2020 Week 16 Preview

great guests. We have all these like kind of lovely partying shots and what the mean the whole year has meant to us? And then like twelve hours later, here we are taping another show. You know, I thought you were gonna speak of the numerous technical difficulties we had had the sound on the beginning of the show, which also is another very moment um. So apologies to the listeners for that. That was actually and before you start adding Rickey and shre Her on the subreddit, that was

not on her either. Issues with Colleen's Mike. That's just you know, listen, it's pandemic life. Sometimes things don't go the way we want on the technical side of things. That's life. Yep. Yeah, And I would say, you know, when if we want to look at at the whole process, we can lower the cost of these podcasts to the subscribers if they have um technical complaints. Wow, really coming out swinging And if I really I learned from our government to just like, if things go wrong, pretend it

never happened. I just don't even mention. That's another method that works. And if it does come down to where where we need to offer someone up as the sacrificial lamb, why not make it. Nobile are fill in producer today, Erica. We gotta have a little headstart on the holidays, so

no bile filling in. So if you have any any issues about the production quality, not just of today's show, which he is directly involved with, but any issues in the past, just head on over to Nobile corner wherever that might be right or check out his you know, I think he does some other podcasts. It's like it's about college football. It's but it's only around draft time with some some stickies, Mr Sticky or something like that. A lower level operation for sure. I'm not sure when

it airs. Welcome to the big leagues in the bill all right, how ho ho Yes, Merry Christmas. It's week sixteen, and we're gonna go through every game in our preview episode. A bit of a weird week. We have a Christmas Night game, we have three Saturday games in addition to Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and then the rest of the league is also playing. There are no more bye weeks, there's no more traditional Thursday night football. We

are reaching the home stretch of the regular season. And despite there being thirty do teams divide dirty two by two? Does that's how many teams playing the game that give you sixteen games? So just zero muscle memory. I feel like that you've done that problem four times. Did I get it right? I think I nailed it. Sixteen games but only three matchups this week between teams that both have winning records Colts at Steelers, Rams at Seahawks, Titans

at Packers. All those games are very important to the playoff picture. And speaking a playoff picture, you have an Eagles Cowboys showdown of two nine lost teams that has big ramifications in the NFC East despite it being only week sixteen. Yes, is weird. Let's get into it, and um we're gonna do with draft style once we get rolling today. But we'll start. Let's spend through all those specialty games Saturday, Christmas. Let's start with Christmas. How about

that Christmas Night. I don't know where the players come down on this. I imagine they're not thrilled about playing on Christmas Night. But it's also a big spotlight games, so I think there's that to The Vikings travel to the super Dome to face the New Orleans Saints, and the Vikings essentially kicked away any chance of going to the playoffs with a lost last week. So um, the schedule gods did not get a favor done for them by the Vikings. Who really, this could have been a

very interesting game on both sides. Uh if the Vikings would have won. But still, you know what, it's football. You get something to watch with the Christmas night and the Saints need to win. And Drew Brees needs to play better. Mark, Yeah he does, you know it's it's um. I don't put too much on him looking a little rusty, especially early on in that in his return last week, UM, I think I think we'll get a little bit better

version of Breeze. It feels like you can't get Drew Brees and Michael Thomas on the same field, um this season, and we just really haven't seen that that that also, you throw in Alvin Camaro, the three of them together, which is what you'd expect all year, it's just not happened. I I would look at this game and say that, UM my one concern a little bit, and I think the Saints match up really well against um, the Vikings,

and they can run the ball. I mean, Minnesota was just I thought waxed by Chicago's ground game, which is a very unusual thing for the Bears to pull off with the Bears offensive line played well. And if the Niners can control Minnesota's front the same way, um, this

should just be a blip in the radar. The Saints can't slip up here, they they if anything, like, I just keep hearing ahead to this January game where New Orleans is going to have to go on the road to probably Green Bay or some hideous climate, and that feels like the end of the road. Um to even is that cliche? I don't know if that. It just seems that that happens to the Saints over and over that if you put them in ugly weather, you know,

bye bye potentially. The point is I feel like it's a little cliche in the sense that everyone just says, oh, Drew Brees can't throw anymore, so put him in the cold weather and it's over. But there's more to the Saints team than that, right right. I mean there's a great, great defense here and a special running back in Album Kamara, and maybe Michael Thomas is back. We don't need to

get too far into the future here. But um, I think writing off the Saints team us because they're not in the Super Dome, I think that's premature as well well, and this matchup is a great counterpoint to the Domes only is going to do so much. I mean, we talked revenge games every week. This is a real revenge game. The Vikings have ruined the best era of success, uh in Sean Payton's running New Orleans in terms of a

four straight years. You know, they ended it twice in these playoffs, and so this is a real revenge game. And uh, I think it's huge to get Drew Brees looking good before the playoffs. I thought he you know, he played his best in that Chiefs game at the end. Maybe that was a sign that he's getting some rustaff Maybe it's a sign that you're not gonna go too far with um. What's what's my man? Little little Humphrey, Little Jordan Hut. I mean, we got little Jordan Humphrey.

We got Tommy Lee Lewis, the beer man who's been on and off the Saints roster, was off it for a while and was the practice squad. This is who he's throwing to right now. When tray Quan Smith got hurt and Michael Thomas is on, I R it's like, you got Juwan Johnson. I'm like, Yeah, these are practice squad guys getting called up and are his targets and he's struggling. So I just I find that their end of this breeze era, probably because I've you know, I've

been tracking it very closely, really fascinating. There's there's really not been much like it. I don't think in the last twenty years where we kind of know he's done after this year. They've had this incredible run, not just for fifteen years, but the last four years that they haven't capitalized. And you could see Sean Payton sort of defending their record earlier this week, getting a little touchy, being like well, it's not like we have only been

one and done. That's not true. And yeah, okay, you want a couple close games against bad teams in the playoffs, but it would be a total disappointment if this team doesn't do some damage. And I still think they can and I think they match up well against the Vikings. I agree with you. I would lock this up if it had made it in our uh desert past the desert test. But it's just on that border, so uh so I can't do it. The Minnesota offensive line is

collapsing right now. They're kind of terrible in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and that's where the Saints are really good. So I do think it's one game where the Saints, like big guys up front, just takeover. And one little note, I mean, Justin Jefferson, who has been phenomenal all year, is a hundred and thirty two yards away from breaking the Randy Moss rookie receiving record

for that team. And I think it's interesting that last week, I mean a little narrative he had to Justin Jefferson had to squash um was that he was caught audibly um basically telling Kirk Cousins to wake up in the end zone after he totally missed him on a throw, and uh like probably the ball. Well, because it's let go. I don't wanna. I don't want to get too sidetracked.

I'm sorry, but I do want to mention a quote Cousins had after the game, I'm sorry, mark Um, where he said he was thinking about all the team's sto opportunities throughout the game while he was backtracking during his fourth in one play. That to me is Kirk Cousins in a nutshell. He was like, as I was running back and back and the play was getting more and more hopeless, I was thinking of all our busest opportunities.

That's not who you want as your quarterback. Let's move on, all right, So we have the vikings done, the Saints looking for positioning. Now let's move to the Saturday game Tampa Bay at Detroit. And you know makes sense of the Bucks somebody, because I struggle with it. You watched that game last week and they were a complete mess

in the first half, down seventeen. Nothing, can't do anything right on either side of the ball, and then they just you know, turn it on in the second half and go off uh in that win, and now they get a Detroit team that's facing all sorts of issues. COVID nineteen rears it's ugly had again, this time hitting Detroit on its coaching staff with a lot of close contact designations that put a lot of things up in the air for the lines. And Week sixteen, Greg, what

what a what a COVID game? This would be Saturday morning on NFL Network and like their interim coach isn't there and half their coaching staff. They just fired their special teams coordinator, which was a fun little storyline because he went rogue and called the fake punt that Devil didn't know about, Like that would have been a huge story in week four, but now it's like who cares about this Lions team? Um, you know all the players.

He apparently is well liked by the guys that work in that special teams unit, But like you could go on Twitter and defend that guy, but you got you gotta get the guy out of the building if he's the special team's coach deciding to call fake punts and like like what are you doing? Then? Like you can't do that? And I love the report out there I think it was the Detroit News that this was a pattern of behavior. But what's the guy's name? By the way,

I guess we should name him. There's a pattern of behavior of glory boy behavior by the special teams coach who who like to bring attention to himself, which is something just a lovely little subplot around that organization, a special teams coach that wants the spotlight on him. Brandon comes, maybe they should make him the coach for this week, higher and back. Um. And so I'm not worth you know what, I'm I'm with you. The Bucks are confounding.

We've talked about that, but this is a Lions defense that not only is terrible but is incredibly injured too. Um. So that's just you would you would assume they could put up like forty on them. I just you know, the everyone clung to the Bucks defense is this sort of consistent element. And the one thing is they have been torched through the air um. Four hundred and fifty six against the Chiefs, three seventy six against the Rams, three thirty two against the Falcons, So you know you

can do damage against them. It's been a problem. And and you know, I this game is it is just a speed bump probably for them. But uh, you know, Detroit did some damage last week. I thought as well, so I would just I don't know. To me, to me, Tampa, I'm with you, Dan that it's like the offense seems to play um about thirty out of sixty minutes. And um, it's it's week sixteen and we're still saying that. So

maybe that's just baked into who they are. Um, but that that's concerning to me when you're gonna roll into January against teams that are playing four quarters on offense, not to they have the highest ceiling and lowest floor I think of any playoff team. I could see them playing the NFC title game. I can absolutely see them losing seven to six in the first round of the playoffs, like they're all over the place. Here's the thing that I and we should get into some of these playoff projections.

If the Bucks went out, they're going to get that five seed, which means they get to play the NFC East champion, which is a nice spot, which I could totally see them losing and and and things change because seeds change, you know, depending on lowest seed advancing. But if like seeds held, then they would be at like the one seed, which you know probably is going to

be the pack. I don't know, that's a that's a that would be a fun matchup, which is another reason why these Saints, by the way, just quickly should really be trying to win these games and get the two seed to stay home longer and to possibly set up a much easier first round match for them then than they would if they You fall to the three seed, then you get the NFC West loser, which is the Rams are the Seahawks, and that's much tougher. Yeah, the

two seeds still very important. Yeah, you get the home game, and then if somehow the one seed gets knocked off the NFC title games in your building, if you win one night. Actually, I would suggest the Saints don't try to win these games, go completely countercultural and kind of mail these in and see what happens. All right. I like that. Um, all right, let's see Buccaneers clinch playoff birth with winning Week sixteen. Lines would also clinch playoff

birth with Bears loss at Jaguars in Week sixteen. All right, let's move on San Francisco at Arizona. This the middle Saturday game. The forty Niners just got waxed by the Cowboys. Uh, they are going in the wrong direction. Another losing season for Kyle Shanahan, and they now get a Cardinals team, uh Mark that has seemed to got gotten its mojo

back these last couple of weeks. Um Kyler Murray played excellent football in Week fifteen, and this sets up well for them to get a much needed win as they make their playoff push. Yeah, they've got to watch out for the mistakes. They They caught fire um last week for Shore late in the game, but they also had you know, four fumbles in that game and an interception. Um DeAndre Hopkins lost the ball at Philly's nine yard

line in the opening drive. It's just these little things about the Cardinals, especially on offense, that UM I struggled to believe in them as like a deep journey into January. But I think their defense, and we've talked about Hassan Reddick, like they've had guys stepping up week after week on that defense. And you're facing a Niners team that what what is what is the Niners week at this season? Unless you're finding out that Raheem Mostered is back on

the injury list. Um Mullins needs Tommy John surgery potentially. Uh. They are just resolutely hammered on the injury front, and I think it's fascinating and I don't he's you know, I don't. We probably won't see it or anything. But Josh Rosen was signed to the Niners off the Bucks practice squad Cardinals game. I kind of would think that if you want to do anything super spicy, you know,

throw him in there. That's where Josh Rosen is at, three years after going number ten overall, he's getting signed off practice squads for injury designated also rans in weeks sixteen. Yeah. Yeah, he's been on that Bucks practice squad all year and I think another team, I'm not sure if it was the Jags or who it was. I tried to sign him early and he wanted to stay because he thought

the opportunity was better long term. He just stayed on the Bucks back but he might say, hey, um, entering the mix with Kyle Shana and going into next season, that's a nice place to be to C. J. Beathard is starting this game at quarterback. There's no divo Samuel, as you mentioned, and I'm with you, Dan, I'm impressed that UM by the Cards the last two weeks on both sides. Yeah, they had the turnovers, but they had better rhythm, like a nice mid range game like we

a the passing. We saw UM some consistent chunks that they gotta win though. If they don't win out, the Bears have the tiebreak over them, and the Bears are only one back. The Bears have the Jags this week. It's pretty tricky. It's it feels like it's a two team race. But the Bears have that tie break over the Cardinals. So if they slip up either this week or next week against the Rams, which is a much game when the Bears Jacksonville. So yeah, think about think

about what we've watched this season. Think about what makes more sense for January football. Is that the Arizona Cardinals, the upstart team with Kyler Murray uh and DeAndre Hopkins, or is it the Chicago Bears and it's probably against the Saints. Bears Saints is a terrible playoff game, I think, but it Kyler Murray versus Saints, that's a perfect wild card game. It's almost like there's there's a domino yet to fall to make sure this falls the way it

should be. You know, maybe at the big chlorine tank on Sunday, for instance, maybe that gets taken care of. We we don't know Tommy John surgery, uh, named after the former baseball pitcher. UH. That is like an eighteen month recovery timetable in baseball. I don't know what it is for a quarterback in the NFL, but that's a terrible setback for Nick Molins. If that is what ends

up being the diagnosis, that's a tough situation. And UM, looking at the desert, I see this is a game that is lockable, So I will lock up the Cardinals, who looks really good the last two weeks of the forts. Uh, look like they are ready to call it a season. So I lock up the Cards final Saturday game Miami Miami at Las Vegas. Another game. This is now the

second UM spotlight game in Week sixteen. That could have been a lot of fun if just teams took care of business at the Raiders when they have first and goal from the four yard line last Thursday Night punched that in. They are in live and well in the playoff race in the a f C. And then there's this huge matchup with the Dolphins. But as it turns out, the Raiders are now all but dead. Uh and now the Miami Dolphins greg have a chance to fortify their

play opposition against the team that's going in the wrong direction. Yeah, it's still just as big for Miami because no one's losing in the a f C. You're gonna have to get to eleven to make it, and so it's it's a it's a thin line here for Miami, which is like how they play every week is a thin margin. Fair Like whether it's some weird special teams play or

they like take advantage of the opposing defense. And you could see that this week, like having a flaw in their run defense, or there's just like a blown coverage they take advantage of, or you know, it's some sort of crazy, crazy long play that doesn't seem repeatable that they'll do it, Like that's who this team is. It It is repeatable because they do it each and every week. And that's why I'm locking up the old Dolphins on

the road on Saturday night. I like it. I like it. Well, I'm very annoyed because um, as I texted in the bill before the show, I am also locking up the Dolphins, so that keeps. Last time we did this we both lost. This is huge. This is huge. The Dolphins unite in a big spot on Saturday night, Mark one game behind Greg, so that that will stay the same. But I could potentially pick up a game on both of you boys got a week seventeen The Raiders with Marcus Mariotta. Is

it Mariota most likely starting here? Is that what we're hearing? I think it's probably more likely Car on. You know, we're taping this early on Wednesday. On Tuesday, they split work. So if cars already splitting, wh's weird that to split work. But if cars taking practice, that's maybe they're trying to pull the Oki dok. That's very possible that they're faking us out. We've seen that lately. But it sounds like

cars got a chance. I mean, even if car does start, we don't have no reason to suspect he can finish that game because that did not. He could barely walk when he yanked. Is growing on Thursday, so there is a decent chat it would be, I would say, for a Raider season that has gone to hell again for the second time in a row. The seeing the way Mariota played last Thursday, I'd like to see more of him if we're gonna have to watch the Raiders in prime time. UM, So I'd rather see Marks Mariott at

this point. But you know, Gruden might have other ideas. I would I could argue the same thing. I think that he gave that offense um an element that Car didn't have. So if you get if you get like a mobility reduced version of Car, that doesn't interest me

a whole lot. Um. I just think that one of the other stories here is this Raiders defense has completely fallen apart, and they can say, yeah, they they they focused on, you know, finally stopping the run against the Chargers after allowing you know, four yards on the ground over the previous two weeks. Why did why did Los Angeles throw run the ball at all? In that game?

Every time they went to the Skies they torched Las Vegas so thoroughly that I just think that which team is more disappointed, which team is coached well in all three phases, and which team looks like a complete car wreck. I feel confident in Miami take care of business here, nicely done. Um, you know, in the defense we give Kyle Shanahan a pass every year, it seems. Over the injury issues the forty Niners have. The Raiders were missing

four guys on their starting defense. Well they have been for weeks, and I get that, but that they were that great defense even before that. But they were probably gonna be back. I you know, I have some hesitation here because of the way the Dolphins play. It'll probably be close in the fourth quarter. And there there is some positive news for the Raiders. They're getting back probably this week. Henry REGs, Jalen Richard, Cleveland Farrell, Damon Arnett,

and Jonathan Abraham. I mean, that's a lot of that's a lot of players that we're missing in the locker angle. But the Raiders, the Raiders are cooked. They'll they'll find a way to lose. If they found a way to lose that game last Thursday. Uh, what makes you think Miami, a well coached team that's gotten the game, gotten it done a week after week, is gonna starting to get a bit nervous about this. But um now I'm gonna hang with Let's switch off of it. I I don't

like you being on the same pick anyways. It gets boring. You're on my pick exactly. You know, there's no you guys work it out. Okay, all right, let's move to the UH Sunday and Monday primetime games. All right, now, now we're talking. Now, we're talking some football. Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers. I don't know. I was gonna say Al Chris and Michelle, but Al Michael's unfortunately came down with the rohona and that means Mike Rico has been getting a lot of minutes lately. Uh. This is

a great game. This is a tremendous game the Tennessee Titans. And I said it on last Sunday's podcast. I'll say it again, Ryan Tannehill, what he's brought to that organization, it's unbelievable. They I looked it up because I knew it wasn't a lot, but I did look it up just to check. And the Miami Dolphins sent Tannehill to the Titans. Uh, it was Tannehill and a sixth round pick. And the Titans sent back a fourth round pick and a seventh round pick. That that kind of tells you

where Tannehill was at that point in his career. And now you look where he is now. He's gonna end up this season with close to forty total touchdowns. And everyone looks at Derrick Henry and rightfully so, because he's a stud and he might hit two thousand yards this year. He's having a Hall of Fame type run these last three years. But it's amazing what Tannehill is brought to that offense. And now he's up against Greg Aaron Rodgers

and the Green Bay Packers, who continue to win. They look like they're gonna be the number one seed in the NFC, But the last two weeks at least, it hasn't exactly been a dominating uh team. This feels like it's gonna be a good game. Yeah, and if they don't win this game, you know they're gonna have to play Week seventeen to try to get that one seed. I'm I'm excited. And it does make you think about

the relationship between Henry and Tannell. You mentioned the rushing yards that Henry had I read this week in the twenty six games without Tannehill before he arrived, is fifteen hundred yards less than what he's got with Tannehill in the games. So yet he has thirty two yards and twenty six games with Tannehill and like seventeen otherwise, so it's it's a symbiotic relationship. He was disappointed tan Hill not to make the Pro Bowl. Was disappointed for him.

This is one of those years there won't be alternates. Remember Andy Dalton would make it every years. Like the seventh the FC deserved for because everyone who has pissed Tannehill didn't make it. And then I looked and it's like, Okay, do you take josh Allen Mahomes or Watson out? You could take Watson out if you wanted. Uh. He certainly has had a better season I think than Kyler Murray, but that's it's an NFC, a f C thing, or

even Russell Wilson. That's how good. Uh, Tannehill's been in the rushing game, you know, rushing matchup, and this one is awesome. I love that they've been using Aaron Jones as a real primary back. They didn't do it all year until the last two games. He's been splitting work. I think they saved him up for December and now he's getting you know, of the snaps and that makes

them a lot better well. And also I mean you look at the Titans the thing more than any other team when they are on and we've talked about like the high floor of their offense, they have, you know, broken people by halftime. So I think this game is fascinating because I don't entirely trust either defense. Um, wouldn't it be amazing if Tennessee could do something to affect or make the Packers uneasy? I just don't trust that to happen. Aaron Rodgers sacked five times last week. That's

not been the case with that offense. Um, Carolina made him really uncomfortable earlier, you know, later on in the game. And I don't know if Tennessee can do that. But the Tennessee Titans, when they've been good, to your point, Dan, they've been balanced. It's not just Derrick Henry like They've a couple of these games when they've been up thirty five whatever at halftime, it's been a split between their air yards and their ground yards. So if they can

achieve that this will be the game of the week. Um. I never trust game of the weeks though, something always goes wrong, So UM, I will wait and see. I mean, if you are somebody that loves points, this. This is pointing toward shootout that should be too teams that are going up and down the field. I have no doubts Tennessee is gonna move the ball against Mike Petton's defense.

I just I think they'll be able to run it, and I think they'll be able to throw it and score uh you know, three or four touchdowns at the very least, and then it just becomes an issue, Um, can the Packers keep up while they have Aaron Rodgers? But you know, I watched the game last week that the Packers played when they went totally dry in the second half, and it did give me some uh pause, like could that happen in a big spot in the season or or am I just being a little Have

I become spoiled by Aaron rodgers success this year? And he should. He deserves a benefit of the doubt that that's not gonna happen in a game like this, A big spotlight game with big ramifications for both teams, big big m v P. I think game uh two for Rogers. If he had to straight I mean, I'm sure he'll do well. I guess it's a it's how how well? But he needs to light up the Titans. I think on national tea, you know that these games shouldn't matter more,

but they just do. And in the Packers it it should matter more for them. They it's not their fault the schedule they've played, but they they Someone pointed out they have as many wins this season over winning teams as the Jets do, right, which was the lowest, the lowest strength of schedule in the league, you know, by a decent amount, the second lowest strength of victory, which is just like the quality of the teams you beat UM in the league. So yeah, it's a it's a

big test. It's a big test for them. The Titans, it feels like are in big games every other week. They've won plenty, they've lost plenty, but it feels like they've played everyone, especially in the a f C. Doesn't that point to perception though, because of certain teams, because you know, if they don't if they don't have a win, a signature win over UM, you know, a huge operation were talking about, Well, no, but this is every year.

It's not just Cleveland. I think Cleveland bat Tennessee and it hushed some of that, but it's like you've done nothing. You have to keep doing things to prove yourself. Um, the Packers, You're right, like, up until a couple of weeks you look at who they've beaten. It's not the fault. They'd be beating a bunch of cupcakes. I mean, this would be a prove it game for me. Um, But I believe in the much more than they did last year.

I still think you're gonna get a lot of shots of Mike Petton on the sideline with a mask on, going crazy. I think, Uh, I think the Titans win. How about that? I say, Titans thirty eight, thirty four. What do you guys got? I took the Packers. Um, but I tried to do what I call on NFL game debut, which, by the way, you know we have we have a Christmas show. Check it out after the Christmas game this year, after the post if we're if we're gonna be taping on Christmas morning, then I at

least I'm gonna promote it here so people can. I don't know right now, so people can. So you're saying game debut is on immediately following they have the post game show or the New Orleans but then immediately following that and in that game, I'll do what I call a thread the needle game, which is I'm picking the Packers a win. It's a very small um line in the old Desert, But even then, I'm picking the Titans to somehow thread that needle. You know what I'm saying.

What is the Desert saying? I think it's three and a half. I think it's three and a half. I think that it's interesting that you've got Mike Rabel's former offensive coordinator who knows the Titans. Well, he's the boy with the beard. He's now to me more of a man than a boy. And I think that, um, this game will be very close. I'm gonna go Titans too though. I think Titans thirty three, Packers thirty. I did take the Packers. Yeah. Where where are we with the Titans

right now? They're tied atop the a f C South with the Colts. How does the division shake out there? Greg? Give me your tabulation? They they are going to be They could clinch it if they win and the Cults lose. They have the tie break the Titans do over the Colts. Uh, it's probably do no matter what, No matter what, if they finished with the same record, it's the Titans will

win the division. Yeah that's right, so they But if you know, if the Colts win this week, the Colts would in the Titans lose, the Colts would take control of the division. And I tried to come up with these scenarios, Dan, Actually it was really related to the Jets that the Colts um would would be resting their starters against the Jaguars in week seventeen, and actually there basically is no scenario for that. The Cults are gonna very likely have to play to get into the playoffs

next week just to make sure. So that's bad news for the Jets. Winch is a playoff Berth with a win, right the Yeah that the Titans playoff Berth with the win, but not the probably not the division. This week we are we are not looking past this week in the tank watch. We are looking squarely at the big chlorine tank in Jacksonville in the showdown between the Jaguars and Bears. All right, there we go, finally Monday Night Football, the

final primetime game before we get into our draft. I mean, it look good on paper back in August, but not so hot now. The Buffalo Bills, who have already clinched the a f C East and really, you know, they stand very little chance of catching the Chiefs for the number one seed, but still win football games. That's good. They go to New England now to face the Patriots, who, of course, we're eliminated last week in the loss um

to the Dolphins. What are you looking for in this one? Mark? Well, so Stephon Gilmore is out of the picture for New England and a Patriots defense that was you know, lashed by the Rams, um, thoroughly beaten by Miami. This defense is is broken. So if you're Buffalo, um, you're the team right now that people are trying to project. Who is it that can challenge the Chiefs, who could give

them a test? Um. I have no problem saying that it's Buffalo in my world unless you got like a supercharge version of the Titans, um, and you've got stuff on digs plane at ultra high levels. Josh Allen is playing out of his mind. Um, they're clicking. They're playing their best football on both sides of the ball right now.

And I don't see why you don't go in and um, you know there was I thought it was emotional when they came off the plane last week, Buffalo, and this is like cold weather cities do this, Like thousands of fans showed up at the airport because this matters what the Bills did winning this division. Um, this isn't a team that's gonna let down this week. I think an exclamation point of whipping New England would be psychologically valuable to Buffalo. Why not go do it, um and do

it with authority? Right? Think about how much has changed since the Bills escaped over the Patriots in Week eight. It's kind of at a part in the season we forget about that. The Bills offense struggled for about a five or six weeks stretch. Bill Belichick has had Josh Allen's number. I would say that continued this year considering

the relative seasons these two teams have. UM, that was a game where I remember thinking Cam Newton played as well as Josh Allen, which was you know, that's maybe the only week I'll season you could have said that. And the psychological thing between these two teams can't be understated. The Patriots record against the Bills and the two thousand tens was the single most dominant record any team has ever had over another team ever, and those the Bills

of that decade weren't that bad. It just sort of doesn't make sense that the Jets and the Dolphins did much better actually against the Patriots. But they did, and uh, it meant a lot to him last time. I'm sure it would mean a lot now to go in there. There's no reason why the way the Bills are playing right now that they shouldn't um really take care of business, and that they shouldn't want that two seed. Now they're they're in contention. They'll know when they play this game

that the Chiefs have already clinched on field. By the way, Dan, you assuming the Chiefs win against the Falcons, but I think the two seeds should matter for them. I think they're gonna want to get it, get as many home games in Buffalo as they can. So you know, the same thing that I was saying over the NFC. It's different this year obviously. If and that's bummer for the Bills, um and the Saints, but in they passed, you would

get that second seed. You'd also have a bye, and then you'd come out of that by with a home game, and then who knows that the number one seed gets knocked off, maybe you're hosting a title game in your building. Uh, you could still do that though that last part is still in place. So getting that second seed, uh still entitles you to the home game and then potentially still can host the conference title game a few advance that far. So big deal on that just kicked the Patriots as

ask that they're ready to go home. And one note connected to the fans up there, and that's a great fan base in Western New York that had a great run in the nineties. That was also bittersweet because the Super Bowl failures and then just an endless run of suffering really from nineties six until Sean McDermott came around.

That is now finally they turned the corner. But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said this week that the Department of Health is working on a plan that would allow the would allow people to attend the Buffalo Bills playoff game, rapid test them prior to going to the game, and then contact trace after the game. The move is meant to be a prototype for how such events can be held.

Of course, there is a vaccine, in fact, two vaccines that have entered the public domain in limited fashion, but not it's not going to be in time to vaccinate large swaths of the population and get people in buildings for the playoffs. Here is a way for the Bills, because I think that's one thing. And it's happening in Cleveland to where these fan bases that have been waiting and waiting and waiting for these playoff games and now they finally come and what either have no one in

the building or ten thousand fans or whatever. If there's any way to make it happen in a safe way, I'm for it. I'm with you. I can't think of a fan base. Well you mentioned them, but the Bills fan base is one of these groups that win or lose. They were there. There's no fair weather aspect to that. And how about this Brandon being GM Executive of the Year in my book starts with the Stefon Diggs thing, but that team has become a power very quickly. Um,

And it's not just Sean McDermott. Greg calls him Brandon bean Counter, so maybe that will work against it's mostly Sean McDermott. Though as much as I you give credit to being I do think McDermott has as much power as any coach in the league. And I think he's a good model. You know, there's a lot of people that think the coach should be the the guy who hires the GM, which is what happened here McDermott, you know, basically hired being a year later. It's you really do

think he's a bean counter. I mean, you know, he's slightly on this, he's executing. It's like John Schneider. It's very similar to John Schneider and King Greg Bury a GM pick that you had yesterday as well. I don't know what's going on with somebody else was a bean counter? Oh was the Dee Potesta? That was just yeah, well that was just trying to have some fun. All right, let's move to the Wait were you finishing a point there, Greg? So? No, great, Yes, this is we're a long way away from Uh Doug

Whaley put it that way. And who was the old man that was there before or maybe after Whaley? Buddy Nicks, and we're together. It's like we we have found the key, uh to jump starting this franchise. We're gonna go get that wide receiver. Sammy Watkins. Sammy Watkins, I don't know. I can't remember his name either. Let's just move on, all right, Let's get to this. Let's get to the draft. Uh oh boy, I'm not ready for this. And it

turns out Mark, you have the first overall pick. Now when we go through the games of the schedule that we kind of dole out and figure out who's gonna watch what comes Sunday, So you're up first. You have ten games to choose from. Let it rip. Okay, I'm gonna go with this Rams at Seattle Eastern Spot. Okay, okay. I mean it's a fascinating game to me because the what you upset that I've taken this, Greg, Yeah, that's it's the Rams season on the line and the show today.

You know, we we um. You never expected the Rams to be in this situation, to have to bounce back from losing to the Jets in December, when you know, a week or two ago we're talking about them. Is this totally balanced operation that UM has a chance to win playoff games? I still think they do. I mean, someone was gonna lose to New York. I just I felt that way, and it's and it's um humiliating. I mean,

Sean McVeigh basically said it entirely. But if you are the Rams, you we have got to start to see some consistency out of Jared Goff and this would be a good spot for that to happen. A team that, um, you know, they know well that they can match up well against. Uh. I just I think, to me, this is all about Jared Goff, and show me who you are over the next two weeks and beyond, because it seems to me every third game you get Jared Goff totally disrupted and he's you know, it's he's not a

game manager. He's turning the ball over. You can't do that. You can't call him the game manager, even at his at his lowest. So, um, do we put that loss again? I know he didn't play out of his mind, but do we put the loss to the Jets on Jared Goff?

That felt like a team wide meltdown, including on that defense, which I'm putting I am putting it on him to some large degree because I mean, because he wasn't on the field when Frank Gore ran for eight yards on that first carry to close out the game and then caught the pass. Also, it's like you gotta you gotta step up defense and make that play get the ball back there. It's not just on Jared goff obviously, but

I mean the Dolphins game. I can point to a couple other loss stuff and hants you like it, hants um, my daughter. It changed my impression of them, And they're not a different team. They're the team that every third week has that loss. Well, how do you go from whipping the Patriots the way you did to falling to the New York Jets. Something is going on. You're not a consistent team the Patriots that it used to be.

I mean that right, No, but the Patriots were coming off a week where they won forty five to nothing

over the Chargers. So they're a weird team, no doubt they To your point, Mark, I've never been more worried about Jared goff Um in his future and just like where he is than I am right now, because I think that Patriots game is is maybe the perfect example why because they didn't really trust him in that game and they were coaching around him even with a lead, like because he didn't look right early in that game either.

By the way, I thought he might have played worse against the Patriots than he did against the Jets, And so when you're starting to coach around your guy in a game that you're winning a little comfortably, and I am concerned. I don't think it's all about golf, though, because I think about this first matchup between these two teams. I think about the fact that mcveigh's five and two

against Carol. To me, that's significant. Um, you know, considering where these two teams have been at relatively even over the last three years, that one teams won five out of seven, that's significant. And I think about that game. Goff didn't play that great in that game either, and their defense just shut down the Seahawks. And are the Seahawks and their offense good enough right now to put up a lot of points. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

I'm picking the Rams in this game. Wouldn't surprise me at all. This is a defensive battle that McVeigh is a little bit better in situational football, and the Rams can go out there and win a relatively defensive game. Yeah, I don't think we're on different pages on this podcast with Jared Goff. I'm very much also in the camp that Jared Goff is Jared goff. I mean, he's never

he's not gonna be this like superstar guy. He's there's gonna be peaks and valleys and maybe down the line the Rams during the side, we need to do something about this. But for in the here and now, he's their guy, and he's he's gonna be throwing the stinker every once in a while. And you know, we talked about it, and Troy Aikman says it a lot. The NFL is a week to week league, and I almost put nothing, nothing into that Jets loss when I look ahead to this game, because I think the Rams are

gonna be hyper competitive in this game. They've already beaten the Seahawks once. And then I look at like what the Seahawks have done this season, um, and they've been an up in town team. Their defense has gotten much better, There's no doubt about that. How much this defense has improved in Seattle over the last let's say five or six weeks. It went from being a historically awful group

to now they're winning games occasionally to their defense. And every week their defense is giving them a chance to win. I'm a little curious about what's gonna happen with this offense. So is the let Russ Cook era? Is it already over? Like?

Was that? Because that was a lot of fun. Like, don't get me wrong, I get why the Seahawks are now maybe going back to their roots a little bit and they're you know, playing better on that defensive side of ball, and they're running the ball and Russell Wilson is doing his thing on occasion. That's not as fun though, is what was going on earlier this year where they were just involved with shootouts and it was just all

these wild games. Um. I want to see the Seattle offense getting back to where it was earlier this season. And um, and I think they're gonna need to be better than they've been the last couple of weeks to handle the Rams, even Rams team coming off that awful loss. I mean, some of the issues I think for Seattle because their sixteenth and passing since Week nine was offensive line related to some degree. I mean, they had some

problems there. They you know, the Giants um put it on Russell Wilson in a way we hadn't seen and and they just haven't really been the same since that game. Both of these teams seem vulnerable to me. Because if you get in Golf's face, this team is done and so it does come down to your quarterback. I mean, this is the first overall pick, and no one has trust that he can take him to the super Bowl. Yeah,

I don't know, he's not. I mean, yeah, we're talking with circles on this because we all agree with that. I think everybody sees that. I think any one of the top five and you've got a big problem. Yeah, I agree, unless he he turns out. I think this has been his most disappointing season. I really do more than last year. Um, but I think I think any one of the top five teams in the NFC could make the super Bowl. And I definitely put the Rams into that. I don't think there's a huge, huge graph.

This is a great example of how teams changed, Dan, you put it very well with the Seahawks, Like teams in December are very often not the teams we saw in September. It's a big game. If the Seahawks win, they win the division. If the Rams win, then they control their fate and can go win the division. In Week seventeen and cam Akers who had a hundred and seventy one yards against the Patriots, then has an a high ankle spring against the Jets. He's not playing in

this game. He's at least missing Week sixteen, so that that hurts their offense UM as well. And finally, just a little bit of housekeeping here. So with a win uh here, the Seahawks would clinch the NFC West. If the Rams win each of their last two games, they clinch the NFC West. The Rams clinch a playoff birth this week if they win and then the Bears lose or the Cardinals win. So a lot on the line in that game, all right up next to the draft, Greg,

I really wanted that Rams game. Feels like that's the biggest game left. Maybe watch it. Don't think I'm just saying we might trade. That might be the biggest game left, um, on this regular season schedule, just because it's kind of the sides of division. Move on, Greg, you can get past it. I know you can't. I'm well, you know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take my Tony Romo game. Uh.

It's Steelers Colts, So nothing wrong with that. Um. You having to watch the Pittsburgh offense for three and half hours, I don't mind you know it. I find it. I love it. Actually you love it. You love Big Ben going down in flames anyone in this country. That's so not true. I was, I was. I swear if you went and listened to this podcast, I was the biggest supporter of how good this guy was. But you're right, if a if a team like the Steelers is gonna

go down, I want him to go down hard. I want to go down in flames, in shame and infamy being an eleven and oh team that loses sixth straight and then they're like, wait, do we even bring back been? That would be kind of fun. And I've enjoyed watching this Cults team I picked the win the Super Bowl. Hey, it's still on the line here. They're tenant four. Not bad. How about that matchup? You got the Forest Buckner's back. Uh Autrey played well last week, Comico terray Um who

had been out for a lot of this year. So there's three guys who all missed a bunch of time, who are all good pass fishers against the Steelers old line, which I think is at the center of their struggles because of Ben in that running game behind the battle line has no chance and so this is a tough matchup for them. I really believe it. They lacked total balance.

Their line has been injury prone and a mess. And I mean the Cults though, who we like you talk about teams changing, and we pointed to their defense, you know, all season long is the stronghold that they have been torched a couple of times in the past month, and uh,

you know, I do, Greg. I think you mentioned to Forrest Buckner, uh coming back and playing last week, and he won Defensive Player of the Week and it was probably one of the most courageous defensive performances you'll get all season because essentially no one thought he'd play and he came in and completely had a huge impact. Um. I the Cults, to me, they are imperfect, but you're getting the better version of the offense and Aaron Rodgers and they are running the ball which pitch it's Pittsburgh

is not doing. Um, I'm with you. The crash and burden nature of the Steelers is fascinating. Um. And I don't say that as no I don't see that as a Brown supporter, but it's just so interesting where we were three weeks ago. Like, I honestly like if you think I'm sitting around like like rooting against the Steelers, like the Cleveland has to take care of their own business. But to watch what's happened over the last three weeks,

butting against the Steelers, you can win the division. As a Cleveland Browns fan, you need them to lose this game, right, I'm not, But I guess that's not really where I'm coming from, is like just sitting around like excited that they stink right now. It's just it's incredible where they were a month ago and to this point, and it's like you almost want to draw them in the playoffs. It's it's not something you'd say about a team that's,

you know, days away from maybe having their twelfth win. Well, let's let's see what happens here. Because I agree with you totally on that. If you take what you've seen from the Steelers really, since that stupid Ravens COVID game on the Wednesday or Thursday or wherever the hell it was, Um, they have just not been the same team. And it becomes now a question two questions to me when I look at the Steelers, Hey, how much is Big ben

Um responsible for the offenses complete collapse? Here um, whether it's because of their game plan which was exposed, and the game plan is the way it is because they don't believe Ben has that ability anymore to go up and down the field beyond the short routes and be how much do you believe in Mike Tomlin to see his team out of this funk, because we've seen it before, I mean in all different sports and certainly in the

NFL as well. A really good team, uh is cruising along and then they hit a really deep valley and you and you just write them off essentially, and then all of a sudden, Oh, they have a good week, and then they have another good week, and then we see that, Oh, that was just kind of a uh, you know, the ebbs and flows of the season. Is

that what's going to happen? I kind of think that's the more likely scenario rather than Pittsburgh completely imploding and going down in flames and finishing eleven and five or whatever like. That's what I see is the more likely scenario. But at the same time, that is more just gut more than anything else, because there's nothing we've seen from them, and I'm focused almost entirely on the offense. And other defense hasn't been quite as good, and the injuries that

played a role there as well. But it's the offense. There's nothing that we've seen to tell us that they're about to snap out of the funk. And the culture a tough assignment. Well, the Cults are a big play defense. They will give up place. They remind me a little bit of a Tony Dungee Cults defenses. Uh. And they play a similar style like the closest thing teams played with Tampa too, which is that they're gonna give up yards,

but they make big plays. Um they're plus twelve in turnover margin that is number one in the NFL, and so they they tend to force a lot of turnovers. It's hard to count on. But you're going up against the Steelers offense, it makes no big place. So I like that matchup for the Colts. I like them to win. I think the Steelers have just become easier for defensive coordinators to prepare for, which is not what you want

to be in December. I mean that Colts defense also allowed you know, Deshaun Watson is Deshaun Watson, but playing with um non household names to say it nicely at wide receiver. They tour right through them, so they're gonna need some big place Beca're not a shutdown defense from October. They're not a shutdown defense, but they always find a way to end up making something like one of their great players makes a great play and then it shuts

it down. I mean, they are so fortunate to still be in this division race in the a f C. South. I mean, two of the last three weeks they've needed a miracle fumble at their own goal line against the same Houston team, and in both situations there was a fumble they needed and credit goes to Darius Leonard for the most recent one. But the ball needed to bounce the way they it had to bounce and they had to fall on that FuMB. It happened twice and they

get two wins directly off it. That that says a little something to me as well, that maybe the Cults aren't quite as good as the record indicates. But I know, you know what I'm thinking the Steelers this week, It's all I don't know why. I'm probably gonna look bad because they're gonna big Ben will throw for negative fourteen yards. But I like the Steelers bouncing back here. You're right though, because two weeks from now we could be like, oh,

the Steelers are back, you know, blah blah blah. It's like it's these are just ebbs and flows. Maybe unless it's an epic collapse. We don't know where we'll find out, all right, Third pick, you guys, bang me in the biggest of all spots. There's not a lot of great games this week. As I said, there's only three games with two teams with winning records, and they're now all off the board. So logically I have to find the one that has the most playoff implications packed in for

both teams, and it's Philadelphia at Dallas. UM in a game, Greg, you could tell me if it's a loser go home match for the team for a true elimination game, So that I mean, if if if I'm gonna have to watch two losing football teams, let it be a loser goes home match, and I also get to see um Jalen Hurts of course, now, who very quickly was announced as a starter for Week sixteen by Doug Peterson, and he's coming off a really impressed Why did he need

to announce that that. I don't know. I think he was probably asked it and he said, yes, he will be the starter. That would be my guest. I didn't watch the press conference, but uh, he'll be fun to watch. I say this more. Um, It's not a negative or knock on Jalen Hurts at all, but it just seems like this is less shocking now than it used to be.

Like Jalen Hurts like coming in, uh in his second career start and having four d total yards and four touchdowns that would be unheard of from a rookie quarterback even five years ago. But now I feel like we see it. We saw it multiple times this year, and Justin Herbert did it as well, and we saw Kyler Murray hit the ground running and Patrick Mahomes of course, like this stuff happens fairly regularly. Now it's Hurts his turn, and that's great for the Eagles and the Cowboys. I

will I get into troubles sometimes. I don't know. I think it's just because I'm a populist at heart, and I like I like when the Cowboys are good that it seems to be kind of fun to me. Uh So I I always end up doing things like picking them to make the playoffs are picking them to win on Thanksgiving and then they always lose. So I refused to fall down that trap yet again. I'm gonna say that the Eagles win this game, but uh, you know, the Cowboys look better last week against San Francisco. I'll

give him that. You are a populist. I think that's it's um, that's a good destination. Um. No, No, there's a lot of good qualities to come with that. I'm not one, and I um can get into weird places for not being one. I will say this, it is it's one thing to come in and perform statistically well. Um, And I think quarterbacks are just much better prepared coming

out of college than they ever have been. Her has been through what he went through a lot in college too, and he's pretty mentally tough from people around him that that know him. I just like he brought life to this offense. How many how I mean he was banged up, but zach Ertz was a non story all year long,

or a frustrating story. But little guys like Greg Ward and Quez Watkins, who, um, you know, when you've got a good productive quarterback in there, it brings life to all this, Miles Sanders is playing well, everything is more um you know, hard to plan against with the Eagles now and you've got a quarterback that can run. It opens up the ground game and it's just like what could have been. And we've already discussed it. But um, I think it's no small feat what he's pulling off

as a rookie. But you're right, Dan that it's not it's this would have um, we would have people would have been left paralyzed by the side of the road. I mean, it's it's a fairly new phenomenon here. Yeah, now you're you're absolutely right it it feels like much more pot I mean, it's create the but the way he's done it has really impressed me because he's a better thrower than then I think he was expected to

be this early in his career. That you know, he he had a touchdown where he had that sprint left and had to set his feet and throw it to Greg Ward. That was a great throw. He had a couple of really nice go balls to Alice on Jeffrey, who, by the way, you know, there was all that talk about he didn't get along with Carson Wentz couldn't get anything done with Carson Wentz and back. I couldn't help

but noticing when Hurts had that rushing touchdown. You could here Hurts himself screaming as he's going into the end zone in this empty stadium, just being like and then all the teammates like running up to him and going, I don't know, I love that stuff. I think that stuff matters, and he seems to have a lot of that without getting too deep into like the intangibles. He that was the reason why DJ really loved Hurts. Um Daniel Jeremiah, your your nemesis, Dan going into the draft

was the intangible stuff. And he can't see that more in a in a more defined feud with DJ than me. And they look at what's happening on Twitter, some of the just mean spirited bars back and forth. There's no I'll give you a little'll pull back the curtain a little bit. Sometimes. Now it's and this is one of my favorite little developments. When move the Sticks drops a zinger on you that he really is excited about, he will actually call me on the phone, not text me.

He'll call me and say, hey, check out what I just posted. Like that's how excited he gets. He's a big con. He's an old school like phone user, which I which I respect. You know, there's not enough of those out there. You're burying the lead a little bit. Though. He's so excited to zing you, you get under his skin. I wonder, Greg, for some reason, I wonder, what's I don't think? So? I think the thing we like is that neither of us getting under each other skin at all.

And it's someone that we can actually go full on like we want to, and we know neither one is gonna take it personally. That's all Greg is ever wanted. He's like, I'm so edgy with my personality and my sense of humor that people. Finally I've found someone who could take a joke. He appreciates it when you come, when you come hard. You're right, um, all right? Where

were we? Okay? There we go. This Cowboys teams a fluke by the way, plus seven the last two weeks and turnover margin against two two uh teams falling apart. That's not sustainable. I love, I love the Eagles pass rush to make Andy though on the little one, little many Cowboys note that could affect them going forward. Kellen Moore is being whispered about um to take over Boise States head coaching role. That would take away all right, and Tony Pollard. We'll see Zeke Elliott uh caff injury

as we record this. There's a lot of unknowns about that. But regardless of Ezekil Elliott's on the field, Tony Pollard deserves a bigger role in that offense. And you wonder when Zeke Elliott, you wonder what Zeke? I know right now it's it's Zekel. It's it's Zeke Elliott hit season, just like it's Carson Wentz hit season. Some guys seem to attract criticism more um, is really Zeke Elliott that bad? Because everyone seems to be taken getting a line to

say how terrible. I think he has not been healthy, but he's not been himself and their offensive line has been a mess. And I thought Pollard last week brought some energy to that offense, and he's always like he's done that in little little bits. But I think it's the Zeke Elliott contract attracts a lot of um. You know, I think he was that bad this season. I think

he was that bad this season. There's no arguments that he was that he was a top twenty running back, which is, you know, you don't expect that he'll be on the team next year. I did check this out. He has tons of guarantee and I wouldn't give up on him because of one bad year. But he came in and it wasn't right, and it came out and it wasn't right. There you go a right by the way,

circling back to uh Ben Roethlisberger a second. His PFF grade this past week was twenty five point one points, the lowest by any starting quarterback this season, and it's the lowest grade in a single game since PF began

as signing player grades in two thousand six. His PF grade was retire and there was and there was also and I usually I don't care about this stuff, but I also I think we could all relate to it because everyone plays fantasy um except for you, Greg, of course you've graduated um Field Yates of ESPN posted a screen grab of somebody's where in this This last week was the semifinals for fantasy leagues across the country and world, and he screenshot at a match or a game that

had a guy that had Eric, Ebron and Juju and a point and a half lead going into Monday night and Ebron gets injured, no catches, he's out, Juju does nothing, loses a fun Bull for negative points. The guy had the lead and two players going on Monday night and lost his semifinal matchup. Now that is I would just there's a worst beat in the history of fantasy football. I don't know if they're if there's ever happened, could you couldn't you just bench those players? And you could have?

But I'll ask Greg. This is the Fantasy Expert pick built road a world brick by brick. Do you leave those guys into account for potential scoring changes to protect yourself because that could happen? Your defense gets a sack taken away. Blah blah blah. It's I mean, I've seen it happen. What do you do? Do you leave him an? You take him out? Greg? What's the lesson to learn here? Oh? Holy one, I don't know. I would leave him in. You got two of them? Does I mean? I get?

I don't know. I don't know about the scoring change thing, though it does. It seems crazy. I mean, you're not expecting to you know, keep players on an offense to produce negative points over the course of an entire game. This person, you might not have afy, you might not have the flexibility because you gotta place someone and I don't know, and it might be too late to lock out the I don't know. Alright, good, all right, let's move on. It snakes to me and yes, I need

to have eyes on this game. The Jacksonville Jaguars, after getting blown out by the Ravens in Week fifteen, coupled with the New York Jets and probably defeating the Los Angeles rams Um, are now in the driver's seat for the first overall pick in the draft. And uh, but it doesn't mean that's the way it's gonna stay. There's a probability. I believe the number is. It's seventy give or take a point or two that the Jacksonville Jaguars

now picked first in the draft. Obviously, as a Jets fan, I want that first overall pick, whether you know Trevor Lawrence is there or just the leverage that comes with pick one. So this is to me, the big chance, this is the big hope. With a trip to Indie in week seventeen for Jacksonville. Um, I gotta get this win right here against the Bears. The problem is the Bears boys are playing a lot better the last two weeks.

They beat the Texans thirty six to seven. They beat the Vikings thirty three to twenty seven in in the in an elimination game for bol teams. So the seven and seven Bears are playing better, especially on offense. Uh do we expect it to continue to against against arguably the league's worst defense? I mean I would think you do. M I would too know Mitch, you know, has played well, and I think the commonality between him and Montgomery playing

well over the last month is the opponents. Montgomery's played the list of the worst rush defenses in the league. He's running really well, they're making it work, and Drabinsky

has barely been touched during this little stretch. And you would expect the same to continue against this Jaguars team who can't stop the run, who can't really rush the passer, and where they're not even a now and seeing who's the starter, they're splitting reps between Minshew and like Glenn and Doug Morone said on Wednesday, I mean, what what is that accomplishing? Splitting reps that that seems actively trying to like to mess up both of them. Well, the

Marone said, um, well there's a competition here. I mean it's this is unnecessary on the same team the since August, you still decide totally unnecessary. I mean, I would just say you follow the script that Baltimore did last week and others have against Jacksonville. UM. Jacksonville trailed in yardage two twenty one yards to sixty one at halftime against Baltimore. Chicago's offensive line, which was a hot mess a month ago, has been playing really well. I thought they battered Minnesota's

defensive line last week. That's part of the picture with David Montgomery. UM our friends Cynthia Friedland has the Bears with the thirty three point three percent chance to make the playoffs based on her UM, her computer and her computer studies, and so they have something to play. I think that's the biggest issue here for for you, Dan, that it had had Chicago's script gone the way that we thought it would, where at this point you're talking

about new coach, new quarterback, knew everything. UM. Instead, they have incredible life and they're this you're right there, this team that could wind up playing the Saints in the playoffs. We're not rooting for that necessarily, but Jacksonville has got nothing to play for you. It is how stunning that things have somehow broken against the Jets in every way possible here because, like uh, Greg said earlier week seventeen, doesn't look like it's gonna work out either with the

Cults neating that win. But you know, my only hope, and call it blind faith, is that it's it's still much to his key and I you know, and even and even though he's played a lot better these last two weeks, he's also had a bone headed mistake or two in each game. Uh and Jacksonville, you know, last week notwithstanding, which was a blood bath against the Ravens team that is as hot as anybody in football. Um, they have been playing teams tight. And I just hope

it is Gardner Minshew. If it's not Gardner Minshew, I think it tells me if there's really two doors there. If it's not Minshew, if it's Mike Lennon, because obviously we know Mike Glennon is not good. I don't think Gardner Minshew is good either, but he's I think he gives them a better chance. Uh, Doug Marone either really doesn't like Gardner Minshew and doesn't like his game, maybe

doesn't like his personality. Maybe there's something behind the scenes there, or this is coming from higher up and this is just um Maron going through the motions and then he's gonna start Glennon because the owner told him to. Shot Khan could have his fingers all over this. Now that's the only thing I think, and that would be I think the more likely scenario here. And if that's what's happening, Uh, is that something the league is okay with? I guess.

I guess. Ultimately it's shot Kan's team. So if he could be the head coach, if you wanted to him, and you could, you could argue, I mean, you could try to argue that either quarterback would be better than the other. It's not like you're sitting fran Tarkent in here or something um with Minshew not starting. Potentially, if you're Shot Khan, part of me is like, look at you're running a business and you've had a faceless organization outside of their little Saxonville playoff surge a couple of

years ago. Um if you're thinking that you are a hundred and twenty minutes away from drafting Trevor Lawrence. I would start like I would, I would start a defensive tackle at quarterback. I don't care stop messing around here. But the problem is Maron says, I don't know if I believe a word of it. That no one's you know, got to him with these orders. Um, I just don't know what's really being said behind Maybe listen, we can't speculate too much here, but maybe Maron still thinks he

has a chance to keep this job. So if he is getting a little pressure room upstairs, he's more likely to go along with part of the plan as opposed to going against it and being a shore gunner. Uh, if it came to probably even get fired before this game. So there's a lot cooking behind the scenes here. I do think just if I can get, as a Jet said, if I could get Meanshoe on the field, at least he has a little bit of juice and maybe you could spark the team and the fans get excited it

there and maybe something happens. I don't like the idea of Mike Lennon saving the Jets is asked here, I just, well, here's your problem, though I got problems. I think the Jets are more likely to win a game the way they're You know that they could spring up and win another game. Whether it was against the Browns not as likely,

but against the Patriots certainly possible. And you always hear coaches don't tank, and I direct you to two thousand and fourteen halftime, Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning by thirteen points or seventeen points against the Saints, and Lovey Smith coaching his last game for the Bucks. I don't know why he was helping them out. Benched all of his best players.

And they say that tanking doesn't happen in the NFL. Well, he took out Mike Evans, he took out all his best players, and the Saints backups I believe that they were also resting, came back and won that game and delivered them Jamis Winston. Now that ended up not being the smartest movie either, but that is tanking. It happened, and it happened like Moron with a coach going out the door anyway, so it can happen, and it happened because Lovey Smith was behind it. Who now just got

his ass fired by the University of Illinois. So whatever, don't do that. Let's go, let's be let's I was that was shameful and I feel like it's a forgotten moment in recent NFL. All right, let's keep moving. We gotta pick up the pace here. Yeah yeah, let's crank through these last ones and get on our way. Um, what do I need a late game? But I really want to watch the Rams games? So my strategy here

is take the worst late game. I'm going Broncos Chargers, um, which are two bad teams that I've enjoyed watching all years. So this is a good bad game where one of them is very likely to just blow it at the end in some painful way. That's how the first game went. The Broncos won that game. I just want to give a shout out to Austin Ekeler, who has been playing at about He's like my height and is this, you know, a little other than me and is the strongest human

I think in the NFL. Because he's so banged up and they're still giving him twenty five touches a week and he's still getting it done. For your fantasy thing, you know how they say ants can carry like seven million times their weight. That's Austin Necklor. He's He's he's the game. He's a baller because you see him in the open field and he's nowhere near what he should be and he's still just like carrying the ball amazingly

for this team. So what a player. Austin also, when he was on our show last summer in his little office in his home or condo, had in neon lights his logo behind him. You know, nice move, nice little flex there like that, Like he he understands the concept of branding. Uh. You know, They've been an interesting offense since he come back. I just watching watching Herbert throw against the Raiders, Um, and it's it's the intermediate and deep throws and just the connection and how potent they were.

I don't see how you keep it going against the Broncos. You know, John Elway came out and supported Drew lock the week said that when we when when he's down though, it's because the whole offense is sort of down together. Um. But this to me feels like, you know, I know we want to rush through these, but this feels like a good Carson Wentz landing spot to me bring in If they don't get serious about bringing in competition UM or trading for someone or or bringing someone else in. UM,

I can't take this team seriously. I think they're they're at the edge of losing chunks of the fan base if they don't have a clear ride view of what's happening here at quarter fan base. Cleveland didn't lose fans. I don't think Denver is gonna lose fans either. It's a great fan base. But I think that they're they're not um, they're not milk toast, they're not agated. John Elway might lose them. I don't think they organization. I don't know, it doesn't matter, but I like I like

your take their Carson Wentz wearing a Broncos uniform. I could I can envision that. I certainly can. All right, let's move forward, Mark, Alright, I'm gonna go Cleveland Jets. Okay. I mean that's just you know, I'm not gonna let that sit out there for the for another thirty four weeks. UM, I would say a Browns fan, and you know this is just deep psychology. It was extremely UM. There was incredible relief watching the Rams fall to the Jets because I was always I don't like the idea of having

to play in ohen thirteen or oh and fourteen team. Um, that sounds like a nightmare to me. Uh. I thought the Jets like kind of showed you to Greg's point that they're not just gonna take a total nap here. Um, this is now. Quentin Williams is not He is out for the season. Had a concussion at a neck injuries on I R. I think that's a big loss for New York and this is just it's it's huge because I think he could have had an impact in this game. We haven't seen too many people put heat on Baker

Mayfield of late. I mean, his numbers are off the charts. Um, he's playing real comfortable and I don't think the Jets are the team to do it. But if you're Cleveland, it kind of reminds me of the Giants game a little bit. These are games you need to win. Um. It starts with your ground game, it starts with your offensive line. Let's not get too tricky here. Their defense does just enough. Um. But the one thing I saw in that game, though, and Chris collins Worth pointed it

out in the Giants game. Miles Garrett is not himself right now. Now. That may be fine this week, but in general, Um, he's talked openly about and this is you don't hear a lot of these stories. The corona absolutely has impacted his ability to breathe, to deep breathe um when playing, and he looked totally gas during parts of that Giants game. So that's a factor. He's there, he's there shining hope on defense. Um, in this game,

you just gotta do enough to get out of town. Heybe, will I think, yeah, that the Browns are way better than both the Giants and Jets, but they've definitely caught some breaks here with the injury situations for both teams, and I think Quinn and Williams. You know, he was going punch for punch with Aaron Donald last week, and

it's unfortunate. I hated hearing that neck injury. Anytime you hear neck injury, I hope that's nothing that could be serious because careers end over neck injuries and that's the last thing that Jets need. Um. I don't expect anything, uh like what we saw last week. This seems well set up for the Browns to romp a team that's playing really well as taking care of business all year against a Jet team that got their win and now just lost their best player. Uh. This feels like a

romp to me. And that's not being a pessimistic Jets fan. It just to me makes more sense knowing both teams could be a letdown game for the Jets. I'm with you. They got their win. They you know, they just got Once they keep their opening score street going like that, they can just cruise. Uh. I mean you want to talk about there as the head coaching Adam Gaze offensive genius eight straight games with a score. Um, so stick that pipe in your smoke, stake that and your pipe

and smoke it. Whatever. Mark You're up next, Snake, I'm up again. That's interesting, Okay, Um, I will go. Let's see here. I'm gonna go because I you know, I want to keep eyes on Cleveland. I'm gonna go with a little bit of a trash bag operation here. Cincinnati Houston. Um, and what's not like about the Bengals producing one of the most courageous performances we've seen under the watch of

Ryan Finley. What can they do against Houston? Will they psychologically be able to match up after what happened on Monday night? Houston to me, I you know, you get to watch the Shawn Watson. This game truly sucks. It truly does and I don't need to sell it much more than what it is. I mean, Houston is look forward. Um they have GM interviews going on, coaching interviews. Figure that stuff out. Let's stop wasting the prime of Deshaun

Watson's career. We've seen a few teams do this and uh, they've got to get out of these woods pretty quickly. And Deshaun Watson this week, Um, you know it wasn't just Dwayne Haskins. He got a little uh tiss tisk from the team for showing up to I think it was his girlfriends or something, um event that she had with a bunch of Jaguars players with no masks, Like, are we are Texans players? Are we learning anything here? I thought he was he was opening his own restaurant.

It was his own restaurant then, but I mean it's it's still it was like more more photos of like eighteen people with no masks on. I don't you know. It was a weird. It's a weird thing that they're allowing coaches to interview now, by the way, via zoom. So the Texans are starting as of today. We're taping this on Wednesday, And so if I was the Jets, for instance, I might want to think about speeding up

the process here. Yeah. Well, I also was like, who who are these interviews names that you've heard attached to the Texans, Like, none of them are making me think, oh God, I gotta get that guy right, But that's a very specially broken scenario where it may be someone that's gonna comply with old Jack. All right, so old Jack.

So maybe there's a strategy there. Mark, when you pick up terrible game, you don't have to really pay attention to it, and that makes sense to me, But the way it sets up with the old juice are very rarely are And I back up, now, what's that? Aren't eye up next? No, I'm sorry, sir, you're not. But you've been snaking this whole time, and so as Mark, I'm the middle guy, so you can never go in a row unless no I am I'm the third guy,

so I do snake. But I was the first guy, yes, and I spent I just completed an um two point snake operation there. So podcast goes to Greg alright, goes wait, hang out a second Mark YouTube viewers just swoom. I'm always in the middle. I'm the only one that doesn't snakes. I'm always in the middle, Mark, Greg. Okay, go ahead. I don't know. I don't know where we got lost there, but it's over. Go ahead, Greg, all right, Um, I always see. Yeah, I did a premature cross off of

a line. We're all set now, go ahead, all right. I'll take the premature line cross. That's all it was. I'll take the Ravens Giants, which I thought would be a more compelling game a few weeks ago. But this Giant's defense, which we've given a lot of credit to over the course of the season for good reason, has struggled the last two weeks and UHS nine and DV away, So let's probably calm down about calling them, you know, a shutdown defense. They're kind of they're more of a

punch above their weight defense. And if you look at the way that they've lost the last two weeks against the Browns and the Cardinals, it's been against good, diverse running games. They sort of had no answer for and oh, by the way, the Ravens come in as good and diverse a running game as you'll have. Maybe Daniel Jones is gets healthier for this game, um, because it would be a big time test for him. Baltimore is gonna come after you. They did it last week, even though

their cornerbacks are hurt. They're just gonna take the chance. They're gonna come after you. Can you figure it out? That's kind of what Danna does is struggled with. And uh, good luck to the Ravens. This Giant's team, which had seemed fun, Uh, may go into weeks seventeen without even a chance to to win this division. You're not fun enough if you're the Giants, you forget about the Even when they're playing well, the offense was still not doing much.

And now you know you're in a situation where you're not gonna shut down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens where they're playing on offense right now. The last three games since Lamar came back for the COVID list uh thirty four points, forty seven points, forty points, all wins, of course, and the Giants in their last five weeks or four weeks coming out of there by nineteen points, seventeen points, seven points, six points. It all seems trending in a

certain direction here. I don't know if it's gonna be forty to fourteen, like Ravens that to the Jaguars, because like you said that, you know, the Giants are proud defense that have been overachieving the season. So I don't think it gets that bad. But it could it be thirty to fourteen. That's kind of what I see this game. Another easy win for the Ravens. I'm with you because I mean, you know, Jacksonville has played teams close. They haven't been it hasn't been all blowouts. Um and Baltimore

just whipped them. And my takeaway from watching Brown's Giants was that where Cleveland had to get really creative in other games to um throw defenses off, and they liked their trick plays. It was the most vanilla um week of football on offense to Cleveland's produced, because I think they just simply weren't scared of what New York would do on offense at all. So why if you're Baltimore not go in and um do what you do and drop bombs. I mean, there they are one of the

most dained. The a f C playoff field is insane. But Baltimore feels like, and I feel like I say this about a couple of teams, they could beat anyone. They could beat anyone in the league playing this way, and I wouldn't be surprised. Good thing that I traded in my Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl pick for the Dolphins. Well, here's the thing, though, I mean, we're all on the same page that the Ravens are hyper dangerous right now,

but they don't control their own destiny. The Dolphins, if they went out, could take their playoff spot, So the Ravens have a chance. And that would be pretty crazy that the Ravens could win their last five games, you know, kill most of the teams have that great win over the Browns in prime time and Lamar will be playing like an m v P and then they're sitting at home. I don't think anybody wants Well, if you're a fan of these other wild card teams, you're cool with that.

But if you're a football fan that's just watching and you want the best playoff matchups, you want the Ravens in this game. But they only can control what they can control. And my last thought. Joe Judge was on Good Morning Football today. In fact, he came in immediately after the old Zeusser. When I did my power ranking segment, they moved me up. I usually do a six thirty

two thirty five am hit, which is not great. It's you know, setting the old alarm at five forty in the morning and then you get in the shower and you get ready. But I got moved up to six fifteen uh with with Joe Judge on the schedule, and you know what, that made a big difference. I struggled with that and then I finished the hit, and then there's all there's a Sessler like you know, who knows what's going on with Sessler. The man is seriously a vampire.

He's in full texting flight, already shooting me texts about various league issues before the sun has even risen. So I don't know when Cessler went to bed, or when he woke up, or if he went to bed at all. Maybe filling the gaps right here, Mark, I have a terrible um. That is something I need to work on, because I I'll you know, I'll be active and up or at least just you know, lying in bed and watching my phone, like at four in the morning, and I'll start texting people and it's like, oh I was

five with a text I was up. I was just amazed that you were up. Well, I mean I have you know, we have there's no sleeping in in our house. I don't think any of us have that scenario. But our kids don't. Um, you know, sort of fall out of bed. They launched at a bed and they make it very clear that they are awake. I still turn those notifications off, you know, until seven thirty, you know, just in case, you know, just in case there's a sessler or I think various other people out here the

other day, ye sending that five thirty. I don't want that weakening. But my point Joe Judge on Good Morning Football one of the all time. This guy gets it quotes. With all due respect to Christmas, let's forget about Christmas for a while and focus on the Ravens. Joe Judge gets it, dot Com facts slash members best word, the ball coach guy's about ball. That's it, Jesus, not a big deal ball. Back burner back that you know, back burner,

the religious figures. Yeah, There's there's no way you could, you know, possibly like do one job as well as you could do and hold Christmas also in high esteem, like in different sides of your brain. Christmass picked up like a gorilla press lamb and thrown it to a dumpster. So you can prove yourself has to be wondering or the other. All right, moving on, now it's my pick, and I apologize for that embarrassing mishap on my end. Um, it goes to me, and I will take Atlanta in

Kansas City. Listen, I'm picking this late in the draft, and I get Patrick Patrick Mahomes game. Give it to me, um, and we keep waiting for the Chiefs to beat someone fifty to thirty or fifty to twenty or fifty seven to six. Um, maybe it happens here Atlanta. The Falcons are a pretty annoying team to watch, even if you're not a Falcons team. Like the game against Tampa last week, You're you're playing so well in the first half, your defense is speaking of like, you know, overachieving. You know,

you shut down Tom Brady in that offense. It's seventeen nothing at the half, and then you come out of the half and Brady goes right down the field on you it's seventeen seven. But then Matt Ryan takes the Falcons right down to the field seven midway through the third quarter, and then that's it. The Atlanta said, we're now going to fold up tent on both sides of the ball and allow Tom Brady have his little latest

celebration party. And now you, the Falcons and their fans get to hear a bunch more about Super Bowl fifty one. If you don't want people like us to remind you Falcons of super Bowl fifty one and what happened in that game, stop doing stuff like that. What are you doing, like what kind of performances that and to complete inability to close out of game. So that's my thoughts about

the Falcons and the Chiefs. I think we're at the stage with the Chiefs right now, and I know they lost Clyde Edwards, a layer to a high ankle sprain and hip and it's a bad injury, but hopefully they get him back out of the by in the playoffs. That's to me the only thing left for the Chiefs because I know they're gonna win either. Both of these games are one of these games and have the first seed and be locked in as much as they can. Just don't get hurt, don't patch for my homes, don't

twist your knee up. Let's let's get out of these games healthy and get into the playoffs at full strength. Are close to it, I'd say get healthy too. On the offensive line, I think they've they've been real banged up there, and maybe you don't notice it as much

because you know, they still are putting up. They put up four hundred yards UM in every game except one over their last seven games, and and you know, yeah, they're not blowing teams out, but they look in spurts as explosive as any football team I've ever watched, so you know, but still it would be nice to get

you know, their line healthy. I think that's the one thing if you're gonna get if you're gonna create mistakes for Patrick Mahomes like the Dolphins did a couple of weeks ago, they seem to get through those mistakes the Chiefs really well. But um, that's that's your method here, and I don't see the Falcons is a team that's gonna cause a lot of chaos and havoc for Patrick Mahomes, You wouldn't think so. I mean that, as Dan mentioned, the Falcons gave up thirty one points in three fourteen

yards to Brady in one half. I mean the credit to Tom Brady for stiff being able to do a performance thrown for as many yards as Brady did in one half on Sunday um all season. So that's forty three year old Tom Brady. So what what should Tom Brady?

What should Patrick Mahomes do? You would think they'd finally get a nice to score win, they would clinch on the field and uh in a season where almost no teams are gonna rest, and you feel like you would need it this year more than ever because it's been a rough year. I wonder if Andy Reid's gonna rest for two weeks, because he's gonna rest for weeks seventeen

and get a bye. We'll see. We also saw your boy Todd Gurley get benched officially and over the last two weeks, and I started thinking watching the game, I started thinking, it's dr really done? Is there? I would get I would give like a fifteen percent chance his career stops after this year. Is anyone going to pitch

him as a starter next year. I think he'll get a job if he wanted it, But just I don't know if he's definitely gonna want to play for a million dollars and be a backup or whatever it would

write he set. I mean, we can't speak for the men and his passions as a professional football player, but he's set up here should be financially for life, and um, that would he's not going to get another big contract, and I don't think team's gonna be knocking knocking down his door coming off a season he was not great at the end of the Rams run because of the nia and the bone on bone condition in the knee, and then he's averaging about three and a half carries

three and a half yards to carry this year with the Falcons. He's just he's just not the same guy anymore. Knocking down his door would be aggressive. Yeah, well that would be and I hope, I hope it wouldn't happen either way. Just knock or just you know what, call him calls agent. Actually, just just just completely professional about this, all right? Uh, finally, Snakes Dezeuser, I believe this is

the last game Caroline at Washington. Wow. So we did an entire draft with every single team in the league, plus all those other games on Christmas and Saturday in primetime, and a first place team gets the last pick in the draft. That's where we're at with the Washington football team, a team that I guess we admire for their tenacity

on defense, but uh, I guess it stops there. Uh. They face the Carolina Panthers, who you know, let's face it, since the end of September, they lose every single week just about they find a way. Um, we have a issue here at the quarterback position with Washington, and we talked about it on the Christmas special. Dwayne Haskins bozo behavior, goes to a strip club, um, without a mask on it, gets his photo taken, it becomes an issue. He's disciplined by the team. He's obviously puts him in a COVID

close contact designation. Who knows maybe has COVID after that night out, and um, you have al by the way, your coach had cancer, you know, compromised individual Alex Smith as a leg injury. So there's a lot of indecision about who's even gonna be behind center for this game. So Washington's in a tough spot, and it's because their former first round pick just seems like a knucklehead. Well he it looks like he's on track to start. Dwayne Haskins.

He did practice on on Wednesday. You know, they don't really have a real NFL quarterback on the raster other than him and Um. Alex Smith is still hurt. Alex Smith was watching practice John Beck available. So I think this is one of those you know, we always say it's a sliding scale for talent, it's also like a

circumstantial scale for um punishment. Like if they were able to punish Dwayne Haskins harder, I bet they would, UM, but I think they realized he gives them a better chance to win than than um Johnny Bananas off the street. And they're trying to go win a division, the real world challenge, and so he's gonna start. He's gonna start this game. I think you're right, because Ron Rivera does not. I I don't care if this is sourced by no one.

This is just my opinion. Ron Rivera does not like Dwayne Haskins professionally personally, he wants nothing to do with him on his team starting quarterback. But what's he gonna do. He's in a situation where, if this was different and you still had Kyle Allen and Alex Smith, you he would actually absolutely bury Dwayne Haskins and put him so deep in the doghouse that you might not ever seen Dwayne Haskins again. So I'm sure grinds Ron Rivera's gears that he has to now put this guy on the

field to lead his offense. That's that's I mean. And if you're the rest of the Washington offense, you know, you probably if that's the case between he and Ron river and it certainly seems to be. They know all that, and then they've got their quarterback going out and doing absurd things during the I mean, this offense um may not have a lot of belief in their own quarterback. So how about you know, Derek Brown, Brian Burns, Jeremy Chin,

this young Panthers, this defense. I've been talking them up all year. Have you got to go win one of these games? I mean, to your point, and you say that have a tough time closing um and they there's been some weird close games where stuff is happening at the end of the contest. That's you know, variable, but go take care of business here once be the berserker that I thought you would be against the team trying

to win the NFC East. Maybe better to keep losing though, you know there's a team that's rebuilding get a top five pick. But you're right there. We should mention they just fired their general manager, Marty Herne, who had one of the craziest again general manager careers where he built up the Jake Delone Panthers was fired, came back into the building and now Matt Rule I think will essentially higher his own general manager. This this should you know, not a bad last pick. Um. I think it'll go

really quickly. The Panthers, of nothing else, go on longer drives than any team in the league. That Washington defense gives up gives up longer drives than any team, and like that's Washington style. They just let you drive on them and then they stop you in the red zone. So this has like a nice two hours, forty seven minute type of vibe to it. And I'm I I'm sorry to all your Christian McCaffrey fantasy owners. He is not practicing still. He is, according to Matt Rule, doubtful

for Week sixteen. So you just lost them. It just what a what a tough situation. Bye bye, um. And if you're in the Fantasy Championship despite Christian McCaffrey missing the entire season, just be happy that you're so good at fantasy sports, because what a sign that is. All Right, that's it. Week sixteen preview not bad. No Thursday night football mini recap. We're not gonna do a Christmas night show, so don't be looking for that. Just give us a break.

I mean, just let us have a couple days off. We're gonna take a couple of days off here, enjoy the holiday season. Um, and then Sunday night we'll be back and we will recap, Yes, fifteen games that that should be fun. That should be fun with the help of Nick Shook, we'll need it and hopefully Chris Wesley. And before we sign off, no, Bill, can you jump in here? The Bill? Are you on? Mike? Are you able to what's up? Buddy? First of all, well, I

don't know. I still have to see how you do and post on the production, But so far, so good. No technical glitches filling in for Ricky? You did, have you sent a private chat in the middle of the show that I caught and I didn't have a chance to speak on it during that conversation. Uh, this is a quote from Nobile. I actually know Whaley personally, that being Doug Whaley, the deposed GM of the Bills way back then. Do you want to elaborate on that for

the audience? I text him here and there. He's a nice guy, gives a good scotting advice. How do you how do you know? Like, how did that start? I go to the NFL p a collegiate Bowl and he was the head of that and then now he was most recently had the head of football operations for the XFL. So m hm, oh, he look at that. Nobile is a mover and a shaker, the head of football operations for the XFL. Where is all right, since you're our

source on the XFL, where is that league at? Because obviously Vince bailed on it again, but there was someone that tried to come in and save it. I think the Rock bought it, that's right. I think I think they're gearing up for um launch or re launch. Yeah, I think they're coming back next year. Alright, So Doug Whaley, Yes, it did not work out with Sammy Watkins, there was a big roll of the dice, but you obviously are a football lifer. And happy holidays to you if you're listening.

And the Bill, thank you again for helping us out today. Happy to join you guys. All right, this is Dan Hanson signing for a Quiet Storm, the old Boss, the Bill. Some guys just one name, don't need anything else. That's him. He's the Bill, all right. Merry Christmas, Happy high happy kond. We'll see on Sunday.