Balls, Bats, and Bets -- 6/30/23

Tim O'Keefe breaks down the latest with the #Sixers James Harden trade destinations, #Phillies and other NL contenders being real or frauds, and starts his #NFL season previews with the AFC/NFC South.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
For national winners. From a localperspective, You're in the right place.
It's Balls, Bats and Bets withTim O'Keefe right here on the Gambler and
we are back after our longest hiatussince Balls, Bats and Bets started.
Welcome back everyone, I'm your host, Tim O'Keefe and yeah, on vacation

(00:21):
for full two weeks and it wasfantastic, got married, did the whole
shebang. Italy and Greece beautiful places. But could not be happier to be
back with you here on this beautifullast day of June, following up from
the Gambler studio party earlier today.Just so many, so many vacations amazing,

(00:45):
but regular life ain't too bad either. I'm glad to be back.
And man, has a lot happenedin the sports world, A lot,
a lot, a lot. Wehave new NBA champions in the Denver Nuggets.
Yoki gets his ring, I mean, solidify himself as one of the
best players in this era. Itwo time MVP has a ring that's automatically
putting you up there. The VegasGolden Knights. Vegas gets its first you

(01:11):
know, big four major title inits history, and the Knights have been
ever since they came into the league. They've been one of the best teams
in the NHL, consistently made thefinals in their first year, didn't get
it done about five six years later. Now take down, take down the
Florida Panthers get a Cup, celebratingin Vegas. They really exciting, but
a really exciting end to the Idon't want to say the winner sports,

(01:34):
but the earlier in the year sportsfinally coming inclusion. Now full swing in
baseball. Phillies on a four gamewinning streak, which absolutely fantastic. They're
looking a lot better. Honestly,I'm a little scared that for the Phillies
to play well, I have tobe out of the country, which isn't
sustainable. So hopefully that's not thethat's not the long term case here.
But they have been fantastic. Acouple of things that do concern me that

(01:55):
I still want to talk through,and actually in our second segment, we're
gonna go through some who the NLis real and who is fake that we're
competing with throughout the rest of thisseason, especially with that expanded wildcard system
that started last year, there's gonnabe a lot of teams that you can
make the argument that hey, they'rereal because this many teams make the playoffs
now and it is a different animal. But we have to start with here

(02:17):
for our first segment, the SixersNews, where James Harden opts into his
contract but really means that he's sayinggoodbye. It's it's a surprising outcome,
and Billie, I got scared thatMorey was going to cave and give too
much money. Again, how Isay it, I do think hardened for

(02:38):
winning this upcoming season is your bestoption, as sad as that is to
hear, I do think that.But you might have had to mortgage the
future too much. We'll never knowwhat the ask specifically was between Maury and
Harden as they had these negotiations backand forth, but obviously at some point
Morey said, no, it's gonnabe too much. So Harden opts in.

(03:00):
Now it's looking for a trade.And you know, this isn't a
bad option for I didn't really seeHarden opting in as a very likely scenario.
And yet here we are, andnow you've got teams like the Clippers
and the Knicks, even Miami acouple others. I was making their names
heard as potential sooners for James Harden, and I want to go through some

(03:20):
of the potential packages we're getting back, because now it's even though he technically
opted in the James Harden six ersera is over, it's done. It's
I yeah, you're not calling intosuccess the trade with for Ben Simmons.
I still might call that trade asuccess, even though we did give up
a little additional draft capital. Yougave yourself a shot last year, and

(03:44):
honestly, like if you had wonGame seven, which I know we weren't
even close, but if you hadwon that, you might have been competing
for an NBA title. I don'tthink you were getting by the Nuggets.
You might have had a shot againstMiami. That's kind of the way it
felt to me. I Admitaly.It was it was gonna be tough to
take down the Nuggets and everything theyhad, So I don't think this was
a title team. I think More'srecognized that, and hence it's time to

(04:08):
move on Harden's camp, everything that'sleaking seems to say that he wants to
go to LA He wants to bea Clipper and team up potentially with Kawhi
Leonard and Paul George. I'm gonnabreak down some of those traits snares where
he actually will dive right into itright now. I'm gonna start with the
one that seems most likely what Ithink is realistically probably what happens. And

(04:30):
I see it as a combination ofNorman Power, Marcus Morris for James Harden.
I know that, and we'll diveinto the more aggressive ones in the
second. I know there's sexier optionson the table. There's a lot of
rumors going swirling around. I thinkthis is really the most likely package of
the Sixers, get back Norman Powe, reuniting with Nick Nurse, Raptor days

(04:54):
good three and d guy average seventeenpoints a game. It's a decent fit.
It's just a we need wings,we need athletic wings. Pal fits
that. Marcus Morris, he's ona one last last year of a contract
where he's making about twenty million dollars, So you're gonna be able to free
up some cap space next year,which we know is part of this.
We think for the Sixers is thatsadly this upcoming season might not be the

(05:15):
one, but they're going to goall in the two years out by getting
freeing up some cap space, andMarcus Morris does help with that expiring twenty
million dollars and you'd have some additionaltoughness for next year. No one's only
messing with you when you have PJ. Tucker and Marcus Morris on your side.
Pal is signed through twenty twenty five. I don't see that's the worst
thing. It's a relatively in checkcontract seventeen million a year. Again,

(05:39):
these NBA contracts are ridiculous these days, so I know seventeen million sounds like
a ton and it is a lotof money, but it's also in scale
things for the NBA, not toocrazy. The other rumors that are surrounding
the La Clipper trades are if wecan include Tobias Harrison a package together with
hard and in which case you wouldhave to be getting back either Paul George

(06:00):
or Kawhi Leonard just to make themoney work. And that that rumber is
not getting shot down at least thatI see by the LA side. I
think it is something being talked about, but I'm gonna start here. It's
not about Kawai. It's not Iknow that people can like to say that
it's the sexier name. We knowKawhi Leonard, two time NBA champion,
a top five talent really in myopinion, when he's healthy, He's just

(06:23):
never healthy. That's that is aproblem. The rumors around LA sending Kawhi
this to us it like it's fun. It's fun talk. There's no shot
because that would be Steve Balmer closingthe era on a you know, championship
window with Kawai and you're not.The pieces they're getting back are win now

(06:43):
pieces, right, so it's onlythey're starting a rebuild. It would be
a very strange move to trade Kauhiand still be trying to win now.
It just doesn't make any sense tome. The Clippers are in with Kawhi.
We also know Kawhi wants to bein LA, right. That was
the whole thing when he was afree agent several years ago. He was
going to go to where he wanted, just because I think he's from around
that area. He wanted to bein LA. That's where he wanted,

(07:04):
and that's where he's gonna say he'snot gonna want to come to Philly,
which is going to make the Sixerstraining for him not a viable option.
It's just not Paul George. Onthe other hand, you might be able
to sell me on like not againnot saying I don't want Kawhi. I
would love Kawhi, but I justdon't see it as a realistic option.
Paul George, I can see it. The problem with the Paul George Kawhi

(07:26):
era is they're both similarly hurt allthe time and it just hasn't worked out.
Paul George is an elite talent whenhe's healthy, getting a little bit
up there, thirty three, thirtyfour years old, but he is an
elite player, and he's an elitewing. He's an elite scorer on the
outside. If you send James Hardenand to Bias Harrist for Paul George,

(07:50):
I don't hate it. He hasa play he's signed through this season and
then has a player option for nextseason where he'll make forty eight million dollars,
So I have to assume he's goingto opt into that. So you
have him for two seasons and ifhe is healthy, I think it can
be a decent fit. Now thatwould still be going for it, really
for the Sixers, because if youget him healthy and and beat hot and
Maxie steps up. That's a prettysolid big three, it really is.

(08:13):
So I can be I can beon board with that. Again, I
don't think that's the most realistic optionof happening. My gut is what happens
is the first one that I presented, where it's Norman Powe, Marcus Morris.
But I'm open to the Paul Georgeoption. I know he's injury prone,
and look, it's you're gambling withit, right. We're in a
tough spot. We're in a rockand a hard place here as the Sixers.

(08:33):
But Paul George is an elite player, and if you can get him
healthy, I mean, that canbe a scary Sixers playoff run. It
really could. So I would beall in on that. The other main
team we're hearing in this is theKnicks. The Knicks seem to be right
at the forefront. I'm seeing JuliusRandall's name thrown about, RJ. Barrett's

(08:54):
name thrown about, Josh Hart alsobeing thrown in. He opted in,
yet he's knowing frustrated with the Knicks. So it might be a similar opting
in and trade me situations. SoI think that would be potential interesting fit
the trade. I mean again,the one I saw was Julius Randall and
Josh Hart, and there's a coupleother players starting anything to balance out the
cap interesting I'm very interesting to me. I like Julius Randall. I know

(09:22):
Julius Randall is up and down,but the average twenty five and ten last
year. I like having a guythat can be an outside score and an
inside score, a pair with Embiidwho likes to play inside and outside at
different times. I think Nick Nursemight be able to find a really good
way to make that fit. Ido like that. I like that idea.
I know I was talking with someoneand I did hear the is this

(09:45):
al Hord for two point out?I don't think that it is because al
Horford is the true center. Randall'sa wing. I do think there's a
different there or forward. I guessI'll say more than a pure athletic wing
because but I do see the concern. I can buy into that though.
You can get me on board withthat, and you got some good size,
you gotta get some. You gotsome good rebounding. Josh Hart then

(10:05):
also coming off the bench very solidand being off the bench to guard.
I've liked what you've seen from himin the league. He has a spark,
he can provide that scoring off thebench, and I think it would
be a really good fit. Sothat's, honestly, probably out of all
these, my preferred one. Ifyou send Hard into New York and get
back Randall and Josh Hart, Idon't know how realistic it is. I'll

(10:26):
also say this from the Knicks perspective, I don't really get it, like
the Knicks are growing young from within, building up, and I admittedly I
don't fully understand where the value isfor them in now putting James harden Know
on their team besides selling seats,but I think the Knicks are selling enough
anyway. I don't think that's reallya problem for them. They had a

(10:46):
great season last year or on therise up. Jalen Brunson is their team
leader, and they have younger playersgrowing. When you if they were to
trade for Hard and they're closing theirwindow quicker and I don't know why they
would you that. Although the onlything I'll say is the Knicks are the
Knicks. They're one of the worstrun organizations in the whole NBA. So

(11:07):
making bad moves isn't exactly foreign forthem, so that's why I'll keep it
open. Also, I saw apackage that was really similar where it's swapping
in RJ. Barrett instead of JuliusRandall. I'm fine with that. I'd
prefer Randall slightly because because I thinkhe matches up better with him Bead's window
where he's kind of bad at hisprime, he's twenty eight. Barrett is
getting better. Though. Barret's ayoung, very good score. He's not

(11:28):
great on defense, but he isa very good score on the wing,
and I would take that again inthis scenario, you're telling me if I
can get RJ. Barrett's I'll takethat as a win. Just where we
are with this James Harren scenario.So it's weird, but I think the
Sixers are in a better spot thanwe were, you know, two days

(11:50):
ago before this all happened. Yeah, I got no real complaints. We're
hard and I thought I thought itwas Harden just walking in free agent.
The opting in really does give thesix or some leverage to get something back,
which is fantastic news. Yeah,and then the other big name in
the NBA, don't I guess actually, before I dive there other teams,

(12:11):
I saw the one that you knowwould hurt me Miami just because one it
doesn't fit really for me, likeHarden doesn't feel right in that Miami system.
I'll also say this up back tothe Knicks for a second. Tom
Tibodeau and James Harden just seems likean absolute mess. I can't really imagine
that one working. But that's besidesthe point. But Jimmy Butler and James
Harden, after them both being here, if that team were to have a

(12:35):
ton of success, would obviously reallyreally just hurt as a six Ers fan,
There's no way around it. Butthey are rumored in there. They're
also rumored in the other big namein the NBA, which is where I
was going, Damian Lillard. Again, I've been going for three weeks though
there's a little stale now, butstill want to talk about it. I
don't know where there's smoke, there'sfire. I know that's a saying.

(12:56):
I can't tell here. Dame's obviouslyalways until this, obviously it's always been
I'm in Portland, I'm in Portland. I'm in Portland. Finally there's some
smoke, like maybe he goes toMiami or somewhere else, Miami Seams would
be the name that he's linked mostwith. I mean, if he ends
up in Miami, the heat afterwinning the East last year, they'd have
to be one of the favorites towin the title. I know their regular

(13:16):
season last year wasn't great and youknow, you got hot at the right
time, and that's what the peopleargue that. But I mean Jimmy Butler,
Damian Lillard and bam At a Bio. If they can keep him in
this and then keep some of thoseother role pieces, that's a very solid
squad. It just is. Imean that is that's a big three for
sure, some of the most eliteplayoffs scoring in the NBA in Dame Lillard

(13:39):
and Jimmy Butler and what they've doneover their careers. It's that would be
a scary thing for the rest ofthe league to have to deal with.
So very very interesting. We willsee what happens with all this. Obviously,
I just maximize the attorney and getfour heard and Tobias potentially, I
will say this's going quick. Lastpoint on Tobias depending on the heart and

(14:00):
I can see value in keeping Tobiaslike, it depends what we get get
back. Like if if it's Randalland Josh Hart, does Tobias still have
a purpose again, And it couldbe I think then you have a big
lineup which is potentially really good.You have Maxie and then I don't know

(14:20):
if you can start all these guys. I don't. I don't think you
can start all of them. Buthaving Harris is like this elite six man,
or Josh Hart is this elite sixman Like That's it could be tempting.
So I guess what I'll say issix Ers fans out there, don't
force yourself into the Tobias trade.I know the frustrations. I get it.
He's paid too much, but that'snot his fault. He can still

(14:41):
add value to this team. He'sstill a very solid score on the outside
when he's part of the offense,and in this new setup without James Harden,
depending on what we get back,he could be that big part of
the offense. So just remember thatwe're gonna take a quick break after this.
We are going to dive into Philliesand once we're going on the last
couple of weeks, which has beenand trending the right way for shore fantastic
four game win streak, as wellas some NL real or not just teams.

(15:07):
I'm gonna tell you, do Ithink they actually have a shot to
compete in the playoffs or is thisfirst half magic that's got to fame in
the second half. And we'll beright back on Fox Sports the Gambler,
Balls, Bats and Bets right afterthis the Gambling Phillies home for all things
sports gambling, and welcome back toBalls, bats and bets, And it's
time to dive into the bats forour middle segment with our Phills and then

(15:28):
going We're gonna do a little exercise. We're gonna jump around the NL,
and I'm gonna tell you which teamsI think are for real, which teams
we know are for real, whichones I think are gonna be for real,
which ones I think will come backinto the fold, and which ones
I think are frauds. We're gonnastart off just talking about the Phillies,

(15:50):
though, before we dive into thatexercise. I mean, obviously, look,
when I've been in Europe for thelast whatever couple weeks, when I
go away, apparently the Phillies decidedto play incredible playing being one of the
hottest teams in June. Now.Granted, a lot of teams around them
in the NA have been winning aswell, but yeah, you just gotta
beat who's in Friday, and thePhillies have been doing that. The pitching

(16:11):
has been absolutely elite, a threeone three ERA in June excluding today,
so that's good for second best inthe Majors, behind only the Miami Marlins,
which they credits the Marlins R rightTMR right under three from the month
of June. So they've been playingsome fantastic ball down there. The one
concern for the Phillies is the power, right, I'm not gonna get a

(16:33):
ton of pop out. I mean, Bryce Harper has three home runs JT
not a ton of home runs.CASTI as is ten, all right,
building up, getting there. Shoreber'sobviously providing pop, that is one thing
he is providing a ton of theaverage is still low. But I'm not
gonna lose much sleep over that they'rewinning. I think it's okay, but
I do want to call out theirtwentieth and home runs, and I do

(16:56):
expect our key bats to start shininga little bit because I don't want to
have to be in a situation wherewe're relying on Brandon marsh bombs in the
playoffs, right and I'll take him. And he had a couple last year,
he was good, but that's that'snot what we're gonna win a title
with you. We need our guys, I guess really, I'm looking at
Bryce j t U, Trey Turner, step up, give me the pop.
We need some pop. We needsome dingers from somebody outside of Kyle

(17:22):
Schwarbert really is the main producer ofthat right now. And again, Schwarbs,
I want to keep doing it,but we do need to spread that
around a little bit. And againwe'll talk about this team again in a
second. But the Mets being infree fall, it's it's just a thing
of beauty, right I there's notmuch that I enjoy more than I don't
enjoy it more than the Phillies playinggreat baseball. But the Mets playing as

(17:45):
bad as they have is right there. It's damn close. It's so much
fun to see this team dismantled.Justin Verlanders. To go to the media
saying I don't know what's going on, the owner has to come out and
say, yeah, we're gonna figureit out and I get there. I
mean, the highest payroll in baseballbuy a ton, and this team is
just bad. It's just bad.There's no other excuse. We'll see what

(18:08):
happens going forward. Again, includethem in this rundown that I have in
a second. But right now,the way it is, the Mets are
just a disaster. They really are. There's not really anything good going on
right now, well at least inthat side of New York Baseball. But
now, I didn't want to diveinto this exercise going through the National League

(18:29):
and who I think is legit,who I think will be legit, and
who are the frauds? So startingoff, there's only two teams in my
opinion, that I am calling legitand I know for a fact are legit,
and we'll be fighting in September Octoberfour. That those two are the
Braves, who are your National Leagueleader right now at fifty three and twenty
seven, and the Dodgers. Dodgersare forty five and thirty five. They

(18:53):
are in second currently in the NLST, behind the Diamondbax. But over the
long hall, I think we allknow, well, I shouldn't say,
oh no, that's a discredit theDiamondbacks too much, but I feel very
confident the Dodgers are going to winthat division. It's just it is what
it is. They've dominated that divisionnow for a decade plus. Like they
are, They've been fantastic, andthe Dodgers have a lot of key talent

(19:15):
that I trust. Freddie Freeman,Mookie Betts, Max Munsey, the pitching,
Julio Yourreas, Clayton Kershaw. They'vegot a lot of fantastic pieces on
that team, and I expect themto keep playing extremely well. I think
they're going to get better and better. And that's why I think those are
the only two teams that I amsaying putting in the obviously for real category.

(19:37):
I will be shocked if either ofthose teams missed the playoffs. The
next bucket are I'm gonna do teamsthat are on the border of real,
and I believe that they will bereal over time, and they'll prove me
right. I do have the Philliesin here. Phillies have geten hot the
right time. I know it iscomplained a little bit about them offense,

(19:57):
but the thing is the offense hasbeen a little lackluster in the first half,
and yet we're still in this spot. I think the offense does turn
it on, it's just overtime.Bryce gets more and more back from injury.
It seems more and more likely thatthey are going to have that continued
winning success more than that they're goingto regress because that offense I think is

(20:21):
due to turn on. So Ido think the Phillies are for real.
The Brewers. I've never the waythe Brewers are constructed. I've never loved
the Brewers. They're built around Christianyellowsh on offense, and Yellows just isn't
what he was, you know,I guess four years ago at this point.
But they're still a very solid squad. They're in a very easy division.
That's really why I think I havethe Brewers here because out of the

(20:44):
teams in that division, I trustthem the most. They're pitching is legit.
They got very solid pitching, andyeah, I think they're going to
show up. They're going to bein the hunt in October fighting. I
do believe that for the Brewers.The last one the teams are on the
border rail and I believe them oneof the Diamondbacks surprise story of the year.
They've been absolutely fantastic. Shout outto my buddy Tom who he was

(21:06):
a big diamond Backs guy before theseason started. He was in on them.
We have some season long bets Froomento make the playoffs, and those
are looking fantastic at the moment forthe value we got them, Att Zach
Gallen. Fantastic pitching, They've gota very good core on offense, had
a lot of guys stepping up.Corbyn Carroll, it's been an elite rookie,
absolutely fantastic. Do I don't thinkthey're gonna win the divisions because I

(21:29):
just ranted about the Dodgers. Y'allheard me there, But I mean they're
the second best record in the NLright now. I think we're over We're
not quite over the half waymark,or are we. Let's do some quick
math here, give you one second. Let's see. Oh got to him
doing quick math. But we areover the half waymark. We're over the
half waymark, and I look,will they regress some? Yeah, I

(21:52):
don't think they're gonna finish on thesecond best record in the NL, but
they're legit overall. They have goodhome road splits. They're actually better on
the road. Is a little bitsurprising. They've been taking care of business
in the division at seventeen and elevenrun differential at plus thirty four, not
as high as the Giant or sorry, the Dodgers at plus sixty two,
but it's a decent run differential.It's it is surprising to me. I

(22:15):
think they are going to be alegit team that continues to shine quite frankly,
teams that are next to the nextbucket, teams that are down right
now that I believe will be fightingfor a spot come September. This one
hurts for me to say, so, I know, I just enjoyed ranting
against them. I do think theMets are going to be able to find

(22:37):
some semblance of hope. And they'reabout seven games behind the Fills right now.
There's I hate it, but there'stoo much talent there for them not
to have some sort of a sparkand fight in them. I do think
they're going to show up a littlebit. Do I think they made the
playoffs and that might be a differentstory. What I'm saying here is I
think they will be fighting for aspot come September. I don't see the

(22:59):
Mets being cletely out of it,like you know, a lot of us
Philly fans would probably love. There'sthere's a lot of talent on offense,
there's a lot of pitching, andif they can stay healthy. I struggle
to see them not being able toget to the playoffs or not sorry,
get to fighting for the playoffs.Excuse me. I could easily see them
out of the playoffs. The otherteam up in here, the Padres Padres.

(23:22):
This team, I actually I thislineup is way too stacked in my
opinion, with Machado, Sodo,Tattoos Junior. It's a lot of good,
complimentary pieces around it. The pitchingis pretty solid. Blake Snell has
been elite over the last month,absolutely fantastic. I struggled. They're they're
run differentials positive too, so they'resending these with the five hundred with a
positive run differential. That doesn't quiteadd up. I think they're going to

(23:45):
turn around. I feel more confidentin the Padres turning it around. Although
their division, their division is verysolid outside of Colorado, all four of
those other teams are really fighting,so that is very interesting. And then
the last bucket, I have hereteams that are high right now that I
just don't buy into holding up.Actually, I got'll have one more bucket

(24:07):
after this. But the Marlins andthe Reds. The Marlins, for me,
they're the best record in one rungames. They've been a fantastic story.
They've gotten great pitching from guys notnamed Sandy all Kantara, which is
shocking coming into this year. You'realways gonna be the opposite. Luis Ray
is batting near four hundred or overfour hundred. I forget exactly where he's
at right now. But they havebeen a great, great team to watch.

(24:33):
But I just don't see it holdingup. The one run game Record's
gonna come back down to reality.They're fourteen games above five hundred with a
neutral run differential right now. That'sa shocking turn of events. And that
rotation that's been carrying them. Idon't look, I don't buy into the
names being this dominant. That's allI'm saying. I think they come back
down to reality. The Reds somewhatsimilar. They actually are, just well

(24:56):
they're opposite in this. They arebad pitching, They have the fourth worst
ra they've been and carried by agreat run producing offense. But those names,
again, they're young, a youngcorerette with Joey Vado being there,
Joey Vado now back playing pretty well. I just don't see them holding up.
I think there's gonna be some holesthere that they need to fill.
It's a great young team story,they're building something. I just don't see

(25:17):
them holding on right now. Tiedfor the division lead in the Central,
I think they come down and thenthe last bucket I'm gonna call it,
and I'm just gonna call it theI don't know what the hell to think
of them bucket is the San FranciscoGiants. They do have very solid pitching
the offense. There's not a tonof flash there, but they do seem
to be getting the job done.I gotta give give Capolic credit. He's

(25:37):
been solid out since he got outthere and is getting a lot out of
a team that you didn't expect toomuch from. If you make me call
it, I'll say they fall offa little bit again, kind of into
with the Padres uprising. I mean, somebody has to fall off. I
would guess that's going to be theGiants if you're making me picked out in
the West. But I can seethe case where they hold on too.
They are the I don't know whatthe hell to do with the narrative,

(26:00):
and it's gonna be interesting to watch. But if you make me call it
right now, what do we get? I got our six playoff teams.
I think you have the Braves,Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, Diamondbacks,
and I'll throw the Padres in there. I think that's your playoff teams.
As we sit here a little bitover the halfway mark, and we're not
the All Star Game, but interms of record wise that we are a

(26:22):
little bit over the halfway mark.We're gonna take a quick break after this.
We're gonna start diving into NFL seasonpreviews, and yeah, we're going
to dive in. We're gonna startoff with the AFC and NFC South,
diving into those guys. So we'llbe right back on Fox Sports. The
Gambler right after this spreads totals allthe prop that's in between. It's the

(26:44):
Gambler. I know it's still technicallyJune, but what are you gonna do?
The NFL is the beast that itis. I'm not We're gonna start
talking about it. It's coming upfast, and I'm gonna do a little
for the next couple months leading up, I'm gonna do a couple little division
previews where we're gonna look at eachdivision over the next couple One thing I

(27:08):
won't be every week. I'm gonnalike, maybe this is like an alternating
week thing. That's why I'm startingit a little bit early. We're gonna
start actually both the South so AFCand NFC South breaking those down. But
again, it's football. We allcan't wait. I know that I love
the Phillies. I love the Philliesmore than your average guy buy a ton.

(27:29):
I'm a die hard Phillies fan.I live and die with that team
more than I do the Eagles.Personally I do. Everyone has their own
choices, and that's okay. I'mnot gonna You're not wrong. If you're
more of an Eagles fan than aPhillies fan, you could be both.
I'm more I'm a Phillies fan thanan Eagles fan. I love both teams,
but that's my die team, todo or die team. But I'd
be lying if I'd said I can'twait for the NFL to come back.
And college football, by the way, too, We're gonna do some college

(27:51):
football. These are these next couplemonths as we prep up for the season.
But I am so so excited forthe NFL season to come back,
especially from that gambling perspective. That'swhat you all know, and that's why,
that's why a lot of us listento the stations. Were no better
place for football betting coverage in themin the city. There's just not.
So we're gonna dive in. Wegot a bunch of stuff to talk through

(28:12):
with these two divisions. We're gonnastart with the AFC South. AFC South
your teams the Jags, Colts,Texans, and Titans. It's definitely one
of the uglier divisions in football.Honestly, both South divisions are not on
the prettier side of things, especiallywhen three of the top four picks were

(28:37):
made by teams in this division.Again there's through trades, not saying they
all had there, but two andthree taken by the Texans, number four
taken by the Colts. Yeah,it's just very very interesting this division.
There's a lot to break down.We're gonna start with the Texans, the
team that made the second and thirdpick in the draft last season three thirteen

(28:57):
and one for the second worst recordin the NFL. There simply wasn't much
good about this team. If we'rebeing honest. They were second to last
in offense in terms of yardage andthird to last on defense in terms of
art yardage allowed. It's washing nothingreally going forward. Davis Mills played quarterback.

(29:18):
It's not his fault. He hadnothing around him. But also he
didn't inspire much hope, drive anythingtowards the future. There was nothing else
really coming there that was going tobe a positive out of the Davis Mills
era. I think the writing wasa little bit on the wall. He
was a placeholder and he still therebe the backup, and it is what
it is. But they drafted C. J. Stroud. That is the

(29:41):
quarterback of the future. That's themove they made. We'll see, I
do. Stroud did show some thingsat Ohio State. I like him.
I liked him better than some ofthe other Ohio State quarterbacks that have come
out in recent years. The wayhe played against Georgia I thought was very
good. I still want to sayI love him. I don't think I
would have taken him at two orthree. On the other side, I
love the Will Anderson junior pick.I think he's an elite, elite talent,

(30:04):
edge rusher, dominant for Nick Sabanfor the last three seasons and also
a leader on the team in lockerroom. That's a that's that's a guy
I think that helps turn around afranchise. And C. J. Stroud
certainly could have ken too. I'mnot the books open on all these rookie
quarterbacks. The book's open right thatit's yet to be written. I guess
I should say is the better word. Is going to have a ton of

(30:26):
opportunities to prove that, and we'llsee how it turns out for him.
I think Anderson's going to be prettyimpactful from the start. He will get
a lot of the attention. Soyou know, his numbers might not be
super high, but I think you'regonna be able to see on game film
and you know the PFF ratings andnow everyone judges that this guy's going to
be a beast of a player.Outside of it, there's not much else

(30:48):
that they really did. I mean, look, there's two big things.
I'm not saying they didn't have agood offseason, but I don't expect the
Texans to magically now jump up.They are gonna upgrade quarterback play. Damian
Pierce was a highlight, was maybethe only highlight for them last year two
years ago. Fourth round pick outof Florida, had a great rookie season
last year, almost a thousand yardsin the ground. Damiko Ryans comes into

(31:11):
the new head coach. I likehim. I thought he did a great
job at San Francisco with their defense. I expect the Texans defense to improve
just by his presence being there.But again, three thirteen in one last
year, I'm simply struggling to seehow they bump that up a ton.
Their team total is set at sixpoint five. While they do have an

(31:32):
easy schedule, the whole AFC Southhas a road to lazy schedule, in
part because they run into the NFCSouths. We will go over in a
little bit. I see this asa four or five win team at best,
so I would go under the sixpoint five on the Texans. I'm
just not buying. In Next up, we got the Colts. Unusual spot
for indeed, they're consistently usually ateam that's fighting for the playoffs. You
don't usually see the coltson rebuilding mode. The only time I could really other

(31:55):
think of it was when Peyton Manninggot hurt that one year and then that
led to them getting Andrew Luck atnumber one. But besides that, they've
really been, you know, plugand play and try to fight and keep
the keep the wheels going. Lastyear it fell off Matt Ryan, it
just didn't have it. He's notretired, but he's going to be in
the booth now, so we'll seeif he ever comes back. But it's
it's looking like that was the strawthat broke the camel's back. Frank Greight

(32:20):
fired. Shane Stiking comes in comingover from the Eagles OC last year,
obviously trying to make Anthony Richardson,who they picked with this fourth overall pick,
into what the Eagles got from JalenHurts. I personally didn't like the
Richardson pick. A get The onlyquarterback I really loved in this class was
Bryce Young, who will talk abouthim a little bit. Richardson I thought,
was what more reached than C.J. Strout For sure, I

(32:45):
get it, and you see thelike he has the tools right, and
this is potential is what kills teams. What I mean by that potential is
what I guess I should say killscoaches coaches and GM's look at potential.
Charon has all these tools, hugearm, really incredibly fast. One of
the most athletic quarterbacks to ever comeinto the NFL. That's a fact.

(33:07):
I fully believe that based on allthe combined stats. I get it.
He's super athletic. He wasn't agood quarterback last year at Florida. Go
look at his stats. He justwasn't good. They had a good game
against Utah. He excuse me.He had a great game against Utah week
one after that. He is areally a blow average SEC quarterback. There's

(33:30):
no denying that when you look athis stats, and I don't think he's
going to have success early the honestfor this season's output with the Colts,
the key for me is they needto hold Richardson out for a long time.
He might not play this year.That's certainly possible. He is that
much of a I think he's aproject and too much of a project for

(33:51):
me to pick at number four.But if they're smart to hold him out.
They also signed got Gardner Minshu comingover with Shane Steikin from the Eagles.
If Minsheu is playing decent for agood chunk of the season, The
Colts win total also at six pointfive. If they have good weapons.
Jonathan Taylor control the run game,one of the best backs in the game,
Michael Pittman Junior a very solid outsideweapon. The Colts defense not great,

(34:17):
but not bad. It was middleof the pack, middle of the
pack last year their total of sixpoint five. If I'm gonna say over,
just because I think Gardner's gonna playmost of the year, and I'm
not trying to say Gardner Minsho's great. What I'm saying is I think he's
actually probably give us a better quarterbackplay than they had last year. And
what was Matt Ryan And six pointfive is a pretty low number. So

(34:40):
and they end they have a prettyeasy schedule, so three ends there.
So that's why I would go withthe over. But if they start richardson
week one, that's I am goingunder, like that's gonna be a one,
And I'll probably wait till we geta little closer to see how Anthony
Richardson's doing in training camp and thevibes coming out of there. Next up
on our list the ten See Titans. This is our first win total set

(35:04):
that's higher than six point five.That's one set. It's seven point five.
Last season Titans going seven and ten, which middle of it was surprising
considering the reason I would have thoughtthe Titans would have struggled would have been
Derek Henry fell off, but hedidn't. Second in the league in rushing
yards over fifteen hundred for King Henry, he continues to be a beast.
Ryan Tannehill only played in twelve games. Wasn't really explosive at all. Thirteen

(35:30):
tds to six picks, averaging alittle over two hundred yards per game.
He was pretty bland. Tannehill wasgetting up there a little bit. He's
not young anymore. I think thisis gonna be a eleventh to tenth eleventh
season in the lake. We'll see. They need him to bounce back if
they're gonna have a lot of successhere. I'm not a Malik Willis believer.
I don't think that's the path thatTitans should go. I mean,

(35:51):
if they're if they're rebuild, fine, give it a shot, but I
don't I do not expect that.Mike Rabel's one of the better coaches in
the NFL in my opinion, andI think he's gonna get this team back
to winning football, especially with theeasier They're better than the two teams you
already talked about in the Colts andthe Texans. So I think that's three
wins out of the four there mostlikely, if not four out of four,
and they get to get some winsagainst the NFC South and a relatively

(36:14):
easy schedule. I'm buying that eightwins is very, very achievable for this
team, and I will go overthe seven and a half on Tennessee in
part just because Mike Vrabel is thatgood of a coach in my opinion,
I think he gets them right backinto playing some winning football, contending for
a playoff spot, fighting for thisdivision crown. And then lastly we will
jump over to that seam not wonthe division last year. In the Jacksonville

(36:37):
Jaguars, our good friend John Jansen'sdarling team outside the Eagles. He's an
Eagles fan first, of course,but John does love the Jags, and
honestly I get it, like lookat this like they are. They're the
favorite tween the divisions, sitting ata minus one sixty five win total at
nine point five. Trevor Lawrence lastyear showed what we all expected him to

(36:58):
be and it's a lot easier whenyou don't have Urban Meyer literally ruining everything
in one hundred mile radius around Jacksonville. Doug Peterson has himself a blue chip
quarterback and I think he's just gonnado nothing but keep getting better. And
he was really, really damn goodlast year. So Trevor Lawrence as a
leader there, they're going to They'veadded Calvin Ridley, who'll be back from

(37:19):
suspension. They have Christian Kirk whohad a breakout year last year after signing
a big free agent contract down there. Jacksonville got that one right. It's
a very potent, potent offense downthere. I expect them to be absolutely
electric on that side of the ball. The defense is where the question's gonna
come in. Last year they're bottomten and yardage for defense, and they

(37:44):
didn't really address it. Their firstthree rounds of draft picks this year all
the offensive side of the ball.I think that was a little bit aggressive.
I probably would have tried to addressthe defensive side a little bit.
But hey, they're going for apowerhouse. It's gonna be exciting football down
there in Jacksonville. Again, TrevorLawrence, I think low key, maybe
MVP candidate because of how much offensethey have and they're going to be going

(38:07):
against weak defenses, so I thinkhe's gonna put up some gaudy numbers.
I like the over nine point five. The schedule is favorable the AFC South
for most I get. I'm pickingthree out of the four teams go over
their total. It's primarily because Ithe schedule is similar set up the way
the NFC East was last year,where you had each team overperforming, and

(38:28):
it's because their schedule was easy toan extent, and I think that's a
lot of the same truth for theAFC South this year, and I expect
them to have a lot of alot of wins. Then the Jacks will
get to those double jug of wins. I'll get over the nine point five,
and I don't see them going deepinto the playoffs yet. I think
that defense needs to get better,but it is a it's a going the

(38:50):
right direction for short down there inJacksonville. All right, And now let's
jump over to the hottest garbage onthe planet, and by that I mean
it is the NFC South. Inmy opinion, worst division in football just
has to be. The Bucks wonit last year with a record below five
hundred and this I mean, look, the team has made some moves,

(39:13):
we'll go out to obviously talk throughthem. I still think it's gonna be
one of the worst divisions in football. It's just that's just what it is
on paper. We'll start with theteam that won it last year, the
Bucks. No more Tom, GoodbyeTom Brady, Hello Baker Mayfield. That's
that's not a statement that makes youthink we're going to improve. Baker comes
in as the presume starter with KyleTrask as the backup. He's got weapons.

(39:37):
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are verysolid weapons. The defense was already
weak last year, and there's nota ton of reason that I think they're
gonna get a lot better. Excuseme, um. I do like their
first round pick Cancie from Pitt.I thought he's a good defensive tackle.
Will help out a little bit there, but overall, there's not There's not

(39:57):
a ton different in this team.They were below five hundred team last year
with Tom Brady and now you putBaker Mayfield in there. Any I think
Baker will be a little bit betterthan people expect. I do, but
that's still a massive downgrade. There'sno way around that. Of course,
it's a very obvious massive down grade. Their win total sits at six point
five and they're the long shot towin the division. At plus eight hundred.

(40:20):
I think I would very very veryslightly lean the over, But honestly,
I'm not going to play this total. I think it's a good number.
I could really see this going eitherway. I almost rather like them.
If you're gonna if you feel theurge to play the Bucks, just
play them to win the division becauseit's the division's a crapshoot, and a
plus eight hundred you're getting good valueon a crapshoot. That's that's what I

(40:44):
could say. That's that's the wayto play the Bucks. But overall,
I would probably just stay away.Next up, let's head a little bit
north, up to Carolina with thePanthers, who had that first overall pick
after trading with the Bears. Theygo up. They get their guy,
Bryce Young, former highsman winner atAlabama. No longer have CMC in the
backfield. They made that trade midwaythrough last year, sending him to San

(41:06):
France, and top receiver DJ Moorewas sent to the Bears as part of
the package to get Bryce Young withthat number one overall pick. So not
a ton of weapons out there forYoung. They did signed Miles Sanders,
and they have some other young,interesting receivers that you know, might show
some sparks, but it's it's gonnabe I think a little tough in the
year one for Bryce shown. Theyneed to protect him, not put too

(41:27):
much on him, and run theball a lot. Matt Rule out Frank
Reich jumping over from Indie where hegot fired, coming over to Carolina where
he was the former quarterback. Ikind of see it as a long year
for the Panthers quite frankly. Interestingyoung talent, defense still not very good.
They're total since at seven point five. I think this is an under

(41:51):
a lot of moving pieces. Newcoach, new quarterback, new running back,
new receiver. There's just the there'sa lot of new and the parts
that are old weren't that good tobegin with. I'm gonna go under the
seven point five on the Panthers,which hurts me because I've been a Panther's
better in the last couple of yearsand I've done okay with them. Actually,

(42:12):
there I know a matter rol didn'thave a ton of success, but
last season when Steve Wolkes took over, they did get they got hot,
they were all right. So Idid like the Panthers. But yeah,
I think it's I think it's arough one there. We have the Saints
and Falcons left. I'm actually gonnaI'm I'm gonna reorder this. We're gonna
do the Falcons and then we're gonnasay the Saints for the last the dirty
Birds. Drafting Bijon at eight notwhat I would have done. You have

(42:38):
so many needs there in Atlanta,like an infinite amount of needs, and
for some reason they felt the needto, hey know what, we need
a running back. When they weregetting decent production out of running back that
wasn't really their main issue. Again, they have weapons. Now you got
Drake London, Kyle Pitts and BijanLike that's a really good like, there's
a lot of good weapons there.I'll give them that. They're I see

(43:00):
what they're trying to do. ButDesmond Ritter's gonna be the starting quarterback I
believe, second or third round.Picked two years ago out of Cincinnati,
Hey had one hundred and fifteen attemptslast year. It seemed to show some
flashes, but again two small samplesigns. I didn't love him coming out
of college. I think he's alittle bit more of a game manager,
and he can be okay at that, but he's not gonna be a guy

(43:21):
that's carrying wins. Their Atlanta's defenseis just bad, bottom five in the
league on my opinion, based onespecially based on the yardage last year and
that they gave up a ton that'swhat they do. And desmon Riter's not
gonna be a guy that's gonna winshootouts. So I think it's gonna be
an ugly ish year for the Falcons. You know what, I missed their
number. Give me one second theretheir number coming in at let's see,

(43:46):
it's probably around six point five.Is my gut scrolling up? Sorry they
are at while they are at eightpoint five, I'm going away under that
one way under an Atlanta. Ijust do not see that at all.
I'm not buying into them hitting thatnumber. I think it's still a down

(44:06):
year there in Atlanta. And thenlastly, jumping over, we got the
division favorites. We got the Saints, Saints and the favorites in the division
at plus one twenty, their wintotal is at nine point five. Is
there a team in more limbo thanthe Saints in the NFL? I don't
think so. In my opinion,I think it's the Saints. I can

(44:29):
see the Saints with their schedule becauseit's a relatively easy schedule, especially when
you look the rest of this division. I could see the Saints winning twelve
games. I could see the Saintswinning six games. There's so much variability
with this team. Bringing in DerekCarr, who I've always thought is a
pretty elite quarterback. Obviously did notdo well last year, but in general
throughout his career, I've been aDerek Carr guy. We'll see this is

(44:52):
his chance to shine. He's gotweapons, he's got a lava, Michael
Thomas, Alman Kamara. If theycan all stay healthy. Their defense absolutely
fifth best in yards last year indefense. I am leaning towards I buy
into the Saints. I really am. I think they get over that nine
point five and I think they getyou know, closer, like eleven wins.

(45:12):
But again, it's going to bea risk. It's one way or
another. I don't see this teambe an average. I either see it
as Hey, their gambles worked offand the car signing is great, or
it is just still a dumpster fire. They're trying to win now and to
start close. It's going to bethe most interesting team in the NFL to
watch, in my opinion, orat least one of them, just because
I could see so many different thingsgoing on with this and it is with

(45:37):
talent and pressure, you can eithermake diamonds or you can sink one of
the two. So yeah, sowe will. We'll watch that all year.
Thank you all. Appreciate appreciate youtuning in. We're gonnder. These
NFL previews keep going forward, notevery week, but probably like in every
other week. Do some more divisionsstarting out with the South ones, which

(45:57):
probably some lesser divisions start this year, just based on what we're we're all
seeing. Appreciate you bearing with methrough the cold. Thank you. Appreciate
you guys listening after I came backafter that three week gap, And we'll
be back next week on Fox SportsA game on Balls, bats and Best.
Let's listen all week to Daily Ticketline Change, Divide, Live Baseball
Brunch, all the other good showswe got going on here. Talk to

(46:17):
you guys, soon. I'll seeyou next week.