Previewing CFP National Title Game and Making Picks For NFL Divisional Round

The sport is moving faster than its rules—and that gap is shaping everything from locker rooms to title games. We start with the transfer portal and NIL, laying out a simple lever with big consequences: standardized buyout clauses in NIL deals. They won’t end movement, but they do force tougher math for athletes, agents, and poaching programs, dialing down tampering and impulse transfers without blocking real opportunity. Then we tackle eligibility creep. When 25-year-olds face 18-year-olds, strength and health swing outcomes. A five-year cap with catastrophic-injury exceptions restores a level field and helps coaches recruit, players plan, and fans trust what they’re watching.

From there, we head to Miami–Indiana. Miami brings the five-star glow, heavy hands up front, and a home-stadium edge. Indiana brings something harder to rattle: cohesion, disciplined coverage, and a quarterback who thrives in structure. Their receivers win contested throws, their defense erases explosives, and their staff layers adjustments instead of vibes. We break down quarterback play, line play, receiver usage, and why Indiana’s failure resistance travels. Our pick leans Indiana to finish a perfect run—not because they’re flashier, but because they’re harder to beat snap after snap.

We close with an NFL triple shot: ranking the best coaching openings for fit and stability, unpacking the Harbaugh-to-Giants dynamic and the importance of coach–GM alignment, and then making all four divisional-round picks. Expect strong takes on quarterback readiness, injury returns that matter, and why cold weather rewards teams that can win two ways. Subscribe, share with a friend, and drop your own title pick and playoff upsets in the replies—we’ll feature the spiciest calls next show.

Chapters

• 0:09 Solo Host Sets The Stage
• 3:34 Why NBA Can Wait
• 12:27 NIL Buyouts As Portal Guardrails
• 23:24 Agent Incentives And Player Risk
• 31:44 Eligibility Caps And The Age Gap
• 42:15 COVID Years And A Five-Year Rule
• 51:55 National Title: Miami vs Indiana
• 1:10:00 Matchups, Coaching Edge, Final Pick
• 1:22:43 NFL Coaching Carousel Overview
• 1:35:00 Ranking Open NFL Jobs

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome back to the JV Sports Podcast. Today is Friday, January 16th, and we are back for another pop. Anybody anybody that's been listening for a while, you probably you probably are clocking that I'm not the person that usually does the intros on the podcast when we're going at full strength, but unfortunately, my brother slash co-host could not be here today for whatever reason. And uh hopefully we'll have him back next week and we'll get him back in. But until then, the pot still has to go on. So here I am. I'll be sitting here talking with you guys about all the things I want to talk about when it comes to college football and NFL and all of that. Um I think there might be an NBA thing I might decide to want to talk about, but honestly, I don't care enough yet. Here's the thing with the NBA is that I watch NBA. I bet on some NBA games, casually, nothing crazy. I'm a fan of an NBA team, but obviously with my fandom being attached to the Bulls, there isn't much to watch. They are a young team, but not necessarily a team that really can do anything long term. So it is very easy to kind of fall in and out of not I'm not gonna say love, but having it, it having my attention. So basketball, especially once football season is over, I will have to like you know dive back into NBA a little bit more, especially since we have a podcast that we'll have to talk about something here on the pod. So I'll have to do that at some point. But as of right now, there's still way too much football going on to talk about for me to have to really worry about basketball in order to have at least a semi what is the word I'm looking for? A semi-good podcast putting out every week, especially with it being two times a week during football season. So without further ado, um I was talking about basketball. Jace, he'll be hopefully back next week so we can do the pod together. But other than that, you're gonna hear me sitting here talking about both college football because we have the national championship game coming out coming, actually, no, that's happening, it's not coming out. Um National Championship game coming out on Monday, so and we're not gonna pod again until probably Tuesday. So I will want to do our picks on that game and kind of give my initial thoughts of how I think that game will go. And then as well as that, you have the NFL picks for the divisional round of games coming up over the next couple days that I want to talk about as well. Give my thoughts on that. The NFL coaching hires that have happened so far. Only been one, but I think it's a pretty big one that has happened as of right now. So I do want to talk about that. And that's pretty much it. So there's really not a lot to talk about. So I think relative to what our podcasts usually are, I think it'll be a shorter pod. I can't guarantee anything, but I'm just based off what I have to talk about and the amount and the the um density of not the density, but the the amount of things I have to talk about today, I think it shouldn't be that bad, but I can't guarantee anything. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get to what we're here to talk about, and that's talking about sports here. So we will start with college football, and before I get to the game, I have like three not gonna I'll have a couple overarching things that I want to give a thought on real quick before I get to the actual game. Because again, there's not that much college football to really talk about right now. If you're not gonna talk about like all the madness happening in the portal and all those other things happening, but I I really don't want to dive into the portal too much because I've done I feel like I've done a lot of complaining about the portal and all of that recently on the last few pods. So I don't necessarily want to go really deep in that rabbit hole. I do have one thought I think that could help the portal be a little bit better, um, just from like being a guy following it for my team, Ohio State, and all of that, and then following all the bigger names that are going from school to school, just trying to get a bigger paycheck, or not because of money, because of playing time, who knows what the reasons are. Um, but I do have one thought on that. But before I get to that, I have no, no, before I get to the game, I do have a couple of those things to talk about. So I have one thought on the portal, and I I know I said we're gonna start with that, but I am one thought on the portal, and I think it could make the portal a lot better until we get some real rules when it comes to like the money and like all these other things to kind of like get some type of. I'm not saying to try to inhibit these kids from being able to move if they want to move, but I think there should be some guardrails in the way to make kids have to really think about it. Not only the kids with the schools there that are pretty much saying, hey, we're willing to pay you such and such amount of money if you want to come here and leave the school that you're at. I just feel like if there is this one guardrail in the way, I feel like could help a lot when it comes to just making people think about it from the get-go, right? So thinking about the what is that guy's name, Damon Williams, I think. Um yeah, Damon Williams Jr., the quarterback from Washington, right? And I know I've talked about this on pod before about him signing a contract to stay with Washington, getting a big, big old boost when it comes to the money he's getting from NIL, and then a couple a week or two later, announce within like a week or so announcing that he was going to go into the portal and potentially transfer away from Washington. And what Washington did with that was like, hey, they didn't say, hey, go on your merry way, we're willing to let you leave. They said no, you signed a contract to stay with us, and we signed a contract to pay you this amount of money for NIL, and because of that, there are buyouts in place that say that like you're not allowed to leave because you've already signed this thing. And I think, and then now since then, he has decided to go back, and then the same thing with more recently, there's a pair of Florida State uh twins that went to Florida State. They think they're both defensive ends. I don't know, I don't remember the name their name off the top of my head, but they also decided, hey, we're gonna join try to get into the transport portal. They never actually announced it because there was a caveat in their NIL contracts that said is that if they were to try to transfer after getting after signing for the money that they got, that there would be kind of like a buyout. Either the school would have to pay, the school that is getting them out of Florida State would have to pay, or the kids would have to pay themselves in order to break the contract and then leave to go to a different school. And because of that, it was never figured out and whatever because I think Ohio State was one of the teams that was talking to them about it, and for whatever reason, they couldn't figure it out when it comes to whether like getting the money, the buyout, and how much money that is, and like being being okay with that, or finding a way to get around it, and all in all, it ended up being that those those twins are actually gonna stay at Florida State and play for another year. And I think when I was thinking about it, that that may be a perfect, not perfect, because there's always gonna be bad downsides to everything, and there's no such thing as perfect in this world, right? But I think as close, like within the current structure that we have in college football, where there is no collective bargaining, there is no again. I guess if you're gonna make a rule like that, there's gonna have to be collective bargaining. Oh, I'm oh, I'm not gonna lie about that. That might make things a little bit weird about that. But I I'm just gonna talk about this as an idea. I just think that if you were to have all schools and their collectives, when they sign these kids to these contracts and then get them these big NIL deals that they're looking forward to, to where if everybody just decided, hey, if we're just gonna sit here and have buyout clauses in these contracts to make it harder, not harder, but make it to where it's more cost prohibitive to leave, I think that'll lean to lead to a lot more kids in schools not making the moves they're making as of right now, where things in the transportal are kind of going insane, where schools are contacting kids and saying, hey, we're willing to pay you more if you're willing to come here, or kids going to their schools and trying to strong arm them and say, Hey, if you don't guarantee me a starting spot or um want to give me more money, I'm gonna go ahead and leave and go somewhere else. I just feel like if you have a buyout clause in all these kids' contracts, I just feel like it'll just add another roadblock, roadblock in the way that'll eventually lead to some of these kids not making the hasty decision of just trying to leave for a bigger bag or for these schools that are just like without any type of penalty, just telling these kids, getting in hold with them with their agents, saying, Hey, if your athlete or if you want to come to our school, we're just gonna give you a bigger paycheck and not have to pay any sort of penalty for that. But and I just feel like if you add a buyout clause just in all these contracts in general, which I think you can do without it being necessarily having to be collectively bargained, I just think that overall it might lead just to just a more healthy, a more healthy sport, at least when it comes to the transfer portal and NIL deals and everything. Because the way I look at it is that it just adds a little bit because if those teams would have to pay a buyout or if the kids are gonna have to pay back some money towards that school in order to go where they want to go and make that hasty decision, I think it'll just make everybody in the scenario have to think about it just a little bit harder as to whether it's worth it. Because again, once this once they start taking money out of people's pockets, people start making some different decisions. And I do think if you do at do that towards all of college football and I guess basketball too, I think it's kind of a similar deal, even though it's not as wide-ranging as football is. Where heck, in the football transportal right now, for just FPS, it's like over 3,000 3,500 kids in the portal right now, and the portal closes, I think, tonight. And heck, think about it this way the portal closes tonight, and then those players are still in there. They they still have a chance to go to different schools if another school wants them to go there, but if they don't, now they have to go back to their current schools and like try to apologize and say that, hey, will you take me back? And I think it just leads to a lot more toxic of situations when you have something like this happen. And I just think this having the buyout in there will just make everybody have to take a beat and be like, hey, if you really want to make this decision, you're either gonna have to pay a lot of money to make it happen and make them be able to get out of break their break their contracts in order to come to you. And I feel like that just just that I think will help a lot of these situations because I just think a lot of these are I don't want to blame the kids, right? And I'm not gonna say kids because I do think they are playing a grown man's game when it comes to NIL and money and all of that. And I do think some of them are getting probably taken advantage of by the people around them or their agents that they have in there because every time these deals come up, these agents, because there's no cap on what they can make on these deals, like there is when it comes to like representation for the NFL and NBA, like there's a cap on how much those those people can make on the contracts of players. But in college football, in NIL right now, when it comes to these marketing deals, there is no such rule. So these people that are representing these kids, they get to make who knows how much money based off of what these kids end up getting when it comes to their NIL deals. So I just think as as long as like as long as like there's these rules are aren't figured out, I just feel like adding these buyouts will I just think will lead to having a little bit more just take a beat to think about it before you want to make a hasty decision because it's gonna cost somebody some major money in order to make it happen. And I think that goes on the schools too that want to like try to get these players to go from one school to their school, is because hey, if you're Oregon and you want to get a kid from Ohio State to come to your school, you're gonna have to pay Ohio State a decent amount of change in order to get them out of their contract they're with with Ohio State to come to you. I feel like I and either you or the kid, and I think the kid the kids will not be nearly as accepting of paying those buyout clauses in order to leave their situations. So I think they'll want to put that more on the schools that are trying to get them. And it's gonna make everybody have to take a second and be like, hey, do we really want to is this really worth it? Is just saying we'll pay you more just to herd another school worth it? Or are you really making a real contract offer and you're making a real real play at a kid saying like, hey, you really need them to come play for your school? Because I do think there is a little bit of pettiness in this whole scenario where they're like, where they're just willing to sit there and say, hey, I'm willing to burn another$150,000,$200,000, like$500,000 on a kid just to make sure he can't play for that school. So I do think when it comes to recruiting, when it comes to college football, that it is very um it's very competitive in that way and very petty in that way. So I just think that adding a buyout clause when it comes to just NIL deals in general, I think will lead to a lot more healthy of a system, at least for now, until there's some real rules put in place when it comes to collective bargaining and all that when the NCAA gets their head out of their ass and like just get down to brass tacks and just say we're gonna have to really like let these kids have real representation and do collective bargaining in order to make it happen. Because I just think without that, you're never gonna get the rules you need to in order for this sport to last long term. And I think you do need that. And again, it's not gonna happen in a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, but imagine this sport 20 years from now, if it keeps going at this rate, this sport will not be nearly as popular as it has built itself to be over the last a hundred years, where college football has been such a dominant in heck the last 20, 30, 40 years where college ball has really taken a their next step and being pretty much the second most popular sport in the United States. It really is the second most popular sports to the sports to the um NFL in the United States right now. So I just feel like you don't want to lose that. And I think part of those things that you're losing when you're everything's going as crazy it is, is because when you're gonna it's gonna be fan um attention and buy-in. I mean, with all this happening, fans are really getting turned off by all this stuff because it feels like there's no everything's going haywire and there's no way to stop. It's like a running train, right? So I just think adding buyout clauses in general to all these NIL deals, I think, will lead to a good change happening for all of college football and the kids that are playing in it. Because I do think they are getting played a little bit by the people around them and by the schools that are trying to get them. So I just think that that would be a big help to everybody if that were to happen. And that's all I got on that. I don't want to go too much deeper into the NIL and all that space. Um, next thing I wanted to talk about was let's see here. What was the other thing I wanted to get into for college football? No, no. No, no, that's pretty much it. That's the only big story I wanted to talk about for college football. Because everything else is all portal-based, and do I really want to go into the deep end on that? I probably don't. At some point, we'll get to like once all the bigger names kind of go out of the kind of leave the portal and get their new situations, like maybe that's something to talk about after that's all over. Because again, like I said before, like just because a kid enters the portal doesn't mean that once the portal closes, they can't come out and go to a different school. It just means that no new people can and no new players can enter the portal and expect themselves to be able to go to a different team. So once that's all kind of figured out and you have more of the names, like more concrete as to where they're going, I think we'll have a more deeper discussion based off of what we think, how how we think what schools got a lot better over this process and all of that. But I just want to make sure to have that because I just had that thought in my brain about it. I just think that buyouts would be such a huge help with all of this right now. Because it just feels like it's all what it's all very front-facing. Like there is no deeper meaning. But um I'm gonna say by behind a lot of them, because I think there are some real situations where players are looking for playing time and they're looking for opportunity, but I think there's way more um chances of not chances, but way more situations where they're just players looking for the biggest bag they could possibly get. And I don't think that's necessarily helpful for either them or their careers by just like chasing the next bag, whoever's gonna willingly give it to it, give it to them because it just doesn't always work that way. Just because they have the biggest money in their hand doesn't mean they're gonna know what to do with you once you get there. And we all know one year can ruin a career, it really can. If it's not done right and like if you're like kind of led towards the wrong direction. So I just think that would be a very big help in general. So getting out of that, I do have the so the when it comes to trans like not transfer portal, but when it comes to eligibility rules, okay? Because I was reading a story talking about how there's a bunch, like it's like five Vandy players, Van Vanderbilt players, that were denied um their injunctions for a fifth year because they're all trying to look for an extra year of eligibility so they can stay in college, make some money. Because again, like we like I think it's all pretty obvious is that not every single college ball player that's playing in the um in the power power four, they're not all gonna be NFL pros, right? I feel like that's a very easy thing to say, but sometimes it just needs to be said out loud. So not not all these players are gonna be NFL guys, and I just think that some of them are looking for their best way to try to maximize their value within the time frame that they have to make the money they can when they're in college football, where the money's kind of flowing a lot more um in throughout when it comes to getting to all these players. And like Heck uh Trinidad Chambliss, the quarterback for Ole Miss, he was a fifth fifth year college football player this year because I think he spent the first few years of his career at why am I forgetting what school he was at before he went to Ole Miss this past year. Let's see. Where was he at before? He was at Ferris State for a couple years, the first couple years of his college career, so and now he's made his way to Ole Miss where he's doing a lot better, making a lot of money, made some money this year because he was playing well. But imagine if he were to get another year of eligibility. He's I think he's in his fifth year now, so he's looking for a sixth year. And imagine if he could have one more year of being paid by Ole Miss to go out there and play football for him, he could be making a really good amount of money to help set himself up for the rest of his life if he's not going to be an NFL player, which again, most like more often than not, that's most players aren't going to be. And as as talented as he is, he's a small guy and he really doesn't fit what the NFL really wants in quarterbacks as of right now. So I get him trying to take a take up any chance he can in order to um up his chances of getting a real big chunk of change that'll help him out for the rest of his life. It's more of like a like a nest bed, right? To kind of set you up for the rest of your life. If you're getting a lot of this money, you're never really going to be able to make again if you're not playing football in college football. So I get that idea, right? You're trying to get as much money as you possibly can. But I think that because of these ages of these players in college football right now, because a lot of these players are getting extra years of eligibility because of injuries, which is one thing. If you have catastrophic injuries, you should get an extra year of eligibility because that's not something you have control over. But when you start to have like 24, 25, 26 year olds in college football playing against 18, 19 year olds, I do think that does lead to a little bit of a of a gap that is not natural in what shouldn't be in college football. Like the average age, I think, of both of Indiana and Miami are is around like twenty two and a half, twenty three years old. And I feel like when you think about them and you think about some of these players that are a little bit older, twenty five years old, I think there's a defensive end on Miami that is like Mesador, I believe. He's 25 years old going against 18, 19, 20 year olds on the offensive line, no wonder he's as as dominant as he is. Because when you're doing that much um work on your body through such a prime time moment of your of your life, you're only going to get stronger and being like there's a real there's a reason why grown man strength is a thing, and that's because as you grow and you kind of get to a point where you get to your peak peak physical condition, and then you start like you keep working out and you keep doing all this, like there's a there's a strength that you kind of inherit that you don't have because you're just a little bit young and you're just like you're still growing into your own body in a way that's not happening for a 25-year-old. They're they've grown into their bodies, they've gotten the strength that they're gonna have, and they're at their max, they're at their max spot when it comes to their growth and what they were are gonna be and all the working out they've done. Like I just feel like there's a little bit of a gap in between those players and then some of the younger players that you're going against in college football. I do I do think that is a little bit of an issue, and that's kind of let so the the reasons for that. Like I said before, medical red shirts, I totally understand. When it comes to red shirts and like all that, when it comes like players that don't play a full year and they're just like sitting on the bench mostly, they should get an extra year of eligibility for that. Or this is where some of the issue it'll kind of go away based off of what's happening. But there was a lot of players for the last few years that have been working off of having an extra year of eligibility because of COVID, like COVID years, because the NCAA made a rule during that time where, like, hey, if these players go out and play a couple games, they weren't given full seasons for the most part for playing that year, is that hey, we're gonna give pretty much everybody a free pass on the year to where it's not gonna count towards your eligibility at all. And that has allowed players to like out, other than their red shirts and their medical re medical red shirts and all of that, all of those things have led to players being able to play five, six, seven years of college football. Like, think about it this way the I think I mentioned this on the last pod, but um why am I forgetting his name? Oh no. Um Carson Beck, right? Carson Beck is tw 24, 25 years old as a quarterback at Miami right now in his last year of his eligibility. And the wide receiver, Malachi Tony, that he's throwing to, who is 18 years old right now, when you put that age into context, Carson Beck, when he was walking onto campus at Georgia, the wide receiver he is now throwing to, Malachi Tony, was 10, 11 years old. Was 11 years old at that point. So the fact that there is that big of an age gap in within the sport of college football, I feel like is it a little bit of a is definitely a problem and that needs to be addressed. But I think that part of that will go away because you're gonna have less people that have the COVID years and those are pretty much gonna go away because they're being used on the people that were around in College Bowl during that time. So that part will go away. But I think in general, if you just made the rule, is that if you get five years in collegeable, no matter what, like you know by hook or by crook, unless there is like you get catastrophic injuries, you have five years to play to get in and play. If you don't make it happen within that time, you're done, unless you're talking about a major injury that has kept you from being able to play. And I think I totally agree with that, man, because I think there does need to be kind of like an age, an age cap on some of these players, because I'm not going to go down the route of saying that they're taking opportunities away from younger kids coming out of high school that could have those opportunities because now football teams, college football teams are now like wanting to get older at certain positions so they can go and have the best chance to win. Because having a five-star, 18-year-old that needs to develop, or a three-star that's 25 years old that's played over a thousand snaps in college football, what would you rather have in a one-year sample size? A lot of teams are now going towards the Indiana model where there's a they're gonna be rather take that 24, 25-year-old that's played a ton of football in a one-year sample size, so they can get so they can get the best best of what you can get and be able to have your most team success for a one-year scenario. So I think there is some credence to the idea of taking away opportunities from younger kids, but I'm not gonna go down there because kids can now just transfer to somewhere else if they don't think they're getting the opportunity they need to get. But it's just like I just feel like it's a little bit of a competitive imbalance that I think you need to fix over time. And I think potentially just having the five years, straight up five years you have to go and do everything you can in college football. If not, or unless unless you have a very catastrophic injury, you're done after five. I just feel like that'll be a very hard and fast rule, so you don't necessarily have to go through all these players suing the NCAA and like trying to like, hey, we deserve it extra year because of this, that, and the other. I just feel like there's a lot of gray area to where this stuff can kind of be argued to us to a point. And I just think that overall, if you just changed it to just being five years, unless for catastrophic injury, I feel like that would help a lot when it comes to a lot of these uh a lot of these points right now we're dealing with with players looking to play five, six, seven years college football, and you know it's a little bit of a competitive imbalance, I think. Um, so getting off of that, I don't think I have anything else story-wise talking about in college football. So let's go ahead and get to the game. There's only one game left in the college football college football season slash the college football playoff, and it's the national championship game between Miami and Indiana, and this game is in Miami, I think in their stadium too, right? Or am I crazy? Hold on, I gotta see this for you. I gotta see this real quick. Yeah, the national championship game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium. Is that in Miami? Is that in their own stadium, or is that the Dolphin Stadium? Hold on, I gotta check now. That's in the Dolphin Stadium, right? Isn't that where Miami plays anyway? See, these are probably questions I probably should have asked myself before I got into this. Where does play Miami Hurricanes play? Oh, they they move their so they're playing at Hard Rock when they play at home. Okay, so that makes sense. So University of Miami will be playing in their home stadium when they go and play in the national championship the national championship game against Indiana. I think that will be a little that obviously more than a um a big development for them having a potential home field advantage. But I have read that Indiana's their and then their fans are kind of going to that game like crazy, and because of that, the ticket prices for that game are out of this world. So I do think Indiana fans are making it as hard as possible. They're trying to get into that game to kind of help um support their team and be able to be there for that moment. But I do think having this scenario happen, I feel like is a little bit of a weird one because you have so many teams, like it's just a weird spot, right? But again, it is what it is. Um, Miami's gonna have a little bit of potentially home field advantage. Again, you won't really know until you turn on the game and watch it and see how many um what color jerseys are in the stands for each team. So we'll get a better idea of them, but I'm just gonna take a guess and say Miami will probably have a little bit more of the uh the dominant number of people in the stands uh rooting for them in comparison to who's rooting for Indiana. So about the game, how do I think about this game? I I think I talked about this on the last pod where it's starting to feel like my Indiana is like the the team of Destiny to a certain degree, with how these games have been working and how they've been destroying teams and how that really things haven't been close, and uh other than a few games that they've played this year, and they've still come out on the on the good side of them for all of them. And I'm coming into this game, I'll talk about Indiana first. Like Indiana's coming in with the better quarterback. I think they are I think the better quarterback, not necessarily by talent, but by just like knowing what he's doing and like just the way that he's playing right now. I think I would take um why am I forgetting why am I forgetting his name? I would take Fernando Mendoza on a one-game sample size before I would take Carson Beck. If I had to go out and win one game, I would take Fernando right now if you had to pick between the two. Um, running back wise, like you have the two-headed monster of Indiana or Mark Fletcher from Miami side, I think I'd probably, I guess if you add that in with the offensive line, I think Miami is a better offens, like running team than they are a passing blocking team. So I think running back wise, I would take Miami, but I think offensive line, I think I'd rather take Indiana's offensive line because I think they're just a lot better at blocking for the pass. And I think when they do kind of get things rolling, I think they can run the football pretty effectively. Um, even though Miami has some real dogs at the offensive lineman position, and I think they have some real like from the mud type of dudes that are big and they can get after you. But I just think they're not nearly as good when it comes to pass blocking, and I think that's why I give Indiana the nod there. Um wide receiver, like wide receiver-wise, I think I'd probably go Indiana because I think there's their collection of um wide receiver talents a lot better. If you're just to gonna take one wide receiver for this game, I think Malachi Tony is probably the most most talented guy on both of these rosters at wide receiver. But I think overall Indiana just has a good core wide wide receivers that always know what they're doing. They're gonna make the right plays every single time. I mean, when you throw the ball up to them and give them their opportunities to catch the football, more often than not, they're not gonna drop them. And that's why, and I think I'm not gonna sit here and say Miami's offen their their wide receivers are dropping the football, really, but I will say that Malachi Tony's a little bit smaller, and I think he can get a little bit of race out of games. They do use him as a decoy very well in that Miami offense, but I just think in general it's gonna be a lot harder to get Malachi Tony the ball in comparison to what you're gonna be doing for the rest of all the Indiana players. And to the other players on Miami's roster that are like pass catchers and all of that, I just think that they have some athletes, but it's just like it's more of a surprise when they do like produce and have a good day. While Indiana has two, three, four, five guys that all produce, and if you leave them one-on-one, they're gonna make the right play and they're gonna be able to get that ball to them from Fernando Mendoza. And that's where I would give Indiana the credit and like kind of a slant towards them on that as well. And then defensively, man, I think Miami's front seven, I think, is a little more is way more talented. And just again, this is a tail of the two tapes because Indiana's team, when it comes to star-wise and like what their athletes are, are not the same athletic as what Miami's are. But what I would say in general is that Indiana just knows what they're doing as a football team, they're very well coached. Very rarely are they are their players in the wrong spots where they're supposed to be, they're gonna fit their gaps how they're supposed to. They're gonna be on the wide receiver, they're supposed to be, you're not really getting a big play over them by them messing up their coverage. It's gonna be you're gonna you're gonna have to have a player go out there and take it from their DBs and like really make a huge play. And I think Miami has done a like in sorry, Indiana's done a great job of if any team's gonna try to score on them, it's gonna be by dinking and dunking down the field. You're not gonna get a lot of big plays on this Indiana defense. So I just think I'd give Indiana probably a little bit of the edge, even though they're not as talented. I just feel like when it comes to the scheme that they use and how they do it and with the players they do so, I think it's just the perfect meld of having a good defensive mind calling the plays to where players know what they're doing and it's very easy for them, but also like they're not getting out of their spots where they're like not supposed to be. And I just think that overall the consistency that Indiana's defense will have, I just think leads to I think overall this Indiana team is just a better football team from top to bottom. And in a way that I don't think I think Miami, when it comes to like their first 40, 45 players on their roster, they're all five stars and they're all very good and they're all very well compensated. But I just think as a team, I think Indiana is just a better overall team. And then when it comes to Miami, Carson Beck is fine, he's made the plays necessary when he has to in big moments, but it's just I think in this game, Miami might have to they're gonna have to put more of the game on Carson's Beck's shoulders. I just don't think you're you're gonna be able to run the football on Indiana in the same way that you have the last couple games with Mark Fletcher, and I think that they're gonna be able to put a spy on Carson Beck to kind of keep him in check to not get those game-breaking, not game breaking, but like like when you have you're a defense and you're trying to get um another team to get off the field, and then next thing you know you get them to third and ten, or you get them to third and nine, and you think you have it, have it in your bag, and you're gonna get that get off the field, and then Carson Beck hits you with just enough yardage using his legs to convert and get the first down. I feel like that can really take the wind out of a defense. And I just think Indiana's gonna make sure that's not gonna happen. They're gonna make Carson Beck sit back there and make some big throws that they're gonna win the game. And I think Indiana is gonna be very good at that, and they're gonna make it very hard on Carson Beck to make some of the plays he's made over the last couple weeks in the playoff, like just keeping the team moving and keeping them on schedule. Mark Fletcher is a great back, but I just think in the offensive line is awesome too. They have a bunch of maulers up there on the offensive line, but it's just the way that Indiana does it, they do a lot of they do a lot of twists, stunts, all this other stuff to make an offensive line have to think about what's going on instead of just going out there and blocking the man in front of them. And I think because of that, I think they're the I think the offensive line, as talented as you are, they're gonna really have some trouble early on in that game stopping the Indiana defensive line from getting to the quarterback or stopping the run game altogether. So I do think that's gonna be a big challenge for them. Like I said, for the Miami um pass catchers, led by Malachi Tony, who is their big threat guy. But outside of him, there they have a few like decent dudes, but it's just nothing that is gonna kill you if like they're they're not getting separation, you're not gonna get a lot of big plays going down the field, unless, again, like unless you like totally whiff on your coverage, like they're not gonna run past you for the most part in that Miami wide receiver room. And I think overall that's why they have such a quick passing offense. And yeah, if you give them a free big play down the field, they'll take it, but they're not gonna be a team that's gonna rely on those big plays. They're gonna try to nickel and dime throughout the um down the football field along with their run game to really do it. And I just think they Miami may not be as good at that against Indiana as they have been against prior teams they have played in the playoff run. And then defensively, I just don't think Miami has the secondary like because Indiana has a lot of big wide receivers. I think all three of their guys are like they're bigger dudes, like they don't really have a small wide receiver on that roster, at least that plays a lot of minutes for that Indiana offense. And I think with that, Miami's defensive backs are gonna have a really tough time stopping the guys that Indiana will be able to throw out there wide receiver-wise. And it's gonna be jump balls, it's gonna be back-shoulder throws, and heck, there are gonna be a few times we're gonna try to break bust coverage and like get it down the field as well. And that's something Miami's gonna have to deal with with their secondary and their DBs. So I just think all in all, I just think Indiana has a team from top to bottom that can that can win this game, even though Miami has a team from 1 to 45 to 50, kind of in that range, that all are some of the best players in the country. But it's just Indiana as a football team. I just think they're just a better football team, and I think that'll lead to Indiana finishing off having the perfect season. And on top of that, the coaching too. If you're comparing Kurt Signetti to Mario Cristobal, I would take Kurt Signetti every single time because I think he is an offensive mastermind and he knows how to get the best out of his players, and he's done this for the last two years where he has led this team to doing a lot more than anybody ever thought they could. And along with his coaching and like knowing what he's doing offensively and like getting the best out of his players, he's done that in spades. So I think Kurt Signetti in comparison to Mario Cristobal, who I think is a I call him a blockhead all the time because I think he is a blockhead. Like whenever you talk to him, it almost feels like you can't you can notice how little gears are moving up there in his brain. I've again I'm being a little bit joking about that, about that, but I just think Miami, I mean, Mario Cristobal is the head coach for Miami, is an offensive and defensive line guy. He's a very good recruiter, but he's not a tactician of any sort when it comes to making game plans and doing all that. He just says, we want Rum Ball with talented guys. Like, I just feel like that's kind of like what his vibe is as a coach. And I think all in all, when you're facing off against a Kurt Signetti, you're gonna have to have a team that's led with a coach by with a with a really good offensive mindset or if a mindset in general of trying to disrupt, and I just don't think that's what he is really good at. But he's really good at recruiting, and there's players out there that's gonna do be doing the job and they're gonna try their best. But at some point you're gonna need to kind of scheme something up to make it happen. And I think I believe in Indiana, Indiana's coaching staff a little bit more because they've been working with more with less all this time, and now everybody's looking at and saying this team is very good, but it's just they've been working with the same players they've been doing the last two years for the most part, other than the quarterback, I think. And they weren't able to get the job done, but now they've kind of figured it out, and they're Fernando Mendoza is making a lot of big plays for it in general because of it. So I would give the coaching aspect a little bit of a bump for Indiana as well. And I think all in all, I think Indiana wins this football game. I think they're the more complete team, I think they're the better coach team. I think they're Fernando Mendoza is playing at such a high level right now, he knows exactly what he's doing. He's gonna make the right play every single time. The whole team is gonna make the right play because I think all those players know what their job is and they're gonna be do work work their hardest at making sure that none of like they don't have to talk about how they didn't do what they were supposed to do in that's in that particular play. That's just not how Indiana does it. And I think all in all, I think that leads towards having the success that they've had this year, and I think that that is gonna be able to prevail over a Miami team that I think is a lot more talented, but again, I just think even with all the talent they have, they still have a Carson Beck who I question in comparison to what Fernando Mendoza has been doing all year. And I think that I question what Miami, when it comes to all the talent they have, I think their Wybers, their catch or their pass catchers have been underwhelming for most of the process, and I just don't think Indiana is gonna let them free at all. I don't think they're gonna let Miami just run the football down their throats either. So I just think all in all, I'll take Indiana to win this football game. I think it's just their year, man. And I think it's gonna be a third year, a third year in a row that a Big Ten team wins a national championship. And again, I would have liked, would I have liked it to be Ohio State doing it for a back to back year for sure. But I think Miami fans don't deserve, I've been talking about this on prior pods. Like the fan their fans don't deserve to have a national championship. They really don't. Most of them, most of them are fair weather fans, because I want to say most, not all of them, because I think there are some real diehards out there. But I just think most of their fans are are fair weather fans that when they're not doing good, there's other things to do in Miami and they're not really paying attention. But now that they're winning, they want to all jump in like they've been here the whole time. And I just don't think that's the case. And you can tell that but by when it comes to attendance and how much they don't have people, their own fans, showing up to their games when they're at home when they don't have a national title run coming up. I just think that that's really the case. And I think because of that, I think I'll take Indiana and I'll at least root for them in this scenario where I'm like, I can at least get behind the story of like this may be one of the best stories in all of college ball history if they can finish this off. I really do think it can be. I feel I really do. Um, so that's all I got on the game. I think Jace also picked Indiana as well. I think he's been on the Indiana bandwagon for a minute now. So I think we both pick Indiana to win this game and kind of win the National Championship and finish off the story the right way. So alright. So that's it for the college ball stuff. Let's go ahead and get to the NFL. Um let me get to the let me get to the stories first, NFL wise, and then I will get to the games. Let's see here. Story-wise, in the NFL, the coaching stuff, right? I think we've talked about a lot of the I I did a lot of the coaching. I talked about Mike Tomlin not having a job anymore. Let me just do a re a review of the teams that do not have coaches as of right now. Let's see. NFL. No. NFL coaching vacancies. I think it's like eight or nine right now that don't have coaches. Sorry, I think it's one less now that you know one of them took a job. Um let's see here. When it comes to teams with vacancies, you have the Cleveland Browns, you have the Arizona Cardinals, you have the Miami Dolphins, you have the Las Vegas Raiders, you have um Tennessee Titans, you have the Pittsburgh Steelers, you have the Falcons, and then you have the Baltimore Ravens. Those are now the teams. The Giants were also in that list a couple days ago, but as of I think yesterday, I think it's been reported that John Harbaugh is gonna be the next head coach there at the Giants, and they haven't necessarily ironed out a contract as of yet, but they are working that out. And I think if they're not gonna announce that all this is happening, if it's gonna end up going up in smoke. So I think Harbaugh will end up there, it just depends on what they're gonna do and make the contract work and make sure he has the money that he wants. Because I think it was reported that he wanted like 20 million dollars to um to coach per year, whatever he was gonna go next after being fired from Baltimore. So that is a big deal. And um hold on, do I want to talk? Yeah, yeah, let's get to that. So, how do I think this fit is gonna work with Harbaugh going to the Giants? I think it's a perfect kind of fit for what they need right now. I think they need an adult in the room to get the job done. I I think I think for what they've gone through these whole these last few years is Dayball and him not necessarily being a good people person and not being the most liked amongst not only the locker room, but amongst the his own peers in his own team and the GM role and all of that. And I think in general, I just think that getting rid of a guy like Dayball who's a little bit fiery and that was a little bit off the handle at times, being able to get a guy like Harbaugh that has been doing it for as long as he has and commands respect of the players and knows what he's been doing. He's been working with a great organization for the last 18 years of his of his NFL coaching career with the Baltimore Ravens. So I just think that him going from Baltimore and now going to the Giants can kind of take some of the good things that he was experienced from being with Baltimore for so long and kind of help tweak what the Giants are doing and kind of build themselves up into being a a team that everybody thinks they can be of in this in this NFL where they can be, I'm not gonna say you're gonna say annual contenders, but they can at least get out of the laughing stock portion of being of that type of team, what they are right now as an organization. So I think it's a good, I think it's a relatively good fit. I think it is a little bit weird with the whole I think this that by them hiring him, I think it I think they're pretty locked in on what they have in Jackson Darton. They think they that that Harbaugh can help develop that and not necessarily hinder that at all. I think they it has been reported that he is going to try to bring Todd Munkin in as the OC, the same Todd Munkin that was the OC for Lamar the last few years, where Lamar got multiple MVPs, the multiple MVPs and a couple all pros as well. And like that Todd and also he was the um OC at Georgia too, where they won their nat back-to-back national titles. So the idea that he is going to be able to was he there for both years, or he was here just that first year, and then it was a different guy the second year. I'm not sure about that. But he was at Georgia as well and won a national title as an OC. So having him be able to come in and pair him up with Jackson Dart and kind of bring the best out of him when it comes to an offense, I think it's a pretty pretty big match weight in heaven on that. Because think about the last great talent he did with was Lamar Jackson. I'm not saying that Jackson Dart is Lamar Jackson by any means when it comes to talent, but I will say that Todd Munking knows how to bring out the best in a player, and I think that Jackson Dart has some real role tools there to deal to mold. I really do think so. Whether inside of his own brain he can get through the idea that hey, you probably need to protect yourself a little bit more and not use your head and like get take some of these big hits you've been taking um this past season. That's something he's gonna have to take on on his own and like really learn that lesson. But if he learns that lesson, then you get you're gonna get the Todd Munkin and you're gonna get some real weapons back, you're gonna get Bleak Neighbors back at some point, and hopefully draft another wide receiver at um to some degree. Um, not maybe not in the first round, but in like in later rounds in this upcoming draft this year. I do think that the Giants could be turned down, turned around pretty quickly. I'm not gonna sit here and say that they're gonna be with in like playoff contention in their first year, but I do think from being at like four wins where they're at right now to getting to seven, eight, nine wins next year would be a huge improvement. And I think that Harbaugh going in there, I think they are gonna give them the time and space to make it happen and really re-like re uh vitalize that team in the way that he wants it to be built. And I think because of that, they'll be a more disciplined team, they'll be they'll know what they're doing there. They have they'll they'll have the belief in their own coach that he can get them to the promised line because he's done it before. Um, again, he did it with Joe Flacco as the quarterback and like all those great talented players on defense, but again, he got it done. So you have the players gonna have to give him a good portion of respect and realize like, hey, maybe he can get us where we need to go. So I do think Harbaugh is a and here's the the only caveat I have on all this is that the whole thing with the GM in him is that because one of the cat one of the rules that he was making for whatever coaching hire that he was gonna whatever coaching job he was gonna take, one of the demand or the ask it, the asks or demands, however you want to take it, is that he wanted to have he wanted to have more like full control of the roster, have final say when it comes to the roster, which kind of makes him the pseudo-GM as well, right? With the way that kind of is worded. And then he or if he doesn't have he's not the GM himself, he wants to be able to have a say on who the GM is and not have a GM automatically over him when he takes the job he whatever job he was going to take. And as of right now, before he uh even got hired, like they only fired Dayball. They did not fire their GM Joe Shane. And I think with that being the case, how was this, how were they gonna come together in this upcoming offseason and then going into next year, where one of Harbaugh's asks was that he got a chance to either help pick the new GM or if that he can have the final say on the roster. I'm not sure how he'd deal with that, or how Joe Shane would deal with the idea that he was pretty close to being fired on his own accord, and now he's gonna be hiring a coach, he's or he's being forced to hire a coach that may have wanted him fired from the get-go, and that also has major say as to who's gonna have like the last say on who what player is gonna get picked in the draft or who's gonna get picked up in free agency. Like, I just feel like that's a weird dynamic to start start off with, and I just think that it'll lead to a little bit of sabotaging to a certain extent if it doesn't go well between those two, and I think that might create a real little bit of a weird scenario. Because if it comes down to it, and the owner has to pick between the owner, between the um GM and the head coach, he's gonna pick the the head coach that he's paying a lot more money to do the job that he's doing in comparison to what the GM is. Especially since, like I said before, that the GM probably should have been fired this year or last year, after the whole thing with Saquon, like on the on the hard knock show and like all the decisions that they've been making. Like, there was no reason to stick with one having the same GM and then go to a new head coach because they're not necessarily going to be all the way aligned on what they're trying to do. And I've long maintained this thought that if you're gonna hire a new coach, you better just hire a new GM too and have them be locked in at the hip. Because if you just and tell them from the get-go, is if one is fired, both y'all are fired. So they can't, so literally they both have to go either sail sail high amongst the stars together, or you're gonna sink together with the ship. There is no kicking the other guy down to make sure you get to keep your job and they go. That's been like that. I think would be a more it would just lead to having some real stakes on both of you, so you they have to stay in unison. Like, there is no turning against each other if they if everybody's under the same same idea that if one guy's gone, everybody is. And I think that would lead to just a more like cohabitable situation. And I think because of how the Giants have have managed to get this job done, how they did how the ownership decided to do this by keeping the GM and now hiring Harbaugh, I think it's leading to my it might lead to a sticky situation if they don't cut if they're not totally aligned on everything from the get-go when it comes to the draft and signing players from free agency and all of that. So um, I think it could be a little bit messy, but who knows? We'll see. Um, but from there you have him gone, and now he's taking that job. And you know what's funny is that he gets fired from the Baltimore job. And when you look at all these teams, all these jobs that were open up until he took the Giants sub, he got fired from the place that now has the best opening for any other candidate out there. Because I just think the fact that Baltimore will be the team that's open, they have a quarterback that is in the prime of his career, and that is like perennially a top five guy in all of the NFL. On top of the fact they have a great GM, they have a very good organization that has a really good owner, and I'm not gonna sit here and say they're gonna give you all the time in the world to get the job done, but I do think they're gonna have a lot more patience by comparison to like a lot of the other organizations in the NFL. Not the Steelers, of course, because the Steelers have had three coaches since three coaches in 50 years with what the Steelers like to do. I think the Steelers have made it a real pride in not firing head coaches in a way that Baltimore has not necessarily been that way. But I do think when it comes to overall stability, having a quarterback, I think it's probably the best job. And Harbaugh got fired from that job. So now with the jobs that are left, now you're thinking now you're talking about Baltimore, you're talking about Pittsburgh. If I had to rank the jobs, I think we already did this game between me and Jace, but I would take Baltimore at one, Pittsburgh at two. I'd probably take Atlanta at three with all the talent that they have. They don't have there's no guarantee they have a quarterback or not. So I think that might be a little bit of a problem. Um, but I just think all the talent they have around, who cares that quarterback now? They just have so much talent around that team, both defensively and offensively. I think they're gonna have whatever coach takes on that job is gonna be starting from a good position when it comes to talent acquisition for the football team. Um, or trade pieces if you want to trade trade some of them and get pieces back to kind of help um supercharge your build for the next few years. I think the Falcons are a really good match, and I think that why that's why I have them three. Um number four, I'd probably take the Raiders because they do have the number one overall pick. They have a very clean roster when it comes to like not having a lot of dudes they owe a lot of money to. They have really good tight end in Brock Bowers. That's a guy you don't have to replace at all. And then everything else, you kind of get to go in and kind of like have your own, um, if you're the coach, kind of like have your own idea as to how you want the team to look. And I think they have they can there's nowhere to no way to go up but up for this organization and for this team. And I think the only guys that are left is Max Crosby and um why am I forgetting his name now? Oh no, I literally just said his name. Brock Bowers. Those two are the best players you have on that roster. Everybody else is free game, and I feel like whether to trade them or whether to replace them, all of it. And I just think that that like that is a very appealing spot, especially with an owner that's very rich and is willing to spend money and do all of that. I feel like it's a very good spot. I maybe a little bit more dysfunctional to compare us in comparison to some of the teams that are ahead of them in my ranking, but I think it's a very, a very good spot. Um, so number four, I would take is probably Tennessee, because they do already have their quarterback figured out. They do, they it is a lack of overall talent from in general, and I do think that the ownership is a little bit weird in how that's going because they have a new owner that's been more recent over the last few years. They had Vrabel in their office and they picked the GM over Vrabel, and now Vrabel's off with the Patriots doing some really good things there, and they've now fired that GM they picked over Vrabel and then hired two GMs since then. So, like they weren't even locked in on the position decision that they made, and they got rid of a very good head coach to do so. So, so that part is a little bit weird, but you do already have your quarterback locked in. I do think Cam Ward is a very good guy, very good player. You have a I think it's like a top five pick or something like that to go pick up another player to kind of help out your team in general, and then I just think overall there's nowhere to go but up, and not to mention you're gonna be in a very winnable division. You have you're in the AFC South, you have to deal with Jacksonville and Houston, but I think they're just up and down as organizations, you know where you're gonna guarantee that either one of them are gonna just dominate that whole division for years to come. I do think that um Tennessee Titans really can build them, not to mention I think they're gonna have a little more patience, and I think that they have a lot more talent they need to build around um Cam Ward, so I think they're just gonna have a tad bit more patience, you'll have a little bit more time to kind of build that team up before you're gonna really have to ask any questions, be asked any questions about hey, why aren't we winning more games? Um, and then that was five. I would go would I go Miami six or would I go Arizona six? I'd probably go Arizona six. They do have Kyler Murray who they either have to get rid of or trade or draft or something like that. So they are gonna have to deal with the Kyler Murray thing, but I think outside of that, they have a very I'm not gonna say good foundation, but they have some foundational players on that squad. They have Marvin Harrison Jr., they have Trey McBride, they have guys like Buda Baker, and they have some like younger defensive guys that played a lot of football this year that I think they can build around. And I think they have relative, they have a really good state they live in, they have a really good city where players are gonna want to go there when it comes to um when they're free agents and all of that. And I just think overall, I think it's a team with a very low floor right now that can be built up how you however you'd like to. And I think Arizona's gonna like they're probably a little bit more quick, hair, like um trigger, like happy. Sorry, what's the word I'm looking for? They have a really hasty trigger finger when it comes to firing coaches and trying to get a new guy in. So I think you're gonna have to deal with a little bit of that, but I do think there's nowhere to go but up for that team because they've had such deficiencies at certain positions. And I feel like once you kind of get the Kyler Murray thing figured out and figured out a new quarterback, I think this team could be a lot better. Because think about it, I think they were playing a lot better with Jacoby Brissett as their backup coming into the games and just running the offense. I think they played a lot better over time, and I just think that getting a little bit more of that, maybe a tad bit more talent in that in that spot, I think could lead to them winning a lot more games. So I think that one was six. I would probably go with Miami at seven. Because I think Miami has some talented guys, but I just think that overall they have a really big culture problem. Ownership, I think, is a lot is very um unstable in general. And I think that you they already gave all that money to Tua that they're gonna have to eat over the next couple years. They do they even have their first round pick? I don't think so. Let me see. They have the 11th overall pick, so they don't really have a great draft pick to kind of help fix their squad as of right now, and they just need a whole culture shift, man. I feel like they've been messing around so much with uh old boy um what's his name? McUh Josh McDaniel. Nope. Nope. Mike McDaniel. Mike McDaniel, that's his name. Um they've been messing around with him for so long, and like and I think they have some real players that really have to figure some things out on whether they actually like, you know, playing for the team or just being where they're at as a location. And I feel like they really need to get a really a whole they need to wipe away that whole slate clean and really build up from the bottom up. And uh I think they it's gonna be a lot of work to get there, which is why I think I probably have them second to last at seven, and I'd probably go Cleveland Browns at eight. They don't have a quarterback, they have a really good draft pick, and who this is not a really good, a really great quarterback draft as of right now. Um, but they don't like they have a lot, their defense is very well overpaid, a little bit older. Miles Garrett obviously is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. But outside of that, they've paid a lot of dudes on that defense, and their defense is good, but it's not good enough to be as paid as high as they are. And you like offensively, you really don't have like Harold Fenn and the tight end is pretty good. Um, like I said, you already don't have a quarterback. Shador is not really the guy long term, I don't think. And then wide receiver-wise, you don't have a lot of great weapons, like Jerry Judy, like the guy has stone hands half the time. And then you're dealing with like other, like you just don't have a you do have you have Quitchon Judkins, who is the running back, but he just broke, he had a very horrific injury in um this past season. He's gonna have to come back from, but you just have a lack of talent there. The organization's the ownership is a little bit weird and not really all that great. Their GM, they fired their coach and then kept the GM Andrew Berry, which I'm like, uh like I don't think he's like he's been okay drafting, but I don't think it's been that ironclad to where they like you can't get rid of him at all. Because I just think, again, hiring a new head coach but keeping your GM that's been there is like a little bit of a weird scenario where they're not locked in at they're not locked in at the hit, man. They're just not. That's just not how it's gonna go. And I just think all that, not to mention they have so much money that they have put in their in dead cap hits because of Deshaun Watson's contract that's fully guaranteed. So they don't even have a lot of money to play with when it comes to signing new players to try to help out their team. Not to mention they live in a state, live in a spot in Cleveland where that is not a free agent destination by any means. So even if you Do you get a player that like you want to try to get to come there, you're gonna have to overpay them because they're like, Hey, I have to go live in Cleveland? I don't want to fucking do that. I'd rather go play with potentially a better team and a better place rather than come to Cleveland, unless you overpay me, which which is then that's when I'll decide to come there. So I think the the Cleveland Browns are by far the worst job available. Um so that's all I went through all the jobs real quick. I did I think I did it with Jace before, but it wasn't really all that in depth, and I kind of wanted to do it myself since you know Jace ain't here to stop me. But so that's all the jobs that are left. Um, obviously I talked about my Steelers already. I already had the whole breakdown and all that getting emotional out about Mike Tomlin. But if I had to choose as a fan, real quick, I'm just going my fan brain real quick as of what I want for the team. I just need an offensive guy to help, you know, kind of build into the future and have a little bit better offensive lines, line play and have some better offenses. Because again, like I've said before, winning in the regular season, you need to have offense to play. And heck, even in the even in the playoffs, man, I get it. Defensive defenses win playoff games. I totally agree with that. But like just scoring 10, 15 points to win a football game in the playoffs is not gonna cut it. Like, you really need to have an offense that can score, and like, especially in big moments when you have to go out there and win the game. And I think that again, if you take one of those defensive whiz kids, I can totally I can get behind it, I can get the idea, but I just think you're gonna still go into the same issue with now you're gonna have to keep replacing your offensive coordinator. If they're good, if you're gonna get a new offensive coordinator, if they're good, they'll end up getting a head coaching job anyway and you're gonna have to replace them again, or they're gonna be bad and you're gonna have to fire them and now have to find a new guy. And I feel like it's just a little bit of a kind of like spinning your wheels for the offensive coordinator position if you go a defensive coach route instead of going with like an offensive head coach route, to where if you have an offensive guy that can be your play caller and head coach, I do think especially if they're gonna be a little bit younger, because you know, the Steelers only want to hire guys that they can keep for 15-20 years. I feel like if they're gonna hire a little bit younger, get an offensive guy. I feel like they really can't have a long-term hire that can really help themselves out for the future. And again, on top of the other things where you know they have to not be paying the most on their defense in all the NFL, I think it's gonna be take a huge shift. They're gonna probably have to get rid of a few guys. Like there's gonna be a lot of change that they're gonna have to do on top of the head coach, but I think that going in a with an offensive head coach a little bit younger, I think will be a great first step into making me think that maybe they're gonna make some real changes for the better coming into the next few years and trying to build back up to you know, the standard being the standard of actually potentially get making real playoff runs rather than just make just making the playoffs and then losing in the first game that you play in against some of these better teams that are just built better from the ground up by comparison to what the Steelers have been over the last five years or so, ever since Big Ben left. On top of getting a quarterback, of course, that's also gonna be a big deal. Whether through the draft or through getting somebody in free agency, that's also gonna be an option, too. But again, having an offensive head coach will lead to having better overall quarterback play, even if you don't have the best quarterback, you're gonna be able to manage a lot more because you're gonna have a really good offensive coordinator play caller that can kind of manage the situation. And that's all I got on the coaching stuff. Um Is there any other stories I want to talk about in the NFL before I got to before I get to the games? Let's see here. Oh, with one thing. Um Dante Moore, the quarterback for Oregon, he was a potential, like if they said he were if he were to come out from Oregon and go into the draft, everybody was saying he'd be like a top five, top ten draft pick, pretty much without an issue, because there's only one quarterback everybody has pretty much locked in as like the number one guy for this year's quarterback class, and that's Fernando Mendoza. But the number two guy everybody was saying was Dante Moore, and maybe like talking about how may he might be even more talented than Fernando Mendoza, might be a little bit more of an NFL guy by comparison. Um, so like it was people were really waiting on seeing what he would decide to do when it comes to whether he was gonna come out of school or not and go into the NFL. And then he announced during this past week um that he was going to stay at Oregon for another year. And a lot of the news is based off of saying that he is so against having to potentially go to the New York Jets and that having that be the start of his NFL career, that he's gonna forego the draft for another year and hope that he can come out next year and have a better chance to go to a better organization that will lead to him having some more long-term success, on top of the fact that he's a younger quarterback in general that's only had about 16-18 starts in his college career, and having some more starts will help you have better long-term success in the NFL as well. But again, the main story is the fact that he's trying to stay away from having the Jets potentially pick him. But here's I only have two caveats to that, right? One, if you were to come out next year, there's no guarantee you'd be coming out and being as highly rated as you would be coming out now, right? So this year, all you have to do is Fernando Mendoza, and then pretty much the rest of the quarterback draft is kind of like, ugh, right? But coming out of next year, you're gonna be dealing with the Arch Mannings, whoever however good he ends up being by the time um he goes through next year. But again, he did show some real signs this this past season, especially at the end of the year, of playing a lot better up to the kind of talent that everybody thought he had. Um then you're gonna be dealing with maybe Julian Sand, you're gonna be dealing with some of these other great quarterbacks. I think it's gonna be multiple, three, four, or five quarterbacks that everybody's looking towards potentially being first round picks in in next year's draft. So I just feel like there's gonna be a lot of a lot more dudes to have to fight for, fight with in order if you want to be the like a high the highest pick you could possibly be and get the most guaranteed money, obviously, because in the NFL, the higher you get picked, the more money you get as a contract. And I feel like that's you're rolling the dice on that. But again, I get the idea that you're just like you don't want to start with the Jets because they just you start at such a weird spot to where they don't have a lot of great quarterback coaching, they're keeping the same head coach that they've had they had last year, which isn't like nobody's really in love with the idea of them keeping the coach because he he's a defensive guy. Why am I forgetting that guy's name? Hold on. Um, let's see here. The Jets head coach. Aaron Glenn. Um, so he didn't do all that great of a job this past season. They have some talent, they have a wide receiver, they have, but they traded away some of their better players this past year. So the idea of going being a young quarterback, going to a place where they don't really have a great track record of developing quarterbacks with a newer head coach, who knows if he's actually gonna be a long-term guy for them. And even though you do get the money that you're gonna get being a top draft pick, like they're like, what does that matter if you're not gonna have a long NFL career? If you're not gonna be set up for success for your future. So I get the idea of him kind of not going out, but I do think he is taking a risk, not only on whatever he's gonna have to deal with next year when it comes to other guys getting drafted, but what happens if he comes out next year for Oregon and sucks? Like, as high as he as high as his stock was for this come upcoming draft, by the time next year rolls around, like there's there's only room to go down. Like, I don't think there's really a lot of room to go up from where he's at right now. So he really is taking some risk when it comes to betting on himself that not only will he be able to either keep his level of play the same or even elevate that going like in next year, as well as now you're dealing with all the other quarterbacks that have an opportunity to go to come out with you, and would have to be other pillars in your way to potentially get drafted as high as you would like to be. So I do think those are the two biggest issues, but again, when it comes to the Jets, man, I totally understand the fear of not wanting to have to play for that organization because again, it's been bad for a lot of different dudes that's had to play there over the over the a very good period of time over the last like 10 years or so. So I get the idea of not feeling great about it. Other stories I wanted to talk about. Um Seahawks, um, head coach, really optimistic that Darnold plays. Because I think it came out coming into this past week that Darnold was dealing with an oblique injury, I believe. Yeah, was an oblique injury, and everybody's worried about whether he was going to play or not because again, I don't even know who their backup is. And Sam Darnold, as much as he has kind of struggled as of recently, he is their best chance to win this football game because he is a very talented quarterback and he's been playing very good as of for the most part this year. So the idea of him potentially not being able to play in this first playoff game in the second round would definitely be an issue. But as of right now, they're saying that um Mike McDonald, their head coach, is saying that he's very optimistic that he's gonna play. So that is definitely a huge deal that he'll be able to go and play in that game because they're gonna be playing against San Fran. Again, San Fran is so hurt defensively that I think as long as Seattle is able just to put up some relatively good points, they can score around 20 points. I do think they probably win this game just because their defense is so smothering, and I think they're gonna be that big of a hindrance on that San Fran offense. But San Fran is gonna get theirs, like you're not gonna be able to hold, like, I think earlier on like when they played in the last game this past season, I think the Seahawks held San Fran like three points, which is the lowest that San Fran has has scored under Shanahan as their head coach, and they kept uh Christian McCaffrey on his lowest run total that he's as he's had since he's been a San Francisco 49er. So again, the Seahawks defense is very good and they're very um they're very aware of what the 49ers like to do offensively and all that. So I do think they're gonna have a very good chance of slowing down the Niners, but like holding them to three points again is not gonna be a guarantee, even with San Fran now not having Kittle in this game in comparison to what they had in the last time they played each other. So I think it's gonna be even harder for the Niners. But if there's any coach that can kind of scheme some things, some things open and figure it out is Shanahan. So I think that the Seahawks just guaranteeing, like, hey, we're gonna hold them to under 10 points, not necessarily gonna be the case. So like just saying, hey, if we can score 20 in this, get two or three touchdowns in this game, I think you'll have a very good chance to win. I think that'll be a very um that'll be a lot easier having Sam Darnold be able to be the quarterback to do that job for you. Next story. Um, Texans wide receiver Nico Collins um with a concussion, he is ruled out against the Patriots. He did uh experience that concussion um in that last game against Pittsburgh. I think it happened early on in that game. He managed to come back and then he ended up getting hit again in the third quarter. And then they said he was woozy, looked very bad, that he uh wasn't able to really he didn't know where he was, and it was like very disorienting, and he was not able to go for the end of that game. So now with it being a short week, there was pretty much no guarantee, like no chance he was gonna be able to be um be able to come back for this game because of how bad that concussion looked. So that's gonna be a big deal. I'm not gonna lie to you, because he is their biggest weapon on offense for Houston. And based off of how bad the Houston offense looked last week against Pittsburgh, again, I don't think the New England Patriots have the same defense as the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has. But I think that if if he if uh CJ does not feel comfortable back there and he doesn't have his number one guy to kind of his safety blanket to kind of throw to, like, can Houston get past? I think the defense over Houston is gonna be awesome and they're gonna be able to uh really slow the Patriots down, but CJ's gonna have to play better than what he played against the Steelers to win this game. So can CJ get through this game and play a lot better in comparison to what he played last week is gonna be a big question. It's gonna be a little bit harder without having Nico Collins out there for the full game. Um for you know for the Patriots to have to worry about. Because again, he is such a big receiver that is such a huge weapon that I think it just kind of puts a lot of stress on the defense, and I think without him, it's just not gonna be nearly as much stress on the Patriots' defense to make have to stop a wide receiver as dangerous as Nico Collins. Um next story. Let's see. The Bills they have activated their defensive tackle at Oliver, so that's gonna be a huge piece of their defensive line to kind of help go get after Bo Knicks and help stop the running game for the um for Denver. So I think that's gonna be a big deal because not only is he a very good pass rusher, but he does help uh really stop the run for and especially in that middle of that Bills defense. That's gonna be a huge deal to get him back, and then the wide receiver Chris Samuel, um Curtis Samuel, sorry, it's Chris Samuel, Curtis Samuel. He's a buck guy, I should get his name right all the time. Um he is all sorry, not Denver wide receiver, it's gonna be for the Bills. Curtis Samuel for the Bills, wide receiver is gonna be coming off of injured reserve, so both of them coming back will is definitely a huge help. Curtis Samuel, because of how thin the Bills are at wide receiver, Curtis Samuel has always been that kind of H back guy in the NFL that can like he just kind of picks the right spot to kind of make a big play. And again, they're not really using him as like a star guy, they're bringing him in every once in a while, and it just feels like every single time they they have a chance and he's out there, he does manage to show out there and make a big play and kind of do something. So, like having another wide receiver to add, again, most of this team, the way that they're built for the Buffalo, they're built to run the football, they're built for Josh Allen to kind of dink and dunk down the field. Not a lot of huge plays coming out of that offense because their wide receiver core isn't necessarily the greatest when it comes to big plays. But if you can get some if you can get another wide receiver like Curtis Samuel that's been in that offense for a lot for a while, and that has some a little bit of speed to kind of make some bigger plays after the catch, I feel like will be a huge deal for that Buffalo Bills offense because they're going against a very good but um Denver Broncos defense. And I think they're gonna make it very hard, and you're gonna have to dink and dunk down the field and they're gonna have to run the football. Josh Allen's gonna have to use his legs a little bit, and hopefully they can get um they can get James Cook more involved in this game than what he was last game against Jacksonville. So I think all in all, they need a lot more help from everybody, and having a guy like Curtis Samuel kind of help out that offense will be a big deal. Let's see. Any other story I want to talk about here. Rams will get one of their offensive linemen back and Kevin Dotson. So either going to get their their um, I think he was their right guard, right? Kevin Dotson, their right guard will be back for this game. That'll be a huge help for that offensive line to kind of help protect Matthew Stafford as they go up against that um that Chicago Bears defense. Again, it's not like Chicago has a very good pass rush at all, but again, having every single guy healthy as you can is a very good help for that offensive line. Because again, like they can run the I think the Bears are not really good at defensive whatsoever. I think they can't really stop the run, they can't stop the pass. And I think that if they if the Rams can get into a little bit of a flow, especially with it being as cold as it's gonna be, I think they said it's gonna be like five, like 10 degrees, and it's gonna feel like negative degrees. It's gonna be like negative five, negative ten degrees with Winchill and all that. Because that stadium is right off the lake in Chicago and all in everything. So I think as cool as it's gonna be, the more they can kind of get the running game going and then kind of use play action and all of that to kind of like just keep Chicago, the Chicago Bears defense off their um on their toes will be a huge deal. And then having one of your better off one of your starting offensive linemen back for this game will be a huge help towards making that happen. And then for the 49ers, um Fred Warner, their linebacker who has been out for months with a I think a pectoral injury. Hold on, let me see here. Coming off injury reserve. He had a fractured and dislocated right ankle. Sorry, it wasn't a pectoral thing. I was totally wrong on that. So it was a fractured and dislocated right ankle that he's coming back from. He's not gonna be able to come back this week, but they're saying he is practicing and he's kind of getting back into the rhythm of things, and that if they manage to get through this game against Seattle and they're managed to play next week, that he should be able to play. Again, doesn't really help them for this game against Seattle. But if they manage to get through this, I think he'll be a huge add for them next week on whoever they play in the NFC Championship game. But I think it does add itself to be a little bit of a carrot for the rest of the team because they've had so many guys out for this year and they're missing, especially they lost George Kittle last week, um, to his um Achilles injury. So like potentially being able to kind of rally behind, like, hey, if we can get through one more week, we can have one of our best defensive players come back, at least the one that one of our best defensive players back next week, can be a huge care for that that team overall to kind of like rally and try to make the unimmatchable happen. Because I think there are a lot of I think that's the biggest spread in this whole um this whole divisional round is going to be for this game with the Niners and Seahawks. I think the Seahawks are a seven-point favorite at home. So not a lot of people are believing that to the Sam Frank can really win this game because of how hurt they are. So maybe they can use this as a rallying, rallying cry to make it happen. Who knows? But again, we'll see, we'll see what happens on Sunday. When they I think it's Sunday when they play, right? Boom, Saturday, Saturday. Yeah, no, sorry. No, it'll be Saturday, Sun Saturday, tomorrow. So tomorrow night's game. We'll see what happens tomorrow night if they can make it happen. And I think we can see Fred Warner in the next in the week after. And then anything else story-wise? I don't think so. Oh, uh, Philly. Philly is having a big mess right now. They have AJ Brown thing, whether they want to keep him or not and trade him. I think it's gonna be I think it's untenable at this point. I think there's no way they can bring AJ Bra AJ Brown back for another year. But I think they're such shrewd businessmen when it comes to the GM and all of that. I think that they can't get a deal that they really want for him. I think they'll be more than happy to try to keep him and bring him back for next season if they're not gonna get the deal that they want. And I feel like that's not gonna be a huge, not gonna be very nice if they bring AJ Brown back after everything that has happened this year between him and the team. So I don't know. It's a weird one. They have fired their OC, Kevin Patulo. So I think that is one he was gonna fall on the sword no matter what. I think they have fired him from that job, but they're keeping him on the staff, which is kind of weird. But I think obviously he hasn't he was never the guy, he was never gonna be the guy to fix this offense at all throughout this year. And I think that now you're dealing with having to find a new OC, and then now you're dealing with AJ Brown, whether he's gonna stay or not. I feel like that's all a lot of things that this Eagles team is like, I don't know, man. It's just a weird mess with this Eagles team, all in all. I think Jalen Hurts has a lot of like things he needs to answer for when it comes to his play on the field, because I don't think it's all on the OC and on the wide receivers that things have gone as bad as they have. I think the very highly paid quarterback in Jalen Hurts also needs to take a little bit of responsibility for how that offense is as well. And I think there has been some rumblings that he is a part of the issue as well of not progressing as a quarterback as much as the team would like him to. And not when it comes to just physically, but mentally too, when it comes to reading defenses and making the right decisions and all of that, and maybe like so being so against taking any chance because he doesn't want to have any negative plays that I think hinders your offense a bit. So I do think like overall, I think there's a lot of people that have to ask some real good, like real deep questions about themselves and about everybody else on that team, and whether they can kind of build it back up to come back and like have a chance to you know keep winning football games. As talented as they are, there's no reason why they shouldn't be a perennial contender every single year. And I think that it's going to take a little bit of a hit if AJ Brown gets traded like they probably should, but I think it might help out the whole roster because I think it's been fractured for a little bit now, and I think that whole thing with AJ Brown is really helping, not not really, sorry, it's not helping the situation at all. And again, I'm not sure why they're keeping their head coach either. I think um I don't know, man. He's their their head coach. I'm forgetting his name. Ah, Jeffrey Lurry, that's the owner. I forget what's his name. Not Howie Roseman, that's a GM. Um Nick Siriani. I don't know why I had to think so long about his name. Um, but yeah, I'm not sure why they keep Nick Sirianni. He's not really all that great of a head coach. He's not an offensive or defensive guy, more of a vibes guy, and I think he's doing terrible at the vibes thing. And if he's not not giving you great vibes as a team and doing the things the way he needs to, and then if he's not gonna be an offensive defensive guy and he's making bad hires when it comes to offensive and offensive coordinator, I'm not sure what the hell he's doing there. I'm really I really don't know. And nobody on that team really respects him at all. So I'm just like, all in all, I'm not sure why it's the big old mess down there with Philly, and I'm not sure what they're gonna do to kind of fix it, but um we'll see. It's gonna be a little bit of a soap soap opera over the offseason for sure. All right, that's all the stories I want to talk about. How far are we in, right? We're about an hour 21, so not too bad. So hopefully I'll be able to finish off this podcast in the next 15-20 minutes or so, um, and then get us out of here. So I do have, I'm gonna make my picks for these games. I do already have Jace's picks, so we're not gonna be without those. Um as of last week, I think we we kind of did like a reset for the playoffs. For last week's picks, I went five and one, Jace went three and three. Um, I picked Buffalo and he picked Jacksonville. I picked Houston, he picked Pittsburgh, and then I also we both picked Philly, so that's where the third loss is third loss for him, and then the first one loss came for me. So that's the difference for us. I went five and one, he went three and three, and now to go on to these next four games for this divisional round. So we'll go in order for how they're gonna be playing off here. There's gonna be two games tomorrow, and then there's gonna be two games on set on Sunday. So that'll be how it works out, and let's go ahead and get to the games here. First one's gonna first one tomorrow, I think it's at 4 4 30. First game is gonna be buff number six Buffalo at number one, Denver. Jace has picked Denver in this game. Like I said before, man, like Denver has a really good defense. I I'm not sure how I feel about Bo Knicks, man. Can I trust Bo Nicks if like this game comes in, like becomes a little bit of a shootout in the sense if they the Denver defense can't stop Josh Allen and the and the Buffalo Bills offense from scoring? And can Bo Nicks kind of or if heck, even if it doesn't get to that point, even if it's on a shootout and Denver needs a last minute, like a last second drive for from Bo Nicks to win the game, can I trust in Bo Knicks to make that happen? I just I'm not sure if I can. Um but on Buffalo's side, they have Josh Allen, he's gonna do what he needs to do, he's gonna keep playing clean football, not making big mistakes, and turning the football over will be a huge one. Because again, that's always been the narrative with Josh Allen. Like when he turns on like Superman mode with him, like can he do it without the turnovers? Or is he gonna do it with the turnovers and it kind of ruins the team even more? And then on top of that, can they get their run game going against a very good Denver defense? Is a really big question. And if they can't get the run game going, can any of their wide receivers slash tight ends get open and kind of help Josh Allen get down the field the way they need to? And then on the Buffalo defense, I think they I think their defense played very good last week, but I do think they have to play against a little bit more talented of a team in Denver. They have a little bit better of a run game than what they had to face last week with Jacksonville, and then on top of that, like they have I'm not gonna I think I'd probably take Denver's wide receivers over Jacksonville's. Let me think. Yeah, because I would say I think Jacksonville has more small speedy receivers, but I think Denver's receivers, I think they're all bigger bodied type of dudes, and I think that might be a little bit more a bit a different challenge for that Buffalo secondary, but I think they played very well either way, and they're not small dudes in that secondary for Buffalo, but it's just can they keep up and kind of keep everything in front of them and not kind of let any big plays over uh up over their head? Denver is at home, and I think Denver is like a one and a half point favorite coming into this game. Weather wise gonna be around 40 degrees, it's gonna be pretty nice weather, not gonna be anything crazy when it comes to very cold or a bunch of snow or anything. The question is for me, am I gonna pick the better team in Denver or am I gonna pick Buffalo and Josh Allen to get the job done? Because he's the best player in the AFC left. I think he might be the best player in the whole in the whole freaking tournament. I really do think he might be. In all the playoffs, I think he might be the best player left. And I can he can he kind of keep this this momentum going and win this game. I think they can. I'm gonna take Buffalo. Screw it, man. I like I said last week when they were um when they were going up against Jacksonville, it kind of got to a point for me watching Josh Allen in that game where I'm like, man, he's just like it feels like Josh Allen's gonna make it happen, right? The same feeling that you get with Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow to a certain extent, where it almost feels inevitable, and it's just like, hey, they're they're gonna make it happen. It's just when it win and how. But I do think Josh Allen kind of reached that point last week, and I think that I think Buffalo defense will be able to keep Denver from doing what they want to do offensively enough. And I think Josh Allen's just gonna make a few more plays to kind of keep their team in it and kind of get the win. So I'll take Buffalo to win that game. Next game will be San Fran, number six San Fran going to number one Seattle. Seattle's coming off a bye. Jace picks Seattle in this game. I think I will match that and take Seattle. Um, I'll give my reasons for it. I just think San Fran's really hurt right now. They're gonna be without George Kittle. And again, I think you have to give San Fran and Shanahan a lot of credit for having the next man up mentality all year long. Pretty much everybody on that field has gotten hurt on that team, pretty much other than Christian McCaffrey. I think Christian McCaffrey's been the only guy that's really been there all year long. So I think that they really have embodied that seriously all year. And but the thing is that you're missing so many dudes defensively of so many guys hurt. You then you now you've lost George Kittle as well. And again, I think San Francisco's defense has played relatively well in spite of all the injuries that they've had because they have a really good uh deep DC and Robert Salah that knows what he's doing and kind of get that defense playing the way they need to. But it's just now you're facing off against JSN, and even if you stop him, they have other guys in that roster for uh Seattle that can that can beat you, not only running the football, but catching it. And as I just think in Seattle's defense is gonna be so suffocating against that San Fran offense, and now Seattle also won't have to worry about George Kittle. So now they're gonna their whole plan is gonna be have to keep Brock Purdy from killing with his legs, stop Christian McCaffrey from getting a ton of passes and catches in this game, and then keep um a lot of any big plays from happening with their other wide receivers. Because Jawan Jennings is good for a big play every game for the most part, and then you have a bunch of other dudes that are like, eh, but it's not really consistent enough. So I think Seattle defensively has been one of the better defenses in all of the NFL. So I will take them to win this game along with Jace because I just think I just think Sam Fran has done as much as they possibly can. If they win this game, I think it'll take a total collapse out of Sam Darnold, which I think is on the board. Um, Sam Darnold has been a dude that has been known to have not his non-best games in the biggest moments, and this is count, this counts as a very big moment. But I do think it's time for Sam Darnold to kind of make it happen and kind of take that next step. So I think Sam Darnold, I'm not sitting here saying he's gonna be playing amazing, but I do think he's gonna stop play, he's gonna do just enough to not give up the big mistake that'll help them lose this game. So I'll take Seattle along with Jace and win this game, especially there at home. Too much going their way in this in this uh matchup here. Next game, you got number five Houston going to number two New England. Jace picked New England in this matchup. Um, I think on the New England side, Drake May is gonna have to play a lot cleaner football in comparison to what the what he played in the last time we saw him play. I think that was what was the first game? I'm forgetting. Against the Chargers, right? The problem is that with him having the fumbling issues and like having the picks that he threw, the thing is that now he's going up against a lot better defense in in Houston, man. I'm like, that Houston defense needed after you defensively, and then in the secondary, you're not getting away from them. They're not giving up a top, they give up, they've been giving up some big plays, but even when they give up some of these plays, they're gonna tackle and they're gonna do what they have to do. They have a very physical secondary, very they're gonna they're dis disruptive up front. And I just think they're gonna be able to get after a Drake May enough to where I think it'll be very hard on New England offensively. I think it's gonna be very hard for them to run the football, pass the football. I think it's just gonna be very hard on that New England offense. And defensively for New England, I'm like they have an okay pass rush, but their secondary isn't all that great. I think that if if CJ Stroud has another game like he had last game where he's fumbling the football over the place, again, I think that was partially on Pittsburgh for making some of those plays happen. But again, there was a few drops from when the from the court from the center QB exchange when it comes to the snap that have has gone wrong, and I just think that if he does more of that, I think I'm we're it's over at that point. But I think there's no way CJ has two bad games in a row like that, and I think that even without Nico Collins, I do think they have enough weapons offensively to go ahead and get the job done and um make some big make some plays that will put the Patriots on their toes defensively. Is the Patriots gonna have their are they gonna have Christian Gonzalez back? Because I do think that will be a big factor in this. Um because Nico Collins is out. Let's see, Christian Gonzalez, let's see here. Hold on. Let's see here, Christian Gonzalez. He's not on the injury report as of right now. So he will play. So they do they will have Christian Gonzalez. So I think they'll probably put him on the wide receiver from why the one from Iowa, from Iowa State. Hold on, man. I'm picking a bad time to start forgetting names, and it also doesn't help that I'm sitting here by myself, so now it's just like quiet airtime trying to figure out what the guy's name is. Um it's Jaden Higgins. I think, yeah, Christian Gonzalez will be all over Jaden Higgins all game. But I do think with them having the big game from Christian Kirk, it'll also be a big deal for that Houston team. If he can come out and make some bigger plays like he did last, again, having I think he had like 144 yards last game is probably gonna be a little bit too much to ask of him. But with him, Jalen Knoll, if um Jaden Higgins can make a few plays here or there, I get it, he's gonna be have a hard job with working with Christian Gonzalez. Xavier Hutchinson, Berrios, and then they do run the football relatively well, but it's just it's gonna be all on that offensive line to kind of help protect CJ. Because again, if he feels nervous because the offensive line is not protecting him, or if there's bad snaps coming his way, I think it's gonna be all over. But I do think New England defensively, they just don't have again, they have the one lockdown corner and they have a relatively good front seven, but it's not nearly as good what the Chargers have. Um or actually more, not really, not even close to what Pittsburgh has. So I'm not sure if they're gonna be able to put as much pressure up on Houston. But again, with that offensive line for Houston, I think it's gonna be, you know, I wouldn't be totally surprised. But I'll take Houston, man. I'm gonna take Houston and win this game. Here's my thing. I think that I don't think the weather's gonna be but that as bothersome for Houston as everybody thinks it might be. I think that CJ's been dealing with the weather for a long time. He's played in Columbus, Ohio in the bad weather, so I think he'll be more than used to it. I think CJ will be working to play a lot better than what he played last week. I think he's not gonna put up two bad games in a row in that way. And then I think that between the teams, what team has a better chance of which offense has a better chance of performing against the defense they have to face in this game? I think it's gonna be a lot harder for New England to produce against this Houston defense than it will be for Houston to produce against that Patriots defense. And I'd again, like I said, if Houston's offensive line breaks down and like just lets New England through, then I think I'm screwed anyway. But I'm gonna take it, I'm gonna take a chance, I'm gonna take Houston and win this game because I think their defense is absolutely atrocious, uh, not atrocious. They are ferocious and they are elite and they do a lot of good things, they tackle well, they know what they're doing, they get after the quarterback, and I think that if Drake May, there is a more than a good chance of Drake May throwing a few picks or get having some fumbles that'll help out the Houston offense to be able to have some shorter fields. So I'll take Houston and win that game. Next and last game, we have the number five um LA Rams going, sorry, five seeded Rams going to the number two seeded Chicago Bears and playing in Chicago. Like I said before, this game is going to be incredibly cold. I think they said the real fill is gonna be around 15 degrees, 10, 15 degrees with the act, not real fill. It's gonna be that's gonna be with the actual temperature, and that because of the lake and all that and the wind and everything going on around that, I think they call it lake effect. The it's act the real fill is actually gonna be like in like negative 10. So I think that both it is gonna be cold enough to where I think both teams are gonna be feeling the effects of this game in general. And again, I just don't think Chicago's gonna have a huge advantage over the Rams when it comes to because of how cold it is, it's gonna affect everybody. So coming into this game on the Chicago side, their defense is not gonna have a chance to stop LA. I really don't. If the LA Rams get their offense moving and getting down the field, I think when it comes to whether they decide to run the football, whether they decide to throw it with Matthew Stafford to their their wide receivers and Puka Naku and Devontae Adams, this that should other than getting some interceptions, which I think Matthew Stafford has been throwing a few as of recently, other than that, the Chicago Bears defense has not been putting up a fight for the most part against any offense that they have faced. So I don't really don't have a lot of hope for that defense to stop the LA Rams at all if they come and have a relatively good game. The offense for Chicago, can the offense not can they have a little bit faster of a start? Again, the weather's gonna impact everybody, so I'm not gonna sit here and say that either offense are gonna come out and they have a better chance of like starting off hot and like really doing some things early on in the game. But I think that there's no way that Chicago is gonna be able to mosey around offensively for three quarters and then expect to be able to come back late in the fourth like they have been over pretty much this whole season. I just don't think there's gonna be any chance that the Rams are just gonna let Chicago do nothing offensively for three quarters and not have a good lead. On top of that, I just don't think the Rams are gonna be able to like, if they start this game and they kind of get a lead, I just don't think the Rams are going to totally hand the game over to Chicago in the same way that some of the other teams that they have faced have. And then if it comes to a point where like whatever team has the ball less ends up winning it, I think the Rams are I think I'd believe in the Rams a little bit more than that I would than I would believe in the Chicago Bears because you know Matthew Stafford's done it so many times before. So can the Chicago Bears offense play a little bit better from the get-go and like just have a little bit more of a full football game rather than just waiting until the second half or waiting until the fourth quarter to kind of get things going with Caleb Williams, I think will be a big question that they'll have to answer. And here's my do my answer to that, I said I don't think so. Because here's my thing, they've been doing this all year long. That is not something that you just turn off one day and just say, hey, we're just gonna be a better, we're just gonna be a better starting offensive team now, now that we're in the divisional round of the playoffs. Like you've been you've been what you've been all year long. And I just think that if they kind of leave that door open for the Rams to kind of get a lead and then kind of build upon it, I just don't think the Rams are gonna give it up like the Packers did last week. Um and on the Packers side, I mean, on the Rams side, Matthew Stafford, I know what he's I know what he is. He threw, he had a little bit of a pick, a little bit, turned the football over a little bit last week. I don't think I think he could do that, but I just think he does so much of doing everything else. He still throws the football so well, they get the football down the field. Again, it's gonna be cold, it's gonna be impacting everybody, but I think that they've dealt with it before. The heck they played in it last year against Philadelphia and almost got the win there against a much better defense than what they're gonna have to face with the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. Um, so I think Matthew Stafford will be good for this game. I have a lot of confidence that he'll be able to come out and do what he has to do, even in the cold weather. And even if it comes down to if it comes down to being whoever has the ball last, if Matthew Stafford is that guy, I think he'll get the job done. And not to mention, I think he will be throwing to a good coast of pass catchers, man. They'll have Puka Nakua, who is one of the most productive receivers. I've like, he is the most, not the most productive receiver, because I think he I think him and JSN have been battling for all year long. But Puka Naku is like that dude. He's like been so good, especially in the playoffs. He's been really good so far. He played a had a very good game against Carolina last week. So I think Puka Nakua will be awesome, he'll be ready to go. And I think him and Devontae Adams will be able to cook whoever they have on the other side of them. And I think, especially with Sean McVay being the head coach, kind of like um making like cooking up some openings for their wide receiver to get the ball and have a chance to run with it. I think um Sean McVay will get them in a good. Their running backs in Kyron Williams and um why am I forgetting the running back's name? It's the guy from freaking from Michigan. I hate it. Ugh, that's gross that I said that out loud. It's why am I forgetting his name? Death Shark. It's Blake Coram. That running back duo is very, very good. They're not gonna be crazy explosive, but I think all in all, if they just keep handing the football off to them, I think they'll be able to get chunk after chunk after chunk of yards against this very this very bad um Bears defense. So I do think that's gonna be something they can do to kind of like keep their offense moving. I think whatever they choose to do, I think they're gonna be good at, and I think that the Bears are not really gonna be able to stop them at all offensively. So I think the passing game will be good. I think the running game would be good. I just think if they have a good mixture of both, I think they'll be fine in this game, and they will not fall into having the lulls that they had last week against uh Carolina, where it almost felt like they could have ran the football a lot more and controlled the game more, but they decided to keep throwing the football and it kind of just kind of let Carolina get back into the game and kind of like stay in it, while it just felt like they could have run the football a little more consistently and they were getting chunk yards when they were running it, so they could have controlled the football, controlled the game a little bit more. I just think that whatever they decide to do, as long as they are consistent and keep the offense moving, I think I don't think there's anything the Bears can do to really stop them. And that's why I will take the LA Rams to win this game, man. And I think defensively, it again, whenever Caleb decides to turn around, whether it's in the first quarter or in the fourth quarter, more likely gonna be in the fourth quarter, the second half, it's gonna be very hard to stop Caleb Williams that offense because that they that's they've been their bread and butter all year long. It's Caleb throwing that football again. He's not very efficient, but he's gonna get he's gonna push the football down the field. One thing that's it that is in his favor, he does not throw a lot of picks. He has been really good at not doing that. And I think um Ben Johnson as the OC for them has really kind of like manufactured like some bigger plays for them to hit, and on top of that, has coached him up to not take a lot of sacks and not throw a lot of picks and all of that. I think that will keep that lack of negative yardage plays for that offense will kind of keep them in it, especially if um they're not really scoring. But the thing is that if they can serve if the Rams defense can survive, can keep things moving, and not give up any stupid plays while the Bears are kind of struggling offensively, do not give them any reason to kind of spark their offense if they're not going to do it themselves. I think that's the question, that's what I'm looking for. Don't give them a big play they weren't necessarily looking for, and then it help spark the offense for the Bears when they probably weren't going to anyway, because the Bears have just been struggling all year long offensively to get going for the most part in these games. So if the Rams can play well enough, again, their secondary is their biggest issue, and I think the Bears will be able to take advantage of that if they decide to turn their offense on. But it's just stop the run because that when they are when they're not doing great offensively, they do like to run the football a lot with Kyle Manungay and DeAndre Swift. So if you can stop the run, make Caleb have to get the job done, but he's very inefficient, and just keep the big play from getting going over your head. I think the LA Rams should probably win this game. They should. They're the better team. I think Matthew Saferson playing great football, and I think that Chicago has been playing around with having slow starts all year long. And I just don't think they're gonna turn it on for this game when it's gonna be the coldest that it's that a playoff game has been in a very long time. And I think that the Rams are gonna be able to handle the cold enough to get the job done and win this game. So that's all the games. There's only four of them. I don't know how I managed to turn this podcast into an hour and 43. I said this podcast is supposed to be short, and then I went and did it again. I don't know, man. I don't know. I just like podcasting. And it I don't know. I just like talking. Especially about sports, man. I'll just I'll talk all day long. Um, but yeah, that's about it, man. I don't really I don't want to have this podcast any longer because I've been doing I man, I'm so mad at myself I made this as long as it was. I really was thinking like an hour, hour 15, hour and a half at tops, and then I went and did it for hour 45. Alright, alright, alright. Let's go ahead and get this over with. I don't want to make this go any longer than it has to. So, we're in the podcast here. If you've been 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 the first podcast you listen to and you've listened to it all the way through, I appreciate you. If you just heard it and heard it was just me and you've been listening for a while, we I appreciate it if you just listen to a little bit and beast it up or anything like that. But if you're just now listening for the first time, if you can go listen to a different podcast that has both me and Jace on to get a better idea of what we are at our best when we're both here as um COD podcast co-hosts and brothers sitting here making jokes, talking sports, doing it in the dumbest way possible. I would appreciate if you could go listen to one of those, kind of get a better idea of what we are at our best. And if you do like us and enjoy us, we'd appreciate if you could like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars wherever you listen to us. We're pretty much available on all audio platforms out there, so we'd appreciate if you can do those things wherever you do find us and listen to us at. Um, also share us with friends, family, enemies, anybody you feel like can enjoy the podcast we put out on a weekly basis, um, with it being one time a week, with it being two times a week during football season, and then one time a week for the rest of the year. We'd love if you could do that. And then last but not least, if you could follow us on Twitter and or X, whatever you'd like to call it, at JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle, at Javante Boozer is my handle, and then at Jace Boozer1 is Jace's handle. So without further ado, have a great day, have a great, have a great day, have a great night. Um, thank you guys for listening, thank you guys always listening, and we will see you guys next week. Bye y'all.