guy because everyone gets fired. It's
Speaker 1: an embarrassing setback for the franchise, and he basically punt
Speaker 1: to three years from your existence because you have to
Speaker 1: start over with the Jaguars there. They've had to deal
Speaker 1: with Blake Bortles, but he hasn't been so uncompetitive that
Speaker 1: they haven't been able to build a contender for the
Speaker 1: last couple of years. If they go out and bring
Speaker 1: in a better quarterback. I could see this team being
Speaker 1: in the in the mix again next year. They're gonna
Speaker 1: have a nice high pick too. They're not a reboot
Speaker 1: situation just because Bordles didn't work out. They have great
Speaker 1: pieces and I think that Maron probably is not. He
Speaker 1: was never driving the train on. Let's give an extension
Speaker 1: to Blake Bortles. It was foisted upon him and now
Speaker 1: the whole thing has gone south, and it's like, you're
Speaker 1: the guy we're gonna fire and say everything's you know
Speaker 1: better because because Tom Coffin's gonna step in and coach
Speaker 1: this team, that was gonna be my option. Seed to
Speaker 1: that question was I'd rather not have a GM like
Speaker 1: Dave Caldwell who doesn't have the stones today a move
Speaker 1: at quarterback when he knows that's what's gonna put him
Speaker 1: over the top. Here's the thing that Dolphins, you know,
Speaker 1: they just gotta beat the Jaguars and they will be
Speaker 1: in the mix most likely in week seventy long long
Speaker 1: wait much better at home. Well on that gaze thing too,
Speaker 1: I think that I think Gas is gonna be around,
Speaker 1: but I think that keeps it. It It seems like that's
Speaker 1: the buzz is that Gaze is more likely to be
Speaker 1: back than perhaps Mike Tannenbaum. But these things, you know,
Speaker 1: tend to be wrong. Little reports two weeks ahead of time. Gas,
Speaker 1: who we liked when we met him in Orlando earlier
Speaker 1: this year. But he has fit right into that Miami culture.
Speaker 1: So this is what I'm looking for earlier. The Dolphins
Speaker 1: are seven and seven the season, nineteen and nineteen in
Speaker 1: their last games, twenty three and twenty three in their
Speaker 1: last forty six games, forty two and forty two in
Speaker 1: their last eighty four games, and sixty six and sixty
Speaker 1: six and their last one and thirty two games. But
Speaker 1: that's outrageous in Miami. Being average and beating the Patriots
Speaker 1: at home once a year, that's enough to keep your job. Well,
Speaker 1: they're the only team in the NFL bottom five on
Speaker 1: offense and defense, and they're still they still have the
Speaker 1: record they do. The Buffalo Bills are five and nine.
Speaker 1: They traveled to New England to face the Patriots. The
Speaker 1: big news, of course, on Thursday in the NFL is
Speaker 1: that Josh Gordon uh put up one of his Instagram
Speaker 1: posts saying that he needed to step away from the game,
Speaker 1: uh to deal with some mental issues that he was
Speaker 1: going through right now. And then very quickly after that,
Speaker 1: it leaked and then became official that Gordon had passed
Speaker 1: and failed another drug test. UH So I don't know
Speaker 1: if the chicken or the egg situation, but either way,
Speaker 1: Josh Gordon is out of the mix for the Patriots.
Speaker 1: He's probably headed toward a lengthy suspension and his Patriots
Speaker 1: career is over. And you gotta wonder at this point,
Speaker 1: Greg if his football career is finally over, because he
Speaker 1: was the Patriots leading receiver this year. But I think
Speaker 1: the reason why teams like the Browns and the Patriots
Speaker 1: had so much faith in him was because of that talent,
Speaker 1: and he hasn't been a game breaker on the field
Speaker 1: this year. We've ended his career on this show so
Speaker 1: many times that I would definitely not do it coming
Speaker 1: off of a very positive experience on the field in
Speaker 1: New England where he's not as explosive, But I think
Speaker 1: he adapted to that offense very quickly, much more quickly
Speaker 1: than a lot of talented receivers and was playing some
Speaker 1: of his best football before last week where he suddenly
Speaker 1: was just vanished and now and now he's no longer
Speaker 1: on the team. So it's it's a big loss for
Speaker 1: the Patriots, who have been very lucky with injuries this year.
Speaker 1: They're maybe the healthiest team in the NFL. No one's
Speaker 1: on their injury report and they barely have anyone on
Speaker 1: i R. But they were relying on Gordon because Edelman
Speaker 1: is not the same, Gronks not the same. They don't
Speaker 1: have outside receivers. They haven't been playing Patterson or Doorset
Speaker 1: really at wide out too much. And he was a
Speaker 1: big part of the team and so now having gotten
Speaker 1: used to him, I think it is a big loss.
Speaker 1: Even though when he first signed, we had this conversation
Speaker 1: in this room, what are the odds he finishes the
Speaker 1: year with the team. I was saying, it's probably not
Speaker 1: even fifty fifty, whether it's injury or suspension or whatever.
Speaker 1: And unfortunately that that's what happened. I mean, it has
Speaker 1: been a lot less than fifty fifty throughout his career,
Speaker 1: and it came at the worst time. But that you know,
Speaker 1: when these things happen, and it happens with Josh Gordon,
Speaker 1: It's happened so often that you really you have to
Speaker 1: say you wish him well and that he goes and
Speaker 1: deals with with this situation. But this was a risk
Speaker 1: for the Patriots and now they're they're stung by it,
Speaker 1: and you know, they gave up a draft pick for him,
Speaker 1: and you got a certain amount of production during the
Speaker 1: middle belly of the season, and now you go into
Speaker 1: the playoffs with your Patriots team with no outstanding weapon
Speaker 1: on offense and a quarterback who is dealing with a
Speaker 1: knee injury from what week, from what anybody on the
Speaker 1: injury report, but we all know that Brady, Edelman and
Speaker 1: Gronk would all beat up this year, and that's the
Speaker 1: core of this offense, along with Josh Gordon, who is
Speaker 1: down all longer there. It's a tough situation for them.
Speaker 1: You know. I went back and watched their last two
Speaker 1: games last night, and even though he's been such a
Speaker 1: big part of the offense, I felt like at times
Speaker 1: that I forgot Josh Gordon was on the Patriots And
Speaker 1: and know if that's a product of their offense overall
Speaker 1: and how they've just kind of struggled at times or what,
Speaker 1: but I felt like they weren't giving him throwing him
Speaker 1: the ball enough. No, they spread it around. I think
Speaker 1: his best weeks were, you know, the to the three
Speaker 1: games after the buy before last week's game. I'm actually
Speaker 1: from a football perspective, it doesn't hit me as a
Speaker 1: Patriots fan as like a killer, killer loss, just because
Speaker 1: you're right. They have other issues and they've been able
Speaker 1: to scheme up off and I think they're more of
Speaker 1: a running team in general. You do you do think
Speaker 1: about a guy who knows he's going through this season,
Speaker 1: knowing he's one straight away from changing the rest of
Speaker 1: his life, and this is something that's happened multiple times,
Speaker 1: and yet he still couldn't do vent that in bringing
Speaker 1: suspensions and that and then on this the on the
Speaker 1: game itself, the Bills, as we know, you know, two
Speaker 1: months ago frist game, people were throwing it out there
Speaker 1: that this was a historically terrible team, and certainly on offense,
Speaker 1: things were a mess, with Nathan Peterman prominently involved. Vante
Speaker 1: Davis earlier in the season walked away at halftime. There
Speaker 1: was a kind of a punch line situation in Orchard Park.
Speaker 1: But this is a really good, competitive uh Bill's team
Speaker 1: with a very good defense, a frisky, mistake prone, but
Speaker 1: can make plays. Quarterback in rookie Josh Allen and a
Speaker 1: Patriots team that's on its heels a little bit. Greg here,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask you where your p scale level is? One?
Speaker 1: Is your completely dry and ten? Oh my goodness, my
Speaker 1: dipmosis All season long, I have not jumped off of
Speaker 1: one because, uh, I just this team is kind of
Speaker 1: what I think we've thought it was the whole time.
Speaker 1: I'm at I'm at two and a half for this
Speaker 1: week because this week there's no there's almost no way
Speaker 1: to win this game in the because like this game,
Speaker 1: it's almost all downside if they end up winning comfortably. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's certain things you can take out of it, but
Speaker 1: that's kind of what's expected. And I think the Bills
Speaker 1: to me, are a little dangerous. They've struggled against athletic quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: They how can you, like, how do you plan for
Speaker 1: Josh Allen? And then this is a defense which on
Speaker 1: paper should give the Patriots about as many problems as
Speaker 1: any defense they faced him. They gave them problems on
Speaker 1: Monday Night Football until the final final minutes. The counter
Speaker 1: is they've been a much better team at home. I
Speaker 1: don't know if that magically made. There is an X factor,
Speaker 1: because I do think I haven't go ahead, no, do
Speaker 1: you have to say no, but tell us what you
Speaker 1: want to say. Mine was more of a button up
Speaker 1: on the conversation you have something you want no. I
Speaker 1: think an X factor is Brian day Ball because he
Speaker 1: has come from the Patriots inner workings. He is the
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator who was when he was with Eric Manginie
Speaker 1: that they put it on on Tom Brady and the
Speaker 1: Patriots years ago. And he has been running some of
Speaker 1: the more creative play calls that you've seen of the
Speaker 1: last day. Early against the bar stuff. I was gonna
Speaker 1: say Greg that the Dolphins should take care of business
Speaker 1: at home against the Jags. Yeah, the Bills somehow go
Speaker 1: to Gillette and wipe out the paths and then and
Speaker 1: then here comes the Jets up to Foxborough. But the
Speaker 1: Dobbins with another cupcake themselves. That's why I think this
Speaker 1: steal the division, Dolpins and Jets send the Pets home.
Speaker 1: No playoffs, any of this excitement to build. No more playoffs,
Speaker 1: that's that would be that would be amazing. But I've
Speaker 1: been saying like almost nothing matters for this team until
Speaker 1: the playoffs, just because that's just who they are at
Speaker 1: this point, it's like, you gotta get there now, and
Speaker 1: you gotta get there and if if Philadelphia gives you
Speaker 1: a gift with beating by beating the Texans, you gotta
Speaker 1: take advantage and get that bye weeks and so if
Speaker 1: they don't get there, nothing mattered at all the entire
Speaker 1: time for the New England this season. The whole season
Speaker 1: just just no, it didn't happen. I mean for me now,
Speaker 1: not really. What was that? Mr Cool? Mr Cool? He
Speaker 1: still got him though, So I'm is Mr Cool is
Speaker 1: behind center, the patch should be okay. But I'm just
Speaker 1: saying there is a scenario how we're far fetched. I mean,
Speaker 1: I recognize this Glee. It's the same sort of happiness
Speaker 1: I had will watching Josh Beckett strike out the Yankees
Speaker 1: in the World Series when he was a member of
Speaker 1: the Florida Marlins. You just you just don't realize how
Speaker 1: much you want that lead team to get toppled. It
Speaker 1: means something, does it? Sure does. I don't know, but
Speaker 1: if they lost this year, it wouldn't be as much.
Speaker 1: Haven't been a team It's time. Yeah, they're not that team. Uh,
Speaker 1: let's move on. Yes, the New York Jets. Uh, they
Speaker 1: are four and ten. They almost beat the Texans last week,
Speaker 1: but they did not because their defense cannot close out
Speaker 1: a game. Their defense led by their defensive minded quote
Speaker 1: unquote head coach Todd Bowles, who was coaching on the string.
Speaker 1: And their opponent is the Packers, another team. Uh. Surprisingly
Speaker 1: Mark playing out the string. There was some question would
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, who's banged up again, he's dealing with a
Speaker 1: groin issue. Uh, he finally gets over the kne issues.
Speaker 1: Now he's got a groin issue, and with the Packers
Speaker 1: having nothing to play for, maybe they just sit him.
Speaker 1: Aaron wants to play, So Aaron plays Any thoughts about
Speaker 1: this game? Uh, you know last week I called for
Speaker 1: starn to come out and you know, deliver, and he
Speaker 1: did exactly that. We watched that game together Dan with
Speaker 1: a few nice drinks, and I you know, he made
Speaker 1: one thing about him that I think is gives you
Speaker 1: a lot of hope if you're a Jets fan. There
Speaker 1: are a couple of throws early in that game where
Speaker 1: he's sort of making the wide receiver seemed to work,
Speaker 1: having to come back to the ball or dive down
Speaker 1: to catch it. But then when he gets hot, his
Speaker 1: ability to throw on the run. On that touchdown drive
Speaker 1: right before the half, Starn made two beautiful throws on
Speaker 1: the run and then an incredible over the shoulder touchdown
Speaker 1: past Andre Roberts. So you start to see it. You
Speaker 1: start to see it if you're a Jets fan that
Speaker 1: maybe this can happen. So why not take out as
Speaker 1: Act two of the final? You know, let's close the
Speaker 1: season well before they knock off the Patriots next week
Speaker 1: Act two of three. React. Closing the season out well
Speaker 1: would be knocking off a listless Packers team with an
Speaker 1: irritated quarterback and running back and Aaron Jones who's not
Speaker 1: on the field. You're probably not gonna have Randall Cobb
Speaker 1: Joe philbin Is coaching the Packers. Why is this not
Speaker 1: easy pickings for the Jets. It's the final chance for
Speaker 1: Todd Bowls to do something before he sent packing and
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy becomes the Jets coach. Nothing is easy pickings
Speaker 1: for the Jets, But I like it. It's actually would
Speaker 1: be Act three because Donald Starn already had a great
Speaker 1: second half comeback in Buffalo, then the great game against Houston,
Speaker 1: and now yes it is Keep Keep it going, keep
Speaker 1: it going. It's cool to see Starn picking up steam.
Speaker 1: I think it's the most viral nicknames since the trade
Speaker 1: tsunami coming out of this podcast studio. It's happening, it is,
Speaker 1: it's I think it's it rolls off the tongue and
Speaker 1: it is. It's versatile, you can use in a lot
Speaker 1: of different ways. I want you to know that it
Speaker 1: polluted my mentions for a solid two hours, as it should.
Speaker 1: On Saturday, should be Houston Texans are in and four. Yes,
Speaker 1: they narrowly defeated the New York Jets at the Meadowlands,
Speaker 1: but it wins a win. Now they go to Philly
Speaker 1: to face the Eagles. I um, I love this game, Nick,
Speaker 1: because Houston is a solid team, but not a team
Speaker 1: that that you would imagine is going to go into
Speaker 1: Philly and dominate. Meanwhile, the Eagles are a flawed team.
Speaker 1: But this is kind of like a little bit of
Speaker 1: a Mojo heat check right here. After that great Sunday
Speaker 1: night win, can they string together another win and get
Speaker 1: the people of Philly pumped up? These are two teams
Speaker 1: that The Eagles are very Jekyll and Hyde. One week,
Speaker 1: they play above what you expect the next week, they've
Speaker 1: put a clunker out there, and that's how they get
Speaker 1: to seven and seven at this point. But then you
Speaker 1: have a Texans team that they have Deshaun Watson and
Speaker 1: they have Lamar Miller, but they can't protect Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 1: and they, you know, the only way they can really
Speaker 1: run the ball well is is in his own scheme.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it works, gaps, you know, runs work as well,
Speaker 1: but without Lamar Miller, it's they're completely lost offensively. They
Speaker 1: can't run the football. When they can't run the football,
Speaker 1: they can't move the football all because the defense is
Speaker 1: tee off onto Shawn Watson. The offensive line is already
Speaker 1: not good at protecting him, so then the owners shifts
Speaker 1: to the defense. And I wonder, once it comes to
Speaker 1: playoff time, is this is this going to be a
Speaker 1: team that The way I look at them right now
Speaker 1: is they are an early exit unless they can establish
Speaker 1: the run and sit on the lead. Now, when it
Speaker 1: comes to this game, I don't know what to expect
Speaker 1: the Eagles because the whole Nick Foles thing, and I
Speaker 1: don't know if the Rams are actually a good barometer
Speaker 1: of who the Eagles are. It doesn't matter who they
Speaker 1: caught the rams at the right time. But still but
Speaker 1: having said all of that, I'm locking it up for
Speaker 1: the Eagles. Chucky, he's getting bold, steps into the into
Speaker 1: the west chair and locks it up for the defending
Speaker 1: chap Well. I am of the if Shook ends up
Speaker 1: only locking up one game all year and he gets
Speaker 1: it right, and it's such a bold pick. He's the
Speaker 1: he's the champion. The only reason that we are getting
Speaker 1: this nonsensical say Hills campaigned by Greg is that he
Speaker 1: is dead last in this competition. Then he wants to
Speaker 1: create total uproar and chaos by hand. And I and Shook,
Speaker 1: I would give you full props if you get this
Speaker 1: lock right, but a not an at bats type scenario.
Speaker 1: I mean just Shook goes one to know and Greg
Speaker 1: hands the tighters and wants to catch steam on the
Speaker 1: Reddit boar and online. Here there's two there's two reasons.
Speaker 1: Three one, you know this reaction you just gave me.
Speaker 1: That's the number one reason. Number two is you put
Speaker 1: sandwiches on you winning it. So actually I have a
Speaker 1: sandwich on winning. So I should be rooting for the field,
Speaker 1: not you, Mark, and so Shook is part of that
Speaker 1: field and so that's exciting. You have as much of
Speaker 1: a chance. And then three, no one's taking me seriously
Speaker 1: other than you. I guess that's kind of number one.
Speaker 1: I have a theory for reason four. Okay, Greg wants
Speaker 1: to split this friendship up down there between you and
Speaker 1: I right down thet he always something machiavellian and decisive
Speaker 1: going device. You're not tied by our misery anymore. I
Speaker 1: didn't know you this. This just got even more juicy
Speaker 1: because let's hear from the Great mail Man. Hello, Bozo's
Speaker 1: and Ricky Hollywood. It's time for the Eagles to take
Speaker 1: the dirt nap they've been trying to take all year.
Speaker 1: It's not their fault. Injuries, the brain drain on the
Speaker 1: coaching staff, I get it. But it's time for everybody
Speaker 1: stop acting like this team has a shot at the playoffs.
Speaker 1: That Nick Fools is one of the best quarterbacks we've
Speaker 1: ever seen. It's time for the Texans to go into
Speaker 1: Philadelphia and lock it up. A good team beating a
Speaker 1: bad team. That's what we need. So January works out best.
Speaker 1: We need good football, we don't need bad football. By Eagles.
Speaker 1: Dirt Nap time lock it up for the Texans West,
Speaker 1: who for the first time this season is not alone
Speaker 1: in first place in the locks because Sessler is surging
Speaker 1: with eight straight wins. Uh As, I wanted to give
Speaker 1: you the credit you deserve. You like that can be
Speaker 1: known that you deserve credit for this lock streak I'm
Speaker 1: giving you. Well, that's that's not the way I would
Speaker 1: put that. But uh, you know you can do as
Speaker 1: you wish, but you are for the first time you
Speaker 1: caught him. Yeah, I'm two games back now because we
Speaker 1: all picked up a game on West and now he's
Speaker 1: going with This is an interesting theory from West, who's
Speaker 1: going with his hard a little bit. He doesn't like
Speaker 1: the Eagles, didn't really love that Nick Foles run last year,
Speaker 1: and he wants to right not get to him last year.
Speaker 1: I think I'm on west side. I would pick the Texans.
Speaker 1: This is kind of a coin flip game, but there
Speaker 1: is a recipe out there to beat the Texans right now,
Speaker 1: and it's pretty obvious. It's that they can't handle more
Speaker 1: than four rushers. I mean, the Jets splits them well
Speaker 1: the week before, who did they Who do they play?
Speaker 1: The week before? Who blits the heck out of Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 1: and the numbers are dramatic. The Montreal eliouttes the Colts,
Speaker 1: the numbers are dramatic when he's facing more than four rushers.
Speaker 1: And it's one of those things in the NFL. Until
Speaker 1: you show you can solve it, their teams are gonna
Speaker 1: keep doing it. So some of that's on Watson, who
Speaker 1: holds the ball forever um and you've got to figure
Speaker 1: out the protection. A lot of it's on the offensive
Speaker 1: line and coaching, which has been really pour throughout Bill
Speaker 1: O'Brien's run. It's kind of been his bugaboo that he
Speaker 1: hasn't been able to figure out the line and the
Speaker 1: coaching there. And you're going up against a coordinator and
Speaker 1: Jim Schwartz who just cooked up a beautiful game plan
Speaker 1: that was very creative against Philadelphia. And even when he
Speaker 1: doesn't blitz. Right now, Michael Bennett and Fletcher Cox are
Speaker 1: second and third in the league and quarterback hits period,
Speaker 1: not just at their positions, So there there's still a
Speaker 1: defense and get after you. So that's the rest of
Speaker 1: the ugly. It up and folds hits a bomb or
Speaker 1: two and good night. You know what I liked was
Speaker 1: we still got a little bit of that holiday party
Speaker 1: residual grainy voice from West There not all the way.
Speaker 1: I feel like we should all pick this game. Mark
Speaker 1: and Dan, he's definitely. I'm not gonna say a hangover
Speaker 1: of that nature. You can stick around for two days time,
Speaker 1: you know. Uh, yes, I would not be surprised at
Speaker 1: all if the Eagles win. But I think the Texans
Speaker 1: against squee, I'm going Eagles. They've been win a close
Speaker 1: games all year. Let's move on the the Los Angeles Rams,
Speaker 1: who have out of nowhere lost too straight, including the
Speaker 1: really um that really public stumble on Sunday Night football
Speaker 1: against the Eagles. So they're now eleven and three and
Speaker 1: their hopes of a one seed are just about shot.
Speaker 1: All they can do is control their own games, and
Speaker 1: they have two cupcakes to wrap up their schedules, starting
Speaker 1: with the Cardinals. They finished with the Niners. Uh thoughts
Speaker 1: on this game, Greg, Oh boy, you know everyone's thinking
Speaker 1: they go to Arizona and it's easy. They're two touchdown favorites. Like, okay,
Speaker 1: that's done Arizona at home. Their defense has played fairly well.
Speaker 1: Lock it up, No, I mean the offense. The the
Speaker 1: offense is what you're worried about with the Rams. The
Speaker 1: defense is actually improved statistically over the last three or
Speaker 1: four weeks from like mid level too, a little better
Speaker 1: than average and not a big difference, whereas the offense
Speaker 1: has fallen off a cliff And so when I look
Speaker 1: at this matchup and you look at the right side
Speaker 1: of the offensive line for the Ram struggling, and you
Speaker 1: you see Jared Goff kind of in his own head.
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily see this as a cake walk for
Speaker 1: them to figure it out offensively and put up thirty
Speaker 1: five points or anything. I think they're gonna win the game,
Speaker 1: of course, but I don't know they I think they
Speaker 1: have something to prove these next two weeks. This is
Speaker 1: the first bit of adversity they faced with Sean. That's
Speaker 1: why I kind of expect them to come out into
Speaker 1: this game piste off what everyone thought last week too,
Speaker 1: though I did they were they were almost That feels
Speaker 1: different where they are this week than where they were
Speaker 1: last week. There seems to be, especially with where Goths
Speaker 1: at right now. And if you still believe in Goff,
Speaker 1: and I do, I think it's just a slump. I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna come in as a focused angry team
Speaker 1: and lay the wood. But you would have thought they
Speaker 1: would have been as folks. To me, it's not about
Speaker 1: motivation and focus. It's just about are you good enough?
Speaker 1: Can you adjust to what defenses are doing? They're not
Speaker 1: good enough to whip up there. Took care of them.
Speaker 1: The Eagles offense took care of the defense too in
Speaker 1: the red zone with powerful runs they Wendell Smallwood scored
Speaker 1: at I mean, they took care of business. They were
Speaker 1: the tougher team. They got penetration up the middle and
Speaker 1: that play where Jared Goff got stepped on trips, jumps
Speaker 1: up to his feet and throws one of the worst
Speaker 1: interceptions we've seen all year. Like this Rams team is
Speaker 1: not typically on their heels and looking sort of lost,
Speaker 1: and they have for two straight weeks. This little statistical
Speaker 1: nug from Next Gen Stats, Jared Goff has been pressure
Speaker 1: at least twelve times in each of the Rams games
Speaker 1: since they're bye week. In Week twelve their one and
Speaker 1: two in that stretch, he has a horrible passer rating
Speaker 1: under pressure of just three point nine. That's a huge
Speaker 1: reason why. That's like the Sean McVeigh verse, the Steve
Speaker 1: Wilkes matchup here. Yeah, I mean, I'm not that worried.
Speaker 1: I'm just a little worried. And don't and don't forget
Speaker 1: the Rams. Also, they're getting pushed now by the Bears,
Speaker 1: who are tenant four. Uh, they're still in the mix
Speaker 1: for a bye and you know they're gonna take care
Speaker 1: of business. You know, they have the San Francisco forty
Speaker 1: Niners on the road now. Course, the Seahawks thought they
Speaker 1: were gonna take care of business Mark Sessler when they
Speaker 1: went to San Francisco. Didn't work out that way last week.
Speaker 1: But the Bears, with that defense, that should be able
Speaker 1: to handle their business here. They're so consistent and there's
Speaker 1: such a disparity between these two defenses. Statistically, it's almost
Speaker 1: shocking that the Bears lead the NFL with thirty five
Speaker 1: takeaways with eight games where they've had three or more
Speaker 1: and the Niners and I don't know if we've ever,
Speaker 1: I don't know when the last time this has happened,
Speaker 1: have five all season and only one at home. And
Speaker 1: I think the difference between what happened last week to Seattle,
Speaker 1: which I don't see happening against the Bears is there
Speaker 1: was a lot of yards after the catch with it
Speaker 1: was Selik had a long score, they got multiple guys open,
Speaker 1: and that's been fifty of Nick Mullins's yardage have come
Speaker 1: through yards after the catch, and so I trust the
Speaker 1: Bears to clamp down on that. They only allow to
Speaker 1: red zone opportunities per game on the road. That's by
Speaker 1: far the best in the NFL right now. And they're
Speaker 1: the same team every week. And I know Ms Robiski
Speaker 1: saw this thing that he hasn't had. He's had one
Speaker 1: pass of twenty plus are yards since he's come back
Speaker 1: from his shoulders, So they're not going deep with that.
Speaker 1: But I don't know if that's sort of just like
Speaker 1: each week will get a little healthier and we might
Speaker 1: see more of that. But they're gonna be fine. Well,
Speaker 1: the forty Niners d's improved, you know. They they've won
Speaker 1: two games in a row here at home there four
Speaker 1: and three at home. On the year, they haven't they've
Speaker 1: been a terrible road team, but they just beat the
Speaker 1: Broncos and the Seahawks back to back to Forest Buckner's
Speaker 1: coming off a good game and in the Mullins some
Speaker 1: of them Nick Mollins stats are a little wild. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna give you one. Here are the five quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: NFL history with a higher yards per attempt average as rookies,
Speaker 1: Otto Graham, Greg Cook, Bob Waterfield, Ben Roethlisberger, and y
Speaker 1: A Tittle. That's the list. And he's undrafted. He's already
Speaker 1: started more games, by the way, than any undrafted rookie,
Speaker 1: any undrafted rookie ever in any undrafted UH quarterback this
Speaker 1: decade other than Hoyer and Keenham. Has he started more
Speaker 1: games in his career than Jimmy Garoppolo at this point.
Speaker 1: But it's like not that, it's not that crazy and Garoppolo,
Speaker 1: I mean, you could then say, Kyle Shannahan, I don't
Speaker 1: think he's at that level right right, right, But Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 1: Oh wow, this guy knows how to coach up a quarterback. Well.
Speaker 1: Garoppolo was struggling before he went down. He was the
Speaker 1: middle of the road type quarterback. I'm just given it.
Speaker 1: I just want to give him some credit. He's decisive,
Speaker 1: he makes some really good throws under pressure, and yeah,
Speaker 1: he's gonna have to do that again against the Bears.
Speaker 1: He was a record center at Southern Miss, which also
Speaker 1: produced Brett farve So you know did it? Yes, I
Speaker 1: have not heard that and uh and but this week
Speaker 1: it's the Bears. It's the Bears being a defense that
Speaker 1: and finally figure out how to stop George Kittle before halftime.
Speaker 1: I do wanna. I do want to see your Bisky
Speaker 1: in the offense put put in another good performance and
Speaker 1: go upwards. I do think he will. And that's why
Speaker 1: I'm locking up the team of seel once again. Alright,
Speaker 1: and keep in mind Greg that uh that I know
Speaker 1: you know this because you're the calculator man. When it
Speaker 1: comes to playoffs scenarios. The Bears they only have to
Speaker 1: catch the Rams, they don't have to surpass them because
Speaker 1: of that fifteen six win, uh two weeks ago the
Speaker 1: first tiebreakers head to head and the Bears have it.
Speaker 1: So if they can just catch up one more game,
Speaker 1: they are the two seed and get the box. And
Speaker 1: if you're a fan of integrity in Week seventeen games,
Speaker 1: you really want that scenario to stay alive, Dan, where
Speaker 1: the Bears have a chance to pass the ord because
Speaker 1: Bears Vikings is Week seventeen, and you want the Bears
Speaker 1: to be trying in that game. And you have to
Speaker 1: wonder with Matt Naggy's history under any Reid who loves
Speaker 1: sitting players, and the fact that the Bears would be
Speaker 1: staring at no bye week, whether they would rest their
Speaker 1: starters if they're mathematically out of the by going into
Speaker 1: that game. But I don't think that will happen because
Speaker 1: I think the Bears will win. I think the Rams
Speaker 1: will win, and it all stay alive. Let's move on.
Speaker 1: The Steelers eight five and one, coming off the biggest
Speaker 1: winner of their season at home triumph against the Patriots,
Speaker 1: got that stand deep in their own end is at
Speaker 1: the end of the game and kept their playoff hopes
Speaker 1: in their NFC a f C North title hopes alive
Speaker 1: and well they now travel to the Saints. Can even
Speaker 1: imagine what would happened, Mark, I knew you were imagining it, Shook.
Speaker 1: You were imagining that if the Steelers did not close
Speaker 1: out that Path's game and then they had to go
Speaker 1: to New Orleans, they would have been in great, great danger.
Speaker 1: Uh So there's a little bit of a um a
Speaker 1: reprieve for them now. But still the Saints, Nick Shook,
Speaker 1: are a dominant team. Maybe not an offense right now,
Speaker 1: but the defense has been carrying the ball lately. I
Speaker 1: this is a game where I want to see what
Speaker 1: the Saints can do through the air, because they haven't
Speaker 1: done much in the last couple of weeks. But the
Speaker 1: Steelers don't have a great past defense. Now Joe Hayden
Speaker 1: had a clutch interception last week, but overall, when you're
Speaker 1: playing a guy like Already Burns back there, you're you're
Speaker 1: not just not gonna be that solid and you know
Speaker 1: you gotta your backup. As Cody Sensiball, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's they have issues back there, and I think this
Speaker 1: is a Saints team that we know lack some reliable
Speaker 1: targets outside of Michael Thomas and here where are they
Speaker 1: attempted to address that? And I think this is the
Speaker 1: this is the week where they start to really figure
Speaker 1: it out going into the postseason with a team that
Speaker 1: could be a good test. I never thought there'd be
Speaker 1: a time where a Super Bowl contender was entering the
Speaker 1: playoffs and my big thought that they needed was, God,
Speaker 1: they need Ted Gain back, like that's the missing piece
Speaker 1: that can put them over to the top to win
Speaker 1: a super Bowl. But it kind of feels that way
Speaker 1: and they're hoping Ted Gain maybe does come off I
Speaker 1: R because they need that deep speed. Everyone thought it
Speaker 1: was cute when they had four undrafted you know, rookie
Speaker 1: free agents like Don passed in the same game. Uh,
Speaker 1: none of those guys have done anything in the three
Speaker 1: weeks since. I mean, then the good thing is their
Speaker 1: defense has become one of the best in the entire league.
Speaker 1: Not bad timing, No, I think it is. I think
Speaker 1: this is my favorite game of the week. I mean,
Speaker 1: these are two teams I think have a chance to
Speaker 1: make the Super Bowl. I put the Steelers in that class.
Speaker 1: And uh, I just want to see, like I want
Speaker 1: to see, like what the Steelers can do coming off
Speaker 1: that win. Maybe they can kind of figure things out
Speaker 1: and get it together. And I'm all in on the Saints.
Speaker 1: I don't want to see them slip here and then
Speaker 1: potentially lose somehow lose field watch the key when he rushes.
Speaker 1: They have a pack because Bud Dupree' is a huge disappointment.
Speaker 1: But when you add wat to the defensive line that
Speaker 1: they have, then they're so dangerous. And we don't know
Speaker 1: about the Saints offensive line in their health right now,
Speaker 1: and that's been a big reason why they've struggled the
Speaker 1: Steelers are gonna again be without James Conner or this
Speaker 1: high ankle sprain is doing what high a goal sprains
Speaker 1: tend to do when they're more uh, when they're serious,
Speaker 1: which has cost a guy a month or more. Jalen
Speaker 1: Samuel's who ran all over the Patriots, but that was
Speaker 1: the Patriots. I'd be very surprised that he had another
Speaker 1: outing like that. Yes, especially against the way this this
Speaker 1: run defense is going Sheldon ranking Samario Davis. And how
Speaker 1: about a little love for Von Bell playing his ass
Speaker 1: off this year? Not Lean Bell Bell, Von Bell. He's
Speaker 1: sitting on his ass kicking some state defense. Uh, let's
Speaker 1: pick this game. Does anybody who think the Steelers gonna win?
Speaker 1: I do? I think that they're gonna win this game.
Speaker 1: I do. I think the same. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: it's it's it couldn't be any closer. But I'm going
Speaker 1: to give the Saints a seven. I have like this image.
Speaker 1: This could be a Super Bowl preview even see this
Speaker 1: is going again interesting. I'm like the last person in
Speaker 1: America that believes in the Steelers not make the playoffs too.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry none. I think that was I think that
Speaker 1: was a potentially season altering win for the Steelers against
Speaker 1: the pay Riots, where not only did they kind of
Speaker 1: get back on track, they realized their potential. They can
Speaker 1: win a big game well, and they can. They will
Speaker 1: not crumble down the stretch, and I think this will
Speaker 1: be highly competitive. They're so ripe to have it. They're
Speaker 1: so ripe to crumble over the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: I guarantee you they will like that. Let's track that,
Speaker 1: knock it on. That would be a great lock up.
Speaker 1: By the way, if you think they're ripe to crumble,
Speaker 1: what take the Saints? Happily take the Saints. Switch my luck.
Speaker 1: Don't don't blame me, I don't care. Okay, well, you
Speaker 1: got the magic right. I might switch it to the
Speaker 1: Bears before we're done too. I like that lock that
Speaker 1: was about ten minutes left. I mean you, I mean
Speaker 1: it's not a bad The numbers would say, you just
Speaker 1: switched to a much heavier favorite. So it worked out
Speaker 1: well for you, right, the Saints. It worked well to
Speaker 1: be before the Chargers. Oh yeah, if I were you,
Speaker 1: I'd take the Saints anyways, compared to there you go,
Speaker 1: not that, Mart, I'm tempted to switch it to the Bears. Too.
Speaker 1: So who's in last place, though, is saying that was
Speaker 1: a great job by you? You're little worried about that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't. I'm not going to listen to
Speaker 1: any of the psychological warfare streaming over my way from
Speaker 1: Greg during any of this. I promise you, I'm not
Speaker 1: sending any warfare about the Locks, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1: You want and shook to win the whole thing. What
Speaker 1: are you talking about? The Kansas City Thieves? Are I
Speaker 1: don't know, it's it's right on the line, I think. No,
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs, they fell in crushing, crushing fashion
Speaker 1: to their the rival Chargers at home. Uh it was
Speaker 1: a costly loss, but they still are in good position
Speaker 1: in the a f C. But here's another tough battle, Greg. Now,
Speaker 1: they got to go to Seattle to face the Seahawks.
Speaker 1: And and if there was a team that had a
Speaker 1: loss that you could put in a similar category in
Speaker 1: terms of heartbreaking, what you know, regrets filled with regrets,
Speaker 1: it is the Seahawks who could not find a way
Speaker 1: to beat the Niners of all teams. So here you go,
Speaker 1: here's another great game this week. This might be my
Speaker 1: favorite game of the week. How about that, Greg, Yeah,
Speaker 1: And then that makes sense because seeing Patrick Mahomes go
Speaker 1: up to Seattle another test for this Chiefs team that
Speaker 1: I've thought is overall the best team in the league
Speaker 1: and the best certainly the best offense in the league. Still,
Speaker 1: I think the Seahawks defense has been I wouldn't say overrated,
Speaker 1: but it's not. It's not a defense I think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be able to stop the city period. That the
Speaker 1: best part of their defense right now is upfront with
Speaker 1: Puna Ford and Drawn Read are playing really well stopping
Speaker 1: the run. But you know, I don't know if the
Speaker 1: Chiefs are gonna run the ball that much. And I
Speaker 1: do think, uh, you're gonna see the best of Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes and that they're in a different class of teams
Speaker 1: even when they're they're going to Seattle. A little concer
Speaker 1: Sammy Watkins is not going to play in this game,
Speaker 1: and they don't. They have Chris Conley, but there's not
Speaker 1: a lot of depth happening behind Tyreek Hill at this point,
Speaker 1: but they find other ways to to get it done.
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I think the Seahawks gave up a
Speaker 1: few too many big plays to the Niners last week.
Speaker 1: And so now what are you dealing with with Kansas City.
Speaker 1: I'm with you Greg as well, but I do really
Speaker 1: want to see how the Seahawks play against a team
Speaker 1: like Kansas City because they've been a team that has
Speaker 1: either played up to their competition or down to their
Speaker 1: competition for the majority of the season. I wasn't a
Speaker 1: big fan of them going into this year, and they've
Speaker 1: been a pleasant surprise. So this is one of those
Speaker 1: games that could be entertaining. It's a huge game I
Speaker 1: think for the m v P. If Mahomes plays well
Speaker 1: in Seattle, I just feel like he's had this season
Speaker 1: and that kind of puts uh exclamation point on it.
Speaker 1: But if he struggles or you know, they lose and
Speaker 1: don't score many points and rivers of something Saturday, then
Speaker 1: I think it's like wide open. Well, and that last
Speaker 1: game we talked about if it Breeze knocks out the Steelers,
Speaker 1: that he's right there too. Yeah, that's true. Justin Houston
Speaker 1: is really coming on. I mean, that's why I'm not
Speaker 1: that worried about the Chiefs defense. If if they get
Speaker 1: a little more snaps out of Eric Berry, who returned
Speaker 1: last week and and did okay, their second in saxon
Speaker 1: eighth in takeaways, Like their defense makes place. If three
Speaker 1: really good players in the front seven with Chris Jones,
Speaker 1: d Ford and and Justin Houston, and if they can
Speaker 1: get to help them the back end, I think they
Speaker 1: can turn to a good defense. And I did have
Speaker 1: a panicked Seahawks fan tweet me, say, please tell me, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, what are the chances that my team loses out?
Speaker 1: You'll be all right, don't worry. I know it was
Speaker 1: tough last week and the Chiefs, who can get popped there,
Speaker 1: but the schedule gods gave you a nice little cupcake
Speaker 1: Cardinals in your building in week seventeen. Win that game
Speaker 1: you're playing in January? What cupcake? What cupcake? On the
Speaker 1: cupcake wall? Are the Cardinals? I think theycake? There is
Speaker 1: I mean on the road seventeen after Like there's probably
Speaker 1: pregame reports that Wilkes has already you know, is on
Speaker 1: the door. That's the bag. The bags are packed. How
Speaker 1: about a little Tyreek Hill versus the poor man's Tyree Hill.
Speaker 1: Tyler Lockett, who I thinks about as close to Tyreek
Speaker 1: Hill as there is in the NFL right now, is
Speaker 1: having such an awesome season and is so important for them.
Speaker 1: And just to back me up, Greg, you are the
Speaker 1: playoff calculator. They went just get to nine wins. The
Speaker 1: Seahawks are going. Now there is a sequence I wish
Speaker 1: I could. I wish I had it prepared. Damn if
Speaker 1: the Viking. If you're listening to the show, sir, all right,
Speaker 1: hanging there? It could get buppy if if the Vikings
Speaker 1: went out, If the Vikings went out and the Eagles, no,
Speaker 1: I guess I think they still would knock out. I
Speaker 1: think they're okay, okay, Well, if you're listening to the show,
Speaker 1: you're all good. Finally, Monday night football, Christmas Eve, hang
Speaker 1: up the stockings, you know, get the turkey the Christmas Ham?
Speaker 1: Is it? Yes? Christmas? I never had that when I
Speaker 1: was a kid, but some people like to have the ham.
Speaker 1: I I don't get ham, like even back when I
Speaker 1: would eat all these trays of food, like the ham
Speaker 1: is not the the you don't like meat, right? No?
Speaker 1: But I mean as a child I did up until
Speaker 1: Ham was introduced occasionally just unappealingly. See I was a
Speaker 1: big fan of him as a kid. But I'm now
Speaker 1: a Ham to turkey convert. Really Yeah, I'm proud to
Speaker 1: say it, and it's good for the muscle mass as well.
Speaker 1: Um the Grinch. You still Christmas roasted beast, it's referred to.
Speaker 1: So while people are prepping their roasted beast and getting
Speaker 1: ready for the beautiful holiday that is Christmas, you also
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to watch the six and eight Denver
Speaker 1: Broncos going nowhere losers are two straight against the three
Speaker 1: and eleven Oakland Raiders also going nowhere losers of three
Speaker 1: or four? Um, Mark, do you have anything to say?
Speaker 1: I know you're gonna be watching this game on Christmas
Speaker 1: Eve while your family gets excited with Santa on the way.
Speaker 1: I will not be watching it, but I will be
Speaker 1: watching to see what happens with Vance Joseph because there
Speaker 1: are now reports and this has been going back and
Speaker 1: forth all year. This is coming from Greg's former employer,
Speaker 1: Pro Football Talk, and Mike Florio released this report that
Speaker 1: Vance Joseph is essentially expected to be let go. We're
Speaker 1: that we're going there, but he does leave the caveat
Speaker 1: that lay might change his mind. But it sure seems like,
Speaker 1: uh is that a report? Like? What is that? Right?
Speaker 1: I mean, I it's that is I'm just putting it
Speaker 1: out there as a report. So Florio said that John
Speaker 1: Elway thinks he's gonna fire the head coach unless he
Speaker 1: changes his mind before. I mean, a lot of things
Speaker 1: could happen under that. There's umbrella of thinking it's jacky
Speaker 1: because these guys and Tom pallisera at a report earlier
Speaker 1: this week, we talked about that both coordinators are expected
Speaker 1: to be gone in Atlanta, and I you get the
Speaker 1: sense you have these sources, and but it's like they
Speaker 1: have jobs. Vance Joseph has a job for the next
Speaker 1: two weeks, and these guys have jobs for the next
Speaker 1: two weeks. And I don't know if they're cautioned to
Speaker 1: make it as soft as possible. I don't know. It's weird. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's tough. How can you really report something's going to
Speaker 1: happen in two weeks? I guess you can. I guess
Speaker 1: that's the job, though, because the whole world could change,
Speaker 1: that's true. You can't be Yeah, you can't be too firm.
Speaker 1: I mean a team could get obliterator or something. He
Speaker 1: knows alright, mass you know, hysteria could overtake the land,
Speaker 1: absolutely cancel those games for Mark Um all right, So
Speaker 1: that's it the show. Uh. The next time you'll hear
Speaker 1: us is um Sunday Night. It will be our recap
Speaker 1: show December twenty. Some people go into operations shut down
Speaker 1: around this time of the calendar. No, no, no, we
Speaker 1: will continue to grind. We will be here for you
Speaker 1: after the week sixteen Sunday games. Nick, thank you for
Speaker 1: your helping helping us out Pinch hitting beautiful. Uh Are
Speaker 1: you going to replace West? I don't think so, And
Speaker 1: unless there's a massive public outcry, and even then, I
Speaker 1: think our support for West would win out and West
Speaker 1: would remain on the show. But even if it's not
Speaker 1: gonna lead to a coup, you did great work. Listen.
Speaker 1: You know I came in, I gave my best effort,
Speaker 1: and at the end of the day, it's it's hard
Speaker 1: to take the seat of Michael Jordan's Wow. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: like for all the listeners that are wondering, hey, if
Speaker 1: you're doing your recap show Sunday night, what about that
Speaker 1: Raiders Broncos game, We're actually gonna tweet out Nick's personal
Speaker 1: cell phone number and you can just call him throughout
Speaker 1: the holiday season and he'll give you a three minute
Speaker 1: recap of that game. Uh, just over the phone, better
Speaker 1: you than the robocalls. That's right, absolutely, all right, that's it.
Speaker 1: This is Dad has signing off. Four the Quiet Storm Shook,
Speaker 1: get your pump in the old Boss and Ricky Hollywood
Speaker 1: behind the glass until Sunday Night restate we have. Then,
Speaker 1: I think that I'm inclined to sacred RDI stom you
Speaker 1: can keep the forty night you ring Gooles, that dot
Speaker 1: the sky, blue waves, that pain't the rocks, water, rich wood, neptunes, life,
Speaker 1: the boss that lined the ducks. I see the lighthouse
Speaker 1: flickering to help the sailors scene. There's a place for everyone.
Speaker 1: Rhode Islands for me, Rhode Island over Rhode Islands, surround
Speaker 1: it by the sea. Some people on the Earth for home.
Speaker 1: Rhode Islands it for me