Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:11 Hey everyone. It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me.
Speaker 2 00:00:16 I was, you stole my intro <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:00:18 Were you gonna do
Speaker 2 00:00:20 That? I was actually gonna do that. <laugh>,
Speaker 1 00:00:23 Like, like, we're definitely the first two people in the world who have thought to start off a show with that intro. Now, uh, for those who don't know, that's Taylor Swift's anti-hero. It's a great jam. But
Speaker 2 00:00:36 It is the, the whole new album is, is a great jam. Honestly,
Speaker 1 00:00:39 I haven't listened to it yet, but I am Brian.
Speaker 2 00:00:44 Right. And I'm Slippery <laugh>. This
Speaker 1 00:00:47 Is snorkeling with Narwhals. Uh,
Speaker 2 00:00:51 So we're professionals. We
Speaker 1 00:00:52 Are professionals. Uh, so our episode has nothing to do with Taylor Swift, actually. Uh, it has to do with football. So, great segue into, you know, talking about, we're gonna talk about our teams, our favorite teams, and the state of their seasons right now. So I am a Los Angeles Frames fan. And slippery. You are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, which is unfortunate, but
Speaker 2 00:01:18 Born and raised.
Speaker 1 00:01:19 Well, yeah, you live in Pittsburgh, so it's fine.
Speaker 2 00:01:23 Yes. And, and you have, uh, no reason to be a, a Rams fan.
Speaker 1 00:01:29 <laugh>. I do though, because like the lo when I was little, I liked the logo. That's back when it was just the Ram horn. They didn't have like an actual logo, so I called them the Swirls. Um, I don't know. Plus I live, oh no, I live equally from like three cities that have NFL teams. I have no allegiance like to any of them.
Speaker 2 00:01:51 Right. Yeah. Being in theory is sort of, I guess, uh, yeah, it's a, an NFL oasis.
Speaker 1 00:01:58 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:01:58 Or no, that's the wrong term. Oasis is a good thing.
Speaker 1 00:02:02 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:02:03 Um, it's a desert.
Speaker 1 00:02:04 A desert <laugh>. Everyone's like, why don't you root for the Steelers? I'm like, cuz I'm not from Pittsburgh. But, you know, I don't know. I don't like the brands. I kinda like the bills. The bills are kind of fun to root for right now. But
Speaker 2 00:02:19 Yeah. And they're super fun to watch.
Speaker 1 00:02:21 They are fun to launch regardless
Speaker 2 00:02:23 Of your feelings.
Speaker 1 00:02:24 <laugh>. Yeah. Historically I have no, like, love for the bills. Um, so yeah, we're gonna start. Do you wanna start with the, I'll start, let's start with the Rams, cuz my notes kind of go in that order.
Speaker 2 00:02:36 Yeah, that makes sense. Um,
Speaker 1 00:02:38 Okay, so for those listening, you may be football fans, you may be not. Uh, the Rams won the Super Bowl last year, which I will never let anyone forget and hopes were high for this coming season. Like we lost a couple players. Vaughn Miller, Andrew Whitworth were just a couple of 'em. Uh, O Beckham Jr. Didn't resign cuz he is injured. We lost Robert Woods. Johnny Hecker my favorite punter in the history of punters.
Speaker 2 00:03:07 Well, o o bj may come back.
Speaker 1 00:03:09 They said he may come back December maybe,
Speaker 2 00:03:11 But there's like six teams that want to grab him, obviously.
Speaker 1 00:03:15 Oh yeah. He's gonna be a hot commodity. So hopes were still high. Cuz then we got Bobby Wagner and Alan Robinson. Um,
Speaker 2 00:03:23 Who's, who's done nothing for
Speaker 1 00:03:24 You. We'll get to that.
Speaker 2 00:03:26 <laugh> <laugh>. Yeah, we'll,
Speaker 1 00:03:31 I said like immediately after winning the Super Bowl that the Rams could do anything this year. Like they could be horrible. I'd be fine with it. I lied. I am <laugh>. I'm not having a great time right now. So the Rams are three and three, which is not awful. I mean, they're second in the division, they're right behind Seattle, which is crazy in its own right. But we're tied with San Francisco right now for a second. And like that's okay. The teams we lost to are good teams. We lost to Buffalo, we lost to Dallas and San Francisco. Like, there's really no shame in losing to any of those teams.
Speaker 2 00:04:13 But yeah, a lot of, a lot of people are are pretty down on the Rams post Super Bowl here. And I I I agree with you. I mean, they lost to I would say three great teams in the league, like probably three playoff teams. So there's, there's definitely hope
Speaker 1 00:04:28 There is. Now what looks bad is I went on pro football reference and the Rams are scoring 17.3 points a game, which is 29th in the N F L
Speaker 2 00:04:38 <laugh>. That
Speaker 1 00:04:39 Is horrible.
Speaker 2 00:04:41 Yeah, I'm, I'm looking at the, the standings now, like on, on the Google and uh, it says Points Forest is, uh, 1 0 4 and then points allowed is 1 26. It's not, that's, I think your record is probably, uh, a little better than maybe it should be with those numbers. Well,
Speaker 1 00:05:00 So that's the thing. We're giving up 21 points per game. That's not awful. Like,
Speaker 2 00:05:05 No, it's not awful.
Speaker 1 00:05:06 But that's three touchdowns. But I mean, like, that's really not a ton of points in the scheme of things. Um, so
Speaker 2 00:05:15 It's more, it's more points than my team can even put up in a single game. So yeah.
Speaker 1 00:05:19 So the defense is not doing bad. Uh, I'm gonna talk about some of the players as the awkwardly Segueways <laugh> Cam acres coming back was supposed to be the starter. I have no idea what happened. He was supposed to start or at least be like, you know, one of one, like one and one a with Daryl, uh, Henderson. But he started out horribly. He had like three snaps in the first game and then he played a little Okay. And now it looks like he's getting traded. Yeah. Like not practicing with the team.
Speaker 2 00:05:56 And he's injured, I think.
Speaker 1 00:05:58 Is he injured?
Speaker 2 00:05:59 Uh, he's listed as doubtful. Maybe that's cuz of the,
Speaker 1 00:06:02 I might, it might be because they're just like, we're done with you.
Speaker 2 00:06:05 Yeah, they, they, I mean they were so, I don't know it, it's weird, but like Cam Makers seemed like everybody was all in on him and then all of a sudden it flipped just overnight. Well, yeah, I don't know what the backup plan is. I mean, Darrel Henderson honestly on just the eye test looks better than him, but
Speaker 1 00:06:23 He does look better.
Speaker 2 00:06:24 Um, I don't know that they're committed to him.
Speaker 1 00:06:27 Well, and that's the thing too, is like, remember during the playoffs last year, everyone was like, wow, cam came back from a tour. Achilles, like look how, like courageous he is. Look how, you know, he's playing less than a year after or whatever. And now like the, the script is completely flipped on him and I don't, like, there's something we don't know.
Speaker 2 00:06:49 I think so. I I think that they may be making a, a play like kind of what the 49ers did. Um, well, you know, it's not, it's definitely not, not different from the Ram strategy from last year to just, you know, move every player available in the NFL <laugh> into their charts.
Speaker 1 00:07:07 <laugh>. Well, yeah, from what I hear, uh, part of why San Francisco was so aggressive, you're talking about getting Christian McCaffrey Oh yeah. From Carolina is cuz the Rams were also kind of aggressive in getting Christian McCaffrey and I'm really glad that they didn't. Yeah, because I don't think that's the problem. I mean, I think the biggest problem that the Rams have is that they have no offensive line.
Speaker 2 00:07:31 Yep.
Speaker 1 00:07:31 Andrew Whitworth retired, uh, Rob Haven Stein is the right tackle. I believe I should know that more definitively. He's the right tackle. Um, we're getting Brian Allen back, who I believe is the center. You can tell, I know the line is bad, but I don't know who exactly is on it, but it's been, it's, the line has been atrocious. Like it has been shuffling all over the place. Like, you know, it's never the same lineup twice. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and that really is like a make or break thing for a team. Like if your offensive line sucks, like you're probably not gonna be very good.
Speaker 2 00:08:07 No, and honestly, I, I agree with you. I think, you know, if you look at Henderson's numbers or even acres before, like they're fine for a running back. But like the main issue, a lot of people are pointing fingers at Stafford and I think his issues are just, he's under pressure and getting sacked all the time. Yeah. So he is gonna throw some picks and that's been happening. I mean, he's been, I have him in a couple of fantasy leagues cuz of course you think, you know, paired with Cooper Cup who is gonna be amazing. Right. And that's like the only person who he connects with now. Right. And it's, it's really bad. Right. Um, so they need, they need to protect him for sure.
Speaker 1 00:08:45 They do like trade for alignment. I don't know who, uh, begged for Andrew Whitworth to come out of retirement. Like I would take 41 year old Andrew Whitworth over whoever our left tackle is right now.
Speaker 2 00:08:59 He's doing commentary or something. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:09:01 For Thursday night
Speaker 2 00:09:02 Football. Yeah. I don't think he's coming back. Once you do that, do you ever play
Speaker 1 00:09:06 Again? He's done. Yeah. Especially cuz lineman, I mean he still looks pretty big, but lineman tend to lose a lot of weight like really fast after they retire. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:09:13 <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 00:09:14 Yep. Um, but I still am holding out hope on Alan Robinson. He was our prized free agent receiver. He came from the Bears. He was supposed to be like the perfect number two receiver. And the logic, I was high on this guy and like every fantasy league mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and the logic was sound, you know, everyone was gonna go after Cooper Cup, so I was gonna leave Robinson wide open for, you know, for all the, the, I don't wanna say scraps, but you know, for perfect opportunities. And it just turns out that, like you said, they're just going to Cooper Cup all the time anyway. <laugh>. Right. Robinson like 170 yards through six games. That's horrible.
Speaker 2 00:09:58 They line up. Yeah. So they line up opposite of each other. And I'm, I don't know, I'm not sure of, uh, which Side Cup is on, but I kind of assume that he's on Stafford Strong side. Um, they say that's like a, an element that comes into play as like if you're on the, the throwing arm side, you often get more looks. But I assume Robinson is having an effect on, on the games. You know, like he's, he's playing a lot of snaps and he's probably drawing a lot of defensive looks, but Yeah. I mean he's, they're not connecting. Yeah. And Cup, if anything, I mean, he, he could be even better than last year. It's incredible. You know, only a few years ago, I never would've, I I equated him to like Adam Thelan.
Speaker 1 00:10:42 Here's the problem though. He could be like, and I mean, it'd be really hard cuz statistically he was incredible last year. Mm-hmm. But like, he could be statistically better this year. But the thing with him last year is we had other receivers who were also making plays and catching the ball. Um, if it's just Cooper Cup, even if he statistically is doing better, like, uh, it's not gonna do it. So
Speaker 2 00:11:13 Yeah. I, and I think, you know, like the, the general lack of depth on the offense is also a bad, bad situation. Like your, your team, like imagine not having Cooper Cup. Right. Or imagine not having Alan Robinson all of a sudden you have, if you have like two nobody receivers in that position. I mean, you're just, your offense is,
Speaker 1 00:11:35 Oh, I remember those days like 2008 or nine. Our starting receivers were Donnie Avery and Laron Robinson. Tell me if you've heard of either of them.
Speaker 2 00:11:45 No, I don't know those names
Speaker 1 00:11:46 Exactly. <laugh>. I don't want to go back. It was a scary time. Um, but I went through the schedule and I'm, I'm definitely biased because it's hard to, to objectively pick games like where your team is playing. But I have them finishing at 11 and six, which in, we're gonna go more in depth on picks later, but that has them as the seven seed, which I'm like, I could see that. I could also see the wheels completely falling off. But seven seed, like that sounds like best case scenario right now.
Speaker 2 00:12:26 Yeah. I'm, I don't know if, uh, we covered it on the pod, but before the season started back in August, I was, um, I had the Rams clenching the, the nfc, honestly, I, I was that high on them. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I just thought, you know, not much is gonna have changed. And, you know, given the even the line situation, I was like, yeah, I still think they're gonna be an excellent team. And then, you know, coming out of the gate even, you know, just losing to like the 49ers for instance, or any of those teams, even the Cowboys, uh, it's kind of like, uh, they're not the Rams of last year, that's for sure. Right. I think, I think you're probably right to say, you know, play off hopeful. Um, yeah. But I don't see them clenching the conference
Speaker 1 00:13:11 For sure. It's not gonna, I mean, again, that's fun. They won the Super Bowl last year, but
Speaker 2 00:13:17 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Speaker 1 00:13:19 It would've been nice to get another one, but I don't think it's gonna happen. So we'll move on to your team, the Steelers.
Speaker 2 00:13:28 Yeah. Uh, so the Steelers are an interesting team this year. Uh, they're kind of fun to watch. We have a rookie quarterback, obviously, um, who, who just got started, what is it now? And maybe he's on his third game.
Speaker 1 00:13:42 I think it's his third start.
Speaker 2 00:13:43 Yeah, third start. Yeah. And he's, it, I was texting with a friend yesterday and he's essentially a clone of Trubisky right now, which means that his ceiling is much higher. Um, yeah. You know, so we started Trubisky the first few games and then switched over and, uh, you know, he's, he's making rookie mistakes, which I have room for. I think I have time for it this season for, um, him to, you know, throw the picks and kind of make bad decisions and, and whatnot. And he is pressured a lot, so mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, there are obvious issues with the line as well. Um, so I'm hopeful that we have a good draft and actually get some decent linemen there, uh, in the next season because I think that we're basically that away from being a superb team. Um, now on the defensive side, obviously we've had TJ Wat out, uh, with, I think it's like a torn
Speaker 1 00:14:44 Doctoral
Speaker 2 00:14:45 Or bicep or something, I think. Yeah, yeah. But he never needed surgery. Uh, it's a pretty serious injury ordinarily, but, um, my guess is he comes back after the buy and will be, I mean, leaps and bounds better with him. You know, we beat the Bengals barely in the season opener, and he played like a madman in that game. Um, so I, you know, the, they keep showing in every single broadcast whenever my team's on air. Um, they keep showing the stats with wat and then without wat and it's, it's like, I don't know, it's like three yards a player or something different. <laugh>. It's
Speaker 1 00:15:24 Terrible. Yeah, no, wat is, I mean, he won defensive Player of the year last year, wasn't he?
Speaker 2 00:15:29 He did, yeah. Yeah. And I think he may, I, I was looking at this a little while ago. I think he may be like the top paid player on our team. Um, and he's one of the top, top paid, uh, defensive players in the league as well, which makes sense. I mean, he's, he's a beast on the field and, uh, yeah. So if we get him back and Fitzpatrick make a Fitzpatrick stays healthy, I think we have a, a really good team and a decent run at it. You know, everybody talks about the, the Tomlin 500 record, and I think actually we could Pi probably hit that. Um, but we do have a difficult schedule, uh, one of the, one of the more difficult schedules they say in the league. Um, so yeah, I think I'm happy with the team. I don't have high hopes for the team long term this season, but I do think, uh, longer term, you know, assuming we continue to improve on the quarterback and make the right calls in the draft next year, we could probably have a, a really, really, really good, uh, 23, uh, 24 season.
Speaker 1 00:16:35 I could see that. Um, I have to say, I'm, I went the complete opposite though. I think Mike Tomlin's getting his first losing season this year, <laugh>, um,
Speaker 2 00:16:45 Most people feel that way.
Speaker 1 00:16:47 <laugh>. I have them going four and 13.
Speaker 2 00:16:50 Four and 13. Okay. What are we right now? I need to, I need to actually pull that out.
Speaker 1 00:16:55 Two and five.
Speaker 2 00:16:55 Two and five. Yeah. I, yeah, I mean, I disagree. I I don't have an actual record picked, but here I'll pull up the games and then I'll tell you how wrong you are. Hmm. All right. So yeah, we have, oh my gosh, we have the Eagles and then the Saints, the Bengals, the cults, the Falcons, the Ravens, the Panthers, the Raiders, the Ravens, the Browns. So I think we lose to the Eagles. Yeah. We beat the Saints.
Speaker 1 00:17:24 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:17:25 I think we beat the Bengals again. Mm. Uh,
Speaker 1 00:17:28 I think the Bengals are turning it on.
Speaker 2 00:17:30 They are turning it on. All right. So let's say we lose that. We beat the Saints and then we beat the Colts.
Speaker 1 00:17:36 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:17:37 So the, there's your four already. And then we have Falcons who are a tricky team. There's go either way difficult. Yeah, that's a 50 50 Ravens are looking really good. Yeah. Um, so maybe we lose both of those. I think we beat the Panthers. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:17:54 I
Speaker 2 00:17:54 Don't think the Panthers
Speaker 1 00:17:55 Are good. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:17:56 So there's five, uh, Raiders. I just don't know what to
Speaker 1 00:18:01 Do with that too. I think the Raiders are better than,
Speaker 2 00:18:03 They're better than their record. Yeah. Yeah. Like yeah, that division, I don't know what happened because I had basically all of them going into the playoffs at the beginning of the
Speaker 1 00:18:15 Season.
Speaker 2 00:18:15 Let's ride. Oh my gosh. Let's ride <laugh>. Yeah. Just let Russ Cook. Sure.
Speaker 1 00:18:21 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:18:23 All right. Let's say we win one of the Ravens games and, uh, I don't think we beat the Browns in January with Deshaun Watson back, so, uh, who knows. Yeah, you might be right. I mean, even if like best case scenario might be six games, but I'm optimistic. Um, you know, I'm optimistic beyond that. I do think, I think we can get a couple of those out. I mean, nobody expected us to beat the box.
Speaker 1 00:18:50 No, that's true. And I'm, I'm, I hate the Steelers, but you know, it is nice to see them beat Brady. I'm
Speaker 2 00:18:57 Fond it is with that. Yeah. It's nice to get some revenge on the guy who Yeah. You know, basically has always blocked us from getting anywhere when we had good teams. Yeah. Um, yeah. So I, you know, I'm, I'm hopeful, but it is, uh,
Speaker 1 00:19:11 <laugh>, it could be a rough year
Speaker 2 00:19:12 Road ahead. It could be a rough year, but you're right. And I don't know that one is gonna be ready
Speaker 1 00:19:16 Up for an a good next year, and sometimes that has to happen, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it's like they were saying the big thing for the Rams was like, oh, Sean McVay has never had a losing record. So first game of the season, obviously they've lost to the bills. It's like, okay, like now it's happened. It's like Tomlin's never had a losing record. Like, well, eventually, statistically, like it gotta happen <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:19:42 So I, because of this, did you see my tweets about coach records?
Speaker 1 00:19:48 No.
Speaker 2 00:19:49 Okay. So I did some research on this. This is a quick tangent, I promise. Um, I, I pulled a bunch of data from Wikipedia on head coach records, uh, who are currently in the league, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And statistically I found statistical significance that the longer a coach is with their team, the better they are, like the better the team is. So like Bill Belichick has like a 72% win percentage. Now he had phenomenal teams there, but as time goes on, what you see is that the winningest coaches are also like the oldest guys <laugh>. So, huh. You have like Pete Carroll, Andy Reid, John Harbaugh, Mike Tom, yeah. Those guys are all at the top. And then you have, um, Sean McDermott, uh, and then Sean McVey, and then you have Kyle Shanahan who like hovers right around 500, which has Yeah. Been a storyline this season. Um, but you know, these, these guys are basically the old guard. And then if you look below that, everybody is newer than basically four years mm-hmm. <affirmative> and all of them, like the majority of them have, uh, losing records. And the rest of it is like, okay, you've, you've had 17 games, what do I know about you
Speaker 1 00:21:11 <laugh>. Right.
Speaker 2 00:21:13 Um, so it is really interesting to see that, you know, if you're a betting person, probably just bet on the head coach, because even though, even though, you know, everybody thought the Patriots weren't gonna be awful this year, they do continue to pull out wins.
Speaker 1 00:21:27 Yeah. I mean, not last week. That was pretty
Speaker 2 00:21:30 Bad. It was pretty bad. But, but yeah, I mean, if you, if you were betting across an entire season, I would say Oh, okay. Okay. You know, that, that's something to look at. But,
Speaker 1 00:21:40 So we're gonna move on now, uh, to a broader topic. We have playoff picks. I don't know if you did like a playoff standings. I did,
Speaker 2 00:21:50 Yeah. I have mine from August. Uh, and then I also have it pulled up here for what I want it to be now, because Oh my gosh. Are things different? All right. So I'll go down, uh, AFC first. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so I have the Bills and the Patriots and the Dolphins, and that is unchanged, uh, from the beginning of the year. Okay. I, I think all of those teams from the AFC East will get into the playoffs. Uh, and I think the Bills clinch the conference and the other two are probably wild cards. And then AFC West, I'm gonna say the Chiefs clinch that division. I think that's a no-brainer. Yeah. Um, and then right now, I don't think anybody else in that division makes it, uh, you know, I don't see the Broncos chargers or Raiders turning it around faster. I
Speaker 1 00:22:47 Have the Chargers going 10 and seven.
Speaker 2 00:22:49 10 and seven Okay. Has
Speaker 1 00:22:51 The six seeds. So I,
Speaker 2 00:22:53 That team just doesn't have any chemistry in
Speaker 1 00:22:56 When I watch them. No, that's the thing. Like, could they make the playoffs? Yes. Could they miss it? Yeah. Like equal it either choice is like equally likely.
Speaker 2 00:23:05 Right. And then what do they do in the playoffs? I mean
Speaker 1 00:23:07 Right. They're probably a one and done.
Speaker 2 00:23:10 And at the start of the season, I had, I had thought that they would, uh, actually be better than the Chiefs this year because I thought the Hill thing was gonna be big for the
Speaker 1 00:23:18 Chiefs out.
Speaker 2 00:23:20 I think Herbert, they're very explosive.
Speaker 1 00:23:22 Yeah. Without Hill. It's like they're just throwing it to everyone else now. And Kelsey, of course. Right. But I think, I feel like Herbert's still hurt Justin Herbert, like
Speaker 2 00:23:32 He's definitely playing through it. Yeah. What is his ribs?
Speaker 1 00:23:34 Cartilage? Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, e everyone's like, oh, Herbert's, Herbert's not the MVP candidate. We thought he was gonna be. I'm like, yeah, I'm pretty sure he is injured. <laugh>. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:23:45 Yeah. Yeah. He's definitely injured. And ribs aren't, aren't like, uh, an overnight fix. Right. Uh, in fact, they're not going to heal if you're playing through them, I would guess. Right. Um,
Speaker 1 00:23:56 So who else you got? You got the AFC South and the north.
Speaker 2 00:24:00 Yeah, north and south. So <laugh> at the start of the season, I was so optimistic about the Steelers.
Speaker 1 00:24:06 The more I remember,
Speaker 2 00:24:08 And I no longer think we make playoffs. I think maybe we get to, maybe we get to like seven or eight wins, but, uh, yeah, we'll have to see. Uh, yeah. So then I'm trying to decide here how many teams I got left. I have three left. So yeah, I picked the Bengals tentatively to get there North. Um, and then I'm going with the Ravens as the other team there, um, over the Browns. And that's only because I do think Burette is probably gonna, he's, even though he's not playing like the full season mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, I think he sabotages their record just enough to keep, um, Watson and the rest of the Browns out. Yeah. For the playoffs. They agree. I also think that the story of Watson going to the playoffs, like is a bad look <laugh>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they're gonna wanna minimize his screen time this year. They won't care next year. In fact, maybe they don't care this year. It is the N
Speaker 1 00:25:10 F L. No, but I, I do think you're right. They're just not good enough now for it to matter when Watson comes back.
Speaker 2 00:25:17 Right. So I, I, yeah. I just don't see it. Um, yeah. And if we believe in manipulation, then they're gonna keep them out. <laugh>. Uh, and then I was really strong on the cults at the beginning of the year. Um, I really thought that they were gonna be good in the AFC South, but they are just not Matt
Speaker 1 00:25:38 And Brian getting benched.
Speaker 2 00:25:40 Yeah. He, that is quite the story. They're, they said, um, he's injured. Yes. But even when he's not injured, we will not start him. <laugh>. Yeah. <laugh>. So like, they, they have just been a mess since, uh, what is it? Luck. I mean, at the quarterback position, they're, they're nowhere. And then even if you wanna look back, like from a coaching standpoint, since Dge left, it's like, have the cults been notable?
Speaker 1 00:26:09 Not, uh, like every few seasons, but not, not particularly. I think Frank Re is like, now that you've done this, it's like you're coaching for your job. Like
Speaker 2 00:26:19 Yeah. It's, that's, that's the question. You're
Speaker 1 00:26:22 Probably gonna get fired if this like sixth round quarterback from last year isn't amazing, so mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, it's not, not looking good for him. So who do you have, I'm guessing probably the Titans.
Speaker 2 00:26:36 Yeah, I, I have a question mark over the Titans and the Jags. I, I don't know Trevor Lawrence actually, actually, you know, speaking of, uh, I was talking about Kenny Pickett earlier. He, he actually reminds me of Trevor Lawrence from last year. Um, yeah. So if, if this is the trajectory, I'm kind of fine with it. I think that the Jaguars could be the team. Um,
Speaker 1 00:27:00 They need to do it now then,
Speaker 2 00:27:02 But they need to do it now. Yeah. Whereas like the Titans just, I don't know if you recall last year, they randomly were just the best team in the Yeah, yeah. It was really weird. It's like, why is that record so good? The Titans aren't good. And they didn't even have Henry for the full season. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. It was so strange. And I think the same thing will happen again. Okay. Uh, I don't think they're gonna like clench the conference or anything like that, but,
Speaker 1 00:27:25 So our AFC teams were almost identical. Um, I'm gonna go down one through seven. I have the Bills, chiefs, Ravens, Titans, Bengals, chargers, and Dolphins.
Speaker 2 00:27:41 Uh, the Dolphins. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:27:43 Yeah. I'll just run through my, like the playoff games. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I have the Chiefs beating the Dolphins, the Ravens beating the Chargers and the Titans beating the Bengals and the wild card around.
Speaker 2 00:27:56 Okay.
Speaker 1 00:27:57 I have the Bills beating the Bengals and the Chiefs beating the Ravens and the divisional round. So no huge like shockers here. I have the Bills and Chiefs and the AFC title game's, and I have the Bills winnings.
Speaker 2 00:28:09 Yep. Yep. I'm the same the whole way through there. Yep. On that. Uh, yeah, I think the way the bills are playing and the Chiefs are playing, it's gonna be the two of them. And really those games are always good. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:28:20 They
Speaker 2 00:28:21 Are. So yeah, it's anyone's guess who would win it, um, just because they are kind of up in the air, but the way the bills are playing right now, I mean, it's literally they cannot be beaten. Yeah. They are so soak
Speaker 1 00:28:33 Good. Well, except by the Dolphins with Ken Dorsey throwing his tablet.
Speaker 2 00:28:36 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:28:37 <laugh>. But, uh, so we'll move on to the nfc. I'll, I'll go with mine first.
Speaker 2 00:28:42 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:28:42 So I have the equals as the one seed. I don't see really where they fall off. Uh, two, I have the Vikings, which was weird to me, like I didn't expect to, but I went through their schedule twice and I'm like, well, I guess, I guess I expect them to be good. Uh, San Francisco at three. Atlanta at four, which shocked me. Like when I've, because I went through every game remaining and like, just picked them to see like what would come out. And then the wild cards, I have the Giants, the Cowboys, and the Rams. So, um, my playoff games, I have the Vikings beating the Rams, the Niners losing to the Cowboys and the Giants beating the Falcons. I don't know why I did that in that order, but, uh, divisional, I have the Eagles beating the Cowboys and the Vikings beating the Giants. So, you know, I'm not going very, I'm going with the chalk here based on my own predictions, uh, with Eagles, Vikings, and the NFC title game with the Eagles winning. What do you got? Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:29:46 Yeah, I have the same thing there. Um, I have Eagles, number one overall Cowboys. Um, I, I am tempted to, to go with the Giants, but I just don't know if there's room for them. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, but I, yeah, let's, let's go with the Giants and then in the West, I can't pick the Seahawks. No, I can't pick the Cardinals at this point. No. And I'm sorry buddy, but I'm gonna go with the 49ers.
Speaker 1 00:30:13 Yeah, it's fine. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:30:15 No problem. And then
Speaker 1 00:30:16 I hate you
Speaker 2 00:30:17 <laugh>. And then, uh, yeah, in the, in the north, I really thought that the Packers were gonna be good, kind of like everybody, but at this point, it's not even a storyline. Like they're just bad.
Speaker 1 00:30:30 Yeah. They're, they're not good. What
Speaker 2 00:30:32 Do I, so I'm going
Speaker 1 00:30:33 Have 'em going, I have 'em going eight or nine.
Speaker 2 00:30:35 Yeah. And, and, and that could be up in the air. I mean, maybe they get the receiver chemistry going again, or maybe they, maybe they grab o bj. Um, yeah. But you know, that's gonna be the only thing that would turn it around at this point. Uh, yeah, I have the Vikings winning that division. Um, and I am, I'm big on the Lions, but at this point, the record is, is not lining up for a playoff run.
Speaker 1 00:31:02 Maybe next year.
Speaker 2 00:31:03 Maybe next year. I, I thought this would be it. And their, their games are so fun to watch, honestly. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which I never thought I would say about the Lions, but Oh my gosh, they're great. Uh, but yeah. And then in the South, um, actually the Saints really. Yeah. I think the Saints, and I don't, I don't think the Buccaneers make it, I don't think the Panthers make it, and I don't think the Falcons make it.
Speaker 1 00:31:30 Huh. It's weird that either of us picked the box, but
Speaker 2 00:31:34 Yeah. Don't,
Speaker 1 00:31:36 I'm not inspired.
Speaker 2 00:31:37 Yeah. I'm not inspired. And, and I, you know, I've been betting against Tom Brady for a couple years to drop off <laugh>. Yeah. So it's gotta happen. Hopefully he does. Right. And it sort of looks like it,
Speaker 1 00:31:48 Honestly. So who do you have winning the conference?
Speaker 2 00:31:53 Uh, I have the Eagles.
Speaker 1 00:31:55 Okay. So we both have a Bills Eagles Super Bowl
Speaker 2 00:31:58 For sure. And I see the Bills winning.
Speaker 1 00:32:00 I picked the bills also.
Speaker 2 00:32:02 Yeah. I think that the Eagles are an enticing, uh, pick. And it's always fun. Like the thing is with the Super Bowl, it's N FFC and AFC typically like, you know, there's just a difference in skill level across the conferences mm-hmm. <affirmative> often mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so it, it, it leads to a bit of blindness in terms of the, uh, the matchup. Yeah. Although I didn't actually look at their schedules. I don't know if they play each other. I assume not, but
Speaker 1 00:32:32 I don't think they do.
Speaker 2 00:32:34 Yeah. I think the bills get it. I, I can't believe how good they are. It, it's, it's the
Speaker 1 00:32:39 Astounding, it's popular pick. Everyone's going with it, but I'm like, I, I I think it is like, I think it is the Bills <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:32:48 They are, they are, both of those teams are probably like a, this is a, a nasty thing to say, but they're a sprained ankle away from <laugh> losing every game between now and then, though. Yeah. Like, they're so, uh, quarterback dependent. Yeah. I mean, the bills to a lesser extent. And that's why I, uh, ultimately give them the nod mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because I think their defense is great. And even with a backup quarterback, they would, they'd still be making huge plays. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, um, yeah. But I don't know.
Speaker 1 00:33:21 So that's it. That's the, that's it. The state of the Rams, the state of the Steelers, the state of the rest of the N f L,
Speaker 2 00:33:29 The state of the nation.
Speaker 1 00:33:30 The state of the na, isn't that a show?
Speaker 2 00:33:33 I don't know. It's actually, it should be State of the Union.
Speaker 1 00:33:36 Huh. Well, that's a speech <laugh>, but
Speaker 2 00:33:42 Plus London
Speaker 1 00:33:43 <laugh> Plus London. Oh. I'm trying to think of other lyrics from Antihero to finish with, but I don't know the song well enough. I don't know. Directly at the Sun, but never in the mirror <laugh>. Anyway,
Speaker 2 00:34:00 That'll, that'll
Speaker 1 00:34:01 Do. That'll do. I'm Brian
Speaker 2 00:34:03 And I'm
Speaker 1 00:34:04 Slippery. And this has been snorkeling with Narwhals. Bye everyone.
Speaker 2 00:34:08 So long.
