Wisconsin’s Coaching Gamble, QB Shakeups, And NFL Week 10 Picks

A program bets on patience while the schedule bets against them. We kick off with Wisconsin’s decision to ride another year with Luke Fickell and dig into why timing, coordinator fit, and quarterback health matter more than slogans. The Badgers’ attempted identity flip collided with injuries and the Big Ten’s new arms race, and we ask the blunt question: is waiting a year strategic leverage in a crowded coaching market or just kicking the can?

From there, we pivot to Colorado handing the keys to freshman Julian Lewis and what that reveals about roster building in the portal era. Can you live on transfers without a high school pipeline, or does the well run dry the second your headliners leave? We zoom out to the weekend board: Georgia walking into a classic look-ahead spot, Oregon’s talent facing Iowa discipline plus weather, BYU’s grit versus Texas Tech’s lines, and which rankings noise will get sorted by November’s schedule math.

On the NFL side, we pause for a tough, human moment after the Cowboys’ tragic loss, then break down Denver’s 10–7 slog over Las Vegas and what it says about plan-less offenses. Our card leans toward balance and defense: Colts in Germany, Bears rediscovering the run, Bills over Miami on matchup IQ, Texans’ defense squeezing the Jags, and Ravens’ ground game traveling. We like the Rams’ health and timing against a banged-up 49ers squad, Seattle’s rising passing game with fresh speed, the Browns to win ugly, and Philly to self-correct off a bye at Green Bay. Jace’s picks land late, we lock them in, and yes—we keep the whole thing tight without losing the edge.

Jump in, argue a pick, and tell us which upset you’re riding this weekend. If you’re vibing with the show, hit follow, share it with a friend, and drop a five-star review so more sports nerds can find us.

Chapters

• 0:00 Quick Setup And Timebox Plan
• 3:21 Wisconsin, Luke Fickell, And Big Ten Reality
• 21:12 Coaching Market Strategy And Pat Fitzgerald Idea
• 30:10 Colorado’s QB Pivot And Deion’s Challenges
• 38:20 Playoff Rankings Perspective And Scheduling Chaos
• 43:20 Weekend College Slate: Matchups And Leans
• 1:08:22 Transition To NFL And News Rundown
• 1:16:40 Somber Note: Cowboys DE Tragedy
• 1:20:30 Thursday Night Recap: Broncos Edge Raiders
• 1:31:05 Week Picks: Germany Game To MNF
• 1:41:50 Jace’s Picks Arrive And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome back to the JB Sports Podcast. Date is Friday, November 7th, and we are back for another pod. So I'm doing this early in the earlier in the day, right afternoon on Friday. So a little bit earlier than what we usually do the podcast. I'm gonna be putting it out well a lot earlier. Usually we do it like Friday nights. But today I figured we have some stuff going on with my younger brother because got a birthday party to attend. So figured doing the podcast earlier in the day, getting it out would be the best way to go. Unfortunately, Jace can't be here for that. He has to work, so that is gonna be one thing we have to deal with today. Hopefully, me sitting here by myself, it it isn't a bad thing, but I do go a little long. And like especially after the last pod, I went for like close to three hours, but I do think that was a special case to a certain extent. You had the NFL trade deadline happening that day that I had to talk about, and then at the back the back end of it, we I had to do the reaction to the Cosmo playoff, which I didn't go that long on that one, but I'm hoping today I can be a little better about not going as long. So hopefully I can keep this under two hours. Heck, if I'm really doing this right, maybe an hour and a half. But you know, I'm gonna try to do better. I'm gonna try to do better. And again, it's not the way you look at it is having a long podcast isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it just makes it harder for anybody that out there that wants to listen to the pod, they see it almost three hours worth of a podcast. It's like, oh, I can't sit there and listen to that for three hours. Because I totally understand people have lives to go live and all that, that you can't sit there having an AirPod in your ear or doing other things and decide to listen to a podcast at the same time. So, but if for the people that do listen to it, cool heck, you probably could piece it up and do it a little bit by bit, but I again it was a little long, it was way too long. Uh again, two and a half hours you just don't feel too bad about. But if once it gets closer to three, it's like that's kind of like unmanageable. So I'm not gonna go that long today. Hopefully, I can keep get get this down to being a little bit more normal of the pod without me going off on too many tangents. But like I always say, I'm not gonna promise anything because if I if I have something I really want to talk about, I'm going to. So the one only other bad things is that when we do the NFL picks for later on, for whatever reason, I haven't been able to get Jason's picks as of yet to get his record as to what teams he's picking. I did get the Thursday night game from last night. We both picked Denver to win, which obviously it worked out if you watch the game, but it didn't feel all that great being right, because it was that was a weird game to watch. Uh but other than that, I don't have any of his picks, and maybe he comes through in the clutch and sends me his before I get to the point of making picks. But if not, you'll just be getting mine, and then we'll get Jace's picks on the next pod where we'll at least get his picks on the record. Hopefully he doesn't do anything shady like trying to do the picks after the games happen. So we'll see. We'll see on that. So without further ado, no more telling you everything on the outskirts. Let's go ahead and focus on what we got to focus on. So with this podcast, it doesn't last forever. So let's go ahead and get to this thing here. So let's start with college football. I wanted to do the just a couple, like just a story that I honestly the biggest story that I want to talk about from yesterday was Wisconsin and Luke Fickle. The Luke Fickle, the head coach for Wisconsin right now, that honestly, since he had been hired there, it really has not worked out to any degree. He went there saying he was going to bring the offense to a more modern level because Wisconsin for so long was a line it up, really big offensive line, running a more pro-style offense, running the football a lot, not a lot of spread, really condensing formations and like running the football at you. And then if you're gonna throw the football, be off play action, stuff like that. Luke Fickel coming in decided, hey, I'm gonna bring this offense up to a modern level, do more spread spread option stuff, and we're gonna really change the offense. And once they decided to do that, they didn't get the right quarterbacks in. He made a couple bad hires when it comes to offensive coordinator, and it has not worked out by any stretch of the imagination. It has been an absolute failure when it came to doing that. So now over the last year or two, probably like last year or so, they decided, hey, we're gonna change the offense back, we're gonna go back to what made Wisconsin successful for so long. And when you have to do all these philosophical dip changes when it comes to how you decide to run your team offensively, again, defensively, they've pretty much stayed the same this whole time. And honestly, that's Luke Fickel's that's his side of the ball is defense. So, like that part hasn't necessarily been a disaster for him. But but the defense hasn't been good either because they really can't get players like they want to because they're not getting the results on the field since he has started working there that they want it, they have that they have needed to have in order to get the recruiting up to a certain level. So the offense has been such a detriment on to the school in general, on top of the fact that they we brought in so many different schools, obviously, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington. Like those are all schools that are like right around right around where Wisconsin would be normally in the Big Ten. And then to a certain degree, Oregon being above them and Washington and uh USC like being around the same level, if not above, on top of the fact that Wisconsin can't sit on the Big Ten West every single year and just beat up on the bad teams on that side of the Big Ten anymore. All those things have kind of come together to create a situation where Wisconsin was going to be bound to not be able to live up to the expectations they have built up for themselves over the last 10 to 15 years or so. So that on top of the offensive problems that they have had with change in the offense and all that, like all of it has turned to like everybody was thinking that this has been a borderline disaster for Wisconsin and Luke Fickle as a marriage, even though at the time when they hired him, he was coming off of being very successful at the University of Cincinnati, getting them to a playoff, all of that being the case, like everybody thought that was a slam dunk hire, and it has not been that by any stretch of the imagination. So everybody was pretty in on the fact that it's not gone well, and everybody was waiting for the time, like, hey, when are they going to when are they going to make their throw their hat in the ring of trying to get a new coach in this coaching cycle? Which it hasn't happened as of yet, and everybody's like, oh, are they really going to because there had been rumblings that Wisconsin was going to try and hold on to Luke Fickle and try to give him another year and see how it goes. But like when you were looking at how bad it has gone, especially this year, where they have looked absolutely awful, there was no reason like to no, sorry, not any reason, but there wasn't a s a solid reason to believe that there was they were truly going to stick with him until yesterday, where they came out with the news that they were actually going to stick with Fickle for next year. And on one hand, why? It doesn't make any sense if this is potentially going to be your your what you're going to do sometime in the future, why not do it now? On top of all the other things I had said, is like what what is he going to be able to do from this year to next year to make a huge difference for what like how this team is going to look. On top of the offensive issues, on top of the fact they've had such bad quarterback luck, I think every quarterback they have brought in over the last two or three years, they've all gotten hurt early and like can't play for the rest of the year. So I just don't know how they are going to fix anything that has been a problem with them with the Luke Fickel and Wisconsin marriage over the last few years. I just don't know what's going to change. But along with that news, they're saying there is a going to be a significant what it what was the word they were look what was the words they used. I'll make sure I say it right. There they will be an increased an increased investment in the roster and program. So they're just going to throw more money at it and see if that fixes it. Which I guess to a certain extent, money will help because at when it comes to recruiting nowadays, bringing in these young men from high school, money is now a thing with NIL and everything like that in the transfer portal and everything. So money is a part of it, so money can fix the problem to a certain extent. But now he has to make another offensive defense, like another offensive coordinator hire at some point. And can they get the right guy to be on that side of the ball? Who knows that that's going to be something that'll work out? And heck, they'll have to bring in another quarterback. Will they be able to bring in a quarterback that won't get hurt early on and miss the rest of the year? Or do they have already have a guy on the roster? Like all of these things coming together. I just don't know how their prospects are going to change next year based off of what they're having. It's been so bad this year. Like, unless they are going to like pull a Colorado and like literally change everything on the roster, tell everybody that they don't want to go and that they're going to bring in a whole new team. Like, I just don't know how it's going to change going into next year. I just don't I don't know. And like and then the one thing that I did come up with that maybe makes sense is that maybe that Wisconsin looking at all the other teams that now have coaching vacancies that are going to be looking for head coaches, maybe they decided, hey, we're going to be so low on that totem pool for getting the guy that we want. Maybe if we wait a year and throw our hat in the ring next year, there won't be as many coaching vacancies, which means we'll be higher up on the list for any coach out there looking for a head coaching job. There's not going to be obviously so many different options that'll be better than what we were able to bring when it comes to what this job is. And heck, when I was thinking about like if Wisconsin was going to come open, I was thinking of a guy like Pat Fitzgerald, the former uh Northwestern head coach that he had his little issues with hazing and stuff like that with the players, and then they fired him, saying that he was responsible. But Pit Pat Fitzgerald always maintained that, hey, I knew nothing about it, and that I shouldn't be held accountable for something that was help being done by coaches below me, on top of the players doing it themselves, and he had a whole lawsuit of that, and he won the lawsuit. So apparently he was able to prove that he was there was enough plausible deniability for him to for them to say that he knew nothing about it and that he wouldn't condone that if he did know. So, with that being the case, like I thought that he would be a real option for a place like Wisconsin if it came open. Or like I wouldn't say Penn Sake, I think Penn State's a little bit too big of a job for a guy like him. But Wisconsin, like, would be a perfect spot because he is coming from Northwestern where they have their academics uh that they have to worry about because they have such a high academic uh standard that all players have to go in and like abide by going in. So that really cuts the talent pool that you can go for for from col from high school like in half, if not in two thirds, based off of the academic stuff. But being able to go potentially go to a place like Wisconsin where the academics aren't necessarily as big of an issue, and then they have more money and resources, way more money and resources than a place like Northwestern does. Like, I thought that a something like that would be a perfect fit, but apparently Wisconsin is not willing to take the leap and fire Luke Fickle and go into that maybe dark void of not really having an obvious answer as to who your head coach is going to be. Like that, that I get the idea that you have to take a chance, and like then you have to worry about is a guy like Pat Fitzgerald or whoever they decide to fall in love with, is there gonna be a better job out there for them to take that then will take them out of running of the running for us? So, like that part I kind of understand to a certain extent, but I just don't know. Like, you're only taking like this is gonna be the answer at some point. There is no way that he's gonna be able to fix this in a year's time, and then they're gonna be be all in on hey, Luke Fickel is our guy for the future. So, like you're only gonna be another you're kicking the can down the road for another year, and it just makes it that much harder for whoever is gonna come next to then rebuild this program back up. Again, it's easier with with how the transfer portal and how like how recruiting is nowadays, so like it's a lot more money-based. So maybe you can, but it's been proven that you can flip around a team a lot faster than what you usually could. Usually it used to be like a three-year time span type of thing. Now, multiple teams, including like places like Indiana, have proven that you can really turn around a team very quickly if you do it the right way, do it smartly, and you pay have enough money to make it happen, but and you have the right coach to make it happen. But I don't know. It was just it was a weird thing to come out yesterday that I was very surprised about in general. But it like I said, maybe they just decided, hey, next year is gonna be the year for us, and they're gonna do that. But I'm just like, it's at what cost? Like, they always say it cannot get much worse from here, but it like it can. Like it can get worse, and I just I just don't know. It's definitely uh uh definitely a choice that I wouldn't necessarily agree with. But again, I'm an Ohio State fan. I'm I'm sitting pretty where I'm at right now, so I don't know. Maybe my my opinion doesn't matter on this scenario whatsoever. I'm not gonna be crazy enough to believe that anybody out there think is thinking looking for my opinion, but it's definitely a weird choice. Weird choice for sure. And is there any other st Brian Kelly had gotten asked by went on social media saying the journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there. And then he also said that sometimes the journey does not end the way we hope. Man, that guy Brian Kelly is hilarious, and I don't think he's trying to be. I I just he has been unliked everywhere he has gone. Every time he has gone from one place to the other or things have come out, there has been nobody positively like anybody that's been associated with him that has come to his defense whatsoever. When he went from Notre Dame to LSU, there was nobody crying, like they people were surprised because you lose there's not many coaches that will leave a place like Notre Dame to go to LSU because both of those jobs are looked at as like top ten jobs in the country. But nobody was crying about him leaving, there was nobody singing his praisings saying, Hope he ho I hope that they succeed in the next spot. And then now that he's he got fired from LSU, again, another time where there is nobody crying about him losing his job. There's nobody coming to his defense talking about how good of a coach he is. Again, to a certain degree, like he's done enough in the sport of college football where he is a I don't think I can I don't think uh anybody can make a point that he is not a good coach. Right? I I he is a good coach, but he is not well liked. His players don't like him. Prior players he has had over the years, there's nobody that's really come to that man's defense and s and said that anything that has been said about him when it comes to how unlikable he is and all of that, nobody has said anything to the contrary about how he is, how what he is as a human when it comes to personality-wise as a human and as a head coach. So I just with him coming out with that social media statement, it just doesn't doesn't it just screams at it screams a lack of personal uh what what is the word I was looking for? No, uh personal lack of personal awareness, lack of self-awareness, that's the word. That's that's what I was looking for. It just screams a lack of self-awareness from him, and I think he's shown that from all the stops that he has been at. He's like that dude in the meme that said, like what was that me? I I like I just don't know. It is he just doesn't know where he is wrong in the situation. I feel like that does point itself as to why he has had so many like bad spots where like he's done enough to make you think they should be good, and then things just don't end out end well like they're supposed to. So I don't know. When he comes out with that, just screams a lack of self-awareness that I think you need to have to a certain degree when you are in charge as as much uh as a head coach is you need to be aware of like what's going on around you and what you are to everybody else, and it just screams from every spot he has been that that has not been the case. Alright, so is there any other story I want to talk about here? Not really. Colorado is gonna start their true freshman quarterback, Julian Lewis, against West Virginia West Virginia this week. Colorado has been a kind of a terrible football team this year, and especially with the quarterback position, they've been going back and forth with multiple different guys. And then the guy, Julian Lewis, he was the five-star quarterback that they managed to bring in in the recruiting class last year. So it feels like they're finally comfortable enough to throw him out there, or things are bad enough to where you can't make it much worse. So at least you're gonna throw him out there, give them a chance to play and see if they can try to salvage something here. On top of the fact that uh Deion Sanders has been dealing with his own health issues, so he hasn't really been with the team for a little while. So you have to like that is also another thing going in going on with this team. I don't know. Julian Lewis, like he was, like I said, a five-star prospect, but teams that were with him were kind of falling off on him because of his size and little things like that. When it comes to high school recruiting, there's a lot of different factors, especially quarterbacks. A lot of coaches and a lot of schools are looking for different things, and and one thing that's very true about recruiting, there's always a newer, shinier, bigger toy out there to go get. So Julian Lewis kind of fell off the face of the earth for like not the he didn't fall off the face of the earth. He was still a five-star, like he was or a high four-star, depending on what you're looking at. But he was losing a little bit of the shine that he had when it was earlier on, where he was he was committed to L USC at one point, and then he followed off, fell off a little bit, ended up uh going to Colorado, and then he really was not a part of the plan at all for at quarterback until recently, where things have not gone well, and they're like, hey, let's just throw this kid a bone and see if he can do something that the other guys that we have in our roster have not been able to. So I don't know, it's just weird, especially with the fact that he's as talented as he is. Why wouldn't they have gone to him sooner earlier on in the year where they still had a chance to like really turn things around? I don't know. It's weird, but I think that whole situation, I'm not saying Dion has done a bad job there. I just think once he loses, like once Shador leaves, once Travis Hunter leaves, and they start losing some of those more talented guys that they had brought in early on in the process of Dion going to Colorado, and if he wasn't gonna show a propensity to really want to go out there and recruit the way you need to to help keep uh keep the team what is the word I'm looking for? Keep the team uh plush with talent, like you'd gotta be willing to do that in some way, and you can't necessarily sit there and rely on the portal every year. So, like with Dion not really being one to want to recruit and all that, and that's there was a point where it was gonna get to this no matter what. The question was how long it was going to be until we got there, and it just seems that once Shador left and once Travis Hunter left, it went there pretty quickly. So who knows? I'm not gonna sit here and like try to speculate on whether this they'll like Dion won't be there anymore or anything like that because there's too many differ different outside things going on that I just don't feel comfortable with going into. Not necessarily when it comes to like me getting out bad information, but there's no way to know everything going on with that with that organization, with that, with that co with Dion when it comes to his health issues. There's just a lot going on, I just don't want to just necessarily go into without having all the information out there. So let's go ahead and talk about some games here because we do have games coming up this weekend. Uh on the last pod, we just we I talked about the College for Wild playoff rankings and I went through all that. Talk about how there's a lot of SEC teams ranked that I thought it was probably a little too. I think there was like nine in the top 25, probably a bit too much. And then you had some teams that are a little higher than others. I thought Oregon was a little bit low. Texas, I think I made the mistake of thinking that Texas and Oklahoma were put in the wrong spot, but Texas beat Oklahoma. So I thought I thought I messed up on that one. I thought that Oklahoma had beat Texas, but I didn't remember that right. So if I did go wrong on that, I apologize. But here's the thing about the 12-team playoff, which was which was proven last year, is if things start seeming a little bit too condensed in a certain area, because it's 12 teams, there's so much more action that you have to keep a track of. I think it's proven that you have to like a lot of things are gonna change. Like teams still have to play each other. It's we're only week 10 into the year. Well, not week 10. What week are we in in college football? Hold on. Schedule. We're in week 11 already? It's week 11? That's crazy. Uh man, I'll maybe I was okay. Yeah, you're right. Because NFL's week 10, college football started a week earlier. Okay, that's on me. Totally forgot about that. So week 11, we have another three weeks after this week. So, like, we still have a lot of football left to play. So, with all that being the case, is that like even with all these rankings coming out, which I think obviously it's a ratings grabber when every when they're doing the college football playoff rankings every week, I'm glad they do it later on in the year. They don't do it every week from starting from week one, because there's so much that has to happen from week one to week 14 that it doesn't make sense. But the fact they do it starting in week 10, week 11 is definitely a good thing. You at least get a nice little baseline of like what every team has done throughout most of their season. But I think even doing it this early is a little bit of a ratings grab because I'm like, there's still so much that can change. Like, really, all they really need to do is maybe be maybe do like the last like two weeks of the of the regular season, and then after the conf conference championship games, like that's really probably all they need to do. But again, it's ESPN and all that, so the idea of them not going after ratings and having something like this go on and like not publicize it and do it on television was not gonna happen. So that's all I got on that. But as I was talking about, there are plenty of games to talk about and more this week. So let's go ahead and go through with them, talk about them, give you at least my lean on them, and then we'll go from there. So, first one, Indiana going to Penn State. Uh, this is all done by time, by the way. This is how it's kind of done on that um site that I'm on, so I'll we'll do it based off of that. I'm not really going from like best game to worst game. If that if you're listening for the first time, that's not usually how I do it. All right, Indiana going to Penn State. Penn State has had five straight losses. They have their team has their season has gone to ruin. I think last week Penn State did show a little bit of fight, especially in that first half against Ohio State. It was on the road, too. So it was not necessarily the environment for Penn State to really go into and like think they were really gonna win that game, but they did put up a good fight, which I mentioned on the last, not the last pod. No, it was the last pod. So now they are gonna be at home and they have number two Indiana coming, which is crazy. The fact that you have both Ohio State and Indiana playing you back-to-back weeks is kind of insane. Again, no way that anybody was gonna think that Indiana was gonna be a top five, let alone the number two team in all of college football at this point in the year. So that part is a little bit up in the air. Like, there's no way anybody was gonna think that was gonna happen, but it's just crazy how the bad luck has kind of worked out for Penn State where they are on five straight losses, and it looks like six is coming. So you have number two Indiana coming to town for Penn State, and things have gone all the way downhill. No, James Franklin's no longer there. The quarterback position doesn't look great because uh uh Joe Aller isn't playing because of his injury, so like all these things coming together to where this is a bad spot for Penn State. I think they're at 14 and a half play underdog against Indiana. They're at home, so maybe they can have that going their way, but who knows how much the fans are like looking for like if the fans for Penn State, like if they're down a couple scores going into halftime or going into like after the end of the third quarter, I think those fans can turn on that team really quick. So like if Penn State can't get up for this game and really like give the fans something to watch, it they can turn on them pretty quickly. But again, I'm looking at Indiana on the other side, like one thing Indiana has proven at every single point this year is that if they have a tomato can in front of them, they are going to treat them as such, and Indiana's gonna do what they have to do. So if Penn State can't really change the outlook of what their team looks like coming into this game, I don't see it going much different for Penn State than what it looked like last week against Ohio State. So I really do think Indiana could come in the air, dominate it at the lines of scrimmage, run, run and throw the football. Because no matter what Penn State decides to try to want to take away, Indiana has shown an ability to not throw the football with if you're gonna give them to give them that, or if you're gonna try to take the throw away, they're gonna run the football as well. I think they have like five, 300-yard games this year when it comes to running the football. So like they're more than happy to run the football as well. Indiana's defense is not necessarily the same as Ohio State, so maybe Penn State might be able to do a little bit more offensively, but like still, I just don't think it's gonna make much of a difference. I think Indiana's gonna probably come in that game and dominate, and it's gonna be a sixth straight loss for Penn State. I think it'll be more of a surprise if Penn State makes this game close, let alone pulls off a crazy upset that I just don't see happening. Next game, you got Georgia going to Mississippi State. This is a little bit of a letdown spot for Georgia potentially because Georgia is going to Mississippi State. I think they play Texas next week. So they do have a bigger opponent on the horizon if they're going to look ahead. So and Mississippi State has proven itself to be a very tough out all season long. And I think their record in one-score games is like super bad. Mississippi State is so far this year, and Georgia has been living in winning one one-score games throughout the season. So if Georgia starts overlooking Mississippi State, Mississippi State has a decent offense. I think their offense is actually, I'm not gonna say is like high powered or anything, but if you take them lightly, they definitely can come up and bite you and like do some things. The question is for Mississippi State's defense is like, can they hold up? I'm not saying Georgia's offense is great or anything, but when they do decide to lock in and like really start trying to score points, they can, and if Mississippi State has proven it, nothing else is that their defense is not going to be able to hold on to a lead at all throughout throughout their season so far this year. So if Mississippi really wants a chance to win this game, they're at home, so they do have the home field advantage on their side with all the cowbells and everything. But what one thing Georgia has made everybody prove this year is that like if you want to beat them, you gotta cut the head off the snake. You can't let them, you gotta beat them in the head of the shovel, bury them, and then hit them again. Like you can't you can't let up at all because if you give Georgia any little any little bit of air to come back and win a football game, even if they're behind, they will. Because Georgia, even if they're not as talented as they've been in in years past, they're still a talented enough team, and it they know how to win. They have a culture there that has proven itself to like, hey, if you give us a chance, we're gonna take it. So if Mississippi State really wants to do something and like really shock the world and beat Georgia in this game, they have to go out there and take it. They're not like Georgia's not gonna hand it to them whatsoever. But again, there's a reason why Georgia's almost a 10-point favorite, but I do think Mississippi State can make it a game. The question is, can Mississippi State take advantage of whenever opportunity comes their way? Because George, like I heard this saying about Georgia from a different podcast I was listening to, was that Georgia is like a drunk person on the edge, uh walking off walking on the edge of a cliff. Like it's just they're like, it's waiting for disaster to happen, but they've just managed to hold on every single week. So if Georgia keeps doing this, like Mississippi State does have a chance to like get the job done, but again, Mississippi State has to finish it. So uh I I do lean Georgia win that game though. Next one we got is BYU, number seven BYU going to play number eight Texas Tech. Top 10 matchup between these two teams, and this is at Texas Tech, so I do kind of lean Texas Tech to win the game. BYU has proven itself like they're undefeated this year, so like they have been a team that has through all odds, have found a way to win every single game that they have played this year, some in very close fashion, and I just think that BYU also has proven to be that team that even if they're not better than you, you you better not give them a chance to win because they'll find a way. But I just think Texas Tech is a much better football team, and I especially with ha them having their quarterback back, their number one core QB back, I just think that you know, along with the fact that Texas Tech is so good on the offensive and defensive lines, I do think they'll be able to control this game. I think that they should be able to jump on BYU early and like really take this game away to where B BYU does not see a chance to really win. And as long as you do that, I think Texas Tech has enough talent around them to like on that team to like go ahead and get the job done and like really like separate from BYU to where them coming back and winning won't be an option. But again, we've seen crazier things happen. But I do lean Texas Tech to win that game. There's a better football team from top to bottom. Um, let's see here. Next game. I'm only mentioning this, it's not really this game is really a game, but I'm mentioning because Ohio State's Ohio State, and I'm an Ohio State fan. Ohio State going to Purdue to play them. I think Ohio State's a 30 and a half point favorite in this game. I think Ohio State's gonna obviously win this game, cover the spread. I don't know. Like they've covered every single week, so like they have been doing their job and covering any spread that's been put in front of them. But 30 is a lot of points, but Purdue's really bad. So I'm gonna make my bet on Ohio State to cover that spread. I think if Ohio State does this right and they do what they have to do, they're gonna do everything they need to in the first half, get uh Julian Sand and Jeremiah Smith their stats so they can still stay on the Heisman run that they have been going on. Julian Sand being number one in the Heisman list so far, when it so far this season, they're gonna do enough, get the job done by halftime, and hopefully maybe get give them a couple a couple drives in the second half and then give it all to the second string guys and go let them do their do their thing. This is a game, especially with with what Ohio State has left in their season. I think getting through this game with without any injuries is probably the biggest deal. Covering this better not really doesn't matter. Getting close is probably a good thing, but it the best thing is for Ohio State, win this game, get it over with early, get your second and third strings in to get them some snaps, and look on to playing the next couple of games because the way the season is going right now, you have Purdue. I think they play UCLA next week, and then they have Rutgers, and then Michigan sitting at the end of the end of the regular season. And again, the only game that really matters, like truly, like I'm not gonna say really matters because every game matters. And I think Ryan Day as the head coach has said that literally every single game is to not take anybody lightly so you can go out there, get the job done the way you need to, and not get shocked like some other teams have done throughout this year, Miami. But so I'm I'm not gonna say the games don't matter, but I'm saying the the truly like that the game that scares you is obviously Michigan with Ryan Day's recent struggles with Michigan over the last five, four or five years or so. So that is the game that Ohio State really needs to be getting ready for. On top of that, maybe the Big Ten championship, as long as everything goes Ohio State's way. So working on the things they need to work on, getting building depth and getting the guys on in the second and third strings out there to get some playing time is always gonna be very important. And it's just staying healthy in general, I think, I think should be Ohio State's number one goal. Number two, getting Max Clare a bunch of targets and everything because he came from Purdue, where he was like the number one weapon for that Purdue offense over the last couple years. So getting Max Clare his targets and letting him go out there and show out in front of a home in front of a crowd he showed out in front of for years would be a very good thing. So get Max Clare a stats on top of Julian Sand and um Jeremiah Smith and Carnel take, because you gotta let him do his thing. And then go out get out of there with a win and being healthy is the most important thing. How the hell is Olmus playing the Citadel this week? Absolutely insane to see. It's insane. The Citadel Olmis, really. Um next game, we got Texas AM going to face number two Missouri, number three Tex AM going to face number 22 Missouri. AM on being undefeated this year and everything has proven itself to be a very dangerous team. Missouri this year had been a good team. They did lose their quarterback a couple weeks ago, so that's going to be something they're gonna have to deal with. So the question is, is can Tex AM go in here and take in they're going to Missouri, so can they go into that game, knock Missouri out early, and win this game the way they need to, is the question. Because AM's defense has not necessarily been like, let's see. Their defense has not been locked down this year. They've had some troubles, they're a little leaky, so and it's not like Missouri, it's usually against the pass, not necessarily getting beat up on the run. I don't know. I think Missouri, like, if they can get their offense going and really run the football the way they want to, like, think it makes it a little bit easier. But who knows at quarterback what they're going to be looking like without the main guy they had coming into the year, Bo Prabula being his name. And I just think Tech AM should definitely win this game. But, you know, there's always a little bit of like shakiness with AM because they have been known to lose late season games that they shouldn't lose. That kind of ruins their season. Again, one loss won't ruin the season for Tech SM because all of their goals will still be in front of them when it comes to potentially getting into the SCC's championship game and then winning, going into a playoff and everything. But again, Tech SM should win this game. These are six and a half point favorites. So Vegas is saying there is a real chance for Missouri to make this a game, but I do lean Tech SM to win that game. Because Marcel Reid is an absolutely electric quarterback, and he's not he's not efficient when it comes to throwing the football, but he is very explosive. Like when he does throw, he will push the ball down the field, he will get you some big plays in the passing game, as well as him running the football with his legs. So I think Tech Sem should win this football game, but Missouri can make it close if Texan does not show up. Next one we got is number nine, Oregon going to number two, uh number 20, Iowa. Like I did say, I did think Oregon was a little bit under underranked to a certain degree because I I felt like they should have been a little should have been a little bit higher. Their one loss was to the number two team in Indiana. So, but again, they've struggled in other games this year. I think they only beat Wisconsin by like one score, I think. No, it's already two scores. They beat him 21 to 7. But they've had some weird games where like, oh, they probably like it's a little bit closer than what people think it should be when you're thinking of how dominant Oregon has been in years past. But they are going to Iowa, who is a very disciplined football team. Their offense is not gonna be explosive, they're gonna want to run the football. Their throwing game is not necessarily gonna be strong, but if you give something to them, they will take it. They do have a little bit better quarterback play than what they've had in years past. And then defensively for Iowa, they're gonna like you're not gonna beat them with big plays, like they're not gonna be stupid. Like they're not gonna hand you big plays in general. So Oregon has had to go in there, they're gonna have to earn it. And I think if they do get any big plays, it will be because their players are forcing it to happen, not necessarily because Iowa's gonna give it to them. And the way the weather has turned out, because that's been one of those things that has been talked about, is that it's gonna be colder, it's gonna be some rain, things are not gonna be sitting there sitting pretty for Oregon when it comes to throwing the football over the place and like having a high flying offense. So if things are kind of looking a little bit gross when it comes to the weather side of things, can Oregon adjust? Can Oregon keep running the football the way they need to? They can. They have a very good running game, Oregon does, but Iowa will make it tough and they'll make Oregon earn it. And will Oregon take the little, the little what is it? Take the little gains and then try to build up for the big ones at the end, is what Oregon is going to be challenged to do. I think they'll be able to. I think this game will be close. They're only favored by six and a half, so I think Vegas definitely believes that Iowa can definitely make this a game. But I do lean Oregon. I do think Dante Moore will be able to get enough big passes out there. He hasn't, people have been looking at him as like one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football, and I'm like, it hasn't looked that good. But I do think he could, if you give him a chance, he will make the throws that are there, and as long as you don't put too much on his shoulders in a bad spot in bad weather, I do think Oregon should be able to win this game because I just don't think Iowa has enough offensively to challenge Oregon. And if they do have a very good special team, so like if you do give them a few big special teams plays, this game can get a little bit get hairy really fast. But as long as Oregon is uh safe when it comes to special teams and not giving up any big plays to Iowa, I think Oregon should be able to win this football game. Um, next game got Syracuse going to Miami, number 18, Miami. I'm only mentioning this game because Miami has proven itself to be a team to lose these types of games. They've lost two games over the last three weeks. The first one was to Louisville, who has shown itself to be a pretty good football team, and they got beat by SMU last week in overtime in a game they definitely should not have lost when it comes to like on paper, not necessarily because of how the game played out. The game played out, they should have lost because they played terribly. Um, but Miami is a 28 and a half point favorite in this game. They should go in here, take care of business because Miami does not have their own their own future in their hands anymore. They have to go out there and get the job done every week to maybe even have a chance for the committee to get them into the playoffs and all that as a as a uh at-large because there's no way Miami's getting into the big uh the ACC championship game as of how it's looking right now. So Miami needs to go out there, get the job done, and do it in pretty impressive fashion, and then hope that it'll be enough and they'll have enough, they'll need a little bit of uh chaos to happen in front of them when it comes to the teams in front of them in the playoff uh ranking. So they need a lot of a lot of help along with Miami keep winning to have Miami keep winning games. But I don't know, man. It's weird. They they should win this game against Syracuse, but it's just they need a lot of help. I don't think they're gonna get it this year. I really don't. Um let's see, next game. Do I care about Auburn going to play Vandy? Probably not. Vandy's coming off that loss to Texas. I think that Auburn doesn't have nearly enough offensively to go ahead and go into Vandy and Sutton and play them. Vanderbilt is such a much different team to play at home than when they do have to go on the road. And unfortunately, Auburn has to go to Vandy's. So I do think Vandy should probably win that game because I just don't think Auburn has enough offensively to like really scare Vanderbilt. Because Vandy doesn't necessarily have an amazing defense, but I just don't think Auburn offensively has like an explosive offense at all. So as long as Vandy can keep everybody in front of them in tackle like they needed to, because they didn't do that in the first half against Texas and then got dug it dug deep into a hole because their defense just could not stop the big plays from happening. But as long as Vandy can do that in this game against Auburn, they should be able to win. And then let's see here. LSU going to play Alabama, number four Alabama. LSU season is over, they don't have a head coach. They're gonna like everything LSU in this game has the opportunity that Penn State in the last game had. Because everybody was looking at Penn State really didn't have an opportunity to win that football game, but they did have an opportunity to like really have their last gasp of air of like, hey, we're gonna put our all into this game, we're gonna play our at least when it comes to the players, right? They're gonna go in, practice weekle, they'll practice the hardest they've ever practiced, knowing they're coming in to play Alabama on the road, hostile environment. LSU has talent on this team still. Like, that is not their issue. They LSU is a talented football team. Their offensive line is awful, and that that's like the biggest problem with their offense. And I think their offense in general has not just not been consistent this year. But like they are not a terrible football team. They're not. And it heck, Bama has lost to a worse football team this year. Bama lost to Florida State literally week one of the season. So, like, can LSU wake up for this, get off the mat for this game, and like really put out their best effort for one last one last time, and like really try to go out there and shock the world and beat a team like Alabama, who has been rolling over the last four or five weeks. Like, can they do that? I just like they have the talent to, but I just don't think they'll probably be able to put it together. There's a reason why Alabama's a 10 and a half point favorite, and like I think Bama offensively is an absolute juggernaut of a team. Ty Simpson, the quarterback for them, is making all very good decisions and pushing the ball down the field. They can't really run the football. That's one of the issues that they do have for this Alabama team. So like maybe LSU can kind of like I don't know. I'm I'm not gonna give LSU really any chance to win the football game, but again, they have talented dudes on that team. Like, and their defense is actually pretty good. So can LSU's defense like slow down Alabama enough to where LSU can like keep this to being like a rock fight in the second half? Maybe we'll see. I wouldn't put money on it, but I just think Alabama's a better football team. They should win this game. But LSU, this is their chance if they want to go ahead and like really put out one last ditch effort to like do something to salvage a season to a certain extent, and nothing's gonna like save their season, but like to something to look at for their team, for those players to be like, hey, at least we did this. They have their opportunity this week against Alabama, but I just don't see them making it happen. Next game you got. I don't think I have anything else I really wanted to go into. Maybe uh Nebraska UCLA. Nebraska's gonna be their first game without having go their first game starting out the game without having Dylan Royola as their quarterback. They're gonna have their backup coming in. Can they, with one week's one week of practice coming off of their loss last week, go ahead and get that quarterback ready so they can come out and play a good football game against UCLA? Again, UCLA has gotten a lot better from what it was earlier on this year, so they are gonna be a team that's gonna give Nebraska a fight. But can Nebraska offensively kind of pull together and kind of get something going enough to go ahead and win this football game at UCLA? That's a definitely a big again. Nebraska doesn't have really any national relevance now with them having three losses already, losing Dylan Royola and all that. But they do need to put out some good show showings for the rest of the year to kind of showing they still have a pulse because they'll be building for next year to where hopefully they'll be able to achieve some of the goals that they are not able to achieve this year. But that's all I got on the games, man. That's all that's all the that's all the games for college that I wanted to talk about. So let's go ahead and get off of this and go to the NFL. Let me go ahead and take a drink here and also check to see if Jace sent me any picks. Not looking good on my on my end here, guys. So it looks like you'll only be able to listen to me and make my picks this time around. So we'll we'll make we'll do what we can. We'll make it work. We'll just make sure we get Jace's picks on the next pod so we can make sure to have those on record. But before we get to the games, let's go ahead. Any news stories I want to talk about before we get into it. Let's see. Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is gonna be going to IR with a neck injury. Definitely a big one, especially with them. The Colts coming off of last week, they definitely need to have a win. And DeForest Buckner is one of their defensive players that definitely makes a huge difference for how this team looks going every week. So that's definitely gonna be a little bit of a loss going into their game. Who do they play? Against Atlanta in Germany. So especially going against that that running game with why am I forgetting his name now, though? Uh Rob Robinson, nope. Uh Bijan. Going against B. John Robinson in that rushing offense, like that's gonna be a big deal to not have him in the fold. Um, but you know, it's IR who'll be gone for a few weeks, so hopefully they'll be able to manage and kind of keep that team going um without him. So they did just trade for Sauce Gardner, so maybe that'll be a little bit of a bump that way, and they'll be able to manage for a little bit, but who knows? Uh, Jaguars, wide receiver, Brian Thomas Jr. is going to be out against the Texans due to an ankle injury. That is a huge hit because Jaguars coming into this game, like already for Houston, they're not gonna have CJ Stroud this week because of the concussion that he uh sustained last week in that game. So he's not gonna be playing for on Houston's side. But the thing is, is that even if they had a much better chance to win that game without CJ playing for Houston, they still have to go against a very, very good Houston defense that has been stingy all year, getting bit making big plays and like really turning the ball over. So not having your best weapon on your side for for Jacksonville is definitely going to be a huge deal. They did just trade for who do they trade for? Um, it was the it was a wide receiver from from uh from the Raiders, right? Yeah. Who was the wide receiver they traded for? Why am I forgetting his name? Um Jaguar. It's Jacoby Myers, yes, they traded for him. So he's gonna be there probably he may not be their number one because of the because him just recently getting there, so there's no way they're gonna just gonna give him all the catches, but they're gonna have to manage. And without him, especially going against a very, very stingy Houston defense, that's gonna be a make it a make the job a lot harder. Will that be enough for me to pick Houston to win that game? I'm not sure. I don't know. That'll be a very tough game, not gonna lie to you. Um, let's see. Any other stories we needed to talk about? The Cowboys, uh the their one player, uh their defensive end, Marshawn Nealand, um dying to an apparent suicide at 24. Absolutely sad story to see. It sucked. It it was it was wild, man, because it's like we see a guy at that a such young age, like everything in front of him, like things were happening. I'm not gonna go into any store details on it, but whenever guys decide that their only option is to go out there and like like do what he did, it just sucks because it's life's precious, man. Like, no matter if you're a religious person or not, life is something that needs to be cherished. And for a fact that one person for things that get so bad in their own head, if not external factors, but internal factors, like a lot of people, a lot of people are dealing with stuff, and it was it was very apparent in this that he was dealing with like some real demons when it comes to what's having happening in his brain, and for whatever reason he felt like he couldn't get out of it, and he decided to make the ultimate decision, and it sucks to see that happen for a guy that had such a bright future. He had just scored a touchdown in the game for the Cowboys last week. So, like it's crazy how things can look like they're going so well, but things can be good inside like what you can't see, things are going much worse. And for a guy to make that decision, it definitely sucks to see because at such a young age, man, it's just like so much life to live, a lot of questions for now his family we're gonna have to live with live with for the rest of their lives, and like that the that's the part that sucks the most about it. So prayers to him and his family, and and anybody that was associated with him, man, because it seems like he was a well-liked individual that like everybody that was around him definitely is feeling it today. So uh that was it's a definite it's it's a sucky thing to happen in this world, man. It's it sucks to anybody feels like that's the answer, but you know, it's just um I don't know. It's it's wild, it's a wild world, you know. So any other stories? Let's go ahead and be a little bit more positive. Let's see. I got nothing else, man. Roma Dunze's dad for the Romadunze, the wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. His dad keeps sending shots at the Bears for how his son is being used in that offense, and because of that, you have the people that are out on the beat for the Chicago Bears coming after coming at him and to ask him, like, does his dad speak for him? And he has to come out and say, Hey, my dad's words don't speak for me, and I'm in my own situation. What he has to say is what he needs to say, but it doesn't have anything to do with me, and it sucks that maybe his dad is telling the truth, maybe not. It is it's like a really funny thing because you had Marvin Harrison Jr.'s father, obviously Marvin Harrison being a NFL legend, um, he had played for the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning. When he speaks and talks about how his son is being misused in the offense that he is in, Marvin Harrison Jr. has a nine-catch day against um who do they play last week? Oh no, who did they play last week? I forget now. No, because it was they were play- Oh, the Cowboys. He goes and has an awesome day against the Cowboys, gets a touchdown catch and everything, and everybody's like, oh, well, maybe his dad was making sense. Because again, his dad, obviously Marvin Harrison Jr.'s dad is a guy that was in the NFL, knows what he's talking about, and has he has the pelts on the wall for you to have to take him seriously when he says stuff like that. But then you're dealing with another guy in Roma Dunze where his dad doesn't have that same cachet. So when he does say those things, and maybe he's right, maybe he's not. I'm not gonna go down the list of whether um I'm not gonna go and try to parse that out, but he has those same type of things, and people have people are a lot more negative about when his dad says something in comparison to what the father for Marvin Marvin Harrison Jr. has to say. So it's just a little bit funny dichotomy because it's again at the end of the day, it's a father wanting to speak up for their son because they want their son to succeed. And if it's again, based on who you are, is what how people take you and how people treat what you have to say. And unfortunately, uh Roma Dunze's father is not somebody that is as looked at as fondly in the NFL and in the NFL news world uh than you know Marvin Harrison Jr.'s dad, with who Marvin Harrison being a well-respected figure, former NFL player that you know is a Hall of Fame legend type of guy. So, you know, it's that it's it's it's it for that, but it's just I'm never gonna blame somebody for like it's not a good look. Like you would hope for people around you, especially if you're in that situation where you're playing for an NFL team and all of that, you would hope for the people around you to not go out and start saying things about it because it only messes up your situation, because at the end of the day, what your family members and people around you say, like, you're the dude that has to answer for it on the back, and nobody is going to his dad at like nobody is like gonna put his dad on the at the podium to like answer questions. It's gonna be him. So it just sucks that your family members put you in that position that now have to answer questions about what my dad says, and if that if that's what he believed, what I believe or not. It's like that part sucks, but it's just you know, it's just you would hope that family members would understand that, but a lot of times their frustration boils over too, and sometimes their only way to get through it is to go out there and make make light of it and make it loud. So, you know, that's it on that. Let's go ahead and start talking about some games because that's what we're here for. So again, doing without doing this without Jace's picks, so hopefully he'll be honest and make his picks, and we'll get it, we'll get his picks for next week. But I have to go through oh, before I make the picks, there's one game we had to react to. Denver. Uh Las Vegas played last night. This was in Denver. So this is a game. Both me and Jace thought that Denver was gonna get the win, and because you know it's it's Denver, and you have Las Vegas who has not looked all that great. They played better last week once they got Brock Bowers back, but there was nobody, at least for me for me and Jace, we neither of us truly believe that was gonna be enough for Las Vegas to win that game, especially with the game being in Denver, just everything going against them, they weren't gonna win that game. But the game that played out last night was a lot closer than anybody, heck, not just me and Jace, but like anybody that watches football, there was no way anybody thought that that's how that game was gonna play out. Um, Denver won the game 10-7, but this game was an absolute slog fest, dude. Especially when you're looking at it, like the Raiders' defense is awful. So Denver should be able to go out there and get whatever they want, either running the football, throwing the football around, and that's not what happened in this game whatsoever. And I'm not it wasn't because the Raiders' defense was playing awesome. It wasn't. Like, this was a there wasn't oh sorry, Bonex did have a couple turnovers, so like that was something that both but Bonex had a big hand in that. But like outside of that, it wasn't like the Raiders defense is like a is a like an amazing defense at all. Like all they have on that's on their side is Max Crosby himself, and that's it. Like he's that like he's their guy. But other than that, they really don't have anybody else that maybe the Devin White, the linebacker being a little bit older, but like he's nowhere near the player he was, but he is a player to a certain degree, he is a good player. But like Denver should have been able to do whatever they wanted in this game, and they could not do it by any means the necessary, like they couldn't. And it was a bad it was a bad spot. Denver came out with the win, but one of the things we've talked about with Denver all year is like their offense will slog and look very terrible for three quarters, and then they'll do enough just at the very end to win the football game. But that even didn't even happen. Like Denver got that first touchdown in the first half, like in the second quarter, but then after that, they got the three points in the third, and like other than that, their defense did absolutely nothing. Bo Nicks, 16-28 for 150 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Like, he did not play well at all, and that's kind of been his whole season until they get into the fourth quarter, and then he'll start playing a lot better in a lot of these football games. But this game just did not work out that way, and they didn't really run the football that effectively. J.K. Dobbins had 18 carries for 77 yards, average averaged a little over four yards to carry. But like, they just couldn't get anything going offensively, and it the Raiders did not. The Raiders had that one touchdown they got very early on in the first quarter in this game, where they they got it was a touchdown run by Ash and Genty, it was a couple yard touchdown run, but Geno Smith didn't play great. He went 16 of 26 for 143 yards, zero touchdowns and a pick. Geno Smith got sacked six times for like 29 yards lost in total. So like Geno Smith didn't play well at all. Ash and Genty, 19 carries for 60 yards. Like, he wasn't all that effective. He had the one touchdown, but other than that, they really didn't have anything. Brock Bowers had one catch for 31 yards. Tyler Lockett was a leading receiver in this game with five catches and 44 yards, but they didn't even really get much going on in the air either. So like the Raiders were not going to unless the Broncos gave it to them, the Raiders were not gonna win this football game. But the fact that Denver struggled so mightily in this game last night was absolutely insane to see. And not insane, but it's just sad because we've seen the Broncos struggle in other games against worse teams, better. I'm not gonna maybe the Raiders may be one of the worst teams they played this year. Hold on, let me see. Um, they've played somewhere, they played the Titans this year and they beat them only by eight points, and they only beat the Jets by two. Like the Jets is definitely a worse team. So we have seen them struggle against worse teams. Like we have. So this isn't necessarily surprising to see them struggle, but I'm just sitting here like, man. You would think by this point of the season they would have their offense figured out enough to at least be able to like not be in like a slog fest 10 to 7 on a Thursday night. I don't I don't I just don't know. It's a weird one. Uh I've never really been a true believer in Bo Nicks, and again, he is so hit hot and cold, man. When he's hot, he'll they look their offense will look totally different. But when he's cold, man, they their their offense is as bad as anybody's, and it's just wild to see, especially with all the different weapons that they have on that offense. Pat Bryant was their leading receiver with one catch and 43 yards. Troy Franklin had five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown, so he was probably the most productive of any of the receivers that they had. But Cortland Sutton, three catches, 24 yards. Evan Ingram, two catches, 12 yards. RJ Harvey, like their young running back that is like very good out of the backfield, two catches, nine yards. So I'm just like, it was just it was sad to see the Denver not be able to be any different against a team that like you. Everybody is everybody knows they're obviously better than. And the Raiders really didn't do anything to even like earn them this game being as close as it was. But it's just Denver made it a lot harder, man. They just couldn't get the job done and like get it done where they needed to. So this this game was a slog fest. It was boring to watch. It was terrible. It was bad football. Bad football all around. This was not two defenses going back and forth and like the offenses just struggled. But this this was two offenses not being able to do their jobs. And it was the Denver defense did their thing, though, I will say that. But again, the Denver defense is always going to do what they were going to do. But again, it's a bad Raiders team. So you can't even give the defense that much credit because it's like the Raiders look have looked bad against everyone. I guess I'll give them one piece of credit is that Brock Bowers only getting one catch for 31 yards was awesome because Brock Bowers has been a guy that when he is playing and when he is healthy, you're not going to be able to stop him. But the Denver defense definitely put a lid on him to where he wasn't going to be a reason that they were going to be close or even win this football game. So like I'll give the Denver defense credit for that. But other than that, like Denver did what they were supposed to do. Not a lot of credit given for that, because this lot of Raiders' defense, I mean offense has not been great all year, and Gino has been struggling for most of the year. So I don't know. It was a bad game. It was definitely a bad Thursday night game, to be totally honest with you. But that's about it on that. Let's go ahead and get to the rest of the games here. Make our picks and all. First one we got is Atlanta going to. No, not going to. Atlanta is playing Indianapolis. This game is going to be in Germany. You have Atlanta coming off of they have bye last week, or they no, they played last week. Now I gotta check and see what the game was. Uh you got they played New England last week and lost. So you got Atlanta coming off of their loss against New England, and then you have uh Indianapolis coming off of their loss against Pittsburgh. So now you're going both these teams having to make the journey all the way to Germany. That was funny. Didn't mean to make that happen, but it happened anyway. Both these teams having to go there. How do I see this game going? Because Indianapolis does not have DeForest Buckner, their guy in the their defensive tackle, I do think Atlanta's gonna be able to get the job done running the football a little bit better. They do have Sauce Gardner now, so they do have a they do have a guy that'll be able to be across from Oh no. Why am I forgetting their names? Uh Drake London. So they do have a guy now that'll be across from Drake London, but I like I've already said when they made the trade, is that not like Sauce Gardner has been awesome this year. He has been struggling, and he will be healthy, he'll be able to be able to play, and I'm not he probably will have a pretty easy transition because his job on that defense will just go to go out there and just shadow the best receiver, follow him around and do what he has to do. But I don't know, man. Like this could easily be a game where Indianapolis comes into this game, gets their offense back on track. Daniel Jones looks like him again, at least for the him that we have seen for most of this year, and they should go out there and win the game pretty handedly. But from what I saw last week against Pittsburgh is that like their offense can crumble if you get a little bit of pressure on them. But my only question is that do I think Atlanta has anywhere near the amount of guys to be able to put the pressure on Daniel Jones in that offense the way that Pittsburgh did? Even though I don't think that's Pittsburgh every week. That was a new thing this year for that defensive line for Pittsburgh to put enough put as much pressure on Indianapolis as they did. So I just don't think Atlanta's going to be able to do that. So I am going to go with Indianapolis to win that game. Just because both of these teams go into Germany, I just think Indianapolis has a running game they could probably rely on a little bit more. I don't think Atlanta has a defense that can stop once they get Jonathan Taylor going for Indianapolis. Do I think Atlanta has a defense that can stop the run like that? I don't think so. So I'm going to lean on Indiana to uh get kind of get back on track and win that game. Next one we got is the New York Giants going to Chicago to play them. Caleb Williams and the Bears coming off of their big, not was it a big win? No, not necessarily. It was a shocking win based on how it kind of went. A back and forth affair against the Cincinnati Bengals to win that game, and you have the Giants coming off of their loss to I think it was San Fran. So they're coming off their last their bad loss to San Francisco. So how do I see this game playing out? It's in Chicago, so I am going to give Chicago probably the little bit of a nod there. But the New York Giants, they've been a feisty team all year. And especially not all year, but ever since they threw Jackson Darden there, I think he really has given them a bump when it comes to just play on the field, juice, and everything like that. They did lose Cam Scadaboo. And I think they should be able to run the football, the Giants will, because Chicago's defense has not all been that consistent this year. But I just do I think that the Giants have a defense that can stop Chicago, and especially now that Chicago has really found a running game to a certain extent. I'm not going to sit here and say that Caleb Williams is going to like guarantee, like I'm not going to guarantee that Caleb Williams will go in there and like dice up the New York Giants secondary. That has obviously been bad this year. I'm not going to guarantee that. But Chicago has found a rushing offense that has balanced the offense out to where Caleb Williams does not have to have all the pressure on his shoulders. So I think with all that being the case, I will pick Chicago to win that game. But I would not be surprised if New York Giants have kind of pulled off the upset there. Chicago's only a four and a half point favorite. So even Vegas does think that there is a chance for the Giants to really make that game a close one. But because the Bears have been up and down. Other times they've looked terrible. And the Bears' defense also looked like garbage in that game against the Bengals. Like again, that game was not about defenses making plays at all last week when the Bears pulled off the uh win against uh Cincinnati. So the Giants with Jackson Dart, he can make plays with his feet and getting the ball to his guys. Again, they don't really have great receivers, but they do have Theo Johnson, and then they have a couple wide receivers, like you have the why am I forgetting the one wide receiver's name, Wandale Robinson, who is a very consistent guy for that Giants offense. So I wouldn't be surprised if it's a back and forth affair. And but I do th I do lean Chicago to win that game. Next game, Buffalo going to Miami. Let's be honest, it's Buffalo, man. It's Buffalo all the way. You have Buffalo coming off of their big win against Kansas City last week. You got Miami coming off of their let's see here. Miami coming off of their beatdown from the Baltimore Ravens. Oh yeah, that was that was not a pretty one. So I think Buffalo getting things back together, coming off the bye, coming, and then beating Kansas City last week. I just don't think Miami's gonna have anything to kind of stop, like throw Buffalo off at all. I think Buffalo's gonna come into that game. They're gonna run the football with Cook and they're gonna dominate that way, and they're gonna be able to win this game pretty comfortably. And I think they're gonna keep the offense moving, and then that the defense is gonna go out there and just like, because again, Miami is just not a consistent offense whatsoever. Tua has been up and down all year. There's times he's looked pretty good, but most of the time he's been pretty terrible. And I think Buffalo will be able, especially with them knowing what Miami likes to do, I think they'll be able to shut it down. And Buffalo should win that game pretty without much of an issue. Next gang we got is Baltimore going to Minnesota. Like I said, Buffalo coming off of their big win against Miami. Sorry, beat down of Miami, and they have Minnesota coming off of their actual big win against uh Detroit. How do I see this game going? This isn't Minnesota, so Minnesota has that going their way, but you have Baltimore back with Lamar Jackson at the helm, they're a much different offense you have to face when you have him at the helm than being able to run the football, throw the football around. But Minnesota with JJ McCarthy, man, I'm just like, there's times where he can make some big plays and like things can go that way. And Baltimore's secondary is not good at all. Like their secondary can be had. But my problem is that J.J. McCarthy is so inconsistent and so inefficient. The question is, is can Minnesota create some big plays to counteract him being inefficient? Is probably my biggest question. And as bad as I think that Baltimore defense is, I just think that offense for Baltimore will be able, even though Minnesota gets after your gets gets after you, I really do think they do. Mmm, that's a tough one. Not gonna lie to you. Baltimore's a four and a half point favor on the road, so they do think Bravens are definitely a better team. I also believe that, but it's just Minnesota. My question is, is is what they did against Detroit last week, was that just because they see a lot more of Detroit and they just know what gets to Jared Goff so they were able to kind of dial things up so they were able to get after him and just kind of like create a lot of pressure that way? Can Minnesota do that same thing against Lamar Jackson? Is my question. I think Lamar Jackson obviously can get away from pressure a lot better because he's able to run the football. I do think they're gonna try to run the football a little bit more just to kind of have a little bit of balance with Derrick Henry, with Lamar Jackson. So, with that, I will pick Baltimore to win that game. Just be and if they if they lose this game, I think it'll be a big problem for Baltimore because again, they're trying to keep up with teams like Pittsburgh and all that. And they if they can get a win, if and if Pittsburgh loses their game that they have that Sunday night, would be a definitely a big feather in the cap for Baltimore on their track to try to get back to the top of the AFC North. So I'm gonna pick Baltimore just because I just don't believe in J.J. McCarthy and to be consistent enough to um to run that offense from um finish from beginning of that game to end. So next game, Cleveland going to the New York Jets. Oh, this is this game is absolutely atrocious. I oh goodness gracious, this game it's gonna be gross. It's gonna be nasty. And I'm talking about the football in the field, I'm not talking about weather anyway. I don't even think I've checked it. I haven't checked anything like that. I don't, it's gonna be a nasty game. Yuck. Oh no. The Browns, they came off the game against the Patriots last week where Miles Garrett had five sacks by himself and they still managed to lose that game. And now the Browns are going to New York to face the Jets. The Jets team that just traded away two very big pieces from their team. They got rid of Quentin Williams and they got rid of Sauce Gardner from that team. A defense that has been struggling this year. That defense has not been great. And they lost two of their biggest pieces. Now they don't have them. Brees Hall, he wanted to get traded so bad last week, and they couldn't make it happen. And Brees Hall has like, he's talked to the media since then and said, hey, I have no control over that, and he's tried to make it better, but I think he's already sent the message that he would love not to be there. And poor Garrett Wilson, man, he's stuck there by he's stuck there with a losing team, another losing season, along with Justin Fields, too. I'll I'll say he's stuck there, but he just he literally just had an opportunity to not go there, but he chose the money and decided to go play with the Jets, so can't blame him as much. I mean, I can't feel bad for him as much for taking the money to go to play for the Jets. I'm gonna pick the Browns to win this game. I don't feel good about it. I don't feel good about it. I'm gonna take the Browns because I think they with Quinshawn Judkins, I think they're gonna be able to run the football effectively enough to win this football game. And I think the Browns' defense is still very good. I think I just don't think that I believe in the Jets offense enough to get after the Browns because the Browns throwing the football on them is already gonna be hard. And I just think that their secondary is actually very good. The Browns defense has been very the word they haven't been dominant all year. They haven't. But they have been feisty, spicy. They've been spicy this year. They'll get after you, obviously, with Miles Garrett being one of the best defensive players in the league. You have to give him that credit. He'll be able to get after you, especially with the very bad Jets defensive uh offense, sorry, very bad Jets offensive line. I think the Browns defensive line will be able to make life hell for Justin Fields. And then when he does throw the football out there, I think the Browns' defense will be able to take advantage and stop a lot of passes, on top of the fact that Justin Fields isn't the most efficient passer out there. So I'm gonna take Cleveland. I don't feel good about it. I don't feel good about it at all. But I think the Browns will be able to have a little bit more of a rushing offense to kind of counteract that Jets defense. So I'll I'll take the Browns. I just don't feel good about it whatsoever. Next game, we got the Patriots going to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers. Yeah, Tampa Bay coming off of their bye. You got the Patriots having uh coming off of their win against Atlanta. Will they have their guys back? Is the question for me? Buccaneers. Guys will be out, but Bucky Irving is still out, Chris Goblin is still out, Hassan Reddick's out, Marquis Wanch is out, and then for the Patriots, Kayshawn Boutet is out, Ramondre Stevens is still out, Christian Ellis is out. Drake May has been playing like lights out this year. He has been awesome. He's been throwing the ball to his guys, Keyshawn Boutet being out definitely doesn't help with that. But he has been running the football with his legs when he needs to, throwing the football to the guys that he does have out there. Drake May has been lights out. He's been very good this year, and he's been playing like a top 10 guy. Well, this is no, he's been playing like a top 10, top 10 guy so far. Like he's a very like is a Josh Allen light type of dude the way he's been playing this year. He's been great. Yeah, Tampa Bay coming off of their bye. They're hopeful they're a tad bit healthier than they have been in weeks past. Hopefully their offensive line will be a little bit better. They'll be able to protect Baker Mayfield a little bit better than what they have been in the weeks before their bye. And this game is in Tampa Bay. So I'm going to take Tampa Bay to win that game. Because as I think Mekbuka will be a lot healthier and be able to throw to him a lot more. And I do think, even with them not having the crazy amount of weapons, I do think they should be able to, because the Patriots defense has not has not been locked down. Like their defense has not really been all that amazing this year. This will be about which quarterback will make the right plays and not make as many mistakes. And I think as long as Tampa Bay can get to the fourth quarter and still have a chance to either be winning or have the game close, I do think Baker Mayfield will be able to figure it out. Throw into a Mek Gbuka because as much as as great as I as I believe Christian Gonzalez is, the uh cornerback for um the Patriots is that Tampa Bay does like to move a Mechagbuka around. So I do think they'll be able to get some matchups without him having to face Christian Gonzalez, and even if he does face him, I think a mechabuka knows how to face off against great cornerbacks and still make a lot of plays. And as long as that hamstring for him is healthy, I do think Mechabuka will go out there and get back to being the offensive rookie of the year he has been so far this year. So I will take Tampa Bay to win that game. Next one we got New Orleans going to Carolina. Another gross game to have to watch. I oh I that game is gonna be absolutely gross. It's at Carolina, though. I don't, oh, this is I don't know. I don't feel great about this whatsoever. One thing I can give Carolina, they are a much they are a better football team than the Saints. The Saints are one and eight. I think Tyler Shuck for the Saints has not really been looking all of that great, so I don't know. I'm not I'm not feeling good about this. I I I'm gonna go Carolina. They have the better football team, they have found a way to run the football effectively with Rico Dowdle. He's probably been their best player throughout this season so far. Bryce Young has not been great at all. He really hasn't. He has not played the all that well, but I think they've been able to run the football and then play situationally, be able to like come up and win these football games. And as much as I do think the I don't know. Al Kamara is questionable for the Saints. Brian Breesey, their def defensive tackle is questionable. They're probably not gonna have their offensive tackle, but they but he's doubtful, so but who knows? I don't feel good about this, but uh it's gonna be a tough game, but I'm I'm gonna rely on the Carolina. They've just been playing a little bit better as of recently. I'll take Carolina to win that game. Even though I could totally see this game in New Orleans winning it, even them being one and eight. I totally have they do have a chance, but I'm gonna take Carolina than playing better football as of late. Next one, we got Jacksonville going to Houston. This is a tough game. Houston being without CJ Shroud, Jacksonville being without Brian Robinson Jr. Houston's defense being absolutely insane. Oh man, that defense is gross, man. If you want to watch a defense like totally control football game, that's Houston's defense, man. Their defense is absolutely disgusting. Like it's disgusting in a good way. And again, if you're listening to this podcast, you definitely understand what I mean. Um, their defense has been incredible this year. And without CJ, I just don't feel great about it, man. I don't feel great at all. I don't know. Will Anderson's questionable. Who knows if he'll be able to play? Christian Harris, Jalen Petrie, some like big guys on their defense are potentially a little bit dinged up coming into the week. Whether they play or not, I don't know. That'll be decided on Sunday. I don't know, man. I'm not feeling good about this. Like Hamilton, the uh Jacksonville Jaguars, they're gonna be questionable with a I don't know. A lot of the guys are questionable, so they might play. But that Houston defense is crazy good. And even like uh Davis Mills, the quarterback for Houston, he can run the offense. He can run the offense. And I heck, did they they lost last week? They definitely lost. Let me see. Let me make sure I'm not crazy here. Um, they lost to Denver. Oh man, I don't know. And I don't really think that the defense for Jacksonville isn't all that great either. I'm gonna I'm gonna take a I'm gonna take I'm gonna take a chance here. I'm gonna go Houston. Because I think their defense will be able to get after Jacksonville, especially with them not having all of their weapons. I think Houston's defense will be able to make enough plays for them to win this football game. I think Davis Mills will be able to keep the offense moving. He showed it last week. They did lose a close one against Denver, but again, Denver's doing it all year where they just make enough plays in the fourth quarter to win these football games. So that's like one of those I'll just say as a wash. So I'll say Houston's defense can control the game enough for them to get the win, especially with them being at home. Next game, Arizona going to Seattle. There's not much of a pick here. I think Arizona's been playing. Oh, oh, the one story didn't talk about. This Arizona and Kyler Murray thing has been an absolute weird one. So Kyler Murray has been dealing with the foot issue, he's been gone the last few weeks, and coming into last week, it was like, oh, we're not sure if he can play yet, he may not be ready, and then ultimately they made the decision to throw Jacoby Brissett out there. He goes out there and plays last week against the Cowboys, plays very awesome football, they win the football game. And now the news this week, even though last week he was close and that he just wasn't ready yet, and now this week they throw Kyler Murray on IR, so he'll be gone for the next three or four weeks to now have Jacoby Brissett back in there. So the question for Air is like the question I have is that was this truly about Kyler Murray like not being healthy enough? Or was this the fact that maybe they're seeing that their offense has been playing a lot better with Jugobi Brissett as their quarterback, and they're like, hey, maybe we can go a little bit longer with Jacobi Brissett being our quarterback and things will go off without a hitch? Like, that's where I'm kind of like iffy on it, man. I'm just like, um, I don't know. I I I I've been saying this for weeks now. I I've been on this train that the Jacoby Brissett led offense that they have been running with him as the quarterback has been better. And especially with last week, with them getting the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr. and using the middle of the field the way they want it, like the way they should, and getting the ball to not only him, but to um why am I forgetting the tight end's name? I suck at this. I really do suck at remembering names at times. I really do. Um the tight end. Oh no. Why? Um, not that I'm forgetting names right now, and this sucks. He's one of the best tight ends in the league right now, which is even worse as to why I can't remember his freaking name. Trey McBride. Getting the ball with Trey McBride, getting into Marvin Harrison Jr., that like their offense has been a lot better with with Brissett at the helm. It really has. Their offense totally changed. And I've been saying this. Their offense pushed the ball down the field a little bit more. It's a lot less throwing the ball at the line of scrimmage, like it was with Kyler Murray. And I think you have to attribute a little bit of the fact that Jacoby Brissett can see over the offensive line. I just think he's a lot more comfortable playing, throwing the ball in the middle of the field than what Kyler Murray was. And I feel like that's opened a big part of their offense. And I feel like Marvin Harrison and Trey McBride are taking advantage of that opportunity, and their offense has been looking a lot better. And their defense is not necessarily locked down, but they have been very spicy this year, and they've been very hard to play with every single week, and they've been playing good football, and like they've been doing like they're three and five, but I think they're better than what their three-and-five record indicates, especially with Jugobi Prosetta quarterback. But I just think the Seahawks team is an absolute dog right now, and I'm taking Seattle. I think there's I you just can't taking the Cardinals would be it would be a choice. And I think the Cardinals are good enough to make this a football game. But I think Seattle is on such a tear right now, and JSN has been on an absolute like JSN cannot be stopped this year. Like he's been awesome. And Sam Darnold has been great. They haven't ran the football all that well, so really it is all on their passing offense. But Sam Darnold has been very good. Their offensive line has done enough to protect him and make it feel a little bit comfortable. And even though I think the Cardinals' defense will make things a little bit harder on Seattle, I'm just I will feel terrible about picking the Cardinals, and then Seattle goes out there and does what they do, and then I would have to eat the fact that I'm like the Seattle's been playing great for so long, and they're they have two losses on the year, and I picked the three and five Cardinals seem to go out there and beat them, especially with Seattle being at home. I'm not going to be that guy. So I'm going to take Seattle. I'm going to take Sam Donald, who's been playing very well this year. JSN who's been playing great. They just traded for the wide receiver from. Who was it they just traded for? Mm-mm-mm-mm. See, I just talked about all these trades last week and then I just totally forgot all the names altogether. Insane. Rashid Shaheed. So they added Rashid Shahe to that offense to be their number two, so I think they'll become even more explosive because you won't be able, even if you do try to double JS in, which is like borderline, borderline impossible because they move him around so much and they put him in the slot and they let him do everything on the outside, too. But now there's another wide receiver that is equally as explosive and can make a lot of big plays if you only have him in one-on-one situations. So the fact they have a guy on the other side of JSN in Shaheed Rashid Shahid, I just think makes that offense so much more deadly, and I just don't think Arizona's gonna be able to have enough to go out there and win that game, especially with the game being at Seattle, a lot a very hard place to play. Next one we got is uh LA Rams going to San Francisco. Didn't San Fran win this game earlier on the year? I think they already played once because obviously that's a division game. Let's see here. I'm pretty sure they played this earlier this year, and San Fran got the win. But this might be the perfect spot for the LA Rams, though. They are going to San Fran, so they do it is a little bit of a road trip. But here's the thing. They have their guys back. They have Puka Nakua, he's back in full force. They have Devontae Adams, they have the Kyron Williams. Like their offense is totally put together now. They don't have any injuries to really speak of. So I do think that they are the healthiest they have been in a minute, and I do think they'll be out there and ready to go and play San Francisco. On the other side for San Fran, Mac Jones still being their starter. Well, is he starting this week? Now I gotta check. Um let's see here. Is Mac Jones playing? Now I gotta check. Or they're gonna have Brock Purdy coming back and playing. Four injury report. Boom, boom, boom. Oh now I gotta go through all of this? Oh no. San Francisco. Let's see here. Brock Purdy is questionable. He was limited at Thursday's practice, so he probably won't be playing. They'll just throw Mac Jones back out there. Because Mac Jones has been playing well enough to win football games, so if Brock Purdy is hurt at all, they'll just keep throwing Mac Jones out there because he is the perfect automaton for Shanahan's offense, like I've been saying all year. Christian McCaffrey's been awesome running the football catch. He is their leading rusher and their leading receiver on the air. Absolutely insane how great Christian McCaffrey has come back and been this year after literally playing none of last year. He's been awesome. But they San Fran's defense has already been very not like they've been already been quite like very not bad, but just not good this year. And now they have a few injuries, like they have plenty of injuries. They lost their their first round pick, Mike Hell Williams. Like he's not gonna be playing at defensive end for them. And on top of a bunch of other injuries, San Fran is one of the most injured teams in all the NFL. And again, San Fran knows how to play the LA Rams here. These two coaches, Shanahan and Sean McVay, like they know each other like the back of their hand. They know how to get in get under each other's skin. San Fran just knows what LA Rams like to do, just as much as the Rams know what San Fran does. But my thing with the LA Rams is there's help, like they have Puka Nakua, they have Devontae Adams, and they have Kyron Williams running the football around. And Blake Coram, he's had a little bit of a resurgence too. He's running the football very well, and they're running the football in general very well. The LA Rams are. So I'm gonna take the LA Rams to win that football game because they're just a lot more healthy right now. And I do think coming off of like them losing that game earlier this year against Sanford, I do think they'll come out with a bad attitude, ready to try to win that football game against San Francisco. I hurt San Francisco. Next game, Detroit going to Washington. There's not much of a choice here. I'm taking Detroit. Detroit coming off of their bad loss against Minnesota. I think they'll come out with a bad attitude. They'll want to run the football, and I think they're going to put all their bad emotions out on that very bad Washington defense, who is all was already bad, and they had a few injuries that took away some of their better, better players. Marshawn Lattimore is their best. Corner is now out with the torn ACL, so like they're gonna be without him for the rest of the year as well. And again, the biggest thing with Washington is no Jane Daniels, man. Like he's gone. Apparently, the news was that he the injury wasn't as bad as it looked. Which, if you saw the clip of that injury happening with that dislocated, dislocated elbow for Jane Daniels, it looked awful. It was gross. The only thing that would have made that worse is seeing bone coming out of skin. Like that's the only thing that would have made that injury look worse. So, like, they haven't thrown him on IR as of yet. Like, so apparently things are looking a little positive right now. Again, they can evaluate this a couple weeks from now and then decide, hey, it's probably the best to just put him on IR, put him on ice for the rest of the year. But apparently they're holding up holding up some type of optimism that he can potentially come back this year, which is absolutely an insane thought to me. Just let him again, it would if it was his throwing elbow, I think it'd be a little bit different of a situation, but it was his non non-throwing elbow that had the injury that it had. But it doesn't fucking matter for this game. Detroit's gonna go out there and dominate, and they're gonna make Washington look dumb, and they are gonna run the football down Washington's throat. So I'm gonna take like when I bet on this game, when I do my parlay for this one, it's gonna be all about rushing the football, and like Jameer Gibbs is going to absolutely dominate in this game because Detroit's gonna want to like really start bullying somebody when it in like Detroit has been for the last few years. When they play a team that is not as good as them, they like to bully and they they make sure everybody knows it. Um next game, Pittsburgh going to the LA Chargers. Sunday night game. Pittsburgh's coming off of their big win against Indianapolis, and then you have the Chargers coming off of they won last week to when they beat Tennessee. So they're coming off of their even though that game was a lot closer than what it should have been. Um yeah, that game was not very great, not great by the LA Chargers. My question is about Pittsburgh. Can they replicate that type of defensive performance against this LA Chargers team? Because the LA Chargers have some real weapons on the outside that I don't think Pittsburgh can really stop if their defensive line is not getting pressure on Mr. Mr. Herbo himself, Justin Herbert. So that's my question. Can they get pressure on Herbert and can they get him to the ground? Because he's already a big quarterback, very tall, very hard to get to the ground, and he's very athletic. He can run away from pressure as well. So can that Pittsburgh defensive line get after the Chargers and get pressure on him and make him like throw some bad passes? Because if he's gets to sit back there and survey the field and get the ball to his guys, I just don't think we have a secondary that can handle all those receivers that they have on their team. And again, it's not like they have a bunch of superstars, but Keenan Allen, been an NFL vet, been doing this for a long time, knows how to run very crisp routes, so he's gonna be hard to stop. Quinya uh Quentin Johnston, their wide receiver, he's been their burner throughout this year. He's gonna be more than capable of burning our cornerbacks into oblivion if they let him, so he'll be able to get down the field if they can't get pressure on Herbert. And then Mr. Aladdin McConkey himself, he is the route god, and he's gonna go out there and run the perfect route, especially a lot of short routes. And especially with Pittsburgh Steelers' defense liking to give wide receivers a little bit of room, I just think that if they can't get pressure on Herbert, it's gonna make this job a lot harder. But on but on the other side, I don't think the Chargers' defense is all that great. I do think the Steelers might be able to run the football a little more effectively than they have in the past few weeks, and I think Aaron Rodgers will be able to again, the name of the game for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been a lot of quick throwing, throwing the getting the ball out quick to where defenses don't have a chance to get after him. And let me see here, any injuries that I really have to worry about? The sec the safety situation for Steelers is a little bit iffy at the time at the time, but nothing abs nothing insane. And they the Chargers are without both their starting tackles where they had to start off the year with Joe Alt going out with the ankle injury, so he's done for the rest of the year. So I'm gonna go ahead and pick Pittsburgh. This is how it happens for me, man. Like they go, and I was had all the negativity about them going into last week against Indianapolis, and then they go out and win that football game, and then this week, even though my mind is like we could definitely lose this game and we could look very stupid doing it, and I'm just like, oh, but that defense played so well, and they can get after Herbert. And I'm like, I even though my my outf my outlook for the season has not changed, but on a game-in-game out basis, I I I have hope in the Steelers team, man, for whatever reason. I can't help it. I can't help it. I can't help it. I'll pick Pittsburgh to win the game, even though I don't feel great about it at all. But I just think that with some of the things that are like how the game is looking from the outset right now, I just think the Steelers defense should be able to get a lot of pressure on Herbert and make this game a lot harder for the Chargers offense to get up and down the field. So I'll take Pittsburgh to win the game. I don't feel good about it though. Last but not least, you got the Monday night game with Philadelphia going to Green Bay. You have Philadelphia coming off of their bye, um, going to the trade deadline, adding a bunch of pieces onto that squad. And then you have Green Bay coming off of their terrible, terrible, terrible loss against the Carolina Panthers. And now Green Bay is gonna be at home, and they're gonna have a fit uh Philly team coming into town that'll have pretty much I think they're pretty healthy at this point, right? Um, let's get to the game here. Let's see, for Philly. Nothing out of the ordinary, so they're gonna be as healthy as they probably can be coming into this game. They are gonna be missing Cam Juergens their center, but outside of that, nobody really. But it is on Monday night, so this game that so that can change. He's questionable, so he'll probably be able to play. So, like the Eagles will be coming into this game healthy, adding a little bit of juice to their team with a bunch of a couple outside guys, and they're gonna be playing against the Green Bay Packers team now without their what probably their best most consistent weapon in Tucker Kraft, their tight end, he's gonna be gone for the rest of the year. So, with that, do I think that Green Bay can get it back together and face off against the Philly team that I think will be able to do some good thing things against that Green Bay Packers defense? Uh, I'm gonna take Philly. Just because they're coming off a bye, I think they'll be a little bit energized, and I think that hopefully if they're doing their doing their jobs correctly, they should have an offense that'll be have a little bit better plan coming into this week. And based off of what the last time we saw Philadelphia and we saw Saquon Barkley have his best game against that New York Giants defense. Again, it's the New York Giants, so every time he sees that uniform on the other side, he likes to make them look stupid. But can they use that as a as a launching pad for the rest of their season where Saquon Barkle Barkley will be able to play a lot better and then having him play better, being able to run the football better, opening up the offense to where hopefully they'll be able to get the ball to, you know, AJ Brown and uh Devontae Smith, like being able to throw the football effectively as well. So I'm gonna go ahead and lean on Philly to go ahead and win that football game because Green Bay is just not consistent, man, and Jordan Love's not consistent, and I do think Philly will be able to get after him a little bit and like kind of keep him on his toes. And if that's the case, he's already Jordan Love is already a very up and down quarterback when it comes to how he plays on a week in, week out basis, and that's without pressure in his face. And I do think Philly will be able to get after him, put a lot of pressure in his face, and make him make some bad decisions. And with that being the case, I do think Philadelphia should be able to win that football game. And according to Vegas, they're the line is Green Bay minus one and a half, so the Green Bay is a favorite coming into this game. Okay, but again, they are at home, so usually it's about three game three points different. So they're at a neutral site, or if Philly was there, they'd probably be like a four, like around a three and a half point four four-point favorite. So, you know, I don't know. I'm gonna take Philly. I just think that coming off the bye week, they'll be able to come out and like have a little bit of energy to them. And Green Bay after last week, man, I just don't know. I I don't know, man. That the way that Green Bay looked offensively in that game against Carolina last week, I don't know how that's even possible for how long Jordan Love has been playing in the NFL. I just don't know how he can put up a he can put up a performance like that when he's been playing in the NFL as long as he has and been like a very decent I can't say very good because that is at his best he's been a very good quarterback, but at his worst, he's been like a top 20 guy. So like which Jordan Love is going to show up in this game is my first question. And then once that happens, can they protect him long enough against this Philadelphia defense to be able to make it work? I just think there's too many things going towards Philadelphia. I'll pick them to win that football game. And that's about it. And then you have the teams that are on bye this week. You have Cincinnati, dealing with a lot of issues, but they're gonna be on bye. Got Dallas on bye week, you have Tennessee on their bye, and as well as Kansas City. So you have those four teams that are gonna be on their bye weeks this week, and that's about it for all the games there. So our records as of right now, Jace has a three-point lead on three-game lead on me. I am 76-44-1, and then Jace is 79-41-1. So that tie being the early early in the year tie against with Green Bay and the Cowboys. So those are our records as of right now, and that's about it. That's so is there any other stories I want to talk about before I got out of here? Let me go ahead and make a quick check of Jace's see if I get a text from Jace and see if he sent me his picks before we go. Because I want to make sure to have that on record if we can. Oh, looks like he did. So let me go ahead and announce his picks real quick before we go. It'll be I'll decide to go from a start. So it'll be Indianapolis. He picked the New York Jets to win that game. He he picked Jacksonville, he picked Tampa Bay, he picked Chicago, Baltimore, Carolina, Seattle, Detroit, the LA Rams, the Chargers, and Philly. So I just got I I know I did that out of order, but no, I didn't the right order. No, we're good. So that's about it there. So those those are all of his picks. So I just want to make sure to mention those before we get out of here. And that's about it. Let's go to end the pod. We uh as of right now, we are at an hour and 40. Wow, I'm actually I'm kind of proud of myself. And we could have shaved that down to probably an hour or 30 or so, but I will take an hour and 40 without much of an issue. So let's go ahead and end the pod here. If you're listening for a while, we appreciate you. If you're just now joining on, hopefully you like us and enjoy us enough to join us on this ride of talking about sports in the dumbest way possible. If this is your first podcast you have listened to, hopefully you can go listen to a different podcast with both me and Jason so you get a better idea of what this podcast is at its best when you have both of us here talking shit to each other, being brothers and everything. So, like, you'll get a lot more of the funny, the back and forth and everything like that. If you go listen to a different pod to get a better idea of what we are, we would appreciate if you could do that. And then if you do decide to kind of join us on this ride, we would appreciate if you could do a couple things for us. Like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars wherever you listen to us. Make sure you share our podcast, friends, family, enemies, anybody you feel like can enjoy the podcast we put out on a weekly basis. We'd love if you could do that. We are available on all audio platforms out there. So we would we so anywhere that you want to find us, we are available when it comes to any podcast app you use to go and listen. And then last but not least, if you could follow us on Twitter andor X, anything you either what either way you want to call it, at JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle, at Javante Boozer is my handle, and at Jace Boozer1 is Jace's handle, and that's about it. So thank you guys for listening. Thank you guys for always listening. Have a great day, have a great night, and we will see y'all next week. Goodbye, y'all.