The Fumblerooski Podcast - Fat And Happy -Ep 123 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: October 7, 2022

Is it time to take Cooper Rush and the Cowboys seriously if they beat the Rams? Is there any chance the Broncos fix their struggles this season after a 2-3 start? Who needs to win the Bengals vs Ravens game more? Adam Wright and CJ Medeiros host special guest Derek Houle to debate these topics as well as give Fantasy start em sit ems and MLB World Series predictions!

Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. This is what takes Sideline! Touchdown! They're saying it's a catch. It's in. Oh! Diggs! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins!

Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Touchdown! Week five has officially kicked off with Denver's struggling struggles continuing as the season goes on. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros. You're listening to the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power 88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. We have a big show planned for you guys tonight, previewing the rest of Week 5's slate of games. We're going to talk about Denver's struggles. We're going to talk about Ravens-Bengals, Rams-Cowboys, a bunch of different matchups, and joining us and returning to the show after being a guest with us over this summer. We have Derek Kuhl.

Derek, welcome back to the show. We have some new listeners. Why don't you introduce yourself? Yeah, thank you, Adam. Like Adam said, I'm Derek. I joined the show, I think, sometime in July. We did a divisional preview for the NFC South. You know, some hits, some misses. I think I had the Saints projected a little bit better than they started off, but I did kind of foresee this tough

start for the Bucs, but I'm just glad to be back. Thanks for having me. Absolutely, man. Yeah, absolutely man yeah and that was you got you you have you had the box close to the top just the saints and i didn't i maybe we should have seen it coming but jamis winston has his turnover issues have kind of returned here after we thought he had things figured out maybe it was all sean payton you think yeah definitely i definitely think there's been a shift from him. Obviously, he's not healthy. We've heard the reports that he has a couple of broken discs in his back, and he's clearly not healthy. He's not practicing. I find

it hard to believe he's going to play this week, but it doesn't kind of... I don't know if that's enough of a cop-out to look how he looked in weeks two and three where he just... He looked like Jameis, I'll say that. He was slinging the ball around, taking a lot of deep shots. I guess the laser eye surgery didn't go as he'd hoped,

and he's still missing some underneath linebackers that are just missing some things. But I don't put it past this team to turn it around. I still think they're a really good defense. They have talent all over the ball. And a couple of rookies who could make it pop. One of the guys, Alave, we might talk about him a little later today. He's looked really good. He has the potential to be a top two or three receiver from this class. So I'm excited to see what he can do. But I'm not throwing the towel in yet for the Saints team. I think they can string some gritty, tough football together

as we move into the second quarter of this football season. Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned, we still have a lot of football left, I believe. So we're going into week five. So we're only four games in for the Saints. So they have plenty of time to turn it around. A lot of adjustments to make, but they have some things to be optimistic about. But we're going to jump right into it.

So Denver's struggles, as I mentioned, continued on Thursday night football versus the Colts, who have been struggling themselves. They had some expectations with a new quarterback in Matt Ryan. And off to yet another tough start for the Colts, but a tough start for the Bengals as well, who just got Russell Wilson this past offseason, and they still can't seem to figure things out.

They lost to the Colts, what was it, I believe 12-9? It was 12-9? 12-9, yeah, it was ugly. Which is essentially a baseball score. A high baseball score, if you will, but still, baseball score, not exactly a fun... It's what people...

The defensive battle people who are like, I love seeing these defensive fights. They were pretty happy yesterday, even though it was just ugly football. But do we see Denver turning this around in any way as this season continues? We'll start with you, Derek. Okay, well, I'll be honest.

There's definitely some glaring concerns, and it kind of all seems like a joke to Russell Wilson. I don't know if you guys saw, but in his post-game conference, the last thing he said before as he was walking off the podium was Broncos country, let's ride. And it's like a game. I don't know if I was a Broncos fan and looking at his contract, he's under big money until 2028.

There's an out somewhere in there, but it comes with a pretty big cap it and uh but indifferently it's there's a lot of red flags um i think there's some salvageable parts from that offense if you're talking about fantasy perspective right uh you know in a bad game i still think courtland sutton saw a vast majority of the targets i think he had about i think you want to say he had 11 or 12 targets last night. So from a fantasy perspective, I wouldn't say, I wouldn't throw in the towel yet. I'm not sitting there panicking. But as the overall, the Broncos team, and we kind of talked about this division as being some kind of juggernaut.

Well, the Broncos and the Raiders, too, kind of seem to be giving you some pause to call on that a juggernaut division. I'm curious to see what does happen in these next couple weeks. Their schedule does get a little bit lighter, but I kind of thought that going into last night against the Colts. They failed time after

time with Aaron Rogers to I'm sorry, with Russell um to bring it home yeah i mean you mentioned that he you mentioned that post-game interview and i i remember i saw a clip of it where he was he was asked if he was worried and he was like yeah no like this struggle has been actually really fun figuring things out and everything. I'm not worried, you know, Broncos country,

let's ride all that stuff. Like he just doesn't seem, seems out of touch. Like when Tom, as, as a, as a fellow Tom Brady guy, when that happens to him,

he's never taught. He's not happy. No, he's, he's looking for ways to figure things out. So I definitely get that. But CJ, what are your thoughts? Well, Adam, the Broncos are a team that are currently two and three and in all

conceivability should probably be oh and five. And they play like an 0-5 team. And I know there's a saying, a win is a win is a win. But I disagree because there's a difference between a convincing win and an ugly win. And on the off chance Denver does win a game, they win ugly. And a lot of it, I hate to say it, is Russell Wilson, and I don't know why he's being so cavalier about a loss because, plain and simple, he sucked. And you know it's a bad look when your old team, the Seahawks, have Geno Smith at quarterback, and statistically speaking, Geno Smith is playing better.

You know, that's just awful if you're a Broncos fan. And a lot of people, I mean, it's early, are saying that Seattle won the trade. I wouldn't go that far just yet, but something's got to change in Broncos country. Furthermore, their head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, I'm not a fan of his management to put it nicely and are we sure Jameis Winston's the only one with the vision problem because Russell Wilson couldn't see a wide open KJ Hamler and Hamler has every right to be frustrated if anything he should be screaming at Russell Wilson he really should and. And it's just, I know that, you know, you can't just throw a team together and go compete. I know there's going to be growing pains,

but your roster is too stacked to be this poor. That's really all I have to say. So honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if they fired Hackett after one season. That's like how bad this is. Yeah, that seems red hot. If I'm the new owner, the Broncos ownership who just took over, I can't imagine being too pleased with the investment in the head coach nor the investment in the quarterback. And we know it's a player's league. Coaches can make an impact, but at the end of the day,

it's a player's league. And I wouldn't be feeling so hot about Nathaniel Hackett right now if I'm the new ownership in Denver. Yeah, look, there's no two ways about it. The coaching has been absolutely horrendous. And you would think with such a stacked roster that they would figure things out. But, like, looking at like as this as these this

continues i'm starting to look at this towards russell wilson and think this isn't all on this isn't all on the coach at this point i mean look but when i i watch so i watched Man in the Arena, and at one point I remember hearing Tom Brady talk about when he was talking to Russell, excuse me, Wes Welker. And he was yelling at him and he was saying, I know when everybody is open on the field, don't tell me to throw you the ball because I'm going to throw to whoever is open at whichever time and I'm going to do what's best for the team. So you are supposed to know when and where everybody is open. And when KJ Hamler was open on that last play, he was looking towards the left side of the field.

This guy was wide open and he didn't know he was open. And then during the press conference, he was all easy breezy, like, oh, you know, Broncos country, let's ride. He was, he was all, I'm not worried. This has been a fun process. I'm glad you're having fun, dude. I'm glad you're having fun. Cause if I was losing like this, like this, if any other quarterback who has any sort of competitive mindset, the Tom Brady's, I'll even say the Aaron Rodgers of the world, or let's even say Seahawks Russell Wilson, they would not be happy about this. They would not.

You had Aaron Rodgers during preseason complaining about his wide receivers after practice. This guy right now, after being paid, has lost his competitive edge. And look, the most important things to me in football, quarterback, coach. Quarterback and coaching. And then the roster is obviously important as well. The coaching has been bad. The quarterback has gotten lazy.

You put those two things together, and you have a talented team that's 2-3 and is in danger of potentially finishing last in this division, where I had them being a wildcard team. So it does not look good for these Broncos. I'd love to get Brett back on the show, our Broncos fan, because I'd love to get his thoughts on this. But it doesn't look good for these Broncos. I'd love to get Brett back on the show, our Broncos fan, because I'd love to get his thoughts on this, but it doesn't look good at all. It does not.

No, I agree. We'll see what they can do, but I'm hoping they turn it around. I'd like to see this division become a little more competitive. You'd still get to see a Herbert Mahomes, maybe dual to the finish,

but I don't want to see Denver fall out of this too early. So that run to make them to give it a shot is not, not feasible. I'd like to see them be able to give it a shot later in the year. So let's hope they turn it around. Certainly. And it's going to require Russell Wilson getting, getting his head screwed on straight and finding a way for this team to be better coached.

Because this team has the talent. They have the potential to compete with honestly anybody in all of football, I would say. But they have to figure it out. There's plenty of time for them to do so. But I've always loved Russell Wilson. And it pains me to talk, to talk about him the way I have so far tonight, but it's, I mean,

there's, there's no way around it. The guy's been, he's been lazy. He's he's let's say he's not actually fat, but he's, he's fat and happy because he's, he got paid.

He's in a, he's in a place where he clearly loves it there, but you got to start winning, dude. You got to start winning, especially with the team they have. The window is closing because eventually you're going to have to pay all this young talent, and they're not going to be able to because you got paid all this money. So clock's ticking. Clock is ticking because before you know it, in a few years,

this Denver Broncos team is going to be mediocre, and it's going to be like the Seahawks all over again towards the tail end of his career there where he's thinking, this team's not that good. They're not really contenders. So they have to figure something out there. But we do want to move on. Do we have any other thoughts on this game before we move on to our next segment? None for me. I don't have any other thoughts on this game before we move on to our next segment? None for me. No, I don't have any.

All right. Well, the AFC North, as you guys know, has always been a competitive division. And this year has been no exception. And we have two teams, both 2-2, looking to stay competitive, Ravens and Bengals. We're going to talk about that matchup and who needs it more. We'll get to that next. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch.

It's in. Oh! Diggs! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watates! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown!

Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast. Adam Wright here along with CJ Medeiros, special guest Derek Houle. So we are on to the primetime matchup on Sunday's slate of games. The Bengals are visiting the Ravens. Both teams are 2-2. Both have had some struggles so far in this season. So I ask you guys, which of these AFC North arch rivals needs this victory the most? Derek, I'll start with you. I'll let CJ kick this one off.

I kind of love the trashing of the Broncos, so I'm going to let CJ take this. Let's see what he has to say. Hey, thanks, Derek. So, yeah, this is certainly a must win for both teams and believe me when i say this game i know it's early i know it's only week five but this game could really have some big implications later on down the line because both of these teams are good both of them off to a sluggish start and this might be a separator for them maybe maybe not but but it very well could be and for the Bengals you know Adam and I we've spoken to this ad nauseum you know we know that the Super

Bowl hangover is real it's not analytical not even slightly but we know it's real and the Bengals I mean Lamar Jackson's playing well but a lot of it's the coaching because Harbaugh just takes too many risks. And we saw it last year too. So we have two very flawed teams, but both have a lot of expectations coming together, and I feel that this win would mean infinitely more for the Ravens than the Bengals. Because, you know, the Bengals, we know what they are, you know?

They just went to the Super Bowl. But for the Ravens, Lamar's duking it out for a big contract, be it in Baltimore or be it elsewhere. And, you know, you've got, like, a lot of unproven guys on that team. And Harbaugh, like, a lot of Ravens fans that I know actually want him gone. So, I mean, I'm not going to take up too much time, but I will say with keeping all that in mind, this is a game that in my mind is a lot more important for the Ravens. Derek.

Yeah. So I do agree that it's important for both teams. I will go as, as I won't go as far as to say it's a must win for both sides. You know, it is week five. You're going to have a team that's two and three. And I will say, though, it's a stacked conference, so you don't want to fall behind too far. I actually kind of feel this game might be more important for the Bengals,

and here's why to me. They started 0-2. As we all know, they looked really tough coming out of the gate. Then week three, they got a pretty good win, but it was only over the Jets. Keep that in mind. The next week, they played the Miami Dolphins, and did they really dominate that game? To me, I don't think so. I think they kind of limped into that win after watching Tua nearly die

on the football field. He took a really brutal shock. It was demoralizing. Miami never felt like they were a threat in that football game. So I really think the pressure is on the Bengals to go get a win against a good football team. I'm not saying to go get a win against a good football team. I'm not saying the Dolphins aren't a good football team. I'm not saying that they won't be a good football team

if they have Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback for an extended amount of time. But that's a pretty demoralizing situation after watching Tua go off the way he did and all the noise surrounding them for that whole second half. I want to see the Bengals prove it against a good football team. They're going to have to go out there and earn it against a dynamic Ravens offense. That being said, I kind of like them for their receivers and what Joe Burrow can do to try and pick apart this Ravens secondary that's been a little banged up.

They've been kind of down on the depth chart and have had at some point starting quarterbacks from the practice squad. They've gotten a little bit healthier. That's not to say they're not still banged up and they might be able to take some shots with some guys who can really fly in deep threats in Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins. I think this could be a really high scoring game. I, and I guess that,

that Ravens, that Raven scene can be dynamic. We know we've seen how special Lamar Jackson can be, but he's kind of been that whole team. If you can find a way to, you can't neutralize Lamar Jackson. You'll never be able to do that. He's too dynamic and he's just too versatile to

completely shut him down. But you've got to find a way to kind of inhibit some of his special abilities and slow him down just a little bit because he's just been so much of that Ravens offense. If you can alter him and alter that game, their offensive game plan might kind of do a tailspin. So that's my thoughts on that game. I think it's important for both, but I wouldn't call it a season if either team do lose. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a must win either for either team, but both teams probably do need this win pretty badly because this is a very competitive division, maybe outside of Pittsburgh, granted if Pittsburgh figures it out.

But I would say the team that needs this the most, contrary to CJ's pick to the Ravens, I'm going to go with the Bengals. The Bengals made the Super Bowl last year, and we do know what they potentially can be. But as you said, CJ, the Super Bowl hangover is real, and it's a real mental factor. And if you go two and three with a Super Bowl loss on your shoulders, that's significantly more crucial, I'll say,

than the Ravens who don't have that on their shoulders if they go 2-3 because they can still figure it out afterwards. But you started off 0-2. You figured it out. You've gotten a couple of wins under your belt. You're gaining some confidence. Now you have this division rival who's a pretty competitive team. So if you were to beat this team and still be able to protect your quarterback,

which has been an issue for the Bengals so far, then that's huge for Cincinnati. They figure things out. They start to protect their quarterback more. They get the ball off to Jamar Chase, T. Higgins, the Tyler Boyds of the world. They figure things out with Hayden Hurst. That's huge. And I think the Tyler Boyds of the world. They figure things out with Hayden Hurst. That's huge.

And I think the Bengals really need this win versus if they were to lose. If they lose, now you started 0-2. You got a couple wins. And then you cap it off with another loss to a division rival who's a very competitive team. So I look at this, and I think they really do. They do need it. You know, this is the, the Superbowl hangover is real as much as I hate that it is because there's nothing analytical about it, but it is,

it's real. And so you need all the wins you can get, especially after a tough start like this from the Bengals, a lot of new faces on that offensive line. So they need all the wins you can get, especially after a tough start like this from the Bengals. A lot of new faces on that offensive line. So I think they could use the extra jolts of confidence there. I agree. You're muted, CJ. Sorry. You know, Adam, I do agree with you.

But like I said, there's a lot more, I think, at stake just like for the Ravens, especially, like I said, with the future of Lamar Jackson. Then again, that's just me. Yeah, so looking at – I mean, the Ravens certainly need this as well. This is a big game for both teams. But I just look at this Bengals team, and they kind of – they have the roster, and they have expectations, you know? And, like, another thing to look at –

and I'm not sure if this is a real thing either, because, like, it is a real stat, but, like, is it just a coincidence? But what is it? Like, a quarterback who goes to his first super bowl and loses i'm not sure what the exact stat is and they never go back again or they never win again no i think it's they never win again only five quarterbacks have gone back to the super bowl after losing super bowl that's not one that's five who have lost the Super Bowl and ever got another chance to win one in a game. But how many of them ever won

again? Because I know Kelly didn't. Elway did. The five that made it back are Brady, Warner, Kelly, Peyton Manning, and Drew... Is it Drew? No, Drew Brees lost.

No, Drew Brees lost. Yeah. No, Drew Brees has only been to one Super Bowl, and he won. No, I think he went to two because they had the Katrina year, and then they lost to the Colts. No, you're right. No, no, no, they beat the Colts. That's right. They beat the Colts.

So it was just that one in the Katrina. So, yeah, I can't think of the fifth one, but I think it's only three or four have gone back and won a Super Bowl. It's really slim pickings. Case in point is it's not many. I'll say that. I don't know the exact number, but it's not many. And how many after losing their first Super Bowl?

Yeah, I don't know. I think there was something about that where it was. I think it was like, I know Elway did it, but there's another one Jim Kelly didn't. Yeah, Jim Kelly made it back a few times. Oh, Dan Marino lost. Didn't he lose a Super Bowl and he never came back? Yeah, there's a long, long list of quarterbacks. Marino's a famous one because he made it,

and everyone thought this kid's going to win Super Bowl after Super Bowl after Super Bowl. He did it at a young age because he made it and everyone thought this kid's gonna win super bowl after super bowl after super bowl he did it at a young age never made it back and a lot of that's on the on the dolphins because they wasted such a great talent one of the all-time great quarterbacks in this league and especially for the time the time frame that he was in where it was very run heavy not many passing, not much passing. And I know we're getting off topic, but just while we're on the topic of quarterbacks who make their first Super Bowl and lose it tough, tough, tough weight on,

on Joe Burrow's shoulders, but you know, could figure it out. But as I mentioned, a lot of, a lot of pressure on this bengals on this bengals team big mental uh big mental issue with that but i do want i do want to move to our next topic but anything else on this before we move on to uh rams cowboys i don't think so. Nope. All right, guys. Well, Cooper Rush, the career backup quarterback, and the Dallas Cowboys are 3-1, and Cooper Rush is 3-0. They now go up against the Los Angeles Rams, who are 2-2 but are still a force to be reckoned with,

and we'll talk about the possibility of the Cowboys potentially pulling off the upset there. We'll get to that next. are still a force to be reckoned with and we'll talk about the possibility of the cowboys potentially pulling off the upset there we'll get to that next you're listening to the fumble ruski podcast here's edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch. It's caught. It's a catch.

Side-line. Touchdown. Unbelievable. Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! You're listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, special guest Derek Houle, ski podcast by power 88 and secret weapon consulting i'm adam right cj maderos special guest derrick cool and so the rams and cowboys will be facing off on sunday and so i'm just

toying around with the possibilities here if dallas actually wins and let's say they look good doing it, do we have to take Cooper Rush and the Cowboys seriously? Derek, you want to start? Yeah, well, I'm going to break that down into two parts, if I may. And nothing against Cooper Rush. He's looked great in the games he's started. The last four starts he's made, he's won all four. so i'll say yes we have to take dallas seriously but no i'm not sure we have to take cooper rush in as the calvary quarterback seriously uh um you know we've seen this before

we've seen guys succeed and take over for a starter after an injury or after a tough start nick foals nick foals we've seen uh you know ryan tanhill coming from mariotta when no one thought starter after an injury or after a tough start. Nick Foles. Nick Foles. We've seen Ryan Tannehill come in from Mariota when no one thought that was possible. We saw that with this guy named Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. But regardless, Dak Prescott's getting paid a lot of money. Jerry Jones is an egotistical, you know, quite an egotistical guy. So I wouldn't put it past him to, as soon as Dak's out there,

ready to go, put him out there. Now, if Dak comes back and they start losing some games, then we might see the possibility of a change, but I really don't see a situation in which Dak Prescott is healthy and doesn't return to that starting role. And the reason I think we should

take Dallas seriously is they have an interesting offense. You know, they lost Amari Cooper, but they still have some pieces. Michael Gallup's just getting back to full strength. We saw him last week. He was slotted back into that kind of Amari Cooper volume role that he was buried behind for those last few years. And I'm eager to see what this offense can do.

I think they can run the ball pretty well too. I know Zeke is not the Zeke of old and Pollard's taken a lot of touches, but it's still a decent group. I don't think we should totally throw it, you know, wave the white flag and say Zeke is totally toast. He might not be the guy he was, but I still think he can get touches and give you some good runs. He's looked decent in the games he's had,

and Pollard is that young spark who might be able to break off a 50-yard run and get the offense moving. But where their real value lies is that defense. That defense can fly. They can get after the quarterback. I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about Micah Parsons and his future. He's one of the few talents who can do so many different things. He can rush the quarterback inside and out. He can set the edge in the run game. He can play as a coverage linebacker if he needs to. We saw

him play a little middle linebacker towards the end of last year. His diversity and versatility on defense really is unmatched by anyone we have in today's NFL. So I'm eager to see what he can do and continue to be. But he's paired with some good pass rushers and a formidable secondary. I think this defense can really carry this team, even if Dak isn't the Dak we might expect to come back. Yeah, that is a fair point, separating the Cowboys from Cooper Rush. Cooper Rush might be able to play. We don't know. We haven't seen a big enough sample size.

But they're going to want to put Dak Prescott back in once he's healthy, especially with Jerry Jones and the contract they gave him. But CJ. No way Dak doesn't come back and start. he's healthy, especially with Jerry Jones and the contract they gave him. But CJ. No way Dak doesn't come back and start. They might flip week 9, 10, 11 if there's an issue, but Dak's getting that roll back. Yeah, he could come back, but, I mean, they got to put him back in.

I mean, you can't give him that contract. But CJ, what are your thoughts? If, and it's a big if, Cooper Rush beats the Rams, oh boy, he might be a little bit on the legit side. And we obviously know when Dak's going to start when he comes back. But mark my words, if Cooper Rush beats the Rams and then Dak comes back and they start losing again, the fans will cry for Cooper Rush as well. They should.

And if Rush keeps winning, you know, there's a saying. I said this on the last episode. There's an old saying called, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So, I mean, why would you stop a good thing? I mean, I know Dak's making a lot of money. But you have to remember, I know calling people Tom Brady is insane. But you have to remember, when Tom Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe, Bledsoe literally made, he was like a $100 million man.

First $100 million quarterback. Yeah, exactly. Thanks, Derek. And it's like, it's not out of the question but you know jerry jones is gonna watch that's how it is but i will bring up that there's a flip side to this issue if cooper rush loses then all of his magic all of his hype is going to disappear because you know it's really quite a novel thing, you know. He's undefeated as a starter.

Yeah, yeah, not anymore. That's literally his only thing. And if they lose, and especially lose handily, then everyone's just going to forget him. He's only as good as he keeps winning. It doesn't even matter how they win. But, yeah, I would. But if he does beat the Rams, I would actually argue for a quarterback controversy,

especially if Dak comes back and they don't win. Might you also argue, you know, if they lose, but it depends on how they lose? Like if they come close and they just no cigar. All right. If it's like a high scoring shootout, like let's just say 38, 35, I know that's high,

but, but bear with me. But if the Cowboys lose, but they come close and Cooper rushes like 250 yards and three touchdowns, then yeah, then I could see the magic still being alive. Yeah. I mean,

if he, if he lays an egg, then it's all gone. The Cooper Rush train has lost all of its passengers at that point. But the way I look at it, and CJ, you took the take right out of – you stole my take. Sorry. Because I just created a – I just pulled up a tab for Drew Bledsoe's contract. So he was the first $100 million contract guy, $103 million, 10 years.

Jeez. And now this was when Bill Belichick had first started. He didn't really have much leverage because he didn't have the track record that Jerry Jones now has. So you look at that. Yeah, like he didn't really have much of a leg to stand on when the backup quarterback was outperforming him. But that's the only reason I hesitate is because when you look at Drew Bledsoe

and how that happened, and you also look at just a few years back, back in 2016, going into that season, Dak Prescott was not supposed to be the starting quarterback. It was supposed to be Tony Romo. And Dak Prescott, he was impressing during preseason, but then Tony Romo gets hurt. Dak Prescott jumps in, and this guy just was electric. Him and Ezekiel Elliott, you had Dez Bryant having a career resurgence. It was looking great for them. And then Jerry Jones decided to roll with the hot hand.

Even when Tony Romo was healthy, they said, let's stick with this guy. They're winning. So Jerry Jones is not unfamiliar with a situation like this. And now I don't know if Dak will be out for long enough so that Cooper Rush will have that chance where Jerry Jones would be crazy to take him out. But it's not out of the question. And I do think Dak Prescott's going to come back.

They have to put him in. They're paying him way too much money. I think it's among the most of any quarterback, so that leaves a lot of pressure on Jerry Jones. He looks like a grade-A asshat if he gives that type of money. And then he sits him for the backup. He goes, you know what, never mind after a season. So they've got to put him in.

But if he struggles, they got to put in Cooper Rush. And they better not take Cooper Rush out. Because your quarterback, who you paid a lot of money to, is not winning games. And your backup's winning. I get it. You paid him all this money. But people are wrong sometimes.

You misinterpret the talent. So put in Cooper Rush if this guy fails again. But I think Dak Prescott deserves every chance to come back. A little sneaky tidbit. I mean, something you can't neglect in this game is Rams are 2-2. Rams haven't come out firing and may be dealing with a little bit of that Super Bowl hangover, even though it might not be as prolific when you lose a Super Bowl.

But the Rams haven't come out looking like setting the world on fire. They lost to two good football teams in the Bills and the 49ers. I'm not hitting the panic alarm, but this is a sneaky, important game for the 49ers i'm sorry for the san francisco the cheapest crow the los angeles rams to maybe get back on track uh and let's not discredit that we could see could see a game that's really important for the la rams and a little history flashback we can't forget you know sometimes it's written out of history because we like to think that tom brady came out and never gave up that job. But let's not forget that Tom Brady left that AFC championship in 2001 with an ankle injury.

And Drew Bledsoe came in and closed out the conference championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And there was a lot of controversy leading up to Super Bowl week. Would it be Bledsoe? Would it be Brady? So this might not be a black and white. It's over once the decision is made. This might be something we see with if the Cowboys get on track and make a run in the playoffs. Granted, I don't think the Cowboys are going to make a run in the playoffs.

It's the Cowboys, you know, but we'll see. And, yeah, and this for us here sitting as, you know, football analysts, this would be great to cover if Cooper Rush actually makes this interesting. Let's say the Cowboys make a run and Cooper Rush is in the middle of it or Dak Prescott makes some noise too. I don't want to see this disappoint because this is kind of fun to cover because the Cowboys didn't have many expectations and they lost with Dak Prescott.

Dak Prescott gets hurt. They go three and oh, with, with Cooper rush Dak Prescott's knocking on the door of coming back. They're facing a team that was a slam dunk contender as a Superbowl. Excuse me to make the Superbowl. If they win, Oh boy, that would be such a great story and then dac

prescott comes back and they struggle and then cooper rush comes back dac prescott comes back somehow and he he plays well again boy that would create some noise and that would be so much fun to cover here on the fumble ruski podcast um but once again, I want, I would like to move on for time constraints. So if you guys have any thoughts, speak now, forever hold your peace. Anything else on Cowboys versus Rams? There's more Cowboys than I really prefer to talk, so I'm good. Yeah, I'm right there with you. Yeah, that is the most positive Cowboys talk you will get from the Fumble Rooski podcast. And this has been pretty fun to talk about, but I think the Cowboys have overstayed our welcome here. But we're going to move on to the Fumble Rooski Fantasy Fix, where we're going to give you some stardom sit-ums.

So if you're looking for who to start in your fantasy lineup, stick around and don't go anywhere. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! It's a catch! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable!

Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast. Adam Wright here with CJ Medeiros, special guest Derek Kuhl. We've reached the Fumble Rooski Fantasy Fix portion of our show where you are going to get your stardom sit-ums of this week's slate of games. And as I look at this, I accidentally put in three stardoms. So you're welcome there. And we only have one sit-um. So if either of you want to name a real quick, a sit-em, uh, after I list these guys feel free, but for starts, we have

Clyde Edwards, Elair versus Las Vegas, and we have Pat's running backs. So Ramondre Stevenson or Damian Harris versus Detroit for sits. We we have J.K. Dobbins versus Cincinnati. And I accidentally put James Robinson as a sit when we intended him as a start. So James Robinson versus Houston, start him. But you guys, sit him real quick for running backs. Shoot. Oh, man, you're putting me on the spot here. I just noticed it right now.

Well, a guy I'm not looking too forward to is james connor i think he goes against the eagles and he's going to be in a negative game script they're going to be have to throw in the ball so he might get some targets he you know he doesn't factor in a ton to the passing game but uh but he might he might be out there just to debbie up the work with enno Benjamin and Darrell Williams. So I'm not too confident in James Conner this week going against an Eagles team that has played a lot from the lead. So I just think that the Cardinals won't be inclined to run the ball as much in this game against the Eagles. So he's someone I have hesitancy on. And just to touch on one of your starts with the Patriots backfield, you know, Damian Harris or Romandre, I say start them both. I think you could see 200 yards on the ground for the Patriots, 250 maybe if it is indeed Bailey Zappi.

New England is not, in fact, happy for Zappi. We just need to get through this time, and I think Bill's going to take the ball out of his hands. No weather like there was't Buffalo last year, but we might see 10 pass attempts from New England Patriots offense this week. I think they're going to feed Ramondre. They're going to feed Damien and dare this terrible defense to stop. Yeah. That's a backfield that I do really like.

And it sucks that they have to go to this type of offense during a time where we're breaking out the vintage jerseys. I'm excited to see that game and i wish i could be my girlfriend's going to the game i can't go like ah so that'll be a little jealous there but um so wait yeah don't you want to sit on for me or no? We got our sit him. But I like James Conner because he's also very game – he's very touchdown dependent and negative game script. Those are two factors that just combine to – doesn't look very good, and plus the Eagles defense has been very stingy so far this season.

Great start for the Eagles, but don't – do not put James Conner in your lineups. But moving on to wide receivers, start Josh Reynolds at New England. Start Chris Olave versus Seattle. As for sits for wide receiver, sit Jarvis Landry versus Seattle. As for sits for wide receiver, sit Jarvis Landry versus Seattle. And then Devontae Smith, we are going to sit him. Going over to quarterbacks, we're going to start Tom Brady at Atlanta. We're going to also put in Joe Burrow at Baltimore. And as for sits for quarterback, it's Kyler Murray versus Philadelphia. This is a bold one, and I don't know if you will actually bench Kyler Murray, but I'm not banking on him having a great game.

That Philadelphia defense is really tough, and Kyler Murray tends to struggle in games like this. So sit him if you can. Trevor Lawrence versus Houston. Put him on your bench. I know people have been very high on Trevor Lawrence after the start he's had to the season, but don't get too carried away with him because Houston actually does have a decent defense against quarterbacks. Tight ends. We're going to start Will Disley versus Houston, along with Tyler Conklin versus Miami.

Sits, we're going to go with Dalton Schultz at Los Angeles. He's had a tough start to the season. And I don't think if he gets it going, it's not going to be this week at Atlanta. Excuse me, at Los Angeles. We're also going to sit Robert Tunyon versus the Giants. Going on to defenses, we're going to start the Vikings versus Chicago, and we're going to start Miami at New York, at the New York Jets, I'll add. For sits, we're going to go Bengals at Baltimore and Cardinals versus Philly. So put those guys on your bench. That'll do it for the Fumble Rooski fantasy fix.

And up next, we're going to have Derek Kuhl's guest segment where he's going to talk about some world series predictions as the uh as the the mlb postseason is is basically here started two hours ago that is that is correct so it's crazy that the regular season has gone by so quick it's also really upsetting that our our redx have not made the postseason after a crazy collapse this July. But, you know, always next year. Even though next year, I'm not sure things will be better. But we're going to get to some World Series predictions next.

This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. podcast. This is the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power 88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros, Derek Houle. Welcome to the guest segment of our show sponsored by Secret Weapon Consulting. For business plans, secret shoppers, bar spotting, server and manager training, and so much more. Visit www.secretweaponconsulting.com. So for our guest segment, we have Derek Houle, who's going to talk about some World Series predictions for this MLB postseason that has just begun. So Derek, what do you got?

All right. So I'm excited for this postseason. I think there's a lot of dynamic teams. Of course, the Dodgers, who won 111 games, the most in the National League since 1918, I believe, something like that. Still a really long time since you had a team that successful in the National League regular season. But I'm going to go in another direction.

Now, as a big Red Sox fan, it hurts me to say that I think the most entertaining World Series that we could get would be a Subway Series in New York between the Mets and the Yankees. So that's what I'm going with. I hate to root for them because I think I hate the Yankees. It's just in my blood. It's in my nature.

But I would really, really love to see a matchup between the Mets and the Yankees. I think it would be entertaining. Two teams that are really good for most of the season. We're the two best teams in baseball. They hit a little bit of their, you know, hit a bump in the road come April, August, and September. Mets lost the division to the Braves in the last eight days of the year. But I am taking the New York Mets and their dynamic pitching staff

to take on the New York Yankees, and they will beat the Yankees in a six-game series. I'm really excited to see this happen. I think both teams are good on both sides. I think you're going to get a back-and-forth series. It's going to be some real memorable moments. And after this, I think we're going to see the Yankees and Mets both lose their star player, DeGrom, leaving the Mets,

maybe for Atlanta, and Aaron Judge leaving the Yankees, maybe here in Boston. You never know. But that's what I got for the World Series, and I hope you guys enjoy the October and going into November because of the lockup. I hope you enjoy the postseason like I will. Tell us a little more about your prediction that he's going –

that Aaron Judge is going to be a red sock because that's a scolding hot take. I thought I could slip – so I thought I could slip that in there so when it happens, if it does happen, I can kind of come back and say, oh, I called this back in October. But I will touch on it. I was going to say, you dropped that like really subtly on us. I tried to keep it subtle. I tried to sneak it in. I tried to sneak it in.

I tried to sneak it in so I could come back to it, but I'll touch on it. I think the Red Sox are primed to spend a little bit this offseason. I'm eager to see what they can do. Aaron Judge is the type of runs producer that they might be willing to spend money on with Haim and his Sabre metrics and his analytics that have kind of ruined the game. Xander Bogarts was a very good shortstop for the Red Sox this year. However, he was not a runs producer. He kind of slapped the ball around here and there.

Hit for a great average, which might have bought him a bigger contract five, ten years ago before we really started. And even, you know, 20 years before we started considering driving runs in. But Aaron Judge is that guy he he's a runs producer no matter where you put him in the lineup he's a good you know solid outfielder um you know of course the the backside of these big major contracts aren't always pretty so i'm not predicting it to be some kind of slam dunk but i think he's the type of player that the Red Sox might break the bank for and give a $300, $350 million contract that they didn't give to Mookie Betts

that we were upset about. So I could see that. Yeah, I mean, looking – it's tough because I've always loved Xander Bogarts. He's been one of my favorite players. Actually, probably my favorite player of the past, let's say, 10 years. He started his career when I first started watching baseball during the 2013 World Series run, and he's been on the team ever since. He's their longest tenured player.

And as great as he's been, he hasn't exactly lives up to his potential he's he was supposed to be a top two three shortstop in the league in some years he has been that but well his average has been there like it's supposed to his power really hasn't to hit what is it 16 home runs this year that's a little underwhelming for me. Like there were a couple of years where he hit 30 and he hit like for over 300. I'm like, okay, this is the guy who I want leading our franchise.

But there's also years like this in last year as well, where it's like 15 to 20. It's good, but it's not great. And then you have Aaron, you have Aaron judge here who has,'s hitting for average granted it's a career year he's never hit for average like this but average and power you'd be crazy not to try and get him even if he was a Yankee still Aaron Judge I like as a Yankee. I like having that, call me like a Red Sox fan who just loves,

you know, I just love the rivalry. But he feels that guy to root, like that guy to, you can respect but root against. Like it's like Derek Jeter going to the Red Sox. Like, yeah, like he's great. He'd be great as a Red Sox. I'd love him. But he's a Yankee.

And he's been a Yankee for quite a few years. I don't know. I'm a little – I get it. I would – I don't know. I'm a little conflicted on that front. But not to say that he wouldn't be a great piece to that team. You know, I don't see this as a super likely thing, but it's the type of thing that –

it's the type of thing the Red Sox could kind of be sneaky about. There's a lot of sneaky signings in the last few years. I just think if they're going to give a guy a big contract, it might be him. They have minimal tax liability in terms of the CBA. There's room in the budget to go get a guy. I would prefer they replace with Carlos Correa. I think he's a guy they could give a big contract to to and you know have a story correa up the middle tandem uh but i think it i think it's an off season the red sox fans should

keep an eye on yeah actually one you know one one team i've been thinking a lot about, and I told you a little bit about this off camera for Judge to land at, is the Los Angeles Dodgers. So this would suck, and it would be a very bad look for the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry because the Dodgers already swiped Mookie Betts from us, from my Red Sox, our Red Sox, since we're all Red Sox fans here in this show. Then they get Aaron Judge and they have both of those guys in the outfield. The Dodgers suddenly have turned into the Yankees of old.

Like that's who they are now. They're getting all these players. They have a stacked farm system. They're getting all these players. They have a stacked farm system. They have all this talent everywhere. They spend. They trade for players. That's a team that's been going to the playoffs left and right ever since, what was it, 2013 was the last time they was when they first started,

you know, going to the playoffs left and right. They only have one world championship to show for it, and it was the COVID year. So I guess in that way you could compare them to the 90s Braves where they're making it every single year and they only have one world series to show for it. But, I mean, they're doing – I kind of respect the Dodgers. They're doing everything they can to improve their organization.

They're everything that I would expect the Red Sox to be. Now, the Red Sox, they may not always make the playoffs, but I think there's no excuse for a team with the resources that they have to ever be finishing last place. They have money. They're a professional organization. I know they can evaluate talent, so they can build up a farm system so i call me crazy i kind of liked it when they had dave dombrowski i did they won a world series because of him he went out and they got pieces

that they needed and eventually they made they won a world series and i look heim bloom is developing talent but he's being too conservative way too conservative but that's just that's just a red socks take i want to go i want to go a little bit back towards your uh your world series prediction so mets so mets yankees do you have the mets beating the yankees mets Mets in six games, yeah. I think it's going to be an electric series. I'd really look forward to that. I think it would just spark a good turnout. It'd be a good product.

It'd be an interesting time of year, though, because of the lockout that the MLB had. That would be a November World Series. It's going to get cold. It's going to be an interesting one. So I'm curious to see how that would play out. But I'd love to see that. So can you see the Yankees winning the World Series

or can you just not fathom it because we're all Red Sox fans? I don't think so. No. It's not my DNA. Listen, I respect the Yankees. I think they're a great organization. They're a team that people should look up to. Should hate, because I hate them.

But, look, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this team out in the first round. I agree. I want them out. I want them out. They can't win number 28. Don't do it. Don't do it. Give us that.

I want that talking point to say since 2000 that last yankee rivalry you have one world series in 22 years we got to keep that talking point because we're holding on to it for dear life good it's all we got we're never getting to 27 we're not getting there and another thing to add on to that this is something i always mention to yankee fans most of their world series were when there what, 15 or less teams in the league? There was a big, now a lot of them were with 30. That late 90s to 2000s dynasty was legit. That was a good one. But besides that, there weren't many teams in the league for most of their World Series victories, which is why I believe no team will ever repeat the success that the that the yankees just had no team will ever do it

because there's just too much competition now and there's too many other ways to win this analytics thing it's a pain in the ass but it's it's creating more it's leveling the playing field more and it opens opportunities for teams like the oakland's and the Tampa Bay Rays or the Pittsburgh Pirates to contend because now they have a different way to win. And because of that, all these other teams who are big market teams who could just spend away the Dodgers of the world, even the Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees, they can't do what they did before. You can't just win World Series left or right. So, yeah, that's the only that's that's another thing that i use but uh you got to be smart if you're a red socks fan or arguing with yankee fans because it is hard to go against the we have 27 rings sure but how many were you

born for all right well i'm glad we were able to talk on this World Series. Absolutely. But do you guys have any other thoughts before we end the show here tonight? I don't really watch baseball, so sorry I didn't really contribute. But I personally, me and my limited knowledge, I don't see Aaron Judge going to Boston. I feel like probably one of the Cali teams because for some reason people want to go to California. God knows why.

Yeah. And I question whether or not he's even willing that Haim is even going to be willing to spend because he's so fixed on the analytics, but ownership could step in and say guys, we need to do. Is Haim the guy from the A's who was on the analytics but ownership could step in and say guys wait hold on we we need to do

is heim the guy from the a's who was on the a's no he was in the rays organization okay the rays the rays are very they're they're a small market team so they have to operate that way but right now oh no i see because i remember there was a guy i'm sorry i just was i remember there was a guy on the a's that was like all analytics. He turned them around until they got rushed in the playoffs. Oh, okay. I don't know baseball, so you got to forgive me. It's all good.

But listen, and I'll end with this because we are going over an hour now. I'll end with this. If you are a small market GM and you go to a big market team, at least use your resources. You have these things. You don't have to operate like you have no money. So that's just, you know, that's what's pissing me off about Haim Bloom because he has resources here in Boston and he didn't.

I wanted Mookie Betts back and they're going to let Bogarts go. They're going to let Devers go. And I hope ownership steps in and says, stop it, stop it. But all right, guys. Well, Derek, thank you so much for joining the show. Let me know if you want to come back on. It was great having you back, man. Well, thank you. I appreciate you guys having me. I come with love and joy, love and enjoy coming on and chat with you guys about the upcoming season. Maybe we can do it again. Yeah, absolutely, man. Yep. All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes out on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 30 PM Eastern time. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

We also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Also be sure to follow our Instagram to keep up with our podcasts and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. Over and out.