Crystal Ball Regular Season Predictions + Bills-Patriots Preview

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Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast still believes in Sam Darnald Damn right from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansas heroes here, Greg Rosnthal, Mark Sessler. We got well, we got but thirty minutes so left in the final UH game in the group field for Group B in the World Cup, USA holding a one nil advantage over Iran. Mark take it from here. I like a game like this because I don't naturally aligne with what um Iran stands for generally, So it feels like an actual international message where you're gonna root for the stage. Mark stepping into it again. If you're a longtime listener of the show, he famously had a dust up with Iran and our There was no dust up. It was a scenario where Greg and Dan creates something out of total fin air. It is a very strange place to be here, Like the game started out eleven in the morning. I learned that US scored the first goal as I was walking up the stairs between makeup and uh, you know, the the lunch area, and just allowed cheer went all over the building and I figured that's gotta be a goal. And it was I got you a beat. I was on live television right as the goal was scored, and they I said, uh, to Andrew Siciliano on NFL. Now, wow, you know America's power rankings. America scores a goal. And then big brother got my ear and said, I don't say anything about the other football it doesn't exist. It was Bill Belichick. They do not want you to understand that this is happening right now. There's also a problem at this office though. People have feeds that are faster than other feeds. So for the second near goal, which was overturned because you know they were offsides, there was a huge cheer somewhere else in the building, while everyone that was eating lunch and quietly watching the game had no idea what happened. Then the goal is taken. Then you hear that oh and five seconds ahead of time. Somehow we survive. This is the Tuesday Show. Hey, if you want to close the door formally on week twelve, you check out the Greg Rosenthal Monday Night football recap. And I think Greg's really made that show his own mark and with Phoebe Scheckter this week breaking down just an exhilarating UH Steelers win over the cults. Actually, not a bad game's kind of a fun. It was a good bad game. I would call it where are you standing on your Colts fandom mark two weeks later? I mean they made the game competitive towards the end. The first half looked like a lot of pre Jeff Saturday, Uh, nonsensical play, But then Jeff Saturday inserted some nonsensical items in himself in his own little branding. The game is not different. We don't build rockets to go to Mars. I listened to the Monday night and uh, it's a There's nothing more delightful than driving down here around six thirty in the morning getting half an hour of Greg in my ear. But Greg does an excellent job in it, and Phoebe Scheckter did an excellent that's her, that's your choice, so check that out. And we got a lot more content for you today. We're gonna preview the first week third team matchup and it's a good one. It's the Patriots at the Bills, and I would lock the hell out of those Bills if it didn't break one of my tenants of lockage, which is don't mess with Thursday night football. It's weird. Wait, didn't you break that tenant just a few weeks against? I learned a lesson, That's what I'm said. I'll never well, it was a rule and I just didn't think it out, and I learned my lesson never to make that mistake again. You like to break rules once in a while. I know, Well, the bad boy of NFL media. I think that's been well. I used to call me that, right, it's now shifted actually due to some recent events, and uh yeah I am. It's subversive and Mark I call the rule follower of NFL media. It's like, tell me where to be, tell me what to do, punching, the punching on the clock, punch out. I mean, I think I could not be any farther from the truth. Um. Anyway, So Thursday preview, Uh, we are going to also look into our crystal ball and make some I don't know they're predictions. It's more visions on how the balance of the regular season will play out. That's fun. Uh, we're gonna do some news. But before we do some news, let me just check in real quick. Here. Let's see we four teams three weeks ago today. Let's see if we and I'm reading this in real time. I don't even know. Let's see, is there any team that we're concerned about here three weeks on? The Packers, Nope, nope, they lost two of three. They needed to find a way to a part the Titans or of course the Eagles in addition to the Cowboys. They didn't. So they're cooked and we're gonna get to the Packers in a second. The Cardinals feeling good after they got two point conversioned out of the playoff picture. Potentially the Jaguars. You know, we're okay, we're where that's trending, But I don't feel it's a totally different situation. There are three games back with the written all over them. I don't know if they're gonna win seven or a row to go to the places playing their team of a t L this week. They're going to cause problems for other teams. That's exactly what observed the Steelers, who you talked about Greg yesterday. Um, they're getting better pickets, making some strides, but that's a team that's developing. They're not going to the dance again. The a f C, the Colts, see uh, the Texans, woe begone, there's moribund and there's woe begone. They're both and uh, the Panthers will be good there. But you know, Sam Donald Donald in a wide open division there, Yes, Mr Justin with Nick Shook on the Week eleven recap show, we also forked the Browns I forgot about. I feel okay about that. That one I was a little not nov us about, just because the Browns I think are a little more seven lost team with with some hard games seven no matter what their their offense already has been very good. I gotta say, of all those teams that we buried, the only one that I even have a little bit of a little more about is the Panthers because I think they're gonna be one game back if the if the Bucks don't win next week, and and I think they got a little drop hit it. Hit me with it, a little Donald, hit me with it, Hit me with it, Sam Donald. Sam can do a lot for himself. And by the way, I don't tough, you don't always appreciate our friend Jason Zumbat, the Voice of Around the NFL, speaking for the group, saying that we believe in Sam Donald. I am taking myself out of that mix y, Okay, I mean I also don't. I don't know what we say by believing and dom I believe that he's probably I believe he had a nice game on I wish quality person, but I'm not believing in him as a quarter. But you say a fairly quality person. I don't know him. I didn't meet him in person, and was he very kind? And that was kind, But that was a photo little spot in time where he's just sort of doing what someone's asking. I wish I could quit Sam Donald, but you know what, I'm kind of back in for the balance of the season. He's got an offensive line now, it is a better situation than they had a year. I wish I knew how to quit you. I came. I came for you guys on the Baker Mayfield takes, and I feel like I got a w there. Now Sam finishes the season strong, and that will be my personal geno Smith. If Sam can finish this season strong, we'll take him to the playoffs. Then if you get to eight wins there somehow, if they go four and two down the stretch of p J. Walton could happen. But I wish I could quit him, all right, the US uh lining up for a free kick here just outside the box. I mean, they were in good shape. They've had a lot of opportunities here, Danny, let's do some news. They've been the better squad, y'all. Honestly, I've been wanting to say this as a part of the the team, but like you know, since everything happened back in August, Man, I promise you, like everybody in this room, have shown me traditional love support. Man, help me get to this point for real, man, I can't be more thankful for everybody in his room. Man, y'all people turned to the most after going through what I went through. Man, Just you know, to have this opportunity to do what I did today. Man, give all y'all. Creator, Man, thank you all. What a story it wrote about this in the Power Ranks. What you can check out on NFL dot com, the latest which is up there. Um, the qualifications for Comeback Player of the Year, as we know, are nebulos to begin with. So why don't we dispense with any overthinking here and give the damn award to Brian Robinson Jr. The command was running back who was shot twice in the leg in August and Uh, come Sunday, you not. You returned to the lineup on October and on Sunday he looked like the guy that Washington thought they were getting of the third round pick in the draft. He's a great story and that was a pretty cool moment moment in the locker room after another commander's win. It is I think that you just shooting him in as comeback player of the Year, which which makes a lot of sense from a lot of angles. Um feels like an arrow sent into the soul of Greg who's got a Geno Smith uh card he's like to place in for you can't take away what's happening with Gino this year. But that doesn't bother me personally. Unfortunately, I have bad news for you. I just googled whether rookies are eligible, and someone wrote an article about this a month ago. Actually, the associated prested wondering about Brian Robinson specifically, and they were given a separate email specifically that rookies aren't candidates because the criteria are based on what happened in the previous NFL season. Or sent an email out about the situation. I'm just giving him. Don't thank you for the update. But can we stop being so precious about a kind of a silly thing like we once gave Philip Rivers this award just for being crappy the year before he was sent the qb inext he was fine well. And also why can we not amend some of these from yesteryear? This is a special occasion. It's not going to happen again for for decades. I mean, Gino, what is Gino coming back from? Right? It's from from being wrongly vetted by the New York Giants. Uh and sticking it to I would like a most improved award? How about that? That to me is a little more specific award and nobody and I think that's a very that would be a meaningful award. Your guy is at a certain level and you show do we have that? I think that we got clear clear for the the massive popularity of this show relative to everything else. Why don't we have more juice? When do we start getting juice? I did put some numbers out about our popularity today, the rare move that we've had over ten million downloads in the last three months. I saw that. I just saw that. Oh, give me a break, if like one of these shows that NFL Networks up three percent in October, like in a certain demo they're setting in that out. We can't honk about ten millions. I'm talking more about the competitors. They shouldn't even know how far behind they are in the race. Leave them in the dark. Let's get to it. Aaron Rodgers. Do you think Aaron Rodgers? Why lead the news of Aaron Rodgers? He's the quarterback of a three eight three and eight? Are there four and eight football team that's basically even in the NFC, which is not as nails as the a f C Right now, they're pretty much cooked. But he's Aaron Rodgers, and he's the defending two time m v P four times overall. And when he left the Sunday night football game against the Eagles with an oblique injury that looked quite painful, he was concerned that he had a punctured lung. That's that's how um serious he thought it might have been. When he exited that game in Philadelphia. He was on, as he usually is, um the Pat McAfee show this week, and despite speculation about Jordan's love, who finished that game in a in a very impressive manner, getting a start this week ahead of the bye. Rogers made it sound like he doesn't want to see anything to the kid. I got good news with the scans yesterday, so I plan on playing this week. You're still playing in the NFL. You're still playing. I know hard to believe, isn't it? And I don't. I don't. The way I put that that was weird. Uh The way I put that makes it sound like I'm like, Oh, Rogers isn't gonna let the kid blite. No, he deserves every right to play as long as he wants he But at the same time, there might be Packers fans market that are like, kind of want to see the kid because we got to figure out our future a certain type of Packers spankers. I'm sure there's still a pocket that looks at the NFC like we're saying, there's still the chance here. If Aaron Rodgers did what we're used to do in the past, which is with the Green Bay Packers, run the table down the stretch, it's not happening. This isn't that team. I mean, he's earned the right if he's healthy, feels healthy, strong enough to play, to just say this is my decision. It's a different situation than other teams. I do think though, that there has to be a pocket of Packers, fans, and probably people within the building in the front office thinking this would have been a great chance to see Jordan's love, just because realistically, with the way the NFL works now, you would have an opportunity if you're Green Bay, if Jordan's love looked great, to hang on to Aaron Rodgers and maybe shop Jordan's love, or in reverse, if you want to inject your seat from a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and probably has one more year after this year, if he decides to come back at all, send Aaron Rodgers to a team like the Jets are fill in the blank. That would give you a big jump start on rebuilding a new team. I am amazed, or I want more information on the timing of this. I want more information on a lot of things that happened around Aaron rod just like I don't know if you saw that de Shaan Kaiser interview where he said the first thing Aaron Rodgers ever said to him was asking him if he thought nine eleven was real, and then went through a whole bunch of other conspiracies that Aaron Rodgers kind of got it was he said to look into Like the first thing he said to Deshaun Kaiser was looking to study it, study it up. But he was just saying, do your research, Aaron Rodgers. I want to know what the medical situation is within the building and the expectation of Aaron Rodgers playing this week or not before he said this, because for him to say this on a Tuesday podcast appearance kind of makes it so that he's starting this week. I'm curious, right, I'm a little curious though, just like if they have already deemed him medically available or if he just feels that way, because sometimes players are more optimistic and then the doctors are they've got a bye week coming up, for instance. Uh, he might have seen that Bears Jets game and thought like, man, this is a time for me to go roll up some numbers and just like get His brother was like, yeah, let's get White, Mike White on the field instead of Wilson for this Bears game and get some good vibes. That's probably what maybe Matt Laflour is thinking. And speaking of Matt lafore, did anyone notice after I know it was late in the game and it was kind of decided, even though it looked like it was closer the final score. On Sunday night, after the first Jordan's Love touchdown to Watson, they cut to Matt Lafleur, um, you know you had what you had? You had love on the bench and holding the iPad, and Laflour was like leaning over him in a smiling, animated way, like chopping up. All right, what do we was like, have we ever seen like that with Rogers, especially this all season? So you're so funny at the moment, Like Matt Lafleur hasn't hasn't looked happier. He looks so thrilled to just be chopping it up with this kid quarter at who probably is like listening to him. Yeah, we should point out Matt Lafleur said, as long as Rodgers is healthy, he's starting. He said that quickly after the game, and he also Rodgers also said previous to this interview that he intends to start if healthy, as long as they're mathematically in contention. And at that point, like right at that point, I guess he was saying he understands, uh, the idea of Jordan's Love playing, So there's a lot going on. I get that Aaron Rodgers is super extra, but is it so out of bounds for quarterback who's been their guy forever if he did get good results away from or within the team walls to say I am optimistic that I'll play, that I want to play because I'm planning on playing this week. But I don't think it's it's like a Macavellian thing. It's like, I think, if anything, it puts out his intentions. I want to play. If the team shuts him down, it can't it can't spin it all this thing where Aaron Rodgers is detached, he doesn't care, he's willing to shut himself down. I'm just curious. I just I'm curious, And there's no way to know of what, like the front office is reaction when they first heard him on the mcafe show. That's well, I'm sure they've had reactions to multiple McAfee appearances. At this I was going to think that's probably how they start their week. Let's watch McAfee's show and see what's going on to our team. Uh And by the way, the Packers have a bye week in fourteen, so they're gonna spank Chicago, and um, that's what I mean. It makes sense, Well it does, but not now I'm thinking about he won't. He'll play until maybe they're mathematically eliminated. They win this week, they hit the by the Vikings clinch the NFC North of the win over the Jets and a Lion's loss, I believe. But this now becomes about the wild card obviously for the Packers, so they'll you know, they'll probably be in the mix until week fifteen, sixteen. You know that's gonna go eighteen weeks. Just let me know how those things go. All right, let's move. The Texans can be officially eliminated this week, Dan, I know that is on your mind. They would be the first thing. What would be cooler than them actually refusing to do that and stop losing and make the playoffs. Beat the brown just beat that would be great. Quickly, there's quickly become heroic too many. Uh. The other huge disappointing NFC team is the Los Angeles Rams and their star defender Aaron Donald. He has a high ankle sprain. We're learning, uh, and he's uh. This week he's been meeting with doctors determining the severity and Greg. Apparently there's some reporting out there that uh Donalds, who's only missed two games his whole career, could be shut down Allah a potential Matt Stafford situation here. Yeah, I saw it from Jordan Rodrigue of of the Athletic uh She She reported that, I'm not sure if it's elsewhere. I trust Jordan's than anyone in the world at this point. Don't expect my mom right to see Aaron Donald again this season. First, put your mom on her heels first. Jordan Rodriguez hit the scene Jordan Rodrigue's second God three competition not over ahead taking the bronze here, rodrig in a big spot. I think it's fair to question the timing and the decision here. And I don't have a problem with the decision, but just with the way it's coming out here. He finished that game, he played sixties snaps and if they were if they had their own draft pick, people would say, well, this is tanking. I think this is probably closer to doing an all time great player who doesn't have anything more to prove a solid and also thinking of load management a little bit for next season for Aaron Donald. And that's fine paying him a lot of money to play football, but I I would guess it would come more from the team then than it would from Aaron Donald. But that's just yes. The Rams, of course, a part of their trade to get Matthew Stafford, they dealt this year's upcoming years pick to the Lions, so the Lions stand to get you know, the Rams are I'm checking out tankathon dot com slash NFL. They're all They're all the way up, the defending Super Bowl champion is all the way up to the number three overall pick in the NFL draft, and they're not too far behind their half game behind Chicago. Houston's got that thing and say they're most likely pick is too. I I feel like Chicago wins again if Fields doesn't play. Fields returns. But we used to go to cozy in after various NFL events were not events or just a regular day and like, but there would be times at these events that would go into the night where suddenly Dan Hansis was not there. He pulled the old Irish goodbye, and he has Irish heritage, so he's skilled at it, like the Rams are pulling and Irish goodbye to the season. That's sort of how I see. It's like, well, well said, it's not a tank. There's no real purpose there. It's just like get higher in the second round. I guess, But that seems so. I mean, that's don't worry about playing the last month of the season. Got a second round pick. Pick needs to be two slots higher. But I guess literally that is more effective than anything else they can accompany. What a mess this year is. Okay, we've got some developing news here from uh the soccer game. Zimmerman just came in as a sub mark. What is your analysis at the eighty one minute too early? Too late? Do you like the move? I like the move. I think I think you're saved for last minute spark here. Okay, I know the intonation is that I don't understand the sport rereg but I actually spent all Saturday watching American English. No, none of us um are experts, so I think we all are are owning that. No, not an expert on this side of the table either, but we're look at this, this is compelling radio. We got about we got about ten minutes. Three guys watching television will be long hanger by the time. Mark much like my parents initially thought this was radio thinks it still thinks of it as cut. Well, it's don't even correct. It's just cute um sound in your ear unless you're one of these goons watching on YouTube. Sat at the Debbie and Tom they're pretty loyal. They listened to around the NFL now on their walks. So that's well, hello to both of you. What are they think about us? I think they just joined in like a year or two. One of the things Market, one of our new listed other huge fans. They always ask about the more than you know your wife? Everyone everyone, everyone, Greg's wife or do they like us more than Greg's wife likes us? That's what he meant. But either way is we need to questions. I think everyone in the family recognizes, um, we're We're all family now, we're in this for life at this point, this is this is it career wise, I'm not moving on to a second thing. All right, Well we're gonna get that on paper at the end of the with like nine other podcasts. Not moving on to a second thing. Uh, injury update. You know it's a bummer, but this is the way it goes. It's a very physical sport. American football, and the offensive core of the forty Niners was healthy and all together for two weeks and it was fun and it was scary, and Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey formed a terrifying duo in the backfield. Well, Elijah Mitchell is back on i R with another MCL spring. I think it's in the other knee. So he just can't figure it out in the m c L game this year. He's out six to eight weeks, which do the math that takes us what into into January, maybe deep into January. Um, so you have Mitchell back out the door. Christian McCaffrey, by the way, he's dealing with some knee irritation and he was kind of in and out of the line. Keep an eye on the Niners there. UM also Chauncey Gardner Johnson, who has been a huge pickup for the Eagles. He's out indefinitely, according to um Tom pell Sero, who we call the Pells the pell Raiser, He's out indefinitely with a lacerated kidney. That doesn't sound pleasant. That's a big loss for Philly's secondary And we did mention, uh the Bears, Kyle Mooney their wide receiver. The Saturday Night Live expert start video maker for Chicago this weekend either well yeah, you didn't let me finish cople Mooney will not be playing for the Bears, will be working on internet shorts. He's also a hundred and twelve pounds. Darnell Mooney their wide receiver. He has done for the year. Uh moved to injured reserved with a foot issue. I believe suffered against it. I love Kyle Mooney. I was watching and I remember the padres I think in the NLCS or World Series, and they showed like the front row and there was Kyle Mooney and like heavy padres gear, and I was like, there, there, he is a real dude. I didn't expect them to be a sports guy. Um. So there you go. That's the injury updates and big losses there. I'm worried about the forty running back situation. I don't know why they treated Jeff Wilson, who they leader, a leader in the club, like one of their captain type of guys that that everyone looked to. And you have two guys in McCaffrey and and uh Elijah Mitchell who always are injured. Well, like I looked at this a little bit. Mitch, you'll obviously missed games this year. He missed him last year. You know they also traded or he mustered to Mike McDaniel's team. So I like the trade route between San Francisco and Miami is almost like we really want to help you become a force, and now we're gonna play you this weekend and you have half our players. But where he must start miss like thirty five games dating back to seen with the Niners. Jeff Wilson missed games. Now you have Christian McCaffrey who's historically missing games left and right. It's like McCaffrey aside, like I would like to, if I had time, or if I cared enough, look into the sports science situation in San Francisco's running back room, because it is, well, Tevin Coleman is miss games, but now Tevin Coleman's the guy that Matt Barrel said, never under estimate Shanahan's fondness for veteran Tevin Tevin Coleman, who now is a major factor on a team that two weeks ago set an embarrassment of riches in terms of, well, let's just get Frank or Let's get him out of the boxing ring. That thing is. That's not a good look. Let's get him back on the field. Get your boy the inconvenient true in that back field. Give a nice three point six yards per carry. It doesn't really fit with the Shanahan sort of one cut and go. I just want like four or three speed guys. Should they usually go for like Tevin Coleman back on that two thousand sixteen Falcons team. Uh tendency breaker? All right, let's take a break. The future is a mystery, and that's the beauty of it, but also what makes it scary. There's a frightening element of not knowing what happens next. Here in the NFL. We have six weeks remaining in the regular season, and we will use our powers, our crystal ball. In fact, now, do we have a crystal ball physically? Maybe something for the prop department to get on next year's segment this year, just imagine it. We will look into our crystal ball and we will predict how the regular season will play out for several teams. Mark, get us go. I'm gonna start with an individual prediction on December week seventeen. Why'd always start with Mark, I always make the same mistake. This is a prediction. It's kind of a stake. Odell Beckham, now at this point, nestled with the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football against the Titans, makes an incredible one handed grab down the right sideline that on tape resembles a carbon copy of Beckham's rookie heroics from after the game. Jerry Jones, a top eight, number one seeded Cowboys team tells reporters. I've said before, O'Dell has always been like a son to me. We're proud to have him wear the star on his helmet. Every segment takes on a similar form for Mark. This is a specific play prediction in postgame reaction, I'll take the prop I'll take the sandwich problem and a team prediction. I called them the best team in the end. They were. They're going to be the number one seed already by December twenty nine, because there's still two weeks left of the regular season. But I think if they beat the Eagles, Cowboys, Yeah, that was that was couched within that graph there that I just read. Do you have anything on like any other air travel issues for Odell between now and December twenty nine. I think that will clear itself up by then we in that in that um recollection or vision rather of what you saw in the Crystal Ball. Did you go into depth about how you and Dan would feel about it, because on our on our YouTube show, the graphics says that it will annoy you guys. That's what I headlined at that Odell will be as well. Likely well, because I didn't hear that. I didn't hear that. I kind of just let that be the spirit of it. But I think that you and I are slightly annoyed by love the Odell Beckham is made of O'Dell and you know what, he kind of quieted that a little bit by being at times a dynamic player for a champion RAMS team before blowing his A c L. But he does get a lot of pop for a guy that hasn't had like a one thousand yard season in six years and is on the wrong side of thirty coming off a reconstructive Some guys are just bigger stars than they are I think, maybe, but a rare guy that crossed. I'm also asking you to imagine, like if he does what I just said, he duplicates almost exactly the one now is a cowboy in a major game on Thursday Football against a Titans team that could be highly seated, Like, you don't think that's coverage, won't get an annoying twenty four hours. I see, if he does something special to warrant all the attention, he gets less annoying if he If he does nothing and he still gets covered as if he is justin Jefferson and Randy Moss rolled into one. That that's what sometimes gets in my radar with Odell. I'm not even giving him heat about the airplane thing like I smashed in Miami. We've not even touched that. The man just trying to pass out in peace on the plane after party in Miami, and they're giving him the business for him. The agent went a little hard on the flight attendant in terms of some of his scriptors. I mean, I'm willing to just understand or feel in my mind that that I don't know that whole story and I never will know it, but that I'll just recognize and to discuss it. You know. I'm just I'm just saying I'm not letting him off the hook, but I'll never really know, right I think he was, Yeah, that might be It could be very but we don't know. It could be simple. I think I care about the professional of the flight attendant to be a lot of people to listen to the show or flight attendants. I presume, well, this crystal ball vision is uncomfortably close. We have different a second crystal at Iron's got a big shot here, hang on a little free kick action where in the minute they have nine minutes of extra time, we just missed to the left. He's in pain mentally mentally the Americans celebratory. That seemed like an American woman right there. Now, I am, I am curious and you're right, uh, I'm curious how much of our our English listeners have now turned over to this game because they've they've celebrated a romp over Wales three. Nothing but be proud of yourselves, England. You still you still won the group stage. It was a little embarrassing how you were outplayed by the US, but you know you got the job done well. I think they'd be one of the second team. I'm rooting for England, all right. Let's why why I wouldn't know why you would feel that way, Because because because what I mean, because I we've who you or do you have some do you would you like to see them suffers at your cake? No, of course, I'm I'm England's fine, They're cool of me. I wanted to all right, let's get back. My house is a big Samurai blue household. So Japan is the number two spots. And because the kids wife very unfortunately, they play at two in the morning. So what's really the alright, my crystal ball, Yeah, we got them from different stores. They were actually store bought crystal balls. Um, but we had access So I got mine from a mystical wizard atop a mountain. But we have access to spell only people on TV uh can go to Illuminati crystal Ball. And when I looked into it, it was similar to to Marx and it involved the Cowboys, and it was that the Cowboys would be playing for the number one seed in week eighteen. Wow, you guys really are unlocks. I know. I wish, um, I wish our crystal balls were a little different so that we knew that they were so almost confirmed. I mean, you're you're having it's true, you know it's a good thing. Or we got the exact same crystal ball from the same store, and then I want to refund the same visions. This team right now not only is loaded defensively number one now in d v O A, they've passed the Patriots, and that's a fake Patriots number one. They got the Colts and the Texans. They're at Jacksonville, which is frisky. But then they have that big game Saturday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, which could wind up deciding the NFC East. You mentioned the Thursday night affair against the Titans. I don't necessarily think even they have to win both of those games. As long as they beat the Eagles, I think they're gonna be in position to go get that one seed. I am a believer in what Dak Prescott is showing me right now and when he's at his best, and he's had some ups and downs. Those who are fans of Dock, and I consider myself one of them, have to admit that some seasons haven't been better than others. But when he's right, he's a top five quarterback, and I think he has the looks of a top five quarterback. And this defense and this team and a pretty good offensive line that can run, block and is well coached. With a top five quarterback, watch out. I'm with you on that. I like, I like the opportunity they have. I struggle, I just said, playing for it. I still have the Eagles in the Super Bowl, so I got the Eagles just ahead of them, so something's gonna have to happen there. And forty Niners, even despite the injuries to both those teams I just mentioned, I still think it's they're the clear top three teams with the vikings after that, and it feels like a coin toss. But you just looked into a crystal ball, So that tells me a lot. And now, no matter where it came from the store, you keep mentioning the low grade stores, Well you got yours in a strip mall. I did go to a mountaintop of a man with a long white beard and a blue hat with stars on it, and he said, take this read the future in a profound, real way, not a kid way. And I said, all right, I don't even know what that means until you guys told me about your crystal balls. And it's like, oh see, he really does Merlin knew what he's talking about. Well, hit us with it where you know, I have to acknowledge. And I did empowering is this week the Bucks? I feel like West it was a WESSI is um he used to say, you know, trust the game, not the name. And the Bucks with their pedigree and their recent track record of success, and of course the quarterback and the supporting cast that we've come to expect, um good to great things. It just hasn't happened. And I just thought that the Cleveland lass that featured six three and outs just a real lame overtime performance. Um, it just tells you as we turned the calendar to December, this is it. This is this is who they are. They're never gonna be an explosive offense. And I know they play in an NFC South with you know, marginal teams, mediocre to bad teams, right, But as I look into this crystal ball, I see continued issues for the Bucks. They got a game Sunday night football or Monday night football game against the Saints next week that I could see going against them. Then they go to San Francisco, then they host the Bengals, then they go at Arizona, then they get the Panthers and then at Falcons. And the crystal ball is telling me, despite everyone saying you know, they'll finish this off, they'll take care of business, they'll get right oh oh, the US in their own crystal ball. I foresee a win despite right here, with a minute, No, I believe that the Bucks will fall out of um first place or at least drop into a tie at the very least, and this division will be wide open as we get to those final division games in week seventeen and eighteen. All they have to do is lose their next game and they're they're out of first place or they're tied with the crisis for the Bucks, and that's what will happen. I mean, he's scored twenty two points or more once since Week four. It's just not happening. I'm with you. I think I came out of I know they only scored twenty one points in Germany against the Seahawks. Something about that game, the way they ran the ball, they there was you know, Julio Jones involved. You kind of self, Maybe this is the thing that happens with Tom Brady in general. You've been through all this crisis, hemming and hawing. He's had a tough autumn himself personally. But now you round in his shape and the nucleus of Tom Brady comes out along with the rest of the team, and then you go in. It's like, guess what, You've just been bested by one of the better quarterback stories in the entire league this year. Jacoby Brissette, who knows Tom Brady as well as any guy around the league, was not a starter and went in there and took it to the bucks. That's the first time Tom Brady ever went into the final couple of minutes of a game up seven nothing, ups by seven points and we're felled. He did it to Tom Brady. As you two watch soccer, I might my words go into the complete ether. I'm simply wasting my time. There are seconds left in the match, Mark I. It was. It was a tricky decision. I just was like attempting, we are running, we are operating the show here. Still blame Qatar for moving this thing to actually do and they can come to my house. They have an issue with have you ever understood that? So they was originally in the summer, and then then they figured out, you know, the summer with the migrant workers that were tasked with building all those stadiums, where they decided the players can't play. We're through, by the way, and they've done it. The players can't play in the summer. But they had these poor workers building these stadiums in one and twenty degree temperatures. That's why they moved into winters entirely too hot. Yeah, it seems like a complete botch. Great job at we're through, very nice. That would be fun, so they so they're not got tournament with England, and I believe we'll be playing Netherlands. Who the FIFA world rankings tell me is eighth. That feels like a good draw. Former home of Mr F to a ball. It's a rivalry matchup. Mr. You're going now? Mr is now back in the States, and he's American to begin with, but he's a he's a world traveler, so who knows? He might be gar? Yeah, anything else? Anybodys have another one they want to throw out there? I do. I thought we were doing too. I don't know. We gotta keep moving here, but go ahead, all right if you feel strong. But you just had one and we didn't listen to it. No, he was replying to mine. You could have been doing his in that window. Kind I'll give you, I'll give you this one. Yeah, that's our little uh engaged we were, that's our fallow, I mean that is all right? Here we go. Oh, the six and five Chargers hit skits like an old downtown l A hobo, tumbling to the Raiders, getting smacked by the Dolphins and physically scorched by the Titans at six and eight. Brandon Staley's seat is wicked piss a hot his mission outdual x ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday on Monday Night Football in Week sixteen, in a super tight tilt, Mr Saturday shows he's learned from his past game management tumbles, going so far as to impress couch sitters on Twitter with his adroit use of a time out with thirty seven seconds to go in the game that sets up a game winning field goal attempt. Meanwhile, Brandon Staley is enthusiastically slapped on the back by numbers bods for going forward on fourth and three, fourth and five, and fourth and twenty one, all from within l a zone twenty five yard line. Problem is the Chargers fall fail on all three attempts in a game the Colts win in the final seconds thanks to Saturday's in game clock savvy Twenty four hours later, Staley is horizontal on a luxury beach and Turks and Kikos reading House Beautiful, while Chargers Ownership sits an hour five of a burning hot phone call with Sean Payton. Okay, first of all, a lot of questions here, House Beautiful. I need more context than that. That's a number, that's a magazine, that's a publication for people that are into uh essentially house interior decoration in house Nick next. Okay, Second of all, clearly Mark was not enjoying the the Nerds getting on Jeff Saturday, and I am putting myself in that group for time. Enjoy it. Fine, it's just like I mean. And the third I would just this is more of just like a point of information. If the Chargers were going for it on fourth and one, within their own twenty five, they were, they were on the four arline or the three, the tour or the one. So what a bold? That would be a bold. It's like going all out. And what he could tell was like an edge moment. Wanted to spell out the humor and ruin it. And I never want to shackle you, Mark, but you are aware that uh, your crystal ball predictions are exactly the same as your Friday Fun Show predictions and your sandwich props, and you're what's more likely they're all the same. I only care if the listener likes them. All right, well, that's the most important thing. Are we good here? Can we move on? I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it great? Are we good? Let's move on. We'll be right back and we'll hit the Thursday Night preview? All right, welcome back, and yes, this t NF preview is presented by Prime Video, the new exclusive home for Thursday Night Football. Is still new. It's new, but it's more like new wish. All right, let's get into it. A f C East tilt, Greggy Rosenthal, you got your new England Patriots and it's a huge game for the Pats. Let's face it on a couple of levels. They're coming off a competitive but still frustrating loss to the Vikings on Thanksgiving. That was their fifth loss. Um. You have to track these losses now as we're getting deeper into the season. If you go to um, uh, if you get beat by Buffalo here, you're in a bad way. Uh. You almost need to find a way. And yet the Bills have really owned the Patriots in the last couple of years. Yeah, after last season where the Patriots did not force a punt in the final two games that he played against, Josh Allen, I think who played quarterback at a level as high as I've ever seen any quarterback, and he kept it going the next week in Kansas City. Uh. By the way, I just don't know what answers they have. I know this is a different Bills offense right now than than they were at that point in the season a year ago. But Josh Allen's coming to Foxborough. It's supposed to be windy in this game. Maybe that helps you out. He's got the UCL injury. Maybe the weather, you know, the fact that he's playing outdoors and it's windy gives them a hand and you think, okay, running game that that favors the patrio. It's right. The Patriots are the worst running team in the league in E p A since Week six. I don't know anything about this Patriots team. They were one of the most mystifying teams I think in the NFL. They're they're asking Mac Jones to run an offense that goes downfield all the time, which doesn't shouldn't work against the Bells work last week though it looked great. Their defense is ranked super high, but they're really high in variance to whether either great or they're pretty mediocre, and they haven't been great against good quarterbacks. I don't. I think they have a chance because they have good things in their team that pop up, but they're very confusing to me. There's almost nothing that's been consistent about this team week to week, month to month, and that's very unlike a Patriot team. Okay, I was gonna say the the Belichick ft up hive was kicked up again on Thanksgiving because they were again a lot of self inflicted errors that you don't usually see from New England, especially this time of year. They let other teams um set themselves on fire as they soar to victory after victory. The over three in the red zone, I know Undrew Henry caught it, but over three in the red zone they surrender a kickoff return for a touchdown. They commit five penalties to create first downs for the Vikings. And is that because this team doesn't have the right balance behind the scenes on the coaching stuff. For sure, that's that's something you want to debate. Go ahead, but it does surprise me and Damian Harris being out of the mix again, that's not gonna help. They really have something, I think with Stevenson and Harris as a backfield. But how much of this is just the line and its inability to be efficient this year? I think it's almost all the line because Stevenson is awesome. Harris won't play in this game most likely, which is unfortunate. That kind of gets to what I was talking about too, that at points this year the lines looked great. Now Isaiah Winn is out, who hasn't played great. Uh. Overall, it's just been very inconsistent. They did block really well and gavemac Jones some time a week ago, which was the first time, so that's like something to build on. I just I just don't know what you're gonna get with this team. It was the first last two weeks. In the first two weeks from mac Jones has looked comfortable to me, and I thought last week was a real step. I used to your point with the Patriots, I don't know what translates from week to week. I mean, if you look at their winds, they came against the floating Steelers team, uh, the Lions who were not they were having their issues at the time, a Brown's team that was discombobulated, two wins over the Zach Wilson Jets, and a Sam Elnger led Colts team that got demolished by New England. So it's like where they but they beat them down in a way that other teams haven't all of those games. So that's what I think. Partly what's confusing though their defense. Their defense has has burned bright at times, but I don't really view this as a Patriots team of old. And last year when they beat the Bills, it was that super weird wonky game in that insane weather scenario where they passed for nineteen yards and ran the ball the entire time. But then you put them in a different setting and you got the Josh Allen version that destroyed them. The thing is that Josh Allen, I know that Tony Romo hammered this home to such an extent. I don't think the elbow is still an issue. You still see him throwing like Josh s throws that are like incredible, and he's still at the late game heroics. But the Bill's red zone offense has been a huge mass at large in part because of Alan's turnovers, his decision making, forcing some stuff. And they seem a little bit to me like they're they came into the first month plus looking utterly unstoppable. They've hit their own troubles. This happened to him last year. This is a great place for Buffalo to work themselves. Did you see Buffalo's offense? And maybe the elbow is something that you can't overlook, but flipping the switch the way it did last year down the stretch and becoming dominant, including in the red zone, because some of it is just this game, though necessarily is it this earlier? I think they I think they obviously feel comfortable against Belichick. And to the point the Patriots beating up on these bad quarterbacks, they're still great at that so that it doesn't make it more difficult to figure out who exactly the Patriots are now. One thing that's going to really help the Patriots is von Miller is not playing for the Bill Roles because he suffered a knee injury um on Thanksgiving and that's gonna put him on the shelf for an unknown amount of time right now. And you know, you're hearing things that he's gonna need surgery and who knows if he even comes back, and he is known as their closer, and he very much. Greg has filled that that void for them as this guy that finishes games off the defense isn't gonna be as good without him, no, And that's what made this team special was their pass rush. I think it's really important though, for them, the players they are getting back, especially knowing that Miller's out. Greg Russo is coming back. He's their best pass rusher outside of Miller, will probably flip sides to his natural side and is a good run stopper. Uh Tremaine Edmonds and Matt Milano are going to play together for the first time. It seems like in forever one of the two of those guys who are both really playing well. Milana is having a preposterous season and all pro type of seasons like that for an off ball linebacker. How he shows up every week is just crazy. And so they're healthier on balance. Jordan player has been in out and he's been back, and so they're healthier defensively and they should be able to pressure Mac Jones. This will be a great test for Mac Jones, because I agree Mark, that's the best he's looked all season. They he still like hasn't been totally comfortable with pressure, which I thought he was pretty well. He did a good job as a rookie, and so that's the next thing is not taking so many sacks. And this is a game where I think you're gonna have to avoid negative place because they just struggled to overcome. Mac Jones finally showed that he could throw the ball down the field, I thought against the Vikings he was seven for ten for a one seventy three on ten plus air yards throw after being the second worst quarterback in the league on these kinds of throws. I mean that. I think that is a function of the offensive function of him going through a really rough summer, um getting benched at one point. It's been a it's been like a such a depressing season. I think it's an opportunity, no matter what the Patriots do, for mac Jones to kind of rewrite his year two. If he can take what happened on Thanksgiving go forward. I don't think it's happening against the Bills that like there's there slump. Wasn't just Josh Allen, it was their health, like you just mentioned, they they went through this last year. I think the Bills, like I don't think anyone's questioning Josh Allen or questioning who the Bills are. These teams are confusing to me though, I'm not questioning who the Bills are, but I don't know if they're gonna be, you know, the best team in the league. I don't know how these last six weeks ago both of these teams could take off and it wouldn't totally shock me. I think the Patriots have the pieces and the coaching in place that they could go four and to five and one down the stretch. They could win this game and put themselves in a good spot. They've they've shown enough positives on each side of the ball that that's possible, and that belichickn out coach you for. They've got the Bills twice, They've got the Bengals, and I know people are still waiting for the Dolphins to get that kind of win, but the Dolphins look unstoppable to me and ten times more potent than New England. It's fair, well, let's see how it come on. You want to lock it up against the Patriots, I do, but for the reasons some of the reason we just talked about the bills, I think are kind of coming out of it after some turbulence, but they just haven't had that. You know, we're out of our mind right now stretch and I'm trying to think it. I'll look up the bills. Oh wow, why not locking it up? Justin says no. I was seeing if Sean could get the animation at Justin's hammered. I enjoyed it because I just was staring at In Mark's blue eyes, staring at Dan, and I was wondering, how long can we think? How long can we hold this moment? Because personally, that was my favorite moment of the show. We can't do a lot Bros every week because we're no longer you know, I A. I needed to separate from you at some point because I was one game behind you now too behind the leader, Greg m After last week's total implosion, a personal disaster unfolded. So you turn it around as soon as possible, and that's Thursday night. What happens though this game goes the other way. I think about that week and think about l A. Rams and I just start shutting people down. Left and right and start focusing on next season. I I think if I wasn't a Patriots fan, I think it makes a lot of sense. It's too uh, it's too much to the last time the Patriots beat the Bills. Yes, I believe it was gonna say Week fourteen, and it was a game in absurd conditions, weather conditions that completely negated what the Bills do. Yeah, that was a crazy game last year and they caused problems between the three of us because I believed in what New England did in that game, that's right. And then the Bills two weeks later went to Foxborough, and that's why I was checking the history of this rivalry, recent history. It was in Foxborough that they hammered the Pats and then did it again in grotesque form, in preposterous form in the wild card playoffs a couple of weeks after. I mean they were scared of. As someone who remembers those games, well, they were both preposterous. Yes, at least Mac Jones played fairly well in the playoffs, all right, it's good stuff. That was the t n F preview presented by Prime Video. The new era of Thursday Night Football is officially here. And it's only on Prime video. By the way, I know I didn't get this prediction in um, but it's a little connected to this game. I was hoping, and I tweeted about this that the Bill's Jets would be in Week fourteen. The Sunday night football game just made too much sense. Apparently that's not happening. It just doesn't seem like it's happening. And they might try to take the Bills Dolphins game the next week. We'll see. I don't really know, but here's my prediction to wrap this up. Jets are finally getting into prime time Week eighteen. They're the final game. I always tracked this more than anything, Jets Dolphins winning in for the Jets Sunday night football like they once. We're back in the day against the Bengals. Where is it in New York in Miami? That was the two thousand nine season. I think the game is in New York. No, they beat him in New York. I think it is in Miami. What a great used to wrap a season. Um. Yeah, if they if NBC, shame on NBC and everyone that works behind the scenes. It's on that show. If they don't flex the Jets in once and what's been a really exciting roller coaster season as this team has returned to relevance. If they can't figure out a way to get that team on a primetime stage for the first time in over a decade, it's a disgrace. The challenges out The challenge has been put out there, Greggy NBC. You know, essentially based in New York to take the Today's show based New York. Got a tons of Jets fans behind the scenes. What are they doing here this way if it doesn't happen. I'm doing some digging and I'm not happy what I find. Potentially, let's get Jets versus the planet. The team of a t L Jets Lions is Sunday Night Football. All right? Good and uh gregs christ the ball? Okay, I had another one. I don't want to be negative. I was gonna be negative about the other New York team that I don't want to do that. Let's just move on, let's say goodbye. In fact, look J J. Watt tweets Netherlands Ellipses American flag and then the Rock doing the arm out in the ring, like come come to us, Let's go bring it on, all right? This is Dan Hanss signing off four Quiet Storm, the Old Boss. Where there he is? What do you think you're tough on this kid? You know he's he's an up and comer, the Gray River Rose, it's all. It's a strong. Oh that's gross. Sorry, he's the call.