2022 Week 14 Preview with Neil Reynolds

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Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast got stuck in traffic on the way in This morning from the Chris west Link podcast studio, It's Around the NFL Dan Jansas with Greg Rosenthal, a hero who was stuck in traffic. So the Zummie drop works sometimes I think some waltz just inside my own brain, or he just like he's actually back there live reading it. Maybe maybe this is all just a what do they call it? A simulation in the end um Also, Hey, Mark, what's up? What up? Beach? I know you're under the weather. How are you feeling? This is a water Gate level disaster? What are some symptoms we're dealing with? Black coo does not come from me. I don't know if I buy that because you brought it up. Are you gonna be able to do the show with us today? I am attempting to. I cannot. He can't. You can't miss the Thursday preview show. Though, Mark, you're overrating my interest in in in the whole thing too. How about this, Greg, how about this? Give us one football take and then get back in bed. I think that Mike Rabel is one of the most underrated coaches in the entire league. Good take, especially in this time. It's not yeah with the Titans at all. Literally, don't care what your responses. Okay, wow, wow wow, later clowns Wow Toffy. Mark's not with us today, but in a way he always is. That that was rough. I mean it was mean at the end, clowns, Well, he can get me and sometimes as you know, as you know all too well, Greggy, Uh, this is the week fourteen preview. How about that we've already previewed the Thursday night football matchup between the Raiders and Rams across the sidewalk. You take in the family or anybody you're going to that game. I am not going to the game now, no, okay uh, And now we're gonna get through the rest of the week. I mean, if the Rams would have helped out by giving my daughter a little more enjoyment watching football over the a couple of months, we might be there. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She said multiple times, a Rams win. It means that much to her. So okay, So how old is your daughter? Now? Okay? How old am I? I think you know, forty two years old? Uh, you're eleven year old? Daughters team won the Super Bowl I get it. I get it, but it makes you a little less. Just let her know that it's not easy. It's not You can't assume success, not at all. She stays there to the very end of the game. She was so hopeful and crushed last week. But I think seeing a loss in person when I expect it to be lost, I hear that. I hear that. Anyway. So there's thirty two teams in the league, of course, six teams, Greggy on by that's uh six teams, you know, and did that by two games. We already we already did the Thursday night previous or twelve games to talk about our last buys of the season. I'm gonna miss him, you know I'm gonna miss them. You know, I know this schedulemakers don't keep fantasy people in mind. But hitting people with a six bye week in the final week of the fantasy regular season, I know you know what I'm talking about out there. Um, all right, let's get into We're also gonna have a special guest because you just heard from Mark under the weather. Uh Neil Reynolds are good friend from sky Sports over in the UK, will join us and draft on Mark's beh happy let's start as we always do with the prime time games, and yes, another flexed game. I believe this is flexed correct. Elphins at Chargers once again from across the sidewalk. They get a lot of use out of that facility. Stand Cronky raking it in. Let's talk about um an important game, I think for ball teams, Greggy, let's do it this way because the Dolphins licking their wounds a little bit pride, maybe a little hurt. After you go to San Francisco and you get humbled a little bit, both your offense, which had been unstoppable and the fact that you know the Mr. Irrelevant was the other team's quarterback for the last three quarters of the game. You still couldn't find a way. You want to prove people out there that you are legit and a contender. And the Chargers, as beat up as they are, they're still in the playoff mix and they kind of have to have it. They do. I think this is one of the biggest games of Brandon Staley's career as a head coach. There's differing views about his future. Some people, I think think he's gonna be safe regardless, but he's got the Dolphins this week. I don't think they're gonna win this game. They've got the Titans next week. I don't know if they can beat anyone that's halfway decent right now. They're not good at all the ways that you want to be good playing football when you're like, think about all right, we want to be a tough physical team. Every coach says we want to be a tough physical team. They can't run the ball, they can't stop the run, they can't rush the passer. I wouldn't say kill. Khalil Mack has been a letdown, but you can you need more than Khalil Mack, and he hasn't been an explosive pass rusher most of the season. With Joey Boson out there, and they can't protect their quarterback, that's a lot of things you can't do well. And it's one of the reasons why Herbert fans like myself have been you know, in defense mode. Uh, because I really do feel like this is a bad football team being propped up by a top ten quarterback when not much else right now. If they get Mike Williams back for this game, and it sounds like he's trending back that that will help out the offense a lot. Yeah, and uh, I think what the Chargers hoped was that Khalil Mack was going to be their version of Von Miller or what von Miller was until Thanksgiving in Buffalo Joey Bosa. That was just a killer injury for them because he is an elite uh pass rugger edge rusher. That would have changed the things. And he still has no timetable. Mike Williams will be back, but again, last time he came back in prime time. All these teams play the same six teams playing Brian time. Last time he played was in prime time and he re hurt, reinjured his ankle. And I think the offensive line you can't ignore that, I mean, uh, not playing with You played without your starting center, left tackle, and right tackle last week, and you saw it, and it affects everything, especially when you take out Mike Williams as well. So you can't bomb away and even if you even if you wanted to, you're not getting enough time to make it happen. And it's all kind of a a vicious stew for the quarterback. Yeah. Corey Lindsley, their center, who to me has been a bit of a Jenga piece for them all year. If you look at the numbers with him on the field and off was back at practice, which indicates he's probably gonna progress through the concussion protocol. Their tackle situation is still a problem. I think the Dolphins defense had been trending better until a week ago. Jalen Phillips is having a really nice season for them as a second year passenger. I also noticed by the way that he was like the is it the ed Block Courage Award nominee? That what it's called from his team, and he's a second year player. That's unheard of. I looked up and down list. He's the youngest player in the league to get that. To shout out to Jalen Phillips, but he's really been playing well overall. And then you flip it to their offense, and I think that was just a blip on the radar. I think they're gonna smoke this Chargers team. I think the put thirty plus points on the board. I will be curious to see. And this is a game where I think they miss having j C. Jackson. I know j C. Jackson started out slow, but I think the idea of having J. C. Jackson is you can mix up what you do defensively a little more and play play more pressed man coverage. The way that the forty Niners played the Dolphins, I thought was telling Kyle Sanny and knows Mike McDaniel and vice versa. They had their cornerbacks up on the line of scrimmage, trying to press them, just trying to mess up the timing just a little bit. And it seemed like it did mess up the timing just a little bit, which which spooked to a here's some data points, and I'm kind of with you. I think maybe obviously disappointing from Miami's offense, but there were still receivers running around wide opening that game, and two have just had a bad game. So I don't think you could take one off game for the quarterback and say that this isn't gonna work. I'd love to, you know, I'd love to, Greggy, but I can't. And then what you said about the Chargers and their defense being what it is right now, I mean they're averaging nearly twenty six points allowed per game right now, that's thirty in the league. And the Dolphins this offense, we know what they do to defenses that aren't ready. In fact, according to our research department, against bottom ten defenses this year, which Los Angeles is they're four and four, four and oh and averaging nearly thirty four points a game and over four d and twenty yards Ken justin Herbert Um some on somewhat on an island here, keep up with this Miami offense. That's what you want to see. We know what we want to hear Greg, we want to shootout, but is going to really need to bring it on offense to keep up with this team. Like one of the great playoff games of all time that we were in around four but everyone tells us and if you look at the score Kellen Winslow against the Dolphins and that was similar to this. I think it'll be fun. But if I could lock two games, I would lock this one up to But I'm not because I like one another one even a little better. But I feel great about the Dolphins here. Okay, great, let's hear from Mike McDaniel because that's always fun. Dolphins head coach answer question. He does have an arm. I think I believe too of him. Um, and it is strong. I'm not sure how much. He can curl, but he can throw the ball far. Very good player, challenging player that um our guys will be up for and exensive tests. Mike's McDaniel and Justin Herbert. It's always that little extra, little bitty thing that he adds Justin Herbert's two arms. Actually, very matter of factly, there are parallels between Rosenthal and McDaniel. Let's just say what it is. I could see you giving a similar answer there. I love Mike McDaniel. I didn't like though that you um, I think he uh, he's a unique personality, but I think you you have privately questioned you maybe just like he's he almost seems like he's from another planet. I think he connects with the players pretty well. I think he is who he is and he doesn't try to be anything else. And I don't think he's like inhuman or lacks like understanding of emotions. I think that I think everything you just said about Mike McDaniel, I could I could say about you as well. And I mean I don't mean that as an insult. I don't think he's an alien. I just think he's a little bit um coming from a different angle and and the way he puts things. Uh, I just find him humorous. And as I said, I'm no Dolphins fan, but I think it's good that a guy like Mike McDaniel could be successful in our league, so we could have some other archaeotypes for what a leader of a team can be. They gotta win this game to set up the Bills Dolphins game being as big as possible next week. Let's move to the other Oh, I didn't even think of that too. You got two a Hive and Herbert. That's the That's the only angle that anyone is taking. Of course, it seemed like them Dolphins a year ago had made a catastrophic franchise changing mistake by taking to a a pick before Justin Herbert. Now it looks better, but let's not get crazy. You'd still rather have Justin her Do you know? I like Herbert too, but I'm not a member of the Herbert Defense Fund like you and some other people. Um, do you guys have if this ends poorly on on Sunday night and he plays poorly? Do you guys have an emergency meeting before the Monday morning twitter takes? Or how do you play this? The the playbook in terms of how we defend Justin Herbert as well established DF We understand the two systems that they're in right now. And uh, if Justin Herbert was on the Miami Dolphins, he'd be putting up m v P stats too. That is, that's a pretty good defense. It's hard to argue against that. But how about Herbert balls out? Yeah, I want to see that. I need Monday night football. No, this is wrong. The Patriots couldn't be in prime time again. Well, you know what they could be would be in prime time four straight weeks, Dan, but they were flexed out of week fifteen. So just be thankful that we're getting the Giants and Commandos tie rematch in week fifteen because that would have been Patriots Raiders. Yeah, they're they're in prime time. I understand New England has a big fan basicis of all the winning, But what on Park Avenue were they aware the Tom Brady was no longer on the team when they made the schedule this season. I've got a theory about this. You want to hear yes, I want to hear it. It's driving me nuts. It's not a fun team, by the way. That's the other Okay, And I didn't really understand this as much before, but prime time game is a big deal to owners, you know, and I think there was probably some trepidation even of taking this week the Chiefs and Broncos out of prime time just because it's like the Walton's they just joined the family that was gonna be a big spot, and we're kicking the Waltons out of prime time. I think the Robert Kraft juice uh is a factor here. And you know, another team that plays in the a f C East that wears green, who everyone will agree is a very fun team to watch this year, we're still waiting for a prime time an owner without a lot of juice. I've got I gotta say ten am Pacific time, Jets as usual. All right, let's get into this game. The Patriots needed they need it in the worst way. They're six and six, and you know, if not for Zack Wilson, their season might be over. Let's let's face it. But they did take care of the Jets those two out of three weeks or whatever it was, and and got to the six wins, but back to back losses to Minnesota, which they played well but not good enough. I wouldn't say they played well, but they played competitively. Uh and then the Buffalo game in prime time last week didn't go the way they wanted it to. But Arizona this week, Vegas next week are the Patriots. Let's start here a little more above the treetouse for Greggy the the former Patriots fan. Patriots fan, is their season come down to they gotta win these two road games because at best their final three games, which include the Dolphins and Bill Cincinnati Miami a Buffaloto clothes. I mean, you're certainly not sweeping those games. If you won one one of those three games, I would take it right now. So for any chance to make the playoffs and get to nine wins, you gotta win these next two, and you probably gotta get to ten wins. But I'm gonna keep it above the tree tops Dan, because this game, it's two mediocre teams in my mind, um who probably aren't going anywhere. Patriots have a chance. I noticed when Kirk herb Street talked about Mac Jones in that Thursday night game that he specifically said Mac is gaining confidence in the people around him. I thought that that's interesting. Kirk has a relationship with Mac Jones back to Alabama probably had that little meeting and stuff, and it just goes along with this whole thing that Mac Jones hasn't been happy with the coaching staff the whole time. And that's what I took out of that. The gaining confidence was in the coaching staff coming off a nice game in Minnesota and then everything fell apart there. That's number one, number two, and this is juicy. This isn't breaking news, but I haven't seen it talked about anywhere else. I'm a I'm a subscriber to the Boston Sports Journal. It was a gift from our friend Mike Burkewitz. Way too many details. Take this out of the network showing. Greg Bard writes it great writer in in the Q and A with the with the subscribers this week, which I checked out randomly. I a lot of questions about Bill Belichick's future. Greg Bard, who's been there a long time and knows a lot, thinks that Bill Belichick's job status is very much up in the air if Bill Belichick is not willing to have a plan for how to fix what is going on here, and what's going on here is a the offensive staff be the relative understaffing of the coaching staff in general, and then see the fact that Bill Belichick's all but running the front office all by himself, that he's basically coaching the offense, the defense, and the special teams now because anytime something wrong happens, he jumps into that side. And uh, and he's doing the entire front office. And that if Bill, for whatever reason pushed back and didn't want to start populating these positions, that this could be Bill Belichick's last season, Greg, But I hasn't written this. An article was in a Q and A. But I'm like, well, like you often say, Greg, when you come at someone for throwing something out there in a mail bag as opposed to reporting it with their chest and all that stuff. I don't want to make too much of it, but it does logically makes He's not saying out of the blue. Either's not getting fired. But it could be a situation where Craft, another powerful guy with you know, a prideful man that has a vision for the organization, might give him an ultimatum and then you know, there are a lot of egos that here and and maybe that's how it ends. Um. Yes, and I'll even I'll say, better win this game by the way, I think this game is a little dangerous. I think it's dangerous. Well, let's stay above the tree tops just a little bit longer, just because. Um. Yeah, I think that Belichick did kind of foul up. And I was defending him in the beginning of the season and through the summer, like, oh, they'll figure it out. They always figure it out. But I agree, like you're seeing the frustration. You saw Mac Jones picked up by the cameras on Amazon UM saying, you know, throw the ball downfield. The short game doesn't work. Uh, there's obviously frustration there. And then Belichick himself was doing his UM. He does a weekly radio show up there in New England, and I thought this was pretty interesting what he had to say when asked about the offense and what changes they can make to kind of get this thing going. Yeah, I think we need to do what we're doing better. UM. I don't think at this point making a lot of traumatic changes. Is it's too hard to do that we need we're we can just do consistently what we were doing. Well, I think we'll be all right. I think that great with with Belichick is as close to you'll get as a public admission that he kind of messed this up a little bit and it's too late to change things, and now they just got to find it a way to make it work. Um as it is, and maybe that's not gonna be good enough. And you're right, as we turned like kind of looking at this game specifically, it should be a winnable game against the Cardinals. Um, but do I trust this New England team to go on the road and win in prime time? I do own. I just don't think they're very good. I agree this is a an Arizona offensive line that you would think the Patriots defense was scheme up pressures against and confused and do enough to win the game. I do think they'll win, but they've struggled with mobile quarterbacks. Kyler looked pretty good coming off as injury. Ran for fifty six yards in that game back where they really outplayed the Chargers, and it was the first time we've seen Marquise Hollywood Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, and Rhonday Moore all healthy and kind of getting things done. And I just don't see a very athletic Patriots defense. So I could see it. I could see the Patriots losing this game. I I expect it will come down to the end. That pass rush is gonna be important for the Patriots too, led by Matthew Judeon, because Kyler Murray is one of the worst quarterbacks in the league under pressure. In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, his completion percentage is that's twenty seventh in the league, dead last uh in um passing touchdowns. He has not throwing a touchdown under pressure this year, according to Next Gen Stats, is passer rating twelve point eight. So if you get after him, he's throwing the ball for grabs. He's going down, he's starting to sulk, and and this this negativity machine of the Cardinals starts firing up. All right, check out that Monday Night football recap. It'll be a banger. Oh yeah, Who's who are you gonna get? I think we've got Nate Tys this week, a Tye bomb. All right, let's let's take a break and then we will begin our draft with Neil Reynolds. Welcome back. We have a guest, Greggy. He is the anchor of Sky Sports NFL and our friend Neil Reynolds. Welcome buddy. Thank you very much. Grand music for it was, but it's like something regal for our Englishmen are friend. Absolutely, it's like anything, You're like stabilizing the rest of the coverage, not dragging it to the bottom of the sea. I just and just and just so I'm clear in terms of rivalries here, Neil sky Sports, Greggy does the Channel five thing over there in the so you guys are kind of enemies because we don't we don't do a studio on Sky Sports at that time of night. So I'm fast asleep enjoying my beauty sleep while Gregg's still feel it feels like a potentially dangerous I see what you're trying to do. But if you want to be entertain yeah, check us out on Channel Yeah. That's a whole three am. Neil. We need you, buddy, We need your help. I don't know if you heard Mark at the top of the show, but he's just not um up to doing the Thursday program beyond that cameo. So now that we start the portion of the preview show that has a draft, I need you to step in for Mark Sessler and make some picks. And I was thinking about that when you messaged me on the way, and I was like, what an honor. First of all, it should be an honor, right, I think it's stepping in and drafting for Mark. I listened to the podcast all the time. I love the the preview show. I actually listened to it when I'm driving to Sky Sports to do our Sunday show because it's like a ninety minute drive and parafit's perfect. But part of me just wants to pick really bad games, but he kind of does it. Please it'll It'll not only make this show better, It'll make the rest of the shows of the week better, make Sunday better. Let's do it, all right, So let's get into the draft. And yes it is Greg Rosenthal with the first overall pick. We only have ten games on the slate here with all the buys, so go get it, Greggy. Okay, some are going to be surprised by this pick, but I don't care. Vikings Lions is the game I want to watch this week. The team of a t L again behind the team of a t L. It's a very special honor to watch them, and I know it's not going to be there at pick uh six, and I'm invest very special? Is it? Is it? Mad um to you guys that the people in the desert have the Detroit Lines is the favorite in this game. I guess it's just recency biased, maybe the fact that people are buying. People are thinking, well, the Vikings had all those one score games last year and lost them this year, their nine and O in them. I don't think there's a trust in the Vikings yet, but people trust in the Lines. I think the answer is yes. You know what, it started as the Vikings being about a one point favorite DAN right after the Sunday Games, and so many fans and presumably betters have gone for the Lions that it's flipped around and people think like, oh, it's recently bias this year that No, they're about the numbers and the numbers if you get the sharps are and the Sharps are, but also the people setting the lines, expected points added on offense defense, yards per play offense defense. If you look at the Lions, since thereby there's no question that they're performing at a higher level than the Vikings, that they have a top ten defense, since thereby, in terms of d v o A, that seems a little bit much. But a top six or seven offense, since thereby that doesn't seem like a bit much. That seems very repeatable, and I like the match above. That offense versus Minnesota this week. It's incredible. With Detroit, Lions have scored thirty points or more in half their games. I'm still having nightmares about watching the lines on Thanksgiving last year and Jared Goff through like thirty five swing passes out of the bankfield. They transformed themselves. They are fun. They blew out the Giants, and they blew out the Jaguars. Show me the Vikings blowouts that they've had doesn't happen. They haven't had one. They've been involved with one, and it was when the Eagles blew them out. But yeah, I thought, watching Detroit specifically in week thirteen, how how anable it felt. Um this is. This is no smoke in mirrors. With DeAndre Swift healthy, with the monro St Brown as a true number one ride receiver, with this offensive line's ability to protect Golf and let him be the best version of himself, it's all real. So I think they're going to continue to score points here. And I want to hear from Dan Campbell because we love to hear from Dan Campbell. They played the Vikings once back in Week three. It was one of those narrow losses for the Lions and narrow wins for the Vikings, and and if you hear this, you will know that Campbell is pushing those motivational buttons behind the scenes this week. I mean, yeah, look, it burns me, you know, of course it burns me. I mean, that'll be there till the day I die. That's still gonna go away. It does. But but I also know I can't waller in that, and uh, let that pull me down. I mean, it is what it is, and it happened for a reason. And honestly, I think the US losing uh you know, five in a row is why we're where we're at right now. So that's kind of how I look at it. Maybe we need this to happen to get to where we're at right now at this point. And if you don't recall, that was a game the Lions were ahead fourteen entering the fourth quarter and kJ Osborne had a game winning twenty yard touchdown in the final minute or rip your heart out loss. So you know the Lions want to make things right after something like that. Yeah, they they certainly do. They play really hard for Dan Campbell. We all know that, right, But I think why this game is so fascinating is because of the world the Vikings living. This will probably go down to the wire as well. Every one of their games has just been incredible. They start fast, they forget themselves, they make a play at the end, whether it be one on offense like a k J Osborne or Can buying them interception. There's always something that the Vikings seem to find. And even with Kirk Cousins not having the best of seasons, you know he's kind of has moments. I suppose this game's these games are about moments, but um, it's incredible. His year is weird. A lot of numbers aren't good, and yet the team obviously is doing well. And when you watch, if you're watching the team like how they're winning these games, he's stepping up and making big plays in the red zone. But it's those kind of in between type plays that he struggled with. And we saw it again against the Jets last week Greg where he missed so many throws, left a lot of yards on the field, and yet their success in the red zone allowed them to escape with that win. Right, I don't see a team getting better. I think a secondary in Minnesota is vulnerable. We'll see if Cam Danzler returns this week, but they had a player, uh Kaylee Evans might be messing up. The first name there, Duke Shelley, Pat Peterson, you can pick on this secondary. And Ben Johnson, their offensive coordinator in Detroit, comes up with a great weekly game plan. And I think they're gonna go pass heavy, just like the Jets do because they see holes in that zone coverage and I think Jared Goff is gonna be able to exploit those holes. And yeah, in theory, it's a big game for the Vikings, like they're playing for one sea blah blah. It's the biggest game in the Detroit Lions five years, say the Jim Cardwell year where they were above five founder and they were competing for a playoff spots. You can't forget that. But since then they haven't competed for anything. They win this game and then they have a game next week against the Jets, and it's on like you are in the playoff race if you win this game. That's why it's fascinating, isn't it. And I love to look at the stories as they unfold and how we may be thought of teams and players in the summer and it's completely different. But we wouldn't have thought Jamal Williams would be scoring fourteen Russian touchdowns. We wouldn't have thought Detroit would put up this many points. We maybe thought the Vikings would be in the close games. They got on the wrong end of all of those last year. So it's just fascinating that the Lions have become who they are and they are in the race, the genuinely in the race, but they were happy to win. This happen where they're in a lot of trouble. The regression monster, yes, yes, yes, getting better. You're right, Dan, the regression monster is going to come for the Vikings at any point. They they rank outside the top ten and scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, and total defense. Every every and then you pop the hood for the analytics and it's more of the same. If this game is a blowout on Sunday, it won't because the Vikings blow out a team. No, No, I think it's let's got a team of a t L. I think it's I think it's again. It goes back to why I think lots of players tell me lots of coaches tell me games are decided. And it's a bit of a cliche, but games are decided in five six moments in a game. The Vikings are just winning all those moments and depend It doesn't matter which side of that Week three game ruined everything for the flipped bodies and now they're going to flip them back. Then he will never get over the Week three game. Neil, you are up in the Mark Sessler slot. Okay, So can I give him the Patriots and Cardinals? No, you can't. Board of the board. I'm looking at the Jags and Titans. I'm looking at the Chiefs and Problem. No. I know Mark likes to listening to the podcast Mark Lights an afternoon game, right, he likes a late afternoon game. So I'm going to go the Bucks at the Haughty Niners, And I think this is flascinating for a number of reasons. We flashed up a lot of graphics on sky Sports last week about the Miami Dolphins and the potency of their attack and how they were going to go up against San Francisco's defense, and it didn't matter. They still lost that game. If you look at the Bucks on defense, on offense, they're one of the worst offenses in the NFL. But they've got Tom Brady, which always is a factor. You know, Tom Brady was not good on Monday Night, and then he came alive against the Saints late. He wasn't good against the Rams, he came alive late and delivered the touchdown wins. So you never want to write off Tom Brady and the Bucks, and so that they're in, they're interesting to me and I think this game shapes how far can San Francisco go. How do you play around seventh round draft picking brock Purdy because you have to play around the seventh round draft pick because there's a reason they were taking in the seventh round. You know, it was interesting though it didn't feel like they were playing around him last week. They were very pass heavy. How many times did he throw in game? Thirty seven times? If he didn't play the first series, I think they might be pass heavy again because that's kind of how you approached the Buccaneers the running backs, wasn't it. That was full turn policies to the running backs. And now you got Devin White and that's that's what Jimmy Garoppolo does too. There is quick passes. I think it's gonna be tough to run against the Buccaneers. The forty Niners haven't really fixed their running game with Christian McCaffrey. It's been okay, but it hasn't been as good as, for instance, Elijah Mitchell and the running game was consistently a year ago. And the Bucks defense is good. This is probably gonna be a low scoring game. I think you are gonna make Mark happy, though, because if ever there's a brock Purty guy, it's Mark Selin, Like he's gonna be all about the brock Purtty experience. And you know, a low scoring game, maybe less stoppages, maybe the clock of the time of the game. This feels like a much fest today. That that part. That part, yeah, I think the issue this is how you diagnosed this game. Yes, the forty Niners are not as good as they were last week because the quarterback is not as good unless we have some type of magical story developing here. But let's see. And that's why it's good for Purdy and the Niners, uh that they have a runway here before January to see if they can get this thing off the ground. And by the way, there was that report that came out about maybe Jimmy g can return because he avoided that dreaded Harlot Liz frank Um. I think it was clarified a bit by Kyle Shanahan after the fact. That would be a huge surprise, Um paraphrasing here or maybe putting word in his mouth if we see Garoppolo again. So really, this is Purdy's team here. They had a chance to make a claim on Baker. They chose not to. So here we go now, And my question to you guys, as we saw what happened with Tampa and I on Monday night, and I think we all kind of enjoyed it because it was who knows what happens with Tom Brady going forward? If this team gets its stuff together, does he play next year? Even maybe that was the less special Brady moment that we collectively got to enjoy. So I'm just gonna kind of detach a little from the nostalgia of it all. How many times have you said that, I know, but you know, he is a little different. He still missed a lot of throws, a lot of deep throws, especially in that game. They scored two touchdowns in their final two possessions. I just don't see where the points are for the Bucks in this game. This feels like a ten point week for them. It's just hard work, isn't it. And it's only a little bit of late magic. I mean, that couldn't have been a more depressing watch if you're a Bucks fan for the first fifty five minutes of that game against the Saints, and so when Brady is able to deliver at the end, we forget about it. We just think, oh, what a great moment it will. Don't forget about it. I feel traumatized that, you know, we're we're there on Channel five trying to talk about commercial. It's like more it's there to say, hey, can you start throwing the Mike Evans please? That was like we can think of to say can you do some hurry up a little bit? Because whenever they go into a hurry up, Tom Brady takes over and it's like he's twenty five again because he's calling all the place like can we do a little more hurry up? I do like what I see at a Rashad White like there should be answers, but I am losing hope. I get mystified when Brady makes those bad throws because you know, I mean, it's always a treat to watch Tom Brady, you know, even now when he's forty five and at the end of his career. You know, I was at that game in Munich in Germany and you're watch him warm up and he still throws such a nice pass and he had a really good games accuracy. I think is where you're seeing the age. Yeah, a little bit disappointing. That can throw a few names out there for the forty nine Jeff Hostetler, Kurt Warner. Nick Fall was two thousand seventeen. I can't give up on it yet. Falls is a good one because podcast we had a huge argument whether the Eagles are worth even talking about anymore because they have Nick Falls in terms of could they win a playoff game or two? Remember and remember that, yes, strange things happen, but you you named three instances. You know what five years of football? If there is a Channel five Sky Sports alley fight like Anchorman style, what is your weapon of choice? And it can't just be a gun? Uh? Start with you, Greg, your weapon of choice, I mean my weapon of choices. Maurice Jones, Drew, I'm just gonna put put him in front of me, and and see what happens. Neil, you look like a morning star guy. Yeah, I'm I'm actually gonna I'm just gonna throw Rob Ryan at you. If you're like I can outrun them off, you're gonna have a healthy see how you deal with them if there's an alley fight running away, that is an act of a coward, at least like some Floyd Mayweather stuff where I just you know, all right, let's move to the third. By the way, that game to me has nine or sixteen bucks ten written. All totally agree, That's where I'm going. Anybody think the uh that night down to the score total? All right, great, I feel good about that. All right. Third over, I'll pick the ZEUSA Jets at Bills. Here we go, Here we go. Very frustrating from the Jets side, obviously in Minneapolis that they failed five out of six times in the red zone. But you know what, Neil, you know it doesn't suck so much. The Jets were in the red zone six times and that was something that would never happen with Zack Wilson at quarterback. I thought, despite those failures down in you can't ignore them. Obviously in the in the quarterback Mike White. There's some blame there on him, blame on everyone for not being able to finish that game. Off I saw more more good things than bad things, and I'm very encouraged. I want to point to one place because I don't think we talked about it on Sunday Show. In the game, the Jets were facing uh fourth and ten at the Minnesota forty seven with three forty seven to play in the fourth quarter. On third intend White drop back to pass, got crushed, peeled himself off the turf. Was not in a good place physically. You could tell fourth and ten. He stands strong in the pocket and drills past the Corey Davis or thirty one yards to keep that driving around alive. That's why Garrett Wilson after the game says, I would go to war for that boy. And that's why this offense I think it's this is sustainable that they're going to continue now to push defenses and be able to score some points. That said, Buffalo's defense embarrassed Mike White last year in a similar circumstance for interceptions sent him back to the bench. In fact, and the Bills at home. This is gonna be a huge test greg for this Jets offense, not to mention the defense, although I'm more confident in them than the attack. Yeah, we learned this late week that Von Miller will not be returning this season for the Bill's defense. We knew he wouldn't play this game, but that is still he said last week he wanted to play this game. So that exploratory surgery obviously revealed something much worse. Um and that's gonna affect them. It's a huge let down. And I think they're a playmaking defense still, but there potentially without Matt Milano this week, who's missing practice. Their potentially without Jordan's Poyer, who has been on the side of practice, And those are some of the guys that would make big plays against Mike White. And I think Mike White will give you a chance to make big plays. I'm glad you brought up that throw because that was an incredible throw and he's had some incredible throws. And I think the Mike White bill of goods that I've been sold is not the Mike White I've seen on the field the last couple of weeks. He is not Mr. Point guard who's gonna take a bunch of safe checkdowns and hit the easy stuff. He's not necessarily like a low risk, low reward guy. I see a guy who's six ft five. By the way, he's got he's got a big arm um. I don't know if it's like above Yeah, he's got two of him, but he's got if it's above average for an NFL starter, but it's good enough human being and he's aggressive. And I wouldn't say he's shown great touch either. If there's been a downside, it's like everything is a heater. So to me, he almost seems like a guy who's making good decisions. I'm not saying that he isn't, but he's a guy who will take some chances. That he's a little more Ryan Fitzpatrick with a bigger arm. That's that's not a good comparison either. I don't know who the right comparison is, but I think he's gonna take chances, give the other team another chance, but he's gonna make some big place because of that. He's not just like a boring backup. I'm kind of shocked Cooper Rush beat him out in a backup job back in Dallas. Granted that was four years ago. That's throw he made to Corey Davis got us out of our seats in the sky sports students. I want to throw. And I actually stood up when there's Corey Davis and the week before I was like, there's Alijah More. I mean, it shows how much the offense has woken up with Mike White there, that some of these receivers that weren't even featuring uh in the attick have now become prominent again. And Robert Silo couldn't ignore everything that had happened with Zach Wilson's play, followed by the comments, followed by the entire team getting on the plane whearing a my I mean, how awkward a moment was that the team whearing the mike. Why it's crazy and it's just it's not even Jets, it's it's football in general. Because the summer started with the Zach Wilson as Good T shirts. I spent money on one. I don't know where it is now. It's a rag under my sink. But the team is going to follow the quarterback they believe, and that's what we're seeing on the on the Buffalo side of things here. Remember these teams faced off last month and it was. It was the biggest game of the Jet season. In the meadow Lands, you've felt a home field advantage and they slowed down their attack. I think finding a way to um neutralized Stefon Diggs changes a lot, and the Jets have the weapons to do that with Sauce Gardner of course, in DJ Reid who uh you know. We just saw them do it to Justin Jefferson, and I think if you could do that, you put more pressure on Alan to find ways and then he starts playing that hero ball and oh, by the way, that elbow injury that affects him, the Jets did that to him. That's what that was. At the end of that game. Yeah, he said he had five sacks in this game. It was the only game where he didn't throw a touchdown pass. I think since that elbow injury, of course, he's not been quite the same. The turnovers have been there. He's still can't be curtailed. He's going to throw himself in there and try and punch out football's after interceptions and fumble recoveries. But I like that Jets defense as well. Dan. I'd just let you know as a Jets fan, so I do an interview with the Jets. Jets are one of the teams that market themselves in the UK, now so aggressively. I wait for this bit. So I I do. I do a series of interviews for the New York Jets. Um, I have a contract. So really, if they win the Super Bowl, I get ring. I would imagine, No, you do. It's a team employee. There's been money has changed hands. Yeah, but you're like, is that a fault? I think full time jobs, get it? See how you let's see how many minutes for a week are you working for the Jets? Eleven or twelve? I mean, you gotta ring with the Rams. But that's he's the radio broadcaster. That's a whole game, pregames, game, what about it? Not to you to Woody Johnson pre interview and the post interview. All the work that Neil does eleven and twelve minutes included that what I was gonna say. My point I was gonna make it's a great locker room. You know, you speak to d J. Reid, you speak to Solomon Thomas, you speak to Garrett Wilson. It's a really good locker room. And I know lots of players come on and they do good interviews and stuff, but because I see them one after the other, I have a really good feel about where they're going under Robert Sale. It's crazy to me the Bills are favored by nine in this game. I think it's a very tough matchup for the Bills, as we already saw, and it's because their line. The things we were concerned about coming into the year with the Bills. Do they have enough secondary depth that could be exposed here? How's their offensive line going to be? I think it's gotten worse throughout the season. I think Josh Allen had to bail the out a little bit in Foxboro with some just great plays, but they're not protecting him well. I don't think the Jets offensive line is very good either, and so it could be just which defensive line wrecks the most amount of the shop here. But nine points is way too much for me. And the Jets lost the offensive lineman Max Mitchell, and there's somewhat mysterious uh circumstances. He's out for the year, was moved to the non football injury list. George fan is back. He's going to be at right tackle. I find this one of the things about this Jet season, they zig when I expect them to zag, and vice versa. So every time I think they're gonna win, they lose. And every time I think they're gonna lose they're gonna win, they win. I think the lose this game. I think the Bills are a better team at home, and yet I think the Bills win this figure. I'm just gonna say, though, if you've cost me my super Bowl ring me and you've got back down that it's not it's not if you're listening, Jet Dan deserves it more if it's gonna be one. I don't think the Jets like me so much. I don't think I'll be getting a ring. Let's take a break and we will continue the draft. All right, welcome back. It's uh the Draft Week fourteen and snakes to the old Zuser and it's time for the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota, and we will drive Greggy to Cincinnati. Does that get you a little bit? That zinging a little bit. I'd love to go see the Wesleyans hang out with him. I'm talking about from for draft purposes that you might want that, because I I was, yeah, I would have the Cleveland Browns and their quarterback the Shawn Watson. Uh. They're the second game for Watson. Now. I don't know how long it's gonna take for Watson to knock the rust off. It might hell, you know, wouldn't it be terrible if it never happened? What a shame that would be. But Deshaun Watson now travels after getting a layup in the Texans uh, in his old home at NRG Stadium, he has to go to Cincinnati to play a Bengals team that is absolutely locked in right now. And I, uh, as I've said on this podcast, my I have always liked Joe Burrow, but this season, my my, I'm just even more impressed with the way he plays the game, the way he carries himself, the way he dresses. I think, I think in another world, like if I could be somebody like Burrow might be the guy I would want to be. A guy that so talented, good looking dude, charismatic guys, swaggy to greggy, something that I will never be. So here we are now, um, with the Bengals ready to stack another win and take it to a division rival. Yeah, and they look complete, don they? Now? I think the Bengals have been really good on defense the last couple of weeks. They've shown different ways of winning a smart JP rhin going over a hundred yards. You had, of course shutting down Derrick Henry. That's not always how we associate the Bengals were playing. Um, so we know about Joe Burrow, who's He's just that to me, he's like the you know, the old sort of we described the quarterbacks in the eighties, like the gunslingers, Like oh, John Elway throw five interceptions and he doesn't care or keep coming, or Brett Fave in the nineties. Joe Borrow can take five sacks, throw two interceptions, and then for a game winner down the stretch. So I really like the Bengals. Um, you know, I think they are a very well rounded team. I didn't I think we pay so much attention to their offense. I didn't expect them to be as good as they've been on defense in recent weeks. Yeah, and even in the first month of the season, they've had ups and downs. And they're not great at cornerback and they're not great when they play the Browns. But otherwise, other than that Monday night game against the Browns, the Bengals are the best team in the NFL over the last two months. I think just because of the teams that they've played and the offense staying at that higher level, like they'd be right there with the Eagles and the Chiefs. But I think you've got to give the Bengals even a little bit of an edge. And yet after these last two games, you could argue that this is just as big a test of their toughness. They have lost five straight to the Kevin Stefanski Brown. They lost just back in Week eight, when the when this little running for the Bengals had already started, thirty two to thirteen. You might think, okay, well, what about last year when the Bengals are actually good? They lost forty one to sixteen against Baker Mayfield, Like there is something here that they don't match up well, Like it's a meaningful But I believed in Joe Burrow when he said a couple of weeks ago, I loved and I'm with you and what you're saying about Joe Burrow in terms of like you would want him and begged team now. I I wanted to push back on that, but trying not to interrupt as much. You know that. Well, if it's something that's I just I mean, you're swaggy in your way. I think we all are. You know, Neil is the least swaggy of the three of us, so that we welcomed him to our shores. He's a great post. But no, you got that that British like stiff upper lip. You count yourself with class, uh not? Not a swaggering charismatic Now he's had through Kara kind. That's a shot that I meant more just saying, you know, cockiness, we're obnoxious Americans here. Wait, I wanted to get to my point, please, I never did. It's about it's about this ground team and this Bengals team, and it's actually about the Bengals team the transition. It's gonna be good point. Great teams do win the type of games that they won against Tennessee the other week, where they kind of out physical them on the road and came back in a big spot. Great teams win the type of game they had last week against the Chiefs, where they make that comeback at home against Patrick Mahomes and great teams and this stupid Brown season put them out of their misery and get off the schnide against Kevin Stefanski. And that's why I'm locking up the Bengals this week. Its lock in with this heart I am. I don't usually put this much emotion on it because no results all season would bother me more than the Browns winning this game. But Deshaun Watson looked terrible last week. Let's put this miserable season to the Browns out of its misery, charisma, passionate. Okay, yes, justin. While we're on the subject of people locking up the Bengals, Hey heroes. Before I get to the lock of the week, I have a question for y'all. Where do you nerds come up with these nicknames? Block Zaddy, block father, lock Daddy's Get the heck out of here. The only family that matters when it comes to the Locks is the Westling Brothers. And we've won three in a row and we're ready to make another playoff run, just like we did last year. What's we're staying home this week? The Bangles and the Browns. Now. Everyone says the Browns owned the Bangles, but I'm not feeling that. Deshaun Watson not only is he a terrible human being, but now he's a terrible quarterback to Joey Burrow, he uses m v P run lock it up. I love it. You know what that is the great Nick Westling. I love that man. Um And we were texting this week in fact, and we were talking a little Burrow and I said, like, Cincinnati must be in love with this, this man, this athlete and uh and I said, uh, I wrote, he's like, you know this guy, He's carries himself with confidence and and someone you could kind of get behind. He's got this game like Montana. Uh. They must be just obsessed with them. And he wrote back they are, but not like past grade athletes. Athletes. People are super chill about it, almost like they have taken on his personality a little like that even more. And that's a great sports town and and region. They I think they understand what they have here. I'm with you. I think this is gonna be a romp. I don't buy into any type of Stefanski. I'm a little worry the Bengals in this fun big time. I do too, but I'm a little worried. I liked also that Tony GROSSI asked Kevin Stefanski, considering what a big game this is for the Browns. We should mention their five and seven We've mentioned all these other five and seven teams. Their schedule has some winnable games moving forward that their numbers have indicated they're better than the record all year. So this is a big game if you're a Browns fan. And he said, are you, you know, trying to do everything you can win this game? Would that include benching Deshaun Watson during the game. And it's like everyone is killing Tony Grossy and Cleveland for asking this question, But I love asking it. At least it's a football question because I'll allowed to ask any other questions. Yeah, exactly, all right. That was the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. The Draft now rolls over to Neil Reynolds in the Mark Sessler spot. Fantastic. Let me just say as well, Uh, seeing Nick do the thing that, um, what an honor is to be in the Chris west Limp podcast. You know, it's my first time in here, so it's it's it's really cool. I'm gonna pick for Mark. I'm going to give Mark the gift of watching what I think is the best team in the NFL. I'm going to give the Philadelphia Eagles at the New York Giants. So he loves the Giants. You drafted. I think exactly how Mark would have You might have flipped those two picks, but you ended up the same. Mark. We've got some kindred spirit stuff going on there. So I think that he going over his place with some chicken soup, not chickens, like some type of tofu. Take him some noodles. Mark, how are you doing, By the way, let's check back in, Mark Sessler. I am having the time of my life. He doesn't need me, then he's situation. He'd a blanket watching every Christmas movie he can think of. What I have going for me is my raging apathy on this front. Yeah, that's true. That's true. All right, So there you go. Hey, this is a big game, neal for the for the Giants, especially because you know they haven't what they have one win in six weeks now and you got Washington up next. Yeah. I know it's a tid test to beat the Eagles, but at least, like, feel good about yourself in this game. Don't get your doors blown up in your building. Yeah, and I think the Giants have found their level. I think when you look at how they started. There were a lot of one score games and they can go either way. But I think they've been fortunate in some of those games as well. So I think I think this is an Eagles win quite comfortably for me. I think the Eagles are the best team in the NFL. And Mark spoke about this on the Your Sunday Show last week. When you can run for the three sixty three against Green Bay, then run for sixty seven the following week and your quarterback throws for close to four hundred and he's pulled out of the game, it's okay which way you want to try and stop us will beat you the other way. They are the most balanced team. Uh. Bill Parcels would love this team because it's all about the trenches and building in the trenches, and they can dominate both lines. They get a lot of sacks. Their touchdown runs against Green Bay where the runners weren't touched until they got into the end zone five or six yards downfield. They just more people. So to me, I was I was one of those earlier in the season. I was like, Oh, the Equals for real, you know's they haven't been where they are, Um, you know, in terms of earning that respect from the public. And I think now they are absolutely for real, and I think there's a there's a separation. I'm with you on that I had there was some doubt for me and and I don't feel that way now. No, you just wear pushing back because I had them as my super Bowl champion. That's why you're like, I can't what's going on with it? Was you thinking about Greg when you're like, that's how everyone thinks, right, That's how I imagine it all the time. About me, there's that swaggy nous. Jalen Hurts has really improved as about me passer from the pocket, He's like accurate at every level. He's not similar to some of these other running quarterbacks in that I don't think he's better throwing on the move. I think he's actually better throwing from the pocket. And he's an incredible runner. And that's not really what they're offfense is about is marrying those two. And that's fine. Everyone's got different strengths. But he has been really accurate in the intermediate level. He they always said he threw a beautiful deep ball, and he didn't quite hit on it last year. But he is hitting on it this year, and the matchup this week against these cornerbacks for New York, I think of all of their issues this year, I think their cornerbacks and their secondary and the injuries, losing a Tory Jackson from a group that already was not very talented is the thing that hurt them the most. And I think the Eagles are set up in a way, and you saw it against Tennessee. They could take advantage of whatever mismatch you give him, whether it's in the middle level, whether it's in the running game, or whether it's on the outside. And this week it seems like it's gonna be on the outside, and you would expect them to crush him. The offensive line for the Giants is not playing well right now. Can I say a couple of couple of things from that game? Shook had a um something you said on Sunday that then I watched the game myself and I was like, I agree. It felt like the Giants offensive lee took some strides and had a little bit of more dynamic nature to them against Washington. I also thought something that we had been tracking se Kwan Barkley, did he look a step slow the previous couple of weeks. Yes, I thought he looked good. Last week. I thought he kind of exploded through the whole a couple of times, and I said, Okay, I think he's gonna be Okay. Um, this this particular rivalry is interesting. So Jalen Hurts sixteen and two now in his less eighteen starts in the regular season. One of those losses and this kind of just tells you how much things have changed for this quarterback and this team. The last time, Um, they've lost two straight road games of the Giants back in Week twelve last season. Hurts through odd and twenty nine yards and three interceptions. And it's just like, I'm not saying that means a different regime for the Giants the whole thing. That's that's something to keep an eye on. But I mean it more as like, can we it's hard to believe how much Jalen Hurts has progressed and become to me the m v P of the league so far, and I the way he carries himself. He talked in the Packers game. They talked about how he was telling the reporters leading up for he's the temperature of the team and He didn't mean it in a in a conceited, arrogant way. He was just you've got to be that. And his growth has been incredible. But every time he goes to the press conference podium, you come away impressed by what he said. I mean, obviously the son of a coach, it's been around the game, kind of does it all the right way. And it's I think it's really good this season because his games stepped up so much and he has become like you're saying, Dan absolutely justified m v P contender. We get to see a bit more and no, a bit more about him as a leader, and I think he I think he's very small franchise leader like Burrow, and they're from the same draft class. It's really crazy to think of the draft class. I'll get it looks with Herbert into in the mix now as well. I love the Eagles that they never have to play their defensive players, by the way, it's such a luxury. Brandon Graham played eighteen snaps last week. Josh Sweat, who's having a great season like an edge rasher who makes fifteen million dollars a year, played twenty seven snaps. They just like rotate a minute out. They're barely on the field because the offensive dominated is what they did when they won the Super Bowl, and they used to be able to rotate seven or eight guys with Bill Belichick come January. For them, of course, the way football is one bad step or a guy flawing into and all that gets thrown out the window. But having these guys juice s uff for you know, naturally, juice stuff I quite like for January. Sorry, Dan, when you're worry about injuries as well. I thought, going back to the Packers game, there were so many Jalen Hurts runs where it opened up so much and then he just went twenty yards downfield and then stepped out bounce. We weren't seeing we weren't seeing any you know, Josh Allen hurdling or Joe Burrows spinning and falling on his back, and you know it was that was good. It was good to see that he will take a sensible approach because he's everything to All right, Greggy, you are up, all right, Let's go Seahawks Panthers in the late window. Only three games. I usually try to mix it up, but I've basically become a Seahawks and Lions House every Sunday in terms of what I'm watching, and uh, it's always first as the NFL's prime time schedule. I I'm worried about this game. As the world's newest Seahawks fan, I don't see these two teams as very different. They're they're very different in the way that they play, but just overall qualities. So I went and I checked out like the d V O A over the last three or four weeks, and they had the Panthers and the Seahawks about twenty each. And that checked out too, because the Seahawks have a great passing game and not a lot else that's consistent week to week. And you look at the Panthers, since they got Jeremy Chin and j C. Hornback, that's two real deal guys in their secondary. They have a good pass rush. Steve Wilkes has been playing with energy. They kind of remind me the Lions in that at some point in the season the defense started playing with real energy and even the numbers back it up that they're a top ten defense. So I think they can match up pretty well and make this a slog and make this a nervous game for the Seahawks who really have to win the games they're supposed to win and if they're going to make the playoffs. So I know you guys have talked about Geno Smith, right, and it's all on Geno really at the moment, which is we actually haven't talked about Gino Smith this season, and I'd like to hear more. No, well, let's talk. I was going to say about Kenneth Walker in the gaming Munich just disappeared, and it's actually I thought that can happen. It can be like a one game thing where you, you know, you build them up and you're doing your your pregame show and there's an hour of chatting and you're going through everything. So you build up Kenneth Walker and then you barely remember him even taking a snap and running the football. But that's been a thing, isn't it, Which is a worry, it is, But you know it's like they still find a way and they put the points and they got it done last week against the Rams, even if it wasn't pretty. And Greggy, I'm going to give you your tulips on this one, um, which is different than the other one. So I don't have to put money in the ain't it I've showed incredible discipline. Do you know a certain rock star speaking of swaggy and charisma, a certain rock star offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, Ben mcade And do you remember what in part got Ben McAdoo poop canned right out of the meadow lands a few years back? I mean, you should give him the Presidential Medal of Courage or freedom? Just what is it right for the choosing Geno Smith over Eli Manning and then getting fired the next week because of it? So it wasn't the oversize suit of the first conference of the Star. So now Ben McAdoo was asked about Geno Smith and this is what he had to say, the O C of the Panthers. I have a lot of respect for Geno. Uh, the way he carried himself in New York, way handled him business business. He's a pro um. So it's it's outstanding to see him having the success that he's having um in the years that he's having. And I'm a big fan of Geno. I don't know about on on Sunday, but uh no, I'm I'm I'm a genial guy, um, which is uh he said he was a leader to atone. You see that little that smile on his face there too, because this has been a good thing for Ben McAdoo and Greggy. You know, Greg, I always treat you with respect. There's a man you know. We go back many years, and you know that I have respect for you, Seattle Seahawks fandom this season and what you were able to achieve here with Gino Smith, my luck father, I'm gonna look up to Seattle Seahawks this week and I asked you, as a showing of respect, to take this and join me in this luck oh, as a showing of the two emily is coming together to promote peace and prosperity, and that all our future children, our masculine children, what's up. Well, like had to find masculine for me. I just hope it all of your children, Uh, masculine children. I even you're putting me in a very uncomfortable position here, my friends, that the two families come together and let there be peace and prosperity. I feel like you you're locking up the Seahawks. Okay, that's that's the greatest gift you could have, a gift I show my respect to you. That alone is like opening up the beautiful present on Daddy Christmas this Saturday at the Rosenthal House. That's Christmas. I don't even need to lock up the Seahawks. This alone is disrespect by not joining, I can't, I mean, come to you. This accent is uh not a good president. I don't want to. I don't want to change my lock whatever, I am locking up the Seahawks. I feel good about this game. I died. I like Carolina's defense, and Steve Wilkes certainly has done a really good job. But I don't know if it's gonna travel Seattle and stop them from scoring four touchdowns. Yes, justin the lock Fathers may not be aligned this week, but you have a lock Zaddy. Because Mark Sessler absent from the pod, is I always return? Oh? Yes, This is a very interesting moment here that Dan asked me to join him and it ends up being Mark from his confidence in you, and now I must go to the other This could be this could be a turning point. I'm just I'm just enjoying the show in the flesh. Normally I'm on a treadmill listed to I mean, you're you're an active part. There's a lot of things going on here. Before we say goodbye to Neil, I do want UH bring up a very embarrassing moment about twenty minutes ago. He doesn't know this happened where I drank from his water, so we we're sharing sing fluids. On that side of that, I think there was some funny business going on. Did I drink and it got confusing? And now about major regret us regret for you. I'm just making sure I'm okay. So I didn't drink um. How do how you feeling about it? I already feel the disease just being Channel five Neil Reynolds follow him on Twitter at Neil Reynolds NFL is Yeah. Thanks. You don't follow me off the top of my head. I probably do, and if I don't, I will rectify it. But I almost certainly do. Uh. And also sky Sport everyone, we have so many overseas listeners, you know, Neil, he's basically the eyes and out there. Wow, So thank you for words. Yeah. I think Zessler will be happy with this on I hope he's okay with it, and if he if he's mad about them, that's even better. I'll be six thousand miles away, But all right, we'll take a break and then finish out the draft. All right, welcome back Neil Reynolds. We saw him off Greg as we went to break, total panic over taking a sip of another man's water. You know, I know it's been a lot that's happened in in the world in the last few years. Greg, when I'm starting to get a little bit worried that you're becoming one of those like German not a germophobe. And Neil said, he was like, you know, he hasn't left his house in six years, not at all. But you also, you don't want to drink another man's water. You're never drinking o this. You don't moan another man's lawn and you don't drink his water anyway. Um, stay with us, Greg, That's what That's what I'm saying. Greg, and a bubble would be kind of funny. I'm so not a germophobe. I'm not a germophobe. I am taking I'm just moving on in the draft. I just gotta take We have the foot wait, put that footage up. We have footage of the moment Gregg takes the sip. This is good. This is why I gotta watch the TV show on NFL Network and YouTube, and watch as he takes the gulp of the water. He's enjoying it, he's washing it down. Oh, the germs are invading my soul and my body. You could see it. He's disgusted. He's not even hearing at that point. I'm glad there's no close up. I wish we we gotta get the slow motion. Can we get a zoom and slow motion before the end of the show. All right, let's get back to it. Yeah, did you have something else? Say no snakes to you. We got four more games. Ravens Steelers used to be the best rivalry in the league. Now it's not but a little bit of juice here with Tyler Honley, Uh Steelers five and seven. There's a lot of five and seven teams around the NFL this week that I think I've been better than the records. We've talked about that the Steelers are one of them. They statistically played like a top tennis offense, which is crazy, or top tennis defense. No, no, no, a top ten team overall. Since thereby they had that nice game against Cincinnati which I was impressed by their offense overall, their defense has been rock solid. They did move the ball well against Atlanta, even if they scored. I think they showed something to themselves into their coach over the last month that they can run the ball when they want to and that's who they want to be. The run blocking has gotten better, Nase Harris is definitely running the ball better. But you're coming up against a Ravens team who I think specializes in run defense. I do believe in this Ravens defense a lot. I know they blew those late leads only once, really since I think they changed their identity and have improved, and so I don't think this is a gimmey win for either team. I picked the Steelers online. Who would you pick in this game if you were forced to pick games every weekday? Yeah? I would pick the Steelers as well for the reasons you've meant shinned Um. Their defense is really come along here. I think Pickett has not been someone that's blowing the doors off the league like a Justin Herbert a couple of years ago, or name the rookie that makes an immediate impact. But I think he's leading the team and close at more, maybe not at the level when Mac Jones is playing really well last year, but kind of in that in that club what it's like. He's not holding the team back and he's making some plays UH and Baltimore. I'm just not high on the Ravens right now at all. Even when Lamar was there, um My faith had been shaken by too many failed performances, too many second half collapses. And while I like and respect Huntley as as a backup, I don't I see them struggling to score points here. I think it's another team. Like we talked about with the Bucks going to San Francisco. This feels like a ten point week, thirteen point week for the Ravens, and I think the Steelers find a way and we have another to me like seventeen thirteen, seventeen, ten, twenty fourteen type game. I I agree that it will be close, it'll be low score. Rien. I believe Huntley played against the Steelers UH a year ago in Week seventeen. It was a crazy game, and that they ended up losing sixteen to thirteen. He's always trying to lead these late comeback. He's not Lamar, obviously. He is very good at running for first downs. He had five running first downs last week. I thought he played as well as you could humanly play in a game where you only scored ten points and had an interception last week. He doesn't throw the ball deep though, like Lamar deep on the outside. He yeah, he he is. He is more of kind of what we thought Mike White would be as a passer. He is that little a lot of short stuff and point guard distributor. But that might be all they need. Ronnie Stanley looks like he's gonna be back. That's really important for their offensive line. Who also lost Patrick Macary the other tackle, So it's like they're they lost both their tackles last week. Now you get one of them back, they have a chance to win this game. I think these two teams are close. If they don't, it gives the Bengals a real chance to go take charge of this division and that one seed. The one seat is everyone that has eight wins has a chance for the one seeds. The Dolphins have a chance for the one seed. The Bengals have a chance. The Ravens have a chance. Like I don't think the Chiefs are gonna slip up too much, so it's not that much of a chance. But this is a huge game for Baltimore. I was with you, You're talking about the Browns earlier, and you know, put their season too bed if Cincinnati can take care of them this week. There was a scenario briefly I was thinking about when Cleveland with Watson took car of Houston and then it looked like the Ravens were gonna get get beat by Denver after Lamar went out, and then you were looking at that division and you're like, oh man, this is this could get interesting. Could Cleveland catch Baltimore? I think they. I think Baltimore could fade in the standings. I think it's a very very strong chance here that Cincinnati ends up running away from this with this division and Pittsburgh again, they're they're just in proving there are three and one since thereby, And I know this matters to to Mike Tomlin. It matters the Steelers fans. I imagine the streak of never having a losing season. They have the fifth easiest strength of schedule remaining among a f C teams, and I think the hardest matchup is this one. And I like them in this game. So I think the Steelers. I don't think they're gonna make a push for the playoffs. But I thought this season for the Steelers was heading towards like just a real one of those ugly grim four and thirteen type seasons. Uh, if you would have talked to me about them six weeks ago. And they've really figured things out, and I think they're going to continue to show us that it's the stars and scribes defense. But they have their stars playing well. Cameron Hayward's playing well. Alex Highsmith I think is now a star, or at least he's a guy that you're gonna give a long term contract to. Ten Sacks playing really, t J Watt, Minka Fitzpatrick's that's like four really good defensive players. I don't know by the rest of the guys, but they're good enough. All right, Let's move now to the final. Mark sesslerfick Mark of course under the weather, but we have heard from him a couple of times today, so that's always nice. Uh. Neil Reynolds is checked out, so let's have the Grave Digger make a selection for Mark Well. I think Mark has always talked about how he loves watching Patrick Mahomes play, and as much as he's also on the Titans bandwagon, you better not be a Romo game because he literally he will knife you. Is actually your Jets this week? Really? Yeah? Can you believe that? Is that right? Did you know that I didn't? Would that have affected your draft choice? I was pretty set on the line here, Mr Jets, but I wanted Mr Jets me. I've said many times, no problem with people taking that if I didn't do that. My normal broadcaster preparation, that kind of which is look at the piece of paper you print for me, thank you. That's why I knew that they were the Jets. I mean, although we have to worry about Gravers uh attending to detail here. If he thinks that Mark loves watching Patrick mah, he's over. Mark tends to like the the less covered athletes, the ones that get a lot of primetime love and what not. But either way, this is a good pick, taking the Chiefs that Broncos for Mark because there's no way Charles Davis, you know, no, that's Mark away from the Titans because of everything that's happened since he joined. I see that's really funny, well well played there. Yes he's uh, he's been a bit of a poison there, but uh, yeah, so we're going with Chiefs Broncos. You said, that's right, Okay. I like that. The Chiefs I've really worked on the running game. I know they didn't win that game last week, but when they ran it in the red zone on third and four, I was like, okay, Chiefs and then some pretty good runs in key spots when the Bengals were kind of begging them too. And this is a game where, yeah it's a mismatch, but the Broncos defense is great and I think they'll do some of the things, uh that a lot of defense has tried to do against Kansas City, which has forced them to run. And the Chiefs have shown they can do it now with Pacheco and McKinnon. I like McKinnon better. That's all I get to say. There's three four pm games Eastern. Yeah, but now we have Mark taking two of them. Oh should I undo that? Oh? Justin we can do a post show. You can do a post show trade and clean it up. I don't always take everything into account that you guys do. Just that I bring you into my home, give me my music, please, I'll bring you into my own this podcast family we call an And this is how you want to pay me, which is great at the disrespect, I will not forget. That's all I got. We really need this, uh you know, for everyone listening on the podcast to check out the TV show re errs throughout the weekend just to see Dan Hanson show for that al Pacino scent of a woman Oscar. Uh, that's Brando. But all right, let's let's send anything else we want to add to this game. I just want to say we've we've hit on the Broncos side of this pretty hard recently. But I'll say it again, ten games with one touchdown or less. And uh, the Russell Wilson story line here, it's the biggest surprise in the NFL, I think this year. What has happened to him and Denver and the expectations there. It's just it's still blows my mind when you watch uh them on offense and I think I'm gonna I will slide and grab this game. Mark will understand, just so I can grab one of these late games. Um, but like, I'm not gonna enjoy it. It's not gonna be fun. And the Chiefs, I feel I could be more in that uh the mode they were against the Rams at Arrowhead where it's just survive in advanced type vibe. So I don't expect this to be a fun game. And the one thing I'll give credit to Denver on Greggy that their defense hasn't quit despite all the frustrations on that other side of the ball. Last week was interesting for the Broncos. They have gone to the next level and not trusting Russell Wilson to throw the ball in a lot of situations running on third and five. Every third and long was a throw short of the sticks, but they did set up a few deep shots. I I was skeptical of this assessment, but that probably was Russell Wilson's best game of the season. Even I'm just saying, no, you had that one game against the Raiders, he was okay, I just mean they folk. He did a couple of nice deep balls and didn't make any huge mistakes. Greg Dulsich has really come on as a nice option for them and this Chief's defense. They're not a pass rush team. Show show us you can have a plus game Chiefs defense. You're gonna have to try to go win the Super Bowl with his defense. If you can't make Russell Wilson look bad, then I'd start being worried. Yeah, did you know that the Broncos have won once in September? There were some people who saw them as a Super Bowl contender. I don't even want to go back and check out my season for actions because I think I had Wilson in the Offensive Player of the year. Well little check on that, all right, So why don't why don't we flip this now? So let me grab that game. Let's make that the we talked about the trade last week that Mark this, this is the terms of the trade. I actually moved up one spot in this draft. I grabbed that. And now justin you will take a game on behalf of Mark Sessler. You're back at a kid, all right. Mark loves games that end quickly that he doesn't have to pay super close attention to. So let's give him Texans at Cowboys. Yeah, he would adore that game. All right. My my second tray is a better tray. Now you have to provide though incredible analysis about this sends you threw it out, all right, Let's see the Cowboys have dominated whatever. Let's see the Cowboys are a team in Dallas, Texas for Texas my home state ball. How much analysis Kyle Allen still playing. I saw Davis Mills said he was excited to get out there and hasn't lost his confidence. Kyle Allen isn't playing, Davis Mills is back, and uh, it doesn't matter. They're the same person. Though. He said he hasn't lost his confidence and he's excited to get back out. He should thank Kyle Allen. Davis Mills should buy him like the best Christmas present, because there is a difference. They're not the same. Kyle Allen was so bad. I watched that game and thought, man, they could. They might have won that Browns game with Davis Mills, just because at least, if nothing else, Kyle Allen made Davis Mills look like a long term back up in the NFL, whereas I don't think Kyle Allen should be that. Just give me this, Greggy, have you can you tell me with absolute certainty you've ever seen Kyle Allen and Davis Mills in the same place at the same time now, but one of them has a huge neck, so they are distinctive in some In some ways, this will probably be uh an easy game for the Cowboys to work on their This is like this is again, Yeah, Michael Parsons working on his Twitter issues, like this is a thing. Well, you're not digging pass rush Limbaugh. It's the best nickname of all time, past rush Limba rush Limbaugh. H. He was fired up about the Brittany Grinder release from Russia. It's good that Brittany back, though you're kidding me. I was like that felt. I was genuinely almost emotional when I saw that. Was I don't know, that's been on a long thing and you got Christmas coming. Almost emotional. I mean I was emotional. It just it sounds like I'm playing to the to the crowd or something, but I was. It was great, great news to wake up to this one. It was. It was very This is my last two wake ups. Actually woke up on UM Wednesday morning. Aaron Judge back to the Yankees on a year deal. I'm sure that will work out. The next day. Grinders out different in scope in terms of like importance to the people. Um, but I very important. I see what you're saying. You know what else is important? Cowboys They lost Anthony Brown for the season starting quarterback to the I've liked Ron Bland who had those interceptions, but this is kind of it's perfect. They can work on like the things they're not happy with, except it's like a preseason game, except you get a win in the in the standings after it's over. Did you see some of the Uh. I saw Joe Douglas trending also this morning, Greggy, and I was like, what is this? Was my GM trending. It was all people just doing bits of how if he would have handled the negotiations of the Grinder release, the America would have gotten way more. I that's that's funny. But I also am annoyed by like the people who treat it as if it's some like trade deadline deal. They're like, well, what, you didn't get enough for the second round pick. It's like, this is real life here. Just shut up. Thank you, Greg, You've as always put it in proper perspective. Okay, I'm gonna put one quick point in perspective for this game, and then we can move on Dalton's alts Michael Gallup like thirteen targets last week, fifty six yards, Doc actually didn't really have that good of a game, uh, throwing the ball. Despite all this point, I just want to see them be a little more consistent those two guys are really important. Now that we know O. B J Is not coming and I think we know it. Uh, that's their second and third receiver. They're gonna need to be consistent and they it's been up and down. Like one week you think they're back and then they're not. Just stay healthy, Dallas Cowboys, get through the game, survive in advance. Let's move on now. Uh, last pick. Right, We're at the Titans and Jaguars. Titans and Jaguars. Um, Actually, it could be a good game. Actually, I think it will, just I think it'll be a close game. Now, the Jaguars got humbled a little bit. I wonder if they were a little high on their own supply after the way things closed out. UM in week twelve with that dramatic two point conversion to beat the Ravens, and everybody including people in this room talking up the game is the thing game that changed everything, uh for the Giaguars. And uh, you know, I'll cycle back to the point I made last week in this very show, and I brought up Peyton Manning and Night and his big game he had to beat a really good Jets team. Well, that next week he went to Buffalo and that the Colts got killed. So it's not like it's not like this is it's a flip to switch. And now the quarterback in that offense will always be good, but we've now seen it can happen at any time. And uh, the Tennessee tickle monsters are gonna really need to step up here, Justin and put some pressure on on Lawrence Lawrence, and we're gonna need at some point Justin. We're gonna need your running back to break out of this funk and allow Ryan Tannehill to operate. And you know, we know Trayvon Burke's Traylon Barks. He is um still the concussion protocols this time, at this time, Robert Woods hasn't made a big impact this year. You need, you need, you need Derrick Henry to break out of this and put up a big game. Yeah, come on, de Henber where you at hasn't hasn't really think I don't know if I have that more like de Hoover, And we were also excited for dem Berks, but that's a lot is also out of practice. Christian Fulton's out of practice, David Long's out of practice, and most importantly in this game, Trevor Lawrence is out of practice now. There was early optimism out of Jacksonville that he'll return to practice by the end of the week and and can hopefully play. But I remember a certain team that's also playing in this game that gave some early week optimism about their quarterback who wasn't practicing, and then it turns out they were doing an oki dok the whole time to get the other team to prepare. Be connish. I think there's a realistic chance C. J. Bethard is starting this game for the Jaguars, which would be a shame uh and serratite. I couldn't I couldn't believe when I was watching the Jags that you know that looked bad when he got twisted down and bent the wrong way Lawrence did, and when he went down in the Detroit and with surprise that he came back, to be quite honest with you, and he ran really well. I wonder if he was shot up though. It's a toe injury, which I think is fascinating because those are usually lingering. Could be the dreaded turf toe uh ligament damage in there. So yeah, um, but I do you know what I do I think de Hamber. That would be my kind of something I feel good about, almost to the point where I would lock your guys, um. But because if everything that's happening with the Titans, of course the general manager firing, and I think Rabel, as we know, is a very good coach. Mark Sessler said at the top of the show, he's gonna I think he's gonna circle the wagons here and have this team ready to play. And I think you're gonna get be ready to cut this for the show on Sunday. I think we're gonna get one of those monster Henry games. I'm thinking a hundred and fifty plus rushing yards, mull, ultiple touchdowns, maybe a big reception as well, and that's going to be the difference in the Titans win. That kind of settles things down if they're really chaotic two weeks. I love those predictions. You know his Week fourteen, when Derrick Henry had his breakout game on Thursday night football ran for those four touchdowns yards score. So we're at the same time of year against the same opponent. This is prime de Hamber territory, That's what I'm saying. It's crazy because I can remember where I was for that very game in the First City newsroom. Chris Westling was on that night as well. With me, I'm not as confident though about this game for the Titans and two against the division since the start of And is he gonna do? Is he gonna believe? I believe enough that this is going to be a closer game than everyone thinks, but still Titans will pull it out. I'm walking up there, you go, justin. I believe it will be closer game than everyone thinks. But I'm locking up. It's a four point spread. That's good. That's a good job. Just he justin knows what he's doing here. He knows he might get C. J. Beathard. And then the line moves and you got a fact, all these things being sneaky. Dan said that the Titans made me look foolish earlier. I've made myself look foolish enough. Now I'm in the last place in the lock standing. We could if we're there there, let's take a look Greggy and and first, but he betrayed me. So I'm gonna come for him now. Zeus or nine and for the defending champion zuer You want to find the trophy head to Zeuser manner. Go to my foyer. There is nineteen or trophy can be looking at a dynasty here you live in the past. Mark Sessler, eight and five of the West Brothers seven and six and graved there sub five D. I don't know something about that producer chair. They don't quite the game escapes them, and Justin is here's the thing. Justin as a very knowledgeable football fan, but something about that share leads to madness when it comes to the lock game. I told you I want you guys to be in first. It's you're the host of the show that I think I was in last. I am worried. Just I just want to get this out. I think there's a dark timeline for the Titans where things completely fall apart. So you got Jeffrey Simmons is not looking the same. The offensive line is a mess that just fired their GM where they could be like an eight or nine win team in the in the playoffs still, but just that it doesn't go well. I don't know about what happens at the end of the season, but I will tell you this, just nice, relaxing dub henry O beast that would match the Titans highest score of the seat point total, not a not an lead offense. That's about the best they can do. Um. All right, there you go. That is the draft. That is the program. Uh what's before we go again? If you are in the Los Angeles area, Hell, even if you're not in the Los Angeles area, we have our a t N home homecoming, uh live show from the Bourbon Room in Hollywood, Wednesday, January. Get your tickets Ticketmaster or anywhere else. I love it. Con memory, we heard that our last mentioned sold some tickets and they could be out before Christmas, so don't wait. All right, there you go. Thank you to Neil Reynolds for his expert work. Thank you to Mark Sessler for popping in. That's so you know he's a trooper for the Old Boss and the grave digger and everyone behind the glass. Remember he the call