The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - TNF Reaction, 49ers Stacked, Magnificent McCaffrey, Diggs Injury

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

John reacts to the 49ers dominant win over the Giants and shines a spotlight on the ONE question mark on the 49ers roster.  He explains that Christian McCaffrey has completely changed the Niners, and breaks down why the Giants are in serious trouble. He predicts the NFC will be a three horse race, assesses the impact of the season ending injury to Trevon Diggs, and thinks a certain head coach could be fired by Monday should his team lose this weekend. Stuckey from the Action Network joins John to talk about some of the best bets of the weekend. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I'll say that much with the New York football giants. But, you know, semi-intertaining football game that we will dive into, as well as the Dallas Cowboys, have a devastating injury at practice today. We will talk about that. And a certain coach that if they lose come Sunday, might be fired by Monday. And I think many of you probably know who that is, but talk about must win. in late September, the charges better figure out a way to beat the Vikings come Sunday morning. So we will talk about that as well as my man Stucky, talk a little gambling, picks for this weekend, college football, incredible slate, probably better in the NFL.

So we talk about some of the bigger college football games and the lines, as well as his favorite plays come Sunday. You want to get your gamble on. I was kicking myself last week when I didn't hammer. hammer the Florida Gators over Tennessee, and they cruise to a victory. Stucky knows what he's talking about when it comes to college football in the NFL. He's five and three right now, so my man's starting strong. So you want to make some money, listen to Stucky. Let's rock and roll, baby.

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Hell, I would have gone to see Caleb Williams this week if I wasn't going to a wedding on Saturday. So if you want to take a loved one to a game, use the GameTime app. promo code John, $20 off. Let's dive into Thursday night football. And I've been born and raised in Northern California. Dad was a diehard Niner fan. The overwhelming majority of people growing up where I grew up. where I grew up 49er land. They are the equivalent of the Yankees where I'm from. And, you know,

I came into my own as a sports fan in the early 90s. I missed Joe Montana, though I ran into him one time on the street. And if you ever run into a super famous person on the street and you know about their kids, bring up their kids, they'll talk to you. Joe's kid at the time was playing at Washington, gave me a weird look when I said something. And then I said, how's your son doing? He started BSing with me for like 15 minutes. It was sneaky highlight of my life. But I don't remember Joe Montana. I grew up on Steve Young. And I say to this day, the best team I've ever seen, at least that I was definitely rooting for any sport, besides maybe the Durant Curry Warriors, was the 94-49ers. And, you know, speaking of Dion Sanders, they signed him for the one season, and they dominated.

They had like 15 pro bowlers. I mean, I think legitimately they had 12 pro bowlers. They had like 10 or 11 all pros. They had Dion Sanders in the peak of his powers as well as Steve Young who won the MVP, and they cruised at the Super Bowl. They finally beat the Cowboys. That's the best team start to finish I've ever seen, especially with the 49ers. And I've been watching this team very, very closely

since I got out of the league in 2012, 2013 range right, when Jim Harbaugh took over. And I think this is the best iteration of the modern-day 49ers. Right. Clearly, the only question mark this team has, McAfee is freaking incredible. Their defense is awesome. Debo Samuel is probably one of the most unique players we've ever seen. George Kittle is still really good. Brandon and Iuk didn't

even play tonight. Eventually Brandon Iuk's going to get a hundred million dollar contract. They have seventh round wide receivers in Joanne Jennings and Ronnie Bell who are good. They have Trent Williams, who's a first ballot Hall of Famer at left tackle. This roster is stupid loaded. They have one question mark and it's the quarterback. And listen, he's going to get nitpicked because that's the only thing you can nitpick. You're not going to be like, well, you know, Nick Bosa could be a little quicker. Fred Warner, his angles as a tackler could be a little better. No, the only thing you have to question is Brock Purdy, who last time I checked does not lose

when he starts and finishes the game. Obviously, the Eagle game is the only time that he's ever started that the team has lost. So they are still in the position, right, a little like Jimmy Garoppolo, though Brock Purdy is much better than Jimmy Garoppel. And listen, Brock Purdy's not a top 10 quarterback in the NFL, but neither was Jimmy. And they were rattling off NFC championship games every single year in 2021, 2021, and then they went to a Super Bowl with Jimmy Gropolo. This guy's better.

Now, if you watch tonight, he does leave some things to be desired. And to win in this conference, there are three teams that are on a completely different level than anyone else. And I think we would all acknowledge if there is not some combination of Eagles, Cowboys 49ers in the NFC championship, something fucking nuts has happened. Like, that feels inevitable. It would take like 17 injuries for that not to happen. Hell, the New York Giants, who, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, I was banging the drum.

I'm like, I think they're going to be better this year. I mean, we saw the Cowboys and 49ers play them. The score was a lot to a little when you combine the two. And I would expect the same thing with the Eagles. I thought the talent was going to be a little closer. It's not. They're on a completely different level. And when the dust settles, the Giants

still probably win eight, nine games are competing for a wildcard spot. And they're not that much different to the majority of these wildcard teams. But I think when you look at the 49ers, it's just going to come down to Brock Purdy. And we're going to get to see in a couple weeks when they play the Dallas Cowboys, what it looks like. Listen, it was a struggle last year. I've said it over and over. It's why I have a lot of respect for the Dallas Cowboys.

Because they came into that game at Levi Stadium, ready to win it defensively. They had a championship defense. Just like last year, the 49ers didn't go. to the Super Bowl. They had a championship defense. It comes down to your offense, right? And in that cowboy game, Dak threw two picks, ruined them. In the Niner game against the Eagles, Brock Purdy

ripped his elbow, and it's over. It's all going to come down to which quarterback, I don't think even plays the best, plays the most efficient between Brock, Jalen, and Dak. If you're not throwing picks, you're going to win the majority of your games, right?

The Cowboys win that game against the 49ers if Dak doesn't turn the ball over. You see tonight Pertie, who struggles at times, who looks like relative to like top quarterbacks. I think the expectations because a team is so high, but he doesn't turn the ball over. So if you're not going to throw interceptions, like I'm looking at a stat line. I actually think a stat line looks a little bit better than his game. And a lot has to do with their personnel.

Because I think the way we judge the 49ers is their team is so well balanced and it's true. But you'd go, well, the Eagles have the best two wide receivers or the dolphins have the best two wide receivers. Because you would say Debo and Iyuk aren't as good as that crew. But that's not how I look at it because really McCaffrey and Debo is the crew. And I would put McCaffrey and Debo against anybody. Like they can go with AJ and Devante Smith or Waddle and Hill. Because while McCaffrey's a running back, he can basically at any moment flex out and place

lock corner. And I think it's fair to say now with Nick Chubbs, you know, it's sad, but his knee, you know, chopped in half. McCaffrey's the best running back currently in the NFL. And Debo is really unlike any player, right? It's just he's not a normal player. He's basically a hybrid running back, wide receiver, who catches, I mean, half his catches are coming on wide receiver screens like it's college,

but he takes like a third of them 40 yards. And then he can take a slant, he can break like six tackles, do a 360 around a guy. He's just not a normal player, right? And he was in a crew of guys like two years ago when they all wanted contracts, AJ Brown, D.K. McHaff, and Debo Samuel all got paid. AJ Brown and D.K.Mecalf are true outside wide receivers. Dibo's a hybrid, right? And Christian kind of is too.

And they also have George Kittle. They have Brandon Ayuk. Their offense is just elite. And I was thinking about it today. And listen, I'm no Bill Belichick historian. And trading in the NFL has never been like the NBA or Major League Baseball, where star players have consistently been traded in season. it's happened forever in my life in baseball, right? A Cecee Sabathia, a Verlander, whoever get traded in the middle of the season. Either their team knows they can't resign the guy or they just get the prospects or whatever. It really happened probably in the last half decade that has been very consistent,

quote unquote, star players get traded in the middle of the season. That I can remember Vaughn Miller because of the outcome, you could argue arguably one of the best trades of all time. They traded for a pass rusher. I think they gave a second and a third. They, you know, Broncos ate a bunch of money. And he had a sack week 17 and every playoff game and they won the Super Bowl. But the difference of him and Christian McCaffrey, who tonight ties a 49er record for 12 straight games with a touchdown.

The guy that he tied happens to go by the name Jerry Rice. So McCaffrey as a 49er has been a Hall of Fame level player. I mean, he just has. And everyone would agree. I'm not saying he's a Hall of Famer, but as a 49er, it doesn't get any more elite than he's been. And the difference between the Vaughn Miller trade,

which did net them a Super Bowl, Vaughn Miller, when the season ended, went to Buffalo because they offered him 50 plus million dollars guaranteed. Christian McCaffrey is not only was under contract for several years. And listen, Kyle Shanahan, who's got on record, his favorite player as a kid, was Christian McCaffrey's dad. Like Christian McCaffrey.

whenever he does come up for free agency, we can talk shit all we want and trust me. I'm guilty of this. Guilty is probably the wrong word. I feel good about the evidence when I, I don't even want to say talk down, but support teams for not giving big contracts to running backs. That will not be the case with Kyle Shanahan and Chris McCaffrey.

I'm not saying it'll be the right move in a couple years whenever he pays him. He will pay him. Christian McCaffrey, if he's healthy, is not going anywhere. Kyle Shanahan, if Christian McCaffrey was crack, Kyle Shanahan would be a crack addict. I texted about five people that tonight. Because Kyle said last week, he didn't even realize McCaffrey never came out of the game.

Now, he made a conscious effort tonight to rotate other backs in. That guy's addicted to Christian McCaffrey, and rightfully so. I mean, since I've got it out in the league, I just have opinions on players, but I watched a ton of college football. And when I, you know, say something about a guy, for the most part, I've watched them play a ton of games. And I watched Christian McCaffrey's college career.

And I underestimated how good he was going to be as a running back. I thought, you know, I think he'll inevitably be in kind of transition to be more like an Edelman Welker, like an elite slot receiver than a true between the tackle running back. And one thing, and listen, I've talked to this guy several times about this. He went on record the moment he was coming out. and he pounded the table forever. And it was David Shaw, who has an NFL background, who's been around, you know, pro-style football players for decades.

I think people underestimate how good McCaffrey is as a true between the tackles running back. And he was right. I thought about it tonight. I don't think the Panthers, because I thought they were kind of crazy. Wait, you're going to take this guy at eight? You're going to draft this guy in the top 10? And again, I didn't think he was like a fourth round pick.

But I thought, like, you know, mid-20s or something. And they took him an eight. Not that it was that controversial, but it was definitely a pretty bold pick. They nailed it. Now, it didn't totally work out for them because of injuries and Cam fell off a cliff. But that's an elite player. I mean, he's a Hall of Fame level talent. And he's come to the 49ers and he's completely changed them.

Like, they were damn good without him. They're elite with them because their weapons, like they're missing Brandon Ayu tonight. Who cares? Doesn't matter. Don't even notice. And he's not just some random player, right? him and Debo are an unstoppable combo. And you factor in George Kittle and then you factor in how good their defense is.

And let's face it, I don't blame and I supported Bosa for holding out, right? Though I do think hold-ins can be more effective. But listen, when you're talking the amount of money, these guys are talking, your business tactics, you got to do what you got to do. But it was pretty clear, like early this season, you know, there's a clear hierarchy, like in quarterbacks of the elite guys. it's Parsons, it's Miles Garrett, it's T.J. Watt, it's Nick Bosa. Like, those guys on any given game could have like five sacks.

They could just not only take over the game, they could go, is that I don't like the best player I've ever seen? And early on in this season, Michael Parsons looks like LT from the mid-80s. T.J. Watt looks like J.J. Watt in his prime. And Nick, through the first couple games, didn't look that great. And now you're starting to see him just like, you're starting to see it a little bit, which is understandable, right? you miss that much time in training camp. I don't care what you're doing on your own in the gym. You can't replicate football.

You can take BP against Pedro Martinez. You can play five on five with nine other NBA guys. You can't play football without being with the football team. And that's what's scary about this 49er team is within a month, Nick Bosa is going to look like those other guys. It might not even be in a week. It might be mid to late October, but it's coming. So they have one of the best players in the first players,

the league that hasn't really looked like himself, which makes sense because he wasn't around until week one. So that's coming on. I think the Niners, listen, the NFC has a bunch of undefeated teams, Washington, Atlanta, I think we all know. This thing's a three-horse race, unless there's a catastrophic injury with one of the teams. And I can't wait to watch them all play each other. The Niners and the Cowboys in a couple weeks, buckle up. We're back with another week of football. And Draft King Sportsbook is keeping. us in on the NFL action with great offers every single game day. New customers can bet $5 and get $200 instantly in bonus bets.

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I would say the Giants were my NFC version of the Steelers. I was very bullish on them. I thought coming into the season, they would be better. than they were last year. There would be more substance behind it. And though their record might look pretty similar, nine, ten wins at most, they would be a better team.

And they would be closer in their division where there was a gap last year with the Cowboys and the Eagles. That's clearly not the case. And listen, Daniel Jones, Andrew Brandt, who worked for the Packers for a while, tweeted something out tonight that Purdy's making like $780K,

and Daniel Jones is making 46 million. billion. They're paying them a lot of money. And the expectations when you get paid a lot of money are really, really high, especially when the expectations for your team, given your previous year, are also high. So it was going to be the pressure is no joke in New York. Listen, I think the Northeast, Philly, New York, Boston, those are intense places to play, especially NFL football when your team is viewed as a playoff team. Because it's not like you get nitpicked, like you're held to a high standard. And you feel that watching them play tonight, right, where they were 10-point underdogs.

And listen, when the season started, even if you picked them to win 10 games, you would have circled this one as an L. They just played at Arizona. They stayed out here on the West Coast. I think the problem, though, wasn't tonight. It's the next three games. They're one and two. They got destroyed by the Cowboys.

They had an incredible comeback to not be 0-3. They play Seattle in 10 days. And listen, if you watch Seattle, week one. You'd be like, oh, maybe Seattle's come back to Earth. I watched them

last week against Detroit. I love them this week against Carolina. That's going to be hard. And the reason it's going to be difficult

is their defense is nowhere near the Cowboys or the Niners. That offense is legit, man, from Kenneth Walker to the first round pick from Ohio State, Jackson Smith, and BK Medcalf and Tyler Lockett,

like, they can score. And they're going to get to 25 plus points. And my thing with the Giants right now, say Kwan, who knows. He's obviously out this week. He's probably going to be out next week to take a miracle, maybe miss a week after that. Where are they getting their points from?

Darren Waller is a fucking baller in theory. Right? You're like, God, this guy is 6-6. And this is kind of why I bought it in the Giants. He fooled me again. It's like, you know, he's one of the quicker players at his position in the league might be the fastest him and Kyle Pitts. He could run all the routes, great ball skills. And he's always injured. You know, he just always is. It was like that with the Raiders after his first

couple years and he got paid, he was kind of a show of himself. And I wanted to be sweet because he's a fun player to watch, but he's just not that dependable. So if they don't beat Seattle, which I think is going to be very hard, and when the dust settles, assuming Seattle doesn't have a bad injury this week, I think that line is probably like a pickum. Then they go at Miami at Buffalo. So it is going to be very, very difficult. The Giants could play well in two out of three of those games and be one and five. And let's face it. I don't care who you are, unless you're like the 49ers of the Cowboys, it's hard to get 9-10 wins starting 1 in 5.

So I think the Giants have major, major issues. They already have impact injuries with star impact players, big time tackle out, start running back out. They had players go down the night, you know, struggling to get off the field. And then the pressure just grows and grows and grows on Daniel Jones. And listen, is he better than probably people talked about before? last season even started. Yeah. If Daniel Jones played for Kyle Shanahan in the last couple of years, would we even be discussing him like we do? Probably not. But he plays on the Giants. And they gave him

$45 million a year after 15 touchdowns. And it's when lost that doesn't directly correlate with the quarterback, right? It's like they're not a tennis player or a golfer. But most good quarterbacks win a lot of games. And if you're going to one in five, it's got to be a little reflection of the quarterback. And I'm not some anti-Daniel Jones guy, but I think this thing could get ugly just looking at their schedule. So Niners, I don't even want to say roll. They actually kind of struggled tonight at times,

but relative for them, they win by multiple touchdowns. It looks like they're cruising to a 13, 14-14 win season. And they're at the point now, and I think the Cowboys are in this, and the Eagles are as well, where they're just going to be judged on the times when they play each other. And we get that here in a couple weeks. And the Giants, I think they're already fighting for their playoff lives in week four. It's crazy how fast things happen in the NFL when you start slow.

Because you start slow and your schedule all of a sudden you realize you play two sweet teams. You're like, we better fucking win this game or audios to our season. The other news of the day that is just beyond shitty. Listen, guys get hurt in football. And I say this all the time, right? You can get hurt in football in April training on your own. You can pull an Achilles at the gym with your trainer, let alone at OTAs in a non-contact injury, let alone in training camp when the pads come on, and obviously in the games in the regular season.

But I think once the regular season starts losing a star player in practice, there's nothing worse. There really isn't. Because at least during the game, like the guy, I don't know. I don't even know how to describe it. I personally think, and when I was in Philadelphia, we signed Namdi Asim. who was terrible. But I remember he got hurt in practice and everyone thought he blew out his knee,

which looking back would not have actually mattered to anything. But at the time, it's like, this guy just blew out his knee in practice. And it doesn't happen that often. Remember a couple years ago, I think Deshawn Watson tore his ACL in practice. And Trayvon Diggs today with the Cowboys tore his ACL in practice.

I think their center got hurt as well. But Diggs is clearly out for the season. And, you know, it's well documented, how many plays the guy has made since he came in the league. I think he has 18 picks. I saw a stat today on PFF so far this season. He's been awesome. Now, granted, they've dominated two games against the Giants and the Jets, but that sucks.

And that hurts. I don't think it derails their chances to be a NFC champion or to be a Super Bowl contender, but that is a big blow. And, you know, every team, the Eagles, the 49ers, and the Cowboys specifically have a core group. of they have more of them than everyone else, you know, 8 to 10, like, easily could be legit pro bowlers, not the fake pro bowl, not like Tyler Huntley pro bowl, because some dudes in Maui with his family, like, no, I went to the pro bowl because I'm one of the best players at my position, and the Cowboys, Niners, and Eagles have a lot of them.

And when you lose guys like that with torn packs, torn ACLs, whatever, for the season, it's one thing to roll. It guys get hurt, right? Lane Johnson got hurt last year. Ayukes hurt right now. it happens. It's another thing to lose the guy. It's like, he's not coming back.

And a guy like that who's just such a playmaker, and I know it was, I think two years ago, they just paid him a bunch of money. I think they gave him $40 million guaranteed. He was well worth it. I'm a big believer at corner and playmakers, right? Not everyone's going to be Dion Sanders or Dorel Rivas. They'd be like, oh, they're just going to shut the guy down for 60 minutes.

That's not most guys. Most guys, even the good players give up plays. Remember a couple years ago, it was like, well, he gives up a lot of plays. Like, he also has seven turnovers, right? He has eight picks. Four of them are pick sixes. I live with playmakers. I think the same thing with quarterbacks.

It's like, well, he has 11 interceptions on the year. Well, he also has 40 touchdown passes. So I will take the good if there's a little bad. And Diggs brought a lot of good. And I do think there's something, there'll be a rallying cry and they'll be fine. I mean, who they play. They play the Cardinals this week. But that, that hurts.

And I can't even imagine that vibe at practice. I think Dak Prescott told like Edward or before the news became official, like we're just, we're praying for them. Like, they know. And sometimes, remember, it happened to Kelsey a couple weeks ago, goes down in practice. And by the next day, Schaefter had been tweeting, like, they had feared that it might be a season-ending injury. No one's sleeping well. This one happened pretty fast.

And they had the news. And this hurts. It really does. And listen, a lot of people love to hate the Cowboys. and always push back. They haven't made the NFC championship in 25 years. And facts are the facts. But this team, and I even thought last year, is a fun watch.

Like, if you like football, and I grew up hating the Cowboys, I'm kind of indifferent now. Like, I'm sorry, Mike McCarthy is their head coach. Like, Michael Parsons is one of my favorite players. Like, I find Jerry Jones entertaining. But I get, if you're an Eagles fan, even most Niners fans I know are kind of don't care. Actually, the Packers kind of became the Niners rival.

I totally understand it with the Eagles and the Giants, but I do think this cowboy team, if you are a fan of football, is an enjoyable watch. They have an old school vibe to them. They fucking destroy people when they tackle them. And they make a ton of plays on defense. And call me a sap for like 1990 and 1980 football,

but I still enjoy watching defense. I don't want to watch every single game be 38 to 34. and losing a guy like this is just harder to come back for it. And one other thing for Sunday, the Chargers play the Vikings. And not in a million years, and I've said this the last two seasons, I said, listen, I'm not going to pick this team to win the division, though they have the capability because of their head coach. But I'm never going to act just because I think their head coach is terrible

and a complete phony and a fraud that they're going to win four games. I understand the way the sport works. their quarterback's too good. The talent around on defense as well is too good. This team can just walk to 10, 11 wins. And two years ago, they lost the Raiders on week 17, where they should have won that game. And then last year, obviously,

they made the playoffs and blew a terrible second half lead to Jacksonville. But not in a million years when I said, yeah, the chargers aren't going to make the playoffs. And not even just not make the playoffs, but it's like a six-win team? And it shows you the impact of a head coach. And I'll talk about it with Stucky. I talked about it.

I think last week, if you could flip-flop the two coaches, Mike Vrable and Brandon Staley, one, just on the entire season, I think a lot of people would pick the Chargers, especially the Chiefs are just kind of up and down this season, to win the Division. Like, they'd win 13 games, and the Chiefs will win 12. Instead, the Chiefs are going to roll to the AFC West. And the Titans who, listen, God love them,

and I kind of wrote them off, they're just going to be around. why they have a superstar head coach. And the Chargers aren't just O and 2. I think if they were to lose this week, which is definitely on the table, because anytime Brandon Staley is your head coach, you could play the 85 Bears or you could play the Hugh Jackson Browns,

you might lose. And I think if they lose and they go O&3 to the Minnesota Vikings too, it'd be one thing. It's like, hey, you're playing the Chiefs in Kansas City. You're playing Minnesota, who is O&2, but also it feels like they're destined to not be that good this year. I think he gets fired by Monday.

And I think you have to fire him by Monday because one, most 0 and 3 teams and a lot of these stats now, oh and 2, 0 and 3 teams, we have seven teams now each conference in the playoffs. So the old stats, you almost have to throw out the window. And we've only been doing this for what,

two years? We haven't been doing this very long. Yeah, two years. Because two years ago, it was Rams. We only had the Monday night football game two years in a row. Cowboys, Tampa, and the Rams, Arizona Cardinals.

So the stats with that, I think we have to need a larger sample size. Maybe in 10 years we go, hey, if you go 0 and 3, you're this likely to make the 17th playoff. I don't think you're dead when you have a Justin Herbert or a Joe Burrow. But you don't need to be some Harvard mathematician to know it is a major, major uphill battle.

The other thing is, if you're the Chargers and you just invested all this money and listen, you know where I stand on the owner. you're not going to pay that guy that much money without someone saying to him, we can't go continually year after year with an average coach. Eventually, we're going to have to cut someone a check. What's the point of any of this?

So you would have to sniff around to the Jim Harbaugh's to whoever, whoever the top coaching candidates that would be very expensive, right? Sean Payton would have been that last year. Wouldn't this be a great opportunity to give Kellyn Moore, who just a couple years ago was viewed as this star offensive coordinator who was going to be a head coach, was turning him down, stayed with Jerry,

got paid a bunch of money, basically give him a 14 game sample size, give him a 14 game interview process. So if you tell me right now, the Chargers lose to the Vikings, which sounds crazy even saying out loud, the Chargers with Justin Herbert or O and 3, with Brandon Staley's on the table,

I think he loses his job on Monday. And I think if you're Dean Spanos and Chargers, you know, ownership, leadership, you wouldn't have a choice. you're paying too many people too much money. You have too much talent on your team. You would have to make a change. I think this Sunday is must win for Brandon Staley

to have an office in the facility come Monday. Okay, let's dive in to something we like to call the bold take of the week. You look at the NFL slate, you know, I'm not going to pick the Cardinals to beat the Cowboys. I'm not even going to pick as I just talked about, the Chargers to lose, though I would find that interesting. I think Nick Sabin's in major trouble.

There have been rumblings this year about his team as a shell of itself. I think they're out of the top 10 this early and just in a season for the first time in like eight or nine years. Their quarterback position is in shambles. Lane Kiffin doesn't just know Nick Sabin. He knows him well. He's played now in the same conference with him for a couple years at Ole Miss. He coached for them. And let's face it, this Alabama dynasty, which.

is a legit dynasty, right? Is leaking oil? Now, it's different because players graduate and they leave. We've seen it with the Patriots, right? Patriots still don't suck, but they're nowhere near what they once were. And if they were a college team, they would have been like that team that was always ranked three or four or one for 20 straight years. And now they're not sniffing the top 25.

Not quite Nick Saban yet, but hosting Lane Kiffin this week, I think Lane not only beats them, I think within a couple days, we start hearing, you know, Nick, the changing tides of NIL, of the transfer portal, he's 72, 71 years old. Could this be his last year? He's entertained it. Now, I understand you don't want to not go out on top, but what if there never is going out on top again for Nick Sabin? I think Ole Miss beats Alabama this weekend, and we start. talking, is this it for Nick Saban? Brought to you by Guinness. Gather your friends, raise your glasses, and toast a win. Guinness, Drought,

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with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so you y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Live here on Amp, Wednesday, morning, afternoon, lunchtime, depending on where you may live. Hell, it could be night if you're an international. Here with my man, Philadelphia native, live from Lexington, Kentucky, I think. Stucky, what's up, bro? It's going on, brother.

By the way, who's having a wedding on the best college football regular season weekend of the year? Yeah, you know, my girlfriend's brother is getting married to his long, long time girlfriend, I guess now fiancé. luckily I think the wedding on Saturday doesn't start till five and the venue is also like this winery with TV. So I'm going to be able to not miss much action as it looks. I guess Notre Dame, I don't plan on missing much. So I will find a way. I'm glad see you and Oregon is earlier in the day. So I'll be able to take that all in.

But yeah, I'm with you. This is a I was really quick. You can find Stucky. network big bets on campus go subscribe to the podcast he i mean just had everyone sunbelt billy he's about to get fired and then florida absolutely demolishes tennessee i was like i should i was thinking about it and then i ended up going to arizona state fresno state who i also was going to put a bet on fresno state but i was like you know this game could get weird and then they absolutely demolished them so uh yeah yeah that was that you saw one of the probably the worst football games that will be

played this year. I think what did Arizona State? He was four quarterbacks at eight turnovers. Oh my God. It was crazy. It was bad. Yeah, I went to that as the epic Colorado game was going on. But I guess let's start with college because this weekend, you know, from an NFL perspective, the amount of scouts that are going to be out and about at these games is going to be pretty outrageous. I mean, I was texting around with some buddies. I think some of these games are going to have close to like every team have representation now. it given, you know, especially Notre Dame, Ohio State to really, Sam, I mean, there's an enormous moment for Sam Hartman. We don't know Shador. I think, you know, that, I don't know if you saw that video that went viral. It looked like they were at the Bronco game where Dion's like, you ain't, you ain't coming out, you're coming back, but, you know, Bo Nix is a guy. I mean, you're an SEC

country who, you know, most people had kind of written off. He's definitely resurrected his career, and there were going to be a lot of eyeballs on that game for sure. And while I don't know if there's a quarterback in the game. I guess Jackson Darb, but Ole Miss and Bama's got to have a lot of pro prospects at other positions. So, yeah, I mean, college football doesn't get much better than this week because the NFL slates, you know,

I'd call it average. Yep. A lot of big spreads. There's a couple mismatches out there. But the NFL Sunday never disappoints. But yeah, this is, especially after last Saturday, which is very overwhelming college football, this has all the juice. I mean, you go to Florida State Clemson,

which will have, you know, obviously, but national title caught to all playoff implications. The list just goes on and on. Okay, let's start, you know, I'm sure you have a stat, but it feels like Notre Dame over the last decade

of the Brian Kelly era into, you know, last year doesn't, I don't totally count it, but now they have a quarterback, they just haven't won many of these games, obviously in the playoffs and definitely back when they, you know,

went to the national championship against Alabama. I like him a lot in the spot. I mean, they're getting three points at home. I don't know about you, but that's, I mean, Saturday and Sunday, probably my favorite bet of the weekend. I think Notre Dame, I think has a chance to be really, really good.

I don't know, compete to win the national championship. Like, can they beat Georgia? But I definitely think they could beat Ohio State this week. If you're getting points at home, that place is going to be bananas. I like Notre Dame. Yeah, I agree. I will be curious to see how many Ohio State fans show up. They travel really well, and we'll be able to see the gold versus the red in the crowd.

a couple of friends of mine who are state fans have already told them that they're going. So that's one thing that I'm interested in seeing. But yeah, I agree. I mean, these two teams played last year in the first game of the year. And, oh, you know, I actually kept it close. It lost 21 to 10. It was an, oh, they didn't have a quarterback. They're one of their quarterbacks.

They played two quarterbacks last year. One of their quarterbacks got benched playing for Alabama last week. He threw for 30 yards in the first half against South Florida. their other one, Drew Pine, you went and saw last week at Arizona State, one of the four quarterbacks who can't complete a pass. So they were at a massive disadvantage from a quarterback perspective because Ohio State then at C.J. Straub. So you're talking number two overall pick and two guys who couldn't throw a birthday party. So, you know, now you look at it and Notre Dame has the better all-around quarterback. I'm not a Kyle McCord guy. He could prove me wrong.

Like last week, yeah, he went off. It's got the best receivers in the country, best receiver room in the country. Western Kentucky's defense is way down. They gave up 400 yards rushing to South Florida. They lost a bunch of really good players from last year's team. They're going to get carved up by any good offense, just a complete talent mismatch. And by the way, the Ohio State offense looked very

overwhelming against Youngstown State and Indiana before that. So, yeah, I mean, I had the home dog here with the better all-around quarterback, the experienced quarterback, going up against, you know, a kid who's getting his first dose of a real defense in a hostile environment. And if, look, the Ohio State receivers, Bupa Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to be ridiculous in the NFL. They're great. But Notre Dame has one of the best cornerback duos in college football in Morrison and Hart.

And last year, they actually held Stroud in that passing attack in check. And that was Morrison's first ever start in college. And Hart was banged up. It wasn't 100% healthy. So I think, from what I've seen, Ohio State's going to be able to get a push. They have a really good offensive line outside of one guard spot, is leaky, but they're going to get able to push up. So they're going to estimate company, are we able to run the ball a little bit? That's going to set up the Hartman deep shots,

just something they didn't have last year. They couldn't throw it downfield at all. And I think the Notre Dame defense will force McCord into some mistakes. Obviously, the receivers are going to make some plays. I think the defense is a little bit improved under Jim Knowles for Ohio State, but this is a very veteran Notre Dame team that I think is ready for this test. And mainly it's because of the quarterback play. And they have the edge here against Ohio state. Not many times in recent history, can you say that? It's funny, beside all the hoopla last week, everyone

before that started had circled this little stretch for Colorado once they won those first couple games. At Oregon, USC, you've seen that game next week against, you know, Caleb Williams is the Fox morning kickoff game, 9 a.m. 10 million people just watched last week.

Dion is just, you know, a rocket ship of interest right now. This line's weird, right? Not even weird. It's just, it's enormous. I mean, it's three touchdowns on the road, which historically for us out west is probably the closest thing that you have to an SEC environment when that place is rocking. It's really loud. This has been one of the best programs, probably the most consistent. I mean, Utah's had a little run here, but over the last decade and a half, beside that little stretch from Stanford, once Pete Carroll left, you know, this is, I don't really know.

This is probably stay away from me. It seems like a lot of points, but I've seen teams get in there. if Oregon's rolling, Bo Nix is on, they just might just have more NFL players top to bottom, especially on defense. But this is a fascinating matchup. And this is another one. If Shador's making sweet plays,

I mean, we're going to start talking about this guy as if he came out this year, would he go right there with Drake May to be the number two pick? If he returns, I would say he would definitely be circled as the guy that would be the number one pick next year. So this is a pretty big moment for him

who's already had a bunch of really big moments. Yeah. Look, what Dion is doing is amazing. And just this momentum early in the season. And when Colorado's good, it's better for college football too. But just this momentum he's building right now, he already was going to attract so many top-end recruits and transfers, by the way, which is going to be massive.

But now, after starting three-no, the interest is even going to be higher. But I think they're up against it here. I think this has Oregon 58 to – It's 21 written all over it. Something bad. I mean, look, if you look at what Colorado's done, and Travis Hunter's not going to play, he's a big loss. One of the things is Colorado team,

they have a pretty talented, you know, starting 11. Outside of the offensive line is a problem, especially going into Eugene. And for what it's worth, over the last 30 years, the most profitable home favorite in conference play is Oregon. And to your point. And the offensive line is going to be a problem here. the defense is not that good.

They have a couple stars, like an Hunter, and they make some plays, but this Oregon offense is on another level, and the Colorado defense just isn't very good right now. If you look at what Colorado is done, you know, they came out.

They obviously assembled a, Dion is assembled a much more talented roster than they had last year, where they were just pitiful. But they got the benefit of coming out against TCU, and TCU had no idea what to expect from that. offense, right? They were just like, whoa, what is going on? And kind of just got shocked by it. And PCU scored at, scored at will against the Colorado defense. The next

week they played Nebraska, and Nebraska basically just fumbles the game away. I mean, Colorado and Sanders did his thing. But I mean, they were going up against someone who couldn't snap the ball. And then when he did, he would go back. Quarterback was a joke. It was one of the worst performances ever seen. Then the next week you play Colorado State team, who was just lost by 40 to Washington State a couple weeks before. And you can't stop. them because the quarterback was decent enough. It was his first ever start and they were just going up and down the field.

I don't see how that won't happen here. Colorado will put up a fight. But the other thing is that Oregon in a spot like this, when you're laying a big number, the back door's always open, but like what, you know, Dan Lannning, the head coach for Oregon, he came out and like had some

words about Colorado leaving the Pack 12. And I mean, even though they're leaving to, who knows of all this politics stuff. He wasn't wrong, though. Yeah, I agree. He was saying that before the Dion stuff, the Colorado had been irrelevant.

Agreed. And, no, I'm just saying everyone is going to just trash everyone, everyone's going to leave. But I get what he's saying as well. And then, you know, Dion is out there. They're 3-0, and Deon likes to talk to talk. So some of these coaches in the Pact 12, when they're going to get a chance to run it up a little bit,

for Colorado is still a little beatable, they're going to do it. And this is like Bo Nicks-Hisman season, I all eyes on it, so I think he could have a huge game. I just don't think the Colorado offensive line can hold up. Sanchez will be running for his life. And on the other side, I just don't see how this Colorado defense is going to get many stops. And the one thing I will say that I disagree with what, Deion did it and he built off the momentum

of the program, but I don't think he will do it in the future, is that every game has been this massive, like, build up. And they played, you know, three teams that could have beat them. And it's just this massive buildup of energy. And that's a lot. That's exhausting everything that they've done. Meanwhile, Oregon's beating teams by 50 and they put up 80 in their sleep on Portland State. But Colorado, these kids have gotten up and up and up.

Like how much they have in the tank? They don't have a lot of depth. And Oregon's going to put up a ton of points. So that could come back to Biden. You could see just the damn break in the second half. I was texting with someone yesterday when I was outside barbecue. and just, you know, like us degenerates, thinking about college football. Colorado's bound to lose a game this year to like Arizona or Arizona State or Stanford just because, like you said, one, these are 19, 20 year old kids.

That's why last week wasn't that weird. It's college football. Like Alabama sometimes gets pushed. Last year, Missouri pushed Georgia. Weird shit happens. Weird shit happens in football in general, but in college for sure, because we're human. Like, they're bound to be like a 10-point favorite against one of these other Pac-12 teams coming up and they lose. Like that's classic.

And they're also bound to do the opposite. Maybe they upset one of these games. Like maybe they beat USC in some crazy shootout. Because wouldn't you say that on paper with the way they're built, they match up better against USC than they would. Utah, Oregon with like NFL bodies everywhere on defense that might be able to neutralize their power offense? Yeah. Utah is too physical. And Oregon has like Oregon now is a pass rush, which is going to be a big problem for Sanders in that offensive line. which then they've been lacking that department.

But yeah, USC, you can win that game in like a finesse, just complete shootout back and forth. What's the over under on that game going to be a hundred? It depends on what Colorado does this weekend, how much they give up and how much they score. USC also plays Arizona State so they could put up a number. It'll be, it could be high 70s for sure. I think the highest one I've ever seen,

highest total college football, I think that's the high 80s before some big 12 game back in the day. Before we dive into the NFL, my favorite game right there with Notre Dame, I think this week, is Washington State at home getting three points against Oregon State. Like to me, DJ Ungula, he's definitely been a little more under control, but he still kind of looks pretty robotic to me. Like he's not, he might have a better season on paper than last year, but it's not like he's some different player. and I think Washington State, like you mentioned, Colorado State might be decent. Maybe they end up going six and six. They fucking destroyed them. Washington State was decent last year.

Actually, it was pretty good, right? They easily could have beat Oregon if they wouldn't have pulled one of the craziest games out of their ass of all of 2022. Washington State might just be one of those teams that, like, has a chance to be in the Pack 12th championship in three or four weeks. You'll be looking up. You're like, damn, they are, you know, whatever, six and oh, seven and no. I think they're really good. Obviously, Oregon State is too. really good coach.

But at home, I think I've been to Wazoo. It's got a little, you know, I wouldn't say it's quite Eugene, but that place can get really rowdy when they're good, and I think they're good. I love them plus three this week. I think they've covered two. They have the longest home cover streak

on the Poulouse in the country. Don't quote me on that, but I think that's true. Yeah, I mean, the big matchup in this game is, Washington State came into the year. They wanted to install a new offense with Cam Ward, and they wanted to be more vertical and attack more downfield and was there going to be growing pains?

Obviously not. And yeah, they exceeded expectations in week one. They did it again against Wisconsin. And Wisconsin was coming out trying to avenge a home loss against Washington State last year. So you knew they were coming into that game fired up. But the offenses looked great. And that's what this is going to come down to. It's like, I agree with you on DJU.

He's going to be a lot better because that offense, one of the best offensive, that has one of the best offensive lines in all of college football, they lean on their ground game. And then it's just setting him up to, you know, play action off of the running game. He's got a great offensive line. So everything's going to be a lot easier and simpler for him in that system that it's just all run first. I don't ask him to do too much. But Washington State, with their downfield passing attack now, the weakness on this Oregon State defense coming into the year was on the back end.

They lost a lot of talent in the secondary, and that could decide this game. I think I agree with you. I don't have a strong feel either way, but I think the winner of this game is sneaky and just one of the teams that people aren't talking about that could just slide into the Pac-12 championship game. Okay, let's dive into the National Football League. Last week, you know, you nailed the Bill's game.

That was the easiest cover. The Denver Broncos, I would imagine, you felt pretty good at half-time. So up 18, Sean Payton, was 72-0 with an 18 or more, point lead in his career. The defense is horrifying. I mean,

the Broncos scored more points than I ever dreamed of in the first half. You're up 18. The defense is lost. They, Vance Joseph replaced a really good defensive coordinator and Ivoros now in Carolina. Then obviously they had fan job before then. And there's a huge drop off. They're just blitzing without any rhyme or reason.

Sam Hal, they basically came back. They just ran screens and Denver never adjusted. Sam Hal went 8 of 8 for 138 yards on screens in the second half. And, yeah, the defense has let Denver down. Surprisingly, the offense has actually been pretty good. Russ has looked a lot better and more play action. And, yeah, the Denver secondary.

They've won really good elite corner in Patrick Certain. One corner, I don't know if he might get cut this week. And then their safety situation, they lost Stearns, who's supposed to be a big player this year for the season. Cream Jackson gets thrown out for targeting. they bring in a rookie he gets hurt they got to move a slot back to safety he gives up the what was the game winning touchdown i write it off and then they get a hail mary bring me right back in and then don't get the two-point conversion um so yeah that was unfortunate but yeah i thought the denver

defense would be better against sam hell than it was they just didn't adjust and then it's my own thought for trusting jack wilson but i don't even put all the blame on him for that game everyone knew he's terrible. The defense didn't make any big plays. No, they kind of got worked. Could have been a pick six. Yep, the defense was supposed to come in there and step up as one of the best units in the NFL. Sawscorder catches that pick six, maybe it's

different story. And also the offensive game plan, like, it's, you're going up against Michael Parsons at pass rush with Zach Wilson and a bad offensive line. Move him. Like, roll them out, give him simple reads. Like, do what they do with Daniel Jones. He was just dropping back deer in the

headlights. And once I got behind, there was never a chance, but that at Denver defense, that Dallas defense is excellent. Okay, let's dive at your picks. This one surprised me a little bit. You like the Browns this weekend, minus three against the Titans. I would imagine, you know, if you just pulled the average football fan, they would just say the Browns got major issues. Injuries left and right, star running back out, though, I think the backup actually

look pretty good. But their main issue is this quarterback right now does not, you know, look remotely close to what he once was. You know, there are rumors of he's got a burner account on Twitter responding to people. I don't know if you saw that one. But this is a, this seems like a team that, you know, easily could have won that game. It took a couple defensive scores, kind of freaky defensive scores. But they happened.

It's not like the Steelers, you know, were lighting them up on offense. But I feel there's just a lot of negativity. And maybe you're going against that because the actual, the tangible evidence isn't as bad as I think the perception. is. Yeah, I mean, look, Nick Scheld's one of the best backs in the NFL, and he matters, but him being out, running backs barely ever even impact the point spread. And the backup did look good. They also are going to sign Cream Hunt today. And, yeah, Watson hasn't looked great, specifically on his deep balls, which is what he was known for in the past. But I really like this Brown's team because of the defense. The defense, I thought was going to be one of the best,

most improved defenses in the entire NFL. They brought in a new coordinator in Jim Schwartz. Last year they just, they were so disorganized. They beefed up the interior of the defensive line, added some dudes there, bringing one Thornello State. You already have three really good corners. They were just running the wrong scheme. Well, so far this season, the defense, everyone's talking about the Dallas defense,

rightfully so. The Brown's defense has been even better statistically. They didn't face Zach Wilson. They have, they're on the season. They're allowing a 25% success rate, 25 and 27 in back-to-back weeks. For reference, last year, five total games were a defense allowed under 27%. A team hasn't sniffed the red zone against them. The Steelers didn't sniff the red zone last week.

The Bengals didn't sniff the red zone. The Steelers had two defensive touchdowns and a long touchdown pass. That's it. This defense is really good. They're going up against the Titans. offensive line that is very questionable, probably be without one of their starting guard as well. And then on the back end, Tennessee's missing potentially a couple starters in the secondary. And I think Cleveland has enough juice.

And they're going to come out fired up. This is like an emotion, like you lose to the Steelers. Okay, we're coming back home. You know, they've already said they're going to dedicate it to Nick Chub. And this will be like an emotional response against, you know, a Tennessee team that just came off an overtime winning home they played a couple of close games i still i don't like what i've seen from tana hell the running game doesn't look like it's there i'm just trusting this brown's defense at home and and now this this line was four and a half five probably would have passed and then you're

fading i wouldn't have faded the dog god in brable but now that it's down to a three and i just need to win by a field goal or more i'm taking the browns i don't think the market is really pricing in how much better this defense is could be one of the top three to four defenses in the entire NFL. Well, because Brandon Staley takes so much oxygen, people aren't talking about Khalil Mack is just kind of a guy now. So there, when you watch them, Bose is banged up. They don't get that much pressure. I mean, they have two guys making a ton of money, right? I mean, both guys are 20 plus million dollars, but Joey's $25 million guys.

And they don't look like the Brown's defensive line. And like you said, you listen, Najee, clearly that was an overpick, but they made him look like a JV player last week, beside the one run where he kind of got lucky cutting it back. I mean,

he looked terrible. I mean, he looked like some teams would cut that guy, you know? And the Kelsey Brothers, I saw a clip on their podcast, they played him in the preseason. And they're like,

this team, I think one of them, I think the Eagles joint practiced against them, and they're like, this defensive line, they go too deep, which just freaks everywhere, just remove Miles Gerex

They got other dudes. They were both really, really impressed with the line of scrimmage. And as we know, if you're great at the line of scrimmage, the Cowboys, the Niners, you can just kind of get in the mix and basically the majority of the games you're going to play if that unit dominates. Yeah, and you're playing against the quarterback who can't move around. So, yeah, I think it's going to be a really bad day, Cortana Hill. I think the Browns respond off that loss. And again, they should have won.

And I think that their defense continues its dominant ways, and they get this win at home. Okay, you're a Ravens guy, but you like the Colts. As of right now, Richardson hasn't passed the concussion protocol. He's played two games. Moving around, he looks fantastic, you know, as a runner. But he's taking a lot of shots. I take it you like him regardless who starts a quarterback with this big of a line. Yeah, I like, I'm assuming Minchu's going to start.

Like, why, I mean, probably you're going to be cautious with Richardson. And from what I've read, he's going to be out. But if he does play, I don't mind it. he's looked better than I thought, but he's still limited as a pass. He hasn't attempted a pass that has gone more than 20 yards downfield. So like there's just, there's nothing being attempted downfield when he's in the game.

Yeah, I'm a Ravens fan. I just think, you know, in the NFL, when I'm trying to bet, it's a lot of like when I used to work in the market. You're trying to buy low, sell high, time the peak of teams and buy the kind of the dip on certain teams in the market. And the Ravens, looked really good. The March asking the ball out super

quick this year under Todd Munkin, his passing numbers are looking better. But this Ravens team they, in week one, they're two and no, they've covered both games. In week one, they beat a rookie quarterback on the road who was playing without his entire offensive line.

They just pieced together basically the week of the game. And then last week they go to Cincinnati and win, but Burrow is just the, he can't really throw the ball. Shell himself, yeah. Shell of himself. So, like, those two wins are not as impressive. And I'm raising as they looked on paper.

So I think you're getting an inflated number. Look, and now you're coming back off that since you've got Cleveland next week. A little bit of a sleepy spot could be some big weather here, wins. And so this could be an ugly game. But Minshu could actually be an upgrade from a downfield passing perspective. And the most important thing here is, and I've liked the Colts offensive line, which has been really bad. The past couple years, they've been good this year.

The Colts defensive line has looked really good. And that's important because the Ravens are still probably going to be without. They're starting center. They're starting left tackle. Dobbins is out. Beckham is probably going to be out. And the defensive side of the ball, last week they lost their slot. They lost Oway, one of their better pass rushers, Bowser's on IR, Marcus Williams,

Marlon Humphrey. This seems down 10, 11 starters, able to get away with it against a rookie quarterback in the offense line, able to get away with it with Burrow firing balls into the ground. So, but, you know, this week, they're capable quarterback. Minchu, team with pretty good lines in the trenches on both sides, throwing some weather. I think getting over a touchdown here, it's a good spot to sell the Ravens who are just so banged up. That's all anyone will be talking about if they just didn't find a way to go 2 and 0, just because other circumstances kind of broke their way.

Okay, Sunday Night Football in Las Vegas. And I take it you like the Raiders more in this game because of what you think of the Steelers than what you think of the Raiders? Yeah, well, in travel spots, you used to be able to, like, 20 years ago. You used to be able to fade teams that went from the West Coast to the East Coast, but that's all been like priced into the market and adjusted. One of the few travel situations that I still think does matter

is teams going from the East Coast to the West Coast on a short week and playing in prime time. It throws off their body clock and the travel in a short week up to the Steelers have to do we are off a big win. Teams in that situation are, for what it's worth, they're 8 and 16 against the spread over the past. 20 years. But anything under a field goal, I like the Raiders here. I do not like what I came into the season, not liking what I've seen from Kenny Pickett.

I'm not a Matt Canada guy. The play calling's been awful. They also have some key injuries. Dei Annve Johnson go and I are. Hayward in the middle is so big. If you look at their run defense numbers, and we'll see if Josh Jacobs can actually run forward this week, but their run defense numbers are so bad when he's not on the field. You saw it last week. Didn't matter what back was in there for Cleveland. run wherever you wanted to go, just up and down the field. And I think the Raiders can do that here.

The Raiders' defense isn't any good, but I just don't trust Kenny Pickett, the play calling this offensive line, Najee Harris, like Pickens, but that's about it. So this team going on the road after a big win, kind of a sleepy spot. The Raiders, they got smacked as I expected them to do in Buffalo,

but this is more of their speed. and this is more of the game that Jimmy G can win. And, you know, teams are coming down and loading the box, and Darren, Jimmy G to beat him with his arm. You saw some of that at San Fran. That's part of the reason, Jacobs, I think it's a little off shape too, but part of the reason why Jacobs hasn't gotten going. I still think we'll be able to get going a little bit here.

And I think Jimmy G can attack the secondary, which I'm not very fond of. It might be without Minka Fitzpatrick as well. So I think Adams will have a big day. I think this is a good spot to back the Raiders to bounce back at home. Yeah, I mean, I love Tom. You got to love their edge rushers. Who knows?

They could score another touchdown and then they'll probably win this game. But outside of that, I'm just not a picket guy until he proves to me otherwise. And the play calling certainly isn't helping him either. Well, it's funny is a Steeler fan text to me the other night. He said defense, 14 points, offense, 12 points. I mean, it took two scores from both those two guys and just dominate. I mean. And barely held on.

I liked him coming in. I drank the Kool-Aid. I let the preseason influence me. And I regret that one because this is a team that looks like they're going to struggle to get to nine wins. Yeah. Yeah. Tom one will steal a couple wins and like the hype spots and the defense will come out and make a couple of plays. But Hayward's a big loss, and especially for Fitzpatrick, he's really like the only only guys you would trust back there.

We'll see he got out of the hospital the other day with a chest injury. So, yeah, this stealer's offense. I also think they're not doing any favors. I mean, look, losing Johnson, they didn't draft the right running back. The offensive line still isn't great. So picket's not in the best situation. And then the play calling from Matt Canada,

who just runs such an outdated offense. There's like no play action. There's a lack of motion. All these things that, you know, have been born from the Shanna entry that every successful offense is utilizing, not the Steelers. The game I have circled before we get out of here

is, Seattle minus six at home against Carolina. I mean, I think Carolina is really, really bad. I went for a walk when it was 20 to 9 because the other game was at halftime, and I came back and somehow was 2017, I rewatch the drive. I mean, they hit like a fourth down play. Obviously, the two-point play was kind of lucky. I mean, I'm just not buying into Carolina.

I actually think rewatching week one, the Seattle Rams game, that Gino wasn't as bad as his numbers, and then obviously week two, I thought Gino looked pretty good. They clearly have a lot of offensive firepower. Now, Seattle's defense isn't exactly, you know, 2014 version. So that, you know, when you're giving up basically almost a touchdown, but I think that place is going to be loud. You know, I think getting a win like that kind of re-energizes the fan base.

They made the playoffs last year, so it's like people are into it. So that, I don't know if it'll ever be what it was, but I think that's a tough spot for Yeah, still on the bigger. I love, I love Seattle minus six. this week. Yeah, I don't have a really strong feel there. I have a lot of respect for, I mentioned them earlier, Evo, the defensive coordinator for Carolina who was previously.

He's good. He's good. He can scheme up a lot of confusing looks and maybe force Gino into a mistake or two here because Carolina games are going to be ugly. I mean, you saw that last week. They should ban them and the Jets from prime time. But the, yeah, I don't have a strong feel, but it's hard to back Carolina right now. I will tell you that it'll be a game where we will learn a lot about Bryce Young.

Because if you're going up against defense that isn't great, and it's a defense that doesn't generate a ton of pressure. So, you know, and he's a bit undersized. A bit? Yeah. So, but now, if he's going to be in a pocket undersized, right, on the road, he's got two starts under his belt now. in theory you should feel a little bit more comfortable what will he look like will he look poised will he hit the throws because he shouldn't be under much pressure

so I don't know if I'll get I probably won't have a bet there but I will be watching young because I think it's a game where you'll learn a lot and you can probably take something from that and be like no this isn't it or okay I can kind of see it working so I'll definitely be watching it closely don't mind your side but I'll probably probably on the sidelines. When I was looking at the board,

you know, it's hard to miss the Chargers, you know, getting a point on the road at Minnesota, but you're like, how the hell am I going to trust this team and this coach right now? You can't.

You can't. That games will stay away to me. But you're tempted. You're like, God, Justin Herbert, the offense, be like,

no fucking way. Just, I mean, if anyone out there's live bets, just live bet the team that's down, like 14 at one point because they'll probably come back and win. Yeah, this is the team,

this is, the Vikings regression monster is out for, revenge. Like last year they got every bounce, won every close game, and they weren't that good and won 13 games. This year, they've been playing better. They should have beat the bucks, arguably they could, should be the Eagles. I think they've

lost like eight fumbles or negative not. I mean, every bounce is going against them and all that regression that was due is hitting them now. So you have this team that is, all the regression is hitting versus a team that finds ways to lose. So like regression gods versus

find ways to lose, I don't know. It should be a fun watch. There should be a lot of points. And the most disappointing thing is Brandon Staley. So, like, he has his issues with his head coaching, but his specialty is defense. And this defense right now, you go by a couple advanced metric sites, dead last in the NFL, dead last. And, you know, it's not the best defensive unit as far as talent's concern.

But there's some talented guys on the defense. It should not be anywhere close to the worst. And this is supposed to be, you know, his forte. And that was my, you know, at least I would always, you know, say Staley has all these shortcomings. But he can scheme defense. He's not even doing that anymore. So, yeah, I have no idea on this game. If whoever's down, live bet them.

And then when they go up, live bet the other team, it's probably going to be, it's probably good. Try to go to overtime. Maybe overtime, yes. But that one should be a fun watch. I have no idea what's going to happen in that game. I think if Staley loses, there's a chance that he's gonzo come Monday morning because they need to spark. They wouldn't write off the season just yet. Maybe they give basically Kellen Moore, whatever, a 14 game interview, essentially.

That's my prediction. I could see it. No, I'm not predicting them to lose. I got no clue what's going to happen. Wouldn't shock me either way. I mean, I could see cousins throwing four touchdowns. I could also see the Chargers beating them by two touchdowns. Yeah.

It's hard to. Yeah, it's this game's probably. Probably the biggest wild card of the weekend. Yeah. I will say that the, if you look at, if you start 0 and 3, yeah,

if you don't get a spark in the AFC, it starts to get ugly and scary, quick. And I mean, 0 and 3, I think teams that start, oh and 3, I think of 2%

have made the playoffs over the past 10 years. And then you're, you know, you have all the teams in the IFC north. And someone from the AFC, South is going to make it. And then you look at

either the chiefs. The dolphins and the dolphins and the chiefs are in. The chiefs are in. Yeah. You're probably going to have Ravens, Browns. We'll see where the Bengals go. But you look at the chiefs, the chief schedule coming up. Bears, Jets, Vikings, Broncos, and then home against

the Chargers, Broncos again. They don't, they don't, the only team they play with a win over the next eight weeks is the Jets who no longer have a quarterback. So the chiefs are about to... They might clinch by Halloween. Yeah. Yeah, they're about to run out here on the division.

So you go 0 and 3 and you don't get a spark. It's over, and then it gets real ugly. Okay, Stucky. Let's have a weekend. Saturdays should be a special day. And hopefully that's why Steve Jobs made iPhones so I could watch football in the bathroom when people are getting married.

So take it easy, bro. Talk to you soon. Yeah, FaceTime me. if you need me to like put my phone up towards a TV or something, throw in the wedding, I'll hook you up. I will. All right, brother. Thanks, man.

See you. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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