November 27, 2025 • 41 mins
Jason Fitz and Buck Reising fill-in for Jason and Mike, previewing the 3 Thanksgiving games. The AFC South and North went opposite of what everyone thought before the season. That and more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
It's a Bucking Fits takeover on Fox Sports Radio. He's
Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz For the next four That's right,
count on four, four big hours. We are gonna be
hanging out with you guys, getting you ready for the
most overrated holiday on the calendar. I just it took
me three seconds and I've already frustrated.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Buck.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I'm just saying, wow, Look, Thanksgiving is the most overrated
holiday on the calendar. We all know what Thanksgiving food sucks,
but we don't suck. We're gonna have a good time
for the next fi.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I disagree. You suck. You suck.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
If you want to start this show that way, then
I'm distancing myself from you immediately first and foremost too,
You suck if you think that Thanksgiving is the most
overrated holiday now and of discussion.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Look it is, uh And I just came in guns
blazing because frankly, I knew that it would piss you off.
And that was my goal right out of the gates. Like, look,
sometimes you need like, look, you need just a little slap, right,
Like everybody has their own thing in the in the
in the tunnel before the game starts. I think Buck
Rising needs just a little slap, just a little little
slap in the face.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
And that's John Henderson.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I gotta I gotta feel it, but I gotta feel
a little blood in my mouth to get going to
here fair enough.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Look, I know you as a teammate, right, so I
just feel like the right thing to do is to
make sure that we start the show off is as
fired up as possible. The football tomorrow is actually, I
think gonna be really good. The football tomorrow is gonna
be excellent. It's gonna be great. The food that people
pretend they like while they're eating the football is all
gonna be trash. But the football itself, all of it's trash,
is is gonna be really good. And I'm excited. Maybe
(02:03):
I don't know, Buck, Maybe it's because the Lions are
finally not hot garbage. Maybe it's because the Cowboys have
given us just enough hope for everybody to feel like
it's gonna be a great day. But it just feels
like Thanksgiving football the last couple of years, between the
fact that they're always going to find a way to
get the Chiefs involved, the fact that the Lions are
actually worth watching, and the Cowboys have become interesting on
(02:24):
the field, not just off the field, I feel like
tomorrow's stacked to be a really good day.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Yeah, all three of these games are interesting for different reasons. Right,
You've got the NFC North, which is very much in
a bit of a flux, the eight and three Bears,
who don't play until Black Friday. I'm sure we'll touch
on that at some point as well, going to Philadelphia too,
eight and three teams who would have had the Bears
at eight and three leading the division on Thanksgiving. But
(02:52):
that's where things stand right now. So the Packers, Lions
trying to clean things up. The Vikings obviously out of
the picture. Worst case scenario for them this season, given
the decision that they made a quarterback. The Chiefs and
Cowboys coming off of crazy comeback victories.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I mean, I don't know how you feel about this.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
We obviously haven't spoke since our normal Saturday night slot
FITZI previewing Week twelve, But the way that the Cowboys
came back against the Eagles and the way that the
Chiefs needed over time to get past the Colts at
home to finally move above five hundred this season, I
don't know which win was more impressive, But I found
(03:34):
myself in a situation never in my lifetime I'm thirty
two years old. Never in my lifetime have the Dallas
Cowboys actually been America's team. And yet, given that there's
a lot of emotion tied up in this Dallas team
with the marshaw neland situation, we understand this. But I
for reasons beyond just the tragedy that they've experienced so
(03:56):
far this season, I feel like I felt America rut
it for the Cowboys against the embattled Philadelphia Eagles. For
the first time in my life, the Cowboys felt likable
this past Sunday.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Man that feels like the impossibility. And I love this
because it reminds me of eighties wrestling. You know, I
love my eighties wrestling.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So, in the eighties, one of the best things about
still to this day, but really one of the best
things back then in old school wrestling was that you'd
be a heel for a while, a bad guy, and
then you become a face for a while, a good guy,
and then you're back to a bad guy. I like
that sort of transformation where you go from you can't
decide if you're rooting for or against somebody, And I
also like the fact that this matchup between the Cowboys
(04:38):
and the Chiefs particularly becomes the ultimate again eighties wrestling reference,
loser leaves town battle right like, because it does feel
like we've gotten to the point where both teams were
dug into such a bad hole and just trying to
figure out how you get your way out of that
becomes what feels like virtually impossible to do, and they've
lost the most important thing you can have to course
(05:00):
of the season, which is wiggle room.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So, you've got a Chiefs team at six and five
that frankly is fighting for its playoff life. They're not
going to win the division, but they're fighting for their
playoff life. And you've got a Cowboys team that at
five point five and one that was left for dead
that all of a sudden is coming through straight MONDI python,
I'm not dead yet, right, like merely a flesh wound.
There's this moment of the Cowboys that they've sort of
(05:23):
had the search. Now. I will say loudly, whatever they
did against the Raiders doesn't count. And thank god that Twitter.
You know, I had a moment. I had a moment
on Someday. I was getting ready to tweet, hey, there's
no takeaway when you take on the Raiders. There is
no takeaway right for the Cowboys for tour. I was
ready to say there's no takeaway. The Cowboys were down
twenty one nothing at the time, and then I was like,
you know, I just don't want to get into the
(05:44):
battle on Twitter. So I deleted the not yet sent
tweet and said I will just wait for another day.
Turns out, then the Cowboys came back. So is there
something from the comeback against the Eagles. I think so.
I really do think so. And I think part of
this as much as we have just spent all year
trashing the Cowboys relentlessly, the signing of George Pickens, the
(06:04):
trade for George Pickens, the acquisition of George Pickens turns
out to be one of the smartest moves in the
entire NFL this season. He is absolutely uncoverable. He is,
to me the number one on this team. I think
he's a better wide receiver today right now than CD is.
That's how good I think Pickens has become. And so
there when you watch how explosive this offense can be.
(06:24):
And we've said all year all they need is just
a mediocre defense, well now they have that.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
I'm not sure the.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Defense is fixed, but the defense is a lot better.
They got healthier, They've gotten right at the right times.
Quinny Williams is a big acquisition for him. The defense
is just good enough. I'm not ready to leave the
Cowboys for dead. So I do think that of all
the games we have tomorrow, this Chiefs Cowboys one has
the most on the line because there's the most doubt
on both sides of it.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yes, and inevitably that game will disappoint us the most,
given that we are going to spend as much time
as humanly possible trying to take advantage of the fact
that the Cowboys have a little and I would clarify
a little bit, I don't feel like we've spent all
year trashing the Cowboys. I feel like we've spent all
year trashing Jerry Jones. And while I feel that Jerry,
(07:12):
I'm conflicted on the Jerry of it, all right, because
on the one hand, most NFL fans, I feel would
probably be in a situation where they would say, I
don't want an owner that medals, and certainly not to
the level where he's the literal star of the show.
Versus the other side of this, If you're a fan
(07:34):
of a team that has absentee ownership, for example, the
franchise that I cover on a day to day basis,
the Tennessee Titans, or a team like that, there's something
to be said about an owner who's willing to be
in the trenches with you and Jerry very much is
the definition of that, sometimes to their detriments, sometimes to
(07:54):
their success, always to their attention or their attention grabbing ability.
The George Pickens situation.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I know that he was benched.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Him and Cedee Lamb were benched for the initial drive
of their what was that the Week eleven game that
they played for missing curfew Essentially, well, we'll leave it
at that. Beyond all the Internet rumors and the idea
that Cedee Lamb can hold hold his liquor, so it
couldn't have been him throwing up in that trash can
of the casino. One of my favorite quotes of all time.
(08:25):
George Pickens had so much let's just classify it as
attitude that it was too much for Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Mike Tomlin, who was put up with Antonio.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Brown and Le'Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger, somebody who is
as adept as anybody in the world at handling outsized personalities,
managing the ebbs and flows of a season, and still
finding ways to have success. Maybe they didn't win a
Super Bowl with those guys, but you understand my point.
Somebody who is capable of managing a situation. But George Pickens,
(08:58):
it's just too much. At points he was a health
scratch in Pittsburgh. He goes to Dallas. You and I
talked about this this summer day. This had all the
combustible elements of terrible, terrible idea. Terrible idea. You're gonna
put him in a bigger media market with more media scrutiny,
(09:18):
way more pressure, way more attention, all these different things,
And to George Pickens's credit and to the Cowboys credit,
I think a lot of different people, Brian Schottenheimer included,
deserve a lot of credit for the way that they've
managed all of the things around this season. So George Pickens,
I think, is going to stand to make himself a
lot of money. Whether that ends up being in Dallas
(09:38):
or somewhere else. That's wide receiver needy. Will it go
as well as it has in Dallas this offseason? Who's
to say, But right now for the Cowboys, who are
I mean, look at the Cowboys and the Packers with
that ugly ass tie sitting on their record.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
It's gonna matter for one.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
Of these teams later down the stretch, and I'm looking
forward to seeing who was sweating that out at the end.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I said this on y'ahoo Sports Daily my usual uh,
my usual Daycake that you can check me out. On
Monday to Friday, I heard so many people screaming about
how ties are the worst thing in football. Ties are
so ugly. Oh my god, why would we ever? You
never play for a tie? Okay, look at the standings now,
ladies and gentlemen, because that tie matters a lot of
(10:22):
the Green Bay Packers, right like, so all of a sudden,
and it may end up mattering a hell of a
lot to the Dallas Cowboys. So I just it's a
good reminder by you that, hey, a tie is better
than a loss. I don't I don't want to give
breaking big hot takes here, but a tie is better
than a loss. And for everybody that's like, oh, I
don't want to tie, nobody wants to see a tie.
Hell yeah, you do if it helps your team get
(10:43):
in the playoffs, because right now, certainly the standings are
impacted by the fact that there's only been one tie.
And I hear you on Jerry, this is this is
just just being real. Maybe it's because the holidays tomorrow
that's on my mind. Jerry Jones just turned eighty three
years old. I think like anybody that's got their eighty
three year old pop paw coming to Thanksgiving tomorrow, Like,
you just know, even if things are going okay at dinner,
(11:05):
eventually it's not gonna go okay. You know, eventually your
eighty three year old papa is gonna say something they
shouldn't and the whole table's just gonna sit there and
figure out how to deal with it. Like, you know, eventually,
even if it's going right now, it's not gonna go
right all night long. And that's just that. That's Ronny
with Jerry, Like, look, it's great, sometimes it works. Sometimes
(11:26):
he's an eighty three year old popaw Like I just
I don't know what we expect at some point when
that's what we're dealing with. I just think everybody in
the spirit of Thanksgiving kind of knows how it feels
to be a Cowboys fan.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
I feel like you've probably just described with the next
you know, three hours and forty five minutes of us
are gonna look like eventually something's gonna go wrong throughout
the course of the evening and we're going to have
to try and reel this thing back in.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
But we'll do our best.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
In the meantime, we're very happy to be hanging out
with you here on this Thanksgiving on the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon. We're filling in for the guys.
Of course you can be. You're going to check out
the brand new YouTube channel for the show. Just search
Jason Smith's Show on YouTube. Begins that again, that's Jason
Smith Show. Be sure to hit the subscribe button and
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(12:14):
Let us know which of us you agree with and
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He's Jason fitz I'm Buck Rising, filling in for the guys,
so Fitzy. Of the games that we have talked about,
we've talked about a little bit. The Packers and the Lions,
the Chiefs and the Cowboys are going to take up
(12:35):
the vast majority of the oxygen. But this Joe Burrow
storyline hovering out there for the three and eight Bengals
who really don't have a leg to stand on going
up against the Ravens who are just recently in the
lead of the AFC North. I am curious to know
what your thoughts on the implications of this game are
because we heard a little bit. I'm sure the audience
(12:58):
heard a little bit if you were listening through the
com marushial break that Dan Patrick promo where he's talking
about he would play Joe Burrow, that the Bengals can
really only play spoiler here, it feels like maybe they
run the table That seems very unlikely given their deficiencies
as a roster, But can they really just exist to
bother the Ravens Given the fact that these two teams
(13:20):
have not yet met and will for the first time
tomorrow on Thanksgiving, I.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Think the hard part here is that we need to
understand what both of these franchisors are playing for. Like
Zach Taylor is playing is coaching for his job? I believe,
and I don't believe anything is short Like the only
thing I am sure of is that the Cincinnati Bengals
are doing everything they possibly can to turn Joe Burrow
(13:45):
into the modern Dan Marino made the Super Bowl his
rookie year, never went back. The Miami Dolphins could simply
never surround him with what he needed to be surrounded by,
and they wasted a Hall of Famer. That's what the
Bengals are doing. So now, if you're the coaching staff
for the Bengals, you're trying to that you're not wasting him.
So you need to win games. But unfortunately, winning games
is just gonna put a band aid on a very
(14:06):
very serious wound. But on the other side, if you're
the Ravens, you're a team that hasn't looked good all.
I don't care anymore what our expectations are. The question
is are the Ravens a good football team? And right
now the answer to that is no. Lamar has not
looked right, he has not looked healthy. The offense has
no identity. It is disjointed as hell, like everything looks
just it looks wrong with the Ravens. So I think
(14:29):
this is an interesting game simply because you've got one
team that is trying to find a way to win
to stay in the conversation, and another team that's trying
to find a way to win because they could actually
make the playoffs and they're trying to figure out if
they're any good bucks. So it's like, I don't think
this is I think both of these teams frankly stink
this year. I think this could end up being by
far the worst of the games.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
I wouldn't say the Ravens stink anytime you have Lamar
Jackson on your roster. I'm gonna struggle with the idea
of stink. Even though they've looked disjointed and there's clearly
some things that they're gonna be up against, should they
I mean, obviously they're winning their division right now. So
if they end up holding Serve and they end up
winning the AFC North, they will be a playoff team
and we'll see how they manage against the competition. But
(15:10):
I know we are going to get ready to talk
about a changing of the guard potentially in the AFC,
and given I mean, I don't know that Lamar Jackson
not you're thirty years old is part of the old Guard,
but it kind of feels like those are the same
kind of characters Chiefs, Bill's Ravens that we're talking about.
And I think there's some very interesting teams to threaten
all three of those that we can get to here
in just a second.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, we'll do that. Next coming up, we'll figure out
has there been a changing of the guard, and if so,
why are we taking so long to acknowledge it. He's
buck Rising on Jason Fitz Bucket Fits hanging out with
you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 6 (15:55):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
with Jason and Tire. This isn't your typical sports pod
pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day.
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
And all the best guests.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It feels like, in front of our very eyes, we're
seeing a changing of the guard, and for whatever reason,
nobody seems to want to acknowledge it. Like we're so
busy trying to make the teams that we thought would
be great in the NFL this year great that we're
not acknowledging the teams that actually are worth watching. We're
so busy trying to find a reason why the teams
(16:47):
that are good actually can't sustain that we're bending over
backwards to give benefit of the doubt to teams that
don't deserve it. And I don't understand why he's buck rising.
I'm Jason fitz Bucketfit's hanging out with you on Fox
Sports Radio, and I mean, I understand it. Sometimes we
get more hell bent on being right than actually talking
about what we see. And I don't mean we you,
(17:09):
and I just mean we a collective society like we
get so hell bent on our opinion must be proven right,
and unfortunately that sort of skews the way we see things.
I think it's pretty clear this year that the Baltimore
Ravens is we were just discussing, are not who we
thought the Ravens would be. Now, the defense is getting healthier,
but Lamar maybe isn't. And sure there's little glimmers where
(17:31):
you think it looks better. But I watched last week's
game against the Jets. I watched every snap of it,
and the whole time my intent was to figure out
the why why are the Ravens not good this year?
Like what is the big thing that they need? And
I kept watching it just saying there is no one thing.
It's a bunch of things, like the Ravens just aren't
(17:52):
a good football team. The Chiefs this year are not
who we thought the Chiefs were gonna be. The Bills
are a shell of who we thought the Bills were
going to be. I think We've seen new teams rise
in the AMC this year, and I don't know why
we're so resistant to just letting that happen.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Because the three that you're talking about have the quarterbacks,
right I mean, the quarterbacks that you trust, that you know,
that you believe in, that you feel like can give
you a chance no matter what the circumstance is. And
that's kind of where things are at right now. I
mean with Buffalo's a bit of a different situation here
(18:28):
because I think Buffalo, out of the three of them,
you feel the best about.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I don't know. I don't want to put words in
your mouth.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Or speak for you, but I think if you ask
me which of the three do I feel the best
about right now, I'd probably say Buffalo. They've got no
wide receivers and Kean Coleman is whatever's going on there
must be pretty deep seated for him to be inactive
a healthy scratch for two games as their best theoretical
receiving option if you're not counting the tight ends. But
(18:57):
they're a bit more well rounded in Buffalo. Their defense
isn't great, but it's solid. Their run game is good,
and it's taking enough pressure off Josh Allen. But they've
had meltdown moments this year and they've been beaten head
to head by the resurgent New England Patriots, the ten
and two New England Patriots. Now, I don't think that
that's the one case where I think that enough attention
(19:17):
is being paid.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
We are not.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
We are not loathe I think as a football consuming
society to heat praise upon New England, not just because
Drake May is an MVP candidate at quarterback and a
young and upcoming star, but because Mike Rabil is a
media darling and he has completely turned that thing around
him and the people that he brought in in ways
that he wanted to do in Tennessee, and they wouldn't
(19:42):
let him in whatever, Like, we don't.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Need to relitigate the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
But Mike Vrabel is absolutely Mike Rabel, and the Patriots
are the Patriots in Mike Rabel. However you want to
do this, I think it's tough to kind of separate
the two at this point in time. Plenty of people
are paying attention to what's going on in New England.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Now, I think the Broncos let me say yeah, but
real quick to you Vegas coming into the season, had
the Patriots as a favorite in eleven of their games.
So I feel like we knew the Patriots had a
chance of being at least a winning team this year,
So we already I.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Looked at that roster and said, absolutely not. I mean,
I was as down on them as anything. I thought
that the strategy and free agency is not usually a
successful one where you just spend all of the money.
Because you have all of the money to spend, they're
actually getting return on investment. They flipped a considerable amount
of that roster around, and their draft class is helping
(20:36):
pick them up. I mean, the Will Campbell thing hurts
now he's gone on injured reserve officially today, But I
mean I understand how bad the schedule is. The strength
of schedule is for the Patriots, But before the season,
I thought that would have been a five hundred team
at best.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I agree with you, that's the same thing I said.
I'll hold myself accountable to that. I feel like everybody
else knew what we didn't did. The schedule was just
going to be this much of a cake walk. That
feels like part of the reason why it's taken less
time to adjust on the Patriots to me, like why
why on the Colts? Why every time the Colts, every
time Daniel Jones throws an interception? Say, oh, I told
(21:12):
you we couldn't trust the Colts, Like it just happens,
Like why.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
On the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
The Broncos are truly two plays away from being undefeated
this year, and I know bon Nicks hasn't looked good enough.
I've said that repeatedly. But you're right. Maybe it's because
we just only care about quarterbacks and because I don't
trust the Broncos quarterback, maybe I shouldn't trust the team.
That just seems like wild, just over simplification. I trust Lamar,
(21:37):
I don't trust the Ravens. I trust Josh Allen. I
don't trust the Bills. I don't trust bon Nicks. But
I do trust the Broncos. And when you're eight and two,
damn like you just deserve some credit.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:49):
I think it's you know, it's a lesson that it
feels like we have to repeatedly learn and it seems
like we don't retain again as speaking, you know, for
the for the larger consuming public, we.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Put an outsized value.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I mean, it is the most important position in sports,
like the individual most important position in sports is NFL quarterback.
But we just saw the best quarterback in the world
again not that long ago, in the Super Bowl get
his ass whip by the better team, right, the better
team who again has an eight win so far in
the season. And whatever is going on with Jalen Hurts
and AJ Brown and Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles
(22:26):
offensive line, whatever all they do is continue to win.
I mean, I know they just are recently coming off
a loss in Philadelphia. I'm sure felt like it was
burning to the ground on sports talk radio this week.
But it's about the better team. So if I said
FITZI understanding the outsized value deserved value that we would
(22:47):
place on Patrick Mahomes playing on the Chiefs. Are the
Broncos a better or a worse team than the Kansas
City Chiefs?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Today?
Speaker 3 (22:56):
The Broncos are better.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
The Broncos are a better team. Are the New England
Patriots at ten and two with a head to head
over the Bills on the road a better team than Buffalo? I?
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Actually I think so. Yeah, I'm the argument.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Could be made.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Milton Williams is on injured reserve. Now, he's been a
big part of their success on defense. Will Campbell going
on injured reserve the guard and forgive me his name
escapes me, but two of their starting offensive line went down.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Will see if they're able to survive a situation like that.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
It's closer to a push, right, and then you've got
I guess we'll just put them together, even though they're
not in the same division. The Ravens, the six and
five Ravens are the eight and three Colts. Who is
the better football team top to bottom? Understanding that one
has a two time MVP at quarterback, it's probably Indianapolis
top to bottom. So the better team, and more often
(23:48):
than not, the healthiest team is the team playing the
deepest into the postseason. Not only are the three teams
that we're talking about Broncos, Patriots and Colts better as
a roster construction and for where they are in their
competitive life cycle than the other three that were used
to talking about, they are as healthy arguably as any
(24:09):
of the team's remaining or any of the teams worth
talking about, because the health of these teams has allowed
them to continue to advance. The Ravens have dealt with
injuries to Lamar Jackson, the most important position, but Bo Nicks,
Drake May, Daniel Jones. I know Daniel Jones was dealing
with a calf or a fibula or whatever the hell
they officially classified.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
It us over the weekend.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
But like, they have been as rosters healthier than your
average football team, and it's allowed them beyond just being
good teams to continue to have success down the stretch.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Well, and look, I'll admit the hardest part about all
of this is I believe today the culture a better
football team than the Baltimore Ravens. For example, I believe
that the Broncos are a better team than the Kansas
City Chiefs. If I had to bet my house on
a Broncos Chiefs game in the playoffs, would I actually
be comfortable? My mind's telling me no, Like I feel
(25:02):
like I can't bet against Mahomes in that situation. I
there is a part of me that understands why this
gets so tricky. There's one other team you didn't mention
that I want to see if they're part of this
conversation for you. But first, Manzi Belaanyas gets caught up
on what's going on across the landscape this evening, My friend, Hi, guys,
how are you.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
I'm doing so well.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
Happy early Thanksgiving to you, Happy to be hanging out
with you.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Guys.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
Are you doing the whole Turkey and the whole Shenan
against tomorrow?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Hell no, I've got one in ten Tennessee Titans practice.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
That is very Hey you know what, cam Ward looked
good against the Seahawks' Why you know what, Listen, I'm
a Clippers fan, so I always go for moral victories.
So I'm just saying he looked he looked good against
the good defense, which is kind of like, I feel like, oh,
that was nice to see.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So they gave up.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
They were always in the game. They always they were
in it, making it interesting.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
So I enjoyed that game. We do have a lot
of NBA going on right now for the very important
NBA Cup, which I'm sure you guys care so much about.
The Grizzlies and the Pelicans are in overtime. Memphis is
up one thirty one to one twenty eight late in
the first quarter. The Warriors are up on the Rockets
right now twenty two to eighteen. Trailblazers are edging the
(26:17):
Spurs twenty six to twenty five, also late in the
first just like the Suns and the Kings, where Phoenix
is up right now thirty nine to sixteen, but okay,
see officially eighteen and one to start the season. They
just defeated the Timberwolves one thirteen to one oh five.
Shay Y'll just Alexander with forty points in the win.
The Raptors beat the Pacers ninety seven to ninety five,
(26:38):
as Brandon Ingram hit the go ahead winner, leaving just
point six seconds on the clock.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
It's like it's not a game winner, but it is,
but it is.
Speaker 7 (26:47):
The Heat took down the Bucks one Ozho six to
one Ozho three, Tyler Hero twenty nine points, Nick's over
the Hornets one twenty nine to one oh one, and
the Celtics snapped the pistons thirteen game winning streak, coming
out on top today one seventeen to one four. In
men's college hoops at the Player's Era Festival, the championship
is going on right now and Number seven Michigan is
just all over Number twelve Gonzaga fifty three to twenty nine.
(27:09):
A little NHL scores like the Avalanche, who have won
nine in a row. I think they're about to win
ten because they're just shutting out the Sharks five zero
late in the second period, and the Golden Knights are
losing to the Senators to zero late in the first period.
When it comes to the NFL, it was reported that
Panthers safety Trayvon Morrig's appeal of his one game suspension
for unsportsmanlike conduct was denied. He will have to miss
(27:31):
Sunday's game against the Rams, but the Bengals have activated
Joe Burrow off injured reserve.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
He's expected to play Thursday night in Baltimore.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
And in baseball, the Blue Jays are as signing pitcher
Dylan Sees to a seven year, two hundred and ten
million dollar contract, pending a physical back to you guys.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Oh MONSI makes me so happy. He's Buck Rising. I'm
Jason Fitzbuck. I BET's hanging out. Excuse really the talent
involved in all this. By the way, for over forty years,
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(28:07):
the way tire buying should be. All right, as we
look at a changing the guard, let me just ask you,
where are you on? And I know this team is
maybe not on the the precipice of everybody's tongue right now,
not on the tip of everybody's song.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
I said that the wrong web everybody.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I meant say tip of everybody's tongue, but then I
went precipice and I got lost that did know what
happens this late at night? Where are you on the
top nine? It's ten thirty here? All right? Some of
us did the morning show today. We're back to ten thirty.
I'm so sorry, thank you, I feel thank you. I'm
you know what I'm gonna you know. Let's I'm glad
that that I didn't know you had that level of
(28:46):
sympathy in your in your cold dark heart mats facts. Yeah,
you're like Turkey, tough and not worth it. Uh, let's
see that.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Actually that is the one Thanksgiving opinion that you are
correct on. Turkey sucks.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I'm correct on all of them. Oh we dig it.
A tweet by the way, as I started the show
saying that ever the Thanksgivings the most overrated holiday, and
Brendan said, if Thanksgiving's overrated, what does that make Halloween,
Valentine's Day, and Saint Patrick's Day. I put those three
higher on the scale of irrelevance. The thing is, I
can choose to escape any of those. I can choose
to just not participate in Valentine's Day. I can choose
(29:22):
to not participate in Saint Patrick's Day. I happen to
love Halloween, so I'm in on Halloween. But if Buck
doesn't want to participate in Halloween, he doesn't have to.
You can't avoid Thanksgiving like somebody something like this is
where everybody comes in and says, oh, if you don't
like Thanksgiving food, you just haven't had good thanks Yes
I have. I've had. I've had Michelin star Thanksgiving food
and it's still sucked, all right, So like, I can't
(29:44):
avoid it.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Mary was here, you'd be fine.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
I've had Michelan star Thanksgiving food.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
I can't help the fact that I was. You know,
there was a period in my life where you know,
I wasn't home for Thanksgiving very much. You work a
lot in the music business on Thanksgiving, so had to
go to restaurants and went very good restaurants and it
still sucked, all right, So Gordon Ramsey either can't make
a turkey or turkey sucks like throwing Gordon Ramsey under
the bus. Look, no, Buck, I'm just saying, where are
you on the Houston Texans. That's why of course, Yes,
(30:13):
a great defense, a great defense, and they've won games
with Davis Mills as their quarterback. And CJ. Stroud was
supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be
everything that we've now decided that Drake pay and Jayde
Daniels are so like do you believe that the Texans
Texans can work themselves into this conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
So the last when we saw the Bills and the
Texans play, the stat or the fact whichever you would
consider this that Thursday Night football had up in the
middle of that game or I guess before that game
had actually kicked off, which is the defense, the number
one defense in terms of scoring and total yardage, has
(30:53):
never missed the playoffs, and that so far now they've
done it with Davis Mills and CJ.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
Stroud.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
By the way, for what it's worth, as we've gotten
injury reports for most teams who are starting their practice week.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
Stroud was listed as a full participant, coming back from
that gnarly concussion that's kept him out for the past
couple of weeks. Davis Mills has handled the job admirably,
and the question becomes, are they in a situation a
la Minnesota where Minnesota may actually benefit from having Max Brosmer,
(31:29):
for example, in the lineup this week and as opposed
to JJ McCarthy because J. McCarthy has simply not been
good enough. Davis Mills has won three starts at this
point in time and is capable as a backup. Now,
eventually the carriage will will turn back into a pumpkin
at moments. And I'm not saying he's perfect by any
stretch of the imagination, but he's a five year what
he's a four year five year pro Davis Mills, and
(31:50):
he understands how to handle the moment, and he's done
well to handle different situations.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
That defense is also a cheat code. But CJ.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Stroud has has struggled this season, and frankly, he struggled
for the past two seasons and offensive coordinators were fired
or an offensive coordinator was fired.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Joe Slowick.
Speaker 5 (32:09):
If I remember correctly the name, Joe, I'm pretty sure
it's Joe Slowick was fired.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I think Bobby Slowick, Bobby Stillck.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
You're correct, Bobby Slowick was fired in Houston as the
offensive coordinator. And apparently there was some not no love
loss necessarily between the young star quarterback and the offensive
coordinator at the time. So okay, whatever, Then they make
the moves on the offensive line that they do. It
doesn't come to fruition. But honestly, that unit, surviving some
injuries and having some pieces shuffled around, they've played better,
(32:37):
not great.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
They're still a below average unit. But CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
Stroud behind a below average offensive line, has himself been
below average.
Speaker 4 (32:46):
Davis Mills has handled the situation a little better. Should CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
Stroud be reinserted back into the lineup again this week
in a critical game against the Indianapolis Colts and they
lose and they fall back down to five hundred, what's
the dialog going to be in Houston? I trust that defense.
I think that defense is going to give you as
many chances as humanly possible, and that division feels a
bit more open than it did for the first I
(33:11):
don't know half of the season, the Colts losing to
the Chiefs in overtime this past weekend.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
This game is in Indy.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I don't know if Houston is capable of winning the division,
but I do trust them.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
As a wildcard team. Yeah. Look, I mean they're to
make a wildcard. I don't think they're gonna go on
a run or anything like that. I'm saying to make
the postseason.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
But there's a very real world where the AFC South,
which was being thrown as the worst division in football
by some coming into this season, could end up with
three teams, three teams in the playoffs. Well, okay, I
mean your team sucks, well, not your team. The team
you cover sucks. We sat not we. Some people thought
the North was going to be good. The North is trash,
(33:51):
and some people thought that South was going to be bad,
and the South has turned out pretty good. The offensive
line you mentioned is the reason I'm out on the
Texans to really do any damage. I very unofficially pulled
my committee of fat friends. You know, I've got my
guys that played some level of either high level college
football or some NFL and they're my committee of fat guys.
(34:14):
Whenever I need fat eye analysis on an offensive line.
I ask guys that played the position, because what the
hell do I know about it?
Speaker 4 (34:19):
Right?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
So I try and ask, And this was the question
I asked everybody very unscientifically this week. What team that
you consider a true good playoff contending team has a
bad offensive line and across the board. The answer was actually,
never thought about it, but none. Seattle's not a great
run blocking team. They struggle with that at times, but
(34:41):
Seattle's sort of the one that came up twice out
of everybody that I pulled. I say that because I
just think all of us need to take a second, like,
look at your favorite team and ask yourself, this would
my five offensive lineman be starting on a playoff caliber team?
And if the answer to that is no, your team
probably sucks. I trust the Texans defense, but not more
(35:01):
than I distrust the Texans offensive line when they play
elite defenses. So it'll be really interesting to see how
that plays out. Now. For all the trust issues we've
talked about in the AFC, I'm not sure it's any
better in the NFC, but there is one team that
maybe deserves to start getting some trust in it that
we might not be talking about enough. We'll tell you
who it is next. He's Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz
bucking fits, hanging out with you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
He's Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz Bucking Fitz taking over
on Fox Sports Radio tonight on the Jason Smith Show.
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody as we get ready for Thanksgiving.
On what I've found out over the last few years
is the biggest bar night in America. Yay. I'll be honest,
I did not know that, and I think this comes
(35:51):
from you know, quite honestly, Buck. When I left, like
I went to high school in Bowie, Maryland, PG County,
I'm about at PG County as it comes right. Once
I left Booie, Maryland, I never went back. Like there
was nothing for me in Booeie, Like my family didn't
live there anymore, and there was no reason to go back.
So this concept of going back every year for Thanksgiving
(36:11):
and then seeing your friends in the bar and partying
just wass just lost to me. I never had one
spot because I moved on as much as a kid,
Like do you crave going back to Indiana to turn
around and have like a big night out? Like is
Buck Rising going to be out in the streets? Would
that be your preference?
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Well, if I was going to do it, I would
not go to Indiana to do it. Although that I
mean that was a thing in like college, right at
least for me now I'm what ten eleven years removed
from college at this point in time, ten twenty twenty fifteen. Anyway,
So you would go home on break and all of
(36:49):
your friends, whether they went to the local commuter school
or if they're up there with you at the big
state school, and everybody comes home and there's only so
many bars you can go to, and you have some
funny moments where you're back together with your group of
high school buddies or buddies that you keep in touch
with but you don't see as often, and you also
see people that you know from high school, and maybe
(37:11):
those are some fun interactions, maybe those are some awkward interactions.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Like there's it's a good it's a good experience.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I would say now at this point in my life,
everything that I do involving alcohol comes with a three
day hangover after the fact, so I'm not in the
midst of football season at this point. I would not
participate in a blackout Wednesday, though I do as I
sit here in Nashville, Tennessee, have many many friends who
(37:40):
are down on Lower Broadway tonight participating in what is
the rare local outing on Lower Broadway. If you don't know,
that's the main strip in downtown Nashville where all the
bachelorettes come down to frolic and gallivant across hockey talk
or from hockey talk to hockey talk. But on Thanksgiving weekend,
it's not really a tourist so it's a time for
(38:01):
a lot of locals to participate in Lower broad which
is typically a better experience.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
It's funny because that that pokesholes in one of my theories,
which was maybe it's just a towny thing, like you
know in Connecticut. So many of the towns here are
just small towns. And I grew up mostly in big cities,
in and around big cities. So the other part of
my theory, my whole like that I've been working on,
is that you know, if you grew up I grew
up as a kid in Vegas, like, if you go
(38:27):
back to Vegas, nobody's like.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
May We've got a Fremont right, Like what are you
doing right?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
You know?
Speaker 5 (38:32):
And by the way, no hate on Fremont, Like old
Vegas is great.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
But and then I lived in Nashville for twenty years.
I get the thought of just going like I'm not
sure where the towny bars are. But maybe maybe that
pokes hooles it it. Maybe I think also maybe I'm
just too old for any of that at this point.
As we were talking earlier, Okay, I can confirm, thank
you so much, I am old enough to be your dad.
As we talked about earlier, that there's a changing in
(38:59):
the guard, but there's one team that is not necessarily
changing the guard, but I think might be worthy of
a little bit more attention. At what point do we
take all of the injuries and put him aside and
look at the fact that the San Francisco forty nine
ers had managed with Mac Jones as their quarterback for
much of the season to go out and get this
thing done. And then brock Perty comes in and has
(39:20):
just a wretched game where he's just a little off
and everything he does and he creates this moment where
I think it makes me just appreciate even more Buck
that they won a bunch of games with mac Jones,
like the forty nine Ers have been winning in spite
of their quarterback situation, which smacks in the face of
how we usually want teams to be winning.
Speaker 5 (39:37):
Right now, Yeah, it's complicated because you know, Party goes
out there against the forty nine ers on a game
that we were optimistic about on Monday Night Football between
the Panthers and San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
That was just it was gross.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
It should have been a nine Ers blowout if not
for Party throwing three interceptions and making this a conversation.
Right So, I don't know where you fall on this,
because they gave him a fat cut this past offseason,
and he's obviously played very little, and when he's out there,
he doesn't look like the better quarterback on the roster
mac Jones, does we This is a conversation that we
(40:10):
can have because we got three more hours to stretch
our legs. But I don't know if I'm so married
to the idea of Brock Purdy just because I'm paying
him what I'm paying him.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
If mac Jones is the better quarterback.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Yeah, well, all of that comes back to something that
we've learned right now, which is, if you don't have
to make the decision, don't make the decision. They have
mac Jones under contract to get next year, they being
in San Francisco, they don't have to rush anything. It
doesn't matter who they paid. The question is what are
they going to be moving forward, which is something that
frankly the Vikings right now. You can't tell Vikings fans
(40:43):
get my menches every time I mentioned it. They're like,
we didn't want Sam Darnold anyway. He only throws picks
in big games. You know, it sucks more than that
not making it to big games, and that's where you
are now without a quarterback. So maybe don't rush that decision,
and don't make those decisions until you have to. We'll
keep breaking it down for you. An hour number two,
he's Buck Rising on Jason Fitz. We're just getting started
(41:03):
on a big night on Fox Sports Radio. More coming up,
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
It's a Bucking Fits takeover on Fox Sports Radio. He's
Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz For the next four That's right,
count on four, four big hours. We are gonna be
hanging out with you guys, getting you ready for the
most overrated holiday on the calendar. I just it took
me three seconds and I've already frustrated.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Buck.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I'm just saying, wow, Look, Thanksgiving is the most overrated
holiday on the calendar. We all know what Thanksgiving food sucks,
but we don't suck. We're gonna have a good time
for the next fi.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I disagree. You suck. You suck.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
If you want to start this show that way, then
I'm distancing myself from you immediately first and foremost too,
You suck if you think that Thanksgiving is the most
overrated holiday now and of discussion.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Look it is, uh And I just came in guns
blazing because frankly, I knew that it would piss you off.
And that was my goal right out of the gates. Like, look,
sometimes you need like, look, you need just a little slap, right,
Like everybody has their own thing in the in the
in the tunnel before the game starts. I think Buck
Rising needs just a little slap, just a little little
slap in the face.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
And that's John Henderson.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I gotta I gotta feel it, but I gotta feel
a little blood in my mouth to get going to
here fair enough.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Look, I know you as a teammate, right, so I
just feel like the right thing to do is to
make sure that we start the show off is as
fired up as possible. The football tomorrow is actually, I
think gonna be really good. The football tomorrow is gonna
be excellent. It's gonna be great. The food that people
pretend they like while they're eating the football is all
gonna be trash. But the football itself, all of it's trash,
is is gonna be really good. And I'm excited. Maybe
(02:03):
I don't know, Buck, Maybe it's because the Lions are
finally not hot garbage. Maybe it's because the Cowboys have
given us just enough hope for everybody to feel like
it's gonna be a great day. But it just feels
like Thanksgiving football the last couple of years, between the
fact that they're always going to find a way to
get the Chiefs involved, the fact that the Lions are
actually worth watching, and the Cowboys have become interesting on
(02:24):
the field, not just off the field, I feel like
tomorrow's stacked to be a really good day.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Yeah, all three of these games are interesting for different reasons. Right,
You've got the NFC North, which is very much in
a bit of a flux, the eight and three Bears,
who don't play until Black Friday. I'm sure we'll touch
on that at some point as well, going to Philadelphia too,
eight and three teams who would have had the Bears
at eight and three leading the division on Thanksgiving. But
(02:52):
that's where things stand right now. So the Packers, Lions
trying to clean things up. The Vikings obviously out of
the picture. Worst case scenario for them this season, given
the decision that they made a quarterback. The Chiefs and
Cowboys coming off of crazy comeback victories.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I mean, I don't know how you feel about this.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
We obviously haven't spoke since our normal Saturday night slot
FITZI previewing Week twelve, But the way that the Cowboys
came back against the Eagles and the way that the
Chiefs needed over time to get past the Colts at
home to finally move above five hundred this season, I
don't know which win was more impressive, But I found
(03:34):
myself in a situation never in my lifetime I'm thirty
two years old. Never in my lifetime have the Dallas
Cowboys actually been America's team. And yet, given that there's
a lot of emotion tied up in this Dallas team
with the marshaw neland situation, we understand this. But I
for reasons beyond just the tragedy that they've experienced so
(03:56):
far this season, I feel like I felt America rut
it for the Cowboys against the embattled Philadelphia Eagles. For
the first time in my life, the Cowboys felt likable
this past Sunday.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Man that feels like the impossibility. And I love this
because it reminds me of eighties wrestling. You know, I
love my eighties wrestling.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So, in the eighties, one of the best things about
still to this day, but really one of the best
things back then in old school wrestling was that you'd
be a heel for a while, a bad guy, and
then you become a face for a while, a good guy,
and then you're back to a bad guy. I like
that sort of transformation where you go from you can't
decide if you're rooting for or against somebody, And I
also like the fact that this matchup between the Cowboys
(04:38):
and the Chiefs particularly becomes the ultimate again eighties wrestling reference,
loser leaves town battle right like, because it does feel
like we've gotten to the point where both teams were
dug into such a bad hole and just trying to
figure out how you get your way out of that
becomes what feels like virtually impossible to do, and they've
lost the most important thing you can have to course
(05:00):
of the season, which is wiggle room.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So, you've got a Chiefs team at six and five
that frankly is fighting for its playoff life. They're not
going to win the division, but they're fighting for their
playoff life. And you've got a Cowboys team that at
five point five and one that was left for dead
that all of a sudden is coming through straight MONDI python,
I'm not dead yet, right, like merely a flesh wound.
There's this moment of the Cowboys that they've sort of
(05:23):
had the search. Now. I will say loudly, whatever they
did against the Raiders doesn't count. And thank god that Twitter.
You know, I had a moment. I had a moment
on Someday. I was getting ready to tweet, hey, there's
no takeaway when you take on the Raiders. There is
no takeaway right for the Cowboys for tour. I was
ready to say there's no takeaway. The Cowboys were down
twenty one nothing at the time, and then I was like,
you know, I just don't want to get into the
(05:44):
battle on Twitter. So I deleted the not yet sent
tweet and said I will just wait for another day.
Turns out, then the Cowboys came back. So is there
something from the comeback against the Eagles. I think so.
I really do think so. And I think part of
this as much as we have just spent all year
trashing the Cowboys relentlessly, the signing of George Pickens, the
(06:04):
trade for George Pickens, the acquisition of George Pickens turns
out to be one of the smartest moves in the
entire NFL this season. He is absolutely uncoverable. He is,
to me the number one on this team. I think
he's a better wide receiver today right now than CD is.
That's how good I think Pickens has become. And so
there when you watch how explosive this offense can be.
(06:24):
And we've said all year all they need is just
a mediocre defense, well now they have that.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
I'm not sure the.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Defense is fixed, but the defense is a lot better.
They got healthier, They've gotten right at the right times.
Quinny Williams is a big acquisition for him. The defense
is just good enough. I'm not ready to leave the
Cowboys for dead. So I do think that of all
the games we have tomorrow, this Chiefs Cowboys one has
the most on the line because there's the most doubt
on both sides of it.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yes, and inevitably that game will disappoint us the most,
given that we are going to spend as much time
as humanly possible trying to take advantage of the fact
that the Cowboys have a little and I would clarify
a little bit, I don't feel like we've spent all
year trashing the Cowboys. I feel like we've spent all
year trashing Jerry Jones. And while I feel that Jerry,
(07:12):
I'm conflicted on the Jerry of it, all right, because
on the one hand, most NFL fans, I feel would
probably be in a situation where they would say, I
don't want an owner that medals, and certainly not to
the level where he's the literal star of the show.
Versus the other side of this, If you're a fan
(07:34):
of a team that has absentee ownership, for example, the
franchise that I cover on a day to day basis,
the Tennessee Titans, or a team like that, there's something
to be said about an owner who's willing to be
in the trenches with you and Jerry very much is
the definition of that, sometimes to their detriments, sometimes to
(07:54):
their success, always to their attention or their attention grabbing ability.
The George Pickens situation.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
I know that he was benched.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Him and Cedee Lamb were benched for the initial drive
of their what was that the Week eleven game that
they played for missing curfew Essentially, well, we'll leave it
at that. Beyond all the Internet rumors and the idea
that Cedee Lamb can hold hold his liquor, so it
couldn't have been him throwing up in that trash can
of the casino. One of my favorite quotes of all time.
(08:25):
George Pickens had so much let's just classify it as
attitude that it was too much for Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Mike Tomlin, who was put up with Antonio.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Brown and Le'Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger, somebody who is
as adept as anybody in the world at handling outsized personalities,
managing the ebbs and flows of a season, and still
finding ways to have success. Maybe they didn't win a
Super Bowl with those guys, but you understand my point.
Somebody who is capable of managing a situation. But George Pickens,
(08:58):
it's just too much. At points he was a health
scratch in Pittsburgh. He goes to Dallas. You and I
talked about this this summer day. This had all the
combustible elements of terrible, terrible idea. Terrible idea. You're gonna
put him in a bigger media market with more media scrutiny,
(09:18):
way more pressure, way more attention, all these different things,
And to George Pickens's credit and to the Cowboys credit,
I think a lot of different people, Brian Schottenheimer included,
deserve a lot of credit for the way that they've
managed all of the things around this season. So George Pickens,
I think, is going to stand to make himself a
lot of money. Whether that ends up being in Dallas
(09:38):
or somewhere else. That's wide receiver needy. Will it go
as well as it has in Dallas this offseason? Who's
to say, But right now for the Cowboys, who are
I mean, look at the Cowboys and the Packers with
that ugly ass tie sitting on their record.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
It's gonna matter for one.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
Of these teams later down the stretch, and I'm looking
forward to seeing who was sweating that out at the end.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I said this on y'ahoo Sports Daily my usual uh,
my usual Daycake that you can check me out. On
Monday to Friday, I heard so many people screaming about
how ties are the worst thing in football. Ties are
so ugly. Oh my god, why would we ever? You
never play for a tie? Okay, look at the standings now,
ladies and gentlemen, because that tie matters a lot of
(10:22):
the Green Bay Packers, right like, so all of a sudden,
and it may end up mattering a hell of a
lot to the Dallas Cowboys. So I just it's a
good reminder by you that, hey, a tie is better
than a loss. I don't I don't want to give
breaking big hot takes here, but a tie is better
than a loss. And for everybody that's like, oh, I
don't want to tie, nobody wants to see a tie.
Hell yeah, you do if it helps your team get
(10:43):
in the playoffs, because right now, certainly the standings are
impacted by the fact that there's only been one tie.
And I hear you on Jerry, this is this is
just just being real. Maybe it's because the holidays tomorrow
that's on my mind. Jerry Jones just turned eighty three
years old. I think like anybody that's got their eighty
three year old pop paw coming to Thanksgiving tomorrow, Like,
you just know, even if things are going okay at dinner,
(11:05):
eventually it's not gonna go okay. You know, eventually your
eighty three year old papa is gonna say something they
shouldn't and the whole table's just gonna sit there and
figure out how to deal with it. Like, you know, eventually,
even if it's going right now, it's not gonna go
right all night long. And that's just that. That's Ronny
with Jerry, Like, look, it's great, sometimes it works. Sometimes
(11:26):
he's an eighty three year old popaw Like I just
I don't know what we expect at some point when
that's what we're dealing with. I just think everybody in
the spirit of Thanksgiving kind of knows how it feels
to be a Cowboys fan.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
I feel like you've probably just described with the next
you know, three hours and forty five minutes of us
are gonna look like eventually something's gonna go wrong throughout
the course of the evening and we're going to have
to try and reel this thing back in.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
But we'll do our best.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
In the meantime, we're very happy to be hanging out
with you here on this Thanksgiving on the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon. We're filling in for the guys.
Of course you can be. You're going to check out
the brand new YouTube channel for the show. Just search
Jason Smith's Show on YouTube. Begins that again, that's Jason
Smith Show. Be sure to hit the subscribe button and
don't stop there. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
(12:14):
Let us know which of us you agree with and
who you disagree with. Go check out the brand new
channel on YouTube again. Just search Jason Smith's show and subscribe.
He's Jason fitz I'm Buck Rising, filling in for the guys,
so Fitzy. Of the games that we have talked about,
we've talked about a little bit. The Packers and the Lions,
the Chiefs and the Cowboys are going to take up
(12:35):
the vast majority of the oxygen. But this Joe Burrow
storyline hovering out there for the three and eight Bengals
who really don't have a leg to stand on going
up against the Ravens who are just recently in the
lead of the AFC North. I am curious to know
what your thoughts on the implications of this game are
because we heard a little bit. I'm sure the audience
(12:58):
heard a little bit if you were listening through the
com marushial break that Dan Patrick promo where he's talking
about he would play Joe Burrow, that the Bengals can
really only play spoiler here, it feels like maybe they
run the table That seems very unlikely given their deficiencies
as a roster, But can they really just exist to
bother the Ravens Given the fact that these two teams
(13:20):
have not yet met and will for the first time
tomorrow on Thanksgiving, I.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Think the hard part here is that we need to
understand what both of these franchisors are playing for. Like
Zach Taylor is playing is coaching for his job? I believe,
and I don't believe anything is short Like the only
thing I am sure of is that the Cincinnati Bengals
are doing everything they possibly can to turn Joe Burrow
(13:45):
into the modern Dan Marino made the Super Bowl his
rookie year, never went back. The Miami Dolphins could simply
never surround him with what he needed to be surrounded by,
and they wasted a Hall of Famer. That's what the
Bengals are doing. So now, if you're the coaching staff
for the Bengals, you're trying to that you're not wasting him.
So you need to win games. But unfortunately, winning games
is just gonna put a band aid on a very
(14:06):
very serious wound. But on the other side, if you're
the Ravens, you're a team that hasn't looked good all.
I don't care anymore what our expectations are. The question
is are the Ravens a good football team? And right
now the answer to that is no. Lamar has not
looked right, he has not looked healthy. The offense has
no identity. It is disjointed as hell, like everything looks
just it looks wrong with the Ravens. So I think
(14:29):
this is an interesting game simply because you've got one
team that is trying to find a way to win
to stay in the conversation, and another team that's trying
to find a way to win because they could actually
make the playoffs and they're trying to figure out if
they're any good bucks. So it's like, I don't think
this is I think both of these teams frankly stink
this year. I think this could end up being by
far the worst of the games.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
I wouldn't say the Ravens stink anytime you have Lamar
Jackson on your roster. I'm gonna struggle with the idea
of stink. Even though they've looked disjointed and there's clearly
some things that they're gonna be up against, should they
I mean, obviously they're winning their division right now. So
if they end up holding Serve and they end up
winning the AFC North, they will be a playoff team
and we'll see how they manage against the competition. But
(15:10):
I know we are going to get ready to talk
about a changing of the guard potentially in the AFC,
and given I mean, I don't know that Lamar Jackson
not you're thirty years old is part of the old Guard,
but it kind of feels like those are the same
kind of characters Chiefs, Bill's Ravens that we're talking about.
And I think there's some very interesting teams to threaten
all three of those that we can get to here
in just a second.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, we'll do that. Next coming up, we'll figure out
has there been a changing of the guard, and if so,
why are we taking so long to acknowledge it. He's
buck Rising on Jason Fitz Bucket Fits hanging out with
you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 6 (15:55):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
with Jason and Tire. This isn't your typical sports pod
pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day.
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
And all the best guests.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It feels like, in front of our very eyes, we're
seeing a changing of the guard, and for whatever reason,
nobody seems to want to acknowledge it. Like we're so
busy trying to make the teams that we thought would
be great in the NFL this year great that we're
not acknowledging the teams that actually are worth watching. We're
so busy trying to find a reason why the teams
(16:47):
that are good actually can't sustain that we're bending over
backwards to give benefit of the doubt to teams that
don't deserve it. And I don't understand why he's buck rising.
I'm Jason fitz Bucketfit's hanging out with you on Fox
Sports Radio, and I mean, I understand it. Sometimes we
get more hell bent on being right than actually talking
about what we see. And I don't mean we you,
(17:09):
and I just mean we a collective society like we
get so hell bent on our opinion must be proven right,
and unfortunately that sort of skews the way we see things.
I think it's pretty clear this year that the Baltimore
Ravens is we were just discussing, are not who we
thought the Ravens would be. Now, the defense is getting healthier,
but Lamar maybe isn't. And sure there's little glimmers where
(17:31):
you think it looks better. But I watched last week's
game against the Jets. I watched every snap of it,
and the whole time my intent was to figure out
the why why are the Ravens not good this year?
Like what is the big thing that they need? And
I kept watching it just saying there is no one thing.
It's a bunch of things, like the Ravens just aren't
(17:52):
a good football team. The Chiefs this year are not
who we thought the Chiefs were gonna be. The Bills
are a shell of who we thought the Bills were
going to be. I think We've seen new teams rise
in the AMC this year, and I don't know why
we're so resistant to just letting that happen.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Because the three that you're talking about have the quarterbacks,
right I mean, the quarterbacks that you trust, that you know,
that you believe in, that you feel like can give
you a chance no matter what the circumstance is. And
that's kind of where things are at right now. I
mean with Buffalo's a bit of a different situation here
(18:28):
because I think Buffalo, out of the three of them,
you feel the best about.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I don't know. I don't want to put words in
your mouth.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Or speak for you, but I think if you ask
me which of the three do I feel the best
about right now, I'd probably say Buffalo. They've got no
wide receivers and Kean Coleman is whatever's going on there
must be pretty deep seated for him to be inactive
a healthy scratch for two games as their best theoretical
receiving option if you're not counting the tight ends. But
(18:57):
they're a bit more well rounded in Buffalo. Their defense
isn't great, but it's solid. Their run game is good,
and it's taking enough pressure off Josh Allen. But they've
had meltdown moments this year and they've been beaten head
to head by the resurgent New England Patriots, the ten
and two New England Patriots. Now, I don't think that
that's the one case where I think that enough attention
(19:17):
is being paid.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
We are not.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
We are not loathe I think as a football consuming
society to heat praise upon New England, not just because
Drake May is an MVP candidate at quarterback and a
young and upcoming star, but because Mike Rabil is a
media darling and he has completely turned that thing around
him and the people that he brought in in ways
that he wanted to do in Tennessee, and they wouldn't
(19:42):
let him in whatever, Like, we don't.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Need to relitigate the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
But Mike Vrabel is absolutely Mike Rabel, and the Patriots
are the Patriots in Mike Rabel. However you want to
do this, I think it's tough to kind of separate
the two at this point in time. Plenty of people
are paying attention to what's going on in New England.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Now, I think the Broncos let me say yeah, but
real quick to you Vegas coming into the season, had
the Patriots as a favorite in eleven of their games.
So I feel like we knew the Patriots had a
chance of being at least a winning team this year,
So we already I.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Looked at that roster and said, absolutely not. I mean,
I was as down on them as anything. I thought
that the strategy and free agency is not usually a
successful one where you just spend all of the money.
Because you have all of the money to spend, they're
actually getting return on investment. They flipped a considerable amount
of that roster around, and their draft class is helping
(20:36):
pick them up. I mean, the Will Campbell thing hurts
now he's gone on injured reserve officially today, But I
mean I understand how bad the schedule is. The strength
of schedule is for the Patriots, But before the season,
I thought that would have been a five hundred team
at best.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I agree with you, that's the same thing I said.
I'll hold myself accountable to that. I feel like everybody
else knew what we didn't did. The schedule was just
going to be this much of a cake walk. That
feels like part of the reason why it's taken less
time to adjust on the Patriots to me, like why
why on the Colts? Why every time the Colts, every
time Daniel Jones throws an interception? Say, oh, I told
(21:12):
you we couldn't trust the Colts, Like it just happens,
Like why.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
On the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
The Broncos are truly two plays away from being undefeated
this year, and I know bon Nicks hasn't looked good enough.
I've said that repeatedly. But you're right. Maybe it's because
we just only care about quarterbacks and because I don't
trust the Broncos quarterback, maybe I shouldn't trust the team.
That just seems like wild, just over simplification. I trust Lamar,
(21:37):
I don't trust the Ravens. I trust Josh Allen. I
don't trust the Bills. I don't trust bon Nicks. But
I do trust the Broncos. And when you're eight and two,
damn like you just deserve some credit.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:49):
I think it's you know, it's a lesson that it
feels like we have to repeatedly learn and it seems
like we don't retain again as speaking, you know, for
the for the larger consuming public, we.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Put an outsized value.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I mean, it is the most important position in sports,
like the individual most important position in sports is NFL quarterback.
But we just saw the best quarterback in the world
again not that long ago, in the Super Bowl get
his ass whip by the better team, right, the better
team who again has an eight win so far in
the season. And whatever is going on with Jalen Hurts
and AJ Brown and Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles
(22:26):
offensive line, whatever all they do is continue to win.
I mean, I know they just are recently coming off
a loss in Philadelphia. I'm sure felt like it was
burning to the ground on sports talk radio this week.
But it's about the better team. So if I said
FITZI understanding the outsized value deserved value that we would
(22:47):
place on Patrick Mahomes playing on the Chiefs. Are the
Broncos a better or a worse team than the Kansas
City Chiefs?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Today?
Speaker 3 (22:56):
The Broncos are better.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
The Broncos are a better team. Are the New England
Patriots at ten and two with a head to head
over the Bills on the road a better team than Buffalo? I?
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Actually I think so. Yeah, I'm the argument.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Could be made.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Milton Williams is on injured reserve. Now, he's been a
big part of their success on defense. Will Campbell going
on injured reserve the guard and forgive me his name
escapes me, but two of their starting offensive line went down.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Will see if they're able to survive a situation like that.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
It's closer to a push, right, and then you've got
I guess we'll just put them together, even though they're
not in the same division. The Ravens, the six and
five Ravens are the eight and three Colts. Who is
the better football team top to bottom? Understanding that one
has a two time MVP at quarterback, it's probably Indianapolis
top to bottom. So the better team, and more often
(23:48):
than not, the healthiest team is the team playing the
deepest into the postseason. Not only are the three teams
that we're talking about Broncos, Patriots and Colts better as
a roster construction and for where they are in their
competitive life cycle than the other three that were used
to talking about, they are as healthy arguably as any
(24:09):
of the team's remaining or any of the teams worth
talking about, because the health of these teams has allowed
them to continue to advance. The Ravens have dealt with
injuries to Lamar Jackson, the most important position, but Bo Nicks,
Drake May, Daniel Jones. I know Daniel Jones was dealing
with a calf or a fibula or whatever the hell
they officially classified.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
It us over the weekend.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
But like, they have been as rosters healthier than your
average football team, and it's allowed them beyond just being
good teams to continue to have success down the stretch.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Well, and look, I'll admit the hardest part about all
of this is I believe today the culture a better
football team than the Baltimore Ravens. For example, I believe
that the Broncos are a better team than the Kansas
City Chiefs. If I had to bet my house on
a Broncos Chiefs game in the playoffs, would I actually
be comfortable? My mind's telling me no, Like I feel
(25:02):
like I can't bet against Mahomes in that situation. I
there is a part of me that understands why this
gets so tricky. There's one other team you didn't mention
that I want to see if they're part of this
conversation for you. But first, Manzi Belaanyas gets caught up
on what's going on across the landscape this evening, My friend, Hi, guys,
how are you.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
I'm doing so well.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
Happy early Thanksgiving to you, Happy to be hanging out
with you.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Guys.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
Are you doing the whole Turkey and the whole Shenan
against tomorrow?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Hell no, I've got one in ten Tennessee Titans practice.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
That is very Hey you know what, cam Ward looked
good against the Seahawks' Why you know what, Listen, I'm
a Clippers fan, so I always go for moral victories.
So I'm just saying he looked he looked good against
the good defense, which is kind of like, I feel like, oh,
that was nice to see.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So they gave up.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
They were always in the game. They always they were
in it, making it interesting.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
So I enjoyed that game. We do have a lot
of NBA going on right now for the very important
NBA Cup, which I'm sure you guys care so much about.
The Grizzlies and the Pelicans are in overtime. Memphis is
up one thirty one to one twenty eight late in
the first quarter. The Warriors are up on the Rockets
right now twenty two to eighteen. Trailblazers are edging the
(26:17):
Spurs twenty six to twenty five, also late in the
first just like the Suns and the Kings, where Phoenix
is up right now thirty nine to sixteen, but okay,
see officially eighteen and one to start the season. They
just defeated the Timberwolves one thirteen to one oh five.
Shay Y'll just Alexander with forty points in the win.
The Raptors beat the Pacers ninety seven to ninety five,
(26:38):
as Brandon Ingram hit the go ahead winner, leaving just
point six seconds on the clock.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
It's like it's not a game winner, but it is,
but it is.
Speaker 7 (26:47):
The Heat took down the Bucks one Ozho six to
one Ozho three, Tyler Hero twenty nine points, Nick's over
the Hornets one twenty nine to one oh one, and
the Celtics snapped the pistons thirteen game winning streak, coming
out on top today one seventeen to one four. In
men's college hoops at the Player's Era Festival, the championship
is going on right now and Number seven Michigan is
just all over Number twelve Gonzaga fifty three to twenty nine.
(27:09):
A little NHL scores like the Avalanche, who have won
nine in a row. I think they're about to win
ten because they're just shutting out the Sharks five zero
late in the second period, and the Golden Knights are
losing to the Senators to zero late in the first period.
When it comes to the NFL, it was reported that
Panthers safety Trayvon Morrig's appeal of his one game suspension
for unsportsmanlike conduct was denied. He will have to miss
(27:31):
Sunday's game against the Rams, but the Bengals have activated
Joe Burrow off injured reserve.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
He's expected to play Thursday night in Baltimore.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
And in baseball, the Blue Jays are as signing pitcher
Dylan Sees to a seven year, two hundred and ten
million dollar contract, pending a physical back to you guys.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Oh MONSI makes me so happy. He's Buck Rising. I'm
Jason Fitzbuck. I BET's hanging out. Excuse really the talent
involved in all this. By the way, for over forty years,
tire Rack's been helping customers find the right tires for how,
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(28:07):
the way tire buying should be. All right, as we
look at a changing the guard, let me just ask you,
where are you on? And I know this team is
maybe not on the the precipice of everybody's tongue right now,
not on the tip of everybody's song.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
I said that the wrong web everybody.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I meant say tip of everybody's tongue, but then I
went precipice and I got lost that did know what
happens this late at night? Where are you on the
top nine? It's ten thirty here? All right? Some of
us did the morning show today. We're back to ten thirty.
I'm so sorry, thank you, I feel thank you. I'm
you know what I'm gonna you know. Let's I'm glad
that that I didn't know you had that level of
(28:46):
sympathy in your in your cold dark heart mats facts. Yeah,
you're like Turkey, tough and not worth it. Uh, let's
see that.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Actually that is the one Thanksgiving opinion that you are
correct on. Turkey sucks.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I'm correct on all of them. Oh we dig it.
A tweet by the way, as I started the show
saying that ever the Thanksgivings the most overrated holiday, and
Brendan said, if Thanksgiving's overrated, what does that make Halloween,
Valentine's Day, and Saint Patrick's Day. I put those three
higher on the scale of irrelevance. The thing is, I
can choose to escape any of those. I can choose
to just not participate in Valentine's Day. I can choose
(29:22):
to not participate in Saint Patrick's Day. I happen to
love Halloween, so I'm in on Halloween. But if Buck
doesn't want to participate in Halloween, he doesn't have to.
You can't avoid Thanksgiving like somebody something like this is
where everybody comes in and says, oh, if you don't
like Thanksgiving food, you just haven't had good thanks Yes
I have. I've had. I've had Michelin star Thanksgiving food
and it's still sucked, all right, So like, I can't
(29:44):
avoid it.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Mary was here, you'd be fine.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
I've had Michelan star Thanksgiving food.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
I can't help the fact that I was. You know,
there was a period in my life where you know,
I wasn't home for Thanksgiving very much. You work a
lot in the music business on Thanksgiving, so had to
go to restaurants and went very good restaurants and it
still sucked, all right, So Gordon Ramsey either can't make
a turkey or turkey sucks like throwing Gordon Ramsey under
the bus. Look, no, Buck, I'm just saying, where are
you on the Houston Texans. That's why of course, Yes,
(30:13):
a great defense, a great defense, and they've won games
with Davis Mills as their quarterback. And CJ. Stroud was
supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be
everything that we've now decided that Drake pay and Jayde
Daniels are so like do you believe that the Texans
Texans can work themselves into this conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
So the last when we saw the Bills and the
Texans play, the stat or the fact whichever you would
consider this that Thursday Night football had up in the
middle of that game or I guess before that game
had actually kicked off, which is the defense, the number
one defense in terms of scoring and total yardage, has
(30:53):
never missed the playoffs, and that so far now they've
done it with Davis Mills and CJ.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
Stroud.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
By the way, for what it's worth, as we've gotten
injury reports for most teams who are starting their practice week.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
Stroud was listed as a full participant, coming back from
that gnarly concussion that's kept him out for the past
couple of weeks. Davis Mills has handled the job admirably,
and the question becomes, are they in a situation a
la Minnesota where Minnesota may actually benefit from having Max Brosmer,
(31:29):
for example, in the lineup this week and as opposed
to JJ McCarthy because J. McCarthy has simply not been
good enough. Davis Mills has won three starts at this
point in time and is capable as a backup. Now,
eventually the carriage will will turn back into a pumpkin
at moments. And I'm not saying he's perfect by any
stretch of the imagination, but he's a five year what
he's a four year five year pro Davis Mills, and
(31:50):
he understands how to handle the moment, and he's done
well to handle different situations.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
That defense is also a cheat code. But CJ.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Stroud has has struggled this season, and frankly, he struggled
for the past two seasons and offensive coordinators were fired
or an offensive coordinator was fired.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Joe Slowick.
Speaker 5 (32:09):
If I remember correctly the name, Joe, I'm pretty sure
it's Joe Slowick was fired.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I think Bobby Slowick, Bobby Stillck.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
You're correct, Bobby Slowick was fired in Houston as the
offensive coordinator. And apparently there was some not no love
loss necessarily between the young star quarterback and the offensive
coordinator at the time. So okay, whatever, Then they make
the moves on the offensive line that they do. It
doesn't come to fruition. But honestly, that unit, surviving some
injuries and having some pieces shuffled around, they've played better,
(32:37):
not great.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
They're still a below average unit. But CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
Stroud behind a below average offensive line, has himself been
below average.
Speaker 4 (32:46):
Davis Mills has handled the situation a little better. Should CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
Stroud be reinserted back into the lineup again this week
in a critical game against the Indianapolis Colts and they
lose and they fall back down to five hundred, what's
the dialog going to be in Houston? I trust that defense.
I think that defense is going to give you as
many chances as humanly possible, and that division feels a
bit more open than it did for the first I
(33:11):
don't know half of the season, the Colts losing to
the Chiefs in overtime this past weekend.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
This game is in Indy.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I don't know if Houston is capable of winning the division,
but I do trust them.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
As a wildcard team. Yeah. Look, I mean they're to
make a wildcard. I don't think they're gonna go on
a run or anything like that. I'm saying to make
the postseason.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
But there's a very real world where the AFC South,
which was being thrown as the worst division in football
by some coming into this season, could end up with
three teams, three teams in the playoffs. Well, okay, I
mean your team sucks, well, not your team. The team
you cover sucks. We sat not we. Some people thought
the North was going to be good. The North is trash,
(33:51):
and some people thought that South was going to be bad,
and the South has turned out pretty good. The offensive
line you mentioned is the reason I'm out on the
Texans to really do any damage. I very unofficially pulled
my committee of fat friends. You know, I've got my
guys that played some level of either high level college
football or some NFL and they're my committee of fat guys.
(34:14):
Whenever I need fat eye analysis on an offensive line.
I ask guys that played the position, because what the
hell do I know about it?
Speaker 4 (34:19):
Right?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
So I try and ask, And this was the question
I asked everybody very unscientifically this week. What team that
you consider a true good playoff contending team has a
bad offensive line and across the board. The answer was actually,
never thought about it, but none. Seattle's not a great
run blocking team. They struggle with that at times, but
(34:41):
Seattle's sort of the one that came up twice out
of everybody that I pulled. I say that because I
just think all of us need to take a second, like,
look at your favorite team and ask yourself, this would
my five offensive lineman be starting on a playoff caliber team?
And if the answer to that is no, your team
probably sucks. I trust the Texans defense, but not more
(35:01):
than I distrust the Texans offensive line when they play
elite defenses. So it'll be really interesting to see how
that plays out. Now. For all the trust issues we've
talked about in the AFC, I'm not sure it's any
better in the NFC, but there is one team that
maybe deserves to start getting some trust in it that
we might not be talking about enough. We'll tell you
who it is next. He's Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz
bucking fits, hanging out with you on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
He's Buck Rising. I'm Jason Fitz Bucking Fitz taking over
on Fox Sports Radio tonight on the Jason Smith Show.
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody as we get ready for Thanksgiving.
On what I've found out over the last few years
is the biggest bar night in America. Yay. I'll be honest,
I did not know that, and I think this comes
(35:51):
from you know, quite honestly, Buck. When I left, like
I went to high school in Bowie, Maryland, PG County,
I'm about at PG County as it comes right. Once
I left Booie, Maryland, I never went back. Like there
was nothing for me in Booeie, Like my family didn't
live there anymore, and there was no reason to go back.
So this concept of going back every year for Thanksgiving
(36:11):
and then seeing your friends in the bar and partying
just wass just lost to me. I never had one
spot because I moved on as much as a kid,
Like do you crave going back to Indiana to turn
around and have like a big night out? Like is
Buck Rising going to be out in the streets? Would
that be your preference?
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Well, if I was going to do it, I would
not go to Indiana to do it. Although that I
mean that was a thing in like college, right at
least for me now I'm what ten eleven years removed
from college at this point in time, ten twenty twenty fifteen. Anyway,
So you would go home on break and all of
(36:49):
your friends, whether they went to the local commuter school
or if they're up there with you at the big
state school, and everybody comes home and there's only so
many bars you can go to, and you have some
funny moments where you're back together with your group of
high school buddies or buddies that you keep in touch
with but you don't see as often, and you also
see people that you know from high school, and maybe
(37:11):
those are some fun interactions, maybe those are some awkward interactions.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Like there's it's a good it's a good experience.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I would say now at this point in my life,
everything that I do involving alcohol comes with a three
day hangover after the fact, so I'm not in the
midst of football season at this point. I would not
participate in a blackout Wednesday, though I do as I
sit here in Nashville, Tennessee, have many many friends who
(37:40):
are down on Lower Broadway tonight participating in what is
the rare local outing on Lower Broadway. If you don't know,
that's the main strip in downtown Nashville where all the
bachelorettes come down to frolic and gallivant across hockey talk
or from hockey talk to hockey talk. But on Thanksgiving weekend,
it's not really a tourist so it's a time for
(38:01):
a lot of locals to participate in Lower broad which
is typically a better experience.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
It's funny because that that pokesholes in one of my theories,
which was maybe it's just a towny thing, like you
know in Connecticut. So many of the towns here are
just small towns. And I grew up mostly in big cities,
in and around big cities. So the other part of
my theory, my whole like that I've been working on,
is that you know, if you grew up I grew
up as a kid in Vegas, like, if you go
(38:27):
back to Vegas, nobody's like.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
May We've got a Fremont right, Like what are you
doing right?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
You know?
Speaker 5 (38:32):
And by the way, no hate on Fremont, Like old
Vegas is great.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
But and then I lived in Nashville for twenty years.
I get the thought of just going like I'm not
sure where the towny bars are. But maybe maybe that
pokes hooles it it. Maybe I think also maybe I'm
just too old for any of that at this point.
As we were talking earlier, Okay, I can confirm, thank
you so much, I am old enough to be your dad.
As we talked about earlier, that there's a changing in
(38:59):
the guard, but there's one team that is not necessarily
changing the guard, but I think might be worthy of
a little bit more attention. At what point do we
take all of the injuries and put him aside and
look at the fact that the San Francisco forty nine
ers had managed with Mac Jones as their quarterback for
much of the season to go out and get this
thing done. And then brock Perty comes in and has
(39:20):
just a wretched game where he's just a little off
and everything he does and he creates this moment where
I think it makes me just appreciate even more Buck
that they won a bunch of games with mac Jones,
like the forty nine Ers have been winning in spite
of their quarterback situation, which smacks in the face of
how we usually want teams to be winning.
Speaker 5 (39:37):
Right now, Yeah, it's complicated because you know, Party goes
out there against the forty nine ers on a game
that we were optimistic about on Monday Night Football between
the Panthers and San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
That was just it was gross.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
It should have been a nine Ers blowout if not
for Party throwing three interceptions and making this a conversation.
Right So, I don't know where you fall on this,
because they gave him a fat cut this past offseason,
and he's obviously played very little, and when he's out there,
he doesn't look like the better quarterback on the roster
mac Jones, does we This is a conversation that we
(40:10):
can have because we got three more hours to stretch
our legs. But I don't know if I'm so married
to the idea of Brock Purdy just because I'm paying
him what I'm paying him.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
If mac Jones is the better quarterback.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Yeah, well, all of that comes back to something that
we've learned right now, which is, if you don't have
to make the decision, don't make the decision. They have
mac Jones under contract to get next year, they being
in San Francisco, they don't have to rush anything. It
doesn't matter who they paid. The question is what are
they going to be moving forward, which is something that
frankly the Vikings right now. You can't tell Vikings fans
(40:43):
get my menches every time I mentioned it. They're like,
we didn't want Sam Darnold anyway. He only throws picks
in big games. You know, it sucks more than that
not making it to big games, and that's where you
are now without a quarterback. So maybe don't rush that decision,
and don't make those decisions until you have to. We'll
keep breaking it down for you. An hour number two,
he's Buck Rising on Jason Fitz. We're just getting started
(41:03):
on a big night on Fox Sports Radio. More coming up,
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