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NFL Week 9 Recap & CFL Playoff Update
68 Plays7 months ago
The Goal Post is back after another fantastic weekend of Football — it doesn’t get much better than this:
Damien and Patrick begin by discussing breaking news from the NFL trade deadline. Mike Williams heads to Pittsburgh, Marshon Lattimore heads to the nation’s capital, and Za'Darius Smith finds a new home in Detroit.
After that, the boys comb through every game from Week 9 in the NFL — The Chiefs stay undefeated, the Eagles squeak out a win against the Jaguars, and the Dolphins lose in heartbreaking fashion — finishing with their Week 10 picks
To finish, they recap the CFL Division Semi-Finals, including their experience at the Argos-Redblacks game together — as well as a preview for the CFL Divisional Finals
Enjoy!
Trade Deadline: 0:00 - 16:33
Chiefs vs Bucs: 16:34 - 24:38
Vikings vs Colts: 24:39 - 32:25
Rams vs Seahawks: 32:26 - 41:28
Eagles vs Jaguars: 41:29 - 49:40
Lions vs Packers: 49:41 - 54:30
Cardinals vs Bears: 54:31 - 1:01:04
Commanders vs Giants: 1:01:05 - 1:07:04
Falcons vs Cowboys: 1:07:05 - 1:13:14
Bills vs Dolphins: 1:13:15 - 1:19:34
Quick Hits: 1:19:35 - 1:30:39
Week 10 Picks: 1:30:40 - 1:36:30
CFL Semi Final Recap: 1:36:32 - 1:48:30
CFL Western Final Preview: 1:48:31 - 1:54:42
CFL Eastern Final Preview: 1:54:43 - 2:03:00
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and NFL Trade Deadline
00:00:27
Speaker
Alright, welcome back to another episode of The Goalpost. Week 9 is in the books. The CFL semifinals are in the books. But Patrick, speaking of timely things in the NFL,
00:00:42
Speaker
We're going to start this episode a little differently than we usually do and start with the trade deadline. We're recording in the afternoon today. We usually record in the morning, but we wanted to catch some of these trades seemingly popping off a bit now that the the afternoon has started at least.
00:00:59
Speaker
Yes, the ah the trade deadline that you know you you can't make sense of of the return value on any players.
Impact of Steelers' Trade for Mike Williams
00:01:05
Speaker
Nobody really knows who's worth what or or how the the draft picks will you know unfold from what teams and what deals. It's all kind of ah a chaotic mess a little bit in the NFL. But nonetheless, we're still getting some pretty big deals. ah We've already had some and you know some players have already had some pretty big impacts over the past week or so. And then you know we got some some new breaking news. and Danny and I have had a pretty bad ah stretch of of episodes here where we record and then breaking news happens about half an hour after we finish and it's just we're we're behind on it. So we we decided to wait a little bit this week and so far we've we've been rewarded for it. Yeah, we're going to keep an eye on our phones, which we usually don't during these episodes, I would say, and keep updating you throughout kind of the rest of the trade deadline here. um But we will start
00:01:58
Speaker
With Patrick's boys, the Pittsburgh Steelers making a bit of a splash here. It's been rumored for a couple of weeks now that they're going to be going after a receiver and Pittsburgh is trading a 2025 fifth round pick to the Jets for wide receiver Mike Williams. Patrick, what is your initial thoughts on this trade?
00:02:17
Speaker
It doesn't move the needle for me. I had Mike Williams at the bottom of my wide receiver wish list. um it You know, the the rumors with the Steelers and wide receivers started probably about two weeks or so ago. ah There was a lot of Cooper cup talk.
00:02:32
Speaker
ah some possible Davante Adams before he was moved to the Jets. And then basically once I saw the Rams beat the Vikings on Thursday Night Football, I knew Cooper Cupp was going to stay a Ram for the rest of
Debate on NFL Trade Values and Steelers' Strategy
00:02:42
Speaker
the season. So I got over that one pretty quick, but I was hopeful for Darius Slayton. That was, that was the top of my wish list. I have the thought it was realistic as well. And he he's just kind of a perfect complimentary number two receiver who can create separation and the middle of the field i had jacoby myers ah on my wishlist as well just you know just realistic complimentary wide receivers
00:03:05
Speaker
and then the steelers get a bruise ah battered ah beaten mike williams and he's on a bad receiver don't get me wrong he's not bad he's he's a great deep ball threat and Russell Wilson is one of the better deep ball throwers in the NFL. So I understand that connection between the two and I understand why you get them. But it seems like George Pickens is also a deep ball receiver as well. So now it kind of feels like he got two outside receivers that are just be running streaks that like all game long, which I don't love for the offense.
00:03:37
Speaker
But at least they tried to address a position of need. And for that, I cannot complain. Yeah, at least this won't be threatening for George Pickens like this isn't another top dog. It was almost, you know, rumored that they would have to bring in somebody who would be slightly below him ah to keep him a bit appeased here. But yeah, this this is a hard one to really get up for.
00:03:58
Speaker
You know, maybe he finds some sort of new invigorated life span here with the Steelers. I think it was hard because he wasn't getting targeted a ton with the Jets. like I think Garrett Wilson leads the league in targets by a county mile here. It seemed like Rogers, especially after Devontae Adams, that this writing was on the wall.
00:04:17
Speaker
but that he wasn't really targeting him to begin with. um But who knows? you know It's hard to say that what kind of impact he'll have. It it could be you know something where they kind of strike gold here. Talking about returns, it really is impossible to try and gauge what a good return is in the NFL. i you know You see a fifth-round pick. You see who DeAndre Hopkins goes for.
00:04:38
Speaker
But DeAndre Hopkins is really old. So is Mike Williams. Like I can't even be in a position to be like they shouldn't have given up a fifth round pick for him because I really don't know. Yeah, i don't I don't know either. And if he stays healthy, I'll be i'll be more than fine with giving up a fifth-round pick. And the Steelers really aren't a team that makes a lot of mid-season deals. And especially at the trade deadline, they're usually one of those teams where no matter what position they're in, they just stay put, whether they're buyers, sellers, or in between. They usually don't make any drastic moves. And I think that's why you're seeing them bringing Mike Williams, a guy that's it's not going to change your locker room too much.
00:05:17
Speaker
it's not gonna change the look of your team and it's just a guy that is a veteran he's a leader and if you can stay healthy it will help the lineup but that's the biggest issue with mike williams is his past injury history it's it's endless if you look it up i think it can go three pages long on your phone screen it just you keep scrolling there's another injury And, you know, it's it's not great, but you're going to need Calvin Austin or Van Jefferson, whoever that third wide receiver is for the Steelers, they're going to have to be better and and just be able to create separation in the middle and Pat Friarmouth as well to, you know, give the give Russell some check down options, some easier throws as opposed to just chucking up deep balls all game long.
Commanders Strengthen Defense with Marshawn Lattimore
00:06:02
Speaker
Yeah, that that's very fair to say. The rest of the Steelers offense is going to have to move in the right direction here with Mike Williams um moving to another trade, which was, in my opinion, an absolute banger here. The Washington commanders are getting four time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshawn Latimore from the Saints.
00:06:23
Speaker
This is a guy who is still really at the top of his game. Big old trade. ah New Orleans gets Washington's third round pick, Washington's fourth round pick, and it's sixth back from the John Ridgway trade. What a name. um Washington ah gets Marshawn Latimore and the Saints fifth round pick. ah this This moves the needle for me. If there's anything that you could have pointed to this commander's team,
00:06:48
Speaker
that they were lacking in, it was past defense. And now you just get an absolute ball hawk, a game breaker, somebody who can immediately make your team better here. I love this for Washington.
00:06:59
Speaker
Yes, they it was ah they they addressed their biggest position of need by a country mile. They had Benjamin St. Juice and Emmanuel Forbes, two number two corners at best. And they they were out there starting, ah getting targeted a lot. And the the defense from Washington has kind of pulled the curtain over some team's eyes the past couple of weeks because they've actually put on some pretty solid performances but I think if you know the commanders that is far and away the biggest weakness of this team is their defense especially on the outside covering wide receivers and Marshall and Lattimore boy like that he must be so thankful to get out of New Orleans right now get immediately thrown into a contender and you know it's it's a great position for him because he can be a leader on this team and step up
00:07:46
Speaker
and he's been in situations he's played in playoff games he knows what it takes not to win a Super Bowl but he knows what it takes to win in the NFL and does the things that are necessary in order to win and I think it's going to be you know nice to bring in ah a veteran a leader to ah a very young team that's still learning how to win and they don't you know it's Dan Quinn's a defensive head coach, so I think that's going to you know mesh well in their schemes together. I would have liked to see them maybe at a linebacker where it's not over yet, but I think that's another position of need that the commanders could address. But bringing in ah Marshall and Lattimore, who's A top 10 corner in the league, I believe, I think is safe to say. It's it's very good. And I think they turned I think the third rounder was from the Johan Dotson trade. So they turned Johan Dotson and a fourth rounder into Marshawn Lattimore. In my eyes, that's a big win for the commanders.
00:08:38
Speaker
huge win and it's just so shocking to see commanders ownership be competent like I'm i'm just so not used to it like them they've really turned this ship around so fast ah you see them make another great heads-up move like you described they're like basically turning Johan Dotson and a pick into a great great player i love this for the commanders I think that immediately makes them a more dangerous contender here in the NFC and a team that you know where we were initially being like this is a team that could win a playoff game.
00:09:11
Speaker
now seems a lot more like a team that could get to an NFC championship.
Lions and Cowboys Make Strategic Trades
00:09:15
Speaker
um Staying in the NFC, the trade that everyone was kind of waiting for here, Dan Campbell's jumping up and down on the podium, all excited for. Zadaria Smith, edge rusher from the Cleveland Browns ah is going to the Lions in a trade that you know people kind of saw it coming, but again, makes this team even better.
00:09:38
Speaker
ah Zadaria Smith and a 2026 seventh going to Detroit for a 2025 fifth and a 2026 sixth. Again, we're not going to be able to really comment on the picks that are going back in fourth year. I think you're lying to yourself unless you're like a super, super NFL expert ah to know kind of what that really means.
00:10:00
Speaker
um Another big thing is the Browns have already paid a ton of his contract salary this year, ah so it's not like it's going to be heavy on the books of the Lions. They needed to get an edge rusher, and I love this trade for them. Yes, a team that's in a little bit of a different situation than the Steelers and the commanders. We were talking about it all last episode. I think we're extremely high on the Lions, probably number one in our power rankings, our non-existent power rankings.
00:10:26
Speaker
And you know, Aiden Hutchinson goes down, he was leading the league. He was leading the league in sacks off the edge. You bring in a veteran, Zadaria Smith, who kind of hides out there in Cleveland. You don't hear a ton of them, especially Miles Garrett, getting a lot of the attention, but he's got five sacks this year. He's been somewhat productive.
00:10:42
Speaker
in a team where he's a number two rusher, gets an opportunity to go to Detroit, a real, real contender here, and can make a difference on that team. And it's, who cares about the picks if you're the Lions, right? it's you You've drafted for the past five years, you finally built your roster, and it looks to be an extreme Super Bowl contender here. And now you add another piece to the puzzle,
00:11:05
Speaker
And I think you should fit in perfectly. um I believe, you know, he used to play in Green Bay and Minnesota. So he has a little bit of familiarity with the NFC North. And I think this is going to be a great addition to that Lions defense, which basically they only seem to be missing an edge rusher with Aiden Hutchinson out. So they just seem just ready to go get that Super Bowl. Yeah. Who cares about the picks is like the perfect way to describe this. You just needed a guy on your team and you got him. He's a gamer.
00:11:33
Speaker
ah Love the Lions even more after this a little bit of a trade that's causing a bit more of a stir um The Panthers are trading wide receiver Jonathan Mingo to the Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are buyers at the deadline right now question mark um They get Mingo and a seventh round pick the Panthers get a fourth round pick This is the one that everybody was kind of comparing back and forth like look what DeAndre Hopkins got traded for. I'm not quite as you know upset with it because DeAndre Hopkins is significantly older than Jonathan Mingo. I think Jonathan Mingo's in his second or maybe third season. um So you're still getting a young receiver. The Cowboys said he was high on their draft board in that draft.
00:12:18
Speaker
ah It, you know, Jerry Jones is now saying the Dak Prescott is likely going to be placed on injured reserve. So that's another four games. You're going to need Cooper Rush. If you're trying to, I guess the Cowboys are still make the playoffs, you're going to need as much help as you can possibly get. Uh, I don't hate this trade actually for the Cowboys.
00:12:37
Speaker
Yeah, CD lamb was a little banged up as well after that game against the Falcons. It's, I wasn't expecting this trade. It kind of came out of nowhere. Jonathan Mingo has 12 receptions for 121 yards this season. No touchdowns. Can't really fault him with what's going on in that Carolina offense. Who knows who's starting week to week and he's kind of, you know, taking a back seat to x Xavier Laguette, who is there.
00:13:01
Speaker
Past first round pick. Yeah, Mingo is a guy that was a second rounder He has some potential but hasn't really been unlocked in the NFL yet So I guess Jerry who's you know The Cowboys will never be a seller apparently if they're not a seller this year under Jerry Jones They will never be because this is kind of the worst spot we've seen them in since Dak Prescott has been their quarterback since they've committed to CD lamb and in this offense and It doesn't move the needle for me. A fourth rounder does seem to be a little bit more, but I guess you're right. Like it's, it's an age thing. And, um, you know, you, you still have this guy under contract for two more years after this season.
Surprise Moves in NFL Trades
00:13:41
Speaker
And I just, I don't know. It came ah as a surprise for sure. But I guess if Jerry's still in and the Cowboys still think that they can compete and find a way to get a wildcard spot.
00:13:51
Speaker
this This is a good move, good good adjacent, I guess. It will help their roster because Jalen Tolbert, while he has been productive, he's probably a wide receiver three on most teams, and I think Jonathan Mingo will kind of compete with him to grab that number two spot. Yeah, I i kind of agree with you there. I think that you know maybe looking forward, this is a piece that can actually become you know a bigger piece of the Cowboys offense. but really going to be a kind of a wait and see here like you said you can't really tell his his season output based on what the hell has been going on in Carolina ah the last one we will get to here i you know unless something breaks in the next five minutes here ah the Bears get a seventh rounder in exchange for sending running back Khalil Herbert to the Bengals
00:14:39
Speaker
ah This is a trade, you know, to put it in perspective, Khalil Herbert tweeted out. Thank thank you, God. Hashtag who day that is this the state of the bears right now. I think Khalil Herbert was extremely underutilized in this bears team. You know, Zach Moss goes out. So this is a perfect time for the Bengals to kind of buff up for a team that seems to be on track to making the playoffs. They still got to get through a lot of hard games here. Um, but like I said, a couple of weeks ago, I feel good about the Bengals still. Um, I love this trade for the Bengals and I love it more for Khalil Herbert. Good for him getting out of there. Yeah, this was a, this was the most surprising one to me. It really came out of nowhere. The Bengals are, this is the second mid season trade they've ever made in their 52 year, uh, history. So that's a shocking one.
00:15:28
Speaker
And for Cleo Herbert, like you know what I mean? it's It's what looks to be a backup running back on this team. I'm sure he will get utilized in the in the passing game. Chase Brown has really stepped up as the season has gone on. And I believe he's, you especially with Moss going out, he's really solidified himself as the number one running back on this team.
00:15:47
Speaker
It can't hurt to add depth, especially with a team that's, you know, searching for a playoff spot and running the ball really matters, especially when they still have the bulk of their AFC North games to go running the ball will be important. So adding a Kahlil Herbert, it can't help and you.
00:16:02
Speaker
You can tell based off that tweet he's buying in and and he's happy to get out of Chicago, happy to be on a team that can compete for a playoffs bug. So I think Chicago will get into in a bit has kind of played themselves out of the playoff picture a little bit. So I think that this is a ah nice bounce for him. Ryan polls can add a seventh rounder for a running back that they haven't really been using at all. So I think this is somewhat of a win-win for both sides. Yeah, I agree. Good for Cleo Herbert getting out of there. ah We will get to the Bears later, but Woof. um We will move now to the game that kind of, you know, angered people last night, shocked people last night. Chiefs 30 bucks 24 in overtime. Chiefs remain the only undefeated team at 8-0 after another classic Chiefs overtime performance, I would say. Mahomes went five for five, Kareem Hunt
00:16:56
Speaker
you know, rushes in the touchdown to win the game. The Bucks scratched Claude and fought in this one, and they still lose on a coin flip. Yeah, if you lose the coin toss to the Chiefs in overtime, you might as well just leave the field, because it's it's game over. And we saw it, and it's just so methodical how he does it. And it's he just takes what the defense gives him, just gets 7 yards, 8 yards, 6 yards, 10 yards. And it's just you just see it happening in slow motion. And basically, once they cross the 50-yard line, the game was over. And Kareem Hunt finished the game off. Mahomes, 5 for 5, like you mentioned.
00:17:34
Speaker
It's it it's kind of cowardly from the Buccaneers. um' I'm gonna I'm gonna say the word. It's cowardly a foreign 14 missing their top two receivers has your nine and a half point underdogs. You got the last undefeated team on the ropes, 27 seconds left in the game. year You're down by one. You have a decision to make. Do you go for two or honestly take a somewhat risky kick in that weather, which, you know, Chase McLaughlin made good good for him. That's, that's a professional kicker right there.
00:18:06
Speaker
i I go for this 10 out of 10 times. I go for two because I think if you lose that game going down swinging, it shows you a belief in your team. You can earn you can learn earn trust in the lock room. And you know what? They're in the midst of that three game gauntlet that we were talking about. They got the 49ers next week and now you're four and five. chi Christian McCaffrey might be playing next week. The Buccaneers are kind of in a horrible spot. And this just would have been such an emotional win for this team if they could find a way to beat the Chiefs, um you know, against all odds without their top two position players and wide receiver. I just think it's a little bit cowardly out of ah Todd Bowles, who said he gave very minor thought to going for two, which very surprising to me.
00:18:51
Speaker
Dude, I tried to find reasons to be like, you know what? Kicking the extra point was the right play there. And I just couldn't. Like Todd Bowles himself cited the weather for why he didn't go for two. Which is backwards to me. It's very backwards. Like a kick, a lot more can go wrong with a kick. The Bucks ah offense looked fantastic to end that game. They were getting yards at will. Baker was scrambling like that was a a you know, automatic two point for me. I really tried to kind of understand their position, but I couldn't.
00:19:24
Speaker
and The main thing was look at how great the Chiefs offense looked in the fourth quarter They had just scored 14 points hunt was getting five yards of carry Mahomes, you know injuries seemed to not matter He was still slinging the ball Like you had to have known that if you lost the coin toss You were going to lose the game the Bucks weren't stopping them on defense yeah cowardly is just the perfect way to put it it's just You know, it seems from the outside that such an easy win as a coach to go for that, like to to show confidence in your team, like you said, and instead they could be staring down, you know, three, four straight losses now.
00:20:02
Speaker
Yeah and I also didn't like the way that Todd Bowles managed the clock going for it. They they rushed to the line ah with 27 seconds left right before they got that touchdown. The Chiefs still had two timeouts, I believe one for sure and I just would have liked to see them take that clock you know down to 10 seconds or so where you can So the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a timeout in their back pocket as well. And then they just, you know, and they get it in Mahomes. You never know with Mahomes, like 27 seconds is a lot of time for a guy like that. We've seen it happen a million times before. And I thought for a second, they were going to lose that game in regulation that, you know, Mahomes is just going to go get his 30 yards, get Booker in decent field goal position. And then the Chiefs just walk it off again, like out of nowhere and just the Bucks stand there and disbelief. But.
00:20:49
Speaker
They got the extra point, they got it to overtime, and then like I said, you just lose the coin toss, and it's game over against them. I don't know. The Bucks, they showed a lot of fight in that game. I just think they gotta be so demoralized with how that game ended, because you you know you have so you can take so many positives away from a game like that, and then you just lose, and then you're sitting there shaking your head. And ah there was the Juwan Taylor, I believe you false started, on that game winning touchdown as well, where You know, we've talked about it earlier. The refs made it a point of emphasis to start the year. Then now we're halfway through the season. Yeah, who cares? Do whatever you want. Doesn't matter. And it was Juwan Taylor that they were pointing out to start the season. So it was just a bit of a mess for the Buccaneers to end that game. It really was like that was one that wasn't really Chiefs derangement syndrome. Like that should have been called. they They tried to make an emphasis on it. They clearly missed it there.
00:21:45
Speaker
I still think they probably score a touchdown and win that game regardless, but really just salt in the wound there if you're a Bucks fan. ah They lose for the fourth time in five games. You you just gotta a coach aggressive in that spot. like That should be coaching 101 in the NFL. ah Some positives. Kate Otten has stepped the hell up. ah you know You mentioned Mike Williams and or sorry, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out. ah He has really filled that role. But yeah, huge amount of question marks for the Bucks quickly here on the Chiefs for the rest of the game. ah DeAndre Hopkins is going to be a problem. He he catches a 35 yard cat ah pass in triple coverage and then finishes it up that same drive with a touchdown. He gets the late touchdown in the fourth quarter to put Casey up.
00:22:33
Speaker
Like it it seemed like the Hopkins trade paid for itself in that game. Yeah. And he's only going to get better. Right. And you know, you bring a guy like that into the offense and then now he's act, you didn't have an impact in his first week with the chiefs, you know, didn't really practice with them all week, but now he had a full week of practice with my homes in that offense. And you saw yet an immediate impact on that game. I think he had two or three receptions in the first two drives getting first downs. And when that starts to happen,
00:23:00
Speaker
takes eyes off of Mr. Kelsey over there who had a career high regular season 14 catches for a hundred yards. It's just, they're dangerous again, man. And that was the thing about the chiefs. It was their offense was lagging behind their defense. They're winning games, ugly, weren't blowing teams out. And I know they didn't blow the box out in this game, but you put up 30 points. That's one of the better offensive outputs they've had this season. And it's because they add DeAndre Hopkins and credit to the GM, like they're never satisfied. They're always looking to improve their team and bringing in a veteran like DeAndre Hopkins, who's he's hungry to win a Superbowl man. That's a guy who's been in the league for a long time. He's been at the top of his game for a long time.
00:23:40
Speaker
And I think a lot of people have kind of counted them out a little bit when you go to Tennessee, you're in a below average spot. You're not getting the same looks that you were getting back when you were in Houston and even in Arizona. Now you go to Kansas City and you're just the a focal point of an offense. Again, a team that's still undefeated and they're just they're more dangerous now than I think they were to start the season. It's crazy to say that. um karee hunt like he had a tough first half immediately bounces back, right? Like Kelsey, tough first half of the season.
00:24:11
Speaker
has seemed to immediately bounce back. It just seems like this was the closest we've gotten to a dominant Kansas City game on offense. And they still weren't fantastic. Like it's really scary to say what the Chiefs might do. They still play three teams with only two wins right now in Cleveland, Carolina and Vegas. ah The look ahead spot is the Bills in two weeks. That is just going to be an absolute banger. I can't wait for that. um But we will move to the Sunday night game In a game that I did not expect to go this way Patrick Vikings 21 Colts 13 I Thought the Colts were live in this game. I thought Joe Flacco was gonna pass for a zillion yards Maybe maybe not a zillion Vikings have a good defense, but this was not what I expected from the Colts in this game
00:25:00
Speaker
sloppy sloppy first half of football from both teams really and I think man we might have a locker room we might have a locker room problem in Indianapolis because the players seem to have belief in Anthony Richardson and they seem to you know play for him or want to play for him at least because he's on the bench right now and you know you got Joe Flacco at quarterback he's less mobile The Vikings can kind of get after the quarterback better than most teams can. And you saw that he had to deal with a lot of pressure in this game and just wasn't able to get set and and slung it like we're used to seeing Flacco slung it over the past two years or so. Anthony Richardson may have been a more dynamic player in a game like this. Do does that mean that, you know, it's not justified in them benching Anthony Richardson? No, I wouldn't say that. I think this is a ah week to week league. And I think the Colts can still bounce back and make the playoffs.
00:25:53
Speaker
it's just It's just brings up a bigger issue though, right? It's just, do do the does the team want to play for Shane Steichen? Does Steichen immediately go back to Richardson now? And I think if he does, he immediately loses all the trust in the locker room because then it's clear that the players are kind of running this team and he's not.
00:26:11
Speaker
so the Colts have some some greater issues and they're they're looking at a playoff so they're they're in the one of the weirder spots in the NFL right now what a game to to like set a fire or just throw a match on a pat a pile of gasoline here like the threat of Richardson under center in that game would have made it a lot different of an offense like Jonathan and Taylor had a tough game, but when you look at it games with Flacco, he has a 3.9 yard per carry average of 68 yards.
00:26:43
Speaker
games without Flacco, 5.4 yards per carry, average of 91 yards, and has 300 yard games. So when you you're worried about Anthony Richardson taking off, you're you're a lot you know less preoccupied, you might say, with Jonathan Taylor, which really allows him to do better. Flacco missed a lot of easy throws. Like you said, he looked immobile in a lot of those pressures.
00:27:09
Speaker
the This would have been a game and and especially if Richardson did start this game and he has a good game. That's a big confidence inspire. I know we sound like we're going back and forth here because we were kind of, you you know, advocating that it was, you know, made sense for Flacco to start this game. But I think you're right. Like two things can be true at once. But the way this just lined up was just just the worst possible scenario for the Colts.
00:27:33
Speaker
Well I think the c Colts have handled the anthony richardsu Anthony Richardson situation horribly from the beginning. I think he was drafted ah from Florida. He had only played one season of college football as a starter.
00:27:46
Speaker
he was um like the GM and coach have said that he was a developmental project when you drafted him fourth overall. So when he's starting game one as a rookie and you're calling him a development, like what what are we doing here? Because that's not developing a player. that's He should have sat out basically all of last year, which unfortunately he ended up sitting out most of it with an injury.
00:28:12
Speaker
And then you go and you start him again this year and and then you know you start to see some signs of, hey, this guy's not playing at the level we we are expecting of him. And then you immediately kind of throw him under the bus a little bit and and you go to the old man.
00:28:27
Speaker
I don't know, man. They're just in a tweener spot here where it's you you either have to sit and and say and stay with Anthony Richardson and go through the ups and downs, similar to how the bills handled Josh Allen, or you go, hey, dude, you're just we're just going to sit you for the rest of the year. It's not a knock on you. We just want to develop you and you know don't want you to hurt your confidence. And we think Joe Flacco gives us the best opportunity to win right now, which I still believe he does. I do believe that Joe Flacco Overall, it gives this ah offense a better chance to win games, but it's I don't know the Colts. It's a tough spot for them, but that's why you get paid the big money. So they got some tough decisions to make down the stretch here. And then they go bills, jets, lines here. A bit of a slog for them. They still sit in the eighth seed. The Bengals are breathing right down their neck here.
00:29:19
Speaker
it it's tough i it's going to be a very like wait and see thing with the the coldts like if they can squeeze out a win somehow at buffalo i feel a lot better at them maybe they can get this on on the rails but you could very easily go o in three Questionable play calling late in that game to like just very weird alert leaning or leading to multiple turnover on downs um On the on the flip side. Let's talk about the Vikings here um Missing Christian Darrow saw is very noticeable replacement Cam Robinson had a couple bad holding penalties That's gonna hurt they get TJ. Hawkins him back that clearly helped
00:29:58
Speaker
um But my biggest takeaway from this game, it is it is so, so clear that Justin Jefferson is the best receiver in football. Seven receptions, 137 yards. He is averaging 97.9 yards per game.
00:30:15
Speaker
Now, when in doubt, just throw it to Justin Jefferson and then Jordan Addison, who seemingly was upset a little bit earlier in the year, has kind of settled down. He had a sick one-handed touchdown catch in that game. kind of Kind of was the difference in a game that was just really lacking offense. yeah You saw both ah offenses drive almost all the way down the field and commit two brutal turnovers. And that's when you kind of knew this game was going to be a weird one, and it ended up finishing as a weird one.
00:30:42
Speaker
The Vikings are resilient football team, man. That's, that's what I took away from it. They're, they're finding ways to win games ugly. They're not the chiefs, but they're kind of winning games like the chiefs. And no matter what, like Sam Donald was brutal in the first half, ended up finishing 28 of 34, 290 yards, three touchdowns.
00:31:01
Speaker
The two interceptions weren't great. Don't get me wrong, but it's it's Sam Darnold. you You can deal with that stuff. You know you might get it from time to time. And you know he seemed as the seems to have the trust of the locker room and his coach. And the Vikings just keep finding ways to win games. they're They're in the NFC North here in second place in the NFC North now. And they're they're just in a driver's seat to make the playoffs. And I think this is I think it's ah it's a testament to their culture and what they're building in Minnesota because it seems like everyone's bought in and they're finding ways to win games. Yeah, I think they're just just below that upper upper echelon of teams, but they're certainly not a team that you want to play in the playoffs. like They would be a nightmare to see on your schedule ah in a wild card game. Who knows if they if they can end up you know catching the lines for that division. but
00:31:49
Speaker
They are just going to be an absolute nightmare for anyone who has to play them in the first round of the playoffs. ah Yeah, Darnold did what he had to do there. He got his top popped on that fumble. Thank God the refs picked up that flag. i I was about to be irate if they didn't. ah Grover Stewart with the hit. What a president ass name. We're recording this on the Tuesday. It's election day.
00:32:10
Speaker
um But yeah, the the Vikings did what they had to. And I love that point about the Chiefs because they really are winning games like the Chiefs have. um They're not winning kind of as dominant as they did in the first half of the season. But as long as you keep stacking wins, you're in a perfect spot here. A team that seemed to not be able to stack wins the Seattle Seahawks.
00:32:30
Speaker
The Los Angeles Rams 26 Seahawks 20 in overtime. Rams keep an edge over the 49ers and the Seahawks in the NFC West with an OT thriller here. Matthew Stafford is so good still. I mean, this game started essentially like Big 10 football. It was eight punts, two interceptions in the first half, but a banger of a second half and a great overtime.
00:32:54
Speaker
I'm so high on the Rams. They've now won three straight. Um, they're right in that division. The Cardinals are, are a game ahead of the the three that you just mentioned. They're leading, but we know that the Cardinals are as volatile as a football team as you can get in the NFL. So the Rams with Puka Nakua and Cooper Guy and Puka Nakua was out in this game. He's punching people in the face. He was going crazy and they still found a way to win. DeMarcus Robinson stepped up big time to touchdown catches, including the, just the gorgeous, just overtime winner.
00:33:24
Speaker
Love that play, by the way. I love just going for the win. It was a second and medium second and six. I believe play actions, bro. Defense is probably expecting a run, something, ah something short. And you just Demarcus Robinson, just mosses, Tariq Wolin in the end zone and it's it's game over. And that's a huge divisional win over this team. And like you said, the first half was horrible on both sides. Wasn't it was like three, nothing at half, right? Yeah. Yeah. And, and the Rams, you know, it was,
00:33:53
Speaker
It was three nothing. And then the Seahawks scored 13 points in the last 56 seconds of the half, which was ridiculous. But yeah, yeah we we were coming home from from real sports. We we we were in between the the first half of the four o'clock slate. So, you know, give us kind of some slack here. But yeah, it was it was more of a reflection that the Rams know how to win games. And Matthew Stafford is just a better quarterback than Geno Smith. Yeah, the Rams have won three straight.
00:34:20
Speaker
They've gone from sellers to playoff contenders. um I still don't think it's viable to have Stafford throw the ball 44 times. I agree. Kyra Williams only had 69 rushing yards. Nice. um But I think that, you know, you don't really care how you win games if you're the Rams right now. I think that verse and Fisk have changed that defensive unit. They have gotten they're probably a team that has gotten the best on defense as the year has progressed. You know, you saw how much they were missing Aaron Donald early.
00:34:49
Speaker
But they're a team that now looks, you know, pretty competent on defense or at least have, you know, a lot more teeth than they did at the start of the season. They still got a ton of juice, man. Patrick is bearing the lead here. He has a Super Bowl future on them, ah but they are still at plus 5,000 for the Super Bowl.
00:35:07
Speaker
plus 375 for the division and plus 310 for the playoffs. I love that. I think there's just so much value on them in in a below average division right now. I know the 49ers are getting McCaffrey back and a lot of people are expecting them to just immediately become Super Bowl contenders again.
00:35:24
Speaker
I haven't seen that out of the 49ers. Their running game has not been the problem. I know McCaffrey's a lot more dynamic than Jordan Mason. Jordan Mason has been very good yeah as a 49er since he's been starting in McCaffrey's spot. I'm high on the Rams man. that It just seems like they're going. They got something going.
00:35:43
Speaker
And the defense, that that's what I was going to touch on. And they're not known for defense. They never really have been under McVeigh, but McVeigh is a smart coach. He knows how to scheme things up and the defense is playing hard and they're winning games. And like, I think Seattle's a below average team in the NFL. So just being able to not, you know, blow this one, especially when you're down 13 to three at half and they're able to come back and and win a tight one in overtime.
00:36:09
Speaker
i'm I'm high on the Rams, got them at 75-1 for the Super Bowl. Do I think they're going to win the Super Bowl? No, but I just couldn't pass up on that value and I'm i'm on them, I'm high on them and I think they'll continue to ah to roll through throughout the ah the rest of the season. If they win that division, it's an automatic like plus money cash out. So it's really just a great hedge to have. ah Let's talk about the Seahawks, Patrick. Let's talk about it.
00:36:31
Speaker
This is a team that people were crowning Mike McDonald as the next as the next it guy in the NFL. They had 12 penalties for 95 yards in this game. They're not a well coached team right now. They just really aren't. They get inside the five yard line twice and score zero points.
00:36:50
Speaker
It's the same thing as the Bills game. they They got into the red zone twice and scored three points, I think it was in that game. Geno Smith throwing 103 yard pick sixes. What the fuck is going on in Seattle, man?
00:37:02
Speaker
It's a combination of of a couple of things. It's like you said, I don't think the coaching is up to the standard that a lot of people thought it was going to be. It's extremely hard and not nothing against Mike McDonald. It's so hard to come into a franchise like that where Pete Carroll had his fingerprints over it for like 10 years.
00:37:20
Speaker
They had two Super Bowl appearances, a Super Bowl win, right? And it was just, everything was set in stone for the Seahawks as a top five franchise. Honestly, as when Pete Carroll was their coach, life's changed, man. You got Geno Smith as your quarterback. You committed to Geno Smith as your quarterback. So I think it reflects on the GM a little bit as well, because Geno Smith, man, he had one flash in the pan year and he's back. He's three interceptions.
00:37:47
Speaker
Three interceptions, the most sackable quarterback in the NFL, Geno Smith, sacked seven times. Don't care about Luke Wilson, Seahawks propaganda. He's bad, man. He's he's a bad quarterback. And, you know, it's it's tough. You said they get into the five yard line, the coaching. I think Geno Smith just threw two horrible interceptions and and lost them that game. I put that game on Geno Smith and Geno Smith alone because of you. I guess, you know, you could say, hey, run the ball.
00:38:13
Speaker
Cause both the interceptions were on second downs. You got like the five yard line, like you said, I think Geno Smith is just, he's, he's over the hill, Manny. He's in his mid thirties. He's never really been elite. I just think you've seen the best of him and it was a one season flash in the pan. And Geno Smith is just taking this team to to new lows that we haven't seen in a long time.
00:38:37
Speaker
Yeah, it's not insane to say that this game was Genosmith's fault. You have two red zone picks to the same player. like it In a game that you lose by six points, that's the difference. It it just is. They had 424 yards on offense. you know it's so It must be so frustrating to be a Seahawks fan right now because they have these moments of brilliance. Like I said, they scored 13 points in the last 56 seconds of the first half.
00:39:04
Speaker
um Jackson Smith and Jigba finishes with 180 yards in two touchdowns. He had 72 yards called back in penalties. He could have finished with 240 yards in this game and you have you you know great moments where they look like one of the best offensive units or at least have the some of the most talent-filled rooms in the entire nfl and then you have moments where you know they have two turnover on downs and the turnover on downs in overtime that just
00:39:35
Speaker
gifted the rams a position to take it down the field and win the game I, this is just a frustrating team to watch. And I think you're right when you let off with this, they're not a good football team. No. And what did you think of that decision to go for it on the fourth of one as opposed to kicking it? Because I guess there's the argument, right? That the Rams scored the touchdown. So it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but If you kick the field goal, you kick off, who knows where the field position is, right? It puts, I would assume the Rams operate on that drive a little differently knowing that they have to get points. When when there's no pressure on the Rams to score, they they were just playing loose football and they just went right down the field and then hit them over the top to end the game. So what'd you think of that play call? It's easy to, you know, look at hindsight and say that they shouldn't have go, go for it. I think that Kenneth Walker,
00:40:27
Speaker
is a great running back who should have been able to get that yard but the Rams defensive line was playing fantastic in that game like you said it's seven sacks at that point so you have seven sacks and you're clearly stuffing the run you should kick the ball up man you in a game where you can't get points like and you're throwing interceptions in the red zone It's you know the opposite of the bucks there. You have to take the points. Yeah, and it wasn't like it was a 60-yard field goal. I believe it was mid to high 40-yard field goal. And I don't know. They just found a way to lose a game where yeah they should. And Pukunaku is out. They're their second wide receiver. yeah You block a punt, and then you throw an interception on one of them, right? It's just they had so many chances to win this game, and they just found a way to lose and not only lose, but you lost to a division rival who
00:41:18
Speaker
was out of it three weeks ago, and now they're right in the thick of things, and now it's Seattle that's at the basement. Yeah, one sentence, Seattle should not have lost this game. Moving to a team that maybe should have lost the game, Eagles 28, Jaguars 23, in a game that the Eagles almost blew, they moved to six and two, it was 16-nothing at half,
00:41:45
Speaker
Fast forward noise, 28 to 23 with 215 on the clock for the Panthers to drive. But it ends with a Trevor Lawrence interception. Man, I want Trevor Lawrence to be good, man. I hated to see that.
00:41:59
Speaker
I've sold all my stock. I'm out. yeah i got no I got no association with T-law. I'm i'm i'm fully out. you so You got a jersey, so I know you still want it to happen, but I'm i'm all the way out on Trevor Lawrence. so yeah yeah you're ah You're on an island on this one. I am. I was gifted a T-law jersey. I'd like to clarify that. I did not spend money on the T-law jersey.
00:42:21
Speaker
um But in this game, you know, I think Sirianni should be back on the hot seat. He's not really with the media right now, but he is with us. ah He wasted a zillion chances to put easy points on the board in this game. 0 for 2 on fourth down. 0 for 3 on two point conversions.
00:42:41
Speaker
When Jake Elliott lined up for that field goal from 57 yards with 2-16 left, I was speechless, dude. You punt the ball there.
00:42:52
Speaker
Yeah, or or even go for it, I thought would would have been a better decision. you know Yeah, I don't I didn't hate the two point conversion plays because they did get penalties. so They're going from the one on two of them. So I can understand that there was a opportunity for them to get a field goal, I believe, the possession before Jake Elliott kicked the 57 yarder where they went for it and didn't get it. That would have but put it to an eight point game before that with, you know, around four minutes left.
00:43:20
Speaker
but that that's a perfect spot for them to be in, right? When you're kind of reeling a little bit, you're up 22 to nothing. Now the Jacksonville Jaguars have crept, crept their way back into this game. They've got the momentum behind them. And then you are just making these questionable decisions that ended up kind of biting you in the ass. And it goes the other way. I wrote down, he's kind of like a knockoff Dan Campbell. Yeah. He like,
00:43:42
Speaker
He thinks he's aggressive or no, he is aggressive. I will say that man, but it just doesn't feel like he has the feel for when to be aggressive or when to be conservative. He he just always wants to go, go, go. And they only really have one playing short yardage and everyone knows what it is. So.
00:43:59
Speaker
They've if they want to be aggressive, I think you got to kind of switch things up Maybe do a tush push play action something sneaky guy out of the backfield Just maybe mix in a normal run with your elite running back that you have Jalen hurts is running the ball Well, I you're right though a lot of questionable decisions from Nick Sirianni in this game But don't apologize for wins because the Eagles are kind of rolling right now They kind of are and he said today didn't work. That's the way it goes. That's the hat I have to wear just the Nothing from that quote from me, but I it's got to be frustrating to be in this locker room because this was another game where the Eagles stars Starred like they did what they had to do Saquon 27 carries for a hundred and fifty nine yards on the ground and a touchdown
00:44:44
Speaker
40 yards through the air and a touchdown. Hertz goes 18 of 24 for 230 yards, two touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. Devontae Smith, you know, amazing one heart one-handed 25-yard catch at the back of the end zone. and The Stars were playing like it, and it seems like the coaching almost let them down again, which is like, that has to come back and bite you at some point in the season. They're rolling right now. You don't apologize for wins. But at Dallas next Sunday, i and they should crush the Cowboys, but the Cowboys are live in that game. You think even with Cooper Rush? Forgot about that. for Yeah, I did too. And then I go, wait a second. Dak is gone for four four weeks. So and I think the Eagles should you know handle business against the Cowboys, but I don't necessarily think the Cowboys are a good win and anymore. You know what I mean? So the like the Eagles
00:45:38
Speaker
I think they're they're in the top three of the NFC right now. And these decisions from Sirianni, while you can get away with them in week nine, are you going to be able to get away with them in the divisional round in in the conference championship? like these are the These are the games where head coaches and decisions from your head coach will win you or lose you the season. it's You can handle this in week nine. It is what it is. You you beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, don't whatever.
00:46:04
Speaker
but I think he's got to clean it up for the for the playoffs and just continue to roll. um I was very confused about that Saquon Barkley fumble. Very, very, very confused. He was tripped up by, I'm not sure who it was on the Jaguars, but then he, he as he's falling, went into his own lineman, then falls, the ground causes the fumble after he was touched by a Jacksonville Jaguars player. So I'm operating under two rules here.
00:46:33
Speaker
He's down by contact and number two, the ground can't cause a fumble and they called it a fumble and a touchdown. So, so I, I have no clue. I, I, I had the game on me on red zone, so I didn't really get the full, you know, Mike Pereira, uh, giving me the BS rules, but I was very confused by that ruling. I wish I could provide any sort of clarity here because I was confused as well. I think everybody just got so caught up at how sick that Trayvon Walker return was.
00:47:01
Speaker
they were like just let him have the touchdown like it doesn't matter uh but it you're right by by two different rules there that really shouldn't have been a touchdown i think it was a tough week for consistency in nfl rapping i have something in the dolphins game we'll get to later but A lot of plays in different games with varying results from refing. ah That was a huge spark. It ended up being a huge spark for Jacksonville because they go get a two point conversion after that and then all of a sudden they were five points down and live in that game. ah So it really made a huge difference in that game.
00:47:34
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't hate it because I had no skin in the game and I didn't really care. And it definitely made the game more interesting than when it was 22 nothing. But I was just just confused overall. And like you said, the reffing, they had a good start. the Be better, just be better. And then ah we'd be a mess if we didn't talk about the Saquon backwards hurdle. Yeah, that was disgusting. um You you you got to miss film room. Just like, say I got food poisoning or something, all three of the guys on that play.
00:48:04
Speaker
Jacksonville can't show it. They they can't show that. okay It's also crazy dangerous. like some Some high school kid's going to try that and get their spleen like just a ru just destroyed by a helmet right in the side of their ah torso. What a bad example, Saquon Barkley's setting. Yeah, that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen a running back to. Doug Peterson loses another game with the visor on.
00:48:29
Speaker
Another visor game. Bad, bad man. He's 0-2 in revenge games versus the Eagles. The Jags have Minnesota next week. They should just start prepping for the draft. Yeah, like they they just need the season to end. ah you i wouldn't be I don't think it'd be crazy if they just bench Trevor Lawrence for the rest of the year. Just said, hey, man, just we don't you have so little confidence left, we can't get it any lower. So we're just going to have you chill. We're going to fake an injury for your sake.
00:48:57
Speaker
And just you're gone for the year and CJ Bethel or whoever their backup is going to take them to, you know, two wins and maybe the first overall draft pick and you get an alignment or or something to just kind of help this team. But like, just just get it over with. You rip the band-aid off, get rid of Peterson now rather than later. And I don't know, but they need this series season to just end. Yeah, they have 31 yards of offense in the first half, 15 yards rushing and 16 yards passing.
00:49:24
Speaker
They can't run the ball anymore, either. It's because they had the one good thing going, like Tank Bigsby had that nice little stretch where he was ripping off 100 games, 100 yard game. Sorry. And then just, yeah, now they can't really do it. Now it's like a running back by committee with Etienne in there. Yeah, it's a mess in Jacksonville. It's bad. um We will move to another dominant win for the Lions. Lions, 24 Packers, 14. The score doesn't really even show how this game went.
00:49:49
Speaker
Lions move to 2-0 in the division. Full game lead in the NFC North. Grind out a gritty win in Green Bay. Feels like every week with these Lions recaps I just have like 40 positive stats for the Lions that I could rip off. 7-1 for the first time since 1956. Number one in our invisible power rankings. Dominant win without Jameson Williams. Amon Ra ties a Lions record with 6 straight games with TDs.
00:50:15
Speaker
Kirby Joseph has an interception in Detroit's last six games, becomes the first safety to intercept at least 14 passes through his first three seasons since Ed Reed. Jared Goff beat the indoor stadium allegations.
00:50:29
Speaker
he's yeah He has the best completion percentage and passer rating over any six-game stretch in NFL history from a quarterback. you Say what you want. There's a million great stats for the Lions, still number one. Yeah, you you you put it very well right there. It's just the the Lions are rolling. We said the Eagles were rolling. you know The Chiefs are in the fight. like Those teams are all finding ways to win games.
00:50:51
Speaker
I don't know if anyone's doing it more convincingly than the Detroit Lions every single week and you just look back and go how how did this team lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers I know Godwin and Evans were playing in that game but how do you lose that game because this game was kind of ah just you know it was encouraging as well like you said first game out of the out of a dome horrible weather game by the way it was just pouring rain the entire time i'm sure it's pretty cold as well in green bay green bay gets the early fuel goal so you in i'm thinking all right this is going to be ah an nfc north grind it out just thirteen ten seventeen thirteen something like that And then the Lions just rip up 17 points in the second quarter and the game was over. It was that quick. It was just, they decided to turn it on golf, just 18 of 22, 145 yards. Like he he doesn't have the yardage, but the efficiency is just, it's so ah amazing that he continues to do it outside of the dome in horrible weather. And it's just the, the Lions can do no wrong right now. And I really don't know who can stop this team.
00:51:57
Speaker
They're in the driver's seat of the NFC for sure. But right now it's like they're in the driver's seat of the league, it feels like. They're they're getting everything easily, like converting two fourth downs into touchdowns like they they seem to be able to get points whenever they need them, get stops whenever they need them. Brian Branch gets ejected in this game and it it doesn't seem to to make any sort of difference on defense for them. ah the It there is not enough good stats you can say about the Lions right now.
00:52:26
Speaker
On the other side of the football, Green Bay. What are you doing in this game, man? They're heading into a bye week. Jordan Love was so clearly injured in this game. It was not even funny. Like, puzzling decision. Why why don't you let Love rest here and get healthy in the bye week when Malik Willis has been the most competent backup in the entire National Football League. They wasted opportunities. They didn't look in sync ever.
00:52:54
Speaker
Very puzzling game from the the Packers here. Wasted opportunities was was key of what you just said there. They out gained Detroit 411 yards to 261. They drove inside of Detroit's 35 yard line on three possessions and they didn't have anything to show for it on those three. Just, just bad. You're right. Like in LaFleur, I believe he was one of your coach of the year candidates. A lot of people's coach of the year candidates. Little decisions like this, man. And then you you look at the guy on the other sideline, Dan Campbell, who
00:53:27
Speaker
I believe is if he's not already, there's quickly becoming one of the league's top coaches. It's just, there's a different vibe going on in these two teams. And I know that the Packers are still ah a playoff team. I'm not, I'm not worried about the Packers, but some of the decision-making in this game, like you said, when Jordan love is just limping around out there, barely moving. And you have a good mobile quarterback who has continued to show that he can play in this league at a competent level.
00:53:57
Speaker
Give them a chance, man, especially like you said, with the buy, you you give them an extra week to rest and you can just, you know, you can throw the tape in this one. You can say, hey, it's a bad weather game. This one, you know, it was a fluke. The Lions won.
00:54:09
Speaker
you can't do that now. Jordan Love played the entire game and it was just the Lions looked solidly better than the Lions in my opinion from this game. Yeah, there's there's not much more to say other than that in this game. Missed opportunity from Green Bay but maybe should have been a game that they kind of managed differently kind of from the start. um We will move to a game that is sad in all sorts of different ways. Cardinals 29, Bears 9, you know where it's not sad? Our Cardinals, our Cardinals, who have seemingly snapped that Jekyll and Hyde persona that we talked about. They've won three straight. They got wins in four of their last five. They're finding with like rhythm on offense and defense. They win a game where Kyler Murray isn't mind-blowing. The pass rush figured itself out. They had a dominant rushing attack.
00:55:01
Speaker
Let's start with our Cardinals here. Inspiring game. Inspiring is a great word because, like you said, Kyler was far from elite, far from perfect. He just wasn't really great or good, ah but the Cardinals They're a dynamic team on offense, man. James Connor, he's ripping off 18 rushes for 107 yards. Amari Demarcaro, his name is a tongue twister, but Demarcaro had basically the game changing play right before half. the he He rips off a 53 yard touchdown run with six seconds left in the half, kind of changed the game. and
00:55:39
Speaker
Iber Flus, man. This is just my quick bears. We'll go right back to the to the Cardinals. But the quote he said after the game, he said this one was on me. I called for a pass defense play. That's on that's on the coach. There's six seconds left in the game and you're 53 yards from the end zone.
00:55:57
Speaker
I don't know, I just think that's crazy coaching from Eberflus, kind of reflects on where the Bears are right now. But the Cardinals, yeah, three in a row. They're they're breaking these these stigmas that they've had. um They're getting everyone to step up. Trey McBride was getting all the catches. I still think they need to kind of figure out what they're doing with Marvin Harrison Jr. because I think he needs a lot more targets. Like Trey McBride has doubled the targets.
00:56:22
Speaker
of Marvin Harrison Jr. I don't think that's a sustainable ah route to go on offense and I think you really need to get him involved more if you want to be in the playoffs and be a playoff team and possibly win this division like they are leading the NFC North right now they're not getting a lot of attention but the Cardinals are They're starting to inspire confidence and they're getting after the quarterback, which they really haven't been able to do all year. They had six sacks on Caleb Williams. So it's, it was just a very impressive, impressive performance from the Arizona Cardinals. It's so ironic because it's like a team you'd love to have Cliff Kingsbury back in some capacity on this team, which is just, if you told the Cardinals fan that like a year ago, they would slap you in the face.
00:57:03
Speaker
ah But yeah, 213 rushing yards, only 154 passing yards, but they didn't need it. I do agree that they kind of need to figure out what they have there with Harrison Jr. Start targeting him more. Let's move to the biggest tire fire right now in the NFL. The Chicago Bears' playoff hopes are slipping so fast now that it's not even funny. They start divisional games next the week after next.
00:57:27
Speaker
And the Bears failed to score a touchdown and gave up over 150 rushing yards for a third time this season. They couldn't rush the ball. They had 70 yards rushing. They couldn't stop the rushing game. They had 213 yards against. Caleb Williams had a terrible game sacked six times. Eber Flus keeps him in at the end of the game and he almost dies out there because of it in a nothing game or at least you don't have any sort of chance of coming back. And Patrick It took until Friday to announce that Tyreke Stevenson was being demoted and it became a story into itself. There's no discipline, no culture, bad coaching. Yeah, I basically got bullied into benching Stevenson from the fan base when it should have just happened that the second that game against the commanders finished.
00:58:19
Speaker
Wow. It was, I hope it was fun while it lasted for the Bears fans. yeah They had, they had their, you know, four and two, they go, you we're doing something there. They're in a competitive division, and but they hadn't played any NFC North games. They could kind of still have that hope. And they would have still had hope if they were six and two right now, two games that on paper probably should have won or could have won. They definitely had, you know, the the hail Mary last week.
00:58:44
Speaker
however stock you want to put into that that that game happened and they lost it this game you know what was a one point spread one and a half point spread the bears were slight underdogs i thought this was going to be a bit of a battle between these two teams i kind of had them in the same spot in the nfc just middle tier teams someone's got a the two teams that have a chance at the last wild card spot and The Cardinals just kind of took it to them. It really wasn't that close. that The Bears seem to quit even on defense, which has been something that they've been able to hang their hat on all season long. I know Montez Sweat was out of this game, but one player shouldn't change the entire identity of your defense. DJ Moore also like gave up mid mid-play. I don't know
00:59:28
Speaker
He's not listed on the injury report. So I don't think it was an injury. Some people were saying, you know, oh, like you went out of bounds. You you don't come in, come back into the field to play to maybe confuse your quarterback. But you don't just take a seat on the bench mid play. Like it that was wild scene. And DJ Moore, who earlier in the season was, you know, having some but bad body language towards Caleb Williams, that seems to have returned. And yeah, I don't know. This is a team that Yeah, they need a culture change. It feels like everyone's happy with the GM. It's it's the coaching and the offensive coordinator where they ah they seem to have a lot of problems with. Yeah, DJ Moore was asked on the radio to ah yesterday if Matt Eberfluis has lost this team and he said, I want to say no, which is like the funniest response.
01:00:16
Speaker
ever ah Roman doomsday has more yards than him like roma doomsday is the best receiver right now on this team which is insane to say ah they play the Patriots next week to really decide if the if the season is truly over favored by six and a half in that game we'll get to our week 10 picks later but I hate that spread for the Bears they they shouldn't be favored by six and a half points over practically anybody in the league right now Uh, so many question marks out of the bears. It, you don't even know where to start. Williams went one of eight in passes over 15 yards. So just, he, he's seemingly having problems with deep balls with accuracy. You're right. that they The coordinator seems to not really know what the hell to do with him right now.
01:01:01
Speaker
Bad, just all bad. We'll leave it at there, bad. Commanders, 27. Giants, 22. Commanders gut out a gritty win. Hand the Giants another loss. Insults that of the week, earmuffs Benjamin. Chiefs won two Super Bowls between Daniel Jones, two most recent passing touchdowns at MetLife Stadium. That is insane. First home touchdown pass in 672 days. Another insults that of the week.
01:01:31
Speaker
four of six passing for zero yards and somehow with a touchdown in the first half. Yeah, and now Daniel Jones is running back one, because I think Dables just wants to run him into the ground. DJ ran seven times 54 yards in a touchdown. I think this is going to be a trend for the rest of the season. I think Daniel Jones is going to have some fantasy value as well. If you want to get into that, I do. I really think he's going to run for like 50 yards or more every single game, because I think we saw it in that their one season where they had some success.
01:02:05
Speaker
Daniel Jones is running the ball. So I think they're just at the point and dables at the point where it's just screw it. Like who, who cares? We got to change something up and you're going to see Daniel Jones running the ball a lot.
01:02:17
Speaker
Commanders, complimentary stat. Seven and two, best start since 1996. And now you add Marshawn Lattimore, who we touched on earlier. This team feels like they're building something, man. And like you said, the culture there, it's it's crazy how quickly it can turn when you get rid of a toxic owner and you just kind of hand the keys off to the people that should be making the football decisions, the GM, the coaches. like The the like just it's a competent organization right now and it's encouraging to see and I'm sure commanders fans are pumped. What I'm most impressed about and we've talked about a little bit is just Jayden Daniels and his decision making because Daniel Jones was fine in this game. I didn't think he was horrible, but it was just he made the one mistake. And if you look at the score 27 22 Giants tried to get the two point conversion late to make it a field goal game.
01:03:09
Speaker
it does It, Jane Daniels has not made mistakes all season long. And if he continues to do that, this team can win their division. And I truly believe they can compete in the NFC. Yeah, it's he's 15 or sorry. He was 15 of 22 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He's got nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
01:03:29
Speaker
and four rushing touchdowns. like he You're right, he just doesn't make the mistake. he He does not play like a rookie. He does not make decisions like a rookie. He has breathed life into Terry McClellan, another two touchdown game from him. There are two and oh in the division. There's seven and two overall.
01:03:46
Speaker
They got a one game lead over Philadelphia. I think the NFC East Race is far from over with those two. Like I think that's going to be one of the bigger like talking points in the NFL down the line here. um But man, just another way. And this is a divisional game, right? Like you don't really care how you win this if you're the commanders. But it was a game where they they were able to make adjustments. The the Giants ran for 140 yards in the first half and barely any in the second half. So they plug that up. You're right.
01:04:16
Speaker
Marshawn Lattimore that is going to be a huge help for this defense and in it's a game where there was a lot to like about the Giants like they dominated the time of possession two fourth quarter touchdowns they looked you know very competent in a lot of this game the pass rush which usually shows up didn't that was a big knock on this they couldn't sack Jayden Daniels they pressured him on only two of 13 drawbacks in the first half Daniel Jones looked somewhat competent in this game, but again, they lose, and I don't understand why they haven't sold anything, man. Yeah, stop holding on to Darius s Lane. he He should be a stealer. I shouldn't have to deal with Mike Williams. it's It's brutal. They've lost four in a row, four straight, yeah and they're 0-5 at home this year.
01:05:03
Speaker
ah Yeah, the Giants are in selling, dude. like there's no There's no rumblings, there's no rumors, there's nothing from them. No, and and you have three key pieces. We talked about it, I don't know if it was last week or two weeks, so you got three key pieces to to build around right now. Dexter Lawrence, Malik Neighbors, and i I believe Tyrone Tracy Jr. is a piece that they can use going forward.
01:05:25
Speaker
And yeah, they're just seem to be staying put and that's kind of what the Giants have been for the past. I don't know. Daniel Jones era. I guess they've just kind of been in this limbo where they have, I don't know if it's a false confidence or they're just kind of a little delusional in a sense, but they believe that Daniel Jones can somehow get the job done.
01:05:45
Speaker
and I really wouldn't be surprised if they for some reason Committed to him again next year and ran the whole thing back and I'm sure the results will be the exact same as they've been it's aside from the one flash in the pan year that they had but the Giants need to figure something out and I don't think you fire sale. I think, you know, you you have to kind of keep a coach, keep your GM, keep some stability in in your organization, but you got to change the players on the field. And yeah, like I said, why aren't you selling? Start trying to get draft picks and build for the future. Trade alert. um The Packers are sending veteran linebacker Preston Smith to the Steelers. Weird. Yeah. It seems like the Lions have forced the Packers into being sellers.
01:06:30
Speaker
They beat the Packers so bad they have forced them into being sellers. I guess that's a nice rotational piece maybe with you know Highsmith on the other side there with the Steelers, like cross from TJ Watt. um I don't know. That's a weird one, because Nick Herbig's there as well. Yeah. And I mean, I guess depth is always good. and But yeah, that's surprising. But hey, man, ah I don't know. Keep bolstering the defense. Defenses win championships. Defenses travel. They're building.
01:06:56
Speaker
Yeah, it's something I can't wait for the Marshall and lot more Mike Williams matchup ah next week. the The two biggest trade pieces of the day will move now to Falcons 27 Cowboys 21. Oh, man. Even though Jerry Jones repeatedly says he still believes in this team, the Cowboys drop another rough one and now will seemingly be without Dak Prescott for at least four games with a hamstring injury. This What game was full of mistakes for the Cowboys fake punt that never had a chance a fourth down sweep To CD lamb is a three-yard loss botched coverage in two different touchdown plays Mike Mike He's throwing tablets on the sideline Mike McCarthy's throwing tablets down on the sideline
01:07:49
Speaker
This was just a nightmare game from the Cowboys. Dak got quoted. Well, I guess it wasn't a hot mic, but he just the lip readers were out. We yeah we fucking suck is is what came out of his mouth. That's that's what that's Dak Prescott's quote. um You know, CD lamb left left the game with an injury as well.
01:08:08
Speaker
You're somehow buying with Jonathan Mingo, like we mentioned. ah But I guess that is a piece that could be part of your future. But it just the timing of it seems strange. And you know, you got Cooper Rush starting for the next three or four weeks for sure.
01:08:22
Speaker
They're in disarray, they're three and five, and I'm, i'm why why is Jerry so crazy, man? ah it's It's to the point where I think the Cowboys could sell, like really sell and really start a mini rebuild, because I think if you're bringing any pieces in for the future, you need a running back. Take a look in the mirror, man. You're benching ZQ Eliot for disciplinary reasons. Rico Douda was fine in this game. That was, I guess, the lone bright spot if you want to go.
01:08:52
Speaker
If you want to look at that for the Cowboys, but I don't think Rico Dowdle is your guy in the future I don't think it is you know you bring in Dalvin cook who's just still old as hell and can't really move in this league and Cowboys are in a dire spot right now and under Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy, it just feels, it they, not to the same extent, but it feels very similar to the Giants where you're running back the same thing and expecting different results without actually trying to improve or change or develop what you what you are as a team. And I don't know, I just don't understand why they're expecting different results when you just continue to put the same product out there.
01:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, they this is the longest losing streak for Dallas since a four game skid during 2020. It's also the most recent time that the Cowboys finished with a losing record. They went six and 10 in that season.
01:09:46
Speaker
And if you look at that team in this team, like how many differences are there really? Like it seems like this is the fourth or fifth incarnation of this same Cowboys team and it's clearly not working. you I could fully see them being sellers. That would actually give fans a little confidence here, ah especially with Dak Prescott going out, like get ahead of the ball for once Cowboys get ahead of the ball on the opposite side. This is what the Falcons can be.
01:10:14
Speaker
It seems like they could be rounding into form a bit and two back-to-back wins they get. They were 4-0 against their division with wins over you know the Panthers, the Saints, all the bad teams. Against everybody else, Atlanta was 1-3. The Cowboys aren't a great win, but they got a necessary you know defining or or definitive win for a team that needed it and they've now won five of their past six games The pass rush finally kind of sparked a little life. This was an inspiring game for the Falcons. Absolutely. I've been somewhat critical of the Falcons offense. It just feels like you don't know what you're going to get from them week to week. It's like, oh, they're going to run the ball 40 times one week. Then Kirk's going to throw it 50 times the next. This was perfect, I would argue. Kirk was 19 of 24 for 222 yards and three touchdowns. This was the focal point for me. Bijon finally had like
01:11:09
Speaker
out carried LGR by a lot running back one for a reason man Bijon at 19 carries for 86 yards seven catches for 59 LGR only had six rushing year six rushes that is perfect maybe you could get LGR up to like 10 but like this is the balance that you need uh Bijon should be out carrying LGR two to one every single week and this was perfect man Mooney stepped up for Drake London when he was out doesn't seem like that's going to be a serious injury i think he's going to miss one week at worst it looks like Um, and and it's just there in the driver's seat for this division with the Buccaneers kind of blowing that game. They're already two and all over the box. I don't really see a team in the NFC South catching them, especially if Tampa has to go play San Fran next week in the cavalry back. I don't, I don't like them in that game. And you know, what's the craziest part for me? I, I've always thought of the Falcons, I guess that division's kind of been, you know, very average for a long time.
01:12:03
Speaker
The Falcons haven't had a winning season since 2017. Holy shit. I know. So apparently Kirk Cousins was the missing piece for this team because they are, you know, they look like they're going to have a ah winning season. They should win the NFC South right now. And if they don't, they got bigger problems. But yeah, this was a great game from the Atlanta Falcons. And honestly, maybe the most encouraging game they've had this year.
01:12:27
Speaker
Yeah, I had written down finally a cohesive game plan all around on ah offense. We've been waiting for it. We've been talking about it. A balanced attack. And this was it. Like this is what they should really use as the blueprint going forward. You adjusted a bit for better passing teams. You adjusted a bit for better run defense teams.
01:12:47
Speaker
But this is this is the bread and butter. This is how good this offense can look at their best. You mentioned three touchdown passes for Kirk. That's his third 3TD game of the season. He looks calm. He looks better than he did to start the season. And he looks like the leader that you know Atlanta desperately needed at the
Falcons' Inspiring Win: A Turning Point?
01:13:06
Speaker
quarterback position. So I agree. This was the more most inspiring win from the Falcons. And this should be something that they can really build on.
Bills vs. Dolphins: Key Game Moments
01:13:14
Speaker
Um, moving here to our last full game breakdown, Bill's 30 dolphins, 27. This was a tough, tough one. Patrick mentioned we were at real sports. I was surrounded, surrounded everywhere. I could find with Bill's fans here. Dolphins looked alive for the first time in forever this season, and you still lose on mistakes, penalties, and of course a 61 yard field goal. Bad.
01:13:42
Speaker
Yeah, this has got to be the most demoralizing. I mean, I don't want to speak for you. You you have a way better ah feel on the dolphins than I do, but just it felt like they were so competent on offense. Like you said, 27 points, probably best they've looked maybe all year on offense and you're in games and and things are starting to go your way. You're like,
01:14:04
Speaker
getting home, you're forcing Josh to make some decisions. He throws an interception, which he hasn't done a lot this year. So like that's that's already you're getting ah on him. You're getting a big one. And then it's just the Tyler Bass gets sent out. 61 yarder. I think if you asked Bill's fans what what the chances you thought of him hitting that field goal, I think a lot of them would have told you 25, 30, below 50%. I think if you're a realistic ah fan of your team and you're watching them,
01:14:32
Speaker
the guy who missed an extra point earlier in that game. And he drills it, man. That would have been good from sixty five. yeah Yeah. And it was perfect. He like starts it right on the left, the the left goal post and then fades it in right to the middle. It was a perfect kick from a guy who has struggled this year. And yeah, it's a demoralizing loss for the Dolphins. But for me, you you I'll let you just like run away with this. But my biggest takeaway from the Dolphins was They have to tackle. They really struggle tackling the Ray Davis 63 yard touchdown run, which just should not have happened. And it it was the difference in this game, really like you somehow stop that whole new field goal, maybe even a punt on that drive. This game goes differently. And I just think that Miami really needs to start shoring up on the defensive side of the ball and just tackle a little bit better.
01:15:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's two things since tours return. The dolphins are averaging three point six points per drive. The league average is one point eight. So Miami has had just 15 possessions on offense in the last two games. OK, in those 15 possessions, they have six touchdowns and four field goals. That's a 66 percent clip on offense. The problem is the defense. Anthony Weaver.
01:15:48
Speaker
got outsmarted out smarted out coached as a defensive coordinator again they got gashed up and down the field they could not defend the flat or tackle those are the two things bills lived in their short passing game especially on the right like flat area of the field Alan completed 9 of 13 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown on out breaking routes. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns on passes of 5 air yards or fewer. So they were just getting absolutely slashed
01:16:24
Speaker
in every sense of the word in the passing game, in the short game, and everyone's making a big deal out of Mac Hollins spotting the ball himself. He grabbed the ball and spotted it. That's supposed to be a 10 second runoff. They wouldn't have been able to kick the field.
01:16:39
Speaker
That's not what lost them this game. What lost them this game was Jordan Poyer fucking hitting Keon Coleman with his cranium again. And, you know, that's the second time he's directly lost the the Dolphins a game with a huge, huge penalty late. But this is what I was saying earlier, but aside from the Dolphins here.
01:16:57
Speaker
Poyer hit, the branch hit, and Kobe Bryant's hit on DeMarcus Robinson. okay it's Essentially, the exact same play. You have one-on-one with a cornerback, a safety comes in for help, and absolutely demolishes somebody. Poyer's got a flag for unnecessary roughness.
01:17:13
Speaker
Brian Branch got ejected, and Brian, it was a no call. So it's those were three plays that were essentially mirror images of each other, and they're all different calls. So let's at least have a shred of consistency here, NFL, um in that sense. But this game was very disheartening because Tua played practically perfect. He was 25 of 28.
01:17:36
Speaker
Should have been 250 yards if it wasn't for that you know passing play at the end. Two touchdowns. Nine different players touched the ball. Three receivers had at least five targets. ah Two players recorded at least 10 carries. They ran for 149 yards. And you lose this game. So very, very demoralizing. just Just the many mistakes. And I actually don't think Mike McDaniel got out coached in this game.
01:18:00
Speaker
No, i I had no problem with the game that McDaniel called. I thought they're very good on offense, like I said. They they got to kind of figure out what they're doing with Waddle. I think that's the biggest kind of knock on their offense, I guess. He had two receptions. He had the one huge catch, first catch of the game off for the to to convert the first down. But then he finishes with two catches for negative yards. I don't know, it's a weird spot there. And then also, I believe, is Kenny Albert calling the game? Just relax with 2-0, bro.
01:18:29
Speaker
just just like it's it is what it is like a i get you know you have concern but i think you should be concerned for any player at any time it's just let the guy play football and whatever happens happens just like can we stop acting like this is uh like a a make a wish kid out there with against against teams that he's never played football Just relax, all right? Like, whatever happens, happens. Just let him play football. It's crazy, man. In a week where we're about to get to our quick hits here, Chris Olave got sent to the hospital for the third time in fucking two seasons, lying dead flat on the ground. Haven't seen any calls for him to medically retire.
Chargers' Defensive Prowess and Playoff Potential
01:19:05
Speaker
Denzel Ward played in the Browns game. We talked about that last week. He got his fifth concussion in seven years and he turned it around in fucking six days.
01:19:16
Speaker
Yeah, it's all over the place. People pick and choose. You can focus on Drake May. He got his first concussion early in his second or third start and he had a foul. The Richardson stuff. There's a million, but I guess because two went into fencing position that it's a big deal. Anyways, two of the quick hits. Chargers 27, Browns 10.
01:19:39
Speaker
ah I had that down as a big point in this game. Denzel Ward somehow played in this game and he probably shouldn't have because he was involved in both huge TD plays for the Chargers. he They had two huge miscommunications on defense where one of them led to a 66-yard touchdown for Quentin Johnson. ah Not much to take from this game. This was the jamest game everyone was waiting for.
01:20:03
Speaker
He's already, I think that stat was, he's third in the NFL in, I forget how they phrase it, it's like balls that should be interceptions. And he's already third and he's played two games. ah But yeah, three interceptions in this one. Browns only rush for 79 yards. Chargers kind of sharpen their teeth on defense again.
01:20:21
Speaker
I feel like the Chargers either have bad losses or wins that like nobody watched and you can't like they just killed a bad team. So here's here's what it is. The Chargers have had maybe the easiest schedule in the NFL to start this year. Start off with the Raiders and Panthers. They take care of business. Then you have to play two real teams, the Steelers and Chiefs. You lose both of those by week early. You beat the Broncos. So I guess that's it. That's a solid win in the division. You lose to the Cardinals. You beat the Saints. You beat the Browns.
01:20:52
Speaker
They haven't beat a ah good, legit playoff contender. Then they go play the Titans next week. i It blows my mind. They do have a bit of a tougher schedule as the season goes on. But for the most part, it's one of the easier schedules in the NFL this year. And I mean, credit to them, they're taking advantage of it.
01:21:11
Speaker
I think they're a solid, they're the team of like, they're kind of the grocery stick of the NFL to me. If you're better than the Chargers, I think you're a playoff team. If you're below the Chargers, I don't think you're worth even paying attention to. You know what I mean? It's like the Chargers are the gatekeepers of the last wildcard spot. And we'll see how the season goes, but that's where I have them right now. They're not a bad team. They're not a great team. They're a solid team. That's, that's what I have the Chargers as.
01:21:37
Speaker
Perfect way to describe it, don't have to spend any more time on that. That was a great, great summary of their season so far and their standing.
Panthers Triumph Amidst Coaching Changes
01:21:45
Speaker
Carolina 23, New Orleans 22, the Panthers get a huge win and the Saints descend into madness.
01:21:53
Speaker
seven straight losses for New Orleans. They fired Dennis Allen yesterday, one of the worst coaching stints out of NFL coaching in history. ah We saw that coming in our NFL preview like fucking 10 weeks ago. I will say they named special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as intern head coach and not Clint Kubiak.
01:22:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. did That feels like ah a decent move for a team like that. Just give the special teams guide people. He's probably more. Everyone likes him. He's easy easy to go in the locker room. It's the most lost season of all time. You start to know and you lose seven straight. Derek Carr becomes the first quarterback to ever lose a 31 teams in the NFL. You got Michael Thomas just ripping this team on Twitter. Cam Jordan gets on Twitter, too. I forget he's still in the league. I swear to God, I forgot he was still playing. Because he has no sacks this year. It seems like every player on this team was on Twitter after the game. There was another guy who was on Twitter, Chris Olave's brothers on Twitter. Like, it seemed like they got into the locker room after losing to the worst team in the NFL and just got on their phones. Yeah, and it's crazy. I don't know what the hell is going on in New Orleans, but they that's another team where it's just change everything. Change everything.
01:23:01
Speaker
And Cam Jordan doesn't have a sack and 16 games. holy Not even just here. It's 16 games. I looked up because I go once again, genuine shock that he was still in the NFL. I thought he was retired. But yeah, yeah what a way to to tarnish your reputation on your way out of the league after a great career. um In a nutshell, the defense gave up a late touchdown. The offense couldn't score and the injury list grew longer. Carolina, let's talk about Bryce Young for a second. He got his first game winning touchdown drive.
01:23:30
Speaker
the The defense was allowing red zone touchdowns at 72%. They trimmed that to 50 in this game, so I guess that's improvement. Dave Canales still refuses to name him starter for next week. What are we doing here? Yeah, I don't know. It's weird. Just ride Bryce Young for the rest of the year. Just see what you have with him, man, because it is right at the end of his second year. I don't want you to rush to a decision, but it is at the point where you got to start thinking ah about making a decision about him and in the future with the team.
01:24:00
Speaker
So, yeah, i I would just start on the rest of the way. You have two wins now and just see if you can find signs of him being a a competent quarterback in the NFL. And if you can't, I don't know. yeah I don't know what they do in Carolina. But yes, I would start Bryce Young for the rest of the season. I think it's just being coy. I think he will start next week. But Dave Canales just he seems like a guy who's very, very concerned with how he looks. I don't know. Tennessee 20, New Orleans or New England 17.
Bengals vs. Raiders: Drama and Dominance
01:24:30
Speaker
This game really came down to the fourth quarter. They traded touchdowns, but Tennessee like seemed to be picking up steam for that entire fourth quarter. The Titans defense was first in the NFL in yards allowed. They still hold them to 284 in this game. They got four sacks on Drake May, two huge takeaways. you know The strip sack sets ahead.
01:24:50
Speaker
Sets up the go-ahead touchdown score they forced me to make one of the worst throws I've seen in the NFL this season for that interception in overtime Remondre Stevenson had 16 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. What a stat line um Weird game from both sides who cares who cares is right, but I do I It's pure eye test, but i'm I'm a believer in Drake May. I think he's super raw. Don't get me wrong. And and I think Caleb Williams and Gina Daniels are much more developed than him right now. There's positive signs to take away from Drake May if you're a Patriots fan. I think it's the worst roster in the NFL. He's got no one to protect him, no one to really throw to. Remondre Stevenson can't really run the ball after the first two games of the season. so
01:25:40
Speaker
I mean don't put too much stock into it either way but i think just based on i test i'm i'm uh i'm in the drake may boat a little bit i'm buying some stock a good pulse like a a seems to have great like sense of pressure a great sense of usually of what pass to make you see those lapses like on the interception Where it seems like you can tell he's still raw but I agree there There's something there we get him versus Caleb Williams next week, which should be fun. That's gonna be I'm I will watch that game seated um Cincinnati 41 Vegas 24 not much from this game except for the drama pregame and during the game and I don't know if you saw this, Jermaine Burton, healthy scratched in this game. He no shows Saturday walkthrough. There's pictures floating around on Twitter of him at the slot machine at the Cincy Hard Rock Casino. the Apparently a huge part of the game plan was built around featuring him with T Higgins out, which maybe you feature that around Jamar Chase. ah He shows up to the game in pajamas.
01:26:46
Speaker
Burrow kicks him off his spot in the bench seems to like mother fuck him in the process. Zach Taylor called it a necessary step. It was absolutely the right decision with all the information we had. The Bengals can't get out of their own way man. Like they win this game convincingly but like what is up with this team dude?
01:27:04
Speaker
Yeah, there's a different vibe going on with the Bengals this year. Obviously, you know you get a win, a convincing win too. Don't get me wrong, you blow out the the lowly Raiders. I'm more focused on next week already for the for the Thursday Night Football, Baltimore Ravens. You don't want to say it's your season on the Lions like they're three and five, and they're kind of surging a little bit. They're back in the mix. They're they're you know trying to get ahead of the Colts, the Chargers, those kind of teams.
01:27:30
Speaker
big step forward would be beating the Ravens on Thursday night. I don't know if they will, ah but it's like that's a game where if you want to prove to me and and the world that you won are serious and you you you want it and you think you're a playoff team, you go out and you like at worst, you'll lose on a walk off field goal or something. Just be in the game, cover the spread and maybe get a win. Then I'll be then i'll start to you know pay attention to the Cincinnati Bengals.
01:27:55
Speaker
Yeah, I would feel so differently if they beat the Eagles in that game, too. That was the big measuring stick game we talked about leading up to it. And like this one is even bigger of a measuring stick game, especially in division.
01:28:06
Speaker
uh... antonio piers bench menshew again said he was trying to spark the offense doesn't matter goes in and then gets a strip sack on a fumble was on the nfl i mean they don't know like you're benching to brutal quarterback see who cares no no teams gonna you're not going to you're not in a better spot either way the fire loop gets e cuz i guess someone has to take a fall The Antonio Pierce can take a fall too, man, because, like, there if he is the coach next year, that's another problem they have. Raiders are in, yeah, it's they're in no good. No good, no good.
Ravens' Dominant Victory and NFL Week 10 Previews
01:28:40
Speaker
Last game here, Baltimore 41, Denver 10. This was always a trap game from the books. Nine and a half they were trying to be sneaky with, but
01:28:49
Speaker
I thought Baltimore was always winning this game. ah They score on seven consecutive possessions in this one. Derek Henry, 10th player to score 100 career rushing touchdowns. Third player to manage at least 10 rushing TDs in seven consecutive years. He joins Tomlinson and Peterson. That's good company to be in. Another 100 yard rushing game. He's projected just 13 yards shy of a 2000 yard season right now. So he's right there still. ah Only thing I had in this game People are really revved up about BONIX. He is developing a bit of a cult following here. like The NFL was posting highlights from other games and all the comments were, post the BONIX touchdown, post the BONIX receiving touchdown. like Seems to have some sort of cult following here.
01:29:33
Speaker
Throws for 223 and has the most passing yards by a Broncos rookie quarterback. John Elway threw for 16-63 in his debut season. That seems extremely low to me. But yeah, Bo Nix cult following, that's what I had from this. John Elway was probably 21 when he did it. Bo Nix is like 25. turning 26 and not too long. So yeah, I mean, Bo Nix is developed. like he's He's old, bro. he He spent five, six years in college. that's That's what happens. And that's, you know what? I'm not even going to share them because that's, I think, what we're going to see a lot ah coming out of college with these quarterbacks, especially with the NIL.
01:30:08
Speaker
They're getting extra years of eligibility with, you know, seemingly no problems and no questions asked. So, yeah, I think this is kind of Bo Nix is the mold of, I think, what you're going to see a lot of future NFL quarterbacks. Yeah, I agree. That does it. Lamar Jackson, perfect passer rating. We'll throw that into um we will move now to our week 10 picks. We're going to do our week 10 picks quick and then do a recap of both of the CFL semifinal games.
01:30:35
Speaker
And then a quick preview of the Eastern and Western final. Big week in the picks, man. I go one and two to move to 14 and 13. Patrick goes two and one to move to 13 and 14. You are breathing down my neck in this. Here in footsteps here in footsteps. I absolutely am hearing footsteps and I lose serve here for the first time in a while. Patrick went two and one. So he starts the week here.
01:31:02
Speaker
I don't want it either. That's, that's the issue, but I'll start us off. Um, I probably should have wrote the teams that these, these guys are playing, but I just wrote the teams and their spreads. and i'll help you Don't know if they've changed. I put them in this morning, uh, but I'm going to start us off.
01:31:18
Speaker
Falcons minus three against, against the saints. I had it. Yeah. I just line so small division. That's the only division on the road. I think, I think the books still put far too much emphasis on the super dome. Uh, I just think the, the Ola there's no chance. Oh, lobby is playing or she she he out for the year. If a love is playing,
01:31:41
Speaker
I don't want anyone to say a word about 2-0 because like that is insane if he's playing next week. Yeah, I like the three and a half. Love it. so so I'll take it. I'll take it. All right. um Yeah, I had that down for sure. um I will start off with a game you mentioned.
01:31:59
Speaker
we We just mentioned, um but it's a game where I think it's a little too many points. I'm going Bengal six and a half here. Crazy six and a half in an AFC North matchup. I mean, maybe it's the same kind of thing as the Broncos last week, but I AFC North match. You saw the Browns is like nine, ah nine point dogs to the Ravens and they almost won or they didn't win. they hit yeah They did win. Yeah, I think that's a crazy line. Like that's a field goal game. i'm I'm with you on that one. That was one of mine. um I'm going to go.
01:32:28
Speaker
uh yeah i'm gonna go i believe it's it's monday or sunday night football lions minus three and a half i i'm not sure if the lion's the same against the texans uh but i have them as minus three and a half i think they might just destroy the texans the texans have kind of nothing going for them on ah offense the defense isn't you know at the standard it was to start the season i i I unfortunately love the board this weekend, Damien, which means bad, bad things for me. So do I, dude. I had a kind of a similar feeling here. It's ah a bit concerning. um I will go to a disgusting game. Grossest game of the week. There you go. Panthers plus five and a half. It was four and a half this morning. That's a bit concerning. That's five and a half now. But in Germany, early weird like game, it'll be low scoring. I think like both of these ah offenses
01:33:21
Speaker
Carolina showed life last week. The Giants are coming off a bad couple of losses. I like Carolina. I had the Giants minus five and a half written down. just yeah i I just don't don't know. they It was my last of the eight picks that I wrote down, but it's all my board.
01:33:38
Speaker
yeah why not just throw another favorite in there pat just just do it just do it all three i'm gonna go bills minus four and a half against the colts uh yeah i stayed away from that game i was between the over or just laying the points with the bills and i'm just Yeah, they're going to win by four and I'm going to get caught on the hook, but it's OK. Three favorites. what What could go wrong? this The favorites were how many games they have, 16 games a week. They're 15 and one straight up last week and then 10 and five against the spread. So, man, hoping for so hoping for more of the same. Dude, I i had the ultimate loss, too, because I took the bills last week. So the bills didn't cover and the dolphins lost. Yeah, just just the worst spot to be in. Just terrible. OK.
01:34:24
Speaker
I am going to go back to being a bit of an over merchant here. I am going to go, actually not, no, I'm going to go under here under 38 and a half and bears paths. I, yeah, yeah, it is. it But I mean, you got to get disgusting. Did you have any other picks that you were, uh, you were thinking about? Um, I looked at 49 or six and a half against the bucks, but it moved to five and a half towards the bucks. I don't know.
01:34:53
Speaker
I think they should kill the box in that game, but ah they just played the Chiefs close. So who knows? I thought about just kept riding with my Rams two and a half against the Dolphins, but I, I think the dolphins can win that game. That's what I mean. They showed me enough against the bills where I'm like, okay, let's, let's pump the brakes. Cause they kind of feel like the same team and in a sense, great offenses, little bit below average defenses, but I think the Rams, I don't know. I do like the Rams in that game.
01:35:19
Speaker
They had a huge win against the Rams at the start of the season last year, too, on Thursday night football, which just kind of like sticks in my mind with them. Like I i feel like we own the Rams. Watch that I say that now. I also looked at Washington again. I think I've won well every game I've bet on Washington this year, and three is very small against the Steelers.
01:35:38
Speaker
They've had the 30th strength of schedule in the NFL, the commanders. So um I mentioned they got a big two game stretch. yeah Steelers, Eagles, like and that's where it's like, OK, what are the commanders? We're really about to find out. I think Jane Daniels is going to play far and away the best defense he's seen all year. yeah A team that has dominated Lamar Jackson. I think Jane and Dale is a Lamar Jackson junior in a sense of he plays the same style.
01:36:04
Speaker
I think T.J. what causes havoc on Jaden Daniels. I'd love to see it. Chargers, seven and a half. I also looked a bit against the Titans. But again, who knows? Bit of a weird one. CFL, CFL. Yeah, we will get come back just in a second here ah with our CFL semifinal recap and our Eastern and Western final
CFL Semifinals Recap and Key Plays
01:36:29
Speaker
preview. So come back after this.
01:36:31
Speaker
All right, CFL semifinal recap here. We're going to start with Argos 58, red blacks 38. These two teams combined to tie a 96 point record for a CFL playoff game here that was set when the Alouettes beat the tiecats in the 2011 East Division semifinal. Me and Patrick were boots on the ground for this game.
01:36:58
Speaker
and what a tale of two halves it was. Looked very, very dark for the Argos to start this game. They start about as slow as a team can start. They go down 10-0, and then they come out and put up 38 points in the second half. We'll get into it, but what a great football game to be in the stands for, man.
01:37:19
Speaker
just never ending offense just up and down the field the entire game and then you know the Argos defense finally steps up a little bit in the second half they start putting points on the board it was just you never knew where this game was going it felt ah you had a feel that the red blocks came out and they were starting to execute early and they were kind of doing whatever they wanted on offense Argos are playing big time Ben but don't break kind of style but yeah, this was just so fun. It was a pretty packed atmosphere as well at BMO field. Fans were into it. We just did the, the, the, the Argos scoring song. They, they play a song after every time they score a touchdown and the Argos didn't kick a lot of field goals in those 58 points. So it was stuck in my head and no, it was just a great time. It was perfect weather too. Just like a nice fall evening on the water at BMO field. Yeah, it was,
01:38:14
Speaker
It was a game where I think if you were to look back on it, there was a definitive turning point down 23 to 17 with six seconds left in the first half.
01:38:26
Speaker
The redblacks attempt a squib kick at Bob Dice's discretion. He said after the game, we tried to execute a squib kick, put it down the middle of the field. We had six seconds left and my only regret is bad luck. So what happens is the squib kick hits one of the Argos returners, like the first line of returners. He falls on the ball in field goal position, Liram Hirilaju,
01:38:53
Speaker
hits a 53 yard field goal to put the Argos down only a field goal. despite looking abysmal in the first half. So the red blacks came out firing, went out 23 to 20 in the first half and then the Argos got the ball back and never looked back. The ah the red blacks had the ball for 24 minutes of the first half and left with a three point lead and that was all the Argos needed. They scored two touchdowns before the midpoint of the third quarter
01:39:25
Speaker
and all of a sudden they were up 34 to 23 and they really didn't look back after that no 38 points for the Argos in the second half and i would agree that was the turning point to me because like i said like i was touching on earlier the red blocks could do whatever they wanted it felt like in the ah in in the first half they were driving the ball down the field they give up What felt like a bit of a backbreaking touchdown to Jalen Ackland with two with six seconds off, like you mentioned, right before the half. And then it just flipped, man. And then Chad Kelly was just kept finding Mackay Polk. The various Daniels had a couple of huge catches in that game. And what I found was a little bit of the difference in this game was the Argos were able to kind of run the ball just enough. It was a very pass-heavy game from both sides. I think Drew Brown threw the ball 51 times, which is just a crazy number. And they just refused 61. Pardon me. 46 of 61. Wow. OK. Nice.
01:40:26
Speaker
Yeah, that's, that's an insane number. They've only ran, they just like, they refuse to run the ball on offense and they were playing ahead for the entire first half and they just still refuse to do it. And they were having success, but then there was some halftime adjustments. I'll give some credit to Din Whitty. It looked brutal in the first half, made just enough adjustments in the second half to keep them out of the end zone, get a couple of stops. And then Chad Kelly was.
01:40:50
Speaker
borderline perfect and in this one. he He ran for one through for 358 yards for touchdowns. It was just a smooth operations by the Argos on offense. And I mean, they, they just handled business in, in the home field against the the red blocks where it could have been easy where it's just, you know, you can go down at half, you know, you're demoralized. You kind of not give up, like,
01:41:14
Speaker
You go, hey, we can't stop this team. And then you come out, you change your game plan and you dominate in the second half in convincing fashion. Yeah, it was awesome. I said in our pregame, like our preview of this, if Kelly is great, they win this game.
01:41:26
Speaker
And that's exactly what happened. He was perfect in the second half. They got out to a slow start. The defense, to their credit, had to be on the field for a zillion, like we just said, 24 minutes they were on defense in the first half. um But even the defense, once they got some room to breathe, you know they come out of this game with two pick sixes in the last two and a half minutes of this game. ah Drew Brown played fantastic.
01:41:53
Speaker
like he was slicing and dicing the argos secondary which clearly has problems we'll get to that in a bit um but he was he was right on the money with so many balls uh we mentioned how good kaleel pimpleton was heading into this game the argos basically didn't allow him to return the ball they were kicking sky high balls which was crazy to see um but he was at one point I think he had six straight receptions on one of their drives so they just looked very one-dimensional in this game you mentioned they they ran the ball seven times in a football game it which is insane to say in the CFL especially it's not a run heavy league but it's a lot more than that um
01:42:34
Speaker
Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun wrote an article on on Monday morning that said, Bob Dice should not only be kept on staff, but he should be given coach of the year and signed to an extension. He urged people to ah look at the injuries they had, which fair enough, they were missing a Darius Pickett, the amount of rookies on the team. He basically said the crux of the article was that the red blacks used to be bad so that you you should be happy with this result of the season.
01:43:03
Speaker
Bob Dice got outcoached up and down the field. He didn't make a single adjustment at halftime. Yeah, I don't know if it's enough to like fire Bob Dice, cause I do think you're happy with how the season went, but to go talking coach of the year when you got ah a first, you know, we'll get to the West, but you have a first year head coach leading a team to the Western conference final, like Dinwiddie who turned the season around, who I don't think should be coach of the year, but he had, he has a better case, I would argue than Bob Dice. There's Bob Dice is probably fourth or fifth on my list of of coach of the year options.
01:43:37
Speaker
extension. yeah we We'll see. is he up Is he up this year? He has one year next year. okay then i think a year yeah youll let him get get you Wait till like the halfway point of next season. yeah See where you are. See if this was like ah a fluke of a year or if you can kind of back it up and continue to be a playoff team in the East.
01:43:57
Speaker
But yeah, I mean the red blocks, they did get out coached the Argos. We talked about it. They made adjustments at half. The red blocks came out and through the exact same style of offense and defense and the art like the Argos scored most of their touchdowns in the exact same way. It was just deep balls. It was just deep balls. They're, they're getting behind the safeties of, of the red blocks and they just couldn't stop. It was, it was.
01:44:22
Speaker
There was several scores where I think it was two or three plays from the Argos. It was the quickest drives you've ever seen. They could do whatever they wanted to throw it deep and they beat them that way. And it it was just easy. It just looks so easy for the Argos in the second half. So credit to Dinwiddie credit to Chad Kelly credit to basically everyone on that team because the defense stepped up as well in second half. And yeah, they they looked for they looked to be the better team in that matchup. And they ah the score indicated that. Absolutely.
01:44:51
Speaker
um We'll move to the West semifinal here. Rough Riders 28, Lions 19. Saskatchewan did exactly what they had to do to win this game. ah Meanwhile, BC did not that we we talked in our pregame about this. You got to be low on turnovers. You got to take care of the football and you got to be efficient on offense. That was not what BC did. They settled for the worst field goals in this game, man. Like, you know, they, they get,
01:45:20
Speaker
eight A turnover on downs in the second half from Saskatchewan. theirre Their defense stands tall. They settle for a field goal. Sean White misses a 38-yarder and they go down 20 to 16. Then they get a huge 35-yard pass to series after. Once again, settle for the 15, go down 20 to 19, or for the field goal, go down 20 to 19. And then the play the game was over after that. Saskatchewan went big big plays back to back.
01:45:46
Speaker
they get a 23 yard completion and then a 31 yard completion, score the touchdown, get the two points, 28, 19 game was over. Game was over and it was a tie game at half man. It was anyone's ball game and BC got out to the hot start. They scored the touchdown early and maybe we should have looked more into that, you know, the, the missed extra point. Maybe that was a little bit of an omen for what was to come for the BC lines in this game because they They were outclassed. It was kind of similar to the Eastern Conference semis where one team appeared to make adjustments at halftime, that being Saskatchewan, and they just came out and they were able to run the ball. that's it's I do think that's an underrated part in the CFL. I know the CFL is a passing league, but when it gets a little colder,
01:46:30
Speaker
and And it's the playoff time. And this is why they brought in AJ, who let 14 times for 70 yards, two touchdowns. It was a dominant game from him. And like you said, turnovers from VA, not good. Three interceptions on the day. It was, uh, it was bad. And now BC's gonna have to deal with this whole, uh, quarterback thing. Uh, I think we already know what's going to happen. I don't really think it's a bit of a controversy at all.
01:46:56
Speaker
but it just kind of looks bad on them where they just didn't really, I didn't think they handled this well at all. From the second they brought Rourke in to the to this last game in the semifinals, I thought it was just a mishandled, chaotic um just team. and And I think it showed on the field. And in the second half, they just got outclassed by the Rough Riders. And yeah, it was, the Rough Riders definitely deserved to win this game.
01:47:21
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And it's all it's weird because it's almost like BC like ownership got what they wanted here. Like VA had a lot of turnovers in the second half. and And after the game was saying, you know, this might be my last game as a lion. Like it's almost like you got exactly what you bargained for here. They're sickos. They're like, they yeah, you're right. Like they threw him out to the woods. They wanted to get him whacked. And and that's exactly what happened in this game.
01:47:43
Speaker
It really is. ah The riders were the better team, the better defense, better QB, the coaching was sharper, the coaching was smarter. Corey Mase had a great game, I would say. They drew up a great game plan.
01:47:53
Speaker
They were aggressive. They knew exactly when to run the ball. this This game gave me a lot of confidence in Saskatchewan, I would say, heading into the Western Final here. um Roland Milligan, of course, seals the game with an interception. Who else but him? um Sales had a huge interception. um But Emelis was great. He had 106 yards. Trevor Harris, 279 to 26 to 33.
01:48:17
Speaker
They just did exactly what they had to do in this game. And the Rough Riders, I think, will gain a ton of momentum from that game. Excuse me. um But moving. Actually, I think that's a good launching off point here for the Western final.
CFL Finals Preview: Team Dynamics and Strategies
01:48:32
Speaker
uh, Saskatchewan going to Winnipeg plus four and a half point dogs. The over under is 47 and a half. And similarly to the ease final, a matchup that everyone has been waiting for this year. You got 36,000 home fans in Winnipeg. They are trying to go to a fifth consecutive gray cup. Saskatchewan's trying to go to the gray cup for the first time in over 10 years. This is a game where the rough riders are live in, I think Patrick.
01:49:00
Speaker
I agree, Damian, and I think playing an extra game, it didn't hurt them. Like you said, I think they're going to carry that second half momentum where they convincingly won the game against BC. I think they're going to take the same kind of attitude and game plan and just bring it to Winnipeg. I think they're goingnna you're going to see a lot of AJ Ouellette with a lot of complimentary pieces with MLS and and Johnson. And I think
01:49:24
Speaker
I'm worried I'm doing the same thing that I just did with BC though. Did you know what I mean? Where it's just like, yep, three and a half, four and a half. Like I like them as a live dog yeah and and I think they have a chance. And I do, I really believe in what the Rough Riders are doing. Corey Mase has brought a great culture there and they it does feel like they've flipped the switch in a sense.
01:49:43
Speaker
But then it's just Winnipeg on the other sideline, a team who's always there and they always know how to win the game and they have home field advantage and they get an extra week of rest, which is you know the rest versus Russ kind of ah argument will be at in play here. Here's what I'll say.
01:49:59
Speaker
If you think the Saskatchewan Rough Riders can win this game, just take them to win the Great Cup at plus 600. That is all I'll say. I don't know if they're going to. I think four and a half is a lot of points in this game, but I can also just see Winnipeg just handling business, killing the clock, kind of doing whatever they want really on offense. But we'll see, man. I do like what I saw to Saskatchewan and I'm i'm encouraged from what I saw against BC.
01:50:24
Speaker
I agree. I think they also have like the clearest keys in this game. If they can get pressure on Zach Claros, that is where his cracks show not forcing him out of the pocket. People know he's great out of the pocket, but truly sacking him like getting him on the ground. That is going to be huge the secondary has to ball out they've got tons of great players in this unit if they can force turnovers you will keep yourself in this game i think whoever wins the turnover battle in this game could end up winning it um saskatchewan forced twenty six more turnovers than their opponents this season the next closest team is Montreal with plus ten Winnipeg just plus four so if you can force turnovers and make you know their deep receiving room look human you're very alive in this game and then my other two you stop the run and you establish the run that sounds very simple very chalky for a playoff game
01:51:23
Speaker
But Brady Oliveira, who's probably going to win MOP, has managed just 49 yards, 42 yards, and 43 yards on the ground against Saskatchewan this year. They can stop Oliveira. They know how to do it. If you can stop him, force Kalaros to throw, they have a much higher chance for turnovers. And then establishing the run, AJ Lett and Reikweil Armstead are the best 1-2 punch in the league.
01:51:46
Speaker
If they're at their best, Saskatchewan can establish long, meaningful drives and just keep the ball out of Winnipeg's hands. Well, that's what it is, right? If you if you force Brady Oliveira to, you know, not, you or sorry, you stop Brady Oliveira from being a successful runner and you force Kaleras to throw the ball more. And with the secondary that they have in Saskatchewan, that sounds like a lot of quick drives for Winnipeg, which like you said, puts the ball in Saskatchewan's hands. They can kill the cont time o'clock. You got to love their running game with the two-headed monster they have.
01:52:16
Speaker
I yeah, you're right. All the signs kind of point to Saskatchewan, but it feels like it's just, you know, you got to get rid of the champs. I know they're not the defending champs, but they are in the West. They have dominated the West for set basically since Kalaris has come to that team. It's the same roster, same makeup. It's it's going to be a tough one, but I think this is going to be a hell of a game that we're going to see in the Western Conference final. I agree. i I think the Bombers, you can't count them out ever.
01:52:42
Speaker
like they for them bombers keys if they establish the run Brady Oliver is a game record similar to Saskatchewan if you can have long drives and keep the ball out of the riders hands they will dictate the pace of this game and they'll probably win it because You're at home, you got 36,000 strong behind you. If they play clean football, that's another key to this game. Low on turnovers, low on penalties will go a long way in this game. um And it's hard to beat the Bombers when your defense is constantly tired after long drives. That's how they kill teams. It's like death by a thousand cuts.
01:53:16
Speaker
um And the last one, you lean on your star receivers. Saskatchewan has great players on their defense, but this receiver room is something else. If Klaros is rolling and spreads the ball around, it'll be like trying to plug like a hundred holes on a on a sinking ship. um So Dempsey's got to be big. Lawler's got to be big. um Majors will go a long way in this game. If they score touchdowns, it'll be, you know, in in a tight defensive battle and being aggressive on play calling. You should be able to get ahead in this one.
01:53:45
Speaker
Yeah, I guess that is the counter argument to, you know, if Brady Olivera can't run the ball, Winnipeg probably has the best receiving room in the CFL and with one of the best quarterbacks as well. So, you know, if one thing's not working for them, I'm sure they can find a way to throw it as well and throw it successfully. So I think that is almost the better matchup in a way where it feels like, you know, each team has great running backs and in running games as a whole.
01:54:10
Speaker
But it's it's the matchup with the Saskatchewan secondary against the receivers of Winnipeg where I'm going to be watching big time. And I think it's it's that battle. Try and get like the turnovers, try and pick off Kalaros once, maybe twice play. I think Ben, but don't break defense is going to be in big time play because I think you're going to see both offenses be able to move the ball.
01:54:30
Speaker
who can keep them out of the end zone that might that I think that's going to be the difference in this game. Big time. ah They're essentially the one in two defense in the league right now. So I think we're in for a battle. I love the under in that game. um We will move to the eastern final Toronto Argonauts plus two and a half way lower than I thought.
01:54:48
Speaker
actually I think I might I don't know I said I think it's a three and a half maybe it was it was three and a half last week and like the look I had spot before you play so I guess it moving a point towards the Argos is an encouraging sign it is and we're here this is the rematch everyone has been waiting for since last year's Eastern final this time it's in Montreal sold out most in Stadium and lot more pressure on the Montreal Alouettes this time around. The Argos just put up 58 points. Montreal finished the season 2-4-1 and hasn't played in two weeks. So this is a game where the pressure is solely on the Montreal Alouettes, Patrick.
01:55:24
Speaker
Yeah, it feels like the Argos are almost like they're good now, you know, the pressure's off. They won the game that they had to their favor by six and a half points. They covered, they handled business in an impressive fashion. And it was, you know, we were worried about the defense early. They made proper adjustments. Defense came out firing in the second half.
01:55:43
Speaker
It don't you know make the adjustments prior to the game. I think it's going to be key for Dinwiddie because I think Montreal will finish the drives that Ottawa couldn't in that game. And I think if you're you know going to spot Montreal 24 points at half, you're going to be in a tough spot to come back. And I think if you're able to keep them out of the end zone, make plays and and get these turnovers,
01:56:04
Speaker
with what I saw out of the Argos offense, I'm I think they're going to put up 30 for sure. I like the over in this game, but it's also like just ah what I just saw ah the week before. Doesn't mean it's going to translate to the next week. So this is a take that for for what it's worth. But what I saw with the Argos last week.
01:56:23
Speaker
It's a very encouraging sign and they just look good in the second half in all facets of the game including special teams They clearly had a strategy not to get it to pimpleton and it was just I don't know They executed very well in the second half Can they do that in Montreal on the road in a more hostile environment? It's gonna be loud there. We all know that the horns the bell the cowbells It's gonna be rowdy in there. So we'll see if the Argos can kind of bring that game plan to Montreal. And I think if they do, I think I like their chances in this one. Yeah, that was one of my biggest keys for the Argos have to be ready to play, have to execute at a high level to beat the Alouettes. That's just the facts of this game. um Rolling out Kelly worked great versus Ottawa. Montreal has a much better line back in court. Like they're going to have to be a bit smarter on offense ah if they can keep Montreal to field goals instead of majors. That will be a huge
01:57:19
Speaker
huge path to winning this game. ah You got to start fast. You need fast, quick completions early and move the ball at least a field goal on your first drive. The defense cannot play like it did against Ottawa. They will get killed against Montreal um playing wishy-washy prevent or having bad tackling that just doesn't fly against a team like Montreal. But the way the offense moved the ball in the second half And the way the defense played in the second half, if you can turn over for Giardo here, I think this is another game where the turnover battle is going to be massive there. There's a clear path for the Argos to win this game. You just have to execute at a really high level.
01:57:58
Speaker
That's exactly it. And I think, you know, Montreal, they're missing your your boy Phil Pod. I think that's a key piece. They haven't really been able to find that same connection with ah with Austin Mack since he's come back from the NFL. I don't know. I think this is going to be a tight matchup. I think it can go. it's It's one of those where it feels like whoever executes and, you know, commits less turnovers. I think we're going to see a similar score to what their their last matchup was in it was what 30 37 31 i believe with the argos victory yeah i'm not saying that that means the argos are going to win i just think the scoring is going to be around that same in the in the mid to low 30s and it's just going to be who can get that key
01:58:39
Speaker
timely, whether it's a special teams play, whether it's ah a broken tackle that goes for 70 yards, just something that can make a major splash play and turn the momentum in your favor. That's going to be the key in this game.
01:58:51
Speaker
Yeah, Montreal Keys, i have you pressure and get home on Chad Kelly. We saw what happened with Ottawa when they were able to sack him. They had a couple of big hits. Took some huge hits, including a strip sack that gave Ottawa a touchdown near the end of the half. So the Argos ah offensive line looked way out of sorts in that game. If Montreal can convert on that, like a few plays in that regard for Montreal could change the course of this game. And for Montreal, you've got to expose the Argos secondary. Fajardo's known to use his feet.
01:59:20
Speaker
And against an Argos defensive line that made his life hell in the regular season, I think we'll see him stick in the pocket a lot more and pass a lot more. The tape is out on the Argos secondary. ah you know You're going to have confidence in third and longs. Mass is a great coach. I think a gate great game plan can kind of blow this game open for the Alouettes. They can't let the Argos establish the run. I don't think they'll stack the box quite like Ottawa did. They saw what happened in that game.
01:59:49
Speaker
ah and Montreal definitely has stronger linebackers than they do corners. um But again, like you said, whoever executes this game, whoever executes their game plan the best wins this game. Are you you sticking with your prediction?
02:00:06
Speaker
ah man i really don't want to i really want the argos to win this fucking game man there is so many encouraging signs in that one but but at the same time though yeah at the same time very very discouraging signs against this alouettes team i just want this game to be close man i really do i would hate to see the alouettes really out game plan the Argos in this one and and like blow it wide open, because I think if Alouettes if the Alouettes are able to get their groove in any Eastern final here, I kind of like them in a great cup again.
02:00:38
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. I know it it's what Winnipeg's hosting it and Winnipeg is. No, no, BC is. Oh, perfect. So weather shouldn't be in play, which is wonderful. um The weather looks like it's just going to be a nice solid day on Saturday, a high of eight degrees and sunny in Montreal. So, I mean, you know, I don't think you're going to see any funny business like you saw with the Bombers and Alouettes to end that game in the regular season. So hopefully it's just you go out there and whoever the better team is, it's just.
02:01:07
Speaker
on the field let's handle business and then just like let's just see may the better team win yeah that is the best way to put it we have a great weekend of football ahead get out there watch these eastern and western finals i promise you you will not regret it um but i think that will do it today absolute marathon of an episode today we haven't done two hours in a long time i think we've only done it a few times but very very necessary for all this week that happened in football Absolutely. I mean, the, the, the football is everywhere. you College is starting to shape up to, you're getting college foot. You're getting the first ever college 12 team college football playoff picture. That is a mouthful coming out on Tuesday. Um, but yeah, yeah it's, it's football everywhere. It's the time of year, the fall, uh, starting against the winter. And yeah, it's, it's great. That's the time you tune into the CFL, especially if you weren't following it throughout the regular season, watch the playoffs three o'clock and six 30, I believe respectively on Saturday.
02:02:05
Speaker
tune in, make some bats, have some fun and just watch the game and enjoy the football. Absolutely. We will do the same thing likely for college football that we did with the CFL and pick up right as it's kind of picking up steam towards the playoffs. um But that does it for another week at the goal post. Thanks for listening and until next week Patrick, I'll see ya. See ya Damien.