Welcome in What's Driving the Grid Episode four oh one. First four hundred episodes of this show, we did the Chiefs were the pre eminent contender in the NFL. Episode four oh one is our first show with the Chiefs out of contention almost entirely. It's a brave new world for the rest of this NFL season, and we'll get all into it. This episode of What's Right with the Grid is presented to you by boost Mobile demands, how are you great? To see you look fantastic? I'm doing
Rested is now officially one month old. The all right, this is really embarrassing, and I you know, I have strengths and weakness since as a parent now also a grandparent. Is her birthday November eighth or ninth? It's the ninth, the ninth. Okay, that's what I thought. That's what I thought. But I got one month old pictures yesterday. It was the eighth, and I was born.
Like was this and a half? Yeah you, but yeah, she was born.
She was born in the middle of the night the eighth into the ninth. Got it, Okay, good, I have it. Okay, that's what I thought. Feel better about it. That picture, the pictures of your baby were really the only good things I got this weekend, So that was good, and people did seem to like the way we opened First Things First yesterday. I don't know who votes on Sports Emmys, but if Sports Emmys are voted on by quote tweets, We're crushing. We're gonna We're gonna annihilate it. Uh So
we do have to get to the Kansady Chiefs. We do have to get to uh an unbelievable Monday night football game. And I'm just telling you. I said this off the air, I'm saying it on the air now. Misery loves company and there is no silver lining to this Chief season. But the only way that I'll be able to survive it is I might turn into the next few months a world class hater. I'm just letting everyone know. I'm letting listen. I've got the I have some carve outs. I have a soft spot in my
heart for Matt Stafford in the Rams. I obviously like Baker and the Bucks, the Prince and the Jags. Sneaky just winning games. And you know what, I've always said that I do believe at some point the Buffalo Bills are gonna get over and no better time than now. And again, the hater in me also feels like having the yeah but yeah, but you won the super Bowl the year Mahomes wasn't in the playoffs. It's like any
super like. Uh So those teams I feel good about and I can see myself pulling for once the playoffs begin. Everybody else, but most notably the Philadelphia Eagles. Folks, we're our ship is sinking together. Baltimore Ravens, you're you might be overboard before me. Cincinnati Bengals. I don't even really think about the Bengals anymore, but they did beat the Chiefs once upon a time in a playoff game. You got nine losses already, the we're all we are all
falling together. I got nothing against the Lions, but you know what they're in, so they're fine. We'll get into all of it. And then, but most notable, well, it doesn't matter, we'll get into all of it. We'll talk about the Chiefs in a second. First, this episode of What's Right and the Card is brought to you by Boost Mobile and Straight to Voicemail, of course, is brought
to you by Boost Mobile. And I do I'm not gonna do the thing I did a couple of weeks ago where the Chiefs lost, and then I didn't lead with the Chiefs. But I am gonna spend ninety seconds on the college football Playoff because I thought Miami should get in over Notre Dame. I also thought though Notre Dame had an argument to get in over Alabama. But this is and Jokic's past, Jordan and crisis. Josh Hard hands off his kid to Mitchell Robinson. But just real quick,
Oh that's adorable. I love that. I like I like that picture a lot. Go ahead.
Oh no, I just said the baby on the shoh yeah, give me ninety seconds hear in the college football Playoff because I just want to get on the record about this, and we'll put this on the internet if we want to.
I supported expanding the playoff from four to twelve, not because there were ever going to be twelve deserving teams, but because of a year just like this year, where there is one unimpeachable team that obviously deserves to be there in Indiana, and then more than three teams that have an argument they should be included in a chance to win the national championship, those being, of course, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss. And there's one more that
I'm forgetting. Uh who was the who was the seventh seed? Was it Oklahoma? The I should have oh, A and M pardon me A and M and I give the and Oklahoma throw them in as well. The whole reason for expanding the playoff, apologies to my friends today and him my buddy John Lopez, was to make sure you're
not having to choose between Texas Tech and Oregon. The whole reason of expanding the playoffs was to make sure that you're not having to choose between Ole Miss and Georgia, even though that wouldn't have been given what Georgia did that hard of a decision. The point of the playoff was not to make sure a team with Miami or Texas or Notre Dame or BYU or Alabama's resume gets in. So any of those teams that get in, just be
happy about it. And any of those teams you are if you are arguing we were tenth, then you've lost. So I just don't care about Notre Dame versus Miami versus Alabama. Because the point of the playoff was not to accommodate them. The point of the playoff was to make sure that Texas Tech doesn't get left out for Oregon or vice versa. The playoff has accomplished that, so
that's what matters here. You expand from four to twelve to make sure years like this year, where there are six or seven teams that have a legitimate claim their top four, all of them get in. That's why you do it everyone else. And it's not to say one of those teams can't somehow peel a championship. Ohio State did it last year, duck not. The point point is you did not expand the playoff to accommodate the Miamis
and Notre Dames of twenty twenty five. You expanded the playoff to make sure the Ole miss and Oregons of twenty twenty five didn't get left out. Okay, like rate subscribe review please. The Chiefs are six and seven.
Demosey, Yeah, it's grim. They have lost now four of their last five after that game with Houston. This is the first time I think it kind of looked like the cold was effecting the Chiefs. Old line was cook Kelsey had some drops, Rice had some drops, Mahomes was limping around. Is there any type of silver lining or any type of hope that you're holding on to after this last game through the end of the season, All.
Right, Well, listen. The hope is like, do they have a path to the playoffs? And the answer is yes technically, but and the simplest way to explain their path to the playoffs and then we'll get into what has happened. But let me just get this out of the way. They have to go four and zero home Chargers at Titans, home, Broncos at Raiders. The Colts can't go three and one. Not worried about that. They're they're I mean, they're thinking
about starting Philip Rivers. So the Colts part of it, to me is easy because the Colts have Seahawks, Niners, Jags, Texans. So the the let's just say the Colts are out and then the Chargers have to go either zero to four or one in three, with one of the losses being to Denver in Week eighteen. The simplest way to look at can the Chiefs make the playoffs is they
have to beat the Chargers this weekend. They then have to beat the Titans the Broncos and the Raiders, and the Chargers have to then lose to Denver and Wi week eighteen and to either the Texans or the Cowboys in week sixteen seventeen. If that happens, the Chiefs make it. And when I lay it out that way, I can tell by the look on Demanda's face it doesn't seem impossible. It's like, Okay, Chiefs gotta beat the Chargers, the Titans and the Raiders are awful home game against the Broncos.
They could do it. And then for the Chargers, can they lose to Denver in week eighteen and to either the Texans or the Cowboys. It's like, oh, maybe, Like yeah, that's possible. The problem is this, as evidenced by the Chiefs game Sunday night, the Chiefs are not a reliable
team right now. And they lost Sunday Night for ten different reasons, and they were all little microcosms for what's happened all season long that has put them in this position in no particular order, just kind of running list right. Bad special teams for the first time of this era.
That missed field goal at the end of the first half ended up being absolutely brutal particularly because if they were up thirteen to ten instead of tied ten to ten, they wouldn't have gone for that fourth and one, which then leads me to some very shaky situational coaching from Andy. At times, it feels like he has been more aggressive
than not. It feels like he has been way more aggressive than any year than years past, yet oddly passive in the Cowboys game when both teams are moving the ball up and down the field, and then insanely aggressive in the Texans game when that Texans offense was dead on arrival in the second half, like that going for that fourth down when at that moment Chris Jones has taken over the game entirely is I hated it in real time. I don't care what the analytical model said.
The flow of that game. The Texans were not scoring again and the Chiefs didn't need to do that. I love Andy, but that was a mistake, so that bit them in this game. I mentioned Chris Jones. He was unreal in the second half of this football game. But the fact that the Chiefs all year long have only been able to generate any type of quarterback pressure when Chris Jones is dominant is a collective failure. I don't know how many times I've talked to Monsey about third
and longs. They gave up a third and sixteen in this game they gave up Listen, the third and ten that they gave up on the pass interference was shaky, but they gave up a third and eight previously, like third and long defense was a problem. I'm not Patrick's game was odd because obviously the stat line is the stat line, and he missed some throws. I also thought he had some heroic moments and was the least of our problems. But he did throw that pit the second pick.
He threw the one in the second half on third and six deep down the field Hollywood, Brown's open, and he underthrows him. The inability to get on the same page on the deep ball has been a problem all year, and when he has gotten on the same page, like the bomb to Taekwan Thornton, the perfect sixty yard pass, Thornton doesn't reel it in. Kelsey has actually been really good this year. He's he's second in I think amongst Titans and yards and catches, but his bad moments have
been awful. The drop against Philly that flipped that game, the drop against the Texans that ended this game, the total inability to have any run game other than from Patrick Mahomes aside from Kareem Hunting, the Colts game has been a killer. Patrick's led them in rushing four times this year. They're owing four in those games all and so going into this game, you knew the offensive line was a problem. They were down three starters. In the first play of the game, one of the backups went down.
But honestly, the third string kid that came in as a pole, I think is how you say his name? It's p O l E, but I don't think it's pronounced pole played really well. And the Chiefs game plan, knowing it was not the quick, quick, quick. They didn't lose because the offensive line was in shambles. They lost
because they haven't executed. And this is this is Demand's why I was so adamant all of last year that I did not care what the advanced stats said that that was a great team because winning in the NFL, we haven't solved it yet through success rate and EPA per play and DVOA, we just haven't. And it's one of the beautiful things about Pro football is. It hasn't been sabermetric to the way baseball has where we just
know everything. And last year's team, yes, of course there were some lucky bounces, and yes, of course there were a couple of few wins that could have been losses. But overall that team understood, like a great tennis player does, the four or five highest leverage leverage moments of a match, and that's when they execute their best. This year, this Chiefs team has been the exact opposite, and I can go.
I can Week one, after being thoroughly outplayed, you have the Chargers in a third and fifteen to get the ball back and Chris Jones doesn't keep containing Herbert runs and you lose. Week two, you're about to take the lead on the goal line and Kelsey doesn't secure the ball, tips it up and it's intercepted the the loss to the Jags. Patrick doesn't see a lurking d lineman with a chance to put the game away. It gets picked
sixth and they lose. The loss. Against the Broncos, you have bow Nicks in a third and eight with a fourth quarter lead, and you let him complete an easy pass over the middle of the field. This has happened
all year, and the Texans game was no different. Fourth and one tie game, ten minutes left, brutal, cold arrowhead on fire on your own thirty against a team that has not scored in an hour, hour and a half of real time, and you ran a play with no threat of a run against the best pass Russian football. That's how you lose. And so that's just that's just where they're at. And I'm not going to where I will and I don't know if people want to hear this or not where I will give myself credit, I guess,
but not really credit. This is just more an indictment on how other people I think either do sports fandom or media. I'm not going to make any of the excuses that people made in the other direction when the Chiefs were winning. I'm not good like I'm not blaming the reps for the best pass interference call that it led to seven Texans points. Bad calls happen. I'm not saying it's bad luck. I'm not saying this is actually
deep down a great team. They're not. And I talked I don't know how much content I did after the Cowboys game. You didn't hear you're not. You didn't hear me say one thing about the officials, because it's the NFL. Man, there's up and down officiating every single week. You bake that in. If you're not a loser, you don't create a stupid conspiracy theory and you deal with it. And that is that's where they're at now. With all that said, Demons, if they beat the Chargers on Sunday, a flicker of
hope will return, Yeah, because I will. Now there is a very real possibility of a cruel circumstance staring at me, which is because again, nothing if the Chargers beat that. Obviously, if the Chargers beat the Chiefs, the Chiefs are dead, but the Chargers could lose their next three, and if they beat the Broncos, the Chiefs are dead, just dead.
I think technically there is a different possibility of the whole like AFC South imploding, but I don't think that's a real like I'm that involves like the Cardinals and the Raiders winning games like so that for all intents and purposes, if the Chargers beat the Broncos, the chief season's over. And that's in week that's in week eighteen, and my so that's the So that's what I've tried to game out in my head of do I think it's likely the Broncos are not playing for something that week?
So let's actually, you know what, let's just real quick talk this out right now. Let's do it, because what what we know is the Broncos have at least right now well so, but I don't know if that's good for the Chiefs or not. So here's the deal. If we're assuming, obviously none of this matters if the Chiefs don't beat the Broncos, so that puts the Broncos at
three losses. We need Denver to be playing for I can't, you know what, there's no way to figure this out, to be honest with you, because there's too many unknown tiebreakers because Denver and the Patriots didn't play head to head. Right now, when Denver and the pats are have the same record, the Broncos have the tiebreaker. But so let me.
This kind of seems like what you're saying.
Yeah, I think I think here's what I But here's where I don't. Would wouldn't want them to win their next two. I wouldn't want them to win their next too. If the Patriots are about to go on a bit of a swoon, and then it gives the Broncos the possibility of having the one seed locked up going The worst case scenario is the Broncos have the one seed locked up going into Week eighteen. That's a disaster. The So this isn't good podcast content. I'm not going to
spend more time on this. What I the because I can't figure out the exact you know, ramifications right what I so? What would be the Chiefs? So the point that I was trying to make was, after all of the trash I've talked on the eleven and two Broncos all year, if they end up being so good that not only do they win the division, but they are able to rest players and that costs the Chiefs a spot in the tournament, which again, for that to even be a possibility, Kansas City's gotta win all of the
rest of their games. That would be a That'd be a cruel mistress, I'll tell you that much. But it's a position they've put themselves in. Now, I do want to say one more thing demands before we get to the other stuff, which is the how does this impact the Mahomes goat stuff, and I'm going to try to do this quickly, but I I don't even think it is debatable what I'm about to say. It's just very
simple kind of how linear time works. Okay, even when missing the playoffs this year, if they do, Patrick Mahomes, by any metric that you choose, stats, wins, postseason success, championshipschampionship appearances, by any metric, has had the greatest first eight years as a starter or first nine years of his career of any player in league history, of any quarterback. That is not a debate. That is just what the numbers are now. Obviously, in his quest to become the goat,
you have to incorporate two realities. One is the guy he's chasing beat him twice in the playoffs, and he'll never be able to beat him because he's long retired.
That hurts. And the other one is the guy he's chasing played so incredibly long and had such an unbelievable final ten years that it is unrealistic to think Patrick will play nearly as long as Tom, and so he needed and needs to rack up accomplishments early and really be ahead of the pace because almost he's I don't think he's going to play ut at least forty five. So all of that is just factually true, and so
in that regard, this season hurts him a lot. But one can acknowledge that while also acknowledging that the idea that Tom Brady or those Pats never had dips or maybe not a season quite like this, but to that in a moment is erroneous. Patrick has been a starter for eight years. Let's assume they missed the playoffs this year. In those eight years, Patrick has more playoff wins eight years. Is a starter. Side by side Patrick and Tom, they
have the same number of Super Bowl wins. Patrick has more playoff wins, regular season wins, playoff appearances, regular season MVPs, Super Bowl MVPs. In those eight seasons, Tom missed the playoffs twice. Patrick has missed the playoffs potentially once. In those eight seasons, there were three years where Tom's team I'm sorry, two years where Tom's team did not win a playoff game, and three years where Tom's team did
not make the conference championship game, and Patrick's eight years. Again, assuming they missed the playoffs, there will be one year where they didn't want a playoff game and one year where they didn't make the conference championship game. Now people listening to this are yelling two things. Well, one of those years Tom was hurt. Unfair to use that against him. It's totally true, and I'm not using it against him. I am simply doing linear time. First eight seasons, here's
what they did. And while you wouldn't use the year he was hurt and they missed the playoffs against him, you also certainly are not going to be like that helps him, like that the year he didn't play helps him. The other thing people say with regularity is well the two year when they missed the playoffs in won nine games, Tom wasn't Tom. Okay, I mean, that's that's an okay opinion to have, but it is a weird opinion to have.
If the argument, if you are trying to make the argument that through eight years, Tom was better, then I don't think you can make the argument that year two of that timeline doesn't count because year two Patrick was so much better than year two Tom. That doesn't make sense. Now, if the argument is at the beginning, Tom wasn't his fully for himself, and when he became his fully for himself. They never had a year like this. That is true.
That cuts in both directions, though, because if you're saying that early Tom doesn't get knocked for a nine and seven season because he wasn't really Tom Brady yet, then you can't then also be like, but all of the accomplishments count with the same way he does, Like the Super Bowls count for him, the misplayoffs and count against him. I'm not gonna do any of that. I'm simply gonna line up the eight years next to each other, and Patrick's first eight years, by any way you cut it,
even with this year included, outstripped Tom's first eight years. Now. Again, the obvious argument against that is, yeah, but do you think Patrick's next fifteen are gonna look like Tom's? That's gonna be very, very difficult, But we're not there yet. And what I would also add is this, you know who also didn't think their next that the second decade of his career was gonna look like it did for
Tom Brady. Tom Brady and the Patriots, because twenty eleven to twenty eighteen was the Pats run that comes closest that actually outstrips. Now this Chiefs run twenty eleven to twenty eighteen. So the Patriots had one to seven seven years, three four super Bowl appearances, three championships the Chiefs eighteen to twenty five seven years, five super Bowl appearances, three championships the Patriots in that time, or eighteen to twenty four,
I should have said for the Chiefs. Patriots in that time missed the playoffs once, didn't make the conference championship game two times. The Chiefs missed playoff zero times, didn't make the conference championship games zero times. And then there's the Patriot run of eleven to eighteen that the Chiefs had been chasing eight straight conference championship games, the only streak longer than the Chiefs won. Right now, five super Bowl appearances same as the Chiefs, three super Bowl victories,
same as the Chiefs. If the Chiefs missed the playoffs this year, then this eight year run they also went to three straight Super Bowls like the Chiefs did, then this eight eight year run falls just short of that one. But notice the timeline I did demanse was one to
seven and then eleven to eighteen. And the reason I did that, and this is again, if people are interested in being having a real discussion about the resume side by side, You then have to include that in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, and twenty ten, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in those three years won a total of zero playoff games. So the only reason I bring that up is, let's assume the
Chiefs missed the playoffs this year in year eight. I mean, it's the The symmetry of this is kind of crazy. Tom Brady in his seventh year as a starter, walked onto the field in the Super Bowl attempting to win his fourth championship and cement that team as the greatest team in the history of the league. They lost, and the next year was a season from hell because Tom got his knee blown out in Week one. The next year they won ten game and got beat by twenty
in the wild card round of the playoffs. And the next year they were the number one seed and lost to Mark Sanchez at home in their first playoff game, and then they started the eleven to eighteen eight straight conference championship game run. Patrick Mahomes, in his seventh year as a starter, walked onto the field trying to win his fourth Super Bowl and knowing if we win this game, we are the greatest team of all time. They lost,
and the following year was a season from hell. He didn't get hurt, but it looks like they're going to miss the playoffs again if Brady is following the Mahomes timeline. If Mahomes is following the Brady timeline, that would mean the Chiefs don't win a playoff game again until twenty twenty eight. That the next two years they don't win a playoff game. I don't think that's gonna happen. I
also don't think Patrick's gonna play twenty four years. I don't think their careers are going to be identical moving forward. But through eight years, it's stunning how similar the overall team's success has been. And the Patriots after that seven season and then the eight season had to do a bit of a reboot. We'll see what the Chiefs have to do. So that is the full version of it. I that's where we're at, and we'll see if they pull me back in with a win Sunday against the Chargers.
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The Bills are now the favorite to win in the AFC after their win over the Bengals. Following them are the Broncos and the Patriots, but those are obviously younger teams with those newer quarterbacks. If Kansas City misses the playoffs, who is the favorite to win in the AFC or who has the most pressure to win in the AFC. Let's say it's the bell I.
Mean, it's not. Yeah, it's the Bills by a country mind. Yeah, the Bills have to make the Super Bowl this year. It's not even that's not a hot take. That's not complex. It is if they walk into the playoffs and the Ravens aren't there, and Joe Burrow's not there and Patrick Mahomes isn't there, they have to come out of it. They have lost in the playoffs to Joe and Patrick
five consecutive years. Twenty twenty AFC Championship game to Patrick, twenty twenty one, thirteen second game, Divisional Round to Patrick twenty twenty two in their stadium in the snow, to Joe twenty twenty three, Divisional Round game in their stadium, to Patrick, twenty twenty four AFC Championship game at Arrowhead
to Patrick. If they go to the postseason and standing between them is Bo Knicks, is Denver Broncos second year stud first playoff appearance, Drake May the Prince and the Jags, a more abund offense in Houston who already beat them once, and whoever the hell comes out of the AFC north forty two year old Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, and then the Chargers and Justin Herbert, you have to make the super Bowl. And I'm telling you right now, Demansey, they would be my pick. They've got it. Josh is
playing great. This is the moment. They would be my pick. Nobody wants to play them. Wild is pretending like he's not scared. He's petrified. And the it would be it would be a catastrophe for Buffalo to not make the super Bowl. And they look listen that the that game they played against Cincinnati, that's just what they get. It's just gotta be Josh Allen, Live or die with your bro will just you know, crazy rhinoceros Josh Allen, and he looks awesome, and he the rollercoaster will be back
to a degree. He'll have some ups and downs. But I they shouldn't need here's the here's how I would see it playing out. They shouldn't need monster Josh Allen performance to go to Pittsburgh and win in round one. That should just happen. They should just be able to pretty methodically beat them round two. And then if the let's just say the Seeds hold and you play Denver and New England in round two and three, or New England and Denver and round two and three like you know,
don't know which round round two. Whoever, whenever you play bow Nicks, Josh should just be able to make just that's it. Don't make mistakes. See if bo Knicks can you know, make enough plays? Yes, great defense, and then against against the Patriots, I think he'd have to go superhero. I think he can do it. And it's just such a go ahead.
They're plus three seventy five to in the AFC.
Yeah, which makes them like co favorites. They're my they're my pick right now. And here is the insane thing about the NFL this year to last year. Here's the full list of monse of teams that won twelve or
more games last year and their current situation. The Detroit Lions currently out of the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs currently out of the playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles in the midst of a crisis, the Minnesota Vikings awful, the Buffalo Bills, pause on them, the Baltimore Ravens disaster, and the Washington Commanders season from hell. Seven teams won twelve or more games last year. Two of them, Minnesota and Washington, are dead. Another two Kansas City and Baltimore are hanging on for
dear life. Detroit is trying to scrape its way in Philadelphia is in the midst of a free fall, and Buffalo's sitting right there. It could not be better set up for them. And that's why I am not taking Josh Allen going to his press conference and saying never a doubt as a shot at me. I'm taking it as he's trying to usher as much good karma as possible. And you know what, I'm good with it. You know, if it, if it's gotta be anybody, I'm glad it's
them actually, like they deserve it now the Rams. We're not talking to ANYFC right now. A bunch of NFC teams deserve it and are good enough. But just talking about the AFC. All right, let's go over to the NFC demanse.
Uh So, it's your first time rooting for the Eagles last night and it went pretty poorly because they lost the game. I don't know how many turnovers they had that game, but that was that was one of the craziest games ever see in my life. How bad are things in Philly after last night?
I mean bad enough that the headline for the Philly Inquirer today is should they bench Jalen Hurts for Tanner McKee.
So that's pretty bad rough over there, man right.
I know nobody wants to hear this from me today, but I owe the audience honesty, and even if this ole piss off people that already don't like me, so be it, because I think deep down everybody knows it, particularly people on the team. The Eagles have a jail and Hurts problem. He for some reason does not trust himself on quick decisions, and because of that, the offense does not function properly. And then a game like last night comes around where he makes a mistake and its
snowballs in honestly cartoonish fashion. I mean, the guy had thrown two picks on the year. He threw four yesterday, including it's first and ten in overtime inside the red zone, and he makes a hero play and they lose the game because of it. So I don't know, like you can't have this much? Is some wrong with the offense? Is some wrong with the offense? Aj Brown sounding that alarm? None of his teammates know what we didn't hear from any of the Eagles, is man? Aj needs to shut up.
We're fine. It sure felt like a lot of the teammates were like, man, I'm glad he's taking those bullets because there is something wrong.
With him exactly.
Yeah, you go three and out more than any team on a percentage basis in the NFL in the last decade. You have all this talent and it can't just be Kevin Petula. It can't be. And I understand Jalen was unbelievable in the Super Bowl. I understand Jalen has had some truly spectacular, huge games. There's no there's no denying there. But the comp I have used repeatedly I will continue to use, and it's not they are. It's not identical,
but it's a lot of similarities. The comp for Jalen Hurts and this era of Eagles football is Russell Wilson and the Legion of Doom, the lead of Boom Seahawks. Great on the deep shot, good with his legs, good in the short stuff, shaky in the intermediate, great defense, winner, great running game, wins the Super Bowl, loses the Super Bowl Jalen did in the reverse order, and for some reason or another, the team doesn't seem to fully vibe with him.
Yeah, they have a bunny in the locker room. I feel like.
My positivity rabbit. I thought that was a joke when I saw that someone one of our first things. First, one of the producers texted that, I think it was Dusty Moo's an Eagles fan.
He thought he got stats. I thought what he thought he got sent tailed or something like it was a fake Twitter tells.
Yes exactly. I was like annoyed by it when he sent it to me. I'm like, god, I was like, either.
I checked this stuff, man, correct.
I thought one of two things. I thought either Dusty got duped by the most obvious fake news ever, or he was sending a joke. And then I realized it was real.
Came out. Yeah, man, and if it works, it works. It didn't work last night though.
No, And now here's the Chargers side of this is interesting, and I never here's the this is so I'm about to do something very unfair and borderline unprofessional. I'm just like, no, now, but I own the show, so we don't we own the show?
Demons brace myself.
No, it's not gonna be. It's not what you think. I have a great justin Herbert take great ten out of ten.
I honestly feel like I kind of know where you're going with it. But what I won't be guessed or anything.
But no, because here's the deal. Like I said, I'm gonna be a like world class hater these next few months. And this isn't hating on Justin Herbert. I know that I am going to be talking Justin Herbert with Justin Herbert's number one media apologist, Danny Parkins in about five and a half hours, and I don't want him to have any extra time to prepare for my argument. So
I'm saving my Justin Herbert take. I'm telling you guys, So that is that I to our wonderful sponsors, to all our partners, I promise I'll make up for it, but I it is too important to me to try to really wamboozle Danny in a few hours that I don't want. I don't want. He already has an advantage of seeing the to the TV for the first two hours of First Things First, get an idea of where
I'm at on stuff. But the too long, didn't read short version of it is it's very, very difficult to square the circle of Justin Herbert's biggest critics could not hate that game from him last night, and Justin Herbert's biggest supporters cannot love that game from him last night. That's the short version of it. But he's he has now put himself in position, as we talked about earlier for the Chargers, where all they have to do is not collapse, and he gets a chance at playoff redemption
and he will be Oh this job. I just realized something. There's a decent possibility that the playoff game we get if the Chargers make it is Chargers Jags part two in the playoffs and part four of the regular of their whole careers. And Trevor's three and zero. Oh, that would be unbelievable. That would be unbelievable. That's Hobby.
No, you go, you know, he's kind of he's hurt right now, like I just and then come that like the I don't know he's playing. He's playing the Texans and a couple weeks he's he's got some tough stuff ahead.
But yeah, tough stufed cheap Chiefs up next. I thought he was gritty as hell yesterday with the running. Yeah, it was unbelievable the way he his statline was what it was, but.
Always great, did what needed to be done.
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So my Ravens are slipping further and further out of the picture with a divisional loss to the Steelers. After the loss to the Steelers, Lamar said that the frustration level was through the roof. He still thinks that we can we can maybe slip in there if we went out with these last four games. I am, yeah, I think we can. I don't know how the math and stuff works, but I know that we're not completely out of it. And let's win these four games and see what can happen out of there. And I am gonna
blame the refs. I am the type of person that was what are you doing? Especially Tye say likely somebody that's had some questionable history, I guess over the last year and a half, Like, why do that dude? Where's he going to go? What are you talking about? A football move? What do I need to make a football move for him? Already in the end zone, there's nowhere else to go, but.
No listen, So here's the thing on that specific call. And you know, I hate replay, hate replaying sports. It's made sports worse. They promised us with NFL intone replay that the call in the field would have precedent and it would only be overturned if it was clear and obvious. The NFL, by the way, then added this year like, hey, even better expedited replay and that's just going to fix obvious errors in the Chiefs Texans game X. But the ref the call in the field was correct about a spot.
Expedited replay came in and was like no, no, no, he got the first down. And then Andy was like, you gotta be kidding me, challenged, and then the refts were like our bad expedited replay was wrong. So the replay creep has gotten so massive to where it was like replay only will be for the Vinny Testaverdi. We thought his helmet was the football. We gave him a touchdown mistakes, and now it's like we're just gonna get buzzed down and base calls off vibes. So I hate,
I hate it. My opinion on the likely thing is whatever the call on the field was should have stood. So I do think it was close, and had they called it incomplete, I would have argued it should have stayed incomplete, right, But for them to call that a touchdown and then overturn it, I think it's incorrect. So I agree with you that you guys got screwed on that call. Yeah, but that's not the problem for Baltimore. No problem for Baltimore is they're not good and Lamar
is playing terribly. And something lost in the weeds of this past weekend was that two minute drill Lamar attempted to run on Sunday was an abomination. They had the ball with a minute fifty six and two timeout and a timeout pardon me, at the twenty six yard line and they had gone eight yards and there was forty five seconds left and they had used their timeout. They got the ball with two minutes and a timeout and they ran out of time.
I think we ended up. It was just it was like a we weren't gonna be able to staff the ball in time or something like that. I feel like we're a far off line and how to use the timeout. Are you just saying like we shouldn't have been there to Yeah, No, what I'm.
Saying is it's lamar job to understand. I can't. I can't start this drive on the twenty six with a minute fifty six left and one timeout, and then three minutes of real time later be on the thirty four with forty five seconds left to no timeouts. Something disastrous has happened. Yeah, listen, Man, Lamar has been bad since he came back from the injury, and Harbaugh doesn't know what buttons to push. And even if they sneak into the playoffs, they are getting clocked in round one. I
have no faith in that team at all, none. Like the only reason they they have a better path to the playoffs than Kansas City. But the reason that I will hold off the tiniest bit of hope is because Kansas City has been such a dominant playoff team. Baltimore's been the opposite. Now, maybe you could a argue, oh, this year, if they make it, it's gonna be the inverse. Bad in the regular season, awesome in the playoffs. At least. The Chiefs have two games this year, the Ravens game
and the Lions games. Like, Man, we were awesome on both sides of the ball for sixty minutes. The Ravens have zero games this year. We're like, man, we feel great about how both sides of the ball played. The closest they came to it was their win against the Bears and Lamar didn't play. So I don't know what's going on there. All right, let's talk Shador.
Brown's head coach has announced that Shador is going to be the starter through the end of the season. Kind Of weird that he's making him the start at the end of the season because you know, they went for that two point conversion at the end of the game and Shador was out of the game. What's going on there?
Okay, I thought Shador played really well. I was impressed, had some really nice moments. One awful throw, But that's so what is a rookie And that's the tie of performance that earns you the job the rest of the year. And now we'll see how he is over the next month, where to see if he maybe can prove everyone involved in the NFL draft process from a team perspective wrong.
It's an amazing opportunity and I don't listen. I said this to Danny on Sunday, and this is the best way to explain it, because I do think Shador is a good kid, and I do think he's charming, and I do think he's well intentioned. Uh the this is the best. He just strikes me as like some of the things that people dislike about his personality, not the play, the personality. I just feel like, oh, I know a lot of I've known a lot of people like that.
It's just like a really rich kid that doesn't quite get you know, how doesn't it how the way he acts kind of comes across to certain people. But it doesn't mean they're a bad person, and it doesn't mean they're like they are ill like they that.
Do think that some of the stuff that like I'm not telling the guy to change or suggesting that he should change, but I do think the stuff that people have problems with or like the bigger things, it's like a very easy thing to turn off for like a second or like whatever little minute it might be when you're talking.
Right, Yeah, I do too, and I and I just think it is I just think there.
Are because he's also done it, Like I feel like I've seen him do that as well.
But yeah, but what comes naturally to is what comes Actually the kid's a super famous, rich kid with a super famous you know dad, and like it just again, that doesn't make you a bad person at all. Like I just think I think sometimes that I see a lot of character traits where I'm like, oh, I knew that kid, Like I a kid like that went to my school. Basically yeah, yeah, it's a it's a nice kid that doesn't that sometimes just says things that people around him are like does he even know? Like does
he get how that sounds? But they don't. That's fine, So that part doesn't really matter. It just is what it is, liketball, what his play and he and he now was gonna have the opportunity to prove that he can do it on the field. And I thought he was really good on Sunday. Here's the thing on the two point conversion call, that was quite simply one of the dumbest coaching decisions I've ever seen in my life. And it was dumb in every way something can be dumb.
It was dumb in that it was it looked like you had never practiced it. So if the argument is no, we've practiced a ton and we were great at it, well then there's something wrong with your execution game day. So that's first thing. Second thing was it doesn't need you don't It doesn't have to be that complicated trying to get two yards you have Judkins would look like it was supposed to be like a reverse pass. It's ridiculous.
Here's the other thing. By doing that, that was the only way you add to the noise surrounding the dumb conspiracies with Shador, and you can say, oh, the football coach doesn't think about that, doesn't care about that, They don't worry about that bullshit. One of the big reasons Shador went in the draft as late as he did was because teams didn't want all the noise that ca
came along with drafting him. And so even if you are just totally convinced, oh, calling a regular run play, I'm not even saying sure has to throw.
The ball quarterback play. He should have a quarterback and a running back on the on the field to say it could be either way a pass or run.
And even and even if you're like, nope, we have we have seen the future, and we have a forty eight percent chance of getting this by calling a traditional play, but a fifty eight percent chance of getting this by running this play. It's still not worth it because the knock on effect of the they were finally going to have a week with minimal outside noise should or played.
He played well, you named him the starter. The folks that are like, they're setting him up to fail, they don't like him, you know, the all of it we're gonna they had, there was nothing to say. And then after leading a fourteen point come back in the final two minutes, you call the single wars two point conversion
anyone's called in the NFL all year. And so Handlan Draser is don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity, like don't don't assume someone was out to get you or there is a grand conspiracy when it could as easily be explained as that was just really dumb. And I'm here to tell you that was I don't
think it's a conspiracy. And this is the biggest indictment on Stefanski for some of the things he's done, some of the decisions Kevin Stefanski has made in his handling of the Browns offense that quarterback room and chador are so illogical. People think that there must be a conspiracy at hand because he can't be that dumb. It's just just so so ridiculous.
I mean, have you ever noticed go ahead to the mind keep cutting it right for that read? I mean, it sure seems like there's some sabotaging going on around there. Seems like there's a little a little bit of somebody not liking Shaduur. That's what it seems like to me, because how do you know that? It makes no call, made no sense at all.
It seemed like that to a lot of people. And I'm just and I'm here to tell you. I think the simpler explanation is, despite his Coach of the Year awards, the guy the Cleveland Browns keep trotting out there every year to be their head coach might not always make the best decisions. I don't think it necessarily has to be deeper than that, But listen, that's my take. You ever notice everything keeps going up? Rent's going up, streaming
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may experience lower speeds. Customers will pay twenty dollars per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. All right, Deman say, let's quickly get to these other games.
Lines to feed the Cowboys forty four to thirty.
Thursday Night Football. Great win for the Lions. Cowboys not dead yet, Cowboy thanks the Eagles. Listen. It's very simple. Final four games. Cowboys have to win two more games than Philly. That's it. No tie breakers, no nothing, because Dallas has a tie. So it's very very simple. If Philly goes two and two, Dallas has to go four and zero. If Philly goes three and one, Dallas is dead. If Philly goes one and three, Dallas has to go three and one. Are better. That's how they get in next.
Packers defeat the Bears twenty eight, twenty one.
I mean, this game probably deserved more time than we're giving it. This was a great game. Jordan Love played awesome. Caleb had a miserable first half, a great second half and then blew it at the end. I think Caleb is not quite there yet, but he still he shows you these flashes of brilliance. A huge spot for the Bears. In two weeks they get a split with Green Bay. Then you make up for this game. You lose to Green Bay in two weeks. You can miss the playoffs out right.
Next, Saints defeat the Bucks twenty four to twenty disaster.
My Bucks are on shaky ground and Baker's been shaky for a month. I don't want to talk about it. It's not good. I don't like any bit of it. It cost me money. Tyler shuck running in the I did not enjoy that football game.
Next, Seahawks defeat the Falcons thirty seven to nine.
You call this, yeah, Seahawks. Even's unbelievable, and poor Kirk Cousins had no shot and Sam Darnold at one o'clock with nobody watching, look out.
Next Yo, Shaggs defeat the Colts thirty six nineteen.
All right. Obviously the news here is Daniel Jones and the Achilles, and you feel sick for him. It also the Colts. The last month for the Colts franchise, altering turn of events. Yeah, trading two first round picks for Sauce Gardner, seeing him go down with the calf strain, seeing your team fall apart, and then seeing Daniel Jones blows achilles. It's unspeakable how awful this was for them. The Jags, on the other hand, are legit really good
football team. Not quite though, as good as this. Next team next to.
Monsey, Rams defeat the Cardinals forty five to seventeen.
The Rams are juggernaut right now, just I mean, just blowing people out with these.
Next, Broncos defeat the Raiders twenty four to seventeen.
Yet, listen, the Broncos, it wasn't as close as this. The story on this game is the craziest backdoor cover and overhit in the NFL this season. The Broncos beat you a bunch of different ways. Man, this was a special team's touchdown. I gotta give him credit.
Next, Vikings to defeat the Commanders thirty one. Oh, I didn't see that one coming.
I got this one dead wrong. I know this will really surprise people, but Jayden Daniels got dinged up again. Uh and really really brutal season all the way around for Commanders.
Fans.
I feel badly for him.
Last one probably shouldn't have been playing. Dolphins defeat the Jets thirty four to ten. Spicy.
Yeah, And the Dolphins are in a weird spot because they have the same record as the Chiefs. They're six and seven. But for reasons I don't totally understand, even if they went out, they don't make the playoffs in any scenario like they have that old athletic. I think they just lose all tie breakers to everyone, and so the athletic playoff predictor if they went out, gives them a two percent chance if they went out, And so they're in obviously in really bad bad shape.
But McDaniel's gone a job next year job yeah.
Yeah, maybe they say my containers job all right? Before we go, I can't wait for this. Guys, are you a soccer fan, I've got good news for you. The world's biggest soccer tournament is coming to North America, including my hometown. Kansas City is one of the eleven host cities this year. It's bigger than ever, as the tournament has expanded to forty eight teams featuring a record one hundred and four matches, and you can bet on the
tournament today using the hard Rock Bet app. Favorites include defending champion Argentina, European powerhouses England, France, Spain, and five time champions Brazil. Dark horses include Norway with Holland and Columbia, Morocco and Japan, and host Mexico and Cannon and the US are looking to make some serious noise on their home soil. So here is what I would I'm gonna give for you guys as a fun route and something
I think is going to happen. The US got a great group draw in Australia Paraguay, and then a little bit of a question mark as far as who the fourth team is gonna be because it there's still a playoff to be played for six of the forty eight teams, and one of those playoff winners will come to the US's group. It'll probably be Turkey A, but we don't know either way. The US at plus one twenty to
win their group I like a lot. I also once we once we have the full group set and we're gonna do a ton of discussion of this tournament on our show. But for right now, I think the US to win Group D at plus one twenty makes a ton of sense. I also think that there was one other one I liked a lot as not necessarily a long shot, but not the favorite.
Oh I I would I would consider Columbia to win Group K at plus two fifty, but the US to win Group D at plus one twenty.
And we'll talk more about the tournament later. Head over to the hard rock Bet app today, where you can bet on every single first round match with hundreds of markets available for each game. Additionally, you'll find a large selection of future markets including group winners, group runner up, stop scorer, market, turnament, MVP, and much more. Hard Rock Bet will be your home for next summer's soccer festival. All right, demons, let's save the the I want to
save the comments and questions for Thursday show. But I will address this one real quick because I saw it. JF asks. Nick. Didn't you say at one point great players don't miss the playoffs in their prime? Yes? I absolutely did say that about the NBA. Is the NFL we're talking about here. Reminder to everybody like rate Subscribe Review, thank you to Volume, thank you to blue Dock, thank you to hard rock Bet, boost Wayfair and Zen talk
to you guys on Thursday. See you guys on Colin in about an hour.
What's right,