The Ringer NFL Show - It’s Time to Crown Some Champions (Ep. 223)

Episode Date: January 18, 2018

The Ringer’s Robert Mays and Kevin Clark get you set for championship weekend, including what the Patriots do on offense that should work perfectly against the Jaguars' stingy defense (03:00), why Case Keenum might be uniquely qualified to deal with the Eagles' pass rush (22:00), and who we might have seen in the NFL’s final four if not for all the huge injuries this season (34:30). Then Danny Kelly joins the show with some serious X factors for each team (41:45), including how the Jaguars can shut down Tom Brady (46:30) and what the Eagles offense must do to score against the Vikings (50:15). Finally, Robert and Kevin reveal their picks for Sunday’s games (56:45) and offer a quick preview of the Super Bowl matchup (58:30). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's JJ Reddick, and this week's guest on my podcast is retired soccer superstar Terry Henri. I had the chance to catch up with him while in London recently to talk about his love of the NBA, why soccer players are more athletic than NBA players, and what we're doing wrong in youth development in basketball in America. Listen to this show and more by subscribing to the JJ Reddick podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the Ringer NFL show, part of the Ringer Podcast Network. It's championship week and I'm Kevin Clark, joined by Robert Mays. Robert, be excited? Yeah, man. I'm pretty excited. I'm in Philly right now. I'll be at Eagles practice and availability all week,

so it's nice to be around, you know, a team as this game's about to happen. I always love this weekend. It's my favorite game to go to just because the atmosphere is always crazy. And I was just prepping for this show today, and I tweeted about it earlier, but there's just so many layers to this. I mean, there are so many factors that are going to come into play. I really enjoyed as being able to dig into two games because you can really dive as deep as you want to. I mean, this is a fun podcast. I always look forward to this one. So I'm in a good mood.

So I'm in Foxborough. And one thing I didn't realize is that the TB12 performance center is just like right across the street from the stadium. Yeah. It's in that little mall. I had no idea about that. Which makes the Jimmy Garapolo nobody showed up to help me anecdote like significantly funnier. Because somebody's going to have walked over in 10 minutes. It took him, it like took him two minutes and then he was in the mall.

He probably went to like the Pinkberry next door. That's an interesting. There's an underrated amount of stuff in that mall, considering the only reason it's theirs because of the stadium, there's a bar louis. There's like a weird kind of intense Mexican restaurant that has just way more of a vibe than a place in that kind of mall should. I mean, like it's kind of scary when I walk in there.

It's like, people are having too much fun here. I've spent too much time in that mall. There is not many other places to go. go in Foxborough unfortunately. I stay in the hotel when I'm here, the one that's right across the street. And last year, every night I would just get a bite to eat downstairs.

And every night, the only people in the restaurant were me and Lagaret Blunt. That's incredible. Yeah, I've eaten at that restaurant many times before. I never got an answer on whether Blunt lived in the hotel or just loved the hotel restaurant.

It's a really good question. I never got clarity on that. There is an excellent, I don't know. I think there are two hotels, right? Yeah, I don't know. There are a couple. One of them,

there's an excellent lobster omelette. That's only like 14 bucks. I highly recommend it. That's what I would get for breakfast. It was fantastic. This is exactly what I read, our listeners tuned in for. This is great stuff.

Hey, if you ever enjoy it, guys, we should be after. Anyway, that's it for the podcast. We'll be back next to all right. So, um, all right. Well, we'll just dig into the games. I mean, this is easy. Let's start with that one.

I mean, why not? Let's start in Foxborough, man. Obviously, the interesting matchup here is the Patriots offense. and Tom Brady. And it's an evolving offense because they've had health problems. Brady is, I think, in the midst of his third worst five-game stretch ever going into the playoffs. And so people have been questioning it.

I saw an article from Warren Sharp. I found interesting. I don't know if you saw it, Robert, but I actually, he said to me yesterday and I've been reading it. I was going to write about a lot of this, but seeing the numbers was fantastic. Yeah. So essentially, modern NFL is all about. 11 personnel, which means one tight end, one running back, and the rest of them receivers.

And the Jaguars, one of the reasons that they are so effective is they own, in Warren Sharpe's words, 11 personnel. They destroy them. They know exactly what to do and they dismantle. And that's why they've been, they're basically the number two defense across the board in every category, which makes them the number one defense overall. The Patriots run the sixth least amount of 11 personnel. And so the Jaguars, for lack of a better term,

are going to be put in uncomfortable positions because they're going to maybe see a little different formations than the rest of the NFL. I think what's fascinating is if the Jaguars are truly used to this and that they're really good at taking on 11 personnel, no one does scheme diversity quite like the Patriots. And that's why I'm really excited to see just the chess match. Obviously, the Jaguars defense,

I mean, these are some of the most talented players in the NFL. They'll be able to adjust to whatever the Patriots throw at them. With the Josh McDaniels, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick,

scheme chess match against those talented guys is something, I don't know if I've been more excited for a matchup this season. I feel like this entire game on both sides of the ball

is about personnel groupings and the way that teams respond to them. And let's start with what you talked about because that's easily the more interesting one. And I wrote about this before the season, and I feel pretty good about it in the sense that I thought,

some of the smarter teams we're going to start going bigger as a way to combat the way the defenses were trying to build. And the Patriots have done that. I mean, they've used 21 personnel, which is a fullback and two wide receivers on 26% of their snaps. It's the highest in the league. And that does several different things. And it does several different things against the Jaguars. I mean, the things that accomplish against most teams are even more effective against Jacksonville. So what you do when you have that personnel package on the field is that one, you probably take them out of their nickel package. And for the Jaguars, that means two things. That means getting Paul Plus Lozny on the field instead of Aaron Colvin, the slot cornerback.

And it means taking off that kind of, you know, Grand Prix NASCAR pass rush package that the Jags have when they can put Klyas Campbell inside. They can put Dante Fowler out there. So that's what the Patriots are most likely going to do. They're going to line up in huge personnel with two tight ends, a full back, maybe three tight ends on some sets. And they're going to use that as a way to both get a worse pass rush or past defender on the field in Puzzle-Lesney. Easily the worst one that plays regular snaps for Jacksonville. And two, it's going to slow down that pass rush because it's going to be Darius on the field with Campbell outside as a defensive end. Or Abrey Jones, whoever those interior guys are.

And that's where New England's going to go to work. I feel like just because those players are on the field doesn't mean they're going to use those formations. I think we're going to see a lot of empty with a fullback and two tight ends on the field. You see a lot of motion out of that kind of stuff in order to dictate matchups. But I do believe that's what's going to happen.

And it just so happens that it's a perfect way to attack the best past defense in football. Totally agree. And, you know, I saw a really funny stat the NFL put out yesterday, I think, that the Jaguars have obviously the NFL's second best scoring defense. Tom Brady is faced a top two scoring defense in the playoffs three times. Any guesses on who they are, first of all, Robert?

I assume it was the Steelers one year, maybe like in the 09-10 range. 0-4, 0-4 Steelers. Oh, interesting. Okay. The Steelers were so good in that 0-9-10. I thought that maybe that was that. Denver? Denver a couple years ago?

I'll help you out with another one, 0-4 Eagles. And then the most recent one was in the last couple years. Was it the Broncos or no? It was the 2014 Seahawks. Interesting. Okay. How is that? The NFL, I trust the NFL on this one because they put out the number.

But how do the Broncos in the AFC championship game not have a top two scoring defense? Anyway, that's not. Yeah, that's a good question. I'm not here to question the NFL. Anyway, the punchline here, it doesn't matter who the teams are. Brady is 3 and 0 and has posted a hundred plus pass the rating in each of those games. So, yes, this is the. the guy you want if you're facing an elite defense.

I was going to say, let's, let's take that 2014 Seahawks example and run with it a little bit because I think it's very telling. So Seattle, that season, obviously that was still when the Legion of Boom was kind of the way they defined their defense. You know, they really dominated outside the numbers, physicality, all that kind of stuff. And what the Patriots did in that game was they threw the ball to Shane Verene 12 times. The Patriots are not afraid to hammer one element over and over again if it's the thing that you do worst.

So I think that we're going to see that. I mean, I think you're going to see a lot of Rex Burkhead matched up with guys in this slot. I think you're going to see a lot of Dionne Lewis is a running back out of heavy personnel getting out into routes in order to attack guys like Puzzle-Losney. I think you're going to see a lot of running back routes in this game because that's what the Jaguars don't do well. They do not defend that area of the field in that position.

Right. And, you know, Tom Brady had tied for the league lead in deep completions. this year. And at the same time, he's still, I think this is the first two-year stretch he's had where he's completed over 66% of his passes in each year. He can go horizontal or he can go vertical. He has, I think that because it's Tom Brady, we don't give enough credit for how many times he's reinvented himself. But he's really taken all of the reinventions that he's had over the past 15 years and he's combined them into the last two seasons, basically. You know, I still come back to when he was PFF's highest graded quarterback in the history of PFF last year, there was a

paragraph where they basically said he was top rated against the blitz and against no blitz. He was top rated, you know, with no huddle and, you know, when they do huddle. He was top rated with the clean pocket, whatever. I mean, it was like every single category he was the top rated guy in. And that's what I think of when I think of Tom Brady. And that's why all of the wrinkles that the jails that the james. Jaguars can throw at him almost. I mean, I just, I, I don't want to say they're irrelevant because they're obviously not

because they have incredible defense. We've seen Brady been affected by defenses in the past. But I, I just, I think Brady might have, might have a great game against these guys better than people think. I feel like there are a lot of different ways you can go after Brady and some of them are counterintuitive. it's almost in my mind as if simpler is better, but not if you're playing zone.

I don't think you can just sit back there and let him pick you apart. But if you're going to go out and say, we're going to manhandle you at every single one of these spots, and we're going to get after you with four, and you're not going to have time to throw, and you're going to be uncomfortable in the pocket and the slower developing routes that usually beat man coverage

are not going to be able because you just aren't going to have time. So I think that's the approach. approach that works. The question is, to what degree can the Jaguars execute that? And I think with the bigger personnel groupings out there, it's going to be a little bit more difficult because you have matchup problems against linebackers, puzzle as me especially. And then I think that if they can't get those nickel pass rush packages out there, Brady's going to have the time. I want to see how the jag is doing early downs, because that's the most important thing to me. That's when those bigger personnel packages matter.

If you can get New England to third and six, third and five, that's going to be the key here. And if they do that, I'll be curious to see how the pass rush works. Because the Jags typically, because they just can, based on talent advantages, will line up Campbell inside, follower on the left side, and Gakway on the right side, and Malik Jackson is the other defensive tackle. I'd like to see if they play with that a little bit in order to make them a little bit more unpredictable,

but not with blitzes. So do you bump Campbell outside and moving Gokwe inside in order to get some twists available to you? I'm thinking of what the Texans did last year with Merciless and Clowny. So what kind of stuff do you do without devoting more resources to the past rush to make an offensive line for New England

that's fine but has had trouble at times this year be on their heels the entire game? one funny thing I think that that's been tossed around this week is the Tom Kaufman angle and oh well Tom Kaufman knows how to beat the Patriots it's a four-man rush well no shit guys like yeah when was the time like did we need Tom Cofflin for that like did we do the Jaguars need to have Tom Coughlin in these high level meetings to say guys you should really be able to pressure a quarterback and not have to blitz that would be great like that's that's pretty much

much how football works. And so it's not about the scheme. It's about the execution. I don't want to sound like Belichick here, but I mean, it really is about execution. If they can get a four-man rush, then we're talking about

a completely different game. By the way, the 2015 Patriots were fourth in scoring defense. The Bengals were second that year. Bengals had underrated defense this last decade. But I,

so a couple more things I want to bring up on that side of the ball that we haven't mentioned yet. Rob Grankowski's name has not come up. The Jaguars are, bad, actively bad at defending tight ends. And that's only accentuated when the heavier personnel packages are on the field. So I think Grunk, when there's another tight end out there, when there's a fullback out there,

has a chance to dominate this game. And I feel like the Jags may come out, punch and left-handed a little bit in order to throw New England off the trail. I think that I could definitely see them putting Ramsey on them a little bit, trying to get outside of what they normally do because, again, the Patriot's strengths match. up so well with Jacksonville's weaknesses. The other side of this that we haven't mentioned at all is that Jacksonville's run defense, while it improved after Marcel Darius got there, is still their biggest weakness overall

on their defense, even when you consider how they play against heavy personnel. So as much as the heavy personnel may dictate passing for New England, I feel like the Patriots may be an advantage if they go a little bit more spread out and decide to run the ball. because the same way the heavy personnel takes Darius off, takes Darius on the field of passing downs, if you spread it out, it takes him off the field on running downs. So I think that, again, personnel decisions

and who throwing out of heavy stuff, running out of spread out stuff, is the way the Patriots are going to win this game. It's a good time for Chris Hogan to be healthy. Yes, absolutely. It just gives them flexibility. And that's the biggest advantage New England has is that they can do,

anything. They can literally line up at any single formation and with anybody on the field. And that's why they're so difficult to plan for. And those are the exact teams that Jacksonville's had trouble with. I mean, you look at literally the single way San Francisco attacked them was to put a fullback on the field, put two tight ends on the field, take advantage of puzzle as the over and over against this. That's unfair. The San Francisco game is an outlier. They were playing a legend at quarterback. That's fair. That's fair. And I went back to watch that game. And I was, was thinking just how often was it based on just numbers and personnel. It was often, but there were so many throws in that game where Jimmy's just coming out

and shotgun with three receivers and making like a disgusting throw. So it was a combination. They can get gashed with the right play design, but at the same time, Garoppolo just had a ridiculous game. He's really good. Yeah. And the fact that Tom Brady heard his hand yesterday, I was texting with our boss, one Bill Simmons and I just I thought the only way that the Garoppolo trade could just come full

circles if they had to play Brian freaking Hoyer in a playoff game. I know if anybody didn't see it. Tom Brady got run into a practice yesterday. He was on the injury report. He canceled his media session but reports are he should be okay. I don't know what that means. I'm sure he'll be fine. I don't know if that means he's hurt. I don't know if that means it hurts but he's going to be okay or if it actually just doesn't hurt. I don't know. I'm not Tom Brady. We'll find out today. You want to talk about the other side of the ball very quickly? I feel like there's not as much to dissect over there, but there are a couple things. I mean, the one way to look at it is there's a hell of a lot to dissect because it's Blake Bortles against Bill Belichick. Here's the thing, though,

I feel like this is the exact opposite of what we're looking at with the Patriots offense against the Jaguars defense, is that the Patriots like to line up in heavy and throw. The Jags like to line up in heavy and run. They're not trying to deceive you with the play choices. They're trying to deceive you would play design. And I think that's the problem is that New England gave up 4.7 yards per carry overall, but they gave up less per three yards per carry when teams had a fullback on the field. So when teams kind of bunched up, the Patriots are able to stop the run. It's not going to be, the numbers are deceiving.

They're not the 30th best rushing DVOA against this type of running team. So are the Jags able to kind of pivot a little bit? Can they spread it out a little bit and still run it? Are they going to stick with it if they don't get anything going early out of those heavy sets? That's my concern is that just the personnel groupings and the matchups here favor New England so often, even if we think Jacksonville has a ton of talent. Bill Belichick, obviously he's now famous for when you ask him about anybody. He praises them as if they were the 2007 Patriots.

And yesterday he was going on and on about Blake Bortles running a business. and I just had this moment where I was just like, what happened to this NFL season where I'm in New England watching Bill Belichick? So the way the press concerts are set up, I'm sure it's the same way in Philadelphia. There's the trophy

is on the podium when they talk. And then the two helmets are there. And there's Bill Belichick next to the trophy and a Jaguar's helmet talking about Blake Bortle's running ability. And I have a stroke. What is this? Yeah, it's incredible.

Um, so I, again, I think that a lot of this with Bortles here, it's just going to come down to luck and what Bortles is that day. I know that I'm sure there are a lot of ways to have more cognitive analysis for as far as what Bortals can do to beat the Patriots, but quite frankly, it's, it's just going to be a hell of a lot of luck. It's going to be Leonard Fornett's ankle being okay. But as Balechek pointed out, T.J. Eldon came and did a hell of a job last weekend. And so, um, I don't know, I don't know what to expect, um, at a Bortle specifically. I, I, I, you can pretty much guess what Marone's going to try to do, but, uh, from Bortals, it's just, does he hit the couple of deep shots he takes? Um, do they, do they, do the Patriots

pull of Steelers and let Tommy Bohannon be completely wide open in the middle of the field with 10 yards, you know, first and goal? I don't know. So that's, it's hard for me to, really break down Bortles against Patriots because Belichick's going to be able to take him out of the game and then it just comes down to some fluky crap.

Remember, every time the Patriots lose a Super Bowl or an AFC champion game, it's usually on fluky crap. I don't want to sound like a Patriots apologist here, but there's been a lot of fluky crap over the past 15 years

when the Patriots lose a game. I want to throw out a couple numbers before we get out of here just to speak to this Jacksonville predictability issue. Again, I really like the play designs they have. They've done a ton of cool stuff this season. But you look at what they do out of

specific personnel. Out of 11, they throw the ball 65% of the time. That's a lot. It's a huge number out of what is really a base personnel for most teams. Out of 12, which they ran 28% of the time, pretty sure more than any other team in the league, they run it 69% of the time. Probably know what they're doing. Out of 13 personnel, which they ran 11% of the time, second most in the league, they run it 90% of the time. And out of 10 personnel, which they run a lot, which is four wide receivers, they throw it, 86% of the time. Based on how the Jags line up, you probably know what they're going to do.

So playing with all of that stuff is going to matter. I don't mean to be mean, they don't, they can't, they just sort of have to do what they do. I mean, they can't run that complex of an offense with Blake. they sort of just have to figure out a couple of things that they do well and do them. That's my general thought. You know, I thought it was interesting.

Football Outsiders does the most consistent and inconsistent quarterbacks. Blake Bortles is the most inconsistent quarterback in the NFL. Do you know who statistically the most consistent is, Robert Mays? That's a great question. I don't know.

Ben Rathesberger. that's surprising considering how he played at the beginning of the season I don't know what to tell you maybe he was just so super consistent after that so Rathusberger and then Brady is sixth most consistent and so when you have a guy who's the most inconsistent quarterback in the league statistically I guess she can say anything can happen

yeah I mean that's kind of the nature of this game I did an explainer that'll come out later this week, just about what factors could let the Jags win this game. And I think that they need a couple shots. They need a couple swing plays, and they're going to get those off play action. That's how those are going to come about. And if they don't hit those,

I'm not sure they have much of a chance. Because the Patriots are going to score. This is not going to be a 14 to 10 game. The Jags need to score. And in order to do that, I think they need to take the entire field at once. Vikings, Eagles, the game you'll be. be at, you're in Philadelphia right now. Where do you start?

So I wrote today about kind of what I see as the Vikings advantage among these other good defenses that are still left in the field. And it's that if you look at Jacksonville, if you look at Philly, you know, you have these units that are very good, but were filled out this season by offseason acquisitions. Clayus Campbell, A.J. Boyer, A.J. Boyer, you know, they really needed that injection of new blood. Every Viking starter has been on that team for at least three years. More than half of seven of them have been there for four years. This is a team that's defined by comfort and knowledge of what they're trying to do.

And I think it allows them to play this incredibly complicated scheme very fast. And that's going to be the biggest issue for Foles is because I like Atlanta's defense. There are a lot of players on that team that I find interesting. Atlanta's defense is not complicated. That team is built on precision and execution. They want you to complete passes so they can eat them up. Minnesota is not that. Pattern matching, mug fronts, blitzing.

There are so many moving parts to that team that I feel like Foles is going to struggle just because the defined decisions he had a week ago are going to be absent. I want to talk very quickly about Case Keatim in this one, because there's a lot of things we're going to go back and forth on each side of the ball. But here's what impressed me about the Vikings offense and Case Keenham specifically.

PFF has Case Keenham as the seventh most pressured quarterback in the league. And I was surprised by that because I just, you know, you assume when a guy like Case Keenum has success that everything else going right from. Even though we know the Vikings offensive line has been certainly a historic disaster in 2016 and not much better in 2017. I just assumed that the atmosphere was perfect for Case Keenum. That's not the case. Keenham is creating. He's done an amazing job avoiding pressure. Yeah.

So Keenum is amazing at creating his own perfect atmosphere. So he is, he is pressured 39% of the time. Again, seventh most in the league. Under pressure, his sack rate is second lowest in the league. 10%. Yep. Only the rivers. That's incredible.

Yeah. The ability, I mean, Case Keenum is not the fastest guy, but his ability to commit. man the pocket like that. That really impresses me. And that is going to be just unspeakably important against the Philadelphia Eagles.

100%. I wrote about that last week when I kind of try to figure out how this team has sustained offense with two backups at very important positions. And that's a huge part of it. Because Keenham can extend plays, it gives them just a level of volatility back there that Bradford did not.

And there are times where he runs into pressure. there are times where he makes it difficult on his offensive line, but the good far outweighs the bad. And that's been a very important part of who they've been, and it will be against Philadelphia as well. And I think that that ability to extend plays kind of plays into my mind the best way the Vikings can attack this defense.

And that's with making those corners cover for an extended period of time, and that's with either extended plays or double moves. I think that Jalen Mills, whoever he has to deal with, with, whether it's Diggs or Thielen, that's how the Vikings can win this game is by hitting those double moves and big plays against the secondary that's been susceptible to them over the last month or so. I mean, you remember what the Giants did. I mean, that's available in the right

scenarios against this team, even though they have a very good defense. Without a doubt. So, Robert, let me ask you, you know, you mentioned your story earlier, going back to the Vikings defense a little bit. When those guys do have that sort of education, in your opinion, where does that show up the most? That's a good question. I think it's in two places that I saw. I think with Harrison Smith, you see it all the time because he's able to be so, I asked him, I was like, how are you able to be so frantic back there? So, and I asked everybody, you know, on that team, you know, when you're watching him, there seems like there's a franticness. And it kind of everybody said, yes, you know, Anthony Harris, who has played next to him when Sondahoe has been hurt, you know, told me that there are

times where he's doing something. I'm like, am I, do I have the wrong call? Like, why is he doing that? And it's because he has such an ingrained knowledge of where he's supposed to be and how his movements will influence both the offense and what his teammates can do. And he's the most important player on that team. So I think the fact that he's just been completely immersed in that defense for the amount of time most of us went to college is important. The other side of it is their coverage schemes are so incredibly complex. You know, I go back and watch, and there are sometimes you'll watch a defense, like, oh yeah, I know what that is.

That's cover two. That's quarters. That's cover three. I watch the Vikings. I'm like, I have no freaking clue what that's supposed to be. They're inverting safeties and corners constantly. Their corners coverage turns into man just seamlessly all of the time. time, it'll be this two by two kind of invert that they do.

I don't understand most of it because that's not the part of football that I really grasp the most. And in my mind, they do more complex stuff than everybody. I actually ask people that. And they agree. So I think it's the coverage complexities combined with Smith just being this chainsaw dropped into a bathtub based on his overall feel for the defense that you really see born out all the time.

So I guess the natural question having studied this defense, Robert, is where does Nick Foles fit into this? I think that the way you attack them is in the middle. And you look at all, we'll talk about run past options with Danny a little bit. So I'll dig into that a little bit more with him. But Eric Hendricks is a guy who's occasionally struggled sideline to sideline this year. If you get him moving one direction and make him go back the other way, he's missing tackles in space. really nitpicking here. I mean, Eric Kendrick is a fine player. But if you're trying to find the weaknesses in this team, it's Kendricks in space at times. And that's what those RPO's

designed to do. You know, you're trying to get him moving, get the slant behind him. So I think that's one area you can go after. The second is I'm, I'll be really curious what the Eagles do with their personnel packages. Because if I think they get McKenzie Alexander on the field and dime stuff, you can go after him as well with Agalore, everything else. The Eagles want to be big, and I think that they will do that. But I'll be curious whether we see a little bit more spread out personnel decisions because if you get more defensive backs on the field for the Vikings, like any team, they just get a little bit thinner at those positions.

So those are the two ways I could see that happening. I also think they'll try to go after Newman with Aguilar in the slot as well. Yeah, I can see that. I mean, I don't think Nick Foles is not Bortles. they're not the same guy. But I do think it's a little bit of the same thing we talked about, which is you're going to need a little bit of luck. And you're going to need a little bit of, you know,

the linebacker gets hit in the head with the pass and it bounces off and the flex to your own receiver, that kind of thing. You're going to need some of those plays. You're going to need turnover luck to win this game. And I would guess that the Vikings win. But, I mean, first of all, it's going to be a weird atmosphere.

the dog masks I've been sold out twice on Amazon now. Are you aware? Robert, I knew this from reading the Amazon reviews on Sunday night. Are you aware you cannot really see out of the dog mask? That's Chris Long said that yesterday in the locker room. And Lane Johnson also kind of put out a PSA. He's like, you can do this.

I appreciate it. But it's hard to see out of those things. I feel like Philadelphia fans, I love, I love them. I love their passion. I feel like they need to be prepared to either cut out the eyes of the mask so they can see the game or just commit to the bit and not see any of the game despite paying hundreds of dollars for it. Yeah.

If you take out the eyes, it really takes away some of the creepiness involved with the mask. And I think that's part of the appeal. So you can't really have both here at the same time. Could you imagine just like if the Eagles win this game and you're one of these guys and like your grandkids are asking you, in 50 years what that game was like and you're like, well, I was wearing a dog mask. I didn't really see any of it.

And they'll say, well, grandpa, you were the 50 yard line. He said, well, you have to consider what the dog mask, how it was constructed. Like, imagine that conversation. And also what the dog mask represented and why it was worth not seeing maybe the best game in Eagles history.

It's the epitome of a you had to be their story. Exactly. 100%. Kids aren't even going to talk to their grandpas 50 years. They're all going to be on YouTube. President Jake Paul. There's one more thing I want to mention about this game before we move on. And that's it.

Outside of Nick Foles, obviously, the area of this Eagles offense that's been really good is that their offensive line is excellent and they run the ball well. And part of what, I mean, most of what the Eagles do in the running game involves the movement and kind of angles created by their offensive line.

And I think that, unfortunately for them, the Vikings have a way to combat that. Because against those schemes, if you blitz and you get penetration, you can blow those up in a hurry. And the Vikings have shown a willingness, and it's also one of their trademarks, they'll put Barron Kendricks in the A-GAPs and go. And they're not afraid to do that in early downs. That's not just the passing down thing. So some of the power plays, the Lane Johnson pulling, the Kelsey with the pin in pulls, I don't know if those are going to work as well if Minnesota, one, is consistently getting penetration

and two is sending extra bodies instantly on rundowns. I think that's another thing to watch for. Doug Peterson is not a bad coach. The ringers reconsidered their position on Doug Peterson. Are you with me that the Vikings have a major coaching advantage on Sunday? I mean, yes, because I just think that Mike Zimmer is the best defensive coach in the league. And Pat Schumer just got a head coaching job because of, what he's done. I mean, that's no knock on the

on the Eagle staff. It's a very good coaching staff. I just think that the Vikings might have the best one in football right now outside of New England. The best defensive coach, the best coaching staff. The best coaching staff. I mean, maybe the Rams. I think the Rams are

probably in that conversation in New England. So let's do this really quickly. So the Rams have McVeigh, Wade Phillips. Matt Lefleur is there as the young guy who's sort of under McVeigh. The C. Yeah, but like, I currently don't have a coaching staff. The Seahawks had it three years ago and now employ Brian Schadenheimer.

It might have been the Falcons last year when they had Shanahan. Yes. I think it's the Rams, the Vikings, and the Patriots. Rams, Vikings, Patriots. Yeah, that's probably true. That's probably true. I'm trying to think who else there could be. I'm comfortable saying that.

I'm right. This is a question we just right there. This is a question we just came up with. So that's why I'm not, I'm, I'm, I'm less prepared than usual. Yeah,

no, I agree with that. I just, it's, when you don't think about something, and it, it surprises you at first. But yeah,

no, the Vikings are certainly, I would have ranked them very, very high. That's why, that's why I said they have an advantage on Sunday. But yeah, I mean,

it's them in, them in the paths, I guess. You want to get to our, are the great question we got over Twitter? Yeah, let's do it. Okay, so we got a great question from Matt and Baltimore. Well, we haven't really done these questions since the preseason,

but I loved the question so much. I sent into you, Robert, and we decided to talk about it. The question from Matt and Baltimore is, based on what we saw overall in 2017, in an alternate universe where no players got injured all season, which four teams are playing this weekend? Now, there's a lot to consider here. The first thing being that we're only going to do this year.

So we're not going to go back and do the alternate history of, of Teddy Bridgewater or whatever. I don't know where that leaves Andrew Luck. Where are we? Is luck on the field in this scenario or not? Yes. I'd say he's on the field because he was expected. Okay. Okay.

Okay. So how, how does everything change, Robert, if everyone's healthy in the entire NFL? So let's pencil in the Eagles just all. automatically because Wence would be there and they'd be a better team than they are now. Absolutely. So, okay, so the Eagles are one. So that's one spot done. The Patriots are still there.

You know, how has injury affect the Patriots? I don't think it has. I think they would be there as well. Yeah, they'd have Malcolm Mitchell and they would have had Chris Hogan all year. Like, that's not. That's it. Yeah. And I don't think there's anybody that could have gotten health.

There isn't anybody that was hampered by injuries enough that would have blocked off the Patriots from this path, in my opinion. So the Vikings, to me, are like the most interesting question here because what you're asking is, would the Vikings have made the NFC championship game with Sam Bradford and Delvin Cook? Right. I think the answer to that is still yes. Someone would have defeated Aaron Rogers and the Packers. Is that what you're saying? Yeah. So would the Vikings with Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook be better than Aaron Rogers with the Packers?

could they have beaten that team? I would say yes to that. I still think the Vikings roster top to bottom is very good. I believe that even with Bradford, this offense would have been excellent this year just based on all the infrastructure they have. And also, Cook looks like a monster. I mean, the fact that they've done this without him

is maybe the most impressive element of this offense. I mean, that guy was touched, he's on the field for 75% of their snaps. They didn't have a hundred-yard rushing game last year. He had 122 in the opener. Like, the guy is special, and they've done this with him on the sideline. So I still would give the edge to Minnesota. In the AFC, that's the question, because the AFC South totally changes.

In the AFC, if it's merciless Watt Watson in Houston, things get interesting. Their offense is still a disaster, but. The Jaguars only went 10 and 6, and you put Andrew Luck on the Colts, and that's not. I mean, you have no easy wins. You have no two, four, and 12 teams, which the AFC South have had. If you have Andrew Luck on the Colts, Watson, Merciless, and Watt on the Texans. That is a tough, tough division. First of all, the Titans are out immediately, get them out of here.

And of the playoffs, I mean, and then it comes down to do the Jaguars win that division, and then do they, this is, they all say, universe, do the Jaguars then win a road game in the divisional round? Yeah. I think the Jags are probably not here. I'm sorry. In the Wildcard round. In the Wildcard round, excuse me.

If the Texans say healthy, the Jaggs probably are not here. I feel comfortable saying that. And that's as someone who really likes this Jaguar team. I agree with you. The Jack's healthy and Andrew Luck is playing. I think the road is too tough. Then in that case, it might be Pittsburgh. But for the most part, I don't think there have been that many injuries that's completely

derailed seasons. I don't think Seattle would have had it even with Sherman and Chancellor. I just feel like their offense was a little bit too piecemeal. I don't know. I mean, I think that they could have, I think they could. I mean, remember, they were in the hunt on the last day. They could have made the playoffs and then they could have done what the Falcons did. If they had Sherman, Chancellor, and Cliff Averill.

Yeah, that's fair. And Averill. That's a good point. Yeah. I mean, I think the Seahawks could have done it. I just don't think, I think I would have taken the Packers over the Seahawks in this scenario, but then I would have taken the two NFC title,

the real this universe teams over the Packers. So I don't see the NFC changing. Yeah, God, that would have been a fun division around, man. If the Seahawks were healthy and Rogers was around, good Lord. Where's,

where's Ryan Tannahills injury for you here? I'm not sure they were getting in. Sorry. That was a joke. Apologies to it. I don't see, I don't really see anybody else that didn't make a case to make the final four if they were entirely healthy. I think that if Derek Carr never got hurt in the beginning of the year, I think they could have been in the hunt for the last day of the season. Obviously, I'm talking about the October injury that he came back from after a couple weeks, but he was banged up all year.

And if he was healthy all year, I think they would have maybe won nine games, something like that. But that's maybe small. I think that team's problems are more systemic than they are one. Sure. I mean, they, they, they,

they, they, they, they, they, it's, it just comes down to what would have happened in the AFC South.

And we will never know. Maybe we'll know next year. Yeah, I mean, I'm excited about the Texas team. We talked about it. I mean, it's Rick,

Brian, Bill O'Brien's there for the next 20 years now, apparently. So we're going to find out what that team is. Coming up, we think we've covered these games backwards and forwards, but Danny Kelly, the dark.

night. We'll be here in a moment with some X-factors that could swing these games in either direction. Plus, we'll reveal our picks and who will be playing in Super Bowl 52. It's the Ringer NFL show on the Ringer podcast network. Robert, we're giving our picks in a moment, but our listeners are you to get theirs in on my bookie. Yes, sir. Fantasy football season is long gone at this point. So the only way to cash in on your sports knowledge is betting the actual games on the number one rated betting site. And that's my bookie. you have to check out their all-new prop builder where you can create your own bet slips. Ah, that sounds like fun. I'm a little jealous, honestly. You can bet whatever you want. You bet your friend from Boston that Brady will throw three picks on Sunday. Why not bet it in my bookie and put your money where your mouth is? Or you can bet whether the water will come

back in on property's hotel before the end of this podcast. You can't bet whether my water is back on, but you can bet from your desktop, your tablet, or their world-class mobile site anywhere anytime. And MyBooky is famous at this point for their no hassle payouts when you win. So join Now and MyBooky will match your deposit with up to a 50% bonus. Just use promo code Ringer NFL when making your account. Visit MyBook.agy today and bet on the internet's favorite sports book where you play, you win, and you get paid.

We welcome in our X Factor Expert. That's quite a title. The Dark Night Danny Kelly. Danny, how are you? I'm a man of many titles, apparently. Only one of the matters. What, fantasy football genius? No, the dark night.

Oh, yes, okay. Yeah. No, let's talk X factors. That's a good one. I'm all about it. All right. What are the X factors that could swing the results of these conference championship games?

We're going to start with the AFC. Oh, starting with the AFC. So for the Patriots, for me, the big thing is how they defend the play action pass because yeah over the last two weeks Bortles has been his best in play action fakes and I we talked about this a little bit last week use it like 60% last week yeah he threw he threw off play action on 53% of his throws which is like 20% higher than any other team generally does so I mean it was definitely what they went with it was what they leaned on and and it actually really worked

I don't know if they're going to do it quite as much this week against the Patriots you know It's one of those things where I'm sure that they're preparing for it. But for me, the thing to watch is how the Patriots do that, how they manage to balance being aggressive and stacking the box against the run because we know that the Jaguars are going to run. But at the same time, you know, not getting beat deep. And when they see that there's a play action fake, like getting back into their zones and dropping back

and I guess recovering quick enough to defend what Bortles is going to be able to do. to me that's the thing to watch. Like how well can the Patriots defend on play action if they have a good plan for it? And, you know, because that's basically, I think the only way the Jags are going to be able to, you know, move the ball through the air is using those

play action fakes. I totally agree. And I think that it's not even that they're only able to move the air, move the ball through the air using play action fake is that I think that in those heavier personnel sets of the Jags run, they're not going to be able to sustain offense on the ground. I feel like big plays are going to be Jacksonville's really only hope in this game.

And those big plays are going to come almost exclusively through play action. Yeah. And I mean, we saw last week how Bortles was, you know, a little bit hit and miss deep on the deep ball. You know, we talked about this as an X Factor last week,

his deep ball passing. And he missed a couple real, you know, really bad early on. And then late in the game, he hit a couple really big, you know, important throws in that game.

And so again, yeah, that's what I'm looking at. I mean, you know, they always say like you don't need a run game in order to play, you know, to do play action fakes. Like you just need to have an effective fake.

But against a team like the Jags where I think, you know, the Patriots are probably going to be pretty geared up to try and stop that run, you know, it's one of those things that it's going to be a little bit more effective, I think just because they know the run is coming. So I think, you know, that's just the thing to watch. How are they going to be able to adapt to that? The Bohannon play is an aberration. I mean, that's a play you set up for weeks at a time

and are looking for the perfect time to use. In my opinion, the Keel and Cole play, is the one they're going to need to try to find again. Can they get that 45-yard shot to get them inside the 10-yard line? Are those plays available with how hard the play-action-fakes are, with how much they're committed to the run? Because those are the ones that will determine this. Absolutely.

Yeah, I think that, I mean, what's the old saying, like you throw to score and you run to win? So I think that's really what they got to do. I mean, they have to score some points. I mean, this is Brady. Obviously, it's a good defense, but again, this is Brady. Is that is what you just said the, the football version of your drive for show, puff for dough?

I don't know. I'm actually not a hundred. Neither of those things are true. I mean, you, you don't run the ball to win in the NFL. Like, you run it when, when you're winning. Yes, exactly. Like, even CBS, again, I don't want to verge into media criticism here. But CPS before the Patriots game, or the Stewart's game last week, did that like when

Levion Bell rushes 25 times. They're 8 and 0. It's like, shut up. There's a reason for that. Yes, but I'm saying that the Jags. You run the ball in the second half when you're winning. It is, it frustrates me. Anyway.

You do that if you're not the Jaguars though, because the Jaguars run the ball more than they throw it. So for the Jaguags, it's not necessarily that, but it should be in this game. Oh, no, no, no, no. I mean, listen, the Jaguars are are a modern football anomaly. Bordle should pass four times a game. Yeah, I agree.

But I'm just saying generally running the ball to win is not a saying I'm endorsing. All right, what's next, Danny? All right, so for the Jags, I think the key, and I mean, this has kind of been the blueprint, I think, for a long time against Brady is getting pressure and sacking him and getting him off his spot without blitzing, right? You know, obviously Brady's been one of the, he's just been killer. against the blitz his whole career. It's been really good under pressure all the time. There's really no like, you know, solid way or the thing that you can do to beat Brady.

Other than, I think, bring forward, drop seven back, get into your zones, try and do as well as you can in coverage and just get pressure with that front for. And that is the Jags, like, that's what they do. I think I saw a stat on ESPN. They only blitzed 17% of the time, which is the lowest in the NFL, and they still had that incredible pass rush. So, you know, they've got the horses on up front to you really have that work. And so this is, to me, one of the most interesting matchups in the playoffs just because we've heard everything about this Jaguar's defense for so long, you know, and now they're going

up against, you know, the best quarterback in the game. What's going to happen? I think it's going to be awesome. And I think the key is for them just to get pressure with those front four. Which matchup do you like the best for Jacksonville, Danny, of those four guys? I think Campbell's going to be the big, you know, big key. I think I, I wrote about him in my article at the ringer on Thursday. And so I think he's just the guy who he's just unstoppable. Number one, obviously, he's really good against a run. But for him to be a 6'8-300-pound pass rusher off the edge,

I think that is huge for them. I mean, he's just stronger and faster than just about everyone he lines up against. So I think, you know, whether he's rushing off of the left side against Nate Solder or going off the right, I think he is just the guy that they have to key in on. everyone else does their job on that team. And obviously they've got a lot of really good pass rushes on that, that defensive line. But I think he's kind of the straw that stirs the drink.

I think that's true. But I also feel like where they can really get advantage is if he moves inside, Thune struggles against power sometimes. And Campbell, even if he's a defensive end for the most part, is such a monster that I think he'll be able to get some push. I mean, I want to see them crumble the pocket. And I think that what Mali Jackson or Campbell can do against Thurban is going to be a huge part of this because we know this about Brady.

At this point, it's hard to dominate a game on defense when you can't get inside pressure because he gets rid of it so quickly. I mean, you think back to what the Broncos did a couple years ago. Von Miller was great. Malit Jackson was better. That's the matchups they need to win in my mind. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's, and honestly, that could happen, Mays, and like, that will be a huge key.

and we could still see the sacks coming from the outside just because of what they do on the interior, like collapsing, like you said, collapsing the pocket and forcing Brady. Like the other guys might get more glory or whatever, but yeah, that's going to be absolutely key, is getting pressure from the inside.

Bothering him, just bothering him, even if you're not the one that ends up with two or three sacks when the game is over. And they're one of those rare defenses that has like the back seven to really take advantage of that. Like, you know what I mean? They cover so well, they're so fast.

Yeah, I mean, if they get him even making like, you know, a little bit late throw or off, off his back foot throw, like they're the kind of defense I can take advantage of that. And they scored seven defensive touchdowns this year. So, I mean, and we saw it last week, like, they scored a defensive touchdown on a strip sack. And so, you know, that's just going to be huge against Patriots because, you know, it could turn into one of those things where they're trying to come back. I agree. I mean, they're going to need to take it away at least once. I think that starts with the past rush. Yeah.

All right. You want to go to the NFC, Danny? All right. So for the Eagles, for me, I mean, just watching how Doug Peterson designed the game plan against Atlanta. Like it was a lot of, you know, passes to running backs out of backfield, really kind of short stuff. It's all dink and dunk. And then obviously they leaned very hard on their run game. And it worked really well, or not really well, but it worked well enough against the Falcons to kind of get past that game. But now against this Vikings defense, which is really, really good, really fast, really stout, you know,

and they're very good against running backs out of the backfield and one of the better teams in that area. Obviously, we talked about this last week. The Falcons were, they gave up a ton of receptions to running backs out of the backfield. The Vikings are different. So that's going to be a huge factor. So to me,

the X factor is how is Nick Folles going to pass on third down? Because last week, they had, so I looked it up, they faced 13 third downs last week. And six of those were four yards or less. and only three were more than seven yards. So it was a lot of very favorable, favorable third down situations based on the way they were able to run the ball and kind of dump things off.

But if they get into some third and longs this week, it's going to be, I mean, kind of scary to see what they ask Nick Foltz do because this Vikings defense is literally the best third down defense in the NFL. I mean, they were one of the best third down defenses in history, really. I mean, they gave up only 25% of third down conversion rate this year, which was the best since 2002. So, I mean, they're ridiculously good on third down. So those third down passes when Nick Falls really actually has to step up into the pocket and make a throw,

he's not going to be totally reliant on some of the RPO's and some of the dump off and things that they used last week to make the offense run. I think he's going to actually have to make some throws. And the problem is that when Wence was in the game, I mean, even when Wence wasn't, the Eagles went to this play again last week, they'll split Erds out wide and they'll just kind of let him go to work and what they define as a mismatch. The problem is that doesn't exist against this team. They were second in the league against tight ends by DVOA.

And who are you going to match him up against? Harrison Smith? Is that a bad thing? Do you think he has an athletic advantage over Anthony Barr? Like, there's just no good way to use Earths to your advantage just based on personnel in this game. And that's what the Eagles love to do on third down. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

So it could be really tough sledding, honestly, for this for this Eagles offense. And that's not like obviously a really nuanced or whatever opinion. But I mean, it's just, it's going to be really hard. So I think, you know, obviously if Nick Foles can make a few big throws on third down, that's going to go a long way if you're helping them, helping him win this weekend. I totally agree. I said this earlier in the week, but I've been really impressed with Doug Peterson's play calling on third down.

And it helps explain a lot of why Carson Wentz was by far the best third down quarterback in the NFL. and that Nick Foles is at least having some success. Agreed. Wentz can extend, Wens can kind of make stuff happen when it's not there. That's obviously the difference. But they do a great job of giving instant decisions that get you enough yardage.

You get the ball out quickly, but you're doing it still close enough to the sticks to get you where you need to go. I mean, it's not decisions that have to be made. You're still the one dictating, but it's still pretty simplistic, if that makes sense. Yeah, without a doubt,

I mean, Carson Wentz through, beyond the sticks more than any player in the NFL except James Winston when he was healthy. Foles is going to throw a little bit short of the sticks from what we've seen, but he's still going to be justice effective. They're different quarterbacks,

but the third down result is still the same. All right, Danny, what's next? All right, so I kind of alluded to it a little bit in the Eagles segment, but I think that how the Vikings are able to play the Eagles RPO's is going to be a big deal in this one. I mean, obviously, we saw that in the second,

half last week and the Eagles and Foles and Peterson really use the RPO to their advantage. I mean, it's like you basically just like, Collinsworth explained it pretty well. Basically, you watch the middle of the field linebacker or in some cases an outside linebacker to see where he goes and then you either hand off or throw the slant over the middle, right? And so I think it's going to be really key to see how the Vikings play that. Like are they going to kind of like drift to the middle of field and kind of take away that slant route over the middle of the field and just kind of hope that they're fast enough to get get around the outside to stop the run. What are they going to do? I think how they play those

RPO's and how it kind of plays out. I think that's going to be important. Obviously, the Vikings may as you alluded to it, like they have so much speed and talent, basically everywhere on their defense. I mean, this is a ridiculously good defense. So to me, I'm going to be watching kind of how that plays out because I think that the Eagles will want to do that because it was one of the, you know, it was one of the most effective plays for them last week. It was, and this was a question I think that a lot of people had coming in when, when Foles took over was like, can he run those RPO plays? And he showed that he can, you know, some of them anyway. So I think that's going to be a big thing for them is how are they going to play those? How are they going to force Foll's his

hand? Are they going to let him, you know, throw over the middle of field? Or are they going to kind of just hope for the best with the run? I don't know. You know, obviously, it's an option play. So the offense is just going to take what the defense gives. And it'll be interesting. to see what happens there. It will define the game. I mean, it will define at least their ability to move the ball on that side of the field. I don't think they'll be able to just line up and run it.

I mean, it's really about getting that Vikings team moving in a direction you don't want them to. The problem is, I mean, usually we associate excellent defense with aggressive defense, right? These guys just fly around. You can really take advantage of them. And the craziest thing about Minnesota is that while they're very complicated and they do fly around,

they're never out of position. And with all the movement, you would assume that they're susceptible to that very rarely. It just doesn't happen very often. I mean, this is, you need a mistackle. You need something to go your way because they're not going to hurt themselves. And that's what makes them so damn good. Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, to me, that's key.

I think if they can kind of take that away and confound foals, I mean, he's a little bit slower in his processing, I think, than whence. Well, he clearly is slower in his processing than Wentz was in that RPO offense. And so, yeah, I mean, that's going to be huge. If they can get him out of sorts in that game, I just don't know what they're going to do on offense that, you know, is going to give them enough points to win this game.

I agree. And we'll get into that here in a second. But I feel like that's going to be a huge challenge. We're going to make our picks, Danny. Make your picks real quick. I'm going with the Vikings and the Patriots. Oh, boy. Wow.

That's not necessarily who I want to win. I think it was a podcast today. I'm going to I'm going to pick the jaguars just because no one else is picking the jaguars. I don't actually. All right. Fine. Famously, and I've heard about it from people this week, I said I picked the Eagles and then I reversed it and picked the Falcons. And I said on the podcast that I am a coward in that scenario.

And that was that was true. I don't know how much I believe it, but I'm picking the Jaguars because I want some variety on show. That's fair. I'm not picking the Jaguars. I will pick the Patriots. I just feel like everything we talked about. I love the Jags talent wise, but the Patriots have plenty of good players, too. And I just think that the football elements of it match up well for the Patriots. Those personnel groupings and what they can do out of them, the Patriots want to do and do well what the Jaguars do worst. And I feel like that's going to be the story of the game. I do think nine points is a lot of points. The Jaggs defense is still excellent. You know, I don't know if it's going to be a shoot

out. I'm not sure 9 speaks to what the flow of the game is going to be. So that's a lot to me. But I am picking the New England straight up. In the NFC, I'm taking the Vikings. Yeah, I think the Vikings are the best team. I just feel like, again, the Eagles are going to have trouble scoring. I'm not sure what avenue there is to points for them.

It's three. I think I'd pick the Vikings, you know, minus the three. I just want everyone to know that what a sacrifice I'm making, picking the Jaguars for the sake of some variety in this show. Anyway. Thanks, buddy. The Super Bowl matchup for you, Robert, will be Minnesota versus New England. If that happens, what's your initial thought?

The Jags offense or the Jags defense against the Patriots offense is what everyone was kind of clamoring for. You know, it's so interesting. There's so much to dissect. The Vikings actually have the best defense. So, I mean, you have Mike Zimmer going against the Patriots offensive staff, which is, I'm already just kind of like, yes, give this to me. I want it. I want to see it. And that would be a fun ass game.

I'd be incredible. Less fun would be Jaguars and Vikings. Just because that's, I mean, it's the two best defenses in the NFL. If you like that stuff, have at it. But I think the chess match between Belichick, Brady,

and Mike Zimmer, and the talent on the Vikings defense would be ridiculously fun. Yep, I'll 100% agree. And it'd be fun to see the Vikings play a home Super Bowl. I mean, that element It never happened. We talked about this the other week.

How big of an event? It's not a three-point swing because you're not going to have the crowd there. I think that there will be more Vikings fans than a usual NFC champion, but I don't think people understand how few fans get tickets. I mean, even on this secondary market and stuff,

like it's a lot of MasterCard executives. 100% but I just think that the city would be amazing if they were playing a whole I agree with that I'm talking about from a competition standpoint how big of a 100% I don't think it's as big a deal as other people do it'll be a bigger home field advantage than most Super Bowls but I still feel like it's more about the comforts of home everything else I mean I do think it presents an advantage but not necessarily during the game all right well that's it for today join us on Tuesday to break down championship games As always, thanks for listening to The Ringer NFL show on the Ringer Podcast Network.