2023 Week 17 Preview

They Around the NFL podcast is not responsible for the downfall of your favorite geees.

Take responsibility from the Chris Westling podcast studio.

It's around the NFL.

Dan Hans is here, got the Heroes, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler the Week seventeen preview.

In Bulk.

What's up, guys, I disagree with what Zumwalt said. Uh well, I think you are responsible Dan for when bad things happen to the Dolphins.

Like why just why do you like them?

Man?

I love? I love Dolphins fans. They are so mad at me all the time.

I feel like you go out of your way to even say I understand the Dolphins fans.

Doesn't matter what I said.

I was talking about them, and it encourages them because no matter what I say, yeah, they're gonna get me off. Just like you know, we'll consume enough like media, you know, Twitter and podcasts and whatnot. I feel like I've heard this from many football analysts over the last three years. At some point, Dolphins fans are mad them. There's one thing that's the you know, constant among this.

You know you know what myke some analysts out there or hosts, you know, what might get them to shut up about not believing in the Dolphins win a playoff game for the first time in twenty five years.

Let's start there.

What's a good starting point when Sunday in the in the game of the week and there you go, that's another one that would.

Be a good one.

And just beat the Cowboys. I feel like that. And I'll be like, but just wait till the playoffs.

Yeah, and then they get all that again. Oh it's so unfair. Please good I'll tell you about unfair.

Good ball team, good ball club.

About four plays into week one. That's unfair.

That is the signature element of a country that has not faced war on its own soil in a long time.

That we're spending time on that.

Okay, save it for the war podcast, uh, Mark? And no, right, I know you want to come in with something about World War two?

Right now?

I know.

Here we go in a row. Now, let's let's avoid the the.

Old Patrick out zone of interest hive out there. Great movie really sticks with you a hive. I just heard from people that were like, oh, yeah, that was incredible.

Good. I'm so happy. Keep it up.

Greg, Let's go for the ultimate streak. Let's go with the Joe DiMaggio Nazi streak on this. You brought it up, did I?

Though?

Yes, Welcome to Around the NFL Week seventeen. We're going to get into the previews and just a reminder, this is our Thursday tripleheader.

We have a what you're gonna get here?

We got later on tonight Jets Browns Thursday Night Football with Greg and Chris Westling's brother Nick Westling.

How about that?

And also the Dreamatorium is alive on NFL Plus. Let's start though. Oh and by the way, stay tuned. We're gonna get to the Russell Wilson situation and everything going on with the Broncos, a team that is trying to figure out a path forward.

So a lot to get to.

But let us start where we always start, with the Island games and Saturday night December thirtieth.

You know it's that time of year.

Saturday is a popular ground for NFL and we got a good one because it is the Detroit Lions at eleven and four, traveling to face the Cowboys, who have not lost at home this season. They're seven to zero and I'm trying to figure out Greg and we look at what's going on in the league right now with two weeks to go the AFC, the Ravens have a game in hand over the Dolphins for the first seed. There the bottom of the standings in terms of the

Right and the Cowboys can still hope for the Eagles to help them out in the NFC is very unlikely, but yeah, the Cowboys have something to prove to themselves. They're five and a half point favorites here. Look minus two eighteen not a lot of respect here on the muddy line for the Cowboys over unders fifty three and a half are not a lot of respect for the Lions.

Yeah, why not?

I mean, like I we asked after that Bills game if what James Cook accomplished against the Cowboys defense was a bit of a roadmap for future opponents, and until that's proven untrue, keep going for it, and like that's Detroit's bread and butter. I think, like we've talked about the fact that Jamiir Gibbs and David Montgomery a completely re fashioned backfield, which felt like an odd offseason move for me for a Lions team that ran the ball well last year.

It's completely worked out.

Like I would say, David Montgomery, if I were to list the players that I was lowest on historically to change my mind this season, David Montgomery would be near the top of that list.

He's been really affective for them.

Jamiir Gibbs has been part of one of the best rookie classes by any team all year long. And we got a version of Detroit last week that like it came close to giving that game up.

But I don't like this five and a half points.

I think that's a disrespectful to a Detroit team that like is going to give Dallas a fight.

I think it's like it maybe a come factory, a little bit of a come down. They don't have as much to play for a Cowboy has been great at home.

Well, the Lions went out even shut out everything else if they get no help at all, and they went out.

The Lions the number two seed in the NFC, which is not nothing.

I mean, you're one playoff win and one Niners upset loss from hosting the NFC title game potentially in your building. It's an interesting setup there for Detroit. And I am totally shaken about the Cowboys after these last two weeks.

At home.

They have a plus one seventy one one seventy one point differential in seven games this year.

So, as much as Detroit is a great story and I think.

We're all rooting for them as a graduate of the team of atl do I think their defense is going to have answers on that turf in Dallas.

No, I think the Cowboy's gonna have a big week here.

One answer could be Chauncey Gardner Johnson though, and so if he returns and sounds like there's a decent chance of it, him and Melafon, who's been a revelation last week's okay, Suddenly you got some movable players that can do a lot of different stuff at the safety position. I'm not expecting them to be a great defense, but neither of the Cowboys been last five weeks EPA per play. These are the twenty fourth and twenty fifth defenses in

So I'm with you.

I like the the five and a half points for the Lions, but if the Cowboys, you know, struggle and they barely get this win, Tyron Smith's not practicing like I'm not gonna be panicking.

About them, nor am I like and I'm not panicking about what happened against.

Wait wait, wait, wait, they gotta win.

I was gonna say, if the Cowboys are going into the last week a three game losing streak, I'm with you, but I just mean, last week didn't make me feel any differently other than their other than Tyron Smith might be a bit of a Jenga piece for them and he might be out again.

Why why does that make feel differently? Because they lower the struggle.

To score and they can't get a big stop and they're giving up yards all over the place against a team.

Here's why.

Because Dolphins and Cowboys to me were pretty evenly matched going into that week, and I watched luck that's a game.

I said, those are two even teams. So I just kind of felt the same.

I think it is.

It matters that Jonathan Hankins is not being avail for Dallas. Like he's kind of someone that you don't really talk about much or think about much, but he's like a lynchpin in their run defense. And without him, they've been beaten up by Buffalo, they were beaten up on third down by Miami. The Cowboys since Week fourteen are one of the worst third down defenses in the league. I think that links to Jonathan Hankins. I think it links to their run defense. But I don't come out of

Dan.

It's like if you're the Cowboys.

You kind of need to change perception and go take some of these games. It's been a late season gauntlet for all of these heavyweights, and the Dallas schedule has been rough. Had they gone and been blown out the way they were against the Niners, I would just view them as complete frauds.

That's not what happened.

We're bout the week before, by the way they got it.

They got to fix their pass right.

But so they are.

They're an up and down team though. But see that's what I'm talking about. All of a sudden, we're many. We're moving day for Daddy, but we're moving the goalpost now in the Cowboys. So we went from two weeks ago everyone's saying this is a true Super Bowl contender. Look out Eagles, lookout world too. Oh it's well, they hung with the Dolphins and they didn't come out on I.

Don't think everyone is seen hopefully it's the super Bowl though, Wait a second, whoa whoa whoa Like I think they're just listened to every show on this podcast that.

They're in that five or six teams, and like they've got issues and a lot of it is like.

Trying to win a chip here.

Okay, Yeah, the Cowboys were trying to win the same way for the first time in like a quarter century. The Cowboys. The expectation, the demand here is to win multiple playoff games. So I just I think they need to right the ship and prove and this is a nice way to do it against a very good lines team at home.

Do not do not lose. This game proved to themselves. Daddy's got a show.

Don't come close.

He's It's not just the same old Zaddy. You know, I got you big for your test, big tests, all around, underdog, not this week.

All right, let's move to the other primetime Island game on the schedule. Here it is New Year's Eve night. It is in Minneapolis. It is the struggle, struggling, fading team of around the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings.

Walcome welcome me in the Green Bay Packers.

Interesting this is This is an interesting kind of look at the state of the bottom of the NFC playoff picture, because at at one point on this podcast we were high in both of these teams. There was a time where the Vikings were the team that was fun and sexy, and that's how they became the team of Aten and then the Packers rose up. If you remember that Thanksgiving performance and the weeks that followed, we were all about them.

Right, And I think that one of the reasons that we became as we were searching for the team of atl which is not like you're not looking for a powerhouse, you're looking for a story. You're looking for someone that you can kind of like become fascinated with. It had a lot to do with Josh Dobbs and like what he had done on multiple in multiple situations this season

And rule out joshtaps just because when the I think he's probably media was there. They they did this song and dance of splitting the raps between Hall and Mum.

Right, and we're at the point where we've you know, we've hitched our wagon to a team that isn't a fair amount of chaos and hard to believe in, and that that's okay.

I don't have a huge problem with that, but so is Green Bay.

I think, like Minnesota came so close to upending the lines a week ago, and like I, if it were me, I would start Nick Mullins again. I know he made some critical mistakes, but he is super productive, and that's where I'd go with this because I think the Green Bay defense has become so it's super destructive. Right well, he's destructive and productive. He's both got both. Nice job,

I guess so.

It is crazy. It's a fifth round rookie. I kind of expect Daron Hall to be the quarterback. It's bizarre to me they're doing the thing where nobody seems to know, Like Justin Jefferson spoke to the media and legitimately didn't didn't seem like he could possibly be acting that he doesn't know, and when the media was there, which is just the early portion. It was like Mullens and Hall

Lately, so I think it's a toss up.

I like the Packers to win this game, but it does worry me that they suspended JayR.

Alexander.

Let's talk about it in this series. This is their best quarterback. Why don't we start by listing to JayR.

Set the table day.

Alexander is the cornerback of the Packers who is a Charlotte native, who before overtime of their Week sixteen game against the Panthers, decides to take it apart in the game out started before overtime started, right or soh no, before the game started.

He comes out on the field even though he's not a captain.

Okay, so there's the first mistake, and he then called the they win the coin toss, he calls I think tails. He says defense and that would he was supposed to say was defer. So became a situation where the officials really wanted to stick it to the Packers. This guy walked up on the field, who wasn't the captain who said the wrong thing once he called the coin toss, they could have given the Panthers the ball at the

Here was his explanation of this situation.

So were you supposed to be a captain because the team announces the three game captains and you were the fourth and you called a toss?

What happened there?

Oh?

Yeah, I mean, you know it's only suit and you know, I don't think coach knew I was from Charlotte's, you know, So.

So you just did that on your own?

I mean, I mean, you know, I mean it was like, you know, the guy bagged me up, you know, so they made me laws from you.

Did you realize you almost made it a big mistake on the call?

Though?

What do I do?

That's and they continue They proceed to walk them through kind of what happened because.

Se that Giro exender doesn't seem to have any idea what's going on at all in the world.

I should have been walking out there. I'm from Charlotte.

He didn't know that.

Also, new Drop, we need to clip it only suiting I'd like.

I have to say that we've listened to probably five thousand quotes from athletes on this show, and that has to be one of the most bizarre interactions to the point where like, as a young twenty something I got very into these like novels, historical novels by Carlos Castanito, who like went down to Mexico and studied Peote and the effects of Payoti on a human being. I was like, what has what is going on with Jiro Lexander? It's like, is he not there? Is is he okay?

Yeah?

That was immediately after the game to put it contact. That wasn't during the week, Yes, before his suspension. Unlikely, Yeah, unlikely he was on Peyote, although you never know, Tyre, Alexander is a character and pretty much every time he talks he leads you in a wonderful direction of surprise, and so it wasn't totally out of character. And I don't think there's a spending him just for this, And that's what Matt Lafleur said.

It feels like it never one thing.

Yeah, it sounded like he actually had maybe gone out when he wasn't the captain before, Like that's that's.

A crazy I'm not going down like ranting grumpy sports writer territory to say this guy is the problem with the Packers. But for a defense that is, you know, free falling under Joe Barry.

For him, it's just not a good look.

He's also wearing sunglasses that maybe Britney Spears was wearing in two thousand and three or so during that interview, just if you haven't seen it before.

So there's just a I don't know, he seems kind of nice.

He's not been available for them for he just returned from a massive injury and it hasn't quite been himself. This is a this is a big I mean this this is It reminds me a little bit of Packers line first PLAF last year. It's a chance for the Packers to show their growth because I don't know if you guys remember the first Vikings Packers game. That was the game afterwards where everyone started making the cutups about how the Packers offense is just a bunch of bumbling uh.

It's gonna say, can we find then? I like this, yeah, but I don't know the Benny Hill music. Can we find something new?

Yeah, it's fair.

One of them Benny Hill was like fifty years old.

Well it's like one says, all those our music reference a pre y two k offering that was a little edgy if you were a child watching it came from Britain.

You're from Britain.

Yeah, but I used to watch Benny Hill when I was like seven or eight, which I don't think it's something I would throw to my children to watch.

I've ever seen that.

Yeah, Vikings, we have some breaking news are starting jar in Hall.

All right, well it's big time case closed.

This is why the hostess to do it. We have some breaking news production moments this.

Episode is this. Yeah, but when that's that fair, that's that fair.

We just just came down from Madison behind the glass, the Vikings are starting the rookie Greg Darren Hall.

I think it's the way to go.

He looked good on that one drives like.

Been turned off by two quarterbacks at this point, two.

Capable and and Nick Mallins is so frustrated because I could carve up this defense, then maybe we'll see him.

It's it's a little shocky, and I think it shows you that as much as the Vikings would like to make the playoffs and actually have a great chance to make the place if they went out they're in essentially though, that's if they went out there BA basically in. I think they're saying, as much as we want to do that, we don't know if that's going to happen or not.

Like we want to see what Jaron Hall can look like too.

And the advantage if there is any advantage to Nick Mullins, it's not enough that we want to pass unseen Mark.

You could see him in the second half potentially you never know out hope.

We're it's one of these scenes where you're going to probably see all of them all over. I mean, if there were more weeks to the season. Thankfully only two more of for the king and as.

Much as it feels like it's over for the team of eighten, this has been a weird, weird year.

Maybe the Vikings have a push.

Has this gone any better than the last time we picked the Vikings? I would for you for me because I'm not culpable.

Yes, that was howere of a disass call? Think we picked them at like five.

And oh and they immediately lost right, Yeah, they tanked hard and Mark took it as a personal front to him and was yes for seven months.

Because it's like NonStop text being like, well I wasn't part of that vote.

It's like, in some ways you're coupable for this too, because you're a Josh Dobbs thing.

But it's fine.

That is you want to come about listening to previous tapes like that's entirely true.

It was Dobbs that pushed it over the top, and he was your.

I won't listen to Greg. You have to back me on this, what about evidence?

In fact, Dobbs was the reason we picked the Viking.

Yeah, but I'm not the reason we picked the Vikings mostly Mark, in my opinion.

I find that to be annoying.

I know it is all right, let's get to the draft.

It is time now for the first overall pick presented by Draft Kings, and I will take this an easy one. The Miami Dolphins at the Baltimore Ravens. This is a early game, interesting, interesting time slot for the game.

But it's you know, unrewarding.

There's a lot of you know what, I don't mind it about a hammer drop early game. We don't have many of those, so it's a nice little change of pace.

In theory.

They could have flexed out Bengals Chiefs, which would have been nice, but a week ago, I get why they didn't do that.

God forbid, we don't have Tony Romo talking about Patrick Mahomes for another four and a half hours.

The Ravens are given three points here and in a good spotlight here for Iron Eagle and our guy Charles Davis with Evan Washburn looking impeccable on the sideline.

So good matchup here, great matchup, and.

At this point it is hard to look at the Ravens and say they're not going to win a big game because they've done it over and over and over, and you know, coming off the way they played against the forty nine ers.

I guess they seg into a different.

Place now, Greg, because now they are no longer going to be the team. I don't think that is putting up win after win after win, but is kind of seen as a little lesser than Now you're the big boys. And you heard Lamar talked about it this week that you know we're still the underdogs. We're still the underdogs, but they're not. They're very much the favorite, and I think the at least in the AFC, and the Dolphins

And try to get that one seed for themselves. And they're not viewed, you know, in the desert by as big underdogs. It's only a three point line, which is pretty interesting in Baltimore minus one to eighty money line the over unders forty seven. I am surprised by that but I think the rest is part of it. They're coming back from the West Coast, little resttop action on a short week a huge win. Dolphins have that extra

Mentality where you know, blah blah blah blah.

It's like but according to the numbers, like DVOA, for instance, has had the forty nine Ers and the Ravens as two of the best twenty teams of the last twenty five years, basically the whole season. Now the Ravens are actually ahead on top of the ring. It's like both of them have been elite, elite teams forty nine Ers, Ravens and pretty far away from the rest of the NFL, including the Miami Dolphins. I do wonder if it's an advantage or a disadvantage for Mike McDaniel to look at

Yeah, I think you're I think that's absolutely right.

Where it's like, yes, you can't just say what Mike McDaniel is doing is the same as Kyle shanahan. But there are a lot of roots and shared DNA there. This game to me, boils down to availability. I think it's very impactful that Kyle Hamilton has not been practicing this week. I think he has been a huge piece of what Baltimore's done on defense. Patrick Queen is banged up, Rokwan Smith is banged up. Is A Flowers did not

It's like their injury list has.

Just been wild and so it's like, I think this is such an intriguing matchup, but it really comes down to who is on the field and what percentage of health they have.

I thought this was really interesting.

You know, we played it on the last show, but I want to play it again here because it wasn't hard to decode which teams. Patrick Queen was talking about when in the aftermafter the Niners victory, he pointed out what makes the Ravens different.

Play a brand football and people don't want to play. Everybody want to be out here Q playing about football and grass and stuff. I mean, we ain't with all that. So you could do all that stuff. You just gonna hit in THEMUF ever play honestly, you know, we get care of this boy. All the pred stuff you do, gammixed stuff, you just out. You still have a line of play football. You still going to get touch. So that's how Mind said, that's how we want to come out and just you know, hit people in the.

Month, and that is what's going to happen, uh with the Baltimore Ravens, who are going to take it to the Dolphins, humble their fans. I'm locking up the Baltimore Ravens in this game. I think they're a perfect matches and as good as the Dolphins season has been, I think this is a bad matchup for them, and I think the Ravens are going to bully this offense and come away with another resounding win.

I think, like what Patrick Queen said also bags into like the Lamar Jackson MVP conversation where it's like he's his numbers don't blow you away, but you can't question his value. Like I was looking at Nick Schuk's QB index and he has and tell me, if you agree with this number one to a number two Lamar, number three, Dak it.

Is too and number one is yes, you'd be in yes.

But isn't that top five?

Really? I don't know about that.

Well, let me let me go.

You have to also you'd have to move Josh Allen or Matthew Stafford out of there, or Jalen Hurts comes at six.

But like to me, it's like wow, like Lamar is not.

It's a weird year for MVP obviously with the quarterbacks, like I would just go Christian McCaffrey at this point, but like you can argue that Lamar, like figures and stats wise, isn't that guy, but he is based on everything that he's done over the last ten or eleven weeks.

And it's like we're getting these schedules.

And that's why I don't like this, is that that this is baked into like a ten games happening, you know, early in the day in Los Angeles. Is that like this is another one of these MVP showdown games we're getting the week after week and like we're reacting off of what we saw literally twenty four hours ago, and the vote keeps changing.

You know what, now that Mahomes has taken a step back, I probably would have it Alan if like I was doing QBA, I'd probably have it like Alan Lamar either one or two, those two, Dak Fair, and I would have l Stafford and Purdy four and five probably, but to of might be in there.

They're all close. Uh yeah, Like so I know it's tough for you. Don't think two is top five?

Well yeah, that's just what I just said. He's either five or six. So but who who is he deaf? Out of those? I think it's all close. I mean Stafford I think is in that mix. I think Purdy is in that mix. He's got Baker Mayfield number eight. I think Dak's been amazing.

That's wow. That's a big drop from the top six. That is uh wild.

I am a little worried about this matchup as as someone who's locked up the Ravens five times and definitely rooting for them, because number one, where's the weakness in the Baltimore Devens.

It's definitely at cornerback.

I know Marlon Humphrey's playing better lately, but their cornerback's gonna beaten.

Uh.

This is a tough matchup for their cornerback number two. I as much as Lamar played great, very well on Monday Night, I do worry a little bit that their offense has not been in rhythm lately and not a lot of like in rhythm throws. He's broke the pocket a lot more and you're just counting on him to improvise, which he obviously can do, but you just would like to see that like a little more consistently. It's there one week, it's not the next And unlike playing the

Locked in, and I don't than just let's go back to the team that has has gotten me, yes.

And and just to counter punch to all that, which is all.

I think it's gonna be close, Like it's not a lot.

Only one of these teams smoke the forty nine ers in San Francisco like three or four days ago, So like the Ravens, I just think they're at another level right.

Now in a way that almost sometimes those worrying me because it is so hard to stay at that level back to back weeks.

We just saw it with the Bills.

It's like the Bills followed up You're gonna be cowboy and you get florioed?

What Lamar Jackson Mike Florio and his postgame press conference.

Why am I bury? I just locked them up.

I'm saying they're looking for any type of motivation and people doubting them, Well, so you are kind of he was locking up a team that you're doubting a little bit.

I wasn't worried about I didn't know about that Floria thing. It to cover the bar threw it out, but he did say that they were god that they wouldn't even like be like worthy of beat on the field I've ever they were going to get totally smooth at Floria, Like okay.

Gloria wood Doors the entire concept of what's happening.

To stay aggressive.

By the way, John Harbor, I really don't like this new super conservative unfourd down John Harbor.

Floria had a very dignified, extensive tweet response as well, like a like a man who just lost a presidential election, like it was like a concession speech.

Down Load the Draft King sports book now with code atn new customers can bet five dollars on NFL action to score one hundred and fifty instantly in bonus bets only on Draft Kings sports book was code A t N. The crown is yours.

All right, let's keep moving here, we gotta we gotta pick up the pace.

Mark you're up.

So I'm looking at the slate early and late, and what I see you over and over like quality team versus floating trash bag.

And so for me, it's like, I want to see how.

When you say floating trash bag, do you mean like the beautiful kind from that movie American Beauty or just an actual No.

Less that was artistic, That was artistic and beautiful, very nineties.

Yes, a little that was artistic.

This was more like you're driving down the highway and there's a trash bag. It's gonna end up in the ocean. Sure, it's gonna clog things up into a problem. That's the seagull is gonna choke on it. We're ready for it to go away, and we're ready for sattist.

Movie inspires one of Dan's least favorite things when movies don't hold up well, because that movie did not does not hold up.

It's got some problems, you know what, including some of its actors. Guess what the stars. I here's a take.

I'm pushing back on the take that it's has an age girl watch it recently.

Fun fine, it's also where you're at, like in a way like maybe at age twelve pounds back because mine was like seven years ago.

It's become like the prevailing sentiment that it's terrible and now it's terrible coming back around.

Okay, Wes Bentley, you know who kind of ruins it though, Yeah, Spacey, Yeah, well that's hard to it's it's tough to get up.

The criticism around it hasn't been about him being a creep. It's been that the movie is heavy handed and and all that.

It's a great performance though.

Right, all right, we're good with that. Greg's betting amazing. Yeah for you, Greg U. I will take San Francisco at Washington. Maybe it seems curious, but I really actually And then San Francisco is giving up twelve and a half points, uh, which does not That feels fine to me. I have no problem with that money line minus seven fifty for the Niners over under of fifty.

That's a high over runner.

But I think that to me felt like a little bit of a Jacobe Prissette factor there, because he's been actually really great for them two weeks in a row, and he's gonna start sam all these samhow experience might be over forever in Washington, we know the head coaching experience will be over. I mean, I think the whole team blew it, but he he was spicy. If nothing else, I want to see how San Francisco responds. I don't

It still matters.

They're still fighting for that number one overall spot in the NFC.

You cannot let up the Niners.

I think have a This is a statement game in a way for them to turn around after what happened on national television that completely altered the MVP race, completely altered people's confidence in the Niners, which I think is a little bit over baked.

I don't I don't know if I agree with that. I think if it.

Would alter the MVP race, yes, but entirely I suspect.

You know, they're heavy, heavy favorites to make the Super Bowl. That hasn't changed in most people and I don't think you can make it no matter what they do here. Possibly they're not making a statement this week.

I'm just saying, like, come out, and like their version of a statement has dropped forty points on this time.

Sure, I wouldn't heard anything about them, though.

I think I think I'd like to see it, just because I want to see them playing their best at the end of the season and looking looking like they've looked they need to.

They really want to get that one seed.

They haven't had those home games in the big spots the NFC Championship enough. Uh, They've They've really missed Uric Armstead. I think the last couple of weeks, we don't know if he's going to return their their offensive line. To me, when especially when Trent Williams is out obvious, it's it's like it it went from being like very good to a problem and that's something that's not going to be tested this week because there's no worse pass rush in

Yeah, I think the NFC is a little more saucing after that blowout loss in terms of intrigue. I'm already looking ahead and maybe maybe you get a flat Niners performance because they're doing the same to the Rams. There's a little bit of like two thousand and seven week seventeen Giants Patriots vive there where the Rams could make like one last big statement before the playoffs if they

I cannot stand the MVP derby. Don't talk about it, don't worry about it about it, because like I can go find a game or two where Lamar Jackson like underperformed, but it happened months ago, and so it's like.

That matters, context matters, Christmas all about.

What you do.

Like, as we get closer, he didn't have a four pick game against another one of the big tests that that.

He did not.

I mean, he melted down against Cleveland in one game.

But that's it. Your guy can still win.

I don't think he can.

He's the third and four so favorite right now.

I think he couldn't even be the number one on the Niners right now.

Well, I've thought it was McCaffrey all along. I think that's I think that's a totally legitimate thing, looking at their offense and just how it's built.

But all right, just needs to hope that Lamar loses.

Basically, all right, let's do one more before taking a break.

Greg, all right, I am unprepared here.

Toughie, your first pick, you're gonna get Vikings.

I'll take the Rams at the Giants. Rams are five and a half point favorites minus two thirty money line. I like the Rams to win this game. I don't like the Rams to win as easily as when I found out Tyrad Taylor's taken over.

I think it's a pretty big difference. I think it's close to a Dalton level scale.

You know, starting quarterback who for the limited time he's played this year, has unfurled a high amount of big time throws. I don't know if that's going to continue versus you know, maybe the most overmatched starting quarterback in the league. So you're going on the road across the country against defense which has been all over the place. It's gone from absolutely terrible to quite good to kind of back to terrible again the last couple of weeks.

So I don't know what to think.

But they are relatively healthy on defense, and it's just another chance for Stafford in this offense to kind of control the game. They have these long drives and then suddenly when you're playing the Rams, you're like, wait a second, it's the middle of the third quarter and we're down thirteen points and we've only had the ball like six times. They really have a way of shortening these games because of a very efficient offense that goes on these nine ten play drives.

They and when you have Cooper Cup, Puka Nakua, and Karen Williams in there together, they have averaged almost thirty points a game. It's like their offense is fully formed, and I think coming into the season, I was like, I looked at a team that didn't do a lot along the offensive line after that was their achilles heel a year ago. Since their bye, which was ages ago Week ten, they had the second lowest they've allowed the

I think the one thing that I've learned this season is to not doubt the brain trust there at all, because it did seem like and that was the prevailing sentiment that they bought that Super Bowl on credit and now they were going to go.

Into this tailspin and have to rebuild.

But the way they have developed all of these players on both sides of the ball, and you're right about the offense, Craig is not just Matthew Stafford having a big year or the rise of Pukainakua. Hel Cooper Cup's not even having a big year. He's been injured a lot. They identified a running back in the draft that became a star. The offensive line playing at a high level, The scheme is elite. And you tell me that the Rams are an easy out for anyone in this league.

Well there, they couldn't have been happy seen the forty nine Ers was on Monday Night, because now the forty nine going to be starting Week eighteen, and so the Rams are far from guaranteed to get into the playoffs.

I mean, org beat the Niners and then suddenly everyone is.

Like a lot.

They also could clinch this week and they could rest starters next week. All they need is to win this game and the Seahawks to lose to the Steelers, which is you know a reasonable thing to hope for and then the Rams are in this week. I do think, uh that it's as much as everything else matters. And Puka's a true number one and got he was so impressed with to see in person, like God, like whatever the ceiling is, it's even higher than you could imagine

I'd have him a little lower.

But if it was like the NBA where he voted on five guys, I think he makes my top five.

Stafford, Yeah, I mean you said that Pooka is fun to watch a person.

I imagine some.

So one where I was rolling left, we had the perfect view where he was rolling left and did the side arm stuff and I was just like trying to tell Walker.

I was just like, do you see that, Like Stafford's in that Lamar world, were like you have to ignore the stats because he hate his like TD interception ratio was just never really outstanding. But it's like what he's doing physically is like this new version of.

And I think we there was an NFL plus streamatorium mep Earliert Searson I was talked about.

It is Stafford in the Hall of Fame conversation man.

A year like this, I think has completely reframed how special he has been. And he's actually the flip side of And we're gonna get to the Russell Wilson drama and the disaster that that's become for the Broncos, the boondoggle that could have been the same thing for the Rams if Stafford came here and couldn't play. Instead, he kind of became a better version of himself and sustained his play in his thirties.

Very interesting.

I'm not going to bring up MVP again on this episode. I don't know why I don't. I don't know why I've done that twelve times. That's it's got to be annoying to the only one listening to Do you have something else to say? No, if you're driving around, you're probably annoying. You just brought say I'm not announcing that I won't bring it up again. It's a tedious Uh.

Let's read a ban on MVP those three letters together, Eric for the rest of the episode starting now, Let's take a break and we'll continue on.

Yeah.

Right, Welcome back to Around the NFL the Week seventeen preview. In Bulk, the snake is slithering right back door at old Greggy.

I will take a late game first one off the board, Bengals at Chiefs. Chiefs favored by seven. I don't want to hear Mark complain about Romo and Mahomes again, so you now you don't have to watch it. Money line minus three oh five for the Chiefs cut kind of a big favorites considering yeah, they were ted point favorites against the Raiders and they got smacked. How broken is

Oh man, I mean at this point, you just expect it, right at this point, you don't you kind of know that we were talking about this for a few weeks now that it's changed, probably ain't coming until after the season, but just them face planned. I thought it was just really interesting that with with the Mighty Mahomes and the great read, the fact that those turnovers happened and there were so much games still in front of them and they just couldn't adjust.

They couldn't find a way to get it going.

And at this point, and the Bengals are in must win territory just about here, right, Greg, I mean, they need they don't have tie breakers.

They got to win both of them. They are not guaranteed, so they're in a deep poll.

So you know they have they've been you know, they were cooled off obviously that the Pittsburgh loss really took a lot of air out of the balloon there and the idea of what they could be when they were riding at three game winning streak. So this is a game where I don't know what we're gonna get from Cincinnati, but I kind of do know what we're gonna get from Kansas City, and it will be a steady to very good defensive effort that could scramble Jake Browning, who's

I don't think.

I wish it was Dolphins Ravens in the spot.

Yeah, well that's that's why I don't know why they didn't do that. I mean, you're you're absolutely right, because like Kansas City twenty or fewer points in eight of their games, and it certainly looks like it. I do think for the for the Bengals, like it's a tough slate down the stretch. Pittsburgh's defense, Kansas City's defense, like for is disappointed as we are by the offense. Like their defense has been super consistent game after game for

I would expect them to be there. Put Yeah, I'm with you.

I mean, Kadarius Tony's banged up for the for the Chiefs, Isaiah Pachecos banged up. T Higgins coming off a huge performance. So it's like, I don't I don't feel like that that the Bengals team that we loved a week ago was floated away entirely.

It's just kind of like, we'll see.

This is gonna be the last time we see them as we know it now. I think they'll tag T Higgins, but you know, in terms of a meaningful game.

If they lose this game, they're basically done.

T Higgins mixing Tyler Boyd, Joanah Williams, four guys who basically started every game throughout this run.

All four might not be there next year.

I feel like they'll I feel like they'll tag Higgins because he's just too good. But you know, this is the end of something with Cincinnati, which feels weird because Burrow's so young. But they're just gonna have to reload on the fly and figure out what was wrong this.

Year, dream it all up again.

Last word on this game, Let's go to the New Heights podcast, which is by the way, presented by Waves Sports and Entertainment. Travis Kelce not having the year you expect from him, the Chiefs obviously not having the year he expected from them offensively, and he does that podcast with his brother Jason, and here are his thoughts on the state of their offense.

Everybody's just got to do their job.

Every single play, somebody not doing their job, and it's me, it's every one by one, it's everybody on the team. And whether that's prep, whether that's having the confidence and understanding of what the defense is in.

Their their coverages, their gaps.

And the run game, how we're picking up blitzes, how we're running routes versus certain.

Coverages, all the above, and we should bring it up here because you could look at that as just you know, cliches there.

That we all got a man up and do our job and all that.

Or he could say, like, is he talking about the the level of preparation and coaching with the offense as well? And you have obviously the enemy is not there anymore. Matt Naggie took on a bigger role there. Obviously read is the architect? Is there frustration in that building? And Greg, you had pointed out Rashid Rice a lot of miscommunications. We know Tony has had mental and physical gaffs. Is

He like he's their leading receiver because they don't have a leading receiver.

Well normally in this situation, it offensive coordinator leaves and you turn from a very buttoned up unit to one of the sloppiest units in the league by any measurement, it would people would be going crazy about the offensive coordinator change. I think it's confusing because Andy reads the head coach, But I think it's totally fair to wonder like Eric Benemy leaves, Matt Naggie comes on, and suddenly they don't look very well coached.

Great, there's always part of the reason why, I think the enemy or one of the reasons he didn't get a head coaching job. It was always very nebulous about what he was actually doing. And then even we talked about it over the summer. That NFL Quarterback show you would see during their Super Bowl run last year, it was Naggy that was very involved on the sideline on a game play by play basis, and you're always like,

All right?

Mark back to you, all right?

Taking another early game Saints at Bucks, intriguing the Bucks.

Basically that would have been a good number two pick, but you ended up getting it all worked out.

Sure, Well, that's how the draft works sometimes. It just you know, I don't know why. I'm sort of stunned that Greg didn't take his Saints, But that's okay.

I'll report to you what I've.

They have not been my Saints for many years. Here, I'm rooting box Let's go win a division.

That's the thing. They're in it they win and they.

They are taking the game just because of that.

Aren't we rooting for them to win this division? Like? How can you make an argument for anyone else?

The only team that's like a deadbeat, it's been like.

The best version of themselves for a while, and it starts with Baker Mayfield. And I think there's like a really specific historical A lot of these like historical notes about player X performing a certain way against the team begins to become nonsensical because the rosters have changed so much. But like the Saints and Bucks, Like when you put Mike Evans against the Saints defensive backs who have they're kind of similar, like they're nasty, like Marshawn Lattimore and friends, Like this.

Is they've really missed them in this matchup where he was so good against.

That right, Latimore has been like the guy, but like it's like Mike Evans has been held under seventy yards in nine of his last matchups against the Saints. This has been like their player, their guy, and like, I think the one thing that has been such a promising aspect to Baker Mayfield is that that offense was so frustrating a year ago. And how many times did I watch Tom Brady and Mike Evans unable to connect deep downfield.

But Derek Carr, for all the.

Critique gets since Week eight, has been has one hundred and forty passer rating on deep passes, and so it's like, I think explosive plays make the difference here.

Bucks favored by two and a half man This is a tempting lock here. Saints have the extra rest coming off the DNF game, But man, the desert's been given the Saints way too much credit for way too long. Like they were barely underdogs in La got smoked. They're barely underdogs here. They're playing their worst football. The Bucks have won four in a row. Offensively, they're great. They're a very good offense. Right now, they're a legitimate top

We should look him up. It's not too late, you know.

We obviously we know what Todd Bowles is and what he isn't, so he has nothing to do really with the offensive game plan. Have we been talking about Dave Canals on this show early in the season, Yeah, yeah, only went guy years. They went through a little slump. But yeah, it all so tells you so because he deserves credit.

Because if we were just talking about Kansas City and what's going on, everybody's out of sync. It's an offense that is in sync and is potent right now. And you got the quarterback playing with confidence, and Evans is having an all Pro year, and you even got Godwin going a little bit now, and it's just like, okay, look out now.

We shall see. This is also the same.

This is why they are the most deserving team to claim this bizarre division. They also did lose six of seven at one point this season, so the DNA within them perhaps is still there to have a late collapse.

But I think I have to do this, Like I was gonna go somewhere else, but it's like this has been the one of the more unexpected quarterback performances of the season by Baker Mayfield, who I think was a Dalton line candidate coming into the year.

I'm locking up the bucks. They're gonna do it. 'en up with the Saints.

Check you later, okay, Dalton, I I mean heck, he was way below that.

That's why he got no money this offseason. He got a one year, three billion dollar contract, and he's.

Been better than Derek Carr who got who got a Yes, there's environment, but he's going to be a dad soon too.

What kind of contract would Baker gets?

It is a very tricky.

I love Baker at this value. Is tricky one Baker.

One last thing, The Buccaneers are the only team in the NFL that everything else that matters in terms of their playoff positioning and everything, everything else in the NFL has no impact on them whatsoever. Literally, no other results matter. If they win one of their next two games, they are the four seed.

Period.

There you go.

If they don't win either, if they go zero and two, they're out. That is that is mathematically refreshing. I do like that.

To quote to quote the great Mariano Duncan.

Remember Mariano Duncan nice little infielder back in the nineties. Not really.

We play today, we win today. That's it.

Okay, that's what the Bucks got to do, all right. I am up and it feels like it's been a long time since I've been up on the clock, and here I am. I do like the I like this game that it's still here. Raiders at Colts. I mean, come on, it's a big game in the AFC. You can look at these teams and say, oh, who cares, doesn't matter.

These aren't Super Bowl teams. I get it, I'm with you.

But it matters to the players, and it matters to the coach, and it matters to the fan base.

So it's a game with a lot on the line.

Colts at eight and seven, and they are, you know, with the Jaguars in a free fall.

What's going on in the division over there? Right now? Where are they at?

They're all tied?

They oh my goodness, So the division is there? The wild card is there.

Jacks have most of the tie breakers if it all stayed tied, but it's a three way tie.

Yeah.

And then you have on the Las Vegas side of things, the biggest surprise of the last couple of weeks has been what they've done. I mean, they put.

Up a sixty burger on the Chargers.

Then on Christmas Day they go to Arrowhead and they and they beat the Artists formerly known as the Chiefs. And yes, the Chiefs are not the Chiefs anymore, at least not this season, but that is still a huge win for that organization. Obviously for Antonio Pierce is trying to get that intern label ripped right the hell off. So take a look at the Raiders now, because if they can beat the Colts in Indy, and we saw what the Colt just got spanked by the.

Time, that was a terrible loss. That was a terrible loss.

So we know what's going on with the Colts. They are just hanging around here. They could be picked off by anyone. They could beat a lot of teams too, but they could get picked off. Then they would be the Raiders home against the Broncos in Week eighteen and hot damn. If they ever win out and make the playoffs, that would be one of the more unlikely rises for any team in recent memory.

I mean it would, it would It would match the Basaccia experience.

I mean even more so, like that team had some talent. They this team was completely off.

Yeah, they had a much longer because Druden got fired so early.

You know what I mean.

It's interesting to me how they're doing it because I think your argument for Antonio Pierce, and we talked about it a little bit in the recap show, was that, like, if you're going to be a defensive coach in twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four, like your defense better be great, Like it better be like we better see like a noticeable difference, and like, I think that's happened with them, Like they won that game against the Chiefs where DeVante

And it's basically a playoff game.

Good pick, fun game, an elimination game for the Raiders, you know, if they lose their out, not quite for the Colts, who, just because of the division, actually have a decent chance. They could even lose this game, win next week and still have a decent chance to get in. I don't know if Josh Jacobs is going to be back. Julian Blackman has been really good at safety for the Colts is out. They're only three and four at home. The Raiders have also been a much better home team

I like this, all right, we'll say we'll say I wanted to be a dramatic affair, and we'll see if Jonathan Taylor gets it going again second game back after the thumb injury. I don't know if you just said it, Greg, but Colts can win out and still miss the playoffs. But they could also when their division.

It could also like lose this game and very easily make the playoffs next week.

There's a lot.

It's crazy.

The Colts three and a half point favorites in the money line is minus one seventy five.

I'm taking the Colts. I feel bad.

Raiders, Okay, Snakes to me, you know what, I'm going to go keep going down this road, and I'm going to pick up these games that are essentially playoff games for these teams. The Steelers traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks. This is the Seahawks getting three and a half in this game. And yeah, Mason Rudolph, he's getting

That tells you a lot, just tells you a lot.

Right We're not sure if Kenny Pickett is even going to be available, although there was some hope that he would be, but Tomlin made it clear early in the week that either way, it's going to be Rudolph, who got a lot out of George. Picketts is a very talented human and they're not doing themselves a service if they don't find a way to use him, and Rudolph did in a big way. He's not great to go down the field. And I'm looking forward to those. Man,

Rudolph has more touchdown passes than Kenny Pickett with thirteen fewer games played.

I can't.

Yeah, we're gonna rush Canny Picket back on the field, can we?

Con also think it's interesting, like Feelers fans, he has more touchdowns this season that.

Can no career wise, Okay, thirteen played that one game.

It should be pointed out that Mason Ruff came into the league in nineteen ninety six, so that's.

Thirteen few games, thirteen fewer games than Picket. But I'm not saying like.

He didn't come in to the league nineteen eighty.

I do find it interesting that like Rudolph like Steelers fans are, so they adore him to such a degree, Like the degree that they.

Did it seemed to like him too.

Yeah.

I mean, if you had to watch some of these guys that have been playing quarterback for the Steelers, you would probably want the underdog that you think didn't really ever get a fair shake. Although I feel like we watch a lot of bad Mason Ruff football too.

Yeah, but not last week. What is it worth?

Last week? It was fine.

Devin Wetherspoon is possibly returning, which would be really big. That benchet of Tarik Willen I think worked. He had a great game last week. They put him back in starting lineup. Carol does have and I think you see it with the russ stuff, Like Carol does have a way I think of giving players you see with Gino a lot of confidence in getting the best at them. They got Weatherspoon in that Russell Wilson trade. I do want to see Gino like use the middle of the

They're pretty banged up. Like Kenneth Walker did not practice on Wednesday. Jackson Smith and Jigba was limited. Jamal Adams, who feels like an enigma at this point maybe not really part of the team going forward, also banged up. Jordan Brooks was hurting that game no offense. So it's like, you know you're gonna it's that time of year for Seattle, but it's like part of those guys need to be healthy for their tackle.

Worked last week against Tennessee and that is a big concern against t. J.

Watt and Heismith.

Seahawks have a sixty.

Nine percent chance of making the playoffs.

Nice even if they lose this week, they do get the Cardinals next week, but then you you kind of need some things to fall your way. So when this game eighty eight percent chance of making the dance.

Right in the AFC, like a nine win team at this point is pretty likely to get in at least some nine win team in the NFC. I don't know, You're you're playing with fire if you if you get that, I mean we do not need Pittsburgh.

All right, Mark back to you, buddy.

So there is one final late game, but I'm going to take it later under the assumption that you're not going to steal it. From me because this is the special week where the NFL is created. As scenario, will will each be watching three games a piece in the early windows. So I'm going to take my final one, which is Arizona at Philadelphia.

Similar situation.

I want to see these like teams in the conference, like show me that they're still going to battle down to the end.

And you're hunting for blowouts. That's what you're doing. That is exactly what I'm doing.

Got the sniper ribs, You're You're on the sixth floor book depository right now.

I tried to dress it up in a different way, but you saw right through that. That's what I'm looking for. If you're going to do three, two of them better be kind of easy narratives.

Let's go that that's about you drafted forty nine ers.

Now you need that.

You want to take that party victory or rat lap on Sunday after waxing the worst secondary and well, I.

Do I do feel that best player in the league again, I do feel that way.

It comes everybody get ready. But you could say the Eagles.

There is like a fair amount of intrigue around the Eagles because it's like the whole Matt Patricia thing the hole, the fact that like a j Brown at times have sort of vanished from this offense. The Jalen Hurts Uh essentially leads the league in turnovers from the pocket, Like we're like, I think he's an interesting study because it's like he made this huge leap last year where it's like, oh, that's what we just expected Justin Field to do this year.

Well that's not how it works.

But Jalen Hurts has taking a big step back, and I think that they're coaching, their coordinatorships have made a

Right, it would sting to lose to Jonathan Gannon. It's a big Jonathan Gannon. Now people say revenge. You know, he was a helped him get to the super Bowl.

But his whole.

Controversy of how he left and the interviews and the process of that, that all like kind of led to uh h, shine the side getting hired and that didn't work. You know, it all didn't leave them in a good spot.

On not the guy.

I mean, Jalen Hurts I think is coming off one of his best games of the year. I think he's had a very good season. If to me a fourth year player that he hasn't as good as last year, obviously good, He's like, yes, I think he's been like a top seven or eight quarterback in the NFL. For where is his development to me is totally fair. It's the other stuff around them to me that's been more disappointing, namely the defense.

The most controversial thing I feel like that happened.

In the Eagles lately is like they're kind of bening Jalen Carter maybe didn't have the greatest effort on some players last week like played twenty one snaps.

It's weird that No, you know that that hasn't been that talks.

About to me, they just need to get back to running the ball. That it was a great swift game last week. I think you can run it down. The Cardinals throw interesting about Carter. I mean, see poems written mark about him earlier in the year.

And also a guy that came into the league with some question marks about character and things of that nature.

Let's see what's going on with him.

Yeah, I think it might just be he never had many snaps in college. Neither did Jordan Davis, and like he's just wearing down and they're trying to save him a little bit for the playoffs because he is running out of gas.

Man, I feel him. I feel that.

Eagles favored by eleven minus six hundred, and you get Joe Davis and Daryl Johnston on the call.

Pam Oliver about that big victory for me. Good team, good broadcasting standpoint. Greg, you're up, let's do Panthers Jaguars. How about that it's actually in the lock zone. You could lock again to the Panthers minus six and a half in minus two eighty five for the money line. Good one Panthers Jaguars. Can the Jaguars complete this collapse?

You're rooting for that? Am I wrong?

I announced that I've got.

That they weren't good all year, and in that they you know, just before the season, I did not have them as like a playoff team.

I am surprised.

I would make you look very smart if they end up face playing.

Nobody's gonna remember anything, everyone and none of it. I picked the Charger to make the super Bowl, none of you. I didn't need to say that. Yeah, but nobody cares. That's one thing you have learned. You get older, literally no one. No one's gonna care about your predictions.

Right Who did you pick?

Pick to win the biggest award? Individual award? What do they call that? Again? We can't discuss that, well, I can't.

I actually don't remember you guys, do you remember? I don't.

I think I picked Mahomes. You know we're gonna remasit all that stuff.

Uh No, Trev potentially in this game, but he is proud. He did speak with the media, so I think he's probably gonna play. He's come up with a new injury every week. He's just had this terrible luck where he's played every game. It feels like he's missed games. He feels gone and and he's and he's uh not finished three in a row, right.

Yeah, Like in his last four games, he's had a high ankle spring that looked terrible when it happened, right, He's had a concussion and a shoulder in quick recap Eric.

The last three games for Trevor. Okay, here's game one, Game two three. I didn't know if that's true.

I think of leaving the game yet, and it sounds like you will play. And I don't know what to put on his injuries because he had like seven or eight diying in that game against the Book. Yeah, but I don't know what to think about it because like he he had a bad game because he made so many poor decisions and turned them all over.

But if you made like a list of the best.

Throws in that game, he had more great throws than Baker Mayfield. So it's like I have a hard time saying like marks injury. I just mean that, like I don't need to be protected. These things are confusing. It's the defense, the offensive line, everything is kind of collapsing around them. Bryce Young playing a little better. So wow, go win this game. We need go win this game and get out of that one seed.

Maybe.

All right, let's take a break and we'll go back to Greg when we come back, right, welcome back, Greg gets back to you, baby boy.

All right, what else is left?

I think we could talk about a certain quarter?

All right, let's go Chargers Broncos.

Isn't that the only late game that I was telling you not?

What's a shook game? Anyway?

So oh, negative one eight five minus long and a half. So I'm gonna do four one o'clock games.

If you're on this, we can switch it around, we can give it.

Uh.

I don't know.

I just listened to the host here. He said, let's talk Russ. I figured it feels like a good time to talk Russ.

I don't know what a coulda talked about it in for minutely weird?

What a weird? Uh?

Twenty four hours it's been since the report came out. Initially that like, oh they might be going to do the whole nation is dealing with it, and then thirty minutes later they are benching Russell Wilson for Jarrett Stidham, even though the Broncos have a chance to make the playoffs here. If they win out, you know they got a shot to make it. I believe Sean pay And when he says like he admitted that the finances are part of it to start a sentence, Rather, that's a fair point.

That's a fair point.

It where he says like the finances are part of it.

They're trying to avoid Russell Wilson getting hurt potentially and then being on the hook for all this guaranteed money. But obviously they didn't do it until this week. And so until this week they decided like it was worth keeping playing him, and that actually we'd like to see Jarrett Stidham because we gave him this big contract and we don't think it's gonna be some big drop off.

All about the contract, and no, it's a combination.

If Russell Wilson was bawling out and it wasn't coming off one of the worst games of his season, I don't think you would be bench right now.

It's God's plan here. Two things I find it to be refresh. There's a team at the bottom of the AFC playoff race. It's like, we're not kidding ourselves here, Like we could ride with Russ and risk the financial side to try to get in the playoffs and maybe we'll make some No, we're already looking ahead to the future of this franchise. And I think an old Greg ism, GREGI, it's like, it's two things can be true. It's yeah, Russell Wilson is a Dalton line level quarterback at this point.

I think in theory you would say that the best possible avenue he could have had to save his career was under Sean Payton or under a coach like Sean Payton.

And I think it's I kind of love what they're doing.

But it's not even about like he needs to save his career, because I don't think he's some hopeless cause you know, it's.

Just coming off guy coming off coming off of last year, like his Broncos career, like the version of him in Denver where it's like he would stay beyond this season he finished. He's top ten right now in completion percentage, touchdown pick ratio, and passer rating it. But it doesn't look like it's kind of like Lamar, you just you got to watch the games.

Yeah, I think it's not ball. You know, it's like he's not but.

I think it's like people are not like watching Brouckles games all just like he's just a disaster because he was that last year. No, he's not like he's just in the middle of the road like you're saying, but I'm wondering more like if you're the Broncos and if you're Sean Payton, who was clearly told before he took the job, like you're not tied to Russell Wilson, you can evaluate and see what you want to do, Like why are we keeping the general manager, like who made

And Russell Wilson is guaranteed a lot of money next year. People kind of are getting it twisted. It's like, oh, they're getting out of having to pay him next year, it's like, no, he's actually get banged.

Guaranteed money next year.

The extension they signed him to, which to be clear, was in the area of the Mahomes and Josh Allen's type extensive. It hasn't started yet, Dan, it starts next year.

That's wild. It's it's totally insane. It's funny money, Greg, if you have it right.

Well, I think I think in terms of the actual money, it's still over thirty plus that they owe him. But in terms of the dead money the cap space that kills eighty five million. In theory, they could eat it all in one year. I don't think they'll do that.

What a who is to.

Put that in?

It absolutely was, and just to put it in perspective, so if his cap hit is near what you say, fifty, if they spread it out.

If they spread out, it'll be in the thirties next year, and then near fifty and twenty five.

The cap at least this year, and it always creeps up is two twenty five. So that's going to be eating up a large part of their availability. So it's a It's a type of move that if you hit on it, and then I'll use staffor again as an example, it opens up your window as a contender for several years. But if it goes the other way, this is a mistake that is going to continue to reverberate for multiple years.

I mean, Sean Payton didn't have a lot of other options and he took this. He got huge money, right, so there's I mean, that was a huge part.

I would just say this are we would have waited it out and eventually found something you could But are we? Are we in an NFL?

That's so absurd and so like ill thinking that's another team this offseason is going to convince themselves to bring in Russell Wilson as a starter. Like if that happens, I lose entire faith.

But here's the thing.

In general, he's again I don't think he's bad, and look how many bad quarterbacks you watch?

I know, But like then it's just like what are we What are you saying getting paid like don't know, Smith or something that makes more sense.

This is what is outrageous, getting paid like this to play like that? Right that doesn't it will get that will get leveled a little bit.

It feels a little awkward though, as like a Teddy Bridgewater type. So I'm with you, Mark, I don't know. I don't think there's going to be a starting job. Maybe once all the chairs stopped moving, maybe they'll just be some team that that needs.

The commanders will like the Raids, But I don't do that.

I actually kind of doubt it.

This is so ugly though, Like so Jordan Schultz had this reporting and then it was backed up I think by the Athletic that the Broncos approached Wilson two days before after their upset of the Chiefs, so just you know, almost two months ago now late October, and told him they were gonna make him inactive if they didn't adjust his contract and defer the injury guarantee that I was talking about, and that they threatened him and they got into a major dispute that the NFLPA got involved in.

Who knows.

It's interesting to me that Russell Wilson is his side is clearly putting this out there to make Sean Payton and the Broncos look bad. And Sean Payton is very aware of what is happening. And these two still have to work together the next couple of weeks and Russell Wilson is going to be the backup SUP this week.

That's what Sean Payton said.

So they're having this sort of source war, and he's basically saying Sean Payton's a jerk.

I shouldn't be benched.

I'm gonna put this out and then I'm gonna go on Twitter and go on a streak of liking a bunch of tweets from all these accounts like that. I mean that, like it is twenty twenty four. Here are the people JFA football. He liked JPA football. Oh that's one of those terrible ones Fantasy fanatics he did, which

We have been doing this for a long time, and like there is like no one gets Greg more, not no one, but like top five get Greg fired up. Sean Payton is consistently cemented in the trus.

Else strong I see.

I get, it's why they were yelling at each other.

There's two alike.

I also find football, you know, the Twitter verse to be exhausting sometimes because it's hypocritical that we're we're always talking about how, you know, the the owners have too much power, and the and the players. We should always side with players and this thing that's happening. But then it depends on the player. And Russell is not an overly popular guy, so all of a sudden, we're not like saying he's being done dirty, but he is being done I.

Think, just like I think it's working what he's doing.

But just like Derek Carr, this I think is an unfair loophole. I'll call it the car clause because it happened with him with the Raiders last year. That you sign a certain deal that you expect to protect you and then they kind of use it against you. And in this case, you hold him, put a gun to his head and say, unless you change your contract, we're going to end your career there and bench your ass.

But here's the thing they did, so that's why the report they did, but they didn't for two more months so they didn't actually do it. So that's that needed a little pushback in terms of their party. It's like, Okay, they threatened that they were going to do that, and they didn't do it.

They waited till they were himself with context matters too. That was at the point of the season where things were going really well.

No, it was that.

It was when they were three and five and they said they were going to bench. Said then it was after the Chiefs upset.

Yes, but they were three and five at then, Okay.

Well they they had they had turned the corner after a terrible start.

Where were they They were one and four, right.

They were one and four and then they were one and five. I think they had won.

One and five and so they were kind of things were at that point in the season. Things were turning over. I'm just saying sometimes it's like where do we choose when to side with ownership and when do we side I mean.

Like also like the one like it's not Russell Wilson is not being thrown into the breadline where you're still go to get a job at like CVS next week.

It's like he's making.

Oh okay, if you want to put it through that lens. What are we talking about anything?

I am, well, that's that's that's a fair question. It's like he's this is what then happen.

He's an incredibly disappointing quarterback for what they thought. It's a disaster, and he's still making an incredible more He's making way more money than he deserves for what he's given them.

He Uh, this was one where he's doing the pr thing and it's it's working.

I mean, every wedding everywhere, we're gonna kill Sean like Russell Wilson is.

I think I think Sean Payton needs to handle that better.

Every big name, almost every big name player has representation that works for him.

And when these crisises happened different. There's spin, and there's it's part of the It's part of the game.

Absolutely, But I think it's fair to look at these two guys, John bat and Russell Wilson and say they've gotten.

Guys a whole other category.

He's actually because I think he knows he's mean enough.

Russell Wilson, all right, let's move on. All right, let's see let's see anything about that game.

No, we're good, Mark, all right, Uh, I'm gonna take my fourth early game because this point, someone just find an off fire arm and take me out.

What does it matter.

I'll take one of it, but I'm going Tennessee at Houston. Speaking of putting in perspective, you're watching football for a living sassy Tennessee it. I actually I think you just take this game. So that's not a fourth. I know what I'm doing.

You can't have it both ways. You can't say I can have it. I can you have it both ways? You have it both ways, like twenty five times a show. I'll have it both ways. I'm happy to take the game from you.

I am happy to take it for myself in the nick of time.

C J.

Stroud, who practiced good is returning. I found that so depressing for the Texans, who are one of the best stories around. Uh, to lose this quarterback and so this is such a winnable division the version that we got of c J. Stroud and the Texans are the team I want to win this division enough with everyone else.

Give me a break. Uh, they're you know.

When you look back at the first matchup, one thing stands out to me is that Derreck Henry had sixteen carries for nine yards and four receptions for one yard.

Historically, you have to go back deep.

In time to find a player that had twenty offensive touchdowns or twenty offensive touches with ten scrimmage yards. That's never happened in the Super Bowl era. So it's like, if you can, if you can nullify Derek Henry and like it sounds like Will Lewis is gonna come back potentially, but it's like this is somewhat of a dead offense. Go take care of business, Houston, win this game. You got Stroud back in the lineup.

This is the.

Most intriguing team in the AFC South. If he's performing the way that we know, and especially if you get guys like Will Anderson the rest down the stretch back as well, it's like this is a well coached team, Coach of the year potential. I want to see Houston in the playoffs start right here.

Yeah, I'm with you.

They were given up five and a half points.

They yeah, they are they are favorite here. I guess that's assuming well, this should be minus two fifty five. It's probably Levis. It's probably the last two games of Derrick Henry's career. According to Derrick Henry in Tennessee. So that's interesting. He was kind of talking about like he sees where it's going and he wanted to play for one team, but it's just probably not gonna happen. Taji Spears being fantastic is part of that. Kind of shows

Well, there's nothing else happening with that offense too, That's it can't be.

Just that CJ being back, Blake Cashman being back, but might not have Anderson or Grenard, which is what made this defense special. So the Texans are definitely capable of losing this game too.

They're not some juggernauts.

Strauta was struggling a little bit before the injury too, and now has missed a couple of weeks. So I'm with you, Mark, I really hope they win and find a way in all.

Right, up next, I mean, like can have five games.

Will all end up with the exact same game. That's why it was not worth There's so many worked up. We so many like well each have three, it's very easy.

No, there is no other show like this where works. Wow, we got fin about what we have to do? No, I just has that happened this year?

That's no. I think we're getting killed with that early slate situation.

Right.

I got New England at Buffalo, and it is Buffalo. We got a college spread here, They're given thirteen and a half.

That's absurd to me? Is it how the Patriots defense is played?

The idea here, and I am fully on board with it, is that the Buffalo Bills are at home in a have to have it game.

This is not a trap game. This is the Bills.

No, they cannot mess around here. And they know they got the Dolphins next week. They survived that little slip up against the Chargers, and so they had that type of game and they got away with it after you know, finding ways to lose earlier in the season. So the idea here is I get it, Belichick, and the defense has been competitive this year. But the Bills, when they are operating at a high level at home, I could just see them going off here and I think the

No one.

Oh, it can't bring it up, but certain things that hardware that's handed out at award shows. Josh Allen truly was the big winner last week because all of a sudden he could be in that conversation with a strong finish. But they got to get to the playoffs first, and they got to win these games.

So it's all in front of the Bills.

They could be in two weeks time, they could be the most disappointing team in football this year, and really the most disappointing team in the last couple of years. I think in the NFL, if this thing went a certain way and they and they missed the dance, or they can go in like a house on fire and the team that people are picking to go to the super Bowl and it wouldn't seem crazy. So a lot to be figured out around Buffalo right now.

I think it's a huge difference to win the division and we'll get to that and they have to, you know, hope the Dolphins lose.

This week to get there. But it's such a huge difference.

I think even going in as a two or three seed and going in as a six or seven, it's just so hard to be the six or seven. They're playing a team that handled them earlier in the year. Certainly Mac Jones' best game of the year, he's long gone. Bailey Zappi is coming off his best game of the year. This defense still like not consistent the Bills defense, and like don't have a consistent enough pass rush.

Von Miller.

You know what a disastrous season he's had with the arrest, But for the Bills that he just I don't think it's coming. It's he just isn't gonna make an impact. So you need your offense to score thirty forty points. He used to do that reliably against the Patriots defense, and I tend to think you're right, Dan, that they can do it again. This State Pagers defense is good, but let's not get carried away. They're like they're a

No, I'm not saying that there's something that's special about their defense, but it's been consistent. It's been pretty consistent the Bills under McDermott. I think these kind of things matter like they're seventeen and two in December and January regular season played like they close seasons. Well, I think they understand through all the chaos that's unfurled inside and outside the building. You know, it's been a weird year. Last year was a weird year for the Bills. Two

Very good.

I always believe that th sacks and three sacks plastic. That's really been great for the second half of the season. So at least there's one nice young player they have like.

None, Yeah, we have so few.

I got a lot of work to do and he is one and it's going to be a vitally important draft coming up. Who's going to be in charge of that draft? We don't know a great stat here from the research team. We'll go out on this with this game, with a win versus the Pats in week seventeen, the Bills will have ten wins or more for.

The fifth straight season.

Roberts Roberts, how old you? How old are Eric Roberts Actually just turned thirty two years old by a young looking through our beautiful mustachioed boy.

Eric Roberts is thirty two, So the end of his twenties, early thirties, he's known nothing but ten wins. Seasons are more buffalo for all the other years pretty much of Eric's life, for most of them, had zero such seasons of ten plus wins from two thousand to twenty eighteen. So Sean McDermott much beligned in certain corners of BLOGI sphere. He arrived in twenty seventeen.

Do the math. He's been part of the right.

But my niece and nephew only know Josh Allen.

There you go. What a life? Yeah, it's nice? What I know? I know? Pain.

I want to tell you one thing about Eric like I went to my desk. Yes, I'm sure this occurred. If it happened to only me, that would be very noticeable. But like, uh okay, really nice Christmas card from Eric, handwritten. Who's doing that anymore? Like my like my my grandmother's like the last person that sent me things like that.

So the great Sean Kelly also Sean Kelly. Absolutely very nice Eric, that you guys all should have gotten a note. If not, that would be awesome if.

To compare what you said to me versus Yeah, all right.

Knapp into my desk this week. Yeah, come straight here.

I'll be checking in on that and reading it closely to see if there's any differences in the letters.

That goes back to me.

And uh, I guess I'm gonna toss this over to sestag enjoy the Falcons at the Bears.

No, I think it's me. Well, we'll figure it all out afterwards. That's not where.

It's not in my direction that I'm throwing this hot potato to somebody. Falcons at there as the Falcons keeping their playoff hopes alive just barely with that win over the Colts, a decisive win. So you know what, Greg, it's like, if you're gonna ask me to try to figure out what version of the Falcons are gonna get it this week, you're going to the wrong guy.

I don't think anybody really knows. But they have an opponent that also is a bit, a bit, a bit hard to team to decipher right now. So this could be a close game, It could have a could go in a lot of different.

Directions, but it does feel like a bit of a like a coach off, like a hot seat off. Next week's Falcon Saints feels possibly like a loser gets home job. Potentially, if the Falcons won these two weeks, they have a reasonable chance to make it either as the division winner or the wild card, almost fifty to fifty, about thirty eight percent chances if they won both of them. So it's it's not too late for them to save their job.

I mean, I think if if you want to make an argument for Eberflus, it's like what he is meant to be good at, they're good at.

They've like in the guy.

And I would also even say for the front office, like the Montes Sweat trade wasn't just a vanity move, Like it's absolutely worked. He fits into their defense. They've been really good on that side of the ball. I'm looking at the entire league and I'm like, are the Falcons the most disappointing team in the NFL considering where I thought what I thought they would be back in August?

There's some competition. Been the team that has desmondridd Or the quarterback be the most disappointing.

To me in the NFL.

I thought person how much I thought personally that they were going to kind of do something that got a lot of talks.

Bengals are up there for me, but Bengals are injury base. Yeah, but it's to me, it's not. They were disappointed with Burrow, and I think they'd be disappointing with him still.

But You're right, Patriots are up there.

The Bills need to finish strong, but they have a potential to be up there.

But you're right there. There aren't many I'm.

Saying for Arthur Smith, it's like, what is your selling point.

It's like you're in that Patriots chargers, deep chargers, chargers, and so that we know what happened to that coach. It's like, I'm just saying Arthur Smith's resume. Here is rough rugged.

Last test for that running attack. Again, such a good run defense. It's not a bad game. I'll take it. I'll take it. It's a final chance for the Bears. Home favorites minus three and minus one.

Per next Gen Stats, the Bear is currently less than a one percent chance to make the playoffs if they win, though greg in Week seventeen, Chicago's playoffs chances jump to one percent. So it goes from less than one percent. Will probably be eliminated this data point.

What does that mean though, Like like artillery would need to fall in like four other organizational buildings, Like how do you get in with a one percent chance to make the playoff?

There is a path in weekend?

Oh yeah, they're not eliminated. They would need a thousand incredible to see a lot of things would need to happen here, here, anything else, No, gang, we've said it all all right, this is uh. You're gonna have like a fifteen minute post show draft to figure out.

A draft after the draft.

Yes, that's coming up for us, but that's private and you don't need to be involved with that, and you don't want to be involved with that. But remember adible header TNF Browns Jets Dreamatorium with me and Greggy. Where's Mark? Another trip to the Currentist? Remember need that call