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The Heed the Call podcast.

Wear jean jackets when it's bad boy time.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Welcome to Heed the Call.

Dan Hands is here with Mark Sessler, Justin Graver on the ones and twos.

And if it is Wednesday morning, that must mean it's Connor or time.

Hey, oh, Sessdog, I haven't seen

I haven't seen Levi in a while.

Is he being phased out or has he been born into extinction?

What's the deal?

Well, I mean, is it a he?

I don't know why we've attached a pronoun to it.

I would say this.

Like, I've learned a little bit of a lesson.

Like,

they do wear.

There's wear and tear.

There's some diminishing in the elbow areas and in the pockets.

And so it's still a staple.

And especially this time of year when it's a little, we're in L.A.

And so we're never allowed to,

we can't complain about the weather.

It's just perfect.

It's like loud.

Yeah, but it's a little chillier at nights, and so it fits very well in the evenings.

You've got to be careful of what you wear under it.

That would be my.

Justin, jump in a second.

Why are you cringing?

What was that cringe?

Well, we all know where Mark started to drift a little bit there.

Not intentionally.

I don't know, like, that's your, you know.

It's just like bleeding into our normal everyday lexicon.

Mark, you're starting to creep between this and I Dream in Red, the creep towards 47 and 47 is

like

you don't seem like the number one person to dissect I Dream in Red.

I'm not sure you've clicked into the file.

Connor's been a part of that and his contributions are not Republican.

There's nothing about it that's Republican.

Like I had never voted Republican in my life.

Wow, are you trying to alienate half the country, Mark?

Way to go, Mark.

Goodness gracious.

Well, Dan, you know, it's you and I have started this enterprise.

Why do conservatives

listen to podcasts too?

That's what Jordan's paradise.

Why do you want me to categorize a newsletter

on one side of the aisle or the other?

Like, it seems like a dunder-headed move by yourself.

It's your product.

It's your product.

Which you're framing incorrectly, but that's a bad strategy when we're trying to.

By the way, how does business work?

Let's ask that question.

By the way,

as predicted in a very clean and concise manner on the Monday night football recap episode, we told you that that coach word salad from

Matt Eberflues made it very clear that Shane Waldron's days with the Chicago Bears were numbered as a play caller.

And indeed, he was let go this morning as the OC.

And it does remind me, Connor, that you have really, I think, maybe your most high-profile piece at SI coming up soon, right?

Yeah, we have the feature head coaches list coming out on, well, later this week.

So after you listen to this, you should be able to find it.

And

that's like a

that matters in the industry.

I've known this for many years, and I know that

your phone rings a lot this time of year.

I mean, is that fair to say?

I think it's, yeah.

I mean, it's busy

in in the way that anybody would want to be like positively reflected, like, especially if you're, if you have a friend who you think is supposed to be on it or a client who you think is supposed to be on it.

And so there's a lot of like those conversations happening right now, for sure.

And you try to cut through all the clutter and just put out a product that lists why these guys are good at what they do.

I'll never forget being in an airport.

And what we would call an NFL media insider,

we were waiting for a flight, was was speaking closely to an offensive coordinator at the time about,

and I was just, I was eavesdropping, you know, so that's why, but the offensive coordinator was like asking, like, how do I get my name more involved in the mix?

How do I get my, you know, get the fire burning where people are like, who is this guy?

How do I get the interviews?

It's like, they are, they are, they've got their own worlds and world building to focus on.

It's hard too, because most of the time it's like a militaristic style hierarchy, right?

And so you want to be

seen and not heard.

A lot of coaches don't restrict how often their assistants can talk to the media.

There are coaches who don't want their coaches to be poached because they're doing a lot of the important work, right?

And they don't want them to go somewhere else and have to train somebody else, whatever, whatever.

And so it's a, it's, it, there's so many fascinating layers to it, which is why I kind of set out to be like, let's just tell people who does a really good job.

Like, that's that's that's what it is at the end of the day.

Let's cut, let's cut through some of the bullshit, though.

Like, Connor Orr as a kingmaker is not the worst place to be.

Here, here's my, I will tell you, my one favorite story from coaching years, uh, list years past was I got called by somebody just ripping me up and down.

They're like, How could you put this guy at the bottom of the list and like F this, F that?

What's the matter?

You put him below this guy and this guy.

And I was like, Sir,

the list is in alphabetical order.

So,

you should have a client with a last name that's just a little higher up on the

Connor Orr, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated.

What a gig.

And also, Moonlighting is a superstar of Heed the Call.

This guy's doing it right.

Coming up today, can't wait.

One of my favorite people in the world, the man that got us started in this business in so many ways, Dave Damashek,

is going to join us.

And Dave is going to help us put together the perfect Thanksgiving table of NFL figures.

That's going to be a lot of fun.

We're also going to preview Thursday Night Football, huge NFC East showdown.

But before that,

What?

Yes.

It's been two weeks since we last

held court.

The fork committee meets one more time.

Last chance, we were halfway through the season.

And

we have a chance to right some wrongs, which we will.

And we have an opportunity to, and I think show some boldness.

I think the the listeners are not always right.

Many times they're wrong about things.

But were we a little milquetoast in our initial

committee?

Perhaps.

So let's let's get one more crack at this as we kick

spin forward into the second half.

And Mark, I think

this is important business.

And this is, I know you've always been close, this has been close to your heart this segment because you get to just say goodbye to Jetsum and Flotsam.

Well, yeah, and like I want to go back to

Bai.

I want to go back to, yes, bye.

I want to go back to a team that I lobbied for when we did this segment, and it was batted down.

And you tell me if I'm, again, being too precocious or too strident in my view, I think the Bengals, who are four and six and continue to drop big games,

you're not making the playoffs.

I don't see it.

I'm pushing for teams that are truly on the fringe.

If I go tell you, hey, look at the Colts might not make it.

Like, that's not what we're doing here.

Aren't we trying to correct wrongs?

Like, I'm telling you, the Bengals do not make the playoffs.

Whose vote do I have?

All those in favor of forking the Cincinnati Bengals coming off a 35-34 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, say aye.

All those

who oppose, say nay.

I oppose.

Nay.

Enough, Mark.

Enough with this Bengal stuff.

Well, I'm trying to bring us to where we'll be three weeks from now, but it's a tough task.

All right.

Well, you're going to look very smart if they crater, but I can't imagine.

I just can't imagine it.

I mean,

I just watched Joe Burrow throw for like 450 yards and Jamar Chase have almost 300 yards received.

They're not the problem.

That team's got a run in them.

I wouldn't call them the problem.

All right.

I'll motion, file a motion.

What was the jargon again?

I don't know.

Yeah, you propose.

Robert's rules of order.

Roberts

ordered.

I was right about this.

You propose a motion to fork Team X.

All right.

And I propose

a motion to fork the Dallas Cowboys.

I second the motion.

Okay, there we go.

You all second the motion.

Thank you.

Thank you, man.

And I know this is personal to you, Mark, but I just

have to say in my defense, two weeks ago, I saw them as a team that was going to be the Falcons team I didn't believe in, and then Micah Parsons was going to come back.

They didn't beat the Falcons, and then Micah Parsons came back, but then Dak Prescott's hamstring blew up, and now there's all sorts of issues.

In fact, I got to be real with you guys.

We have our latest power rankings.

I have the Cowboys as dead last in the power rankings right now between the fact that they now have all their issues

with

the team.

Obviously, the locker room vibes are not good.

And now they don't have the quarterback,

you know, getting blown out at home every week.

This is overdue.

I've already told you that.

I don't apologize for it because I did believe they had it in them.

I was wrong.

And some of us should be able to say that once in a while.

So, all in favor of forking the Dallas Cowboys, say aye.

Aye.

All right, moving right along.

If I'm wrong about the Cowboys, Connor, you're next.

Take a fork in them.

Ow.

What are you talking about, Dan?

So, yeah.

I will just say, though, that was maybe the first time in my life that I had one of those gut feelings that they were going to beat the Texans.

And I just wrote it and it actually happened.

And so great to like kind of one week stretch there.

It was awesome.

Jose, by the way.

What's that?

Who's the Jets?

The Jets.

Sorry, the New York Jets.

Yeah.

Great one-week stretch.

A lot of fun.

Really enjoyed it, but I need to fork the Jets.

And here's what pisses me off about forking the Jets.

Immediately after I do this,

they're going to win like four games in a row.

And somehow.

No, they're not.

But here's what,

this is my life, and this is how this is going to happen because I've been here before.

Somehow, this clip is just going to get segmented online somewhere and wind up in the ether, get on Aaron Rodgers' radar, and then he's going to go on Pat McAfee and after a four-game winning streak, and he's going to be like, well, you know,

you know, not everybody believed in us.

You know, I don't really read anything online, but like, Sports Illustrated, you know, it's awesome stuff.

That's a good Aaron Rodgers.

And

then

everyone in my comments is going to be like, you don't know the Tesla.

You're an asshole.

Go die.

And so that's what's going to happen, but whatever.

So I'm just just ready for it to happen.

I'm ready to die.

You can die, by the way.

Would you rather not be the one that brings the Jets to the latest?

No, I need to, like the Raiders,

this is an animal I need to kill with my own hands.

So

all in favor of forking the New York Jets, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Multiple.

Justin, you're not innocent either, by the way.

You got some.

In our defense, we got another week out of it.

Like,

so we were right at the time not to.

And in the defense of the dissenters of what you were throwing out there, I said at the time that they were a train wreck behind the scenes and had no leadership, and there was nothing in their DNA that suggested they had a big run in them.

But like, you're, you're holding

firm that they could win five of six down the stretch.

I think they'll do what the Jets always do, which is win just enough games not to have like the first overall pick.

Um, they'll just mess things up in a different way, but I don't think we're having a Jets playoff conversation again.

I'd be very surprised.

We shall see.

All right.

But we did get a really cool, like, prime time interview spotlight on Jeff Ulbrick that was like, hey, maybe the Jets have something that gave us extra confidence.

You know?

I don't know.

Yeah, that changed our country.

I don't remember anything.

I don't remember Jeff Ulbricht ever saying anything that inspired me in any way as a Jets fan.

All right.

Mark, would you like to, or Justin, do you want to bring a team to vote?

I can bring a team to vote that we haven't talked about that Mark briefly mentioned earlier.

The Colts.

What are we doing with the Colts?

Like, come on.

Joe Flacco, he's not it.

They're not going back to Richardson anytime soon.

If they ever go back to Richardson, it'll be because they know they're out of the mix for sure.

The Colts are not making the playoffs.

Motion to fork the Colts.

Motion granted.

All in favor of forking the Indianapolis Colts say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All who oppose?

Nay.

Nay.

Wow.

Okay.

Why?

The Texans.

Go ahead, Mark.

Well, I was going to say, I can look at the AFC leaderboard and find other teams to fork before them.

Before the Colts.

I think the Colts are well coached.

They've got some good players, and I think they've got winnable games ahead.

I'm not ready to do it yet.

It's more conservative than I normally am.

Connor, what is your reasoning?

I was going to say, I think the Texans are falling off.

C.J.

Stroud has had like four of his worst career games over the last like five weeks.

And I think, too, that this is going to sound like a crazy take, but

I still don't think Joe Flacco played that badly in the three-interception game.

I really don't.

Like, I think if we went back and we watched it and we could rationalize some of the picks and just see that game for what it was, I mean, Jared Goff threw five interceptions in 35 minutes the other night.

I think we would be more level-headed about this.

I think it's Anthony Richardson and the specter of that that's blowing the narrative out of control.

So I think that they're going to make the playoffs.

Okay, let's move right along because we are on a schedule here.

I will bring to motion

the forkage of the Chicago Bears.

I think this team is going down in flames.

I don't know if they have two more wins in them this year, to be quite honest, where they stand right now.

They have gone on a hot streak before.

They did get rid of the OC, and maybe that fixes some of what ails the offense, but I don't see it.

All in favor of forking the Chicago Bears, say aye.

Aye, aye, aye.

All who oppose, say nay.

Stick a fork in them.

That is unanimous.

The Bears have been forked.

Who wants to take the floor?

I will take one.

I would make a motion to fork the Dolphins of Miami.

They are three and six.

They lost a critical game.

Look at you're

three and six.

Like, I get it.

You need to go essentially like seven wins down the stretch, six at the least, seven wins down the stretch.

I just don't see a team that can do that right now.

And I think they're going to fumble.

I know the division, they don't have a path through the division, but how can

they fork the Colts and then want to fork the Dolphins when the Dolphins are coming off a big win in L.A., and then they have the Raiders, Patriots, and Jets over the next four weeks?

I mean,

they're back in it for me.

When I do fork, I try to get ahead of things, and I get where you're coming from, but they're three and six.

They're not winning the division.

They're five wins behind.

I get that, but

I just don't see a team that's going to surge.

I like the win against the Rams.

I don't see a team that's going to surge to six or seven more wins.

I think they'll find a way to have this season crumble.

We're talking about them not making the playoffs.

That's all I'm saying.

Like, they could be eight and nine, and I don't think they're making the playoffs.

They're one win back of the Colts right now.

They've played one fewer game because the Colts haven't had their buy.

The Bengals are also four and six.

Colts four and six.

Dolphins three and six.

I am believing much more in the Bengals and Dolphins' chances to make the playoffs to get to the seven seed where the Broncos are over the Colts.

All right, all in favor of forking the Miami Dolphins, say aye.

Wow, Mark, on an island for your second nomination.

Well, no, I specialize, but I specialize in, like, you know, it's not going against the grain because that's too complimentary.

Just not getting the crowd going, I guess.

Any other teams, Connor, that you want to throw out there?

I mean, this is sort of a vague observation, but like I would say take the Cardinals on the power rankings and just fork every team below them because in reality, like the top 12 of the NFL right now is about as awesome as I can remember it being.

And then the bottom like 15 are just the most least interesting tire fire teams that I just couldn't give less of a shit about.

And so I'm just ready to get them off

my plate completely, you know.

All right.

Well, you got a nominated team, though.

I don't know.

Is there anybody left that you guys see as like a I'll throw one out there just because they're on a four-game losing streak?

You know, I'm not, if you want to throw out the Bucs as a team

because they just continue to stack losses, I'm not willing to go there with them yet.

No.

Let's see.

Who else?

Who else, Justin, would be the Seahawks?

I'm not ready to go there.

Yeah.

No.

I mean, based on what Connor just said, Connor's willing to fork the Texans, the Falcons, the Broncos.

Because at the end of the day,

they matter, but they don't.

You know what I mean?

But you can make the playoffs in the NFL not really matter.

Right.

Yeah.

And that's the exercise is

you're forking teams that you have no, you have, that's why I'm surprised, Mark, because I know you're being strident about the Bengals, but like to be that confident that they have no chance when half the league is just kind of dog shit.

It's like

I didn't say no chance.

I am getting.

Well, that's what the exercise is.

No, the wager is

no chance of making the playoffs.

The wager is, I believe that they are too late to the game to make the playoffs.

And I believe that about the two teams that I offered.

One is a three-win team in November, and the other is a four-win team.

I'm not like,

this is not, you know, shooting the moon.

All right, give me the funeral dirge music.

The meeting is adjourned of the four committee.

The doomed

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

The doomed ten.

If you root for one of these teams,

we are sorry.

Keep listening to the podcast,

please.

And subscribe on YouTube.

The Carolina Panthers,

the New England Patriots,

the Tennessee Titans,

the Jacksonville Jaguars,

the Las Vegas Rodders,

New York Giants,

the Narland Saints,

the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Jets,

and the Chicago Bears.

You went from like Ireland to like Mexico right there?

Like it was a very

and I was for a while.

I was gonna

really compliment you.

It's hard to sustain an Irish accent for that long.

I wasn't trying to do an Irish accent.

Was it Scottish?

I'm imagining a Pangea where the world never separated, and this is how we would all talk if that were the case.

Well, that's a visionary way to look at things.

Yeah, Pangea.

It's beautiful.

All right, let's take a break.

And oh, and by the way, any of those teams make the playoffs, and history tells us at least one will.

We will make a charitable donation

to the causes that we laid out two weeks ago.

And don't worry,

if the Cowboys don't make the playoffs,

I will

still, because I vetoed, I used my veto power to keep them alive, I will donate to Connor's charity.

And Connor should donate to all the charities for getting the Jets fans' hopes up.

That's just my opinion, but that's not really how the exercise works.

That's not how the court laid it out.

That's just a personal feeling.

Talking about winning five of six.

It's but it's just my

you know better than anyone, Connor, what we've been through as Jetson's.

You don't need to be putting that in the air and getting people to believe.

No, but it's not, it's not a belief thing.

It's like when I, whenever I have a definitive take on something, it's just like I could come out tomorrow and just be like, I'm pretty sure the earth is round.

And then everyone's like, psych, it's been flat the whole time, you idiot.

You know, and that's like anytime I go definitive, that's when the entirety of what I think I'm positive about just caves in.

Mark,

I think the coaches'

assistants that could be head coaches' rankings are starting to get to come out.

You can see the stress

on his face and in his voice.

Yeah, if you had to put together a ranking of NFL journalists who have been

verbally abused,

called up,

wrangled, and annoyed by coaches and league sources, Connor's got to be at the top.

He's got like 45 anecdotes of league executives and coaches being annoyed with Connor.

Which I think that means you're doing your job well.

He's a moth to the flame, though, right?

Because he does these exercises like predicting every game before the season and

this thing.

And it's like it invites, and you're writing for a high-profile publication that people read.

I mean, I respect it.

I really do, that you put yourself out there.

But I could tell there is a price.

Maybe that's why you love those Hallmark films and Lifetime films, because it's like you need to find a safe space with all this war around you.

Salty and sweet.

Salty and sweet.

It's a good observation.

I would say just never underestimate the power of having a super punchable face because that's really what ties this all together.

I don't agree with that either.

I think you have a beautiful sweet face.

All right.

Speaking of beautiful sweet faces, up next, Dave Damashek.

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This is where Thanksgiving really begins, isn't it?

Ah, welcome back.

I picked this song because I feel like it sounds like Thanksgiving, but also

something Jim Nance might play when he lays with his wife.

There he is, Dave Damashek,

a legend in this game of podcasting,

the host of, of course, the Sheck Show.

Get that wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, Dave?

Hello, fellas.

Boy,

that is some image.

So you're talking about active, vigorous lovemaking.

This is the soundtrack.

I think so, yeah.

And the Nance Helm.

That's what he checks out.

Not during.

No, during, during.

And I think he probably takes her out when it gets wild out onto the putting green that he has actually in his backyard.

That's where he's a really busy.

I so wish we had Zumalt on right now just to do

an entire monologue of Nance

when the lights go out.

Oh, and the lights are off.

All right.

Without further ado.

Shek.

Coincidentally, this is also the music that Russ and Sierra play.

Coincidentally.

We got Shek here.

Shek Connor, Mark,

Zuzzer.

We got Gravy.

And speaking of Gravy, Thanksgiving is two weeks away.

And with that in mind, I thought it'd be a fun activity here to put our minds together.

And in the year 2024, what would be the ideal Thanksgiving table of NFL figures?

So let's put out some guide rules

here,

guidelines here.

So we're going to build a table of 12.

And what we're going for here,

Dave, and we could take, you know, this is free-flowing, right?

But I think we want to build an interesting table, right?

It might not even be one that makes sense functionally.

It might be one that's almost

engineered for chaos.

But what we want is for Thanksgiving to be memorable in this home that we're building.

You know what I mean, Dave?

I do.

I think I'm picking up what you're laying down, and we're already off to a good start because you mentioned the essential item of your Thanksgiving table.

You know, I love my stuffing.

I think it is weirdly relegated to once a year.

It should be on every menu in every restaurant.

If french fries and mac and cheese and Brussels sprouts can be on every menu, then why not delicious stuffing?

But gravy.

Much like drawn butter is the true star in the lobster equation, gravy on turkey, who's the real star?

It's that delicious, delicious gravy.

Absolutely.

And how crazy for me to not even bring up at this point, it should have been brought up immediately that Dave, you're famous

from NFL media days for the pie off and us having that annual tradition of bringing in the pies.

I was a two-time champion with my mother-in-law, Anne, and that meant a lot.

I also, at the one of the inaugural, maybe the inaugural pie off, I came down with the nickname Empty Hanses for not having a pie the first year.

But so this is a holiday that I know is near and dear to the Sheckman.

Well, I, you know, I really have been thinking about that.

Yeah, that's where your star was born, was winning pie off more than once, even.

And, you know, at the time of this recording, we don't know.

And on the strength of your pie deeds, you are in contention for sexiest man alive, as I understand it.

Well, can I, hold on, is there any concern that like Dan

didn't lift a finger to

cook the piece about this?

Well, what noise?

So you just hire someone to make a pie for you?

That's how...

Hire?

She's my family.

Well, that's more than hire.

Are we going to litigate this a decade later?

I'm just asked a question.

I didn't say it's wrong.

I'm saying like, hey, here's my pie that like a woman made in Texas and she shipped it to me and now I win.

Well, my wife's mother.

I think you know what I mean.

All right, Connor, get us on track here.

I love it.

And if you listen, this is a big statement.

If you want to bring the pie off back, count me in.

I think if you want to attempt one quickly for 2024 or kick it forward to one year from now,

we should get rolling with that.

But either way, yes, I think it's been, you know,

a dearly departed queen of the pies, Deeker.

You know, I think we honored her, but, you know, I think she would want us to go on.

And if you guys want to do some more pieing, pieing, I'm down for it.

But now to the matter at hand.

All right.

Absolutely.

Connor Orr, a domesticated man himself who probably has major pie takes, but we need to move and we need to get this table built.

So I trust you,

Connor, to get us going with someone that is going to bring a lot to the Thanksgiving feast.

This is always a, it's a, to borrow your term, a la reveal magnifico, the dinner table conversation, because you see it go

It can go off the rails quickly, you know, and it's like a popular thing to ask celebrities, right?

And it's always like, oh, who would you take?

And it's like, oh, Gandhi and Jesus, and, you know, but there was the Jim Nance's wife.

Jim Nance's wife.

She's busy.

But it could also go in the other direction.

Like there was the

there was a college football coach a few years ago who got like, who got promoted and then was interviewed by the student paper.

And then like first name was like, well, Hitler's an interesting guy, and then it just immediately veers off into like this chaotic territory, and it's truly a window into

truly a window into your soul.

So, it's kind of an interesting, there's a lot of pressure.

Never lead with Hitler, really.

No matter what the conversation is,

I would say that's a safe move.

That's how I've lived my life, but people are different.

By the way, check out the next edition of I Dream in Red.

That's just another part.

Excuse me.

Connor, go ahead.

Okay, so

I decided to put at the head of the table.

Well, not at the head of the table.

I don't want to make that determination.

But you need a grandfatherly figure, someone who looks the part.

And so I chose the oldest active coach in the NFL, the 86-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers senior consultant, Tom Moore, because I feel like

if you're doing a I so I kind of I built my own in private and tried to recreate a lot of my own family dynamic there but Moore is going to be one that's going to tell some great stories is going to provide sort of the roots of the tree and you do need like a you just need that solid elderly individual at the table so very interesting I'll just I'll kind of

dovetail on that because you were with me for most of it and Moore is great have a good old man at the table who could tell you about you know know the depression or whatever that's all good but i am going to uh i'm gonna say who i want and i would nominate for head of the table and we could figure that out at the end of this exercise yeah i want somebody again fatherly grandfatherly uh affable someone i could trust with a bird

there's time more if you're watching on youtube Someone I could trust with a bird, someone that knows has a healthy appetite and can cut it up.

Sheck, I got to have Andy Reid at my table.

And I want him carving my bird.

And so Reed and Tom Moore that are checking important boxes on this great American holiday.

Yeah, and it would seem that Andy Reid is perfectly suited to provide some do's and don'ts for what needs to be eaten, what should be passed over, all that.

That's a good sound decision in my book.

I'll throw one.

I hate to take up one of 12 slots on a parent throwaway,

but you know I'm vain and I don't want to be the biggest dork at the table.

So that's my first concern.

Like as long as I'm the same thing, pick up basketball or football.

Just don't let me, I don't have to be the first guy picked.

I just don't want to be the last guy picked.

Sure.

That's why I want to welcome Justin Tucker to the table.

What a nerd.

Lisa, like, no matter how bad I, no matter bad what I say or do, at least I'll be like, at least I'm not that guy, right, everybody?

And we'll all laugh condescendingly at him.

Dang, Tucker catching a major stray.

You know, he's a bit of a Renaissance man, too, and I'm sure he'll let you know all about it.

Someone will tee him up about being an opera singer or whatever.

A little bit, you know, I have the old theory, Sess Dog, that I've said for many years

that an old, it was actually a friend of mine in high school's older brother, and it was one of those older brothers that you just looked up to because he was just cool.

And he had good takes on things.

And he said that there are, you know, two types of people in the world, or three types of people in the world.

And it's apropos for this conversation.

When they're sitting at the table, are they bringing things to the table?

Are they simply just

idling at the table?

Or are they actively taking things off the table?

Like, oh, where's the salt shaker?

Oh, no, oh, no, where's the forks and knives?

Like, somebody is taking things off the table.

Tucker strikes me as a guy that's just sitting at the table

with the potential to maybe be taking things off the table.

It's a dangerous pick.

It's a dangerous pick, Dave.

Yeah, but

it emboldens Dave's strategy because he's at the table too in theory.

And it's like

Dave doesn't want to be the lowest in the ranking at the table.

And so in his world, because we know what he thinks about the Ravens and I don't disagree,

that Dave just points to Justin Tucker and says, that guy's sitting here, so Dave's fine.

All right, Mark.

How about you?

Add someone to the table.

I don't need this person because this is a humble person.

He's going to provide the blessing that I'll read to you right now.

He's going to give the blessing for the dinner, okay?

And it's Jameis Winston.

I think that makes sense, right?

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have the same exact note that there can only be one person saying grace at this table, and it is

the disciple himself, Jameis Winston.

It is Jesus come back to earth.

We just don't see it yet.

We get it because he's not great at football.

He's okay, so he can't be Jesus, but he is.

No doubt.

No doubt about it.

No doubt about it.

And if I can just read the blessing that he provided this to me because he's very excited about this dinner and he really believes in this group.

So I'll read it to us.

Here we go.

We're in this space, focused on our thankfulness.

Thankful hands.

Before us lies a bounty.

God has given us this special hour.

Through that window across the living room, our sun shines.

A star of fire that gives us crops and warmth.

God gave us Indians.

God gave us pilgrims.

He'll decide the purity.

God put Shek at this table.

A man of triumph.

A man of conversation.

Ideas and humor.

Let's be real, a handsome and masculine man.

Our God put Connor Orr at this table.

A father.

A home builder.

A writer from Sports Illustrated.

A publication that used to arrive in our mailbox.

Our mailbox.

He's different.

God put Justin Graver at this table.

A loyalist.

A linchpin.

He does the work we might not see, but God sees.

God approves.

It's the Lord who allows him to thrive while doing edibles starting at 6.30 a.m.

Pacific Ghost Time.

God put Dan Hansis at this table.

Our host.

A young man from a coal town.

He was raised rough in a frozen berg.

He went without food or drink.

He was not given the finer things some of us received.

He didn't always win the Damashek's pie off, but he won our pie off.

That's what she said.

That's what our Lord said.

God sees what Mark's done, too.

God will weigh in soon.

Yeah, he will.

Let's get into that.

We call them Native Americans now, not Indians.

That name was Winston that said that.

That's not Mark.

I didn't say that.

That was very clear there.

I didn't say that.

And the conversation between Sestog and St.

Peter, I mean, we got to get that mic'd up.

We'll get a transcript of of that.

You know, can I just throw out, if there are going to be prayers and such and announcements of what's coming to the table and everything else, maybe we need to get Jan Fasenda to be the soundtrack of our meal.

That's what?

But we can use AI technology?

We don't condone that, though, Dave.

Do we?

Tell me what we're supposed to like and not like.

Society scares me.

I don't understand things anymore.

Yeah, I'm not for the AI.

I was thinking we were living in the world.

I think you have the right to feel that way.

All right, AI Mark.

All right, Connor.

What else you got?

Okay, so this one, again, you're trying to recreate a familiar dynamic for people, and

your table needs the Trump cousin.

So Nick Bose is coming, everybody.

Hooray.

And

he wants to talk about Tuesday.

He's very excited about it and doesn't understand why you don't feel the same way.

Wearing the hat.

And I think it's a super, you know, it's like most of the family's already there, and everyone's sitting in the living room.

And then someone's just like, Jesus, I wonder if he's going to wear the hat.

And then he just shows up with the hat and ready to go.

And I just think that

it's sort of a whatever.

It's sort of a platitude.

But you do need your cousin of the same age and dramatically different political viewpoint at the Thanksgiving table.

It's very important.

Very good.

Very good.

I originally had a subset or a sub-table that I labeled at the kids' table that had Nick Bosa, Colin Kaepernick, Mark Davis, and then Mark Davis's plus one, whoever the hell that might be.

But we could put Nick on the main table to spice things up.

It's interesting because you want to have that dangerous energy.

Yeah.

And I was going to share a couple of options, but I don't want to step on anyone.

So

I just have to make a pick here.

I will go

with Siriani.

I'm going to, and

he serves the, you know, he's the cousin who's overserved and out of pocket by 2 p.m.

You know what I mean?

And

he's the one that's going to be apologizing profusely in the morning.

And

what he said, he can't really take back.

And it's hard to walk back some of the things that he's going to say at the table.

But at the same time, it's like one of those things where like, everyone knows he's an idiot or whatever, but like, he's not a bad guy

he's not a bad guy he's just he's just kind of an idiot so uh look we're gonna have him as the uh the cousin uh

overserved and out of pocket by 2 p.m

I like that.

I think he's probably the biggest, the number one candidate to have a few too many wines before the turkey ball game.

And good natured gets ugly when he throws a clothesline at the nine-year-old boy, you know, trying to run for

a touchdown.

And at first,

when he does injure the child, the first mistake he makes after injuring the child is he doesn't immediately apologize.

He tries to rationalize what happened, and it just gets people more pissed off.

Right, no, he's psyched until he turns around and sees the disapproving looks.

Then he gets wounded.

Now he's the victim.

Is he leading the backyard football game, Shaq, that leads to the child being injured?

Like he's playing way too hard with kids?

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying.

He tells the, you know, the guys guys try the the little boys he's so excited to be playing with the uncles and everybody but it gets bad when uh when the little boy gets concussed by nick siriani okay so we got siriani uh shek you are up

all right you want spice this is spicy you'll recall miles garrett taking that helmet of Mason Rudolph and swinging it at Mason Rudolph.

Who was brought it up a few times?

Who was standing right next to those two fellas?

For whatever reason, he's never told the truth of what was there.

The field mics apparently were off.

Larry Oganjobi.

Tell us what happened that night, man.

Wow.

By the way,

tell us what goes on in general over there at the Browns organization.

I'd be fascinated to learn some inside scoop.

I did not have Larry Oganjoby on my bingo guy.

He gets the last, but like we, everybody else gets to serve themselves first before Ogun Joe because you know he's going to pile that plate high.

And that conversation can go in a lot of different directions.

And a reminder that we have Nick Bosa and a drunk Siriani at the table.

So things can get really wild.

You know what I mean?

Worst dinner ever.

You couldn't pay me enough to be here.

All right, Mark.

Wow, I've got so many candidates.

I want Thanksgiving.

We're going to get four each.

Sure.

I want Thanksgiving to be fun.

I want to hang with a guy guy that I know is going to bring the fun, and I'm going to pick someone who, there are anecdotes of this human individual walking into,

and Dave knows this, Pittsburgh area dive bars and just quietly picking up the tab for the entire bar and then drinking like a shot and walking out.

And that's Mike Tomlin.

Mike Tomlin would be an incredible Thanksgiving table guest who is going to tell you stories that will mesmerize.

He's going to get as hammered as you get with no disregard and no regard for anything.

And he'll be, I think quietly, the coach and the leader and the director of fun.

You know what?

That's a great call, Tomlin.

And he's like one of those guys where you get the feeling, Dave.

And by the way, to use a Shechism, Mazeltov to you, Dave, on this incredible Steeler season with so much promise as we head toward the Thanksgiving holiday, that Tomlin can really hold his liquor and he drinks the brown stuff and what, and he could drink people under the table and still kind of tell a hell of a story without skipping a beat.

I love that pick.

You know, the 1A to that might be our mutual old pal, Ike Taylor.

No more, uh, no greater storyteller.

All the elements that are true of Mike Tomlin would probably be true of old 2-4 there.

But yes, Tomlin, Ike Taylor.

Yes, this is exactly the injection of fun that this

conflicted table needs right now.

Yeah, we needed that.

We needed Tomlin.

We needed a peacemaker, and maybe that is Mike Tomlin.

Mark, I think you are up.

Well, I just made an incredible selection of Mike Tomlin.

All right, you were Mike.

You were Mike.

I apologize.

I apologize.

Does that swing it back to Conman?

All right.

So I will say this.

Because of the selection of Mike Tomlin, I'm going to strike.

I had a couple options here.

I had Russell Wilson on the list because every Thanksgiving table, family table needs like the Glowboy cousin who went to like a slightly better school than you and just carries himself just like a little bit above.

You know, it's like f that guy, you know, like you just don't want, you know,

so the kid that went to Northwestern and you went to Syracuse, is that what it is?

Basically, you know, you know, it's not, you know, Northwestern sucks, by the way.

It's not a real journalism school.

Let's be serious about that.

Anyway,

so this one,

like Missouri, Northwestern, seriously?

I don't have a take.

I don't know.

Yeah.

Or Or settling scores at this Thanksgiving meal.

That's what it's about for him.

That's his celebration.

Take it out, all y'all.

So this one's a little bit

feels obvious, but

it needs a background.

So I just need to ask: can I have like a background character that's not technically at the table but is in the house that needs to accompany this person?

Sure.

Okay.

All right.

So you need your cousin who shows up violently high.

So Ricky Williams.

And

paired with that is

that cousin's mom who pretends that he's not high.

And everyone kind of is waiting for her to call him out on it or to do something about it.

And she just talks about like all the art that he does in the garage and how cool it is.

And

so like that's a very important part of the...

That's a whole important part of the ambiance there.

You need someone who you can get high with or shows shows up super high.

Well, who's the greatest apologist for

one of the bigger scandals of this millennium at least?

Dee Haslam.

Like, I've looked him in the eyes.

I know he's a good guy.

Don't worry about all the backstory there.

Like, Dee Haslam is your answer there, right?

That's that's solid.

Yeah, that is extremely solid.

Ricky Williams at the table.

Is he wearing the Saints helmet with the visor on?

Please say yes.

Just acting totally noiseless.

Yeah.

With his mom looking the other way or the owner of the Browns.

It comes back to me.

Again,

we want a storyteller, right?

We want someone,

we want to rock and tour.

And this is somebody we've worked with in the past.

Get Michael Irvin at my Thanksgiving table.

Get Mike, get 88, get the Playmaker.

And not only is he a great storyteller and always a good time and always laughing and enjoying things,

in this holiday where it's so important to carry on tradition,

both in terms of meeting with family, tradition in the kitchen is also important, right, Mike?

Oh, my God, this is what's wrong with today.

The young ladies today tell me I'm learning from mom how to cook.

We're losing recipes.

We're losing recipes.

I think the thing, too, that Mike provides is he's our best shot at because I love Thanksgiving.

It's my favorite holiday.

He's the best shot we have of the meal turning into a two-week long

odyssey taking us Christ knows where.

It could end up at a strip club, like the night.

It could end up anywhere.

It could end up in Europe.

Two Mondays after.

We're still going.

Like, remember, this started at Thanksgiving dinner two and a half weeks ago?

Man, this has been a wild ride.

Thanks, Mike.

A bacchanalia, as it were.

All right, great.

Okay, I feel like these have been important additions to the party the last few.

Let's go now to Shek with, is this your fourth and final pick?

I think this is just my number three.

I could be wrong.

This is your excited about it.

All right, here's again,

I need to feel like I have a target to go at.

You know, I need somebody to lean at

if

things fall flat for me.

So,

Carl Sheffers or whatever referee you want, and then all night long we just throw napkins at him and see how he likes us ruin his good time.

So, Carl Sheffers or any available official in the region.

Oh, this is such great.

This is such a great time.

Like, well, all of a sudden, a flag hits you in the face.

Huh, it sucks, doesn't it, Sheffers?

Well, well, one note for Shek.

Like, says Shek, whose Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks in one of the most ref-infused disasters in pro football history.

Like, were you upset with the reps that day?

Damn it, Sheck.

Ouch.

What happens, happens.

I don't know even what you're talking about right now.

Well, I think you'd be.

Which Super Bowl.

My team has played in so many Super Bowls.

I can't even remember exactly.

That's true.

It's a fog of war scenario.

I get that.

I'm going to have like my my fifth Tito's and soda and then

get after Cheffers or Sheffers about

throwing the flag because the left tackle is too far from the line of scrimmage.

Like, all right, way to go.

I mean, enough with that call.

That's what I'm going to get.

I mean, we'll just, yeah, it'll be a great person for us all to individually and collectively go at.

Aren't you proud of yourself for shutting down that play?

All right.

Mark,

your third pick.

Well, I really am wrestling because

I really considered sur per here to have an animal involved.

Hawktua was an option, but I don't see an NFL link that's strong enough.

No NFL thing.

No, I'm going to go with this.

And this is just because, like, if I have a bit of a man crush on someone,

I'm going Troy Aikman because Troy Aikman to me and we just...

Urban and Aikman at the same table.

Yeah, I like that a lot.

And like, I think we did our announcer rankings a couple weeks ago, and we were all over the map.

And this may not please Connor, I believe.

But like

Troy Aikman to me, and I'm not saying they're the same, but it's the closest link that I can think of to Madden and Summerall in the sense that Madden and Summerall obsessed over those Cowboys teams and obsessed over Aikman.

And the first like turducken was those Cowboys playing the Washington franchise.

So I'm bringing Aikman because I also kind of just dig him.

I just kind of think he'd be fun.

And he's like a soup.

I'm also adding, oh, I'm adding more people to the table that would,

if any women were picked, like diffuse my

viability.

Like with each pick, my viability shrinks.

It's like, wait a minute, that guy over there is five foot eight and a half.

He's the guy we're looking at instead of Troy Aikman.

I'm not talking about 1992 Troy Aikman anymore.

I mean, let's.

He's still extremely attractive in my book.

He's very fit.

Very fit.

He sells beer.

He'd bring his own, he'd bring that, you know, the Aikman beer with him, probably a carton of it, carton's.

No one's going to ask for it, but he'll bring it.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

It'll be one of those things.

I brought my American beer.

I've been painting some coxmen myself, like Jimmy G.

He must have some good tails to spin, right?

Yep.

Yes.

Oh, my goodness.

All right.

Last time around the wheel.

Wait, how many people are at this?

We just,

the feast is, we got the bigger bird, actually.

Andy went to Ralph's and got the bigger bird, so we're going going to make it 16.

Okay, go ahead, Connor.

Plus the five of us, the 21 people.

I grew up going to dinners that were that big.

Why are you raining on this parade, Justin?

What's the badge there, Justin?

I was just confused.

I thought it was 12.

Now it's great to see plus five.

Plus, Ricky Williams' mom is hanging out in the corner.

So DJ,

I wasn't working under the initial theory that we were at the table, but I kind of like that.

It's almost like maybe we're at the kids' table, but we just get to watch this table.

You know what I mean?

Do you remember speaking of us being at the kids' table?

Like we were invited to like a big Super Bowl party, like a few of us, and we got led.

Most of you are with me.

We got led behind a velvet rope and we were like, how awesome is this?

Until we realized that we were being roped off from the party.

And so like all of the famous people, do you remember this?

It was like, I forget whose Super Bowl party it was.

Was it the Mike Silver Super Bowl party maybe?

We had like bottle service, and then I remember like being like, oh, there's like a, whatever, a Giants player that I know, and then we weren't allowed to leave like the staging area.

There might have been like a Silver Darlington Carissa Thompson party that went on the rails as a girl.

I think it was Jay Glazer.

No, I think it was Jay Glazer.

You're right.

You're right.

But actually, Connor, like, just to be fair, in their world,

we had our own.

like drink woman that came over and she had to pour our drinks we weren't allowed to pour it yeah but we we also weren't allowed to interact with people.

It was Jake Lazer's party.

Pretty

interesting group.

It was the three of us and Ian Rappaport that went to that party together.

That's right.

Ian got us in, but we weren't allowed to leave, I think, because they looked at the three of us and said,

you're not going to interact with like important people, but a woman will come and pour your drinks.

I was like, I'm cool with that.

Oh, my cousin was there too, actually.

Cousin Mike was there too.

And we just got hammered.

It was a nice night.

It was a nice night.

It was a great time.

Anyway, that came to mind when I thought of the kids' table.

So, my last one:

I like the windows into everybody's psyche.

Like, Dave's is all just people that suck and then make it look better in comparison.

And then mine is sort of just like also a window into like maybe just like a semi-turbulent home life, you know?

And so, it's like it's very fun.

But I think that the last person at the table,

and this I think is something that a lot of people can relate to, the cousin that you need to prep your wife for, and that's Harrison Butger, because he's gonna have some thoughts on no but

he's gonna have some thoughts on her career and um

and so that's uh no so he'll be sitting next to nick boza

but it's two it's two very different things and i and i i need to preface that by saying i love everybody i'm not this is not a uh you know i'm not making fun of anybody but i do think it's two different sides of the coin it's sort of like a traditional Instagram trad thing on one end, and then there's like hardcore politics on the other.

And I do think that sometimes they overlap, but can be two very different, two different characters in the universe.

He'll have strong takes, obviously.

We know that.

And also, don't discount the who's, you know, the an argument breaking out between Tucker and Butker about greatest living kicker and

all that that could be going down.

So I like that.

So there's like a double-edged sword there.

My final choice will be:

I want to have somebody that's kind of normcore because I know I kind of assumed this was going to go uh off the rails and uh and it has um so who's going to be the guy that i could trust that like when it starts to get a little too hot and it to the point where you're like man i'm gonna i'm gonna duck out of the room here and i'm gonna maybe fix myself a drink and grab a slice of pie and go go to the den and watch the late thanksgiving game like who's already there drinking a cup of coffee that just wants to like hang out and watch ball and just be a you know a good hang at that time of the night.

So, Kirk Cousins.

Come on, that's nice.

Kirk is sitting on the couch.

Like, I sneak away and I'm like, God, I got to get out of there.

And then Kirk goes, You too, huh?

Yeah.

And then we just have a nice night together.

And we just talk ball, and he's really, he's really giving with his time and like explaining

the game, the nuances of the game in a way that I never even watched football before.

And we end up like just having a great end of the night together.

So Kirk at the table and then on the couch afterwards.

Kirk is a lovely, a lovely man.

I do like that.

I'm sorry I stepped on yet another clip of yours.

Yes, I had the occasion to sit down with Kirk Cousins at the height of his

shot at you, Justin, by the way.

Yet another clip.

I love that description.

I'm sorry.

It's my way.

But I sat with Kirk right in the midst of that Washington rise and you like that and everything.

And just before he and I got to sit down, I was talking to his favorite target that season, Pierre Garcon, before the playoff game.

And it was literally 48 hours before the big game for Kirk, who had taken over for RG3 and all that.

And I was having fun with Pierre about the you like that.

Are there different, do you inflect your voice differently?

Or does Kirk, given the circumstance, like if they

have his favorite flavor at the yogurt shop, is he like, you like that kind of thing?

Or like in the shower after the game, does anybody look below the waist and go like, you like that kind of thing?

And just then we're laughing, we're having fun, all that kind of stuff.

And all of a sudden, I hear a voice say, hey, and I think it was somebody reacting to us joking around and Garcan's laughing and everything.

It turns out it was the PR.

head and he said, you can't talk to my players that way.

Kirk's done.

Kirk's out.

I'm pulling him right now.

And basically, long story short, I thought that was the end of my career.

But Kirk agreed to come back the next day and try it again.

And much tumult and all that.

And I interview him and it goes nicely and everything else.

And I'm like, thank you so much for that, Kirk.

And Kirk goes, hey, Dave.

You did a really good job with that interview.

And I thought that was just

this superstar guy about to play a big playoff game and everything else.

Hey, Dave, no one remembers my name and everything else.

I was very touched by that.

Like I mentioned, I'm vain.

I like that.

There you go.

And that's why I'm sitting on the couch with them.

Yeah.

Yep.

You nailed it.

Dave, you're a bad guy.

I was going to say.

I think we park our cars in the same garage.

I'm going a little more sports car than minivan, though.

Same position though.

A guy who's going to be able to sit there and talk ball, but be a little brassier than perhaps Kirk will.

I don't like the guy, but Baker Mayfield.

He's going to be a lot.

He's going to have a lot.

The other guy who I would consider maybe the in-between of that is Tyrod Taylor.

He's played for, what, 29 of the NFL teams out there.

He's got to be rich with stories.

What happened with the Chargers?

What was it like on the Browns?

How did it go with Jion Harbon?

Is he a blowhard like he seems?

I would like, you know, he has all the answers or more than anyone else because he's been everywhere.

I like that.

I had Baker on my longer list.

I feel like he would be another good hang.

A good hang.

Yeah.

All right, Mark?

All right.

You know, I created a list that's like 45 people long.

No.

No, no, no.

But here's where I'm going with this.

Because I think this person,

a bit of a figure of mystery, but sort of like a missing link that we understand what happens when he's not somewhere.

So when he's somewhere with us, we know that there's good.

And that's Big Dom.

Big Dom from the Eagles.

Like, first of all, there is a concern.

Big Dom might eat half the table's,

you know, supplies, and he's going to drink.

We know he's going to drink, but, like, I think Big Dom, number one, there's no way Big Dom is not a ton of fun and a cuddly, by the end of the night, a cuddly big bear that everyone can just, like, hug, and he's going to take selfies with everyone.

He's Big Dom.

Do you know what you've done, too?

And I don't know if this is good or bad for what we're looking for.

It depends what kind of agents of chaos we want to be here.

But now you have somebody to keep Siriani, the drunk cousin, under control.

Yes.

Well, that might save.

Siriani's been neutralized.

Yeah, that might save elements of trauma for people.

Right now, we brought enough.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Very nice.

Big Dom.

Big Dom, Ogan Joby, and High Ricky Williams in a competition to eat the most pie.

That's going to be worth the price of admission right there.

All right.

So, Justin, do you want to read the final list of

Thanksgiving Feast 2024 at the NFL?

Our table.

Our table has Tom Moore, Andy Reed, Justin Tucker.

I feel like I need the music under this.

I was going to tell you that in post, yes.

Tom Moore.

I need to feel it live.

I need to get close, everybody.

I need to feel it live.

Tom Moore, Andy Reid, Justin Tucker, Jameis Winston, Nick Bosa, Nick Siriani, Larry Oganjovi, Mike Tomlin, Ricky Williams, Hookum, Michael Irvin, Carl Sheffers, Troy Aikman, Harrison Butker, Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, and Big Dom, and Ricky Williams' mom.

But not like his actual mom, like a, like a, I guess it's like a personal parent or guardian.

Yeah, like a troubled, you know, like a not troubled parent or guardian.

Yeah.

Okay, good.

And I like Andy Reid at the head of the table, Carving the Bird.

I like Winston saying Grace.

And

Check,

as we say so long to you, we just want to thank you for helping us with this very important thing.

I feel like this could be a tradition on the show, and having you a part of it makes it even better.

Some warm holidays.

Count me in for one year from now.

In the meantime, if you want to do a little pie off,

you have my stamp of approval, and I'll participate.

I appreciate it, fellas.

Great to see you.

Continued success.

And

that's that.

Here we go, Steelers.

Here we go.

And Check, before you go, I want to,

we asked listeners of our new show to provide illustrations for what's behind me.

There's some blank space here.

And I thought you'd like this.

This is a painting done by former NFL employee Kenzie Posse, which we'll put up on screen.

But she painted this.

That's your boy right there, Bernie Cozar.

He slayed your Steelers quite a number of times.

She did a wonderful job.

She sent it once, and it got lost in the mail system in my apartment.

So she repainted it, which is true dedication.

But that's an old school.

I thought about him for like a Thanksgiving meal.

He'd be fun.

But Dan doesn't seem on the Bernie Cozar train these days.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

You were like, I think, you know, Bernie Cozar is going through a lot of ups and downs.

He's a great human figure.

Who am I to turn my back?

I have Carl Cheffers at the table.

How could I turn away Bernie Kozar?

Bernie would be, Bernie would be a guest.

I think he'd be a wonderful guest.

I would sit next to him and talk to him.

And I wonder if the original painting was better than the second one.

Someone's got to ask the question.

Well, that is true.

I do wonder that

it's like what Sessler touches on in the mention of John Fasenda, like Howard Kosell and Myron Cope and guys like that would be great.

But if we can get into the Wayback Machine, you know, get Prime Bum Phillips.

You ain't going to beat that.

You ain't going to meet

Jerry Glanville.

The old Buccaneers coach.

Yeah, Jerry Glanville.

Let's open up all those possibilities.

McKay is what I'm John McKay.

But, you know, you mentioned the Browns before I go.

Just a quick reminder, reset, in case anybody isn't aware or has forgotten.

The Browns left Cleveland and they went to Baltimore, and then they had to rebrand themselves, and so they did.

And now, in front of the Millennium's greatest rivalry in pro football, at least, let me tell you this: on one side, the team is named after the mid-century heroes who forged the materials used to construct the battleships and the tanks and the artillery that defeated the Nazi scourge.

Back to Hitler, where we started.

It always comes.

Now, on the other side, on the other side of this bitter rivalry is a team named after a poem about a bird.

penned by a cosmopolitan fella who spent the majority of his life in New York and Boston and then late in life moved to Baltimore, married his cousin, and died in the literal gutter, drunk.

That's your choice there.

You can take your pick there.

I'm going to be on the right side of history.

Here we go, Steelers.

Here we go.

The Stones are always going to play satisfaction.

Springsteen's always going to play born to run.

And Sheck is always going to do his Ravens Poe bit.

It's a war horse.

And Jim Nance is going to make a powerful love while listening to pleasing music in the background.

Thank you, Dave.

We'll be right back with the preview of Eagles Commanders.

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Dah, welcome back.

That was great fun with Dave Damaschek.

And of course, check out the Sheck Show wherever you get your podcast.

Before we say goodbye, let's begin the look ahead at week 11.

And it starts with a great game, a tremendous game.

Speaking of the power rankings, which you could see, obviously scrolling beneath us, I had two teams in the NFC East at the bottom of the power rankings.

Obviously, the other two teams are not at the bottom.

In fact, they're near the top of the power rankings, two top 10 teams in the Commanders and Eagles.

And Washington coming off, obviously, a really difficult loss to the Steelers.

They lost 28-27 to Sheck's team.

And now they travel to Philly to take on an Eagles team that

overall, Connor, I think for me, they've overperformed.

I did not imagine they were going to be 7-2.

If there's a little cold water to throw on them, I feel like the schedule has been pretty favorable for the Eagles this season when you go through it.

But here is a real test against Jaden Daniels coming off a loss.

You would imagine they'll be sour and motivated to get back on the winning side of things.

I think the Eagles are an interesting sort of like inkblot test for everybody, though, right?

I mean, this is a team that beat the Green Bay Packers in the season opener in Brazil.

It was always a good roster.

Now you have the 21-day return window for Jordan Milata open.

And over the last like four or five weeks, I think they've been the second or third most efficient offense in the NFL.

As long as you can separate that from like what a few mad callers from WIP think of Nick Siriani, like they're a good football team and have been and have two really good coordinators.

They have all the components that you need of a team that's making a deep run.

And so I think this is a good chance for them to come out and to really kind of middle finger everybody that's been doubting them.

I'm with you.

I think that for Washington, I've got a question.

Just the Cliff Kingsbury offense, and it's not the same exact offense, obviously, that he had with the Cardinals, but there was the season a couple years ago where they got out to like the seven and one start and then whatever it was and flatline down the stretch.

Like, are people figuring out this offense?

Flip side, I think Thursday night is just like teams with the better players will thrive.

And I think the Eagles just have better players.

And you've got a Washington defense that's been solid.

There's a lot of veterans on there, but they've been 28th against the run.

One of the worst teams against the run.

And is this a night where Saquon Barkley once again kind of coronates himself as one of the best running back stories around for a league that didn't want to sign running backs.

Like, I think this could be a big Saquon Barkley game.

And frankly, for the Eagles, like,

they take a lot of flack.

Um, a lot of it has to do with Nick Siriani making weird decisions, and that's not unfounded.

But, like, if you go and take care of business in this game, you've got to take the Eagles seriously.

They'd be eight and two and one of the best teams in the entire league.

Yeah.

And what I was saying earlier, so yeah, you had the obviously a bizarre game.

Week ones are strange in general, and now you're in a different part of the world playing the game, but they did beat the Packers.

But their wins otherwise, you know, they at the Saints, Browns, at the Giants, they stomped the Bengals,

home Jaguars at the Cowboys, Cowboys at their lowest point without Dak Prescott.

So, yeah, I'd like to see the Eagles for all the talk about how, you know, they're a team that should be taken seriously.

Let's see what they do against the Commanders.

I know what you're saying about, you know, are people going going to figure out the commanders' offense?

I think Pittsburgh figured out the commanders and gave a blueprint and that involved giving different looks and getting after Jayden Daniels and not letting him beat you with his legs.

But it's one thing to have the game plan, but you also need

the horses to enforce that game plan.

And I know the Steelers can.

And the Eagles do have the players on defense to do it as well.

So it'll be interesting to see if this defense in Philadelphia can do what Pittsburgh did.

However, and maybe this is just like

what I want to happen because I just like the Washington story and the Commanders.

I think the Commanders are going to be able to score points in this game, and it will then be on the Philadelphia offense to keep pace.

A Philadelphia offense that's been hot and cold at times this season.

They've been searching for consistency.

And so I think it's a great game.

I think it's going to be a close game.

I like the Commanders.

Let's say 31-27.

How say you guys?

Anybody?

I kept waiting for Mark to talk.

I will,

I'm going to take the Eagles.

And

one of my favorite things is always to go through rookie quarterback schedules when they first get drafted and to mark the moments, the games where they play like seminal defensive coordinators in the NFL.

That used to do that a lot with Bill Belichick.

You know, what are your first divisional game?

What are your first road game?

But what's the first time you play Bill Belichick?

What's the first time you play Vic Fangia?

What does that look like?

So I'm very excited for this one.

I'm going to take the Eagles, give the edge to this team, and let's see what Washington does with a little bit of strife.

Yeah, I like that.

I kind of feel like it's,

you remember like when you were the first time you played your dad in like one-on-one basketball?

And it was like, and,

you know, the first time you beat him, I'd say, like that feeling, like, wow, like something in the world has changed.

Whether he didn't let you win, but like your skills, you've grown, you've changed.

That's Washington in this game to me.

Can they pull that off?

I just don't think it happens in this game.

The Eagles are 72 plus in point differential.

The only two times they've topped that

in their team history, they won the Super Bowl.

So

look at like they reached the Super Bowl.

So I think this Eagles team is actually better than people think.

I think there's been some chicanery around them that makes us look at them in a way that is unfavorable.

I think this is when they take care of business and we view them differently after Thursday.

Just give me an impact win, like a true impact win.

But this would be one, wouldn't it?

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

I'll throw the flowers at their feet if they take care of business at home here.

But until they do, I don't feel like I'm happy and comfortable being one of the people on the sidelines.

It's like I'm not ready to crown the Eagles as a juggernaut in the NFC.

But here's a great opportunity.

Thursday night football.

It's going to be fun.

All right.

That's it.

Good app, fun app.

Make sure you check back with us on Thursday when we have two episodes going live.

Of course, the preview with Jordan and Mike of week 11 in bulk, and then Thursday night football recap where we'll obviously recap the game that we just previewed.

So check that out, Connor.

Thank you, buddy.

Every day that passes takes us closer to the Hall Norc holiday special and all the great stuff to come in your home.

So I know the goosebumps and the stomach is churning.

You're like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Christmas lights went up four days ago, so we're ready to go, baby.

Unbelievable.

Love it.

All right.

Thanks, everybody.

Till next time, heed the call.

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