Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag
Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag is a podcast aiming at bringing you Wisconsin sports news and opinions everyday! Follow the podcast and find us live Sunday, Wednesday and Friday nights on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Twitch and Kick TV.
Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag
Packers' vs Lions Thoughts, Badgermbb @ Marquette, Wisconsin Volleyball Dominance, and College Football Playoff Chaos – Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trag & Aaron
What if the Green Bay Packers are teetering on the brink of a breakthrough, despite their recent loss to the Detroit Lions? Join us as we unravel the pivotal moments of the game, from Dan Campbell's daring fourth-down call to the strategic genius of Ben Johnson's offensive play-calling. We dissect the Packers' performance, contemplating their playoff potential and the promise that Jordan Love and company might yet challenge the NFC's elite. Our discussion takes unexpected turns with lighter moments about car cup holders, sports talk radio, and the undeniable charm of road trip playlists.
Shifting gears, we celebrate the unstoppable force that is Wisconsin volleyball and the standout performances of players like Sarah Franklin and Hannah Smrek, who continue to earn accolades and dominate the court. Meanwhile, Wisconsin football fans can rejoice at the prospect of Jeff Grimes potentially joining as offensive coordinator, bringing his signature "reliable violent offense" approach to the team. We dive into college football playoff scenarios, analyzing how teams with multiple losses, like SMU and Miami, could still stir up some magic and disrupt the playoff picture.
In the world of courtside clashes, the Marquette vs. Wisconsin basketball rivalry promises a thrilling showdown, while the NFL landscape brims with captivating matchups. The Packers' quest for playoff viability continues as we explore their recent struggles and successes, pondering the roles of key players and intriguing coaching dynamics. Throw in some NFL game predictions, reflections on Aaron Rodgers' challenges, and the ever-entertaining coaching carousel, and you have a comprehensive sports podcast episode that promises to entertain, inform, and spark lively debate.
Thank you. How, how we doing everybody and welcome into wisconsin. Sports time to go with trage. I'm your host, trage. We're coming back on a friday night a little bit later than usual, but I had basketball practice tonight here for the fifth and sixth grade boys basketball, coaching them up here. We got a game tomorrow, so excited for that. But I was coaching there so we got on a little late. Aaron was working, it all kind of worked out at the end of it there. We were able to jump on at the same time here. So it's a good Friday, a fantastic Friday here.
Speaker 2:The Packers you know what. I'm not even going to say that I'm that down on it. I'm not even gonna say I'm that down. It sucks that the packers lost. It sucks that they lost. But I saw things in that game where I'm like I, I like this, I like where we're at, I like this team, I think they're a good team, I think they're a great team. I think they have a potential to beat, you know, the top teams in the nfc. So we're gonna get into the packers today. Bad, everything in between. I got Aaron with me tonight here on the show. Aaron, how are we doing on this Friday night?
Speaker 1:Not too bad. Yeah, it depends on the Thursday night game that I'll kind of watch it, you know, start to finish, but last night had me glued there too. You know big, big stakes and obviously we're talking Wisconsin sports on the go, so I need to be educated on Wisconsin sports. But, um, yeah, it was a good game. Obviously a shame, um, for you guys that just a little bit short, but I mean it was a, it was a very good game and I mean I I thought, excuse me, I thought honestly when, when Dan Campbell ran it there on fourth like the Packers were gonna stop it, um, which you know obviously came to seal the deal.
Speaker 1:But that was, that's what Dan Campbell does, I don't know. I mean I'm not saying don't risk it all the time like that, but that was make a break. I mean that really was. And they made the play. But, man, that was it was a good game. After the because you know I messaged you after the first quarter I was like man, packers need to get it together. But I mean, yeah, tail of two halves, it felt like after halftime they played a lot better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%. We're going to get into that more later here on the show. But I actually, when Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down there at the end of the game, I felt like that was a sign of respect for Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur because he said for Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur, because he said I don't want these guys to have the football one more time. There was limited time, there was no timeouts, but for a guy to go I know he's ballsy, I know he is and you know sometimes it comes back to bite. That fourth and two the Packers stopped it on the 30. You're going to have those moments where it's going to come back to bite you, but at other times it's going to work and it worked for them there late and I mean it was just like the ultimate show of respect, like no, I don't want these guys to get football back. Like I would rather go for it on fourth down here. They got no timeouts, run the ball, see what we can do. And if we don't get it, we don't get it. We give them limited time with little amount of field. Don't let them get too. You know that kind of thing. So I actually like that I, you know what he. I thought that was actually the right call by dan campbell because you know, you look at the percentages on the game we're going to get into it later but they were pretty darn good.
Speaker 2:On fourth down, outside of that one fourth and two call, which I thought the fourth and two call, I didn't like that one. I thought that I in that spot it's iffy. Now I get what he's trying and I mean it didn't work out in that case, but if it did, he's a genius Right. And you know a lot of people love to put this thing on there where when he does it and it fails, they're like oh, dan Campbell, he's such an idiot, he's like so stupid. And then all of a sudden he gets it. And you know, on the next one he's going to get it and I believe it's Ben Johnson. Isn't that the um?
Speaker 1:Ben Johnson's the offensive coordinator there. I mean he's fantastic.
Speaker 2:I mean I, I am completely like I was flabbergasted watching him, watching that offense, some of the calls that he's thrown in there, some of the play you know play action, everything like that that he's thrown out there, misdirection, to kind of confuse the Packers, and everything like that. Like he is fantastic. You know that that play call he had on the fourth down where he drew up the little angle route there to Jameer Gibbs, like that was beautiful, it was beautiful. Like caught the Packers off guard, everything. It was just a beautiful play call. And Isaiah McDuffie, what are you supposed to do? Like you're you're not very good in coverage to begin with and now you're trying to match up with Jameer Gibbs coming out of the backfield like a freight train, like it's going to be tough and you know it's.
Speaker 2:It was one of those games. It was. I thought it was a good game. I actually thought it was a good game.
Speaker 2:You know there was bits and pieces where the offense played well, which was mainly. It took them a quarter and a half to get going Right, right. So that was a big killer for the Packers there, the defense for Green Bay. They just couldn't get that one stop right. They couldn't get that one stop in that game and that's what, ultimately, was it. I mean, you talk about all the fourth downs. If they stop them once on fourth and goal, there's your difference, right. And then you had the pass interference by Christian Watson in the red zone there. That's a killer, that's a backbreaker right there. So I I mean we're going to get into it.
Speaker 2:We'll get into the Packers and Lions game here a little bit later on in the show, but right now I had a big question, big question to start off the show tonight. I was scrolling through my Twitter earlier and I seen everybody was talking about this one topic and I had to get your opinion on it. So when you get in the car right, you wouldn't let's just say you have a lady with you or whatever you got. You know your buddy, whatever it is, you're getting your call. You guys, maybe you stop at like a fast food joint, maybe you're at like mcdonald's or you're at whatever it is burger king, I don't know what you guys got out there in pennsylvania it's a weird town out there but same same stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, probably. I mean, you probably get one of those like uh, was it checkers or something like. Either maybe you got something, we don't, but you know you got culvers out there.
Speaker 2:Is there a culvers out there in pennsylvania?
Speaker 1:never heard of that one oh my, okay.
Speaker 2:So we're gonna get aaron some. We're gonna do a go fund me. Get aaron to wisconsin to give out a little bit of culvers, because you have not had cheese curds until you go to culvers.
Speaker 2:But um so so my question okay, so you go to fast food joint, right? You go to a fast food joint, right? You're at a fast food joint and you and your buddy get a drink. Which cup holder is for the passenger and which cup holder is for the driver? You know they have the cup holders in a line there back and front. Which one is which? Like, where do you put your drink if you're the driver?
Speaker 1:So I'll cue you in on this Drazen. I do drive manual, so it is sometimes a shifters. And then the cup holder. I usually take the. Oh man, I'm so reliant on the back cup holder because of the gears, because of the stick shift there, because of the stick shift, because of the manual transmission. But I mean, yeah, I still. I mean I'm trying to think of it logically, though Now it's like throwing me for a loop I think I still would take the back one just out of like that's what I do. Maybe that doesn't make sense, and now I'm curious to see how you play it, but it's always like the staple is the back one, because that's just what I do. I don't know.
Speaker 2:I feel like the back one has got to be for the. If the driver you don't want him to reach too far, right, and you got your arm up on that center console and you're driving along there, you got to have the back cup holder. I don't care if it's an automatic or if it's a manual. You got to have that back cup holder be yours. So I'm gonna go back cup holder. But hey, anybody out there in the comments, which cup holder is yours? Which one is yours? That's what we want to know. That's the biggest question of the day are we a?
Speaker 2:front, or are we a back kind of society? That's what I want to know.
Speaker 2:So we'll see we'll see what everybody thinks out there over the live stream and everything, but, uh, that's my biggest question. That was my biggest question of the day right there outside of you know, sports or anything that we're actually here to talk about. That was my biggest question, so like that. So let's talk. Let's talk about some sports here. So wisconsin volleyball right now they are in a a little bit of a pretty good match here against georgia tech. I believe it's still tied-1 there in the third set there over on ESPN+. I'm not an expensive person here so I don't have ESPN+. I can barely afford Peacock, so I can't get that ESPN+ but right now it's a 1-1 tie there. Wisconsin did win that second set. They got the win over Fairfield yesterday there 3-0. They swept Fairfield there in the first round. So hopefully we see the Badgers pull out a win here and then they would face the winner of oh, that game's still happening right now New Hampshire and Arizona State is currently starting right now and then they would play the Texas A&M New Hampshire, arizona State winner there on the backside. So we'll see what happens there with Wisconsin volleyball. Just wanted to mention some of the Big Ten awards there.
Speaker 2:Wisconsin Volleyball. Just wanted to mention some of the Big Ten awards there. Sarah Franklin she earned the unanimous first team All-Big Ten honors there for the Big Ten Back-to-back years earned Player of the Year. So that's fantastic. She's been nothing but fantastic in a Badgers uniform. Hannah Smrek back-to-back first team All-Big Ten honors. Carter Booth, second team All-Big Ten. Julia Orzel, second team All-Big Ten in sportsmanship honoree. Charlie Furbringer she won second team All-Big Ten in unanimous selection to the all-freshman team. And then Lola Schumacher there she's an all-freshman honors there.
Speaker 2:So great to see some of these Badger. I mean they have a pretty good team put together right now and they're in a kind of a dogfight right now with Georgia Tech there at the field house. That'll be the last match there at the field house for the season, so we'll hopefully be talking about a Badger win there and then we'll see who they'll be squaring off with next. That must be coming up next week at some point. There is when they'll play that next round if they get this win off against Georgia Tech. So hopefully we're talking about a big win there moving forward. But good stuff there. We have one on the text in line Aaron. Typically, whatever one my cup fits in, no preference. I didn't know what do they make Multi-sized? Yeah, I guess some cars do, I guess. Yeah, the back one's always bigger too.
Speaker 1:That's true. Like you're never going to see a front cup holder bigger. Like if they are different sizes it's always the back one. So that's a safe bet too. Like you're kind of guaranteeing it stays in place, I mean.
Speaker 2:I guess to a certain degree, see, but I'm that guy, you know that driver that chooses dominance though. So I'm like, if my passenger, if they get a large, I'm getting a double extra large, like I'm making sure I got bigger than what they got. You know, I ain't dealing with that. I ain't dealing with that mess. Assert dominance right off the bat, especially with the cup holder. Like you own the car, I get to pick the cup holder. I don't care if your cup doesn't fit, put it in your, put in your lap, I don't care. Like I own the car are you like?
Speaker 1:you know, I mean with your, with your woman it might be different, right, but like with a buddy, are you like? Because usually me and my my friends are go like. We alternate songs, but sometimes I won't say anything if I'm passing. I was passenger today earlier and I let my buddy play his music. I wasn't into it, I wasn't feeling it today, but I didn't say I was like he's giving me, he's kind of doing me, a solid, so I'm gonna let him play. I'm not even gonna say anything about it. You know what I mean?
Speaker 2:I wasn't in the place to see, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I don't know if I'm going to blow your mind here, but I listen to Sports Talk Radio just about all the time, like everybody knows what, like my grandpa, whenever I'll take the farm truck and I'll take it out and I'll bring it back, he's like, oh, I knew Trajan was in there. Sports Talk Radio is blaring through the roof. Like you know, it's a funny story. We got our feed truck there, use it to haul feed for the cows and it's's, you know, starting. It's cold up here, so it's starting a little colder and well, you know, we couldn't get it to run for a while there. Well, I got it started one day and I went inside the house and also I walked back out and I could hear bill michaels across the driveway. I could hear him like blaring across the driveway. My truck shut off. Oh, and grandma's like how'd you know? I was like I could hear bill michaels from.
Speaker 2:Like I didn't know it was off and so I'm a big sports doc. The wife she'll get sick of it at some point and then she'll flip on music or something but usually she plays along. She doesn't want to listen to sports doc the entire time but usually she'll kind of play along there and she'll listen to it and you know she tries, she really does try to get invested into like all sports, like I do, like she's. She's a vikings fan but she likes the badgers and she likes, you know she likes sports to an extent.
Speaker 2:She loves the brewer likes them to an extent, but she doesn't go overboard like I do. Where I'm, you know, getting my work van, it's you know five o'clock in the morning, I'm listening to sports talk radio and then at the end of the day I'm still listening to sports talk radio, like it. It's one of those kinds of things there. So I mean, yeah, we don't really alternate songs. Though we never really alternate songs, I just kind of go with the flow or I turn on sports talk Like I don't like around here I listen to country music and around here, you know, they play the same darn song over and over again.
Speaker 2:I just ain't listening to radio, so I play the same darn song over and over again. I just ain't listening to radio, so I, if I'm not listening to bluetooth, I'm all sports talk I'm all sports.
Speaker 1:No, I hear you when I'm by myself I do. I do listen to sports talk a lot, so I'm, I'm with you there. It's just like if I have a friend in the car it's like, yeah, we're. I don't know. I always thought going back and forth is the most fair, though, like yeah sometimes, though, sometimes I'm like you know what, just play what you want. But in my mind I'm like man, I just wish I could play. So you know, you know in your mind.
Speaker 2:You're like this music sucks, like you are actually terrible and you get out of my car right, yeah, so that that does apply sometimes all right, all right, let's get to sports.
Speaker 2:Let's get to sports here. So, badgers, badger football. We got a little bit of good news right. We haven't gotten good news in a while. You know. The best news is probably that they didn't make a bowl game. That's kind of what I was hoping for. I just couldn't. I really honestly I wanted them to make a bowl game to keep the train alive, but then again I didn't want it to be done. This is the way that it was supposed to happen. But Wisconsin football is back in the news. They're in talks right now. They're targeting offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes from Kansas right now. So the deal is not complete, but the sides are in talking and those talks are intensifying. They're thinking that they're going to intensify here and this deal might actually get done here at some point. So a little bit of exciting news there.
Speaker 2:Um, just to fill in grimes, he joined lance leopold there at kansas in 2023. He had he was good at baylor. He was at baylor before that, there as the offensive coordinator where he ran his wide zone scheme and the uh baylor bears got to the big 12 championship, got to the sugar bowl, won the sugar bowl there in 2021. As when he was working under Dave Aranda, a very good coordinator himself there and head coach during his time at Baylor. They referred to his offense as the R V O the short it's short for reliable violent offense. That is I love that I. I honestly, like Aaron and I were talking about before we came on here. I was like this guy sounds like what I want at Wisconsin. A reliable, violent offense Like that sounds like good offensive linemen, big running backs like tight ends, like smash mouth football, Like that's what I want to see. So, seeing that, I was like yes, sir, like yes sir.
Speaker 2:Um, physicality and attacking mindset, that defense defines his offensive approach. He's known for his offensive line and run game coordinator background. He emphasizes balance, staying in attack mode and efficiency. That philosophy could align well with wisconsin's desire to blend physicality and a more modern offensive. You know creativity and scheme out there. I like it and we're gonna look, we're going to look, we're going to look. Aaron, did you have some of Kansas's numbers up from this last year, some of the rankings there? But I love this.
Speaker 2:You know the idea of what I'm seeing here. Just because it's an efficient, it's a balanced offense. You're going to balance out that run and pass. You're not going to get too crazy with it. You know like the weird sets and everything like that. But what did Wisconsin pride itself on before run game? Offensive lineman, right, that was the two big things.
Speaker 2:Now you bring in a quarterback into that system. Maybe you get some wide receivers in there. You run this efficient passing game. Maybe there's still some deep shots in there. Like I'm not going to think that this guy just completely goes away from the deep shot. Maybe there's some deep shots in there, but it's a high-powered offense and I think it's going to fit well with what Wisconsin could or what they should be doing right now.
Speaker 2:And I like the idea because the transfer portal opens up on Monday. I like the idea, if they can get this thing done to get him in there, because you don't know some of those guys from Kansas. Maybe they're like, ah, we want to go with you, like hey, can we get up to Madison there? So maybe you get some wide receivers, whatever it is out of that deal. Maybe you bring up I don't know who their quarterback was, but maybe you bring him up there, you know. So one of those kinds of things where you get that offensive coordinator into place and I know they're still going to be looking at possibly getting a quarterback coach on top of that, which I think is a good idea. Get a quarterback coach, get an offensive coordinator in there. I like those ideas. But get all that figured out and then those transfers can see what you got going on.
Speaker 2:I really think it's hard to you know entice guys in the transfer portal when you don't have an offensive coordinator currently in line, because they don't know what you're going to do, right, maybe maybe the guy that you bring in they don't like, why would I want to transfer there then? So I really think you got to get to get this figured out. I like this guy, I like his name, I like his philosophy and I like the stats, because I think Kansas was, they were okay. You know, they had a couple big upsets there, I thought towards the end of the season. They were kind of a subpar program this year. But, aaron, I mean, did you have time? Did you pull up some of those stats there for their offensive stats and stuff like that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I did. What's really funny. I mean I don't want to tie everything to Penn State, but Andy Kotelnicki was Kansas' offensive coordinator. Then he went to Penn State this past season. This guy stepped in and was offensive coordinator for Kansas.
Speaker 2:So maybe Kansas is just that like you know Kind of like a stepping ground.
Speaker 1:Stepping ground, yeah because I mean, if that's too straight to get pulled, you know, in back-to-back years that's saying something. But um, yeah, it's. Uh, you know they're 55th in points per game, which I mean not bad. I mean, like, like you already said, we don't even know who their quarterback is. So, like those stats, you don't have to. You know, don't persecute this guy, for for those stats, because we don't know if they had the athletes even you know. But some things that just kind of jump out without going through all of it. I mean, on third down, they were 50%. That's crazy. That's third in the nation, that's impressive right there, that's efficiency.
Speaker 2:That's like we're talking efficiency.
Speaker 1:That's what you want. I mean if you're top 10, top 15 in third down conversion, that's huge, Like that's the difference between being in games and not so. That's huge, like that's when. That's the difference between being in games and not so. Um, looking at that, yeah, that's that's also very good. Red zone scoring percentage 87 percent. Uh, 45th in the nation, not bad um. Yards per rush they were 16th in the nation at 5.3 yards per rush um. And then rush yards a game, also 16th in the nation. They cleared 200 yards a game, just over that. So 201 um.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean some some definite things you like there. I know wisconsin is like iowa, like um. You know some teams in the big 10. They're um northwestern illinois, they love to run the ball um, so you know if this guy has a track record of success running the football when you know when he's coordinator, I think that plays into their hands better. So yeah, some things you definitely see in like, like I said, hard to kind of grade them. I mean Kansas went five and seven but, like we said, don't know. You know how that team even looked this season as far as recruiting and and who they had. They might've had like a nobody and they found a way to win five games. So it's tough to say and, like you know, he wasn't the head coach, so at least there's that.
Speaker 2:You want me to entice you with this one, because their quarterback is brothers with Jaden Daniels currently at Kansas. There Jalen Daniels is currently the quarterback down there at Kansas. So I mean this guy, he's. He's got the same ability. He's passed for over 2000 yards this year and had over 400 yards rushing the Jalen Daniels. So you can kind of get a picture on what this offense would kind of look like underneath the Grimes where the quarterback is still running the football. As you see here. He's got 447 yards on, I believe 93 carries. So you have a quarterback who's ability to run.
Speaker 2:Jalen Daniels did say he's going to return to Kansas, but that doesn't mean Jack Dilley squad. If his office of coordinator leaves, maybe Jalen Daniels says hey, I'll come up to Madison with you, I'll travel with you up there. You got your quarterback spot figured out now, because I believe this guy would probably get first crack at it there. Yes, I mean his court is touchdown. The interception ratio is not crazy good. He's 14 to 12. 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions not crazy good. But he had a 68 qbr. His completion percentage was 57, which isn't great by any means. But you, I mean you never know, like, like we're talking, we don't know. You know I I haven't watched a lot of kansas football so I can't tell you if he had all the playmakers in the room or anything like that. So I I mean it's, it's definitely a big if there I mean you're talking about a guy who put up 37 points against Colorado. He put up 37 points against Colorado, 17 against BYU and then he put up 45 points against Iowa state, who was ranked at the time. So I mean his offense, as we've been talking here, has that ability to put up points with some pretty good teams. And now we're putting into perspective if you think the Big 12 is actually good yet now that Texas and Oklahoma left, we're putting into perspective that here. But they were able, I mean they put up points. Their defense kind of I wouldn't say just their defense let them down. Their offense was slow, poke in some games there. I mean they lost 35 to 31 there to Arizona state, who's currently playing for the big 12 championship. So that puts into perspective what this offense can do. But I mean I like the numbers.
Speaker 2:I think that, like you mentioned there, with the third down there and efficient on third down, I'd like to play calling that. I'm seeing out of that and I mean I would not be opposed to this hire. I'll be honest with you, I would not be opposed to this. I think he's done very good with a Kansas roster. That, from what I saw in the little action that I did, this Kansas offense wasn't. They didn't have a lot of playmakers that weren't great, but I still think he's got the ability. So I'd love to see him come up to Madison there and show us what he's got. You know, it's maybe a little bit more talent. I don't know. Like I said, maybe he brings Jalen Daniels with him, maybe he doesn't. But you get that offensive coordinator spot figured out, I think the pieces will kind of fall.
Speaker 2:And I think, guys, if they do like Grimes, like we saw what he did at Baylor there where they had a pretty successful season, won the big 12 and then went on to go to the sugar bowl and won the sugar bowl game there, I mean that tells you this guy he's got that. You know he beat, beat. He had to have beat texas that year. Texas was probably down but texas was still in that big 12. They end up in the big 12 championship. They got the job done, like that's. That's a pretty good track record, pretty good track record for him. So we'll see what the badgers do there. I know they're in talks. We'll see if that thing gets figured out here. I'm hoping, I'm hoping it gets figured out here and they have kind of a deal made up here by, you know, maybe next week I would like next week, because the transfer portal does open up on monday there. So good news there for the badgers finally possibly getting that offensive coordinator spot figured out there.
Speaker 2:But, aaron, let's talk about some of these other college football championships games. We'll stick with the college football. I want to talk badgers basketball after this year, after this year. But let's talk about some of these games coming up this weekend because there's some big matchups already happening. Boise state, currently up 21, nothing on unlv that's the other guy that I believe the badgers were looking at. There was brennan marion who is at unlv right now. We'll see what they do in that game. Army, up 21 to 7 on tulane at the moment. Here we'll see what happens in those two games. But we have a couple other ones coming up there on Saturday.
Speaker 2:So big 12 championship game Iowa State taking on Arizona State number I believe 16 in the nation, taking on number 15 in the nation. Winner of this goes into the college football playoff. Loser they're. They're mathematic, you know what. Alabama gets in with three losses, but these teams talk right, so we're gonna bury them out. So, winner this goes into the college football playoff. What are we thinking? Arizona state's favorite by one and a half right now it's in arlington, which I believe plays better for Arizona state. But people in Iowa want to get out of Iowa right now, so maybe they want to travel down to this game. So it might be a packed house for Iowa state for this one. How are we feeling about this one in the Dr Pepper big 12 championship game?
Speaker 1:I have seen some Arizona state. I haven't watched a lot of Iowa state so I'm gonna, you know, on the of on the fly, seeing they lose to Texas, tech and Kansas and there's your Kansas team. Back-to-back weeks there Towards the end of the year and then they rattle off the last three, including a win over Kansas State. I mean both these teams are. I mean looking just at the over-under 50, I mean you expect some points in this game for sure. I feel like Arizona State. I mean you know that last week is a rivalry week Arizona. I feel like they have a little bit more. I know Iowa State just beat Kansas State there, but I just feel like Arizona State has that juice right now that maybe Iowa State doesn't.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I don't know Iowa state too well. I mean looking at the quarterback comparison, iowa state's quarterback 20, 20 touchdowns, eight interceptions over a little over 3000 yards. Arizona state's quarterback only 2,400 yards, but one more touchdown and three less picks. So I mean you, you comparisons there. You know one guy might throw for more yards but turn the ball over more. You know one of those things. But, like you said, arizona State is the favorite. I am going to go Arizona State. Here, I think they're just on a little bit of a tear right now and they get it done in this one.
Speaker 2:I like that. I'm going to go Arizona State too right now. I think they're hot. They're hot coming in. That head coach is just nuts.
Speaker 2:He is ballistic, so I like that one. I'm going to take Arizona State too to win that one. So they will most likely, I would think right. I don't know what the committee anymore, what they're going to do, but they probably should end up in the college football playoff. So next up we have the SEC championship game a little rematch from the butt kicking that we saw earlier on this year between Texas and Georgia. There we got Texas, number two in the nation, taking on Georgia. Right now Texas is favored by two and a half. It's in Atlanta for this game. So a little home cooking for Georgia in this one. But we know Texas, they're going to travel, the fans will travel. So we for Georgia in this one. But we know Texas, they're going to travel, the fans will travel. So we'll see how this one ends up.
Speaker 2:I would be honest with you I like Texas to get a little revenge in this game. I do. I think Texas is all around the better team. I don't like what Carson Beck's been doing as of late Carson Beck to me he's the kryptonite that's going to hold Georgia back from being what I believe Georgia could actually be at some point this season. I think Georgia's got a pretty good team put together, and I just think Carson Beck is not the right quarterback to lead them through it. So I like Texas to win this game. I do think it's a close one, but I think that Syriana or not Syriani, um Sarkeesian they're all the same.
Speaker 2:I think that he makes the adjustments in this game. Last game that defensive line for Georgia just had a heyday. I think he's going to make the adjustments in this game here, get the job done and I think Texas wins the SEC championship game in their first season in the SEC, which that is wow. I mean talk about SEC teams getting kind of knocked around by a Big 12 dog. Here they come.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. I think I mean Texas kind of having one of those years where it's like, wow, like they, they're legit. I mean I, I put them as like a national uh. I mean obviously any team in the college playoff is, you know, realistically, a college football uh, championship team, you know Um, but I mean Texas, I think, has like an actual valid case for it. You know what I mean. Like there are some teams you can say they're not going to win at all. I think Texas is obviously one of those teams. Part of me, like I am so with you on the Carson Beck thing, like just watching that Georgia State game, watching I forget who did Georgia get kind of beat badly by not that long ago. It was Ole Miss, not Ole Miss.
Speaker 2:Well technically, Alabama squared them up pretty well in that one game.
Speaker 1:But they were able to come back.
Speaker 1:No, I was watching a lot of that Ole Miss game. I remember that and I was like I mean, I know, you know that's one of their low lights on the season, but man, carson Beck looked awful. The team, like you know, know, that team has the ability to kind of, you know, when things go bad, I think they unravel at times Georgia does, um, I mean they found a way against Georgia Tech, but Georgia Tech is not Texas by any means, not even in the same stratosphere. So, um, I know it's a big rivalry game, but that that was I mean kind of, you know, shell shocking to see how I mean how many overtimes like six or whatever we were what.
Speaker 1:Seven, I think, because eight was the record. Um, so I mean kind of shell-shocking to see how many overtimes like six or whatever we were watching. Seven, I think, because eight was the record. So I mean I give the coaching advantage to Kirby Smart, but I just don't think that with Carson back, I wouldn't be surprised if they win. I have some gut feeling that they could pull this out surprisingly, but Texas is a better team. They just need to show up and prove it, basically for 60 minutes. So I'm going to go Texas, but I have a weird feeling that Georgia might do this for some reason, even though they're not. They shouldn't, but it's hard to count them out no matter how Carson Beck looks.
Speaker 2:No, I would agree, kirby gets the boys up, he gets the boys up and he gets them going. So we'll kind of see what happens with that one. The big one though, aaron, the big one for you there. I was hoping john would be in tonight. I'm missing john tonight. Here you get oregon wild, but we got number three penn state taking on number one oregon. Wow, this could be a Wow, this could be a dogfight. This could be a dogfight in this one At Lucas Oil Stadium. There, oregon is favored by three and a half right now. I'll be honest, I'll be honest. I think Penn State wins this game. Wow, I do.
Speaker 1:I think Penn State wins this game?
Speaker 2:Wow, I do. I think Penn State wins this game. I think if Franklin's smart, he goes and he looks back at the tape of what Wisconsin did defensively against Oregon, he looks back at that game and he says what did they do? What did they do right? And you do that and you find because if you do that and Wisconsin held their own I know it was at home and I get that but you have twice the players on that defensive line as what Wisconsin has.
Speaker 2:If you can find a way to limit that run game, I like Penn State in this one and I think they have that ability to slow down this run game. Now it's going to be a question Can Drew Aller get going? Can Warrens be the guy that we know Warrens can be? It's going to be that kind of question leading into this one. But Penn State's got a lot of weapons. I know Oregon's got a lot of weapons. I'm not going to deny it. They have a lot of weapons. But I think, if I'm going defensive front to defensive front, because I think that's where it's won, right Trenches You've got to own the trenches. I think they can in this one. I'm going to be honest with you, Aaron. I don't think I've taken Penn State very much and I'm going to take Penn State to win this game over Oregon. I think they manhandle them in the trenches Big Ten football is one of the trenches and I think Oregon finds that out in this game here.
Speaker 1:And I think Penn State wins this one. Wow, yeah, now I literally can't pick, or I, I mean, I don't pay against my old, my own team very much, I mean Penn state against anybody, but like the elite of the elite, I mean they're the best team I covered in the spread over the last five years, um, which is kind of surprising. But, um, this is one of the elite of the elite matchups which I it makes me completely nervous, to be honest with you. Um, I am worried about, I mean Penn State's offensive line this year has been better. I wouldn't say it's elite. It's been better than it has in a few years past. I mean three, four years ago they couldn't even find an offensive line to save their lives, but at least now they can kind of find their way. But the reason I bring that up is Oregon can kind of get at you from a defensive front perspective as well and they bring a lot of like exotic blitzes and just linebackers here there everywhere. So I am worried about that where I do just slightly disagree with you. I worry about Penn State's weapons a lot in this game only because if you don't have Singleton and Katron Allen going and Warren, where do you go? Because I mean Trey Wallace, you know he has that 150-yard game against not Wisconsin, against West Virginia there early in the season. Then he kind of I mean he's had his moments here and there. You know we thought Julian Fleming, coming over from Ohio State, that was like a godsend. He hasn't done much of anything other than the USC game, that is, and Amari Evans has been hit or miss. So those three guys and Liam Clifford who is, I mean, barely exists, so it's just those guys have to show up. If those guys don't show up we're in deep doo-doo. I'll put it that way.
Speaker 1:Oregon, I hear you from a Penn State defensive front. I think they'll get gashed at times like they did in the Ohio State game. I mean, there were times in the Ohio State game I was like man, this defense sucks all of a sudden. But you know they found a way. I think Ohio State ended up scoring 21. You kind of live with that in today's college football, but I don't want them to get in a shootout with oregon.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I think they're gonna go to warren's a lot and just that's what they do. Um, it's kind of like until that gets, excuse me, stopped, I don't trust allard to throw the game away. I just hope he does. I he's gonna have to shine and, like, this is to me, probably 250 to 300 yards. You're gonna have to put up against this team to win, um, and I'm and I am a little bit worried about the run game, um, so I'll pick penn state, but I really this is this is really tough, but I what the fans are going to get bent out of shape if we lose this, like they're going to lose their mind.
Speaker 1:If we lose this. It's not the end of the world. You know you're still in the college football playoff. But if you win this, I mean that is like a almost a program changing win, because then you go to number one, get a buy. Uh, recruiting would probably go crazy. So I, I truth be told, I don't necessarily trust them to win this game, but I hope they do and I think they have a chance to. It's just like I said if it's a, if it's the warren show and the and the running backs aren't doing a lot, we're in trouble.
Speaker 2:I'll put it that way I just like that defensive front. I, I just like that defensive front from penn state and I, I really do think a little piece of me still thinks the big 10 is one in the trenches and I think if penn state can own the trenches, they can own this game just like you. Take that blueprint. Wisconsin gave you a blueprint. Take the blueprint because wisconsin, all they were missing was a drew aller at quarterback and they could have probably won that football game. So take what wisconsin gave you, take the blueprint that they gave you and put it into action here, because you got got twice the blame anchors here. So we'll kind of say I mean that should be a good game. That is going to be a heck of a game. The seven o'clock game, same time this one is going to be interesting because Clemson found their way into the ACC championship game. They're going to be playing for it all because if they lose, they're out of the college football playoff by default because they won their conference. So, 9-3 Clemson taking on SMU, who? I just? This is where I'm going to hate the committee because it's going to piss me off. If SMU loses this game, they're out, they're out, they're out of the college football playoff. I guarantee it, they have two losses, but they're out because the ACC isn't as good as the SEC or the Big Ten that's what they're going to tell me that, or the Big 10. That's what they're going to tell me. That's how it's got to go.
Speaker 2:So this game has a lot riding on it for both these teams, because I don't think SMU makes it with two losses, because we look at Miami, they have two losses. And I don't even know, truthfully, how much you weigh championship games anymore, because if SMU loses, it's not their fault, right, they earned the right to play in the conference championship game. But if they lose now, they have another loss on their resume. So now it's like it hurts them. It hurts them more. So it's like you don't even want to make your conference championship game, because if SMU loses, they have two losses and, like we're talking here, they might not make the college football playoff. Miami's got two losses. They're on the, they're already on the outside looking in and I know you can only look at strike the schedule, so much and everything like that. But I just I find it it's ridiculous. It is ridiculous there. But SMU, clemson, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I.
Speaker 2:Clemson. Dabo has been in big games before. He knows how to win big games. He knows how to win big games in the ACC. I do like Klubnick. I do like him. I think he's a fantastic quarterback there. He's had a fantastic season 29 touchdowns, five interceptions. That's fantastic. I mean you can't deny how well he's been playing. I think I'm going to take Clemson. I really do think I'm going to take Clemson and then it's going to if Clemson wins.
Speaker 2:If Clemson wins this football game, it is going to throw the committee for a loop. They will not, they're not going to hear the end of it. You know, we made this 12 team playoff because we thought it was going to get rid of the Florida States being upset that they didn't make it in. And I really think that if Clemson wins this football game, we're going to go back into a perspective of why does it matter if you win a conference championship game? Why do we not just take the top 12 teams in college football and put them in? Because in my opinion opinion if you have the record, if you are a top 12 team, you're in the college football playoffs. That's how it works. I the conference championships. I like that. They get automatic bids? I do, but at this point you have a three lost clemson team. Who's going to get in there ahead of miami and ahead of um smu if they get in, like it? Just I, I don't want to say it's unfair because it sounds like a whiner's way out but, it.
Speaker 2:I mean, yes, miami held their destiny in their hands. I'll. I'll say that because if they beat Syracuse they were in this game, you know. And they lost that game to Georgia tech too, who we knew. Georgia tech is a pretty darn good team, cause they took Georgia down to the ropes there and eight overtimes or seven overtimes, whatever it was. So we know Georgia Tech's a pretty darn good team.
Speaker 2:I mean, miami held their destiny. They failed to make it happen. But I don't know. I just it finds it's rough to think that a three loss team gets in ahead of a two loss team, like it's just, how do you control who you play? I mean, yes, you can schedule more, you know, and it's double-edged sword, because then okay, if you're miami, you're like okay if we can't get it in with two losses because we played an acc schedule, then if we get more non-conference games, against what? Notre dame and alabama and georgia, now we, we play a gauntlet now and we lose those three games, now we can't afford any losses in the acc. It's just it. It's a double-edged sword that I don't think you'll ever get figured out there. So, either way, either way there, aaron, what are we thinking? Clemson SMU.
Speaker 1:I totally hear you from a perspective like Dabo's been in the big game. I mean, he has national championships on his resume, this, that and the third, this is this one's tough like SMU is, you know, still kind of a, you know, cinderella story. Just the fact that they're, they're back in the, the grand scheme of things, um, and, like you say, klubnick's been good for for Clemson man, this, this one, to me it might be the hardest one to like, really get a good feel for. To be honest, I want to go with Clemson, like for the reasons you're saying. For sure I just, I almost feel like SMU finds a way in this. I don't know, let me get that out of there. Freaking ads, but yeah, I mean, I think, I just feel like this could be like a.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm not saying SMU is going to go all the way or anything, but like it just feels like you know, this is not a Clemson team, obviously. That like has Trevor Lawrence or, you know, deshaun Watson. Like I watched them against Pitt, I watched them a couple times this year. They're a scrappy team, but I don't think they're like flat out amazing. Um, I feel like these teams probably match up pretty well. I, I do, I I don't know. I just feel like smu finds a way. I, I wouldn't be surprised the other way around. I just feel like this is, this is a coin flip and like on this night smu, or on this day smu finds it I like that.
Speaker 2:I I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to SMU winning that. I wouldn't. I want to see them in the college football playoff Cause. I think they deserve to get in there, and that's another team we were talking about before the show here. But if Oregon wins the big 10 championship, if Texas wins the sec championship and if SMU wins the ACC championship, you're talking about three schools who weren't in those conferences last season going into those conferences and in the first year winning the conference championship like that. That would be nuts, because we look at the Big 12 as being less than the SEC or less than the Big 10. But yet. Or the Pac-12 being less than the Big 10. But yet Oregon walks in there. And yes, I know, oregon's a good football team, don't get me wrong. They're a good football team, but we look at that conference as less. But now Oregon walks in here and they're looking like they might win the Big Ten championship, texas looking like they might win the SEC, like it.
Speaker 2:Just, it's so weird. It's so weird and I think that was, oh, texas Tech's coach said that too. I think he said that he was having he was in his presser and he was talking about that like talking about the, the recognition that the big 12 gets and what these conferences get, because you're looking at teams who were previously just in there going to these bigger conferences and winning those championships, and I know all these are good football teams, so that's undeniable, right. Texas is a great football team this season, and so is oregon, and smu has been playing great football. So there's no knocking any of those teams or knocking the conference that they're in, because those are still good conferences. It's just interesting that in a first season in those conferences all three of those teams are up for the conference championship and all three of those teams could walk away as conference champions, like that's. That's crazy. That is crazy right there. Even arizona state I mean arizona state weren't they in the? Weren't they in the pack? Weren't they in the pack just last season there?
Speaker 1:I think. So I'm always bad at like some of those pack teams. They just kind of get lost in the um trying to remember now, now, I'm, now, I'm now.
Speaker 2:I'm thinking about it too hard.
Speaker 1:That's the biggest it was arizona state. Was arizona in the like they?
Speaker 2:were in the pack, arizona was in.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I think they had to have been then they were definitely in conferences before. Both of them in the same one Is it 12.
Speaker 2:Football standings 2023. Let's see 2023, 2024. Oh, I don't want to look this up on air here, but yeah, arizona state was in there last year, so arizona state too. I mean, you're talking about four different conference championships, with all those teams being previously in a different conference. So that's it. That's definitely interesting right now. And all those teams that are playing against them, they are currently trying to save their conference and say like hey, we're still here, like we still run this conference. So I mean, interesting storyline there. But we'll see what happens in those conference championship games coming up here this weekend. They start up tonight here. Army up on tulane right now, boise state up right now.
Speaker 2:I was going to check in on wisconsin volleyball, just in case nobody else can see it out there like myself. Uh, wisconsin volleyball's currently my thing says it's still in the fourth set. I think it's still in the fourth set right now. Right now, wisconsin is up 22 to 20 in the fourth set. Right now they are up two to one. So we'll see what kind of happens there and see if Wisconsin can pull off the win here in set four and move on in the college volleyball tournament there. Good stuff there from Wisconsin Volleyball. But, aaron, let's flip gears here, let's flip gears.
Speaker 2:I want to talk about some Wisconsin, marquette, the rivalry. Right, they're back. They're back at it. One more year, one more year, another year, another year of this rivalry between Wisconsin and Marquette. The series record right now is 71-59. Wisconsin is on top right now. So they've won 71 times out of 71 to 59.
Speaker 2:Right now they're Marquette coming into this game. They lost that game the other night there to Iowa state. Wisconsin dropped the game to Michigan. Both these teams have one loss coming into this game right now. I mean that is like fuel to the fire, right? It's like if Marquette would have came in with no losses on the season so far and Wisconsin had no losses, both teams trying to stay undefeated. Wisconsin dropped one. They were going to be hungry for another win, but now Marquette dropped one. So now you've got two teams hungry for another win coming into this one and you have guys on this Marquette team like Cam Jones, like Joplin, who have never beat Wisconsin. Well, they've been playing at Marquette, they're all seniors, but they've never beat Wisconsin yet. They're 0-3 against Wisconsin. If Wisconsin wins this one, they would have not beat Wisconsin in all four tries. They have four tries and haven't beat them yet. So I mean we're hoping for it right, we're hoping for it there. But this is a game.
Speaker 2:Marquette's a good basketball team game. Marquette's a good basketball team. They have they. They've been proving it throughout the past couple years. They're a pretty darn good basketball team. They're averaging 82 points a game right now. I mean they're they're playing well. They're playing well right now. Rebounds 34 points or 34 rebounds per game, 47 from the floor. They're all eerily. I mean you look at the two teams put together there. They're eerily similar in stats across the board there. So both teams teams coming in this one been playing well to start this season. Both had a hiccup there as of late, but we'll see what happens in this one.
Speaker 2:I mean Aaron going into this game here Wisconsin, the biggest, the two biggest guys for me, for the Badgers heading into this game against Marquette here Steven Crowell, max Klesman. Max Klesman last time out there against Michigan struggled and he's been struggling this season. He has been struggling mightily this season for him. So, max Klesman, he's hit big shots in this series here against Marquette. He's hit some big shots. This is a game where Max Klesman's got to be a guy. He's got to be a guy. I don't expect him to lead the team, I don't expect him to be that one guy, the big guy, right, but he's got to be a guy in this game. He's got to be able to knock down shots because they're going to leave him open.
Speaker 2:Marquette, actually, teams are actually shooting a boatload of threes against Marquette. I was just looking at that earlier. They want you to shoot threes. I mean they teams are actually shooting. About 40% of their shots are from the perimeter, so they want you to shoot threes. They're going to give you threes. That's where a guy like Max Klesman is going to step into this one. That's where a guy like John Tonje, blackwell, kamari McGee you're going to have different guys Janicki coming off the bench. Those guys have got to be a factor in this one. He's got to be a factor in the paint. He's got to own the paint. He's got to be a big factor on the offensive end in this one here. And the Badgers need their bigs to be able to shoot it from the outside, because right now teams are not respecting their ability to shoot it. We know winter can shoot it. They got to be able to knock down shots in this game here. So we're going to see those two on full display.
Speaker 2:The Badgers I don't want to say they bank on foul calls, but they somewhat bank on foul calls there. They got to find ways to score without foul calls. Last time out against Michigan, there it seemed like at times they were driving looking for the foul. I get it, you want to get the foul called and that's sometimes why you drive, but you got to be able to score through contact too. You got to. You know, the biggest thing that I see with guys and this is at all levels is they drive in there and they expect a foul. They don't look to score, they're expecting a foul. You got to go in there looking to score in this one because if, if they ain't calling them, you're not going to be able to get to the free throw line and that's going to affect this team, because we know we watched the Arizona game, we've watched some of the other games they put the Badgers to the line 10 plus times and the Badgers, they're great at the line, but you got to get there. So you got to earn those trips to the stripe there. So you got to be able to drive with a purpose and when you get in there, look to score, don't look to get followed. Look to score in this one. So that's kind of what I'm.
Speaker 2:Uh, marquette. Some of their stats on the season 11.4 steals per game and nine turnovers. So this is a team that they get after you. They're gonna steal the basketball. Now the flip of the coin there, wisconsin doesn't turn the basketball over a lot right and, knock on wood, it doesn't start in this game here, because badgers that's one of my keys they gotta control the basketball.
Speaker 2:In this one. They have to have to have to limit what marquette can do in the fast break. In this one here they got to play to their pace. Now I know Wisconsin is playing a little more up-tempo this season and they want to get out and run, they want to do that kind of thing. But you got to play within your own.
Speaker 2:In this game here, nothing, nothing stupid, nothing stupid. Like that's the biggest thing, nothing stupid. In this one they're shooting about 34% from downtown, 47% from the field. Like I said before there, I mean, this is a team. They can shoot it. We know they can shoot it. Cam Jones is having a fantastic year so far 19 points a game so far, five rebounds, six assists, 42% from three, 58% from the field. So we know Cam Jones can score it. So this is a guy you got to watch out for there. David Joplin has been fantastic 15 points a game and six rebounds and you got Mitchell and Ross in there too.
Speaker 2:But you have guys I believe Ross is banged up going into this game. You're at an ankle injury against Iowa State, so I don't know if Chase Ross is going to play. Shaka Smart says he is. We'll kind of wait and see. With that, what, what kind of transpires? I don't know if he will. It's he's listed as doubtful. I doubtful doesn't tell me anything. He's either in or out. I don't know if he's in or out, so we'll wait and see on that one.
Speaker 2:Um, also Zade Lowry is banged up going into this one too. So you have two guards for them. They're banged up, so we'll see, kind of what Marquette does. They're going to play some young guys to try and make up for that. They have depth, they definitely have depth. They like to go about 10, about 10 guys. 10 guys, guys who can play on this basketball team. So they, they like to push it, they like to run with it. They're going to get after you.
Speaker 2:This is it. This is a game where Wisconsin is going to be tested with their patients. You got to be patient with this game here, because Marquette's going to look to run and they're going to look to push you in different ways to get turnovers and everything like that. This is the first road test for the Badgers on the season so far. Yes, they went on the road and they played those neutral site games, but this is the first road test and the Badgers last season were three of nine. They were three, three and nine on the road last season. Three and nine, that's not a great road record. You want to be up close to, if not, 500,. Three and nine ain't going to get it done. You already lost the game at the Cole center to Michigan which we talked about. Yeah, can't lose big 10 games at home. Now you go on the road to Marquette. This is going to be a big one for that, and I mean, all in all, this Marquette team is a pretty darn good basketball team.
Speaker 2:They you got to limit turnovers in this one. You got to control the paint on both ends of the floor, control the rebounding battle. Like I said, max Klesman's got to get going here. You got to try and limit Cam Jones in this one. Limit what he can do. He's a great facilitator of the basketball. He's a great score. You got to limit what he can do in this game. Make somebody else beat you. And those are some of my biggest keys for this one here. Aaron, I mean, is there anything you're seeing between these two squads that you're like this is what the Badgers got to do to win this game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, looking at, I mean, you mentioned a lot, of, a lot of the stats already. But I will say, you know, with Wisconsin there, like you know, you already said how comparable these two teams are, wisconsin being, I mean, this is not a stat you're going to like, but you know, just reading it off here, wisconsin 229th in the nation at 32.2 rebounds per game. But then if you look at Marquette, they're actually worse. So Marquette averages 31.3, 265th in college basketball. Um, so oh, there you go.
Speaker 2:Volleyball pulled it out did they, they got the win facebook comment coming in there we go there we go. That's my grandma right there. Thanks, grandma's in on the in on the chat tonight here.
Speaker 1:Love it, love it we need somebody to get it started there. You know tumbleweeds blowing through on the chat line there, but no, I mean you know as much as we've kind of, you know, talked about Wisconsin not being able to rebound the basketball, marquette's worse. So I mean you figure there. You know, if Wisconsin can get the rebounding under control in this game, that's a massive advantage. If Wisconsin can get the rebounding under control in this game, that that's a massive advantage. Now, you know, marquette averages 3.3, more threes than than the other, than their opposition basically. So that's good. And at 10.2, that's 29th in college basketball and they limit their, their opponents, to about 6.9. As you said, they do allow them to shoot, to shoot it. You just, if you're wisconsin, you want to make those, those threes when they do give them to you. So it's yeah, this is uh, this is interesting. I mean there's a lot of. I mean the spread on this game is pretty, pretty lopsided. Seven and a half, that's. That's a little surprising. I mean I know wisconsin coming off the loss, but outside of that game, I mean they've, you know we're undefeated. So both teams obviously, what one loss on the season it's.
Speaker 1:I mean trying to trying to pull a couple more things Marquette's outscoring opponents by 17.3 points per game, but a lot of those types of stats to me are you know who have you played? It's early in the season, like you know. Can you really take those, you know, you really take those, you know, completely serious, I don't know, but you know. And then you flip the Wisconsin uh, averaging uh or beating opponents by about 13.9, so call it 14. So, uh, very, I mean both teams when they win are winning, you know, rather comfortably there. So that's something to look at, at least keep in mind. And then Wisconsin averages 105 points per 100 possessions. Kind of a weird stat there. But that's good for 29th in college basketball. But they do give up 88 points per 100 possessions. So that's another thing too.
Speaker 1:I think you know the way Wisconsin's played this year is just kind of like balls to the walls on offense and then not enough defense. I would say, up to this point, you want to limit a team. It's going to be hard, right, we're talking about how good Marquette is offensively, but I don't know if I love, you know, if Wisconsin gets an absolute shootout, I mean you're going to need, like Tonje and the crew, to really show up then I mean they could still win that way. It's just if you can own the glass and keep Marquette you know it's relatively at bay off the scoreboard, that I think is a better way to win. But I mean, if you got to win this way, you got to win this way it's. It's definitely gonna be a test, I think, on what Scott like this is. This is clearly a at least Wisconsin's disadvantage, is also Marquette's disadvantage with the rebounding.
Speaker 2:But you know who can kind of just throw up more points, probably at the end of this yeah, no, and that's where I think stephen crowell comes in big time for the badgers in this one is you got to own that glass. You got to control the paint in this one against marquette. Because they're going to try to own it. They're going to try to take wisconsin their, their ability to drive, the ability to get inside paint. They're going to try to take it away in this one, which is what Michigan did with that size. So we're going to see kind of what Shaka Smart draws up there.
Speaker 2:I mean, the pick and roll hurt the Badgers in the last one. I don't know if it'll hurt them as bad in this game against Marquette. They're going to try and run the pick and roll, but you're not going to be doing it with a seven footer in golden there and trying to defend both those guys, cause that was just, that was just nuts. I mean I have that's an impressive I mean to have a guy who's seven foot, like Danny Wolf, was in that Michigan game and he's out there running the point Like it was.
Speaker 2:It was wild and he's a fantastic basketball player. So Michigan's definitely got a good one over there. And if people are not putting, I know Marquette fans are like you. If people are not putting, I know Marquette fans are like you guys lost to Michigan and I'm like shut up. If you guys watch Michigan basketball like this, michigan is a good basketball team.
Speaker 2:I don't like Michigan, so don't get me wrong. I hate giving props to teams when I don't like them. But Michigan is a good basketball team this season and Dusty May is a fantastic basketball coach coming up from FAU. He was fantastic there. He comes up, he's been fantastic for Michigan so far and he just outcoached he made the adjustments and outcoached Greg Gard in that game and we talked about adjustments and everything like that. And I'm not trying to fire up the fire Greg Gard crowd because I know I'm going to fire him up here if I start talking about Greg Gard getting outcoached, but I mean he did. I thought that dusty may made the uh, made the adjustments in that game and that's what hurt the badgers deep down the stretch there. So we'll kind of see what. This should be a good one and I can't wait for it.
Speaker 2:Tomorrow. They're 12. I believe it's a 12 30 start. If I'm not mistaken, they're 12 30 start. They're on fox. Maybe we'll get gus johnson, maybe no. No, what other game is on fox that day? What other's got to be a football game on there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, let me see.
Speaker 2:I don't know who else is on. I was going to check Because Gus he does call basketball games.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and other than the Penn State game being on CBS, all the other games are on ABC. So quite possibly, gus Johnson, no Fox football tomorrow.
Speaker 2:Because I was going to say Jeff Levering, he does FS1, so it won't be Jeff Levering. Who's going to be calling it? Jeff Levering and Jim Jackson? Jeff Levering and Jim Jackson will be calling the Marquette game against Wisconsin Saturday, december 7th. Okay, so it's going to be Jeff Levering and it's going to be Jim Jackson, so we've got Jeff. He's a Wisconsin guy, he loves his Brewers, so we'll see. I mean, should be a great game. Should be a great game Wisconsin-Marquette. Hopefully. We're talking about a Badgers win coming back here on Sunday there, and we're all rejoicing that Marquette fans are down in the dumps once again.
Speaker 2:Because, um, by a Marquette guy and he wrote, like it was like three paragraphs, I kid you, not like three paragraphs about why John Tonjay is not actually that good, but he's just shooting a lot of free throws this season, so that's why he's that good and he shouldn't be up for player of the year because he shoots all these free throws and that's why he's good and everything like that. I'm like I forgot our free throws. Part of the game of basketball. Is getting to the free throw line? A part of the game of basketball. Is he shooting 44% from downtown on the season, like I forgot. Is that the same John Tonje that you're talking about? Because the John Tonje I'm talking about is averaging 22 points a game and I'm pretty sure he's shooting 51% from the floor and he's shooting, I believe, 44% from downtown. So, um, yeah, free throws are a big part of the game.
Speaker 2:But uh, yeah, let's check the stats out there, marquette fellows, before you get all get all frisky here on my boy, john Tonje, that I don't know if you saw it, aaron, but the other night, uh, that he threw down the hammer against Michigan and all my goodness, was that electric. I know they ended up losing, so it doesn't really have the same extent on that one, but, holy cats, he brought the hammer back. I think he tried for the windmill or something on that one, but I didn't expect him to throw the hammer down. I saw the defense with I can't remember who was coming down with them there from Michigan and I was like, ah, he's not going to, he's going to, you know, get fouled or something like that, or pass the ball off. And all of a sudden he just chucks the hammer down and I'm like, oh, like, wow, this guy's got something in the bag of tricks. This guy's good. So I mean, he's fantastic. So, marquette fans, you can shove it. That's what I'm going to tell you now.
Speaker 1:Well, here you go, Trajan, If this makes you feel any better, because I look I Wisconsin acceptance rate around 49%. Take a guess on what Marquette's acceptance. So not to say this guy is uneducated Like. I don't want to go that far, but oh, they're probably up in like the 60s.
Speaker 2:They gave about 60% 65.
Speaker 1:You're being generous. It's 87% acceptance rate, so that rivals like West Virginia. I know West Virginia is one of the easiest schools to get into in the country, but that's a big. So hey, maybe those guys over in Marquette. They're just not as witty as the Wisconsin crowd put it that way.
Speaker 2:They just don't know, man, they just don't know. John Tonje is coming down the tracks, boys, and you better watch out, because this guy balls out.
Speaker 2:This guy balls out, and if he smiles, you smiles, you're screwed. That's all I'm gonna say there. So badgers marquette coming up on tomorrow there 12 30 start there on fox. Jeff levering, jim jackson on the call love me some. Jeff levering on the call there. So should be a good one there. Can't wait. Can't wait for that one tomorrow there on fox. So, aaron, let's get to our fact of the day and then we'll get to the Packers Lions. Because we haven't talked Packers Lions yet, let's get a little fact of the day in there. What do we got for this day, december 6th?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I kind of want to give you one from yesterday real quick, because this is a big sports fact. I'll tell you that On December 5th, real quick, oj Simpson was was sentenced to Well at the time 33 years in prison. He later got out nine years. Well, nine years later he got out on parole. So that is, yeah, I mean talk about a guy that I mean no longer with us. So I don't want to talk too badly about the dead, but he got away with literal murder, I think. So that's just my little take on that.
Speaker 2:I don't know, did the glove fit?
Speaker 1:I mean, what If the glove didn't fit? You must come. Forget it. What you must come, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I don't know, that was so like I forgot. I honestly forgot about him and then all of a sudden he was back.
Speaker 1:So like I, I I don't even know.
Speaker 2:I don't even know. Yeah, I just he might have not done it.
Speaker 1:I'm guessing he did it, but like I, I don't even know so sometimes I'll just compare the days of like okay, what, what happened on this day? And like I had to. I mean, oj simpson, that was one of the biggest stories of of this country, really, if you know, you look at it. But on on this day, shift gears. A lot less depressing, right? A lot less depressing Weird fact, but a fact nevertheless.
Speaker 1:Starbucks opened its largest cafe in the world in Shanghai, at 29,000 square feet, which is half the size of a football field. So that's just mind-numbing. All of that combined is crazy. Um, it's a fact, obviously, but it's uh, in 2017 there. So starbucks is a superpower man. I mean, I can't, I can't deny it. They, uh, they own, they own the coffee space. I think, honestly, that only is my bank account too. I, I, like dunk, I'm a value guy, I'm a I, but I mean Starbucks. If they're going to sell a $7 cup of coffee, people will buy it if it's from Starbucks. I don't think they'd buy it if it was from Dunkin' I'll put it that way.
Speaker 2:Anything with pumpkin spice sugar cookie, anything like that drives people nuts. They just get all kinds of fired up. So I mean it's wild. They own my bank account, that's all I know. They own my bank account, that will be it, so you know, if they went, if they, if they went away, it'd be okay with me. It would just be okay.
Speaker 1:I just yeah, that's the thing. That's like ohio state. They're not, unfortunately. We want them to go away, but it feels like they never will. It's just.
Speaker 2:Ohio state wants ryan day to go away, but he ain't they do they.
Speaker 2:It's like same concept. We're all talking about the same thing here. So let's get some Packers and Lions talk. We started out, we talked about the Packers-Lions game a little bit there. 34-31 was the final in that one. I mean, there were bits and pieces of this that I liked, that I disliked, right. The biggest thing and I know everybody the reffing. There were missed calls. There were missed calls, there was calls that I didn't think should have been made. There were calls that weren't made. There was bad calls in this game. I'm not going to sit here and blame the reffing, though I don't want to blame the reffing.
Speaker 2:The Packers' start in this game was absolutely atrocious. I mean, you want to talk about how to lose a football game. You start out the way lions get the ball first. They go down the field, they score a touchdown, like that's just how they did it. Then you look at the Packers punt, punt, fumble. Those are their first three drives punt, punt, fumble. Then they got going, they got that touchdown there and then, well, lions went back, scored themselves into the half, right. So that's kind of how the whole first half played out there. Then the second half, the offense came out. They were hot touchdown to start the second half. There got to pick. Then they scored another touchdown there. Then the lions went down and scored a touchdown. I mean the second half. The offense picked it up.
Speaker 2:But the problem was it took a quarter and a half, once again, for the offense to find their, to settle into this game, to get settled into this game. And the lions we talked about it. They were banged. We talked about it. They were banged up on the defensive front. They were banged up on the defense and they came out in this game and they hit the Packers hard right off the bat there. I mean the offensive line.
Speaker 2:I was really going into this game. I was like you know, the Packers offensive line can handle it, they can handle this front. For the Lions, they couldn't handle them. To start in this one, him to start in this one, I mean Jordan Love was constantly under pressure and he made some throws. He made some throws late under pressure there, but they were constantly in his face. They were controlling the run game. I mean it was just it wasn't a great start and that's where I thought was the biggest, one of the biggest problems to start this one. But my biggest question. So I'm going to ask the question. I think we'll start here and then we'll talk about the game. I think we'll start here and then we'll talk about the game.
Speaker 2:Did we come out of this game believing the Packers can beat anyone? They can beat anyone in this NFC. Did we come out of this game believing that one? Because people right now are saying the Packers are kind of frauds. Right, they're kind of frauds. They're nine and four. They haven't beat a team that's ahead of them. They didn't beat the Eagles. They lost to the Lions twice and they lost to the vikings. They beat everybody else. They beat everybody else they're supposed to beat. Right, they won. They beat all the teams the afc south, they beat the bears. They've won all these games that they're supposed to win, but they haven't beat anybody in front of them. So people are like, ah, you know, they're frauds, they haven't beat anybody. Good, yet you know. And blah and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. My pushback, my pushback on that. Okay, the Eagles game, first game out, lost that game by five, that was. It was a pretty good football game. Sure, the Packers have probably won that game. Yeah, if they played the best game. But I didn't think they played the best game in that one. So the Packers lose that one.
Speaker 2:The Vikings game Jordan Love off of injury. He's coming back, you know, and they start out. What were? They down like 28 to nothing at one point in that game, like they were getting the crap beat out of them. They come back and that's again. The offense takes a while to get going. They finally get going and they end up losing that game by three.
Speaker 2:You look at that game against the Lions Offense struggles. Once again Jordan Love throws that costly pick six, 24 to 14. Now in this one, 34, 34 to 31 the Packers offense starts slow. Once again they start out slow. They take a while to get going.
Speaker 2:In this one the defense did enough. They didn't play great. There's definitely I'm going to talk about it here later on, uh, in this talk here. But they definitely have holes on that defense. Right, but they played good enough.
Speaker 2:They held the Lions while the offense was struggling. They held the Lions to a 17-7 halftime score. It wasn't like if the defense didn't show up and they absolutely were atrocious. That could have looked a lot worse going into the half. But 17-7, they got off the field. They got a fourth down stop. I mean, yes, we're going to talk about the fourth downs, but they got one. They did their thing, they bent, but they got one. You know, they, they did their thing, they, they bent, but they didn't break. In that first half, second half, there was moments, right, they couldn't get a stop. They didn't get that one key stop. So I guess you know. To go back to my question there, aaron, I mean what do you think? Did we come out of that game believing this Packers team could go on the road in the playoffs and they could beat the lions, the Lions maybe, whatever it is, the Vikings or Lions, I think the Lions will win the division yet, but the Lions, could they go on the road and get a playoff win?
Speaker 1:This Packers team is hard for me to one time I'm all the way in. I've never been all the way out on them this year. I just it's the thing that outside of like I saw your tweet last night about Tucker like. I like Tucker Kraft a lot, but outside of like let's look at this again here. Outside of like, christian Watson balls out. Last night he catches that one deep ball. But can you, I'm starting to not lose faith in this receiving core, but maybe I don't like it as much.
Speaker 1:The way I came away from this game was what if Jordan Love had a true number one? That's what I was thinking. What if they had their George Pickens? Or they had their AJ Brown? Just a guy that you know for a fact every week's going to give you, you know, a certain amount of yards like that. That's where I'm a little. I'm not concerned because I like Jordan loves upside Like. I think he played, given the circumstances. I know the yards weren't there, but you know, like you said, he was getting blitzed, like I mean the guy had no time. Half half the time he stepped back there. So I mean there were things I definitely didn't love, but I think I mean it's a little daunting.
Speaker 1:The Lions found a way to beat them twice. I thought they would find a way to win this one. I'm not saying it's the end of the world because honestly, like another thing I thought was, after they lost, this is okay. Let's say you see the Lions again, how likely is it they beat you three times in one year? So I was thinking maybe that's a good thing, like in a weird way. I mean not the best way, but I mean if you lose the division but beat them in the playoffs, I'll take that trade off any day of the week, like screw the division, who cares, as long as you win in the playoffs. I thought Josh I mean Josh Jacobs you look at the stat line like three touchdowns, yeah, it's amazing. It's just they didn't seem to really find the running game as consistently as I thought you know they would either. I mean you average a little less than four yards a carry, not bad, but it wasn't like you know. It just felt like the Lions kind of controlled that as well.
Speaker 1:The Packers did kind of clamp down on their backs to a certain degree, though. I mean Montgomery averaged less than Jacobs there at 3.6, and then Jameer Gibbs really didn't do much of anything. I mean less than three yards a carry, so that you feel good about that. I think you can. That'll travel if their run defense can show up like that. That's what you like. But I just thought. I mean obviously no Romeo Dobbs in this one. I just like Jane Reed didn't even have a catch on the game.
Speaker 1:I just worry about that a little bit. I do worry about that going against some of these teams in the NFC. It's like okay, can you completely rely on. It's almost like you know, when Tiger Woods was golfing, it was like Tiger versus the field. It's kind of like the Packers are the field when it comes to the receivers, because it's a combination of everybody. But I mean I don't think they played bad, it's just I can't lie to you. Like after this game I am like wow, the Lions, just like they definitely got calls and you know we talked about how we felt about that. That could have been the differentiating factor. Unfortunately, in my opinion, just because those calls were massive and when they came in, but you know, now you almost kind of let the play through that and the other team at times. But I mean they can beat anybody. It's just it's going to take a. It takes a lot because you know you need everybody basically to show up.
Speaker 2:Okay. So here's my pushback. The receiving core I agree, a lot of people. They're like Jayden Reed, zero catches. That can't happen. He can't be zero catches in the game. Here's my thing.
Speaker 2:The Packers they don't have that number one. They don't have a Pickens or AJ Brown or one of those kinds of guys. They don't have that guy. They have a collection of guys. They have a collection of guys where it's like one guy's good at this, the next guy, christian Watson's good at the big hitter. He's your big hitter guy. But Dontavian Wicks is your underneath guy. Romeo Dobbs is your. We're in crunch, we're in a crunch. We need a first down. He's my hands, that's my guy I'm going to. Jayden reads my special. He's like my swiss army knife. He can do all those little things. So, yes, would it be nice to get jayden read the ball? Sure, yeah, it would be 100. It'd be nice if all these guys could have a catch, but the way that they play complementary football, I don't think it's going to happen. Right, I mean we talk about okay, let's just say, romeo Dobbs played, right, dobbs plays. So Wicks doesn't have a catch. Well then, we're like well, why doesn't Wicks have the ball?
Speaker 2:And it's like okay, wait, dobbs didn't have a catch this game but Reed had, you know, 15. Well, okay, why didn't Dobbs have a catch? You know, when you play the Packers way no-transcript, like he's one of the better tight ends, why is he not have a catch? And in this game we see three catches. A week before he had a couple of big catches, right. So it's like, well, you know, you go week by week and I think that's how the Packers are going to be. You're going to go through a two game stretch where it's like, you know, jaden Reed doesn't have any catches but then all of a sudden he's going to have eight for 150, right, I don't think you're ever going to see a Packers wide receiver who just completely goes, you know, just ballistic. One game he might, but it's going to be hard because you have so much talent you have. You have so many guys in there who do those different things, right, like I said, watson's your big hitter, wicks. He stepped up four catches on five targets. We were talking about Wicks with the drop problem there. They trusted him late in the game here and he set them up in the red zone. For that I mean, yes, it got that pass. Interference call on Christian Watson there. But he set them up in the red zone with a couple of nice catches, a couple of big plays. That was great. That was great to see Tucker craft with a couple of big catches. I mean I, yes, you want to see a guy where you have a go-to guy. And I think they did miss Dobbs because I think I tweeted out or I mentioned it there to somebody. I said you know that one, they ran a slant route to Christian Watson. He dropped it and I was like that's Dobbs, like that's his thing, that's Dobbs' thing. Like the slant route, the quick hitter, that's Dobbs, he's got the great hands, he's got that ability. So you were missing that piece. I think I came out of this one and we do have one on the text in line there. That said, are the Packers still playoff contenders with that loss, 100%, 100%.
Speaker 2:You look at this game. You look at I mean you had two what fourth and goals where they scored a touchdown. You get one stop, one stop. That's your difference. That's your difference in this game. You get one stop. You get that stop on fourth and inches. Now, that's tough, that's tough to get a stop on fourth and inches there, but you get one of those fourth and goal stops. That's your difference in this ball game here. That's your complete difference.
Speaker 2:In this ball game the offense doesn't start out slow Like they did. Maybe, you know. Maybe they go and they kick a field goal on one of them. First drives, you know the punt punt. You know fumble. Right, they were driving on that fumble down the sideline. He made kind of a.
Speaker 2:I thought it was silly, you know he tried to make a move. He left himself exposed, left the ball exposed, got punched up from behind. It happens, right, it happens. But that's big time. That fumble was big time there because I believe, if I'm not mistaken, after that fumble did, after that fumble, the Lions got a field goal. They kicked a field goal out of that drive. So no fumble there. That is a three point difference in this one. So that's big, that's a big time play right there.
Speaker 2:So I mean, I don't come out of this game thinking to myself man, the Lions, they just own the Packers Like they just own them. Yes, they've won how many games in a row against the Packers. I agree. Yes, the Packers haven't proven that they can beat the Lions. I will agree with that and I will agree. The Lions are still the top team in the NFC, possibly the NFL. I will agree with that.
Speaker 2:But there's some cracks in that armor that is on the Detroit Lions. There's some cracks and the Packers have exposed it. They showed it and right now, if you put the Eagles up against the Lions right now, I don't think that we're seeing the Lions come out of that as a clear-cut favorite to win. And I don't even know if they win that game right now, because if you look at the last few games the Lions have played, the Bears should have won that game. They failed, they screwed up themselves. Now, yes, they probably you know maybe would have went to overtime and we don't know what would have happened from there or anything like that. But there's a possibility that they win that football game right. I mean the Texans game right. The Texans exposed this Lions defense early on in that one. They were blowing them out the water and then the Lions came back and they won that football game. Now it tells you a lot about a football team. When they can come back, they can win these kinds of games.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying anything against them. Like I'm saying, the Lions are a great football team. I'm not denying that they are a great football team. But I did not come out of this game thinking the Packers are not able to beat one of these teams. I am full and well Like do I think the Packers are as good as the Lions or Eagles? No, I don't. I don't think so. I think the Eagles are better. I really do. I think the Lions are better. Think the Eagles? I think the Eagles are better, I really do, and I think the Lions are better. But could the Packers go on the road to one of those two Ford field, or out to Philly and win that football game? Yeah, I completely think so. Jordan love yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:And a lot of people are going to say well, how is the you know expensive man there from green Bay? I was the only throwing 12, you know, having 12 for 20 day for 208. They don't want him to throw the ball a lot. Now, it's weird. I think it's weird, right, but if you look at his last, how many games Jordan Love isn't throwing the football a lot? Yeah, 12 for 20. Like, that's, you only had 12 completions on the game. Not great, right, it's not great. But the Packers aren't asking Jordan Love to throw the football a lot. They have Josh Jacobs, they have a complimentary football team. They don't want Jordan Love, they don't want to say here, jordan, take this on your back, lead us to a win, like they will ask him to do that and he showed he could do that.
Speaker 2:Look at some of the throws he made. Last night. The most impressive one I saw was that one. I can't remember who was coming on the rush there, but he avoided the rush, stepped up, made a fantastic throw to Christian Watson and just a dot. It was beautiful and it was like I can't believe that people can watch that and still tell me, like face to face, this guy is not a good quarterback like this guy is a fantastic quarterback and if they put the workload on him I think he could be fine. I really do.
Speaker 2:But that's not how they play. They want to get josh jacobs involved. They want to do those little things with the run game. That because the run game is where it starts for green bay. It's always been. If you can get the run game going, the pass game will follow and yes, I think they have the ability to pass with teams. But why would you if you have a josh jacobs in the backfield, why are you trying to pass the ball 40 times a game If Jordan Love throws it 40 times? I think we lost. I really do, because otherwise, if we didn't lose, we're in a gunslinging battle. For some reason we're not even trying to run the football and I really do think you have to establish it with Josh Jacobs. So I am not. I look at this 12 for 20 from Jordan Love. I don't think that that that it's not telling me that Jordan Love is not a good quarterback, and anybody who wants to sit there and argue that is just. I can argue with you. But if you watch some of those throws, some of the, some of the plays that he makes, extending plays, running the football last night they're extending plays out and everything. He's a darn good quarterback. He has a darn good quarterback and I will die on that Hill that he is a darn good quarterback. This guy's fantastic. And now we're finally seeing Jordan love not injured Right, and I was listening to, uh, Bill Michaels the other day and he said what was the?
Speaker 2:Is this the most important game of the year for the Packers was is this the most important game against the lines and I thought right away I was like, yeah, you know, it's gotta be the most important. And he said no, he said the most important game was the Eagles, week one. And I was like, well, why, you know? And he said it. He's like why? Why would the Eagles be the most important? He said because Jordan Love got hurt. And he said that delayed the progress and the um, the chemistry and everything of this team building throughout the season, because he was injured and you weren't able to see what he could do.
Speaker 2:Week two, week three, this team built together. Week two, week three, you got Malik Willis, and I'm not saying Malik Willis didn't play great, because he played great Like Malik Willis did what he had to do and the Packers got wins and that's all you can ask for. I'm not taking a knock on anybody, but I completely agree with what he was saying there that this team I think I mean essentially the Lions they played their kind of football, they played gritty football and they got to win. And the Packers, I thought honestly in this one they matched the physicality for a while there. I thought they did. You know, usually I always I get back to this point where I'm like the Packers just don't play physical, they don't play smash mouth, hard nose, like we're going to beat you and we're going to beat you up while we do it kind of football.
Speaker 2:And I thought in this one there was some fire and there was some chippiness too. I mean, quay Walker got flagged for that. What's his nuts? I can't remember. I think it was, oh, that offensive lineman who was, I think he wasn't even supposed to play, but the other guy was out I can't remember his life tucker, maybe something like that, but he flopped. I mean he's shoving with quay walker there and he flops over when quay walker shoves him back and then they throw the flag on quay walker. But I was like, yeah, I'm like I like that, show some, show some that you want this, that you're ticked off right, and then you know the one that there's one call uh, before I flip it to you there, aaron, about this game, a little bit there, but there was one call that I thought they blatantly missed and xavier mckinney, amon ross, st brown, comes out the block, xavier mckinney, and completely just blows his helmet off of his head, just blows it off his head, and mckinney's looking around and he's like what? What just happened and it's I have never like.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of plays in this game and Matt LaFleur was ticked and I love that. I love that Matt was on the sideline and he was arguing for his guys because they ran and I saw a couple of times in this one they ran that same pick that they called Christian Watson, for I think it was a pick, was it to Sam Laporta? Sam Laporta ran it and I think Gibbs caught it on the outside there. But they ran the same kind of pick and Matt LaFleur was just ticked off because he's like they're running the same crap that we tried to run and I can't even tell you the way that Laporta I think it was Laporta and I could be wrong and if anybody out there in the comments if it was different, just let me know. But I think it was Laporta. But when he set that pick he stood there like he was setting a pick. But when Christian Watson did it, he tried to run through. He ran through the play and he was a yard off the line of scrimmage. He ran through the play. Kirby Joseph ran into him and then he still continued to run his route after getting hit, which made me even more believe that it wasn't even a pick. Now, it might've been a pick, I don't know. I didn't watch the press conference, maybe it was, but it just there was calls where I was like ah, why? Like it just sucks.
Speaker 2:But I don't think the reffing was the main reason why the Packers lost this game. I really do. I'm going to trace it back to the slow start. I'm going to trace it back to the slow start by this team once again, and I think that's what killed them in this one, because, like I said, you trade blows with them early on and you score a touchdown back at 7-7. This is a different game. This looks different. Down the stretch, there you come away with 7. I really do think if you come away with seven um on that you know the christian watson pass interference play, you come away with seven there instead of a field goal, that's, you might have won.
Speaker 2:You might have won this game because the lions, yes, they were moving the football against you, but who knows, do they score a touchdown there on that? You know they had to go for fourth down. Do they score a touchdown? I don't know. It completely changes the whole dynamic of that uh, of that drive. So I mean it's a big, what if? Kind of statement there. What if you know the Packers got to stop on fourth and goal, then what happens? I mean I live in this what if world, apparently, with Wisconsin sports there. But Aaron, what do you? I mean, what are you thinking off this game here? I mean you heard my big spiel about this Packers team there. I mean, is there, was there things that you liked, that you didn't like about this Packers offense defense? Whatever you saw in this game here?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I like how you know in the second half is how they should have. I mean you know you're not going to have every game that you start well, but like you alluded to, I mean starting the game slow. Every team I've ever liked does that seems like. I mean the Eagles are known to do that last season, um, kind of have figured it out this year, but still there's, there's those times where they don't. So, um, I, that's one thing you gotta. You gotta fix that. Like you know you give up a touchdown, you at least gotta go down there and put three on the board like and I don't even love three, but you know if you can knot that thing up. Like you said, different ballgame, I thought at times I mean it's tough, right, it's tough to defend Detroit with all their I mean you know Jameer Gibbs, you know Marcy Brown running all over the place, like it's a lot to be accounting for, you know, defensively there. But that was difficult for them and I'm not going to say it wouldn't be difficult for anybody, but it just was. But, like I said, after the first half was over, start of the second half, they came out like how you want a team to come out. That's behind. They come out, they score a touchdown. They force Jared Goff into an interception.
Speaker 1:That's where I think, not to say Jalen Hurts or Sam Darnold, like all these guys I mean, if you look at it, really a lot of the guys in the NFC are interception prone. I mean even you know we've talked about Jordan Love throwing picks like there's no, you know clean, absolute clean football is. You know there's certain. I mean even Mahomes this year you can make the case, he hasn't played clean football. Like people will give you the ball if you force it. So I mean Jared Goff, same thing here. He will force you into, you know, throwing interceptions. Or I mean the Packers can force him, excuse me, into throwing interceptions and that's something where you know if the Packers can do that, they can win, they can beat the Lions and that type of thing in, you know, a playoff game.
Speaker 1:I think, like I don't trust, I don't, I wouldn't say Jordan Love is going to throw you out of a game unless you would have one of those like three interception games. But I just think he's, he's better than that, like you said he's. He's better than that, like you said he's. He's now completely healthy that type of thing too. This team's close, it's just, you know, can they make the play when you need them to make the play, and that that's one of those things you know. Sometimes teams find it, sometimes you know it's another year, but we we just don't know. They're not far off though yeah, no 100.
Speaker 2:I think they're close, I really do, and I think they could go on the road.
Speaker 2:And I'm not scared of Ford Field. Like honestly, they went in there last night. That felt like a playoff game, the crowd, everything. It felt like a playoff game and they handled the noise and, like you said, they came out in the second half and they answered the call and that is the biggest killer for any defense ever.
Speaker 2:Look at the drives touchdown drive there, right after the Packers went and scored and put them up 21 to 17, the Lions go on a 13 play 78 yard and six minute drive there to put it in the end zone. Their next drive they got it was on downs. But then the next drive after that, the touchdown 10 plays 79 yards. And then you look at the field goal drive 11 plays for 53 yards. I mean you want to talk about putting together drives. You want to talk about tiring out a defense right there, three straight drives where it was over 10 plays and burning up clock left and right. I mean you're talking about you got what? A three-minute drive there, five-minute drive on the touchdown drive and six-minute drive on the touchdown drive and six-minute drive on the touchdown drive, you burned off basically a whole quarter right there between those drives, like that's a backbreaker. You got to find a way to get stopped somewhat of a stop there, right, and that's what we I mean we get back to here is, if you know, we play in this what-if world. I am telling you all these what-ifs, if, all these what ifs, if they got that stop, one stop in this game, it changes the whole thing. It changes what we're looking at right now. So that's why I'm saying I cannot sit here and tell you that I came out of that game and said there's no way the Packers beat the Lions. There's no way, because I do think there's a way. I really do. They went to Ford Field and they gave the Lions one of their biggest tests that they've had, one of their biggest tests. They gave it to them and I really do think that if they went like you said, it's hard to beat a team three times. If they go to Ford Field again, I'm not worried about it. I think they could win that game. I really do.
Speaker 2:And we went back to it and we said what was the problems? Right, four for five on fourth down. Four, four, five on fourth down. That's right there. That kills you Two. Fourth and goals that they put in the end zone. I believe that's multiple touchdowns they've had on fourth and goal against the Packers because they had one early on too or in that first game. So I mean fourth and goal, you get one. Stop, stop changes this whole game here.
Speaker 2:Third down efficiency seven for 15. Packers were, one for five. On third down, one for five. That tells you how many times they got actually on third down there but also what their efficiency was when they got to that point. They struggled. They struggled in this one first.
Speaker 2:I mean you look at, you look at first downs in this one 27 for the lions, 17 the Packers. They got set up in pretty good field position. But I'm looking at time of possession. I'm saying this is where the defense is going to start to get war. Like we talked about 36 minutes. The Lions were on offense 36 minutes. The Packers were on the field for about 24, 23 minutes and 54 seconds, so about 24. The Lions were about 36, 36 minutes and 6 seconds.
Speaker 2:That's your killer, right? Because turnovers. We talked about turnovers going into this one. Both teams had a turnover. A lot packers fumble, lions uh, pick don't love played a relatively clean game. He played efficient. He played efficient football. The packers played somewhat efficient football after that first quarter and a half. They were right there in this one.
Speaker 2:But yet we're talking about the Packers and people are talking about the Packers like they're not a good football team, like this team's got no shot. They got no shot and I just think that's blasphemy, because I'm like this team can definitely go. They went toe-to-toe with the Lions. They can go toe-to-toe with the Lions. Now the Lions, they can go toe-to-toe with the Lions. Now the Eagles have gotten better, but I think right now, the way the Packers are playing, if they get healthy, because they cannot seem to stay healthy right, jair Alexander still out. Romeo Dobbs is out. Edgerin Cooper, one of their better linebackers, is out.
Speaker 2:Now the Lions going into this one. They were banged up on the defensive side too, so I'm not going to say anything about injuries or the reason why this game went elsewhere, but I look at the secondary for green bay eric stokes I don't know who needs to hear this, but he stinks, eric stokes, I don't. I don't know why. The packers you know they go into this this season and they went into the trade deadline and everything like that and the the one of the biggest needs, I was like they got to go get a cornerback. They have to get somebody in there, because I you don't trust Johnny Alexander. When is he there? I don't know. When does he play? I don't know. He ain't there, he's barely there. Right, he came back for 10 snaps the other day and now he's out again.
Speaker 2:So what are we banking on? Right? We're banking on young guys. We're banking on Eric Stokes, who? Here's his numbers. Aaron, here's his numbers. Eric Stokes over the last three seasons, when targeted I saw this on Twitter there by Tyler Brooke, he tweeted out 57 receptions on 78 targets, 73% completion rating, 688 yards, 8.8 yards per attempt, seven touchdowns, no interceptions, no pass breakups and a 129 passer rating. Not good, no. And who's in coverage on that? What's his name? Patrick, was that guy from?
Speaker 1:yeah, that's what I want to get to too. Who had that on their thing? Who was in coverage on? Him Eric Stokes, eric Stokes was in coverage, I mean you would think that would be safe. I'm not trying to defend like guy stinks, right yeah, but like you put him on Tim, like who had that on their thing? Tim Patrick, nope.
Speaker 2:Nope, but this is what you get. This is what you get For playing. I don't even know what they see in him at this point. Like I am, eric Stokes has battled through injury. He's found his way back onto the football field Like hats off to him. He's had a lot of injuries and he's found his way back and that's fantastic for him. I love that for him and everything like that. But that is terrible and he is not a let's throw him out there.
Speaker 2:You had Kalen King. You brought Kalen King up. He's young. Yes, he's a rookie, I agree he's a rookie, but you brought him up from the practice squad. What would it hurt to have thrown him out there? Nothing, because Eric Stokes stinks. I don't know why. Who, who needs to hear that? Yet he is developing. He's not showing anything that he's progressing. I just went over his numbers from the last three seasons. He is not progressing. He's not a solid cornerback for you. And yet we keep throwing him out there like, oh my God, one game here. He is just going to explode. He's just going to be that guy. No, he stinks. I don't know why we keep trying to push this or keep trying to, you know, make magic out of nothing. I don't get it. I really don't.
Speaker 2:I was just going to pull up his PFF grades from this last game Pass coverage 61. They graded him at 61. Tackling he was a 76. So great when he gives up one of these. Great. You know, completions targets, everything like that Like Eric. Completions targets, everything like that like eric stokes can make the tackle fantastic. Like I'm so excited. I'm not. This guy stinks. This guy absolutely stinks. Keishon nixon everybody wants to blame keishon nixon. All the time. I thought he played an okay game last night. He wasn't great. He played an okay game. He wasn't great at all outside of them, outside of those two karen, tim, valentine he's young, yet I I don't know valentine. I wish he could play, because Valentine, I think, is the most. He's going to have the most upside of all of them.
Speaker 2:But right now, if you have a glaring weakness for this Green Bay Packers team, it's that at any point last night when the Lions wanted to, they could just throw the football. They could just throw it out there and somebody was going to get open in that zone, somebody. They have zero guys in there who I trust man to man. None of them. Jair. I trust Jair, but he's not out there. You can't trust him to be out there. So then you have the rest of the goon squad here, and who are you going to trust? I don't trust any of them.
Speaker 2:I honestly trust Quay Walker in coverage more than I trust anybody on the cornerback room. And Quay Walker, he's going to have a running back right, he's going to be on the tight ends, but outside of that he's not keeping up foot speed with Amon Ross St Brown. And Amon Ross St Brown didn't have a great game, but I mean this secondary. It eats, it completely stinks, it does and it really does hurt. Because I thought last night Kenny Clark finally had a fantastic game and they showed it in his grade there on PFF. He got an 80 overall. Kenny Clark finally shows up to a football game and Aaron Mosby had a decent enough game. Devante Wyatt, lucas Van Ness got banged up but he had a good game. Rashawn Gary was a sack, like some guys on this defense actually stepped up. And Quay Walker I know a lot of people are hating on Quay Walker, but in the run defense last night he played fine. He played good, not great. I thought he blew past a couple but he's been playing better.
Speaker 2:But where's your glaring weakness in that back end, right? Xavier McKinney's fantastic. He's fantastic. You can't knock on Xavier McKinney. He's been fantastic for you. But outside of that, evan Williams gets hurt. Last night so did Javion Bullard.
Speaker 2:When Bullard got hurt, it's like the floodgates open, because then it was like who are we gonna throw out there now? And Kalen King sitting on that bench. I've been wanting to see him. I was excited for him. After, uh, preseason I was like this could be a guy. Why not throw him out there? But instead we stick with Eric Stokes, who continuously stinks week after week, and we keep throwing him back out there like it's just going to change. It's not going to change. You signed him back for some. I don't even know why you signed him back and this is what we're getting. He stinks.
Speaker 2:You have one glaring weakness that you need to address, not now, right, you can't address it now, but in the off season going into next year in the draft. That cornerback room is absolutely terrible. It is absolutely terrible and you cannot trust Jai Alexander to be there. You can't trust him and I wish I could, because when he's out there he's a top cornerback, like he's one of the better cornerbacks in football, I believe when he's out there. Well, when's he out there? I don't know. You know he might get him, for he hasn't played the lions since 2022. There you go. Hasn't played lions since 2022. You play them twice a year, so that's four games he's missed against the lions at least. Right. That's ridiculous. As this guy, you can't trust them and I wish I could because, like I said, he's a fantastic back. But this secondary they continue to struggle, they continue to struggle and it just hurts. It just hurts there, but the offense is coming along, right, and that's that's the big thing that I came away from.
Speaker 2:This game here was after that first quarter and a half the offense came along. Jordan Love had a solid day, right, nothing crazy, but a solid day there. Dontavian Wick stepped up. You know no Dobbs. You know Christian Watson had a good game. Reed didn't have any catches. Wicks stepped up and that was great. It was great to see Wicks step up in a big moment there. The offensive line they had problems. They definitely had problems in this one here Early on. I thought they settled in in the second half. Josh Jacobs had a fine day. Nothing crazy, a fine day there running the football. Three touchdowns right, but outside of that, I mean the yards weren't big time in this game, but he had a solid day right. The Lions they played well in the run game there, the Lions this is what I'm going to say. The Lions did a lot with a little Like they were beat up all the way around and they're signing guys left and right off the street. These guys don't even know they're like I. I heard al michaels made a joke about it last night.
Speaker 2:He's like you know, two guys introducing themselves to each other like hey I'm this guy, you know, I am this guy, you know, like in the game and I'm like yeah, like that's that's where they're at, like the lions.
Speaker 2:No, I, I don't want to feel like I don't want anybody to feel like I'm, you know, dissing on the lions right now. I'm not dissing on the Lions at all. I think the Lions they're fantastic. I mean they're playing fantastic. But I don't think the Packers are that far off from being a legit contender Now they're going to have to go on the road to do it. And the last team to go on the road throughout the playoffs to win a Super Bowl, guess what? It was the Green Bay Packers. When they won the Super Bowl, they went on the road through all the playoffs. So I mean, this is a team there's weaknesses, 100%. But we got to stop blaming Jeff Halfley. Halfley, I mean, he's not. You know I hate.
Speaker 2:I'm the first to blame coordinators. I am, I'm the first to blame coordinators. I blame Phil Longo for the Badgers. Yeah, I wanted to blame him. I blame Trestle for the defense. At times. We can sit here and we can blame Halfway for the defense and the struggles at times there to get stops. Hey, you can only scheme it up so well. Ben Johnson is fantastic. He is, I honestly. Sometimes I well, not sometimes during that game.
Speaker 2:Last night I was sitting there and I'm watching this you know offense for the lions and I'm like wow, like that that's a great play call. I mean he talked about it earlier. We said you know that that little angle route that he ran to Jameer Gibbs, like that was wow, like it was fantastic. And he had a couple other play calls in there. I'm like this guy just you know, if you're Dan Campbell, why do you go for it on fourth down so much? You got this guy. Like you just know that on a fourth and two or whatever it is, he is going to draw you up something that's going to get that first down. You just know that in the back of your head. Like you just know this guy's going to get the job done for you and that is a complete like that's awesome, that's awesome to have your Dan Campbell. It sucks for the rest of football, but it's great if you're Dan Campbell there because you have that ability, because you have a great offensive coordinator. So I mean this game here to wrap it up for myself, and I'll let Aaron just speak a little bit here before we get to the rest of the NFL picks for the weekend there to wrap it up.
Speaker 2:But I came out of this game with a bigger question. We said was did we come out of this game Believe in the Packers could beat anyone in this NFC? I came out of this game believing the Packers could go on the road and they could pull off a win against one of these great teams in the lions or the Eagles. I came out of this game believing that because I think the offense, I think Jordan Love's playing great. I think he's playing great. He's not playing MVP-level football, don't get me wrong, he's not playing MVP-level football, but he's doing what he's got to do and I think this offense can get going. And I really do think the defense they're a bend but don't break defense and I think they can get stops. All in all, I came out of this game. I trust the Packers a little bit more right now than I did before this one, because of what this game looked like.
Speaker 1:I will ask you this If it's going to falter, whether it be the offense or the defense to me, I sometimes worry about Jordan Love's protection, but he can, like you alluded to that play that he kind of came out of the pocket Like he ducked under that one guy and then came through the pocket and that was like textbook. I mean, that's what you look for out of a guy that you know you're paying that much money. Like that is an elite play. But I think I worry more so, like how you of allude to how the past defense was kind of getting ripped to shreds. That would be, I think, like if they were to lose because, like the Eagles, the Eagles are kind of playing like the Packers offensively, and the fact that they're not putting hurts back there more than 25 times um to throw the ball either. You know, until Saquon doesn't work like they're, they're not going away from that, which is I I think is smart too.
Speaker 1:I I'm in the same um book of thinking there with you know how the Packers are using Jacobs till. It doesn't like till, they can't use that. It's like okay, we're gonna grind that out as many times as we can and then you get, you know RPOs and things like that. You know that that open up better. But do you think if if the Packers were to have postseason struggle in any way, would you think it would like lie on the defense, excuse me, like it would be more um more possible that the defense lets you down than than the offense at this point, no, well, but no, because I don't think you can go into a place like Ford Field and put up 31 points and say that you should have won that football game.
Speaker 2:I don't think you can. I don't think you can as the Eagles, I don't think you can do it as the Chiefs, like I said earlier. I mean you had the first three drives where it was punt punt, fumble. You score a touchdown. In any of those drives you put up what 35 points in this game you win. It's not crazy to think that if you score 35 points, that you should win this football game, but it's also not crazy to say that if you score 31, you should lose this game. Because the Lions are good. They're a good football team that finds ways to eke out wins, just like this. They find ways. I mean the Lions have a high powered offense. They have, I mean, sonic and Knuckles right, you have, and you have nicknames like that. You know you have a heck of a backfield. You have a pretty good offensive line. You have playmakers in the wide receiver room Like, and you have Jared Goff who distributes the football extremely well.
Speaker 2:And I came out of that game last night thinking to myself why is jared goff not in an mvp conversation, because I think that's blasphemy, because this guy he balled out in a big game like okay, 283 and sometimes yards are just, they're kind of deceitful right, because you're like, oh, he only had 283 yards but he made big time throws. He made big time throws in big time moments when it was third and seven. He made a great throw right and right. And Lamar Jackson, like oh, yeah, he makes some great throws. And Josh Allen, they make great throws. I'm not saying they don't, but Jared Goff makes great throws. So I really do think you know. Yes, you can say the defense should have if they would have got a stop right. Yeah, I agree, I agree, but sometimes you lean it on the back of.
Speaker 2:You went through a quarter and a half where your offense looked terrible, like they weren't moving the football at all. They weren't moving the football at all. I mean I believe I took a screenshot of the halftime stats there for the Packers 17-7 at the half and they had in total let's see here I was just going to pull Total yards 104 at the half. You had 104 yards at the half. There. You ran 22 plays you had. Your time of possession was at 12 minutes compared to 17 for the Lions. There you had five penalties for 44 yards. I mean you look at those halftime stats and you say to yourself that offense was cold. They were cold coming out. If you come out hot, you probably win that football game. But you came out gold again.
Speaker 2:So I could say, yeah, you could look at it from either side of the coin. Yeah, if they would've got stopped right, if they would've had big time playmakers like, let's just say, tj watt and Fred Warner coming out the middle, like, yeah, in this game here, if they would have had a successful start to the game there for the offense and it would have got cooking a little bit more and they would have controlled the football. And you didn't go into the half down 17-7 once again, where you were getting beat up by the Lions. Now you're like, okay, that changes it, right. Same thing in that first go-around with the Lions. Your offense was struggling. You had to pick six. You went into the half, the Lions came out and scored. Now you're down big time.
Speaker 2:I mean you can look at it both ways. Yes, if the secondary was better, yes, right. But truth be told, I mean Joe Burrow is going to pick apart the Steelers, right, he's going to pick apart the Steelers, right. So I mean, yes, great, secondary would help, it really does. But I'm going to say honestly, if the offense can put together a complete game, I really don't know what team is going to be like. Okay, if you put them on, let's just say they go to forward field again and the offense comes out hot and they put a complete game together, a complete game. I'm not saying they score on every drive, but they put a complete game together. They're driving the football, they're putting consistent drives together. I don't know what team is going to, on paper, just mop the packers. I don't know what team's just going to completely outright beat the packers if that offense is cooking to start that game.
Speaker 2:Because you look at what they did in the second half. That offense was moving the football. They were moving the football left and right. Jordan love was having a good day, he was stepping up, he was making throws, the guys downfield were making plays, josh j was running. Well, I mean, yeah, I would say your offense. You're looking at the offense and you're saying if the offense can put a complete game together, I think that's the biggest key to their success. Because your defense is what your defense is. They're going to get stops. They got stops right. They got off the field. In the first half there was 17 to seven going in the half. It could have looked a lot worse. The offense, the defense, got stops. Your offense was the problem. Now in the second half, yes, stops would have helped. But I'm gonna say that if your offense steps up, that's how you're gonna win. Football games is if your offense puts together complete football games consistent you're looking, yeah, you're looking for consistency, that's yes, which they haven't done.
Speaker 2:I mean you look at the at the Packers losses, right, four losses. The Vikings game they're down 28 to nothing. I believe at one point there or whatever it was, I don't remember completely what it was. Yeah, it was 28 to seven. Going into half, 28 to seven and that one touchdown by the Packers there was late in the second quarter. They had a touchdown throw. Outside of that, you're down 28 to seven. In the Vikings game.
Speaker 2:The Eagles game, that offense struggled. They didn't look great in that game. Yeah, they put up 29 points but the offense didn't look great. Jordan Love was 17 for 24 with a pick. I mean, the offense wasn't looking great. They gave up 17 points there. In that first half to the Eagles they scored 19 themselves, but then the second half they went away. And you look at the loss to the Lions first time around this time around, slow starts slow, whole game slow. I mean the offense is the key. It's getting it going and playing consistent throughout a football game is the thing that the packers are lacking at this moment yeah, uh, no, I, I can definitely see why you say that and, like I said, I've seen.
Speaker 1:I mean that's like when you do that it is a recipe for disaster because, like you know, we saw the packers put it together late. But, like you said, imagine if they put it together for four quarters you're probably talking about packers win that you could be talking about a big win.
Speaker 2:You could be talking about a big win and you know it's not just that, it's keeping the lions off the field. I mean, you talk about what the lions did to the packers 30. What do we say? 36 minutes of offense compared to 20. What was the packers there? 24 I mean you're talking about a difference of dang near 12 minutes. You keep the lions off the field you have a quarter of difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they have a quarter of time exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:I mean you cannot expect, like I don't think that you can expect the defense to hold down the lions for that long, like you cannot expect them. I think the amount of time that they did was actually pretty darn good. So now I'm looking at, I'm saying what did your offense not do? They did. The lions did to you what you want to do to them, which was control the time of possession and keep, like Dan Campbell we talked about it early on in the show there, right At the top of the. At the top of the show we said Dan Campbell showed a lot of respect for Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur by going for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal to win it, because otherwise, analytically, there was no reason. No reason Analytically. I don't know if it would have said to go for it, but when I look at that I'm like he did not want to give jordan love the ball back because he knew jordan love could make the throws to kick a field goal. So I'm looking at, I'm saying they kept the packers off the field and that's why the packers lost this game, because the packers slow start and those slow drives I mean they had how many three and outs I? I'm just gonna look at that there.
Speaker 2:Um first drive five plays. Second drive three plays. The third drive was two plays, two plays. So you're talking about the first three drives for the packers killed about. Uh, their first drive went for three minutes. The second drive went for 51 seconds and the third drive went for 45 seconds. That's how much time you took off the clock. You did not keep the lions off the field at all and your defense was constantly going out there and getting banged around. So I'm looking at this and I'm saying the Packers offense getting going and getting. Consistency is the key.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:It just sucks because I'm talking about such a great it was a great game Like. This was a great game. It was advertised as going to be a great game. It was a great game Like this was a great game. It was advertised as going to be a great game. It was a great game and it just sucks that we're talking about it as a loss, right? I wish we were coming out of it and saying great win. Everything else in between.
Speaker 2:They went into Ford Field, got the win. They had every chance to do it and it's I really do chalk it back to yes, the reffing sucked. I know everybody's blaming on the reffing. The reffing it wasn't great, right. But I look at those first three drives the slow start for Green Bay. Once again, that was your killer because you touched the football On one drive. You had the touchdown drive. Outside of that, you touched the football three times and you did absolutely nothing with it. You killed zero clock and you gave the Lions all the time in the world to do what they wanted and your defense was constantly on the field. Which a recipe for disaster. That's what that is right there. That's a recipe for disaster there, aaron. So we got about eight minutes left here.
Speaker 2:The Bucs did lose. The Bucs did lose to the Celtics, but Chris Melton did come back though. So I mean that's cool. That's cool, chris Melton's back. I mean that's cool, that's cool, chris Middleton's back. I mean that's exciting. I did see.
Speaker 2:I believe he scored a little bit in this one. I was going to check that out real fast. Damian Lillard had 31 for the Bucs in this one. Chris Middleton came off the bench 23 minutes. He was two for 10 from the floor. 11 points in the game Not great percentage-wise, but 11 points. He'll take it. He'll take it there in his first game back, just getting back into game action, right, and it's going to be probably a little bit of a slow start. He hasn't played since last season, so a little bit of a slow start there, but I will expect him to probably get back into that starting rotation at some point.
Speaker 2:Gary Trent had a good day 11 points. Giannis had 30 for the Bucs, but outside of that it was a lackluster performance. Bobby Portis struggled again. Four for 16 from the field. Three point he was 0 for 4 from three in this one. He did have 18 rebounds, which is cool, but outside of that he struggled from the floor shooting the basketball. So I mean, that's kind of the game there, that's kind of the game for the Bucs in this one here. So, aaron, let's get into our NFL weekend picks here. To wrap us up. We got about seven minutes here on the docket. Let's swing through these games here. So Sunday, the Sunday slate Jaguars-Titans. This is going to be an epic battle here.
Speaker 1:This is the game of the weekend. Huh.
Speaker 2:Game of the week here, boys, this is game of the week.
Speaker 2:Packers and Lions already have it. So this is the new game of the week. We have the 2-10 Jaguars taking on the 3-9 Titans there. I did see Trevor Lawrence did tweet later on, I believe, after the hit, and he did say that he was all good and he was at home. So that's great to see. Great to see. You had Trevor Lawrence there, but Titans favored by 3-1⁄2. This is in Nashville. This is a battle of who's going to suck less. Mac Jones is playing for the Jaguars there. I'm going to take the Titans to win this one. I think they cover the spread.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as crappy of a game this is. It's kind of hard to pick in my mind because you look at, like Mac Jones actually didn't play horrible last week. The Titans' strength, if they have a strength, is the defense. I mean, I'm a Will Levis guy guy, but he's just not the guy it feels like. So unfortunately that's the case for the, for the titans there. Um, yeah, give me the titans at home. I'm surprised it's a four and a half point spread. Um, a little insulting to the jaguars, because the titans aren't that good either. But, yeah, give me the Jags, I get our. Give me, excuse me, give me the Titans.
Speaker 2:All right, all right. There, we both got the Titans. Next up, we have the Jets and the Dolphins. This could be a dogfight too. It's at Hard Rock Stadium, miami's favored by six. Right now I'm going to take the Dolphins. The Jets they find ways to lose football games, but Aaron Rodgers is out with his new documentary, Enigma. Enigma there as well.
Speaker 2:I'll be checking that thing out there. I looked up Enigma Enigma. I looked it up the other day there to see what the meaning was A person or a thing that is mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand. That is Aaron Rodgers. In a nutshell Enigma.
Speaker 1:He might have surpassed Bradyady as, like somebody I cannot like, he might have eclipsed I love it.
Speaker 2:I, I just love it. The story, like I honestly I hate this. I do because aaron rogers yes, he's a dingle, but he's he's a dingle nuts. Like that's the best thing I can say about the guy. Like he's a dingle, but he's a, he's a dingle nuts, Like that's the best thing I can say about the guy. Like he's a dingle nuts. But I just hate this because to see his career and like this, it just stinks. It just really stinks, because what this guy was I mean literally just like three years ago what this guy was to what he is now, is just nuts to see the fall off and it's just crazy. And I mean you look at him now and he looks like he just got done, smoking 30 packs of cigarettes and riding around on a. It's like he just got off of some boat, Like he just looks I don't even know Like this guy is. Just I like.
Speaker 2:Tom Brady is old, but he don't look. I know he's had surgery and everything like that, but he doesn't look. I know he's had surgery and everything like that, but he doesn't look that old. But, like Aaron Rodgers, looks every bit as old as he is, if not older.
Speaker 1:And it's almost like you know, when you see a president go into the office and then, like four years later he looks like he aged like 25 years. Yeah, I feel like that's Aaron Rodgers when he went to New York, like and he can say what he wants. He's like oh, I love New York, new Jersey, you know, uh, I mean it's. You know it's an interesting market, like I've been New York, new Jersey it's. It's a place where it'll chew you up and spit you out, and that's what it's doing to Aaron Rodgers, like because he's not playing well. The Jets are not playing well, like it's. I mean, I don't know if you caught that pick six from the uh Seahawks last week, but that was, and then it was a big fella, that was just the fact that, like Rogers, like yeah, I didn't see him.
Speaker 1:And like you know, don't get me wrong you know we could say Jalen hurts has made or is throwing that pick. You know, Lamar Jackson, jordan, it doesn't matter, like any of those guys can make that, but it's just like wow, like cause. I mean you look at previous. You know one thing I never trusted Rodgers that much in the playoffs after you know he failed. You know the Super Bowl, great. And then it just kind of like okay, come up short, come up short, come. But he did not turn the ball over and, like this year I don't know how many he has on the season. You know he was low, he only had seven for a while, but it just seems like for him to throw that interception is like man, this it's, it's just, everything is off with him. Yeah, it's, yeah, I mean I, I, you know I thought they could beat us. Okay, see how? You know a 500 level Seahawks team in in New York. I don't know if they went another game this season. I haven't looked at their schedule, but I don't think they went here. The dolphins are trying to hang on for dear life for a playoff spot. It's a must-win game for them.
Speaker 1:So I have no confidence in the Jets at this point. I have no confidence in Aaron Rodgers. If they bring him back, they are the stupidest organization out there. Just bury it. You know what I mean. It didn't work. You went for it. I don't hate them for going for it. This guy's a first-bound Hall of Famer but at some point I don't know why their fan base can't say he's not what he used to be. Their fan base is just like oh, he's playing injured. Oh, it's the coaching. They don't ever want to just say he sucks now, he's not the same, it's not going to work. You could bring in everybody next year. It's not going to work, it's done.
Speaker 2:No, I completely agree, uh, and like I said, it just it just stinks because of what he once was and what he meant to now what he is, and it just it's wow. So enough about aaron rogers. Let's, we'll wait for the documentary, we'll watch enigma and then we'll come back and talk about him there but we have.
Speaker 2:I guess we have to right that's gonna be, we have to, we have to. We're both gonna watch it. Maybe we'll watch enigma and then we'll come back and talk about them there. But we have, I guess we have to right that's gonna be, we have to, we have to. We're both gonna watch it. Maybe we'll watch it live and we'll see what you think about it there. So next up, we have kirk cousins coming home. He's coming back to minneapolis to take on the vikings there. I'm gonna go bold here. Give me the falcons. Give me the falcons to win that football game. Kirk Cousins is coming off a terrible performance and everybody's like, oh, kirk's going to go back home and he's going to get lit up. Yeah, watch this. Kirk is going to go off. He's going to go off against the Vikings and Sam Darnold's going to throw a pick or two. Give me Kirk Cousins and the Falcons.
Speaker 1:I actually like that too. I think we both were on the Cardinals and the Cardinals threw a stinker like they're capable of Not that the Falcons aren't, but the Falcons are coming off three straight losses. They need to find a win here. I think that's going to be part of the reason they do find a win. It's just like they're in desperation a little bit. I know their division sucks, but you can't just continuously lose games. The Vikings we've talked about it for like a month and a half. They flirt with disaster every week. They find a way, kind of like the lions, but they're not the lions level, so at some point they're gonna drop a game. And I feel like this week with him, with kirk cousins coming home, it's like, okay, kirk cousins, just do enough. You know like, don't turn the ball over four times this week and and find a way. No, I agree, because Darnold could definitely do that at one of these games.
Speaker 2:Yep yep, no, I completely agree. I completely agree with that there. So next up, saints-giants. This is going to be another barn burner game here, I'm going to take the Saints. I think they win this game. They go to MetLife, they pull off the win.
Speaker 1:Man, I life they pull off the win. Oh man, I saw uh, what is it? Um, not davida? Uh, drew locks getting the start again. Oh yeah, I actually am a like a closet drew lock fan. I I liked him at uh, what was it? Vander I think it was vanderbilt and I forget where he went in college, but he was like fun to watch. He, he's just, he's the guy that'll do the flashy stuff when he scores. Like I just like the. He's kind of got that you know swagger to him. He, I mean he tries really hard, like that guy was running for his life against Dallas on Thanksgiving. The Saints I mean Taysom Hill is now out for the year, so don't have that. I mean it's this Saints-Drew Carr experience has just not worked out. I guess man, give me the Giants on a shocker, giants on a shocker. I like that. It's not. I mean both teams suck, but I feel like the Giants just find a way to get at least another win this season, maybe, maybe it's here.
Speaker 2:Okay, this one shouldn't be much of a game here at all, but maybe it is, I don't know. Bryce Young's playing better as of later the Panthers have looked better, so this could be a good game. Eagles and Panthers there, I'm going to take the Eagles. I don't think it's 13 and a half. I'm going to be honest. I like I think the Panthers are playing with something lately and Bryce Young's been playing better and Adam Thielen's actually showing up playing football again. I, I don't know what it is about this game, but I just got that feeling that the Panthers maybe they cover the if they, if it's a two touchdown, sure, but I, I like what the Panthers have been doing and I think they're got. They found it with Bryce Young finally, which I'm glad to see, bryce Young get a, get his shot and get, you know, earn that spot back, and I just the Panthers have been playing better. So I'm going to take the Panthers to lose this game, but I think it's going to be a good game. I think it could be a sneaky good game.
Speaker 1:I could kind of see it. I mean, I think the Eagles are riding so high that it's like they might take the Panthers lightly. I mean, even in the NFL, you see that you know it's like they got up for the Ravens game. This is like. You know the Panthers have what three wins on the season. So yeah, I could see that. I think the defense is capable of just like making Bryce Young's day horrible. But you know, maybe you know there's some offensive struggles on the Eagles side or something like that.
Speaker 1:Every once in a while the Eagles will throw a clunker, even in a good season like this. Every once in a while the Eagles will throw a clunker, even in a good season like this. You'll just see them like not be able to do much of anything. Happens to a lot of teams, but the Eagles especially. For some reason it seems like. So I mean, give me the Eagles, I'd probably put my life savings on it, but it's it might be closer than taking. The spread is a risk. I mean that's a big 14-point spread in the NFL is huge. So yeah, I mean could be closer than that. I root for Bryce Young individually because he's had a rough go at it. Seems like a good kid too.
Speaker 2:So I mean yeah, I think Eagles win.
Speaker 1:I know some guy put his life savings on it.
Speaker 2:He put 3.1 million wager on the Eagles to beat the Panthers. Dude, I don't know, the Vegas odds cannot be good for the Panthers to pull off an upset here. So I don't know what he even wins off of that. But we'll wait and see what he could pull out out of that bet. $3.1 million is nuts. That's nuts. I mean, it's a safe bet. Good for you, a safe bet. But what if the Panthers pull that off?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like risking like so much to make not a whole lot versus you know if you put $2 million on the Panthers or something, if you're in that situation.
Speaker 2:So what it says is that Circa Sports took the wager on the Eagles' money line Thursday afternoon at negative 700 odds, which would net approximately $442,800. In response, the sportsbook moved its line on Philadelphia to negative 870 and lengthened Carolina to plus 650. Other sportsbooks have Philly as long as 675, with the Birds giving around 13 points to the Panthers. So I don't know if he's bet to spread or what. I have half of it screenshotted there. So I mean, that's just nuts. That's just nuts amount of money to put onto a game there. But we'll wait and see. Maybe he pulls off some money out of this one.
Speaker 2:So next up, browns and Steelers. I Browns and Steelers. I think the Steelers win. But I love what Jameis Winston's doing. He makes it exciting. He makes games exciting. That game against the Broncos I thought it was going to be a dumpster fire. That was an exciting game. And Jameis Winston yes, he's going to throw picks and he's going to do this crazy crap in between, but he makes it exciting because he goes out there and he plays the game of football with fun. Football was fun and I can't hate that guy. I can't hate that guy at all. He's just a great dude all the way around and I I hope that you know he finds success somewhere here. So I like the Steelers to win this game, but I think it could be a good one. I think James Winston, he's just chucking the ball around and it's exciting and it really is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I mean, if you remember, ah, what do you want to say? Like a month ago these teams played in Cleveland, cleveland got that. My buddy was telling me that.
Speaker 2:He's like miserably snow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, and my buddy was he's like Cleveland, money line Cleveland. I was like no, I was like I don't see it. And sure enough, I mean these division games. Like you know, we talk about NFC East, you know NFC North, afc North, though is I mean those are battles. I don't care who it is, those teams go at it, they give it every. I mean you could argue these are some of the best division games there are, but I think the Steelers remember that game all too well and they're going to say you know what, James Winston, enough of that. You know we'll pick you off a couple times, just like Denver did. But I'm with you, though I I do like james, it's, it's impossible to hate the guy. But I just feel like the steelers are gonna come out a little bit, you know, pissed off in the back of their mind, like hey, we remember you guys, you know, and, uh, you know, get right and and steelers get the win, split this, uh, this season series there all right, all right.
Speaker 2:There we go next up buccaneers raiders. I got the buccaneers winning that game. It's in Tampa. I think the Bucs take it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talk about bad teams, man, the Raiders are. Do you think they fire Antonio Pierce after this year?
Speaker 2:I wouldn't, just because you give them nothing to work with. I wouldn't, but I think they will. I don't know if it's the wrong decision. I think sometimes you've got to bring in a head coach that you feel like can work with a rookie QB. So I don't know, wait and see, wait and see on that one. I think he's definitely on the hot seat. I think he's definitely a hot seat candidate. I'm guessing it's going to depend on what other teams fire their head. Coach Dable's probably going to get fired here, fired here. We're gonna see a lot of other firings. Which guys get fired there, because you're, you know, you're grouping. Maybe ben johnson gets some phone calls from the lions there. You have, uh, some other guys. Brian flores might get phone calls there too. So you know, see who's available, who else is looking, that kind of thing. If you really want to fire them, I I wouldn't fire him just because, but probably right, probably. So I mean, you're taking the Buccaneers though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, see, that's what I think. Like you know, what the Chargers did was smart. They were like, okay, we're going to get. Like you go get a guy like Harbaugh I'm not saying they grow on trees, but if you're the Raiders, like, okay, I'm not saying Ben Johnson's bad, like he's a great offensive coordinator, but can he be a head coach? Like we've seen Harbaugh be a successful head coach, I feel like that's what they have to wait on. I don't know who's going to come and save him, but like they should have tried to get Harbaugh. You know it's one of those situations Like you have to land a guy that's had success, not like forever go like Rex Ryan and and the Raiders are stuck with, like all these interim coaches you know you had the John Gruden thing with the email like they just can't. I don't know you have to hit on. I mean, maybe Tom Brady coaches, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's going to be a wait and see. With them too, there's going to be a lot of head coach. I think there's going to be a a wide carousel of coaching changes here coming up in the offseason. So next up we have the cardinals and seahawks. A little battle there in the nfc west. Uh, this could this, I believe. If I'm not mistaken, the cardinals are up top right now in the nfc west at the moment and seahawks are just behind there. They're trailing by that. Oh no, seahawks are up top. Sorry, they're. Seahawks are up top. Cardinals are in second place there, um, but cardinals are just trailing them there. So this is a big game for the nfc west, even though it's a dog, it's dog crap, but it's whatever. At this point the records just thought they are. Um, I'm gonna take the cardinals to win that game at home.
Speaker 1:I like the cardinals to win that game yeah, I think this one is an absolute nail biter in my opinion. I, I seattle, I know it's just the jets, but they, you, they had a lot going on defensively for them. Just some momentum. I mean the Jets beat themselves but you carry some momentum with that game. Arizona, this is pretty much a must-win to keep pace, like you said right there, with Seattle. 49ers are falling apart, obviously with the injuries and McCaffrey and stuff. So yeah, I mean mean this is a game where Arizona I think they just kind of do enough to win and you kind of, like I said, you kind of have to here, so I expect them to to figure it out at least this week all right game of the week here Bills and Rams.
Speaker 2:This should be a good one. I think it would be a sneaky good game in that 325 slot there. Give me the Bills to go out to SoFi and win that one, but I think I don't it's gonna be a good game in that 325 slot there. Uh, give me the bills to go out to sofi and win that one, but I think I I don't it's gonna be a good game. It's gonna be a good game. They're really good game between the rams and the bills there I'm going upset alert here too.
Speaker 1:I think the rams um the pass rush. You know we don't. We don't talk about aaron donald anymore because he's gone, but you know we talked about it when the packers played him. Like they have a pretty good pass rush. I think they're going to give Josh Allen some problems. The Bills are rolling along like almost too good right now, so I expect just like one of those games out of nowhere and yeah, because the Rams are in SoFi, I just think the Rams find a way to win this one.
Speaker 2:Okay, I like that one there. Next up we have the 49ers and the Bears. This could be a dog. I'm going to be honest with you. It's in Santa Clara. I don't know what the injury report. I know Brock Purdy is probably going to play, but I don't know what the. I know you got McCaffrey's out for the 49ers now. Isaac Arendo is going to get the start there, debo's playing, juwan Jennings is playing, kittle's playing. Trent williams will be out for this game. I can see the bears winning it. I really could. I can see the bears winning this football game yeah, definitely I'm gonna take the 49ers.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna take the 49ers to win this game. Uh, I just the bears. They just find ways to lose football games. Maybe they do win this game. I think they could. I think it's gonna be a close game. I think it's gonna be uh, in its own way, a good game. But I like the 49ers to win and I think brock purdy is gonna have a a little bit better of a game here than what he did in buffalo there in the snow. So I'm gonna take the uh 49ers to win this game. I think isaac garendo, former badger, he's gonna have a big day for this 49ers team yeah, this one is tough, right.
Speaker 1:I mean, man, the battle of just like these. I mean the higher expectations on both at the beginning of the year. Um, 49ers are way banged up. I mean I'm looking at the injury report now. Um, like you said, trent Williams, nick Bosa's not playing, like you know big names. Um, trent williams not playing, like you said. I, I almost want to go bears here just because this 49ers team is like not even close to the 49ers team. You know it's like a complete shell of themselves. I know the bears fired their coach. Ibra flu is probably for the better, honestly, but I guess I'll go 49ers. I trust that they're coached better, but, man, it's, they have nothing right like they. They just it's like who are these guys basically out there for the 49ers at this point? It?
Speaker 2:kind of sucks. It kind of sucks if you are a 49ers fan, because you had a lot, of, a lot of playmakers coming into this season and the playmakers are gone. They're like basically all on the shelf here. So we have the Sunday night game. This is going to be a big one, chargers and Chiefs in this one. It's going to be at Arrowhead. I took the Chargers I like the Chargers to win this game. They're going to go at Arrowhead and they're going to pull off an upset here. The Chiefs like to cake, they like to play patty cake and kind of just walk games and I think the Chargers take advantage of that in this one. I think Jim Harbaugh is a heck of a head coach, don't get me wrong. Andy Reid's fantastic, but I really I like the Chargers in this one.
Speaker 1:It's hard to pick against the Chiefs it really is.
Speaker 2:It is, it is.
Speaker 1:I respect it. I definitely do. I mean, chargers were on a burner up until that Ravens game but then they bounced back in an ugly fashion against the Falcons. But a win's a win. I got to go Chiefs here, unfortunately. I mean I could see it though. I see it, and I hope you're right. I really hope you're right.
Speaker 2:So either way, but I think the Chiefs unfortunately find a way All right, all right away, but I, I think the chiefs fine, unfortunately find a way. All right, all right. Next up last game here, monday night, we have the bangles and the cowboys. I, I took the bangles. I think that if you want to go offense to offense and have a shootout, joe burrow and the bangles I feel like the bangles gotta, I mean they're shot.
Speaker 1:I mean, I think their playoffs, uh, chances are pretty much shot. Um, if not completely shot, I mean they're four and eight. So, um, but yeah, I mean Bengals offense one of the best in the league, bengals defense one of the worst in the league, but they do just enough. Um, did you see that before we get out here, did you see that clip of Jamar Chase when they asked him about the defense? And it was like um, you know what do you think about the guys on defense, whatever? And he's like I don't know, you got to ask them and he just looks over there with like a dead expression on his face, like he that is. I mean the team shot for this year, but that's not a team guy.
Speaker 1:You know when you're saying that it's like you don't care. Like you don't care like you don't. Well, at what point do you kind of get sick of it though?
Speaker 2:no, I absolutely, just coming out to the media like that is like wow, yeah, no, I would agree you got to be better at the media, but I don't expect you, mark chase, to be better, like that's a question. If you ask joe burrow, it's going to be a little better answered. But in the back of everybody's head and even the guys on defense, they, they're like we suck, we suck. We are the reason why Joe Burrow is not up for an MVP right now, because if you want to throw numbers to numbers, let's throw Joe Burrow's numbers against everybody who's up for an MVP conversation right now. Because you want to talk statistics, let's talk Joe Burrow's statistics because they're fantastic.
Speaker 2:So I mean it's hard to be on the side of a defense that just sucks. It's hard, it is really hard. I get the team aspect. You want to keep the team together and I get that. But after a while I mean you're doing everything you can on the offensive side of the football and when you get on the defensive side and you look at those numbers and you're like, oh, why did we lose this game? We scored 35 points. Why did we lose this game? We scored 35 points. Why did we lose? Oh, because we gave up 41.
Speaker 2:Oh, because we gave up 50 some, I mean it's it's bad, it's definitely bad no, so you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1:I mean he's first in yards first, and I didn't realize he was doing like this crazy.
Speaker 2:Um, oh, yeah, this is like numbers that if he were, he would be a clear-cut favorite for the mvp. If the bangles had a winning record, he'd be clear-cut.
Speaker 1:Yeah, even two games above .500. Like, yeah, that's because he's I mean you're carrying a team. He's third in QBR, first in yards, first in touchdowns, like that's.
Speaker 2:He blows everybody out of the water, everybody out of the water, and yet he's not even in the conversation. That sucks.
Speaker 1:Not even in the conversation. He deserves better. That's what I mean. Just that organization to me. I don't trust, I don't.
Speaker 2:No, and I think there will be a coaching change there. I think there should be a GM change there. I think there should be an ownership change there. I think there should be a lot of change there. Because that is just. It is terrible that you are putting an offense like that through, a defense like that. You cannot expect I know we were talking about the Packers before scoring more points. You cannot expect your offense to consistently have to put 40-some points on the board just to win a football game, just to win any kind of football game, even against crap teams. You go against the Patriots yes, that game they sucked on offense. But the Chiefs, they put up 25 points. They lose that one 26-25. Then you have that game against the commanders. You put up 33 points, you lose. You put up 34 points against the panthers and they still still score 24 against you. You put up 38 against the ravens you lose 41 to 38.
Speaker 2:You put up 17 against the eagles, you lose 37 to 17. That's gonna happen there. But I mean you put up 34 against the ravens. Again, you lose 35 to 34, like you're putting up the numbers, but you're still losing football games. The Steelers 38 points. You lose 44 to 38 there and you make Russell Wilson look like he's prime time, russell Wilson gonna win an MVP, like it's just, that's how bad you are, that's how bad you are. So I mean just wow, just wow. And Joe Burrow, like he said, deserves better than that crap show that's going on out there right now. So, aaron, I mean we passed two-hour mark. We're way over mark tonight, but that's okay. Do you got anything else to wrap us up here for the night?
Speaker 1:No, Did you hear the not huge signing, but did you hear the Mets signing? Kind of, and really surprising how they worded it too. Luis Severino, no, no.
Speaker 2:No, no One more.
Speaker 1:No, I don't, maybe it came through when we were doing this, but I who's the other one? It's a Yankees pitcher. I'll give you that. Who do you Throw a name out?
Speaker 2:there, it wasn't Severino. No, like Yankees from last year.
Speaker 1:Yankees on the team last year.
Speaker 2:yeah Well, garrett Cole's locked up.
Speaker 1:It's okay if you're like, don't put too much pressure on it. This is a weird one. I didn't expect it at all.
Speaker 2:It is late at night here it's 1046. It's 1146 Eastern time right now. Like you, just got to throw me a bone here.
Speaker 1:Bullpen guy.
Speaker 2:Clay Holmes.
Speaker 1:Clay Holmes right Three years to the Mets, and let me pull that back up. I know they said to be a starting pitcher is the goal here, which is yeah.
Speaker 2:He wasn't a good bullpen pitcher.
Speaker 1:It makes no sense, three years, $38 million, with an opt-out after the second year, and they plan to use him as a starting pitcher. I don't understand that move whatsoever. I mean he sucked the second half. Mets got money to spend, dog I know, but man, there's like 80 million better options. I mean, if they want to shoot their load there, that's risk, that's okay, they're going to get Juan.
Speaker 2:Soto too, yet, and then they'll just have it all they're just going to sign everybody. We know the Mets do this all they're just gonna sign everybody. We know the Mets do this. They make the Mets make stupid contracts, right? I mean, we're talking about Verlander Scherzer. They make stupid contracts and they don't pay off.
Speaker 1:That's I know but man like Clay Holmes is probably like on his hands and knees begging like just please, like just thanking the Mets because it's like dude, you became such a liability that the Yankees wouldn't let you in for an entire inning and now the Mets are like here's, you know, 38 million over three and you can opt out, like I. I just I don't know man, but but like you said, it isn't maybe the Mets are just trying to steal all the Yankees like they're gonna.
Speaker 2:I could take Soto.
Speaker 1:Next they're gonna go get Rizzo. He'll be 40 years old, like who knows. I don't know what the strategy here. Is it here?
Speaker 2:is that could be. They saw him go to world series. They're like hey, if we just bring them all over here, we got to go too.
Speaker 1:That's just not, then they think. Maybe they think the yankees fans will follow, because like all the yankees former players, I don't know, it's weird it's, it's the mets nobody.
Speaker 2:David stearns is out there now and he sees talent in guys, so maybe he sees talent in clay holmes that he thinks possibly the mets could get out of him, he had it.
Speaker 1:It's just where did it go?
Speaker 2:yep, yep, maybe he thinks they can fix them. So we'll wait and see what the mets do with clay holmes here. A big signing there, I guess, for the mets.
Speaker 1:Fans are ecstatic they're just going through the roof at this point here.
Speaker 2:So, aaron, I think we got to get out of here. It's been a a long night here. Thank you everybody for tuning in tonight on the show we will be back on Sunday. Hopefully we're talking about a Badgers win against Marquette. Hopefully we're talking about Penn state beating Oregon there in the big 10 championship. So Aaron's through the roof. He'll be excited. He'll be ready to go on Sunday there. It's going to be a big Sunday. We got to talk Packers a little bit more. We're going to talk about it all. Come here on Sunday on this show. So for Aaron and myself, this has been Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trage. Thank you all for tuning in. We hope you guys have a fantastic weekend. But until we talk to you guys again on Sunday, see ya, thank you.