Saints-Packers MNF Recap + NFL Christmas Games Preview!

Speaker 1 Here's the issue, Mark. You and I are aging, and

Speaker 1 it's hard to stop that.

Speaker 2 Nope. It's problematic.

Speaker 1 So we can't do the things like we used to do, which is like, you know, stay up late at the bar, then go get a burrito, and then wake up four hours later, and everything's fine.

Speaker 1 We need something. How about this, Mark? How about what I've been using? Terra Origin? Because adulthood, it's hitting hard.
We're dealing with it. Middle-aged guys,

Speaker 1 my knees hurt. I hurt my wrist the other day.

Speaker 1 I punched a door. Shouldn't have done that.
And now my wrist hurts. This is stuff that wasn't happening when I was young.
So this is where Terra Origin comes in.

Speaker 1 Are you curious why I punched the door?

Speaker 2 Yeah, I was going to say that's

Speaker 2 a different conversation. But if you've got Terra Origin, I'm sure that you're going to be able to get your way out of that mess.

Speaker 1 Aaron Judge grounded into a double play. Anyway, Terra Origin makes science-backed, clean supplements designed to help men perform better, recover faster, and feel good every single day.

Speaker 1 They make smart no BS supplements that actually help you feel human again.

Speaker 1 And that's why

Speaker 1 this is the product that you need. The best part about Terra Origin, no fluff, no fads, just premium, transparent formulas you can trust.
It's like upgrading your daily routine from survive to thrive.

Speaker 1 So whether you're lifting, leading, grinding, or parenting, Terra Origin helps you show up at your best. Visit terraorigin.com and use the code PODCAST for 30% off your first order and free shipping.

Speaker 1 That's T-E-R-R-A-O-R-I-G-I-N.com. Terra Origin.
Feel better from the inside out.

Speaker 3 Twas a cold winter's night and without any heat. I wore bombas socks so they'd warm up my feet.
Yay, my feet cried. These socks are the best.
So cushy and warm, I can finally rest.

Speaker 3 But don't rest, I said. There's more, if you please.
Bombus also makes underwear, slippers, and tees. And for each thing you purchase, they donate one new to someone who needs it so they're cozy too.

Speaker 3 Everybody deserves to feel good all the time. So gift bombas this season.
That's the end of this rhyme. Go to bombus.com/slash audio and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase.

Speaker 1 The Heat the Call Podcast

Speaker 1 is on the naughty list this year.

Speaker 1 Hey, what do you got? You gotta have a sex addiction? You got a problem with sex? Sex?

Speaker 1 Addicted to sex? Sex addiction or something?

Speaker 1 Hello, and welcome to a Monday night special edition of He the Call. Dan hands us Mark Sessler.
A lot to get to today. We had a football game played.
Well, it was technically football.

Speaker 1 I don't know if it was a game because a game signifies a battle between two teams that are trying to defeat each other. And I don't know.
I didn't see much of that in that game.

Speaker 1 And we'll also preview the Christmas Day games coming up in just a couple of nights. What's up, Mark?

Speaker 2 I do not understand.

Speaker 2 It is the night before, the night before Christmas, and we've got Christmas Eve. right.
We've got families gathered, you know, multiple generations.

Speaker 2 It's a time to celebrate goodwill, and our producer needs to pipe in that soundbite to launch the show. I find that, well, on-brand, but untoward on some level.

Speaker 2 And aimed at, if not both of us, aimed at one of us, and I don't appreciate it entirely during this season.

Speaker 1 These are the type of family values that

Speaker 1 I come to expect this in I Dream in Red. And that's, and this sounds like you and Tip are Gore and like a he said, she said.

Speaker 2 By the way, you have sunk the readership of that.

Speaker 2 Like, I hope you're proud because you have sunk the readership, and it is just simply, it's like, it couldn't be less accurate, but people out there believe the words that you say.

Speaker 2 So, you know, thanks a lot. Like, you know, Pet Project sunk into a lake with

Speaker 2 a brick tied to a rope tied to an ankle.

Speaker 1 Not unlike

Speaker 1 Ted Kennedy, one of your mortal enemies. You know, all those Kennedys, you you were anti.

Speaker 2 Well, he was not an enemy at all, but I wouldn't call him pure. He had some issues, like we all do.

Speaker 1 You know who has some issues? The New Orleans Saints. Let's get into it.

Speaker 2 Not for much longer.

Speaker 1 The Saints became the first team this season to be shut out, which is pretty incredible. The last game of week 16.
I mean,

Speaker 1 I can't imagine. Was there some type of data point about it? Has that ever happened before?

Speaker 1 I mean, that is, I'll go in a whole season without a shutout, but this season will have a shutout because the Saints were beat 34-0 by the Packers at Lambeau.

Speaker 1 A game that I'm even before it comes on, I'm thinking to myself, oh, it's weird that they didn't flex this.

Speaker 1 I don't know if there's a reason why they didn't flex or if there was some type of uh deadline where the Saints were still technically alive at the time, but this seemed like a very, very tough spot for Skyrizzy and company, and sure enough, it was Spencer Rattler obviously totally overmatched, and the Packers once again showing Mark that they are a team unlike past Packers teams that you know made their ways into the playoffs and you know if you catch them on the right day they look truly dangerous but there was always an Achilles heel this team feels really well rounded and and suited for January football

Speaker 2 they this is really the Brian Guttenkund's vision Guntaganst yeah they mentioned Gotta work on that German accent mark well

Speaker 2 yeah well you can fill that part in but of the 53

Speaker 2 players on the active roster right now, he's responsible for 51 of them.

Speaker 2 They're such a young, crazy team, and there was this one little moment.

Speaker 1 Wait, hang on, Mark, turn this up. Short.

Speaker 1 It's been a while.

Speaker 1 Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 2 Well, only if he's done. I mean, I could see they cut him up to him in the the suite.
I mean, I could see that just blasting. He can play whatever he wants at this point.

Speaker 2 And it's kind of the marriage between him and LaFleur. Like, there was this on the opening drive, there was this one little play where,

Speaker 2 and it's such a Shanahan tree kind of thing where they got a little cute. Andy Reid does this too.

Speaker 2 They got a little cute with a handoff at the goal line, kind of a pitch to Dantavian Wicks, and he was stuffed. But then on the next play, like, love fires a touchdown bullet to Wicks.

Speaker 2 And I kind of thought it was like LaFleur sticking a middle finger up to everyone

Speaker 2 around the country saying, oh, they just got too cute. Like, no, we didn't.
We're going to batter you. And like, they've got, they open with touchdown drives of 10 and 17 plays.

Speaker 2 One of them takes over eight minutes. That's why it's halftime and it's like 6.30 because they just used Josh Jacobs as much as they needed.
And you are playing a compromised team. I mean, I get that.

Speaker 2 But it was like 216 yards to 31. And just another.
piece of evidence that they are built to hammer people at this time of year.

Speaker 1 We should note that the Packers with the victory have clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs because the NFC North is such a

Speaker 2 loaded division. The best division ever, is it?

Speaker 1 Yeah. I mean, it's certainly, that's a conversation we could start to have because the 11-4 Packers

Speaker 1 destined for likely 12 to 13 wins might finish in third place. And I don't imagine that has ever happened in the NFL since the divisions realigned in 2002.
So the Packers are going to the playoffs.

Speaker 1 And, you know, how many times, Mark, did we,

Speaker 1 you know, while Brett Favre or in later years, Aaron Rodgers often would be the face of the team's shortcomings, it was so often the defense that really would kill the Packers and they would not be able to get a stop.

Speaker 1 And they would put the offense in a tough situation.

Speaker 1 And against great teams, those teams would too often get exposed, the Mike McCarthy teams and some of the LeFleur teams, too, that have come up short. But here's a good example from

Speaker 1 next-gen stats. The Packers pass rush pressured Spencer Rattler 20 times.
They got three sacks, generated a season-high 52.6% team pressure rate.

Speaker 1 Eight different defensive linemen had multiple pressures. And yes, of course, you got to understand the opponent.
The opponent is no good. Saints think,

Speaker 1 even with Sky Rizzi having them playing hard, they were outmatched. But

Speaker 1 there are waves of dogs on this defense at different levels. And if I'm a Packers fan, I'm feeling different this year.
And I'm feeling confident.

Speaker 1 And I know I might not win the NFC North, and I might have a really hard path through the NFC, but do not count this team out.

Speaker 1 What they have going on, both on defense and then on offense, where you have Jordan Love now back to playing at the level that we were accustomed to in the second half of last year.

Speaker 1 Josh Jacobs, the perfect complement,

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 that range of receivers and tight ends that all can make plays.

Speaker 1 Just a balanced, good-ass team. That's what the Packers are.
They are a good-ass team.

Speaker 2 Yeah, and they're enjoyable. I like their style of play on offense, especially.
And to have Jeff Hafley come in from college and

Speaker 2 run the defense and have it work right away the way that it is, like that says a lot. And they have like Edrin Cooper, who they, every time you watch one of these games, they're talking about him.

Speaker 2 Now he's bloomed right away. And they're in that window.

Speaker 2 Like very few teams can claim this window where, and it's going to come, it's going to be real tricky at some point if they don't get to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 And you've got like 14 or 15 semi-stars/slash stars to pay at the same time. That's when things get real tough for your boy up in the front office.

Speaker 2 But I would say this: like, now I don't want to say his name because I can't say

Speaker 2 I can't say that I don't do the German accent as well as you. So we're going to go back down the road of the anthem, like the goodie.

Speaker 2 Like, I mean, that's when it's going to be tough for him to the goodie.

Speaker 1 You mean Brian Gunther can't slay it?

Speaker 2 That's what I mean.

Speaker 2 We're back here.

Speaker 2 If Justin is still awake.

Speaker 1 Justin.

Speaker 2 He's in Dallas.

Speaker 1 Come on, bud.

Speaker 2 Not to dox.

Speaker 1 She's good enough. You're in Dallas.

Speaker 4 I closed that one after we played it, but

Speaker 4 we're going to come back to it.

Speaker 1 Lesson learned, right?

Speaker 1 Lesson learned.

Speaker 1 There's a thing on the show that we do sometimes called callbacks.

Speaker 1 He's like, exit out, delete it, take it to recycle bin, permanently delete.

Speaker 4 You know, I thought you might just be happy and proud that I still still have this drop because there is a chance I didn't.

Speaker 2 Initially, that's

Speaker 1 in so many ways. He's very high, everybody.

Speaker 1 As you were saying, Mark,

Speaker 2 well, no, I just, I think, like,

Speaker 2 it's, they've got this window. It's like, it's, it's just, it's wide open compared to, like, look, look, where are the Niners? They just seem like plagued with all these offseason looming questions.

Speaker 2 They got taken out of the mix for a while, in my book. And, like,

Speaker 2 the Packers feel like they just came here this season. I know they made the playoffs last year, but they feel different than last year's team.

Speaker 1 This is a nice comment, and thank you to everybody watching along on the stream here on a late Monday night before Christmas. Forrest Elliott, this Packers team as a sixth seed is absurd.

Speaker 1 Dissolve the division seeding system.

Speaker 1 I don't hate that.

Speaker 1 I completely hate that.

Speaker 2 Basketball is completely different than basketball.

Speaker 2 In 1984, no, but like it's if you're going to add more and more wild card teams and you get these crazy

Speaker 2 records in here, it's absurd that one of these teams has to go to the Falcons to a stadium that once bragged of like piped-in noise. It seems wrong to me.

Speaker 1 I think that's, yeah, that's what it's about to me. And, you know, those

Speaker 1 Panthers teams or, you know, I think the Rams one year where you're, you have a 500 record and you're hosting a home game. And it's like, what are we doing when

Speaker 1 you could have a 13 and four dominant Packers team and we don't get a home game at Lambeau?

Speaker 1 It's something I would hope somebody at the competition committee or one of the teams presents it and lays out a compelling case because I think there is

Speaker 1 something to that. Anything else on this game? Because

Speaker 1 I don't think we need to linger here. This was a hideous mismatch from the start.

Speaker 2 Yeah, the only thing one Saints note, and yes, this was not the real Saints team, but like there's this even talk tonight and Aikman is...

Speaker 2 I always know he's listening to something somewhere, and it could be the fact that Mickey Loomis would probably like to take a nap until mid-April, but the idea that they're keeping Sky Rizzy um I think I would point to the clock management at the end of the first half which was just negligent like it was outrageous it was like if I suddenly got thrust onto the sideline to run a high school game and had no headset that's what it looked like it was that awful like I mean it was just like they they had no idea what was going on at all and like it was happening on an island game now an ugly island but like I don't I think little things like that matter to show come in and show you can take control of certain situations.

Speaker 2 And this was a floundering wipeout.

Speaker 1 As much as I love Connor. Oh, Connor just says crazy stuff.

Speaker 1 His worst take of the year, and I was very open with him in the moment, like Skyrizzi getting a head coach. It was never going to happen.

Speaker 1 I mean, you heard what happened in that locker room with the strobe light. This is, he is the most interim head coach that has ever existed.
And his job is to take us to the second week in January.

Speaker 1 We thank him for his work, and then we send him on his way. Or maybe he gets absorbed by the new coaching staff.
I hope he gets a head coach of the 2025 Saints. Yes, Justin.

Speaker 4 Skyrizzi was asked if he should be made the permanent head coach of the Saints, and this was his response.

Speaker 1 Never, ever, ever, ever, ever. Okay, ever.

Speaker 1 Got me.

Speaker 1 Nice done.

Speaker 1 Nicely done, Justin.

Speaker 1 You're back, baby.

Speaker 1 I like that. All right, good.

Speaker 1 I was a little mad at him because he didn't have the proud to be an American drop ready when we were talking about I Dream in Red, but now he with his killer Skyrizzy bit there, even Steven.

Speaker 2 That I favored that miscalculation on his part.

Speaker 1 All right.

Speaker 1 And by the way, just a reminder for you, for me,

Speaker 1 for you, the audience, to Justin, to Jessica, anybody.

Speaker 1 Remember,

Speaker 1 the first two weeks of the season don't mean shit.

Speaker 1 The Saints were

Speaker 1 kings after two weeks. And how many conversations did everyone have

Speaker 1 about the offense and how everything was different? And we were all stupid because the Saints were actually gnarly. They ended up, since that point, they are, what's their record now?

Speaker 2 What, five wins?

Speaker 2 They were, well.

Speaker 1 Yeah, they won their first two games and have lost 10 of 13 since. So

Speaker 1 that turned out not to be true, that they had revolutionized offense. Basically, the league made like two and a half tweaks, and the offense was forever shuttered, even before Derek Carr got injured.

Speaker 4 They were the highest-scoring team the first two weeks, and they were the first team to get shut out this season. How about that?

Speaker 1 A lot of talk.

Speaker 2 We did a lot of talk, like a wild uncle you take out back.

Speaker 1 All right, let's uh take a break, and when we come back, we'll do a quick news catch-up and then the Christmas Day preview.

Speaker 2 This episode of Heed the Call is brought to you you by Rocket Money. Missing out on a show that everyone is talking about isn't an option for me.

Speaker 2 I'm constantly signing up for this streaming service or that one, and then a few months later, I realized I've been paying for the service long after I finished the show. Does this ever happen to you?

Speaker 2 Getting Rocket Money was a game changer for me. They'll find your unwanted subscriptions and even help you cancel them so you never have to worry about them slipping through the cracks.

Speaker 2 Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

Speaker 2 With Rocket Money, you can see all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money is going. For any you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them with a few taps.

Speaker 2 This has saved me tons. It's funny how many subscriptions I had totally forgotten about.

Speaker 2 Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year. Hello, when using all of the app's features.

Speaker 2 So stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.
Go to rocketmoney.com/slash htc today.

Speaker 2 That's rocketmoney.com/slash htc. Rocketmoney.com/slash htc.

Speaker 2 It's time for Battle of the Buckets at 12 noon Eastern on Tuesday, December 24th, aka Christmas Eve. You have a chance to take home a share of $1 million.

Speaker 2 Here's how it works. Step one, load up your underdog app.
Step two, pick the player you think will score the most points on Christmas Day, and step three: apply your token to that player.

Speaker 2 It's that simple. And get this: you will have three tokens to work with, so you can select three different players, each in their own entry, for three shots to win.

Speaker 2 If your pick is the top score on Christmas Day, you'll take home your share of the million, even if that entry loses. So, what are you waiting for?

Speaker 2 Download the Underdog app, sign up with the code HTC, and start playing today for our US audience

Speaker 1 only.

Speaker 2 You know, I bought a lot of glasses over the years, and I used to think you had to choose between style, comfort, or price. Turns out, you don't.
Warby Parker changed all that.

Speaker 2 They make every frame with premium materials so everything feels sturdy and looks sharp.

Speaker 2 Their in-house designs come in tons of colors, tons, and fits, which means there's a pair that actually flatters you.

Speaker 2 And with over 300 stores across the US and Canada, you can get styled by their friendly advisors or shop online from home, Dan.

Speaker 1 Oh, I love that. I don't like leaving the house.
And Warby Parker glasses started just $95, including prescription lenses with anti-reflective, scratch-resistant coatings.

Speaker 1 Eye exams started $85, and you could save 15% when you grab two or more pairs, free shipping, free 30-day returns. It's basically risk-free.

Speaker 1 I picked up a pair of the Elio sunglasses, and I'll tell you what, and I, you know, I'm very particular about my sunglasses because I don't want to, wrong pair of sunglasses on my face.

Speaker 1 I just, I look terrible. I just look like a monster.
It's got to be the right fit.

Speaker 1 And Warby Parker, they nail it with all the options they give you.

Speaker 2 Those Elios look good on you. Warby Parker has over 300 plus locations.
Thank you.

Speaker 2 To help you find your next pair of glasses, you can also head over to warbyparker.com slash HTC right now to try on any pair virtually. That's warbyparker.com slash HTC.
Warby Parker.com slash HTC.

Speaker 1 Thanks, Mark. I appreciate that compliment.
You're welcome.

Speaker 1 Welcome back.

Speaker 1 One more note, and this is something that popped up a couple of days before the game that, you know, I'm going to miss the Saints coaching staff when it's gone.

Speaker 1 Quarterbacks coach Andrew Ginocco took Spencer Rattler and the rest of the Saints quarterbacks into a walk-in freezer in the team's cafeteria on Saturday to to run through plays.

Speaker 1 The freezer was like 10 degrees, according to Rattler.

Speaker 1 I think there's something funny about the fact that it was actually like 33 degrees, which is balmy for Green Bay this time of year.

Speaker 1 So they went through all that for nothing, but I like the originality of it all.

Speaker 2 I do too.

Speaker 2 They cut into him on the sideline, the QB coach, and like kind of struck me as a theology professor up on a hillside.

Speaker 2 He looked cold and looked like he didn't quite belong there, but he's creative. I think he said he saw it from Cool Runnings.

Speaker 1 He got the idea from Cool Runnings, the John Candy Dougie Doug vehicle.

Speaker 2 They mentioned that. I'm not sure what the full story is there, but that was an inspiration that gave him an idea.

Speaker 1 So they're trying the Jamaican bobsled team.

Speaker 2 Good movie, I thought. When I saw it,

Speaker 1 as I recall, it was pleasurable as a film. Yes.
All right. Let's

Speaker 1 I think we have sound actually from the freezer.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 2 Sure, we do.

Speaker 1 So they were excited, obviously.

Speaker 1 All right, it works.

Speaker 2 All that matters is it worked.

Speaker 6 Yeah, man, look, we work 80 hours a day or 80 hours a week. Staff, players come here, you know, they're 40 plus hours

Speaker 1 to work.

Speaker 6 We don't do this to lose. We don't do this for anybody's fantasy football team.
We don't do this anybody's drafts projections. None of that shit matters to us.
Our name matters is winning.

Speaker 6 And that's all we want to do.

Speaker 1 I'll tell you what, man, if you want one head coach, speaking of interims, if you want one head coach that will absolutely take your organization to the highest level from about December 15th to January 7th when that team is five to eight games below 500, Antonio Pierce is your guy.

Speaker 2 He's the guy. He is correct about one thing.
They did do nothing for our

Speaker 2 for our fantasy football teams collectively. That is a team that was not dedicated to helping anyone tremendously on that front.

Speaker 1 Just the tight end. The tight end would be

Speaker 1 the lone exception.

Speaker 2 Otherwise, mission accomplished.

Speaker 1 All right, let's get into it.

Speaker 1 Here is something. Did you know that Aaron Rodgers is still doing weekly hits on Pat McAfee's show?

Speaker 2 I do because I see it. I mean, I checked Twitter enough where I think I saw last week, so I think I checked out what he had to say.
He was irate, wasn't he? A little angry about stuff?

Speaker 1 Well, I think he got upset. Last week, I think he said something about like he was going back to

Speaker 1 2021 and getting after people about vaccinations.

Speaker 1 And then I think he also, the thing that got all the ESPN talking heads fired up was he took a not-so-vague shot at them, which, you know, got the Ryan Clarks of the world up on their soapboxes to feel big about themselves.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 this latest commentary from Rodgers comes from a place that I think is a little bit newsworthy, which is, if you're reading between the lines, it sounds like Aaron Rodgers knows there is no future with the New York Jets.

Speaker 1 And he's now mentioned multiple times

Speaker 1 in the last couple of days that he believes he'll be or the idea that he could be released the day after the season ends.

Speaker 1 And it could be a decision made by one of Woody Johnson's grandsons. This has been reported and confirmed.

Speaker 1 Some of the athletic reporting has been a little sensationalistic to me to the point where it's like, I want to hear like the Saminis of the world come in and confirm it.

Speaker 1 And Samini did confirm that Woody Johnson's grandsons, one name is Jack, and the other one's names, you can't make this up, Brick, Brick Johnson,

Speaker 1 have indeed had a voice for the organization in terms of decision making, which is outrageous. Obviously, they're like teenagers.

Speaker 1 Anyway, here's Aaron Rodgers talking about his uncertain future, perhaps dropping hints and having a little bit of fun with the Woody Johnson saga.

Speaker 7 I've never been released before, so being released would be a first.

Speaker 7 Being released by a teenager, that would also be a first so hey you know like i'm open to everything and you know i find the comedy and all of it if that happens hey you know

Speaker 1 like

Speaker 2 it's a great story

Speaker 1 i think mark the way this is going to play out they rogers was gaining some momentum and there was a a uh an idea that he could make sense for next season but the way that rams game fell apart and then now they're going up to buffalo to face a bills team that obviously needs a win and he's banged up again It's going to be cold and miserable.

Speaker 1 I can obviously see that going very poorly and that kind of closing any conversation amongst the Jets about the future with Rodgers. That's just the sense that I get right now.

Speaker 2 I'm with you. I mean, if you are serious about playing another year or two,

Speaker 2 if there's a team that really needs you, like, just to be real, it's not a Jet shot, but the chances and percentages are that that might be a healthier place to go because there's just been a lot of bad energy and you just you you like you philosophically opposed the for the the the actual owner like because he owns an industry like power that you philosophically don't agree with like that we we skated through that but now you've just called the acting owner if he's actually a teenager a teenager and it's making news so it's like if you're trying to build men fences or stick around like um

Speaker 2 and you're gonna put this on a new coaching stuff i think aaron rodgers probably could be productive next year. I kind of just think it needs to be somewhere else.

Speaker 2 And for the Jets, they need to find someone else.

Speaker 1 If I was Aaron Rodgers, I would be taking the first ticket out of town if I still wanted to play with the Jets. I get my 500 touchdown.

Speaker 1 Bench me if you want after that. Just let me get the one more touchdown pass here.
And I agree with you. I think Rodgers, because I think because Rodgers is so easy to root against,

Speaker 1 because he does come across as a little bit pompous and disconnected from the real world at this stage of his life.

Speaker 1 And he could be, you know, some of his opinions can kind of come and rub people the wrong way. And it's done it for me, too.

Speaker 1 I think it would have helped and people would have celebrated him being terrible this year. And some people have conflated the Jets' failure this season with Aaron Rodgers.

Speaker 1 Rodgers has not been terrible this year. And I think Rodgers in a healthy setup could actually be a good player for a team next year.
You just got to manage expectations.

Speaker 1 He's no longer the MVP player, but he could be a good quarterback in the right setup. It just comes down to does he want to do that again? Does he want to start over somewhere else?

Speaker 1 And he's not going to be, the Jets are a zoo. There's not going to be another place that's going to give him full control of the operation.
So he's going to have to be part of a group.

Speaker 1 And I don't know if he has that in him at this point.

Speaker 2 Or he could be like a super Joe Flacco, like a Joe Flacco times five if things went right.

Speaker 2 Like if he doesn't start with a team, if he doesn't want to be, I only want to be the backup or part of a collective where he's, you know, conditioning a young quarterback to be the starter by week five.

Speaker 1 No way.

Speaker 2 I don't think so.

Speaker 1 Well, he was, in fairness, he was, Jordan Lev will say that he was very good with him in a way that Favre wasn't with Rodgers. But I see your point.

Speaker 2 I don't think he'd be cruel to him, but I also think that's like, what's the plan now versus where you were four years ago, right?

Speaker 1 And just real quick before we move on, because I obviously wasn't there for the conversation on Thursday.

Speaker 1 I think all of this stuff coming out about Woody Johnson and the Jets as this laughingstock hive of dysfunction. The only way I could kind of spin it in my mind that is positive

Speaker 1 is that it gets to a point where the billionaire oligarch doesn't like being a horse's ass and

Speaker 1 become the new face of the worst ownership group in the NFL. And it turns into some type of eureka moment that causes him to take a step back, get out of the way, and maybe he learns lessons.

Speaker 1 Now, it could go the other way, too. He could actually get worse from here as he gets older and approaches his 80th birthday.

Speaker 1 But maybe this is getting so bad and so embarrassing for the Johnson family that it causes change for the organization.

Speaker 1 And if that's what happens, thank you to the athletic and all the other reporting that has kind of shined a light on the dysfunction that is the New York Jets because the way it's set up now obviously is not going to create a winner.

Speaker 1 And the concern, you know, that how do you attract high-caliber football minds to an organization when it is public knowledge that the owner won't get out of the way and is a problem.

Speaker 2 It does happen, but what I tend to see what happens is because it's such a massive investment and it's kind of the toy you bought after working in all these other industries.

Speaker 2 Like I can think of Jamie Haslam. He kind of handed over the mouthpiece of it to his wife and then he goes quiet, but he's not selling the team.

Speaker 2 And Johnson's already handed it off to, what, his son when he went over to Europe?

Speaker 1 His brother.

Speaker 2 His brother. Okay, and then now it's a teenager.

Speaker 2 It's like he is slowly, he's not, I don't sense that he wants to give up the team, but he's going to get out of the way so that the crosshairs go somewhere else.

Speaker 2 Because it's kind of helpful that you lose, like, Zach Wilson. You lose the coach.
You lose another coach. You lose the GM.
It's like, we've got no one else left to blame.

Speaker 2 And by the way, you're the one we should be blaming because you're the one B line through one of the worst sports experiences in America. So yes, it comes down on you.
Thank you, Athletic.

Speaker 1 And Motel Guest, you'll get 60 years of Brick Johnson. What if Brick Johnson? I'm just throwing this out.
Maybe he's great. Maybe he's a genius.

Speaker 1 What if Brick Johnson is a fucking genius?

Speaker 2 You know, whenever you watch these shows about lineage that go through like the medieval times and stuff, there are good sons and there are quality leaders couched in between a bunch of chicanery.

Speaker 2 So it's possible.

Speaker 1 All right.

Speaker 1 In other news, we'll roll through the rest of this. Deontay Johnson had obviously a really speaking dysfunctional, dysfunctional relationship with the Ravens after they traded for him.

Speaker 1 They eventually released him.

Speaker 1 And now the Texans claim the wide receiver and the Texans claim a wide receiver because Tank Dell is not playing football for him anymore this season and his long-term future

Speaker 1 includes some level of doubt. The knee injury that he suffered on Saturday looks like it was as bad as it looked.
It is a dislocated kneecap. It is also a

Speaker 1 torn ACL and other damage. And there is concern that he won't even be ready for the beginning of next season.
So terrible news on Dell, and we'll see if Deontay Johnson can play the guitar in Houston.

Speaker 1 Trent Williams,

Speaker 1 future Hall of Fame left tackle for the 49ers. He's done for the season.
He's got a bad ankle and they're eliminated, so that's not a surprise.

Speaker 1 The Chargers officially opened the 21-day practice window for running back J.K. Dobbins coming off an MCL sprain, and they they place safety Marcus May on injured reserve with an ankle issue.
Mark,

Speaker 1 you put a dot on this little segment while I turn off my heater that kicked on.

Speaker 2 Well, I think the J.K. Dobbins news matters most because Trent Williams in the future with the Niners, who knows?

Speaker 2 Deontay's like turned off like four teams at this point.

Speaker 2 Low factor there, but J.K. Dobbins matters for the Chargers.
When they get into the playoffs, it should happen, and you get him back. The running game has been really different without him.

Speaker 2 So are you okay with the heat drop? It sounds nice. It's gone quiet.

Speaker 1 I'm still thinking about Brick being like a combination of

Speaker 1 Vince Lombardi,

Speaker 1 Bill Belichick. Don't do this.

Speaker 2 Can I just say, don't do this? We're about to head into the, we're a month away from the offseason, and we're going to just...

Speaker 2 Again, it may be a teenager who's

Speaker 2 failing Algebra 2. So I think it's probably not a teenager, though.

Speaker 1 Imagine 13-year-old Brick Johnson going down a parade float on the Canyon of Heroes after next year's Super Bowl. Just picture it.
That's all. If you can.

Speaker 2 All right, I'll give that some thought.

Speaker 1 All right, let's move to the Christmas Games preview. There are two games to be played.

Speaker 1 The NFL has come for the NBA's throat. It started last year and now it continues in perpetuity, starting with both games on Netflix, by the way.
Do you have a Netflix account, Mark?

Speaker 2 I do, but I know that there was, I read that there was a, like a high-octane boxing bout on Netflix, I think, over the weekend, and there were a lot of technical issues experienced by many.

Speaker 1 Are you referring to the Mike Tyson?

Speaker 2 No, no, no, no. It was

Speaker 2 super fight. If I'm not mistaken, I think it happened.
I read something about that.

Speaker 1 There was Paul Brother. No, I mean, I watched that.
I think we all watched that. Because that had some glitch issues as well.
It did. It definitely did.
So there was another one.

Speaker 1 You're saying there was a more recent boxing battle.

Speaker 2 I think even this weekend, there was one, if I'm not mistaken. Now, like, Justin can cut this out of the show if I'm wrong.

Speaker 2 But no, I read something like, uh-oh, will it carry over to like the NFL games? And that's going to have a much larger audience. Like, that is a concern, you know?

Speaker 1 Yeah, absolutely, Mark. Especially, which game has Beyonce playing at halftime?

Speaker 1 God, I don't know. I don't think so.

Speaker 4 Baltimore Houston, because Lamar Jackson, I don't know if this was a joke, but apparently Lamar Jackson said he would rather watch Beyonce do the halftime performance than be in the locker room at all.

Speaker 2 Oh, he told Harbaugh that he was going to go watch it.

Speaker 1 You're right. Right.
That's like when Michael Irvin

Speaker 1 at 27 went out to watch MJ at the Rose Bowl. You know, sometimes you got to come out and see a halftime show.
Oh, yeah, that makes sense because Beyonce's from Houston. All right.

Speaker 1 Anyway, Casey at Pittsburgh. And by the way, you got to give the NFL some props there.
You get Beyonce to play halftime of the Christmas night game.

Speaker 1 I mean, not since Rocky Drago has there been a sporting event that's going to attract more eyeballs from different areas of the household than this one?

Speaker 2 That's pretty good. I think it also

Speaker 2 is ironclad proof that the NFL will never

Speaker 2 exit out of the Christmas Day scenario, no matter what day of the week it is.

Speaker 1 Absolutely. The Chiefs are three-point favorites at Pittsburgh against the Steelers, Iron Eagle, Nate Burleson, and J.J.

Speaker 5 Watt on the call. No doubt.
No doubt about it. No doubt about it.

Speaker 2 Had a podcast for a certain amount of time.

Speaker 1 I just saw that

Speaker 1 Nate is hosting the new syndicated version of Hollywood Squares.

Speaker 1 And it did cross my mind, I hope he gets more than one episode.

Speaker 1 Well, yeah, I mean...

Speaker 1 Do you think you'll get more than one episode, Nate Burleson, of Hollywood Squares?

Speaker 5 Yeah, because I think that's a good idea. No doubt.
No doubt about it. No doubt about it.

Speaker 1 Mark, lay out, buds. Sorry.
Layout for the bit.

Speaker 2 We'll see, but I think they film like six in one day typically.

Speaker 1 All right, so here we go. You know,

Speaker 1 I'm very concerned about the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mark, and I think this game

Speaker 1 is either going to

Speaker 1 eradicate those concerns, and we'll go into the playoffs thinking what we've thought about Pittsburgh for most of the year,

Speaker 1 which is, wow, not only is this team, as we all know, well-coached and disciplined and plays badass defense, but they could score some points this year and they could throw the ball downfield a little bit and they have a little bit of balance on offense.

Speaker 1 But these last couple of weeks, where the Steelers have been handled easily by contenders, first the Eagles, then the Ravens, has been a little bit of an eye-opener.

Speaker 1 In fairness, both those games are on the road. They're missing a key part of their offense in terms of a downfield receiving presence, obviously.
And we'll talk about that with Pickens.

Speaker 1 But they are home against the Chiefs. And I really,

Speaker 1 and Steelers fans agree, we really need the Pittsburgh Steelers to show up in this game and tell us that they're not a team that's either going to freefall out of the playoffs or even if they make the playoffs end up being not even cannon fodder because you could imagine how a Steeler playoff loss would play out, like, you know, 21 to 9.

Speaker 1 And I don't want that either. So give me, bring me back the Steelers that kind of caught our imagination for most of the season.
And this would be a good platform for them to go get it.

Speaker 2 Well, certainly considering it's the Chiefs. Like I think they have a lot to clean up and it goes beyond George Pickens, who sounds like he will potentially play.
But they had given up 400 yards once

Speaker 2 as of three weeks ago. They've done that twice in the last two games.
And it's the way they've done it.

Speaker 2 They've been missing tackles all over the place.

Speaker 2 I think it was double-digit missed tackles in each of their last three road games, and that extends to the game in Cleveland, and that was a bit of a different situation, but they are not playing Pittsburgh Steelers defense the way that we think.

Speaker 2 And I don't think the Chiefs are a team like the Ravens that are going to take advantage of that because you don't have Derrick Henry breaking them by halftime. It's a different offense.
But

Speaker 2 I do think that Pittsburgh, like

Speaker 2 you, the division floats away if you can't handle this at home.

Speaker 2 If it were in Kansas City, I'd kind of think like, well, the Steelers Steelers had been revealed for what they are, but this is what I've said about them all along, that the Steelers at home, and it sounds simple, but they really are this different creation in Pittsburgh, that I think they are built to win a game like this against a low-octane offense like Kansas City, but you've got to do it without the mistakes.

Speaker 2 Like they really, they've been killing themselves with, I said, missed tackles, like the Russell Wilson turnovers. We've got to get back on track.

Speaker 2 And I think, I kind of feel like they're going to play a clean game. I really do.
I think they're more aware than any of us, obviously, about what the tape has looked like the last two weeks.

Speaker 1 And the Chiefs don't blow out teams. We know that.
So the Steelers have no excuse to get blown out of their own building here.

Speaker 1 And Pickens might be citing the number one Steelers fan we know, Dave Damashek, the Janga piece of that attack.

Speaker 1 Without him as the downfield stretch the field presence, they're down to 248.3 yards per game.

Speaker 1 He hurt the hamstring pre-game, I believe, before

Speaker 1 the Bengals game. He's missed the past three weeks

Speaker 2 against the Browns either, I think. So, yeah.

Speaker 1 Okay, so they went from averaging 325 yards a game to 248 yards a game. So that's a big drop.

Speaker 1 They've also seen their ground game as defensive now, because they know that Russ doesn't have someone to attack downfield with, they're stuff in the box, and they've gone from having

Speaker 1 the, they went into this. non-Pickens era with 10th in football, averaging 126 yards on the ground.
They're down under 100 in that category as well.

Speaker 1 So there's a lot being put on Pickens, and we're assuming that to be the case. Now, in reality, it's not always that simple.

Speaker 1 There might be a lot of different things that are causing this offense to falter, but Pickens not being there is a big part of it. How about on the Chiefs side of things, Mark?

Speaker 1 What are you looking for in this?

Speaker 2 I want to see if someone like Marquise Brown becomes a bigger and bigger factor because I don't think a team,

Speaker 2 I can't think of too many teams that have had to add pieces kind of midstream and done a better job with it.

Speaker 2 And you suddenly have with Xavier and Marquise Brown an element that they thought they would have at the beginning of the season. They didn't.
And so you do that.

Speaker 2 And I think that they've learned through all of this that they can be a really balanced offense that uses a lot of different characters.

Speaker 2 I think Mahomes completed passes to like eight different people like out of the gate last week. And I like that kind of an offense because you're going to lose people.

Speaker 2 You're going to lose them for quarters, for drives here and there. And so I kind of trust the Chiefs at this point.
And like,

Speaker 2 I guess who wouldn't agree that they're just going to look like they keep looking? I mean, and we know that Mahomes is fully healthy at this point. He showed it last game.
So it's like,

Speaker 2 just go be who you are. I don't know if they can really be something completely different, but I like adding like a Marquise Brown to the mix.

Speaker 1 Yes, with DeAndre Hopkins,

Speaker 1 you have something there with

Speaker 1 the rookie.

Speaker 1 There's some options here. Kelsey is obviously not the same player anymore, but he's not the only tight end that's a part of this offense now.

Speaker 1 So they are changing, and having Pacheco back obviously helps them. It feels like they're getting in a better place offensively, even if

Speaker 1 they're never going to be lighting up the scoreboard like we remember, at least not this season.

Speaker 1 Mahomes, for the record, he says he's not fully healthy, but he says his ankle is in a, quote, lot better place this week. So there is no concern.

Speaker 1 He can't keep getting away with it.

Speaker 1 And yet he does.

Speaker 1 So don't expect Patrick Mahomes to be on the bench in this one, but do expect if TJ Watt and the Steelers pass rush can come to life and make life difficult, you know, that puts Mahomes at risk at aggravating the ankle or in general, not being as spry as he usually is.

Speaker 1 The challenge will be greater this week against Pittsburgh than it was for Kansas City in week 16. All right.
Should we swing over to the other game? Yeah. Let's do it.
Week 17, Mark.

Speaker 1 Can you believe it? The Baltimore Ravens, 10-5. So look at this.
We got the AFC North. It's coming down to the wire, and you have the two teams sitting at 10-5, playing in different windows.

Speaker 1 The Ravens, 10-5,

Speaker 1 traveling to Houston to face the Texans. We told you about Houston having a scramble to beef up their wide receiver core after the terrible Tank Dell injury.

Speaker 1 So that is going to be something to watch here because, you know, the frustrating thing, and there's a lot of frustration as a, I almost said Astros,

Speaker 1 as a Texans fan,

Speaker 1 is that every time it seems like you're about to kind of be able to get into a place where you start to build, you get another injury to knock you down.

Speaker 1 So now that you had Collins back on the field, you had Tank Dell, obviously now Dell is gone.

Speaker 1 So it's back to Collins and maybe Deontay Johnson is someone that helps him, but don't expect it right away.

Speaker 1 And you just wonder if CJ Stroud can raise his game in a spot like this when you know Lamar is going to show up and you know Lamar is going to put 30 plus points on the board for the Ravens.

Speaker 1 Is this Houston team equipped to win any type of shootout game? I just do not see it. And so

Speaker 1 I imagine that Beyonce is going to go home bitterly disappointed because she's really there just to watch the game, I think.

Speaker 2 Yeah, if she's truly invested in the sporting aspect of it, I think she will be. I think you kind of need CJ Stroud to have the best game of the season.

Speaker 2 I think you do, and it's got to happen right now. And you're asking him to do a lot with a little bit of a game.

Speaker 2 You've been waiting so long for CJ Stroud to kind of i i'm not expecting to come back to us i don't i don't know where the fire i'll talk about the offense because i think it's not true the defense like where is the fire on this offense like i just don't see it and i and i get it they've lost half the people that would have brought that fire but they just feel to me like a team kind of being carried in a casket to the postseason.

Speaker 2 It's just everything's gone so poorly. And now you've got to go take on the hottest team in the AFC and find a way to stop it.
And like, I do think their defense is their hope.

Speaker 2 Like, they've got to try to keep it low because there was this one play that I went back and watched against the Steelers with the Ravens. And here's what I think Derrick Henry does to you.

Speaker 2 He beat them up so hard for like, it was like 100 plus right away. Right.

Speaker 2 And then there's, there is the touchdown to Isaiah Likely where they're so concerned about Lamar and you have Derrick Henry lined up to Lamar's right in the backfield. And it's like

Speaker 2 Lamar just sort of pretends or has sort of a half like handoff pitch to Henry and like brings the whole defense in and likely is wide open.

Speaker 2 Like I think that's just the effect of having to try to stop those two dudes, but especially once Henry gets going and it just opens up all these other options that Lamar did not have in the past.

Speaker 2 We know that.

Speaker 2 Like Zay Flowers like last week, 100 plus, like they're just kind of clicking and I don't really trust anything about the Houston offense to hang around with them if they get hot.

Speaker 1 I'm with you. And the Houston offense, in addition to the stops and starts of the passing passing game all year, have not been able to run the ball with any efficiency in the last month or so.

Speaker 1 So you're not getting the Joe Mixon

Speaker 1 big performances that were making this offense frisky and dangerous at the beginning of the year, even when Stroud was pedestrian in his production. So something has to change.

Speaker 1 I just think it's why it's such a disappointment because you want the Texans to be a team that you could take seriously going into the playoffs.

Speaker 1 But I think that Dell injury is something that is going going to really, really hurt this offense and make them even more predictable.

Speaker 1 And you know, defenses like the Ravens are going to key in on Collins even more now. So it's like, who's going to be the guy that

Speaker 1 can step up? They love Dalton Schultz, and he's a good tight end, but who else on that team is going to be a difference maker? Otherwise, it's going to be a lot of frustration for Stroud.

Speaker 1 Another week where they're hovering around 20 to 24 points, and that is just not going to do it against the Ravens.

Speaker 2 I think they need a defensive turnover. They need Fairbairn to be perfect.
They need something big to happen. Because here's the other thing about one little quick thing about Baltimore:

Speaker 2 their defense is evolving, and it's some young players, but they only had two penalties against the Steelers.

Speaker 2 And the one thing about them was like, man, they could not get out of their own way with Orr as their new defensive coordinator and the mistakes. And like, maybe they're fixing that.

Speaker 2 And if they don't make mistakes against the Texans, I don't see it.

Speaker 1 All right.

Speaker 1 It is almost like a referendum on the AFC playoffs in a certain way because you have two teams you know are going to be there in the Ravens and the Chiefs and are going to have a major seat at the table come January.

Speaker 1 And then you have the Steelers and the Texans. And it's like, should we take you guys seriously? Well, let's see.

Speaker 2 I'll ask you this. Like, do you like the...

Speaker 2 Because this is probably how they have to do it. And I kind of do like it if you get the matchup right.
Like, one and one played three and four last week, and then you flip the matchup.

Speaker 2 It's the same four teams from

Speaker 2 like in these, in this shortened situation, like Saturday to Christmas Day, it's all the same four teams.

Speaker 2 Like there's no other real way you could do it real equitably in a certain way without, they need that extra day, although it still feels totally fair. But what if they mistakenly picked like,

Speaker 2 I don't know if you can flex that, I guess you could, but what if they mistakenly picked like the Jaguars or something? We're watching them twice two weekends in a row.

Speaker 2 I want to be thrown into a lake at that point.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I think you try to go with the safest picks imaginable.
Right. And I think they did okay in the end.

Speaker 2 They did a good job.

Speaker 1 Adi Adam Scalani, does anyone else get annoyed with the Noah slash Iron Eagle announcing it's like they're trying to be Jim Nance, but Costco brand, I will not, I will not hear I like

Speaker 1 bashing. And Noah?

Speaker 2 Noah's like, what does he do wrong? It may not be your cup of tea, but he's certainly technically.

Speaker 1 I guess you could say that Noah is like the Costco brand of Iron, but that's not really fair because he's literally his son. So it's not like he's trying, he's not aping his father.

Speaker 1 It's just he's half of his father's DNA. That's how it works, Mark.
That's how DNA works. Yeah, well, literally half of Ion Eagle.

Speaker 2 That's Brick Johnson, basically, but even like another generation removed.

Speaker 1 Anything else, Justin, from the chat before we say goodbye?

Speaker 1 Sure.

Speaker 4 How much you want?

Speaker 1 I don't know.

Speaker 1 We'll kind of judge on how good they are.

Speaker 4 Well, first, shout out to Come On Man

Speaker 4 for reminding everyone that once the stream ends, stick around for a sec and leave an actual comment on the YouTube video because that really helps us.

Speaker 4 Whether, according to Come On Man, whether you're a Mark Asbuster or a non-ass buster, I don't know.

Speaker 1 I don't know what that means.

Speaker 4 Shout out to Matthew Stapleton too, 425 in the UK.

Speaker 1 Good for you, Matthew. You're the best.
Thanks to everyone listening and watching in the UK. Iced bananas, are we sure the Chiefs are still low octane? They put 27 on an extremely good Houston D.

Speaker 1 Having Brown back for them is huge. Yeah, we just talked about that.

Speaker 1 The Chiefs seem, it seems to be rounding into shape for Kansas City, which has a chance to make me look very bad because I am on record and it's too late to turn back.

Speaker 1 They will be wiped out before the AFC championship game.

Speaker 1 What could go wrong there? Derek, has Mark started the Rogers Enigma documentary on Netflix?

Speaker 2 Haven't gotten to that.

Speaker 1 That'll leave it right there.

Speaker 2 Football documentaries in the middle of the football season is a lot.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 And that one specifically seemed to land at a weird time.

Speaker 1 A perfect example. Like, again, I love hard knocks, or at least I liked hard knocks before they diversified into like a

Speaker 1 CSI situation. But like,

Speaker 1 as much as I enjoy the AFC North and the drama within it, do I have time in my life right now to dig in on a weekly hour-plus-long documentary on the other side?

Speaker 2 Well, folks, you're telling me what happened last week, and we've already talked about it all week in certain situations. I'm sure there's some behind-the-scenes

Speaker 1 fluff. I had this conversation with Keith, by the way, about the Rodgers.
He was like, oh, yeah, Danny,

Speaker 1 I'm going to watch it. I'm like, I just, I'm set.

Speaker 2 I'm just like,

Speaker 1 if this season didn't go the way it went, I would have been all over it if Rodgers and the Jets were successful.

Speaker 1 But it's, I don't need more reminders of you know, I'm surprised he's digging into that, though.

Speaker 2 That doesn't, it's not the thing.

Speaker 1 He is retired. My parents watch enormous amounts of streaming television.
Enormous.

Speaker 1 It's impossible to be like when they come to visit, hey, do you want to watch this movie? Like, we saw it.

Speaker 1 Like, do you want to watch this? Saw it.

Speaker 1 But I guess when you're retired, what else are you going to do?

Speaker 2 You've got the, you've got the time to really enjoy the product.

Speaker 1 They ride their bikes and they

Speaker 1 watch Jeopardy, and

Speaker 1 my dad cleans outside the house and

Speaker 1 my mom, like, she's on her laptop a lot. And

Speaker 1 they just have a lot of time. And then they watch TV.
It's like, I envy it. I look forward to that period of time.

Speaker 2 It all fits together.

Speaker 2 I could see that all fitting together.

Speaker 1 Favorite top three Christmas movies. All right, Pat's fanban.
Number one for me is a Christmas story.

Speaker 2 Number two,

Speaker 1 gonna be very basic. Number two is It's a Wonderful Life.
Number three

Speaker 1 would be,

Speaker 1 I don't know, but I will, let me just throw in an honorable mention.

Speaker 1 I'm not gonna put it top three, but if you're looking for a newer Christmas movie, it came out a couple years ago with Neil Patrick Harris as the dad 8-bit Christmas.

Speaker 1 It's a nostalgic look back at being a kid in the 80s during Christmas time in Chicago. Well done.
Very funny. I'll just throw that out.
I guess I'm a basic.

Speaker 2 No, I think it's also like what you liked when you were young too, because I know I'll think of more later, but like Christmas Vacation, I saw in the theater with my dad, like that was always one for me.

Speaker 2 Wonderful Life, like I am a cynical person in certain ways, but it's hard to be with that.

Speaker 2 We've talked about this. I consider Eyes Wide Shut to be a Christmas movie, but I know that's not where

Speaker 2 Pat's fan Ben is going here.

Speaker 2 Well, no, but it truly is, like, if the imagery of it and stuff, maybe not the themes, but

Speaker 1 people are not yelling elf. Elf is funny.
I like elf. Yeah.

Speaker 4 Can I give my three?

Speaker 1 Sure.

Speaker 1 I hate. Why not? Why not?

Speaker 4 Number one, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It's definitely a Christmas movie.

Speaker 4 Don't challenge me on that.

Speaker 1 Just

Speaker 1 what about

Speaker 1 Marshall?

Speaker 4 Paul Rudd literally sings, oh, the weather outside is weather in reference to the season. that it is because he's going to Hawaii to get away during Christmas.
It's a Christmas movie.

Speaker 4 Number two is Die Hard.

Speaker 1 Yeah, let's

Speaker 1 see. We're going to have this conversation again, Justin.

Speaker 2 If a movie takes place in December,

Speaker 2 the setting, it does not mean it's a Christmas movie.

Speaker 1 I don't know why people think this. Like, I don't understand it.

Speaker 1 You agree to disagree?

Speaker 2 Are you referring to Die Hard or everyone, every movie he mentioned?

Speaker 1 Well, Die Hard is also a Christmas movie. That's number two.

Speaker 2 I mean,

Speaker 2 that argument. I feel like we're about nine years into that being like an online debate, so I'm good with it.

Speaker 1 If that's what you think, it's like the Michael Bay Pearl Harbor movie. Oh, December 7th.
You know, that's a Christmas movie. There were Christmas lights on a palm tree in one scene.

Speaker 1 That was in Hawaii.

Speaker 4 Then it is a Christmas movie.

Speaker 1 What else?

Speaker 4 Agree to disagree. Three is Home Alone.

Speaker 1 Oh, Home Alone. That's obviously

Speaker 1 very near the top of my list.

Speaker 1 In fact, number

Speaker 1 two is Home Alone. So a Christmas story, Home Alone, and and it's a wonderful life.
All right, one more.

Speaker 1 Okay.

Speaker 1 Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I mean,

Speaker 4 I just wanted to throw this coming up so I could do this.

Speaker 1 Loser, loser, double, loser, as if whatever, get the picture.

Speaker 2 Doy.

Speaker 1 Perfect way to close it. All right, everybody.
Thank you for watching, and thank you for your support all season.

Speaker 1 Our schedule is a little different this week. No show on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.
no show on Christmas Day.

Speaker 1 And then Thursday, we'll be back recording our recap for both the Christmas games and our preview for the rest of the week 17 slate.

Speaker 1 Anything else you want to say to the people, Mark?

Speaker 2 No, I'll say it when we return. But have a nice holiday.
Enjoy yourself, you and Justin, and everyone listening. I wish that for you.

Speaker 1 Very human. Thank you.

Speaker 1 What do they call it?

Speaker 2 Christ Mass? Enjoy either.

Speaker 8 Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company. They're one of America's largest financial services companies.
companies.

Speaker 8 Like how I'm more than Saquon Barkley, the NFL's reigning leading rusher, I'm also the NFL's leading husher.

Speaker 1 Hush up back there.

Speaker 1 Wow.

Speaker 8 I might have just set the hushing record.

Speaker 8 Well, almost. For your insurance and financial needs, nationwide is on your side.

Speaker 1 Nationwide Investment Services Corporation member Finrick, Columbus, Ohio.

Speaker 9 250 years ago, a promise was made to connect families and friends near and far.

Speaker 9 And during the holidays, that promise is more important than ever that's why usps is building a better network to meet your needs with timely deliveries easy and affordable ways to ship and everything you need to make your season full of holiday cheer their purpose is delivering your peace of mind knowing your love will arrive bringing joy to all the united states postal service learn more at usps.com slash holidays

Speaker 10 Deborah had to have surgery.

Speaker 11 I had hip surgery in November of 2024.

Speaker 10 Her United Healthcare nurse Crystal checked on her.

Speaker 2 We do a routine call after surgery, and I could tell that she was struggling. Deborah needed help.

Speaker 11 My infection markers were through the roof.

Speaker 10 And Crystal knew what to do.

Speaker 2 I called the hospital and said she's coming in.

Speaker 10 And got Deborah the help she needed.

Speaker 11 Crystal and United Healthcare saved my life.

Speaker 10 Hear more stories like Deborah's at UHC.com. Benefits, features, and or devices vary by plan area.
Limitation and exclusions apply.