The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Rodgers, Russ Takes, Joe Burrow on NFL Rules Changes, Myles Garrett Matchup + Week 8 Best Bets

Episode Date: October 29, 2022

This is Prime Cuts! The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. First, Top Takes, where Colin explains why he’s not bothered by Aaron Rodgers publicly calling out his young receivers, and why Russell Wilson’s ever present cringe factor isn’t as bad as social media says. Then, Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow on if he had a hunch the Cincy offense was set for a huge day against the Falcons in Week 7, how opposing defenses have adapted their game plans since the start of the season, the first rule he would change if he was NFL Commish, if it’s been hard to go dark on social media, his Buckeye ties to Browns CB Denzel Ward, how he's preparing for for Myles Garrett and the Browns D, which opposing teams alternate uniforms he likes (2nd to the Bengals all whites), why he's not a yeller in the mold of Tom Brady, and how he's developed great communication with Ja'Marr Chase even when he wants more touches. Finally, Action Network's Chad Millman tells Colin if his NFL Week 8 picks are "sharp" or "square" for Cardinals/Vikings, Dolphins/Lions, Bengals/Browns,, Broncos/Jags, Patriots/Jets, Packers/Bills, Raiders/Saints, and Commanders/Colts. Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herd #volumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 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. The Volume. Colin Coward Podcasts presented by FanDual Sportsbook.

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Fandul-Sportsbook app, sign up. This is Prime Cuts, Best of the Colin Coward podcast. Another great conversation with Joe Burrell. He tells me what's clicking in that offensive explosion against the Falcons, and he's preparing for the rival Browns and Miles Garrett. Chad Millman, Action Network, sharp or square week eight NFL bets. By the way, I'm on fire.

First, all my top takes of the week. So Aaron Rogers came out on his weekly guest spot on the Pat McAfee YouTube show and called out. It's not what I would do. I don't think it's what young receivers and teammates need. Called out young players making too many mistakes. He said, quote, we should cut reps.

It's not one or two. It's 10 or 12 a game. Here's the thing about Aaron Rogers. I can't beat him up too much for this because I'm always praying pro athletes are honest. He had no problems sharing his opinions right or wrong on the vaccine. He's been honest about taking a psychedelic tea. He's honest about how pistey is at his teammates. And at some point, I'm begging for everybody in sports to be this honest.

I mean, I would be more political. If I was a quarterback of a football team and I had young players struggling with confidence, I would not call them out. I would fall on the sword. You know, I'd blame myself. I think that's the better way to grow. But that's not who Aaron is. You know, he doesn't sacrifice a lot in his life.

he's 38 rich, never married, no kids, doesn't walk the dog or pick up crap, right? Like, Aaron's going to do what Aaron wants to do. And I will say this. Quarterbacks come in all different shapes and sizes and styles and opinions. Aaron does a wonderful job of providing content for shows like mine. So though I disagree perhaps with his methods, I would like to say I appreciate the content. it's outstanding. He is one of the great content providers in sports.

He's fantastic. He's like a human TikTok. He's just making stuff happen. I just keep flipping through Aaron Rogers. And it's this comment, that comment, psychedelic tea, and I hate vaccine. And here's my political thoughts. Guys, fantastic for content.

Not winning much these days, but content, boom. You know, the Russell Wilson story, is obviously interesting to me, because I think he's a really, really talented guy. But a lot of the criticisms of Russell Wilson are he's inauthentic. Two other players come to mind for me, two other quarterbacks. When I hear the word inauthentic, their label is inauthentic, do-gooders, goodie-to-shoes, Tim Tebow, and Kurt Cousins, T-Brow, are probably the best. the three most religious quarterbacks in the last decade. They're labeled inauthentic.

And my takeaway has been, I'm agnostic, but I have seen the power of religion and the power of faith in my life from others. I think religion at its best is optimistic, not pessimistic, is hopeful, is glass-half-full, not snarky. For the record, Aaron Rogers leans toward the less religious side has struggled with his family. Very religious. That's okay. I'm agnostic. I tend to be a little cynical, a little skeptical of faith. Maybe I wouldn't be a good quarterback, right? But when I hear the inauthent claims, I heard him for Tebow, I hear him for Russ, and I've heard them for Kurt Cousins. And I think they're just very faith-based, very hopeful, very optimistic. And that sure beats what I see with a lot of people out there.

I don't think snarky is great for religion. I don't think pessimistic, super cool. Russell Wilson isn't washed. You may think he is. But I think when I watch Russell Wilson, I think he really believes in what he's selling. Now, what he's selling can come off as a tad cringy. But, you know, not everybody's cool, right? Like a lot of people think they're cool.

A lot of people want to be cool. Not that many people are cool. I don't think Russell's cool. I mean, I'll be honest with you. I don't think Brady's cool. I never thought Peyton Banning was cool. Most of the great quarterbacks in my life, Troy Aikman was a little cool, a little bit cool, good-looking guy, Dallas Cowboys. boys, I don't think that's a beneficial asset. Because I said this years ago when I was talking to a college

class, I said, I'm not cool either as my audience. Go to a mall or a bowling alley. That's who listens to Sports Talk Radio. If I'm cool, I'm not of my audience, right? So I said, I wouldn't waste a lot of time, trying to be the hippest guy on social media? Because most people aren't hip. Think about this. Quarterback NFL. Mahomes is cool. I think that's fair to say.

Troy Aikman was cool. The mannings weren't. Brady isn't. Russell isn't. Andrew Luck wasn't. I never thought Big Ben was. I don't think Herbert is. Joe Burrell's got some cool.

And exclusively on the volume. But I don't think it's an asset necessarily in a group setting to be the coolest guy. So I'm okay with a little cringy because it's really relatable. And how do I know that? Because in a recent poll of American adults, Russell Wilson was voted tied for the most popular player in the NFL. Twitter and social media are not real life. Cringy is real life. Dad jokes are real life.

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Fandul.com. Gambling problem, 1-800-200 next step or text next step to 5334-2-AX-8-8-8-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7. Or visit, Connecticut Connecticut. Connecticut, 1-800-Gand-G, or visit Fandul.com slash RG and Colorado-Septuil. 1-877-7-7-7-1-1-7-1-1-7-1-1-7-1-1-7-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-thth I'm going to be a good journalist that goes without saying but I got to be honest with you I'm not supposed to root for people but shit when Joe took a 21-0-0 lead I'm like, boom, going to be a good podcast on Tuesday.

Joe's going to be in a good mood. I got to be honest. I'm sitting there thinking, yeah, I like what I'm seeing. Joe's going to be, Joe can get a little ticked off if he didn't have. Did you know, did you know, though, week prep pregame? Do you ever sense, man, all this stuff on film works? Did you have a sense it was going to be a big early performance? Yeah, Jamar and I had talked about it the day before.

We kind of felt like it was going to be an opportunity. one of those games that we had a chance to put up some good numbers. And so we had talked about that the day before we kind of had a feeling it was going to happen. When you have a huge lead in a game at half, what does Zach say at half? What do you say?

Yeah, I mean, we really treated the same way as a half time that we're losing. There's not a lot of motivation. We're only in there for, I think it's like seven minutes. And so, you know, you're going to the bathroom. you're eating your bananas or whatever, you know, everybody eats something at halftime, then you're hydrating, and the coaches are going over adjustments, and then you sit down and you go over those adjustments,

then it's time to go back out. So there's not a lot of time for that. The, you know, it's interesting. I said, because you do the podcast, and Draymond Green does, whenever I say something nice about you or Draymond Green, people are always like, it's just because it's part of your business. And I'm like, yeah, because Draymond Green is terrible, and Joe Burroughs terrible.

Give me a break. But it is interesting. I asked somebody in my family. I've got three girls in my family. And they were like, oh, my God, Joe Burroughs so cute. And I was like, oh, bro, slow down. So do you sense your popularity like growing? Do you, I mean, obviously in your hometown,

but do you kind of sense you're becoming a thing here now? You know, fortunately for me, I have. people around me that keep me kind of out of that. And like I said, I don't, I don't get out much. So I don't, I don't really like to experience that part of it. I'm more of a homebody that just likes to play football. I'm a homebody. So I started a movie on Netflix the other day or a series. It was awful. I quit. I won't give anything. Like, I'm, I'm 15-minute guy. If it's bad after 15 minutes on Netflix, I'm wiping it. In your television viewing, are you patient guy, impatient guy?

Very patient. You'll go like five in, even if it's average? Yeah. Oh, you're my wife. Yeah. You never know. Yeah, you never know. Really?

Yeah. So the other day I watched something called The Watcher. Have you heard that? Yeah. You watched that. Yeah. I did. It's in. Out. Bored the hell out of me.

You watched the whole thing. Yeah. I watched the whole thing. What did you make of the ending? Disappointed. That's what everybody's saying. I want to watch it just to get to the crappy ending. I don't really want to watch it. But I hear it's a weird ending.

So I want to talk about Albert Breer was on my show on FS1. And he said he talked to your dad. And your dad tells a story he has video of when you were eight years old. And you did some quarterback sneak. for a touchdown. And your dad had this sense very early that you had a certain quality, that you know, you just kind of,

Breer and I talked about this, whereas Josh Allen walks into a room and just looks different. And Mahomes has got this goofy sidearm, crazy, flashy style. You are not as physically gigantic. And a lot of your throws are, you know, I've seen before. There's a guy in the pocket. You have a certain style.

A lot of people talk about, oh, I could sense it with Joe. But I'm like, well, Ohio State he moved on. And the first year at LSU, you know, it was choppy. So when did you self-identify? Like, I can remember going to college and knowing that I cared way more about broadcasting than even the juniors and seniors. I was addicted to it. I was taping crap at night.

When did you self-identify and go, this means more to me? I'm good at it. Was it eight, 12, 18? I kind of was just always a very competitive person. And, you know, whether it was football, baseball, or basketball, I always kind of roused the challenge of being the guy at the plate, hitting the final free throws to win the game. And I was always just kind of good in those moments.

I'm not quite sure what it was, but I just feel like the game slows down to me. in those crunch time moments, whatever it happened to be. Do you get nervous? Before the games, for sure. I do. But then, you know, when you're out there, you're just relying on your training. There's no time to sit back and think about whether you're nervous or not.

There's 40 seconds on the game clock, sometimes 25, and you're just out there relying on muscle memory and the reps that you got in practice. What do you get nervous about? out. Not about anything in particular. It's just the energy and the excitement in your stomach that you're feeling leading up to game day. When early in this year, teams were taking things from you. And we say this on our show, Monday is overreaction day. And it's all a process. You come into the season. You're trying to get your body right, your O line right. You get it

right, they take stuff away. It's a chess match. Do you feel the defense you saw this weekend is different than the defense you saw in week one, two, three? Like, tell me what you're seeing at the line. Is it changing it all week to week? You know, every team has their own little spin on it. But for the most part, teams are still playing us the way they have been.

The difference in our wins is that, you know, we jump out to an early lead or we're hanging in there, moving the ball, and then the defenses have to be a little more aggressive. And so then we're able to take our shots in those moments. One of the things, I think the NFL is really good at changing stuff. The catch rule. It was just too,

it was too confusing to me. I had Roger Goodell on. I said, I don't even understand what a catch is, and I'm a gigantic football fan. I don't like the preseason. College kids have 17 hours. They have midterms. They don't have a preseason.

And I've watched teams Alabama. LSU, Georgia, Oregon. I've seen teams be great in their first game. The preseason is a chance for you to get hurt, and frankly, nobody's playing starters. We have three games left. But by not playing in preseason, you had a pretty rough opener.

If you ran the league, I asked Brady this once, if you ran the league, I'm going to ask you two questions. What would you do to preseason? I would continue to just make it shorter. like one or two games. But it is a great chance for young guys to go out there and give an opportunity. So you got to take that into account too. I think three is a pretty good number.

And usually how starters have been doing it is they play a little bit in game one. They play a little bit more game two. And then game three, they're not playing at all. I would subscribe to that probably now that I'm thinking about it. But, you know, every team has their own way of doing it. And I can completely see why we don't play players in the preseason. A lot of teams across the league aren't. It's a great chance to get injured.

I mean, the more you're out there playing, the better chance you're going to get injured in a game that doesn't count towards your record. So, you know, it's a tough balance. Second question. If you were commissioner and could change one rule that you just, I already know mine, I'll let you go first. You could change one rule. Offensive and defensive holding would be the same penalty.

Defensive holding is only five yards. Offensive holding is 10 yards. I just think it should be the same. Okay. I think college does a better job with pass interference. I don't think it should be like a spot foul where, oh, a guy gets his leg tangled.

You're running, the receivers are the best athletes in the world. The corners could be first or second best. You're both running a 4-4. You go down the sideline, you trip, and it's a 49-yard penalty. spoken like a true defensive guy. You like it?

I like it. Because, I mean, if you're throwing a go ball and Jamar Chase is about to break free 40 yards down the field and you just tackle him. But people are going to do that every time. It's only a 15-yard penalty. And it's a, you know, he's going to go and get that ball. So it's been several weeks since you had your media sign-off. How's that going for you? Is it hard?

No, it's great. It's a little harder to answer interview questions because I don't really know what's going on in the world of sports other than what people tell me at the facility. But I've been enjoying it. So I used to live in a town called Manhattan Beach, California. Halloween is a big deal. A big deal. So you're from Athens. I am told Ohio there is a legendary Halloween celebration.

Explain. It's a college, just like a college block party for Halloween. Everyone gets dressed up. It's a good time. Oh, come on. That's it. It's just there's nothing special? I mean, it's Ohio University is kind of known as a school that people like to go to.

to have an alcoholic beverage or two. Oh, yeah. And the block parties are pretty fine. Yeah, it's a drunk fest. So is Chico State. Listen, there are colleges that are known for drinking. Arizona State. Yeah.

They drink. Brady doesn't drink in the season. Would you have, you know, you're playing Sunday, Tuesday, you're hanging out, would you have a beer? No, I don't particularly enjoy drinking at all. I do it maybe once, twice a year. Wow. But definitely not during the season.

How did you live in Baton Rouge? Wow. Oh, my God. Yeah. I just really don't like how it makes me feel, to be honest. So I don't partake in it usually. Are you, I remember one-time being. in a drive-thru, and Andre Agassi had just won, like, the U.S. Open or some big tennis tournament.

And he was in the Taco Bell drive-thru in Las Vegas. And I'm in a Hummer. I think he had a Hummer. I remember thinking, that's how Andre Agassi eats? I was just, like, totally taken back by it. And I mean, he got a tray of food. And at this point in your life, you could eat poorly. Like, what's the line between, like,

caring about it and not being neurotic about it. Like, give me your ad, give me, Joe, give me your average day of eating. Lay it out. I eat four times a day. I have a chef that prepares my meals. I usually have one day a week where I kind of eat what I want. You know, chicken wings, all that good stuff.

But, you know, six days a week, I'm pretty regimented. And nobody had to teach you that. Like, you just got it. Well, I really made the change after my knee injury and my rookie year and really helped in the recovery process, took out all the inflammation in my knee, all the swelling, made it feel better. And so that's kind of when I understood the power of diet. Yeah. So you play the Browns on Monday Night Football, which it's a division game. It'll be close.

It always is. I really like Cleveland's corners. I think they're great Denzel was in my class at Ohio State he's a great dude, great player. When did you know he was going to be great? Freshman sophomore year? Yeah, I mean

our true freshman year at Ohio State they had him on kickoff and he was running like 22 and a half miles per hour down there and making tackle after tackle and we kind of figured he was going to be a pretty good player. He's a smaller player. When you attack Cleveland,

Miles Garrett may be the best defense a player in the league. They have great corners. Take me through without giving up game plan secrets in the games against Cleveland. When a team has elite corners, and I think they're really good. Are you a stayaway guy, a challenge guy? Where do you go on that? Yeah, I mean, the duo that they have on the outside is one of the best in the league.

They got Judevian Clowney and Miles Garrett both on each side. So those guys have been, you know, top pass rushes in the league for the last five years. And so you always have to be aware that those guys are going to wreck the game at some point if you let them. And so you got to chip them. You got to get the ball out quickly. But, you know, the guys I have on offense, I'm not going to be afraid to challenge any core in the league on the outside. 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'll say it. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your

podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. So here we are. We're seven weeks in. You played your best football game. Your defense is the most underrated in the league because you don't have a ton of pro bowlers, but like everybody can ball. Everybody can play. Like you face that.

How often do you face your defense in practice ones on ones? During the season, not at all. But training camp is always always a battle. Okay. Explain that. Not at all. No, not during the season. on the bi-week, I think we get some seven-on-seven,

but you don't want to, you only get a certain amount of reps during the week because it's such a long season. You want to keep your bodies fresh. And so you don't want to, I don't want to say waste, but you don't want to waste reps that you could be getting against a scout team who's running the defense you're going to be facing on Sunday when you're going against your defense that you're not going to be facing on Sunday. And so you never want to waste those reps.

Do you guys, what's the rule in the NBA? on physical contact and pads during the season? You can have one padded practice a week, and then I think starting week 12 or 13, there's no more padded practices, something like that. Go back 15 years in football. It was completely different. Do you feel like the league takes better care of you?

Absolutely. And I mean, my body, Zach and our coaching staff and our strength staff do a great job of using the data, using the science and, you know, altering practice here and there for certain reasons. If guys have played, you know, a ton of steps on Sunday, maybe we'll have an extra walkthrough period here or there. And so they do a great job of that. All right. Finally, you're pretty good on style. I'm not. I'm from Seattle. I hate the Seahawks bright green uniforms. I'm a blue guy. I think they're classy. I think they're traditional. But I'd like to

the Bengals all whites. Yeah. If I said to you, give me three uniforms in the NFL you think are tight. You can't use the Bengals, but you literally think that's a good looking, that's a good looking setup. Well, obviously, I have to say our new uniforms are awesome. I've always liked the 49ers uniforms. Those are just classic Saints uniforms.

I was a Saints fan growing up. Those are sick. and I've been like in the dolphins lately. The dolphin blue. Yeah, pretty good. Now, there's got to be one you're not into. I'll just say it right now. Jaguars doesn't work for me.

I'm sorry, I apologize. I agree with that. I can agree with that. You know what it feels like to me? Like an alternative league. Like it should have been great in the USFL, right? It just feels alternative. I like their old uniforms.

What were those? Back with David Gerard and those guys. Do you ever think, you know, Aaron Rogers, California guy, like, there's not a lot of New Yorkers that become great NFL quarterbacks. It's a lot of regular kids. Do you ever think to yourself, God, what if I'd have grown up a surfing in Malibu or some wall? I mean, I think it's, you know, your upbringing has every. everything to do with your character and a lot to do with your mental toughness. I think the more adversity and the more structured and the more discipline your life has,

the better you're going to turn out in the long run. And I think it really has a correlation with quarterbacks because that's, I mean, that's what the position is. It's leadership. It's being able to bring people together. It's taking care of your own business. And it's not being a distraction off the field. And so you got to have all your,

your peas and cues and all that real tight because otherwise it's going to end up showing up on the field. You know, Brady barks and Brady's been barked at. You're not a big barker. How do you deal with being barked at? I just think that, I mean, I can deal with it. I'm a I'm a person that doesn't mind being coached that way, but I think there's a more effective way to coach and there's more effective ways to get information across than yelling. So I've never been one to do that. You know, as a quarterback, you got to understand all of your guys that are on the team and in the locker room and understand, you know, how you talk to one person.

You might not be able to talk like that to another person in the locker room. And you've got to really understand the people so you can bring the most out of them. How do you learn that? You just got to spend time with them. You got to sit with different people in the lunchroom, talk to different people on the field. And a byproduct of doing that is you become very close and create a lot of new friends that you wouldn't have before

and make the locker room a much more friendly and closer environment. How does Jamar respond? What's the best way to talk to him? You just talk. I mean, he's a really smart football player. So you just go and. I mean, we're really good friends. We're not, what's understood doesn't need to be said between us.

We give each other a look like, hey, I was my bad. And we both know the look. If he thinks he needs to get the ball a little bit more, he'll give me a little look. We trust each other enough that if we need to say something to each other, we definitely will. And there's been multiple times he comes up to me, he's like, hey, give me the ball a little bit. bit and we have that trust that never goes the wrong way. Do you, I think about this, do you ever feel like during a game? Wow. T's, I'm not giving him looks. Do you, not that you would force it, not that maybe guilt, but are you ever in a game thinking,

God, I've just literally ignored him for two quarters? No, not really. And that's what's great about. I mean, we have three number ones receivers and none of them really care about that. I mean, at the end of the day, they want some touches in their yards, but they never show it on their face. They never, you know, say anything about it because I think that they know that they have the trust in me to read the defense to get the ball where it's supposed to go. And in the end, it's going to even out. You know, one one game, Jamar is going to have a big game. And then maybe the next game, the defense is trying to take that away. And so T will have a big game. and then maybe another, the middle of the field is open

because they're worried about those two guys on the outside, and TB will have a big game like last one. And so they have that trust in me that they know the ball's going to go where it's supposed to. Do you feel that Zach Taylor doesn't have to coach you as much now? It's three years together. Do you feel like sometimes you look at him and go, I got this, I know what you're going to say? Yeah, we know each other well enough by now.

You know, he's great. it understanding that, you know, I put a lot of work in and I go out there and make a check. Maybe it doesn't work and we come off and talk about it like men and understand where we could get better than next time. And so he does a great job of communicating the information in a professional way. Give me the similarity or biggest difference, your dad to Zach as a coach. You know, I really don't know how my dad. dad was as a coach. He didn't really bring that home. He, uh, he was a dad first. And, you know, I didn't

really see that side of him much. I was, uh, I was around the program, but I didn't see that side too much. All right. Growing in popularity and ascending in accuracy. It's time for a sharper square with Chad Millman, CCO Action Network, all of our odds provided by Fandul. I had another winning week. You talked me into a couple of games and I like that. So let's start with my favorite picks. I am a huge fan of Minnesota, but they don't

blow anybody away. I've said before, Arizona's too talented not to be competitive. They get extra time to prep. They're getting now four. I'm going to take Arizona plus four against a team I like a lot. Minnesota is Sharper Square.

So this is generally sharp. Let me give you some background. The wise guys do like the Cardinals. The blind actually move from four to three and a half. And there are reasons related to the Vikings that they don't necessarily like Minnesota. But a lot of this is about the return of DeAndre Hopkins. We saw last week.

Kylo Murray and this offense, they are just a different team when DeAndre Hopkins plays. When he has, when Kyler Murray has DeAndre Hopkins, he's 17 and 10 as a starter. without him. He's 6, 13, and 1. Last week, Hopkins plays for the first time in the early year, 10 catches for more than 100 yards. But then there is the part that is about the Vikings. This defense is dreadful. Like, they allow the NFL's highest percentage of explosive pass plays. They're 31st in DVOA.

They are against wide receiver number ones, which is what Hopkins is. He could have a massively huge day. And this is what's interesting about the Vikings. You know, they're on this hot streak right now and they're five and one, they're leading the division. They are consistently outgained on a yards per play basis. And that is a huge wise guy stat. That is a signal that they're not winning because they're better, but because they've been luckier, wise guys are betting on regression. Detroit plus three and a half at home against Miami.

Okay, interesting. Jared Goff and Detroit are a different team at home. If you really watch the cowboy game, that thing was like 10-6 late, and Detroit should have been leading. I like Miami. They're very good on script, often limited off it.

I'm going to take the points Detroit plus three and a half, sharper square. I love this. It is my favorite pick of the week. It was the first bet I made. The wise guys love this game. This is a by-low sell high. Everyone hates the Lions after two bad weeks.

Everyone loves Miami with two a back. They won in prime time. But like you said, Detroit is back at home. Detroit is in desperation mode. The world is a better place when we can root for Dan Campbell as an NFL head coach and they need this game to save their season and for him to save his job. The good news, Amman Rus St. Brown should be back. DeAndre Swift.

full practice this week, not on the injury list. Teams off of bad losses, like the Lions, who the public is fading, like the Lions, cover 80 61% clip since 2005. So the Lions are in a favorable situation as far as precedent. And also the Dolphins, just from an injury point of view, they're playing a lot of third four stringers on the defensive side of the ball. Love the Lions here. Love, love, love him.

Third favorite game is Cleveland Monday night plus three and a half. here's why. Not only is Jamar Chase excellent, he may be as valuable as any singular wide receiver to a team he can play multiple wide receiver slots. He is now out. It's a divisional game. Outside of

last week, Cincinnati does get into a bad trend of falling behind. Also, a Monday night football game in a lot of cities is no big deal. In Cleveland, this is a big deal. The Browns don't get home Monday night football games much. It'll be a wild scene. Divisional game,

Since he may win, I'll take the three and a half, sharper square. Yeah, totally sharp. And this is, by Monday night, you know, this game's at three and a half. By Monday night, it'll be down to three. The wise guys are just going to hammer that hook. The Browns, they don't look very good right now, but they have been losing a lot of close games. Only one loss by more than a field goal this year.

And that's what happens when you have the best running back in football in Nick Chub, and you are going to play a conservative game plan because Jacoby Brissette is proving to be who Jacoby Brissette is and not the guy who started the year really, really hot. The Bengals have looked like they were back. They beat up on the Falcons. But the Falcons in that game lost AJ Terrell, and they ended up not being able to cover anyone.

So the Bengals got the benefit of the doubt of being more explosive. You mentioned Jamar Chase. But this is going to be a spot where the wise guys and you and me are on the Browns. All right. Let's go to the favorites. I like the Jags minus two and a half in London against the Denver Broncos. They had the Colts beat into the last play. They played straight up against the Giants.

I do feel it's a young team. Young teams can ascend, overcome injuries faster. I think Denver's a mess. I think when you're in crisis, traveling is not the greatest thing. We saw Green Bay a little bit in crisis go on the road and play worse. I'm going to take the Jags minus two and a half, sharper square. So that's square. The line opened at three.

It's moved down to two and a half. The money has come in on the Broncos. The tickets are on the Jaguars. That is always a signal that the professionals like the team where the money is moving in their direction. That is the Broncos. When the tickets are on one side, that is the public side. That is the Jaguars in this case. The Jaguars are a challenge.

team. They're one of those teams that the wise guys have loved the entire season, but Travis Lawrence is missing receivers consistently on the most important plays, red zone throws, deep throws. He's been incredibly inaccurate on the passes that he has to make. And then, because they are a young team, you mentioned it, they are just consistently making crucial mistakes in the most important moments. You can see it there's a false start. They are not converting when it's fourth and short, third and short, you know, when they're on the goal. You know, when they're on the go line. The Broncos are a train wreck on offense, but their defense is fierce. And I think there's a lot of fear of what they can do to this very young offense led by Trevor Lawrence. So you're not on

the right side here. Going to take another favorite, Bill Belichick humiliated. They'll come back, cover the spread minus two and a half against the Jets. I do not trust the Jets in a big spot. The Jets lost their best and most versatile offensive linemen. The Jets lost their best running back. They bring in Greg James Robinson, but it's late in a week. They're not going to use him much. This is a classic take the team that looked awful last week in a standalone game. The public is fleeing the Patriots, therefore, I'm on the sharp side, am I not? You are on the sharp side, Colin, and it's rare for the sharp side to be a road favorite when the team is not very good.

For the things you just said, you are getting a Patriots team that got shellacked by a really bad team. So there's going to be a little bit of a discount in what the line is. It opened it about one, one and a half. It moved up to two. Now it's a two and a half. The money is coming in on the Patriots. The flip side, you are getting a Jets team that has been winning, is starting to get a little bit more of a public profile, but they did lose their best player in Brice Hall.

And so what kind of impact is going to have on Zach Wilson, who if you ask, lot of people, how they are grading quarterbacks. He is below number 32. Like, there are quarterbacks who are not even playing at this point who are still graded higher than what Zach Wilson is doing. You have talked about this. We've talked about this. Robert Sala basically said, I don't know what's going to happen to me in the future with this team, but about two weeks into this year, he just decided we're going to be a running football team and we're going to be a defensive football team. I don't care who my quarterback is. That's how they've been winning. how did they overcome the loss of Breece Hall,

who probably would have been a rookie at the year. So that is a big factor for the wise guys. All right. Now, a couple of games you may be able to convince me. You turned me last week on the Seahawks, and I do appreciate that. I bought myself a brand new. No, I didn't.

I just won. Okay. I'm going to ask you one that's a popular bet. I think Buffalo is going to clobber Green Bay, but I think the first quarter to the first quarter and a half is going to be competitive. I think Matt LaFleur on script will come out with some tricks, be clever, and they'll hang around. I think the second half is all Buffalo.

It's 10 and a half, 11 and a half, all odds provided by Fandul. I could never give Aaron Rogers 11.5. But what do the sharp say? Well, look, this is a really tough one. And there's sort of a cowardly move that a lot of wise guys will make when they can't really come to a consensus. on a game, they'll bet a half, right? And so you see that with like on Thursday night football, oftentimes they are betting the first half on a game. You see it a lot with the Ravens, because the Ravens have been one of those teams where they can't close people out, but they are

amazing in the first half. Also betting against the Cardinals, betting on the Eagles, first half, first half. This is a game where the wise guys are going to be looking at this and saying, okay, what is the opening line for the second half and probably going to play Buffalo because Josh Allen is a prime time player. He loves to show up big in games that are against the other prime time quarterbacks, Aaron Rogers, obviously in this scenario. So I think what they're probably going to look for is to see how is this game shaping up? What is a line in the second half? And how can they hit the, how can they hit Buffalo in the second half? All right, time for the game you like I haven't brought up. Well, listen, you hit like, dude, you were all over the lines, which I loved.

You were all over the Cardinals, which I loved. I will tell you that this week, you know, in the podcast, the favorites that me and my BFF, Simon Hunter, do, the most calls we got. You know, we'll do the podcast on Tuesday. We'll talk about every game. Professional betters will hit us up and say, these are the games that we sort of agreed with and didn't agree with. And they will critique our answers. And then we'll talk about it on Thursday when we do the second podcast of the week. everyone was talking about the Saints.

The Saints plus one and a half. Yeah. And I was surprised. I'll show the audience. I put little boxes by games that I like. And that is the one game I went back and forth on. The Raiders have really kind of changed their offense in the last several weeks. They are now just a running team.

So I don't want to bet against them. But it feels like the Saints is the right side, doesn't it? Yeah. And that's what the wise guys are saying right now. they're not too worried about who's going to be playing quarterback. A lot of this is about the Saints just got blown out by the Cardinals. So there's a little bit of a discount because that's what the public last saw. The Raiders just beat up the Texans.

And Josh Jacobs looked incredible doing it. And they have looked really good the past couple of weeks. But I think that's when they're thinking, okay, it's time to fade. The Raiders going on the road, playing in New Orleans, different scenario, much better defense in the Saints than the Texans. And also in that Texans game, this is where the wise guys make their money, right? They don't just look at the final score. They see the Texans missed a field goal.

There was a pick six. They had a drive stall inside the red zone. So there are variances there that make them look at that score and think, oh, the Raiders weren't as dominant as we think. So that's why they're leaning towards New Orleans right now. The other game that's come up a lot, Washington commanders, plus three on the road at the Colts, right? So right now, the Colts have decided they're going to start Sam Ellinger. Hold on. I have to excuse myself.

I'm going to throw up. You're going to go puke, right? What I have to watch, I refuse to bet games I don't want to watch. By the way, that is a lie because you'll say that to me. And then I'll come on this show and you'll say, hey, let's go bet Pittsburgh, Miami. And I'll be like, dude, don't you tell me, let's bet the Jags and the Titans. And I'm like, you say to me, you don't want to bet games. You don't want to bet the corner TV games.

But Dolphin Steelers was a standalone game, and I do like watching the Jags because they're a bit of a tire fire. I think the Jags are, oh my God. I like watching the Jags. I don't like watching the Colson commanders. Listen to me. You can talk yourself out of any box there is. I know this, because you're brilliant at this. Washington, Washington plus three against Indy.

I feel like there's real problems on the Cold War. right now. I was fascinated when it came out that Matt Ryan was being benched for Sam Ellinger. So I was reading all the coverage about it. And I love sort of this inside high school drama. Frank Reich basically gave him and it's not you, it's me, logic. He's like, we're going to bench you. We haven't delivered on what we promised to you. We thought we'd bring in Matt Ryan. We thought we'd have Jonathan Taylor. We thought we'd have an amazing offensive line. We thought we'd be able to support him. We haven't been able to do that. It's on us. So we're going to have to break up with you and put you on the bench. So now they're bringing Sam Ellinger. And the second part of that

story is all about how, who are the decision makers? Jim Ursay, the GM, Frank Reich. If Frank Reich is the decision maker, does he bench Matt Ryan? It feels like there's a little bit of an ownership getting involved here. So now I got a sixth round draft choice who's never started going against a Washington Commander's football team that can actually play well on defense. And I think they're just better

with Taylor Heineke. And you're still getting a little bit of that Carson Went's discount. So that's a game people have been talking about. I know you don't want to do it, but...

You know, I really can talk myself out of anything except an argument with my wife. You know what she'll say? You know what she'll say? When I like start arguing, she'll go, timeout.

I'm not a caller to your radio show. And I say, I don't take calls. What are you talking about? I will get, my wife will, like, ask me something, and then I'll start explaining something. And she goes, you know, I'm not on your staff, right? Like, you don't have to explain it to me as if you need to convince me of something. Like, just talk to me like we've been married forever. And that always feels really good.

Well, I told you, you know this. Our wives look alike. Now they talk alike. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. which to me just feels like they talk alike because they are so sick of us. It's not even funny. I know.

At this point, I don't even like my wife and I, she works. She's so busy. She's an architect, right? She is so busy right now. I make dinner four to five nights a week. I am texting her. When do you think you'll be home? I'm not asking because I expect you to be home in a certain time.

I just want to know when to start dinner. She'll tell me it's going to be a certain time. Half an hour later, she hasn't come home yet. Me and my 16-year-old son are eating together. I leave food for her. And I can't get upset about it because this was our life for 20 years before, like, I was working at home and she's crazy busy. So I just do it. I just do it.

And I hope it gets appreciated in some way. Well, you make dinner four times a week. I make reservations five. So it's all the same. There you go. You're famous. I got to be frugal. You know?

Yeah, right. Listen, I can't live your lifestyle. All right, Melman, good to see anybody. All right, and then see you later. Volume. Make sure to check out the Dremont Green Show. I brought Dremon Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports,

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