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Welcome in What's Right with Nick wrid Episode one seventy three ton to do today. Some quick scheduling notes. We are off on Tuesday, not because I'm not working, but because I'm actually working double duty on television.
On Tuesday.
Thursday, one week from today will be Diorra's last show before she goes off to college and I have an existential crisis. And then a week from Tuesday we will be by Coastal on the What's Right Show because Demanse
will be back as promised for our football shows. In fact, we will see a little sneak peak of Demonse's studio in Los Angeles later in today's show, but before we even get to any of today's show, and before we get to what missed, some very breaking news in the last ninety seconds that doesn't seem noteworthy, but it's noteworthy to me, and I think it should be noteworthy if you're a New York Giants fan or an Arizona Cardinals fan. The Arizona Cardinals just traded Isaiah Simmons to kind of
do it all Swiss army knife. Is he a linebacker or a corner or a safety? Former top ten pick to the New York Giants for a seventh round pick. I don't think that's enough value for Isaiah Simmons, a player I like a lot. I also think the Giants and Wink Martindale will use him in exotic fun ways. And while I don't like the return on that for the Cardinals, I do like the fact that they are really going all in on bottoming out so they can get Caleb Williams. That part is smart. I think you
could have gotten more for Isaiah Simmons. I like Isaiah Simmons now, he hasn't been a great pro. I loved him in college. I loved the pick that obviously has not worked out for them, a top ten pick being traded for a seventh rounder. But that's the breaking news that just happened a few minutes ago. Here is what missed the cut on today's show. Asia Wilson scores fifty three ties, the WNBA record. She is spectacular. That Aces team Van Gundy during the NBA playoffs said they could go undefeated.
They didn't go undefeated.
But they are twenty seven and four and it sure looks like an Aces Liberty WNBA final. We've been on that collision course all year. Will Levis signs a disgusting Mayo sponsorship, and Patrick Beverly once again calls me out for something that was actually complimentary. I said on television, I thought we'd see another Steph Curry before we see another Magic Johnson. Patrick Beverley says, lies are detected. We'll see another Steph Curry before we see another Magic Johnson
for a couple of very obvious reasons. One is Steph Curry has inspired a generation of young people to try to play like him. Another is it's been thirty years since Magic retired. We haven't seen another Magic Johnson. And all the people replying to the tweet saying, oh did you not see Ben Simmons? Did you go watch some Magic Johnson?
You children?
And as far as we won't see another Patrick Beverley again either, unless you have Satellite Dish to let you watch Russian basketball.
Now to the show.
So Trey Lance was not at practice yesterday as he was demoted to the third string quarterback. And this story, to me is so much bigger than whether or not Trey Lance is a bust. And this is where I want to start today's show, and I want to give a bit of a history on Kyle Shanahan and then the blow by blow of the San Francisco forty nine ers to explain why I personally find this story so unfathomable.
So Kyle Shanahan, obviously his dad's Mike Shanahan. He comes up with the Houston Texans, and those Houston Texans teams had a clear ceiling. He was the offensive coordinator in two thousand and eight and two thousand and nine, right before I got to Houston, and they I had a clear ceiling. Why because they had so much trouble getting the quarterback position right. They eventually trade for Matt SHAWB
and under SHAWB, they have some level of success. They're not great, but they at least get to a level of relevance. Kyle Shanahan then goes to Washington. Washington has a clear ceiling, and then they trade all those assets to go get Robert Griffin. He has a dynamic rookie season. They're a playoff team. They look like a legitimate I don't want to say contender, but a legitimate They're like, Wow,
this is building something special. Robert then shreds his knee and they go back to mediocrity there and Kyle Shanahan moves on. He's in Cleveland for a year where once again the quarterback position is the ceiling on the team. And then he gets to Atlanta with Matt Ryan, the best quarterback he's ever had the opportunity to work with, and the Shanahan system plus a good Matt Ryan's not great,
but a good quarterback. A good quarterback plus the Shanahan system resulted in an MVP and a Super Bowl appearance. Now they blew the Super Bowl, but that was where Kyle Shanahan finally, for the first time in his career, got to taste what his system with a plus quarterback could be and its league MVP and a Super Bowl appearance.
So he then gets the job in San Francisco, their quarterback position is an unmitigated disaster, and late in his first year they trade for Jimmy Garoppolo and with Jimmy Garoppolo they have instant success. Now, the instant success is they win a bunch of games at the end of his first year. He then unfortunately blows out his knee in week two of his second year. But then he's healthy and Jimmy Garoppolo, who is the definition of a mediocre quarterback, with that Shanahan system, they go to the
Super Bowl. The next year, Jimmy gets hurt again, they have a bad season, and the very next year, after Jimmy gets hurt again and they are sitting at number twelve in the draft, they then have a decision, and the decision is do we want to stay here at number twelve and draft a quarterback. Trey Lance could be there at twelve, Justin Fields could be there at twelve.
Mac Jones could be there at twelve and move off of Jimmy because of the injuries, or do we think we see a special quarterback that can allow Shanahan for the first time since Matt Ryan in sixteen, have a plus quarterback and see if this team can be a juggernaut. They make the decision to trade up because they determine Shanahan and Lynch determined that while this system with this roster.
Can be good with almost.
Anyone playing quarterback, if we have an excellent quarterback, we can be amazing. And they pay a massive premium three first round picks move from twelve to three. We then learned, obviously they wanted to stand pat with Jimmy at quarterback, they could have drafted Michael Parsons there. And if they wanted to move off Jimmy at quarterback, they could have drafted Mac Jones there. And I'm not talking about at three.
I'm talking about at twelve. They target Trey Lance. And with targeting Trey Lance and his dozen career D two starts, they say you're not going to play, You're not gonna be our starter your rookie year. But he does get some action. He comes in a game his rookie season in Week four, plays really well against Seattle. Jimmy had gotten hurt. He had one hundred and sixty yards on eighteen attempts, two touchdowns, ran the ball well, It's like, okay,
maybe something's here. He then starts the next week against Arizona, plays terribly, so he has one good game in coming in and reserved one bad game. Jimmy's then healthy again. Trey Lance sits his rookie season for the next ten weeks. Then week sixteen, Jimmy is out. Trey Lance starts against Houston,
albeit an obviously bad Houston team. Trey Lance plays really well, a couple touchdowns, two hundred and fifty yards, complete seventy percent of his passes, runs the ball for thirty yards, and then goes back to the bench obviously because Jimmy's healthy again, and they go to the NFC title game.
And after that.
First year of seeing Trey Lance, the San Francisco forty nine ers, before the offseason even begins say publicly Jimmy is done. Trey is our guy. They then try to trade Jimmy. They can't. They bring him back on a lesser deal as the backup. They also draft Brock Purty after passing on him eight different times, with the final pick of the seventh round, and Trey Lance plays Week one in a torrential downbour in Chicago and plays terribly.
And then in week two, three plays into the game or six plays into the game, breaks his leg and can't practice obviously or play the rest of the year. And then we get to this offseason and Brock purty understandably, they're saying it's his job. Even though they spent all that those resources on Trey. Brock was undefeated in games he started and finished. They like what they have there, They're giving him the job, so be it. That is reasonable.
And then in camp they bring in Sam Donald, who has started around sixty games, has been awful at two different stops, has as many touchdowns as interceptions, has a bottom three NFL passer ratings since coming into the league. And they talk up Sam Donald as the next Steve Young something they really said. And yesterday they anoint Sam Donald the backup and basically say Trey Lance is done here. So before I get to how unpressed in it that is,
I want everyone to understand the decision flow. The decision flow for Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch since Kyle got to San Francisco has been we will trade significant assets to get a difference maker at the quarterback position. We will trade a second round pick and immediately give Jimmy Garoppolo and his two career starts the biggest contract in
NFL history. We will then trade three first round picks after making a super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo for another quarterback we need to have a difference maker at that position. We will then throw away with no return that player after four career starts, after two full off seasons with the team, one off season good enough to be named the starter, the other offseason bad enough to be essentially off the roster. Throw him away, not for Brock Purdy,
but for Sam Darnold. And now maybe the answer is Trey Lance is simply that bad. That could be the answer. What I am trying to tell you is he would have to be worse than every first round quarterback drafted in the last thirty years for this to be justified. Because I went through it, and I'm gonna give it to you right now. The biggest busts that we think of over the last thirty years in the NFL, and
how much of a rope they got. Ryan Leaf started twenty I'm started eighteen games with the San Diego Chargers. Achilles Smith started seventeen games with the Cincinnati Bengals. Tim Couch started fifty nine games with the Cleveland Browns. Joey Harrington started two full regular seasons and a total.
Of twelve listen, what is that?
Fifty five games with the Detroit Lions. Patrick Ramsey remember him?
He started?
He was a late first round pick. Twenty four starts with Washington.
J P.
Lossman, a late first round pick. Thirty three starts with Buffalo. Jason Campbell, a mid first round pick. Fifty two starts with Washington. Matt Liner, a mid first round pick. Seventeen starts with Arizona. Brady Quinn, a late first round pick. Twelve starts with Cleveland. Tim Tebow a late first round pick. Fourteen starts with Denver. Jake Locker, an early first round pick twenty three, starts with Tennessee. Blaine Gabbert, an early
first round pick. Twenty seven starts with Jacksonville. Christian Ponder thirty six starts with Minnesota. E j Manuel seventeen starts with Buffalo. Johnny Manzelle eight starts with Cleveland.
Josh Rosen.
Sixteen star I'm sorry thirteen starts with Arizona, Zach Wilson twenty two starts with the Jets.
There is.
One guy since Jim Drunken Miller who has gotten as short of a leash as Trey Lance. Paxton Lynch in Denver, who was a late first round pick, got four starts, was awful across the board, with nothing redeeming from any of them. Trey Lance was third pick of the draft. So I am not saying that he has to start over,
uh brock perty. What I am saying unequivocally is this, if you draft trade up to draft a D two player who did not even play his last year of college football, see enough from him in your building as a rookie to get rid of want try to get rid of Jimmy Garoppolo and anoint him your starter. He then plays a game and less than a quarter and breaks his leg, and now you're ready to cut bait entirely. You don't know what you're doing. Your quarterback evaluation process
is irrevocably broken. And the idea that you now have simply discovered gold and Brock Birdie, maybe you did, But as I said on television yesterday, if you drive your car a one hundred miles an hour off a cliff, survive the crash and land next to buried treasure, and become wildly wealthy. You don't get credit for that. You're not a genius for that. It was an idiotic, indefensible process that you ended up somehow lucking out on. And
I do not think mister irrelevant coming off. Tommy John Surgery is going to be the player that the Niners think he can be. And I know Sam Darnald is not anyone savior. And if you two years ago loved Trey Lance enough to trade up for him, and one year ago loved him enough to name him your starter, and today think he's worse than Sam Darnald, then you don't know what you're doing. Moving on, Chris Jones hold out might last until week eight. I went on television
and said, this is great news. Everyone made fun of me. I stand by it. As long as Chris Jones is going to be back, the Chiefs are fine. As it happens, all of the Chief's hardest games, except for the visit to Royalty playing the Prince in week two, are after week seven. All three of their divisional road games are after week seven. The Bills game the Bengals game, the Eagles game, the Dolphins game. Those are all after Week seven, so the Chiefs will be fine. Also, I think Chris
Jones will be there for Week one. I think he'll get a new contract the Chiefs want to. This is not a situation where the Chiefs don't want to pay him. They've said they want to pay him. So it'd be one thing that the Chiefs were like, listen, you're under contract, you got to play for us. They want to pay him. And once he missed the first day of training camp, it was almost a fourgone conclusion he was going to
miss all of the days of training camp. Now would I like him in camp, Sure, but I'm sure the Niners would like Nick boson camp. Everyone expects Bosa to be on the Niners this year and Chris Jones to be on the Chiefs. Now, does this impact their relationship with Chris Jones?
Maybe?
Does this impact their ability to keep him long term? Possibly, But the fact that Chris Jones has shown up to I think it was the spis with the Chiefs. The fact that he said he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year, the fact that he is saying the longest he would hold out is two months. I don't think it's bad news for the Chiefs at all, and
I think they can weather those first seven games. Next Aaron Rodgers and Hard Knocks, Randall Cobb was telling the receivers that if Rogers doesn't trust you, you won't throw you the ball. Then Corey Davis retired. What does this mean for the Packers. I'm sorry for the Jets. The producers are asking, well, here's the thing, on.
Only throwing the receivers he trusts.
I understand that can work when you have Davante, when you have a younger Randall Cobb, when you have Jordan Nelson, when you have Greg Jennings, when you have totally new team, totally new teammates, young receivers. I don't know that that is the definite right approach, but that is what it is. My bigger takeaway there from that Hard Knocks clip was not the he won't throw it to you if he
doesn't trust you. It was actually the it was Aaron doesn't like throwing interceptions, and that sounds like an obvious good thing. I would argue Aaron's allergy to interceptions has actually been a slight detriment I think that there are times where and interception. There are times where interception literally is the worst thing quarterback can do in the red zone or you know, on first and ten, things like that.
There are also times where the risk is worth the reward for what a big play can do for your team. And I do think it is noteworthy that we have talked for years about how the most dangerous play in the NFL is the Aaron Rodgers free play, because that's when he does and now a lot of quarterbacks do this, but follow me here. You get a team to jump off sides, so even if you throw a pick, even if the play goes terribly, he just gets wiped away
and he takes a chance. Obviously, Aaron throughout his career has had a great deep ball, has been able to make every throw.
And I do think maybe a few.
More risks, a few more chances could be good because you are going to get some more big plays that particularly we're lacking for the Packers last year, and the Jets obviously been lacking their entire their entire run. I think it is noteworthy, and again I'm not trying to take a shot at Aaron here that I mean, he has the lowest interception rate I think in NFL history. Peyton Manning played seventeen years in the NFL. He had double digit interceptions sixteen of them, and the one year
he didn't he had nine. Patrick Mahomes has played five years in the NFL. He's thrown double digit interceptions three of those five. Tom Brady played twenty one years as a starting quarterback. He had double digit interceptions one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine twelve times of his twenty one years. Those are the three greatest quarterbacks ever, Brady, Montana and Mahomes. I'm sorry Brady Manning and Mahomes Montana. If I were to look now, that is a different era. I'm not sure
it's totally fair, but I'll look at it. Montana had double digit interceptions in.
Nine of his fifteen years.
Aaron it's been three years in his career, his first year as a starter, the year they won the Super Bowl, and last year. And so I think that the allergy to throwing picks can be good if you're getting on the Josh Allen reckless scale. For Aaron this year, I think a few more picks than his normal might not be a bad thing. All right next. Steph said Luca was up next. The producers say, how can Luca be next if he can't even make the playoffs? All right,
this is where Lebron has spoiled all of you. It's it's relatively normal for great, great players at some point in their career to miss the playoffs. Kobe missed the playoffs and the debt smack dab of his prime. Steph missed the playoffs the two years prior to them winning the most recent title. One year he was out most of the year, fine the other year he was playing, he missed the playoffs. Kg missed the playoffs in Minnesota.
Duncan never missed the playoffs. Obviously, it's part of his greatness. Magic never missed the playoffs. It's part of his greatness. Lebron never missed the playoffs up until the latter stage. Well, that's not true. Lebron missed the playoffs the first two years of his career when he's very young, and then with the Lakers. But during the entire run of prime, Lebron never missed the playoffs. Luca missing the playoffs one
year does not disqualify him from being up next. Now, I guess the reason Steph is saying Luca is up next is because Jannis and Joker he's saying, are right now, and Luca does have some up next competition. But let's not forget please, that were a year removed, Luca dragging a team that didn't have another top sixty player in
the league to the Western Conference finals. And last year, for as much as we want to put on my large adult Slovenian sons head, last year, Luca did average thirty two nine to eight and was first team All NBA. One of the craziest stats, by the way, in the NBA is that Luka Doncic has as many first Team All NBA appearances as Steph Curry. Luca's been first Team All NBA four times. Steph's been first Team All NBA four times. It seems impossible to be true, but you
can look it up. I promise you it's true. He has four He's played in the league five years. He's been first Team All NBA four of those five. All right, last one, this sucks show might have to have his second Tommy John surgery. Everybody is talking about what this means for his contract and that obviously, I mean, this could be I don't know who said it, but someone tweeted his most expensive elbow injury ever. It also is just devastating for baseball fans. It's devastating for show Hey.
This would be his second Tommy John surgery had another one five years ago. The producers asked, sayes this mean it's impossible to do what he's trying to do. Here's the thing. I don't know enough about UCL injuries, but I don't think, maybe I'm wrong, that him doing double duty has anything to do with this. I don't think the fact that he bats when he's not pitching led to the elbow injury. I do think that there is obviously an epidemic amongst throwing arm injuries in the modern
baseball player. My pal Jeff Passen wrote a whole book about it. No one has figured it out, but I give show Hey credit man for I mean, this was the ultimate bet on himself deal. But this is the downside to it. I mean, this could be they were talking about.
Him getting.
Twelve years, eight hundred million dollars and the Angels obviously are just cursed. It would appear and for show Hey, this is absolutely brutal, and I do wonder if this means he just won't pitch anymore, if you'll just be a hitter, and he's one of the three or four best hitters in the sport anyway, some would argue he's the best. I'm not sure what this means for him. This is not my area of expertise. I know for sports fans, Shoe Otani was absolutely mussy and this sucks
for them and sucks for him. It's a bad, bad name, news man, and it's something nobody wanted to hear. Quick Break, Come Back, Demonze's sneak preview from La Next and we play a new game What's Right.
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Welcome back in episode one seventy three and again in about ten what would it be twelve days, We will be back to how this show originated with me and Demonse side by side talking full all. They have been working, i mean night and day, building out a custom studio on the other side of the country to match the studio we have here at Trentage in Harlem in southern California, on the beach where Demanse's living, just living the life, and we are ready for a sneak preview of it.
Let's see Demonse from the West coast and it's like eight in the morning out there, but he's a he's a morning an early bird these days. Oh looking great, how are you? I'm a great man, Demonse. For people that don't know, this is his side gig. Demonse actually has two side gigs. One is this. Can we say what the other side gig is or do you want to keep that under wraps? That's up to you.
Right now.
That's fair, That's what I thought, so that the so is another. He has a couple side gigs. He also has a full.
Time job he's doing.
He's a lot of stuff for FS one and for Fox in the production and research and all these things department. He was actually telling me a story about work the other day, about some of the work he was doing and what then the channels it goes to after And I was listening and I was interested, and then I also realized, I have no idea how television shows get made. Everything you were describing to me, you were like.
This happened, and that happened.
I was like, I honestly.
Don't know what you do.
I know you're like, you're like, oh, I'm doing some stuff with tape. I don't really know what that is. I don't know what it means, but you're doing great.
Yeah, that talent life is different, man. You know, you know a lot of stuff that goes online the scenes.
So I have no clue.
I just show up looking great, amazing opinions and all these things show up on the screen and.
It's all you guys doing it.
Okay.
So, as a and this is a sneak preview also a bit of a test, we're gonna see how the audio sounds, making sure everything works. It sounds a little echoee in my ear.
I hope it.
Doesn't for the actual audience, but that's not the Well, this is why we're doing it here. But in honor of Demonse being back, we're gonna do one topic together. And I had all of the things that we could choose from, and I was like, well, the US Open does.
Start here in New York pretty soon.
But Demonse does not like the tennis corner, and in fact, the only thing I think he likes less than the tennis corner is the golf corner. So with that said, Demonse, I think we're talking golfers and gamblers.
Go right ahead some.
Time for a little special edition of Nick Makes It Right. So John Rahm and Max Holmes said, spectators talking or talking about gambling has become rampant on the tour, and a gambler recently interfered with a pro am golfer because of a bet. Uh, it's toime for Dick makes it Right. Is this a serious issue or should these pro athletes stop complaining?
Oh?
I think it's a I mean, I don't know if I would call it a serious issue, but I don't mind. I don't think they're complaining. I think that there are. I think the if there is, and this is gonna be really hard for golf and tennis. Your two favorites demons in particular, which is there is an expected and
understood decorum about noise during play. So like, if I have a bet on Steph Kerr is six step out of it on under twenty four and a half points for Anthony Edwards, and he's at the free throw line with a minute left, and I yell because I want him to miss. He's used to that. People are always yelling, you know what I mean. That's not going to have a tangible impact golfers and tennis players. You're silent while
they're actually playing. And that with a guy did shank it in in the pro am Steph Curry won, a guy shanked it on eighteen and the guy who yelled had a bet against him. So I do think this could actually be a problem in that guy's going out
there and trying to directly impact. Uh. You know, they're wagers, and I know people have been gambling forever, but people weren't gambling as regularly, and they certainly weren't gambling on what I would call Nietzsch events is regularly Like golf, people were always gambling on football and basketball.
So go ahead, your take.
You got to call the hotline if you're out here betting golf. In my opinion, I say that the golfers should just do better under pressure. In my opinion, you want just go ahead, go ahead, but one guy screams and and you shank it. Hey, dude, be better. I mean, you're you're a pro am golf off for a reason. But you know, I get things have always gone a certain way. But uh, I don't know, man.
I don't think they're gonna change it with golf. I think golf and tennis it's still gonna be silent.
Now.
At tennis, they'll just replay the point. There's a you gotta look it up. There's an unbelievable video from about a week and a half ago of a tennis match and mid point, the person in charge of the end stadium music all of a sudden turns on Cotton Eye Joe, Where did.
You come from? Where did you go? That song it is?
And both both players just stopped immediately, like we can't be expected to play under these circumstances, and the umpire was like replay the point, like everyone understood, like we're not playing with Cotton Eye Joe in the background.
So that's the that's a different scenario. In my opinion, it's a lot different.
One guy screen, different scenario, one guy streaming versus the thing.
But I'm golf.
I do think that they this could be a significant issue. And I do think golf is going to have to determine whether or not you are going to get a do over if someone yells in your backswing, because it absolutely.
Impacts these guys.
And while it always was possible, but back when Tiger was apex Tiger, people always wanted to be the first one to yell get in the hole, like make it on a drive or.
Something like that.
And occasionally someone would jump the gun a bit and Tiger would get furious because he'd flinch a bit in his swing and he'd shank it. And so but that you really didn't have to worry about it because it was just a one off thing. If people are all of a sudden gambling at these events and have a chance, like, who cares if I get thrown out, if it means I win my bet, if I can force you, I think it's a real thing.
I know you just got a question, So I know Steph did a lot of golfing stuff over the summer. Was was that a silent golfing event? Or is Steph Curry like the best golfer ever? No?
So that, well, Steph is great this event where this happened, Steph won it. Steph is a could be a pro golfer. It's you are allowed to make noise after the swing, and people just not at once they've approached the ball and are doing their practice swing and the actual swing.
And that's why I was saying.
What happened to Tiger is people wanted to make noise the moment he hit it, and.
Sometimes people would jump the gun.
That what happened to this guy was as soon as he was about to hit it, someone intentionally yelled to shock him, and he shanked it and lost the tournament. All right, listen, you have to get to your actual job. This is great golf discussion. I can't wait. You better, by the way, you better be ready. In twelve days, we'll be will be at I think the semi finals of the US Open. Oh boy, Alcarez an adult, Alcarez, Djokovic, Oh man, I'm going to it. You're your play. Uncle
karm is staying with me. He's coming to New York so we can go to the US Open together. He's staying in your room.
Huge, Huge, that's awesome, man, til karm I said, what's up. It's gonna be unfortunate that I'm missing that great match. I am in a golf league at work. I've yet to play my first game, but I'm supposed to be playing it here pretty soon. We just got to reserve a first Yeah. Uh no, we're just I might go to top Golf this weekend, and you know, go to time.
I think you'd love top golf, first of all, and second of all, frustrated, I think you'll naturally be pretty good.
You have really the.
HANDI coordination, You're tall and strong. I just I think you're naturally going to pick up on it pretty quickly. Uh And I think you'll be a pretty good golfer. All right, Well, get to work. There's demons. He's back in twelve days. We now play, thank you. We now play a new game called the Deciding Factor, where I'm going to make a case four against a teamer player and what their X factor is. The Miami Dolphins. Miami made it the playoffs last year despite injuries at quarterback.
Will they be able to take the next step this year?
Why why not?
And what's their X factor? This one's very very simple. Why they could is Vic fangio on is the defensive coordinator and Tua stays healthy. Why they wouldn't is if Tua gets banged up again and the X factor is twas health. That's very simple. I mean, the Dolphins are not a difficult team to handicap. It's whether or not Tua can play sixteen to seventeen games, or hell call it if you could play fourteen games McDaniels, I think an excellent offensive mind. We know how many weapons they
have on offense. I know Jalen Ramsey's out now for them defensively, but that defense still got better. And Vic Fangio's great. If two is healthy, they win that division. And I don't think two is great, but I don't think he has to be great. If he's healthy, they win that division, all right. Next, Trevor Lawrence to win MVPs plus fifteen hundred?
Will he win it? Why? Why not?
And what is the X factor?
Why he would win it? Is because they're gonna win thirteen games and he's gonna be awesome and they're gonna have a gaudy record. Why he wouldn't win it is if that defense is just too bad for them to win thirteen games. If the defense that they've piled so many top picks.
Into is.
It doesn't come around where they you know, they win ten games and he can't win MVP. The X factor is twenty and up is if the Chiefs go undefeated, Mahomes is winning MVP, and the Chiefs might go undefeated.
All right?
The Lions, the Lions or this year's Turney pick to make some noise in the NFC. Will they why?
Why not?
And what's their X factor?
Why they would is the week.
NFC and.
The Lions young players.
I want to make.
Sure I explain this the way I mean to explain it. They drafted non premium positions, but the best or the second best guy at every position. So they might get like inside linebacker, running back, safety, they might get instant impact from the rookie Clay. Why they wouldn't, No, no, no, that's not the why not.
That was the why they would.
Why they wouldn't is Jared Goff goes back to being the Jared Goff that we had seen throughout most of his career prior to last year. The X factor is the offensive line, because when Golf is protected, he's good, but the moment he's pressured, he turns into a pumpkin. They need great offensive line play more than just about any team in the league. All right, next Baltimore. The Ravens seem to have suddenly uncertainty this offseason.
Given Lamar everything he wanted.
New weapons, all that money, will Lamar look like an MVP again?
Why?
Why not? What's their X factor?
Why he would is Todd Munkin and the new weapons, and all of a sudden, he's in a pro style offense like he was at Louisville.
Where he crushed. That's why he would.
Why he wouldn't is instead of getting better as a passer, he's maybe regressing as a passer and he keeps missing some of those easy layups. The X factor is how good are the receivers really? Odell a year off another knee injury, a rookie, and Zay Flowers. Will Bateman ever take the leap? You know how we spent a lot of resources on the receivers, But how good are they really? All Right, we'll go to the Rams now, The Rams
super Bowl two years ago. Everyone's written them off. Could the Rams be due for a bounce back season?
Why?
I don't know.
It's Rams bouncing back seems impossible.
I I can't.
There's no way. Why why not? This one will be very simple? Why there is no reason?
Why? Why not?
Because of all because of the roster, and the X factor is whether or not they are bad enough early to turn the ship in the other direction and tank for Caleb. Nothing would be smarter for the Los Angeles Rams then to find a way to throw the games against the Arizona Cardinals who are trying to tank for Caleb themselves. All right, next, Baker Mayfield won the starting job in Tampa. I'm still Baker's largest shareholder. Could the Bucks have some run left?
Why? Why not?
What's their X factor?
Why?
The division?
And some of their top flight talent.
Good tackles or good.
Tackle I should say, good wide receivers, a couple impact defensive players.
Why not?
Well?
The coach quarterback combo the Bulls Baker Combo. You know, as much as I want to believe in Baker, you know it's not exactly a proven coach quarterback combo. The X factor is does anyone else in the division and take a leap the Saints or the Falcons. I don't think the Panthers can with Bryce Young, certainly not this year. The Falcons could be good Man like good Ish. Bijon is awesome, and the Saints are in or perpetually and win now mode even if their ceiling is ten wins
and losing in round one. All right, last, I'm set to face off against Phil helm Youth and others in a big poker game next week.
How will I do?
What?
You know? What are the why all do well? Why won't?
In the X factor?
All Right?
So I'm going down to Houston to play. It's not a poker tournament. It's a cash game, and it's a big cash game. It's a three blind game, and the blinds are twenty five fifty one hundred. You typically want to have, at least for a game like this, at least two hundred big blinds in front of you. So the big blind is one hundred, and you want two hundred of them. I mean, I would imagine everyone's gonna be sitting with at least twenty grand. So it's a
big game. Why All do well? Is? And by the way, it's a no limit hold them and pot limit Omaha game.
It alternates.
Why all do well is because I think I'm gonna have an edge that I don't really want to say. This is real money. I have an edge that I don't think the other players will have that I will discuss when I get back.
Why I wouldn't do well is.
If I lose a big hand early and get tilted, which is one of my achilles heels, as it is for a lot of poker players. The X factor, if I'm being totally honest, is whether is whether or not it's the players are drinking, because it's a it's at a poker club, it's in Texas. If I think, my edge goes up considerably if everyone myself included, is drinking. If everyone's stone sober and being you know, super quiet and taking it super serious, my edge goes down a bit.
But I'm used to playing in a chatty, big action, drinks flowing poker setting, and if that's the setting, I think I.
Could win a lot of money.
And if not, luckily football season starts a week after I get back, and I'll make it all back with my amazing picks, which, by the way, way, that show's coming back as well, our third show. You know, we usually do off season two shows a week during football season, three shows a week. The Gambling show coming back in a couple of weeks. We read your fan questions. Next, what's right?
All right?
Welcome back?
In episode one seventy three, we're now reading the listener questions. This one's from our producers who want to know how was the Mulin Rouge in Paris. I am here to tell you that is the single greatest show I've ever seen in my life. I understand it's super famous, Nick, why are you surprised? Sometimes things get so famous they then deteriorate because they're kind of just coasting off their reputation. The it it's a burlesque show, but it is so
much more. And yes, there are you know, very scantily clad women as the you know, it's dancing, but that is not what the show's about.
And I am telling you it.
Was jaw dropping, absolutely jaw dropping. I couldn't believe it, and I can't even pay it justice. I'm just I'm telling you I Paris was for my trip. I went to Amsterdam, then to Colonne, Germany, then to Brussels and then to Paris. Paris was one of the greatest cities I've ever been to, one of the only places I've ever traveled to where I was like, oh, I think I could live I actually could live here, and Mulan Rouge was the best thing I did. Now I understand this, like, oh,
big shocking take. Oh that's a good that's a good photoshop of me doing that, you know at the Mulin Rouge. I guess, uh, you know, shocking take. Nick says Paris and the Mulan Rouge are awesome. Yeah, I understand that I'm not the first person to have these opinions, but it was my first experience there and I thought it was just phenomenal.
All right.
Next, Quinn says, Nick, you should bet your hair the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Well, I'm not cutting my hair until the Chiefs lose a game, so it could be years. Uh. Dexter says, who's your sleeper team for the NFL this season? I bet it's the Falcons. We're gonna do that when we do Prediction Week and when we do uh, when we get into that on this show, you know the team. Those types of big picture picks I do like Bjean Robinson, and I do like the Falcons run game a lot.
I will tell you that much.
Uh, Cutlass says, Honestly, I feel like the influence of sports gambling has gotten too big, too fast.
I get that.
To go from totally prohibited to be talked about, like where it's you know, it's considered illegal and all of these things, to where all of everything is brought to you by a sports book and it became so ubiquitous it it did seem it has seemed very very quick. I understand that, Cutlass says, does Nick hate Mayo? No, I don't hate Mayo, but just the will Levits putting it in coffee and all that stuff.
I just think it's gross.
No, no, no, I'm not anti mayonnaise in general. I just think the will Levit stuff is gross and it's also not franchise quarterback material if you ask me. All right, reminder off Tuesday because I'm doing double duty on television. I'll see you guys today at three o'clock on First Things First TV shows on Fire right now. By the way, a really really nice article in Sports Business Journal talking about the TV show earlier this week, and I couldn't be having more fun.
It's going great.
Also next week, big week for exciting week for FS one. I'm very proud of what we're doing over there, proud to be a part of it.
I will see you guys on TV today at.
Three back Deora's final show on the podcast one.
Week from today, See you guys then, what's right? Hey, it's Nick right. Thank you so much for watching.
Please do us a favor.
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