NFL Week 7 Preview!!

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The Heat the Call podcast.

Welcome in, Fox NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino.

What do you see here, Dean?

Hi, hello, and welcome to Heat the Call, the week seven preview edition.

I'm Dan Hanzes with, of course, the Cess Dog, Mark Sessler.

And no, we do not have Dean Blandino here.

He's not under contract, but we'd like that.

Dino the Bambino.

Yeah,

he doesn't live too far from us.

We probably could get him under contract on some level if we really had any need.

It's a good job.

Can we talk real quick, Blandino?

Like the Arc?

He goes from

working in the league office years ago on the network.

It was kind of crazy.

Like they would have him stand up.

On the Monday total access, they would have him from the command center in New York holding an Xbox controller.

And then, you know, Lindsey Rhodes or Scott Hanson or whatever would be like all right here's like four different things the NFL horrifically fed up Dean take us through it and then eventually like I think somebody probably called the bosses like I don't know if we should do this segment anymore because poor Dino he's got his Xbox controller what's he gonna do with it

yeah it was a tough spot for him

you know the only time I really encountered him in person was at an owner's meeting.

And you know how those things go.

It was like the like the media night party.

And I believe he was like in a some sort of bizarre track suit with his bros and friends.

And I was just like, that's not what I expected from Dean Blandino.

But he was quite.

We saw Dean a lot out at league events like the Super Bowl and the Conbine.

He wasn't rolling deep with his entourage at the owners' meetings.

No, no, it was one that I went to.

I actually was, I was myself in Connor Orr, I believe, and like it was one of our more stunning encounters at that particular event.

Dean's a good dresser.

All right, let's focus up.

Let's focus up.

because the NFL season, it's starting to take shape now, Mark.

We have all top three picks, quarterbacks playing now.

We have a couple notable dumpster fires coming into focus.

We have the trade deadline around the corner.

We have a couple surprise teams, as there always are.

But as we welcome in Jordan Rodrigue and Michael Sean Dugar, our regular Thursday friendos from the athletic.

Hi, guys.

Hello.

What up, what up?

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audience only.

All right, let's get to the business.

Week seven, Bears and Cowboys on by.

Everybody else playing football.

Let's start with the prime time games.

And

just so, in case people are not paying attention, it is not my choice or the choice of heed the call to be leading with the goddamn Jets every time we start a show.

It's legitimately a function function of how the league mechanically is operating right now that they're either playing a primetime game, which we always highlight, or on an off day, they're firing their goddamn head coach or trading for a goddamn wide receiver that's an all-pro, and we don't have a choice.

I don't have a choice.

So, you know, stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

This is not a Zuzzler creation.

This is yet another primetime game featuring the 2-4 New York Jets on a three-game losing streak traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.

The Jets 23 in the HTC power rankings.

The Steelers 14.

And let's say this, if we're all starting to get Jets exhaustion, and I am, of course, because I've taken a step back, of course.

I've taken a step back.

I don't know if you know this, Mike.

I am, as of Monday night, I have taken a step back.

Oh, I wouldn't have advised that.

All right, we'll get, I'll hold that thought.

I'll start with you.

But here's the thing.

The Jets are interesting because obviously Devontae Adams is in the building now and he is their new wide receiver one or 1A with Garrett Wilson.

And on the other side of the ball, the Pittsburgh Steelers typically, I'm loath to watch a Pittsburgh Steelers primetime game.

They bore the hell out of me.

However, you change the quarterback.

It gets a little frisky and exciting.

So you have two teams and a big pivot point in their season.

Money Mike, what do you see in here?

Yeah, I think I've been on the Jets since week one.

I liked Aaron Rodgers to turn up on the Niners' Niners defense in week one.

That obviously didn't happen.

I just kind of believe in what they got.

I believe in Garrett as a wide receiver one.

I really like Brees as an explosive player.

I didn't know much about the rookie running back behind him, but as you guys can see, he ran really hard.

Great.

Yeah, Braylon's a great compliment to Brees.

That's a really nice 1-2 there.

As long as the O-line didn't get Rodgers killed, I knew he'd be able to spin it coming off the Achilles.

I think he looks fine.

He can move.

He can take hits and get up

without ayahuasca or whatever.

So, yeah, I like it.

That's before the addition of Devontae.

So now they got Devontae.

Come on, dude.

Man, all sunshine and rainbows.

Mark, am I losing my mind?

The Jets are a mess.

They're one of the dumpster fires I hinted at at the top of the show.

Well, yeah, and I think you're going to feel frustration in a different way than Mike might about the Jets.

Or I used to feel that way.

Sure, now you're detached now, and I think we get that.

And it shows your maturity, I think.

Let's start right there.

But

I'm not as sunny on the Jets.

Like, I think, number one, you do have an opportunity.

You've got Pittsburgh, and then the Patriots.

You climb back to form four.

That would be

at this point necessary.

I just don't trust this offensive line, and I don't trust the future of Aaron Rodgers behind this offensive line, like health-wise.

Let's start there.

I mean, like we've mentioned before, it's like multiple games in a row where he's, you know, been horizontal on the ground, and I was not sure he was going to get back up.

I don't love their tackle play.

TJ Watt is the reason the Steelers are where they are is that TJ Watt is the kind of player that ends games.

I mean, he just, when he goes and creates a strip sack, it's like at the most critical moment in a game.

That's his DNA, and him versus a devolving Jets line.

I don't know if Devontae Adams is the kind of person you plug in.

It changes.

I think he could be very impactful.

I think it actually helps Garrett Wilson in a way to be facing number two cornerbacks.

But is this whole puzzle, does it fit together?

Will it last?

Is it the kind of thing that can endure through the whole season?

I just don't see that with this Jets team right now.

I share your concerns about the offensive line, Mark, and I want to extrapolate that point for a second.

But I just wanted to say that football is so goddamn beautiful because it is not lost on me that the team that Dan is like telling his roommates he's taking a break from, then waiting till all those roommates are asleep and climbing down the fire escape to go see them covertly in the dead of night is playing a team that like he like legitimately hates to watch.

So this is so this is so much fun just to watch unfold on a personal level but one thing about the you are i think you're absolutely correct on the pressure it's a disaster in the sense that it compounds like position by position it's it's a line that's not cohesive in the worst possible way because when pressure or mistakes happen it's any one guy who it's happening to and it's it's not even necessarily that the group is

effing up together there it's like any one person that could be the issue at any given time.

But I do think that Devontae Adams helps with this because he helps build in natural pressure beaters.

You saw them do this a little bit with the way they were running the ball, mitigates pressure, obviously.

But then also some of the quick game stuff that they were doing, the short outs and the short ins.

And then Devontae Adams helps Aaron Rodgers continue to throw fast.

He's throwing the third quickest in the NFL right now, in part because they're trying to avoid that pressure.

This blew my mind when I looked at this on Next Gen Stats.

Aaron Rodgers and Devontae Adams generated generated the most completions, yards, and touchdowns on quick passes by any quarterback and receiver duo from 2016 to 2021.

And so he builds in not just a layer, but an outlet who can line up in a variety of different spots, which continues to help this offensive line maybe finally settle in.

That's the optimist talking right there.

Yeah, and if you, the positive that came out of the Buffalo loss was with Todd Downing replacing Nathaniel Hackett, all of a sudden Brees Hall had some holes to run through, and he looked a lot more like Brees Hall again.

And like you said, you know, Adams, the reason why Rodgers was so desperate to have him is he's having issues connecting with these receivers.

And along those lines, Mike Williams is on his way out the door now.

Here's a tweet sent out by Mike Garifolo of NFL Media, our old buddy.

Here's the tweet.

Mike Williams is back in the team facility today, sources say, after being listed as missing practice yesterday due to personal reasons, his immediate future with the team is still TBD with Devontae Adams in the fold in less than three weeks to the trade deadline.

As with everything else with the Jets, this has been done a little bit backwards.

They brought in Mike Williams in the offseason, coming off an ACL, knowing that it was going to take time for him to get into the offense and comfortable and fully healthy and vibing with the quarterback.

And before that can even happen, he is going to be...

moved aside now for Devontae Adams.

And if I'm another team out there, I've seen Mike Williams flash this year on occasion, and I think there is something, there's value there if you need help at wide receiver.

So Mike Williams is being phased out.

Devontae Adams in now on the Steelers side.

Let's start with Mike Tomlin.

Why did you make the move from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson?

You know, Justin has been really good and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great.

Man, this is a competitive league, man.

We're trying to position ourselves to be that team.

And we got a player with talent who hadn't had an opportunity to play.

So we're going to potentially explore those things.

Sometimes it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done.

Mike, we talked about this a little bit on the Wednesday show, but I'm curious your thoughts.

I think that kind of sums it up.

I think Fields really did have a chance to hold on to this job, but he just didn't do quite enough.

And now it's Wilson's team.

You know Wilson as well as anybody.

What are you expecting here?

Yeah, I think the logic for starting Russ over Justin Fields is that Russ throws the ball better than Justin.

I really think it can be that simple, honestly.

That's an oversimplification, but it makes sense to me.

Justin does run it better.

I appreciate Justin for trying to help me win my Freyless prediction last week.

Putting my prediction on his back there last week.

I appreciate that.

And he does give him a different dynamic with his legs, but ultimately, the quarterback's job is to get the ball to the playmakers.

And I think Russ can do that a tad bit better.

I honestly don't think it'll matter.

I don't think Russ is a QB1 in this league anymore.

I don't think he'll clash well with Arthur Smith as a play caller.

I just don't see that really aligning.

Russ hasn't really had a good relationship with the last few OCs that he's had.

Honestly, in the last like seven or eight years, really, I don't see the Arthur Smith thing being any different.

So, like, in the big picture, I don't think it matters, but like, you got to see what Russ can do to improve your passing game.

That's what Mike Tom was probably alluding to.

Like, we want to beat that team.

We're going to have to score some points.

You know, we can't just rely on TJ Watt punching the ball out or getting a strip sack in the fourth quarter.

As reliable as that is, you can't just bank your whole season on his ability to do that every week.

So yeah, I like the move, but I think it doesn't ultimately change where the Steelers end up by the end of the year.

Jordan, last thought.

I love

that you I love that you brought up that point about Russell Wilson and the OC.

This morning, as we're recording this this morning, Arthur Smith is having his press conference in Pittsburgh.

There's already been some interesting quotes over the last couple of weeks about very emphatically praising Justin Fields and how

he's authentic and he doesn't have a persona and just very interesting.

Why are you kind of saying that stuff?

And then this morning, a couple of the Pittsburgh Steelers beat writers are sharing some thoughts and opinions of the Arthur Smith press conference and

basically making it sound like there's a bit of a divide in opinion between what Arthur Smith potentially wants and what Mike Tomlin potentially wants here.

It's It's an interesting situation to watch.

I don't think anyone's overtly saying this, yes or no, but there's definite strange vibes and dissonant vibes over there that they're basically capturing in real time.

All right, let's see what happens.

That's a huge game for the Jets, who, despite, you know, I've taken a step back.

What did Sting say once upon a time, Mike?

If you love someone, set them free.

But if they can get out of these next couple of games with a win or two, I think there is a path for them to be relevant, the way schedule softens up and the roster is still.

But if you lose five games in a row or whatever, you're cooked.

By the way, one last thing, one last bit of drama, Swarth, just as if there couldn't be more drama around the team itself, Fireman Ed, he's got issues too.

Normally, as a tradition, we're always put on the screen, me, Scott, and Jetman are put on the screen to do the Jet Chant and get the crowd going, which is a staple in Jet Life Stadium.

Also, on the defensive end, which is the most important, normally they will put us on the screen to get the crowd going.

It gives it more of a widespread

experience for the fans to see, and we can get the defensive chant going.

But something's going on in the jet production team over in Jet Life Stadium.

I don't know exactly what's going on, but they're phasing us out.

And I'd like to know if somebody knows anything, please let me know because it's evident that it's happening and it needs to stop because we need home field advantage.

Okay.

Just as a helpful thing for Fireman Ed, does anybody know anything about the phasing out on the video screens at Jet Life Stadium?

I don't.

It borders on completely unnecessary to me in terms of an investigation.

But you guys are from, you know, maybe inside the walls of the athletic, you're hearing something that I'm not, that Dan's not.

No, you know, it seems like we should put our best people on this for sure.

All right,

let's move to Monday night football with

the number two on the HTC Power Rankings Baltimore Ravens traveling to Tampa to face the number 10 Buccaneers.

All right.

Now, Mark Sessler, I love this.

Because I think

Baker and Liam Cohen are kicking ass together.

The Bucs have been a a fun story in the NFC, but it's always like there are a lot of people, I'm one of them, they're always kind of like a little bit eyebrow askew.

Is that how you say it?

Like, do I trust the Bucs and see them as a big-time operation or a team that should be treated as a true NFC contender?

Well, here's a nice test.

The Baltimore Ravens come into their building in prime time.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Yeah, there was a novel, like a true journalism novel written by Tom Wolf called The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

And it opens in San Francisco during like the hippie era with a bunch of hippies in the back of a truck riding up and down the hills of San Francisco pretending to shoot at people.

It's a very strange book.

I would suggest to anyone.

But the idea of an acid test, like this is your acid test for the Bucs because it's going to tell the true story of just where they are.

Now, they've beaten the Lions, and that's one of our so-called juggernaut teams.

Like, I do think their ceiling is a team that can beat the Baltimore Ravens on the right day, in the right time.

I love that this is in Tampa, not in Baltimore, but it's little matchups.

Like, one thing that I kind of find fascinating is like the way that Pat Ricard has been used in the run game is incredible.

And I loved when he scored a couple weeks ago, and we finally got to see him with his helmet off.

He's like a true old school football player.

He could walk into any bar and clear house.

Like, I kind of love this dude, but it's him versus like Vita Vea, who is the kind of dominating defensive lineman that can take over games.

And so, specifically, like Tampa's presence of Vita Veda versus this run game that's been so dominant.

Like, if you can find a way to stop drives, I do think that Baker Mayfield, the way he's playing right now, and it's like we've overlooked them because they were post-Tom Brady.

But I think Mike mentioned it a week or two ago that there's so many of those pieces remain in Tampa Bay, and they've been really reliable.

I think Chris Godwin out of the slot has had games where he's dominant.

There was the one where he started, he caught Baker's first seven passes for 100-plus yards.

Like he can take over games.

And so can the best version of the Bucs show up at the most important time?

And I really do think it starts with Vita Vey.

I think he's that kind of player that can stick it to the Ravens.

If they can get this done, I would be super impressed.

And the Bucs would go up a tier for me big time.

And Derrick Henry's faced Todd Bowles three times.

Then Todd Bowles' defensive schemes held him to 3.8 yards per carry, 139 yards over 37 carries, and just one touchdown.

That's going to be significant because when we talk about what they're doing with the hybrid, the hybrid players and Ricard and when he's going in these little orbit motions and these blast motions in order to just basically be a steamroller ahead of whatever Derrick Henry is doing and then factor in the Lamar equation as well,

you're trying to mess up players like Vita Vea.

You're trying to change the contact points against someone who is that dominant, that physically astounding right in the middle of the defense.

So it'll be interesting.

I think you'll see some different types of runs from this group to avoid him.

You used to see it.

You see it all the time with these super dominant, hyper dominant, like nose tackle run stuffing, dynamic players who can also pop out if they need to.

I think this is going to be, that's where this matchup will be decided is right at that point of contact.

Yeah, I actually don't think there's much doubt about who the Bucs are, you know, in terms of like this being a test.

They played some pretty decent teams, you know, and gotten to four and two.

They've played a lot of potential playoff teams, the Commanders, the lions i don't know what will happen with the eagles uh but falcons like i think we kind of know what they are they're a team with a really shaky defense uh like oh very very very shaky good players here and there but you can just go get busy on them like kirk cousins did uh in that thursday night game and they have a really high powered offense uh really good young running back uh baker's locked in like mark said with his receivers like super dynamic so we know who they are which is really and i just think they're a really good good team i don't know if they're gonna win i'm i don't have a money mic pick on this one uh i'm a little i'm a little nervous i don't know if my record is uh for this show i don't think it's been good uh i have some later though i do have some later but what up

i haven't really been in press part

no i believe in myself too uh well actually since just is playing the music i should know yeah i did i i did give my dad a five-leg parlay this weekend and it cashed no it did cash that's see that's a problem for us mike though it's like because that's great and I'm glad family is helping family, but like, we're trying to help

the call family.

And let's check in.

I mean, if we're going to do it, let's check in.

Where are we at, Justin, on the money mics for week six?

Last week, the money mic tips that went down on the record were the over in the Giants Bengals game.

That game, they only scored 24 total points, so that did not come close to the over.

And Josh Allen, anytime interception.

Josh Allen, now on the longest streak of his career without throwing an interception at six games.

So

hit it, Justin.

I love Sting.

I love Sting.

Oh, man.

Sting penalty drop.

This is a big week.

Huge week.

Probably better this week.

All right, coming up later.

Mike has a no doubt you're going to be as happy as his father was a little later in the show.

Any other thoughts on this game, Mike?

Yeah, actually, I've really been impressed by speaking of Baker and his OC, I think Todd Munkin and Lamar and just the whole team, not even just Lamar, have been really locked in on, you know, everybody says, take what the defense gives you.

And some teams are equipped to do that and some aren't.

But the Ravens not only have been doing that, but doing it in a way that is fatal to the defense, too.

Like the Bengals tried to like, all right, we're not going to let Henry kill us.

So Lamar went crazy.

And then like you've seen how the commanders were trying to stop them and then play a bunch of men.

And then like Zay Flowers went crazy.

I think he had like a buck 30 in the first half.

So like whatever the Bucs try to do, like they loaded up to stop Derrick Henry, Lamar is going to go crazy.

If they try to stop Lamar and and Zay and all of them, you just know D.

Henry is going to go crazy to the point where they can kill you.

It's one thing to just take what they give you, but it's another thing if you can do it in a way that is fatal.

And that's what they've done through however many weeks.

That's been probably the most impressive offensive thing, I think, in the league for me.

Like being able to just Bill Belichick it on offense, week to week, do whatever it takes to win.

It's been very impressive by Baltimore.

And it's cool because I mentioned this early on in

the season about how much autonomy Lamar was having to check into the right run calls for himself.

And that this was when he started out really run-heavy.

I think it shows such a cool partnership between himself and Todd Munkin, but specifically with Lamar, what he's able to do.

Logan Paulson was talking about this on the DC radio show he co-hosts earlier this week, and he had a sideline view.

You can't really see this all the time when you're watching the all-22 or even the broadcast copy of all the things that the quarterback is manipulating and doing to the defense before the snap.

But Lamar is doing so much of basically moving the defense before the ball is even snapped.

And it just looks, as the snap unfolds, it looks exactly how it must feel.

Just so empowering for that entire unit to have all of the answers before the ball is even snapped.

And that's because Lamar is playing at an unreal level.

Yeah, I was going to say that I thought Lamar of 23 when he won MVP was much better than the Lamar of a couple years early when he won his first MVP.

And I think this Lamar is even better than last year's Lamar.

So, you know, the Ravens are well set up, but of course, he's now getting into that.

You know, all this is great, but how about in January?

But stick a pin in that.

And one last thing, Mark, it's fine, not a big deal for me at all, because, in fact, you know, the Jets came by today and they dropped off the kids and very cordial back and forth.

And then they went off about their day and I went off about mine.

And, you know, it was very pleasant.

But Baker has 15 touchdown passes right now, which leads the NFL.

He is closing in on 1,500 yards.

He is having, obviously, a really great year.

He's completing more than 70% of his passes.

If he balls out in primetime against the Ravens, he is absolutely going to start getting...

MVP buzz.

And we know Sam Darnold is getting MVP buzz.

And isn't that funny, Mark, that the two quarterbacks that we believed in so much all those years ago now in late October would be MVP candidates for other teams.

It's cool, right?

Yeah, it's not.

I don't know if funny is not how it makes me feel on multiple levels.

It's egg in the face of organizations that continue to make big mistakes.

And one thing that happened to Baker and Darnold was, you know, every year it's a new coordinator.

And it's kind of very impressive.

I know that he knew Liam Cohen, but it's, again,

it's a new offense, a new coordinator, and he's doing it this time with that amount of transition.

Because if you look at Lamar, I know he was an MVP last year, but that's based on Lamar.

But year two, with the same coordinator, that offense in general is growing and blooming.

And consistency matters matters in the NFL so much for these quarterbacks.

And so that makes, I think, what Darnold's doing and Baker that much more impressive to have so much change around you all the time and to have your best season occurring right now and here and now.

So yes,

I love it for the two quarterbacks.

One of my favorite photos of Mark IR at the Cozy in April 2000 and

what was it, 18?

Yep.

Cheersing, I think some horrific shot was like Jaegermeister or something to the start of a new era.

Man, times have changed in a lot of ways.

All right, let's take a break.

And then, when we get back, the games we cannot wait to watch.

This episode of Heed the Call with Dan Hanses and Mark Sessler is brought to you by BetterHelp.

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All right.

Welcome back.

Let's get into it.

The games we cannot wait to watch.

Jordan Rodrigue,

a beat reporter, features writer, a podcast star, and also a regular contributor here on Heed the Call.

The game you cannot wait to watch.

Now I can't even talk.

So, as you guys know, I jumped in the Google Doc immediately on this one,

knowing what was coming.

I have Detroit at Minnesota.

Well, you also not only usually do the initials with a highlight, you're so excited about this game that you wrote in all caps, J fing Rod.

Which I thought you don't even like being called Rod I thought Dan I thought you went and did that to her it was right for the occasion Dan it was it was right for the occasion I'm so hecking fired up for this right now oh my god okay 1 p.m.

Eastern on Fox we've got my favorite crew the Greg Olson crew with the goat Pam Oliver okay guys bear with me here okay when I was a kid I had a dog named Scratchy.

He was a mangy, matted-haired stray who followed me and my sister home from the bus stop in the fourth grade and who hated literally everyone on the planet except for us.

I grew up in Arizona, and the second the ground got cool enough for paws, I would hitch Scratchy to a harness and leash, steal a longboard out of the garage and sit on it, then yell, go.

Scratchy would take off sprinting, me rattling behind him on the asphalt at what felt like 600 miles per hour.

I never wore a helmet or elbow or knee pads.

Of course not.

And if you're familiar with the Arizona suburb, it's all square angles and grids, but we ripped across it all in wide, free arcs and curves around every curb, both me and the dog screaming our heads off the whole way.

There were no breaks except the heels of my lime green

high-top chucks, and we feared nothing.

I'm 32 now.

I think as we age, we become more aware of what in the world could hurt us, and we become more afraid, and we stop trying things.

But the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings have taken the opposite trajectory, becoming more emboldened and more confident by the week.

They fear nothing and have so far met nothing to fear.

They try everything.

They play with their food while blowing out America's team and calling passing touchdowns to linemen.

They go for kill shots while up 28 points and hire the defensive coordinator who breaks quarterbacks.

They're rolling fast, screaming around the structured lines and right angles of this sport and building new shapes.

And I love, excuse me, I love that the collision of these two beautiful and complete football powers makes me remember what that felt like when I was a kid.

And I'm sorry, but Jesus, this is a freaking fun game.

Oh, I love that.

Rest in peace, Scratchy.

Yeah, I mean, that sounds like a dog that nobody would want to be around except for you and your sister.

And I'm glad you guys had that.

The number four Lions against the number three Vikings in the power rankings.

And yeah, this is, you know, it is obviously notable too here, Jordan, that this is the first game for the Lions post.

Aiden Hutchinson.

And how will that change the way they look?

I worry, as someone like, we're all kind of rooting for the Lions.

They're America's team, that that's the type of thing that could ruin a Super Bowl season.

But they have time to figure this out.

They have time ahead of the trade deadline.

They have the benefit of scheming and coming up with new ways to do it, but there's no way around it.

The Super Bowl hits did take a big hit when Hutchinson went down.

Huge loss, huge loss.

But I also think that this is the type of team that once they kind of get over the emotional shock of that and figure out, okay, well, we have to match or somehow put together multiple pieces that can help build back one player's production, which was leading the league.

And also, there's a significant gap in his pressure rate versus even the rest of the team.

But I think this is also a defensive front that is sort of built to, you can switch the onus into the interior of this defensive line and manufacture some pressure and some pass rush that way.

And with the secondary coming along the way that it is, and especially the fluidity of the safeties, they're playing like two of the best in the league right now,

you can actually help that pressure develop because you can play really aggressive with your coverages and help that interior pressure hassle the quarterbacks.

I think that against Sam Darnold, that'll be

an issue.

And I also think that against some of the quarterbacks they'll face down the stretch, that could be a real pain in the butt.

So I do think that there is a way out of this, obviously getting over that significant, I don't want to undersell how much of a loss that was, but I do think they're built and they're coached on that side of the ball to be able to be a little bit more malleable in this situation, maybe than they would have been before.

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to me for them to make a splash ahead of the deadline and get someone in there that you could plug in that could be a pass rusher that helps them.

But I don't discount their ability to find a piece.

It's also, he's the heartbeat of that defense.

He's the face of that defense, and that's traumatizing, I think.

On the other side, Money Mike, Darnold and the Vikings are coming off a bye.

So it's kind of easy to forget that they looked very pedestrian on offense against the Jets.

The tape wasn't overwhelming the week before either.

So I kind of have my eyes open a little bit of Vikings team that hasn't lost a game yet.

This feels like a spot where they could be vulnerable, but also they do have the benefit of that buy for this huge division game.

Yeah, speak just of the division in general, boy, the NFC North.

Woo!

Check you guys out.

Every team is playing competent ball

just at the bare minimum is competence.

And that's just not happening really in any other division with like all four.

So shout out to them.

I think that's just a big game for these two teams, just right there.

You know, the race to win this, the race, because you don't want to be a wild card team in the NFC and like, shoot, the NFC North could have all of all of them.

I don't think that'll happen.

But yeah, big game in that regard.

As you know, I never stepped into the Sam Darnold hive.

You have not.

I was always a little skeptical.

I think their offense will generally be fine.

And I think it'll be fine, particularly in this game.

I think Aiden's a huge, huge, huge.

I'm with you on the Super Bowl loss.

I think they got to be able to call Hassan Reddick's people.

See if maybe even, because they lost Marcus Davenport too, and they had a really good plan on defense.

The Lions did up front.

It was like, all right, McNeil, pressure up the middle.

Davenport, you got power.

You collapse the pocket from one side, and then Aiden hit him with the spinning move on the other side.

It will work.

That was like brilliant.

And they play man coverage on the back end.

That's all, that's all toast now.

Lost Davenport.

He lost Aiden.

You know, still got McNeil.

But so, yeah, I think you got to call Hassan's people.

Maybe see if the Panthers will give you clowny to kind of do the Davenport thing.

That's a very similar skill set there.

Like, so you can get, because they need help on both sides, I think, really.

So without that, though, I really like the Vikings' offense to get back on track on this one.

I think just as much man coverage as they like to play and be aggressive, I think that's just a recipe for disaster against these receivers.

Even though I'm not big on Sam, he could beat man, you know, and so can Justin Jefferson.

So can Jordan Addison.

I think it matters who they have at running back.

Like not having Aaron Jones would be a big blow.

I think that's a big part of why their offense could look pedestrian but because of how banged up the lions are uh on defense and what they've lost i like sam and his boys uh and those members of the hive to get back on track uh against the lions i do have a question though do you think that if they don't if they can't in the meantime as they're figuring out this pass rush do you think they'll restructure their back end to play less man because sam darnold struggled against man earlier this season um and justin jefferson hasn't really been tested a ton for obvious reasons hasn't really been tested a ton against those coverages.

But I mean, I wonder, it's like almost like, do you take that gamble and bet on this secondary?

Or do you wait and kind of play a little bit more safe, I guess, if you're this defense, waiting for this pass rush, this new version of whatever this is going to develop?

I truly think this is sort of a difficult choice that they're going to have to make moving forward here.

Yeah, if Aaron Glenn called me and said, Mike, what should I do?

Like the DC, I'd be like, yo, yeah, you got to soften it up.

And I'm an aggressive guy in general, but I do, until you get a pass rush, you can't trust carlton davis and um terry and arnold two good corners so far you just can't trust them with no rush that's just hard to ask of any cornerbacks i don't care who they are like terry and arnold needs to work on the defensive pass interference calls um that's true of davis too but i think the thing about this lions defense compared to a couple years ago is that they are stronger in the back like that was a real liability before and it's interesting um Bill Belichick on the coach podcast, you know, sponsored here by Underdog, he talked about like, how do you deal with the Hutchinson thing?

It's like, you're not going to replace them.

We know that.

You find, like, you go find guys that can simply come in and be like your third down pressure creators.

And then they've done that.

He pointed out a number of people that the Patriots were able to find late in the year, like

a Van Neu, who came in and just really fit.

And that's what you're going to have to hope you get.

I mean, for me, this game comes down to something a little bit different, though, because

it's almost crazy with any Vikings game where we get this far without talking about Brian Flores.

I I mean,

he's the one guy that I think confused Aaron Rodgers.

Like, he really did with his Blitz packages, and it's against Jared Goff.

And we've seen Goff in the past struggle when it was with the Rams, especially against Flores, against in a Dolphins game, but also just in general against pressure.

But Goff this year has been sensational.

He is completing 71% of his passes against the Blitz at 12 yards an attempt.

He's been really a different type of quarterback in that situation.

So can he be the guy that can figure out in process in the middle of the game what is happening against Brian Flores?

Because that's been the Vikings to me.

It's like this defense week after week.

I wish you could almost be a team that's like, I wish you could do this animal.

We're going to go trade for their defensive coordinator and just make him our head coach right now because he's going to be a head coach at the end of the year.

He should be.

And this defense has been a total chaos spinner week after week.

And so I want to see how the Lions, with their aggressive nature that makes you feel like a child, you're right.

Can they go and attack that correctly?

This is a huge.

I've never seen a Lions Vikings game, I think, in my life of this nature, of this magnitude.

These two teams have arrived at this point.

Wow.

And you're right.

This division is.

This is Watchdog.

And thank you for letting me feel my feelings on that point, guys.

I appreciate the safety.

Yeah, well, you said it well.

One last note.

The Vikings made a trade this week.

They picked Cam Akers back up from the Texans

in exchange for some late-round draft picks.

Akers, they traded for last year as well.

So they obviously like him.

Also, makes you wonder the Aaron Jones hip injury that he suffered in London, the fact that he is banged up.

Obviously, you wonder how serious that might be.

Keep an eye on that because he has been a real important part of their offense as well.

All right, moving on.

The game I cannot wait to watch.

It is the Kansas City Chiefs, number one in the HTC power rankings.

I have the Ravens ahead personally, but collectively, mean, average mode.

One of those.

The Chiefs are number one at the number seven, 49ers.

The 49ers laying a point and a half here at home.

This is Kevin Burkhart.

How are we feeling tonight, Santa Clara?

Kevin Burkhart, Tom Brady, Aaron Andrews, Tom Rinaldi.

Speaking of,

real quick, before we get into the game, can you throw up that tweet, Justin, about and I know we're all aware of this, so this isn't new, but Brady is officially now a minority

owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

And

here are now just a list, this from Seth Wickersham, of Brady's restrictions as the number one

analyst for Fox earning $375 million guaranteed.

The restrictions for the number one color man, not permitted to be in another team's facility, not permitted to witness practice, not permitted to attend broadcast production meetings, either in person or virtually, prohibited, which is the same as not permitted.

So I don't know, maybe they just want to change up the wording.

Yeah, little, little right.

Prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs.

What?

Suspect to the NFL's gambling policy, subject to the NFL's anti-tampering policy.

Mark, it kind of feels like a...

a charade at this point.

Like, how are you, how can with a straight face can you present this guy as your lead analyst with all that restrictions?

It feels like an an either-or situation.

Charade is the correct word because, first of all, like the obnoxious commercial that gets on my nerves is Tom Brady

confronting the childhood version of Tom Brady and his doubters that think he can't come and do a good job.

It's like, yeah, but you're Tom Brady.

And it's like, oh, we get it.

There's a lot of fanfare.

Jordan got emotional when she watched that commercial.

A tear went down her cheeks.

Well, yeah, I mean, we can respond to it differently.

But it's

so you're so you're that.

So you're trying to tell us, like, subconsciously, you're going to be just as good at this and that you care just as much about this as you did about your previous job as the greatest quarterback ever.

So here's my problem.

Like, why would you, first of all, put the brakes on owning the other team and go do this job and make it your number one thing?

Because now you're putting yourself as a storyteller and someone that is conveying information.

And part of the subtlety of that job is you know stuff.

Because you're at practice talking to coaches.

You can only tell us, if you've done a great job, a percentage of what you know.

It's behind, it's almost like a lot of off-the-record stuff occurs too.

You're not even allowed in the door.

You can't critique left and right.

It's like, so how are you benefiting, how are you benefiting yourself to go do a great job?

But then how do we benefit as the viewer?

Like your job is to illuminate and describe this sport we love in a way that we can't do it.

You're meant to do it in a way that we can't.

And you're in this position where you almost have an excuse to not do a great job.

To me, it feels like,

well, it's like,

how are they letting any of this happen at all?

I mean, they just want the star power.

But it is, I think, one of the things you hit on there, I agree, Jordan, is like it is us ultimately as the fans, too.

This guy is going to be getting every big game, and you're frankly just not going to get the level of insight.

So it's, you know, we make way too big a deal about this, these announcers in general.

But we also, you know, this is, if you're a nerd about football, like this stuff, you kind of dig into the minutiae of it all, and it just seems problematic.

That's all.

There's even higher stakes, too, for the Raider on the Raiders' side, too, because Mark Davis, I don't know if he was joking or serious.

It's hard to tell sometimes with that guy, but like it's basically actually

Tom that Tom Brady is also going to have some input and some

insight into who the next quarterback's going to be.

So I'm sitting there and I'm like, okay, if you're in these other buildings, even adjacent to these other buildings, which you can't be in the buildings, that's against the rules at this point.

But you'll pick stuff up in the booth.

You'll pick things up here or there that, like, the lay person or even the most indentured beat writers and national reporters are not going to get.

And what kind of value is that information as you're making decisions now and leveraging other people's decisions or intel about other team landscapes and ecosystems into deciding the most important position in football and one that genuinely moves markets in this league?

All right.

See, we're all fired up about it.

Are there any rules on crypto, by the way?

I just, I was thinking I'm not sure.

That's a good question.

We might have to reach out to our buddy Andrew Marchand, Mark, to have more discussion about this, see where he comes down on it.

Let's get into the game now.

So the Chiefs are 5-0

and going to face a Niners team.

That has been disappointing overall.

There's no way around it.

They're 3-3.

But, you know, you show up in this game and you take care of business against the Chiefs and knock them off the pedestal of the unbeaten, and I feel like everything's in a great spot.

The question is: where are they at, health-wise?

At the running back position with Jordan Mason, you're still waiting, obviously, for Christian McCaffrey to get back, and that will be something I'm looking to see because obviously you have Rashi Rice

absent on the other side of the thing of the ball, but the Chiefs did have some time here to recover.

Let's see what happens.

I really want to see how

you know the Super Bowl was just recent enough where I think that's a game you could go watch and it has contextual,

you know, it's tangibly connected to what could happen in this game a lot.

I want to see how Steve Spagnolo faces what I think is the best version we've seen of Brock Purdy.

I mean, I really think he's playing his best football, and he's had to go through a lot this season, a lot of adversity, a lot of his players out.

You know, Brandon Ayuk took a while to warm up, but he's been great on the move.

I think

he's really added to his game on that front.

And to me, it's like if you're the Niners, there's got to be a psychological element to this from Shanahan on down, from ownership on down.

Like, look at two of our grisliest defeats have come against Patrick Mahomes and this coaching staff.

And so

how does the team respond to that?

Because the Niners, they falled three and four, and it's hard to call them.

I think, Mike, you had them as one of your juggernauts.

And I understand that because I felt that way record aside about them really all along and for years.

And I feel like they can work their way out of this.

But

this is not a cupcake situation where you climb back to five and three or six and three.

This is a challenge, and they have not matched up well with the Chiefs.

And I want to just see coaching-wise, like, what's changed?

What do the Niners do that's different this time?

Because they're going to need their best players, Fred Warner, Purdy, everyone to just have their best game right here in the most critical juncture of the season.

Yeah, I really like the Niners just because of what, like I said, when Healthy, their premier guys are just like badasses.

And it's hard to take away all of them because of the way Shanahan uses them too.

Even if they don't have McCaffrey, and I just saw it on Thursday night.

I mean, I see it twice a year anyway, but I just saw it last week where it's like, all right, maybe we can really dedicate resources to making sure Iyuk doesn't go off.

Cool.

Well, Debo might go crazy on you, you know?

We might dedicate resources to like, all right, the receiver is not going to have a big game on us.

Cool.

Well, all right, well, we got George Kittle.

We can go crazy at any moment, yak, whatever, screens, deep down the field whatever and that's before you even get to the run game which as I mentioned earlier they can pretty much plug in any one of the five of us and we could probably get some first downs in a Shanahan run scheme it's just it's it's a lot it's a lot to stop obviously the chiefs have done a good job of it with spags who's like the brian flores of the afc just like he's just a killer for offenses uh but i just like when the niners are healthy which they are relatively i think they need Triverius Ward in this one pretty bad their best best cover guy I don't know if he'll play but if he will I really like the Niners.

I think it'll be a low-scoring kind of slug-fest thing.

Points at a premium because of how good Spaggs is, as good as the Niners' defense is.

I think Fred Warner, I might have mentioned this before, Fred Warner is playing as good as any defensive player in the league.

It sucks that now Pat Sertan's out, and then Aiden Hutchinson's out.

I think those two are like my big three.

Right now, it's just Fred.

And yeah, I think Fred is such a difference maker.

He's got that TJ Watt timing of punching a ball out, did it again against the Seahawks.

His punch out game is crazy.

So, yeah, I think the Niners, they're just so top heavy with premier talent.

And when all those, when all those guys show up, or even just half of them show up, just so tough, tough to beat.

And the Chiefs are still like my other juggernaut, but I mean, somebody's got to win, right?

So I just got a lot of confidence in the Niners in this one.

Yeah, Fred Warner's playing at a defensive player of the year clip.

I agree with you, especially, and, you know, especially with, unfortunately, the other guys out with injuries.

I think he is in the leader.

position at that point.

And like, like you mentioned, Mike, he's leading the league in forced fumbles.

He's got four of them so far.

he's defended five passes, he has two interceptions.

One, he returned for a touchdown, and he has a sack.

I mean, he just is everywhere.

You can't fool him, you can't mess him up at all.

On the other side of the ball, I think the game within the game is

Dom Puny, Dom, I keep saying Puny, that's not how you pronounce it, Dom Puny, who is like this rookie rising star at guard for the 49ers.

So, Matt Barrows, who does great work over at the athletic, um, he

he um, it's he grew up in St.

Louis and and it was his dream to block Aaron Donald, which you must be sick in the head if that's your dream.

And so he never got to because obviously he got in the league as Aaron Donald left the league.

But now he's going up against Chris Jones, who has 21 pressures so far this season.

It's the most, second most for any interior defensive lineman in the NFL.

And he's also wrecked a couple of 49ers postseason hopes by himself.

I mean, it's this, this is the game within the game on both sides of the ball is these outlier star players who, if they show up the way that they, you know, have in the past in a regular season game, as they have in the postseason, this is going to be electric in those little nuances, those little storylines within the storylines.

Oh, yeah, this is going to be a good one.

And here's a tweet from Robert Mays that

just illustrates how much things have changed in Kansas City.

And coming off a buy, I'm hoping or curious if they're going to try to do anything to rectify this in Kansas City.

Patrick Mahomes is averaging 3.6 air yards per completion this year over an entire season that would rank dead last in the next-gen stats era since 2016.

This is Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

They are undefeated, fair, but still,

crazy.

Highest air yards per completion during that same period, Brock Purdy this year at 9.1.

And I think there's a couple of factors there, and one of them is there's no Christian McCaffrey for all those beautiful check downs that Purdy has been able to to lean on in the past.

But he is doing the job, even if the numbers don't back it up.

Let us move to the next game.

We cannot wait to watch.

There are three games this week on Sunday that are bangers.

In fact, three games that have two teams in the top 10 of the HTC power rankings.

And here it is, Michael Sean Dugar, the number five Texans at the number six Green Bay Packers.

Yeah, oh yeah.

I was excited to open the Google Doc.

I do it late.

I'm like the opposite of Jordan.

I was like, oh man, this is still there.

This is great.

Also, Dan, you scared me when you were talking about Tom Brady.

You were like, Tom Brady is now a minority.

And you paused, and I was like, oh, where's he going with that?

And then you said owner.

I was like, oh, okay.

Too late.

There's a lot cooking there.

A lot cooking.

Yeah, I was like, well, man, Dan's going to

work cut out for him.

That's what he's going.

Yeah.

But I do like Texans at Packers.

I love this.

CJ Stroud is like the Monday morning all 22 king.

Like, he's one of the first people in the non-Gino section for me for my job that I like to go back and watch because he's just got a couple throws each week.

Really, like, dude, this dude is a cyborg.

And he's like, he's great.

He's really great.

And then Jordan Love, man, baller.

D'Amico Ryans, I think this week said that Jordan Love is the best quarterback they'll have seen thus far this year.

Love the Josh Allen shade there because I heard the quote and I was like, wait a minute, can't be.

And I went and looked.

I'm like, yo, they played Josh Allen.

But they like pretty much concussed Josh Allen and he completed nine of 30 passes.

So maybe that's why D'Amico's like, this guy is maybe better.

So I love the quarterback matchup there.

I mentioned that like Todd Munkin and Lamar Jackson and their offense, they're cooking at a high level.

The chemistry is really strong there.

I think maybe the only head coach slash play caller and quarterback combination in the league that's maybe clicking at an even higher level is Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love.

Those two are just completely dialed in.

Their offense looks really good.

They even, like, they played really well in that second half against the Vikings.

You know, Flores is the quarterback killer, but like they figured that out at halftime.

Like, we can move the rock, even though we're down a bazillion points.

They lost, obviously, but they were able to get it done in a way that was very impressive in the second half of that game.

And it's for the Packers.

I really like their offense, man.

I've been critical on this show of the whole, we don't need a number one receiver thing.

And I do think that'll come back to bite you.

At the end of the year, in October, it's fine.

You can win a bunch of games like that, particularly when your quarterback's playing at a high level.

But also, man, they can run the pill really well.

Man, Josh Jacobs was a great addition.

I feel like the Packers don't always do the external free agent, let's pay the guy thing.

Them, the Steelers, Cowboys, Seahawks, their teams are just generally skeptical of cashing out.

But I like both the moves on each side of the ball that the Packers made this offseason.

McKinney, who's killing it, the safety, and then Josh picking him up.

I thought that was great moves.

I think think this is going to be a really great game of quarterback uh play uh i think that you're going to see a lot of explosives uh because outside of jair i'm not super big on the packers secondary i don't even know if the sa if the texans roster any safeties i really don't uh because they just let balls go over their head uh pretty much every week uh but yeah i think this in terms of like quarterbacks

schemes that work really well, two teams that know that their quarterback's a baller and can run it.

You know, the Texans kind of sucked at it for a little bit.

Now they got Mixon back.

So Mixon, Josh Jacobs, perfect compliments to what their OC is going to do in terms of killing you.

Yeah, I like this.

And last thing, really good test for CJ.

He's been tested in a few different ways.

Obviously, you know, got some primetime stuff, some big matchups in the playoffs, things like that.

But just at Lambo is another box to check.

It's just a really tough place for quarterbacks to go in there.

and get busy.

Like, even if you are a really good quarterback, you have a really good scheme.

It's just hard.

They got some voodoo when you walk in to Lambo or something.

So I am, I don't know if I'm as excited.

I put my regular initials next to the Google Doc.

I just feel like I dropped the ball a little bit there.

I just put MSD.

But I'm probably as hyped about this game, particularly on the offense,

as Jordan is with the Vikings and Lions.

I think this is going to be must-see TV on Sunday.

Mark, before you jump in, Mark, just want to also note that in the dock, Mike also didn't use highlighter for his letters.

That threw me off because I was going to jump on this.

I'll tell you what happened with my situation with the document.

But yeah, no highlight.

So, you know, it kind of fooled me.

I'm with you.

There's a mirror element to these two teams at the quarterback position because they both basically...

were put on the throne at the same time and grew up together like over the last two years so rapidly.

And it's just incredible.

I think for me, the thing that's different a little bit about the Packers too is that I feel like going back forever, they were dominant on offense, but it was always issues on defense.

And the Jeff Hafley hire is working in the sense that they have taken the ball away from teams more than any other team.

17 takeaways.

That's four more than any other team.

These NFLs, like, games come down to this week after week.

And so that's a very positive thing.

Rashawn Gary has not had his best season, but if he improves, too, it's another element.

I think it's a big test for CJ Stroud to go on the road.

You're right.

They're not the same offense without Nico Collins.

They've got some issues along the offensive line, but they're really well coached.

They have Mixon back.

And the one thing they've got to work on, though, is that I feel like whenever I'm watching a Texans game, it is non-stop penalties.

They're the most penalized team in the league, and they're really well coached, and so it kind of surprises me.

So I think that's something that you can work on and change.

But they've had penalties that have really snuffed out big opportunities for them on a weekly basis.

So I think without Nico Collins, you've got to be as clean as possible on the road.

You've got to run the ball with Mixon.

He makes a big difference.

And I think you got a chance in this.

Like, this is the kind of game that,

to me, I picked the Texans for the Super Bowl.

To be 5-1 at this point with all the stuff that's happened to them says a lot.

If they come out of here with a win, I think we have to start looking at the Texans in a different way.

I don't see I'm already there with the Texans.

And like you mentioned, C.J.

Stroud.

This is a big Texas.

I don't need to see any more from C.J.

Stroud.

I have no doubts that C.J.

Stroud is going to play well in this game because he's a dog.

And obviously, Nico Collins, you could argue no wide receiver is playing as well as Collins was before he got hurt with a hamstring.

But I think Stroud's the type of guy like you're just going to see, and you saw it on last week, Tank Dell.

You're going to see his production tick up and you're going to see Diggs step up.

And I thought it was really promising the way Joe Mixon ran the ball, did not show any issues with the ankle, looked like the old Joe Mixon.

So you got that.

You also love what's going on on the defensive side of the ball

with

they have Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson just kicking ass.

Last week, I know it's the Patriots, but they combined for eight pressures, four sacks,

and they've been doing it every week.

So I think Houston's really set up here to make a game of this.

The question is, you know, does Jordan love magic at home put the Packers over the top?

I like Houston in this game.

I think they're going to win this game.

But I do want to also point out Jordan Love that was watching the game.

He makes this gorgeous back throw, back shoulder dart throw near the pylon at one point.

And I thought back to myself, I was like, I remember when they gave Love the contract in the offseason.

And my first instinct was, huh, you know, one year, like you're going to pay him like, you know, one of the best players in the league.

Yeah, because they know it.

They don't need to see three years of him doing this.

And he is every much, every, you know, in the conversation, the top 10 quarterbacks.

Like, Stroud and Love could be in the top five conversation.

So this is an awesome game.

I can't wait for this game.

My good choice with this game.

All right.

By the way, new kicker in Green Bay.

Packers officially have signed Brandon McManus.

They released Brayden Narvison, who, by the way, bud, the life of a kicker is tough, right?

And

you'll have opportunities and auditions again, but we're going to lose the number 44.

Like if we want to be taken seriously, we're going to change numbers when you get your next opportunity.

Let's take a break.

And when we come back, more football.

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All right, we're back.

All right, Mark Sessler.

We have one more game that we cannot wait to watch.

And you have selected.

This is like a big week to

get into the dock because there are three big games, and it could come off as slightly obtuse if you're the fourth person based on what you end up with.

But it's not because Mark thought these other three games were better, or maybe it did.

I'm going to let him explain.

But this was the game he chose.

Here we are.

I know I was the last person that entered the document, and I think that's pretty clear to anyone involved here.

But so

I went with, like, again,

what attracts me is like, well, what level of chaos can be stirred up by my matchup?

I went Eagles at Giants.

And so why did I get a game?

You and your Giants, Sus Dog.

Well, I'm in a different place, though,

after what occurred last week.

This is a pressure cooker because I think

if the loser is the Giants, like their season is obviously just over.

I would say it's just over.

And they're gone, and you have to wonder about the entire coaching staff, the front office.

Like, what is the future?

Because the vision for the Giants has not worked in any way you at this point I was thrilled about what they did against Seattle I really was I thought it was a big turning point then they completely crumbled on offense against the Bengals and it kind of brings back all the old doubts now here's the problem you are in you're in at MetLife and you have Saquon Barkley we knew this was gonna happen here comes Saquon Barkley he's like you know the kid that has come home from college

he's got like new ideas in his head and he wants to teach mommy and daddy about how the real world works and I think he's going to do that.

I think that if you're the Eagles, you are game planning to put the Giants into a complete mental tailspin and have this thing go full on nuclear in all the wrong ways.

But there's something else going on with New York.

It's like they do have this incredible pass rush, except

and Jordan Milata is out at left tackle for the Eagles.

Fred Johnson is in there at left tackle.

We saw him replace Lane Johnson, and it was a complete hot mess.

So you'd like that, except Dexter Lawrence is not practicing midweek.

Brian Burns is not.

Kayvon Thibodeau is on IR.

So their formula to maybe upset and win and beat the Eagles is on thin ice right now.

So we'll have to see how that goes.

But I also look at the Eagles and you're looking up at a team in Washington that's four and two.

Yes, you can end the Brian Dayball era, but there's plenty of questions about the Nick Siriana, Siriani era.

And I just cannot believe that they're going to start to coast.

I really don't trust them in a lot of ways, even though I think they're a pretty good team

in terms of their roster.

But we're days away from the coach having to apologize,

Dan, to the fan base for how he treated his own fans.

And it's like, what's next for the Eagles?

It seems like every week something is happening.

So go take care of business and you can end the New York Giants.

But I don't trust that the Eagles will stay drama-free.

I just don't.

Let's hear from Nick Siriani, who, yes, he was sniping at his own fans behind the bench

in week six and then went to the podium when you know reporters were obviously going to ask him about that with his his children which was a little odd and then a couple days later

discussed his over-exuberance what I was really doing I was trying to bring energy yesterday energy enthusiasm yesterday and I'm sorry and disappointed on how my energy was directed at the end of the game and you know my my energy should be all in on coaching motivating right and celebrating with our guys.

And so, um,

you know, that that's, you know, and I got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy.

And that wasn't, and that wasn't the time.

He said better wisdom and discernment?

Bro, just stop being such a bro and be a head coach

and you'll, you'll be much better off.

You guys know my feelings on Siriani.

We'll move on from that, but isn't it crazy that a head coach is saying this in a podium leading up to a week?

It's, it makes him different.

I like that he said my energy was used versus I used my energy.

It's like switching it to like, this was outside of my control.

I had no power.

Or like he's a video game character where you held down L2 and the energy was used.

The Eagles have not scored a point in the first quarter.

That hasn't happened yet.

Like, that's crazy.

I mean,

that can't happen.

There's too much talent on this roster for that to be happening, Nick Siriani.

Also, this from Dalton Wasserman.

The PFF guys do a great job

illuminating things each week.

And the Eagles, they do a great job.

The Eagles offense

Dalton said is, if you're a baseball fan, Adam Dunn,

who's like, you know, was famous for true three outcome hitter.

It was either a home run, a strikeout, or a walk.

So he would end up with crazy-ass stat lines.

Like he would hit 193, but with 41 homers.

Like the Eagles' offense is too much like that, where they'll just look awful for 75, 80% of the game, but they hit on a couple big plays, which you don't take away from them.

But it's just not overall, it doesn't feel overly cohesive.

I think this game, Mike, is one in the trenches, though, ultimately, because we mentioned, Mark, the Giants front line, which is obviously one of the best in the league.

Philadelphia defensive line had 18 pressures and four sacks against Deshaun Watson.

And I think one of these quarterbacks is going to, or both will end up very sore, but one will end up making mistakes that caused the other team to win.

yeah i actually like kind of kind of how siriani gets down it feels very filly uh it just feels that's he's one of the one players that is fair yeah you know it just feels like a the philly i could see the jets head coach

behaving that way no he's a win i don't like that

wins that's not yeah i could i could i could see i could see like maybe the coach we should the jets you know the jets should hire some like dude from long island or hire fireman ed and that will get him on the screen more and let's just lean into this and maybe something crazy happens cosmically okay.

Go ahead Mike.

Yeah, I'd be with that.

I mean I don't root for either team so you know it doesn't matter to me You know the last couple times I've watched the the giants offense, you know, I've come to the conclusion It's not like a hot take but Brian Daybull is actually a really good schemer and play caller his quarterback just cannot get any of that done like the last few weeks I've really had in my notes like yo if Daybull had a real cue he'd be he'd be killing it like so now on Saturdays when I watch college football I'm just imagining like Cam Ward and the Giants offense or Shadur Sanders or

whoever is the quarterback of Texas, you know, in any given week, you know, maybe Ewers, you know, like he's got it.

He's dialing up good stuff.

Daniel Jones just has a noodle arm, which sucks.

They really need Malik Neighbors back too.

But I just, I really wish, you know, you know how when Taylor Swift's had that game, they get like, we get a million shots of her just pretty much when anything happens.

We need that for the Giants owner.

Like whenever Saquon runs the rock, like that should be like a prop bet.

Like, how many times do they show Maura?

Just keep him in a little box in the corner of the screen.

Yeah, you have to have, come on, that's like must-see.

That's not must-see TV per se because this game might be yucky, but that part, that little sidebar,

I'm enjoying that because he's just so upset.

It's like when you trade a guy in fantasy because you think he stinks and he just goes off on the new team, and you guys see it every week.

It's very much like that.

And I do think Saquon is going to have a big game.

He's part of the parlay I've been building here during the show.

That's why you guys see me looking down a lot.

Okay.

Go to my parlay so I can deliver the goods this week.

To the whole audience, not just dad.

Yes, to everyone.

I'm giving you guys the one I would give my dad this week.

Maybe that's what we should do going forward.

Maybe we should just synergize that one.

Hey, by the way, Jordan, Malik Neighbors

mentioned, obviously, he's the key to that Giants' offense.

He's expected to be a full participant in Thursday's practice.

So that's a very good sign.

Yeah, that's great.

Like I like to repeat often, he makes you look less wrong about whatever quarterback you've decided to throw back there.

The Andrew Thomas loss, I mean, that's significant.

And playing through what he experienced, I mean, he suffered that injury in game and played the rest of the game.

I mean, that's bonkers to me.

And so I'm concerned about that.

But the Eagles' defense has not been good.

They've been very...

very spotty in terms of consistency.

And sometimes the rush is there and sometimes it's not.

Sometimes the coverage is there and a lot of times it's not.

They're just having issues that were not supposed to happen when you bring in a new coordinator.

And then Lane Johnson on the other side of the ball, Lane Johnson had, I think, maybe the quote of the year so far where he described the Philadelphia Eagles offense as constipated.

He said, we're a constipated offense.

That's what it effing feels like.

And

without sharing too much, I would probably agree with that's what that looks like.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that checks out.

Andrew Thomas, the Giants offensive tackle,

that scorpion woman, that harlot, Liz Frank, she strikes again out for the year.

Yeah, she does sucks.

All right,

all right.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

carep.

It's time to take a dip in the gravy bowl.

The gravy boat with Justin Graver, our fine producer.

Sopping wet.

Let's get it going.

All right, first up, Patriots at Jaguars.

This is the London game.

So just like the rest of the football watching world will be doing on Sunday, let's get it out of the way early.

The Jags stayed in London, so they should be well acclimated to the time change.

Here's something.

Drake May reportedly had an MRI on his knee on Wednesday.

So just something to monitor.

But he's clean, as I understand, though.

Yes, he was walking around, no limp, no brace.

So we'll see if anything comes of that.

But regardless of what happens, if Jacksonville cannot get back on track in this matchup, I wonder if some personnel will not be boarding the plane back to the States.

I thought about it.

In fact, Sess Dog,

we're going to do our fearless predictions earlier.

I initially sent one to Justin late last night that Doug's done.

But then I couldn't get behind after watching the Patriots defense again.

I couldn't get behind it in my heart, so I went in a different direction.

But yeah,

there are losses that get coaches fired and getting swept in London and getting beat by the Patriots team that's arguably the worst team in football, number 30 in our power rankings.

That would do it.

So, you know, the Jaguars are a favorite, as they should be, but there's an immense amount of pressure on them.

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, you've gotten a better version of Trevor Lawrence at moments moments in the last couple of weeks, and that's what you're wanting to see.

But I think Doug Peterson, you could argue he's probably lost this team on some level.

I just, it really feels that way to me.

And you go to London, which is meant to be the place that you reign, and you lose to a bad Patriots team that has a rookie quarterback making his second start

and a team that has eight different offensive line combinations this year that leads the league.

I would just ride Tank Bigsby.

I would use everything you have to get out of this and take advantage of that Patriots offensive line.

The Jaguars'

pressure rate has been really low.

They've not done a good job with that, but this is a good spot to kind of go be the team that we think you can be.

Otherwise, I think you're right.

Doug Peterson, and it kind of would be great to get fired in London.

I think I've noted this before where it's like, cool, I'm not going back to do anything in the United States for like two months.

So maybe he has an ulterior motive here and it's like, let's just go on a permanent vacation.

But no,

this is one of these like pressure-packed scenarios where the loser, it doesn't matter if the Patriots lose, but if the Jaguars stumble here, all chaos is unleashed.

I'm so sick of the Jaguars.

I'm not making excuses for Trevor Lawrence, but holy God, can you catch the ball?

Like Michael Diraco tweet, after the Jaguars dropped four potential TD passes last week, I went back and checked.

Since Trevor Lawrence entered the league in 2021, the Jaguars have dropped 113 passes per ESPN research, most in the league, and 21 more than the second-place team, the Chiefs.

I mean, holy God, there was one in particular in the game.

I'm trying to remember who it was.

Just gimme.

These are back pocket touchdowns.

They should be, and they add up.

The same thing happened last year, and it's happening again this year.

One more point on the other side: that the Patriots got a deep touchdown last week

from their rookie quarterback, Drake May.

That was only their third touchdown of over 30 yards

in four years.

Four years?

Whoa.

Since 2020, they've only had three.

And it was one from Cam Newton.

It was one from Mac Jones.

And now one from Drake May.

And obviously, his ability to go downfield

separates him from Jake Briskett, who was not pushing the ball.

Next.

Next game: Seahawks at Falcons.

Two teams going in opposite directions.

The Falcons have won three in a row, while Seattle has lost three in a row.

And on their losing streak, Seattle is allowing an almost 75% completion rate, eight touchdown passes against zero interceptions.

And their run defense has been just as porous.

They currently sit 30th in yards per carry allowed to running backs.

This is an important game for Seattle to re-establish some semblance of good football before their season could start to slip away.

Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Atlanta looking to keep pace with the Bucs on top of the NFC South.

Mike, here we go.

We have a thing on this show called the P-scale.

One, pants totally dry.

No problems at all.

Hey, anybody, look at me, I'm fine.

Ten, soaked under pants, destroyed.

Maybe get a male diaper.

You need it.

Where would you put your P scale in terms of, if you're a Seahawks fan, on how worried they should be for this Seattle team on a three-game losing streak?

Wow.

A P-scale.

I wasn't prepared for that.

Oh, that's such that's so visual.

Welcome to my world.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, the gravy boat doesn't get me that.

That might be the thing, though.

I think somewhere in the middle, I guess, like a few tinkles, I guess, a little drips, maybe.

Okay, I was asking for a number, but yeah, okay.

So some accidental drippage.

Five.

So not, you're actually not overly concerned.

I mean, they have not played well.

Yeah, well, I think that there were these are predictable growing pains for me.

You know, Mike McDonald's never been a head coach.

Ryan Grubb's never, their OC has never coached in the NFL like at all.

I don't think their O-line coach.

I don't think their O-line coach has coached in the NFL ever as well.

Maybe as Scott Huff, he came with Grubb from the University of Washington.

And then their special teams coordinator is Jay Harbaugh.

He's never been a special teams coordinator in the NFL.

He just got a bunch of new dudes, you know, and there's just natural growing pains with that.

Their special teams is bad.

They had a blocked field goal that basically cost them the game.

You know, the special teams is one of the worst by EPA in the league.

Their run defense, their pass defense, as Justin mentioned, is bad.

Their defense is just bad all over the place.

Their OC is basically calling Pac-12 games every week.

You know, Gino leads the league in drop backs, I believe.

Mike, just a five out of 10, huh?

Yes, but the reason I think the news is

growing pain, but you can grow.

The part of that is grow and growing pains.

Like, I think that having a mini-buy, mini-buy, so to speak, they played three games in 11 days.

Like, that is tough.

You know, yesterday was their first padded practice since they were preparing for Detroit in week four.

We're in week seven.

So, I do think having a little break to unwind self-scout is going to do them some good.

I think it'll do the offense good in particular because, like I said, it's very Pac-12.

They're in the shotgun a lot.

They're last in play action rate.

They're like second to last in rushes.

It's very much like Pac-12 after dark vibes.

And I think it's very easy to self-scout and realize that.

It's not that hard.

I don't think you had to be a genius to say, let's play action more, you know?

And so I think they'll correct that.

I think the defense,

it's so, they're Mike McDonald's stuff is really complex.

You know, it is.

All the moving parts, all the if-thens that are with the motions and everything.

It takes a while to learn it.

The Ravens weren't even that good at it really until Rokan Smith showed up, you know, late in the 2022 season.

So I think the, again, emphasis on grow and growing pains.

I don't, I don't think they'll be a playoff team per se because the NFC is just loaded with frisky wildcard teams.

I don't think they have a chance to win a division.

But just on the P scale, per se, I guess we fall in the middle because I do think some of the things that's wrong are correctable, particularly on offense.

I think special teams will kind of turn in their favor as well.

I don't know about the defense, but that's why I'm not full-on, like diaper soaking wet, I guess, so to speak, because I have faith in the offense, really.

I have faith in Gino.

I have faith in Ryan Grubb that he's not just a dummy and is not going to be last in play action rate for the entire year.

Like, that's just, that's a fireable offense to me, and I don't think Grubb wants to get fired.

And on the Atlanta side, Jordan, a big development for them is the running game.

They ran for 127 yards in the second half of last week's win over the Panthers, 198 yards overall.

If they can combine that with Cousins, they're going to be in pretty good shape, I think.

Yeah, it's fun to watch that.

come to life and then become something that they are tentatively starting to understand they could lean on a little bit more.

Michael Sean went over the issues already with the Seattle run defense, among many other issues that they're having on that side of the ball.

And this is absolutely a game where you just see how many times you can run it out of duo.

You see how many times you can run outside zone against these guys and stretch.

They're already playing this gap and a half technique, see if you can stretch them even wider,

and then you pass it.

And I think that this is going to be a really effective running opportunity to keep developing that identity with Atlanta.

And then on the Atlanta's defensive side, I mean, they've sort of been like,

their safeties are good.

And they've been in the middle in terms of, you know, the pressure that they've been able to get and middle, lower, third at times.

If you can't get pressure against how the Seattle O-line is playing, and it joins the point of Mike saying they got to start moving Geno's pocket a little bit more.

You got to protect him because if you're just having him dropping back, he is so good when he has, you know, when he can throw the ball quickly and when he he has time, we saw it at the beginning of the year, he can dice you up, but he shouldn't have to be doing that all the time.

And Seattle's offensive line is just absolutely letting him down.

If you can't pressure against this Seattle offensive line, you can't get pressure at all.

Nick Bosa, I had to like quadruple check this, absolutely abused the tackles

14 pressures in one game.

I mean, unbelievable.

Exactly.

Roommate of Chandler being in friends.

Yeah, I think that

it is absolutely, I pick Atlanta on this game, but I do agree with Mike that Seattle's problems are fixable.

Some of it's technical stuff, and some of it's just getting like slightly different personnel as time passes.

They keep building out this roster.

All right.

Let us move on.

Jesus Christ.

It is the Jonathan Villma game.

That's right.

All right.

Next.

All right.

Next.

Dolphins at Colts.

Anthony Richardson finally returning to the Colts lineup, and the Dolphins still without their their starting quarterback for at least another week.

The big question for this game, can the Dolphins field an entertaining product coming off their buy after being one of the most unwatchable teams since Tua suffered his concussion back in week two?

Yeah, Mark, this is a big test for Mike McDaniel here.

I know you are what you are with the roster, but at least you had some time here to develop some answers.

Can we score 20 points?

Can we show that we have any ability to do it?

Because the Colts are not some type of shootout juggernaut.

They have a chance here.

Nope.

I think I almost would rather play Anthony Richardson if I'm the Dolphins than and hope for a couple whack turnovers in good field position.

This is a Colts team you can run on, and we know that.

That's been consistently true week after week.

And so part of the plan needs to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands as much as you can.

Devon Achan had a concussion.

It's unclear if he will play or not right now, but whoever you've got back there, I would grind out like 35, 36 rushing attempts, take advantage of a soft Colts defense, hope for some turnovers, and hope that Joe Flacco doesn't get in there because then the whole thing's over.

Yeah, and part of the problem is the Dolphins have been trying to run the football to make up for the fact that they don't have a quarterback, and defenses have just been stacking the box.

Before HI got hurt, he was just getting blown up in the backfield over and over again.

So the offense has been completely lost at sea during this post-tua slump right now.

And Mike, yeah, I think we will get Anthony Richardson back in this game.

And know, we want to start seeing some development, but staying on the field starts there.

Yeah, it's kind of funky that like Joe definitely gives him the best chance to win every week right now.

Like, I want to see Anthony Richardson, but yeah, if you're the Dolphins, yeah, throw the young guy in there.

Well, you know, he'll throw us the ball once.

The downside is, though, he also might throw it over your head as a defense for an explosive or two.

I need to correct a stat that my homie, Teshawn Reed at the Athletic, tweeted about.

He was at the league meetings in Atlanta, and he had mentioned that there's no offensive play callers of color in the league right now is like you know an issue that the league needs to face he's wrong Mike McDaniel black man the Niners got the Niners got two third-round picks because that dude's dad is black so we need to give him some some love there googling Mike McDaniel background oh yeah yeah there's like an old picture of his mom and dad yeah no his dad looks like an old R ⁇ B soul singer but yeah actually

this is probably the only game that I don't have on my parlay because I have no idea about either of these teams, any of the players.

I just kind of don't feel like maybe the Colts second half points under.

The Dolphins have been one of the better teams defensively, I think, in the second half in terms of scoring.

I don't have the full numbers in front of me, but that's probably it.

This is the weekly NBA league pass game.

For me, I have just very little interest other than having Tyreek Hill on two fantasy teams.

That's about the only intrigue for me.

I while I was doing my research on mike mcdaniel's background i found this incredible screen grab from some local denver show called broncos tonight it's a michael mcdani

did you is it the photo of him broncos ballboy

this is incredible this is fascinating wait mike mcdaniel's dad oh wow yeah yeah the earrings mark i know you're considering so wow

this google is turning up a lot of interesting stuff all right uh anything else uh on this game?

No, we got to move.

Okay, we got to move to Browns at Bengal.

Speaking of quarterbacks who give their teams the best chance to win, the Browns continue to insist, Kevin Stefanski specifically, that Deshaun Watson gives them the best chance to win.

But this AFC North clash just doesn't have the same draw that I think it could, largely due to the fact that the Browns are just a raging tire fire of atomic proportions.

This is a game I absolutely can wait to watch.

All right, fair.

Fair.

Nice one.

Hopefully, we get a nice contest here for Spiro

Didas, Adam Marcelletta, and Adidi.

I did like, let's not talk about the quarterback here, real quick, Mark.

Let's instead talk about the Browns running back, Nick Chubb,

who looks like he's coming back this week after one of the more grotesque knee injuries that you'll see.

And this is, and make sure you're watching us on YouTube and subscribe, by the way, hashtag 48.4.

Look at Chubb's face during his media engagement here and a bunch of his Browns teammates walking by, obviously appreciative that he's back.

I love Chubb, Mark, his demeanor.

He's such a throwback dude.

Like, you could tell that

just based on what you're reading about what he went through over this past year since that knee injury to get back on the field.

And you just hope that he's going to look like Nick Chubb.

And even if it's not this year, maybe next year.

But just that he's back, that adds, like, I don't know, a touch of class to the Browns, which is something that's been sorely lacking with the guy behind center.

He is my favorite Browns player since Ernest Biner.

And I think

for many reasons, like he's a complete throwback.

He wrote an incredible, he was part of an incredible piece for the Players' Tribunal, I think that's what it's called.

And, you know, he doesn't talk much.

And so to even hear him when he does, like, it's like he's beloved inside that building.

And if there is a team in the league that needs someone like that,

I think when he runs, he reminds me of Jim Brown.

And I know that I'm not overstating that, I don't think, because Nick Chubb has been a huge difference maker inside this division.

He is that special.

And when they've beaten in years past, when they've knocked off the Ravens, which is

infrequent, he's always been a big part of that.

The weirdest thing about this game, and he will be back, and they have both their tackles back.

And I think that makes you a more functional offense.

How much will we see of Nick Chubb?

I don't know.

I think there's definitely a plan to, you know, it's going to be a runway.

But it does matter to have that offensive line fixed to some degree, to get your running.

They've been real hot and cold on the ground.

Joe Burrow is 0-4 in Cleveland.

And the Bengals have lost by a score of 28-16 in those four trips.

And these were some bad Browns teams that just put it on Burrow every single time.

And so I think that if you're Cincinnati, you want to get out to a quick start in this thing and don't let Cleveland hang around because it has been weird.

It's been one of the weirder divisional quirks that Cincinnati has flatlined every time they've gone to Cleveland for nearly half a decade.

Is that even possible in this game with this Browns team?

It's a lot less possible than in years past.

I don't know just for some reason, it feels like maybe there could be, you know, with Chubb back in the building, maybe some juice and a positive vibe.

But there has been some mounting pressure, Jordan, around,

well, I don't know if it's pressure.

I know it's external and Bengals fans in general who have always been, you know, I think even with the Super Bowl trip, not totally sold on Zach Taylor.

And I think one of those things is, okay, so Stefanski and and the Browns have Zach Taylor's number.

It's like, does Zach Taylor have the ability to pivot and understand what has failed and scheme his team into a better position?

I think that's a big part of this.

Well, I think so much of it is Joe Burrow, too.

And I mean, we've seen him.

do everything he can so far to this point to lift this team when you know it's been very very sketchy on defense they cleaned it up a little bit uh recently but i don't trust the fact i don't trust some of the things that they tried to stay intact through the rest of the season.

It's possible that this defense just is not very good anymore and will stay that way until they move some pieces and try different things, get some guys back.

Yeah, this is interesting to me because this feels like

you're catching the Browns,

regardless of...

getting Nick Chubb back.

And by the way, that is a player and a human being who you build a franchise around.

And the juxtaposition in that press conference could not have been more clear and who has the locker room and that could not have been more clear and i i love the look on his face as they're walking it's just a beautiful thing um but even with that bump that little pop i mean you're still catching cleveland at essentially rock bottom right and and even even in a way if you look at it through a pessimistic view even you have nick chubb back okay here's a reminder of what you're wasting you know like here's a reminder of everything you're and so if so if you're Zach Taylor all to the point of, if you're Zach Taylor, I don't want to say it's a job related win or lose, right?

I don't want to go that far yet, but this is kind of a must-win and it's a must like

assert and kind of be not passive, right?

Like go do the thing, right?

That's, that's what I think Bengals fans want to see from the head coach.

And I was scared as someone who's

still in on the Bengals.

I didn't love the way they played against the Giants in Sunday night.

That game could have went the other direction, and then their season is over.

So I don't give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm glad you added that context, Mark, about

Cleveland's success historically.

Like, this game could end up, again, being way more

uncomfortable than Bengals fans want it to be, but that's kind of been the DNA of this team.

Next.

All right.

Titans at Bills.

The Bills are the biggest favorites of week seven, laying nine points at home.

But three of the Titans' four losses this year have been decided by one score.

So will this this one be competitive?

Probably not.

If the Titans hope to be competitive, they'll probably have to lean on Tony Pollard and the ground attack.

The Bills are allowing over 140 rushing yards per game.

I just wonder, what will Will Levis do this week?

We shall see.

We'll see.

Stick a pin in that,

Justin.

But yeah, there you go, Money Mike.

Nine points a wood.

Buffalo is laying here.

And Amari Cooper is on the team.

We'll see what kind of role he has.

I'm sure Tennessee would rather they not have gotten a number one wide receiver in time for their matchup, but here we are.

Yeah, going back to my thing being critical of the whole we don't need a wide receiver one.

Buffalo tried that.

What did that last?

Seven, six weeks?

I know guys got hurt, Shakir got hurt, whatever, but it just is hard to do, man, with your quarterback and your OC are not just absolutely killing it.

Like I mentioned, the Packers are, but yeah, Buffalo, yeah.

You didn't even make it to Halloween where you're like, huh.

Yeah, because

they're trying to get a chip.

They're trying to get over the hump.

We're not just trying to go 10 and 7 here.

I like that they embrace the urgency of it, quite frankly.

Yeah, they had to.

I think every team needs someone who dictates coverage.

And Amari Cooper does that, even if it's just as simple as, all right, Christian Benford, you're playing really well.

Go, hey, you got Cooper.

I don't know what jersey number he's wearing, but you got Coop.

You know, this week, this is your guy.

They play a lot of zone more than following, but still, point remains.

You just need a guy on offense.

Benford's on the other side, but

you just need a guy like Sneed.

Like, you got Coop, like that, that matters, you know, and how teams structure their defense every week.

And Sneed probably will follow him, you know.

So, and I like whatever Amari Cooper's over is.

I couldn't find it.

I don't know if him and Devontae Adams have overs yet available on sports books, but whatever it is, hammer both of them.

Justin, can you check out the underdog, higher or lower, on Amari this week?

Yes, please.

Yes.

Thank you.

But yeah, I think that that was so obvious for Buffalo that that was not sustainable.

The whole everybody eats thing and all that.

Especially to your point, Dan, we're trying to win a championship.

You want to be a frisky wildcard team, restore your franchise or whatever, then yeah, maybe you can just have a bunch of really good receivers.

But I think teams that want to win a title, you got to have wide receiver one.

I'm very happy Buffalo pulled the trigger on that.

I think Cooper is exactly what they needed to get, potentially get over that hump if they got to go to Kansas City in January.

And the run game.

Do you guys remember some of the reporting around then Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Roll's decision to fire Joe Brady was because there was some reporting around as like Matt Roll wanted to run the ball like a specific number of times per game because he had never lost a game at that number and they didn't have Christian McCaffrey at the time and it was the Sam Darnold was imploding and there's like some irony I think in the fact that Joe Brady and the Bills collectively have one of the coolest and most successful and most effective run game plans and schematic diversity in the NFL.

I mean, Ray Davis was so fun to watch.

Even without James Cook in the mix, they clearly have guys they can go to.

Josh Allen adding that element as well, converting that crucial third down late in the game.

They're running at over a 50% rate and they're doing it well.

And so when you also now have the multiplicity of adding a bona fide one into the mix, again, you're just putting more and more stress on a defense.

And you could play when it's cold.

You could play when it's warm.

You could play in a dome.

You could play outside when it's cold.

And I think that that's really what the statement is that they're trying to make here.

What do we got, Gravedigger?

No higher or lower posted for Amari Cooper.

I think they're trying to work it in and out.

What's his role going to be?

Exactly.

Okay.

Good to know.

You have any Titans' takes before we move on there, Justin?

No.

Are you on a break?

I'm not on a break.

I've just been emotionally detached for.

How about me and you?

We hop on a plane.

Two dads on a break.

We head to Vegas.

I'm in.

I mean, mean, I'm willing to take a break from my team if that's where we're going.

Like, they're, they're.

No, but you guys got back together in September, remember?

Well, that's, you, we know that doesn't work in real life

when you do that.

So is there a Baja Cantina in Vegas, Dan?

Are we gonna?

Are you guys okay?

There's a Baja Cantina everywhere.

You know, that's what I found in my life here on the left side of the country.

Next.

All right.

Raiders at Rams.

Another game with a huge point spread as the Rams are favored by seven.

They are getting much healthier.

Cooper Cup is close to making his return.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have officially moved on from Devontae Adams, but that will not solve the Max Crosby is pushing his coaches on the sidelines problem.

Oh, yeah.

Can we see that?

I feel for Crosby.

Well, I don't, you know, you shouldn't push your coaches, but like,

it's got to be tough.

This guy gives everything and is such a warrior.

And I just hope he's not one of those dudes that Mark just gets stuck on a bad team forever.

like I just hope that's not Max Crosby's fate because what he what he came back from in his personal life to become this dominating star that is a leader on that team obviously the frustration's boiling over because it's kind of a shitty situation in Vegas well yeah I mean we're

we're months into new head coach, new general manager, and you'd like to think like, look, you've got a couple years to really make it clear what your vision is, but they seem to be unpacking whatever vision they came into the season with.

We've got quarterback flip-flopping.

We've sold away our star wide receiver.

And Crosby is this generational Hall of Fame talent stuck on a team that has no real identity.

And I think, you know, behind the scenes, we're in a different world now.

You've got to manage your own career, and he's got to be very ANSI to get out of there as soon as possible.

I would think he'd want to get out of there as soon as possible.

And go to it.

He wants to be on a team that competes for Super Bowls.

And so I wonder if this heats up.

Yeah.

I just see it heating up.

It's a shame, too, because he's such a raider.

And it would stink to see him either get moved or force his way out of there before they, because that fan base, you know, they love him too.

Number 29 in our power rank is the Raiders.

The Rams are number 24, Jordan.

And yet I feel like this is a team, if they can get things in order, get their house in order, can make a charge up those rankings and back into the playoff race.

How bullish do you feel about the Rams getting hot here?

Yeah, I was thinking about this because this season has drawn a lot of external comparisons to the 2022 season.

And that was the last truly terrible season they had.

They were injured like I had never seen before.

Um, they were playing bad football even before they got injured.

Like, the pro scout who was in charge of finding 18th and 19th blindmen to pull out of like the police academy to start at center and out of a basement to start at right guard, he walked out of practice one day to find out that a tree had fallen on his car.

Um, Sean McVay got rocked by an undrafted free agent tight end on his own sideline on a day he gave up play calling.

And previous to that day, had floated the idea of walking away from football.

So it can always get worse, but in this case, I think that was as bad as it gets.

And I don't think that it will ever get this bad again in terms of the general vibe.

It feels much better than that still.

They're running the ball still really effectively.

That's kind of getting lost underneath.

The absolute disaster catastrophe that this offensive line, even with both tackles healthy and the right guard healthy,

are struggling to protect Matthew Stafford, who's been hit 40 times, which is the third most in the NFL.

And he's not young, guys.

I know we know this, but I know he and Mark are converging on a look-alike point here the more time passes.

But he's not a young man, so you can't get hit that many times.

But Kyron Williams' rushing success rate is second among all running backs.

I think they're going to run the ball and try to, again, avoid Max Crosby as much as they can.

And I think they're going to try to run the ball at this Raiders' defensive line.

And

they should, because you have to protect Matthew Stafford if you even want to think about it being cool that Cooper Cup might come back and Puka Nakua might come back in November.

Yeah.

Mark, you okay with that converging with Stafford?

Well, Matthew Stafford got, I think, about twice,

he doubled his attractiveness when he moved to L.A.

He just, to me, looks revitalized.

I wouldn't really want to get into it, but I don't know.

Some things I think.

I don't think that's true of me, so I don't know where the convergence is.

I don't know.

If Mark had longer hair, more more Stafford.

Say beard hair.

No, I can see that.

I could see that.

Stafford.

I'm not, Jordan.

Don't tell him I said this, but Stafford got new teeth and he just looks totally different now.

And it freaks me out.

He's got these big chompers.

He's got these big old chompers and he just looks totally different.

I mean, I don't judge anyone.

If you...

Whatever you want to do to make yourself look better or feel better about yourself, get the veneers.

That's cool.

Like, it's the dental industry has really come a long way

in the last 100 years.

But

sometimes when you do do that, it totally changes the way you look.

And that's actually old Matt Stafford smile.

I thought there was a Sessler-Stafford convergence.

Now it's more like a George Hamilton type situation going on with Stafford.

I don't know.

And I'm not throwing shade.

I'm just saying it's something that I always clock now every time I see him.

Mark, your thoughts.

I agree.

You know, it would be funny if, Mark, you got like the big Matt Dylan chompers from There's Something About Mary.

Like, then I would like to see like a side-by-side.

I'll work on that.

Mark, oddly uncomfortable with the conversation.

No.

What's the matter, Mark?

You're being complimented here.

I'm just, I'm pondering everything that's being said.

That's all.

You know, sometimes with Mark, when we're talking about like looks and stuff,

I could tell the wheels are spinning.

But I think this is a compliment.

Stafford's a handsome man, so you're.

I take it as that.

There's people I would, I would, yeah, you could go worse on a comparison.

All right, good.

Next.

All right, next.

Panthers at Commanders.

Oh, one more thing about the Raiders fans, because I was, I caught some shit about it.

I don't know if you got some too, Mark, but people are like you guys did the whole Devontae Adams trade conversation didn't talk about like the Raiders side of the trade.

I mean, what are you on?

It's a, you got a third-round pick that could be a two, but it's probably just a mid-round pick.

It was a strange signing at the time for where you were as a franchise.

It's cool that you went for it, but it didn't work out.

And now your wide receivers are Trey Tucker, Jacoby Myers as your number one, DJ Turner, Tyreek McAllister.

I mean,

what is there to say?

I mean, there's no Bowers.

There's a lot.

Yeah, Bowers is, we have mentioned Bowers, I think, every Sunday because

that is working out very, very well.

But

I need to understand what the Raiders are trying to accomplish.

They lost

a tug of war with a star player.

I mean,

that's not a positive.

Yeah, Bowers probably will be the most targeted tight end in football you would think for the rest of the day.

He's the best tight end to stay healthy.

Subplot, Sean McVay trying to trade up to get Brock Bowers.

And

I asked him about it this week, and he glowed over him.

And I was like, oh, awkward.

Interesting.

Interesting.

All right, next.

Cool, cool, cool.

Eight minutes on Raiders Rams.

All right, Panthers.

Who asked you?

Who asked you for

takes about the the length of the show?

Yeah, no, it's fine.

None of us should speak for the next ones, though.

No one can complain

that we're not covering every single game.

Panthers at Commanders.

This game doesn't matter.

And let it be said that, like, I wasn't going to say anything about the Titans, but I said, you know what?

I'm going to be cool.

I'm going to throw it to Justin to see if he has anything to add.

And he hit us with a no comment.

Let's go to Vegas.

So it's, I'm just, yeah, we're just having conversations here, and some go longer than others, but

it's all in the name of good discourse, Justin.

Yes.

So you shouldn't shame us for it.

I'm not shaming.

I'm just observing.

All right.

Observing.

For the fourth time.

Panthers at Commanders.

This game does not offer very much in the way of intrigue.

The Panthers currently operating as the worst team in the league per the latest HTC power rankings, but Jaden Daniels is playing.

And for me, Jaden Daniels is must-watch TV whenever he takes the field.

Interesting.

You didn't go must-see TV.

Could have had a rhyming in the match.

Passed on it.

Yes, that's cool.

Mike,

that is the thing to watch here, I guess.

You get to watch the number two overall pick do his thing as the number one overall pick from last year sits on the sideline.

Yeah, I mean, I'm also, well, I'm rooting for Dave Canales, you know, the head coach of the Panthers.

You know, I hope that he has some success.

I don't think they'll win this game, but also someone I'm happy for generally is Terry McLaurin.

He's just, he's had that little very DeAndre Hopkins Larry Fitzgerald like run stretch there where the quarterbacks throwing to him weren't very good.

And then when Dehop finally got a guy, he started, they just tore it up.

And I think Terry now is like, he could potentially be an all-pro dude with the numbers he could put up with Jaden Daniels.

You know, I'm just really happy for him to do that because he's been really good.

You know, he's in that same draft class as DK, Debo, AJ Brown.

I think that's all the same 2019 class.

And those guys have kind of been more of focal points.

They've made the playoffs and stuff like that, have big games in prime time.

Whereas Terry's been just as good talent-wise, but just has been, I think I saw a tweet with the list of his quarterbacks in his career.

Oh, it was nasty.

It was very bad.

So I'm really happy that he's got a competent dude who knows that part of his job is to get Terry the ball in big contrast to Kyler Murray, who was like, it's not my job to get Marvin Harrison the ball.

I was like, what?

What's wrong with you?

Said that after week one.

Jaden knows it's quite the opposite.

Nope.

I need to to throw the ball to 17 early and often.

And yeah, I'm really just happy for Terry.

If there's any reason to watch this game, it is that.

And Terry is, Terry's over as part of my parlay that I'll.

Okay.

We're getting closer to the big reveal of the parlay.

I also like that his name's Terry.

It's good to say Terry.

Hey, hey, how's Terry doing?

We don't have enough Terries anymore.

And we're on the same page.

We're parking our car in the same garage, as Sheck would say,

Mike, because as I said last week, Terry was the the orphan boy with the club foot and rickets that got adopted by the millionaire family on Christmas morning.

Like, this, we're happy for him.

We're happy.

Any other thoughts on this game?

I don't want Justin to get mad at us, so maybe we should.

I know.

I'm a little

bit more.

I'm not.

I've become very conscious of the time.

Old mean dad.

You know, he's like, there's a mean dad, he's on a break, and he resents the kids when he sees them instead of treating them nice.

That's how I feel right now.

You should be showering us with gifts, dad.

I'm dad now.

Next?

Yeah.

Next.

Yeah.

Okay.

You frightened us into just moving.

Yes.

All right.

Chargers at Cardinals.

I hope you're subscribed to ESPN Plus because the bad boy in HTC, Justin Graver.

Put him in a motorcycle jacket.

You're subscribed to ESPN Plus because if you're not, you will not be watching this game.

If anybody can figure out what the Cardinals are as a team, like, please let me know.

I'll tell you what they're not.

They're not legitimate contenders for anything except maybe to be this year's berserker team.

The Chargers play football kind of like a berserker team, so this actually could be a fun back-and-forth matchup, but it depends on which version of the Cardinals shows up.

That's Dog, put that clown mask back on.

You went down in the clown mask bowl.

Well, yeah, I'm not falling for that again.

To Justin's point, so you open the season, you lose a one-score game to the Bills, promising.

You drop 41 points on the Rams.

You lose a one-score game to the Lions, promising.

And then you get destroyed by the Commanders.

Then you nip the Niners.

And then you totally no-show in one of the biggest no-shows I've seen against the Packers.

So I like Jonathan Gannon in theory.

I like Drew Petzing, but this offense,

the defense has consistently been a problem.

But this team seems to just arrive and disappear at will in a way that would suggest multiple personalities.

Or bad coaching.

So I'm not

bad coaching.

I think they've been well coached, though, at times.

That's what's so confounding to me.

I mean,

it's a direct reflection of coaching when a team just is like comes and goes like this.

I'm with you.

I'm with you.

It's just that when they've been good, and I'm dating this back to last year, a couple games where they gave me a lot of hope from the coaching angle.

And I thought there was more, you're just lacking personnel.

You didn't have your starting quarterback for most of last season.

And like, they're good games.

They look really good.

So I, I'm with you.

It's like completely like inconsistent, though.

So I'm starting to question everything.

I'm not ready to give up on the Cardinals.

I am disappointed in them.

Not mad, just disappointed.

Like Justin Lebesgue.

Yeah, it's like

I'm projecting how I, how I feel in this show today.

But yeah, I think,

you know, they're not, they're still like middle of the pack in offensive EPA per play.

They're just, they're so goddamn streaky.

And Mark, to your point, like, it's just so feast or famine with them.

Like, either they are a complete disaster or they look like the total future of football in 2024.

And that's, maybe this is something I should dissect in therapy, but they reel me in just enough and then they destroy me.

So I, you know, I just, I almost can't watch them at this point.

I need to save healthy boundaries.

Take a step back.

You want to join us?

Want to go to Vegas?

Well, if Justin's, I mean, I don't know.

We have to have a talk before that, I guess.

Justin, I can tell you what the Cardinals are.

They're lacking talent.

They just don't have a lot of talent, man.

You just watch them and you're like, wow, they could use such and such.

Like, I think about college football when I watch them.

I'm like, what edge rusher should the Cardinals take?

What DV should the Cardinals take?

They just need so much stuff on both sides, particularly on defense, though.

It's really rough up there.

They should be like at all of Colorado's games, making sure Travis Hunter is okay.

like i don't think that a player in the nfl can play both ways but if there's a team that could use someone to play both it is the cardinals they could use a number two receiver and a number one corner like it's really they need the football tanni

uh yes they really they're just lacking that's why they're so streaky they're talented they don't have a lot of talent it's hard to just out scheme the other team every week so yeah that's that's what they are a team that really needs a lot of talent particularly on defense on the other side herbert justin herbert's getting healthy and starting to really kind of look a little bit more Herberty as time passes.

And Rashawn Slater and Joe alt, I love watching them.

I think they're one of the most exciting tackle tandems to watch right now and really kind of started out that way as well.

They're at fourth and fifth best at their respective positions and minimizing pressure, according to True Media.

And that's helping Justin Herbert come alive.

into his Herberty self.

And I think that

this is a fun, the defense is also legit.

I mean, I think because we're so ready for Justin herbert to kind of break back out into the quarterback we know he is we're kind of overlooking what a job jesse minter has done in turning this atrocious and 28th in epa per play ranked defense into like a legit bona fide top five defense

um before we move jim harbaugh of course had the the health scare on the sideline and you know jim did not let us down when he elaborated on the situation with the media this week yeah good news.

Just talked to the cardiologist before I came in here.

Got some test results back.

The heart of an athlete is a direct quote from the cardiologist.

So that made me feel good.

And he said the stress test was really good too.

I think he used the word incredible.

I think he did.

That my

stamina was

incredible and heart got stronger as it

was

stressed.

So, and yeah,

back in rhythm.

Hopefully, that

you know that sticks.

We'll

got the monitor on.

So,

good news.

I took that as a compliment.

Nice, Jim.

Libsy.

Look, certain, almost a Donald Trumpian speech pattern early on in that filibuster.

All right, let's take a break, and when we get back, our fearless predictions.

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All right, we are back.

It is time to share our fearless predictions.

But before we do that, Money Mike, do you have your parlay ready?

Yes, yes, I do.

I tried to get something for every game, but as I mentioned, some games didn't move me that much.

So I know Jason.

Yes, we'll document all of these.

I got Evan Ingram over four and a half catches.

Drake Bay over 203.5 passing yards.

Justin Jefferson over six and a half catches.

Jaden Reed over 56.5 receiving yards.

Packers money line.

Saquon over 102.5 total yards.

It's not just Russian.

Seahawks plus three.

Bengals money line.

Bill spread.

That lines are different in a few places.

So just whatever you guys get it at is fine.

Bills spread.

Terry McLaurin, Scary Terry, over 65.5 receiving yards.

I couldn't decide between Matthew Stafford over or Kyron Williams is over.

Jordan saying that they were going to run the ball.

That kind of helped me out there.

So thank you, J-Rod.

Over 91 and a half

rushing yards.

Yes, this one's Jordan has tied to this one.

You try to stay out of it, Jordan, but you're part of this now.

Yes.

So yeah, over 91.5 rushing yards for Kyron Williams.

Thanks to J-Rod.

Niners spread.

Again, that's different.

J-Rod

in a few different places, but whatever you get the spread at for the Niners, I'm cool with whatever line we choose there.

Jets, money line, Devontae Adams over receiving yards with an asterisk.

If you can find it, we're just spamming like every possible gambling scenario.

Potentially, potentially.

Kyler Murray over 34 and a half rushing yards and Derrick Henry anytime touchdown.

How many legs?

So let me get rid of the Stafford.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

There we go.

Some millionaire parlay if it hits.

Oh,

yeah.

You can break it up in two.

Yeah, we could distill that down for next one.

But yeah, I tried to hit every game if I could.

And Jordan, thank you for your part in that as well, because you were directly involved.

Since I am apparently involved in this, I have a question.

What is a parlay?

Oh, nice.

No, that's a fair question.

I I actually explained this to my dad

last year.

He didn't know either.

Now he's a junkie.

Oh, no, wait.

I don't want to.

No, it's okay.

You can't gamble.

You have to go to the casino to gamble in California, so you're okay.

The parlay, just basically all those events that I said for you to win money, they have to happen.

So like I had a 16 leg.

A leg is the number of bets that I'm putting on there.

So all 16 have to happen.

And you win more money when you have a parlay when there's more legs, because the more legs the more things that you're guaranteeing will happen it decreases the odds that they all happen and that then wins you more money so like if I bet on one thing I win money but if I bet on two things and they both happen I win more bet on three things I win even more bet on four things you win even more so parlaying

like if you have 16 all 16 you can't if like three you can't get money off of three versus four correct yes correct

but if you play on underdog and you do a pick'em entry on underdog you can do do it as a flex entry.

And you could, if you had a four-pick entry, you only need three to hit to win money if you are flexing that on underdog.

That's why you got to get on the underdog app.

Absolutely.

Great plug there.

So like I said, I gave my dad a five leg.

I gave him five things last week.

All five cashed.

And yeah, the fifth one happened at like the...

final second or something like that.

So yeah, you need all of them to hit, which is why Justin asked me how many legs is that?

Because usually it's hard to get 16 things to all happen at once.

You usually get do three legs, five legs.

Like, not anything.

So, you're saying you're not going to file a 16-legger here.

You're going to pick amongst that group.

No, I'm just going to send my dad this whole thing, and I think he's going to play them all as I'll leave it up to him.

I'm not going to tell him how to, you know, vet his money, but those are, I'm going to send him the text: say, here's what I like this week.

He can add to that or subtract however he likes, but that is the text he will get.

I love that.

Love dad's stuff.

I'm going to send my dad Keith the 16-leg parlay just to get his reaction.

He's like, Danny, the odds, they're astounding.

I don't like it.

All right, without further ado, fearless predictions.

First, let's check on week six.

Let's see, where are we at in week six?

Our fearless predictions.

How did we do?

Starting with the Zuzzer.

Jets get the Basacea bump and beat the Bills by at least seven points on Monday night football.

The Jets are the one team that can prove the Basacea bump isn't a real thing.

Incredible.

You almost got to admire it.

Michael Sean Dugar, week six, will have at least 10 quarterback rushing touchdowns.

How many do we get?

I think only four?

Four.

That's not going to do it.

Two.

Burrow had one.

And I think there was Josh Allen, maybe?

Didn't he score?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we both fall to two and four.

Gravedigger.

At least one replacement quarterback gets a win this week.

Rattler May, or

I thought it was AOC, the politician.

Aiden O'Connell.

Sorry, bud.

Two and four.

But the good news, Jordan Rodrigue off the schneid.

Devontae Adams will be traded before our next taping.

Boom.

Big dub.

Club dub.

Welcome, Jordan.

How does it feel?

Feels good.

My dog, Tucker, is barking a little bit slightly in the background, which only just started as my first victory was announced.

So I like to think he's also happy for my success.

I love it.

I'm happy for you.

And

then

there's Mark.

A coordinator is fired by our next Thursday show.

Man.

And we were trying to work with you on this one, Ceci, to get you a little bit of a layup.

Not that it's a layup, but something that seemed very possible.

And yet here we are at 0-6.

And it's just not going your way this year.

No, no dogs barking

here.

I would say this, though.

I'm only two behind the leader.

I've failed to an astounding level, but I'm still in the race.

That's a positive way to look at it.

But you need to get one first.

And I think people are starting to get, there's a little bit of a

2016 Browns feel to the proceedings right now.

Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

And I think that's, yeah, you're right.

It's starting to creep into the locker room, put it that way.

Yes, I think we've got systemic issues.

All right, give us something then, Mark.

Come on, get us going here.

Well, so,

you know, I send this to Justin early because

if you go look at each of my picks, they become very close to true the week after I do it.

So instead of, you know, going down the same road of failure, I'm going to go back to what I picked last week, this week, that a coordinator or head coach is fired before next week's show.

It's now it's going to happen.

And no, I think that's a good strategy.

It's sneaky.

We're at that point in the season.

Yes, I am right.

Because you were about to do it, and

I thought we might

team up there.

So you're just going to keep that until someone gets fired?

That's almost not a prediction because eventually someone will every week.

It's not even a prediction.

It's just like.

I will not be allowed to use it three times in a row.

This is a bit of a, it's not a ploy, but it's a bit of a trick play.

Okay.

It feels a little desperate, but maybe if I were.

Yes, I'd say I'm in a desperate spot at this point.

All right.

I'll go next.

We mentioned Will Levis.

Captain Mayo himself has been on an incredible run of meme-worthy moments.

I believe he will have yet another one in week seven.

Who the Titans got again, Gravedigger?

Bills.

Oh, yeah, that's part of the reason.

I feel like he's going to really be forcing the action.

He's got Josh Allen, who actually can do crazy stuff and be successful at it.

So it's going to get Will Levis even more pumped up, and it's going to lead to something very highly meme-worthy.

And I'll let you guys decide whether it crosses the necessary threshold.

But I think it will be something so funny, quite frankly, or disturbing to Titans fans, depending on your perspective, that we'll all know exactly what the week seven meme was when it happens.

Look out, ball boys.

I hope we have multiple candidates for this, too, to parse, you know, during the Titans gravy boat section, because that was a little short today, I think.

So hopefully we'll have a lot of those to talk about during that section.

I think that'd be good for the show, you know.

Good luck to you, Justin.

Money, Mike.

All right.

So, we're like, we're going to just treat it like the definition of porn.

You just know it when you see it there with the

Levis thing.

Yeah, I'm fine with that.

So, mine is, I'm going with the, in the spirit of the new guys getting traded,

I'll go with both Amari Cooper and Devontae Adams hitting at least 100 yards receiving in their first game with their new teams on Sunday.

Whenever you get behind a positive prediction around the Jets, it it's dangerous.

But I like that you're staying in.

You're staying true to your vibe that that team's gonna click.

Okay.

That's that's a that that is fearless.

New teams.

Yeah, I don't think uh I don't think either of the teams that they're playing have a louder 100-yard receiver.

Maybe the maybe the Steelers did once, I think.

But it hasn't happened very often either.

So a little risk there, but I'm okay with it.

It's called fearless predictions for a reason.

J-Rod, close it out.

Well, I feel good because mine is a little bit similar to Mike's and I'm trying to do more like his predictions because they actually make sense, unlike mine.

But so, mine is: if both Amari Cooper and Devontae Adams play, then each will catch a touchdown.

If just Adams plays, because we don't know about Cooper yet as of this taping, but if just Adams plays, then he will catch two touchdowns.

Oh, so directly tied together, getting athletic as a tandem here.

Very good.

That was weird.

All right, Justin, you actually close it out.

Not how I meant to say that.

My fearless prediction this week is that by next Thursday, there will be at least two headlines praising Mike Tomlin's decision to start Russell Wilson this weekend.

Mark, are your thoughts on that one?

Well, I always find those dubious because I think like, oh, I think last time when you had that, Dan, we used like the sun from the United Kingdom.

I don't really, what sort of thing?

Why, what's wrong with the sun?

What's wrong with the United Kingdom?

No, nothing's wrong with the United Kingdom.

Well, some things are, but nothing, it's not, it's not tied to the United Kingdom per se.

Not going down that path again.

But I, many, many

European, yeah, many European people like critique that as a source of journalism.

And I think if you go visit it,

you can see why.

So I just, you know, Justin can pull this off of like, you know, the patch somewhere if they want, the Pittsburgh patch.

I'll go write my own articles.

Yeah, no, well, Mark, we got you covered there.

We're going to make sure, although you're practicing some isolationism, to go back to my old social studies days, it sounds like I welcome other nations and their reporting.

They do great work.

So let's see what Justin comes back with.

But also, Russell Wilson has to play well, which that feels like a bit of a

should we tie a Steelers' win to that?

Or is it just if the offense plays well, we're assuming that there will be headlines?

That's fair.

Mike, I mean, Justin, you want to give give it a little more structure?

I mean, if

he gets praised for starting Russell Wilson, I feel like that's pretty

like there could be plenty of headlines about the Steelers game that don't even mention Mike Tomlin or Russell Wilson.

It also can't come from Steelers.com, probably, right?

I would, yeah, team website feels a little stretchy.

Very true.

All right, that's it.

Good show.

Can I see Mike McDaniel as a Broncos ballboy?

I feel like

Will Levis is like, oh, I want to break that guy's leg in half.

They got two third-round picks for losing that guy.

Got to love diversity.

Mark, I know you're studying for earring inspiration here.

I'm taking a look.

I've seen this before.

I've encountered this image.

Sess dog in hoop earrings, double ear.

No.

I could see it.

It'd be nice.

You're not convincing me to go do anything of the sort.

All right.

Thank you to everybody for watching.

We'll recap every game that we previewed on the Sunday show

with Connor Orr.

So make sure you're there for that.

And of course, Friday morning, you will have the draft of the week seven games, Sunday games, with me, Justin, Mark, and Connor.

So make sure you're on the Patreon, patreon.com/slash heed the call.

All right, that's it.

Thank you, as always, to Mike and Jordan.

You guys are the best.

Good luck this weekend and your sports coverage.

And until next time, do what you must do.

Heed the call.

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