Speaker 1: The Around the NFL Podcast, so Cal's number one Delaware
Speaker 1: tribute band. Welcome back to another edition of the Around
Speaker 1: the NFL Podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I
Speaker 1: am joined by a room filled with heroes, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: Chris Westling and Greg ros All. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan,
Speaker 1: I gotta say we have uh to get some new
Speaker 1: money tags. We've gotta get some money intros. I feel
Speaker 1: like we've hitten the recycled being a couple of a
Speaker 1: couple of times. We did, and I will. I did
Speaker 1: send out a call to arms on our Twitter use
Speaker 1: the hashtag money tags. You've sent in some great ones.
Speaker 1: We're gonna add our own and we're gonna have Matt
Speaker 1: money Smith records some new ones next week. But keep
Speaker 1: sending him, keep sending the good ones. I've seen some
Speaker 1: great ones so far. Um what else? Also on Twitter,
Speaker 1: a lot of positive feedback about spice Rack. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: what a spice Rex Twitter handle. We should help him out.
Speaker 1: It's like, at no, no, you should say what it
Speaker 1: actually is. You don't even need to help him out
Speaker 1: that much. He hasn't tweeted in three months. I went
Speaker 1: and checked. I was gonna follow him and he never tweets,
Speaker 1: so I thought, well, it should be like at the Spicer. Yeah,
Speaker 1: obviously he's there, a new one. It's time for him.
Speaker 1: It's time for him to brand himself. If he wants
Speaker 1: to get back in the show, He's got a brand himself,
Speaker 1: and just be prepared for you know, he sent me
Speaker 1: a bunch of texts last night. He was he was
Speaker 1: a little down in the dumps at first. But I think,
Speaker 1: you know, once I told him that the listeners liked it,
Speaker 1: he was. I thought it was great. It was great.
Speaker 1: His Twitter handle is at brand Underscore Marquis m A
Speaker 1: r q u e LV. I'm a little concerned about
Speaker 1: his emotional state and the fact that he's at you know,
Speaker 1: in the course of twenty four hour has been very
Speaker 1: high maintenance in terms of West's friendship with him. No,
Speaker 1: he hasn't been high man. Okay, well, just so he's
Speaker 1: all over the map emotionally, like up, he's down. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought, he's great, He's gonna have a little self confidence.
Speaker 1: He did great. He felt like he he left a
Speaker 1: lot of meat on the bone to borrow. Joseph Randalls
Speaker 1: there is he is your desert. Desert Svengali, and a
Speaker 1: lot of people said, oh, would he be a good
Speaker 1: challenger and win West's toaster? Oh? Yeah, would he? He
Speaker 1: knows a lot about sports. But I've been doing this
Speaker 1: for a living for the last almost ten years, which
Speaker 1: gives me a tremendous advantage over him. Humble Christmas time, Humble,
Speaker 1: just giving you an honest and like smells like the
Speaker 1: gift of humble brag. It's about me. I did you
Speaker 1: want me to give you a coach speaker or something? Alright,
Speaker 1: so listen lest we love you. It is the holiday season.
Speaker 1: We are two days away from Christmas. We we gave
Speaker 1: gifts to each other on Tuesday's show. Now we will
Speaker 1: give the gift to our listener of an excellent Week
Speaker 1: sixteen preview. Nailed it? Home run? Where's the Stitcher? We
Speaker 1: will go through each of the sixteen games. What well, now,
Speaker 1: I was gonna I was just gonna say, continue on. Okay,
Speaker 1: each of the sixteen games on the week's sixteen schedule.
Speaker 1: Uh so there will be two teams, six games to
Speaker 1: talk about. I just gotta say we can pull back
Speaker 1: the curtain a little bit. Hansas has got to catch
Speaker 1: a bird. Uh An airplane down to Texas to see
Speaker 1: your lovely wife and your son Jack. So we're gonna mow.
Speaker 1: We're gonna, you know, try to mow through these games,
Speaker 1: uh in an expedient time and get you there on time.
Speaker 1: And the Thursday night game will be really quick too,
Speaker 1: because we know some of you might be listening to
Speaker 1: this on Christmas or even the day after Christmas when
Speaker 1: you're traveling back home. Do you call airplanes birds? Now
Speaker 1: that you have an image of you wearing sunglasses and
Speaker 1: like a leather jacket for your other podcasts? Are you
Speaker 1: talking about the Rosenthal and Jessel Nick Vanity Project new logo?
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you for the plug. We have a
Speaker 1: new episode on Wednesday the Rump Podcast. I think that's
Speaker 1: what the logo says, our j vp um. I'm not
Speaker 1: ready to talk about the image yet, you're not. I
Speaker 1: don't think anyone on earth to talked about it more
Speaker 1: than you, and no one cares what you say. More
Speaker 1: about the logo in general. Let's see how Gregg's voice
Speaker 1: and pitch is raising, and he's talking over me because
Speaker 1: he's very nervous when I have to say about it.
Speaker 1: I'm just not ready to talk about it. I care deeply, Dan.
Speaker 1: I want to hear your thoughts on the logo. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for Sunday show, we'll talk about it. For now, everyone
Speaker 1: makes sure you go check out the r j VP
Speaker 1: whatever podcast and check out the image. So it was,
Speaker 1: what do you mean will dismiss What do you mean?
Speaker 1: I support? Greg? Yeah? If I was half as a
Speaker 1: dismissive about anything that Dan ever did, he would give
Speaker 1: me the full I wouldn't even say who the treatment
Speaker 1: where you don't even speak to me for weeks on end,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't talk. I wouldn't hear from you. Well, what
Speaker 1: kind of treatment is that? I don't know. I've never
Speaker 1: done that too. That's a that's a maneuver that happens sometimes. Interesting.
Speaker 1: All right, So let's get to some football games, and
Speaker 1: we will start yes with a Thursday night matchup. Um
Speaker 1: the Chargers traveling to Oakland to face the Raiders. UM
Speaker 1: traveling to the dark black Hole. Um. You know this
Speaker 1: is a game that will be played on Christmas Eve
Speaker 1: between two teams that aren't going to the playoffs. Uh.
Speaker 1: And yet there is some juice, isn't there? Greg? Yeah?
Speaker 1: There is. It could be the last game in the
Speaker 1: history of the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, I really doubt it.
Speaker 1: But the bigger one is that one of the greatest
Speaker 1: players of the last generation is playing his last home
Speaker 1: game and one of the players I think most identified
Speaker 1: with the Raiders over the last twenty five years. If
Speaker 1: if ever there's a true Raider, it's Charles Woodson. And
Speaker 1: one more thing to watch in this game, Amari Cooper's
Speaker 1: offensive Rookie of the Year chances. In a race that's
Speaker 1: still pretty much wide open, someone like David Johnson could
Speaker 1: claim it with a few hot weeks. I feel like
Speaker 1: the Raiders in general still have a lot to play for.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're not going to make the playoffs, but no,
Speaker 1: I think what they've accomplished this season a their coach
Speaker 1: sticks around, be their gms sticks around. After this year,
Speaker 1: you've got to You've got a lot to build around
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. It's not very promising season.
Speaker 1: I think so too. I don't think this is depressing.
Speaker 1: If you're Raiders now gotta be happy. It will be
Speaker 1: a celebration on Thursday night. I think of Charles Woodson.
Speaker 1: How many players say they want to go back and
Speaker 1: play for the team that they drafted them. Uh, but
Speaker 1: not many really do it. Not many pass up an
Speaker 1: opportunity a contract from the Denver Broncos who are playing,
Speaker 1: you know, are coming off a great season. He said, no,
Speaker 1: I'd rather go back to Oakland. And then he does
Speaker 1: it with a Pro Bowl season. They showed up in
Speaker 1: mass even when he was coming to visit the team. Again.
Speaker 1: He's so popular there, so it's cool. It should be
Speaker 1: a cool scene. I thought that was really cool that
Speaker 1: he like took some responsibility because he loves the Raiders
Speaker 1: organization so much to take them from a place that
Speaker 1: had no hope. And he's like, you know what, I've
Speaker 1: got him now here where they've got building blocks, they've
Speaker 1: got hope. My work is done. I can retire. These
Speaker 1: are the last three seasons for the Raiders, three and thirteen,
Speaker 1: four and twelve, four and twelve. So you know, even
Speaker 1: if they split these last two games, even if they
Speaker 1: don't win another game, six and tens of improvement. If
Speaker 1: they can get seven or eight wins, you've got to
Speaker 1: be very excited. Hope is in the building. Uh. So
Speaker 1: we'll see if they can take care of business. I
Speaker 1: believe we have all picked Uh, the Raiders to do
Speaker 1: just that. Yes, we have all picked the Raiders to
Speaker 1: win this game and move to seven and eight. Moving on, gentlemen,
Speaker 1: let's move now to Saturday night football. Uh, this is uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I remember the Saturday I missed Saturday Day football,
Speaker 1: which was always fun. But we'll take a little Saturday
Speaker 1: night football for the second straight week, this time a
Speaker 1: big NFC East matchup, one that can determine who wins
Speaker 1: the NFC East, that is the Washington Redskins. You know,
Speaker 1: I I said that I could not imagine Ja Gruden
Speaker 1: at a podium, uh, talking about his big win of
Speaker 1: the NFC East. But now here is his chance to
Speaker 1: close out the division. And uh, Mark, here's the thing though,
Speaker 1: and we talked about this on the NFL Network. Hit. Uh,
Speaker 1: why does it feel like this this division is destined
Speaker 1: to be settled in week seventeen and not here it
Speaker 1: seems too clean? Well, I think that's just based on
Speaker 1: what we've I'll use the word endured all season with
Speaker 1: the NFC East. I mean, as soon as you start
Speaker 1: to feel some sense of shorty your confidence, for instance,
Speaker 1: in the Redskins, it's it's sand blasted. A week later.
Speaker 1: Remember the Eagles a few weeks back, or the Giants
Speaker 1: for that matter, But the Redskins when they were about
Speaker 1: to host the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. If it
Speaker 1: wasn't for that game, if they just beat Maccastle, this
Speaker 1: thing would be over. You're right, I mean, I I
Speaker 1: do think though at this point what the Redskins have
Speaker 1: going for them is Kirk Cousins. Again, it's a week
Speaker 1: to week proposition, but he's playing the best he has
Speaker 1: all season. Deshan Jackson is back, he's healthy, he's had
Speaker 1: a great month. And Jordan Reid, with two hundred less
Speaker 1: snaps than Gary Barnage, has nine touched touchdowns, same with
Speaker 1: Gary Barneage. I mean, Jordan Reid is playing out of
Speaker 1: his mind. So you've got your weapons ready to go
Speaker 1: against the defense that's you know, given up forty points
Speaker 1: in three of the last five games. You watched the Eagles,
Speaker 1: and you know, I wanted to pick the Eagles um,
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, the game I
Speaker 1: watched on Sunday night and they were playing a vastly
Speaker 1: superior team. But it's just this team seems like it's
Speaker 1: it has so many issues and the Redskins are just
Speaker 1: playing much better right now, and it just seems to
Speaker 1: me that Washington should take care of business. Uh, Greg,
Speaker 1: do you feel that way? I do believe that the
Speaker 1: Redskins are a much better and more consistent team than
Speaker 1: the Eagles. I think the Eagles were very lucky to
Speaker 1: win in Foxborough and that they were lucky to beat
Speaker 1: the Bills. I kind of can't figure out how they
Speaker 1: won those games. What happened to this defense? As bad
Speaker 1: as Chip Kelly's offense has been compared to expectations, the
Speaker 1: defense has been more surprising over the last eight weeks.
Speaker 1: That they suddenly went from one of the better defensive
Speaker 1: lines in the league and in a good front seven
Speaker 1: and a Pro Bowl safety, Pro Bowl quality safety and
Speaker 1: Malcolm j to just nothing. And this is where if
Speaker 1: you want to make the case that they're just not
Speaker 1: playing with the same intensity as other NFL teams, I
Speaker 1: think you look at that defense, it's been a total disappointment.
Speaker 1: And Cousins and this Redskins offense should be able to
Speaker 1: put together some of those eight, ten, twelve played drives
Speaker 1: that they're that they're really known for. At this point,
Speaker 1: Speaking of Cousins, let's now look over to the kissing
Speaker 1: Cousins corner. Uh success, Are you guys comfortable? Number one,
Speaker 1: are you comfortable with the you Like that trademark that
Speaker 1: has been filed by Kirk Cousins? And number two, will
Speaker 1: you buy some officially endorsed you like that apparel? If
Speaker 1: he does get the trademark? Care not for the trademark whatsoever?
Speaker 1: I mean, who cares? It's a cool saying because it
Speaker 1: happened organically, but now that it's a trademark, can give
Speaker 1: me a break? Whatever, But go ahead. But this guy's
Speaker 1: leading the NFL and completion percentage and set the record
Speaker 1: for best completion percentage at home in an NFL. He's
Speaker 1: the most effective quarterback in the league on throws one
Speaker 1: to ten yards. There's a good stat in our research packet.
Speaker 1: He leads the NFL and quarterback rating in in passes
Speaker 1: over ten yards. He's one of the worst quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the league. Six touchdowns, eight interceptions, sub fifty completion percentage.
Speaker 1: So I give j Gruden and Kirk Cousins credit. They're
Speaker 1: playing to his strengths. He's just not gonna be a
Speaker 1: guy that ever gets excited throwing the ball down the field.
Speaker 1: And he's not even trying and there you know, they
Speaker 1: have a good they have a pretty good offense despite it.
Speaker 1: Nine yards per attempt over the last seven games, though,
Speaker 1: that's not bad. But it's all it's a it's all
Speaker 1: in the short passes that go along a lot of
Speaker 1: its screens, and he gets the ball up quick and
Speaker 1: he makes the right It seems like at least once
Speaker 1: or twice the games he's getting the ball to Sean
Speaker 1: Jackson deep. Yeah, lately two quick numbers don't lie though,
Speaker 1: Redskins only two wins in the last fourteen games on
Speaker 1: the road. But we are not kissing cousins. Cousins West
Speaker 1: and I, but we both hail from Germany, from about
Speaker 1: twenty miles away, way back when Cecilberg and I think,
Speaker 1: what is it? Wessels is in Germany. There you go,
Speaker 1: so maybe there you go. So just a couple of areas. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, it's we are our our ancestors probably agreed
Speaker 1: and disagreed on sports topics going back hundreds of years. Well,
Speaker 1: you and Greg were separated by continents. I was just saying, like,
Speaker 1: you know, Greg's father was born in Nazi Germany. You're
Speaker 1: happy about that? No, I'm not happy. Well, that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about my family. I'm talking about like the
Speaker 1: pre the pastoral times when it was a peace loving group.
Speaker 1: I don't agree with that. Germany, oh yeah, go back
Speaker 1: really far in German history. Always a calm group of people.
Speaker 1: All right, that'll be fine. All I'm saying is that,
Speaker 1: you know, not paint anybody with a broad chasing Greg's
Speaker 1: family around, uh Mark, Dan and West. I'll pick the
Speaker 1: Redskins that clinch the NFC East. Greg, quit doing picks. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm taking the I'm taking the Eagles just because you're right,
Speaker 1: it deserves to go to Week seven taking the division.
Speaker 1: I'm taking them to win this game. The Redskins haven't
Speaker 1: beaten the winning team all year. Moving on, the Carolina
Speaker 1: Panthers are fourteen and oh chasing history. And I haven't
Speaker 1: heard anything yet about UM because they haven't locked up
Speaker 1: the NFC top seed yet, right A win on Sunday
Speaker 1: would do that. Correct, That's true, they still have something
Speaker 1: to play for. But this certainly to me feels that.
Speaker 1: First of all, they have the Falcons in Atlanta, UM
Speaker 1: a game again, they should win. The schedules favorable for
Speaker 1: them to get to sixteen and oh and I don't
Speaker 1: want to look past this game, but I just do
Speaker 1: want to say that this certainly feels like a team
Speaker 1: uh as exhausting as they've been uh the last couple
Speaker 1: of days. UM, a team that will not fold up
Speaker 1: tent and you know, settle, you know, play starters for
Speaker 1: a quarter in week seventeen and then look ahead to
Speaker 1: the playoffs and risk not going sixteen. You know, I
Speaker 1: think this team knows and they get it, and that's
Speaker 1: a good thing. That's sixteen and O is a big deal.
Speaker 1: I'm excited that the Panthers are gonna go for this.
Speaker 1: I don't find them exhausting at all. I find them invigorating.
Speaker 1: That a team that plays like a team on defense,
Speaker 1: especially so good week after weeks, so much intensity. They're
Speaker 1: a fun team to watch. That Josh Norman thing doesn't
Speaker 1: bother me at all. And just they're different, are different
Speaker 1: than everything everything is like, who cares? That's not true?
Speaker 1: I like it. This is the original team of a
Speaker 1: t L and you guys have no connection. This is
Speaker 1: not that team. But there's a lot that connects that
Speaker 1: team to this team. They're fans have been abhorrent this year.
Speaker 1: That's why they're hard to take. I think, yeah, it's
Speaker 1: what you on the field during games. You're right, that's
Speaker 1: what I care about. Okay, all right, well that's that's
Speaker 1: great that you can icily separate that from all the
Speaker 1: other things that surround the team. Covering the Panthers week
Speaker 1: to week, it's almost as if in the last fortnight
Speaker 1: or so they've embraced the villain rule that they had
Speaker 1: to get that chip back on their shoulder. And good
Speaker 1: for them if that's the psychology happening inside the building.
Speaker 1: But covering them day after day and the stuff that's happened,
Speaker 1: especially in the last two weeks, they are tiresome. That's
Speaker 1: how I feel. Not on the field, but I think
Speaker 1: that would happen with any fourteen and no team happen
Speaker 1: with the Cardinals, for Tina, so happened with the Patriots.
Speaker 1: I think this is when you're on the top, then
Speaker 1: people just it's Norman wasn't like taking page by page,
Speaker 1: paragraph by paragraph after the book that Richard Sherman. I mean,
Speaker 1: it wouldn't be so tedious. But come on, Josh Norman,
Speaker 1: You're it's easy to see through what you're doing here.
Speaker 1: You also kind of got toasted last week Sneaky toasted,
Speaker 1: right was? I wrote about that for next Gen Stats.
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham left a hundred yards and a touchdown on
Speaker 1: the field, and look, nobody shut down Odell Beckham, unless
Speaker 1: you want to say Odell Beckham shut himself down for
Speaker 1: fifty seven minutes. Butler did about as good a job
Speaker 1: as anyone certainly didn't shut him down. Gave up one big,
Speaker 1: big play. But you're right, no one shuts him down.
Speaker 1: I want to get you, Greg, if I would have
Speaker 1: gotten you in secret, send, I would have gotten you
Speaker 1: the official jersey of the practice squad player that approached
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham with a baseball. That guy's cool. Enjoy the CFL, bro,
Speaker 1: if you're luck well, we should say Ron Rivet seems
Speaker 1: to be one of the genuinely nicest people in the league,
Speaker 1: so I do hope he does. And he speaks the
Speaker 1: truth when he's mad. When he got angry at the
Speaker 1: reporters for continuing to ask what was it? Last week,
Speaker 1: I'm even forgetting the tiresome situation with Cam Newton, and
Speaker 1: then this week I like that he called out the Giants.
Speaker 1: He caught up the Giants for leaking uh information about
Speaker 1: the bat and was saying that's excuse making he just
Speaker 1: the idea that racial slur or not racial slurs, but
Speaker 1: gay slurs were used. He he went out and said
Speaker 1: that this smells a little bit like spin control out there,
Speaker 1: especially it was from the Giants. I like, I love her.
Speaker 1: By the way, Josh Nor, we did talk about a
Speaker 1: little bit when we were talking about the Beckham stuff,
Speaker 1: that Norman was not innocent in all this. The league
Speaker 1: find him two separate finds totaling over twenty six thousand
Speaker 1: dollars for some of his behavior, and we should say
Speaker 1: a time of taping today Beckham, his appeal hearing is
Speaker 1: going on in the league office. He's trying to get
Speaker 1: that one game suspension knocked off. But anyway, the Panthers
Speaker 1: are should take care of. But the Falcons got back
Speaker 1: on track, but there's still this an inferior team. We
Speaker 1: all took the Panthers to win the game. Don't blow
Speaker 1: this one. I know it's a division game on the road,
Speaker 1: but don't blow this one. Involve again that Giants game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I would and Cam Newton, you know that was
Speaker 1: that was pretty badass. I will say the the jift
Speaker 1: that floated around of after Beckham's scored the touchdown to
Speaker 1: tie the game, and they cut to Newton on the
Speaker 1: sideline and he's like shaking his head, like all right,
Speaker 1: all right, this goes out there seventy yards down the field.
Speaker 1: Game over. Yeah, it was cool. It seems like they're
Speaker 1: doing something special. It's a little tiresome, some of the antics.
Speaker 1: That's all anytime the time we talked about tiresome, it's
Speaker 1: usually around one or two people. It's not the whole team.
Speaker 1: It's just one or two issues or nonsensical individuals. And
Speaker 1: West says the fan base as well, so that makes
Speaker 1: it a boat war. I don't necessarily mean the fans
Speaker 1: as much, but I just said Twitter presence is just abhorrent.
Speaker 1: I mean, give me a break. Well, as editor David
Speaker 1: Ealely downstairs, who is a Panthers fan, says that they're
Speaker 1: learning to deal with success, Greg's furrowing his brown No, no, no,
Speaker 1: I'm sure people would go to the games, are fine, whatever,
Speaker 1: The city's cool, but the people on Twitter are just
Speaker 1: they've overtaken the Seahawks is the worst. I'm just happy.
Speaker 1: Our our editor David Ealely got to mention because it's
Speaker 1: gonna make it's gonna be his Christmas present. That's moving on.
Speaker 1: The Pittsburgh Steelers are nine and five, surviving a big
Speaker 1: scare uh last week in Denver or against Denver, A
Speaker 1: nice comeback when and uh that really uh saved them
Speaker 1: from being in a very bad situation. Now they have
Speaker 1: a chance to lock up a playoff spot by taking
Speaker 1: care of business, and it starts at Baltimore against the
Speaker 1: decimated Ravens. Um Mark, these are two teams that you loathe. Um.
Speaker 1: You know you loathe them so much that during Secret Santa, Uh,
Speaker 1: you you elaborated one gift to disband the Ravens entirely.
Speaker 1: And my thought when I had to think of what
Speaker 1: would make Mark happiest, I had Ben Roethlisberger framed for
Speaker 1: capital murder, um, multiple counts of capital murder. So I'll
Speaker 1: let you talk about this game a little bit. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, the last time the Ravens played the Steelers,
Speaker 1: they got Michael Vick, who couldn't connect with Antonio Brown.
Speaker 1: I think now you're looking at a completely different team entirely,
Speaker 1: and the Ravens. I tweeted this out and got a
Speaker 1: lot of heat because I wish the merry Christmas with
Speaker 1: this stat if the Ravens have allowed twenty eight passing
Speaker 1: touchdowns while having just for interception, which is the worst
Speaker 1: touchdown to interception ratio going back to at least nineteen
Speaker 1: thirty three. So we've talked all year about this secondary
Speaker 1: that has been getting torched, and now you're dealing with
Speaker 1: a passing game that is white hot. And I don't
Speaker 1: hate the Steelers. I respect the Steelers at the Ravens.
Speaker 1: I do not respect the Ravens because of their roots,
Speaker 1: and that's my own issue to deal with. It's not
Speaker 1: your issue to deal with. But I think Pittsburgh is
Speaker 1: gonna take this team to town on Sunday easily because
Speaker 1: this good. They're gonna go right into the playoffs and
Speaker 1: not they're gonna upset a few teams I think there.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not sure anyone can stop Steelers
Speaker 1: at this level right now in this room anyway, I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody will be surprised if they knock us.
Speaker 1: Some teams I don't even know be an upset. This
Speaker 1: is a loaded team. All they have to do is
Speaker 1: stay out of their own way and not get hurt.
Speaker 1: You can, you can pick the Steelers apart through the air,
Speaker 1: but Jimmy Clawson cannot pick the Steelers apart through This
Speaker 1: is just a bad matchup for a team that has
Speaker 1: no one left to play. Yeah, Damna Check has Dave
Speaker 1: Damascheck of course, our friend and host of the Dave
Speaker 1: damas Check Football program. He's been trying to he's somehow
Speaker 1: worried about this game because of the rival Ravens. That's uh,
Speaker 1: that's hogwash. They should drop a fifty burger out it.
Speaker 1: It's not a rivalry. This is essentially how the other
Speaker 1: teams when they were bad in this division felt about
Speaker 1: being called rivals to the Steelers. This this is a
Speaker 1: Ravens team stripped of all their weapons and all what
Speaker 1: makes them a strength. It's not the same team right now.
Speaker 1: Christmas to you. Yeah, they said that's a ridiculous Christmas
Speaker 1: press team folloween in some you know, diculous random a
Speaker 1: f C team's misery. I could use a team needs
Speaker 1: to be put out of their misery more than the
Speaker 1: two thousand fifteen Ravens. It has been a forever. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they are. I do think that they're playing hard for
Speaker 1: hardbus Still, Yeah, they compete. We all picked the Steelers
Speaker 1: to move to ten and five. Up next the Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 1: with yes Kellen Moore now the starting quarterback, their fourth
Speaker 1: starter of the season. Is that correct, That's correct, Joints.
Speaker 1: What a nightmare in Dallas. Um, they will try to
Speaker 1: win their fifth game of the season. They gotta do
Speaker 1: it in Buffalo against the Bills. And you know, a
Speaker 1: month ago, maybe we would be like, oh, Bills are
Speaker 1: gonna roll over the Cowboys. And perhaps they still will
Speaker 1: because the Cowboys are not very good, but the Bills
Speaker 1: are a mess. I mean, I like to call us
Speaker 1: if you if you're following what's going on right now
Speaker 1: in Buffalo, it's it's kind of like a controlled mutiny
Speaker 1: where guys are speaking out. They're not outright throwing Rex
Speaker 1: under the bus, are saying that, you know, we need
Speaker 1: to start fresh or any I can't. Yeah, but it's
Speaker 1: it's close. It's like right at the line, Sammy Watkins
Speaker 1: speaking out, Mario Williams wants out of town. Booby Dixon
Speaker 1: spoke up, Um, Corey Graham. Corey Graham, So you know,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of dissension. Rex. Ryan's gonna get a
Speaker 1: second year. I would be stunned if he didn't get
Speaker 1: a second year. But he obviously has like a ton
Speaker 1: of work to do. And I will add one thing,
Speaker 1: uh the Four Falls of Buffalo, which is a thirty
Speaker 1: for thirty on Uh the Bills super Bowl teams that
Speaker 1: I was watching yesterday. Uh this it's not unprecedented that
Speaker 1: you can get a team back together. The year before
Speaker 1: their Super Bowl run, they were known west as you
Speaker 1: might remember, as the bickering Bills. Uh. And they were
Speaker 1: a team that was you know, Jim Kelly and Thermant
Speaker 1: Thomas for fighting and everybody was unhappy and Pollyan came
Speaker 1: in and restored order. Well, that's what the Bills need.
Speaker 1: And maybe Doug Welly isn't that guy, but the Bills
Speaker 1: need to get their house in honor. Well. Nigel Bradham,
Speaker 1: who has had three head coaches in four years, says
Speaker 1: he's never seen finger pointing like this on the Bill.
Speaker 1: So it's a worst situation now, he says, than ever.
Speaker 1: Uh Uh. You know, Rex Bradham said, we're all grown men.
Speaker 1: You should know what to say what not to say.
Speaker 1: I think that what Mario Williams really taking shot that
Speaker 1: the coaching staff is what not to say. But I
Speaker 1: like what Rex Ryan uh said this week or on
Speaker 1: Wednesday about Kellen Moore, just a little scouting report for
Speaker 1: the game. Well, the first thing that jumps out at
Speaker 1: you he's a little bitty dude, and then you notice
Speaker 1: he's throwing with the wrong hand, So that that's the
Speaker 1: scouting report level of analysis. He's been so obnoxious this year,
Speaker 1: like I really turned on him when he couldn't acknowledge
Speaker 1: that Dion Lewis is a corporeal entity and then dismissed
Speaker 1: him after the game like, oh, he didn't beat us. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: actually that stop that Jets Bills game in Week seventeen
Speaker 1: does not look nearly as tough. And now I wouldn't
Speaker 1: surprise me if the Cowboys win this game. Oh I
Speaker 1: would be shocked. But one thing I will say, it
Speaker 1: ain't kind of thrown in the towel here that who
Speaker 1: said who said we all picked the Bills, which just
Speaker 1: tells you how much we think of the Cowboys. But um,
Speaker 1: who said that this is worse than anything they've ever
Speaker 1: seen in Buffalo. Nigel Bradham only in his fourth season,
Speaker 1: but he's had a lot of coaches and GM's there
Speaker 1: in four season, it tells you how different the NFL
Speaker 1: is because the worst thing he's seen how different the
Speaker 1: NFL is now, Because back in nineteen ninety or nine nine,
Speaker 1: Jim Kelly called out some teammates in the press. Thurman
Speaker 1: Thomas then called out Jim Kelly and then Bill Paul
Speaker 1: and forced the two of them to call press conference
Speaker 1: together and read statements about how they're not gonna fight
Speaker 1: fight with each other anymore. Can you imagine if that
Speaker 1: happened today between Tyrod Taylor and and that was a
Speaker 1: playoff team, Yes they were. They lost a heartbreaking loss
Speaker 1: to the Browns, but that but they you could tell
Speaker 1: that there was a ton of talent on the team.
Speaker 1: I think there is in Buffalo two right now. And
Speaker 1: to be fair to Rex Well, this is I don't
Speaker 1: know why I'm saying this, but they're the players. And
Speaker 1: Booby Dixon especially said that there aren't any leaders in
Speaker 1: this locker room, that it's not just the coaching staff.
Speaker 1: That there were that he was in San Francisco and
Speaker 1: whenever there was something hot fire going on, they would
Speaker 1: call a meeting and there'd be players to step up
Speaker 1: and be accountable. And Greg, you're borrowing your brow at me,
Speaker 1: but that's that's Tom Brady and William That was Willia
Speaker 1: McGinnis player is the one who's not crying. I'll rowing
Speaker 1: my brow at the bills because i was thinking who
Speaker 1: are their highest paid players and I'm thinking Mario Williams,
Speaker 1: Lashawn McCoy, Williams, Well, you know who was? I think
Speaker 1: it was Fred Jackson? Yeah, Fred? And you trade in
Speaker 1: the way and that sometimes those trades get rid of
Speaker 1: this old player. How is up your locker? How can
Speaker 1: they say they don't have leadership with Richie Incognitos on
Speaker 1: that two Oh yeah, by the way, Jerry Jones, I
Speaker 1: respect him for coming out and say we messed up
Speaker 1: this year, we mis evaluated Brandon Whedon. I hope his
Speaker 1: next step is to say we messed up on signing
Speaker 1: Greg Hardy alright, moving on or Matt Castle for that matter.
Speaker 1: The next one PM game? Will you get off Maccastle?
Speaker 1: The guys doing is I think all I have left
Speaker 1: at this point, It's all I have. I think the
Speaker 1: fact when your owner says we blew it by not
Speaker 1: keeping Brandon Weird, it's a shot thinking insult. And he
Speaker 1: said it by going into the season with Brandon Weeden
Speaker 1: as the next one PM game to discuss is the
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty Niners who traveled to Ford Field to
Speaker 1: take on the Lions. Uh, we gotta get to to
Speaker 1: the airport. Dan greg has the Lions making the super
Speaker 1: one point on this game from either team. Look at
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford's up to twenty seven touchdowns. He's having a
Speaker 1: year now, salvaging his place on this team. Maybe salvage
Speaker 1: and Calvin Johnson too, although I expect him to ask
Speaker 1: Calvin dicktake he's having a half a year. The first
Speaker 1: half of the year should not be I don't care
Speaker 1: what the total numbers say. He was one of the
Speaker 1: worst quarterbacks in the league for half the season. You
Speaker 1: can't ignore it. Yeah, But what you also cannot ignore
Speaker 1: is the rise of couder Well. I never would, I mean,
Speaker 1: do we call this in the course of an entire
Speaker 1: season like garbage time? You go one in seven interest
Speaker 1: in garbage time in the whole second half of the season,
Speaker 1: throwing the ball over the place Couter We trust we
Speaker 1: all took the Lions in that game. Boardie. Niners are
Speaker 1: one of the worst four and ten teams in NFL history.
Speaker 1: I think they're the worst team in the NFL, but
Speaker 1: they have four weeks. That's my take from this game.
Speaker 1: That's fair. I like that take. That was a good take.
Speaker 1: Chas moving on another one PM game to Cleveland, Brown's
Speaker 1: travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs, and I've
Speaker 1: been talking about this with Mark sporadically throughout the week
Speaker 1: that I really think it does fit in with Brown's
Speaker 1: narrative um that Johnny Manziel is gonna light somebody up
Speaker 1: in one of these last two weeks and look really
Speaker 1: good and make the decision even harder about what to
Speaker 1: do next in Cleveland, and I think it's I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna happen on Sunday. I think Johnny Menzel's going
Speaker 1: into Arrowhead. And I don't think the Chiefs are playing
Speaker 1: too hot the last couple of weeks. I think they're
Speaker 1: a little more vulnerable than people realize. And I think
Speaker 1: Manzel is gonna throw three touchdowns. I think he might
Speaker 1: run for one to everyone's gonna get excited in Cleveland.
Speaker 1: There's gonna be a little hope back in the building.
Speaker 1: And then he's gonna move into your guesthouse in the
Speaker 1: off season and you're gonna watch over him just watering
Speaker 1: Gatorade all off season. But seriously, I do I mean
Speaker 1: just I got a Sessler about it. That's all that
Speaker 1: Manziel is gonna have a big game and the Chiefs. Yeah,
Speaker 1: one of these teams, it could easily be the Jets.
Speaker 1: We'll get to them later, but one of these three
Speaker 1: a f C wildcard hopefuls are gonna fall. I'm banking
Speaker 1: on the Chiefs being the one. I'm gonna like, you need,
Speaker 1: you need this to happen as a Jets fan too,
Speaker 1: So there's you know, there's a lot of hope. But
Speaker 1: I don't know about Cleveland because outside of Manziel, who
Speaker 1: I do think provides a spark, they've got. They've put
Speaker 1: five or six players on I R in the last
Speaker 1: three or four weeks alone. Players are shutting down. I
Speaker 1: thought they play hard for Petton last week, but there's
Speaker 1: just they're just outmatched. Chiefs, even with injuries, are are
Speaker 1: a much more talented team on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1: Right now, my game pass must be dysfunctional because people
Speaker 1: keep throwing all these accolades a Johnny Manzel. I thought
Speaker 1: he was awful last week and he held the ball
Speaker 1: too long the entire second half he's just trying to
Speaker 1: evade pass rushers. I'm almost nothing. I mean, I didn't
Speaker 1: know any kind of a spark game. I thought he
Speaker 1: was a spot though. I mean, that's Seattle is playing
Speaker 1: as good as anybody in the league. He's not, he's
Speaker 1: not ready to go on there. The Browns don't have
Speaker 1: the know But I don't see why, like all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, Man's l's gonna be the one that pushes
Speaker 1: him to That's fair. I think Also, he's a quarterback
Speaker 1: with no ground game and he's under siege. All he
Speaker 1: did and he looked great, and that's the only game
Speaker 1: that any quarterback in Cleveland's had all season. That way,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's gonna happen against Kansas City. I
Speaker 1: don't think he was great last week. But he is
Speaker 1: a different player and he provides different opportunities than Austin
Speaker 1: Davis does Tom. He's way better than Austin Tom. But
Speaker 1: Ali broke his thumb last week. He is expected to
Speaker 1: play that. But that's one of the most surprising Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl players in the league. It looked like he was
Speaker 1: just about on his way out of Kansas City and
Speaker 1: has had a really nice season justin Houston is the
Speaker 1: most underreported injury in the league. I don't think this
Speaker 1: team is the same. It's just nearly has then dangerous
Speaker 1: if he doesn't play in the playoffs, and it looks
Speaker 1: like that's where they're headed. So I think that gives
Speaker 1: the Browns a chance. There's a bizarre role among media insiders,
Speaker 1: even though Justin Houston is one of the best players
Speaker 1: in the NFL, anytime he does something, you're not allowed
Speaker 1: to report on it. You just have to talk about
Speaker 1: talk about Dez Bryant instead. But I am not an
Speaker 1: insider who enforces that. I believe they just all get together.
Speaker 1: All the network heads are like, Justin Houston, doesn't matter
Speaker 1: he plays in Kansas. I think, don't talk about stefter
Speaker 1: is Is. It's kind of like a committee where he
Speaker 1: is now the leader because he's been doing it now
Speaker 1: the longest. On top. Well, I shouldn't say that the
Speaker 1: Indianapolis Colts. Let's move on. The Indianapolis Colts are six
Speaker 1: and eight, and they listen. This has been a frustrating
Speaker 1: season for this team. Andrew Luck has only played seven
Speaker 1: games and he's not coming back this week. Uh. Now
Speaker 1: they have to have any chance to save their season
Speaker 1: and maybe sneak back into the playoffs. They gotta go
Speaker 1: on the road. Luckily road is Miami against the Dolphins. Team.
Speaker 1: Speaking of those teams that just to end the season already,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins, they just want to get out of town
Speaker 1: and and figure out what to do next with their franchise. Uh,
Speaker 1: probably starting with a head coach search. But here are
Speaker 1: the Colts. Matt hasselbeck Um who said this week, and
Speaker 1: this is never a good sign. It's a direct quote.
Speaker 1: I've got nothing left. And it's like I have to
Speaker 1: be on Like, how can you pick the Colts to
Speaker 1: win any games when the quarterback, the four year old,
Speaker 1: beaten up quarterback, is admitting to the world that he
Speaker 1: literally has nothing physically to give and they have nowhere
Speaker 1: else to go unless you want to count clip War
Speaker 1: Jesus a man that I admire and love, but I
Speaker 1: mean I can't get behind that. He should driven up
Speaker 1: husk of a man is what he's telling you. How
Speaker 1: can you ignore that? I mean they could, they could
Speaker 1: prove me wrong, but it just feels like that that
Speaker 1: loss to the Texans was the end of the Pagano era.
Speaker 1: I mean, they had the ten three lead, they lose
Speaker 1: it to it's an ugly it doesn't matter right they
Speaker 1: they're not coming off the mat, you know. There t
Speaker 1: Y Hilton's criticizing the play calling this week that that's
Speaker 1: a big part of the problem, not my problem. Although
Speaker 1: the Formans are much better. I mean they got they
Speaker 1: got waxed by San Diego. That the Dolphins, there's talk
Speaker 1: in Miami that they could blow the whole thing up,
Speaker 1: that even tanninbaumb might not be safe. Uh who then,
Speaker 1: y you know they change they change the deck chairs
Speaker 1: every sixteen eighteen months. If you have a job, really,
Speaker 1: I don't think you will next year? Well, reportedly, who
Speaker 1: covers this game on Sunday? This is a game even
Speaker 1: Greg couldn't love. No, I won't make a case for it.
Speaker 1: I'm going to give it to the desk. Give it.
Speaker 1: Give a chance one of our fine uh, one of
Speaker 1: our fine guys like Tyler Dragon or maybe Andy Hagman
Speaker 1: Lakisha you know sound like women. Well, well the latter
Speaker 1: two are women. Yeah, in general, I'm just Mark Artega
Speaker 1: was trying to give him a little love. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: they do a great job, so why not send this
Speaker 1: opportunity to them to cover this flamethrowing contest. Uh, you
Speaker 1: took the Colts as of now to well, okay, West,
Speaker 1: and I took the album. I made the picks like
Speaker 1: like eighteen seconds before the podcast. They're all false flag picks.
Speaker 1: Who knows what they mean. I'll probably change seven of
Speaker 1: them before Sunday. Right, Sometimes I wonder why I'm also
Speaker 1: I'm buried in the standing, So why not just start
Speaker 1: go swinging for the fences. West has moved into first place.
Speaker 1: By the way, let's see if West can close. That's
Speaker 1: another sandwich for me here. You're right, you're ready. Let's
Speaker 1: move on to New England Patriots. Another twelve win season
Speaker 1: up in Foxboro. The Throne of Ease is activating it
Speaker 1: powerful levels. And yet whenever they play the New York Jets,
Speaker 1: they're in for a dog fight greg whether the Jet
Speaker 1: team is good or the Jet team is bad. But
Speaker 1: how about when the Jet team is good and desperate?
Speaker 1: And that's what we got. The Jets need to win essentially,
Speaker 1: I mean they to be eliminated with the loss, but
Speaker 1: they would be just about done at that point. They
Speaker 1: are in their building where they've been good this year. Uh,
Speaker 1: for the most part. Uh, they have a quarterback that's
Speaker 1: playing with a lot of confidence, that is fully aware
Speaker 1: of the stakes. He said, this is huge for me.
Speaker 1: Brandon Marshalls has never gone to the playoffs. These guys
Speaker 1: know this is maybe the best chance they've ever had,
Speaker 1: and I don't think they're gonna let it get away. Greg.
Speaker 1: I'm excited. You know, I'm an optimistic Jets fan, which
Speaker 1: is never a good thing to be, But I think
Speaker 1: the Jets are gonna battle and they're gonna give the
Speaker 1: Patriots the third loss. What do you think about that?
Speaker 1: How you like them? Apples to quote a little Boston
Speaker 1: that makes it makes a lot of sense, and I
Speaker 1: buy it. But I'm at cross. You know, I'm feeling
Speaker 1: mixed things about this game because that whenever it's logical
Speaker 1: that the Patriots are gonna get picked off, that's generally
Speaker 1: when you get your best Patriots effort. And then afterwards
Speaker 1: everyone thinks, why did why did we think this was
Speaker 1: the week? Because logically this is as bad as this
Speaker 1: team has looked injury wise all season. You're missing high
Speaker 1: tower this week, most likely a Mondola. We don't think
Speaker 1: Edelman is coming back here without Brian's stork last week,
Speaker 1: Devin mccordy hasn't been back. This team has been taking
Speaker 1: on water in general, not playing as well, and yet
Speaker 1: on the road in a division the division thing goes
Speaker 1: both ways. I think you're gonna get a fired up
Speaker 1: Patriots team that would love nothing more than to end
Speaker 1: this Jet season. And you have two guys in Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: and Marshall have played two forty combined games in the NFL.
Speaker 1: This is probably the biggest one for each of them.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, maybe maybe maybe they get a
Speaker 1: little tight if they fall behind in a big spot
Speaker 1: at home. I could see that because I think they are,
Speaker 1: like I said, fully aware of the stakes here and
Speaker 1: where their career career has gone and what lies ahead,
Speaker 1: which is uncertainty Marshall and Fitzpatrick, and I know for
Speaker 1: a fact that it's not like the Pats are gonna
Speaker 1: waltz in there and be unprepared or you know, looking
Speaker 1: past that. They need to win to um you know,
Speaker 1: the lock down the number one seed. So I get it.
Speaker 1: It's not gonna be an easy game for the Jets win.
Speaker 1: But I think they got a chance. What do you
Speaker 1: guys think I'm gonna take the Patriots. They've got the
Speaker 1: better coach, better quarterback, and I think the better defense
Speaker 1: and the better front seven. You know, they're banged up
Speaker 1: in the secondary a little bit, but this front seven
Speaker 1: with the Jabal Sheared, Hakeem Hicks has come on really
Speaker 1: well lately, and Jamie Collins is still one of the
Speaker 1: best linebackers in the NFL. I'm taking the Patriots and
Speaker 1: I'm pointing to their defense and Chandler Jones and Collins
Speaker 1: both made both made the Pro Bowl this week. I mean,
Speaker 1: the Jets themselves gave up twelve yards rushing four games ago,
Speaker 1: twenty four two games ago. You know they the Patriots
Speaker 1: are banged up in the backfield. I guess we're you know,
Speaker 1: we believe Steven Jackson is gonna come in and save
Speaker 1: the day. I'm not sure about that, but the Jets
Speaker 1: the difference three. I would not like the situation for
Speaker 1: the Jets under Rex Ryan a year ago. I think
Speaker 1: Todd Bowles has them in a good place and I
Speaker 1: don't see them as desperate. As much as I think
Speaker 1: they believe in themselves right now, they are in a
Speaker 1: desperate spot at they lose this. I understand the Rex
Speaker 1: Ryan exhaustion levels, but the one thing you can never
Speaker 1: get rex on is he almost always got the Jets
Speaker 1: up for the Pats and beat the Patriots in the
Speaker 1: playoffs in Foxboro. So yeah, that was always good on
Speaker 1: the right games. It was the games that weren't his
Speaker 1: high profile that he seemed to fail to properly motivated time.
Speaker 1: The win in foxbur in the playoffs was half a
Speaker 1: decade ago. But you're right, rex typically had them ready
Speaker 1: because his primary obsession as a human being is Bill Belichick.
Speaker 1: But that's what I'm saying, right, But I think the
Speaker 1: Todd Bowles it brings this team to a healthier place.
Speaker 1: And I just think that I think they're a better
Speaker 1: coach team, and the way that their own quarterback has
Speaker 1: been playing over the past month gives them a chance.
Speaker 1: We're seven weeks ago. I would never think about the
Speaker 1: Jets winning this one. They they outplayed the Patriots for
Speaker 1: three quarters. If Brandon Marshall doesn't drop a pass uh
Speaker 1: inside the ten yard line, they're gonna go up. What
Speaker 1: was it ten or seven points in the fourth it
Speaker 1: was it was up in the air. But what I
Speaker 1: want to see this week, and when I think's gotten
Speaker 1: lost in the shuffle a little bit, lately is a
Speaker 1: great Tom Brady per Foreman's in a tough spot because
Speaker 1: it's almost getting overlooked with Cam Newton. How good Tom
Speaker 1: Brady has been this season. I think it's the best
Speaker 1: Tom Brady season in the last four years for sure.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's leading the league in touchdowns, He's leading
Speaker 1: he's leading the league in touchdowns to interception ratio, he's
Speaker 1: leading the league in passing yards. A lot of things
Speaker 1: have been going on around him, and he has played outstanding.
Speaker 1: I I just can't say enough of how good Tom
Speaker 1: Brady has been this year. Just him having a vintage
Speaker 1: game here against the Jets, I could I love Cam
Speaker 1: Newton was thirteen and one, people would still be talking
Speaker 1: about Brady as an m v P. I totally agree.
Speaker 1: I hold here in my hands the two thousand fifteen season,
Speaker 1: Week sixteen research notes. Uh name the song was that
Speaker 1: you two? I don't know the song? Well, it's actually
Speaker 1: a collection of singers. It was the It was their
Speaker 1: response to We Are the World. I believe it was
Speaker 1: the Christmas was it first? But it was the Christmas
Speaker 1: collection of like four Bobo what's his name, Bob Geldof,
Speaker 1: Bob band Aid, do they know it's Christ? Do they
Speaker 1: know it's African Aid? Very strange song if you listen
Speaker 1: to the lyrics. But yes, that was my Matt Bono
Speaker 1: singing the most memorable line. Because he's a legend. Got
Speaker 1: no problem with anyway. He's good for you know, good
Speaker 1: short guy. He is always a fan of those anyway
Speaker 1: for two things. First of all, since you brought up Brady,
Speaker 1: he's five touchdowns away from um a forty touchdown season
Speaker 1: that would be his second of his career. He had fifty,
Speaker 1: of course in two thousand seven. But Brandon Marshall is
Speaker 1: seven catches away from a hundred on the season that
Speaker 1: would make him the first wide receiver in NFL history
Speaker 1: with six one reception seasons. Sneaky Canton candidate, No way,
Speaker 1: no way. You one of the most mistake prone players
Speaker 1: of his generation, dropped prone, and every team that had
Speaker 1: him couldn't wait to get rid of him. There's no
Speaker 1: way you can see how his career ends. He's not
Speaker 1: going to take it to the bank. He's not going
Speaker 1: to be in the Hall of Fame. Sneaky him and
Speaker 1: Eli going in together. And how many playoff wins does
Speaker 1: he have? The playoff appearance. He will have four after
Speaker 1: this season. Yeah, you know, I love the optivism. Look,
Speaker 1: he's he's had a fine career. I'm feeling optimistic. This
Speaker 1: week too, is a good game. I took the Jets,
Speaker 1: of course for the uh you know, fourteenth straight week.
Speaker 1: UH and West and Mark Ball took the Pets, So
Speaker 1: we'll see what happens. Like Campbell, I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: the big game in the Meadowlands. Moving on the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 1: a team that really uh has shut it down basically,
Speaker 1: I guess they've had their kicker didn't help them in
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks after that Thanksgiving game, but they
Speaker 1: haven't won since then. So they're ready to go home
Speaker 1: there five and nine speaking, and ready to go home
Speaker 1: to Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You know, get it together, guys.
Speaker 1: You can't take care of business last week? Would they
Speaker 1: lose to Ramsay fotball? You know what, I'm supposed to
Speaker 1: take you seriously, but you never should have the they've overachieved.
Speaker 1: A mediocre team, not a playoffs. Six and eight is
Speaker 1: better than we ever thought they were. Greg, give me
Speaker 1: one thing about either of these teams in terms of
Speaker 1: something to look for. Well, I think Jamis Winston still
Speaker 1: has a chance to win Rookie of the Year if
Speaker 1: he closes strong. I think that Rams game was typical
Speaker 1: though of his season long stretches where he really wasn't
Speaker 1: on target, and then but he kept firing, was very aggressive,
Speaker 1: ended up having an okay game. Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 1: That's what you can look for a close strong Jamis.
Speaker 1: That would be quite in a tune for a guy
Speaker 1: that not since Cam Newton came in the league has
Speaker 1: there been so much you know, vitriol fired at a
Speaker 1: rookie what Mark, No, nothing, continue only know what I'm
Speaker 1: trying to think. The best thing I could say about
Speaker 1: the Bears is that they are faceless. I don't think
Speaker 1: that's what you were thinking. That's the best thing you
Speaker 1: can say about That's what we criticize the Titans for
Speaker 1: all of last year. I can I don't know why
Speaker 1: you brought me into the conversation, like you would smoke
Speaker 1: some peyote or something forgatible. As teams go in in
Speaker 1: two thousand and fifteen, they are one of the most
Speaker 1: forgetting that. That is accurate, That is very true, and uh,
Speaker 1: we all took the bucks for now. I keep saying
Speaker 1: that because you know the final one PM game we're
Speaker 1: gonna talk about is the Houston Texans, the leaders of
Speaker 1: the a f C South. They could potentially clinch to
Speaker 1: the division on Sunday, can't they. That's true with some help.
Speaker 1: They are seven and seven, which gives them a game
Speaker 1: lead over Indie, two games over Jacksonville. Um, so they
Speaker 1: are in good position. Uh and they get the last
Speaker 1: place team in the division. If you're the last place
Speaker 1: team in the a f C South, you're a bag
Speaker 1: of poop. Let's be honest. That is the Tennessee Titoons,
Speaker 1: who have made no progress as a franchise. Despite that's
Speaker 1: pretty hard to do. Just like I was saying, it's
Speaker 1: pretty hard to do that. The Falcons could win five
Speaker 1: to start the season and then be irrelevant by Christmas.
Speaker 1: It's pretty hard to import a franchise quarterback and then
Speaker 1: have him step up in his first year and be
Speaker 1: productive and then still suck tremendously. And that's what they've
Speaker 1: managed to do. I know he's been hurt, which doesn't help,
Speaker 1: but come on, tons like telling me that Texans can
Speaker 1: clinch a playoff birth birth and all they have to
Speaker 1: do is beat Zach Mettenberger. Potentially Zach Mettenberger ever won
Speaker 1: a football game in the NFL A not yet that J. J.
Speaker 1: Watt must be looking at chops. I don't know how
Speaker 1: his hand is doing. What arrivalry? Yeah? Great to have
Speaker 1: it Backtger. He couldn't dream up a scenario better for
Speaker 1: watch chances of reclaiming the lead and defensive player of
Speaker 1: the year. Well, part of that Sturger back. Sure, part
Speaker 1: of that scenario has Brandon Weed and is your quarterback? Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I mean you're playing against why you and I'm
Speaker 1: Brandon Weed. Did you see what he did this past Sunday?
Speaker 1: He will the teams to victory and a potential division title.
Speaker 1: He's starting a playoff game, buddy. The Texans have been
Speaker 1: great all year. When a quarterback comes in to relieve
Speaker 1: the other quarterback, the relief quarterback comes in and lights
Speaker 1: the sky on fire. And now you've got a week
Speaker 1: to prepare for Brandon Weed. And and by the way,
Speaker 1: that's Dick Lebo who was fried Brandon whed in about
Speaker 1: four hundred times. So I'm not saying that suddenly the
Speaker 1: Texans aren't a team that takes care of business either. Well,
Speaker 1: they could get Hoyer back. He returned to practice Wednesday,
Speaker 1: has not been cleared to play in the game yet,
Speaker 1: but maybe he will be by Friday. A wind does
Speaker 1: not clinch the division necessarily, but well, I loses and
Speaker 1: there's a chance they get the tie breaks. It's possible
Speaker 1: if they get their strength of victory that I can't
Speaker 1: figure that it right now, but you well, the strength
Speaker 1: of victory is too hard. You gotta week seventeen, you
Speaker 1: gotta play it out too straight. You know there's someone
Speaker 1: out there right now it sees a weakness and they're going,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say, I'm gonna get right through that force
Speaker 1: field and be the number one guy on tiebreaking, like
Speaker 1: the dude who does the n C Double A brackets
Speaker 1: every year. Yes, no, I don't know that. But there
Speaker 1: is a guy at NBC that I've really learned at
Speaker 1: the feet of, uh Joe Jesu. Who really is that
Speaker 1: guy who figures out all the strength of victory? And
Speaker 1: he took him down, and now there's a now he
Speaker 1: Greg Roseal out there doing it. He'll doing it well.
Speaker 1: Nationally need a bigger shoe where you go, Joe Jeshu.
Speaker 1: Now they're's that bracketologist guy for ESPN who made like
Speaker 1: a cottage industry for himself. I forget his name. Well,
Speaker 1: we all picked the Texans. And by the way, speaking
Speaker 1: of Mark, you mentioned preparation, it's not too early for
Speaker 1: us to start preparing what Houston area charity we're going
Speaker 1: to donate to, because we did fork the Texans months ago.
Speaker 1: What about the Chiefs, Well, we got two donations coming
Speaker 1: up from each of us, so saved up some moneys too. Possibly,
Speaker 1: Oh oh boy, where's this money coming from? None of
Speaker 1: those oh we did. None of those teams have clinched yet.
Speaker 1: I agreed that if you guys would fork the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: I would go along. See it's like mutually a sured destruction. There.
Speaker 1: We had to save the Titans. Now we'll be saving
Speaker 1: some people in need. Much more helpful at that. Like that,
Speaker 1: All right, let's move on the Jacksonville and Jaguars are
Speaker 1: five and nine. They need a miracle. They need to
Speaker 1: win their final two games. They need Houston to lose
Speaker 1: both their games. They need the Colts to mess up
Speaker 1: along the line, and then perhaps Greg and saw they'll
Speaker 1: they'll win a tiebreaker or something like that. But it
Speaker 1: all starts with the Saints and here's where. And I
Speaker 1: wouldn't put Jacksonville blown this game anyway. But Drew Brees
Speaker 1: the season should be over, you'd think, because he's listed
Speaker 1: his day to day. But he's the quarterback of a
Speaker 1: five and nine team. He's thirty six years old. He
Speaker 1: has a torn planter. Same injury is Peyton, same injury
Speaker 1: that's crippled Peyton Manning. Uh So you would think that
Speaker 1: Drew Brees ain't playing. Our boy Luke McCown ain't playing.
Speaker 1: Uh So that the game it would fall to who
Speaker 1: who's Matt Flynn? Your boy? Matt, it's not my boy,
Speaker 1: and now your enemy's boy. Yeah, we're buddies, We're he's
Speaker 1: an end around fans. We're Twitter or friends. Sorry, Mark, Um,
Speaker 1: I will be fine. So the Saints might not have
Speaker 1: Drew Brees, I'd be stunned to say, maybe we'll see
Speaker 1: Garrett Grayson their third round. Well, the whole plans coming together,
Speaker 1: New Orleans Draft Day strategy. Finally, I love the Jaguars,
Speaker 1: but I watch them lose this game even without breeze play.
Speaker 1: I love the Jaguars, but I know we said it
Speaker 1: makes sense for the NFC East to go to Week seventeen,
Speaker 1: let's just end this a f C South race now.
Speaker 1: I don't want this to go another week. This has
Speaker 1: a chance to be the most sterile atmosphere in NFL
Speaker 1: history this week. If I'm the coach of whichever a
Speaker 1: f C South team wins this division, I make them
Speaker 1: pay for their own flight. If they win a playoff
Speaker 1: game and get beyond that, I'll take the Saints if
Speaker 1: Breese plays, but he's probably not gonna play. In that case,
Speaker 1: will be the Jaguars for all of us. Uh, moving
Speaker 1: on here, now, let's not got a real football game.
Speaker 1: The Green Bay Packers travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals,
Speaker 1: and um, you know there would be if that game
Speaker 1: on Sunday night ended you know, two and a half
Speaker 1: minutes earlier, or they pulled their starters and honey bedroom
Speaker 1: never got hurt. Uh. There is no way I would
Speaker 1: pick against the Cardinals because they're playing so damn well.
Speaker 1: But this leaves the door open for them potentially to
Speaker 1: go through uh some growing pains as they adjust to
Speaker 1: I know West, I think you said they have a
Speaker 1: replacement that is a is a nice replacement level type guy,
Speaker 1: But you're not replacing Honey Bedge. I think that this
Speaker 1: could be something that they have take time to figure out.
Speaker 1: The Packers meanwhile, you know they're they're tenant for they
Speaker 1: have an outside chance of catching Arizona uh to be
Speaker 1: the second seed. So this game is a green Bay
Speaker 1: has a lot to play for in Arizona has some
Speaker 1: stuff they gotta work out now. Tyron Matthew has been
Speaker 1: one of the best players in the NFL, but don't
Speaker 1: get caught up in his name. Rashad Johnson is also
Speaker 1: one of their best defensive players. Missed last week's game
Speaker 1: and they blew the Eagles out. I mean they're gonna
Speaker 1: plug someone in who can play football. Justin Bethel is
Speaker 1: very good and the Packers are a flawed team. When's
Speaker 1: the last time this offense came out and in the
Speaker 1: first half showed a good passing game and a strong
Speaker 1: running game together. It's been since September. I can't take
Speaker 1: the Packers as a serious threat to come into Arizona
Speaker 1: and beat the Cardinals until they start playing like the Packers,
Speaker 1: and they haven't in three months. They haven't, but they
Speaker 1: have the talent that I always give them a chance,
Speaker 1: and I would do this in the playoff too, that
Speaker 1: that talent on both sides of all. I think they
Speaker 1: have enough that they could play a great game and
Speaker 1: then suddenly it just clicks. I think they have that chance.
Speaker 1: Yeah you got they They have the number five scoring
Speaker 1: defense against an Arizona offense that I don't think it
Speaker 1: matters what you're scoring defense is playing the Cardinals the Packers.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna sit around a way for them to
Speaker 1: suddenly flipped the switch at this point. And I and
Speaker 1: I've kept saying that and thinking that over and over.
Speaker 1: Oh now Eddie Lacy's healthy. Oh now Mike McCarthy's calling
Speaker 1: the plays again. Oh fill in the blank, the next
Speaker 1: thing is gonna happen. James Jones wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Well,
Speaker 1: I don't at this point. It's they are who they are,
Speaker 1: hard everywhere. That's exactly right. And and they've got a
Speaker 1: ton to play for. If the Cardinals ever lost this,
Speaker 1: and you gotta go play the Seahawks next week, and
Speaker 1: if anything happened in that game, you can lose your
Speaker 1: by so there. The Cardinals aren't coasting here. It's not
Speaker 1: just you know, roll to the finish. You've got to
Speaker 1: take this game. You're right about the Packers that I
Speaker 1: think we all gave them plenty of rope and plenty
Speaker 1: of you know, benefit of the doubt to shake shake
Speaker 1: out of their mid season slum, but it's carried on
Speaker 1: too far now. And even the win against the Raiders,
Speaker 1: you know, they took care of business and everything, but
Speaker 1: still there was cracks showing there too. This seems like
Speaker 1: a flawed team that's gonna head into the playoffs and
Speaker 1: there's gonna be multiple teams that are just flat out
Speaker 1: better than them that they have Aaron Rodgers, because they
Speaker 1: don't can sensis number one quarterback in the league by
Speaker 1: far coming into the season and certainly after September and two.
Speaker 1: We've just seen it too many times. I mean, the
Speaker 1: Giants going into week sixteen of either of their Super
Speaker 1: Bowl runs, the Packers going into week sixteen of their
Speaker 1: Super Bowl one run was not playing well. So we've
Speaker 1: seen it too many times that it can't count them out.
Speaker 1: But in this game, there's no reason to believe that
Speaker 1: that the Cardinals would blow Packers don't have the best
Speaker 1: quarterback in this game, not this year. No, I'm just
Speaker 1: talking right now, not entering as well asmer Palmers playing
Speaker 1: lights out number one on the old QB Index. Uh.
Speaker 1: And one of the reasons he's number one is that
Speaker 1: offensive line, which they completely rebuilt on the fly. Steve
Speaker 1: Kim deserves a lot of credit. Vel Deer turned out
Speaker 1: to be a great signing. I mean, they have played
Speaker 1: out standing. How cool is Honey Bedger? By the way,
Speaker 1: Wednesday morning, he's out on the field coaching up their
Speaker 1: defensive backs with a torn a c L. Remember this
Speaker 1: was a guy that nobody wanted a draft Well in
Speaker 1: his response right after he got injured. In the days since,
Speaker 1: I think we see what kind of a character he has.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's certainly he's grown into someone that anyone
Speaker 1: would want on the team. At this point. He's the
Speaker 1: guy that let's and you're looking at the other side too.
Speaker 1: He's the guy teams will continue to make mistakes drafting
Speaker 1: poor character guys because they always hope you'll get the
Speaker 1: honey Badger, but it doesn't always work out that way.
Speaker 1: But he is exception. I think Cime probably thinks somewhat
Speaker 1: like Bill Belichick thinks that if if you love football,
Speaker 1: that's gonna overtake some of the character stuff, and that's
Speaker 1: how That's how Belis won. Some of these guys who
Speaker 1: supposedly didn't have great characters. Do you think anything ever
Speaker 1: like in Steve Come's life, Like whether he hits like
Speaker 1: a foul shot in his backyard or he cooks like
Speaker 1: a really good steak, or like you know, his wife
Speaker 1: is like, man, Steve, you're the best, and he's like
Speaker 1: time time. I hope. So if not, he should take
Speaker 1: your advice. All right, let's move on now, Uh to
Speaker 1: a Sunday kickoff on Fox and St. Louis Rams travel
Speaker 1: to Century Link Field. It's known as the Clink, isn't it.
Speaker 1: West Seattle playing just tremendous football right now, wiped out
Speaker 1: the Browns last week, and now they get the Rams,
Speaker 1: who are trying to finish the season strong after letting
Speaker 1: it get away in the midpoint. Uh, savings, some face
Speaker 1: get to that seven and nine, the Jeff Fisher goal
Speaker 1: of every football season. But West, when it comes down
Speaker 1: to it, Russell Wilson is playing incredible. Where's Russell Wilson?
Speaker 1: By the way, Greg on your QB and DEX He's
Speaker 1: number four behind Brady cam and Uh, Carson Palmer. I
Speaker 1: almost I'm a little surprised. He's not in the top
Speaker 1: three ahead of Brady. Brady's been playing great. I just
Speaker 1: know he's made the whole thing. But Russell Wilson's playing
Speaker 1: almost at a historic level for the last monthing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Wilson's easily outplayed him over the last month.
Speaker 1: But Brady was by number one with by by a
Speaker 1: solid margin for the first half of the season. He's
Speaker 1: still playing well and he's still playing great. So Wilson
Speaker 1: had a pretty decent dip around week four to nine
Speaker 1: or so. Like that, you're just showing that when it
Speaker 1: comes to your QB index, you don't, you know, get
Speaker 1: too hyped up about what you just saw. No recency bias,
Speaker 1: Gregg saying, this is about the whole picture. Wow, number
Speaker 1: four in a season where some top level quarterbacks are
Speaker 1: playing outstanding, that's uh, that's pretty good. Yes, exactly. So now, uh,
Speaker 1: the Seahawks have a chance to move to ten and five.
Speaker 1: I guess at this point they're just trying to solidify
Speaker 1: getting the five seed over the six, which would mean
Speaker 1: that would set them up potentially to face the Redskins
Speaker 1: or the Eagles or perhaps the Giants. So you really
Speaker 1: do want that number five seed. Because you want to
Speaker 1: bang that NFC East team UH in the first round
Speaker 1: of the playoffs. That's a nice little way to start
Speaker 1: your playoff run. And Seattle has a good chance starting
Speaker 1: with a mediocre Rams team. I'm waiting for Greg to
Speaker 1: jump in and say the Rams are the favorites in
Speaker 1: this game. I know they one in Week one. It
Speaker 1: is a division game. You can always count on one.
Speaker 1: Westtig about the Ram ends with I mean, come on,
Speaker 1: they've been mediocre for what a decade? And Greg loves them. Hey,
Speaker 1: they just took care of the you know, they routed
Speaker 1: the best five and nine team in NFL history, the
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions, and UH then ended the Buccaneers playoff hopes.
Speaker 1: They're just crushing dreams out there on the way to
Speaker 1: seven wins. Well, they'll get there seven because they play
Speaker 1: in the season finale. Go but they're not. Come on,
Speaker 1: what are their chances of winning now? They're almost nothing
Speaker 1: as are very possibly the best team in the NFL
Speaker 1: when they're right now in Seattle. What better way if
Speaker 1: it is the last game for the Rams in St.
Speaker 1: Louis for for it to end than just a UH
Speaker 1: seven and nine banger. There is no better way right
Speaker 1: under the arm on the perfect narrative looks ready to
Speaker 1: go downstairs. No, I'm not. It's the Rams. I mean Seattle,
Speaker 1: just like we talked about a team like the Cardinals
Speaker 1: have to say anything. I think Seattle is not about
Speaker 1: to drop drop the deal here Russell Wilson's playing too
Speaker 1: well and the Rams come on there? Okay, which I
Speaker 1: to get you that plane? I gotta get gotta All right,
Speaker 1: let's go to the next game. All right, let's move on.
Speaker 1: This is Sunday Night football got flexed. Uh. It would
Speaker 1: have helped that the Giants would have finished that comeback
Speaker 1: against the Panthers last week. It would have been really saucy.
Speaker 1: But the New York Giants potentially with Odell Beckham, potentially
Speaker 1: without as of right now the appeal hearing. Uh, we
Speaker 1: don't know. We haven't heard for sure which which way
Speaker 1: that went. So Beckham Uh could play in this game,
Speaker 1: but right now he's not. They are facing the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1: Vikings team at nine and five. They have just about
Speaker 1: they probably you would think reg by Sunday Night will
Speaker 1: probably be locked into a playoff spot. Yes, because the Falcons,
Speaker 1: you know, they want the Falcons to lose the Bucks.
Speaker 1: That's why the NBC really this worked out poorly because
Speaker 1: they are rooting hard for the Redskins to lose on
Speaker 1: Saturday Night because the Giants could be eliminated by this game,
Speaker 1: this game and could have no juice, or it could
Speaker 1: have a lot of juice, or it could have a
Speaker 1: lot of juice. It's better than the alternative, which was
Speaker 1: something Baltimore. Yeah, so it was probably the right movie,
Speaker 1: even if they don't have a lot of options. But
Speaker 1: here we are Teddy Bridgewater coming off the best game
Speaker 1: of his career. He was it was Phil Sims in
Speaker 1: in a Super Bowl one uh four touchdowns, three and completions,
Speaker 1: passer rating over one fifty. So listen, West, what I'm
Speaker 1: just picturing Teddy Bridgewater in twenty five years as an
Speaker 1: announcer dropping maliprop malaprop isms all over um but GM
Speaker 1: saying that the receivers were not open. The receivers have
Speaker 1: never been opened in a Phil Simms game. That's why
Speaker 1: the quarterback has has not done it something correctly. The
Speaker 1: receivers are never ever open. I'm not saying he doesn't
Speaker 1: know football, but it's amazing to me how many times
Speaker 1: he's just flat out wrong per game. Took a lot
Speaker 1: of hits in his career. Bad show for Phil Sims.
Speaker 1: There was a there was a play in the Jets
Speaker 1: Cowboys game which they called where Phil. It was a
Speaker 1: pass that was dropped by a receiver and Sim's got
Speaker 1: three things wrong. Remember seconds he said it was a
Speaker 1: bad pass. It was right on the money. He said
Speaker 1: that it was I think pass interference or something, or
Speaker 1: was no interference. He said that he didn't get his
Speaker 1: hands up in time and hit him right in the hands.
Speaker 1: It was like he tripled up. It was you know,
Speaker 1: it's quite I was almost impressed by it, like the
Speaker 1: triple crown of mistakes and announcing he nailed it. He
Speaker 1: had a home run. I might have to put that on.
Speaker 1: And what I like about danis that any critique of
Speaker 1: any announcer is sort of a ghosting attempt to lift
Speaker 1: Mike Tariko just up a little bit there. Mike had
Speaker 1: another good game on Monday, and you don't you don't
Speaker 1: need to write another letter to him to thank him
Speaker 1: for it. Next week, Yeah, but next week we'll do it.
Speaker 1: The Vikings, by the way, we'll have Harrison Smith, Anthony
Speaker 1: Barr and Linval Joseph altogether on the field for the
Speaker 1: first time in a month, backbone getting healthy. That is
Speaker 1: a big news for them. And if you're looking at
Speaker 1: and they played two good weeks in a row. If
Speaker 1: this doesn't play out and there's not a lot to
Speaker 1: play for in this game, you still have Adrian Peter
Speaker 1: and trying to win another rushing title. Maybe one day
Speaker 1: he can join Brandon Marshall in the whole thing. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what we've overlooked. The Vikings are trying to
Speaker 1: stay in the NFC North race and win that division
Speaker 1: said week seventeen, winning in which is pretty likely to
Speaker 1: happen if they can. If they win this game, they'll
Speaker 1: they'll be playing for a division title in week seventeen.
Speaker 1: I have a Christmas gift for Vikings sub bredit. They
Speaker 1: may have been the most snubbed team in the Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1: And Bell, Joseph and Parrison Smith, come on, how do
Speaker 1: they not make and Anthony barn Anthony, I think bar
Speaker 1: out of the three of them, well all three of
Speaker 1: them especially, they deserve better. You know, the Packers are
Speaker 1: such a weird team too. That and I I yeah, Greg,
Speaker 1: thank you for mentioning that, because that this game could
Speaker 1: have a huge impact because the Packers can easily go
Speaker 1: down in Arizona. The Vikings take care of business against
Speaker 1: a giant team that can't figure out how to close games.
Speaker 1: Then they go to Green Bay in week seventeen, and
Speaker 1: do you really trust the Packers that definitely take care
Speaker 1: of business and definitely couldn't even beat the Bears on
Speaker 1: Brett r Of night on Thanksgiving. The Packers are vulnerable, baby,
Speaker 1: that's fair dog. Let's see what happens. We all pick
Speaker 1: the Vikings uh to put the heat on Uh. Finally,
Speaker 1: Monday Night Football the Denver Broncos the Cincinnati Bengals. But
Speaker 1: we're not gonna see Peyton Manning and we're not gonna
Speaker 1: see Andy Dalton. It's another brock Osweiler start. Manning will
Speaker 1: be inactive. Uh. Not only will the Bengals not have
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton, who has the fracture thumb, they won't have
Speaker 1: Tyler Eiffort. A little troubling. He's sitting out on a
Speaker 1: rand Gatland, our own Ran Gatland of NFL media reporting
Speaker 1: that he'll be held out of this game and potentially
Speaker 1: the rest of the regular season to make sure he's
Speaker 1: right for the playoffs. So that is a major red
Speaker 1: zone weapon that will be missing in this game. For
Speaker 1: let's face in a J. Mccaren UH a young quarterback
Speaker 1: who will be going into a tough spot in Denver,
Speaker 1: but he can't use I don't think they can use
Speaker 1: the quarterback as an excuse either team UH, but especially
Speaker 1: the Broncos. I mean, mccarroon is in his second year.
Speaker 1: He has less experience even than Oswiler. So it comes
Speaker 1: down to what who's as the more complete team And
Speaker 1: these are two of the UH teams in the league
Speaker 1: that have been really in our top five all year.
Speaker 1: But I think the Bengals are more complete. And it's
Speaker 1: so weird. This is the biggest I think this is
Speaker 1: the biggest game of the season in terms of playoff impact.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the most meaningful game that we've
Speaker 1: had yet, and yet it's McCarron and Oswalder. It's a
Speaker 1: fascinating game because Oswaer looked lights out in the first
Speaker 1: half last week and stumbled in second half, and mccaren
Speaker 1: looked I thought, looked great against the forty Niners front
Speaker 1: seven that came to play last week. He he popped
Speaker 1: off some really good throws down the field and managed
Speaker 1: a good game this and you know, look at the
Speaker 1: Bengals defense to Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Vantes perfect is
Speaker 1: playing great and it's not a lot that the Broncos
Speaker 1: defense is gonna outplay the Bengals defense in this game.
Speaker 1: It's also not just the last game for us Wilder,
Speaker 1: like over the last three his passer rating in the
Speaker 1: second and half collectively dropped by seventy five points. They
Speaker 1: haven't scored touchdowns in the sea. Keep talking about this game.
Speaker 1: I'm calling my uber right now. I know we we
Speaker 1: got to game. Well, it's fascinated by Like fig said,
Speaker 1: it's it's worth a lot. And I think it's hard
Speaker 1: to pick which teams better in this game. You don't
Speaker 1: know which quarterback is gonna show up well, and we've
Speaker 1: we've talked about it downstairs a lot. I don't know
Speaker 1: if we have on the show that you know the Broncos.
Speaker 1: They lose this game, they lose control of the a
Speaker 1: f C West. Suddenly there uh potential five seed or
Speaker 1: six seed going on the road in the first week. Now,
Speaker 1: that might not be bad if you're the five seed
Speaker 1: going to the a f C South, but If they
Speaker 1: lose this game, they lose control of even having a
Speaker 1: playoff spot. They'll know on Monday night. Some of the
Speaker 1: scenarios will be more defined than they are right now,
Speaker 1: but they could fall right out of the playoffs, which
Speaker 1: is crazy for a team that we were talking about
Speaker 1: as the potential number one seed two weeks ago. I
Speaker 1: think the Bengals are just the better team. I agree.
Speaker 1: I don't even know who I picked in this, but
Speaker 1: I'll pick Cincinnati if I if I happened to do
Speaker 1: something else, Cincinnati picked the Broncos. Well, but that's that all.
Speaker 1: That's that just happened before. But I kind of why
Speaker 1: it fascinates me because after watching the forty Niners game,
Speaker 1: I thought the Bengals were the better team too. But
Speaker 1: it wouldn't surprise me if the Broncos just flat out
Speaker 1: shut McCarron down either. Yeah, because we don't have enough.
Speaker 1: We don't know enough about mccarroen at this point. I
Speaker 1: think Oswalder and we don't know if Oswalder is even healthy.
Speaker 1: You have the factor in what happened to his shoulder
Speaker 1: potentially into why his statu he was two different quarterbacks
Speaker 1: U last week. But I find it hard to imagine
Speaker 1: mccaren having lucky against that Denver defense. But at home,
Speaker 1: I mean in Denver, that's gonna be a tough, really
Speaker 1: tough matchup. Marcus Ware is healthy, Malik Jackson played great
Speaker 1: last week. There's a lot going on with that Broncos defense.
Speaker 1: My Uber driver is named Todd. Odds are still there
Speaker 1: could be Todd? That was the Michael Scott car? How
Speaker 1: many how many minutes away? Four minutes? I take Uber
Speaker 1: all the time for I mean I usually get them
Speaker 1: into well, you know what, maybe they knew that we
Speaker 1: were talking about a big game and they were giving
Speaker 1: you a little bit you gotta wrap this show rating,
Speaker 1: that's that might be a possibility as well. I said,
Speaker 1: you might have like a three star ratings they choose
Speaker 1: not to pick you up. Who is there like check that.
Speaker 1: I think there's a potential that Dan's rating is taking
Speaker 1: a few hits based on some I'd lose the headset
Speaker 1: and start walking out of the studio that. Uh yeah,
Speaker 1: so that is it. That's all the games? Uh in
Speaker 1: week sixteen and um so yeah, that's it. So it's
Speaker 1: it's we just want to wish everyone a merry Christmas.
Speaker 1: Uh If you don't celebrate Christmas. Enjoy your Friday, well,
Speaker 1: enjoy your time off. You're probably off of work. It's
Speaker 1: that's true. Family. It's actually falls on a good, good
Speaker 1: day this year too. It's on a Friday, so you know,
Speaker 1: everybody's gonna have a long weekend unless you work in
Speaker 1: the service industry or for the NFL. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of different then the NBA could be the NBA would
Speaker 1: at NBA dot com on Christmas. That's like their big day,
Speaker 1: you know, feels not taking three days off. Mike Trico,
Speaker 1: who's studying from Monday night. I can guarantee you that
Speaker 1: we gotta get Mike on this. We know that Mike
Speaker 1: Rico likes to have his fun too. Well that's fair um,
Speaker 1: all right, so yes, thank you for everyone for listening.
Speaker 1: We'll be back on Sunday night with our flagship program,
Speaker 1: the Week sixteen Recap. Until then, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1: This is Dan Hansis signing off for Quiet Storm, the Mailman,
Speaker 1: the boss big be behind the glass working on the nickname.
Speaker 1: I'll take that alright until Sunday, Hi, and hello football
Speaker 1: fans and happy holidays. Make sure you check out the
Speaker 1: latest episode of the Dave damage At Football Program. We're
Speaker 1: making our Week sixteen picks with the director of The
Speaker 1: Big Short, Adam McKay. Let's drink to that handsome