The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Why Winning is Hell: Chris Long on Tua & The "Pick Your Opponent" Playoff Draft

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Former NFL star Chris Long joins the show to pull back the curtain on the "Tua" discourse and explains why the average fan underestimates the Herculean effort required to win a single NFL game. Then, we dive into a massive Week 16 slate: The Philadelphia Eagles look to lock up the East, while the Bears and Packers prepare for a Saturday night war. Plus, Dave pitches a wild "Call Out" playoff format—imagine Bo Nix choosing Denver’s first-round opponent on live TV. (Photo by Matt Durisko/AP) Rundown: -Dave pours cold water on the College Football Playoffs -Best #35s in NFL history -Chris Long on Tua -Top Game of the Week AUDIO Football America! is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/football-america/id1831757512 Follow us: Dave Dameshek: https://x.com/dameshek Chris Long: https://x.com/JOEL9ONE Host: Dave Dameshek Guests: Chris Long Team: Gino Fuentes, Mike Fuentes Director: Danny Benitez Senior Producers: Gino Fuentes, Mike Fuentes Executive Producer: Bradley Campbell Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have Chris Long coming up along with the week 16 edition of the NFL picks countdown. So we don't really have a lot of time for this. But can we talk for a second here, you and me? We're people after all. I want to confess something to you real quick. And I don't want to be a hypocrite because I hate those people who can never let a Star Wars debut go by without announcing to the world. I'm not into Star Wars. Or when a new soccer tournament's about to kick off, people who say, I'm into real football, fed.

soccer. This is not contributing to the conversation and yet here comes the Grinch in the Christmas season. I feel like I'm about to announce I don't believe in Santa, but I'm just not into this college football playoff. And my team's the number one seed in that tournament. Maybe it's just because Oklahoma v. Alabama looks like a scrimmage, but probably it's not just that. Obviously I'm going to watch. I like football and I like TV after all and what else do I have to do with myself. but I think the people who are so upset about the bull system, they pounded the table forever about the need for a playoff are like the dog who catches the car.

Congratulations, can you honestly say there's real buzz about the start of this college football playoff? It used to stand out. And maybe the late 20th century debates about who was better between 1v2 were a little unsatisfying, but in hindsight, they were better than arguing about which 2 loss team deserves a title shot more than a 3 loss team does. Now it just feels like a less important version of the upcoming NFL playoffs, which I am excited for and which I don't think my team's going to make. But I hope to be wrong.

Let's see if we can figure that out right now. Start the show. Yes, hi and hello and happy holidays, my fellow football Americans. to NFL week 16. Welcome to the college football playoff. Welcome to Football America episode number 35 or presented as ever by our pals at Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. And as we jump in here, appreciate it if you would do me the gift of subscribing to the pod and on YouTube. We appreciate that and we start out by honoring the player who wore the episode number best. Mike and Gino, Gino and Mike Fuentes. I got bad news. 35 sucks at

least where NFL names are concerned, some good luminaries beyond the NFL. But Christian Akoye, I think, is the best ever to ever play in the NFL and wear the number 35. That's pretty grim, right? I mean, I got some Earl Campbell here, according to, you know, the internet. Well, the internet is wrong. I'm going to go 35. I think when he was the Tyler Rose at Texas, maybe 35, but he was 34. I'm going Kevin Durant. That's a good one, yes. I'm going to go for my newgenics, number one salesman, the Big Hurd, Frank Thomas.

Sell me those testosterone pills, Frank Thomas. Let me know. I have low tea. You stand up there with Doug Flutie and you fix my testosterone with your snake oil pills. Yeah. Tony Esposito and Tom Barrasso in Puck, two great Hall of Fame. Goaltenders there, Justin Verlander. And do yourself a favor.

Next time you see Flutti and the Big Hurd out on the practice tea, watch the woman. not the guy's wife but the other woman he's like and she'll like it too the wife looks at him but then the but then there's another woman who's the friend of the woman presumably and she starts making eyes like what the hell are you doing who are you burl lives now like somebody waits for you kiss her once for me what's up with you you old creepo go get your old your own lady all right listen we have to talk about football here let's start it off we're going to do our picks in just a second here for the most pivotal games in NFL week 16 that still remain before we get to that pick six presented by draft kings draft kings the crown is yours i'm going touchdown scores to start

off with fellas josh allen against the cleveland browns i think he is now making officially as they also try to secure their spot in the playoffs and maybe have an outside shot at catching the patriots still i think he also understands where he is in the MVP chase i think they find a way to get him in the end zone. Bijon, my beloved Bijon, we came up short in the fantasy playoffs, but he's still toiling away in meaningless football now that the cool cats are out of the fantasy playoffs. He'll get a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals. Jemir Gibbs is always good for a touchdown pretty much. He wasn't last week, but most of the time he is. He has the Steelers. He'll get into the end zone there. And then two touchdown throws from Gardner Minshu against the Tennessee Titans,

right i mean that feels like uh like a feel good story waiting to happen and c j stroud four touchdown passes in his last two he'll throw two at least against the sad vegas raiders how say you fellas listen gardener minchu right a lot of people were saying cheeser's are in trouble they're going to win that game yeah and not only because tennessee titans is because if i'm going to pick a coach to have a guy like gardner minstree ready to play i'm probably going to pick and you read. Exactly. So I like that pick. I think someone around here in the office was kicking like some kind of suicide pool thing. And I'm like, bro, take the Chiefs. The Tennessee's, Tennessee's bad. Gardner Minchew, not that bad. Don't forget Gardner Minchus College coach, Mike Leach, so he knows

how to sling. No, and not that bad. He definitely one of the better starters. But when it comes to pick six, Jemar Chase hasn't scored a touchdown in six games. Oh, you're doing the scarcity thing. Yes, I'm doing the scarcity thing. He caused me a big parlay not too long ago. I'm still getting over it. So this is going to be the year against the hapless Quinn Ewers Dolphins. this is going to be the week where Jamar Chase cash is in. I'm going to piggy bank off of you. I'm going Joe Burrow.

Maybe it'll be two to Jamar Chase. Who does? Wait a minute. Not piggybacking, but you just said, Gino, piggy banking, which is a new turn of phrase that when you're tailing somebody, I'm piggy banking you. I like that. You're doing this wrong, you know,

because you're like saying, oh, man, like says something wrong. You go, no, Dave, I meant to say it. Because you think I said piggyback, which is also true. But piggy, take it to the bank. Joe Burrow is going to do it. You know, you got to put some pizzazz behind you. You got to make people believe your lie, just like our president does. Just talk that shit.

But if you're confident about it, they'll believe it, all right? Incisive political commentary for Mike Fuentes there. Now let's hear some more incisive commentary on your former quarterback now that he's been benched Tua. I don't know if you heard the news down there in South Beach, but it's a wrap. I get the sense from every Dolphins fan that the number one emotion is relief that it's now over with. Right? I mean, that's the vibe I'm getting from you guys. He really was an atrocity on Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh. Yeah. I have a reason to watch now. We can scout maybe the future. I wouldn't get too comfortable. I feel like this, you know, he's owed $54 million next year. You're not going to want to have that money on the bench.

So the best way to be okay with that is if you have a quarterback making nothing started. But people think that this is like some kind of like, oh, we're moving towards the future. No, this is don't get hurt. So we don't have to pay you $20 million in 2027. He has a clause in his contract. says if he gets hurt, that money's guaranteed for 2027. They're trying to be rid of him after $54 million next year. So while it does give you a chance to see what Quinn Ewers is, which he was the highest, the most highest rated recruit ever coming out of wherever he came from, I don't even know.

But sure, you get to see what he has, but it's also, hey, to a, let's not get to a hurt and then it's completely wasted. The funny thing to me in all this is reports coming out that Zach Wilson is frustrated to not be named the start. Carter, and in the words of Jordan Belfort, a la, Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf of Wall Street. Who gives this shit? I agree with that. And obviously, if you're the Dolphins, I think that what this is a reminder of, that December,

especially with that 17th game now, that a lot of these games get super weird, that a lot of teams are trying to evaluate what they have at the back end of their roster. And so they're not really, I mean, they want to win the game, but their goal is to evaluate these individual pieces. It really sets up for some lousy games coming down the stretch. I don't know what you do to fix that. I do wonder if Tua is done. What I think, to Mike's point, I'm not the first one to say this. Yeah, they want to keep Tua healthy so that they can viably move him in the off season and we can make jokes about whether or not anyone's going to want him. We saw what happened with Russell Wilson a couple of years ago. There's always a team out there that needs a QB. Maybe it

won't happen until August of 2026. But somebody, if the dolphins are willing to eat a portion of that contract, I suspect that we will see Tua once again. But man, then again, the devil's damage check of this is, Tua really does feel outmoded. He feels solved by NFL defenses. There's nowhere to really go with him. If Mike McDaniel, who embraced him a couple of years ago and encouraged that contract can't make it work, who really is out there? So maybe I'm overstating things by saying somebody will be desperate enough to throw him in there, right? I think maybe as a starter, correct, but for a guy who led the league in passing just two years ago,

he's going to land somewhere. If the Raiders weren't going to have like the number one or number two pick, they would take him in a second. They would take him right now. Like you kind of think as a backup for the right money, not next year, but the year after that, he kind of be perfect for San Francisco. Obviously, with his cap number next year,

you're not really going to want to have that guy floating around, which is why I think he'll be right back starting from the Miami Dolphins at the beginning of next year. Well, that's why he doesn't make sense as a backup. Yeah, exactly. There's too much money. With that, yeah, the weight of that contract. The thing that is also fascinating to me, and I've seen Jonathan Zaslo talking about this

on The Lebitard show, and really a lot of people have been belly aching about this, especially if their Dolphins Rooters is, and I've always been driven crazy by in the post game, right out there on the field, right after the stage where pigskin war was just full. fought and now they're playing grab ass with each other the the trading jerseys and all that crap i don't care for that too a yucking it up with his old pal let's talk about that let's talk about a lot more stuff that's such an old man take that is your oldest man take like like i i just don't believe like this like ultra competition not everybody has like this brady michael jordan competitive streak in them some guys just want to go out there and get paychecks and that's it you

know. Jim, listen, Iron Sheik, Iron Sheik, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were arch rivals in the squared circle way back when. One loved America and the other one hated it. At least they got arrested burning tree and drinking beers in their car, but at least they had the dignity to do that out of eyesight of the fans. They didn't go out there and do it in the ring after a match. They need a little WWE. Listen, you know who is a voice of reason, I suspect on this. Chris Long, our old pal, let's talk with him right now. Ho, ho, ho. Hi, and hello, my fellow football Americans, we have officially arrived at the holiday season, and you know what that means. It's Dave saying, ho, ho, ho. Also, family food and

football. The holidays aren't about stuffy get-togethers, dinner parties, or work parties you have to be at. They're about those unexpected side quests and spending time with the ones you love, and if you're lucky enough, doing so at a bowl game. I'm going to the Rose Bowl this year to watch my Indiana Hoosiers. Tiss Miller time. Tiss, always a great indicator that it's the holiday season. Miller is the original light beer. It's the taste you can depend on and has been trusted by beer lovers everywhere for 50 years, thanks to its clean finish, simple ingredients, and iconic golden color. And this year, there's another holiday we're celebrating. Well, I mentioned the Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl, but that's not what I'm

getting at here. It's Miller's 50th anniversary. That's what I'm talking about. And with only 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, it's a great choice to let loose without weighing you down, like all that food will. The best holiday beers are the ones you don't expect. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to Miller Lite.com slash FBA to find delivery options near you if you want to stay at home, or you can head out among the people and you can pick up some Miller light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tiss Miller time. See, Tiss. And please, always remember to celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tiss 96 calories, and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Hi and hello and happy holidays, my fellow football Americans. As you well know, the holidays are

heating up and they're doing so even more on Pick Six. Draft King's newest fantasy pickum game. Make your NBA picks for a shot to win big cash prizes this holiday. season. Here's how it works. You just choose more or less on two or more player stats. The more accurate your picks are, the bigger your payouts going to be. It's the kind of upside you'll only find on pick-six, not those other pick-em sites. And it's available in most states, including Texas, California, Georgia, and more. Download the Draft King's Pick-S-6 app now and use Code Damashek. New Draft King's customers can play just $5, get $50 in Pick-6 credits with Coach Damashek, D-A-M-E-S-H-E-K, ride the upside.

In partnership with Draft King's pick six, the crown is yours. Well, yes, it truly is the holiday season here in Football America. When this guy shadows our door, it's better than Santa Claus. All right, I don't want to get in any trouble there. Maybe it's not as good as Santa, but just the same. I'm very excited here. He's a two-time Super Bowl champ, a Walter Payton man of the year, the kingpin to the green light podcasting empire,

a Shecky award winner is our favorite football playing guest. And also, as a man of justice, I have to mention this every time we ever kibbets, the rightful MVP of Super Bowl 51. After all, he's the guy who drew the holding penalty on Jake Matthews that pushed the Falcons out of field goal range, thereby allowing for the Edelman catch and the comeback and overtime, and all the rest of that crap.

He's number 91 and number 56. number 72 and number 95 what in hell it's chris long what's the poop fellow long time no see how are you what up yeah you need to remind jeff schwartz who drew that hold you know some people forget i i you know i i didn't get a christmas card this year from brady or edelman or any of those guys so is that right yeah no christmas card i don't know you know what's going on with that but outrageous maybe it's maybe it's because uh of what you'd be jealousy or or maybe it's what you did to them in Super Bowl 52. Oh, maybe, yeah. I remember asking you if in between those two Super Bowls, actually on the eve of that second Super Bowl win, if after just teaming up and drinking

beers in celebration with Tom Brady, if you were going to feel bad, if he had to smack the old man around in Super Bowl 52, you said no. No, not at all. I mean, like, it's part of the business. It's part of the business. He's been smacked up before. And honestly, he did more of the smacking in that game, but we ended up with the W. A lot of people were like, yeah, you know, you guys shut down, you guys beat Tom Brady. I'm like, I didn't beat Tom Brady. Nick Foles beat Tom Brady because in that second half, we were we were fighting for our lives, Dave. You know what? I don't want to get in the way back machine here about that Super Bowl, but a couple of things. The thing I always point to is sometimes, I mean, I think winning the trophy is

everything. QB wins in the postseason are more. important than just about any other measurement of how great a quarterback is in the quarterback league, especially in this millennium, as important as they have become more so even than they were in the 80s and 90s. I thought that was maybe Brady's greatest job. That roster for the Patriots was bum level except for him. He hoisted them. And as far as that goes, I was told on the eve of that Super Bowl that people who are close to the Eagles, coaching staff, that everybody on the Eagles knew that you guys were going to win that game. Is that true?

I don't mean just like puff your chest out. No, I mean. We can do it. Like you, in terms of X's and O's, you knew you had them. Listen, like we felt like we had a better team, you know? Leading up to the game, I can remember incessantly bothering all the guys on offense and saying, how many points can you score you think? You know, which is not an admission that like, hey, we're going to get our doors kicked in.

But, you know, it would be nice to know. like what's the magic number um because i thought that new england would probably be able to score a little bit on us you know there's no good matchup for grunk uh it helped certainly when uh i think malcolm jenkins knocked uh brandon cooks out of the game uh and that wasn't like a dirty player an intentional thing it just was a football play knocked him out of the game and uh i think from there it was like once we got to the half you knew they were going to come out of the half with some some heat and they did and it was hard to get stops but you know it just makes it's all you know makes we're even luckier for just taking the risk we did in the first half and and and that was the way we played

i mean doug was that kind of guy so i think it was a total clash of styles man that's what made it so interesting we were just happy to be there kind of happy go lucky like we weren't picked to be a top 15 20 team our MVP caliber quarterback gets hurt and we're still here it's the whole nothing to lose thing that makes you dangerous. Yeah, it really was magical, you know, as that falls into, in the, you know, history now. It's yesterday now, dude. It kind of, yeah, but, but I mean, I really do love that season for the Eagles and as I've told you before, and I'll say again to anyone within the sound of my voice, for everybody who

says, keep the politics out of football and stop talking. I mean, it's amazing that it is okay to talk about them when they're saying things that you like, but keep it out when I don't. like what you're saying, but you putting your, I mean, for real, Colin Kaepernick's back in the news with some of the things that, but that Malcolm Jenkins did his own thing. He didn't take a knee, but he put a fist in the air and then caught heat for that. And then the next week, Chris Long, a white guy goes over and puts his arm around Malcolm Jenkins as a show of support. And I remember a decent percentage of self-proclaimed football fans said, outrageous, this ends, you know, that you can't

have that kind of crap going on on the sideline it takes it distracts from winning games and everything else as we just discussed you wound up with the Lombardi trophy so for all maybe it is true maybe it is true because Harrison bucker couldn't hit the broad sign of a barn this year kicking the football um interesting I feel like we I feel like we definitely everybody's heart was in the right place man you know just trying to be decent you know that's all and that's why some of the praise I got was a little uncomfortable for me because like I'm you know i'm just being decent you know and i i do think like you know as you fast forward eight 10 years later we are less decent than we've ever been as a country and um you know that i got

two takes landing pretty well this week i think one of them is that two oh wasn't a starting quarterback and the other was that you know i didn't want to go to the white house to meet that that individual uh twice and uh i feel like a lot of people owe me apologies uh for some of the criticisms and and the messages I got because it really transcended politics. It is about decency. It's about it's about patriotism. And I don't feel very patriotic right now. I don't think a lot of people do.

Yeah. And this is a man who is supported who wore on the side of his hat a bald eagle and a patriot after all. I mean, what's more American than those two things. Yeah. And I know you weren't trying to be political. You were trying to be supportive of your teammate. but that's what it's all about.

And so lovely stuff there. Okay, now let's get a little ugly here. And you mentioned Tua. And now he's benched. And Quinn Ewers is getting the start this weekend. And, I mean, he really didn't look like a starting quarterback in Pittsburgh and a lot of people. You know, despite Mike McDaniel kind of sort of for the last couple of months, even after having been all but fired, it felt like was on track to save his job. But the limitation is the starting quarterback.

And then we see on the field as their playoff chances go away and all the right to a play and grab ass on the field with Jalen Ramsey and laughing it up and everything else in the bigger picture. What do you think about this crap? Because you're a lovely fella and we just talk about you get along with teammates and you get along with other football players. To me, as a football fan, I have to speak up on behalf of fans. I think the NFL thinks it's adorable after the game like these warriors go at it for 60 minutes but in the end they're on the same team and they shake hands like that's nice at the end of a playoff series if you're in the NHL this is different stop with that crap get some WWE going in there and don't don't do that out out in plain sight with the red go do it in the battles of the

stadium that's your business no one wants to see that we hate the opponent how say you uh well i would say fans have less to lose in the situation like it's a weird thing like you know like i i can say hey fuck you guys i hate you but i'm gonna see again you know and and the fans they don't have to answer for that and the fans also don't have the respect that you that is earned when you run into somebody at 15 miles an hour for 60 minutes and so you know like and i'm pretty old school where hey when the when the game's going to on like it is you know i don't say the word war because it ain't war but it's we're going to be at our throats we're going to be at each other's throats and you know like i'm all for the violence and

everything like it's a beautiful game because of that like it's one of the only places you can really like increasingly less so um you can try to not hurt in a dirty way but you can try to you can try to fuck up your opponent and and that's a great thing and i think what that does is this is the players take is I don't have anything to prove after the game about being a tough guy um you should be disappointed when you're eliminated from the playoffs and I think everybody deals with disappointment differently everybody deals with like you know on the plane ride back there's like certain people that are going to laugh and joke after a loss and there's certain people that are going to be dead quiet and there's people that think it should be like a morgan there

and there's some people that are going to say like well if we were so pissed off why didn't we play better, you know, and why do I have to sit here and fake an existential crisis because we lost a football game, right? So I think it's a mixed bag. And as much as I've had, you know, I've had issues with two of the player and, you know, the idea of how good he is or he isn't, like him and Jalen Ramsey were teammates before. I think maybe that's the blind spot for him optically as he's thinking, well, I'm talking to an old teammate. And of course, if you've been sitting there spending your hard-earned money on going to dolphins games or buying to his jersey or you know spending on the red zone package or NFL the youtube or whatever it is like you're

pissed when you see that but you have to understand from the players perspective is like we have nothing to prove we just played the game like we're putting our health our livelihoods on the line like I you know after games I used to if there was somebody that on the other team that I respect I'd tell them you know and and I don't think too many people would have questioned my effort or, you know, my commitment to the game, like, you know, after my last game in the NFL, I cried like a baby, you know, maybe because I knew it was over. It was a damn, I'm in the shower like a damn child.

And so it means something, and it hits everybody differently. But when I was on the field after that New Orleans Saints playoff game, I'm pretty sure, and it's all a blur, I'm pretty sure I hugged a couple guys that I respected and told them, hey man way to battle you know and then i went in the fucking shower and and lost it so everybody is different and and you know like i i understand i understand the sentiment i do think there's a thin line well because your character because to some degree we have to keep you as characters i also understand you as a human being need to rationalize away the loss and you can't own it

every time you lose a game to a severe degree or you'd be a head case you can't just torment yourself. I do think, though, thinking of Chris Long, nude in the shower, crying. I wasn't naked. You weren't nude? No, I went in the shower because that's where nobody is. Oh, I see. You're in full unit. And I just, you know, I just lost it. But, you know, this is my last game. So I think I'm, I know I'm done. I'm pretty sure I'm done at that point. Yeah, you go in there because you don't want to be in the room like balling, dude. You know, not that anybody's going to judge you. You ain't the only one with tears in your eyes after your season ends. But you know, I'm a 33-year-old man.

And so, you know, it's a delicate thing, man. It's, um, if you're an NFL player and you go in and I've seen, I've had teammates that, like, beat the shit out of the bathroom stalls for 15 minutes to the point where I got to go in there and get my buddy. And the coach is like, hey, you got to go in and, like, there's banging in there. You can hear the, you can hear screaming. You can hear doors slamming, things breaking. Like, do fans want that?

You know, do fans want us to go? I don't know. I think they, I think they, I think. houses on fire and shit like you know it's like right well that's i think right it's easier to point fingers well you see that all the time it's way easier to blame anybody else and to put your emotions like to defer your the the blame obviously as a fan that you're blameless you just wanted something to happen and now these guys let you down so you want them to at least match your emotion well i don't think fans know i think that's i think the disc here's what hit me dave like

and I've been trying to say this the right way. Respectfully, I don't think fans know how hard it is to succeed in the NFL and win football games. And so, like, when I'm sitting there on the couch watching my favorite team, because I'm the biggest sports fans, everybody. I grew up, Panthers fan, pain in my face, used to cry when the Penguins lost. I remember the Penguins lost, so I think the Florida Panthers. And, yeah, and I was 11 years old. And I, you know, I was crying like, you know, here I am crying again.

Damn, this guy, he can't stop crying. Went to the showers. Howie's like, where are you going, boy? Like, I don't worry, old man. My dad's like, good,

cry more. You should care. You know, like, take up the yager sweater while you do it. Yeah. Yeah,

and beat up some of the kids at school too. So, no, but it, you know, like I've been a fan and I know how hard it is to watch like UVA basketball,

UVA football, or, you know, like, I mean, we lost a UMBC. And, you know,

16 one seed i'm enraged man and i'm like super upset i have no recourse i'm a fan and i also don't know what it's like to be out there in that night and feel like hey i tried my very fucking best but those guys were just better and and so i think as a player you get sometimes as mad as you are as upset as you are about the game and as much as it hurts to to lose you comfort yourself subconsciously because you're like dude I laid it all out there like I try there's these these guys get paid too and they're so

like they were just so good today or you know what had dude recently I looked back at that 2018 loss to New Orleans and it's so funny because it doesn't haunt me you know this is our the year we were repeating

or trying to repeat and we started four and six and we were terrible and then all of a sudden we caught fire again and we end up in a divisional round down in New Orleans. We jump out to a 14-0-0 lead. Okay. The way I remember that game is it was heartbreaking at the time, but in the years after, I kind of forgot about it. Like, you know, like it doesn't haunt me. It felt like you were gilding the lily a little bit there because of out, but if Alshan Jeffrey makes one more catch for you, you probably do beat the Saints, right. Yeah, and I'm not, I don't like the whole like, because I didn't like it when the Saints the

year before, we were like, we would have beat the Eagles who the Minneapolis made. No, the fuck you wouldn't we were we were a badass group and it would have been hard to beat us it would and and so i'm not doing though we should have won it or anything but what i am saying is when i look back at that game on youtube i watched the full game for shits recently it was so painful to watch it was almost more painful than it was to play in it wow because you have this vantage point where it's like damn dude like it was 14 nothing fake punt You know, fourth down conversion, drop at the end of the game. Like, I was sad.

Back to you nude in the shower. No, I was going to actually mention that's the saddest football thing since Brendan Frazier and Matt Damon got into a nude fight. Why the director or the screenwriter or whatever in school ties, of course I'm referring to when it's a nude fight? Yeah, Brendan Fries. Frasier, Matt Damon announces because he's raw that, uh, that Brendan Frazier stole his girl. And so he announces, Brendan Frazier's a Jew everybody. And, uh, nobody likes that at the prep school in the, uh, mid-20th century. Oh, so this is in the movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no, no. I don't mean that they had a, like, damn, right for their, for their, uh, pleasure. I mean,

the characters they were playing. So like L.O. Cool J and Jamie Fox or whatever. Do you remember that the story about, um, any given Sunday? They were supposed to like a fight and L. L. L. L. like whoop Jamie Fox's ass or something. In real life. Yeah, like a real fight. Wow. No, I didn't know that. And I was in a disrobed prison style fight

in college. Really? With whom? And who won? Teammates. You got into a nude fight with your teammates. But it was a fist fight, not a wrestling match. You keep that.

So, but here's the problem when guys are, there was like a disagreement that spilled over into something more and it was after like a workout and dudes are in the locker room and it's like you know and you know you're not thinking about oh all i have is a towel on and and i remember seeing naked o lineman who will go unnamed fly across the room and do a flying scissor kick into a guy's chest and like people are getting punched in the face there's there's It's a melee, man. And, and, you know, the craziest thing about that fight is 45% of the people in it were just getting out of the shower.

So it happens. I love the nude fighting as a decision. Like, that's real life, which is, I wish there was video of that, not for perverted reasons. I don't. I think it would make me laugh. It's way too burning my brain to see a 310-pound man horizontal to the ground in the middle of a six. or kick into a guy's chest and I can see the guy's balls

and it's just like are they used as a weapon or that's what you go to like if you if you're if you're if you're the right endowment you could like you use that as a way you choke a guy out with it

like blah blah wrapping around his neck no Nick Foz wasn't in this fight oh no okay so that's all true all right let's move on here's another thing i bring up movies i i bring up movies because of course among the uh the honors that i mentioned at the top there i didn't mention that you're the progeny of howie long who started a broken arrow who got kicked out of a moving train by christian slater

is such bullshit it is a shame that it happened show business is a rugged business you talk about football that ain't nothing compared to the entertainment industry i recently heard football legend howie long say Jumeer Gibbs is the best player in football. Your response. He said that. Yeah. I said that too. Did you really?

Maybe stole it from you. Maybe. No, we do talk a lot. Me and dad talk ball a lot. But I think if... And you and I talk balls apparently. Yeah, evidently. No, I think Jemir Gibbs is now because of their offensive line

and, you know, some of the scheme turnover that they had to deal with this year, I think at times, like, he hasn't been the player he could be in the perfect system. But, but I think if you're looking at running backs in the NFL, like if I'm preparing for an offensive player, a non-quarterback, he's as scary as anybody this year. And, of course, you know, the caveat is, there's a year like the year where Jamar Chase half the time is not catching the football from Joe Burrow, you know, Justin Jefferson's catching the ball from,

number nine now who's improving a lot but like you know that's been hard to get on the same page you think of some of the traditional best offensive football player sayquan barkley is following up his awesome year um with the year that predictably is not the same i mean like when you look at sayquan last year the offensive line he was running behind and then just the the law of averages since 2000 there's a threshold of a certain amount of carries and i don't have it offhand I did this before the season, but there were a couple guys that crossed that threshold. It was like Eddie George, DeMarco Murray. Those guys were not able to get back anywhere near to where they were the year prior.

It's just kind of like a rule with running back. So I think this year. It's bankable, right, from a betting standpoint and otherwise, whatever you see that over under rush total the following year after the, after 2K always bet the under, even if it makes you feel like a cynic when you're doing it. So I'm not saying like, you know, I think like best player in football is so hard to every year. It's just so much context you got to take into account around every player. So like, you know, this year it was Puka for a while, right?

And the DeVante starts getting some of the target shares. And, you know, and I think Jermere, there's an argument to be made that he is the best offensive non-quarterback in the league or the most dangerous, you know. There were times where I thought Lane Johnson was the best non-quarterback in the league on offense sure seems like as you as you know the jenga theory he sure seems like that eagles offense jenga piece take him away and they become very mortal immediately he's a big jenga piece i think when you look at the eagles um you got two guys on the interior who are awesome players but were limping into the season like they were limping into the super bowl and you know like jurgens

and dickerson you know um so they've had some injuries they've had you know the scheme change um yeah it just goes to show every year's different and and so that's the fun thing about the NFL is like it is such a team sport and even when you're talking about individual accolades it's so hard to like you're talking about the MVP now i think stafford should be the frontrunner but you know me i think i'm john i think josh allen's the best quarterback on the planet and and and and i think like when you do the hey is value just who's the best quarterback who's got the best stats or is it like put Matt Stafford on the bills, how does that look? Put Josh Allen on the Rams, how does that look?

Right. I did the same thing earlier this week with Drake May and Josh Allen. If you want to make a case for May as the MVP, given where that team sits, and if they do hold on and win the east, there's a case there. But if you're talking about straight up value, swap those two guys and see which team winds up better. Obviously, the Patriots would wind up on the right side of that. And I think Drake's the other guy, to be fair to any, Patriots fans who are listening. Like, I hear you scream into the screen.

I think he played himself into the conversation this year. I mean, and I'm also not a guy that really cares about the MVP that much. I know I brought it up, but like it's a hot topic this time of year. Like, I don't know who won it five years ago. I don't know when it three years ago. I don't know how many times Drew Brees won it. I don't know how many times Lamar's one. I think he's won it twice.

But I only know that because has he won it twice? Well, the reason, but I'll tell you the answer to that is largely owed to poor marketing. You have the NFL MVP. It's by far and away our most popular sport, but you know probably who won the Heisman five years ago because it has a cool name. We need a good name for it and a cool statue for it. The Walter Payton trophy by itself is the coolest trophy going in pro football. It's the only one that measures up with the Heisman. What we need to figure out is Chris Long, and I've done some work in this regard. We need to name the MVP. Make it to Tom Brady. I don't care what it is. That's interesting.

you gave it a cool, if you made a cool eternal trophy, casting that guy in an iconic pose, now it's something you would remember. Well, I think it's interesting. I think the Hysman to me, and I'm no college football expert, like, it seemed to me like this year was a down year for the Hizman. How dare you. Not taking anything away from our Hoosier buddy, um, Mendoza. I thought, you know, he, but, but like, king dork. I love him. Yeah, you know, like, where the alternative is this guy Pavia, it's just like, hey, right. bro. Enough. All right. You know, both of them in different ways. Like, enough, man. But, uh, but, uh, but yeah, like, I just look at the Heisman as like this, you know, they, they talk about it differently. Like, it's just hard to compare, like the Heisman, you can have a Heisman moment. What's your Heisman moment? Like, we never talk about the MVP. Like, what's your MVP moment? It kind of feels like the MVP is like stats, team success. And, uh, and who the best quarterback is.

That's right. It all comes down, right. The people when they do the thing about Jonathan Taylor's the MVP, come on, I mean, do you pay attention? It's fun for fodder. That's right. I refuse to engage in any MVP conversation until the midway point in the season. I forbid it here. Also, does it matter if your MVP doesn't play well in the playoffs?

I think the playoffs are such a different thing in the NFL than they are in college football. Like college football playoffs are in their infancy. But, like, the college football playoffs, like, come on. Like, I know, like, who did I see yesterday, like, Joel Clad or somebody? And I'm not taking shots, but, like, talking about, you know, how great the playoffs are in the, in college football. I'm like, no, they're not. They're not. Like, they never have been.

They've barely ever been close. You know, like, they lead the sports in double-digit margin of victory in the playoffs. Like, you couldn't buy a good first-round game for eons. the NFL playoffs are the best thing in major professional sports. I think Stanley Cup, if you're a hockey fan, is incredible, right? And it's a marathon. And I would argue it's just as hard or even harder to win than a Super Bowl. But I think from an entertainment value standpoint and just like an unpredictability standpoint,

and that's why the NFL is king. Like, wildcar weekend, pull up a fucking chair, dude. I agree. I go divisional round that I would get rid of the seventh team. It's one too many and in fact, it's a little exhausting. It's just too much. You don't need, because the games are so close already that you don't need to throw another team in there to make it more, the vibe more of a coin flip. I think the merit of a 17 or 16 or ultimately is going to be 18, obviously.

I think the merit achieved over the course of those four months is enough. you don't need to jam another team in there to muck things up because what you want ultimately at least in my opinion as a man of merit i love who believes in in merit i think that you should have you should get buys for winning at least the top two spots if you if you throw them all into a jumble it leads to a mess in my opinion well here's a question that we kind of you know it's that one day i was looking for something to talk about and i was like you know what and of course this is this is gone to shit now in the last couple weeks but like there was a point this season where I thought Dallas was really dangerous

and there was a point and I still believe it that Cincinnati if you told them hey tomorrow like hey you're in the playoffs like everybody would be like fuck Cincinnati's in the playoffs you know like should there be an at large bid in the NFL playoffs and how would you how would you how would you because think about like think about this bill bellichick used to say this and I'm pretty sure he still says name drop you know but he used to say this it just happens to be my coach and my co-worker and inside the NFL so but Dave it's like not who you play it's when you play them sure and I think that's like and if the hoodie agrees then most people should probably agree and I think we all know it to be true we all know that at the end of the season some people slide in and you're like they're not

that good anymore like they're not playing well in December not to say they shouldn't be in the playoffs but how about the teams that because of an injury or circumstance in the beginning of the season were dog shit but then down the stretch they're dangerous are we being too well that's why college football used to be better and now it's now that's gone out the window too but you know when you lose a game even if it's the first game of the season if you get whipped like notre dame or like alabama did by florida state like that's it you have no claim to being in a tournament for the best team because that game counted in the regular season. So I hear you, and I love this broader idea.

My spin on what you just said is, how cool would this be? Especially when you only have a number one seed. But you could do this before the wild card round as well, the two teams with buys get to choose who they play. Oh, yeah. How about that? These are the teams on the board here. You're the number one seed.

The wild card weekend has now finished. You're the number one seed. Go up to the board now, L.A. Rams and choose who you get the play. Because that would be such a pisser because you would take the worst team, but now that team would have a chip on its shoulder. Of all the six teams you could have played, you wanted us? Oh, now we're going to give it to you real good for that one, right? How great would that be?

It'd be incredible. It would be incredible. And the moment of Belichick and Chris Long or Brady or whoever going up to the podium. So that would finish Wild Card weekend. like maybe you give them the night to meditate on it and then on Tuesday morning or Monday morning even better because we're getting rid of the seventh team already but like at the morning of like we announce that we are going to play that's so good the San Francisco 49ers like what you know you did it that's so good and it makes it harder in a way on the on the number one

team because it feels like a little like a little like hey we just called her shot oh shit and it's the gravity of like if you're the coach that becomes a decision like an in-game decision or you know like a roster decision like this is a very meaningful decision if you don't if you pick a team and lose it it's even worse because you picked it that's right right you would have to own it and a game that you probably see is the number one seed against the worst remaining team probably doesn't feel that juicy now it has a All the juice and the world. That's really, Dave, that's good.

See, I told you Chris Long was good. Mike didn't agree, but I thought he was great there. Here's good news for you. More Chris Long coming for you. On the other side of the football weekend, more kibbets in with him to come. In the meantime, Gina, what do you think? Wouldn't that be a great thing if you had the number one seed

at the end of the wild card, get to choose your opponent? Let's say the Broncos are the number one seed in the AFC. Who would they choose? Well, first of all, that's like a made-for-TV event. Who's not tuning in for that right after the first, round of the playoffs. Exactly. Okay, so I would, of the teams that are available, I've got to say, man, I'd kind of

be rooting for the Steelers to get through that first round, a 41-year-old quarterback against the Denver pass rush. I mean, not to throw any shade away. He wouldn't like that. He wouldn't like that. Now, if Jacksonville, if Denver beats Jacksonville, it would be extra juicy if they took the Jags again because they would have a chip on their shoulder. And that brings us to the NFL games kick a countdown.

That's what we call it. The countdown here, the most consequential game. in week 16, who's going to win them, and by how much, and it is those Jags playing those Broncos? Broncos laying just 3, 46 and a half is the total on this one. I've got a Jags victory recalling, what was it, 1997 when they went in there. Mark Brunell and Company went in there and picked off the number one-seeded Denver Broncos with John Elway, one of the biggest upsets in postseason history. Jags win this one, 2422. Mike Fuentes, how say you? I don't love the Jags.

Everybody knows I hate the Jags. But the problem is that we're at a point here where Denver's won, there was this 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 games in a row. They can't keep that going. They're not going to go into the playoffs winning, what is this, 14 in a row, whatever it is. So as much as I dislike the Jags, I think the Jags are kind of in a groove now. Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football that he's ever played. So I'm going to say that the Jags go up there.

and find a way to beat the Bow-Nick Stemper Broncos. Whoa! And that's again from a self-proclaimed Jags hater, Trevor Lawrence Doubter. Boy, now you're making me question it. The Jags with their turquoise-tonged cat. I don't know what goes on with that. I think America really isn't all that enthused. I think that's why people are not picking the Jags that much

because they don't want the reality of the Jags being a real factor come January. Either way. like it or not, they are going to be, if the Broncos win this one and the Texans win, though, that division remains in play. On the number three here, it's the Buccaneers, it's the Carolina Panthers, it's the other South, the NFC kind. The Carolina Panthers, how about this? Minus three, total 45 and a half. I think the Bucks get right here finally. I think they have kind of circled this two out of the last three games. They catch Carolina head to head, whatever else has gone wrong in the last month or six weeks is erased so long as they hold on and win the

NFC South. They do 27 to 19. Gino Fuentes, how say you? I think I'm going to agree with you, man, that offense got all its pieces back now. They got Bucky Irving going. We saw Mike Evans and how well he played in his first game back. And I think Tampa Bay's coach just ripped them a new one after the last game. So I've got to say they react to that. Baker's not going to sit around and take that. So I think he's going to lead them to a victory. So I'm taking Tampa. Right. At number two, a big game on both sides of the ledger, AFC and NFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Detroit Lions. The Lions, of course, lost Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn,

and desperately need this one. And I have a hunch the Steelers, no matter what goes on the rest of the way here, are entering a new similar era themselves. Why else would Adam Schefter tweet out, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not going to fire Mike Tomlin, but they do have a significant decision to make early next year based on the option year in his contract, sources tell ESPN. Here are the options.

Here are the possibilities of those sources. The worldwide leaders transcriber and chief, last scene running cover for his pal Sharon Moore, suddenly found God and is now pouring over the fine print in the contracts. I don't think anybody thinks that. Or, like I say, someone told him that. And who would do that other than someone in the Steelers organization or maybe the agent of a coach who wants the gig if Mike Tomlin does go? Add this to the intrigue. I highly doubt Ryan Clark, who is tied in close with a number of people in the Steelers organization, would say, I believe this marriage between the Steelers and Tomlin is in the stage where they're both discussing if it's the best thing for them as a couple. I don't think he would say that sitting on the field in Accresure on Monday night if he didn't have conversations that indicated that was the case. Either way, the Lions laying seven, 51 and a half is your total. I think Detroit gets it in a game that they just.

pretty much got to have to stay alive. 33-24. Mike Fuentes, how's say you? The Lions started the year 4-1. Ever since then, they've traded wins and losses all the way down.

The last game, they lost to the Rams and a high-scoring of fair in Los Angeles. Now they're going to be at home in perfect conditions against a Steelers team that we both know

is mediocre at best. So I'm going to take the Lions in this one, but they don't cover because the Steelers find a way to muck games up. I do want to say, I want to put this asteric down and not sound like

you know, I'm fully glass half full quite yet. The Steelers have to win this one to impress Dave. So extra pressure on you, Coach T and Aaron Rogers and everybody else. If the Steelers can go up there in a game, like I say, that the Lions are going to be desperate to get. If the Steelers somehow win that game, now I'm a believer that they can do some stuff in January. But as it stands, we saw what happened last December.

I know that they survived the Ravens. Some fluke to that one. The Tua game, I think you throw out. You knew that they were going to flop when it was 10 degrees. Two, it wasn't going to make it there. That brings me to number one. The Patriots and the Ravens, the AFC North remains in play. The Ravens are laying three.

48.5 is your total. I say that the Patriots, even after the gut punch a week ago, go up there and win 2927. Why? My primary reason? I just don't think the Ravens are all that good. I don't think they have a pass rush. They don't have a great secondary. And something is off with Lamar.

He, I think, is physically not right. That's my pick, Gino, how say you? I think you're right, man. I think the Patriots have been really good this year. I think it took some Josh Allen magic for them to actually lose that last game. Now, if that score is what you're saying it is, then it's a cover, right? For Baltimore? Or what's the line again?

Maybe I didn't hear you right the first time. The Ravens are laying three. So you said 29, 27. I'm just saying Patriots straight up winter, man. Straight up winner. I'm going to say Patriots straight up winner too, but I think it's going to be a close one. I think it's going to be Baltimore covers. All right, listen.

Enjoy it. Gino, Mike Fuentes, soup up there in Seattle. Enjoy the college football playoff. Enjoy week 16. We'll be back, like I say, on the other side with some more noise from Chris Long. Until then, thanks so much, my fellow football Americans. It's been a thin slice of heaven. Thank you.