The Fumblerooski Podcast - Half Century Mark -Ep 50 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: November 18, 2021

We celebrate our 50th Episode with special guest Robert Shelley as we talk about the state of the Rams, the rebounding Patriots and Chiefs, and much more!

Good evening, you are listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio. I am your host, Adam Wright, along with Justin Tucker. CJ is out tonight, but we have a special guest, Robert Shelley, host of our Sister Pulse Podcast. The Pesky Pole Podcast. Robert, it's been a long time since you've been on our show. How are you doing? When was the last time I was... Was it April?

Seems like it. Jeez, it's been on our show. How are you doing? When was the last time I was... Was it April? Seems like it. Jeez, it's been way too long. You've been dancing too much, man. Oh, yeah. Ah, busy man. Busy man. You're lucky you even got me on today. Had to barely fit you in my schedule. Kids got places to be.

People to meet. Exactly. All that jazz uh anyways uh so robert is here for a special occasion and he was lucky to be here but it is our 50th episode tonight um so that's a little bit of a big deal but uh robert why don't you tell me a little bit about uh tell us the story about how i told you that i'm starting this new podcast okay so i remember this like it was yesterday i was working at lowe's and i was trying to do it while being in college for online learning you know because that's the same value as in-person education but anyway so, so I'm in Tennessee. I'm working at Lowe's. It's like 11 o'clock at night.

I get a call from Adam. He's like, hey, that podcast is working out pretty good for you, right? I'm like, yeah, it's working out okay. Why, what's up? He's like, yeah, I want my own podcast. Okay. So we sat there for an hour while I'm trying to work, just talking about the nuances of trying to start a podcast, who to start it up with, and all that. And I told him he's got to get one or two good hosts with him

to be able to bounce ideas off of and be entertaining. Of course, we had one host that we said goodbye to fairly early in the podcast that we shall not name, but y'allall two have stuck with it who is out tonight by the way no no the other one who ari no who started your show you don't think i was yeah you mean brian right yes that's that was the joke oh yeah because he was out like every other episode when he first started he was like he i remember he was out by like episode eight or nine and he missed like four episodes yeah hang out with his girlfriend yeah he he would skip to hang out with his girlfriend and we don't want to go into that on live. No, we will not.

No, we will not. That's a behind-the-camera discussion about how funny that was. Oh, well. But anyways, we do have a lot planned for you guys tonight. Our New England Patriots are on a hot streak. I like the overs. Yeah, me too. And CJ was initially supposed to be here but he has uh he has some work to do he's a college student so he's he's a hard-working man not a girlfriend to to skip to

see yeah but uh the chiefs we're taking too many shots at brian screw him screw him all right the chiefs uh are possibly back on track uh we course, have the Game of the Week and the Fanbox segment, as always. But first, let's talk about the Rams. Wait, before you talk about that, I have one quick thing to say. And I'm sorry because I know I'm a guest. But, Adam, you want to talk about fantasy this week? Fantasy football? Yeah, you want to talk about fantasy this week? Fantasy football? Yeah, you want to talk about it?

Well, we'll get into that when I talk about how the Rams lost their wide receiver, who happened to be my projected starter, leaving me having to start, what's his name, Russell Gage, who got me a big fat zero on the board. Yeah, okay. Otherwise, probably would have been. Look at the excuses. And also, we'll get into how Matthew Stafford had himself a pretty bad game.

But the Rams have had a little bit of bad luck. So they've been going all in for the past calendar year or so. Actually, probably even longer since they've been they haven't had a first round pick since 2016 they're not going to have another one since 2020 until 2024 which is basically a long time from now and so they landed odell beckham jr everybody's hailing them as this super team they're're going to go to the Super Bowl. They're going to roll over everybody. Matt Stafford's going to win MVP. Then the very next day, they lose Robert Woods to an ACL tear, we find from practice. Then the next day, they get

crushed by the 49ers on Monday Night Football, 31-10. And the 49ers, I mean, they have some talent on their team, but they were only 3-5. So, I mean, here's my question. Since they're kind of going all-in and kind of really saying win now, ask questions later, or win now, suck later. Is this Rams all-in approach kind of backfiring here? I wouldn't say it's backfiring yet. It's the first game where Von Miller and Odell Beckham actually play. I wouldn't say it's backfiring, but it's off to a rocky start. I mean, Odell Beckham only had two catches for 18 yards.

That's not the type of production you want from Odell right now, especially coming off his Cleveland games. So he kind of wanted a little bit more, but it's his first game. Hopefully he'll bounce back and have an Odell Beckham-like game like he used to have. Matt Stafford had a bad game. He can't have that. He had two picks. One of them was a pick six to Jimmy Ward,

who coincidentally had a lot of things to say about him once he first got to L.A. But that's for a discussion later. It was just a bad game all around for the Rams, and they couldn't stop the 49ers offense. Debo Samuels basically had his way with that L.A. Rams defense, that guy is a flat-out stud, and he is a yards after the catch or just yards after reception monster. So if you get the ball in his hands, he will make you pay for it. So once they got him going and once they made Jimmy G look like the best quarterback on the field, it was a wrap. No, I'm right there with you, 100%. But if you look at Rams are 7-3 right now.

They're a game outside of the NFC West. I believe they're fifth of the first wild card right now. So looking at the Rams portion of this, they're going to be fine. They have just so much star power that they're going to be able. They have just so much star power that they're going to be able to get over the hump and make the playoffs and probably be a favorite to make it to the NFC Championship game,

in all honesty. It's between them, Packers, Bucks, and Cardinals, in my opinion. Cowboys, too overrated. I'm sorry. We'll get into that later. Cowboys, a little too overrated. But I have a hot take that y'all are probably going to yell at me for,

but I have to say it anyway. Let's hear it. Odell Beckham Jr. is in his Antonio Brown's Patriots phase right now. It's going to be extended longer than Antonio Brown's Patriots phase, but same thing. It's not going to be the Antonio than Antonio Brown's Patriots phase, but same thing. It's not going to be the Antonio Brown we saw in Steelers land. It's still going to be productive for you. Remember, he played one game for the Patriots, had a touchdown.

He only played one game. I can't say that. I'm talking about in the form of regression. He didn't regress. Look at him now. I don't think he's there comparing antonio brown to and his sort of his career roller coaster to odell beckhams it's kind of comparing apples to oranges i would say because both both are very talented wide receivers who always need the

spotlight in their direction to shine and the second the spotlight is not shined in their direction they make a way to have the spotlight shine in their direction am i right or am i wrong maybe in terms of personality but odell's best years he hasn't been the odell that we've that we that we all project him to be since his early years in New York. Even at the end in New York, he wasn't really that good. And nowadays in Cleveland, he was really not that good either. So he's really already regressed. And now he's kind of at the point where it's just, well, let's see if we can get something out of him. That's why I'm saying next year, whether it's the Rams, the point where it's just well let's see if we can get something out of him that's why i'm saying next year whether it's the rams the packers the chiefs he's going to sign to a contending team and play an ab third man on the wide receiver depth chart role and that's the way

he's going to be for the rest of his career okay as soon as soon as the spotlight was taken off odell as soon as he felt he wasn't having the amount of catches or the amount of targets that he needs, he ended up throwing a complete fit about it. And then look at where everything went. It's one of the most unprofessional things we've ever seen in football. Getting your parents involved, really? One of the most unprofessional things just to get the spotlight back on him. In his and Antonio Brown's minds, any publicity is good publicity. I disagree. How?

First off, about his talent. I believe it's still there, but it's on the decline. But I don't think it's like, oh my God, it's gone. So let me ask you this. Madden giving Odell an 85. Fair, overrated, underrated? Based upon his injury concerns and health, yes, it's fair. He hasn't been on the field. If he's on the field and he's actually given the ball, he should be higher. But he's not giving the ball due to the fact of Cleveland's offense. And Baker, for some reason, just won't give him the ball. should be higher but he's not giving the ball due to the fact of cleveland's offense and baker for some reason just won't give him the ball i don't know why

it's this thing i can't explain it but hopefully matt stafford can stop playing bad because these last two games he's been playing awful no you maybe, just maybe, he can get his head out from under his ass and throw Odell the ball. And that doesn't mean stop throwing it to Cooper Cupp, by the way. Cooper Cupp's going to break records. Cooper Cupp is on his way. He's on my fantasy. And for some reason, Adam thought Robert Woods was going to have the better season.

I thought Robert Woods was going to have the better season. I thought Robert Woods was going to be the better receiver, and he has had a decent year. He has held his own, but it's such bad luck that before a must-win game for me in fantasy football, the day before my game, he tears his ACL. That really killed me. Then I had to put in Russell Gage, who put up a goose egg. Yeah. Have you told the fans your fantasy team name? No.

It may be a little bit. I mean, it's not that bad. It's edgy. It's a little bit on the edgy side. I laugh every time I see it. I mean, our league name is kickers lives matter okay who named it that probably Adam yep yeah that was me it's funnier when it's it's funnier when it's edgy especially nowadays when like nothing is edgy but anyways we're getting a little bit off topic regarding the Rams you know this is a team So the thing with going all in, the big risk with going all in

is that number. So the biggest one, obviously, is that you're going to you're going to suck after that, after your best days, after your best days, that's inevitable. But what makes it worth it is when you win in the day, the times that you go all in in but the big risk is that what if you don't win anything in those years that's the biggest issue and then you wind up in football purgatory at best for years to come if not the cleveland browns of the of you know well their entire existence existence in in all honesty this team i don't i give them a three-year window if that maybe two i give them two yeah and they're gonna end up they're gonna end up in the same breath as the last four or five years as aaron rogers packers as soon as aaron rogers leaves that team that team's gonna blow and we all know it.

But we're going to look back on the dynasty that they had, and we're going to say they didn't win anything. We can't call them a dynasty. But they had a solid five years of contention. Yeah, that's not a dynasty. early 2000s Broncos, like 2011 to 2015, where they're just armored to the core and ready to just go all in and win it all. Not 2011. That was the Tebow year. Not 2011. Sorry, 2012 to 2015. So they had a few good years with Peyton Manning, kind of like how they have Matthew Stafford, but you really can't compare Matthew Stafford to Peyton Manning. And, I mean, I don't know. He was a big question mark when we were looking at him going into this season,

putting him around a good team, saying, okay, let's see what you got. We all think that those Lions teams were the reason that you have been underrated for so long. Let's see what you got. And he's been good for the most part, but lately he's been scuffling a little bit. So if he ends up becoming a bust, and you take a guy like Von Miller, who got pancaked by, what's his name George Kittle and yeah then you take a guy like Odell Beckham Jr. who you're banking on to be your wide receiver two at this point Cooper Cup to be your wide receiver one you know you're putting a lot of eggs in one basket and if this doesn't if this doesn't come through for them oh boy is it such a letdown this will be one of the

biggest letdowns in the history of the nfl if they can't go come out with a championship in the next two three years 100 but i don't think it's happening i see just too many other teams that have equal or more star power than they do and are able to outlast them in a big game. It's too early to tell, but I mean, you can't you can't deny that what we have seen so far is not good. It just hasn't been good. But in turn, but speaking of what hasn't been good, the Chiefs early on in the year, they were not doing very well. And there's a possibility that they could be turning it around, possibly. We'll get to that next. You're listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast.

This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio. I'm Adam Wright with Justin Tucker. CJ is out tonight, but we have a special guest, Robert Shelley, coming in for our 50th episode. Robert actually helped us out a lot with launching this podcast that we've been able to have for almost a year now. We're certainly going to do something for that. But anyways, I teased the Chiefs a little bit uh who crushed the raiders by the way in their third win in a row and they're back in first in the division they're only six and four but that's certainly a start uh what did patrick mahomes had like over 400 yards and five touchdown passes.

He looked like himself. Yes. So are the so guys are the Chiefs back on track? Yes, for the time being. It has. I have to see consistency. Consistency is the key to winning a championship. All right. Yes, Patrick Mahomes has proved to us in the past that he's a god when

it comes to the quarterback position okay calm down he's well he's been one of top two top three quarterbacks in the league over the past year right but it's all about the consistency and throughout the first part of the season he's shown us that he's flawed right they've had a lot of insanely close games that they barely won in a lot of games where they just relied on their star power to barely drag them over the finish line this game was an absolute blowout granted against a team who has an interim head coach and lost one of their wide receivers and their first round cornerback etc etc that the oakland raiders are a mess right now the only reason they were so afloat was because Derek Carr was putting up a borderline MVP performance, and now he's starting to stutter off, too.

But other than that, I just need to see consistency from this team. I see this two more weeks in a row. Chiefs are back. That's me, though. What did I tell you at the beginning when this was happening? I said, give it time. Andy Reid will fix this like he usually does, because they'll have a little slump. And then after a while, they'll get back on track. Now this is only one game.

So I want to see it happen one more time before I'm truly convinced, but it's not like the whole season they were struggling. They put up 35 against the Ravens, 30 plus against the Browns, 40 against the Eagless, 30-plus against the Browns, 40 against the Eagles. I mean, the times they've struggled was in the middle part of the season. And once they get through that part, then they start to take off again. They scare me sometimes because one moment everything's normal, and all of a sudden they get 21 points like that.

And Patrick Mahomes, despite his struggles during the season, he's still an MVP caliber quarterback and possibly top five right now. I'm not saying like I'm as far as like MVP rankings, because there's a couple of quarterbacks ahead of him in that. But if he has more games like this, it wouldn't be far fetched to say he could climb back into the MVP conversation. The Chiefs right now are going, I said it from the beginning of the year, they're going to win this division. I don't trust the Raiders to bring it all the way home, especially

since their two first round picks got arrested or one of them got arrested and one of them got released. And the Chargers are just okay. They lost to Minnesota, which I thought they should have won. But it's like, hmm.

New England knocked the Chargers out. Yeah. So right now I think it's the Chiefs' division to lose right now. And if they make the playoffs, they're a scary team. If they can just fix that defense though i can't so the biggest a big comparison to patrick mahomes when they talk about comparing him to all the greats is that a lot of them say that patrick mahomes is brett farve without throwing the interceptions and thus far this season that's kind of changed a little bit, and he has been throwing the interceptions. Those have been coming, and these no-look passes,

these off-balance throws and everything, they're catching up to him because it turns out when you try to glorify that, when you try to normalize that, making all of these crazy plays as crazy as they are, you're going to start making some mistakes, and that's starting to catch up with them. You look at that, and you also look at the fact that they lost the Super Bowl. I know that at the end of the day, it's just a loss, and you would think that that doesn't make a difference, but look at all of the teams who lost the Super Bowl, and everybody says, oh, they'll be back next year. Almost every year, the team that loses the Super Bowl ends up just falling apart

and just not being themselves. It happens all the time. No matter if you have your ducks in a row or not, it always happens. Now, they have started to pull themselves back together, and maybe they could be an exception, which, I mean, if any team is going to be an exception, it's these Kansas City Chiefs teams, which are borderline electric, you know. So I think, of course, like we've seen some inconsistency.

Like Robert said, you've got to see more of it. You just can't, like, this has been great, and I'm sure they're going to rack up some victories, but in order for us to see them as Super Bowl contenders, we need to see some more from them. And if they would have added Odell Beckham to their roster, I would have honestly put out the take saying that they were, at the NFL's version of this year's Yankees,

just trying to put as much star power into one place as possible and hope it sticks barely make the playoffs and lose in first round just to lose to their division rivals is that a is that a little uh what's it called is that a little uh teaser is that a little t a little omen that they're going that the chargers are going to make the playoffs and knock them out no if anything if this would have happened you know two weeks ago before all the raiders went to you know what i would have said raiders four seed raiders four seed chiefs five seed or vice versa yeah um i would have said chiefs four seed raiders five seed and then raiders beat the Chiefs in the first round. And just your Yankees style. I'm not – do you think this – I mean it's hard to compare sports, but do you think this Chiefs team is better or worse than the Yankees this year?

In terms of star power, about the same. In terms of depth, better. I'd say star power definitely leans towards the Chiefs. Sorry. There's nobody on that Yankees roster who compares to Patrick Mahomes. Or Tyreek Hill. Or Travis Kelsey. They're just a team of very good players. But you've got to remember that in baseball, you only have 25 guys on a team. Well, 26 now.

26 guys. And then in football, you have 53. Okay. Also, just a small little note here. Leave it to the baseball podcast host to find a way to sneak baseball into a football show. Hey, hey, got to get ready. All right. We might be recording two episodes in one day for two different podcasts. But, hey, got to stand your toes.

Just got to finesse that in there. Link to the Pesky Pole podcast in the description by the way on spotify you better make it happen i will find you but anyways we up next we have our game of the week we'll get to that up next this is the fumble ruski podcast this is the fumble ruski podcast by power 88 dean radio i'm adam right along along with Justin and special guest Robert Shelley on our 50th episode. We are on to our game of the week and here we have the Titans versus the Saints. I feel like the Titans have been talked about on like every other episode on the Fumble Rooski Podcast. To be honest, we might as well just name this the Titans podcast

or some sort of Titans fan page. But the Titans did win yet again. Their sixth win in a row against a Saints team. And, you know, this would have been a much more intriguing matchup if Jameis Winston didn't get hurt, if Kamara wasn't out as well, if Tennessee still had Derrick Henry and Julio Jones, but they made it a very exciting game nonetheless. So the Titans, they jumped out to a 20-6 lead as late as about halfway in the third quarter. Then the Saints rallied to pull within

two with one minute left. Unfortunately, they were unable to get the ball back. The Titans won 23-21. Titans win the sixth game in a row. So, boys, your thoughts on this game? I really, really, really miss Alvin Kamara. I really miss him. Because now Brian has bragging rights all over me because he beat me this week because I still had Alvin Camara in my room. I didn't take him out.

Change your roster, my man. I saw it. I just didn't feel like it. That's the issue. That's my laziness getting the better of me. But all in all, I just want to say congratulations to the Tennessee Titans. They are the number one seed in the AFC. Even without Derrick Henry, they still managed a way to get the job done.

Ryan Tannehill still figured out a way to finger roll his way into the end zone. That defense is coming along now. Jeffrey Simmons is looking like a man amongst boys in the trenches. The Saints are who we thought they are. And I just really wish that the Titans weren't number one right now. But if you look at the Titans, right, most of their wins, I'm not going to – actually, I'm going to say they don't deserve to be the number one seed. Playoff team without Derrick Henry, yes. But, I mean, coming up on their schedule,

Texans is going to be a win. They're going to roll into Patriots and lose. They have statistically an easy schedule winning out and plus they're in what I'd call the easiest division in football right now. They're with the Colts, Jaguars, and Texans. Colts are barelyts, Jaguars, and Texans. Colts are barely competitive, and Jaguars and Texans are in tank division. Don't sleep on the Colts. Just saying.

I'm like you're supposed to. They're a tough team to beat. I'm taking a nap on the Colts. In all honesty... Nope. Started 1-4. What are they? 4-1 since then? Don't sleep on the Colts.

But look at the Titans. They have seven games left. And in reality, they could probably lose two. So I'm going to say they're going to end the season as the one seed. Do they deserve to be the one seed with Derrick Henry? No. Without Derrick Henry, absolutely not. And if these, if they go, like the only two that I think they might lose are against the

Patriots and the Steelers. Everybody else, they should win. Texans, Jaguars, 49ers, Dolphins, and Texans. All those should be wins. If they don't win those games, I'm going to have a lot of questions about them. It comes down to that. The 49ers might be a tough one. The 49ers might be a tough one if they win their game.

If they play like they did against the Rams, it'll be a tough one. But if they play like they have all season, we're tight. I think the 49ers will beat them. I think they will. Okay, but do you still predict the Titans to be the one seed by the end of the year? Probably not. Seven games left winning four of them? I don't see it. They've lost too

much talent. They've lost way too much talent. Julio Jones is on IR and hasn't been his normal self. Ryan Tannehill hasn't been nearly what he has been since joining the Titans. He's Dolphins Ryan Tannehill. He's Dolphins Ryan Tannehill. And their guy who has been carrying them the past couple years, Derek Henry, is gone for the year as well.

They're pulling out victories good for them, but it's just not going to last. And honestly, I could see them losing to one of these bad teams as well and just having a big letdown. I really do. I don't see this lasting. I think the Patriots, especially since they're playing in Gillette, the Patriots, I think, should beat them. The Steelers, I mean, the Steelers are an issue themselves,

but still, I don't I don't think I don't see many of these games as slam dunks maybe the Jaguars maybe the Texans the Dolphins aren't a slam dunk either to be honest they're not a slam dunk but it should be a win sure I mean well based on their record you would you would think a lot of these games, like all these games, should be wins. But they're just – I'm just trying to tell you, just this Titans team, their record isn't as good. They're not as good as their record. I mean, they lost to the Jets. That's all I can say. But they beat the Bills and the Chiefs. I can't ignore it.

The Jets are a special case. How the hell did that team beat the high flying at the time Bengals who were able to just destroy everybody and barely lost to Green Bay? Yeah. It's unfortunate. I had the Super Bowl and thought that everything was sweet afterwards. If I can just say, I know this is talking two months ago, but when both teams are healthy, you put them up against a competing team like the Cardinals, they get stopped. I just don't see them going in. Let me just look up what the playoffs would look like today.

Let me look up the AFC standings. AFC standings? I believe if you look at the playoff picture, you will find that the Titans are – well, you realize if you get the number one seed, then you are – if you get the number one seed, then you get a bye. If you get any other seed, then you don't get anything. So what we have for the playoff picture, what are you looking for in it? I'm looking at who they would face if the season ended today. The Titans? If the season ended today, they'd have a buy.

They'd have a bye. But let's see. I mean. So what they have is the Bills. So the Bills will be facing the Chargers. The Ravens would be facing New England. Oh, Justin. Watch that ass.

What? Okay. Kansas City would be facing Pittsburgh. Okay. So let me just say. Let me just stop you right there so we don't go over too much. Let's just say miraculously this is how it all ends up and Chargers beat the Bills, right? Or Bengals sneak in and the Bengals beat the Bills.

I see the Chargers or the Bengals going into Nashville and dominating. I don't see Tennessee keeping up with either the Chargers or the Bengals. Even if they end up the one seed, it's a first round upset at home. That is if they hold the number one seed, which is a big if. Big if. But I'm saying even if they do, I don't see them even competing with the Bengals. And it's the Bengals for crying out loud. All right. Well, we'll find out just how they do. But anyways, we're going to move on. The New England Patriots, we have not talked about them all season long.

And finally, we have some reason as Patriots fans to actually talk about our team. We'll talk about the Red Hot Patriots next. You are listening to the fumble Ruski podcast. This is the fumble Ruski podcast by power 88 Dean radio. I'm Adam Wright with Justin Tucker, special guest, Robert Shelley. And we are in for our 50th episode. And what better occasion to celebrate our 50th episode than to talk about,

talk about our Patriots who have been on a hot streak lately, winning their fourth game in a row. They crushed the Browns 45-7. Mac Jones, Big Mac, threw for three touchdowns, only about just under 200 yards, but still. Yeah, so just under 200. Guys, are we buying into this Patriots team contending in the conference? Can I go first? Yes, you can go first.

I bought into the Patriots contending after the Buccaneers game. You don't remember that game. We lost that game. I still said this team is going deep into the playoffs. Deep. Okay.

I don't remember you said that. We talked right after the game, Adam. Right after the shanked field goal in the rain. It was a 52-yarder, I think. You got proof? We talked after the game. You're my proof. I don't remember that no i said right from there i'm like this team is something special i mean did i assume we'd lose gilmore

no but i said this team is something special mac jones held his own against the greatest quarterback of all time if not outplayed him in that game and adam and i were talking earlier today the patriots game plan offensively wise has been a simple has been basic a little bit of trickeration here and there but for the most part it has been basic but it's been effective just don't overwhelm the rookie qb don't make him Justin Fields. Don't overwhelm him with a giant playbook and throw him into the fire and see what sticks. Give him simple. Give him basic. Still let your team work around him. They developed an amazing offensive line when they're healthy to be able to keep him safe.

This team's just doing it all to try and cater to the rookie quarterback. And then while he goes up next year, give him some more weapons, give him a more expanded playbook, let him take over the reins a little bit. But for now, for a rookie year, Matt Jones is doing great. The best QB rookie so far. This team is going to at least make it to the second round. OK. Beating the Ravens to the second round. Okay. Beating the Ravens in the first round. So like the divisional round. In your dreams.

Unless Lamar has a toilet game, they're beating the Ravens. Okay. Two things. Number one, that was a cramp, and we're not getting it. That was not a cramp. That was a cramp. My man's pulled a Paul Pierce, and he went to the locker room. One person talking to Tom.

Yeah, my man's pulled a Paul Pierce, okay? Oh, he's going to pull a Paul Pierce when he shits all over that team, if they meet in the playoffs. All right. Adam, I'm censoring that. More importantly, they will make the playoffs because right now the whole AFC is a mess. I can't tell you who the definitive

seven teams that are going to make the AFC is because, quite frankly, I believe anybody in the AFC can make the playoffs because that's just how competitive the AFC is right now. It's down to like nine teams. Still. Not even. I mean, I put it to eight teams fighting for seven spots all the teams we

talked about plus the bangles raiders are on the way down colts i have no faith in browns i have no faith in i wouldn't say i have no faith in the browns or the browns the colts or the bangles but it's still competitive regardless raiders are falling apart Raiders are falling apart. Raiders are falling apart. I think it's just Browns, Bengals, and Chargers. No, the Chargers are in the playoffs. Yeah, I think the Bengals have a chance. The Colts have a chance. And the Browns have a chance.

So I'm like, this is still open for discussion. So I could totally see the Patriots getting into the playoffs, and depending how far it goes, just comes down to that defense, because I don't think Mac Jones is going to be because of that Belichick defense. Putting teams in bad positions, playing the field position game, and then inevitably making mistakes and costing the team the victory. Yeah. That's just how Belichick is. And it's effective. If you play field position, they're going to win that game because that defense won't give you much to work with.

And they're versatile. Matthew Judon is having a career year. I knew when he went over to the Patriots, they were going to use him differently than the way he was used in Baltimore. And you see his production go up. He is a bad man. Jamie Collins, for some reason, when he plays for Bill Belichick, plays like an all pro. I don't get it. JC Jackson is a Pro Bowl cornerback. So as far as how far they can go, I could see them in the AFC championship game. But realistically, I think divisional round.

So this is a team you look at, and the expectation has really changed from, I hope I make the playoffs, I hope we're a borderline playoff team, to we should expect to be a playoff team andFC isn't isn't nearly as good as it has been in past years rather than you know you know rather than oh this team is just really good they're they're a solid team but out of that out of that pass catching group who really scares you right let me let me give you let me give you another analogy a lot of people compare this Patriots team to the 2001 Patriots okay well let me ask you this who's the tie law out of this team is JC Jackson tie law is JC Jackson yes of this team yes yes. Is J.C. Jackson comparable to Ty Law? If Ty Law's here, J.C. Jackson's there. He's putting up the production.

He's a very good number two. He's a very good number two corner. He's a number one corner, isn't he? Out of that team, but he's not a real number one corner. I'm sorry. Stephon Gilmore would be the more tie-law guy. Who is the – let's move on. Who is the Willie McGinnis?

Jamie Collins right now. The way he's playing, yeah, but not really. He always does that with Bill. I don't get it. I don't get it. Only with Bill he plays like this. Who's the Teddy Bruschi? Who's the Teddy Bruschi?

Who's the Teddy Bruschi? Would it be Matthew Judon? I think Matthew Judon isn't on. Can't even. I was about to say something inappropriate. And another one. Another one. Who's Troy Brown on this team?

Who's Vince Woolfolk? Vince Woolfolk was later on in the game. Later on down. But same. Listen, Barker is actually playing good for y'all right now. He's going to be on the team. He's not Vince Woolfolk yet. Okay.

I'm not saying that's what he's going to be. I'm saying for this team specifically, that's the roles they would have to fill. So that's my point. As mediocre as that Patriots team is that we say in 2001, they still had some Hall of Famers, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and obviously Tom Brady. I mean, who knows what – They were building up the resume.

Who knows what Mac Jones will end up being like? However, like you really just can't compare the rosters. Like we did, this team was, we did spend a lot of money, but if you look at the players they spent their money on, they're not like A plus level players. You know, like they're more like B minus, C plus average,plus average. Kendrick Bourne. I mean, Jacoby Myers. They didn't bring it. Jacoby Myers is an undrafted free agent, but he's still more on that level. Nelson Aguilar.

Nothing really scares you there. And nothing really scares you on the defense either. Maybe Hunter Henry. But even then, are we really scared of Hunter Henry? I mean, seven touchdowns in seven games speaks for itself. You scared him to kill Harry. I think it's eight, right? Eight touchdowns in seven games or eight and eight? Eight and seven because he had two touchdowns the other night.

He's been a good red zone target, but I never saw him as this elite tight end. He's top ten which which regarding tight ends in this league when it comes to tight ends in this league if you're top 10 that doesn't really say much it's very top heavy there's a big three and then it drops off that's basically what it is kelsey kittle and waller and then andrews mark andrews is like fifth who's over him mike joseki psych he's the number one right now mike joseki's a god don't even start with me mike mike joseki is a god so is mark andrews he's the number one rated tight end right now but we're not gonna we'll discuss this after yeah i'm pretty sure he's on my fantasy team, so screw you.

Okay, so do we have any more thoughts on our Patriots before we move on to our fan box? You're smoking something if you think they're beating the Ravens in the playoffs, even with all the injuries we have. Hey, I may be in Denver, but I'm not smoking anything. I think it would be a close game. I really want to see that Patriots-Ravens showdown. Only I think the Patriots are going to end up hosting a playoff game. I don't think they'll be visiting the Ravens. They would have to get past the Bills, but I don't know about that one, Adam. I'm going to be honest.

I'm going to be a little bit of a realist, depending on how much the Bills implode. Let me tell you this. The Bills are a very good team. They're not a great team. And the Patriots are hot on their heels right now. They're just a game behind them. They have no running game right now. They face them twice. I don't expect them to win to win both but both are very winnable games and if they could win just one of those two and win as a lot of games down the stretch maybe the Bills won't win we'll lose another game and the Patriots can catch them and next thing you know they win the division like But it's very close. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but you can make a case. You'll win by game or by tiebreaker.

Yeah, it'll be close. But I'd say the division is still in play. Anyways, so we talked amongst ourselves about how we feel about the Patriots this season. So we want to hear from you guys. So that's right. It'll be our Fumble Rooski fan box. We are at that point of the show. That'll be next. You're listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast. This is the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio. I'm Adam Wright with Justin Tucker, special guest Robert Shelley on our 50th episode. And so we've reached the end of our show,

and that means we are on to our Fumble Rooski fan box. So we will post a question box every Monday, so you can respond with hot takes, questions, and more. And we will discuss it and give you a shout-out on our podcast. Respond to next week's fan box question to be featured on our show. So the question of the week was, how do you think the Patriots will do the rest of the season? So we talked about it a few minutes ago.

And so our first response was from our current, excuse me, our co-host, our new co-host, CJ. He said they'll finish 11-6 and make the wild card and maybe win a playoff game so i think that's what a lot of us have have said a little bit solid yeah pretty pretty pretty good prediction uh patrick williver 22 which i boy which i believe has been a big fan of your podcast as well, Robert. The OG. He's turning into that for ours as well. He responds to just about every fan box question.

But he said miss the playoffs by one game. Okay. Now, Patrick, buddy, not sure about that one. What team did Patrick – Patrick's a Cowboys fan, so that makes sense. Oh, forget it then. Yeah. His opinion's invalid. He's delusional.

Cowboys fan, and he also likes the – what are they? The Bengals. So that does say a lot. His opinion's irrelevant. Next. I mean, this next one's not much better. Sarah Finnamore said, and I quote, win. Win.

They've won some games, but what do you mean by win? I have no clue. I asked her, too, and she just goes, oh, they'll win. I was like, what does that mean? Yes. Sarah. You're welcome. Sarah, I love you, but I don't know what i don't what do you mean

what you mean by that because went out or is that what you're saying i have no it's possible hey let me let me just say all right my girlfriend isn't much better she roots for the buccaneers chargers uh 49ers, and Titans. And I asked her, I said, with Derrick Henry out, name me the running back on the Titans. And she said, I don't know. And she said, name me any player on the Titans that's not a quarterback.

And she goes, I don't know. Oh, God. I got some work to do. All right. Well, I mean mean at least Sarah roots for only one team I'm trying to get her to be a Patriots fan but she's saying

she won't until Belichick retires not happening he'll retire when he's dead alright now Tyson Tate or Thyson Tate his username is Big T, so interesting username. But he said wildcard in playoffs.

It seems like that's the basic, that's what everybody says, is wildcard, they'll make the playoffs. I think they're going to host a playoff game. And I think if they don't, that be a be a disappointment at this point um so anyways robert shelly who's on our show right now said easy wild card easy wild card easy it wouldn't be it's pretty it's gonna be easy i think they'll make it if they don't it, it'd be a problem. But anyways. It's just like the Red Sox and how they were. All right, we thought they were going to be nothing at the start of the year. Towards halfway point, we're like easy wild card, if not easy division winners.

And it turned out that they barely made the wild card, but still went far. Playing with house money, though. All right, so you guys are gonna you guys are gonna love this one by our former co-host brian mucker who said sadly they will be potential super bowl contenders i hold brian's opinion like very very little even though it's for my team you know how they say like take it with a grain of salt i feel like you can't a grain of salt isn't small enough with brian or like you gotta go like a molecule take it with like uh no if if we can just let's let's reminisce on i think it was like episode three or no it was episode 10 where um brian just

uh let one rip in in the middle of a podcast while I'm talking about the Bears and their quarterback situation trying to get Sam Darnold. He just ripped one right out. That's about as much weight as I hold Brian's opinions to. Oh, my God. All right. Well, anyway, do we have a new – Still probably the funniest recording I've ever seen. Both of you just stopped.

I stopped. I looked at Justin. I was like, did he really just do that? I had no choice. I tried to continue it. Do we have any other thoughts before we end the show tonight? First, you guys are looking at the creator of the name Fumble Whiskey Podcast. Forgot to mention that at the start of the show. Anyways, Cam Newton. My boy, Cam Newton.

Justin, this will be the rare occasion where I say you can do the Superman Cam thing. He's back, baby. He's back like he's never left. He's going to throw four picks in his next game and we're going to watch PJ Walker come in. I'm sorry. No, Sam Darnold won't be back. In the next game, he's going to throw four picks. We're going to watch PJ Walker

try and come in. There's something this year about people coming in in their debuts and absolutely killing it and then the next game blowing hard. No, Mike white did good his second game his third game however he blew technically a second game because he got injured during his second game yeah but not even not even just mike white like just in general people just

take away all the details in the field just look at the storyline of it you know he he's on the panthers for his for the majority of his career he goes to the patriots for one year he gets cut he finds a new team and as soon he goes back he gets back to his old team and in his only two snaps he takes he scores two touchdowns and he let he electrifies he re-energizes this panthers team and they're all of a sudden they they destroy the the division the uh actually the league best record arizona cardinals i mean i i like i know that they were without a couple of their starters but still i mean they were able to win without him the last game. But that was great.

All I'm going to say is single-handedly the Patriots have ruined Sam Darnold's career. Well, them and Adam Gase. The Jets. The Jets ruined Sam Darnold. I mean, it's just Patriots somehow making Sam Darnold see ghosts wherever he goes. And then it just carries over for the next couple weeks. The ghosts are strong with Sam Darnold. Yes.

The force is strong with this one. Anyways, that will do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check us out on Spotify, Spreaker, and Google Podcast. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram at FumbleRooski underscore podcast to keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage in the NFL. Otherwise, we will see you next week. Over and out. Happy 50.