WEBVTT - From Buffalo To Seattle with Fred Jackson 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:08.480 From the King of sports books comes the Key Sports 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:18.880 podcast Unleashed, presented by the MGM. Here's your host, Jerry 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:31.080 Ferrara and Olivia Harlan Decker. Welcome to Unleashed. We are 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.760 in the holiday spirit. May your days be merry and bright, 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:38.560 May your bets be ambitious and lucky. May your thirty 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.360 three point lead be safe. And may your holiday get 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:45.240 togethers be a little messy. Get it, let me s s, 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:47.960 I get it. Okay, Christmas already came early. From my 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:50.919 friend Jerry Ferrara. The Nicks have won seven in a row, 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.360 maybe even more by the time you're listening, because we 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:55.640 record on Tuesday's a couple of games coming up. The 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:59.040 Giants win with maybe some help from the officials. Who 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:02.440 knows about that. He's hitting parlay's, he's hitting teasers, and 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.319 he won his fantasy playoff game. Life is good for 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:09.560 the kid. It's a Jerry Christmas. I should just quit 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.600 while I'm ahead, because there's no way this could keep up. 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:17.680 But yes, Sunday, I hit sports Utopia, I hit a parlay, 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.280 I hit a teaser. Trevor Lawrence guided me through the 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.280 first round of my fantasy playoffs. The Knicks one. That night, 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.039 the Rangers won the seventh in a row. I just 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.040 don't know where I go from here, so I should 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.360 stop all on the head. Yeah, the only thing is 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.920 your Seahawks ticket. It's just I mean, by the week 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.040 it's it's gone. So I hope you not the not 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.280 the only thing going into the fire. Santa might be 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:42.920 coming down the fireplace, but the Seahawks ticket to when 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.600 the division is going in the fireplace and lit on 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:49.080 fire because it's over. But what a fun losing ticket 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:50.960 that was. It was. It was fun for a while. 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:53.200 Gave us some good fodder. So coming up, we got 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.760 NFL games on Christmas Eve. We have a full day 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:58.400 of NBA games on Christmas. There's so much to get to, 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.640 plus Jerry. Coming up, we former Buffalo Bills running back 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.600 Fred Jackson. He is joining us. I don't know if 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.720 you know this. His story, his path really to get 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.560 to the NFL is amazing. Do you know his story? 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:12.800 I know a little bit. But he was one of 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.480 my favorite players to watch. I drafted Fred Jackson every 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.400 like fantasy stuff. He was one of my favorite running backs. 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.000 Great career. So very excited to talk to. Yeah, we'll 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.320 get into all of that, but I think he's like 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:27.639 third leading rusher in Bills history. He's fantastic, has great stories. 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.679 Really excited to talk with him. So yeah, what a 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.040 huge win for his Bills though. Last week in snowy 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:36.600 Buffalo against the Dolphins, and Jerry you called it the 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:40.200 Dolphins cannot swim in the cold. No, but I will 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:44.160 say I don't want to make silver linings here. But 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:46.960 it wasn't a bad performance. Did not seem like the 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:50.600 weather was much more of a factor than it even 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:52.680 was for the Bills. Like it did not seem to 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:54.880 really factor in for them. They just they just lost, 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:57.320 but they played. It was a really really fun game 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:00.400 to watch, and I feel better about the Dolphin. Should 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.800 they make the playoffs going into the cold, Yeah, yeah, 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:05.919 I hear you. That's gonna be an interesting one and 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:09.240 kind of interesting too early in the season when Buffalo 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:12.400 went down to Miami kind of inverse weather tricks. So, 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.560 but this time of year, like we talked about last year, 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.080 this is like finals in college. This is when it matters. 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:20.960 So you got to play in the cold. Before we 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.840 get into too much NFL, we have to pay off 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.959 what was the best World Cup Final ever with the 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:32.440 best player ever. Did you watch at all Argentina beating France. 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:36.160 I did. I definitely came in late. I I'm not 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:38.440 gonna lie and say I watched the entire game. Again, 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:40.480 I don't go too deep with soccer, but it did 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.320 feel like a an event that if you missed you'd 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.120 probably regret. So I caught the probably the best part. 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.320 I caught part of the comeback in the end, and 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.200 I mean, just wow. It's it's almost like sad that 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.160 it's every four years, but it's kind of what makes 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.720 it what it is, Like the Olympics. I mean, we 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.120 all have all this national pride for a couple of 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:02.560 weeks and it's really fun to like pit against other teams. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.560 And what I love about World Cup especially is in 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:07.680 the Olympics that you have guys who are on the 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:11.280 same team throughout the regular season play against each other 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.840 like we did with France v Argentina. So really good. 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:17.120 Did you see that Drake put a million bucks in 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:21.680 Argentina to win. I did see that. Yeah. I mean 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.520 it's all relative, right, I mean that's obviously an amazing 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.360 big number, but it's all relative, Like a million to 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.560 Drake is probably you know, ten cents to me. But 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.440 either way, with those winnings, you can definitely you could 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.520 definitely buy something really really nice, especially in Ohio. You 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:39.320 you just doesn't make that in there. I'm running it 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.360 out there, I'm running it up there. Yeah, he won 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:43.159 two and a half million, So yeah, you could buy 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.440 something very nice anywhere. But Messi finally gets to hold 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:49.560 the one trophy that has eluded him. Argentina went up 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.719 to nothing France with a frantic rally. They tied it 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:57.280 with two Bob goals and first minute an extra time 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.520 both teams would score again. Argentina went up eat it two, 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.920 then Embob scored his third goal, who got the hat trick, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.800 tying it at three. The World Cup was once again 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:11.240 decided by penalty kicks, which is amazing for the sport. 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:13.200 I think because if you're not a big soccer fan 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:14.920 and you just kind of, like a lot of people 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.880 tuned in this one game, you probably thought it was 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.240 super exciting, which it was, so it's really great for 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.880 the sport and just the storylines and you had these 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:28.839 two stars battling it out. It was just just incredible. 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:32.159 So Argentina wins for the first time since nineteen and 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:34.200 when we had Tim Howard on the show, he told 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:36.760 us that, you know, Messi is one of the best 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.160 players to ever play, but he'll always be compared to Maridonna, 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:43.840 who had one for Argentina. So if he was ever 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:45.599 going to be considered the best player in the world, 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:47.720 he had to at least be considered the best player 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:51.080 in his own country history. So really really cool. If 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.360 you are all wrapped up in the soccer world, which 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:55.800 a lot of people are right now because it was 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.040 so attention grabbing, go back to our Tim Howard episode 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:03.640 because his experiences at the World Cup and really really 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.839 beautifully laying out what this stage was. I thought he 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:09.839 did a really great job. So I think that listen 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.760 is just as good now in past tense. Before we 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:15.400 close the book on the World Cup, we have to 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.760 get to our audible of the week. I'm gonna go 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:21.880 ahead and crown it Telemundo commentator Andre Cantor. He had 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.880 so much pride in this call. You can feel it 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.520 around the globe. It's so moving to watch a grown 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:32.240 man cry about a soccer game. I'll just let you listen. 0:06:32.279 --> 0:07:14.600 It's amazing, Mom and Dodd d Yeah, Okay, let's get 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.280 to the NFL. The big story this week, obviously Jalen 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.840 Hurts brained shoulder. The Eagles have been fine high this season, 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:23.640 Hurts as an m v P favorite, but now there 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.200 are fourths he could miss this Saturday's game against the Cowboys. Hopefully, 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.280 hopefully no more than that. But this is a huge meeting. 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.000 This is the game we've all been waiting for. Obviously, 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.880 I think the Niners have been dubbed either tied around 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:38.560 with the Eagles for the best team in the NFC 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.160 or second best. I still think the Cowboys can be 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.320 formidable regardless of that blown lead versus Jacksonvill. I think 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.120 that says more about Jacksonville than it did about the 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.960 Cowboys to me. But either way, we need Jalen Hurts 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:53.360 healthy to really experience what the Eagles could do. It's 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:55.880 nice that the Eagles have built this lead, although they 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.920 can get caught for the first round by in the 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.080 one seed. The Niners could catch them. I mean, I 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.000 guess the Vikings can catch them, but I don't think 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.960 that's likely. And you know, I think the Cowboys are 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:09.440 just too far behind. But without him, yeah, I do 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.640 worry a little bit about what's gonna go on, it 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.280 does seem like he'll be ready for the playoffs. This 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:18.280 is where it's helpful to have a gardner Minshew, who 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:20.680 I've always been a fan of. I think he could 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:22.640 get you. Maybe they don't beat the Cowboys. I don't know. 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.240 I think he's good enough probably to beat the Giants 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.000 and maybe lock up that one seed. But yeah, this 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:31.240 isn't great, and you know, it definitely helps the Giants 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:32.760 who might be playing them. I think the last week 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:34.400 of the year, I don't know if we see Jalen Hurts, 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.959 even if healthy, because the Eagles, it's still a big 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:38.640 game because the Eagles are gonna want to lock up 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.440 that one seed and rest Jalen Hurts. Do you know 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:44.480 what the spread is? Oh God, what did they moved 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.400 to now? I don't know. I I'm a little surprised 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.880 it favors the Cowboys. I'm not surprised, Okay, and it's 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.760 in Dallas obviously minus five and a half. That's a 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.360 little surprising because I do think Minshew is capable, and 0:08:57.400 --> 0:09:00.520 also they just have web Philly as weapons everywhere air 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.160 and the Cowboys have a really good defense, but their 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:07.040 their secondary is a mess with injuries and Trevor, Lawrence 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.160 and Jackson will just lit them up. So that's a 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.520 little high. I I like the Eagles with the I'm 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:13.760 not to win, but I love the points. Yeah. Okay, 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:15.800 we saw some more brutal losses this week. It was 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.080 a weird weekend. So Matt Ryan, we gotta start there 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.200 once again on the wrong side of a historic collapse 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.719 as the Colts blew a thirty three nothing halftime lead 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.640 to the Vikings. Look, Matt got tight. You could just 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:30.520 like see it on his face, his body language. Where 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.600 Kirk Cousins got loose. You love to see that level 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:36.080 of loose Kirk Cousins. So Matt Ryan now owns a 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:39.199 horrible spot in NFL history as being at the helm 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.559 of two of the greatest collapses in NFL history. One 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:44.920 in any game ever. That one one of a Super 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:48.360 Bowl up three to loose Tom Brady. But Jerry, what's 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:50.439 the takeaway? Who's to blame here? Is that Jeff Saturday? 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:53.079 Is it Matt Ryan? Well, my main takeaway is, Look, 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:56.160 this is not a good part of history for Matt 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:58.840 Ryan to be affiliated with both of these losses. But 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.959 let's not kid ourselves. This was bad. Yeah, sure, it's 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.240 the worst, it's the biggest comeback ever. Blah blah blah. 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.280 I get it. That sucks. The super Bowl thing, that's 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.320 one that he'll be thinking about. That one, he's not 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.880 going to be thinking about this game against the Vikings 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.160 with Jeff Saturday as his coach. You can't pin this 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:16.319 on Matt Ryan. Does he maybe get a little tight 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.800 with some of his throws, sure, but also the defense 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:21.960 didn't help him out at all. Jeff Saturday and the 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.720 coaching staff certainly didn't help him out at all. So 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.719 you cannot blame Matt Ryan. It's a team loss. But 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.360 I would give the emphasis on the coaching and the 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:34.200 play calling. The play calling got tight. But yeah, this sucks. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.080 But I don't although I guess the Colts could have 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.280 had a playoff shot had they won this game somehow, 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.000 they would have still been, you know, alive. But wrap 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:44.120 it up, Cults, I think that's I don't know how 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.200 you bounce back. I'm curious to see how they bounced 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:49.800 back against the Chargers. But that that that was tough. Okay, 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:53.040 The next one that was just weird. The Raiders completely 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.960 stunned the Patriots with the lateral pass gone wrong. So 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:58.040 the Pats could have ran out the clock and went 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:02.559 to overtime. But for some weird, weird reason, Kobe Myers 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.000 tried to be a hero toss it back to mac Jones. 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.760 But Chandler Jones to the Patriots had cut, intercepted it, 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.760 walk off, touchdown a lot of meth. And here's my thing, 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:15.560 even if Matt caught it, he's so immobile, I don't 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.480 know what the plan was. If he had caught it, 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.360 he would have been toast. So of course Chandler Jones 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.160 is right there. So yeah, this loss to me is 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.920 much harder to take if you're a Patriots fan because 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.480 first and foremost, you're now seven and seven with that loss, 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.840 you should or could have been eight and six had 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.600 you got it into overtime and maybe one it, so 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.400 that would have put you tied for the seven. Basically 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.600 six seven, eight would have been a log jam with 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.040 the Chargers, Dolphins, and Patriots all eight and six. Now 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.960 you're seven and seven, still have some hope, but that 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:47.679 was one you you should. I mean, you can't say 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.320 they would have won in overtime for sure, although they 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:53.200 had chances to lock that game up. That just was 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:57.319 weird unlike a Bill Belichick game. I do give Kobe 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.640 credit for like sitting up and doing the press conference 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.280 and take question. He did not shy away from the 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.640 mistake in the moment. Props to him that was like 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.560 that takes a lot of guts to do that after 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.000 a moment like that. But yeah, that one, that one's 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.560 gonna haunt the Patriots because it doesn't finish their playoff chances. 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.079 But it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be uphill from 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.880 here on out with that loss. Then the third one, 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.280 and I've been excited to ask your opinion on this 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:24.239 one because everyone on Twitter sure has one. The Commanders 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:29.080 and the Giants. So the Commanders lose after several controversial 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.480 calls at the end of the game, involving Terry McLaurin 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:36.960 pointing over to the ref what oh a little violent act. Okay, 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.000 what is your take on this as someone who has 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:42.760 been on the wrong side of those calls as a 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.760 Giant fan, and there's there's been a bunch that certainly 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.000 sucks if you're a Commanders fan, because yeah, that was 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.520 p I you could say in the end zone you 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:54.720 could have called it. I think it's a it's a little. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.640 I mean they were definitely boxing out and jostling for position, 0:12:57.679 --> 0:12:59.800 but yes, he then wrapped him up. But here's what 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:03.040 to me about the argument. People who are saying you 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:06.440 have to be willing to call pass interference with the 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.600 game on the line. Why these refs don't want they 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.920 don't want to call pass interference. Why because the game's 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.480 on the line, you gotta call it. They are also mad, 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.640 how do you call Terry McLaren for off sides at 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:18.840 that point in the game if it goes both ways, 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:20.679 and it goes both ways, you can't get mad at 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.400 the Terry McLaren call and then get mad at the 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:27.200 non p I call. Look, it sucks. There was a 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:29.720 lot of bad calls in that game. Also, like we 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.839 saw it with the Vikings missing the This is happening everywhere, 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.560 so don't blame like the Giants potentially making the playoffs 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:38.800 and the Commanders not making the playoffs on this game. 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:43.400 There's also holding on on Thibodeau and he got basically 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:45.079 punched in the face and poked in the eye and 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.240 a face mask not called. There was tons of awful 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.360 missed calls or wrong calls in that game. They called 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:53.640 a dead ball on a fumble that was clearly a 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:56.320 fumble that you know, the Giants did get end up 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:58.920 winning that challenge, but who knows, maybe Larry Williams could 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.160 have got up and advanced the ball thirty more yards. 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:06.040 It was a awfully awful officiated game, not the reason 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.560 why the Commanders lost the game. I'm sorry, and you 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:15.760 still have hope. Okay, opinion, Yeah, take a breath. Um, Okay, 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.960 the NFC South is terrible. So who takes it? The Bucks, 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.600 the Saints, the Falcons, the Panthers. You gotta look at 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.239 what the Bucks did this past week because the Bengals 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:28.600 had something to prove after Tom Brady called their defense 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.960 fairly tough quote which, honestly, and I can't wait to 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:34.960 ask Fred about this later in the show. Fred, it 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:40.800 sounds like world friends. Yeah, Fred Jackson, we uh fairly tough. 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.240 I don't think it's like much of an insult. And 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:45.680 when you looked at the whole quote, Brady said, he's like, 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.360 they've got a great young quarterback, they have a lot 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.920 of weapons, and they have a fairly tough defense. Not 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.080 that abrasive of a comment, but boy did the Bengals 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.520 defense take it differently. Yeah, and I would say the 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:02.360 Bengals are better than a fairly good defense. I will say, however, 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:05.560 Tom Brady has played some of the best defenses ever 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.480 to play football over the last twenty two years, So 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.360 I basically think I read that as he's saying, you know, 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.400 this isn't this isn't the twenty the two thousand seven 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.960 Giants defense, but they're a good defense. If you would 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.440 have gotten rid of the word fairly and said this 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:22.400 is a tough Bengals defense, no one would have care. 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.320 And I don't know if that would bottom line is, 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.400 the Bengals are significantly better than the Bucks in every 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.760 area of the game. Bucks got out to as good 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:32.960 of a lead as they could have started with and 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:36.280 it still wasn't enough. So yeah, a lot of people 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.640 talking about that. I don't know. I as someone who 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.720 did I wanted I mean, I did want to bet Tampa. 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.600 I thought that I liked them in this spot and 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.440 that was a great start. The Bengals just on another level. 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:48.560 And the Bengals still have levels to go. They're gonna 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:50.560 get even healthier. They still have a dB to get 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:53.440 bat like. They're gonna get even healthier. So they're peaking 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.720 at the right time. Yeah, Bengals defense. Remember it took 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:58.520 him till a week eight for a team to even 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.680 score a second half touchdown them and they had yet 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.320 to allow a three yard passer. And in this game, 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:08.200 Tom Brady through two interceptions and the Bucks started the 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.600 second half with five straight possessions with the turnovers. So yeah, 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.240 Bengals defense, that's something to prove. Bengals are hot, hot hot. 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.200 Yeah you did mention though the NFC South. Should we 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.080 stay in the South for a second, because this is 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.640 going to pull straws, like what are we gonna do? Well? 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.760 The funny thing is, and you know me, I love 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.040 to see what teams have ahead when the schedule. The 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:34.840 Bucks go at Arizona with you know, no quarterback in 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.280 site there, so they should win that game. And then 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:40.240 they finished with two divisional games. They finished with home 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:44.760 against Carolina at Atlanta. The Saints, who are a mark ingram, 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.600 stay in bounds away from maybe being in the driver's 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.200 seat of this division. They go at Browns, which the 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:52.880 Browns have proven to be tough at least you have 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:56.480 to go beat them at Eagles, which that looked horrible 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.760 on the schedule maybe it's a little better if no hurts, 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:01.800 and then of course they Playbors the Panthers. All four 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.280 of these teams play each other in the final week 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.639 of the season. What are the odds of both of 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.119 those games ending in a tie? I would not be 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.159 surprised because then the Falcons go Ravens Cardinals, and the Bucks, 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.560 like I said, and the Panthers go Lions. Don't underestimate 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.639 this Panthers Lions game. That is huge because the Lions needed. 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:23.240 The Panthers really are the team that could have ran 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.760 away with this division. They've given away three games earlier 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.679 in the year. Uh. And the Panthers go Lions and 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:32.920 an at Bucks at Sts, so in a weird way, 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.800 the Panthers could control their own destiny. They win out right, No, 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:40.960 my gosh, it's it's crazy when you put it that, 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.320 it is exhausting. Do you need another breath? If you 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:44.960 had to pick though, if you had to pick a 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.320 team to come out of the South. With everything I 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:49.600 just laid out, the Bucks do have the one game 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.080 lead on everyone else. And I think the Bucks are 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:54.000 three and one in the division and the Panthers are 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.320 three and one in the division. Is there a team 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.480 that you lean toward. I guess Tampa Bay just because 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.920 you know it's my buddy Tom, just because it feels 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.960 like if he's in the division, you can't cut him out. Yeah, 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.080 and I do think they maybe have the easier They're 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:14.040 catching the Cardinals at a great time. The Panthers are alternate, right, 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:16.920 and they finish at Atlanta, which you know, with their 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.480 quarterback change, maybe that's not as tough of a game, 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.520 but this is because then that affects everything else. Whoever 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:26.240 wins this crazy division. And I can't believe someone's gonna 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.040 you someone's gonna have to go win a playoff game 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:34.240 in Tampa, uh, you know, New Orleans, Atlanta or Carolina, 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.760 and I think that's probably gonna be what the Cowboys 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.240 where I think are locked in at the five seed 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.960 or whatever. I mean, it's insane that we have to 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.199 watch a home Maybe in the future, just give the 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.400 home field advantage to the team with the wild card 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.359 team with the better record. Yeah, well, it is Christmas week, 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:57.360 so I think we should eat make our wish, our 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:01.200 our Christmas wish. But as it pertains to sports, and 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:03.720 I think he knows, you know what mine's gonna be 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:06.280 because I thought I was dead in the water. I 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.320 thought I had completely retired all of my green I 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:12.040 thought I was switching to my other team, the Chiefs, 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:13.480 and just going to ride them all the way, even 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.400 though the Chiefs didn't give me much to tear about 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:19.080 last week. But it's a lie. For the Packers, there's 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.160 still hope. So let me just run through this because 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.080 this is my Christmas wish. They need to run the 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:28.480 table to be nine and eight, because getting an NFC 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.960 wild card should at least require an above five records. 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.560 So the Giants finished with the Vikings, Colts, and Eagles 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:39.800 with a chance to face Philly week eight team those backups, 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.159 like you mentioned, Landers still need to play the forty Niners, Browns, 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.640 and Cowboys. Okay, we've walked through that. But the Lions 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:50.720 play at the Panthers and host the Bears. The Lions 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:54.240 play at Panthers hosting the Bears. That's their next two weeks, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:59.480 so pretty favorable matchups, although not not a cakewalk. That's 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:02.160 before they based the Packers, so obviously then Packers would 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.879 have to beat the Lions. Seahawks need to deal with 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:08.400 the Chiefs and Jets until they face the Rams. At 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:10.879 home finish the season. Okay, so the Packers need to 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.000 take care of their schedule, but they need to get 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:17.440 a lot of breaks from the other So I think 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:19.359 they have like a five percent chance right now of 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:22.040 making the playoffs. But if they lose a game, they're 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:25.040 out and and it starts here like it's do they 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.960 go into beautiful Miami on Christmas Day to deliver? Helps 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:33.119 start to deliver? You're like Cindy who in the Grinch 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:34.919 writing the letter of the Santa that you're hoping for 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:39.160 a Christmas miracle, but it can't happen. They just need 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.920 the Lions to lose one of these games to Carolina 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:44.280 or the Bears, which that would go a long while. 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:46.399 Though I don't I don't think you're gonna get your 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.880 Christmas miracle. I'm sorry. Oh, this is why it's a miracle. 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.960 It's if not this time of year, then when yeah, 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:56.399