The Fumblerooski Podcast - Still Got It -Ep 99 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: July 14, 2022

Will the Buccaneers remain atop the NFC South in Tom Brady's age 45 season? Are the Saints poised to make the playoffs? Can the Panthers surprise people with their new QB? How long will the Falcons' rebuild take? Adam Wright and CJ Medieros talk all things NFC South as well as host special guest Derek Houle who weighs in on the Boston Red Sox in their race for a playoff spot.

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 caught! It's a catch! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Good evening. You are listening to the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros. We have a big episode planned for you guys tonight. We are moving on to the NFC South to review for this season. And joining us to help out with this review is our fellow Buccaneers fan, Derek Hool.

Derek, welcome to the show. Why don't you introduce yourself to the people? Yeah, thanks, Adam. Well, thank you guys for having me. I'm excited to kind of be here and give some input on how I think this season is going to go for the NFC South. Like Adam said, I am a little bit of a Buccaneers fan. I kind of followed Brady down there when he departed New England.

New England still is kind of number one in my heart, but I can't help but root for Brady and his success. I hope he can just win as much as he can and play as much good football as he can in these last tw know twilight years of his career um although we could have called this twilight maybe five six years ago but um but i was a buccaneer season ticket holder the last two years um because i really enjoyed the opportunity to to go down and see a couple games and also be able to have tickets for for friends who wanted to go down for this weekend or that weekend um it was just a really great way to be able to to get down and see him a few last times because you never know when the last time you'll be able to see him is yeah i'm right there with you on that man i mean i like i'm i'm always going to be a patriots fan and when they when they face off against each other i'm i'm it's patriots all the way but at the same time it's like i mean it's tom brady

and we like we grew up with this guy and yeah we were patriots fans but we also watched this guy win us six championships so it's it's great to just see him do well and i root for both of them i root for both of them to do well obviously it, when it comes down to it, it's Patriots. But, you know, go Pats. But I'm pulling for Brady too. And I hope this age 45 season is a big one for him. Because this is what I've been waiting for his entire career. He's wanted to play through age 45.

Here we go. But we're going to get right into it. And so we're going to preview the NFC North. I'm going to give a little summary on everything that's happened this offseason from the end of the season until now, and we'll go around the table and we'll talk about how these teams stack up. So Buccaneers right off the bat. Tom Brady retired, then unretired after about two months.

It was a really quick turnaround. He retired, then unretired after about two months. It was a really quick turnaround. He retired, then unretired, came right back out. They also re-signed Leonard Fournette, their running back. I believe they got a kid in the draft as well to play the running back position as well. They signed wide receiver Russell Gage to replace Antonio Brown. Rob Gronkowski retired. They replaced pieces on the offensive line that they lost. Both guards they lost.

They were able to replace them through the draft and through trades. And they also got some pieces on the defensive line, namely Akeem Hicks. They also signed Logan Ryan, who is a former Patriot. Very good piece to that secondary that they added. Then the Panthers, among other big moves, recently just got Baker Mayfield. That's a team that really needed a quarterback, and now they have him. The Saints, they re-signed Jameis Winston. It looks like they're committed to him,

and they're hopefully getting michael thomas back and then there's also chris olave through the draft they got and they got an offensive tackle they also signed it was a manual no no jarvis landry yeah jarvis landry and so moving on to the falcons some of the biggest moves they made so So they drafted wide receiver Drake London. The biggest thing that happened to them was that they traded away, and it was mainly because of their involvement in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. And he wanted to get out of there, and they said, you know what? Why don't we just pull the plug?

Let's hit the reset button. They traded away. I'm really blanking on his name. Matt Ryan? Matt Ryan. It's such a basic name too. But that's kind of your basic summary on all of these teams in the division, what happened with them.

But I'll start with you, Derek. Where do you see these teams all stacking up against each other in this upcoming season? Yeah, so I'm going to start off with the team I think that improved most, not only in the division, but among the best, most biggest leaps of any team in the league is the New Orleans Saints. I look at what they did, and you got a flashback to their first month of the season last year. They were playing some really good football.

Jameis Winston, knock on wood, was playing mistake-free, for the most part, football. He looked the part of everything you could have hoped for after that eye surgery when he said that he was having trouble seeing the previous few years in Tampa. I think they got better all along the defense at all three levels, but especially in their secondary. They added a couple of safeties.

Tyron Matthew, of course, who's just such a versatile player. Marcus May, who could be a kind of a superstar waiting to break out after he played on a really bad Jets team for the last four years. And then additionally, a kind of an upside guy, Justin Evans, who was kind of a promising young defensive back in Tampa before suffering some injuries and spending a couple of years out of the league while he kind of recovered. And you hope to see a guy like that make a good spring from where he left off in Tampa a few years ago before the injuries hit.

I think you can't underestimate some of the revamping of the wide receiver room. Obviously, all you can hope for from Michael Thomas is that he plays can't underestimate some of the the revamping of the wide receiver room um you know obviously all you can hope for for michael thomas is that he plays like even half of himself from a few years ago after he gets back from that rough ankle injury um they took a high pick like you mentioned chris alave he was probably my favorite receiver in this draft just a really polished route runner and can really fly i'm excited to see what he can do in that offense. And I don't think we can underestimate Jarvis Landry. In fact, I, you know, in the whole division, I think he's probably one of the more underrated sleepers you'll see in,

you know, fantasy football. You know, last year he struggled with that knee strain, but, you know, up until that point he'd missed one game in his entire career and it was due to COVID. So I'm really excited to see what he can do with a pretty talented quarterback who kind of gets himself in trouble with some bad mistakes and whatnot. But that'll be an exciting team. I like them to give the Bucs a real good run for their money.

I have them pegged out right now. It's about a 10 or an 11-win team this season, so we'll see how that goes. But then we'll move down to the Buccaneers, and what a roller coaster for that team this season so we'll see how that goes but then we'll then we'll move down to the Buccaneers and what a roller coaster for that team this year Brady from from it was pretty apparent it seemed at least to me that he was walking away after that that playoff run and whether it be him wanting to to get out of there and in San Francisco maybe Miami but at the end of the day he kind of realized that maybe that wasn't realistic. So he turned around and was welcomed back by Tampa Bay as he should have been. He kind of has been the lifeline of their franchise for the last few years

after some rough history. But, you know, Russell Gage, I think, will be a great addition to that offense. And they added some more versatile pieces on their defense. Akeem Hicks next to Vita Veya is going to really stress some offensive lines and wreak havoc on backfields this year. And on defense, like you mentioned, Logan Ryan, he, you know, Jordan Whitehead was a really great player who ended up bolting for the Jets and got, you know, he paid what he's worth.

A really great player, kind of unspoken on that defense that has a lot of stars. But I'm excited to see Logan Ryan kind of be that veteran presence back there. And what can you say about Tom Brady? He's Tom. He'll be as good as he was at 25 and as good as he was at 35 in your hope, 45, you hope at least. He hasn't really shown any decrease, and you could argue he's even gotten better in these last few years.

Maybe that different offensive scheme opens it up a little. We'll talk about the Panthers next. For me, at least, I think this is an up and coming team that might not be right there and might not be ready to go. But you look all across that defense and there are some stars. J.C. Horn's coming off a tough injury, but he's a really good defensive back. Jeremy Chin, versatile defender. He can do a lot of things and a good thumper. He'll knock the window of some guys this year for sure.

Shaq Thompson's a great defensive player. Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, they're just really deep and young on defense. They're fast, and I think that's going to be their calling. Obviously on offense, the Baker- Mayfield situation is very newsworthy. He's going to come in and compete and ultimately be their starting quarterback in September. They can talk about a competition all they want, but they're not bringing him in to be a backup and whatnot. You know, Darnold will be there. And, you know, Malik Willis, too, is a great player who we'll see how he turns into a few years.

But I'm sorry, it's Matt Corral there, correct? Matt Corral's in Carolina, so it's not Willis. But Corral, again, he was a great player in the SEC. I think he's got a future in the league, just not right now. It's kind of going to be these two guys on a one-year deal to see who can figure it out. But they added Ikeem Uwenu, who's a really good offensive lineman out of NC State.

I think he'll be a star for years to come. But overall, I think it's an up-and-coming team, probably a six- or seven-win team, maybe more if they're defense and keep them in some games. But I think they're they're on the rise for sure. And then you got the Falcons who are kind of out of it, I think before the season even starts. And they kind of like you had mentioned, they they realized it's time to hit the reset button with Matt Ryan, he had a great run, they had some really good years. But they're probably far away from competing with him still on the roster

so they kind of did him a solid and said you know this is a good situation at indy we'll send you there for a couple of picks in the next couple years um but like you mentioned their their skill position group is is doing pretty well uh with with drake london and and kyle pitts i think those two guys are going to be great uh pass catchers for years to come. And maybe in a year or, or more depending on how the Calvin rich Ridley situation plays out, they'll have a really good, a good group of pass catchers for whoever that next quarterback may be,

whether it's Desmond Ritter or, or someone who I think they'll probably have to take at the top of the draft next year. I think they got a rough season incoming. That's kind of encapsulated by them bringing in Cordero Patterson for another year, kind of an older guy who might put some fans in the seats and bring a little bit of excitement to the team,

but really just not a piece you want to be investing too heavily in and relying on given his age and kind of in all other factors. So I think they're in for a rough season. Like I said, said four maybe five wins but they'll be picking in the top five next year all right there you have it so derrick has the saints taking that division so cj what are your thoughts on this division how do they all stack up what do you think now the nfc south it you can put it succinctly as this three good teams and the atlanta falcons now i want to talk about i mean i i mean you know derrick i respect your opinion but i got i disagree with a little bit i still think

this is tampa's division to lose you know brady's back you're with the rookie rashad white mike evans chris godwin and uh and that receiver they grabbed russell gauge right yeah not to mention scotty miller's coming back rashad perriman's finally decent and uh not to mention you know gronk's not there anymore maybe he comes back maybe he doesn't but still you have cameron bray and you just drafted kate otten the cupboard's not exactly bare at tight end oh on you lost both your guards doesn't matter your o-line's still in good shape and you have akim hicks of vita vea who will just eat through the offensive line not to mention guys like joe try on shawinka who look amazing at least from a per from a potential standpoint next season and of course your

linebackers shack barrett tevin white levante david and you're adding logan ryan to a very dangerous secondary including guys like antoine win and Jamel Dean. This is still a scary team, and I still think it's their division to lose, but I do think the Saints gave them a run for their money because I don't know why. When you talk about Brady in Miami, Miami in Miami especially was always like his kryptonite. Now Miami's basically the Saints, basically. It's the Saints now.

And Jameis, I want to like him, and for the most part, I do. At least Miami, they were able to beat at home, though. Oh, yeah, that's true. I don't understand how New Orleans does it, but, I mean, sure,

maybe you could say, oh, they're going to beat Tampa twice, but can they beat everyone else? You know, Tampa, at bare minimum,'re going to beat Tampa twice but can they beat everyone else you know can they because well you know Tampa at bare minimum is going to get like 11 wins and for the Saints you can make a case that that may or may not be their ceiling especially now I want to like I said I was talking about Jameis for a second I want to like him and like I said for the, I do like him. And he was playing some actually for once good football in New Orleans before he got hurt.

And then, you know, we got to see why Taysom Hills overrated, but that's neither here nor there. But another thing for the Saints is that they might start the season out a little sluggish because we don't know if they're even going to have Michael Thomas. Heck, we don't even know if're even going to have michael thomas heck we don't even know if they're gonna have alvin camara because word on the street is that he might be facing a suspension but but michael thomas shouldn't hurt you too much because not only do you have you re-signed jarvis landry you also have chris olave you know who you drafted what was the 11th overall so so like i said you know you know you're not hurting

but the defense the defense for me is that's where they make their hay because think about this think about this right cameron jordan you know marcus davenport who's starting to turn the corner got to mario davis the eternally underrated zach bond and you have guys like a P.J. Williams, Marshawn Lattimore, and the two new safeties, Tram Matthew and Marcus May, and everyone's favorite, C.J. Gardner Johnson, totally uncontroversial. But the Panthers, the Panthers interest me because just on the offense, just look at the offense. They have the the pieces Baker Mayfield shown flashes of dare I say competence and you know you have Christian McCaffrey he's pretty good for like the five games he plays a year now but I just I feel like this entire offense we all know goes through

Christian McCaffrey and if he stays healthy they could probably be a 500 team but that's still a big if not to mention you know wide receiver guys like anderson you know robbie anderson you got dj moore terrence marshall jr not terrible and i'm still waiting to see if tight end tommy tremble will pan out the o-lines all right defense all right but the panthers like don't be shocked if maybe they go on a run i don't see them making a playoffs but i wouldn't count it out either and then there's the falcons yep oh boy remember how i said oh the cupboard's not bare for these teams yeah well guess what falcons you you you got nothing basically your quarterback is marcus mariota and your second stringer is

probably gonna be desmond ritter who i was not high on coming out of the draft and thankfully he was not in fact a first round pick cordero patterson should not be a running back one he just shouldn't i like him as a pats fan i respect him you know because we started him using as a weapon not saying the falcons have copied us but they totally did and you know you look at guys like drake london you drafted that's cool and you also have uh auden tate brian edwards olamidza ks who you literally have drake london and and a bunch of guys you got at walmart and then you got tight end kyle pitts he's pretty good but i'll be off chance that London and Pitts are having down games. Who's going to make the play for you?

I'll tell you who. Nobody. You know, you got your O-line. That's decent. And your defense, aside from Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, and A.J. Terrell, there's not much to like. I mean, maybe Casey Hayward could turn back the clock. Maybe Rashawn Evans can look to his first round billing. Those are big maybes. The Falcons,

in my eyes, just keep your eyes on the prize. And that is Bryce Young in next year's draft. Yeah, definitely agree. So like I said, just want to recap real quick. I think, I'm not counting out the Saints, but I'm leaning toward Tampa. It's Tampa's division to lose, and they very well could lose it if the stars align for the Saints. Panthers, but third and fourth place, Panthers and Falcons. This we know for a fact.

Yeah, I mean, that pretty much sums it up pretty well but um i i my right off the bat my pick for the division is going to be probably the tampa bay buccaneers and i i really like what the saints have done that was a team that i really at the i'll admit when the offseason started i was i counted them out for next year to be in the playoffs in any capacity i thought you know this team they lost a lot of pieces they've already they're already going to lose taryn armstead their tackle but they did replace him and they but like it's it's tom brady and the team is still kind of loaded like it may not it may have taken a half step back after losing antonio brown but they got russell gage back in in return who's going to to an extent

replace that replace that um uh replace that production and you still have despite despite gronkowski retiring you you still have Cameron Brait. So, and like you said, CJ, they got a kid in the draft. So, I just, like, and they also brought, that defense looks like it's improved. Just, that's my pick for the division, the Buccaneers. And it's pretty clear. And especially Tom Brady, just tom brady alone playing is a threat but him playing with some sort of motivation to him is dangerous and lethal

and here he's going into his age 45 season the season that he's been dying to play through he's been saying it for years he wants to play through his age 45 season. He's not playing to that age 45 season just to be okay. He wants to be elite. He wants to win a Super Bowl. He wants to win league MVP. He wants to do all of that. And when he has the tools around him to do that, there's little that's going to stop him from accomplishing that. And I'll tell you one thing, that thing that's going to stop him from accomplishing it is not going to start with jamis winston at quarterback as much as he could have a career year i like jamis winston this upcoming year but i don't see him supplanting tom brady as the division as the division uh winner uh in in this league and i i see that that's also that might be my super bowl pick the buccaneers really do like them a lot this year.

We'll fight that battle when we get there. But looking at the other teams, like I said, the Saints, they've done a lot of good things. Don't look now, but their wide receiver core is kind of loaded. And if everyone pans out, Michael Thomas goes back to his elite status. Jarvis Landry. You have Chris Olave. It's a pretty good team.

And if Kamara doesn't get suspended after he was arrested during the Pro Bowl, that's a team that I could see making a run. They could make the playoffs. The Panthers are a team that does look very underrated now they've always been that team that felt like they were a quarterback away from being truly competitive and they might have that guy now now can baker mayfield take them like over the hump to make them a contending team probably not i could be wrong but that's it's a team that I do like. And Mayfield has put up pretty solid statistics, even in his down year this past year with the Browns, and he was playing through

injuries. So now give him another competent team with a better wide receiving core, by the way, DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson with Rashard Higgins as well. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. I like that. I just don't know. I just don't know if they'll be able to get past the saints or the Buccaneers. Now the Falcons, I mean, I said it right, right when we kicked off this segment, they're just hitting the reset button. There's not much else to it. They have some players, they have some players on that team to put asses in seats. They have Drake London, who I really like.

They have Kyle Pitts, who I really like. Cordero Patterson is going to please some fantasy football managers. But that's really all they're trying to do, just keep people in seats and show that they have a young, up-and-coming roster. But they're playing for a few years down the road. Like you said, CJ, Bryce Young, they're tanking. They're going for it. They're playing for the future.

They're not playing for now. And if Desmond Ritter pans out, then okay, all right, we'll see what happens. Or if, let's say, Mr. I'm forgetting his name, Marcus Mariota decides he can play football again. Yeah, but, I mean, there's just too much competition in this division. So, yeah, that's my basic summary, just basic take on this whole division. Buccaneers are my clear favorite.

Saints can make the playoffs. Panthers have potential. Falcons, eh. clear favorite saints can make the playoffs uh panthers have potential falcons look at them a few years down the road well then we'll talk but yeah so so for me kind of i'll just kind of go into why i have some qualms uh i have no doubts that come playoff time the buccaneers will be a legitimate threat for uh not only the fc championship but for the Super Bowl. But their schedule is a tough one. They play Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Cincinnati, the Saints twice, the Chiefs, the Packers.

It's just a little bit of a gauntlet. Not to mention they've got to go to Germany midway through the season for a game in Frankfurt. But it could be a tough regular season for a slightly aging team. But I have no doubts about them come playoff time. And with Kamara, I think the suspension is definitely possible. And I think it will come sometime. I'm just not convinced it will be this season.

I think they're going to let the legal process unfold. He doesn't have a hearing until August. So I wouldn't be shocked if that kind of resolves itself in the court system and then the NFL steps in after. So he could be looking at that suspension possibly next year. But that's to be seen, I guess. So I do want to look at this schedule and just sort of dissect it a little bit. Do you guys want to go through these

through these games and kind of determine whether or not they win or lose these games wait for which team tampa or new orleans for tampa all right new orleans if we really want to um that is an interesting argument because they they do have they do face some competition some good competition uh but week one is the Dallas Cowboys. So how do we feel about that team? I think that game could be a toss-up. What's that? I have a toss-up.

I think that game could go either way. I think Tampa Bay could get by, but I think Dallas is still a good football team. But I'll give that to Tampa. Yeah. Yeah, I'm going with Tampa. I'm not really thrilled with how the Cowboys are right now. Yeah, they're a good team.

I like them. But I just think there's Dak Prescott in the Cowboys, and then there's Tom Brady in the Buccaneers. And also, the Cowboys did give them a run for their money in opening week lap uh on opening day like you know last year and they had a pretty good team now they kind of lost some pieces so you have to really determine like are they are the cowboys even as good as they were last year so that's something i look at definitely plausible going into going into week two they now have their division rival the new orleans saints who have given

the buccaneers all types all kinds of hell ever since tom brady has come has joined that team um this is a tough one it's impossible to predict because every time you think that the buccaneers are going to win this game the the Saints steal it away from them. And it's not particularly close either. I have the Saints in week two. It takes always Brady a few weeks to really get ticking. Yeah. I'm going to give that to the Saints.

I'll have to as well. Yeah, that's going to be – I'm fighting the urge to pick the box wait hold on is it in new orleans or tampa actually really doesn't matter it's not saying where it um so i'm looking at it through through google let me let me i'm not sure uh for that first game does it say dallas on top or on bottom because the home team is probably whatever dallas is so dallas is on bottom is on bottom and how okay so the bottom team is home so whoever's bottom team there on that week two is probably okay so then the buccaneers are starting on a road trip because the saints are on the bottom here too yeah yeah so then yeah that that might be a that might be a Saints win.

And Jameis Winston shows yet again that he can hang with Tom Brady for a game. Next game is the Green Bay Packers, and they're hosting the Packers. I have to go with Tampa Bay here. I don't know about you guys. Yeah, I'll go with Tampa Bay only because I think if they lost to the Saints the week before, I don't see Brady losing two in a row this early in the season. Yeah, the Packers are looking a lot less scary, especially without Devontae Adams and Zedaria Smith, so put me down for Tampa. And on top of that, the Packers are going to visit the Buccaneers, and the Packers aren't as good

of a football team as on a way as they are on the, in the frozen Tundra at Lambeau field. So I think, so they started the season two and one, then they have the chiefs and they're hosting the chiefs. I might have to go Tampa again. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm going to go Casey here. I think it's reasonable to expect some regression from the Chiefs. I don't think they're going to win their division, but they're still a deadly team. Anytime you roll Patrick Mahomes out as your quarterback, you're going to have a fighting shot. I think they brought in some pieces who will be able to recreate some of what they had in Tyreek Hill.

Obviously you can't replicate him one for one, but they brought guys who do different things. I'm excited to see what MVS, Juju, and Sky Moore do in that offense. See, I like what they did on the defensive side of the ball, and I think their defense has improved from last year. However, on the offensive side of the ball, they have taken a bit of a step back. How much of a step back will determine on what Patrick Mahomes can do

with the new pieces that he has, this new look offense? It's going to be more of a balanced team, but they're not going to be the astronomical offense that they have that in years past. I think I might still take the Buccaneers. The Chiefs are visiting, so the Buccaneers have home field advantage going for them, and they've now beaten the – they're coming off a

couple of years ago that super bowl victory against the chiefs when it was actually a home super bowl for the buccaneers i think they're going to ride out that momentum as well uh because a lot of this team is still from a lot of this buccaneers team was from that year so they kind of have that going for them the momentum there um so going on uh to the next week this is i believe we're on week five so here we we have them i have them three and one and derek you have them three in uh two and two i have them two and two at this point yep yep and cj has them three and one as well, right? Yeah. All right. So Falcons, I think we can all put a dub on here.

Yeah, we don't even need to talk about it. The Falcons are a team that exists and nothing more. Yep, they're hitting the reset button. That's 4-1 for me, 3-2 for you guys. No, no, no, I'm 4-1. Yeah, yeah, you're still 4-1 too. You too are 4-1, yeah. It's three records I'm trying to keep track of.

I'll keep track of mine. We'll do it at the end. Alright, awesome. Buccaneers. Buccaneers and Steelers. Buccaneers. Buccaneers. It's going to be Buccaneers, but the Steelers, I think, are going to be slightly better than people are giving them credit for. However, the Buccaneers are just that juggernaut team, man.

So I have them 5-1. Buccaneers, Panthers. I can't see the Buccaneers. As much as the Panthers might have improved this year, I can't see the Buccaneers losing to them this hot next season. Yeah, so I don't disagree with the Buccaneers losing to them this season so yeah so i don't i don't disagree with the buccaneers like i said a good team but um i'm gonna have to take the panthers here for one of them this panthers defense reminds me a lot of that same washington defense that just

kind of stifled the buccaneers last year and hit him in the mouth almost like a little bit of a mid-season lull i'm not trying to be too pessimistic, but I just think, I think the Panthers have the defense to kind of squash the squash the bucks for a little bit. We'll see. Yeah. All right. We're let's, let's try to get, let's try to get through the rest of the schedule quickly because we are getting a little bit up there in time. So we had all right. So here we are. We're at Panthers. All right, Ravens, win or lose? Win.

I have a loss. Ravens are my Super Bowl champion this year. All right, I have a win. All right, Rams – Derek, you made a fan in Justin Tucker, by the way. I want you to know that. Yeah, yeah, Tuck is one of our other co-hosts, and he's probably jumping for joy right now for your pick.

So then they have the Rams. This is a game that I have a loss for. So for me, I had them. Yeah. So that's their first win. Their first loss for me since the Saints on September 18th. So that's two losses for them. I'll have to count up the wins at the end of this. Yeah. I they, so that's two losses for them. I'll have to count up the wins at the end of this.

Yeah. I have a win for the Buccaneers. I think, I think they they'll, they'll finally turn their corner on the Rams this year. I really hope so, but they've been that that's another team that's much matched up really well against them.

And it took, it took, it did like, Oh, I have the Rams again. And maybe the Buccaneers break it in the playoffs, but for a regular season game, that's tough, man. Yeah, I'm leaning toward Rams.

All right, so Buccaneers, Seahawks, I have Buccaneers. Yep, that's a win in Germany. But I got the Buccaneers. That's in Germany. Yep. Browns, Buccaneers. The Browns are hosting, but it's going to depend on whether or not Deshaun Watson is going to be on the team at this point.

I have the Buccaneers at that point. I have the Buccaneers there. I'm not expecting Watson to even play this season. I am going with Tampa. Yeah. Watson to even play this season. I am going with Tampa. Even, yeah. See, even if Deshaun Watson does play, I think I'm going with the Bucs.

Because, you know, quarterbacks in their first years, especially in the first half of the season, it's tough. I have the Buccaneers. Alright, Saints. Now the Buccaneers are hosting. This is the point where the Saints break it. Yep, I have a win here. Yeah, I have a win here. Yeah, I have a win.

Now we're getting the Buccaneers and the 49ers. The 49ers are hosting. I have the Niners here. I think the Niners are going to come out blazing this year. I think Jimmy G is a serviceable quarterback, but I'm excited to see what Kyle Shanahan can do with the skill set of Trey Lance. Yep. Trey Lance is going to be interesting.

He's going to be – this is going to be a wild card for me because I'm not sure how Trey Lance will be. But we'll see with that one. I think I'm going to pick the Buccaneers for now because I think even if Trey Lance can play, it's Tom Brady who's on a mission at this point. Now here we have Bengals-Buccaneers. Buccaneers are hosting.

I'm going to pick the Buccaneers on this one. And the Bengals may be defending conference champs, but teams that lose the Super Bowl aren't quite the same the year after. And on top of that, I know Burrow didn't have much of an offensive line to work behind, but he still threw a lot of picks. And what Tom Brady is best at team making teams pay for turnovers and the buccaneers are just going to eat them alive in that sense and the bangles might be able to keep it close but yeah i hear you i just want to say real quick it's gonna be a dog fight offensively but i like tampa's defense more

than i do bangles and you know defense wins so i'll so i'm going with tampa yeah i'm going with tampa bay you had mentioned that this kind of the super bowl hangover effect um just a quick stat so we can keep moving but only five quarterbacks have ever lost in a super bowl and then they're after return to play in another Super Bowl. So the odds are already stacked against Joe Burrow and this Bengals team. I'm pulling for the kid. I think he's a fighter. I'd like to see him succeed, but the odds are stacked against him.

It's a really elite group who have lost and then returned to the Super Bowl. Yep. All right. Buccaneers, Cardinals. What do you guys think? He hops back at this point, but I'm still going to go with the Buccaneers. But I'd watch out for the Cardinals to be a good team this year. Wait, Adam, what week are we in? I don't know which week, but it's December 25th,

and there's one, two, three games left in the season. This is the third to last season i have to go with tampa because maybe maybe it's just me being cynical but at this point in the season uh the kingsbury led team is already unraveling so i gotta go yeah that's kind of the way i see it the cardinals are all i have the past couple of years, they've been pretty formidable, but at the end of the season, they are, they're the, they're quite the opposite and they will be getting Hopkins back. So they'll have, they'll have some reinforcements and I really like Marquise Brown next year, but I still, the Cardinals they'll collapse at this point. And I hope they don't. I mean, i'm not rooting for teams just to suck but still um

next next one is the panthers so again a team that i just don't see them losing to this season and maybe they pull off an upset but i'm not going to predict it yeah no i have the buccaneers here yeah i do too all right next game uh this is this is a slam dunk falcons another one oh yeah another one like the way i've seen it the past couple of years looking watching this uh and i'll come back to the screen here um the way i've seen it watching the falcons play against the buccaneers for me as a guy a tom brady guy watching him play it's always been an opportunity for him to watch him rack up his stats really pad his stats like that's really been it i've i've never actually been in doubt that they would that they would lose the game at that point and i'm pretty sure

all of them were blowouts i could be wrong but i think you're right just about all of them uh so all right um yeah so we're short on time on on this segment um anything else we want to add on real quick quickly though before we go on to uh derrick's guest segment nope i don't think so all right cool so next we have derrick uh we have derrick's guest segment and he's going to touch on the boston Sox and their current state, where they're in right now going into the All-Star break. We'll touch on that next. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up in the past.

There's no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch. To Yates! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Slings it way down the field to Watkins!

Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. I'm Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, special guest Derek Kuhl, and we have reached our guest segment. Guys, DM if you want to be on our show. We will reach out as well as we're trying to get guests. We want to hear from our listeners, so guys, feel free to reach out to us. But without further ado, we have Derek Kuhl's guest segment on the Red Sox. So, Derek, what do you got?

Yeah, so Sox have been playing some decent baseball over the weekend. They had a huge series split. They were down two games in the series, but won both on Saturday and Sunday to kind of take a split in what felt like a lot of momentum coming out of the weekend. They've dropped a couple to the Rays here. We'll see how they finish out that series before going back to playing the Yankees. But I kind of want to touch on some concern I heard from John Henry this week.

Alex Spear of the Boston Globe got a sit-down with John Henry, and I think there were some troublesome comments, in my opinion. Alex Spear asked what they thought to expect in the next month, weeks and months leading up to the trade deadline, and Henry kind of point blank said well we're going to be we're still a rebuilding team from top to bottom and that's kind of my fear with the whole thing we just saw two years ago they traded muki bets to the dodgers um in the next couple years they're going to have to make a decision on zender bogarts and rafael de, who are some really other great homegrown talent.

You'd hate to see that what happened to Betts have to happen to them. But the way the approach that Henry is taking is kind of concerning to me because, you know, to be in the middle of a playoff hunt, probably secure with a playoff spot and a chance to kind of, you know, you probably can't catch the Yankees, but you can really get to the top of that wild card and give yourself a fighting shot. Now, I'm not saying this team is a surefire World Series contender,

but this team is in competition, and this is the kind of team that you should be trying to add. Sell from the farm a little bit. Bring in some reinforcements. You need an arm out of the bullpen. You need a first baseman because Bobby Dahlbeck hasn't really gotten it done this year like you could have hoped. But just the phraseologies of we're still rebuilding is concerning because it makes me feel like they're not all in on this team

and they're going to be continually trying to just undercut and save a buck here when you have some real generational talents in your team that that you know you could your risk at risk of losing adam i think you're muted yeah you're muted sorry so it looks like this is ever since they hired heim bloom so they fired dave nombrowski and the the really the narrative was let's win now let's use our assets let's try to go all in every year now it's kind of it's kind of taken a different approach in in years past uh in these recent years with heim bloom where you're kind of looking at it in it through an analytical standpoint it's like all projections like Like in 2019, or excuse me, in let's say 2021,

we project to have 88 wins, and we're going to lose in the wildcard round. And because of that, let's not invest anything in this team, and we're just going to let everything play out, and we will project to win the World Series in 2023. That's why. Like if you have a team that can potentially win it all, invest in that. You don't have to go all the way in like Dave Dombrowski,

but you can still have a happy medium. I mean, they've been competitive. Looking at it, since 2016, they've only had one losing season. So they've been competitive during the past almost decade. And then you look at it and you say you're rebuilding? No, you're not. You're in the thick of it, especially since you had that tough start. You have a good, like, look, where's the weakness here?

You have a good starting lineup. You have a good rotation that's hurt, which is part of the reason why they're slumping, but they have a good rotation when it's healthy. And their bullpen is starting to figure things out. They have some pieces there. All they need is to add that one, like maybe one or two pieces of, you know, let's say they put something in the bullpen.

They address the first base position. They address the outfield. They haven't done any of that and they're not looking to. And that is a problem for me because you're looking at it through an analytical standpoint. But if, if you were all about analytics, what do you think the, the 2019 nationals were thinking when they were one of the worst teams in baseball halfway through the season? And then they had one of the biggest turnarounds in MLB history and they won the world series. If, if I want to, I want to see what would, I really wish there was some way you could find out what would happen if

Hein Blum was the general manager of that team. I really do. Because like, if you, if that were the, if this were the case, like it's, it's just tough for me because like these these red socks teams have potential last year they had more they had potential to do more than what they did last year and they didn't and it might be the same thing here and it sucks because this team actually looks like it can do something and they they might not but that's that's kind of my basic take here. Yeah.

Yeah, I won't lie. I'm not the most baseball literate person on earth, but I do want to say one thing. I was not happy when they traded Mookie Betts. I was not happy when they traded Ben Attendee. So for God's sake, do not trade Devers and do not trade Bogarts. You guys literally said this team has a chance to do something. So why are you rebuilding? That worries me.

Maybe instead of throwing all that money at Trevor's story, you could have gotten a competent first baseman or, God forbid, a healthy pitcher. So just, I mean, like you guys, I'm a little worried that they're just going to completely just up, you know, just what's it called? Overhaul the roster, which is something that I like I said, not most baseball literate guy. But a roster overhaul is something I disagree with strongly, especially since, like Adam said, you're only a piece or two away. Yeah. And for me, I'm just worried about the bigger picture.

Right. You know, I don't want John Henry bringing in Heimblum, who's done a pretty good job of rebuilding the farm. The farm system has done a real 180 from where Dombrowski left it. But I don't want to become the Boston Rays, where you try and have the cheapest payroll in baseball while still competing. You can't cut corners. And if you look at Henry's other investments, the football clubs,

they're really spending heavy on some football players right now. And you're hoping that he's not trying to save a buck for your team to promote his other ventures. But time will tell. I think they're trending in the right direction. Like I said, the farm system is promising. There's still some really talented players on the roster. But I just hope it isn't a sign of things to come where we kind of go from being one of the biggest markets

to trying to be a mid-market team. It's not what the fans deserve. Yeah, and adding on to that, I'm also worried. And if they really are taking an analytical approach to sort of look at they circle this one season where they say, this is the year we're winning it all, like based on the projections. What if they're wrong? And then like you really sacrificed all these seasons where you were actually

contenders when you swore they weren't. You sacrificed those seasons for that one year, and you lose in the divisional round. Or you lose in the ALCS or somewhere in somewhere along those lines. And then you have to tear the team apart and say, Oh, well, Heinblum is going to say, Oh, now it's going to be 2030 when we're going to win our championship. And we're going to start sacrificing right here. Like, screw you, man. Like this. I've never been an analytics guy. I love the movie Moneyball. It was a great movie,

but please guys, can we stop modeling our teams after it? Because they did lose in the, in the divisional round that year and the year before. And there's a reason for it. And there's a reason why the Oakland days have not won a championship. Another thing to add onto that is the other team, theland days or no no no no the the tampa bay rays that you mentioned that you want you're you're afraid they're becoming the boston rays which i'm with you there but the the tampa bay rays since 2008 when they won that they made the world series that one year guess where they rank in wins among all of baseball. It wasn't high.

Yeah. It wasn't number one. It wasn't two. Fourth. They're fourth in all of – out of 30 teams, they're fourth in wins. How many championships have they won in that time? Not an expert, but probably none. Jack squat. So you're one of the teams.

You're one of these teams who is among the league leaders and wins which is great i like i love summers where i can invest in a good baseball team but if you're not doing anything in october then what's the point and then we have to tear the whole thing down and rebuild again like what what are we doing here this is not this is championship city not the city of let's be competitive and everybody looks at that team and say, ooh, that was a good team that year. Too bad they didn't win at all. Meanwhile, the other team that did win the championship,

hopefully it's not the Yankees, then they're going to be celebrating a championship. We're going to be sitting there twiddling our thumbs thinking, I hope Heimblum is right. It's a problem for me if you have resources use them don't play with these analytics but that's all i have to say about that if you have anything else to add derrick no i don't that covers it just the the worry for the stately red socks but i appreciate uh taking the time to talk about them yeah definitely man derrick thanks for

coming on to the show. Loved having you on. We've been trying to get you on for a little while, but glad we were able to finally get you on before this summer starts and things get crazy. But love to get your analysis on this South division. It's an intriguing one to review because there's teams that you look at at first and you're like, no, they're not making the playoffs.

You're like, wait a second, this Panthers team. Wait, this Saints team isn't bad. And the Buccaneers are still a pretty damn good team. And wait, this Falcons team is god-awful. Yeah, that's a team where we look twice and you say, nope, nope, they still suck. All right. Well, we're going to have to end the show here.

Anything else you have to say? No, just thank you guys for having me on. I really appreciated it. I hope to be back sometime soon. Maybe after a week of this season we'll get a week reaction to a slate of games. We'll see. Absolutely. That'd be fun.

We'll try to do something like that. All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. Be sure to tune into us live Tuesdays at 730 on, excuse me, Tuesdays and Thursdays on at 730 on Twitter and Facebook through fans only sports network. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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