The North Remembers

[00:00:04] Sports Reports, no gimmicks, no clowns 2-5, Mr. Logical, we run this town Real talk only, no chasing, no doubt From the east to the west, it's the order we shout Mic check, lights flash, game time, stay ready Two vets in the zone, keep the pressure real heavy Big hits, big plays, yeah, we breaking it down Truth rings in your speakers, every word is the crown From the north side, hustle to that southern flame Midwest grind, west coast in the game Sports Talk Kings, yeah, we wear that crown Turn it up, let them know, it's about to go down

[00:00:34] Sports Reports, no gimmicks, no clowns 2-5, Mr. Lottical, we run this town Real talk only, no chasing, no doubt From the east to the west, it's the order we shout It's about to go down Yes, it is Tuesday night

[00:01:04] The sounds that you hear in your ears Our Sports Reports is ordered Mr. Lottical, the world famous, world renowned You're representing everything Jersey You know what I'm saying, except for, I don't think he repping Newark But you know, that's a whole nother story And then down here in the Alamo You know, do us a favor out there Tonight, we're going to be talking about the NFC North

[00:01:32] Probably the toughest division in the whole league To make a prediction about At least for me it was You know what I'm saying, but like, review, subscribe Share, rate, do all the free things Do all the good things, appreciate the effort To make something out of this mess of a division You know what I mean Liquid death in hand Check out Say Less, Say More Thursdays, we are everywhere That you get your podcasts You know what I'm saying, let's get right to it So Mr. Logical

[00:02:02] This division Is nuts As I said in the intro Because, you know All four teams finished with a winning record last year The Bears Won the division Even though they only went 2-4 Against the rest The rest of the division You know, the Lions finished last And went 2-4 Against the division And then you had Minnesota and Green Bay Both go 4-2 Against the division So

[00:02:33] SEC style, right? Is this the best division in football? It probably has Realistically An argument that That could be made For three out of four teams To win it And the one team That I think is probably Not on The radar to win it Could do some real damage Based off their coaches

[00:03:01] Ability to take quarterbacks And kind of turn Magic, you know Clay into Castles You know what I mean? So it's like Okay That's your piece there But yeah, realistically Like if you are If you're from Illinois Or, you know Northwestern Indiana You about to get the Bears In your region You can make an argument In a bar With a Green Bay fan As to why Your team is going to go 11-6 In win this division

[00:03:31] And if you're from Wisconsin You can go to Detroit And argue that Hey, I think we can go 12-5 In win this division If you're Detroit You'd be like Listen, I think we can do 14-3 Replicate what we did A couple years ago Just hopefully have Better playoff success Just because of what you have In the Minnesota We can play spoilers And if we get on The right kind of roll 9-8 Could be 11-6 If we get the coin toss A couple times Or the ball to bounce Our way a couple times

[00:04:00] So yeah It's up there Yeah, I think all four teams Can win the division I think all four teams Could make the playoffs Like be the first division Where all four teams Actually make it in Because I mean We ain't got there yet But you know what I mean I'm looking at San Francisco Right now Well, I'm looking at San Francisco right now You know And you know Every day The injuries just keep On coming on You know Seattle lost Kenneth Walker Jr. You know And some other pieces You know

[00:04:30] I feel like there's one Coming out the south And then You know The NFC East You know We like Philly and Dallas As far as You know Each of us picked One of those two teams To win the division But we'll see But here's the question Of all questions We're a couple of years removed Was Sean McVay right About Jared Goff? No I don't think so

[00:05:00] Because If he would have turned into Like Carson Wentz After the trade Then yeah It would have been Definitively he's right Because Let's keep it real He went to one Super Bowl With Jared Goff They only scored Three points That's because Belichick Belichick Made you Out Overthink yourself Instead of just Running your offense At work And then he went To one Super Bowl With Matthew Stafford Where

[00:05:28] If you get a bump On Aaron Donald Jamar Chase is wide Open down the sideline For Burrow And hit him For a touchdown And they win Or The bad Like I said The bad I believe It was a defensive Holding call Inside the 10 I don't Like he literally Didn't touch him So you're Fourth and seven From the nine With Matthew Stafford With the Bengals With a chance to win So I think In the The differences In the Super Bowl With Jared Goff

[00:05:58] The pass That I believe Was Brandon Cook Had in his hand In the end zone It got knocked Out by McCourty Is The opposite Happened when They got the Phantom Holding call And it's not like Yeah And it's not like Stafford won MVP Or something either You know what I mean Super Bowl MVP That year And you know So with Jared Goff I'm still kind of On the fence Like I think He's a really good You know But I don't know

[00:06:28] If he is A galvanizer I don't know If he's the guy That you can just Put the ball in his hand And say Take us down the field I don't know If he's that guy I know I know I'm not saying That as a Yeah I'm not saying That as a criticism Yeah I'm not saying That as a criticism I'm just saying That I just don't Believe that to be true Like he'll put up Numbers But even a few Years ago When they won The division And had everything On the line

[00:06:57] You know He threw the Pick six against Washington A few more You know A couple of more Picks in that Playoff game Then of course You know They had the lead In San Francisco You know With a chance To go to the Super Bowl In the NFC Championship game And the 49ers Were able to walk That down And get to the Super Bowl Instead That's also A lot of Dan Camp We put a lot At his feet Because they Kicked that field Goal Into In the Second half They had the They had the Big Jameson Williams Reverse

[00:07:27] And then San Francisco Came out Get the ball First Third quarter Cut the lead To 10 I believe No They cut it To 14 Because San Francisco Kicked the field Goal Cut it To 14 If they Would have Just kicked The field Goal It would Have been Back to 17 It would Have been Back to Three Possession Game I believe At that Point Each team Had had The ball Probably Like five Or so Minutes Each So you're

[00:07:57] Looking at Maybe five And a half Six minutes Left in the Third And now San Francisco Has to still Battle back And you've Had them You had them Against the Ropes all Time So I Think that Was a lot Of Dan Gilbert Stuff And that And then You had Jarrett Golf You know For the Record You know The last Four seasons He's thrown For at least 4400 yards In each season So he's been Performing Last year They just had Injuries pile up For the most Part Especially in The secondary You know Which Which ain't

[00:08:27] Gonna help Anybody All right So next Question Were the Bears a fluke Last year No Because They They They Played And Won The way They wanted To play Like it Wasn't Like When Kansas City Wanted to Outscore You And blow You out And they Were getting Like a Blocked Field goal At the end Of the game And win a Game You know Win a game 19 to 17 Like the Bears were

[00:08:57] Trying to Like air It out Like they Were trying To really Showcase This is Bear Down This Is This Exactly What Ben Johnson Wanted To do What he Had Planned For Kayla Williams Sometimes It worked Out Sometimes It didn't But I Think That's How they They Wanted to Play So I Don't Think it Was luck I think It's Just now They Have This Lofty Goal Of Scoring The Most Points In The NFL But if You're Up 10 In The

[00:09:27] Third Might Just Want to Just Milk That Clock You Don't Have To Run The Trick Play Play Action Fumble Rooski And All That Just Like You Know Get on Get Bill Parcells Just Be A coach Don't Be A Madden Player Who Also Coats NFL Team So So So This Year Is A Good Test For These Theories Are They A Fluke Were They A Fluke Because They Led The League In Turnovers Last Year You Know Forced Turnovers But

[00:09:56] The Three People That Were Responsible For The Majority Of Those Turnovers Are Gone So Now We You Know It Doesn't Matter Who Is There They Like You Remember Back In The Day You Know Peanut Tillman With The Punch And There's Just Certain Players And Certain Teams That Do Revolutionize Football Yeah So So We're Going To See If The

[00:10:26] Bears Were Made Up Of I Understand Is Like A Laissez Fair Kind Of Approach And He Is You Know Like I Talked About The Times

[00:10:56] At The Podium When He Talked About How You Know He Ran Down Kind Of His Stats Like He Talked This In Front Of The Press I Sometimes I Feel Like He's Disconnected Like The Same Way I Felt About Stefanski And The Same Way I Felt About Mike McCarthy I Just Felt Like When You Go To The Podium And You The Quarterback Like Everything You Say Just Be Kirk Cousins At The Podium Most Of Your Stats Most NFL Quarterback Stats Unless You're Having An

[00:11:25] Outstanding Year Your Weeks Are Going To Be Touchdown And Suburations Will Be About Two To One Maybe Two And Half To One Most Of You Are Going To Have The Same Kind Of Even Keeled Numbers When You're A Starter Your Top 12 Top 14 Guys Win Or Lose Eli Manning Kirk Cousins Jalen Hurst At The Podium And I Think That

[00:11:55] Saves You And It Gives You The Appearance That You Said It Wasn't His Job To Get Marvin Harrison Jr. The Ball It's Like Oh It's Literally Like Job Description Number One Maybe Two Don't Turn The Ball Over Get The Ball To Your Playmakers In Space He's A Six Foot Four Six Foot Five Playmaker

[00:12:24] In Descension There's A Disconnect Here And I Think A Lot Of It Stemmed From His Early Desire To Get His Contract Done And The Holdout And The Call Of Duty And Stuff Getting Leaked Because You Weren't Kirk Cousins At The Podium You Weren't Eli You Weren't Jalen At The Podium If You Keep The Problems You

[00:12:54] Have Inside The Building You Could Have Gone And Put Everything On Blast But You Took Everything Cardinals Related Off Your Instagram Because You Wanted A Contract A Year Early You Know Like Just Little Stuff Like That I Just Didn't Rock With And Then Ultimately It

[00:13:27] October Yeah Yeah Basically For The Dallas Game Which I Believe Is Mid October Uh I I Think They Can The Problem Is Like Can They Stick To Can Josh Jacobs Well Get to For Where He's You Know He's Ready To

[00:13:59] Granted Yeah I Don't You Know I'm Not A Gamble I'm Not We're Not Advocates For Gambling But I Had A Three Leg Parlay That Was Like Christian Watson Touchdown Uh I Think It Was Like Zay Flowers Touchdown And I Needed Like Josh Jacobs Touchdown Or Something Like That I Was Like Okay I Got Two Out Of Three In The First Quarter I'm Straight And He Just Didn't Look Good That Game And I Think That Was Kind Of Foretelling How The The Thing About That Though Mr. Logical Is That We

[00:14:50] Looking Into Your Crystal Ball Is Matt LaFleur The Coach Of The Packers Next Season When Are They Finishing The Division Third Last Year Is It Is Right Now Okay Well That's The Thing If Finishing Third They Could Still Get To The Playoff Yeah I Think A Ten And Seven

[00:15:20] Third Gets You You're Ten And Six And You And Detroit Are Battling For Who's Going To Be Eleven And Six Who's Going To Be Ten And Seven I Think That Gets You In But If You You Shit The Bed With Some Of These Early Games Like Hypothetically You

[00:15:59] Last Year Until Like Somebody Lost The Ball In The Air On One Of Malik Willis Passes Yeah That Can't With The Overtime Yeah That's What I'm Saying So As Long As You Beat The Team You're Supposed To Beat I Have The Middle Of The Season They Have A Tough Stretch Where I'm Predicting Maybe Potentially Four Losses In A Row But

[00:16:29] I Could Be Swayed To Go To Three So Like As Long As They Can Avoid That Strap That I Have Kind Of Setting The Schedule Then I Think He'll Be All Right Well You Know Sports Reports Is Or We Start With The Winner So Let's Talk About The Chicago Bears So They Won Their First Division Title Since 2018 I Mentioned They Finished Two And Four Division Even Though

[00:17:00] Chicago and Detroit were two of the most injured teams in the league, so it made what Chicago did even more impressive, considering that. Per Warren Sharp, since 2022, the Chicago Bears lead all teams in penalty yards, and not only that, but by a whole 211 yards over the New York Jets. So where you get into some of the – I can't remember.

[00:17:27] So where you get into some of that fluke stuff that I was asking about, right? They won seven one-score games last year. You know, obviously hard to repeat that. Out of the 33 turnovers that they forced, 15 of them were forced by three players who are no longer on the roster. They were 23rd in total defense. So we talk about Tampa Bay and the Sammy Sosa style of play where it's either a sack

[00:17:56] or you moved the ball up and down the field on them. That was the Bears. They either turned you over or you were going up and down the field. Remember that game against Cincinnati that they came back and won? They gave up 42 points in that game. So that's where I start to question the Bears a little bit. Then on top of that, you know, they had Drew Dahlman, their starting center, just decide to retire. You know, 27 years old.

[00:18:21] You got DJ Moore gone, even though that could be a good thing because from our vantage point. DJ Moore was gone the year and a half ago. He was gone when he walked up the field mid-play. Right. And, you know, he's in Buffalo now. But Roma Dunze, you know, dropped some passes last year. He wasn't exactly up to par. Luther Burden is hurt right now. He's expected to be back. But, you know, he's hurt at the moment. So it just makes you wonder.

[00:18:50] And just for those of you out there that like to talk about these things, Caleb Williams fell about 58 yards short of 4,000 yards, becoming the first Bear quarterback to ever throw the 4,000 yards. Mr. Logical, how do you feel about the Bears this year? I feel of the three teams I think could win the division, they are probably the most likely to finish third.

[00:19:21] Okay. Like you said, the 7-1 score games, we talked about that a few years ago when the Minnesota Vikings had, I think they had like a 13-4 season with Kirk Cousins and they won like 7 or 8 one-score games. Came back, some injuries happened. I think he popped his Achilles and, you know, it just looked a lot different. I do think that the confidence that Ben Johnson has in himself, first and foremost, in the offense that he's designed

[00:19:46] and his expectation of Caleb Williams to be able to execute that offense, I think that won't waver. So being down 24-13 with eight minutes left, I don't think they would panic. I don't think – I think they just kind of – I think the offense would know, like, listen, we go out here, we get this touchdown, we get this two-point conversion, defense, you get us the ball back, we're going to go down. At a minimum, tie the game, probably winning.

[00:20:16] I think they believe that because I think the confidence kind of resonates and permeates throughout the building. The problem is, if you look at their schedule, let's say they start at 2-0. Yeah, I think so. You know, they get the game. I think they start 4-2. But the Philly game can be tough because we don't know what Philly looks like.

[00:20:44] We don't know if Philly's going to get back to how they played when Jalen Hurts was – before Jalen Hurts got his money because that's where they're dangerous. Control the line of scrimmage. We talked – like you said, if the Bears didn't turn you over, you were moving the ball. Yeah. The last thing you want to see is a team that's watching Saquon Barkley come downhill. So – No, I think – don't forget, I think this is one of those games too because remember, you know, the Bears ran for 281 on them in Philly last year.

[00:21:12] So, like, I think Philly's going to be house of fire that game. So, that's their first loss that I got them taking. Like, Saquon's looking for Adrian Peterson's record kind of game. So, that's something. But like I said, by then, they're 2-1. You get your tough game early. You said they were 2-4 in division. They can't go out and lose to, like, Detroit. And it looks like we're tracking it down.

[00:21:42] Detroit – the first Detroit game. The first Detroit game is week 12. Week 12. So, I mean, as long as they don't lose any silly games and they take care of home, I think they'll be fine because it's like – So, I think that their schedule, just going off of how I feel about them, I think their schedule is toss-up central. You know what I mean? Because, like I said, I got them starting 4-2. So, I got them losing to Philly.

[00:22:10] I got them losing to At-Lambo. To toss-up start week seven. Hold on. I thought she was about to say Atlanta. Oh, no, no, no. I was not about to say that. I was not about to say that. I really thought she was about to say, I got them losing at At-Lambo. No, I was not about to say that. I was not about to say that. Mike's not really big too five. No. Even I don't have it. No, I – No, I got them losing at Lambo.

[00:22:35] So, and then, you know, after that Atlanta game, I think they got three – before the bye week, all three of those games are toss-ups. You know, like New England – They won't be out on Tampa Bay. Yeah, so New England you might like just because it's at home, right? So, like if it was at Foxboro, maybe I feel a little more confident about New England. But it's at Soldier Field. So, okay, like, but still toss-up. You know, you got to go to Seattle. If you're playing Seattle at home, I'd probably pick you.

[00:23:04] But that's a tough place, obviously. I don't have to get into that. That's a tough place to play. You got 10 days. You got four days after you. Like I said, I'm probably going to be at that Falcons-Bears game. Shout-out to my boy Rob the Mexican out of L.A. He's a Bears fan. We're going to probably shoot down to Atlanta and check that game out. Also, Atlanta versus Washington, once again, is late in the year again. We can't get a fall game, so we can actually go. But you got four days. You're probably going to take care of business because Atlanta.

[00:23:36] You get four days. You catch the Wingland. Maybe they're in their Super Bowl hangover by that window where they're sitting at 3-3. Or just, you know, the road teams don't typically do well on Thursday night football. Yeah, and like I said, you're going to have – I don't want to say an easy game because it's NFL. But you're going to have a game where you might be in control very early in the third, like where it's like, okay, we got this game wrapped up. And you're just kind of looking forward to Thursday.

[00:24:05] And then coming out of Dubai, you know, I think they get New Orleans. Then they get that first game at Detroit. But then there's another toss-up, Jacksonville. Was Jacksonville going to be at that point in the year? Depending on the weather because, you know, that's a December game. So maybe the weather helps you out. They go to Miami, who's probably going to be the worst team in the league. They go to Orchard Park. Then they go Green Bay and Detroit, both at home, back-to-back. And then they close at Minnesota.

[00:24:32] So all things considered, this could be a 12-5, 11-16 if everything clicks. But I got questions, you know, because I talked about the receivers. But they do have Colston Loveland and Cole Komet at tight end. So you like both of them. You know, the running game, you know, should be up to par provided that, you know, the offensive line doesn't take too much of a step back.

[00:24:57] But on defense, they didn't add anybody next to Montez Sweat, which I think would have helped them out if they had somebody on the other side of him. He had the best year of his career last year. They had Javon Dexter, who showed a little potential. Tyler Booker, you know, finished with four and a half sacks in his last six games. So maybe you're counting on a continuance of that where maybe he showed some signs and comes into this year ready to rock and roll.

[00:25:24] So they had Tremaine Edmonds, you know, who's gone now. And, you know, but they brought in Devin Bush to replace him. So if nothing else, they got faster. And they got another guy that could get into past coverage. You know, in the cornerback room, you know, can Jalen Johnson and Kyla Gordon stay healthy? I think that when Jalen Johnson's healthy, you know, he's a top six or seven corner in the league. You know what I mean? So if he can stay healthy, cool. But I brought it up, right?

[00:25:55] Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Nashawn Wright, you know, gone. You know, and Byard and Wright in particular were standouts last year. Byard was forced to turnovers and Wright gave them another corner that could play semi-lockdown defense. So we might have to see Cam Lewis. You know, he came in from Buffalo. We might get Malik Muhammad, a rookie out of Texas. He's 6'4", 4'4", 240.

[00:26:24] So keep your eye on that. But Byard and Wright had 15 of the Bears' 30 – or they forced 15 of the Bears' 33 turnovers last year. They drafted Dylan Fienneman out of Oregon at safety in the first round, who a lot of people like. He can fly around the field as well. Kobe Bryant just got hurt. He had the combine showcase that was like, hey, let's look at this guy's film again. Yeah. Kobe Bryant is hurt now.

[00:26:52] So, like, I think that the Bears are a team that is so dependent – or at least going back to last year, that's all I have to go off of with this iteration of the Bears. They were so dependent on turnovers that I think any regression could be an extra loss or two. 22 turnovers, they don't win those games. Yeah. And you know what I mean? So looking at this, though, like I said, I got them 4-2.

[00:27:20] I think they can get to the bye week 5-3. I think they could beat New England. I think they could beat Tampa. I'm going to chalk up the loss to Seattle. So, then, you know, going to Detroit is going to be tough. So after 14 or 13 games, I guess that would be, if they're sitting at 8-5 at least, you got to feel pretty good. You know, and then, you know, I think they lose at Buffalo.

[00:27:47] So maybe that last game at Minnesota becomes you win the division with a win, you know, or like, you know, that could be the difference between – you'll still make the playoffs probably, but that'll be the difference in hosting a home game or not. So, I don't know. Yeah, I think their schedule lays out – Yeah, their schedule lays out for their confidence to be fully intact.

[00:28:12] In fact, I think you have two weeks where what you installed this offseason, you go out there, deploy it, see if it works. You get those two wins convincingly. I'm talking like 28-17, like I said, the Minnesota game, rivalry, you know, rivalry, division game. You go out there, you take care of business, 28, you know, 20, something like that. Like, it's a decisive win.

[00:28:41] It's not like, oh, we needed Caleb to pull out a miracle in the fourth. Well, I think Minnesota is a little bit better than you do, though, because like when I look at them, right, they started out – Oh, no, like – Yeah, I'm not saying like they're going to be bad, but I'm saying like if you can get those two wins convincingly, then I think you go – I think you host Philly with confidence because Philly is probably your biggest test early on. Right, early on, yeah.

[00:29:05] We know how Caleb Williams sometimes – like remember him in SC, remember his rookie year where it's like, you know, you – he rides the emotions a lot. Well, see, that's the other problem that I have with the Bears. That's the other problem that I have with the Bears. You were talking about how if they're down 24-13, you know, how they're unflappable. The problem is that they're always down 24-13, you know what I mean, because apparently he's a fourth quarter. He's a clutch player.

[00:29:33] He makes awesome spectacular plays when the game is on the line. But can we make plays earlier that we don't have to get to that point? And that's where I kind of – You can't hit the guy in the flat for the six-yard game in the first round, yeah. And that's where I feel like the Bears could get in trouble because, like, not that they can't do it, but you shouldn't have to live your life like that every week. You know what I mean? So that's where it's kind of questionable.

[00:29:58] But, you know, up in Green Bay, three straight years they finished as a seventh seed. You know what that means? That means they have not hosted a playoff game. So you can't run around here talking about the aura of Lambeau Field if you never have to defend it. So, you know, Jordan Love has been real Eli Manning-ish at times. From the standpoint of one week he looks like a pro bowler, you think that he's about to take that next step to elite status?

[00:30:27] Because when you watch ESPN and listen to all the shows, you would think that Jordan Love is a top three quarterback in the league sometimes, the way that they talk about him. You know what I mean? All the time. But the next game he'll come out, no touchdowns, won't throw an interception per se, but no interception, no touchdown. You know, you're not even taking chances or risk, you know,

[00:30:53] and it's not as if Green Bay, because going back to the Josh Jacobs conversation, if Josh Jacobs misses time, you don't even have Emmanuel Wilson this year who filled in last year with some tough minutes, four and a half yards of carry. You know, you're relying on Chris Brooks and Marshawn Lloyd, who you've been waiting to be healthy for years, at least since he's been in the league. So from that standpoint, if you can't run the ball, then I have to remember that you don't have Romeo Dobbs anymore.

[00:31:22] You know, Dontavious Wicks is in Philadelphia. So now you're just down to Christian Watson, who can't stay healthy. You know, Jaden Reed, who got hurt last year. Soft tissue injuries. There you go. You know, and, you know, so then you're stuck with maybe Savion Williams, who is a special teams god. But you might end up in a position where, and this will make Mr. Logical Smile,

[00:31:48] you might end up in a position where he's a receiver, but you're playing him the Corderell Patterson role. You know what I mean? Where he's going to have to take snaps in the backfield because everybody else is either ineffective or just not there. The other point is, is that LaFleur, I think, needs to commit to the run a little bit more, you know, to take some of that pressure off of Jordan Love. Because I think a lot of times they fall into the trap of, Ayo, Jordan, go be spectacular.

[00:32:17] And I think that Jordan has moments where he takes the play that he doesn't need to take. Like, he's, like, still tempted by, I want to make this throw. That playoff game against San Francisco and he threw it back across the middle of the field up three. Yeah. Yeah, he does that at the worst times. Because remember last year, we were having a conversation about Jordan Love where I said something similar. And the Green Bay fans went off on me. And I'm like, well, how'd that work out for you?

[00:32:46] Hey, I picked Green Bay to go to the Super Bowl last year. So I wasn't trying to hate. But, you know what I'm saying? But it just, I got to tell the truth or at least the truth as I see it. But anyway, the Micah Parsons injury, right? You know, they were 9-3-1. You know, didn't win another game. You know, for the rest of the season. You know, once he got hurt in Denver. You know, now Jeff Halfley, their defensive coordinator, is the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Miami Dolphins.

[00:33:15] But, Mr. Logical, the Packers made one of the best hires that you could have made at defensive coordinator. They went and got Jonathan Gannon, you know, fired by the Cardinals, who's going to bring his 3-4 into the greater Wisconsin area. So maybe... Same speech he gave in Arizona on hard knocks? Well, no, because he ain't the head coach now. Because that energy was not getting anybody to put their shoulder pads on, that's for sure.

[00:33:45] So my problem with the Packers, right? So last year, my thought was Micah Parsons filled... He masked a lot. You know, because Green Bay is not... In recent years, they haven't been a team that just has talent everywhere. They have young guys that can play football. But they don't have the standout talent. They don't have the Miles Garrett. You know, they didn't have the lockdown corner. They didn't have those things.

[00:34:12] So I thought that by grabbing Micah Parsons last year, that would kind of set them up for that, where he can hide some of that, get pressure on the quarterback, and some of those flaws don't get exposed. Now he's not there again. So now Green Bay brought in Jason Hargrave. You know, you're hoping that you get a little bit more out of, you know, Lucas Van Ness, who they took a couple years ago in the draft.

[00:34:40] He's had flashes and moments here and there, but it just hasn't materialized into consistency. They went out and got the NFL tackles leader, Zaire Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts, 173 tackles last year. You know, so as many tackles as he has, he still misses a lot of tackles. But, you know, you have that at least. They like Chris McClellan, who they got out to draft. You know, I think of him as a Christian Wilkins type. So there's pieces there. But the problem that I started this conversation with was the secondary.

[00:35:09] You know, so they got Xavier McKinney, you know, one of my favorite players, Ball Hawk back there. But the corners, Keyshawn Nixon last year defended 17 passes. He had a 105.2 passer rating that quarterbacks had against him. You know, even though he made those plays. That means you're just being hunted. You're being hunted like James Harden at a pick and roll. Right.

[00:35:33] If you defend 17 passes instead of a passer rating of 105 against you, that means they just said, you know what, that was luck. Right. So then now this week, you know, and going into preseason, he's been getting second team reps, you know. And, you know, who's on the job? Benjamin St. Juiced. So if you can't beat him out. Your favorite player. Yeah. If you can't beat him out.

[00:36:03] They did grab Brandon Siss from South Carolina. So they have a lot of faith in him, I think. He's going to be a good player. We'll see how it works out. But they lost Gary to Dallas in the trade. They lost for Sean Gary to Dallas. I don't know how do you make two trades with the same team in your conference? Especially a team like Dallas that has. Like, why are you giving them anything? Like, I'm not dealing with you. Like, I'm only making trades with teams that are drafting in the top 10. Yeah.

[00:36:32] Like, I'm not calling you if your quarterback is $60 million. I'm not accepting your phone. I'm not helping you do anything. They gave him two players. So what are your thoughts on Green Bay? So what are your thoughts on Green Bay? Green Bay because, I don't know, I don't want to lay it off the feet of the quarterback. But you kind of have to. It's not just quarterback. It's something we talked about last year where I personally, like, I felt like Raheem Morris

[00:37:02] was on his way out in Atlanta. And I was like, if we can get, if LaFleur is really out. Because we're having that conversation. Like I said, when Micah went out, like you said, they had nine wins. They were a 6-7-8 win team. And the conversation was, we don't know if Matt LaFleur is going to be back next year. And I'm like, well, if he goes, either give me Tomlin in Atlanta with Matt LaFleur or Matt LaFleur's

[00:37:31] offensive coordinator. Or if Tom doesn't want to come to Atlanta and he wants to retire, give me Matt LaFleur as a head coach. Oh, I think if LaFleur isn't there, I think he's head coach the next day. Yeah, absolutely. I think he gets a job quicker than Stefanski did. Yeah. And the thing about Stefanski, Stefanski looked like he was completely disconnected. The LaFleur looks like he was being blamed for people just not running right routes or making the problem. You know what I think?

[00:37:57] I think the problem with the Packers is they're doing things the way that you want your team to do things. You know, they draft players. They try to develop them. So they'll get a guy, even though they grabbed him in the first round, he might not be ready to play for another year and a half or so. You know what I mean? So it's like, it's one of those things. So in turn, like I was talking about how they don't have top shelf talent. They put all this time in Romeo Dobbs. He's gone now. You know what I mean? They don't get a lot of free agents.

[00:38:26] They're kind of like the Utah NFL where it's like- They're like the Steelers used to be. You're like, but the Steelers are like decent location, you know, legacy team, historical team. But it's just like getting free agents like Odell Beckham on a free agent tour, even though Jordan Love is a top tier quarterback, probably never was really truly considering going to Green Bay.

[00:38:55] The problem is Green Bay is going to lose a silly game. They're going to lose a Carolina game at home. They're going to drop a game to where you can- I can pencil them in right now. You brought up that Giants game from last year that they almost lost. That they almost lost.

[00:39:15] I can go right now 11-6 with a varying degree of confidence, but a realistic 9-8 based off of just the way the NFL works out and then how they've kind of played over the recent years is also on the board again for this year, even though they probably have aspirations of at least getting double-digit wins.

[00:39:42] I think 9-8 is realistic and 11-6 is, you know, almost equally as realistic. 50-1-49. So they have Jordan Morgan. I was about to say Jordan Mason. Jordan Morgan, you know, who they're moving back to left tackle. He played left tackle in college, but then he had the Will Campbell situation where are his arms too small to do this?

[00:40:10] You know, so they're going to give it a try. So now you're tinkering with the offensive line. You know, when I'm already having questions about your quarterback, I'm already having questions about can you run the football? So like this was a one-year thing. When I said last year, I thought the Packers could make the Super Bowl. That was their window. It was last year. You got to get that done. That window's shut now. You know what I mean? And I don't view the Packers in that same way. But I do think that there's a chance they could start four and one here.

[00:40:41] That's, and you know, and that's going to be the issue. But like you said, right? Who are they going to lose to that they shouldn't? So I think they could lose at Minnesota to start the season. Then I think they could win the next four. You know, or they could be the ones that lose to the Jets. Remember they lost to the Browns last year. You know, I held the 10 points and lost to the Browns last year. So the thing about the Jets though. Yeah. The thing about the Jets is unlikely.

[00:41:11] Like I was watching something. Chris Long, Harvey Long. So, you know, he played for the Eagles and he played for the Rams. And he was showing highlights of Reuben Bain at like the joint practice. And he was like grabbing Gino and like spinning him around and hitting his arm in the drills. And he was like, none of the offensive linemen were fighting Reuben Bain. He was like, oh, line. Like, where is your fight? Like this guy's grabbing your quarterback in practice where you're not supposed

[00:41:41] to touch the quarterback. So it's like not a lot of fighting the Jets. So two and 15 for the Jets is on the table. I doubt that they lose that game that early. I think the game they could lose early, like you said, Minnesota. Minnesota. My thing, I got a four game stretch. Dallas, Detroit, Carolina, New England that they could lose all four of those. And then they got Minnesota on the back end of that. Yeah. So. And then they get, look at the bye week. Then they come out the bye week and go to LA.

[00:42:10] Yeah. Yeah. So I think that could be a tough stretch just off of name alone. If we think, you know, we're thinking Dallas. I just have faith in Dallas for some reason. I think Dallas is always kind of built to be a good team. I think they put the right players in position is sometimes execution is off. And I don't know if that's because they don't really have full autonomy over their teams because they have an overarching neophyte in the. Yeah.

[00:42:41] So, so the good news is running their team. So like, you know, that's why I was Phil about Dallas, but yeah, that four game stretch, they can lose all four of those games. Yeah. The good news is they get that Houston game late at Lambeau. We saw CJ Stroud in the cold a couple of times last year. So you've, you gotta feel pretty good about it. They might run the balls 60. They're going to run the balls 66 times. And yeah, you gotta go. If Houston goes outside in the cold again, but this California kick at quarterback, that

[00:43:09] ball is getting handed off at least 30, 36 to 38 times. So I'm a call it. My receiver is going to run the ball those games. So I'm going to say that after 10 games before the, but I think they go into the bye week somewhere near five and five, six and four. Does LaFleur have his job five and five? Yes. Going into the bye week. No. Yeah.

[00:43:38] I think, I think LaFleur keeps his job all the way through unless they're just getting shit kicked. You know what I mean? You don't think five and five will be considered them. We are looking at it objectively. Just two people watching, looking at the schedule and we can both see, Hey, this, I think six and four, which is a good 10 games, 10 week stretch for NFL team that doesn't get a bye week.

[00:44:05] I mean, considering that you play, considering that in that 10 week stretch, you go to Minnesota, you go to Tampa, you play the bears, Cowboys and Detroit at Detroit back to back to back. You know, you go to Foxboro, you know, so I think in that couple of, couple of division winners in Carolina and New England. Yeah. So I think six and four or five and five, I think you just ride it through. I think LaFleur has done enough of there.

[00:44:34] Theoretically, he's done enough there that you just see it through. You know, if they're now, if they get to five and eight, that's when you start to kind of look at it and go, all right, like, so your scenario, so it's the thing like a year scenario, you got on one, then you have four and one. At that four and one point, right? I got four consecutive losses.

[00:44:58] So when you have them four and one going into week six, I got, that puts them at four and two, four and three, four and four, four and five going into Minnesota. Now you leave that Minnesota game four and six. I don't think he comes back after the bye. Which is like I said, because they're, because they're Green Bay, you know, and they're playing. Well, I know, I know it's just one game, but four and six and five and five is a big difference. You know what I mean? Like, even though it's just one game, that's a, that's a, that's five out of six losses.

[00:45:28] Right. And then you got to go and then you got to go to the Rams after that. Then you got to go. I mean, just going off of the environment, not necessarily the team. You got to go into the house of horrors after that. Then you get Buffalo, even though it's at home, you know, you still get Buffalo. Still Buffalo. So six, five, two 35, Josh Allen. So could you, so could you lose the Buffalo? And then Jonathan Gannon is your interim for the Miami game.

[00:45:59] It's yes. It's a tough, like I said, 11 and six is optimistic. Nine and eight is realistic. Eight and nine on the table. Just because we, we, there has to be some residual leftover resentment for lack of a better word. Whatever report that came out about the head coach being gone. They joined love early on. I think they paid him.

[00:46:27] I think he was one of the first guys to kind of get that 50. So however many years he has on that, do you, can you start mapping the future? If you're four and six and start thinking like, you know what, I don't know if I would agree up this guy for 62 million. Well, you know, it makes you wonder because like I said, they didn't win a game once Micah went down last year. So even me saying that they could start four and one is beyond optimistic. You know what I mean?

[00:46:55] Because like, they're still going to have some of those same issues, you know, without Micah there. Like, I think Hargrave is a good pickup. He's obviously not Micah Parsons. You know, I like the Zaire pickup. It's just going to be like, like the good news is early in those four games, you know, you're playing against Geno Smith and either Tua or Penix for two of those games.

[00:47:18] So you're playing against two teams that will not be able to control the line of scrimmage or the clock. And they probably will give you multiple opportunities. We never know what the temperament could be in Tampa Bay. Right. Is Vita Vail going to be playing yet? Or is his Baker? Yeah. Like, so you know.

[00:47:39] Is all those Baker passes, the Godwin going to be picked off by the safety because he's fortunate and now is kind of, you know, so you and you have an opportunity to your first five weeks. You're playing against teams that have holes from last year and flaws that have carried over. Like you talked about Chicago, three guys that caused all those turnovers aren't there. Can you get through that game mistake free and went and get out of there, get out of there with a 27, 24 victory?

[00:48:06] So the problem is, is that Green Bay, I think, is a lot more because, like I said, I don't think they have talent, but they don't have like just an elite embarrassment of riches, if you will. They don't have an elite group. You need an elite group. Yeah. So I think Green Bay is a little more health dependent than a lot of other teams that are considered playoff contenders.

[00:48:29] Like health is a big, going to be a big thing for them because even if they lose Jordan Love, for example, Malik Willis came in last year and played admirably for the condition. You know, they got Tyrod Taylor as the backup now, you know, and you know, the running game we just talked about. They do get, they do get Tucker Kraft back from injury, but he might need a couple of weeks to work back in. And so, so, so that's where like the Packers, like, I don't, I don't know if they finish last, but it's not off the table.

[00:49:00] Yeah. I put it like that. It's definitely a toss of, I think it might be one of the most interesting divisions to watch. I mean, they do have an abundance of riches of personalities. If you think about that division, I think every head coach, like Kevin O'Connell just has, he's the new quarterback whisperers. So to speak, you, if you think about how he just kind of developed, you know, reinvented Sam Darnold.

[00:49:29] Now Sam Darnold's a Super winning quarterback and how he's done it with this, this, this revamp. It's they're playing with fire in Minnesota by just keep running it back with these multiple quarterbacks. Um, but yeah, it's a tough, which is funny. Cause that's the theme that I'm going to talk about next. So, so we've been in France for a long time. So yeah, it was just naturally. So, so Minnesota, you know, they, they started four and eight last year. You know, they started off hot, right?

[00:49:58] JJ McCarthy had the big comeback on Monday night football. It was like, okay, maybe this guy can play. Highlight of his NFL career. Nope. And then before you blinked, he got hurt. You know, we were stuck watching Carson Wentz on our TV screens again. You know, it just went to hell from there, but they finished the year winning their last five games. You know, they swept Detroit. They finished four and two in the division.

[00:50:27] So this is the thing, Mr. Logical. And I, and I, I know I was being facetious earlier when I asked you why you don't like Kyla Murray. Right. But thinking about this, you know, um, Kyla Murray is going to have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at his disposal. They went and got Jawan Jennings, you know, um, Aaron Jones is a decent enough running back. They got Jordan Mason. So offensively, Kyla Murray has weapons.

[00:50:56] Now, I don't know if he's had a defense in his career. That's been as good as I think this Vikings defense can be, especially with Brian Flores, you know, calling the shots on that side of the ball. At least a scheme and a coordinator does, does create optimism. And I don't think he, I don't think he sat in a meeting room thinking about that. Now think about this. They won nine games. Like I said, last year won their last five games.

[00:51:25] They were 29th in passing yards per game and 30th in quarterback rating. I have to think that Kyla Murray is going to be better than that. You know what I mean? You're getting there at 10 wins. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. So, so JJ McCarthy, you know, he suffered from that thing they call paralysis by analysis. Like I think that he had so many decisions to make that he just didn't make a decision.

[00:51:52] Like he just got deer in the headlight a lot of times. So, you know, Minnesota, they were third in yards per game given up and third in touchdowns allowed. So, that's why I was talking about that defense. You know, the issue with Minnesota last year, in addition to JJ McCarthy, they had 17 different offensive line combinations over the course of the season. You know what I mean?

[00:52:21] And that's why I think that going nine and eight under those conditions. Should have made him coach of the year. And you add in a Kyla Murray who, if nothing else, is at least talented. He's short. You know what I mean? He might not always make the right decision, but he's talented. And the thing about Kyla Murray, I never thought his height was his problem.

[00:52:40] I thought because his arm is so dynamic that he, like I said, he's been short his whole football career. And he's been successful. So, I don't really think his height was like a problem because he, long as the ball gets out of his hand, it's, you know, top five, top eight strongest arms, most effective, like deep passers in the NFL.

[00:53:07] The problem I think Minnesota had last year. And you said, like with JJ McCarthy, you know, paralysis by analysis. I think it's a byproduct of like lazy GMs, just basically picking the, picking players from the top four teams and college football playoffs. And just looking at those teams and just grabbing players off of them. Because we talked about, he didn't throw a lot of passes in Michigan. So, he didn't, he never really had to analyze anything.

[00:53:34] He had the probably best offensive line in front of him in the country. And like I said, I know he was a winner. He was a winner out through high school and he was a winner in college. But when it came down to like, all right, make NFL decisions, you can't keep getting hit a lot. Like you can't try to, you can't treat these NFL players like they are the 20-year-olds you're playing against in college and the 17-year-olds you're playing against in high school.

[00:53:57] But Kyler Murray, I think, can, I think because he has the weapons that he has on offense, like an embarrassment of riches, I think he'll be fine. They could be the surprise team in the division. And I think that's what makes the division so interesting. But in the same sense, it's like you're on a one-year deal for like $1.3 million. Are you playing for like a future contract? Are you expecting to be gone? Like what's going on?

[00:54:27] Because we all know that plays a part because you talked about them giving up points. I think the defense is, they're human. So if they're out there and the office isn't moving the ball, it's only so many times you can go back out there after offensive three and outs or turnovers and have the energy and or the motivation to go out there and stop the opposing team. It's like, we get a stop. They punt it.

[00:54:52] We're back out here after I get a little bit of air, little Gatorade, look over the film. I'm back out with my helmet on, punt team ready. You know, so it's like. Yeah, so that's the piece. So long as if Kyler Murray can really deliver like at the level that his talent is, they could be a dangerous team. Oh yeah, most definitely.

[00:55:14] You know, and you know, also in that running back room, they got in one of, they got one of my draft sleepers, you know, DeVon Claiborne out of Wake Forest. He had the fastest running back time at the combine at four, three, seven. You know, Jawan Jennings just brings consistency and reliability, you know, on third down. Yep. On third down, you just find him. Third and Jawan, they call him.

[00:55:43] You know, on top of that, you still have TJ Hawkinson as well. So weapons galore, you know, so Kyler Murray should have fun. And on defense, Dallas Turner, you know, led the team in sacks last year. You know, I think this is going to be a breakout year. He's going to put himself in that star conversation, him and Jihad Campbell. You know, they did lose Jonathan Grenard to Philly, and they lost Jonathan Allen to Cincinnati. So, but they got rookie Caleb Banks.

[00:56:11] You know, he's coming off some foot surgeries. I'm always iffy about that. But Andrew Van Ginkle actually broke out last year. So they got some things to work with here. The other piece that's missing is Harrison Smith. You know, he was the heart and soul of that defense, you know, for 15 years. So now we're in a position where we don't know if he's coming back or not. They cut him because he hadn't made a decision or not whether he was going to retire or not.

[00:56:39] You know, they brought in Jamal Adams, who is now out for the year. You know, so they might have to get on bended knee and just ask Harrison to come back. They drafted Jacoby Thomas out of Miami, who's a good player. But we're talking about a rookie. You know, they have Byron Murphy in the secondary. You know, he's their best corner. Don't forget Isaiah Rogers. You know, the Cincinnati Bengal killer with the two pick sixes in that game.

[00:57:06] You know, another name to keep an ear out for Chuck Demings. You know, he's a corner that they drafted in the fifth round out of Stephen F. Austin. You know, 4-4-40, 42-inch vertical. You got to find a way to get him on the field. You know what I mean? Even if it's not the ideal goal to try to have him as a lot down corner, you might just need that speed and the nickel on a couple of possessions throughout the season. Yeah, hell of a nickel blitz. I know.

[00:57:35] Kyler Murray, if nothing else, should make their run game a little more effective just because of the threat of him running the ball, getting out the pocket. So maybe, you know, that loosens up defenses a little bit. And I think we see. Like a kid that stole candy. Yeah, and I think we see Jordan Mason a little bit more this year. You know, they're a trendy pick to win this division. But I think it might be a year too early.

[00:58:02] I do like him, but I think it might be a year too early to win the division. You know, last thing, Mr. Logical, for me before we look at the schedule, J.J. McCarthy, I think, either. Provided Kyler Murray doesn't get hurt. J.J. McCarthy ends up in Baltimore with Jesse Mentor as the backup, or he ends up Justin Herbert's backup with Harbaugh.

[00:58:28] And, you know, Harbaugh is that last piece to salvage anything of an NFL career. If you could put him on and say, hey, man, you can back up Jackson Dart? Nah, because I think that'd be... Nah, I don't think so. Yeah. McCarthy, I mean... I don't want to give up on him because, I mean, he was a rookie last year. Sometimes, like, listen, like, I, you know, like I said, I'm a father of three sons.

[00:58:56] My daughter's eight, so I don't really talk to her about opportunity and taking chances. But, you know, I'm still retired Air Force. I work in the Air Force unit. So I always talk about people, talk to people about taking advantage of the opportunities. He just was in an unfortunate spot to where the organization just really, they nailed it with the coach.

[00:59:21] And the coach made every quarterback that had a little experience look greater than was previously put on tape. So the narrative was kind of levied upon him like, oh, if he can turn Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold into this caliber player, what would he do with the national championship winning quarterback?

[00:59:47] And I think the opportunity to grow didn't really work, but also you got to be available. So that's tough for him. The backup role, I'm not sure. Sure he's wired for it. The early interviews and conversations were Calumary's learning. Now you've kind of been pushed out of the place that drafts number one overall.

[01:00:12] So when he went to Minnesota and had the press conference, he was like, hey, I do what I can to help J.J. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Then they go to J.J. He's like, listen, he's a quarterback. I'm a quarterback. He sits on his side of the room. I sit on my side. It was like, that's different than what Kyler said because Kyler said you guys are working together. So there's a maturity piece. There's an ego piece. So Harbaugh, the California Harbaugh might be the guy that could really help him.

[01:00:40] But I mean, short of, if you look at around what team is looking to transition to a new QB, it's, I mean, he might have to do the Carson Winston where you're just a backup. You go to Cincinnati and learn a little bit. You might have a shot in Cleveland because Cleveland's getting everybody a chance to throw the ball around. But yeah, it's tough. It's opportunity.

[01:01:09] It's like, you know, when you have the opportunity and you have competition to people on your heels, you can't squander it. And I think he did that by just not being available, not throwing the ball away, taking hits, stuff like that. So first five games, what you got here? First five, because I'm not optimistic about them. I got two and three.

[01:01:32] 0-1-3 to start with two divisions and then at Tampa Bay. So two division games, you lose and then you go on the road. I got you 0-1-3. I think they get Green Bay to start out. You know, I think 3-2 and possibly 4-1 because like I said, I just don't know what to expect from Tampa. Like, I just don't know what the temperature down there is.

[01:02:00] But I just feel like you're at Tampa, what time is it? 3-0-5 on a Sunday. Like, I just feel like because the NFL, we talk about the spread, a spread of like 3-1-2 is common. 4-1-2, 5-1-2. 7-1-2 feels like, okay, that's the definitive they think this team is going to win. I have a feeling that Minnesota game at Tampa Bay could be like 4-1-2, maybe 3-1-2.

[01:02:28] But it's because it's at home, I got to give the edge to the team that's already kind of intact with the philosophy that works in a group that's kind of like already operating as smooth as possible for an NFC South team. So I'm going to take your possible Green Bay four-game losing streak and I'll raise you a Minnesota possible four-game losing streak. Where are we looking at that?

[01:02:58] Because I don't have that. 8-11. 8-11, we got it. I think they beat the Colts. Then they go to Ford Field. They play Buffalo the week after. You know, but then again, you know, Buffalo road games, Monday night football. We saw what happened down in the compressor last year. They go to Lambeau. They're one of those teams that do it too. They just lose this game inexplicably. They go to Lambeau. Then it looks like they play San Francisco. Maybe that's overseas. I see the asterisk there.

[01:03:29] What do we got? Is that the Australia game? It could be. It says neutral location, but you know what I mean? So I think they can lose all four of those games. You know what I mean? Then you got Atlanta and Carolina. Indy, Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay is a four loss? No, no. I got Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay, San Francisco. Oh, okay. So yeah, I got that. I got that kind of pencil.

[01:03:58] Then I got, I got a win at Detroit just because I think Detroit is going to. They're going to fumble them back. And Minnesota did sweep them last year. So it could be one of those. We got your number situations. Then I got a loss at Buffalo, loss at Green Bay. I don't know. Listen, I have zero idea if there's a correlation between wherever they practice and the injuries.

[01:04:24] But it's definitely in the minds of the players. And it's in the universal atmosphere of the league that whatever's going on in San Francisco is adversely affecting them and creating more injuries. So I think that kind of lends the view their season through. There's a Brock Purdy game that he won't be at.

[01:04:51] There's a Chris McCaffrey hamstring game that he won't plan. There's a Kittle shoulder game. He's going to try to battle through. It just feels like San Francisco is kind of primed for one of those stretches of where once again this year, like the last few years, they are out. They're running Mac Jones out there. And they got some guy they got in the seventh round on undrafted rookie that's going to be starting at running back.

[01:05:20] And this guy they got from Iowa is going to be starting tight end, not named Kittle. So I just feel like a lot of myself, a lot of my picks so far, because it seems like every every conference we pick so far, like there's someone who plays the San Francisco game. I'm just kind of I'm just flipping a coin because it's like there seems to be something going on with their injuries. And it has been for like the last couple of years, even as nothing with that substation.

[01:05:49] Just they just seem to be injured in crucial positions. A lot. Even going back to a game they played against Atlanta at Atlanta a few years back when Jimmy Garoppolo was quarterback and Atlanta beat him like 35 to 14 or 21. They were out so many players. And it seems to just be happening for San Francisco.

[01:06:15] Hell, in the Super Bowl with Kansas City and Greenlaw get hurt, run onto the field. There's something going on where like their luck is just not it's just not there. And I was like, well, well, the other part of that is where are we at on Shanahan? You know, he had the bad car accident. You know, you know, how how available is he going to be at the start of the season, which could get them off to a bad start?

[01:06:45] Get a headset to Mike. Get a headset to Mike. You'll be all right. We'll see. But but I think they get 12 and 13. It's the same language. But 12 and 13, you know, they they beat Atlanta and Carolina, I think, at home. They go to Foxboro, get Detroit at home. And then you get Washington. The Jets and close with Chicago. So I got them at nine and eight. Me, too.

[01:07:13] You know, so, yeah. So we'll see. And then closing it out. Let's talk about this. Why? You know, and the Lions, you know, still. Yeah, still finished nine and eight last year, you know, switched out both coordinators last year. You know, they still have Kelvin Shepard as their defensive coordinator this year, but they went and got Drew Petsing from Arizona.

[01:07:43] So he was the office coordinator there and got fired with Jonathan Gannon at the end of last year. So the Lions, you know, they were the anti bear. So, you know, they finished with the same division record. But as Chicago was winning, going seven and I think it was seven and four and one score games, Detroit went three and five and one score game. So one more of those. That's a playoff team, right?

[01:08:14] Jameer Gibbs is the man now. David Montgomery's in Houston. So it's all his show. And of course, Mr. Logical doesn't want me to say this, but he can't control me. But New Jersey native Isaiah Pacheco, wouldn't you know he's hurt right now? Yo, listen, you know. All right. Jersey, we in the building. He runs hard. He plays hard. He will bounce back.

[01:08:42] He is from he's from a state of survivors. You survive out here. You battle out here. You're grinding right here. He'll be all right. And I think that's a good spot for him. I think. If he can stay healthy. Yeah. I don't think he I don't think he has the same like pop and bounce as as Montgomery. But I think the the junks position of him and Jameer Gibbs is perfect.

[01:09:07] I think the two running back system in the NFL, either you have two guys that are ultra dynamic that can do the same thing or two guys that give you two totally different kind of looks. That can't be stopped. So like the Reggie Bush. What's the ball name that they had? They want to do some counsel. Was it was a do some counsel and New Orleans? Yeah, New Orleans. I believe it might have been. Yeah. So, yeah. Reggie Bush was your speed scat back getting the space.

[01:09:35] And then you had Deuce was your power back and it worked the same way. Linda White and Reggie Bush were for USC. So I think they have that contract. You just got to get healthy. Stay healthy. Can't you can't run through air attack. Just well, you know, I always say that Jameer Gibbs is what Reggie Bush was supposed to be. And I'll take it even a step further. I don't normally do this, but but throw me in for Jameer Gibbs is old boy this year.

[01:10:02] That's tough. I mean, I'm doing it. Oh, like I feel you because it's probably like three or four backs that are going to get dark horse. If Miami wasn't going to be terrible and if Atlanta wasn't going to be terrible, I think B. John Robinson and Devin H. Are going to get the same kind of.

[01:10:30] Offensive game plan from the offensive mind of their team is just that at the end of the game, H. Can have one hundred and thirty four yards all purpose, but they could lose a game thirty one to seventeen. And it's like, right. It'll all be for not yet. Right. So they so they're moving Penney Sewell over the left tackle. Cade Mays. They brought in Cade Mays, you know, for twenty five million. But.

[01:10:55] You know, to play center, but he has a wrist injury, so he's going to probably be out another six weeks. I already talked about Pacheco. Teddy Bridgewater retired again. So Detroit went out and got Josh Dobbs as their backup quarterback, you know, as he plays the NFL version of Dennis Schroeder. You know, Jameson Williams back to back thousand yard seasons. I'm on raw St. Brown, probably a top five receiver ish.

[01:11:25] He well, even if he's not, if people don't have him top five, he's. I think the completion percentage between him and golf, like under ten yards is astronomically high, like high double digits, ninety percent, something like that. Like their connection rate inside like ten yards is just third and six almost be automatic if you don't cover him. It's going to be a first down.

[01:11:54] Then, of course, they got that Iowa tight end, you know, Sam LaPorter. Everyone's got one. You know, so then Aiden Hutchinson on defense, you know, he came back last season after the injury, 14 and a half sacks. So I'm going to say the same thing that I said earlier about the Bears. They didn't put nothing on the other side of them.

[01:12:14] So, you know, so it's kind of the one man band, if you will, you know, on the line, you know, even though in addition to Iowa tight ends, you got to love Iowa linebackers. So, you know, Jack Kelly, I think is going to take a step this year and be the signal caller of that defense and just wreck shop. They did lose Alex Azalone.

[01:12:39] You know, he's in Tampa now, you know, Jack Campbell, by the way, 166 tackles with five sacks, three forced fumbles. And he did that with broken bones in his face. That man never left the field. Yeah. Broken bones in his face. That's nine and a half tackles a game. Mm hmm. You got, but then it gets, then it gets crazy again. Right. Terry on Arnold. We know his saga.

[01:13:08] Sounds like Seattle's going to sign him. You know what I'm saying? But sounds like he's on the commission exempt list. Yeah. He's on the commission exempt list. But the point is he's not in Detroit right now. Hey, yo, PSA to athletes around the world real quick. Cause we, we did the military thing. And I remember my father told me, cause I told him I could get stationed in Langley. If my job shred out had changed the letters. And as soon as I said it, he was like, don't come back home. Don't come back home.

[01:13:35] Cause all you're going to do is hang out with your cousins and get yourself in trouble. It's okay to love your people from afar. It's okay to relinquish your old habits. Do not let these things pull you down. You were on the, you can put yourself on a greatest path to success. If you understand that the path to being unsuccessful, what it looks like.

[01:14:06] If you can recognize what it looks like and what it looks like is people who know you are in a prominent position to succeed, taking your phone call and not telling you, dog, you got way too much to lose. We not worried about that. Let that go that way. Sonny from Bronx tale. Like when he was ready to chase you down for $10, he was like, yo, you don't have to fight him.

[01:14:34] Now, you know, for $10, you bought that guy out of your life. He'll never come around. Cause he always owe you money. Like you need somebody in your life to do that. So I hope it works out for him. I hope whatever legal battles he's going through, like it, he doesn't ruin his whole life. Don't get Kawhi Leonard's lawyer. But it's like based off the early allegations of what he's, you know, accused of it. It could be tough. I don't know what Seattle was thinking.

[01:15:02] I don't know like why you'd even dip your toe in that pond. But that just seemed. And it's not even like he was playing well, where it was like, yo, I'm going to take a chance on. I mean, he's young. Don't get me wrong. But it's not even like. Yeah. But, but Kirby Joseph, you know, is injured. You know, he's not expected to be there for week one. Brian Branch had a late season Achilles tear. So, you know, so we'll have to see what his status is.

[01:15:32] Yeah, we won't see him this year. So DJ Reed is going to be the number one corner, you know, who I like DJ Reed a lot. I think he's a good corner. Is he a number one? I don't think so. So now you've got to hope that a draft pick from a couple of years ago, Ennis Rickstraw, can come in. And he hasn't shown anything to this point. So you're not confident there. The other corners are Avante Maddox, Chuck Clark, Thomas Harper, Christian Azean.

[01:16:00] And Mr. Logical goes, who, who, who? You know, so the other question that I have is if things don't go the way that Dan Campbell wants them to. Is he going to try to call plays again? Yes. I'm just going to say yes. It just seems like that seems to be the thing.

[01:16:31] Yeah. So they. So I would like to. He's locked in, though. I don't. I think because Dan Campbell is very clearly, you know, if you know the history of Detroit football teams, they aren't, you know, generally successful printedly every year. They're not a team that you would highlight as a contender at any level for like a large gap post Barry Sanders.

[01:16:57] Even with Stafford, like they weren't considered a team that preseason you was like, you know, I think this team could win the division because I don't think they even won the division with Matthew Stafford. So the fact that, you know, that Dan Campbell is the kind of coach that that seems to work in Detroit. Detroit, I hope that wouldn't, you know, incite any kind of panic to where he would make a change. Just let it play out. You have the type of guys that seem to embody his philosophy.

[01:17:28] Just got to keep everybody available. I don't know if there's a practice thing. I don't know if it's a rest thing. I don't know if it's a rest day for the veterans. I don't know if there's a no contact practice. Whatever it is you have to do to ensure that these guys that tend to get nicked and dinged every year are available, you'll be fine. Because I believe the philosophy and the coach, the philosophy and the players all mesh well.

[01:17:57] It's just a matter of keeping all of that available to put on the field on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Christmas, Christmas Eve, whenever they're going to have football games this year. Yeah. So for Detroit, it's going to come down to trench play. You know, once they lost Frank Ragnow, it just didn't really. Nothing came to fruition for them.

[01:18:26] You know, it was just an off year. But Mr. Logical, you know, 4-1. 4-1. You know, I think they lose out at Orchard Park. But don't forget. We got stopped on this show together. But don't forget. Don't forget, though. But don't forget, though. You know what I mean? You know, Buffalo's got a new head coach. You know, who's a little more offensive-centric.

[01:18:55] So, you know, we'll see. Like, you know, Buffalo isn't necessarily, you know, because we talked about this, right? Like, who are they going to get better than Sean McDermott? If the new coach likes Keon Coleman, I think they'll be all right offensively. Well, we'll find out. DJ Moore looked good in preseason the other day. We'll find out. But, yeah, 4-1. There's a dog in him. So, Mr. Logical, you ready for this? Let's hear it. You got the stat of the day? No, I got the Detroit Lions after 10 games.

[01:19:27] I got the Detroit Lions 8-2. Oh, man, stop it. At 10 games? I got them 8-2. I'm going to count mine up real quick. You ready? So, at week 11, that's the 10th game, right? Yep. At the Tampa Bay game. Yep. Yeah.

[01:19:54] I got them losing to – I got them losing at Buffalo on that Thursday night. You said 8-2? Yeah. And you got them losing to Minnesota week 8. No. Oh, I got them losing – I got – I got them losing to New England. I got them losing to Buffalo week 2. And I got them losing to New England.

[01:20:46] You know, neutral site, of course. Then I think – like, I think that this – they literally, the way that their schedule sets up. I'm not going to predict it. But this could be a 13-4, 12-5 team. I got a six-game win streak. What up, Rez? So, I'm going to have to be honest.

[01:21:09] If we sat – if we spent 25 more minutes on them, I got a six-game win streak between Miami, New England, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Atlanta, Tennessee. Mm-hmm. I would say Chicago at home because it's a division game. Yeah. I like this shirt, too.

[01:21:39] That would be only one of that – because, like, six-game winning streaks in the NFL don't happen like college football does. Mm-hmm. So, if I had to pull one – but if you are a New England or Tampa Bay fan, you're like, no, I think they're going to lose one of those two games. I wouldn't arm wrestle you over it.

[01:22:00] Well, the Tampa thing in particular, because Todd Bowles seems to – his game plans against Detroit fluster Jarrett Goff at times. So, I could see that, you know, but I – Oh, that's when they announced it, say stuff like, you know, he can't really operate with people at his feet. No quarterback.

[01:22:23] Like, I hate – Dan Orlowski said it, says it a lot, and he's probably, like, the main guy who says it. I'm like, there's not a quarterback in the history of football other than a scrambling quarterback who can throw it off schedule and off platform doesn't mind a guy at his feet. But he doesn't like it when you move him off his spot in the pocket. Yeah, Tom Brady hated it. Tom Brady would cuss out the running back for not picking up the blitz because he would have to move up his spot.

[01:22:52] No one likes that. But they always say about Jarrett Goff, he can't handle people around his feet. Yeah, because he can't plant and throw, which is 50% of his job. But I digress. All right, so let's get this cherry on the top. You ready? Yeah. I got Detroit 11 and 6. Okay. I got Minnesota 9 and 8. I got Green Bay 9 and 8.

[01:23:23] And I got Chicago 7 and 10. Hold on, let's go back. Chicago 7 and 10? Chicago 7 and 10. I got them. Listen, I'm willing to waver on my... But I got 12 and 5 Chicago, 12 and 5 Detroit. I'm going to go 10 and 7. I'm going to split the difference.

[01:23:52] I'm going to go 10 and 7 Green Bay and then 9 and 8 Minnesota, which I still think is very high. I still think an 8 and 9 Minnesota is likely, as well as a 9 and 8 Green Bay without the schedules. That's a lot going on, Mr. Logical. Two 12-win teams in the same division, huh? Well, I mean, I guess, what? Two years ago, they went 15 and 2 and Minnesota was 13 and 4 or something like that? Or 14 and 3 because they played the last game of the season. Yeah, 14-3, 13-4.

[01:24:21] And that year was an anomaly. And that was with Sam Darner. So it wasn't like they were stacked with, you know... But that year was crazy because Minnesota lost, you know, both games to Detroit. They lost the Thursday night game to the Rams. That was the one with the face mask that they didn't call. And then they lost the playoff. Then they lost the playoff game to the Rams. So they legit went that whole season and only lost to Detroit and the Rams.

[01:24:50] And then Sam goes to another team and wins the Super Bowl. O'Connell is probably watching the Super Bowl on mute. Like... Because he probably loves football, but he probably was watching on mute. Oh, so Rez is the one that doesn't like Kyler Murray. That is a great announcement. See, that's like upper echelon thinking to say that because... I hate him on the internet. He can't just reply immediately.

[01:25:20] You force him to think. Yeah, because he had what? DeAndre Hopkins? Carson Wentz? Is Carson Wentz in that boat? Because Carson Wentz has some studs. No, I think Kyler had better receivers than Carson Wentz. Because he had... He had... DeAndre Hopkins before he got old. You know, he's going to have Justin Jefferson and Addison. And DeJuan Jennings at the same time.

[01:25:49] He had Larry Fitzgerald. He had Larry Fitzgerald. He did have Larry. He did have Larry. Yeah, he had Larry Fitzgerald. You know, best hands ever. Pause. Damn. Damn. That's something to think about. Because remember, they started that one year 7-1. The year that he threw the Hail Mary against Buffalo. They started 7-1. Hopkins caught that one. And then... They finished 10 and...

[01:26:17] I think that was still 16 games. They might have finished 10-6. The last 16 games. And then they got to the playoffs on that Monday night game against the Rams. I thought he made the playoffs another time after 17 games. I thought he had like 11-6 here, right? Did he have... He had Harvin Marison. People aren't big on him. I'm going to look it up. Hold on.

[01:26:46] No, he's only been that one time. He only made the playoffs that one time. Trey McBride. Probably the... At least second best tight end in the NFL. If you want to say that Brock Bowers is the best. And only had the one touchdown that year. He had 100 catches, right? Yeah. He was like the most catch... It was like the Julio Jones year. Oh, God. I hated that year. You know what I mean? But yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's a good point. I don't think he's a bum, though.

[01:27:14] I just think that he has certain limitations that... I think he just has certain limitations. You know what I mean? Because he has the rocket arm. You remember he came back from injury and won that game in Philly? The year that we were like, yo, why are they even playing him? So he has moments. He scored like 34 points on Philly? Yeah, he has moments. But it's just not something that is long-lasting.

[01:27:43] Because especially in that division, they had the 49ers defense. They had the Rams defense. And then obviously Seattle's been known to have a defense or two. You know what I mean? In this division, it's a little bit better. I don't think the Bears defense is that good if they're not forcing turnovers. Detroit's got injuries all over the secondary. I think Colin Murray can play well in this division just based off who's in the division.

[01:28:12] He has a solid touchdown-completion ratio. His career is 67.1%. 121 TD, 60 picks. I've seen people argue Colin Murray and Trevor Lawrence. I've seen that argument. What do you mean? As far as who's better, I've seen that argument. I don't know.

[01:28:37] I think Trevor looks like he's – I'm trying to get the right words. He looks the part. And he looks like he's trying to execute what the team wants. And I think sometimes Kyler can come off as like a me guy because he's been so – like I said, that press conference, when he talked about like going undefeated in high school. And he wasn't bragging.

[01:29:07] He just was saying like, hey, I can't make it this far without studying and being prepared and practicing and loving the game. And I understand what he meant, but everything he said after that was like, all right, you got that part off. Now study the Eli Manning podium tape. Study the Joe Burrow tape. Don't do the Cam Newton thing.

[01:29:33] Cam Newton had a different way of handling the public because he was a different kind of figure. He was like a superhero. You can't do what these other guys did. And I think he was trying to like emulate a persona that didn't really apply to what he was really giving people. Because if you look at him, he is an average quarterback. 67% passing completion percentage. Two to one touchdown and inception ratio.

[01:30:00] He looks more – he looks above average because he's undersized. So that's a notch in his belt. But if you really look at like the results based on like – like Rivera said, the amount of people we had around him. This year is a 4,200-yard, 32 to 14 interception kind of year with the weapons that he has.

[01:30:29] He has to be over 30 touchdowns, less than 12 interceptions. But I also think that there's the value of the legs, especially in the red zone. You know, I think that that matters to some degree as well. Let's look at this real quick. Yeah. Like that – I think that'll work out in his favor.

[01:30:52] But when you have the weapons you have, you shouldn't need your legs as much. Because like if you think about a quarterback that wears 15 in Kansas City, the last time they ran a quarterback sneak with him, I believe it was against Denver. He dislocated his kneecap. They haven't called one since. So he scrambled and he's done his thing. But it's like there's an understanding. Like, you know what? You can do legendary damage from the pocket.

[01:31:23] And I guess he's skimming trouble once he passed. Well, yeah. So there's Kyler Murray on the left and Trevor Lawrence on the right. Yeah, he's better than Trevor Lawrence.

[01:31:42] But you also have to factor in, you know, the point that Rez made originally about how, you know, the receivers that Kyler Murray's had. You know, so like I don't know if Trevor Lawrence has had. Even with the receivers, you should be higher than 62, 63%. You should be somewhere near 67, 68. Those are two numbers.

[01:32:13] Almost as many interceptions in 10 less games. Rating rush to 10th rush yards, 10 less touchdowns, one less Pro Bowl. Well, you know what? Did it for me, the fantasy football? No, I'm just playing. I love that they track the fantasy football stats. Listen, you've got to get traction to your website. So you use whatever avenues you can.

[01:32:43] Yeah, and that's what I was saying, Rez. It's like Trevor, like Jacoby Myers. I got to go back and look. I'm just thinking off the top of my head. I'm trying to – because I know that, what, there was Christian Kirk, you know. There was no one historically dynamic in Trevor Lawrence's wide receiver huddle room. He had a lot of physically talented, a lot of – they did a lot of –

[01:33:13] They have a lot of big guys. The year he had last year, though. They have a lot of 6'2", 6'3", big wide receivers in Jacksonville. They have a lot of big targets. Whereas Kyler Murray kind of walked into a space where Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins, and then you get another fourth overall draft pick in Marvin Harrison Jr.

[01:33:44] And I don't know. Like I said, I think the relationship in Arizona was probably soiled. But we've heard different reports out of Arizona to where a lot of off-the-field stuff for the ownership group, the GM, the family who took over. I believe the original owner passed away a handful of years ago. Firing of Steve Wilkes, you know, got rid of –

[01:34:11] So it's not like he walked into like a very well-oiled organization as well. Even though he had the talent, the GM was out here getting DUIs multiple. Like he was at multiple – Hell, somebody just got a ban for sports betting, right? Like one of their executives or somebody. So like, yeah. So they've had a lot of disconnect. And then we talked about the contract and the gaming clause and IPAC clause.

[01:34:40] And that information coming out. But even with that, when you're within those 52-and-a-half yards that, you know, you got to make plays sideline to sideline. You got to make – you know, you got to get these guys over down the field. And you had the horses to win those races that you send it. I mean, maybe Kevin O'Connell can get it out of him. Former NFL quarterback, you know, career backup. You know, that same quintessential career point guard. Well, I mean, if you win –

[01:35:08] That's a really good NFL NBA coach. If you won 14 games with Sam Darnold, I have to think – in 13 games with Kirk Cousins, I have to think that you can win 10 with Kyler Murray. But then Mike McDonald also just won a Super Bowl with Sam Darnold. So maybe Sam Darnold is just good. Right. No, he's a decent quarterback, but he's not a game changer.

[01:35:35] I mean, he – I mean, I think so. I think he might be. I don't want to do that thing. I'm not doing that thing where – He's not Trent Dilfer. But I'm not doing that thing where you won a Super Bowl, so now I got to tell lies about you. No, no, no. I'm not saying lies. Because, like, for instance, him and Carson Wentz probably were on the same type of trajectory.

[01:36:01] I don't think Sam Darnold is as good as Carson was at his best. But what I'm saying is I think they were on the same trajectory. If you evaluated their career, if you just – you're like BTZ Package, take the name off. I think Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold were probably in that same kind of space where it was, like, drafted high. We don't know if it's going to work out. Well, what if it was about to win an MVP until he blew out his knee? Yeah, but the knee is healthy now.

[01:36:29] And we just kind of realized, like, oh, you hold on to the ball too long. No, I know. But I'm just saying, I've never seen Sam Darnold and thought, hey, this dude could win an MVP. Like, Carson Wentz damn near won it. But I understand that that's part of the initial – Like, Sam Darnold might be – okay, is Sam Darnold better than Nick Foles? Yes. Massively better?

[01:36:55] Enough for me to – I needed to pay $30 million to a quarterback. I'm taking Sam Darnold over Nick Foles. I mean, I would too, but I don't think there's a massive gulf between them is what I'm saying. As far as, like, Carson Wentz – Like, Sam Darnold's not better than Jared Goff. My knowledge is more like – well, Jared Goff's been going to start his whole life. That's the difference.

[01:37:20] But Carson Wentz had his injury, and then he had other opportunities, other opportunities. And I think Sam Darnold had his time in the Jets, which is essentially like an injury mentally, just being part of the Jets. And then he went to San Francisco. Then he went to Carolina.

[01:37:46] And Carolina just was like, oh, they had Baker Mayfield run a scout team defensive tackle. So they had no idea what they were doing from a football standpoint in totality. And then he goes to Minnesota, and it's like, boom. It clicked. And then he goes to Seattle, and he wins the Super Bowl. So I think his trajectory was kind of – Well, with Seattle, he had the best defense in the league or like a top two or three defense in the league too. Oh, I mean, listen. It wasn't just him.

[01:38:16] Oh, yeah. But it's 53 guys on the roster. But I know this is a – I know you're going to hate – No, but okay. No, no. Like if Kyler Murray – if the Vikings won the Super Bowl this year, I'm not going to – Put Carson Wentz on Seattle. You think they won the Super Bowl last year? No. No. That's what I mean. I'm not saying like a head-to-head comparison. I'm talking about like the path they were both on.

[01:38:40] But at this point, between all the moves that Carson Wentz has made between Kansas City, Minnesota, I believe now he's a backup at the Giants. I think he was on Washington for a while as well, right? Yeah, he started for us. Yeah. So it was like at some point in that – So he went to Carolina first. I mean – Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So Sam Donner had a couple of spots where he picked up some notes here,

[01:39:09] picked up some notes here, goes to San Francisco, takes the final exam, graduates to Minnesota, and then it gets better. Whereas Carson Wentz has been taking notes, taking notes, taking notes, taking notes. But it's like if you're Cleveland – No, no. That's fair. Yeah. Like he came off the injury and just never found it again. Like that happens sometimes. But like if Minnesota were to hypothetically win the Super Bowl this year,

[01:39:37] I'm not going to come back next year and be like, hey, yo, Kyler Murray's a top 10 quarterback. I think you would have to. Like he's still the player, right? I don't have to. No, I don't. Wouldn't you have to like at least – No. At 11? At 11? No, it just depends on – No, it just depends on how it happens. Like the Super Bowl in and of itself does not determine the worth of the player. Like you still have to play well in that route until going to the Super Bowl, right?

[01:40:08] So like that's where I look at it. Like I'm trying to think of another quarter. Who won – hold up, hold up, hold up. You can use Nick Foles. Who was the 49ers quarterback when they lost the first time to the Rams? Was it Alex Smith? I mean, I'm sorry, to the Chiefs when they lost the first time to the Chiefs. Garoppolo. It was Garoppolo. Okay. So if Jimmy Garoppolo would have won that Super Bowl, I'm not going to turn around and be like,

[01:40:34] hey, yo, I would take Jimmy Garoppolo over Jared Goff or whoever. Like you know what I mean? Like just because he won that Super Bowl. It was a little nuanced because like Garoppolo went from New England to San Francisco, was injury prone, and was like on the road to like build himself back up. But San Francisco had an amazing record in the games that he played. Yeah.

[01:41:00] The comparison of Goff and Darnold in my estimation, I think the piece I'm trying to like pull out is the fact that I think they both were essentially two guys. They were both castaways. Welcome to Sports Reports is on it, y'all. They were like, yeah, we do this all the time. We did it with the Tennessee Titans two years ago. They were like castaways. And I felt like they're both castaways.

[01:41:29] One team pulled Darnold out of the water. Other one pulled Wentz out. And in those same, in that same time frame, I just felt like Darnold just performed better during the advantages that he had. Oh, that's fine. It might not have been as great as Wentz's advantages, but Wentz was on his way to be an MVP. So I think he had a step on Sam Darnold anyway.

[01:41:56] So for you to be probably considered better than Sam Darnold when you tore your knee, and then now you guys are kind of on the even playing field, and for him to seemingly keep taking the next step, whereas Carson Wentz keeps making the same mistake. Hey, Carson Wentz probably, I don't know what the stat is, he's probably taking more sacks on third and long, or second and short to make him third and long, than any quarterback in the history of the NFL.

[01:42:26] Second and four, and it's now he gets sacked, and it's third and 14. Out of field goal range. If there's a stat that tracks that, Carson Wentz has to be in the top 15% NFL quarter. Quarterbacks to do that. Fourth quarter. We do this every year when we do these predictions. We'll have a 25-minute conversation on some obscure topic

[01:42:55] that only you and I care about, and Rez will be like, I understand it, and he cares. Eight billion people on earth, and so we have a triangulated conversation about the nuance of Colin Murray, Carson Wentz, Sam Donald, Mike Donald, Kevin Donald. So last year during the Super Bowl runner, right? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So he went 12-17 in their playoff win against San Francisco.

[01:43:25] They won that game 41-6, you know, because they just came out early. Yeah. So he threw 12-17, won 24 in a touchdown, right? Against the Rams, a lot better. 25-36, 3-46, three touchdowns. And then in the Super Bowl, he went 19-38, 202 yards. He did have a touchdown pass. So that's where it's like, you know what I mean? Like, he had the great game against the Rams who gave up yards to everybody last year,

[01:43:54] and then he was averaging pedestrian. So like the year when Aaron Rodgers... This is why you tune into the sports reports as we talk about it all. I'm listening. When they lost to the 49ers that year, and the 49ers just ran the ball down Green Bay's throat. That was the year Garoppolo took them to the Super Bowl. He just ran the ball down the throat. He threw eight passes. Right, that's what I'm saying. But that's what I'm saying. He did.

[01:44:24] You're damn right, Rez. You're damn right. But that's what I'm saying. Like, it's one of those things where, like, you know what I mean? But if he hits that post route... And that's why they lost the Super Bowl, because he couldn't hit that. Because he hit... God damn it. He would have never completed that pass. That's not what Jimmy Garoppolo does. He doesn't hit the clutch pass. Yeah, you're right. I mean, Mike, when you're right, you're right. When you're right, you're right. No, but I'm just saying, like, it's just like... Well, it's just like, you know, I was arguing with somebody.

[01:44:53] It's like, it's the, you know... I'm all about arguing or debating or having conversations about prisoners of the moment. But I personally just... I am a perseverance, resilience-based kind of person. I think if you can bounce back from whatever your adverse conditions are, I think that, to me, resonates more.

[01:45:22] If you have... If you have... If your dad owns the company and then somehow you made it to vice president, I'm not going to feel the same way about you as if you started in the mailroom. I think you're... You're climbed from where you started to where you were, especially when it gets to that point where now we're comparing the mailroom guy with the air to the company. I'm just leaning on that side. So, like, for me, with Sam Darnold,

[01:45:52] I'm seeing Ghost, that clip against New England, I think it was, like, Monday night. It just kind of was a cloud over him. And he goes to Carolina with Matt Rule. So, like, I just... It's a great story. It's a great story. Like, Sam Darnold winning the Super Bowl is like if Joe Johnson would have won an NBA title. Like, it's just one of those... Good one. It's just one of those... Good job. Good job. That was a good one. It was just one of those things where it's like, I see a good player, but Joe Johnson...

[01:46:21] We're not talking about Brock right now. I do like the Brock Purdy story, though. I'm not going for it. I do like the fact that, like, Brock Purdy did that. So, it showed... Like I said, people harp on NFL, but like I said, I like the fact that Brock Purdy would do that. Like how you said with Sam Darnold. But, yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Like, a lot of times, like, these quarterbacks, they have moments, but their teams sometimes win in spite of them. You know what I mean?

[01:46:49] Seattle's defense was good enough that, no, you can't put Carson Wentz there and they win a Super Bowl. But if you were to put, say... I'm trying to think of somebody that would make sense because I don't want to be hyperbolic here. But, you know... Tua might have won a Super Bowl with that team. If he could have stayed healthy. If he could have stayed healthy. You know what I'm saying? Like... You need an arm. You need a threat. You need a threat with the arm.

[01:47:17] You need, like, a real, like... Like a guy who could really, like... CJ Stroud. CJ Stroud probably could have won a Super Bowl with that team, yes. Yeah. Not saying it's a 100% transfer, but I think there's a decent chance that they win the Super Bowl with CJ Stroud. Because he had such a poor playoff performance. You think if he had some solidarity in the offensive... Yeah, because they had home field, too. So it wasn't like they would have had to go to Chicago

[01:47:46] and play in the cold or something like that and, you know, where CJ Stroud would have got exposed or whatever the case may be. You know what I mean? And you see... Not to make that argument, because I'm not one of those guys, but I'm just making a point. You see, Sam Darnold wasn't... It wasn't like he was the Super Bowl MVP, either. Yo, I think the... I think the nerves of these quarterbacks in the Super Bowl...

[01:48:14] Because Mahomes has pedestrian numbers in the Super Bowl. He does. He just makes the play when they need it. Tom Brady played in 10. I'm going to venture to say something like... Six or seven of them, New England didn't score in the first quarter. I know. And then it's wild, because they lost the one where he threw for 500 yards. So, it's like... It's just...

[01:48:44] It's a weird thing when you get in that space and you know it's for all the marbles. The pass to Jackson, but that could have been a touchdown that he overthrew. Like, we haven't even talked about this, because I don't really think we broke down the Super Bowl, because it just wasn't really that, like, invigorating. I wish Bo Nix didn't get hurt. I would have loved to see those two defenses.

[01:49:10] I think the Seattle-Denver rematch would have been top-tier TV. I think I still would have picked Seattle, though. I can't even remember where I was when I watched Super Bowl. I don't know if I watched it here or if I watched it somewhere else. It just was so unremarkable. I think I did Super Squares. I think I did it here. I think I bought the smoker. I think I definitely... I'm pretty sure I did it here, because I had the smoker,

[01:49:39] and I had smoked some meat. Yeah, I think I definitely still would have picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl, regardless of who they were. Like, I felt that the Rams... Over Denver? Yeah, I felt the Rams-Seattle was the Super Bowl. I felt that game was the Super Bowl. Shout out to DeMarcus Lawrence saying he was going to win a Super Bowl in Dallas and then go out that year and win the Super Bowl. That's me sweet. And that's why, like I say, it's so hard, because it's a very...

[01:50:09] It's a very complex thing. You know what I mean? Because a lot of people focus on the Super Bowl itself. Like, hey, this person played well in the Super Bowl, and it's like, but they didn't play well the rest of the playoffs. Or they played well the playoffs, but they didn't play well in the Super Bowl. So that's why I like... For Peyton Manning, for example, you know, and I bring this up all the time, and it gives me another chance to bring it up. Literally threw a Super Bowl away. He... No, the first one that they won, he threw more interceptions

[01:50:37] than touchdowns in that playoff run. And he still won Super Bowl MVP. Yeah, he went one... I think he might have been under 200 yards past him. The Reggie Wayne getting open in the rain was... I think he won one... Dominic Rhodes should have been the MVP of that Super Bowl. And he threw... Like, going into the Super Bowl, it was something like three touchdowns and seven interceptions. You know what I mean? So it wasn't even close. You know what I mean? But people would just say, like, yo, he won the Super Bowl. He's a great quarterback.

[01:51:07] And it's like, well, I mean... If that's all the criteria is, sure. Yeah. So, like I said, it's a... I won't say it's a thankless position, but it's a position that you get a lot of the credit. You get a lot of the blame. Depends on who you are and who you're an advocate for. You could say, oh, they get... Like, Joe Flacco's Super Bowl run, and then they paid him, I believe, $120 million after that.

[01:51:36] It was a great Super Bowl run. If Crabtree... They didn't even throw a pick in that Super Bowl run. Yeah. But if Crabtree catches that little favor from Kaepernick, might he'll have an argument to get $120 million? Probably not from Baltimore. I still think so. I mean... And Jacoby's no one should have been the MVP. Like, I still think so. You know what I mean? And that's where... Touchdown reception. The kickoff return. And he had a kickoff return for a touchdown. 109, if I remember correctly. Yeah. It was a... He was completely... He completely shifted

[01:52:06] the dynamic of that game. We were in Korea. We were deployed there. Yeah. Yeah. That was when the lights went out. Yeah. And the TMO came... Was that Beyonce? Yeah. Yeah, it was Beyonce. Yeah, yeah. The lights... Yeah, the lights... Doing all the Illuminati shit. Yeah, the power went out. But, you know... But, yeah, that's just like... And, I mean, we'll wrap this up. But, you know, like the last couple of days I've been talking to people about, like, NBA MVPs. And it's the same thing. Like, you know what I mean?

[01:52:35] It's just timing, circumstance. You know, like I was talking about Magic Johnson. And this is a chance for me to get real blasphemous real quick. But we were talking about how certain people didn't have championships. And it was like... Well, I don't know. Because I never saw Magic Johnson on a team that wasn't supposed to win the championship. You know, he came into the league to a team that had Kareem. You know what I mean? They drafted James Worthy. They had Michael Cooper, Michael Thompson, A.C. Green.

[01:53:05] They said they had number one, right? How'd they get him number one? Yes. They were bad. Oh. Yeah, they were bad. That bad? With Kareem? Yeah. They were bad. I think... I want to say... Hold on. If I remember correctly... Was it a trade? Like a... Like a trade preseason? No. Like, I don't think Kareem... I don't know if Kareem

[01:53:35] was on that team yet. Let me see here. So now we're digging into crates now. Yeah. First overall... Because they went 47... They went 47 and 35. How the Lakers got that... Oh, Kareem was on that team. Okay. It was a trade, right? The Lakers acquired the pick via the 1976 compensation trade with the New Orleans Jazz, including Gail Gertrich.

[01:54:05] So in 1976, they made a trade with New Orleans Jazz. And... The Lakers won a coin flip between Chicago Bulls for the right... For the first overall pick. So I think there was a trade in 76... You know, like... See how crazy that is? They get magic. They probably don't get Michael. They definitely don't get Michael. See how crazy that is? There's no way they're top three in the draft pool if they have magic. See how crazy one decision is?

[01:54:35] And that's where... Like, even the year that they got worthy... If I remember correctly, it was either worthy or Dominique Wilkins. Like, that was the choice. Like, can you imagine Dominique Wilkins and Magic on the fast break? Can you imagine the dunk highlights we'd be looking at right now on... ESPN Classic? That's what I'm saying. But that goes back to the point, though, is that I never saw Magic Johnson on a team that wasn't supposed to win.

[01:55:04] So he played 12 years, made the finals nine times, won five of those. Only one of those finals didn't have Kareem. You know, which was the one they lost to Jordan. So, like, I don't know what Magic Johnson would have done if he got drafted, you know, by the Hawks or if he'd have got drafted by... If he would have went to Boston. Or if he would have come out of college the year before when he said his dad was like... Well, he still would have

[01:55:33] won in... I think he still would have won in Boston, but... He was supposed to go to Sacramento the year before and his dad was like, no, you're going back to school. Yeah, and he probably wouldn't have won. But that's what I'm saying. Like, so, we have this history to go Magic did all these things. He's a great player and he absolutely is a great player. He won three MVPs, so he's a great player. But just from the standpoint of we're looking at him a whole lot differently probably if he didn't go to that team. You know what I mean?

[01:56:03] Like, so that's where like these conversations have to have that context. It can't just be they won a championship. They won a ring. Like, you just can't... Like, I don't know if LeBron would have won a ring. Like, had he stayed in Cleveland and never went to Miami, I don't know if he would have got a ring, like when he got the ring, for example. That was two six-foot-two guards trying to... But that wouldn't have made him... But that wouldn't have made him... That wouldn't have made him

[01:56:32] a worse player, though. Like, you know what I mean? Like, he would have still been the great player that he is. You know what I'm saying? He just wouldn't have been on a team that would have been championship material. And that's where, like I said, these conversations, that's where that context has to take place because people just go, oh, one championship? Great. Or, you know, whatever. Like, I was arguing with our guy, you know, Dallas Mike today. You know what I'm saying? He was telling me

[01:56:59] how Sean Marion won a title without Steve Nash, but Steve Nash didn't win a title with Sean Marion or whatever it was. And it's like, yeah, Steve Nash was like literally from getting hip checked into the table away from... Probably from going to the NBA finals. But they suspended Amari Stoudemire for game seven. Like, you gotta say that. Like, that's a part of the story. Like, you know, so... But anyway,

[01:57:28] he is the world famous world renown. Cool, calm, and collected. He goes by the name of Mr. Logical. He was born in Texas, raised in Virginia, representing everything New Jersey. He even goes back to the New Jersey Knights of the World Football League. Shut up. Your boy, you stoned him. Don't... Don't bring feelings to a fat fight. Don't do it. And down here in the Alamo, I'm your unorthodox

[01:57:57] statistician going left so much you thought I was southpaw. You know, definitely, definitely ducking in ways that Ryan Garcia better duck when he sees Connor Ben on September 12th. I go by the name of 2-5. We will be back Friday as we hit the west side, not just because the Tupac case is going on, but we gonna be hitting up the NFC West. You know what I'm saying? Any surprises in that division, you'll have to tune in and find out.

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