2021 Week 15 Preview

hard to get you mad. I've done it, but it's not easy to do at least out tidy you. Uh, okay, this is a good one. It's different now the bye weeks it's over. No more byes. There's not three weeks. There's not three weeks left in the season, there's four. Because this is the biggest season ever. Mark Sessler, it is and I love the robust nature of it. Um. I totally support the extra week. Uh it's it's a joy. And don't forget the runner up in the slogan for

the season, football was family. Um so we have four weeks left. The longest season ever was another one. They tried out. Um anyway, so yes, no more buys. So we got thirty two teams in action this week, however, different setup. We have two Saturday games. We have the Thursday night game. You'll hear the recap of that Chiefs Chargers tonight. We have a Monday night game that involves the Vikings, so everybody rejo rejoice because it's gonna be

a wild game that goes down to the finish. And then we have a slate of Sunday games and that is what we will pull from for the draft. But before we get to the games and the preview previews, we got to talk about the latest coach to go down. And UM, I have to say the firing of Urban Meyer. Um, certainly in our time doing the show has to go down as the most like an unprecedented show in this realm,

Like is does anything top? And I texted Steve Weich just want because I know he used to cover the Falcons, And I asked him, what if you thought maybe the Bobby Petrino uh situation worse. Um, Steve hasn't gotten back to me. Maybe he's busy, it's air. I just saw

him on air. Maybe it's personal. I don't know. I'm gonna try to move past that, but I think pound for pound, when you factor in everything that Meyer was supposed to be and everything he became, which was monstrous to this franchise, Greg, this is the worst higher of all time in well, especially when yeah, you think of the money, the length of the contract. I don't know if they're gonna try shod Khan that the team owner is going to try to say that this was for

cause and not pay him. We'll see. But in terms of everything that happened throughout Petrino, I remember I was working at p f T at the time, I think, and he was a really bad coach. I was getting a lot of criticism. But the thing he's just remembered for is they just like left suddenly, that he just ducked out. There wasn't this like you weren't expecting that

to happen. That was part of the excitement with Patrina was he just left like a hand or a printed out letter and everyone's locker and it was like why he just he just ditched Urban Meyer. It started with, you know, the racist offensive line coach that that he hired, bit of a red flag right off the bat. That was that was bad um. And it continued with all

these different stories. And the crazy part was, it really does feel like Josh Lamba, the former kicker who uh told the story to to the Athletic that Urban Meyer literally kicked him um during training camp and when when you know, Lambeau responded saying, don't touch me, using some color for words. Urban said, I'll kick whoever I want. Again, I'm taking out the color for words. He said, I'm the ball coach kick whoever the blank I wanted. Like, dude,

what he denied all that or whatever? Uh, but he definitely did that stuff. And here's the other thing. There is a connection here. The Kicker Club is not just this party zone. Kicker Club has a little pop. It has a little juice outside the velvet rope. And once we heard that someone harmed or disrespected one of our own, we sent some heavy hitters to career. That's how that's how that club works. Um, well done, But you come for one of us, you come for all of us,

and we're coming back at you ten times a strong. Sorry, go ahead, back to reality. I uh yeah, I think with Urban Meyer to like it seems like no one wish casted him to be what he might be more than Shot Khan, I mean, who just like called him essentially his dream higher and had clearly been fascinated with

him for so long. I think there were plenty of people inside and outside the NFL that thought it was a really um high risk Kyrie Ward Higher from the start, and it turned into I just think it's it is. It's a contrast and like why a lot of these college coaches um don't work in the NFL too, and how it just doesn't it doesn't pan out because urban Meyer, wherever he went was like the sun. Every he was,

he had all power. But that's not how the league works essentially, where you've got to work with uh an owner, you've got to you know, probably do all sorts of stuff you didn't have to do as a college coach. You can't lean on your recruiting recruiting class year after year, and you find out that it's a lot harder to win with a trash bag roster. And I don't think urban Meyer ever really seemed um mentally or psychologically up

to the task of a rebuild. It was like where his even his words, it's like, we're here to win right now. And I know some of that's coach speak, but I think he literally got about six or seven weeks into it, and I had no more enjoyable thing on Sundays than looking at his face each week. I think he was someone that was so unhappy and out of place. Handshake and it was the final handshake of his NFL career with Mike Rabel, a former assistant after he was shut out. Uh and again the last game

of his NFL career. Because he will never he will never sniff professional football in at this level. Again, said it all he had, you know, just that he was in his own world, a world of his own creation,

and nobody wanted to help him, and nobody will. And he was tuned out, like when they would ask him about you know, James Robinson coming on and off the field, but also you know, his safety, like he he was not too plugged in, and he thought it was just this top down, you know style of management could work that this staff, which he had trouble putting together. He was not picking like the top of the litter here. He you know, Joe Cullens, his defensive coordinator back in

the day. You know, it was with the Lions and everything during oh and sixteen, It's like they didn't respect him. No one respected him. He and I guess it's just like it was just this force of personality. And if you're shot Khan, like people are getting on urban Meyer of like you're calling all your coaches losers who hired him? Like you hired him urban Meyer? Well, who hired urban Meyer? It was it was this ownership which for the last eleven seasons, ten of which shot Con has been involved,

they've won more than six games one time. I mean, can we set the line that he said when he sat at the days after Draft day, after Trevor Lawrence came in the building, Travis A. T N Was on the stage, Urban Myers on the stage, and Shod Khan says, this time I got it right. I mean he would

he did not see this coming. And it is if you're a Jaguars fan right now, Hey, you relieved that Urban Myers out of the building because this guy was a nightmare from day one, obviously, But at the same time, there are a lot of concerns, Hey, do you have ownership that has the right instincts to run an organization properly? Be the damage done to Trevor Lawrence in his rookie year. Is that something that could be undone? Where is he from a mental standpoint, let alone forget about the physical

side and learning the sport like that? Does he still love the game? After this year? It's been that type of bad season, a lot of big concerns and and yet like when you look back to the way urban Meyer spoke so forcefully and we had him. I don't don't know if you guys remember we had him on as a guest uh during the off season, Like you could see like how shod Khan Uh could fall for this sort of confidence. I got this. I'm not Ship Kelly, I'm not Nick Saban jumping to the n c A

at the first sign of trouble. Who do these people think they're dealing with? So what if I hired a racist strength coach? What am I zip recruiter? See? And it's just like when when you're that powerful figure, um, you just you convince people get by us. I forgot about that. Yeah, that was you know, it was a spicy get greg. I will say that you. Um, he's been on your radar, urban Meyer from the minute he

entered the league and now he exits the league. So and by the way, Daryl Bevil takes over as the interim coach. We'll get to their matchup a little bit later. But obviously it's really not about the rest of the season for the Jaguars. It's what they do next, and they have a lot to do to get things right. All right, let's get to week fifteen. Let's start before we get to our draft with uh the Saturday games and the primetime games on Sunday and Monday. So we'll

start with Raiders at Browns and UH. Okay, So the Raiders have been pretty brutal since they're bye week. They had that win over one win over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. That's increasingly feeling like an outlier. Look at the bigger picture of where they're at, and it feels like the same thing that's happening the last couple of years is happening again. They are dead in the water. I feel that they are. I don't think they have a pulse.

So I locked up the Browns and I will stick with that lock as soon as as long as we get some semblance of the Cleveland Browns on the field Saturday. And that's where it gets interesting, Mark, and interesting in a bad way. Is that COVID nineteen has wiped out

seemingly half of the Brown's roster and coaching staff once again. Yeah, I mean it's the cherry on top of a terrible UM COVID omni crown uh laced week for the entire league They've got you know, it's fifteen plus um ten regular contributors or starters includes Baker Mayfield, includes Wyatt Teller includes uh Jedrick Wills. That's two key components of your offensive line. Um, A cent you know, Jarvis Landry's out,

a flock of skill position players. Uh. You know, it's it's the kind of thing that I you know, you if you were to back out of this lockdown, I mean you'd have every reason in the world too, because it's anyone's guests. You're their coach. Won't be on the field either. Um. What will happen on Sunday? I know Darren Waller is out for the Raiders. UM. That has been a big part of why they have looked so punchless.

But they in general seem like a team that is just a lost ship at this point that they're not very good in any way even like Derek Carr still gives them a chance in this game. But I think Cleveland can still win this. I just my head is spinning trying to catch up with how they can feel the team. I think that one thing that we underrate a little bit because we're in a fantasy football coach or it's like, oh, you've got to go figure out what to do if Jarvis Landry was your fourth wide

on in your fantas team. But like there are probably you know, of their playbook options that are not options now because you're gonna have practice squad guys in there in backups like they've not been used this way, and so your ability to be creative is limited. That said, you're playing a Raiders team with a limited creativity of

its own. Right. The Raiders offensive line has gone from passable to just brutal the last few weeks because I keep watching car each week, like with this, I on really moving him down in the QB index and seeing how he's playing. I think he's at eight or nine or something, and but he I don't know what else he could have. First of all, you know three of his teammates fumbled last week and another one dropped the past that turned into an interception and that's just bad luck.

But the offensive line has slowly gotten worse and worse. It's what we talked about in the offseason. And one part of the Browns team that actually is still healthy, we hope, is the defensive line. Now. Jedevan Clowney's you know, had a non COVID illness and is out of practice. Myles Garrett has been like trying to stay as far away from the team as possible, and because you know, he has asthma and he had his COVID last week,

but he's is expected to play. The defensive line is supposed to be healthy, and that's the group I think that needs to step up. And Garrett kind of have that defensive player of the year um moment continued from a week ago when he absolutely stepped up and and had one and helped him get that victory. With all that said, the COVID stuff, it worries me because it's bunched up and Dan that that would be a gutsy lock.

I think it's a pick um. Now. It was the Browns favored by five and a half at one point. Because the COVID issues are all clustered. It's Landry and Hooper. So there's two of year past two leading the only two pass couchers they had, with two of your best three offensive lineman in teller Um and the and Wills. And then it's four of your six top defensive backs including too you know, two safeties, a couple of corners, and so it's a lot and and like they should

be given. And I don't think Baker being gone hurts at all. Case Keenum might be an upgrade, and I don't think he's a downgrade for a one week situation. But the rest of it, that's a lot. It's a lot to ask. I think they could do it, but it's still a lot that now here's something and Mark and I were talking about it before we came in here. Now at a certain point, yes, if you lose enough guys, you can't even be the same team you were. But this Browns team does have a way of responding well

to adversity. And as long as they don't have all these guys out the maybe they get some back. Uh. Since we found out on when on Thursday, I still I still like their chances. And then you look at the urgency factor, for the Browns because this should have been a gimme where the Raiders are and now it's up in the air, obviously because of COVID. But this is the last time the Browns have what would be

a very winnable game. They They're at green Bay next week at Pittsburgh, which you know it was always going to be a fight, and then home against Cincinnati, so all those games are coin flips. At best green Bay, they'll be a heavy underdog. This is your chance to get to eight and six and really give yourself a chance to win that division because it's so wide open. Lose this game again, the Browns are allowed of trouble. I mean to Greg's cluster comment like that, when that

happened to the Browns last year. Yes, you have the Steelers game that they won with no Kevin Stefanski in players out, but they lost to the Jets because they were down to like one wide receiver. I just it limits what you can do. And the Raiders, I mean, I know we're down on them. There's still a good football team. They have a good pass rush of their own against the wounded. This house for this, I heard, you know, I heard some talk in the film. There's

some possibility of that. There's some possibility of then whoa can Ricky can you send like a camera crew for the Sessler Chris Rose experience. We gotta see, god see, like how big is Chris Rose's house. He's had a really good career, you know, seeing that kind of stuff. I would just say this that if I were invited over to someone's house, I'm gonna only release positive reports. I'm not gonna return to the show, you know, as some sort of double agent. But then we could have

a private conversation. I'm just saying I would like to know what Chris Rose's house looks like. I would imagine that it's a wonderful place. Um. All right, So there's that, and I will stick with the lock for now. I'm locking up the Browns, but I reserve the right comes Saturday about, you know, noontime Pacific. I'm gonna get a lay of the land here and I'll move off if I have to. But I do like the Browns a lot. In that game, the other Saturday game, it's a primetime game.

It's a gorgeous one. New England Patriots nine and four coming off thereby travel to Lucas Oil Stadium. Bad job by me. I've been in that building a hundred times. Uh to play the Cults at seven and six. Love it, Love it, Love it, Greg, Because you have the Patriots who are in first place in the a f C East. They are within striking distance of the Where are they currently the number one seeds? Still they are there, the number one seed in the FC. So it it's all

in front of them. They just gotta keep winning, Alright, we got it. You like their performance in the weather. How about this game though, because I'll tell you what, maybe it's maybe in the Patriots hater, I like the Cult Saturday Night. There's literally no way the Patriots pull this off. Jonathan Taylor like he is going to be running all over them, and I just there's not one part of me that believes that the Patriots could pull this one out. So I'm locking up the Colts. Wow,

well we have a lock off. Oh. I don't care about your little magic spinning where you try to get into You're not getting into the head of the New England Patriots or the Cults. Unreal backwards Jinks Street. We're gonna start are tweeting every day to like the main around the NFL handle and I'm like, guys, we're not going to see that it's five in a row. It's

like more than that. Well, the Patriots have won six in or I don't know if you've been along the whole, right, I think most of it most I think it would be funny also just to get Greg mad about it if we kind of reversed it and say, all these locks, obviously she's locking uh the other team, and give her credits for wins, and let's see where she's at and the she's doing it with that intense, So I do think she should get credits. It's a conversation this week.

You know, some of those they were heavy favorites, but most of them it was close. This week. They're actually an underdog, the Patriots. It started as a slight favorite for the Patriots. Oh, you know what, I think. It's I think it no finish what you're saying, because I have a thought on that. It annoys me a bit, you know, I want to know, well, because you know what, I think. It says that there is a resistance to

accept what is happening. There is a resistance and and I'm and I know it's like I've talked, I think Dan has it to some degree, but like Dan's more level headed than a lot of people out there that just don't want to accept the New England is the best team in the conference that anything that you look at. I think these are sort of mirror teams to some degree. I know we say that a lot and it's not, I know, not perfectly the same. But they both want

to run the ball, they both have good runs. Stopping deeps is the Colts at this point, Ryan Kelly said, we put ourselves on the map as a run team. Teams are going to load the box. Only three teams in the league load the box more than the Patriots. I mean, I just think this is gonna be like I I hate this term, like an old meat and potatoes type thing. And Jonathan Taylor has not been quite as good against stack boxes. Anything that the Colts can do that looks a little bit like New England. New

England can do better I do. I think Belichick is definitely that's gonna be an angle for him. It's like, how do you beat the Colts? Put the game in Carson Wentz his hands in a big spot in prime time with the whole season seemingly on the line and

see if he cracks. I don't think that's a bad strategy. No, I think there's so much about Wentz the next two weeks against the Pats and the Cardinals because one of the Colts linebackers said this week, we want to make them one dimensional and and like it almost sounds like a shot at mac Jones. But I I think the Patriots are approaching the game in the same way, and I trust Mac Jones more than Carson Wentz ultimately to

not make the big mistake. These teams are similar. I mean, it's it's not just the running, it's the turnover margin. They're both incredibly careful with the ball and opportunistic. The Colts are first in the NFL and the Patriots are third, and that's after the Patriots through four or five weeks were terrible. This is usually a kind of a Belichick hallmark. So who can force like the big mistake? The difference, UH to me is if the if you make the

Patriots throw like they'll throw. That's why I was annoyed by all the like they don't trust mac Jones in that game. It's like they threw the ball thirty two times the week before against Tennessee because Tennessee had the same idea, We're gonna do everything we can to stop the run, and they did a pretty good job. Mac Jones is happy to dink and dunk, and he's happy to take chances down the field. I think he is less likely to get confused by coverage, uh than then

Carson Wentz in this game. And the red zone defense is a huge difference to the Patriots are first or second in the NFL and the Colts are terrible on paper. They are like doing what they want defensively, they slow teams down, but they don't finish the at the end the drive, they often don't finish. I think that's the difference. I have one weird little stat for you, and I like historical stats. On this show, we just tossed him out the window. I get it. But it's Belichick based,

and he's been Belichick the whole time. He's the same human beings. All right. Well, it's his twenty one regular season game, whereas the Patriots coach, where he's facing a thousand plus yard rusher. We're clearly at that point the season. It's later in the year it's bad weather. You know that that team is probably based heavily, especially back in the early two thousands around that rusher. He is eighteen and two in those games. Yeah, it's it's it's a

good stat And I don't think the line moving. First of all, it was small. It was like it was like one, you know, one for the Patriots to two for the Cults, which is, you know, pretty small move. Ultimately, I think it's just a credit to what the Colts have done and they're at home that they have legitimately since starting oh and three are seven and three with all three of those losses, two quality teams in games that they that they lost, leads and their offense is explosive.

And so I think you look at these two teams and they're both top ten NFL teams to me, and I wouldn't have said this a month ago, but I think they're a better matchup then the Bills are for New England. I think they can they're a better type of team to to deal with New England. And by the way, Greg, the Colts, despite being seven and six and not in first place in their division, are along with the Patriots, in the top ten of the Power rankings. I'm with you, guys, and that's why I think because

I have had reservations about the Pats. But if they do, I have the Pats at five. But if the Pats, if the Pats beat the Cults on the road in this spot, not only will I get on the same page as you, I will apologize to you. Well, I'm not seeking not only celebrate a lock win in a big spot. I will also personally apologize to you on Sunday show that just for a bigger game for the Colts, it's a big game for both. It's a bigger game

for the Colts. They as good as they are, they risk missing the way offs here with the Cardinals coming up next. And this bus is Dan centric, you know what I think, because they asked Belichick about hard Knocks, and you know, of course he doesn't want to be on it, but you know he wants to author like a really ugly episode for the Cults. All right. Sunday Night Football, Saints at Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium. The Saints coming off a win over the Jets. Not overly impressive,

but they did get the job done. I believe it was thirty two nine something along those lines. Uh. And now a much bigger test here against the Bucks. Uh. Coming off that big overtime win against San Francisco, this is another not San Francisco. Who did they beat last week? The Bills? The Bills, the Bills, of course. Um, this is a big test for New Orleans. Do you think Mark, that the Bucks have or the Saints have any chance to kind of hang in this battle considering their quarterback situation.

Not really, not in the way that we've seen where they've you know, they've beaten Brady three consecutive regular season games when they were healthy, when they had Drew Brees a year ago. Um. I mean I would have even given them a chance they beat them earlier this year, and they seem to have Brady's number. I mean, there is something to it, just if you look at the

recent history. But the way the Bucks are playing right now, and we've said it before, it's like they're so precise and so successful that they're almost an afterthought and sort of dull. I mean, there's six and oh at home. Their home and road splits are pretty incredible. They've scored thirty plus in each of those six and oh home games. The only other team that's ever done that is a two thousand and seven Patriots. I just look at like the way that certain players are heating up. Leonard four

Nett is ninth in the league and scrimmage yards. He looks like a player that we've not seen in Leonard Fournette's body in a long long time. Chris Gotten has twenty five catches in the last two games. Gronkowski only played five snaps in that week that they lost to the Saints. We're getting a different Gronkowski right now. I know the defense is a little banged up and up and down, but I mean the Saints are a mash unit, so I don't I think the floor has fallen out.

I I struggled with this one because you mentioned it. The last mountain for Brady to climb in Tampa is beating the Saints in the regular season and even having a clean game against the Saints period, because if you remember that playoff game against the Saints, they didn't do anything in the second half. They were totally stymied and it was their defense. The Bucks defense that was were just marauders and would not let Drew Brees get back

into that game. But but the but the Saints defense for how many games the eight quarters has been like, you know, more than that sixteen quarters has been like incredibly competitive against this team. And they are a little healthier than they were. They're healthy on the back end, um defensively, you had Marcus Davenport back last week. You

hope you have Cam Jordan's back from COVID. So it's definitely uh, wish wishful think thinking potentially, but I I think they will make this a fun Sunday night game. And there is something about this Saints team I haven't totally given up on that. They're just that they're more than the sum of their parts. Camara being back is so huge. I think Taysom Hill actually does give them something at quarterback that you definitely weren't getting with Simeon.

And if you look at the Bucks run defense, which arians had that things like nobody runs on us people have the last month. So that's just the facts that the facts are, like their numbers, everything about the rush defense hasn't been great. That's who the Saints are. I would love it if they're tacked. You know, if Ramcheck was back for this game, I don't think he will, so they're they're they're not healthy on offense. I know Deante Harris got suspended. We never mentioned that he's like

their one explicit player. It's like, it's ridiculous. But I think their defense can make this fun. I gotta keep up. I don't. I don't like what I've seen from Taysom Hill in these two weeks, especially since the finger injury. Um. I thought he was pretty bad for most of that Jets game, and a lot of his numbers came um on a late touchdown run that didn't matter, and I don't even know if the Jets were playing at that point, Um, but really the way the ball was coming out of

his hand, UM was troubling. Now, that was up in Northern New Jersey in December, so maybe playing down in Tampa, the finger will react differently. But I just haven't seen enough from him, and plus the fact that he doesn't have a lot of real high octane weapons to throw to. You're not a big Nick Vanette fan. I mean their number one receiver is Nick Vanette. What is happening? Yeah, well,

I like little Jordan Humphrey. Obviously he's out to another in Geez, So we don't have a little Jordan either. I think there's only Camara makes them a team to reckon with. But if there, if the Bolsa Sons is able to negate or neutralize Camara, this is gonna be a very one sided game. I kind of see this one getting away from the Saints as much as I'm I'd like to see it great because I think the

Saints are always fun to be in the mix. I wish this game is at the super don't put it that will be yeah, we'll be in the film thing. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but they were ten and a half point favorites, and I was with you guys initially thinking that this is their time to like show that they're just gonna wipe the floor. But it's not like they weren't trying in the other Saints game. Dennis Allen in this defense is just good. Well. One of the Saints games was the first Tom Brady in a

Bucks uniform. I'm not saying I throw that out, but I kind of throw it out, and I just I think this is a different situation. I mean, Brady talked about in his press conference on Thursday that he still burns with annoyance about the interceptions he threw against the Saints this season, so it's like he doesn't he that doesn't wash away from him. I think he's determined to white board the way of the narrative we're talking about

that he can't beat this team. And by the way, there is a path to the playoffs for the Saints even if they don't win this week. I mean, it'd be nice to win this week obviously be a huge lim for them, but they really have to find a way to split one of the next two weeks at Tampa home Dolphins. Okay, win one of those games, then beat Carolina and Atlanta and to end the season. Bang, you're nine and eight and that could probably gets you

in in the NFC. So find a way to win either this week or next week, and then take care of your business. So the Saints still have a path, but this week is gonna be very tough. Finally, Monday Night Football, before we get to the draft, we have the Minnesota Vice games and intense preamble to get to the draft to oh yeah, it's a nice build. The Minnesota Vikings, the team of zoos til coming off another insane game, they really did hit peak Vikings. I think,

but you never know. There's been a lot of peaks this season for the Vikings in terms of ridiculousness. Um going up twenty nine nothing at home in the third quarter against the Steelers and still needing to make a stop on the last play of the game. I mean, that's pretty impressive, even by their standards. That was pretty awesome. Like, they almost lost that game straight up, Um, but they didn't.

They won. They stopped the two games slide, and now they get the Bears, who are four and nine, who have one win since October t Um, Greg, this makes sense as a game that Minnesota is gonna take care of business, but they're not really a take care of business team. They're not especially on the you know, this game is on the road, it's in the division, familiar opponents. The the Bears will be without a lot of their coaches,

their coordinators all got put on the COVID list. Matt Naggie is still there though, so I don't know though it's like a good thing a bad thing. But the defense for chicagomm has really fallen off a cliff, Like if Justin Fields was out there playing with like or even the twenty nineteen Bears defense, Like this team could be competitive, but it's a really bad defense right now. And that's why. Also, because you know, I'm not feeling like totally alive, and I just need to feel something

in life. And nothing makes you feel something a little more than locking up the Vikings in a small spot like that, I'm safe. That's where I was going if I if I move off the Browns, I will be going Vikings. You come join me that maybe I should just do it. Get out of that COVID? Do you want?

Do you want? Your football weekend? And it's a long one to begin with the law with a lock that goes south now, I mean in an Island game and you're dying watching like why did I Because it's not gonna be here's the thing with locking up the Vikings, like you just are accepting that with four minutes to go, You're nervous, You're it's not gonna be easy. You're just and you know what, I've been riding this all season long with him. Why don't we just turn up the

stakes a little bit. I'm gonna move my lock over to Minnesota. It just feels right. I like the matchup for him. I think they're a far superior team to the Bears. I think Dalvin Cook going from carted off the field to two yards rushing again speaks to what a special player he is. Adam Feeling maybe back and that's a big thing for them because he I think Kirk Cousins struggles against Pittsburgh and he was not good at all against the Steelers. A lot of that connected

to Adam Feeland being missing. I think it really makes him more uncomfortable as a quarterback. And as much as I I want don't want to say like Cousins, but as much as I think Cousins gets a bad rap, sometimes when you look at what he's able to do, he is kind of a guy that needs things to be in order around him to do his bidding and take Feeling his dude his safety blanket out, and that's

been an issue. I think it's just the vikings, to your point, are such a conundrum to analyze because we did the third the TNF recap, and I had all these ideas when at halftime they had played such a complete game against Pittsburgh and out yardage them three forty nine. Uh, they held Pittsburgh to twenty passing yards but then the

second half was such a collapse. And you look at a team that since Week night and Week nine in Minnesota is bottom five and points per game, allowed, yards per play, total yards, and opposer passing Rading's like the defense that I'm picking, that I'm really locking them up for is that I kind of have faith they are healthier on defense now than they were generally healthy and Zimmer cooking up like a rookie quarters Pittsburgh. It was Pittsburgh's best half of football and offense in the second

half there, which is not a small fear. Here's my fear. And cut to Monday night and I'll get tweets about it, like, oh, you were right, Dan Will. This will be one of those games where you're waiting for their offense to wake up, and it's like, oh, they had two first downs in the first quarter and then all of a sudden, wait, wait a second, why are they up seven six at halftime? Wake up? Wake up, wake up? And then they have some type of horrible, hideous field has a six dyrd

touching rushing touchdown exactly like I do. I we take this on and Greg is still in the distance in the race, but as someone who's tied with I understand this. I'm inviting a level of anxiety in my life that maybe doesn't need to be there. Holiday season. I got the in laws coming in for a week's already. We're just gonna we're gonna fire it up and see if the old ticker can take it. All right, let's take a break and then hit the draft. All right, welcome back.

We have some news developing newsrom Tom brol Hall. We have a trade. We have a trade in the draft to an ounce, and it involves the old loser, Dan Zee. That's me, damn a quiet storm. Mark. You were slated to pick first overall, but you have agreed to terms on the following trade. Mark surrenders his first overall pick and the seventh overall pick in exchange for the third overall pick and the fourth overall pick in today's draft. So Mark unprecedented will be drafting three and six. Dan

will now be drafting one, seven and nine. I'm a little worried about Mark here, just like the competitive spirit or just like what's going You're a little like urban Meyer not knowing his safety. It didn't seem like you were that involved in this trade. You were allowing any terms that Dan would dictate. I was. I was trying to explain it to him, but he didn't seem to care.

He was just like, take whatever you want. It was it was it was can I tell you why, like real quick, like when you there's not a lot of great games outside of the ones we just discussed. The eye in games and I can look at one or two and say I want that, but like everyone in the office is going to be watching that game. So it's like it's not a singular experience. I enjoy the community aspect of it too, but it's more just like Dan what Dan was like, Wow, I want to like

I have an eye, my eye on something. It's like take it. I don't want my You're right. You're right though that in terms of how the draft of the trade works, I have no idea where I'm picking and don't remember any of it's it's it sets you up well. Um in terms of no one's ever had three picks in the first six overall. So if you have a game plan here, it's really gonna come. It's what Sashi Brown would do. That was the developing news out of

the Chris Westling podcast. Studio. It was like it was like Belichick when he traded the second round pick Verson new or whatever. Just take whatever you want, think whatever you want. How happy I am on Sunday is determines how well the trade was. Okay, we will see alright. So with the first overall pick in the week around the NFL Podcast Draft, I will take the Pittsburgh Steelers at home against the Tennessee Titans. Um listen, the Steelers

are interesting. We were just talking about the Vikings, but I don't know if Steelers are interesting. But as I said it on the Thursday Pod, they're kind of like a zombie that doesn't know it's dead. It's staggering around. No one's no one's pulled off the kill shot yet. You know everyone knows classic zombie, you gotta do a shot to the head or it's gonna keep coming. No one's put the shot in the head yet. And the Titans could they be that team? Titans fans all fired up.

We're nine and four, we swept the Colts. Why are the Colts eight in the power rankings and we're twelve? Because you haven't been a good team for weeks? Because you're one for the first time in a month last week against the And that's not your fault. You're playing your schedule. But I don't have to be impressed with nine and four when you see how limited this team continues to be on the off pensive side of the ball. Now, is that selling them short in terms of what they

bring as a whole. Yes, but this is also an offensive league right now, and the fact that they struggle to score points week after week after after week matters to me. I know it was a positive UM Sunday because you've got the positive Derrick Henry news, you got Julio Jones back, you got the win. Um. But at the same time, do I think they're gonna win in Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh in a desperate situation. I don't. You don't.

I think I think the Steelers win this game. It's a tough one because it's a real test of like the Mike Rabel magic kind of what he does well. They've been greater than the some of their parts. Defensively, I think they come up. They're a good game plan team. They're very different every week. That's how they can have a game like the one they had against the Rams, and you would think that they'd be able to expose some of the Pittsburgh offensive problems like Mike Zimmer did

a week ago. But man, are they slow on offensive. Julio doesn't have that juice the running. You know, the running game was back a little last week. But they're They're just so slow. It's just like two really slow teams. I have no idea who's gonna win this game, but man, I love that under like. I just don't think. I just don't think either of these teams is getting over

sixteen points. I just don't. I think if it happens, it's it would have to look a little bit like last week, where you get a lot of contributions from the defense. I mean that game was twenty to nothing, it felt like sixty to nothing, and they got just enough from their offense, guys like donte Foreman and it's it's it's a preseason roster trying to copple By and Julio Jones is not saving them for so. Grave Digger Um obviously Grave Digger Titans Film Room. Check check out

his podcast. This guy knows his stuff with Tennessee, certainly knows more about the team than I do, so tell me what I'm missing when I kind of disregard your team on some level. Well, I don't know what you're necessarily missing. I'd like to just say to all Titans fans on Twitter, there's no need to come after Dan for his Oh they could bring it for our rankings. What about the BTS fans they also have been coming to Dan's a little worried about that. That's a little

that's actually an army. I don't know if I have any sway over over what they think, but very in a nice way, because Grave Digger is a really nice guy. Um replied to something Titans related on Twitter that I posted yesterday, and then some other Titans fan rolled in right behind Grave Digger and was just like you Dan, all right, nice knowing you anyway, Grave Digger, But do you like like the Julio Jones coming back? That's fine, but you kind of need a J. Brown? What else

does this team need? Do you think to get back to where a team that really could go against anybody in the a f C. Yeah, I think getting Derrick Henry and a J. Brown back will be huge. I don't know if it's necessarily that simple, because I I'm still concerned watching the Titans about the past protection. It feels like line is stunt all year. Tannehill is taking and this happened last year, but it would be when he'd connect on like a forty five yard bomb. He's

just getting Harris spect. That's where they love him. They love him in that locker room because then but the offensive line, the disparity between run blocking and pass blocking is really just astounding to me because they run blocked

very well, but then they can't pass protect. It's like one person loses a one on one matchup where they leave a tight end with the opponent's best pass rusher for some reason and he gets beat one on one and like Julio Jones was wide open down the field on I think it was a like a post corner kind of fake out route and Tannehill could have hit him, but he was immediately under pressure and sacked on the play, and so that explosive has gone. So the offense is

not producing explosive plays at all. But that matches up well with the Steelers defense because they have struggled against the run for a while. We saw the Vikings light them up. And there is something about this Titans team and I think it's it's some sort of similar d n A that Frabel is a good coach. You can't exactly see exactly why, but they are greater. Uh. Then

there's some of their parts. And they've been motivated all year ever since Urban Meyer, you know, came on to our show early in the season and just totally dismissed the Titans before the year. The Titans are three offensive players and Mike Brabel's haircut, I mean he did not do his homework. I guess that's why I Brabel didn't shake his hand after the game. That makes sense. How unlikable we should I mean Urban Meyer totally unlikable, dude, One last thing before we move on or have any

other Steelers conversation, got any plans this weekend? Justin let's go, I'm moving to the park. I'm moving apartments tomorrow, so that's a huge plan. And get any help on that move, um or to whose apartment are you christening the new I probably will have have a friend over tomorrow. Yes, but here, can I say something about this. I've been thinking a lot about this. I feel like she would not like it if I continued to talk about this

show and I think just like being being. I want to be a good person and I want to like feel good about myself. And I apologize to the reddit audience who's very invested in this story. I will give you, guys, and I mean they're not more invested than the host of our show, who just clapped like a six year old so excited when he heard the news. We just we're just hanging out. We're just friends, and if that changes, I will update you know what. I you know what,

I respect you as a man. I'm disappointed as a podcast host because I wanted to have every step of this relationship documented and now I have regrets. Did I come on too strong in terms of getting information out of just you have the regrets? Yeah, I mean I think there's more what I do. Hope you provide an update in time if you are allowed, because it still feels very mysterious to me um and a Lorian. I will I will provide and I'll tell you guys more

details off air. How about that. I also did tell you, by the way, on our TNF recap that the Steelers were impregnated by the baby with a baby of Satan's. So good luck to you when joint. Seeing how that goes from that. Okay, don't you recall that I I do vaguely recall, but I do want to just say now that it's officially hit his music by the way, Um, he said, we can't talk anymore about it, at least until he brings it up again. But you did catch that.

Let us a little nug She's coming over this weekend, well, he said, a friend. But and do you see the way I set it up? Was anybody you know? Are you're christening the apartment? Well, she is coming over. Just leave it at that. Yeah, I mean, I feel like we're talking about it again. But no, no, but that was his information. So I was just we're going out with a bang, you know. So they all right, let's um, oh, Steelers have got that. Let's move on. We gotta keep

moving this too. Many games all right up next in the draft. Now again, this is a little funky now because that a huge trade that went down, Greg, you remain locked into that second overall spot. Very strange. Um, you you did take the game. I was gonna take you. You took the Romo game, So I will give you kudos to that. I'm gonna take the Rams Seahawks in the afternoon. Oh see, I guess I took Mark's pick here. You did have the number one overall pick and you

provided no resistance. You do have three, four and six. I I'm redoing the draft board as we speak, so I mean you had an opportunity to uh, to hold onto that pick. It's a huge game because it knocks the Seahawks out in my mind and in reality if they lose this game, it's a lot for the Rams

to overcome in terms of their covid um situation. We don't know if players like Jalen Ramsey will be back that missed Monday nights game, but we do know a lot more Rams players went on the covid list throughout the week, two of their safeties, including Jordan Fuller who's their defensive captain, and Odell Beckham. So that's a lot to overcome. But we found out on Thursday that Tyler lockets out for this game and Alex Collins, who's not a big factors is also out, and I was thinking

of this kind of as his division battle. It's it's a last stand for Seattle. It's the Rams trying to solidify and show that they're going to the finish line, kind of like the Bucks were a year ago and it was really all about Russ Locket in d K because the rest of the Seahawks team is just not special.

It's not special, but they got enough coaching and enough like okay, enough rotational play that if those three dudes just come out and ball out against the Rams defense, I'm not convinced it's amazing, especially not with the people they're missing, Like you can go win that game and now without lock It once again covid uh hurting our Sundays, it really is much more. It's like we just found that out before. I'm just saying, like, no, it's not that.

I also, I'm confused to because I thought they were only testing UM vaccinated guys on Monday. So that's why there's this like day luge of you know, positive results money and Tuesday. But when we know lock It is Anyway, I'm trying to think of a team that UM has come off a win this year that did more for their image and I don't. I'm not saying that that

that it's hollow. It's totally tangible and real, but but people, I mean listening just to other people talking radio in general, like the n L here in l A, like the the vibe around the RAMS is suddenly so incredibly positive that, um, this COVID thing really is the only thing that could that could downgrade it to some degree. I mean, what

they did to the Cardinals, we talked about it. But if you're gonna get games like that down the stretch, where Matthew Stafford is as comfortable as he as he's been in a RAMS outfit, and you've got your stars playing the way they played against an excellent team in Arizona, they appear relatively unstoppable. And I never I was gonna lock this thing up for the Rams. I moved off it just because of the shaky cook COVID thing. But I can't think of too many more teams I have

faith in handling their business down the stretch. I just have comment pretty quick turn. It is a quick turn because because Kara Henderson tweeted at you that she didn't like all the negative she's annoyed with me. Um. But but even don't let that change your viewpoints. No, it isn't.

Because even even um, that came after I said something positive about Aaron Donald, like she said Henderson, by the way, is the wife of Rams general manager Less Snead, and she's also a former colleague of ours in A very nice woman, a wonderful person, and just I'm wondering if your comments right now are directly tied to that. No, I think like I was gonna lock up the Rams because I I have no faith in the Seahawks. I

think that we're cooking up this narrative that they're still alive. Well, because they're This is a tough place to go win. But if they seriously, if they win this game with sixteen players on the Rams, but if they win this game, their scheduled the next two weeks, two very winnable games before they play the Cardinals in week eighteen. I think if they win this game, they get to week eighteen with a chance to make that Does it not mean?

But I guess where I just I'm ready just to say, like I do for some of these teams, like then go do it. But it's like I'm not caught up on the mathematical procedures. You gotta do it, you know, you gotta do it. But they beat the forty nine ers. This has been a terrible matchup for Pete Carroll versus Sean McVeigh. Sean mcveigh's owned him in general, so it would say a lot if they could go this is.

This is their season for Seattle because and not having Locket, he's so important to what they do, and there's it's been a very uh up and down season, to say the least for DK Metcalf. He's banged up, I believe as well on top of it, but him and Russell

Wilson have not been able to get on the same page. Wilson, I don't know if you guys noticed and you're watching that game UM on Sunday repeatedly feeding Metcalf, and you know there's there's a human element to this, Like he knows it's been a frustrating season for his most talented wide receiver, you could argue. So he's trying to get him that touchdown force and throws and he just still couldn't make it happen. I think he had twelve targets UM in the game. Um. But uh, if Seattle loses

a game, good goodbye, you're five and nine. But yeah, if they find a way to win this is there's a very decent chance they are playing for a playoff spot in week a team which no one would have predicted. Ram just gotta take care of business. And Aaron Donald we talked about it, how the way he took over that Monday night game in a game they desperately needed

to change the vibe of their season. I got a feeling he could kind of just snowball right into just kicking the crap out of the Seattle offensive line and making life hell for Russell Wilson. Can't you see Wilson running for his life and and getn't taken down a couple of times by the Rams have dominated the Russell Wilson Seahawks. A Donald, Yeah, and even before Sean McVeigh was there. So there's something to that, all right. Up next in the draft, there he is with his first

pick as a result of that block, blockbuster trade mark Seessler. Well, I love what I've gotten here. I'm going Atlanta at San Francisco in that late game spot. I know Greg wrinkled his nose. He doesn't like that game, but you know what I like the two games prior to so I'm gay. I'm taking what i can buy it because you've been pushed in the Atlanta matters narrative and in San Francisco and the Atlanta matters narrative like this to me, trying to find a way to better describe these two teams.

The seven and six Niners are eight in team d v O A. The six and seven Falcons, who keep hanging around are dead last and negative. Different. They just look like it a lot, and then sometimes they don't because it's like they're also a team that's five and two on the road and have they were winless at home. Their running game has improved over the last couple of weeks, three straight a hundred plus games on the ground. We saw them, you know, affect that Tampa game, Tampa Bay

game that way. Uh, they're getting a little bit, They're getting a few more plays on defense in terms of some pick sixes and stuff. So they're just a strange team. And Arthur Smith did have this warning for the rest of the league, the Dean past a warning. Dean pas hasn't even scratched the surface, he said, of what he's going to install here. I'm not sure when we're installing,

uh said stuff. Maybe that's in the off season, but I don't know how you slow down the Niners if you get the version of George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. I would like to see Breed Samuel used a little bit more in the in the passing game, they've kind of gone away from that. But there's your three dudes. And if you get the mistake free version of Jimmy, or at least keep it too low, they can take care of business here. Defensive coach, he I

think they've been a really well coached team. I guess that's why we've enjoyed them. I think they've maximized what they can getting to six and Russell Gauge is suddenly a really good you know, fantasy players know this, but like a really good slot receiver. I don't think it's that flukey. But they've built an offense out of Matt Ryan,

who's I gotta admit. Even though I enjoy what he's doing every week and I appreciate like his moxie, he is getting close to that Chad Pennington Peyton Manning line where the lack of arms strength is almost too much to overcome. There's six and four in their last ten games. They they bounce back after that, oh and three start butts have been rather consistent now for five weeks. It's it's a hard match of to imagine that the often to line, especially for San Francisco, just doesn't mow them over.

And I'm with you, Mark, and I say this also is a Deebo Samuel fantasy owner. A little weird that there he was like breaking every receiving mark. He was ahead of Jerry Rice Pace for the first like nine weeks of the year as a wide receiver and it's almost like now he's been he had one catch last week and he's been moved into the game and may I don't know. I guess it's a little surprising that he's not more of a hybrid and now he's being

used primarily as a running back. I think maybe health issues in the backfield play a role in that for sure, But um yeah, I just want to see what Kittle does. George Kittle, and he's banged up again, and that's just

part of the thing with Kittle. As long as you can keep them healthy and upright, he's gonna change game plans because he became the first tight endeaver to have back to back fifty yard games touchdown and that and the best play I think in those two games, was that maybe not the best because man, he had a lot of it, but that third five play to keep the drive going and overtime, I think it was the play right before aus touchdown where jim E. G hit

it into a tiny window. Jimmy G, who had a sub you know, a below average game even for Jimmy G until over time, had one of the best drives of his career doing things he doesn't normally do. Hitting the throw outside the numbers to the outside, hitting that third and five to Kittle unto the smallest window possible, and then they get the game winner with that. That was an awesome moment. I think for the forty nine,

I think they keep rolling and are quite dangerous. I mean, Jimmy G also had a near picking over time that would have changed everything we're saying about Jimmy G. Was this week regulation. I think that that sports all right, let's take a break and then we'll be back. All right, here we go, Mark Slither, I got another game I want. I'm beyond critique. I am going Cardinals at I don't need to spin anything and in the first round you

gotta do it. I am getting the Cardinals in the first round, because you know, what I want to see is like the other thing is like, oh are the Cardinals able to when the about the Cardinals this week? Well, when the no, but when the lights are too bright, like you know, Kyler Murray and the Cardinals can't hang around. Well you know what, like they did not get blown out on Monday night. By the way, just an information

factoid for you there. If that's what you think. You had them locked up and they didn't show up in a big spot. That's all. Nobody thinks they stink, you know, I don't know I locked them up on a big two games. We each locked them up and they lost ball. I don't know what people think. T J Hockenson out like the Lions. You know they've been they've I don't say this like they've been cute in a way where I respect them, like they've they hang around in these games.

But uh, I'm a one concern for Arizona. DeAndre Hopkins. We learned in between shows it's gonna have knee surgery. Is gonna miss it like at least the regular season, and we'll see James Conner is a little banged up. But this team, to me, has bounced back as as well as anyone off of the few losses they've had, and I just I think it's a week for Kyler Murray to say, put me back in that M v P race. I had one bag game, just like every

other quarterback out there. I like the Cardinals, not as much as you, Mark, I liked them, but I think the Hopkins thing is big. And I know he came back, he missed a bunch of weeks, and when he came back, he wasn't really the same guy. But now that we know that he's not even gonna be there at all, I think it moves It moves everybody up in the

pecking order. And I think, for instance, a guy like a j Green or a guy like Ron Delmore, like these are all guys like in their spots, they were thriving, but if you asked them to be something they're not at this stage of their career, it could lead to more issues for the offense. So I was hyper impressed by James Conner. I can't believe how good that guy has been this year. So he's going to continue to be an important thing and helping Kyler Murray, but removing

his number one wide receiver from the mix. I think it's gonna cost them games and cost them the number one. I do think that zach Ertz though, you know when he was there mostly through injury. That was another nice Steve Kind edition who's quietly the last. Just like layup. They have the Colts that at Dallas and then the Seahawks just because it's a division game and everything that that's difficult. I think they've got some big problems in

terms of their interior offensive line in general. This is not the week for it. Shout out though, to Craig Reynolds last week, coming coming off the practice squad and running pretty well. It's like a depressing Monday transaction. When I saw they put him back on the trap practice squad, I was like, it was your best player on Monday. That's not nice. Yeah, bring back Craig DeAndre Swift. He's been a breakout guy for them. What do you get from playing him? At this point? Let's stay in. I

know we should move, and we we will quickly. But did the Lions have forty eight million dollars of their salary cap on injured reserve and sixty five million dollars in dead cat money? They are like trotting out a team that is essentially free. Like that's like it's the hundred billion dollars. Al right, Greg, the draft moves to you and guess what Mark Sessler's on deck. That's how this works. I think this. You know, history will smile

on what's how here? We will find out Sunday night. Okay, I will not be thrilled about these early games here. I still need my number one pick Shooks in the mix. This is annoying. It's not Shook's fault the way that you phrase that, big What do you think about where Greg is right now as he really struggles to pick. Well, I'm trying not to take Shooks games so that there's not too much carry over. I'll take the Cowboys Giants just to watch the Cowboys again. This NFC East round

robin is ugly. It's the division that is playing each other the most down the stretch. Why did I take this game? Um, it's fine because or I could trade you for it. Don't do it. I could just pick the same game as Shook. Would be fine, because someone's gonna have to anyways. Now I realized, but this Giants

team is dead on arrival. And that really like if you think about the way this season set up for whatever reason, all the divisions are backloaded, but the NFC East is by far the most all of their like the Eagles and Washington, basically all four of these teams is almost all in the division down the stretch. And that's perfect for Dallas because this Giants and Washington teams are hurting right now, and the Dallas defensive line can

win games by themselves. I think their defense with Gregory and Gallamore and Lawrence all back to complement Parsons, is just like next level. And the whole next month for the Cowboys is about finding what is right again about

their offense, because it's just not right. The Giants are the perfect opponent in the first half last week here in Los Angeles, where the Giants got waxed by the Chargers Justin Herbert and their offense rolled up two eighty nine yards, eighteen first downs, and twenty four points in the first two quarters. Um, if the Cowboys don't do the same thing, you really have to maybe go up a level in terms of your panic level about what's

going on with the quarterback and the offense. Zeke Elliott says he feels much better, and we'll see if that translates to him being an actual high end running back again. But I really do. It's gotten to the point now where it's like, I feel confident that Cowboys will get the ten wins and win that division. But for me to see them as a real Super Bowl contender again,

the offense has to come to life. Yeah, because as much as the dan Quinn defense um has evolved into something kind of terrifying, which I think is an incredible development for Dallas, Like, it's the offense that we believe taking them deep into wherever they go. I mean, I don't love that. Like Tyron Smith is dealing with an ankle right now, he's out, Tony Pollard is banged up. I mean, so you're gonna have to just get through

some of that stuff. But they've not been If you look at Dax splits with and without Tyron Smith, um, they're alarming. So we've been Like the funny the thing is like they've been fairly healthy. I know he missed, he missed. Why Like he didn't have a mark Well point out you missed two or three games here? Two games here. I'm just saying compared to the average team

out there. There's been so many injuries. So many good offensive teams like Arizona, for instance, have withstood bigger injuries, are bigger swass of the line gone, and they've looked better.

Doc has definitely not been the same. I do wonder if, like we, oh, we we overrate the first month of the season, because it's the first impression when really got you know, smart guys like Steve Weiss pointed out to us, like defenses are just catching up, Like the league is totally different in that first month, and we're still kind of stuck on this idea that it's that the that the Chief's defense, for instance, feels flukier because they were

so bad for that first month. But it's like, no, this is the time that matters, and they've been great for two months when it matters. The reality is the Cowboys have been mediocre for two months offensively, and that the the names, they're big names, but they just haven't been great for such a long time. Well, it's like three or four seasons packed into one, and this is a different team than we were dealing with in September. All right, let us move on. We are back to

Mark Sessler. Well, I allo, so don't want to. I like Shook to have his own games so that he can come on and do his Shook things. So I'm gonna go with a game that, um, along with maybe twelve other Americans I'll be watching. It will be Houston and Jacksonville. Thirteen of us will be Now this is how because I just there's not much. There's not much out there, and I'm not doing the double late game. I like to have my days start to get less

convoluted at that point, Thank you very much. Um. I I mean it is a fascinating game in the sense that for the first time all season, um, the Houston Texans, which have been a as low a que rating operation as you can find can stick, can look across the field and say, look at us, we're functional, um, because

that's how you feel compared to the Jaguars. And I just want to see how the Jaguars players respond, because I know, Greg, you're big on this too, Like when you go from coach gets canned, and in this case, it's not like we were really fighting for this guy, um, but now, uh, you know, we're dropped off into abyss.

It's like that locker room is probably on fire and thrilled with what's happened, and maybe you get a spicy version of the Jaguars, because all I would say is their defense, especially has been good in a couple of games they've shown things. I have nothing else to say about this game other than that, and I may say nothing about it on Sunday night, depending on what happens. Yeah. I mean, it's a game between two two and eleven teams.

It does have obviously draft ramifications, but most importantly, I want to say that weather can be an issue in this game, and you might want to get out your umbrellas because Greg has already called it. The Rainmaker said get your money, get your money out and get behind the Houston Texans. Do you still feel that way? Does the Rainmaker Greg still feel like the Texans are the team? I mean, I would not have been as excited about if I knew that they were getting rid of Urban

Meyer because Urban Monster behind the misery. This is ridiculous. I mean, this is if you haven't watched our YouTube show, and I'm sure Ricky will make this a social component. The graphic that we have celebrating the Rainmakers return to the show is just and I look like a jackass because I'm texting while this thing starts. But it's only because my computers not working right now and I was sending a message to Ricky. It was part of the job.

This picture is terrible. Everything's terrible. I thought it was one of my favorite picks possible. Um when it was Texans plus three and a half and Urban Meyer was coaching. They've scored. You know, Trevor Lawrence is thrown for one touchdown since the bye week that was seven weeks ago. But I really do kind of believe in the dead coach bounce, uh like it's it's spice Rack's favorite thing. If you look back last year, Darryl Bevil, it's your

Twitter avatar. By the way, Darryl Bevil, remember when he took over last last year for Matt Patricia. You know, you know what happened in his first game. He won. They didn't win for the rest of the season, but he won. Do you remember who the Houston Texans is in Raham head coach was last year? Mark not at all because I don't I don't remember any text, but

they fired Bill O'Brien. Oh, it was Romeo Cornell that's right. Um, you know you know who his first game last year and Romeo did and then they didn't win a game the rest of the season. It is kind of wild. So the rainmakers moving off it. I'm gonna just stick with it at this point because, uh, it's too late, but I don't feel I wouldn't have got you know. It's funny though, there's so many people that believe in the dead coach bounds, so the rainmakers going against it

that the line actually moved up. The Jaguars were three and a half point favorites now they're five point favorites. So people think that Urban Meyer is worth negative one and a half. I think that's in this specific case. I feel super legit. It's kind of amazing. So hopefully you you didn't do it right away and you can get all five of those points. You know. Favorite bounced is the Spice Rack Social Disharmony bounce. That one I really like. It just feels that, you know, the point.

The point is I locked it in last Sunday, so it's too late. You already put your money down. What are you gonna do? This is like the sixth iteration of this graphic that was made and a text text from Dan. Then yesterday was you see what I'm going for? A question? Mark? Just a monster and then another text something that wants to die but cannot look like that. Look how the money like he vomits all the cash

Like he's like killed me. I don't know where this picture came from, So it came from you sitting on the NFL now set. I understand who who took it? And why am I frowning in the I think it was a screen? Is that? Yeah? Erica believes it's the worst picture I've ever taken and that that's why it's not the best time since. And our guy behind the scenes, Drake, who kills it on the video side, he it in

a lot of work on that. Yeah. Something not that you're a monster, Greg, but I wanted the thing that was created here to be a monster that wants to die but cannot do is make money, you know, the rainmaker or at least the game picks column twelve and two last week twenty over against the spread for the year. So that's solid, especially this year. Well done, Greg. Alright, let's move on, Mark. You just did your pick? Is

it back to the Zeus? It's back to you, back to the Zoosa, all right, I will grab a late game here. Um, wait, Packers at Ravens is available. That's essentially like the Tom Brady and the Straps sort of just sitting there. I don't know what was doing. Well. I had a late game that I preferred. How is that still there? Because Mark Straine? No, because because I and I took the late game already, and then you leave that, you're not gonna take the two best late games.

So it's all on Mark. But you don't prefer. You're the only one that wants it. So I guess you Houston Jacksonville over Lamar Jackson. Hopefully there is there is personal taste involved. That is the greatest steel in the history per you. Steel would be like had I wanted it and you stole it from me, now I'm I'm the tiebreaker, Dan's right. But then then you stole it from Greg though, because Greg just simply didn't see that.

It was sitting out there. I had a late game, so I had the other best late but hey, just just give me. It was a great steal. I didn't try for it whipped. I'm just saying this draft otherwise has gone exactly as I hope whipped it right. You're like the Seattle Seahawks being like, hey, we wanted to take that guy you've never heard of with the pick, like that's what we want. It's exactly great, and then that player does not is inactive in his second Sea.

I mean, I am going to be sitting away from Dan listening to him shout about this game the entire time anyways, so I will be watching it. What is the difference had the three, four and six, he still come out of it with the game of the week. So Packers at Ravens, whoa, here we are now I'm surprised, Um,

the green Bay Packers playing awesome football right now? So fun Greg, you you kind of you nailed the initial analysis last week that hey, you had your chance, you had your chance to get the Packers when they were a team that was going to win most of their games. But you know, you would basically be within a score at any point and you make a play, make a play there, make play here, you could steal win against

Green Bay. But now it's different. Now you have a top ten defense, uh for green Bay with the best quarterback in the world back at his on his m v P game, So you could put those two things together. That's why the number one of the power rankings, that's why they're ten and three, and that's why I think

Baltimore is in a lot of trouble. Even if they have Lamar Jackson and he was supposed to pray on Thursday and did not, Like they were hopeful that he was going to practice today Thursday, he did not, So now you have to wonder about Jackson's availability on that angle. They said it's not a high ankle sprain, but they lie. They always lie. Greg Roman said it was going to go down to the wire. I kind of liked Tyler

Huntley last week. For as little as he's had a chance to play, he was I mean, it is a massive downgrade. It's just that he was great. He's he's he is like you don't want to the rest of the year drive than Baker did in that game. They were moving. That's a separate argument. I'm comparing them to Lamar, not Baker Mayfield. Give me a break, but like the my concern for either quarterback is the tackle play for

Baltimore right now, it's been bad. I mean, it's caused issues for Lamar and it caused issues for Tyler Huntley a week ago, and you've got a good pass rush coming in. I read something this morning, great piece in The Ringer by Stephen Louise Uh about why why can't the Ravens shake out of this offensive slide? And the basic conceit of it was maybe it's Greg Roman's fault. Maybe this this run heavy scheme where they load up with a fullback and they only have two wide receivers

on the field. It puts Lamar into really bad situations where defense can Defenses load up the boxes at the box and they don't ever get burned on it because they don't have a scheme that allows them to attack Uh in the passing game because of the way they run their offense. Now, the one thing, and again I

thought it was really good piece. The one thing that I noticed was curiously missing was any any talk about well, is the reason why they have not moved away from the scheme is that they don't think that Lamar can run a traditional, closer to a pro style passing offenses. That's something that the reason Baltimore has been slow to move off that isn't because of being stubborn but because they don't think that's the best use of Lamar. My

my point on this, though, ultimately, is they should. They need to try to mix things up with their structure. Maybe they can't, but they have the they have the weapons. They have Hollywood Brown, they have Sammy Watkins, they have a Shot Bateman, they have Mark Andrews. When are they going to open this thing up? Is it not that easy in the middle of the season. But if it is something where it's an adjustment that can be made, it's now time to do it, because we've seen enough

for this offense where it ain't working all right. But I would just say their past protection has been a massive issue. Like I mean, I don't know what you're suggesting. They do throw the ball another fifteen times a game, but like that's people have been styming. It's it's the formations that they're throwing the ball. And there they still kind of look like a power running team, which is

ultimately reliant on Lamar's athleticism. Yeah, they often allow the unblocked rusher to get through and you, hey, Lamar, go beat him. And we've got advantages in terms of the numbers that that is that would be tough to reshape in the middle of the season, especially they lost the right tackle Patrick McCarry, who had been playing really well.

I kind of look came into the week thinking, like, man, if ever there was like a spot, it's a nonconference game, the Packers are on the road, it's like they're flying high, Like if ever there was a spot for like an organizational surprise, like the Ravens stand up and like get an upset, Like it just felt like that sort of moment. And Lamar has this great game, but his injury has me worried. And Mark, you mentioned the Packers pass rush. It's been so good without like without Zadarius Smith, it's

so good right now. So that matchup, and then you think of the matchups on the outside when Aaron Rodgers has the ball, the starting cornerbacks for Baltimore or Anthony Averett and Chris Westrey, and I think, like, we're so used to the Ravens losing players that Humphrey was just like another one to lose. But that's where we talk about clusters again. Humphrey and Peters. Now you have these

two great cornerbacks. Now you have zero great cornerbacks. Uh, and a team that's like relying on Blitze and it's just a lot going wrong. It would be and like one of the best wins of John Arba's career. If they could win this game. That part of it, I think fries Baltimore. I mean, they're the thirty first ranked past defense, and a lot of it has to do with just lack of availability of who they went into the season with. Stealing a game wouldn't matter. I mean

the rest of Baltimore schedule. I know that they're sitting at the top of the division, but at Cincinnati, verse the Rams and then verse Pittsburgh, the sky's falling there. Baltimore fans and radio that if like they're not convinced that this Ravens team is gonna necessarily make the playoffs.

I also think with the Greg Roman thing a little bit, that's who Greg Roman has been, Like, they went through this whole metamorphosis to shape it around Lamar and I think with the players that they have out like to go shift to something completely different, I'm not sure they have the right. That's another one there to do that. It's another thing when you look back, did we over You know at this point I've been holding on maybe too long to those first five weeks because they were different.

They were a vertical passing game and you you mentioned more of a pro style, a little more conventional Dan. I see that, but he is a pocket quarterback, like they could do that. I don't know if you can do that in the middle of the season. Like most of his success as a quarterback has been from the pocket like that when he he played in college at Louisville and passing offense. So you know, we keep on hearing about this cover too. Shell Um that's shutting down

Kansas City and Buffalo. Um. The cover to invert is what you gotta keep an eye on. That's killing the Ravens. Uh. It's very interesting like the way, but the basic thing is like where you dropped the two cornerbacks back and then you have the safeties and everybody's just like crowding up and there's just no space to operate for Baltimore. And it's interesting because they're running with the full back there, with the running back there, and it's all set up

for the running game. But because they've revealed like kind of who they are, it's always crowded down there. And that's why we're not seeing any of that. Like LaMarche, they are a great coaching staff, but great coaching staffs need to adjust, and maybe it's just too hard with all these injuries and it just wasn't gonna happen. That

they are a good example. I believe that. Hey, it's like running backs do matter um to the point that you that you need to have, like in an offense like this, there's a reason why they kept draft why they drafted j K. Mark Ingram a couple of years ago was perfect. I really do think that the drop off at running back has really been significant for them, that it's really hurt them. Mark cover two. Invert that

down a little more. Dan, Well, usually you have the two safeties deed in this defense, you have the corners deep so they take care of anybody on the jets, and you send the safeties into the flat or either send them into the flat and they're more short handled tacklers, they can handle things in that realm. And then you have the box obviously stuffed up as well, so you just that's the cover to invert in a nutshell. By the way, speaking in a nut you couldn't fit that

in a nutshell. That was a lot of information. We have a lot to talk about for this game before we move on. Hello heroes, still here again this week. I guess nobody else wanted to do the recording, so I'm doing it again week with the Green Bay Packers that were the Baltimore Ravens on fire and we don't even know if the mar is gonna play. Nick says it doesn't pass the mirror test, but I don't care enough. I like it shortened to the point there by Phil and Nick it does. It does pass. Calm down with

the mirror test. Um, it's like a four four and a half points. Yeah, that definitely pasts like it is the Ravens. The Ravens like they deserve organizational love. Their five and one at home this year. They're one of the few teams that have had a home field advantage yet I like that lock. By the way, if anyone's

curious where we're at. The Westley Brothers are seven and seven this year, so it's been a kind of a middling year for them and their first they're in fighting in the way that they operate, right, that's but it's not. They're only three games out. Mark and I are ten and four and the listeners are eight, eight and six, and Ricky it says two and eleven. But like I'm saying, I think maybe you've got to take that and maybe flip it. Maybe she's closer to like, I don't know,

seven and six. I'm like that. I think I think that's fair, even if it's not official. Like, we know you've done the Patriots great service. All right, let's pause right here and take a break. We'll be right back, all right, let us move on. Wow, I can't believe that game went that late. It goes now to Greg with the penultimate pick in our draft. Oh wow, I'm gonna take a late game. I know Mark doesn't want to late games. We want a happy Mark on Sunday, Cincinnati, Denver.

Love these games. I love that the whole season is like a story, you know, and now we get to see, like what's the ending of the story. And I know, you know, you're like in Mark's world, these two teams aren't gonna win the Super Bowl? So does their story really matter? Who was more excited about the Bengals a week ago than weeks ago? You were? You were so angry that they were losing to the Chargers, only because you had a strong take about them, which I found

that I like that. I would like that. Well, it was like nailing the coffin for me to realize, I have no idea what's happening at all? That's what did it? I no? I like that. Um like if if if I was living and dying on our takes, like you just would be dying every week, Like how many times would would I be dying? I think these two teams are interesting. I think there's a good chance, you know,

one of these teams makes the playoff is here. I know you guys don't want to hear about it, but it's like Teddy Bridgewater has a pretty legitimate chance to be like starting starting that first Saturday, because the Broncos are going to be in that Saturday afternoon worst time slot playoff game if they're in it most likely, I feel like Teddy could be in this game, like we're

gonna find the end to this story. And when I look at the Broncos, I think there's at least a case to be made that this time of year is their chance to be their best they've been all year, because I think the defense for the last five or six weeks has gotten out of their funk, and the offense is at least healthier then it's been in And this Bengals team, on the other hand, there's something not adding up to me, like there twenty one and offensive dv o A. This is great talent. I think Joe

Burrows playing like a top seven or eight quarterback. To me, it comes to coaching where it's not they're not maximizing their guys. And Fngio and Zach Taylor are two third year coaches who have been around a little while they're getting to the end here. I kind of trust Fongio a little more in this spot than I do the Bengals. Zach Taylor is um being put into a rough place

this week. I think a lot of people feel like the way that you do that that some of the gamesmanship and decisions a week ago in that loss, um we're fell on coaching and it's just like, let Joe Burrow go be Joe Burrow, And I would say they have these two teams that the Bengals, when you get the good version, could go into the seventh seed or or into a playoff situation and tangle with any more interesting. They definitely are and like I mean, they're they're penchant

for big plays. Um just makes him watchable and extremely dangerous. And this is their season, I think because they've got a rough slate too. They've got Baltimore, Kansas City, and Cleveland. After this game, give me a wild card Saturday that has Cincinnati in Minnesota both playing on the same day.

Go wrong, give me, give me. That we talked about and to the point of some of the Zach Taylor criticism we mentioned on Tuesday's show, The Run, Run past decision and overtime when they were first intended to twenty six and overtime. Jamar Chase was asked about that after the game, and Jamar Chase showed up and had a

huge game um in that loss. And when he was asked, why do you think you guys decided to run and get run heavy in that spot when you're moving the ball passing so well, And his response was, shoot, good question, man, good question. Well, that's typically just like leaving the coach out, you know, hanging him out to dry. You know, there's a guy follow on Twitter, Ali Connolly who's over in the u K. He's been on Mena Kimes pod. He described he he's much smarter acts as than Oz and

I did. But he described the Zach Taylor offense is like not really enough like and this kind of to me speaks to Zach Taylor the coach. He doesn't really have like the Zach Taylor offense. He just sort of like grabs like the greatest hits from all the other offenses. And to me that that makes sense. There's something formless

to me, uh about this group, about this offense. And maybe I'm just biased and wanting to buy into this uh Broncos team one more time, but there's there's like there's something there that I actually think the Broncos have have forged some toughness throughout the course of this season, and their defense especially, I think it's finally showing up like like we thought it might early in the year. All right, up next, I think the final pick in the draft goes to the old Zeuser and I will

grab Jets at Dolphins story. This week, Ringer doing some good NFL writing. Ben Solac wrote the first piece that I've seen, the first national piece, Zack Wilson has been bad? What does that mean for his NFL future? And I thought the time was interesting because Sunday was the first day when I was thinking the same exact thing to myself. It was like, this is gonna be okay. So that's where like this Jet season, the rest of this week, the rest of this year. Now three and ten eleven

straight years with without the playoffs. That's the longest streak in the NFL. It's like, is Zach Wilson going to show us something between now and a week eighteen or are we gonna go into this offseason and a full on, Oh this he's gonna be on on basically trial in his second year because that's kind of how things work now. You don't get four years to figure it out. Typically it's two and then it's decision time for these teams. So it happens quick. Zach Wilson, can you make progress here? Now?

The Dolphins are a tough opponent to do it against on the road. Is not gonna make it easier for Zach Wilson. But the Miami team is another team that, all, right, Zach Wilson, show me something. Miami. It's not like there's they have done nothing wrong. In fact, all they've done is win for like a month and a half now. But I don't have to be excited about the Dolphins

yet I don't. I don't have to feel like they're a team I need to see as a contender in the a f C. Even if I know they're in playoff positioning, they still do not do it for me. Am I am I wrong to feel this way if they're not excited. So it's like you can only play your schedule. But this has been the softest schedule I ever remember a team getting for this amount of time.

I think it's fine to feel that way because we we can't, you know, either genuinely be excited or manufacture excitement over thirty two different teams at the same time. It's a little too much. But I I'm I'm a little different with thin you on the Dolphins that I just think that they went back to what I liked about them a year ago on defense and refound that identity.

And you know, if you look about Zach Wilson like he could look across the way at tah who coming into year two is draped with questions throughout a season, but has actually played I think quite well inside their system and does not help that they won't have to in a in a in a way that almost unlike any quarterback. You know, they brought in his college coach. They're so r P O heavy. I think he's like leads the NFL and yards you know on run pass

option by like double any other quarterback. Despite him, you know, missing those games, he's really good at the short game stuff and that's basically all they run. It's not esthetically pleasing, So I totally get Dan why. Like defensively, yeah, they've turned it on. I think they were. They were trying to do what they were doing a year ago just wasn't working for the first six or seven games. They

are incredibly aggressive defense, and now it's working. They're a tough defense to play against, and their offense is not fun to watch. But you know, to A and Zach Wilson, there's a big dichotomy there. To A to A look like an NFL quarterback from day one. Zack Wilson has struggled to a degree that I thought thinking, you know that during that game, like, of course you got to play him, but should should if he played two more starts like that? Should should he be playing football? Because

it's not serving anyone? Yeah, his the way he you could tell the game is not slowing down for him. You see it week after week. He doesn't process the game fast enough. And the only hope is that with reps and time and just going through the motions of being a young quarterback, that improves. But history is littered with guys, guys that were top five picks that you saw it immediately that the game wasn't really going to translate for them. And that's the only thing I'm nervous about.

And I'm not saying that um that he's doomed in my eyes, but like, I didn't even feel this way about Donald Donald. I thought he was showing enough in his rookie year, especially near the end of that year, was like, Okay, there's something to build on here. With Wilson, there hasn't been much of a base here to get excited about with You could have a couple of a couple of quarters here and there where he got hot, but otherwise, any other quarterback that's on this roster has

been better than him. It's I think he's looked really concerning. But one difference between him and Donald is like everyone protected Donald's play to such a degree because they had Adam Gates to blame everything on. I hear almost no blame for the Jets coaching staff, and I understand that like Robert Sale is uh someone that personality wise we enjoy. But I mean there's a lot to be said for how a couple other teams around the league have you know,

developed rookie quarterbacks. Look at Mac Jones, I mean it's I understand that the numbers like they were literally top ten and e p A without Zach Wilson, like Josh Johnson looked pretty darn good. Right. They played Flacco against the Dolphins last time because they didn't want to expose

Wilson in the game. Now he has to play that game. Um, Mike White had his moments, like you know, like the other three quarterbacks all looked Yeah, the Mike White game that everyone like went nuts over, were like it wasn't he throwing like three and four yard passes the whole time. I'm not taking that away from It's just like I'm not like Zach Wilson needs more time, but like it's not just Za wilson isolated issue. He needs an offseason reset and maybe he comes back a different player. I've

seen it happen with Eli Manning and Alex Smith. Those are two guys drafted just you know thing though those guys were drafted like even at a time where and I know it's a Manning brother, but like quarterbacks that are drafted top five, seven, eight, these these years should come in ready to go. College is different now, right, Zack. I think to mark to dance point, he's at a level where it's among the worst of the worst. Like rookie seasons from quarterbacks. Doesn't mean there hasn't been cases

where you don't you don't bounce back. Those are two of them, Eli and Alex Smith, But more often than not, it's a pretty big red flag. Yeah, I don't wanna. Yeah, I'm not trying to ring the alarm bell too loud here, but I think their offensive line is not good. But it's okay. It's been good last he had That's what worried me last week. Their offensive line played great. The Saints don't have much of a Pastors. There was no pressure in that game. There was no pass rush in

that game. Saints jents. You want to know how many sacks George Fant has given up at left tackle this year? One, Like the line has been okay, they're playmakers. They're not terrible. They have tight end issues, but they have some playmakers. They have health issues, and the offensive play calling has

not been bad. It was shaky early on, but I don't know how much of that is connected to them realizing how deep they were into it with the rookie quarterback being in over You about this week anyway could be well, it's it's not something that I want to talk about, but I feel like it's something that should be stated at this point. Um, all right, let's see that closes the draft. What do you have lest what left Washington and Philadelphia and Caroline at Buffalo, Washington at Philly,

uh Mark, you want to get us go in there? Well, I mean it's it's along with the Browns Raiders game. I mean, what's happening to Washington is the centerpiece they have right now? Um, a flood of players on the COVID list. They have a total of thirty players on COVID and I are I think we've got something like thirty something active players to even put on the field. So this team that a couple of weeks ago, uh was a fun little factor in the playoff race is

probably a sitting duck for Philadelphia that you know. I mean, these guys play each other in a couple of weeks. That could look a lot different than at that point. I guess we want to We don't know if Jalen Hurts is definitely gonna play. It's you don't think it had a high ankle sprain, which they successfully shielded from the media for a while. That's always the first question the media asked when whenever anybody has an um and so this injury, which we didn't think was that serious,

now it's coming on three weeks. It sounds like Minshew has a decent chance to to play in this game. I don't think it matters. Like I would have loved to throw a little rainmaker fun on this earlier in the week, even before the COVID stuff. It was at five and a half the football team. It's now up to nine and a half. And I still love the Eagles in this to to go over that because the

Eagles defensive line is healthy. This Washington offensive line is not at all in the level of COVID players, and injuries to Washington is unlike I think anything that's happened to any team in the last two years. And I think people are getting wise to that. That's why a team like the Eagles are favored by nine and a half. And even then, I don't think it's enough. Like I I think the Eagles could win this game by twenty

or thirty. The defensive line for Washington tins down like five of their topics people players, but then just regular old the injuries. Curtis, Samuel h is Her, Terry McLaurin is coming off a concussion might not play in this game like they They're so banged up. It just doesn't feel fair. And I don't think this will. This stuff

gets stupid at this point. Sorry, I mean, and you know, if you're Gardner Minshew, you're thinking yourself, Okay, if I can just get a second start, especially in this matchup right now, I destroy Washington after I lit up the Jets, that's going to put the head coach in a tough position to take me out of the lineup. He he had cover to defend his QB one after one game. But if I do two games in a row, it

doesn't matter who I beat. But if I light up Washington, they might I mean yeah, if they factor into the fact that like Greg and I are starting along Washington's defensive line by Sunday. But right, I know it does feel like a little google ish um sometimes you know, to make analysis like based off all this COVID stuff. But yeah, the the checks deposit either way. I think it's gonna be raining here. Uh. I just want to see that graphic again. Let's see it. Let's bring it up, Eagles,

Let's do this. I gotta give our production team a little heads up on that Greggy there it is. Everyone is agony, there it is. There's the money just pouring out of his mouth like one year old on his birthday. I can't wait to go into here and then put it back in. Uh. Finally, the Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills. All right, so skid City perfect spot for the Bills. I mean, you cannot add. The only better opponents really would maybe be the two teams playing each other, Jacksonville

and Houston. Maybe the Jets, But the Panthers are in that group as well. Where it's like this is when you want to catch the Panthers. They are a sinking ship. They don't know what's going on. Uh. Their quarterback play has been off the charts. Bad for weeks. Christian McCaffrey is not only Christian McCaffrey is like, I'm already out for the year, but let me just I got COVID too, Do not dare put me back in the lineup. I'll see in two. So he is long gone out of

the picture. And the Bills, who need to win in the worst way. If we if we were like those people that do their Sunday kickoff shows. This drives me crazy when it's like, um, oh yeah, I have to lock a game. Oh yeah, Bills over Panthers. That's my lockanutless locks. Yeah, that would be my gutless lock. Is Bills getting the win they need because they opt to

play the old Greg game that works. What's what makes more sense the Bills coming out of the seven and seven and the Panthers six and eight, or the Bills getting the eight and six the Panthers continuing their fade to five. And this is another one like favorites late.

I think finally we keep saying like we don't know anything, but the last couple of weeks, actually favorites have just keep winning, and I think the truly bad teams have shown themselves and that's what you're doing like the line here is ten and a half and that doesn't seem nearly enough. And it's I know, I know, you're getting on the quarterback play and that's what's getting attention. That can played pretty well for most of that game, except for the the pick six, I guess say, But how

about the Dolphins game? Not not well? The defense? Well, what about that terrible fumble of midfield that ended the game essentially that ability that that was a weird handoff play. You're right, I was a weird snap. I'm just saying I was expecting like a terrible game, and he was like sixth right for eight seven. It was really just if you took away the pick six, he had a fine game. My point is the defense is not special at all. Like they can't get off the field. I

thought they were going to be special. They're not at all. There's no reason they should so. And the interior offensive line for Carolina is unplayable. Rule has all this stuff about he wants to be a running team, well, draft or develop a good offensive line, or or hire a good offensive line coach. They are one of their interior offense line from the real tape heads like Baldy think are right there with Miami as like the worst in

the entire NFL. I don't know, it's just one of the most concerned by forty, one of the most concerning develop I like it. Three Picks from the rain Yeah, let's do it, all right, there, you got, you got three picks. You want to pay for Christmas? You want to do you want to be taking care of that. Actually, this is like follow the Rainmaker to the Desert. It's like a guest star coming back to a TV show but then they like over use him way too much

and everyone's sick of it. It's a reboot and let's hope you're not big at the end of that episode, you know, clutching your chest, laying in a shower stall. All right, there you go. Spoiler spoiler apologies if anybody hadn't seen episode one of the Sex and I will

definitely again. I've heard I've heard this spoiler many times, big and oh, and then then it was there, and then there was it was that was a catastrophic decision to make it that because every single negative headline about this show is just and then it was a piece of or whatever. It's like, I've seen that sort of headline. All right, So there you go. That is the week fifteen preview tonight, Greg Rosenthal, special guests, Lakshasi, big Get in a big spot it from that's right from westling

manor that's pretty good. That's a good get. So Greg and Keish will be handling the TNF recap of Chargers Chiefs. Check that out, and then Sunday night we'll be back as a group to recap every game we just preview. That's how it works. Make sure you check out be around the NFL broadcast on NFL Network. You catch it streaming live on NFL dot Com Friday's at one pm Eastern and am Cific. We've never plugged that before, but you can you can live that. We've literally never said

it before. You can watch it live on NFL dot Com. We're on on a game day this week, I think, or I hope it's a Saturday, and we should be checking that and then Saturday maybe we'll be on TV because the time Sloite usually doesn't clash with football games. Because we're on at four am here in California on Saturday's four am Pacific seven A. I'm Eastern around the NFL broadcast two hours. We go around the NFL and hit every team in the league. So check that program out.

We're proud of it. You like the podcast, you like the TV show, that's a promise. And if you watch the TV show like a year ago or two years ago and you're like, oh, it's not the same as the podcast, well first, all up your nose with a rubber hose. Number two. Check it out. Now, tell us what you think. Tell us is it still feel that way? It's been rebranded, and shame on you if you've taken that much time in between two. Can you listen to the podcast? We love you. I'll judge them just a

little bit. All right, I don't judge you. Mark judges you. But come back to the TV show. Give it a chance. You'll love it. You can watch it on YouTube to UK people that don't get NFL networker can't see it's on Sky, you can watch it on The numbers on YouTube are just there, insane, they are. They really big numbers and really big numbers across the board, every team covered. So if you're just like a huge Falcons fan and you just if even if you don't want to hear

the rest of the teams. You just just go right to the Falcons toutes if you're sick of your team and don't want to hear about the two tested positive for COVID. No, he didn't. Yeah, that would have Mullins into the That would have been worth the breaking news screamed it out. So I was like, oh, my god, just you guys. You guys were members of the Nick Mullins fan club. Especially, Maybe they have a chance. Though I like Nick Mullins, but I don't like the way

that we've got them back in our life here. That's brutal. That is brutal. Well, how do we know Nick Mullins doesn't have it if the other two quarterbacks do? This is the worst this COVID nineteen. My god? Can we can we please? Can we can we chill out with this? Well, they said they would not they will not consider removing a moving the game, but just where to move it? First of all, Sunday, even a day, would it help you change but that? But you're right, why not Sunday,

Because I'll tell you why. It's green and it's it's a it's shape, plain, it's the shooting out of the monster. Greg's mouth in the rainmakers. All Right, I'm sorry Mark. Well well, I mean, life goes on. What can what can? It is a little it is tough, tough for those brownies, all right, but good for you people who love a long podcast. All right, let's go. Dan Hands is signing off for Guide Storm. The old Boss, Ricky Hollywood, the grave digger, closed the door on his private life tonight today.

That was I thought that was a class act. That he's opening the door to a new bedroom this weekend and then he's closed. Yeah, I'm not sure we've sealed that up entirely. Heed the call.