The Bill Simmons Podcast - Ep. 146: Week 13 Lines With Cousin Sal

Episode Date: November 28, 2016

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal to discuss the aftermath of the Thanksgiving Day games (6:00), Gary Kubiak's decision to kick instead of take the tie (10:00), AFC West odds (14:00), Bruce Arians's sloppy Cardinals (22:00), Dak Prescott's MVP credentials (27:00), Andrew Luck's return (31:00), Matt Barkley's series of unfortunate touchdown drops (36:00), Michigan–Ohio State (42:00), is Jared Goff good? (46:00), Derek Carr's pinkie (54:00), the Panthers’ playoff hopes (1:02:00), and the best holiday entertainment this Thanksgiving (1:04:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode of the Cowboys have clinched the NFC East BS podcast is brought to you by SeatGeek, our presenting sponsor, the only fan-friendly app for buying and selling tickets for sports and music. Heading into December, we have college hoops, college football, NHL, NBA, NFL. You need SeatGeek. Drop your ticket app and use one built for 2016 and beyond. Use SeatGeek. Do everything on your phone. Download the free SeatGeek app or go to SeatGeek.com.

We are also brought to you by Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. They bring the mortgage process into the 21st century. They allow you to do everything on your phone or tablet. If you're looking to refinance your mortgage or buy a home, check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com slash Bill Simmons, equal housing lender, licensed in all 50 states, NMLSconsumeraccess.org, number 3030, again, quickenloans.com slash Bill Simmons.

Check out theringer.com, check out the Ringer Podcast Network. I will have a piece on the Ringer this week. Nice. Yeah, writing comeback. My fingers still work. I don't believe it. I don't believe it.

Yeah, so stay tuned for that later in the week. That's Cousin Sal, and we are off. Here we go, Joe! Wow. Ooh. Nice. Both of our teams won. It's still happy Pearl Jam music when both of our teams win.

Check out PearlJam.com, PJ25, the big anniversary coming up. They've been gracious enough to let us use their music. We've got to mix it up with the opening, though, Tate. We have a couple other songs we can use. Yeah, let's do that for Wednesday. Come on, Tate. Three podcasts this week. We have a delighted Cousin Sal.

His Cowboys won. 35 million people watched that Thanksgiving game. Yeah. Can I just, before we, let's talk about this crew you've assembled here. This Joe, he's a crazy person. He just, while you're doing that last read, he shoves this microphone in my face. He sends me an email this week and says, the microphone is your friend. Get close to it.

Bill is much like, the microphone is your friend, he says in the email. It is your friend. It's your buddy. Do you get up close and lick all your friends, Joe? I'd love to know about some of these friendships. Interesting. Joe is very concerned about the quality we tweak of our podcast. I understand.

And then there's this Tate who, I'm sorry, he's running this pool of ours. He's three weeks behind in the scores. The ZFL, we do this picks pool and Tate has been just, I don't even know if negligence is a good enough word. It's not good. It's been terrible. He quit on the pool like his panthers quit on uh riverboat i'm sorry now tate's gonna fix that so let's do this thanksgiving yeah which was really fun especially because it allowed us not to talk about politics at the table with our family members but that that washington dallas

game was just a really entertaining great game i it was one of the most entertaining thanksgiving games i can remember super and the early one was close but not entertaining now that was your typical 2016 game it's just ugly it's like that raven cincy game but that washington dallas that was they were at each other's throats i'm worried about the defense over 500 yards and and offense for for the redskins but um but man we pull these games out it's something else you really do and washington could have won yeah if their kicker played better you at least would have had to drive for a game winning something at the end of the game but their kicker you know a lot of these sad you could say that for 14 games like oh if our

kicker had played better we would definitely that was one of those though if he had made a couple kicks so i wanted to see what your team would have done with like three minutes left having to go 50 yards that's has dax been in that situation first of all it's dak you make fun of me not being in this corner i said dak i thought you said dax no that dax dax shepherd has been in that corner. Well, you know, I mean, he was driving against the Giants in the game they lost, and Terrence Williams didn't get out of bounds or whatever. That was the only time, right? Other than that, you've wrapped up these games. I think that was it, yeah.

You know, like TB yesterday, Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, just felt like he was going to come through. Even though Gronk was out, the Pats offense is totally different without Gronk, and it's a concern. He's had three different injuries this year already. This is the knee, and he wasn't moving around so great. No, it's the back. No, it's the back.

Oh, back now? Perforated lung, knee, back. Oh, Gronk, I'm sorry. Yeah, Gronk. Brady, yeah, yeah, yeah. Brady wasn't moving around that great either. It was clearly one of those games that they just wanted to eke out and win, whereas your team just seems like we're scoring 30-plus points every game

and come get us. Look, we did a smart thing with Ezekiel Elliott, and I know now I'm going to get chipped because I'm not backing Dak enough, but we said we have too many holes in our defense, so why don't we draft a running back to eat up the clock? And it's proven to work. It's like the defense is on the field two drives less per game or one and a half drives per game less, and that's three minutes in time.

That's huge, and that's how we're beating teams. I'd like to thank Andrew Luck for sitting out Thursday night with the concussion protocol because I don't know if my wife would have handled three straight football games and me just... Oh, you didn't watch? Not really. Scott Tolzien. I've watched Scott Tolzien. Didn't need to really watch that one.

It was okay. He had a couple end zone picks or close to... No, actually, there weren't. They went on fourth down and didn't get it. It could have been closer than it was. Sure. Okay. No, I was glad. I had the Steelers on a teaser. There's like 12 Scott Tolzien's in the league that can look competent most of the time,

but they're still going to have those three plays. Unfortunately for Houston, Brock Osweiler's worse than all of those quarterbacks. Good Lord. What do you do with that? And what do we do with these? I think we should just go through all the games and as we go through them, hit some of the subplots.

Yeah, there's a lot to say on some of these. By the way, you went 3-0 in Cousin Sal's shirt thing on Facebook. Congrats on that. Thank you. You needed it. It's a bipolar season. 0-3 last week, 3-0 this week. But I had the Giants over the Browns.

Giants were dying to blow that game. They really wanted to. Couldn't do it against the Browns. They really couldn't, and it ended up being JPP with a pick six He's got like half of a hand That was unbelievable Beckham ran one back and was dancing Isn't that enough of those

Three out of four runbacks Are called back from a flag So before you decide to dance Just turn your head and see if there's any yellow Or look at the scoreboard I will say this though For some reason I was watching a lot of that game because i was going against eli and fantasy i'd throw prior yeah and it was just a mess but like in a fun way

yeah but uh but the the the kick return i can't remember his name he fumbled for the giants it was uh rainy right so they brought in in Odell as kind of their punt returner. I mean, if they decide to do that during the playoffs, like imagine your team playing the Giants in the playoffs and Odell is back there getting punts. That is not fun for anyone. No, I don't want to play the Giants. And I don't like what they're doing.

I don't like what their fans are doing. They're slow playing this. Like, oh, we're not that good. We're going to be in five in two weeks. Eli's bad. Their one play away went like a 70-yard bomb to Beckham every game. Like, they're doing – listen, let's not forget, the Giants Super Bowl teams were not great teams.

They're not 15-1 teams. They were just like this, maybe a little worse. And the defense is getting better. The coaching was a little better on those teams. I am still not sold on Ben McAdoo. It's hard for me to imagine him winning the Super Bowl, but I can see them sneaking in. I mean, I can see anyone sneaking in.

Your team gave about 500 yards to Kirk Cousins. It's not pretty. And you're like the prohibitive NFC favorite. Let's talk Broncos, Chiefs quickly, and then we'll go to the Week 13 lines because there's some great ones. Yeah, that really was. And Collinsworth pretty early was like,

9-3, that might be enough. And I agreed with him watching it. And then all of a sudden we end up at 27-24. That's why Vegas can't make these over-unders any lower than 40. I think it was 40. And it ended up in the mid-50s or whatever it was. But, yeah, that game had everything. It really did.

It was like a great playoff game. It was close back and forth. If you had the Chiefs, I felt bad for you because you should have been covering the whole game. And then you needed that goal line call at the end with Tyree Kill. Well, then you were down eight. And then all of a sudden you're going in for the tying touchdown. Then you're down two. You win the bet.

But now the Chiefs are going for two. Right. And now it goes into OT. It's like, I won the bet already. You're rooting against the two. And then Denver has the ball. It's like, oh, they can win by six. Yeah.

It was a great gambling game. Awesome. And they over-under fight. And I didn't know anyone who didn't have like Carlos Santos or someone in fantasy or Emmanuel Santos.

Great, great like January type game. Also had an unbelievable moment when NBC, and I actually thought they handled this very well when they had to talk about Tyreek Hill

because he had just been awesome in the game and they clearly in the booth were like, fuck when they had to talk about tyreek hill because he had just been awesome in the game and they they clearly in the booth were like fuck we gotta talk about how he repeatedly punched his pregnant girlfriend and tried to strangle her and that's why he was a fifth rounder instead of first rounder so let's go to michelle toffoy first and then then collinsworth and tariko will very carefully talk about this and then we'll kind of go back but tyreek hill was amazing and he is arguably one of the one of the top five most despicable guys in the league yeah sure they didn't really know what to do and they're like oh it was first time three touchdowns three different ways since gail sayers is like yeah but that guy punched his pregnant girlfriend gail sayers like

oh what no not me really berman was so excited to say gale Sayers' name. Can we relate this to Gale Sayers somehow? Gale Sayers is his guest today. Gale Sayers and Mike Ditka reunited. We never played together. Herm Edwards looks like he wants to kill Berman. I'm sorry. Every time he looks over there. It's tough.

I can see the producers between segments like, your sneering is at a 10. Can we bring it down to like a 5 or a 6? Because it's really starting to show. Berman talking about who was he talking about? Someone was running back a kick. I missed Berman last night.

Ricochet Rabbit. Like a 50-year-old cartoon reference. And then followed it up with the Energizer Bunny. The 30-year-old commercial reference. He's getting better. It's improving. So that Broncos-Chiefs game. Yeah yeah would you have kicked the 62 yarder that was the big conversation this morning i don't get on him i don't think it's a terrible move i think he was playing for

the division rather than for the wild card and as tate points out now denver is seven they're behind miami in the wild card they didn't want to be a game and a half behind oakland so he's playing for the win. Punting is like kind of a pussy move that's like not even an option. The only thing I would have done is I think I'd run on third down, get him closer, get it to like 58 yards or something. That was my problem with that series was that the three plays leading up to that decision were terrible.

Because they're in the 44th first down their home. Right. Like, come on. Knock it off. Finish it. Right. But run it a little they go to michelle tofoya i guess said yeah we talked to uh was it brandon mcmanus before the game he

said he's good from 60 he's like well now this is 62 and it's probably nine degrees colder than it was when the game started i would not have done it yeah i know everybody's like you can't play mom it's like it was 38 degrees it It's a 62-yard field goal. You punt and take the tie. I would have punted. And take the tie. How many timeouts did they have? They had one.

And they called it right before the kick. I would have punted. Yeah. You take the tie. I think. But then you're a game and a half behind the Raiders. I'd rather have that than losing. I guess so, yeah.

I don't kill them for that, though. I would say a 62-yard field goal in 38-degree weather after having been out there for four straight hours with the pressure Sunday night. If it was like they're playing Jacksonville on a Sunday at 1 o'clock and it's 60, I see it. Such a great game. I just thought it was too risky. Well, how about that game almost went five quarters and Andy Reid didn't screw up at all? I know. That's the most spectacular moment.

I thought for sure he was going to screw up the two-point or something. Something, but no, Reid didn't screw up at all. That's the most spectacular moment. I thought for sure he was going to screw up the two-pointer or something. Right. Something. But no, he did it. The field goal kick and the choice and all that stuff kind of obscured the real problem, which was that they're up eight with two minutes left against Alex Smith. Yeah, it's true. With the alleged best

defense in the league. And he just kind of mowed them down. What did he have it was they had to get to the four yard line for that first down it was like third and 13 and tyreek hill snuck out he got out of bounds like how do you give up a third and 13 to alex smith you can't throw a pass more than 10 yards we do a lot of we kill a lot of quarterbacks and gms and coaches but alex smith you'd like to apologize to well just? Well, just for this week. Mind that he was awful against Tampa like eight days ago.

So let's not forget that. But that's a crazy game to not have one mistake. And Alex Smith, he didn't have one. And Simeon was great too. Simeon was. Those bone-crunching hits every play. Do you feel like the Raiders, everyone's having the Raiders run away with this division. I thought those two teams, they have some grit that the raiders don't have i think both of those teams are better than the raiders yeah and in fact i have the odds for that

division for you let's see it oakland plus 110 they're nine and two casey plus 140 They're 8-3 And then Denver is plus 550 So Oakland has Home for Buffalo at Kansas City On a Thursday night That's brutal And already lost to Kansas City At San Diego, home for Indy at Denver

And they literally could lose three of those I would say in three of those They're not going to be favored So then you have KC at Atlanta this week Oakland Thursday night Literally could lose three of those. Yeah. I would say in three of those, they're not going to be favored. Right. So then you have Casey at Atlanta this week, Oakland Thursday night, home for Tennessee, home for Denver Sunday night at San Diego. That feels like three and two. Then Denver at Jacksonville at Tennessee.

But then the last three are tough. Home for New England where we lose there a lot. That's been probably Brady's least favorite stadium. That's a tough one. At Kansas City on a Sunday night, home for Oakland. It's amazing. That could be 4-1. They could end up at 11-5. Well, let's see, yeah.

Oakland could end up at 11-5. And if KC goes 3-2, they end up at 11-5. And then it comes down to some crazy tiebreaker thing, which I think would be bad for Denver. I think it would be bad, yes, because they're 1-3. Because they've already lost to KC and they lost to Oakland.

And KC beat Oakland and beat Denver. So confusing. So Denver, basically, they have to run the table, I think, to win the division. But I think they're going to make the playoffs. That's why they're 4-1. You said 5-1? They're plus 550. Wow.

At gunpoint, I think I would bet on KC because I'm not sold on Atlanta. I think KC's the best thing. Atlanta. Well, they basically have to win in Atlanta this week. Oh, I see. To realistically win this division. I think they're better than Atlanta. Here's what's interesting with this week. Seven teams, by my estimation,

are traveling over 2,000 miles. Is that true? I love that you look at that shit. I'm all over it. But it's going to kill us. I'm going to convince you to do some kind of dumb teaser. But we'll see.

What we should mention is now week 13. And we're going to hit the Lions in a second. But this is when it gets cold. And this is when football changes, and everybody forgets this. You're not having the 500-yard passing days anymore. Right. Yeah, you might see some missed extra points now and then.

It's going to be a very different game. Gostkowski. He was one of the only reliable things in my life. That's why I think you were toying with that team, the Jets. What do you mean? I just felt like you were toying, like, well, we'll miss a field goal. Gronk, you come in for a series and sit out. Let's just have fun.

I was scared of Fitzpatrick when we didn't get the two-point. We get the two-point, and then they roll, like a rolling I've never seen in my life, where the guy's whole body is inbounds, but he stepped out of bounds in the end zone, but the ball wasn't totally over yet. It made sense, but I've just never seen it. I don't think we'll ever see that angle again where the player's coming straight at you.

It's like, God forbid he just reached out with James White. So you have to be very athletic to not score in that play. So we're down five with no pass rush against Fitzpatrick, who stinks against every other team but the Patriots. And I was concerned. I had financial reasons to be concerned. I was concerned because it was my team. And then Chris Long out of nowhere. Great play.

The defensive lineman actually makes a play in the Patriots. But we have no pass rush. Yeah. And our defense isn't very good. It's just not. It's not a very good defense. You don't want to play either of those teams we saw last night. I don't think the Patriots are.

But they have trouble. Brady would scramble all play either of those teams we saw last night. I don't think the Patriots are... But they'd have trouble. Brady would scramble all night against either of those two teams last night. It would be trouble. I think we're going to look back at that KC Denver game and maybe think that we didn't learn or we didn't gleam enough from it because it was so well played. I mean, we've seen so many shitty games this year. That game, Dallas-Washington was super entertaining.

I wouldn't call it like a like a football classic it was just fun it was good offensive football but that game was like well played it was like an old school football game for everyone's well-being before every play like it was bone crunching it was oh yeah it was really great it reminded me of those old pittsburgh baltimore games yeah five six years ago it's it's amazing nobody got a concussion, I don't think, yesterday. Right. I don't think so. The protocol people were bummed.

They were ready. Maybe Kubiak had one before the last. I don't know. I wonder if they go into overtime, if he had anybody working for him, laying out all the scenarios. Like, Gary, we can't have a tie. You got to go for the win. Oh, interesting.

Because that tie really was bad for them. I know he went to Dee Camillus, the special teams coach, but it is strange because you're going to go up to your kicker and McManus is going to say, yeah, coach, I'll make it from any distance. But he was only making it from 60. Yeah, what's he going to say? Like, coach, don't do this. I can't make it.

What is the – 64 do you punt? It's 63. I just wonder what number in his head he had it where he was going to punt. The 38 degrees has to factor into it. Sure. Even though the NFL would not have you believe in the ideal gas law. It just, it has to. You have to factor it in.

Quickly, let's talk about youth sports. Oh, yeah. Youth sports matter. Student athletes, four times more likely to attend college and 11% more likely to graduate compared to non-athletes. Physically active kids also have up to 40% higher test scores. They're 50% less absent, despite the $3.5 billion that have been cut from school sports budgets in recent years.

And that especially affects low-income families, which are four times more likely to decrease participation in sports due to cost so programs across the country are losing funding at an unbelievable rate you can even see it here in la if you need your help join us in the quest to get green laces on sneakers across the country and help save you sports purchase a pair of sports matter green shoelaces at Dick's Sporting Goods, and $2 off your purchase will help underfunded youth sports. Go to sportsmatter.org to learn more. Swap out your laces.

Help save youth sports. Thanks to Dick's Sporting Goods. It's going to sound controversial, but youth sports is more important than education. I'm not even kidding. It really is. It is. You join a wrestling team or any team it teaches you competitiveness uh how to play fair team spirit how to work as a team you're learning obtuse angles crap you're never going to take

into the future you might get burned by a bunsen burner it's safer you put all your money into youth sports you know i I agree. Yeah. I think especially you don't have any girls. I think it's phenomenal for girls. Sure. I think to be on a team, to learn how to lose every once in a while, all that stuff is like really super valuable. I'm glad my daughter loves playing sports.

There you go. I think it's good. I mean, you know, am I envious of the kids who can just bang out seven hours of homework a night like they're doing nothing? Sure. My kid takes five hours to write a short story. But, I mean, every kid's different. Yeah, exactly.

Gravitate to what your kid's like is the one thing I've learned as a parent. Yes. And one of the reasons my son will be living at home until he's 40. All right. Week 13 Lions. And we have a great Thursday night football game compared to what the other games have been. This isn't a great game,

but at least there are stakes and at least the Cowboys are involved. The Cowboys are a ratings machine. They are. They've single-handedly staved off the ratings crisis. This is big. Actually, I think their ratings are way up since the election.

Way up. The two biggest games. The $35 million for Thanksgiving, the Sunday nights have been up. I don't think the overall ratings are up, but I think the signature games, the ratings are really good. So, I have

Cowboys plus four at Minnesota. Let me find your lines, because you send it to me as I'm walking up here. Well, I have it there all here. All right. Well, I had four also, and it is exactly four. Okay. I mean, I send you my lines at like halftime of the Sunday night game. I like to read stuff and make sure nobody got hurt.

You like to read your Twitter. You just jump the gun. And say, what do you think, Bill? The Patriots are giving 13 and a half. No, I do not read the Twitter. I stay away from all that stuff. I don't think the Vikings can score enough to win this game. Sam Bradford.

First of all, the fact that they didn't win that Thanksgiving game was kind of amazing, but at the same time not amazing because you knew how it was going to play out if you'd watched the Lions all year. But Sam Bradford, I've just never seen anything like it with the checkdowns. Alex Smith will at least go deep every once in a while. Sam Bradford's like, I'm just throwing four yards every time.

I don't care if it's third and eighth. No, it's not even the tight end over the middle. It's not even Rudolph. It's a little three-yard out. Yeah, and it doesn't matter. I mean, he set a record for two-yard passes, I thought. But maybe one of the reasons he does that is because when he tries to throw it longer, something bad happens, like the Lions get in the pick.

But the one time you don't want him to do something dumb is the time he did something dumb. Yeah, exactly. Third and seven, after the whole game of just being carefully sucking the life out of his team with low risk. And then I'll say. They have to win one of those games. I like Coach Zimmer, maybe a tiny bit overrated at this point, to not win one of those Lions games. He lost one in overtime. The Lions drove on him like a month ago, went down the field in like no time.

And then this one, like they just had it. I don't know what to make of this Lions team either. I totally support your Mike Zimmer little dig there. And I'd also like to throw some heat at Bruce Arians. Because that Cardinals team, which I watched a lot of the last two weeks, super sloppy. They seem like they don't practice. Anyone out there who's watched

the Cardinals, how many times has Palmer thrown to somebody who went the other way and they're like, oh, miscommunication. He's not on the same page with blank. He's not on the same page with any receiver he has. They have these dumb penalties. They're like the master of the second and nine holding penalty to bring

back the 25 year play. And it's just it. I think that's the sloppiest team in the league. They're built like those old Raiders teams that would just shoot themselves in the foot all the time. That's what that Cardinals team does. They also have no fight in them in the second half. They totally rolled over in the Atlanta game. They just they're a mess.

Palmer looks like he doesn't want to be there. I would. Fitz. Yeah. Fitz. Yeah. I thought that I thought yesterday was going to be the Fitz. Like I put Fitz doesn't want to be there. Fitz. Yeah. I thought yesterday was going to be the Fitz game. I put Fitz in my DraftKings lineup yesterday. I thought that was one of those Fitz games.

Right. Where he just gets like 12 catches for 180 yards. He's like, I'm not letting our season end. Right, yeah. And they barely went to him. I thought that with them and the Panthers, it was the same thing. And this David Johnson, everybody was ready to anoint him as the next guy. Now they started stacking the line and just blitzing every time. But I think he had almost 100 yards receiving, right?

He did. They had to keep rolling him out in the passing thing. There's no lanes for him. I don't know what it is with that team. Is this our Don Julio shot game? No, we have to pick either tonight's game or the Thursday. Right, right. So what's tonight?

So tonight is Green Bay minus four over Philly. We won it last week, right? Didn't we both have the Raiders over Houston? We've won almost every week. We were lucky to have that. That was a miraculous win for the Raiders last week. It's fine. Really?

I don't look at miraculous. I just look at did we win the bet or not. We won. We won. The two terrible spots? They covered. We won. No, I know.

But the Hopkins touchdown. Just what were the results? We won. I didn't feel good about that one but okay I felt great alright so what do we want to do I think we're like

eight and three with the Don Julio oh not me you are I'm the other way I think Don Julio the world's original

handcrafted tequila multiple unique tequilas including Don Julio 1942 the best luxury tequila you will ever drink so I

would rather go with go with your boys on thursday than either of the teams tonight but i'll defer to you you've been hotter well i feel like i'm gonna jinx the cowboys because i'm finally on board big time with oh they're gonna win they're gonna cover minnesota stinks can i just do simple math for you yeah go ahead how many points can the vikings score in that game i know i know it's actually the perfect team for you to play because you can throw on the Cowboys, and yet the Vikings can't throw. Right.

So what are they going to do? And then on the other side, you should be able to get to 28 points as always. I'll take the Cowboys with you, but I'm going to tell you who I would have taken. I just never would have convinced you to jump on this. Green Bay tonight. Over Philly. Because Wentz isn't playing well? It's our only chance

to win this Detroit oh Detroit not making the playoffs I think Green Bay's terrible no I know I agree but it's our only chance I think that we'll take Dallas for the Don Julio shot you could have talked me into Philly because I think that Philly line is like three points wrong it's just it's all Aaron Rodgers and the fact that he's in commercials and the fact that he's had success in the past and has no correlation with anything that has actually happened in the league this season. You think so?

Philly is a well-rounded team that's played a really tough schedule that has hung in every game. And why should I think Green Bay is going to beat them by seven? By seven? What do you mean? Four is like, once you're up by four,

it's like you're going to be, you're not going to win by five or six. Like, you're up by four it's like you're gonna be you're not gonna win by five or six like you're gonna philly's favorite philly's favorite yeah philly's favorite yeah the game's in philly yeah it's in philly oh i screwed up wait so we could have philly minus four yeah well you you just liked him at plus four but we passed on him no i i don't here's my i liked him at plus four in green bay i forgot it was in, I don't. Here's my thing. I liked him at plus four in Green Bay. I forgot it was in Philly. Here's what I think. Green Bay.

Let's stay away. All right. Well, we'll stick with Dallas. But I think if Green Bay goes up 7-0, then you're like, oh, my God, it's Carson Wentz, it's Darren Sproles, and Matthews. That's what I have to come back. Did you see what their inside linebacker situation is, though? Green Bay?

Yeah. It's a disaster. I know. This could be like the Darren Sproles-Zachert show. Yeah, maybe it is. It's a good stay away. Well, don't listen to me, because I thought the game was in Green Bay? It's a disaster. This could be like the Darren Spurls, Zach Ertz show. Maybe it is. It's a good stay away. Well, don't listen to me because I thought the game was in Green Bay. Well, we're going Dallas.

We're going Dallas. Here's Sunday. I think your team wins 30-13. I'll take it. I'll take it. But can I just mention, I get a lot of crap for the Dak Prescott. I'm not behind him because I'm a Romo guy. Someone mentioned to me, you and Joe House laughed at me

when we did our preseason pod, and I said, the Rams would love to get that first pick over. They would take Dak Prescott over Goff. Let's hear a little of you laughing. Ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, cousin Sal. So funny. You should have your own hbo comedy special with that kind of logic that's what you said that's what i said and you know the rams would go for that now dak prescott it was absurd when you said it

now i have dak prescott as the mvp i know do. I got in a big argument with Kevin Clark and Mays about it this week. I'm texting. Good natured argument. But I just think the Dak MVP case has to come down to he's the backup quarterback. So he comes in to replace the starter and he goes 10-1. I have to compare him to whatever situation that would have been with any other backup quarterback. Scott Tolzien comes in for Andrew Luck, and they lose by 21. Dak comes in for Romo, and the team got better.

I understand. That has to factor into it. I understand. No other team other than maybe Garoppolo could have had a backup come in and hold the fort like that. Right. It's his job. Let me ask you this. He's most valuable.

As lucky as the Cowboys were to get him, he's very lucky, too. All the teams that passed on him. It's definitely not 10-1 with the Browns, right? He's not even playing if the Raiders draft him instead of Connor Cook. He doesn't even see the field. No. Same thing with Denver. I don't even think he sees the field.

I mean, he doesn't have 11 games. It would have been a nice battle between him and Simeon. Yeah, he wouldn't play 11 games, though, I don't think. No. Who else passed on him? All the Rams. He's not going to be 10-1. Maybe the Eagles. Maybe the Eagles. He's not gonna be 10 and 1 maybe the

eagles maybe the eagles he's 10 and 1 it's tough but brady is 3 to 1 mvp prescott and elliot 4 to 1 and matt ryan 4 to 1 people love dak prescott oh i know when he threw that cup and it didn't go in the garbage he went to get it people were like what a good guy and if he picks up garbage if you don't think that was a publicity stunt. Yeah. Is Dak second in the cameras? I'm going to miss this. I still think Romo is heard from.

Maybe this game. Maybe Thursday night. Dak sprains an ankle or something. I hate to root for an injury. Here comes Romo. How about this for an MVP? Dan Bailey for the Cowboys. One of three starting kickers who hasn't missed an extra point.

That seems to be more important than anything these days. Justin Tucker tucker's getting some mvp consideration yeah all right sunday sunday so two teams on bys tennessee six and six they were three and three four and four five and five and now they're six and six because they can't win two in a row and cleveland they deserve a break oh and 12 and uh something else imagine no division games this week. Oh. Very strange. AFC South, Houston minus 120. With a quarterback who's basically... I mean, he might get replaced

by Tom Savage this week. I didn't even know Tom Savage was on the Texans until Lombardi mentioned this a month ago. 12 touchdowns, 13 interceptions for Roswell. And he's running around like he has prosthetic legs or something. He has no mobility at all. I think he was better when they had the laser pointer in his eyes Monday night. Might have been.

It made him tired. I've got to say, I'm going to admit defeat on this. I thought Osweiler was going to be... I thought that was a good move by Houston, but I was basically basing that on that one Sunday night game he played well against the Pats. Right. Just missed.

Just wrong. Why wouldn't this guy be good? That's why I'm Pats. Right. Just missed. Just wrong. Why wouldn't this guy be good? That's why I'm not an NFL champ. So Houston's minus 120. Tennessee's plus 180. Indy is lurking at plus 500. And it feels like 8-8 is going to win that division. Mike Sando wrote that today on ESPN.

I think I agree with him. I think that there's an 8-8 division winner lurking in that. And that's all tiebreakers, too. That'd be all tiebreakers. And Luck has beaten Tennessee twice. He'll beat Houston once, and they'll get the tiebreaker. He did beat Tennessee twice, yeah. He did.

You want Tennessee in there because they're the most exciting of the teams, right? I guess. Their defensive backs are atrocious. I know. For them to let the Bears back in like that. The Colts lost to—oh, the Texans beat the Colts. But the Colts have beaten the Titans twice. Right. They have to play them on the road. They have to go to the Colts lost to... Oh, the Texans beat the Colts. But the Colts have beaten the Titans twice. They have to play them on the road.

They have to go to the Colts. Yeah, they have to... Houston plays at Indy the week after this. Yeah. So, who knows? I don't trust any of those teams. I'll tell you when I trust them is when we're betting against them in round one. That's when we have to do it.

That's going to be fantastic. Who's the five? It could be... That could when we have to do it. That's going to be fantastic. Who's the five? That could be Casey at Indy. Casey or Oakland at Indy. I feel like we've won money the other way in that game. Didn't we have? That was one of our best bets, right? Casey killed him, right?

No, didn't we have the luck, the big luck comeback? Oh, right, right, right. The game Jamal Charles got the concussion. Right. But who did Kansas City beat by like 40 last year? They went on the road. That might have been Indy. No, Indy didn't make the playoffs.

It was Houston, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was Houston. Yeah. All right. Sunday, Miami at Baltimore. Okay. I have the Ravens by three.

Color me in the group of people not exactly buying this Dolphins team. I'll do respect. I had four, and it's three and a half, so we're going to split that one. Hey, do you think—would you believe me if I told you I waived Devontae Parker like three weeks ago right before he became one of the best young receivers? Yeah. It's been that kind of year for me. I believe you.

You were riding high. You were on fire, and then you lost this week, right? The bottom line is I spent $50 on Grok, and he's played four games. Yeah. He's killing me in another way, too. I have Ezekiel Elliott, Russell Wilson, Grok, Doug Baldwin, Terrell Pryor. My team's really good. You blame it on Tate.

He was right next to you. He was advising you the whole time. He was just concentrating on chicken. Eating chicken. He wasn't concentrating on updating our pool that's for sure it's really i was thinking of like a i trust so-and-so around the pool more than tate but it got it got sketchy i mean brad would have done a better job i'm in swimming pool i was trying to oh but no i didn't even the examples were bad okay but uh dolphins won six in a row they had three linemen out i

don't trust them either. Those linemen better get healthy quickly. I switched my pick in our pool to the Niners at the last minute when I saw those three linemen out. That was like a massacre. They basically lost their three most important linemen. I was amazed the Niners even... I know. That's one that Tannehill's usually down on his back 12 times.

But three of the last five are on the road yeah Baltimore Arizona at Jets at Buffalo and then like we said New England the game might not matter yeah I think the game's gonna matter because I think we lose to Denver in week 15 and we're gonna need week 17 for the round one for the the one seed. I think that game will matter. All right, there you go. San Francisco at Chicago. Oh, God. I thought Kaepernick was fun yesterday. Yeah, he was.

I think he's like 90% back to looking like Kaepernick. He hasn't given up on the 1-10 team. That's for sure. It's not like he has a great supporting cast, but I thought... As far as betting goes, I'd rather bet San Francisco, Chicago, any of these teams more than the Jaguars, Cardinals, all these teams that kill us every week. Well, the Niners are on a really rare streak right now. What is it?

Three straight weeks where they've won. I'm sorry, three straight weeks where they've lost, but they covered. Interesting. They lost by three to the cards i had that one they lost by 13 to the pats that was close depending on when yeah i guess that depended on which way and then yesterday with the with the dolphins they covered that one well what are they what what do you think for this one and then see your number for which bears by three The Niners? Bears by three. You're going to get it. I said three and a half, and it is three.

I have to say something that I don't think anyone else will say on a podcast today because it's so relevant. I'm almost ashamed to say it. I thought Matt Barkley looked pretty good in that game. I was just going to ask you. I saw enough of that game because I like Tennessee, and I was just kind of flipping around. It was know they it was like a record they had 10 drops 12 12 10 i'm sorry you're right 10 including the game-winning touchdown yes twice right on the last drive they dropped

two different game-winning touchdowns i don't think people realize how stupid it was that the titans won that game yeah but matt barkley looked good i mean a lot of it was maybe garbage time tennessee didn't care but i guess tennessee's got terrible secondary i don't want to say like i i'm in on matt barkley but i think if he plays well against the niners which you should there might be a little matt barkley well let me ask you this i was going to ask you this way you're starting a team next year you have to use one of these five current quarterbacks who played for USC. For USC.

For USC. Matt Leinart. Well, he's not. I'm not picking him. Don't pick Leinart. Kessler. Okay. Sanchez.

Yeah. Castle. Palmer. Or Barkley. Carson Palmer? Carson Palmer. Oh, definitely Matt Barkley. He's by far the best of those five.

That's so crazy. I agree with you, but it's based on two drives. I thought he looked good. He was throwing BBs. Well, congratulations, Bears fan. I think you have a QB. What is, you know, because the Bears fans, none of them like Cutler. What's the best way for them to get rid of Cutler?

Oh, man. I don't know. What would be the most vicious way they could do it? Maybe they could dig up audio of him on a bus with Billy Bush. No, no, that doesn't work. But they should get rid of him before the end of the season, right? Like send him packing after week 15. Yeah, and let me say something to Bears fans.

Take a page out of the Lions. I think any team in 2017 can win the division except for the Browns. I really do. Because look at the Lions. They were three injuries away. The Lions are terrible. They're three injuries away from winning the division. And it was Adrian Peterson. It was three injuries away. The Lions are terrible. They're three injuries away from winning the division. And it was

Adrian Peterson, it was Eddie Lacy, and it was Clay Matthews. And then, now they're going to win the division because they had a third-place schedule. They're probably like 25-1 to win the division. Bears, you're in it. I will say, as bad as the Lions are, they do have a confidence in the last

10 minutes of these games. They've done it so many times now, they think they're going to pull it out. I think the Lions fans should be really proud, because normally they just have terrible luck. And this time, they have no running game whatsoever. They just have theoretic on screen passes. That's bizarre how they're doing this. It's unbelievable, and I don't understand how their defense

is holding anyone under 20 points. Well, let's go to their game, because I don't think they're going to hold this offense under 20 points. Detroit at New Orleans. Saints by four and a half. I was way off on this. You're right. It's five, and I said one and a half. So you're going to get that one.

That was a phenomenal subplot in the Saints-Rams game yesterday. I didn't realize there was bad blood with greg williams right they ran a wide receiver like option pass they were up 14 in the fourth quarter i was like it was one of the best fuck you moments in a long time 21 they were up 42 oh that's what it was yeah they ran a wide receiver option pass i'm 21 i was like wow you're really not hiding a trick play here that you could use maybe down the road. Was there a handshake or there wasn't? I didn't see it. There probably wasn't, right? I don't know. But the Saints seem like they're having

fun, you know? I'm going to miss them in the playoffs this year because they are, they sling it, breeze. Are we sure they're not going to make the playoffs? Well, I don't, I think they could outscore every one of the teams they played. Detroit at Tampa Bay, at Arizona, Tampa Bay again, and at Atlanta.

They'll probably stumble once or twice and end up 9-7 or 8-8. I don't know why I didn't bet on Tampa yesterday. That was my favorite game. I was so scared of the slate this week because I didn't know whether it was – the whole thing felt wonky to me. Well, yeah. And then after all the favorites ended up pulling it out in the early games, I stayed away from Tampa.

But I don't know, man. Eight favorites won early on. And then I have guys I'm watching. They're like, do you like Seattle, New England teaser for the afternoon? I said, no, I do not. Vegas is going to make someone pay here. Eight favorites won the early games, but really like four of them could have lost

in the last five minutes. If you go to Tennessee on a two-team teaser, you were lucky. It was a much stranger game than the actual outcome, or day than the actual outcomes. But this Tampa team, you know, they played Atlanta. They played the Broncos.

They played the Panthers. They played the Raiders. They played the Falcons, the Chiefs, the Seahawks. They're pretty seasoned now against good competition. They had three wins against playoff teams. Atlanta, KC, and Seattle. Their defense dominated that Seahawks game. Really good. The Seahawks

couldn't do anything. And let me say this. Yeah, they run the ball. Doug Martin's back. Mike Evans, top three wide receivers in the league, I think, right now. I think maybe Julio's bumped now the lab now Hopkins is definitely bummed oh yeah but I would the last two years with Evans he was open and he would just drop him remember he would always drop these big this year he's making all the catches in traffic and he's physically imposing he's a monster you can't you

can't cover him 10 touchdowns 1020 yards can you remember a wide receiver taking it to the Seahawks secondary like that from a physical standpoint? I felt like he dominated them a little bit physically. Yeah, probably. Quick break, talk about SimpliSafe. This is big. If you want to protect your home this winter, take a seat, take a breath, listen up.

Right now, SimpliSafe Home Security having its biggest deal ever. Protect your home, save big, get $200 off their exclusive holiday package. $200. I repeat. With Simply Safe, you don't have to worry about burglars casing your house. You don't have to worry about weird noises at 3 a.m. Simply Safe protects your family with 24-7 professional security monitoring and enough sensors to defend your entire home for just $15 a month.

That's less than half of what the other guys charge, by the way. But having it, you can save up to 20% on your home insurance, too. Try SimpliSafe right now. Get your $200 off today. Nice. At SimpliSafeBS.com. Go now. This sale ends very soon.

That's SimpliSafe with two S. Once again, that is SimpliSafeBS.com. 200 bucks off. You can take the $200 you saved, put it right on your porch, and no one will take it because you have simply said. You can put it in the window. Yeah, spread it out.

I thought you were going to say put it on the Bears minus three. Yeah, you could do that too. The 49ers. Matt Barkley, the best USC quarterback right now. Oh, poor USC. All right, Houston at Green Bay. I have a quick tangent about the Michigan OSU game because I watched the second half in the overtime.

We have to come up with a word. People are like, epic, classic. That game was terrible. That game was horribly played. That's a good word. It was dramatic. It was really, really awesomely dramatic. It was everything you want from a game like that.

It was really, really awesomely dramatic. It was everything you want from a game like that. It was horribly played. So we need a word that's like horribly played, but super dramatic. I don't know what that word is. Let's think about it. Feel free to tweet us. Okay. Sal checks. Sal likes checks his Twitter posts.

Horrible, but dramatic. Horrible, but dramatic. What about- Was that compelling? Maybe compelling is the word? What do they call Skip and Shannon's show? Compelling. All right.

That's what it is. By the way, I think there's a lot of talk about putting a chip in the ball to measure the first down and everything. Yeah, that makes sense. Have Skip and Shannon decide. They can't decide on anything. Just have them argue until, oh, it's delightful. They're going to decide on something. They'll figure it out.

They'll figure out something. All right. It's the hottest seat in sports right now. It really is. Houston at Green Bay. Houston at Green Bay. I hate this one because Green Bay season might be over after tonight. Yeah. It might be done. Houston season,

even though they're the favorite to win the AFC South, is also done. It's over. I have the Packers by three and a half at Green Bay. It went a little light. I said four and a half and I got it. It is four and a half. That's ludicrous.

The Packers are awful. When does Sam Shields come back? Is he back this week? Is he back tonight? Is it this week? I wasn't sure. When their defense is healthy, they are worth a reevaluation.

But they cannot run the ball. And it's another team Where the quarterback Doesn't seem to be On the same page With the receivers Most of the time Right He's on IR

I thought he was coming back One of these One of these weeks though He's gone for the year Sam Shields is gone for the year And Eddie Lacey Fat Eddie and Sam Shields Oh fat Eddie

Now we have fat Rob It's rough Fat Rob It could have done a little more on Thanksgiving. I think his mind was on the food after the game. Fat Rob was disappointing. Let me down. 700 yards and he didn't count for anything. I lost to Eli Manning in the Saints defense.

All right. Kansas City at Atlanta. Oh. This is birds. What do you think? Falcons with two straight weeks playing birds. What do you think? Falcons with two straight weeks playing birds. I have the Falcons by three and a half.

I think I hit it exactly. Almost. I said three. It is four, so you're closer. You're going to get that one. I don't know. Is this a letdown game for the Chiefs? No.

I think the Chiefs are really good, and they have to win this game. Yeah. Has Atlanta beaten a team that we should be super impressed by? They lost to Tampa. They beat the Raiders 35-28. That's good. Yeah, that was a good win. They beat the Saints.

Not bad. Oh, they beat Denver. Yeah, they have good wins. They score. I'm an idiot. They score. They finish off games well. Last six weeks, 24-30, 33-43, 15 against the Eagles and 38 against Cardinals.

See, the reason I think they should be concerned about this game is the Eagles legitimately beat them. They're more physical, better on defense, better special teams, all that stuff, which is kind of what the Chiefs are like. Right. So I think the dangerous game for them. I just worry about the letdown and the travel, but you could be right. Rams at Patriots. I see the letdown if the Chiefs were playing the Jaguars. Why would they let down against the Falcons? They have to win.

I guess so. I mean, Denver plays the Jaguars, so that might fit into your description there. Tyreek Hill might be let down after the 10 terrible pieces that are going to be written about him this week about what kind of guy he is. Not good. The big spotlight's going to be on that. Tyreek is the new Henry Hill. Got Rams and Patriots. I had to get that one. It took a second.

Maybe they're related. Rams at Patriots. Rams at Patriots. Rams at Patriots. I have the Patriots by 13. That might be too low. I said 13 also. It is slightly low. 13 and a half.

Okay. Now let me ask you this. Is Jared Goff good? I don't know. I have no idea. He had three touchdowns. He was fine. He was for game number two.

He was fine. For game number two, he was fine. But let's say one of your good friends came to you and was willing to empty out his kid's junior college fund and wanted to put it on a money line parlay with Alabama and the Patriots. Would you say, you're good, I don't know anything about Alabama, you're good with my Patriots. To win the title? No, just this week. Just this week to win. Is there any letdown potential in this game? I don't know enough about Alabama.

The Patriots will not lose to the Rams. They won't lose. No. Let's keep in mind though, week 13 last year and we were all over it. The Patriots lost at home to the Eagles. Remember that? Dirty secret about the Rams.

The Eagles were also 4-7 going into that game. Dirty secret about the Rams, though. Yeah. Defense isn't that good. They gave up 32 to the Bucs. They gave up 30 to the Rams. They gave up 31 to the Lions. They gave up 49 to the Saints. Their defense is good when they play shitty offenses. Well, they played Seattle. They gave up 31 to the lions they gave up 49 to the saints their defense is good when they play

shitty offenses well they played seattle they gave up nothing they played seattle in week two when wilson was hurt and the offensive line all that stuff the panthers that team scores no i know what you're saying i just think i think you can move the ball on them and it seems like they quit when things aren't going that way all All right. Sorry, kids. I'm doing it. Okay. That was me. Detroit. Did we do Detroit and New Orleans already? We did. Philly and Cincinnati.

Speaking of teams that quit, it's Cincinnati. Oh, boy. I have the Eagles favored in Cincinnati by one point. You're going to get this. Wow. I said by three. and it's two. Oh, no, we split it. We'll split that.

Let's go Dutch on that one. The Bengals, there was about an hour in that Ravens game yesterday when it really seemed like Burfecht was going to, Burfecht Strangers was going to commit one of the most heinous offenses that have ever been committed on a football field. I was thinking there's a three-year suspension lurking for him because Steve Smith, there was just something ready to happen, but it never happened, thank God. But I do think Burfecht is, would you give me even odds for him

to get kicked out of the league before the end of the season for the rest of the year? I mean, there's six games left, five games left, he's on a losing team. even odds for him to get kicked out of the league before the end of the season for the rest of the year? I mean, like there's six games left, five games left. He's on a losing team. I just don't think he makes it through the season. Yeah. I think he's going to do something terrible.

He can't control himself. That's interesting. I love to see odds like that on something. I'll give you even odds. Even odds? Yeah. Why not? I would take the even odds.

One of us has to win this bet. It seems crazy. I think we should both win. We should find a third party to bet against. Speaking of perfect strangers, there's a new movie out. I don't know if you saw this. What is it? It's about Mike Nugent. Yeah.

The Bengals kicker. He's missed three PATs in a row. Yeah. And the story goes they cut him free. They banish him from the league. The Bengals have nothing to do with him. He becomes an FBI agent. And he goes undercover

it is on hulu you know i don't know where it is you actually can't find it anywhere because it doesn't exist okay i'm gonna be honest with you this time but he goes undercover to catch a group of surfers who may also be bank robbers oh and uh and he does in fact prove that they're bank robbers he ends up kicking in their surfboards he doesn't't get it the first time, but after like 10 kicks. And it's called the extra point break. That's what it is. And Patrick Swayze actually comes back from the dead. Patrick Swayze comes back from the dead.

That's one where Joe wanted me like a foot and a half from the mic there. It's on crackle. It's on crackle, yeah. Keanu Reeves, Busey's in it. It's great. Extra point break. The Gilmore Girls are back. They are? That's on Crackle. Keanu Reeves, Busey's in it. It's great. After Point Break. The Gilmore Girls are back. They are?

Was your family around this week to watch the Gilmore Girls? No, no. Was that on Netflix or something? Yeah, it was on Netflix. It was a big Netflix midnight Thanksgiving release. Oh, wow. Of the four extra Gilmore Girls thing. I know way too many people who are very excited. Were you watching it? No. You watched it. We're not the audience for extra Gilmore Girls thing. I know way too many people

who are very excited. Were you watching it? No. You watched it. We're not the audience for the Gilmore Girls. You've spoken too much about it to not have watched.

It's about mother-daughter boundaries. Really? Yeah, that's not... Okay. I don't know a lot about that. Yeah. All right,

Denver at Jacksonville. Denver at Jacksonville. So this is the game you were talking about that might be a trap, but Denver really needs it. Denver needs it now. Broncos by six. Okay.

I went high, too. I said seven. Four and a half. Just want to point out that the last four Jaguars games, barely lost to the Chiefs. Yep. Barely lost to the Texans. Barely lost to the Lions. Barely lost to the Bills.

They're hanging around in these games. I know. Yet Gus Bradley is the least successful football coach of all time. Yeah. By any metric of anyone who's coached for three and a half, four years, whatever that is. And they're an atrocious team to watch. If you have any amount of money on them for any of those four games, you'd kill yourself before you watch. I feel bad for the receivers because I actually think Robinson and Hearns might be good. Yeah.

But we'll never know until they're on a different team. Hearns has disappeared, right? Yeah. I thought they were good last year. I picked up Sammy Watkins in fantasy like two months ago and he somehow got 80 yards last week. Yeah. Yesterday. How does our fantasy league work?

Three teams in each division make it? No, the top, the two division winners, and then the four with the best record. You could maybe sneak in. I could maybe sneak in. Yeah, there could be like four from your position. Samuel Atkins is back. Yeah, having my other week.

All right, you have to do a plot. We have late afternoon games we're in now. Oh, so what's the best early game? Best early game, KC Atlanta. It's got to be. best early game KC Atlanta it's gotta be yeah not a ton of great ones yeah I would go with KC Atlanta Detroit New Orleans

Ravens Dolphins is a borderline loser leaves town match yeah it might even be a loser leaves town match yeah you're right what do you think of the Harbaugh holding the people on the safety play I liked it I kinda liked it they I kind of liked it. They do need to figure out the last 12 seconds of something like that.

When somebody has a lead, when they can do dumb shit like that. Yeah. Especially on a Hail Mary, you just have 14 guys out there every time. Right, right. It's so simple. It's like, we're not going to let you touch our ball. It's our ball. Yeah.

It's like, we're going to hold. It's fun, though. If that line was five and I had Baltimore and they took a safety at the end, I would have been going nuts. All right, late games, what do you got? All right, Buffalo at Oakland. It's a nice game. It's a good one.

I can't tell if Buffalo's good or not. Yeah, I know. They're definitely better than mediocre, but I wouldn't call them good either. Butch puts them in line with about 12 other teams takes them a while to get going for sure any team that can get 70 yard touchdowns and play a little defense and run the clock a little bit has to be taken a little bit seriously but i don't think their defense has you know rex has this reputation is yeah it's not as imposing as you would think it is but their offense, they do have big playmakers on offense. I have the Raiders by four in this one. We both get

this. It's exactly four. How many times do we have to see that card replay before we can figure out what the hell happened to his pinky? Nobody wanted to say, like, was he just stuck in the center's ass? I don't know what happened. It was really weird.

So my daughter got a splinter in her finger and we took it out and she cried for like 12 straight minutes as we took it out. She's like 11 and a half. It's like, you're not six anymore. I felt like that's how Carr reacted to the finger a little bit. Well, it wasn't even broken or dislocated. I mean, he came out with this black, this OJ glove. I don't know what it was.

But the answer was like, Derek Carr was screaming in agony. He said it was the most pain he's ever felt in his life. But it was a jammed finger. If you play basketball, you get those like once every three weeks. It looked like it was off. I just don't know how the hell it happened. I was disappointed. I was ready for a whole subplot of can Derek Carr play with this broken hand?

David Carr? Derek Carr. Now you got me confused. It's Derek. It's Derek. hand? David Carr? Derek Carr. Now you got me confused. It's Derek. It's Derek. Carr wears two gloves. Does he? Yeah.

He should have come out. The brother should have come out and helped out. But my dad and I were texting. We never take pleasure in other teams' injuries, but it was a pretty interesting monkey wrench for the Patriots trying to get the one seed. If Matt McGloin is now the Raiders quarterback, that would have really helped us. Yeah.

Yeah, that was a weird game. That was a very strange game. Panthers, it doesn't seem like they should be out of the playoffs. They seem too good. No, I would say if you could clinch 11 of the 12 spots, but the 12th spot was a tournament, I mean, they could never do this. You'd have to take like three weeks to play it. But they would be the most dangerous non-playoff team to be coming into, though.

Saints are right up there, too. All right, Tampa Bay at San Diego. This is another one traveling 3,000 miles. Buffalo's also traveling 3,000 miles. Tampa Bay's traveling 3,000 miles. Chargers by three and a half, I have nailed this one it's four and i don't know i wish i loved the chargers more at home because i think that would be my pick we've talked about this before multiple times they don't really have a home field advantage no so you know in the box something. Jameis is giving these great speeches after the wins.

Mike Evans. There's a toughness with that team now. I will say they scored 14 points, you know? Like, they look like they can move the ball. And, you know, you hear a thousand things, people throwing things out on Twitter or announcers like, Seahawks missed Earl Thomas yesterday on defense. They scored five points. Right.

They lost the game because they scored five points. What are we talking about here? But no, that was definitely a good win. I don't know if they can repeat under these circumstances. I will say, though, it was one of those games where the clock was moving super fast. Yeah. Like Tampa's first drive, by the time Seattle got the ball,

the only reason I noticed this was because I needed Wilson to have a big fantasy day. And he had the ball for like five plays in the first quarter. All of a sudden it was the second quarter. He had like no passing yards. And it was just like Tampa just chewed clock with whatever they were doing. They get a couple of big first downs.

Their tight end's pretty good now. They have the fastest moving clock in the league. They boast about it all the time. That was a nice win. I think we have to take them seriously. They beat the Chiefs and the Seahawks. Plus 350 to win a division, a game out, a game behind Atlanta, and they have the win over Atlanta.

You like that, Bill. Plus 350 is in Denver plus 550 are the two interesting long range ones you know i was looking at afc nfc tampa's 30 to 1 to win the nfc yeah that seems high yeah when there's no good because they could win that division yeah it's like arizona they could win the division atlanta could lose to KC this week. Tampa could be in the driver's seat. They play Atlanta twice. I feel like if they won this week,

it would be down to 20-1 or 18-1 or something. Yeah, people always misunderstand when we talk about long-range odds. We're just talking about what the best value is. I don't think Tampa's going to win the NFC. No, we never, ever have won on one of these, but we just like to talk about it. Washington's 25-1

is the other one that I thought seemed a little too high because they're going to win in round one probably. And they could go in anywhere and beat anybody. Well, they almost just went into Dallas to win, so sure. KC 10-1 seems high to me. If Tyreek Hill is going to turn into this

weapon that he seems like he's turning into on and off the field. 10-1. I don't know. That team, they have a good coach. I think they're very balanced. I love that team. Probably the most balanced of all the teams. I think Denver and KC are the

two most balanced teams. They have more grit than the Raiders. Washington and Arizona, another team traveling. Maybe better team on the road traveling balanced teams. They have more grit than the Raiders. Washington and Arizona, another team traveling. Maybe better team on the road traveling long distance. I have the cards favored by one. I love the Redskins. I said one and a half, and it's two. I think the cards are done.

So you like all these teams that are traveling. I thought the cards quit in Atlanta. Yeah. I think they're done. I think the spread from last year is built into some of these Arizona lines, too. Like, they probably shouldn't be favored in this game. I agree. All right.

Good. I just needed you to agree. I agree. I agree with you. Giants at Steelers. Maybe the game of the day. I think there's a lot of good games. We went from, like, there are no good games ever to, like, there's five good games.

Because I think Chargers box. Well, the Browns i think i think uh that's why yeah thank you chargers bucks and raiders bills are both good ones but uh i the steelers by four i said four as well it's six they need it more when do the steelers get their receivers back to where they need to be? Like Sammy Coates, he's out there playing. They're like, they can only run straight line passes because Sammy, all of his fingers are broken. Right, right, right. Ten broken fingers. I don't think it matters.

I think Antonio Brown's in a groove now and it came at the expense of the Colts. Le'Veon Bell. Wouldn't have a chance to win. That's still the team nobody with home field advantage wants to see in round one or two right the Steelers they just come in they're gunslinging have they killed anyone at home this year now they it's like a Packers thing where we're basing it on past reputation that's in that Colts game win that Colts game by 50 right they uh you like the Steelers and

the Saints on a teaser so far. I don't think there's any way the Jaguars can beat the Broncos. I just think the Broncos, D, and they need it. Yep. I would throw them in there. They should give Bortles a fit. All right, Sunday night, Carolina at Seattle. Oh, wait, before we do this. All right, go ahead.

Our friends at Sonos, we talk about them every week. The smart speaker system that streams all your favorite music to any room or every room. Control your music with one simple app on your phone or iPad or any other device. Fill your home with pure immersive sound. Sal, you could do this before the holidays. You could play different Christmas songs in each part of the house. I could do it. I love it.

Sonos brings your music together in one simple app. It's all your favorite music services. You control everything from the choice of songs to the volume to the rooms, play your music in any room or every room at once, or play a different song in the living room, bedroom, even bathroom, play the same track in every room, do whatever you want. You can't have a party without Sonos. You just can't add your existing music services or discover something new. Go to Sonos.com right now. S-O-N-O-S. Sonos.com.

Highly recommended. All right. Sunday night game. Carolina at Seattle. It's a nice one. The Panthers are a cross off. We're positive. Oh, man.

I don't want to do it yet. I know. I probably said in previous podcasts that they're gone, but they're four and seven. So they have to go nine and don't want to do it yet. I know I've probably said in previous podcasts that they're gone, but they're four and seven. So they have to go nine and seven. Have to win all five. Which means they can only

win their division. Mm-hmm. Atlanta would also have to go nine and seven, which means Atlanta would have to lose to the Chiefs. They would have to lose at Carolina

and at New Orleans. That's doable. Could happen. Tampa. I was wrong. I said Tampa. Tampa's already played Atlanta twice. Tampa is six and five.

Tampa split with Atlanta? They played them twice? Yeah. They won the first game, I know. They split with them. Okay. They split them. Tampa's got at San Diego, home New Orleans, at Dallas, at New Orleans, home for Carolina.

I mean, this is shit. They could lose at least two of those. That seems tough for Tampa, yeah. New Orleans. Disregard everything Bill said about Tampa 25-1 being good. New Orleans, home Detroit, at Tampa, at Zona, home for Tampa, at Atlanta. That's the one Tampa plays twice, New Orleans. Right, okay.

So New Orleans could go for it. We could 9-7 four-way tie in the AFC South is conceivable. Well, if they could beat Seattle, I think in Seattle, I think they could do it. So they go home San Diego at Washington Monday night, home Atlanta on a Saturday at Tampa. It's not happening. I think Seattle's like, screw this.

We're coming off a loss. Again, East Coast, East coming West. Oh, you think they mail it in? No, Seattle has to win. Seattle got crushed by them in the playoffs, right? Isn't this a revenge game a little bit? I mean, I know it ended up closer than it should have been. If you're Seattle, do you just try to get a three seed and not even care?

At this point, yeah. Do you use the rest of the season to just... Well, who's going to be a two seed? They're 7-3-1. They have a three-game lead over the Cardinals, who they tied with and get to play again in Week 16. But they also have at San Francisco in Week 17, and they get to play the Rams on a Thursday night.

They can get a two seed. Atlanta's 7-4. Seattle's 7-3-1. They could. I the Rams on a Thursday night. They can get a two seed. Atlanta's seven and four. Seattle's seven, three, and one. They could. I'm saying, though, if they're banged up, could they just start doing weird shit? Maybe. But maybe not this early.

I'll tell you one thing with Seattle that I didn't hear the announcers really mention properly. Maybe they did and I was just on another channel. I think they really missed that pro-size guy. Sure. I thought he was a dangerous third-down-back guy. Not having a running back who could catch the ball out of the backfield was a big miss for them yesterday.

Yeah, Rawls, it's not the same. Rawls, that's not what he does. He just runs the ball. But not having that whoever. Yeah, I agree. That was just a weird game. The Pats did something yesterday that I think they realized was great, and they immediately stopped doing it because they didn't want to show anything in the Jets game.

They had Lewis and James White in the backfield together. Shotgun with three receivers spread out, no tight ends, which they had to do because Gronk and Bennett were hurt. This is a Madden formation that is kind of devastating in Madden if you have the two backs because you can send the back either way. The linebackers have to go with them, and then you crisscross over the middle. You love it. It's kind of devastating in Madden if you have the two backs because you can send the back either way. The linebackers have to go with them, and then you crisscross over the middle. You love it.

It's kind of unstoppable. They did it once, it worked, and then they were like, fuck this, we're not showing this again. Yeah, yeah. But I don't know. I think with Lewis back, the Pats offensively have ridiculous options. Then you look at the flip side. The Seahawks don't have the personnel to do really anything

other than just here's Jimmy Graham, here's Baldwin, here's Curse, here's Lockett. Those are decent options, though, compared to some of the other guys. They are, but not having the safety valve is a problem, I think. The Vikings would love any of those guys. True. What would you have? This is a big line here. What would you pick?

The Seahawks by six over the Panthers. I think we split it. I had seven, and it's six and a half. So, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. We had a lot of ties today. You're up by one going into the last game, and I think you're going to get this because I was off by four points. The Jets by two and a half over the Colts.

Monday night. You are going to get it. You get it by a half point. I said Jets by three. Colts, assuming luck is back, favored by one. Oh. So you win. I don't think the Jets are that bad.

I thought they were bad earlier in the season, but I didn't think. They play hard against your team, and that's it. Maybe that's it. That's it. They looked good yesterday, though. Did you think there was a chance Belichick was going to run from the, well, they end up at the four-yard line to run up the score? Well, two weeks in a row, we haven't done it.

He doesn't hate bowls that much, right? There's two weeks in a row where the Pats passed up a cover and just did the kneel. But Blount was trying to score again on that last one. He was really going for it. He was pushed out of bounds, but I thought they might even run another play. Blount's been incredible, and I don't think people even remember that the Steelers waved him last year. Right. That's right.

He's going to rush for 1,200 yards in like 13 TDs or something. He's like a top four running back now, right? Yeah. We ran a wide receiver option pass with Chris Hogan. I don't know if you saw. I did see that, yeah. Which is like the third time in 15 years that Belichick has done that with a wide receiver. I got confused with all the Hogans in the league and which one's a quarterback and which not.

Which one's suing Gawker? I couldn't get it straight. Before we go, what was the best entertainment thing you watched over the week, over the Thanksgiving break? Best movie, best TV show, best anything. Frosty Returns. Oh, you banged out all those? Yeah. We record them and watch them, and kids have to pretend like they're seeing it for the first time.

What did you see? FXX was running a Simpsons marathon, starting number one all the way through. Oh, really? I think my kids watched at least 35 of the first 100. Yeah. It was just one of those, the next one comes on, it just never ended. It just kept going.

That was pretty cool. The best movie I saw was Don't Breathe, which is a horror movie. Oh, yeah. That I thought was excellent. Really, really good. That's in the theaters? No, it's on demand now. Or no, it's Amazon. on demand now or no it's amazon

okay that was really good uh i watched creed again that's awesome i think it's gonna age nicely oh you do yeah i think i think we're gonna really i thought it was terrific when i saw it i think it's gonna have a second cable rewatch ability thing just going that's just gonna last for a while are they gonna screw it up because there's to be another one yeah how does it how does it go my only problem with creed go bad which one does he turn bad oh creed he goes angry the only problem with creed is ricky conlon's like just not in shape i know yeah it's stupid he's pound for pound the greatest fighter pound for pound and more pounds. The other thing that was fascinating from a sports standpoint this weekend

was the boxing match with the Russian guy who's the super featherweight. Oh, I didn't see that. You didn't watch this one? No, no, no. So the other thing I watched just because I was told

by the boxing people in my life, Lomachenko was fighting on Saturday who's this super featherweight. He won gold medals in 08 in 2012. He came in to real boxing in his second fight, tried to win the title, which would have been the earliest anyone had ever won that. Nobody has ever been a 2-0 champion before. Fights this guy, Salido, who Salido, before the fight, he's like eight pounds overweight.

So they strip him of the belt. Lomachenko fights him anyway. He shouldn't have. Should have just canceled the fight. Guy comes in. He's 12 pounds bigger. Wins the unanimous decisions. Like low blowing the whole time.

So he was four and one heading in this fight. He might be the best pound for pound fighter right now. Really? He destroyed this guy Walters who i think was like 26 and 0 at 21 knockouts and was like a puncher and like and like people like kellerman were so excited for this fight what round did he beat him so at this now after the seventh round the sixth and seventh round he was beating him so badly the guy quit wow like he no-mossed it and then kellerman's interviewing him after he was like you know you kind of no-mossed it. And then Kellerman's interviewing him after, he was like, you know, you kind of no-mossed it.

Like, did you quit? And the guy was like, you know, those last two rounds, I just felt like I couldn't beat him. Wow. And at that point, you just start thinking about long-term. He had this excuse. He was basically like, yeah, I quit. I didn't want to get hit in the head anymore.

It was amazing. You see that five times a decade where the fighter just makes the other fighter quit over i'm gonna have to watch that you have to watch this guy loma chico is a beast but it shows you how great andre ward is because he knew early on that kovalev was stronger and he just figured out and he adjusted and you like all right this guy's stronger i'm just gonna try not to get killed i watched that one a second time too yeah i did too i think it's six six six six and the knockdown gives it to kovalev i think kovalev should have won by a killed. I watched that one a second time too. Yeah, I did too. I think it's 6-6. 6-6 and the knockdown gives it to Kovalev.

I think Kovalev should have won by a point. That's what I had and I watched it a second time. I didn't see how Ward won seven rounds. Yeah. Tough one. Alright, what do you have to put? That's it. Cousin Sal sure thing. 3-0 last week. I'll have another $1,000 prop bet challenge for you 9 a.m. Pacific time Friday. We're on reruns

of Jimmy Kim Alive and hit me up at TheCousinSal on Twitter. We're not on reruns with Jimmy Kimmel's email, I'll tell you that much. A lot of controversy this week. Oh yeah, with Babydoll, right? The Daily Show book. Yeah. A lot of controversy.

We're going to avoid it? I don't know if we could talk about it. I don't know. A lot of controversy. A lot of email controversy this week. Thanks to Simply Save. Save $200 off their exclusive holiday package. talk about it a lot of controversy a lot of email controversy this week thanks to simply safe save 200 off their exclusive holiday package full-on burger protection 17 sensors wireless connection 24 7 home security keep your home safe around the clock get your 200 off today go to

simply safe bs.com the sale ends soon thanks to sonos the smart speaker system that streams all your favorite music to any room or every room. Control your music with one simple app. Fill your home with pure, immersive sound. Add your existing music services or discover something new. Go to Sonos.com right now. Don't forget to check out all the other Ringer podcasts, including Tate's teed up college hoops. It's one of the reasons Tate doesn't update our ZFL polls because he's doing college hoops podcasts. You should punish him and not turn the mics off until he sends out the emails.

Oh, do you know what college basketball player I'm in love with? Who? Lonzo Ball. I fucking love Lonzo Ball. UCLA has this guy. He's like a once in a decade. This guy's unbelievable. I always heard he was good.

I actually watched him in like four minutes. I was like, oh my God. This guy's everything I want from a college basketball player. Austin Rivers when he passes. Nice. Oh, he's, come on. terrible how do you how dare you say that tate just said he's austin rivers when he passes how good is he at running uh football pools maybe we can have if lonzo ball's listening i want you to run our pool but no he's like a cross between ricky rubio the best version when Ricky Rubio was 18 in my head I ever had for Ricky Rubio, crossed with like, I don't know, like any six foot six great shooting guard.

Really? But he's like a guard, but he handles the ball and he always makes the right play. He's everything I ever wanted. All right. I'm so happy. I'm so happy to have a favorite college basketball player. Because Ben Simmons let me down last year. I was so fired up for him. And we bet LSU at 60 to one. Oh my God. And they didn't make the tournament. This'm very excited for Bill. Ben Simmons let me down last year. I was so fired up for him.

And we bet LSU at 60 to 1. Oh, my God. And they didn't make the tournament. This Lonzo ball. Yeah. We got to bet UCLA. Let's do it. All right, Sal.

Good job by you. Good job by you, Bill. I don't want to see them on the wayside. They'll say I don't have feelings with them. On the wayside I'm a bruised soul I never was And I don't have feelings within