January 15, 2021 • 34 mins
Clay Travis discusses Urban Meyer joining the NFL ranks and dives into other coaches who made the leap. What's the one thing that makes an incredible difference in staying power? Dr. Chao is in the house to update you on all the key injuries as we enter the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. Plus, Clay tries to rebound with his NFL 6 Pack of Picks!
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'll Kicked the Coverage with Clay Travis live every weekday
morning from six to nine a m. E Stone three
to six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your
local station for Outkicked the Coverage at Fox Sports Radio
dot Com, or stream us live every morning on the
I Heart Radio app by searching fs are you're listening
(00:22):
to Fox Sports Radio. Should be a spectacular Saturday and
Sunday for football fans out there as we get ready
for Rams, Packers, Ravens Bills on Saturday, Brown's Chiefs, and
Bucks Saints on Sunday. But the story that is kind
of looming over everything right now is urban Meyer going
(00:47):
and joining the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I broke that down
for you in the first hour about why I was
so intrigued to see how he was going to do.
But this is just an example of how good the
NFL has become at creating great storylines even if teams
aren't great, because there are a lot of you out
(01:07):
there who are going to be like me, waiting to
see what this relationship is going to lead to with
Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence presumably bringing in a new
era of the Jacksonville Jaguars, And I told you in
the first hour that as good of a coach as
Urban Meyer is, if I am a Jacksonville Jaguar fan
(01:31):
right now, I am so desperately hoping that Trevor Lawrence
is a great quarterback, because if he is, he'll make
the coach. Quarterbacks make coaches. A coach can get the
most out of a quarterback. But you just saw this
year in a great almost football science experiment. I don't
(01:56):
think there's anybody out there that doubts that Bill Belichick
is the best NFL coach of our lifetime. But when
you replaced Tom Brady with Cam Newton, there was no
way that the Patriots were anywhere close to a super
Bowl team. And when you replaced Jamis Winston with Tom
(02:19):
Brady and Tampa Bay, all of a sudden, Bruce Arians
offense looked a lot better. It went from an offense
where a quarterback was throwing thirty interceptions alongside of thirty
touchdowns to one where the quarterback was throwing forty touchdowns
and just barely over single digit interceptions. And as the
(02:42):
season progressed, Brady was getting more comfortable and better in
that offense. He was throwing the ball down the field
more than he had in years. And it's no wonder
because there were incredible weapons there. Bruce arians took the
Bucks to the playoffs. I don't think they would have
been there if Jamis Winston had come back for another year.
(03:04):
Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of our lives in
the NFL. But you give him a quarterback other than
Tom Brady, and that team looks very average. So as
excited as you might be if you are a Jags
fan right now, and as excited as you might be
with all those other teams with job openings in the
(03:27):
off season, if you've got a great quarterback, the coach
is gonna look good. If you've got a mediocre to
bad quarterback, the coach is gonna look mediocre too bad.
There's no way to finesse an average quarterback into greatness.
And so if I'm urban Meyer, the number one question
(03:47):
that I have is that I had to answer. Even
if he doesn't say this to everybody out there in
the media, he's got to believe that Trevor Lawrence is
that good. He really does, because he's got four of
the top forty five picks in this year's NFL draft.
(04:07):
Good shot that you could get four starters there if
you did really well on off all four of those
top forty five picks. And he's got a hundred million
dollars in cap space. If Trevor Lawrence is good, this
Jags team can flip from one in fifteen two. I
think in the mix to maybe get into November and
(04:31):
December with a hope of making the playoffs. That doesn't
happen anywhere else. That happens in the NFL almost every year.
A team goes from worst in the division to having
a chance to compete for a division title or even
win it. Almost every single year in the NFL. And
so I have a lot of questions about how urban
(04:52):
Meyer is gonna do, about the culture that he might build,
about his own health, about how many years he's gonna
be committed to coaching the jag About how well his
methods of getting the most out of players are going
to work in an NFL locker room with professionals as
opposed to college kids that acknowledge that you are the boss.
(05:14):
I think that's gonna be an incredible challenge for urban Meyer.
But I definitely think that he's got the coaching bona
fides to potentially put himself into rarefied air with the
three guys who have won national championships and Super Bowls,
Jimmy Johnson most recently, Pete Carroll and before that, Barry Switzer.
(05:43):
That is how rare the air is for guys who
have won national championships in college to go on and
do it at the NFL to win the Super Bowl.
So that is a big story that is hanging over
everything to me. So many storylines to follow, and we're
gonna jump into those here momentarily with Dr David Chow
(06:03):
to break down the overall health picture of these four games.
But if you ask me right now, which games am
I most excited to watch, It's a no contest. It's
almost a dead heat. Ravens Bills on Saturday. I can't
wait to see what's gonna happen in Josh Allen against
(06:25):
Lamar Jackson, Sean McDermott going up against John Harbaugh. One
of those two teams gonna take the next step and
get to the a f C Championship game behind their
third year quarterback. And then the other game is the
exact opposite of this. It's two aging gun Slingers in
(06:46):
forty one year old Drew Brees hosting forty three year
old Tom Brady. And really, if you break down these
two a f C and NFC final four's the final
four in the NFC is guys we've all watched play
a ton over the years. Brady, Breeze, Rogers, they've been
there for fifteen years or more, twenty years in the
(07:09):
case of Brady, where we've been debating how good they are.
We've been watching all their games. And then you go ahead,
um and and toss in a guy in Jared Goff
that's been to a Super Bowl, but I think most
people would say is clearly the least accomplished of those quarterbacks.
And then in the a f C, basically everybody's under
(07:31):
twenty five years old. You got Baker, Josh Allen, and
Lamar Jackson, all in the same class, all first rounders
from three years ago, all of whom got their first
playoff wins in a relatively short period of time. And
then you've got Patrick Mahomes, who looks like the next
Tom Brady. And I'm gonna talk about that a little
(07:54):
bit with Dr Chow In terms of the health conditions,
that everybody is going to find themselves in and how
he would assess. And then in the final segment of
the week, I'm gonna give you my OutKick six pack,
my gambling picks which have been winning at a six rate.
Although we didn't have a good playoff week last week,
We're gonna dive right into all of those and we'll
(08:16):
continue uh to hopefully get back on a winning streak.
With that, be sure to catch live editions about kick
the coverage with Clay Travis weekdays at six am Eastern
three am Pacific. We got a lot of great games tomorrow,
two of them in fact, Rams Packers, Ravens, Bills, Brown's Chiefs,
and Bucks Saints. UH. Dr Chow usually has been joining
(08:36):
us on Thursday when we had Thursday Night Football, but
now that we are down to the final four games
of the divisional weekend, he's joining us on Friday. Guessing
we'll talk to him next Friday for the a f
C and NFC championship game. So Dr Chow, I'm just
gonna run through in the order that these games are
kicking off. You tell me what I need to know,
what is standing out to you, and I will start
(08:57):
with the Rams Packers store line from the Rams. By
far the biggest storyline is Jared Goff and his thumb.
He didn't start, then the starting quarterback, John Wolford got hurt.
He came in almost immediately played. There seems to be
some tension over whether or not he was able to
go from the get go. How would you assess how
(09:20):
Jared Goff looked and what do you anticipate him looking
like on Saturday at lambeau Field. Well, there's no question
he was healthy enough to play. Maybe not on Tuesday
when Sean mcveab made the decision to go with Wolford,
but certainly by game time he was healthy enough to play.
Why because they only activated two quarterbacks, Goff and John Wolford.
(09:42):
If Goff was questionable in any way with his thumb,
they would have activated Blake Portals. No one wants to
Denver Broncos without a quarterback situation, especially in the playoffs.
And obviously he finished the game and did okay. Now,
whether he played well or not, whether he's the right
guy or not, that's a different discussion. But as often
mist because I was last week about Golf being ready
to go, and he will be ready to go, he
(10:04):
will be the starter. I'm actually more pessimistic this week.
All season long, the Rams have been the healthier side,
but not this week, not tomorrow. The uh, the Packers
are the healthier side. Golf with his thumb is less
than he doesn't have full mobility on the in the thumb.
It'll be even stiffer. In the cold, the grip will
(10:26):
be more difficult. The pins that he has in his
hand will make it more difficult. Obviously, metal gets very
cold and cold weather. This is a freezing temperature about
freezing temperature game, and golf has not done well glove
or not in these games. He's been the last two games,
he's been under fifty zero touchdowns in five in exceptions.
He's a California kid, obviously, so is Aaron Rodgers, but
(10:48):
he's been out in Green Bay for fifteen years. Right now,
Cooper Cup will play, Cam Akers will play, Darryl Henderson won't.
Aaron Donald will play, and there the Rams real chances
if they can just throughout the offensive lines to the
Packers since they'll be short. David Baktari at left tackle. Okay,
what about Aaron Donald's health? How you talked about the
(11:10):
impact of the cold weather on Goff's thumb. How would
you assess Aaron Donald if you were trying to put
the percentage uh that he'll be able to be full go?
I think the percentage of that he'll be full go
or new fall goal is very high. You know what, Clay,
because in the cold weather, Mar Kane or Nova King
works just as well. And that's what he's gonna need
(11:30):
in his ribs and cartilage to be able to play.
No real practice this week, but he will be full. Go.
I anticipate uh in uh a lambeau Field. We're talking
Dr David Chow at Pro Football Doc on Twitter. Anything else. Well,
we gotta make our picks in the next segment. And
you're making me a little bit nervous of the money
(11:51):
is on the Packers. It's sounding to me like you
are on the Packers as well. Yeah. I lean towards
the Packers. They're the healthier side. And you know, Goff
of his thumb, which you know, I know he's gonna play,
but how well is the question? And with the cold
and he's already been practicing with the gloves. Look, Clay,
I just go by injuries, you know, you go more
(12:12):
of my schemes and the whole deal. So I'm just
saying by injuries, the Packers are the healthier side, even
without Jared l Dear coming in at left tackle from
the Colts. And by the way, there's still an outside
chance he could play if he's determined to be a
false positive, which is a possibility at this point in time. Like,
like I said, I just go buy injuries, you know,
(12:33):
you incorporate that into scheme and other things and make
picks like that. Ravens Bills is obviously the Saturday night game,
Lamar Jackson against Josh Allen getting all the billing. Stefon
Diggs looked like he was healthy. Would you say that
he's likely to be healthy? How would you assess these
two teams? Uh, this is a battle of the two
(12:55):
healthiest teams left in the playoffs. Number one Bills, Number
two the Evens the too healthiest squad. The Bills don't
even have Stefon Diggs or Cole Beasley on the final
injury report. They're gonna go and play. The only person
they're really missing them any substance is Zack Moss, who's
out for the rest of the season. The rest of
the playoffs with his high ankle spring. The Ravens are
(13:17):
pretty healthy to the main one they're gonna miss still
is Ronnie Stanley, their left tackle. But Marcus Peters is questionable,
but I believe we'll play. He just recovered from a
calf now it's his back. Clay Campbell is back with
his calf. Matthew Judon will play through non COVID illness.
They're about as healthy as they can be on both
sides of the ball. Of course, what's interesting is Lamar
(13:39):
Jackson said something about never playing in a snow game.
But in my experience, the offensive players have better footing
than the defensive players because they know which direction they're
gonna go and cut. All right, let's go into uh.
And so how would you assess with the Bills being
a healthier team than the Ravens but both being fairly healthy.
Not of an advantage one way or the other from
(14:01):
a health perspective, Yeah, not much, not much of an
advantage one way or the other. There's kind of a
coin flip. And uh, I'll probably lean towards Buffalo. Why,
I know more guys on Buffalo. One of my good
friends is on Buffalo and coaches and so that's just
a homer pick for me. There's no real there's no
injury and manage here. I mean, it's a coin flip.
(14:23):
All right, Let's go into Sunday, Brown's on the road
against the Chiefs. Browns with a stunning win on the
road against the Steelers. Chiefs have had really I mean,
they took off a lot of their players did the
final week of the regular season. Then they get another
week to rest. The obvious biggest question is Clyde Edwards Hilaire,
What are you hearing about him? And what about the
(14:45):
overall health impact of this game in general? Well, you know,
it's been my thought since Week fifteen, late in the
game when he got injured with his hip and ankle,
that he would be ready for the divisional round of
the playoffs. He did get back to some practic to
this week, although not full. I think he will play.
The question is how many carries, etcetera. The best news
(15:08):
for the chief is that, you know, Jeff Schwartz, the
right tackle has been out for a while, Michel, back
up Mitchell j yeahs on your show. Yeah, I get
mixed up. Mitchell Schwartz. Thank if suddenly he was playing
on the Chiefs. Well, heck, if that would happen, that's
the bigger story than uh than Jared Velder playing on
(15:29):
two playoff teams coming off the high school coaching to play.
So yeah, Mitchell Schwartz with his back, thank you, and
but but Mike Grammer's his backup had a back issue
and has returned to practice, So I think that's key
to stabilize the offensive line there. Tyree Kills Hamstrink is fine.
Sammy Watkins is a little iffy on his calf though,
But overall the Chiefs are good. The Browns get a
(15:52):
lot healthier than last week when they trounced the Steelers.
Last week, I was amazed that they could beat the
Steelers because they had health issues their top five defensive backs,
and you know, you saw in the second half when
it was out of reach kind of Steelers came out
and threw the ball nineteen out of twenty times and
in a row and scored two touchdowns, but then obviously
(16:12):
didn't have enough. They get back Denz a Ward off
of COVID, they get back Kevin Johnson off of COVID,
two key cornerbacks, but they lose uh, a cornerback as well, Uh,
due to a hamstring. So if you're short of slot
corner with the weapons the Chiefs have, is it enough?
And of course uh, they lost Olivier Vernon too, so
(16:34):
the Browns are the less healthy side there versus the Chiefs,
which is not an ideal place to be when you're
playing against the team that's favored to win the Super Bowl. Uh. Finally,
battle of forty three year old Tom Brady forty one
year old Drew Brees the Bucks for a third time,
go up against the Saints. How did Mike Evans look
(16:55):
on that knee? For you? How would you assess the
overall health of both of these tames Mike, Mike Thomas.
Michael Thomas came back in that game against the Bears.
How healthy did he look? How would you assess these
two teams? Well, you know the Uh, Mike Evans surprised
and did better than I thought last week, so he's
even gonna be better this week. And Ronald Jones, I
(17:18):
think is if he on his quad injury. The big
loss for Tampa as Alex caffa guard with the broken
ankle and they'll have to adjust defensively. Though, the Bucks
get healthier getting uh Devin White back off the COVID
UH protocol, as well as uh D lineman Steve McClendon.
So those are key additions for the Bucks. For the Saints,
(17:38):
they're healthy in terms of Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Drew
brees with his ribs, but Latavius Murray is likely not
to play with his quad issue, won't be able to
be explosive, and Patrick Robinson defensively the slot corner may
not be able to go with his hamstring. And when
you're going up against Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin,
(18:01):
you better have three of your top corners ready to go.
And that's a position to watch. Although the Saints do
get back Trey Hendrickson their number one pass rusher, but
health wise, because of that slot corner, I leaned towards
the Bucks. And also, look, if the Saints were a
far superior team talent wise, then yeah, they could probably
(18:23):
beat them a third time. I think talent wise they're
fairly evenly matched, which means the Bucks will come up
with something different in their scheme this time and the
Saints will probably run what's worked for them, so that
might give the Bucks the advantage in my impression, but
of course you'll make your picks as well. Yeah, coming
up next segment. Now I'm knocking on wood here, but
it appears that there are not massive issues health wise
(18:46):
from a COVID perspective for the divisional round playoff games.
And I don't know about you, Doc, you can tell
me if I'm wrong, But if they get through this weekend,
then they've only got three games left in the NFL
season and they got a bye week, you feel like
there's actually decent chance that this thing is gonna come
off and they're gonna be able to play without disastrous
(19:08):
COVID related cancelation or guys having to sit out who
could have a substantial impact, no question. And it's always
been the pattern that as the playoffs go on, the
healthier teams are the ones that survive, right, and so
we in general get healthier. Look, the forty Niners weren't
gonna make it, the Cowboys weren't going to make it,
the Eagles weren't gonna make it. They were among the
(19:30):
more injured teams this year. But the healthier teams survived
in for COVID perspective, First of all, as you have
less teams in the playoffs, there's less games, there's less
chance for disaster. But also I would hope that those
players and staff would really buckle down right right, the
time to do something silly is not before the conference
championship game and not before the Super Bowl, Right, that's
(19:52):
the last thing you want to do. Pop positive and miss.
I would imagine if I were so lucky to be
in that position, I'd be on very strict lockdown, just
because not because of being COVID fearful per se, but
just like I don't want anything to ruin my chances
or participating in such a big lifetime event which you
worked for all years, so that you really hunker down. Yeah,
(20:13):
that's a great point. We're talking Dr David Chao at
Pro Football Doc on Twitter. I know we just ran
through all of the NFL, but I've got an NBA
question for you. Kevin Durant now has come back and
played a lot of games. I don't know if you've
gotten very much of a chance to watch him so far.
Does he look like he's back to the same Kevin
Durant before he got injured in the finals against the Rafts.
(20:37):
I think physically his health is fine, but is he
the same guy? Not quite yet. Part of it is
just you know, rust and getting back into it. When
he heard his achilles, I think there was a little dispute.
He was essentially the best player in the league at
the moment, even on the Warriors, the ball went through
Kevin Durant, not Steph Curry at the time that he
(20:58):
hurt his achilles, and I don't know that he has
that complete dominance yet, but there's no reason he can't
get it back. And if you remember a while back,
you know, on Outkicking on Fox Sports Radio, when people said, oh, achilles,
his career is done, I said, no, no, no. Kobe
was the outlier because he was older. Look at Dominique Wilkins.
I fully expect Kevin Durant to regain his old form.
(21:21):
I think physically he's getting there, but of course, just
flow of the game and rust. He's still not quite
fully the number one dominant player yet, but I think
he can get there physically. Another question that I want
to ask you, Let's presume we get to the Super Bowl,
right whichever two teams are there. If they came to
you and they said, hey, we've got two weeks until
(21:42):
this game is played. What would you suggest to make
it the best possible scenario so that we have no
COVID issues for the Super Bowl? Would you suggest bubbling
the two teams maybe in Orlando near the reason why
I'm asking I kind of floated this ide you near
where the Wide World of Sports where the NBA had
(22:04):
their event, and then you could drive the teams over
to UH to Tampa for the game itself. And do
you think the NFL will make any adjustments once they
have a neutral site venue where the game is gonna
be played as opposed to right now you already have
one team that is basically by the home football stadium.
The other team has to travel. What do you think
(22:25):
happens when both teams travel? Well, you know, I don't
think the NFL is gonna bubble up. They're not gonna
come in like on Sunday before the game like in
usual super Bowls are gonna come in much later. I
think teams will be diligent at home. You gotta remember
travel for you and I might be a much bigger
deal as you're in public places and you know, you
(22:45):
might be three across on an airplane. Travel in the
NFL is not on Southwest Airlines. No offense group in
the middle seat. No one's in the middle seat. But
quite honestly, this year they're using two planes to expand
the travel even more for a Super Bowl contingent, they
might use three or four plane. So traveling, I don't
(23:06):
think it's that big of an issue. They've expanded the
number of buses so you're not next to anybody, so
the travel isn't that big of an issue. I think
the big issue here, if you're gonna bubble up is
you have to enter into the bubble in great security
and secrecy. And the biggest hazard that these players were
would have to do with and and if it were
me on the team, I would be preaching this. I
(23:29):
understand you've got family and friends. I understand they all
helped you get here to the Super Bowl, but they're
the ones that are also gonna, potentially, inadvertently with contact
with you, prevent you from playing in the Super Bowl.
So no offense. Hug your kids, but you know then
you know, but keep your distance as well, because that's
(23:51):
where it's gonna come from, and that's what you just
don't want to have happened. The day or two before
the game and all of a sudden you turn positive
because you spend time. It's that answer, uncle that you love.
But you know, I mean, it is what it is.
I think that's where the diligence needs to be. Dr Chow.
We appreciate the time, my man. Good luck watching the games.
We'll talk to you next week. And people who want
(24:12):
to know the updated and the most recent reaction to
any injury related issue should go to Pro Football Doc
on Twitter. Certainly check out your website. You can check
out out Kick later this morning. We'll have a right
up from you on all of these different injury related issues.
Thanks much. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
(24:34):
Fox sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart
Radio app search f s R to listen live. We
did not have a good week last week with the
OutKick six back. In fact, we went one and four
with an additional push Push was a tough one, by
the way, in the Bills game against the colt they
(24:55):
didn't score any points in the final seven minutes of
that game. As a result, our numbers dropped to sixty
two and forty two on the year. That's still a
sixty winning percentage. We are hoping to bounce back in
a big way in the divisional round of the playoffs.
I have seven picks for you, A Baker's half dozen,
the Outkicks six pack about to be rolled out. Here
(25:19):
we go. I'm gonna go through these, dub You can
say whether or not you agree or disagree with him.
I'm starting, and I'm going in order that the games
will be played. I believe Rams at Packers first game
kicking off on Saturday afternoon, I am taking the under
forty five point five. And I was thinking about taking
(25:39):
the Rams as well. But Dr Chill, I'm gonna be
honest with you. Dr Chow scared me off of it
a little bit with all of his talk about Jared
Goff's thumb being in rough shape. He wasn't playing well already,
and so I think, Look, the Rams have the two
best defensive players in the NFL. I don't think that's
an exaggeration. Aaron Donald Jalen Ramsey. I can't wait to
(26:00):
see Aaron Donald, see how healthy he is. More importantly,
I can't wait to see Jalen Ramsey against Davante Adams.
And so I am going with the under in this game.
The under forty five and a half in this game,
the Rams on the road in the fringid conditions lambeau Field,
the frozen tundra, the Sunshine Boys from southern California going
(26:24):
on the road. I am taking the under forty five
and a half in this win. Let me just say
this right now, this line is around six and a half.
If it were to tick out to seven, I would
also take the Rams, but I'm not gonna take them
under seven. So by the time this game kicks off tomorrow,
the Rams plus seven might also be a good play,
(26:47):
but that is where I'm going on the under. What
say you, dub I agree with your under, and this
game did open at seven. But the line movement makes
me like the under even more because it makes me
think that um sharp betters and public but probably mostly
sharp betting early on in the week, they have faith
in this Rams defense going up against Aaron Rodgers, and
I think that's the key matchup and betting this under
(27:08):
here alright, So that's bet one. Next game up Ravens Bills.
I really am going Bills minus two and a half.
Year they didn't play well against the Colts they found
a way to win. I think they got the proverbial
monkey off of their back. I think they feel a
lot looser. They hadn't won a game in Buffalo since
(27:28):
all the way back to like I think it was
the Bills mafia is gonna be there six dred or
so strong. I like the Bills and I like the
over forty nine. The Bills are a two and a
half point favorite. Uh the over under forty nine. I
think both of these teams will score. I'm not sold
(27:49):
on the Bills defense. I like Stefon Diggs and what
I think will be a matchup with a lot of
man demand coverage. The Ravens trust their secondary. I think
it's gonna be hard to cover st Fawn Diggs. I
love the big arm of Josh Allen. I think he
will play much better this week. Great game. I can't
wait to see who is going to be able to
come out victorious here. But I am going Bills minus
(28:12):
two and a half and the over. First disagreement of
the day here, Clay, I'm looking at the forecast and
I'm not really afraid of snow. In terms of your over,
I actually do like you'r over, But on the side.
The wind is gonna be howling in Orchard Park, New
York on Saturday night, looking like fifteen mile an hour
winds with gusts almost up to thirty mile an hour.
(28:32):
If I'm if I'm handicapping this game, I want the
team that can run the ball to best. So I'm
gonna go Ravens here plus two and a half. All right,
onto the next game on Sunday, the Browns on the
road in Kansas City. I'm sorry, the Chiefs are one
in seven against the number in their last eight. I believe,
dub you can correct me up on this. I think
(28:53):
they've lost seven in a row against the number, and
they're a double digit favorite. And I know how good
Andy Reid has been and coming off of rest, and
I know the idea that's out there that the Chiefs
are just gonna flip a switch. But I like Nick Chubb,
I like Kareem Hunt. I like this, uh, this Brown's
team playing with no pressure to go on the road
(29:15):
and perform well. I am taking the Browns plus ten,
but I'm also taking the over fifty seven. I think
that there are gonna be a lot of points scored.
Would not surprise me. If both teams here go for thirty,
I think the Chiefs win. I just think ten is
too steep. Yeah, I'm really torn on the side, but
I definitely agree with the over here because Kansas City
(29:38):
off of by with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid as
a combination, they score well over thirty points a game,
so I think Kansas City has got that side covered.
And I think Cleveland can run the ball against Kansas City.
So I think ten is probably about right, maybe a
little high, but I definitely like the over the best
in this one, all right. And then the final game Sunday,
Bucks on the road at the Saints. I love the
(30:01):
Bucks plus three and I also liked the over fifty two.
I think the Bucks are going to dictate pace here.
I like them being on indoors in the Dome. It's
been a long time since they played in this dome.
Remember a week one of the season. I know the
Saints have had the Bucks number. I even know that
(30:22):
historically the third time is generally not the charm. The
team that won the first two typically wins the third.
But I like the way this Bucks offense is playing.
I like the idea of Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin and
certainly Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brake, Brady is playing really,
(30:43):
really well. I think they will put up points. I
think this will turn into a shootout of swords, and
I like the Bucks to cover the three. This is
maybe my strongest disagreement of the year, Clay, of the
year of the year. I love the Saints here. This
is my play of the playoffs, the lay of the playoffs,
play of the playoffs for me, the Saints have only
had four games this entire season, whether they've had Drew Brees,
(31:05):
Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas. Week one against Tampa Bay,
double digit win, Week nine against Tampa Bay, thirty eight
to three, Week ten to thirteen over San Francisco, and
then last week in the wild card round twenty one
to nine over Chicago. Four no straight up, four no
against the spread, all double digit wins. Now, on the
other side, Tom Brady, he's had a great year one
(31:27):
or two point to qb R for the season, forty touchdowns.
He's only had three games all year, whereas QBR was
under eighty Week one against the Saints, Week nine again
against the Saints, and then Week eleven against the Rams.
So two of those three came against the Saints defense. Now,
Dr Chow did mention the Saints third quarter cornerback is
(31:48):
a little bit in question. That makes me a little nervous.
But I still love New Orleans here with all their
big three plan in the defense, rolling st st. I
have got futures tickets on on lock it in the
Fox bet Live, sorry, the television show we do on
the Saints, on the Chiefs, on the Ravens, and on
(32:10):
the Packers. So in theory, all of my teams could win,
and I would be guaranteed all four of those teams,
one of them would win the Super Bowl. I don't
think that's necessarily going to happen, but I would love
for the Saints to beat the Bucks. I'm just not
sure that I see it happening. So here we go.
(32:30):
The Baker's half dozen my seven picks, although you heard
Dubbed vehemently disagreeing with several of them. A little bit
of bad mojo going in under forty five and a
half in the Rams, Packers, Ravens Bills minus two and
a half on the Bills, the over forty nine Brown's
plus ten at the Chiefs and the over fifty seven
(32:54):
bucks plus three at the Saints and the over fifty
two are all of the picks. That is the Baker's
half dozen seven picks for you. Also want to encourage
all of you out there go subscribe to the OutKick podcast.
Our Outkicked podcast numbers, we were up a hundred and
(33:15):
nine in terms of listenership in compared to that is
a phenomenal growth rate, probably not equaled by anyone in
sports radio, maybe not anyone in radio period anywhere in
the country. That's a credit to you, guys. I appreciate
all of you. I thank you for hanging with us.
(33:37):
I hope you have fantastic weekends. We'll be watching all
the games on Saturday and Sunday and we'll be rolling
right back in with you guys breaking down everything else.
This is OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. This is OutKick
the Coverage with Clay Travis
I'll Kicked the Coverage with Clay Travis live every weekday
morning from six to nine a m. E Stone three
to six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your
local station for Outkicked the Coverage at Fox Sports Radio
dot Com, or stream us live every morning on the
I Heart Radio app by searching fs are you're listening
(00:22):
to Fox Sports Radio. Should be a spectacular Saturday and
Sunday for football fans out there as we get ready
for Rams, Packers, Ravens Bills on Saturday, Brown's Chiefs, and
Bucks Saints on Sunday. But the story that is kind
of looming over everything right now is urban Meyer going
(00:47):
and joining the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I broke that down
for you in the first hour about why I was
so intrigued to see how he was going to do.
But this is just an example of how good the
NFL has become at creating great storylines even if teams
aren't great, because there are a lot of you out
(01:07):
there who are going to be like me, waiting to
see what this relationship is going to lead to with
Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence presumably bringing in a new
era of the Jacksonville Jaguars, And I told you in
the first hour that as good of a coach as
Urban Meyer is, if I am a Jacksonville Jaguar fan
(01:31):
right now, I am so desperately hoping that Trevor Lawrence
is a great quarterback, because if he is, he'll make
the coach. Quarterbacks make coaches. A coach can get the
most out of a quarterback. But you just saw this
year in a great almost football science experiment. I don't
(01:56):
think there's anybody out there that doubts that Bill Belichick
is the best NFL coach of our lifetime. But when
you replaced Tom Brady with Cam Newton, there was no
way that the Patriots were anywhere close to a super
Bowl team. And when you replaced Jamis Winston with Tom
(02:19):
Brady and Tampa Bay, all of a sudden, Bruce Arians
offense looked a lot better. It went from an offense
where a quarterback was throwing thirty interceptions alongside of thirty
touchdowns to one where the quarterback was throwing forty touchdowns
and just barely over single digit interceptions. And as the
(02:42):
season progressed, Brady was getting more comfortable and better in
that offense. He was throwing the ball down the field
more than he had in years. And it's no wonder
because there were incredible weapons there. Bruce arians took the
Bucks to the playoffs. I don't think they would have
been there if Jamis Winston had come back for another year.
(03:04):
Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of our lives in
the NFL. But you give him a quarterback other than
Tom Brady, and that team looks very average. So as
excited as you might be if you are a Jags
fan right now, and as excited as you might be
with all those other teams with job openings in the
(03:27):
off season, if you've got a great quarterback, the coach
is gonna look good. If you've got a mediocre to
bad quarterback, the coach is gonna look mediocre too bad.
There's no way to finesse an average quarterback into greatness.
And so if I'm urban Meyer, the number one question
(03:47):
that I have is that I had to answer. Even
if he doesn't say this to everybody out there in
the media, he's got to believe that Trevor Lawrence is
that good. He really does, because he's got four of
the top forty five picks in this year's NFL draft.
(04:07):
Good shot that you could get four starters there if
you did really well on off all four of those
top forty five picks. And he's got a hundred million
dollars in cap space. If Trevor Lawrence is good, this
Jags team can flip from one in fifteen two. I
think in the mix to maybe get into November and
(04:31):
December with a hope of making the playoffs. That doesn't
happen anywhere else. That happens in the NFL almost every year.
A team goes from worst in the division to having
a chance to compete for a division title or even
win it. Almost every single year in the NFL. And
so I have a lot of questions about how urban
(04:52):
Meyer is gonna do, about the culture that he might build,
about his own health, about how many years he's gonna
be committed to coaching the jag About how well his
methods of getting the most out of players are going
to work in an NFL locker room with professionals as
opposed to college kids that acknowledge that you are the boss.
(05:14):
I think that's gonna be an incredible challenge for urban Meyer.
But I definitely think that he's got the coaching bona
fides to potentially put himself into rarefied air with the
three guys who have won national championships and Super Bowls,
Jimmy Johnson most recently, Pete Carroll and before that, Barry Switzer.
(05:43):
That is how rare the air is for guys who
have won national championships in college to go on and
do it at the NFL to win the Super Bowl.
So that is a big story that is hanging over
everything to me. So many storylines to follow, and we're
gonna jump into those here momentarily with Dr David Chow
(06:03):
to break down the overall health picture of these four games.
But if you ask me right now, which games am
I most excited to watch, It's a no contest. It's
almost a dead heat. Ravens Bills on Saturday. I can't
wait to see what's gonna happen in Josh Allen against
(06:25):
Lamar Jackson, Sean McDermott going up against John Harbaugh. One
of those two teams gonna take the next step and
get to the a f C Championship game behind their
third year quarterback. And then the other game is the
exact opposite of this. It's two aging gun Slingers in
(06:46):
forty one year old Drew Brees hosting forty three year
old Tom Brady. And really, if you break down these
two a f C and NFC final four's the final
four in the NFC is guys we've all watched play
a ton over the years. Brady, Breeze, Rogers, they've been
there for fifteen years or more, twenty years in the
(07:09):
case of Brady, where we've been debating how good they are.
We've been watching all their games. And then you go ahead,
um and and toss in a guy in Jared Goff
that's been to a Super Bowl, but I think most
people would say is clearly the least accomplished of those quarterbacks.
And then in the a f C, basically everybody's under
(07:31):
twenty five years old. You got Baker, Josh Allen, and
Lamar Jackson, all in the same class, all first rounders
from three years ago, all of whom got their first
playoff wins in a relatively short period of time. And
then you've got Patrick Mahomes, who looks like the next
Tom Brady. And I'm gonna talk about that a little
(07:54):
bit with Dr Chow In terms of the health conditions,
that everybody is going to find themselves in and how
he would assess. And then in the final segment of
the week, I'm gonna give you my OutKick six pack,
my gambling picks which have been winning at a six rate.
Although we didn't have a good playoff week last week,
We're gonna dive right into all of those and we'll
(08:16):
continue uh to hopefully get back on a winning streak.
With that, be sure to catch live editions about kick
the coverage with Clay Travis weekdays at six am Eastern
three am Pacific. We got a lot of great games tomorrow,
two of them in fact, Rams Packers, Ravens, Bills, Brown's Chiefs,
and Bucks Saints. UH. Dr Chow usually has been joining
(08:36):
us on Thursday when we had Thursday Night Football, but
now that we are down to the final four games
of the divisional weekend, he's joining us on Friday. Guessing
we'll talk to him next Friday for the a f
C and NFC championship game. So Dr Chow, I'm just
gonna run through in the order that these games are
kicking off. You tell me what I need to know,
what is standing out to you, and I will start
(08:57):
with the Rams Packers store line from the Rams. By
far the biggest storyline is Jared Goff and his thumb.
He didn't start, then the starting quarterback, John Wolford got hurt.
He came in almost immediately played. There seems to be
some tension over whether or not he was able to
go from the get go. How would you assess how
(09:20):
Jared Goff looked and what do you anticipate him looking
like on Saturday at lambeau Field. Well, there's no question
he was healthy enough to play. Maybe not on Tuesday
when Sean mcveab made the decision to go with Wolford,
but certainly by game time he was healthy enough to play.
Why because they only activated two quarterbacks, Goff and John Wolford.
(09:42):
If Goff was questionable in any way with his thumb,
they would have activated Blake Portals. No one wants to
Denver Broncos without a quarterback situation, especially in the playoffs.
And obviously he finished the game and did okay. Now,
whether he played well or not, whether he's the right
guy or not, that's a different discussion. But as often
mist because I was last week about Golf being ready
to go, and he will be ready to go, he
(10:04):
will be the starter. I'm actually more pessimistic this week.
All season long, the Rams have been the healthier side,
but not this week, not tomorrow. The uh, the Packers
are the healthier side. Golf with his thumb is less
than he doesn't have full mobility on the in the thumb.
It'll be even stiffer. In the cold, the grip will
(10:26):
be more difficult. The pins that he has in his
hand will make it more difficult. Obviously, metal gets very
cold and cold weather. This is a freezing temperature about
freezing temperature game, and golf has not done well glove
or not in these games. He's been the last two games,
he's been under fifty zero touchdowns in five in exceptions.
He's a California kid, obviously, so is Aaron Rodgers, but
(10:48):
he's been out in Green Bay for fifteen years. Right now,
Cooper Cup will play, Cam Akers will play, Darryl Henderson won't.
Aaron Donald will play, and there the Rams real chances
if they can just throughout the offensive lines to the
Packers since they'll be short. David Baktari at left tackle. Okay,
what about Aaron Donald's health? How you talked about the
(11:10):
impact of the cold weather on Goff's thumb. How would
you assess Aaron Donald if you were trying to put
the percentage uh that he'll be able to be full go?
I think the percentage of that he'll be full go
or new fall goal is very high. You know what, Clay,
because in the cold weather, Mar Kane or Nova King
works just as well. And that's what he's gonna need
(11:30):
in his ribs and cartilage to be able to play.
No real practice this week, but he will be full. Go.
I anticipate uh in uh a lambeau Field. We're talking
Dr David Chow at Pro Football Doc on Twitter. Anything else. Well,
we gotta make our picks in the next segment. And
you're making me a little bit nervous of the money
(11:51):
is on the Packers. It's sounding to me like you
are on the Packers as well. Yeah. I lean towards
the Packers. They're the healthier side. And you know, Goff
of his thumb, which you know, I know he's gonna play,
but how well is the question? And with the cold
and he's already been practicing with the gloves. Look, Clay,
I just go by injuries, you know, you go more
(12:12):
of my schemes and the whole deal. So I'm just
saying by injuries, the Packers are the healthier side, even
without Jared l Dear coming in at left tackle from
the Colts. And by the way, there's still an outside
chance he could play if he's determined to be a
false positive, which is a possibility at this point in time. Like,
like I said, I just go buy injuries, you know,
(12:33):
you incorporate that into scheme and other things and make
picks like that. Ravens Bills is obviously the Saturday night game,
Lamar Jackson against Josh Allen getting all the billing. Stefon
Diggs looked like he was healthy. Would you say that
he's likely to be healthy? How would you assess these
two teams? Uh, this is a battle of the two
(12:55):
healthiest teams left in the playoffs. Number one Bills, Number
two the Evens the too healthiest squad. The Bills don't
even have Stefon Diggs or Cole Beasley on the final
injury report. They're gonna go and play. The only person
they're really missing them any substance is Zack Moss, who's
out for the rest of the season. The rest of
the playoffs with his high ankle spring. The Ravens are
(13:17):
pretty healthy to the main one they're gonna miss still
is Ronnie Stanley, their left tackle. But Marcus Peters is questionable,
but I believe we'll play. He just recovered from a
calf now it's his back. Clay Campbell is back with
his calf. Matthew Judon will play through non COVID illness.
They're about as healthy as they can be on both
sides of the ball. Of course, what's interesting is Lamar
(13:39):
Jackson said something about never playing in a snow game.
But in my experience, the offensive players have better footing
than the defensive players because they know which direction they're
gonna go and cut. All right, let's go into uh.
And so how would you assess with the Bills being
a healthier team than the Ravens but both being fairly healthy.
Not of an advantage one way or the other from
(14:01):
a health perspective, Yeah, not much, not much of an
advantage one way or the other. There's kind of a
coin flip. And uh, I'll probably lean towards Buffalo. Why,
I know more guys on Buffalo. One of my good
friends is on Buffalo and coaches and so that's just
a homer pick for me. There's no real there's no
injury and manage here. I mean, it's a coin flip.
(14:23):
All right, Let's go into Sunday, Brown's on the road
against the Chiefs. Browns with a stunning win on the
road against the Steelers. Chiefs have had really I mean,
they took off a lot of their players did the
final week of the regular season. Then they get another
week to rest. The obvious biggest question is Clyde Edwards Hilaire,
What are you hearing about him? And what about the
(14:45):
overall health impact of this game in general? Well, you know,
it's been my thought since Week fifteen, late in the
game when he got injured with his hip and ankle,
that he would be ready for the divisional round of
the playoffs. He did get back to some practic to
this week, although not full. I think he will play.
The question is how many carries, etcetera. The best news
(15:08):
for the chief is that, you know, Jeff Schwartz, the
right tackle has been out for a while, Michel, back
up Mitchell j yeahs on your show. Yeah, I get
mixed up. Mitchell Schwartz. Thank if suddenly he was playing
on the Chiefs. Well, heck, if that would happen, that's
the bigger story than uh than Jared Velder playing on
(15:29):
two playoff teams coming off the high school coaching to play.
So yeah, Mitchell Schwartz with his back, thank you, and
but but Mike Grammer's his backup had a back issue
and has returned to practice, So I think that's key
to stabilize the offensive line there. Tyree Kills Hamstrink is fine.
Sammy Watkins is a little iffy on his calf though,
But overall the Chiefs are good. The Browns get a
(15:52):
lot healthier than last week when they trounced the Steelers.
Last week, I was amazed that they could beat the
Steelers because they had health issues their top five defensive backs,
and you know, you saw in the second half when
it was out of reach kind of Steelers came out
and threw the ball nineteen out of twenty times and
in a row and scored two touchdowns, but then obviously
(16:12):
didn't have enough. They get back Denz a Ward off
of COVID, they get back Kevin Johnson off of COVID,
two key cornerbacks, but they lose uh, a cornerback as well, Uh,
due to a hamstring. So if you're short of slot
corner with the weapons the Chiefs have, is it enough?
And of course uh, they lost Olivier Vernon too, so
(16:34):
the Browns are the less healthy side there versus the Chiefs,
which is not an ideal place to be when you're
playing against the team that's favored to win the Super Bowl. Uh. Finally,
battle of forty three year old Tom Brady forty one
year old Drew Brees the Bucks for a third time,
go up against the Saints. How did Mike Evans look
(16:55):
on that knee? For you? How would you assess the
overall health of both of these tames Mike, Mike Thomas.
Michael Thomas came back in that game against the Bears.
How healthy did he look? How would you assess these
two teams? Well, you know the Uh, Mike Evans surprised
and did better than I thought last week, so he's
even gonna be better this week. And Ronald Jones, I
(17:18):
think is if he on his quad injury. The big
loss for Tampa as Alex caffa guard with the broken
ankle and they'll have to adjust defensively. Though, the Bucks
get healthier getting uh Devin White back off the COVID
UH protocol, as well as uh D lineman Steve McClendon.
So those are key additions for the Bucks. For the Saints,
(17:38):
they're healthy in terms of Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Drew
brees with his ribs, but Latavius Murray is likely not
to play with his quad issue, won't be able to
be explosive, and Patrick Robinson defensively the slot corner may
not be able to go with his hamstring. And when
you're going up against Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin,
(18:01):
you better have three of your top corners ready to go.
And that's a position to watch. Although the Saints do
get back Trey Hendrickson their number one pass rusher, but
health wise, because of that slot corner, I leaned towards
the Bucks. And also, look, if the Saints were a
far superior team talent wise, then yeah, they could probably
(18:23):
beat them a third time. I think talent wise they're
fairly evenly matched, which means the Bucks will come up
with something different in their scheme this time and the
Saints will probably run what's worked for them, so that
might give the Bucks the advantage in my impression, but
of course you'll make your picks as well. Yeah, coming
up next segment. Now I'm knocking on wood here, but
it appears that there are not massive issues health wise
(18:46):
from a COVID perspective for the divisional round playoff games.
And I don't know about you, Doc, you can tell
me if I'm wrong, But if they get through this weekend,
then they've only got three games left in the NFL
season and they got a bye week, you feel like
there's actually decent chance that this thing is gonna come
off and they're gonna be able to play without disastrous
(19:08):
COVID related cancelation or guys having to sit out who
could have a substantial impact, no question. And it's always
been the pattern that as the playoffs go on, the
healthier teams are the ones that survive, right, and so
we in general get healthier. Look, the forty Niners weren't
gonna make it, the Cowboys weren't going to make it,
the Eagles weren't gonna make it. They were among the
(19:30):
more injured teams this year. But the healthier teams survived
in for COVID perspective, First of all, as you have
less teams in the playoffs, there's less games, there's less
chance for disaster. But also I would hope that those
players and staff would really buckle down right right, the
time to do something silly is not before the conference
championship game and not before the Super Bowl, Right, that's
(19:52):
the last thing you want to do. Pop positive and miss.
I would imagine if I were so lucky to be
in that position, I'd be on very strict lockdown, just
because not because of being COVID fearful per se, but
just like I don't want anything to ruin my chances
or participating in such a big lifetime event which you
worked for all years, so that you really hunker down. Yeah,
(20:13):
that's a great point. We're talking Dr David Chao at
Pro Football Doc on Twitter. I know we just ran
through all of the NFL, but I've got an NBA
question for you. Kevin Durant now has come back and
played a lot of games. I don't know if you've
gotten very much of a chance to watch him so far.
Does he look like he's back to the same Kevin
Durant before he got injured in the finals against the Rafts.
(20:37):
I think physically his health is fine, but is he
the same guy? Not quite yet. Part of it is
just you know, rust and getting back into it. When
he heard his achilles, I think there was a little dispute.
He was essentially the best player in the league at
the moment, even on the Warriors, the ball went through
Kevin Durant, not Steph Curry at the time that he
(20:58):
hurt his achilles, and I don't know that he has
that complete dominance yet, but there's no reason he can't
get it back. And if you remember a while back,
you know, on Outkicking on Fox Sports Radio, when people said, oh, achilles,
his career is done, I said, no, no, no. Kobe
was the outlier because he was older. Look at Dominique Wilkins.
I fully expect Kevin Durant to regain his old form.
(21:21):
I think physically he's getting there, but of course, just
flow of the game and rust. He's still not quite
fully the number one dominant player yet, but I think
he can get there physically. Another question that I want
to ask you, Let's presume we get to the Super Bowl,
right whichever two teams are there. If they came to
you and they said, hey, we've got two weeks until
(21:42):
this game is played. What would you suggest to make
it the best possible scenario so that we have no
COVID issues for the Super Bowl? Would you suggest bubbling
the two teams maybe in Orlando near the reason why
I'm asking I kind of floated this ide you near
where the Wide World of Sports where the NBA had
(22:04):
their event, and then you could drive the teams over
to UH to Tampa for the game itself. And do
you think the NFL will make any adjustments once they
have a neutral site venue where the game is gonna
be played as opposed to right now you already have
one team that is basically by the home football stadium.
The other team has to travel. What do you think
(22:25):
happens when both teams travel? Well, you know, I don't
think the NFL is gonna bubble up. They're not gonna
come in like on Sunday before the game like in
usual super Bowls are gonna come in much later. I
think teams will be diligent at home. You gotta remember
travel for you and I might be a much bigger
deal as you're in public places and you know, you
(22:45):
might be three across on an airplane. Travel in the
NFL is not on Southwest Airlines. No offense group in
the middle seat. No one's in the middle seat. But
quite honestly, this year they're using two planes to expand
the travel even more for a Super Bowl contingent, they
might use three or four plane. So traveling, I don't
(23:06):
think it's that big of an issue. They've expanded the
number of buses so you're not next to anybody, so
the travel isn't that big of an issue. I think
the big issue here, if you're gonna bubble up is
you have to enter into the bubble in great security
and secrecy. And the biggest hazard that these players were
would have to do with and and if it were
me on the team, I would be preaching this. I
(23:29):
understand you've got family and friends. I understand they all
helped you get here to the Super Bowl, but they're
the ones that are also gonna, potentially, inadvertently with contact
with you, prevent you from playing in the Super Bowl.
So no offense. Hug your kids, but you know then
you know, but keep your distance as well, because that's
(23:51):
where it's gonna come from, and that's what you just
don't want to have happened. The day or two before
the game and all of a sudden you turn positive
because you spend time. It's that answer, uncle that you love.
But you know, I mean, it is what it is.
I think that's where the diligence needs to be. Dr Chow.
We appreciate the time, my man. Good luck watching the games.
We'll talk to you next week. And people who want
(24:12):
to know the updated and the most recent reaction to
any injury related issue should go to Pro Football Doc
on Twitter. Certainly check out your website. You can check
out out Kick later this morning. We'll have a right
up from you on all of these different injury related issues.
Thanks much. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
(24:34):
Fox sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart
Radio app search f s R to listen live. We
did not have a good week last week with the
OutKick six back. In fact, we went one and four
with an additional push Push was a tough one, by
the way, in the Bills game against the colt they
(24:55):
didn't score any points in the final seven minutes of
that game. As a result, our numbers dropped to sixty
two and forty two on the year. That's still a
sixty winning percentage. We are hoping to bounce back in
a big way in the divisional round of the playoffs.
I have seven picks for you, A Baker's half dozen,
the Outkicks six pack about to be rolled out. Here
(25:19):
we go. I'm gonna go through these, dub You can
say whether or not you agree or disagree with him.
I'm starting, and I'm going in order that the games
will be played. I believe Rams at Packers first game
kicking off on Saturday afternoon, I am taking the under
forty five point five. And I was thinking about taking
(25:39):
the Rams as well. But Dr Chill, I'm gonna be
honest with you. Dr Chow scared me off of it
a little bit with all of his talk about Jared
Goff's thumb being in rough shape. He wasn't playing well already,
and so I think, Look, the Rams have the two
best defensive players in the NFL. I don't think that's
an exaggeration. Aaron Donald Jalen Ramsey. I can't wait to
(26:00):
see Aaron Donald, see how healthy he is. More importantly,
I can't wait to see Jalen Ramsey against Davante Adams.
And so I am going with the under in this game.
The under forty five and a half in this game,
the Rams on the road in the fringid conditions lambeau Field,
the frozen tundra, the Sunshine Boys from southern California going
(26:24):
on the road. I am taking the under forty five
and a half in this win. Let me just say
this right now, this line is around six and a half.
If it were to tick out to seven, I would
also take the Rams, but I'm not gonna take them
under seven. So by the time this game kicks off tomorrow,
the Rams plus seven might also be a good play,
(26:47):
but that is where I'm going on the under. What
say you, dub I agree with your under, and this
game did open at seven. But the line movement makes
me like the under even more because it makes me
think that um sharp betters and public but probably mostly
sharp betting early on in the week, they have faith
in this Rams defense going up against Aaron Rodgers, and
I think that's the key matchup and betting this under
(27:08):
here alright, So that's bet one. Next game up Ravens Bills.
I really am going Bills minus two and a half.
Year they didn't play well against the Colts they found
a way to win. I think they got the proverbial
monkey off of their back. I think they feel a
lot looser. They hadn't won a game in Buffalo since
(27:28):
all the way back to like I think it was
the Bills mafia is gonna be there six dred or
so strong. I like the Bills and I like the
over forty nine. The Bills are a two and a
half point favorite. Uh the over under forty nine. I
think both of these teams will score. I'm not sold
(27:49):
on the Bills defense. I like Stefon Diggs and what
I think will be a matchup with a lot of
man demand coverage. The Ravens trust their secondary. I think
it's gonna be hard to cover st Fawn Diggs. I
love the big arm of Josh Allen. I think he
will play much better this week. Great game. I can't
wait to see who is going to be able to
come out victorious here. But I am going Bills minus
(28:12):
two and a half and the over. First disagreement of
the day here, Clay, I'm looking at the forecast and
I'm not really afraid of snow. In terms of your over,
I actually do like you'r over, But on the side.
The wind is gonna be howling in Orchard Park, New
York on Saturday night, looking like fifteen mile an hour
winds with gusts almost up to thirty mile an hour.
(28:32):
If I'm if I'm handicapping this game, I want the
team that can run the ball to best. So I'm
gonna go Ravens here plus two and a half. All right,
onto the next game on Sunday, the Browns on the
road in Kansas City. I'm sorry, the Chiefs are one
in seven against the number in their last eight. I believe,
dub you can correct me up on this. I think
(28:53):
they've lost seven in a row against the number, and
they're a double digit favorite. And I know how good
Andy Reid has been and coming off of rest, and
I know the idea that's out there that the Chiefs
are just gonna flip a switch. But I like Nick Chubb,
I like Kareem Hunt. I like this, uh, this Brown's
team playing with no pressure to go on the road
(29:15):
and perform well. I am taking the Browns plus ten,
but I'm also taking the over fifty seven. I think
that there are gonna be a lot of points scored.
Would not surprise me. If both teams here go for thirty,
I think the Chiefs win. I just think ten is
too steep. Yeah, I'm really torn on the side, but
I definitely agree with the over here because Kansas City
(29:38):
off of by with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid as
a combination, they score well over thirty points a game,
so I think Kansas City has got that side covered.
And I think Cleveland can run the ball against Kansas City.
So I think ten is probably about right, maybe a
little high, but I definitely like the over the best
in this one, all right. And then the final game Sunday,
Bucks on the road at the Saints. I love the
(30:01):
Bucks plus three and I also liked the over fifty two.
I think the Bucks are going to dictate pace here.
I like them being on indoors in the Dome. It's
been a long time since they played in this dome.
Remember a week one of the season. I know the
Saints have had the Bucks number. I even know that
(30:22):
historically the third time is generally not the charm. The
team that won the first two typically wins the third.
But I like the way this Bucks offense is playing.
I like the idea of Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin and
certainly Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brake, Brady is playing really,
(30:43):
really well. I think they will put up points. I
think this will turn into a shootout of swords, and
I like the Bucks to cover the three. This is
maybe my strongest disagreement of the year, Clay, of the
year of the year. I love the Saints here. This
is my play of the playoffs, the lay of the playoffs,
play of the playoffs for me, the Saints have only
had four games this entire season, whether they've had Drew Brees,
(31:05):
Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas. Week one against Tampa Bay,
double digit win, Week nine against Tampa Bay, thirty eight
to three, Week ten to thirteen over San Francisco, and
then last week in the wild card round twenty one
to nine over Chicago. Four no straight up, four no
against the spread, all double digit wins. Now, on the
other side, Tom Brady, he's had a great year one
(31:27):
or two point to qb R for the season, forty touchdowns.
He's only had three games all year, whereas QBR was
under eighty Week one against the Saints, Week nine again
against the Saints, and then Week eleven against the Rams.
So two of those three came against the Saints defense. Now,
Dr Chow did mention the Saints third quarter cornerback is
(31:48):
a little bit in question. That makes me a little nervous.
But I still love New Orleans here with all their
big three plan in the defense, rolling st st. I
have got futures tickets on on lock it in the
Fox bet Live, sorry, the television show we do on
the Saints, on the Chiefs, on the Ravens, and on
(32:10):
the Packers. So in theory, all of my teams could win,
and I would be guaranteed all four of those teams,
one of them would win the Super Bowl. I don't
think that's necessarily going to happen, but I would love
for the Saints to beat the Bucks. I'm just not
sure that I see it happening. So here we go.
(32:30):
The Baker's half dozen my seven picks, although you heard
Dubbed vehemently disagreeing with several of them. A little bit
of bad mojo going in under forty five and a
half in the Rams, Packers, Ravens Bills minus two and
a half on the Bills, the over forty nine Brown's
plus ten at the Chiefs and the over fifty seven
(32:54):
bucks plus three at the Saints and the over fifty
two are all of the picks. That is the Baker's
half dozen seven picks for you. Also want to encourage
all of you out there go subscribe to the OutKick podcast.
Our Outkicked podcast numbers, we were up a hundred and
(33:15):
nine in terms of listenership in compared to that is
a phenomenal growth rate, probably not equaled by anyone in
sports radio, maybe not anyone in radio period anywhere in
the country. That's a credit to you, guys. I appreciate
all of you. I thank you for hanging with us.
(33:37):
I hope you have fantastic weekends. We'll be watching all
the games on Saturday and Sunday and we'll be rolling
right back in with you guys breaking down everything else.
This is OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. This is OutKick
the Coverage with Clay Travis
Hosts And Creators
Brady Quinn
LaVar Arrington
Jonas Knox
Popular Podcasts
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!