They are around the NFL podcast. What the hell's going on out here?
Seriously?
What time?
From the Chris Westling podcast studio, It's around the NFL. I am Dan hansis heroes here, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler. Yes, we are back kind of and we plan to do two shows this week, but things changed. It's been a tough week. Not at total liberty to get into all the specifics, but please consult our social media profiles for more on what has been a very tough week for the podcast. And you know, the show is no stranger to adversity, and we will regroup and march on. We
always have. And I would say the only request I have for the listeners is just bear with us as we figure things out. And other than that, at Mark, how was the play? The play?
Which play Little Lincoln ref? Come on, Little Lincoln ref? Come on a Little Lincoln raf. Well, you're dressed for like a Lincoln play in the eighteen.
It is the off season, Mark, We do not need the suit jacket at this judge.
You know, if we want to reference on first of all, the play was great, memorable. If we want to reference the stylings of our friend Chris Westling, that a lot of times when you dress up, it's because there's a dearth of clean clothing in the dressed down scenario on and we're not we're not.
Buying that you wear that. You always wear the jacket even at home.
You yeah, but because it's it's it's stationed and it looks it's stationed in the locker downstairs. So I come in in like a sweat or a T shirt and then change into this, then change back up here.
Here's the difference in Chris Westling, I'm gonna hear from Wes in a second. When Wes said it, it was very much true because Wes would, you know, five out of six days or like I'd say, if we did a show three times, or in the office five days week, four to the days, he'd be wearing like an NFL Network polo and jeans maybe pre Lakisha, and then all of a sudden he would show up in like a button down shirt with a pullover sweater and khakis and brown dress shoes, and it'd be just so like what
is going on? He'd be like, I literally don't have any other clothes. They're all dirty. It was like I buy it, Hold on, I don't know if.
I buy your So you're saying my laundry, you're you are estimating that my laundry situation is untrue. Come, how come investigate my laundry firsthand, and you'll see that there are truisms attached to what I've.
Said as a longtime critic of men's fashion. I think you are being the change you want to see in the world, and I respect it.
I just that's a nice bridge building attempt, Greg, I appreciate it.
Yes, so, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. Weird week, but the NFL schedule marches on. The NFL schedule literally was released on Thursday, and we're gonna dig into it in our loan show this week. Everything from primetime games to holiday games to international games. Highlight, Greg, ye, some team schedules that caught your eye, per okay, But before we dig in, we'll start with week one. Just for fun, I would like to hear from the great late Chris Wesling,
who always hated this time of the year. It is the last league tenth pole event or the first, depending how you look at it, and he was never really about it. I always kind of agreed with him, But since he's been gone. There's been something about this particular thing that I agree with even more here is Chris and Eric behind the scenes did a great job digging it up, speaking on his general issues with people getting overly into this time of year.
You want to race to this schedule and find out your road trips, plan all that, put a W and L next to every team on your schedule. I get all of that. Just don't ask me to analyze it five months. There's no analysis necessary. Just enjoy the schedule being released.
I miss Wes, I miss West this week, and I love hearing his voice in it. I agree.
This was always yeah the time of year, and it used to be before the draft actually, so it almost was like interrupting draft season. But Wes would hate all the secrecy that we'd have to have with the schedule. We would black out the podcast studio so no one in the building could hear it, and he would just think this was the biggest, colossal waste of time. But the NFL smartly realized, actually we could blow out that classic waste of time more after the draft and kind
of extend the season a couple more weeks. And I'm with Wes though. The first thing I did looking at the schedule. The only thing I really cared about personally was are the Rams playing on Thursday or Monday night? Because it's it's very hard to take my family to a game on a Sunday, and at this point that's my daughter's favorite thing to do in the world is to go to a Rams game. And I didn't deliver that for last year, and we got when we got a Thursday night or December twenty.
First, excellent. It is your daughter equally flummixed by the Rams general yes, game planter franchise's direction.
She asked me, A yes, she talks about Jalen Raby often. She doesn't understand it and it's hard to explain salary cap considerations and that there really is no explanation that it's not a daddy.
What's a long range plan with Matthew Stafford given the rest of the roster.
I don't think it's going to be very long range. I mean, I think like eleven now. The thing that Wes mentioned that makes sense, it's like if you're a fan, because I was hanging out with a Steelers fan yesterday in the minute like this the schedule came out. It was like Bang planning trip to Las Vegas for week three, Like that makes sense. Wes mentioned that, But I love, I always love just take on this because analyzing it and we're about to go do that. So it's not
like turn off the show. We're going to do a great job with it. But like, why not your if you want, I mean, why not stare like a farmer's almanac that tells you it's going to be a nice season to grow corn in twenty twenty nine. Well what if your village is bombed by invaders in twenty twenty six. It's like that unpredictable where we're going to be in week seventeen or eighteen, But we're about to tell you why all that matters.
Well, it's like Kyle Shanahan says, you know, there's no guarantee we even make it to Sunday.
I find it us Week seventeen especially a fool's errand to predict like the easy part of the schedule because you never know, like what teams will rise up and be frisky or even good. You kind of I feel a little more comfortable looking at a schedule and saying, oh, these this is going to be a difficult stretch based on certain superpowers that you don't expect to fall off.
Well, this will be entertaining, especially early. It's like I'm willing to guess, although I guess injuries happened, that that Patrick Mahomes Chiefs will provide me entertainment and be in some big situations this year.
Which is a nice seg Greggie to Thursday, September seventh, twenty twenty three for Week one. Let's kind of go
through it here. We'll start with the primetime games and shout out to the team of around the NFL of the Detroit Lions, who who turned last season's feel good story, a season that ended with a winning record correct correct, and no playoff just missed the playoffs, but a winning record nine to eight into a Thursday night opener showcase on the road in Arrowhead against the defending champion Chiefs.
That's Thursday night football. Pretty saucy. I gotta say, Greg, I was a little surprised, as much as we love the Lions, that they were the team that was selected there to be the opener, which is kind of hollowed ground for the people that plan this stuff. At three forty five, I was shocked.
I mean, basically, the NFL is deciding not to burn the Bengals or the Bills or these games that feel or the Eagles for that matter. Uh, these games that feel Titanic.
Uh.
In terms of AFC playoff seed and then a Super Bowl rematch is really unique. Talk about that, you don't you don't know get that they decide and I like that. I like that they saved those games until the end of the season. So Okay, everyone's gonna watch Kickoff anyways, let's put in everyone's favorite dad, Dan Campbell and uh oh, by the way, NBC, But I mean, maybe don't mention all those Lions that were suspended for gambling.
Uh.
I mean, like if you look at their home, you can ask that well.
I mean, I just I was a little surprised at that because that was an embarrassing story for the NFL to put that team.
By September, nobody will be.
No, it's gonna I mean like even now we're talking about it, people have forgotten about it.
I have no idea what Greg's talking about it.
I mean, I think like there weren't a lot of options other than Bills or Bengals. If you pick about if you pick who Kansas City played at home. But it totally threw me in a wonderful way because it's like we were onto the Lions. I think a lot of people think they're gonna be fun and frisky, but it's a team that has been essentially shielded from the public eye outside of mostly embarrassing Thanksgiving game for eons, and it's like they're recognizing that this is a team
on the brink. It's a bit of a risk because part of me thinks, well, it's the Chiefs. It could be forty to ten. But if we get the version of the Lions we had last year, you trust them to keep it kind of frisky. And it's a big spot for Jared Goff.
It's too the top five offenses by many metrics in the league last year. You expect points and you hope for points. It could go sideways. Absolutely, that's like a big assignment for Campbell and it's still a young roster.
And defense and that in that week one game. Sometimes the kickoff game is a total snoozer and you're just still so happy with it. Like I'm thinking of the last kickoff game we did with with Chris you know that was Texans Chiefs. We were at Chris's house for that and that could it was like Clyde Edwards Lair had a halfway. It could not have been a bigger snoozer. But everyone's happy because football's back.
So that stars. And by the way, I think the power of hard knocks, as much as people sometimes denigrated at this stage, check it out, check it out, the lines that put them on the national radar.
Winning, man, there is nothing like winning. And I'm telling you right now, it doesn't matter if it's freaking dominoes, it's stage, it's Blu ray, it's croquet, it's chest, it's preseason ass kicking. It does not matter.
Man.
Winning is winning and it feels good.
Man. So when George McCaskey of the Bears is openly shooting down the idea of being on hard knocks, look what happened to the Lions and you. You could I'm drawing a direct line, all.
Right, You could suggest that your actual you're in Colleen's coverage of that hard knocks, uh journey that potentially led to this. So maybe the Lions, you know, should should think of you.
And to some degree he does not know what Boo Ray is.
By the way Sunday Night Football, Week one, Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, and I know, speaking of West again, there might be some deep sighing there, like how many times does America need to watch a spotlight game between the Cowboys and Giants?
But I'm here, I don't think he's alone in that.
Twice a year and very often in this kickoff spot. It's got to be at least three or four times they've had a primetime Week one game and.
Then on Monday Night football another New York team, this the Jets. The Jets, Oh, the Jets. The Jets, who, as expected, getting a lot of primetime love in this schedule. And we'll get to them in a little bit, but they got Bills at Jets opening up the season on the shoot on the we'll just call it the anniversary of nine to eleven. So there they'll have that big game in a primetime spot, which is wild wild.
I also like that they don't do the doubleheader week one, but the double header is not gone. The Monday night doubleheader for the second straight year is part of the Week two coverage. But in Week three and Bill's Jets Bills Jets. To my what I really want to say, is like that deserves its own spotlight. I don't like it when it gets a cut up for a big.
Game week two and Week three, and then week like way down the road they have the old weeks. I think it's week fourteen. They have the double Monday night football starting at the same time scenario, which to me is unpleasant, but I understand that they just want to simply fill our lives all the time with games NonStop.
You got to be a modern man in a world that's moving very quickly. You got to have two screens. You've got to be computing everything. You have to have your socials open and be interacting with society as well.
I'll need that, Trank Dart, Is that like an experiment to instead of flex teams, you just put two games on it at the same time late in the season, it's like one of the two.
The schedule akers probably just messed up and they're like just to put two of it. Let's do just for fun the rest of week one, like we do during the season and all our preview shows. Let's do a mini mock draft here. I love it one, Greg, you won the title last year, you got the strap. Why don't you make your first pick.
That's damn right. I'm gonna take Dolphins Chargers. I don't know why, but I really want to see this Dolphins team like play again. Shortly. We got the to Herbert thing, we got the Jalen Ramsey Vic Fangio thing. That's my game.
Yes, I would go with ooh interesting.
The top two to me were at the same time.
It was.
That was a tough choice.
M mm hmmmm.
I guess Dan your next, because you came in second in.
The Yes, I was the silver medalist, you know it. Just for fun, I do want to see the opening of the Jordan Love era against Justin Fields and the improving Chicago Bear. It's a bit of a reach, but I gotta be honest with you, like, I didn't see anything that is a home run. Picked two for me, and I I am legitimately kind of fascinated by both of those teams.
They take it back.
I love this. How about this the defending NFC champion Eagles going into New England where they're going to have like celebrate Tom Brady Day, which you know brings a lot of thorny potential. You know, he left in a strange way but that stadium is going to be bonkers, absolutely lathered up, especially.
If Tom Brady buys the Raiders or something whatever.
The latest a little bit of a sideways approach to it, but kind of a weird place for the Eagles to start their season. And you know, I think New England's sort of a middle of the pack team obviously, but I don't love that for Philly, and their schedule in general is a little thorny. So it gets off the rough start.
Check out how Bill O'Brien reinvents the Patriots offense.
I pitch me, so I think it. It just it seems like an obvious point to make, but it's probably a bad sign that the number one thing about like schedule releases is Robert Craft being so excited that Tom would come visit the stadium, and then they released their schedule release video and it's all a bunch of retired Patriots players in a retirement home, including Devin mccordy, and it's like, don't think about the actual team that's playing
football anymore. Let's just think about like past glory. That's pretty much our main.
All right, So let's move on. That's good.
That's it. That's the top.
I mean you want to keep going No, I guess that's fine. Is there another throw out? One more game that really interests you? Greg Well.
I want to see the start of the Anthony Richardson era, and I think he's going to be starting Week one against the Jags. I know that's it. That might be drafted a little later. Week one is my favorite week of this season. This is the best week of the seasons.
Fun.
I like this Niner Steelers. I want to see who's playing quarterback for San Francisco. I kind of think the whole year or two of Kenny Pickett. It's in Pittsburgh. Weird start for the Niners. Trey Lance could be brock perty Is.
It weird, Mark that you're the coach that you love more than any coach? Kyle Shanahan is gassing up the Donald hive now calling him a franchise.
I saw you tweeting about that, and I think it for you, it's a nice fever dream. It's a failed experiment that I like. If Sam Donald starts more than three games for that, they are in big trouble.
Fully let it.
It's May is the best time of year for Sam Donald.
Primetime games four teams have six primetime games Kansas City, Buffalo, Dallas Chargers. That's that's a little rich for me. I would agree the Chargers getting that many private games. But whatever. The Packers, Raiders, Giants, Jets, Eagles, Vikings, and Niners all have five primetime games. The Bill. This is, by the way, good info from the NFL Research Department, who do killer thing right.
But that doesn't even count like that Black Friday game for instance, for the Jets, or the Thanksgiving Spotlight. You have some spotlight games.
That the Bills and Patriots will play each play. This is with all due respect Greg the Pats continue to get so much primetime love. The Bills and Patriots will each play three straight primetime games, which is interesting.
In it's weeks fourteen through sixteen, and you can flex some of that out of time only the Monday night game because the other ones are NFL Network and Thursday Night. I did notice though they only had one Sunday night game Dan and that's the difference. And that's week two, and that's to me very much a sign of like Robert Kraft has sway with the broadcasters, but they're like, we got to get the Patriots their one Sunday night
game to keep them happy. But we're going to get it out of the way early before they potend.
You know what is offensive about this, like the primetime alone. I get to these other Island games. You're giving the Raiders five primetime games. They could be they could be an ugly operation to begin with. You're giving the Vikings five. I'm not sold on the Vikings in general. And the Bengals aren't even on this list. Hm, that's a good Bengals aren't even on this list. They have four. That's
not the worst. But it's like, how on earth are the The Bengals have been recognized more than an any other season in a long long time as a team that's getting a lot of these games. They have four primetime and a couple other things happening here and there. But how are they not? How do the Chargers have six? The Raiders have five, the Vikings have five, and we don't know who the Packers are and you're giving the Bengals four.
I have a theory, because the league is always trying to push the product that they are very much in conjunction with the Chargers themselves trying to get the Chargers to really get a foothold right here, and they see a Justin Herbert as a superstar quarterback. They want the Chargers to be a thing. And sometimes when like someone's really trying hard to make something a thing, there will be football fans or anamals are like whoa like it makes you actually be like repel the thing even more like,
don't make them a thing. The Raiders getting a lot of primetime love. That makes sense to me because they're a great vibe. To me, they're a great home stadium experience in primetime. I like the Raiders, even though I'm not a Raiders fan, just watching them, they're to me they're pretty good theater, so I'm not.
But I would also argue that that's, hey, we've just put out this massive effort to create this incredible new stadium in a new venue, and.
That's part of it.
So they're not using out how good your team is. They're not using it for the Rams much in primetime. So you got to use the Chargers. The Rams, who you know, did win a Super Bowl only a year ago, and they're in primetime twice. Neither one of them is on NBC, which to me is like the number one spot where they they put the team's part of it and we'll get to it later. Is just though the Chargers' schedule, the West play the Easts, and the Easts are where
all the juices going into this season. They're the two best divisions. They play each other, but they also play the two West teams, So there's just like a lot of spicy Chargers, you know, out of division masters. I think that's part bye weeks.
See, this is some of the stuff that's more interesting to me in terms of trying to figure out trajectory things. There's always teams that get banged with the bye week that's too early. This year, the first bye week is week five. The Browns, Bucks, Charger, Seahawks have the early by the last bys week fourteen, which is a little too late. Cardinals and Commanders.
The Cardinals are the one on a team out of thirty two that I'm not looking for to in week one. Other than that, I'm like, I'm intrigued enough, like at some point they have teams fall off. They have the Commanders, who I still that's you know, not that's not going to be drafted high, but I am curious to watch that little no, I'm curious the Commanders. I think could be kind of interesting.
That's got nick Shook written all over.
They've got a lot of offensive firepower. And I'm curious about Howell. But that's not a great.
I hate these these teams getting stuck with it. It's the Browns, Chargers, Seahawks, and Bucks. Week five bye. I think it's good for a team if you had like a rookie quarterback and it's like, let's reorganize, let's see what we've done over the first month or so and get that extra time to come back out firing. But I mean the Chargers, like this is a team that's dealt with injuries year after year. They're getting a Week five by.
That stinks. All Right, let's take a quick break and we will continue to dig in upon our return. All Right, we're back, mark. Uh. Something that jumps out to you upon the release of the twenty twenty three NFLS well.
Greg mentioned it that the AFC East has the NFC East, and it's just like, you know, we're a year removed, and I mean I think months removed. If you haven't really been following, paying attention to what's happening to the Jets, the Dolphins, and even to some degree the Patriots, Like it's easy just to look at the Buffalo Bills, is, well, they're gonna win thirteen games, and we're gonna see them
fourteen times. They have. We have ten games this year against last year's playoff teams, including both Super Bowl teams. One of their home games is a Jaguars game in London. They play four of their final six on the road to end the season, and three of the road games are against the Jets. That's gonna be thorny. Obviously, they play one game against the Jets on the road, but they get the Bengals on the road and the Chiefs
on the road. And if I just look at last year's Bills team, I mean, they went through so much adversity and you found out that Josh Allen was this absolutely wonderful leader, and the whole team to me is really they're a true team. But I mean, they're gonna be put right through the crucible all over again. And I think their schedule speaks to me as a team that's gonna fall off a little bit in terms of
where they'll be in the seeding in the end. In the AFC, it's about as tough as a slate as Sean McDermot could have dreamt up.
Wait, so that Tottenham game is a Bills home game. Yeah, that's interesting.
Because they're not making the Jaguars take two home games for.
That right, and we haven't taped since they announced the international You want to go through those game?
Sure, all right, let's go through the international slate. By the way, shout out. I was actually did a little FaceTime because phone calls with Henry Hotchin on nough to see that beautiful the folks broad man. Yeah, and HD is what it's all about. We're catching up and he is now the general Maan and longtime listeners know Henry Hodgson, that's hands of Hank from the Check days, many many
appearances on our show. Now is the general manager of the uk NFL experience and he was all over television radio in England for the schedule release, which is nice.
I mean, they don't mess around. I saw the clip on Sky Sports where they got the whole Tottenham you know, Hotspur stadiums empty and they put it up on the big screen. They got Henry there and then they do a roulette wheel to reveal the Tames though, like if.
You're like men would enjoy watching Henry or eight like women would enjoy watching Henry speak about anything. He's a full audience, full crowd, adult pleaser, broad broad appeal, no physically broad, A lot on his shoulders. He fills out the telephon physically and professionally.
Anyway. International games, the NFL will host five regular season games outside the US, three in London, two in Germany. I guess the Stadio Azteca and Mexico is still undergoing construction. I would guess because that's a great scene and ready for the year. That won't be involved, but I'm sure it will be down the line. So Week four and a big headline coming out of this. The Jags, who
have forever been connected to London. Ownership is very They have a very vision that has been unshakable to make the Jaguars. I think the dream, I don't even think think. Uh Shad Khan wants the Jaguars to be the home team of England.
Well that's his goal.
There is this little side thing. I don't think it's gonna morph into more, but they may not be able to play in their actual stadium down the road. A bit because of repairs for a stretch almost two seasons.
So he owns Wembley right at this well, they're.
Jacksonville Stadium, so right is there issues with the chlorine tank there the I will report back are So the Jags this year have taken it to the next level. Are now playing two games in England. Won a home game, one designated a road game Falcons versus Jaguars kicks off the International Games in week four from Wembley and then in week five, so the Jags just stick around. Atlanta gets on the plane. We saw Atlanta play the Jets a couple of years ago, so the Falcons obviously like this
scene as well. The Falcons go home, the Jags stick around in London and then play the Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the big Top, Big Totti.
Okay, so Wembley one week, Toddy the next.
So you got Jags back to back and you get Josh Allen in England, which is very nice. Shout out by the way to our overseas listeners in the UK and Ireland. In Scotland, Scotland is part of the UK. Correct.
He's looking at Greg for that answer. I think it's it is it is. I don't I'm not answering.
I don't know.
Yeah, and only part Many, only pirate part of Ireland. But you know it's more than you know. We we love all of our listeners overseas Australia. How about you shout out.
To Australia icelmony Scotland. By the way, the firm that Scotland is part of the Kingdom.
And Ireland very much not part, but northern Ireland is anyway, we know sort of except for Scotland. We didn't we were to learn about that anyway.
Uh.
Let's see Ravens versus Titans week six from the Hot Toddy uh and then week nine we head to Germany Dolphins versus Chiefs, Ham and Ham and Ham and a week nine from Frankfurt Stadium, and then Colts versus Pats week ten, also from the big.
Frank Deutsche Bank Park. So it'll be a different stadium than a year ago, but it'll be I suspect an amazing atmosphere that used to be one of the best rivalries in league. Colt Pat's not as much juice. But to get Dolphins Chiefs in Kansas City, I mean, I mean in Frankfurt. To me, that's one of the games I'm most looking forward to this season, just because you can't imagine a scenario with Tyreek Hill going against his
former team. And it's almost a shame that it's not happening in Kansas City, but you can't imagine a scenario where that thing is not in the thirties or the forties and not like a really important entertaining game so that they're not messing around. Those are NFL Network games.
Yeah, I think the in general, if you look back to half a decade ago and Frankly, like you know, Handsome Hank has something to do with this. The games, the teams have gotten better, Like you've got star quarterbacks, You've got Patrick Mahomes, you've got Josh Allen, the Ravens with Lamar Jackson, and Frankly, it really just helps at the Jacksonville are intriguing and I I you know, this is the first time in history where a team stayed
there two weeks in a row. I want I just want to hear I want to see a think piece about what's it like for I think coaches in general don't love the concept of having to pick up camp and go somewhere else and do everything somewhere else. And I mean the Jaguars are more practiced at that than others. But Doug Peterson's you know, I've done it five times in a row. So how do you prepare for the bills in London in a completely different environment than your
home base. I just that intrigues me for some reason.
You would think it'd be an advantage, but we were, We've been We go there for a week and you know, obviously we work at a at a level that NFL players can't comprehend.
But I would say, I mean, like we spend half the time at like the hotel bar there.
I mean it's like, well, yeah, it's sarcasm. Yeah. They at the end of that week, I feel like we're ready to go home. Our great friend Rachel Bennetta, I felt like she was there for two weeks. By the end of that second week, you know, you might be running out of gas. Maybe maybe it's a disadvantage for the Jaguars.
Else see good way to look at it, A good opposing view.
Does not care.
It's time to pivot.
Yeah, this is the part that Wes was talking about. What are we talking about?
I don't care. Let's move back to the Homeland Thanksgiving games. All right, here's the slate Packers at Lions, the customary slot for those teams. Well, it's not always the Packers right against the Lions, but thank god, the Lions are now a highly compelling team and hopefully will remain that way, so you get the Jordan Love experience. The Packers are total unknown, so we won't know what's going on, but we have a much better idea where they're at by Thanksgiving.
And remember decision doesn't start till after Thanksgiving. The Commanders at Cowboys in the middle game, that's a big old meh for me, But that well.
We'll see where the where the Commanders are.
I'm with you, yeah, I mean, who could be If Sam Howell doesn't work, we're getting Jake brisket On.
You could have done a lot there with the Cowboy.
That's that's very often the two matchups Packers Lions and Commanders Cowboys. I'll always remember RG three's rookie season sort of.
Plighting up Dallas. And then the game that is always a different teams is forty nine Er. There's the late game, the NBC game forty nine Ers at Seahawks and NFC West tilt and a damn good one.
And they've done that before. That's been a matchup before.
I mean, I love that excellent And that is just for a little background. That's the eleventh time Washington and Dallas play Cowboys of one, eight of two, and the Seahawks and Niners are playing on Thanksgiving for the first time since they played each other on Thanksgiving pill in the year. It was a nineteen to three Seahawks win. Sounds boring, twenty fourteen got it? Wait?
Really he got it?
I bang, good job, Gregy.
That was totally random.
I went to your home, I believe during that game.
I believe probably the Teeto's was probably flown at that point. So that's it's a hazy memory.
That's the only time I ever ate macaroni and cheese because your wife at a moment.
Deffinitely a grown man who's only eating macaroni and cheese once in his life.
That was the the There are three big U my three favorite Mark Sessler food moments. One, I know what number one's number one, Number ones most recently the cheeseburger incident, which is still incredible and shocking. Two is the mac and cheese Thanksgiving incident, and three is after you and I had a rollicking night out about ten years ago. We were on the streets of Culver City and there was a food truck outside and we got some street
meat burritos. I got the regular like meat brito. You got the veggie but they were cooking the veggie burrito like with the meat, and you got some meat. And all of a sudden I couldn't find you, and you were in the bushes and you had to let go some of that.
I was wondering, we're gonna go with number three, But I do remember that, and it was like seven or eight dollars that went totally to the wrong place because there's a big piece of steak in the middle of it or something.
It banged you on a big spot. Good memories, Good memories. Let's see what else. There's a Black Friday Game. A Black Friday Game, so Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It's a shopping thing. Amazon not anymore. It is as a massive investment at the NFL to air Thursday night football. But they also get the Black Friday Game, which is available to everybody, and it will be the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets from the Meadowlands and Mark, I think you have some no opinions to share on that.
I I want to take the attitude of I get what's happening here, likes sometimes your company, this is our company. They're just gonna do what they do and you got.
To roll up. Oh sometimes that's what happens.
That is what happens sometimes, and they I get it. We want a game on every day of the week, and if there is an American holiday being celebrated, it will be celebrated with, if not a trio of games, at least one and on you know, in what if I wanted to go downtown and stare at cakes and a window on Black Friday, which is like you can go out and be a consumer, Well, I will be
chained to a chair. And I'm hoping at that point that the Jets, who are on about twenty seven Island games, are actually a viable team at that point because if things my one feeling about this thing in general is a little jetsy and we can get into it later if one but like if the the Browns had this happened number times where it's like you have a positive season, they give you six Island games and then a nuclear bomb drops on the reality of your team.
And the Jets.
Schedule is a load. It is a rough situation, and so.
You want to so you don't really have any more Black Friday thoughts. You want to pivot that you can do that.
I decided to go down Company Man Avenue here because it's.
Like, oh, that's why you're wearing the jackets.
What have you been doing on this Black Friday? Anyways? I don't remember you cake shopping.
We were so excited you told us on text yesterday you were going to share. I was all the things that you wouldn't be able to do on Black Friday. Because now you have to watch a football game.
I will.
I'll send it out on and now you're going.
To get a what if the Jets sucks, We're gonna get.
In check my it's not too light, we want it. The game will be over by three pm.
That gives you a check Twitter by eight pm tonight, and I've anything that includes our actual real thoughts about life.
Check our social media right now, Zach. Yeah, let's let's check out the Jets schedule. If that's a natural transition, Uh, listen. The Jets are a major storyline around the league this year. Jets fans are like soaking that in. It's it's a great feeling. However, we're gonna learn a lot about this team quickly, and to Mark's point, they could be in a lot of trouble if they don't come out of the gates with the offense humming and the defense playing at a high level, because I think they have as
tough a schedule as any team in the league. Out of the gate. You got open up in primetime against the Bills. So that's a team that they've played well against overall. But that is the Bills. That's Josh Allen, that Sean McDermott, that is a superpower. Week two, they get on a plane and they go to Dallas to face the Cowboys, which the NFC is weaker than the AFC, no doubt, but that is enough. They're very difficult matchup for the Jets. They come home and I think this
is like the breather game early on for them. It's the Patriots, and you say, Okay, that's doable. Greg, you knows as much as any of the Jet's never beat the Patriots. On fourteen years they need to. That's just something a beast. They're still trying to slay. Even last year they got swept and then they welcome in the Chiefs in Week four. So as a Jets fan, the schedule does appear, and again we never know to soften
up in the back nine. But you can't sleep on a potential car crash early on get out of it. For me, and I have high hopes about this team, as I've said, if I can get out of there Greg two and two, I'm feeling really good about the season. But it's tough. There's no gimmes there.
I think that's the way to look at it. You got the Broncos two Week five, and then you got the Eagles again, so you got six. That's I know, you have one game. You know the Broncos and the Patriots in there look easier, but they're not total patsies and before you by get to three and three there. But that's sort of the case with the entire division. I really think the AFC East Division schedule is the toughest.
The NFCS isn't far behind, but the fact that out of division you have to play, uh the AFC West, which I think you're guaranteed that the Chiefs are gonna be legit. I think the Chargers will be in the mix, and the other two games are competitive. Then you have to play each other, and you have to play the NFC East. It's just tough. So you're gonna you're gonna
get buried somewhere. The Patriots are the other team I think that have the toughest schedule in that division because they don't get to play the Patriots, right they're the only and in their start is Eagles Dolphins, both at home, so you get the two home games to start, and the way.
They do play the Patriots because the robber craft against Bill Belichick, Yeah, Bill bellug within that building at this point every week is Patriots against Patriots.
That's that's very well said. Eagles, Dolphins, Jets, Cowboys is a pretty tough first four opponents, uh, the second two of those on the road. All four of those teams seem seem like teams that want to win double digit games. But that's the thing in the A even saying that the Patriots they're over under it'll be what seven and a half or something like that, I don't know what it is. One of the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins, who are all over the primetime schedules because to me they're
all fascinating. One of those three teams is more than likely going to have quite a disappointing season, and I don't have a feel. I think they're all really good. I think the Jets deserve to be in the top eight or nine of the powering and I think the Dolphins do two. And just like something has to give though there that Austins.
Too, because we are wanting to watch them, and I mean, I just that that could get rough by December. But it was a year ago everyone was saying like, oh, the AFC West probably, if not four playoff teams, at least three. Two of those teams didn't win more than six games. So it's like someone in this division is going to take an excitingly dangerous dark lotle dirt nap.
You look at the AFC West with the benefit of hindsight, of course, some of that felt a little artificially inflated. We didn't know what was gonna happen. With Russell Wilson that made sense on paper, and the thing with the Raiders, we saw DeVante Adams, we said, oh, now they're gonna be good and that didn't work out with the East AFC East. Which is so interesting is we know the Jets have a top defense and now Aaron Rodgers is there, so I feel really good about them being a competitive team.
The Dolphins, who everyone's kind of sleeping on in this division, they as long as they the quarterback stays on the field, and now they even have a more confident backup quarterback and Mike White, the Dolphins I think absolutely have a chance to win ten or eleven games.
I mean, their schedule is ugly, like just like these other.
Sures they all it's a very as correctly saying like you're playing a lot of top teams. But the Patriots are not going to roll over and go four and thirteen. They're gonna I think the Patriots are gonna do what they do and they're gonna hang around and be an eight to ten win team. And then I trust the Bills unless they take a step back, which they could because the division has caught up to them a little
bit here. So this could be a division where there if it plays out, where no team bombs out, where the win total could be a little deflated because of the war that's going on in this division, and maybe eleven and six wins it.
Or ten and seven, but you'd be you'd be a more dangerous complete playoff team record record side.
And on the flip side, I think the North Division in the AFC especially benefits because they get to play the AFC South. It's not easy. You know, in NFC they played the NFC West and like that. That's a media an average division, I would say, because you got the Cardinals, but you also the forty nine ers. But you look at like the teams like the Ravens or the Browns or the Steelers, like there is opportunity I think for the AFC North teams to end up racking
up surprising records. One of the reasons why we think the Easts are so good is because they had easy schedules last year. Like to me, the Patriots were not an eight win team last year. Did they even win eight or did they only get the seven? Either way, their schedule helped. And the Jets, especially you know against all those back and of course their schedule helped artificially inflate that division just a bit. But I'm not worried about the Jets being stinkers.
But there probably will between especially.
Stinkers would be like they're eight and seven going into week seventeen for the I could.
Be in Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night football. Wouldn't that be juicy? The Jets and Dolphins. Jets fans don't want to say Dolphins fans don't want to say it. One of them will probably flop, probably the Dolphins.
And it's all like, like we said, it's really hard to know, but early in the season that Dolphins having at Chargers at Patriots, I hate starting on the road for two games. First of all, you have at Bill's week fours, at Eagles week seven, So that's four very difficult road games, and the Chiefs and Frankfurt all before you're by, Like, I'm looking at that, and there's a couple easier games home home games to the Jet you know,
the Broncos, Giants, Panthers. It's like, if you're five and four looking at that schedule, I'd feel fine, Like, and that's the thing, there's such high expectations, but five and four might not feel that great.
Let's take a break and then wrap up our schedule preview. All right, welcome back. There's a portion of again, the NFL media research team. You know, bring it on, Bristol. Whatever your research group is, right, what was the one that always used to get brought up for for decades? Elias whatever? Elias Sports Bureau. I'm trias Elias because we've got NFL media.
Are we still operating as a bureau at this point?
I know, I don't know. We probably swallowed them up in some corporate supermerger. There you go, a lot of blood spilled schedule inequities.
It's still a leader in historical research, and yeah, it's his service right in the world of professional sports.
Love Elias. That's been a huge part of mine.
I mean they are literally the official statisticians for the National Football League. Showed up the NBA and uh oh, Major League Baseball never heard of it winning Olias. So they're still doing well. Shout out to Elias.
Love you man. What they did. They had cornered the market. Now, I don't know, Elias cornered the market for about twenty years or anytime any historical thing was sighted they said, oh, according to the Elias Sports Bureau I think it was called. And since then a lot of leagues have built out their own research groups. But as Greg is represented for the company, points out, we still hear dog, We still.
Hear hey, Elias, love you brother.
You try to get a job. Schedule inequities is within our research packet here, which I like. So five teams will have three game road trips during the twenty twenty three season. That's rough. Back to back to back road games is rough. The Ravens four through six get Cleveland, Pitt Tennessee. That's in Tottenham in England. The Giants weeks nine through eleven get Vegas, Dallas Washington. The Titans nine through eleven get Pitt, Tampa Bay Jacksonville. The Panthers twelve
through fourteen get Tennessee, Tampa Bay, New Orleans. And the Broncos thirteen through fifteen get Houston, Chargers Detroit. I want to point out also when those teams I just read, you'll notice how much work goes into the schedules that these the schedule akers will say, Okay, if we're gonna bang these teams they get three road games, we're gonna make sure we don't give them three monster contenders in a row. But there's gonna be some breathing ruin there.
Like not everything is thought through, but sometimes teams still get banged a little bit of the way it works out, and four teams start with back to back home games, which is very nice. Broncos Falcon. Broncos have Raiders Commanders Falcons who I think should be in the running for team of Falcons.
In general, their schedule is favorable.
How about the Falcons getting out out of the gates against the Panthers and the Packers without Aaron Rodgers interesting? The Patriots greggy opened back to back home games, but they ain't easy. Eagles, Dolphins, and Steelers get Niners versus Cleveland. Back to back road games for Packers, Raiders, Dolphins, and Niners.
I think. And you mentioned the Falcons having the you know that nice start that division to me, and I mentioned the AFC North, but even more than the AFC North, there will be opportunity for those NFC South teams for one of them to win ten or eleven games even when they're not very good. I think they have the easy like all of them combined have the easiest schedules in the league because a they get to play each other.
That's nice. Be you get to play the AFC South, I'll take it and then you play the NFC North, so there are no world beaters in all that. I feel like that entire team, I'm doing projected starters now, that entire division. I know the Bucks are quite a bit behind in terms of Vegas in terms of the odds, but the other three teams are close. Like all those teams are good enough and probably should win six to seven games, and they're just hoping they get a few
breaks to win nine or ten. And I feel like that describes the entire division. Someone's gonna end up like being one of the stories of the season winning eleven just because the schedule's too easy.
Yeah, just to drill down, like a little bit, like the Saints, so they have seven other first eleven games on the road, yet those games are like Carolina, Green Bay, New England, Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Atlanta. That's serviceable. And the Panthers don't cross more than a single time zone after Week three. So some of it is like they are clumped together regionally in a way where like you're not. Some of these teams are traveling insane amounts. Others barely seem to leave home.
Though, Yeah, I always see the teams make a big deal about the time zones and the traveling, and I get it, but it's.
Like out of the numbers, your numbers show you're.
In a private jet. It's once a week. I guess I'm partly thinking as a tennis fan. It's like, uh oh Anna Callan Sky has got to play in India on Sunday and then she's on the West coast of America on Tuesday. No one's crying for her. She's not in any private jet. And if these tennis players could handle it, I'm just saying, yes, they're like going like eleven time zones week to week and they're I'm sure it's help.
You Look like the look at the numbers on a West Coast team starting at once all Eastern, like it's they're horrible.
I was going to get to the Thursday night schedule, which is always compelling because it's a source of great intrigue and consternation. Or did you guys have any other teams you wanted to highlight before.
We Well, just two little things on the Super Bowl teams from a year ago, because I think they're both well positioned to be favorites again. I noticed how the NFL ended the chief season with Bengals on New Year's Eve. To me, that's like the number one rivalry and the number one most important game if I had to pick one in the entire schedule, just because look, they've been the last two AFC Championship games. We know the quarterbacks,
they've played these great games. That's Week seventeen. And then the Chiefs go from Bengals Week seven team to at Chargers Week eighteen. That's just like a spicy finish. I feel like it's the Chargers number one goal here to
make that game matter and still be in it. And then I noticed with the Eagles, who on paper in terms of strength to schedule just opponents winning percentage, have the toughest schedule and it's brutal after theirby It starts pretty cake for them to start out with a nice schedule at New England, then Minnesota at Tea, but Washington at Rams, so I feel like like a soft start for them, and then maybe the toughest stretch of anyone's season on paper in the middle of the season Cowboys
Chiefs Bills forty nine, Ers at Cowboys at Seahawks. If you want to throw that into that, that is crazy. So the Eagles got to eat early to set up for that.
I got one for you because I think we think the Falcons can make a leap based on their schedule. The Bears, it's hard not to make a leap. They had the fewest amount of wins in the league last year, but they play only four playoff teams, and for all these how many playoff teams, one of them is the Bucks. With that minus Tom Brady, different situation. They get Jordan Love in his second career start. They get either Baker Mayfield Kyle Trask in week two, week five, it's gonna
be Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett. So I think it's a nice It's a good situation for Chicago their schedule. I think the North is manageable. You could look at the Lions or the Bears as teams that could compete. I think the Packers have a chance. Anyone could win that division. I mean it's sort of a wide open deal.
And the Bears with you know, if you get it from Justin Fields, who has a if you went and had one of those big leaps, which I think is very possible, They're a team that could like go from worse to first.
Are the Jaguars of this year. If their young quarterback can take that step up and everything's lined up for them, whe were they three and fourteen last year? They could be a team that all of a sudden they're in playoff contention in the middle of December. And it helps at the conference, is what it is. It helps.
They're actually favored right now to compared to the Packers. They're the third favorites in the division. It's the division that's closely most closely bunched. Lions are favorites, Vikings next, Bears, next in Packers not too far behind. But they're all pretty Bikings fans. I'm a little surprised that the Packers are. I would not put them forth and put them second.
I mean the Lions fans. It must be a little bit uncomfortable for people just bustling them in to be like, oh, this feels like the favorite that feels ominous for whatever reason, And it might feel especially ominous after you have to go to Arrowhead In week one, Friday Morning hot Takes could be spewing a bit of a wake up call Thursday night football and Al Michael's legend that he is
is back for another season. He said in an interview last year, and I talked about it when he when he did it, that the Thursday night football schedule was quote a little leaky. And this is a major partnership between the NFL and Amazon and UH for instance. Uh, Mark, and we're still excited to hear about your Black Friday plans.
By the way, I don't have any now.
I think a big part of that game showing up even first of all, it makes sense logically as a football fan, not even factoring the Jets a noon start on the West Coast on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Nice division battle penciled me in. It also gave Amazon another bite at the Apple.
That's also maybe their best, one of the best games on their schedule.
Yeah.
And and it wouldn't surprise me if that's the most you know, streamed game of all time, just because that's essentially gonna be a holiday right in the middle.
Let's see where we are with those teams there were Well, I love saying it now.
I think you do love saying it, Mark, But I'm.
Saying, like the Lions playing the worst team in the league is.
The watch saying it. I know the Jets could be bad Mark. It's certainly I am, I am. You have stayed repeated that's to be successful. I know you are, I know you are. I love it clearly. Thursday Night Football Week two, the Vikings Eagles start things off. Uh.
Week three, Giants, Niners. I'm just gonna go for it, go through it, Lions, Packers, Week four, Bears, Commanders five, Broncos, Chief six, Jags, Saints seven, Bucks, Bills, Titans, Steelers, Panthers, Bears, Bengals, Ravens, Dolphins, Jets, Black Friday, Seahawks, Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Chargers, Raiders, Saints, Rams, Jets, Browns.
It's good, it's it's still though, including teams that aren't getting much primetime elsewhere. Just put it down still serving as that, Yes, Saints are there twice. Do they have any other primetime games? You know, the Broncos have been down shifted quite a bit in terms of their primetime appearances. I'm pretty sure that's got to be the Bucks's only spot. But the good thing about this schedule is they didn't have to force primetime games this year as much. The Cardinals,
for instance, are not in primetime at all. I would be curious to see the Colts and Texans in primetime because of their rookie quarterbacks. Because I'm a dork, but those teams aren't really getting primetime love. The Colts get it zero for Anthony Richardson. Same thing with the Texans, and so normally that might have been put into this TNF schedule and they're not there, And so overall it's better. I think.
The thing that worries me about it a little bit because there are some good matchups in here.
I Seahawks Cowboys is really good. Jets Dolphins.
Obviously you got the Rams in week sixteen. Why, like, from what we know, get ready to a game. What did we talk about.
Beyond your there If you're listening to me and you work for the Rams.
You say self interest or selfish interests.
It has nothing to do with the larger population. Just simply, Greg, you.
Gotta give it twenty twenty one champions one primetime game, Come.
On Tennessee Titans Week nine. I mean, we'll see. It's just that some many are fine now, but like they could be a odorous problem.
But you know what they could wait, they can't. They can't flex the TNF. They wanted to flex late season TNF but that's not happening, at least not at this point.
Yeah, I get that's it. That's okay. I can't anymore.
Yeah, it's enough, schedule talk anything left.
We took it to we took it to the max.
We did it. We did it for the listeners. I did miss this week, and as you mentioned at the top, yeah you can. You can check our socials. You do miss connecting with the listeners about football. We just love we love our connection with it, and it doesn't feel right when that's ruptured. But that's that's why we do it. We do it for each other, we do it for the listeners. So it's good to be back, even if it's one of the sillier shows of the season.
I thought it was very serious and taken very seriously.
Greg.
I mean, it's just it's all football, so I guess it's never too serious.
Yes, a very tough week. We are not strangers to adversity, not of our own invention, and we always carry on this podcast. There are no reverse gears in this tank. You guys know that. I'll just add again and give us time to get things wrong.
Now, we just got to come up with what we're talking ouver the next two or three months.
Oh that, I'm sure we will.
All right, body, have a nice weekend with back next week. He the call