Two for the Win
Mike is a U.S. Navy Veteran and Bryan has more than a decade of civil service experience. Together, these blue collar guys dissect the latest sports headlines and events.
Two for the Win
Two For The Win - Episode 12
What if you could predict every NFL coaching change before it even happens? Our latest episode is jam-packed with insights that span the exciting world of sports. We start with the latest buzz from the NBA, where Giannis Antetokounmpo leads All-Star fan votes and trade talks are heating up. We'll also speculate on Jimmy Butler's future with the Miami Heat and dissect LeBron James's thoughts on extending his career another five years. These discussions are a must-listen for anyone eager to understand the strategic moves shaping the basketball landscape.
As we pivot to college football, get ready for an analysis of recent standout games that left fans on the edge of their seats. From Penn State's formidable victory over Boise State to Ohio State's unexpected win against Oregon, we delve into the strategic coaching that led to these outcomes. The electrifying match between Texas and Arizona State also takes center stage, with an in-depth look at Cam Skadabo's MVP-worthy performance despite his team's narrow loss. We tackle the controversial non-call on a targeting hit and its implications for player safety, setting the stage for a spirited debate on how officiating can improve.
The NFL discussion heats up with the thrills of Week 17 and beyond, where we unpack game-changing surprises and playoff scenarios. From the Chiefs' dominant performance on Christmas Day to the Ravens tightening their hold on the division, we explore the intricacies of playoff positioning. Coaching rumors are swirling, and we speculate on potential shifts involving Mike Vrabel, Gerard Mayo, and other prominent names. As the playoff race intensifies, we analyze strategic decisions impacting teams like the Packers, Falcons, and Panthers, offering listeners a comprehensive view of the evolving NFL landscape. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just tuning in for the big games, this episode promises a thrilling exploration of sports strategy, player dynamics, and what lies ahead in the world of professional sports.
January 2nd 2025. Welcome back, everybody and happy new year. I'm Brian with an eye and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win. Mike, we have a very hot agenda night.
Speaker 2:What we've got going on well, we're gonna talk some NBA stuff news. You know what's going on the. We're going to talk some nba stuff news. You know what's going on in the nba? Uh, we're going to talk some mlb moves and we're going to catch up with the college football playoffs and we're going to catch up on some nfl action from past week and upcoming week, as we're heading right into the playoffs hot and heavy man, I'm, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:I don't know about y'all, I know we have a few things to talk about, but, man, let me tell you what a lot to the debate to debate with college football, a lot to debate with the nfl, uh, but let's get started on with our early news, uh, our early agenda here.
Speaker 2:Well, uh, we're getting closer to nba, shifting over into the All-Star game. Usually, the All-Star game is the point where everybody starts paying more attention. Right now, giannis is leading the fan vote. He's having a stellar season.
Speaker 1:Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek freak Yep.
Speaker 2:I like Giannis Antetokounmpo. I think he's a pretty good player. People might have mixed emotions, but I like Giannis Antetokounmpo, I think he's a pretty good player. You know, people might have mixed emotions, but I like him. So, with that also getting close to the All-Star game, you know that kind of kicks up, trade talks and people you know saying, oh well, maybe we'll trade that player or maybe we just need one guy and it'll make the final push. You know we can get to the next level if we just get that guy, that one guy. Yeah. So I mean Lakers already jettisoned D'Angelo.
Speaker 1:Man.
Speaker 2:Again, he's been moved again. I think he needs to learn that you can't have it both ways. You've got to be playing both sides of the ball or they'll just get rid of you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, maybe third time's the charm, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I guess it might be the third time he's been moved, maybe the fifth time. It just seems like he's been moved all the time.
Speaker 1:I haven't been tracking very well.
Speaker 2:But what about that news you told me about pertaining to a certain Miami player, this one, I came across a couple days ago NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Speaker 1:He wants out of Miami. He wants out by the deadline, apparently. What happens after that, we don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, miami's been pretty good about moving players when they're kind of done with them. I mean, and Butler's been there for a minute. He's been a really good player for a long time and he's a good veteran player who has plenty of playoff experience. That could really help a team down the line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean he could If he gets in the right spot.
Speaker 2:I mean, if you've got a younger team that's playing really well and you just need that veteran presence in the locker room or somebody that can kind of yeah, he would bring a lot to the table at this point.
Speaker 1:It'd be worth a benefit. Maybe he just needs fresh scenery.
Speaker 2:Well, and it'd be beneficial for him because if he's on another team where he doesn't have to be the lead guy, he can save minutes and, you know, save his body for the playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And be better for the playoffs instead of coming in hurt, yeah, coming in the crucial moments, you know, coming in the crucial games, yeah, play the hard minutes at the end of the game to help close things out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, and speaking of closers, uh, lebron james just had an interview a few days ago where he had alluded to he could go five more years if he needed to or wanted to, but didn't say he was going to, but he said he could.
Speaker 1:This reminds me of that commercial with Kevin Hart. If that's the way they can run a 40, that's the way it is 40.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great commercial that hits closer and closer to home.
Speaker 1:Every year I get closer to 40.
Speaker 2:Well, I look at it this way, LeBron he has been taking care of his body. His entire career he's been at the forefront of trying to keep himself game ready.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know he he hasn't. He's played this long because he's taking care of himself and he has this scoring, the all-time scoring record, and, you know, is going to be setting all these other records because of him having the longevity that most NBA players just didn't before. You know there wasn't. I mean, things are just so much more in your favor to have an extended career. You know, just from medical science getting better and training getting better and people being more aware of what they're eating and what they're putting in their bodies. So yeah.
Speaker 2:Uh, but to me I I don't. I don't really know why LeBron felt compelled to say it.
Speaker 1:I mean, I did, they did they ask him Like I didn't see his interview. Did they ask him? Or did he just come out of the left field and be like you know what? No, no, I could play five more years.
Speaker 2:They did talk future with him? Do you see yourself staying with the Lakers? Do you see yourself being traded? And he was like, well, I'm a Laker, I don't know what's going to happen. But I mean, I kind of feel like with LeBron sometimes things they happen for a reason. He says things for a reason, so, and he's always been one to use the media and use social media to kind of whatever narrative he's trying to put out there, kind of like Aaron Rodgers does you know? Aaron Rodgers will say something and there's a meaning behind what he says or a reason he says it, and people get very tired of hearing Aaron Rodgers do that crap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's the most passive-aggressive person with a platform I've ever seen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, lebron does that too. He does get a little passive-aggressive. Now I know everybody gets into the LeBron Jordan debates and I look at it this way With or without having LeBron or Jordan, both of them alone have had great careers. Both of them alone are amazing and probably the lead face for the NBA during their time. So you can have love in your heart for one being your favorite player, and that doesn't diminish what happens with the other. See for me personally, I'm a Jordan guy. I grew up watching Jordan. I like Michael Jordan.
Speaker 1:I'm a Jordan guy as well.
Speaker 2:I grew up a.
Speaker 1:Bulls fan, I mean back in our time. Who wasn't a Bulls fan, though?
Speaker 2:Yeah, everybody kind of was in his day, but that doesn't mean that I don't have respect for LeBron. I mean albeit, I don't like how sometimes he gets a bit pouty and he sometimes wants people to acknowledge him and it's like, bro, you don't have to, you're already doing everything on the court, we see you. You don't need to make posts, you don't need to make comments, you're fine, we know who you are. If somebody doesn't know who LeBron is by now, you're not paying attention. You ask anybody on the street who is LeBron James. Everybody knows who he is, everybody. You could go ask some little old granny and say, granny, do you know who LeBron James is? Isn't he a basketball player?
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly my boy who is LeBron. James.
Speaker 2:I don't understand the need to have your ego stroked. I guess I mean LeBron doesn't need it. His name carries enough weight alone. I mean, there's how many people are known for just their name? You say LeBron, oh, lebron James.
Speaker 1:Michael Jordan.
Speaker 2:It's like Cher Nike, madonna One name.
Speaker 1:O'Neal.
Speaker 2:But the point of the matter is relax, lebron. You're great, everybody knows it. You don't have to worry about your legacy. It's there, it's written in stone. You got records. Hopefully not. You will be in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1:Hey, hopefully not in the same stone that did uh duane wade statue.
Speaker 2:Oh, my god, hopefully it's a different guy in a different stone man. They better not do that to lebron.
Speaker 1:They better make a better statue I think that's the only part of your legacy. You should worry about.
Speaker 2:If you guys haven't seen the duane wade statue that they put outside the uh heat arena. You need to do yourself a favor and go have a good laugh and look at that.
Speaker 1:The man is humble he said he loves, but but inside we know what he's thinking okay oh, we know exactly what he's. We all saw it. Okay, look, look. Okay, we know the sky is blue. All right, we're all real here the sky is blue.
Speaker 2:He was basically after he was done. He was pulling the fitzpatrick. Is that what I look like? Do y'all really think I look like that? Oh man, what's in my mouth? Why'd they put that there?
Speaker 1:but anyway, we're gonna move past some nba we just wanted to hit a few of those topics. That tooth should be gold.
Speaker 2:We're going to move on to talking some MLB moves. So the Los Angeles Dodgers are not done adding to their team. They essentially just brought back a player. They didn't really add anything. They brought back Hernandez who was a prime outfielder for them on their playoff run and into the World Series and down their World Series stretch. He signs a three-year deal for $66 million.
Speaker 1:Includes a fourth-year option worth $15 million alone as well there.
Speaker 2:That is true. That is true. Rumor has it they might also try to add that uh, japanese pitcher, that's basically everybody's wish list right now. Uh, so hopefully you know me personally. I don't want to see the dodgers keep adding players like that, like the uh, old 90s yankees used to do where it's like, oh, who's the best player in the market, throw money at him. He's on our team now. Like no, I'm tired of that, hey championships are ball after all.
Speaker 2:You don't know how true that is, Anyway. So the Arizona Diamondbacks also made a splash in free agency by signing former Cy Young award-winning pitcher Corbin Burns to a six-year $210 million deal. So that's the biggest for their franchise.
Speaker 1:But it really shows. That's a whopping, yeah, that's huge Well for the Yankees.
Speaker 2:that's nothing, because they paid more to Freed than they did to Burns the Yanks. But you know this is showing a sign that the rest of the division for the NL West. They're not going to sit back and watch the Dodgers just load up, they're going to add pieces as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so they're trying to.
Speaker 2:You know, keep up with the Joneses here, but you know so they're trying to. You know, keep up with the joneses here, but you know they're gonna have a good rotation with him in there. So on to college football moving on to college football.
Speaker 1:We have almost the entire bracket. One's going down right now had to be uh yeah, unfortunately, unfortunately due to the truck attack in New Orleans. By the way, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of that attack.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it was the right thing to do to move the game so they could beef up the staff and make sure that everybody that was going to this game, including the players and their families, just make sure everybody's safe. So moving the game was the right thing to do. The Sugar Bowl is actually going on right now as we speak. Well, it's going on, but it might be over.
Speaker 1:It might be over. It might be over.
Speaker 2:Well, currently the score is Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10. So Notre Dame has looked pretty impressive in this game.
Speaker 1:But we'll anything major happens, we'll definitely report on it next show. The guy given to Notre Dame, though they had a slight edge with Carson Beck being out right they had a slight edge Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:Next man up mentality yes, but this is like the argument you hear all the time is the team that is the healthiest going into the playoffs, which this is a playoffs usually is better off? You know it doesn't matter. I mean, you could have the best quarterback in the world, but if it goes down right before the playoffs, your team's probably not going to do much.
Speaker 1:I mean we're in the second round now.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean we've had some really good games leading into the new year.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know we had to me the Penn State-Boise game was it was kind of a mismatch because you had Penn State just taking off from jump and Boise. I mean their running game looked great but they just couldn't really get anything generated on the passing side and it just Penn State just took it to them and they they never let up and the final score of 31-14 kind of shows to that yeah, they were in control of that game that there was no question they were winning that game and much like the ohio state oregon game yeah, I mean again.
Speaker 1:Stunning number one oregon 41, 21, what. What happened here, man?
Speaker 2:what happened here?
Speaker 2:is the fact that ohio state just decided all of a sudden hey, we have a passing game, let's use it. They were passing all over them, but no, I mean really, what it came down to is coaching Like their coach had his team well prepared. He got out there with his team and they knew from jump what they were doing as well, because they got out to a quick lead and they never looked back. And honestly, let's be real here, they were doing as well because they got out to a quick lead and it they never looked back and honestly running.
Speaker 1:Let's be real here. Ohio's having a hell of a season and they might just be entering the playoffs at their hottest time well remember when, too long ago, we had had some ohio state fans going fire that man.
Speaker 2:Well, are you sure I mean he just beat the number one team in the college playoffs. I mean, you didn't just beat them.
Speaker 1:You beat the pants off of them.
Speaker 2:Exactly Okay, and has them moving on to the next round.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if I'm Texas, I'm like huh.
Speaker 2:Don't give away a spoiler, man. We haven't got to that game yet, it's okay to know, they already know we got the, since he alluded to it.
Speaker 1:Texas. If they're listening to our show, they already know.
Speaker 2:Well, texas and Arizona State was a hell of a game if you watched it Very back and forth. It started out with Texas kind of taking the lead At one point they're up 17-3. And it was looking like Texas kind of taking the lead at one point. They're up 17 to 3. And it was looking like Texas had it all day. But Arizona State just hung with them. You know they got great performances out of Scadaboo and I mean the man had what a 42 yard passing touchdown. He's the running back. How does that?
Speaker 1:I mean, I mean this was easily not just the most entertaining game and competitive game, but it was also the most evenly matched game. I mean number four versus number five. And you have again Cam Scadabo. Just not just putting on a clinic, honestly, just putting on a straight-up Broadway show. Just one man, let's go out there, get it done. Bobby Boucher mama said these guys is the devil, let's get on out here, kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Well, tell us about his stat line man. What did he do?
Speaker 1:Yeah, by the way, bobby Boucher is the only player in the fbs, fcs or the nfl this century to record at least 100 rushing guards. Obviously bobby boucher being cam scad I was gonna say to record at least 100 rushing yards, 75 receiving yards, passing touchdown at two point conversion all in the same game. This man is superman. Is there anything he's not doing?
Speaker 2:playing defense hey, I'll tell you. I'll tell you what was interesting about one of his touchdowns. It was later on in the game and he comes running up the line to the defensive line. Defensive tackle is right there in his face. Basically, he's getting ready to just wrap him up and somehow he squeaks past him by just kind of getting under him and spinning around.
Speaker 2:And then right when another defender's coming, his offensive lineman basically grabs a hold of him so they can't pull him down and then he body slams him into the end zone for a touchdown. So, his own player body slams him.
Speaker 1:They did some Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley stuff.
Speaker 2:Doing some WWE in the college football ranks.
Speaker 1:Also adding to Mr Skadabo's accolades. In this game he became the first player in 26 years to be named the offensive nflb mvp of the game, despite being on the losing team. So he was on the losing team, put on a show, still was named mvp, but unfortunately that was the closing curtain call for mr scatabo jerry west, they're out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was unfortunately their curtain. Call for Mr Scadabone he's pulling a Jerry West, they're out.
Speaker 1:yeah, that was unfortunately their curtain call.
Speaker 2:I guarantee you he would give that thing back if he could be the victor in that game and they had their chances. Like, don't get me wrong, you know Texas missed two field goals in the game, which definitely aided them in being able to keep up with them and keep it going into overtime and double overtime. But there was a controversial call in this game that everybody's probably aware of, and that was the no call on the illegal hit Targeting.
Speaker 1:The targeting no call.
Speaker 2:Yes the targeting. No call to the Arizona.
Speaker 1:State. It's been heard around the world now.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, in fairness, the ball was tipped. So I'm assuming, because the ball was tipped and because the receiver had to adjust to it and get to it and the defender was already making his motion to tackle him at that point that that's why they waved it off. But I wonder, if the ball had not been tipped, if they would have called targeting?
Speaker 1:Well, you have to. I think they should have called it because you should prioritize player safety.
Speaker 2:I agree, that would have forced a stoppage of the game I honestly think, in my opinion, I feel it was targeting, I feel that the player made forcible contact to another player's head while they were had no ability to adjust or defend themselves in any way, shape or form because, he's in the air and when he turns around after getting the ball, he gets nailed.
Speaker 1:I think the argument, I think the misconception. I agree with you, by the way. I think the misconception is that word forcible. A lot of people are reading it as intentional. We didn't say it was intentional. You can clearly see that that was incidental contact.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying the player went out there with the intention of head hunting or going at his head. I'm just saying that he made a hard hit and that hard hit in the letter of the law is a legal hit because you went helmet to helmet with another player while he had no chance to defend himself. It wasn't like he's a running back who made a move and juked him. When you went to hit him, he moved into your, into your spot where your helmet was.
Speaker 2:He was already a guy in the air who had no way to get out of the way yeah so all that was going to happen as soon as he caught the ball and turned, he's going to get nailed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and look, if you look at this defender not trying to pick him to pieces here but he was already in bad form approaching this tackle. Regardless of where the receiver was, he was going to mess this tackle up one way or another. Okay, but again, I think the terminology of the rules is getting some folks that I've at least talked to personally mixed up. I mean, obviously I don't think he was on purpose, but no, I don't.
Speaker 2:I don't think he was doing it intentionally, but I agree with you.
Speaker 1:By letter of the law, I mean helmet to helmet, forcible contact. It was all there. It may not have been the crown, but it was there, and he was in bad form as well. So he was going to mess this tackle up, maybe even miss it one way or another.
Speaker 2:I honestly don't think that this play really had that much of an effect on the outcome of the game. Was it a big factor in the game? Sure, but we're also. If you say this was impacting the entire game, you're missing the point of the fact that Texas did have two missed field goals. They make one of those field goals. We probably don't even go to overtime, so there are things on both sides of the ball for both teams.
Speaker 1:This was the last play of the drive for them, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:No, it was earlier in the game. Oh, it was early in the game Okay.
Speaker 1:so yeah, it could have maybe impacted.
Speaker 2:This wasn't like fourth quarter or anything you know. This wasn't later on, where you know they're making a drive to win the game, kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I couldn't see all of it, but they, yeah, they, you know.
Speaker 2:But you know, arizona should not be hanging their heads low.
Speaker 1:They came into this with a lot of people going arizona state's in this what shoot they showed up.
Speaker 2:The coach should hold his head high because he came in with a great scheme. He, for all intents and purposes, he was out coaching texas in that game. When they started making those comebacks he adjusted and he had his team prepared now. Texas wasn't expecting that fight. It didn't seem like it. I mean you wind up taking your team into double overtime. You know you had a hard-fought battle, so, but they texas came out with the win and they're moving on to play ohio state in the next round and penn state moves on and they're waiting to see who wins the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame.
Speaker 1:Now, while we're talking about Texas, quit yours.
Speaker 2:Is he?
Speaker 1:staying in Texas? Is he leaving Texas? Is he going pro? What's this man doing.
Speaker 2:Well, he's made no indications that he wants to go ahead and go pro, so he's probably going to hit the transfer portal because there's no bones about it. They want to move on to Archie Manning. They want to have Archie Manning as their quarterback and Quentin Ewers is kind of they're kind of done. They're going to let him move on and, you know, seek out NIL deals or seek out other places to play, and that moves things up for Archie, so Archie can become the starting quarterback of Texas.
Speaker 1:Rumor has it, in the era of the NIL, tampering's already begun. Rumor has it, Ewers may or may not have upwards of a $6 million deal to go somewhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's going to be no shortage of teams that are going to want him. You have, for college ranks, a veteran quarterback who has shown he can play and he can lead a team. And not only that, it's a big program. You know Texas is considered one of the bigger schools.
Speaker 1:Where do you think he goes?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I honestly don't know, because he has so many teams that are going to vie for his services and you don't know if they're going to throw him big wads of cash and that's what he wants, or if he just wants to go to the place that fits his style of play. He might want to only go play for a certain coach. We don't know. We don't know until he does it. Really, I mean, but right now he's playing. He's playing for Texas and has them moving on to the next round. We'll see how that plays out.
Speaker 2:You think archie manning's gonna be that good archie manning's already shown he can play in that offense okay he's shown. He's shown us some things. So I mean we'll, we'll see. We'll see what happens once yours moves on, but he's definitely uh let's see if they start the manning clock, like you said earlier well, yeah, he yeah, he's definitely going to Yours will find himself somewhere to play and Archie will start his tenure as the lead quarterback there. So we'll see how that pans out.
Speaker 1:Now coming up the next round of games. Obviously, we know we've got Texas, Ohio. That's going to be January 10th, 7.30 pm ESPN. They got Ohio as the favorite here or they got. Well, texas should be the favorite, but I think they got Ohio as the favorite.
Speaker 2:No, they got Ohio as the favorite right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But, and then we're going to see what it looks like to be Notre Dame, penn State, january 9th, 7.30 pm. Not much out on that, because that game has not officially ended yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Sugar Bowl isn't officially over yet, but they're up 23-10 with two minutes left, so that might be a safe bet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 23-10 with two minutes left, so that might be a safe bet. Yep, so we've got two interesting games. See who you think wins out of these four teams. Who you think makes the finals here? This is an interesting Final Four.
Speaker 2:I think Ohio State wins the next round and I think that Notre Dame will beat Penn State and it will be Ohio State and Notre Dame. That's my thought. Well, maybe it's more me wishing that that happens, but I think that will be what the outcome becomes. But, as we've shown many a times on our program, I am not exactly the greatest at picking things. At times I've definitely been wrong on things.
Speaker 1:When it comes to NFL I'm pretty good. Everything else, whew, good luck. But I agree, I think definitely Notre Dame. I think it's a toss-up between Texas and Ohio. I think it depends on which Texas team we get.
Speaker 2:If it's the Texas team that played in that last game and they missed field goals and they have some shoddy play where they had a lot of three and outs. I don't think Ohio State's going to be the team that doesn't take advantage of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and with Quint you were talking about going somewhere else. I mean, I know he wants to win. Obviously you always want to win, you want to win the big one. But you know he might not just be invested anymore. He might be like all right, well, we could go out here, sling some ball, I'm not going to get hurt and then we're going to call it a season, Close this shop up. You know, Close this shop up, Leave town.
Speaker 1:Maybe, so we'll see what happens, but I could agree. I see Ohio being a favorite, but you know, we'll see. Here we go rolling on, moving on into everybody's well, maybe not everybody's, but definitely our subject of the season here, the NFL Week 16 16. Let's talk about some upsets, let's talk about some recaps, let's talk about some perspectives you mean week 17? What'd I say? You said 16 well, it's just because I'd never want to say goodbye. Okay, I'm just trying to prolong it you're.
Speaker 2:you don't want football to go away, and I don't blame you. I like having football Sundays.
Speaker 1:I mean, we've still got Saturdays and Sundays. The XFL coming up, but you know, it's just not as fun, it's not the NFL. It's not the NFL.
Speaker 2:But so we had two games on Christmas this year, which is super exciting, you know used to be the. Nba was the king of Christmas. Now it's NFL coming in saying, nah, that's our spot.
Speaker 1:Get out of here.
Speaker 2:They're pulling a Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. You're in my spot, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know the Chiefs, you know Pittsburgh in a tailspin.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they have not looked good these past few weeks. They lose you know, 29-10 against the Chiefs, and the Chiefs, I mean, they just keep it rolling, man. You know they're finally winning a few games here by more than just a single score, which for them should be a good thing, because you don't want to go into the playoffs always looking like you can't outscore your opponents and that you kind of squeak by.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's not a recipe for winning. This is the game we hit on before Russell Wilson was sacked five times in this game.
Speaker 2:Can't have that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you just can't have that and if you're Ravens, Christmas came early. They handed you full control of the division.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they did, they did. So you know we're recapping those games because it was part of 17. But you know, the real surprise Thursday night game that most people probably didn't know was on and even if you were watching it you didn't really know it was on because nothing really happened it was Seahawks-Bears, where the final score was 6-3. Forgettable A whole lot of no offense going on there. You know this is a Really sad for a Thursday night game. You kind of expected a little more out of these two teams but I guess their defenses really showed up. But neither one of those teams is really making any impact as far as the playoff picture goes.
Speaker 1:So it's on to the next season for both of them, that's right, and the Bears obviously, like you say, they'll be cleaning house here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they'll be new coach coming in, probably new staff.
Speaker 1:We got some Coach rumors are already swirling around the NFL here. Expect Mike Vrabel will be out there. We'll talk about some things I know. Sometimes it seems we're talking about Cliff Kingsbury possibly being in the mix because of Caleb Williams.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, look at the Lions. I mean they're going to be hurting after the season because both their coordinators are getting looked at as possibly being head coaching candidates next year.
Speaker 1:So honestly, I think ben johnson should be the favorite for the bears job, I mean I don't think he's going to go there.
Speaker 2:I mean, okay, some franchises just seem to be dysfunctional and the bears is kind of one of them. They just, you know, they're not too far removed from one of their coaches being investigated by the FBI midseason, where he just kind of disappears midday and they're like we don't know where he went. There's FBI here. Who are they looking for? Oh, that coach that disappeared. Oh, I wonder what that's about.
Speaker 2:And they let him go and they fire coach midseason, which you know. They fire coached midseason, which they haven't really done much of. And I mean they've got all these great players on the offensive side but you know they just haven't really been able to pull off anything. I mean, their team has just looked so just weak, you know, like they just don't seem to hit on all cylinders ever. You know you've got a quarterback that was supposed to be a can't miss and he looks like a dud.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean that might be more due to coaching.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's 100% to coaching.
Speaker 1:Game plan game calling preparation.
Speaker 2:They need to if they hire a culture guy like a Mike Vrabel. No-transcript, that's not a winning recipe. You have to scheme things better than that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and on top of it. I know it was a nasty game, but they only put up three points.
Speaker 2:I mean it's better than nothing, but it didn't get you a win.
Speaker 1:Hey, the only reason Houston got points is because their defense got a safety yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, moving on to Saturday's slate of games, which two of them not so great. So the first Saturday game was the Chargers and Patriots game, and Chargers showed up. Patriots really didn't, because it was a Chargers game all the way. They rung the score up 40-7.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can't say that's particularly surprising. I mean, Drop Mayo's squad's been playing tough, but they've been at miss.
Speaker 2:He just doesn't have much on the team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean they're competing with what they got, but I think the Chargers have a bad taste in their mouth and they want to stay playoff competitive and I think that they just said you know what? We need to right the ship here.
Speaker 2:Well, they've got to keep winning.
Speaker 1:This was definitely a get-right game for them, and this is like you say keep winning.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, they won against the Broncos, so it's not like they're not winning games. But speaking of the Broncos, the Broncos and Bengals played against each other on Saturday and those two teams played a heck of a game that was a good game. If you didn't watch the game for a team that has no defense in the Bengals, their defense played well in that game.
Speaker 2:They were getting sacks on the quarterback. They were pressuring the quarterback, I mean, all game long. It didn't seem like, you know, like Bo Nix was. It didn't seem like Bo Nix had a playoff where he just kind of sat back there and had time, did all of his reads and then threw the ball.
Speaker 1:He just seemed like he was always being pushed around or pressured.
Speaker 2:So that was some good coaching, good job, and they pulled out the win good job, bangles.
Speaker 1:That also keeps the bangles over time. Yeah, overtime win. But does this also keeps the bangles playoff competitive, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah think about that like if we would have gone back, you know, mid-season, about week eight, and everybody would have been like bangles have no shot. Bangles ain't getting in the playoffs. And here we are, they're still in the hunt. So good for them. You know, finishing strong and if they don't make it, you know it's not going to be from a lack of effort. They're definitely hanging tough and getting in there. And speaking of tough late game, on Saturday, arizona Cardinals taking on the Rams and it wasn't a game of huge offense, it was a game of very tough defense between two opponents to see each other. You know good divisional matchup.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Where the Rams just did what they had to do to get the win, Like they weren't flashy. They didn't seem like they had anything really working for themselves. Yeah, like any of the game and the Rams trying to keep separation in the playoff run, and oh yeah, yeah, if you're, if you're a Seahawks fan, you really needed the Rams to lose this game and they they found a way to win. So you know, kudos to them, because they're going to keep themselves well into playoff picture and they're good yeah.
Speaker 1:And then going on. Next, look, if the Giants cannot do anything right, they can't even keep themselves in a good position for draft. Okay, now it's time to play for draft picks, and they're out here putting up 45 points on the Colts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but no team is going to just sacrifice for draft picks. I mean, you can tell a team, hey, we don't want you to win, we want our draft picks, but there are so many players out there that they're playing for their career, like a Drew Locke who threw all those touchdown passes on Sunday career. Like a drew lock who threw all those touchdown passes on on sunday. He's trying to keep his, his uh ability to be in the nfl alive. And I, like the colts, have some good players on defense. I don't know where the hell they were on sunday because they were just letting the, letting new york go up and down the field on them and and letting Drew Locke, of all quarterbacks, just slice and dice you. I mean like come on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't think they got much help from Joe Flacco either.
Speaker 2:I mean they finished the game 45-33, so it wasn't like they were blown out. They were trying to keep up, but they just couldn't. They did all right they were trying to keep up, but they just couldn't. They did all right Out here the Jets and Buffalo.
Speaker 1:Another divisional matchup, buffalo staying on top making a statement game 40-14.
Speaker 2:Especially.
Speaker 1:Josh Allen to Aaron Rodgers nah, buddy, this is my league now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a game where one team showed up and they kept showing and the jets just just did not look good the mediocrity, the mediocrity continues, okay, um it's another one of those teams that's going to be looking for a head coach, but it's like you got to really ask do you want to be the ringleader of that circus?
Speaker 1:I know one guy that does. You'd have to be a coach who has no other chance anywhere. And, by the way, I know we have some other games to talk about, but rumor has it Ron Rivera is in the running for the Jets head coach. They're already bringing in personnel from his former Washington days.
Speaker 2:Dude, they're already looking at Rex Ryan as well.
Speaker 1:He's already been there, though. Are you really going to bring him back? Come on, man, it's not Joe Gibbs, it's Rex Ryan.
Speaker 2:You just said, people that have no other options. I mean Rex Ryan. Yeah, he's on TV, he's on ESPN.
Speaker 1:No, Rex Ryan has a higher chance of being a head coach somewhere else than Ron Rivera does.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, but the Jets really need to nail this pick because they don't have time to mess around, which you know when you're as dysfunctional as they have been, and they are that because they prove it time and time again. When you hear the owners taking free agency advice from his sons with Madden ratings, which is completely ridiculous, yeah, you really need to look at yourself and be like maybe I'm not doing the right things.
Speaker 1:I mean, they fired their GM, they fired their coach midseason, so they really need to nail both in order to get this team going in the right direction, but I think, honest to God, as a Washington fan, having a well-oiled and well-functioning front office is such a huge factor to success.
Speaker 2:Well, you're definitely experiencing a dysfunctional one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we went from dysfunction to arguably one of the best turnarounds, a Cinderella story of the year in the league. But you can see the difference in the play on field. You can see the difference. I mean, Cliff Kingsbury came out and said that being here in Washington has renewed his love for the game and he's at the moment not particularly interested in going anywhere, even for a promotion. That is what you want to hear out of your personnel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean because think about it as a coordinator he doesn't have near the amount of stress as being a head coach which he was the head coach of the Cardinals, and he had the Cardinals playing pretty well in his time there. But now that he's an offensive coordinator, some of the pressure on him is not there, because all he's got to do worry about his offense. That's right. He does not have to worry about special teams, he does not have to worry about defense or going up and talking to the owner. He just has to worry about getting his players on offense schemed up the right way.
Speaker 1:He might not be particularly jumping back into that fire Now moving on here again Jacksonville and Titans, with Jacksonville winning 20-13.
Speaker 2:Do you know, Now let me ask you this I'm curious to see what your answer would be.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So you know you get certain teams and they have a vibe or they have. You know you say the team and they have an identity.
Speaker 1:We call that a type beat. No, no, no.
Speaker 2:Hear me out. Hear me out. If I say Buffalo, what do you think about? When you hear the Buffalo Bills, what do you think about? Buffalo chicken sandwich. Okay, maybe that was the wrong place to go. No, what do you think of the team? When you hear Buffalo Bills, what do you think? I think, what characteristics come to mind?
Speaker 1:thinking of Buffalo, I think Josh Allen. I think high explosive. I think they got a tough defense.
Speaker 2:I think they played hard football smash mouth you can call smash mouth football so if I say the tennessee titans, what do you think? And that's the answer I was looking for. Nobody knows what to say I think of mcdonald's or waffle house no, waffle house would be atlanta, yeah, but anyway, uh, the point I'm trying to make here is the titans. They're just kind of listless. There's nothing you can really point out and be like that's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's no one player.
Speaker 2:There's no one player. Most people can't even tell you a single player on the team.
Speaker 1:I can't, and we're professionals at this, by the way, speaking of the Jaguars, I thank you for the vote of confidence, calling us professionals well, anyway, speaking of the jaguars, I just want to put out oh, their coach is gone yeah, their coach is gone and and and, but funny enough, uh, the jaguars fans pulled a giant's move.
Speaker 2:they they had a plane fly over the stadium asking, instead of fix the dumpster fire, they asked for Trent Bulkey to be fired.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they flew a sign past the stadium. It happened in Washington. I think it happened in Dallas too.
Speaker 2:But the thing that's funny about that is being a Niner fan. I remember when Trent Bulkey was our GM and I went to a game and there was a big banner where somebody had wrote fire Trent Bulkey. And it's like huh, where have I heard that before?
Speaker 1:That's crazy, that's crazy talk.
Speaker 2:Funny how he makes friends everywhere he goes. It's like a fortune teller. I see your future Real quick being fired.
Speaker 1:An honorable nod. I know we're not going to touch on it a lot, but Pro Bowl rosters are finalized. Brian Robinson Jr didn't make it, but he got an honorable nod and he's in a rotational. He might be a rotational player as well. He was a bright spot for that team, even though Sunshine couldn't carry him all the way through you mean Brian Thompson. Brian Thomas Jr.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you said Brian Robinson.
Speaker 1:Well, I meant to say Brian Thomas Jr.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I knew what you meant. That's why I asked. I was like, did he mean his running back?
Speaker 1:Look, I was testing you. Okay, I was testing you.
Speaker 2:I was a bit confused. I was like wait a second.
Speaker 1:I was just making sure you're listening.
Speaker 2:I am listening sir, we'll make sure, I don't know if anybody else is listening to this nonsense we're putting out, but okay. So moving on to another game that was kind of a snore fest. It was Raiders and the Saints. Now the Raiders is another team that can't seem to get right.
Speaker 1:They had the number one pick.
Speaker 2:They had the number one pick locked up, and then they have to go around and win games.
Speaker 1:So now, Same as the Giants.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think they're in like eighth place Well.
Speaker 1:I gotta give them something. Well, one thing that the Raiders and the Giants may have. Okay, they're trying to get neighbors into some conversations. The Giants are, and you know the Raiders are trying to get Bowers into some conversations. Okay, so it makes sense to go out there and still compete to some extent.
Speaker 2:Right Bowers is a good tight end. He's had the best season. I feel bad for him.
Speaker 1:I think he's had the best season of all tight ends. So far he's had over 1,000 yards.
Speaker 2:He's having an amazing season for a team that just sucks he helped my fantasy team have an amazing season.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, raider fans but it's the truth.
Speaker 2:I mean when you know your team is bad, just look at where they are in the position of the draft order.
Speaker 1:I come from a time of Chris Cooley, when he was all we had.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, moving on from that, another divisional matchup here with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers. Now, if you remember, a few weeks ago that matchup went into overtime and if it wasn't for a Chupa Hupper fumble, the Panthers were looking like they were going to win that matchup, Not this game. This game was a much different story.
Speaker 1:This was a. This score does not tell this whole story.
Speaker 2:Well, this score of 48-14 shows one team played their ass off.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And the other team. I don't know what they did.
Speaker 1:Look the Buccaneers. I know what they did.
Speaker 2:They threw two touchdown passes to Adam Thielen, and that's all they did.
Speaker 1:I watched some of this game via the numbers of fantasy football. Okay, oh God, and Tampa Bay went out there and dominated. Okay, they knew they needed to win, they knew they wanted to lock down the division. We had not yet played the Falcons, but Bryce Young, this young Panthers team, is coming along here. Okay, bryce Young has put together like the last three to four games in a row, so rather decent stats for a starting QB1, okay, bryce Young has put together, like the last three to four games in a row, rather decent stats for a starting QB1,. Okay, and I'm talking about fantasy, I'm talking about like in general like Bryce Young is going to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's showing improvement.
Speaker 1:He's going to be good next year Like he's good now. This kid's going to be fine next year.
Speaker 2:It depends on what they do in the draft and how they build around them.
Speaker 1:They can only get better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean they're kind of bad right now. But there's another interesting thing that you may not know about. We're getting into the time where guys have incentives and bonuses in their contract and Mike Evans needs five receptions and 85 yards in next week's game and he'll get like a $3 million bonus.
Speaker 1:As well as his 11th 1,000-yard season.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and it's kind of like sneaking up on us, right, like Mike Evans has quietly been just doing his thing, and people when the team's good or when the team's bad, he's still just doing his thing. And people when the team's good or when the team's bad, he's still just doing his thing he's a very he's very.
Speaker 1:You know names like mike evans, names like larry fish, gerald and tony gonzalez.
Speaker 2:You could you could set your watch. Yeah, you know like it's so consistent, yeah yeah, consistency, just good.
Speaker 1:Attitude flies under the radar. No drama is a con.
Speaker 2:What everybody would want on their team.
Speaker 1:He's a pro bowl player.
Speaker 2:He's going to be a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1:He's absolutely going to be a Hall of Famer, Probably even easily maybe. I don't know about first ballot, but easily on the second ballot, for sure. It's just we're getting to that point.
Speaker 2:So, moving on to the next game, we had a prime divisional matchup of the Cowboys and Eagles. Always a good thing to see when you see an Eagles and Cowboys game, because the teams do not like one another.
Speaker 1:Sir, let me correct you. Always a good thing to see when the Cowboys lose horribly. Listen, this is never going to be a bad game to me. This is not a forgettable game for me.
Speaker 2:Well for you. You'd rather see both teams lose.
Speaker 1:No, I'm okay, Because you're watching the game.
Speaker 2:You'd like to see both these teams lose.
Speaker 1:I'm rather okay with Philly. I don't have any control over them, you don't have control over any of them.
Speaker 2:You're not a GM or an owner.
Speaker 1:But Dallas and the Giants? I will watch them do nothing and get the pants kicked off of them all day long. No offense to my Dallas fans and my friends. But as a Commanders fan, that comes from the depth of my heart, I mean that no offense to you.
Speaker 2:Well, the final score of this game was 41 to 7, with the eagles just walking all over the cowboys. But there was one particular dallas player who didn't necessarily see it this way. Do you want to comment on that, or shall I?
Speaker 1:I'll let you take it okay.
Speaker 2:So a certain michah Parsons decided to say that the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story of the game. Yeah, it kind of does, Micah Parsons. It tells us that your team got ran over by a backup quarterback, mind you.
Speaker 1:This sounds familiar.
Speaker 2:What do you mean?
Speaker 1:Because I just said that about the Carolina game. Except they actually put up points and Dallas really didn't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, dallas didn't put up much of a fight at all. And speaking of not much of a fight at all, the Browns against the Dolphins, the Browns only mustering up a field goal in the entire game against the Dolphins, who put up 20 points for the win. Now, if you didn't see this game which most people didn't, because who really cares about two teams that definitely are not in the playoffs? They, it just was sloppy. It was a sloppy game. The Browns couldn't seem to get anything really going. They just kind of looked listless. It was a bad game all around. I mean, yeah, the Dolphins came out with the win, but it was definitely not a game that you would watch and go. Man, that was a great game, unlike the Vikings and Packers. That was a good game. That game wound up being 27-25, with the Vikings being the victor, and it was very tightly contested. Both teams were getting turnovers and Sam Darnold making a case for remaining the Vikings quarterback, making him go. Jj, who yeah?
Speaker 1:I mean honestly Miami. Things seem to be going a little sour down there, but they're still playoff competitive like barely on the fringe.
Speaker 2:But what about the Vikings-Packers game? Talking about the Vikings-Packers, yeah, yeah, I know it's a tightly contested game, yeah.
Speaker 1:I know that, but I was looking at other things here we can move, just stick with the Vikings-Packers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that was a really good game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's fine. So I had other things to say about Miami. We can circle back to that though, but yeah, the Vikings-Packers game was the second most interesting game of the weekend to me.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, you're biased, but you're biased at showing sir because you were more interested in the late-night Sunday game, but I'm saying that like for me, if I'm the Vikings, I do not let Sam Darnold leave that building without an extension. He needs to be locked up and keep him as a quarterback. He's only 27 years old, so he's going into his prime years of being a quarterback and he's already shown you.
Speaker 1:No I agree with.
Speaker 2:With you.
Speaker 1:He's played himself easily into another contract. Um, I think they move jj especially, especially if ewers stays in college. It's funny.
Speaker 2:You should say that they move him yeah because there has been some chatter uh from some very good sources that they are quietly shopping JJ around. There are teams showing interest in wanting to pick up Now the Vikings. This is a good thing for them, because they don't really have. They don't have a first round pick.
Speaker 1:They don't have a second round pick.
Speaker 2:They don't have a second round pick. They are needing picks badly. Not saying they're gonna fetch a one for for jj mccarthy, but they definitely. They definitely need to start listening to these offers because they need the picks if they're going to keep sam donald. And you want to bolster both sides of the ball, you need to add for the draft.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I think McCarthy's stock only goes up. I think they easily get a first round pick and more.
Speaker 2:I don't think they'll get a first round pick.
Speaker 1:No I think they easily get a first round pick he's coming off of a knee procedure.
Speaker 2:So, he has no NFL film, he's had a knee procedure twice and you're just going to give up first round picks for that? I don't think so. A good gm will say hey, atlanta atlanta paid kirk cousins 85 million dollars. Let's, let's let's not worry about what atlanta does, because they also benched that guy after giving them all that money.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, we won't worry about that, but does, because they also benched that guy after giving him all that money. So we won't worry about that. They probably want it back.
Speaker 2:But the point I'm trying to make is JJ, if a GM wants him, they're going to use the things that he has against him with no NFL playing time, with the knee procedures. They're going to use that as a bartering chip to say, hey look, we'll give you a second this year and a fourth next year and we'll put in an incentive boost that that fourth will become a third if he plays X amount of games as their starter.
Speaker 1:I think that the incentive is going to be for the second to become a first, but you can't do that. And then they give up a third round.
Speaker 2:They won't play before. If it's this year's pick, they're not going to be able to make it a first because he won't have the season to play. So it would have to all be future picks in order to make that happen. I just don't like to me. You keep them both, you keep them both, or you trade assets that you know you can get something for.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, maybe they keep them both or you trade assets that you know you can get something for Well yeah, maybe they keep them and play them in the offseason In the offseason. A little weird accent you got going on there. Sorry, I got my meter on. Anyway maybe they play them into the offseason in the preseason right Show, he's still got it. Drive his draft stock up a little bit. They let Darnold, they give him a warm-up rep, then they let JJ take over the rest of the game. Right Kind of preseason typical.
Speaker 2:You let your backups work out? Yeah, you're just spelling out exactly what preseason should be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's not always what it is. But I'm saying maybe that's what they do here with JJ, they ride it out to the draft, saying maybe that's what they do here with jj, they ride it out to the draft team. I mean there's seven teams in the top 10 that are going to need quarterbacks as it sits right now. Uh, quinn, who's probably going to stay in college, I he's already shown interest in this that's one quarter really.
Speaker 1:Shador and cam ward yeah, so the ones coming out and now and now they're going to be picking between. They're going to have to determine if jj is on their level or above them, or if they're worth taking shadur or cam war.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying well, if you don't have one of the top three picks, you're not even getting close to getting shadur sanders, because he's going to be a top three pick.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I could see Travis Hunter. Well, Travis Hunter also will be a top three pick. I think they both will be it's going to wind up where probably one is picking with the first pick and the other is picking with the second pick, if not the third pick.
Speaker 1:They're not getting out of the first three picks by the way, Travis Hunter is being urged to specialize when he gets to the pro level on one thing or another, yeah, and he's leaning towards cornerback I don't know he's leaning towards leaning on his defensive uh skill set. So we'll see how that plays out when we get to that point we'll find out the next.
Speaker 1:Moving on to sunday night, your game yeah, boy, look the commanders, they're doing so well. But just like with the bears game, I mean these guys really are trying hard find to find a way to lose, but it's not working. It's not a bad thing, but they almost lost this one. First of all, atlanta drives down the field. That kick come up short. First of all, that kick was very accurate. It was right down the middle, okay.
Speaker 2:You're talking about in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1:In the fourth quarter when they missed that kick. I could not believe it. Okay, this was a hell of a game. We won't dwell too much on it.
Speaker 2:So what he's talking about is the kicker, for Atlanta had a chance to win the game late and it was over 50 yards.
Speaker 1:I think it was like 57, 58 yard kick. Yeah, it was like almost a 60 yard.
Speaker 2:And the kick. When it went up it was dead center and it was high and it's like, oh my God, they're going to make this and they're going to win the game and it falls six yards short of going through the uprights. But man, did it look pretty when it was up there. It looked like it was going to go. So I know every Atlanta fan was probably just going. Yeah, what he missed.
Speaker 1:Yep, just going. Yeah, what he missed. Yep, and let me tell you what. Uh, jayden daniels, having a hot rookie season, passed a milestone here. Some that some of us are very familiar with passes rg3 on the rookie chart for the first rookie to throw for 3,500 yards and run for over 800 yards in a season in NFL history. Passes RG3 on that board. Congratulations to him. And the season's not even over yet. So, and just a quick flashback, had RG3 stayed healthy the entire season, you wonder how much more he might have put up. But we won't go there either.
Speaker 1:We're not going to drum up the past, yeah we'll go ahead and move on into Monday night's game the Lions and the 49ers. The 49ers playing all right, putting up 34 points on the NFC. Standing leaders at the moment Detroit Lions.
Speaker 2:Well, there was a lot of controversy going into this game because Dan Campbell, by the way, just so you guys know Notre Dame did finally win the game 23-10. They're moving on. That score is final. Sorry, I hit my mic there, that was a button. But going back to that, dan Campbell was catching a lot of flack. Sorry, I hit my mic there, that was a button.
Speaker 2:But going back to that, dan Campbell was catching a lot of flack because he was getting to a point where people were like, well, why are you going to keep your starters in? You've got so many people that are hurt already. Why are you going to play this meaningless game which, by the way, it's not a meaningless game because, think about it, they have to win this, this game against the niners, in order to keep pace with the vikings, who also won on sunday, in order to play this next week for the number, their division spot, you know to see who's the number one in the in the division, and then whoever loses is going to be the fifth spot. So you're basically playing to keep pace with them.
Speaker 2:Not just that so it's an important game nonetheless.
Speaker 1:The Eagles are hot on your tail at 13-3 as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it's not a meaningless game and I know Campbell said you know this is kind of a little retribution and really, let's be honest, it's not. I mean we weren't in the. When I say we, the 49ers, weren't in a spot for a playoff bid at all, we've been eliminated.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:As I say we again.
Speaker 2:But, the point is the final score being 40-34. And you know, if it wasn't for a few picks by Purdy in the game, late in the second half, the Niners were keeping pace. At one point they had the lead and they were keeping it pushing up, but the Lions just were relentless. They just kept coming and coming and coming and finally they pushed ahead. They leaned on their run game, they had some trick plays, they went for two-point conversions and they kept pace with the Niners and eventually passed them when the Niners were throwing picks and not keeping and sustaining drives. Him when the Niners were throwing picks and not keeping and sustaining drives. And in that game, speaking of Purdy, he actually got another stinger in his elbow. Where his elbow, you know. He said it felt like it was on fire. Now this should sound familiar. This was the same kind of thing that happened to him against the Eagles in the conference championship game an.
Speaker 2:NFC conference championship game.
Speaker 1:Doesn't sound pretty at all, to be honest with you.
Speaker 2:No, and this is the guy they're supposedly going to pay a huge contract to. If it was me, I would basically go into him and say we are not paying you the next big contract. We're not paying you like you're Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 1:I don't think they should.
Speaker 2:This is what we're offering. If you don't like it, you can continue to play under your million dollars, which is what you're owed next year, and then, if he doesn't like that, then you know look at it this way the difference between having $40 million and $50 million is $10 million. But don't be happier than happy. I know, being somebody with $40 million, that makes you pretty happy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean, think about it. Do you want to sit there and say pay me the most money and then go where's my receivers, where's my running back? You mean like Aaron?
Speaker 1:Rodgers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, do you want to be paid the most and have nothing around you? Or do you want to pull a page out of Brady's book and say, yeah, pay me a fair contract and I would like to see the rest of that money go to getting talent around me?
Speaker 1:Look, and I agree with you 100% Look, it's always nice to go after the most, but guess what? Next year, somebody's going to get paid more than you. The next year somebody's going to be paid more than them. In four or five years, nobody's even going to remember that you were the highest paid player when you played. And then, when they do get on the subject, they're going to remember that you were the highest paid player and then they're just going to do nothing with it, and then they're going to be mad at you and hate you.
Speaker 2:Well, they really just need to stop Like I hate to say it this way but GMs, owners, they need to get together and sit down and say enough's enough.
Speaker 1:You mean like a league meeting? Yes, like an annual league meeting.
Speaker 2:But they need to have this meeting and be real about it. They all need to band together and say no, we're not paying you that Because, think about it, when they did that fully guaranteed contract to to sean watson to go, go to the cleveland browns, all of the gms throughout the league looked at the gm for the browns and were like what are you thinking? Man, I could just hear just what I could.
Speaker 1:I could just hear all the face palms.
Speaker 2:Because you remember what happened after that. The next contract up was Lamar. And what did Lamar want? Lamar Jackson wanted a fully guaranteed multi-year deal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is that what?
Speaker 2:he got. No, it's not fully guaranteed.
Speaker 1:Fully guaranteed, majority of it is guaranteed oh yeah, but they did not give him a fully guaranteed contract like he needed, like the brows did, but he had to be paid higher than deshaun watson because he had playoff accolades and as well stats yes, I agree that his stats dictate he should be paid more. But but think about it this way he would have been offended if he wasn't which is how it all started.
Speaker 2:Think about it this way Would you want Dak Prescott over Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:No, I wouldn't either, but he's being paid more than Lamar.
Speaker 1:But that's look, the Cowboys and the Commanders don't know, doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:Doesn't matter because you, jerry jones is senile okay, okay, look, bottom line is, they always go by this next man up mentality and there needs to be somebody that goes you're're not better than Patrick Mahomes, we're not paying you that you know, or sure you can have that contract with incentive-based meaning that you must win more Super Bowls than Patrick Mahomes?
Speaker 1:Look, I know Patrick Mahomes is a good quarterback, but he's not quite having a stunning year.
Speaker 2:Right now he a team friendly deal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like right now he's being paid less than lamar, less than dac well, just like tom brady, you're less likely to be to be traded or cut if you're good and you're affordable. Exactly people like.
Speaker 2:They like having affordability. I mean, look at right now the Bengals, even though they have Joe Burrow and he's playing lights out. Look, if they had more wins he would be the MVP of the league, because that man is playing on fire.
Speaker 1:Yeah, burrow another one getting the short end of the stick in the Pro Bowl. Yeah, he didn't make the Pro Bowl selection.
Speaker 2:But if that man he got a large contract and he deserves his large contract.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But now the team is struggling because they've got to pay Jamar Chase and T Higgins. Well, they can't pay both and you know who has the big contract Burrow does you know. He wants Jamar Chase and he wants T Higgins, but they can't afford both. So somebody's got to go, and that's going to happen this offseason. T Higgins is either going to ride off into the sunset and go sign with somebody else and be their number one receiver, or somebody's going to have to restructure a contract and figure it out. But really what they need is defense. They need defense bad.
Speaker 1:I think they let those running backs go give that money to Tee Higgins and then draft a running back.
Speaker 2:What running backs. They already did that. They let mixing go off to the Houston Texans, and then they've been working with Moss and. Chase Brown.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And Moss is hurt, so Chase Brown is like showing up out of nowhere.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I think they keep Chase Brown draft a running back behind them. Let Zach Moss go and pay T Higgins.
Speaker 2:And maybe they draft Skadabo in the third round or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah or G&T in the first round.
Speaker 2:I don't think so. They need so much defensive help. They need to focus on that first, probably. Anyway, let's move on to the next week's games Coming up in our final week of the NFL, man, let me tell you whatvitational matchups across the board.
Speaker 1:So sad that this is week 18. I mean, yeah, we still have the playoffs, but boy, it seems like we were just in August like eagerly biting our nails to get through the preseason.
Speaker 2:It'll be okay, we'll start a support group.
Speaker 1:Now I'm starting stomping my feet because the NFL is over in a flash.
Speaker 2:It's okay, they'll have an 18th week. They'll add in a 19th week here soon, so we have 18 weeks in the NFL.
Speaker 1:There's always the XFL until they get folded into the NFL, and then we get a longer season anyway, just byproduct of having more teams.
Speaker 2:Anyway. So Saturday we have a few games Actually.
Speaker 1:Saturday is all about the AFC North.
Speaker 2:Yes, because that's the only games on. It's going to be Cleveland versus the Ravens and Bengals versus the Steelers, which right now, with the Bengals just hot, hot, hot and the Steelers just kind of scuffling. That's not a good recipe for them. So I mean, right now, ravens, they got that division locked up. They're going to win it. I think they already have won it.
Speaker 1:The Steelers need to stay alive and the Bengals also need to stay alive.
Speaker 2:I think, well, if the Bengals win that game and Broncos lose their game, you stand to have a good chance that well, it will be the Bengals' way in. Yeah, it would be the.
Speaker 1:Bengals' way in. If the Bengals can win and the Broncos will lose, the Bengals will be in. It would be the Bengals weigh in. If the Bengals can win and the Broncos will lose, the Bengals will be in.
Speaker 2:But unfortunately for the Bengals, the Chiefs are going to be resting a lot of their players, so it's Chiefs and Broncos going against one another.
Speaker 1:And the Broncos are fighting for their lives.
Speaker 2:They've already said they're going to be resting players, so you're probably going to see Carson Winston instead of Patrick Mahomes, and you'll probably see Kelsey sitting and probably see Chris Jones sitting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and with that division already locked up, the Broncos are going to be fighting for their lives just to get into the playoffs. They're probably we'll see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they're booted right now because the Chargers are in, but that's the other thing. The Bengals also need, probably yeah, because they're booted right now because the Chargers are in, but that's the other thing. The Bengals also need the Chargers to lose as well. So they need a lot of help on their side, but they've just got to win their games and hope that you know the Raiders can pull off an upset against the Chargers.
Speaker 1:It's not unfeasible, it's not out of the question, but I think again another team trying to make a playoff push. We'll see what happens with that. Then we get into. Moving to Sunday, into the 1 o'clock slot, atlanta taking on Carolina. Look, I know Carolina didn't perform overly well against Tampa. Tampa Bay is red hot right now, especially with Baker Mayfield under center. Atlanta's been slipping a little bit. Michael Penix is in now. Who are you taking in this one? This actually might be a pretty good game to watch here.
Speaker 2:Now I mean the only implication towards the playoffs for this is if Atlanta wins and Tampa loses, then Atlanta will be in, but there's really nothing beyond that. I mean it is a divisional game. You always like to see your division rivals go against each other and one or the other take the L. I mean because you can't have ties in the NFL so they could tie.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like Tampa to keep the edge to stay in the playoffs here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if Tampa wins and Atlanta wins, then Tampa's in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know Carolina, go out there, put some good tape on the field and build on it for next year.
Speaker 2:Your team. Better not mess around and lose to the Cowboys again.
Speaker 1:Look.
Speaker 2:If Washington loses to the Cowboys again, they should just put their helmets down on the ground and walk out of the stadium in the clothes they're wearing, and just walk home. Like don't even get in your car. You're going to walk home in your jersey and you're going to just have to make that long-ass walk in your dirty-ass uniform, you're going to walk home from Dallas.
Speaker 1:Yes, we would. Actually You'd be better off. The good news is we're locked into the playoffs, but we could slip to the seventh seed. Honestly, I'm not thrilled about us facing the Lions or the Eagle. Well, they'd be on by. I'd rather face the.
Speaker 2:Rams, you would face the Eagles or no wait.
Speaker 1:If you're the seventh seed, yeah, you'd face the Eagles. Or no, wait. If you're the seventh seed, yeah, you'd face the Eagles. Okay, so let's hang on to that sixth seed, because I'd rather face the Rams. I think they would too. I don't think anybody should be thrilled about having to face the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.
Speaker 2:Rams are tough, man, rams are tough. Yeah, they're tough Packers are going to get an easy win. They're going to face the Bears. It is a divisional matchup, but the Bears looked horrible against them last time. I don't see the Bears going into Green Bay and putting up much of a fight.
Speaker 1:Not in the dead of winter time at that. Green Bay hangs on to that playoff spot.
Speaker 2:On to another nothing burger game. We've got Jacksonville and Indiana going against each other. Doesn't really have implications of anything other than somebody's going to win the final game of the year.
Speaker 1:Draft position.
Speaker 2:Yeah, draft position game, that's what it is. And again, buffalo is getting ready to beat down on Patriots, but in their house.
Speaker 1:Well, you think they're going to rest the starters.
Speaker 2:I mean they could. If it was me, I would rest the starters because, honestly, you want to get as many reps for your backup guys anyway, because going into the playoffs you know if a guy gets hurt you don't want somebody coming in that's had no live reps.
Speaker 1:It's either that or I think the starters get through maybe play one half and then they get through some of the game. Then they start rotating out or they play a snap count. There's something interesting going on here with the patriots, though. Um drop mayo. Good coach, so far got the team playing in the right direction well, I mean he, he's doing a lot with nothing. But there are reports that Vrabel might be available.
Speaker 2:Well, he is available. He doesn't have a job.
Speaker 1:Well, he doesn't have a job, but there's reports that he could make himself available to a head coaching position and if that's the case, the rumors are the Patriots really, really want him because they know he'll probably only be available this year.
Speaker 2:Well see, I don't know if he wants to go there or not. I mean, you know, yeah, it is his former team and it is his former when he was assistant coach, he was there, but I don't know that he wants to go back there. You know, and nothing says that they're going fire gerard mayo, which they shouldn't I don't think they should either.
Speaker 2:I don't think they really want to I don't think they're going to, because gerard mayo, he is a good coach. He has very little going on with the team, but you can tell the team is building towards something. You can tell the team is getting a little better and a little better, I mean, despite the winds not coming across. They just need to find more pieces and they'll get there. They just need time to do so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and honestly, after the way he's got this team playing, not very notably, but they are playing tough games they're headed in the right direction.
Speaker 2:They look competitive in their games.
Speaker 1:They've looked pretty competitive. He's doing a lot with very little.
Speaker 2:There was one destination that I forgot to mention earlier, when we were talking about Jacksonville. That is being looked at as the possible suitors for Ben Johnson. Oh yeah, that would be interesting Because think about it he comes down there and gets sunshine. Trevor Lawrence. He gets a quarterback. He knows he has some offensive pieces. I mean, the defense is okay.
Speaker 1:Their defense has been relatively decent over the years.
Speaker 2:They just need a few more pass rushers, because they're a little light on that and definitely need some better secondary help. So the offense seems to be all right because and when I say all right I mean you have that rookie receiver, Brian Thomas.
Speaker 1:Brian Thomas Jr. Yeah, Brian Thomas Jr had a lights out year.
Speaker 2:Have that that rookie receiver uh, brian tom brian thomas jr.
Speaker 1:Yeah, brian thomas jr who's?
Speaker 2:had a light, had a great year for a rookie, yeah, and they've been doing all this without christian kirk and without uh, help me out the receiver they got from buffalo gabe davis gabe davis. They've been doing all that without those two. So you're basically getting addition from within this next season and you're only going to get better because you're going to draft some pieces and add to this roster that already has a few key pieces already.
Speaker 2:You just need a GM and a coach, and if you can bring in Ben Johnson and a GM that works with him, you got it, so it might be a good scenario for him.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I think that would be a great landing spot for Ben. Johnson and the kind of system he brings.
Speaker 2:And it wouldn't put him in the same division against his former team that he was with. Because if he goes to the Bears, against this former team that he was with, because if he goes to the Bears he automatically becomes the worst coach out of the whole kit and caboodle, because he's going to be sitting there in a division with three heavy hitters. They're all in the playoffs. If he goes to Jacksonville, he could pretty much almost become the best coach in that division, because that division hasn't really been doing much.
Speaker 1:Yeah and not only that, he just straight up moves over to the other side of the fence and to the AFC, exactly. So I mean, here we got again another weird game. I feel like another team that could be resting their starters.
Speaker 2:And they are. And here's the thing that makes no sense. You got Saquon right there. He's about to break Eric Dickerson's record for rushing yards. And wouldn't it be poetic justice You'd not only let Saquon go and he goes to a division opponent and then he comes back and breaks the rushing record against your team.
Speaker 1:I think they should give it to him, because the first time they met he had a record-breaking game against them.
Speaker 2:I think they should let him go for the record, but they're not going to. They've already said they're going to sit him and it sucks that they're making him.
Speaker 1:How far off is he?
Speaker 2:He's only like 102,. I think, oh, get this man.
Speaker 1:Come on, he's got it.
Speaker 2:He could go in and he will get the record 25 yards a quarter, then rest him. In fairness, barkley did say he was like whatever they want me to do, if they want me to go and play and break the record, I will. If they want me to sit and have bigger aspirations towards winning a Super Bowl, I'm all for that. So now his entire time in the NFL this is only the second time he's had a winning season. So for him to be hungry for a deep run in the playoffs, I don't blame him.
Speaker 1:And obviously this offense has a lot more to feed him. So I see why he's not worried.
Speaker 2:He obviously feels he'll have another shot at it next year. Well, I mean, I don't know, man, you two thousand yard seasons don't exactly just happen year after year after year.
Speaker 1:That's, there's a reason no, they don't, but he's held this long. He's been relatively fresh uh, the entire time. I could see him trying to go for it again. I hope they give it to him.
Speaker 2:But he has had a history with injuries, so let's not get too presumptive that he's going to do it again. He has a good shot if he stays healthy. We'll say it like that. So, moving on to the next game, which will be Tampa versus the Saints Tampa. Obviously this should be an easy win.
Speaker 1:I expect them to bring it, especially them being at home Well, the.
Speaker 2:Saints have been, you know, they're just not the same team. They've lost too many people to injury.
Speaker 1:Oh, and the Saints go crawling in.
Speaker 2:So if the Saints well, not Saints If Tampa wins that game, they clinch their division and they'll be in the playoffs instead of the Atlanta Falcons, which the Atlanta Falcons would have to win their game and Tampa lose in order to be in.
Speaker 1:I think Tampa hangs on to it. To be honest with you, We've got Houston here with this fugly logo they're using against Tennessee.
Speaker 2:I mean Houston, again another team that doesn't have to start their starters. This could just be a backup game, because let's face it. Well, they've already clinched their division, so they're in no matter what. Even if they lose the game, it doesn't matter. So they really don't have anything to play for for this game and they don't have anybody. Well, yeah, they won their division behind them by a landslide almost well seven. They won their division, so nobody can catch nine and seven yeah, they and they gotta get yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's yeah, like you say. I'm not debating that. I hear you going over there. Anyway, moving on to your game, it's a nothing game.
Speaker 2:I hate to say it, but it's a nothing game. I mean, niners, we're, we're not gonna have purdy playing. It's gonna be the past or not I have a question.
Speaker 1:Uh, do you think arizona parts ways with kyler murray?
Speaker 2:what option do they have? They don't have anybody. They don't have anybody to fall back on. No, so I mean you're just going to ride with Kyler Murray until you have something better.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, unless somebody's going to give you some value.
Speaker 1:Unless you just decide to completely clean house. You know.
Speaker 2:So we already talked about Chiefs Broncos, so we'll move on, we'll slide on by them.
Speaker 1:We have the Rams and the Seahawks. Rams are probably going to rest up here.
Speaker 2:So I heard an interesting thing.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:We were talking about JJ McCarthy earlier. Jj McCarthy, jj mccarthy earlier jj mccarthy. Diana recidi and nfl insider had reported that seattle seahawks have been looking at trying to trade for jj mccarthy. Now think about that for a second, because they have a good young team. Their defense is pretty good. They have some offensive pieces. If they can get a rookie quarterback on a cheap deal, spend some money elsewhere, they could viably be a good team just by plugging him in. If he can play up to the potential he thinks that they think he can. Yeah, because I mean they have Geno.
Speaker 1:Sit him behind Geno.
Speaker 2:Well, no, no, no, geno, he's free agent, so they've got to figure out if they're going to keep him or not. So if they have JJ, they could viably be sitting on— I mean, they have the 18th pick, so they're kind of in no man's land for trying to land a quarterback. So if they move on and get JJ McCarthy and plug him in as their quarterback, maybe he's good, maybe he's not.
Speaker 1:This goes back to earlier. I could see a team in the lower part of the first round giving up a first round pick for McCarthy. If you have a, low end pick.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that they're gonna want more for McCarthy and, you know, it might be like a a deal, kind of like when the Niners moved up to get Trey Lance yeah, even though that was a dumb move. They gave up three first rounders to get up there now.
Speaker 1:This will be the first time that we really have a first round pick this next draft, but we're going to be on the lower back end of it yeah so, but yeah, this is a situation where it might make total sense for seahawks to do this well, I may go to see what they do with Geno first, and I think it's going to revolve around that.
Speaker 2:Well, if they don't bring him back, then you know they were and you know JJ is probably in the next move. Yeah.
Speaker 2:They don't bring him back. But here we have. We have the Chargers and Raiders going against one another and this has playoff implications, because right now the Chargers are in that last spot in the wild card. So they need to keep the winning going if they want to stay in, because they got the Bengals hot on their tail and I think they have the Dolphins as well, the Dolphins are eager to the dolphins as well.
Speaker 2:The dolphins are are eager to get in as well yeah, which is again another one that's kind of surprising and they just also have the broncos. Yeah and all three of those teams are right there just vying for that last, that last playoff spot so yeah, I mean honestly well actually.
Speaker 2:No, I'm wrong. The charge is in the sixth spot, so the seventh spot is currently occupied by the broncos. So the broncos trying to move up so they don't get bumped out, and the dolphins and bangles just trying to squeak in on that seventh spot, so we could have a little shifting going on well, yeah, I mean, yeah, the broncos.
Speaker 1:I mean things could get shaken up here. The steelers could get bumped out of the fifth spot. Right, they're 10 and 6. The chargers win and the broncos win and the steelers lose. You got you know well, they'd be 10 and 7. But the steelers would be 10 and 7. On the low side they'd be 10 and 7. On broncos, 10 7 on the low side, they'd be 10-7. The Broncos 10-7. On the high side, the Broncos would slide in, the Chargers would stay there. I mean, things get shook up here. The Dolphins have a much more slim chance of getting in, but we could see some things.
Speaker 2:Same thing with the Bengals. I mean they need a lot to help them. We could see some things shaking up there, though help them, but we could see some things shaken up there though, um, but moving on, we got dolphins jets.
Speaker 1:Really, a nothing game doesn't have any impact towards the playoffs I'm honestly surprised the jets didn't just cut rogers in the middle of the season. I really thought that that was no.
Speaker 2:No, it's another situation where they're handicapped by the situation they're in yeah, that was really don't have any other options and they're going to have rogers and really no free agent is going to go there, you know, because they don't. They see the dysfunction I.
Speaker 1:I apologize for my poor, poor prediction, but rogers is not going to be on the Jets next year. That's my next prediction. We'll see.
Speaker 2:But the game that everybody who's an NFL fan wants to watch next week The- game with the highest stakes. The Vikings and Lions.
Speaker 1:That is going to be one hell of a game, because whoever wins that game wins the division.
Speaker 2:The other team will get pushed down to the fifth spot of the wild card and will not get that first round by. So you have everything to win this is.
Speaker 1:This is for the division and the conference. This is for the division and the conference lead like this yes, this is actually a first in NFL history, right here, oh.
Speaker 2:I don't know if it's a first in a long time. I don't think it's a first. Well, no, I read something earlier.
Speaker 1:I wish I would have noted it. This is either a first in a long time or a first in NFL history where two divisional rivals or two teams are playing for the conference lead and the division lead going into the playoffs. So this is an interesting match of fireworks. You got to feel bad for Green Bay on the outside looking in here.
Speaker 2:They have not been a bad team.
Speaker 1:They haven't been a bad team. You know they're right up there with both these teams, but everything has revolved this year around the Lions and the Vikings.
Speaker 2:They just, unfortunately, have lost some key games at the worst possible times.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, that's all that really is. It's not really they're putting up good effort. I mean, like case in point, this last week they lost to the Vikings. If they won against the Vikings, it's a much different game this next week for the Vikings and Lions.
Speaker 1:You know it might have been a game where, yeah, campbell could play some people and just as a byproduct in playing in that division, it's going to come down. They're going to have to play all the way through the season, come down the wire. Just a highly competitive division here. So, moving on into the end of our show here, wrapping up the first show of the new year, and coming into the final week of the NFL regular season, thank you for joining us everybody. Once again, I'm Brian with an I.
Speaker 2:And I'm Mike.
Speaker 1:And we are Two for the Win.
Speaker 2:Thanks everybody.