Fantasy Football Daily - 2022 Take Talk Episode 32

Episode Date: December 28, 2022

Hosts Brett Whitefield (@BGWhitefield) and Steven ORourke (@callmesteveo7) are reunited once again to break down the top positional units in the NFL that are making a difference down the stretch. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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or join a live dealer game to feel the thrill of real-time action, all from the comfort of your own devices. Why settle for less when you can go for the gold at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Gambling problem call connects Ontario 1866531-260. 19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. It's time to the Fantasy Points podcast brought to you by FantasyPoints.com. Top level fantasy football and NFL betting analysis from every perspective and angle, from numbers to the film room with a single goal to help you score more fantasy points. Hello everyone and welcome into the Take Talk podcast.

I'm Steve O'Rourke and we finally have him back. He decided he wanted to show up this time. Two weeks was just too long. He couldn't take anymore. Brett is back this week. Brett, holidays are over. The in-season, late-season injuries, dings and nicks. You've worked through them.

You're ready for the playoff push, huh? I am ready for the playoff push. I can tell you're excited to have me back. You practically swallowed your mic on the intro there. I know. It is. It's exciting. Yeah, dude, dude, it's been, it's been,

crazy because, you know, I have a family, a household of six, you know, my wife and I plus four kids. And when a sickness enters the home, Steve, that it potentially could last up to a month depending on the timeline of how everyone gets sick. You know, serious chance. Right. In this particular thing that we had, I don't even remember the name of it. It was some, you know, some respiratory infection. It wasn't COVID or influenza.

but it like it was very nice in this from the standpoint of it like literally went one to one basically so like you'd have one person sick for five days and then the next and then the next and then the next and then towards the end it did get a little muddy where I kind of had like two two and a half kids down at one time right but two youngest actually had to go on like an antibiotic yeah which we've never had to do with any of our kids so far in their life so that was that was crazy but yeah it's it seemed like steve it took a month to get everyone through this and i missed one of the one of the episodes myself because i had a fever of like 102 degrees and then made the next one and then and then last week's episode i had two kids home sick from school

and my nanny got sick from us so she called in and it was basically everything was resting on my shoulders to make the house function so i was not able to be here but i'm very excited to be back I'm refreshed. I even hit the gym this morning. I did some lifting plus some BJJ. Nice. I'm ready to go. Feeling good.

Feeling swole. That's what we like to hear. I'm just glad you made it through the chaos of all that with kids and holidays and people filtering in and out, I'm sure, despite sickness. Well, we got healthy literally just in time to celebrate. We didn't actually miss a single party. It was crazy. That's impressive. Yeah, the last kid was on the antibiotic for about 72 hours before the first holiday party we had to hit.

And boom, we were there. And we did like four days in a row. We have one more tomorrow night. But despite the sickness, we made it through. We had a great Christmas. The kids were very blessed in what they got from everybody. It's the crazy thing about my family is like, I feel like I don't have to buy it. my kids anything because they have grandparents and aunts and uncles that just like to be ridiculous.

That's how my nieces and nephews are too. It's like, why do the parents even buy them anything? Right. They're walking away from, you know, family party with a car load of toys anyway. Yeah. There's some situations where I can't even fit everything when we're leaving. I have to be like, Dad, Dad, can you bring this by on Thursday? Like, I can't possibly fit all my kids and all of this crap in my car. So, oh, man. But yeah, how was your Christmas, Steve? It was good. I, um, yeah, we got, I got a new office set up that you can, that you can kind of see. Yes. I got one of the top five gifts I've ever gotten, I think. Oh, snap. On the, on the, on the level of like, if you were to rate everything out of 10, like surprise, usefulness, item that I would want,

but never would buy for myself. Like, it hit. It's all three, all of those. My father-in-law got us a 3D printer. Holy crap. Yeah. I would never, that's something I would never think to buy. I know. That's what I'm saying.

Have you made anything cool yet? I've made a couple, like, I made a little Detroit Lions logo. I was going to make a couple coasters today. I made a, my Xbox controller had been missing the battery cover. So I made that. No way. I have a battery cover for my Xbox controller. It's awesome.

That's sweet, man. Yeah, so I now have what I'm going to, what was now time occupied by, you know, doing charting, heavy charting Sunday and Monday is now going to be taken up with 3D printing in the off season along with, along with watching draft prospects. That's going to be my off season now. Nice. That sounds fun. Yeah.

This is a good side topic, Steve. What are like gift giving and gift receiving is always a tricky subject when you get to be an adult? Yeah. I don't know. Do you have people in your family that are just like impossible to buy for? In my family, not really. My dad. My dad is like this.

I have a friend. I have a couple friends that. Yeah. Like we, I have a group of friends. We all exchange gifts every year. And there's two of my friends. They're twins. they're the ones that when you get their names you're like what in the world do i do with this i'm

like because they're like they're the guys that have everything have had everything can't get anything and it's just like you never know you're like i don't what am what are they even going to use yeah that's so that's how i feel about my dad is like he he's close to retirement he's done pretty well for himself he hasn't he has no real wants and he's also very picky So on top of not having really any wants, he's also very picky about, you know, the things he wears. Right. Like golf is usually a good go-to, but like he's a very established golfer. So there's like, not much I can buy him that he doesn't already have or that he would probably even like.

Right. So we ended up getting him tickets to a Red Wendings game because hockey's like his, his passion. See, that's a good one. That's what I've found in adulthood never fails. Is buying someone tickets or. An experience. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

It's a guaranteed hit. I've realized that in the last couple years. If you do anything, any little thing and then couple it with an experience, nine times out of ten, the person's excited or happy about it. Do you buy into the idea that there's, like, offensive gifts you can give people? Well, here's one. Like, what if your wife, like, slips in a card? Hey, I got you, like, a three months to a gym.

A three-month gym membership. Is that offensive? I don't, I never find that self offensive. That's my wife telling me, hey, you need to get in better shape. Yeah, I would never find that offensive because I would never, like, I guess like my wife and I don't have that relationship. Now we're getting a relationship talk here, everyone. But like, that's, I would never take it that way of like her being like, hey, Lord ass, time to, time to hit the treadmill. But although, funny enough, part of the office set up, I did also get a under the desk treadmill.

Oh, no way. Yeah. So we're incorporating that in now too. But, but yeah, I would never take that offensively. Like, unless, like, the only way I could think a gift could be offensive is if it was, like, egregious, like, like, buying someone, like a congratulations, you're pregnant shirt. And they're absolutely not pregnant. Like, something that's just, like, so egregiously wrong. Yeah.

So I have a buddy who. He's been married for close to a decade. They've had a few kids now. Yeah. And him and his wife have kind of together been on this, like, health journey, mostly with diet. Yeah. Trying to get in better shape.

Yeah. So he was like, oh, man, we're really into this right now. I'm going to, I'm going to get like a gym membership to, like, in LA Fitness. The two of us, though. It wasn't like he only bought one for her. Right. He bought it for both of them. Right.

Dude, she was so mad. He got couched for three days. days. Oh, no. Yeah. She took, she not take it well. Wow. Wow. And, uh, yeah, he was all excited about it too. And he's like, oh, it's so cool. We'll get to spend so much time together. Right. Right. I got a daycare there. We'll take the kids, drop them off. We'll get in a workout together. And no, man, she wasn't having it. She was, dang it. He thought it all out, too. He did. He thought it all out. He had the whole plan. He had the whole plan and it didn't go over well. Dang it. No, that's yeah. That's funny. That's funny.

especially around the holidays because like there's nothing worse than getting in an argument during the holidays. Oh, I know. It's like you have to bottle everything up as you're going from party to party. And then it's just like these awkward car rides in between, in between just like putting out a face in front of a bunch of people. Yes. Oh my gosh. That hasn't happened to me in a while, but I've definitely been there where you're getting into an argument as you're pulling into your in-laws house. It's like, oh, crap.

It's the best. Yeah. It's the best. All right. Well, enough of that. Yeah. Steve, let's get into some football talk. That's what this podcast is mostly about.

And you had an incredible idea. We wanted to do it like two weeks ago, but I was absent. But you had this great idea. And it's not like the, it's not a groundbreaking idea, but you wanted to talk about the best units in the NFL. Yeah. what units are really making an impact and taking their team over the top and making them hard to either defend or hard to game plan for. I thought this was a great idea.

Yeah, I thought that with playoffs coming up and a lot of games coming down to crucial moments and plays just, you know, single plays are becoming more and more impactful just because the amount of games ahead of you are less. and just like talking about these units of you know guys players a unit that can make plays in crunch time that are going to elevate a team that are going to put them a step above come playoff time i thought it'd be a good lead in to the playoffs i agree so just when i was thinking about this briefly there's just a lot i feel like there's like really good teams usually have a specialty right so i'm like one you unit that just that's what that's their identity that's what makes them who they are right right there's a lot to talk about do you have one you'd want to throw out first i mean the first one that comes to my mind like when i like when i thought of this idea the first like team that came to

my mind was like san francisco's defense and specifically like their defensive line and they're linebackers yeah i mean from and it's both they pass both the eye test and if you look at it from the data. Like watching them, that front seven looks faster than every often, faster and more athletic than every offensive line, every running back group. Even like tight ends, like they probably play the most base defense that you really see a lot from teams. Like they'll jump into nickel every once in a while and throw, um, throw a ward in as like a

box safety. But a lot of times they run three lines. linebackers out there and it doesn't it doesn't really like set them back like it will for a lot of teams and like why a lot of teams get away from base defense if there's you know if 11 personnel or is is out on the field but say like san francisco's um front seven is they're at they're fast they're athletic and they just make plays and they shut down the middle of the field i mean we talked like it was talked about heavily during the from the miami week how much those linebackers for San Francisco

took away the middle of the field for Tua. Right. And how much that can limit offenses and being able to lock down the middle of the field like that through the passing game on defense. That completely changes the game for a lot of teams. Fred, this is actually, we could take this two different ways,

if we're being honest, because Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, they might be the best coverage duo at linebacker in the NFL. They're so good. So, Fred Warner's probably having his best year, I think. He total bounceback. I feel so good about my preseason call of potential like Dark Horse. Yeah, he's, he's been outstanding this year and then Greenlaw's been possibly even better in coverage. And those two together, man, they really can, especially with the amount of zone San Francisco

likes to play, they really rely heavily on those linebackers to not give. up a ton of production and right they've done them really really well so i think that's a great call but the d line also i mean you obviously you have bosa who's a freaking monster i mean he every time and especially this year where i feel like he's been the healthiest that he's been in a while yeah it felt like he's it feels like he's been more available this year and he just he impacts it almost every passing play it seems like he has some sort of impact on yeah well it's been really cool to watch too is charles amenahue is really established himself as like a dynamite compliment to mcbo so early in the season remember i kept saying i don't really know who their

number two guy is with the injuries they have and amenahue is like he is bald out i know he's only got four sacks on the stat sheet but if you look at all the other production numbers you know, various data outlets have, he is, he is really, really dominated. I think I may have seen PFF say recently that he had a pass rush win rate of over 22%, which is nuts. That's actually really close to Bosa, surprisingly. So like, the fact that they have two guys just constantly winning at that level off the edge is awesome.

And then Eric Armstead's, you know, hopefully going to be healthy. Yeah. At some point here. And then, and Samson, AccuBomb is not a bad third. guy off the edge. Right. Right. You know, but when he was their number two, I was a little skeptical.

Like, I don't know if he can do it as a number two, but when he's, he's got more of this niche role, he's like a Sam linebacker slash edge guy. Yeah. He's, he's been productive when, you know, when they've needed him to be. So. And a many who showed those pops in Houston early in his career. Like, it was there. Yes.

A little bit. And it's, it's benefiting him a lot to play opposite Nick Bow, and having the guys in the middle that they have. But he is. He's athletic and he's quick around the corner. And sometimes that's all. Sometimes it's all you need. If you have good bend and you're fast.

I like the power he plays. He's got so much power in his hands. He's a body mover. Because I mean from like pressure stats, San Francisco kind of sits in the middle of the road, full season. They're right around like 10 to 12. If you go like the last seven,

eight weeks. They're right around, they're right around middle of the pack, like 15, 16 in pressure in pressure rate. But when you look at their defense, their stats against the run and their stats against the pass, I mean, they're, they're leading the way almost every way you break it down to matter how, like what weeks you break it down from like this defense has completely dominated the entire year. Yeah. Like rushing defense, they've given up three points. three yards per carry. I mean, I really, it's, and it does. You can see it every week.

Whoever they play, that run game just completely is dead. Yeah, and as far as the pressure stuff goes, I would probably assume teams are starting to game plan for that. So they're not giving the 49ers, there's a lot of opportunity to get pressure. They're scheming it up, getting the ball out quicker, you know, adding a lot of design throws in there to kind of keep things moving at a quicker pace. Right.

plus Samf just goes doing what they've done with two guys basically with the two we mentioned Bosa and then They don't get a ton of interior pressure And when they do get interior pressure It usually is they love to run the They love to run like the sim pressures of You know, rushing four with it's a blitzing linebacker

And dropping off one of the defensive ends Or a defensive tackle They like doing that a lot And so when that's usually how they get their interior pressure is from like a Fred Warner, Dreig Greenlaw. Yeah, and that's the kind of stuff Ecobom is pretty good at. He's good in space for an edge guy, so he's good at dropping off and doing that type of thing if they need them to.

But yeah, like they, I mean, it's 3.3 yards against the run in the last 60, over this entire season, 3.1 over the last eight weeks passing. Since an Atlanta game, Steve, they've been insane against the run. Yeah, they like Atlanta beat them up. that was, I think, right around the time when San Francisco was, people were having a couple of questions about them. Yeah, they were four, they went, that game took them to four and four. Yeah, and they pretty much went, whoa.

They were like, whoa. Have they lost since? Nope. What's their record? Nope, they are 11 and 4. Wow. Yeah. Yeah.

Huge wake-up call game. Dang. They're good. They're really good. But yeah, what about you? What's you? if you had to go with, when I brought that idea up to you, who popped into your mind is like the most impactful, the best unit,

like where did you go right away? Cincinnati wide receiver core. See, that was that one came to me. You can even go past catcher because I think Hurst provides them a lot of value at tight end. But I think Burrow right now, especially if he wins, they're playing the bills this week or next? I forget.

Keep going. Yeah, so if they win this week against the Bills, he'll basically have beat Mahomes and Allen in the same season. He's been on an absolute tear, Steve. Yeah. He had more ridiculous throws in this past game he played than a lot of QBs have in the entire season. Yeah.

But a lot of that is because of the amount of trust he has in his past catchers. I actually, I think Burl's probably the front runner for MVP. at this point. Really? Over Mahomes? If you're just going off recency, last eight weeks, Burrow has been unbelievable,

man. He really has been. Yeah. Mahomes obviously has, no, you're good. It is a sidebar, but Mahomes is,

it's those two for sure. That's the top two. I think they've passed Hertz. They've passed Allen's. Yeah. Or Allen. Allens. That's a Michigan thing.

You just add an S to everything. It's Myers. It's Kmart's Walmart's and it's it's Allen's. No, so yeah, Bangmills wider Cicor core though really may. I'm not taking anything away from Burrow, but it's like when you have that level of trust in your guys, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins, Tyler Board. Trenton freaking Irwin. Yeah. What a late season emergence that has been. It was crazy.

I just heard, I don't know if it was a podcast or some interview where Burrow was talking about how this. how this dude's a baller. He was talking him up like three or four weeks ago. Like, oh, Trent Irwin's a dog. Like, this guy can ball. And I was like, what? And you've seen, like, every week you've seen his targets kind of steadily increased, you know. Like, you see, I've seen him pop up more and more each week as I'm watching Cincinnati.

He's got four, he's got four touchdowns. He's like the fourth or fifth option on the team. Yeah. I mean, he's, it's pretty nuts. They're just loaded. And, you know, you saw how good Higgins was when Chase was injured. Higgins led the NFL in receiving yards. The stretch Chase has her.

They have two number ones on their team. They didn't miss a beat when, I mean, when Chase left. And that's not a dig at Chase in any way, shape, or form. And I think Chase obviously elevates their offense. But there wasn't, it's not like their offense came to a screeching halt without Jamar Chase. Right. Yep.

So, I mean, they have two true number ones. Boyd is definitely capable of being a number two even. And this Irwin characters emerging, Haydenhurst gives them a lot of options. Both Samadj Pryne and Joe Mixon are good receiving running backs. So, like, they have weapons for days. But that pass catching unit is, I think that's, you know, the top pass catching unit in the NFL probably. And they're, you know, they're showing you why that pass game is hard to stop. So yeah, it's nobody has the depth at corner to really contend with them.

And Joe Burrow isn't taking sacks and isn't letting pressure impact him to the level that it did last year, where he would, you know, where he would get a little A&C in the pocket and he'd move around a little bit early. And there'd be times where he could, you know, he could get into kind of the trend of seeing ghosts a little. And that's not happening anymore this year. It did at the beginning of the year. Like we saw it at the beginning of the year. Their offensive line was atrocious, which I think they've gotten better, but they're still not good.

But what has happened is Joe Burroughs become calmer and more and just smarter in the pocket. Like he understands how to navigate the pocket more efficiently and more effectively that like later in the season he's shown. Then he did early season and especially like last year in playoff times and things like that. Yeah. The only real, there's probably two units, I would say, contend with the Bengals from a pass catcher standpoint. We'll real quick hit these before we move on. But the dolphins, obviously, Tyreek and Jalen Walla are probably the best one-two in the league. Yes. But they don't have the depth Cincinnati has. Like, they don't have a Tyler Boyd. I think River Crickraft is a functional player. Right. But like, not much. Yeah, like, I would put Tyler Boyd ahead of Sherfield.

Sherfield, Wilson, and Craycraft. And for some reason, Miami just doesn't use Gisiki anymore. Yeah. He gets no usage anymore. He really doesn't. It's,

the production Hill and Waddle have had is pretty nuts. I think they're closing in on, what, 3,000 yards as a unit as a duo? I'm sure. I'm sure. I think they're pretty close. Yeah, they're 2,900, basically. So, yeah, and then the only other unit on top of those guys would be Philadelphia with A.J. Brown and Devande Smith.

Yeah. And Dallas got it. Yeah, which that's, that one's close. That one's close. But you're right. I think that if you force me, if you force me to choose, I'd pick Cincinnati over. Because I think, because I think T. Higgins is better than Devonza Smith right now. Yeah.

And that's what kind of does it for me. I think I'd probably rather have Goddard than Boyd, too, at this stage of Boyd's career. But I like them both. Yeah. Goddard is a mismat, a big-time mismatch at Tyden. Yeah, that's right. Whereas Tyler Boyd is more of a technician. Yep.

Um, all right, you got another one? Yeah, the next one I would go with is the Eagles offensive line. I think that that and I mean if you if you are on NFL Twitter like if you if you pay attention to NFL Twitter everybody talks about it and it actually it kind of stinks as I say that because Lane Johnson is down but how long for that was I thought it was I thought he was done for the year oh really I thought so but either way that like the Eagles offensive line is is and has been one of the best units. Yeah, he has an abdominal tear. Like they've helped with Jalen Hertz's development so much. And just they're a bit like the way they're able to be so multiple in the run game and the pockets that they're able to create for Jalen Hertz.

I mean, they can completely take down and neutralize almost anything. any defensive line. Yeah. There isn't a defensive line that has, you know, really made them hurt in any way, shape, or form. Right. They have two bookend tackles that can both pass protect and get after it in the run game. Right. My lot of is, you know, probably a much better run blocker than pass protector.

But Lane Johnson is the opposite. He's a phenomenal pass protector. And he's also going to the run game. Right. And then on top of that, Lane Johnson and Jason Kelsey are arguably the best. center and best right tackle in the league. So they have two guys in their offensive line that you can make the argument are the best at their position, which is pretty nuts.

And they're filling in with good players, Isaac Seymaloo, you know, Jordan Milata. Yeah, we'll find out what it looks like without Lane Johnson. Yeah. And, you know, that stinks. But I think that they've shut, like, they have, I, they have the depth and just the cohesiveness as a unit to where I bet you that it's not they won't be

way too heavily impacted. There will be an impact but it won't like derail their season I don't think. Have they said who's going to play out there? Is it going to be Driscoll or Dillard? I haven't seen. I have not seen an announcement yet. Okay.

Yeah, that'll be interesting. I know Dillard's played. They've kicked him inside a little bit this year. I mean, he's barely played. Yeah. he was more of a left tackle. I don't know if he has any experience or right tackle. Driscoll played right tackle in college.

So that will be interesting to see. But yeah, just the way that the Eagles, I mean, they can do whatever they want because of the offensive line. They can go into a game with a game plan to be run heavy. And they can win games that way and they've done that this year.

They can go into a game and, you know, they basically just get, because of their offensive line, their offensive line's ability to, you know, do so well in both the run of the past game, allows, you know, Stuyken and those guys in Philadelphia to basically just pick what weakness they want to go after on the defense

without the worry of, like, of, you know, what's going to happen behind the line of scrimmage. Yep. It's true. I mean, we've talked about all year about, you know, offenses that can put your defense in conflict. how valuable that is. Well, Eagles can put you in conflict so many different ways.

Yeah. That's why some of their stallouts have been frustrating, right? They've had these games where they just stop scoring points and you just don't understand why. That's why it's been frustrating. There's no reason it should happen. Yeah. But it does. The other unit that probably comes close to that is Green Bay's.

Like, I think Green Bay is up there and they're able to kind of do the same thing. They've just had some. and they've just had some deficiencies from their past catchers and Rogers this year, honestly. But that offensive line has been stalwart, though. For sure. And they started the year terrible, too. Right. It was tough in the beginning.

But, you know, if you go to like the last from weeks nine to 16, I mean, shoot, they're giving up. So, you know, 29% QB pressure rate. That's super low. And in, like, non-QB attempts, they're averaging 1.93 yards before contact. Like, both of those stats are just are up there at the top of the league. And so they, their run game is good. I think that their offense is a little bit too stagnant sometimes, but it's not because of anything on the offensive line.

I think it's because of Rogers right now. And you kind of saw him start to come alive against Miami this week. Yeah. Well, it's no surprise, honestly, that the Packers have turned it around a little bit offensively. Right. I think the last eight weeks, they're the number seven offense in the league. I mean, they're getting healthy. It directly corresponds with the offensive line getting healthy and turning into,

you know, living up to the expectations that they had. Yep. And now that run game is starting to take off. And A.J. Dillon is, you know, turning a corner at the end of the season again. He did the same type of thing last year where he was dead in the water for the first three months of the season. And then December hits and all of a sudden he, you know, his, I don't know whether it's his hits and his bruising ability starts hurting a little bit more for guys playing. It is the cliche. man like that that that style of play works better this time of year right i mean it fits the bill so

they're they're a team to watch but i think green bay's offensive line you know this second half of the season they've put themselves in the conversation to be you know to be talked about similarly to like philadelphia philadelphia or like you know teams like that teams that are in the upper three to five offensive lines in the NFL agreed All right, I got one I want to throw out that I think is interesting, to say the least. So preseason, when we talked about the best secondaries or best cornerback units in the league, we mentioned teams like Green Bay, teams like Baltimore, teams like Tampa, Cleveland, pretty much all of the four of those teams are disappointed.

So I got one to throw out. The New York Jets. Cornerback group. I mean, that's not crazy to say. I don't think that unit has totally changed that team around. You have Sawdner who's playing, he's probably been the best corner in the NFL this year as a rookie. DJ Reed Jr., who, listen, I don't know what Seattle was doing, just letting him walk for as cheap as he did.

Right. But anyways, New York has it because he was good in Seattle for a couple years too. It's not like he was some bad corner. They legit have two number one corners. Yeah, Reed's playing out of his mind. And Michael Carter, the third or second? What does he go by? Michael Carter the second?

I think he's the third. Okay, third. Well, he's been, he's been, no, it's the second, I think. Because I remember every time I see his name, I'm like, why doesn't he just go by a junior? Oh, that's a good question. Yeah, so every, so he's playing very well in the slot for them. Like, they have, they have those positions figured out. Whitehead is a monster.

Whitehead's been very good. Turnover freak forces a lot of turnovers. It's really good in the run game. Like very, very, very downhill safety. Yep. He gets his nose in there. And, you know, he shows up as, he shows up as, like, one of the first guys to make contact in the run game a lot.

Yep. And though, but those corners, man, they freaking lock it down. I think they have all three of those spots figured out. I mean, I'm always a fan of adding more talent to your quarterback group because injuries happen a lot. But man, in a Robert Sala-led defense, like we've seen what happens when he gets good quarterback play. Yeah. That defense is turning up and they've been tough to move the ball against. And like the interior defensive line with the way Quinn and Williams is playing.

Yeah. I mean, they're coupling pressure with good secondary play. That's the way. Yeah, they're basically like an elite edge rusher away. from just being probably a top three, top five defense next year. And they're a quarterback away from being a top three to five football team in the NFL. Mike White, Steve. I mean, he'll get him better than Zach Wilson.

Mike Brock Purdy White. Are they not the same guy? I mean, honestly, kind of. I mean, same offense, these QB-proof offense. You have Tua, Mike White, and Brock, Pretty walk into a bar. Can you tell the difference between any of them? It's like, oh, it's the same guy.

It's the Spider-Man meme, all pointing at each other. I'm like playing through pass plays and I'm like, the footwork, everything is the same. Yeah. And they all kind of like, I could be completely wrong in this. Just like off of eye tests. I feel like they all are similar stature heights. Mike White is probably the biggest out of all of them. But Purdy and two are, you know, a little bit shorter.

Yeah, they're definitely like the same size. They like they run the same. They move the same. They're all similarly armed talent or similar arm talent. Pretty noodily. This is this is hilarious. We could do, I bet you we could do a film cut up of this and just be like, all right, who's who. You know, take away the jersey who's who.

Yeah. Exactly. I mean, obviously Tua has the best pedigree there. But I mean, stylistically, they all play very similarly. Right. But I'll ask to do the same things. Mike White just, you don't think he's the long-term answer, though. No.

I mean, we'll say, like, when he comes back, we'll see. But I don't think that. He's back this week, right? Isn't that what's been said? Yeah, that's the game playing. That's the game plan. I don't, I think that he gets him to, you know, be as like a middle of the road. Yeah, I agree.

Like, he gets him to the point of being able to compete with anyone. but I don't think he elevates them to being competitive against everyone all the time. I agree. That was a big sidebar, though. So point being, though, when you look at the turnaround with the Jets and why it happened, obviously they're well-coached football team. But I think personnel-wise, it starts with that cornerback unit. Yeah.

Like having three corners you can rely on playing and play out is so valuable. Yeah. Shoot, I mean, we've seen. seen this in Detroit this year where they've had so much in and out. Interchanging injuries. Guys getting bench. It's like it's really hard. When you don't have the consistency there, it is really hard to be consistent against

the pass. And I think they have a huge part of the puzzle figured out. So any other cornerback units, though, that you think contend with what the Jets got going on? Cornerback unit? I mean, the thing with the Jets too is that they tackle really well. Yes. That's a solid staple, right?

Yeah, their corners all tackle really well, which you know, you can't always say for people. Teams that compete with the New York Jets, I, as far as a quarterback group, I mean, I don't really think that I am in love with anyone. I mean, Buffalo definitely has a chance, but I don't think we've seen it 100%, especially later, like lately in the season. Yeah. I think that, you know, they've been a little bit more. You can pick up a little bit more, but they're still up there. I think Buffalo is still, you know, they deserve to be in the conversation. Other than that, there isn't a lot of people that can contend with the Jets as far as like number one, number two nickel.

What do you think? Number one, number two, nickel might be tough, honestly. Right. That's the thing, is the Jets are that. good. Yeah. Those guys are all probably playing, like, well, the two Jets guys are both playing top 10 level, and then Michael Carter is probably like top 10 slot guy this year. Right.

So I don't think anyone's necessarily competing with that. I would say there's a duo, though, that I feel really good about. That's especially lately. And that's the Chiefs, Trent McDuffie and LJ. Ligerius Sneed. Yeah. Those guys have been balling. I feel good about that

But again, it's not three deep, though And they do have questions With that other spot, actually. Right. I don't know that it's transformative Like the Jets unit is. Right. Oh, oh, oh, the Eagles, Eagles.

Oh, yeah, of course. Duh. Yeah, Dariuslay, James Bradbury, And then I always forget the third guy's name, the slot corner. He's good, though, when he's healthy. Not Douglas, but Maddx. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Amante Maddo. Very good unit. Yeah, that is. But even then, they've been, you know, a little bit easier to throw on lately. Yeah, it's been corner, though, or it's been kind of the middle of the defense. It's been getting picked apart. Yeah, yeah, I mean. They still holds that linebacker.

He's gotten beat up a little bit here and there. More recently that, like, beginning of the year, he was shutting everyone down. But, like, he had a game against Terry McLaurin that he got kind of run on a little bit. I think I message you during that game. I haven't seen Slag get worked like this in a while. Yeah. And actually the other team that's close as far as one and two is the Chargers. Michael Davis and Asante Samuel have played really well lately.

And they've been part of the reason why the Chargers team has been able to turn around. You know, they've clinched to playoff birth. Like they've been a part of the reason why that and that team has turned things around is because of the corners. and their secondary as a whole has played really well. Bryce Callahan is bald out at slot for them. I mean. And Callahan played really well in Denver. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. And Chicago. Right. Bryce Callahan's a legitimate corner. Yeah. And they came into the season thinking he'd be their fourth guy because J.C. Jackson. Right.

So that secondary has a ton of potential. Yeah. If Jackson ever gets right. Which he just had the legal issue too, didn't he? I don't know. I'm off Twitter, dude. I am so, I'm never, I don't know NFL news anymore. It's kind of great.

It's honestly kind of great. I don't have to follow all these meaningless storylines. Yeah. Constantly have opinions about them. Even though I have a podcast in which I'm supposed to share my opinions. I don't know. He was arrested a week ago. Oh, no.

All right. For what? I just said family issue. But either way, he's either way. On the football field, he has not played. He did not play. play well this year so far. It had been a struggle and he had come back from an injury and then got injured again.

And like, you know, he hadn't played since October, I think. But he, even then, like, he was supposed to be their number one corner. But Michael Davis has stepped in and been really solid on the outside. Oh, yeah, he's been awesome. And Asante Samuel Jr. has taken another step. Like, he got worked a little bit in the beginning of the year, like, against Las Vegas, Devante Adams, when he was running out as the number one then. And before Michael Davis's emergence, he was getting worked a little bit by some of the

number one receivers he was going up against. But lately in the season, he's been able to, like, he's been able to, you know, go toe to toe with any, with any receiver that he's matched up against. Yeah, I agree. My only question for you, though, is like, are you really leaving off, Akuta and Will Harris? Yeah, I am. I mean, listen, their stats line up really well.

I mean, the Detroit, the only reason they lost last week is because they couldn't, they couldn't tackle or defend the run for anything. That secondary's played, you know, well, but, oh, you know who else is up there, but we don't, we're not going to, you can't really talk about them because of their offense, but is Denver. Denver's up there. But they're not, I don't, they're not,

I don't, including them because. I was going to say, I was going to say Denver too. They're not a play, you know, they're not a playoff contender. So.

No. But Certan is good enough to transcend a unit on his own. So, Curtan's amazing. But hey, they got rid of the, uh,

I got to be careful of the wording I use here. I was going to say the deadbeat. But that's almost like, that's right. That's the, That's big news. Hackett's fired. He's gone. He's out of there. Yeah. So they're going to hire Jeff Saturday? At this point, I'm convinced Jeff Saturday is a better coach than Hackett.

I'm not convinced either of them are good. But it's okay. I like the best corners conversation. That's one that definitely is, like, it is impactful. Like those teams are going to, like those teams that we talked about are going to, those units, It'll make or break their playoff run, I think. Yeah. While we're on the subject, I'm not saying they're a great unit by any means. But we've seen a team surging lately. Actually, since they got their crap kicked in by the Lions, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yes. And they've been better on defense. And a lot of that is Tyson Campbell and Darius Williams. Tyson Campbell is emerging as a dog, an absolute guy. he really has been awesome this year, especially lately. So they're four deep, though. Tyson Campbell, Darius Williams, Shaquille Griffin, Trey Herndon.

That unit's good. Yeah, that's a guy. They're an interesting one because that Detroit game is like a fever dream for them where it's like, I have no idea what happened to them. And before that, they were playing well. After that, they've played well. It's just like they walked into Detroit. They blacked out for, they blacked out drunk for a day and then they carried on with their season.

It's honestly kind of funny how they've just come in and out of that on both sides of the ball where, you know, they look great. I mean, they've played amazing. But the next unit I'm going to talk about is actually it's a surprise because of how much I've dogged on, you know, their run game in general. but it really is, is and has been a catalyst for him, is Dallas, the Cowboys. Yes. Their run game this year,

like as much as I've crapped on Zeke in my life, and especially like the last couple years where he's been fed the ball a ton, but nothing, it has not been useful or impactful in any way. but well what have they done though they have worked pollard into a main role in the offense he's not just like he's not just a gadget guy anymore he's part of the he gets there's games where he has 15 to 20 touches yeah yeah that they've needed this for a while and it it makes zeke better it does now

zeke is fresher and zeke just does what zeke can do does well right and you know they had a little bit of a hicc up but Philadelphia's, you know, Philadelphia is kind of a, they got into a shootout with them so they didn't, you know, I don't think they use, utilize the run game as much as they, as much as they have. They did, they gave Pollard and Elliott about 25 carries total. Yeah. And they went for, you know, 74 yards. So it wasn't the best day for them. But leading into that game, and I think coming out of that game, they, that run game, the run game. it helps because DAC has been playing really well and that off I mean that offense is putting up

points since since DAC has gotten back that offense is just like a NASCAR they they constantly go and they can't like nobody can stop them it's just yeah keep up with them for sure well until your main point like obviously Zach Martin is Zach Martin but if you would have told me before the season started that they were they were going to get this level of play at tackle from Tyler Smith and Terrence Steele, I would say you're drunk. There's no way. I did not think, especially the way Tyler Smith started this year. Right.

I did not think he'd be playing this well. I mean, he, I don't know, the last two or three games, Steve, the dude has been mauling people in the run game. Right. He's been outstanding. And then they have Peters stepping in and Tyron Smith is coming back. Like, their offensive line is a deep unit. I don't think they've played as well as some of the top units,

but they're still a very deep and they're an effective unit. Like, I'd put their in the top half of the league, top third of the league. Oh, yeah. As far as offensive line, it's just I don't think that they're up there right near the top with everyone else. But I still would take their unit over most, over many other units. I didn't even realize Tyron Smith was. back. Were they playing him at? Left tackle.

Tyler Smith is still playing left tackle, right? I thought they moved. I thought they moved all things around. No, dude, Tyron Smith started at right tackle the last two games. Oh, okay. Did he go right? He went right tackle. Okay. That's crazy. Yeah. So like they've, I mean, they have Peters who can step in and play. They have Tyler Smith. They have Tyron Smith. They, they, Zach Barton's a stud. I mean, they. Parenceal's been very good this year for them out of nowhere. And so, you know, it's a good, it's a, it's a good deep unit. And I know that Dallas has wanted to, you know, be predicated on the run. And with the way that they're finally breaking up the, the carries in the backfield, they're fine, I think they're giving themselves a chance.

And the run game is turning into what they've always envisioned. And it's helping to open up that offense even more, especially now that they have their quarterback back and that offense is in full swing. I mean, I think since Dak has gotten back, the lowest amount of points they've scored is, the lowest amount of points they've scored in a game is 27. Then they put up 34, 40, 54. I mean, I know there's a couple defensive touchdowns in there, but, you know, I mean, their offense has been incredible.

and it starts with it starts with DAC but that running game helps elevate Dax game. Yep, I think you're spot on. Something I didn't really think about prior to this conversation, but I think you're right on the mark

with that. And that's where another team that if they get into the playoffs, they can give a team trouble, but it's 100%. Their entire offense is built off of the run game. It's Carolina. If Carolina,

line it gets in that running game i mean it's it either i'm scarred for life i mean i know but that's that's what that's what they do and that's what they can do is if they catch you on a bad day they are a physical team physical downhill but like they don't have anybody that like is an elite exceptional player as in their run game like their offensive line is solid and their running backs are are solid starters and Hubbard and Foreman, but they just play physical and they play downhill. And if, you know, if they catch you on a bad day, they'll run it down your throat. And we saw it. But they all, it also, their offense is completely predicated on the run game.

If their run game is stopped, they're done. If they get their run game going, they can, they can beat anyone because they'll march you up, up and down the field and you'll only, you'll only get 60 plays in the game. Yeah, that, that, oh, my. man, Steve, that game, that Lions Carolina game. The Lions had been so good against the run for the past two months. Right. I mean, they had shut down Dalvin Cook, Sequin Barclay, Aaron Jones, like A.J. Dillon.

I mean, they legitimately had been awesome against the run. And they had given up two 100-yard rushers by halftime against Carolina. They, like five of their first eight plays were 30-yard runs. They were, through the first half, they were averaging a first down per play. They were averaging like 10.7 yards per play at half. And I don't think they slowed down. I think maybe they slowed down a little bit, but like for the most part, they, I mean, it just kept going in the second half.

And I think that they, um, they put the linebackers. in conflict. They were constantly using different misdirections to get the linebackers eyes looking somewhere else and they were moving them off their spots enough that... They were using countercepts and misdirection steps all day. Right, that's what I mean.

Yeah, linebackers were filling the wrong holes. Right, right. Yeah, they would, you know, their eyes would get lost in some of the misdirection movement and all of a sudden it'd be these huge alleyways because McNeil and Bugs did not have their best game either.

just all around it was effectively the worst game that front seven has played all it was really the linebackers though i know like a leman bugs took some crap but like rodrigo was a freaking mess in that game i know barnes came back and he was pretty bad in that game anzalone was all over the place in that game it was rough yeah i if you had to ask me i think that this is honestly i think it's a it's a one game thing for the lions i think they still i still expect them to to my i still would expect them to make the playoff i'm kind of expecting them to make the playoffs still i think this is a dress this is a this is a one one time like they got their butts kicked they you know from like i i told you before we started that um that like

like from play one the first run i was like okay this is going to this is the lines aren't going to win isn't their game from the first from the first offensive snap for carolina i was like, all right, this is, this game is over because they run, like, it was a simple run play, I think, and their linebackers got lost, they missed a tackle. And it was like, all right, this is a tackling day like this, but I've already gone long on Detroit. It's run. That's okay. I had one more point, though.

My only concern, I can't say I think they'll make the playoffs. I think they'll win their last two games. Okay. No, whatever fate happens happens. But my concern with what happened on Saturday is that they put all that on tape. Yeah. And so now if you're the Green Bay Packers as Chicago Bears, who, by the way, have robust run games. It's true.

I don't know how you go into this weekend's game without incorporating some counter misdirections steps. Yeah. With their running back footwork and trying to throw a couple wrinkles in, some trap. You know, I know the line's got trapped a couple times early in that game. Yeah. I would fully expect them to add those wrinkles to the playbook just because of how bad the lines were against those looks and the tape they put out there.

All right. And Green Bay's run game is right up there as well with Dallas and Carolina. They have the two backs. And like I said, like I said earlier, Dylan's coming alive a little bit. And that offensive line is really good. And,

they're starting to, to bruise people up here as the weather gets colder and, you know, they're using Lambo to their advantage as they generally do. And yeah, it's helped, it's helped to elevate their team. And I think it's helped Rogers, even though he still, he still has some errant stuff here and there that, like, he never misses, but he's missing this year. But he's coming alive a little bit as does. As he's getting more familiar with Dubs and Watson. Yeah. All right, we would be remiss if we talked all these O lines and didn't mention the Minnesota Vikings. Though O-Lines been outstanding.

Christian Derisaw has probably been the best tackle in the league this year. Yeah, Dar esau's played really well. Brian O'Neill is a top five right tackle in the league. Yeah. Ezra Cleveland's been outstanding on the interior there. Garrett Bradbury is a more than capable center. The real only weak spot they have is that other guard spot, but they're getting adequate play out of that spot.

I think Ed Ingram's played there mostly. And he's a youngster. But this line has been really outstanding. And when you talk about an offense that is capable of scoring the amount of points they've scored, and sometimes it comes after being down by 30, but it kind of starts with the O line. And if you have a quarterback like cousins, who's going to be streaky and he's going to put the ball in harm's way occasionally, they've done it right with how they're handling that. Give them a good offensive line,

give them phenomenal pass catchers, and let them go to work. And I really do think that's why this team has won so many games is because the offensive line has been majorly upgraded from where they were a year ago. You think so, even though in the last eight weeks, they've given up a 38% pressure rate. All those stats, though, Steve, are QB stats.

Right. I mean, pop on a Vikings game and tell me Cousins is doing his line favors. Yeah, I can see where it could go a little bit. They do most of their damage in the run game, though. Like, Derrisaw is probably one of the best run-blocking tackles in the league. O'Neill's phenomenal in the run game, although he's a great pass protector, too. Cleveland is a mauler on the run game. Listen, Minnesota did it again.

They did it again. They did it again. They are a team where when they need a play to flip the momentum of the game, they can get it. And they get it in any phase of the game, whether it's Justin Jefferson making a play against Buffalo or their defense making a play against Buffalo or their special teams blocking a punt

and changing, you know, completely flipping the scripted of that game. They just find ways to win. Because I think New York was going to win that game. I think New York, without that blocked punt, I think they were moving in the direction of winning that game. offensive starting to come alive. Minnesota's offense started getting a little bit stagnant, but the blocked punt happened,

and it kind of flipped things. Yep. And that's just what Minnesota's been this year. When they need a play, someone makes a play that wins them the game, that changes the momentum, that, you know, changes the narrative of the game. They're really good at that. and I thought it would end at some point, but it's not seeming to end. So that's, I don't think, I don't think anybody in the league, any team in the league matches, like, the luck.

And, or not necessarily luck, because it's plays that they make, but like, there is a level of luck to turnovers and whatnot. And I think that Minnesota, like, Kirk Cousins had a couple interceptions that were taken back from, you know, penalties. it's things like that that they just things go things are going their way yeah listen uh destiny is not something to be trifled with right right and minnesota seems destined to do something in the playoffs all right do you have any more try not off the top of my head i think i mean quarterback is patrick mahomes that's that's that but at this point you know we talked we talked we talked we talked secondaries, corners, offensive line, defensive lines,

running game, past catchers. Yeah, I feel like we've covered it pretty well. The playoff, yeah, it's, I think that those, I try to keep it to playoff teams, I think we did, but they're all units that are going to impact the playoff

race because it's coming down to two weeks here. We're, we're, it's getting to crunch crunch time and those units are the ones that are going to impact the moment. Before we get out here, Steve, give me your final playoff predictions.

As far as up and down the breadth of... Yeah, like, give me what do you think the AFC and NFC looks like? Well, like I said, I think that things will shake out the right way and I think the lines make the playoffs. I honestly do,

and it's not biased. I don't think. I mean, it probably is a little bit, but I think that they get in. I think the Giants get in. Jags? I think Jags get in. I think the Jags win the division.

Oh, yeah. Well, that's the only way they get it. Yeah, that's right. That's the only way they can get in. So that, like, I think. I guess technically it's not, it's still mathematically possible. They get a wild card, but it's probably unlikely at this point.

And then I, gosh. It's tough, but I think I think the dolphins end up getting into The Dolphons. It's hard. Probably whoever wins the game this week. Yeah, as you said this week, and we can talk about it on Friday,

Miami and the New England, but that's probably the deciding game there. But yeah, I think it's giants, and lions for that NFC, and then I think it's Jaguars and Dolphins for the AFC for those last five. And then for NFC South, I hate that I even have to decide. I don't care. Anybody can have it.

No, you should, you should, I want you on this podcast to plant a flag. You've been anti-Tampa all year. There you go. Carolina. And they play each other as week. Carolina has a chance. That's why I look at it because I'm like, it's a terrible game. Tampa has played.

I think not the greatest. I think, listen, I think Carolina is a better football team than six and nine. They were marred by terrible offense, terrible coaching, terrible quarterback play. Baker was probably the worst thing for them at the time. PJ Walker didn't really do them many favors. And now that Donald's healthy, Donald is kind of playing his way into being not a starter necessarily, but he's going to get another opportunity after this year.

I think Carolina's better. Donald's playing good enough that they can win games now. This defense is phenomenal. This run game's phenomenal. They do have some legit passes. Tance Marshall's emerged is a really good number two slash number three receiver. DJ Moore is obviously a stud. They have a young, exciting tight end and Tommy Trembal.

They have a lot of things going for them. I think they're a better team than six and nine. I think the lions are a better team than seven and eight. I think Carolina's a better team than six and nine. and I'm planting my flag. Carolina's, I think Carolina beats Tampa Bay. I have been anti-Tampa Bay all year.

And I should, I should that I do stand by it because I think that. Yes, it is in Tampa, though, just say no. Tampa town. You didn't see, like, I don't know. I'm so over trying to predict Tampa's emergence. I've done it three times this year, and I've been wrong every time.

Exactly. That's part of the reason why I was done with them. So I agree I'm done. I'm not going to have a stain. I'm going to sit the fence, even though I made you not sit the fence. I've at least been wrong. I have a reason to sit the fence. You don't have a reason to sit defense. I've been wrong. I'm not going to predict Tom Brady's demise, but I'm also not going to sit here and say I feel great about them winning this game because I really don't. It's not Tom Brady's demise in my opinion. When I've been anti-Tampa Bay, it's been everything except Tom Brady. I mean, I'd have to go back and watch the tape, but like, it's every, like, Tom Brady's playing fine. He's not like, I don't think he's, I don't think he's game in, game out playing to the level that he has prior, but yeah, he's playing good. It's his receivers stink. Now they don't stink, but they're just like coming up short in big situations and their defense has not been what that defense has been in years prior.

At least again, game in, game out. They're so inconsistent. They show up, they disappear, they come back for a little bit, they disappear. It's this juggling act with them. It's the reason they're seven and eight. Real quick, who does Washington play in week 18? The Eagles. No.

That actually sounds right. That is right. It's Eagles. All right, so for AFC, I think the Jaguars win that division during the playoffs. No. And then... The commanders play the Cowboys. They play Browns this week, Cowboys,

at week 18. Okay. So we need Dallas by we, I mean, Lions fans need Dallas that need to play for something, Week 18? Because the only way I see the Lions getting in, so they're going to have to win their two games,

then Washington's going to lose to either Dallas or Cleveland. Carson Wentz was named the starter. Actually, do the Lions need Washington to lose both games? No, just one. Yeah, just one. because they have. True.

Okay, got it. They'd be 8, 7, or 8, 8 and 1, and then the lines would be 9 and 8. Gotcha. They'd win by a half game. Okay. All right, so I think, man, I got Jags winning that division. I think they're in. The way Miami's played, I can't, I don't, I don't feel comfortable.

Yeah, winner take all game. Oh, my God. That'll be one we'll have to dive into on Friday. in New England. I love to prep for it. It's like a winner take all Bill Belichick game. It's not even necessarily a winner take all though, right?

Because the Jets still have a chance. It's not winner take all, but like, you know, if you lose that week, you're out of the running, basically. Like the lose, I guess if Miami loses, they're still in it, but. Yeah, that's tough. If New England, it's for sure,

it's for sure a winner, win or die for New England. England. If New England loses their dogs. Yes. It's a win or die for New England. I think because of that, I think New England's going to win that game. A cornered animal. Yeah.

Cornered animal. And Miami's been very bad the last few weeks. It started to come alive a little bit against the, against the hackers. Two is going to miss this game, right? It was down. And I think that that it would be interesting to see if that impacted the game. But it kind of. You mean the game?

Concussion that went undiagnosed? Yeah, I think it did. For the second time this year? Yep, Miami doing some interesting things, but either way. How are they the team? Why does this keep happening with them though, Steve? Why? I mean, it's probably look inward and look at people in the building.

But it's an independent person that does it. It's not a team representative. The concussion maister, or mate, maister from Game of Thrones reference. The concussion guy, he's an independent. NFL employee, not a Miami employee. So how does this keep happening? Right? Isn't that true? I think so. I thought so.

I thought it's supposed to be recognized by like if a referee or, yeah, or if someone notices they call down and get them removed, but I, who knows? That's his third concussion this season, right? Yeah. Bro. I'm scared for Tua. I mean, there's, for sure, some conversations that are probably going to happen internally for him, you know, with like,

you know, family or whatever, but a lot, I mean, a lot of people are saying that they would think about retiring if they were to, uh. See, it's week, the first concussion was week four. It's week 17. Yeah. She's had three concussions and basically 12 weeks. Yeah. Three months.

Yeah. That's, it's tough. That's not great. There's a reason, like, even the UFC shuts you down for months after a concussion. Yeah. so yeah i guess yeah now that you say that i completely thought over honestly it's probably who do do jets and patriots play week 18 um that would be something wouldn't it wouldn't it I'm looking at now you talk you filled the awkward space yeah I know it's Patriots bills yeah I think

I honestly now that you say that two uh I used I remember that two was out I think maybe Maybe it's the Jets that make it. Who knows? It's kind of a mess. The way Miami has turned and the way they've played poorly the last couple weeks and then New England having to go to Buffalo and then. Jets have two winnable games. Yeah.

So. And then the, the dolphins without two. Cs are trending downward. Yeah, honestly, I think the Jets, it might be the Jets that fill that last AFC spot. that is this is going to be truly a wild ending it would be a crazy turnaround for miami to go from where they were at when what we were talking about three weeks ago to this that

would be tough to that'd be a tough pill to swallow for i mean every everyone in that building and for you know miami supporters because that would be quite the fall from grace yeah it vindicate me because i think we're you chris and i were talking um coach of the year candidates yeah and i think mcdaniel was brought up and i was like guys, I think Miami's worse than they were last year. You had, you had kind of said that you thought that Tua's production was a little fluky. Yeah. All right.

Well, I think we've acquitted ourselves well. Let's get out of here. Yes, we'll be back Friday to. Friday, Friday. Go over the, or I don't know, do we have a guess? I won't say yes, we have a guest, but I won't say no either. I don't know yet. All right.

If we don't, we'll just bring Chris on. Yeah, and we'll go over the week, 17 slate. I'm going to have to send Chris like 20% of my royalties this week. Yeah, that's right. This month, yeah. Yeah. Sweet. Anyways.

All right. Thanks so much for listening, guys. I'm glad to be back. Thanks for sticking with us, despite my absence. Thanks to Steve for holding it down while I was gone. He's the man. We will see you Friday. For your host, Brett Whitefield,

this is McClosy in the work, and we are out. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of the Fantasy Points podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite platform. And come join the roster at FantasyPoint.com.