Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Dodgers Win The World Series, Did Jets Save Their Season? Betting NFL Week 9

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Time today. What time is it? Game Time? Congratulations to the Dodgers winning their eighth World Series title. I think I'm very clever headline Walker Buehler's two days Off Ferris Bueller Walker Anyway, I love Dave robbers who deals Because of the Dodgers' payroll and their commitment to Betts and Freeman and Otani, it's like an all star team. There's a lot of pressure on Dave Roberts, and you know,

here's a guy with the Red Sox. Here's a guy you know, wins a World Series and then Dodgers as a manager, and I just think he's a classy guy who's taken a lot of shit and he did a great job, a masterful job of not only managing the team, but managing his resources. Now, I felt very strongly tonight that it was going to go back to La and the Dodgers were going to pitch, at least I thought

this in the eighth inning. They were gonna pitch Yamamoto and Walker Buehler, their two best pitchers at home, whereas the Yankees just expanded Garrett Cole so he's done for the series and they go on the road. But I really thought as much as the Dodgers won tonight, I thought the Yankees and I thought they were the inferior team. I thought they gave the game away and the fifth innings of the craziest thing I've ever seen. Over the course of ten minutes, Aaron Judge, with a five to

nothing lead, drops a routine fly ball. It was the kind of ball that you if you're playing catch with a friend. He drops a routine flyball. Then vulpay it short short hops a throw to third, and then Garrett Cole, who had a masterful one hundred and eight pitching performance, doesn't cover first space. It would be a you would think that was a bad spring training performance. You'd get chewed out after a spring training game. To be in a World Series game and have three miscues one after

the other is just insane. And then the game is tied, and then I felt like the Dodgers were play saying loose and with house money. I mean, at that point, I mean, you get down five nothing, You're like, okay, we're going back to La. We got Yamamoto Yamamoto, We've got Walker Bueller. This will be it for Garrett Cole. We have a pitching advantage, hitting advantage, home field advantage. They're not going to win four straight against us. That's what it felt like to me. And it's so all

bets are off. But God and Max Munsey, who was just great in the NLCS had a rough World series, Otani didn't hit, and Dave Roberts, you know, I mean, there are a lot of people that didn't want Max Munsey coming up, you know that final time. So you got Munsey's struggling, Otani's struggling. And remember Jack Flaherty, who the Dodgers got. There was a story last week, I think it was in the La Times where his velocity had come down. So you know, he he didn't look like,

you know, he had his best stuff. So after the bullpen lost yesterday, Flarerty struggling today, you're thinking, you know, to me, it was just like, okay, you're going home, Yama Moto Walker, Buller's stuff is nasty. You're in great shape. I've been taking notes for four hours. I got so

many notes. And then you know again the Yankees in the top of the eighth, you got back to back singles by Keith Hernandez and Tommy Edmond and then Will Smith walks you have no no outs in the bases loaded, and so you get and then there's a catcher's interference against the Yankees. So god, it's like the fifth and the eighth. It was just time after time the Yankees, you know. And you know, as I said before, I don't watch a ton of baseball in the regular season.

I mean, it's on in my house with the Dodgers. When I lived I worked at ESPN back East, I always had the Yankees of the Red Sox on. It was the Yes networker Nessen, I watch my local team, right. I kind of keep track because I used to work for the Podres, so I kind of keep track of

the Padres a little bit. But this was a game in which the Yankees just kept giving the Dodgers every break in the fifth inning and the eighth inning, and catchers interference and airs and free passes, and the Dodgers eventually, you know, took advantage of it. So, you know, it's interesting. Years and years ago, there's a coach, the late lout Olsen coach at Arizona. He had great teams in the

tournament and he just could not win a championship. And there was a lot of years they went in as a heavy favorite, lost in the first round, and then eventually they got this team with Miles Simon and a bunch of freshmen and a bunch of kids, and they won the national championship. And it's just so interesting. So many times with Dave Roberts and the Dodgers, you've got into the playoffs and you felt really strongly about them, and they just they kind of unravel and they have

a bad pitching performance this year. I mean, think about it. In this World Series, Otani dried up. Max Munsey, who was brilliant in the NLCS, dried up all of a sudden going into the World Series, flared these velocity dips. You've already used forty pitchers. You're going into a World Series, coming out of a NASH League divisional series, in a championship series where you had to have bullpen games. You're just managing resources of all the years to win it.

If you'd written down this script and said, yeah, oh Tony, it will just be brutal in a series, Max Munsey will dry up. I mean you'll have basically two starting pitchers. And Walker Bulder was kind of crossing your fingers because he's been hurt for a year and a half, two years. So God, that fifth inning, I think all five of those runs the Dodger scored, I think all five were unearned. Has that ever happened in a World Series game? Five

hundred runs. Well, it's just it's just crazy, and you know, it's you just never known these championships where they come from. And I thought it was interesting that the World Series came down to Garrett Cole being pulled, not singularly came down to but Garrett Cole being pulled in Game one, got a lot of heat, and then Garrett Cole not covering first kept that fifth inning going for the Dodgers.

So Garrett Cole, who was you know, they're the best pitcher in the series for either team I think ended up being so crucial. Probably pulled a little early at eighty eight pitches and the Dodgers, you know, had to go to their bullpen, and good luck against the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium with your bullpen. And then in this fifth inning, you know, he was, he was brilliant tonight, one hundred and eight pitches, but he didn't cover first base. I mean that just crazy to me. A guy that

zoned in doesn't cover first base. So I mean, the Dodgers aren't going anywhere. I mean, it's just so many, so many things went wrong physically for the Dodgers. I mean, Otani's shoulders collarbone. I mean, what are the chances of that on a slide to second base. You're looking at any you're thinking there's no collision. All of a sudden he grabs his shoulder and you're like, you gotta be kidding me. The timing's terrible. Ends up. They didn't need him, So it's easy. I find it's easy to root for

the Dodgers. I think it's a really classy organization from research and developed. They don't miss on trades. You know, when they call guys up, they deliver. It's just it's just, you know, Kershaw to Otani to Betts, to Freddie Freeman's story, to Dave Roberts, to the late Vince Scully and now Joe Davis. You're just it's class personified as an organization.

And you can blame Aaron Boone and you can blame the defense in the fifth inning, But I mean, if you really looked at what was happening, if the Dodgers would have not come back in the fifth inning, you were going to la to face the Dodgers best to pitchers, and at some point Otani was going to get a

big hit. I mean, Aaron Judge, finally, Aaron Judge tonight roared back, I mean really roared back tonight, and despite what happened in the World Series, the Dodgers three years ago set their sights on Otani and what a signific an upgrade for him personally, because you know, when you get these star players, it always reminds me to a lesser version of like Joe Mauer with the Twins or a Joey Vado with a Cincinnati Reds, where you just can't you pay him and you can't surround him with

elite players, and the Angels couldn't really do that. But with the Dodgers, you can have him cleanup, you can beat him third fourth, You're gonna have Mooky Betts and Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, you know, and tremendous players all around him. He's gonna usually get better pictures. And it's just I mean, for him to be as as

classy as he was. I mean, this season started with that you know, gambling story, which could have derailed the franchise, derailed his career, and he was just poised, under control, beloved in the locker room, fit right in and it feels like they're just certain players. I mean, it's like Aaron Judge needs to be a Yankee, right, like Otani

really needs to be a Dodger. It's nothing against the Angels, but you know, they're just the Dodgers have more resources and the Yankees have more resources, and there's just a handful of teams that can surround these great players with better players so they get better pitches. And I just I just thought think of how the season started pretty bumpy for Otani and it ended pretty bumpy. But let's not forget what he produced. For a majority ninety five

percent of this season. He was the best player by a lot, and that's saying something. On a team with Bets and Freeman and Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper and the amazing players in Major League Baseball, Otani, by a long shot fifty to fifty club was the best player in baseball. I like how it ends for him and the Dodgers. So great players eventually have their moment on

a stage like this. The congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers in what was one of the weirdest, most bizarro World Series games I've ever seen, and a pretty quick series where a stack roster despite all the injuries, one Hi everybody and welcome in. In about ten minutes, we'll have Chad Millman, which we do sharper square where I give him about seven or eight of my picks and

he chews him up and spits him out. And I'm taking more and more favorites these days, as I think, you do get to a point in the season where the better teams separate, the better coaches separate. Everybody gets banged up. It's a war of attrition at this point. You see all these players dropping. Sometimes DeVante Adams, the player goes out, comes back in. He did had a touchdown. So the Jets beat the Texans twenty one to thirteen on Hallowing. The Jets dressed up as a pretty good

football team. Aaron Rodgers I thought played especially, you know, in the second half. I thought he played pretty well. I've seen that so many times this year where a quarterback brought purtty against the Cowboys Russell Wilson a couple of times Aaron Rodgers tonight, where it just they just can't get it right in the first half and then they just they get warmed up. And I thought Aaron played a really good second half. You know, when you

have Bresol. When you have Devonte Adams, when you have Garrett Wilson, you know, those are real weapons, you know, if you can get decent protection. Aaron had a nice run tonight. It got called back because of a holding on the rookie from Penn State, but that was a really nice run. He had two hundred and eleven yards, twenty two to thirty two, three tds, no picks. I like the Jets tonight. It was one of my stronger plays. It would have been my first or second strongest play

if it was on Sunday. And I think the you know the reality of this game. It was a really bad spot for a beat up Texans team that can't protect CJ. Stroud. So the Jets had eight sacks tonight, which is about double what teams have beginning against Houston. But they're you know, they're down to Tank Dell and a bunch of third and fourth level receivers. So it was a good spot for the Jets. And what's interesting for the Jets and this is why this win matters.

So yeah, two of their wins a short week at home Patriots and Texans. But now think about this, it's an advantage because the Jets are not going to win a division. We know the Bills are going to win the division. The Ravens will eventually win their division, The Chiefs will win their division, Colts, Texans will go back

and forth. But this is key the teams. The Jets only hope to get into the playoffs is as a wild card team, and right now, unless they go on a losing streak, Pittsburgh looks like it will be one of those wild card teams. But there's two other wild card spots. And the good news is the Jags could be one of those teams the Jets play them. The Colts could be one of those teams. Jets host them in a couple of weeks. The Texans could be one

of those teams. The Jets just beat them. So it looks like to me, the three playoff teams in the AFC we know are Bills, Ravens will make it. They're just too good unless Lamar got hurt, and the Chiefs, and then you're going to be battling the Colts, the Jags, the Texans, the Chargers, the Steelers for three wildcard spots. And you've already got a w over the Texans and you get the Colts at home. You also get the advantage when you play on Thursday night, you get four

days extra rest against your next opponent, that's Arizona. So they'll have to travel out to the desert in Arizona, but you got extra rest. Arizona plays a very physical Chicago Bears team, a really good defense for the Chicago Bears off a humiliating loss, so I'm sure the Bears, you know, that's gonna be a physical game against Arizona. You're going to be more rested, more prepared. With a veteran quarterback and Aaron Rodgers coming off a very good outing.

The more he plays with the Vonte Adams, the vetter, it's gonna work. So they've got the pieces. I don't think they're a brilliantly coached team, but I've said this before. There's three really good teams in the AFC. Then you know it's pretty mushy in the wild card race. Miami's not as good as we thought. Chargers just they have very limited firepower unless they make a trade at the deadline, the Chargers are going to be in a bunch of close games. If they played the Jets tomorrow, it would

be a close game. I mean, the Chargers just can't. They can't beat anybody badly. They don't have any playmakers. Lad McConkie, the rookie is like a two. He's twitchy and clever, but he's not a burner. He's not an over the top guy. Doesn't have huge separation in the NFL. So,

I mean, it's what do I think about the Jets? Well, they ran for about one hundred yards tonight, Aaron was comfortable, Aaron had time to throw, and the schedule works out extra rest for Arizona, Colt Seattle at home, Rams later at home. I mean, only one team the Jets played the rest of the way right now has a winning record, the Buffalo Bills, and they're not one of the divisions, so they don't have to worry about Buffalo. So it's all right in front of you. Listen. I like CJ. Stroud,

but he's down to second and third tier receivers. They can't protect him. Joe Mixon's a hell of a player. That was his number one weapon tonight, But Jets went twenty one to thirteen. And you know I was thinking about this. I was talking to Jmack on the phone tonight. He was out with his kids doing Halloween. So I live in a place without a lot of kids coming up. So I went out for a walk and saw the

kids in the neighborhood out having a good time. But when I came back, I was talking to Jmac and you know, New York has just had a really rough stretch for a decade in sports. I mean, the Yankees, it really wasn't competitive against the Dodgers. It really wasn't They won a single game. Both the Padres and the Mets matched up better against the Dodgers than the Yankees did. The Yankees won one game, and it was a bullpen game by the Dodgers. They went zero two in the

games in which Garrett Cole pitched. They're just they're just you know again, they beat they can beat the Guardians, but the Yankees, they just don't match up to the Dodgers, and the Dodgers were beat up. They'll be a significantly better and healthier team next year. The Giants and the Jets, at least one of them has Aaron Rodgers and quinnin Williams. You know, the Knicks for a nice story, but I don't think they're in the class of the Celtics. So

it's it's been rough. I mean, it's it's you know, the Mets have a rich owner and Francisco li Indoor is a remarkable player, but they have good players and one great player, So I mean they people. You know, you think to yourself, God, why does anybody care about the Jets if you're in New York. I mean because of the Vonte Adams and Garrett Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. You know, they have their moments and like in the second half tonight, they have their moments where they look competitive.

So you know, here's the good news for New York Colts, Jags, Texans, all these teams that they can make up ground and if they beat him head to head in the wild card race and the AFC, I don't think they're going to get there. I'll still stand by my prediction. I think they're an eight or nine win team. But I do think DeVante Adams like tonight in that second half, and you can see the more he and Aaron play together. And what I really liked about Aaron tonight is he

was really into it. He was really into it. He had good energy in the second half. He was pumping his fist. He was fired up. And that's what you worry about with Aaron. He can be a very moody guy. And I've said he I had an NFL coach tell him a pretty famous NFL coach once say he's just Jay Cuttler with talent, is that he's kind of a moody, prickly, difficult guy. The difference Aaron can really when he has time to throw, really can spin it. And tonight he

was in a groove. He had great energy, He played inspired and it was fun to watch. The first ALB wasn't fun, but twenty one to thirteen Jets win, and it's something. Eight sacks ran the ball effectively. Aaron had a good night. Now you have extra prep time against the Arizona Cardinals. I love this time in the NFL season because it does feel like the games get a little bit easier to predict, just because it's statistically defenses get hurt more than offenses, and you know, so you

get a separation. Now you get some finger pointing in the bad locker rooms. The quarterbacks and the best coaches feel like they separate. I don't think the Jets have one of the better coach teams. But I do think offensively, and that's what this lead. Nobody's stopping anybody defensively. I still think the Jets miss Robert Saw on that end. But offensively, you got to be able to score. And you start looking at the Jets pieces. If Aaron's healthy,

it's something. It's not that it's better than the Giants. I mean, there's there are a lot of teams in worse shape than Aaron Rodgers, Breese Hall, a decent backup, Alan the kid from Wisconsin, Garrett Wilson, and Davonte Adams. There are a lot of teams in much worse shape than that. And and this point forward the offenses winning this league. I mean, you go look at January and February the last three or four years. It's the offenses

that separate. Nobody's stopping anybody late. Everybody's all thanked up on that side of the ball. Listen, don't bail on CJ. Stroud. His last three games, he has a seventy six passer rating. You're dealing with second tier wide receivers and there's no protection.

And this is like it's like Sam Donald. You look at him with the Jets and you're like he's terrible, and then you're like, oh, he goes to Minnesota and he has a good coach, and he has good protection, and he has weapons and got sam Donald's pretty good. It's amazing how it looks. You go watch broad without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo, Samuel's banged up, and you're like, ah, what is he? Well, you know, all of a sudden

second half last week, he's moving. You know, you watch Brock pretty now as Jennings gets healthy and McCaffrey comes back, you're gonna look at him and go, oh, he's pretty Folks. There's like one or two guys in this league. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes are about it where it doesn't really matter who's healthy and who's not. That's about it. CJ. Stroud. He hasn't reached his peak yet. He'll probably reaches his

he'll go into his prime after next season. This is year two, next year, year three, year four to year nine to ten, six years prime, won't have many surgeries at that point. Still fresh now knows the game, knows the coverages. He hadn't even reached this prime yet. So you got like second and third tier receivers, terrible protection, and it's a defensive head coach, so you know he's got a coordinator. But if that coordinator leaves, that's not ideal.

Bobby Slowick. So you know, I just there's three guys in the world that it doesn't really matter. They're just going to be wildly productive. Mahomes al Lamar. For guys like c J. Stroud, he's closer to a Sam Donald. I think he's a better thrower with the football than Sam Darnold, and he's a better athlete and a bigger, stronger version of rock Perty. But in the end, there's the three greats and then a lot of these guys. It's just circumstantial, and he'll be fine when they get

Nico Collins back. Nico Collins is uncoverable and they get their offensive line straightened out. But don't sell any stock. We've seen this kid when he has support and he's really good. Everybody in this league. You know, Baker Mayfield has Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He's pretty good, and they get hurt. He's not as good. He just lost to Atlanta. That's the way it works. For ninety percent of the quarterbacks in this league. There's your favorite NBA

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going into the season. They had just I thought they adjusted really well at halftime tonight they were really struggling stopping Dallas in the first half. Dallas was getting a push and then they kind of exploded in the third quarter. I do not trust this Niner pass rusher team Laighton games. They've been burned late in games. I thought brought pretty

really struggled low off target early. I thought later in the second half to gain confidence, he used his legs a little bit, started moving, kind of gain confidence, hit on some nice throws. Kittle had a great night. You know, I think there's a difference between Dallas and San Francisco. I think San Francisco is a good team that is just physically like the Rams in the first month, just beat up. They just don't have enough good players. I think Dallas is a bad team that actually played pretty

well tonight. They got to break when the couple of Niners banged into each other and Ceedee Lamb got a you know, wide open touchdown. And I've been saying this for a while. Dallas almost if you're a cowboy fant and I You're like, wow, we made it competitive at the end. I think they got to take a swing. John. I think they have to do something in the offseason. I think they have to sell some pieces, get two high draft picks. I don't see the way out for Dallas.

Dak is ordinary. They're paying him a fortune, They're locked into him. If Ceedee Lamb twisted his ankle. They don't have a guy on this offensive roster that you would be forced to roll coverage over. I think it's despite the score tonight. I think it's grimmer for Dallas than people think, especially with Washington now like looking like the next decade they're gonna be locked in with Jade Daniels.

in a row, twice in the playoffs. They molly wopped him last year on Sunday Night Football, and they were up in this game twenty seven to ten, missing a lot of guys. This matchup, which is one of the biggest matchups of my life in terms of brands in the history is currently Kyle Shanahan, who's you know for a young guy who's been coaching in the NFL for twenty years and his dad is one of the most famous offensive coaches of all time, so he's been around

football's whole life. And John Lynch, who currently last year or two years ago just went into the Hall of Fame. That's the forty nine ers brass building this team against an eighty plus year old Jerry Jones. It just it was like, this is not really a fair fight because it's not like they both hit on some high end players Micah cd nick Bosa, Right, I mean they've both hit on trade for Trent Williams paying a bunch of money. But the forty nine Ers team is littered with guys

in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. That Isaac Garrendo is a fourth round rookie running back and boom, plug and play. What's the whole thing?

But that he tried to strike oil on that one, and sometimes he does that, and you're not gonna strike oil Jerry, like you're gonna take Kyle who are you bidding against?

Howie's intelligence. So from a football standpoint in that conference doesn't have the high end quarterbacks of the Mahomes, Alan Lamar, Burrow Herbert, but it does have very very high level front office and football guys, coach and GM combos that I would say and have built very very good teams. Because you watch the Cowboys, they got injuries. Like you said, how many guys are on the sideline for the Niners. Hell, halfway through the game, Deebo's got a seventeenth injury of

the season and he's in the blue ten. Didn't even matter to me that score, Like, don't get me wrong, I mean it was you're on the edge of your seat those last couple of minutes not really indicative what we witnessed when the Niners really put a pedal to the medal there and when the game mattered.

John Lynch is whiffed on some guys. I mean, you know, he's taken swings and missed on guys. That wide receiver from fm U, he was a second or third round pick, Gray Terrible. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so yeah. I mean less Snead and McVeigh missed on Logan Brouss, the second round guard, who's just a perennial backup second round guard to two at well, you know he'll be gone here soon. So I mean, it's okay to miss people miss all the time.

Pete Carroll had hits, he had misses. I mean, he had Rashad Penny in the first round as a running back that never panned out really so, but it's just I just feel San Francisco also the advantage that San Francisco has they're they're better at drafting, but they also have a coach that has a certain style, so stylistically, there are things you can draft that almost always work

with Shanahan, like running backs, slot receivers. It's they almost always work because you know, it's like they're like with Andy Reid. I mean, they've missed on some wide receivers, which by the way, is the hardest position to draft in the first round in the NFL, because I mean, for a lot of reasons. A lot of times you get a mature quarterback. He's just not patient. He just doesn't want to wait for some kid to figure out the routes. They don't trust him. That was Brady in New England.

was nine to nothing at half. Chicago had thirty three yards passing in the first half. I thought the game was over. But Chicago, you know, their defense, you know, kind of kept him in the game. And then Washington's offense stalled. But I got us John the third and goal where the Bears did the fridge perry. The following drive on a third down to win the game, they did a draw, essentially putting in the hands. The whole game came down one play, Thank god, Keenan Allen. It

was past interference. I didn't get that. I mean, they made no attempt. It felt like the third down was just setting up fourth down and they had to have a touchdown to take a lead. So I just couldn't stand Chicago's offensive coaching. And I know it to Hail Mary, but my take was Washington was a better team.

it's sports. Crazy things happen. But there haven't been many games this season where a team would have came away with a victory that was like, oh you didn't. You didn't even come close to call the play to a backup offensive lineman. On like I was one years old with the refrigerator Perry plays, but he did it a lot right. It was part of their arsenal. They weren't a good obviously Walter Payton, but they weren't some dynamic offense you got, you drafted the receiver nine. You got

Keenan Allen, you got DJ Moore. Your running backs are the reason you're in the game. Yes, I mean if it wasn't for Swifts whatever, huge run, oh hugely, it wouldn't even have been close. It was like that gave them life because they had none none, They had none to give them that play, even they ended up taking the lead with twenty seconds left. That's I think that has to go down as the most egregious play call

of the season. Second would probably be that remember that fake play the Bills ran, I think against the Ravens when they were storing that. But that was way worse to get backup offensive lineman. I mean, it's not even you can't even blame him. Belichick would say, it's not on the player, it's on the coach. Yeah, you can't call you can't put that guy in that position.

are off. Sewan's like, hey, the kid's great. We're gonna get a cleaned up three touchdowns, no picks, two hundred eighty yards, nine different white receiver's tight end targets, only one penalty. When I was watching the game. There may have been more, but when I wrote it down, only one penalty. They were tremendous on third down. Nor Carolina, I get it. Denver was picked to went five games by Vegas. They're at five and three halfway through the season.

They are coaching the you know what out of this team, John, This is the same defensive personnel. Remember, because of Russell Wilson, they didn't have any draft picks. They got the LS kid out of Utah. I think third round. They got Franklin the wide receiver who dropped the ball right through his hands today a deep ball. And I don't even think bon Nix would be this good, and he struggled

in the first month, but I watched him today. Backfoot confidence this If you think we're being hard On Zach Taylor. Denver is squeezing every ounce of juice. You tell me how they're generating this pass rush. You tell me how bo Nix is thrown for three hundred yards behind kind of an okay offensive line. I watched Denver and I think that is coaching. That is That's what I see.

you have to google some of the guys on the team. Yeah, this is not Neil Smith and Bill Romanowski that you're like, oh, these I don't even know who these guys are, and now we're gonna find out a lot more about him. On Thursday night playing that New Orleans team a week ago, I mean, that was kind of a joke squad. And I didn't even think bo Nickx was that good in that game. The Ravens and the Chiefs coming up, but hell,

they don't have to win those games. If you get to nine to eight with this roster and a rookie quarterback, what a great building spot. Now, this is the thing with hiring good coaches, Like look at Lafloor. He's six and two of his starting quarterback in and out of the lineup, completely unfaced. You're gonna look up, I don't know how many games Jordan Love who knows how long he's out. They're gonna be an eleven twelve win team no matter what. The power of that position in this

sport flies by everything else. Is it Aaron Boone's fault that Aaron Judge has no clue what's coming out of the pitcher's hands. There's nothing he can do where in coaching you watch in college last night, Texas A and M has been one of the biggest jokes in college football the last couple of years, and you watch him now you're like, holy hell, this looks like Alabama or something. It's because it's not even just about the play calling.

It's about the messaging. It's about the structure, it's about the discipline. It's about basic things like you know, how you practice the first ten minutes of warm ups? What is okay, and what is not okay? If you come out with the wrong stuff, do I make you go back in and change or do I let it slide? And I think you just see the separating. You see, the Jets are a good example. They got no clue what they're doing. It's one of the worst coaching staffs

in the league, is the staff. And then you look. I think Denver and the Chargers are very very good examples. Have no business. You could say the Chargers a little bit because they do have a good quarterback, you know, an experienced quarterback to win ten games with their roster. If I give half the coaches in the NFL, those teams, they don't sniff ten wins, right, But I give Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton, and what do they make a

combined thirty five million dollars? They make it for a reason because you're gonna feel pretty good about them winning double digit games every year going forward. And the other thing that we don't talk a lot about with coaches, who do you hire your staff? It's one of the Harbaugh families great attributes. I would say Sean Payton, for the most part, has always had good coaching staffs.

today You're like, now again, it's Carolina. But I'm seeing this time and time again when they beat the Jets, we thought it was a fluke. No, Denver is better with Bonnicks. They're a better football team than the Jets with Aaron Rodgers, and the Jets have significantly better players overall. Nope, not even close. And so I'm just watching Denver today and I'm like, this is like and I text Peyton a couple of times, like this is what a well

coached team looks like. They should have beaten Carolina badly. They did. They should have beaten New Orleans badly. They did, But they're also winning this. That Jets game you look at and you think, God, it was terrible. Weather had no There's no reason in the world bo Nicks goes and plays cross country if I recall their travel was bad, and beats Aaron Rodgers in a like a semi tropical storm.

Peyton won't get Coach of the Year, but he should be honorable mention because I think what he's doing with this roster is incredible. Time for an end edition of Sharper Square with Chad Millman, the co host of the Favorites. All odds provided by Draft Kings. I felt pretty good about my picks, I said in week six or seven, I start to just go with quarterbacks. I think defenses get statistically more beat up, more injured. Quarterbacks are even

more important. Teams and locker rooms move off players more finger pointing. The better cultures win, the better coaches win, the better quarterbacks win. So there's a couple of big favorites. I like this weekend, and I don't normally do that. Let's go to the underdogs though, Dolphins plus six at the Bills. I like Miami. Okay, so this has been a series dominated by Buffalo, no question, but they've played very good. They're really feeling themselves. They travel cross country.

Now it's back Miami. Two is the first game back off of concussion. They actually controlled that game, led by ten and the fourth Usually quarterbacks off concussions don't play great in the first week, second week, third week, fourth week. You see improvement division rival game. Really like Miami plus the point sharper square.

because they've been playing so well. I will tell you, I'll give you the other side of that argument, because I've bet Buffalo at minus six, I will be against the wise guys. I might be against you two. I want to give everybody the opportunity to hear both sides. Tua is terrible against teams that are good that are on the road, okay, two and ten straight up, three eight to one against the spread, away from home versus

winning teams in his NFL career with the Dolphins. Also, the Bills offense has been top three in the league across the majority of metrics, superficial, advanced metrics, whatever you want to do. When it comes to rushing the ball, the Dolphins are a terrible tackling team. So from a matchup perspective and a history perspective, I think the Bills have an advantage. But the wise guys, they like what they saw. They feel like Tua the second game back

after the concussion, he's going to be better. They feel like this Buffalo team it's a little bit too high because of how well the Bills had been playing. So why guys are with you, Colin? But I'm not okay?

like their fight Chicago. If you start looking at Chicago, they unraveled last week. They really did. They were lucky to be in a position to lose by Hail Mary. Arizona's a good home team. Eber Flu's awful on the road. Arizona minus one and a half. Sharper square.

at rushing the passer, and they're really good in coverage. Now, the challenge for the Bears Is Montes Sweat didn't practice on Wednesday. Has an injured shin. We don't know what his status will be. They're ten and five with Montes Sweat since he joined the team. Okay, Number one, that's really good for pass rush. Number two Braxton Jones, they're left tackle. He probably isn't going to play. Did not practice this week. They were terrible when he left the

game last week. Caleb was running for his life and then they got worse when Braxton Jones backup came in. And Braxton Jones backup is not going to be playing this week. So they're scraping the bottom of the barrel there. But here's what's interesting about Kyler. Kyler is great in the chaos and what the Bears would create and what their strength is is creating chaos for quarterbacks because they are so good at rushing the pasture and so good

in coverage. So kyler strengths actually plays to the Bear strength, which is another reason why the wise guys aren't quite looking to rush to bet this game. And like you, eberflus Man, and I can't imagine you don't have a theory on this, but as a Bears fan, why draft Caleb Williams and then keep a coach who's a defensive coach who if he doesn't do well this year, you know you're going to get rid of. Then you're going to bring in a new coach, and you've basically wasted

a year and created bad habits for Caleb Williams. Right, So now all of a sudden, Eberflus is basically throwing his team under the bus, saying, we practiced this play the Hail Mary every single week. I don't know why the guys didn't do it right. That hasn't sat well, So people don't know what they're going to get with the Bears this week.

think Washington's a really good team. I think they're for real. I think now Jaden Daniels is healthier. I didn't feel he was at one hundred percent last weekend. I would take Washington minus four. I know it's a division rivalry game. Sharper Square.

stabilizing that line. And now Tyrone Tracy, who has really been an offensive weapon out of the backfield for them, the running back out of Purdue, he had a concussion. Not likely to play. You're right about Daniel Jones. I think it's only a matter of time before they give him the hook because they owe him, you know, twenty three million dollars if he gets injured next season. So I think pretty soon this experiment with Danny Dimes is going to end.

coach and a quarterback mismatch. They are now healthier and like the Packers offensively, the Rams defensively are crazy young young teams grow. They become better and better every few weeks. The Packers offense just getting better every two games. This Rams defense is high draft picks, hungry, no stars, fast, young, and collectively very good. I think the Rams put away the Seahawks or Sharper Square.

You've said this before, Sean McVay. For all the bells and whistles, all the motion on this team, he likes to run the ball. And Kyen Williams has been a top five running back in the NFL the past season in the half and he has been amazing since this season began, especially against team like Seattle, which are bottom third in all the rushing stats that matter. They're total rushing yards, yards per carry EPA per rush like, they are not a very good rush defense. They're still a

team that's developing its talent. Hookah's back. He's a great run blocker. You saw that last week. He's just so freaking big. Cooper cup back Stafford is great in these situations. He's a quarterback. At the end of the day, Like you've said, there are quarterbacks that you just don't want to bet against. And sometimes I make my decisions about who I want to bet on based on how uncomfortable am I going to be If I am betting the other side, and this quarterback has the ball in the

last two minutes. Matthew Stafford's top five on that list. So you and I brother, if it's in the blazon, you're going to be in a foxhill. I'm going to be in the foxhole. Will be in it together.

to redeem themselves before they get into division play. I think this is a good spot for them. I think they have a quarterback advantage. I think both coaches are really good, but in this spot with a quarterback change, I think Minnesota has to get right. There's real urgency here before they get to the Green Bays, the Detroit's, the Chicago's in their schedule. I would take the Vikings minus five Sharper square.

a very good way to judge developing quarterback. And there's been a lot of great analysis this week about if you analyze each one of his throws, he's making the choices that are the lower percentage throw but the higher ROI if they're completed versus eight yard outs that won't get you the first down, or twenty yard outs that will get you the first down, And so there's decisions being made there. And Shane Stiken, I'm a huge fan

as a coach. The wise guys are on this game because when it became Flacco, they sort of felt a little bit more comfortable that he can manage the Brian Flores defense and anything this guy throws at him. And don't forget the Colts have an elite rushing game. And we talked about this last week. It's why I like the Colts against the Texans last week. If you have a really good coach who's a good play caller, and you have an elite unit, and you're a decent sized underdog,

I'm going to make that play. And that game played out exactly as we expected it to play out with the Colts. They dominated on the ground right and they had so that Jonathan Taylor had more than one hundred yards rushing in his first game back. They ran six point two yards per carry. Like they will rely on the running game. They'll find ways to potentially keep this game close. So feels a little bit trappy to beout the Vikings. It's not going to be a game that I'm invested in it all.

and Mahomes and Josh Allen might, Herbert might. Bo Nicks isn't. That's not how they're built. He's not a big deep ball thrower. He's more agile, mobile underneath. Ravens weakness is not going to be exploited by Denver. This is a tough spot. Ravens off a loss again. Baltimore on most Sundays the last two years has been the knockout artist in this league, blasting teams at home, not beating them, blasting Niners Miami like Detroit. This is a number, all

swallow Ravens nine and a half. I know I am as square as a lego.

like their front four is phenomenal. But you can also look at it and say they've played not very good teams. They've had a relatively easy schedule, weaker quarterbacks, weaker quarterbacks. Right, you can look at you can look at the Ravens and say, okay, they should be dominating, but they laid every they let every team back into it. And look at what Jamis did last week. Look at what Jaden Daniels. The Ravens were up by ten, they spread with seven

and a half. The Commanders lost that game by seven because the Ravens let Jaden Daniels get back into it. We've seen it week after week after week. The Ravens give up seventeen point three points per game in the second half this year. That is the worst in the NFL. Only the Titans are at thirty one. It's like those two and last week they were tied, and so the Ravens number got worse this week, and the Titans number, after giving fifty two points got better. That's how bad

the Ravens back end has been. If you watched that game last week. Ross Talker, who's a great broadcaster and really good podcaster. He talked about like you look on film and every single week this Ravens defense the back end, they look confused and they're communicating and trying to get it right while the play is being called and while the ball is being snapped. So it's a huge gamble literally to take the Ravens at this big and number. You gotta believe that Bonnicks won't be able to go

over the top in the same way. And you know Sean Payton is going to have him sling it like he's he's playing him like he's a fourth year pro. So it's risky, but the wise guys are on it. If you want to be on it, I can't walk you off.

like Dallas. Every part of my being loves Atlanta minus two and a half three, every part. But Atlanta is off a very very competitive divisional game, highly emotional game, and I can see that coming back down the earth. I can see Dallas. Remember, Atlanta offers no pressure. Guys like Dak and Gino Smith with time to throw are usually really effective. So my gut feeling is Atlanta's the side. I picked Atlanta to be the number one seed in

the NFC with twelve to thirteen wins. I love them, but something tells me Dallas is the side here.

thrown against the Buccaneers and the Panthers. Yeah, that's how he's made had such a good year, and like he's played, honest to guy, He's throwing like eight touchdowns and thrown for eight hundred yards against the Buccaneers, and so you look at those numbers, you're like, oh my god, he's maybe he finally Kyle Pitts look like what everyone has been drooling about from a fantasy point of view for

the past three or four years. But against regular teams, they're generally mediocre, and so the question becomes, especially against teams that can cover and they can rush the passer. So the question you have to ask yourself is is Micah Parsons gonna play? Because without Micah Parsons, the Cowboys can't rush the passer. That is, you know, part of the phrase and Achilles heel for Kirk Cousins. He's not very good against coverage right now. Is Deron Bland going

to play? He practiced this week the Cowboys cornerback. If so, the Cowboys are much much better in coverage. Dak Prescott is basically a mal Santa at this point. Like he does not move inside the pocket, right he just sits for four hours. The guy's just sitting there giving away gift to Cede Lamb. If he is able to do that against a team like the Falcons that can't get any pressure, then yeah, he's gonna slice him up. Have no running game. They can't stop their run. It is

so ugly, it will be so uncomfortable. Everything about these teams says fraud. So you're really just deciding I'm betting on the underdog as a fraud.

your value? Or are you getting out at the peak. Let's break down the Ravens and the Chargers as competition for Jamis. Let's break down Jamis as he played the Ravens last week. He was great, sliced him up. Also had a fumble at the end of the first half that put the Ravens in position to score the goal ahead touchdown. Instead of being down six three, they're up ten to six. The play before he threw that dime to Cedric Tilman to win the game for the Ravens,

he threw a gimme interception to Kyle Hamilton. The Kyle Hamilton dropped and there were three of those in that game, right, So now you go look at the Chargers. The Chargers have an elite run defense, they have a great playmaker and Justin Herbert, who doesn't turn the ball over, you know they are going to run the ball. Is Jamis Winston going to get away with the same mistakes. That

is my concern in betting on the Browns. The wise guys are betting that Jamis will continue to find a way to be Jamis, and that because this offensive line is getting healthier, because this defense is getting healthier, because the game is in Cleveland, there's an upswing, there's still momentum. I'm not buying it. So if you want to pass on it, I get it. If you want to take the Chargers. I get it. The Charger's number is getting lower. It's a little trappy to take sort of the road

dog and the road favorite in this spot. So it's not a huge play for me, but I will bet the Chargers.

elite schemer. He has been amazing this season, att with fluor seventy percent against the spread when he is an underdog, and by the way, when he's an underdog of three or more points eighteen and four. You got Jared Goff who has a bocky ankle. You've got Jared Goff playing outdoors. You've got the Lions at peak value. Right now, You've got the Lions going against a Packers offensive line that is a fantastic past blocking unit. And this will be the first time we really see the impact of not

having Aiden Hutchinson to rush the passer. And by the way, lake willis what has he done badly to not give us confidence? He Matt with floor understands what he is getting into with that quarterback. This is a smash the smash spot for the Packers. I love the Packers here.

At one point in the second half, they're going in running for the touchdown and the guy doesn't dive at the two, and I thought, well, okay, the experts, that's right.

It was a lucky, lucky win. But then you got to look at the Colts against the Texans and either I got lucky, we got we got either we got really lucky with the Colts because the Texans were going to the very least kick a field goal late in the game. If Joe Mixon and C. J. Shroud don't botch the snap, don't botch the handoff, and the Colts recover and then you know they can go down and

do their thing, or the game ends at three. It wasn't going to go like that, but everything that lead led up to that made it feel like a great handicap. Everything with Jacksonville felt like a bad handicap, and we just got lucky in the end. But you sort of have to say to yourself, did I get lucky in both games? Or were both games a great handicap? So I'm going with they were genius ideas and I am hoping the same thing happens with the Packers.