Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL podcast Just keeps on Hockey. Welcome
Speaker 1: to another edition of the Around the NFL Broadcast. I'm
Speaker 1: Dan Hansens. I got heroes here, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal.
Speaker 1: You know what's gonna be funny? We'll not funny, but
Speaker 1: I guess ironic when like three weeks from now, literally
Speaker 1: everyone in the world has COVID nineteen except for Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 1: That's what's gonna happen. It's veering in that direction. So
Speaker 1: I think that's a Greg will be. Greg will have
Speaker 1: you know. Hopefully, because you you're smart, Greg, and you've
Speaker 1: been double vaxed and boosted, you will have either mild
Speaker 1: symptoms or you'll be asymptomatic. But you'll still think to
Speaker 1: yourself while you're feeling a little under the weather, if
Speaker 1: I just would have stripped my body nude, greased myself up,
Speaker 1: and got into that glass cube, would be right now? Baby?
Speaker 1: Well am I double backs though, because I had the
Speaker 1: J and J and the streets are talking we should
Speaker 1: get it backs for free. We should get an extra
Speaker 1: one just for fun. They should let us let us
Speaker 1: have one, get one every week. Aren't a little lifeless?
Speaker 1: Shortcuts are are you paying for yours. I don't feel
Speaker 1: like a lot of money has exchanged hands in the vaccination, right,
Speaker 1: But do they allow I guess no, it's not about
Speaker 1: the money. I just mean that are you. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you're allowed to just like keep getting them.
Speaker 1: I mean, if they let me, I think I'd get
Speaker 1: one every day. I just feel like a little more
Speaker 1: alive when it happens, get a little shot of a
Speaker 1: general and you know, is there something to take out
Speaker 1: of it? Though? Greg, for you and the rest of
Speaker 1: the J and J community. By the way, that company
Speaker 1: is connected to the New York Jets quite directly, So
Speaker 1: maybe that was a headsop number one number two. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, shortcuts in life, the idea I'll get one
Speaker 1: shot and I'll be all set instead of getting the two. Well,
Speaker 1: considering that, you know, Johnson and Johnson on average ended
Speaker 1: up serving like um underserved in horror communities and people
Speaker 1: of color. Um, you know, I think it's unfortunate what's happened,
Speaker 1: Ja and Jay. You know Greg is checking today. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's the it's it's it's it's a pleasure to see Greg.
Speaker 1: You can you checked every possible box. Can you imagine
Speaker 1: being so sharp to come up with that answer on
Speaker 1: the fly like that. I was really good, Greg Um.
Speaker 1: By the way, Yes, Dalvin Cook this morning taping on
Speaker 1: a Thursday, moved to the COVID nineteen list. I believe
Speaker 1: the reports aren't there is that he's unvaccinated. So that means,
Speaker 1: in addition to a far greater health risk that he
Speaker 1: faces and puts other people around him in danger, UM,
Speaker 1: he is out a minimum of ten days. Also, Taysom
Speaker 1: Hill uh is also headed to the COVID list for
Speaker 1: the New Orleans Saints, which means Ian book will start
Speaker 1: on Monday night. Uh and uh, I don't know about
Speaker 1: hills vaccination status, but he is not playing mondaycated he
Speaker 1: is vaccinated, but you know, not to make light of
Speaker 1: the COVID situation, but I don't know how much of
Speaker 1: a downgrade that is based on how Taysom Hill has
Speaker 1: been playing and speaking of COVID before we get into
Speaker 1: the games, and I and all kidding aside, I I
Speaker 1: feel like, you know, this is a trust tree. We
Speaker 1: like to talk and have honest conversations, and this is
Speaker 1: kind of a very strange moment in UM world history,
Speaker 1: Like where are you guys? At right now, how do
Speaker 1: you feel as this omicron thing is going nuts? Are
Speaker 1: you feeling a sense of unease or what like where? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll start with you Mark. Um. Yeah, I think it's ominous. Um.
Speaker 1: The whole the whole feeling around it kind of brings
Speaker 1: back the way that I felt a year ago. Um. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that there's a lot of like spoken and
Speaker 1: unspoken anxiety and stuff. But at the same time, I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, we've gotten vaccinated, so it's like I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna roll with that and see how it happened, how
Speaker 1: how it goes. But um, I think from a sports angle,
Speaker 1: from a football angle, uh, I mean we I think
Speaker 1: the fair assumption was that this year would be smoother
Speaker 1: and over the last you know, Fortnite. Um, it's just
Speaker 1: turned into total chaos and we're back in that place
Speaker 1: where every five minutes you're checking Twitter to see what
Speaker 1: key player is not able to suit up um in
Speaker 1: some of the most important games of the year. I
Speaker 1: find that unpleasant and on rewarding. Right, It's it's very
Speaker 1: annoying from a work perspective. It's easy to keep it
Speaker 1: in perspective too, that it's ultimately not like the biggest
Speaker 1: deal in the world that we're having to adjust like
Speaker 1: our picks because this guy is out on Friday and
Speaker 1: I gotta send updates the first place in the picks.
Speaker 1: So that is actually kind of a big deal. But
Speaker 1: go ahead, wait what year in what picks our picks
Speaker 1: for me to like, it's putting me in a really
Speaker 1: tough situation personally, Um, try to have something Greg's perspective, please,
Speaker 1: didn't right? That sounds really put it in perspective. That's
Speaker 1: all relative. I guess. I you know, I'm I am
Speaker 1: concerned for other people and everything, but I don't know,
Speaker 1: it doesn't change anything to me because we're vax and boosted,
Speaker 1: you know. And I wasn't acting in any way that
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna be acting in any different way. I
Speaker 1: wasn't like getting wild and like unmasked. We've been masked
Speaker 1: indoors in l A the whole time. So to me,
Speaker 1: absolutely nothing has changed in my mind, and like in
Speaker 1: the way that like me and my family have acted
Speaker 1: because we were already being safe. You put masks on
Speaker 1: indoors and otherwise just live your life. And there's one
Speaker 1: x factor. Though we have gotten back to normal in
Speaker 1: some ways, if they were to close schools again, just
Speaker 1: drop a bomb on my household. Oh do you think
Speaker 1: about the shining and what happens with Jack Torrence? Um
Speaker 1: as that that winter set in, that that's what we're
Speaker 1: talking about. That it was giving me. It was giving
Speaker 1: me flashbacks today, just as NFL now was. I did
Speaker 1: a hit from home started and I'm just like, can
Speaker 1: you quiet down out there? You know, it's been a
Speaker 1: while since I've done that. So I have some family,
Speaker 1: My in laws are here, and it's like, I'm trying
Speaker 1: not to be a grumpy guy, but it's hard when
Speaker 1: everyone's in the holiday spirit and this NFL is just relentless,
Speaker 1: and then you have the COVID thing on top of it,
Speaker 1: making everything so much more complicated. Yeah, I don't know
Speaker 1: who knows. And you worry about the people that are
Speaker 1: not vaccinated, and even though you disagree potentially with their
Speaker 1: stance and how they've handled this, like you don't want
Speaker 1: them to um get seriously ill. You worry about the
Speaker 1: hospitals and all the people working in the medical field
Speaker 1: who have been so overtaxed for a year and a
Speaker 1: half now, And then I mean, I guess my the
Speaker 1: only thing that I tried. I tend to be an
Speaker 1: optimistic person, and I hope maybe maybe who knows, if
Speaker 1: we all end up catching this thing, um, maybe that
Speaker 1: leads somehow to the end of it. We're not scientists,
Speaker 1: but apparently that's something that's potentially in the cards as well.
Speaker 1: So I don't know. I hope the listeners are okay
Speaker 1: and and are staying safe and we'll get through this.
Speaker 1: We will, all right now, No, Neil Reynolds, get better,
Speaker 1: Neil Reynolds. Neil also Colle She was moved to the
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen restricted list, but she I should report I
Speaker 1: was texting with Colleen this morning and she is feeling
Speaker 1: much better. So she was a little you know, not
Speaker 1: feeling great for a couple of days there, but she
Speaker 1: is on the men and was doing Christmas presents and
Speaker 1: rapping and all that stuff. So hopefully, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: everyone else is in a similar situation if they do
Speaker 1: indeed catch this veryant all right, let's get to all
Speaker 1: the games. And by the way, it is with Christmas
Speaker 1: Eve tomorrow, I have a great gift for both you boys.
Speaker 1: Grave Digger behind the Virtual Glass subbing for Ricky Hollywood today.
Speaker 1: Uh and all the listeners, So just stay tuned for that.
Speaker 1: It's gonna it's you're gonna love it. That's all gift.
Speaker 1: We'll see each other in person tomorrow. Back in the studio,
Speaker 1: NFL Network checks out the only three people in the
Speaker 1: entire building probably the producers camermen will all be remote
Speaker 1: except for us, with just like little like bugs flying
Speaker 1: all over the air. Like you can actually get game
Speaker 1: debuts on Friday nights. Check that out too. You know
Speaker 1: you can just go wild crazy, Greg, You're in grave
Speaker 1: danger tomorrow. All right, let's uh, let's get to it.
Speaker 1: Week sixteen is here, and tonight, Grave Digger with the
Speaker 1: Quiet Store and Mark Sessler will be all over the
Speaker 1: TNF game between the San Francisco forty Niners and Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 1: I don't want to put too much Hey, Grave Digger,
Speaker 1: jump in here. I don't want to put too much
Speaker 1: pressure on you, but I feel like I feel like
Speaker 1: your season could go in a dark place if you
Speaker 1: don't summon up the necessary courage slash playing ability to
Speaker 1: win this home game in primetime. I don't know why.
Speaker 1: I just had this weird feeling about this Titans team,
Speaker 1: that this thing could really Snowball if they don't stop
Speaker 1: the bleeding here good news obviously. A J. Brown looks
Speaker 1: like he'll be back, yes, And the silver lining is
Speaker 1: it's an NFC game, so while you don't want to lose,
Speaker 1: you it doesn't really affective playoffs seating timebreakers. And then
Speaker 1: the next two games are Dolphins Texans, which Dolphins are
Speaker 1: surging a little bit, but you know those should be
Speaker 1: winnable games for Tennessee. So I don't know, all right,
Speaker 1: So you don't share the same level of urgency as
Speaker 1: I do, but I mean, you know the team better
Speaker 1: than me. So Grave Digger seems pretty chilled out over
Speaker 1: the whole prospect of this evening. It's cho going to
Speaker 1: be an interesting episode. Well, he's you know, he's got
Speaker 1: he's got eement. You know, Christmas is here, and you know,
Speaker 1: depending on what your situation is, and of course we
Speaker 1: respect everything about Grave Digger and his personal life, but
Speaker 1: imagine just being in that position trying to figure out
Speaker 1: Christmas presents, Like how do you play that? But we
Speaker 1: don't talk about that, all right, Let's get to the games.
Speaker 1: Let's uh. I was gonna say we start with the
Speaker 1: primetime games typically, but yeah, they're not so hot. So
Speaker 1: let's start with the Christmas games. Start with the Cleveland Browns. Mark,
Speaker 1: let's start with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland at
Speaker 1: Green Bay. Of the Browns obviously a gut punch of
Speaker 1: a loss on Monday, as we know to the Raiders,
Speaker 1: lost on a last second field goal. You heard Mark
Speaker 1: on the Tuesday podcast. We're all very concerned. We all
Speaker 1: showed about his house immediately after the game to console him.
Speaker 1: We put up, we put a blanket over him, We
Speaker 1: rubbed his back, and he said he was fine. So
Speaker 1: we trust him at that. Uh, now here's a chance
Speaker 1: to shock the world against the Packers. Mark. Where are
Speaker 1: we at with the Browns and the COVID nineteen bug
Speaker 1: And who will be playing potentially on Saturday that did
Speaker 1: not play on Monday, Well, I think it's tv DU
Speaker 1: You know. Stefanski talked on Thursday and said that they're
Speaker 1: even going to have like a second plane available for
Speaker 1: players Um that you know test out negative by Saturday
Speaker 1: to fly to Green Bay, you know, and that what
Speaker 1: could include Baker Mayfield, UM J C. Treader, who has
Speaker 1: not missed a game for them since being signed in eighteen.
Speaker 1: Um tested out and got COVID, so they're they're already
Speaker 1: down along the line. Um, it's it will wait and
Speaker 1: see At this point. The bigger issue I think is
Speaker 1: that Myles Garrett, he had that groin injury UM against
Speaker 1: the against the Raiders, has a fifty fifties shot to play.
Speaker 1: But I think even if he does, you're gonna get
Speaker 1: a reduced version of That's a tricky call because if
Speaker 1: you if you play him and he's not himself and
Speaker 1: then he aggravates the injury further than you risk losing
Speaker 1: him in any capacity for the rest of the seas
Speaker 1: and that's a tough spot on a short week. I
Speaker 1: think it is. I think he's a huge X factor.
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at Green Bay's line, like they've
Speaker 1: gone without David back tieri Um and survived. They've gone
Speaker 1: without Elton Jenkins and survived. And you've got yosh niman
Speaker 1: Um playing left tackle. He would be the guy that
Speaker 1: would have to deal with Miles Garrett. So right, and
Speaker 1: you know, Stefanski said Landry is coming back, dredging Wills
Speaker 1: is back. It's interesting that they pointed out like Landry's
Speaker 1: back because he's been through the protocols for ten days
Speaker 1: at this point that it indicates it's not that easy
Speaker 1: to you know, test back negative with these things. Like Baker,
Speaker 1: they were hoping would play on Tuesday, and here we
Speaker 1: are on on Thursday. He still is anticipated to play.
Speaker 1: I kind of like this matchup for the Browns. I
Speaker 1: told you Mark, you know, starting to feel them. They're
Speaker 1: rallying a little fighting spirit here. Um, it's not just
Speaker 1: because of j Okay, right this this Rickie linebacker. What
Speaker 1: a guy with his alkaline vegan diet. I mean he's
Speaker 1: leading Mark spiritually, mentally, physically, everything. This guy's like that.
Speaker 1: He's now moved into a joke category for Dan because
Speaker 1: he doesn't eat like animal parts. Well that is that
Speaker 1: is his initials. I don't judge people that live a
Speaker 1: vegan lifestyle. It's fun. He really is a difference maker.
Speaker 1: But the reason I think they make they're a good matchup. Well,
Speaker 1: you mentioned Garrett. Hopefully Garrett plays. That is a huge factor.
Speaker 1: But the two edge guys, I don't think opponents have
Speaker 1: taken advantage enough of the edge problems. I think that
Speaker 1: Green Bay's offensive line has had, but it has showed
Speaker 1: up a little more in the last two weeks and
Speaker 1: then more than anything, the run defense has been terrible
Speaker 1: the last two weeks, given up huge holes. I mean,
Speaker 1: it really shows up when you watch these games that
Speaker 1: guys have like these prairie lands to use a mark
Speaker 1: is um um of of lanes to run in. They
Speaker 1: gave up a lot to Baltimore a lot two weeks
Speaker 1: ago too, and I think that bodes well for the
Speaker 1: pack for the Browns being able to shorten this game.
Speaker 1: I'm not in love with this Brown's offense, but I
Speaker 1: feel like the Packers defense is taking on like a
Speaker 1: little bit of water. Maybe they overachieved and maybe the
Speaker 1: Browns get into this game would in one score game
Speaker 1: late with Baker with a chance to do something. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's another reality where Green Bay drops like a forty
Speaker 1: one to tend Um nuclear arsenal on a team that's
Speaker 1: just been through a little bit too much, but with
Speaker 1: all their guys back. I will say this about the
Speaker 1: Raiders game. You know this is this is maybe a
Speaker 1: little just bit more emotional than it is um logical.
Speaker 1: But I came out of that game extremely proud of
Speaker 1: the Browns. I mean it was a heartbreaking loss. But
Speaker 1: to your point, Greg, I thought that they showed as
Speaker 1: much fight and feistiness as you could have expect from
Speaker 1: a team in the situation they were in. So they
Speaker 1: you know, they're they're They're still alive in this bizarre
Speaker 1: a f C North in the bizarre a f C
Speaker 1: play off race, and I expect you're gonna get that
Speaker 1: same effort from them. I mean, to be a lot
Speaker 1: healthier will matter. I don't know if there are anywhere
Speaker 1: close to the level of green Bay in terms of
Speaker 1: playing ten times. I give the game eight and a half,
Speaker 1: but they're a little more they're a little more desperate,
Speaker 1: all right. So with all that optimism me, I think
Speaker 1: the Packers are gonna roll here. I think Rogers is
Speaker 1: playing so well that with Cleveland being shorthanded, they're just
Speaker 1: not gonna be able to keep up on defense. They're
Speaker 1: gonna struggle to contain the green Bay attack. On offense,
Speaker 1: they're not gonna be able to score enough points even
Speaker 1: if the Browns are fully healthy. Let's be completely honest
Speaker 1: here that it's not has not been a good offense
Speaker 1: this year, and I just that's where I kind of
Speaker 1: see this game coming down to, like a you know,
Speaker 1: thirty two seventeen type thing. Um, that's why it's not
Speaker 1: even in the lock zone for our game here. Rogers
Speaker 1: is thirteen touchdown passes, no, no interceptions in his last
Speaker 1: four games. And listen to this stat Remember, remember that
Speaker 1: was my let me fix this, my favorite or my
Speaker 1: most proud um sandwich conquest was predicting Rodgers m v
Speaker 1: P last year. But remember before that season took off,
Speaker 1: where he was just good but not great statistically at
Speaker 1: the very least. Since the start of Rogers says, seventy
Speaker 1: eight touchdown passes and nine interceptions. That's what he's done
Speaker 1: since last September. Uh. And yeah, oh, by the way,
Speaker 1: he's not He's not a spring chicken. So you know,
Speaker 1: just like nobody's at Tom Brady's level, because you know,
Speaker 1: obviously he's already forty four and is continuing to play
Speaker 1: like an m v P. But Rogers really has taken
Speaker 1: his game to a higher level, or at least kind
Speaker 1: of gotten back to that peak two thousand eleven version
Speaker 1: of himself. And that is still kind of a lot
Speaker 1: of fun to watch. And that's why I don't agree
Speaker 1: with Aaron Rodgers off the field, just like a lot
Speaker 1: of other people do. But I still look forward to
Speaker 1: watching him play football every Sunday. I don't know if
Speaker 1: you saw the weather import though, dan Oh I did not,
Speaker 1: because there's a chance of snow but one chance of
Speaker 1: ray and the Browns are covering this seven and a
Speaker 1: half point. I love Cleveland in this game. I'm assuming
Speaker 1: Baker starts as long as he does. The rainmakers come
Speaker 1: in little precipitation early three and oh last week, by
Speaker 1: the way, so even if I get an l here,
Speaker 1: that's three and one, and you know you're still stuck
Speaker 1: in those and we didn't hear from any We didn't
Speaker 1: hear from any shadowy leak fingers figures. So I'm gonna
Speaker 1: continue to let the listeners know until I do you
Speaker 1: want to pay for braces, you want to pay for
Speaker 1: car papers, you want to pay for Christmas. Greg's results
Speaker 1: speak for themselves. They did, they did last week. I
Speaker 1: kind of want to retire off three and oh, but
Speaker 1: I really do think that you have to have a
Speaker 1: chance to win this game out right, and I don't
Speaker 1: like what I see out of this package. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: one score game. I'm not locking it up, but I'm
Speaker 1: covering that seven a half making is more important, alright,
Speaker 1: So Santa maybe delivers a present to you if you
Speaker 1: get behind the rainmaker people. The other Christmas game is
Speaker 1: a beauty Christmas Night Indians Cults at Arizona Cardinals. Mark,
Speaker 1: I wanna tu up to start on this one, because
Speaker 1: the Cults are playing, um, obviously a very very high
Speaker 1: brand of football right now. Jonathan Taylor is the best
Speaker 1: running back in the league. UM, the defense, the offensive line,
Speaker 1: these are all things that are getting it done. Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz depends what day get him, what part of the
Speaker 1: game he get him, But he's still um. He's led
Speaker 1: this offense. And here they are making a charge for
Speaker 1: the playoffs and maybe even the a f C South.
Speaker 1: And here are the Cardinals in their building where they
Speaker 1: haven't played very well this season. They've lost three straight
Speaker 1: at State Farm State Farm Stadium, missing deandral DeAndre Hopkins
Speaker 1: for the year obviously, or at least until deep in
Speaker 1: the playoffs should they get that far. And also perhaps
Speaker 1: mark a little bit of a crisis in confidence based
Speaker 1: on back to back poor outings by the team, including
Speaker 1: a loss to the Detroit Lions. Do you think the
Speaker 1: Cardinals as a team are a really good team about
Speaker 1: to bounce back against another fellow contender, or the slide
Speaker 1: gets deeper and it's a panic button time in the desert.
Speaker 1: You know. I came out of the Rams loss UM
Speaker 1: still very confident in the Cardinals. I feel a little
Speaker 1: differently after what happened to the line with the Lions,
Speaker 1: because I think the DeAndre Hopkins loss is tangible. UM.
Speaker 1: It has affected their offense. They seem completely out of
Speaker 1: sorts in that Detroit game. And I don't like the
Speaker 1: fact that they got ran over UM by Craig Reynolds.
Speaker 1: I mean the run defense in their defense in general
Speaker 1: has been spotty or of late. UM. So it's it
Speaker 1: is another you know scenario where it's Jonathan Taylor versus
Speaker 1: the world, and you know, you're I think at one
Speaker 1: point we're gonna get one of these Carson Wentz games
Speaker 1: that cost this team in a big spot, UM. But
Speaker 1: they worked around it last week to the best they could.
Speaker 1: And I will say this for Arizona UM, everything that
Speaker 1: we think about them will be defined by this game.
Speaker 1: I think the Cults UM seemed to answer a lot
Speaker 1: of questions about teams in general. The way they thumped
Speaker 1: the Bills changed the way I thought about Buffalo. I
Speaker 1: mean what they did in New England that changed everything
Speaker 1: I thought about New England to some degree lesser degree
Speaker 1: than this. But if they go in and take care
Speaker 1: of Arizona, um, I think the Cardinals at that point
Speaker 1: are in crisis mode. But I feel confident enough that Arizona,
Speaker 1: one of my last survivors and teams, will take this
Speaker 1: game on Christmas night. And it doesn't matter what mood
Speaker 1: I'm in about the Browns game, the Cardinals will lift
Speaker 1: me out of what might be a dark spot. They're
Speaker 1: gonna win this game. I'm locking up Arizona. Baby. Oh god,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you something. If I'm gonna win this lock thing,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do it with nobility by picking well. I
Speaker 1: don't like the insinuation that the other person competing would
Speaker 1: not at all, but I'm not trying to. You know what,
Speaker 1: when you're down a spot, this will be a week
Speaker 1: where you go picking easy, get back in the race thing.
Speaker 1: This is risky. We'll see what happened. I love it.
Speaker 1: I think you've been bold the last few weeks. It
Speaker 1: hasn't worked out, but that doesn't mean that it's not commendable.
Speaker 1: I'll say this, it is Christmas. It is the family
Speaker 1: day of the year. And if you have a Browns
Speaker 1: game that goes sideway and it rolls into a massive
Speaker 1: lock week for Mark Sessler and that goes sideways, like
Speaker 1: what's left for the Homestead at that point other than rage? Nothing? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't like that that set up at all, because like,
Speaker 1: let's let's say the Browns win and everything's great, and
Speaker 1: then like the Cardinals could lose it. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's putting your chips in the middle of the Christmas table.
Speaker 1: It is putting a lot on the line on Christmas.
Speaker 1: But I don't love the matchup that much. Just I
Speaker 1: don't love the matchup for the for anyone playing the Colts,
Speaker 1: just because they're a really good team. And I almost
Speaker 1: think about locks is like you're picking against teams in
Speaker 1: the Cardinals run defense. You mentioned there twenty seven in
Speaker 1: the league and yards per carry aloud, And it's weird
Speaker 1: because if you look at kind of the analytics and
Speaker 1: the numbers and when you watch them, you don't feel that.
Speaker 1: And it's because they've given up a lot of big plays.
Speaker 1: They've actually been pretty good against the run, like consistency,
Speaker 1: but people pop some big, big plays off them. Well,
Speaker 1: that that might be a problem with Jonathan Taylor and
Speaker 1: the Colts. And I thought they were going to get
Speaker 1: um positive news, you know, for errors own because Quentin
Speaker 1: Nelson was out of practice. Initially that thought he might
Speaker 1: have COVID because it was an illness, but he is back.
Speaker 1: Um Ryan Kelly, who tragically lost a child this week,
Speaker 1: might be out for them again. They're there Pro Bowl Center,
Speaker 1: so that that would be a negative for for the Colts.
Speaker 1: But in general, I think their strengths Indianapolis match up
Speaker 1: pretty well. You need you need Van Joseph, I think
Speaker 1: to have a game where where he cooks up Wentz
Speaker 1: and that that's kind of their recipe. This is no
Speaker 1: I was just gonna say, this is because you did
Speaker 1: pick against the Colts. You locked up against the Colts
Speaker 1: last week also, um, and the Patriots went down in
Speaker 1: that game. And I just when you look at the
Speaker 1: Colts where they're at there, eight and six, they've won
Speaker 1: eight of eleven games after starting the season oh and three. Um,
Speaker 1: they just seem to have If you believe in momentum
Speaker 1: as a thing, it seems they have it all. And
Speaker 1: if they ever did get past the Cardinals here and
Speaker 1: I think I'll pick the Cults. I won't lock up
Speaker 1: the Colts, but I picked him to win this game.
Speaker 1: They have Vegas, which I don't care what anybody says
Speaker 1: about Vegas. That team will not be playing in the postseason.
Speaker 1: And they're an easy victory at home in my opinion,
Speaker 1: and then at Jacksonville to close the season. So like,
Speaker 1: I find it more likely that this team is going
Speaker 1: to go from oh and three to eleven and six
Speaker 1: than the Cardinals get things right. I just feel like
Speaker 1: the this there's a lot of things look working in
Speaker 1: the favor of the road team here. And also noticed
Speaker 1: that rondal Moore it sounds a game time decision as well.
Speaker 1: And at that point you're starting, so is Rodney Hudson,
Speaker 1: whom to me feels sometimes the key He's on the
Speaker 1: COVID list. They're not sure if I'll test out. And
Speaker 1: that was what struck me in that game was their
Speaker 1: their protection was not set at all. They did not
Speaker 1: know where free rushers were coming from. Kyler Murray was confused.
Speaker 1: Hudson makes all the protection calls. The Cults are not
Speaker 1: a heavy blitz defense at all, but still that's that's
Speaker 1: like one of their most valuable players. I don't like
Speaker 1: this big for you, always us talking all week about
Speaker 1: what we all feel. I fin'd with you. I don't
Speaker 1: like that you're kind of fading the public, which is
Speaker 1: a smart which is generally smart. Everyone's on the cult
Speaker 1: this And here's another thing working in your favor, Mark Carson.
Speaker 1: Wentz is still potentially a liability there. If you watch
Speaker 1: that game on Saturday night, you saw the way Frank
Speaker 1: Reich he clut he clenched his butt after that interception
Speaker 1: and never gave his quarterback another chance to make a play.
Speaker 1: Here's a stat from the research and notes Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: to six and eighteen against opponents with a winning record
Speaker 1: since two thousand and eighteen. So if the Cardinals come
Speaker 1: to play and they're playing in a passionate manner in
Speaker 1: the defense, can summon up some level of playmaking ability
Speaker 1: which has been noticeably absent uh in recent weeks. I
Speaker 1: could see Wentz playing poorly on the road here, So
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, it's a coin flip game.
Speaker 1: It will be fun to watch them, all right, Mark, Wow?
Speaker 1: All right? You want to hit the Sunday night and
Speaker 1: Monday night games before the draft, or after that's doing now? Alright,
Speaker 1: the Washington football team at Dallas Cowboys, I don't know that.
Speaker 1: You know, how's Washington playing on primetime this time of year? Um,
Speaker 1: they're a team that hype technically still in the mix
Speaker 1: here because their record. But at the same time, UM, well,
Speaker 1: you know what, that's maybe not fair because who could
Speaker 1: take anything out of that Monday night game against the Eagles.
Speaker 1: You give credit to Gilbert Godfried in the offense for
Speaker 1: hanging around. They took advantage some early turnovers, but they
Speaker 1: were so so missing so many guys that it's like,
Speaker 1: all right, you lost, but I can't really ding you
Speaker 1: too much for it. That Dallas Cowboys, you think they
Speaker 1: win this game? Greg, right? Because of their defense more
Speaker 1: than anything, they should be able to have their way
Speaker 1: with Washington's limited attack. They should because even if Tyler
Speaker 1: Heinik is back and he is expected to test out
Speaker 1: and I think he's been activated, so he's gonna play
Speaker 1: in this game. Um. Antonio Gibson is now fighting a
Speaker 1: turfto injury. He had been playing much better, I thought,
Speaker 1: over the last month, finally looking like himself, looking explosive.
Speaker 1: Then he gets hurt again and the way Rivera was
Speaker 1: talking about, I, I'd be a little surprised if he
Speaker 1: plays in this game. Curtis Samuel's banged up as usual,
Speaker 1: and you know it's like like we we just gotta
Speaker 1: go back all the like in our minds to kind
Speaker 1: of figure out what could happen here. Oh wait, this
Speaker 1: team played two weeks ago. We just locked up this game,
Speaker 1: Dan me and you remember that it was seventeen nothing
Speaker 1: Cowboys within two minutes. And it was because the the
Speaker 1: Washington offensive line had just no chance against this Dallas group.
Speaker 1: And to dominate Washington again that much, uh, will be difficult,
Speaker 1: but it should happen again. Like, I don't know if
Speaker 1: I don't feel that comfortable with Dallas, like covering ten
Speaker 1: and a half necessarily just the way there offense is played.
Speaker 1: And I think this is Washington season. They are, they're
Speaker 1: officially done zo and they've been you know, at least
Speaker 1: a little feisty. Maybe they keep it close, but there's
Speaker 1: no there's just like no reason the talent disparity is
Speaker 1: so great here. Well, it would be it would be
Speaker 1: a terrible narrative for Dallas to fall here because the
Speaker 1: way the defense has been playing should end this game
Speaker 1: right away. They've had four takeaways in three straight games.
Speaker 1: One of those came against Shington. To your note, to
Speaker 1: your point, and I mean, I I do believe that
Speaker 1: you know the Dallas offense at some point um which
Speaker 1: has not been as disastrous as advertised, but I mean
Speaker 1: last game they had two drives for longer than forty
Speaker 1: five yards, did no big plays. I mean, is it
Speaker 1: gonna come back at some point? Would this be a
Speaker 1: good spot for it? Because you know, Washington, even though
Speaker 1: they've been they've been a little bit better on defense,
Speaker 1: they're still missing guys all over the place. And they
Speaker 1: lost William Jackson and Landon Collins in that game on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: So if they like those are two of their very
Speaker 1: best players. I know they got Jonathan now and who
Speaker 1: made the Pro Bowl back, but it's it's rough. The Cowboys,
Speaker 1: by the way, have a pretty really like legitimate chance
Speaker 1: to get the one seat here. I mean, they're they're
Speaker 1: at two, which I think has slipped under the radar,
Speaker 1: and they just they need a little help. They might have,
Speaker 1: and if you look at their schedule, they they're they're
Speaker 1: gonna be heavily favored in each of these games. Them
Speaker 1: is a one seat is fraudulent to me. I'll accept
Speaker 1: them anywhere else away you might not have probably why happen? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think their offense has been bad, but it's
Speaker 1: just not special and um, well it remains to be seen.
Speaker 1: It was bad bad last week. I mean that was
Speaker 1: one of the worst games they've had in a long
Speaker 1: long time. They were given short fields like four times
Speaker 1: and they scored twenty one points on the Giants. Is pathetic. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I am I buying that as good as the
Speaker 1: defense has been, and really a lot of that um
Speaker 1: is connected as well to turnovers, which are very fickle
Speaker 1: about how that stuff goes. Turnovers is luck as much
Speaker 1: as his ability in a lot of ways. Uh, they're
Speaker 1: gonna need to wake up and they have not yet,
Speaker 1: and it's time to do it. But they probably can
Speaker 1: coast another week on their defense against Washington. Uh. Finally,
Speaker 1: Monday Night football before we get to the draft. The
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins, on a six game winning streak, head to
Speaker 1: the Super Dome to face the Saints. As we said
Speaker 1: at the top of the show, Taysom Hill is in
Speaker 1: the COVID on the COVID nineteen restricted list and he
Speaker 1: will not be playing, so we'll be ian. Okay, I
Speaker 1: believe fourth round pick. Uh. Is he a rookie or
Speaker 1: second yar player? He is a rookie kie. I think
Speaker 1: reporters were kind of careful, like that's the plan now.
Speaker 1: But he was in the same room as like Taysom
Speaker 1: Hill and Trevor Simeons. Like Aaron Brooks could be the quarterback.
Speaker 1: We could we could have a situation. Yeah, it's like
Speaker 1: the Celtics brought out Joe Johnson. The NBA is having
Speaker 1: some wild stuff where they're just like bringing back old
Speaker 1: timers to play, because it would be your favorite, like
Speaker 1: two thousand's guy to like show up out of nowhere
Speaker 1: in the m in a similar situation. I'd love to
Speaker 1: see Vinny test Of already come in and operate for
Speaker 1: the scenes. Aaron Brooks would be fun. I think that
Speaker 1: would be fun. Uh. It's a couple of days after Christmas,
Speaker 1: everyone gets loose, goes watch there in Brooks. You know,
Speaker 1: the door could be open, Greggy did he have his
Speaker 1: fight yet? Frank Gore could be waiting by that phone.
Speaker 1: Did he have his his bout? How you didn't see
Speaker 1: the He became a meme Unfortunately, we're not talking about that.
Speaker 1: He didn't get knocked out but beaten. We kind of
Speaker 1: predicted that we're not big m m A heads around here.
Speaker 1: But there's a lot of boxing boxing. It was boxing.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of I don't put a context clues
Speaker 1: that that wasn't gonna go old Frank's way. There's one
Speaker 1: just google at an hour after or maybe even Justin
Speaker 1: can bring up the photo, but it's a it's a
Speaker 1: pretty classic picture of of him looking terrified as as
Speaker 1: he's about to get punched in the face. By the way,
Speaker 1: last year with Notre Dame, over twelve games through fifteen touchdowns,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's an unimpressive arm. But I'll say something
Speaker 1: keep study. I mean I did a little bit of
Speaker 1: looking into him. I mean he's a bit of a mystery,
Speaker 1: all right. I mean, but this is a Sean Payton
Speaker 1: game where I just trust Sean Payton to do something
Speaker 1: that makes this a little spicier than people expect. I
Speaker 1: see all sorts of people just giving this game to Miami.
Speaker 1: Um that said nine nothing a week ago. They scored
Speaker 1: nine points on that thought. One second, Mark Uhgger just
Speaker 1: pulled up the Frank order that's that's not the meme though,
Speaker 1: it's not the meme, but it's it's pretty painful. It
Speaker 1: looks like, yeah, I keep looking for that. Mean you
Speaker 1: go ahead, Mark, I'm good. It will really translate well
Speaker 1: on audio. I um, I picked the Saints, you know,
Speaker 1: on my game picks NFL dot Com slash game Picks
Speaker 1: until the book news. I really thought their defense could
Speaker 1: put the clamps down on this r p O Dolphins offense,
Speaker 1: which is stationed to station, and they'd find just enough offense.
Speaker 1: We we also don't know if they're on armstead of
Speaker 1: ram Check. I talked about this every week, but they're
Speaker 1: at tackle. I mean, it's so massive and yet like
Speaker 1: we never know on Thursday whether they're gonna play or not.
Speaker 1: And it's been unpredictable because they've been a little in
Speaker 1: and out. Ram Check's been out a while now. But
Speaker 1: that's massive. If it's Ian Book with two backup tackles
Speaker 1: and the worst group of receiving receivers in the NFL,
Speaker 1: that feels that feels impossible, unless too and the Dolphins
Speaker 1: like just make enough mistakes. I don't know if like
Speaker 1: Flores and and Josh Boyer and the four different offensive
Speaker 1: coordinators told to it to be more aggressive after the
Speaker 1: bye week. But that was a different to uh against
Speaker 1: the Jets, and it was not a good different. It
Speaker 1: was good different that he was way more aggressive running
Speaker 1: the ball, and like, I've been waiting for that, and
Speaker 1: that was great. And he had that angry run he
Speaker 1: won that decepter from Kyle Brandt. He's flexing on the
Speaker 1: Jets and he definitely took off, like I like to
Speaker 1: see that more. But he was way more aggressive throwing
Speaker 1: the ball, and it was the worst, one of his
Speaker 1: worst games of his career. It was not a good
Speaker 1: idea for him to be more aggressive. I was like, okay,
Speaker 1: go back to the five yard throws. He well, he
Speaker 1: was terrible. In the first quarter. He threw an interception
Speaker 1: they could have picked up, been picked off a couple
Speaker 1: more times. He fumbled, fell on their ball, and then
Speaker 1: got things calmed down and looked like two again. And
Speaker 1: then he threw a pick six to let the Jets
Speaker 1: tie the game late. But otherwise, uh, yeah, it was
Speaker 1: a down game for him. But you know this, this
Speaker 1: dolphin's winning shriek has been on my radar, So I
Speaker 1: reached out to the l A researchers here the NFL
Speaker 1: Media Recent Search group to do such a good job,
Speaker 1: And I said, how you know fortuitous has this winning
Speaker 1: streak been for the Dolphins in terms of what their
Speaker 1: competition has been uh during the streak. And according to
Speaker 1: our buddy from that team, Adrian hassen Meyer UH, currently
Speaker 1: the Dolphins three ten strength of schedule over their six
Speaker 1: game winning streak is the NFL's fifth lowest strength of
Speaker 1: schedule over six game win streak in the last twenty seasons,
Speaker 1: so going back to two thousand two, and so just
Speaker 1: I I couldn't help a chuckle when I saw that
Speaker 1: Ian Book would be starting against the Dolphins this week
Speaker 1: on a very short reps and in the middle of
Speaker 1: a pandemic scenario. So yes, I will be locking up
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins to continue to take care of business here.
Speaker 1: And really, if you can give the Dolphins anything, give
Speaker 1: them that they take care of business. So I know
Speaker 1: Dolphins fans are a little annoyed that I'm not giving
Speaker 1: them enough love during this winning streak, but there is
Speaker 1: something to be said for a team that wins every week.
Speaker 1: There's post to win and they'll do it again. I mean, listen,
Speaker 1: to the quarterbacks. They played Tyrod, then Lamar Okay uh,
Speaker 1: then Joe Flacco, Cam Newton's first start back, Mike Glennon,
Speaker 1: Zach Wilson, and now Ian Book. I mean, that's cuts.
Speaker 1: It is kind of ridiculous. Here's the meme. Oh no, Greg,
Speaker 1: here's the meme. Greg. He didn't need to do this.
Speaker 1: That's what hurts. He didn't need to do it. I mean,
Speaker 1: he got paid. He made it to the end of
Speaker 1: the fight, when he played a hundred years in the NFL.
Speaker 1: He didn't need the paycheck. One judge actually scored it
Speaker 1: for him, which seems like it was very strange, um
Speaker 1: but ultimately lost. All right, let's pause right here and
Speaker 1: take a break. We'll be right back. All right, let's
Speaker 1: get to the draft. Greg, you have the first pick
Speaker 1: this week, do I? Yes, you do. As we discussed
Speaker 1: over time, I know I was asking DNA he was
Speaker 1: taking my pick. You know, I was giving him a
Speaker 1: chance here, I thought, you know, I want to wait
Speaker 1: until it's time to rip out your heart and hold it.
Speaker 1: I'll take I'll take Bills Patriots. I want to watch
Speaker 1: that game live. I don't know at all what to
Speaker 1: think about this game. I guess I'm still stuck on
Speaker 1: like things I thought coming into the season about this
Speaker 1: Bills team, Like it still does feel weird that the
Speaker 1: Patriots are favored to sweep the Bills. I saw a
Speaker 1: stat which blew my mind that the last fifteen Bills
Speaker 1: wins have been by double digits, which is just freaking outrageous.
Speaker 1: But that's a sign of like a good team. It's
Speaker 1: also signed either of an unlucky team that they can't
Speaker 1: win a close game they're owing five this year in
Speaker 1: one score games, or or poor game management, poor late
Speaker 1: game situational football, which is what Bill Belichick does best.
Speaker 1: I do think Belichick often gets touted as like he's
Speaker 1: going to take away your strength, but I think the
Speaker 1: Patriots more is like they're good at attacking weaknesses. That
Speaker 1: that's what they do. And to me, the weaknesses this
Speaker 1: Bill's offensive line in their losses, that's who's come up short.
Speaker 1: Didn't look good last week against Caroline. I thought their
Speaker 1: offense um did not show a lot, especially in terms
Speaker 1: of their past protection. And I do think that's where
Speaker 1: the Patriots can win is winning up front their defensive
Speaker 1: line judah On bar Moore and stopping the run and
Speaker 1: stopping Josh Allen, who I think will end up running
Speaker 1: a lot more with design runs in this game. I
Speaker 1: think that's that's a huge key, is that New England
Speaker 1: does a good job against you know, mobile running quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: I think they'll do that again here. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: As for the Bills, their last three wins are against
Speaker 1: the Jets, the Saints, and the Panthers. Their losses were
Speaker 1: against the Cults, Patriots, and Bucks. I know that people
Speaker 1: are having a tough time, um, adjusting to to the
Speaker 1: Bills not being the a f c's top superpower. I
Speaker 1: guess I just don't see them that way because the
Speaker 1: way they matched up so poorly against um, Indianapolis, and
Speaker 1: I know we you know we can. I value that
Speaker 1: Monday night game to some degree. UM. More than that,
Speaker 1: I think that Greg does or others wanted to throw
Speaker 1: that result out. UM. I thought the Patriots just showed
Speaker 1: their might and their will and if anything, you can say,
Speaker 1: look at Buffalo, that is notre devious white Um is
Speaker 1: not the same against the past. They you know, they
Speaker 1: have a ton of tape on New England, but there
Speaker 1: hasn't really been a case where this year's Patriots have
Speaker 1: shown the Bills in person what they can do through
Speaker 1: the air. I think that's a nice element of surprise
Speaker 1: to some degree, But I just don't like the way
Speaker 1: that the Bills match up against New England in general.
Speaker 1: If we get, you know, some similar looks to what
Speaker 1: we did in that last game, I want to see
Speaker 1: a couple of things. I want to see who's running
Speaker 1: the ball for the Patriots. Um Stevenson, who who flopped
Speaker 1: uh in a start last week against the Cults. He's
Speaker 1: had an illness um, so I don't know if he
Speaker 1: was back on the practice field on Thursday. Damian Harris
Speaker 1: has been there though, so Damian Harrison. He's been limited
Speaker 1: in practice and and he hurt that Hampshire against the Bills,
Speaker 1: had a bye week and then missed another week. So
Speaker 1: you know, we'll see if they have one or both
Speaker 1: of those guys in the lineup, because I think obviously
Speaker 1: what we saw Monday night in that win was the
Speaker 1: Patriots imposing their will through the running game, and they're
Speaker 1: gonna need their guys to to make that happen. My
Speaker 1: other thought about the game is, yeah, I think that
Speaker 1: the Bills need to prove something, not just to Um
Speaker 1: skeptics at this point, but to themselves that they are
Speaker 1: the best team in this division, that they're better than
Speaker 1: the Patriots, because I think that it's pretty much neck
Speaker 1: and neck about you could you could go one side
Speaker 1: or the other. What's a better team? They're obviously very close, um,
Speaker 1: just like so many of these a f C teams
Speaker 1: at the top here are really close to each other. UM.
Speaker 1: But I wonder if there's a mental component that the
Speaker 1: Bills have to get over here, because you could you
Speaker 1: could tell how frustrating, uh that loss was against New
Speaker 1: England in those terrible conditions for them, and the postgame interviews,
Speaker 1: those guys felt like they um were being dismissed and
Speaker 1: had been you know, anquished by a genius coach and
Speaker 1: a team that they'll never be better than. So that
Speaker 1: can go one of two ways. They can take all
Speaker 1: that frustration and unleash it on the Patriots, or they
Speaker 1: could be like so many other Patriots opponents over the years,
Speaker 1: that they kind of lose the head game before the
Speaker 1: actual game even starts. So I don't have a lot
Speaker 1: of confidence necessarily that the Bills can win, but I
Speaker 1: certainly wouldn't be surprised if they did either, because they
Speaker 1: have the ability to do it. And the Patriots, as
Speaker 1: good as story they are this year, I don't think
Speaker 1: there's some their head and shoulders above anybody talent level wise,
Speaker 1: so it can't be a surprise when they lose like
Speaker 1: they did last Saturday. No, they were extremely sloppy last
Speaker 1: week and their line play for the most part was poor,
Speaker 1: So it shows they can get pushed around. Buffalo is
Speaker 1: probably not the team that's gonna win that way. But
Speaker 1: I do think it's worth something that these these Bills
Speaker 1: have won a lot of big games. They've been in
Speaker 1: situations like this, including you know, beating the Patriots last year.
Speaker 1: I know it wasn't the same Patriots team, but they've
Speaker 1: They've won important games, they won a playoff game, all
Speaker 1: that stuff. This Patriots team is doing everything for the
Speaker 1: first time, and they're doing it without their two best
Speaker 1: wide receivers. I mean, to me, that's like a huge story.
Speaker 1: No Kendrick Born and no now Nelson Agila to me,
Speaker 1: can can make them a lot more well one dimensional
Speaker 1: than they would expect. And we don't know officially that
Speaker 1: they're both out, but agil are. Uh. Then the concussion
Speaker 1: Protocol Born. I mean Born is in the concussion protocol.
Speaker 1: Aglar got hurt and hasn't been practicing. Cole Beasley is
Speaker 1: out for the Bills, but I don't think that evens
Speaker 1: it out because the Bills to me, are a passing team.
Speaker 1: They're gonna pass. They have passing weapons. When you take
Speaker 1: those two guys out, it's basically Henry Jacoby Myers, who's
Speaker 1: coming off one of the worst games of his career,
Speaker 1: was a big reason why they lost that game a
Speaker 1: week ago. He should bounce back, but they just don't
Speaker 1: have a lot of weapons, and it just again, it
Speaker 1: just makes it closer. I'm with you, Dan, nothing would
Speaker 1: surprise me in this game. I took the Patriots, but
Speaker 1: I think it's a coin flip. I would argue the
Speaker 1: Bills have not won a big game since they beat
Speaker 1: the Chiefs on October tenth, and we can talk about
Speaker 1: the Patriots being sloppy last week. That a lot to
Speaker 1: do with the cults who have the what are the Patriots?
Speaker 1: You know? Big wins? I guess like under Patriots have
Speaker 1: been transformed, you know, as the season's gone along. They
Speaker 1: came into the year with a rookie quarterback, not an
Speaker 1: m VP candidate. I'm just saying, like, who, who have they?
Speaker 1: They're similar to me in that when they've played the
Speaker 1: best teams, you know they haven't always played their best.
Speaker 1: They know they beat the type a very diminished Titans
Speaker 1: team at the time. Um, but if it's not like
Speaker 1: the Patriots have stood up. What the Patriots have done
Speaker 1: well this year is when they play really good teams,
Speaker 1: they have close losses, which I totally disagree. I mean,
Speaker 1: beating the Bills was a big, big win. They whipped
Speaker 1: They destroyed the Cleveland Browns and basically changed everything that
Speaker 1: we thought about the Cleveland Browns. They beat the Chargers,
Speaker 1: a team we're all obsessed with. I mean, they mowe
Speaker 1: these teams down and aren't allowing a lot of points.
Speaker 1: That sloppy affair from a week ago stands out as
Speaker 1: a rarity for them. They haven't been sloppy, They've been meticulous.
Speaker 1: So who do you I'm putting to the Patriots. I'm
Speaker 1: with this. I'm exhausted with this Bill's thing where it's
Speaker 1: like every time they lose, it's like, well, next week
Speaker 1: we'll find out if we really believe in them. And
Speaker 1: every time the Patriots when it's like, well, what they
Speaker 1: do next week, then we'll Fight's like, go stomp Buffalo
Speaker 1: and end this conversation. Now, well, they will they win
Speaker 1: the division if they win and and get a Dolphins
Speaker 1: loss on Monday night. But essentially they win the division
Speaker 1: here with the victory. But if if the Bills win,
Speaker 1: Bills have a real good chance to go win this division.
Speaker 1: The tiebreakers could end up going their way if they
Speaker 1: end up winning out. So this is alkins And yeah,
Speaker 1: didn't decide that much. The Bills could go do this thing.
Speaker 1: And Mark I did say last week that I would
Speaker 1: open Sunday show with an apology to if they beat
Speaker 1: the Colts on Saturday night. So I know, but that
Speaker 1: now we're using that is a way to discredit everything
Speaker 1: that they've done. And I simply who I might have
Speaker 1: fashioned a bit of a straw man right there, but
Speaker 1: I think I think, to me, I think these two
Speaker 1: teams are like both top ten teams in the NFL.
Speaker 1: It just it shouldn't. It wouldn't surprise me too much
Speaker 1: if they end up splitting that. That's all all right,
Speaker 1: Let's move on to the uh second pick. I will
Speaker 1: take the Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota Vikings. Turns out
Speaker 1: that the only way the Vikings could play a boring
Speaker 1: ass game is if the Bears are involved, and that really,
Speaker 1: in retrospect makes sense. Uh. That is the optimistic way
Speaker 1: to look at it. The pessimistic way to look at
Speaker 1: this is that the Vikings have peaked and now the
Speaker 1: Vikings do not have Dalvin Cook uh in a huge
Speaker 1: game in their season against the Rams. The Vikings have
Speaker 1: a quarterback and Kirk Cousins who has not played well
Speaker 1: at all for several weeks, and especially the last two
Speaker 1: weeks where he's been outright bad. I mean the fact
Speaker 1: that he threw for eighties something yards against that Chicago
Speaker 1: defense and that and it's uh compromise. State really spoke
Speaker 1: to me. And then he pops up on the injury report.
Speaker 1: And Kirk Cousins never misses games. Uh, so I don't
Speaker 1: expect him to be out of this game. And again
Speaker 1: I've already stated he was the only person who's not
Speaker 1: going to get Amicron. But he is a major question
Speaker 1: mark and he is the guy that really uh scares
Speaker 1: me if I'm if if I'm rooting for the Vikings
Speaker 1: to get to the playoffs. So now you have that
Speaker 1: situation with Minnesota and a Rams team that, yeah, they
Speaker 1: should be feeling good about themselves now. They took care
Speaker 1: of business under weird, weird circumstances on Monday. They ended
Speaker 1: a rival season, which is always fun. They took it
Speaker 1: to the Cardinals the week before, so they have a
Speaker 1: real chance to make their own play for the NFC
Speaker 1: West and the top seed. Big game here. Doesn't this
Speaker 1: feel the perfect way for the Zimmer Kirk era to
Speaker 1: be reaching Like it's season four conclusion, Like it's basically
Speaker 1: a repeat of of every season that its just as
Speaker 1: we're getting to the playoffs. It's no longer an offensive team.
Speaker 1: It feels like a defensive team. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: their defense presents a lot of problems. I think it's
Speaker 1: a great test actually for the Rams offensive line, which
Speaker 1: we saw get worked. We didn't talk about that really
Speaker 1: with Gonzo or in that recap. Their offensive line struggled
Speaker 1: in that game, and Zimmer puts a lot of things
Speaker 1: in front of you coverage wise that will test the
Speaker 1: quarterback like Stafford. So I think it's a nice test
Speaker 1: for the Rams offense. But the fact that Kirk is
Speaker 1: now struggling as we're hitting the home stretch and the
Speaker 1: defense is playing better. I just feel like this is
Speaker 1: how every Viking season feels like it ends. You know,
Speaker 1: of course, remember that game when that we watched with
Speaker 1: with your dad, uh Dan in the garage and They're
Speaker 1: struggling against the Packers and I'm looking for the fireworks.
Speaker 1: But I it wouldn't surprise me if Kirk put up
Speaker 1: thirty in this game either. I would expect the Rams
Speaker 1: to keep rolling. I think that we are post Vikings
Speaker 1: at this point to a degree. M It's not well,
Speaker 1: I just I I still think. I mean, there's all
Speaker 1: these teams are sort of the same at this point,
Speaker 1: but the Vikings, like the juice fields gone to some
Speaker 1: degree where the Rams, I think we're rounding into shape. Um,
Speaker 1: this is a game that you know they just simply
Speaker 1: go take. I think if you can get Justin Jefferson,
Speaker 1: if I know that Jalen Ramsey probably wouldn't naturally be
Speaker 1: on Jefferson a ton because he plays more in the slot.
Speaker 1: But if you can find a way to just remove
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson to some degree here. Um, No, Dalvin Cook.
Speaker 1: I like alexand Or Madison a lot, but I mean
Speaker 1: he's himself is coming off of a COVID situation. It's
Speaker 1: a depleted offense at that point. I mean that you
Speaker 1: think theland might be back. It sounds like which would
Speaker 1: be very helpful. But did anybody see Adam Feeling during
Speaker 1: his pregame workout, the very brief pregame workout before Monday night?
Speaker 1: He couldn't. He could barely walk without a limp let
Speaker 1: alone cut. So I'm not saying, you know, the miracles
Speaker 1: of modern medicine and a guy that's an elite athlete
Speaker 1: won't change things in six days or whatever, but I
Speaker 1: wouldn't be totally stunted if if he's missing again, we'll
Speaker 1: see m hm. The Vikings could probably survive a loss
Speaker 1: at seven and seven and nine and eighteen, could sneak in,
Speaker 1: but then then they're county on tiebreaks, their county on
Speaker 1: every thing going crazy. And the way the Eagles are
Speaker 1: playing now, there is a chance the Eagles finished strong
Speaker 1: here and and you actually do need to get to
Speaker 1: ten wins. So each one of these games is so big,
Speaker 1: and we didn't mention with the Cardinals, the NFC West
Speaker 1: is up for grabs now. It is a it is
Speaker 1: tied and if the Rams go into Sunday, you know,
Speaker 1: knowing the Cardinals results, they might know that they could
Speaker 1: have first place to they're lonesome with two weeks to play.
Speaker 1: All right, let's keep moving on, Mark, it heads to
Speaker 1: you the draft. It is notable that I'm looking at
Speaker 1: our options of games here that the good games are
Speaker 1: they're going away quick. There's no if this were a
Speaker 1: real draft, like there's a talent drop off. But I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go, UM, Pittsburgh a Kansas city in the late spot. Um.
Speaker 1: There's a lot going on with this one, obviously because
Speaker 1: we've got Travis Kelsey and Tyreek Hill on the COVID list. UM,
Speaker 1: and I at this point, with the way these things go,
Speaker 1: I just assume that they're not playing. And those aren't
Speaker 1: the only guys. I mean, that's the headliners, but they've
Speaker 1: got a bunch of guys OVID list. Harrison Butler, who
Speaker 1: is not vaccinated, is out. I mean that matters in
Speaker 1: a game like this. UM. Is this where Pittsburgh, though
Speaker 1: in a normal scenario, would be totally unmasked as a fraud.
Speaker 1: UM in the way this thing working is working with
Speaker 1: COVID though, this feels like a sneaky like situation where
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh season continues to remain alive or undead as we've
Speaker 1: called it in the past at this point. Um, here's
Speaker 1: the thing. I wonder if Kansas City says we're gonna
Speaker 1: try to do what other teams have done, um T J.
Speaker 1: Watt all the rest of it. The Steelers are given
Speaker 1: up four hundred and forty three yards on the ground
Speaker 1: in the last two weeks, and they stunk stopping the
Speaker 1: run the previous bunch of weeks as well, So I
Speaker 1: think there's a real weakness there. If Kansas City can
Speaker 1: take advantage of it, I'm not sure that's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: It feels like Patrick Mahomes if all these guys are out,
Speaker 1: it's a one man band scenario where you're hoping this
Speaker 1: defense basically neutralizes. Um, a bad Steelers offense. That's what
Speaker 1: I mean. You just win a low scoring game. We
Speaker 1: don't need a Steeler's Chiefs matchup where Kelsey and Hill
Speaker 1: aren't playing, can you? I mean, can you spare us football?
Speaker 1: Can we please? I mean, the Steelers are a very
Speaker 1: annoying team because they are hanging around but offer very
Speaker 1: little in terms of entertainment value. I think even Steelers
Speaker 1: fans would tell you that for the most part, outside
Speaker 1: the casion occasional Deante Johnson and uh T J Watt
Speaker 1: big time play uh And I want to see the
Speaker 1: Chiefs be able to build on this momentum that they've
Speaker 1: been building on offense. If you take those two guys
Speaker 1: out of it, you could be looking at a Tom
Speaker 1: Brady on Sunday Night football type vibe for Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: as great as he is, right, I was surprised, like
Speaker 1: the line didn't move that much, went from like nine
Speaker 1: and a half to seven and a half for this game,
Speaker 1: Chiefs being favored and this Chief's offense, I guess I'm
Speaker 1: still not sold that it's all the way back because
Speaker 1: they had a great final three drives against the Chargers.
Speaker 1: Even for that game, they did what they've done every game,
Speaker 1: which is a great opening drive touchdown and then get
Speaker 1: stuck in mud for about two and a half quarters
Speaker 1: and it's like players batter. Travis Kelsey and Tyree kellerre
Speaker 1: just not replaceable. Mark said it like, this is a
Speaker 1: game if every Andy Reid's like, let's just try out
Speaker 1: that running game. We kept honking about all off season
Speaker 1: where it looks like these offensive linemen with Tuny and
Speaker 1: Creed Humphrey could be an All Pro as a rookie
Speaker 1: and Orlando Brown who is so great run blocking, Like
Speaker 1: they have the tools, they have the running back to
Speaker 1: to be a great zone run blocking scheme, and this
Speaker 1: would be the game to go really heavy at it.
Speaker 1: And you, like you said it, Mark, that Steelers stink
Speaker 1: in terms of stopping the run. So will Andy Reid
Speaker 1: finally do it? Like I feel like if ever there
Speaker 1: was a game for him to actually do that, this
Speaker 1: is it. Go get a nice like ten twelve, not
Speaker 1: too flashy victory. But if if they're asking Mahomes to
Speaker 1: go like win throwing routes to de Marcus Robinson and
Speaker 1: Pringle and stuff, I don't know, you could just this
Speaker 1: Steeler's team. There's something to about this Steelers Tomlin group.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Eight eight and one, it's still in play. Mark,
Speaker 1: all right, Tod it snakes to me, I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay, Carolina. I want to see how the Bucks
Speaker 1: um respond to what happened against the Saints. But also
Speaker 1: a Buck's offense that you know, I feel like the
Speaker 1: whole year for them. I know they were banged up
Speaker 1: on defensive bunch um, but they've relatively on offense, had
Speaker 1: their guys the whole way. And now you know Mike
Speaker 1: Evans is a question mark. We know that Chris god
Speaker 1: when he is out. Leonard Fournett, Um, who's been better
Speaker 1: than his name all year long for them, is out.
Speaker 1: I thought Ronald Jones ran pretty well last week when
Speaker 1: he came in, and they've talked about him just being
Speaker 1: the lead dog at this point. That's what Byron left
Speaker 1: which said, so how do you how do you operate?
Speaker 1: They do get Antonio brown Back Um and Antonia Breshad
Speaker 1: Pereman may play as well. I think that matters a
Speaker 1: lot because if you look at the rest of their
Speaker 1: cast of whiteouts, um, it's depressing and I it just
Speaker 1: seems like it could be coming at the worst possible
Speaker 1: time for the Bucks to be missing, especially Oddwin, who
Speaker 1: Tom Brady just like I can tell, you can tell
Speaker 1: when Tom Brady doesn't like wide receivers, and you can
Speaker 1: tell when he loves them, and he really loves quick
Speaker 1: Chris Godwin. So I wonder if Carolina flip side. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is how weird things have gotten. Cam Newton is
Speaker 1: going to start and play the majority of the game.
Speaker 1: But Matt Rule, who come back to me. Matt Rule
Speaker 1: is saying that Sam Donald is going to be dipped
Speaker 1: into the game to be used as well. I mean,
Speaker 1: what this is the NFL? What are we doing here?
Speaker 1: We have We're gonna hit that panther side of things
Speaker 1: in the second. But we have some developing news here
Speaker 1: to report. This just came across the NFL email that
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers have placed two players an injured reserve. One
Speaker 1: is Leonard four Nette, and he's already obviously injured with
Speaker 1: the hamstring, so he's not playing. But also linebacker Lavante
Speaker 1: David has had to add it to the COVID nineteen list.
Speaker 1: Uh so that potentially removes another very important player at
Speaker 1: to Tampa Bay. Yeah. I don't. I don't think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be so easy for the Bucks. Maybe this week
Speaker 1: will be easy enough, but just in general, operating thirty
Speaker 1: points per game offense, they're gonna need their defense to
Speaker 1: be better and help carry this team more. It's hard.
Speaker 1: It's easier to game plan for with Scottie Miller and
Speaker 1: all these guys with a week to do it it's
Speaker 1: very tough when when you lose you know, Evans and
Speaker 1: Godwin and for Net in the middle of the freaking game.
Speaker 1: But it's still not easy. Like players matter, Like Godwin's
Speaker 1: an all Pro type guy, so so is Evans. He's
Speaker 1: not playing this week. There's a big drop off at
Speaker 1: running back. It's a division game that they should dominate
Speaker 1: defensively that but I don't know, Like I I do
Speaker 1: think the the assumption that they're just gonna like keep
Speaker 1: rolling as the Bucks with these guys not on the
Speaker 1: field is is like, have the evidence. We already saw
Speaker 1: it on Sunday Night. What could happen there? Their worst
Speaker 1: case scenario is that you put a defense that can
Speaker 1: play against him, and maybe that's not Carolina. But they also,
Speaker 1: you know, they have some pieces they've had stretches this year,
Speaker 1: and the Bucks can really struggle just like any other team.
Speaker 1: Like I brought it up on the Power Rank and
Speaker 1: Show with Monday Money this week, like Tom Brady on
Speaker 1: Sunday Night didn't look so different than what Ryan Tannehill
Speaker 1: Tannehills look like for weeks. And that's not saying that
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill is even close to Tom Brady's category. But
Speaker 1: it's like, it's just the way it is in football.
Speaker 1: If you start peeling back layers of supporting casts, it's
Speaker 1: not just that those guys are gone. You're putting guys
Speaker 1: that are not experienced and being the in these different
Speaker 1: roles right into the lineup in big spots, Like we
Speaker 1: were watching it, um Greg who is there? Uh? Former
Speaker 1: third round running Backshan Vaughan. I mean we were watching
Speaker 1: him fairly closely after he went in for for Net
Speaker 1: and that guy couldn't play. And it's just like, maybe
Speaker 1: Ronald Jones comes in and and fulfills his potential, Maybe
Speaker 1: Gronk shakes off a bad game, maybe Antonio Brown comes
Speaker 1: off the shelf after ten weeks and is immediately a
Speaker 1: playmaker again. But there's also a chance this is gonna
Speaker 1: put them in a situation where, yeah, they still make
Speaker 1: the playoffs, but they kind of go into the postseason
Speaker 1: limping and maybe not in the postseason position that they
Speaker 1: thought they could be in at the beginning of the month. Yeah,
Speaker 1: as long as they get Evans and for Net back,
Speaker 1: you know, by the playoffs there hopefully for them for
Speaker 1: Week eighteen, then I'm not I'm not nearly as concerned
Speaker 1: because I do think there is potential for the defense
Speaker 1: to keep playing better and better, and it really has lately,
Speaker 1: especially this week, it will going up against this rotation.
Speaker 1: I mean that sounded like a threat when it didn't
Speaker 1: sound like a promise. It sounded like a threat. When
Speaker 1: he's like, well, we're starting Cam, but we're bringing in Donald,
Speaker 1: It's like, what are you trying to make them prepare
Speaker 1: for more? It's like, good luck with that. I think
Speaker 1: I don't know if you guys have picked up on this,
Speaker 1: because he kind of was. Rule was talking about the
Speaker 1: the two Minutes ural a lot with Cam, and that's
Speaker 1: why you were seeing the dude um p J. Walker
Speaker 1: who was going to play last week and he never
Speaker 1: did right, And it's it seems like Rule is probably
Speaker 1: at a place where he knows Cam is not a
Speaker 1: guy that can run his offense and he's just looking
Speaker 1: for anybody else that can step in and do it.
Speaker 1: And maybe it's Donald, because maybe Matt Rule thinks, oh,
Speaker 1: I remember those first three weeks of the season where
Speaker 1: he's proficient, Maybe comes back million dollars next year to
Speaker 1: into very unlikely to be on that team. I don't
Speaker 1: know for sure if Matt Rule is going to be
Speaker 1: coaching that team, but it's at least possible that Sam
Speaker 1: Donald is there with him next year. The Panthers, by
Speaker 1: the way, have a couple of their offensive linemen on
Speaker 1: the COVID list too, and that was already one of
Speaker 1: the worst offensive lines I've ever seen, so in Dominican
Speaker 1: su and all those guys should just that's why Tampa
Speaker 1: wins this game. Like maybe it's like eighteen to six
Speaker 1: or something, but the Carolina offense is um an absolute
Speaker 1: broken down mess. All right, Hey, everybody holding on hope
Speaker 1: that Chuba Hubbard is going to be the answer at
Speaker 1: running back for your fantasy team. Cut bait, go get
Speaker 1: Rod Joe if you could find him. Let's move on
Speaker 1: after this break, al right, The draft now heads over
Speaker 1: to AZUSA, and I will take a big a f
Speaker 1: C North Bay Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals value here.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. I am very curious to see. Well,
Speaker 1: first of all, we don't know as it is taping
Speaker 1: what Lamar Jackson situation is. He is still not practicing.
Speaker 1: I don't know did he practice Thursday. He didn't practice Thursday,
Speaker 1: And Tyler Huntley did the media responsibilities. Lamar did not,
Speaker 1: so at this point, it's trending Huntley. Yeah. And you
Speaker 1: know what's interesting is like, if you've been watching the
Speaker 1: Ravens the last six weeks or so, I know Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson is a superior overall player to Huntley. But Huntley,
Speaker 1: in addition to be able to do some things with
Speaker 1: his legs, he's taking care of the business when it
Speaker 1: comes to checkdowns and just making the throws that he
Speaker 1: needs to make. So while it's yes, obviously it is
Speaker 1: a it is a downgrade. Huntley has not made the
Speaker 1: Ravens a bad offense. In fact, as you saw at
Speaker 1: the very end of that game against Green Bay, they
Speaker 1: could be quite dangerous, uh, in the right circumstance. So
Speaker 1: I think Cincinnati, even if they don't have to face Lamar,
Speaker 1: is really going to be up against it here potentially,
Speaker 1: just because they are such an inconsistent team. And if
Speaker 1: they think that they could take anybody for granted, and
Speaker 1: I'm not saying they are, uh, they will, they have
Speaker 1: another thing coming because they've had several losses this year
Speaker 1: where it's like, Okay, this setting up well for Cincinnati
Speaker 1: and then bang, you get the James Brown update and
Speaker 1: a seventeen to three at the end of the second quarter.
Speaker 1: So let's see where the Bengals are as a team.
Speaker 1: Let's see if they have some onions to hang here
Speaker 1: and say we are where the team that wants to
Speaker 1: win this division, Because if I had to guess, one
Speaker 1: of these two teams will win the North, and this
Speaker 1: game really might determine it. I mean, I look at
Speaker 1: the seventeen destruction and butt whipping they laid on Baltimore
Speaker 1: back in what was it Week seven or something, and
Speaker 1: I do wonder why why can't that unfold again? I mean,
Speaker 1: they were able to work over Baltimore's offensive line. They
Speaker 1: had a season high twenty three pressures on Lamar. So
Speaker 1: whether it's Lamar or Huntley, I kind of just like
Speaker 1: the way Baltimore matt or that the Cincinnati matches up
Speaker 1: with the raven I do. And I think that, you know,
Speaker 1: we saw Baltimore week ago. Um they put like two
Speaker 1: or three guys on Davante Adams over and over and
Speaker 1: they asked Wink martindale um if he would treat Jamar
Speaker 1: Chase this way. And I thought his quote was pretty hilarious.
Speaker 1: He said, Uh, Adams is one of the top two
Speaker 1: receivers in the league. And he's not. He's not number two.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Fame QB. And I
Speaker 1: don't think we're ready to buy a gold jacket for
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow just yet. That said, Joe Burrow is the
Speaker 1: difference maker in this and I think if you get
Speaker 1: the best version of Joe Burrow, and they've got more
Speaker 1: weapons than Baltimore could ever imagine on their side of
Speaker 1: the ball. Right now, I like the Cincinnati Bengals in
Speaker 1: this game, well, yeah, you better win this game if
Speaker 1: you're the Bengals. Now, it's the first time they've been
Speaker 1: in these sorts of spots, Joe Burrow, Zach Taylor, this
Speaker 1: group late December Division game, a very hobbled, you know,
Speaker 1: decrepit Ravens roster right now. They they just added more
Speaker 1: COVID players to the list, and most of them were
Speaker 1: depth players. But it was like the depth upon depth,
Speaker 1: like the eyes, like Geno Stone, who was like a
Speaker 1: safety that couldn't ever play for them, is suddenly out
Speaker 1: there one of those two guys guarding Davante Adams at cornerback,
Speaker 1: like playing out of position. He didn't even used to play.
Speaker 1: Now he's playing, and he's playing out of position. These
Speaker 1: guys are now getting COVID and so they're going to
Speaker 1: like whoever they can find after that, there's no reason
Speaker 1: for the Bengals to lose this game. And yet I
Speaker 1: don't know, Like it's twenty you asked, like, why would
Speaker 1: the Bengals lose now when they won forty one to seventeen.
Speaker 1: Because it and because these are the Ravens, that there
Speaker 1: is something special here. Hardbas come up short with these
Speaker 1: decisions that haven't worked out for him. But man, I
Speaker 1: think he's coaching the hell out of this team and
Speaker 1: and I could I could see them winning this game.
Speaker 1: I picked them to win this game, even with Huntley.
Speaker 1: And it's just like a belief in the mystical, you know,
Speaker 1: a belief in like something bigger than that. And that's
Speaker 1: all that's going on. I'm with Mark and that, like
Speaker 1: the Bengals should take care of business. But is unad political?
Speaker 1: Is this is you know exactly what I'm talking about
Speaker 1: when I say, but these are the Ravens and those
Speaker 1: are the Bengals, and it is the end of December
Speaker 1: and the division is in play, Like whose chances are
Speaker 1: better to come come up big in the spot. I
Speaker 1: just think I just think it's Baltimore well, and I
Speaker 1: mean to your point, they have lost. You know, they're
Speaker 1: in a three game skid, three games by four points total.
Speaker 1: That's never happened, um in the in the history of
Speaker 1: the NFL. This Ravens team is the first two. I
Speaker 1: guess accomplished that. I'm not sure accomplishes the word, but
Speaker 1: they are hanging around in games. And you are right
Speaker 1: about one thing, because I think the Browns fan of
Speaker 1: me sees this too, that yes, on paper, the Bengals
Speaker 1: logically should take care of business. They do match up
Speaker 1: well with them, But the Bengals as a franchise and
Speaker 1: the energy around the Cincinnati Bengals, I don't know if
Speaker 1: I trust them to do this because none of the
Speaker 1: players on this roster have been in this situation. The
Speaker 1: coach is not. I mean, so it is a good
Speaker 1: matchup for them, and anyone should be beating Baltimore right now,
Speaker 1: and Ittimore just as too resilient. They'll be there at
Speaker 1: the end. Jo does change it. That's the one thing
Speaker 1: is like I really have been impressed last week. He
Speaker 1: one with his legs. It was a tough situation where
Speaker 1: I think the defensive coordinator Fonio got the best of
Speaker 1: them for a couple of quarters and then he adjusted
Speaker 1: and he moved. While he's eighth in the NFL in
Speaker 1: rushing value according to E p A, so that that
Speaker 1: a c l is like a distant memory, he should
Speaker 1: be the difference. I understand why Cincinnati believes in the
Speaker 1: boy there, boy, let's um before we throw to this
Speaker 1: Westling lock. This feels like I don't know, have any
Speaker 1: knowledge of it other than this is the game. This
Speaker 1: feels like a nick Nick Westling situation where he wants
Speaker 1: to grab the reins if Cincinnati is involved, and I
Speaker 1: could I predict fire and Brimstone against Cincinnati locking up
Speaker 1: the Ravens. Where do you think they come down? I
Speaker 1: think it depends on the Westling brother. I think the
Speaker 1: Bengals fans um that exist in most of them. I
Speaker 1: know there's some There're a little cynical about the Bengals too,
Speaker 1: that they see this as the moment that Cincinnati they
Speaker 1: finally does something nice with the city of Cincinnati. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if they pick cut of Ravens here, they're no longer
Speaker 1: allowed to even get a segment every week. I'm just
Speaker 1: ending that there we should be a little dark. Kind
Speaker 1: of depends on it does really depend on which Westling
Speaker 1: brother is on this message. So let's uh Gray Digger
Speaker 1: hit it. Hello heroes Phil again this week. Happy holidays
Speaker 1: to every one of the and all the listeners out there.
Speaker 1: At first, I was thinking Patriots over bills, but then
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow comes out and says that Cincinnati has no nightlife,
Speaker 1: so they will be healthy and well rested. They took
Speaker 1: care of business in Baltimore, and Nick thinks they're gonna
Speaker 1: win big again this week, given the city of Cincinnati
Speaker 1: a huge Christmas gift and the inside track on a
Speaker 1: playoff Berth Lock it Up, Baby, I love it, you
Speaker 1: know that? And that surprised Mat thought maybe Nick wouldn't
Speaker 1: be as bullish because since that he didn't look so
Speaker 1: hot Denver. But you know what, let's do it. I
Speaker 1: think we're all kind of Bengals fans a little bit well.
Speaker 1: I guess certain certain factions of the podcast can't really
Speaker 1: be as much, but with the Westlings attached to it,
Speaker 1: so I would like to see it. So let's give
Speaker 1: Cincinnati the Christmas gift they deserve. Markets that take to
Speaker 1: work out. You know, he's still for that take now,
Speaker 1: that take from you know, half a month ago at
Speaker 1: this point has been shredded. But I would just say
Speaker 1: to the Westling brothers because I fall for this all
Speaker 1: the time, perhaps even in this in this show, I
Speaker 1: have um. When you start to operate locks from the heart, um,
Speaker 1: you you get, you get banged a bunch there. It
Speaker 1: doesn't always work out that maybe spun the whole thing
Speaker 1: in Baltimore's way for me. Um. And you should know
Speaker 1: that the Westlings, they believe, are eight and seven in
Speaker 1: the law competition and they know they probably have to
Speaker 1: win out here, uh to take the title. So this
Speaker 1: is a big, big week for the Westlings. Let's move on.
Speaker 1: Greg heads to you, buddy, Wow, you've really left me
Speaker 1: Like no one wants these late games period. They're just
Speaker 1: sitting there, they're just saying, well, you gotta I'm not
Speaker 1: doing too late games, so you I don't have I
Speaker 1: don't I don't have to do anything for now. I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna take the old Chargers Texans early. Uh. Just
Speaker 1: watch Justin Herbert play football. There's a COVID situation going
Speaker 1: on with the Chargers. Both boasts out. Eckler's out, Guidans
Speaker 1: out like a lot of times with these with the COVID,
Speaker 1: it's like, alright, quality matters and quantity matters. Like when
Speaker 1: you lose just fifteen your trouble no matter what, when
Speaker 1: you lose two of your best players, uh in Ekeler
Speaker 1: and Bosa on top of Derwin, James still isn't practicing.
Speaker 1: That's a little bit concerning. You should be thankful. I
Speaker 1: guess that this is the week they're all out because
Speaker 1: you should still be able to win in Houston and
Speaker 1: bank of victory that that they need, Like they can't
Speaker 1: just count on winning this wild card spot now. Uh,
Speaker 1: they need to win two of their next three games
Speaker 1: and they should get in, and they better do this one.
Speaker 1: They are lucky that the Texans will be out without
Speaker 1: Brandon Cooks and Kami Fairbairn and a host of other
Speaker 1: players too. Cooks and fair Baron are the two best Texans.
Speaker 1: Fair Baron is on a heater that not enough of
Speaker 1: America is talking about. Right, Yeah, Greg and I were,
Speaker 1: you know, co watching fairbarn Torch The Enemy a week ago.
Speaker 1: I mean he was, Oh, you want to hit sixty
Speaker 1: in the rain Okay, let's do it. How about fifty five, Like,
Speaker 1: let's just go fair Baron has been getting it done.
Speaker 1: I respect that. I respect the hell out of a
Speaker 1: guy named Kayaming Fairbarn doing such masculine work in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. Put him in the Kerko Club, give
Speaker 1: him a booth bottle service. And the ladies over Mark
Speaker 1: that were Jake Lazer sent our way at that Super
Speaker 1: Bowl party of yesteryear, right, just to be clear, they
Speaker 1: were bartenders. That that's that's where it started it in
Speaker 1: and you kind of left that that's important. I'm glad
Speaker 1: that you clarified. Uh that, Yeah, this is another I
Speaker 1: don't know drafted this game. That was a panic. That
Speaker 1: was a panic decision. I just literally didn't want either
Speaker 1: of the Lake games. But well, you so that's fine.
Speaker 1: And uh, I thought that was a tough loss for
Speaker 1: the Chargers obviously on Thursday night against Kansas City, because really,
Speaker 1: you you watch that game and you watch how it unfolded.
Speaker 1: They really had no business losing it. And imagine how
Speaker 1: different their season looks if they had found a way
Speaker 1: to win that game and then get the Texans. So
Speaker 1: all they could do now is stack wins, take advantage
Speaker 1: of your your luck here. Do not let Austin Davis
Speaker 1: get hot on you as he's done against a few
Speaker 1: teams this year. Uh, and get to nine and six
Speaker 1: and really set yourself up well um to win that
Speaker 1: wild card spot. I don't think what else is there
Speaker 1: to say about this game? Like, if anybody has anything, well,
Speaker 1: purely throw it in. Now let's forge on. Greg Snakes
Speaker 1: to you, all right, I guess I will take a
Speaker 1: late game. I'll take Bear as Seahawks. I just I'm
Speaker 1: I'm sick of watching the Broncos live. I know that
Speaker 1: game matters more, but I'm just I've watched so many
Speaker 1: Broncos games live and I'm always wrong about them. And
Speaker 1: the Raiders are are not exactly enjoyable. So I know
Speaker 1: that game actually matters for the Outskirts, but I don't
Speaker 1: believe in either of those teams. I will be more
Speaker 1: entertained by watching Justin Fields versus Russell Wilson. I think
Speaker 1: there's some similarities here. Fields holds the ball forever. Uh.
Speaker 1: He's a physical guy. He's obviously a better runner than Wilson.
Speaker 1: But I think they are both really good throwing the
Speaker 1: ball down the field. They both you know, Wilson never
Speaker 1: turned into a guy who's like a good short um area,
Speaker 1: like quick timing thrower. And I think that's a question
Speaker 1: about fields. But the thing about Fields it's different to
Speaker 1: me than than Lawrence and Wilson this year is I
Speaker 1: do think you see the plays every single game, the
Speaker 1: really high quality throws that is mixed in with a
Speaker 1: lot like plenty of bad that too excited for what
Speaker 1: he's gonna look like with a different coaching staff. And
Speaker 1: so this is kind of a dead game. It's weird
Speaker 1: to have the Seahawks having a dead game here, but
Speaker 1: it feels like maybe it's a spot there six and
Speaker 1: a half point underdogs. I like the Bears to cover
Speaker 1: that I wouldn't. I think it's a spot that Bears
Speaker 1: maybe go have a nice rookie moment for Justin Fields.
Speaker 1: He has a nice big game against the dead Seahawks
Speaker 1: team that has nothing to play for. I'm with you,
Speaker 1: I could see Chicago winning this and I you know,
Speaker 1: I know it's sort of an unpopular opinion because we're
Speaker 1: done with Nick, Mattnege and the whole thing, But I
Speaker 1: thought to date played really hard for him and in
Speaker 1: general for themselves against the Vikings. I mean they I
Speaker 1: think for that offense, you know, they had meltdowns. I
Speaker 1: think it was three straight drives that ended in downs
Speaker 1: inside the twenty one yard line of the Vikings, one
Speaker 1: at the nine, and one of the four team too.
Speaker 1: I mean that that was sort of the difference in
Speaker 1: that game a little bit, along with some big mistakes
Speaker 1: by the Bears. But I'm with you that when this
Speaker 1: house is cleared justin fields, um, the moments that we've
Speaker 1: seen from make this an attractive landing spot to some
Speaker 1: degree for whoever comes back. And um, I should add
Speaker 1: because I it was the first thing I texted to
Speaker 1: you guys after we did them that bizarre Tuesday night recap,
Speaker 1: uh that the Seattle Seahawks, you know, very tough loss
Speaker 1: against the Rams ended their season. They had a second
Speaker 1: half lead, there was a pass interference uh play that
Speaker 1: passed down field that led to a turnover that should
Speaker 1: have been called. I understand that and understand the frustration.
Speaker 1: I understand if you're a little annoyed that we didn't
Speaker 1: bring it up. But at the same time, let's let's
Speaker 1: be honest that this has been a bad year for Seattle.
Speaker 1: This was a team that did not have the real
Speaker 1: bona fides of a true playoff contender anyway. So they
Speaker 1: are just playing out the strings and I go to
Speaker 1: tankathon here first time. I mean this, this is uncharted.
Speaker 1: Ye to be completely out of the mix before Christmas
Speaker 1: has never happened with Russell Wilson. But they're five and
Speaker 1: nine here right now. It's as I tracked this for
Speaker 1: New York Jets purposes, a overall pick. Why not just
Speaker 1: go in the tank fully Seattle? And and I don't need,
Speaker 1: I don't need. You don't need to win, like who cares?
Speaker 1: So just go in the tank, go five and twelve
Speaker 1: and uh, and then do the business you need to
Speaker 1: do in the offseason, because if there's gonna be house
Speaker 1: cleaning in Chicago, there could be house cleaning in Seattle
Speaker 1: as well. Both franchises a lot cooking behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: Bad vibes in Seattle. They're a bad vibe team. But
Speaker 1: we always talk about how you know it's going to
Speaker 1: come down to Wilson or Pete Carroll, one of them
Speaker 1: is going. But have we heard any real nuggets at
Speaker 1: all that Carols? No one knows anything, maybe or maybe not.
Speaker 1: Though I mean the Luggets are coming soon. Well, there
Speaker 1: you're saying that when Russell Wilson played the Giants, there
Speaker 1: was a SIRA is very interested in New York stuff. Again,
Speaker 1: that part is real, you know. The I don't know
Speaker 1: if it was the Giants reporters or Russell Wilson's people
Speaker 1: were definitely trying to to stoke that a little bit.
Speaker 1: Let's move to the back end of this draft. I
Speaker 1: will grab man what a draft for tugboat look at this?
Speaker 1: So we got rams Vikings too overall. Then we go
Speaker 1: and get Baltimore Cincinnati at five, I mean great playoff
Speaker 1: games essentially, and then you get Okay, it's no, it's
Speaker 1: not an incredible game, but it has huge steaks for
Speaker 1: both teams. Denver at Vegas with the penultimate pick of
Speaker 1: the draft. Oh yeah, what what what huge steaks? Who's
Speaker 1: going to have the seventeenth draft pick and who's gonna
Speaker 1: have the I don't rattle the narrative, Dan, I think
Speaker 1: you've done incredible work here. You know they like to
Speaker 1: great drafts, like back in US today when I'd read
Speaker 1: that like they grated the day after your draft gets
Speaker 1: an a if you if you have six minute drives,
Speaker 1: a field goal attempts Raiders Broncos. Um, look at you
Speaker 1: turning your back on the Broncos. That's tragic, but yeah,
Speaker 1: but you are a mercenary. Greg. Yes, I don't like
Speaker 1: the Broncos as a team. That's exciting, and I think
Speaker 1: the Raiders are cooked, as I've said multiple times over
Speaker 1: the past two weeks. But it is essentially a playoff
Speaker 1: game for these two teams, and that the loser is
Speaker 1: absolutely I don't know if they're eliminated mathematically, but you
Speaker 1: could say goodbye Teddy. Bridgewater I believe has already been
Speaker 1: ruled out. Uh. He suffered that scary head injury, and
Speaker 1: they are rightly you know. I don't know how Bridgewater
Speaker 1: is physically right now, but whenever you suffer a brain
Speaker 1: injury that makes you go in a hospital, that leads
Speaker 1: to you staying uh in a hospital room the night,
Speaker 1: you should not be playing football the next week. And
Speaker 1: I think we've advanced enough, uh to understand these things.
Speaker 1: So Bridgewaters out drew Lock, who stinks is in and
Speaker 1: we'll see if the Raiders um how they thank the
Speaker 1: football gods for one of the all time gifts of
Speaker 1: a victory against the Browns where they needed every ounce
Speaker 1: of fortuity to go their way between COVID and the
Speaker 1: you know, the timing of the game and having the
Speaker 1: a kicker that has ice water in his veins, Daniel
Speaker 1: Carson another underrated kicker, so Raiders at home should win.
Speaker 1: But I think both these teams ultimately are also rinds. Well.
Speaker 1: The Drew Lock thing, I think it's so it's so
Speaker 1: such a stroke of good luck for for the Raiders.
Speaker 1: I mean, who you know, weeks some of these teams
Speaker 1: are just surviving above water because of these scattered matchups
Speaker 1: that they get. And this is another example of that.
Speaker 1: It's not COVID related, but Drew Lock has looked like
Speaker 1: he's regressed. He looked terrible, and the Raiders um look
Speaker 1: at they. I mean, they barely got out of their
Speaker 1: own way in that Browns game. Some killer penalties, They're undisciplined.
Speaker 1: They look like a bad football team to me. And
Speaker 1: we're still dealing with them for a couple more weeks, right,
Speaker 1: Raiders Raiders fans, they want to hear about getting good
Speaker 1: luck either, because it's like their whole secondary is gone
Speaker 1: at this point. Even their replacements like face On went
Speaker 1: on the COVID list. They're they're going to hear because
Speaker 1: that was incredible. They were especially this week like getting locked,
Speaker 1: Like no, Darren Waller has just crushed this offense. I
Speaker 1: picked the Broncos to win this game. I was very
Speaker 1: surprised even with Lock, just because I think the only
Speaker 1: good thing in this game is the Broncos defense, which
Speaker 1: the defense we were promised coming into the season in
Speaker 1: terms of their their coverage and playing cohesively, and they
Speaker 1: do have a little bit of a pass rushan now
Speaker 1: I think has shown up in the last month or so.
Speaker 1: It just feels like the only side of football and
Speaker 1: either on either of these teams that's any good right now,
Speaker 1: so I could see them winning. Then again, Drew Lock
Speaker 1: is one of fifty four players to qualify for PFF
Speaker 1: like with at least thirty or forty dropbacks, and he
Speaker 1: has ranked fifty four UM and it's not close, like
Speaker 1: he's way behind fifty three because he's played like fifty
Speaker 1: snaps and he has like six turnover worthy plays, so
Speaker 1: he's basically been a total mess. It's a good answer
Speaker 1: to a trivia question, at least by that metric, who
Speaker 1: is the worst quarterback in the entire NFL. By that measure,
Speaker 1: it's Drew lock So that's the guy starting for uh Denver.
Speaker 1: I guess the favorite Denver Broncos on the road. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was gonna say. My last thought on it is
Speaker 1: that Broncos have told us who they are this season
Speaker 1: multiple times. They have a head coach and Vic Fangio,
Speaker 1: and a defensive scheme that can cook up the opponent,
Speaker 1: and certainly the Raiders at this stage of the season.
Speaker 1: Without Darren Waller, UH can be cooked up. So I
Speaker 1: expect that. But their offense is so bad that it
Speaker 1: keeps them earthbound. So this this has got written all
Speaker 1: over it. I am totally happy with Field versus Rest
Speaker 1: in the late window. I don't care that it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: I just you know what, after watching the Bears on
Speaker 1: Monday night, you couldn't well you literally have to pay
Speaker 1: me to watch it. The NFL will be paying me
Speaker 1: to watch that on Monday to write the power rankings.
Speaker 1: And that's the only way it's happening. It's not for
Speaker 1: the love of the game in this case, bar close
Speaker 1: it out, all right, Um, I mean talk about games
Speaker 1: that I need to be you know, funded generously to observe.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go Lions at Falcons. Uh, we don't even know.
Speaker 1: We may not be getting Jared Golf for Detroit Um
Speaker 1: because of COVID. I mean, this is just enough with
Speaker 1: this business. So that could be Tim Boyle. I don't
Speaker 1: know what their issue is with David Blow, my guy.
Speaker 1: They seem to deactivate him every weekend. They were very
Speaker 1: upset about this. Well, the newsletter. I gotta be honest,
Speaker 1: that newsletter. We've lost some valuable readers because they don't believe.
Speaker 1: And so you know, the Lions don't seem to believe.
Speaker 1: That's a big problem when you're writing a newsletter about
Speaker 1: a player. Is that officially though they kind of they
Speaker 1: kind of let it make, you know, made it made
Speaker 1: the opponent, you know, prepare for both Boil and Blow.
Speaker 1: I don't think they were saying here's the problem with
Speaker 1: the blow Hard newsletter. Unfortunately, and Mark, no one needs
Speaker 1: to tell you this because you're the editor in chief.
Speaker 1: Is that like two good drives on not even the
Speaker 1: most recent Thanksgiving, the Thanksgiving before that? Like, how far
Speaker 1: does that really take you? He does need You gotta
Speaker 1: give him the platform to be able to make enough
Speaker 1: plays to justify the existence of the newsletter counterpoint, like
Speaker 1: every major religion is based on someone from the deep
Speaker 1: past who did a lot of flashy things and we
Speaker 1: still remember and think about today. So I think David
Speaker 1: Blow fits more into sort of a Messianic um, someone
Speaker 1: who provides hope on who's gonna say that. I thought
Speaker 1: you might be with Christmas right around the corner and
Speaker 1: making a christ parallel to David Blow. And there it
Speaker 1: is with the messianic comment. Yes, okay, I feel like
Speaker 1: maybe if you if you check out, perhaps I don't
Speaker 1: know the New Testament Jesus had a little bit more
Speaker 1: of a track record than David Blow did in that
Speaker 1: quarter against the Bears, But you can make the case.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying that there is there is a a
Speaker 1: faint parallel um, and that's why I think so many
Speaker 1: people have subscribed to this newsletter. If he if he
Speaker 1: were to play against this Falcons defense um, if that
Speaker 1: ever were to happen, I mean, it is essentially like
Speaker 1: coming back to Earth from the heavens some degree. I
Speaker 1: just want to watch the lions though, because they still
Speaker 1: make me. They're enjoyable to me, and that's kind of
Speaker 1: what you need. In these weeks sixteen, seventeen, eighteen business.
Speaker 1: It's like they're the they're the worst record around, and
Speaker 1: I enjoy watching them. You've performed, You've you've performed. The
Speaker 1: valuable is this year mark because every week you pick
Speaker 1: the lines in every week you say the same thing
Speaker 1: about the Lions, uh, and we thank you for it.
Speaker 1: I mean, I do think it sounds like they may
Speaker 1: be getting DeAndre Swift back. They do make players better.
Speaker 1: That's like a good sign of a good coaching staff.
Speaker 1: Charles Harris was the first round pick of the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: And it's stuck in a couple of spots. Suddenly good
Speaker 1: there and Craig Reynolds comes off the mat. I'm hesitant.
Speaker 1: I'm not. You know, it can't rain in the uh
Speaker 1: in whatever they're calling the Mercedes Ben's Dome down there
Speaker 1: in Atlanta. But the Falcons are favored by six, six
Speaker 1: and a half in this game. If I'm not, I'm
Speaker 1: not going there because I don't like getting stuck in
Speaker 1: these The lines are gonna move and the quarterbacks may change.
Speaker 1: But if that sticks, and especially if golf comes back,
Speaker 1: I like the Lions in this game. I mean, I
Speaker 1: definitely like them to cover. So what the heck, graver,
Speaker 1: let's go. Let's go Lions. Whatever the line ends up,
Speaker 1: you'll worry about Tim boyle in in my life, though,
Speaker 1: I would like to know who's playing quarterback. But and
Speaker 1: you know, this is uh, this is this is off brand.
Speaker 1: This isn't part of the Greg Empire Rainmaker empowered. But
Speaker 1: the zoos up there in the mountain. He's gonna throw
Speaker 1: down a lightning bolt. See fantasy heads and say, guess
Speaker 1: what that Kyle Pitts second touchdown of the year. It's
Speaker 1: coming this week. Hit it. No, I don't have anything,
Speaker 1: but Kyle Pitts scores the second touchdown of the year,
Speaker 1: and uh, fantasy heads like me that have kept the
Speaker 1: faith will be rewarded in their semi fe's half a
Speaker 1: yard short. I don't know if you saw that last week. Yea,
Speaker 1: I saw it. We've all we all saw it, all
Speaker 1: the all the pits stains out there, we all we
Speaker 1: all saw the name of the group. That's great, that's good.
Speaker 1: All right, let's take a terrible that's a terrible, such
Speaker 1: a hey us, you know all the pits stains out there,
Speaker 1: we uh, we have kept the faith, and we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens in week sixteen. Let's take a break and
Speaker 1: then hit the leftovers. All right, welcome back, Let's hit
Speaker 1: the You know, you could argue that the two worst
Speaker 1: teams in the in the league, although the Jaguars probably
Speaker 1: earned the title that the New York football team. So
Speaker 1: let's get those games out of the way. They happened
Speaker 1: to one of them is playing the Jaguars, so buckle up.
Speaker 1: I can't I can't imagine there's gonna be more than
Speaker 1: forty seven people at MetLife Stadium for Jaguars at Jets
Speaker 1: the day after Christmas, in the middle of a surging
Speaker 1: global pandemic. I have a feeling a lot of New
Speaker 1: Yorkers and Northern New Jersey residents are gonna say, nah,
Speaker 1: we're good. We're gonna we're good on this one. Guys.
Speaker 1: So you have Jets hell, you know what, No, that's disrespectful. Eagles.
Speaker 1: I was gonna, I was gonna put them together in
Speaker 1: the two games. But that's not right. But any thoughts
Speaker 1: on Jaguars at Jets, it can't be too many. Well,
Speaker 1: the Jets have I think seventeen players put on the
Speaker 1: COVID list this week. They are the team that's in
Speaker 1: their head coach. This was a tough and their head coach,
Speaker 1: this was a tough one. Yeah, because you gotta. I
Speaker 1: gotta pick each one of these games. Tough one because
Speaker 1: I at this point I have had a policy this
Speaker 1: year which has served me well, which has never picked
Speaker 1: the Jaguars in any scenario. You know, you go thirteen
Speaker 1: and two doing that, the Texans swept them. Their offense
Speaker 1: is so bad that I I do think the Jets
Speaker 1: coaching staff and just somehow will find a way to
Speaker 1: win this game. But then you see that fifteen to
Speaker 1: seventeen Jets are on the COVID list, and it's it's tough.
Speaker 1: Do you take away fifteen players from the Jets. It's
Speaker 1: not a great NFL team Anyway, the Jets can catch
Speaker 1: the Jaguars for the number one pick, because yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: not absolutely rude for Jacksonville. They could, They could do it.
Speaker 1: This week. I was looking at it with the strength
Speaker 1: of scheduled let's go. If the Lions go win another
Speaker 1: ball game, very doable. Um, it could happen. It could
Speaker 1: absolutely happen. You need to get a little help. But
Speaker 1: the strength the schedule is gonna improve because you're about
Speaker 1: to play the Jaguars. All right, there you go. That's
Speaker 1: something to look out for, and that's to pick them
Speaker 1: by the way in the desert. The Giants at the
Speaker 1: Giants at the Eagles. Uh, Philly took care of business
Speaker 1: against the COVID decimated Washington football team and now their
Speaker 1: reward is what should be mark a total layoup against
Speaker 1: Giants team has already gone home for the winter. That
Speaker 1: has um a quarterback situation. Daniel Jones done for the year.
Speaker 1: I R Mike Lennon absolutely miserable. I mean good for
Speaker 1: the guys, set for life financially if he's made the
Speaker 1: right decisions, but he cannot play and doesn't need to
Speaker 1: be in the league as a backup too much longer.
Speaker 1: And then you have Jake from State Farm. Uh, this
Speaker 1: feels like a twenty four to three game. It should be. Uh.
Speaker 1: The Eagles are without Nick Sirianni, who tested positive for COVID,
Speaker 1: I mean, another coach not able to be on the field.
Speaker 1: They have a passing game coordinate named Kevin Petulio who
Speaker 1: will be taking over. I guess we don't we don't
Speaker 1: know how that seems to impact these teams because I'd
Speaker 1: have to check the record, but it's I think teams
Speaker 1: are like five and one or something when the head
Speaker 1: coach just not hot. Take coaches don't matter, running back
Speaker 1: don't matter. But it's just it's just it's not it's
Speaker 1: not a great look for them in general. They probably
Speaker 1: the crew of them would probably much rather they be,
Speaker 1: you know, winless in that situation. Um, I'm whither. The
Speaker 1: Giants are just depressing. It's it's a hot mess and
Speaker 1: it feels like the end of another end of the
Speaker 1: regime there. I don't know what the argument is for
Speaker 1: for Joe Judge at this point, because look at across
Speaker 1: the way. By week three or four, the Eagles were
Speaker 1: a radioactive, um a M talk radio disaster. People couldn't
Speaker 1: stand what was going on. And I think Sirianni has
Speaker 1: done a really good job. What's your argument if you're
Speaker 1: Joe Judge, I know there's been injuries, but you're two
Speaker 1: years in and there's no identity to this team on
Speaker 1: any level now, there's no argument. And uh Gonza made
Speaker 1: a good point with the Eagles that it's true that
Speaker 1: the schedule has broken their way with the but that's
Speaker 1: what the NFC East is about you're gonna have some
Speaker 1: good schedules, and they've they really have taken advantage, and
Speaker 1: they do have a good offense. Like I know, it's
Speaker 1: not just about the opponents. They are fourth and expected
Speaker 1: points added since Week eight their offense and it's mostly
Speaker 1: the running game. But like Miles Sanders being back and
Speaker 1: looking makes a difference. He had been not great and
Speaker 1: then gone for a while. He looks good. We've talked
Speaker 1: about Davante Smith a lot, and got Her is playing great.
Speaker 1: They jake from starting a football game here in week sixteen.
Speaker 1: That's uh, that's probably what we're getting. The only thing
Speaker 1: I'd say though, is that this game was a weird
Speaker 1: one obviously for Philly, but it's the one game where
Speaker 1: they did not surge on offense. They lost that game.
Speaker 1: They lost thirteen to seven. They turned it over four
Speaker 1: four times. That's not going to happen again with the turnovers.
Speaker 1: I mean, I would just assume it wouldn't feel a
Speaker 1: little fuky. Yeah, the Eagles, is Gonzo mentioned, have issues
Speaker 1: with the Giants at times, but this just feels different. Um, So,
Speaker 1: Eagles feel like they're in a great spot to go
Speaker 1: into the last two weeks. With a real shot at
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Um, all right, there you go. That is
Speaker 1: the totality of Week sixteen. By the way, again, Thursday
Speaker 1: night football Miners against the Titans with Grave Digger on
Speaker 1: the mike with Mark Sessler and Greg, I believe you
Speaker 1: had some you had vested interest in that game. That's right.
Speaker 1: I'm locking up this forty Niners team before we get
Speaker 1: out of here. That was very close to my lock
Speaker 1: as well, Greg, and that would have been three weeks
Speaker 1: in a row we had the same lock. But I
Speaker 1: thought about the Rams Grammers looking at me sideways this there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I know they're a j Brown's back and Julio is
Speaker 1: out there, but they have not protected all year. These
Speaker 1: are these are two bully type teams. Graver and I
Speaker 1: think it's a bully getting bullied down in Nashville. Uh no,
Speaker 1: Taylor Law, No Saffold, right, that's correct. In the backup
Speaker 1: left tackle Kendall Lamb also announced on Instagram this morning
Speaker 1: that he has COVID so he will not be playing.
Speaker 1: Maybe we'll see second round pick Dylan Raden's for the
Speaker 1: first time this year. It is a TNF road game
Speaker 1: across the country. It's like that's why in the Titans
Speaker 1: are feisty. The Titans are feisty. They dominated Pittsburgh last week.
Speaker 1: I was surprised they lost that game. But I just
Speaker 1: think the four Niners are good? Are good? Titans not good?
Speaker 1: You know. I I locked the Titans the Niners and
Speaker 1: lost a couple of weeks ago on the same logic
Speaker 1: against Seattle. And now you have a similar situation here
Speaker 1: where they're facing a team in a little bit of
Speaker 1: a desperate situation. Uh, Thursday night games are super weird,
Speaker 1: a really tough lock in general. That about the thought
Speaker 1: about the Rams, but I trust that would be interesting.
Speaker 1: But make sure to check out that recap. And and
Speaker 1: on that note, I did promise a a surprise, uh
Speaker 1: to you boys and all the listeners. Uh, this is big,
Speaker 1: as you know, we've been played all season. We've been
Speaker 1: um celebrating the greatness of the artist Priyanka who um
Speaker 1: back in the year two thousand thirteen delivered a anthem
Speaker 1: for the ages in my city. Unfortunately, uh, pock marks
Speaker 1: all over the production in the form of will I Am,
Speaker 1: who slathered his black eyed peas ka ka ka kama,
Speaker 1: yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah all over the song to
Speaker 1: the point where the beauty of the song was lost
Speaker 1: and and Mark to me that felt like something that
Speaker 1: needed to be addressed. Yeah, you've been on the case.
Speaker 1: Um the will i Am thing. I don't know if
Speaker 1: it's gotten back to will I Am, but it is you.
Speaker 1: I think that, you know, anyone with a logical approach
Speaker 1: to music or an aesthetic approach would have to agree
Speaker 1: with your take. And we need a different version of
Speaker 1: this song. I think at some point a pure one
Speaker 1: get closer to purity. M hm. It really has been
Speaker 1: an itch that needs to you know, for a lot
Speaker 1: of people, that needs to be scratched. So many people
Speaker 1: walking around daily thinking when will they fix the Prianka song.
Speaker 1: Finally it's population. I think it's probably has it on
Speaker 1: their minds. And into the room walked Preston Smith, the
Speaker 1: daughter of Matt Money Smith. And no, no, you cut
Speaker 1: you sun, No, no you could you wait? Oh you
Speaker 1: gult you life on the shake. Come on to the
Speaker 1: map place, So come on and make some new friends.
Speaker 1: Show me wants to drink again. I know there's no
Speaker 1: place like home, but I know you're gonna like it
Speaker 1: in my city. Everybody's welcome here. Everybody welcome to my city.
Speaker 1: We ain't gonna worry an god like in my city.
Speaker 1: And no, your good friend and me, you ain't gonna
Speaker 1: wannaly so come on just come wow. Inc puts some
Speaker 1: hard into it. That is yes. Preston Smith, not the
Speaker 1: dynamic pass rusher of the Packers, the daughter of Matt
Speaker 1: Money Smith, a talented young singer songwriter. You could follow
Speaker 1: her on Instagram at p r E s t y
Speaker 1: N S m I t H Music. Preston Smith. I
Speaker 1: mean that there, it is there. That's the stripped down
Speaker 1: version of one of the great songs ever written, delivered
Speaker 1: in a way that will I am can never touch.
Speaker 1: She's done it. She's was beautiful. It had a lot
Speaker 1: of like heart to it. It almost reminds me of
Speaker 1: like Hallelujah, that that Leonard Cohen song. Like at this point,
Speaker 1: people don't really think of it as Leonard Cohen song.
Speaker 1: Is just something that gets sung in in important situations weddings, funerals, whatever,
Speaker 1: and a million great artists have redone the song because
Speaker 1: the song is so sturdy. I think Preston Smith might
Speaker 1: kick start a sim Miller this is the city. To
Speaker 1: extend that a little further. This is the Jeff Buckley
Speaker 1: version City Well in a song that's been suppressed. I
Speaker 1: think that most people in America would agree that this
Speaker 1: is close to being an American anthem um in so
Speaker 1: many ways. And now it's been. You know, it was beautiful.
Speaker 1: We filled up the gas tank. We're back. It was beautiful,
Speaker 1: good stuff. Thank you to Preston for the hard work.
Speaker 1: Thanks for Money for helping to make it happen. Money
Speaker 1: he's the producer on that track. And guess what, he
Speaker 1: didn't slather any production all over it. He just let
Speaker 1: the talent shine through. We thank the entire Money family.
Speaker 1: All right. Now, tomorrow's Christmas Eve. We have a television show.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the time slot we've always wanted
Speaker 1: uh NFL Network Christmas Morning, four am. Santa's Coming down
Speaker 1: the Chimney seven on the East Coast. Seven. The kids
Speaker 1: might want to be opening their presence, or they might
Speaker 1: want to go straight to the couch, get settled in
Speaker 1: with a little hot chocolate and a blanket, and watch
Speaker 1: two hours of the Around the NFL broadcast, then open
Speaker 1: their gifts. That's in play. Potentially for some it's the
Speaker 1: one thing that probably is more enticing to children everywhere
Speaker 1: then actually opening gifts, and I know that we're not,
Speaker 1: in general not supposed to see Santa. You know, let
Speaker 1: him do his thing and you know, be in your room.
Speaker 1: But that's on how it works this time where there's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of Santa encounters early morning, West Coast.
Speaker 1: Have we thought about this? Have we thought about a
Speaker 1: scenario Santa's on a tight deadline. We've all been there's writers,
Speaker 1: there's a deadline to hit. He's delivering presents. Someone leaves
Speaker 1: their television on at four am on the East coast.
Speaker 1: Hot damn, it's around the NFL broadcast, and Santa, totally
Speaker 1: transfixed by our program, pops down at the couch with
Speaker 1: those cookies, falls behind on his deliveries, and calamity ensues.
Speaker 1: So we gotta be careful don't leave the televisions on
Speaker 1: in case Santa is a big NFL fan. I think
Speaker 1: you're saying, like our job is to not too interesting
Speaker 1: on the show itself. It's the other way to go
Speaker 1: and that, yeah, it's our biggest show, because that was
Speaker 1: that was always a morning you know, you can't sleep,
Speaker 1: you're excited about getting the gifts. I would get up
Speaker 1: at like four or five, see what's in the stocking?
Speaker 1: And then you you go to the couch. What's on?
Speaker 1: Like infomercials at four thirty am? Usually anymore? Not anymore.
Speaker 1: We covered that base alright, So check out the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL broadcast on Saturday Christmas, and yes, Merry Christmas
Speaker 1: to everyone listening who celebrates, and happy Holidays to everyone. Uh,
Speaker 1: enjoy your time with your family, or your time off
Speaker 1: from work or just you know, enjoy listening to the
Speaker 1: show and watching our programs, and hopefully stay healthy and
Speaker 1: stay well. We will be back Sunday night with the
Speaker 1: recap of all the games we just previewed and grave Digger.
Speaker 1: I think the only way to say goodbye uh today
Speaker 1: is to give Preston Smith the floor one more time
Speaker 1: with her cover her version of holliy Lujah. Heard Jeff
Speaker 1: Buckley moment Preston Smith within my city. Uh he had
Speaker 1: to call everybody and no, no you could June Town,
Speaker 1: No no you caut June wait, oh you gultchne life
Speaker 1: on the shake. Come on down the mother place, So
Speaker 1: come on and make some new friends. Show me wants
Speaker 1: to drink again. I know there's no place like come,
Speaker 1: but I know you're gonna like you in my city.
Speaker 1: Everybody's welcome here. Everybody welcome to my city. We are
Speaker 1: gonna worry she annoying like you in my city, the
Speaker 1: royal good friend. Indeed, you ain't gonna wonderly. So come on,
Speaker 1: just come on. You ain't there. I had a party
Speaker 1: to him, Come to a party in a city.