NFC Showdown: Division Predictions and Surprises

Music.

And we are back for another episode of the Rule the Jungle podcast. I am your host, Anthony Anderson, alongside both my co-hosts, Tyler Bowles. And I think we all know who I'm getting ready to introduce. He is the always imitated but never duplicated. He gets angry if I don't announce him as this and threatens to hold up the show. So without further ado, I present to you the one, the only, the learning tree, Will Appleton.

Da-na-na-na, da-na-na-na, da-na-na-na, da-na-na-na. Yeah, I thought we were on tape delay for a second there. That's what I did. I thought for a second. Back in the day, you know. We believe in Anthony. Yeah. Do it again. Do it again. We believe in Anthony. There it is. In the scourge of the Bowles family. Right? The own heart of the Bowles family. What's going on? How's everybody doing tonight? Doing all right. We had our first annual.

Fantasy football tournament? Well, no. Where we partnered with the Javante Woods Foundation. So that actually, I was reasonably satisfied with my team. How about you, Will? Sure. I'm perfectly fine with the ongoing, too. All right. Came a little rusty. Tyler! Yes. Tyler. Yes. How are you satisfied with your team?

Not the worst I've done but we'll power through it we'll power through it yeah, no, I get that without further ado I think we discussed the AFC, division, I mean conference as a whole gave our predictions of who we think would be first and who would be last in each division, so tonight thought we would go ahead and And make it about, because technically this is, we started a little bit before midnight. So this will actually get published on Thursday morning.

So when we publish some hours later in the evening, I'm going to go ahead. I know, Tyler, I told you I said I would shit on this idea. But I'm going to say this. Our two biggest rivals play each other.

Fuck you Baltimore and fuck you Kansas City hope it's 0-0 hope it's 0-0 hope it ends in a fucking tie our two biggest rivals are still losing Browns but whatever well they're two of our biggest how about that I'll just dismiss Kansas City and Baltimore together how about that, well still fuck them no how about I just dismiss them both, Yeah, yeah. That's fair. Tonight's episode, we are talking about the NFC division predictions.

We did the AFC the other day, and as a personal request to surprise Will, can we do the NFC Southwest? Oh, good. Good. We need to do that last. All right, fuck it. Yes. Fuck it. Hell yeah, let's do it. All right. With that being said, we're going to start with the NFC North. The North. Yep. I'm going to say this much. I'll go first for this one. Okay. With last, I'm going to say I'm going Vikings. Okay. I'm going to piss off some Vikings fans that may listen to this podcast.

No, they're not going to be anywhere. Come on. Wait a minute. Come on. Don't do that, Ed. What the fuck? I've not met but two. Ever. Two. I met one. I met one. That's three in the world. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. I met one. And guess where he's from. And shout out to Ed Belando, by the way. Old buddy of mine that I used to work with. Old buddy of mine I used to work with. It's still my favorite. Remember at FEC? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've known two Vikings fans of mine.

One I'm related to and one I went to high school with, so there you go. Oh my God. But hold on. There you go. But hold on though. Really? I think the Vikings will finish last. I'm going to say if we're going to go winning total, they're not going to suck to the point to where they need a quarter, where they need a new quarterback or anything of that sort, but they're going to end up in the top 10. They're not, they're going to end up in the top 10. Yes.

Because how the fuck do you turn around and you expect to put the season in Sam fucking Donald's hands? Well, it could be worse. It'd be worse. Could be worse. Do you, do you want to, do you want to answer that question? Cause usually you have some, you have some pretty good, you have some, You have some pretty good insight as to ineptitude. Because look at how much you roasted Captain Average. Captain Average.

Yeah, Kirk Cousins. Wait, Sam Darnold has more talent than Captain Average. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You wait a minute. Sam Darnold has more talent than the guy they drafted this year. Yes. He got more talent than Kirk Cousins and J.J. Wait a minute. He had more potential. He had more potential coming out of college, but anyway. They got more talent. They got more talent. Nobody says he's a better quarterback, though. I didn't say that.

He's not. He's definitely not. Definitely not a better quarterback than Kirk Dunn. No, no. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. So, basically, to make a long story short. With the fact that they've had, there's a lot of questions at the quarterback position. Has there been any word on if Jordan Addison is going to get any suspension for the drunk driving incident? I haven't heard anything personally. So, there you go.

I'm going to say, if we're going to say anything. I mean, and he's nicked up a little bit too, so. Yeah. That's not hurt too. I'm going to say they either go 5-12 or I say they're going to go 4-13. A third hopefully their tight end comes back after 3-4-5 weeks. Yes. That's what you normally want. In those first 4-5 weeks they're going to target Justin Jefferson 200 times. Sure, they should. Good idea.

Third, I got the Chicago Bears. I think Caleb Williams is going to maybe struggle a little bit coming out the gate. And that's to be expected. That's to be expected. I'm looking at that roster from top to bottom. They still need some pieces on defense. defense, particularly, particularly along the line. Yeah. I like the addition. I like the last year's addition of Toronto Edmonds.

I think it, I think that's going to be a big, big piece that will be a heavy, that will need to be a heavy contributor.

But I think even with the addition of Montez sweat, I think they still need some, I think they still need some more pressure on that D line to be able to to get that uh that extra push that they're wanting to get on yeah they're wanting to get when it comes to quarterback pressure so overall and then outside of the additions of kane and allen and the drafting of roma dunes a and you also have dj moore and the addition of.

Of swift at running back i think they're going to end up eating i think they're going to end Ended up a 9-8 or 8-9. They just barely missed the playoffs. Number two, I'm going to say the Green Bay Packers. Okay. I'm going to say the biggest question mark for them, I do think that they need a – I do, in my opinion, think that they need at least one dynamic playmaker. They don't have that. What? You ain't seen me draft a wide receiver?

Chicago has more dynamic playmakers, but they still have other pieces that. No, no, no, no. Hold on. You don't think Chicago has dynamic playmakers? No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. Oh, do tell, sir. Do tell. Do tell. No, it's not a dynamic playmaker. Keyline catches the football. That's what they mean. I'm talking about DJ Morris, sir. I'm talking about Christian. Than being a 4'3", more, faster, younger, bigger, just got hurt. There's a dynamic player. He got hurt. It's not fair.

You can get 1,000 yards every year. I'm going to make you a more dynamic player than that kid. That kid has it. I'm not saying that just because he got hurt. I'm not saying. I'm talking about just from sheer skill, sir. I'm talking about from the skill standpoint. He got more in the bag than D.J. Moore.

He's also not old either. that's you know oh shit you think of that nah if you didn't say Roma okay I might have and that's what I was getting ready to be my next one I was going to mention but you. Completely fucking poo pooed on oh what the fuck I was trying to say because you thought I was talking about Keenan and Alex you went from least to worst but you went from least to worst though it's not what you said to do it shut the fuck up start from them. Start from the other way.

Just a name. More name value. We know eventually Romadunze is going to be the number one receiver. He is eventually to succeed both Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. Yes. That is the goal. That is the goal for them. That's why you noticed that they gave DJ Moore, I think, what was it, a four-year extension? Yes. So they're giving him that to kind of help be able to bring Rome along.

And then right about the time that DJ's contract's ending, Rome, the dunes, they are sliding into the number one position. So, you really look at it, Will. I think Keenan Allen is only going to be there one year. I don't think that he renews his contract and stays a bear because Keenan Allen is getting old. The fact that he's playing well into his 30s, I'm surprised. But, fuck do I know. But, anyway.

Number two, I got the Green Bay Packers because I think looking at their receiving core, I don't think their receiving core is the greatest. They're good, but I don't think that they're great. I don't think that there's anybody on that team that particularly stands out that I would be like, boom, that's the guy you got to make sure you X him out of the game.

And I think to some extent, has there been teams that have shown you that, hey, you don't need a lot of star players in order to be able to be competitive?

Yeah, that's definitely happened. happened but you see more teams that have a star a one or two star receivers and a really really good defense that are able to turn around and go in and make deep runs in the playoffs i don't know that green bay is that team just yet i think they have the potential to be but i think they're They're missing a piece or two, particularly on the offense. I think the defense is in a little bit better shape, if I had to say.

But that's why I have them ranked at number two. For right now, I'm going to say 10-6. And number one, I got the Detroit Lions. I think of all four teams in the NFC North, they're the more complete team. You look at the signings that they did. They re-signed Panay Sewell, re-signed Jared Goff. They turned around and drafted Terry and Arnold, the cornerback out of Alabama. That is Terry and Arnold, right?

Yep. Yes. You draft Terry and Arnold out of Alabama, and Terry and Arnold was a damn good corner. So, and I think that... Still have Aiden Hutchinson, too. You still have Aiden Hutchinson. since you get the addition of dj reader which i fucking just oh my god that i cringe at the fact that dj reader is a fucking lion but i understand this is the business side of the nfl so with those additions dj reader's not going to be an immediate contributor right away because he.

Out there, but when he's able to finally get in and get on the field, that is a big plus. You look at what that big monster was able to do when he was with the Cincinnati Bangers or our Cincinnati Bangers. I'm just saying with what they've added, the firepower that they've gotten, the players, that they were able to retain, some of the draft picks that they were able to get, I I think that shit, the fucking Lions, they mean business.

They're in there to try to let you know that, hey, they're here to stay. They want to put a stranglehold on the NFC North. Kind of like how Green Bay had a fucking stranglehold on the division for fucking 87 years. So that's my list. that's who I think will that's the hierarchy I'm going to pick for the NFC North where are you guys so.

Anthony we have the exact same picks there 4-1 exact same, my only question to you is did you have the Green Bay Packers as a wild card team yeah okay so I have both of them as playoff teams the Lions and the Packers I am being one and the Packers being two And I'll go ahead and give the win-loss record That I have here too, For the Lions I have them being 12-5 And for the Packers I have them being 11-6 One game separating them Like I mentioned

earlier I do think Jordan Love and the Packers take Another step up this year And I think they could compete I don't think they take the division But I do think they get into the wild card. As a strong team there, obviously they knocked off the Cowboys last year in that wildcard game anyway, but go into the same, you know, that you had, I had the bears at three.

I do think they are a fringe 500 team. They could either go nine and eight, eight, nine, maybe even seven and 10, but that's a big step up to them, right? Like from the previous year, that's, that's a really big step up. And maybe that saves the coaches job, right? Cause we all know he's on the hot seat. You know, we all know he was, but you know, No, he was 7-10 last year. They have to go 9-8 or 8-9 for it to keep each other.

Yeah, but the record last year does not reflect on how, to me anyway, it doesn't reflect him. He's still on the hot seat. He's one of the coaches there. To me, he's not a good one. He didn't roll. 8-9 wins. Pack is bagged in. Well, we talked about that during our head coaching. We did talk about that. That would be good in the offseason. And then as for the Vikings, I do agree they're going to be last. I know Anthony mentioned really 5-12 or a 4-13 record. It's about right.

I would have said maybe. Because I think Sam Darnold is absolute dog water. There's a reason why I think the kid would have ended up starting over him. or start over him. Well, while he may have started, sure, before he got hurt. Sam Darnold being a 4-13 or 5-12, I would have said with JJ McCarthy they would have gone 3-14. But anyway, so Sam Darnold is maybe a win better, maybe two. So I agree with you there in that aspect of the wins and losses there. So, yeah, we have the same picture. Will?

Well, I do not. I do not. Of course, I don't expect you to. I do not. Do tell. I do have the Vikings last, though. Outside of, like, I don't know, Randall Cunningham, Wade Wilson, right? Dante Culpepper, right? Come on. You got to dig up under the earth to get the. Quarterback, you know, of the group they had to get these guys over four wins, five wins. You know, Justin Jefferson might get you two by himself. You know. Man, I like Aaron Jones, but remember what I said.

The addition of my subtraction. Vikings offensive line Second best True, Vikings defensive line Not a good addition Best attraction, You lose you know The new hunter and you get Jonathan Grenner While you can look at stats and say Well you know Houston And Minnesota they swapped guys And I'm like alright but Okay you can look at Grenner's 12.5 sacks, You compare him with You know Hunter Like 15 and a half sacks And you say Well

that's That's Well no It's not 12 The impact is not the same I don't even remember That he had 12 and a half sacks For Houston Do you? He did That's an awful quiet 12 and a half sacks Ain't it? I don't even remember That he had that for Houston I don't even remember that And I'm like He did? Had to look at the stat Like three or four times Like Robbie Day Jeez He's, You have no idea about Darnold. He should just be happy. He's not a Jet anymore. Those days are over with.

They didn't really do him no favors while he was there. So that's where the stigma comes. And being such a lowly quarterback, I'm like, yeah, but no. There's arm talent there, though. There's something there. Can you get him from the neck up to start functioning like a reasonable quarterback? We shall see. The Bears, you know, it's Caleb Williams. Don't have his ups and downs. You know, ups and downs.

The thing is, look, it's not even about comparing them to the way Fields played last year or the year before. Not even that. It's not even the increased weapons. It's not even the offensive line or defensive line. You didn't mention T.J. Edwards as a linebacker. Boy, what did he play well? Boy, could Philadelphia use him as a linebacker right now? My goodness.

This comes down to, okay, when you don't have the best offensive line and defensive line in the division, you're fighting an uphill battle every week, Chicago. Your skill and your talent and your quarterback. Yeah, you face the Lions and Packers, they have a better defensive line. They definitely have better offensive lines. It's like, okay, we're not going to get all this pressure. No, not a ton. It's fun. You have these great linebackers, and they're blessed.

That puts them third because of the divisional methods. If they can somehow break 500, then we got a chance. Like you said, you got a chance at maybe 7, 8, 9 at the most popping off. Once, like you said, once they draft or free agents, get some pass rush in there, probably figure out the running back spot. You need a You need a, you need a, you need these hammer guys. You don't need, you don't need Swift missing holes. You know,

he should have had like 1,500 yards behind the Eagles offensive line, right? You would think. Yeah. 1,000, barely. I'm like, well, shit. I can run before 1,500 yards behind the Eagles offensive line. Holy shit. I mean, you just don't miss the holes that they give you. He was missing the holes they gave him. His pass catching ability, though, is a plus. That is a plus. You know, he gives them that pass catcher off the backfield. Him and Cole come at checking him down. Yeah, that helps.

And I'll see how much they'll use Darryl Everett as well. They need to use those three guys because those three guys could be Taylor Reed's best friends while the line, you know, kind of sort of works, you know, gets optimal. If there needs to be a couple guys changed, so be it. Right now, this is the best line they've had in a while. We'll see how it works because it's still a defensive line. Get pressure. That's really the issue outside of Sweat.

Oh, yeah, they got the top two. Surprise, sir. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Surprise. Number two, Detroit Lions. I know. Really? I know. I know. I know. I know. I know what you guys are thinking. All this work they did in the secondary. Yes, it's great. It's wonderful. But here's the thing. While they can stop the run better than every team in this division, and can they rush the passer outside of Aiden Hudson? We know he can, right? We know he can.

Every play. I don't care who you got over there, your right tackle, left. It doesn't matter. He can defeat everybody, even Lane Johnson, anybody. But can any of the other combination of guys, can they get there consistently? While Reeder, you know, he's a bull rusher, right? Doesn't have fancy pass rusher moves. He's going to need to. He's also a full rusher. So you figure, okay, we're three on two. These guys, hopefully we can still make them. What about the other side?

That's my key. We know they can stop the run for the most part. They can stop the other guys' run, but can you get out there and you got Packers throwing full wide receivers out there? Can you get more pass rush than just Hutchinson? I think in the head-to-head matches, Green Bay did win one and Detroit did win the other. Jordan Love was not playing the best the first time. Wait a minute. Who are these guys? It's got to cut out on my end. Right?

Yeah, same here. You kind of cut out a little bit. The first time against the Trey. I mean, he struggled the first time against the Trey, and he played masterful the second time. And a duel. Basically outdo golf, which is why I had him slightly ahead of golf in my quarterback rankings, just slightly. He's real close. I love how golf has turned this narrative around. But I think they need – wow, this is the key. They need to put their defensive backs in the right positions.

That's playing Brian Brents, not at safety, at slot corner, where he's arguably top four in the whole league if he just plays slot corner. He just plays slot corner, he's top four in the league. He plays safety, then he's kind of far away from that. You kind of drop him in the box a lot, which that's predictable, too, though.

And then on offense well we know they're thunder and lightning they got they they have the back field they have the offensive line tight end quarterback do they have the other receiver, well jameson williams will he will he you know it's like he just didn't play he finally got healthy he's probably the scariest guy in the division in my view i think he's the scariest guy in the division he's four four two one or some crazy shit he looked like it too he looks like it but.

Throw him. He's open the ball a lot. I get Amon Ross A. Brown damn near catching, I don't know, 7,000 passes. You're talking about a guy targeted a lot. You think Justin Jefferson gets targeted a lot? Amon Ross A. Brown gets targeted a lot. He has ticketed for he has ticketed for Zaire Alexander duty both games. I'm going to promise you that one. That's, yeah, go stop him. Go mug him. Go grab him. Go hold him. Go beat him up. Put him in the third.

Well, that's what Dyer is going to do. He can't match quickness with the dude. No, nah, nah, nah, nah. He's way too good for that. I'm not sure there's a slot corner. Shit, I don't even know. Brant can't cover his own guy. That'd be good to see. That'd be good practice. There's very few slot corners. You know, you don't get your hands on him. It's too late. He can go in, out, up, down. But he doesn't run vertical. He has only eight

passes thrown to him over 20 yards. So you kind of know where he is. Find another receiver. They did get Tim Patrick, right? If I'm not mistaken. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's on by week one or two. I'd hope so. That makes sense to me. Donovan Peoples, Jones, maybe. You know. I don't know if you want to go Khalid Raymond because he's a great returner. You don't want to take him out of that. Green Bay, ah, plethora. Plethora of receivers. I mean, they don't win by one game.

One game. The last three games of the year is the sales is the size of the last three games of the year Saints Vikings Bears They play the Saints the Vikings and Bears Thanks Vikings bear. Thanks. Thanks a big you know, yeah, you know, we'll get to that. We'll get that at last We'll get that in a second.

I can embarrass, you know, they'll be you know, I can't be looking to the draft here. I. Be gritty gutsy and then the bears will be you know friends trying to keep the closest job with a win you know you know the rivalry to be by one game so let's see so 11 i'm gonna give detroit a slight step down just a half you know because it's hard to stay once you get to the top it's hard to stay there it's hard to stay at the top of the top of the seat i think the i believe the The NFC will have a lower,

the top seed in the NFC will have a lower win total than the AFC. I think the AFC gets like two teams with at least, you know, at least one more game than the top of the NFC. Not that the NFC is better because it's not. I think the AFC is better. But the AFC will be better against the NFC, which is the T, which is really the, you know, the bragging point. So, makes sense. 7-6, 7-7, you know. They're in. Don't worry about them being in. They're in. They're both in.

Packers and Lions, they're in. They're in. Not a lot. Not a lot. Well, that's it. They cut out the pool. They have the formula to actually go a little further because of their ability to stop the run a little better than Green Bay. But Green Bay has that you can't pinpoint where it's coming from because they can throw the ball to everyone. And they got Jacobs Who is Two years removed from league to league.

I'll give you that No that's an excellent point People keep forgetting And acting like this guy wasn't really really good You know he was really really really good I gotta say the Packers have a better Everything than what that writer team did Right that leaned on him He's not gonna be leaned upon 25-35 guys. On to the next division. The next division, since we're doing the NFC South last, I say, you know what?

Let's do the NFC East because it's got two of the most controversial teams. You mean the Giants and the Commanders? No, the Cowboys and Eagles. Well, yeah, but those two teams are also very polarizing too. I know. That's what I said. We'll figure we're going to go ahead and go with that. What I'm thinking is unless you want to go with the same order, I'm going to say you go first. You want me to go back to back? Great. Cool. I'm ready to rock and roll.

This is going to be fun. This is going to be fun. I'm taking the Giants last. We've got the Giants fourth. Yeah. That may be like by one game or so. Because, you know, nice. Well, you got to re-sign a Dory Jackson because you're in trouble. You know, when you let him go for nothing, basically just let him go. And then it's like, wait, wait, that was a dumb idea. Too many rounds of golf and eating too many chips. And, you know, because no one was going to pick this guy up.

I said, well, you bring him back. We apologize. I'm sorry. Secondary sucks. We need you. Yes, we can't have the PFF favorite Tyler Newman. You know, he can't carry the whole secondary, which he cannot. I had to get that in there. We were talking about this earlier. You know I had to get that in there. Alright, so to anybody out there that works for PFF, please, please feel free to reach out to us at the RuleTheJungle9 X page. We would love to have somebody on because.

There's a lot that he loves about what y'all dude, there's some things that he scratches his head on. So to better educate the process, we're extending the invitation. So anybody from PFF is listening, feel free to reach out to us. Or a matter of fact, reach out to, we're going to give all our social medias. So feel free to reach out to one of us as well. Yes. Do continue. Please do. I just think it would make an interesting show

to hear will give his soul a clean on his love-hate relationship with PFF. Okay. Okay. Let's start with the offense for the Giants. This is kind of why they're last. Let's say the offense. It's kind of why. Start with the offense line. You know what? While they made the right move, I believe they are starting Jermaine Illumino at right tackle.

Hopefully they get Another stellar year From Andrew Thomas And he played well, Unlike the year before he played terrible And the funny thing Neil played bad the first year And then he played god awful last year Wait a minute this is not good, You know They made even John Michael Schmidt Look bad I had him as a pretty good center a couple years ago The pick Made him look bad Do you think, okay, well. He hovers in my, I don't know, 20-something. I don't even remember where I had him. 24, right?

25, right? Something around there. 24, 25, 23. No offense. I've seen better. And even when he played at his best, you know, if he plays at his best right now, right, plays his best football right now, Now, still a little shy on talent at the running back spot, a little shy on talent at the tight end spot. Yeah. But if you guys remember the episode where we broke down, I broke down the Giants. They got a bunch of twos and threes and fours. And I'm like, this ain't Uno, right?

Right? Yeah. This is not Uno. Yep. That is not going to work. I can keep you at all twos. you know, I can see if he had all twos and potential one or two like Packers do, right? They got all twos. They all about the same. Christian Wilkins has the most talent, though. So he projects to be the number one. And they hadn't projected the number one. Remember, he won the receivers that made Aaron Rodgers upset. You know, this anti-rookie receiver thing that he has going.

You know. Well, but you also do realize He hates what he's doing. He also do realize that Aaron Rodgers has always been kind of fans, to an extent. Or at least they didn't have it. I know. Yeah, but he hates working receivers, and I'm like, well, damn it. I mean, they would have. They didn't. That's not your fault. You got to work on what you got, right? Let's continue. I haven't seen it before. You know, Malik Nayar, right? Darius Slayton, Zayla Hyatt, Wanda Robinson. You know, right?

Do you really feel real good about these guys offensively? I don't. I don't really feel good about them. I got them less. And then defensively, the front seven will be battling. But, damn it, you can't start trading away guys like Jordan Phillips. I'm like, wait a minute. What are you doing? Why are you trading with the Cowboys? Right? You know, does anybody, you, Anthony, Tyler, do you get that deal? No, I never did. You trade George Phillips to the Cowboys?

I'm like, no, they need to trade him a guy that can rush the passer in. It's also, I'm like, no, no, no, no. You need big guys on that three-man defensive line to help Dexter Lawrence. Not trade him away. You know, you got the run stoppers. You need to need the pass run guys. Or are you just going to just solely say, okay, well, we're going to solely have Thibodeau and Brian Burns be our sole pass rushers. I'm like, no, no, we shouldn't do that either. Shouldn't be so reliant on those two guys.

Like I said, they brought back a Dory Jackson because they secondary, at least something to be desired, right? They got Danny Diamond. That's the reason why I got him for, right? That's my expedite. Speed this along a little bit, a little quicker. Okay, now, now, now, like the Giants, the commander said, hey, we got a hole in the offensive line. Let's fix it. Let's fix it. They re-signed Cornelius Lucas, senior veteran out of Kansas State,

to play left tackle, which is pretty smart. I did not want them to start a rookie. One, Brandon Coleman, did not want them to start this kid in left tackle. I didn't know he could play tackle or not. It's kind of risky when you got the kid, you know, right? When you got the franchise quarterback, you know, his first year or two, get him some at least veteran protection.

The line steal, you know, leave a little bit to be desired. The weaponry is, you know, with the trade to the Eagles, it's like, okay, Giants and Commanders, we can see why you're three and four. They're trading with the top two teams. Why? Please explain why. Why? You got to explain why to this. And I don't get this. I don't get that trade either. I don't get it. If anybody I would have traded, I would have traded to Jaime Brown to the Eagles. Not Dotson.

I would have traded Brown to the Eagles. But here, take this guy. You got two guys named Brown. There you go. All right. Brown, Brown, and Smith. There you go. That's a good ring to it. But no, no. They trade the kid that I knew could play opposite Terry McCormick. All right. Well, Luke McCaffrey, get ready. Tyree Brown, get ready. Have lots of talent. The running game has to hit. Eckler has to be that receiving threat he always has been. He hasn't been, though, the last two years.

He's like Alvin Kamara. After a while, man, age, they creep up on you. Creep up on you a little bit. That's why I didn't take him in my draft. I looked at him. I wanted to. I did. I looked at him. I know, I know, but I had to pass. I just, you know, while I think it could work, him and Ertz could work in those medium, you know, right? Such a medium range, you know, medium 10 to 15 yard passes at the most, right? I can see that. I can see that. You know, young quarterbacks.

Young quarterbacks tend to go there. On the defense end, let's go, commanders. Come on. You need to try to mouse that pass real fast. I'm quite happy with the three-man interior that you got. You got Jarzahn Newton in case you lose one of the two. You know, since we went to big guys, but then, you know, you got Lawrence Armstrong. This dude was like, what? The third or fourth in Dallas?

Rotational piece? All right, we'll see. God, it felt much better if they had Sam Williams, even though he got injured for the season. I would have felt better if they had him instead of Lawrence Armstrong. I think he could break out somewhere else. That's not named Dallas, right? Linebackers. Yeah, I don't. I've never been a Jamin Davis fan, Bobby Wagner fan. Sure, but his fast coverage is definitely not what it used to be. Frankie Lou Vu, he is a great blitzer.

His coverage is, Jeremy Chen, he might need to play linebacker in some situations, but secondary. You know, even though Michael Davis fits by the line of scrimmage, he lacks a little bit when he's facing, you know, even say like a Malik Nabors. Like, I mean, Lakers can run by him. Yeah, he can play you physical at the line, but he's not there. A lot of charters said, okay, well, we'll let you go for nothing.

Brown, Daniels, bright future. Got a few holes to work with there to fill in in the coming years, offensively, defensively, figure it out. They need to say what they got. Yeah, they're going to take some lumps. They're playing in this division where the Cowboys and Eagles will beat them. They will beat you. They will kick you when you're down. Yeah, they will. Both teams will. Both teams are frontrunners, no doubt. Now, the order of the front two is a little surprising to some people.

And number two, I got the Eagles. If we had done this yesterday and done the FC today, I'd have had the Cowboys too. I got the Eagles too. The Flux. I don't know how good they're going to be able to start off. I don't know how good their start's going to be. It's not that they play like a murder's road of first-floor games. It's just they play my Packers, right? My Packers, right? And they play Tyler's Falcons.

And they play Mike Saints, led by the worst coach in the history of coaching football. And then they play the Bucs. They come out of that 2-2. Tyler Bowles' cousin, Todd Bowles. They don't ever find out if we were related or not during that preseason. Oh. Well, here's the thing. You didn't go up and say, Say, Daddy! Oh, goodness. What? Wow, wow, wow, wow. I'm going to start calling them the Philadelphia Bulldogs. That's what they are, right, on defense. They're the Philadelphia Bulldogs.

Because, you know, you don't play for Georgia, right? Essentially, you can't make this team, I guess. I don't know. Here's the thing. Here is the thing. I think they should have drafted one of their damn Georgia safeties. But they said it did. Then it'd be okay. Playing James Bradbury at safety, he got hurt. I'm like, God damn it. Six to eight weeks. I'm like, oh, my gosh. And I said, and Reeve likes it to play. Damn near the whole year.

That's not what I wanted. I wanted them to be able to, like, you know, rotate in and out. Because I never know when they get banged up. Their whole career is when they play, they're fine. They don't play, which is like 45% of the time, almost 50%. And then you got Trout. He was in major trouble.

You know I mean come on Devin White didn't even start that's that's all I need to say right he's not even a starter, there's a little trouble in Denmark a little trouble in Denmark I don't have any problem with the defensive line the rotation you know I don't have trouble there necessarily, just putting the right pieces together using the depth I got secondary banged up a little bit here banged up the playing team you know,

the first four where they can take advantage of But I don't believe Dallas is, while Dallas' schedule looks, you know, it looks, it looks worse than what it is. They got three tough games physically. But as I said, you know, the Lakers have started off 2-2. If Dallas starts off 2-2, let alone 3-2, they may not be able to get that win back. They may not be able to jump over them. I think they'll probably split again. My boys, you look off with a lot of issues. Did I think they're in a medicinal

agitation? I think they are. What about Glenn? He's going to play with his hair on fire. That has to do. He has to play, not like necessarily the way he did last year. He has to play somewhat close. He's auditioning, obviously, for the rest of the league, even though I don't think he needs to. You kind of know about whether he can take these, you know. With Ron Bland being out, I'm not sure. I think it's six weeks, five weeks, six weeks.

And they just now coming back, you know, I'm going to agree. I can be the secondary now, but it ain't going to be quite as sticky. They like Carson, the rookie. You know, the rookie. The rookie. He's a rookie. There's talent at corner. But damn it, you ain't afraid. You ain't even afraid. Even the fact that Bland and Big have about 7,000 interceptions over the career scene. You still, this is not a secondary where you're afraid.

Don't say like the Eagles won't be afraid to play them they can match up with them across the board either way but the Eagles have to get the defense the defense has to be you know, has to be tuned for the later half of the year where they don't necessarily play better teams they play the teams they shouldn't lose it's like, you know these are these are four games you gotta try to get all four of them, hope Dawson still has to try to get all four games you see at the end Thank you.

To give you a 5-1 win, which will easily win the division. So Dallas, Dallas wins 11-6. Philadelphia with the same 11-6, but Dallas wins tougher. More wins against the top. Philadelphia has tougher wild business. The Cowboys played it. They play our division. I think they play our division early. No, they play us. They play us later in the year. No, but they play the other three teams early, though. They play Cleveland, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh before the bye.

So, if that's good, you get out the way, win, lose, or drop. While the Eagles, the Eagles play us in the middle of the year. But they also play, they play, they play Baltimore when Baltimore is going to get down. They'll play them in the back half of the year. They'll play them at the end of the year. And it's killer. You know, you know. Brown over Dillard. I'd rather play the Dillard early. Kick their ass right away. It will. Right? You don't have any idea what Phil can do. He can.

All right. So, Will, you have the Cowboys, Eagles, the Manters, and the Giants, right? Yes. All right. So, Tyler, that would mean that you would be up next. Yes. I'm next? Okay. Okay. So, for the second straight turn, I have the same picks as the guy before me. There we go. Same picks. I have the Giants. I have the Commanders. Although, I do think the Commanders could be a sneaky force to be reckoned with.

As we mentioned in the AFC Division Predictions last episode, I have teams that just missed the putt, and the Commanders are one of them. I think they could sneak around and they could finish somewhere around 8-9, maybe 7-10 and somehow be in the hunt for the wild card. They're not going to get there, but I feel like they could be in the hunt down the stretch there. And as for the Cowboys, I have them finishing first.

I have them finishing with a 13-4 record. So right now, that puts them ahead of the Lions. And the Eagles, I have them finishing 10-7. As you guys know, I think when we discussed the defensive part of the team rankings, I wasn't really that high on their defense. Their secondary, I really love their secondary, but the rest of it I'm not too high on. And I do think that they take a little bit of a step back this year again. As you guys know, in the last couple seasons, you know, like,

let me take that back. The Super Bowl run they had, sure. You know, Jalen Hurts played his best game in the Super Bowl. That year was his best season regardless, the season before and the season after. Jalen Hurts is not, you know, he's not played well down the stretch. They started off really great last season. I think it was like 8-1, but it just was not, you know, he did not play well down the stretch, and it showed in the playoffs too.

So I have the Eagles as a 10-7 wildcard team, but I wouldn't be surprised if they also got bounced in the first round as well. Yeah, similarly put.

So that would mean So you pretty much have the same, Same picks just about With Tyler I mean with Will Yeah the same exact The win-loss totals are a little bit different Yeah and that's Pretty much the same that you and I had too On the, NFC North too we had the same picks Maybe the win-loss totals were a little bit different But yeah we got the same Same standings so far So so alright, it's all the same with me with the exception of a couple I agree completely that the,

Giants will finish last I think the, Commanders will be to make a long story short I think they'll be better than they were last year but they'll be just I even agree with you that I think they'll be on the fringe Cringe. Just in the backstretch, they'll drop a game or two that basically goes, oh, no, we can't do that. Now we're out of the playoffs. And then, honestly, as far as number two and number one, I'm going Cowboys too because here's the thing.

The Cowboys really have not continued to show me nothing. thing. I'm not even a fan of their team, but they've not shown anything to make me consider them a legit contender, a legit threat of any time, any type. I think ultimately they're going to beat the hell out of them. And the Eagles are going to beat the hell out of each other. I still think the Eagles take the division, but I think it's going to come down to matter of fact, Let me see. When do the Eagles schedule?

All right. So, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. In the past, like, three, four years, the Cowboys have not done well. All right. So, here's what I think is going to end up happening. I think the division won't get one until near the end of the year for the NFC East. I think it'll be their second showing on December 29th when the Cowboys come to see the Eagles. The first? Yes. I think the Eagles take it because I'm looking at their schedule.

Although, yeah, they're not playing teams that are like sisters of the poor. They're not playing a last place team, but they are playing teams that if they don't and if you look at their rosters and you look at it from top to bottom, how do you not beat this team? Like the Falcons, they should totally decimate them. The Rams, they should totally decimate them. The Panthers, if they come to town and they beat the Eagles, I'm sorry, you don't need to be in the NFL.

I would question my manhood But at that point, that bad, but then it happened. But I'm saying just off of because their secondary is much improved from last year, at least on paper. But I still say that D-line is what I think is going to win a lot of their games, at least from a pass rush standpoint.

Point but anyway i got my listings as eagles win the division cowboys are second the commanders are on the fringe but falter in the back in the somewhere in the back half of the schedule, and the giants will be looking for a new quarterback in the top of the draft next year so we've done we've done, we've done North we've done the NFC North the NFC East let's do the NFC West so with that being said Tyler go ahead and you're up alright so the NFC West

this is the third division in a row that I have two playoff teams in and I'll start from 4-4-1 so 4 is the Arizona Cardinals, They have the potential rookie of the year in Marvin Harrison Jr. And Tyler Murray's back after missing the first half of the season last year. I mean, they could surprise a couple people in some games, but they're not going to be anything higher than a 6-7 win team. I just don't, I'm not buying it.

Despite how good Marvin Harrison Jr. will be, they're not going to be any higher than 7 wins. The Seattle Seahawks, number three, they are one of the teams that just missed the cut, as well as the Bears in the North. I forgot to mention the Bears. The Bears were another team that just missed the cut. Really talented wide receiver there with D.K. Metcalf, Jackson Smith and Jigda, and also Tyler Lockett as well. They did lose Pete Carroll as their head coach.

And I know Geno Smith, I believe he's going into his third year starting. Last year, he did okay, but it wasn't nearly as good as his first year. The surprise factor there. We'll see how he does this year. But with the record you're, you know, them not making the playoffs, they might be in the market for the quarterback. We'll see how that goes. But I have them three. These two are playoff teams and I have, number two, I have the Los Angeles Rams.

I think, you know, with the loss of Aaron Donald that they had, you know, I still think the defense, you know, could use a little bit of improvement there, obviously. But I think this is going to be a team that the offense carries the team. And Matthew Stafford, you know, while he's a lot older than, you know, he was prime in scoring, he's a few years older than, you know, the year they won the Super Bowl against us, which is unfortunate, you know.

He's still a great quarterback, right? He's still, you know, he's still pretty good. And, you know, with weapons like Cooper Cup, you know, Cooper Nakura, Kyron Williams, you know, and they just got Blake Corham in the draft too. Thank you. In a solid offensive line, right? Solid offensive line. I think they're going to make the playoffs. And I have them with a 10-7 record making the playoffs as a wildcard team, which puts them with the Eagles in that aspect. And I think I had the Packers 11-6.

So if you're going based off that, Packers 11-6 on the fifth seed. And then I have the Rams beating out the Eagles with a tired record somehow.

Somehow so the eagles are going to finish as the seventh seed in my opinion in the in the playoffs sir but number one is the 49ers now the 49ers we did the rankings of the best offense the best defense i had the 49ers ranked i believe number one they were top five all around the board in both categories right there's there's no kind especially they just got brain and i you'd steal them, but, they're not going to be the number one seed.

As I mentioned, I have the Cowboys 13-4. I have them tied with the Lions. It's 12-5, but I have the Lions owning its highbreaker against the 49ers, so that would make the 49ers a three seed based off that. It's 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, Cardinals with two of them making the playoffs. How the fuck do you have the Cardinals making the playoffs? No, I said the Cardinals fourth. Okay. Two of the teams making the playoffs. Yeah, it's the Rams and the 49ers. Yeah. No, you're good.

I might have worded it wrong. So, yeah, the 49ers. Yeah, because the first you said you had them fourth, and then I'm like, oh, did I misunderstand something? So, I'm like, oh. No, that was probably my fault. But, yeah, the 49ers, the Rams, Seahawks, and the Cardinals in that order. And then I have the Rams and obviously the 49ers making the playoffs. Since the AFC West plays the NFC North and the AFC East.

Yeah. So who's up now? Would that be you, Will, or would that be me? I guess it would be me. Yeah. Yeah, it would be me. Yes. Now, the NFC West, right, they play the NFC North, and they play the AFC East. Yeah, you're right. Obviously, Detroit and I have played a damn piece.

Why not? This is actually This is actually a sneaky A sneaky difficult schedule It is but it isn't It is but it isn't It's because of the Kingsman and division That played a 49ers well, See if the Rams And surprisingly the Cardinals No, surprisingly the Cardinals played the 49ers pretty well, They don't Beat them all the time but they play them well T-Hop You know. Alright so So, I have the Cardinals in Cardinal 4. You know, Kyler Murray is very valiant. I agree with Kyler Volz.

Marvin Harrison has rookie potential here. He's got a reach to be in the top three or four. Dan Jolton must, you know, lower than that. Three or four, you know, does not win anything. I did say the Arizona Cardinals had the worst defense in the NFL. So, that doesn't help. Doesn't help. It puts a lot of pressure on the offense. There's a lot of pressure on Kyler Murray and his guy out there. What they did. Kind of like Craig McBride.

He had a breakout year, but when he stayed up consistent again on year two, when defenses and borders will now put you in the game plan, go along with the rest of these new receivers. And James Carr. And that offensive line hold up. We know the defense is going to struggle. Just against the other team in this division where it's safe to say that the Cardinals also have the potentially the worst offensive line in the division too, right?

Yeah. You got the worst offensive line and defensive line in your division. It's uphill battle when you play the other four teams. Other three teams. Death of the Niners. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is about playing face-to-face boy or not. The Cardinals, they just get up. They do. They get up. They get up. They're keyed up. They're locked in. We can defeat these guys. You know, stay for us So, kind of like college goals, I agree.

Three, four, five things at most. It takes it to most. I also have Seattle third. Dino Smith had a pretty rough year. But that had a lot to do with the offensive line being injured. And, you know, I want to come back and play. Craig Hansen in your first game? That's not a good idea. That ain't what you want. That ain't what you want. Yeah, because I'm with you.

He got lit up pretty good.

You face that guy the first time i'm like oh let's see yeah yeah yeah and we did especially that last round well we shot too much you know didn't have a kenneth walter mixed up too that doesn't help it needs help with the offensive line because they need to they need the defense gonna need to you know they need time to figure it out well yeah you can you know you stuck it there you play man to man and all that or use that that you know that match type defense that But, you know,

not the type of bone defense that, you know, that we're going to get from Baltimore. But, dude, I mean, you do got to get there. You got to get there. It's hard to manufacture a freshman with guys who just, you know, are okay. Baltimore usually has guys that's a little better, you know. So, seven win. Seattle, seven, eight. They're also my friend, but they're fringy.

Seven, seven, eight. I think I think 9, could get you in but the Rams but the Rams are winning 10, got McVay coach Rams number 2 McVay coach you guys know about McVay number 1 coach in the league he does hurt Warner he does hurt Warner in a while he has like the least like the least, you're not excited when you look at his team no I ain't been excited none of his team is no better not overly exciting not overly or he's super, super validated, but the scheme works.

His defense is always just good enough. They make just enough plays. They find just enough, you know, plays to be made. Aaron Donald, he hasn't lose-loss. That doesn't mean he's lost for anybody, anything losing all the phone to that level. You know, they'll find out the Blitz more. With them playing Ernest Jones, good at fighting. I don't like that. I don't like that move. I don't like that. Does anybody like that move? That's the thing. Does anybody like that move?

No. No, no, no, no. No. No. So, I mean, to me, the uphill challenge in dethroning the 49ers would be you probably got to try to sweep them. And no team in the division can sweep them. No way. You might beat them once. The Rams do the play pretty well. Can they beat them more than once? No. Seattle, can they beat them more than once? Absolutely not. The Cardinals will play them tougher. Cardinals will be in both games. You know.

When you're facing a better team, facing arguably the best defense in the NFC, right? Right? Because you can make arguments for other teams. Not better than the 49ers. They got the best defense. They have the second best offensive weapons. But they don't, it's like they don't, here's the thing. They don't like, they don't like have talent at a level like, Like, they're not like the dolphin, right?

To just like run by you. No, you probably could cover him to some extent, but it's the way the scheme is made. The offensive line, oh man, the offensive line. I think the 49ers right now, with the way that's constructed, they got the third worst offensive line in the league right now. But Trent Williams basically holding this thing up by himself. They got injuries, and they got guys who aren't very good in spots now, and you got Puney in there at right. I think he's at right guard.

It's hard to put a rookie in there like that. He was basically projected to be a better tackle, having to play guard because he got hurt, and then in the pivot, he got it down here. Still, with all that being said, he's such a great run blocker, probably the best in the league, but the other weapons just carry on as good as they usually. I do have to point out the number one seed again. Okay. They will have an identical 12-and-5 record as my number. Okay.

In the immortal words of Skip Bayless, was there something else that you had to add, sir? No, Dre Greenlaw will miss. I don't know. I don't know how many games he'll miss. He'll be back at some point. And then they'll have a ridiculously great linebacker. But week five or six, there you go. Then it would be apparent that, in the immortal words of Skip Bayless, it's my turn. It is your turn. Yes. Yes, it is.

So, all right. So, we've been on for an hour and 15 minutes, so we will try to make this as concise as possible. I will. That, first off, like you, I have the Arizona Cardinals finishing last. I think with how they have it set up they're missing so much on defense they're missing all defense shit, yeah Buda Baker can't be everything on there and I'm sorry, but when your safety is making all the plays that's a problem I like David Thompson but you know You know, he's a good player.

No, I get that. So, you know, with that being said, I do like the addition of Marvin Harrison. Yeah.

A state of they're in a state of they're getting people to sign but they're not like top quality people not top quality guys that want to come play in arizona jonah williams well he was he was another one that was your favorite player wasn't he yeah yeah he said yeah he's the one who's yeah didn't yeah because didn't you send me a picture no he said no tyler sent me a picture wearing Jonah Williams jersey. You didn't sign that? And then when Jackson Carman got cut, he was wiping the tears.

He was using this Jackson Carman jersey to wipe the tears from his face from the disappointment that the top two So. I think we all pretty much have about the same picks. Yep. For the NFC West. For the NFC West. Because with Seattle getting a new coach, it's going to take a little minute to really get and implement what they want to get done and get the necessary guys in that they want to get in. So, I agree with Roman, right? That's it, right? Yeah.

They need to be fucking tougher. That's the problem. them. They're as talented as the 49ers, but I can't pick them to do nothing, you know? Right? No, I get that. I got them at like a sub 500. I'm going to say if I'm going to say to either 2-15 or 3-14. Wow. For the Cardinals. Wow. Okay. And again, these are just predictions. It could be worse. It could Maybe not so bad. Okay. There could be one team worse than them or equally as bad coming up, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Anyway, top two, we got the Los Angeles Rams. I think it's largely because of McVay. Yeah. Bar none. Matthew Stafford, fuck him. Tyler has to remind me of that fucking Super Bowl. Fuck him. That's all right.

He did play for Detroit for all over the years, though. How about that? Again, again, fuck him. There you go. So, as far as I'm concerned, fuck Matthew Stafford. That's just because he ruined a tradition of what many a Cincinnati, hardcore, legit follower from day one Cincinnati Bengals fans wanted to see. He still rolled with two different quarterbacks. Not quite.

I'm going to be, it's going to be, I'm going to be curious to see how, how much of the contract that they gave Cooper cup, if he sees that entire contract or if they eventually cut him because the fact that, Hey, he spent a fair amount of time last year being on the, being on the, on the, uh, on the lamb, not lamb, but on the, on the shelf.

I think this might be a make or break year for him it wouldn't surprise me but then again what the fuck do I know so, I'd say they'll be 10-6 they'll either be 10-6 I mean 10-6 10-6 or 11-7, so to make a long story short number one obviously San Francisco I'm going to say, probably 12-5, and I'm with you. So, with that being said, we got one last division, which would be the NFC South. Oh, boy. That's all I'm saying. Oh, boy. You know what?

I don't want to lie. I've been waiting for this one. Fuck Will. He's a out with Will. Still, Dennis Allen is a hell of a defensive quarterback. 100% agree. He just has no business being a head coach. 100% agree. There comes a certain point in time where you have to realize maybe you're just not cut out for this job. Dennis Allen, you're not cut out to be a head coach. Yep. Just saying. I think the management, their general manager in front office,

they're also dropping the ball here, not fucking drafting the offensive linemen. I don't understand. You got to run the football. You can't put it in Derek Carr's hand 35 fucking times. Next one, a lot of people are going to be shocked. I'm going to Carolina Panthers. Yeah, they're going to be bad. Don't get me wrong. They're going to be bad. I don't think they'll be bad. I think. Oh, no. That's why I said they're going to be bad. Oh, no. No,

they're going to be like fucking dumpster juice bad. Actually, they're going to be borderline dumpster juice. New Orleans, the level of mediocrity just continues to go down. And at this point, if you remain in mediocrity, the Bengals from 2011 to 2015 was prime example. Agree. I thought we had Marvin Marvin. You actually know, I take that back. 2015 was our best chance. It was our best chance. It was our best chance. So I'll give you that one.

They win 12 games. That's great. So before. Yeah. So anyway. I digress at least four out of the five years. I got a real interesting take once I once I do my division on these very saints great comparison. But anyway, going on the Carolina Panthers are going to fucking be bad. No, there's no question about it. There's no ifs, ands, or buts. But I don't think that they land in the quote-unquote upper echelon. I actually think that fucking Bryce Young actually gets it together.

Because I do think that this is a make-or-break year for them, but I think it's going to motivate the kid. I'm hoping it'll motivate the kid to try to push through. So they're kind of in a spot where, kind of like the Cardinals, They're not really getting a lot of people wanting to come play for them, so they're kind of having to scrape the bottom of the barrel and see who they can get and use.

So with that being said, they're probably going to have to have a couple more years of probably drafting the top five, hitting on some picks, then maybe try to get some outs if those picks start to hit, maybe get the attention of a couple of high-profile outside free agents. Then I think they'll kind of do a similar ascension like how the Bengals do. But number two I'm going to say the Atlanta Falcons. They do enough to get just on the fringe. I think they fall short.

I think they just barely fall short. I don't see two teams making the playoffs in the NFC South. I just don't see it. So I think them and the Carolina Panthers end up 8-9. 8-9 or 7-10. Which leads me to number one I'm going to say is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers I think they repeat as the division champions again. Tyler, you are up Yeah, so This is the first time that I've followed one of you guys That we disagree on a list In this episode Of course we disagree Yeah,

so Anthony, you had the Panthers third and you had the Saints fourth, right? Yes. All right, so I'm switching those two. Panthers are going to finish last, although I feel like they will get better as the season goes on. I feel like Bryce Young will have a better season than he did last year. I just don't see them finishing any higher than fourth in the division. What was their win total last year? What was their win total? 2-15.

Yeah, they're going to get maybe their selling is six wins this year, but that's it. That's an improvement for them. So six and 11, maybe, you know, five and 12. But again, that's an improvement from last season, but they're finishing four to me. That prevents Dennis Allen and the Saints from finishing third to fourth is they've got pretty good offense, right? They've got a solid offense. I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. They've got a really good defense.

Let me rephrase that. Defense is really good. Really good defense. Sorry, I worked all day today. I do apologize. The defense is really good. Dennis Allen is good with defense. He just sucks at being an offense. Offensive-minded guy, he sucks at being a head coach. I agree with Anthony there in that aspect. We've all dogged Dickestown in this whole offseason. Now, they do have some pretty good weapons on offense, but they don't know how to use them properly.

That's the thing, right? They don't know how to use them properly. Yeah. With that being said, though, I think if I'm going to give them one total, I gave them the The Panthers are on five or six. I'd say the Saints, you know, like maybe six, maybe seven. They, like, backed off the defense, like, alone. You know, you throw in Chris Alabe. You throw in Alvin Kamara. You throw in, you know, Rashid Shaheed. Well, he's fast. That'll help you get some wins there, you know, with Derek Carr.

But, you know, that being said, though, number two, number two. And I told you guys at the beginning of the, you know, the offseason, when this division would come down to two teams and the same two teams Anthony had, and you know we all talked about it but I agree the Falcons are winning the division, which means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are finishing second which means the Atlanta Falcons are the sole team representing the NFC South this year so.

I liked him. Led by my two favorite players, right? Yep. Stanky Mayfield and Captain Average, Kirk Cousins. No, no, no. I'm talking about my – Obviously, you know, Kirk Cousins has been in the league a lot longer than Baker Mayfield has. Tremendously overpaid. Baker Mayfield. Tremendously overpaid. Yeah, Baker Mayfield is a – you know, he's a good quarterback. Not a great quarterback, but he's a good quarterback. And, you know, the Tampa Bay, you know, they got a good defense.

You know, they got a pretty good offense. Todd Bowles is an excellent defense by a head coach. Great name, too. I like the Falcons' chances this year. Sure, their defense was not that great last year. They did have one of the best, if not the best, safeties in the league after he left us and Jesse Bates. Right. Went to the Pro Bowl last year. They've improved.

And with bringing in Kirk Cousins, obviously he's going to be mentoring, which, you know, when you're 26 and, you know, coming off, you know, a pretty good season in college, you know, Michael Phoenix here, which, you know, you and Will, you and I agreed, Will, that, you know, he was the third best quarterback in this draft. Yes. You know, yeah, we agree with that.

And I don't know, you know, with our cousin's four-year deal, I don't know how long he's going to be sitting the bench, but at some point you're going to have to get him done. But I'm also too one of the... That's true. Sure. I'm also one of the guys who... Yeah, he needs to go somewhere else. You know what? He might end up being Brandon Williams' age whenever he starts smelling. I'd like in this situation to Chris Chandler and Michael Vick. It's like the same situation.

I also, too, am a – I'm really high on Kirk Cousins more than most people, and I know more than you guys, too. You know, I like his, you know, his attitude, the way he goes about the game. I like his, you know, style of play. You know, he's a solid quarterback. He's not the best. You know, he's not the worst, obviously. But, you know, he's good, right? He'll win you some games. Now, primetime games, on the other hand, that remains to be seen. But I do like their offense, and who knows?

Kirk Cousins being the quarterback now, they finally might use Kyle Fitzroy. They finally might do it, and I believe they will do it with a competent quarterback playing there for the first time since Matt Ryan. One quarterly tie, they'll use B. John Robinson, right? Yay! Correct. Correct. And, you know, Drake won, and we'll see some improvement this year, too, with Kirk Cousins being the quarterback.

But, like I said, they're going to finish 9-8. It's going to come down probably to the last week of the season. And to me, I think the Buccaneers slip up somehow, and I think the Falcons take the division for the first time since their Super Bowl run where they ended up choking in the Super Bowl. So, you know, poorly. So, with that being said.

And that's the beauty of talking about things like this, that, hey, we don't have to necessarily agree if we can bust each other's balls because, hey, but overall, we respect each other's opinions. I still say that Tyler... What was that? But I'll make sure I put a nice, pretty bow on the end of this thing here. Yeah, I'd still say that. So I'd still say that. Yeah, I would have to say that Captain's average is average at best. It's not complete dumpster juice, but it is what it is. Come on.

Will I turn it over to you? Because I know you're going to rip it. But you're going to completely rip the bandaid off. And I tend to like to leave that on. That's that's that's that's let's do this. Let's do it. Here's where I become the learning tree for real. Here we go. That's in my, in my NFC least division. Okay. NFC lease. All right. And I don't know. Will they have the worst record in the NFC? No. No. I think it would be like the Cardinals or the Giants, personally.

Then the Cardinals or Giants. One of them is going to have the worst record. One of those. They'll be right there, though. You know. They're trying, like you said. It's hard to get free agents to go there because, you know. But they did get free agent offensive linemen. I'm going to go there. Just not the top tier ones, but better than that last year. And I agree with you. I wouldn't even say there's a make or break here.

Can you get the kids some damn protection so they don't fucking get hurt? Yeah. Yeah, because they'll try to put it on. They'll try to put it on him. When really it just comes down to an incompetent front office that's afraid to say no to the owner. The guys that drafted these linemen, right? They're not there anymore.

Okay well then then you got to do what they just did they go out and get some more alignment and try to figure it out you get a running back you get a tight end you draft a receiver right they're trying offensively defensively you just gotta you just gotta hold the fort here until you can get another another drafts you know get some damn pass rush pressure because you're not beating any of the other teams this year that you play in the division without pressure

not even the nfc least East, you can't even beat these teams. Like, I don't feel confident with the Panthers being able to pressure the Saints. And I think the Saints, oh, my God. The Saints offensive line, it's – I'm just shaking my head. I don't understand. I don't get it. I do not get it. I think the damn Saints have the best weaponry in the fucking division. Doesn't matter, though. They ain't got the best quarterback.

They damn sure ain't got the best line. I think they got the worst offensive line in the division. In one of the worst teams in the league. And I do have the Saints finishing third. I wanted to give them an 8-9 record, a 9-8 record. No, no, no. They got receivers. They'll put up – they'll have games where, you know, they'll have games where he take you up. They'll have games where he's just in terrible form. I know.

This is hard for me because it comes down to a guy who's played, a guy who, this is the one turning point between these top two teams, the quarterback. Who do I think can do what they've shown to do? I actually agree with Tyler. I got Tampa Bay. They will finish like 8-9. I don't think Baker Mayfield will play as well as he did last year. That's a high point. That's as best as he can play in my view. I don't think he can play no better than that. He was really good.

I sit on Baker Mayfield all the time, but really just because he was Cleveland. If he went somewhere else and had a better shot, a better coach, a better situation, they wouldn't be so ready to get Ravens. I act like you didn't give them the playoffs. something they hadn't done. Got the Bucs in the playoffs, 28 touchdowns. I'm like, okay, that's hey, that's Tom Brady-esque there almost, right? That's in that realm, right? That's a couple, maybe a notch and a half down from Brady, right?

You know, in the bigger games, he played pretty, what he did to Philadelphia was gotta be said. He tore them up. He did. He tore them up. I'm like, wow. He is He's carving these guys up. I don't believe this. You know, and Tyler Bowles, you know, hey, Tyler Bowles, I went to task on these Atlanta Falcons defensively, and what they do within like a week and a half, they got Justin Simmons, right? I'm like, okay, that's what I wanted to see before, you know,

the preseason. But, I mean, I guess it really doesn't make any difference. You know, win, how, where, when. How you do it. Get more talent on defense. I said that was going to implement. Second, I said the second best offensive line in the NFC. And I said Detroit had the first and Philadelphia had the third. I'm still sticking to that. I'm sticking to that. They will run the football. They will not put Kyle Pitts in there a tight end.

He will be kind of like Ngeseki's role, side receiver, except he might play a little bit of receiver-receiver too. But you got to throw him the ball. You got to utilize him. And I think with that offensive line, spread him out. With that offensive line, B. John Robinson and Tyler Ruggiero. That gives you optimal Kirk Tugger, right? Not superstar, throwing the ball around with all these wide receivers,

just to represent it. No, no, no, no. That Kirk Cousins, that Kirk Cousins, when last I seen him in Minnesota, he was throwing a fucking interception in the end zone, right? To lose a game that they should have clearly won. But it's not, you know, yeah, the money might say pressure heaped upon Kirk. Not really. Kirk Cousins can play his normal game.

He may be captain average, damn it. But when your defense, when your defense is good enough with Kirk Cousins and, you know, physical offense, right? I believe they pretty much get the nod because they're the most physical team in the division on offense. And on, you know, defense, you know, they're not quite as squishy as I had them early. You know, they're secondary and pass runs have gone up at least three, four spots apiece. So that's fair.

Got the Falcons at a 9-8. Kind of like you, Tyler. You know, I'm on board now. I'm on board. I'm on board. And you think they just take the division. Yeah, by a game. I don't think Baker Mayfield is going to be as good as he was last year. That's why he paid. Anything. He had 28 touchdowns. And I think he had 28 touchdowns and what was it? 10 interceptions? That's low for Megan Mayfield, you know? That's low.

It's going to even out a little bit more. Remember where I had Rashad White rated, running back-wise, and I had no confidence in him using the other two guys. We all three of us seen Sean Tucker run like a runaway train. I know it was preseason, but he looked like he could run, to me, with some power and kickiness. He ain't touched the field last year, which I'm confused. He was like, you know, got this man averaging, what, 3.7, 3.8 a carry? That's pretty low in the league.

No, that's not good. No, I get that. There's no juice there. I mean, he's a good running back, but he's not, you know, mid-tier like they need. They need mid-tier with that offensive line. And Calum Baker throw them weapons, and I'm like, all right, that'll work against most of the teams.

After say my god okay good you more right it's just you got better pass first man a little bit better no that makes sense I mean not even that's the little head games you know head-to-head games will be you know obviously the deciding factors now I looked at the Bucks schedule the Bucks schedule they closed with Chargers Cowboys Panthers Saints they probably need to do better than then two and two. Hold on, but the last four for the Falcons? Raiders, Giants,

Commanders, Panthers. What the fuck? That's 4-0, Anthony. Shit, right? That's 4-0. That's crazy. I'm like, what? How dare they have this putrid schedule at the end? They're playing fucking Iowa State and Akron. They're playing the Ohio State schedule, like you like to say, Anthony. I made a believer out of you. I made a believer out of you, Will.

No you didn't You didn't do anything They signed They traded Matthew Judon and signed Justin Simmons That's what happened That's what happened That's what happened Now it doesn't suck It's better. You got Captain Average and fucking Jesse Bates Come on I like this team I think they'll win though Bye game Yeah I'm looking at this, So So sometimes you got to schedule that fucking like, wait a minute. Oh, my God.

Sometimes it's in the cards, isn't it? Because if they screw up this end, if they screw up these games for a while, like I said, a lot of bucks will be at least two and two at least. They go four and O at the end. It's over. That's the stretch that you need to, you know. Tell you when to get into the playoffs. You want to win the last four games of the season and say, all right, where are we at now?

Because it may look bleak for a while, right? Alternating wins and losses, win-loss, win-loss, win-loss. But like I said at the end, see, they don't play the AFC East. I mean, AFC West. So that's one good thing for them. They get more losses that way. No, I get that. So with that being said, any final thoughts from either side? Y'all got anything you want to add before we close the show? The AFC is better than the NFC this year. At least going into the season. Well, that's a given.

Yeah, but you know. They like to say how good the top of the AFC is. I'm like, yeah, good, but I mean, their middle and bottom sucks, but it's okay. It's all right. It's all right. Tyler, go ahead and close us on out. All right. Well, like we mentioned at the top of the show, we do appreciate everybody who has joined the Javante Woods Fantasy Football League. We have all the interest filled, and we just did our draft tonight. So be on the lookout.

See throughout the season. We'll have some updates. And like I said before, the winner of the league does get a signed Icky Wood shirt. So, exciting times here. You know, thank everybody for signing up that has. You know, we do appreciate it. And, of course, we do appreciate Icky Woods, Aubrey, and Jermaine, you know, the Woods family. Without them, none of this would have been possible, and we wouldn't have had the opportunity to give to a great charity like, you know, such as theirs.

So, we definitely appreciate them. You know, we do want to thank the listeners for, you know, tuning in tonight for the episode. You know, we do appreciate everybody who follows social media. We do appreciate everybody who, you know, leaves a comment or, you know, follows the wherever they get their podcast from, you know, keep keep at it.

You know, we definitely do appreciate, you know, we do keep track of all the analytics that, you know, who is, you know, getting notifications and who is, you know, you know, watching or not watching, but listening to the episodes. So we do greatly appreciate it. You know, we're just trying to reach as many being on fans as we can. So you guys definitely pushing us out of the algorithm does help out quite a bit. We definitely do appreciate you. You can follow us. We really do.

Yes, you can follow the social medias at RuleTheJungle on Facebook, at RuleTheJungle9 on Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter at TyroneDNA54. Instagram is T-Ball54. And, of course, I have a Facebook as well. you. I know we've got an episode on Friday to discuss pre-game activities for Sunday. I'll just go ahead and put this out there. If you guys are in Cincinnati, stop by Lot 1, say hi to us. We will all be there at some point.

Maybe not, you know, real early, but we will all be there at some point. Say hi to the Rule of the Jungle crew there if you guys are in the area. Anthony, go ahead. And you can follow me at aanderson78 on X as well as on Instagram at anthonyanderson535 Well, it is all you. Wonderful.

You can follow me on Instagram at appleson756 and on Twitter slash X at william28818804 Again, that's at William28818804 With that being said It is with our distinct pleasure on behalf of Tyler, Will, and myself That we say Hootay, football is back And we are looking forward to Friday for the week one game.