Commanders Trade BRob, Chiefs Unstoppable Again?

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Hello, everyby weljo into this beautiful, beautiful Friday Onnie Triple
Threat Show. Thank you so much everybody for tuning in.
We have a lot to get into. This is the
last Friday without football. That's right. Week zero kicks off tomorrow.

(02:45):
We have an excellent Top twenty five matchup over in Ireland.
Cannot wait, cannot wait for that one. We of course
have to finish our preview of everything around the NFL.
We're gonna talk about the AFC West and our division
preview today. Can the Chiefs remain unbeatable or are there
reinforcements on the way in their own divisions? Will break

(03:07):
that down. Brian Robinson no longer a member of the
Washington Commanders. We'll talk about his impact on the forty
nine Ers and whether or not it was a good
decision for the Commanders to move off of a running
back who started for them for three straight seasons. All
that more coming up here on The Triple Threat Show.
But we're gonna start off, as we always do, with
a little bit of NFL news. We're gonna start off

(03:29):
with Brian Robinson and a little bit of Jackson Dart.
Of course, a lot of you guys looking at your
fantasy fantasy drafts right now, shout out Hayden in the
comments right now for doing a little bit of fantasy drafting.
You're gonna absolutely kill it for our team, I believe,
I believe. But we're gonna talk a little bit about
Brian Robinson here because Brian Robinson is a really interesting case.

(03:50):
He's a running back that's been a starter for this
Washington Commanders franchise for the last three season. This is
a guy, of course, who went through a lot of
adversity over his career. He's a guy that you know,
got shot his rookie season, he came back just a
couple of weeks later. But he's also a guy that
averages right around eight hundred yards a season. You look

(04:13):
at a career high season for him being seven hundred
and ninety nine yards last year, but seven ninety seven
in twelve games, seven thirty three and fifteen games, seven
ninety nine in fourteen games last season over a three
year span in the NFL. This is a guy that
is a straight nose, hard, hard football guy. He's someone

(04:34):
that you just hand the ball three yards and a
cloud of dust kind of running back, and that wasn't
what fit the system that's going on in Washington. Cliff
Kingsbury likes to spread it out West Coast offense, lots
of openings, lots of quick screen passes, and that's not
really Brian Robinson's game. Now do I like this move
for the forty nine ers. Absolutely. You have a guy

(04:54):
in Christian McCaffrey who we don't know is gonna be healthy.
He's a guy that, when he's on the field, is
arguably the best offensive weapon in the entirety of the NFL.
But he has a long, long and storied history of
not being able to be out there on the field.
Does Christian McCaffrey. You bring in Brian Robbinson not necessarily

(05:14):
as a starter, because Brian Robbinson a guy that's solid
but not really an elite level running back. You bring
him as a guy that can spell your guy. Christian
McCaffrey is a guy that can be a short yardage
kind of back, a guy that can come in and
make the big power runs that you need. A team
like the Dolphins were a team that I thought would
really use a guy like that, But they might have

(05:34):
a guy in Olie Gordon that they want to give
that role to the lot of different places that you
can go to, but the forty nine Ers probably the
best system overall. He's not going to be He was
never gonna have the opportunity to start. That was clear
what was going to happen when the commander said that
they were shopping him. If you're shopping him, if you're
announcing it like that, you're not going to be able

(05:55):
to get that kind of package, that fourth round pick package.
You get a sixth round pick. Sure, why not? That's
pretty good value. That's more value than I thought they
were gonna get. Honestly, I thought b Rob was a
guy that was gonna just have to be a cat,
a guy that got cut a casualty of that fifty
three man roster that's gonna be done on Tuesday. Instead,
the forty nine Ers, who have struggled with injury concerns

(06:16):
at the school positions himself, we talked about their wide
receivers the other day after trading for sky Moore. This
is now a big, big time move for them because
it's not just the wide receiver room that's injured. You
also have the running back room that's injured. Outside of
Christian McCaffrey. There was not another healthy running back on
the roster. You now get b Rob who, despite everything

(06:37):
you might say about him, has been healthy. And you
get a guy that's been healthy in a Kyle Shanahan system.
He's gonna have a real good season. Now, if you're
looking at fantasy value, he's not really gonna be worth
it because he's not gonna be a starter as a
handcuff solid He's not your typical, super fast kind of
Shanahan's style running back. But to power back in that system,

(07:01):
you let him run that outside zone a little bit.
I think he'll be perfectly fine in that system. Not
a perfect fit, but a quick little stop gap. I
absolutely love this move for both sides. Washington retains about
a third of that salary, still a rookie contract, so
it's not that much money at the end of the day.
But I do like this move for both sides. Forty

(07:22):
nine ers get depth, and the commanders they get to
see what they've gotten their young guys. Bill Krossky merrit
to Corey Krosky merrit Over there most likely going to
become the starter at some point. Chris Rodriguez, who can
play that power back sort of role, and you still
have Austin Eckler, who, despite being a little bit older
when it comes to running backs, still gets it done
a little bit. It's a pretty deep running back room
throwing Jeremy McNichols. They didn't need, they didn't need be Rob,

(07:45):
which is why he was an expendable piece of piece
that was never going to be on the fifty three
man roster when roster cut day came, so they get
off of him for something forty nine ers get some
much needed depth. I absolutely love it for both of
these sides. But let's talk a little bit about Jackson
Dark because b Rob wasn't the only big piece, the
only big piece of news that changed throughout this the

(08:08):
last couple of hours, last twenty four hours, we saw
Jackson Dart show up for the third time in the preseason.
In our previous shows, I've talked about Jackson Dart. I've said, hey,
let's pump the brake. Jackson Dart has been really good,
no doubt about it. You look at the numbers, but
he hasn't pushed the ball downfield. He's been a little
bit inaccurate pushing the ball downfield. But he looked a

(08:29):
lot better in this one. You want to talk about
a guy that wasn't afraid to stand in the pocket
and get hit, that's Jackson Dart. Now that is a
dangerous way to play the game. But the fact that
he consistently stands tough in the pocket, follows through on
his throes, and then gets clobbered, gets right back up,
that's amazing to see. You also see how how the

(08:49):
team around him seems to really be gravitating towards a
guy like that, making those tough plays, making those tough throws.
Now it wasn't perfect. He had all day in the pocket,
some of those throws that he was made, making some
of those really good decisions he was making when he
was scrambling. It was a clean pocket he had all day.
That's not gonna happen. You have to remember, again, it's
still the preseason. It's still third fourth stringers. These are

(09:12):
not starters that he's going up against. But there are
some really promising signs. Do I think he's ready to
start Week one? Absolutely not, But I am gonna change
my tone a little bit on him. I was not
ready to call him a startable quarterback in the NFL
at the beginning of this preseason. Last week, I wasn't
quite ready to call him a guy that was ready

(09:32):
to start in the NFL. But the way that he's
playing under Brian Dable. Brian Dable, who's really good at
being a quarterback whisperer, got Daniel Jones forty million dollars,
got the best out of Josh Allen, something that was
not an easy task to say the least. We look
at it right now and we say, of course, Josh
Allen was always gonna work out, But early on in
his career, Josh Allen looked closer to Anthony Richardson than

(09:54):
he did to a guy that just won an MVP.
You know what I mean. There are a lot of
different ways that it could have gone. And Brian Dable,
undoubtedly a quarterback whisper someone that can come in, get
the job done, help out these young quarterbacks, develop them,
get a system surrounding them that's going to make them successful.
And that is why Brian Dable should not get fired
as a head coach. But that's a whole nother conversation.

(10:16):
Jackson Dart will start by the time this season is done.
Russell Wilson, if I had to guess that quarterback depth
chart the way it's gonna go, Russell Wilson will be
QB one, QB two will be Jamis. He's going to
be the consonant backup. He's gonna be the backup all
season long. QB three will be Jackson Dart, and your
emergency quarterback, it'll be Tommy DeVito, practice squad kind of guy.

(10:39):
After that, maybe halfway through the season, maybe ten weeks
into the season, we see a swap. Jackson Dart gets
QB one, Jameis Winston's still gonna be QB two, and
Russell Wilson goes to QB three. Here, everyone knows the
level of progression here. Jameis Winston is going to be
an option. He's a guy that everyone really likes around

(10:59):
that that's not a secret. He's a guy that really
good for a locker room. But I don't see what
the moves that this Giants team has made Jameis Winston
getting into the game unless there's injuries, or unless something
crazy happens where these guys Jackson Dark, Tommy DeVito, these
guys just really aren't ready for action. He's going to
be that backup quarterback is Jameis Winston a guy that's

(11:20):
always ready to come in at the next second. But
I don't think he ever becomes a true starter for
this team this year, of course, unless the worst happens
injuries and stuff like that. But is Jackson Dart for real?
That's the question we have to pose again. It's hard
to tell because he's going up against third and fourth
string guys, but there's definitely flashes there. We see the
arm talent. I still want to see him go through

(11:42):
his decisions a little bit quicker. I want to see
his receivers be able to catch the balls from him.
He's made a lot of really good throws that his
receivers just have not been able to reel in. There's
a lot to like from Jackson Dart. We just don't
want to put all of our weight into what we
see in the preseason because that is a very, very
very dangerous way to play, and we want to make

(12:02):
sure that we are not going way over or under
on one side of these things. He's a young quarterback,
needs to develop. He's not ready to go. Everyone calling
for him to play Week one, calm down a little bit,
give him more time, let him see some real game action.
He doesn't need to be thrown to the Wolves. This
is the Giants team that's going to be bad next season,

(12:22):
and it's not necessarily because this team is bad. This
is a team that could have a top five defense
in the entire NFL, has the best defensive line in
the entire NFL. Has one of the best wide receivers
in the NFL, in Molik Neighbors. They just need competent
quarterback play and they'll be okay. But with a schedule
as tough as it is with the Giants this year,

(12:43):
you're looking at ceiling six wins, maybe simply because of
the schedule they have to go up against, and it's
not going to be easy either way. This is a
Giants team that's going to struggle. So let's take a
deep breath, let's take a step back, and let's say,
Jackson Dart, you will get in soon. We don't need
you in Week one. I'm excited for this regular season, though,

(13:04):
I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on Jackson Dart.
What do you think you think he's gonna be ready?
What do you think his outlook looks like? Is Brian
Dable going to be able to survive this season and
maybe coach up a guy like Jackson Dart as they
get ready for the next era of Giants football. Let
me know in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
We're gonna take a quick break when we come back
the AFC West. We've gone over just about every single division,

(13:27):
six of the eight so far. The AFC West. Coming
up next, we'll talk about if the Chiefs can repeat
at the top of that division. Can the Chargers of
the Broncos most playoff teams from last year, mount a
little bit of a comeback? What about the Gino Smith
led Raiders? Are they ready to step up to the
big time. We'll talk about all of that and more
coming up next here on The Triple Threat.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
Show by Bay Boy Boy. Boy Boy.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
Boy, Welcome back to the Triple Threat Show. I am

(17:34):
your host, Jeremy Lapitis. If you are just tuning in,
we just finished going over everything that you need to
know about Brian Robinson, Jackson Dart, and more storylines from
around the NFL. We continue our NFL coverage here this segment,
talking a little bit about the AFC West. We've gone
over six of the eight divisions so far. Now we

(17:57):
turn our attention to the domain of the Kings, the Chiefs,
the ones that have been a dynasty over the last
couple of seasons. Patrick Mahomes looks to lead them to
get another AFC West title. But this is probably the
most competitive the AFC West has been in a very
long time now. Of course, we said that last year

(18:19):
and they went and only lost two games, simply won
fifteen games. Of course, it was that easy for them
to simply go and do that because they're the Kansas
City Chiefs, because they have Patrick Mahomes, because of course,
because they're that good, right, But this is different. Year
two Harba has always been very, very tough. He's always

(18:40):
been very successful everywhere he goes. Year two Harbor, that's
when they make that big jump. We're going to see
year two harbor with the Chargers. We're going to see
Bonnicks in year two. Was it for real or was
it a Fluke will answer that question. And then the Raiders,
they have lots of big changes. You bring in Gino Smith,
who in my opinion, is a top ten quarterback in
the NFL. You bring in a brand new head coach,

(19:02):
and Pete Carroll, who's been there, done that just about
every single level of football. If anyone can turn them
around quickly, it's them Ashgingenty, brock Bowers. You have Jacoby Myers,
lots of good weapons for these guys. Would love to
have a guy like Christian Wilkins on the defense, but
what can you do. It's the Raiders, right he is
no longer a member of the team, but you still

(19:24):
have Max Crosby. You still have a lot to like
on that defensive end with some of those young stars,
young guys that could maybe step up big. That's where
the big concern is when you're talking about these teams,
and we'll start off with the Raiders right there. Of course,
they had a very very busy offseason. The Raiders go
out and they trade for Geno Smith, they bring in
Ash Gingenty, They solve a lot of those big time issues.

(19:45):
They have arguably the best tight end in football in
brock Bowers. That is three positions, taking care of three
of the most positions important positions, I should say, taken
care of. On top of that, you have Jacoby Myers,
who's maybe the most underrated player in all of the NFL.
His quiet ability just to be a great wide receiver
should not be taken lightly. This is a Raiders team

(20:07):
that's going to be a lot better than last year.
But like I was talking about, the big concern with
them is going to be on the defensive side of
the ball, moving off of a guy like Christian Wilkins.
After paying Max Crosby, those two were supposed to be
a deadly duo on that defensive line. Instead you're left
with not much After Wilkins. There's a gaping hole and

(20:28):
that defensive tackle position. Even though he wasn't going to
be ready, that was a good guy to have in
the wings waiting for you to come in side. Note
surprised he hasn't found a place to sign yet, but
maybe he is waiting. Maybe teams are waiting for him
to heal first, because I don't know if he would
pass a physical right now. But the Raiders are going
to be one of the more interesting teams. I think
they have the highest Florida ceiling ratio of just about

(20:49):
any team in the NFL. We talk about a floor
with this team, everything could fall out. The bottom could
fall out from under them, the defense could implode. Gino
Smith could just not have the answers or the weapons
that he needs in a new system, and Pete Carroll
in a big time of change. Maybe he's just not
up for it right now. I'd say the floor is
anywhere from three to four wins. The ceiling on the

(21:10):
other side is massive. Sure, they have a tough division.
They have to go against three playoff teams from last
year in their division alone. That's six playoff games from
last season, as well as going up against the Commanders
who are going to be good again, going up against
the AFC South who have the Texans, and a couple
of teams that I think could break out as well.

(21:32):
Lots of tough matchups the NFC East as well, the Cowboys,
the Eagles, super Bowl champions. Not a lot of super
easy games in there. But they do get that fourth
kit play schedule. They get the Bears, they get they
get the Bears, they get the Browns. Right, those are
their extra teams that they get to play. We'll have
to see if it's enough, because, like I said, this

(21:53):
is a Raiders team that have a really really high variance.
A lot of it with an older team, of course
has to do with injuries. But there's just so much
change in that organization right now, I want to believe
in this Raiders team. I want this Raiders team to
be better than a lot of people are giving them
credit for because they have a lot of fun guys.
I think Ashton Genty is going to catabul himself into

(22:14):
the discussion as one of the best running backs in
the league, near top five kind of situation. Gino Smith,
with his ability to handle pressure even up behind a
not great Raiders offensive line, should be able to stem
the tide enough that the Raiders will be okay offensively.
You of course have Brock Bauers, who is a monster,
Jacobi Myers who is a monster, and out of the
backfield again, you have Ashton Genty, who's not the worst

(22:36):
pass catching back. There's lots of stuff to like here
in a Pete Carroll system where it's going to be
very run heavy, I like it a lot. We've seen
it work over in Seattle in a very similar kind
of situation, although the defense in Seattle is better, which
is why they won ten games last year. I don't
necessarily think the Raiders are on pace to win ten games,
but if you compare it to Seattle last season, really

(22:56):
good running back, couple of great weapons, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett,
all these guys JSN for Gino Smith, I think it's
a very similar situation. So we're looking anywhere with a
little bit of a worse defense from I'd say six
to nine wins, and I'm gonna put them on a
little bit of the lower rung there. For the Raiders,
I have them going six wins here. Now again, I

(23:19):
could very easily see them winning nine games. Maybe they've
split a couple games in the division, flip flop them.
I have them losing to the Patriots Week one, although
that could very easily change as both of those teams
are going to be starting basically over brand new. A
couple of games that could go either way. Again, the
Jaguars a little bit of a toss up over there.
I think they could have a shot against the Cowboys

(23:41):
on Monday Night Football. The Browns, I have them beaten there,
and then you know, Texans, I could see him beat
as well. There's a couple of other teams on here
that I think they'll give a good run for their
money for. But at the end of the day, I
think this is a Raiders team that's defense just isn't
quite good enough to compete for a division crown right now,
and six and eleven finishing fourth in that division and

(24:03):
missing out on the playoffs. The other three teams all
made the playoffs last year, and I think they all
could compete for it again. I'll start with the Broncos
because I am a well known bow Knicks hater. Tattoo
that across my chest, stamp it on my forehead. I
am a bow Nix hater. I was talking with some
friends last season, was talking on this show last season,
talking on GSMC all the shows that we've done, I've

(24:25):
made it well known I'm not a big fan of
bo Nicks. And on those points that we were talking,
there's a lot of really interesting comparisons between him and
one Mac Jones. And we see where Mac Jones is now.
They both wear number ten, they're both white guys, pro
style out of college. Right, Let's get the superficial differences
out of the way. The other similarities. They both played

(24:45):
and made the playoffs their first year as rookies. They
both had legendary head coaches who were on the other
side of their prime, Sean Payton coming out of retirement
and Bill Belichick nearing the end of his NFL coaching ten.
You're over there right after losing Brady, right, you also
have a defense that was elite, a defense that was

(25:08):
major points, was a major reason why they were able
to win so many games. The Broncos defense is gonna
be elite again, which I think is one of the
bigger differences between him and mac Jones, but also the
last time that a cornerback other than last year, Patzertan
won the defensive player of the year Mac Jones rookie season,
when Stefan Gilmour one defensive Player of the Year. There's

(25:29):
lots of similarities there. And I am not one to
say this happens. This happens, history repeats itself over and
over again, but it sure does fit my narrative that
the Broncos are kind of gonna be on a little
bit of a decline. I think this Broncos defense is
gonna be good enough for them to survive a Mac
Jones inning of bow Knicks. I just don't think bo

(25:51):
Nicks is the answer, and this I could be well wrong.
Feel free to clown me tell me how wrong I
am if this doesn't work out, But I'm low on
this Bronco again. I love that defense. I think they're
going to have the best defense in the NFL this season,
but I just don't have them in the playoffs this year.
They're real close. I will say, we were talking about

(26:11):
it on the last show. I think that game versus
the Jaguars in Week sixteen is going to decide a
playoff spot. Just straight up. The winner of that game
gets into the playoffs. I have both of these teams
finishing at nine to eight. The Broncos could be a
lot higher. They really could. This is me betting low
on bo Nicks. This is me saying he's going to

(26:31):
be closer to Mac Jones. But at the end of
the day, nine and eight still not a bad record
at all. Still puts you at in my rankings, eighth
overall in the AFC and tiede tied for a playoff spot.
There is a lot to like about this Broncos team. Again,
that defense especially, that's just how it's gonna go. The

(26:53):
defense especially is going to carry them and that is
a way to win games, especially in the regular season.
But if we look ahead at the playoffs, if they
find their way in, this is not a team that
I expect to do anything when it comes to playoff time,
two teams that can actually compete for the division though.
We're looking at the Chargers and the Chiefs because these

(27:14):
two are the top dogs. We talked about year two
Harbaugh in the intro here, we talked about what he
can do, what he has done in year two, taken
teams to Super Bowls, taking teams to national titles, win
big tens over in Michigan. Right, there is a lot
to like about year two Harbor, and the Chargers are
about to experience that boost. We have, in my opinion,

(27:35):
a top five quarterback in Justin Herbert getting his best
wide receiver corps in his history in his entire career,
and we've seen what happens when he has an okay
receiving corps. Keidan Allen returns. Last time Keenan Allen was
on the team, they lost to the playoffs in the
playoffs to the Jaguars in brutal fashion. Right, Lad McConkie,
second year of Lad McConkie, he's going to be huge

(27:56):
for them. You have a really solid set of rookie
receivers and young guys that are ready to make a
bit of noise. We haven't heard too much from the
rookie out of Ole Miss, but I do expect him
to have a pretty big year, as well as a
couple other rookies on this Chargers squad. The big story though,
with this offseason is what's going on with Naji Harris.

(28:16):
The Chargers love to run the football. Harbaugh loves to
run the football, and we focused as much as we
like to focus on the quarterbacks, as much as we
like to focus on the guys that are pass catchers
and these big play merchants, the running backs are huge
in the system. They let JK. Dobbins walk. Now they
go out and find new options. They draft mari and

(28:37):
Hampton in the first round. He looks like he's ready
to take that role, although they say they want to
do a split between him and someone else. That someone
else was supposed to be Naji Harris. But fireworks, ladies
and gentlemen, fireworks kids very dangerous. Don't go playing around
with fireworks. You could lose an eye. Now that's not
necessarily what happened with Naji Harris, but reports are that

(28:59):
Naji Harris still cannot open his left eye because of
a fireworks incident that happened in July fourth, Athough. He
also had other NFL players JPP Jason Pierre Paul, former
defensive end for the Giants for the Bucks Super Bowl champion,
multiple times shout out JPP. He lost a thumb or
a finger, I should say because of a fireworks accident.

(29:22):
If NFL players can get hit by it, so can
a regular old Joe Schmo. So be careful around fireworks.
They will hurt you. But that's gonna be the question.
Who is going to be the Naji Harris replacement if
Naji Harris can't go, and if Naji Harris can go,
is he gonna be the same because the identity is
to run the ball. We also have some injuries to

(29:43):
the offensive line for this Chargers team already in training camp.
That's something to keep an eye on. They're gonna be
down an offensive lineman for the whole season, Rashaun Slater
who they signed to a big deal, Liz Frank injury,
not going to be out there for the whole year.
But I still believe in this Chargers team. This is
a Chargers team that I think if anyone is gonna
knock the Chiefs off, it's going to be then they

(30:05):
open up their season in Brazil. Friday week from today Friday,
excuse me, two weeks from today, we get to see
the Chargers and Chiefs in Brazil. The Brazil game last
year smashing success was amazing to go see. But Chiefs
Chargers should be a lot of fun and opening to

(30:25):
the season. I like this team a lot. The Chiefs,
on the other hand, the incumbents, the one with the advantage,
the one with Patrick Mahomes. When you have Patrick Mahomes,
you always got a real chance to win any game.
The defense is gonna be good. The offense is where
I get concerned. They have a lot of running backs,
but none of them super big. Not that it makes
a difference. Isaiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt. All these guys can

(30:48):
make noise. All of these guys can score touchdowns. I'm
not too worried about that. Xavier Worthy. Second year, they
trade away sky Moore. They bring in a couple of
receivers that I think are gonna make a big difference.
A couple guys coming out of camp keep an eye on.
Of course, Rashi Rice is one of those very interesting ones.
He has a court date on September thirtieth, four weeks

(31:11):
into the season to decide what his suspension is gonna be.
His for his hidden run activities alleged that took place
just a couple of seasons ago last year, so we'll
see how much time he misses. He's most likely going
to miss some time and that should hurt them. The
Chiefs won a lot of one possession games, in fact,
the most won possession games out of any team in

(31:32):
the league last year. That you can call it luck,
you can call it skill. I call it a little
bit of both, because you need a little bit of
boat to win some of those games. But at the
end of the day, the Chiefs were always going to
be good. They're gonna be better. I don't imagine them
relying so much on one score games. The defense is
going to be better under spags it always is good,
and you of course have Chris Jones returning. This is

(31:54):
the Chiefs team that I don't think is gonna win
fifteen games. They've got to regress to the mean a
little bit. But regressing to the mean for them, that's
still looking at eleven twelve, thirteen wins, you know you're
looking at a still arguably best team in the AFC.
Definitely a Super Bowl competitor every single year that Patrick
Mahomes is on this team, and I think it's going

(32:15):
to be more of the same. As much as I
have heard all off season from friends, from coworkers, from everyone,
the Chiefs aren't going to repeat the AFC West. I
am not in the business of betting against Patrick Mahomes.
I cannot do it. I've got the Chiefs finishing at
twelve and five winning the division, the Chargers finishing at
eleven and six second place in that division, still making

(32:37):
it to the playoffs. But this is a Chiefs team
that if you gave me one hundred bucks, I would
never bet against them right now, just because if you
don't see a god go down, you can't ever picture
a God going down kind of situation. This is the
Chiefs team that I will see it until I believe
it may Rob we talked about the Broncos here. I'm

(32:57):
telling you, man, the Broncos Bnicks is going to turn
into Mac Jones. We've talked about this. We'll talk more
about it when you get back on the show here.
But the Chiefs I have taken this division for yet
another season. They have dominated everyone. It's not just that
They're the best team in football most years. It's that
the teams in their own division can't even beat them.

(33:19):
The Chargers have a game against them every once in
a while. The the Broncos went nearly ten years without
beating them until last season. Now things change a little bit,
new quarterback, better defense, Maybe we start to see things change.
But the Chiefs are elite and I'm not gonna bet
against them until I see something different. The Chiefs win

(33:40):
their division, they make it into the playoffs. But this
is a two playoff team. This is a two playoff division.
The Chiefs and the Chargers find their way in. The
Broncos lose out on the tiebreaker. That Week sixteen game
against the Jaguars that we talked about, I have them
losing that one. That's the difference between the Jaguars being
a playoff team and the Broncos being a playoff team.

(34:00):
So shout out the Jaguars sneak their way in in
that seventh seed in my AFC playoffs, but I have
the Chiefs winning their division. Disagree with me in the
comments all you want. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Who wins this division, who comes second? What are your
record predictions. What's your floor? Your ceiling for all of
these teams. I'd love to hear your thoughts. We're gonna
take a quick break. When we come back, we turn

(34:22):
our attention over to college football. College Football Week zero
is here, that's right tomorrow. We have a top twenty
five matchup to kick off the season over in Ireland.
We have a couple of other big games. Fresno State
at Kansas, Idaho State at UNLV, Sam Houston at Western Kentucky,
Stanford at Hawaii should be good. We have Iowa State

(34:47):
Kansas State twenty two at seventeen. We'll break all those
games coming up down. Break all those games down coming
up next here on the Triple Threat Show.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
Sleep As doesners speak as, does speak speak as The

(35:45):
speak as does not speak as does speaking speaking speaking

(36:11):
at as speaking as speak as ass speak as speaking

(36:44):
speaking speaking speaking at as.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
Welcome back to the Triple Threat Show. I am your host,
Jeremy Lapidis. If you were just tuning in, make sure
you check us out everywhere, not just the beginning of
this show, which you have to go check out. Find
out what I thought of the AFC West, who's gonna
win that division? And what's going on with Brian Robinson.
But also check us out everywhere around the internet. Efye,

(38:12):
you get your podcast, you'll find my beautiful voice as
well as the other hosts of our show hanging out
just there for your listening pleasure. On YouTube at Triple
Threat Show, Twitch at three Threat Show, Instagram at three
Threat Show Underscore, and on TikTok at the Underscore Triple
Threat Show. Check us out everywhere, give us a follow,

(38:33):
a like, subscribe. We really appreciate your support here. But
we've talked a lot about the NFL. But the NFL
should not be the main story today because college football
is here. College football is here right now. Sound the
alarms hit the emergency button. Week zero starts tomorrow in Ireland.

(38:53):
We get to see a top twenty five matchup. Last
year we saw Georgia Tech take down Florida State over
in Ireland in what spelled the beginning of the end
for a disastrous Florida State season. Will it be more
of the same for Iowa State or Kansas State. We'll
talk about all of that, and why don't we start
off We'll end with that matchup. Of course, that's the

(39:13):
big headliner. We can't just start off with the big one.
There's a couple of other big matchups, five matchups in fact,
to go over here for you. We'll start off with
one of my favorite ones. I will say Stanford at Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors in Hawaii always get a game in
Week zero. Generally it doesn't go too well for them.

(39:34):
Stanford gives them a real chance to win this game, though,
because Stanford is one of the messiest off seasons that
we saw out of any college football program. They fired
their coach, they fired their GM, brought in Andrew Luck.
Frank Reich is the new head coach. It's a big
mess over there in Stanford, and Hawaii quietly has gotten

(39:54):
better and better and better every single season with a
new offensive system. They it'd be good every year. The
Rainbow Warriors are expected to have a high powered offense.
I expect them to have that this season. No differently,
I think Hawaii, who's favored by two and a half
points entering this one with that home field advantage, I

(40:14):
think they scratched this one out. This is gonna be
a tough one, but mostly because of what's going on
with everything behind the scenes in Stanford. I think that's
just a little bit too much to come out early
in Week zero and Hawaii gets a big Power Conference win.
Shout out the Rainbow Warriors. They start off one to
zero in Week zero. Stanford, I think it's gonna be

(40:35):
a tough season for him as they continue their journey
in the ACC. Sam Houston at Western Kentucky two new
teams to the FBS level. Sam Houston very new. They
came over just a couple of seasons ago. They got
a little bit better. Western Kentucky lost in a bowl
game last season. The lost of the bowl game to
James Madison set out James Madison for real. Western Kentucky

(40:58):
favored by nine and a half points in this one.
Sam Houston lost a lot of players. I'm riding with
the Cougars, though. Sam Houston a team that I think
should be at least be able to cover that nine
and a half point spread. Both of these teams invest
heavily for a group of five level school and I
think Sam Houston is gonna get off to a hot
start after a pretty disastrous season, although they did turn

(41:20):
it around down the stretch. Our only FBF versus SCS
game of the Week is Idaho State traveling to UNLV.
UNLV had a magical season last year. They lost a
lot of key pieces though they are going up against
an FCS team, but that doesn't mean it's a free win.
Idaho State out of the Big Sky Conference, not necessarily

(41:41):
your South Dakota State, not necessarily your Bison over in
North Dakota State. These is still a very solid team
in Idaho State. They're getting better every year. Twenty six
and a half points is a lot, but I think
UNLV comes out strong. New coaches over there, and I
think UNLV shows that they deserve to be in a
little bit of a conversation potentially for that group of

(42:02):
five playoff spot, just like they were last year battling
it out with Boise State. Last two games to go over.
When it comes to Week zero, Fresno State takes on Kansas,
and this Jayhawks team is sneaky good. Do not sleep
on this Jayhawks squad. They had a rough start to
last year, but once everything started clicking, where quarterback is

(42:24):
going to be back in Jalen Daniels, You're gonna have
a lot of your same weapons returning for Kansas. You
heard me talking in my top twenty five video over
and over and over again about how having that returning
production is going to mean so much, especially in the
era of transfer portals. You don't see it, which is
partially the reason why I think Clemson is going to

(42:46):
be a winner, maybe the winner of college football this season.
Kansas is going to be that kind of team. I
love this team. I think they're going to be a
dark horse out of the Big Twelve. Keep your eye
out on Kansas. They are very, very dangerous. I have
him covering that fourteen and a half and then the
big one, the twenty second ranked Iowa State Cyclones traveling

(43:08):
to Ireland to take on the seventeenth ranked Kansas State Wildcats.
Kansas State returns rookie returns quarterback. He returns their quarterback
who had over six hundred yards rushing last year, led
all quarterbacks in the Big Twelve. Avery Johnson, of course,

(43:28):
had his moments. He was leading a program in Kansas
State that was in Conversation's early season to be a
playoff team. Then they fell off. You're gonna get good,
Avery Johnson. We're gonna get bad, Avery Johnson, That's the question.
They return a bunch of running backs, they lose DJ Giddons,
but they do have Edwards, who I really like a
lot as a backup to Geddons last year and now

(43:49):
is the feature back. Quick, fast, twitchy, all these words
to describe Edwards there. I really do like that for
Kansas State, Iowa State returns their quarterback again. That is huge.
We love to see that. Iowa State also returns a
lot of that defense. That's gonna be the key for them,
Iowa State. If they can lock down Kansas State, if

(44:12):
they can force turnovers, Iowa State is going to be
able to come in and create havoc. Because their offense
lost a lot. They lost two wide receivers, both to
the Texans to the NFL Draft. That's a lot of production.
They still have solid production out there. They still have
a couple of guys up and coming from last season,
but losing wide receiver one and wide receiver to both

(44:33):
guys that go in the state in day two is
not necessarily easy to replace. I like Iowa State. I
like Kansas State a lot, But I think Avery Johnson
comes out foot on the gas and Kansas State takes
this one early season victory, early season top twenty five matchup.
That's exactly what we want to see. I'm taking the

(44:54):
Kansas State Wildcats to beat Iowa State, relatively low scoring game.
We're looking at a thirty one to twenty one contest
taking the Kansas State Wildcats here. But I'd love to
hear your thoughts on any of the week zero games.
Who do you think is going to win? What's going
down in Ireland? Who you got in that top twenty

(45:14):
five matchup. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts.
We're gonna take a quick break when we return. MLB
is here our Friday Power rankings. We're ready to go.
We'll talk about that and much more. What's going on
with the wild Cards that's coming up next here on
the Triple Threat shown.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
The dott.

Speaker 3 (46:22):
Don't don't take the good the good dott Natatata datta.

Speaker 2 (47:44):
Data plata data patatatat date.

Speaker 1 (48:49):
Welcome back to her That Show. I host Jeremy Lapets,
joining today for the rest of the show by my
good friend and co host may Rob Fi Tammy. Welcome in,
may Rob. How are you doing here today.

Speaker 4 (49:17):
On the New York.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
Yeah, I mean, why don't why don't we just start
off with that? We can we can put the power
rankings back a second. But the MLB wild card race
is heating up. As you just mentioned, the Red Sox
just finished off a massive, massive suitep of their rival Yankees,
putting them now in a pretty commanding spot when it
comes to at least locking up a wild card spot potentially, uh,

(49:47):
you know, passing the Yankees there. Uh, that's a huge,
huge series win for them. But let's talk about that
al wild card race just in general, because right now,
as it stands, before games went final today, I will
say it was the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners currently holding
those three spots. The Reds are the Royals excuse me,

(50:10):
red hot, I should say, rate recently just two games
back of the MS, the Guardians three games back and
the Rangers, who we saw them get hot near the
beginning of the post All Star break season five and
a half games back. So not quite done yet. But
is this the final three? Do you think you feel
confident enough to say that this is the last three?

(50:32):
These are the three teams Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners that
are going to be in the wild card.

Speaker 4 (51:13):
Third and then whoever ends up in that second spot.
I do love the Royals, though, nonetheless, the Royals look
absolutely unbelievable right now. They just took out the Detroit
Tigers today. And I mean, we don't have our buddy
Nolan here, who is a big Detroit Tigers fan, but
I mean, I know he's not happy with how things
are going over there. I don't he does not want
to see the Royals in the postseason. But I really

(51:36):
think this, this wild card race is I wouldn't say
it's over, but I think these three teams are pretty
much set in stone. I think, at least for.

Speaker 1 (51:43):
Me, yeah, I would say probably. Of course, you still
have the division races going on, so like, nothing too nothing,
nothing too solid there. Of course, you can still take
a look at Astros versus Mariners. That's a tight race
going on the Blue Jays who probably are gonna win
that division. But also five games is not a super

(52:05):
comfortable lead with about thirty games to go in the
season right now, so lots of stuff to look at
here in the AL. I think the more interesting wildcard
race may rob is the NL if you want to
get a final word in on the AL two. But
right now, that final wildcard spot in the NL separated
by just half a game. The Mets who have been,

(52:27):
to say the least, not very good at baseball recently.
They're very streaky, and we're seeing that pitching, which was
the big concern heading into the season, the starting pitching
start to collapse a little bit here. They just dropped
a series against the Washington Nationals. Not really a sentence
that you want to hear when talking about your team.

Speaker 4 (52:44):
There.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
The Reds, who we talked about a lot as that
last man in, that guy outside looking in season after
season after season, have a real opportunity to catch up
with the Mets, although both of these teams absolutely very streaky.
Talk to me a little bit about the NL wild
and also any other thoughts he had on the AL.

Speaker 4 (53:04):
Yeah, before I get into the NL, the last word
I wanted to put in is the last the thing
that's gonna decide who ends up sneaking into that last
wildcard spot. We have a Mariners and Royals season finale
or series in the middle of September. That's a big
time series and that's honestly what I'm looking at to
see when we get there, how this how that wild

(53:24):
card ends up playing out. But going over to the NL,
I mean, I I throw my hands up I'm the
guy that had the Mets as my number one team
in the MLB after the trade deadline. I was the
team that took I was the person that took the
Brewers out and put the Mets as number one. But
the Mets are nineteen and thirty four since June thirteenth.

Speaker 1 (53:48):
Not good.

Speaker 4 (53:50):
Nineteen and thirty four. And not only was this a
team that we all thought was gonna go run away
with the NLI maybe not run away because the Phillies
were so good are still in that division. But I
thought they were going to take the NL East and
then find to cruise their way into it, into the
into the playoffs. Now they're fighting for their playoff lives,

(54:11):
going up against the Cincinnati Reds, who have honestly kind
of rejuvenated their fan base really but of course they
have a very star sudded lineup over there. But I mean,
the Reds are just playing phenomen This is a team
in the Reds that honestly usually is the last team
out in the wild card race. They usually just missed

(54:31):
the wild card race over the last few years, and
this year this might be the year that they actually
could crack it, and they could actually take a team
against a team that a lot of people thought could
end up winning the World Series after they acquired Juan
Sota this offseason. That it's been a big pitching issue
over there in New York. I'm I'm really afraid for

(54:52):
the mets chances of making the playoffs at this point.
I really am.

Speaker 1 (54:55):
Yeah, I mean there's a real chance they miss it.
When you bring up how much they've struck since June,
it's not it's not something that's easy to ignore. It
is something that as a streaky team you can always
turn around because they have the bats to go and
be competent. We've seen the arms earlier this season be

(55:18):
good enough to be the winner of the n least
to be near the top of not just the NL,
but Baseball as a whole when we're talking about wins.
So this isn't a team that's so far off that
it's impossible to see them making a big comeback, even
in their own division with the Phillies there. But you

(55:38):
could also, on the flip end, see that the way
that they're going, if the pitching doesn't fix itself, which
is hard to do now that trade deadline is done,
these guys are getting tired. Even if they do make
the playoffs, I think they're gonna be in a little
bit of trouble now. The Reds are a hungry team.
This is the closest that they've been in the play
to the playoffs for a very long time. They really
fell off down the stretch last year. Two years ago,

(56:01):
they were just two games out of making that wild
card team. Now half a game back of a struggling
New York Mets team. That is going to be a
very important race to watch, along with a lot of
the other ones. But I do want to talk a
little bit about the Brewers and what they've done recently.
I'm gonna spoil my power rankings just a little bit

(56:23):
because I've got the Brewers at number one. This is
a Brewers team that, yes, after winning fourteen straight games,
is cooled down a little bit, but they've built up
a tremendous lead in the NL CenTra. We've gone from
being tied last week to now making a seven game
difference between the Cubs and the Brewers. When it comes

(56:43):
to that division. The Cubs sitting Kyle Tucker right now
as he's dealing with some injuries in a contract season.
It's not a great look for them. They started the
season off so hot, and I still expect them to
make the playoffs. It would be a travesty, quite honestly
if they didn't make the playoffs with how that team is.
But they have a lot of issues the Cubs do.

(57:04):
Can we see them kind of fix it before the playoffs?
And what's it gonna take May Rob for the Cubs
to be something or a World Series contender again, Like
people were talking about them in the All.

Speaker 4 (57:15):
Star Break, I mean, for starters, it's gonna need They're
gonna need Kyle Tucker out there one hundred and I
think that's what they're gearing up for. I think they've
kind of threw in the towel for the division based
on I mean, the Brewers have just really took it,
have really just run away with the division. Had multiple
thirteen game win streaks this season. It's like the sixth

(57:37):
time in his MLB history that that's happened. It's it's ridiculous.
Kyle Tucker needs to keep needs to come back fully healthy.
I mean, Pcap Crow Armstrong needs to come back. I
mean he's he's there, but his bat has cooled off significantly.
I'm looking at him to kind of come back in
a big way. I'm also looking at some of their

(57:58):
some of their some of their veterans over there, justin Turner,
looking at him to show up, looking at him to
show up in a big way in the playoffs. Dansby Swanson,
of course, can you can never forget about him. I mean,
across the board, this is a very young but older team,
so I think they have a nice balance of veterans
and younger players. So I mean, I'm not fully counting

(58:20):
them out, but I am worried with this news about
Kyle Tucker because it's it's Kyle Tucker. This is a
guy who's just shocked the world in not only Chicago
but across the MLB with how well he's played, with
how how crazy his bat has been performing. And I
mean he already he's already hit a home run today

(58:40):
in this game. But across the board, this is a
guy that needs to show up in a big way
come postseason.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
Absolutely. I mean they gave up a lot to get him,
and it was only a rental. So this is the
year that the Cubs needed to go all in, and
props to them, they've done it. They've been near the
top of the NL all season. Now they just need
to finish out strong. But let's hop in to our
power rankings here may Rob. I'm gonna start off with
just my honorable mentions. We do our top ten here
of course every single Friday. Go and tell us how

(59:07):
right or wrong we are in the comments. I'd love
to hear your guys' thoughts as always, but couple shoutouts
from me. I want to shout out the Royals. We
did a very brief shout out at eight and two.
Over the last ten they've been red hot, making a
big playoff push. This Royals team is They were not
a team that I thought was gonna come anywhere near
the playoffs after the way they started their season. But

(59:29):
they've done really good jobs just staying consistent, staying near
the other teams in the AL. They haven't crashed. They
went a little bit in when it came to the
trade deadline, not all the way in, but just a
little bit, So shout out the Royals. They just missed
the list. The Mets also in my honorable mentions. They've
been bad, but what they did at the beginning of
the season, it's hard to ignore. They're still in my

(59:49):
honorable top ten mentions. And then the Red Sox. We
talked about them at the beginning of this segment, but
shout out to the Red Sox really sweeping the Yankees.
They now have a half game lead on the Yankees. Overall,
they're that number one wildcard team. Roman Anthony with a huge,
huge home run last night. This is a Red Sox
team that everything's clicking. They go ahead, they get Nate

(01:00:12):
Low to shore up that first base spot. Maybe a
change of scenery from the Nation's capital can do Nate
Low some wonders, but we'll have to see. But the
Red Sox, Matt's Royal's just missing out on my top ten.
Here may Rob, but not a number ten team, the
one that just beat him out. The Houston Astros. This
is a team that's getting jord On Alvarez back soon.

(01:00:34):
It's a very, very scary thought that they've done this
basically all season without Jordon, and the bats are gonna
get a lot better. The pitching's been really good for
the Astros all season. Still in a Nastros team that
I think you can compare to the Astros of old
when they were a dynasty ish kind of team, but
still a really good Astros squad. And I got him
sitting here at number ten.

Speaker 4 (01:00:57):
Yeah, I mean the ten is crazy. I mean ten
is ten. Okay, we'll get into that. He's he's a
little they're a little bit higher for me as well.
Just a little spoiler for that one. For my honorable mentions,
I also threw the Mets in there just because of
I mean everything that we've been discussing over the last
like ten minutes or so, with how poorly they've been playing.

(01:01:18):
They're like five and thirteen since August first. They just
have been just the bats are cold, the pitching is streaky.
It's tough to win games when you're playing like that.
When both things are off both sides of the field,
You're you're in for a rough a rough stretch if
you're the Mets. So I'm looking at them to kind
of turn that around if they can't. My other hoament

(01:01:40):
honorable mention, I have the Seattle Mariners, And yeah, that
might be a little bit low. I know the Mariners
have done really well since the trade deadline and they
have made it a big time race in the AFC
AFC Al West, But I just have them sitting just
outside of my top ten just because I mean, they're

(01:02:01):
three and seven in their last ten and they I mean,
I'm just especially what the Astros getting. Like you said,
Roodan Oliver as back, I'm I'm just worried about about
their chances getting that top spot in the AL West.
But moving into my top ten, I have the Cincinnati
Reds sitting at number ten. One of the hottest teams
in the MLB in the NL have really made a
big time push for that last wild card spot, like

(01:02:22):
we've said, and I really love this team. This is
a really fun team to watch, especially coming coming down
the stretch of the season.

Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
Yeah. Absolutely, that's a Reds team that it would be
huge for them to get into the playoffs. It's been
quite a while and that fan base in Cincinnati is
starved for some postseason baseball. My number nine team was
part of your honorable mentions. I've got the Mariners here.
I know they haven't been as good, especially on the road,
but that home team is elite and I think they

(01:02:52):
are still the team to beat out of the AL
West despite being behind the Astros in the standard only
two games back. Though I believe in this team and
their ability to turn it around a little bit of
a losing streak, but still, this is a Mariner's scene that,
with all their deadline acquisitions, I think is a team
that is a real world series threat.

Speaker 4 (01:03:15):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, the Mariners are still going to
be around for a long time coming, no doubt about it.
Number nine, I have the Kansas City Royals, a team
that you actually had just outside hanging in. I mean,
I feel like the bottom of our lists are kind
of just gonna be some of these hot teams that
are bursting onto the scene right now. I mean it's
hard to not look at the Royals doing that right now,

(01:03:37):
making it a little bit interesting in the ALE Central.
I don't think they're going to catch the Tigers. The
Tigers have a solid ten and a half game lead,
so I'm pretty comfortable saying that they have the ALE
Central all locked up over there. But in terms of
the Royals sneaking into the playoffs, I know that's the
last thing any of the teams in the Ale want
to see, especially with how especially with how hot this

(01:04:01):
team has been on both sides of the ball. So
I'm looking at the I of them sitting at number
nine right now.

Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
Yeah, hot team in September is not what you want
to see in the Royals absolutely or October. I guess
I should say the Royals absolutely are that hot team.
They have really good pitching. We saw them ride that
into the playoffs last year of Vini Pascentino power back
really good this season. Shout out of vinnp My number
eight team heading into this week. I've got the New

(01:04:30):
York Yankees, and I know, I know, they just got swept.
They just got swept. Their defense has been bad, and
they can't really catch a run when it's not by
the home run. All things that are issues. But John
Carlo Stanton playing really good, really really good baseball behind
the plate. There Ben Rice playing casher. Not something I
had on my BINGO card at the beginning of this season.

(01:04:51):
But you know what, why not it's working. Aaron Judge
of course, still matching. It's Aaron Judge making you a
case yet again for an MVP, although it's gonna be
a little bit harder this season than it was last year,
simply because he missed a little bit of time and
he's now been relegated to a DH. But the Yankees
are my number eight team, just just behind my number

(01:05:12):
seven Blue Jays. I still don't fully buy into this
Blue Jays team, but the Gates, Shane bieber Back, and
I think that's a huge get for them. The Yankees eight,
Blue Jays seven.

Speaker 4 (01:05:22):
Yeah, I mean it's tough. It's really tough picking. I
couldn't go more than two Ali's teams on my list.
It was so tough, But especially with what happened today,
I had to roll with the Red Sox. I have
my Red Sox sitting at number eight, especially with how
they've been playing. Roman Anthony looks like he's a night
He's nightmare fluid for the next ten to fifteen years.

(01:05:43):
For all Yankees fans out there, the new Raphael Devers
of nightmare fuel fluid for them, night for ma ayre fuel.
Red Sox are just playing out of their mind. They're pitching,
of course. Garrett Crochet, a cy young candidate. Brian Bayo,
like we mentioned off camera, playing phenomenally, had pitched seven
solid innings, a guy that has really been in the
through the ringer in the Boston media has really just

(01:06:06):
shown up in a big way this year and everybody
loves him. I can't I'm so happy for him the
way he's shown out this season. And I have the
Red Sox sitting at number eight. At number seven, I
actually have the Astros sitting at number seven, the team
that you put at number ten. This is Astro's team
that's yes, a little bit cold right now, only four
and in their last ten. But like you said, Jordan

(01:06:26):
Olivarez coming back is gonna be a big time game
for gain for them. I'm their bats to heat up
a little bit, and honestly, they could be the next
hot team in the MLB. I think they're gonna run
away with the Al West.

Speaker 1 (01:06:39):
They could for sure, and that's the scary thought. I'm
not counting that Jordan Aluarez boost yet, which I think
might be the difference between a seven and a ten
because he's just doing rehab starts. But once he gets
up there, maybe then I join you in boosting the
Astros a bit up to the stars. My number sixteen,
we talked about him. How about the Chicago Cubs. Chicago

(01:07:00):
Cubs in a little bit of turmoil right now, but
still near the top of the NL, still should make
the playoffs, are basically a lock in there, but you
never really know anything. Could happen down the stretch. Kyle
Tucker hitting a home run today. Huge. We love to
see that from Chicago perspective, but it's definitely a little
concerning all the reports that are coming out of it.

(01:07:22):
Just outside of the top five are the Cubbies.

Speaker 4 (01:07:24):
Here, Yeah, I have the I have the Blue Jays
sitting at numbersiself, I mean the Cup. I'll honestly just
say the Cobs are my number five team. Especially with
the injuries to Kyle Tucker, I'm a little bit worried
about that, but this is a team that's still playing
really well on both sides of the ball. They're pitching
really well, hitting. I mean, I think PCA is gonna

(01:07:45):
take the take the front of the low over there
in Chicago Land, and I think the Cobs just keep
coasting into the playoffs. I don't think they're gonna go
They're gonna go for play for the division crown anymore,
just because the Brewers we'll get there a little bit later.
But the Cubs Wi Coast, I think they're gonna go
to that first or second wild card spot and find

(01:08:05):
themselves in a nice wild card matchup. And then I
mentioned the Blue Jays they're They're they're a weird team.
I don't know if I'm one hundred percent ready to
say they're gonna win the AL East just because their
schedule gets really tough coming soon. But who knows. Well,
I think this last couple of weeks of the last

(01:08:26):
week of August and then the first two weeks i'd
say of September is gonna are gonna be deciding factors
on who wins AL East.

Speaker 1 (01:08:33):
Yeah, the AL East is gonna be a tight race. Again.
I'm just not too big on the Blue Jays. I
just I just don't see I don't see that team
being the best, although the ALE East has not been
the best in general this season. Entering my top five,
that's where we got the Dads. The Padres at number
five here. I like them a lot. I really like

(01:08:54):
this Padres team, but a little bit behind the Dodgers,
still two games back of them. They got a couple
of big series coming up against each other that's gonna
be huge, not just for the division, but for playoff
implications overall. In the Dodgers right above them at number four,
that's the rivalry right there, five to four in my
power rankings, both of these teams not having the kind
of season we expected out of them. The hype was

(01:09:16):
a little bit too much for the Dodgers, but that
was not including the absolute insane amount of injuries to
the arms that they have taken. The Dodgers will be fine.
The Padres will be fine. They're my number five and
my number four team.

Speaker 4 (01:09:31):
No doubt about it. I mean my number four team
is also the Dodgers. I mean, you said it best.
They're arms. I can't. They're one of the top teams
in terms of record right now, but can't. I can't
put them in that class just because of their pitching.
When you have guys like we keep joking about Pik
Hernandez coming out on the mound to pitch to be

(01:09:51):
a reliever, but I mean Edgardo Henriquez as well across
the board. I mean, this is a really, really rough
Dodgers bullpen right now. Really just need some guys to
come off. I r if they can. Yamamoto's been struggling
a little bit. They just lose a series to the
Colorado Rockies. I just don't know what I feel about them.

(01:10:12):
I have them sitting at number four right now, just
because it's the Dodgers, and they're they're hitting is that good?
Their bats are that loaded on the offensive side of
the ball, but they're pitching definitely scares me a bunch.
I have them sitting at number four and number three.
I have the Philadelphia Phillies, the leaders of the NL East,
one of the best teams in the MLB, no doubt
about it. I mean, Bryce Harper, what else is there

(01:10:35):
to really say? Bryce Harper is doing Bryce Harper things
as he always should. Trey Turner's playing phenomenal. JT. Real
Mudo's really kind of resurrected his career the last well,
not resurrecting his career, but it's really gotten hot the
last couple of weeks here, and I think the Phillies
are gonna coast. Honestly, they're probably my most confident pick

(01:10:55):
outside of the Tigers, to coast to the number two, uh,
the number one spot in the NA East.

Speaker 1 (01:11:03):
Yeah, I tend to agree with you there. I've got
the Tigers at three and the Phillies at two. The Phillies,
as good as Bryce Harper has been, which he's been phenomenal,
doing things that we haven't seen at a Philly in
a very long time. Kyle Schwarber of course, making balls
disintegrate as he does. Trey Turner just doing his thing,
getting on base, having an elite defensive season. Kind of

(01:11:25):
out of nowhere. This is a really good Phillies team.
The big issue, of course, the big arm goes down
blood clot that's potentially season ending. They have depth, so
they should be fine, but the Phillies losing Zach Wheeler
is not not what they needed to do here. I
like this team a lot there. At number two, the Tigers.
Tariq scu Ball is gonna win yet another Cy Young

(01:11:48):
because he's the best pitcher in baseball. As long as
they don't collapse down the stretch. This is a Tigers
team that could do a lot of damage in the playoffs.
But of course my number one team. First, we talked
about them already red hot. How about that Brewers team Again,
they've taken just a little bit of a step back,
but still the way that the bats are producing, the

(01:12:08):
lead that they've been able to get up to in
the NL Central is huge. As they I won't say coast,
but they get a nice little cushion so if they
have a bad stretch, they'll be able to recover because
the Cub's very dangerous. They're six for me. There's six
for me for a reason. They're five for you for
a reason. Right, there's a reason that they're that high
up in the MLB. They're also very dangerous. But top

(01:12:30):
three Tigers, Phillies, Brewers as we enter the end of
this week in the MLB.

Speaker 4 (01:12:38):
Yeah, I mean we have pretty much we have very
similar lists this week. I also have the Tigers sitting
at number two and the Brewers are number one. The Brewers,
obviously the number one team in the NB eighty and
forty eight, have a what five game lead or four
game lead outside of anybody else in the entire league.

(01:12:58):
I love this Brewis. I think this is the this
is hopefully. I think this is the year that they
break that constant spiral of them crashing and burning in
the playoffs. I really think this is the year. But
at the very least, they're the number one team in
the MLB right now, and deservingly so. I think they
deserve all the props in the world. But be wary

(01:13:21):
of those Cubs, for sure, no doubt about it. The
Cubs are not dead yet. They are still gonna be
hanging around. And then of course the Tigers Ciung Siung
mostly I mean that him or Garrett Crochet in the AL.
For Cy Young, I don't think there's I think it's
them and everybody else in that in that in the AL.
So I also have the Brewers and Tigers sitting at

(01:13:43):
top two.

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
Yeah, I'll run through my top ten here real quick,
Astros at ten, Mariners, nine Yankees, eight Blue Jays, seven Cubs, Padres, Dodgers,
and then the top three the Detroit Tigers, Phillies at two,
and the Milwaukee Breweries yet again at number one for
the fourth straight time on my list. Over here real quick,

(01:14:07):
before we get out of here, may Rob, I know
you weren't here for the NFL segment, but I do
want your thoughts. Tell me a little bit about the
AFC West. Who's winning it? How many teams making the playoffs?

Speaker 4 (01:14:21):
I think, I really think I have the Broncos sitting
and I have the Broncos winning the als this year
just because of their defenses. As good as their defense was,
it got even better this offseason, it really did, adding
Tai Hufanga on the back line, adding dra Greenlaw that
that team is just not only was it young already,

(01:14:44):
but it's just gotten so much better on the defensive side.
And I'm looking at Bonix to continue to make strides.
I know a lot of people have said he's gonna
have a sophomore year slump. I just don't see it.
I really don't. I think this is a really good
Broncos team that I wouldn't say does to get enough credit,
but definitely a team that you can't you got to
watch out for. I'm looking at Courtland Sutton to continue

(01:15:06):
to play at a high level. They add Evan Ingram
as a tight end. That's gonna be a big time
addition for that team. You still have PS two, the
best corner in the NFL. I'm looking at that team
to continue to play at a high level and win
the AFC West.

Speaker 1 (01:15:22):
You're not worried about You're not worried about the mac
Jones offying of bon Nicks.

Speaker 4 (01:15:27):
I can't. I can't say, I mean, I can't, I can't.
I mean, I just I love I think boon Nicks.
He's he doesn't rely on play calling as much as
mac Jones did. I'd say that's what I would say.
I mean, I think, I think I really think bon
Nicks is going to be one of the next best

(01:15:47):
quarterbacks coming up in this this year.

Speaker 1 (01:15:51):
We'll see, we'll see if I have to swallow my words,
but as it stands right now, if there is no
bon Nicks haters alive, then I'm no longer with us.
But anyway, we'll talk more football as Monday approaches, we'll
talk everything that happened in college football at top twenty
five matchup in Ireland. Keep an eye out for our

(01:16:11):
show on Monday. Can't wait to see you all.

Speaker 3 (01:16:14):
Then.

Speaker 1 (01:16:15):
We have been your hosts, Jeremy Lapidis and nay Rob Fittemi.
Check us out on every single platform YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, TikTok,
everywhere you get your podcasts. We'll see then have a
good one. Bye bye,

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