The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - TNF Reaction, Massive win for the Lions, Belichick to UNC?

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

John reacts to an epic Thursday Night Football matchup between NFC North titans, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers as Detroit wins by a score of 34-31. John proceeds to say that the NFL’s coach of the year award is basically locked up for Lions HC Dan Campbell, and gives the electric play caller his flowers for a hard fought win with a depleted Lions team. Then, Middlekauff breaks down Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions MASSIVE fourth down conversions against a solid Packers defense, and wonders what the big win implies for Detroit’s remaining schedule as the red-hot Lions improve to 12-1 on the season. Next, Middlekauff dives into former New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick interviewing for the North Carolina Tar Heels football vacancy on the heels of UNC firing former national champion head coach Mack Brown and what it means for the future of Belichick’s coaching career. Later, John has some thoughts on HBO’s Hard Knocks and Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers squad. John breaks down why the Steelers always have success on the field and chalks it up to the players work ethic in and out of the Pittsburgh practice facility. Finally, another electric edition of Fugazi Friday featuring Adam Schefter’s report about Eric Bienemey being fired after serving as UCLA’s offensive coordinator, college football’s early National Signing Day and Southwest Airlines surging prices. Lastly, John is joined by Action Network betting guru, Stuckey to talk about the best bets for the weekend. 5:35 - TNF Reaction 28:19 - TNF Preview 32:07 - Belichick to UNC? 41:00 - Tom Brady on QB hits 54:25 - Stuckey's College football best bets 85:55 - Stuckey's NFL best bets 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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What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? Probably not as good as Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions win again, because that's all they do, baby. Doesn't matter who's playing defense. Campbell, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, what a performance.

Dan goes for it. When he, because that's what he does, it works. Four of five on fourth down. We will dive into that game. Jordan Love heated up in the second half, but a little too, little too late after the first half of that game where they only scored seven points. But massive win for the Lions and basically end Green Bay's time

competing to win the division. Green Bay is a wildcard team now. So we'll dive into that. Bill Belichick has interviewed with North Carolina. North Carolina, you know, obviously not the Carolina Panthers, the University of North Carolina. I watched Hard Knocks today. They do an in-season hard knocks on the AFC North.

A couple thoughts there. It's Fugazi Friday, so we got to talk about a couple Fugazis. I saw an Instagram post from a man Schaefter. I like Adam. And these weren't his work. It was just, I mean, one of the biggest Fugazi statements I have ever seen in my entire life. So we will dive into that. And Stucky, who joins the show every single week, we'll talk a little gambling.

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and they give you that trophy when it's clear you're going to win it and they start engraving your name, I think you can engrave Dan Campbell's name as the coach of the year. I thought tonight was, I mean, it's one of the more defining wins of his short, awesome tenure in Detroit. But to win this game against a red-hot Green Bay Packers team, when your entire defense wasn't there, and to do it because you play like you're always going to play. And I have been critical in the past. I thought him doing this in the NFC championship game was a little reckless,

but I thought tonight it was the right move. You're missing that many defensive players. You have to stick with who you are. And let's face it, most human beings have a couple characteristic or successful human beings have certain characteristics, characteristics that are the reason they're in those positions. And I'll never forget when Dan Campbell got hired, or at least early on in his Detroit career, he said, listen, I'm a lot different guy than I am than I would have been if I would

have been named the Miami head coach when I was the interim, because Sean Peyton taught me something. Because at my core, I wanted to be this old school conservative guy, run the ball, punt, play defense. That's the football I grew up on, Bill Parcells. And then I got around Sean Payton in New Orleans, and I learned that, like, that's not going to get it done. But specifically tonight, that was not going to get it done. Because you have two units, right?

Obviously, you've got special teams, too. But offensive defense. Their offense is fucking incredible. It really is. I mean, they have a Pro Bowl quarterback. They have the best running back duo. I think I've ever seen. I mean, the Gibbs Montgomery season, they are going to have, statistically, one of the most historical duo seasons.

of all time. I mean, they're on pace for like 30 plus touchdown combined and probably about 3,000 all-purpose yards. Laporte is a star tied in. St. Brown's a stud. The other wide receivers all make plays. I mean, Tim Patrick had multiple touchdowns tonight. Their offensive line is elite and they were missing their left tackle tonight. But it's like, I'm going to lean on what got me to the dance. And if we're going to lose tonight, we're going to lose because of this offense. And at one point in time, in the second half, when golf throws the interception, you're like, can't afford to do that tonight. You can't afford to make a mistake

against this defense. And it was a bad, uncharacteristic interception. Like, he hit Nixon 25, like he was an offensive player. It kind of came out of nowhere. And beside that, I mean, down the stretch,

I think on the last drive, Al Michaels is like, Jared Goff's like 14 to 14 out of his last 14 passes. And one thing Jared Goff really hangs, or two things I would say he hangs his hat on, is accuracy and mental toughness. And that was on full display.

played tonight and I think Dan Campbell knows it clearly and they lean on that unit and as he should and tonight that won in the game because they had four they went for it on five fourth downs but they had four massive fourth downs two of them they scored touchdowns another one they got stuffed on fourth and one in their own territory which a couple of plays later leads to a touchdown so that 14 points actually goes down to seven so on the fourth downs you know you got two go touchdowns, you have a Jacobs touchdown, so that's a seven-point swing, and then the end of the game, which I had no problem with. Because in this situation, when you're rolling out the randos that they are with defense, when you're playing a team who was red-hot in the second half offensively,

and with the skill guys they have on the outside, that's pretty risky. And all it takes is for a miscommunication. Brian Branch was cramping up. He was out of the game. Obviously, your front seven is a bunch of guys that you could probably barely point out of a line. up go with what you you know has got you this far and i i think we just when you're a gambler and listen i am and i've been a gambler for a long long time and that's kind of how i live my life not just gambling on sports but being aggressive in the stock market being aggressive with everything i do business wise it's kind of just you know ingrained into my soul and it's not something that i just developed in my late 30s. I've been like that since I can remember in my teenage years.

And I think who you are and what you become successful doing, you have to stick with it. And sometimes it's going to let you down. It's not always going to work. I mean, it literally didn't work in the biggest game Dan Campbell's ever coached in, the NFC championship game. It backfired when he went for it, when he probably should have kicked a field goal. Now, it's easy to play the butterfly effect. What would have happened? I think he made the wrong decision in that game, especially given the score and how he was playing.

Part of making these decisions is the score and who you got if you get stuffed or if you don't score a touchdown or whatever, you know, the result of the opposite action that you want, right? So it's one thing, hey, best case scenario, we ice the game here. Well, if we kick a field goal and they get the ball back at the 30, And all of a sudden, three plays later, with 10, 15 seconds left, they got 20 yards there in the red zone. We got problems. So I completely understood it.

I admire the decision because it takes balls. And so many people, and being a coach is not about like, Dan Campbell is a tough guy. And if we just had to rank the coaches, like if they were actually going to get into a physical fight, now with Rabel gone, he probably is the number one overall pick. But that's never mattered. right? Like having balls of being a decision maker has nothing to do with your physical toughness. We've seen Antonio Pierce all year long make the opposite decisions. Coach scared.

And he clearly would be a top two or three draft pick in the fight, you know, in the coach Royal Rumble. It's about a mentality. And it's about a willingness to know like this might go wrong. I don't give a fuck. I believe at the time this is the right decision. I believe in my unit. I believe we have to do this to win the game. And most importantly, I believe in you guys being able to get it done.

And on that play, it looked like when Jared Goff started to trip, you're like, holy shit, this is going to go really bad. And somehow, Jared Goff, who reminds me intangibly a lot of Alex Smith, where one of their greatest characteristics is their mental toughness. And Alex, once he got around Harbaugh, never look back. One difference, though, is Jared also kind of like Peyton Manning throws a wobbly spiral, but he's a much better passer and has a much better arm than Alex. Now, Alex was a better runner of the football.

Like, he was a better athlete. Jared can't really move. But Jared's a much better, pure passer from the pocket. And you see that come out throughout the game as he threw dime after dime. And like on that play, a lot of people, because let's face it, like sometimes when you put a lot of emphasis into one individual thing and it goes wrong immediately, human reaction for most of us is to immediately freak.

And when you start falling, how many times have we seen quarterbacks try to throw the running back to ball, sometimes just hold on to the ball, just a play is a disaster. And he was able to get that to Montgomery and all of a sudden Montgomery is way past the line of scrimmage, first down, end of game.

What a moment. I mean, what an incredible moment for a franchise that has been just a complete laughing stock to go into this game. As someone who, like I said, I like to gamble. Tonight, I didn't pull the trigger. And I'm glad I didn't because I was about to put a lot of money on Green Bay. I'm like, I like Green Bay a lot in this spot. In the dome, playing Detroit. And then early on in the game, Jamal Adams is out there.

You're like, what is this? How are they going to hang in this game? and they did because of a coaching staff and they did because of a quarterback and they did because we throw this word around a lot culture and I think leader of men and sometimes I see people try to like

what does that even mean? I think you kind of know it when you see it like any human being that's ever been around a big time leader like it's hard to describe but when you're around it you just want to follow that person wherever he plays

plans ongoing. You will be right by aside, like a dog with his owner. And I think that's what Dan Campbell has given this Lions team. When they go into a game, whether they're playing the Packers, whether they're playing Alabama, whether they're playing the Chiefs, it doesn't matter, and it really,

it approved the night, does not matter who's playing. He gives them the mindset and the belief they can win. Obviously, they have a really talented offense, but to win this game the night with those guys on defense is one of the crowning achievements of the regular season. It truly is. And honestly, it might be the most impressive coaching job I've seen this year.

And that includes Aaron Glenn. Because I thought this game was won for the Lions. Like when you look back in the first half, Jordan Love didn't even throw for 50 yards in the first half. They had seven points. It was 17 to 7 and half. And you're like, Aaron Glenn, every single opening in the NFL should interview Aaron Glenn to be their next head coach on that first half performance alone.

It was said all week, like, listen, I'm not as worried about them knowing the playbook. Their entire defensive line was gone. They have like 13 impact players who couldn't play tonight. And then as the game went on, they're, you know, beside Ayd Hutchson, their second best defensive player gets cramps since to leave the game against an offense that has like four or five offensive weapons beside the quarterback that every team in the league would want. It's like, how are they going to win this thing? And to me, Dan Campbell, Aaron Glenn, Jared Goff, just the mentality, the mental toughness, the mindset, totally unfazed tonight.

Back to Jared Goff, after he throws the pick, they're up 17 to 7. The Packers come out in the second half. Love hits Watson on the double move for a huge play that kind of gets their offensive momentum. score, I think, Tucker Kraft, a couple plays later, 17 to 14. Lions get the ball. Goff throws a pick. Then a couple of plays later, Jacobs in the end zone, all of a sudden is 24-21. And I'm like, I don't know.

I feel like the dam is broke. I feel like there's no way to contain this rush that is about to come from Green Bay. What is Detroit going to do? And then what happens? Jared Goff, after an awful intercept. leads them right down the field 2824. And to me, when I look at this Lions team, obviously the skill guys. I mean, that running back duo they have, like last year I think Christian McCaffrey,

usually the MVP goes to a quarterback. And oftentimes if a skill guy, like a wide receiver of running back, has an awesome season, they usually get offensive player of the year at like the NFL awards. I know you can't do this because it's two guys. but to me the offensive player of the year are those two running backs because tonight was just a clinic. They had Montgomery had 14 carries,

Gibbs had 15 carries, Montgomery had a touchdown, Montgomery had five catches, and Gibbs had six catches, and Gibbs had a passing touchdown. You know, we talk a lot about, and Andy's always been big on this with the Eagles and then Kansas City,

when people used to say he passes a lot, he was great at getting his running back a lot of touches. So if that was Brian Westbrook or Shady McCoy, and I think they do the same thing with Gibbs. Like Gibbs had six catches and 15 carries. So you're getting the ball in his hands 21 times. Like so there are going to be games where maybe he doesn't have 15 carries, maybe it only has 12, but he's going to be targeted maybe eight, nine times in the passing game.

And Ben Johnson and I, like from my offensive. play calling standpoint. He's pretty elite. So the Lions have an absolute incredible leader with the ball's size of watermelon. I mean, he literally might. Dan Campbell's a big guy. They have a

quarterback who was drafted number one overall who over the course of time building calluses getting told by McVeigh, you suck. We don't want any part of you. Has developed this incredible mental toughness and calluses that like pretty unfazed, obviously playing really well. You have Aaron Glenn

that can get guys to play out of their mind that 99% of NFL fans couldn't even point out of a lineup. Half these guys were on the street a couple weeks ago. You have Ben Johnson, who I would say non-head coach is the best offensive coordinator currently in the NFL. This is a championship team.

I mean, we knew this, right? They were clearly the best team in the league. And then they started getting all these injuries. You're like, I don't think you can overcome this. And then they do, to do that at home against a team that was red-hot, who I think most people thought was probably going to win this game. What a fucking performance by everyone.

Hat tip to Dan Campbell, coach of the year. Hat tip to Jared Goff. I mean, all-time career resurrection with the Detroit Lions. Ben Johnson going to be a head coach. Aaron Glenn should be a head coach. The running back duo. Never forget. And this is why, like, I'm not as into the weeds of, like, stamping,

like, you got to draft this guy in the third. You got to draft this guy in the fourth. I love this guy. This guy sucks. Like I just kind of feel it out. Talk to my buddies. Like obviously I watch a ton of college football. So I got opinions on guys.

But not to the level like the Mel Khypers of the world. And I thought it was so laughable the night of the draft. In a draft that I remember all my buddies in the NFL were like, this is one of the worst drafts I've ever seen. And Jemir Gibbs clearly was one of the 10 best players in the draft. But he played running back. And while everything. a shift in and now running backs are cool again, it was like, you can't take a running back guy.

So they went from 6 to 12. They went from 6 to 12 and essentially got Jamir Gibbs and Sam Leporta. It's one of the great draft day trade you'll ever see. I mean, Jamir Gibbs, as Herbst Street was talking tonight,

is like, I don't know, Kamara meets Christian McCaffrey. And while Leporta had a bad drop tonight, he made one catch extended with a be on him, you're like, holy shit. That's what a blue chip tied in looks like. Stud.

And, yeah, I mean, I got a mailback question recently about James and Williams. You know, obviously he's had some issue issues with the lions, gotten in a little trouble, get yelled at by Antoine Randallel. He had a solid night tonight. Five catches, 80 yards, just an explosive player. If you can get him in space, you can get them on those

drag routes, you can get him down the sideline, and you get the ball in his hands. It's like Christian Watson, you know, just let the guy run, because those two guys could fly. And Christian Watson had to play tonight. Obviously, that fumble, you know, was a huge swing in the first half. It looked like they were going to drive and all of a sudden he fumbles and it was a big

moment. But what a moment for the line. I don't really know what to say about the Packers. I mean, if I give Aaron Glenn a ton of credit for the first half holding them to seven points, I think if you're Green Bay and you come into this game, you could argue they lost the game in the first half. Because in the second half, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown.

Jordan Love was like avoiding blitzes, like up and under guys, hitting layered throws, going through progressions. Jordan Love in the second half, like that's why you give the guy $150 million. That was the guy we saw a second half of last season. That was the guy that led you to the playoffs

and then roasted the Cowboys and Dan Quinn's defense and put Mike McCarthy on the hot seat. It's like that guy. But not showing up the first half and only having seven points and just being discombobulated on an offense, like, you might have been able to score 50 points. This defense wasn't going to be able to, you know, stop a nosebleed. And to only have seven points at the end of the first half,

obviously your offense really got going in the second, but that was pretty crippling. Because if it's just 17 to 14, you might win this game kind of easily. But it's 17 to 7, and you needed every one of those points just to be in position. so listen I think LaFleur is awesome I like Jordan Love but he's been a little like this this season and in that game in the first half their whole offense was just

it felt like they were trying to run it a lot because obviously they had a bunch of injuries and obviously they had the fumble and the one explosive play to Christian Watson but they got way too much talent I mean you see Wicks making incredible plays obviously you know Tucker Kraft's a stud

Watson to me he should like James and Williams should be getting deep targets all the time. You just got to have more points. I understand it's a road game. I understand this is a really good team. But when you factor in the personnel they were rolling out, that just can't happen. And now, I mean, this ends Green Bay's chance for a division.

This doesn't lock up Detroit by any means to win the division. They still got Minnesota on their heels. But Green Bay is a wildcard team. That's who they are. And we saw last year, went on the road to Dowell. won a game. Detroit, now they get that kind of

mini-buy. Ideally, you get some guys back because they're playing Buffalo next game, which is a massive game for both teams. But, and that game is, that game's at home. So they get the game in Detroit. So Detroit's last four games

are going to be the Bills, at the Bears, at the Niners, against Minnesota. Green Bay goes at Seattle, Saints, at Minnesota. So I think Green Bay are looking at like 11-12 wildcar team.

Five-seeds, six-seat. I guess probably not the five-seed because more than likely it's going to be whoever doesn't win the division between Detroit and Minnesota, which if I was a betting man, I would say Minnesota after tonight. But that's a tough, tough L. It's one thing like, listen, the Lions fully healthy, nothing wrong to lose to them. Absolutely nothing.

It's just you tip your hat. They're an excellent team. they've, I mean, basically what's their record these last two years? What they do last year? 12 and 5 and they're, what, 12 and 1 now? So you're looking at a 24 and 6 team over the last two seasons. Like, they're fucking good. There's nothing wrong.

Losing to them on the road, technically not short week because both these two teams played on Thanksgiving. But to lose to that defense, like those players, like they were rolling Jamal Adams out there. Jamal Adams was running around. It felt like more in the first half than the second half. I don't have a snap count in front of me, but I don't know, man.

Tonight's a rough one for LaFleur. Like, he's not, that first half, he's got a lot of plays out there that he would like back because Love missed a touchdown to, there was a touchdown that he missed. I guess they ended up getting a PI on the next play and he scored to make a 10-7, but he missed some play.

Sometimes when Love's off, it's weird because he can flip into this player where, like, the throw that he made, I think to start the first half or the second half to Watson. And then there was another play where he avoided a blitz in the middle of, I think the third quarter. It's like, this guy looks like Rogers. Like that, he moves around like Rogers, the way he lets the ball go and kind of like flick of the wrist. It's like that's, it's like he's copying Aaron Rogers.

And then the play looks like Aaron Rogers. But then he also has these plays that like Aaron Rogers, once he got really good, rarely had. We're like, what the fuck was that, Jordan? Rough one. So, congrats to the Lions. The NFL season is rolling along and the contenders are separating from the pack. The one thing that hasn't changed this season, Draft King Sportsbook, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. And it's the number one place to bet touchdowns.

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Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. starting a trend.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

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But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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

Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slico Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

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Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's get into William Belichick, who made some news today. He has interviewed with the North Carolina Tar Heels. University of North Carolina just fired,

former national champion, Mack Brown, who was very bitter about getting fired. I think they basically had to drag his old ass out. He, like, refused to resign. It was kind of ugly, but it's like, Mac, you kind of suck. It is what it is. But it's over, and they interviewed Belichick. And I've gotten a couple texts tonight.

Like, do you think he would... No, he wouldn't do this, would he? The analogy I would use is any human being that's listening to this that might be in a relationship, married, you know, dating someone. when you are single and you want to get someone to notice you

or just in general not even like you're just trying to date people it is amazing what happens when in the social media era like you post a picture out with someone cute throw it on that story and watch those DMs

kind of open up back in the day before social media it's like walk into a party with a girl that you want to get with and bring someone with you play a little human psychology. I'll promise you this. It works.

Well, what does Belichick need to show that people want him? For as much as I think, like, it's a lock he's going to get a job. It isn't. He's 72, 73 years old. And while he's done a good job of done everything humanly possible

to change his image, part of his image at the end of the run in New England, one, he was an atrocious general manager and he was like one of the most giant crumudgeons in the history of the world. Just an angry little elf. Not a fun guy to be around. Which never mattered when they were winning all the time.

When you start losing, it's like no one wants to be around you. And I do think you need to change that perception. So if you want to get her to notice you, walk in with an eight and a half. I bet she would. And while this is not the NFL, he can't interview with an NFL team right now. And there aren't any college openings. but I think this is a pretty strategic play. Now, if you came back, like, do you think he's actually interested in this?

I would be shocked if he went to college. Now, if it was the equivalent of, like, you know, for him, I couldn't see him coaching in the South. Like, I don't feel Belichick in the SEC. But, like, would he coach at Ohio State or Michigan or Notre Dame? Like, those type programs feel a lot like Bill Belichick, kind of northeast presidential and regal, even though Belichick wears

shitty clothes, but you know what I mean. I'd be stunned if you went to North Carolina. I would. But, listen, anytime that you don't have much going on of things that you want going on, it never hurts to listen. How many people, whether you own a business, whether you work for someone who, you know, is a deal maker,

do you just see them like, why did you talk to that guy? It's like, well, it never hurts to listen. Listen. It's like, we wouldn't do business with that guy. Well, yeah. It's like, why wouldn't I, he invited me to lunch?

Why wouldn't I take the lunch? See what he has to say. Maybe I'll even gain some information. So Pat 40 said that he's interested in college. I personally think it's more just showing like, you know, Belichick's being sought after by somebody.

And that just gets like NFL owners. I also think it puts a little pressure on them. Like, you want me? Like, I got options. I think the fastest, you know, way to kind of generate some buzz if you're Belichick is to let people know people want you. Because last year what happened? There was only one team interested in them. And that was Atlanta.

And it turns out they didn't hire them because, you know, the front office didn't want him to basically, you know, whack up all them. Because that's what Belichick wanted them all fired. And so they fought them off a lot like what happened with Kevin Warren. story broke today. Jim Harbaugh was very interested in the Chicago Bears job. Well, who nicks that immediately? Kevin Warren. Well, why would Kevin Warren nicks that immediately?

Because if McCaskies are like, let's talk to Jim Harbaugh, and then they realize, let's just hire Jim Harbaugh. What would Jim Harbaugh want? Kevin Warren fired. It's just classic job preservation. Everyone's trying to survive. Whether you have a job that pays you $80,000, or whether you have a job like Kevin Warren,

they might pay you a couple million dollars. The human psychology and the mindset for a guy like Kevin Warren, who's just a corporate survivor, doesn't change just because the money's any different. If anything, it makes him more willing, like, I ain't giving up this fucking job. I run the bears. There is zero chance I'm letting Harbaugh in here. And that's not going to change with Belichick. Like, there are going to be teams and people that are close to the owner that even if GMs and stuff get fired on some of these teams, they're going to not want Bill into their ecosystem. because that could mean them getting assed out.

So there are going to be a lot of different, you know, cooks in the kitchen with this. And to me, this is a strategic move. I would imagine by people around Bill, I mean, Bill's been doing this long enough to also know, like, get them talking about you. Not just talking about you about, like, your take on Brian Dayball, or your take on Robert Sala, or your take on Daniel Jones, or, you know, whatever.

Like, okay, we get it. You got more football knowledge than everybody. We've seen it now. We've seen a personality that all your players and people who've been around you already knew you had. You've just played that now. Now it's time to be like, I'm not bullshit. I'm ready to fucking give me a whistle. Give me a contract.

Let's go win some games. I think Belichick's trying to let, you know, all the owners know, like, yeah, people are talking to me. The other thing I watched in Hard Knocks, which I wasn't really planning on doing it. And then my schedule got thrown off today. and I usually go to the gym sometime between like 6.30 and 7.30 in the morning. Try to bang it out early so we can attack the rest of the day. But today, I don't know, I'm not going until the afternoon.

It's kind of quiet in there. And all of a sudden I was like, I don't really have anything to listen to. I'm not really feeling music. And I had seen a clip earlier in the day. I'm like, oh, the hard knock. So I bring up my HBO Macs and I just watch it on my phone. And it's pretty, to me, once they get to the games at the end,

like I just watched the Steelers play the, the Bengals and the Ravens play the Eagles. I don't need highlights of this. But the actual game planning, getting ready, and the coaches talking to the team and the position, like that was really cool. But there was a scene in there. A lot of Steelers, a lot of Tomlin.

And Tomlin, who defensive guy, hangs out with the defensive staff. So it looked like a Monday or Tuesday, getting ready for the week. Mike Tomlin is in the defensive staff meeting room. I've never been to the Pittsburgh. practice facility, but I've been to enough football offices. Like, I think it's a defensive

staff meeting room where there's usually a long table and a huge projector to watch film as as a staff. And Tomlin's in there with the defensive coordinator and the rest of the defensive staff. And all of a sudden, and I would guess, this is Monday or Tuesday, so players

day off, Minka Fitzpatrick walks in and starts watching film with the rest of them. And it really hit me, like, when you invest in high-end players. And obviously, Minko, when he's healthy, has been one of the better players in the NFL.

But we talk a lot about quarterbacks. The reason quarterbacks get so much money, get so much praise, and are so relied upon is because there's more on their shoulders. They don't get to screw off three days a week and just have to practice a couple days and then get to play in the game.

Like their Monday through Sunday is a lot like a coach, but the player version. It's way different than every other player. But I do believe the best players on your team typically approach their job, like their version of the quarterback. And the draft isn't that far away, and we're going to be talking about a lot of these prospects

and nitpicking them. This is why character, football, like love of football, love and aspiration to be a great player, take a lot of pride in your craft. This is why Kyler, when the Call the Duty thing got put in there, got so heavily critiqued is because the best players go above and beyond.

I saw this clip on Luke Keekeley that makes it round sometimes on my Instagram feed of him just discussing. He's like, first of all, he's like, you know, I'm not quite good enough and a good enough athlete to make play, so I have to study extra film. It's him at like 10 o'clock at night on like a Wednesday night

in the Panthers facility watching films. Like Luke, no, you're one of the best athletes in the league. But in his mind, to learn everything, he had to go above and beyond. And this is what is so difficult about, you know, scouting young players, is you you really got to feel comfortable. And the better character, the better wiring, and the Steelers have been full of these guys for a long period of time. And Mike Tomlin, because he's such a great personality, can handle a few kind of wildcards, you know, Antonio Brown, Levion

Bell, George Pickens. But for the most part, like, part of the reason the Steelers don't lose really ever. I know they don't win the playoffs, but I'm just saying they never have what the Giants are going through, what the Raiders are going through, what the Jags always go through, what all these shitty teams end up going through all the time. It's like the Steelers minimum 9 and 8, 10 and 7 this year probably be 12 or 13 wins. It's because their team is full of those type guys. And think about it, when they needed a trade for somebody, and they don't often do this, they traded a first round pick for Mika Fitzpatrick, which I thought at the time was insane.

But they knew what they were doing. Because this guy's wired like Cam Hayward, like T.J. Watt. Like their type guys. And I just thought it was a scene that probably won't get talked about a lot. But those are the type things. What I love about football and really what I miss about hard knocks that I think is kind of cool on this end season that's the four teams is like the nitty gritty Monday through Friday.

The grind in the tape, the coaches, working with the players. the game planning. Obviously, the games are the best. But that element of the chess game is really, really cool. Okay, before we get out of here, I do have to bring up something on Fugazi Friday because a couple things. Let's start with this, actually.

Adam Schaefter had an Instagram post. He probably put it on Twitter, too. Eric B. Enemy, who was polarizing for a while because it felt like the NFL was racist, not giving him a shot, never got a job, finally did, get his own off, left the Chiefs, becomes offensive coordinator with the commanders, terrible on offense, everyone gets fired, and then he goes to UCLA and becomes the coordinator for the UCLA Bruins. And UCLA actually only had one less loss than the Trojans, but they weren't very good this year.

And a couple days ago, I was talking to someone on the phone in the loop who was like, Eric B. Enemy's going to get fired. Like, seriously? He's going to... John Foster's going to fire him? He's like, yeah, they can't stand him. He wouldn't listen to him. And then today, the news breaks. I was like, I wasn't surprised. But then I read this quote that Adam Schaefter

put out from Eric Bienamee's agent. And it read, Eric and UCLA mutually parted ways today is previously planned. He's still getting paid by the commanders. After interviewing for the head coaching jobs last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So, he decided to go help Deshaun, who is like his little brother at UCLA,

as opposed to sitting out the year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025, and he's looking forward to opportunities ahead. That's just bold-faced propaganda. That's just complete bullshit. Someone around his agent should have been like, just don't even say anything. you get, it's football.

Sometimes you butt heads with people. Get fired. But to put out, it's also a shot at Deshawn Foster. I just fired you. And you're calling me, I'm your little brother? No, I'm Deshaun Foster,

the head coach at UCLA. And I no longer want you to be my offensive coordinator. So you're fired. Like, that just happened. And then you put out that statement, I'm his older brother. What? that's one of the most insane things

I've ever read in my entire life. I can't believe he gave that quote to Adam Schaeffer. It's honestly laughable. That they mutually departed and this was always the plan. This is why, like, my parents grew up in an era in the 50s and 60s

that when a nuke was coming, you know, they thought one, they would tell you if you were a kid to get under the desk, like that would save you. And everyone just listened. And the parents were like, get under those deaths.

I can't imagine living in those times. Like, we live in these times where it's like, we just, this can't be serious. Like, is there a human being who believes this? And listen, I don't know, Eric personally. All my buddies in Kansas City always liked him. Thought he was a good coach. But, like, this, this is a joke.

This is also a pretty big FU to DeShon Foster with that little brother comment. That's pretty embarrassing. This is the Eric B. enemy after leaving the Chiefs, it is not going well. I feel pretty confident. I don't see a path for him to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL in 2025. Just based on that statement alone. It's like, take some accountability, man.

The other thing that I see a lot that is just pretty funny, it's like forever you would get recruited somewhere. You know, the signing day just happened. It's obviously different now with the transfer portal, but the high school sign day and a guy would be like, you know, I just, I just loved Coach Middilkoff. He was just so awesome. He resonated with me and my dad loved him and he was always, he came into my house a couple times for dinner and he's been recruiting me for three years. We just had a special bond. And I saw a couple kids a day just on my, on my Twitter feed, like giving those type speeches and a big program, you know, Michigan, Texas, like guys, just say they gave me

$900,000. Like, they gave me the most money. Brian Kelly went on this rant today about the greed and all the BS. I don't care about any of that. Now, for a long period of time, when guys flipped last minute in college football, it was like they got a brown bag. Now, there's a big difference getting a brown bag of $60,000 in cash or $20,000 in cash or a car than getting, you know, potentially a million dollars.

I saw Tulsa. They have parents of kids. I think Tulsa just fired. their coach. Parents of kids at Tulsa are suing the program because that coach that was fired had promised kids money. It's like no one gives a fuck about any of you guys.

Like this, no one's going to give a shit. Sue all you want. Like, just verbal agreement, get that thing in writing, but you guys are at Tulsa. But these big programs, Michigan's giving out millions, Bama, LSU, all this stuff. But it is pretty funny

that you see these kids still try to act like innocent, which is cool. I mean, it's an awesome moment. You know, you're going on, you're leaving your parents' nests, you know, going to a program, trying to make your dreams come true and eventually play in the NFL. But it's all pay for play now with any player worth their salt. I mean, a minimum good recruits getting, I don't know, 75, 100 grand.

All the guys in the top 100 are getting paid premiums, at least promise premiums, and that's the reason. Now, whether they get it or not, I don't know. I don't exactly know how the cash exchange here works. I would imagine there are sometimes when the money actually does not hit the account and there are some promises that are not actually followed through on. Welcome to life. I mean, it's actually an incredible business life lesson for any of these kids to get stiffed.

Like any time, shit, I went through it in my 30s. When it changed careers, started doing some stuff, you realize like, yeah, fucking welcome to the first. real world. It's a great experience. Keep you under toes. But, yeah, just, it just, come on, guys. Stop pretending you're going there for the colors in the college atmosphere. You're going there for one reason and one reason only. And last but not least, and I'm not here to complain. Obviously, inflation and prices have changed. But Southwest, you know, Mark Davis, when they used to be in Oakland, he used to fly everywhere before they moved to Vegas, everywhere on Southwest. You could

always see Mark Davis at a Southwest terminal. And Southwest had a lot of great connections if you wanted to go to Vegas or Southern California or Arizona or wherever around the West Coast. It was incredible. And you could fly for really cheap. You could get a ticket. I mean, if you were just a little ahead of the time on a non-busy time for like $59.99, it was the deal upon all deals. That's out the window. Southwest now, to me, is not that far away from. Frontier Airlines in terms of like one you don't get that much and two you kind of pay a lot so it's like I looked at some tickets the other day we had to fly home for to for Christmas

and I was to start looking I'm like what if I flew first class with United relative to what it would cost me to fly southwest that also includes I always upgrade because I want to be like A1 through 15 I hate waiting for the C's and it was like a difference of like 400 $50. Listen, I don't think I've ever flown first class in my life, but my point is I just wanted to compare. I'm like, this is no longer some bargain. It was like, want to get away and give me your credit card because it's a shitload of money. I don't fly that much anymore.

For those of you that listen, business that travel a lot, probably see this more. I'm less, I'm not numbed up to airline prices, but, you know, it's a handful of times a year. And it's like, it is what it is. I have to go. I don't, I'm not flying on a monthly basis to really base prices. But Southwest, where for most of my 20s and definitely my early 30s, I can't tell you how many times that I flew round trip different places. I felt like for $99, $149. And now that price feels like 3x.

And for an airline that used to just be your go-to because it just cost you nothing has now like bumping. jumped up. It's like no different than flying some of these other airlines like business class. It's insane. So Southwest, you had a hell of a run. But I think you're, I think it's over. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers and guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a podcast. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did

How do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title. For the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking. criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, after a little Thanksgiving hiatus, my main man Stucky, who was on the grind last week,

because it comes at you fast. We had a lot going on. We didn't get to talk. Well, since we've last talked, Iber Fluse has been fired. Ryan Day, I would say in my short list of games in my life, you know, we've seen crazy NFL upsets, but during the regular season, whatever,

in college football, that has to be on the short list of craziest outcomes I've ever envisioned. I know it was a three touchdown. It was it 22 and a half, 23 points. I don't know exactly what it ended at a kickoff. But Stucky, long time, no talk. We got championship weekend. Ryan Day is not involved. I can't even, if you would have told either of us that two weeks ago that we'd be sitting here in this game and Ohio State wouldn't be here,

it would have been pretty tough to believe, wouldn't it? Yeah, that was, I mean, that game set up for... What was the number? I closed. Michigan took some money, so to be under late. I think it closed like 18 and a half, 19. But, I mean, Michigan way down. They have no offense.

And, I mean, they throw their quarterback through for 60 yards and two picks. And you have one of the best teams, the best rosters in the country at home, you know, near three touchdown favorites, triple revenge. All, like, everything was there. And to lose that game is I'm very curious to see how Ohio State responds after what now will be a long break before their first playoff game, which will presumably be in Columbus. We'll see where they end up on the seed line. But yeah, it's pretty shocking that they lost that game and they're not in the Big Ten championship. And a chaotic college football season continues because we have Penn State and Clemson,

two teams that probably didn't think they were going to be here last weekend. Clemson after they lost to South Carolina. But then Miami goes down to the now they're, you know, hey, we got renewed life. Iowa State had to wait until two in the morning to see if BYU beat Houston. and now they have new life. They're in the Big 12 championship. So, yeah, it's just a chaotic college football season continues. I just don't think that there are any talked about this all season.

There's any clear-cut elite teams. I think there will be continued chaos in the college 12th playoffs. If you ask me right now who's going to win it, like, I don't even know who I would say. I got to see the bracket. So how could you bet Ohio State, I think I saw this morning, second best odds, how could you bet on them to win four games, right? Or three games? What would it take?

12, 8, yeah, four games. That's a lot. Yeah, the, it just, the buy teams get a pretty big advantage if it's like, obviously, to me, if Oregon wins, they have a pretty big advantage getting a home game and then getting two pretty good setups, right? Well, if they win, they would have a buy, and then they wouldn't get a home game. The home games are just in the first round. Oh, then they go the neutral side bowls.

Yeah, but I actually think. that if Oregon loses. So I actually would be more interested in Oregon to win it if they lose to Penn State for a multitude of reasons. The number one, I think it's good sometimes for a team that's undefeated to lose before a tournament and kind of refocuses you. And I think Lanning would be able to use that to his tournament. advantage, but two, there's a chance the five seat is more valuable than the one, which is crazy. But the way that the bracket sets up is there's a chance that say Arizona State gets in and let's say Boise State wins the beats UNOV.

Boise State would probably be the four Which is insane, right? You agree with that? That's crazy. And Arizona State would be the 12. So what would happen is if Oregon is the one, yes, they get a buy, but then they go on a neutral site and play Ohio State, maybe Georgia, they lose the Texas, Tennessee, and play a really good team on a neutral field. if Oregon loses to Penn State, they're 100% could be the five seed. And the way that it could break is you would host, you know, Arizona State, and then if you win,

you would play Boise State. You play the four on a neutral. So instead of playing the SEC team. So you just said we'd have to win a home game over Arizona State, who's down their top receiver for the season. And then- So if Texas- or Oregon lose, they'll probably be the five, right?

Yeah, but I think if both lose, you would give the nod to Oregon, because they didn't lose during the regular season. But if it's just one of them, then they'll, yeah, they would get the five seed. And depending on how it breaks, you know, I do think that there's a chance that the five seed is more valuable than the one, even though you're playing an extra game, which is just crazy. It could get hard, right?

If Clemson were to beat SMU, SMU still gets in and they put them at the 12, and you get SMU 512. Yeah, that's a harder game. Yeah, there's definitely variables here. But I'm saying, like, if that's how it breaks, and, like, you get your path to the semis would be

Arizona State Boise State you can't really ask for anything better now in fairness it's another football game and we've seen this year that no one is really safe

so you know and then you could have injuries playing an extra game but I do think that there's in you know in a sense Oregon could benefit from a loss like they haven't lost this year it could focus them

and at the at the same time Penn State might end up being number one overall seat, but then I could see them easily just losing in their first game to, you know, the Ohio State or an SEC team. Totally. On a neutral

field. So, and I actually like Penn State a little bit at three and a half. I want to talk about these two games. Okay. I was really quick on the brackets. Tell me where you stand. I hear a lot of talking points about two things. One I agree with. One, I think is a little more complicated.

I think you should reseed like the NFL playoffs. right so you know you shouldn't just be a bracket style like the NCAA tournament which my guess you might know better than me is why they did it this way because why wouldn't you have just copied the football of you know if the lower seed goes on they play the higher seed like you know if the seven seed beats the two seed in the NFL they would play the team on the buy right yet in this you're stuck in the bracket which i think we all most people would agree should be the case moving forward i do think

a lot of people that cover college football and talk about college football say that the top four teams should just be the four best teams instead of the four, you know, the conference winners, the way they are now. I do think that gets difficult because then that kind of becomes subjective, right? And the one thing you'd say about the NFL is there's not much subjectivity. Obviously, there's only one by now instead of two, but the, you know, the four teams that get home games, right, one through four seats do win their divisions. And obviously not all the on a yearly basis are the same. Like the Eagles division this year is much shittier than I know the NFC West has

worst records, you know, top to bottom, but it's like, that's just harder on a weekly basis, right? So it's like, it's not apples to apples. So I understand, like, that one's a little tougher for me to just be like, well, Georgia should be the four seat or Tennessee, you know, you could, because then we're just arguing like we would anyway, like we used to, where this one, I'm also of a belief. Now, I get it. I wonder if there's financial lawsuits.

Like, why do you have to include a Power 14? Or, you know, a not like a Boise State. Like, why do they have to be included? They probably don't want to get sued. But like in what world are they even in the mix to get a buy? Like, that's insane. And I'm a Fresno State come from Boise, the whack. Like these are, I like these schools.

But that's fucking outrageous. They are, even Arizona. state if they end up winning for them like I'm sorry their schedule playing just random big 12 teams is harder than the mountain west right do you do you agree with that on a weekly basis is playing big 12 teams playing Kansas playing K state playing whoever you're playing bYU is harder than playing new mexico in san diego state it just is i completely agree uh i see but then here's here's the counter to that yeah and the reason they include group of five is just they're right about lawsuits, as you said.

Throwing them a bone. Yeah. The thing is if you, if you recede, then you're still bringing subjectivity into it because who gets the one, who gets the two, right? You're still just determining that.

So I could see, like, just for my, because I get what you're saying with the subjectivity, but I think that I would just, we put out the rankings anyway, one through 12, And I think that, you know, you have to include the group of the best group of five to avoid your lawsuits.

The conference champions get an automatic bid. And I do like that because it also. I'm cool. I'm cool with that too. Yeah. It keeps this conference championship weekend. Matters. Interesting.

And whereas in the past, it didn't really matter as much. But I think that if you just ranked the one to 12, yeah, you might get. the the four and the five we got to argue that who's the sick but as far as the integrity of the bracket you wouldn't get it wrong as far as like Boise has a buy and then we're saying the five could be better than the one like that's insane it wouldn't it wouldn't be the case so yeah I could see I could also see this expanding I also could see something changing with like just like 14 or 16 teams. So I think eventually, like, the Big Ten and the SEC are going to say, like, we want four

spots each guaranteed every year, something like that. I'd argue they should get that now. I mean, look at the television rating from the SEC once the SPN bottom. It's historic. And obviously the Big Ten, what they bring to the table. I mean, that big noon game, I know they bitch and moan about it and Kevin Warren fucked them by signing that deal, but they do get their own time slot in the morning and it crushes. right I mean I that's the game I typically watch yeah so I mean if you expand it to say 16 teams you could

even say five like five in the big 10 five in the SEC agree that's where we might be heading and then you know you have your group of five and you know you have your big 12 you have your ACC and then you have three other spots for the best teams the other the three next best teams I think that's eventually overheaded but something could change with conference championship weekend because and it's always been like this and the committee at least came out and said that it could change they said if SMU loses this weekend

to Clemson then they could fall out and Alabama would then move in over SMU if SMU wins and Alabama is getting in because Clemson would be out

but like we're punishing SMU for playing its conference championship game now the argument is, well, you have, there's, there's risk there because there's a reward, because you are playing for a buy. So, you know, you're basically playing in a way your first round game. But it is a little unfair in a sense. I agree. So, yeah, I don't know what's going to happen with conference championship games.

There's also not as much interest from a ticketing perspective. Now, the money, because of betting and just fans, the TV money will always be there. But, I mean, you look at the Big Ten get-in price. It's like $14, I believe, right now, the Big Ten championship. A lot of that is because, I mean, Oregon's far away. But if you're like a Penn State fan or an Oregon fan, you already know you're in the college World Playoff. So you're really going to go make a trip to Indy to go to the Big Ten championship?

If you were planning on making a trip to go to your team, you're probably going to go to one of the playoff games, which have much more meaning. And you already know that you're in there. but I don't know the solution to that, but we've seen in the past that there's, you get punished. Teams have gotten punished. We saw it last year, Florida State,

you know, even though they won. Georgia lost. They were out TCU 10 years ago, Wisconsin five years ago. Auburn, 2017. They lost in the SEC championship game. They were in the top four. They dropped out.

Alabama and Georgia jumped in. They beat Alabama and Georgia in the regular season. So we've seen in the past. So I don't know if SMU is safe. I think that they should be based on their season. And it's not like Alabama had a stellar year. But still, it's a TV show. Brand names matter.

Alabama at its peak is really good. They're probably going to find their way in. I agree. Okay, let's start with the Big Ten. Last year, you know, it was a big advantage for Oregon. Obviously, they lost last year as a huge favorite, but that game had huge ramifications. DeBoard, Lannning, Washington, Oregon.

The winner was going to the playoffs. A lot on the line. Obviously, Washington had been beaten Oregon, but it was just an easy travel. It's a cool travel to go to Vegas. This is a pretty big disadvantage for the West Coast teams, just in general, you know, especially Oregon of the four,

Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA, if they ever make to this game, Oregon, obviously well suited to keep going back to this game. But it's just a long travel. And while they are a good traveling team, like this is going to be pretty atypical for a massive game, essentially a bull game. I just don't know how many of their fans are going to be there. Like what you just talked about, they're already prepared probably for the next game or whether it's the home game if they lose or after the buy. In Penn State, I saw the thing you saw, $12 get in price.

I mean, you can sit like lower bowl, excellent seats for a couple hundred dollars. Hell, I paid more triple that for the Red River game. Penn State is just a lot closer And like you could argue this is a bigger game for them Like can they finally win a big game? I wonder if this is going to be a pretty big home field advantage for Penn State Just geographically it's a lot more people that go to that school And Big Ten people are just going to be in that area

I listen I don't see how I see both sides like how are you going to bet on James Franklin in a big game And it also feels like God there's is there just value here? You know, they're almost plus 145 I look this morning. You're getting over a field goal. Wouldn't you say they're kind of built as similar teams? You know, defense, high-end front seven, quarterback, you know, both guys can have their moments. Different. One guy's tiny, one guy's big. I do would imagine if you just went outside speed, Oregon has better skill guys.

You know, Lannin gets talked about really highly, and obviously he's an impressive guy he's easy to root for. He also lost some big games, you know, before this year, you know, against the dude at Alabama who beat him three straight times. And he was favored in multiple of those matchups. So it's not, let's not act like he's Kirby or Nick Saban right now. Now, I'm not, I'd take him over James Franklin, but it is a much smaller sample size, is it not? Yeah, he's not like big game damn or anything. So. I think he gets talked about like that, though, doesn't he?

Yes, yeah, he does. and it's, I mean, like, look, he could have lost another one earlier this year. If Will Howard doesn't go, I mean, that inexplicable ending against Ohio State, you also got, I mean, could have lost a Boise earlier this year. I think Oregon's really good. Do I think that they're in a tier above everyone else? No, I don't. I don't think anyone is there this year.

So, and I think Penn State is in the upper echelon, you know, of your top five, six, seven teams. And I don't think there's more than a field goal that separates these teams. I think Oregon's better, but by just two points or so. So if you're going to give me over a field goal, I took it. I hate it. Yes, because it's big game James. I've seen this story before. But this isn't, like, truly a big game, right?

Like, if this is the playoffs, might be a different story. Like, in a way, like Oregon, like this isn't, in a way they could benefit from it, but I think that they kind of need a loss in a way. Now, they're going to try here. They want to win. But I do think that there's just a little more, like Penn State might be willing to show a little bit more. And I think that this game, as you said, it might mean a little bit more to them. And this is a team that hasn't been ranked number one this century, which is crazy for Penn State.

So if they win this game, they have a shot to be number one. And I think they would be number of like so Georgia wins. And Penn State is going to be the number one overall seat and ranked number one. Where I think this game comes down to. Because the lowest they would be is two, right, if Texas were to win. Yeah. Texas probably won. Yeah.

Where I think this game comes down to is I do think that you can run a bit. on Oregon. And that is the key to this game. Can Penn State run the ball? They have two really good backs. Then they have Tyler Warren, just can do everything. They line him up a quarterback.

Yeah. Tight end, wide receiver, he'll run the ball. Singleton is their best back. He's, now he's fully healthy. It's got that burst back, which I think is huge here.

I think they can run it on Oregon. Like Oregon's underlying rush defense metrics are not great. Where Oregon's defense is great is they have great pass rush. pressures. Birch, they have a ton of them and they're deep. And then their secondary, it's not like filled with NFL guys, but there's no weaknesses. But they're de-line, you get pressure and they don't have the blitz. So if you're a known passing downs, they're going to be able to get to you.

And then you're not really going to find guys downfield, especially if your Penn State, because Penn State does not have elite receivers. That is their biggest weakness by far. It's just Wallace and that's it. They got to throw out it. They got to get really creative. Andy Koldnick is one of the best offensive coordinators in the country. They find creative ways to get the ball to warn.

But they need to be able to run the ball here to stay out of obvious known passing situations. They do that. I think they can move the ball. And I mean, if you look, this Oregon defense, I do think is a tad overrated. They've played two really good offenses, two good offenses all year. It was Boise State. and Ohio State. Both them at home.

They won both by a fuel goal or less, and they gave up 30 plus in both of those games. Against Boise, they had two kick returns for a touchdown to win that game. I know it was way earlier in the season. Oregon is improved, but I do think Penn State will be able to run the ball. And then the other side of the ball,

I do think, but the key position to watch, if you're just watching this game, not to get too under the weeds, is Penn State's right tackle, probably their best offense alignment is out, got hurt a couple of the ones. weeks ago. His replacement, he has been hurt a couple times this year. So his replacement of Wisconsin transfer, Nolan Rucci, he has played, but it's not as good. Can he hold up,

especially on passing down, so is that going to crater the offensive line? That's worth watching, right tackle position. On the other side of the ball, Penn State defense is really good. Can't run on them at all. Like, no one can run on them. I mean, if you just compare these run defense, it's like, look at the Illinois game. They both, they play like six common opponents. Illinois ran 32 times for 34 yards against Penn State. They ran it 32 times for 132 yards against Oregon. Purdue ran at 28 for 85 against Penn State. 40 for 208.

I mean, this is anemic Purdue offense against Oregon. I can go on and on down the list. Wisconsin ran for 130 against Oregon. Can't run on Penn State. Dylan Gabriel, you have to pressure him. His numbers fall off a cliff. He doesn't handle pressure well. I think Penn State can get some pressure here.

So if Penn State can run the ball, and they can stop the run, then I think they're going to be right in this game. It goes down with the wire. So I took the points here. I think it'll be a super close game. And I think a lot of those other ancillary factors, which put it over the top for me, as you mentioned,

like location, the meaning to the game. That puts me over the top. I think this thing will close a field goal. So I grabbed a three and a half. I'm with you. The way you just described Penn State, it's almost like they got to play like some of those Jimmy Garapolo 49er teams.

you know in 2019 and 2021 to win playoff games mucky it up and just get into a fucking fist fight so you already think about who their opponents are moving forward you know you see why they would struggle against teams with their equal talent because if they fall down they can't come storming back

but if they're playing what SMU I would imagine throws the ball over the yard like that's going to be it they wouldn't want to play Penn State that would be it they'd have physical them where you know that's where I wonder like Georgia Texas I understand And Georgia has had a weird season.

But their high end is not really disputable. It's really good because that, you know, you talk about front seven with Penn State. I know you were watching that Georgia Tech, Georgia game. I mean, number three is a C.J. Allen. I mean, he looked like, and I mean, he's not even the, when I close my eyes and think about their defense. He's not the guy that comes up like, you know, their linebacker. But their talent up there, when they got to flip a switch, it's like, God, the speed of these human beings is just, on another level.

And I just wonder, you know, they sacked them seven times. They beat the shit out of yours. Arch came in and it looked like a high school kid. And it's just a rough matchup. I can't even, I mean, I would imagine they pressured them almost 20 times. They were all over the backfield. And this is the type game for Kirby. It's like they view like, you're not our equals, guys.

It's one thing to play Alabama, LSU, like you're an SEC. They don't view Texas. And this sounds like cheesy or whatever. But Kirby talked about it when they beat their ass in Austin. like we didn't come here for the fucking Lamborghinis and the pictures. Like that's their message against this team. And I just wonder if Georgia like, I'm a little surprised Georgia's an underdog, honestly. This is a home game for them.

It's not like Texas has been world beaters, even though they've been rattling off wins. I mean, every time I look up, it's like 1410 against Arkansas in the second half. It's like, Jesus. They don't look that great. Now, that was an impressive win against your A&M squad who were just, who you were almost on them making the playoffs. they fucking held pretty close after losing that first game. But I just like Georgia. I mean, I just think could we look back and go,

that's just a bad matchup for Texas? Yeah, I can see that those are all great points. I did play some Texas initially, but I'm going to be looking to play Georgia, I think, at some point during the game. Why is Georgia the underdog in this game after beating their ass in Austin? I mean, they've just been so inconsistent all year. their defense, like in the back end,

it's just not the same caliber unit. I mean, that Texas game is their best performance of the year by far. Two weeks ago, UMass ran all over them. I mean, UMass was moving up and down. They had Georgia Tech we saw ran all over them. And their offense, too, is the weapons are just not there. And they can't run the ball. This is getting in the weeds a lot, but their offensive line,

they're all hurt. I you know if you had to really ask Kirby if he could like forfeit this game I think he would to get the rest to heal up

before the playoffs you know if it didn't matter and like he'd rather be in Tennessee shoes than having to play this game yes and they're all their offensive alignment are dealing with injuries and they like they they were

like just like limping around. So they can't run the ball at all. And then that puts it all on back. And then their offensive hurts. And also the past section isn't great. But their weapons on the outside are not the same calibers. I mean, look at McComkey and Bowers are doing in the NFL. You don't just replace the I know Georgia gets five stars, but you don't just replace those two guys who, who, like, McConkey's playing a number one receiver, like one of the best receivers in the NFL. Bowers might be the best tight end in the NFL right now. I think you mean Tony Gonzalez and Wes Walker.

Yeah. So they just don't have those two guys anymore. And then they're in these known passing situations. And the one constant all year has been the Texas defense. George's offense every week and their defense at some extent comes out. They come out so flat. One exception was that just that spot when they were at Texas. I played them in that game.

But they would look bad the week before. It was just like a classic Kirby spot. They looked like the 85 bears that game. It was incredible. But again, and their offense looked horrible back to that game again. So it's like they haven't really put, go back to the Alabama game. Their offense finally came to like the Georgia Tech game last week. Georgia Tech's that three defensive backs get hurt in the first half.

And then Georgia's offense came back. But Georgia Tech was going up and down the field against them. And then Georgia's offense couldn't do anything. And this isn't a good Georgia Tech defense. Their script is really bad. Like their offensive script of Bobo this year. And then there's their offensive line. injuries. The weapons aren't as good. They can't run the ball. So, and then, so I think Texas, in a way,

and Sark's script is usually pretty good. Georgia threw a curveball defensively in that game. They got, they were really aggressive. They're not usually that aggressive. They can usually win with their defensive on the front, but they were, Kirby was bringing it from the start. I don't, I don't think Texas was ready for it. I'm curious to see what if he changes it up here, but Texas will be more prepared. Texas just can't get behind. They can't get behind, and that's what happened in the Georgia game. And you kind of need a mobile quarterback. You're going to sit back and throw it against Georgia. So curious to see, if Texas just stays in this early, I think they'll be okay. But Georgia will eventually make adjustments.

So I'll be looking to get it on Georgia live. I just took Texas under three. I think they're going to jump out and get a lead. but there's problems with this Georgia team and there's injuries and I think Texas, look, they have revenge, they got embarrassed on their home field. This means a lot to them. But to your points are right, Kirby is a motivational master and he could play that card too. But just if you remove that Texas game,

the Georgia results this year have been just extremely underwhelming and inconsistent. Like they haven't put together. a full game of good offense and good defense all year, you could argue. So, yeah, and I think that the strongest you in this game is the Texas defense, and the Texas offensive line is on another level than the Georgia offense line. Now, there's an injury at left tackle, but kid who came in last week, there was no drop off at all.

So, yeah, I think Texas can run the ball easier, and I think they have. have more speed. Texas has more speed than Georgia at receiver. And we're playing on a fast track here. I think that could end up playing as well. So I played Texas pregame, but I'll be looking. I think they're going to come out, get a lead. Every week, Georgia goes down besides the Texas game. Doesn't matter who they're playing. UMass goes right down the field 80 yards in Athens. It goes up 7-0. It's every week. So I think they're going to be down, and then I might come in and look to get Georgia above a field goal because we've seen them make adjustments. We've seen them make halftime adjustments. So I think it'll be a good game, but I did take Texas pregame under three.

Yeah, and like as NIL and everything changes, I just pulled up rivals because I saw a headline earlier today that Georgia's number two in Texas is like going back between four and five. And that's just on the high school kids. Obviously, when it comes to transfer portal, we know Texas, Ohio State and even Georgia, they're going to get sweet guys. So just get used to this game because it ain't going anywhere. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. Where does your group perform? We do some

retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heartedly. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

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Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, let's dive into the NFL. This number, I think the Bears are a better team than the 49ers right now. Like, you just can't overcome what the Niners are dealing with. I mean, Trent Williams, who is legitimately hurt, just his wife lost the second twin after already losing an earlier twin in a pregnancy. Obviously, Tarvarious Ward just came back from losing a child.

I mean, Bosa has, like, had hurt his hip where he was playing through weeks ago, and then he hurts the other one, and he's, He's in way more pain and it's worse. And Kyle said as of Wednesday, like, yeah, it's hope so, but I'm not God. So I think it's safe to say, like, it's very up in the air. And why are you going to push him through? All their running backs now McCaffrey and Mason. Like, I just don't think you can overcome the level of what they're trying to overcome right now.

And I, you know, the Bears, while their scores are close, they actually don't play well early. And they kind of come back when the team, either lions have a bunch of injuries. So it's like, Caleb's playing, he's doing a lot of cool stuff in the second half when they're down multiple scores. But in the first half, not all his fault. Coaching staff, they're in Chambles. But I just think they have more healthy players. I just think the Niners are out of juice. So the Bears plus four.

I kind of like the Bears just win this game outright, Stucky. Yeah, I struggle with this one. I see your points. And if Trent Williams doesn't play, then it's awful what happens. Just absolutely tragic. Even if this hadn't happened, he's been legitimately injured and like limping around. Like his legs all fucked up. Yeah.

So if he can't play, then and then you're down your top two backs. Because the weakness of this Bears D is their run day. They lost Billings, their defense attack on their runny's falling apart since. But like, Garando, he can hit some explosive runs, but he's just not the same caliber zone runner than that, you know, Mason and McCaffrey were. And is pretty even fully healthy, right? Like you, you see all those reports about him, like, in warm-ups, he's just, like, or in practice. I always see that, I forget the beat Graham, the beat reporter. He just says, like, he's lofting the ball.

Like, there's no. And last week, he wasn't, he didn't really, and there was, it was snow, but he, he wasn't throwing the ball down the field. The arm strength, is it there? Is he fully healthy? I don't think so. But how, how, well, how healthy is he? I don't know.

they're just dealing with so much. But on the other side, it's like, part of me just says, this is this the bottom of the market, right? Am I still selling, like the 49ers only three and a half, four point favorites at home? Now, you have to account for all the injuries. And even the guys that are playing, like Fred Warner admitted two weeks ago, he's got a broken bone.

Which makes sense because he's had a bad year. He can't, everyone's catching on him. Yeah, it's, so I can't lay it with the 14th. I don't blame me for taking the points here. This is probably this is their season because of the division. So do you get

like just one last heroic effort? And they have had a lot of stuff go wrong for them, like just unlucky stuff, kicker of injuries, red zone everything. So like is this the week that you know, things finally go right? Because they're, say

the Cardinals are favored, against the Seahawks, if the Cardinals win, you know, they go to first place tie with the Seahawks at 7 and 6. You could be one game back if you win. So if they lose this, then it's all over. Then like the Bears, where are the Bears at? You get a head coaching bump? Because usually you want to bet on teams the week after they fire their coach. And I think in this case it warrants a look because I don't think they like the Iber Fluse.

And so, but where are they out mentally? So like, because they just lost three division games in a heartbreaking fashion. And they're done now. So there's, their season's over. I mean, it's not like they're not going to try, which is where are they at emotionally prepping for this game. Because now, look, I mean, they're four and eight in a division where the third place team has nine wins.

Your season's done. But you have a new head coach. There might be some juice there. So I could only take the points, but there's just a lot going on here. I need to see the final injury report, but it's a mess for the 49ers, which makes that Super Bowl loss

just so much more painful, getting so close. And that was the year, then these goddamn chiefs, that was, like last year, the Ravens have always dealt with injuries, like every year for like the past six years, except last year.

The 49ers, always have dealt with injuries except for last year. They were relatively speaking fairly healthy. Both got close 49ers even closer and didn't get there. And now, you know, Bravens lose their defensive coordinator

and their defense has fallen off some offensive alignment. And the 49ers have to deal with all this. It just shows you in the NFL, like once you get close, you can't just assume you're going to be right back there the next year. So, yeah, I don't disagree with you, but just a lot going on in this game. Well, let's talk about those other two NFC West games because they're pretty big.

You know, the bills, it kind of feels like after watching them against the Niners, they got their swag. You look at the rest of the AFC. I mean, the Chiefs have the weirdest 11 in one season in the history of the league. The Ravens just feel like something's off this year, obviously. It feels like it's their year. Now, this is a long, you know, you're coming. across the country, playing the Rams, who I think most people, after last year, would have thought, if they're fully healthy, this is a team to be reckoned with.

Maybe not a true Super Bowl contender, but a 10-11 win team, a playoff team, a team that could win a game in January. And since those wide receivers have come back, they have just looked weird. I mean, I had money on the Saints, so I was pretty locked into Saints Rams. They did not look good for a large portion of that game. And they kind of separated at the end, and Derek kind of turned into a punt. But something to me is just off with this Rams team. Now, is this a little letdown spot for the bills? They still like, when you look at, when you just put their schedule side by side with the chiefs,

like if the chiefs do slip up, which is very possible multiple times, I mean, the, the bills end with Patriots, Jets, Patriots. So if they win one of these next two games, like, I think there's a pretty good chance that they go four and one down the stretch. And. Yeah, the tie. Yeah. So I think there's still a lot on the line.

Even McDermott talked about that because anytime that you clinch a division, how crazy is it looking back that the Jets were favored to win the AFC East like a week before kickoff? And now the bills clinch on December 1st with five games to go. So it's a weird spot. Like it's, I look at there. I just don't take the Rams as seriously anymore, but there's a tough travel game for the bills to be a massive favorite on the roads. Pretty crazy. It opened up at four and a half.

I looked this morning. It was three and a half. I think I like the bills in this spot. Something's off with the Rams for me. Stafford's health, the offensive line, I don't know. Yeah, we'll see. Stafford's dealing with an ankle injury. They say it's going to be okay,

but that's something to worth note. Worth noting, I do think the offensive line's going to start to trend up. They finally have all their starters back. I think what you've seen over the past few weeks is the offensive line continuity wasn't there. Over like the last four weeks, they basically just added like one starter back from injury.

So like every week it's a new lineup and then they're kind of building that continuity. Last week was like the first time they had everyone back. So I think that you'll start to see them trend up up front. I just think this is the top of the market on the bills. It's a team a couple of weeks ago. They were laying the same price in Indianapolis, and I have the Rams better than the Colts. Those when Flacco started, they're laying four on the road. They got four turnovers in that game.

I ended up winning by 10. So I think this is the top of the market. And it's a tough spot. The earliest team is clinched the division, by the way, in 15 years. But you clinched the division. You look so good against the 49ers. But the 49ers was the corpse of the 49ers team. They've had some teams that they benefited from some opposing injuries in recent weeks.

You beat the Chiefs. Now you're going on the road across the country after clinching the division, flying high. More importantly, I think it's just the top of the market from a value perspective. You got the Lions on deck, like a big game, big marquee game next week. week. So, and this is the Rams season. Like, win this game, you're right there. You know, you lose it and the, and the Seahawks win. You're, because you're, you're just not getting a wild card in the NFC. It'd be a big week for Seattle. If they beat Arizona, the Rams

losing, if the Niners were to get upset, it'd feel like Mike McDonald's cruising to the playoffs, wouldn't it? Yep. Yeah. So those are huge results across NSC-West. But I also like some matchup things here. And look, the bills, this reminds me like earlier in the year. The bills, everyone's like, Alan MVP, the bills are unstoppable. You got to remember, it's the NFL still. Teams are never as good or as bad as they look. And then the bills went on the road.

They lost to Houston. They got blown out by Baltimore. I do think Alan is the MVP. I do think the Bills have a shot at win the Super Bowl. But just those are signals that we probably reach the top of the market on the bills. From a matchup perspective, Bill's zone heavy defense. And that has really,

benefited from turnovers. I mean, they're plus 17. Turnover margin on the year. That's number one in the league. Opponents are 10 of 24 on fourth down against them, 41% number one in the league. So, like, they've gotten pretty lucky. And Alan, he does, I think he has some picks coming. You know, he has people last year were complaining about his picks. He had 18 picks. This year, he only has five. His turnover worthy throw rate is the same, three percent. So he's just gotten a little, he was unlucky last year, a little luckier this year. But you playing zone against Stafford, you want to play man against him. With his receivers back, they torch zone defenses, and then they play zone.

You need to do that versus Allen. Alan just crush his man because he can run against it, and he can buy times. He has, I think, 17 or 18 of his 20 touchdowns this year are against man coverage, not zoned. So I think that there's some good matchup advantages here. for the Rams. It's a good spot. I think we're just, now it's come down,

three and a half. I liked it a lot better at four and a half, but I think that this was actually, actually five earlier this week. I think this is the spot to back the Rams at home. Offensive line trending up,

some good match of edges here. They can get pressure, and I think they can run the ball on Buffalo a bit. So, yeah, I'm back in the Rams at home, but I can see the case for the bills. Seattle's owned,

Arizona over the Pete Carroll era right in Arizona. I think I saw a stat that that was a matchup that favored them on the road. Now, obviously new coaches, new players. You were saying early in the season, just wait for Seattle to get some of their players back. It'll be, you know, a big kind of swing. One thing's pretty clear. And I've been, I say it every podcast, is if he coached offense, he would be discussed, like McVeigh, like Kyle, like LaFleur, like Kevin O'Connell.

but he's a 38-year-old defensive coach, but he's a fucking star. Like this guy, like they didn't call him Boy Genius in Baltimore for no reason. Like, he's really, really good. Look at their Ravens defense. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, you know, that's why it's my issue with Florio floating out.

They would trade John Harbaugh. Yeah, they would trade John Harbaugh. If Mike McDonald was still on their staff and they could just elevate him to the head coach, but he's gone. And they're definitely not, you know, elevating Monkin or was Zach Orr, their defensive coordinator who shit might get fired at the end of the year. But this feels like Arizona's tough because you never feel great betting with them or against them.

And they've done a very, like, valiant effort this season. Kyle, Kyler threw two bad picks. But even when they were winning games, like they don't have that much talent, especially on defense. Like you remove Buda Baker. Like, look at what they're rolling out. Now offensively, when Kyler's right, Tray McBride, James Connor, Marvin, like, they got good players. But this is a Seattle team that is just, if you're them, you're starting to smell like blood in the water with the Rams,

with the Niners, you control now playing Arizona. You kind of built, you know, when you beat them, you go three games up essentially with a win here. You beat them already. I like Seattle plus two and a half in this game. And this might just end any Arizona talk about the playoffs. Yeah, I literally just can't figure out Arizona. So I don't think they're good enough.

And if Kyler isn't superhuman, if he screws up, they're screwed, which he did against Minnesota. Yeah, and he did against Seattle. I mean, Seattle shut them down. I did play some under in this game. I think that the Arizona defense, you're right. There's no talent here. But if you look at advanced metrics, they're above league average against the run and against the pass and overall. I don't know how.

They play well. And they're well-seemed. They don't give up explosive plays. They make you move the ball down the field. and eventually, you know, they make a play or you make a mistake. And, yeah, I mean, they're running some, like, just really cool quarter stuff. And so I love the way that they're scheme. I can't imagine what that defense would look like if it had talent.

And, yeah, I mean, I've been, I've always been shooting McDonald's horn. And, like, the way that you really tell the impact of a coach is not just what they're doing with a team. because some of that as players, other guys say that, but what happens to the team where they left? And the Ravens defense is just a mess right now. And Seattle's defense had this down swing, and it was because they were all hurt. Like they had no defensive linemen.

McDonald finally reshuffled his linebacker room, released some guys, traded for some guys. He got his linebacker room to where he wants it. The secondary was all hurt. Now, they're all back fully healthy. So now this defense is fully healthy, and they're rolling. I mean, they held Arizona to six points two weeks ago. Last week, I mean, the Jets.

One of the touchdowns was a kickoff return. Yeah. Right. And then they also muffed a kickoff. They muffed two kickoffs in the game. Chanel. Just a disaster of special teams. But, I mean, the Jets had 250 total.

It's 4.2 yards per play. They did nothing in that game. So this defense is trending way up. I think it's undervalued in the market. And I think the Arizona defense continues to be undervalued because people are just looking at the talent. So I think second divisional game, two well-schemed defenses. I think they'll make some good adjustments.

So I think this will be lower scoring, like a lot on the line. I don't mind taking the points here, because I think Seattle is the better overall team. And I do think the one thing that worries me about the under, the first game was played outdoors. There was some weather. Indoors, it's funny because the Seattle defense is really good,

but I think that their defense would be good. That's fully healthy anywhere. The Seattle offense, they can't really run the ball. They don't have like a complimentary offense, too. you know, like playing outdoors and being a really good defensive team. Their offense and Gino Smith in particular, when they're indoors,

they look so much better. And they have like speed at receiver and they need to throw them all. They can't really run it. Like if you look this year, they, you know, when they went to Detroit on Monday night, yeah. Yeah, they had like 500 yards. That was like the best performance against Detroit's defense all year when they were healthy. Um, they went to Atlanta and destroyed them. They put up like their, their offense looked unstoppable.

So, yeah, they're, when they've gone outdoors, when they've gone indoors, and they're like, they have, they can throw the ball around. And it's not like Arizona gets a ton of pressure. That's the one thing that worries me. So that could work in your favor too. So I don't mind taking the points I did take some under. Well, you think there will be a, you know, if we look ahead, let's just say they win the division. They'd be hosting a playoff game.

More than likely they would be the three seed hosting either probably Green Bay, Minnesota potentially. I mean, are they an underdog in that game? Is that a pick-em? I know it's a long way to look ahead. Do we like them in a little upset spot there? Or like you said, the rain starts coming down because they would have an awesome crowd,

and we have seen them in a spot where they're not viewed going to win that game early in the Pete Carroll era with the Marshawn Lynch run against the Saints when they were like 7 and 9 and won the division. That's just something, you know, that could get weird there. that'd be a weird spot to go

if you're like a Green Bay like a 11-12 win team you're the 6th or Minnesota and you've got to go on the road to Seattle that's a tough spot Green Bay be favored but small and

I mean it would probably end up being like Green Bay minus 2 and a half or something but Seattle has a chance to close that gap so I mean Green Bay could continue to ascend but Seattle could keep getting better power rating wise I think the market

as it now has it at like two and a half three would be green bay um i would be really interested in getting seattle at three um yeah they're going to be a really intriguing home team but they could also like if they have to go to go to minnesota if they have to go to detroit they can hang if they're you know they they have talent at receiver gino plays much better veteran doors and now their defense is healthy. You'd remember when they played Detroit, it was a game where their defense was decimated by injuries.

That's when it was the bad version of their defense. So they obviously would be, let's see, and as of now, they'd probably be like touchdown plus underdogs in Detroit, if Detroit's fully healthy. You don't remember, now Detroit is going through with Seattle.

We're doing this before the Thursday night game. I think they're in trouble just the way. I mean, they have to cite Jamal Adams. tells you everything you need to know. They got like 13, 14 defenders on NIR. I think they signed Jamal Adams to play him at defensive line. Yeah, Blitz. That's always good for us.

So, yeah, Seattle's going to be an interesting team. If they continue turning out, and then you know their defensive game plan is going to be really good. Now, a lot can change. You just look at the injury situation across the league. But, yeah, the NFC playoffs is going to be fun. And you have these teams that aren't. aren't going to win the NFC north,

and they're going to have to go on the road, and Seattle's going to have a say. Okay, we'll end it on this. The fighting Jim Harbos, who are cruising to the playoffs, who would have thought that. I'm so mad at myself. I was like one of my favorite bets of the year as a future,

and I got talked out of it just because everyone kept calling me, idiot, they don't have enough talent, this and that. It's like, here they are, probably winning 11 games. There's a spot, the Chiefs, clearly it's just a weird season, right? They just, every game kind of looks the same, whether they're playing the Raiders,

the Panthers, or a playoff team. My first reaction is Chargers plus four. Now, it's not exactly like the Chargers are world beaters. I mean, they struggled to get like 200 yards of offense,

against Atlanta in a dome. They're defense. They're first down in the second half. Their defense is good. I mean, they got guys, you know, fifth round picks, picking off cousins and Derwin making plays. And there's a little different animal in Kansas City. That place is going to be rocking.

So my first inclination is Chargers, just take them plus the points. It almost feels like too easy. But like every Chiefs game looks the exact same. So I guess that's my first reaction, chargers plus the points. but don't feel great about it. It feels like a trap.

I took the cheese here. I can't believe I did. I can't believe I'm saying, I think this is the bottom of the market. On the cheese, they're 11 and 1. But from a betting perspective, they haven't covered in six straight games. And I, like, they were laying seven in L.A.

And they won by seven. Now you're laying three and a half four at home? Do you think that's a huge reason why people talk shit about them? Like, if this one we were kids, like 1996 and you're just 11 and 1. People are like, oh, it seems excellent. But now gambling, we talk about so much, the numbers we talk about the spread so much.

Like, they don't even come close to covering. That's why people act like they're a seven-win team. Yeah, it could be part of it, for sure. Gambling drives a lot more of the casual, general sports time. I feel like they would have got more respect for most of my life when you're just 11 and 1, regardless how you win. especially when you're the two-time defending champ, right? It's not like they're just a little engine that could.

I mean, this is a team that's won back-to-back story. I mean, think about how much respect they were getting and how much love they were getting last six. They kept winning as underdogs in the playoffs and covering. For sure. It was a different story. But the chart has been pretty fortunate, too. Like, I mean, and they've only beaten one team of the winning record

was the Broncos all year. Last year, last week I had the Falcons plus two and a half. Probably the worst NFL loss I've ever had. But then I had the Browns plus six and a half. on Monday night. That was probably even worse. But the Falcons, I mean, they missed a 30-yard field goal indoors. They out-gain, they had a 98% post-game win expectancy. They out-gain the cousins just throws four inexplicable picks.

So pick six. They don't get multiple four downs. The charges get a two-point conversion to cover. They had 13 yards in the second half. Anyway, you could tell them, not bitter. So, but here's what's going on here. I like the matchup for the Chiefs because, one, they play a lot of man cover. on defense. Their secondary has not been the same since the injury to Watson. Their past defense

has gotten worse. The charters are not the team that has the receivers that are going to take advantage of that, especially if McConkey can't play. He's hurt. He was their entire offense last week. I think it's 75% of their yards. He's hurt. I don't know if he's going to play. If he can't, he's the only guy on their entire team that can beat man coverage. No one else can. I don't know how they moved the ball. It happened last week against the Falcons. And he got hurt and they couldn't move it anymore. And that's the Falcons defense. They also can't run the ball anymore because

they lost Dobbins. They couldn't run against the Falcons last week. I think they averaged two yards per carry last week. They can't run the ball anymore because they lost Dobbins. And now if you lose McConkey, how are you moving the ball? The other side, they play a lot of zone. On defense, they sit back in their zone.

I don't think that's a good idea against Mahomes. Especially, and I think this is the key to the game, especially if DJ Humphreys, I think it's going to start a left tackle, starts the left tackle. That has ruined. The left tackle has ruined the Chiefs offense this year.

They cannot block anybody. Whoever lines up there is getting immediate pressure from the last week against the Raiders. They had to kick their guard out. They're starting guard out to left tackle in the middle of the game. So Humphreys, I think it's going to be a massive upgrade. I think he's slated to start,

reports out of camp for all. Very good. So I think the Chiefs offense will look better. So I think that this is, you know, you have McConkey injury, the Dobbins injury. And then look, this Chargers offense was already limited. The talent isn't great. Herbert's awesome. You know, your tackles are really good. You had Dobbins. McConkey looks like a hit, but they're out or and McConkey's hurt. Dobbins is out. The receivers aren't great. A lot of it was like scheme. And I think the league is like starting to pick up on a lot of their tendencies.

And there's only, as the season progresses, there's only so much you can do with that receiving talent. So I think this is a good matchup for the Chiefs. This is like the bottom, very bottom the market on them like covering, like the, I'm not asking them to cover seven, seven and a half, 13, 14. So, yeah, I just win 23 to 15 or something, you know. Yeah, yeah. Who's better right now? The Chargers are the Broncos? Kind of the same team.

You have Chargers more Yeah So you plan on betting against the Broncos in the first round Yeah Depending on the price I mean the Broncos defense is good If they're like a big underdog I mean the Chargers are

When the Broncos haven't really beat anybody either Right neither of these teams have great wins And the Broncos they should have just lost to the Browns The Broncos to me Are A like dead average team

and the Chargers went healthy are borderline top 10 team so the difference between them two two and a half points your upside with the Chargers is bigger too

because of Herbert Knicks has played well but he's he needs to be like put in certain situations you can't be under pressure they need to be able to run the ball. But the charters have to get healthy because they need a healthy McConkey. Because they're wide receiver room without him.

And they need to get Dobbins back. His Dobbins, if he comes back, it's going to be the same. Like, he was amazing. He looked as good as he did coming off all the injuries that he had. But their run, their run offense without him is bad. And there's no McConkey, their offense is pretty limited. But I don't think neither team has Super Bowl ups. upside this year.

Anything can happen in one football game, but I don't think either could go through the AFC playoffs, especially not with home field advantage. Well, Stucky, I appreciate you, and I'm actually, that charge of Chiefs games, that's pretty good. I mean, night games, Kansas City, getting cold, Jim Harbaugh on the sideline.

This is... There'll be better than the Cowboys again on prime time on Monday. It's Cowboys, who? Bangles. Oh, my God. They scheduled the Simpsons alternate cast, alternate broadcast. That's why they couldn't get out, right? And they pre-recorded, like, all this stuff.

So it's unbelievable. I mean, I am sick and tired of watching the Cowboys and not island spots. It's like three times in the last three weeks already. Yeah, that's a joke. Well, have a good week, and college football. It could be exciting on Saturday. So I'll talk to you next week when we'll know the bracket,

and we'll rock and roll from there. Absolutely. Have it going, brother. Enjoy your weekend. See you next week. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

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Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door, and he jumped in a car and drove off, and that was the last time I saw him.

Listen to Season 14 of Family Secrets on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do.

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