First Things First - Wildes Asked Every NFL City: “What’s the Vibe?”

Episode Date: September 6, 2026

What is the vibe in YOUR NFL city? Kevin Wildes went straight to the source. He created a Google Form to hear from actual fans in local markets to find out what the national media is missing. Wildes breaks down all 32 NFL teams using comments from the people who actually live it. No national-media filter. No analytics. Just local intel, unhinged opinions and the vibes. 32 teams. 32 fan bases. One very scientific study. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When West Jet first took flight in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion, inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked, the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when WestJet welcomes you on board. Here's to Westjetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. Welcome back to the Kevin Wilde's podcast network with and without glasses. I asked Gianna to print out some of the data that we've collected,

and she printed it out in what size is this, Gianna? This is not 12. I know 12, like the back of my hand. This looks like a strong five. So I will have the glasses. What data you might ask? Well, here's the thing. This is real.

I think that one of the challenges of being on a national show is it's very hard to be dialed into all, 32 teams 24 hours a day. It's just as you're going to have some blind spots. I also think that some of the markets that we use, largely the betting markets, prediction markets, are a little bit flawed because there is, A, like money can tilt the averages. And I think one of the missing components of the predictions world is some sort of consensus around the localized intelligence of the fans of that team. In other words, vibes, vibe check.

So here's what we did. We made a Google forum and said, hey, pick your favorite team and then on a scale of 1 to 10, what are the vibes around your team? I'll give you a quick review of what the vibes were, the vibe options were.

I should have these right away, but again, this is the first time we're doing it, next time we'll do it. It will be perfect, Gianna, I promise you. The vibes are a 10. Absolutely thrilled. Nine.

Feeling great. Eight. Really good. Seven. Pretty good. Six. I'm doing okay. Five.

Fine. Just a 500. I'm fine. Hey, how you doing? Fine. Eek. Actually, he's probably lower than a five if someone gives that to you. Four.

Whatever, man. You're kind of already done with it. Three, pretty close to miserable. Two, almost miserable. One, miserable. Slash. I can't even. with, which I'm allowed to say, even though I'm approaching 50.

I can't even with, I can do that. So we put that out. Again, ask for people to vote for their favorite teams because that's where you sort of know the most about. So we have all 32 teams. We have 3,200 votes. That's just savvy. Three teams score to nine. And they're almost, two of them are not interesting, I think you can guess.

Coming in with an average vibe meaner, an average vibe meaner. average vibe meter of 9.91 is the Los Angeles Rams. Honestly, surprise, they're that low. I could see perfect tens across the board, but maybe someone tried to skew the stats. At number two, 9.26 is the Seattle Seahawks. Super Bowl champions. That makes a lot of sense. Number three, the only other team with a 9, 9.1,

is surprisingly, the Denver Broncos did not make it to the Super Bowl. I have given a few what I call the men in black take that perhaps if Bo Nix was healthy, the Broncos could have done something. I'm not saying it. Bump, neuralize you. But we did have a bit of a fortuitous path. Here are some of the comments from the Broncos. Broncos are excited.

Waddle addition is clutch. Bo Nix has a chip on his shoulder from media doubt. O-line is stout. Defense is back. Only real hole is the linebackers. Bo Nix to the Super Bowl, maybe the best situation of any team to lose in a conference championship game. Not totally wrong.

Are you the Bo Nix guy? I mean, maybe. If Bo Nix wins MVP, Nick should buzz his hair. Again, that's not what we're looking for necessarily. Kind of looking for analysis here, localized analysis that we're not picking. up in the national media.

Back-to-back playoffs, rock solid defense, and Bo Nix in year three on a rookie contract. Now throwing a Jalen Waddle, yeah, we got them vibes. That's what I'm looking for. So I think that was a surprise. It doesn't line up with where they are in the Super Bowl rankings,

but number three is the Denver Broncos. Only two teams above 8.5. Number four, the Baltimore Ravens, can be expected. They're always good. Number five. Now, this team has got an 8.65, which is surprising because their Super Bowl odds are not good. Their win total over under is around 8.5.

But the localized vibes in Jacksonville are the fifth best in the entire league, feeling amazing about our offense and our coaching staff and using outside noise to make ourselves better. Just watch locker room after our wins last year to see vibes. True. They do that cool like Florida, you know, Grills thing. Jags are going to be great. Good time to be a Jags fan. This message is to Captain Easy Stance. That's me. Get in on the T-Law train. Okay, maybe. That's not an easy stance necessarily. Okay, everyone, Boston stinks. I don't think that has anything to do with Jacksonville. Again, we don't want to use the comment forms to deliver messages to the people on the show.

we're looking for localized analysis. Even Duval, that works for me. Great vibes in Jacksonville. Number six, number seven, in a surprising number eight, with a score of 8.42 and 8.3 of the Philadelphia Eagles, lost AJ Brown, they still feel good. And the Cincinnati Bengals, I don't even need to look at it. I think they feel better about their defensive acquisitions.

Let's check it out. Anything good? I believe in due and we're about to be due for another postseason trip. Sheriff Burroughs stays healthy. Tell Nick. Again, I'm not going to tell Nick anything.

Okay? That's not what this is. It's about unearthing localized intelligence that is falling through the national media cracks. No amount of narrative manufacturing by Nick.

Again, it's not what we're doing. We'll change the things. fact that the Bengals are and have been contenders. Guys, you miss the playoffs for three years. That's just wrong. The Bengals will shock some people, improve defense, continuity on offense,

worried about O-line and coaching. Okay. That's not. O-lines are biggest concern to keep Borough healthy. Nick hates the Bengals because he fears the Bengals. I mean, maybe that's not totally wrong. Vibes seem to be the best they've been in a while. Okay. At number seven. At number eight, and this

is the shocking one, Gianna, eighth best vibes in the entire league and a team with a quarterback with a repaired Achilles tendon is the Indianapolis Colts. I'm shocked by this. We have talent but no depth coming off injuries at key positions. That doesn't seem that good. How do you guys get such a high score? God help Daniel Jones and his Achilles.

That could be viewed as like a nice, either sarcastic or love you guys, fire ballard. Gee whiz, okay. They still have the eighth best vibes there. There may have been a little bit of a voting miscue, but number nine in 10, 825 and 819. Coming in at nine, slightly ahead of the team of the century, is the Chicago Bears, followed by the mighty New England Patriots. I hear a lot of bears chatter. Let's see what they say. Caleb MVP season incoming.

Wish this wasn't a 1 to 10 scale. The scale should be good, better, best. clever. That's a Ben Johnson thing. Would be 10 if our D-Line wasn't awful. The offensive ceiling is the highest it's ever been. Defensive line may be bad, bad. Also bring back the mustache. Okay, I don't mind that one.

I might. Patriots, local vibes could be higher. I think we are a little bit worried about pressuring the quarterback. And the Christian Gonzalez contract doesn't get talked about enough. Is it going to be a concern, maybe? Number 11, the Buffalo Bills. a little bit below the Patriots. Number 12, and I like this one a lot,

because a few years ago I was high on this team. And then I think I went to their Reddit or like a localized blog and was reading all the comments. And I said, oh, my goodness, the fans of this team have no faith in them, and they ended up being bad, the Dallas Cowboys. This is our year.

Caleb Downs is the greatest safety of all time, too much, and DAC is winning MVP, perhaps. Best off season from Jerry Jones since I was born. Shottie's a great coach. Dak is on point. GP3 is locked in. Defense is going to be much improved. Get brew a cowboy hat and a cowboy robe.

Not a bad idea. Again, some creative ideas are there. So shout out to the Cowboys at 12. At 13, a team that I am very high on. And at 14, a team that I'm shocked, but they have become the trendy pick at 13 with a vibe score of 7.8s, the first top of the seven.

is the Houston Texans. Absolutely pumped about the defense, but I've lost all trust in CJ until we get four or five good games from in a row, maybe best defense in the history of the world. That's a good point. People were saying that until Drake May threw three touchdowns on you guys,

but it is a great defense. CJ, please don't stink. If CJ is decent, it's an easy 10. Best I've ever felt about a Texans team entering the season. High vibes in Houston. Saints, we had Cam Joran. They feel good of themselves in New Orleans, Los Angeles Chargers, right in the middle of the pack at 15, followed by the Lions at 16.

At 17, with a vibe score of 724, is a team with a new coach and some new hopes. And what is going to be interesting here is some of the Ravens comments were, thank God, we got rid of Harbaugh. So we'll see if the comments here are Bob bringing back the wrecking crew. okay, OBJ nostalgia, new Harbaugh, scat is back, likely, likely, puns. I'm not a huge fan of, but that works. Jackson Dart is the man. Excited for an established coach and all the new young additions to the team. Most talented Giants roster in a decade, seven or eight win team would be higher,

but if he play calling in poor tackles and cornerbacks, John Harbar is going to bring legitimacy. Okay, let's go Giant Dart season. Wilds. I love you, Wilds. You're the best, but Nick needs to success. stop hating on dart. I mean, maybe.

Here's a weird one. At 18, below the giants, below the chargers, below the bills, is the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, I am putting into the universe that we haven't mastered our vote collection policy yet. You can vote early and often. This is 2510s, 35-9s, 44-8s, 92-7s. See, I don't think that's like voter shenanigans. 14-1s, I think is, which I think brings it down. But most of the votes were sevens.

I'll take Patrick Mahomes against any QB on the other side of the field until the Chiefs lose the games. They have a chance to win every time. That's true. people thinks it's funny. The real data is in the running back where the stats in the history of the NFL and teams that greatly improve their running game,

what do the books say? Hopefully they don't waste another year of Peak Mahomes. Love the show, please never break up with a heart. Good use of the emoticon, and sometimes people worry about the show breaking up. That's nice. Again, it's not necessarily cheap's data. Oh, here we go, Gianni. You'll love this one.

People are excited about the defense, concerned about wide receiver and O-line, Josh Simmons injury. Rookie class is very exciting. Just like we're excited for the next episode from the Kevin Wilde's podcast network. That's a real thing. Are we in season two of the Kevin Wilde's podcast network?

Oh my goodness. That's great. Look, not as high as I thought they were going to be. Number 19, Greg's Packers. Number 20, the Carolina Panthers. Number 21, a team that everyone thinks are going to be bad. We have a super fan with multiple tattoos of this team.

You know, I don't have any tattoos, Jana. And I like the Patriots. And I like, I'll wear Patriots gear, but I don't particularly look, you know, I don't have anything like red jackets. I just look better in like grays and blues and blacks. A lot of, and I'm not saying this is Hubbs'

I'm not saying it's the driving force of his Raiders fandom. It's not 100%. It's not zero. It's a cool logo. It is a cool color scheme. It is a cool tattoo to have. Raiders vibes coming in at 21. Look, you got a franchise quarterback.

You got a franchise running back. You got a good coach. Someone's got to be the out of nowhere team. Right now, the out of nowhere teams are just not, they're out of where. Let's set up for success in 2027 and beyond. Little Buzz Lightyear vibes there. So I think this will be an ethical five and 12. At least they know they are rebuilding this time instead of pretending to be competitive

like the last few years. That's very fair. Might not be a big year for wins, but thrilled about the potential we have going forward with Mendoza. Very fair. Number 22, the Tampa Bay Bucks. If your own fans aren't fired up, I don't like it. We're at 6.48. Number 23, and this is shocked, and this has changed my pick in the NFC North,

the Minnesota Vikings. I thought we were going to be fired up about the Vikings and Brian Flores' defense. And Kyler, oh, very interesting. John, I'm digging into the data because this is very low. We've got most of the votes are sixes and sevens, a lot of fives, only five, tens are too much. All the Michigan fans hating, but they don't know Kyler's winning MVP. Too much. Too much.

Vikings defense will be top five. We have top 10 O line. We have top three wide receiver core. But yet, I'm doubtful we'll do anything because our QB and head coach. It might be time. If this year goes a little south, I don't know if it's time to move on from Kevin O'Connell. I think he's a great coach. But you kind of have to win a playoff game.

GM's already gone. You're the quarterback whispered and none of the quarterbacks pops. Number 24. Uh-oh. They're already in Australia. The San Francisco 49ers. A lot of injuries. Number 25.

No one believes in Aaron Rogers. and the Steelers vibes down at 5.66, Gianna. Number 26, the Cardinals at 532. Oh, my goodness. So there's, oh, my goodness gracious. So there's six teams below the Cardinals. Number 27, I was going to pick them to be a sleeper team. They're not, if the local fans don't even believe,

the Tennessee Titans. My goodness. Again, we didn't get a ton of votes from the Titans. That's concerning. I talk about the Titans. Robert Salah can't be any worse than Brian Callahan, right? No, Robert Sal was pretty good. Wilde made an incorrect statement about my Titans and thought I should share.

All right. Man, I, okay. I appreciate the correction, but this doesn't make it any better. Wilde's made an incorrect statement about my Titans, and I thought I should share. I'm all yours. The Titans have had rough preseason games. Our training camp has been great. Everyone on the show needs to give us more respect, especially Nick.

Man, I'm trying to pick you guys. But you had a bad... When you lined up against another team, you guys were bad, the reporter said, Cam, how did you do? He said, how do you think? I did the thing you did bad, and then it went off the rails. And the 27th best vibes. I let you guys vote on it.

No one's coming in. Like, let me sink the Titans vibe. No one cares. I'm trying to root for you. I pick Carnell Tate of Offensive Rookie of the Year. Number 28, the Washington Commanders. Guys were hot stuff a few years ago. Number 29, the Jets, which was probably high.

30, the dolphins. 31, the Falcons. Nick has them in the playoffs. Their own fans have them at 3.51. I think we're right between nearing miserable. We've got five good players. We have a left-armed, injury-prone quarterback. Oh, wait, I just described both our quarterbacks.

Tough one. My son's left-hand is. nothing wrong being left-handed. The injury-prone part, sure, but nothing, well, the spiral comes out, whatever. And then finally, to no one's surprise, it'd be weird if they weren't this low. At 2.13, which is a win that not everybody is absolutely miserable. It's the Cleveland Browns. So there we are.

Top three, Rams, Seahawks, Seahawks, Broncos, bottom three vibes. Browns, Falcons, Dolphins. We'll make it a little bit more of an efficient podcast next time around. but tune in for weekly vibe checks here on the Kevin Wilds podcast network.