Hello, and welcome to Waken Jake Myself, Jake's Story, Ellie Big Baby, David Producing, and special guest Justin Pennock. As we enter arguably the best weekend of football of the year, which some people say about last weekend, and I think we're gonna let's pivot bust that myth kind of quickly because the wild card kind of let us down again. We are gonna cover a lot. We are gonna give you quarterback rankings remaining we will cover. Panic's pretty hot
about the playoff format. He needs to get that off his chest because he's not pleased there and obviously previewing the big games of the weekend, not a lot of baseball. I guess, Justin Pennick, one minute to get your baseball thoughts out.
One minute to get my baseball thoughts out. I want the Yankees to continue to get better, and if Luise Arias is gonna help that, then let's go get Luis Arias and get a first baseman.
Got Goldman. I've got good news for you, Pennick, And now it's done. Hey, Pennick, how are you? How are you feeling with football? I guess maybe this might be the spot for you to get off you're not too pleased with what's going on with football.
It's not even a playoff format thing, because I like more games. I like teams getting to the playoffs and stuff like that. I don't really have like a big problem with the format, but like, I'll get it off my chest, like this weekend sucked and like to get excited, especially for somebody who like myself, like I'm trying to work and I'm trying to find stuff to talk about,
and like, look at this cool thing. There wasn't that like cool thing that kind of happened this weekend that everybody's talking about and everybody's buzzing about besides something at football and something I kind of saved the wild Card weekend and then you have that straggler game on a
Monday now. So I wasn't thrilled with the entertainment quality and the product that the NFL kind of put out because really, like I I am the one to typically say Wildcard Weekend one of the best weekends in sports, and it was not that, And I was disappointed.
Yeah, I wonder how much of it is year to year, how much of it is how the matchups landed this year. I wonder, you know, as this plays out over time, just because I feel like the elite in football this year and the elite are left. I mean, who's your elite team that's out?
Don't know the the team that is not elite that's left, the Houston third and Long.
Texans because I'm not saying I'm buying Texans stock cover. No, we'll get there, We'll get there, I guess for me, Detroit is a wagon. Detroit is a wagon, Philadelphia is a wagon, and Baltimore is a wagon. Buffalo's a wagon, and the Chiefs are away. They are they win the Chiefs imitation, you have five teams that are at another level than everyone else with two buys, that means you're going to have three teams playing not against each other,
that are wagons. So that formula and those teams are ninety five percent of the chance going to be at home. And there's also another percentage percentage points that it just doesn't matter because they're such better football teams that Yeah, that's part of the wildcard formula that's just not working for me right now that I don't I mean, they're not going to get rid of it, so I'm they're not really sure of the answer.
Because that's the thing where there are certain times where I watch the NFL and even when it's a close game, and I'm not I'm not talking about well justin you just want a close game. Like I looked at that, even that Monday night matchup against the Rams and the Vikings, I didn't necessarily look at it as the Vikings were
just a bad team. I looked at as the Rams just kind of kicked their ass, right, And even when the Lions played the Vite it's kind of crazy the Lions played the Vikings, you know, the last week of the season. I'm like, oh, this is just a a good team playing another good team and just playing better, not necessarily that it's a bad game. But there are times, even in close games where it's like, oh my god, this this is not an this is not an entertaining watch just because it's close.
So I don't know.
That's I think the NFL. I would like the NFL to think about the quality of product that they're putting out there at times, but they don't have to. Since twenty million, thirty million people are gonna watch every game that's on prime time. More people are gonna watch. More people are gonna gamble on it. The NFL is gonna make more money than it's ever gonna make, and uh, there's no need to change. If more people are gonna.
Watch, yeah, they're they're not gonna adjust. I remember when the Thursday night games started happening and they had a few duds and people are like, oh, well people watch, we watch, yeah, no matter what. And that's kind of what happens. I mean, the holiday schedule this year was bananas, yeah, and everyone tuned in.
You're asking teams to play and that that's the type of stuff that you're gonna get in. You know now with teams don't practice as much as they used to, so you're gonna get in there to and there's like there's no time to prepare, there's no time to like, all right, we're gonna adjust to this opponent. That doesn't happen, especially on the shorter schedule stuff. But it's postseason. I'm excited for this weekend. Make up for it.
I think what America needs to do. And my guy Ryan Rosillo mentions it, sometimes football we just have this weird I think in other sports, if a game is bad, like we have the mental capability to just be like, oh, I don't it's a ten to nothing baseball game, I'm gonna click away, or this basketball game bla blah. Football. For some reason, it's tougher to do that. And I don't know if it's the fantasy aspect.
I think it's betting also, because it's like, sure I need Tucker Craft to get a twenty yard reception because I was I was doing that, you know, a couple of days ago.
Yeah, there's just there's a little bit of paralysis that kicks in and it's like, well, I'm already awake, like keep watching. Okay, I'm glad that's out there now.
Yeah, better games is speaking.
Let's start with the I don't want to say clickbait stuff, but your quarterbacks mm hmm.
One's left.
We have eight quarterbacks left, and it is a good note by you, Pennic. They are all good. Like sometimes there's usually the loose the loose string, or there's you know, one of these things is not like the other. All of these guys have their arguments in a lot of different ways that in the AFC it's Mahomes, Stroud, Lamar and Allen you and in the NFC, it's golf. Daniels hurts Stafford. I guess via conference. I'll let you roll for a little bit because this was kind of your thinking.
Yeah, it would be really tough to do, Like if we combine these conferences, because automatically we're putting Mahomes, Allen and Lamar ahead of anybody in the NFC. You have to So that's why I think actually splitting this up by conference is a lot of fun. I think there's a I think there's a discussion to be had between Allen versus Lamar in the AFC and then in the NFC. You can put an these four in any of the in any of the order, and I guess I wouldn't
fully blame you. And this even includes Jaydon Daniels as a rookie. So where do you want to start? Do you want to go a little bit more chalk in the AFC or NFC where you know where the where the things.
Can chalk me? Because I don't know what the chalk is. Okay, how do you even I guess you yourself, how do you view mahomes at this point?
Because number one.
So it's not even the two m VP candidates.
Like how are we gonna phrase this tear maker or the bracket?
I guess it's for the remainder of the playoffs.
Do you want in the playoffs? Yeah, the question that we're asking.
I think, so okay, I guess, Yeah, it's still it should be team neutral. Yeah, so okay, so it's still Mahomes.
Yeah, because especially you look at what Mahomes did last year, and I I think I think they're starting to turn it on. You saw Kelsey get more involved down the stretch like Christmas Day.
They just did this. Yes, I know the part. I guess the part that's frustrating to me. And I'm part of the problem because I'm kind of on the Eagles train. I think running the ball is sexy and they're dominant. Like we talk about the Chiefs like this was a down year, right.
Right, kind of like last year. But I think people get it more. They get it more. Oh, this is just what they do.
They went fifteen and two with their last game, not mattering that this was probably a sixteen win team.
Yeah, it didn't lose a game at home and.
They didn't care. Yeah, And normally for sports, if you don't show me something completely during the regular season. I need you to show me that. I'm a big believer, especially for our baseball now. I think the appreciation for the grind is necessary. I think that's a little bit of what our Yanks have been missing in past years, that you know, going and getting it every day matters. For football, I kind of thought the same thing too.
Sure you can get hot right time of year, and we could talk about that with the Rams a little bit because you know that front seven justin Pennock. But I guess we just saw the Chiefs in a much more malaise slash losing games last year, and the postseason came and they were the Chiefs and they won the whole thing. So yeah, everything should still start with Mahomes. I guess I'm glad you're there because I know you've You've been higher on Lamar than most people in previous years.
And obviously what Josh is doing as well.
That's so tough to pick between them. I guess that's where that's where the conversation is next. I think they're gonna put more on Mahomes's plate in the postseason because that's just what the Chiefs do. It's like, well, they led the league at least at one point. For the majority of the year, they led the They led the league in the most boring stat possible. Jake plays between four to nine yards. What's four times three twelve? That's a first down. You know, there you go, boom, meth pod.
You know. So their success right of running the ball very very high, but they had a very very low explosive run rate because that run game would just keep them on schedule and they would be success. And you know, if you're gonna play too high, because you have to play too high against Patrick Mahomes, you don't want him to stretch the field. But again, I think they're gonna the Chiefs are gonna find more ways. And this is I think is the genius of Andy Reid of Now
it's the postseason, now this matters more. I'm gonna ask Patrick Mahomes to throw it a little bit more downfield to Xavier Worthy, let's use DeAndre Hopkins. And Andre Hopkins is such a weapon inside the red zone. So Mahomes'
touchdowns is probably gonna go up. And then of course you have Travis Kelsey, who I honestly think the approach with Kelsey is let's get him through the regular season and let's get him to the playoffs where now we're gonna have that ultra best communication, like we're not We're not even gonna gonna call a play. We're just gonna allow these guys to just Travis Kelsey running an area where you know you're gonna get open, and then Mahomes is gonna throw a tea and your you two are
just gonna get it because that's what they do. That's what's gonna happen. And I I don't know if they're gonna talk walk the Texans, which I think they should, because I don't like the Texans. The Texans are not a good team, but also the Chiefs. The Chiefs don't really blow people out, so I could still be in at See. I could still see it being a close game. But the Chiefs, I think, are going to control the game because that's what they do.
Let's finish the quarterbacks. Let's finish the quarterbacks, Alan or Lamar because it feels like you just started talking Chiefs Texans to get away from.
It, I know, because I don't want to decide right pivot question who's the MVP.
I think Lamar's gonna win.
Lamar should win it.
I think Lamar's gonna win.
The CBS showed like the side by side graphic of all the stats of like yards, touchdowns, interceptions, raiding, whatever, and I think Romo was like, oh, I don't know what's close, Jim, and it's like, no, it's not. Like Lamar is dominating in everything and he's that good. We've never seen a season like this from a quarterback that can do the things that Lamar Jacks can do. Lamar Jackson, I think is the m v P. So the only hesitation is people are wary of giving utable MVPs.
Gosh, Allen get his first, Like part of me gets that, part of me doesn't. I think the thing for Lamar that got me is I think I think passing wise or QBR or one of those stats. It was like a top five season from a quarterback ever, and I believe QBR doesn't involve rushing.
I think, is this.
ESPN QB, I forget which one. That's why I want to go there, But and it was for me that's one of those light bulb moments. It's like, wait, this is this guy's breaking some of Vick's records and he's also passing at that level.
He's much He's much better thrower than than Michael Vises much better.
So then it's Lamar.
This is so tough man, because this is who would you rather have going forward in the playoffs? Right, And I think everything Josh Allen okay, and I love Lamar and I'm rooting for the Ravens to winsor bl.
What do you think puts you over the edge? Is it short yardage when you need it?
Is it?
I feel like the Bills have a little better of distribution, Like I like all their options from Cook to Shakir to Coleman to both tight ends like Amari. Like it feels like they are it's a true offensive play callers dreams where no one can demand the ball on their offense. That it's literally who are they leaving? And it feels like they're finding that guy.
I'm worried if the Ravens can't run the ball as successfully as they do in these games where they kick ass, Right, I'm worried about all Right, let's put the Let's put the ball in Lamar's hands and only Lamar's hands throwing the ball, which I think he can do it. But it's a matter of I think I would prefer Josh Allen and his supporting cast, even with the past walking offensive line, then Lamar Jackson. You know, Zay Flowers is the number one Mark Andrews has had like the renaissance
towards the second half of the year. Isaiah likely, sure, but I think I prefer if the ball is in Josh Allen's hands. And this is also past experience as well, where Lamar, you know, it took it took the Ravens a while to be like, all right, let's let's run the damn ball in the playoffs. I think only six running back designed runs in the AFC Championship last year against the Chiefs. It's like, we can't do that right.
And they got Lamar's legs involved as along with along with Derek Henry's legs against the Steelers and that's a good physical defense and they just destroyed them. They destroyed them, and they need to do that more. But if you get in a situation where you're down by ten points, are you really you know, how committed are you gonna be to the run game? You're gonna feel that pressure and past experience, Lamar's playoff performances still make me a little worried.
Yeah, I mean fantastic last week. I you know, you could say this with kind of any team. So this is a little dumb, But did the Ravens feel like every Madden team I ever drafted. It's like, Okay, I'll take Lamar with the first pick. Oh sick, Derek Henry is still sitting there because no one Okay, oh damn. The wide receivers are kind of gone. Let me oh, Mark Andrews, that's still sick, and likely I'll actually have two tight ends, so you grab Zay Flowers. Numbers will
probably boost in the season. Seab Bateman's good on the deep ball. You can say that for a lot of these teams.
But so you have Lamar ahead of Alan right now, because I, like I said, I have Alan and Lamar, but it's very close, and I hate that. So you have you have that flipped.
Yes with a sigh. I mean, it's it is what it is.
That's why I hate this exercise.
Yeah, yeah, I'll do it just to be different. Then you know the whole he only threw like really one interception because he'd hit his wide receiver's hands, even though that's not how it works. Yeah, I just I fell in love with the Ravens. They were my super Bowl team until I saw the Eagles. Remember that they were the Eagles earlier on this year. But yeah, I would do in Stroud tough grouping for him, and they'll talk
more about him in the second NFC. This is fun, Panic because you've got my guy, Jayden Daniels, which you've accredited accredited me with fully I think, so golf God Hurts, who's an interesting case right now, and old Cratbeard as Scott Van Peltzer calling him tres friend. Matthew, you know what, I'm gonna cut you off at the pass a little bit because I know who your number one is, and I think it should be a consensus number one. I
think it's Stafford. I totally to the veteran presence, the way he can sling it some of the spots he still puts the ball in. He's obviously seen everything that I mean Stafford with the Lions.
Oh yeah, if you, if you, if you flip, if you, this is crazy. If you flip Jared Goff and Matt's and Matthew Stafford, if you flip them, Lions may already have a Super Bowl already. They probably do have a super bolready. I think they'd be the easy favor. It's not a shot against golf. Really again, I like golf, but Matthew Stafford and all of the games that they've played the Lions, Stafford has outplayed golf. But you just
have the juggernaut that is the Detroit Lions. That that's the difference because they just have such a great football team.
Before we have the rest of this conversation, golf, go out and win.
The whole thing. I'd love them.
That'd be awesome because it does get really tricky. For how much I love Jayden Daniels. If Jaydon Daniels was on the Lions, sure.
Him and Jamiir Gibbs running around together.
That feels like that offense has another asset, which is really rude because Goff is very good out of the pocket. Like that's and that's still so much of this this game.
So much of the Lions is get the body of your hands quick. That that's so much of what of what they do, they don't They don't like the hold on Jaden likes to hold on to the walls. Yeah, yeah, incredible man, and how cool.
And he might be he might be the other one. You win it trade with Stafford because the Commanders need him to do everything right, where Stafford doesn't have as much as that in him as as he used to. And then I guess the other example here Hurts on Detroit. It's just a different team and you'd rather have golf. So you just went through my one through four. Yeah, Stafford, goff Daniels Hurts. I think I might be Daniel's over and golf.
I love that.
I know you love that for me because it's a little aggressive.
There were two teams in the NFL that scored on over fifty percent of their drives this year. It was Lions and the Commanders.
A lot of fourth downs, a lot of third downs.
Avoid third down.
Yeah, hey, Hurts for what the Eagles do is beautiful, but.
He doesn't make that. Do you think do you think Jalen Hurts can make like that throw for you? That's the thing with Hurts.
I think Hurts can make that throw, but it's within the scope of them hammering the run right and it sets up those two plays you need to make, and I do think he can. Dude. The year Hurts took off was that twenty two yeah.
But everything worked, and I like you thought, like I thought that he was gonna be like, all right, He's like, this is only way up because you have Brown, you have DeVante Smith and something you know, stiching kind of left and like, you haven't seen that Hurts since.
Well, it's sometimes we have expec expectations for teams or players that it's always like this, and it's not like hurt showed me that. He showed me this for everyone on YouTube. I'm using my hands up and down bad for the podcast subscribe that life's not always that way. And I was bagging in panic, you know, like I'm I consume a ton of football, advanced football guy, not having played, I am worried about my own knowledge.
Sometimes.
The Eagles are a running football team. They have the Monsters of all monsters on their O line. They signed a pretty good running back mm hmm. They did what Hurts can do running the ball, and with those white outs outside they showed during that twenty twenty two breakout year Hurts there was a couple of times he put in the bucket and I was like, damn, Like I was like, okay, I didn't this is what he kind of needed to show, and he showed it, and that's
what made the Eagle special. It felt like for two years or a year and a half, they like started with Hurts and were like, all right, let's get Hurts going and then we'll figure out the offense. And was like, no, you're not built that way, and in a polite way to him, he isn't either, But I mean there was times some of the throws he made in that twenty two season. I mean, I know DeVante's a special patch pass catcher. I know Brown's a freak and a special pass catcher and a reader of sorts.
He loves reading Number One book annotated and everything. That's how I knew that they actually read it. Well, I saw that it was annotated, and I'm like, all you read it?
Know what I knew? Uh, just the condition the book was in. Yeah, that's a book you travel with.
That. Yeah.
I I love Hurts his fit with that team. I think if you're ranking these quarterbacks being pure, I think Hurts would be last. I would take Jaden over Goff just because I've I've been on him from the start and doing that exercise like and you want to talk about I don't think they take a step back.
No, no, they go forward. And you want to talk about lines, like the Eagles can do whatever they want because of their offensive line. Look at that first touchdown to Johan Dotson seven seconds in the pocket. Uh huh. You could read that aj Brown book in the pocket. Same thing with Jared Goff and the lines Ben Johnson. And this is like Bobby Skinner's got a question about like Ben Johnson's future as a head coach because you're gonna go somewhere and you're not gonna have that offensive line.
That offensive line, like you can do anything that you want. You know, if there's if you're a football guy out there and you're and you're drawing up plays. Another thing that Bobby says, if you're a football guy and you're drawn up plays about all the you know, I could have this motion and this many receivers out there and my quarterback, you know, we need to wait five seconds for this long, deep developing play to develop. But then you have to remember, oh crap, well, most offensive lines
are bad. Well you don't have to do that if you're the Eagles and the Lions. But I think Jade and Daniels out of all playoff teams this past weekend. I'm pretty sure the Commanders had like one of the worst, like win rates or whatever. Their offensive line performances was one of the worst, at least from Saturday and Sunday's game. Vikings offensive line was also pretty bad. But Daniels, you didn't even notice it because Jaden Daniels is that dude.
He's cool, calm, collected. He can make guys miss, he can run, he can improvise, he does what he does, and he doesn't have that great offensive line yet, yet we're still putting him up here in this conversation with Goff and Hurts, I think.
There's so few dudes or cheek us in the world that are just actually on a different level for whatever that means, whether that's intelligence, whether that's athleticism him, whether that's composure. Jane Daniels, I just I think it's different, weird. Me and BABD were laughing. They brought Mariota out for the hard snat hard count on third down. Jane Daniels was laughing with the opposing d line afterwards. It's the
first playoff game. Did you see him on the and then he stiff arms the d ND Clancy was playing out of his dome to get the first down to end the game.
Well, then Clancy's Kancy is able to grab his the towel off his backside. You see you see him after the kick? Calm, Yeah, didn't jump up and down. All right, we're going on, moving on. He was.
He was yanking uh Wagner's chain. Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame middle linebacker, Like, yeah, he fell on the ball. Dude's different. And I like that.
It's gonna be a pain of the ass for a very long time. I hate that commanding commanders would be that one team that's like, all right, well we're gonna match up well, we're gonna match up well against them. And I'm talking about my Giants. Of course we're gonna match up well against them. We'll get two wins, and we know that we're gonna have at least two wins in the division, and hope not anymore.
Let's get into the action a little bit, and we're normally a kron kron pod here chronological, which means it would start Saturday with Texans and Chiefs. Here's what I'll throw out. Texans had how many sacks last week?
They had a lot man, and it was from a couple of different players inside outside, whether it's Ed Rusher's beating tackles or then running those stunts and twists up the middle. Uh. They they that's how they won.
If the Chiefs have one weakness, it is they're tackles. The Chiefs haven't played in.
A couple of weeks, like even the starters, I think three three.
Weeks then right, if you include the starters not playing, Holy smokes, there's a recipe. I think. The other thing I like for Houston that's a little bit of BS, but could be a thing. Houston came into the season with expectations. They were kind of they wanted to be kind of lions. Yeah, like this is the year the Texans are gonna win fourteen fifteen games and we're here forever. Stroud is that guy? We added another wide receiver, like here we go. That didn't happen.
Yeah, Also everybody that hurt, you know, the wide receivers, people are hurt too.
They got hurt a lot. They just could never get it going. The running game went missing at times. Slowik went from future head coach to is he getting fired? They got a little zombie to him. If this wasn't the Chiefs an arrowhead, which does deserve some credit. I would have a little more Texans. They're dead men walking, their season was done, you know. I know Rex says a lot of stuff and Mixing dropped it after the game.
But okay, so I've got a d line that can get pressure, a defense that's feeling really good Stroud and the offense what felt again got just weird for a little bit. Mixing will get you one hundred on twenty five carries.
He's the line. Just worry about that old right.
I don't know if this wasn't the Chiefs. If this was, and this is super unfair, I think thieves. I think I said it throughout the year that the Vikings were going to be the regular season team that won a lot of games that loses because we see that team every year. Again, a lot of stuff happened there, and I have some more commentary on that later. If it wasn't the Chiefs, I think there could be a Texans hype wag. Yeah, yeah, but it is it's the Chiefs. I think the trick like.
I think they could cover. If it's we're talking for a three peat, if we're talking about eight and a half. I think the Texans could cover, and then it's like it's one of those things of hey, you never know. Eight and a half is pretty big spread for a Chiefs team that does play a lot of those one score games. But I called the Texans the Houston third and long Texans because you just look up and every
third down is third and seven and longer. They led the NFL in average to go distance on third down, and they might have even led the NFL or bottom quarter in the NFL bottom five in number of third downs faced, which that's not a sign of a healthy offense. When you're when you're an offense that is facing constantly third down, third down, third down, especially when that distance is great, that's not a healthy offense. That is a
inefficient offense. And they kind of relied on CJ. Stroud to play hero ball on third down last year, and he did because he was just that freaky. And CJ. Stroud is still good, but I think the offensive line has taken a step back. Plus it's a whole year of hey, we to figure out what you're doing. Uh. Plus your wide receivers are hurt, you know, even Nico Collins has struggled with injuries throughout the year, so you never know if he's the same. All these guys are
beat up this time of the year. No Tank Dell, no Stefan Diggs, all that stuff hurts. So the Texans I think they are. It's kind of this has been like a kind of look yourself in the mirror season and be like, hey, maybe we're a little further away than we thought because we got to take care of this offensive line. But what does win in the postseason is a pass rush, and that is the thing that
could set this game in a different path. You have to also be careful with your edge rushers because if you're going after the quarterback Jake, what is Patrick Mahomes gonna do? If your ed rushers come too far upfield, We're gonna go outside the tackles, We're gonna improvise, We're gonna run, and that's what Mahomes can do very well. So it's a it's a tough, tough game plan and approach for a pass rush like the Textans that's feeling.
Hot every game. Joe Mixon had twenty carries one hundred yards. Yeah, they lost two of those games, excuse except one Detroit twenty five carries for forty six yards. Good, it's not good, and that's a really good team Chiefs and Chris Jones.
And we talk about Mahomes, but it really is the last two years, it's the Chiefs defense that's.
Right, and they're there again, if not better, right Eagles commentary. I think we move on because, let's be honest. I mean it's I think the Chiefs read everyone thinks Andy's got more of a sleeve. Everyone thinks Patrick has everything to Travis.
They're going for a three peaks never been They're rested, they've been there, and then if they if they lose, then we're talking about how not that longer. Yeah, it'll just it'll be interesting.
It'll be interesting if they start slow and Houston can put something together at the same time.
I don't know.
My Broncos punched the Bills in the mouth. That ended pretty quickly. I might take the Chiefs just to be just to do it. Staying chronologically, Commander's Lions. I just said a lot of stuff about Jayden Daniels. We just talked about how well I guess we haven't talked about how truly good these Lions are. But it's kind of why we use them as the example. If you put Stafford, if you put Jaden, if you put someone else, and it shouldn't be shot at golf who had forty six
hundred yards thirty seven touchdowns. It was more so meant to be compliments the other way. Yeah, at home traditional bye week, a city that is as thirsty for it as anyone. A Commander's team that I like Jayden. They're never out of it, which is good. The defense has been a little suss all year. And this is a team that barely survived the Bucks on basically a jet sweep fumble.
Right, this could just be a Jimmy's and Joe's game. Lions are a better football team. Doesn't mean that the Commanders are not a good team. Doesn't mean that they're not an ascending team, and they're not necessarily like a young team that hasn't been there. This this is a team where Dan Quinn and Adam Peters brought in uh buzzwords, sports buzzword, They brought in culture guys. They brought in like veterans, and they signed them to you know, one
or two year deals. You know, they brought in Bobby White. Why is a team like the Commanders who had the second overall pick, need to bring in Bobby Wagner who was on the last legs of his career. Well, you know, this is this is why, because if you have if you haven't, you have a young team, and you have a team that all right, well we need to go in a right direction. Yeah, you bring in a Jeremy Chin, you know in your you know, in the on the
back end. Right, you bring in a couple of these pass rushers that you had in Dallas that were third or fourth on the depth chart, but now they're going to be, you know, number one for you, like a Dante Foller. I'm pretty sure. So maybe I'm getting that name wrong.
Yeah, they're on every play. Yeah, former panther in Southern Illinois, Saluki, holy cow.
But that's why you do that, you know. So this isn't necess like a young team you think it is because just because they're rebuilding, right or retooling. This is not a rebuilding. This is really like a retooling year for the Commanders. But like I said, I think this may just come down to Jimmy's and Joe's I think the Lions players are just flat out better offensively and defensively than the Commanders. But Jaden Daniels is an X factor here. The amount of points that the Commanders can
score as an offense also an X factor. Aaron Glenn does like to blitz you play man coverage of the back end and Jaden Daniels, if you blitz them, that's a quarterback that could burn you.
Yeah. I'm the only chance for the Commanders is Jaden taps into something even more right. And I'm you know, every third down he finds a way to leak out and every like he he would have to do something truly special. I'm interested to see if he taps into his legs a little more like we saw Lamar last week. You know what was it that first drive or first two drives he holds run times that you know for
Jaden that can be a safe place. It's it's interesting that he stayed away for it, but it's also what the defense fear. So I I'm interested to see that part of his game. How much does he try to revert to that because it's where he can be special and different. Keeping up with the Lions man's field goals or failures race to thirty points that I I don't think the Commanders fully have that. It'll be interesting, man, I I guess in that game and this is just
the Chiefs pedigree coming in. But for those two games with massive spreads nine and a half points Detroit, I could see Detroit getting tight. Buttole a little bit more, if Terry On Arnold gets burned on the outside once and Golf has one of those, He's had a few games where he's actually put together decent game, but he starts off and it's like two picks on the first two drives. It's like, Hey, Jared, what Yeah? What happens?
Doesn't have a ton of interceptions, But the games that he has, the interceptions that usually come.
Up quick and you're just like, what is what is this? And you know, the city of Detroit with that just kind of.
Buzz man buzzing.
That would be the But the Lions are going to get thirty yeah, and the Commanders that that basically means if you slip up on one drive, you're gonna be up against it. That I don't know. It should be Chiefs and Lions roll and get ready for the next step. It would be interesting to see at Zombie Texans if I could buy like two zombie Texan stocks just to take the screen shot the next day and be like otherwise, I'm I'm out on both of them. Sunday Rams Iggles
and I'm glad you brought up Jeremy Chin. I am, yeah, because you mentioned Bobby talking about the Eagles and Hurts isn't always going to have that online. I think I had bad news for you guys. I think he's gonna have it. Not necessarily the guys, but this year Kelsey left and I know they brought in a great center and they paid him, but they did that. Zach Bahn on defense, he was just he was like he was.
Like an outside linebacker, rotational.
The Eagles are doing stuff at another level that you mentioned Jeremy Chin and like, I'm we've gotten better at this. In the baseball world, with it's usually retread pitchers that it's like, oh, you know, they had him thrown a four seamer, let's teach him a sinker, and it's like, wow, he had a great year. It seems like football might have a little more retread coming because it's tough because it's such a short life span. But Jeremy Chin shout
out Zach Bahn. I don't know. I think the Eagles are operating at a different level.
Your guy can I was one of the biggest X fact this postseason. Vic vangel Yeah, defensive coordinator for the well of the biggest X factors this postseason.
It's tough. I can't. I can't claim. I'll claim I can't claim Vic. I think a lot of other people have claimed Vic before me. He did. He coached a lot of bad Bronco teams to an okay spot. But that's for another time. I guess. So the Rams, they have the pedigree, they have the coach, they have the quarterback, they have two wide outs that while they've had them
on the field that's felt different. Oh my god, when Higbee was out there and I know he's questionable for this game, and they have was it the youngest, the cheapest defense in football?
Their front four. I mean, we'll go through it in the interior of Kolbe Turner's second year player, like I think a Day two pick, uh, and then you have a Brandon Fisk Florida State, Florida State first round pick. So that's your tierrior first and second year, and then your edge rushers. You have Jared Verse Florida State. And then you also have on the opposite side you have Byron Young from Tennessee, who was like a Day two or a Day three pick from Tennessee the previous year.
So year one and your two players are your front four and they're good.
They are good, and it feels like the defense is taking a step. Feels like Stafford and McVeigh. You know, remember McVeigh, Like after they won the first Super Bowl, he was like he might be going to the booth and everyone's like, whoa McVeigh young coach, But it's like, well, you time that right, you can kind of live forever.
Dude blows my mind when I turn on you know, whichever NFL game ends or starts, whenever Bill Cower pops up, I'm like, what, Yeah, Coward felt like he was old when he retired and he's still at it and he still looks like Bill Coward that. It's like, dude, if McVeigh won that Super Bowl, went to the booth, get ready to see eighty years of Sean McVay.
They showed McVeigh and Stafford back to back, like during the national anthem, It's like mcfany looks younger than Matthew staff Steven's got the gray Man beer going on.
So we've got the original boy genius coach. Yeah, we've got Matthew Stafford, who knows how many more rodeos he's up for. We got the wide receivers back. It feels like their defense is now an asset, which it didn't necessarily feel like that before. Against the Iggles, who have dominant players in dominant places, both lines, Saquon, they can get any fourth and one or third and one that they need at any time. That's almost not even a play for them. They have a head coach who is
almost viewed opposite of boy genius. Yeah, for lack of a better term, But in a way it works. He's like the most successful coach in NFL history. And that's a little bit of the assets he's using, and it's a little bit of how he acts with it. Philadelphia is a six and a half point favorite. The other thing that does need to be mentioned, justin Pennock, these two teams played once, if I remember correctly, Yeah, thirty seven to twenty Eagles and Saquan ran for two fifty five.
That's the worry anytime. Yeah, that's still worry that story anytime you play them. If I'm if I'm the if I'm the Rams here, which I'm surprised to see that they only had an eighteen percent LTZ rate from No No Football this past week and the Packers who played the Eagles had a twenty point eight. I am ramping that percentage up, okay, or what the Rams did. What I really liked is a couple times you saw, all right, we're gonna show this, We're gonna show these front four,
we're gonna show this five. But then you saw these corners and these slock corners, like there was one sack that they had where they brought both corners. I'm like, that is crazy work to bring in two cornerbacks on a blitz and you're dropping back these linebackers. I think Jalen Hurts could crumble when he's when he's being blitzed, diagnosing what's happening in front of him. He's done a
good job with it this year. He's done decent because last year it was you blitz the Eagles and they don't know what to do, and Jalen Hurts will take sacks, take stacks, take sacks. It's not the same this year.
But I still think there's a little bit of Jalen Hurts in there where if you blitz them, if you make them feel uncomfortable, and you put pressure on that Eagles offensive line numbers wise, I don't know if the front four, the really talented front four of those first and second year players, I don't know how often they're gonna win one v one mano wemno against the Eagles
against Eagles a line. But if you put pressure on them, and you show different looks and you pressure on them numbers wise, that's where I think the Rams could have a path. But also that Jalen Hurts are on the ball. Saquon Barkley is the formula of this because if you bring in a blitz and somebody is running behind Saquon Barkley and then goodbye, he runs for fifty five yards.
Yeah, And I guess you know, for the this talented, the talented Rams defensive line, you know, I think there was some thoughts that they could they could be a little light or that was a part of the reason. But everyone compared to the Eagle zo line is a little light. Yeah, So that that's one of the questions I think something that I haven't been able to wrap my head around. And this unfortunately ties to our friend Sam Darnold. Is okay, you know, because I think everyone
felt a little bad for Sam. Liked pretty tough to end that way, like you know, whoever you are, like story, yeah, you should just feel a little bad for Sam. That I was wondering. Okay, they played the Lions in Detroit Anzelone comes back. I was just listening to my guy Booger on PMT and they were like, you know, how much of effect is that Azeloni? Like, you know, he calls the plays. Is it just him being back? And he's like he compared it to and I don't think
this is perfect, but it's cool. Booger McFarlane said it. He said, it's the version of a dad taking care of kids and mom goes away for the weekend. It's just different, like we got this, but you don't. At the same time, it's like when you've got that, it just feels different that. Okay, Detroit with that stadium and that big of a game in their defense getting Angeloni back, Where is Detroit's defense now? Because I know they had a couple tough weeks there, but when Sam played them?
Where were they this Rams defense? We're now hyping them up, this young core that seems like it's solidified, And was it Less Sneid or Wes snead Less? I believe who puts the Rams together is less a name.
What's that about?
You know that him with McVeigh and putting a team together and they had draft picks and now it's all jelling. There is a world where Sam Darnold actually just ran into two good defenses at the wrong time that plummetated season. Obviously he was like struggling to get the ball out. And there's some other Donald stuff there. I guess that's what I'm interested to see. Are these there's a world where these Rams are peaking, like they bust out all
his tricks, Stafford Bucks bust out all his tricks. They can run the ball a little bit if their defense is peaking and they're on the road and they played last like there's a recipe. Yeah, it could also just all be for not if the Eagles give Saquon the ball on first down and get eight yards every time, and sometimes they don't do that, and it's horribly frustrating. It blows my mind.
That's the worry. That's the worry. And I have a little worry too because I'm obviously I'm a big Rams guy. I want I want my Rams to do well. I want Matthew Stafford to well, and I don't want the Eagles to do well. But again, Vic Vangil being an
X factor in this postseason, you're playing too high. A very dangerous thing in the NFL, Jake is when you can play too high as a defense and then still stop the run because you have Jalen Carter, you have Davis, you have I mean, so I'll admit some of these edge rushers you want to talk about light, like Nolan Smith is light and he's going out there and he's bull rushing tackles and it's like that shouldn't happen. And then you have Zach Bond to Kobe Dean got hurt,
so that's a tough injury for them. But Zach Bad's playing like this all pro who makes plays in coverage and in the run. So the Rams gotta be able to like first and second down. And this is every football game, but I think particularly it's gonna be big in this game. First and second hand, you gotta win, avoid third down or avoid third and long, because then that's when you gonna have a pass rush that's been he gonna have a defense that can really tee off
and have some fun. So first and second down between Barkley on the eagle side and then also keeping Stafford out of third and long situations where maybe he can get hit up a little bit. I think out of all games this weekend, it's the first and second nd is the biggest talking point in this one.
Yeah, you almost have to, like again, Siriani kind of rubs everyone the wrong way.
Even Philly fans rub him the wrong way. Like you walk around that parking lot, they're like something.
Man like this NFL head coach who's setting records, and he like proudly wears the Italian flag. You think, like that's a very proud The Italians are proud people. Let me stay that Philly proud people. And for some reason he.
Just kind of stand him. There was a there's a clip. I don't know who did it, but there was a little mini mic video. If the Eagles are gonna fail or lose this postseason, who's the blame? Like Nick Sirianni, it's like just no doubt it's like this.
It's it's kind of wild that I you almost need to like distract him with a flashy light that's like, hey, please don't give it to Saquon on first and second down.
Hey, don't don't talk ship to whoever that doesn't matter, don't talk shit to your fans, Like, let's.
I don't know. I think the Eagles they kind of already overcame their adversity. They already played a playoff game just to like ice that. Like it's no, the no potential of one and done I think is actually huge for them.
If they're gonna want it's gonna be boring and should be yeah, because that's what they that's what they.
Should be man Like. It's it's unreal. If if the Rams can score early and make the Eagles play regular football, that's how they win, and that's insane and the Eagles should not be baited into that. But it's almost like they have the coach that should be baited into that, yet they never do because they still win. I don't know, I uh, I think there's gonna be a lot of people ruin for the Rams between Stafford's last ride. I don't I don't think they're gonna do it.
I know. I just think this also could be a Jimmy's and Joe's game where Eagles roster young. They're also a young roster, but they're they're super talented, super super talented.
I feel like both teams are very young on the back end. That I wonder, Yeah, I wonder if Stafford can take advantage of that more or you know those two or three plays that they draw up that's aj Brown and Davante, if it's gonna be like, oh, it's.
Like sometimes you forget that those guys are on the team, and then they'll they'll have those big games and it's like, oh, well, they gotta give it to those guys every week, and that just doesn't happen.
You know how the rams just crack. It feels like Nikua gets the ball every other.
Play, cracks of rib comes in two plays later.
He's a monster.
It was a lead blocker. They put them in motion as like a lead blocker. They don't need a full back.
Built out of different material yeah than us.
Yeah, they'll replace They'll replace the material mid game and put another on them and then I'll go back out there.
Just doesn't doesn't care.
Uh.
I think that is, let's see if the Rams can make that a game. There's a chance they cannot. Yea, and the Eagles are so good on each d line that I think, you know, even me trying to give the zombie textan some love, I think, me trying to give the Rams some love. I do think there's just too much of a ripple effect of seeing a team play last week and look solid.
They also could just match up well against the Vikings, which I think they did beat the Vikings on regular season.
To the other side of that darnal conversation is maybe everyone just found out their weakness at the right time. It was like get to Sam, so those long developing plays don't happen and it got exposed quickly.
That's this game.
It leaves us with one. It is the soup de jore. It is the game of the weekend. It's the game that could save the whole playoffs if some of these early games don't click. Ravens Bills in Buffalo. It's listed as Baltimore by a point, so essentially pick them. But that's interesting because you know, the Buffalo Cold pretty pretty famously crazy fan base at this point, Bill's Mafia saw the special on that on ESPN, the two MVP candidates
a quarterback. It's the Bills feeling like they've reached a peak. They have a rushing game now their offensive options make sense. The Ravens, I mean they were they early won me over for Super Bowl because I was like, if they can run like this, there's nothing you can do. And Dereck Henry almost getting two Bills. Lamar, I don't know. I mean, Pennic, this is where I'm interested to see what you say, because if they played this game ten times,
it's five and five. Man, Like, Okay, we fumbled this game, we lost, they fumbled that game, we won that again. That's horrible analysis. But I guess what am I missing?
What I think you're missing is I'm a little worried that there's some ghosts for Lamar. Okay, pre like pre playoff appearances, the Ravens at times can be a very highly penalized team and they get undisciplined, and if the game script isn't going according to plan, then we do things that we shouldn't be doing. As the Baltimore Ravens, like Lamar, I feel dirty saying that. Lamar can't handle being down by like ten points, but she can. He can because he's that good. We just talked about how.
He's It just makes them significantly less special.
You're you're playing.
If the threat of Derrick Henry popping one every single run isn't there and you're putting Justice Hill in the game, it feels it feels significantly different. They're wide receivers, don't horrify you. You know, even Mark Andrews like he's he's Mark Andrews, but you're not scared of the seventy yard play that yes, they where the Bills. They are still built on throwing the ball that if they go down ten,
it almost feels like bad news. It feels like, hey, James Cook, you're gonna have to wait a little bit.
Well now the games in Josh allenowns.
But he's more dangerous as I think Cook's still more dangerous as a straight up pass threat. Yeah that, yeah, I think I think that's a fair thing to feel.
Yeah. So, I mean there's Baltimore Ravens. They've been a highly penalized team all throughout the season. I just feel like the Bills can maybe deal with a little bit more adversity versus the Ravens. They kind of need the
game to go their way. They need kind of like the perfect game to gamescript from kind of start to finish to go their way for you to feel like they they have that good shot, you know, the Bill and both of these teams are so evenly matched where I think, like these offenses, they're both top five and passing,
and they're both top five and rushing. I would put I would give the edge to the Bills offensive line in certain areas as a pass blocking unit, but I think I would give the edge to the Ravens as a run blocking unit. So they're so evenly matched, and that's why the line is as close as it is little surprising that the Ravens are road favorites, but that's uh. Those are my thoughts on that this is the game that I have the hardest getting the hardest read on, as you could tell for this whole weekend.
It's okay, Like I'm kind of glad that's the answer, man, because I.
Don't they're good.
Both these teams are amazing. Both these both of these teams, if they ended up holding up the Super Bowl Trophy in a couple of weeks, we would say, like, wow, that's a great team. They had a orderline, if not MVP quarterback. It's a team that's like taking their lumps like it's it's everything you want, and I mean it's for me. It's tough to go year over year with individual teams like this. This feels like Baltimore's best team, the lamar Era last year's better. Derrick Henry Man Derrick.
Henry is the one big difference. But you had a say what you want about Odell. O'Dell is a good receiver for them and what they were doing last year. They don't have that third receiver you had Mark Andrews. You still have. The line was so much better. Yet Kevin Zeitler on that line, I know, yeah, I know, Derrick Henry, I know Derek I know, But I think the defense was way more talented.
To twenty three Odell.
I know. Stop that the team.
I think the team the team.
Jake the Ravens last year kicked ass. I think they broke like an NFL record for the amount of times that they beat teams, with the record over five hundred. And they killed they killed them all. They killed them all. And that's what makes that that AFC Championship game so frustrating or whatever they played that makes that playoff game against the Chiefs so frustrating because it's like, why are we only running the ball to our running back six times?
Six times? And it's not like they were losing by seventeen to twenty points the whole game.
Is this the Bills best team in the Josh Allen era? I mean I had was what was the year they had that shootout with the Chiefs where they lost in overtime and that was it their defense.
Their defense may have been better, but it feels like they're better this year. But the game, I think they finally have very good symmetry and chemistry with Joe Brady, you know, even though there's no Stephan Dicks. I kind of feel like that's better for them. I think we can spread the ball out a little bit more and there's nobody going to be demanding targets. So I do feel like offensively, this is the most complete that we've seen, especially when it's led by an offensive line that is
as solid as it is. You couldn't always say that about the Bills.
If I made you pick with I'm gonna have to pick even gamble with your your hard earned money? What would you do?
I'm rooting for the Ravens, but I think I'm picking the Bills eight and oh at home.
Yes, yep, yeah it's and I this goes with that. This should have been said earlier. The Ravens beat the Bills thirty five to ten in Baltimore. Derek Henry, I believe one hundred and ninety nine yards, not two hundred. But I think the first run of the game, I think he it was a house call.
Oh was this the uh? Was this the one where he eighty seven yard touchdown where he reaches like the same max speed as Xavier Worthy reached that weekend? That was That's a million view of reel on a jam football. How do you like that? I remember that and go check out jam football.
Couple couple videos have already dropped in the previous week. A couple more videos will drop.
Same point differential, same average morgin the victory this year for both of these teams. Point differential plus one fifty seven, average margin of victory fourteen point nine. Same. I like that are so similar.
Whoever wins this one probably goes on to play the Chiefs and Arrowhead where both have been taken down.
Yes, because the Ravens played their Week one right, that was the Week one game, and then uh highly controversial ending, and then Bills Bills took down the Chiefs. Right.
I guess I meant in recent I was talking.
Yes, because the Chiefs owned the Bills and the playoffs Bills own them in the regular season. That's the whole thing.
Hey, probably getting ahead of myself, because again, favorites isn't how the sports always works. If it's Lions Eagles, knowing what you currently know, your opinion doesn't change on either team. Where do you go?
I think the Lions in Detroit respectfully destroy the Eagles.
Really, I don't know. I think the Ram run it on first and second down every time.
And then if it doesn't work, then just throw it out to the running back and get them in space.
When has it not worked, We'll.
See Jake, We'll see Pop. I'm excited for it. This is These are gonna be good. I'm even more excited after having this. Cons is the weekend, Yeah, this is the weekend.
College football Monday, Pannic, get your scouting in while state's winning Big Giants needs them. Thank you. To Justin pennicck go follow him on everything streaming this weekend or no.
Yeah, I would like to stream this weekend, probably probably more on Sunday. Two better games go check that out.
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