Tough Cover Show: Texas-Ohio State Headlines College Football Week 1, NFL Week 1 Preview Headlined by Eagles-Cowboys - 08/30/25 - The Tough Cover

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Number one on your car radio preset hand. The new
and improved Iheard Radio A w D A Y S
and w D two seven three D Philadelphia is Fox
Sports Radio The Gambler.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
And during the few moments that we have left, you
want to talk right down to that and the language
that everybody here can easily understand.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
The game rounding. Hello, and welcome to the Tough Cover

(01:23):
Radio Show. I am your host, as always, Mark Henry Junior.
You can follow me on Twitter at Mark Henry Junior
n f L. And it is a very very, very
very special edition of the Tough Cover Radio Show. Sometimes
I come in and say, oh, we've got a lot
to talk about. We don't really have that much to
talk about, or I say it's a special show.

Speaker 4 (01:43):
It's not a special show.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
It's a pretty darn special show here on the Tough
Cover Radio Show. We made it through the summer, we
made it.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
To football season. We are officially here.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
There will be football coming on on our TVs in
an hour. There was football on our TVs the last.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
Couple of nights.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
And it's a fantastic world to live in, and I'm
so excited to talk about all of it here, right here,
on Fox Sports to the Gambler and as always on
the ones and twos.

Speaker 4 (02:13):
Back in the studio, My guy, my coast on this show.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Sean Bernard. You can follow on Twitter at Shawn Underscore
Bernard One.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
Saw how we doing?

Speaker 5 (02:20):
Yeah, doing well, Mark Henry Junior.

Speaker 6 (02:22):
I personally feel that every edition of the Tough Cover
Radio Show is of course great, a special episode right
there first. Extra varies though in front of this one
for sure. So yeah, I'm hyped that football is back.
A great college football slate, one of the better Week
one college football slates. And I can remember kicking things
off right with Texas and Ohio State at noon and
plenty of action all across the day.

Speaker 5 (02:43):
So excited to get into it.

Speaker 6 (02:44):
And with us we got my guy Jared in studio,
so continue learning the ropes, getting the board down and
about ready to fully spring to action with that category.
But he's got plenty to provide here. He's been doing
an awesome job covering a ton of football in the
high school scene working for the Redding Needle Reading Eagle. There, Jared,
anything else? Do you want to introduce your yourself as
that good to be back?

Speaker 5 (03:03):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (03:04):
You know, speciful a couple of days being Michael Parsons fans.
But other than that, I'm ready for football to be back,
and I'm ready for it.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
Yeah, absolutely, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
You can follow Jared on Twitter at Montalto Jared m
O n t A l t O Jared, you just
wanted to make sure that you got spelling correctly when
they when they go and look it up. But yeah,
just go go check out Sham Bernard's tweet. Sent the
app right there if you if it's right there for you.
But yeah, we got a ton to talk about, guys

(03:33):
and Jared real real quick.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
I did.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
I was tuned in when I was on vacation when
you were on the show with Sean Bernard. You guys
had a great show. Give me just a little background
of your fandom across the sports, professional or college.

Speaker 5 (03:46):
So grow up a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
My dadboy, I have family in Texas, so the wifelong
Cowboys fan. I've been there countless times. I'm going to
go to Texas in a couple of weeks. We're going
to watch Week two against the Giants that Exmintity live there. Fortunately,
I'm a Phillies fan, been that whole life. Two thousand
and eight Parade remember very vividly in third grade, and

(04:10):
then for basketball, I'm a Heat fan. I would grow
up a d Wade fan. So I'm all over the place.
But at least I have Phillies as a Philly sports team.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Not a big college guy, or do you have a
college alignment there?

Speaker 5 (04:22):
So I'm a Penn State fan.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
I mean, it's hard to keep up to date with everything,
but Penn State for first and foremost. Yeah, not too
two tapped in, but I know enough.

Speaker 4 (04:33):
Gotcha, gotcha?

Speaker 3 (04:34):
So I just I'm a Philly guy and I'm a
Notre Dame fan. So people throw the front runner the
bandwagon attack at me, even thoir Notre Dames had absolutely
are a little bit like the Cowboys. They've had absolutely
no success for most of my entire life. Last year,
if I were to list my top five movements as
a Notre Dame fan, three of them are from last season,

(04:56):
just like over my life, because they didn't win a
big game for pretty much the first twenty nine years
of my life, and last year three playoff wins, and
obviously we'll get to Notre Dame. They played tomorrow tomorrow
night at Miami, but cham Bernard teased it and Sean said,
one of the one of the best week ones of
all time or one of the most helped starts of

(05:17):
the season of all time. It's not even close. This
is by far the craziest week one of all time.
Love it and it's fantastic for college football. It is
absolutely fantastic. And I'll throw it to you, cham Bernard.
Why is it the best week one of all time?

Speaker 5 (05:41):
For me? Personally?

Speaker 6 (05:42):
The answer, I think it starts right with the headliner
with Texas and Ohio State getting things just a big
ticket to teams with legitimate national championship aspirations, and when
you build out the slate, I wasn't get a lot
of storylines that I'm interested the Bill Belichick return to
college football or I guess arrival at college football at UNC,
what is that going to look like. I think there's
a lot of big ticket games. I think there's a
lot of like with the player movement, which I think

(06:02):
largely is viewed as a negative from like a fan
perspective and keeping tabs on things, I do think it
generates these storylines like I can't wait to see what
Nico looks like at UCLA and things like that, so
I guess to me, while maybe it has diluted this
sport to a sense, it feels like there's more storyline
aspects of things that I'm excited about.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
Cham Bernard, I cannot believe you knew kind of exactly
where I was going.

Speaker 4 (06:27):
Wow, that's incredible stuff.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Everybody wants to talk about the downfall of college sports.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
And all big.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Bad nil and money and everything's ruined. It's not the
same anymore. There's not the same passion. It's the people
aren't staying five years at the same place and never
getting a chance, and then graduating without ever getting a chance.
Everybody can say, oh, the twelve team playoff ruins the
regular season. You know, it was better when there was
two teams. There was better when there was four teams.

(06:54):
People can lose two games and go win the championship.
You can say all that we didn't get this when
there was a two team championship. We didn't get six
teams in the top ten playing a top ten ranked
matchup in Week one. It is unheard of that more
than half of the top ten is coming into this

(07:16):
year playing maybe the toughest game on their schedule, and
if not the toughest, one of the toughest games on
their schedule. Three teams in the top ten will have
a loss before they have a win in the win column.
It's unbelievable, it's unheard of. And people didn't take these
chances in the way that they scheduled before, when you
had to go twelve to zero, or maybe you could

(07:38):
go eleven and one if you had enough wins and
if your resume lined up properly. But now when with
that leeway that you've given teams, this is what you get.
You get more of these non conference games. And I
think there's only going to be more of these in
week one, week zero, week two, whatever. It is early
in the season. And Notre Dame had Notre Dame give

(08:00):
them credit, not just because I'm a Notre Dame fan.
Notre Dame and it's a little to their own. There's
an ulterior motive for it. They've been a little ahead
of ahead of the curve on this because they've been
booking these Week one games for a long time against
tough opponents, and it varies year to years. Sometimes Florida
State they schedule and then they're not actually that good.
Texas A and M last year was ended up kind

(08:21):
of being okay. This year it's Miami. They're ranked ten.
Ryan Coyle thinks we're gonna go like six and six, though,
so who knows how good this matchup will even end
up being. Their thought process is well, first of all
teams going to conference scheduling.

Speaker 4 (08:34):
Notre Dame isn't in a conference.

Speaker 3 (08:36):
They need to get these big games before teams go
into conference play. But their thought is if we lose
in week one, we have the chance to work back
and work it and win enough games to get back
in the mix, which we saw last year against Northern Illinois.
Not week one, but they lose a nonsense game in
week four, week three, whatever it was, and you win

(08:57):
the rest of your your schedule and you go to
the playoff and you go to the National Championship. But
they are also they think, if we win, we're in
the top three, and it's if we ever lose tard
knock us too far down.

Speaker 4 (09:11):
So there's an ulterior motive for Notre Dame.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
They've always been ahead of this, but now Notre Dame
doesn't have to be the only team scheduling a big
game in the Week one. I used to be so
frustrated watching all these teams in the top ten playing
Middle Tennessee State while we had to go to Miami,
or we had to go to Texas, sanam or we
had to go to Georgia or Clemson or whoever we
were playing that year. But now it's leveled out and
teams are everybody except for Penn State, of course.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
But I don't blame Penn State.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
If I was the head coach, if I was the
athletic director and I was in a conference, I would
book four cupcake non conference games every single year. The
committee doesn't care. They've shown that they do not care
about non conference scheduling. Indiana played the little Sisters of
the Poor for four straight games last year in the
non conference and it didn't matter.

Speaker 4 (09:55):
The Committee put them right in.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
They barely punished them when they lost, and they got
in there.

Speaker 4 (10:01):
So I actually don't blame those those teams.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
But it's better for college football when we see these
top teams. My friend Pat Moran, who who chan Bernard knows,
we had our fantasy draft last night show which scham
Bernard is in. Had the first pick. Of course, of course,
had to get Trevion. But when I saw Trevion off
the board. I was like, there you go, Sham Bernard. Yes,
but Pat Moran was was here at my house draft

(10:26):
and and an ad came up for Ohio State Texas.
He's like, this is like a like a crazy big game, right,
And I was like, yeah, it's probably the biggest Week
one game of all time, NonStop, like no, no question.
When you have the defending national champion going against the
odds on favorite to win this year's national championship and

(10:46):
arch Manning and the story that he brings and everything
he brings to the table. So we're gonna get to
all that. We're gonna get to all those games. But
I did want to kind of lead off and just
say for everybody who thinks college football is dead, college
athletics are dead. Money's killed it, the playoff kill it.
Whatever you want to say, that's fine, you can have
that opinion. I'll enjoy Texas, Ohio State lsu clems into
Notre Dame Miami this weekend.

Speaker 4 (11:08):
That's that's kind of my stance on it.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
But before we get to the games, I do want
to say something, and you know, this is funny to
say about a show that's literally on right now on TV,
so you could whatever we've.

Speaker 4 (11:20):
Had to I've been.

Speaker 3 (11:21):
I've grown up as a huge College Game Day fan
my whole life, and we have an overlap of it
with an hour from eleven to twelve every Saturday. But
I've been watching Lee Corso since. You know, I can't
remember when I was five six years old when I
first started watching Notre Dame games and Brady Quinn and
those teams and these big games, and I'll never forget

(11:43):
back in the video game these an NCAA football like
six o seven, o eight, you'd go to the pre
game and play your game, and Lee course I'd be
there to either put your head, your mascot on, or
the team you're playing. And I just and when people
say ask, I feel like a lot of people when
they talk about the concept of ask Baden for like
that concept of having the playbook pick your play I

(12:04):
always said ask Courso because I was more of.

Speaker 4 (12:06):
An NCAA video game guy than a Madden guy.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
And College Game Day is the best people love to
say inside the NBA is the best, the best pregame
show or the best halftime show, whatever you want to say,
the best pre game or the best sports show that
revolves around games is College Game Day. In my opinion,
it's better than NFL Countdown, It's better than it's big
noon kickoff.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
It's better than whatever you want to throw.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
And I think the fact that they've kept it as
special as they have for as long as they have
is a testament to Lee Corso. It's a testament to them,
and I think what they did this week is awesome.
The fact that Lee and Lee kind of said it
in a little clip that Kirkirk Street always goes backstage
with Lee before and puts up like a five minute
clip of him talking with Lee, and it's always very cute.

Speaker 4 (12:53):
Lee Courso is very fun, Like it's like ninety years old.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
He's so old and he's still with it in some
In some ways he seems like he's actually more with
it in those little clips backstage when it's just him
and Kirk talking one to one. Then he is having
to get up and like probably read off a que
card for the TV. But he said, like it feels
like I'm dead and I'm watching my funeral, Like everybody
is saying how amazing I am and how and like

(13:17):
he's like most people don't get the chance to hear
the people that love them talk about them this way
because they're gone. When people finally kind of do that,
he's like, this is incredible. I can't thank ESPN enough
for letting me kind of go out on my terms
and have this moment. And he talks about these players
he coached at Indiana back in like the sixties who
came with their families to today's show in Columbus for

(13:40):
College Game Day. And I think, you know, football in
general has grown exponentially. NFL, of course, is what people
will focus on when people say that.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
But and I don't think Sean Rinardo liked.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
This, but college football has elevated itself above any other
professional sport and popularity in terms of the NBA, in
terms of the MLB, the Big ratio, the Big Game,
I guess I should say, is a higher watched thing
than anything else across non football sports. And I think
a big part of that is college game Day and

(14:14):
Lee Corso and putting the helmet on. So I wanted
to talk about the games, but before I did that,
I had to say, not so fast, my friend.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
We had to had to pay on.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Notch the leak Corso so Seawan any Shawn and Jarrett
any any leak course or thoughts.

Speaker 5 (14:29):
Yeah, very much appreciate and respect him.

Speaker 6 (14:31):
This will not be a day that I'm choosing violence
on college football by any means. We can let it
have the day for sure. So uh yeah, respect for
Leek course. I think it's done an awesome job for
quite a bit of time, and I think it is
pretty powerful to see a guy mean that much to
so many people in regarding to a sport, and like
there's very few just human beings that can talk about
that level of impact and widespread impact that they have

(14:54):
on that people. So I think it's pretty cool that
the way that they've gone about this with ESPN really
giving him an opportunity to shine, make most of the
moment and let him right off to the sunset in
the proper way. So shout at the Lee corso and
shout out the ESPN for getting the job done with that.
I think it is a really nice touch all around.

Speaker 5 (15:08):
Yeah, I feel the same way.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
I mean, give the man as Flowers, why he's still here,
let him, you know, experience all that. It's very very
cool to see, especially he's been doing it for so long,
like you said, watching him since we're five or six
years old. So it's cool to see him get his
flowers and you know, right off in the sunset on
this game day.

Speaker 3 (15:25):
Yeah, it's awesome. And as soon as I'm done the show,
I'll be watching that ten minute clip of whatever whatever
help mascotthead.

Speaker 4 (15:33):
He puts on.

Speaker 3 (15:34):
Think it'll be Brutus if I had the guess he
he loves Brutus, loves Ohio State. It was the first
one he put on on the initial college game day,
so that's a little they just did.

Speaker 4 (15:44):
They did a funny segment.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
Actually, Nick Saban now on the show there at college
game Day, and they did a funny segment. They did,
like some trivia on his picks and who he's picked
the most, which teams pretty good. I will say he's
not bigging against his sure so. And Lee was someone
who in the nineties would make comments about the spread

(16:05):
where I mean, you see it even still he kind
of I think he still thinks gambling's illegal, but you
see it even still where he.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
Makes a call.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
He's like Indiana, but not as closer or not as
much of a blowout as the experts. Thing closer than
the experts think. Actually I can't believe I watched that.
That's the fine closer than the experts think. He did
that back in the nineties, so he was always very
aware of the spread. So it helps when I think
a lot of the bozos on TV who go and
pick games have no idea what the spread is.

Speaker 4 (16:33):
Maybe it's different now, but Lee Lee had the benefit
of that.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
But you're right, even still, even still, because there are
some toss up games. I mean the game they're at today,
toss up game Ohio State Texas.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
Directly flip back and forth the favorite.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
Crazy crazy line movement on that game. But they said
which coach have you bet against the most? And he
had no idea. They were like, you bet against him
sixteen times? And Safan said, wait, was it me? And
they said it's you. It was Nick Saban and betting
much went eight and eight against Nick Saban. And McAfee
had a good quote, not that I know a lot

(17:07):
of people are not huge.

Speaker 4 (17:08):
Fans of McAfee.

Speaker 3 (17:09):
I love McAfee, but a huge quote from McAfee where
he said, that's probably a better coaching record than anybody
ever had against save him.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
A shout out to the leak course. So for that,
but let's talk the games. Let's talk some football. It's
week one.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
I'm so ready to talk some college football, and I
think a lot of the takes I'm seeing out there
looks like I'm a bit contrarian today. So I only
have three picks. Only have three picks that I have
one Sunday have one, Monday, had two last night. So
normally in a college football week, I probably will have
about seven or eight plays on a Saturday. This week
with it being kind of spread out, I liked the

(17:44):
non Saturday games more than the Saturday games, but I'm
owing three to start, so maybe fade me at your
own risk. Let's talk about the big one though. At
twelve o'clock Ohio State, Texas, Chan Bernard, where are you leaning?

Speaker 6 (17:57):
Hook a Mark Henry Junior that I like text is
quite a bit today. I do believe that arch Manning
is made for the moment here. I do believe he's
going to provide an element to this Texas offense that
quinn Ewers just could not from a mobility standpoint, from
athleticism standpoint. Him having four rushing touchdowns across ten games
while barely playing last year is pretty telling in itself,
and I do think that that Texas is going to

(18:18):
lean on him. I think Ohio State is going to
run to some trouble scoring the ball against his Texas defense.
I think the door is gonna be open just enough
for Arch to break right through and make a statement
in his debut here. I think Texas pretty comfortably pulls
out the victory today.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
Jared, what are you thinking?

Speaker 2 (18:33):
I fully agree, just off Sean, I mean that defense
looks good. I feel like Arch Manning is going to
be a you know, a top five pick in the
years to come, whether he comes out this year or
next year, He's going to be in them Hosman conversations.
I think he is that guy. And yeah, just all around,
Ohio State has a lot of moving parts, obviously losing
some coordinators players from last year. I think they do

(18:54):
struggle in Week one. I think Texas, you know, wins
kind of comfortably.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
Oh Age, I'm on the buck, I'm on Buck Island.
It feels like every it feels like everybody loves Texas.
The line is shipped. Obviously, it was minus two and
a half. I liked it minus two and a half.
I got them at plus one and a half. On
DraftKings this morning. I don't know where the line is
at now. It might be one and a half still
Texas minus one and a half. Yeah, it's flipping back

(19:21):
and forth, and I I'm not as confident about this
game as I am the other two big games this weekend,
I'd say, or yeah, yeah, the other two big games
to speak, and I'd say, I'm more confident in my pick.
This is a two unit play. The thing I can't
quit and I'm I've picked Ohio State to win the
national championship again this year, to repeat as national champions.

(19:42):
The thing I can't stop repeating to myself is they
have the best player in the country on offense, and
they have the best player in the country on defense.
And I don't think Will Howard was good. So it's
like if they replace it, we don't know what Julian
saying is I don't think Will Howard was special. So

(20:03):
it's a little bit similar to your quen you weres
thing where I don't think when yours were special either.
So I'm actually not worried about Arch like I think
Texas is. I think the floor for Texas, oh long
term this year, I would say, is where they were
last year offensively, as long as the weapons, you know,
live up to what they're supposed to be, I think

(20:25):
they should be better than they were offensively last year.
But they didn't have to go to Columbus in Week
one coming off of a national championship last year, and
I just think in general, there's less of a Texas thing.
By the way, these are two teams are going to
be in the top five at the end of the
year in my opinion. No matter what happens in today's game,
they could be a blowout, and I still think that
the losing team will.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
Very much be in the mix. It's Week one. Funny
stuff happens. We've seen it a lot of times.

Speaker 3 (20:51):
But the thing I can't stop saying is like, I
can't ever remember a defending national champion besides Michigan last year,
which was such a weird situation. Hardball won left, you
bring Sharon Moore in, you have so many transfers, you
have the scandal taking Michigan aside. I can't remember the
last national champion. It's been as it feels like, as

(21:12):
disrespected coming into the year where nobody is picking them
to win the Big ten. Everybody's picking the team from
Happy Valley, who's never won a big game in the
last fifteen years, the game Big Game, James.

Speaker 5 (21:26):
And.

Speaker 3 (21:28):
It perplexes me when they still have Jeremiah Smith, you
still have Caleb Downs. A lot of talk about the
guys that Ohio State has lost. You think five Stars
aren't replacing those guys at Ohio State like they chure
they're a factory.

Speaker 4 (21:41):
I think what we've seen.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
I think the status they haven't long less than ten
games in the last I think it's like since Urban
the year Urban had the scandal.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
So I think it's twenty sixteen.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
So they've just been remarkably consistent for a long stretch
of time. And I think Sark is building that, and
I think Texas is going to get there. I think
you can maybe even make the case that there are
there two straight years in the playoff.

Speaker 4 (22:04):
I think they are a machine and they're they're the
same way.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
They're going to replace the guys they lose with five
Stars on five Stars. But I think there's a little
bit too much concern about what Ohio State lost. If
you go through it's not like they lost Abdul Carter's
and Tyler Warrens like they.

Speaker 6 (22:19):
Didn't lose Jack Jack Sawyer and will have our second
round went.

Speaker 3 (22:24):
In the sixth rounds JTT went in the third, like
they didn't lose these Top five picks, top ten picks
like these elite and neither in Texas by the way,
But but Ohio State didn't lose these, By the way,
everything I'm saying is actually less. I'm not betting against
Texas in this game. Really, I'm betting on Ohio State.
This is more of like a I feel like they
can do back against the wall a little bit. People

(22:45):
don't believe in us coming off of a national championship,
which is something that I don't think most coaches can pull.

Speaker 6 (22:49):
How much do you think the lack of buzz or
lack of belief for hoever you want a phrase it
has to do with them losing the Michigan last year,
because I do kind of think it's a part of it.

Speaker 4 (22:57):
They won the title, they do.

Speaker 3 (23:00):
Ye, but I get it, and maybe if it was
a four team playoff and they went and won it,
I would maybe give it some validity. Even but they
played such a hard road to get to a national championship.
In the first round, you take on a Tennessee team
that went ten to two in the SEC and they
whooped them. That wasn't even close. Then you go and

(23:21):
play was it? The game after that was that Texas
or I'm skipping a game, no Oregon. They played Oregon,
who at twelve to zero beat them in Columbus, they
came back beat or not they beat them in Eugene,
but beat them in the playoff. Then the next week
they go play Texas and they knocked them up. And
then probably their third toughest opponent of the round was

(23:43):
Notre Dame in the National Championship. But I mean, hey,
Notre Dame beat some tough teams to get there too.
So that's an incredibly tough route to a playoff, And
it's a cliche to say the hardest route of all
time for a national championship because it's the first time
there's been a twelve team playoffs.

Speaker 4 (23:57):
So that's just the natural conversation of it.

Speaker 3 (23:59):
But I think they played enough games after that that
it wipes it away, like playing like four games after
and it feels like that's so distant. I know, Dave Portnoy,
I'm bringing it up as much as possible, So I
think it's it's fresh in minds, But I don't think
that that's a fact I should If it is, it
shouldn't be. I guess I should say.

Speaker 6 (24:16):
I don't think it is in the stance of like
this is viewed as a tainted title or anything like that.
But I do think it is like that is your
circle game, and that was a bad Michigan team last year.
They didn't have a quarterback straight up.

Speaker 5 (24:27):
It's crazy and it's like crazy, yeah.

Speaker 6 (24:29):
So I get like they are the rightful national champions
of last year, but I do think some of it
stems at least from that conversation there. And also, by
the way, for the record, I'm kind of the quarterback
drop off. Who's better Will Howard or Quinn? You were,
so I'm honestly not sure.

Speaker 4 (24:44):
Youwers had higher highs than Howard.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
Howard probably had a little bit more like maybe a
higher floor because of the running a little bit, but
you Weres just definitely like.

Speaker 5 (24:55):
I mean, you were accomplished, Like, yeah.

Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yours was like a generational quarterback prospect out of high school.

Speaker 4 (25:01):
Like it's it's actually crazy to think about.

Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yeah, I mean he really he was supposed to be
like a one pit, like a number one overall pick.
Eventually he went to Ohio State when as a freshman
got he got a like eight million like like I'm
over exaggerating, but he got a ton of money to
go to Ohio State and he just like red shirted
and didn't do anything and just sat there and learned
and then went to Texas for more money.

Speaker 4 (25:23):
It was crazy stuff, crazy career for quin viewers.

Speaker 3 (25:26):
But I'd say it's pretty similar, pretty similar years to Howard.
I think Howard they probably went in the same round.

Speaker 4 (25:32):
I think they both went in the sixth round.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
But yeah, I'm going with Ohio State. This is more
of a bet on the national champs, on Jeremiah Smith,
on cable downs, and on the guys that I said
are there that I still think are and the new
guy I can't. I had his name written something Claire.
His last name is Claire. He's a tight end. Ohio
State is a new tight end from Purdue who is

(25:57):
like Tyler Warren to Max. Claire is his name, He's
like Tyler Warren two point a watch out for Max Clair.
So I'm buying stock and Julian saying I think this
guy you have Jeremiah Smith. You have Carnel Tate, you
have this tight end Max Clair. I think Julian Saying
is set up for success there, and you have Ryan Day.

Speaker 4 (26:18):
If he's not, if he can't.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
Play well with those weapons, and if the offense can't
score today, then Julian they have a Julian Saying problem
and they need to go to their five star that's
sitting on the bench right behind him. I think his
name is Line Holtz, the quarterback. But let's move on
to another game, probably less talk real quick on this one.

Speaker 4 (26:37):
Twelve o'clock Syracuse at Tennessee.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
Not a big game. I'm Tennessee skeptic this year. I'm
skeptical on the volunteers. I get it. I'm not telling
you Nico is anything special, and I think UCLA might
be a problem with like in a bad way. Like
I don't know if they get to a Bowl game
this year with Nico. I'm not telling you. You know,
Nico is special. But Tennessee did not want to start

(27:02):
Joey Aguilar. They wanted to start Nico, and things fell
apart in June. Like they are kind of late in
the game for when they're supposed to be getting this
quarterback ready. I know that everybody from Tennessee's saying all
the right stuff. We think he's better than Nico. He
understands the offense better. We're gonna unleash the playbook. I
get it. Josh Heipel's a great coach. He's a fantastic coach.

(27:23):
And they're saying all the things he said about Hendon
Hooker about this new guy. Color me skeptical, and I'm
gonna take the fourteen and a half with Syracuse. Steve
Angeli quarterbacking for Syracuse. Notre Dame guy from last year.
Kind of wish he was starting a quarterback tomorrow night
for us, but that's another conversation. We went with the
five star, but Steve Angelly started for Syracuse. Fran Brown

(27:45):
did a great job with Kyle McCord last year, who
I thought stunk, and then we saw this year in
the NFL. Looked like he probably stunk in the preseason
and fran Brown got like forty five hundred yards out
of him or whatever it was. So I think Angeli's
got some traits as a passer. I like Syracuse did
it take the money line. I'm not doing it. Plus
four hundred if it was like plus five or six hundred,
I would do a sniff. But at plus four hundred

(28:06):
not quite enough for me. Give me the fourteen and
a half with QS anything else on the Neon slate
for you, cham Bernard.

Speaker 6 (28:11):
Yeah, you feel stronger about it than me, But I
did kind of feel the same way that thirteen and
a half did feel a bit strong for me for Tennessee,
just need to see it a little bit with this team.
I do think the defense is going to be legitimate,
and that's what's kept me away from backing Syracuse is
I do think it's gonna be a struggle for them
to put up points that I think that Tennessee is,
particularly the defensive line and just kind of across the
board are going to be real talented there. But my
gut reaction was that thirteen and a half did feel

(28:34):
like a little bit a lot there. Look at the
newonslate a little bit more, not a ton jumping out
to me. Yeah, in the later slate, a little bit
of hearder takes, I would say that's probably my second
favorite play would be the plus thirteen and a half there.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
Yeah, and it's a one unit play for me, it's
there I mean, there's a good chance, you know, Tennessee
comes out and it's like, oh, I'm an idiot. I
bet on Syracuse against TENNESSEC team. There's absolutely an opportunity
for that to happen. But I think Tennessee's going to
be like a seven and five, six and sixteen this year.
I really do. I think they take a big step back,
which I'm a big hypel guy. I'm hype for hypel usually,
but I don't see it. I don't see the Dylan

(29:08):
Samson underrated guy. He's gonna be a He's gonna play
a role in the Cleveland backfield this year running back
from Tennessee last year. He's a really really good running
back and I think he was underrated last year. And
I think he was pretty important to being able to
nurse Nico along a little bit to that ten and
two record. And I'm sure they have a new five
star running back. I'm sure they have a transfer running back.

(29:30):
I think Sampson was special. I think he was really
really really good for a college running back, and he
was involved in the passing game as well.

Speaker 4 (29:37):
A game that I'm tempted by.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Didn't bet it, but I am tempted at twelve o'clock
Northwestern at Tulane. This game was Northwestern was a six
and a half point dog as of like yesterday, and
Tulane announced Retsloth as the starting quarterback. The line actually
went down to four and a half. And Retzlaf's only
been there about a month and a half, so he
is a little bit behind the ball.

Speaker 4 (29:58):
Had some legal troubles at.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
To say the least, and they got dismissed and he
was able to transfer and head to tou Lane and
a little bit late in the game, though, I'm tempted
by Northwestern. You know, it's a power for school going
against a non powerful school as much, I mean, two
lane's at the top of the G five year in,
year out pretty much, but putting in a new quarterback,

(30:23):
I'm tempted by Northwestern. The reason I'm not betting it.
I do this like I don't even know, Like I
don't know what you would call it, but I get
upset when I miss a line, and I'm like, I'm
not betting it anyway. I missed the line like I
throw like a tantrum. If I could have got it
at six and a half, I would take it. At
six and a half this morning, but with it being
down the four and a half, it was if it

(30:43):
hits it at five or six number, I'm gonna be
so upset.

Speaker 4 (30:45):
So I'm not gonna bet it.

Speaker 5 (30:46):
But I think.

Speaker 3 (30:48):
Northwestern wins that game. If if you made me pick
every game, give me the Purple Cats.

Speaker 5 (30:52):
There.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
That's it for the noonslate, I think pretty much. I
don't have any picks for the mid after noonslate. I think,
if you're out there and you know the next couple
of weekends are gonna be football heavy. You got a wife,
you got a girlfriend, I know it's early for it
the three thirty. Maybe go out to lunch, go out
to an early dinner with the wife, get back for
a get back in time for LSU Clemson. But maybe
if you're sitting on the couch anyway, my wife's down

(31:14):
the beach, so I'm watching every game. Alabama Florida State
is the game to watch at three thirty. I'm tempted
to roll with the tide. I'm tempted to say maybe
this is Klen de Bor's revenge tour year this year,
and he's been a guy second year at places, he's
been really really good.

Speaker 4 (31:32):
I'm scared to do it.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
I don't know enough about Simpson the quarterback, don't know
enough about and I feel like the defense I lost
a lot last year into the draft, and I'm sure
Alabama's going to cycle guys right into that machine. But
it's not the saving machine anymore. So I'm not gonna
just back it blindly. I need to see it first.
If you made me bet it, though, i'd be rolling
with the time.

Speaker 6 (31:53):
Yeah, and I am rolling with the tide. But minus
thirteen and a half there. I like what I've seen
from Ty Simpson. I know it's very limited sample size,
to the point they still Ryan Williams, who's gonna make
his case for the most talented wide receiver and off
college football, and could.

Speaker 5 (32:05):
What a little overrated you think?

Speaker 3 (32:08):
I think he might be a little over I think
he had like forty five catches last year.

Speaker 6 (32:11):
Now did you he was seventeen though, he's always statum,
but it is a little bit of a he had.

Speaker 4 (32:20):
Like a lot of yards.

Speaker 5 (32:21):
Yeah, big plays.

Speaker 4 (32:22):
He's a big play machine. He's gonna be an explosive guy.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
He's gonna make maybe a play every game, or at
least a player every other game that is like, Wow,
what a player.

Speaker 4 (32:31):
But I don't know if he's like I think Jeremiah.

Speaker 5 (32:34):
Is like more polish, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
Yeah, it's more polished and like yeah, but he does
have it once a conversation.

Speaker 4 (32:40):
I don't think it is anymore.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
Yeah, that's fair. I don't think he's quite there.

Speaker 6 (32:44):
But what he does have, and I struggle to quit
on these guys, is when you put the ball in
his hand, anything can happen any given play. Like he's
got some Jamison Williams would be probably like a player competent.
I sort of like he's going to be an impact guy,
an X factor type guy on a week to week basis.
And I do think I don't believe in this Claras
State team. They were dreadful watch last year. They're gonna
be better, I would hope, and I do think that

(33:04):
is going to be the case. But I don't think
they stick with Alabama. And I'm buying in the stock
that I think that they could be sneaky like legitimate contenders,
that they could take those type that type of leap
this year. I'm in on the Bama experience and I
think they win by fourteen today.

Speaker 4 (33:17):
Oh, I have Bama eleven and one in the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
Go, I think Bama's going to be right back in
the mix and right back in the playoff, So I'm
with you that's the right play. I do think Bama.
Bama is right back in the mix. So you know,
by three thirty rolls around, I might end up betting
love Bama in that game. But wait a second, you're
a Castiano's guy.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
That is true.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
Are you? Are you aware that Florida State starting quarterback?

Speaker 6 (33:43):
That's a good point. Honest, that's a good point. I
am the Thomas cast down. I even thought about that
in the drive in. I still think I do think
Bama is going to be like take that step this year.
I thought they were fine last year. Like I think
it's talked about like they sucked. They weren't quite that.
But I think they're back into like Alabama quality this year.
So I like Thomas Cassi on us, I certainly like
Florida State's out looked far better than was the case

(34:04):
with DJ.

Speaker 5 (34:05):
I don't think it quite happens this week, Jared.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
Anything for you so far, I would agree with both
of you guys what you guys have said. I mean,
I would take the fourteen points for sure on Alabama.
Florida State was dreadful last year. I know they got
DJ out of the building, but I mean whole new team,
you know, with Nio transfers everything like that. But yeah,
I would still take Bama. I think they do get
in that top five range down the line when January
comes around.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
I agree, Yeah, it's Florida State. It's just I mean
two years ago, they were so good. During last year
two and ten, it's hard to I think they probably
middle out. I think they're probably like a seven win
team this year and it kind of get back to
at least respectability. But I don't know if that saves
Norvell's job. And then of course everybody's so so focused

(34:50):
on Ohio State Texas and I get why one verse
two biggest game maybe of all time in.

Speaker 4 (34:55):
Week one college football history, but.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
Lsu CLEMS is a fantastic game most Week ones in
college football history. This would be like a special special game.
This would be the game. This would be where game
day is at Death Valley and they're not. And I
feel like it's almost going under the radar. I feel
like Notre Dame Tomorrow Night is getting more talked about

(35:20):
because it's like a standalone game and it's Sunday night.
I feel like l C Clemson's almost going under the radar.
This to me is so so interesting. I think this
game is the game where we actually find out a
lot about these teams, Notre Dame Miami. I think, you know,
both teams really so new, like Carson Beck coming off

(35:40):
of an.

Speaker 4 (35:41):
Injury, CJ.

Speaker 3 (35:42):
Carr first game, as like an eighteen year old or
a nineteen year old whatever he is. Like, I think
I'm willing to say either team that could lose that
game could easily be a completely different team as we
saw the Notre Dame. They were a completely different team
in September and then December last year. And I said
earlier Ohio State, Texas, both teams are going to be
in the top five end of the year. LSU Clemson.
There's a chance I'm in the third quarter of this

(36:03):
game and I'm saying this team sticks about one of
these things.

Speaker 4 (36:07):
I could be there.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
And I'm willing to overreact about this game more than
i am about the other games. And my biggest take,
and I've said it all off season, Clemson will not
be in the final four.

Speaker 4 (36:21):
Of this.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
At the end of the college football playoff, when we're
sitting in the final four, Clemson will not be there.
I'm tempted to say they won't be in the second round.
And I don't have them making the playoff when I
did my playoff. I think the way Clemson is being
propped up to this national title contender status after going
nine and three last year and falling butt backwards into

(36:42):
winning the ACC and losing to South Carolina on Week thirteen,
with South Carolina guys doing dabbo dances on the midfield for.

Speaker 4 (36:51):
TikTok, like I don't.

Speaker 3 (36:54):
I don't know where all the optimists and I hear, Oh,
Kate Klubnick's one of the best quarterbacks in the country,
and oh, they have two receivers who had a thousand
yards last year, and these defensive linemen are going to
go in the first round next year. They had all
of these guys last year. All of these guys were
on the team last year.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
And I get that.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
That's people's argument that Clemson returns all this talent. All
this talent went nine and three last year and lost
multiple ACC games and lost to South Carolina at home
and got lost in the playoffs, the first team the
first game they played. If you want to tell me
they're gonna walk away with the ACC, you want to
tell me that they're the best team in the ACC,
They're gonna make the playoff, They're gonna, you know, make

(37:32):
the second round. Whatever you want to say, that's fine.
Way too many people are picking Clemson as a national
champion this year and picking Clemson to go to the
tent and go to the title game. And I've said
that about Penn State this year too. I'm a Penn
State skeptic, but I have Penn State going ten to
two and making the playoff, and I think they're guaranteed
to be in the playoffs, like they're a really good team.

(37:53):
And I understand the vision with Penn State. When people
make the argument, I rationalize it.

Speaker 4 (37:58):
I get it. I understand the with Clemson. I really don't.

Speaker 3 (38:02):
I really don't understand why they're this national title contender
that I'm being told they are. On the flip side,
here's me being a hypocrite. I think LSIE is a
national title contemt despite all that stuff I just said.
I think nus Meyer's special. I think nus Meyer is
going to have it he's gonna win the Heisman this year.

Speaker 4 (38:18):
I think he's going to I think he's gonna run
away with it.

Speaker 5 (38:21):
Actually wow.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
And I think this defense is going to be really good.
And I think this is put up or shut up
for Brian Kelly.

Speaker 4 (38:30):
This is the moment.

Speaker 3 (38:31):
And even beyond me being bullsh on him this year,
I have him eleven and one.

Speaker 4 (38:35):
I have him gone to the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (38:37):
Beyond me being bullish on LSU for the season, they
have lost five straight season openers, five straight years. They've
started oh and one, Brian Kelly has said, and he's
only been a part of I guess two of those now,
so he's been a part of two of those oh
and one starts. Brian Kelly said, we have gone over
the top and overboard to prepare for Week one, and

(38:59):
he's openly he's openly wondered if it will hurt them
for the rest of the season to focus so much
on one game instead of focusing on kind of improving
the overall picture and improving the basics. He said, they've
been putting in installs for Clemson for like four months now,
so it's just like he's like, I have never treated
an opening game like this in my life. I think

(39:20):
the emphasis that has been going on on that campus
to start one to zero to beat Clemson, that we're
the real Death Valley. All this stuff I really do
think matters in this spot. I think Brian Kelly shows
up with these guys ready to go kill for him.
I think LSU wins this game. So give me plus
four and a half, but I think they win the game.

Speaker 6 (39:40):
Yeah, I'm fully with you on the Clemson skepticism there
that I just don't fully see it as well. I'm
not a KDE Club mcguy whatsoever. I'm not quite where
you are on Garrett Nasmyer there. He kind of like
I was starting to buy the hype sit the kool
aid last year, and he really got.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
A tough stretch down the year.

Speaker 3 (39:56):
But if you look at the overall stats, he still
had like some of the best stats the country.

Speaker 6 (40:00):
Yeah, and the wider grand scheme of things. He's still
in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in college football. I
just don't think like he's in that quite special tier
or the elite of the lead. I think he's better
than Club Nick. I think he's will win the head
to head matchup here and you make me make a
pick on the or on this game specifically, I am
rolling with LSU as well. The problem is, these are
two teams that I think are a little bit propped
up more than I view them as legitimate contenders.

Speaker 5 (40:21):
So I'm curious to tune in tonight.

Speaker 6 (40:23):
Maybe my feelings will change on it, but but that
is my initial read going into week one is I
think both these teams are a bit more inflated than
I personally feel about him.

Speaker 3 (40:30):
I need Bernard to tweet out his playoff, by the way,
tweet out the twelve team before during the Neon slate,
if you can, to throw it out there just so
we can track. I tweeted mine out a couple of
weeks ago. Case State's in it, so it's dead, but
Nu's Meyer. Yeah that's my last year. The stats actually
aren't quite as good as I thought, but he had
fourth out forty and twenty nine touchdowns. The problem and

(40:52):
what I did the interceptions right twelve Yeah, yeah, I
didn't remember it was quite that many. He's definitely gonna
have to cut back on that. And I remember a
lot of them came like two games.

Speaker 6 (41:00):
And I have one thing too, like there's a couple
that are like stuck in my brain of like you
just can't make that read.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
Yeah, that's fair, that is fair. So maybe I'm overrating him.
Maybe I am, and I'm willing to say that. Like earlier,
my bet was on Ohio State, not against Texas. This one,
my bet is against Clemson more than it is on LSU.
But I do believe in that week one emphasis. And
Brian Kelly. For as much as I hate his guts

(41:27):
and as much as I think he's a terrible person,
and as much as I think he's a loser, I
do think he's a really good football coach. He's a
guy who's gonna win you ten, nine to ten games
pretty much every year, and at any given Saturday, I
think you've got a really good chance to win any
game you play when he's when he's your head coach.
But unless it's a big game, this isn't I don't

(41:49):
think this falls under that Brian Kelly used to win
these types of big games with Literardy.

Speaker 4 (41:53):
It would happen later on in the season.

Speaker 3 (41:55):
But anything else on anything today Sean Bernard Hawaii, I.

Speaker 6 (41:59):
Love and let me get the exact Hawaii Arizona the
matchup here, pulling up the odds, I want to say
it was fourteen and a half if I remember correctly here,
The point being, I think that Hawaii has sixteen and
a half jump on it.

Speaker 5 (42:12):
I think Kawhii has a chance to outright win this game.

Speaker 6 (42:14):
And the biggest concern is Michael Alatto, the quarterback who
dealt with a little bit. It looked ugly the like
knee twists that he had last week went down, but
he only missed a handful of plays. Looked a little
bit limited in his mobility. But this dude is a
thrower of the football. He's not a mobile guy. He's
five ten, one hundred and eighty pounds, soaking wet. If
he was any bit bigger than then he would be
suiting up for a Power five team right now. His
arm's legit. He makes all the throws, went to Bishop Gorman.

(42:36):
I like this kid a lot. I'm rolling with the
Rainbow Warriors. I think Kawhi has a chance to win outright.

Speaker 4 (42:40):
To me, interesting, I like it.

Speaker 3 (42:42):
I don't think Arizona's going to be any good this year,
so I do like the swing there. Two games I
am tempted by In the late night, not betting them,
but you tall minus five and a half at UCLA.
I would look that Devin Dampier is going to be
really fun to watch. Don't know if you're if anyone
out there is unaware, but he ran for like eleven
hundred yards or something last year as well as throwing
for over two thousand, So really gonna be a fun

(43:03):
player to watch at the starting quarterbacks for Utah. And
then I'm tempted by Oregon State. The Beavers their plus
one and a half at home against Cal. I'm a
Malik Murphy guy, transferred from Duke to Oregon State. I'm
so upset he didn't go to a bigger school, took
a weird bag to go to court Vallis. But I
can't bet against Justin Willcox as an underdog. Cal has
been really good as an underdog under Wilcox, but looks

(43:25):
like they might be a little bit of a mess
coming into this year, losing their quarterback to Indiana and.

Speaker 4 (43:30):
Last not least, we have Notre Dame tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (43:32):
By the way, I'm taking TCU minus three and a
half at UNC on Monday, but starting to be less
confident in it. I feel like everybody's on it. I've
been high on TCU all off season as a Big
twelve potential playoff sleeper, but I'm a little skeptical.

Speaker 4 (43:45):
Everybody loves this line.

Speaker 3 (43:46):
I kind of hate it, but Notre Dame. Tomorrow night
the lines jumped to three. You can still find two
and a half out there. I locked it in at
two and a half. I don't I'm not a guy
who blindly tells you to bet Notre Dame. Sean Bernard
can tell you, I think like three or four times wrongly.
Last year I told people to bet against Notre Dame.

Speaker 5 (44:02):
Yeah, but I.

Speaker 3 (44:06):
Am more confident in this game going to Miami than
I am in two weeks playing Texas A and M
in South Bend. I really think that's the game where
they trip up. Marcus Freeman's done a good job opening
the season. He showed it last year going to College
Station and beating Texas A and M. I think they
do it again. And the main reason that I'm most confident,

(44:27):
First of all, Mario.

Speaker 4 (44:29):
Christovall is a fraud. KRISTA fraud guy doesn't win big games.

Speaker 3 (44:32):
But the reason I'm most confident is Carson Beck coming
off of a massive massive shoulder reconstruction surgery, is playing
his first game against what is going to be one
of the top five defenses in the country.

Speaker 5 (44:44):
And also he's just not quite that good at football.

Speaker 4 (44:48):
I was a Carson Beck defender.

Speaker 3 (44:50):
I think I've taken a step back now and said
I think he just played with Brock Bauers and Lad McConkie.
I think that was what happened and why he looked
so good that first year as a starter, and I
think he might be a total fraud. So I think
you might be right. I think I might have defended
him a little too long. And I'm taking all the
stock against Miami. I like their win total under on
the season. I have the mate in four. I know

(45:11):
Beef as him like six and six Beef. I think
Beef said he he thinks that it's more likely they
miss a bowl game than make the playoff. I think
that was Beef's take, which I like the hot take there.
And I think Notre Dame capitalizes. I think they run
the crap out of the football in this game, and
I think they handle it on defense. I'm not confident
that Carson Beck will be able to hang against Notre

(45:33):
Dame's defense, schan Bernard, are you are you? I know
Riley Leonard's gone. It was Jared. It was nice to
have Sean Bernard with me. He liked Riley Leonard a lot.
He enjoyed the whole Riley Leonards showed good dude, and
he sent me a funny clip of Riley Leonard on
the preseason sideline making fun of Anthony richardson guys an
absolute dog. We have to put a bullet in Riley

(45:54):
Leonard for him to ask out of the game and
tap out on his helmet. But Riley Leonard was Sean
was a big Riley Leonard guy. Are you still a
Notre Dame guy this year?

Speaker 6 (46:03):
Without Riley, I wouldn't say I'm fully on board yet
I do like Jeremiah Smith, I like I'm net positive
to Notre Dame. But they got to earn it a
little bit. Riley Leonard earned my fandom there. I traveled
from Duke to Notre Dame with Riley Leonard here, so
my slatest clean, I do not have a team affiliate
for the time being. Here Notre Dame on the table
could happen, but they got to earn it a little
is what where else?

Speaker 3 (46:23):
I any bet on this one, Notre Dame Miami.

Speaker 6 (46:26):
I like I lean Notre Dame, don't feel super strongly
about it. I'm not a Carson back guy. I do
think he stinks, and I do think that Miami team
is not gonna be that good there. I don't feel
overly bullish on Notre Dame. But if you maybe pick aside,
that's the direction I would go with Jared.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
Anything for you on either LSU Clemson or Notre Dame
Miami before we get out of here.

Speaker 5 (46:43):
I would say LSU. I mean, same as you guys.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Clemson has been receiving a lot of overhype, and I
feel like in the past few days a lot of
people have kind of, you know, backed off that and
have been going LSU because they think Clemson is overrated.
So I would say that the twelve interceptions last season
does scare me out enough mine. And if I had
to pick one for Notre Dame in Miami, I would
say Notre Dame. Like Sean said, Carson beck Is, I

(47:06):
don't think he is that good of a football player,
so we will see that this season at Miami. But yeah,
I would take Notre Dame for that. And if I
had to put one more thing, a little sleeper sleeper
play little D one double a action. Abilene Christians traveling
to Tulsa plus five and a half last year in
their opening game, they played Texas Tech. Texas Texas Tech

(47:28):
had a good season last year. They only lost. Yeah,
they only lost fifty to fifty one in the home
opener in ot So they return a lot of good
talent that their quarterback Maverick does leave. He threw for
thirty and seven interceptions last season, but they have a
good team returning. So that plus five and a half
look was kind of sweet in my opinion.

Speaker 5 (47:47):
Love it, love it.

Speaker 3 (47:49):
That was fantastic stuff that you're not gonna hear that
on college and kick off, But you're absolutely right. I
remember that game vividly Texas Tech Ablien Christian. It really
impressed me in that game. That's I'm gonna look into that.
What time is that game on?

Speaker 5 (48:04):
That game is at eight o'clock, eight.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
O'clock, Look it up, folks. That's a I like that
call in Tulsa. Not supposed to be any any great
shakes this year either, So I like that. Look like
that look a lot. That's that's great stuff. But yeah,
get it. Absolutely, you got the Phillies on, you got
you got, you got LCU Clemson, you got Adaline Christian.
Gotta have gotta have three screens for that, of course,

(48:28):
but that's gonna do it for the first part of
the show. On the second part, you'll hear Scham, Bernard
and I last night breaking down our NFL playoff predictions
and our NFL Award prediction. By the way, I don't
think we finished it out. I think I like skipped
skipped the last part. Super Bowl prediction Chambernard, what was it?

Speaker 4 (48:43):
Officially?

Speaker 5 (48:44):
Eagles are repeating Eagles Chiefs run it back to trilogy.

Speaker 3 (48:48):
I'm going I'm going Packers over Ravens, but I should
pick the Eagles. I'm just I'm doing it to be different.
But Packers over most likely as Eagles over Ravens. But
I'm doing Packers over Evens. I bet the Moon in
the Super Bowl, and that's gonna do it. Watch for
the next part of this second hour talking NFL right
here on the top of a radio show.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
Jared Sorry, Follow Schumdernard at.

Speaker 3 (49:10):
Shawnds Underscore, Bernard one, follow me at Markemy Junior NFL
Follow Jarrett at Montalto Jarrett, that's gonna do it.

Speaker 4 (49:17):
Tougher Radio Show back after this.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
Number one on your car radio preset hand the new
and improved Diehard radiop w d A and WD two
seven break Date, Philadelphia. I is Fox Sports Radio The Gambler.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Welcome back to the topcover radio show. I am your host,
Mark Henry Jr. This is my coast over here on
the ones that do Sewan underscore Bernard One. If you're
watching on Twitter, you might see that it's Friday and
this show is usually on Saturday. But we're doing the
second hour so Sean can get home for his DraftKings shift,
I can watch Ohio State Texas and we don't have

(49:55):
to record this during Ohio State Texas. So we want
to get this out to the people because we had
to talk to some NFL and this is how the
Toughcover Radio Show is gonna be probably for most of
the year, where that first hour primary college football, probably
sprinkle in phillies, especially when we get to October baseball.
We'll see how long that goes, but we will talk

(50:16):
that the Phillies get sprinkled into that first hour and
the second hour becomes an NFL preview. So it's nice
how the football season kind of formats us. But Sean,
it's nice to be back to having real football to
talk about.

Speaker 6 (50:29):
Yeah, and that was gonna be my number one takeaway
I dove into is first starters appreciate the accommodation here
of us being flexible here. But the takeaway is we
have football, Mark Henrick Junior, that the sports gown there
is back in full swing. There is no more you
know what am I doing on Saturday? What am I
doing on Sunday? There is a jam pack schedule from
start defending for the next several months, and I could

(50:49):
not be happy about it. So I'm ready to dive
into the takeaways, lay out some predictions, and watch some
damn football this weekend.

Speaker 3 (50:55):
Yeah. So for everybody that's listening on Friday right now,
on Saturday eleven to twelve, Sean Bernard and I still
breaking down all the huge college football matchups. Obviously, I'm
wearing my Notre Dame shirt here. They play Sunday night.
LSU Clemson, you got Ohio State, Texas, you have so
many the best week one of all time on college football,
and we're going to discuss all of that tomorrow at eleven.

(51:17):
This podcast right here is for the National Football League,
the league that pays for play. I guess you can't
really use that anymore, though, Yeah, that's a shame. I
forget he say that.

Speaker 5 (51:28):
Was that a mate.

Speaker 3 (51:29):
A bit of Chris Berman, the league that pays for play?
I think that was a I think that was a boomer,
But I I don't know how Sean and I were
initially just gonna pop on here and do our award predictions,
do our playoff predictions, pick our super Bowl, all that stuff.
And in my opinion, I would say the biggest non

(51:52):
quarterback trade of my life goes down at on I
guess Third Night, where Michael Parsons traded for two first
round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark from the Green
Bay Packers. And I think part of what makes it
such a big impactful trade as all the Jerry Jones

(52:12):
drama leading up to it, the fact that he's got
a documentary series on Netflix accompanying this situation, and he's
doing podcasts with Michael Irvin, and he's going doing the
whole media tour saying they're not going to trade him,
saying they're going to figure it out, talking about the agent,
all of that stuff. And then you combine that with Dallas,

(52:32):
of course being despite not being successful, being a Tiffany
franchise of the NFL, trading it to another Tiffany franchise
of the NFL, much more successful one in the Green
Bay Packers. So these are two of the big dogs
in the sport and the big kind of draws from
the NFL, and they're making one of the biggest trades
I think in NFL history and really in our lifetime.

(52:55):
I really struggle to think of before we get to
our opinion on each side of it. I struggled to
think of a non quarterback trade that come close to this.
The ones I Khalil Mack.

Speaker 5 (53:08):
That popped in my mind was clear Bears.

Speaker 3 (53:12):
Yeah, I guess Khalil mackis. I think Parsons is a
good bit better than Mac was. Maybe that's maybe that's
revisionist history.

Speaker 6 (53:20):
Mac was awesome, but yeah, I think that was still
like Khalil Mack still sort of like there was expected
another leap that didn't really happen with him, And I
think my memory serves right, like the return was greater
for Mac. I think there was more draft pick Capital,
which at least similar.

Speaker 5 (53:36):
So I don't know.

Speaker 6 (53:37):
I think I agree with you that I think Michael
Parsons probably turns out the better player. I think at
the time of the trade that the expectation was for
Khalil Mack to end.

Speaker 5 (53:44):
Up a little bit more than he ended up being.

Speaker 3 (53:46):
Yeah, I'm trying to think of anything else, Like Teo
signed here, but it ended up kind of being a
trade because of like legal stuff. Yeah, I really struggle
to think of another another non core. I'm trying to
think of receivers because receivers are the teams. I guess
Tyreek Hill pretty big. Trade was big, but Miami wasn't

(54:08):
really a contender when they traded for him, and it
never really materialized either. I have a couple thoughts about this.
First of all, green Bay bravo. Great job by green Bay.
They deserve universal praise and something I've seen a lot of.
And Green Bay's been a cheap team for a very
long time. They pretty much only keep their own talent.

(54:28):
They didn't They only recently have really made a couple
splashes in free agency. They got Xavier McKinney a couple
of years ago, competing with the Eagles. It might have
been last year competing with the Eagles to go and
get him, and that worked out great. He was one
of the best safeties in football last year. And then
now they make this big one hundred and eighty eight
million dollar commitment to Michael Parsons or Michael Parcel as

(54:48):
Jerry Jones would call him. And I think that it's
impossible to not applaud that and bring up that someone
was saying, like Jerry Jones, Dallas as an owner that
wants to keep money for his lavish love style. Green
Bay Packers don't have that owner. They've got a million
owners that are a little bit of the team. They
don't have to keep that money for lavish lifestyle. So
I appreciate or good I don't. I guess I don't

(55:09):
appreciate it, but good for Green Bay that they're willing
to go out and spend the money and they're willing
to go out and go above and beyond. And on
the flip side, I think Dallas did the right thing.
I think I've said it on this show before. Dallas
is not close to competing. I was picking Dallas to
win five or six games with Parsons, So I was

(55:31):
out on Dallas with Parsons. I think they made the
right decision to trade Parsons. I think they made the
right decision to get two first round picks for Parsons. Now,
the two things that the flip side of that, and
why I'd say green Bay's a bigger winner here than
Dallas is because why are you worrying about a thirty
year old defensive tackle. If you're trading Micah Parsons, you're

(55:54):
getting all these picks. The future should be the focus.
That third asset should have been another first, or another second,
or another pick. It shouldn't have been a d tackle
outside of his prime. And it also, you can't control
who offers the most for Parsons, although there were reports
that there were other teams that were like, WHOA, we

(56:14):
didn't We didn't even get a chance. We would have
offered more. Some people alleging that that was the Patriots
that would have offered more and were upset. But green
Bay's not going to be bad either of these next
two years. So Dallas is getting the twentieth or later
pick they've been I think green Bays picked twenty two

(56:35):
or later five of the last six years. Yeah, So
that's I think that was made the right call in
a vacuum. But getting a player that's thirty and doing
it with a team that I think has a really
high floor is probably not what I would have looked for.

Speaker 5 (56:51):
Yeah, and uh just real quick to throw.

Speaker 6 (56:53):
And I think with the Eagles AJ Brown trade is
sneaky on the list of most impactful absolutely trades, as
I've thought. But to bring it back to Parsons, a
couple of different layers here. For the Packers, I absolutely
respect and appreciate them going for it right now that
they aren't in this mix for the NFC and this
upper echelon of teams.

Speaker 5 (57:10):
You're not that high level financially committed to Jordan Love at.

Speaker 6 (57:14):
This stake in the game, so you might as well
go for it while you have a little bit of flexibility.
And I do think that there is reason to believe
that that team can content, So I respect them taking
this big stab at it and adding to the defense there.
From Dallas's perspective, this is kind of a situation to
me where like the results in process sort of need
to be judged separately.

Speaker 5 (57:31):
That I agree with you.

Speaker 6 (57:32):
I think the right overall call was to trade Michael Parsons.
I do think if push were to come to shove
and they went about this differently and the whole situation
was handled differently, that there's a greater return for the
caliber of talent that Michael Parsons is as a football player.
And I do think that Jerry Jones like blurred the
lines between business and just relationships here, that he did
let like feelings get in the way of what probably

(57:52):
was the logical way to go about this year.

Speaker 5 (57:54):
I do not think this situation need to get this messy.

Speaker 6 (57:56):
And the end result that while yes, the rewarded with
two first round picks, you also a guy that could
have been like the franchise cornerstone forever just walk away
and feel kind of disappointed at it. So, yes, I
think from like a pure business perspective, it was the
right move to just trade Michael Parsons get a couple
of picks in return. But I still kind of feel
like this should be looked at as a humanssed opportunity
by the Cowboys, because this should have been a guy

(58:18):
that you're hanging his jersey and the rafters when everything's
said and down, that he is like a key franchise
centerpiece that you think of Michael Parsons and the Dallas
Cowboys as synonymous when his career is at its end.
But ultimately that's not how things went down, and from
an Eagles perspective, could not be happier about that.

Speaker 3 (58:33):
Part of my take does the hot seat cool thrown
thing or hot seat you're you're in your your blank
is in the jackpot, You're in trouble, and cool throne
is like you're feeling great about what happened, cool thrown.
Penn State fans in the in the in the Philadelphia area,
saft quand comes home from New York, Parsons leaves Dallas,

(58:53):
goes to another team. Yeah, you don't have to worry
about like the two best players of your generation being
on the Eagles two rivals anymore. That's pretty nice for
it for.

Speaker 5 (59:02):
Pensaw, he just got a free Abdul Carter. Next.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
Now here's my Yeah, it's true, but here's my gripe.
I was saying that the Green Bay Packers were the
most legitimate competition not only in the NFC but in
the NFL to the Eagles before they traded for Michael Parsons.
I think everybody's celebrating Mike Parson's not a cowboy. Ha

(59:27):
ha ha, Jerry Jones so dumb. I think this is
actually a net negative for the Eagles.

Speaker 6 (59:33):
Yeah, I'm just not there for being that scared of
the Packers. But I think they're good. I think they're
in the mix. I think they're in their upper echelont.
But I've got good news Mark Henry Junior that the
Green Bay Packers were not as good as the Philadelphia
Eagles before trading for Michael Parsons, and they're not as
good as the Philadelphia Eagles after trading.

Speaker 5 (59:48):
For Michael Parsons.

Speaker 6 (59:49):
There, like I Jordan Love, I like, I think is
a good quarterback, That defense is going to be really solid,
very good this year.

Speaker 5 (59:56):
That kind of where I end here.

Speaker 6 (59:58):
Like the wide receiver corps, I all think think are
just sort of guys there, nobody in particular. Yeah, Like,
I feel like they're a good team, not a great team.
And I think if we're gonna disagree there, you think
they're like so you you the Packers straight up right
now as Super Bowl contemned the second best team in
the NFL.

Speaker 5 (01:00:15):
Wow, Yeah, I think that's crazy.

Speaker 3 (01:00:17):
I thought that before the Parsons trade.

Speaker 5 (01:00:19):
I think that's crazy.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
Yeah, Mark Sessler from he to call put them third.
I know Dan Hans has put them seventh or eighth,
so he was coming after Mark for putting them third.
I have them second. I think that this is a team.
They were the youngest team in football each of the
last two years. And this is by the way Tangent
put the package aside for a second. Maybe I should
save this because we're literally going to talk about this team.
Did you realize how old the Commanders are? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:00:45):
I did see that this week. I did not until
I believe who was Jimmy.

Speaker 3 (01:00:49):
Jimmy Kemski. Jimmy find this exact tweet from Jimmy Kemski
so I can quote him on it. Yeah. So, okay.
I've been calculating the average age of every team in
the NFL at final cutdowns every year since twenty twelve.
The two oldest teams ever previously were the twenty twenty
three Saints and the twenty eighteen Raiders, at an average

(01:01:10):
age of twenty seven point four years old. The twenty
five Commanders have an average age of twenty eight point one.
And the crazy part about that is the Eagles average
age is twenty five point four. If you took the
twenty seven oldest Commanders players and shaved five years off
each of their ages, their roster would still be older

(01:01:33):
than the Eagles. That's an astounding stat.

Speaker 6 (01:01:36):
Yeah, that is insane, And I do think like the
Commanders in most people's minds are viewed as like this
young up and coming team here, and like even Jade
and Daniels, I get, he was a rookie last year.

Speaker 5 (01:01:46):
Obviously he's like twenty five.

Speaker 6 (01:01:48):
Like he's two years younger than Jalen Hurts, who's been
around the league for a minute now.

Speaker 5 (01:01:53):
He's heading into the sixth season in the NFL.

Speaker 6 (01:01:55):
So like the pressures kind of on this team, the
clock is ticking way more than I think people have
fully realized. And I did not until that was fully
put in the context there.

Speaker 3 (01:02:04):
Yeah, that's an insane, insane stat there, and we'll talk
about that. But anyway, Packers are by the way, Jayden
Daniels is three years older than Drake May. So when
I say, like, it's not a done deal that Jayden
Daniels is a better player long term than Drake May,
people laugh at that. I forget who laughed at that.
I don't know if Sam Austry I said that around

(01:02:25):
someone and they thought I was crazy. I don't know
who it was.

Speaker 5 (01:02:28):
I was in agreement with that take. For the record, there,
I do think that's fair.

Speaker 3 (01:02:31):
Three years younger, Like we're greeting a guy who Jane
Daniels took so many snaps in college and was there
for so long. You got the mature for so long,
whereas May, we always knew it was more of a project.
So yeah, that's a random aside.

Speaker 5 (01:02:43):
Again, it looked good last year, Drake May for the rest.

Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
At times, absolutely, especially given the surroundings and the coaching
and how much of a dumpster fire that situation seemed
to be. I think every team should besides Pennix and JJ,
just because there's not enough to be and I'm I'm
optimistic about both because of the systems and because of
the players around them. I'm optimistic about pretty much every
quarterback from last year's draft class. But the Packers were

(01:03:08):
the youngest team each of the last two years. They
make the playoffs in two straight years of Jordan Love
has never missed the playoffs. See two straight years of
being a quarterback, and he's been there both years, and
I want to try to it's so hard to I'm
trying to get the splits. I always pull this up
with Jordan Love. We've talked about this a couple of

(01:03:29):
times on this show before. But the reason that I
buy the Packers so heavily is not I think if
you just go position by position, they're the most like
complete team outside of us. They don't maybe have like
the Ravens and Bills have Lamar and Josh Allen. So
it's a little bit easier to say that even though

(01:03:50):
they might not be as complete you know, one through
fifty three, or even if you want to say one
through eleven on both sides, in terms of starting they
don't have. They don't have to be complete because they
have that elite guy. Jordan Love to me, outside of
the top four guys, and then you say Jalen and Jayden,

(01:04:10):
He's the one guy that can get into that for me.
And it's because of what he's looked like for stretches
in November and December. In twenty twenty three and twenty
twenty four, he played twenty games. He completed sixty six
percent of his passes. He threw for forty five hundred yards,
thirty one touchdowns and six interceptions. The guy Toyota than

(01:04:33):
Jordan Love is a problem, is an absolute problem. He
starts the years slow. He's had a couple injuries to
start both years. I think people, and this is a
funny thing, but the you know, ball discord, the troilbro
dude discord, they have an NFL chat and they hate
Jordan Love. They talk about Jordan Love like he's like
the twenty fifth, like you talk about Justin Herbert, like

(01:04:54):
they think he sucks. They think he's the worst. They
don't understand any of the national media anytime he ever
gets any attention. And I'm like, it's the seventh or
eighth best quarterback and like he's he's got an incredibly
winning record since being in Green Bay. He's never had
a legitimate receiver and he's still done all that. And
we can complain about the receiving corps all we want.

Speaker 7 (01:05:14):
They did go draft the first round guy, so I'm
willing to I'm willing to say, you know what, like,
let's see if Matthew gold and I'm not the biggest
Matthew Golden guy, I didn't have him as a first
round pick but people love him.

Speaker 3 (01:05:26):
Apparently he's murdering camp. Apparently he's been unbelievable in camp.
Can't drop is just like his hands are glue. Apparently,
if he can be a legitimate just a top thirty guy,
not even like a top fifteen guy. If he can
be a legitimate guy, that that makes them really scary.
Because Jacobs is, you know, he's one of the five

(01:05:46):
to ten best pure runner. I'd probably say one of
the five best just pure runners of in terms of
being a pure running back, taking out like pass catching
and versatility and stuff like that. Just as a pure runner,
he's up there with Saque and up there with Bijon,
and up there with maybe gent Now. But the reason
he's not as good as those guys because he's not

(01:06:07):
as multi dimensional. He can't break the eighty yard run,
but he's so consistent, so steady. What did he have
last year?

Speaker 5 (01:06:13):
What do we have?

Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
Sixteen hundred yards? I think it's in that range. My
dog's going nuts here, So I'll throw it to you.
I guess where does Green Bay rank in the NFC?
For you? Because I guess My pushback is, yeah, on paper,
the Eagles are better than every team in the NFL
for playing that game. But naturally teams just aren't as
elite year after year after year. Usually, usually there is

(01:06:36):
a bit of a drop back in some capacity, and
something we don't expect to happen is going to happen
to the Eagles, whether it's an injury, whether it's someone
not being as good as that. You know, I don't
want to put these things out in the universe. E
Ballon was a one he never he was a special
team's got two years ago, and now I got a.

Speaker 5 (01:06:52):
Little Cooper de gene fear in me this year. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:06:54):
Absolutely, even Quinyon, who I think is excellent. I think
Quinyon Endogene are excellent long term, they could easily have
a step back here as a rookie. And maybe Jahad
Campbell doesn't slot in as much as we think. Maybe
the safety position is a problem, maybe the one cornerback
slot becomes a problem. League there's a lot of ways
that it can level out a little bit. And I
guess my pushback is you said the good not great

(01:07:15):
thing for Green Bay. I think you'd say that for
any team in the NFC then.

Speaker 6 (01:07:20):
Though, Yeah, yeah, no, I think that's fair for what
it's worth like before I act like I'm going super
hard on I'm here, like I do think the Packers
are going to be in the mix? I do you
think you're absolutely a playoff team and like a top
four contender in the NFC.

Speaker 5 (01:07:32):
I absolutely look at them like that.

Speaker 6 (01:07:33):
I think it's tough battling with the Lions in that
division here, and that there's a pretty likely path that
they end up a wildcard team, which is a tough slider,
a tougher path at least to the super Bowl. To
this extent, and like speaking about the team from a
larger scale beyond just that, like individual player, the Lamar
or the Josh Allen, I almost feel like stylistically, there's
not a clear enough identity for Green Bay that it
feels like like Jacobs. Now, yeah, it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:56):
Could, and that honestly, this is certainly a step in
that direction.

Speaker 3 (01:07:59):
So now, because now you got Parsons and Gary on
the outside. At the edge, you have Edger and Cooper
linebacker who the last eight weeks of last year graded
out as the best player in football according to PFF
Green of Salt whatever, but he greted at as the
best player in football. There was some defensive Player of
the Year, like sneaky buzz for him, and now it's
not gonna happen because Parsons is there. He's literally the favorite.

(01:08:20):
And then they have the best safety in football and
Xavier McKinney or second best safety. I just disrespect to
Kyle Hamilton, but the second best safety in football, and
Xavier McKinney's awesome. I've always thought he was awesome, dating
back to Bama and the Giants, I think that guy's awesome.
I think their identity now is they have this elite
defense and now you have Love and Lafleur who can

(01:08:41):
get you there on offense and you're gonna run the
crap out of the ball.

Speaker 5 (01:08:44):
Also, yeah, I mean they're gonna be good.

Speaker 6 (01:08:47):
And maybe, honestly, the more like I start to wrap
my head around it is the Parsons trade. I love
it for Green Bay. The more I think about it,
I do think that this ends up. This could potentially
be their identity that now we're speaking about them is
the hard nose defense team that nobody wants to play.
And if you have a good enough offense, which it
should at least be that and has a chance to
be far better than that, to be perfectly honest. There

(01:09:07):
it's a good football team. So yeah, I hear you.
I'm just not shaking in my boots about the Green
Bay Packers. The way I think, like, look at them
is the number two team in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (01:09:15):
Not quite there, we'll do Let's do the NFC then,
right now, let's talk NFC playoff predictions, and we'll we'll
go one through four first, because we'll just do our
divisions and that'll be how we say my one. We'll
go seed by seed, my one seed. I just laid
it out. It's the green Bay Packers. I think the
Green Bay Packers win the NFC North and I think

(01:09:35):
they go.

Speaker 4 (01:09:36):
Thirteen and four.

Speaker 3 (01:09:37):
I have them thirteen and four. And despite this is
a weird metric and a weird way to judge this playoff,
I use the V two Playoff Predictor website and I
pick all the games and then that slots it how
the playoffs will end up. And it gives me this
fun little thing I always like to look at, and
it says verse playoff teams. So that means my projected field,

(01:10:00):
my fourteen teams that I have in the field, the
Eagles and Lie there's the Eagles, Lions, Vikings, and there's
one other team. Let me let me make sure that
I'm saying the right one.

Speaker 5 (01:10:13):
No, that's the way I played.

Speaker 3 (01:10:14):
The Eagles, Lions, and Vikings play the most of my
projected playoff field this year. They all play eleven games
against my projected playoff field. The Packers, somehow, for whatever reason,
only play eight, so they get a little bit of
a reprieve there. There's a team by the way that
plays five of my projected field. We'll get to that.
But Packers are my one seed. I just laid it out.

(01:10:36):
I won't spend too much more time on it.

Speaker 6 (01:10:37):
Yeah, I should have jumped into the website here. I
want old school pen and paper, so I don't have
these access. I also did not pick records here, so
I'll kind of bear with me a bit. But my
number one seed I still have the Philadelphia Eagles. I
do think they'll be in that thirteen to four range.
It's tough to me. It's tough for me to look
at them against any team in the NFL and feel
bad about their chances there.

Speaker 5 (01:10:58):
Sign me up for the one seed. FILM pretty confident
about it.

Speaker 3 (01:11:01):
They're my two seed. We're not gonna talk too much.
We have plenty of Eagles talk on this station, and
on this show we've done a million times and we're
gonna be talking Eagles all year. So yeah, the Eagles
are my two seed. Who's your two seed?

Speaker 5 (01:11:12):
I have a green band Packers.

Speaker 6 (01:11:14):
So for all this pushback that I'm giving you in
the past conversation, I do have them winning the NFC
North here. I do think the Lions make the playoffs
as well, but I have the Packers at the two seed.
I could see them in the eleven twelve win range
is sort of where I haven't picked.

Speaker 3 (01:11:27):
When you said the wild card, I I thought that
meant you were picking Detroit, So yeah, same top two,
just flipped. Yeah, and then my three and four I
have the same record for but my three seed it
went to the Rams, my NFC West winner. I have
them at eleven and six. My three through seven seed
are all eleven and six in the NFC, so that's
a funny wrinkle there. But the Rams are my winner

(01:11:51):
in the NFC West. Although we'll get to a team
that didn't make the cut for my playoffs that I
hate to admit. I'm talking myself in on a little
bit interesting.

Speaker 5 (01:12:00):
I have one of those.

Speaker 6 (01:12:01):
I will dig a little bit deeper on the Rams
conversation in a second. Here my number three seed I
with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I still think that they're
just money man. That offense is gonna be pretty unreal.
Baker Mayfield gonna be absolutely slinging the football around down there.
And I like the chance of the NFC South, So
sign me up for the Bucks for the three seeds.

Speaker 3 (01:12:18):
I have the Bucks is my four seed at eleven
and six. They are the team that only plays five
of my projected playoff field and I have them going
one and four in those games. Funny enough, but I
have them going eleven and six, winning the NFC South
by three games pretty comfortably.

Speaker 5 (01:12:35):
Yeah, I like that. There.

Speaker 6 (01:12:37):
My NFC West pick I went with the San Francisco
forty nine ers. So a little bit different direction here
is that the team that you have missing the playoffs
out right, that you're talking to yourself into.

Speaker 3 (01:12:45):
No, no, no, I have them at eight and nine.
I'm not buying it on San Fran. But the schedule
is so easy. This schedule for San Fran is so easy.
There's two there's a devil in a there's a devil
in a angel on my shoulder when it comes to
the Niners this year, and the devil's telling me the
schedules so easy, Just pick them to go to the playoffs.

(01:13:07):
They're gonna be there. Look at the schedule. And then
the angel on my shoulders like, look at all the
players they've lost over the last two years. Like I
think some there's part of me that wants to push
back on the Niners love and be like, yeah, but
Debo and Greenlaw and Hufanga and Leonor and like all
these guys who were such steeples in that Super Bowl

(01:13:28):
run and all those teams of that kind of Shanahan
golden era with Purty. I I think people are underrating
how much of that team isn't there anymore? Yeah, but
I think Shanahan's awesome, and I think the schedule's easy.

Speaker 6 (01:13:43):
And I also think last year specifically was a season
where like everything that could go wrong did go wrong
from that team from McCaffrey outlook to a bunch of
injuries that popped up, and You're right, like a lot
of like notable.

Speaker 5 (01:13:53):
Faces have missed.

Speaker 6 (01:13:54):
I just kind of think like things are gonna break
in a better direction for the San Francis collar team
and the honestly we could get into that conversation you want.
I did not have him cracking my playoff Listater is
up in Los Angeles.

Speaker 3 (01:14:08):
Yeah, I think he looks great. I think he's fine.
Now I'm kind of I've just I've just I've done
this three years in a row. I feel like where
I've panicked about Stafford's health and he's been fine and
he's looked good and and gets to the playoffs and
I I've done the doubt the Rams thing so many
times where I look at the roster before the year
and I have no idea how this team is being

(01:14:29):
picked to win as many games, and then they win
more games than I think than they're supposed to. And
now it's finally the year where I look at the
roster and I'm like, this roster is really good, Like
they actually have fixed it and they've drafted so well
over the last couple of years that I just I
think there's I think they're the most top to bottom
talented roster outside of Green Bay and the Eagles in

(01:14:50):
the NFC. Tampa is close, but I think the Rams
it's it's it's dead. Even with the Rams in jamp Bonci.
They're both pretty complete honestly in terms of being really
solid teams. But who is your top wild card as
the five seed?

Speaker 6 (01:15:05):
That would be the Detroit Lions for me, and I
do have some concern The coordinator turnover I think is
like noteworthy here. I think Dan Campbell will hit, especially
in the early parts of the season, some struggles as
he asked to take on a bit more responsibility there.
But the end of the day, there's just too many
weapons across this roster on both sides of the ball here,
particularly offensively. I think that they will find their stride settlement.
Jared Gobb's been doing this forever. I'm in raft Saint Brown,

(01:15:28):
the real Dale, Jamison Williams, Jamiter Gibbs, David Montgomery. You
can run down the list. That's a down to football team.
They're gonna find a way to scrape enough wins to
be right in this heavy playoff mix.

Speaker 3 (01:15:37):
I have Washington as my five seed. Displayed everything I
just said about the old thing, there's part of me
that kind of is bucking against it. I feel like
there's actually a lot of Washington skepticism out there which
is the correct thing. I think. I naturally thought everybody
would pick them to win the Super Bowl and everybody
would be on the commander's bandwagon. But it feels like
there is skepticism, which I think is correct. But I

(01:15:57):
kind of think they'll be the exact same team they
were last year. We can kind of win that, you know,
eleven games, and there'll be a wildcard and probably won't
be as lucky in the playoffs. So I'll say Washington
is my five seed. My six seed is Detroit. I
have Detroit also winning eleven games. I could see that.
I really could see them winning nine games and missing
the playoffs. It is in the realm of possibilities that

(01:16:19):
Dan Campbell's a fraud and that he was a coordinator merchant,
But the team's so talented. Brad Holmes has done such
a good job all over that team drafting the last
couple of years, and hard for me to predict a
full on meltdown even if I want to.

Speaker 6 (01:16:37):
Yeah, I have the same exact pairings here commanders in
my six seeds, we just had those flipped a little bit.
There pretty much feels similarly. I do think that there's
some sort of setback for Washington as a whole, but
they can still be right in that mix. And Jayden Daniels,
as much as I feel like he's been crowned too soon,
still very good. The best quarterback play that organization has
happened quite some time. So Commanders will be relevant, will
be in the mix, and I expect to be a

(01:16:58):
wildcard seat there.

Speaker 3 (01:17:00):
Yeah, and he's comfortably a top three quarterback in the NFC.
It's jailing him in love. I think for me as
pretty comfortably my top three. Baker's right there. Stafford when
he's right, is right there. But my seventh seed, I'm
gonna say Chicago. I went with Chicago. I have them
at eleven and six. I've been high on them all

(01:17:20):
off season. I think Ben Johnson's a wizard, and I've
been a Caleb guy. I think we get a huge
Caleb you I'm starting as the season gets closer, I'm
getting more confident in Chicago's offense and more confident in Caleb.
And I think everything Ben Johnson's done this all season
has handled it right. He's done tough love in the media,
and then Caleb's come out and looked really good in
the preseason, I think this offense is going to be

(01:17:42):
really fun. I'm in on the Chicago experience this year.
Give me eleven and six. I have him sneaking in
and losing to the Eagles in the first round unfortunately
for them.

Speaker 6 (01:17:50):
Yeah, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are both guys that
have grown on me a little bit. I just need
to see it before I can fully buy in for
an actual result perspective. Here my final wildcard seed, I'm
picking the Atlanta Falcons here that I think Michael Pennick
Junior is going to come ready to sling the rock
this year. I'm a believer and what I saw the
second half of the season, what I saw from him
in college during his time there, I think that they

(01:18:10):
set him free. That offense that's a whole lot different
when you dive into the options they have, the Drake London's,
the Bjion Robinson.

Speaker 5 (01:18:16):
There is talent on that Atlanta roster.

Speaker 6 (01:18:18):
I think it took a huge take up, huge step
forward this year and I like them to be in
this playoff mix.

Speaker 3 (01:18:22):
It's just not a brace young believer over there is
Sean Bernard not getting Carolina in the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (01:18:27):
Quite I think we'll walk to a nice like eight
to nine type of year. My guy Bryce Young, which
we will take his progress well, accept.

Speaker 3 (01:18:34):
That I have Carolina at eight and nine for what
it's worth. But Atlanta. I had Atlanta at nine and eight.
I had them as my first team out. The Caleb
McGarry injury has really scared me. They lost their right
tackle and Penix is left handed, so that's like really
the lead tackle in that offense where it's the blind side,
and he's one of the best tackles in football. I
think he just got a huge I think it's like

(01:18:56):
a Rashawn Slater thing where he just got like one
hundred fit whatever, it was a huge contract and then
immediately got hurt and now you're without that guy. I
knocked a win off Atlanta and gave they're at eight
and nine for me. Now, I gave it to a
team that I'm talking myself in on and I'm not
fully there yet, but I'm getting there. Seattle. I'm talking

(01:19:19):
myself in on Seattle. I look at this defense and
I think they have a chance to be elite this year.
I think that's a chance at the end of the
year where like, wow, Seattle's defense is the best in
football because Mike McDonald classically, if you look at his
I'm not the biggest Mike McDonald guy, wouldn't hire defensive
coordinator as my head coach. But if we're looking at

(01:19:40):
I think as a ceiling to it, like I don't
see I was not going to compete for anything real
this year. But I think in terms of if you
have that guy, he's probably gonna make the defense pretty
elite one of these years, and I think this might
be the year. If you look at his career at
Michigan in college, his second year there, the defense took
a huge step and became elite. They made the playoffs.
His second year at Baltimore, they took a huge step.

(01:20:02):
Even in Baltimore his first year, they took a huge
step in the second half of the year into that
second year where then they were the best defense in football.
And you look at the Seahawks defense and you have
the guys up front, and you just brought in DeMarcus
Lawrence to put on the other side of boy A Mafe.
You have Leonard Williams on the inside, one of the
better pass rushers on the inside, and you drafted Byron

(01:20:24):
Murphy last years as a top ten pick. He wasn't
He was fine as a rookie. You're hoping for a
jump from your first round pick last year in year
two in the system, you have a bunch of linebackers
who they kind of have taken chances on, who are
maybe a little older, but have played pretty well. And
Ernest Jones is back in Seattle. He was pretty good
in Seattle a couple of years ago. And then the

(01:20:45):
secondary is really where they're going to make their money
because you have Devin Witherspoon, one of the best corners
in football, Tariq Woolan, who, in my opinion, has become
one of the most underrated corners in football. People act
like he got benched a lot last year. He played
nine hundred snaps. He was fine. And then you have
Julian Love at safety, and you also drafted Nicky man Marie.
You have another guy in Kobe Bryant who could play

(01:21:06):
at safety as well. Like I think that defense has
a chance to be the best defensive football. The reason
I can't get there, I'm a Sam Darnold hater. If
this is no Smith Seahawks team, they would be in
my playoffs.

Speaker 6 (01:21:17):
I think, yeah, I think that's accurate there. I was
gonna bring that up. I gave some thought to Seattle
as well. I will know a guy that I'm very
excited to see Cooper Cup this year, like I have.
I'm not ready to fully write this dude off because
I agree where I'm at with that. It is concerning
that Sean McVay was essentially like, yeah, where we can
move on from Cooper Cup as I do, you know,

(01:21:37):
take his evaluation of talent Adams though.

Speaker 3 (01:21:41):
Like it's not like he got rid of him for
some scrub.

Speaker 5 (01:21:43):
That's true, So yeah, we'll see.

Speaker 6 (01:21:45):
I would like to see a Cooper Cup like resurgent
ear or just proven that he's still a legitimate, very
good NFL wide receiver there. I don't even think there's
people that are fully ware that he's on the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaker 5 (01:21:54):
So shout out to Cooper Cup there.

Speaker 3 (01:21:56):
I have multiple fantasy leagues I'm in.

Speaker 6 (01:21:58):
Yeah, I like that there, so yeah, yeah, I'm intrigued
by the Seattle team. Do you think there's any chance
we see any Jalen Milroe noise this year?

Speaker 3 (01:22:06):
Only if things go bad? I would say, if you're
under five hundred at like week fourteen or later probably
then you'll probably see him.

Speaker 6 (01:22:13):
I don't know if you heard his interview after the draft,
but Seattle said that he was the best quarterback in
there right from the get go.

Speaker 3 (01:22:19):
So well, they then immediately said that that wasn't true
in one of the dumbest things I've ever seen a
front office do. Why wouldn't you just go with it.

Speaker 5 (01:22:28):
I'll roll with it at that point, but yeah, hung
him out to dry.

Speaker 3 (01:22:31):
That was unbelievable. Let's do the AFC my one seed,
I've got the Bills. I have the Bills as my
one seed and it's mostly just a little easier schedule
than the team I have in my two seed and
the three seed. So give me the Bills, who only
play six of my projected playoff teams.

Speaker 6 (01:22:48):
Yeah, I have Buffalo as well, and I think like
the takeaway is we've sort of seen with the Kansas
City Chiefs to this point that the mindset is you
just get a ticket to the dance and make things
happen when you get there. That seeding is not es
central to Patrick Mahomes. Andy read there for a team
like Buffalo who's still trying to get over that hump.
It is essential to create the best pathway possible. I
think they take things seriously from game one. I think
they rake up as many wins as they possibly can,

(01:23:10):
and I do think they ultimately enter through that top
seed in the AFC.

Speaker 3 (01:23:13):
My two seed is Baltimore, who I had Buffalo at
fourteen and three. They had Baltimore at thirteen and four.
You could flip that if you want. Baltimore plays nine
of my projective playoff field whereas Buffalo plays six. So
a little bit a little bit tougher of a road
there for Baltimore.

Speaker 6 (01:23:27):
Yeah, I still in Kansas City with the two seed
here that he's just mister inevitable Patrick Mahomes there. They're
gonna be relevant. It does not matter who's around him.
And I do think that roster took some steps in
the right direction compared to last year. I thought like
ultimately last season was a pretty tough circumstance for that
Chiefs roster.

Speaker 3 (01:23:42):
Overall.

Speaker 6 (01:23:42):
They still obviously went to the super Bowl and had
great success. I think when in the second most games
in the AFC is not out the realm of possibility.

Speaker 3 (01:23:49):
I have them three. I am a twelve and five
before there were Shawn Slater injury, they would have been
a wild card for me. But twelve and five and
they play ten of my projected playoff teams. The interesting
thing about the Chiefs this year, and the reason that
I think they will not be a top two seed,
is because of the schedule. Their schedule is a lot

(01:24:10):
more difficult than I can remember a chief schedule. Looking
just the beginning of the year, you have the Chargers
in all the way in Brazil. It's not a layout,
but you come it's like a pretty close spread actually.
But you come home and you play the Eagles. Then
you go to New York. That's an easy game, but

(01:24:30):
you're traveling from Brazil to Kansas City to New York.
You're traveling all over the place. And then you come
back to play the Ravens. Then you go play Jacksonville.
Jacksonville not it. We don't know yet. Maybe they'll be good,
maybe they'll be better than we think they could. They
definitely could. Then you played Detroit, tough game. Then you

(01:24:50):
play the Raiders. I think probably not that tough of
a game, especially at home. But then you get the
Commanders on Monday Night football. Then you go to Buffalo.
Then you go to Denver. That's a lot of and
then you get some easy games. But there's the Houston
in there, There's a Chargers in there, there's another Denver
in there, another at Raiders in there, even the Cowboys
on the road. I don't think that's a tough game.
But I think it's a really tough schedule. And I

(01:25:12):
think part of it is just because they have a
really good division. Now, yeah, the AFC West. So give
me the Chiefs to find their way there, but I'll
have them.

Speaker 5 (01:25:20):
At the three.

Speaker 6 (01:25:21):
Yeah, this is where my first little hot take this.
My number three seed in the AFC will be the
Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 3 (01:25:26):
Here that I understand, Lamar hate thing is a bad bit,
the bad bad bit for you.

Speaker 6 (01:25:32):
The Lamar hatred not a bit, nor is it Lamar hate.
I like Lamar Jackson. I do think that Joe Burrow
and the Cincinnati Bengals, like this has to be the
year where they do not limp out of the starting
gates here, that this has been several seasons in a
row and where they've just dug themselves a hole and
haven't been able to climb themselves out of it. I
think there's a clear focus right from day one. This year,

(01:25:52):
they're gonna have to put up a million points because
there are still concerns about this defense. But I think
that's gonna be very competitive between the Bengals and the Ravens.
I think it comes down to the end of the season,
and I do think that Cincinnati is going to be
more I guess driven from day one after missing the
playoffs for back back years.

Speaker 3 (01:26:08):
Just a stat presented without comment Joe Burrow's career record
thirty eight, thirty and one, Lamar Jackson's career record seventy
and twenty four.

Speaker 5 (01:26:20):
Yeah, you just go year by year.

Speaker 3 (01:26:22):
Lamar is six and one, thirteen and two, twelve and four,
seven and five, eight and four, the two rough years
there where he was really banged up, but even still
seven and five and eighty four and then thirteen and
three and twelve and five. I think the Ravens are
the safest bet in football this year to be a
division winner.

Speaker 6 (01:26:39):
Potentially, Lamar is absolutely better than Joe Burrow. I'm not
making that that argument here.

Speaker 3 (01:26:44):
You have been You've been flating some anti Ravens, anti
Lamar stuff out here the last month. I don't like it.

Speaker 6 (01:26:50):
I mean, I was just blowing the playoff stats, is
really what you're bringing up.

Speaker 3 (01:26:54):
Well, I think you were a little I think you
were a little unfair in the way you did that.
And Josh Allen also had just as bad moments. But whatever,
I don't really want to go back to that. I yeah,
I don't want to go back to that. But before
seed the AFC South, I'm taking the Texans nine and eight.

Speaker 6 (01:27:13):
Yeah, I have the Houston Texans as well. I'm very
curious about this team. It is such a drastic shift
from how they were reviewed last year.

Speaker 5 (01:27:21):
C J.

Speaker 6 (01:27:21):
Stroud, Uh, this is a big season for him, so
we'll see how it goes down. But I do think
ultimately not enough talent to really threaten him In that
AFC South.

Speaker 5 (01:27:29):
I do think Houston wins the division. Yeah, I just.

Speaker 3 (01:27:33):
I'm not not interested in them as anything more than
a de facto division winner. I guess like it to me,
it's just the offensive line is so bad that it's
hard for me to get behind the scene as anything
more than just a nine to eight.

Speaker 5 (01:27:50):
And the running back is gonna be bizarre too. The
whole shake up of that Joe mix and stuff does
not sound great.

Speaker 3 (01:27:56):
What's no, No, I drafted him, I don't know. I
might have drafted him in the radio league, but whatever league,
I drafted him in in ninth or tenth round, and
that's way too early.

Speaker 5 (01:28:06):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:28:06):
I don't know if he's going to play at all.
I think the reason like there's no benefit to him
to not play, like he has to play to earn
a contract. No, if he's just too hurt to play,
two hurt to play. But I find it hard to
believe he's gonna be fine sitting out the whole year.
I guess when he's on like a one year deal. Yeah,
that's a dumb way to look at it.

Speaker 6 (01:28:26):
But I do think like the genuine read here is
like the injury is not healing it the way that
they expect it. Like it feels like purely medical for
why he's not out there and that kind of thing,
which it doesn't sound like they're trending in the right.

Speaker 5 (01:28:37):
They're extra for fixing that.

Speaker 3 (01:28:38):
No, I agree. My five seeds are Chargers. They're my
only team that I'm confident will be a wild card
outside of this. I think it's a wild wild West.
I have him at eleven and six, but Yeah, it's
really a shame. I don't even want to do a
whole Herbert discourse thing here, but it's a shame because

(01:29:00):
I think they were the one team that had the chance,
and with the moves they made in the offseason, they
were the one team that had a chance to break
into that top three. And they were the one team
that I could see at least competing with them and
winning a lot of games. Even even if you want
to say they would blow it in the playoffs, that's fine.
They were the one team that I could could have
seen winning twelve, thirteen plus games. His Harbball came in

(01:29:22):
in year one and with a roster that I did
not think was talented. I thought they were gonna win
the least games in the NFL. Last year he won
eleven games, and I thought that was incredible. I thought
he I don't know if he was coaching. I don't
think he was coaching the year last year. I think
he should have been. But if you look at Harball
year two at Stanford, they went from like four and
eight to ten and two. At San France they went

(01:29:43):
from like eight and eight I think, to like twelve
and four. At Michigan, like they everywhere Harball's been. They've
taken a huge step in year two. I think the
Rashaun Slater injury took away the chance of that, but
it's hard for me to project a backtrack since they
did add a lot of talent. I'm almost assuming that

(01:30:06):
losing Slater from last year's team, but adding what they
did brings them right back to where they were last year,
which is an eleven win non contending wild card team.

Speaker 6 (01:30:17):
Yeah, I would love to see the Chargers in the playoffs.
Mark Kenny Changer that there's a few things in sports
more entertaining than justin Herbert with the bright lights on them.
I don't have that happening in my overall rankings and
predictions here.

Speaker 5 (01:30:30):
I just don't quite see it with that overall roster.

Speaker 6 (01:30:33):
To bring it back to my playoff predictions, I've Ravens
is the five seed here again. I think it's gonna
be very close between Cincinnati and Baltimore for winning that
AFC North Division there, which every team does not. I
think is comfortably the top wildcard team, and Cincinnatti has
far more concerns from like an overall roster construct standpoint
with the defense there, but I do have Baltimore slide
and it is the fifth seed here.

Speaker 3 (01:30:52):
My six and seven. I feel like I've been really
consensus in the NFC and even in the top five
here in the AFC, outside of not having the Broncos.
But if you've listened to this show, you've heard me
ran about that enough. My six seed is the Raiders.
I'm going with the Raiders. They have nine I put
them at nine wins. I really liked that they went
out and got Amari Cooper. By the way, I don't
think of Mark Cooper's as cooked as people think he is.
He wasn't that bad on Buffalo.

Speaker 6 (01:31:14):
He had like they're so weird man with that, Like,
there's some guys that could just get thrown to the
scrap heap when like, like I was even thinking about
like Odell Beckham as an example for a dude that
went from incredible to pretty much irrelevant in such a
short span of time. There are guys that just catch
heaters and that get thrown to the side out there.

Speaker 5 (01:31:30):
We'll see what Amari still got.

Speaker 3 (01:31:32):
Yeah, Adell was never the same after getting hurt in
the Super Bowl there. That was the final death knell
for him. But yeah, I've got the I've got the
six seat for the Raiders. The defense is the problem.
But I really do think that the offense with a
new a new play caller instead of the worst in
the football, a new quarterback instead of the worst in football,
and a new elite running back instead of the worst
in football, and you have Bowers at tight end, you

(01:31:54):
have a pretty good O line. I think that the
offense should be really good in Vegas. So I'm predicting
them to go nine to eight and sneaking.

Speaker 6 (01:32:01):
Yeah, I like to pick there. I could see it happening.
I am buying some stock in the Raiders. I do
have them falling just short of it. I kept in
the same division and rock with the Denver Broncos for
the sixth seed here den Vinci.

Speaker 3 (01:32:12):
Neither team's going to nine to eight. How about that?

Speaker 6 (01:32:14):
Yeah, we'll see there, Mark. I would push against that
that take right there. I think both those teams crack
nine and eight and our playoff teams.

Speaker 5 (01:32:23):
Bo Nicks, we know who he is at this point.

Speaker 6 (01:32:25):
Another guy who falls in that sort of jayde Daniels
conversation where I think there is value and how many
reps did he has under his Belt for how he
can translate that there's still some work to do, some
work to do in the overall roster.

Speaker 5 (01:32:35):
I think the Broncos can be right in the mix.

Speaker 3 (01:32:37):
This year, twenty of top five defenses finished top ten
the next year. I think they were so dependent on
playing a terrible schedule, and I think that that defense,
which was elite last.

Speaker 5 (01:32:49):
Year's league in sacks like notably last year.

Speaker 3 (01:32:52):
But okay, so I will read the I wasn't gonna
do it. I'll read the list of quarterbacks, the quarterbacks
that Denver Broncos being twenty four, Baker Mayfield, good quarterback,
Aaron Rodgers, Gardner Minshew, Derek Carr, Bryce Young before he
was benched, Washed Kirk Cousins before he was benched, Gardner,
Minshew again before he was benched, Jamis Winston before he
was benched, Anthony Richardson maybe after the first benching or

(01:33:16):
maybe after second benching, and then Carson wentz after with
the entire backups of the Kansas City roster, I think
that all those defensive numbers look a lot better than
they should, and then they will this year when they
play a really, really tough schedule. They were one of
those teams. I thought they played eleven of my playoff teams.
Oh they played ten, So they played ten on my

(01:33:37):
playoff teams. So I have them at eight and nine.
I also have sin c D eight and nine. I
just don't think that since he's the team I could.
I'm not totally dismissive of since he the way I
am of Denver, just because Burrows the offense is so good.
The thing I struggle with is, like, see the offense
gonna be better than it was last year? Like I
think the defense horrible? I don't. I don't know how

(01:33:58):
that defense is gonna not be horrible is my problem.
I say the same with the Raiders, though, So I'm picking.
I have an eight to nine. My six and seventeen
have nine wins, so it's not not crazy at all.
My seventh seed I have the Jets. This is my
crazy thought. This should probably be the Steelers, honestly, just fully, honestly,
this should probably be the Steelers. But I've been a

(01:34:19):
Fields guy all off season. I do think Aaron Rodgers
is a cancer. I think Aaron Glenn is bringing great
stuff in terms of like the vibe to that organization.
Give me the Jets nine and eight. Steelers are such
a gimme because they always make it. They always go
nine and eight. There's such an easy way to put
one on the board. I should just do Pittsburgh, give.

Speaker 5 (01:34:37):
Me the Jets. Yeah, I do. I like that you're
buying stock and the Jets.

Speaker 6 (01:34:41):
I'll also be rooting for and believing in New York
this year that I am a Justin Fields guy as well.
I also have really liked that the personality that Aaron
Glenn has kind of carried himself with and injected in
that organization. But I do think the Pittsburgh Steelers are
the most obvious seventh seed of all time here. I
believe they are plus one ten odds on DraftKings. For
them to make the playoffs this year, that feels to
me like destiny here.

Speaker 3 (01:35:02):
I think I'd rather take the win total because the
wind turtles eight and a half, Because you could go
nine and eight and miss the playoffs. I think that's
that's what I would go with instead. It's more minus
one time instead of plus one ten.

Speaker 6 (01:35:12):
But fair fair enough there. But yeah, I do think Pittsburgh,
the Mike Tomlin track record is as strong as you
will find. Anything has to be at least like the
fact that they've done it with so much worse quarterback situations,
and say what you want, We'll see what he has
left in the tank here.

Speaker 5 (01:35:26):
I'm not an Aaron Rodgers Guy Watson on the field.

Speaker 3 (01:35:29):
You might be right, but is is the cancer that
is Aaron Rodgers the one thing that could stop the
over five hundred streak in Pittsburgh. I'm not picking it.
I haven't Mike Donaland.

Speaker 5 (01:35:42):
Can keep Antonio Brown under wraps and have us have no.

Speaker 3 (01:35:45):
That's different though, to receive it. When you're the quarterback,
you're like the guy, especially when you're Rogers' not Mason Rudolph.
Like he he's the attitude of that team. Like that team,
He's going to permeate through him. I don't know, I
don't know. I think he's a weird guy.

Speaker 5 (01:36:02):
Certainly is that.

Speaker 6 (01:36:03):
I'm not arguing that he is, you know, the most
normal human being in the world. But I do think
Mike Tomlin is built to sustain that better than just
about any coach that I can imagine. Again, I'll throw
the Antonio Brown comparison. Nobody had any idea that this
year was any sort of crazy until after his Pittsburgh
days there that might be one of the more miraculous
coaching just abilities that I've ever seen.

Speaker 3 (01:36:23):
Yeah, now, you're absolutely right there, But let's run down.
I guess my AFC championship. I'll skip the rest of
the playoffs. My AFC championship is Baltimore on the road
in Buffalo, and that's my championship. You could tell me
either team wins. I'm gonna go with Baltimore. I have
my doubts on Sean McDermott, ever, being the team the

(01:36:43):
guy who can get over the hump. I have less
doubts with Baltimore. Like we've seen Harball do it, Lamar
and Allen to me or even we don't know if
either can get over the hump. So that's an equal
to me. So I'm gonna go with Harball. It's really
about Harball over McDermott is my picks. I don't want
to Pickkansas City. I really do think Kansas City's dropped
back roster wise. Josh Simmons is like the one thing

(01:37:05):
you could throw back at me if Josh Simmons is
a franchise left tackle that they got at the thirty
second pick because he was injured, and then he just
stays healthy, then maybe the roster's better than it was
last year. I think outside of that, they've lost some
pieces on defense over these last two years. I don't
think they've been drafting as much defensively. It feels like
they've focused again on offense, like Worthy last year, the
offensive line this year, and they had another line in

(01:37:27):
the second round.

Speaker 5 (01:37:28):
Last year.

Speaker 3 (01:37:28):
They kind of went away from the defense and replenishing
the defense with young talent as they've been losing those guys.
So that's kind of where I'm at with Kansas City.
I think we took the R away a little bit,
like I think the ra might be gone, Like I
think it might be over.

Speaker 5 (01:37:43):
Not rock on Taylor swift Finger right now.

Speaker 6 (01:37:46):
Man, you don't think there's any aura in that franchise
that that they're gonna be front and center more than
ever before.

Speaker 3 (01:37:51):
I think the Big Bad Boogeyman had his pants pulled
down at Recess and everybody saw yet a, you know
what I mean. I think that's what happened to the
Kansas City Chiefs. That's the Super Bowl I really I
think Baltimore and Buffalo watched that game and they're like,
this was the team that we can't beat. This is
the team that's star Boogeyman. It's like next year is

(01:38:12):
gonna be different and this time. I've never picked anyone
with Kansas City to make the super Bowl in the
era of Mahomes.

Speaker 6 (01:38:20):
Except that every single time that matchup has happened, Patrick
Mahomes just goes out and kicks these guys.

Speaker 3 (01:38:25):
But I cannot this year. It's not this year. It's
not gonna happen again.

Speaker 6 (01:38:31):
Who do you have slain the Beast? If is it Buffalo?
How your playoff?

Speaker 3 (01:38:35):
It was Baltimore because Baltimore was the two in case
he was the three, So I had Baltimore doing it
in Baltimore. I think they lost what they lose, seventeen
to ten in Baltimore. So that's the one thing like
that was the game if any any of the games
that Lamar didn't show up for, that would be the
game that I think you could really criticize him for.
Although I think that Chiefs defense was also really good

(01:38:57):
two years ago. But the Even's defense had a recipe
against Kansas City in that game and had in a
way that Buffalo never has, like Buffalo's never stopped them
in the playoffs and has never had a good enough
defensive performance in the playoffs against Kansas City. And what's
changed there, Like the defense has lost guys, if anything,

(01:39:18):
and mcdermot's still the guy at the helm. Like I
just I think more has changed over the years with Baltimore,
and they've made more additions and changes. And you go
out and draft Malachi Starks, who I think could be
a difference maker of day one next to Kyle Hamilton,
and I think that secondary could be nasty and that
defense is going to be nasty. Give me Baltimore to

(01:39:39):
win the AFC.

Speaker 6 (01:39:41):
The thing that I'm not there as far as like
the boogeyman has completely been you know, gotten rid of
here in the NFL, that I do think Kansas City
still deserves a bit of respect with that. Where I
do think there's truth in it is the Eagles did
reveal a little bit of the blueprint here that you
got to bring the heat, you gotta get Patrick Mahon's
running for his life. This has to be sort of
defensively induced game plan for making your presence felt against

(01:40:04):
this Chiefs team. So I'm not there to the point
where the Boogeyman has been slaid. But I do think
that there is a clear direction for how you take
down this empire in a way that seemed impossible for.

Speaker 3 (01:40:14):
So we'll do the awards rapid fire. I'll just read
them off MVP. I've got Jalen Hurts. I'm putting my
money where my mouth is. I think Saquon if you
I think seven of the I forget the exact stat.
See the six or seven of the eight guys who
have ran for two thousand have lost eight hundred plus
yards the next year. I think Saquon either has a
much less productive season, maybe there's an injury, maybe they

(01:40:36):
just maybe they can serve him, maybe he's not being
used forty times a game or whatever. Like, I think
this becomes much more of a passing offense. We're gonna
be in more close games, more shootouts, And I'm putting
my money where my mouth is. I've been drafting as
much AJ and DeVante and Goddard and fantasy as I can.
Jalen is the guy who throws down the ball. If
Saquan has a much worse year and the offense is

(01:40:56):
just as good and the team's thirteen and four, I
think it's gonna break some minds of people who wanted
to vote Saquon's MVP last year, and maybe sway some
people for Jalen probably gonna be Lamar Josh, but might
as well be fun Offensive Player of the Year Ashton
Gentsy also my Offensive Rookie of the Year. I've talked
about it before. I think he's gonna be special. I
think he's gonna be RB one in Fantasy as a
rookie Defensive Player of the Year. I couldn't find a

(01:41:16):
value I liked. I couldn't find any long shot I love.
Maybe Max Crosby could twistmirom and get there. I went
TJ Watt boring, not much to say on it. Defensive
Rookie of the Year, Abdle Carter boring, not much to
say on it. Coach of the Year. I'm going Ben Johnson.
I'm tempted by Pete Carroll and Aaron Glenn. I have
them in the playoffs, but eleven wins for the Bears.
Maybe Caleb has like an excellent breakthrough season. I think

(01:41:38):
that'll be more like a mainstream story. I guess, so
give me Ben Johnson as the coach of the Year.

Speaker 6 (01:41:43):
Nice and I'll rip through mine. We are on the
same page with MVP here. I thought I was gonna
be making the selling point Jalen Hurts will win MVP
this year plus eighteen hundred odds on DraftKings Sports book here.
I do think for all the same reasons that you
laid out, And the other thing to keep in mind
is one of the reasons why his stats were so
low if you want to look at him that way.
For last year, they were kicking teams butts Man, Yeah,

(01:42:04):
they did not need to put up points in the
second half of games. It was control of the clock,
bleed it out. I do think things could be a
little different this year, where it's a bit more competitive
on a week to week basis and Jalen Hurds is
asked to deliver.

Speaker 5 (01:42:15):
I think he does that. I think we get a
lot more of.

Speaker 6 (01:42:18):
So that's what y'all wanted to see type press conferences
from QB one right here, so do have him for MVP.

Speaker 3 (01:42:25):
It's actually a little lower than I thought. Eighteen hundred.
I would have guessed like twenty five thirty to one,
so it makes me but I'm actually happy that they're
eighteen to one. Like I think it's a good starting point.

Speaker 5 (01:42:34):
Yeah, I believe he was sixth among players if I
remember correctly. There, so not disrespected in the eyes of
the sportsbook. There. That is a guy that certainly has
a chance with it. I'll keep it.

Speaker 6 (01:42:44):
Rolling here off of the rookie the year. I agree
with you, not a ton of value. Jeanti, I think
is the obvious pick at plus two seventy five. I
didn't want to get a little love for my Travion Henderson.
Take here, he's holding plus twelve hundred odds there. I
think there's a chance this dude puts up some pretty
absurd numbers. Well, o'maron, do you have it there? Plus
eight hundred. I believe it was for him, so he
was above Travion. There, all guys I think are gonna

(01:43:05):
have very good rookie seasons. So you do have that
for rookie year, defensive rookie year. I do you think
Abdul Carter is the obvious one here?

Speaker 3 (01:43:12):
Not another? Yeah, there's not another like Travis Hunter, but
it's gonna be so weird, like.

Speaker 6 (01:43:17):
Yeah, jahiad Campbell. I'll throw out with plus fourteen hundred
odds for that. I don't think it happens, but he's
one of those guys that can kind of talk myself
into I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:43:25):
If he gets the counting stats for it, Like I
think you need like the sacks or picks probably to
make it work.

Speaker 5 (01:43:31):
I think you're probably right about that.

Speaker 6 (01:43:32):
I think ultimately Abdul Carter is gonna be the guy
plus two twenty five odds there offensive Player of the Year.
I went Jamar Chase plus eight to fifty odds. I
think the two thousand yard club is very much in
reach for him this year. That Cincinnati offense is gonna
be a blast to watch, and it's gonna be necessary
based on how much the defense gives up. So do
like Jamar Chase for Offensive Rookie the Year or Defensive
Player of the Year. Jared Verse plus fifteen hundred is

(01:43:54):
sort of my long shot take. I think he's a
legit man, one of like the more difficult, one of
the only human beings I've ever seen just put Jordan
Mylotta on his butt like that. I think Jared Vers
can build off that. And the Coach of the Year
I battled around with a couple of different ones. I
liked Aaron Glenn shout I'm going a little bit off
the map and taking Mike Rabel to earn it.

Speaker 5 (01:44:13):
I like it.

Speaker 6 (01:44:14):
I don't love like the outlook for the team this year,
but I think there's gonna be some pretty clear, tangible
steps that do take. I think he's gonna get the
Patriots back to looking like that New England Team of
Destiny type organization that they aspired to be. Rabel brings
the personality, has smaxis and o's and I think there's
enough talent for.

Speaker 5 (01:44:29):
Him to work with. So give him Brabel a little
bit of love.

Speaker 3 (01:44:31):
There by the way, I will just say I think
Jared Versus overrated. Four and a half sacks last year.
People are talking about him like he's Aaron Donald. Now,
he was great to hear you. He was great in
the playoffs. He's and I liked him in the draft,
So I think he's a stud. But I'm getting a
little a little squirrely about him.

Speaker 6 (01:44:48):
And shout out my buddy Nick Anderson here. So he
went to Bloomsburg High School, Jared versus PA guy. So
my buddy Nick Anderson was the quarterback at Bloomsburg High School,
and that was he went to their rival school here,
and he just talks about how.

Speaker 5 (01:45:00):
Much he saw in high school.

Speaker 6 (01:45:02):
Like he's like, I have no idea how this guy
even got a division on scholarship. I can't believe he's
in the NFL. He was horrible when playing against us there,
so it's kind of pretty funny to me.

Speaker 5 (01:45:11):
That is very funny.

Speaker 3 (01:45:12):
But let's wrap it up. We went along there. Thanks
everybody for listening, Chaum Bernard, Thanks to Chaumbernard for joining
Sean Underscrew Bernard one, follow me, Admarkemi Junior NFL. That's
gonna do it tough cover country, that's right.

Speaker 1 (01:45:24):
If you can wager on it, we're talking about it.
It's the Gambler.

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