The Kevin Sheehan Show - The 2021 Washington Quarterbacks

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

Cooley and Kevin predict Washington's 2021 quarterbacks. Plenty of previews and predictions on the four weekend NFL playoff games. Kevin's been on a roll and has two "Smell Test" picks. Cooley has been hot as well with his "Lock of the Week".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Cooley and Kevin Friday on the show today. We're going to talk about the four divisional round playoff games over the weekend. I'll have a smell test.

Cooley will have his lock of the week. We'll talk some Washington football too. I'm going to ask Cooley the question I asked callers this morning on the radio show. And that is, give me your quarterback. room on September 1st. Who are the two to three quarterbacks that you think will be on the roster or that you want to be on the roster when the season begins? I think there's going to be a lot of time to talk about all of that stuff during the course of the season. But I wanted to start for those that listen to the radio show, which you did not. By saying I had Chase Young on the

show on the radio show. And first of all, great kid. I mean, I can. I say kid because for me he is a kid you know he's 22 years old or whatever he is great kid such a nice kid but of course coolly everybody was waiting oh you'll never ever bring up the fact that he didn't play well or you won't mention the brady stuff or anything um and uh you know i did i mean it was a lot of so tell me how the season was for you you know you're going to be the defensive rookie of the year it was a lot of building them up and making him feel great which by the way, he is great, and he had a phenomenal season. And, you know, I think I asked him about the, you know, a moment or two from the season that he remembers.

And, you know, all of his answers were team-related, you know, which is great to hear. You know, and I said, well, you have a touchdown against the 40. Exactly, what you do? You know, what about the touchdown against the Niners? What about the hit on Joe Burrow? You know, I was thinking, I mean, he had some massive plays this year. That hit on Joe Burrow was really, I think, the first moment of the season. Because remember, he wasn't healthy for several games.

That hit on Burrow at the goal line that separated Burrow from football was a big play. Big play in the game, sort of a big play in the season. Because Joe Burrow was lighting them up and they were about to go up, I think, in that moment, two scores in the first half. But anyway, he did say the Pittsburgh game he really. felt like was the moment that they really felt that they were, you know, a good team and that they had a chance to be good. But, you know, the part that we've spent some time talking about on the podcast on Wednesday. In the compliment sandwich, the one criticism was like the smallest sliver of ham. It was the tiny sliver of ham. Actually, you know, it wasn't. It wasn't. There was no

way I was going to back off, you know, asking him about what was a game in which he didn't play well and the defense didn't play well. And, you know, I'm going to paraphrase the way I sort of set it up and asked him. But basically it was, you know, the defense pretty much, you know, pretty much carried the team to the postseason. I think everybody understands that and that he was a big part of that. But I just said, look, last Saturday night against Tampa, it wasn't a good night for the defense and I said, you know, Chase for you, it was far from your best game as well. And I just said, what happened? And, you know, he talked a lot about, it was a lot of team stuff. And then he got into, you know, it was a learning experience. And I said, what did you learn? And again, I'm going to

paraphrase the answer because I can't remember specifically what he said. But he basically said, you know, I learned from the coaches about, you know, how they were trying to handle me with, you know, some chips and some doubles. And that's when I just said, you know, for a lot of that game, Donovan Smith was singled up against you, you know, and he did a pretty good job. He's a pretty good player. I wanted to see if he would say, you know, Donovan Smith got the best to me. And he did, I think he did say Donovan Smith played well. And, you know, there was a lot to learn from the game. and then I sort of turned it to the Tom Brady comments and, you know, asked him if he regretted it.

He actually said something like, you know, the media made a big deal out of the Brady thing. And I said, well, did you have a problem with the fact that the media made a big deal of it? And he said, no, I didn't have a problem. And I said, you know why they made a big deal out of it. I said, it was playoff week. And it was Tom Brady. And everything you say during a playoff week is going to be magnified. And I said, and then, you know, your performance is going to be.

going to be scrutinized in a big place. You're used to that. You played for Ohio State. And he said, yep. And then I think I said something like, you know, do you regret saying what you did about Brady leading up to that week? And he said, no, not at all. But he understood why it got blown up. Anyway, it was, to be honest with you, he's just such a nice kid. And that's crazy. It's so funny because all 22s changed the way I think you've consumed games in the last few years. Yeah. Because it would be tough to go back five years ago and say, okay, was he actually singled up?

And do I want to spend the time and go through the commercial breaks and go through all the things? Can I see it when it happens? And it changes the way you talk to some of these guys when you know you're right. Yeah. because we know you knew you were right. I don't, I think that, I wonder if he even watched it. He did. I said, I said, did you go back and have you looked at the game and, and analyze it?

And that's, you know, I'm probably going to get some things out of order here. You know, when you're doing this, you don't remember verbatim. You're talking about a conversation. Yeah, it was a conversation. But for those of you that missed it, you can just go to the team 980.com or go to the radio.com app and listen to it. First of all, I know this because I've had Chase on the show twice, maybe three times. I had him the day he was drafted. I had him before the season started, and I think I had him once during the season.

So it was either two or three times. And I know what a nice young man he is and how humble he is and, you know, and how he's a team first guy. Look, that's why they love him too. You know, that's why they love him and they didn't love necessarily Dwayne Haskins. I did ask him about how Haskins is doing. And he said, you know, he's taking care of his business and whatever. I asked him about Heineke and some other things as well.

Anyway, he's just a nice kid, you know, and he's good. He's really, really good. And, you know, at the same time, I think, you know, in one of those interviews, you got, especially a day or two days after you really were critical of his performance, you have to say, what happened. You didn't play well. What happened? You know? No, and I think for him, he's just, he's in a different situation where it really can bring him to normal dude status because he can self-deprecate this, no problem.

He didn't do that. I know that, but I'm saying to you, it's different if Bostick gave up three of the big plays in the game and you had Bostick on and you said, you'd play well, what happened? and everyone's been critical of him all year, and it's been a tough year. Chase Young's been excellent all year. You've been complimentary, whether or not he knows that.

It doesn't matter, but he's been good enough all year, and I think this is a moment where he could say, yeah, big time stepping stone, playoff for a different level, and Donovan Smith was amazing, and I'll be better next time.

Yeah. And that makes him so relatable, because he is so good. Yeah. I just don't think he has anything to ever worry about in his career saying, I got to be better. You know, some guys, you don't want to say that stuff. Yeah, I mean.

He can say, and he just has to be better in one game. It's no big deal. I did not, and now that I'm thinking about it, actually, I did not bring up the criticism of him retweeting the being held all night. I could have done. Well, he basically said to you on the show, he learned by his coaches saying that he was chipped and doubled, but he wasn't. Yeah. So that's not true.

But that's not true. That's not. Yeah. He just doesn't need to protect himself, is all I'm saying. He's good enough that it doesn't matter. Look, the bottom line is he was in. I think I did ask him something to the effect of, you know, most people would describe the year you had as, you know, a year that met or exceeded expectations. It was a really good year.

How would you describe it? And, you know, he described it. My recollection, this is what happens when you get a little bit older. My recollection of what just happened about an hour and a half ago was, I think, that he sort of described it in the context of the team, you know, and the team's accomplishment. Anyway, you can go listen to it. Anybody that missed it, he was, I don't know if that was the second or third time.

I've had him on the show, I forget, to be honest with you. I think it was the third time. You can just tell why people like him, and he's a nice young man, and he's humble. And if the coaches made him feel like he was chipped and doubled, and instead of saying this is what happened, I don't know, that's for somebody else to interpret. Bottom line is, next year, if they're in a position in the postseason and he has another off game, well, then we can really start to say

what's going on in these biggest moments, you know, but I would bet that the next time he has an opportunity in a postseason game, and hopefully he does here, that he has a much better game and ends up being the player that we saw for pretty much the entire regular season when he was healthy. I actually probably should have asked him about the injury. I totally forgot about that at the end of the game. Anyway. I'll be all right. All right. I'm going to ask Cooley a question. about the quarterbacks that he thinks will be on the roster at the beginning of Washington season next year. Then we'll get to the divisional round playoff game, smell test, lock of the week, all of that stuff right after this word from a couple of our sponsors.

I'm going to go first. I'm going to give you a little bit more time to think about it. And I'll also, you know, update everybody on sort of the contract situations. You know, Alex Smith, my wager would be that Alex Smith is not going to be on the roster. There will be roughly a $13 to $14 million cap savings by releasing Alex Smith or if Alex Smith retires. So that, to me, makes it a no-brainer. Even though Washington is in a really good cap situation anyway going into next year with a reduced cap from $198 to an expected $175 million because of all of the lost revenue due to the pandemic, I just don't see Alex Smith being on this roster next year. I mean, it's funny how this is gone, right?

From he'll never play again to, oh, my God, he's playing and he stinks, to, oh, my God, he's playing and he's good, to, oh, my God, he's going to be the starter next year, to now, you know, I don't think he's going to be the starter. I've been wrong at every turn, but I think, look, at 37 years old, and a cap number of 24 million roughly for next year, and the opportunity to essentially, you know, reduce your cap number next year by $13 to $14 million, I just don't see him going with Alex Smith. It would not surprise me at all if he retires.

Kyle Allen is a no-brainer. Kyle Allen is a restricted free agent going into the season. Kyle Allen, they essentially, he's an exclusive rights free agent, excuse me. He's an exclusive rights free agent, which means all Washington has to do is pay him the veteran minimum in 2021, and he's on the roster for the 2021 season, that's roughly in the neighborhood of $800,000. That's a lock to me. I think it's a very strong possibility that Alex Smith is off the roster

and a very, pretty much a lock that Kyle Allen is on it. Let's not forget, they like Kyle Allen. You know, the coach, Ron Rivera, was asked at the end of the year, would they be in the same position with Kyle Allen as they are with Alex Smith? And he said, yes, they like Kyle Allen. They traded a fifth rounder for. for Kyle Allen, and he's going to cost them nothing to have on the roster next year. By the way, I have heard that the dislocated ankle rehab is not as easy as everybody thinks it is,

and there is some question as to whether or not he will be ready when they start to work in the spring and even the summer. But he's going to be on this roster, in my opinion. The Taylor Heineke's is a little bit more complicated. So he was not on the active roster for six games, which means that he did not get an accrued season, which means that Heineke is a restricted free agent. What typically happens with restricted free agents, if you want to keep them, is that you put a tender on them. With quarterbacks, it's either a first or a second round tender. A second round tender means that Washington's going to commit to a salary of around three to three and a half million dollars for one season. If a team negotiates with him and offers him a deal, Washington has the right

of first refusal. If they pass, the other team has to give Washington a second rounder. A first round tender is the same thing with a higher salary. It's more in the neighborhood of $4.5 million for one year. If a team signs them to a bigger deal and Washington doesn't want to match it, that team will give up a first rounder. Nobody's going to give up a first rounder for Taylor Heineke and a big deal. I don't think anybody's going to give up a second rounder for Taylor Heineke on a much bigger deal that Washington decides not to match. There's the right of first refusal tender, which means Heineke can just go out and look for offers and Washington has the right to match it. And if they don't, then they pay them like $2 million for one year. My personal

opinion is they want them back and they'll put a second round tender on them and pay them $3.3 million next year. That's my guess. So I've got Kyle Allen on the roster. I've got Taylor Heineke on the roster for basically $4 million combined. Heineke's going to make a lot more money to Kyle Allen will next year. But then I think they are going to go the veteran path and try to trade for like a Matt Stafford. That would be my preference. I would trade for Matt Stafford. I would give up my first rounder. for Matt Stafford. I think it's going to be a very interesting thing as to whether or not the new coach in Detroit, the new management team in Detroit wants to continue with Matt Stafford or whether or not

they'll draft a quarterback early in the first round. They have the seventh pick in the first round, I believe it is. I think it's the seventh pick in the first round. Something like that. It's a top 10 pick. And, you know, rebuild if they decide to go that route. If they do, they may trade them. I think there would be a market for Matt Stafford. I talked to somebody, I may have mentioned this to you the other day that said, it's like the Alex Smith deal. It's a third and Kendall Fuller. I personally don't believe that.

I think it's a second and a third and a player or a first and a fourth, something like that. I would give that up for Matt Stafford. I mean, to me, he's going to be 33 years old. He's a baller. He has been in a bad organization. with bad players for the most part. I think the years with Jim Caldwell were pretty good, with Calvin Johnson early in his career were pretty good.

He's had some phenomenal seasons. The dude's thrown for over 45,000 yards. He's had eight seasons of throwing for basically 4,300 yards or more. He had a 5,000-yard season in 2011, a 41 touchdown season in 2011. last year before he got hurt and missed half the season. He was on his way to like 40 touchdowns, 10 picks, and 5,000 yards. I'm talking about 2019.

I like Matt Stafford. You know I've liked Matt Stafford for a long time. That's my quarterback room. Matt Stafford, but if I have to give up my first, I'm going to do it. And then Kyle Allen and Taylor Heineke. What's yours? Well, I think the Kyle Allen, Heinke

situation would change if they were to bring in a true starting quarterback or a first round pick. Although, I don't know if Kyle Allen and Heineke will have many other options. I'm with you on the tender on Heineke, but I think that they would use a right-up-first-refusal tender.

Okay. Let him go out. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you're keeping him an extra million bucks. to guarantee that you're keeping them is actually not the worst thing if you really did like him. Because you're absolutely right.

Nobody's going to give up a second for Heineke. Right. In the right of the first refusal, someone might give him a three-year, $3 million a year deal, and you have Heineke, Kyle Allen, other decisions make you might not want to pay that much. I just don't know if I see that, dude. For one game. that'll be a decision they have to make but especially if they move on from Alex

I think that they'll be fine. They could restructure with Alex which would give them somewhere around an $8 or $9 million cap savings close to a $9 million cap savings. Yeah. If that's if Alex wants to play. Honestly, I think that they'll leave the decision up to Alex. My bet would be that Alex

is likely to hang him off, as you'd say. Why if he doesn't hang it up? Would you bring him back? you're asking a question he's not he's won so many

games here he's a leader he does everything I don't know there's something about him you know I know where he currently stands as a quarterback where does he currently stand as a quarterback at the bottom five of starting

quarterbacks in terms of talent and production and but the other stuff weighs into it. I know, but the other stuff only weighs into it if he's actually healthy enough to be on the field, which he won't be for 16 games. How much are you going to pay one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league? Exactly.

You know, four million bucks a year, five million bucks a year is too much. What would Colt McCoy getting here? Three million dollars a year? Yeah, like three. Yeah, so you're going to want to try to restructure to that in a three-year deal or a two-year deal, and that's if Alex even wants to. I don't, I think Alex is a wild card. I don't think that there is any decision to make in terms of keeping him in his current salary.

Like, its current cap number of $23 million will not exist. No. Can't. It just wouldn't surprise me if he was still on the roster. It wouldn't totally blow me away if this roster looked next year like Kyle Allen, Taylor Heineke, and Alex Smith. But Alex Smith at a much lower number. And Alex Smith had a much lower number. But then you're sitting there with three quarterbacks that cost you essentially,

well, Alex would cost you some. You know, Alex is still going to end up costing you if you kept them at all in a restructure deal. He would still cost you $14 million. And then you're saying is it worth a $14 million. Well, $14 million is nothing for a starting quarterback. It's a shitload for a backup quarterback. and you then have three quarterbacks in your quarterback room that all got injured this year. There's a lot of stuff to think about with Alex in terms of does another year do him more good?

Does it help some of the nerve damage? Does it help some of the stuff that he's got going on? But I have to look at it. Say, look, if he had to go in and you count on your backup quarterback having to play games, you've got to be able to have a backup quarterback play 10 games. He's drafting, but he's got to be capable of doing it physically. And when I look at Alex, I just don't think of a little capability for any kind of longevity. Right.

That's, that's, look, if we, if he didn't have that calf injury and he continued to quarterback at the level that he was quarterbacking at in the second half of the Pittsburgh game and the Detroit game and, you know, and we didn't have the San Francisco game experience or the Philadelphia second half experience. and it just continued to look like a professionally run offense with a defense. It's continuing to improve. I think we'd be talking today, and Alex was the quarterback in the loss to Tampa, but he played pretty well. We'd be talking right now like Alex Smith is a legitimate possibility to be back as the starter, and we would have never seen Taylor Heineke,

and Kyle Allen would be there, and it would be some sort of competition between the two. But he did have that injury, and we did see what he looked like when he was compromised health-wise. And what you said about another year, and maybe that'll increase the chances of not getting hurt next year, I just, look, even when he was playing, part of why we thought it was good is because the expectations were so low. He was near the bottom in almost every statistical category, except for intangibles, which isn't a statistical category.

The qualitative, you know, the intangible stuff was really, really impactful in a positive way. No one would dispute that. I just, I feel awful every time I say this, and I've been wrong every time. I just don't want this team that I think has a chance over the next couple of years to have a really good, if not elite defense. I just want them to have a quarterback that doesn't waste that opportunity. And that's why I would go the veteran route, like a sure thing, which is, let me tell you what I told, said on the radio this morning. If they get Matt Stafford for a first rounder, let's say they got to give up a first rounder, and they're able to, you know, add a couple of pieces next year in free agency and in the draft,

but, you know, in free agency, let's say they add Alan Robinson as a second receiver to go with Terry McLaurin. And let's say that Sadiq Charles ends up being ready to play left tackle. And then defensively in free agency, he finds. a linebacker or two in another corner or safety, because they've got a lot of room, you know, cap-wise and free agency, especially if they restructure Stafford, which is, I think, what they would do, they would extend him to lessen the cap number in the next couple of years with the cap having been, with the cap being reduced. You know what they are? They're a 10-win team next year, and they are the favorite to win the NFC East. And I'm not saying they will,

but if he is their starting quarterback, that's a potential 9-10-win team, a two-to-three game improvement and in the postseason for a second straight year for the first time in 30 years. And then in 2022, add another piece or two, maybe they are a legitimate contender to go deep into the postseason. If you tell me that Taylor Heineke or Kyle Allen or a rookie that they draft in the first round, or Ryan Fitzpatrick or Cam Newton. I don't, I can't, I'm not going to feel nearly as confident about that as I would about Matt Stafford. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. Here's my problem.

If I went to Detroit as a head coach, you wouldn't give him up. I'm not trading Matt Stafford. I know. I hear you. That's where I think this is interesting. Like Matt Stafford is like a, like a, he's a $33 million cap hit this year for Detroit. But if you were to restructure a deal, you're going to end up having almost all savings on that thing.

Or if you were just to live with the deal now, it's like 26 the next year. I don't know why you're going to extend him. I don't know why you'd get, yeah, you'd extend it. But I don't know why you'd get rid of Stafford. Because you want to go, because you want to rebuild, and he's going to be 33 years old, and you've got a chance at seven to maybe take the BYU quarterback, or to take Justin Fields, or you could use that draft capital to move up if you wanted to to take your young quarterback.

Okay, understand. Understand where you're coming from. You're adding draft capital and you're adding cap space. That's basically what you're saying. You're making the decision to rebuild and start over, and Matt Stafford's not at 36 years old when three years down the road, is not who you're going to win the Super Bowl with. There's no three-year rebuild in the NFL.

Okay, two, if you... Okay, let me ask you a question. Let me just simplify this. Would you trade Matt Stafford in Detroit right now? No, I would not, because I'm a big fan of him, and I think he's... You just think they might. I'm sorry? You just think they might.

There's been a lot of discussion about a rebuild in Detroit and a total redo start over in Detroit with whomever comes in. No, I hear you. I would take Matt Stafford in a court. Yeah. You know, heartbeat. The thing that you're getting into with Stafford is you're going to have to end up doing a new deal with Stafford. Understood.

That's fine. But you're also, it is fine, Kevin. I understand that. But just keep in mind, now you're going to end up paying a 33-year-quarterback an Alex Smith-type salary at 33. Yeah. Whether or not, whatever you give up, you're going to end up paying that much money into a 33-year-old. But you've got to pay Alan real soon. You've got to pay Duran.

pain coming up. You've got to start thinking about how much cap space you're going to have to pay your defense. I mean, there's some thought to not wanting to pay a 33-year-old quarterback, Alex Smith's money. That's, and you know what? If they make the decision to stay

with the, you know, Alan Heineke thing and maybe draft somebody, you know, on a rookie deal, and they put all of their money into everything else, that's fine. But I will tell you, I think, their chances now of being a nine-win team, a 10-win team, and being in the playoffs is, you know, is decent.

But to win the Super Bowl, if that's the ultimate goal, it's been limited significantly. You know, you had Stafford and a big-time receiver, and you got a chance. You got a chance to win 10-11 games next year. You've chance to do a lot of stuff next year. Yeah. By the way, people have asked me, and maybe they've asked you the same thing. the Deshawn Watson thing to me, I'm just going to repeat what I've said. You don't trade an elite quarterback if you have one,

and especially one that you just signed to a massive deal last year. There's nobody that's coming into Houston. We just debated whether or not the people that come into Detroit would trade Matt Stafford, and we both said, well, we wouldn't. And he's 33. He's going to be 33 next year. And he's not as good as Deshawn Watson. I just don't see the Houston trading Deshaun Watson.

And then if you really want to take it a step further and say he's so miserable and he's threatening to hold out and the whole thing, and they actually capitulate, why would they trade him to Washington? You're going to trade him to a team that's going to first of all, you're going to demand three ones, three twos, and a pro bowler. So now you've got to start looking at, well, maybe Jacksonville's in the running. Maybe they'll say, we'll take Deshawn Watson, you can take Trevor Lawrence. You know, those are the teams that would then have a chance. Washington's picking 19th. Yeah.

I wouldn't do that if I was Jacksonville. Boy, I love. I mean, obviously you can think about it. And Jacksonville has a boatload of cap space. But if you think Lawrence is close to Watson, he costs you nothing for five years compared to Watson. Yeah, true. Absolutely. So if you think you're getting a guy that's comparable and maybe in his second year to what Watson is,

why would you give that up? And I think that's what everyone thinks with Trevor Lawrence is that he'd be comparable. No one's giving that up to take on that massive. Well, I guess in the trade, you wouldn't have a, you wouldn't eat all that cap space. By the way, just to compare my feelings about Matt Stafford versus. is Deshawn Watson. With Matt Stafford, I think there are 10, 11 win team and in the playoffs next year. With Deshawn Watson, I think they're a 12-win team and one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl out of the NFC. I know that's crazy. Green Bay, okay, Tampa, Seattle, Washington. Those would be your top four in the off-season.

Washington would have the best odds of going to the Super Bowl in 20 years. 2000 was the last time they were considered to be a legitimate NFC championship contender. They would be that with Watson next year. They're not going to be that with Stafford, but they're going to be predicted to win the division with Stafford. They're certainly going to be predicted to be a playoff team with Stafford. With Watson, it's a different level. He is an elite. He's one of the top five, six quarterbacks in the NFL.

Stafford is an obvious top half of the league starter, and if you put enough around him, top 10, close to top 10. I would agree with that. But he's not Watson. No. I mean, there's some other stuff to consider with this. Like, okay, two simple ones. I don't know if Rivers is done, but there's a connection there in a one-year deal. What's the connection?

The Turner connection. Yeah, true. there's an absolute connection with Norve and Scott and Philip Rivers. Right. And I don't know how that relationship actually is, but Rivers gives you a chance to do close to what Stafford did. I would think Stafford's a better player, but in a one-year situation, I think you win ten games with Philip Rivers.

I don't think Reich's going to want to give him up. Why would you want to give him up? I wouldn't. He had a good year. Derek Carr can get traded. I don't like Derek Carr. I know you do. I don't like him. I'm not sitting here telling you I love Derek Carr. But Carr's going to get traded. And if you were to renegotiate with Carr now, it's in a different league.

Why is he going to get traded? Are they going to go with Marietta? Car's a huge, car's a big hit this year for them if they keep him in a huge savings if they deal him or release him. I'm not, maybe they love it. Maybe they love it. he's not. I don't like him. I've never, I'm not a big Derek Carr fan. I'm not a huge fan either, but that's something you got to think about. You used to be a big fan. I'm not a fan. I just still don't know on Derek Carr. What about Ryan, what about Ryan Fitzpatrick for a year? I think that there's a definite possibility in that. The other thing that I was looking at is Atlanta picks it I know.

And Atlanta could move on from Ryan. But Matt, see, to me, they could move on from Matt Ryan, but it's another situation in which you're going to have to trade for him. And Matt Ryan is going to be 30. I looked this up earlier. And now I'm forgetting. Matt Ryan's going to be 36 next year. And Matt Stafford's going to be 33 next year. And Matt Stafford's more mobile than Matt Ryan.

He's more of a playmaker than Matt Ryan. And I think that Rivera and Scott Turner want more of a playmaker at quarterback. Matt Ryan's a really good player. Don't get me wrong. But I would rather have Matt Stafford, even though Ryan's actually won a lot more. But he's been on some better teams with some better coaching. No, I hear you. What about Sam Darnold?

I mean, you look through the free agent. I mean, who are you going to take? Rivers is going to be a free agent, Trubitsky's going to be a free agent, Fitzpatrick. The rest of the guys I'm not interested in. Well, Dack isn't going to leave Dallas. We would agree with it. Yeah, I'm a Daxed a free agent, but Dax not. What about Darnold if he's made available?

Darnold would be interesting. Wenz is another interesting one. Yeah. Another big contract, you know. I don't think they'll end up starting Wins to Philadelphia next year, whoever comes in. I do, too. And then you look at the draft stuff. I think it's really hard to play this game right now.

I like playing this game, but I think it's really hard to play this game. I know, but you still have to give me an answer. I mean, and I'm talking about the things that are possible. Because Dak Prescott's not possible. To me, Deshawn Watson's not possible. So the things that I think are possible, that's the route I would go. Depends on how much you like Alan Hine. and believe in these two guys

and understand that your cap is going to be used up in the next couple years paying the first round draft picks over the last four years. Right. I mean, you pay a big-time quarterback, and you're going to lose two of those dudes. The nice thing about the first-round pick

is you get the fifth-round tender, or the fifth-year option. Right. We don't understand the massive deal. But you've got to start thinking about paying these guys. I mean, the problem is, like, you get to the draft, and then what do you, like, you're looking at Matt Jones or Kyle Trass. That's pretty much at 19. And maybe Trask Falls, maybe one of these guys, maybe the quarterback thing doesn't go off as hot as it does. Jacksonville has definitely taken a quarterback, and then you get through, the Jets don't have to. They could stay with Darnel.

Maybe Sala, who got hired there, will love Darnel. I like Darnel. I like Darnel, too. If they take an offensive lineman and decide they need to protect him a little bit. You know, the other thing that the Jets could do is they could take one of those Alabama receivers. No doubt. Devante Smith could go a lot higher than anybody thinks he could go after what he did. He could end up going two to the Jets. He could.

I'll tell you what. He absolutely could end up in Miami at three. Yeah. I mean, if you're going to keep Darnold, you've got to give him something. And it can't be James and Cratter as his best receiver in the slot. It can't. Right. That's not.

It's not fair to a quarterback. They're going to want to, yeah. I mean, I'm just looking at the very, I mean, Philadelphia at six would have a chance at Devante Smith. You have to think, and I know they took Jalen Rager, but whomever the quarterback is, they need weapons offensively in Philadelphia, so Devante Smith could be a possibility at six to them. It's going to be interesting.

We're going to have plenty of time to talk about this, and I don't mean to get sidetracked, but the order of receivers, because Jamar Chase was really, thought to be the number one receiver that would be taken in the 2021 draft. He opted out. We see Devante Smith. We see him for four years. We see an incredible senior year. We see an incredible, you know, SEC title game and then the two playoff games. And I don't know if it were me and I love Jamar Chase, but Devante Smith would be the first receiver taken. He's going to be the first receiver taken. I don't know who you're getting a quarterback in the draft because

I got to think right now, San Francisco's pregnant to quarterback. The Patriots are going to take a quarterback. Right. I mean, I would assume. Oakland could take a quarterback. Yep. Jacksonville is going to take a quarterback. Those are four teams.

I wouldn't, honestly, I think Denver likes Drew Locke, but I wouldn't put a past Denver to take a quarterback, and then maybe Drew Locke's available. Carolina could take the quarterback. By the way, you agree with me that Cam Newton's an absolute, you know, dead end. He's done. No, that's done. Yeah.

So I don't know if you're going to get a guy in the draft that unless you like a guy in the second round or you like a guy that may be false. Do you think that you would pull the trigger on making a move pre-draft? Oh, definitely. Only on Stafford though, right? Yeah, on Stafford. I don't want to get to the point where after the draft teams that didn't get what they wanted, and now all of a sudden it's a much bigger.

I think one of the things that they did that was fairly smart, even though I hated the compensation, or I hated the deal that they gave Alex Smith. I did not think that they needed to give them that extension right away, and they would have been much better off had they not done it. But I think that if you are going to try, trade for a quarterback, you want to do that right away. You want to do that when the league year starts. You want to get that done and, you know, rather than waiting, you know, for teams

to miss out on the quarterback that they want in the draft and now all of a sudden, you know, there's more competition. Look, they've got a lot of decisions to make. I mean, we're going to have time to talk about this stuff, but Brandon Sheriff has to be signed. You know, they're going to have to make, obviously, decisions on the two young quarterbacks that we've already talked about, Heineke and Allen, but those aren't real big decisions dollar-wise. Sheriff is really the big one in terms of the kind of dollars you're going to give to them. You're going to want dollars to go out and get a receiver. You know, you loved Alan Robinson.

I loved Alan Robinson. I think it'll be really interesting to see what they do in free agency with the other receiver. if they make a run at somebody like that. But I am on the quarterback sticking with the quarterback conversation, I'm going to tender, second round tender, Heineke and paying $3 million. Kyle Allen's an absolute lock at $800,000. And then I'm going to try to trade for Matt Stafford. And if I don't get Matt Stafford, you know, then I am going to,

I'm going to consider some of the other people we talked about. I mean, Darnold's interesting to me. Ryan is interesting to me. I'm not saying that he isn't. Who do you think is more valuable trade compensation-wise? Ryan or Stafford? I think Stafford is. Stafford.

I think it's the age thing. Yeah, I think Stafford would take Stafford tomorrow, in a game tomorrow, over Matt Ryan. The one thing, and I forget if I mentioned this to you, the last time we talked about Stafford, here's the one thing that, and I told Galdi this the other day because Galdi was going down Stafford's, you know, durability. You know, he missed eight games in 2019 and he missed a bunch of games in 2010,

I think it was. But other than that, he never missed other games. He had eight straight years of playing 16 games, but here's the thing. You know, and I know this because I've sort of been a fan of his and have watched his career. He hasn't missed many games, but he has played a shitload of games hurt.

And he's been a gamer and he's been tough, but he has played a lot of games. And I don't have the number. But Matt Stafford has played a lot of games where he was questionable on the injury report on Friday. A lot of them. And so I would ask you, it's one thing at 26, 27, 28, 28, 29, 30 years old being ready to play on Sunday after being really banged up during the week, is it, you know, isn't it more difficult to do that at 33, 34, 35 years old? Yeah, of course. So that would be the one thing that I would just worry about. He's gotten beaten up over his career. He has gotten beaten up

over his career, but he's always made it to game day pretty much. And I'm going to stick with that. All right. So mine is Heineke, Allen, Stafford. Your quarterback room on September 1st, September, the 2021 is? Heineke, Allen, I'm still in a question mark. Okay. That's really poorly done. I think there's too much to think about here with a lot of this stuff and what teams are doing with other people. Like if Carson Wentz is available, I would take Wentz before I would take, I think anybody, if that were available. Unless the trade was so much that I couldn't afford it or didn't want to do it. God, that Wentz situation is going to be interesting.

All right, so you're not going to make a big call here. I want to see what happens with two or three quarter. I would want to see what happens with a couple quarterbacks that could become available. You're so afraid of being wrong. Okay. We will get to our divisional round preview smell test, lock the week right after this word from one of our sponsors. Four games this weekend, a little different than last weekend. I loved last weekend.

The triple header both weekends. We get two games tomorrow. We get two games on Sunday. The first game of the weekend. Coolie features two coaches two coaches. you're very familiar with. It is Sean McVeigh and the Rams at Lambo against Matt LaFleur and the Packers. By the way, Arthur Smith looks like he's going to get the Atlanta job, at least according to Diana Rusini. So there are a lot of people that have come through the Washington organization that ends up in head coaching positions,

but the success they've had over the years has not been here. What do you make of Rams at Packers? for the Rams have any chance in this thing they have to be amazing on defense I just I don't see them racking up points with Jared Goss I think Green Bay while you can run it on them is good enough in the secondary and LaFleur understands exactly what

Sean's trying to do that I think it'll be tough for them to get big yards through the air and big plays against Green Bay the Rams are going to try to run it. There's no doubt about that. They're going to pound it with acres, and that's the game plan that they're going to have. And maybe that wears on Green Bay, and maybe they can win the time of possession by six minutes. But I think they're overmatched with Green Bay.

I love the Rams. I'd love to see them win this football game. But I think Green Bay right now is so good, and with the bye week and with Aaron Rogers having the preparation, I just think it puts a lot of pressure. on that ramp's defense. It's just too bad that Goss not a better player for them. It's, um... There's a guy that could get traded.

Yeah, no, thank you. Garoppolo, too. The, uh, I would say that you have to be able to run the football against Green Bay. And when Green Bay has lost this year, um, teams have been able to run the football against him. Minnesota did it with Dalvin Cook and a great performance. I love the Rams defense. I think it's the best defense remaining out of the eight teams.

Hope Aaron Donald is completely healthy. Obviously, that's huge tomorrow. But in watching the Packers here recently, it just doesn't seem like you can really stop them. You know, can you hold them to 20, you know, Chicago, it was very interesting. That game, you know, Chicago had. super long drives and it was 2116 with Chicago having the ball in the fourth quarter and that's going to have to be the way the Rams do it. You know, you get to the fourth quarter and it's it's 2116

and you've got a chance. But man, the combination of Rogers and Devante Adams is so tough. So the Rams, I think, will definitely get a lot of stops and I think they'll get sacks and there will be moments in which Rogers will look uncomfortable and Devante Adams may even get hit a lot after he catches it rather than being wide open with Jalen Ramsey. But the key, I think you nailed it, is they're going to have to with their zone run, inside zone, outside zone, all the gaps stuff. They, camakers who had 131 yards last week against Seattle and he is healthy even though he got hurt. He has not been on the injury report, I don't think. He's going to have to have a big game. He's going to have have another 25 to 30 carry game for a buck 25 plus. The Rams are going to have to be 50%

on third down and they're going to have to get just enough stops with that great defense to have a chance. I mean, I'm going to tell you in the smell test coming up that this is the game where the public really doesn't think much of the Rams possibility. But, you know, in just analyzing the game, they got to run the football. They have to run the football. They're going to get some stops. This is a team that's going to make Aaron Rogers a couple of times look uncomfortable and make them punt and even sack them two, three, four times. But you just can't hold them back an entire game. They're going to get three touchdowns in this game. They're going to score 24. They're going to score 24. And it's going to be a perfect weather day, cold, but no issues

weather-wise, which is probably good for the Rams. Anything cold is not good for Goff. If you hold them under 24, if they hold them under 24, they have a chance. That's a good number. Keep them under 24, there's a shot. I think they can do that, but I think they have to do as much with their offense as they do with their defense. And Goff, if they're running the football, is going to have to make some play action

bootleg throws accurately. You know, he's going to, he can't miss on those opportunities where Acres rips off a seven-yard run and Sean on second and three comes back with a boot to a wide open tight end. He's got to be really, really good on those plays, because they're going to be expecting it. Yeah, they will. The one thing that you would have, you would have that element of surprise if Goss could play well, that if Gough had a great week of practice and could play well and Green Bay loads the box a little bit, and Goss starts making some throws down the field.

Cooper Cups, if Cooper Cups questionable, you know, with this, anything, that would be a massive loss. Because the biggest play of the game last week was that big bomb, which wasn't well thrown, that Cooper Cup made a great catch on. Huh? On offense, it was. Yeah, well, yeah, of course.

The biggest play of the game was the pick screen. Yeah. They score on defense, and they got a chance. That's the other thing you got to think about. Score on defense, you got a chance. Score on special teams. And the Rams are good special teams club. Score on special teams got a chance.

night, Baltimore at Buffalo. Cold, maybe a little bit of snow, but not a lot. Like there was an earlier forecast was maybe for more snow. Now it looks like, you know, probably not much at all. Can the Ravens do something to stop Josh Allen? They stopped. Derek Henry. Can they stop Josh Allen? I think they can. I want Buffalo to win this game. I think this is going to be a fun, fun game to watch. I think it's going to be an absolute battle, but the Ravens absolutely can get after Josh Allen. They're pretty darn good in the back end, Kev.

And they mix coverages, and they get after quarterbacks. You know, you get to look at Allen again, moving around, making throws off strips, making throws down the field. And if he does it like he's done all year, then they won't stop Josh Allen. But if they turn him over a couple times, and Alan could throw a bad ball here. there. They turn him over and you get him rattled a little bit, which, gosh, I think he did

get rattled towards the end of that game with a little pressure with the Colts. Then Baltimore's got a chance, and here's the other thing. Baltimore is just so good on offense right now. The way Dobbins is running the ball, and the idea of stopping Lamar Jackson is brutal. I think Baltimore's got a real shot here. I do, too. I do too. Cleveland, or Buffalo is just tough. about a tough road through the playoffs for buffalo matchup too matchup-wise matchup wise exactly it's just a indie was a tough matchup and i think for anybody but especially for buffalo

i think buffalo would have destroyed pittsburg destroyed them i think buffalo would destroy cleveland this is this is going to be i mean i think martindale has done a phenomenal job with this raven's defense because it's not the most talented raven's defense because it's not the most talented Ravens defense of all time. They blitz a shit load. They're going to be coming after Alan. Alan's going to be able to use his legs sometimes to get out of it. And then you've got big play possibilities.

But if not, you know, like you said, you know, he'll take, I mean, that sack he took for the 30-yard loss with the fumble at the end of the game. I mean, can you imagine if Indy had picked that thing up and that had been the game, you know, the difference in the game? I would have, honestly, I would have blamed the play calling at that point. I thought it was stupid that they were throwing it in that spot. But, you know, then you've got a defense in Buffalo that has given up some yards on the ground. I mean, you know, look, offensively, you have to think that every single team that plays the Ravens is going to say, hey, Lamar, we need to see you beat us with your arm, from the pocket preferably. So they are, but here's the thing that you've got to.

to think about when you're watching Baltimore is they have the ability to stretch the field and get to the perimeter with some of their runs, with some of their bubbles, with some of the stuff Lamarves getting outside. And so you don't, it's not as simple as it used to be with just putting an eight-man box in there. The RPO stuff, I just, I was so impressed. We didn't talk, I didn't talk about this with Baltimore the other day, but Greg Roman's ability to, get to the perimeter is really good. And it's when you think of a built around running the football team, you've got to remember that they can get to the edge in a variety of ways and will get to

the edge, and they'll test you outside the box, outside on the perimeter, more than that old school. Yeah, we're going to line it up and run it stuff. But it's just not what they are. I think Buffalo could win this. I think Buffalo could win this game by 20 points. I wouldn't be surprised. I know.

But for some reason, I think Baltimore is playing nasty, tough, know who they are football at this point in the season. They're doing things the right way with Omar. You know, it is true because the Ravens with Jackson here, they can, you know, it's the same conversation we had last week, and he proved it, you know, down two scores. They're down 10, nothing early. They came back. They won the game with just stifling defense. Totally shutting Derek Henry down, making that team one-dimensional,

and then getting it going offensively with their running game and with Jackson as a runner and a scrambler. But still, against Buffalo, if they fall behind two scores or more against Buffalo, that seems like a, you know, that could be a game that could get out of control. But I think the Ravens are smart. They're tough. There's something about that. And by the way, the experienced team.

But Josh Allen's been so good. Sunday, early game at Arrowhead. The Chiefs and the Browns, the Chiefs are 10-point favorites. I had my old friend Stephen Specter, who used to be a producer at the station, who runs Sports Radio 610 in Kansas City on the radio show this morning. He sort of agreed with me that they sort of coasted during the regular season. The one thing that I think can happen is, I think, Cleveland can move the ball and score against Kansas City.

And I think they will. So did Houston last year. So did Tennessee, to a certain degree last year. The issue is whether or not, you know, you can score 28, but Kansas City scores 45, and it's never really competitive. But the Browns can absolutely, I think, move the football and score Sunday. Yeah, the problem is, is I think Kansas City will light it up. I just don't think the Browns are good enough on defense.

against Kansas City. And as much as it looks like they toasted, look at the gear that someone, like a guy like Travis Kelsey had, and look at what Treek Hill can do, and look at what, this isn't going to be close. Well, I think Cleveland can score,

I just don't think they can score to keep up with Kansas City. Unless they stop them big time through two and a half quarters, this game will get away from Cleveland. They can't keep up. They'll end up kicking field goals. They'll end up not scoring Kansas City will find a way to get some stops and it'll look like Cleveland's playing good football and this game will be 24 to 9 in the third,

late in the third quarter and it'll be over. I just want to remind you that in three of their last six games, the Browns have scored more than 40 points. They scored 41 against the Titans. They scored 42 against the Ravens, and then they scored 48 against. the Steelers. Now, the Steelers game, obviously, was a massive turnover game. You know, the Baltimore game was not. The Ravens didn't have one turnover in that 47-42 Monday night game.

Not one. And they moved the ball. You reminded me of this is like Vegas reminding all the fans how much the Browns can score and then still making it a 10-point line. I know. Trust me. I'm very familiar with you. I'm not buying any bit of this game in terms of Cleveland I love Cleveland. I think Stephansky's done an unbelievable job this year. And Bill Callahan has been great with that running game. And it's not just a zone run game. They've implemented a lot of the Callahan stuff, and they're a Gap team.

And they got dudes. I mean, Jarvis Landry is playing some great football. Hooper can play. The kid out of Florida Atlantic, Harrison Bryant is a pretty good tight-in. He's going to do something for them. The couple other receivers, what's the other guy's name? Wiggins. or something. Higgins.

But Mayfield's found that dude a lot. Mayfield's been great. It's just I don't see it this week against Kansas City. I don't. It sounds to me like it could be a lock of the week pick. And then the finale on Sunday afternoon, Tampa at New Orleans, a real interesting matchup because the Saints just owned Tampa in the two games. It was the opener for Brady, the 34-23 loss.

That game was actually on NFL network last night. And I remember that game because that was the big Fox double-header game, right after Washington had beaten Philadelphia in the opener. And everybody wanted to see Brady in his first game in Tampa, and he threw a pick six, and they didn't look that great. And it ended up 3423. There were a bunch of turnovers. It was three or four turnovers for Tampa.

The second game, though, was truly one of the shockers of the year. New Orleans in that rematch, with the Buccaneers on, it was a Sunday night or Monday night, I forget what it was. That was one of the beat downs of the season. 38 to 3, the Saints won that game. The Bucks never had a chance in that game. I don't know. I mean, what we watched Saturday night was pretty impressive with Brady.

And can you beat Tom Brady three times in a year? and I know that you love Breeze. I think even the pressure last week that the bears put on Breeze made him at times look a little bit, you know, rattled. He ended up having a really good day, and they've got, you know, maybe they've got the best player on the field in Kamara. And they look great with having Michael Thomas back. But I don't know, man, I give Tampa a shot in this one. I definitely give Tampa a shot. This is such a great matchup.

Tom Brady and Drew Breeze, are you kidding me? I love this. I can't wait to watch this game. New Orleans will stop the run. That's the biggest difference. Your first key to Washington winning last week was you've got to stop the run. They didn't do a good enough job stopping Leonard and Furnett. In turn, they didn't do a good enough job, Washington, didn't do a good enough job,

keeping them in check and keeping them slightly one-dimensional. The run action, pass, play action stuff, it's not going to be the same. against New Orleans, because I just don't see, if Jones plays or Fernette, and if it's for net, I just don't see Tampa being able to run the ball the way they did against Washington. Agreed. I agree. And it's going to be, to me, one of those frustrating games a little bit as a Washington fan that you're going, well, our defense is not anywhere near what New Orleans is. And you know, you never know, because Tampa's got dudes, and they've figured out offensively, I think more who they are at this point in the season.

But with Godwin and Evans and Antonio Brown and break gets going, they got guys. But the Saints are just awesome on defense, Kev. They are. They are. But so is Tampa. So is Tampa. But Tampa doesn't necessarily have a guy that can lock down Evans. I just don't think Tampa's got a guy that's just going to, or excuse me, not Evans.

Thomas Michael Thomas and those backers will be good against Camara but they'll find ways to get Camara into open space they'll find ways to get guys open they'll screen them which is something that hurts a bull's

blitz team Tampa's or New Orleans and Breezes are one of the best screen teams in the NFL so they'll get after them in a way that Washington didn't get after them on offense and I think that the Saints are a little bit too much for Tampa at this point, but this should be a very good game.

I don't think this is any kind of runaway. I think you made a really interesting comment, and I think it's potentially going to be true, and that is you're going to watch a Saints defense that is truly outstanding. And I know I know I'm beating the same dead horse this week. Washington's defense was massively improved, and it was a good defense. The Saints can shut down. down the run and make Tom Brady one-dimensional. Washington couldn't. So you're not an elite defense.

You're not a great defense when you can't stop the run. And you can't get off the field in big possessions. And you can't really get after a quarterback in big spots. And the Saints can do all of those things. The Rams can do all of those things. The Ravens can do those things in terms of the defenses we're going to watch this weekend. Tampa, you know, number of, number of, you know, one rush defense in the NFL. But we're going to see Sean Payton scheme some stuff up to get Camara the ball and get Thomas the ball. It's funny because I personally, I'd like to take all four dogs this weekend. Last weekend, you know, I was two and one on the smell test, three and one, you know, based on what I gave out that, the Friday, but I pulled Washington back before kickoff.

But I said, I'm going to take all six dogs. And I did personally. and the underdogs went four and two last week. I like all four dogs to a certain extent this week. I like taking points in the NFL. I love it. But you have made a case as to why Kansas City and New Orleans could win going away. Much more so than the case for Buffalo, in my view. But if the Saints win by 17 and, you know, if the Saints win 34 to,

21, not going to be a shock. If Kansas City wins 45, 27, not going to be a shock. Let's take one more break when we come back. Smell test, lock of the week, and we will give you just our predictions on all four games, a final score prediction on all four games. Kevin and Cooley here on a Friday. Kevin looks where the John Q public is putting their cash and does the opposite. It's time for the smell test. two and one officially last week on the smell test. That's 14, 5, and 2 over the last four weeks. So I've really gotten it going here at the end of the year. We only have seven games left, and I'm two games below 500, Cooley. So to make it 11 out of 15 years with a winning record for the smell test,

I'm going to have to make up, you know, I'm going to have to be plus three the rest of the way. I didn't give myself Washington, even though I gave it out. I pulled it back on Twitter before the game. so it doesn't count. I had winners last week with Indianapolis and with the Rams and the loser was Chicago against the Saints. There are two games that fit the smell test criteria this week, and they are the Rams tomorrow plus six and a half. That line, I can't find a seven anywhere. Buy it to seven. It's the same situation as I described last week with Indy. You've got to take You got to buy the half point with the Rams, get it to seven. I'll give it out a six and a half here on Friday, courtesy of MyBooky, which is where they are.

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Best part is they make it simple with a variety of ways to deposit instantly, credit card, bank transfer, Bitcoin, and more. Whether you're at home or on the go on your laptop or your phone, it's not too late to make your New Year's resolution, a resolution to get paid. bet win get paid at my bookie.ag. That's my bookie.ag. As I've mentioned many times, you want a place that you can trust. You can trust my bookie. The Rams plus six and a half. I don't know how they do it, but the public's on Green Bay and there is sharp money on the Rams and Kooley. They're just leaving that six and a half out there like they did with Buffalo last week.

They're just saying, yep, we'll take all the Buffalo action you want. And this week, they're saying we'll take all the Green Bay action you want because you're saying to yourself, all they got to do is win by a touchdown. I'll take the Rams plus six and a half. And then tomorrow night, Baltimore plus two and a half, in part because of the same reason. That line just sitting there at two and a half by the half point to get it to three. But people love Buffalo saying, all they got to do is win by a field goal. They're really good. They've been on a roll. They've won, you know, it's a ridiculous number of games in a row that they've won with that one loss being the Mary game. Boy, they were lucky to survive last week. I think that is for sure. But this is a team that's

won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11 with a quarterback that's been incredibly dynamic, playing in front of some fans in Orchard Park. But I'll take the Ravens plus the two and a half. Those are the two plays. Rams plus six and a half by the half point. Ravens plus two and a half by the half point. Those are the two smell-picks, smell test picks for the weekend. Cooley, what's your lock of the week? Well, I led into this just talking about the Kansas City Chiefs and how I think

they run away with this game against Cleveland. They're a 10-point favorite. And to me, I think this is the only game that's not a tight game going into the fourth quarter. Who knows? I mean, Kansas City's had some interesting ones, but they can score

whenever they want to score. And I don't see Cleveland's defense being able to stop them. So do they get a bunch of turnovers early in the game? Does chaos ensue where they're up 21 points early? That could change things. But to me, this is a game that's owned by the Kansas City Chiefs. And I'd be interested. I don't know if you've kept track of my lock of the week.

I think I'm pretty close to. Yeah. You've had a good run. All but maybe two or three have been, essentially what you would consider smell test type of picks or anti-public picks. But I have stayed on 16 a couple times this year. Yeah, I think you have too. All right.

I've got Rams plus six and a half, Ravens plus two and a half. You've got the Chiefs minus 10. Real quickly to finish up the show, let's rip through the games and give final score predictions. I'll go first. I've got the Packers winning over the Rams, but in a very tight game, 23 to 20. I think the Rams will hang in there. I think they will get enough plays defensively, and I think they'll have a chance in the fourth quarter to win the game. I've got 23-20 Packers. You should have just taken the under as your smell test.

Well, that would be really close. The over-under in that game's 45 and a half. So I could see an under. I could see a lot of unders this weekend, actually, but I don't think I'm going to play them that way. In fact, my final score predictions are more overs than unders. What's your final score prediction on Packers' Rams? 2320, really, really close. I think it's probably going to look more like 2317. Green Bay. Green Bay.

Buffalo, Baltimore. This is going to be, I think, one of the games of the weekend. I've got the Ravens winning this game. in overtime, all right, in overtime, 27, 24. An overtime win, 27, 24. Ravens winning out right. So they're going to kick a field goal in overtime and they get a stop? No, they're going to get a stop and kick a turnover, and then they're going to kick a

field goal. It's going to be a very disappointing finish. The bills are going to win the toss, get the ball, and there's going to be a catch by Stefan Diggs and a fumble, and the Ravens are going to recover it, and then, you know, with that kicker, Justin Tucker, they're already in range at the Bill's 32-yard line on the fumble. There you go.

I think overtime is a big risk on this game because both of these coaches are so analytic-driven, make weird, interesting decisions. Go for two in certain spots, go for fourth downs in certain spots. Good point. I don't know. I mean, you never know how it plays out.

It can play out. How do you know it's not 24? 16 after one of those analytics decisions. And Harbaugh went for, at 24 to 10, he went for the two, missed, and then at 2416, he went for the two, and they made it and tied it. I love what you just said. 2422, Buffalo. Harbaugh goes for the two.

Buffalo gets a huge stop, and they walk off with a victory. There you go. 2422, which would, by the way, be a Ravens cover. Chiefs 37, the Browns. 28. So it's not a cover. And the Browns do score, which I think they're going to be able to do, but Kansas City scores. And it's probably like a 37-21 game. Actually, if that's the case, then it would be either they'd go for two down 16. It's like 37-20. They get it to 37-27 at the end. No, whatever. I'm giving you 37-28. I don't know how they get there, but it's 37-28,

which means I think the – I like the dog in this game. I'll probably be wrong. But 37-28, Chiefs. 4124, Chiefs. Chiefs put it on them with a ton of offense. Cleveland ends up getting a score late to make it 24. I think Kansas City rolls missing. 41-24. This is the one where I think I'm absolutely going to be wrong because I do think the Saints are a better team. and the way you described it, I could see it happening. And I think part of me wants the bucks to really show well here after last week. And part of me also thinks that Brady just is not going to lose three times to the same team in the same season. I think this ends up being much more of a defensive game than people think. I think the total in this game is 52.

I've got Tampa Bay in overtime, another overtime game, 26 to 20. They drive down the field in a 20 to 20 game in overtime, and win it 26 to 20 on the opening kickoff in overtime, Brady throws a touchdown pass to Cameron Brate for the game winner. Reviewed and caught. Reviewed and caught this time. Of this over under, got to stink a little bit. At 52, open it's not a 52 with two top five defenses.

I know. I gave you an under, though. That's a big number, Kev. Well, I mean, they went 3423 in the opener, and both these teams have scored some points here in recent, you know, certainly New England, Tampa has. 31, 27 Saints. 3127 Saints.

It goes over. Yeah. And a cover. All right. By the way, you know what I just realized? Did not mean to do this on, I swear to God I did not do this on purpose. But when New Orleans lost last year in the postseason to Kirk and the Vikings, it was 26, 20 in overtime. That would be weird.

I've got them losing 2620 in overtime. All right. That's it for the day. Enjoy the weekend. See you.