Conference Championship previews + Brett Walker from the BCS Podcast!

Josh, Lee and James get together to preview the Conference Championships, focusing mainly on Rams-Seahawks, and then Brett Walker from the BCS Podcast joins Josh to discuss Brett's preseason predictions and an in-depth look at the Patriots-Broncos matchup.

@HailOnThreePod

Transcript

0:00

How would you describe the culture surrounding this football team? You know, the culture is actually damn good. The NFC Championship game, the 49 ERs in the Redskins RFK stadium in Washington first and Gold Wons leg comes in motion in a gift to rigging. Rigging swings to the outside breaks and tackle it steps into the end zone. Heisman fakes to Riggin. Now he looks deep. He has Charlie Brown and Brown turns on the afterburner brown touchdown

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 0:42

Welcome to another edition of the Head on Free podcast. My name is Josh. I'm your host coming to you from Southeast London with James and Lee this fine Saturday evening, the day before the conference championship games. Ultimate, I guess not the pronouncement weekend because I have a little gap between here and the Super Bowl, but the last two games before the Super Bowl. Slightly different feeling Lee, to this time last year.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 1:11

Hello Sports fans. Yeah, slightly different. There all the anticipation in the world wasn't there. Going into Philadelphia, I don't think. I dunno if anyone really thought we, well of course we have belief, but I, deep down, I dunno if anyone thought we were actually gonna go there and pull it off, but how exciting was it to have an NFC championship game when we barely seen a playoff game for a decade plus. But yeah, we are now just gonna be sitting back and watching like the, what, 27 other teams.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 1:40

We will be. I wonder if we had a podcast this time last year, what the predictions would've been heading into the Philly game. I think at least one of us would've predicted us to win. I'm sure.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 1:50

may have gone crazy and projected a 40 20 win or something based on

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 1:53

Yeah.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 1:54

predictions this season. Um, but yeah, very typical, that we get started for a season like this.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:02

How are you? James? Nice to see you last night. I.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:05

Yes. Um, good scene. We got together for a traitor's finale date, didn't we? Josh

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:12

That's what happens in the off season, which it is for us now,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 2:16

Where was this held?

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:17

which is held here at, at Casa Eddie in my flat,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 2:21

Oh, nice.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:22

Little

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:22

which we, yeah, a nice bolognese pasta dish. You, uh, I, I think you had all four. Lucky Satans James.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:30

Yeah. Yeah, I was driving. Um, but they were going down Well, despite being non-alcoholic.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:34

Nicely refreshed.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:36

Yeah. Not quite the trait. As a result, we wanted though

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:40

A bit annoying.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:41

Yeah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:41

annoying. Um, but we don't have enough time to discuss British Rally TV this evening. Uh, unfortunately in any detail

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:48

is that not what we,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 2:49

had a, I had a whole thing about the weather and everything.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:52

you can do the weather

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 2:53

I actually wanna hear about the Weatherly.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 2:54

bit chilly.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 2:57

Yeah, yeah. If anyone who's a bit of a weather nerd, and I know I give the odd report, but this is, this is new levels, so it was the coldest

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 3:03

report every week.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 3:06

Well, you know, you, you like to ask, you like to ask, it was the coldest day yesterday in Chicago since 2019, the polar of vortex and when it's the coldest day for seven years here, you know, it's pretty cold, but the entire country, well, not the entire country, but. 200 million people are under a severe weather watch. So this is a almighty system of Arctic storms going through and hitting as far as Texas. So good luck to them down there. At least we're prepared up here.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 3:34

the word vortex doesn't inspire confidence. Does it really?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 3:38

Yeah. Minus 25. That's cold.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 3:45

What's, what's your plan for today? What? What do you do on a day like this?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 3:49

Um, I just watch my other football team leads and talk to you guys, but I'm

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 3:53

Brilliant. Brilliant.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 3:55

it will be fine. Uh, anyway, championship games to

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 3:59

Yeah. There are.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 4:00

On we go and, and you will hear in the latter part of this podcast. A chat yesterday with Brett Walker from the Brett Chat Sports podcast, Patriots fan and friend of ours, a previous guest about his preseason predictions and obviously about the Patriots upcoming game, the Broncos tomorrow evening. So we'll go a bit heavier on the NFC game and then we will obviously give a prediction and brief chat about Patriots. Broncos. You'll hear a lot more about that game and the Patriots chancellors with me and Brett in the second half of the pod. Uh, but for now, let's talk predominantly NFC Championship game. The third meeting this season between the Rams and the Seahawks, previous games are decided by three points total, including an overtime game, so very evenly matched teams at the same division taking on each other at Lumen Field in Seattle, Murrow, and it's the 11 o'clock 11:30 PM UK time game. A bit of a shame that it's not the only game for UK viewers, I think because this is the marquee match of the two, I would say with the new James.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 5:05

Yeah, it has to be, doesn't it? I mean, self expansion in Jarid and the other game.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 5:11

Exactly. Will you be up? What's your plan actually for this one?

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 5:15

I'll give it a go. Um, I do have an early start Monday. Uh, yeah, I'll, I'll see how it goes. I'm, I'm not committing just yet.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 5:25

Okay. We'll see how the WhatsApp group is.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 5:27

if Stafford's slinging it, I might get, I might get sucked in,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 5:30

Yeah.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 5:31

you could put, put the phone by the side of your bed or something.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 5:34

Oh yeah.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 5:35

not again, really hurt my neck.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 5:37

Yeah. You don't wanna crick your neck. Um, yeah, I'm really excited for this one. Um. As we said previously in our brackets, we had the, we all had the Rams for the NFC side going to the Super Bowl and, and kind of wanting them to do well. Um, this is a tough assignment. The Seahawks are one and a half point favorites, which to me was a bit surprised. It was that short, uh, with Homefield Advantage. Um, Lee, let's get your thoughts on this game and these two teams tomorrow evening.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 6:07

Personally, I can't wait. This was the matchup I was cheering on from the start of the bracket, especially after the regular season game. We saw, uh, in the same stadium right just before Christmas, which was probably the, the regular game of the year, absolute thriller, and the Rams proved that night that they can leave the ball and put up points on this vaunted Seattle defense. Yeah, I can't wait for it to be honest, chaps. I'm really looking forward to it. Definitely gonna be back in the Rams, but would would have no problem with the Seahawks getting to the Super Bowl either as a, been a really good team this year. But yeah, I was looking, actually, you wanna have a guess at Sean McVey and his post-season, just post-season record since he'd left Washington and became their youngest head coach in the league in 2017.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 6:56

how many games has it been, do you know?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 6:57

you the

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 6:58

Yeah,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 6:58

I'll give you the games. It is, um. 15 postseason games.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 7:04

I'll go 11 and four. I.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 7:07

11.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 7:08

Nine and six

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 7:09

Okay. Both great guesses. And it's in the middle 10 and

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 7:12

Ah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 7:14

split the difference.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 7:15

can you imagine this, say as a coach, I just, I'll get this Sean McVay fanboy stuff out there briefly, and I said, I thought you had a bad week last week, but. How many playoff games have we had since he left? It was only last season. Right. so the fact he's had 15 games and you know he's lost. How many coordinators, uh, his lost players like Aaron Donald and staff say, if you think what he is done at that organization. I, I think he, I personally, I think he's the best coach in the league because he hasn't had Number one in the league callback until the Stafford deal. Obviously that put, put, put him right up there, but what do you think in terms of, in terms of what he is done there, considering that he hasn't had like a, you know, Mahomes, Andy Reed type run.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 8:02

it has to be. And there's not been many down years. And you know, we joked about in the past about how many picks they've given away for players and you think, oh, this is the year gonna have to rebuild. But they keep coming back. He's the second longest tenured coach now ever. Leave, which is insane when you think how old he is. Um, but yeah, the, the consistency every year to be competing, um, second to none. So yeah, fair play to him. And yeah, I mean a lot of those years, obviously he had Goff and moved on to Stafford and this probably Stafford's best year, which is crazy. Uh, his age and all that. Talk about him basically being paralyzed August when he is going to these weird chambers and amazing. He stayed fit all season and they've been on this run.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 8:42

Even, even, even when they got stabbed. Yeah, sorry. Even when they got stabbed, it wasn't, he wasn't seen at that point as like they've, they've got a home run quarterback at the height of his career and powers and top three guy or anything. Was it? So like, it's not like he, he's been, you know, as you say, landed with. Just a, a, a turnaround player for the franchise. They've done an amazing job with him, I think, as part of what he's done with him. It's been really impressive as well.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 9:08

at the draft, look at the value. I mean, where was Cup drafted? Where was, where was, where was Poo? Where was Puka drafted? Rin Williams. These aren't high picks and you know, they trade away a lot. First round picks, but they've hit on so many of those mid round picks, and that's made a huge difference.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 9:22

Yeah, so they exactly, they traded away a lot. Didn't they just get Ramsey and stuff back in the day? and then they were just like all in, and when they went all in, even during that season, they got like Von Miller, I believe, didn't they, the Super Bowl season. So they were just never scared of making, making an aggressive move. But more times than not, they paid off and they got the, got the ring in 21. He's only missed the twice. If you think he went there as a, you know, a rookie, really young head coach with Jared Goff in his second year, I think that would've been, um, to start out, say from the start of his tenure year, unbelievable coach and someone who I always loved listening to back in the day in DC when he used to do the oc like, um, press conferences. I just thought, you know, he's such a smart guy. And I'll say if we get anything like that with David Blau. Then that'd be very exciting. So I would very much be in the camp of just promoting him and giving Quinn a nice payoff to be a consultant or something. And just at the end of the day, these guys, the offensive minded guys are the ones that are gonna stay for 10 years, aren't they? That's why McVay's there for that long, and that's why they've had the same success. So yeah, really, really incredible run. But yeah, back to the game, very excited for it. I think the Rams can put up points. And the fact they're going in there under a three point favorite suggests it could be, could be a really exciting game.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 10:45

I think it will be an exciting game. I, I guess we probably don't talk enough about the Seahawks. We, we do have a kind of link to Mcbe and the Rams and we all like them. We probably should give the Seahawks a bit more air time or at least a bit more sort of their play to them given what they've managed to achieve recently. Um, the defense, the top score in defense in the league, the top five unit in all metrics. And not, not a bad offense obviously, either. Um, they're not just riding this defense alone. Um, and they have a fantastic home field advantage. Um, I think this will be another very close one. I can't really see this going, um, to Eva team comfortably. I just, I just, I know that's an easy thing to say'cause both the games are really tight earlier in the season, but in this, this environment and with this, you know, tight game, everything on the line to get to the Super Bowl, I feel like it'll be another close one.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 11:34

Yeah, I think for the Rams, if you, you cannot get down too bad early. You've seen the Seahawks before. It's not a team you wanna be chasing points against,'cause they'll force you into mistakes and, and all that sort of thing. And from the Seahawk. Side, I'd say if Donald plays a clean game. They can probably get through this. It's fair. It's, um, fair to point out Zach Charnay is out for the season. Um, he's not a flashy player. His stats don't pop, but the combo between him and Kim Walker has been pretty good. I don't think they want Kenneth Walker on every down. They'd like to keep him fresh. So interesting to see, um, how many carries they give him or if they bring up another back, uh, into the fold as well.'cause, um, Donald only threw 17 passes last week. There's been this talk of this oblique injury, so they might need to lean on, on the run game, uh, in this one.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 12:26

For sure. You're a big Kenneth Walker guy, aren't you? I remember we had a.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 12:29

Love them.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 12:31

our late festive drink just before I went back to the States. And you were, you were talking about Kenneth Walker, but Yeah, he is, he's definitely a good runner. But as a one-two punch, that was, that was

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 12:40

Upcoming free agent I might add.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 12:42

Ooh, interesting. yeah, I'm really excited to see the two best receivers in football just on both sides of the ball. Um, both sides just go off against each other. Maybe whoever has the best stat line out of them, two would win the game.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 13:00

Yeah, and, and it's not like Nku has slowed down. A all in the playoffs, which, you know, sometimes players have fantastic regular seasons and other defense is just key in on them. They're able to slow them down. That just hasn't happened. Um, he's just too good. Uh, and he is a complete wide receiver as well. You watch the blocks he throw on to help the rest of the offense. Absolutely incredible. Um, excited to see him play and know he is one of your favorite players in the, in the League League.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 13:25

Yeah. For me, when players have a bit of a quiet game, like top players, this separates them. You'll see some players that have got the real talent and go missing all afternoon, but like last week he'd had a quiet game for his standards. But then on third and sixth just makes the play like runs through, you know, two or three defenders and sets'em up for the game winning field goal. Even Devonte Adams with that incredible catch on the sidelines say it's in those moments, isn't it? When even if they have. Been having some success against you like the bears did, would bring all those corner blitzes and it was tough conditions, but if they get the chance and then just turn up in the biggest moments, that's what separates the good from the great in this league for me. But of course,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 14:06

Yes.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 14:07

sniffing D drer on the other side of the ball. That can be equally dangerous if not bear this season.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 14:13

Yeah, there's, there's big time play making ability on both sides. Rasheed Shahid, right? Ken Walker can score from anywhere. Um, on the RAM side, obviously you got. Nku and many others that could score any time. So yeah, it, it should be an interesting back and forth. Um, it's gonna be a close one. I think I know where I'm going on this, but I dunno. Lee, do you want to hit us on this one?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 14:40

Yeah, it's gonna be a bit of a coin flip game to me. The, the crowd can make a difference. You saw even some of that in Soldier Field week. So. I dunno if they actually measure these things. Do they, Josh? I I think they do on the sound, don't they? This, this could potentially be one of the loudest games in the NFL history, I feel like.'cause that stadium always seems to get the records for that. So an NFC championship game on a night game in there for the division, um, to, to get to the Super Bowls. Could be quite something. So that can play a factor in it. And Stafford did have really poor first half of his standards last week, so it will be interesting. I think the Rams are gonna have to play a pretty complete game. You did not want to get two scores down against this team, do you? So, yeah, it's gonna be tough for me, I would say. I just like, I do like the Rams on, maybe on the basis is they had two games where they were not at their best and just about pulled it out. That kind of seems like the narrative to me that now they'll just turn up on the biggest stage in the hardest game. And obviously with one look on the, on the Super Bowl, they'd, they'd probably be favorites if they got there as well. So I'm gonna say another thriller, slightly lower scoring than we saw in December, but. Probably 27, 24 with their stocky kicker, pit it free Seattle

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 16:01

Good for the stocky kicker on the, um, on the, the sound thing. They do, they do measure decibels at the stadiums. And I think, um, I was reading actually about this yesterday, weirdly, uh, while I was a bit bored at work, um, Arrowhead is always consistently the highest, the record for the highest and the loudest, the decibels, but. Seattle is always a boated by the players in the top three. Awesome. So even though it might be louder at Arrowhead, I think they say that just sort of conditions at Seattle, um, and the weather and everything makes it much, much harder there than other places. So it is gonna be juiced up tomorrow night. Um, James, what's your prediction then, based off of Lee's close one with a stocky kicker kicking field goal.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 16:42

Yep. I, I want the Rams. Um, but right now the Seahawks are like the more complete team to me. Um, so I'm gonna go a close one as well. I'm go 24, 21 to the Seahawks. Um, another reason for this, you know, I love sort of a gut feeling type thing. The, the fairytale Super Bowl would be Stafford V May, right? The two MVP candidates. The NFL doesn't work like that, so I don't think that's gonna happen. maybe this gives me a, gives you a sport on what I think the other weight game's gonna go. I think it'll be one of them, but not both. So I'm gonna see hawks in this one

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 17:19

21, 24. Is that,

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 17:22

20. Yeah. Yeah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 17:24

yeah, so, um, the lot, the, the total on this one over under is 45 and a half. So you're half a point on, on the under, very closely matched. I think it would be a, I think it would be a higher scorer than that. I think it would be.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 17:41

we?

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 17:42

I think it'll be close to the, to the second game they played in the regular season. My prediction is a 34 to 31 victory for the Rams,

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 17:54

Okay.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 17:56

Sounds very exciting. That was, was that the score in the last game in December? It was close to that. Maybe it was even higher. I can't remember now, but it was, it was in the thirties, wasn't it? For overtime.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 18:06

38 37. That one.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 18:09

Oh, wow. Yeah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 18:10

30. So

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 18:12

Anything close to that would be amazing.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 18:15

wish fulfillment for me as well.'cause that would mean that if there's a game like that, I, I reckon I could power through with my Monday at work looking okay at the moment.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 18:23

Nice. James, you know what you said in terms of the NFL doesn't work like that. Dan Hanser said something similar on his podcast last week, which I agreed with. The NFL isn't as romantic as everyone kind of imagines it to be with these storylines. Is it like Josh Allen was supposed to get to the Super Bowl this year with no Patrick Mahomes. And the way it played in Jacksonville and how the game was going last year, um, last week. And then the bears after making that miracle play, like the script you'd imagine for them would be to just go on and win that game in overtime. So the NFL does have a weird way of just when you're expecting everything to fall, how it should do after an amazing player, an amazing season, that strange things can happen, which makes me very interested in the a FC game for sure.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 19:08

I agree with you. Um, actually when I was looking at the, our preseason predictions for all the listeners and contributors for the season, and I got the spreadsheet up with Brett yesterday, I did notice that not one person had predicted any of these four teams in the Super Bowl. In all of our predictions, none of them had predicted them winning the divisions. So, um, you know, storylines from before the season, let alone during the season, obviously never as you expect. Um, let's roll on and talk a bit about the a FC championship game then as well. Um, because it is eight o'clock tomorrow night. Mile High Stadium, the Broncos hosting the Patriots, and as you said, James, the main story on this one that I did talk about at length of Brett is that Jack Stidham is starting for the Broncos because bow Nicks is injured and that's making a huge impact on most people's predictions for this game. Has it changed your mind in terms of who you thought would win this one, or is it still the same?

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 20:03

Um, yeah, I've been going back and forth on this this week. I, I, I'm sticking with the Patriots on this. I count me out as on the hype train for Jarid. I think people need to chill out. Everything I've listened to is saying it's not gonna be a drop off from Bone X and all that sort of thing. I mean, come on. He is not played for three years. Um, I'm. I'm sure Broncos will be competitive in this game. Um, but I also refuse also to predict Jarid v Sam Donald in the Super Bowl. Um, so yeah, I think, again, this is gonna be a close one. I don't see our team run away from this one. Drake May hasn't played that well in the last couple games, and the Patriots offense hasn't been clicking quite like it was against a couple of good defenses and they're coming up against another good one here. Um. Two very good defenses, in fact. So I, it's gonna be an, it's gonna be another close one. Um, but I am, I need the Patriots to win this one, I think

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 21:01

You need, you need them to, if you,

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 21:03

it

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 21:03

but for, for our, for our trip to the, the manor house, making the Super Bowl more fun for your, your case. Yeah.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 21:12

very much so. Josh.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 21:15

Um, yeah, I, I'm, I'm still excited for this game. I think, I don't, I don't wanna dampen my enthusiasm for an a FFC championship game, um, just because of the situation that we've got quarterback. Um, also you, I you are right and that it's not. It will be a drop off for sure. Um, but it was bow nicks and at the end of the day, bow Nicks is not the most exciting NFL quarterback, um, in terms of playing style or how their offense is run. So it doesn't really change too much for me in terms of like how I'm gonna watch the game or be excited about it. It's not like Jaden going out and Josh Johnson bring in for example, in terms of that sort of level of difference in style or drop off. So yeah, I'm, I'm a little bit less worried about it, but I do think Theum will be very limited and that that would be the story of the game ultimately against a very, what, well you'd imagine be a very aggressive New England defense in that environment.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 22:10

I, I would say the Bronco's run game hasn't got going at all, especially if Jko dobbins out. Um, he was back at practice this week, but he's out again. Um, they're gonna need a run game this week. Um, we've, we've stood him out there and on Drake may, I believe he had, he's had six fumbles in the playoffs so far. Um, if, if he has a load of fumbles again this week, I'm not sure if he'll get away, but this time.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 22:33

Yeah, made performances have been. Decent at times, but that's gone a little under the radar, isn't it? He has made some mistakes. And if you were playing a team last week that had an off offense that could be a little more functional than, um, CJ Shroud was, then they might have been in some degree of trouble in that game. So for me, I just feel like it's gonna be real close. We'll see what happens. definitely rooting for New England. I, the Broncos have been annoying me slightly after that failed two point conversion in Maryland a a few months ago, and I dunno if I can handle a two week buildup with a backup quarterback going into the Super Bowl. From what I've listened to about Stidham, he just can play a very similar game script to Bow Nick, so they're not gonna have to massively change their offense. I think that's where the confidence comes from. For Denver, but as James mentioned the talking about May's mistakes being a little understated. I think the New England defense has gone under the radar a bit in this playoffs, haven't they? They're exceptional against the Chargers, so if they can put out that kind of performance and get pressure on on, instead of, I think, I think Denver might be in for a bit of a long day on offense, so I'm really rooting for the Patriots in that sense. I'm

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 23:48

Gonzales is Christian. Gonzales is quite good, isn't he? Lee?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 23:51

He is a good player. Yeah, I'm really rooting for

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 23:54

Fact, for game that Christian Gonzales and Milton Williams, uh, have been on the field for the Patriots, they have not lost this season.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 24:01

There you go. Yeah. I'm really rooting for New England tomorrow to then really root against them in the Super Bowl. And now I like having a root and interest in gains where you're a bit of a neutral, say New England get into the Super Bowl on principle. Slightly annoys me but. That Super Bowl versus either NFC team will gimme a clear favorite to root for in the game, which I like. I don't like a Super Bowl where you just don't really care either way. That said, I don't want a Super Bowl where your rival might win it either, but that should be, that should be a perfect matchup. I don't really wanna see Denver there just on what I said earlier. I think that would be a bit, a bit of a boring storyline and we'd have to hear about it for two weeks straight as well, wouldn't we?

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 24:40

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And, and yeah, like storage franchise. They've been in the Super Bowl. What I'm, I'm, I haven't got in front of me. I think they've been there seven times in one, three, something like that. Denver, um, maybe eight and four. Eight and three. Can't remember. Um, but I'm, I've.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 24:58

I,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 24:58

A bit sick hearing about about them. Um, and, and, and this team again, um, which is weird'cause the page is on the other side. So

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 25:06

If you got a Sam Donald versus Jared in Super Bowl, that would just seem so ridiculous on the face of it, wouldn't it?

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 25:12

now here's a little conspiracy theory, if

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 25:16

the electricity in.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 25:19

I know, but the, the, the NFL cannot afford to have a Jarret Stidham, Sam Donald Super Bowl. may be some calls that go to Patriot's Way in this one bold take.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 25:33

I, it, it is, it's bullet, it's bulletproof'cause it's the super, but you obviously will get much better

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 25:41

Yeah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 25:42

overall rating for them. It's a, it's not that. Um, yeah, I know, I know what you mean. I'll be, I'll be interested to see that though. On, on the Denver field. Um, what was I gonna say? Oh, yeah, you thought about rooting interest. You, you, surely you'll be rooting mainly for a manual falls and can curl, I guess can curl a bit more falls actually.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 26:05

Yeah, Emmanuel Forbes, getting a ring would be the, the one downside of. Of the Rams winning. Nothing against him personally. Just, just kind of summed up the Rivera era, didn't it? Where it seems a ridiculous draft pick and then

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 26:21

A weird

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 26:21

he

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 26:21

player like still can't tackle very well.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 26:23

Yeah. Still can't tackle, but then had a really good spell in in terms of past for um, pass, uh, you know, losing my words here, sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night. Um, in terms

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 26:34

What we up to?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 26:35

um. Yeah, working. Working in the, unfortunately,

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 26:40

Just sitting there all cold of a candle.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 26:42

yeah, yeah. Not fun when the weather's like that in my line of work. But yeah, I would suggest that Forbes will be a good cornerback in this year, in this league, but he cannot, he cannot tackle against the run. He got literally run over, didn't he? Um, again, last week. I wonder if there's any chatter about Adam Peters and. moving on from him so fast that when you see what

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 27:05

There was, there was, there was earlier in the season. There was, and it was like, I mean. As as it, it just, it does go to show how, I mean, no one's annoyed at in moving on. So this is the thing, isn't it? You, you saw what you saw someone else saw something else, got some traits and coached them up. So that's coaching for me. Um, let's get some predictions on the game then before we, uh, go over to my chat with Brett. Some, some score predictions. James, you did, you didn't give one to G yet. What's your score prediction?

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 27:35

No, not yet. Uh, I'm gonna go. This, this is a tough one. I got Pats to win. Uh, I'm gonna go by a field goal again. I'm go 2017 Patriots.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 27:55

17 Patriots, James.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 27:59

I am gonna say it's close, late into the fourth quarter for the Patriots win 2113.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 28:08

21, 13 and Lee, I'm going, uh, a bit of a less, fewer points overall. Um, going for something a bit weird, but nicely weird and wacky and wonderful. Not no weirder. I'm gonna go for a for a score. You probably haven't seen much. My update is probably not a score. Darby, I'm going for a 1512. The Patriots. I wanna see some safeties, some missed, missed field goals. Missed PAT. Maybe trying to get to that weird 1512 score on you wouldn't see that. It's like a rugby union score. I'm going for that. Patriots win 15, 12.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 28:45

Okay. Something to look out for, I guess.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 28:49

Bit weird and wacky.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 28:50

Yeah. This one could get weird. potential. They both played in weird games in the last round, so

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 28:57

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I think they've got it in them.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 29:02

I.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 29:04

There's not a lot on.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 29:06

what you, what are you guys doing for the early game? Are you staying in or,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 29:09

Yeah, it's, it's not early enough to go out really, because it, it'll be like half 11 or like 20 past 11 when it finishes. You can, you can do it, but certain bars. But as I think I said before, the playoffs, like once it gets to this stage, it's a lot of the fans of the teams. Um, and you kind of get, can get a bit taken over with band groups and stuff and you might not have a good. See your experience as much as usual. Um, and as dry January rolls on, for me at least, I'm gonna stay at home. So get a zero and watch that one at home and actually try and sort of dissect a bit of the game as I go for our next pod.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 29:44

I remember back in Uh, Bodine's soho used to be Thanksgiving and the, uh, championship Sunday. N-F-C-A-F-C used to be there. Their busiest days. I think I went there for one Sunday for the NFC game, but probably left at halftime, as you say.'cause it's, it's pretty late by the time it finishes.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 30:04

Have we have, we got a few minutes to touch on the coordinator search. At the moment,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 30:10

We can do. Yeah. There's not been any commanders chat thus far apart from our.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 30:13

it's,

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 30:14

being in the championship game, so go, go for it.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 30:16

I'm now very much concerned they don't know what they're doing. Um, known we've needed one since when need gets, when did he get sack?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 30:25

a given.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 30:26

November.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 30:27

Well, a bit earlier than that probably.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 30:29

Yeah, exactly. Uh, yeah, I, I, I don't think they're gonna get their top targets. you know, they could be in a position where we have two coordinators calling plays for the first time. Um, which while some of those younger ones are exciting at the same time, I don't necessarily want Raheem Morris. I, I, I don't think there's really a plan here and that I see they interviewed like the Steelers DC yesterday, like. There's the, some of the young ones they have interviewed have gone on to interviews of others. There's so many openings. There's been so many changes of head coaches moving, taking their dcs with things like that. There's so many openings. How appealing is ours? I don't know. the longer this goes on, the long, the more I am concerned about the direction they're taking and how it's gonna look. your thoughts?

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 31:20

The amount of openings is a concern, isn't it? This feels like the most has ever been the NFL, and when that many head coach changes, obviously staff go with them and coordinators get poached. So there's some openings I didn't even know were open in terms of coordinators. When I, when I looked at it the other day, say, yeah, I'm a little bit concerned. I never, ever thought that the Flores thing would, would come to fruition. As I said, I thought that was the play to get the big contract so that that kind of happened. We'll see if he does get offered a head coach a gig, but in terms of who's left and what direction you want to go, as I, I wouldn't be that excited about Morris and we'll just see what, see what happens now and then. In terms of, um, Al Harris, he got interviewed at Green Bay as well, didn't he? Which is obviously a much better defense when you've got like Parsons and stuff there. Um, so if he wants to stay in, in the division, then that would be an opportunity for him. So, yeah, I don't know, maybe.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 32:24

They would do, do, do you think they would've gone the same route? Do you think they would've been expecting to have an experienced DC in by now and that's why they went for Lau first time play Caller, because it'd be quite unprecedented to have two first time play callers.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 32:41

For me, I don't, I don't think there's a massive correlation on both sides of the ball. I

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 32:45

I.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 32:45

they definitely liked LAU in the building and when Detroit made their moves to try and interview him, I feel like that's the direction they were probably gonna go. Whether the McDaniel. Firing them, put a spanner in the works. Hopefully a conversation was had there. yeah, I mean the, the blouse side's the bigger risk anyway. Right? Because if you are not an offensive minded he head coach, then it's not like you can just step in and call play. It's not that I rate him doing it on defense anyway, but in terms of, in terms of the DC we obviously knew that was the opening that was gonna, well, it's been there since Yeah. You know, Halloween or whenever, and the fact that. We didn't make a move super early to get, or we didn't get one locked in early. Does kind of concern me now with how much stuff's they up. Maybe we'll end up with a coach from someone we've never heard of. I, I dunno, I think we interviewed someone from Seattle, didn't we? Um. In terms of like a, backs coach. So maybe that that's the direction we go. There'll be someone out there to take the job. But if you, if you have two first time play callers a head coach that his staff has completely struggled and had one of the worst defenses in living memory, then there's all sorts that can go completely wrong off the bat, I don't think he has the luxury to have a terrible two months start to the season. Does he? So see.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 34:08

No, let's, let's delve into this next week, and maybe we've hired someone by next week when we're previewing the Super Bowl.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 34:15

Yeah. My, my prediction was, was what you said, Lee, is that we would end up with a, an unknown who's a positional coach at another team, maybe under a good, a good older or defense, but we haven't heard the name before, which would be really, really interesting what you say to have someone. Both sides of the ball. That's really an experience, but plenty of time to talk about that as and when it happens. Uh, we will be back for a preview show of the Super Bowl, which we'll also obviously recap the conference games. Um, I heard talk of some trivia. Who knows if Lee's gonna be too busy to do that this week? Hopefully not. Maybe it falls out a bit and you've got time to do some trivial, like you said.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 34:50

if he gets his priorities right.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 34:52

Nice.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 34:53

done. I like, I like Super Bowl trivia.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 34:55

Nice.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 34:55

we'll have a, we'll have our Super Bowl preview shows and then I guess we'll have a, a defensive coordinator hire emergency style pod and then probably one big free agency show Super Bowl. we might have a little break until, until

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 35:11

my bold prediction is they hire the DC like an hour before the Super Bowl starts to kind of bury the lead it'd be someone disappointing.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 35:18

Yeah, that, I mean, that's usually when we, in the Schneider area is when he used to release. He used to release the reports on his terrible behavior, wasn't it? Around Bowl.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 35:26

Well, Lau was kind of weird timing. That was the old Friday afternoon news

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 35:30

Yeah. Yeah.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 35:31

was

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 35:31

Yeah, true, true.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 35:32

So interesting.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 35:34

Alright, well, uh, we didn't ask you what you are doing Lee. What's quickly, what are you doing for the games tomorrow?

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 35:39

Keeping

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 35:39

I just got a, I, I just got a group text, um, which I don't

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 35:45

to.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 35:45

on iMessage anyway, but, so there's a table of nine of us, seven of which are from Boston. So gonna be quite intense, I imagine, because my friends from Boston have friends visiting them. So we have a table booked, so I'll be out for the early game if I can get there.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 36:02

Nice. Ooh. Well safe travels if you do. Try and breathe it. Um,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 36:07

Yeah.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 36:07

thanks for coming on.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 36:09

Get your little more tight on Lee.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 36:11

Three,$350 minimum. That should be no problem with nine. I see.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 36:16

Yeah, my, I won't attend a Boston accent, but maybe I'll clip something in here from the Departed. Um,

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 36:21

Yes.

36:23

Who let this IRA motherfuck in my bar? Just kidding. How's your brother? Uh, she's on her way out. You all are. Act accordingly.

josh-host567_1_01-24-2026_172020 36:34

Alright, thanks guys. Enjoy the games tomorrow. Um, you'll now hear my chat with Brett Walker from the Brett Chat Sport podcast. But until next time for us three Hail I.

james_1_01-24-2026_172019 36:45

Hey.

ledders_1_01-24-2026_112021 36:46

Hail.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 36:52

I'm joined now for the final part of the podcast by Brett Walker from the Brett Chat Sports podcast. Brett, it's great to have you back on the pod. We had you preseason and we had a good chat about all things predictions for the league wide and also your the love England Patriots. are you doing? Anyway, it's been a while

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 37:12

Yeah, I'm doing very well. Thanks. And it's, uh, you know, it's an absolute pleasure to be, uh, invited back on. I really appreciate it'cause it's, it's, uh, it's, it's always good to chat to you Josh and yeah, it's just a shame uh, James and, uh, your brother couldn't join us.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 37:27

Yeah, it's been tough to get everyone aligned around this time of year. I thought it would be easy in January, but everyone's busy. Everyone's got stuff going on and we just haven't quite managed to all get together at the same time.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 37:37

Nevermind.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 37:37

all good. I'm very glad that you're here because it means that at least one of our two teams are still alive in the hunt for the Super Bowl.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 37:44

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 37:45

it's not the commanders, but it is your New England Patriots.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 37:48

Yeah. If anyone, yeah. Well, actually, yeah, we talked, we talked about this at, at the start of the season, if, if anyone was gonna get to the, uh, super Bowl, or at least still be in the, uh, in the chance of getting to the Super Bowl, I would've, I would've thought it would've been the commanders rather than. For Patriots, but I am certainly not complaining that the Patriots are in the Championship game on Sunday.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 38:10

No. Good for you. I'm very pleased for you and good to have you on to talk about it. We will talk about, uh, that upcoming game on Sunday and we'll talk a little bit about how the Patriots got there and whether or not this was a big surprise for you. But before that, let's go through. Um, if you remember, you made a number of predictions. A lot of contributors made a number of predictions before the season started, um, for things like surprise playoff teams and MVPs and, and. All that kind of stuff, and I've got the the spreadsheet up, so you're not gonna be able to hide away from the predictions that you

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 38:42

Hey, I don't mind. Hey, I'm, I've set, I've said to you off her and I scan by it. You know, like some of those predictions I think were made in very good faith. They just didn't work out for whatever reason or other, but I, I scan by all of them.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 38:54

Okay. Nice. All right, good. like the confidence. Let's go one by one of them then before we talk about the Patriots. Um, we had surprise playoff team and you had the New York Giants didn't go particularly well for you.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 39:07

It did not, but like, I mean, again, I stand by that I mean like you look, you look at that team, there is some, there are some very good players on that team and it just didn't work out for them. What I will say is net season, that team should hopefully be. In full health, uh, you know, like neighbors is gonna come back. Uh, you know, like they've still got Tyrone Tracy, they've still got Jackson Dark, they've still got Abdul Carter and Brian Burns and

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 39:35

Mm-hmm.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 39:36

absolutely wonderful defense. So, I mean, those guys under John Harbo, I'm gonna say now, before the 2025 seasons, even though that they are going to be a force in 2026.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 39:50

Yeah, I'm a little bit worried as a Commanders fan, I'm a little bit worried because I, I didn't, I didn't hate this, this prediction from you and I thought actually it was gonna be a really competitive division, but they didn't, you know, they had a shot. If Jackson Dart was, was something to, to hang their hat on. They had obviously a weird. Quarterback room heading into the season with, with Winston and Wilson and Dart. Um, but as you say, John Harl, he makes a, a big difference for them. Um, that sort of level of stability and, and head coaching expertise and kind of sustain, sustain success. Coming to New York is a worry, but you know, I kind of prefer it when the teams in the division are good and we have a good rivalry. So I don't think maybe you could, you, if we do these predictions next year, I'm not sure I'll allow you that as a surprise playoff team.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 40:34

Well, no, I, no, no. I'll, I, I will, I think I'll, well, they've had, the Giants have had two very good drafts in 2024. 2025. They're gonna have, they've got a good draft pick again in 2026. I'm forgetting what position they are, but they've got a good draft position in the first rounds. If they can nail this draft for a third year running, then may, they're gonna set themselves up perfectly to have a, you know, to, you know, to have a good 2026. And as you say, you know, if, if you've got strong teams in the nfcs, it makes for the best of your vision. So, and yeah, and, uh, as much as I got to like the Giants, because they've caused me a loss of Super Bowl hurt in the past, you know, like I, you know, I wish them well and it would be good to see them playing well.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 41:27

Alright. Enough on the Giants, but I totally agree with you. It was a fair shout before the season, um, offensive

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 41:34

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 41:35

of the year, you had Ashton Gente, who a number of people in our predictions had a very fair, um, prediction. I thought, given how he ran the ball in college, unfortunately he was on the worst team in football with the worst offensive line in football. And we often talk about callbacks going to, um, you know, bad situations. This was just a bad situation for him. Ultimately, I think.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 41:53

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, I, I, I'm sure there are some people who dig, but I don't think many people could have anticipated just how. Bag lead the Reagans were gonna do this season. Like I, I saw, I saw Pete Carroll go in there, and maybe I'm biased because he was my first Patriots coach when I started watching the NFL in the late nineties. But I thought, alright, Pete Carroll's going in, he's bringing Gino Smith with him. They are going to be at the very least decent. And they're going to at, they're gonna at least cause. The cheaps and the charges, some problems, and that didn't happen. They beat, they beat the Patriots at the start of the season, but otherwise they didn't really do much help.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 42:39

Yeah, and I think ultimately. They are gonna be hoping for obviously the, the, the superstar quarterback with the number one pick right to

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 42:49

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 42:49

their fortunes around. And I think that that could potentially turn the fortunes of, of Genti around. But it's more about the offensive line, isn't it? I

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 42:56

Yeah, exactly.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 42:56

him, because he was getting hit in the backfield by NFL caliber defenders very, very early and just wasn't able to flash as much as we'd hoped for him. So I, I actually, you know, I said, oh, I, I didn't hate the Giants pick. I certainly didn't hate this pick. So I'm letting you off both of those.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 43:11

Oh, you are very kind and, and as, and as it stands, I think you, I think there's a very, there's a very wide open feel for AP Offensive Rookie of the year.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 43:20

Mm-hmm.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 43:21

Like, as much as I would love it to be Tray Young, Hankerson, um, I don't think it's, I don't think anyone's got a clear, uh, shot at being named. And I think if anything, it's probably gonna be a te I'm gonna say this wrong now. Tera roa, McMillan of. Panthers will probably get it. And I don't think anyone could really argue.'cause he's, he, you know, he played well throughout the year and then he got better towards the end of the season and, you know, good on the lag because, you know, the Panthers haven't had a lot to shout about, but they, you know, they were, they were starting to do better in 2020, towards the end of 2025. And then the, the, well, they still weren't great in 2020. Sorry, the, the skys even better. 2024, but they weren't great in 2025, but they did reasonably well in Big Oxford playoffs. And we, we gave, uh, the Rams a very good run for the money in, in what was a very good wild card round game.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 44:18

It was, it was, it was a hell of a game. Um, I was reading your, your piece on, on that weekend that you put on

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 44:25

Good man.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 44:26

and Yeah. Just to, just to plug it. But it's great. I really like the way that you managed to kind of distill such a crazy weekend into not so many words.'cause often I was looking at a number of pieces on the athletic and different websites and they were just essays. And I was like, I've already spent, you know, x amount of hours watching them. I kind of wanna, wanna read a bit more of a succinct thing. And, and you did a great job of that.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 44:47

Thank you.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 44:48

We had, uh, uh, Alex Iff, who, uh, is one of our listeners and good friend of mine, he's a Pans fan, and he predicted McMillan would win the Rookie of the year. It was a bit of, um, rose tin glasses from him before the

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 44:59

Hm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 44:59

I think he's, he's had done a good job there.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 45:01

Yeah, absolutely.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 45:03

that the, the, uh, finalists had been announced for both of, of those,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 45:07

Yeah. Yeah,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 45:08

Yeah. So it's Jackson Dart. Amika Buka, Trayvon Henderson. just say Te McMillan, it's easier.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 45:15

sure. Okay.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 45:15

Tyler Shale from the Saints and I think McMillin is likely to win that one. But, we can move on to defensive because I think this is the one that you are particularly unlucky on actually.'cause, and, and not a lot of us did pick Abdul Carter for, for the Giants as the defensive rookie of the year candidate for our. Predictions. Um, he has made the list of defensive rookie of the year, um, finalists. from what I can tell, he is not the favorite. I think Carson Schweisinger for the Browns is, is the likely favorite, but Carter had a, had a great year, got better throughout the

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 45:46

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 45:47

and did finish with the best overall, um, rookie grade as a, as a, a past Russia and was top 15 in past rush grade and pressures PFF. So Carter had a great year. He was just sort of eclipsed by someone that came outta nowhere.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 46:02

I think, you know, I think it's, I think you are probably right and same that weinger or get or get defensive rookie of the year. But you know, to go back to my previous point, you, you're getting a, Abdul Carter's gonna be under John Harbaugh. That's. Next year. And, you know, we know that John Harbaugh teams, uh, have good defenses. You know, he, you know, he's harbaugh's very good at getting good defensive coordinators in, whether that's, you know, Mike McDonald's, who's now at the Seahawks or whoever, you know, so like I, I'm predicting good things for Carter in 2026.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 46:38

Yeah, me, me, me worryingly, so me too as well. Um, but that's, that, that was a great shout. And I think, you know, um, he, he did come on a lot as well. I think there's a tale of two seasons. You often get with, or two halfs of a season, you often get with rookies as well, uh, as they kind of gradually learn and things click for them. Um, and I think more things will click for him next year.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 46:57

Yeah. And you know, that's it. That's, that's true of the offensive rookie of the year as well. Like start of a season. I think we were all going, oh, okay, this is Quin Chung Jug, jug Kings to give away. And then he kind of. He kind of disappears, you know, like first four weeks of the season he was nailed on to get Rookie of the year and you know, he's, he's not even up for it now.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 47:18

no, yeah, that's a good point. It's, it's always, uh. Don't, don't, don't go too early in on, on proclamations early in the season when we're watching football, for sure. Um, MVP, you had a, well, I thought was a, a rogue shout. You were the only person to predict a non quarterback as MVP in Justin Jefferson.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 47:37

Yeah. And you know, and again, that was very conditional and I think I was just, I was just let down by the situation in the. The, you know, the, uh, the Vikings didn't have a consistent quarterback all season, you know, like JJ McCarthy plays at the start of the season. Then it was Carson went, then Max Bros McCain in, and then it became JJ McCarthy again. So I think it, it boom, that consistent see quarterback, then maybe we would've seen that kind of production. But it is what it is. And, you know, we, we've instead got the, the MVP. Shortlist that we've got, and I think that's a, I think every single one of them is worthy of being on there. But I'm gonna surprise you and say, I don't think Drake may should get MDP like I, I'm, I will very gladly go along with the narrative and the bandwagon that says, give it to Matt Scaffs.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 48:33

Yeah.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 48:33

Matt Scaffs, Matt Scaffs played consistently well for 17 seasons. So, alright, give, give him MVP in recognition of. A job well done for over a decade and a half.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 48:47

I must, I must admit, I was, I was gonna ask you about that because obviously you've got, so you've got Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake May Christian McCaffrey, and Matthew Stafford, Stafford as the finalists. And it did seem to be a two horse race between May and Stafford, or certainly that seems to have transpired recently. Um, and I was gonna ask you who, who you would want to, to, to win it in this scenario. So I agree with you. So we, we won't have the debate or the argument that I thought we might have. Um, I would like Stafford to win it, and I think it's probably fairer that he. Does. Um, and we'll come on to a bit of conversation about why I think that's the

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 49:19

Sure. Yeah, absolutely.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 49:21

which you can probably guess or, or I'm hinting at. But, um, yeah, I mean, may has had a Fanta an incredible year, all things considered, but I think Stafford deserves it. And yeah, I liked your shout there. It was, it was a bit rogue to go for a wide receiver. Um, but, um, like you said, again, the situation let you down. Um, let's talk about then your, so I, I guess in, in one breath we can talk about your Super Bowl winner and, and loser. And, and in that you predicted the Chiefs to beat the Eagles. Now I will tie this to a prediction I made. Um, my bowl prediction was that neither of those teams would make the playoffs this year. So we were very much at odds in

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 49:58

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 49:58

uh, who would end up winning the Super Bowl or even getting there. I was very pleased that the Chiefs didn't make the playoffs. Um, I wasn't that confident that would happen. Um, and obviously my, uh, heart over my head wanted the Eagles not to make the playoffs. They did, but then they obviously lost to the 49 ERs. Um, the Eagles could have gone further potentially if they'd have, they'd have won that game, um, for sure. I think it was just one of those matchup things and, and disappointment from their side chiefs less so, I guess the end of an era for the chiefs.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 50:31

Maybe. So maybe like, you know, we, I think, I think we're in a situation next year where the chiefs are probably going to miss the playoffs in 2026 as well, because unless for some kind of like ridiculous recovery, Mahomes is not gonna play, you know, any of. Any of the, uh, 2026 season. So yeah, okay. Net season might be transitional. Uh, they might not make, make it, but then you have a situation where Mahomes can maybe get a couple games under his belt at the end of 2026, uh, and then he's roaring to go for 2027. So I, I am very hesitant to, uh, agree with its be of Dynasty because.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 51:20

Okay.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 51:22

The skill, a log of talent there, and I think anytime you've got Andy Res on the sidelines as your head coach, you've got a chance, particularly when you've got Patrick Mahomes playing quarterback as well.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 51:33

Yeah. Yeah, fair enough. It would be kind of rogue to, to, um. So write off Mahomes in any way. Um, even if some of the pieces around Tim aren't as strong as they were, but especially of Andy Reed on the sideline. And if anyone knows about Dynasties, it's a Patriots fan. So I'm gonna give you the, the, the benefit of the doubt. With that, um, uh, we'll go to the wild hot take before we

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 51:55

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 51:56

our team's records,'cause that the team's records will be a nice way into talking about the Patriots. Your wild hot take was that Aaron Rogers would get MVP votes. Now, I don't think it's public, the MVP voting yet. Or have you been able to find whether or not he did get any votes?

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 52:11

I have not, I've not, I've not seen if he got any votes, but again, I'll stand by that, you know, like the guy got to the playoffs in a system where, again, Mike Tom Ling did not have a losing season. Uh, you know, at the Steelers, and, you know, he's gonna, I think he's gonna go down as if he does nothing else as a head coach in the NFL. Mike Tomlin is gonna leave the NFL as a rec with a record that says he was a very, very good head coach.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 52:44

Yeah.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 52:45

So he's, yeah, I, I, you know, I'm gonna stand by that. Like, I don't particularly like some of the things that Aaron Rodgers has said in recent years. He's clearly not as good of a quarterback, but he had a solid season and it, it, you know. In terms of wild, hot takes, I mean that's probably a pretty tame hot take actually, that a guy that's four time MVP would get, might be in the running for MVP again, not, it's not only exactly the most controversial hot take I could make.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 53:15

I, I mean, I allowed it. I think we all agreed that it was, I think part of the, the conversation around that, I dunno if we discussed this at the time, but I felt like some of the, the intention was that way. Some people wrote him off after the season with the Jets was

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 53:30

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 53:30

premature, basically, that he, he had a, he had a, a year that he actually wasn't as bad as people thought, who looked at the record and the team that was around him and that he could bounce back. So it was almost as you, you went so far as to say MVP votes, which is obviously quite what, quite hot take. I think so. Fair enough. Um, but him being way better than, than. The year before and actually kind of bouncing back was, was, um, again, yeah, a, a fair, a fair prediction that just didn't quite come off. But as you say, he, he, uh, well maybe he did get an MVP vote, you know, a rogue one. We never know, I guess, until that gets announced. But as you say, he made the playoffs and, um. I mean, I mean in terms of a dynasty, the steel is not a dynasty, but in, at the moment under Tomlin, because they haven't had as much success in recent years. But that is the end of an era and,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 54:15

Exactly. Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 54:16

coach that I am very fond of, um,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 54:19

Mm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 54:19

has done a fantastic job storied franchise, um, with some very interesting characters on the team over the years, uh, to be able to, to manage like Levion Bell and all of those guys. And, um. At the same time, he did a good job. So

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 54:35

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 54:35

to him. Whatever he does next, I think he might be in, um, on TV in our, on

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 54:40

Yeah, I think I was, uh, I, um. I can't remember. Yeah, actually, yeah. I'm, I'm gonna give a little plug here. Uh, the whole, the whole, the whole 10 yards on BBCI player, uh, Phil McGeen and Phoebe Shep, to make a very good point that the wording that came out of the Steelers was that Mike Tomlin had let the Steelers know that he wants it to walk away. And so that very dramatically changes a coach's ability to go into another job.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 55:11

mm-hmm.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 55:13

the other, the other franchise would have to pay the steel as a lot of money and compensation because he wasn't fired. He made the decision that he wanted to walk away. So yeah, I think there's every chance that you see Tomlin in a, uh, in a, in a com, not, maybe not in a commentary brief. See you, you'll see him in the studio on Fox or on ESPN or you know, CBS or NBC. And that would be a, as someone who's coached in the NFL this season, I think that would be a very interesting person to have, you know, in the studio for a Super Bowl.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 55:53

Yeah, absolutely agree. cool. Let's go onto the final predictions then, which were our respective teams records. We did ask everyone who contributed to give it a commander's prediction, uh, in terms of record, and you went with a 10 and seven

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 56:06

Yep.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 56:07

um, didn't quite go so well for us.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 56:09

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 56:10

your, your outside thoughts looking in on, on the season that we had in Washington.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 56:13

Uh, well. Uh, again, I think, well, I mean the NFL being the NFLI can't really say you were unlucky with injuries'cause everyone gets injuries. But yeah, you were, you know, you were, you were hit by injuries. Not as badly as some teams, but you were hit by injuries.'cause you know, Ja, Jay went out. Uh, and you know, that's a big, that's a big hit. Not that Marcus Mariota necessarily did a bad job.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 56:40

No. No.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 56:40

But you know, you, you, you take away, you know, you take away the starting quarterback that's gonna affect any team. So yeah, it is what it is. I think, you know, you regroup in the off season, you, you know, you come back stronger. You look at ways to mitigate, um, if, you know, if Jayden was to get English again. Find ways to mitigate that. And the same is true of the Vikings as well. They certainly need to find ways to mitigate the starting quarterback being out.'cause that was a situation, you know, that was a horrible situation per Vikings and things just didn't work out. I thought Kevin, Kevin O'Connell system was a system where any quarterback could slot in and seemingly not. So, yeah, you just, the command is, you just have to do that. You just have to figure out a way to mitigate for Jay and possibly getting injured again. But, you know, you'll, you'll come back and you'll be, you'll be better. You know, you've got, you've got good players, you know, like, you know, McClaren doesn't stop being McClaren. Deebo Samuel doesn't stop being Deebo Samuel. Just because Jagan is, is injured and the same's true for, um, same's true for someone like Zach tz. You know, Zach tz played well in spite of Jayden not being in mal lineup. So yeah, you, you set, you set to have a decent season next season is what I would say.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 58:03

I appreciate the, uh, confidence. I, I do tend to agree with everything you've said though, so I'm, I'm, I'm on the same page with you there. And I think in terms of mitigating the risk of him getting injured and his playing style, we, we've changed the offensive coordinator and Cliff Kingsbury's left and, and we've promoted from within. But I think a change of philosophy to a more, um, traditional NFL offense to keep him. Not, not in the pocket necessarily, but uh, to keep him getting, you know, fewer hits basically, um, is the key thing for him to be on the field. Um, getting tackled from behind and all this kinda

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 58:35

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 58:35

that is difficult to see coming has, has been tough for him. So I think they will try to do that and protect that asset and hopefully we will bounce back.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 58:43

Yeah,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 58:44

but we talk enough about the commanders on this podcast, uh, and we wanted to get you on to talk about your New England Patriots.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 58:50

of course.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 58:50

Dick did nine and eight, which you were kind of confident and bullish on, I would say, um, a, as a winning record with a, uh, Mike Vrabel led team. Um, the Patriots went 14 and free,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 59:07

Yep.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 59:07

congratulations.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 59:08

Yeah. No one can see this, but I'm smiling massively at that.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 59:12

you are. How much of a surprise was it for you that they, they played so well that they won the division, that they outperformed the bills and that Drake may have such a good year?

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 59:23

I think what I would say is with the Patriots this season, you've seen a team progress. I think, you know, at the start of the season, we started, we started the season won two. We Oscar the Raiders, we Oscar the skiers. Uh, we beat, you know, we beat the doll things in week two, in between those two losses, and then we started to just progressively get there. I think for me, the, the kind, the turning point was that week five victory against the bills on prime time mite football. Sorry, not mite football. So Meite football.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 59:57

Yeah.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 59:58

for me was the, uh, the turning point. That was the game where you could see that when Vrabel in the locker room afterwards was saying to the, saying to the guys, you can hang with anyone. They actually believed him and they were then able to build on that and get to a situation. Were not only did we, you know, win the a FFC East again for the first time in six seasons, but we've, we were the number two Cs. And, you know, boo, we had a, there was a chance that we could have been the number one seed in the fc and that was a, that was a magnificent turnaround year on year. And it, for me, it, it just adds fuel to the fire of the argument that says Vrabel should have been the person that Robert Kraft hired when Belichick was sacked. Not, not that I will ever. Complaining about Jared Mayo being hired because I respected Robert Kraft keeping his words to Jared Mayo and making him the head coach. But yeah, Mayo just was not the right guy at the right time. Whereas Vrabel proven head coach, you know, years of success at the time. Hess Tysons, let's, let's see what he can get at the Patriots now that he's home.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:01:21

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, I just, my sort of 2 cents on the turnaround, I, I did see a, a positive season up there, but I did not expect this level of, of ch, of turnaround so

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:01:33

I agree.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:01:34

And I think it, I, I, what I don't wanna do is point to it and say the opponents on that you've played.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:01:42

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:01:42

it's an easy schedule or anything like that because I don't think it, it is necessarily, uh, I just think that. The way that Vrabel has made the best of the roster that he has so quickly has been the most impressive thing to me.'cause it's not like it's an untalented roster, don't get me wrong, but

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:01:58

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:01:59

not the best on paper in the league, is it? I think and, and it'll be fair to say that, and I think. The way that they play complimentary football is really important in terms of both sides of the ball and special teams. Um, the way that they have a huge home field kind of advantage and crowd again, throughout these playoffs. Now, unfortunately not on this Sunday, of course, going against number one seed Broncos away from home, but. Having those games at home and, and being able to kind of, to, to, to get that magic back in the fan base. Right. Who can see that they might have success again. it was always a sleeping giant after the, the success that had happened previously and Tom Brady leaving. It was just how quickly for me it was gonna happen and fair plate of April for turning it around

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:02:39

Yeah, exactly. We're building something like we are building something and that is that, that is heartening to see.'cause you know, even last season, only Jared Mayo, I was like right, okay we've got an absolutely abysmal offensive line, but Drake May is clearly talented. Drake May has clearly got even last season in 2024. You could see that there was a connection there between Drake May and Keon Booty. And we saw, we saw that come to fruition spectacularly against the, the Texans. You know, so you could see that there were good pieces on that 2024 Patriots team all not to long sell it because he's, he's doing a magnificent job. But what all variable has done is coming. Brought in solid guys like Robert Slan, like Howard L like Harold Landry, but has sued up the defense and then he's, he's done what needed to be done, which was make, make the offensive line better. Not that that was gonna be difficult, but he's made that offensive wine better and hopefully. In the drafting in free agency, we continue to make the offensive line better, so, so that we're even stronger and we're giving Drake may even more time in the pocket we're giving. Drake may even more room to rush if he wants to rush. And dear goodness, can that lag rush if he wants to.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:04:12

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I agree with that. I think you don't wanna rest on your laurels in terms of protecting a quarterback. Just, just keep going at it and building that offensive line, especially of that sort of, um, identity that you've, you, you've, that faywell clearly wants to instill offensively as well. Um. In the interest of time, we, we have discussed the, the crazy game against the Texans on the podcast, and you have written about it in, on your substack.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:04:34

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:04:34

So I guess if people want to, to, to hear your thoughts on how that that game transpired and what the keys were for the Patriots, they can, they can do that. If you wouldn't mind, we, we'll just preview Sunday's game

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:04:44

Sure. Okay.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:04:45

Um, a lot of history between these two teams, uh,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:04:48

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:04:48

playoffs. Um, I want to hear your prediction to close out the podcast, but. I guess more broadly, your thoughts on this game and how, how likely it is that you could pull, pull off this game. Obviously the context being that Bow Ns is out for the

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:05:04

Hmm.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:05:04

very, very important.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:05:06

Yeah, I, I'm, I'm clearly biased. I will, you know, I will signal my bias right now, but I, I would say that. I think we can just about scrape a victory in this game. You know, I think we are, we are helped massively by the fact that Bone has, you know, fractured bone, his ankle, which, you know, I said this about CJ Rous, um, being so nervous in that game against the Patriots and in the previous Weeks's game against skiers. I, I genuinely am sacked for Bow Nick that he, he's. That he's fracture bone in his ankle because, you know, the, the, the guy has done really well these past two seasons, and so he deserve to be playing in an a FC championship game. But yes, I think it, it gives us that it, it opens the door slightly for the Patriots now, and it all, well, not all we have to do, but we just have to get past one of the best defenses in the league now and. I think we've got enough on offense that we can do that. We got past the Texans in a very ugly game. I cannot understate how ugly that game was. Anyone who watched it could see how, what a mess that game was, and yet we got past a Texans defense that in some categories was better than the Broncos defense this season. So. I think we can just about scrape through because we've got enough on defense that we can keep the Bronco's offense at day.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:06:44

Okay. Well, good to hear it. I like the confidence. Um, you, are, you, are you familiar with, with Jared, obviously the Patriots did draft him sort of in the fourth round, I think it was, uh, a number of years ago. Do you know much about him? He's gonna start for the Broncos.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:06:57

Yeah. So I mean, he's not from. He's not thrown a touchdown. He's not thrown a touchdown pass since 2018. You know, that's how little he has played. You know, he, I think the last time he started was 2023, and that was for the Raiders, I believe. You know, so he's, you know, this is a guy that, you know, was drafted by the Patriots. You know, he sat under the, the Tom Brady Coaching Tree. You know, like he was in that court quarterback room with Tom Brady, and so he's clearly learned some sc but he's not Tom Brady, not by any stretch of ear imagination is Jared Skin and Tom Brady. Like when I, you know, when I, when I found out that bone had broke his, uh, fracture bone in his ankle and it was Jared skin scaring for Broncos, I was like. Yes. You know, we've got a chance, you know, you're telling me there's so, you're telling me there's a chance.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:07:56

Yeah. Okay. That's good to know. I mean, I suppose the way the quarterback carousel happens in the NFL, you, you may often end up coming up against guys that you know, you drafted or played for

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:08:08

Yeah,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:08:09

go, oh yeah, I remember that guy. He played for us, or he was on our practice

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:08:11

yeah,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:08:11

in relief a few times. Um, but it's rare that it happens in such a game like this,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:08:15

exactly.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:08:16

uh, because it means it has to have been an injury in the previous game. Um, it's, you know, no one gets benched like that at this

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:08:21

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:08:21

So,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:08:22

That being said, the Patriots have got, the patriots have got forms of, uh, falling to a backup quarterback in a championship game. Like, you know, we, well, you know, we lost, it falls in 2018 and you know what third placing it falls in the Eagles. They deserve to win that Super Bowl, but I'm just hoping we don't get a repeat on Sunday.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:08:44

Yeah, fair enough. I don't, I don't, I don't wanna give too many props to enter to the Eagles or Nick Foles to be, to be honest with you. But, um, it's a good callback. Um, okay. I'm just gonna trouble you for a, for a final score prediction at the end, but what's your, you know, what's your biggest concern heading into this game? Is it, is it the, kind of the air in Mile High Stadium? Is it the crowd, is it anything particular on your team or on the Broncos team? What's the thing that you're most worried about?

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:09:10

I would say that. The fact that this game is being played in Denver, it does make a difference. I, I, I don't think you can, um, undersell the fact that they are playing at altitude,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:09:25

Hmm.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:09:25

you know, so it's, the Broncos know how to play at that stadium and that, that altitude, the Patriots necessarily don't necessarily know how to do that. I would. I would've hoped that the Patriots would've gone out earlier in the week so that the players could have acclimatized to being at that altitude. They haven't done that.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:09:46

Interesting.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:09:47

You know, it's, so that's my concern is the Broncos have the Broncos know how to play at that altitude, and they have got an absolutely exceptional, uh, defense.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:10:01

Yep.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:10:01

As much as, as much as Miles. Garrett will probably get named Defensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honor. Nick Benito absolutely deserves to get named Defensive Player of the Year for me this season. You know, given that he's the figurehead of this app of what has been an absolutely amazing defense. So yeah, that's my concern. The altitude and the fact that we're playing against some amazing defense.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:10:26

And, uh, if the old adage holds true, then defense winning championships, they, they might

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:10:31

Exactly.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:10:31

through, but we will see. Okay. Um, Brett, what's your final score prediction for the game? I'm gonna have to pin you down for one.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:10:38

I am gonna say that it is going to, it's gonna be something like 13, 10

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:10:44

Okay.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:10:44

be, I think there are two very, there are two very good defenses there. And one, one offense that skill. Goats starting quarterback. So I think it's probably gonna be something like 13, 10 Patriots. And it's, it's going to be tackled by a field goal. It's gonna be tackled by and boal, uh, kicking a field goal, maybe if in furnace this was being set about the Bills Broncos game. And that ended up being a fantastic back and forth a fair where it was first three first. So if we get that game again, I, I would love that. But yeah, I'm gonna, you know, there are two very good defenses there. So let's, let's say 13 tenths of a Patriots.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:11:34

Okay.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:11:34

am not going to begrudge the Broncos if they win.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:11:38

Fair enough. And, and I won't begrudge the Patriots if they win because I'm ready for them to be good again. So I don't mind, I'm not in one of these kind of guys that's saying, oh no, it's only been a certain amount of years since the dynasty and stuff. I'm, I'm rooting for you and I'm rooting for the Patriots.'cause I kind of wanna see an old school Patriot, Seahawk Super Bowl, um, as the matchup, which would be, which would be. Good for me.'cause 2012 when that last happened was, was kinda the prime of my, uh, fandom back then. Uh, and watching games out and about and talking and writing about football. So, um, for this

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:12:09

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:12:09

at least, so Patriot Seahawks is what I'm gunning for. Um, and, but I'm, I'm very much rooting for you on Sunday.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:12:15

If you'll allow me to, I'm gonna disagree with you. I think it's gonna be the Ramsay of Super Bowl

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:12:22

I

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:12:22

I've.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:12:23

I think it will be too, actually, to, to make it, to be clear, I think I want the Seahawks, but I think it'll be the Rams.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:12:29

Yeah. Yeah, I think, you know, the Rams have got, the Ram's defense isn't as good as the Seahawks defense. Bugger is not soggy at all

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:12:38

No.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:12:38

and I think they've got a better offense. So for, and they've got, and there's more Super Bowl exp Super Bowl experience for at the Rams. So, yeah. I'm gonna, I'm gonna predict Patriots Rams. In the Super Bowl and you will have to have me on again if you want, if you want to know who I think would win that Super Bowl Matchup.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:12:59

nicely done. I, I promise we would have you on as well. Um, and we have a couple of weeks between as well, won't we, to, to make sure that we get a good, uh, all of us together. So you can chat to Lee and James as

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:13:09

Yeah.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:13:10

that if it happens. I hope it does for you. Brett, thank you very much for coming on. It's a pleasure to talk to you again. Um, do you wanna do a, another quick plug for, for your, uh, Substack and for your podcast?

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:13:19

Yep. So you can find me, uh, online on Substack, on Medium, on face, on Facebook, on Twitter, on YouTube, at Brett Chat Sport. And yeah, you'll, you'll find my podcast. You'll find my, you'll find my, uh, weekly NL review on Substack and yeah, you, your, your. Your spec would be greatly appreciated because yeah, I'm, as much as I write it for me because I enjoy writing and talk about the NFL, you know, if, if more people can read and see what I'm doing and actually can enjoy, uh, Josh's appearances on the BCS podcast, then I would very much before.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:14:02

Excellent. Good stuff, Brett. Thank you. Enjoy the game on Sunday. I hope you can. I'm glad for you that it's the, uh, early game UK time as well, so hopefully you can watch that live rather than having to stay up too late,

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:14:13

Yeah,

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:14:13

the NFC one.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:14:14

definitely.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:14:15

Um, and we will chat soon. Thanks a lot.

brett-walker_1_01-23-2026_155849 1:14:17

Yeah. Alright. Thank you very much for having me on you. Actually, it's ab, it's always an absolute joy to talk to you.

josh_1_01-23-2026_155850 1:14:22

No worries.