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Speaker 2: You know I could really be obnoxious. You guys have
Speaker 2: been banging on Lamar Jackson for so many years. You
Speaker 2: want to know what Lamar Jackson is after a loss.
Speaker 2: The last three seasons ten and one, sixteen touchdowns, four picks,
Speaker 2: and there are just certain arguments you just got to
Speaker 2: give up on. He's really good. Does this count as
Speaker 2: a big win? This felt like a big game for me.
Speaker 2: Monday night football John versus Jim Harbor. I felt like
Speaker 2: a kind of a big win. I lose track. I'm
Speaker 2: trying to keep track of all the big wins and
Speaker 2: not big wins for Lamar Jackson. I'll be honest with you,
Speaker 2: It's going to be a two cigar night. And I
Speaker 2: like the Chargers. I got friends with the Chargers, but
Speaker 2: basically Baltimore is the adult Chargers. Remember a couple of
Speaker 2: years ago, and you're like, the Ravens need more dynamic playmakers.
Speaker 2: They draft z A Flowers this offseason, they get Derek Henry.
Speaker 2: What are the Chargers need? Probably a more of a
Speaker 2: star power running back, at least two more offensive playmakers.
Speaker 2: Quentin Johnson can't catch three drops tonight. So like they
Speaker 2: knew when they let go of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams,
Speaker 2: they knew they were going to be perimeter light, So
Speaker 2: they wanted to get Quentin Johnson as good as he
Speaker 2: could possibly be. Nice deep threat, but can't catch Lad McConkie,
Speaker 2: nice slot, average tight ends. They lost Gerald Everett, you know,
Speaker 2: to the Bears, so you kind of knew that the
Speaker 2: Chargers are had a schedule. I mean, last year they
Speaker 2: lost to bad teams. This year the Chargers are six
Speaker 2: to zero against losing records and they're one and four
Speaker 2: against teams with winning records. So that this is what
Speaker 2: the Chargers are right now. It's a really good football
Speaker 2: team that is perimeter light. They need two more playmakers
Speaker 2: and it kind of feels like they're Ravens. When it
Speaker 2: was very very Lamar Jackson Reliant, Mark Andrews was great,
Speaker 2: but you were like, they need two more wide receivers.
Speaker 2: Then they draft eventually z A Flowers and then they
Speaker 2: add Derek Henry in you, okay, Lamar, it's a little
Speaker 2: bit like Josh Allen before they got James Cook the
Speaker 2: running back, drafted kid and Kaid first round out of Utah.
Speaker 2: They keep drafting wide receivers. Now you look at it
Speaker 2: and you're like, Okay, Josh Allen's their best player, but
Speaker 2: they're not totally Josh Allen reliant tonight, Derek Henry big runs,
Speaker 2: Say Flowers big catches Hey Flowers is great. You can
Speaker 2: give him a drag route for eight yards, turns it
Speaker 2: into twenty eight. He can beat you over the top.
Speaker 2: So the Chargers are a little like Josh Allen pre
Speaker 2: all the weapons and Lamar Jackson pre the weapons. Those
Speaker 2: teams eventually meet a Kansas city. You just can't even
Speaker 2: if a quarterback's great Lamar and Josh Allen, Justin Herbert,
Speaker 2: you can't do it yourself. You can see the interior
Speaker 2: protection tonight was not good for Justin Herbert. So in
Speaker 2: the second half the guard center guard for the Chargers
Speaker 2: getting pushed back and not a lot of separation by
Speaker 2: the receivers. Lad mcconkey's a twitchy, quick players not a
Speaker 2: burner though, so you don't get a lot of separation.
Speaker 2: Makes Herbert play a more perfect game, whereas a Flowers
Speaker 2: you could dump him something in the flat, something underneath
Speaker 2: boom makes it into a big play. Can also be
Speaker 2: guys over the top. So it's just like the Ravens
Speaker 2: are the grown up version of the Chargers, who are
Speaker 2: way ahead of schedule by the way. The other thing
Speaker 2: that jumps out to me is that, you know, the
Speaker 2: Chargers were number one in total defense, top three and
Speaker 2: third down defense, so they're great situationally, and yet what
Speaker 2: did Lamar do tonight Three for three on fourth down,
Speaker 2: fifty percent on third down, three hundred and seventy one
Speaker 2: yards seven point one yards of play. It's a first
Speaker 2: quarterback all year that worked the Chargers, Lamar Jackson, and
Speaker 2: you know, it's just it's just like so many great
Speaker 2: golfers played during Tiger Wood's prime, Phil Micholson's and Alzheimer.
Speaker 2: Take out Tiger. He's got six more majors probably, and
Speaker 2: nine more tournament wins. So I just think, you know,
Speaker 2: the quarterbacks to me that jump out in this league,
Speaker 2: there's about six of them, and Lamar and Josh Allen
Speaker 2: have been sort of marginalized at times because they can't
Speaker 2: beat Mahomes good luck. But this felt like a big
Speaker 2: game and Lamar was, you know, the centerpiece of it.
Speaker 2: The Oedther thing is, there was a couple of thoughts.
Speaker 2: Number One, aggressive works. This game really changed. When the
Speaker 2: Ravens go for it in their own sixteen get it
Speaker 2: and leads to a touchdown. Aggressive wins, and you know,
Speaker 2: I've talked about that all the time in sports. If
Speaker 2: you have the pieces, go for it. They did turn
Speaker 2: the game around. Secondly, there was a lot you heard
Speaker 2: the young media lamenting nobody cares about running backs. Running
Speaker 2: Backs aren't getting paid. You know, the top three rushers
Speaker 2: in the NFL right now, we're all free agents. Teams
Speaker 2: aggressively went out and got Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs.
Speaker 2: Teams eventually pursued top running backs. They're not going to
Speaker 2: get top of the market money. But analytics tells you
Speaker 2: you probably shouldn't sign running back to a second big contract.
Speaker 2: That's just analytics. I mean, if you're one of these,
Speaker 2: you know, these ivy leaguers who loves the analytics. Part
Speaker 2: of the analytics is you shouldn't be paying running backs
Speaker 2: after like a fourth or fifth year in the league. Okay,
Speaker 2: that's part of analytics. The other thing is, you know,
Speaker 2: I've said this about Lamar, don't really compare Lamar Jackson
Speaker 2: to anybody else. Lamar is an outlier. He's a unicorn.
Speaker 2: They are going to be a kind of a run
Speaker 2: first team in big spots as long as Lamar Jackson
Speaker 2: is their quarterback. It's it's you know, it's no different
Speaker 2: if you got a fastball pitcher, that's your outpitch. Don't
Speaker 2: throw breaking stuff in big at bats in the World Series.
Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson on big downs with Derrick Henry, run the
Speaker 2: ball when they when they move away from that identity
Speaker 2: last week or in the playoff game. That's what I
Speaker 2: worry about. Baltimore lean on Lamar and Derek Henry in
Speaker 2: that offensive line. So right now, running is cool again.
Speaker 2: Look at the teams that lead the NFL and rushing
Speaker 2: Philly Steelers, Lions, Packers, Ravens. What are they forty three
Speaker 2: and nineteen or after the night forty four and nineteen.
Speaker 2: And part of this is again defenses linebackers are smaller.
Speaker 2: Why because the game's more about space Like the NBA game,
Speaker 2: it's more about space. Linebackers now are faster and smaller.
Speaker 2: Safeties are faster and smaller. What does that mean? Get
Speaker 2: powerful run games? So that's the beauty of sports. That's
Speaker 2: what I love about sports and football. It's very very cyclical.
Speaker 2: Running backs were going nowhere. Running backs create the right tempo.
Speaker 2: Running backs Detroit's a great example. Running backs value is
Speaker 2: often not the big play. It's you have a lead
Speaker 2: and they kill the clock. Detroit is going to lead
Speaker 2: ninety nine percent of the games they play, including potentially
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl. What makes Detroit so lethal is that
Speaker 2: when they get a lead, they can play keep away.
Speaker 2: They got two great backs and they'll just with that
Speaker 2: offensive line, they'll go on an eight minute drive, eleven
Speaker 2: play drives. So running backs aren't just about the home run.
Speaker 2: They're about playing with a lead. And I mean you
Speaker 2: start looking at these teams right now. That's why Detroit
Speaker 2: and Philadelphia could absolutely win the Super Bowl. Stacked rosters,
Speaker 2: but the ability to lead, Yes, hit home runs out
Speaker 2: of the run game, but basically keep a Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 2: or a Josh Allen off the field. That's a big
Speaker 2: component to it. So, you know, I just with Lamar Jackson,
Speaker 2: I think sometimes you know, there was no other Michael Jordan.
Speaker 2: I mean, Kobe Bryant was like Michael Light, but there
Speaker 2: was no other Michael. There was no other Charles Berkley,
Speaker 2: there was no other Kareem. Nobody else had the sky
Speaker 2: hook down. And I think Lamar Jackson you just have
Speaker 2: to take him for what he is. He's the most
Speaker 2: athletic quarterback I've ever seen. He's wildly entertaining. He is
Speaker 2: a significantly better passer in the last three to four
Speaker 2: years than anybody gives him credit for. And once again
Speaker 2: he wins a big game in the AFC. If you're
Speaker 2: playing Sunday night football and Monday night football and the
Speaker 2: late window on Fox or CBS, you know, it doesn't
Speaker 2: matter what network you're paying. Those standalone games could be Amazon.
Speaker 2: Those are big games. I mean, the idea isn't baseball.
Speaker 2: You got seventeen of min eighteen weeks. They're big games,
Speaker 2: especially when you get to November and December and January.
Speaker 2: So I never bought into Lamar Jackson's not a big
Speaker 2: game player. Yes, in the playoffs he has struggled against
Speaker 2: the Chiefs, so's Josh Allen. It's the Chiefs. Arguably, if
Speaker 2: they win three straight, nobody's done it in league history.
Speaker 2: A lot of people lost the Tiger Woods, right, A
Speaker 2: lot of people lost to Jordan that were great teams.
Speaker 2: So Lamar tonight, I think these are final stats. Sixteen
Speaker 2: to twenty two, couple of touchdowns, one hundred and seventy
Speaker 2: seven total yards, and that's what they asked of him.
Speaker 2: They don't need him to throw thirty four times a game.
Speaker 2: That's not what Baltimore is. I worry about when Baltimore
Speaker 2: throws over twenty eight times a game, they get away
Speaker 2: from their identity. Tonight ran the ball. Lamar made as usual,
Speaker 2: big throws when he had to big throw over the top,
Speaker 2: great on third down, perfect on fourth down. A couple
Speaker 2: other notes here to throw at you. People will look
Speaker 2: at the Chargers, you know, and you hear this well,
Speaker 2: I mean, Justin Herbert can't win the big game. One
Speaker 2: of the things I would say is when you watch
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert, how often are his receivers truly open? He's
Speaker 2: having to throw them open. And when his pass protection
Speaker 2: is not great and in the second half it wasn't
Speaker 2: as good. I think they're pretty good at tackle. They're
Speaker 2: not necessarily as good guard center guard. There's not a
Speaker 2: lot of separation. And I mean there was a lot
Speaker 2: for Lamar Jackson tonight. A lot of it was underneath.
Speaker 2: There were open guys. There were a lot of open guys,
Speaker 2: and Lamar found up now. He missed on a couple
Speaker 2: of sideline routes. He had an open receiver one time.
Speaker 2: I think it was in the I think it was
Speaker 2: first half, second quarter, maybe the third quarter. You know,
Speaker 2: because Lamar is often on the move when he throws,
Speaker 2: he can miss people. But I don't know how anybody
Speaker 2: can watch Lamar Jackson and not think he is one
Speaker 2: of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Just everybody's
Speaker 2: got different gifts. Everybody's got different gifts in life. I
Speaker 2: don't care if you're a broadcaster, you work in a hospital,
Speaker 2: or a quarterback. The great ones all have different styles.
Speaker 2: And I just can't quit Baltimore owner, front office, coach, quarterback.
Speaker 2: They've added playmakers last couple of years. Yeah, I said
Speaker 2: this today on FS one. I think I feel like
Speaker 2: there's four teams that feel like they should be favorites
Speaker 2: to win the Super Bowl, Kansas City, Buffalo, Detroit, and Philly.
Speaker 2: But I'm sorry Baltimore is It may be for a
Speaker 2: but it's when you watch Baltimore go on the road
Speaker 2: dominate the second half, playmakers all over the place. Dereck
Speaker 2: Henry icing it. Man, it's hard not to like that organization.
Speaker 2: There's just this is not a bad night for the Chargers.
Speaker 2: It's a night of growth for the Chargers. It shows
Speaker 2: you exactly what they need to beat the best teams.
Speaker 2: They have got to get two more playmakers. And for
Speaker 2: the record, moving off Keenan Allen was the right move
Speaker 2: for them. He's perfect for Caleb Williams. He was excellent
Speaker 2: yesterday against Minnesota, but he was beat up and he
Speaker 2: was expensive. And they wanted to keep Khalil Mack Andbosa right.
Speaker 2: They wanted to keep their rush hands and so, and
Speaker 2: they're paying Herbert. I get it. You know, you're trying
Speaker 2: to create a physical culture. So Harbaugh and the front
Speaker 2: office guys are like, let's move off their receivers. And
Speaker 2: that's their weakness. So step two next year, I can
Speaker 2: guarantee you Quentin Johnson.
Speaker 1: That's not it.
Speaker 2: They're going after They're going to draft one, maybe two receivers,
Speaker 2: maybe get one in free agency. They'll probably, you know,
Speaker 2: look to get a little younger at running back. You know,
Speaker 2: you worry about JK. Dobbins. He's had a couple of
Speaker 2: big injuries. I like him a lot, but he's had
Speaker 2: a couple of big injuries. They'll probably go get another
Speaker 2: tight end. You can see the plan. And with Jim Harbaugh,
Speaker 2: you got about two more drafts where he's going to
Speaker 2: have an advantage on the league because coaching at Michigan,
Speaker 2: they had looks like a very good draft. This year,
Speaker 2: he's probably got two more of those, maybe three, where
Speaker 2: he's going to have recruited a majority of the guys
Speaker 2: he's drafting. It's just a big advantage.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: It's Bill Belichick's an all time great coach. Is he's
Speaker 2: spending Saturday watching college football for fourteen hours because Jim
Speaker 2: Harbaugh was spending three hundred days a year, three hundred
Speaker 2: and forty days a year recruiting all these kids. He's
Speaker 2: gonna draft last year in the next two to three years.
Speaker 2: So the Chargers are fine. They're just they're they're they're
Speaker 2: like the eighth grade version. Kansas City's a senior and
Speaker 2: then and Baltimore's like a junior. And it's like the
Speaker 2: Chargers are in eighth grade. They haven't gotten into the
Speaker 2: high school hallway yet. They just this is step one.
Speaker 2: They've got moves to make, they'll make them. They're six
Speaker 2: to zero against losing teams, they're one and four against
Speaker 2: winning teams. They're Baltimore three years ago, two years ago.
Speaker 2: They just got add some pieces offensively, it feels inevitable.
Speaker 2: Philadelphia and Detroit in the NFC Championship. Those are stack rosters.
Speaker 2: The Rams actually have a great coach, excellent quarterback, nice weapons,
Speaker 2: and a really strong defensive front. And it was completely
Speaker 2: worked tonight. Almost five hundred yards for the Eagles, two
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty five yards for Saquon Barkley. The Eagles
Speaker 2: offensive line and the Lions offensive line are so much
Speaker 2: better than the rest of the NFL. Four of the
Speaker 2: five Eagle o linemen I think could get honors, just
Speaker 2: dominating performance. And again the Rams have some talented young
Speaker 2: guys up front, you know, and a lot of this
Speaker 2: Howie Roseman the GM. This league is front offices are
Speaker 2: so important. Teams like Cincinnati just don't make deals and
Speaker 2: so it's Joe Burr a couple of your receivers and
Speaker 2: they just a limited roster. Philadelphia is constantly trade deadline,
Speaker 2: usually not necessarily this year, but big players at the
Speaker 2: trade deadline, off season, free agency, Draft Day deals, and
Speaker 2: you see the value of it. I mean, even without
Speaker 2: Devonte Smith at wide receiver because he's banged up, they
Speaker 2: lost Sleigh the corner during the game. In every unit,
Speaker 2: the Eagles have a great, great player. And you know
Speaker 2: I talked about this before the season. I said, the
Speaker 2: idea of letting your best player go the New York
Speaker 2: Giants to go to the Eagles is insane. I mean,
Speaker 2: can you imagine, you know, the I know it's not
Speaker 2: perfectly analogous, but the Chiefs, you know, letting the Chargers
Speaker 2: have Mahomes in his prime. Now the Chargers have their
Speaker 2: own quarterback, but the best player on the New York
Speaker 2: Giants was allowed to go to their primary rival. Saquon Barkley.
Speaker 2: Think about this, has twelve touchdowns this year. The Giants
Speaker 2: have sixteen, last in the NFL. Saquon has ten plays
Speaker 2: this year of thirty plus yards. That's the same as
Speaker 2: the entire New York Giants offense. Giants let him walk.
Speaker 2: I think there's an argument MVP this year. Boy after tonight.
Speaker 2: I mean, Rookie of the Year has got to be
Speaker 2: bow Knicks at least offensive rookie of the Year. I
Speaker 2: would not have a problem with Saquon Barkley being MVP.
Speaker 2: I would have no problem. I mean, the guy is
Speaker 2: he is separated from the league at running back again.
Speaker 2: McCaffrey last year fully healthy, but McCaffrey this year is
Speaker 2: not the same. Yeah, Saquon Barkley is. There's just nothing
Speaker 2: like him. I mean, every single carry looks like he's
Speaker 2: one broken tackle from going the distance, and he did it,
Speaker 2: you know, twice the night. Saquon Barkley is on pace
Speaker 2: to set the NFL rushing record and scrimmage yards record.
Speaker 2: So if you're thinking to yourself, man, he's having like
Speaker 2: a incredible year. Yeah, the most incredible year ever potentially
Speaker 2: for Saquon Barkley. It has like a KD to the
Speaker 2: Warriors feel, where you're looking at a team that's good
Speaker 2: enough to win the title and she's like, you know,
Speaker 2: we're just gonna We're gonna throw in this guy that is,
Speaker 2: you know, the best at his position, and he'll finally
Speaker 2: actually have teammates that can help him, and you know,
Speaker 2: a staff that can help him and a quarterback who's
Speaker 2: a threat to run as well, so you can't just
Speaker 2: hone in on him. It's just insane. And by the way,
Speaker 2: the other player the Giants let go was a safety
Speaker 2: who now leads the NFL in interceptions. Got the Giants
Speaker 2: are so poorly run. But you know, Barkley, I've said before.
Speaker 2: I think the best running back I ever saw was
Speaker 2: Walter Payton. Barry Sanders probably so. Christian McCaffrey's dexterity and
Speaker 2: his ability to do so many things probably puts him third.
Speaker 2: But McCaffrey does not look the same this year and
Speaker 2: instead Saquon Barkley was always an excellent player, but he
Speaker 2: is and there's no other way to say this. His
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Speaker 2: Time for another Sunday Hour and a half pod with
Speaker 2: John Middlecoff, former NFL scout. I don't remember having a
Speaker 2: Sunday where I was on the wrong side of virtually
Speaker 2: everything except the Broncos game. What a crazy every favorite
Speaker 2: I like, every dog, I like, fail to cover every
Speaker 2: favorite I was gun shy on covered. Let's start with
Speaker 2: Green Bay thirty eight, San Francisco ten. So, I mean,
Speaker 2: you knew it was trouble Bosa out brought pretty out
Speaker 2: Trent out, But as I was watching this, it was
Speaker 2: more than that, because, I mean, Green Bay gave them opportunities.
Speaker 2: I think you have to have a hard look in
Speaker 2: the mirror, and it's hard in the NFL when you
Speaker 2: still have really good people in the locker room. I
Speaker 2: think this franchise needs a complete reboot. If you look
Speaker 2: at the Detroits, the Green Bays, Buffalo, Kansas City, the
Speaker 2: Chargers are up and coming. San Francisco is like an
Speaker 2: old fighter, John, They're like an old boxer. Last year,
Speaker 2: you know they were hanging on, had one last good fight.
Speaker 2: Stop drafting receivers, rebuild the O lines and D lines.
Speaker 2: Bosa's hurt, Kittle's hurt, McCaffrey's hurt. You know this organization, well,
Speaker 2: but listen, Green Bay was gonna win this game. You
Speaker 2: could tell two series in. I think San Francisco has
Speaker 2: to hyper aggressively reboot the franchise.
Speaker 1: Well, it's tough when you're paying all these guys all
Speaker 1: this money. They've recently best I think the best thing
Speaker 1: that could happen to them because they're not making the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Keep losing these games. I said, you know, today was
Speaker 1: not a great day for Dallas, Like they're not going
Speaker 1: to the playoffs. You win and ruined your draft position.
Speaker 1: If you're the forty nine ers, you want to be
Speaker 1: drafting seventh, not fifteenth, right because we know quarterbacks usually
Speaker 1: go and that gives you an opportunity to get one
Speaker 1: of the best players on the board. They played Buffalo
Speaker 1: next week, that's a loss. You know the Rams. They
Speaker 1: still play the Cardinals, like they could lose these games,
Speaker 1: and I would imagine they do. So. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think you're looking at at at best a seven win team,
Speaker 1: and I think right now, you know, not winning maybe
Speaker 1: one more game the rest of the season. This pretty
Speaker 1: thing was well reported today, like they are not even
Speaker 1: sure what's going on Bosa hurt one hip that he
Speaker 1: heard another Trent's just a weathered, you know, older player
Speaker 1: that this team, you know, what they need, They kind
Speaker 1: of need to get bounced in the first round or
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, not even make it to the
Speaker 1: first round of the playoffs and get extra time off
Speaker 1: and get to reset. It happened to the Warriors. Remember
Speaker 1: they had twenty twenty. Twenty twenty was really rough couple
Speaker 1: of years. Then they were fresh than they won a championship.
Speaker 2: Well, remember the Niners' last Super Bowl loss went six
Speaker 2: and ten were injury ravaged.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I to me, the best easiest way for
Speaker 1: them to get players they're not gonna have a lot
Speaker 1: of cap space because of all the big cap you
Speaker 1: know hits they have with players, is to have like
Speaker 1: the eighth pick in the draft, because it's not just
Speaker 1: the first round, it's every round, and they've proven to
Speaker 1: be able to draft for really well in the fourth, fifth,
Speaker 1: sixth round. When you're drafting in the top ten, you know,
Speaker 1: there aren't really many excuses to miss, like when they're
Speaker 1: drafting in the late twenties. So I think the best
Speaker 1: case scenario roll out the team they're rolling out and
Speaker 1: they're gonna their schedule is hard. I mean they still
Speaker 1: play the Dolphins, who look good right now. Obviously they
Speaker 1: got the bills next week. They're just gonna naturally lose
Speaker 1: a lot of games, which I think is really gonna
Speaker 1: benefit them long term.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, it's interesting. I was watching Caleb Williams today,
Speaker 2: who was just he's such a talented guy. Boon Nicks
Speaker 2: looks fantastic. Jaden Daniels has hit the cliff Kingsbury wall,
Speaker 2: you know, around Thanksgiving. Even in college, his teams tended
Speaker 2: to swoon late. And I looked at rock Purty. They're
Speaker 2: gonna keep him right. I mean, you can't pay him
Speaker 2: fifty million, but they're gonna broker a deal here probably
Speaker 2: in the forties. Is that what you're thinking?
Speaker 1: They do? They have to, they call it. Why why
Speaker 1: are we always in such a rush? Like he's he's
Speaker 1: not struggling to put food on the table. He's making
Speaker 1: millions of dollars off the field. It's an incredible spot
Speaker 1: for him with Kyle if you win six or seven games,
Speaker 1: and listen, this hasn't been his fault necessarily, But why
Speaker 1: are we in a rush to spend fifty million when
Speaker 1: clearly what there are four or five guys in the
Speaker 1: league that you feel really good about it, and then
Speaker 1: the next five guys making that much money or somewhat
Speaker 1: of a roller coaster. You know, I would have no
Speaker 1: problem giving him that. I don't know Kirk Cousins, Daniel
Speaker 1: Jones eighty ninety and everyone's like, well, he'll never take that. Well,
Speaker 1: then we won't do a deal. You know, if he
Speaker 1: would have got me back to the NFC Championship game
Speaker 1: this year, you wouldn't have had a choice. But they're
Speaker 1: not sniffing the playoffs. He's injured. Now we're playing it
Speaker 1: out Like the problem with Dallas playing it out is
Speaker 1: you knew how it was going to play out. Why
Speaker 1: can't we just take a deep breath and see how
Speaker 1: see what happens?
Speaker 2: Ye?
Speaker 1: Where is he going? Yeah, well it's a better situation.
Speaker 1: Who's who's lighting up one? He's not a free agent,
Speaker 1: but who's lining up on the open market to give him,
Speaker 1: let's just say, one hundred and fifty million dollars a year?
Speaker 1: Who you big against? Yeah, so they regret the IU contract,
Speaker 1: they have to. If they could do that over again,
Speaker 1: they would have traded him before the draft. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's not even so let's take a deep breath, let's
Speaker 1: just play it out, and that that's what I I
Speaker 1: would say most of my life, what up until the
Speaker 1: last four or five years, that's usually how business used
Speaker 1: to happen. Unless your name was like Peyton Manning or
Speaker 1: Ladanian Tomlinson or some like all time great player. Most
Speaker 1: players usually had to fight for their cash. And now,
Speaker 1: just because the league's flush with it, we just give
Speaker 1: it away. And again I have no problem giving it
Speaker 1: to the elite guys. Hell, Trent Williams, you need a boost,
Speaker 1: I'll give you a boost. Rockberdy, like, let's just take
Speaker 1: a deep breath, everybody. That's been my stance all along
Speaker 1: is why can't What was the rush to pay Trevor Lawrence?
Speaker 1: Does any team regret a contract more than the Jags,
Speaker 1: Like five weeks into the contract at least two has
Speaker 1: proven like, but again, Tua's not making two hundred plus trial,
Speaker 1: that's right. So and the party thing was being talked about, well,
Speaker 1: it's the Trevor Lawrence and it's like, well, if I'd
Speaker 1: give them one hundred and forty million dollars right now,
Speaker 1: but that's not what the ballpark that has been discussed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's such a big decision. I'd peel
Speaker 2: off some of the players. I would have moved off
Speaker 2: Deebo last year. I wouldn't have paid Ayuk. I think
Speaker 2: they've been a little negligent on the offensive line. They've
Speaker 2: they've attacked the defensive line. I think they've been a
Speaker 2: bit negligent on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: I just don't not Colin. They're not negligent. They've been
Speaker 1: Kyle and the offensive line coach have been open about
Speaker 1: their philosophical belief of skill players are more important than
Speaker 1: offensive linemen. Oh, you can tell they believe in that
Speaker 1: zone scheme that I can take mainly average guys. Obviously
Speaker 1: Trent is their outlier. But how'd they get Trent. They
Speaker 1: got them for a third round pick right in the
Speaker 1: only reason he didn't go to Minnesota, who was offering
Speaker 1: way more as he refused to go there because he
Speaker 1: wanted to play for his guy, Kyle. So they've openly said, yeah,
Speaker 1: we don't take offensive lineman if we believe a skill
Speaker 1: guy's on the board higher the football I was around
Speaker 1: growing up, you know, with coach Hill, who came from
Speaker 1: Belichick and then Andy Reid and Howie Roseman. They would
Speaker 1: laugh at that they would take offensive lineman in the
Speaker 1: first round and then they take him again in the
Speaker 1: second round.
Speaker 2: Bo Nix has completely surpassed Jaden Daniels for offensive Rookie
Speaker 2: of the Year. Like it's not club. I mean, he's
Speaker 2: the last six games. It's not close. Bo Nicks looks confident, accurate, poised, athletic.
Speaker 2: Jaden's lost his fastball. And so, you know, I talked
Speaker 2: to Steve kaim I said, you know, can you explain
Speaker 2: the Cliff Kingsbury College and professional swoon in the second
Speaker 2: half of the season. And Steve just said, he's a
Speaker 2: very smart, creative guy who works in the summer to
Speaker 2: come in with new stuff and maybe the league catches
Speaker 2: up with him that he doesn't pivot to the second
Speaker 2: pitch after he's brought in new stuff. But Steve didn't
Speaker 2: really have an answer, But you know, he said, hard working, clever, smart,
Speaker 2: he does come in every year with new stuff. But
Speaker 2: I was sitting there watching that thing today and by
Speaker 2: the way, Washington almost pulled it off. But once again
Speaker 2: Washington missed Pats. They missed a field golf special teams
Speaker 2: in this league are I don't remember a year that
Speaker 2: special teams decided more football games. They're just terrible. But
Speaker 2: I looked at this and I thought to myself today,
Speaker 2: if you could redraft all the quarterbacks, and you have
Speaker 2: to consider Sean Payton and the bow next deal, if
Speaker 2: you could redraft the quarterbacks, would you draft them differently?
Speaker 2: Forget the teams? Would you read draft them differently?
Speaker 1: Well, I think Caleb's at least quieted, and listen, I
Speaker 1: was starting to wonder, what the hell are we? Watching
Speaker 1: these last two weeks make you feel a lot better.
Speaker 1: I mean, today he made throws where you're like, that's
Speaker 1: what a number one overall pick looks like. No disputing.
Speaker 1: Here's where I will defend Jade and Daniels because today
Speaker 1: he was running around pretty well. I came into this season.
Speaker 1: I know you picked him to make the playoffs. I
Speaker 1: thought this was more like a six or seven win team.
Speaker 1: It was going to be an impressive operation, but wins
Speaker 1: loss were not going to be what it looked like
Speaker 1: they were going to be three weeks ago. I don't
Speaker 1: think they're that talented Colin. I honestly, I don't think
Speaker 1: they're teams that good Yeah, Terry mclaurin's good. Their running
Speaker 1: backs getting banged up. Brian Robinson's a good player, but
Speaker 1: he was in and out. So if they're not running
Speaker 1: the ball well, And here's the one thing, and I
Speaker 1: always thought this about Chip Kelly, and you know, Mike
Speaker 1: Leach never came to the NFL. But Cliff's a good example.
Speaker 1: These spread offenses. Right early on in the season, rapid
Speaker 1: fire defenses aren't as dialed. Take advantage of it. As
Speaker 1: the season goes on, weather changes a little bit, it
Speaker 1: gets a lot more physical. What Dallas happened today. Parsons
Speaker 1: is back now, like their defense is a little bit
Speaker 1: more I would say legitimate with him in the game,
Speaker 1: and they were just ready for a brawl like they
Speaker 1: got pride. I mean they got a lot high page and.
Speaker 2: Is accurate moves the ball for sure.
Speaker 1: And it was a physical game.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think sometimes the more physical you are with more
Speaker 1: of the quote unquote spread offenses, you can shove them
Speaker 1: around a little bit. And I think that's really what's
Speaker 1: happened in my opinion. Now. You know once that I
Speaker 1: saw on the Denver game is Bonnix hasn't turned the
Speaker 1: ball over in fourteen quarters. One pass was on a
Speaker 1: hail Mary. But Jane Daniels have three picks today.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Right, So it's like you start turning the ball over,
Speaker 1: you start forcing things. Games are a little closer. The
Speaker 1: other thing is in the NFL, you know, regardless of records,
Speaker 1: I've always thought, you know, as the season goes on,
Speaker 1: like where do you get a lot of upsets in
Speaker 1: the NFL? Are division games in November and December with
Speaker 1: a good team versus bad team? We see it every year. Yea,
Speaker 1: like today, who in their right mind would have given
Speaker 1: Dallas a shot? But you can tell halfway through You're like,
Speaker 1: this is a real game, this is gonna be tough.
Speaker 2: Well, the tight quarterback played great. Yeah, No, it's it's you.
Speaker 2: I think. When I looked at that game, I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: Dallas just screwed up your drafts spot. Yeah. I think
Speaker 2: to your point, I think we have to take a
Speaker 2: deep breath. Washington replaced everybody they came in with a
Speaker 2: new quarterback and a new offense. In Cliff Kingsbury's history
Speaker 2: of starting the first six to eight weeks quickly, but
Speaker 2: then eventually regression to the meme. Whereas Denver is better
Speaker 2: than people think. Denver's got some really good players. Denver
Speaker 2: has an elite offensive coach, Denver has a college quarterback
Speaker 2: with sixty one starts, and Denver's Cortland Sutton, who, like
Speaker 2: Terry McLaurin, is just a big target that's open all
Speaker 2: the time. And I want to pivot to that game
Speaker 2: because we haven't talked a lot of Denver on our
Speaker 2: Sunday podcast. So Denver beats the Raiders twenty nine nine
Speaker 2: teams the only.
Speaker 1: Game all day.
Speaker 2: If I would have bet every game, I think I
Speaker 2: would have gotten right. So bo Nick's his last eight games,
Speaker 2: John fifteen touchdowns, two picks, and a one oh four
Speaker 2: passer rating in those games, they're five and if a
Speaker 2: field goal is not blocked against the Chiefs, they're six
Speaker 2: and two. Like we have to acknowledge now Denver with
Speaker 2: in dead cap money, hell, that sacrificed draft capital. I
Speaker 2: think this is a good team. I watch them again.
Speaker 2: The Raiders don't have a lot of quarterback, but they've
Speaker 2: got some talent. I think we have to be honest
Speaker 2: about this. I think Denver's pretty good football team.
Speaker 1: Well, Colin, I think we could be seven days away
Speaker 1: from them being officially, I guess unofficially a playoff team
Speaker 1: because they play Cleveland this week. In Miami, who's obviously
Speaker 1: got it together with Tua back, A lot of people
Speaker 1: think that they are alive and well, well, they play
Speaker 1: the Packers this week. So if Miami loses and they
Speaker 1: are then five and seven and Denver wins, they would
Speaker 1: be eight and five. Like, I have a hard time
Speaker 1: seeing Miami catch them. So this is a massive week.
Speaker 1: Like I think Denver's in the playoffs. If they handle
Speaker 1: business this week and all of a sudden you start
Speaker 1: doing the math like they're getting a nine, no doubt,
Speaker 1: But I think they end up with ten, and that's
Speaker 1: they basically doubled their win total. Like this. This has
Speaker 1: been a huge year for Sean Payton. Honestly, it's been
Speaker 1: a win win for Russell Anshewan. Yes, some marriages break up,
Speaker 1: go other places, happy as hell with your separate significant others.
Speaker 1: That's how it's worked out here. So it just it
Speaker 1: was never gonna work. You thought it. We all thought it.
Speaker 1: Anyone with a brain that knows these two personalities, even
Speaker 1: if you don't know him personally, you're like, this isn't
Speaker 1: gonna work. And they broke up and it's gone well
Speaker 1: for both Listen Right and Sean Payton. I think was
Speaker 1: pretty lucky that, you know, there was six quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the you know, because a lot of them were going high.
Speaker 1: It just happened to be a very unique draft because
Speaker 1: it's not like they were drafted fourth right, so he
Speaker 1: needed some of the stuff was out of his control,
Speaker 1: and it worked out perfectly. The type guy that he
Speaker 1: would like is the last guy off the board in
Speaker 1: the top fifteen. I mean, it was a historic draft, right,
Speaker 1: six guys going the top twelve thirteen picks. We might
Speaker 1: never see that again.
Speaker 2: And Denver has in nine of the last twelve games,
Speaker 2: and this is so big for rookie quarterback. They've held
Speaker 2: opponents under twenty So when bow nicks it maybe struggles
Speaker 2: today a little bit in a couple of drives. They're
Speaker 2: not giving up points.
Speaker 1: So their dbs A, their dbs are good. I mean
Speaker 1: every time I look up, obviously certains good. They have
Speaker 1: all these other guys. This is why vance Joseph, which
Speaker 1: Shawn deserves credit for, because you give up seventy points
Speaker 1: in a game. I would have been like, Shawn, you
Speaker 1: might have to fire this guy. By mid season, stick
Speaker 1: it out by the end of the year. Last year,
Speaker 1: they're playing good defense. This year, I think that has
Speaker 1: to be the most surprised unit of the league. They
Speaker 1: feel just on the it test, one of the best
Speaker 1: defenses in the league. I know Gardner Minshew today, but
Speaker 1: the score was a little closer. This guy never once
Speaker 1: crossed my mind that the Raiders were gonna win that
Speaker 1: game today.
Speaker 2: No, but they've been doing this now for two months.
Speaker 2: I mean, go to the Kansas City game. They outplayed
Speaker 2: the Kansas City Chiefs, and so on the road.
Speaker 1: That's where I think. You know, depending on how this Denver,
Speaker 1: more than likely it would probably be the seven seed. Baltimore. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, they already has four losses. But if you're
Speaker 1: telling me two of the three wild cards are Denver
Speaker 1: and the Chargers, Like anytime you play your wild card weekend,
Speaker 1: you're playing an excellent defense, like you could lose. You know,
Speaker 1: this is not a three to seven game series. All
Speaker 1: of a sudden, you have a shitty half, You're down
Speaker 1: fourteen to three in the third quarter. We've seen this
Speaker 1: every year. So you got two teams separate from obviously
Speaker 1: Herbert's you know, an elite player. But even with a
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback. We have seen rookie quarterbacks have success in
Speaker 1: the PLAYFF because they don't have to do that much.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of you know, bo Nicks, as long
Speaker 1: as he didn't turn the ball over and their defense
Speaker 1: played a high level game, why couldn't they win it
Speaker 1: seventeen to fourteen or fifteen to thirteen. They're very comfortable
Speaker 1: playing that way.
Speaker 2: Think about this, and I watched them today. Sean Payton
Speaker 2: does such a good job of two things. Defining. He
Speaker 2: gives bo Nix about eight layups. He gives them a
Speaker 2: lot of easy stuff. And then bow Knicks deserves credit
Speaker 2: because he is constantly seeking Courtland Sun and Courtland Sutton
Speaker 2: is a basketball with a helmet. I mean that he's
Speaker 2: big in the corner, Jesus big, long athletic. I've always
Speaker 2: liked Courtland Sutton so and mims Is it can be
Speaker 2: a burner. I like their backs. But you can see
Speaker 2: that he gets Bownicks easy stuff. And then bow Bow
Speaker 2: like Russell does with George Pickens, Bow just attacks Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 2: But take out Andy Reid. Just take Andy Reid out.
Speaker 2: Belichick's now not coaching. On any given Sunday, I'd argue
Speaker 2: Sean Payton's as good as coach as the league has.
Speaker 2: I absolutely believe that. I think Andy Reid's the best,
Speaker 2: maybe arguably ever. But now that Belichick's out take out
Speaker 2: Andy Reid, he can go toe to toe. I mean,
Speaker 2: I love Sean McVay. They've had some bad offensive halves
Speaker 2: when people are healthy. So I think a lot of
Speaker 2: this is, you know, it's just funny because Shawn's done
Speaker 2: things to alienate people. He's outspoken. Remember he took a
Speaker 2: shot at the Jets. He was right by the way.
Speaker 2: You know, he took a shot at Nat Hackett. He
Speaker 2: was right by the way. But you know, when you
Speaker 2: lead with your chin, you offend a lot of people.
Speaker 2: You cannot watch Denver and not see the coaching. It's
Speaker 2: it's I mean to me, if you gave Coach of
Speaker 2: the Year today, I don't know how you'd I don't
Speaker 2: know who you'd pick. I think Sean Payton's now after
Speaker 2: that Tomlin time out mess, clock management mess. I think
Speaker 2: I give it to Sean Payton.
Speaker 1: You know, I think it's the one award that, honestly,
Speaker 1: as time goes on, is irrelevant, right, Like Belichick, Andy Reed,
Speaker 1: they don't even have that many. Andy Reid doesn't have one.
Speaker 1: As a cancy chiefs head coach like Jim Harbaugh took
Speaker 1: over a team that won five games, They're probably gonna
Speaker 1: win eleven or twelve. And I think the way you
Speaker 1: just describe Sean, I think Jim is definitely mellowed out
Speaker 1: in his older age, but he was a lot like
Speaker 1: that early on in Michigan and definitely with San Francisco
Speaker 1: and both I mean, look at those two guys. If
Speaker 1: you would have said that the Chargers in Denver, whatever
Speaker 1: the odds, if you would have parlayed those two teams
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs, Colin, they might make the playoff.
Speaker 1: They might be resting starters by the last week of season.
Speaker 1: And it's not a coincidence that those guys. Here's the
Speaker 1: other thing, and Sean, once he hired Dennis Allen, their
Speaker 1: defense was excellent the last three or four years with
Speaker 1: the Saints. Jim, both offensive guys, former quarterbacks value defense
Speaker 1: and will pay for it and invest in it. And
Speaker 1: that really matters. And I don't think it's shocking. And
Speaker 1: this is why you're watching the Raiders today. You're like,
Speaker 1: can you imagine being the redhead stepchild of your division
Speaker 1: when you're in that you know, with those three coaches, Like,
Speaker 1: what do you even do? Like? You better hope Belichick
Speaker 1: picks up your call this offseason, because if he doesn't,
Speaker 1: you got no shot.
Speaker 2: I watched Bryce Young today, who's arguably the best quarterback
Speaker 2: ever in Southern California high school history, who was dominant
Speaker 2: in college. I ran into his high school coach the
Speaker 2: other night at Modern Day, a legend who's retired, and
Speaker 2: I said, best player you ever had? You know, first
Speaker 2: second name out was Bryce Young. He's like, he's just
Speaker 2: a remarkable player, great kid. I don't think Caroline is
Speaker 2: going to draft a quarterback. I think the class is
Speaker 2: two weak. I think they think Bryce is better than
Speaker 2: anybody outside of Shador Sanders. I think Caroline is going
Speaker 2: to give Bryce Young another year. What's say you?
Speaker 1: Yeah? I would say he's done a lot like his
Speaker 1: version of what Caleb has done these last couple of weeks. Yep,
Speaker 1: you know, over the last three games for him, he's
Speaker 1: looked like a real player. Now, if you could do
Speaker 1: it all over again, would you have mortgaged what you
Speaker 1: did to get him. I mean I think probably not,
Speaker 1: I would not, but he has been more than respectable
Speaker 1: these last three weeks. And he you know, confidence is
Speaker 1: a powerful thing for young players. Listen, He's not he's
Speaker 1: a little small, not a great athlete, but he does
Speaker 1: have a natural feel for the position. And that's what
Speaker 1: was so head scratching when they essentially had to bench him,
Speaker 1: is he was inaccurate. He was making awful decisions. He
Speaker 1: just looked lost and maybe sometimes like you just take
Speaker 1: a reset. Listen, I think Anthony Richardson, even today they
Speaker 1: kind of got just has looked a lot better. I
Speaker 1: thought he looked a lot better today. Take a deep breath.
Speaker 1: I don't know if Bryce needed to be like humbled
Speaker 1: like Anthony Richardson, but he definitely, like just take a
Speaker 1: step back was probably healthy for him, and he looks
Speaker 1: like a real NFL quarterback. Now, their team a lot
Speaker 1: of question marks. Is their coaching staff good enough? Is
Speaker 1: their talent long way to go? But I'm with you, like,
Speaker 1: what are you gonna draft cam Ward or Quinn?
Speaker 2: You were so well the same thing in Tennessee. They
Speaker 2: beat the Texans today and so that's I mean, this
Speaker 2: is not a game that's riveting. But the Titans thirty two,
Speaker 2: Texans twenty seven. So listen, the last six games, c J.
Speaker 2: Stroud is really struggling. They went and got Stefan Diggs
Speaker 2: should have probably addressed the interior line. C J. Stroud
Speaker 2: is hurrying everything. He is struggling. He has a seventy
Speaker 2: four passer rating in his last six games. He is
Speaker 2: really struggling. But I watched Will Levis today and my
Speaker 2: take his with Bryce Young and Will Levis, I'm just
Speaker 2: keeping them. I'm giving him another year. I mean, hell,
Speaker 2: the Giants paid Daniel Jones. I don't think Daniel's as
Speaker 2: natural as Bryce Young. I don't think he's as I
Speaker 2: don't think he has the arm of Will Levis. And
Speaker 2: my take watching Will Levis today the last two weeks,
Speaker 2: I'm kind of like, yeah, they got boat raced by Detroit.
Speaker 2: They don't have the same level of players. But I
Speaker 2: watched Will Levis and Bryce Young and my take is
Speaker 2: we like CJ. Scroud and we see what he's going through,
Speaker 2: and Houston's got better players than the Titans. I thought
Speaker 2: Will Levis today bought himself absolutely another year. I mean,
Speaker 2: you can go get Sam Darnold in the market. I
Speaker 2: think they're just gonna.
Speaker 1: Stick with him. Yeah, I mean, you know, Will did
Speaker 1: give you the one pick six. No, he he did
Speaker 1: make some fantastic throws down the field. Something is really
Speaker 1: off with Houston. I mean, they have not looked good
Speaker 1: in a way, even in their wins. It's just they
Speaker 1: looked a lot different. Maybe was their schedule last year. Obviously,
Speaker 1: you know, protecting CJ has been a problem, but they
Speaker 1: look they look like a lock to be a one
Speaker 1: and done. You know, if you tell me they're playing
Speaker 1: the Chargers or the Race, even in the first round,
Speaker 1: the way they're playing, I'd say Cyanarah. But I hear you, like,
Speaker 1: this is this league's hard, and I think sometimes you know,
Speaker 1: these teams get so caught up on these shiny targets.
Speaker 1: It's like, let's use Digs for an example. So you're
Speaker 1: telling me the Bills, and listen, I know people with
Speaker 1: the Texans, they like Digs. But even like he hasn't
Speaker 1: been a personal personality problem. But let's just talk about
Speaker 1: the player standpoint. The Bills, who have been one of
Speaker 1: the best operations in the league minus like the Chiefs
Speaker 1: for the last four years, are completely out on the guy.
Speaker 1: You already have Nico Collins and Tank Dell, who are
Speaker 1: clearly a good young nucleus. With Schultz, you're gonna add
Speaker 1: a running back, Like your offense is not lin of scrimmage,
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage, line of scrimmage, Yet you go do that, Like,
Speaker 1: I think that's one where you're like, we didn't need
Speaker 1: to do that. That's right, but that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1: We should have been extra aggressive for another guard, for
Speaker 1: another center, for another d tackle. That's where we're gonna
Speaker 1: separate ourself from the line of scrimmage. They felt like
Speaker 1: they wanted to go more and be this spreaded around team,
Speaker 1: and that's kind of what they look like now. They're
Speaker 1: just kind of soft. Yeah, and their offense gets shoved
Speaker 1: around today. I mean, one thing the Titans have had
Speaker 1: all year long is their defense is pretty good. Yes,
Speaker 1: you remove that game against the Lions where they scored
Speaker 1: seventy five points, Like, the Titans defense has not been
Speaker 1: the problem. And now Will Levis, I think statistics over
Speaker 1: the last couple weeks have been a lot better on
Speaker 1: what have they been, They've been a lot more competitive.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think you have to strongly consider
Speaker 2: this quarterback class where Schner Sanders is the best product
Speaker 2: project prospect. But it's not great. I mean, he's got
Speaker 2: there's some ego, there's some emotion he holds on.
Speaker 1: I don't think he would have gone if you put
Speaker 1: him in this last draft. Yeah, he doesn't go ahead
Speaker 1: of Kleb. No, he does not. Jayden's more physically gifted.
Speaker 1: I think there's I would say, above a fifty percent
Speaker 1: chance that they still would go with Drake May in
Speaker 1: New England, bigger arm, cold weather like that factors in,
Speaker 1: so he wouldn't have even potentially gone definitely in the
Speaker 1: top two, but probably in the top three of this
Speaker 1: last quarterback class. That's not even a shock. Drake May
Speaker 1: was Nick Saven tried to give him five million dollars
Speaker 1: the previous year. Yeah, so I think sometimes we act
Speaker 1: like Drake May was just this overdrafted scrub and they
Speaker 1: got their butt kicked today. But he was. He's a
Speaker 1: legitimate prospect coming out of college.
Speaker 2: Well, and I think Sean Payton identified very early bo
Speaker 2: Nix was his Drew Brees. So Shaduur is benefiting greatly.
Speaker 2: Cam Ward is a lot of backyard football, a very
Speaker 2: edgy personality, and I'll just I'll leave it at that.
Speaker 2: He's a very edgy personality, not for everybody. Jalen Milroll
Speaker 2: is not very fluid. Big strong kid, great parents, wonderful kid,
Speaker 2: completely coachable. He's Anthony Richardson but better at this point.
Speaker 2: But he's not a natural, Like he can make great throws,
Speaker 2: but he doesn't. He doesn't feel like he's played enough quarterback,
Speaker 2: like he needs a lot of work. So my take is,
Speaker 2: if I got Will Levis and I look at it
Speaker 2: and I think, well, maybe Will's not shaduor Sanders. But
Speaker 2: if I if I've got five wins and I'm drafted nine,
Speaker 2: I'm not moving up for Shador Sanders. Im I'm just
Speaker 2: staying with Will Levis for a year. All Right. It
Speaker 2: is time for another edition, the Thanksgiving Edition. It's a
Speaker 2: tasty one. Sharper Square Chad Millman, co host of the Favorites.
Speaker 2: All odds provided by DraftKings. So this line I didn't understand.
Speaker 2: There's a couple of lines this week I didn't quite get.
Speaker 2: So the Steelers are a much better football operation than
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow and the Bengals. And I've talked about this before.
Speaker 2: The Bengals moved off Joe Mixon and defensive players before
Speaker 2: they paid T Higgins and Jamar Chase. There's just a
Speaker 2: cheap franchise. Pittsburgh awful. Loss is going to be feisty.
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh is a dog is great. Burrow's wonderful, but not
Speaker 2: when he's sitting on the bench watching a run game,
Speaker 2: dominate time of possession. I like the Steelers as a
Speaker 2: dog plus three, it's a much better team. Sharpe square.
Speaker 4: Yeah, of course, it's the sharp play. It makes no
Speaker 4: sense that the number is even close to three.
Speaker 2: I don't get it.
Speaker 4: It's been bouncing around. It opened to two and a half,
Speaker 4: got that up to three, came back to two and
Speaker 4: a half. Because the wise guys know Mike Tomlin as
Speaker 4: a dog sixty two percent on the road, he is
Speaker 4: the best coach as a dog this generation. Twenty years.
Speaker 4: He is sixty two percent as a dog in the
Speaker 4: division on the road, sixty four percent when the spread
Speaker 4: is between one and three. I do believe that a
Speaker 4: lot of people are just enamored with how Joe Burrow
Speaker 4: has been playing.
Speaker 2: It's pretty year.
Speaker 4: He's putting up pinball numbers, right, But this is a
Speaker 4: terrible defense and while they've been off for two weeks,
Speaker 4: the Steelers have been off for ten days, and it's
Speaker 4: a raw, raw Mike Tomlin spot. He makes these guys believe,
Speaker 4: and there's still in a position where they can win
Speaker 4: that division, so you're not going to want to lose
Speaker 4: an in division game. I bet the Steelers on the
Speaker 4: money line.
Speaker 2: Another dog I like is Arizona plus three and a half.
Speaker 2: The Vikings so off of by Arizona was a mess,
Speaker 2: and a lot of it was Seattle got a consistent
Speaker 2: pass rush. I don't think Minnesota's pass rush will be
Speaker 2: that formidable. I also think Arizona, when they can run
Speaker 2: the ball, is a really really effective team. I think
Speaker 2: they'll have a better chance to run the ball here.
Speaker 2: Arizona's inconsistent, but this is a team that has for
Speaker 2: the last five weeks. I mean, they went to Miami
Speaker 2: in one and they went to Santa Clair in one.
Speaker 2: I think their personnels better than people think. They have
Speaker 2: elite players, Budda Baker's elite, Connor's elite. Mcgride is a
Speaker 2: tremendous tight end, Kyler Murray's elite. They don't have big
Speaker 2: names on the interior d line, but they play well,
Speaker 2: they play above their weight. So I just think I
Speaker 2: think this is a close game. Minnesota doesn't really bury people.
Speaker 2: Go look at the Jacksonville game, Go look at the
Speaker 2: Chicago game. They're not Philadelphia. They don't blow over you.
Speaker 2: They make mistakes, they're missing their great left tackle. They're
Speaker 2: a good team, they're not special. They're well coached with
Speaker 2: some nice playmakers. But you watch the Minnesota game, that's
Speaker 2: a go either way football game. It doesn't look like
Speaker 2: either team is significantly more talented and one is in turmoil,
Speaker 2: and you're like, I don't know, they kind of look
Speaker 2: the same. I'm taking the three and a half with
Speaker 2: Arizona Sharper square.
Speaker 1: Eh.
Speaker 4: It's kind of an is ish, like there's no consensus.
Speaker 4: It's not a lot of interest, to be honest, from
Speaker 4: the wise guys. There's some games on the board that
Speaker 4: the wise guys have planted a flag in the sand on.
Speaker 4: This is not one of them. A lot of the
Speaker 4: wise guys liked Arizona last week. They feel a little
Speaker 4: burned by what happened in Seattle. You still don't know,
Speaker 4: we said last week. They put all their cards on
Speaker 4: the table right pun intended, and they come off the
Speaker 4: buy Kyler kind of looks disinterested. So what are you
Speaker 4: going to be getting the second week going against Minnesota
Speaker 4: which still has a lot to lose, And you're right,
Speaker 4: they gave it away against the Bears, like the Bears
Speaker 4: should not even have been close to turning that game
Speaker 4: into an overtime game, so that they come out with
Speaker 4: a little more intensity this week. It's just a hard
Speaker 4: one and handicap. I think I think the line is
Speaker 4: kind of right exactly where it is.
Speaker 2: Okay, a favorite I like Buffalo at home minus seven,
Speaker 2: well rested and waiting for a Niners team. Bosa didn't practice,
Speaker 2: Trent Williams didn't practice. I'm not sure if that locker room.
Speaker 2: I mean, if Bosa doesn't play, that's a very average
Speaker 2: D line. Buffalo's rested, they're healthy. You know, they're a
Speaker 2: team that they're playing for the number one seed here.
Speaker 2: And by the way, Alan the backup for San Francisco,
Speaker 2: that's not gonna work. That's just not good enough. And
Speaker 2: brock Prudy, who he never has a great arm, is
Speaker 2: now dealing with a shoulder issue. Again, this is not
Speaker 2: a guy with a whip to begin with. This is
Speaker 2: the rare. I think the Niners are living off reputation.
Speaker 2: I just don't think they're a very special football team.
Speaker 2: Five and seven in their last twelve, I'm gonna lay
Speaker 2: the seven. I like Buffalo Sharper square sure.
Speaker 4: I mean the wise guys had been betting Buffalo. It
Speaker 4: opened at six and a half, it's got up to seven.
Speaker 4: I think the real question why it sort of hasn't exploded,
Speaker 4: And we saw this last week with the Packers, is
Speaker 4: brock Purty. What's his status gonna be? So no one's
Speaker 4: going to overinvest until they get a real sense of
Speaker 4: what whether or not he's going to be playing. I
Speaker 4: agree with you about Nick Bosa. If you watch that
Speaker 4: game against the Seahawks, he was the difference when he
Speaker 4: was playing, they were in control of that game. Gino
Speaker 4: Smith was harassed, he was making bad decisions and bad
Speaker 4: throws when he was no longer playing. In that game,
Speaker 4: Geno Smith goes on a drive in the final two
Speaker 4: minutes that wins in the game, and now all of
Speaker 4: a sudden, it's propelling Saddle into Seattle and everyone thinking
Speaker 4: they're a super special team and they could potentially win
Speaker 4: the NFC West. Nick Boson not being there and Trent
Speaker 4: Williams are those are massive, massive missing pieces.
Speaker 2: I like the Titans plus five and a half at
Speaker 2: the Commanders. I think Cliff Kingsbury does this single guy
Speaker 2: a lot of time in the summer, plays some golf
Speaker 2: and comes up with a new offense, and I think
Speaker 2: it fools people, and then all of a sudden, about
Speaker 2: mid October to late October, if you look at his
Speaker 2: history in college or pro football, people catch up. And
Speaker 2: then you're left with a September offense in November. And
Speaker 2: I just don't think the Commanders. I mean Jesus, It's
Speaker 2: like the Cowboys had the Commander's playbook. They would flush
Speaker 2: Daniels out of the pocket and there were guys just
Speaker 2: waiting for him. And I think Tennessee is really good upfront,
Speaker 2: defensively disruptive. I think Will Levis still makes He's got
Speaker 2: that Will Levis Carson Wentz reckless gene. But you know what,
Speaker 2: I think he's played himself into another year starting and
Speaker 2: I think you can sense it. I think he doesn't
Speaker 2: feel as apprehensive. I just don't. I'm not giving up
Speaker 2: five and a half points for anybody against the Commanders.
Speaker 2: I think they're just right now. An average roster. They
Speaker 2: have laid out their cards, everybody's seen them. I'm taking
Speaker 2: the five and a half. I think Tennessee's a tough,
Speaker 2: physical team. Is Houston found out Sharper square.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you nail that.
Speaker 1: It's totally sharp.
Speaker 4: The interesting thing here is the line moved from six
Speaker 4: and a half to six to five and a half
Speaker 4: early in the week, and for what we're talking about here,
Speaker 4: early in the week was really Monday. Yeah, and that
Speaker 4: was a consensus professional move. I bet it at five
Speaker 4: and a half. It moved up a little bit to
Speaker 4: six six and a half again, and now it's come
Speaker 4: back down. I couldn't agree with you more. The cliff,
Speaker 4: the cliff Kingsbury cliff mid season is real. Statistically, right,
Speaker 4: Texas Tech they would get to the middle point of
Speaker 4: the year, they would lose. Cardinals they would get to
Speaker 4: the middle point of the year, they would lose. If
Speaker 4: you unpack that, it's somewhat circumstantial, right. You could look
Speaker 4: at Texas Tech and be like, Okay, they play Patsy's
Speaker 4: in the beginning of the year, they get into the conference,
Speaker 4: the schedule gets hush right, right, and the Cardinals a
Speaker 4: couple of times he had Kyler Murray injured, didn't have
Speaker 4: the full scope of his talent, and all of a
Speaker 4: sudden the team isn't as good. But it's happening again.
Speaker 4: It's happening this time because Jade Daniels is injured and
Speaker 4: has been playing injured. And after that rocket start the
Speaker 4: first four weeks of the year, he's barely completing seventy
Speaker 4: percent of his passes after a start with he was
Speaker 4: completing eighty percent. Right, you look at the flip side,
Speaker 4: and yes, Tennessee they have a very good defense. They've
Speaker 4: been playing better. Last week they gave up eight sacks
Speaker 4: and Will Levis had a pick six, and they still
Speaker 4: beat Texans, who have a better quarterback than the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 4: And I do think that this is going to be
Speaker 4: the worst defense Will Levis has faced this season. And
Speaker 4: he has an opportunity here to be pressured a little
Speaker 4: bit less and get the ball, push the ball downfield,
Speaker 4: which is what he's really good at, and that's when
Speaker 4: he's most comfortable. So well as guys are with you,
Speaker 4: that's a sharp play.
Speaker 2: I don't know how many people will watch this. I
Speaker 2: like the Texans minus four at the Jags I don't
Speaker 2: know what the Jags are playing for. I think that's
Speaker 2: a kind of a ugly, toxic locker room where people
Speaker 2: have bailed. I think the Texans off one of their
Speaker 2: worst performances of the year. It means a lot. They're
Speaker 2: playing for more. They're pissed off. They have an issue
Speaker 2: with protection guard center guard. But they've got just simply
Speaker 2: better players playing for more, and frankly, a better quarterback.
Speaker 2: If Trevor Lawrence plays, he's not close to one hundred percent.
Speaker 2: I think they have a coaching advantage, a coordinating advantage.
Speaker 2: This feels like my second favorite bet of the week.
Speaker 2: I'm going to take the Texans minus four at the
Speaker 2: Jag Sharper square.
Speaker 4: Well, I wish you hadn't said it was your second
Speaker 4: favorite favorite. The wise guys are all over the Jags
Speaker 4: in this game. They love the Jags. They've moved from
Speaker 4: five to four and a half to four.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's an interesting one for me personally. I
Speaker 4: agree with you, it's a pass. I think the wise
Speaker 4: guys are looking at CJ. Stroud and thinking he's average.
Speaker 4: It's not that he's not progressing, it's that he's the
Speaker 4: protection's terrible, Like, well, he's playing like a normal quarterback right,
Speaker 4: and like his interception percentage was so low last year
Speaker 4: that it doubles this year, and all of a sudden
Speaker 4: it's at league average and everyone thinks, oh my god,
Speaker 4: there's something wrong with him. They're playing different defenses again,
Speaker 4: it's him, So his coverage is different, and he hasn't
Speaker 4: had his best players so and and the offensive line
Speaker 4: protection is terrible, truly terrible.
Speaker 2: You can tell he's letting go every thing a second
Speaker 2: early everything.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and he's also a gunslinger, right, Like he likes
Speaker 4: to let it go. He's not going to stop being aggressive.
Speaker 4: As he said last week, you got to shoot your shot.
Speaker 4: So I think that the wise guys are looking at
Speaker 4: this and saying division game on the road, JAG's last
Speaker 4: chance to make a stand. If Trevor Lawrence is playing,
Speaker 4: the sort of betting on the opportunity that he might
Speaker 4: be playing, and they thought the number was a little
Speaker 4: bit too high, so they're taking a piece of that
Speaker 4: while they can.
Speaker 2: I always have a gam every week. I want your expertise.
Speaker 2: So I think the Chargers are a better team than
Speaker 2: the Falcons, But I also think the Falcons are arrested.
Speaker 2: They're at home, and I think they're more explosive offensively.
Speaker 2: I feel like with the Chargers, and I've seen this
Speaker 2: now a couple of times this year, because they don't
Speaker 2: have playmakers. Quentin Johnson officially can't catch that. They score
Speaker 2: basically on big drives, nine play drives, ten play drives,
Speaker 2: eleven play drives. Well, you're asking for perfect football. You
Speaker 2: know Philadelphia can have penalties. Saquon Barkley up off a
Speaker 2: fifty seven yard er. AJ Brown over the top. You
Speaker 2: need freebies. You can't live on twelve play drives. And
Speaker 2: that's what the Chargers have to do. And the middle
Speaker 2: of their interior of their own line isn't good enough,
Speaker 2: so they get holding calls. They don't have receivers that separate.
Speaker 2: I'm guessing the Sharps like Atlanta plus one at home.
Speaker 4: Back and forth. The line actually moved up from one
Speaker 4: and a half to to two and a half. And
Speaker 4: I think that the sentiment is that people are actually
Speaker 4: impressed with the Chargers and that the difference in that
Speaker 4: game against the Ravens was JK. Dobbins leaving the game
Speaker 4: and it completely changed the tenor. And you're right about
Speaker 4: the offensive line, especially the interior the offensive line. That's
Speaker 4: where the Ravens were getting pressure. The Falcons can't get pressure.
Speaker 4: They're not the Ravens. They really can't get any pressure
Speaker 4: at all, and so that's not expected to be factor
Speaker 4: for the Chargers. I will tell you it's it's sort
Speaker 4: of and not. A line has come back down, which
Speaker 4: tells you that the wise guys felt the line had
Speaker 4: gotten too high, and there's been some buyback. And by
Speaker 4: the way, this is a very common thing. There are
Speaker 4: a lot of professional betters who might like the Falcons
Speaker 4: and want the line to be a little bit different.
Speaker 4: So early in the week, what do they do. They
Speaker 4: bet on the Chargers, say five grand, ten grand whatever,
Speaker 4: move the line up, and then when it gets to
Speaker 4: a certain point, they bet fifty grand, sixty grand on
Speaker 4: the Falcons. Right, So they're paying a little bit of
Speaker 4: a premium to get the line to move so they
Speaker 4: can get better price on the team they really want.
Speaker 4: That could have happened this week.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 4: I haven't heard that, but it's possible. So there's no
Speaker 4: it's a long way of saying there's no real consensus
Speaker 4: here on what this game should.
Speaker 2: Be okay, Chad, And there's always one that I missed.
Speaker 2: Seahawks at the Jets is interesting to me. I kind
Speaker 2: of like Kansas City, big favorite over the Raiders. I'll
Speaker 2: stay away. What's the one I missed?
Speaker 4: Well, look the wise guys like the Jets. I'm sorry
Speaker 4: to say. It's so interesting because on one New York team,
Speaker 4: you've got locker room turmoil, you've got quarterback intrigue, you've
Speaker 4: got players who are frustrated with the coaching. You've got
Speaker 4: an owner who is incredibly frustrated with how the personnel
Speaker 4: has sort of fleshed out. And then you've got another
Speaker 4: New York team where the owner is basically entering his
Speaker 4: Montgomery Burns phase. Right, he is taking a helicopter, landing
Speaker 4: it on the field. The GM is standing next to
Speaker 4: a coach when the helicopter lands and said, if I
Speaker 4: don't come back, it's been a pleasure to serve with you.
Speaker 4: And then the GM actually gets fired. And this is
Speaker 4: after the coach. The owner had fired the coach without
Speaker 4: telling anybody, and after the owner had traded for a
Speaker 4: receiver without telling anybody, and openly opine should we be
Speaker 4: bencing Annon Rodgers? And yet the wise guys, they've been
Speaker 4: betting the Giants, but they like the Jets a lot
Speaker 4: more against Seattle. I think part of it is like,
Speaker 4: this is the time to grab a number that is
Speaker 4: overinflated on Seattle as much as anything else. So they're
Speaker 4: on that. The wise guys. Of course they're going to
Speaker 4: be on the Raiders. It's not even it's not even
Speaker 4: a question. They were on the Raiders when the line
Speaker 4: was at thirteen and a half thirteen, twelve and a
Speaker 4: half twelve. It got that back up by the public
Speaker 4: because Aidan O'Connell was announced as the quarterback. The wise
Speaker 4: guys are now just going to wait see how much
Speaker 4: more they can, how much of a better price they
Speaker 4: can get between now and kickoff on Friday. They're gonna
Speaker 4: buy the Raiders. One team that I asked you to
Speaker 4: look at last week, Carolina.
Speaker 2: Panthers work nine. What's the line?
Speaker 4: The line is six, So the Carolina they hosted the
Speaker 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaker 2: So the Carolina Panthers at home plus six against Tampa Bay. Yes, yes,
Speaker 2: well I mean Tampa. The wise guys like it. I
Speaker 2: don't say, well, Baker played perfect, So they come back
Speaker 2: down to Earth. I'll be honest with you. I think
Speaker 2: both Will Levis and Bryce Young for Tennessee and Carolina respectively,
Speaker 2: in a weak college quarterback draft class, have extended their
Speaker 2: starting franchise career one more year. I think Bryce Young
Speaker 2: and Will Levis looked like, now, let's give them another year.
Speaker 4: I think that's one hundred percent accurate, which is what
Speaker 4: Bryce Young has been the past few games. And so
Speaker 4: you know in that Kansas City game, he was throwing darts, yeah,
Speaker 4: and keeping them in the game, and every time you
Speaker 4: looked up, they were driving. And the Bucks defense it's
Speaker 4: not as good as Kansas City's. They're playing at home.
Speaker 4: Six points in the division is a ton. You're getting
Speaker 4: an inflation on the line because of what the Bucks
Speaker 4: just did to the Giants. So the wise guys like
Speaker 4: the Panthers. Look, I love the Panthers to start the year,
Speaker 4: and they burn me consecutive weeks. So I sort of
Speaker 4: stayed away from them and even publicly talking about them.
Speaker 4: I went back on them big last week, and I
Speaker 4: was glad that I did. I'm a little anxious going
Speaker 4: back to the Well and the Panthers again, but I
Speaker 4: have been the Panthers at plus six. I just feel
Speaker 4: like it's still.
Speaker 1: A right spot.
Speaker 4: It's going to change, but I'm hoping that it doesn't
Speaker 4: this week.
Speaker 2: So I don't throw your curves, but I want to
Speaker 2: talk USC Notre Dame. Notre Dame getting plus seven and
Speaker 2: a half so early in the week. I like Notre Dame.
Speaker 2: Riley Leonard has cleaned up his game, no turnovers. They
Speaker 2: are a team that runs the football. USC not great
Speaker 2: defending the run, and I think they're well coached. I
Speaker 2: like their culture. USC is playing a quarterback who started
Speaker 2: the year on the bench, completes about fifty five percent
Speaker 2: of his throws. Much looser and mistake prone than Miller Moss,
Speaker 2: but more athletic. They can move the pocket, which Lincoln
Speaker 2: Riley historically likes. USC's got some really nice perimeter weapons.
Speaker 2: They're at home, no pressure, I mean, I mean, and
Speaker 2: I think USC. They beat LSU, they beat UCLA, and
Speaker 2: they had Penn State beat They're not bad. Every USC
Speaker 2: game looks the exact same. It's close, they lead in
Speaker 2: the fourth, then they even lose to Maryland. So my
Speaker 2: take is I've gone back and said, you know what,
Speaker 2: they're gonna lose, But I'm taking the hook. I'm taking
Speaker 2: USC plus seven and a half. What are the sharp
Speaker 2: saying on that?
Speaker 4: Yeah, if you're getting the hook at home, you should
Speaker 4: be taking it. That's sort of the tipping point in
Speaker 4: a game like this. The challenge with everything you've said
Speaker 4: is the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame is now fifth
Speaker 4: in the College Football Playoff rankings. Every game, every win,
Speaker 4: every margin of victory, every op dick is going to
Speaker 4: matter going forward. And I know, like they're locked in
Speaker 4: with Oregon and Penn State and Ohio State and Texas,
Speaker 4: like those are the teams that the College Football Playoff
Speaker 4: is really thinking about as one through four. But Notre
Speaker 4: Dame is still playing for something that matters in terms
Speaker 4: of positioning with the people with the teams behind them.
Speaker 4: So that's what scares me a little bit about this
Speaker 4: game and USC. You're not wrong, but some of these
Speaker 4: games you're talking about they were earlier in the year
Speaker 4: and they were a different team, and there's been a
Speaker 4: lot of turmoil with that organization the past month, between
Speaker 4: the changing and the quarterbacks, between the fines, you know, people,
Speaker 4: the recruits who have been decommitting and going to other places.
Speaker 4: You know that USC team and culture much better than
Speaker 4: I do. But that feels like an organization where they
Speaker 4: need this to be a competitive game in a different
Speaker 4: way than Notre Dame does. And Notre Dame is playing
Speaker 4: for something right now that feels much much bigger to
Speaker 4: me than what USC is playing for. I'm waffling here.
Speaker 4: You take the hook, but it's not a game I
Speaker 4: want any piece.
Speaker 2: Of all right, that's fair. Yeah, it's funny about this
Speaker 2: transfer portal. Colorado, LSU, and USC have used it a lot,
Speaker 2: and all three of them the season's always end disappointing.
Speaker 2: Why because, in my opinion, this is one of my
Speaker 2: theories that you can use the transfer portal to plug holes.
Speaker 2: It's very hard to build a culture with all the
Speaker 2: interlopers and newcomers, and so what happens over the course
Speaker 2: of a season at USC, LSU, and Colorado when you
Speaker 2: face adversity is when you need a great culture. And
Speaker 2: they have better talent, but they don't have great cultures.
Speaker 2: They don't have guys that have been together for four
Speaker 2: years since high school, and so LSU, Colorado USC heavy
Speaker 2: transfer portal, whereas a Notre Dame very little transfer portal,
Speaker 2: great culture with Marcus Freeman, they had an early loss
Speaker 2: that was awful. They've gotten stronger because their culture is better.
Speaker 2: So you look at these teams that had early setbacks,
Speaker 2: and setbacks can splinter locker rooms, and these heavy transfer
Speaker 2: portal teams, they all get bad at the end of
Speaker 2: the season. A lot of people start going their own way.
Speaker 2: The nil guys are looking at the pros so Ole Miss,
Speaker 2: by the way, everybody loves Old Miss. Yeah, what happens
Speaker 2: against an inferior Florida team they don't play well. Guys
Speaker 2: now are going to start heading in their own directions.
Speaker 2: So that's what I think I've found from the transfer portal.
Speaker 2: I can think two things. I like it, but I
Speaker 2: wouldn't want to build around it. It's important, but I
Speaker 2: don't want it to be my primary infrastructure.
Speaker 4: I'm going to give you an example that supports both
Speaker 4: sides of your theory. Indiana Hoosiers, who I went to Indiana. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I love him. I've been so excited for this team
Speaker 4: all year. Obviously, heavy Portalnetti, they used the transfer portal heavily,
Speaker 4: But what they did was they basically took the entire
Speaker 4: team from James Madison and plugged them in. So yeah,
Speaker 4: it worked for them. But the reason it worked for
Speaker 4: them is because they maintained a culture that existed with
Speaker 4: Kurt Signetti from where he was before and then brought
Speaker 4: it to Bloomington. And that's translated in a very successful way.
Speaker 4: And what's more interesting to me also about this is
Speaker 4: I think there is an opportunity for teams like Indiana,
Speaker 4: who have been middling teams to get the fourth fifth
Speaker 4: year seniors who want to keep playing college football. They
Speaker 4: might not be great NFL players, but they're incredibly effective, productive,
Speaker 4: workman like college football players, and they're adults. So instead
Speaker 4: of the sophomore five star who's not getting any playing
Speaker 4: time in his transferring from Texas to Ole Miss, they're
Speaker 4: getting the fourth year mac quarterback who was really good
Speaker 4: and is time to see if he can stretch his
Speaker 4: game to the next level. And he's an adult, and
Speaker 4: that's just a different kind of player in college football.
Speaker 4: I'm not saying now Indiana has a ceiling on this.
Speaker 4: We saw it against Ohio State. You got to get
Speaker 4: athletes and people on the edge and all that kind
Speaker 4: of stuff. But I think you can build a really
Speaker 4: successful program through the portal if you're getting guys who
Speaker 4: are just great college football players and not necessarily the
Speaker 4: highest ceiling athletes.
Speaker 1: The volume