Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast, next week's ten to fifty
Speaker 1: one club beating has.
Speaker 2: Been moved Dune ten fifty five unacceptable from the Chris
Speaker 2: Wesley podcast studio. It's Around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansi's
Speaker 2: heroes here, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: And I kid you not. Got another screenshot.
Speaker 2: Today from the woman to my right of her GPS
Speaker 2: navigation and what does it say? Exactly ten fifty one,
Speaker 2: ten to fifty one club.
Speaker 3: Every time every week.
Speaker 4: It's so consistent at this point, no matter what time
Speaker 4: I try to leave my house, every time I do leave,
Speaker 4: I'm arriving at ten fifty one.
Speaker 5: I love all the nicknames that you have, but the
Speaker 5: woman to my right is my new favorite.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what's an act?
Speaker 3: We have to be fonted that way?
Speaker 1: Tell me the yes.
Speaker 2: Yes, we this was our for the third time in
Speaker 2: two weeks because of Mark.
Speaker 1: We had picture day this morning. Yes, I think it's
Speaker 1: a blessing.
Speaker 2: I mean, the butterfly effect of Sestog going to see
Speaker 2: his dentist named Krentist is still affecting the entire cur.
Speaker 1: My son to the dentist. I'd I myself didn't just
Speaker 1: schedule a dentist appointment out of thin air during a
Speaker 1: foot a shoot.
Speaker 4: No, Mark, I'm loving this look. It's giving a little
Speaker 4: Ryan Fitzpatrick like. It's like I'm I like to have fun.
Speaker 4: I can party, I'm going to go to an island,
Speaker 4: but I'm also here for business and I love it.
Speaker 1: You would think that that's a compliment.
Speaker 3: It's super fun.
Speaker 1: No, Like, I literally was like trying to imagine a
Speaker 1: period of my adult existence where I less wanted, like
Speaker 1: official photos that are going into the company, you know,
Speaker 1: photo Bank, apparently for all time, like of me too.
Speaker 2: No, it's even more ominous. It was these photos need
Speaker 2: to be taken for marketing reasons.
Speaker 3: Why is that ominous? It's marketing?
Speaker 1: What does that mean? I don't like it's so all encompassing.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I feel like you'll have the same breadth as
Speaker 5: our last pictures, which I feel like didn't have a
Speaker 5: lot of pop.
Speaker 6: I can't remember. And then making a big impact.
Speaker 1: And Greg going down there meaning nothing matters.
Speaker 3: Again, do you do photos?
Speaker 5: I do like the Mark a lot. Mark became the
Speaker 5: change he wanted to see for years. On this show
Speaker 5: he complained about male fashion, and now he's leading the way.
Speaker 1: Everybody eventually turns. I thought our photographer was very encouraging.
Speaker 1: I'd say that she kept telling us we looks great.
Speaker 1: It was obviously it's great.
Speaker 2: There's always a through line too, like when all of
Speaker 2: a sudden a grown man's fashion changes, there's usually something
Speaker 2: or someone behind it.
Speaker 1: Well, we've seen that on the multiple times.
Speaker 2: Just LEVI when he shows up that that is a
Speaker 2: timeline changer. Yeah, I suggested because we did a group
Speaker 2: shot and I said, I know what's gonna happen here.
Speaker 2: Greg's gonna do the Greg outfit, which is like bomber
Speaker 2: jacket and T shirt, it's not a Bomber. And then
Speaker 2: and then Mark is going to do the Mark outfit,
Speaker 2: which is like Oxford collared shirt and blazer. And then
Speaker 2: whatever I wear is going to make the other person,
Speaker 2: you know, standalone. So if I do something Gregy like
Speaker 2: Mark is all of a sudden looking too stuffy. If
Speaker 2: I do the same thing as Mark, then Gregy's you know,
Speaker 2: look at me on the side of Walgreens.
Speaker 1: I'm the cool guy of the group.
Speaker 2: So I had to reach out to the group and
Speaker 2: say maybe we should coordinate to be similarly casual.
Speaker 6: But typically you did it after we were already here.
Speaker 3: Amazing, that's the most that's ever happened.
Speaker 6: Right, what ed, it's too late, we were already here.
Speaker 1: What do you mean you said the thirty minutes before we.
Speaker 5: Got there, Greg, And I understand you have to drive further.
Speaker 1: You have an immense responsibility. Yes, we understand that, and
Speaker 1: you fulfilled it today with your questions.
Speaker 2: And I'm looking at him right now, Oh my god,
Speaker 2: he's in the studio. It was Ryan fitzpatrick Flamingo album.
Speaker 3: I'm into it.
Speaker 1: Just feel comfortable and.
Speaker 2: I'll tak once again. It's so good to have Greg here,
Speaker 2: life coach. If only Greg could always be around to
Speaker 2: tell us the way things should be seen.
Speaker 1: We all have different opinion.
Speaker 5: You you you said it while we were on the
Speaker 5: way here.
Speaker 1: Though at that point it's too late. I would have
Speaker 1: changed if.
Speaker 4: Tugboat could have just showed up as tugboat.
Speaker 3: Would you have worn would you have gone in a different.
Speaker 1: I brought both because we also have your first area. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're versatile.
Speaker 6: You made a change actually after the great did because.
Speaker 2: I had to pay on my original photos because I
Speaker 2: was too sweaty for the first round way this time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and they had a fan, which was nice, common
Speaker 1: man rankings plunging speak of behavior. Yes, you have to
Speaker 1: be the most annoying person I've ever met.
Speaker 2: Happy holidays, everybody. Let's get to the show. Let's start
Speaker 2: with fearless predictions of the rest of the regular season.
Speaker 2: All right, so this is pretty straightforward, Connie, Right, the
Speaker 2: final three weeks of the regular season. Let's throw out
Speaker 2: some fearless ask predictions about what's gonna happen. How will
Speaker 2: this all play out? And this season especially, it's gonna
Speaker 2: be difficult because it's a weird season.
Speaker 1: I'll get us going. It has to be regular season, yes, okay,
Speaker 1: turning on a dime here, what did I write? I
Speaker 1: don't know. I created something different, but I can still
Speaker 1: use it.
Speaker 5: I mean, yeah, some of mine encapsulate what's going to
Speaker 5: happen at the very end of the regular season.
Speaker 2: But that's fine.
Speaker 1: Did anybody prepare for the show today? I did? I did.
Speaker 1: I've already adjusted. Yeah, my entries.
Speaker 2: All right, here we go, fearless predictions for the final
Speaker 2: three weeks.
Speaker 1: Of the regular season. I was laid out in my
Speaker 1: text yesterday. I'll start here.
Speaker 2: Buffalo Bills are going to win the AFC East I
Speaker 2: don't think they lose again m.
Speaker 1: Is at Chargers.
Speaker 2: Home, Patriots at Dolphins, and then the Dolphins have so
Speaker 2: they're eight and six and the Dolphins are obviously ten
Speaker 2: and four, so they got two games, but their schedule
Speaker 2: is a little trickier. They have they look at it
Speaker 2: here home Dallas at Baltimore in Buffalo. So I do
Speaker 2: think that the Bills and Dolphins fans are going to
Speaker 2: be annoyed, but I do just trust the Bills and
Speaker 2: I did trying to figure out this, you know, how
Speaker 2: to look at these last three weeks not to get
Speaker 2: sucked in by recency bias. It's hard, though, but it's
Speaker 2: also this is a small This is three weeks, and
Speaker 2: I think the Bills are playing as good as any
Speaker 2: team in the league lately. So I think they're gonna
Speaker 2: pull it off. And I think the Dolphins have a
Speaker 2: stumble in them.
Speaker 5: Basically, they just you're pick predicting the Dolphins winning Week eighteen.
Speaker 5: I mean the Bills win in Week eighteen because very likely.
Speaker 5: I don't think it's a hot take is for the division.
Speaker 5: Because of the Bills schedule, they're playing Patsy's that have
Speaker 5: just given up basically until then and if you're a
Speaker 5: Dolphins fan and you have home Cowboys at Ravens, you'd
Speaker 5: be happy with one in one. I mean, of course,
Speaker 5: you want to be two and zero, and it's not
Speaker 5: gonna feel good. If let's say you beat the Cowboys
Speaker 5: this week, then you lose the rate, like that night,
Speaker 5: it's not gonna feel good, or it's reversed that night,
Speaker 5: it's not gonna feel good. But you're playing two of
Speaker 5: the very best teams in the NFL. You are really
Speaker 5: testing yourself. Splitting those two games, to me, would be
Speaker 5: great for Miami. They would include their best win of
Speaker 5: the season. And then it comes down to Week eighteen.
Speaker 5: That matchup, you know early in the season was one sided,
Speaker 5: and you're saying the Bills are a little more complete.
Speaker 5: I would like to see that matchup with the division
Speaker 5: on the line. What a great Sunday night football.
Speaker 1: I feel like the Bills went on this crazy journey
Speaker 1: where like everything felt kind of lost about ten days ago,
Speaker 1: fourteen days ago, where like the coaches offering up nine
Speaker 1: to eleven takes you know, not sort of problematic, and
Speaker 1: like it felt like the Bills I was in twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: but it was well no, but it was brought up
Speaker 1: now and like how to respond to it. And there
Speaker 1: was also like a heat seeking think piece about the
Speaker 1: fact that no one in the organization kind of believes
Speaker 1: in them and he's taking them in strange places. But
Speaker 1: then you go and do this against the Cowboys, and
Speaker 1: it's like, this version of the Bills makes me believe
Speaker 1: in what you just said that it's possible. I do
Speaker 1: know that there are a lot of people that listen
Speaker 1: to the show that think that Dan is very down
Speaker 1: on the Dolphins. It's not because your Jets, really, but
Speaker 1: people just feel that maybe that's what I think. What
Speaker 1: you're actually saying is that the Bills, at their highest power,
Speaker 1: can do exactly what you do. You are down on
Speaker 1: the Dolphins, but that's fine.
Speaker 2: No, I am down on the Dolphins. But it's not
Speaker 2: because it's not really because I like the Jets. It's
Speaker 2: because they've been tested multiple times this year and failed
Speaker 2: them against big opponents, and now they have another big
Speaker 2: crucible situation here.
Speaker 1: And I'm just curious.
Speaker 2: But even if they lost both Dallas and Baltimore games
Speaker 2: and Buffalo wins twice, it still comes down to Week eighteen.
Speaker 5: Very like I don't know what the they can they
Speaker 5: have now numbers for all this stuff. It's like the
Speaker 5: odds that that game is for the division is very high,
Speaker 5: is very high.
Speaker 6: Well.
Speaker 4: I first was kind of turned on to this when
Speaker 4: Steve Kornaki did on Sunday Night Football at his board
Speaker 4: and he was talking about the Bills and the Dolphins
Speaker 4: and the rest of the way, and he does such
Speaker 4: a good job, Like I just love Kornaki so much,
Speaker 4: by the way, I wish that I could have him
Speaker 4: in studio every week doing all of the different permutations
Speaker 4: of everything.
Speaker 3: But with the Bills, they're playing their best football right now.
Speaker 4: The fact that they were able to run the ball
Speaker 4: the way that they did, I couldn't believe my eyes
Speaker 4: watching it. And we'll get into it a little bit. Yeah,
Speaker 4: we preview the Chargers game coming up. We'll probably talk
Speaker 4: a little bit more about the Bill's side of things anyway.
Speaker 4: But the thing that's going to be a problem for
Speaker 4: the Bills coming down to the end are the tiebreaker
Speaker 4: scenarios like those losses that they had, the losses against
Speaker 4: the Broncos and the Bengals that could get them.
Speaker 1: They got to keep winning, all right, fearless prediction calling.
Speaker 4: Okay, So for my fearless prediction, I was looking at
Speaker 4: the fact that I think that the Rams will finish
Speaker 4: ahead of the Seahawks. Even after the Seahawks coming through
Speaker 4: with the huge win against the Eagles, they're both seven
Speaker 4: and seven, and when you look at their schedules, the
Speaker 4: Rams have the Saints, the Giants, and then they finish
Speaker 4: against the Niners. But the Niners might be resting their
Speaker 4: guys even though I don't know, two weeks of rest
Speaker 4: if they get the bye, like, that's pretty that's an
Speaker 4: interesting scenario, but they're not going to be playing their
Speaker 4: stars the whole time. And then the Seahawks they have
Speaker 4: the Titans, the Steelers, and the Cardinals.
Speaker 3: Now they should be able to win all of those games.
Speaker 4: But if the Rams end up winning the same number
Speaker 4: of games as the Seahawks, they have the tiebreaker because
Speaker 4: they swept Seattle already, so they just need to finish
Speaker 4: with the same number of wins and then they'll finish
Speaker 4: ahead of Seattle.
Speaker 5: Unless it's like a four weight die true, then you're
Speaker 5: then it just it's thrown up. It's like it could
Speaker 5: be it's conference record, which yeah, I gotta have to look,
Speaker 5: it would depend I guess what happened. They're common opponents,
Speaker 5: you get deep into it. Rams just got to keep winning.
Speaker 5: Seattle has a little more, little more margin for air
Speaker 5: with that schedule. I do worry about County on the
Speaker 5: forty nine ers resting people in Week eighteen.
Speaker 6: You just can't. You just don't know. And that's that.
Speaker 5: Look, the Rams played the forty nine ers pretty well
Speaker 5: in that first matchup, like they'd look like very even
Speaker 5: teams until the end when the bottom fell out. I
Speaker 5: think the Rams would be up for that game, but
Speaker 5: they'd be a pretty big under.
Speaker 1: I am all about like I'm very anti seven playoff
Speaker 1: teams in each conference, which I mentioned on Monday Night.
Speaker 1: It's very annoying to me. They don't really belong in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Most of these like later slots. But it
Speaker 1: all matters which team it is. And I'm so pro
Speaker 1: Rams over Seattle getting in there. And I think also
Speaker 1: it starts like Thursday night, I feel like the Niners
Speaker 1: are not it.
Speaker 6: They could both get in there too. Well that's pop. Yeah,
Speaker 6: we'll see.
Speaker 1: But like the Niners to me don't feel like a
Speaker 1: team that's gonna sit everyone in Week eighteen, no matter what.
Speaker 1: I just don't feel like a shantlet's like hands you
Speaker 1: know what.
Speaker 2: I would say that, But then this is also a
Speaker 2: team whose season got ruined last year, because.
Speaker 1: That's what you're going. I just mean, like the the
Speaker 1: old like Peyton Manning Colts were like, we just sit
Speaker 1: the entire team, then you will lose a playoff game
Speaker 1: the week later. I don't know if they know right now.
Speaker 1: You know it's gonna be for so many reasons.
Speaker 2: The Christmas Night game against the Ravens, both in terms
Speaker 2: of top of the conference, but also it could make
Speaker 2: a huge difference in the NFC at the bottom of
Speaker 2: the conference because if the Niners lose that game, much
Speaker 2: more likely chance that January seventh matters for them.
Speaker 1: None of the playoffs. Guys, all right, GREGI fearless.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it has to be fearless. So let's go Jags
Speaker 5: don't make the playoffs. That the Jags continue this free
Speaker 5: fall and just fall all the way out of it.
Speaker 5: And this is less about Lawrence. Right now, we're not practicing.
Speaker 5: We tape on Wednesday, we'll have more for you Thursday
Speaker 5: and everything. So it might be beth this week that they
Speaker 5: could be underdogs at Tampa. It's less about the schedule
Speaker 5: because they do have the Panthers next week at Tennessee,
Speaker 5: like that is an ice final. Two games and two
Speaker 5: out of three, considering they've had the tie breakers in
Speaker 5: their division, would probably be enough. It's more just like
Speaker 5: I'm trusting what I'm seeing, and I see a team
Speaker 5: that makes a lot of their own problems and doesn't
Speaker 5: have a lot of foundation to really stand on right now,
Speaker 5: Zay Jones is week to week.
Speaker 1: That's another receiver for them.
Speaker 5: Their offensive lines got issues, the defense is bad, like
Speaker 5: the running game is bad. I just they just feel
Speaker 5: like a team that maybe wants to collapse. And I
Speaker 5: don't know if it'll be Houston that steps in they
Speaker 5: got their own quarterback injury, or Indianapolis or both, who knows,
Speaker 5: But I just the Jaguars just feel like a team
Speaker 5: that maybe they haven't hit their bottom yet.
Speaker 1: It's gonna keep getting more. It's weird because it and
Speaker 1: we talked about it on Sunday night. But like Christian Kirk,
Speaker 1: who's not someone I think about that often, like him
Speaker 1: not being in the lineup.
Speaker 6: That's a lie I think all the time.
Speaker 1: I mean often is high up. But like he like
Speaker 1: his absence has meant so much to like they're swoon
Speaker 1: like I think, and to lose a Jones, like they're
Speaker 1: just not a team that's exciting right now. They feel
Speaker 1: for this the work.
Speaker 2: They gotta lose at Tampa, right They're gonna be Carolina
Speaker 2: at home, So that's you're gonna probably.
Speaker 5: I mean the NFL Carolina has been in these games lately.
Speaker 5: I mean it is in the game again in the
Speaker 5: game against Tampa, because it's the NFL, Like they just
Speaker 5: literally won a game and they were in the game
Speaker 5: late against Tampa.
Speaker 1: This can happen the.
Speaker 2: Cover Lawrence is playing. They are not losing in the pit.
Speaker 2: Probably at home, I wouldn't think. I mean, we'll reassess
Speaker 2: the society and the world we live in if that happens,
Speaker 2: that would be one of the biggest upsets. But you're right,
Speaker 2: you never know. And then at Tennessee, it's not like
Speaker 2: a killer schedule. They have to lose what two of three?
Speaker 6: You probably have to lose the Tennessee game.
Speaker 3: Yes, I like a bonus.
Speaker 5: Again, I don't know how it's gonna happen. It just
Speaker 5: feels like this is in there, it's in their vibes.
Speaker 3: Right now, what's going on over there?
Speaker 1: Well, it's covered, it's covered. We're good there. Okay.
Speaker 4: So if the Jags don't do what you just predicted,
Speaker 4: and they do make the playoffs, I predict just as
Speaker 4: like a little adjacent one, that Jake Browning and the
Speaker 4: Bengals end up beating them in the playoffs and knocking
Speaker 4: them out.
Speaker 1: If they make it. Well, that's a very like that.
Speaker 3: If we're going fearless. It just popped in my head.
Speaker 3: All right, geez, I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: I like it. If that happens.
Speaker 2: Eric Ray's circle back on that circle back, let's cut
Speaker 2: that one. Amazing all right, beerless prediction mark it.
Speaker 1: First of all, I have no laptops, so I don't
Speaker 1: know what to do with my physical body starting, but
Speaker 1: I would say that it is a like a bloody
Speaker 1: cood ata to get. I'm always going for chain poking
Speaker 1: underneath this. This is what I'm Yeah, I didn't see it.
Speaker 1: I think you saw that. I didn't see that. I
Speaker 1: love it. Talked with Gunzo about that the other night.
Speaker 1: But it is a bloody cud a toad and go
Speaker 1: forth and not have your topic ripped away by one
Speaker 1: of the previous three entries. So I did that happen
Speaker 1: to you? No, I feel very.
Speaker 6: Lucky that the Oh great, I'm bloody.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So the Chiefs, right, I think there's been a
Speaker 1: lot of consternation about frustration like that the Chiefs will
Speaker 1: somehow just slide into the number one seed because of
Speaker 1: everyone else kind of not handling their business. I predict
Speaker 1: they will not number one. I'll start there like, that's
Speaker 1: not totally fearless. But mathematically they play the Raiders. I
Speaker 1: think something weird might happen on Christmas Day there, they
Speaker 1: play the Bengals. I'm all in on Jake Browning right now.
Speaker 1: Then they play the Chargers, a slight disaster, but you
Speaker 1: never know. But the reason that people will peg them
Speaker 1: not winning the number one seed slotting is that Travis
Speaker 1: Kelcey and Taylor Swift will break up before the end
Speaker 1: of the regular season and it will cause a lot
Speaker 1: of rumbling, a lot of discussion, and then the Chiefs
Speaker 1: go into the playoffs and they are dismissed.
Speaker 2: You know, it seems from the outside that they really
Speaker 2: care for each other.
Speaker 1: Mark, so now you're now you're rooting right for them.
Speaker 1: It's what I sense it's not what I want. Wait,
Speaker 1: so what was the first part of it? Well, so
Speaker 1: it actually goes in reverse order. They Taylor Swift and
Speaker 1: Fact Kelsey, or let's say they like like maybe it's
Speaker 1: like not a breakup, but they take a break. The
Speaker 1: classic like, we're taking a break, it's a there's a reporting,
Speaker 1: there's reporting around that they're taking a bit of a break.
Speaker 1: And then the Chiefs like flat line until was literally.
Speaker 5: She went to Foxborough, Massachusetts four days ago.
Speaker 4: I've done a total one to eighty. Nobody goes to
Speaker 4: fox and now I love them. Now I'm totally on boring.
Speaker 1: I was completely but I also do I do too,
Speaker 1: so I'm not. I'm actually not. So how does that
Speaker 1: affect their the chief I think it's just it's people
Speaker 1: can't like it from a ven diagrement. People can't separate
Speaker 1: the fact that it might have nothing to do with
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. So like Travis Kelcey, you gotta get the
Speaker 1: lower version of Kelsey, which we feel like we've been getting,
Speaker 1: like and then they break up and like he flat
Speaker 1: lines in a game and the Chiefs don't get the
Speaker 1: number one seed and then they're out of the playoffs
Speaker 1: and it's just like, wait a minute, don't mix love
Speaker 1: in business.
Speaker 2: And you were worried one of us, we're gonna step
Speaker 2: on that one, right.
Speaker 5: I mean, they're very they are very unlikely to get
Speaker 5: the number one seed just because they're two games back
Speaker 5: with three to play.
Speaker 1: Despite this, I know, but haven't you heard people just
Speaker 1: say like, Oh, I'm just so worried they're gonna get it,
Speaker 1: Like this is our biggest worry that the Chiefs like,
Speaker 1: that's our biggest problem.
Speaker 2: All right, I have a couple of quick ones. We'll
Speaker 2: just throw out. Anybody else can throw them out too.
Speaker 2: I think the Steelers have already won for the final
Speaker 2: time this season. You look at their schedule and the
Speaker 2: way they're playing and what's going on in that building
Speaker 2: right now, none of it feels good. And Mark, you'll
Speaker 2: like this one. Brock Purdy will be the prohibitive favorite
Speaker 2: favorite for MVP by close of business week eighteen.
Speaker 1: I like that, and I think he'll be.
Speaker 2: And I'm just gonna back this up because I did
Speaker 2: some Niners single season passing record research and this is
Speaker 2: a team with the history.
Speaker 3: Is rich, very real rich.
Speaker 2: He will be the QB one by the end of
Speaker 2: the season. This is why he's gonna definitely win it.
Speaker 2: He'll be QB one of a number one seed, and
Speaker 2: he'll own that forty nine or single season records for
Speaker 2: passing tds, breaking Steve Young's thirty six and ninety eight yards,
Speaker 2: breaking Jeff Garcia's forty two, seventy eight and two thousand
Speaker 2: passer rating. That's Young again, one twelve point eight ninety
Speaker 2: four yards per attempt some guy named Joe Montana point
Speaker 2: one in nineteen eighty nine. And people will then try
Speaker 2: to manufacture CMC as his closest competitor for clicks and conversation,
Speaker 2: but he'll get the offensive Player of the year, so
Speaker 2: that'll be clearcut as well.
Speaker 1: No drama in that conference. There was this year back
Speaker 1: in two thousand and three that Peyton Manning and Steve
Speaker 1: McNair tied by voters count for they both they won
Speaker 1: co MVP and pardon me, was wishing like, why can't
Speaker 1: you just hoist up teammate co MVPs. Yeah, like Brock
Speaker 1: Purty and CMC.
Speaker 5: Problems That would take the coordination of like fifty different voters.
Speaker 4: Well, right, they're splitting the vote, so they're taking votes
Speaker 4: away from each other but also the fact that when
Speaker 4: you go back to two thousand, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 4: and Tom Brady are the only three quarterbacks that have
Speaker 4: had a higher passer rating than brock Party through fifteen weeks.
Speaker 1: I think it's all.
Speaker 2: It's getting to the point where it's staring us in
Speaker 2: their face, like all his numbers in the team success.
Speaker 2: So it's going to really take, like again, a coordinated
Speaker 2: like decision. And amongst the football riders.
Speaker 5: Well or does Lamar vastly outplays them in a road
Speaker 5: win on Sunday?
Speaker 2: But Lamar has like sixteen touchdown passes this year.
Speaker 6: I'm just saying, and his MVP though, well, he's actually that.
Speaker 5: This is this is why it's curious because I saw
Speaker 5: someone tweet out today it's like, Okay, now it's down
Speaker 5: to a three man race for MVP by the odds, Pretty,
Speaker 5: Lamar and CMC.
Speaker 1: CMC's second.
Speaker 5: And it's just funny because like last week, it was
Speaker 5: a two man race. So if you you know, between
Speaker 5: Dak and Pretty, so if you accept that it could
Speaker 5: change from a two man race to a three man
Speaker 5: race in one week where now one of the men
Speaker 5: that was there, we could go is no longer there
Speaker 5: like it can absolutely flip back. Now, that's why Fearless
Speaker 5: pretty right, dramatic things would need to happen. What would
Speaker 5: need to happen is for Party to struggle and Lamar
Speaker 5: to have a great game on Monday night, and then
Speaker 5: those odds would be dramatically different next week when we're
Speaker 5: talking about this. But that's all that needs to happen,
Speaker 5: is I just want I don't think that's gonna happen.
Speaker 5: I think the forty Nights are going to win that game,
Speaker 5: but that if that happened, that that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's definitely path where he steals the spotlight in
Speaker 2: the game.
Speaker 5: I agree with you because like resting, yards and touchdowns
Speaker 5: matter a lot, like Allen and Lamar's value yeah add
Speaker 5: a lot.
Speaker 1: That just it's such a lesser overall body of work
Speaker 1: to me than when he actually won MVP Lamar.
Speaker 2: Jackson and he's he passed. He looks better than his
Speaker 2: numbers are even. I mean, he's he's eighth and QBR Lamar,
Speaker 2: he's he's seventeenth and touchdown passes fifteenth in yards pass.
Speaker 1: How does that add up to MVP? Well, I'm saying
Speaker 1: it doesn't That's what I'm saying. But you've added a.
Speaker 5: Lot of times you've looked at, yeah, the MVPs, and sometimes.
Speaker 1: You gotta have to nail those counting stats. Also.
Speaker 5: Yeah, with these voters, it's not just what right McCaffrey
Speaker 5: has A has a better chance if he was going
Speaker 5: to do it, if it like Party's saying, Gopher McCaffrey.
Speaker 5: If McCaffrey had an insane ending and ends up with
Speaker 5: twenty five hundred yards and twenty eight touchdowns and Party
Speaker 5: like struggles against the Ravens, but they win anyways, Like
Speaker 5: there are different routes, but they're all small needles to thread,
Speaker 5: and Party's probably.
Speaker 2: I think Lamar's only chance, Greg is if he absolutely
Speaker 2: goes nuts in that game, like yeah, nuts.
Speaker 5: The best game of and the week after against Miami,
Speaker 5: like you, they've got a lot of big but the.
Speaker 2: Christmas game with all the eyeballs against the big team
Speaker 2: like that is, Yes, that is his only chance. It's
Speaker 2: kind of a Hail Mary everbody else want to throw
Speaker 2: out anymore before we move one.
Speaker 4: It's it's more of a reckless prediction than a fearless
Speaker 4: prediction because I'm.
Speaker 3: Not I believe in this this is insane.
Speaker 4: But the Bears will finish strong, so strong against the Cardinals,
Speaker 4: the Falcons and the Packers that they end up sticking
Speaker 4: with justin fields and trading away the Panthers pick of course,
Speaker 4: Joe Flacco.
Speaker 1: Panthers pick.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they'll trade down to get more assets so they
Speaker 4: can build around. But the strong finish is why it's
Speaker 4: regular season because against those three.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that work.
Speaker 5: And if they could tread down to like two or three,
Speaker 5: and then it's they'll get Marvin here, Recklass, Greg Well
Speaker 5: mine was connected in these again, are sort of like
Speaker 5: he's just on the edge of the regulations that Tomlin
Speaker 5: will not be the coach after this long losing streak,
Speaker 5: that you're predicting that they lose great games to the season.
Speaker 5: That it's like a mutual type of thing, and that
Speaker 5: Kyle Shanahan, and this is something Hayden Winks, who's worked
Speaker 5: at roadal World, pointed out on Twitter. I like the
Speaker 5: number and I agree with it that Kyle Shanahan should
Speaker 5: be Coach of the Year. Like why is Kyle Shanahan
Speaker 5: not Coach of the year. Everything that encompasses coaching, like
Speaker 5: numbers wise, you literally have the right now potentially the
Speaker 5: greatest offense in the history of the league, or at
Speaker 5: least since the eighties in terms of leading in points,
Speaker 5: rushing yards, passing yards, all these things, and like he
Speaker 5: put this all together, he's losing his assistant. Everything that go.
Speaker 5: Like for some reason he is a little lower on
Speaker 5: that list. But I think if they've dropped bombs the
Speaker 5: next three weeks, and I kind of think they will
Speaker 5: that I'm with you, perty's likely to win the MVP,
Speaker 5: and I think they can sweep these words and Kyle
Speaker 5: Ji should win the order and he's never won it,
Speaker 5: and I do like the ideas that, like coach of
Speaker 5: the guys, who should be Coach of the Year, at
Speaker 5: some point you should win.
Speaker 1: It one time. Well, so I'm completely with over, like
Speaker 1: Shane Steike and you know, it was great, but it's
Speaker 1: like a six to it. No, but you're problem, You're like,
Speaker 1: I'm with you, Like I mean, like I think he's
Speaker 1: third in terms of odds right now, right like third
Speaker 1: or fourth, and like, uh it. But the problem is
Speaker 1: it's a narrative driven award. I think the.
Speaker 6: Narrative will change the next three weeks. Well, this is
Speaker 6: gonna start bubbling.
Speaker 1: Up that's fine, but like Belichick should have won it
Speaker 1: sixteen times, and it's like I am with you on Shanahan,
Speaker 1: but it always seems to one.
Speaker 2: Yet no, no, that's part of you know, he hasn't
Speaker 2: gotten one that helps.
Speaker 1: But it's good. But like I think voters think of
Speaker 1: like a stike In or a Right or like a
Speaker 1: even a Stefanski or like like damike o Ryan's like
Speaker 1: it's like team was a disaster, team is now success.
Speaker 1: I'm with you on narrative.
Speaker 5: I do think the narrative though maybe the next three weeks,
Speaker 5: if they keep driving bombs, is going to turn into like,
Speaker 5: oh my god. I know they lost three games, but
Speaker 5: this is literally one of the greatest teams and greatest
Speaker 5: offenses we've ever seen.
Speaker 6: What helps her, then he wins the narrat and it
Speaker 6: helps the thirty.
Speaker 1: One other teams are unimpressive. There aren't learn like three
Speaker 1: dominant teams.
Speaker 2: There's I think similar I agree with you that I
Speaker 2: think they finished strong, and I think that is a
Speaker 2: big conversation as the playoffs begin.
Speaker 1: It's just one of the best teams ever.
Speaker 2: Because all the pop the hood analytics stats back up
Speaker 2: that this team is performing, especially on obviously on a
Speaker 2: level that's rarely been a cheap.
Speaker 1: And they survived unlike most teams like the Trey Lance
Speaker 1: trade up to get Trey Lance, which is a disaster,
Speaker 1: like most teams like GM and coach float away. After
Speaker 1: all that that feel save their ass exactly, But it's
Speaker 1: like something happened and they did a nice job.
Speaker 2: They picked them last in the draft, but they did
Speaker 2: pick them all right, Mark closed this out.
Speaker 1: So I did this exercise in correctly. I have like
Speaker 1: a playoff one got it's one line, but what do
Speaker 1: you got? Joe Flacco, yes, beats Greg's little darling Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson in the playoffs, kind of flipping. He's a big man.
Speaker 6: So when he came near us, he did, he came
Speaker 6: near us in London.
Speaker 5: But like, wow, I just think that will happen, and
Speaker 5: it's like football makes no sense at that point and
Speaker 5: it's kind of beautiful all at once, but that somehow
Speaker 5: Joe Flacco, the Browns quarterback, beats the Ravens in the
Speaker 5: playoffs with Lamar Jackson who probably will be you know,
Speaker 5: second and m VP vote.
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I'm in the stars.
Speaker 2: I told you I had a vision this morning you
Speaker 2: did of Flaco beating the Dolphins in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I just think something weird is ahead and that's not
Speaker 1: you know, attachments.
Speaker 5: So well, I think, what do you mean? I think
Speaker 5: we can accept that deep in the subconscious. Maybe there's
Speaker 5: a little bit of Brown's attachment of the freaking Browns
Speaker 5: beating the team you hate the most.
Speaker 1: To the point we can't be like Joe Flack was
Speaker 1: on this really weird like personal.
Speaker 6: Jet up with something's weird, it's.
Speaker 1: Gonna happen, and like Lamar Jackson feels like the perfect victim.
Speaker 6: Wait ends well in the Browns defense taking care of
Speaker 6: the Ravens.
Speaker 1: I could see that which happened.
Speaker 2: What if they beat the Dolphins in round one and
Speaker 2: then Lamar in round two? Well, we got to open
Speaker 2: up some type of business, yes, because we would have.
Speaker 1: We would have. We are seers at that.
Speaker 5: Point and mahomes in round three and suddenly we're in
Speaker 5: Las Vegas and it's Joe Flacca who shaved the beer
Speaker 5: this week.
Speaker 1: I don't know if that Oh, I hate that, actually
Speaker 1: loved it. I hate that. Why? I mean, he looks
Speaker 1: goods because Gonza told us.
Speaker 3: Then, I mean, like everyone can do what they want.
Speaker 4: I have no judgment. It's just I think that he
Speaker 4: looks better.
Speaker 1: Well, he also has you know, he's we talked about
Speaker 1: the sneak, nice jaw, and then you'd realize in person.
Speaker 2: All right, well Mark, good luck with that fearless prediction.
Speaker 2: All right, let's uh.
Speaker 1: By the way, I.
Speaker 2: Don't even think we mentioned it. Coming up after the break,
Speaker 2: we got connor Or.
Speaker 3: I'm so excited.
Speaker 1: It's the connor Or Holiday Special.
Speaker 2: He talks about his favorite Hallmark films of the year,
Speaker 2: and I cannot wait.
Speaker 1: He's excited.
Speaker 2: Before we do that, let's just get caught up on
Speaker 2: a couple of things in the news.
Speaker 1: Oh.
Speaker 2: There he is, seventy two year old Pete Carroll in
Speaker 2: the Seahawks locker room after that dramatic Monday night win
Speaker 2: at home, and he's he's correct about that.
Speaker 1: Also that you win that game in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: It looks like he did like a nineteen fifties newsboy
Speaker 1: with his hat backwards, like you know, throwing the newspaper
Speaker 1: at people's door on his bicycle.
Speaker 2: There's a there's more to that clip and credit at
Speaker 2: the Seahawks Twitter on that, because awesome inside you I
Speaker 2: love the postgame locker room stuff the team sent out at.
Speaker 1: The very end of it, He's just like, I'm so pumped.
Speaker 1: I'm just so pumped.
Speaker 2: Maybe we could get that as a drop eric going forward,
Speaker 2: because also like pretty out of breath when he was
Speaker 2: like continuing to talk, and I was starting to worry
Speaker 2: a little bit about him.
Speaker 1: But well, we were like Dan and I believe nightow
Speaker 1: when they beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl, we
Speaker 1: were in the postgame locker room, and if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: it was Pete Carroll up on top of the lockers.
Speaker 1: Somehow he had climbed the ladder was up on top
Speaker 1: of the weren't there, But that was well, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: know you went to either a winning or losing locker room.
Speaker 1: And I walked in there and was like, I thought
Speaker 1: that was like Harrol up on the locker room, like shot.
Speaker 1: I didn't realize that was a Super Bowl. I thought
Speaker 1: that was earlier. And we wrote about it on like
Speaker 1: the blog no Is when they took Peyton ran into
Speaker 1: the grave.
Speaker 2: Basically, yeah, imagine Pete climbing up there.
Speaker 1: He's awesome.
Speaker 5: Latter, on the other side, they didn't just climb out
Speaker 5: and always but in many ways a man too. For myself,
Speaker 5: I'll speak for myself to model myself after, because he
Speaker 5: is sucking the marrow out of life. He knows that's
Speaker 5: life right there in the locker room. He's seventy two
Speaker 5: years old. He knows the end is closer to the
Speaker 5: beginning and that there's nothing better in life than that
Speaker 5: moment right there, and he is gonna like enjoy it
Speaker 5: as much as he possibly can.
Speaker 1: He's the man.
Speaker 3: He hasn't all figured out.
Speaker 2: He does, he really, he really does. On the other
Speaker 2: side of the spectrum is is the Chargers. By the way,
Speaker 2: this fell into the black hole, the ATM black hole,
Speaker 2: because it occurred on Friday morning and we haven't really
Speaker 2: had a chance to talk about it. But the Chargers
Speaker 2: got rid of their head coach, Brendan Staley and their gym.
Speaker 2: Yeah us go, and I thought we needed to put
Speaker 2: a put a stop to this free fall, this black hole.
Speaker 1: So they have a new head coach.
Speaker 2: His name is Giff or Jeff Smith, and he is
Speaker 2: the interim coach for the final three games. He's and
Speaker 2: this is what he looks like and this is what
Speaker 2: he sounds like. And he met with the media for
Speaker 2: the first time. Well that's what he looks like. But
Speaker 2: here is a gift on.
Speaker 1: The Charge the older John Harbaal Yep.
Speaker 7: I've been in this game a while and uh there's
Speaker 7: always new things that come up. And uh I've been
Speaker 7: around a lot of great coaches through the years, and uh,
Speaker 7: you just roll with it. You give to these players,
Speaker 7: you give to this organization.
Speaker 1: Have been of a vibe.
Speaker 2: It's like an uncle or somebody like a Sessler family reunion.
Speaker 2: See a little bit right, just like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, vaguely like German European roots. So yes, so hey,
Speaker 1: perfect time for a quick segment. I like to call
Speaker 1: getting to know Jeff Smith all right.
Speaker 2: Jeff Smith born October twelf nineteen sixty eight American football coach,
Speaker 2: interim head coach and outside linebackers coach at the Chargers.
Speaker 2: He previously served as an assistant coach for the Titans
Speaker 2: and Bills. As I said twenty sixteen, he was hired
Speaker 2: by Mike McCoy. He's a survivor. A native of Mableton, Georgia,
Speaker 2: Smith played defensive end at Georgia Southern University. A three
Speaker 2: time Mark Countum All American, Gregie, this is for you
Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety nine, Smith was hired as the defensive
Speaker 2: line coach at Tulane University. Ooh, the Green Wave and
Speaker 2: Colleen Smith and his wife Jennifer have two children.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he was on that.
Speaker 3: Stat was so nice. I love a family man.
Speaker 5: He's on that staff. I was working at student television
Speaker 5: back then. That was you can cross under.
Speaker 1: Maybe you know you did you speak to him? Did
Speaker 1: you now spend now?
Speaker 5: I was very rarely in the in the locker room,
Speaker 5: Giffsmith and it's the hard gea and Patrick Claybohn suggested
Speaker 5: that should just be his nickname.
Speaker 1: Har G.
Speaker 3: I thought that his name was Griff this whole time.
Speaker 3: In my head I was calling him correct.
Speaker 2: I'm sure it's not Jeff, Is it is?
Speaker 1: I just I don't know that.
Speaker 2: I don't know my data didn't getting anything up on
Speaker 2: that on that end my research.
Speaker 1: Uh, you know what's funny?
Speaker 5: On that third that Thursday night blowout was so bad
Speaker 5: with the Chargers. I actually did treat it like they
Speaker 5: were getting fired right, because I had never seen a
Speaker 5: game where it seemed it was more so, I was like,
Speaker 5: because we're not going to be back till Sunday, let's
Speaker 5: look back a little on this daily thing because it
Speaker 5: looked like it was all over then and maybe Gift
Speaker 5: Smith turns it around. I am curious did Kellen Moore
Speaker 5: turn down the job? People speculated about that that he didn't.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the same thing over And finally, one last bit
Speaker 2: of research here. These are two comments from the Chargers
Speaker 2: sub reddit. He looks like that one dude from the
Speaker 2: water Boy and I know what he's talking. I know
Speaker 2: he's talking about one of those Sandler cronies and and
Speaker 2: he Another person wrote, uh, Gift Smith or Jiff Smith
Speaker 2: looked suspiciously like my father. Some guy had a personal
Speaker 2: now that would happen. What a revelation that would be.
Speaker 2: And that is another edition of getting to know Jeff Smith.
Speaker 2: Jeff Smith, Giff Smith. Yeah. So anyway, the Chargers, they're
Speaker 2: going to hire a whole bunch of people. Another another
Speaker 2: coach who's in trouble is Arthur Smith. We were talking
Speaker 2: about where's Arthur Blank on everything right now? Arthur Blank
Speaker 2: spoke to Georgia Public Broadcasting about the situation at head
Speaker 2: coach in Atlanta.
Speaker 1: Here's what Blank had to say.
Speaker 8: And I think that you know, through this part of
Speaker 8: the season, it's been mixed, quite honestly, and that's what
Speaker 8: I think, that's what the coach would say, you know,
Speaker 8: and he's just author is a.
Speaker 1: Very amazing Wait a second.
Speaker 8: Very looks himself very critically, so he's not. You know,
Speaker 8: he comes from a beautiful family that that you know,
Speaker 8: has great values and those values and his leadership as
Speaker 8: best he can. So I you know, we'll see how
Speaker 8: the season plays out and go from there.
Speaker 1: What a non answer.
Speaker 2: Also, that was a PBS interview Public Broadcasting.
Speaker 1: They're all in sweaters and you know the year is it?
Speaker 2: I don't know the whole team, But digging that one up,
Speaker 2: how many shows are using PBS Broadcasting and the Georgia
Speaker 2: Public Broadcasting.
Speaker 1: Why why would he go in the in the world
Speaker 1: do we live in? Media wise, you go and drop
Speaker 1: this bomb on silver Fox had asked him the question.
Speaker 2: Maybe he would only answer questions from that particular journalist
Speaker 2: very curious.
Speaker 5: Maybe it's probably not, but maybe it's one of those
Speaker 5: things that was set up ahead of time to promote
Speaker 5: something different and it just falls in this week the schedule.
Speaker 1: I don't know. And by the way, the translation out
Speaker 1: is he gone, yes, Well, when you quickly divert to
Speaker 1: he's got a beautiful family, beautiful family, great value, beautiful
Speaker 1: X valuable. Yeah, like all those things.
Speaker 3: Very critical of himself.
Speaker 6: They have cults at Bears, at Saints.
Speaker 5: Certainly they could improve and win two out of three
Speaker 5: of those games and then I think you would have
Speaker 5: a job.
Speaker 2: But even if he even if another Smith gets let go,
Speaker 2: it's very it's very important that home Depot and FedEx
Speaker 2: from main corporate partners.
Speaker 1: So this is to be handled well, I'd agree with you.
Speaker 4: I'm surprised that there's not a branded segment for the
Speaker 4: the Arthur's here.
Speaker 1: That's a good quest, that's a good point.
Speaker 3: That's something that maybe next week, next.
Speaker 2: Week finally in the news. You know, Tommy DeVito, this
Speaker 2: situation is.
Speaker 1: Listen.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know everything, Greg, but I
Speaker 2: could tell when something's going on. That's Sean Stillado, the agent.
Speaker 3: I'm met him on Faturday night.
Speaker 2: I texted you know who? I texted, Yeah, we got
Speaker 2: a lot, Mike g I texted him this morning. I said,
Speaker 2: Sean Stillado, you know this guy, like, have you ever
Speaker 2: heard of this guy before?
Speaker 1: You know? On background? I said, on background?
Speaker 3: He said, I it's on background.
Speaker 2: Then you know, and he said, you've let violate, but
Speaker 2: let the insider finish the sentence. He said, I've known
Speaker 2: him for twenty years and you could put that on record.
Speaker 1: Now, that's all he said. I can't. I can't divulge
Speaker 1: anything else.
Speaker 2: But I my first instinct from that Monday night game
Speaker 2: was this guy better be on the up and up.
Speaker 2: He better be up first thing in the morning. He
Speaker 2: better be working in DeVito's best interests. And what happens
Speaker 2: at that little pizzeria in Morristown They win a Monday
Speaker 2: night and Stillado renegs on a deal an appearance. He said, no,
Speaker 2: Tommy was gonna come for ten thousand dollars.
Speaker 1: No. Now, now the deals.
Speaker 2: To twenty thousand, and de Vito is so horrified that
Speaker 2: he went to the pizza shop yesterday free of charge
Speaker 2: did the appearance.
Speaker 3: That's good damage control.
Speaker 2: And critically and part of my prediction. The lotto has
Speaker 2: been relieved of his marketing duties now connected WHOA okay,
Speaker 2: but wait, he's still the contract agent, correct, which I
Speaker 2: don't see an extension coming anytime soon for DeVito. But
Speaker 2: Tommy is already, as I said, someone's going to be
Speaker 2: in his ear like Hey, there is now a new person,
Speaker 2: business person in charge of his money affairs.
Speaker 4: That new person is Max Lapzelter, and Max has been
Speaker 4: working with him from the jump doing marketing.
Speaker 1: So I feel like.
Speaker 4: That was also just a way to give Stilado a
Speaker 4: little bit of a like cover because Max has been
Speaker 4: doing his more marketing from the jump.
Speaker 3: So maybe Stillado secured that deal.
Speaker 4: And then Slado said that there was never a contract signed,
Speaker 4: so how can they renig on a contract that didn't
Speaker 4: exist before.
Speaker 3: So I got a lot of questions about this guy.
Speaker 1: And you and you met him, what was your impression
Speaker 1: of You got a lot of information too, I got it.
Speaker 4: I was so excited to meet Stillato because Garif Folo,
Speaker 4: having known him from for so long, was like, you
Speaker 4: know who's going to be at the game tonight. When
Speaker 4: we all jumped in the car to go over to
Speaker 4: Broncos and Lions, I was like, who uh, he's like
Speaker 4: Sewan Stillato and I was like, you got you got
Speaker 4: to get me in front of this guy and so
Speaker 4: he I thought that he was going to be all
Speaker 4: decked out in his fedora and no, uh uh? When
Speaker 4: was this was on Saturday night the triple Header indocary.
Speaker 1: On the sideline when they showed him at when why why.
Speaker 3: Was the camera but that was on that was Monday
Speaker 3: night or Sunday night.
Speaker 1: Why was he there at that?
Speaker 4: Because he has other he has other players, like a
Speaker 4: lot of fringe players. But yeah, he was there, and
Speaker 4: he had Jason and like a cool hat and like
Speaker 4: a Gucci scarf, like totally.
Speaker 1: Dip you know who you were? Like out of sight unseen?
Speaker 1: Did he?
Speaker 3: I mean, I have no idea. I didn't say do
Speaker 3: you know who I am?
Speaker 1: That's a good way to introduce yourself.
Speaker 3: But he was very nice. You took a picture.
Speaker 4: He had a lovely diamond encrusted Italian horn, which I
Speaker 4: found amazing.
Speaker 3: But yeah, he he was very nice.
Speaker 1: I think all you.
Speaker 5: Really need to know is that if you go to
Speaker 5: his website and click the about section, there are pictures
Speaker 5: of Sean running shirtless doing resistance training with frosted tips,
Speaker 5: that those are the photos he choose.
Speaker 1: Can that present himself?
Speaker 3: He looks like Ben Stiller in what role?
Speaker 1: Was that?
Speaker 3: When Ben Stiller had the frosted tips.
Speaker 4: In and he was Berry Tan looks in shape?
Speaker 1: Was he?
Speaker 2: I mean, he certainly looks he wasn't frosted in Zulander.
Speaker 2: I know that dodgeball.
Speaker 3: Maybe it was done at all.
Speaker 1: Maybe. H all right, that's what's happening in the news.
Speaker 2: Let's take a break and when we return, let's see
Speaker 2: around the NFL Holiday Special with Connor or.
Speaker 9: I'm so freaking I.
Speaker 2: Love the kind of the hip hop Christmas themes.
Speaker 1: That's good, bed.
Speaker 2: Yeah it is uh as we tape this December twentieth,
Speaker 2: it is smack dab in the middle of the holiday season.
Speaker 1: Honkkah in the rear view. Christmas just ahead, Honica.
Speaker 3: Is over for rap bro it is the lights are out.
Speaker 1: Sorry, Greg, Yeah, we don't you know that.
Speaker 2: We don't celebrate on He did reveal there's no manor
Speaker 2: in the house, which surprised me.
Speaker 1: But there'll be one.
Speaker 6: You guys don't I guess I don't share enough of myself.
Speaker 2: But now, well, we've never been invited to your house,
Speaker 2: so there's a start house.
Speaker 1: We have a house. I was not reading. Greg lived
Speaker 1: here this whole time. Yeah, no idea.
Speaker 5: I was not raised religious, and that surprised. Never had
Speaker 5: any manora in either house. When I was very young,
Speaker 5: I actually had one, and then we just sort of
Speaker 5: ignored my mom and then.
Speaker 2: Always a little bit of jealousy for the kids that
Speaker 2: celebrated Christmas, and because you kind of clean it up
Speaker 2: and your kids could have been in that bucket, but you.
Speaker 5: We were sort of were those kids, and both me
Speaker 5: and my brother were like, let's just do Christmas.
Speaker 1: It's way better. But like literally from like a from
Speaker 1: a hardcore religious angle, yes, you cannot celebrate both as
Speaker 1: a kid. You can because your parents. You cannot be both.
Speaker 6: Right, none of the people and cannot be here Christian.
Speaker 5: Is this the theology podcast is to say, like like
Speaker 5: trust from I'm more saying technically from.
Speaker 1: A PFF PFF spiritual if you were like a PFF
Speaker 1: spirituality site, like you can't be both, Like as a
Speaker 1: kid have all the gifts, you can't be.
Speaker 5: Both right, you can be either of them, can be neither.
Speaker 5: Hey what is PFF? Just like like there's no feeling,
Speaker 5: it's just hardcore numbers, technical side of things, rankings, right,
Speaker 5: you can't be both and it's just like but it's like, oh,
Speaker 5: I'm gonna get gifts on like twelve days and a
Speaker 5: bunch of what and a birthday probably in there.
Speaker 2: Sourism is really and that's the evil of it all.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think our guest comes is coming up, would agree, right,
Speaker 1: what if your your dad was like born in Nazi Germany?
Speaker 5: And then they were like there is no god, my god?
Speaker 5: So Grega, why are you? We can't argue you. You're right,
Speaker 5: but I'm just why is that not valid?
Speaker 1: You know? And then completely theology was invalid?
Speaker 2: Greg All right, bring that hip hop Santa because Nazi
Speaker 2: Germany just came up. All right, welcome back, Fresh Start
Speaker 2: Holiday Special And here's our guess.
Speaker 1: This is the show right here?
Speaker 3: What a mess is there?
Speaker 4: Are you kidding me what I'm saying?
Speaker 2: The first holiday special to drop a Nazi reference and Connor,
Speaker 2: you were here for it.
Speaker 10: How am I supposed to follow that?
Speaker 1: I don't know. Hey buddy, Hi everybody, Hey bud.
Speaker 5: This is my favorite time of year, my favorite segment.
Speaker 5: It's the best to see you, Connor.
Speaker 2: It is Connor. I miss you, guys, miss you too.
Speaker 2: And you're wearing your Christmas sweatshirt and you're looking fresh
Speaker 2: and clean with the shaved head, and you you perform
Speaker 2: a valuable service both in terms of personally because you
Speaker 2: are a friend, Connor, and I love that you are
Speaker 2: so open and passionate about Hallmark Christmas movies, and we're
Speaker 2: talking about months in Evans. I'll get a text some
Speaker 2: Connor like, here are the Here are the ones that
Speaker 2: are I'm kind of heat seeking on that are coming
Speaker 2: out this year. These are the ones the track and
Speaker 2: it's like, okay, we are going to be digging in
Speaker 2: on two different specials this year, right, Connor, and just
Speaker 2: in general, before we get into the trailer for the
Speaker 2: first one, can you tell me again and tell the
Speaker 2: audience why you and your wife are such fans of
Speaker 2: this holiday fair?
Speaker 1: Because it's not an exaggeration. You guys watch.
Speaker 2: These movies all throughout the December and November.
Speaker 9: Right starting November one, we go full Hallmark outside of
Speaker 9: Monday night, Thursday night, and Sunday night. So and then
Speaker 9: even if we have a bad Thursday night game, we'll
Speaker 9: also do laptop football.
Speaker 10: And then we'll do big.
Speaker 3: Screen, big screen Hallmark, Big screen.
Speaker 10: Hallmark one hundred percent.
Speaker 9: And I think the reason I do it, I actually
Speaker 9: I had this reaffirmed this year. So we were at
Speaker 9: a neighbor's house and everyone's just talking about like what
Speaker 9: kind of what shows that they were watching, and you know,
Speaker 9: someone was like, yeah, did you see the ending of Ozarks?
Speaker 9: Like yeah, it turns out, you know, in order to
Speaker 9: be successful you have to murder everybody, and like, you know,
Speaker 9: the family unit is dead and we're all individual creatures
Speaker 9: of our own destiny. And and oh did you see
Speaker 9: the ending of Beef? It turns out like our parents
Speaker 9: screw us up and the only way to save you know, yeah,
Speaker 9: and you.
Speaker 1: Know, I know exactly what you mean.
Speaker 9: Why are we not purging ourselves like mentally and going
Speaker 9: on like a Hallmark fast And you know, because okay, yes,
Speaker 9: what the Ozarks is telling you is true. But also
Speaker 9: you might be in need of a romantic partner. You
Speaker 9: might go to a snow covered small town and you
Speaker 9: might meet a hot mailman and fall in love like
Speaker 9: over a.
Speaker 10: Couple of hot chocolate. Like that is as possible.
Speaker 9: As like, oh, the overwhelming sorrow and sadness and realities
Speaker 9: of and harshness of the world. Like let's let's zoom
Speaker 9: in on you know, hey, look at this. Here's this
Speaker 9: teacher and here's this guy who like fell into her
Speaker 9: at the at the coffee store and now they just
Speaker 9: they love each other and they love Christmas.
Speaker 10: What's the problem with.
Speaker 4: That, Well, I feel like because that guy's actually leading
Speaker 4: a double life and nobody knows it and they don't
Speaker 4: show it on Hallmark.
Speaker 1: Well, there's nothing wrong with that. I hate that.
Speaker 10: That's part of the problem.
Speaker 1: That's what that's why why I am the problem, Connor. Connor.
Speaker 2: So what you're saying, Connor, and I love this theory,
Speaker 2: is that because all that bleakness sells, especially in prestige drama.
Speaker 2: So in a way, you can look at these Hallmark
Speaker 2: movies and say, oh, they're trash and they're overly sunny,
Speaker 2: But to you, it's a balancing of the cultural scales
Speaker 2: that really helps us as a society not become so
Speaker 2: cold and broken like Connie.
Speaker 10: Here, it is it is. It is a mental vegetable.
Speaker 6: It is, it is, it is.
Speaker 10: It is health for your brain.
Speaker 9: It is showing yourself the other side of the coin,
Speaker 9: because there's always a silver lining, and Hallmark, to me
Speaker 9: is the is the permanent silver lining.
Speaker 10: It's what I love.
Speaker 4: You should hang out with my dad because my dad
Speaker 4: asks me on a weekly basis, maybe sometimes more when
Speaker 4: I'm going to go and work at the Hallmark channel,
Speaker 4: and I just keep telling him that's not how it works,
Speaker 4: and Hallmark isn't really like a network like a NFL, and.
Speaker 3: He is still really he's gonna die on that, although
Speaker 3: the idea of.
Speaker 2: A pregame like halftime in postgame coverage of these films
Speaker 2: films will be incredible, Uh, Connor, Let's let's start with
Speaker 2: the one that I watched.
Speaker 1: It is The Santa Summit, released this year. Here is the.
Speaker 2: Trailer The Santa Summit.
Speaker 3: Not the thing with all the Santas. Absolutely thing with
Speaker 3: all the Santas.
Speaker 2: I am in three best friends. I need my way, ladies,
Speaker 2: one unforgettable adventure.
Speaker 1: Something I just want the most amazing guy. If you
Speaker 1: two are meant to share something special, you will find you.
Speaker 1: How are we going to find her? You don't even
Speaker 1: know what she looks like today. It's the only chance
Speaker 1: I get.
Speaker 2: To find her.
Speaker 10: What is it about the holidays?
Speaker 1: It just puts throw means in the air.
Speaker 10: The Santa Summit?
Speaker 1: Alright, So this is starring Hunter King, Amy Groening.
Speaker 2: Ben Halsworth is the hotty Hunter King, yes, and Stephanie
Speaker 2: sie as the cynic and who gets her heart warmed?
Speaker 1: Is the is the film? Progresses?
Speaker 2: Connor, your takeaways from the Santa Summit.
Speaker 10: I don't know if you've.
Speaker 9: Ever seen Do you ever see the movie Project X?
Speaker 3: Is that a Hallmark movie?
Speaker 10: No?
Speaker 9: No, So the Project X was like it came out
Speaker 9: when I was in college, and it was like the
Speaker 9: it was like the epic party movie where it's just
Speaker 9: so over the top and like it was like a
Speaker 9: massive house party that just basically got out of control.
Speaker 9: This is the Hallmark equivalent of Project X, where I
Speaker 9: would say, like they're taking all of Christmas, They're turning
Speaker 9: it up to one hundred and then they're just like
Speaker 9: blasting you confetti gun style in the space with it.
Speaker 9: And I love I love everything about it, like I
Speaker 9: in it. The message is great, right, like this woman
Speaker 9: bumps into this hot carpenter and all of a sudden,
Speaker 9: like you know, game changer, we're all good, Like life
Speaker 9: is good.
Speaker 2: Right, he's a contractor with his brother, correct, Is that correct?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: And and it's it's interesting I thought the takeaway from
Speaker 2: this movie again because everything is it's through a different
Speaker 2: lens of very. The world is actually a perfect place.
Speaker 2: So Santa Summit is a takeoff of Santa Con, which
Speaker 2: is a broadly reviled tradition at least in New York.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's everyone, Okay, And it's where
Speaker 2: everyone essentially dresses up in Santa and goes bar hopping
Speaker 2: and gets hammered.
Speaker 1: Run into these groups before. And so here's the interesting thing,
Speaker 1: Connor about this.
Speaker 2: They took this, this widely known to be kind of
Speaker 2: a debaucherous event, Santa con and made it Santa Summit
Speaker 2: and stripped away anything that would be kind of lecherous
Speaker 2: or out of bounds, even to the point where they
Speaker 2: never use the word beer once. They refer to let's
Speaker 2: drink cider and hot chocolate. And my god, Connor, the drinks,
Speaker 2: the symbolk nature of the drinks in this, let's get
Speaker 2: into that.
Speaker 9: Like I mean, at every single place they have like
Speaker 9: a cookie platter and then like a massive cup of
Speaker 9: like apple juice with like chocolate and cinnamon just poured
Speaker 9: into it, and like each each entree must have had
Speaker 9: like fifty eight grams of sugar in like enough to
Speaker 9: fill like a ducking donuts cup.
Speaker 3: So everyone has diabetes.
Speaker 10: Yeah, but that's the thing.
Speaker 9: It's like it's it's just it's what you need sometimes,
Speaker 9: you know, Like I want to do that, Like so
Speaker 9: just a little diabetes.
Speaker 1: Having only seen the you know, the trailer, which was
Speaker 1: I like the gleam in the post by the way
Speaker 1: that I know that kind of screened to me. It's
Speaker 1: just great to be an adult if you're white. It's
Speaker 1: great to be a white person. That what the film.
Speaker 1: That's not what the movie's about.
Speaker 2: In fact, there's an a woman who's like a best
Speaker 2: friend who learns the value of Christmas. There's another man
Speaker 2: of unknorn, unknown European ancestry that turns out to be
Speaker 2: a love interest as well.
Speaker 1: So it's really it's all over the map.
Speaker 2: Okay, well yeah, and you once again what the cynics
Speaker 2: connor all around?
Speaker 5: I mean, wow, I'm surprised Mark took it there. But
Speaker 5: he just doesn't know. The Hallmark channel doesn't see race,
Speaker 5: you know, not at all.
Speaker 1: That person.
Speaker 9: You know, everybody was wearing sand of beards, so they
Speaker 9: fell in love with who was on the inside before
Speaker 9: you got to see them underneath the underneath the Santa Beard.
Speaker 5: It's like love is blind without without trying to become famous.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 2: Yes, And so the final first of all, how many
Speaker 2: Hallmark cards would you give it?
Speaker 1: Out of ten? Uh?
Speaker 10: This was solid, Like I would say a seven point five.
Speaker 1: It was really good, all right, And that's.
Speaker 9: My wife's favorite of the season too, wow.
Speaker 2: And oh really And in one sentence summary for people
Speaker 2: that still aren't sold, I would.
Speaker 9: Just say, like all Hallmark movies are kind of you
Speaker 9: could summarize in the same way that Christmas is awesome
Speaker 9: and it's going to change your life and so and
Speaker 9: you know it's going to happen this year. This is
Speaker 9: the year that Christmas is going to change your life.
Speaker 4: Connor, have you ever seen Cross Country Christmas? That is
Speaker 4: also a Hallmark classic. I tried to watch the movie
Speaker 4: that you guys are talking about last night, wasn't available,
Speaker 4: so I just turned on the Hallmark channel.
Speaker 3: I started thirteen minutes in Rachel Lee Cook. Isn't it
Speaker 3: for anyone?
Speaker 1: Who is good for her?
Speaker 3: A fan of She's all that she was?
Speaker 4: Yes, played the classic role of the nerd who's that?
Speaker 4: Yeah exactly, Then like the the hot guy comes in
Speaker 4: and shows her how pretty she actually is by taking
Speaker 4: off her glasses.
Speaker 3: So yeah.
Speaker 4: In this one Patriarchy, it's.
Speaker 3: Two friends from high school. They grew up together.
Speaker 4: They meet on a it's like trains, planes and Automobiles
Speaker 4: and then I only watched for ten minutes before I
Speaker 4: had to turn it off.
Speaker 3: But it seemed like a really nice movie.
Speaker 2: Your husband, when we got together on Friday, he said,
Speaker 2: there's no way she's gonna watch what she said she's
Speaker 2: gonna watch. I said no, she said she would watch
Speaker 2: it right, And you said she doesn't have the ability
Speaker 2: to stay focused and watch the whole thing.
Speaker 1: And I must say, your husband knows you well.
Speaker 4: I tried multiple times with your login yes to get
Speaker 4: multiple movies.
Speaker 1: This is how login hall marked in. This is how
Speaker 1: important the project is for me.
Speaker 2: I got a trial of some app that I've never
Speaker 2: heard of to access the films that Connor's talking about.
Speaker 2: Let's one more this spinning out knowing that this one
Speaker 2: is called Holiday Hotline. This is just like a quick
Speaker 2: clip from it, Holiday Hotline.
Speaker 3: Let's talk turkey.
Speaker 1: WHOA, I have a twenty pound turkey and it's frozen solid.
Speaker 3: I can help you just have to trust me.
Speaker 11: He's on the line and really love it if you
Speaker 11: can come over Holiday Hotline.
Speaker 1: We want wait a minute, hold on, can I just
Speaker 1: say what they're hot? We want to explain.
Speaker 9: We have to explain a terrible job that did a
Speaker 9: terrible job of explaining why this movie wait.
Speaker 1: Mark wanted to say one thing, it's a cultural thing
Speaker 1: about ads in general. Whenever they have there's all these
Speaker 1: ads where like someone's at a call center and it's
Speaker 1: always like a nine and a half out of ten,
Speaker 1: like answering the phone. It's like I actually worked in
Speaker 1: a call center one time, and it's like these are
Speaker 1: law typically lost individuals. They're not the hottest people that
Speaker 1: you'd see on the street if you're you work in
Speaker 1: a call center. It was like a striking individual.
Speaker 2: This is the again, this is a heightened reality.
Speaker 1: Mark, all right, this is the place where the call center.
Speaker 1: That's just my initial for the outliers that.
Speaker 2: We got a bunch of mister Potters and Ebony's or
Speaker 2: scrooges here. Connor, let's get into it. Holiday hotline. First
Speaker 2: of all, first questions, Holiday hotlines do they exist anymore?
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Connor, I I mean I hope so they do.
Speaker 9: This guy, it really helped this guy, and so the guys,
Speaker 9: the guys, the guys is dead right, wants to.
Speaker 10: Uh yeah, Mark, so maybe you should apologize.
Speaker 9: But he he's he's learning to make a turkey for
Speaker 9: his daughter, and so he calls the Turkey hotline and
Speaker 9: falls in love with the woman who's helping him to
Speaker 9: prepare the turkey right.
Speaker 1: As Mark said, is a stone cold fox. Simultaneous simultaneously
Speaker 1: that's good.
Speaker 9: Starts falling in love with his new neighbor in the
Speaker 9: apartment complex, and confusing he finds out at the very end, Dan, Yeah,
Speaker 9: everybody the same person.
Speaker 5: Yes, amazing, amazing this one. I'm gonna give it a
Speaker 5: nine based on the log time.
Speaker 1: I like it. I like it. And what did you learn?
Speaker 1: What did you learn from this one? Connor? In terms
Speaker 1: of the holiday season and the idea of joy?
Speaker 9: Oh my gosh, I mean just just everything, like like
Speaker 9: like love is right around the corner constantly, and maybe
Speaker 9: maybe you're just down on your luck. And then this
Speaker 9: beautiful chef arrives from England and wants to, uh, you know,
Speaker 9: fill the void left in your life by a dead spouse.
Speaker 1: And we have a lot of UK listeners.
Speaker 2: There's a scene in this where they're at a Christmas
Speaker 2: They're at like some type of shop and he says,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna let everybody know who you are. I'm British, honey,
Speaker 2: I don't like to be the center of attention. And
Speaker 2: I was like, I didn't know that about British people.
Speaker 2: I guess I learned something there.
Speaker 1: They do celebrate Christmas in Europe. That's true. Oh my god, great,
Speaker 1: I have a question because like I like everyone that says,
Speaker 1: you know, what was that? That was your sponse there? Well, no,
Speaker 1: that's like that's true. But like they so when we
Speaker 1: act like everyone's like, oh, my favorite Christmas movie is
Speaker 1: die Hard, which just annoys me. But like, truly, if
Speaker 1: you looked at Christmas movies, the full span like eyeswad
Speaker 1: shut would be mine. It is littered with Christmas symbol
Speaker 1: symbolism and Christmas lights actually throughout scenes. That's got an
Speaker 1: edge factor of you know, a nine out of ten? Right,
Speaker 1: what would be the edge factor of this Hallmark offering
Speaker 1: that you're because it sounds spicy?
Speaker 9: I mean I I would honestly give this a nine
Speaker 9: out of ten again, because you're in suspense the whole time.
Speaker 9: And how is he gonna find out? Because here's the thing.
Speaker 9: The woman is British but she uses an American accent
Speaker 9: on the Turkey hotline. How is he gonna feel when
Speaker 9: he finds out? Is he gonna feel tricked? Is he
Speaker 9: gonna feel happy?
Speaker 1: You know?
Speaker 9: And and there's this whole drama where she's worried that
Speaker 9: he's actually in love with the woman on the phone
Speaker 9: and not her and so but that the same person.
Speaker 2: So it's and why was she hiding her British accent switching?
Speaker 2: Fair question? Why was she code switching?
Speaker 1: She was?
Speaker 9: I think she was just tired of the grind, Like
Speaker 9: she came to America for a fresh start, and she
Speaker 9: wanted to Uh, she wanted to experience the greatest country
Speaker 9: on earth.
Speaker 1: Unbelievable.
Speaker 3: Well, Christmas is your drug? Connor? And man are you?
Speaker 2: Connor, of course, is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated
Speaker 2: but also connestly Obvious Love.
Speaker 3: Wait, what's your sweatshirt?
Speaker 1: Say? Uh?
Speaker 9: It says I want Hippopotamus for Christmas?
Speaker 3: Great?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's a song. I know that one? All right? Uh?
Speaker 2: Connor, before you go, you are involved with the Greater
Speaker 2: Newer Holiday Fund.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about it.
Speaker 10: Yes, so, I'm very lucky.
Speaker 9: I'm the chairperson for the campaign this year, and the
Speaker 9: Greater Newer Holiday Fund supports ten really amazing social service
Speaker 9: agencies around the state of New Jersey. We deal with homelessness,
Speaker 9: mental health, food and security, all sorts of things, you know,
Speaker 9: full spectrum, trying to help you people, especially around the holidays.
Speaker 9: Budgets for charities get really low, and so we collect
Speaker 9: funds and we distribute it to needy social service agencies
Speaker 9: who can then serve their constituencies. So there's a link
Speaker 9: to donate on my Twitter or just check out the
Speaker 9: greater Newer Cality Funds see for yourself what's going on.
Speaker 9: I've been posting about it all holiday season. If you
Speaker 9: have a giving planet Christmas where you like to during
Speaker 9: the holidays, if you like to give to a charity
Speaker 9: around the holidays, check it out and I can also like,
Speaker 9: maybe I'll retweet the show with a link to donate
Speaker 9: if that so moves you.
Speaker 1: Awesome about that, Colly, No, I'm back here. Yeah, what
Speaker 1: you got? Mark? What you got? What's Stanley Kubrick film
Speaker 1: supersedes that he is a wonderful person and I like
Speaker 1: he changed the way I feel about the holiday season.
Speaker 3: My heart is warm.
Speaker 1: You're the best.
Speaker 10: That's what I'm here for.
Speaker 2: Love you, Connor, Hey, do you have a fearless prediction
Speaker 2: for the last three weeks of the regular season.
Speaker 6: Oh wow, fearless prediction or a hallmark.
Speaker 9: I think that the Rams will go two rounds in
Speaker 9: the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I like that. You like that. That's pretty great.
Speaker 2: I like it a lot. Connor, You're the best, buddy.
Speaker 2: Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3: Go take another hit of Christmas, buddy.
Speaker 1: All day.
Speaker 2: Great appearance, maybe the best or holiday special appearance yet.
Speaker 1: At least right.
Speaker 2: I really liked what he's getting out there, dialed in
Speaker 2: because I'm watching it with the wife on Saturday, and
Speaker 2: I'm saying, this is so ridiculous.
Speaker 1: It's so sweet. It's just over the top. But he's right.
Speaker 2: That counteracts the Jason Bateman programming that everyone else is
Speaker 2: hard lining into their system all the time.
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna lie, So I wasn't happy watching it.
Speaker 3: I'm like, this is so dumb, this is stupid.
Speaker 1: Whatever.
Speaker 4: And then I go into the kitchen to grab something
Speaker 4: and I'm still watching from the kitchen just to see
Speaker 4: what happens next.
Speaker 2: M All right, before we go, we have one more
Speaker 2: bit of business to hit Week sixteen.
Speaker 1: Let's do a preview speed round.
Speaker 2: How much time do we put on the clock.
Speaker 1: I think it was three minutes last week?
Speaker 2: All right, three minutes starting with Thursday Night Football, which Colleen,
Speaker 2: this is a good one too. You are the anchor,
Speaker 2: of course, of the coverage for NFL Network, So why
Speaker 2: don't you tee us up on this one?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 4: A lot of playoff implications in this one. Saints Rams,
Speaker 4: they both have seven to seven records, Rams holding on
Speaker 4: for the final wildcard spot.
Speaker 3: They are in the seventh seed right now. The Saints,
Speaker 3: they're trying to win the division. They're tied with the Bucks.
Speaker 4: They're obviously still in the wildcard mix as well. I'm
Speaker 4: wondering if Chris a Lave is going to be available
Speaker 4: this Week's like it?
Speaker 3: Yes, Derek Carr, he had.
Speaker 4: One of his best games last week against Tommy Devido
Speaker 4: and the Giants. He had three touchdowns without Chris a
Speaker 4: Lava and Ryan Ramcheck and their past defense was really
Speaker 4: really good.
Speaker 1: Eric waiting to know when to start.
Speaker 3: Oh, we're doing.
Speaker 1: There we go. That was for you, Eric, because I
Speaker 1: could tell Eric back there. It's like spent pouring down.
Speaker 1: Want to start at.
Speaker 2: She doesn't take a breast, It's insane. She's downloading in field.
Speaker 2: She has a lot of research here. I'm looking right
Speaker 2: at it all right, keep going he's actually British, by
Speaker 2: the did.
Speaker 1: Anyone prepare for the show?
Speaker 4: I did right here Sono passing yo at three sacks
Speaker 4: for him against the Giants, and Tommy DeVito do Mario
Speaker 4: Lotta has got it done. Stellato in a big spot.
Speaker 4: I got a lot of questions about Stilado. Obviously, the
Speaker 4: Rams too, they have the pieces to outscore the Saints.
Speaker 4: Puka and Akua has been unbelievable this year, but now
Speaker 4: everyone is healthy, Stafford, Cooper, Cup, Kyen Williams and Puka.
Speaker 3: With all of them, they're kind of like a little
Speaker 3: bit of a superpower. So I think they definitely have
Speaker 3: the pieces to outscore the Saints.
Speaker 2: Here, this is greg This is a good segue from
Speaker 2: Connor just now saying they're gonna win what at least
Speaker 2: one playoff game round too.
Speaker 5: Multiple you had something about the Rams, didn't you, and
Speaker 5: your predictions make it.
Speaker 1: They have to win this game, though, Yeah, are we?
Speaker 2: Because I don't want us to fall into the trap
Speaker 2: that we've been falling into all season and these five
Speaker 2: hundred teams that get a little hot. But in the
Speaker 2: same time, Gregy, this the Rams have been kind of
Speaker 2: consistent in a lot of ways different than these other
Speaker 2: five hundred teams.
Speaker 5: Yeah, the defense isn't going to be great and so
Speaker 5: the games are going to be close. They're playing hard,
Speaker 5: but the offense has been a top ten offense all
Speaker 5: year and now they're healthy and they're leaning towards top five.
Speaker 5: But to do all this, they have to win this game.
Speaker 5: The playoff leverage, which is what the analytics guys like
Speaker 5: to say, is outrageous. In this game, the Rams are
Speaker 5: like two thirds likely to make the playoffs if they win,
Speaker 5: seven percent if they lose. Like, the route to making
Speaker 5: the playoffs is pretty low if they don't win this game.
Speaker 5: To me, it's a beautiful rematch, maybe a revenge game
Speaker 5: of the NFC Championship game. And you think, oh, everyone's different.
Speaker 5: Sean McVay is not different. He's changed his offense three
Speaker 5: times since then. Dennis Allen's not different. He hasn't really
Speaker 5: changed his defense at all. And a lot of those
Speaker 5: same players are there. And I love the way Sean
Speaker 5: McVay has updated it, and I think they're going to
Speaker 5: be able to run the ball and they better because
Speaker 5: I'm going with the family, this.
Speaker 1: Is oh yeah, that's right, this is your Christmas.
Speaker 5: This might be at the game with the family, right,
Speaker 5: Roger Goodell is father Christmas.
Speaker 1: To me, that is exciting to tell you.
Speaker 4: But you're picking the family like the Ramilly You're going
Speaker 4: with the family.
Speaker 5: Well I'm picking them too, fair, But all right, you
Speaker 5: better win just to make us happy.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: The Saturday game Bengals Steelers.
Speaker 1: I got ane of that.
Speaker 2: Preview, Scott Free, I got you on this one. Here
Speaker 2: we go Bengals at Steelers. This is a game I
Speaker 2: said in my Fearless prediction, I think the Steelers are
Speaker 2: done winning. I think there are seven to ten outfit
Speaker 2: and there's a lot of drama. That said, if Mark
Speaker 2: there was a last ditch effort here from Pittsburgh to
Speaker 2: kind of pull it together, it would probably be in
Speaker 2: this spot at home against a division rival, knowing your
Speaker 2: season in a lot of ways is on the line.
Speaker 2: If Mike Tomlin doesn't have the team ready to play
Speaker 2: in this game, they are way worse off than we
Speaker 2: even realize. So it's the Jake Browning magic work without
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: Hm, I feel like a couple of weeks ago we'd
Speaker 1: say that have this like quarterback problem, but they've got
Speaker 1: a quarterback solution and it's changed the way we think
Speaker 1: about Zach Taylor and the entire team. And they're kind
Speaker 1: of humming. I know you know, Jamar Chase, that's an
Speaker 1: issue health wise, but the Steelers of the team with
Speaker 1: the quarterback problem, and then like this stuff coming out
Speaker 1: with like for years it was like, oh, no matter what,
Speaker 1: the Steelers like draft and develop wide receivers better than everyone.
Speaker 1: Then you've got George Pickens, like the replay of him
Speaker 1: sort of just standing around like I would in the
Speaker 1: middle of like a breakroom at work when someone's trying
Speaker 1: to forge in for a touchdown. He's doing literally nothing.
Speaker 1: It's like the Steelers the first time this is this
Speaker 1: is a weird Steelers team to me, where I think
Speaker 1: the vibe is just very negative and I kind of
Speaker 1: want them out of my life. And the Bengals to
Speaker 1: me are like the AFC's Rams, where it's like I
Speaker 1: thought all was lost and here they come, and they
Speaker 1: feel like a team to me because one of my
Speaker 1: other feelest predictions with them i thought it was a
Speaker 1: playoff bound, was that I think they could win two
Speaker 1: playoff games. They to me feel with Jake Browning not
Speaker 1: that different than the Joe Burrow Bengals, and I find
Speaker 1: them watchable. I'm a historically a Brown fan, and I
Speaker 1: feel connected to the Bengals, so I don't know what's happening.
Speaker 3: I loved Jake Browning.
Speaker 1: I'm a book historically. No, I'm saying like, it's like
Speaker 1: you would like be you'd be aligned to think like
Speaker 1: I want bad things to happen in the Bengals, and
Speaker 1: I feel differently about this team. I kind of find
Speaker 1: them fascinating and watchable.
Speaker 3: I think Jake Browning is low key funny.
Speaker 4: Like when he was interviewed afterwards on the field, they
Speaker 4: asked him just like I think it was just a
Speaker 4: good generic like how do you feel right now? Whatever,
Speaker 4: and he was like, I honestly don't even remember what happened.
Speaker 3: I'm so tired. And I was like, that's the most
Speaker 3: relatable quote.
Speaker 2: I've heard quarterbacks get tired. I'm sure they do. That's
Speaker 2: it is a high physical and mental toll.
Speaker 5: He also had you know, some spicy you know video takes,
Speaker 5: yelling at the camera the team camera like oh.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, bet, you're glad you cut me now.
Speaker 5: Vikings and I do worry in terms of them like
Speaker 5: making the plants or winning PLANF games. Their defense hasn't
Speaker 5: really looked any better lately in particular, and then they.
Speaker 1: Lose DJ Reader.
Speaker 5: This is a matchup though, that they lost with Jake
Speaker 5: Browning just three weeks ago sixteen to ten, sort of
Speaker 5: since this transformation happened. And I like watch the Steelers defense.
Speaker 5: They're so disorganized. They're getting out coached every week. I mean,
Speaker 5: Shane Stike and made them look terrible. Their back seven
Speaker 5: on defense is so bad. Uh, and their offensive line
Speaker 5: hasn't looked great lately either. So I do think the
Speaker 5: Bengals can get after them, and they're just slow. The
Speaker 5: Steelers Chase brown I feel like that's a nice little
Speaker 5: deep fantasy sleeper for this week. He's so fast versus
Speaker 5: this slow ass defense. I think they get it done.
Speaker 1: Do we have that Jake Browning sound?
Speaker 2: Well, I hear that Browning looking scrambling to the right,
Speaker 2: Browning towing down field.
Speaker 1: It is pot the Bengals get burnt on third.
Speaker 6: Down and nine at the staff the place, but the
Speaker 6: right footed get right.
Speaker 4: It is.
Speaker 11: I think after we made the field goal to win
Speaker 11: the game, I screamed at a camera and said they
Speaker 11: never should have cut me.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean you can't say that I love him,
Speaker 11: you kind of you just wait until you win and
Speaker 11: then don't look like an idiot.
Speaker 1: Beer. Oh my god, I love that guy. That is
Speaker 1: Bengals Twitter from the Jungle. The second part of my
Speaker 1: fearless prediction was that Jake Browning would morph into free
Speaker 1: agencies number one signing. He will become someone else's starter.
Speaker 1: Will that be a mistake, We'll see, but that like
Speaker 1: he will become the off season story and someone will
Speaker 1: make them anoint him like the number one, like highest
Speaker 1: biggest story free agent signing. Is he a free agent? Yes?
Speaker 1: I looked it up before the show because I can't
Speaker 1: say that if he's under contract for two years. But
Speaker 1: he's not under contract. He is not.
Speaker 5: He is an exclusive rights free agent, so it will
Speaker 5: be locked up for another couple of years with the Bengals.
Speaker 1: Well, we'll see what happens, all right. Finally, Greg, No,
Speaker 1: that's okay, that's still very possible.
Speaker 2: We need did that that it could happen. I'm just
Speaker 2: saying they could have cut him, and then I mean
Speaker 2: it could probably aren't going to cut him. That seemed
Speaker 2: very foolhardy.
Speaker 1: To cut him. He may be better than Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: We don't know that would be a big story too. Well, Greg,
Speaker 1: the second Saturday game.
Speaker 5: I mean Chargers Bills, let's start the clock right away.
Speaker 5: This is the one which should just have more time
Speaker 5: on Rams Saints. That's like the big that's like an
Speaker 5: early playoff game. This is just Saturday night.
Speaker 2: Sounds like somebody wants to be on the Thursday Night
Speaker 2: Show with Mark and I. Right, come on on, buddy, No,
Speaker 2: I'll be cut us. I'll be stuck in traffic. Sorry, honey,
Speaker 2: I gotta go. We're taping the Thursday Night Show.
Speaker 5: I hope Bill's fans show up the bus and make
Speaker 5: this an atmosphere. Eleven and a half points is how
Speaker 5: much they're favored by. That doesn't feel like enough, does it.
Speaker 5: This run heavy team, and I know you get the
Speaker 5: like dead coach bounce and everything, but James Cook is
Speaker 5: now one of the best running backs in the league,
Speaker 5: which I apologize to Sean McDermott for getting on him
Speaker 5: for changing offensive cordators, because what they've done with Joe
Speaker 5: Brady has been different. These momultiple tight ends, they're kind
Speaker 5: of using fullbacks the two running backs at the same time,
Speaker 5: just varying it up, and they're really good at it
Speaker 5: and matching that up versus this Chargers defense. Do I
Speaker 5: think maybe will want to account well for themselves after
Speaker 5: a totally embarrassing Thursday night and they have extress, so
Speaker 5: maybe they play a little bit better.
Speaker 1: But who are we kidding?
Speaker 5: East and Stick versus Sean McDermott, who's been cooking up
Speaker 5: some great schemes and Ed Oliver has been playing really
Speaker 5: great up front. Eleven and a half does not feel
Speaker 5: like enough. This feels like a Saturday night Bill's party.
Speaker 2: Get me no, I don't want to do that, Okay, James.
Speaker 2: I was going to say it's Hyperbolee Greg about James Cook,
Speaker 2: but look at I mean, week to week he has
Speaker 2: been as good as any running back in the league lately,
Speaker 2: all around.
Speaker 5: I mean in terms of like yards over you'll expect it,
Speaker 5: like the total performance just by the numbers. I think
Speaker 5: he had the number one I think it was on
Speaker 5: Football Outsiders or Aaron Shott where they're at, was the
Speaker 5: number one running back performance of the year against the drops.
Speaker 4: The drops too, I'll.
Speaker 5: That drop when if he's running like these crazy angle they're.
Speaker 1: Having him do like wide receiver at.
Speaker 2: The touchdown catch he had like kind of backhanded, was
Speaker 2: a sneaky, hard catch.
Speaker 6: And he did drop another touchdown. To be fair, that's
Speaker 6: to be fair.
Speaker 1: Their often in past year. I say it's a huge
Speaker 1: add to them. What was that that offense didn't have
Speaker 1: like the running back. And I think Latavius Murray's actually
Speaker 1: been pretty good too, like kind of under the radar,
Speaker 1: just like he's helped in and like they've got balance
Speaker 1: on offense where they didn't have a running game before.
Speaker 2: Do you know that in England? Would they pointed out
Speaker 2: that they celebrate Christmas?
Speaker 1: I was suggesting that's probably the fact, did you know?
Speaker 1: It certainly is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're in a lot of ways descendants of you know, England.
Speaker 1: We didn't invoke well.
Speaker 2: So I will say that they say Happy Christmas, Happy Christmas.
Speaker 1: That's on them. Just throw it out there. It feels
Speaker 1: lesser than Mary. I feel like we got the edge
Speaker 1: on that one. Mary. It's happy with you. Come at us, Mary, Mary,
Speaker 1: what's the reasoning? Mary? By the way, the Charge got married.
Speaker 5: The Chargers have been but their their owner it spoke
Speaker 5: this week and said like everyone's been calling us cheap.
Speaker 1: We're not going to be cheap.
Speaker 5: There is no uh, there's no you know, boundaries to
Speaker 5: what we're willing to compege.
Speaker 1: It almost felt like we would go after a Bill Belch.
Speaker 5: I don't know what the point of that was exactly,
Speaker 5: because they was hearing a lot of change.
Speaker 1: And every conversation's like, obviously not the Chargers. Belichick would
Speaker 1: never go there. They couldn't afford them, they won't deal.
Speaker 1: It's like they're probably trying to say, stop the narrative,
Speaker 1: like you could bring him here. Also, it would be
Speaker 1: a good interesting marriage. You know.
Speaker 5: There's like thirty teams, thirty one teams that basically own
Speaker 5: their stadium, and there's one that like rents.
Speaker 3: It so that pays one dollar for it.
Speaker 2: I don't it just seemed like in such a weird
Speaker 2: place as an organization. All right, it's just kind of sad.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: Good app Hey, Connie, you've said it all, thank you,
Speaker 2: did you and we've talked about you. You lost your
Speaker 2: dog and you said Christmas is canceled. Yeah, Christmas come back.
Speaker 2: You got a tree up at the house.
Speaker 3: We don't have any decorations up I know.
Speaker 6: The first part of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Speaker 3: You know what, You're right, because I usually have the.
Speaker 2: House Amazon truck guy comes yea, and what that complicates, Yes,
Speaker 2: the dog happens.
Speaker 5: The previous Christmas there was the dog bite. Maybe maybe
Speaker 5: a dog is involved. A dog shows up and warms
Speaker 5: your heart.
Speaker 2: If you just ruined John's present for Colleen, that's gonna
Speaker 2: be bad.
Speaker 1: Greg.
Speaker 3: Maybe I do need to get John a.
Speaker 4: Puppy there we go or or you know, and we're
Speaker 4: not doing we're not doing gifts either this year.
Speaker 3: So there's no gifts, there's no decorations. I've sort of
Speaker 3: opted out of.
Speaker 4: It's really dark thame not now bridget having a great Christmas?
Speaker 3: Probably.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all dogs do go to heaven, they.
Speaker 3: Say, I'm trying to get there. We'll see. I listened
Speaker 3: to Christmas music for like five minutes yesterday.
Speaker 2: I picked up my beloved Captain one year ago this weekend,
Speaker 2: so you can and we have actually have great resources
Speaker 2: that we learned during that process. You do want to
Speaker 2: do that.
Speaker 3: It's the rescue dog. Yeah, all right, we'll see.
Speaker 2: Now that would be there would be something to that.
Speaker 2: The Christmas you assisting, you assisting that would be a
Speaker 2: nice kind of part of the memory that did it happened?
Speaker 2: Who made it happen? But it's not that the wiki, Pa,
Speaker 2: there's a headshot of me to the right, earlier photo.
Speaker 1: Maybe the dog.
Speaker 3: Saves background, the name of the.
Speaker 2: Hall man, it's like name of the dog, blah, background.
Speaker 1: Just this whole thing, like a minute ago, Greg, at
Speaker 1: this point, you did not. At this point you did photo,
Speaker 1: you did not.
Speaker 2: Far right, index right, just like a quick bio background
Speaker 2: on our relationship and the connection of history.
Speaker 1: Right, this has nothing to do with it.
Speaker 5: Also at this point, I challenge any podcasts out there.
Speaker 5: By the way, we've been nominated for something called the
Speaker 5: Sports Podcast Awards over in the UK. You can go
Speaker 5: on their website and vote for us. I fought we
Speaker 5: found this out, but I challenged this is separate to
Speaker 5: the wait what I challenged any other podcasts out there
Speaker 5: to come as strong with their holiday spectacular as let's.
Speaker 1: Get holiday music to close things out? And were you
Speaker 1: in person and you hosted this.
Speaker 3: Was during the pandemic, so it was on zoom, but
Speaker 3: I hosted them one year.
Speaker 2: I would love to know how much Wait, but it's wait,
Speaker 2: you think they paid her is it?
Speaker 1: Is it in the UK? It seems like it's from
Speaker 1: the UK.
Speaker 3: Is a lot of UK, a lot of UK pods
Speaker 3: at UK.
Speaker 1: If we don't win, that would be do you think
Speaker 1: they do? You think they paid Colleen five grand? No?
Speaker 1: Way ten high.
Speaker 3: I don't even remember.
Speaker 6: I'm going to go back and look, I'm gonna go
Speaker 6: money is No.
Speaker 3: I just did it because I wanted to do it.
Speaker 2: Twenty five hundred all right sports podcast group dot com
Speaker 2: vote for around the NFL, over all these other jokers.
Speaker 1: Right, that's it.
Speaker 5: Everyone says it's like an honor to be nominated. No,
Speaker 5: we're gonna go negative. We're running a negative campaign against
Speaker 5: God bless football cannot win.
Speaker 2: You know who's on that? That guy, Stu Gootts guy
Speaker 2: is on it. We have a little score to settle
Speaker 2: with that guy. Well, let's let them understand.
Speaker 3: That's the one the year I was hosting it.
Speaker 1: Well, isn't that nice?
Speaker 2: Weber had to say, Oh, yeah, this is a little
Speaker 2: chance for revenge.
Speaker 1: He made it Sessler. I mean, how about that guy?
Speaker 1: Who is that guy? He's a top ten football insider.
Speaker 1: That's a chance for revenge, it is. I don't I
Speaker 1: don't feel like revenge oriented against Stu Gott's necessarily. I
Speaker 1: think it was like kind of a self reminder that,
Speaker 1: you know, other people in the industry have no idea exists.
Speaker 4: If you would like peace broker between the two sides,
Speaker 4: I will gladly step up.
Speaker 1: Where's that holiday music?
Speaker 3: Where's Connor? I need Christmas?
Speaker 2: But there would be something full circle, I think it
Speaker 2: would be.
Speaker 1: It would be just like.
Speaker 2: The dog entering the Gonzo household. You taken out Stu
Speaker 2: Gotts at the award show.
Speaker 1: There's a Christmas element to that, you know. I'm looking
Speaker 1: at these.
Speaker 5: Our friend Hannah Wilkes for her Huddle also nominated and
Speaker 5: I was. I was a guest on that, so maybe
Speaker 5: you have two chances to win if you're not going
Speaker 5: to go.
Speaker 2: Speaking of wiki pages, not off Greg has already demanded
Speaker 2: that he has a section of their wiki page.
Speaker 1: It's not off brand that Greg pulls boats away from
Speaker 1: our actual show because he appeared on arrival show the prize. Wow.
Speaker 1: Merry Christmas to everybody.
Speaker 2: We'll be back on Thursday with our week sixteen preview
Speaker 2: in Bulk Connie, thank.
Speaker 3: You as always, so great to see you guys.
Speaker 1: Everybody happy holidays. He the call