Speaker 1: The volume this week on Prime Cuts, Chad Milman, Sharper Square,
Speaker 1: John Middlikoff on the Niners Dominant went over Philly in
Speaker 1: my Top Takes of the Week. Well, hi, everybody, I
Speaker 1: think the interesting story today is Tyler Dunn, who is
Speaker 1: connected covers the Packers and the Buffalo Bills, has a
Speaker 1: story today. It's part of a three part series on
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott and how he has worn out as welcome
Speaker 1: in Buffalo. And there's a lot of you know, anonymous
Speaker 1: sourcing that I trust with Tyler Dunn on players saying
Speaker 1: he's rigid, He's a blamer. You know, that's why the
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator is quit. He fashions himself as a great
Speaker 1: leader but doesn't inspire players. But the most damning part
Speaker 1: of the article to me, and something I've talked about
Speaker 1: so often that I do worry that it's just it's
Speaker 1: fatiguing to the audience, is defensive coaches do not have
Speaker 1: relationships with quarterbacks. We've seen Mac Jones and Belichick regress terribly,
Speaker 1: Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson really bad. Mike Zimmer and
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins reportedly huge fissiers in that relationship. In the
Speaker 1: Tyler Dunn story, the part that would really concern me
Speaker 1: is the quote that Sean McDermott, all these years with
Speaker 1: Josh Allen doesn't really have a great relationship.
Speaker 2: Hmm.
Speaker 1: That's why Josh Allen has regressed since Brian Dabole left,
Speaker 1: and we've talked about it on FS one. If you
Speaker 1: look at the coaches who have had to deal with
Speaker 1: backup quarterback situations this year, Shane Steike and Colts, they're
Speaker 1: winning with Gardner Minshew, Zach Taylor, Jake Browning just beat
Speaker 1: the Jaguars in Jacksonville. You know, I mean Brock Purdy
Speaker 1: started his career with Shanahan as a backup, Kevin Stefanski
Speaker 1: with Joe Flakel last week, surprisingly capable. You look at
Speaker 1: defensive coaches who have to deal with backups Belichick and
Speaker 1: Bailey Zappi, Dennis Allen having to deal with Jamis Winston
Speaker 1: and New Orleans. So there is a thread here. Offensive
Speaker 1: coaches consistently have better relationships, not surprisingly with their quarterback.
Speaker 1: But when your quarterback is Josh Allen, you got to
Speaker 1: get it right. And in that Tyler Dunn article, McDermott
Speaker 1: has no real tight relationship with his star quarterback, and listen,
Speaker 1: you just don't see very often he's a blamer. In
Speaker 1: the article, a defensive coordinator resign like Leslie Fraser, a
Speaker 1: respected guy. This year they blamed Ken Dorsey. He gets fired.
Speaker 1: So Buffalo's a small market, a very small market by
Speaker 1: pro sports franchise market comps, and so I have my
Speaker 1: questions whether they'd fire him or not. But the reason
Speaker 1: I talk about this it leads me to the second story,
Speaker 1: which is Jim Harbaugh is negotiating an eleven and a
Speaker 1: half million dollar a year deal with Michigan Think Think.
Speaker 1: The only great job available in the NFL is potentially
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bill's job. The Chargers would be a good
Speaker 1: job at Brandon Staley hasn't been fired, and the Dean
Speaker 1: Spano's children, the boys are upstairs in the front office,
Speaker 1: which has scared off other coaches. It's not ideal. You
Speaker 1: won't get much of a say in personnel, which Harbaugh wants.
Speaker 1: Buffalo is different. They have drafted pretty well, not great,
Speaker 1: but what they're missing is somebody to build a consistently
Speaker 1: good run game and O line. That is exactly what
Speaker 1: Jim Harbaugh has done with the Niners, with Stanford and
Speaker 1: with Michigan. What the Bills lack as a coach, vision,
Speaker 1: quarterback elevation, physicality, and a consistent run game. That's exactly
Speaker 1: what Harbaugh does. So Jim Harraud to Buffalo is a
Speaker 1: perfect fit. The defense is good enough, the roster is
Speaker 1: good enough, there are things they do well. But how
Speaker 1: many years does this defense of coach get to use
Speaker 1: alibis to explain the inability to run the ball consistently.
Speaker 1: Also struggling to run the ball consistently defensive coach Mike
Speaker 1: Tomlin and Pittsburgh. So it's a pattern. The tighter dun
Speaker 1: story is I opening. Check it out on Bill's coach
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott does not paint a pretty picture. And in
Speaker 1: line with that, juxtaposed with the Jim Harbon news, if
Speaker 1: I was Jim Harbaugh, I would accept Michigan's offer. I
Speaker 1: don't think there's a great job out there. You get
Speaker 1: about one great job opening every three or four years, Cowboys,
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy job, you get Dak the Old Line, a
Speaker 1: committed franchise, good money, great city, good job, Matt Lafleur, Packers,
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, late Prime, great job, not many. You can say, oh, oh, well,
Speaker 1: look at Pete Carroll took the Seahawks. They didn't have
Speaker 1: quarterback right. Pete couldn't get the quarterback right for a
Speaker 1: couple of years. That looks like a good franchise, was
Speaker 1: it when he took it over? Oh? The Houston Texans
Speaker 1: were a Demiko Ryans is great and C. J. Stroud
Speaker 1: has been shockingly good. It's not a good job. Most
Speaker 1: of these openings. You've got an owner issue, a roster issue,
Speaker 1: or a pressure and unrealistic expectation issue. Like Carolina. Bill's
Speaker 1: not only a great job opening because of Josh Allen
Speaker 1: steady ownership, good roster. Belichick's leaving soon. Aaron Rodgers' situation
Speaker 1: is still a mess. Tua his They haven't given him
Speaker 1: an extension, so you don't really know if the organization's
Speaker 1: all in on Tua, who has been historically injury prone.
Speaker 1: That's the only job. If I'm our baw, I pause
Speaker 1: on the Michigan contract offer. Other than that, I'd sign
Speaker 1: it tomorrow. The Packers went over Kansas City. It was
Speaker 1: their game from the very beginning. And I said this
Speaker 1: during the week on FS one. It didn't matter if
Speaker 1: Green Bay won in terms of the big picture. What
Speaker 1: Jordan Love had to do with Patrick Mahomes on the
Speaker 1: other sideline is to be able to match him, and
Speaker 1: you know we don't. Holmes is the better cornerback. Can
Speaker 1: he make throws? Can he look confident? Can he move?
Speaker 1: And I thought Jordan Love was everything and more. You know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting. For years I've said about Green Bay is
Speaker 1: I think they draft and develop as well as anybody
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Just look at their wide receiving talent. Watson, Jaden, Reid, Romeo,
Speaker 1: Dobbs and Wicks. The four really really twitchy. Watson's a burner,
Speaker 1: They're really clever athletes, all can play. New England hasn't
Speaker 1: drafted a legitimate receiver in over a decade. Green Bay's
Speaker 1: got four in two years. They just do it well.
Speaker 1: And it's what's interesting. If you look at the Packers history,
Speaker 1: they don't take a lot of players, offensive players in
Speaker 1: the first round, but yet they always end up with
Speaker 1: elite tackles, very good running backs, excellent receivers, better than
Speaker 1: average tight ends. It's a really offensive leading culture. Home
Speaker 1: run in the McCarthy, in the Matt Lafleur. They do
Speaker 1: offense well. Steelers do defense well. Packers do offense well,
Speaker 1: and this of course helps Jordan Love, whereas Kenny Pickett
Speaker 1: is going to be kind of on his own. Jordan
Speaker 1: Love's got great aids to his left, to his right.
Speaker 1: He also, and we've discussed this, you know, ad nauseum.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers was like, you know, a fifty year old
Speaker 1: lead singer and the band was a bunch of twenty
Speaker 1: year olds. He didn't fit all these young players as
Speaker 1: they were rebuilding the offense. This generationally works. Jordan Love
Speaker 1: and these guys like they feel like, you know, they're
Speaker 1: going to be around four years and years together. And
Speaker 1: you know, I just think if you if you look
Speaker 1: around at the majority of the young quarterbacks who can struggle,
Speaker 1: it's often with defensive coaches. Look at what McVeigh did
Speaker 1: to Goff, Look at what Shanahan's doing to Purty, Look
Speaker 1: at what Mike McDaniel did to resurrect Tua. Yet look
Speaker 1: what Belichick's done to Mac Jones. He gets worse every year.
Speaker 1: Now he's just a shot fighter. So I'm not saying
Speaker 1: Jordan Love doesn't have talent, but you've watched the development
Speaker 1: in the last six weeks. He's like a different player.
Speaker 1: He was always tall and moved well. He always had
Speaker 1: a good whip that was never a question. You could
Speaker 1: watch his YouTube highlights as you did, and I did
Speaker 1: at Utah State. He was always a big kid who
Speaker 1: moved well and had a whip that was never the issues.
Speaker 1: A little bit erratic as a thrower, he was tonight too,
Speaker 1: But this is just confidence development. And you can tell
Speaker 1: a lot years and years ago. I remember a story
Speaker 1: They've got confidence with Jordan Love now in the building.
Speaker 1: That's why tonight was already crucial, and you saw it
Speaker 1: a little bit against the Chargers, a lot against the Lions,
Speaker 1: and really a lot tonight is that you got to
Speaker 1: get buy in in the building. Years ago, a long
Speaker 1: long time ago, I helped create a show at ESBN
Speaker 1: called a Sports Nation and it was offbeatn kind of quirky,
Speaker 1: and we didn't know if it was going to work
Speaker 1: because it was so different than anything on the air.
Speaker 1: But an executive said, well, if the people in the
Speaker 1: building like it, if you get buy in in the bill,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what the ratings are, they'll support it.
Speaker 1: And I always thought that's interesting. Get buy in in
Speaker 1: the building. It's a lot like that for a quarterback.
Speaker 1: Watch the Chicago Bears play calling with Justin Fields. He
Speaker 1: has no buy in in the building. The coordinator doesn't
Speaker 1: trust him, the coach doesn't trust him. Seventy percent of
Speaker 1: the throws are behind the line of scrimmage. He's got
Speaker 1: no buy in in the building. CJ. Stroud complete buy in.
Speaker 1: Jordan Love did not have it in the preseason and
Speaker 1: in September we kept saying, it's their babysitting him. They're
Speaker 1: coddling him. Let him throw it. It was just slow growth.
Speaker 1: Let's wait until we're comfortable. Let's let this thing develop.
Speaker 1: The Packers knew better now when you watch it. They
Speaker 1: just let him go. I mean, it's got a backyard
Speaker 1: field to it. Just let him go. And he's never
Speaker 1: going to be as precise as Aaron Rodgers. That's not
Speaker 1: who he is. He's got the far playmaking ability with
Speaker 1: sort of the whip of Aaron Rodgers, but he's not
Speaker 1: a precise thrower. He's not Joe Burrow. That's not what
Speaker 1: he is. You know, he can get erratic. His mechanics
Speaker 1: are a little you know, they are what they are.
Speaker 1: It looks a little backyard football. But he's playing with
Speaker 1: a ton of confidence. He has tremendous young offensive personnel
Speaker 1: around him, and they're all getting better. Watson, Dobbs, Wicks,
Speaker 1: those guys are all going to get better. You don't
Speaker 1: have to pay any of them for three years, so
Speaker 1: that'll let you dip in and solve any issues you
Speaker 1: have anywhere else in the roster, because right now Jordan
Speaker 1: loves Not doesn't have a punitive contract. So you know
Speaker 1: the other thing that jumps out to me is that
Speaker 1: not only do the Packers draft and develop, well, I mean,
Speaker 1: how many quarterbacks have succeeded there? You know, a lot
Speaker 1: for the biggest three of the biggest quarterbacks in league history,
Speaker 1: you know our Packers, but the two more recent obviously
Speaker 1: are Farvan Rodgers. And you know it's it's sometimes because
Speaker 1: they don't have an owner to call you on your
Speaker 1: you know crap, and because it's the smallest pro sports
Speaker 1: city in America where you can't even go to the
Speaker 1: grocery store. I always call it the Green Bay Packer
Speaker 1: quarterback syndrome, where like far of An Aaron, Rodgers are
Speaker 1: very different people, but it kind of dissolved into the
Speaker 1: same threatening retirement, unhappy with front office. And you know,
Speaker 1: when you think about it, that was perfect for farv
Speaker 1: An Aaron Rodgers to start. It may have ended poorly,
Speaker 1: but you know, Green Bay tends to be very supportive,
Speaker 1: very much into development. You don't have to worry about
Speaker 1: the press breathing down your throat. I mean the cheeseheads, Lambeau,
Speaker 1: totally supportive, thick and thin. It really is a perfect
Speaker 1: environment for a young quarterback trying to find his footing.
Speaker 1: Former NFL scout for the Philadelphia Eagles, John Middlecough as
Speaker 1: we get ready for close to an hour of breakdown
Speaker 1: of college football, some thoughts on very coaches in the
Speaker 1: league who are on the definite hot seat. But we start,
Speaker 1: John with San Francisco and Philly. There were two games
Speaker 1: this weekend that I loved. I loved the Niners and
Speaker 1: I love the Lions. So let's start with San Francisco
Speaker 1: and in Philadelphia. I thought, at least in the first half,
Speaker 1: it felt like your classic matchup of great teams, playmakers, speed, strength, coaching,
Speaker 1: kind of the class of the NFC. But I do
Speaker 1: wonder if that emotional game with a lot of snaps
Speaker 1: for the Eagles defense last week against Buffalo, and that
Speaker 1: was one of the reasons I like San Francisco At
Speaker 1: this time of the year. John every day counts for rest,
Speaker 1: so the Niners get several days rest. The Eagles play
Speaker 1: an especially long game against Buffalo defenses on the field,
Speaker 1: and I think they looked absolutely worn down in the
Speaker 1: second half defensively. That was my take.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought early on, I mean that place I've
Speaker 3: been to a lot of games. There was rocking and
Speaker 3: the quarterback was a little shaky. The Eagles came ready
Speaker 3: to play, which was shocking. I thought it'd be the
Speaker 3: other way around. The Niners had talked a lot, Like
Speaker 3: you said, they had been Austin's Thanksgiving. I thought by
Speaker 3: about midway through that second quarter, the Niners were really
Speaker 3: leaning on him. You could tell that defensive line was gassed.
Speaker 3: The Eagles defense isn't very good. I mean, their linebackers
Speaker 3: are decimated with injuries. They're on like their third string
Speaker 3: nickel corner. They had to trade for a safety, and
Speaker 3: the forty nine ers from Ayuk to obviously Debo, who
Speaker 3: has been running his mouth for nine months. And listen,
Speaker 3: I got no problem in an individual sport. You're connor McGregor.
Speaker 3: You're Tiger Woods, your whatever. You run your mouth, only
Speaker 3: you have to back it up. Deebo can back it up.
Speaker 3: I was nervous some other guys on the team, you know,
Speaker 3: the right tackle trying to block Redick. It didn't matter.
Speaker 3: I mean, Deebo dominated that game. Kittle was awesome, McCaffrey
Speaker 3: was flying around. They came ready to play, but most
Speaker 3: importantly Colin in solidarity with the quarterback. How about that
Speaker 3: MVP type performance from brock perty after starting the game
Speaker 3: oh four, where it's just he looks shaky, Yeah, nighten
Speaker 3: of twenty three the rest of the game and just
Speaker 3: throwing dots, keeping plays alive with his legs, keeping his
Speaker 3: eyes downfield. He's how about the run he had where
Speaker 3: he broke the tackle. I'm not saying the guy's the MVP,
Speaker 3: but if he's not in the discussion, we're all not
Speaker 3: watching football. He was brilliant today.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think one of the things I've said,
Speaker 1: let's contextualize it. Shanahan's a brilliant, brilliant play caller, and
Speaker 1: the weapons are insane. I mean literally, Kitt will be
Speaker 1: a Hall of Famer. Trent Williams of a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1: McCaffrey should be a Hall of Famer, and if Deebo
Speaker 1: stays healthy for four more years, people will talk about
Speaker 1: him as a Hall of Famer. That's just on the offense.
Speaker 1: But I do believe that there are just certain throws
Speaker 1: that c J. Stroud makes and I'm like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a franchise quarterback that Kenny Pickett can't make, right,
Speaker 1: And so there are throws perty You'll make about three
Speaker 1: throws a game and he'll let go of that puppy
Speaker 1: before the receiver breaks and you're like, oh, yeah, that's
Speaker 1: a franch And for the record, I don't see joh
Speaker 1: Fields make those. I don't see him as an anticipation thrower.
Speaker 1: So and it's not a knock. I don't see Zach
Speaker 1: Wilson make those. A lot of this stuff is innate.
Speaker 1: And you know, years ago Bill Parcells had a rule
Speaker 1: no celebrity quarterbacks, which forget that. Now with nil, they're
Speaker 1: gonna be slighties. But I want three years of starting.
Speaker 1: And I remember when I really noticed this. I covered
Speaker 1: Akieley Smith in Oregon and I love the way through
Speaker 1: the ball, but he was like a one year starter
Speaker 1: and he went to the NFL and he just did
Speaker 1: not have enough reps. He just did not have enough reps.
Speaker 1: He was overwhelmed. And it wasn't because he was a
Speaker 1: good kid. He could move, he had a hell of
Speaker 1: an arm, he had a baseball arm. But he just
Speaker 1: didn't have enough starts. And you know, the NFL is
Speaker 1: impatient by year two, Like if you don't, they're not
Speaker 1: sitting around waiting for you, as everybody's gonna lose their job.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of this with Perty is he
Speaker 1: came in high school college, he had like eight straight
Speaker 1: years of snaps. He's just fun to He is just
Speaker 1: cognitively ready to play football.
Speaker 3: For sure. But I also think he's really good. I mean,
Speaker 3: he was the Arizona High School Player of the year,
Speaker 3: really good record, rooting base. In his second year starting,
Speaker 3: he was the second team All Big twelve guy behind
Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts. For the next two years he was a
Speaker 3: first teamer. And he's come in on this team and
Speaker 3: he's clearly better than anything Jimmy brought to the table.
Speaker 3: And Jimmy was pretty good, not the version we've seen
Speaker 3: these last couple of years. The other thing is, wouldn't
Speaker 3: you say probably the best average arm quarterback over the
Speaker 3: last probably a couple decades, was like Drew Brees, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, and we and listen, you were right on
Speaker 3: Baker Mayfield. I personally thought he could become that. Clearly,
Speaker 3: he never sniffed that. I actually think this guy has
Speaker 3: a lot of those traits in the pocket. But he
Speaker 3: also has unlike Drew. Now, Drew was much more accomplished
Speaker 3: as a passer coming out of college. But this guy
Speaker 3: clearly is comfortable to go in into environment like that
Speaker 3: dreary day Philly, and I get they were running out
Speaker 3: of gas and the Niners were favored for a reason,
Speaker 3: but that kid was dominant, you know, just in terms
Speaker 3: of accuracy and what's the key if you're gonna play
Speaker 3: with really good players, put it on them because well
Speaker 3: they got a lot of yards after the catch. Well
Speaker 3: he hits them in stride the ball. The McCaffrey down
Speaker 3: the middle, a couple of balls to debo, a couple
Speaker 3: balls as a kittle, and his athleticism, I think his
Speaker 3: ten yard split is pretty much the same time as
Speaker 3: Christian McCaffrey. So he's not Lamar Jackson or Cam Newton
Speaker 3: down the field as a runner, but you know, in
Speaker 3: those little bursts, he can keep plays live a lot
Speaker 3: like Jalen right, and that's an underestimated part of his
Speaker 3: game that has taken the Niners to a whole nother level. Now,
Speaker 3: once they pulled away, it was not a fair fight
Speaker 3: because the Eagles, like you said, ran out of gas.
Speaker 3: But I also think you see, like even if the
Speaker 3: Eagles had gas, let's face it, the Niners are a
Speaker 3: little better, right fully healthy, and the Eagles just they're
Speaker 3: not getting healthy guys in the secondary, like brad Bury
Speaker 3: and Slay are their corners. And the way they use
Speaker 3: their number one wide receiver and Debo is not like
Speaker 3: an AJ Brown. They don't just put them out there
Speaker 3: and say cover Darius. Slay would like that with a receiver.
Speaker 3: They're moving them all around. They're using them like a
Speaker 3: running back. I use a very shifty in and out
Speaker 3: of cuts a lot like Devonte Smith. Why nobody can
Speaker 3: cover him. And then you got Kittle, who is just
Speaker 3: one of the most unique players in the league to
Speaker 3: go on top of McCaffrey. So it's just a tough situation.
Speaker 3: It's a tough matchup for Philly.
Speaker 1: Well, and here's the utter thing. So we both kind
Speaker 1: of I think we both felt strongly just on the
Speaker 1: extra time that this was really San Francisco's game for
Speaker 1: s Can you have these moments when Dallas went to
Speaker 1: San Francisco. San Francisco's kind of team. The Eagles know
Speaker 1: it and the Cowboys know it. If you don't have
Speaker 1: your shit dialed in, you're in big trouble. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: played Downhill really fast. They're like Buffalo three years ago.
Speaker 1: Without the mistakes. You get all the avalanche, you know,
Speaker 1: without the yard sale of skis flying everywhere. They're like
Speaker 1: a streamlined avalanche. And you just can't with all these weapons.
Speaker 1: But here's the one thing about Philadelphia I worry about
Speaker 1: is that Ferguson for the Cowboys. Now, Randon Cooks are productive,
Speaker 1: Ceedee Lamb's a top four receiver.
Speaker 3: In the league, big time, Okay.
Speaker 1: And then you have Debo Kittle, Brandon Ayux a special player. Awesome,
Speaker 1: Even Jennings contributes. The Philly secondary is not getting better.
Speaker 3: Awful.
Speaker 1: They made a move at the trade deadline. It's bad.
Speaker 1: It's old. It's not getting better. Even Detroit if you
Speaker 1: watch them today, because GoF usually has time because of
Speaker 1: that offensive line and they run the ball really well.
Speaker 1: Jamison Williams now becoming more of a threat. There's an
Speaker 1: argument to be made with Philly. Their weakness is a
Speaker 1: real problem because we both like GoF more than people know.
Speaker 1: Armor on Saint Brown Laportas and Williams Laporte. He's an
Speaker 1: incredible rule exists. So all of a sudden, you start
Speaker 1: looking at Philly and you're like, well, they don't match
Speaker 1: up necessarily well with the top three teams in the NFC.
Speaker 3: Well, their key is they did not have to win
Speaker 3: today after they won the last two weeks. Now they're
Speaker 3: gonna have to win this upcoming week against Dallas, right,
Speaker 3: and it is an enormous game. Their formula is gonna
Speaker 3: be the d line has to be elite. I mean,
Speaker 3: it has to be unstoppable, and it can be. Today
Speaker 3: they were clearly running on fumes. That's why, let's face
Speaker 3: it today through everything, I mean, McCarthy, I'm sure feed
Speaker 3: up eating a sandwich at home with a big smile
Speaker 3: on his face because he has the opportunity now at home.
Speaker 3: The Niners took care of business. The Niners now place Seattle.
Speaker 3: All of a sudden, if Dallas wins and the forty
Speaker 3: nine ers wins. The Eagles are kind of looking up.
Speaker 3: I'm with you. You gotta be able to It's not
Speaker 3: like Andrey Thomas and Leonore or Richard Sherman and Dreux
Speaker 3: Reeves in the prime, but they're functional players. And the
Speaker 3: main difference between the Eagles and the Niners because both
Speaker 3: of them have countless d linemen that every team would want.
Speaker 3: It's the linebackers. I mean, Fred Warner is a dominant player. Greenlaw,
Speaker 3: who got in a fight with Dom on the sideline,
Speaker 3: is probably the best number two linebacker. But even when
Speaker 3: those guys, there was a moment when when Greenlaw got
Speaker 3: tossed and Fred's schue came off. The Nighters have two
Speaker 3: other backups who are solid. Those linebackers are Kyle Shanahan
Speaker 3: was this is why Deebo and those guys were talking
Speaker 3: so much shit all week. They don't think that all
Speaker 3: those guys have a chance to handle their speed, their physicality.
Speaker 1: And they don't.
Speaker 3: And once they took a deep breath and just kind
Speaker 3: of handled the crowd and just kind of the wetness
Speaker 3: and just everything that the link brings. It was a route.
Speaker 3: They just ran circles around them, and that's for sure. Now.
Speaker 3: Their d linemen, if they play at an elite level,
Speaker 3: could just cause so much havoc and their offense has
Speaker 3: to be awesome. Goddard's got to come back, you know.
Speaker 3: Aj Brown had some big time moments to Vonte that
Speaker 3: their offense is really special and that's why they've won
Speaker 3: a lot of these games, right, because it's essentially been
Speaker 3: shootouts in the second half. Harder to have shootouts with
Speaker 3: the forty nine ers, I think because their defense that
Speaker 3: they're just not really going to play in a thirty
Speaker 3: eight to thirty five type game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the best one possession win teams over the last
Speaker 1: several years have been Philadelphia. It caught up with them today.
Speaker 1: Minnesota last year caught up with them. There was a
Speaker 1: Cowboy team and a Seahawk team over the last three
Speaker 1: or four years, and it caught up with them. You
Speaker 1: just can't you eventually, you can't get out gained like
Speaker 1: Philly had four straight games. Is it just doesn't work
Speaker 1: that way. And so I kind of look at the
Speaker 1: Philadelphia and I like so, I think they'll play very well.
Speaker 1: In a weird way, they were best served to get
Speaker 1: their butt kicked because they'll come against Dallas, they'll play
Speaker 1: a great game. They'll play a great game. But I
Speaker 1: do think there is a fundamental problem that they can
Speaker 1: only overcome with ball control offensively, which is their back
Speaker 1: They're back four back seven linebackers are weak. Corners aren't great.
Speaker 1: They have one good safety. The only way to overcome
Speaker 1: that is with ball control, and that's it, and now
Speaker 1: they have the components to do that.
Speaker 3: I think they also got to be really careful. And
Speaker 3: in fairness, they're players, I mean slays on the volume,
Speaker 3: high level guy, Jalen super high level guy. Their coach
Speaker 3: can be really really yappy, right and not in a
Speaker 3: Bill Parcells like check the hel on my wall. Yeappy.
Speaker 3: It's like kind of annoying, and there's a level of
Speaker 3: the you know, listen, Kyle Shannon's gonna scream at the refs,
Speaker 3: but he's not gonna give the other team. He's an
Speaker 3: old school kind of Andy Reid, his dad, like, it's
Speaker 3: not about he doesn't want to get involved in the thing.
Speaker 3: And I do think their coaching staff. You got Sirianni
Speaker 3: screaming at people pregame. He just listen. That works against
Speaker 3: the majority of opponents. It's not gonna work against the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: Maybe it works a little bit against Dallas, but it's
Speaker 3: not gonna work against the forty nine ers. It's more
Speaker 3: just x's and o's. We're gonna hit you in the
Speaker 3: mouth and we're gonna be relentless. So all that stuff,
Speaker 3: you know, that kind of typically feeds into Philly, like
Speaker 3: they loved when Dom got tossed, and they feed off
Speaker 3: that souff The Niners are they have proven that this
Speaker 3: core of guys have won so many games on the road,
Speaker 3: went to Green Bay and one went to Dallas and
Speaker 3: one like that. They're not gonna be intimidated by difficult
Speaker 3: circu They easily could have won a couple of years
Speaker 3: ago against the Rams, right you know, when Tart dropped
Speaker 3: the ball. So they go into these environments a lot
Speaker 3: like some great like NBA players like Curry group over
Speaker 3: the years, Like they're not intimidated. They might need a
Speaker 3: couple series to kind of gather themselves, but they're gonna
Speaker 3: be okay. So the Eagles, it's gonna be a scheme
Speaker 3: game versus them. Can you out scheme them? Because all
Speaker 3: the other shit, Like the Niners aren't gonna be phased
Speaker 3: by that crap. Can you can you outthink them? Can
Speaker 3: you out call like Andy Reid? Can you out call
Speaker 3: plays against whatever their their looks are offensively or defensively?
Speaker 3: And you saw today it wasn't really a fair fight. Now, I,
Speaker 3: like you said, I'm gonna give them the benefit of doubt,
Speaker 3: little gas. I think if you told me there was
Speaker 3: a rematch, I would expect a much better Philly fs.
Speaker 3: But I do think big picture, do they have like
Speaker 3: their head coach, he's not calling the plays on either side.
Speaker 3: He's just kind of screaming on the sideline like the
Speaker 3: forty nine ers guy is their play caller, Like it's
Speaker 3: him versus you. You know, so I that's a disadvantage
Speaker 3: for the Eagles.
Speaker 1: You know, here's the utter thing is I I'm trying
Speaker 1: to think of a roster who fungus injury, although painful,
Speaker 1: they can protect it the good pass rush. I don't
Speaker 1: think there's been a roster as good to San Francisco
Speaker 1: since the Seahawks roster that won a Super Bowl but
Speaker 1: went to too straight that that roster just didn't make.
Speaker 1: That was such a good roster. You're not really allowed
Speaker 1: to do that anymore. Again, Russell was on a rookie deal.
Speaker 1: Comminity wasn't the roster wasn't good. Perty's on a rookie deal.
Speaker 1: But I'm trying to think of a roster. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's I remember that Seattle team was so good that
Speaker 1: they went and just rented Percy Harvin almost never used
Speaker 1: him as a toy. And then they went and got
Speaker 1: Cliff Averel said yeah, we'll bring another pass rusher. And
Speaker 1: You're like, yeah, that's a luxury of a rookie contract.
Speaker 1: You can't do that with a veteran quarterback. But I
Speaker 1: think this roster, you know, I find myself rooting for
Speaker 1: San Francisco to win because it would be such a
Speaker 1: shame if this roster didn't at least want like that
Speaker 1: Seattle roster. John it was too damn good not to
Speaker 1: win a Super Bowl. It was just too good. That
Speaker 1: was just fundamentally too good. The Ravens roster with Dilferd,
Speaker 1: there's like seven Hall of famers. I grew up with
Speaker 1: the Steelers in the seventies. There were a couple of
Speaker 1: Raider teams. You're like, yet the Cows Jimmy Johnson roster,
Speaker 1: they need to win a Super Bowl. There's too many
Speaker 1: good players. All right, time for another edition of Sharper Square.
Speaker 1: Chad Milman, c CEO Action Network. All olds provided by
Speaker 1: Draft Kings. All right, let's start sharp Square. So let's
Speaker 1: go underdogs first. I'm prone to like underdogs. Saints are
Speaker 1: all beat up. You got a new coaching staff with
Speaker 1: the Panthers trying to impress the owner who's an impulsive,
Speaker 1: impatient man. Saints have been an underachieving team all year.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take Bryce Young plus five against the division rival.
Speaker 2: Sharper Square, totally sharp play. This one has been moving cole.
Speaker 2: This line opened at six and a half on Sunday.
Speaker 2: Wise guys immediately started betting it. By Monday morning, it's
Speaker 2: down to five. Right, and look, nobody thinks the Saints
Speaker 2: are what the Saints were expected to be in the
Speaker 2: beginning of the year. Jamis Winston He's eight and nineteen
Speaker 2: against the spread as a favorite in his career. Dennis
Speaker 2: Allen one of the most unprofitable coaches against the spread
Speaker 2: in his tenure of the past twenty years. They're one
Speaker 2: to nine this year as a favorite. Meanwhile, the Panthers
Speaker 2: defense has been improving. They got j cd hornback last week.
Speaker 2: He is a difference maker in the backfield, defensive backfield,
Speaker 2: and the Saints just haven't been very good, like everyone
Speaker 2: talks about their defense. Defense is like thirtieth in EPA
Speaker 2: per play in the past six weeks. So not a
Speaker 2: good spot for the Saints, and that's why the wise
Speaker 2: guys are playing them.
Speaker 1: All right, Denver plus three last week against a really,
Speaker 1: really well coached defense, they got turnover prol but the
Speaker 1: previous four to five weeks they weren't. There are limitations
Speaker 1: to the offense, but they're not a turnover heavy offense.
Speaker 1: They were last week on the road. The Chargers don't
Speaker 1: create turnovers. I thought that the performance against New England
Speaker 1: was staggeringly bad. Shockingly It's as if the law locker
Speaker 1: room quit. But the Patriots were so bad they still
Speaker 1: couldn't beat them. I would take the Broncos in a
Speaker 1: rivalry game here plush three sharper square.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely the sharp side. Nobody likes to bet the
Speaker 2: Chargers as favorites. Even last week, the wise guys were
Speaker 2: betting the Patriots and they got you know, unfortunately, it
Speaker 2: was basically a bad beat. It was a baseball scorer
Speaker 2: six to nothing in the line started at six and
Speaker 2: moved on a little bit similar here, like we're talking
Speaker 2: about a Division underdog. Last five years, they cover fifty
Speaker 2: seven percent of the spread fifty percent of the time
Speaker 2: when they are the road dog. The Broncos last week, aside,
Speaker 2: they had their moments, they had a shot to cover
Speaker 2: and win against the Texans even playing terribly. So now
Speaker 2: they're getting a much better coach in a smash spot
Speaker 2: for the wise guys. They are on the Broncos.
Speaker 1: Seahawks plus ten and a half at the Niners Philadelphia's
Speaker 1: That win is impressive. As we've often talked about after
Speaker 1: a great win, teams pull back Seattle at six and six,
Speaker 1: and the Rams are coming hard, desperate. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: not a Geno Smith fan, but there's weapons here. This
Speaker 1: is a rivalry game, it's the season for Seattle. I
Speaker 1: thought this was one of my favorite picks on the board.
Speaker 1: Sharper square, totally sharp. What's interesting here is this number.
Speaker 1: It's kind of stabilized on Sunday night, opened about twelve,
Speaker 1: twelve and a half thirteen. Immediately that number got that down,
Speaker 1: and you do have a lot of things here. Look you,
Speaker 1: it is as high as high as it gets on
Speaker 1: the Niners right now, right their four game win streak.
Speaker 1: When Deebo and Trent Williams are playing, they are nine
Speaker 1: to zero. They're beating teams by three touchdowns when that
Speaker 1: duo is on the field. Brock Party where it's invincible.
Speaker 1: When those guys are playing and he has those weapons.
Speaker 2: Here's the challenge. They are coming off that Eagles win.
Speaker 2: That's why the number opened so high. That's why the
Speaker 2: wise guys immediately bet it down to ten and a half. Again,
Speaker 2: road dogs in the division the past five years, fifty
Speaker 2: seven percent against the spread.
Speaker 1: You're playing with.
Speaker 2: Fire because we do have a lot of evidence how
Speaker 2: good the Niners have been. But as a professional vetter,
Speaker 2: you have to take the Seahawks in this spot. The
Speaker 2: president will tell you long term that as a value play.
Speaker 1: Okay, So I've had this theory that if you don't
Speaker 1: have a quarterback on your roster that can duplicate to
Speaker 1: some degree Lamar Jackson and you're an NFC team, you're
Speaker 1: screwed going to Baltimore. Seattle got buried, Detroit got buried.
Speaker 1: Matt Stafford is going to get buried. The Rams have
Speaker 1: been doing it. They face the backup quarterbacks, some pretty
Speaker 1: lousy defenses. They've been at home. Rough spot for an
Speaker 1: NFC traveling to a different time zone early game. I
Speaker 1: love the line at minus seven. Don't love it as
Speaker 1: much at minus seven and a half. But Baltimore's done
Speaker 1: this time and time again as a home favorite against
Speaker 1: West Coast teams. Ravens minus seven and a half.
Speaker 2: Sharper square well at seven and a half, it's square
Speaker 2: at seven. It's neutral. There's no huge consensus here. The
Speaker 2: Rams are getting played at seven and a half. There's
Speaker 2: a couple of things that are tempting the wise guys.
Speaker 2: Seven and a half is just a huge number, right.
Speaker 2: You can easily see the Rams are down by two touchdowns.
Speaker 2: Game is out of reach. They got two minutes left.
Speaker 2: You know Sean McVeigh is not going to take his
Speaker 2: foot off the gas. Matthew Stafford in that spot, can
Speaker 2: we get find his receivers. The Ravens are playing a
Speaker 2: little bit more lax, and they cover the back door
Speaker 2: at seven and a half because you know you got
Speaker 2: the hook at seven. It's a little bit more cautious
Speaker 2: for the Wise guys. There's one factor here. Lamar Jackson
Speaker 2: as a favorite of more than three is not very good.
Speaker 2: Twenty one and thirty one against spread, so and Lamar
Speaker 2: Jackson is a favorite more than three at home not
Speaker 2: very good. John Harbaugh historically incredibly profitable, not very good
Speaker 2: as a favorite of more than three at home. So
Speaker 2: this is not a great spot for the Ravens. However,
Speaker 2: they have been turning it around a little bit this year.
Speaker 2: That Colts game, I think was in anomaly. We saw
Speaker 2: with the Seahawks, we saw it with the Lions, but
Speaker 2: don't remember, don't forget those games were under a touchdown,
Speaker 2: So you're playing with fire if you're going to take
Speaker 2: seven and a half.
Speaker 1: One of my favorite lines of the week. Now the
Speaker 1: line's gotten a little out of hand, but Cleveland minus
Speaker 1: three and a half. So Christian Kirk surgery out Trevor
Speaker 1: Lawrence out c J. Bethort against one of the best
Speaker 1: defenses in ten years, and the Cleveland defense much better
Speaker 1: at home. If you watch the Browns of the Browns
Speaker 1: Rams game, Joe Flackall was good, shockingly good. Offensive coaches
Speaker 1: taking back up quarterbacks this year and I can give
Speaker 1: you six It's worked quickly, and O'Connell Dobbs worked quickly
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take the Browns to cover. I think it's
Speaker 1: a blowout. I think they blow out a Jags team. CJ.
Speaker 1: Bethard is a borderline NFL guy.
Speaker 2: Sharper square, Well, it's sharp, and that's why the number
Speaker 2: has moved so aggressively, like it moved obviously when the
Speaker 2: Trevor Lawrence injury happened. And you know now knowing it's
Speaker 2: going to be CJ. Bether But don't forget. You've lost
Speaker 2: Christian Kirk, You've lost Cam Robinson. They've lost people on defense,
Speaker 2: which was already a bad secondary. Now you're going to
Speaker 2: have a massive amount of wind and rain in a
Speaker 2: game that is going to be very, very ugly. This
Speaker 2: defense for the Browns is different at home. Ten points
Speaker 2: per game at home, thirty points per game on the road.
Speaker 2: They are relatively healthy. Forget about Joe Flacco for a second.
Speaker 3: You're just talking.
Speaker 2: About the advantages that Cleveland has at the defensive unit
Speaker 2: playing against a litany of backups for the Jags. So
Speaker 2: the wise guys have continued to play this and they're
Speaker 2: still playing at three and a half.
Speaker 1: Another damaging story comes out about Sean McDermott, how one
Speaker 1: of his coaches got a truck paid for by players.
Speaker 1: It's just bad pr end of last season to now
Speaker 1: with the Bills, Kansas City lost to a really red
Speaker 1: hot Jordan Love. I think the Packers now are playing
Speaker 1: really good. I think they were a bad PI miss
Speaker 1: by the officials from scoring a tying touchdown. So I
Speaker 1: think we're overplaying because it was a wildly popular game
Speaker 1: and highly viewed. We're overplaying the problems with the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: They are favored by only one and a half against
Speaker 1: the Bills, who I just think, going back to last
Speaker 1: year's playoff game, are a bit of a mess inside
Speaker 1: the walls of that organization. I'll take Kansas City to
Speaker 1: cover Sharper square.
Speaker 2: Well, look, the line has moved in the Bills direction
Speaker 2: before this story that you're referring to came out, and
Speaker 2: this line opened at three, immediately got that down to
Speaker 2: two and a half, then two, then one and a
Speaker 2: half some places, one, which to me is insane, and
Speaker 2: I think it is a huge overreaction to the troubles
Speaker 2: that Kansas City has had, like you said, and also
Speaker 2: an overreaction to the Bills being competitive against the Eagles,
Speaker 2: losing a really bad game, having the week off and
Speaker 2: now needing to win this game to get to the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Haven't the Bills been desperate for like a month and
Speaker 2: it hasn't mattered, right, So why is this game going.
Speaker 3: To be any different?
Speaker 2: And to your point about Patrick Mahomes, Look, I bet
Speaker 2: the Packers plus six last week on Monday Night, and
Speaker 2: there is nothing that feels worse than having the team
Speaker 2: that is playing against Patrick Mahomes. When Patrick Mahomes has
Speaker 2: the ball at the end of the game, and look,
Speaker 2: he made a bad pass, he got beat on that interception,
Speaker 2: but you're right one pi away from probably getting to
Speaker 2: the end zone and making that a twenty seven twenty
Speaker 2: seven game. I don't want to bet against Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 2: as less than a field goal favorite in November and
Speaker 2: December when he's at home. So if you're telling me
Speaker 2: I got to get Patrick Mahomes and he's just got
Speaker 2: to win by one point, come on. Of course we're
Speaker 2: taking the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: All right, it's time to talk me into this one.
Speaker 1: Eagles plush three and a half, despite the fact they
Speaker 1: will have played the Cowboys and the Bills and the
Speaker 1: Niners and the Cowboys again and all these tough teams
Speaker 1: Kansas City mixed in. There is a fatigue, right, but
Speaker 1: I do think it's being overvalued. This is a good
Speaker 1: team that had won twenty four of twenty six, Cold
Speaker 1: leading trailing Warm Windy. They win three and a half
Speaker 1: divisional game, Cowboys may win. But the hook I'd take,
Speaker 1: why isn't everybody seeing this as an obvious Eagles play.
Speaker 2: Part of it is scheme. The Eagles have been exposed
Speaker 2: in the middle of their defense. They just can't cover,
Speaker 2: and we saw that with the forty nine Ers. They
Speaker 2: just destroyed the Eagles with a scheme that can be
Speaker 2: very similar to what the Cowboys are trying to do.
Speaker 2: Right Mike McCarthy all year talking about playing a style
Speaker 2: of West Coast offense that he had done with the Packers,
Speaker 2: and you know they're changing it up a little bit.
Speaker 2: But if you look at what Dak is doing this year,
Speaker 2: Key and Ceede Lamb are making connections and that ability
Speaker 2: to drive the slant route and connect on that is
Speaker 2: going to be really challenging for the Eagles, especially in
Speaker 2: the middle of the defense for them. So I think
Speaker 2: that's one reason. Also, the Eagles have not been running
Speaker 2: the ball lane. Johnson injured. I think that's a huge
Speaker 2: tell for the wise guys. But the truth is, Colin,
Speaker 2: you look at every metric, you look at number of bets,
Speaker 2: you look at an amount of money, it's pretty split
Speaker 2: fifty to fifty, which is why this thing has basically
Speaker 2: stayed where it is. There was the initial push opened
Speaker 2: at two and a half. Wise guys took the two,
Speaker 2: they took the three, and now it's a three and
Speaker 2: a half. It hasn't gone up to four because everything
Speaker 2: is basically stabilized. So I think this is where it's
Speaker 2: going to be for a little while. No consensus. I'm
Speaker 2: on the Cowboys for what it's worth.
Speaker 1: All right, finally, dumpster diving, what's the game I missed?
Speaker 3: Well, look, we got two options here. One.
Speaker 2: I can't believe you didn't bring up the Bears getting
Speaker 2: three and a half at Now, that's an interesting one,
Speaker 2: so talk about that. To me, this is a no brainer.
Speaker 2: And the Bears opened at five. Wise guys bet it
Speaker 2: down immediately. It settled at three and a half within
Speaker 2: about twenty four to forty eight hours. Number One, the
Speaker 2: Bears defense has been playing really, really well the past
Speaker 2: seven weeks compared to the Lions, defense, which has been
Speaker 2: getting shredded, and they're missing McNeil in the middle of
Speaker 2: their defensive line. That is a huge impact that people
Speaker 2: who know football are talking a lot about. So now
Speaker 2: you're getting a team on the road, playing in Chicago
Speaker 2: where weather is going to be a factor. Jared both
Speaker 2: in his career averaging less than fourteen points per game
Speaker 2: when the weather is under fifty degrees against a team
Speaker 2: in justin field a lot of our po We've seen
Speaker 2: what they've been doing when he is on the field
Speaker 2: since his injury. A lot more running. They kept this
Speaker 2: game close against the two weeks ago. They beat the
Speaker 2: Vikings last week. This Bears team doesn't get credit for
Speaker 2: how much more it's improved since the bye week. So
Speaker 2: the wise guys are on the Bears one more. Well,
Speaker 2: you mentioned backup quarterbacks and you talked about sort of
Speaker 2: they're getting these opportunities to shine quickly. Jake Browning did
Speaker 2: not play well in his first game against the Steelers,
Speaker 2: but he played very well in his second game against
Speaker 2: the Jags. Very accurate. Look at what this Colts team
Speaker 2: has done. Who have they beaten up the Panthers, the
Speaker 2: Patriots very lucky against the Titans last week to get
Speaker 2: a win and continue this winning streak. So is this
Speaker 2: a Jake Browning spot? The wise guys think so. The
Speaker 2: wise guys have been betting this game down. The Bengals
Speaker 2: opened about two to two and a half. It's now
Speaker 2: down to one. I think if you can get the
Speaker 2: Bengals as an underdog, you still take it.
Speaker 1: Chad Melman. All odds provided by DraftKings, CCO Action Network.
Speaker 1: Enjoy NBA in season tournament You bet brother, h.
Speaker 2: M M.
Speaker 1: The volume