NFC West Betting Preview

A recap of our NFC West Team By Team Previews. 

49ers: Damon Bruce (@damonbruce)
Rams: Dennis Freeman (@dennisjfreeman)
Seahawks:Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle)
Cardinals: Howard Balzer (@hbalzer721)
NFC West Futures: Michael Fiddle (@fiddlespicks)

Follow Our Picks On The Action App: https://t.co/n1DpkYHKV5

Listen to The Gambler with Adam Kaufman Monday-Thursday from 10-Midnight on WRKO on the iHeartRadio app!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
All right, we've got life Dan, not from the New
York Mets, but the Padres half scored in the top
of the fifth.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
All right, maybe they could add another one or two.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Not to be greedy, but we're trying to cash this
first five money line. Let's hope some boys that would
be nice. Keep it up if you would, Padres, we
need you, we really need you.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
And just to pile things onto Jordan Alvarez just hit
a ball to the moon. I don't know if he
saw that. I saw, of course he did. Yeah, needed
that last.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Night, really could have used it.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
All right, let's get back to football, more baseball later on,
and back to the saga that is Brandon Ayuk As
Damon Bruce joins US covers the Niners, all things Bay
Area out there. Damon Bruce on YouTube, get him on
Twitter at Damon Bruce As we begin our tour of
the NFC, and we begin with the best in the

(00:56):
NFC West, the San Francisco forty nine ers, the raining
NFC champions of course, the runners up in the Super Bowl. Damon,
how are you welcome back?

Speaker 4 (01:05):
It's always good to be on. Thank you so much
for having me, and yeah, nothing left to do around here,
but win a Super Bowl. That's what all forty nine
Ers fans have been waiting for. It is the monkey
on the back of this entire franchise.

Speaker 5 (01:19):
It is lorded over.

Speaker 4 (01:21):
Kyle Shanahan in a way that borders on cruelty. And
it's a huge year for the forty nine Ers, And
obviously we're going to talk about Brandon Ayuk and prospects
of what it.

Speaker 6 (01:34):
Might look like.

Speaker 4 (01:34):
But yeah, they're loaded. I mean, they really are as
weird of an off season as it's been. They're loaded,
they're ready, and the expectations are through the roof.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, as you said, it is year eight under Kyle Shanahan,
but this team, this Niners team under him, has lost
in the Super Bowl or NFC Championship Game four out
of the last five years. So absolutely they are built
to win both sides of the ball, you know, really
incredibly talented offense and defense, which is why we have
a preseason win total of eleven at Caesars, eleven and

(02:07):
a half at most places. But it's a tough schedule
including facing the Bills, the Chiefs, the Cowboys, the Seahawks
all following their bye weeks, and playing eleven of seventeen
games against teams that were at least five hundred last year.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
So it's going to be daunting.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
But before we get into all of that and expectations,
a guy who obviously is pretty directly tied to that
is Brandon Ayuk, who we just got word from Adam
Schefter just before you came on with us that we
don't know where he's going or if he's going, but
he's not going in New England because it appears that
Patriots have kind of bowed out, or Ayuk expressed that, hey,

(02:45):
I'm not going there. Maybe the Pats weren't willing to
meet his salary demands, or he just flat out doesn't
want to come to New England in a rebuilding situation,
or all the above. I'm not sure. We obviously around
here wanted to see this workout, but it's not going to.
Where does it go from here?

Speaker 4 (03:02):
I wish I could tell you. I mean, we've been
sitting on this story since the NFL Draft, and apparently,
and some of the reporting about this IU Patriote situation
is there was a substantial deal in place for IU
to New England all the way back ahead of the
draft and it was scuttled then, and maybe Iyuk has
returned to it and scuttled it once again. For a

(03:23):
guy who asked for a trade, he has an approved one,
you know. And I guess that his leverage in this
is telling a team that might be interested in trading
for him that he's not going to sign an extension,
which would obviously make the team reconsider its offer, which
would obviously stall inny negotiation with the Niners. So it
really is what you want, your Brandon, What do you want?

(03:46):
Because it feels like the forty nine Ers are prepared
to make you a rich man, a very rich brand
new market price exploding wide receiver market level thirty plus
million dollar a year rich man. That doesn't seem to
be available for the forty nine ers. I don't know
if that's available really anywhere. For Brandon Ayyuk is worth

(04:07):
to the league. We can debate till we're blue in
the face.

Speaker 6 (04:10):
I know this.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
He is the forty nine ers best wide receiver, and
not even by a little He is by a lot.
And he does everything this team wants him to do.
He blocks downfield like he's an offensive alignment in the
run game. He is what the forty nine ers want.
There are many factors that go into them, not just
meeting him at his price point. One of the biggest

(04:35):
that seems to almost be forgotten in all this is
what's coming up for brock Purdy, and brock Purdy is
nothing short of the largest rays in the history of
American sports. He's going to go from making about a
million dollars to the next season he'll be making about
sixty million dollars. So the forty nine ers are factoring
that in life is timing debos wide receiver market was

(04:57):
good timing for him. For Brandon Ayuk, unfortunately it isn't.
And also unfortunately for team Ayuk is they don't really
have anything other than a holdout to express their frustration with.
There's not a lot of leverage. If the forty nine
ers really wanted to play hardball, they could just say, look,
you are on your fifth year option and we can
franchise you the two years after that. Now, obviously that's

(05:21):
not good for a locker room. It's not good for
peace among players. It's not good to have players and
agents talking about you. But this is just you know,
it's come to a head here where something needs to happen.
And if the Patriots are out, well, now are the
Browns still in the Are the Steelers really gonna turn
up at this table and negotiate for Brandon Ayuk?

Speaker 6 (05:41):
Now?

Speaker 4 (05:42):
Is Team Ayuk allowed to go out and farm and
shop offers to now bring back to the forty nine ers.
It feels like something is going to happen in the
next twenty four to forty eight hours or this is
going to be a stalemate that possibly drags it into
the regular season for a team that's trying to win
a Super Bowl.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
So damon, if Brandon Ayuk is not playing for this
team in Week one, what should betters expect when it
comes to some of the other skill position guys? Does
that mean that we see Deebo Samuel get even more touches?
Does Ricky Piers All the rookie that they took in
the first round? Is he all of a sudden just
jump into a bigger role? George Kittle? What should we
expect with this Niners offense that's been top five in

(06:24):
the NFL each of the past two years.

Speaker 6 (06:26):
Yes to all of it.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Less for Brandon Ayuk would mean more to go around
for a team that already spreads the ball around it
awful lot. You know, I've heard that be a complaint
of fantasy betters over under betters about the forty nine ers.
They're so good they spread it around. No one has
like those Overlord days where you've won your fantasy league
because of guy X, unless it was Christian McCaffrey who

(06:50):
just went bonkers into the end zone. But yeah, less
Brandon Ayuk would mean more to go around. And honestly,
this team could have absorb Brandon Ayuk being kidnapped by
aliens and just unable to report for duty. I think
everything gets harder, but I think they could absorb it.

(07:11):
The real problem of Brandon Ayuk not being on this
team wouldn't just be his absence, but then the subsequent injury,
which now all of a sudden, you're really testing your
depth chart. Just losing Brandon Ayuk doesn't sound very scary.
Losing Brandon Ayuk and now debos out two weeks. George
Kittle has a history with injuries. Christian McCaffrey has the

(07:32):
same thing. Now it gets scary if you take him
out of the mix, and then other dominoes start to fall,
and it's the old cliche of every you know, chain
is is only as strong as its weakest link, and
they will have depth chart issues the minute Ayuk is gone,
if he leaves and somebody gets hurt.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
We have Damon Bruce here from the dam and Bruce
Show on YouTube. Stick around. We will have more on
the Niners right way to bet some of these guys.
We'll get into some player props, and of course circle
back to that win total and overall season expectations for
a team that is very much live to win a
Super Bowl. When we come on back, We're back here

(08:13):
with Damon Bruce dam and Bruce Show on you two
previewing the San Francisco forty nine ers, what to expect
from the best in the West. And let's get into
the prop market a little bit here. Damon, is you
know we've been talking sort of in you know, overall
terms with these skilled players Brock Purty, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo,

(08:33):
Samuel George Kittle and the uncertainty around Brandon. I youk, obviously,
I think all of that uncertainty goes right into the
quarterback position because we look at Purty, who at points
last year and for quite a while was a favorite
to win the MVP before the last few weeks went
south on him. The over under for passing yards for
him entering this year is a range, but at the

(08:53):
low point thirty eight hundred and twenty five and a
half the touchdown number at twenty six and a half
on the low end. Now, he cleared both of these
last year by a pretty good margin. Had almost forty
three hundred passing yards thirty one touchdowns appeared in sixteen
of the seventeen games. But again, he very well could
be without his top wide receiver at least in talent

(09:17):
in Brandon Ayuk. And you mentioned the injury concerns to
some other players as well for Purdy, because as we know,
you don't have to bet everything. Is this just a
stay away spot or would you still lean over.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
Happy that you asked it that way, Adam, because I
want to be a good guest on your gambling show.

Speaker 7 (09:36):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
I want to give you a spicy answer. I know
you're not looking for somebody to say, yeah, walk away
from the window on that one. But there's just way
too much uncertainty right now to answer any question. Let
me tell you, Brandon, I you being back just what
I've watched at training camp, brock Perdy is ready to
cook man. He is absolutely in command of this team
from a day one in training camp. Standpoint that he's

(09:59):
now I ever enjoyed at any other point in time
in his career due to injury, due to being a rookie.
So he is really in charge. He is, I think,
going to be given a longer leash from Kyle Shanahan
to be more aggressive and put this team into plays
hecyes sit. I do think that they're going to throw
the ball a little bit more. I do think that

(10:20):
not being addicted to the overuse of Christian McCaffery has
to be baked into this cake. But right now we're
missing too many ingredients in this cake named Brandon Ayuke.
I guess for me to make any declaration about what
is or is not going to happen statistically, if this
team as we know it with Brandon Ayuke is loaded

(10:42):
to bear, I like him an awful lot. I like
the new ex seed numbers. I like Kyle Shanahan's conservative
nature to be undone by a growing quarterback who's finding
his stride in this league. But you take away his
number one wide receiver for whatever reason, and everything instantly
has to change.

Speaker 6 (11:00):
So it's a.

Speaker 4 (11:01):
Stay away right now until there's conclusion. I wouldn't be
making any definitive investments on the forty nine ers in
either direction.

Speaker 6 (11:12):
So damon.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
We got the news today that Christian McCaffrey has a
Grade one calf strain that's going to sideline him for
a few weeks, probably not going to see him in
the preseason. Not that that's a big deal, but is
this injury something that better should be monitoring long term?
Is this something to actually really worry about this season?
Because his props are among the top. They are the
top for both rushing yards, the rushing touchdowns, five hundred

(11:35):
receiving yards. I mean, everybody's expecting CMC to have another
monster year. Eleven hundred yards is the lowest that you
can find it on the ground, ten and a half touchdowns,
There's an eleven and a half on some spots. But
what is the strategy with him this year?

Speaker 4 (11:48):
I would play over touchdowns because he's just got a
nose for the end zone. But yeah, you always be
concerned either. You should always be concerned with any ding
on Christian McCaffrey. He's a player with an injury pass Also,
do think though, that we're looking at a Jordan Mason
an Elijah Mitchell, guys taking on backup running back roles

(12:08):
with more duties in game, not just crunch time players
or excuse me, not just garbage time carries.

Speaker 5 (12:15):
And I think that needs.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
To be done in making sure that Christian McCaffrey is
ready to go and postseason play. There are a few
non negotiables. Every team starting quarterback is a non negotiable injury.
I feel like Christian McCaffrey is a more non negotiable
injury for the Niners than most starting runner back. Running
backs are non negotiable negotiable injuries. I feel like Fred
Warner is a non negotiable injury. You know, just certain

(12:38):
guys cannot get hurt or your entire year is going
to be spun off of its access. So yeah, keep
an eye on anything Christian McCaffrey. I'll also tell you
that Christian McCaffrey doesn't need a lick of preseason football
to be ready to have a monster year. And he
is at the point in his career where if I
were a team and just wanted to have him sit

(12:59):
throughout the pre season. I might exaggerate the the you know,
the the cause of an injury to just say, don't
ask us about him in the preseason.

Speaker 6 (13:08):
You're not going to see him.

Speaker 4 (13:09):
So am I worried about his usage.

Speaker 6 (13:12):
Not yet.

Speaker 4 (13:13):
But everyone should always be worried about Christian McCaffrey because
he is the straw that stirs their drink in so
many ways.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
With Debo, again, maybe the answer is wait till the
Ayuk situation plays itself out and you see what the
number is at that point in time and if you
want to get invested. But as of right now, with
Ayuk expected on the roster, at least you know Vanduel
still has a number for Brandon Ayuk, provided he is
a San Francisco forty nine or Deebo. Samuel is at
eight hundred point five on the low end, four receiving yards,

(13:42):
a number that he did clear last year while missing
two games got to almost nine hundred. The passing or
rather receiving touchdown number five and a half he had
seven last year. The thing with Deebo, though, and we've
sort of talked around it a little bit here already,
is I just I know what the talent is I
just I hesitate to trust that he can stay on

(14:02):
the field for an entire year.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
That's the question about him. He's got all the talent
in the world. I thought he was at his most
dangerous when he was being used in that Swiss army
knife style back in twenty nineteen where you saw, you know,
so many of his touches come out of the backfield,
and Kyle has sort of gone away from that, which
reduces to me the value that he's supposed to represent
at the number that he signed him to. But look

(14:27):
in in terms of me being a good gambling guest
for your show here, I would look at Debo and
I would say all those numbers were supposed to take
place with, you know, with Brandon Ayuk on the team.
If you want to err on the side of believing
in him staying healthy, then I will take the over
on all of his numbers. And if Ayuk is to disappear,

(14:50):
well then you got it at a great price. Before
you know, the Vegas line moves to adjust to any
Ayuk departure. So I would I'd be bullish on Deebo
and I'm just going to tell you right now, he
looks in incredible shape. He was not happy with the
shape he came in a couple of years ago. You know,
injury is always something to worry about, but he is.

(15:12):
He's ready to go from a very big year, and
if I is in deep back, I think there's a
healthy little competition for future positioning on the forty nine ers,
both wide receivers looking to sing for their what would
be highly paid suppers.

Speaker 3 (15:27):
So we might as well throw one more guy into
this injury concerned STU that we're brewing here on this show. Tonight, guys,
let's talk about George Kittle. Damon uh seven hundred and
fifty point five receiving yards. That is his line at
every single book you can get it at plus or
even money to the over here. George has gone over
this in three straight years, five out of the last six.

(15:47):
But there are those injuries concerns, and he's also thirty
one years old. Now can he get to this number again?
How's Kittle looked in camp?

Speaker 6 (15:55):
Again?

Speaker 4 (15:55):
If you like targets and you're worried about other targets,
George Kittle, that's a number where you should like to
see north of it. I think he does it on
just his natural talent. If he's out there again. Boy,
there's no sport that includes the phrase you know if
healthy where you mean it more and more. I'll tell
you you brought it up at the beginning of last segment.
To all of the rest disparities that the forty nine

(16:19):
ers will be looking at this year is something that
you might want to bake into any guestimation. Look, I
think you're trying more than anything else to give your
listeners the best advice, and sometimes the most boring advice
is the best advice. The forty nine ers are a
full red light right now. Layoff in all directions until

(16:41):
there is conclusion on Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, until
you hear both of those guys, one of those guys,
until you know what their stories are. I wouldn't lay
a dime in any direction on a team that you
can't really estimate anything on.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
I suppose that goes for the eleven and a half
wins and any potential futures as well. Like I mean,
I don't know if you'd be inclined to lay the
minus two to one basically on them to win the West,
but maybe more likely three to one odds on winning
the NFC plus six twenty five in some spots to
win the Super Bowl.

Speaker 6 (17:16):
They're built to cook.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
I'm telling you right now, if they do stay healthy,
everybody better look out. This team is realizing it is
at the end of a life cycle to win a championship.
So I think that the concentration will be complete. I
think the focus will be total. Shanahan, for all the
jokes that are easy to tell about coming up short

(17:38):
in the big game, you can't find a coach in
this league who knows what he's doing to prepare a
game plan on a game by game basis better than
Kyle Shanahan. He is state of the art. He really is.
His critics are state of the art and some of
the loudest voices in the room. The guy can coach
full stop. If healthy, they could, they should and could

(18:00):
win the Super Bowl. I mean, that's where it is,
and they really have been the second best team in
football but for the Kansas City Chiefs for a handful
of seasons here and if healthy, I don't think that
that changes. So I am bullish on the forty nine ers,
but I would like more information before I walk into
any casino feeling cocky in any direction.

Speaker 3 (18:24):
Even if they are fully healthy, let's say it's all
systems go here, eleven and a half still feels like
it feels like a big number, a very high number.

Speaker 6 (18:31):
Damn.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
I mean, I'm looking at this schedule, man, there are
there is just a gauntlet in the middle of this
schedule for October through November. Really, I mean, starting with
a short week on the road at Seattle coming back
to play the Chiefs. Then you got Dallas at Tampa,
Green Bay and Buffalo in there too. Like, even if
they are fully healthy, it just they might just have
too much competition. The schedule just might be too tough

(18:52):
for them to get to twelve wins.

Speaker 4 (18:54):
And what's incredible too, is that you get to that
end of that gauntlet and you sort of like cut
it off.

Speaker 6 (18:59):
There.

Speaker 4 (19:00):
You got the Detroit Lions for you in a game
that could mean an awful lot to the NFC waiting
for them in like week sixteen seventeen.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
On Monday Night.

Speaker 4 (19:08):
So yeah, I mean they do have a monster of
a schedule, and again, rest disadvantages cooked in everywhere. Faden,
The Niners season win total isn't the dumbest thing I've
heard of. Let's just put it that way, right, you know,
let's put it out. It's the biggest win total I
think on the board. Right, that's a tough thing to meet.

(19:29):
So I again, can we get some more information? Can
we get some more information? But they are they're built
to win an awful lot of those games, and they
they're really good. They're really a really good football team.
And if Brock Purdy has officially you know, like there's

(19:50):
no more debating it for a sexy sports talk show.
If Brock Purty really shows up this year with a
I am once again in the MVP conversation, I am
truly regarded as a top five, top eight quarterback in
this league, then Sky should be the limit for this team.
If he is that guy, then eleven and a half

(20:14):
it sounds doable against anybody. I mean, Vegas has them
favored in every game on the schedule, still, do they not?
That's quite a compliment from a city that doesn't like
to give him out. So they're pretty damn good. I
do know that, But BOYD, I'd like some more information
before we started spinning the wheel of fortune.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
Damon Bruce on YouTube, Get Damon on Twitter at Damon
Bruce easy enough to find.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
Damon.

Speaker 1 (20:37):
We always enjoy when you hop on man. Look forward
to talking again in season.

Speaker 4 (20:41):
I'm just so happy you didn't ask me about a
Lori market in trade. I'm about to jump off a
bridge out here, Phela, Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
Let's just save that one. We'll get to basketball eventually.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
Back here on the Gambler with Adam Kaufman, we come
your way Monday through thirsdy nights ten pm to midnight Eastern.
Thanks so much for hanging here with us. Of course,
we are going team by team, city by city across
the NFL. We have done the entire AFC. We're onto
the NFC. We begin in the West, started with the
Niners yesterday today it is as we were just talking

(21:17):
about a very very interesting team in the Los Angeles Rams,
and we'll be diving in here momentarily to discuss them
with Dennis Freeman, who is an editor over at newsfo
us online dot com. Look forward to chatting with Dennis
and getting all of his insights about this team, obviously
and what to expect here in the new year.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
Because again we were just talking about it.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
I think an efficient win total at eight and a
half from the books as things stand right.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
Now, and you know, a team that is.

Speaker 1 (21:51):
Really in some ways, I guess from a leadership standpoint there.
Over the last couple of years have have just been
these questions, right, you know, Aaron Donald, when's he going
to retire? He has Sean McVay, is he going to
want to do something else? Well, he's still there year eight,
and of course Matt Stafford it is year sixteen for

(22:12):
him and a pretty loaded offense. So let us bring
in the man we were just talking about, Dennis Freeman. Dennis,
welcome to the show.

Speaker 6 (22:19):
How are you I'm doing great? How are you perfect?

Speaker 1 (22:22):
I'm great? Thank you for hopping on. Obviously, let's talk
about this team ten and eight. Last year overachieved, reached
the playoffs, lost to the Lions. As we know, they'll
have a pretty exciting rematch in prime time coming up
later on this season. But tough schedule out of the
gate with you know, some teams that were playoff teams
last year, but also three out of the first four

(22:45):
on the road. Normally we sort of wrapped these conversations
with win total, but I want to begin there before
we kind of go player by player across the skill
positions eight and a half I would lean over, But
you know, I think that health is always a concerned
with this team, obviously, So how do you see it
entering a new year.

Speaker 5 (23:05):
I think I'm excited for the team. I think there's
going to be improvement. I believe there they will probably
increase their win total by about three three wins for
the regular season, So I think it's going to be
a good season for.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
Them, increasing by three from where they were last year,
or on that eight and a half. I mean, either way,
we're looking at eleven twelve thirteen wins. That would be
a very good season.

Speaker 5 (23:33):
I'm looking at eleven twelve wins. I think this team
is going to be good.

Speaker 3 (23:38):
I agree with you Dennison and that it all comes
down though, to Matthew Stafford, that they've had him for
three seasons. The two years that he's healthy, they make
the playoffs. Obviously they win the Super Bowl the first year.
But how's how's Stafford looked so far in training camp?
Is he good to go?

Speaker 6 (23:53):
What?

Speaker 3 (23:53):
What do you think? First what his season is going
to look like?

Speaker 5 (23:58):
Easily really sharp in camp. I mean his passes at Chris,
it looks really good. He's working out really hard. So yeah,
the key of course is Keevan the elfense line with
Jonah Jackson, while Paven Steine and then Alaric Jackson line
together too, so they could give Stafford a clean pocket.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
So with Stafford again the season he's coming off of,
there were some inconsistencies in his play. You can't blame
him for that, though, given that Cooper Cup obviously missed
a handful of games limited by injury after that other
worldly twenty twenty two season that he had. For Stafford,
I mean what, I guess, what does this offense look like?

(24:46):
Knowing that if everyone is healthy, he has all these
weapons at his disposal, with you know, Cup certainly being
able to return to form and the books see him
getting right around one thousand yards. Pokinakua's props are even
higher after the absurd rookie year that he had last year.
But now this backfield too, of of Kyron Williams and

(25:06):
uh and Blake Korum and I don't know what the
share will be and we'll get into some of that,
but obviously two really talented playmakers right there, and at
some point in time, you'd think Tyler Higbee comes back.
He's recovering from the ACLU torn ACL that he suffered
back in the playoffs. And so how ultimately does the

(25:27):
Stafford spread the ball around?

Speaker 5 (25:31):
Well, I think he's gonna be a balance attack. Of course,
you start with the run. I think Tyrone is going
to have any healthy, he's gonna have a good season.
I think he'll be able to Stafford will be able to. Yeah.
I see Stafford tost forty eight forty nine on yard,

(25:55):
maybe five thousand a year.

Speaker 3 (25:58):
So when it comes to that field, as Adam was
just talking about, it is a big question mark on
how the Rams and McVeigh is going to divvy up
the carries here between Kyen Williams, who kind of comes
out of nowhere last year leads the league and yards
per game at ninety five, just played twelve games last season,
had over eleven hundred yards Dennis. But now you got
Blake Corum, who was a monster at Michigan throughout his career,

(26:20):
and the books are expecting Corum to get quite, you know,
quite a bit of touches here. One book has his
prop his yardage number prop up at five hundred yards
for the season. McVeigh says he doesn't want to completely
just give everything to Kyron Williams. But how do you
think they're going to divvy this up here? Do you
think Kyron has approaches a thousand yards again or is
it going to be much more even with him and
the rookie I've won.

Speaker 5 (26:47):
I don't know how kach by Bay plans divvy up
the opportunity between each running back, but I would think
that Kyrone Williams will have a great campaign, and I
think Blake is going to add to He's going to
be a solid contributor to to the offense. Yardist wise,

(27:09):
I wouldn't guess that, but I think both me and
I got both players on gonna be contribute to the offense.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
Kyron had a dozen rushing touchdowns last year. His prop
right now is eight and a half on the low
end rushing scores again, just rushing scores. But uh, do
you see them continuing to lean on him, you know,
inside the twenty or inside the five, the goal line,
that type of thing to where you know he could
get to double figures again.

Speaker 5 (27:37):
Uh, he's a monster down low. I mean he's loaded
the ground, he has a lot of power. Oh, he's
gonna if their running game is going to be really
really good, to their games stays healthy.

Speaker 4 (27:53):
So for.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
What's the latest with Pokinakua Dennis? I know McVeigh says
probably shouldn't hear he should be good to go week one.

Speaker 2 (28:01):
But is it?

Speaker 3 (28:02):
What's the latest year hearing?

Speaker 5 (28:09):
Well, I guess your guests as good as mine. I'm
just waiting when it comes to injury. I just wait
to whenever the medical staff legs day is good. He's good.
Otherwise I can't really comment on that. He would be
a roneous sleep for me to do that.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
Sure, what's the defense?

Speaker 6 (28:29):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (28:29):
You know response? I guess no, Aaron Donald new GC
as well. You know it was an area of weakness
as we know last year there were a lot of
shootouts on account of that defense not being able to
stop teams with any consistency. It Will it be improved
here in twenty twenty four?

Speaker 5 (28:49):
Oh yes, I think with the rookies Jared Burst and
Bratt say, I think they look bad because looks fast.
I think they're young and they're young, So I do
think it's going to be improved from last season.

Speaker 3 (29:10):
So what is the ultimate ceiling for this team? Is
this team truly a dark horse super Bowl contender or
do they have some warts that were what's the what
is the the ceiling for this team? Are they truly
a dark horse super Bowl contender or are they going
to have some warts that you think will show up
that they might just not be able to get all
the way.

Speaker 5 (29:31):
I think they're contenders. I really do think this is
a very very good with I don't think there is
a ceiling for them.

Speaker 1 (29:43):
Where ultimately, I know you said you like them to
exceed double digit winds, you know, or get to double
digit wins, let alone the eight and a half. Obviously,
I would presume you like them to make the playoffs,
and that's something people can invest in at plus money
plus one oh five is.

Speaker 2 (29:57):
Available out there.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
Do you like their chances to to actually win this
division though, and upset San Francisco, never mind obviously doing
something that much more significant winning the whole NFC?

Speaker 5 (30:13):
Well, yeah, I think. I mean McVay is. I think
he's an excellent coach. He has a pull of talent
around him now, and the expectation is really higher, a
lot higher than it was last season.

Speaker 7 (30:30):
And I do see them contending are possibly, Yeah, I
do see them contend before in the NFC West title.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
So last year Dennis Pukakua kind of comes out of
nowhere do the Rams. Is there anybody at camp that's
really just impressing people that might do that again this year?
I mean, Blake Korham could be a guy, but he was,
you know, very well known in college. But is there
anyone else that's really just wowing a lot of people
at camp?

Speaker 5 (31:02):
Kyron Wlliamps looks super super great Pooka and the cool
is just being Pooka in the cool. He's doing great
things as well. I would say, Uh, the two defenders
from Florida's Day Jared Versus and Kobe Durant on the corner.

(31:29):
So yeah, I think there's a few people who look
really good. Kyne and played both look good by the football.

Speaker 1 (31:38):
Dennis Freeman once again is an editor over at news
for us online dot Com. Make sure you check it out,
check Dennis out. He is on Twitter at Dennis J.

Speaker 2 (31:47):
Freeman.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Dennis, really appreciate you taking some time for us and
providing some insights into RAMS camp.

Speaker 5 (31:53):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. We appreciate
it back.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
You're on the Gambler with Adam Kaufman, And like I said,
we arentinuing our preview team by team, city by city
of the NFL.

Speaker 2 (32:05):
We're done with the AFC.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
We're into the NFC West, in particular, as we begin
that conference. We have already done the Niners the Rams.
Tonight it's the Seahawks and the Cardinals. And to help
us out with Seattle as we keep an eye on
this Mariners game, which is still scoreless. By the way,
we welcome in Greg Bell, Seahawks beat writer for the
Tacoma News Tribune.

Speaker 2 (32:26):
I believe it is Hold, am I screwing that up? Greg?
Welcome in.

Speaker 8 (32:31):
No, you got it right, Adam, right, also have right
to the Mariners did score? That's usually the games their
nights inning.

Speaker 6 (32:38):
That's that's part for the course.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
This is you know what I There are all these
papers across the country, obviously, and I try and remember
all of them. I look at it and for a
hot second, I have a brain fart and it's gone.
But of course you can get Greg on Twitter at
g Bell Seattle. Welcome back to the show. We've had
you before. We appreciate you joining us again. And let's
talk about this team. Of course, nine and last year

(33:00):
eight seven to two against the spread for any of
the betters out there wondering first year though under a
new head coach, you know, sort of similar to New England,
out with the old and in with the new old
quite literally Bellichick out and out with there.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
You have Pete Carroll out the door.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
So you have a first time head coach, former Ravens
defensive coordinator Mike McDonald, and also two guys who are
in their positions of a high level offensive and defensive
coordinators for the first time as well. So this coaching
staff is just brand new across the board. A preseason
win total of seven and a half. Pretty soft schedule

(33:36):
pretty early on Broncos our Patriots Giants in the opening
five weeks. Gets a little tougher as it goes on
with four out of the final six games on the road.
But what's the overall outlook going into this year with
all the changes in the offseason.

Speaker 8 (33:50):
Well, you outlined it pretty well, Adam. The job one
is for them to fix the defense. They were thirtieth
in the NFL overall last year, thirty first against the run.
It was like the of the Bulls in Pamplona when
teams ran on Seattle last year, and that's why Pete
Parrol got fired. He's a defensive coach, his system, he
didn't want to change coordinators. He was loyal to his

(34:11):
staff members and the ownership Jody Allen and Bert Cole,
the ownership decided we're going to go with John Schneider's
way over Pete carroll'say. John Schneider the first time GM
who actually Pete Carroll hired, and this was the first
time they split and thinking, instead of Pete Carroll's way,
it's not working anymore, We're gonna try John Schneider's way.
And John Schneider's way is to bring in what many

(34:33):
believe is the most innovative defensive mind in football right now,
thirty six now just turned thirty seven year old, Mike McDonald.
He ran to Baltimore's defense last year, and as you
know in the AFC, they were dominant, the first defense
that led the league in sacks, points, all out and
turnovers in the same season last season. And they do

(34:53):
it with disguising and tricking offenses. They line up and
two high coveries before the snap, and they bring a
safe down after the snap, and all of a sudden,
it's one high coverage. You're running two high routes against
one high coverage. Or they're blits in a corner. Oh,
the corner's running back out to the to the flank
to cover the deep con third because he's not blitzing anymore. Oh,
the nose tackles now a defensive end.

Speaker 6 (35:14):
That's what they do.

Speaker 8 (35:16):
And it's going to take a while for Mike McDonald
to install all of that with this defense and the
players in Seattle, they're not even done installing the new
offense of Ryan Grubb from college football in Washington Huskies
and the new defense that Mike McDonald has, And it
may not even be when the time that they come
to New England on September fifteen to play your Patriots,

(35:37):
they may not still have it all installed. But eventually,
by the end of the year they're going to be
a much better team than they are at the start
because of how much is all new here. It's still
our van proven up and Mike McDonald's never been a
head coach at any level. Ryan Grubbs never coached in
the NFL. He's months removed from the National Championship game
calling plays for the University of Washington and meg Ry mistake.

(35:57):
You mentioned Aiden Dirty. He was the defensive i'd coach
at Dallas last year. He's the defensive coordinator by title.
But Mike McDonald's going to call the plays and he'll
have the headset and calling it to the sensive signal
callers on the defense. So much new, It's a really
curious season out here.

Speaker 3 (36:14):
Well, Greg, one thing that's not new is Gino Smith
is the starting quarterback for the third straight year for
this Seahawks team. But the big question though, is is
he going to be the starting quarterback at the end
of the year. Seattle brings in Sam Howell PJ.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
Walker.

Speaker 3 (36:28):
The books aren't sure either, the sportsbooks. That is three
four hundred and twenty five and a half passing yards
is his prop for the season. He's gone over this
and each of the past two years. He went over
this in fifteen games a year ago. Now, this is
a guy that's led him to winning records each of
the past two seasons. But they're not committed to a
guy that's thirty four years old and kind of a
journeyman beyond this year. What do we make of Gino

(36:51):
heading into the season.

Speaker 8 (36:52):
Well, they're committed to him, for this year, and if
there were any props on how many starts he'd have,
I'd take the over. I'd take the over on those
yards because Bryan Greb's offense is going to have him
throwing a lot over seventeen games. Sam Howe is here
to basically replace Drew Locke, who replaced Gino Smith, who
replaced Brett Hunley. They decided about six years ago they

(37:15):
were going to go with backup quarterbacks who have started
in the past, the younger backup quarterbacks who started in
the past, and ever since then they have That's what
they've done every year. And then when Drew Lock signed
with the Giants this past spring, Sam Howe comes in
and is in the same situation Drew Locke was when
he arrived in the Russell Wilson trade in twenty twenty two,
two years left on his rookie deal, having led the

(37:37):
NFL in interceptions as a first time starter at his
previous team that drafted him. That's exactly where Sam holl
is right now. And I can tell you this from
watching every one of the first fourteen practices of the
training camp. Sam Howell is closer to competing with PJ
Walker for the backup job than he is for getting
any significant snaps over Gino Smith, It's not even close.

(37:57):
The accuracy how has been very erratic, throwing balls wide
and over hoods alarmingly so. And Smith the one thing
he has is accuracy, and he has two years ago
was the NFL's leading passer and completion percentage of seventy percent.
He dipped a sixty four and a half last year.
He's hat offensive line troubles that is still a big

(38:19):
problem out here in Seattle, and largely improven that they
haven't figured out yet. But Gino Smith is head and
shoulders above Sam Howe, and there is no quarterback competition
out here now. The question is what happens after twenty
twenty five, because both Gino Smith turning thirty four this
year and Sam Howe their contract end after twenty twenty five,

(38:40):
So they have a quarterback of the president. They don't
have a quarterback of the future in Seattle right now.

Speaker 1 (38:44):
So all that being said, you know, and I think
in fairness to Smith and not even oh he was
a pro bowler the last couple of years, I mean
that that distinction doesn't really mean what it once did.

Speaker 8 (38:54):
Yeah, right, Yeah, you and I can can make the
Pro Bowl anymore?

Speaker 1 (38:57):
Yeah, I have enough guys say no, right, But you know,
five game winning drives last year to lead the NFL.
He had a nine to one touchdown to interception ratio
in the fourth quarter in overtime that was best in
the league as well. So it's not like the guy
is done, even though he is getting up there in
age and is something of a journeyman as Dan talked about.
But I feel like the props are just a little
too efficient for me to want to even if I

(39:18):
expect him to be out there more often than not.
The low end is thirty four to twenty five and
a half of the passing yards. You know, he played
fifteen games last year, went for thirty six hundred yards,
you know, a far cry from the almost forty three
hundred the year before. But the only thing that I'm
talking out of both sides of my mouth, the only
thing that I could sort of use to talk myself

(39:40):
into it is you still have DK Metcalf and Tyler
Lockett and Jackson Smith and Jigbu and obviously Kenneth Walker,
and what he is capable of, not only in the
run game, but you know, every so often in the
passing game as well, So the offense is still very potent.
That being said, if you're looking at those receivers in particular,

(40:00):
and one guy that you really like to exceed his
passing props number, and I can give you those numbers
if you want, But the guy that you really expect
to have a big year, who is it?

Speaker 8 (40:11):
Well, Dk Metcalf is the hobbyist, because there's nobody physically
in football. There's nobody on planet Earth who covers wide
receivers for a living. There's six four two thirty five
with a forty one inch vertical leap that runs a
ten one hundred yard deaths if they don't exist. So
the job of Ryan Grebb, the new offensive coordinator, is
that put Metcalf in more of those positions to take

(40:32):
advantage of that physical mismatch he has on every field
he steps on. One thing I would add to the
issue of props in the yards for Ruster Gino Smith
this year is that his coordinator, Ryan Grubb, the first
day he got to Seattle, he told the guys Metcalf
and Smith, we're throwing the ball down the field. We

(40:54):
are going to be vertical. Last year, they were one
of the more horizontal, stretched out passing games in the league.
Shane Waldron had Jackson Smith and Jigba's first round draft pick,
catching an average of two yards per target for most
of last season. He was one of the lowest in
the league. This year, Smith and Jigua is going to
run down the field. Tyler Brocket's going to run down
the field. DK Metcalf's going to run down the field.

(41:16):
Ryan Grubbs offense is designed to put safeties in a
box and a quandary of whom to cover, layered pass routes,
tight ends underneath, backs coming out in the flats. Then
you got crossers with wide receivers and all of that
is predicated on offensive line giving them time to develop
those long routes. At the University of Washington, he had

(41:36):
the best college line in football. There was none better
than the Yorcity of Washington's line, and they went to
the national title game. Michael Paniks threw for forty nine
and forty six hundred yards in the two seasons he
was with Brian Grubb. Seattle's line is one of the
worst in the league. They just signed Connor Williams, who
had an acl Taar from the Miami Dolphins starting center
last December. He's only eight and a half months removed

(41:58):
from reconstructive knee surgery. They're signing him in the middle
of August to learn a brand new offense in about
four or three weeks if they think he can start
the opener. They've got issues at right guard and right tackle.
They're starting right tackle the last two years. Navet Lucas,
one of the better players on the line, is coming
off offseason knee surgery and they don't know when he's
gonna come back. Their left guard is on a one

(42:19):
year contract. Lake and Tomlinson. He's thirty two years.

Speaker 7 (42:21):
Old in his tenth year.

Speaker 8 (42:22):
He has been good in the past, but that was
years ago with San Francisco and he made the Pro Bowl.
The only sure thing on the offensive line is their
left tackle, Charles Cross their first round picked him a
couple of years ago, who has chilled two more years
on his contract. But guys, that's eighty sixty percent of
their lines unsettled right now. And the other fourth starter
is a one year thirty two year old on a

(42:42):
one year contract. So that's the biggest thing for all
the skill position, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett Smith and Jagwa
Kenneth Walker is one thousand years and eleven under your back.
They never could do anything. Ryan Grub's not gonna be
able to follow his offense and use it unless that
offensive line six is itself quick.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
So Greg, we got less than a minute left with you.
Seven and a half is the win total for the Seahawks.
It's heavily juiced to the over. This team's been nine
and eight each of the past two years. Do they
climb over this total again or do they take a
step back with the first year coaching system being installed.

Speaker 8 (43:15):
Well, I think they go over that because they're not
starting over unlike most teams that hire new head coaches
and offensive defensive coordinators. They're not a two or three
win team. They don't have a brand new quarterback who
hasn't been in the league much or a high draft
pick as a rookie has forced into play. They have
the makings of a solid team. They're not excellent. They're

(43:35):
not better than the forty nine ers on the line
of scrimmage in the NFC West, but now are going
to win the division because of that. But they aren't
a reclamation project from the ground zero, So I would
take the over on that. I don't think that's going
to get the Seattle where it needs to be, which
is to win a division and have home playoff games
because San Francisco is still too dominant on the offensive
and defensive lines.

Speaker 1 (43:56):
A lot of great stuff, great information out of Greg Bell,
who again and covers the Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune.
Get him on Twitter at g Bell Seattle and look
at that. I think the Mariners are still scoreless. Greg,
Thanks so much day, Thanks so much for hopping on
with us. Hopefully we'll talk to you again as we
get closer in season.

Speaker 8 (44:17):
Anytime, Adam, thanks for lo haveing a good night.

Speaker 1 (44:20):
One team left in our NFC West preview and that
is the Arizona Cardinals. To help us break down this team,
someone who of course covers the squad and has for
quite some time. That is Howard Ballzer, who you can
find doing work for cards Wire that is part of
the USA Today family. He hosts the Hall of Fame
radio show on Sirius XM NFL Radio. You can find

(44:42):
him on Twitter as well at h Ballzer seven to one.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
Howard, Welcome, to the show, Adam, great to be with you.

Speaker 6 (44:49):
How you doing doing well?

Speaker 1 (44:51):
Trying to figure out what to make of this team, because,
as you well know, four and thirteen last year, though
nine and eight against the spread for the betters, they
were a pesky team, kept a lot of games close
in year one under Jonathan Gannon, played hard for him
and did so even without Kyler Murray for half the year.
Now you have Murray supposedly healthy. He is a couple

(45:12):
of years removed from the surgery for the torn acl
He did go three and five upon his return last year,
and three of those losses came to playoff teams. So
what should we expect from Murray and a pretty good
offense around him going into this year?

Speaker 6 (45:27):
Yeah, I think the expectations are pretty high.

Speaker 4 (45:30):
And you know, the one note that three and five
record is that you almost wonder if maybe the missfield
There was two missfield goals in the last couple of
minutes that would have won the game for the Cardinals
from one of the more reliable kickers in the league,
Matt Crater, and everyone has always wondered, well, you know,
maybe he didn't really care if he made those because

(45:50):
that would have cost him draft position.

Speaker 6 (45:52):
Who knows, they might not have been able to get
Marvin Harrison junior.

Speaker 4 (45:55):
So anyway, they're a team that is you know, you know,
has a lot of people optimistic with the way Murray
played in that second half of the season. You know,
he was learning, he had been learning a new system
in the off season, but wasn't even able to get
on the field and practice it until October. And then
the last four games he played pretty well and Trey

(46:17):
McBride really you know, came on at the tight end position,
James Connor running the ball well. Now, as I mentioned,
you add Marvin Harrison to that mix, they have a
couple of things to settle on the offensive line, but
it looks pretty solid. So a healthy Kyler Murray and
that's the key because.

Speaker 6 (46:34):
It wasn't only the ACL on him.

Speaker 4 (46:35):
I mean even prior to that, in prior seasons, he
had injuries here and there that kept him out or
compromised him because he played injured and it really hurt
them at a couple of seasons where they actually did
pretty well. So there's a lot of optimism that with
a healthy Kyler Murray and what they've put around him,
that they can be a very successful offense and thus

(46:57):
a very successful team.

Speaker 3 (47:00):
So Howard watching Marvin Harrison junior in college at Ohio
State was like a man against a man against boys
on the field. He's a generational talent. How's he looked
in camp? Is the transition from college to pro seamless
for him? Because the books are expecting this guy to
be a one thousand yard wide receiver right out of
the gate.

Speaker 4 (47:18):
It's very possible that that could happen. And let's remember
one thousand yards in the seventeen game season. You know,
isn't averaging a whole lot of yards per game anymore,
but he is. He has been a standout throughout the
offseason and training camp, and you can see obviously the talent,
you can see the ability he has, the size. But
the one thing that everyone talks about and raves about

(47:41):
to a man is just his work ethic and the
way he approaches the game and is always working hard
at it. And obviously a lot of that he got
from his Hall of Fame father, Marvin Harrison, who played
all those years with the Indianapolis colt So there's the
belief that you know who you know, does he get
a thousand years. Who knows, but certainly it's possible. But

(48:04):
you know, running the football with Trey McBride, who I mentioned,
who you know, had you know, a darn good season
that he didn't even become a starter really until the
second half of the year. Michael Wilson in his second year,
they expect to ascend. Greg Georts is an excellent guy
in the slot. So they're going to be spreading the
ball around, I think, to a lot of different people.

Speaker 6 (48:25):
And does that keep one guy from piling up the stats?

Speaker 4 (48:28):
Who knows, But there's no doubt that you know, they
believe that they can be very productive and consistent.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
Yeah, I mean between again, Marvin Harrison junior, who look,
all due respect to Drake may that's who I wanted
the Patriots to get. Would have been nice if Harrison
was over here, but between him, between Zay Jones, who
obviously was added in free agency, Trey McBride, who you know,
took that giant leap in year two as you talked about,
I know, there's no Marquise Brown, no Rondelle Moore anymore.

(48:56):
But the run game with James Connor and now Trey
Benson coming in third rounder out of Florida State. I
think this is an interesting thing to try and handicap
because Connor he rushed for a career high one thousand
and forty yards last year, and that was in spite
of missing four games. He hasn't started, you know, He's

(49:17):
only started more than thirteen games twice in his career
as a rookie with Pittsburgh and then his first year
with Arizona in twenty twenty one. Other than that, injuries
have limited him.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
And so when I.

Speaker 1 (49:26):
Consider the prop market seven to twenty five point five
on the low end, is his rushing yards total? Again,
absolutely obliterated that number last year, but in every other
year would have barely cleared it when he even did.
So what does this look like between Connor and Benson
in terms of a timeshare for the workload and also

(49:49):
can we count on Connor to actually be out there?

Speaker 4 (49:52):
That's the great question. And I think it's almost accepted
and believe that he's probably going to miss some time
here and there. A lot of that's due to just
the way he plays, because he's a warrior, he's a bruiser,
and he just goes out there and gives it up
and he's he's also developing, they believe into a guy
who's going to be able to catch some passes, uh
in the you know, in the offense also. So that's

(50:13):
the big question is how much, even when he's healthy,
how much will they spell him at games to keep
him fresh and keep him out there. And so Benson
is a guy they're certainly counting on. They have another guy,
Imari di Mercado, who made the team last year as
an undrafted free agent, and he's actually in training camp.

(50:34):
He did an injury his shoulder in practice on Wednesday,
but he's been getting more snaps with the first unit
when Connor's not out there. Then then Benson has been.
And you know, with a rookie, you're doing a lot
of different things, you know in the screen game, you know,
pass protection with you know, with the with the pass rush,
and those are things that a rookie has to adjust

(50:56):
to before a team is really confident with putting him
out there. So I'm not going to say he won't be,
but that's one thing that you know, he has to
he has to be able to do. But there definitely
is the belief that, boy, he's an explosive guy. You know,
he's certainly more explosive than Connor is, and there's there's
definitely a feeling that that will be a good job share,

(51:17):
and we'll just have to wait and see, obviously, how
it all develops during the season.

Speaker 3 (51:21):
Howard, With a healthy Kyler Murray, what is a realistic
expectation for this Cardinals team this season? Six and a
half seven wins is what we're looking at at different
books here. A lot of books are juiced to the over,
but this is a very very tough first part of
the schedule here, with five of their first six games
against playoff teams from a year ago, you know.

Speaker 4 (51:40):
It definitely is and they're obviously going to have to
find the way to win some of those you know
you mentioned earlier. You know what they were against the
spread last year. They were also two and four in
one score games, and we know how important that is
in the NFL, and she flipped that around to four
and two. Then all of a sudden, they've won six,
I think there, and when you win seven, you know

(52:02):
you're only a game away. You know you're one win
away from being you know, one game under five hundred. Obviously,
you can't go five hundred in the NFL anymore with
seventeen games, But I don't think that eight or nine
games is out of the question if things go right,
and even if they get off to a relatively so
slow start, that they still maintain their confidence and maintain
their belief in themselves and they'll be able to finish

(52:24):
the season strong. So I think I think seven is
the bare minimum, quite honestly. But I also think that
in this league, as I mentioned, where there's so many
close games that there's just you look and there's a
whole bunch of teams that are just in that in
that middle of the league, And if you can be

(52:44):
around five hundred entering December for the last five six
games of the season, whatever it is, then you're in
the hunt for a possible wildcard if you finish strong.
And I think they could be in that conversation if
that first half of the season goes pretty well.

Speaker 6 (53:00):
So I think there's.

Speaker 4 (53:01):
Definitely improvement there and it's going to be a very
interesting team to watch to see if they can reach
those expectations. And like I said, I'll go back to
the first thing. Kyler Murtry is the key obviously, and
that you can say that about just about every team,
and it's it's not only him playing well but also
staying healthy obviously.

Speaker 1 (53:20):
Howard Ballser again covers the Cardinals for Cards Wire and
that part of the USA Today family. As I mentioned before,
host the weekly Hall of Fame radio show on series
XMNFL Radio.

Speaker 2 (53:30):
Get them on Twitter at h Ballser. That is B. A.
L Zer seven to one. Howard. Always appreciate the time.

Speaker 9 (53:37):
Man.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
We'll talk to you again down the line.

Speaker 6 (53:39):
Here sounds good, guys. Enjoy to take care, Howard.

Speaker 2 (53:44):
Number two of the Gambler with Adam Kauffman. You're on WRKO.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
We come your way Monday through Thursday nights tend to
midnight Eastern. We appreciate you being with us, of course,
whether you check us out live or on the podcast.
Either way, loads of great information to help you with
your betting and hopefully help you make some money as well.
We are if the Mariners don't help us out, going

(54:07):
to have a little bit of a down day, which
is unfortunate, but hopefully Seattle can rally back. It was
three nothing now I think three to one, so Seattle's
not packed it. In midway through the game. We'll see
what the Mariners can do again. Entered this one as
heavy favorites. But we're talking some football, especially these last
couple of days. The NFC West Niners back on Tuesday,

(54:28):
Rams last night, Seahawks Cardinals both today. If you missed
any of those, to check out the podcast The Gambler
with Adam Kaufman wherever you get your podcast to get
really great insights from the people that cover these teams,
boots on the ground there and talking to coaches, players,
all that stuff. We've been giving out some official show
futures as well, including the Rams to make the playoffs

(54:51):
at plus one ZH five. That is an official show bet.
We haven't given out anything on Seattle and these last
two teams, or I should say San Francis and then
Seattle and Arizona. We'll see if we do. That'll be
a decision before the end of this show. But there
are some things that we like to help us with
the division overall when it comes to futures. R pal

(55:12):
Michael Fiddle, who of course hosts the Advantage Sports Betting podcast,
has a newsletter as well. You can get them on
Twitter at fiddles picks Fiddle.

Speaker 9 (55:20):
How are you, buddy, I'm good, I'm excited to talk
about this division specifically because there's one player and one
team that I've had my eye on and I think
it presents some good value.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
All right, well, we're definitely going to have to get
that before we run out of time with you. But
where I want to start is where I was going
to go if we didn't run out of time. With
our previous guest, Howard Baalzer, who covers the Cardinals for
Cards Wire, we were talking about the total, and this
team is a preseason total of six and a half
seven and a half depending on where you look. Again,

(55:53):
Dan did a good job highlighting this, but three out
of the first four games at home early season matchups
with the Bills, the Rams, the Lions, the Niners, the
Packers all twenty twenty three playoff teams in the first
six weeks, So you would think, barring a miracle and
a total resurgence out of Kyler Murray and oh my god,

(56:16):
Marvin Harrison and all of that stuff, that this team
is going to get off to a slow start. So
what I'm wondering here, Mike, is should we actually consider
betting the over on the total in season? When we
get to the start of week seven, hoping that Arizona
is off to like a you know, one in six,
one in five start, or you know, a two and

(56:39):
four start, and then at that point in time look
to bet the over when the schedule gets much lighter.

Speaker 9 (56:45):
Yeah, Adam, I think that's actually a brilliant idea. I'm
going to write it down. You've given me some good
tips too in our time speaking together, So I think
that's a great one, especially if you can even start
to get ahead of some look ahead numbers. If the
Arizona Cardinals you overperform in those first two weeks, some
of the numbers in terms of individual game spreads, which

(57:06):
are all priced right now, are going to start to
come down a little bit. So maybe we even look
towards week two, week four, week five, and some of
those particular spots. And if you can get on the
right side of key numbers for football and game colv
it is worth putting a bed in now, even a
month from now, if you can get on the right
side of the three or the sixth or the seven.

(57:28):
So if you want to put the Cardinals to overperform,
you find maybe a plus three and a half plus
six and a half plus seven and a half. Take
that specific line now in terms of the game line,
and then wait in season for this stretch to hit
and then for them to clear. If you want to
play a win total, you have to add into that factor, Adam,
that Kyler Murray has sustained injuries towards the back half

(57:51):
of seasons. Historically he's a smaller quarterback, He's a very
mobile quarterback in the accumulation of hits. By week seven, eight, nine,
ten started to face some injuries and have a you know,
performance start to fall off. So by waiting the first
six weeks, you also buy yourself the insurance that Kyler
Murray says healthy through a portion of the season that

(58:12):
he typically doesn't. So if you get to week seven
and eight, the schedule starts to clear up, the team's
still healthy. That's a strong in season. Look, I'm going
to write that down. I'm gonna set a calendar reminder
for it.

Speaker 3 (58:24):
So, Mike, when we were talking about the Niners a
couple of nights ago, we were we couldn't come up
with any futures form that we really want to jump on,
just because you know, the lines with this team, we
feel like they're just so sharp at this point with
how much San Francisco forty nine or football we've seen
over the past few years, and then also just the
injury situations too with these guys that they have a
lot of guys that are very good and could put

(58:45):
up gaudy numbers, but they also have guys that are,
you know, very injury prone. Now that I'm looking through though,
I think I found one that I might like here,
And yes it's a guy that is injury prone. But
Christian McCaffrey to lead the NFL in most rushing and
receiving touchdowns combined plus two seventy five. Now, he tied
to the lead league lead in this last year with
Raheem Moster. Of all people, the next closest guy was

(59:08):
Josh Allen with fifteen CMC had twenty one a year
ago along with Moster. I don't think rahe Mostert's going
to threaten him again this year like last year. I'm
not sure anybody's going to keep up with a healthy
Christian McCaffrey when it comes to putting the ball in
the end zone.

Speaker 9 (59:21):
Yeah, Dan, it's actually pretty wise to look at the
combined market between rushing and receiving. Of course, Josh Allen
only at quarterback. He's not going to receive any touchdown,
so it's going to be all on the ground for him.
It's probably going to be difficult, and most are historically
gets very hurt. Christian McCaffrey in the last like day
or two has come out with this calf injury, which
you know is real cost for concern Dan. I wonder

(59:43):
if that number has moved, and that's why it's intriguing
now close to three to one odds. I don't know
how that has changed over the last forty eight hours
with the word of McCaffrey having a little bit of
a calf injury, and that's a tricky one, you know,
Russell Wilson's feeling it. We've seen it a lot on
the basketball sphere where you don't really know how they

(01:00:03):
respond until they actually get back out there, because you
don't really test the cat until you're running one hundred
percent and doing the cutting and in game action and
trying some of these explosive activities. So that would be
my only cause for pause. But I agree that the
concept that the forty nine ers being so hard to
bet into and so wildly priced as favorites that's kind

(01:00:25):
of the angle to start looking around for value elsewhere.

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
So you mentioned there are a couple of spots in
this division that you really like outline them for us.

Speaker 9 (01:00:35):
So you brought up a running back, dan and I'm
going to go with the running back of the Seattle Seahawks,
Kenneth Walker. There's surprising movement in his props towards the over.
They're Seahawks and ESPN beat writers coming out saying he's
the star of the camp, that he's a three down back.
Of course, we have a new coaching staff, the Ravens

(01:00:57):
defensive coordinator coming over to be the head cut coach
of the Seattle Seahawks, and Pete Carroll no longer there,
so we didn't know how some of these incumbent players
would respond to a new coaching staff. Who are they
going to prioritize? And the word is Kenneth Walker looks
like us three down back. So if you're playing Fantasy
football star underline, go get yourself Kenneth Walker. If you

(01:01:17):
want to look in his prop market, there's still some
eight seventy fives on the board to take the over.
Sharper books are already moving that to nine hundred and
twenty five and putting it at more juice. But if
you're scared of playing an over at minus one ten
odds on a season long rushing prop. The way I
actually like about going this is looking at Kenneth Walker
to leave the NFL in rushing thirty to one odds

(01:01:40):
is like a real upside play if he is a
true workhorse, if he is a three down back, if
he's coming from a raven system that prioritizes the ground game,
then he might just crush and stay healthy. He has
looked phenomenal in his first where he's healthy, he's hitting
his prime age. So I think this is a monster
season in store for Kenneth Walker. Like it's over eight

(01:02:01):
seventy five, and I like the dart throw on him
to be the leading rusher in the NFL thirty to one.

Speaker 3 (01:02:07):
That is very interesting. Zach Sharbonay doesn't scare you off
at all. He did get quite a few touches last year.

Speaker 9 (01:02:13):
He doesn't scare me off because honestly, I think he's
a great talent. But I'm just reflecting on what's the
word from training camp, and Kenneth Walker has been a
phenomenal talent. Anytime he's been on the field, so they're
going to feature him. I think sharbon Ay is more
of a specialty back, you know, clear passing situations, but

(01:02:34):
the primary running situations this is going to be ken Walker.
Goal line opportunities are going to be ken Walker. So
I think he's in for an explosive season if he
could stay healthy. That's really the concern with him. I mean,
along with any running back, but injuries are fluky, and
we label NFL players injury prone. But then there's physical
therapists and doctors that weigh in on this and say

(01:02:56):
it's really just a crapshoot and a guessing game.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
Michael, this show going back to Arizona has been really
something of a fan club for Marvin Harrison Junior going
back to college last year, and I think the hope
that the Patriots were going to take him and a
quarterback later, as we know, wound up being Drake may
who really strutted his stuff on those three pass attempts
that he had in his loan series in the season

(01:03:20):
game tonight. What is the ceiling for Harrison in this offense?
And I know Kyler Murray's health plays into that obviously,
but Dan brought this up earlier. The books have him
at one thousand yards at his floor, one thousand point
five as his receiving yards prop and I mean, if
you truly believe that he is going to be elite,

(01:03:42):
does it even make sense to play the over there
or just rush right to plus seven fifty for offensive
Rookie of the Year.

Speaker 6 (01:03:51):
I like both of them, Adam.

Speaker 9 (01:03:53):
I think the one thousand yards has to be his
floor if he stays healthy. If he only has a
thousand yards he plays sixteen seventeen games, that's actually going
to be a disappointing performance from a rookie receiver. We
had Pooka Nikua get fourteen hundred last year. We had
Jamar Chase a few years ago Eclipse fourteen hundred, so

(01:04:13):
that number should be pretty attainable. I'm not saying fourteen hundred.
I'm saying the one thousand should be very attainable if
he stays healthy. So I like that the Rookie of
the Year. I'm pretty invested in Kayleb Williams myself because
of the opportunity. But if there was a position player,
there's so much you know, pre season smoke right now
on Malik Neighbors and all of the attention that he's getting.

(01:04:36):
So yeah, I would look the other way towards Marvin Harrison.
He's got a better coach, a better quarterback, a better offense,
more stable pieces around him, and probably a weaker division
to really capitalize on. So yeah, I'm okay with Marvin
plus seven to fifty. If he does have a Pouka
Nukua or Jamar Chase fourteen hundred yard season, that plus
seven to fifty will also cash.

Speaker 3 (01:04:58):
So Michael Tyabow on things quick thought on the Rams.
This team, we both Adam and I both agreed kind
of a dark horse there that if everything breaks right,
they can threaten to win the NFC. But we played
it a little safer. We're just going to make the playoffs.
Plus one oh five. That was our official show of
future for the Rams.

Speaker 6 (01:05:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:05:16):
I like it. I like the over on their win total.
I think it's eight and a half. It's floating around.
I like the plus three thirty to win the division.

Speaker 6 (01:05:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:05:26):
In terms of the juice, this will be a fun
information thing to put on the cap on my appearance here.
But when you're comparing the juice between two win totals,
forty three cents is the value of that half a win.
So compare the two big lines that are getting and
if you're paying more than forty three cents, then get

(01:05:47):
take the higher line and play the nine instead of
the eight and a half. But if you can find
an eight and a half where it doesn't cost you
more than forty three cents, you play the eight and
a half. And I like the Rams over. If Stafford
stays healthy, he has all the weapons. It's gonna be
tough without Aaron Donald there, but they've been able to

(01:06:07):
really score against their opponents as long as they put
up twenty one points. Last season, the record for the
Rams was very impressive. So McVeagh can scheme up three touchdowns,
the Rams should put up some w's.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
Michael Fiddle on Twitter at fiddles Picks again host the
Advantage Sports Betting podcast as a newsletter as well contributes
to the Action Network.

Speaker 2 (01:06:27):
The Man is all over. We always enjoy having you
on Mike. We'll talk again soon.

Speaker 9 (01:06:31):
Thank you, Adam, thank you Dan.