Welcome in what Driving the Great episode two seven or three seventy three Pardon Me, brought to you as always by our friends at boost Mobile. Busy week in the NFL. And there, you know, we are now to where teams are really starting to take shape. First quarter of the season is done. You know, Devonte didn't used to be like this. I'm gonna sound like it. I'm gonna sound like an old man here, and I might sound like an old man with the Shadoor conversation. This first one, though,
is not about like taste. It's just reality that post twenty eleven lockout, when they really changed the rules on what you can and can't do in the offseason, end in training camp, and then later on when they removed one of the four preseason games even less pad practices, added a seventeenth regular season game, September really became not quite an extended preseason, but similar to that in a
way it didn't used to be. And so teams use September now to kind of try to figure out who they are and get you know, get so they are rolling by October, when in the past that's literally what the preseason was. Starters played a lot big time players played a lot, they had had a bunch of hard to a day practices, and so it makes handicapping the league the first few weeks of the season a little more difficult because teams really do change over the course
of the year. But now we're in October, and now you kind of not are who you are, but you're a lot closer to your final form. And the hope is that you didn't dig yourself to big of a hole in September, and so that the two teams that we thought could be legit certainly playoff and in one of their cases championship contenders who dug quite a big hole, are playing each other this weekend in Baltimore and Houston.
Those are the two teams that didn't survive September at least five hundred, and now they are their backs are against the wall a bit. Obviously, other teams, like the Niners dealing with injuries or the Bengals dealing with Burrow being out, are in different spots. But from a record perspective, but I think we're gonna start seeing really good football.
And we've seen some good football, but really good football starting that is starting probably not tonight, but this weekend and that I'm excited for.
How are you doing this morning, I'm doing pretty good, Pops. How are you doing?
I'm doing well. This has been an interesting week because, as expected, there are corners of the Internet and corners of the corners and sections of my colleagues that are I don't even think mad at me is the right word, like, just openly, I don't know if mocking is the right word. Something very they're nonplussed about some of my Lamar commentary the last seventy two hours, and this is an annual tradition and the only part of it that I actually have been not irked, but yeah, ir well, not even
hit home, just annoyed. I guess the right word is folks saying it's a straw man that people don't acknowledge Lamar's big game or postseason struggles. I'm like, it is because does all of you picked the Ravens to win the Super Bowl every year? So that it feels like that kind of fails to acknowledge it. But I'm not doing Lamar today. I mean, we will do a little Ravens because I do think there's a chance he plays.
I think there is a chance he should so I and I think they could win with with Cooper Rush, and that's not it's not an just if you just run Dereck Henry thirty five times, I think you can beat up flailing Texans team. But we'll get to that first. We have to get to what we're not going to get to, which is straight to voicemail brought to you by boost Mobile. Uh Lebron joins Kay Sinat on stream
along with ty Lill. Big weekend for those threes, those streamer guys that I got to spend a little bit of time with back in June, in Kai, ty Lil and Speed Speed hanging out with Brady Kai and Tyler hanging out with Bron. Uh. Ty Lil could not have been more excited. And look, Bron cut off Kay's dread. So was that real? He really did that right? I'll be honest. I didn't watch the Mafia thon thing, but listen, pretty cool. Kevin Hart also, who was there when I
met those guys. Kevin Hart goes on their stream everybody's doing the streamers. I gotta get with it. I said I was gonna do over the summer. I didn't do it. I gotta get with it. Seth Curry joins his brother, and the Warriors love it. I think I called this six months ago.
Not I think.
I don't know. I think I mentioned that I could when we were talking about the Warriors offseason, that I thought Seth would fit well. I honestly though, I think I just said it, like in passing. Yeah, you know, we didn't do like a whole thing on it, but I love that. I think Seth's a really good player in his role, and I liked the idea of Seth
and Steph being together. I also thought the little viral video, even if it was miss Lee of the rookies on the Warriors being nervous to ask Steph for a picture, was adorable. I thought that was really cool.
Literal splash brothers.
Oh, I didn't even think about that. You're right, You're right. Uh, that's a great time.
Biological splash brothers.
Biological splash brothers love it. And the w NBA commissioner is going to lose her job. This is you can't come back from it. And I'm not going to act like I am an expert on Kathy Ingelbert's tenure at the head of the league. I am going to say when a player is good as high profile and maybe most importantly, as respected as an EFSTA, Collier goes full ether on you for five minutes in a prepared statement.
Your days are numbered, so the I there are. I have enough respect for the people that hover and follow the WNBA every single day and have more expertise on it than me that I will leave the details or the detailed opinions on that to them. I don't want to parachute in on something that I don't feel fully solid ground on, knowing the full background of her tenure,
the good, the bad, or whatever. But I do know I feel like I know enough about just business in general that when one of your admirals goes public on the record of we have lost faith in the Central Command, central Command usually has a change. All right, Please like great subscribe review to the pod. We greatly appreciate that. I did not think we would be starting with the
Browns third string quarterback. However, because of the last twenty four hours, and because this show loves itself some meta media discussion, we are going to start with the Browns third string quarterback. Go right ahead, pal, No, I'm kidding, tricked me. Hold on, I was about to say demoni's Mike's not working. I just want I went to see if my headset got disconnected. That was really good mouthing of the words. You totally tricked me. All right, good
job there. I mean that's for watching watching on YouTube. You got the bit if you're the if you're listening to us on podcasts, it doesn't really play, but good job.
All right, go ahead, So Joe Flacco has been benched and Dylan Gabriel is the new quarterback one and a shaduur respondence to that news and oppressor and maybe Rex Ryan with a little bit of meme or miming action thoughts on this.
Okay, So let me let me give the audience the very short history of this. Okay. A week ago, Shador gave a somewhat innocuous but probably poorly worded comment when he said, you know, I'm paraphrasing, but I think this is going to be close to an exact quote. You know, I watched the league, and I'm better than some of those guys out there starting. I didn't think it was
a huge deal. I think it. I think that one of the reasons demonse that I thought that comment was likely to not go great for him was because one could argue these starting quarterback in the league playing the worst was his own. You know what. I so if he had if he was third string for the Bills and said, you know, I watched the league, and you know, I feel like I'm better than some of the guys starting.
I think the exact quote was, if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I'm capable of doing better than that. Then I think it's less of a problem. When a lot of people felt like and feel like the Brown starting quarterback was playing the worst of everyone in the league, it could have been construed as an unintentional shot at Flacco. I don't think it was that at all, but it was just a little trickier of a spot. Does that part make sense what I'm describing there?
Yeah?
Okay. Then Rex Ryan goes on TV and makes a fool of himself, Like every time I see Rex Ryan, he's just talking about how much someone sucks. It's like the whole bit it it's that Russell Wilson can't play dead in the Western It's the end of his career's over.
People like they're the reason, you know, every problem in his life that he has.
Like, yeah, it's I don't personally like that his style. I'm just gonna be transparent on this. I don't I don't know Rex personally, I'm not I don't want please awful announcing. Don't make this a nick right offict rates. I'm not trying to do that. I'm just being honest. I think Rex like goes on TV. It's like this guy sucks. This coordinator is an idiot. I do a better job with that bang I'm out here, and so I just don't love that. Let me put it, he would it just it. He would not fit on first
things first, you know what I mean. But I mean the different styles are different folks, and I wouldn't fit on other shows whatever. I'm really trying to be kind here, but but be honest with my opinion pretty clearly. Oh and one of the things he said. He said two things that really struck me with the Shadoor commentary. One was he basically reported that Shadoor is not doing the work. He was like, get in there and study. If I
know this, the whole league knows this. It's like wow, like Rex Ryan elbowing schefter off the breaking news beat, like I hadn't. I had not seen that reported anywhere, that Shador has been lazy or not paying attention to meetings. That would be news. But the other thing he said was, you know, shut up and dribble, Not quite shut up
and dribble, but shut your mouth. So Shadoor yesterday was asked about Dylan Gabriel being named the starter and about how he was not elevated to second string, because that's the other piece of news here. It didn't go flat. Typically if a veteran quarterback, not always, but I shouldn't even say typically. Sometimes when a veteran quarterback is benched, he then goes to the bottom of the depth chart.
He wasn't a veteran. But last year when Bryce Young got benched for Andy Dalton that first game, Bryce wasn't the backup, you know what I mean, Like it was he went all the way down the ladder. And then so there was an opportunity that it was going to be Gabriel one, Schador two, Flaco three that ended up not happening, just Gabriel and Flacco flips your door stayed three.
He was asked about all of this, and he smiled and in my opinion, looked like he always does, which is charming, and seemingly talked without talking, moved his mouth, and I actually wonder if a professional, I wonder if he was giving real answers, you know what I mean, Like yeah, I mean he was clearly he wasn't like, you know, just speaking gibberish. I now, I don't know
if the sentences were, you know, a inaudible. I was told, you know, on TV, they told me not to talk, so this is me not talking or I don't know if it was an inaudible. I'm happy for Dylan to be getting this opportunity. I'm still working hard. But he was clearly saying sentences, but they were dead signed. And the reason I wanted to start the show with it is because this is just a perfect, just perfect moment
for today's media and social media. Because if you want, which I don't want to do, to kill Shador, it's an example of just wanting immaturity. I don't want to kill Shador. And if you want to blindly support Shador, the criticism he gets from this will be an example the kid can't win. He talks and he gets yelled at. He literally doesn't talk and you kill him anyway. I don't want to do that either, because I'm not an idiot.
What everyone, every adult has a responsibility to set down for a moment, their priors and to ask them this honest question. If Shadoor was your best friend, if he were your I don't want to say son, because Prime has I think, not helped him on this. And I'll get to that in a second. If he were your godson or your nephew, or you were his high school guidance counselor who he stayed in touch with, and he called you up and was like, hey, do you see what Rex Ryan said about me?
Yeah?
I saw, And you saw that Gabriel's the starter now right, Yeah?
I saw.
So when they asked me about it, listen to what my plan is. I'm gonna answer their questions silently. What do you You're gonna like write it down? No, I'm gonna stand in front of the cameras and act like I'm talking, but not make any sounds. How awesome does that? How awesome of an idea is that all of us would say, don't fucking do that, man, It's a bad idea, fair or not bad idea? Why they's told me I shouldn't talk. Buddy, here's all you gotta say. Asked about Dylan.
Really happy for Dylan. You know, he and I obviously same draft class. We've been working together this whole time. Joe's been great to all of us. You know, it's coach's choice to make a change, and you know, I'm Dylan works hard, He's a really good player. I'm excited, you know, I'm excited to watch him. Well, are you upset? You know you didn't get bumped up to second string? You know, do you listen? I I believe in myself. I'm not gonna lie to you guys and act like
I don't. I believe that I will one day be a starting quarterback in this But my job right now is to keep doing what you know, what I've been doing, studying, working hard, being a good teammate, and hopefully, you know, we can get back on the winning track this weekend. That's all you have to do. Everything else is foolishness.
And anyone acting like acknowledging that him doing a bit in the locker room in front of the media as the third string quarterback is good for him or smart or productive is a liar.
It's also not the third string quarterback apparently, what do you mean, Well, it was Joe and then it was Dylan, and then they moved him down below Joe again.
That he is still third string, Like no, y, yeah, no, he's yeah, he stayed third He didn't know they listen. I don't. I don't know how he's looked at practice at this point. I don't know how he is in film study. I know that he played one preseason game looked awesome, played another preseason game looked bad. I like all of these. So I don't know if in that building there are different camps, like Stefanski is deeply invested in Gabriel, but the owner wanted Shador and so I
don't know any of that. I don't None of that is relevant to this piece of it. Just control what you can control, Bro. You are not right now getting the opportunity to show what you can do on the field publicly, So all you can do is show that you can be a true professional privately or you know, in your role as backup quarterback. And this is what And I did Cam Newton's show a couple days ago, and Cam has real excuse me, sympathy for Shudor and Cam feels like a lot of what he det like that.
You know, Cam had a real hard time when he had to be a backup, and Cam felt his celebrity and aura worked against him at those things. And I said this to Cam and I'll expand on it here. One is, while I respect the I respect folks who believe Shadoor does have starting caliber talent and traits and will be a good NFL quarterback. I'm a lot of people I respect have that opinion and fair no problem. Cam was talking about him as if Cam and Shadoor
were at all similar prospects. They weren't man like Shadoor is whether he should have been or not. He's a fifth round pick. And the other piece of it that I really wish somebody close to Shador would really explain to him, as this man you have, maybe it shouldn't be this way, but it is. You have one of the only jobs left in modern America where celebrity works against you in almost every other job. I don't care what it is. If it's like, hey, I can do
the job well. Also, oddly, I'm very famous on TikTok that doesn't hurt you, it usually helps you. The only job where your bosses want you to be as anonymous as possible is back up NFL quarterback. And now maybe the the organizations are too stodgy. Maybe that's stuck it. You know, maybe that'll change. It ain't changing this month.
And I do think we have seen over the course of these few months some of the reason that once teams and this was the seminal moment, once he was not greated as franchise quarterback coming out of the draft top ten, top fifteen pick, and he was greated as backup who could one day compete to be a starter, that his job description changed massively, and he is still carrying himself as if it hadn't. And I am not asking for the kid to be humbled. I hate that commentary.
I'm not asking for him to change who he is at a personal level. I am asking for him to recognize that this shit works against him and his dad, who everybody loves. Myself included instagramming in response to this video, all these laughing emojis and writing good one, son, you did that is not helpful. Go to Monte go ahead. I can tell you.
I want to say no. I didn't know that. I didn't know that happened. But at the end of the day, you were a one step like I guess, he was still third on the dead chart, but Joe Flag was getting bingched. You were a step closer in the direction that you wanted to be added. So there it was unnecessary.
It's just and this is what's frustrating to me, And this is why I wanted to lead the show with it, because it is a My favorite topics are when sports, a sports discussion is a microcosm for a bigger, worldwide,
you know, holistic discussion. There are going to be so many disingenuous fools that today try to act like see damned if you do, damned if you don't, you tell him to shut up, and then when he literally does, you criticize him for that too, as if we we can't hold multiple thoughts in our head at the same time, and as if we're not all functioning adults that recognize
this was he was running a bit. He is doing the forty five seconds to stand up in the locker room as the third string quarterback, when all you've gotta do is not not do a single thing that is going to add to the questions the media is going to ask Stefanski and then by your time, bro, because Gabriel is not going to start the last thirteen games. I don't think he's good enough. Listen, if they are going to give Gabriel a real opportunity, there's no question
about that. And Gabriel, you know they have a real investment in him. I just don't think Gabriel's good enough to run the table the rest of the way. So he should get a shot. He just has to be ready for it. I just I I really think he is getting And people thought that this was patronizing when I said he's getting bad advice. They're like, he's twenty three year old, grown man. Shut up. Monsey's twenty seven. I give Demanse professional advice all the time. I'm forty.
I call my dad for advice on things like the idea that because right he's almost old enough to rent a car without paying the extra fee, he's beyond advice. Is just idiotic, Like, yes, he's allowed now at twenty three, he's his own man. He can make his own decisions. He can take the advice and throw it in the garbage. I and so, but the idea that you shouldn't have people in your life like, hey, man, that's a mistake. It's and I really like him. The thing is this,
I think I do think he's charming. I do I think he's talented. I do think he is well intentioned. But I think there is a protectionism He right now, to me, is in a really and they're not a similar player, but oh he is risking entering the tbow zone of your biggest fans hurt you where because you are such a celebrity and because they have more you are. You are not only a person anymore. You are like a vessel for their own wants and desires. That that
works against you professionally. And Dion, and the last thing I'll say is this, and this is where like it's tough because you see your own kids through a parent's eyes, you know what I mean, through the and I get that Dion's gotta recognize, man, you could do this, your son can't. Why because Dion's one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and your son is not. And he doesn't. And you'd be like, well, Dion wasn't
that until no, Dion was. Dion was a Dion going into the draft was talking about this team better not draft me or bankrupt the bank like that, Like I guess what people are like. All right, he might be a lot to deal with, But did you see the forty yard dash time? Did you see him locked down in the side of a field for two years at Florida State. Deon's like, I might I play baseball too. They're like, we'll fly you out there, buddy, whatever you want. Dion had two things going for him that are very
important that you'd ordered not. One is he was a super superstar on the field, and the other one is he wasn't a quarterback. Because as great as Dion was, if he were a quarterbacks instead of a cornerback, it would have been trickier. And so Cam was a quarterback and dealt with some of this. But he's the he had was coming off the single greatest season in the history of college football, and so like he can I just I don't know, man, I legit worry that he is.
He's hurt, He's like wounded like all the time. Oh yeah, feelings are always heard, and I think he kind of does it not to deal with it sometimes since I don't know man. But like you know, with that type no.
I think that's a great take the idea that he is for the first time in his football life consistently being told yeah, you're not good enough, right right? And when not only was he not told that before he was the best player or second best player on every team he ever played on. Yeah, and so I think there is something to that. I think the whole thing though, I just I, oh, that was a mistake, all right. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor,
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All right, So we're calling this one the right bull. Your Chiefs go against the Jags on Monday night football. So thread the needle on how you would kind of like this game to go for you to come out on top, because you know, obviously these are both your guys.
Well yes, I mean they are they are my guys. But this is like, I mean, this is this is like a Demanse versus Luca situation, my actual son versus my pretend son and so like, I like, I really like Trevor, I love Patrick, Like, there's not a this isn't a what was that Macaulay Culkin movie where the moms at the cliff? Was it the good Sons? She has to pick which were the kids? This isn't like a hard one. Well, one of the kids was evil. It was really tricky. Doesn't matter, but uh yeah, I
mean no, I'm rooting for the Chiefs to roll. Now. In a perfect world, they roll, and Trevor looks good, and the Jags defense has been really good. They have been really good primarily because they are forcing three turnovers a game. They have thirteen four turnovers through nine games. The most interesting thing going on with the Jags right now, though Demonse, is not Trevor as much as I wish
it was, because he's just not playing that well. Like, not only is he not the reason they're three to one, you could argue that if he could have just taken care of the ball against Cincinnati, they'd be four and up like the Jags are. If Trevor starts playing better, the Jags are legit dangerous. The most interesting thing with the Jags right now is Travis Hunter, and they haven't figured out how to use him, and right now it's kind of the worst of both worlds, which is he's
not full time either side of the ball. He's we thought he would play more than you know, any of these other first round picks. Instead he's playing less than some of them, and he's not being super impactful in either spot. And so folks that were saying, again it's been a month. He needs to be full time one way and a bit player the other way. I think right now that looks like that was that would have been the smarter way to play it through September. Now,
maybe that'll change. But I think for Jacksonville to justify trading away the fifth pick, a third round pick, and next year's first round pick to move up for a non quarterback, it had to be because they thought they were getting two players. I thought they were getting two players, and right now they have just gotten one okay player on both sides of the ball. So that part, that's the most interesting part for the Jaguars go ahead.
Do you think that the Chiefs will backslide a little bit from their progress that they made with Baltimore as far as the offense.
Listen, I think that the offensive line is getting better week by week. You now have almost you know, you now have wide receivers two, three, four, and five. You're still missing wide receiver one in Rashi Rice Kelsey is looking better than he looked last year. I think the
offense is going to continue to look good. And the Chiefs have averaged their last five games with worthy going back to last year, averaged twenty eight points per game, and last year that was with the offensive line kind of you know, being in shambles to a degree on the left hand side. I now Jacksonville's defense is obviously better than Baltimore's. I don't expect the Chiefs to go eight straight possessions without a punt like they did against Baltimore.
But I do think Kansas City goes to Jacksonville, handles their business and then you know, has a hell of an opportunity on Sunday Night football against the Lions in
the final game without Rashik. But I I don't want to get overly excited about Taekwan Thornton, but he's been good and I'm now looking at Juju's been really solid in his role, but he just can't move anymore like you know what I mean, he just has You know, I don't know what his forty yard time would be right now, but it feels like it would be like four to eight. But he's been a good blocker, he's
been he's in the right place all those things. But I am starting to think about what this offense is going to look like when Rashi Rice is in Juju's role. Xavier is on one side, and I at this point I trust Thornton more than I trust Hollywood Brown, and all of a sudden, you have Thornton as your number three, Hollywood is your four, Juju is depth, and Kelsey with all that space in the middle of the field. Now, that won't be the case obviously this weekend or Monday
night because Rice isn't back yet. But I think we're gonna see more from Travis just by virtue of having Thornton, who's a burner, and Xavier out there that he's gonna have more space to operate with. They still don't have a running back. I trust that seventh round rookie Richard's We'll see if they incorporate him more. That's the one spot on the team that I would like to see
them potentially upgrade in the trade market. But I'm I would be very surprised if Kansas City can't go to Jacksonville and figure out how to get a win against a really good Jags team. Now, if the Jags win, Jags are four and one, you got to really take them seriously. But I don't think they're gonna win.
Go ahead, who do you who's the weak link on the Jags right now? Would you say that's Trevor Lawrence?
I mean, he's playing I don't think he is, but he is playing like it at the end's been good. Now that Brian Thomas Junior's been disappointed as well, and then that he's had a lot of drops, the defense has been great. Like, Trevor's got to be better, There's no way around it. I fair is fair, Trevor's got to be better. All right, Let's go to tonight's game.
So party is out for tonight's game. He's still dealing with the turf too injury. With Perty's last game, he threw two picks, he had a fumble Mac Jones, and his two games is undefeated. So is it going to be on that situation? Do you think the forty nine ers have a chance tonight, And how concern should the forty nine ers be about Brod Perty's health.
I do not think the forty nine ers have a chance tonight. I think the Rams are excellent, and I would be hugely concerned about Perty's health. I would also be furious with my medical staff. Once again, if I'm the Niners, I it's not like the NFL spinds a wheel to determine who's playing Thursday night each week. You if you're the Niners, you knew that you were playing Thursday this week. Purty clearly was not one hundred percent this past Sunday. They let him play anyway, the injury
got worse. He now is definitively going to miss this game, and he's not even healthy enough to be like the emergency quarterback for them and could miss more time. I don't understand, especially because they did go to a zero with mac Jones, how they don't hold party out demanse this past Sunday and then he gets four extra days before he would be playing against the Rams to heal up that toe, and then ten days before the next game.
You know you could get you could have eased him back in three games off and then he plays the Rams, then a mini buy before they play the next week. Now, this is probably gonna be a problem all year, which brings me to the bigger party conversation. Man I, I said all off season, why would you be in a rush to pay this player? He struggle at his worst year yet last year has dealt with some injuries and
has no leverage whatsoever. Just wait and see. They gave him fifty what three million dollars a year and now like it has been four games into the contract, if they could wipe it away, would they? Of course? And I know that there is it felt unfair because he had made no money at all as the final pick of the draft, and they had been to a Super Bowl and been to a conference championship game and two of his years he had played really well. But you're
not in the fairness business. You're in the football business. And the other had they not paid him? And then this, you know, we see this opening month of the season. It's like, oh, Mac Jones, who is basically on the minimum, can be dropped into this offense without all the weapons and it can function. Are we better off spending our money elsewhere? We like? Do we need a fifty million dollars a year quarterback unless he's a true difference maker.
And that's That's the other piece of this is we have so much evidence that that Shanahan system is relatively quarterback proof. Now, listen, parties, A healthy party is better than mac and raises your ceiling. But does he raise your ceiling more than having three separate Pro Bowl level players that you could get with fifty million dollars a year.
I don't know that he does, so I have been There are very few opinions that have spanned the course of five six years that have aged better than my I do not believe the Niners quarterback is as good as his numbers suggest. It's about Shanahan, the weapons and the system then that take. But once again, I think that takes going to age quite well. It also should be noted because people are putting out there the Niners wide receivers of her room, and I'm like, oh, I
recognize those guys. Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowls with him, DeMarcus Robinson, sky Moore, Mark wes Valdez, Scantling. What do you expect anyone to do? I don't know. Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowl. So like the there is that, all right? I know you want to ask me about Pooka.
Uh yes, where would you rank him among amongst wide receivers. He's number one in yards receptions and yards by.
A lot, by a lot.
Stafford loves him.
He's on pace demons through sixteen games, not even seventeen game season, for more than one hundred and sixty catches in the first ever two thousand yard season. So here is all right, Here is the It's weird to say he has almost an ironclad case that he should be in consideration as the best receiver in the NFL. Yet I cannot wrap my mind around the idea that he's
better than Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase. And I feel like he could have a two thousand yard season and I still would not be able to wrap my mind around it. But you know, he's doing it with not great quarterback play. He's doing it under I shouldn't say he's not great quarterback play. He's doing it when he's not fully healthy. He's been able to just do it. And it's I think he's playing at a higher level than Cooper Cup did. And so some of that is, you know, when we saw Cooper Cup do it. Now
we're saying Pooka do it. Stafford and McVeigh get some of the credit. But Puk is an unbelievable player. He is really an unbelievable player, and he's certainly demons has to be in your top five. Certainly. I still think Jefferson is the best receiver in football, but man, Pouk is an unbelievable player.
He does an unbelievable It seems like a solid teammate as well. I mean, oh yeah, Jefferson as well. But you know, yeah, but he doesn't. It doesn't seem like he has the.
Like wide receiver curse. But it also helps that he gets fifteen targets a game. I think all these series will be pretty happy with you know what I mean with with those types of targets. All right, let's talk Houston Baltimore.
So I banged up Ravens are playing the lowly Texans. These guys are both one and three. Who's this a big game for? That means?
All right? So first of all, let me say that I think there is a chance lamars Uh rap Aboard seemed to open the door to it. The only person to slam the door shut on it was a Baltimore Sun reporter, so I think there's a chance he plays. I also think even if he doesn't play, Demonse, you
guys could win like Houston. If Houston's offense has been dreadful for fifteen of the sixteen quarters this year, fourth quarter against Tennessee they started scoring, but that game was six nothing, six nothing, either late in the third or going into the fourth, and then Houston rolled up some touchdowns. Now maybe that's some momentum. Maybe, Like I said at the top of the show, they were working through things, new offensive coordinator, all that, but they have looked shaky.
So I think the game is more important for the Texans because of this. If they lose, they're just flat bad if you especially if you can't beat the Ravens. When going into this game, unlike the Chiefs game, Chiefs game, they went in without force defensive starters. This game, they'd be going in without seven and no Lamar. Then who the hell you beating? You can't beat a team who's got a terrible defense and their MVP quarterbacks out, then where other than the Titans? Like, who are you beating?
I also one of the reasons that I am, you know, not going to abandon the Ravens even if they lose. Is I don't fully trust the Steelers yet, and I still think the Steelers could have a four game losing streak in them and open that division up. So and I do believe that when Lamar's out there, the Ravens have one of the best offenses in the league during the regular season, and I think they will continue to so. But the more disappointing start to the season is Baltimore.
The more trouble for either team is Houston. Let me ask you this, if Lamar loses, if Lamar misses the next two weeks, yeah, because they have the Texans, the Rams, and then the bye and they are one in five. If he misses and they lose, do you think it's that's a rap for them or go ahead?
Or it's pretty close. I mean I think it's close. I do like the Steelers being the top dogs right now, though, because I have no faith in Ar. I watch a lot of his Like when things are going good, he loves it, but the second one thing goes bad, I mean, just like a receiver missing something, he's pissed. So if they start losing the game. If they lose two games in a row one game, I think it's just gonna stack on top of it, on top of itself.
I also, so I tend to agree with you here's but let's just say they're one in five, If the Ravens are one and five, that the division's out of reach, and let's just do a play. Yeah, so the Bills are going to be in under this scenario, we're saying, the Steelers are going to be in. We're gonna put the Chiefs and the Chargers in. Okay, And obviously let's just say the Colts keep doing what they're doing and they're in those five teams. Did I leave Bills, Steelers, Yeah, Chiefs,
Chargers Okay. So that will then leave two playoff spots. The Jags, the Patriots, the Broncos would be the leading contenders. Do we think the Ravens could run two of those teams down even at starting one in five if Lamar comes back from the bye fully healthy. My answer to that is yeah, I think they could. Like I would not right off Baltimore because like.
As Well, softens up a lot after the Rams, so to speak.
Well, it's really interesting. The So I think they have a brutal December, but a very soft ento October November. So if you're the Ravens again, if we just play this out and I think they are going to win this weekend, Okay, so this at two and four, I think they'd be fine. But if they're one in five, you are after the bye home for Chicago, at Miami, at Minnesota, at Cleveland, home for the Jets, home for Senci Baltimore. Absolutely, if Lamar comes back healthy, can go
six and zero in that stretch. Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, Jets, Bengals. I know that the defense has been bad, but the quarterbacks being Caleb who I think is good, then Tua, whoever's starting for Minnesota, whoever starting for Cleveland, justin Field's Jake Browning, you should be able to go six and up.
If you could do that at one in five, you'd be seven and five going into what I think is a brutal final five games home for Pittsburgh, who gives you trouble year at Cincinnati, not terrible home for New England, tough at green Bay at Pittsburgh. If you get to seven and five, you probably just have to go three and two in those final five to get to your
ten wins and sneak into the playoffs. Yeah, and potentially you know, have the head to head tie breaker with New England like that game December twenty first against New England could be a huge one. Obviously, the Steeler games are so I won't point that I'm making as this. Even if they go one and five, I won't write them off. And if they go two and four, I
think they'll be fine. Obviously they will need Lamar to be full on Lamar, but Lamar was utterly sensation through the first three games of the year, like I do. The bright side to my take being it's all in Lamar's head that he's just not like a playoffer against the Chiefs type of performer is. It's not like, oh, he's in a slump like I think the moment he
gets back, he's just kicking ass again. Yeah, all right, you're thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone seventeen Pro, designed to be the most powerful phone ever, but you're still also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store or transferring all your data such your fame. Good news, when you order a new phone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone seventeen Pro and get you all set up on boost Mobile within minutes,
no hassle. Visit boostmobile dot com to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased at boost mobile dot Com. Terms do apply. All right, let's do a few minutes on baseball before we get to the questions from Tuesday that we didn't get to, and also reminder everybody we do have the gambling show coming out Friday morning with our picks. Go ahead, pal uh So.
The MLB playoffs are underway. The Yankees sign up to this series with the Red Sox, the Dodgers advanced, and two more wildcard series will wrap up today. What do you have your eye on in this baseball postseason?
Listen? I hope the Yankees win because I want to be able to maybe do some shows from Yankee Stadium again. It was so much fun. That was a great Yankee win last night, and Jazz Chisholm, who was not happy with his usage in Game one, saved the game for him. He made an unbelievable diving stop at second base late in the game and then scored from first the winning run, so that you know, I am rooting for the Yankees tonight.
The pitching matchup for the Yankees tonight is the of Schlitzler on the mound, and the Socks have Connelly early on the mound. The Yankees are a slight favorite. The Dodgers annihilated the Reds. That's good for baseball. Sorry for Cincinnati, but that's good for baseball. That's exciting. Tigers guardians, I am. I don't know who I'm rooting for, because the Tigers kind of deserve to just have this whole thing fall
apart on them because they've had such a his story. Yeah, fourteen game lead and then Cleveland ended up winning the division. I that game's a coin flip to me. And then Padres Cubs. It's better for baseball in theory for the brand of the Cubs, but the Padres have so many stars and you Darvish on the Mountain, and the Padres were my preseason pick to you know, make the World Series out of the NL. I would be rooting for the Padres either way. We're gonna have sick Divisional round
because we are. We're going to get Dodgers Phillies in the NL, which is unbelievable. And then the Brewers are waiting for either the Padres or the Cubs, and in the AL we're getting either Blue Jays Yankees or Blue Jay's Red Sox, a nice Al East battle, and then the Mariners waiting for the Tigers of the Guardians. Kind of feels like Mariners Guardians would be awesome because they both finished the year so red hot and Blue Jays Yanks.
So you know what, No, I'm not gonna bet it because I haven't studied any of this, but I am going to go ahead and say I am rooting for the Guardians over the Tigers, the Yankees over the Red Sox, and the Padres over the Cubs. Uh. So we get Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Phillies already locked, Blue Jays Yankees, and Mariners Guardians. That's that's what I'm pulling for, all right, Demanse, Let's get to some of these questions before we get to our gambling show, which will come out tomorrow.
So everybody in the chat on Tuesday was asking about how the Ryder Cup went.
I really enjoyed going. I had a great time. I don't want to spend two more time on it. Eagle fans are out of their mind. They're out of their mind. And the I I actually had to I should I tell this story? Yeah?
Whatever? Who cares?
So I was just getting I was getting the Rory mcelroyd treatment from Eagle fans the whole day. And these are just like drunk finance guys in golf shirts and so whatever. Fine, late in the day's Saturday, I'm walking to find hubs because I went with Danny and Hubbs, and there's a long line of people trying to get beer and I'm about forty feet from it. And again we're at a golf tournament. Man, and I hear, hey, nick right few but they didn't say f and I'm like,
you know what, not okay? And I and I could see who it was deep in the beer line, and I'm like, we're gonna go have a chat. And so I'm I walked. I started walking his way, and his friends were like tap or whatever. But again, demons, this guy is not your age. This guy is my age.
And uh. And I walk over to him and I do what I always do in these situations, which is I clasp my hands behind my back, like because I'm like this guy's drunk and like whatever, Like I don't want him to think like I'm coming over there to like fight, but you're gonna have no no, no, no, I was not. And as soon as I get within ten feet he does one of these. He's like, hey man, I'm sorry. I actually like the show. I'm just and I'm like and I'm like, no, no, He's like what.
I'm like, buddy, we're adults at a golf tournament. Not cool. And his friends were like, yeah, man, sorry, and he's like he's like and so he tries to shake my hand. I'm like, I'm not shaking your hand, man, but I also am gonna need an apology, and and he's like and he's like what. And his friends, who were mortified, were like, hey man, just apologic. And I'm like, I'm
going to need an apology. And at this point, again, it's like a three hundred person beer line, right, everybody's looking and he's like, he's like, I'm sorry, man, I'm like thank you, And then he tried to shake my hand again. I'm like, I'm not shaking your bleep in hand and then went and found Hubes. I couldn't take
it anymore. A great time in the Ryder Cup. But I just didn't come on man like, buddy, you work it at you trade stocks for a living or something, trying to be Tommy tough guy at a golf tournament wearing khakis in a Polo Ryder Cup shirt.
All right, next, man, he's sorry, He's sorry? Uh dead ass? Is the tattoo real? Nick?
The never a doubt tattoo that I never know how to show on camera. I still haven't figured it out. See that that tattoo is real. The tackle Tide tattoo was temporary. That was a I will tell a story about that though. I went to the tattoo shop to get them to do the stencil yeah, and then draw it on for the bit for the show that The lady there was like, yeah, I can do it, but I just have to charge you the same price as if I gave you the actual tattoo.
And I'm like, okay, wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on. So the stencil am I am? I tripping? Isn't the like print it out and then you put it on your arm you like, it's like basically like one of those things you'd put a quarter in a machine to get a little thing.
And then she got a sharpie and drew on the stencil and it was one hundred and fifty dollars.
I would have drawn it on myself.
I wanted it to look good. Also, I kind of played myself because she hadn't quoted me a price. And then I walked up to the thing to pay and I and I had a debit card and her credit card. She was like, we're cash only, and I'm like, okay, no problem. And I again, I'm not trying to sound like a big shot, but I walk around with it because I'm a gambler. I just walk around with a lot of cash, you know, like a lot of money.
I always have it on me. And so I she still hadn't told me a price, and I reach in my pocket and I just grabbed my cash and it's I don't know, it's probably two grand and hundreds and she's and I see her see it. I'm like, oh, I'm getting so played here now. I was like, there's no and so and so she was like, well, like, the least we're allowed to charge is one hundred dollars, and I'm like okay. I was like, then, I guess
it's a hundred bucks and so yeah. And so then I'm like, so I gave her, I gave her two hundreds, and I'm like, hey, can I just have change for this one for your tip? She's like, oh yeah, thank you. And then she's like, we don't have a change. She was like, we don't. I can't. She's like, I don't have change. We've just opened. And I'm like, oh, okay, and I and I'm thinking she's gonna be like, but the hundred's fine, Like I'm just drawing the tackle that turned the tide.
On your arm.
Yeah, and she goes, you can zell me.
Just whatever.
I like, all right, whatever, she was a nice lady, so I zeld her or I've been motor fifty bucks.
So yeah, so.
The whatever, it was good for the bit. It's a good bit for TV. All right, let's get to some of the Thursday questions.
Uh As Sean says, Nick, can you explain why nobody is dogging on Justin Herbert for losing to the Giants. I've not heard a lot about.
Because people don't actually just listen. I don't think people care quite enough about Justin Herbert. I also think he had been playing quite well prior to that game. You know what I mean?
So like now guys have a solid defense.
Yeah and so, and that was more about Jackson Dart whatever it is, all right?
Next, uh h J says Hi Nick, and demon's are you concerned by the already mounting number of serious injuries? Is it just me? Or is it notably bad this season? Lots of marquee players too.
I actually think it's just you. I I but like I think it's the turf in met life could be a problem. But I think it's like this every year. And I think every year we're like, damn, so many guys are hurt, like it's a brutal, brutal game.
Next, Eclipse asked two part question. Is Zach Taylor on the hot seat or does he get a pass for the Burro injury? And what do you think about Trey Lance to the Bengels.
I mentioned Trey Lance and the Bengals off the air yesterday. I do think the Bengals should trade for either Kirk Cousins or Jameis Winston. And I would like, again, let's say that Lamar misses time and they do fall to one in five, and what we're talking about the Steelers happens. You know, they like that division. They're two and two. Yeah, and Browning's just been brutal, just been brutal. All right. Reminder everybody like rate Subscribervie our Pick show, which will
be a quick pick show, comes out Friday. Check that out as DEMONSI tries to give you another winning teaser as he's three and one on the air. My picks are right now decidedly mediocre. Haven't had a terrible week yet, haven't had a great week yet, but we keep hitting the offer. So all that coming up tomorrow. Shout out to hard Rock bet Boost and of course our friends at Zen thank you too, the Volume and Blue Duck, and shout out also to Marlon Humphreys Podcastle's talk to
you guys tomorrow with our Picture'll see you then. What's right