December 10, 2025 • 47 mins
Dallas radio/TV's Bob Sturm joins to chat about both the Wild/Stars and Vikes/Cowboys matchups this week, followed by some Vikes Bites and Mike Florio!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Human. Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What you just said? Take care of Polly Wally?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You never know any My wife, who's moy is saying
the po popping, choppingp hell. Yes, how are you doing? Hi?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
How are you doing today?
Speaker 4 (00:31):
How are you doing? I'm Ben?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
How you doing?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Nine to noon?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
We'll come in, We'll come in nine to noon.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
We go, Pa, j J.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Time for two more? How do I not get into
that collection of drops?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:13):
Please?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well you I'm a caving publup. Welcome. Nine to noon
is in the air.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
All right, Here we go this Wednesday, and the Dallas
Sports Intel is required on several levels. And we begin
nine to noon on this Chili Wednesday with Bob Sterm,
co host of the Hardline three to seven on the
ticket in Dallas, that's three to seven pm. It's bally
Hood and he also covers the Cowboys for the Athletic
(01:47):
and that's where we begin. Hey there twenty and snowy
here sixty five and sunny down there. Bob's a Wisconsin native,
so he always appreciates a good elevator chat, weather story
set up, My man, how the heck are you?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm great, Pa, always good to cross paths. Yet again,
I will tell you the athletic let me go a
couple of years ago, je, I'm writing for myself at
a little something called storm Stack. If you're into DFW sports,
which I'm sure your audience is just dying to get
involved in.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
So the recent stories which had a significant analytical bent
to them, that that's not for the athletic, that's storm Stack.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah all there, that's cool, man. How do people find that?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I think pretty much if you just find me on
Twitter or x or whatever at sports Storm, we'll get
you there. St you are got you for the German
for Storm.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
Right at sports Storm to learn more about the star Boys.
And Bob also is a big Dallas Stars supporter, and
we're going to get into all of that with some
Dallas sports intel. Here was with a sports Storm and
I with the football game Sunday night, football vikings and
Cowboys probably going to uh, the Cowboys will probably attempt
(03:11):
to get a big one, I would assume from George
Pickens Sunday Night right off that last debacle.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I would think, so, man, he's been really really good
this season. But but obviously that last sighting in Detroit
was not a great look at any front, and so
that's that's been a talking point down here. But yeah,
there's there's no doubt that when Ceedee Lamb and George
Pickens are looking right, they they present all sorts of
(03:40):
problems because they're both you know, they're they're both the
type of guys that you would put up on the
board and say, this is our number one objective. But
many offenses do not have the do not have two
of them in the huddle. I know the Vikings have
enjoyed that from time to time, and and and certainly
this is a rare for the Cowboys, but they got
(04:01):
to They got to cook in offensively this season. That
hasn't been a problem. Uh.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
George Pickens, he he's a first down machine, isn't he.
I think he has the most first down catches of
anybody in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, he's he's an absolute stud. I think Pittsburgh, uh,
you know, will certainly tell you that he's a lot
of maintenance off the field and and even on the sidelines.
And Dallas is no stranger to to a guy like
Dez Bryant, who you had to work with on the
sideline to keep him calm and keep him focused from
(04:34):
time to time, so you know, we're used, we're used
to it. It comes with the dinner, I suppose. But yeah,
he's he's a dominant player. And the reason I bring
up Pittsburgh is I just think they used him as
a go ball guy, and I think I think he's
way more refined than that in terms of winning at
the line of scrimmage, being a productive third down guy.
(04:54):
When he gets the slants going, you're just you're he's
just too big and too strong, and so that that's
what was so disappointing about that first play in Detroit
in the third quarter, is he ran the slant at
what looked like seventy five percent speed, like it was
a good Thursday practice rep. But they were playing a
Thursday game. And when he's ferocious, he's unstoppable. But for
(05:18):
whatever reason, he wasn't as ferocious against the Lions.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Hey, Bobby, defensively, how of Quinnon Williams and Kenny Clark.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Ben Quinnon has been dominant Kenny, you know, And this
goes back to my Chiefs head membership card. I suppose
he's really good in spurts, but obviously he's at the
point where he's close to his thirtieth birthday tons of miles.
So he has looked way better since Quinnon has joined him,
(05:49):
and so getting them together, that's that's formidable for sure.
And Williams is just such a player who changes everything
up run. What we saw with the Lions though, and
what we're starting to see every week is teams are
kind of just abandoning a lot of the between the
tackle stuff and saying, well, we can attack you so
(06:11):
many other places. That's That's the story of the Cowboys
defense right now, is that they're in the process of
trying to fix it again. But so much has been
put in a defensive tackle now, which is hilarious. They
now have three different defensive tackles making twenty million dollars
and that's fixed. But now what about linebacker? What about edge?
(06:35):
What about corner? What about safety? I mean, it's there's
a lot of weaknesses on this Cowboys defense and that's
why their stats are so ridiculously bad.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Yeah, we saw we saw Seattle a couple of weeks
ago shut out the Vikings, And if there ever was
a demise of DeMarcus Lawrence, it's greatly exaggerated.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Holy cows, he still brings it.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes, he's he's a player that absolutely can wreck a game.
And I just don't understand why the Cowboys were so
quick to pretty much abandon both of their edges. And
you know, the Mica stuff has been talked about, and
of course his price tag is pretty happy. But DeMarcus Lawrence,
he just wanted to be loved. He just wanted the
(07:19):
Cowboys to act like it was a big deal that
you know, his situation was being reviewed, and they I
don't even think they made him an offer. And so
he's pretty sore at Dallas, and I think he has
every reason to be because that's that's a good football
player and has been his whole career.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
Dallas borts Intel with one of the very best Bob
Sturm from the hard Line on the ticket in Dallas
three to seven in the afternoon. It's a drivetime show
and at Sports Storm via the X machine follow if
you are so inclined defensively for Dallas. Just continuing for
a second, deron Bland a pick six this year and
(07:57):
five and twenty twenty three. Is is he a habitual
route jumper or like the next Dion Sanders in the making.
Speaker 7 (08:09):
Boy, If I were to say Pa I would say
he is a guy who is probably a very solid
route jumper, especially in the flats.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And so if you're going to put those six pick
sixes on a reel, you're going to find a lot
in common, and a lot of them are late throws
to the flat, usually paired with a quarterback who is
under pressure and just trying to get the ball out
to his checkdown right, And so Bland sniffs those out.
He's great at that. But holy heck, he has the
(08:44):
fourth highest aav of any corner in the NFL right
now for a contract, and I think that is insanity.
He really is not a great cover corner outside the
numbers for me, and I kind of think this was
a Jones family pr move because his contract was announced
(09:06):
about a day after the Cowboys traded Michael Parsons, and
it was kind of a here's what we do for
our good soldiers type of contract, it felt like. And look,
I'm not saying Bland is a bad player. Yeah, I'm
just saying he's a guy who is probably a top
thirty corner in this league, maybe even a top twenty five.
(09:26):
But beyond that, I don't think Marvin Harrison, I don't
think heck, you saw Jamiir Gibbs dance him on Thursday
Night on a play where Bland just fell to the
ground like he's he's he'll fight for you. And I
think he's a really really good slot insert corner, but
I just don't. I just don't value him very high
(09:48):
as a as a outside. He's not in cert Han's
you know area code. There are big time corners in
this league, and I think Bland is probably not one
of them.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Bobby with the cow Boys, Bob one of the Cowboys
maximized this year. That's surprising to you, like like something
on which you know, maybe it didn't count, but has
actually been pretty sound.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well, you know, the story of their offense of line
is interesting because they've tried to rejuvenate the whole thing
and with youth, and obviously Tyron Smith and Zach Martin
and Travis Frederick are just a faded memory of missed
opportunities in the past, and so they've put a lot
(10:34):
of effort into Tyler Smith at left guard, and they
just drafted Tyler Booker at number twelve, which is which
is a lot to pay for a right guard, and
you know, Tyler Geyton out there left tackle has been
you know, in and out with injury in Nate Thomas.
I guess what I'm saying is they have a very
young offensive line, which isn't bad, and they seem to
(10:56):
have an upside about them, and so they're a questions
could this offensive line make a difference? And I think
for the most part it's held up really well. But
more importantly, pa, I think when you look to like
twenty six and twenty seven, that can quickly become one
of the strongest parts on the team. So I would
probably say pretty pleased with the pass protection. Dak does
(11:18):
a lot of it himself by getting the ball out,
but he's been pretty clean for the most part this season.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
Yeah, Dak's throwing the most passes of anybody in the NFL.
But with Javonte Williams and those eleven touchdowns nine on
the ground, it's clear the rushing attack had some significance
to it at some point of the season. But is
it fair to say, Bob, the last month and change,
the rushing attack and its potency has changed a little bit.
(11:47):
I mean, like Javonte has no one hundred yard game
since like middle October.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Right, Yeah, no, you that's spot on the successory, which
obviously does not account as much for the big play.
They had a big run on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs
that sort of saved the game for them, and it
wasn't even Javonte. It was Malik Davis for forty one
yard touchdown, as I recall. But the down to down
(12:14):
success rate is dropping like a safe And so first
five weeks they were top three in the league. Last
ten weeks they're bottom three in the league in terms
of success rate. So that's something to look at. They're
just not getting the first down five yards four yards
that they were getting earlier in the year. Is Javonte
(12:37):
getting tired or is the offensive line getting figured out?
And there's I mean, there's a lot of conversation around that,
but it's not the same. And so you know, they're
they're putting even more on Dak, and Dak's been fantastic
this year. I think this is some of his best ball.
But you know, there's nothing like a running game to
(12:57):
make a quarterback's life a little more manageable.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Last one on Dim Boys with a Bobby Bob Bob
Sturm at Sportstrm via X The Hardline three to seven
in the afternoon on the ticket down Dallas, wad Vikings
and Cowboys Sunday night seven twenty with the with the
NFC East, Bob, Are the Eagles thinking like, hey, we
know how to win big games. Let us in and
(13:22):
we'll push that button and beat all of you. Or
is the offense legitimately a major problem?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Boy, I don't know how we can look at the
Eagles any other way. Since October. They have scored twenty
points one time, and that was against the Cowboys when
they were up twenty one to nothing after like one quarter.
They do not get the twenty points.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
And so.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You know, watching the Eagles as we do down here,
we keep very close tabs on that team. They look
like they're on the verge with whole collapse. Now. Well,
the good news for them is their schedule coming in
is Sharmansoft, especially if Jaden Daniels gets shut down. They
got two with Washington and they have the Raiders at
(14:11):
home this week. So you would think the Eagles have
enough to maintain that three seed at least. And of
course nobody's dying to play the Eagles. Their defense is
so legit I saw that in person up at Lambeau
a couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Football, and
that was clearly Green Bay's rock bottom of the season
so far. But you know, as far as their quarterback
(14:35):
play and just the body language of that Eagles offense,
I'm not positive anyone is too scared of playing them
in the postseason. It's just that darn Vic Fangio defense
that you got to worry about.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Your Dallas Stars are here tomorrow night. That one should
be pretty cool.
Speaker 6 (14:53):
The Stars last night against Winnipeg, gritty gritty victory. That
power play, man. I mean, they have the most play
goals of anybody in the NHL. It's not close. The
Stars are getting along nicely this year, right.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, they've they've been banged up, and I guess that's probably,
you know, what the sport's all about. So they haven't
had all their guys and they won't because Tyler Sagan's
now done for the year. But as far as they're
top tier, they've they've certainly handed things off to Miko
Ranton and and his new friends. And honestly, PA I
(15:28):
can't believe Miko Ranson was available for the Stars to
acquire last spring, and since he got here in fifty
games he has sixty points, and he dominates games at
a very high level. And so when you have him
on the power play on one side, and Jason Robertson
on the other side, and Miro Hayskin in up at
the point, and then Wyatt Johnson right in the slot,
(15:50):
I mean, it just ping pongs around like it's one
of the best power plays you've ever seen. And my
advice is, don't don't take penalties against the Stars right now,
because they are hammering teams with that.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Bobby is a Wisconsin.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Native in your faith, mil Lackey.
Speaker 6 (16:07):
How how far do you think your Packers can take this?
And and what are your concerns with your favorite football
team moving forward?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, I mean the concerns I suppose are just the
ability to stop to run this time of year, you know,
I mean, they have a great reputation, but the DeVante
Wyatt you know, injury is substantial. And so you know,
if if you are going to try to run right
at them, as the Bears did in the second half,
(16:39):
the Packers won't concede huge runs, but they will concede
six and seven and eight on first down. And the
Bears had them in third and one all night, it
felt like and that's that's a concern. That's what happens
this time of year. So you know, Jordan Love is
playing better than he gets credit for and and Micah
(16:59):
is the Mariano Rivera of football. It seems like you
get you know, Cowboy fans were frustrated, like, how come
Michaeh Parsons is them getting sacks in these huge Cowboys games.
Well you're not ahead, but boy, when you're ahead and
there's five minutes to go and Mike is out there,
he delivers. And so I don't think the Packers have
(17:20):
had a guy like that in a long long time,
and I think he's probably been worth every penny for them.
So they're in a good spot. But of course, going
to Denver on Sunday and then going to Soldier Field,
you talk to me in ten days or whatever it is,
and I might be singing a different tune. So you know,
you get nervous if you start feeling good about your
(17:42):
team this time of year, So you just try to
downplay it and say, don't get outeat of your skis.
You know what I'm saying in.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
The silence you hear is lambeau Field.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Let's finish with the boys.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
When the Cowboys defense is getting in trouble, and it's
gotten in trouble a fair amount this year, what happening
when that defense goes the wrong way?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, I mean, jeez, there's so many choices here. Pa.
They don't have consistent edg rush, they don't have enough corners,
they don't have anything really special at safety, and their
linebacker play is absolutely horrendous. And Kenneth Murray, who has
a great reputation because he was outstanding at Oklahoma and
(18:29):
then was taken in the first round by the Chargers.
I think when people talk about PFF grades, people roll
their eyes, But I think we do have to look
at the fact that Kenneth Murray has been one of
the worst graded linebackers every year of his career, and
the fact that the Cowboys traded for him and continue
(18:50):
to play him as much as they do. And you know,
just pop in any tape, especially of any road game
at Detroit, at Denver, at Carolina, and just watch fifty nine,
especially against the run, but also now when they try
to get him out in the flats, it's just it's brutal.
So I don't think the Cowboys can have a good
defense with Kenneth Murray playing as many snaps as he is.
(19:14):
They need they have two first rounders next year thanks
to Micah, and they need to put one on one
of those Ohio state linebackers or one of those Georgia linebackers.
And it's a good linebacker draft. But the Cowboys definitely
are not ready to be a good defense right now
with their personnel.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
A man Sunday Night. I hope to see you.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
You're fantastic, have fun on the hard line today and
we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Okay, travel well, Pa, We'll see you.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
See youybuddy.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
That's Bob Sturm at Sportstorm A hard Line ticket down
Dallas Way. It's a juggernaut three to seven in the afternoon.
Ticket in Dallas. Vikings and Cowboys Sunday Night, seven twenty.
Part of the Timber Tech What's on Deck set list
includes Heinzi coach John Hines, coach of the Minnesota Wild,
joins at about eleven of five today to chat about
(20:02):
the hopefully give us some updates on Zucarello and Middleton,
maybe Rossi and Fellino, but get us ready for Miko
ranton In and the surging Red Hot Dallas Stars.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
That one's Tomorrow Night at the Grand.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
Casino Arena Florio and PFT Radio about nine forty and
Bikes Bites is next, led by Nordo who's the producer.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Of nine to Noon, and I'm Paul Allen.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
It's nine to twenty, good morning, and welcome to FM
one hundred point three kfa N.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
This is nine to Noon. Fikes Bikes like Spikes.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Fike Spikes brought to you by Thousand Hills Lifetime grazed
grass fed beefy and you could chop online. A boxing
meat shows up at your doorstep. You can go to
local coburns and co ops grilling it and smoking it
and enjoying it. Thousand Hills Lifetime Grays proud sponsors Gophers
Athletics as well. Vikes Bites kind of is a coordinat
corner here because we got to hear from Kevin o'connelly
(21:03):
yesterday axes an.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
O style at TCO.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
But then the coordinators speak, and Wes Phillips in particular
interested in hearing what he thought off Sunday's victory and
just moving forward.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
In particular, if you think.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
About it, we've had maybe as healthy a roster as
we've wanted or wished for all season, and then Oline
was doing some work.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
How did you feel like those guys gelled in this game?
Speaker 8 (21:26):
Well, I think it was It was pretty evident as
far as at least running the football, you know, to
be able to go over one fifty in the game
just total, but halfbacks I think average five something to carry.
So yeah, those guys were physical upfront. Thought they did
did a nice job in protection.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
You know, there were some some.
Speaker 8 (21:50):
NFL pockets in there where it's gonna it's gonna get
tight at times. But but that was kind of you know,
what was envisioned from the start and just the number
of number of things have happened throughout the year, haven't
been able to kind of gel together as a unit.
But really proud of the way those guys went out
there and played.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Very proud.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Indeed we'll need them against the Cowboys this weekend. I
also found this this cut, this Phillips cut interesting because
a lot has been made of you know, against that simplification.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Is it streamline? How do we what? What terms do
we use?
Speaker 4 (22:24):
But in the end, just coaching up that process of
coaching up a young quarterback and what do you learn?
Speaker 1 (22:32):
What does he learn?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
And kind of balancing like, okay, you know the kid,
do we want to we want to make the scheme
as close to the kid as we can. But also
you know, we we've seen a little bit more than him,
so we need him to adapt and evolve as well.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
Yeah, I think, uh, I think you got to be
careful with what what they like. I mean, you obviously
don't want to call plays or put plays in that
they don't like. But sometimes there's just a level of
a young quarterback doesn't always maybe see it see it
the way we see it. And generally there's some discussions
(23:09):
you know, about certain plays where hey, and it's not
like hey, I don't like this, it's hey, what are
what are you seeing here? And that's the question you'll
get from him, what what are we thinking is happening
on this on this scheme? You know, and then once
it's explained, you you know, oftentimes, you know, Kevin might
pull up some clips say hey, this is this is
what we're seeing in this coverage. You see that and generally, generally,
(23:32):
you know, the quarterbacks in this league they understand those
types of things, but uh, but yeah, we're you know,
our job is to try to try to put in
plays that our players can execute. So you know, if
there's something we feel feel like, uh, you know, it's
just not quite there yet with any player at any
position or you know, then then we'll try to stay
(23:56):
away from those things or or try to coach it
hard during the week and if we really like something
and give them the why and make sure they understand
why it's in.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Yeah, after listening to that, PA and then Wes Phillips,
there's a good cut as well.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
It's about ninety seconds. We're a bit truncated.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Maybe I can play it later on in the show
and just kind of spark a talker off of it.
That pure progression bit in terms of how this offense
is run as a system and all the things that
go into it.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Aren't you excited?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Whether it's the offseason or maybe it's twenty twenty six,
it's either going to work out or it won't for
JJ McCarthy. But the digging into the minutia, and it's
this moment's incumbent upon the kid, Well, is he being overcoached?
Is it too loud in the headset? Well, how are
they coaching him? What does the coach learn from coaching
a young QB. Are you kind of excited for this
(24:47):
thing to just continue to get better and get to
a spot where we just get to truly analyze the
goods and the bads of what's happening on the field
versus digging into the minutia of the coaching and the learning.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Well, the answer would be yes.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
But what excites me with McCarthy is yes, the Final
four and what was created and started most recently against
a team that clearly let human nature win on many levels.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Dallas.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
It's like six six and one, Well it Sunday Night
is everything for Dallas, standalone game, nationally televised beatable defense.
So the context of what goes into that step that's intriguing.
Then you get to the offseason and you figure out
or you wait to see which veteran quarterback that they
(25:41):
bring in to compliment JJ McCarthy. Then we get into
the twenty twenty six, you get x amount of games
with McCarthy, and then it starts to play into what
Anthony Barr and I chatted about yesterday, and it's the
franchise's willingness to continue to push through things with what
will be a twenty three year old quarterback who will
(26:03):
finish the season with what eleven or twelve starts, then
you started again, and you're still going to be tennis
starts from from where the average is for those who
are gifted who take off. So patients are going to
be required, not necessarily with the fan base certainly, but
with the regime personnel people, coaches and everything and seeing
(26:28):
if they're able to hold true to raising a gifted
young quarterback. Despite absolutely there are going to be some
moguls next year. It's all that excites me about McCarthy
Vikes bites.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Mister Flores, Brian Flores chatting about Dak Prescott and that
Dallas offense looming ahead.
Speaker 9 (26:48):
I mean, I've got an incredible amount of respect for
Dak and Shoddy and you know that that entire group offensively,
this is you know, probably the you know, one of
the best, if not you know, the best kind of
receiver tandems in the league with with with George and
c d been doing pretty well over there.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
That was with George and Pittsburgh.
Speaker 9 (27:11):
So we don't want to talk about a guy who
makes like incredible catches every day in practice.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That's that's George Pickens.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
That's what I watched in Pittsburgh for an entire year
as a rookie. And so he's grown and gotten better,
and based on what I saw when I was in Pittsburgh,
I'm not surprised by the years having at all and uh,
major major challenge and I'm not you know, Ceedee Lambs
probably sitting there going wide and me talking about me.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
He's fantastic too, So.
Speaker 9 (27:43):
You've got you know, I would say probably one of
the it's not the best, one of the best tandems,
you know, uh in football.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
And how about that we doubled down on it to
get well.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
I mean it's well, it's it's the conversation that we
got into yesterday that that you triggered than guesstline and
I went back and forth, Ceedee Lamb, George Pickens, Cavante Turpin.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Yeah, just get this young floor. NOI cat, I know
you're putting that. I mean that kid can play too.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Wow. Yeah, he's fast.
Speaker 6 (28:12):
I mean he capitalized last game on Ceede Lamb leaving
the game with a concussion, and he very well could
be a three or two one day in his career.
He's very young, but he doesn't play nearly as much
as the top two. Turpin is one of the four
or five best returners in the NFL. Is he more
than a trick? You think I haven't figured it out yet.
(28:35):
He has two touchdowns this year, one rushing, one receiving.
He has a kick return and pump return touchdown from
last year. Yeah, there's no punt returner in the NFL
better than New England's Marcus Jones.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
And it's not close.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
The guy we saw a couple of weeks ago, Rashid
Shaheed ain't far behind him. Actually, then you get to Turpin,
like he split fast, but that's their nailer. Pickens is
their addison and both have had a side of mercurial
to them. Lamb and Jefferson same draft of CD goes
before Justin. Justin's had the better career until this year,
(29:10):
but CD's missed games with injuries. He only has three touchdowns.
Justin only has two. So the top three, Well, the
difference here is Prescott. I mean Prescott leads the NFL
and completions and attempts his yards for attempt to seven
and a half touchdown to interception. Ratios two and a
halfter one. He's only taking twenty two sacks. DA's getting
(29:30):
rid of the ball very quickly.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Is he a big box scorer or is he a winner?
Speaker 6 (29:35):
He has in my estimation, for what it's worth, he
has elevated them at times, specifically in the Green Bay
game in the Philadelphia game, where he just has been
He's been patient enough to wait for the right thing
to break off. Even if it's not pickings over the
top for seventy turping over the top for seventy, it
(29:58):
might be this schoonover or Jake Ferguson or Javonte Williams,
who all of a sudden is catching it pretty well,
and he's dak is comfortable with what's being given to him.
But when he needs to dagger you, he has all
of the intangibles. They seem to be being used correctly
(30:18):
this year.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
I big it. That's Vike Spits.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Brought to you by Thousand Hills Lifetime Graves to grass fed.
Speaker 6 (30:23):
Beef fffee when we return. Mike Florio, ProFootball Talk dot Com.
This is nine to noon. Joining us now is a
Mike Florio Pro football Talk dot Com and NBC's Football
Night in America. That would be us against dem boys.
This Sunday is also an author, and in fact, two
years ago, Mike wrote a Christmas book called on Our
(30:45):
Way Home. Major review sites call it across between a
Christmas Carol and it's a wonderful life. Best way Mike,
good morning, and what's the best way to UH to
learn about on Our Way Home?
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Do put in the title put in my name. You
can get the e book for ninety nine cents. The
print edition is a mere ninety nine. Get a stack
of them, give him out his gifts. You can just
check those you know, all those names on your list.
Boom boom boom, boom boom. It's a very good book.
Despite the fact that I wrote it. It has a
very positive message that I didn't intend as I was
writing it. But it's one of those things when you finish,
(31:20):
it's like, you know, there's a pretty good message here
about reconciling broken relationships and also eventually not to get
too deep. But there may be some relationships that you
can't repair because the person is no longer with us.
You need to be able to forgive yourself for failing
to get it fixed before it ended, and and to
find that piece and move on, and there's a lot
(31:41):
of that that's woven into it. Plus it's also I
think a very interesting and compelling holiday story. So thank
you for a little runway. And also, by the way,
I've made the e book free three days already this
holiday season. I'm going to do two more if I
remember to do it between now and the twenty fifth.
So if you check PFT, you never know which day
you're going to show up and you're going to see, Hey,
it's free today.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Mike is a barrister raised and trained. He's a lawyer
by trade. Than a pro football talk dot com took
place anymore.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Don't ask me legal questions. I can ask legal questions.
I turned in my license. No more free legal advice.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Now, I'm not asking for that. What I'm asking is
the lead character in On Our Way Home is a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
So therefore have you read it? Now? Therefore, how do
you know that because I read reviews.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Therefore, when you're writing about something you know so much
about the lawyer in trade, is there nuance that you
can share that like helps with the common threads and
things with the book.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
One of the things that drives me crazy about legal
shows and movies and books. Is when the procedural stuff,
the nuts and bolts, the nitty gritty just don't ring true.
And you can tell that the person who wrote it
has no concept of how things really work and didn't
consult with anyone who does. So that's one of my
pet peeves. So it's very authentic in the things that happen.
(33:02):
Although the legal stuff is confined to the early chapters,
it really goes in a different direction from that. I'm
working on one now, by the way. That is a
former football player who has gone to law school. He
has just started his new job at a big, swanky firm,
and when he gets home from work, he finds out
that one of his former teammates has broken out of
prison and is hiding in his house. And it goes
(33:24):
from there, and it's very heavily involved in the whole
legal process, and you know, courtroom stuff, and it's all
a lot of stuff that I lived and experienced and
I know like the back of my hand. So I
weave a lot of that into it. To make it real,
it's got to ring true, and it's got to seem
real and plausible, or anyone who reads it who knows
how things really work. It's like, ah, this is a
(33:44):
bunch of crap.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
You know.
Speaker 6 (33:46):
And and I'm not going to say you have a
gambling bent to you, but you cover the league so
well and with the NBA and stuff. Also there have
been some legal gambling related things that have popped up
the Portlands row Blazers with Johncey Billups and like Terry
Rozier with the Miami Heat of late to take that barrister,
(34:07):
that barrister training and the way things are emerging within
pro sports with hands getting caught in proverbial cookie jars there.
I mean, there has to be something there moving forward
from a book standpoint.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Right, Well, if you had read Big Shield, you would
know that it's already there. I say, more presaged the
Terry Rozier thing, although the Jhontay Porter scandal happened a
couple of years ago and it's the same thing as
Terry Rozier. For whatever reason, Rosier is a bigger scandal
because it's tied up in the whole rig poker game
thing and they made a big deal about the indictments
of thirty plus people. But that potential is out there
(34:42):
and where I come at this from the gambling perspective.
You know, my dad was a bookie back in the
days when it was all illegal and there was a
stigma to it, and one of the things he always
preached to me is you can't win. And that's one
of the things I try to bring to the table
at a time when everyone in media and I'm not
trying to look and there's no one to call out
because everybody's hands are Everyone in media is now a
part time gambling tout, and they're all getting paid directly
(35:05):
or indirectly by the major sports books. And this isn't
like the stock market. You can't consistently win. You can
fool yourself into thinking you're going to win, but if
you think this is going to help you pay bills
or financial lifestyle, you're crazy unless you're the outlier that
really does have a system that works for the most part.
It's just like young kids who like the dopamine rush
(35:28):
and who are smitten by this idea that this is
going to make them rich. And I said this today
on PFT Live. Anyone, anytime anyone tells me how much
they want on some crazy twelve leg parlay, I say, okay, now,
let's sit down and list all the times you've lost,
and let's compare the two numbers, because look, these companies
would not have billion dollar valuations if they were losing.
(35:52):
They're winning. They're winning our money. And I'm not saying
don't do it. I'm saying that we all need to
understand that going in the industry doesn't do nearly a
good enough job to make people understand the realities of gambling,
and they have no incentive to do so because that
scares people away or at least causes them to be
a little more careful. They want people to bet. Look,
(36:15):
I don't want to say too much, but I at
some level from a business standpoint, when your commodity is money,
you want people to spend as much of their money
as they reasonably can. And there have been stories already
of situations where, you know, there was the Jaguars employee
who stole twenty million plus from the organization and was
gambling recklessly. And part of the allegation there is that
(36:36):
the sports book new or should have known this guy
was betting well beyond his means, and instead of saying, hey, hey, hey, hey,
is this something you should be doing, it was just
like we'll take it. If you got it, we'll take it.
Speaker 6 (36:47):
And lastly here and I bet you were about the
same age and the movie The Gambler with James Kahn,
remember that way back in the day. Yes, and there
was a new one might have been Matt Damon playing
the role. But there was a scene at the end
of that movie, The Gambler that is just so metaphorically
(37:08):
true to that bora where he's watching the Lakers game
while he's in the bathtub. Final shot goes up that's
going to settle the game and the point spread he
goes underneath the water, comes out of the water. He
of course lost, gets out of the tub, cuts his
face with his razor so he knows what real pain
feels like, and then the movie was over.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I mean that was phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Hey, another good win in that same genre and toward
that same message. Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler, I think
one of his best movies ever, where you've got the
chronic gambler who's always looking for the action and who
believes that you know, I'm one better way from solving
all my problems and turning my life from a crap
show into everything is great, and that mentality over the
(37:54):
long haul. Unless you are ridiculously lucky and no one is,
it's going to come back to bite you at some point.
And it's just too much of your life to put
on the line for something over which you have no control.
And again, it's all it's all just set up just
enough so you're not going to consistently win. If anything,
you're going to consistently lose.
Speaker 6 (38:14):
Mike Florio, ProFootball talk dot com. The Vikings get shut out,
then shut out, somebody positive step taken by the quarterback.
Now it's off to Dallas and Sunday night football.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Well, you know, I hadn't thought about that. When's the
last time someone got shut out and then turned around
and pitched a shut out? That probably doesn't happen, but
it was a much needed reset for this team down
the stretch. Someone was telling me yesterday, even if the
Vikings win the last four of their chances of making
the playoffs or less than one percent, and look, I
know it's percentage chance to make the playoffs season. I
(38:45):
hate those numbers. Last week everyone was all the Cowboys
have no chance, that it's a five percent chance or whatever.
It's like, wait a minute, this isn't crazy. They win
in their last four and the Eagles go, what is it?
Two and three? I think is what they need to
go and you know, now they've now they've lost three
in a row. They go two and two and the
Cowboys go four and oh and they win the division.
I don't need a percentage to tell me, hey, that
(39:07):
has a chance of happening, and let's just watch the
games and see what occurs. So the Cowboys very much alive,
the Vikings barely alive. Whoever loses this game is either
mathematically and or essentially done. So there's a little juice there,
and I feel like, why didn't they flex out of
this game? Well, it's the Cowboys, and you know, both
teams are still fighting. Both teams are still in it.
(39:27):
There's a lot of teams that are already out for
as wide open as it is at the top, there
are a bunch of teams like an unprecedented at least
for the last twenty four years. So that's not unprecedented,
but it's been a long time that this many teams
have officially had the fork stuck in them by this
point in the season.
Speaker 6 (39:42):
Any idea, p FT, at least that you can share
why this game stayed on Sunday Night Football when there
are absolutely a handful of games with markedly more intrigue
from a late season playoff standpoint.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Well, remember, it's always the NFL's call, and there's always
lobbying that every network does. There are ways that networks
can protect certain games, and then there are these weird
little rules excuse me, like for a home and home
vikings Packers, for example, one of those two games has
to be on Fox every year. So if one of
them is already due to be in primetimer has already
(40:17):
been played in primetime, the other one has to stay
on the afternoon network. So that's part of it too.
There's a lot of different factors in variables and rules
that go into it. And up until like the last
few weeks the season, it's a thirteen day turnaround. So
the Cowboys are the Cowboys, and there's a certainty in
the audience size that you're going to have for any
(40:39):
Cowboys game no matter what. And I think that was
part of it too. But the league makes these decisions.
They decided to flex out Bengals Dolphins the following weekend
for Patriots Ravens, and if the Bengals had held their
ten point lead against Buffalo on Sunday, I don't think
Bengals Ravens Bengals Dolphins gets flexed out. So there's a
lot of things that go into it, and it's ultimately
(40:59):
the NFL's call, and I don't get consulted or informed
until the decisions are official.
Speaker 6 (41:05):
One of those games, Packers at Denver Sunday afternoon. What
do you make of this one? The Broncos have won
ten consecutive but just two by more than two scores,
and Matt Lafleur, I think he's twenty one and four
in December. That might be the best record in the
history of the NFL in December football.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
This one is bally Hood.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
And I also believe that the Packers are favored in
this one. Last I saw it was two and a half.
Not that that's just positive, but just gives you an
idea of what the perception is of the Denver Broncos.
And they are two and a half point home underdogs
riding at ten point winning streak because the Packers are legit,
and they had that two week stretch at home where
(41:45):
they lost to the Panthers and the Eagles, and they
scored twenty points total in the two games, and it
really felt like they were flawed and they were in
a funk. They've broken out of that in a big way.
Now they're in first place in the division and they're
one of these teams that has a shot at the
at the number one seed. You know, those ties become
very handy when it's time to apply to tie breakers
because you don't have to. The Packers are either going
(42:07):
to make it by a half game, are going to
miss it by a half game. We're not going to
have to look at head to head, division records, common opponents,
all those various tiebreakers because that one tie unless there's
another tie that complicates things. And I was thinking the
other night, oh God, the Eagles are going to tie,
and it's really going to screw things up in the NFC.
But those those two teams, Cowboys Packers with the and
one makes it a lot easier to sift things out.
(42:28):
And you know, the Packers could slip in under the
door with the division title or with the number one seed.
Speaker 6 (42:34):
Philip Rivers, Holy cow, forty four, he's going to the
Golts practice squad. You know, I just saw on Pro
football talk dot Com, but I think it recently was
replaced with should Cowboys be concerned with Pickens' effort? But
it was like, you know, in a stunner Philip Rivers
pro football Talk dot Com returns at age forty four,
he hasn't played since twenty twenty. Could we replace stunner
(42:56):
with ridiculous? I mean, is this just ridiculous or what
do you think?
Speaker 3 (43:00):
Well, this was one of those occasions where when the
tweets start to pop up on Monday, my first thought
is somebody got hacked, or it's one of those where
they just changed one letter of the person's handle to
try to dupe people. It's the same reaction I had
when Andrew Luck retired out of the blue in August
of twenty nineteen. And here we are with the Colts.
They've got this revolving door of quarterback. They finally find
(43:20):
something in Daniel Jones. He's lost for the season on Sunday.
By Monday, Rivers isn't just agreeing to show up and
worked out. He worked out Monday night. I think that
once they lost Anthony richardson Week six, you know they
still had twenty two days in the trade window, they
could have traded for a veteran. I think they decided
our emergency option, our insurance policy is Philip Rivers is
(43:43):
going to come back if we need him. He and
Shane Steiken keep in touch. They've been together many years
during their mutual time with the then San Diego Chargers
and eventually LA Chargers. But I think this is what
the Colts decided. We're going to go Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard,
Brett Rippon, and if we lose Jones, we're gonna activate
the bats signal for Philip Rivers. And now we'll see.
(44:06):
You know, we saw Tom Brady play at a high
level at forty four. There haven't been many guys of
that vintage who have played quarterback in the NFL. I
think the only other guy older than Philip Rivers to
play quarterback other than Brady is Steve de Bergh. So
we'll see, we'll see. It's just one of those that is,
like you know, I said earlier today, it's like going
(44:26):
to see a movie that you expect to be bad,
but you're really not. You know, like you kind of
know that going in, and maybe I'll be entertained and
maybe it won't be bad, maybe it will work out.
It's just one of those unexpected, unforeseen curve balls that
come out of nowhere, and we'll see and even look
even with Peyton Manning in his prime Seahawks forty nine, Ers, Jaguars,
(44:50):
Texans to finish the season, it's a tall order for
the Colts to keep it alive, and they would become
the sixth team since the merger to start seven and
one or better through the first eight games not make
the playoffs, and the first team to do that with
the seven spots in the postseason per conference.
Speaker 6 (45:07):
P FT, time for two maybe one more. Dang the Vikings, Chiefs,
and Ravens combined for forty one wins last year and
all are going to miss the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
What do you think about that?
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Oh, it's amazing. And hey, look at Sunday night to
Monday night the two Super Bowl quarterbacks. Just today was
the ten month anniversary of Super Bowl fifty nine, and
we came out of the twenty twenty four season thinking,
you know, why won't it be the Chiefs and Eagles
all over again? And between Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts,
they combined for zero touchdowns rushing or passing, eight turnovers,
(45:39):
and a passer rating if you take their numbers and
slap them together and run them through the calculator twenty
five point twenty nine with their joint passer rating. So
things have changed. We have a graphic that we use
on PFT Live that shows the top teams in the
AFC with pictures of Bo Nicks and Drake May. And
I said to Chris Sims the other day, if I
had told you a year ago, just one year ago,
(46:00):
that this is what it was going to be heading
down the stretch in twenty twenty five, Patriots on a
ten game winning streak with May, with the Broncos on
a ten game winning streak with Nicks, and you look
farther down. We were joking because if you told Aaron
Rodgers back in June, hey, you get to the front
of four weeks, you're gonna be ahead of Lamar Jackson
and the Ravens, Josh Allen and the Bills in the
(46:21):
playoff tree, Patrick Mahomes and the Chief here, you're gonna
be in a better position than those guys are to be.
All right, here we go, We're going to the Super Bowl. No,
you're barely making it to the playoffs because everybody's down
this year. It really is amazing to see how the
traditional AFC powers have slipped and where we are, and
it contributes to this sense that it really is wide open.
(46:42):
Like I don't know, I don't know. I think right now,
I think right now, and they may be peaking too soon.
Right now, the Seahawks are the team that I'd say, hell,
they can win this thing. But as we know from
Week eighteen of last year, you never know when the
chariot's gonna morph into a pumpkin from Dram Darnold.
Speaker 6 (46:58):
Yeah, the Rams are four to one. That's kind of
a been favored at this stage of the equation. Hey,
you're fantastic. Uh, talk to you soon and once again
on our way home. Mike Florio's Christmas book from a
couple of years ago. You can find that at Amazon
and other places you buy books.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
Thank you, Michael, Thank you Mike Florio.
Speaker 6 (47:15):
P FTA, you know we some hockey with a new
friend named Olivia King is around the corner.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
You're listening to nine to New
Human. Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What you just said? Take care of Polly Wally?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You never know any My wife, who's moy is saying
the po popping, choppingp hell. Yes, how are you doing? Hi?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
How are you doing today?
Speaker 4 (00:31):
How are you doing? I'm Ben?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
How you doing?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Nine to noon?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
We'll come in, We'll come in nine to noon.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
We go, Pa, j J.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Time for two more? How do I not get into
that collection of drops?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:13):
Please?
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well you I'm a caving publup. Welcome. Nine to noon
is in the air.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
All right, Here we go this Wednesday, and the Dallas
Sports Intel is required on several levels. And we begin
nine to noon on this Chili Wednesday with Bob Sterm,
co host of the Hardline three to seven on the
ticket in Dallas, that's three to seven pm. It's bally
Hood and he also covers the Cowboys for the Athletic
(01:47):
and that's where we begin. Hey there twenty and snowy
here sixty five and sunny down there. Bob's a Wisconsin native,
so he always appreciates a good elevator chat, weather story
set up, My man, how the heck are you?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm great, Pa, always good to cross paths. Yet again,
I will tell you the athletic let me go a
couple of years ago, je, I'm writing for myself at
a little something called storm Stack. If you're into DFW sports,
which I'm sure your audience is just dying to get
involved in.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
So the recent stories which had a significant analytical bent
to them, that that's not for the athletic, that's storm Stack.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah all there, that's cool, man. How do people find that?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I think pretty much if you just find me on
Twitter or x or whatever at sports Storm, we'll get
you there. St you are got you for the German
for Storm.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
Right at sports Storm to learn more about the star Boys.
And Bob also is a big Dallas Stars supporter, and
we're going to get into all of that with some
Dallas sports intel. Here was with a sports Storm and
I with the football game Sunday night, football vikings and
Cowboys probably going to uh, the Cowboys will probably attempt
(03:11):
to get a big one, I would assume from George
Pickens Sunday Night right off that last debacle.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I would think, so, man, he's been really really good
this season. But but obviously that last sighting in Detroit
was not a great look at any front, and so
that's that's been a talking point down here. But yeah,
there's there's no doubt that when Ceedee Lamb and George
Pickens are looking right, they they present all sorts of
(03:40):
problems because they're both you know, they're they're both the
type of guys that you would put up on the
board and say, this is our number one objective. But
many offenses do not have the do not have two
of them in the huddle. I know the Vikings have
enjoyed that from time to time, and and and certainly
this is a rare for the Cowboys, but they got
(04:01):
to They got to cook in offensively this season. That
hasn't been a problem. Uh.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
George Pickens, he he's a first down machine, isn't he.
I think he has the most first down catches of
anybody in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, he's he's an absolute stud. I think Pittsburgh, uh,
you know, will certainly tell you that he's a lot
of maintenance off the field and and even on the sidelines.
And Dallas is no stranger to to a guy like
Dez Bryant, who you had to work with on the
sideline to keep him calm and keep him focused from
(04:34):
time to time, so you know, we're used, we're used
to it. It comes with the dinner, I suppose. But yeah,
he's he's a dominant player. And the reason I bring
up Pittsburgh is I just think they used him as
a go ball guy, and I think I think he's
way more refined than that in terms of winning at
the line of scrimmage, being a productive third down guy.
(04:54):
When he gets the slants going, you're just you're he's
just too big and too strong, and so that that's
what was so disappointing about that first play in Detroit
in the third quarter, is he ran the slant at
what looked like seventy five percent speed, like it was
a good Thursday practice rep. But they were playing a
Thursday game. And when he's ferocious, he's unstoppable. But for
(05:18):
whatever reason, he wasn't as ferocious against the Lions.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Hey, Bobby, defensively, how of Quinnon Williams and Kenny Clark.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Ben Quinnon has been dominant Kenny, you know, And this
goes back to my Chiefs head membership card. I suppose
he's really good in spurts, but obviously he's at the
point where he's close to his thirtieth birthday tons of miles.
So he has looked way better since Quinnon has joined him,
(05:49):
and so getting them together, that's that's formidable for sure.
And Williams is just such a player who changes everything
up run. What we saw with the Lions though, and
what we're starting to see every week is teams are
kind of just abandoning a lot of the between the
tackle stuff and saying, well, we can attack you so
(06:11):
many other places. That's That's the story of the Cowboys
defense right now, is that they're in the process of
trying to fix it again. But so much has been
put in a defensive tackle now, which is hilarious. They
now have three different defensive tackles making twenty million dollars
and that's fixed. But now what about linebacker? What about edge?
(06:35):
What about corner? What about safety? I mean, it's there's
a lot of weaknesses on this Cowboys defense and that's
why their stats are so ridiculously bad.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Yeah, we saw we saw Seattle a couple of weeks
ago shut out the Vikings, And if there ever was
a demise of DeMarcus Lawrence, it's greatly exaggerated.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Holy cows, he still brings it.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes, he's he's a player that absolutely can wreck a game.
And I just don't understand why the Cowboys were so
quick to pretty much abandon both of their edges. And
you know, the Mica stuff has been talked about, and
of course his price tag is pretty happy. But DeMarcus Lawrence,
he just wanted to be loved. He just wanted the
(07:19):
Cowboys to act like it was a big deal that
you know, his situation was being reviewed, and they I
don't even think they made him an offer. And so
he's pretty sore at Dallas, and I think he has
every reason to be because that's that's a good football
player and has been his whole career.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
Dallas borts Intel with one of the very best Bob
Sturm from the hard Line on the ticket in Dallas
three to seven in the afternoon. It's a drivetime show
and at Sports Storm via the X machine follow if
you are so inclined defensively for Dallas. Just continuing for
a second, deron Bland a pick six this year and
(07:57):
five and twenty twenty three. Is is he a habitual
route jumper or like the next Dion Sanders in the making.
Speaker 7 (08:09):
Boy, If I were to say Pa I would say
he is a guy who is probably a very solid
route jumper, especially in the flats.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And so if you're going to put those six pick
sixes on a reel, you're going to find a lot
in common, and a lot of them are late throws
to the flat, usually paired with a quarterback who is
under pressure and just trying to get the ball out
to his checkdown right, And so Bland sniffs those out.
He's great at that. But holy heck, he has the
(08:44):
fourth highest aav of any corner in the NFL right
now for a contract, and I think that is insanity.
He really is not a great cover corner outside the
numbers for me, and I kind of think this was
a Jones family pr move because his contract was announced
(09:06):
about a day after the Cowboys traded Michael Parsons, and
it was kind of a here's what we do for
our good soldiers type of contract, it felt like. And look,
I'm not saying Bland is a bad player. Yeah, I'm
just saying he's a guy who is probably a top
thirty corner in this league, maybe even a top twenty five.
(09:26):
But beyond that, I don't think Marvin Harrison, I don't
think heck, you saw Jamiir Gibbs dance him on Thursday
Night on a play where Bland just fell to the
ground like he's he's he'll fight for you. And I
think he's a really really good slot insert corner, but
I just don't. I just don't value him very high
(09:48):
as a as a outside. He's not in cert Han's
you know area code. There are big time corners in
this league, and I think Bland is probably not one
of them.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
Bobby with the cow Boys, Bob one of the Cowboys
maximized this year. That's surprising to you, like like something
on which you know, maybe it didn't count, but has
actually been pretty sound.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well, you know, the story of their offense of line
is interesting because they've tried to rejuvenate the whole thing
and with youth, and obviously Tyron Smith and Zach Martin
and Travis Frederick are just a faded memory of missed
opportunities in the past, and so they've put a lot
(10:34):
of effort into Tyler Smith at left guard, and they
just drafted Tyler Booker at number twelve, which is which
is a lot to pay for a right guard, and
you know, Tyler Geyton out there left tackle has been
you know, in and out with injury in Nate Thomas.
I guess what I'm saying is they have a very
young offensive line, which isn't bad, and they seem to
(10:56):
have an upside about them, and so they're a questions
could this offensive line make a difference? And I think
for the most part it's held up really well. But
more importantly, pa, I think when you look to like
twenty six and twenty seven, that can quickly become one
of the strongest parts on the team. So I would
probably say pretty pleased with the pass protection. Dak does
(11:18):
a lot of it himself by getting the ball out,
but he's been pretty clean for the most part this season.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
Yeah, Dak's throwing the most passes of anybody in the NFL.
But with Javonte Williams and those eleven touchdowns nine on
the ground, it's clear the rushing attack had some significance
to it at some point of the season. But is
it fair to say, Bob, the last month and change,
the rushing attack and its potency has changed a little bit.
(11:47):
I mean, like Javonte has no one hundred yard game
since like middle October.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Right, Yeah, no, you that's spot on the successory, which
obviously does not account as much for the big play.
They had a big run on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs
that sort of saved the game for them, and it
wasn't even Javonte. It was Malik Davis for forty one
yard touchdown, as I recall. But the down to down
(12:14):
success rate is dropping like a safe And so first
five weeks they were top three in the league. Last
ten weeks they're bottom three in the league in terms
of success rate. So that's something to look at. They're
just not getting the first down five yards four yards
that they were getting earlier in the year. Is Javonte
(12:37):
getting tired or is the offensive line getting figured out?
And there's I mean, there's a lot of conversation around that,
but it's not the same. And so you know, they're
they're putting even more on Dak, and Dak's been fantastic
this year. I think this is some of his best ball.
But you know, there's nothing like a running game to
(12:57):
make a quarterback's life a little more manageable.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Last one on Dim Boys with a Bobby Bob Bob
Sturm at Sportstrm via X The Hardline three to seven
in the afternoon on the ticket down Dallas, wad Vikings
and Cowboys Sunday night seven twenty with the with the
NFC East, Bob, Are the Eagles thinking like, hey, we
know how to win big games. Let us in and
(13:22):
we'll push that button and beat all of you. Or
is the offense legitimately a major problem?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Boy, I don't know how we can look at the
Eagles any other way. Since October. They have scored twenty
points one time, and that was against the Cowboys when
they were up twenty one to nothing after like one quarter.
They do not get the twenty points.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
And so.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You know, watching the Eagles as we do down here,
we keep very close tabs on that team. They look
like they're on the verge with whole collapse. Now. Well,
the good news for them is their schedule coming in
is Sharmansoft, especially if Jaden Daniels gets shut down. They
got two with Washington and they have the Raiders at
(14:11):
home this week. So you would think the Eagles have
enough to maintain that three seed at least. And of
course nobody's dying to play the Eagles. Their defense is
so legit I saw that in person up at Lambeau
a couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Football, and
that was clearly Green Bay's rock bottom of the season
so far. But you know, as far as their quarterback
(14:35):
play and just the body language of that Eagles offense,
I'm not positive anyone is too scared of playing them
in the postseason. It's just that darn Vic Fangio defense
that you got to worry about.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Your Dallas Stars are here tomorrow night. That one should
be pretty cool.
Speaker 6 (14:53):
The Stars last night against Winnipeg, gritty gritty victory. That
power play, man. I mean, they have the most play
goals of anybody in the NHL. It's not close. The
Stars are getting along nicely this year, right.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, they've they've been banged up, and I guess that's probably,
you know, what the sport's all about. So they haven't
had all their guys and they won't because Tyler Sagan's
now done for the year. But as far as they're
top tier, they've they've certainly handed things off to Miko
Ranton and and his new friends. And honestly, PA I
(15:28):
can't believe Miko Ranson was available for the Stars to
acquire last spring, and since he got here in fifty
games he has sixty points, and he dominates games at
a very high level. And so when you have him
on the power play on one side, and Jason Robertson
on the other side, and Miro Hayskin in up at
the point, and then Wyatt Johnson right in the slot,
(15:50):
I mean, it just ping pongs around like it's one
of the best power plays you've ever seen. And my
advice is, don't don't take penalties against the Stars right now,
because they are hammering teams with that.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Bobby is a Wisconsin.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Native in your faith, mil Lackey.
Speaker 6 (16:07):
How how far do you think your Packers can take this?
And and what are your concerns with your favorite football
team moving forward?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, I mean the concerns I suppose are just the
ability to stop to run this time of year, you know,
I mean, they have a great reputation, but the DeVante
Wyatt you know, injury is substantial. And so you know,
if if you are going to try to run right
at them, as the Bears did in the second half,
(16:39):
the Packers won't concede huge runs, but they will concede
six and seven and eight on first down. And the
Bears had them in third and one all night, it
felt like and that's that's a concern. That's what happens
this time of year. So you know, Jordan Love is
playing better than he gets credit for and and Micah
(16:59):
is the Mariano Rivera of football. It seems like you
get you know, Cowboy fans were frustrated, like, how come
Michaeh Parsons is them getting sacks in these huge Cowboys games.
Well you're not ahead, but boy, when you're ahead and
there's five minutes to go and Mike is out there,
he delivers. And so I don't think the Packers have
(17:20):
had a guy like that in a long long time,
and I think he's probably been worth every penny for them.
So they're in a good spot. But of course, going
to Denver on Sunday and then going to Soldier Field,
you talk to me in ten days or whatever it is,
and I might be singing a different tune. So you know,
you get nervous if you start feeling good about your
(17:42):
team this time of year, So you just try to
downplay it and say, don't get outeat of your skis.
You know what I'm saying in.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
The silence you hear is lambeau Field.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Let's finish with the boys.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
When the Cowboys defense is getting in trouble, and it's
gotten in trouble a fair amount this year, what happening
when that defense goes the wrong way?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, I mean, jeez, there's so many choices here. Pa.
They don't have consistent edg rush, they don't have enough corners,
they don't have anything really special at safety, and their
linebacker play is absolutely horrendous. And Kenneth Murray, who has
a great reputation because he was outstanding at Oklahoma and
(18:29):
then was taken in the first round by the Chargers.
I think when people talk about PFF grades, people roll
their eyes, But I think we do have to look
at the fact that Kenneth Murray has been one of
the worst graded linebackers every year of his career, and
the fact that the Cowboys traded for him and continue
(18:50):
to play him as much as they do. And you know,
just pop in any tape, especially of any road game
at Detroit, at Denver, at Carolina, and just watch fifty nine,
especially against the run, but also now when they try
to get him out in the flats, it's just it's brutal.
So I don't think the Cowboys can have a good
defense with Kenneth Murray playing as many snaps as he is.
(19:14):
They need they have two first rounders next year thanks
to Micah, and they need to put one on one
of those Ohio state linebackers or one of those Georgia linebackers.
And it's a good linebacker draft. But the Cowboys definitely
are not ready to be a good defense right now
with their personnel.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
A man Sunday Night. I hope to see you.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
You're fantastic, have fun on the hard line today and
we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Okay, travel well, Pa, We'll see you.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
See youybuddy.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
That's Bob Sturm at Sportstorm A hard Line ticket down
Dallas Way. It's a juggernaut three to seven in the afternoon.
Ticket in Dallas. Vikings and Cowboys Sunday Night, seven twenty.
Part of the Timber Tech What's on Deck set list
includes Heinzi coach John Hines, coach of the Minnesota Wild,
joins at about eleven of five today to chat about
(20:02):
the hopefully give us some updates on Zucarello and Middleton,
maybe Rossi and Fellino, but get us ready for Miko
ranton In and the surging Red Hot Dallas Stars.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
That one's Tomorrow Night at the Grand.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
Casino Arena Florio and PFT Radio about nine forty and
Bikes Bites is next, led by Nordo who's the producer.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Of nine to Noon, and I'm Paul Allen.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
It's nine to twenty, good morning, and welcome to FM
one hundred point three kfa N.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
This is nine to Noon. Fikes Bikes like Spikes.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Fike Spikes brought to you by Thousand Hills Lifetime grazed
grass fed beefy and you could chop online. A boxing
meat shows up at your doorstep. You can go to
local coburns and co ops grilling it and smoking it
and enjoying it. Thousand Hills Lifetime Grays proud sponsors Gophers
Athletics as well. Vikes Bites kind of is a coordinat
corner here because we got to hear from Kevin o'connelly
(21:03):
yesterday axes an.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
O style at TCO.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
But then the coordinators speak, and Wes Phillips in particular
interested in hearing what he thought off Sunday's victory and
just moving forward.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
In particular, if you think.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
About it, we've had maybe as healthy a roster as
we've wanted or wished for all season, and then Oline
was doing some work.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
How did you feel like those guys gelled in this game?
Speaker 8 (21:26):
Well, I think it was It was pretty evident as
far as at least running the football, you know, to
be able to go over one fifty in the game
just total, but halfbacks I think average five something to carry.
So yeah, those guys were physical upfront. Thought they did
did a nice job in protection.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
You know, there were some some.
Speaker 8 (21:50):
NFL pockets in there where it's gonna it's gonna get
tight at times. But but that was kind of you know,
what was envisioned from the start and just the number
of number of things have happened throughout the year, haven't
been able to kind of gel together as a unit.
But really proud of the way those guys went out
there and played.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Very proud.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Indeed we'll need them against the Cowboys this weekend. I
also found this this cut, this Phillips cut interesting because
a lot has been made of you know, against that simplification.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Is it streamline? How do we what? What terms do
we use?
Speaker 4 (22:24):
But in the end, just coaching up that process of
coaching up a young quarterback and what do you learn?
Speaker 1 (22:32):
What does he learn?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
And kind of balancing like, okay, you know the kid,
do we want to we want to make the scheme
as close to the kid as we can. But also
you know, we we've seen a little bit more than him,
so we need him to adapt and evolve as well.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
Yeah, I think, uh, I think you got to be
careful with what what they like. I mean, you obviously
don't want to call plays or put plays in that
they don't like. But sometimes there's just a level of
a young quarterback doesn't always maybe see it see it
the way we see it. And generally there's some discussions
(23:09):
you know, about certain plays where hey, and it's not
like hey, I don't like this, it's hey, what are
what are you seeing here? And that's the question you'll
get from him, what what are we thinking is happening
on this on this scheme? You know, and then once
it's explained, you you know, oftentimes, you know, Kevin might
pull up some clips say hey, this is this is
what we're seeing in this coverage. You see that and generally, generally,
(23:32):
you know, the quarterbacks in this league they understand those
types of things, but uh, but yeah, we're you know,
our job is to try to try to put in
plays that our players can execute. So you know, if
there's something we feel feel like, uh, you know, it's
just not quite there yet with any player at any
position or you know, then then we'll try to stay
(23:56):
away from those things or or try to coach it
hard during the week and if we really like something
and give them the why and make sure they understand
why it's in.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Yeah, after listening to that, PA and then Wes Phillips,
there's a good cut as well.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
It's about ninety seconds. We're a bit truncated.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Maybe I can play it later on in the show
and just kind of spark a talker off of it.
That pure progression bit in terms of how this offense
is run as a system and all the things that
go into it.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Aren't you excited?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Whether it's the offseason or maybe it's twenty twenty six,
it's either going to work out or it won't for
JJ McCarthy. But the digging into the minutia, and it's
this moment's incumbent upon the kid, Well, is he being overcoached?
Is it too loud in the headset? Well, how are
they coaching him? What does the coach learn from coaching
a young QB. Are you kind of excited for this
(24:47):
thing to just continue to get better and get to
a spot where we just get to truly analyze the
goods and the bads of what's happening on the field
versus digging into the minutia of the coaching and the learning.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Well, the answer would be yes.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
But what excites me with McCarthy is yes, the Final
four and what was created and started most recently against
a team that clearly let human nature win on many levels.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Dallas.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
It's like six six and one, Well it Sunday Night
is everything for Dallas, standalone game, nationally televised beatable defense.
So the context of what goes into that step that's intriguing.
Then you get to the offseason and you figure out
or you wait to see which veteran quarterback that they
(25:41):
bring in to compliment JJ McCarthy. Then we get into
the twenty twenty six, you get x amount of games
with McCarthy, and then it starts to play into what
Anthony Barr and I chatted about yesterday, and it's the
franchise's willingness to continue to push through things with what
will be a twenty three year old quarterback who will
(26:03):
finish the season with what eleven or twelve starts, then
you started again, and you're still going to be tennis
starts from from where the average is for those who
are gifted who take off. So patients are going to
be required, not necessarily with the fan base certainly, but
with the regime personnel people, coaches and everything and seeing
(26:28):
if they're able to hold true to raising a gifted
young quarterback. Despite absolutely there are going to be some
moguls next year. It's all that excites me about McCarthy
Vikes bites.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Mister Flores, Brian Flores chatting about Dak Prescott and that
Dallas offense looming ahead.
Speaker 9 (26:48):
I mean, I've got an incredible amount of respect for
Dak and Shoddy and you know that that entire group offensively,
this is you know, probably the you know, one of
the best, if not you know, the best kind of
receiver tandems in the league with with with George and
c d been doing pretty well over there.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
That was with George and Pittsburgh.
Speaker 9 (27:11):
So we don't want to talk about a guy who
makes like incredible catches every day in practice.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That's that's George Pickens.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
That's what I watched in Pittsburgh for an entire year
as a rookie. And so he's grown and gotten better,
and based on what I saw when I was in Pittsburgh,
I'm not surprised by the years having at all and uh,
major major challenge and I'm not you know, Ceedee Lambs
probably sitting there going wide and me talking about me.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
He's fantastic too, So.
Speaker 9 (27:43):
You've got you know, I would say probably one of
the it's not the best, one of the best tandems,
you know, uh in football.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
And how about that we doubled down on it to
get well.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
I mean it's well, it's it's the conversation that we
got into yesterday that that you triggered than guesstline and
I went back and forth, Ceedee Lamb, George Pickens, Cavante Turpin.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Yeah, just get this young floor. NOI cat, I know
you're putting that. I mean that kid can play too.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Wow. Yeah, he's fast.
Speaker 6 (28:12):
I mean he capitalized last game on Ceede Lamb leaving
the game with a concussion, and he very well could
be a three or two one day in his career.
He's very young, but he doesn't play nearly as much
as the top two. Turpin is one of the four
or five best returners in the NFL. Is he more
than a trick? You think I haven't figured it out yet.
(28:35):
He has two touchdowns this year, one rushing, one receiving.
He has a kick return and pump return touchdown from
last year. Yeah, there's no punt returner in the NFL
better than New England's Marcus Jones.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
And it's not close.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
The guy we saw a couple of weeks ago, Rashid
Shaheed ain't far behind him. Actually, then you get to Turpin,
like he split fast, but that's their nailer. Pickens is
their addison and both have had a side of mercurial
to them. Lamb and Jefferson same draft of CD goes
before Justin. Justin's had the better career until this year,
(29:10):
but CD's missed games with injuries. He only has three touchdowns.
Justin only has two. So the top three, Well, the
difference here is Prescott. I mean Prescott leads the NFL
and completions and attempts his yards for attempt to seven
and a half touchdown to interception. Ratios two and a
halfter one. He's only taking twenty two sacks. DA's getting
(29:30):
rid of the ball very quickly.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Is he a big box scorer or is he a winner?
Speaker 6 (29:35):
He has in my estimation, for what it's worth, he
has elevated them at times, specifically in the Green Bay
game in the Philadelphia game, where he just has been
He's been patient enough to wait for the right thing
to break off. Even if it's not pickings over the
top for seventy turping over the top for seventy, it
(29:58):
might be this schoonover or Jake Ferguson or Javonte Williams,
who all of a sudden is catching it pretty well,
and he's dak is comfortable with what's being given to him.
But when he needs to dagger you, he has all
of the intangibles. They seem to be being used correctly
(30:18):
this year.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
I big it. That's Vike Spits.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Brought to you by Thousand Hills Lifetime Graves to grass fed.
Speaker 6 (30:23):
Beef fffee when we return. Mike Florio, ProFootball Talk dot Com.
This is nine to noon. Joining us now is a
Mike Florio Pro football Talk dot Com and NBC's Football
Night in America. That would be us against dem boys.
This Sunday is also an author, and in fact, two
years ago, Mike wrote a Christmas book called on Our
(30:45):
Way Home. Major review sites call it across between a
Christmas Carol and it's a wonderful life. Best way Mike,
good morning, and what's the best way to UH to
learn about on Our Way Home?
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Do put in the title put in my name. You
can get the e book for ninety nine cents. The
print edition is a mere ninety nine. Get a stack
of them, give him out his gifts. You can just
check those you know, all those names on your list.
Boom boom boom, boom boom. It's a very good book.
Despite the fact that I wrote it. It has a
very positive message that I didn't intend as I was
writing it. But it's one of those things when you finish,
(31:20):
it's like, you know, there's a pretty good message here
about reconciling broken relationships and also eventually not to get
too deep. But there may be some relationships that you
can't repair because the person is no longer with us.
You need to be able to forgive yourself for failing
to get it fixed before it ended, and and to
find that piece and move on, and there's a lot
(31:41):
of that that's woven into it. Plus it's also I
think a very interesting and compelling holiday story. So thank
you for a little runway. And also, by the way,
I've made the e book free three days already this
holiday season. I'm going to do two more if I
remember to do it between now and the twenty fifth.
So if you check PFT, you never know which day
you're going to show up and you're going to see, Hey,
it's free today.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Mike is a barrister raised and trained. He's a lawyer
by trade. Than a pro football talk dot com took
place anymore.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Don't ask me legal questions. I can ask legal questions.
I turned in my license. No more free legal advice.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Now, I'm not asking for that. What I'm asking is
the lead character in On Our Way Home is a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
So therefore have you read it? Now? Therefore, how do
you know that because I read reviews.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Therefore, when you're writing about something you know so much
about the lawyer in trade, is there nuance that you
can share that like helps with the common threads and
things with the book.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
One of the things that drives me crazy about legal
shows and movies and books. Is when the procedural stuff,
the nuts and bolts, the nitty gritty just don't ring true.
And you can tell that the person who wrote it
has no concept of how things really work and didn't
consult with anyone who does. So that's one of my
pet peeves. So it's very authentic in the things that happen.
(33:02):
Although the legal stuff is confined to the early chapters,
it really goes in a different direction from that. I'm
working on one now, by the way. That is a
former football player who has gone to law school. He
has just started his new job at a big, swanky firm,
and when he gets home from work, he finds out
that one of his former teammates has broken out of
prison and is hiding in his house. And it goes
(33:24):
from there, and it's very heavily involved in the whole
legal process, and you know, courtroom stuff, and it's all
a lot of stuff that I lived and experienced and
I know like the back of my hand. So I
weave a lot of that into it. To make it real,
it's got to ring true, and it's got to seem
real and plausible, or anyone who reads it who knows
how things really work. It's like, ah, this is a
(33:44):
bunch of crap.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
You know.
Speaker 6 (33:46):
And and I'm not going to say you have a
gambling bent to you, but you cover the league so
well and with the NBA and stuff. Also there have
been some legal gambling related things that have popped up
the Portlands row Blazers with Johncey Billups and like Terry
Rozier with the Miami Heat of late to take that barrister,
(34:07):
that barrister training and the way things are emerging within
pro sports with hands getting caught in proverbial cookie jars there.
I mean, there has to be something there moving forward
from a book standpoint.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Right, Well, if you had read Big Shield, you would
know that it's already there. I say, more presaged the
Terry Rozier thing, although the Jhontay Porter scandal happened a
couple of years ago and it's the same thing as
Terry Rozier. For whatever reason, Rosier is a bigger scandal
because it's tied up in the whole rig poker game
thing and they made a big deal about the indictments
of thirty plus people. But that potential is out there
(34:42):
and where I come at this from the gambling perspective.
You know, my dad was a bookie back in the
days when it was all illegal and there was a
stigma to it, and one of the things he always
preached to me is you can't win. And that's one
of the things I try to bring to the table
at a time when everyone in media and I'm not
trying to look and there's no one to call out
because everybody's hands are Everyone in media is now a
part time gambling tout, and they're all getting paid directly
(35:05):
or indirectly by the major sports books. And this isn't
like the stock market. You can't consistently win. You can
fool yourself into thinking you're going to win, but if
you think this is going to help you pay bills
or financial lifestyle, you're crazy unless you're the outlier that
really does have a system that works for the most part.
It's just like young kids who like the dopamine rush
(35:28):
and who are smitten by this idea that this is
going to make them rich. And I said this today
on PFT Live. Anyone, anytime anyone tells me how much
they want on some crazy twelve leg parlay, I say, okay, now,
let's sit down and list all the times you've lost,
and let's compare the two numbers, because look, these companies
would not have billion dollar valuations if they were losing.
(35:52):
They're winning. They're winning our money. And I'm not saying
don't do it. I'm saying that we all need to
understand that going in the industry doesn't do nearly a
good enough job to make people understand the realities of gambling,
and they have no incentive to do so because that
scares people away or at least causes them to be
a little more careful. They want people to bet. Look,
(36:15):
I don't want to say too much, but I at
some level from a business standpoint, when your commodity is money,
you want people to spend as much of their money
as they reasonably can. And there have been stories already
of situations where, you know, there was the Jaguars employee
who stole twenty million plus from the organization and was
gambling recklessly. And part of the allegation there is that
(36:36):
the sports book new or should have known this guy
was betting well beyond his means, and instead of saying, hey, hey, hey, hey,
is this something you should be doing, it was just
like we'll take it. If you got it, we'll take it.
Speaker 6 (36:47):
And lastly here and I bet you were about the
same age and the movie The Gambler with James Kahn,
remember that way back in the day. Yes, and there
was a new one might have been Matt Damon playing
the role. But there was a scene at the end
of that movie, The Gambler that is just so metaphorically
(37:08):
true to that bora where he's watching the Lakers game
while he's in the bathtub. Final shot goes up that's
going to settle the game and the point spread he
goes underneath the water, comes out of the water. He
of course lost, gets out of the tub, cuts his
face with his razor so he knows what real pain
feels like, and then the movie was over.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I mean that was phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Hey, another good win in that same genre and toward
that same message. Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler, I think
one of his best movies ever, where you've got the
chronic gambler who's always looking for the action and who
believes that you know, I'm one better way from solving
all my problems and turning my life from a crap
show into everything is great, and that mentality over the
(37:54):
long haul. Unless you are ridiculously lucky and no one is,
it's going to come back to bite you at some point.
And it's just too much of your life to put
on the line for something over which you have no control.
And again, it's all it's all just set up just
enough so you're not going to consistently win. If anything,
you're going to consistently lose.
Speaker 6 (38:14):
Mike Florio, ProFootball talk dot com. The Vikings get shut out,
then shut out, somebody positive step taken by the quarterback.
Now it's off to Dallas and Sunday night football.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Well, you know, I hadn't thought about that. When's the
last time someone got shut out and then turned around
and pitched a shut out? That probably doesn't happen, but
it was a much needed reset for this team down
the stretch. Someone was telling me yesterday, even if the
Vikings win the last four of their chances of making
the playoffs or less than one percent, and look, I
know it's percentage chance to make the playoffs season. I
(38:45):
hate those numbers. Last week everyone was all the Cowboys
have no chance, that it's a five percent chance or whatever.
It's like, wait a minute, this isn't crazy. They win
in their last four and the Eagles go, what is it?
Two and three? I think is what they need to
go and you know, now they've now they've lost three
in a row. They go two and two and the
Cowboys go four and oh and they win the division.
I don't need a percentage to tell me, hey, that
(39:07):
has a chance of happening, and let's just watch the
games and see what occurs. So the Cowboys very much alive,
the Vikings barely alive. Whoever loses this game is either
mathematically and or essentially done. So there's a little juice there,
and I feel like, why didn't they flex out of
this game? Well, it's the Cowboys, and you know, both
teams are still fighting. Both teams are still in it.
(39:27):
There's a lot of teams that are already out for
as wide open as it is at the top, there
are a bunch of teams like an unprecedented at least
for the last twenty four years. So that's not unprecedented,
but it's been a long time that this many teams
have officially had the fork stuck in them by this
point in the season.
Speaker 6 (39:42):
Any idea, p FT, at least that you can share
why this game stayed on Sunday Night Football when there
are absolutely a handful of games with markedly more intrigue
from a late season playoff standpoint.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Well, remember, it's always the NFL's call, and there's always
lobbying that every network does. There are ways that networks
can protect certain games, and then there are these weird
little rules excuse me, like for a home and home
vikings Packers, for example, one of those two games has
to be on Fox every year. So if one of
them is already due to be in primetimer has already
(40:17):
been played in primetime, the other one has to stay
on the afternoon network. So that's part of it too.
There's a lot of different factors in variables and rules
that go into it. And up until like the last
few weeks the season, it's a thirteen day turnaround. So
the Cowboys are the Cowboys, and there's a certainty in
the audience size that you're going to have for any
(40:39):
Cowboys game no matter what. And I think that was
part of it too. But the league makes these decisions.
They decided to flex out Bengals Dolphins the following weekend
for Patriots Ravens, and if the Bengals had held their
ten point lead against Buffalo on Sunday, I don't think
Bengals Ravens Bengals Dolphins gets flexed out. So there's a
lot of things that go into it, and it's ultimately
(40:59):
the NFL's call, and I don't get consulted or informed
until the decisions are official.
Speaker 6 (41:05):
One of those games, Packers at Denver Sunday afternoon. What
do you make of this one? The Broncos have won
ten consecutive but just two by more than two scores,
and Matt Lafleur, I think he's twenty one and four
in December. That might be the best record in the
history of the NFL in December football.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
This one is bally Hood.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
And I also believe that the Packers are favored in
this one. Last I saw it was two and a half.
Not that that's just positive, but just gives you an
idea of what the perception is of the Denver Broncos.
And they are two and a half point home underdogs
riding at ten point winning streak because the Packers are legit,
and they had that two week stretch at home where
(41:45):
they lost to the Panthers and the Eagles, and they
scored twenty points total in the two games, and it
really felt like they were flawed and they were in
a funk. They've broken out of that in a big way.
Now they're in first place in the division and they're
one of these teams that has a shot at the
at the number one seed. You know, those ties become
very handy when it's time to apply to tie breakers
because you don't have to. The Packers are either going
(42:07):
to make it by a half game, are going to
miss it by a half game. We're not going to
have to look at head to head, division records, common opponents,
all those various tiebreakers because that one tie unless there's
another tie that complicates things. And I was thinking the
other night, oh God, the Eagles are going to tie,
and it's really going to screw things up in the NFC.
But those those two teams, Cowboys Packers with the and
one makes it a lot easier to sift things out.
(42:28):
And you know, the Packers could slip in under the
door with the division title or with the number one seed.
Speaker 6 (42:34):
Philip Rivers, Holy cow, forty four, he's going to the
Golts practice squad. You know, I just saw on Pro
football talk dot Com, but I think it recently was
replaced with should Cowboys be concerned with Pickens' effort? But
it was like, you know, in a stunner Philip Rivers
pro football Talk dot Com returns at age forty four,
he hasn't played since twenty twenty. Could we replace stunner
(42:56):
with ridiculous? I mean, is this just ridiculous or what
do you think?
Speaker 3 (43:00):
Well, this was one of those occasions where when the
tweets start to pop up on Monday, my first thought
is somebody got hacked, or it's one of those where
they just changed one letter of the person's handle to
try to dupe people. It's the same reaction I had
when Andrew Luck retired out of the blue in August
of twenty nineteen. And here we are with the Colts.
They've got this revolving door of quarterback. They finally find
(43:20):
something in Daniel Jones. He's lost for the season on Sunday.
By Monday, Rivers isn't just agreeing to show up and
worked out. He worked out Monday night. I think that
once they lost Anthony richardson Week six, you know they
still had twenty two days in the trade window, they
could have traded for a veteran. I think they decided
our emergency option, our insurance policy is Philip Rivers is
(43:43):
going to come back if we need him. He and
Shane Steiken keep in touch. They've been together many years
during their mutual time with the then San Diego Chargers
and eventually LA Chargers. But I think this is what
the Colts decided. We're going to go Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard,
Brett Rippon, and if we lose Jones, we're gonna activate
the bats signal for Philip Rivers. And now we'll see.
(44:06):
You know, we saw Tom Brady play at a high
level at forty four. There haven't been many guys of
that vintage who have played quarterback in the NFL. I
think the only other guy older than Philip Rivers to
play quarterback other than Brady is Steve de Bergh. So
we'll see, we'll see. It's just one of those that is,
like you know, I said earlier today, it's like going
(44:26):
to see a movie that you expect to be bad,
but you're really not. You know, like you kind of
know that going in, and maybe I'll be entertained and
maybe it won't be bad, maybe it will work out.
It's just one of those unexpected, unforeseen curve balls that
come out of nowhere, and we'll see and even look
even with Peyton Manning in his prime Seahawks forty nine, Ers, Jaguars,
(44:50):
Texans to finish the season, it's a tall order for
the Colts to keep it alive, and they would become
the sixth team since the merger to start seven and
one or better through the first eight games not make
the playoffs, and the first team to do that with
the seven spots in the postseason per conference.
Speaker 6 (45:07):
P FT, time for two maybe one more. Dang the Vikings, Chiefs,
and Ravens combined for forty one wins last year and
all are going to miss the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
What do you think about that?
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Oh, it's amazing. And hey, look at Sunday night to
Monday night the two Super Bowl quarterbacks. Just today was
the ten month anniversary of Super Bowl fifty nine, and
we came out of the twenty twenty four season thinking,
you know, why won't it be the Chiefs and Eagles
all over again? And between Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts,
they combined for zero touchdowns rushing or passing, eight turnovers,
(45:39):
and a passer rating if you take their numbers and
slap them together and run them through the calculator twenty
five point twenty nine with their joint passer rating. So
things have changed. We have a graphic that we use
on PFT Live that shows the top teams in the
AFC with pictures of Bo Nicks and Drake May. And
I said to Chris Sims the other day, if I
had told you a year ago, just one year ago,
(46:00):
that this is what it was going to be heading
down the stretch in twenty twenty five, Patriots on a
ten game winning streak with May, with the Broncos on
a ten game winning streak with Nicks, and you look
farther down. We were joking because if you told Aaron
Rodgers back in June, hey, you get to the front
of four weeks, you're gonna be ahead of Lamar Jackson
and the Ravens, Josh Allen and the Bills in the
(46:21):
playoff tree, Patrick Mahomes and the Chief here, you're gonna
be in a better position than those guys are to be.
All right, here we go, We're going to the Super Bowl. No,
you're barely making it to the playoffs because everybody's down
this year. It really is amazing to see how the
traditional AFC powers have slipped and where we are, and
it contributes to this sense that it really is wide open.
(46:42):
Like I don't know, I don't know. I think right now,
I think right now, and they may be peaking too soon.
Right now, the Seahawks are the team that I'd say, hell,
they can win this thing. But as we know from
Week eighteen of last year, you never know when the
chariot's gonna morph into a pumpkin from Dram Darnold.
Speaker 6 (46:58):
Yeah, the Rams are four to one. That's kind of
a been favored at this stage of the equation. Hey,
you're fantastic. Uh, talk to you soon and once again
on our way home. Mike Florio's Christmas book from a
couple of years ago. You can find that at Amazon
and other places you buy books.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
Thank you, Michael, Thank you Mike Florio.
Speaker 6 (47:15):
P FTA, you know we some hockey with a new
friend named Olivia King is around the corner.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
You're listening to nine to New
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