The Bill Simmons Podcast - Ep. 160: Friday Rollin' Wild-Card Weekend With Mike Lombardi, Mallory Rubin, and Joe House

Episode Date: January 6, 2017

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by FS1's Mike Lombardi to discuss Brock Osweiler vs. Connor Cook (5:00), Atlanta's occasionally great offense (14:00), Eli Manning's mistakes (18:00), cold-weather cough-ups (21:00), Dolphins-Steelers (25:00), and Matt Moore's starting QB potential (30:00). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin joins to offer up her thoughts on why announcers call Roethlisberger by his first name (37:00), Terrell Davis in the Hall of Fame (43:00), QB cluster theories in the draft (49:00), and Alabama vs. Clemson (53:00). Finally, House hops on the line to explain why Washington sports teams continue to suffer (1:01:00) and to discuss Kyle Korver to the Cavs (1:04:00), Eric Gordon's All-Star-caliber play with Houston (1:08:00), the increased talent level in the NBA (1:10:00), and ending the NFL stink streak of 2016 (1:15:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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home page type in bs don't forget about the ringers podcast network if you love the bachelor we put up an episode of the bachelor party. Tate, is it called Bachelor Party or The Bachelor Party? Bachelor Party. Bachelor Party, hosted by Juliette Lipman. Her first guest, breaking down the first episode, my wife, the sports gal. Oh, yeah. She's pretty good, too. I was proud of her that she didn't get me fired.

And also we have on Channel 33 the Sports Movie Hall of Fame, which has two so far, Jerry Maguire and Moneyball, hosted by myself and Chris Ryan. And we have another one coming, I think, next Wednesday, which I'm excited about. So Channel 33, subscribe to that feed. And don't forget to check out TheRinger.com, not just for all our great content. We have a ton of great NFL stuff this week and some good NBA stuff, too. Kevin O'Connor went down to Houston, broke down the Rockets offense. I wrote a column that went up today, Friday, about the round one quarterbacks as well as some gambling picks. An old school NFL playoffs column.

I'm back for these four NFL playoff Fridays. Got my gambling mojo back. 29-9-2 the last eight weeks of the Super Contest. Hoping it rolls over into the playoffs. I love round one. I love these Friday podcasts before round one. Mike Lombardi, Joe House, Mallory Rubin

all coming up. Let's go. That's Pearl Jam, by the way. Check out PearlJam.com. PJ 25. It's happening. It's a big anniversary. It's happening. It's coming.

Go there to the website, PJ 25. Mike Lombardi on the line right now from FS1, from Fox on Sundays, and a lover of good and bad quarterback play. Have you ever seen anything like this? Osweiler-Connor-Cook playoff matchup. This is inconceivable. It's so good. It's so exciting.

But, you know, I think we learn a lot to coaches. I mean, look, I think this is the time of the year where coaching really matters. And how you set up the game plan and how you execute the game plan is so critical come playoff time and and i think that this is a great opportunity for bill o'brien for jack del rio to kind of script the way they need to play the game to win and and understanding that everybody's going to focus on the inability of the quarterback but there are other parts to the team that they can be successful within and they've got to find a way to utilize those so the raiders are getting four points i made my picks in the comp today

so you have two bad quarterbacks although we don't know about connor cook he might end up being like a c minus we know osweiler's bad but i like to look at the other stuff with this especially in playoff games one of the things that everybody underrates in the playoffs is special teams. Houston has the worst special teams in the league. They were 32nd in DVOA. The Raiders have a good special teams. They have an above average kicker and a great punter. They have some skilled position guys. They have a better coach, in my opinion. I think Jack Del Rio and his staff did a really good job this year. And it seems like the one hole they have is pass defense, but that's a great hole to have against this Houston team. They're actually good against the run.

I was confused by this line. I know home field advantage counts for something, but when you have a home field advantage where the crowd really doesn't like its quarterback and is ready to start griping and grumbling as soon as the game gets going, how is that a home field advantage? Well, I think that we sometimes confuse home field advantages for, you know, like home field is an advantage. It doesn't guarantee you're going to win.

There's an advantage to it, and certainly, you know, it helps to sleep in your own bed and kind of keep your routine the same. But at the end of the day, it's going to come down to what team's the better team and what team has the ability to make the plays. And we know this is not going to be a game that features a lot of dazzling plays. I don't think it's going to be the Penn State-USC game going down to the final minutes, 52-49. But I do think it's going to be a game where the chess is going to involve field position. It's going to involve when to take your chances.

And it's going to involve what defense can make the plays to create the offense on the shorter field. That's what you have to look at. And if you see this, if Donald Penn doesn't play perhaps, then Clowney has a huge advantage, and it's going to create some issues for the 49ers offense. But what I don't understand about the Raiders offense, what I don't understand about the Raiders is, look,

they have three guys in the Pro Bowl from their offensive line. They have a back that can run the ball. I mean, there's enough of a formula here, and I'm not dismissing Connor Cook's inability, but there's enough of a formula here to get this into 13 or 17 points, which is all you're probably going to need to win the game.

Right, and if you have a special teams play, same thing. Alright, this is a very important question. Belichick's coaching the Raiders. Going into this game, what does he do? Well, he's going to force them to, he's going to do Alright, this is a very important question. Belichick's coaching the Raiders. Going into this game, what does he do? Well, he's going to force them to, he's going to do exactly what he did against them. He's going to play a lot of cover two to force them to run the ball, try to get them to run the ball and play the run with a six-man front. Or he's going to put eight down there and play cover three

and force Osweiler to throw the ball outside the numbers. And I think he's going to, you've got to double Hopkins, take him away from the game, and force the ball somewhere else, force the impatience, and then pressure the offensive line, rush five. You know, when you have an offensive line that struggles to block, you can't just let three rushers. You've got to bring five. Make all those linemen block on island.

And I think the key to this game is going to be on first down, is you've got to be able to win first down. And you have to be able to get Osweiler or Connor Cook in to be on first down is you've got to be able to win first down and you have to be able to get Osweiler or Connor Cook in the hole on first down I mean that's going to be the key to the game and Houston's a good defense they're eighth in the league on on opponent first down the Raiders are not as good there in that area but you know they they can they can put more pressure because you can take more risk and so I I think that, you know, Oakland's 14th in that area. So to me, it's all first down.

Who can create the negative play early downs? And then because, look, both coaches are not going to try to take chances. Both coaches don't want to lose the game. So this is going to be a punting contest. See, I would go the other way. If I'm Houston and I'm going to have so much trouble scoring in this game just because I just think Osweiler is going to be a show of himself. How many times has a guy got booed off the field and benched and then got sucked back within a four-week span and actually had – what is he going to all of a sudden be good?

He's going to be motivated? Like I don't see it. If I'm Houston, I'm throwing the kitchen sink. I'm doing double reverses and I have Hopkins throwing passes and fake punts. I think that's the only way they're going to be able to score points. But I think they're going to do what you just laid out. I think they're going to go super conservative. And I just think the Raiders are better.

I think they have a better all-around team. So I don't get that line. Let's face it, though. They lost to the Raiders. They put 20 on the Raiders's face it though. The Raiders, they lost to the Raiders. They put 20 on the Raiders with Osweiler. Okay. The Raiders scored 27. So let's just say you're Billy O'Brien. Okay. And you had chances in that game in Mexico city. Yeah. And you held the Raiders with the high power offense, 27 points. They scored late to win the game. Okay. You're saying to yourself, look, Brock, if you just play the same way you played there, give us 20 points. You're home.

We can control the crowd. We control the pass rush with the crowd noise. You just give us that game. We'll win this game. I mean, I get the other sense. I think that now that they know they have to go to Osweiler, I think they can sell the story, the narrative of, look, you did a hell of a job for us.

We were really close. We were close to winning that game. All you've got to do is come in here and show us that you could do it like you did the week when we played them. You put 20 on the board, and we'll see how it goes. Hey, Mike, this is a guy that you compared his contract to the Lufthansa heist in Goodfellas. I just want to point that out. No, I'm glad you did.

There's no doubt I compare it to the LaTonze Ice. I think it's one of the best nicknames you could ever give anyone. However, that being said, we're trying to manage this game. And I think if you look at this game, I think you could see that. Look, you know, the last time he played them, he was 66%. He was 26 for 39. He threw a touchdown. He threw an interception.

But, I mean, he had one of his better days. But that was on the road, though. He's only thrown four picks on the road the whole year. He threw an interception. But, I mean, he had one of his better days. But that was on the road, though. He's only thrown four picks on the road the whole year. He's 12 at home. And that was before he got booed off the field. I just think he's going to go to bed tonight with the deer in the headlights. He's probably going to sleep two hours, and he's going to go into this game thinking, the first time I throw a bad pass, they're going to be on me.

I think it's insurmountable. Can we talk about – Go ahead. I mean, if Connor Cook is just completely atrocious tomorrow, that's probably Houston's best chance. They need Connor Cook to be horrible. Yeah, and I think Connor Cook's not – I don't think Connor Cook's ready for showtime.

I think this defense is going to be tough for Connor Cook to go against. I agree. They can rush the pass. They're very good. I think they'll control the game. I like Houston in the game. I think Houston's the better team because I think the Raiders haven't figured out that, you know, I know they lost their best player. There's no doubt. But there's other ways to win the game, and I'm not sure the Raiders have figured out how to do that. Kevin Clark asked me

this when we were watching football last weekend. Can you remember a more devastating injury late in the season than Carr going out? I mean, they had a legitimate chance to make the Super Bowl, and he was so important in what they did, and they really don't have a plan B. I mean, we've seen injuries like Brady got hurt in week one 2008. The Patriots were the best team that year.

I don't ever remember like a December injury crippling a team like this. Do you? No, it's really, you know, it's one of those where usually when it happens, I don't ever remember a December injury crippling a team like this. Do you? No. It's one of those where usually when it happens, the team falls off the map. But this happened so late in the season that they were already in. And I mean, look, the injury gave the Patriots the opportunity to only have to beat Pittsburgh or Kansas City and not both of them. Can we agree this is a stay away for gambling purposes? Don't bet on this game.

Just stay away. Stay away, America. I don't know how you really could because you're dealing with the unknown. And whenever you're dealing with the unknown, it's not a good thing. Well, here's something we know, and I want to skip over this game because I think Detroit's terrible. But I'm not a huge fan of the Seattle team, but Detroit is just such a great matchup for them in round one.

They can't run the ball. I don't trust Zach Center. They don't really, they're not going to be able to really pressure Wilson, which is, I think, how you have to beat Seattle. Seattle's in Seattle. I wrote in my column that I thought every year in round one, there's one team that does really well and everybody gets all excited about, oh, here they come, Bobo, and then they lose the next round.

This feels like the spot for Seattle. Do you agree or disagree? I think Seattle's a much better team. I think Seattle hasn't proven they're a much better team in the last month. I keep waiting for them to play better, but I just think Detroit's run out of gas. I think Detroit's run out of smoke and mirrors. They've won too many close games. They've been able to win late, and I just don't see enough. They can manage, like they did the Cowboy game, like they did the Green Bay game. They can keep it close, but they're a 50, 52, 53-minute team.

They can't finish. And I think the pressure, the speed, I think when you're in shotgun as much as they are, and you're playing against a team like Seattle in crowd noise, which is really going to be hard, I think it's going to be a real challenge for them. I think Seattle's a much better team here. Even though they haven't played like it, I'm going off of past performance in terms of past years, not the past couple weeks, because they played poorly against the 49ers.

They played poorly against Arizona. They haven't really played. I keep waiting for them to turn it on, but they haven't. But this is a game where I do think that Detroit just isn't quite – they don't have enough. And they show it every week that they don't have enough. And some of those 53-minute games that they should have lost, they somehow found a way to win,

and we kind of convinced ourselves that they can't. The Dallas game was eye-opening because they had guys open all over the field for four quarters. They were basically doing whatever they wanted in that game. I think they finished with 42 points, but it easily could have been 60. I don't trust the Seattle team. Well, because Dallas could block them. Yeah. Dallas could block them.

And look, they're playing. They didn't have Slay in that game, so they don't really have a corner. But even if Slay's on the field, there's matchups that don't favor them. And I think Terrell Austin has done a marvelous job defensively. I think he deserves to be a head coach in consideration because he's done a good job. But there's just not enough. I think they've outgained themselves. They're over their heads in this area. And look, down the stretch, they just couldn't close it out. I mean, you've got a home game against Green Bay. You've got to close it out. They couldn't do it. They're just not good enough right now. Their offensive line is not good enough in a run-blocking game.

They don't have a running back. You know, the only runs they get is nickel runs. I mean, people just line up and say, we're going to play nickel against you, and we dare you to run the ball. And that doesn't work in the playoffs. If you're Atlanta, you're dying for Detroit to somehow lose this game so you can play Seattle in round two and you don't have to deal with the Giants or Green Bay. If I'm Atlanta, I want to play Seattle. I think Atlanta probably doesn't want to have to play. Atlanta knows they have to win with their offense,

and they can win with their offense. So they would want to eliminate the worst defense, the best defense. So if they eliminate the Giants, that would be great for them because that's one defense that's a really good defense. But Seattle, playing Seattle at home, the matchup that Atlanta needs is really an average defense and an average offense, which Seattle has played average in both areas. Right, and they have a QB who can occasionally be great, and that's the fear with them. And they have a good coach, and they're the definition of playoff tested.

I think Wilson's played 10 playoff games in four years. This is going to be his 11th. I think that the road for Atlanta, the best thing that could happen to them is if the Giants beat Green Bay and go into Dallas and beat Dallas. Seattle comes to Atlanta. Atlanta takes care of business with them. And then all of a sudden you have maybe Atlanta, maybe the Giants come into Atlanta in round three. And I don't think the Giants can score points with Atlanta. I like their defense.

But, you know, that would be the best case scenario. Look, the Giants have had – they're 7-2 in the last nine games, okay? But when you really break down their schedule, when they've scored – they only scored 19 points, okay? When they scored 20 or under, they're 2-7 when they score under 19 points. They're 5-4 in games of under 19. They're 2-7 on the road in those games. Hold on.

Before we get into that, let's talk quickly about Miller Lite. It's brewed to be the best light beer with more taste, less calories, half the carbs. So that on any given Sunday or Saturday, because we have four football games this week, you don't have to settle for any given light beer. Great tasting, 96 calories, Miller Lite, spelled different because it's brewed different. Bonus points here because of all the beers I've had in my life,

I would say Miller Lite, probably somewhere between 50% to 60% of the entire number of beers I've had in my life. It was always my go-to for years and years and years, back when I was a fun human being. Miller Lite, spelled different because it's brewed different. All right, back to Lombardi. You and I are connoisseurs of running backs, unknown running backs, that we watch them have three carries and we immediately decide they're good and we like them by the way i like the guy on uh i meant to tell you this the guy in miami kenyan drake i think he's good i think he's like the 11th best running back in football

well he's really kind of a multi-purpose guy he could do so many different things that he kind of like when he's in the game you know it's a nickel space type play. And he's very good at that. I like him. But the reason I bring this up is Perkins is growing on me. I think he's not bad. But remember, everybody plays nickel against the Giants. Nobody ever thinks they're ever. They're always in a nickel defense.

So nickel runs can be illusional. Because when you have to throw the ball or when you line up in a six-man box, you're a nickel defense. So nickel runs can be illusional. Because when you have to throw the ball or when you line up in a six-man box, you're a player short. So there's going to be some, if you don't keep your gap integrity, there's going to be some runs that you get, not because you're a good runner in the football, just because the defense didn't do their job. So it's a little misleading, but I think Perkins is a good player. I like Perkins coming out in the draft. I thought he was a good player. And he's young, too. I think he wasn't the youngest running back in that draft.

Something like that. He was one of the, yeah. Because they were trying to get him going. I actually picked him up on my fantasy team, so I was watching a little more carefully in October, November. They were trying to get him going, but their line was doing such a poor job of run blocking that every time he got the ball, it was just tackled.

And then it seemed like as the year went along, they kind of figured out how to put him in positions to at least have some space. And he was good in Week 17. I thought he played well in the Redskins game. I like the Giants and Lambeau. I like this Giants team. I don't think they're built to beat every team in the league,

but with how good their defense has been, especially all the defensive backs they have and how well all those guys are playing, isn't this kind of the perfect team to go into Lambeau and beat the Packers? It does. The only thing I would say is it's going to

be a bad weather game. It's going to be in the low teens. But that's good for them, right? Isn't that good for them? Well, you would think so. I mean, well, I mean, you're going to have to throw the football. Eli, in the last 25 games, below 40 degrees is 34 and 31. You know, and he averages 6.9 yards per attempt. I mean, he's 34 touchdowns, 31 interceptions. I mean, it isn't like he's going to just all of a sudden turn this on. He's fumbled six times in this weather twice this year. The ball security is going to be critical for them. And my point is, on the road this year, and this is going to be a low-scoring game, and this is what the Giants need. And so if it plays

to that low-scoring game, which is what I think it will be. The Giants, the two teams that when they've scored less than 19 points, 19 or less, they've won two games. They beat Philly on the road with 19 points. I mean, they beat the Rams on the road at 17 points, and they beat Dallas at 20. So they don't score a lot on the road against these teams. The Dallas one was like 10-7. I'm sorry, they beat Washington and a lot on the road against these teams. The Dallas one was like 10-7, right? They beat Washington and the Rams on the road.

Under 19 points. Right, and then they had that weird 10-7 game against Dallas, whatever that final score was. I was impressed by them. That was at home, though. That was at home. I mean, they're really good at low-scoring games. I mean, when you look at it, they are, well, let's see here.

They're 5-4. When they score's see here, they're 5-4. When they score 19 or less, they're 5-4. They're 2-7 on the road. Their dream game is 16-13, and the one touchdown they get is Odell catches an 8-yard slant and goes for 78 yards for a touchdown. It's a one-play game, right. Yeah. Which is, they're kind of built for that.

And I actually think, I like Harris, their special teams guy. I think he can make a play. He's really good. And he can change the course of the game. But look, the last time they played the Packers, and this was a long, long time ago. This was way back in, I want to say maybe early, mid-September. Yeah, it was like October, right?

Early in October. I mean, the Packers blocked them really well. I mean, Janoris Jenkins was sensational. He had two interceptions, but Rodgers moved around the pocket. This was the game that McAdoo should have challenged the ruling that was a catch that really wasn't a catch. Remember this game? And it was a catch, but they ruled it a catch and then a fumble and they gave the ball to the Packers, which then made McAdoo have to use his timeout. I mean, this is the kind of game we're looking at. This is the kind of game that's coming down the road.

You know, and so I don't know. To me, I think, you know, everybody keeps saying Eli's going to turn it on. I just don't see it. I haven't seen it yet all year. I think the Giants' defense certainly will present problems for the Packers, but the Packersers with Jared Cook, they didn't have him in the last game, are a different team because they can move. And look, the reality of this is Rodgers' movement in the pocket gets guys open. That's what he does.

You know I agree with you about Eli, and I think he could single-handedly ruin this Packers game. But I will say this is what they've had all year, and they figured out how to make it work. I was really impressed that they won that Washington game and that they played so hard. And I don't know, it just seems like a really confident team. I love their secondary.

I thought Eli Apple, if you do the draft over again, what does he go, third? They picked him, I think, tenth. He's one of the top three picks, right? Yeah, no, he's really a good pick. Look, they're good on defense. And, I mean, the surprising thing when you go back and study the tape when they played the Packers the first time,

the Packers blocked their front, which a lot of people haven't been able to do. The Packers pass protected pretty well in that game. Lacy had a big run. He had 31 yards. But, I mean, that's a long time ago. But I think in this Cheesecake Bowl, which let's be real honest, this is two of the Cheesecake Factory offense going against each other, which I still think there should be a logo at midfield with the Cheesecake Factory.

I love it. That kid that was at the Redskin game is my hero. He's my absolute hero. Did you see him, Bill? He was dressed up as McAdoo with the menu. It was so good. I loved it. But I mean, look, to me,

I think these games, it comes down to what quarterback can make enough plays? And can Eli make enough plays? And if there's wind in this game, I would be real reluctant. I don't know what the spread is in the game. I think it'll be a one-point game. I really do. It's four and a half. So... It's a lot of points for the Jets mean, the Packers are four and a half favorites.

Yeah, Packers are four and a half favorites. Yeah. You know, I will say McAdoo, who I thought was pretty bad the first six weeks, and we definitely had some fun at his expense. But there's an aggressiveness with the team. Wouldn't you say he's one of the most, he's definitely one of the most aggressive playoff coaches that we have this year.

I think they're going to do a couple, they're going to do a couple things to try to create points that are out of the box. And I don't know what those things are, but they're going to happen. Like they're not just going to rely on Eli to score in this game. There's going to be a couple other wrinkles that I don't know what those are. But I see him bringing the kitchen sink out.

And it might backfire on him. But I think they're going to be super aggressive and ready to try to steal this game. They're not just going to sit back and hope it's 16-13 and they can win it. I think they're going to try to make some plays. Well, they're going to have to because in nine games this year, Eli hasn't converted more than four third downs. But it's that Manny thing though, man. to have to because in nine games this year, Eli hasn't converted more than four third downs. He's... But, you know, it's that Manny thing

though, man. He throws the three picks that get dropped. I mean, the most third downs he converted all season was 10 against Philly in that last... in the Philly game on the road. I mean, he's had 7, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, and then everything else has been

four or less. I mean, I don't know how you, if you can't convert third downs in the playoffs, I just think it's hard. And McAdoo, it's not in his nature. It's really not in his, look, McAdoo is a disciple of McCarthy. So you've got to go back and look at what McCarthy does playoff time. And it's not in McCarthy's nature to really, I don't think it's to be that overtly aggressive in terms of taking chances. Now, I do think he'll take chances on fourth down. I mean, he went for it nine times this year on fourth down. He's nine of 19 on fourth down. So I do think he'll do that. But, you know, I mean, I think he's worried, having coached Aaron Rodgers, I would think he's worried

about giving a short field to Rodgers and maybe having him just win with his defense. He should let his defense just try to win the game. Which, yeah. But, I mean, I think there's going to be one fourth down in this game that they go for it. I have a hot take. Look, everything about the playoffs, and I don't know if you have it in the manifesto, but just let me say this very clearly.

Playoffs are about third and short. Who converts third and short keeps the ball. Playoffs are about third and short, Who converts third and short keeps the ball. Playoffs are about third and short, and playoffs are about red zone third downs. Those two things are the most important. Like, when you get a third and one and you don't convert it, you have to convert third and one. It's like when you're a coach and you're getting ready to play off time, you've got to have an extensive library of third and short plays,

and they can't be trick-and-plays. They've got to be we can run these things. And then you've got to have a really good red zone offense where you can get the ball in the red zone. And those are the two areas that I don't see the Giants excelling at. Now, can they win with defense? Yeah. Can Rodgers turn the ball over? Yes, he makes mistakes, but they're playing differently than they did when they were on that losing streak. I mean, Cook comes in and makes some plays, and Rodgers' movement and Montgomery in the backfield, it creates some situations where if they get the lead like Philadelphia did, it's going to be harder for the Giants.

Well, here's my hot take. Montgomery has never been a running back for like three months. It's the playoffs. It's cold. It's a great defense. He's putting the ball on the ground one time in this game. I'm putting that out there right now. It was cold as could be in Chicago, and he had a really good game.

It was against the Bears. The Giants are going to be going for that ball every time he has it. Oh, I don't think there's any doubt about it, but I just think that he's got enough. You've got to worry about him because he makes one guy miss and it's over. And you better have your run defense really, really good. And I think that

that's going to be the critical component of the game. Alright, get ready for your Twitter replies when he puts the ball on the ground. People tweeting at you, Simmons told you. You didn't believe him. It's going to happen. I'm sure it could happen. It won't be the last time they mock me on it. It won't be the last time. But, look, I don't think you go into it thinking,

I just think the kid can, you know, he's really good with the ball in his hands. You know, the one thing you always like when you're scouting wide receivers is if they had a running back background, because that means they're good with the ball in their hands. Most great receivers have had been running backs, and I think that this kid has a chance. Look, I think that the Packers, I've said it all season, I think Aaron Rodgers is one of the best players and they've done a bad job of building a team around him. And to me, Cook playing so well and getting

some other production out of Montgomery proves my point that if they would just give enough players to this team and diversify their portfolio, I think they could be much better. I like Montgomery too. I just think it's a big spot for him. We are now in the playoffs, and he's going against the best defense in the playoffs, and they're going to be targeting him and trying to get the ball. Last thing we've got to talk about, because I know we disagree on this because you like Pittsburgh more than I do, that Miami's getting 10 points.

Matt Moore, people just think he's a conventional, lousy backup, and he's not. He's actually, I would say, one of the best backups in the league. He's played really well for the Dolphins for what they thought they were getting from him. This Pittsburgh defense isn't very good. Miami's already beaten them. Why is this line 10 points? Well, because I think when they look at Miami, they say you beat Buffalo twice, you beat the Jets twice, you beat the Rams, the 49ers, and the Chargers. There's your seven wins,

right? So of this 9-2 start, and you beat Pittsburgh, so there's your 9-2 win. You've played two teams that have fairly good complete teams, Baltimore and New England, and got blown out in both games. So, look, I think there's a formula for Miami to win the game. I think Pittsburgh's defense has played better the last, in five of the last seven weeks, they've held the rushers under 100 yards. They've played better run defense. They've turned the ball over 13 times.

I mean, they're playing better defense in the last seven games. Last week against Cleveland, they gave up 231 yards rushing, which you throw that out the window. But I think Pittsburgh is a team that if you can win third downs, because it's going to be a lot of third downs, because you're going to take the profits and move the ball, there's some really talented skill players on Miami, and they're hard to tackle. You play Miami, you have to tackle the talent.

Whether it's Stills, Landry, Parker. You've got to tackle those guys, and they're a problem. And Miami's got to go in there and think, control the football. We've got to keep it 36, 37 minutes. We have to have an extensive third down. We've got to be able to really execute. We can't have any negative plays, and we've got to keep Ben and Le'Veon Bell off the field because they'll run the ball on us.

I mean, Pittsburgh will run the ball on Miami. I mean, look what New England did in Miami. They ran the ball on them. And that game, you know, Miami was trying in that game. Eh, I don't know. The game meant nothing to them. I still think, yeah, you're trying. But the Giants-Redskins was different because the Giants hate the Redskins so much.

It was clearly like there's some animosity with that game. I think with the Dolphins, they were kind of like, ah, let's see if we can win this. Ah, we can. All right. I totally agree with you on their scope position, guys. I think Landry is one of my four favorite receivers in the whole league and somebody that in a playoff game I think could go to another level.

I just think he's got a little it factor. And Parker is one of those guys. He almost looks like Terrell Owens when he's running around, it factor and parker is one of those guys it almost looks like terrell owens when he's running around just guys bouncing off him i like him kenny stills has been catching touchdowns ajay is good i think what's crazy about this game to me and i pittsburgh will probably win and i think it's gonna be closer than people think but i think miami does have a chance to win the game i don't think think Detroit has a chance in Seattle. I think they have zero chance.

But I think Miami has a chance. I think there's a formula for Miami to win. I think there's a formula for Oakland to win. I think there's a formula for Houston to win. I'm not sure I have a formula for Detroit to win. I think there's a formula for the Giants to win and the Packers. When I look at these games, I see

to me, Miami, I'm milking the clock. I look at these games, I see, to me, Miami, I'm milking the clock. I'm going in there. We're going to run the football. We're going to keep Ben. The best defense is to keep Ben. Not that we can't play defense against them, but I want to limit my exposure. We've got to protect the ball. We've got to play field position with them, make Ben play on a long field, and play our best run defense of the season, which Miami typically hasn't been able to do. I mean, last week we saw it, but to me there's a formula here. And I agree. I mean, Matt Moore can make enough short throws and catches because this is going to be a zone game by Pittsburgh.

They're not going to want to play man-to-man. They don't have the corners to cover against these receivers. But you're going to have to handle the elements, and you're going to have to handle the crowd noise, and you've got to play for 60 minutes. I don't know if Miami can do it, but I think Miami, I think it's a closer game than 10 points. I don't think there's any doubt about that. I think that Mitchell guy on the Steelers,

who's a headhunter slash knee hunter in the T.J. Ward mold, is going to be going into this game saying, I'm taking out Landry or Parker. I'm taking out. If those guys come over the middle, I'm coming at them. You could say you're going to take them out, but Landry's one of those guys. I've seen more 260-pound linebackers bounce off him than anybody.

He's a hard guy to tackle. He is really, for a guy that doesn't have blazing speed, he's in his pads, he plays to the same level that he always has. Kevin Clark wrote a great piece about him in The Ringer this week. And one of the things is he's the best blocker out of all the receivers. Just wipes out dudes and is a big first-blood John Rambo fan. I have high hopes for him in this playoffs. Hey, let me ask you.

Would you sign Matt Moore as your starting QB? I think Matt, look, when you sign a starting QB, you're saying 16 games and more. I think Matt Moore's a really good relief pitcher. I think he's a middle reliever. Okay. I think five games look, when you sign a starting crew B, you're saying 16 games and more. I think Matt Moore's a really good relief pitcher. I think he's a middle reliever. Okay. I think five games is what he is. And, you know, you need him to come in there.

And I think you pay him for that. But I don't think he's going to play 16 and hold up. I think that's the problem when you look at a lot of these guys like Cody Kessler at Cleveland. I mean, you know, they might play good for a game, but they don't have the body to last. It's hard to play in the NFL 16 games, 60 minutes, and get the crap beat out of you. Would you rather trade a first-round pick for Sam Bradford or a third-round pick for Matt Moore?

I would rather trade the first-round pick for Matt Moore. Oh, my God. Lombardi, Jesus. This is terrible. Matt Moore to me is a good player. Look, I'd rather draft Dak Prescott or somebody else. But I just think to me, to me, Matt Moore's a, look, I think you're falling in love with the other players around Matt Moore. He's making them look good. You know what I'm not falling in love with? Sam Bradford. What is it about these football executives? Football executives, something about Sam Bradford.

He's like the cute girl at the bar who winks at them once and they can't handle themselves. Sam Bradford's mediocre. So is Matt Moore. But Matt Moore, you can get – Look, I give Sam Bradford credit this year. He stood in there and took a lot of heat, a lot of pressure from a bad offensive line. And does he check the ball down?

No doubt. Does he believe percentage of completion is the most important stat in football? No doubt. I don't disagree with any of that. But I think in fairness to him is give him a chance in the right offense and get some players around him, especially in offensive line. I mean, come on. You can't put it all on him.

It's like putting it all on Aaron Rodgers. Jeez. You've been hanging out with Skip too much, I think. I think you need to hang out with me more. You need more Simmons time in your life. That's like a Skip Bayless take. You tell Skip Bayless that I need to have an argument with him soon. I'm ready.

I'm ready to go with Skip. You know the right guy to call on that. Say hi to Chris Carter for us, by the way. I'm glad he's on FS1. I always thought he was one of ESPN's best guys. He's got great takes on stuff. He really does. It's really been great.

And so it's been going well. All right. I will be texting you all weekend. All right, great. We'll be going back and forth. I can't wait to text you as soon as Montgomery puts the ball on the ground in that Giants game. Oh, my God. Because that's happening. And I can't wait to text you as soon as Montgomery puts the ball on the ground in that Giants game because that's happening. And I can't wait to... I'll be getting texts from you and from Nick Wright on my podcast

about Odell. If Odell catches a hitch for six yards, Nick Wright will be hitting me up with texts saying what a great receiver he is. Although nobody mentioned that he hasn't hit me up since he's been on the boat down there in Miami. I'm also going to text you when Mitchell tries to end somebody's career

in like the second quarter of the Miami game, because that's happening too. Feel free, I'm here. Alright, Mike Labardi, thanks so much. Thanks, Bill. Bye-bye. We have the queen of the ringer, Mallory Rubin, coming in, but first, I'm always shocked by the string of home invasions right after the holidays. Aren't you, Mallory? Aren't you shocked by that? Stunned. Home

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You root for an AFC North team. I do. The Baltimore Ravens. I do. And Joe Flaccid, who you named him a couple weeks ago, and he was as flaccid as you predicted. He sure was. Ben Roethlisberger, somebody you've rooted against

for most of your adult life, if not all of it. With a sincere passion. Yeah. I don't know what to make of him. I wrote about him in The Ringer today. He's definitely, he's always been on the list. Anytime you mention the five, six, seven best quarterbacks in the league, he has to be thrown in.

He won the Super Bowl, the Arizona Super's got he gets to live on that forever yet his stats aren't that great when you compare him to the other qbs he's only really had one great season if you compare him to like the rogers breeze manning all those things he's just not there um he's had some bad playoff losses and he's a little up and. He manages to keep all the scenarios into place at all times. Like I wrote, I could see them losing to the Dolphins this week. I could see them winning, winning again and going in and potentially beating New England in round three. Everything's in play.

Where do you stand on Ben Roethlisberger? First of all, I know you don't really mean that. No, I think we'd kill Pittsburgh. You don't thinkittsburgh just beat the patriots and you're just saying it they could outscore us i guess is would be my fear that they could just put up 40 this is the bs pod equivalent of like an elementary school kid going home knowing knowing you aced that spelling b test but saying dad i might not have done well might have might have screwed up on anti disestablishmentarianism. You know, you just want to prepare everyone

for the worst so that when the best happens, it feels like an achievement even though it was inevitable. I think it's a great game plan by me. Yeah. Where do I stand on Roethlisberger? Hate him, obviously. As a Ravens fan, he is my... And as a female. Yeah, and as a woman in the world.

That's definitely true. It's going to be really tough for me to get through the next few minutes here without making a very inappropriate joke that potentially gets me fired. I'm going to try really hard. I would never fire you. I would fire my family before I fired you. I appreciate that. Tate still, you know, keep an eye out. Tate's another one who has a job for life.

I love Tate. It's true. It's true. Tate, my greatest professional achievement is still hiring Tate as an intern. I'll take that to the grave with me. Tate is employee number one at The Ringer. We have like 64 people now. It's true. It's true. Tate, my greatest professional achievement is still hiring Tate as an intern. I'll take that to the grave with me. Tate is employee number one at The Ringer. We have like 64 people now. It's incredible.

Roethlisberger. I think the thing that annoys me most about him, this is a sincere opinion, is that the announcers call him Ben. Like he's their best fucking friend in the world. Here's the thing. Annoying regardless. Annoying regardless for announcers who are supposed to even just like pretend. Pretend to maintain some semblance of detachment and professionalism.

Yeah. At least when they're talking about Rogers and Brady and they're on the brink of having an orgasm on fucking television because they can't contain their glee and ecstasy. They use the full name. Right. Aaron Rogers. Tom Brady. Right. Aaron Rodgers. Tom Brady. Yeah.

But with Roethlisberger, it's just been. Well, so here's why they do it. And this is what annoys me more. And I've written about this. It's because Roethlisberger is multiple syllables and it's a little harder to say, right? Sure. But this is the same announcing crew that every time they have a chance to say, right? Sure. But this is the same announcing crew that every time they have a chance to say the NFL,

they choose to say the National Football League, which has like seven syllables. So if you're going to say Roethlisberger, then say National Football League or say Ben NFL, but you can't do either or. Yeah, don't be selective with the shortcuts. It's just very annoying because he might be a bad dude. Who knows?

I'm not saying that. He might be. Might be a bad dude. Maybe he was a bad dude and he might be a bad dude. Who knows? I'm not saying that. He might be. Might be a bad dude. Maybe he was a bad dude and now he's a better dude. Sure. Sure. I guess the football world

is all just about second chances. Yeah. Joe Mixon will tell anyone who will fucking listen. Second, third chances. Fourth chances. Really terrible. Really terrible.

In terms of his play this year, it's been, I liked the way that Danny Kelly described it in the PC road today for the ringer on the, the, the big Ben duality, basically that if you look at his chart of QBR or any sort of metric throughout the season, it essentially looks like a shrug emoji. Like so many kinds of peaks and valleys throughout the year, there seems to be a correlation between home and road.

So that favors him this weekend, obviously getting to have a correlation between home and road so that favors him this weekend obviously getting to have the Dolphins at home does not favor him potentially having to head to the Kansas City the next weekend right also there seems to be if you look at it for even just like 0.2 seconds a little bit of a correlation there between caliber of opponent and performance like he had bad games against teams that he didn't need to try as hard against right so I think it's reasonable to assume I mean you saw it in the end of the Ravens game. The Ravens game at the end of the season was really a microcosm of his entire season, right? He was really... He gave you the ball a couple times.

And not in like... In bad ways. In really bad ways. Bad throws. Yeah, throwing interceptions to middle linebackers is bizarre. Those are just bad reads and bad decisions. And then in the fourth quarter, he was unstoppable because it was just basically he decided to play better sheer force of will it's the kind of thing that frankly like Flacco can't do he can't just like turn on that switch and say

I'm gonna win this game Roethlisberger can he can overcome three quarters of bad play and at the end of the day the thing about that team even with Bryant out with the suspension even with a couple other injuries to sort of the secondary role players like Wheaton, he has Antonio Brown and he has Le'Veon Bell, and that's kind of all that matters. Like, he actually doesn't have to do it all himself this year. And the thing that's interesting is, especially with one of the things he's most famous for, which of course is always just scrambling and running around long enough to avoid pressure, being as big as the defensive lineman and being able to just not let them pull him down for the sack, he can just shovel the ball to Bell now and never even take that sack.

It's not the eight-second sack that it used to be. It's just that it doesn't happen as much anymore. I would argue that he should be better. Sure. Because you look at he's basically in the same situation that Elway was in near the end with the Broncos with Terrell Davis, who, for the record, Terrell Davis, a little before your time, you're in your late 20s.

True, though, I'm married to a Broncos fan, so. Terrell Davis is the- I get a lot of Davis talk in my household. Like, Weinberger, we were in Weinberger's office, they're announcing the Hall of Fame finalists, which Weinberger is the only person I know who watches the show where they announce the finalists. Like, who cares?

And tweets about it. Loves it. So excited. She's so into it. And Terrell made it as a finalist. And I'm like, I don't understand. How is Terrell Davis not in the Hall of Fame? He's the best running back I've ever seen.

For those three years, I've never seen anyone better. Gale Sayers is in the Hall of Fame. Gale Sayers played for like two and a half years and then blew out his knee. And everyone's like, go ahead. And then they made Brian's song and he's in the Hall of Fame. And I think he should be in there, but Terrell Davis should be in there. Sure.

But anyway, my point is, Elway didn't have the weapons for years and years and years and years. And it was kind of the pre-internet sports bar argument

of how good is John Elway as sporting cast. We would argue about that. We would argue about Elway Marino and Barry Sanders versus Emmett Smith. That was like 50 hours of my life in bars in the early 1990s.

Roethlisberger has a better supporting cast than Elway did near the end there. Elway had Shannon Sharp, Terrell Davis, McCaffrey, Rod Smith. It was pretty good. But Roethlisberger has Le'Veon Bell who is I would say either the best or the second best running back in the whole league Antonio Brown who's in the top three and a bunch of fast dudes yeah I mean Eli Rogers could could end up having 150 receiving yards in this game you know there's going to be somebody like Jesse James he Roethlisberger is ultimately adept enough and making use of whoever that like second or third tier of weapon is.

The thing is, looking back at his career, he was better when he was throwing to Mike Wallace and handing off to Willie Parker and Rashad Mendenhall. That's bizarre, right? As you're saying, he should actually be elevating finally to that truly elite status. Maybe he's banged up, though. He is. he's banged up though he is i was thinking about that he's he's had a lot of no major major injuries but a lot of somewhat minor better than minor but worse than major injuries take a lot of hits yeah the knee thing this year was interesting because he came back bizarrely quickly from that right like but it wasn't bizarre we all knew he was going to come back two weeks early but like

bizarre because just because of the recovery but and also just because it was not necessary right take another week or two heal come, come back and be healthy. Like you could see it again in the Ravens game when he took a couple hits. He was limping. Like he was a little gimpy. And maybe that impacts how quickly he's releasing the ball, whether he's willing to hold on to it for that extra second to make the spectacular play. Like that's really what it is.

It's that there's one or two fewer of those spectacular plays a game from him this season that you've sort of come to expect and more bad throws i just think every time i watch the steelers he makes three or four throws that are just awful and yet the amazing thing about this playoffs is like he's basically like the third best quarterback he's still amazing compared to some of the uh and i could totally see him i could see him sucking in this miami game yeah but i think that's okay right they can i mean i like miami in this game i know you do i read the column i like their skill guys i think and i don't think matt moore's bad i like the team i like their coach i'm not sold on pittsburgh yeah as you know your team had that game in week 16 and that was a

must win we might be going home if we don't win this game for the Steelers. And they could not stop Joe Flacco. Yeah. He was throwing the ball wherever he wanted in the second half. Joe Flacco. That's not a good sign for them. I guess. I don't know.

I just can't. I can't see. I can't see Miami winning this game. Something weird is going to happen this weekend. I think that Matt Moore is honestly better than Ryan Tannehill. I i agree i honestly still when i think of ryan tannehill the first two things i think of are that he was a wide receiver at texas a&m right and somehow became a top 10 draft pick at quarterback and uh that his entire hard knocks like storyline was basically about his wife being hot like those are his identifying characteristics still it's a great story

congratulations to him that's that's what he's done on the football field nothing to distract us that's what tate's hard knock storyline that's what he's hoping for someday when we do the ringer hard knocks totally so rothlisberger can we agree he's not the same anymore i think we can agree but i wouldn't be surprised if he came back next year and we said, oh, there's Ben again. There's Ben. I wouldn't say he's past his prime, but I would say he's on the tail end of it.

Yeah, I guess he just never has struck me as one of these guys who was going to be fine until 40. Because of the number of hits he's taken, because of the kind of frame and physique. Some of that hard living. A little hard living? Catching up to him. How about the motorcycle accident where he broke his face?

That's got to count. For sure. And also- Got knocked out. God knows what happened when he was on The Bachelor. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. You never know what happens on the set of that show.

Did you forgive me for confusing Miles Garrett and Mitch Trubisky yet? No. And I never will. And I'm surprised Tate is in the same room with you right now. Miles Garrett is like a generational talent. We shouldn't confuse him with anyone. He's incredible. If he's not the first pick in the draft, something has gone terribly wrong. So the Browns just take him? Well, I don't, I'm not saying that they will, but they clearly should. I mean, he, the only other even potential defensible decision is to take Jonathan Allen instead. The other pass rusher who's

at that level the Alabama kid I mean these this quarterback class is bad like I there are a couple really high ceiling guys who I like like I'm I'm a big Deshaun Kaiser fan the Notre Dame quarterback I like Brad Kaya the Miami quarterback a lot but to take Trubisky sorry Tate I mean Ohio mentor Ohio Browns fan this is like this, you know what that pick is? Homecoming. Okay, you're embarrassing yourself. That's like the ponder, gabber, locker pick. That's what that is.

You know my cluster theory? This is one of my favorite dumb theories. Absolutely. The QB clusters. Everyone talks themselves into QBs every year, all the scouts. Of course. And they just compare them to each other. And it's the equivalent of like, if you have a bunch of mediocre options on netflix and you talk yourself into one of the movie

you know i'm kind of excited and then but yeah it's mediocre because you have four different mediocre choices that's so you're saying that's this qb class yeah though i do think i still think that it's i have not uh missed one opportunity this season to take a verbal dump on Deshaun Watson on the Ringer University podcast, but I still think that he's the guy who, especially if he also passes the eye test. Really personal guy, sweet kid. He threw 17 interceptions this season, which is like a lot. That's a lot. That's bad. Sounds like good for the Browns.

Yeah, exactly. He also got his team to the championship game two years in a row and was the Heisman finalist two years in a row. And he's the one who's going to have an amazing combine lighted up at his pro day. And suddenly someone's going to be trading a ridiculous number of picks to Cleveland

to try to get the top pick and take him that's my prediction as i said to um i think house last week the draft i know nothing about college football but every year they get excited about a quarterback and the guy goes first or second so i know miles garrard's generational talent all that stuff but i still feel like a quarterback goes first and it's the browns and they're going to end up with one they're not going to do the right thing here's the only thing that i think saves them from that fate this year they also have the 12 pick right so they can afford to take to do basically they can afford to do the smart thing that's kind of an odd way to phrase it but it's cleveland so you know they can afford to do the smart thing take the elite pass rusher

and then at 12 get basically the second or third quarterback because a couple of them will have inexplicably already gone off the board this would be a good ringer piece the the quarterbacks that go that drop to the 10 to 13 range just the success rate because that's that's like your blaine gabbert kind of area where it's like it's he's not good enough to go in the top four but maybe around now let's take a flyer and those guys usually suck of course though like that's where like wentz and goff should have gone last year and we'd be assessing them completely differently if they had actually gone there i think we'd be assessing goff the same sure i mean the kid doesn't know

where the sun rises quite literally does not know where the sun rises, quite literally. Does not know where the sun rises. Can't believe that guy went to Cal. Makes me reassess Riley McAtee's education, you know? I've always been dubious of the Cal graduates. I watched the end of the Rose Bowl. I watched the fourth quarter. You've been proud of me. I'm so proud. The quarterback, can't he just come out?

Why do we have these? It should be like, can't they have a committee where there's like eight people on the committee like that year when clowning should have come out but he had to stay one more year there's just a committee and they're like we're gonna bless you you're allowed to come into this draft right now so here's the incredible thing about that quarterback sam darnold who everyone should go to the ringer.com we had a wonderful feature on him last week by uh former intern sam fortier it's a great read please check it out samarnold did not start the first three games of USC season. He was the backup. Wow. They started and then he actually

lost his first game. They start one and three. Clay Helton almost got fired. And then it was kind of Rogers-esque. Darnold basically was just like, I got this and they didn't lose again. Yeah. And he is incredible. He actually was like like this a player like him is like the perfect way to kind of debunk the recruiting system like not a five-star recruit not one of the best guys coming out of high school because he had just missed time to injury and sort of fallen off the recruiting radar yeah i love him there it's going to be a classic bowl bounce though where usc is so vastly overrated heading into next season clemson will lose the title game to alabama so alabama will open as the one and then usc will jump Clemson and open as the preseason number two and then immediately

disappoint everyone. Are you going to watch the title game? Yeah. Do you want to give everyone your pick? You're always wrong. What's the line? You know too much. You have too much information. I'm sticking with Alabama. We bet your picks when you're in South St. Mattia. It's true. I remember that. It was also me telling you to pick Alabama, actually. The year they lost. Yeah. I think that this will be a really close game. It was a three-point game last year. It's a rematch. Clemson just annihilated Ohio State in the semifinal in a way that I honestly didn't think was possible. And I think there will be an overcorrection as a result of that, where people start jumping on the Clemson bandwagon. This Alabama defense is arguably the best college football defense of all time, like

full stop. And pretty much every player on the defensive side of that team is a first round caliber NFL player. But shouldn't, like, so when you're in the draft, once you get to the fifth round, shouldn't you just take backups from Alabama at all the scope positions? Absolutely. Like their third string running back is probably oh my god i mean it's probably incredible so that's literally what happened last week against washington the best player in the game by far was bo scarborough he was unstoppable he averaged like almost 10 yards per carry what a great touchdowns it's incredible bo scarborough he was fourth on

the team in rushing this year Behind the quarterback It's exactly I mean they just have so much depth That they can just decide What to do Who's the guy Behind Derrick Henry last year Who's in the NFL Who's good this year

Yeldon Oh you're talking About Drake Kenyon Drake Yeah Yeldon was the year before Labarde and I Were just talking about him

I like that guy I love Kenyon Drake I think he's good Yeah And he was like a What was he like A third down back for them He

And a kicker turner He had a broken leg That kind of took him out of of the the set there last year but they're incredible I mean they just they're starting a true freshman quarterback which Saban has never never done that's kind of the only way this goes wrong I think I mean Deshaun Watson had basically the best game of his life last year against them and they still lost so Jonathan Allen Ryan Anderson Tim Williams Reuben Foster those guys are better pass rushers than like about 12 NFL teams have so Watson already has a propensity for turnovers and Clemson has a propensity for for penalties so if those guys are pressuring him and in his face all day

I don't know. I think it'll be close, but I don't see, I really can't see Alabama losing. I'm sticking with it. Save it. You know, he'll tie Bear Bryant if he wins this.

He's a coward. He left the NFL. Okay, that's a great opinion. He's a coward. He's a coward. He needs this fuel. Champions never sleep. The dollar,

you want to compete against the best. Yeah. The best coaches aren't in college football. They're in professional football. And he had a chance to go head-to-head against Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all time. He didn't get the quarterback he wanted in Miami. And like a coward, he went back to college.

Where he stays, where he can just beat up on all these inferior college coaches. Congratulations. He's the guy who plays Madden and is in the rookie level winning the Super Bowl and going, oh, I won the Super Bowl getting Madden. You know what feeling those people have every day? What? Joy.

And you know what he has on top of that? $7 million a year. Great. Come to the NFL. Let's see how good of a coach you are, Nick Saban. He is living literally the best life. He gets paid more than anybody else in his profession to win every single year. He's gonna go down as the best at the thing he's done gets paid more than anybody else in his profession to win every single year.

He's going to go down as the best at the thing he's done. Better than literally anybody else. When he plays golf, does he play from the pink tees? I think he might be too short to play golf. He's the same size

as like a little putter. I don't know if he can get out there in the leagues. Nick Saban, come to the NFL. Let's see how good you are. I'm really curious. Nick Saban, stay at Alabama forever. Keep dominating.

I didn't get Drew Brees at Miami. I'm going back to college I'm just going to cherry pick all the best High school recruits on the planet Because I'm the Alabama coach He has better players in Alabama than with the Browns Great What's fun about that?

Alright you have to go You have to do the Ringer University podcast Mallory Rubin it's always a pleasure Thank you Our friends at Squarespace make it easy To build beautiful websites, whether you're planning to start a business, change careers, or launch a creative project in the new year of 2017. Tackle your next move with Squarespace, widely used by all kinds of people and businesses. Squarespace gives you the ability to create an online platform with which you can make your latest goals into a reality.

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Squarespace, make your next move. Make your next website. All right, last but not least, the Friday Pod Joe House, the worst gambler in America. Just for 2016. America is on pins and needles waiting for your terrible football picks gambler in America? Just for 2016. America is on pins and needles waiting for your terrible football picks so they

can go against them. I can't wait to find out who you're picking. I'm just telling you right now. I'm not telling you who I'm doubling on. We are going head to head in our picks pool, the ZFL. I was the one seed. You're the eight seed. Four picks. I have the hammer. I have the tiebreaker. And you have to beat me. You have to have a better record than me. I'm already on the record with my picks. I have the hammer. I have the tiebreaker. And you have to beat me. You have to

have a better record than me. I'm already on the record with my picks. I'm not changing them either. I have Seattle minus eight. I have the Dolphins plus 10. I have the Giants plus four and a half. And I have the Raiders plus four. So those are my picks. So you can do what you want. Put your stink on any game you want. I'm just telling you that's who I picked. What's your favorite game this week? My favorite game is one I fear is everybody's favorite game, which is Seattle. Minus eight against Detroit. The evidence documenting the difference in poor Matty Stafford's performance since the injury is

just too overwhelming and compelling. Wow. I mean, you just can't talk yourself into it. This is the best news for the Lions that they've had all week is that you like the Seahawks. This is great. This might be a Detroit free press column. House likes the Seahawks. A couple weeks ago, I took Detroit to help you in the CUS against Dallas,

and that was, you know, it didn't work. Well, actually, it did work in the sense that Dallas kicked their ass. Well, you did it last week. But it's just a different Detroit team. Who'd you do last week? You put the stink on the ice. The Giants, of course. I took the Giants.

That was a ridiculous line. But you actually won the bet but the Redskins didn't win. Yeah. Should we talk about your Redskins really quick even though it's yesterday's news at this point? I mean I'm happy to do it, sure. Just very quickly, it was everything you ever could have expected

from a Redskins Week 17 collapse. It left everybody in Washington limp and unhappy and just trudging through the cold winter this is what being a washington sports fan is like why don't the washington dc sports fans get more credit for for just being tormented i don't get it well some of it is because we have teams either in the playoffs or around the playoffs. In the last 10 years, every one of the four major teams here have been in the playoffs.

There just hasn't been any playoff success. So you can't really say that it's been an unprecedented run of stinkitude. But that's the thing. You've lingered. You've lingered around and the hint of maybe good things happening and then you just get kicked in the balls. That's the point I was just going to make. That's it.

I mean, every moment it looks like we might turn a corner. This could be the year. It's another gut-wrenching, you know, you can't invent the ways that the Nats have lost the last couple times they were in the playoffs. I mean, you know, Kershaw coming in and closing the door in Game 5, and the Caps, you know, failing to show up once again, the annual tradition in the spring of the Caps.

And that Caps team I really believed in. I had put my money where my mouth was for them to actually make it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, 2016, and they were on a great run. But, yeah, that's the prevailing dynamic here. We're right on the edge, and that really applies to this Washington football team. It was, coming into the season, you know, you look at the personnel,

it looked like the ceiling was kind of a nine-win team, and you know what? They kind of hit that ceiling, right? They were right around there because they have an extraordinary receiving core, a quarterback who had showed glimpses coming into the season of being able to really click with that receiving core.

But, you know, way below average defense. And so that's like an 8-8 or 9-7 team. And that's exactly who they were. It just had to take on the added nut-kicking benefit and bonus of getting into Week 17 with the playoffs on the line against a team that didn't really much have incentive to do anything. And they came in and beat our ass here in Washington. I mean, I don't need that.

Why couldn't they just be mediocre and miss out on all of it? When we were in college, you believed in women you probably shouldn't believe in, and now that's transferred to all of your sports teams. I just think it's better. It's a lifelong story.

What do you want me to say? Falcons versus Patriots was my favorite Super Bowl matchup bet, and it was like plus 950 and is now 5-1. Giants-Pats is plus 1350. Basically what's happened is Vegas has figured out all of the possible good value bets that we might have, and they just lower the lines, and they've made gambling less fun, and I

really resent them for it. Plus 1350 seems okay. What's wrong with that? That's a little better than 10 to 1. Yeah, but at that point, even if you were just betting the Giants' money line for every game they play, you could just bet them one game at a time,

and you're better off doing that. Yeah. Well, guess what? They've ruined futures. Yeah, I'm going to do that. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Those are bad odds for a future betting the money line is the way to do it

I'm betting that Giants money line this week but I mean if you're gonna bet Cowboys Dolphins at 130 to 1 now you're talking about some value um hey I wanna talk two NBA things really quick with you

Kyle Corver to the Cavs. For nothing. What the fuck are you doing, Atlanta? You get credit, by the way. You put Kyle Korver on the... No, it's for a first-round draft pick. That's not nothing. So what?

They're clearly moving towards a rebuild. But it's Cleveland's 2019 first-round draft pick. They have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love on their team. Congratulations. You just got the 28th pick three years from now. It's ridiculous. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, every single first-round pick has value.

I can't believe they have to take Mo Williams' dead body. That's fair. They have to take Dunleavy who's done two years ago and where's Dunleavy going I know a place he should land we could use

some NBA caliber talent here in Washington I wonder if he gets released yeah but I mean you have to remember the reason the Cavs

made that trade was because Dunleavy was playing terribly so they had to get Kyle Korver to get all the minutes that they were going to give him. Yeah, they think he's done Levy. Yeah, he's done. I'm mad at the Warriors. I feel like the Warriors could have trumped that Cavs

trade, and I think Korver would have been awesome for them. You said it on the pod last week. I said Livingston for Korver, but I mean, if the going rate was what Cleveland gave up, they could have gotten him for Patrick McCaw and whatever. Like, I just feel like they could have trumped that.

That was a really important. I don't think the Warriors should make a trade. I'm on the other side. I think they need one more shooter. I don't think the Warriors should do a thing. I don't think that at all. If I were them, I would trade Livingston and give his minutes to Ian Clark and try to get one more shooter because I think Ian Clark's good.

I've thought that for two years. I don't think you have to remember what the Warriors are playing for. This regular season is just an exercise in managing to get to April and try to get there as healthy as possible. And that is the moment when Livingston is important to them. He is a crucial... Go ahead. I is a crucial. Go ahead. I don't know.

I think Durant is their backup point guard now, even though he's seven feet. That's fine. He is their backup point guard. He's their starting point guard. He can play whatever position he wants. He brings the ball up whatever percentage of times he does. You need guys like Livingston in the playoffs. That's when he really counts.

You can't rely on Ian Clark in the playoffs. And where was Houston? How's Houston not get Kyle Korver? Do they think Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson are going to play 100 games each? Eric Gordon beat the hell out of my Washington professional basketball team this week. I feel so vindicated.

I was going to those games. He's juvenated. I was going to those clip games in 08, 09 and 2010 and I just thought that guy was going to be really good and I remember I went to a Laker game and I think I might have written about it at the time

when he just went toe to toe with Kobe when Kobe was still Kobe and you know what they used to do was kind of the model of what Houston has now when Harden comes out of the game and Eric Gordon comes in and kind of runs their offense as the point shooting guard. That's what the Clippers, that's how they used to use him.

And he just torched the Lakers in this one game. I was like, Jesus, that guy's going to be the best two guard in the league. And then he goes to New Orleans. It's a shit show. Poorly run. Everybody's hurt all the time he's got to play with Tariq Evans there's no home crowd

you could see why he was a candidate for Juvenation but man they got him for 3 years 45 like Alan Crabb went for 80 well let me say this it's better to be lucky than good

that's exactly how Darryl does this he takes a gamble on some guys The grab went for 80. Well, let me say this. It's better to be lucky than good, right? That's exactly how Daryl does this. He takes a gamble on some guys, and some guys pan out, and some guys don't. That was a great gamble. Did you watch last night? I did. Last night was an unbelievable TV night because it had that Rockets game, which was just Westbrobrook was kind of...

And then all of a sudden, boom, he turned into Superman. And then right afterwards was that gold medal USA Canada World Junior Hockey game, which was just out of its mind. Did you see that? I turned on when it came to the shootout.

Oh, the overtime was... I wasn't paying attention to the Twitter. Oh, the overtime had like 15 almost goals. It attention to the Twitter. Oh, the overtime had like 15 almost goals. It was one of those overtimes where it was like, how did nobody score in that overtime?

It was... And we had some good guys on our team, the USA team. And Popeye Jones has another son who plays hockey at a high level.

Did you know this? I did not know. Caleb Jones. This is the very first I'm hearing of this. Yeah, Popeye Jones is going to have two NHL stars. But yeah, Westbrook.

And I mean, it's just impossible not to watch that game and think of the fact that Westbrook, Harden, and Durant were all on the same team. It was unbelievable when they traded Harden in 2012. And I really honestly feel like 100 years from now, people are going to be reading basketball books and going, what? They traded James Harden?

Huh? They had the three best players of the 2017 season all on the same team? What? Actually, three of the four. I didn't want to diss LeBron there. Sorry, LeBron. Two things to ask you about that are like

non-mainstream media observations. The first is Ryan Anderson. Yep. Why does he shoot from two steps inside the half-court line? He takes the longest threes of anybody other than Steph Curry, and he hits the front rim. I watched him twice this week. I watched him against Washington, and I watched last night's game.

What's he doing? What's Ryan Anderson doing? That's my question. That's a good first question. I liked it. I don't know. My second question is, I mean, do you agree? Did you watch that?

Is that your observation as well? He should move in two feet. I'm with you. Two feet? Yeah. It's still a three. Yeah. I'm with you. Two feet? It's still a three. Yeah. I'm with you. He wants to be that open.

He needs to be that unobstructed. He's still 6'7", 6'8". He's tall enough to shoot over most guys. He likes his personal space. The other thing I observed, if you had offered me the opportunity to wager on Nene going to the free throw line with.7 tenths of a second left to decide that game, I would have bet no less than $1,000 that he would have missed at least one of two.

Based on years of observing Nene. Yeah. But equally compelling, stunning, hard on the eyes. Not hard on the eyes, just confusing is a better word. What the hell happened to Nene? He looks like a track runner. His body has dramatically changed in eight and a half months. He's eating better. Maybe he's gluten-free. There's not a lot of gluten here in Washington.

There are a ton of gluten-free options here. I think that Rockets team is one trade away from really being a dangerous playoff team. Like really dangerous. Like beating Golden State in a series kind of dangerous. They need one more shooter.

Who wrote up your ringer column today that I immediately saved for later, which is the inevitable Spurs-Rockets matchup? I think they could beat that. That's such a bad matchup for the Spurs. I agree.

One of your writers did a treatment on it that I can't wait to read. There's another column that's on the ringer today that is maybe the all-time Joe House column that's ever been written by anybody at Grantland or the ringer by Jason Concepcion. Tackling the urban legend that Paul Pierce shit himself in the 2010 finals when he had to come off with the wheelchair. That's why they used the wheelchair. I saved that.

That's my weekend read. I cracked it open and started reading. I was like, no, no, no, no. I have to savor this. Speaking of bathrooms, that's a column that I need to be uninterrupted. It needs to be quiet. I just need to be able to focus. I can't believe how much fun and awesome this basketball season has been.

And I think especially NBA Twitter has a tendency to just be all exclamation points and shrieking and everybody, oh, it's so great, but I just can't believe night after night how many good players there are. You know, like Isaiah Thomas has been just having an outer body experience for three weeks now as a point guard. He's basically been possessed by the spirit of Allen Iverson and Tiny Archibald together. And he gets to wherever he wants in the paint. He shoots threes. He makes layups.

He had 29 points against Miami in the fourth quarter last week. It was the greatest quarter any Celtic has ever had in the history of the franchise. Just routinely ripped it off. 29 points. He is becoming a dominant offensive player and you wouldn't even put him in one of the, as one of the top 10 best offensive players in the league. The league's just loaded. And it's like every night it's like oh oh this game will be fun i'll put this on and it'll deliver you know like milwaukee and the knicks like oh this would be fun yannis at msg the game's fucking amazing yeah this makes the game winner i just can't get over how good the league is it's really crazy i wonder how much i haven't had the time to see if anybody's

done this deep dive. I'm sure somebody's done it. Likening this current season, this iteration of the style of game to the mid-80s, what we all regard as kind of really the high point for the league,

like 84 to 88, or 83 to 89. But here's the thing. The high point for the league, like 84 to 88, or 83 to 89. But here's the thing. The high point for the league was actually 91 to 93. People always think bird magic 80s, but it's actually, if you go 91, 92, 93, if any of those games are ever on Hardwood Classics on NBA, you know it's going to be a great game. Because that's when you had the Mullen Warriors team is in there. The Celtics were still really fun with Reggie Lewis and those guys, but then you had the Mullen Warriors team is in there. The Celtics were still really fun with Reggie Lewis and those guys.

But then you had the Bulls. You had the Pistons. You had the Knicks. You had the Lakers. You had Young Shaq is in there at that point. You had the Seattle Kemp and Payton team. I mean, it's really simple to say this, but it's just about talent. And the league ebbs and flows with the talent,

and that was the best talent run we've had until now. It's been 24 years since we've had this much talent. I totally agree. The reason I cited the era that I mentioned is because that's when, I think, like, pace-wise, this is the correlation that I'm drawing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The 80-83-84. In terms of offense-favored basketball.

Yes. Yes. And, you know, the refs calling the game a certain way, like removing the hand check and removing the Mark Jackson five-second back down, and, you know, the way that the game now favors shooting and offense to the detriment of defense, it's a very enjoyable brand of basketball. And I think that's as much as anything what informs.

I love games where teams are scoring 140 points. I love seeing 70-point first halves. It's just much more enjoyable basketball to me. In the 80s, we had basically guys didn't play defense. And you also had, you know, let's be honest, too many white guys in the perimeter spots. You had like Kelly Chapuca trying to guard Larry Bird. You had unathletic white guys in really Kent Benson trying to guard Kent McHale.

Kiki Vandeway resents this. You had a lot of guys who just couldn't guard anybody. Now you have, you know, just across the board, the athleticism is the best it's ever been. And guys actually trying to play defense. And yet the offense has gone up another level. And it's really because, you know, everybody's playing small. It's so funny to hear people like, people oh why are we having all these 50 point games oh why are there so many triple

doubles it's because it's fucking small ball all the time like Isaiah Thomas can score 29 points in a quarter because he's going against a team that has Hassan Whiteside and like four guards you know in the 80s you had McHale and Parrish standing there waiting for Isaiah Thomas. He wasn't getting

29 and a quarter. I promise you that. Teams are embracing pace, which is just great on the eyes. Well, what's funny is if you take those 80s teams and you played big guys

like they did back then, the shooting and the creativity would eventually force those coaches to have to take out one of the guys. I mean, McHale is an outlier, but I don't think you could play Lambert and Mahorn against the Rockets. They would just spread everyone out and shoot threes. You'd have to take one of them out. So it's the spacing and the shooting and the slash and kick.

Remember when, I can't remember if you did the bet too, but when we bet on Argentina in 04 in the Olympics? Oh, that was you and me, brother. 7-1. No, it was 10-1. Or 8-1. No, it was 10-1. Yeah, it was good odds. But remember we're watching basketball and going,

these guys are doing this better than us. We have so much more talent than them, and it's all one-on-one, and these guys have figured out how to use their teammates and slash and kick. Why don't we play like this? That was our big takeaway from that Olympics. And over the course of the next 12 years,

that's how everyone plays now. You know? And you take a team like the Celtics that was like, oh, how do you win a title without a superstar? Well, offensively, Isaiah is pretty much a superstar at this point with the way he plays

and the way the rules are now and his ability to get into the lane and shoot threes. All you need is one guy who can do that, and you're going to be able to compete. You have John Wall. That's what he does. If you don't have a guy like that, you're fucked.

That's my big takeaway from this season. If you don't have that one guy who can... That's a great observation. Yeah, you just need one guy who can shoot and get into the paint. And if you don't have that guy, you can't hang with any of these teams. Giannis, by the way, holy Jesus you don't have that guy, you can't hang with any of these teams. Giannis, by the way, Holy Jesus,

we have to, Oh my God. That's a whole nother thing. It's a whole nother. We have to go. So you like Seattle the most. I like Seattle the most. I also really like Pittsburgh.

I know you have a different point of view, but we'll be able to sort all this out when we make our picks over the weekend. I don't know if I want the house stink. It's 2017. The stink streak is officially over. I don't want the house stink. New year. New Joe House.

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No long-term contract, no hidden fees. Visit simplysafebs.com today to get your $200 off. Hurry, the sale ends soon. When does your golf podcast come back? We're targeting the end of January, Tiger's first event domestically here. Torrey Pines, I don't remember who the sponsor is right now.

End of January. So Tiger, we think he's going... And we think Tiger is going to play golf all year. He has committed to five events, four domestic, maybe six events, five domestic, but all big, big-time tournaments.

And he's playing like four tournaments in five weeks at one stretch here early in the season. So it looks like he's gearing up for the real deal Holyfield. Thanks to Pearl Jam. Thanks to SeatGeek our buddies we're working on some stuff with SeatGeek for 2017 to make it a little more fun for you guys

to buy tickets for sporting events and music on the interwebs and on apps Joe House I will be texting you over the weekend and mocking you as I destroy you in the ZFL we'll talk to you next week you're gonna be so you as I destroy you in the ZFL. We'll talk to you next week.

You're going to be so mad when I beat you. I'm going to beat your ass. Let's play us. Play us out, Eddie. I feel it's within On the wayside I'm a person never I don't have