Power Hour 5! Ranking All 32 Teams with SVP
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 21 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 3, 2026
Published
Mon, August 3, 2026
43
Player insights
43
Players mentioned
Topics
A.J. BrownAlvin KamaraBaker MayfieldBijan RobinsonBryce YoungC.J. StroudCaleb WilliamsCam WardCarnell TateCeeDee LambChris OlaveDaniel JonesDe'Von AchaneDeshaun Watson
Player analysis
Player insights
A.J. Brown
PositiveDepth Chart30:42
SVP discusses the departure of A.J. Brown from Philadelphia, noting the uncertainty of how the Eagles' offense will function without him after he was a focal point for high-volume target games.
Insight pageAlvin Kamara
PositiveRole49:12
Mina Kimes expresses strong personal affinity for Alvin Kamara, confirming his continued presence in the Saints' backfield.
Insight pageBaker Mayfield
PositiveValue50:27
Scott Van Pelt identifies as a 'Baker Mayfield apologist,' arguing that Mayfield is a legitimate NFL quarterback who deserves to be paid because the alternative is having no viable option at the position.
Insight pageBijan Robinson
NegativeValue37:34
Scott Van Pelt mentions Bijan Robinson in the context of the running back pay scale, comparing his situation to Jahmyr Gibbs.
Insight pageBryce Young
NegativeBust61:12
Scott Van Pelt notes the extreme volatility of Bryce Young's performance last season, highlighting that his floor was 'subterranean' when he struggled.
Insight pageC.J. Stroud
NegativeProjection25:25
Scott Van Pelt notes that C.J. Stroud's success is critical for the Texans' championship aspirations. While Stroud was impressive as a rookie, he struggled in the playoffs and must avoid being the reason the team loses by valuing the football.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
NegativeProjection43:35
Scott Van Pelt notes that Caleb Williams is a local product from the DC area, but acknowledges the difficulty in predicting the Bears' performance given their recent history of close games.
Insight pageCam Ward
PositiveProjection71:32
SVP and Mina Kimes agree that Cam Ward performed well at the end of last year, specifically noting his strong play against the Seattle defense, which was better than many other quarterbacks.
Insight pageCarnell Tate
PositiveSleeper71:08
SVP explicitly recommends drafting Carnell Tate high, identifying him as a player to target early in the season.
Insight pageCeeDee Lamb
PositiveProjection35:15
Scott Van Pelt notes that the Cowboys' offense, featuring George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, should be a top-seven unit at minimum.
Insight pageChris Olave
PositiveUsage48:25
Mina Kimes notes that Chris Olave was unlocked during the latter part of the season, looking like a high-level player again, and expresses a hope for his continued health.
Insight pageDaniel Jones
NegativeInjury57:39
Scott Van Pelt expresses surprise that Daniel Jones is back and healthy after tearing his Achilles late last season.
Insight pageDe'Von Achane
PositiveUsage75:10
Mina Kimes notes that De'Von Achane has indicated the Dolphins want to run the ball more, which could impact his usage.
Insight pageDeshaun Watson
NegativeBust68:16
SVP expresses deep skepticism regarding Deshaun Watson, noting he has played only 19 games in three years with mediocre production (19 TDs, 10 INTs) and questioning if he can return to his previous form.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveBreakout34:02
SVP praises DeVonta Smith as a phenomenal route runner with no weaknesses, questioning whether he is ready to fully assume the role of a true WR1 for the Eagles.
Insight pageDrake London
PositiveRole67:19
Mina Kimes highlights Drake London as a key asset for the Falcons, contrasting his presence with the Raiders' lack of a clear wide receiver one.
Insight pageGarrett Wilson
PositiveRole72:32
Mina Kimes identifies Garrett Wilson as a fun young player and a key offensive weapon for the Jets.
Insight pageGeorge Pickens
PositiveProjection35:15
Scott Van Pelt notes that the Cowboys' offense, featuring George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, should be a top-seven unit at minimum.
Insight pageJacoby Brissett
NegativeProjection73:57
SVP notes that Jacoby Brissett provides competent quarterback play, projecting him in the 23rd to 28th range, and highlights his ability to keep fantasy assets like Wilson and McBride relevant even in losing efforts.
Insight pageJahmyr Gibbs
PositiveUsage37:29
Scott Van Pelt suggests that with David Montgomery gone, Jahmyr Gibbs could see a significant increase in usage and 'go absolutely bananas' in the Lions' offense.
Insight pageJarrett Stidham
NegativeProjection10:44
SVP notes that the Broncos' offense struggled significantly when Jarrett Stidham was the quarterback, specifically referencing a 'snow globe' game where the team was unable to generate production.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
NegativeProjection54:58
Mina Kimes argues that Jayden Daniels' rookie season cannot be fairly graded due to his limited seven-game sample size and lack of a primary target like Terry McLaurin during those appearances.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
PositiveProjection42:05
Scott Van Pelt expresses confidence in Joe Burrow, noting that despite his unique personality, he is highly motivated and the Bengals' defense should improve, making them a strong contender.
Insight pageJoe Mixon
NegativeRole26:54
Scott Van Pelt questions what Joe Mixon's role will be in the Houston offense, noting that the team has lacked a consistent run game during the C.J. Stroud era.
Insight pageJonathan Taylor
PositiveUsage57:52
Scott Van Pelt highlights Jonathan Taylor's high touchdown production from last season, noting he outscored several entire NFL teams.
Insight pageJosh Allen
NegativeProjection23:27
SVP acknowledges Josh Allen's immense talent but notes his struggles in the specific game against Denver, while ultimately deciding to stick with the Bills due to Allen's overall impact.
Insight pageJosh Jacobs
NegativeInjury31:53
Scott Van Pelt notes a lack of clarity regarding Josh Jacobs' status, emphasizing that his availability is a significant factor for the Packers' offense.
Insight pageKeaton Mitchell
PositiveBreakout23:54
Scott Van Pelt highlights Keaton Mitchell as a player he loved watching every time he touched the ball in Baltimore, noting his elite 4.2 speed.
Insight pageKyle Pitts
NegativeValue67:06
Mina Kimes warns that Kyle Pitts is a player fantasy managers 'still can't quit' and cautions against drafting him too early in fantasy drafts, noting that he remains a risky investment despite his contract status.
Insight pageKyler Murray
NegativeRole53:02
Scott Van Pelt identifies Kyler Murray as the clear starter for the Cardinals, dismissing the need for a quarterback competition.
Insight pageLamar Jackson
PositiveProjection20:15
SVP expresses optimism that if the Ravens' defense can provide stops, Lamar Jackson and the team could finally take the ultimate step toward competing for a title.
Insight pageMalik Nabers
NegativeInjury59:42
Scott Van Pelt expresses concern regarding the lack of clarity surrounding Malik Nabers' knee injury and the team's vague updates.
Insight pageMalik Willis
PositiveRole75:17
SVP commends Malik Willis for landing in a situation where he can prove he can keep a team playing at a competitive level, noting he is in a much better situation than previously.
Insight pageMarShawn Lloyd
NegativeDepth Chart31:53
Scott Van Pelt mentions MarShawn Lloyd as a player on the Packers' roster, though he expresses uncertainty about the team's overall backfield situation.
Insight pageMatthew Stafford
PositiveProjection8:42
SVP expresses confidence in the Rams' offense led by Matthew Stafford, noting that while there were concerns about his back a year ago, he appears healthy and ready to continue playing at a high level.
Insight pagePatrick Mahomes
PositiveProjection38:38
Scott Van Pelt describes Patrick Mahomes as a 'total mutant' with an 'Adrian Peterson gene' for his recovery and ability to perform, dismissing concerns about his regression.
Insight pageSaquon Barkley
NegativeProjection22:06
Scott Van Pelt notes that Saquon Barkley does not need to reach a '2000-plus' yard season to be effective, but he must avoid the performance level he showed in 2025 (referencing a hypothetical or past slump).
Insight pageTerry McLaurin
NegativeUsage55:49
Mina Kimes notes that Terry McLaurin's holdout last year negatively impacted the Commanders' offensive rhythm and set the team back.
Insight pageTim Tebow
NegativeRole11:56
SVP compares the current Broncos' ability to win games despite offensive inconsistency to the style of play seen during the Tim Tebow era in Denver.
Insight pageTravis Etienne
NegativeUsage29:23
Scott Van Pelt expresses uncertainty regarding the Jaguars' running back situation, specifically questioning if Travis Etienne is 'the guy' and how the committee approach with players like Keilan Robinson will shake out.
Insight pageTrevor Lawrence
PositiveProjection29:55
Scott Van Pelt praises Trevor Lawrence's progression, noting he was 'awesome' in the second half of last season and has solidified his status as a top-tier quarterback.
Insight pageWan'Dale Robinson
PositiveUsage71:13
SVP projects that Wan'Dale Robinson will receive a 'zillion targets' in the Titans' offense, making him a high-volume fantasy option.
Insight pageZach Charbonnet
NegativeUsage5:35
SVP recalls a specific play from the NFC title game where Zach Charbonnet picked up a ball in the end zone and handed it to an official, which ultimately resulted in two points for Seattle.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Now at Fred Meyer, your points add up to more ways to save every trip.
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0:26Restrictions apply. Seaside or store for details. Welcome back to the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.
0:31Power Hour. This is the final Power Hour, the final power rankings of the offseason.
0:36So I had to bring in the big guns.
0:39Hope Bill Simmons doesn't hear that. Welcome to the show for the first time, buddy.
0:43Thank you very much. I'm very excited about this.
0:46Red sends hello. This is Red Studios. Well, that's my Rhodesian.
0:50So I think he and Lenny would get along famously.
0:53So regards from Red. Thank you for the on-ramp here, which, like Simmons last week, this was a chance for me to
1:00reacquaint myself with all the different things that will come into clearer focus here in the coming months.
1:06You promised me some surprising opinions. You titillated me.
1:08You said you're not ready for some of these.
1:11I scribbled down some nonsense. I'll just let me frame it a little bit more reasonably here.
1:17All right. Well, for folks who haven't tuned in before, the format remains the same.
1:22We are ranking the entire NFL. I give Scott, my guest, two choices.
1:26He picks one. So it is a co-ranking, which means neither of us can be held fully accountable for the results.
1:32That's the beauty of it. No one can yell at you because it's choices I gave you.
1:38Right. But I'm sure they'll yell at me. I'm sure I'm going to piss off fan bases.
1:43That's just how it works. But we understand that going in.
1:47Yeah. Bengals fans currently mad at Bill. Not my fault.
1:50Not my fault. Yell at him. Okay. Oh, by the way, obviously, folks, check out SVPod, also an Omaha Productions podcast.
1:57It doesn't have Red's name on it. I don't know if he has any issues.
2:01That's a good. That's a great point. I don't want to bite the bit.
2:06I mean, that's Lenny's space and it belongs to him.
2:09I saw Mike Vrabel brought his dog up to the mic the other day and I thought, you know, stay out of my lane.
2:17But stay out of my lane. There you go.
2:19Okay. So I'm going to, I swear to God, I'm going to mix up some of the choices.
2:25I made a few little tweaks. It's going to be a little bit different, but I do insist on giving you the
2:32same choice that I'd give it everyone at the beginning because I do think it is the correct choice.
2:38I really don't think there's a counter argument. Rams, Seahawks for the number one team in the NFL.
2:44Who you got? All right. A couple of caveats here.
2:47Number one, my eldest daughter, I'm afraid, inherited from her dad this when given a choice between this or that.
2:54Often she'll say both. I recognize both is not an option, so I'll try not to get there in this conversation.
3:00Also something you should know about me. I am really stubborn and I have a difficult time letting go of teams that I believe are good.
3:09Last year when Luke missed the kick for Baltimore and we did our show the following Monday night, Pittsburgh and Houston did.
3:16Wap up wild card weekend. I was still thinking on Tuesday there was going to be a game with the Ravens somewhere
3:23because I was just, how are they not a playoff team?
3:26I thought they were that good. Mina, I thought the Rams were the best team in the NFL last year.
3:32I said it over and over and over again.
3:35That game against Seattle in the NFC title game was played in Seattle, not Los Angeles, in part because Charbonnet picks up
3:42a ball in the end zone and hands it to an official.
3:46And after a lengthy commercial break, two points are awarded to Seattle.
3:50Perhaps correctly, all credit to Seattle for coming back in that game, for having big balls in overtime and winning.
3:56But I felt like Los Angeles was better that Thursday night.
4:00I thought they were going to win that game in Seattle.
4:03They didn't. The Seahawks are the reigning champs and they deserve and earned every bit of it.
4:09But I was stubborn then and I'm stubborn now.
4:12Well, also, maybe Donald's going to play and Garrett now wears the Rams colors.
4:16I'm going to start with the Los Angeles Rams.
4:19I see you shaking your head. No, no, no, no.
4:22It's just when you say all that and then you're like, oh, by the way, and Aaron Donald might come back and Miles Garrett might come back.
4:31I mean, you've been covering every league for a while now.
4:34Like, I'm trying to think of a comp for this Rams offseason.
4:38Like, a team that was already incredible and stacked, adding the best defensive player in football, maybe the best defensive player of his generation.
4:46Like, I can't think of a comp. Your last guest is peerless when it comes to references to generations and the crossover,
4:53whether it's, you know, film or, you know, whatever entertainment genre or in the sports world.
4:58I fail when it comes to things like that, but I don't think there is a great comp because Los Angeles, they didn't win the title.
5:06But I think we would all agree they were awfully good at minimum.
5:10And you add Garrett, who's singular. I think at this point that's reasonable to say.
5:15And I just operate off the presumption that Donald's going to come back just because this is a pretty clear, you know, Avengers.
5:22The circles are forming and Donald gets to walk out into it and join this team with the offense led by Stafford,
5:29who a year ago at this time, we didn't know if his back was going to allow him to play.
5:36Right. Crazy. And now it appears that maybe at least this year, who knows, you could keep going the old gray beard.
5:43So the offense will be fine. The defense, who knows what Garrett does, but it's only going to make them more of a problem.
5:50I loved him last year and it's hard not to like him more now.
5:55Yeah. I know folks are probably in the comments screaming, Warriors, Katie, Warriors.
5:59But I'm talking like someone also coming back. Anyways, all of these factors.
6:03All right. Seahawks are number two option for you.
6:06So I brought in a few teams as competition in the AFC.
6:10I'm going to stick with the team that I did last time.
6:14I know I just started by saying I'm going to make things different, but it's hard at the top, guys.
6:20The Broncos. Denver, right. The Broncos, many folks think best team in the AFC.
6:24Broncos, Seahawks. It's going to be a Thursday night game this year.
6:28I just noticed on the schedule. Nice. I like Seattle better than I like Denver.
6:33And I love this exercise. First of all, it's such a fun way to create summertime content and ask yourself questions.
6:40This or that, right? We're good on good. We're ones on ones here.
6:44And I'm going to openly admit that the last time I saw Denver, they were playing in a snow globe and Stidham
6:51was their quarterback and no one could do anything for the last hour and a half of a football game.
6:57Right? And let's flush that. It has nothing to do with who Denver is.
7:02Knicks. I want to love them. And there's times that I buy it.
7:06And then there's other times I shrug because there'd be games.
7:09You know this. There'd be games where you'd go for three quarters and you'd be sort of indifferent and ordinary.
7:16A giant game comes to mind. But damn if they didn't figure out a way.
7:20Much like our old pal Tim Tebow used to do while wearing that uniform.
7:25Somehow they'd pull it out of the fire. Very different.
7:28Very different. No, I'm not. I'm just. I'm simply saying the ability to win games.
7:33Yeah, I know. That it didn't appear for three quarters of the game.
7:37Right. And that bothers me a little bit. Consistency is the hardest thing to have in the National Football League.
7:43To be the same team 17 games just isn't going to happen.
7:47I understand that. But they took a massive leap from being maybe.
7:51It was two years ago. They're in Buffalo, right?
7:54Scored early. Had the lead in the playoff. She's like, oh, look at these plucky Broncos.
7:59They became a very different team last year. That defense is real.
8:03We understand it. But this to me sounds like I'm saying I don't like Denver.
8:08I do like Denver. You're talking yourself through it.
8:10No, but I like Seattle. I just like Seattle better because the only team I like better than Seattle is the team
8:17I picked ahead of them, which is the Rams.
8:20This, you know, how Seattle handles the offseason. It's always an interesting question.
8:24Do you. How does it change you? You know?
8:27And I asked Paul Maurice this when the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup.
8:32And I said, you've chased this your whole life and now you've won it.
8:36How does it change you? And he gave this great pause.
8:40And he said, I hope it doesn't. And I thought, yeah, but how?
8:44How does it not change you? I think McDonald, if anyone's not going to be different, it's him.
8:50I don't worry about him waking up and suddenly thinking, hey, let me go rubber chicken circuit at all offseason and, you
8:57know, get a bunch of six figure checks to give speeches.
9:00Maybe he did. I don't know. But he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would lose focus ever.
9:07So I don't. That doesn't concern me. But you were a very different target.
9:11A year ago this time, Seattle was not a team we were contemplating in this in this exercise.
9:17They would they wouldn't have been mentioned in the first in the first head on head matchup.
9:22So they made a lot of believers. I'm right there believing in them.
9:27And I like Denver. I like Seattle better. I like to bet on coaches when I do this and like as a deciding vote.
9:34And I just I was sold on Mike McDonald before they even hired him.
9:39I was even more sold on him after year one.
9:42And now I think he's a top three coach in the NFL.
9:46So there's there's certain people that. All right. You wear one headset, right?
9:50The defense in Baltimore is historic, right? But how does it are you put on a visor?
9:55Or whatever it is, if you switch to a hat or if you take the hat off and put on a visor,
10:02if you don't have any visor or hat, you just have on a different headset that says HC on the side.
10:09How does that work? We're going to get to find out this year with a number of different people.
10:15Minter. I'm sure we'll talk Chargers at some point.
10:18Obviously going to talk every team. But how does it work?
10:21Do you evolve into that role? Quickly, easily, naturally.
10:24McDonald did. Didn't miss a step. I'm with you.
10:27All right. You mentioned this team. You mentioned their coach.
10:30This is the highest I have introduced them. And maybe I'm just writing this news about Matabuike coming back to practice.
10:37The Baltimore Ravens against the Denver Broncos. So for those who missed it, the news, Nnamdi Matabuike is off the pup list.
10:44He can go. Big news, right? In Baltimore. So would you go Broncos or Ravens for three?
10:49As I explained in Teams I Can't Quit earlier in this podcast, a lot of that had to do with just with Harbaugh and that organization.
10:58I just always figured that's going to work and didn't.
11:01All right. So now Minter's in town. All right.
11:04Like him? I do. Everyone does. Everyone does. Everyone raves.
11:07You know how this works, right? There's people that quietly they talk about.
11:11Yeah. Minter's a guy that for the last several years, that guy's going to be a head coach and now he is.
11:18I know Baltimore's owner for years and it was not an easy thing for him to do.
11:23It was very personal for him to feel like he made to make that change.
11:28And then they go out and they go get Hendrickson, right?
11:32Because obviously we know what happened with Crosby. We don't know the specifics necessarily, but they pivoted from one to the other.
11:39And I saw your tweet or post. I still call it Twitter.
11:43I'm old. About their pass rush win rate, their sack numbers.
11:46They were like 28, 29, 30. They were awful.
11:49Couldn't get to the quarterback last year. The news that broke on the day that you and I are taping this in
11:56conjunction with adding the guy that led the NFL in sacks two years ago, they have to be better there.
12:02They can't be worse. They can't be worse. I think it'd be good.
12:06I agree with that. Now, I saw you floating.
12:09Could they go to top five? They don't have to be top five.
12:13They just can't be 30. And if that defense just gets some stops, I have to believe some year the light truly
12:20comes on in a changeable way for Lamar and this Baltimore team that they take the ultimate step and at least get
12:27a chance to compete for a title. So that's me picking Baltimore here.
12:32Okay. Ravens at three. Let's go. I love it.
12:34Denver wants to fight. Denver has been finishing the top three in this.
12:39They're fine. They're fine. I mean, also quarterback. I mean, yeah.
12:42Like, yeah. Right. Okay. Let's stay in the AFC and go Broncos bills then for four.
12:47Speaking of teams that are quarterback driven. Oh God.
12:50Broncos fans. I'm a, my family and Morrison. My polling numbers in Colorado are plummeting.
12:55I already said their defense is awesome. And the bills defense is, is not, not like Denver's.
13:00Yeah. 17, 17. I, I never asked you this because you and I don't cross paths a ton.
13:06I see on the bus on Monday nights, countdown.
13:09Sure. Coming on. You're coming out of the reverse.
13:12Line shifts. Right. Um, to, to, to Crooks catch that ball.
13:15The cooks catch that ball. By rule. Cooks. I feel like he has it.
13:20Yeah. Knees down. Doesn't survive the ground. I understand that, but down by contact.
13:24I, I, and it's either, you know how social media works.
13:28It's either obviously a catch and Buffalo got screwed, or it's obviously not a catch because Denver ends up with a football
13:35hell of a play, by the way. I just, I, what was your, I don't know if you've ever.
13:41First of all, anyone who says it's obvious is an idiot.
13:44It was like 55, 45 to me. Um, I think it was, oh God.
13:49You see, you're talking about pulling badly. Now you're going to kill me in Buffalo.
13:53I don't, I didn't think it was a catch.
13:56Uh, if you did like freeze frames, it looked like a cat.
14:00And I hate that. I hate, I hate screenshot of the players.
14:04Obviously wide open. The quarterback sucks. I hate that.
14:07Yes. Um, Josh did everything in his powers to help it, to help Denver and hurt Buffalo.
14:12Right. He was not good in that game. Pardon?
14:15Yeah. That game. He was not. Yeah. And that's why I think the emotions landed so heavy for him afterwards that, I
14:22mean, he's put the cape on plenty, but he, and he, and he did in this game, but I'm going to, you know what?
14:30I'm not, I'm going to not, I'm going to grow right before your eyes.
14:34I'm going to grow and I'm not going to do the thing I always do because of Josh Allen, Josh Allen.
14:41I'll say Denver. Taking the better team. Correct. And the, and the better defense.
14:45And, and when push comes to shove and it's not August, it's January.
14:49That's what will matter more. It always does. I like how you're changing your mind while you're doing this.
14:56That's my favorite. When people kind of talk it through and you can feel them.
15:00Well, that's the coolest part of this exercise is you allow me to think out loud.
15:05You allow me to talk. And then I paint myself in a corner and then I say something completely different.
15:12All right. I'm going to throw in a team versus the bills that is, I'm going to put them higher than I have in some of these.
15:20I'm going to offer you the 49ers. So very heavy NFC West at the top for good reason.
15:26Yeah. I mean, the San Francisco 49ers knocking on the door of the NFC championship, despite losing more than half of the damn team.
15:34And not just half the team, I mean, they're losing monsters on, on all.
15:38On all levels. On all levels. Not great. Yeah.
15:41So they're back. Some of them. Still some injury questions.
15:44Is it enough to take down the bills? Because of the, because of the block they live on.
15:50I mean, and we're just doing this. Let me.
15:53Pure power. Pure power. Yeah. Not wins. Pure power.
15:56Not, not the, I have to play the Rams and Seahawks four times and you get to play the Dolphins and the Jets four times.
16:04In a vacuum. Not that. Brady, we're going to find out about speaking of a guy wearing one headset and being up
16:11in the booth now going down there on the field to a guy in Shanahan that I, I see people talk about
16:18him like he's not a great coach because I understand there's been some, there's been some significant losses and some big leads.
16:25Fine. Talk to the people in the league. Who are the best?
16:29Ted Wynn just did a survey of defensive coordinators.
16:31Who's the best offensive play caller? Kyle, number one.
16:34Over McVay. He's the guy. I don't know what, I don't know what Sean's going to say about all that.
16:41I mean, he's my friend and I like him, but I don't.
16:44It's good. I like San Francisco better here. Wow.
16:47And that's, that's presuming Bosa and Warner are healthy among others.
16:51And this is hard for me to do because 17, 17 and, and I love the mafia.
16:56I just, I was on the beach meeting and there was this Bills fan that came over and said hello and excited about the new stadium.
17:05Although we both agreed we loved their old, we, I still think of it as rich stadium.
17:10I know it became Highmark. All due respect, Bills fans, you know it, it was not great aesthetics, but God, what a
17:17building, what a place, the soul of that place.
17:20I adore Bulls mafia. I love you. You guys someday you're going to win it.
17:25And I just can't wait to see what you do next after you wake up passing out.
17:30But, uh, yeah, I've just picked San Francisco ahead of you, even though.
17:34Yeah. Fair. The faithful shout out to the faithful.
17:37Wherever you are. Bills, Pats, divisional matchup. Bills. Oh, wow.
17:40That was quick. Why so quick? Patriots and another team we'll talk about later have a bit of built in.
17:47One curiosity for me about how much of last year was.
17:50Not smoke and mirrors. That's just, that's mirage, smoke and mirrors.
17:54These are saying the same thing. It sounds like I'm going to be say something about you that isn't complimentary.
18:00Well, you and I spoke about this in advance of the Super Bowl, about, about the way people talked about May last year.
18:07And when you point out the record and who the opposition was, if you're not talking opinion, you're just listing factually who it was they faced.
18:16Well, it wasn't a murderer's row. And then you go through a Denver team that doesn't have Knicks in a game where
18:23you have a lead and you're just trying to hang on for dear life and it turns into a snow globe game.
18:30All credit to Vrabel, that team, the quick turnaround.
18:32I'm a May believer. I just don't think, I don't think they were better than Buffalo last year.
18:38Step back here. We don't, the A.J. Brown, that move you.
18:42Fair. Entirely fair. Entirely fair. What's, and that's a, that's a, in our business, there's interesting, compelling, fascinating.
18:47I'm going to try and think about different ways to say, A.J.
18:51Brown is, might be, could be the fascinating one.
18:54Might be the top rung of ways to say, what's that marriage look like of a guy who, who really would like
19:01the football and Philadelphia, they had other ways to do it.
19:05You're going to be the guy, A.J. I think you're, and there were those weeks, Mina, where Philadelphia would just decide, let's
19:12give Brown 12 targets and he'd have 130 and a couple touchdowns.
19:15You know, maybe it's going to look a lot like that.
19:19Maybe, maybe that's what New England does. I don't know.
19:22There's the hangover of teams that go to the Super Bowl and lose and historically what happens.
19:28And you could do that like Madden covers. I don't know how much one, one year has to do with the other, other than it doesn't.
19:36I just, I think that you go from where they were on the food chain schedule wise to where you are in the other.
19:43And that's a blank slate too, because you don't know.
19:47I just, I really just didn't want to pick another team over the Bills.
19:51But I think that most people. I'm riding with the Bills here on this head to head.
19:56I see the Bills winning the division in most people's projections.
20:00So I don't think. I share that assessment. Pats.
20:03This is, I think the highest I've offered them.
20:06I'm not sure. I'm going to bring back another NFC team with a very good defense that's undergoing a pretty dramatic change on offense, the Philadelphia Eagles.
20:14So Eagles versus Patriots. Long, meaningful pause. Tricky, tricky, tricky.
20:18I mean, Eagles, a lot of unknown, a lot of unknown on offense.
20:22AJ's gone. I agree. I agree. You know, you go out and you get wicks in the off season.
20:28And look, Adam tweeted months before it happened. And I mean, it wasn't exactly a widely held secret that they were moving on from Brown.
20:36You draft Lemon. Okay. But I mean, and I love, I love six, but the Slim Reaper, is that the guy?
20:42Can you, how much his shoulders are slender? How much metaphorically can you put on his back?
20:48I would think probably a lot, but. Good player.
20:51I agree. A phenomenal route runner. He just, I mean, they had, yes, he's many things that are great.
20:57It's just, wow. Is that, is that. We think of wide receiver ones.
21:01Is he ready to be that? Truly be that.
21:04Scott, when he, when Devante Smith was drafted, my, the thing I posted that comes back every now and then when he
21:11has a good game, I wrote, I don't think Devante Smith has a single weakness other than maybe wearing the same pant size as me.
21:19That was my take on him. And it stands to this day.
21:22I think he's so good. I, I, yeah, I agree.
21:26Last year. Or. Philly's a team that we, we talked about like they were bad and they won a division and it wasn't the NFC South.
21:34And because I work with a guy who was part of that Philadelphia team that had that odd year where their wheels
21:41fell off late and they made the playoffs, but they went to Tampa and got boat raced.
21:46I mean, it was what happened. No one will ever say it'll stay in the room.
21:51Probably should. Like what happened last year? I don't know.
21:55They just, their offense got so basic, so predictably basic and it's gotta be better.
21:59But is it better than the Pats? I just realized I set up the AJ Brown bowl here for you.
22:06I just picked Philadelphia. Okay. I don't know if I got talked into it or what happened.
22:11Oh. Defense is awesome. Like we didn't even talk about it.
22:15They're awesome. Well, yeah, exactly. Well, that's because that's, I don't have a question.
22:19I don't have one question about that side. Right.
22:22So that's back to, back to front. I could name players.
22:26No net. There's no need to do it. They just have to be Saquon doesn't have to be 2000 plus Saquon.
22:32He just can't be 2025 Saquon. Does that make sense?
22:35Yeah, I agree. Pats remain on the board and I am putting them up against the Los Angeles Chargers.
22:41Are you riding the Chargers wave this year? Not above the Patriots.
22:45I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll advance New England here because I saw it.
22:49Um, I, I, there's questions of them relative to other teams.
22:53Okay. So McDaniel, what a, what a, what a story arc, right?
22:56What a film that would be. That, that Tua Tyreek offense that hung 70 some odd on the Broncos and was just obliterating people.
23:04Video game come to life, blah, blah, blah. And then it's like, man, I was in Pittsburgh.
23:09It was cold. Am I allowed to curse? I try not to.
23:13It was really cold. And that Tua was done after that.
23:17And he looked miserable. McDaniel looked miserable and the bloom was off the rose.
23:21So now he, the, the most odd couple pairing I can think of, Harbaugh and McDaniel, those two just hard knocks.
23:28Just put a camera in the room and watch those guys talk to each other.
23:33Um, plenty of interesting storylines. Am I buying the, the, the wave riding the wave?
23:38Not above the Patriots. Um, I really love to see Herbert ascend.
23:41I'd really love to see what he and McDaniel.
23:44Okay. What is it? What are you going to do?
23:47You're going to get McConkie more involved. Please. Right.
23:50Uh, is, is Hampton really going to be that guy sneaky?
23:54I mean, this is maybe a fantasy angle, but I loved every time Keaton Mitchell touched the ball in Baltimore.
24:00I felt like my guy. I love it. He runs like a four, two legit.
24:05Yeah. Um, no McDaniel wanted him. And he brought his fullback from Miami.
24:09Everyone's right. That's why I'm on the right with the wave.
24:13Everybody. This is the offense that literally everybody thinks he's going to ascend this year.
24:17I, and, and they might well, but I'm going to need to see it before I buy it.
24:23That's, that's where I am with the chargers. All right.
24:26Well, let's put them against the team with a known elite unit, the Houston Texans.
24:31Maybe the best defense in the Texans. Okay. Would you have put the Texans higher than I offered?
24:37Yes. Because you sounded so confident the way you just said.
24:40Well, because I think they're, I saw it. I mean, I saw it in, in Pittsburgh and in a snowy, uh, Foxborough in the playoffs.
24:48Think about the way that defense played at the end of last year, Mina.
24:53I mean, there's, and you're, you're far more, uh, well-versed in different and more, more sophisticated analytic ways to view it.
24:59You don't need to though. That's the great thing about the Texans defense.
25:04That's just what I was going to say. You watch them.
25:07You just go, Oh, like you're just violent. You could be a caveman from the old days of black and white TVs that watch Dick Butkus.
25:15And you'd look at that Texans team and go, damn, there you go.
25:19And there's a bunch of guys on that from back to front that make you say that now.
25:25So much of this league in this, in this sport is viewed through the lens of quarterback and the Stroud who is
25:32Stroud comes out as a comes out. And I go back to who he was at Ohio state, Ohio state fans were done with them.
25:40Then he was so bleep and good in that game against Georgia that they could have won.
25:46And, and perception changed. Then he comes out as a rookie and values the ball and looks so good, right?
25:52Young men and leader of grown men. So impressive.
25:55Then regrets, take a step back a bit. And then I, last thing I saw didn't look great in the playoffs.
26:01Didn't look great against the Patriots. Look spooked, looked scared.
26:05It's, it's going to come down to Stroud if they're ever going to be the true ride, the wave of the defense
26:12to the promised land of championship game type Superbowl type teams.
26:15But I, the defense for me is they're too intoxicating to pass on.
26:19And if you, there might've been some teams early that I'd have taken them over, but we'll never know.
26:25Will we? Because you didn't put them against them.
26:28That's the name of the game. Yeah. That's the name of Stroud though, right?
26:33Like he doesn't even have to be great. Cause it doesn't.
26:36No, but you just can't be. It can't be bad.
26:39Can't be the reason the team loses, right? I mean, that's such a boring game manager.
26:44I didn't say that, but just don't be the reason that the team doesn't have the football, right?
26:50Value it. Value it. You got Montgomery. What's he going to be?
26:54I mean, it knuckles the Houston version of knuckles and.
26:57Oh God. They haven't had a run game the entire Stroud time.
27:01So I mean, Mark's gave him something, but I mean, no, you're right.
27:05And I mean. All right. Chargers are still an option.
27:08I'm going to introduce a team here that I am higher on than a lot of people.
27:14And I actually think could push in the Texans division, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
27:18I'm taking the Jaguars. Yeah. I like them a lot.
27:21I like them. Nobody's talking about them. I guess that's always the case with Jaguars.
27:26I'd say that's true. I mean, look, whether it's the market, the fact that the stadium's going over a bit of a reno, which is necessary.
27:34All right. So. Transparency. It's I mean, it's not like it's a secret, but just wifey and family are that that's their that's their area of residence.
27:43Jags fans. We got to last year. We were asked.
27:46We were asked to do the first Duval ahead of a Monday night football game and they playing the Chiefs.
27:52We did it. I hear from Kelsey out to the fact.
27:56What's this all about? I'm like, well, they asked, bro.
27:59You've never asked me to do anything in the in the kingdom.
28:03If you did, maybe I would. So we we watched the Jaguar games very carefully in our house.
28:09And that game against Kansas City early was an eye opener because they went toe to toe and it was an eye opener two ways.
28:16Right. It was like, man, Kansas City's got some flaws here that I don't know if 15 can make up for all of.
28:24But it was also the kind of game that if you're if you're going to be different Jacksonville, you're going to win this game.
28:31And they did. But the game I think about, Mina, they went to they went to a mile high and put it on the Broncos.
28:39Took it to him. Yeah. Put it on him.
28:42And they draw Buffalo at home in the playoffs.
28:45And, man, that's a rough one. And that game was that's a coin flip coin flip game.
28:51Ball gets tipped on a drive to try to win it.
28:54It gets picked and my children dissolve into tears instantly.
28:57And I like Jacksonville a lot. Look, Liam gets involved in the Duval thing, got plenty of run, but he's got plenty here now.
29:05Go ahead. I'm sorry. No, I just didn't know that you had Jags fandom in your household.
29:10This is a big revelation. We're in the deep end of the pool that they have up on that.
29:16I don't know if I'd get in that pool, but that's another story.
29:21I do wonder. I do wonder. Etienne slash Achan.
29:23Go to New Orleans. Let's say it right. He was really good last year.
29:28All right. So we heard a lot about Tootin.
29:31Is he really the guy? They got Rodriguez from Washington.
29:34Who's the guy standing behind Lawrence for snap one against I think it's Cleveland week one?
29:39It doesn't really matter. But I do wonder about that piece of it.
29:43Like, what's that running back thing look like? But so many committees in the league, maybe it doesn't matter.
29:49They've got some horses on defense, too. And Lawrence, God, that first year under Urban was like he didn't exist.
29:56People forgot that the number one pick was out there.
29:59He's become a guy. He got paid like a guy.
30:02Second half of the season, he was awesome. Awesome, awesome.
30:05So he's in the same Herbert class, right? A guy that goes early, in his case, first.
30:11You want to see progression when it comes to playoff victories.
30:14But that's the hardest, sharpest pencil that we grade with.
30:17All right. Jags at 10. I love it. And I love this new knowledge that you are.
30:23You have Jags fans. Because there's just a lot of...
30:26Yeah. It's us. Who are the celebrity Jags fans, man?
30:29You got to... That was kind of the way they...
30:32I mean, I was sort of like... And I'm not calling myself a celebrity.
30:37But they're like, well, you're going to be here.
30:39You got to tie into it. Would you do it?
30:43I'm like, I just don't want to piss off the, you know, Chiefs fans.
30:47But points with wifey? Come on. That's pretty smart way to go.
30:51That's incredible. They also have my favorite mascot. All right.
30:54Jackson DeVille. Jackson DeVille. All right. So the Chargers remain on the board.
30:58I am going to put them up against the...
31:01Let's bring in an NFC North team. Let's do...
31:04This is the hardest division. We just got the news that Michael Parsons will be back after about six weeks.
31:10So let's do the Packers here. Packers versus Chargers.
31:13I know. The Packers are so hard. The whole NFC North is just impossible to me.
31:18I would agree with that. I'll pick Chargers so I'm done with them.
31:22I'll let them move on. And then now that's going to make...
31:26But the Green Bay... I don't even know if I believe it.
31:30I just... We don't want the wave to come crashing on our head.
31:34And we've left them in the mid-teens somewhere. Green Bay...
31:37I still can't figure out the Chicago games. Plural.
31:40I'm sure they can't. I would imagine the way the Bears coach chose to proceed following is the kind of thing that
31:47only amplifies and magnifies a great rivalry in this game.
31:51I don't know. What happens with the Jacobs situation?
31:53I haven't seen any clarity as it relates to that.
31:57I don't know if that's going to be a thing.
32:00I mean, that matters. He's a significant... Am I too high on him?
32:04Let me ask you a question. Would you not have put them on top of the NFC North?
32:10Because I genuinely don't know how to rank this division.
32:13It is killing me. Well, I don't want to derail the conversation here.
32:17Okay. All right. No, I truly don't. I truly don't know.
32:20I have one team in the North that's the most fascinating team in the NFL.
32:25You haven't named them yet. I'll tell you why when we get there.
32:29But I don't know what the Bears are. I mean, speaking of a mirage, I don't know how many rabbits you can pull out of hats.
32:38Yeah. And they did it last year against... I'm not anti-Green Bay.
32:41I just look at a division where it's not quite Rams, Seahawks, Niners in terms of three real heavyweights.
32:48But I don't think there's certainly not a bad team among them.
32:51And what's Minnesota? What's Kyler make Minnesota? I don't know.
32:55I don't know. And I assume Forrest is going to stop blitzing.
32:58I assume the defense is still going to be good.
33:02So better you than me to try to sort out that.
33:05So I just picked the Chargers. All right. Chargers.
33:08Let's go Packers versus Cowboys. This is... All right.
33:11I'm a Washingtonian. I grew up... I was born in the darkness.
33:15I was born in Cowboys, then Redskins, when it was the greatest rivalry in the NFL.
33:20Saying something positive about the Dallas Cowboys is very foreign to me.
33:24I vomit a bit as I say what I'm about to say.
33:27I've been at ESPN more than 25 years. They've been largely irrelevant as a good team when the playoffs come.
33:34But you know what? So were the Knicks for the first 20 years of my time.
33:39First 20 years I was at ESPN, the Knicks won one playoff series.
33:43They just won a title. I'm not predicting the Cowboys are going to win the title.
33:48But they look... But I really like the Cowboys.
33:51I'm picking the Cowboys here. Look at their defense, Mina.
33:54Look at what they had. Overshawn comes back last year.
33:57He's one of my favorite players to watch play.
34:00Right? Monster. Speeding bullet. Over and over and over and over again.
34:04So much cheese. Okay. So they trade. They trade Mike.
34:07And what? That's idiotic. Well, what do they get?
34:10What's the get back there? They got Quinn. And I don't want to forget everything that they get back as a result of it.
34:18They get Kenny Clark to start. You get Quinn in a trade.
34:21Overshawn comes back from injury. And then look at what they get.
34:25Caleb Downs is a guy Nick Saban talks about as one of the best players he's ever had.
34:31Think about what that is. You get Gary up front.
34:34Don't miss the guy Barham. It's a guy... He's a draft pick out of Michigan.
34:39I know him just because he started at Maryland.
34:42I don't even know if he's going to be a person that plays this year.
34:47But that just gave me a chance to say a guy on the line, a guy on the back end of the
34:54defense, and a guy in the middle, all three levels, that they add to what they had last year.
35:00I just think eventually, Mina, they can't always not figure it out.
35:04Eventually, they'll not suck on defense. I do feel...
35:06It's funny. Like, I... Come on. Don't you like some of those players I just mentioned?
35:11I do. The offense should be top seven at minimum.
35:15It always is. I mean, yeah, Pickens and Lamb.
35:18This does feel like in all of the off seasons covering...
35:21Not all of them, but it definitely feels more realistic than it has in a while.
35:26Plus, like everyone at ESPN, I have a chip in my neck that starts buzzing if I don't talk about the Cowboys.
35:33Right. I got an email today, Scott. I know you're not working.
35:37But make sure that when you talk to Mina, you say, we don't have that.
35:42People believe we do. There is a tonnage of conversation about them.
35:46A lot of times, it isn't warranted. You have your own pod.
35:49I have my own show as well, and I don't talk about them unless they warrant it.
35:55I believe they're going to warrant it this year.
35:58So I just picked... Well, what number was that?
36:01What did I just pick? 12. That's high. 12.
36:03Yeah. Look at that. NFC North, let's do it.
36:06I'll tell you why. When they went to Green Bay, not three seasons ago at the end of the year and knocked
36:13them out of the playoffs, it's like, look at Campbell's team.
36:17That's pretty kick-ass. They can't make it, but they're going to go ruin a season.
36:22Next year, they're boat racing San Francisco in the NFC Championship game.
36:25They're going to the Super Bowl. Some things happen in the second half.
36:29Maybe some things you would have done different. Would you kick the field goal?
36:34You're Dan Campbell. Probably not. It's okay. You're still ascending.
36:37Next year, one seed. Juggernaut. Greatest show on turf, kind of part two.
36:41Best watch in the league. My guy Stanford Steve says.
36:44Awesome. It's smoked at home by Washington. Don't make the playoffs the next year.
36:49What are you? Right? What are you, Detroit? Are you a team that God love the people that support the Honolulu Blue.
36:56You've never seen it, and it felt like there was a moment that was right there for you, and whether it was
37:03losing to San Francisco, whether it was not winning at home against Washington as the one seed, not making it the next year, was it all a mirage?
37:12Or are you, are you a team that can summon the, whatever you want to call it, the energy of Dan Campbell?
37:19Grit. The bravado, grit. It's a lot. A lot of juice.
37:22However, however you want to frame it. And with no Montgomery now, do you just let Gibbs go absolutely bananas?
37:29Got to pay him first. Bijan and Jameer are going to figure out that backfield pay scale.
37:34But I, I'm, I'm so compelled by who and what Detroit is.
37:38If they, if they can get back into the ring and this year feels like the year they have to do it
37:45or not that they punt, but they start losing.
37:48Right. Whatever the momentum was, if you believe momentum to be a real thing, many don't.
37:53I kind of do. It felt like they had a lot on their side and now it feels like they're hard.
38:00Sorry. So, so I'm, that's why the lines are compelling.
38:03I'm picking Green Bay ahead of them. Cause I don't know the answer to those.
38:08I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question.
38:11I think, I think that's a fair assessment. Um, God, I'm tempted to just, just go back to back to back and
38:18go line here, but no, I'm not going to, because I'm going to bring up a team that, uh, I did it last time and this time.
38:27And the more I think about it, the more I, I worry that I might be sleeping on them.
38:33Uh, a little known team called the Kansas city chiefs who apparently the quarterback is fine.
38:38Cause he's a total mutant. Yeah. He's got the Adrian Peterson gene.
38:42I mean, what's the timeframe. I'm much older than you.
38:45I mean, when I, when I was younger, you had a Frankenstein scar from the middle of your thigh to the middle
38:52of your knee and beyond to your, you know, lower leg.
38:55I don't know what the hell is happening there.
38:58Gone for two years. It's over now. He's just out there running around and camp.
39:03I mean, all due respect, fingers crossed for week one with Denver visiting.
39:07We'll be there for Monday football. We'd like to see 15 play.
39:11Um, Lions chiefs. Great matchup. I'm picking the chiefs simply because I can't allow myself to believe that last year is really who and what they are.
39:20Um, I worry about some of the, some of the losses on defense.
39:24Um, I mean, A lot of young players, very young now.
39:27Well, yeah. And you're talking about people that seem to, to make difference making plays repeatedly on that side and their offense,
39:34which for years was a perfume that could cover any, any stink.
39:38There might've been on the other side. I'm not saying Spag's units stunk, but my God, that offense could do whatever.
39:45They're, they've been bad. Like bad, right? Not, not relative to what they were just relative to anything else.
39:51Didn't have a run game last year. I get that Walker theoretically fixes that.
39:55Um, I just can't, I can't think that the team that hosted the AFC championship game seemingly by default for a decade
40:02suddenly has regressed to the point where they're. Yeah.
40:05I know you guys look at this stuff all the time.
40:09One and nine and one score games. Like that's not going to happen again, right?
40:13No, but they weren't going to win every one score game either, which they did for years.
40:19It seemed that the, you know, it was, and it becomes cliche for a reason, right?
40:24If, you know, if you don't let my homes get the ball and cause God knows there's some pretty, some pretty obvious
40:31examples of what he can do with very little time on the clock.
40:35Sorry. Buffalo among others, but no, they, they won't continue to lose every one score game.
40:40So give me Kansas city. Lions versus a team I have not mentioned.
40:44And maybe I should have mentioned them earlier. Cincinnati Bengals.
40:47I'm kind of, I'm kind of there with them in the way I am with the Cowboys.
40:53Just, I happen to love sexy Dexy and I frame it this way.
40:57When I ask Kelsey who sucked to play against like that, you'd see him and you knew on the schedule, like you
41:04could be playing week three, but you knew. Oh God.
41:07Next week at one o'clock. And he's like Dexter bleeping Lawrence.
41:11Yeah. Donald, not a lot of fun to play against, but now granted had to play him twice a year, but here's
41:18a guy that's going to have a gold jacket.
41:21It was run in the middle of the Philly offense and just dreaded playing against the guy.
41:26He's got like two feet on Jason. He's, and, and however many, however many pounds in the middle.
41:32He's just a, he's a mountain of a man.
41:35I didn't mind. And not, not, I liked the trade because you're not getting somebody, they were 10, right?
41:41You're not getting somebody at 10 that's better than him.
41:44You're not. And your defense drastically lacks somebody in the middle that the gravity of him is going to allow others to, to don't have to thrive.
41:52You just can't give up 40 points a week.
41:55Okay. And I feel like that move showed an urgency.
41:58Joe Burrow got to the Superbowl quick and in a hurry and you blink and you're like, man, how old is he?
42:05Not old. It's a while ago. But he's the kind of cat, man.
42:10If he just showed up one day and said, you know what?
42:13I've had fun, but I'm going to, I'm good.
42:16Wouldn't shock me. I don't, I don't think he will.
42:19Cause I think he loves the game, but I also think he's just wired a little different.
42:25I think there's an urgency with Cincinnati. I think that they can't be worse on defense.
42:30I think there'll be better and I like the Bengals.
42:33Okay. I like the Bengals and I just picked them against who over who?
42:38Detroit? Yeah. Detroit. He's fair. I don't know if it is fair or not, but I just did it.
42:44Detroit sliding now. This is, this is now they're going to have value against whoever they're picking them against.
42:50All right. Well, let's wrap up the first half with the divisional matchup.
42:54Lions, Bears. Bears are my hardest, my hardest team to figure out.
42:58Like, yeah. All right. Because you know how this goes.
43:01Just like the Chiefs aren't going to lose every one score game.
43:05The one score games and the last minute comeback.
43:08Chicago. This is a commander's thing and look how that turned out.
43:11Exactly. And I lived it from the commander's side.
43:14One of those wins was against Chicago where Daniels throws the Hail Mary.
43:18They beat them. And then last year they should have had them beat.
43:23They fumble in the rain and Chicago wins. One of those games where, and obviously the Packers are the most glaring examples of it.
43:30But Williams is a guy from right here. Went to Gonzaga High School in downtown DC.
43:35And we've watched him since he was a kid.
43:38And last year he became a guy. And not enough of a guy to take the Iceman name away from George Girvin for the old heads.
43:46That belongs to him. That's another conversation. I just don't believe that Chicago can win every close game.
43:52And so I'll take Detroit ahead of him. Simply because I just don't know how you keep succeeding in high leverage moments where the differential is so fractional.
44:01That makes sense? It does. It is, like I said, the NFC North is a division I don't want to touch with.
44:08Look, Mina, look at their defense last year. Was their defense good?
44:12No. But their defense turned you over. But takeaways don't repeat year to year.
44:16It's like the number one thing the nerds look for when we're trying to figure out regression candidates.
44:22And it wasn't just turnovers. It wasn't like a turnover at the 43-yard line.
44:27They were consequential turnovers that flipped fields and flipped games.
44:30It was like a magnifying glass, their turnovers. So it wasn't a great defense.
44:34It is an amazingly opportunistic defense. You must hold me back with Chicago, though, from going full doubter.
44:40And I said this at the very beginning, I like to bet on coaches.
44:44And I think that he's one of those dudes.
44:47I think he's already like a top six coach in the NFL.
44:51I'm terrible at ranking, so I won't do that.
44:54But he's got everything you want if you're a Bears fan.
44:57Everything. Including not just the requisite, but seemingly an abundance of hate for the teams he plays against.
45:03I made it clear last year. I love that he hates the other teams.
45:08I love it. I think in that division, you don't need to invite people to want to fight.
45:13They already do. But I'm with you on Johnson.
45:16He's certainly on the short list of excellent coaches.
45:19All right. The Bears remain on the board. Quick break.
45:22Come back. And we'll move a little faster through the second half.
45:26All right. That's good. That's good. Good, good. Hurry up, Scott.
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45:59Shohei Otani's interpreter was fired today. Ipe Mitsuhara ran up gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation.
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46:08He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making.
46:11I've never seen anything like it. From 30 for 30 podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Otani.
46:17Presented by Gusto. New episodes available now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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47:30Second half. Here's the first half for those who missed it.
47:33Lions came in above the bears but below the Packers.
47:36So the bears are an option and I am going to put them up against...
47:41Ooh. I don't know. You know what? I'm going to shift on this.
47:45I'm not going to do... I've been offering the bucks here but I just did an NFC South podcast and I...
47:52I think I told you this. I put the Saints first.
47:55I found myself deeply buying the Saints. We'll get to them.
47:59Saints. We'll get to them. What? Do no. What?
48:02What? The Saints or the Bears? Saints versus Bears.
48:05Are there many teams you think that are demonstrably better?
48:08Than the Saints? I don't know. We've named a lot of good teams.
48:12All right. Here's where I... We're in the second half of the pod, Scott.
48:16There's no obvious... That's a fair point. And you told me...
48:20You gave me a little not-so-subtle hurry-up, Van Pelt, on the way out.
48:24Here's where I am with New Orleans. All right.
48:27I watched New Orleans go to Seattle last year.
48:30I want to say it was week three. They got beat 40-something to the teens, and I thought, boy, they stink.
48:37And they go to shock. Good for him. They talked about him like he was a geriatric, as if being old is
48:44a sin, as if actually having played a ton of football is a bad thing.
48:48Now, they were much better in the... Call it the second half.
48:52Five and three to end their season. Context matters in life more than almost anything.
48:57Who'd they beat? All right. They beat the Panthers twice.
49:00NFC South, yeah. They beat Tampa Bay, and they beat Tennessee and the Jets.
49:05That's who they beat. Now, Olave got unlocked. I wish for him good health above everything else, but he looked like a guy again.
49:12A-Chan, now in the backfield, still with Kamara. Thank God.
49:15I love him. He's one of my all-time favorites.
49:18I'm not anti-Saints. I just can't take them... He's too high.
49:22Yeah. I can't tell you. I regret it as soon as I said it.
49:26And then also, by the way, Jack Foster, one of our producers, texted me while you were saying that Saints defensive tackle Brian Brissett tore his ACL.
49:35Jesus. Oh, God. I hate this so much. I hate this part of the season.
49:40I just saw Marcus Freeman from Notre Dame at a charity function.
49:43Shout out to the Cornette family. And I said, how's the health?
49:47And he said, we're good. And I said, man, that's all I root for.
49:52And this is just like scourting the other day for the Panthers, like a guy ascending.
49:57Dude, the Panthers are getting whacked right now. It's so bad.
50:00And he's such an impactful young player. I hate it.
50:03And so, BC... ACL? Fear ACL. Oh, man. That sucks.
50:07I hate, hate, hate this time of year when it comes to that.
50:11The Saints are ascending from... In a bad division, but they're not better than the Bears.
50:16Okay. Yeah. So, I probably put the Saints too high.
50:19So, the next few choices are probably going to be easy for you.
50:23Let's go Bucs-Saints here. Because I... Yeah. Bucs. I'm a Baker Mayfield apologist.
50:27Would you pay him? I'm a... Yeah, I would.
50:30Because what's your option? It's quarterbacks. Yeah. What's your option?
50:33They keep asking me to do takes. I'm like, he's a quarterback.
50:37What do you want me to tell you? He's going to get paid.
50:41It just happens. Look at guys. Look at how guys get paid.
50:45Lawrence got paid like he's Mahomes. He had won one playoff game.
50:49I mean... Quarterback. Prescott. I mean, what are you going to do?
50:53You want to suck? Look at the teams that don't have them.
50:57I mean, I got a list of teams that don't have quarterbacks.
51:01We haven't named any of those teams yet, obviously.
51:03And I'm a Bulls guy. I feel like he gets talked about.
51:07Really? More so than others. I think it's a cake icing thing.
51:11I think there's cake there. I think there's substance there.
51:14Is there icing? Not much. But I'm... He definitely shows up.
51:18I'm... And I get that maybe there's a ceiling.
51:21Okay. But I... Yeah. I think... Look, a third of the league, basically, we have 10 new coaches this year.
51:27I mean, people just flip it and like, maybe he'll be better.
51:31Or maybe he won't. I'll take Tampa over the Saints just because I'm...
51:35It's Bulls and Baker based, I suppose you'd say.
51:38It's fine. Bulls and Baker based, sounds like... Although, via caveat, if they trade Vea, like, what are we doing?
51:44I know. Well, that's... Speaking of sexy Dexy, right?
51:47And the weight that a guy... Literally. The weight that the guy...
51:51You can't get rid of that guy. That's another guy.
51:54Kelsey was like, oh God, not Vea. Basically the biggest guys.
51:58No, I... We did just do the NFC South preview and I was like, I'm going to talk about the Saints, the
52:05Bucks defense like they have Vea because if they don't, it's just a completely different proposition.
52:10Entirely different. Okay. Saints versus... I thought this was going to be our most intriguing team in the NFC North, the Vikings.
52:17Because what? Is that going to happen there? Well, I mean, do you buy the...
52:21Do you buy O'Connell as a whisper? Do you buy it?
52:25I think he's very good. That's a no. That's a no.
52:28That's a polite no. No, I just think maybe we got a little bit over our seats with it.
52:34He's very good. I don't know. Although, I don't know.
52:38Ask Minnesota last year. Would you have liked to back the guy that won 14 games for a year before that you
52:45decided after two games that were bad at the end of the year against Detroit and the Rams he had to go?
52:52Maybe you'd like that back? I get it. You're pot committed with the resource.
52:56They're having a quarterback competition as we speak. Please end it.
53:00Just end it. Call us. Kyler Murray's your starter.
53:02The end. I just don't know what to... I don't know what they are.
53:07Yeah. I don't know what they are. It is...
53:10Because Murray... Murray... He's played mostly on bad teams, mostly in the NFL.
53:14Who am I picking? Minnesota and the Saints. Minnesota's better than the Saints.
53:18Yeah. Like I said, I kind of screwed myself with the Saints because I'm giving you...
53:23Yeah. Because now there's too many, like, not walkovers, but I mean, I just like Minnesota.
53:28This one's hard. All right. Commanders Saints. Oh, God.
53:31Can they bounce back? Do you like the off-season moves?
53:34This is your chance to put a vote of confidence in them.
53:38All right. This is great content, as I said.
53:41We've reached the part of the season where God love you if you're in talk radio.
53:46You're coming in and you're like, you want to do the schedule?
53:50This is the best part of the podcast because at the top, it's like the best teams.
53:55Yeah. This is where the real ones... Okay. So say you're working...
53:59Say you're working... One of my best friends, shout to Kevin Sheehan.
54:03You're doing a radio show in town. You want to just open the phones and go through the schedule?
54:09What do you think they're going to go? It's just the lowest, lowest form of content there is.
54:15Schedule talk. Schedule analysis is my least favorite thing to do.
54:18I agree because we don't have the slightest bleep and clue who's your starting quarterback on week...
54:24Even week two. We don't know. But I look at Washington's schedule, Mina, and my God, the first eight weeks include two
54:31with Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, at San Francisco, the Rams.
54:34The easy-ish games are the Colts. I don't know what they are.
54:37They haven't been brought up yet by you. I'll be soon.
54:41And the G-men, which I don't know. Harbaugh, what are they?
54:44I love some pieces they have on defense. That first eight weeks feels bad to me.
54:49They can't bring Iyuk in because he refuses to get off social media.
54:54They let Debo go. Who else are they throwing the football to besides 17?
54:58I don't know. Last year, you can't grade Jaden last year on his season.
55:03He played seven games. And the games he played, he didn't have 17 to throw to.
55:08So I don't know what they are. And who am I picking them against?
55:12They're better than the Saints. I'm scared to death, though.
55:15I'm scared to death because you know what? When they made the playoffs and they went and won at Tampa and they
55:22went and won at Detroit and then they just, the score wasn't as bad as, the score was worse, I should say, than the loss in Philly.
55:31But they were not as good as Philly that day.
55:34But that's an NFC Championship appearance. And then you know how it works.
55:38A fan base is like, we're good. Are you?
55:41Yeah. Well, it landed really harshly last year. Terry holding out, set the wheels in motion for that to be a bit of a challenge.
55:49Jaden getting hurt, you're just not the same without him.
55:52They can't be worse on defense. I keep saying that about teams.
55:56I think they'll be better. I like a lot of the additions to the front seven.
56:01They were horrible. They were historically horrible on defense last year.
56:05I love him. Love him. Love him. They're going to be better.
56:08They're going to be better. I agree. So I like him better than the Saints.
56:13I just, it's the, I'm framing it by saying I'm scared.
56:17Scared. I put the Saints too high. It's fine.
56:20All right. All right. Saints versus 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
56:24That's a fascinating one. McCarthy Rodgers part two. Uh, I, I, it's so hard not to think of them and the giant,
56:31them and the Ravens rather, and the way I framed it for decades, right?
56:35Tomlin, Harbaugh, best rivalry in the sport. Can we write in, no Tomlin.
56:39Can we pencil in those nine wins without him?
56:42Well, they've existed in a space, as you well know, where they were never bad, but they were also never a threat.
56:49Yeah. And in Pittsburgh, that's just not going to work.
56:52Um, I don't know. I, I trust Rodgers and Pittsburgh more than I trust New Orleans to continue to hit the up button on the elevator.
57:01So I'll, I'll say Pittsburgh, um, try not to use fascinating.
57:04Pittsburgh's compelling. That's a better word. Maybe. Not enticing.
57:07I love enticing. No, no. That's not the Steelers are not enticing.
57:11No, they're telling makes more. They haven't been enticing in a while.
57:15That's kind of the problem. Uh, I don't know.
57:18So I'm, I'm still taking them over the Saints.
57:20All right. 22. We're going to go Saints versus, this is where I bring in the Colts.
57:26Uh, so, uh, AFC South pod this week, by the way, we're going to get into this in detail.
57:32I remain gobsmacked that Daniel Jones tore his Achilles at the end of this, near the end of this year, you know,
57:39closer to the end of the beginning. And then he's apparently back.
57:43Yeah. So I'm on, on McAfee the other day and I loved seeing a big smile on the guy's face.
57:49Think, think of who they were last year. First half.
57:52Think of who they were. Taylor's got like 15 touchdowns.
57:55He's got more than, he had more like seven or eight teams.
57:59Jones is the guy that got picked too high.
58:02And it didn't work in New York and goes quarterback whisper.
58:06Spent some time up there with him. Well, how about that?
58:09I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But he was good too, man.
58:12Stike is really good. That offense. I was constantly amazed by.
58:16He deserves the credit because he's a great play caller.
58:19Always has been. But Mina, I sat in Lucas oil and Phillip rivers was the quarterback of that team.
58:25That actually happened. It wasn't a fever dream. It happened.
58:28That news broke from Schefter on a Monday night countdown that he might come back.
58:33And I think I stood up out of my chair and said, what?
58:37So who they were at the end last year after Jones tries to play through the leg and he finally got hurt in that game at Arrowhead.
58:46It all went wrong from Arrowhead. But I believe they're closer to who they were at the beginning of the year than
58:53who they were at the end of the year.
58:56And so I'm saying I like the Colts more here than the Saints.
59:00Colts have a lot of fun, young talent on both sides of the ball.
59:04Das Gardner, right? Remember that trade? They made exactly perfectly framed.
59:08They made a move to go all in and then they didn't know that they were going to have a peepaw playing quarterback.
59:15A peepaw? He's a literal grandpa. Yeah. He is.
59:18It happened. It did happen. Okay. Saints versus you mentioned this team and I'd like to see how high you actually are on them.
59:26The New York Giants. All right. Doing flips and Jackson Dart who just has to stay out of the blue tent.
59:32But when your skill set kind of puts you in harm's way and that's part of what makes you dangerous.
59:39I don't know how you measure that. Malik Neighbors.
59:42I don't know. I don't love the way Harbaugh is talking about that knee.
59:46It doesn't sound like... What direction is it trending in?
59:49I don't know. But I do really like a number of people that they have on the defensive side of the ball.
59:56I don't know what Reese is going to be.
59:59He was one of those guys that looked awesome in a single digit in that Ohio State uniform.
60:05Did you like him in the draft? I like him a lot.
60:09And I like that he's playing off the ball for them because I think he's a really good linebacker.
60:15They can use him to rush. I just like...
60:18Linebacker was so bad for them last year. But I liked Carter more at Penn State than I did him.
60:24I am... If you could buy stock in players, I'd be betting my 401k on Abdel Carter.
60:29I'm so... Well, Ewan, we'll pool our assets and go in together because I'm right there with you.
60:35So when I say I like stuff on the defense, I mean, Burns obviously is Burns.
60:40I like Carter a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot.
60:44I just... I don't know if the scadaboo dart bromance slash whatever is a real thing.
60:49But I think I still like him more than the Saints.
60:52Jeez. Okay. All right. Here is the real test.
60:55Saints v. Panthers. Saints. Okay. The fall stops. It's not a fall.
60:59You just had them way too early. You put them in there in a place where...
61:04Yeah, I know. I just... The Panthers I struggle with because it's like there's a...
61:09The good... The ceiling and the floor were pretty significantly different.
61:12And the floor was subterranean, man. When Bryce was bad, like it was 20 yards.
61:17And I get that we reach a point where you don't know exactly what you're going to do there.
61:23Yeah, this is a young man that got benched.
61:26I admire that he didn't just turtle and give up.
61:29But I just don't know... Yeah, Saints. I like the Saints better than the Panthers.
61:34I hate that Scarton got injured too, by the way.
61:37I mean... Scarton, the tackles... No one would root for an injury, obviously.
61:41But the injury bug's been bad to start. Yeah, the NFC South is getting wrecked.
61:46We had a saying on this pod. The number one rule of betting on Panthers games is never bet on Panthers games because they're just an insane team.
61:55And then they would like get it up for the Rams twice.
61:59I don't know if you know this about me, Mina, but I'm not unfamiliar with the gambling space.
62:05And I'll just say that I understand those that look at the underdogs and think, I'm going to back that side.
62:11Leave the Panthers out of your teasers. Don't just stay away.
62:15Think about how bad they looked when they looked bad.
62:18They hosted a playoff game. That happened also. And they gave the Rams a fight, by the way.
62:24And they were awesome! So I just don't want to touch them.
62:27I just don't want to... Ceiling and floor. Like, just don't...
62:31Play closer. You don't have to play closer to the ceiling.
62:34Just don't live in the basement, man. My Mariners are like that.
62:38Can't beat the worst teams. Just beat the Dodgers.
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65:0025. The Panthers remain an option. I am going to put them up against the Las Vegas Raiders.
65:05Panthers. Okay. Panthers. Certain things from last year are going to be hard for me to get past.
65:11I don't know that I'll ever get over the offensive line play of the 2025 Vegas Raiders.
65:17God bless Geno. Parentus. There was nothing he could do.
65:20I don't know what gent he is because how could you know?
65:24It's getting kept on the line of scrimmage in literally every carry.
65:27I love Cousins' training wheels for Mendoza because they're not the same person, but they have similar character traits.
65:33They'll be better because, again, I don't think the offensive line play can be worse.
65:38But I don't like them more yet. I need to see what has Kubiak come up with.
65:44I don't know yet. It's got to see it before I buy it.
65:48Can't buy it yet. They need a little more.
65:51Raiders versus Falcons. Falcons. Although, on my list of teams that don't know what their quarterback situation is.
65:56Both hurt right now, by the way. Both. Great stuff.
66:00Went out and got Cooper Rush. Here we go, baby.
66:03We have a color rush game and we have a Cooper Rush game.
66:07We have a Cooper Rush signing. Tua's got a bad back.
66:10Panics has obviously had the knee. These are two guys that have spent a decent amount of time in their careers injured, which is, I don't, not.
66:19I hate the term injury prone because it makes it sound like it's their fault.
66:24I'm not suggesting that. I think Stefanski's, I mean, he's done it at least.
66:28I've seen it. Good coach. Yes. Thank you for finishing my sentence there.
66:32That's what I mean. He can do it. I just don't know what their quarterback situation is.
66:38But then again, I don't know what Kirk Cousins was in Atlanta last year.
66:42If he could have done it, he'd been doing it earlier.
66:46So I'll take Atlanta. I like to, there's a bunch on defense that I actually like there.
66:51Yeah. It was an ascending defense last year. Yeah.
66:54I like that side of the ball. They also have Bijan and I know what he is and I don't know what Gent he is yet.
67:02Although the Raiders could say, yeah, we have Bowers and he's been more of the tight and you can count on them
67:09than that Kyle Pitts that you still can't quit and you're going to draft too early in your fantasy draft.
67:16He got a contract though, Mina. I like him.
67:19Yeah. But they got Drake London. The Raiders don't have.
67:22Yeah. Who's their best? Who's their wide receiver one?
67:25That's a great question. Good luck. Jack Besch. Jalen Naylor.
67:28Okay. Raiders versus, I'm going to mention this team earlier than I have at all entirely based on our pre-show conversation, the Cleveland Browns.
67:35Okay. Don't do it. I like Munkin. I like him.
67:39Don't do it. Interesting guy. Good coach. Yeah. I, I, who am I picking Browns Raiders?
67:44Oh my God. We have a segment going back to the radio days with Priscilla called Poop Town.
67:49Everyone ranks teams and this, this goes back. It doesn't matter.
67:53Poop Town. These are two teams that I, that have extended leases.
67:57Actually, we don't even have a lease. They're just allowed to stay until further notice.
68:02Raiders and Browns. Extended stay in Poop Town. Who's the Browns quarterback?
68:05Because I'm telling you, I've talked myself into this.
68:08I've talked myself into, I'm doing it, Mina. Don't do it.
68:12All right. There was a time in Sean Watson's life when he was a quarterback.
68:16I forgot you. Worst trade in history. I get it.
68:20Can't pay the guy they did. He's played 19 games in three years.
68:24I think it was like 19 touchdowns and whatever it was, 10 picks.
68:28Didn't play at all last year. Like Shadur Sanders is a lightning rod for content.
68:33You can put them on their morning shows and people can yell at each other.
68:38If you want, did you watch the games? Did you watch the games?
68:42Not great. All right. They won some games. Did they want him?
68:45Cause he like is the guy that is going to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
68:51I just don't believe that that is going to be what they do.
68:55Now, maybe with next year's loaded draft, you're really not.
68:58And there's a bunch of teams that could fall into this category.
69:02You're really just angling for a guy to be your quarterback next year.
69:06But maybe Watson is something not close to who he was.
69:10You don't even believe it. I've been listening to you this entire pod and I've now gotten feel for your voice when you have conviction.
69:18Zero conviction in your voice right now. That's fair.
69:21We're at the, we're in poop town. You have like four octaves.
69:24We're at the part of the going out and you're looking in your closet and all your good stuff's dirty.
69:31And now you're like, I got this hoodie that has a ketchup stain on it.
69:35And I have a cropped mesh half shirt. That are our, that's our choices.
69:40What do you want me to do? Take the Raiders.
69:43Raiders. You don't have to. The Browns have good defense.
69:46You could just do that. Raiders. I mean, hey, they went out there and they spent some money.
69:52I'll give you that. They spent some money. Go get them Raiders.
69:56There he is. I like Mendoza. I'm excited to see him play.
70:00I think he's going to be good. He showed me a lot.
70:03He got his ass kicked in that Miami game.
70:06And he was bloodied, but unbowed, man. He can, and he can also throw it exactly where it has to be.
70:13I like him. So I'll, I didn't believe it.
70:16You're right. I didn't believe it. Browns versus team with no quarterback competition.
70:20The Tennessee Titans. Titans. Okay. I watched them at the end of last year.
70:25In the same way I gave you the Saints and who they beat.
70:29I wrote these down just because I didn't want to forget it.
70:32It's on the, I have so many cards. All right.
70:36Close loss to the Chargers. Close loss to the Texans.
70:39Close loss to Seattle. Closer than the score was against San Francisco.
70:43And that I admit, I was watching maybe gambling.
70:46No, not gambling. Fantasy impact. Let's shout out Ward at the beginning of the season.
70:50If we keep it at a buck, we ask.
70:53They were not asked at the end of last year.
70:56I think Sala comes in and he's, he's got a guy in Simmons is one of my favorite players in the NFL and defense.
71:04Um, and I feel like Ward, by the way, Carnell Tate draft him high.
71:08Okay, fine. Wondell Robinson's a guy that's going to get a zillion targets.
71:13I think in, in that, in that offense and can be, where's Wondell?
71:17Where's Wondell? I think they're, I think they're higher than some of the teams I've already picked.
71:22Okay. I like that. Like the Titans. They're too low.
71:25You mentioned the Seattle game. I just rewatched that for my AFC South preview and he was good in that game.
71:32Good. Cam Ward was much better than many quarterbacks who went up against that Seattle defense.
71:37Thank you. I'm, I'm, I'm in agreement. I like him.
71:40No longer ass. Not ass. They could put that on a shirt.
71:44Still in poop town, but maybe not ass. Titans, not ass.
71:48We'll see. Uh, Titans. Okay. So no, sorry. Uh, Browns versus.
71:51We're running out of options. Did I miss a team here?
71:55Who's left? Hold on one second. Let me do a little accounting.
71:58We did the, no, no, we've got four teams left.
72:02Okay. Browns versus Jets. Not Jets. Browns. Not Jets.
72:05I saw Green, he said something about, he quoted me because I always say be optimistic because it costs the same.
72:11Buddy, the, the, the price of optimism for Jet fans is, is got a tariff on it.
72:17All right. Right. Significant markup. Uh, now, now after, after last year with Gino and the Raiders, I hope that cosmically that, that, that it's better.
72:25Can't be. Situation's better. That's yes. And there are people like, all right, just op weapons, like Brees and Garrett Wilson.
72:32Yeah. Fun young players. Start right there. Yeah. Um, they, they, they did it.
72:36They did the rebuild the right way in that you, you, you get back significant assets for guys that you drafted high already.
72:43Although I don't, and this is a longer conversation that we don't have time for here, but I just wonder where you are in terms of philosophy.
72:52When you take somebody with the top five pick and then you trade them for a number, for a first, like, do
72:59you think you're going to get somebody back better?
73:02Higher? That's going to be a Quinton Williams or Sauce Gardner.
73:05I don't, I don't know that you do. Timeline thing, right?
73:09Like they think, okay, we're not going to be competitive now.
73:12Let's sell high. I'm not saying I agree with it necessarily.
73:16Cause I think even rebuilding teams have to have young players they're building around.
73:20I think that's fair. I think that's fair. So Sauce and Quinton, I don't know.
73:25I maybe would have traded just one of them personally, but.
73:29But if you're going to commit to the, to the tear down, tear that sumbitch down.
73:34And they did. Um, so, but I like the Jets better than, I took the Jets.
73:39No, I took the Browns over the Jets. You can do the Browns.
73:43We've got, we're in the, the, the bottom three.
73:46All right. Dirty, dirty bottom three. And I am going to go.
73:50It is easy. Jets versus Cardinals. Hey, our long national nightmare is over.
73:54Jacoby Brissett has a deal. So for him, you know what?
73:57No, I know. And this is a thousand percent of fantasy lens.
74:01If you had Wilson or McBride late last year, you were eating because they were down 31 to seven, but Brissett was like, F it.
74:09I'm chucking this pill until the game is done.
74:12And God love him. You know what? He's a professional at compete.
74:16They stink. And I don't think they're trying to win.
74:19I taking the Jets over the Cardinals. Okay. I think, I think that's fair.
74:23Jacoby Brissett. It's like, we know you know you're going to get like somewhere between 20th and 25th.
74:29No, not 20. That's too high. Like 23rd and 28th quarterback play.
74:33And that's fine. But he's at least competent at the job.
74:36There are teams that end up with people out there that cannot do it.
74:41And he's not in that category. A testament to how you can have, absolutely have longevity in the NFL as a backup
74:48and a journeyman if you simply have good vibes and people just like being around him.
74:53Vibes immaculate. And he got like 15 mil. Good for him.
74:56So that leaves, that leaves dolphins. Dolphins and Cardinals, baby.
75:00I like the dolphins better than the Cardinals. Okay.
75:03Um, I don't know what half is going to be.
75:06Um, apparently they want to run it more. I saw Achan said that.
75:10I mean, I don't know what other options they really have.
75:13Good for Malik. You know what I love about Malik.
75:17Who are you throwing it to? You know what I love about Malik Willis?
75:21This is a league where if you get picked high and it doesn't work, we decide you can't do it.
75:27And now you're not, you're a big, it called a bomb, a trash, whatever.
75:32And worse. But he, he went to a situation where he got to prove that at worst case, he could step into
75:39a good team and keep them playing at a level, not love level, but not a giant, not a significant step back.
75:46Good enough to win games. And he got the bag and he's in a situation that isn't great, but he's in a
75:53hell of a lot better situation personally than he was before.
75:56And I commend him for that. Stay in the fight.
76:00Focus on your craft. It doesn't, because one situation doesn't work out.
76:03It doesn't mean another one won't. I just hope to give him more than a year.
76:08I agree. But I think, what's that contract again?
76:11Two years. Yeah. I mean, I don't think you bring a guy like that in to be a gap.
76:17Like, I think, I think there, or you're bringing him in to be the gap and you're going to draft somebody else
76:24that he could be the guy for year two.
76:27And then you've got the succession plan lined up.
76:30So I guess that leaves Arizona last. Sorry. But I mean.
76:34You know what? Cardinals fans, you're better off being 32nd than 31st.
76:37How many times have they been last in these?
76:40It's been either of them or the Dolphins every time, I think.
76:44So. I'll say this. Last thing. I know if I'm over my time, just tell me to shut the bleep up.
76:51One thing we know, because we didn't bring up like the sort of predictive markets and all the rest of it.
76:58But the Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks this time last year, had you done this exercise exactly as we've done it now?
77:05Neither was a team that had odds that suggested they could be a playoff team, let alone representative of either the AFC or the NFC.
77:12And ultimately, Seattle being a Super Bowl champion. One thing we.
77:16Pardon? Coaching. That's why I always defer to coaching, because we should have been hiring both those teams because they're coaches.
77:23That's a great point. And so in a league that nearly a third has turned over, some of whom have done it
77:30before, maybe coaching will be the reason that somebody ascends.
77:33But as certain as I am that I'm sitting right here right now talking to you, Mina Kimes, I'm certain that somebody
77:40we just ranked somewhere close to poop down in the 20s, maybe 25 or lower could be a playoff team.
77:46So who's it going to be? I haven't got a freaking clue, but the New Orleans Saints, you know what?
77:53And you can and you can text me and go, hey, SVP, you bozo.
77:57No, I was too high. I regretted it the second I said it was too high.
78:02But you told me you told me that you talked yourself into the Saints.
78:07I did. And I told you I talked myself into Deshaun Watson and you talked me out of it.
78:13So thank you. Thank you for that. All right.
78:16I'm going to read them all to you. And as we do this to wrap this up, tell me which fan base
78:23is going to be the angriest at you after I revisit the entire rankings.
78:27Yep. Rams, Seahawks, Ravens, Broncos, Bills, Eagles, Patriots, Texans, Jags.
78:30Fun in our top 10. Chargers, Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, Bengals, Lions, Bears, Bucks, Vikings, Commanders to round out 20.
78:36Steelers, Colts, Giants, Saints, Panthers, Falcons, Raiders, Titans, Browns, Jets, Dolphins, Cardinals.
78:40Bears. Bears. I think Bears will be mad. Now, they weren't introduced.
78:44I didn't give them to you though. Yes, it's not your fault.
78:48They weren't introduced early enough for me to take other teams ahead of them.
78:52But I think I took the Lions ahead of them right there.
78:56So I made a choice one versus another. And I love the passion of Chicago.
79:01It's one of my favorite cities. And they're long suffering.
79:04You should play in the city of Chicago. That's another thing that I have nothing to do with.
79:10But I picked a division rival over you. And they got mad at me last year because I said if I was
79:17the Packers, I'd be mad and want to fight after that whole F the Packers thing came out.
79:22So I just assume the Bears fans will be mad.
79:26I'm sure others will too. Because everyone takes this very personally.
79:29Like I came to their house, knocked in the door and said, your child's stupid and your wife's ugly.
79:35Bears fans are very spirited these days. Spirited. But you know what?
79:39It's better. It's like in college football, there are a lot of teams that you'll say it's more fun when they're good.
79:46It's way more fun when Chicago teams are good in sports.
79:49And I'd put the Bears very high on the list of that.
79:53So I love it that they're good. And if they're mad that I picked somebody ahead of them, it's just a fun list of summertime content.
80:02It is. And like I said, my choices dictated Scott's choices.
80:05Don't kill it. That concludes our Power Ranking series.
80:08Thank you so much to everybody who watched. Thank you to Scott.
80:12Go check. Hey, Red. I was like, Red heard you talking.
80:15Red says hi to Lenny and to you. Thank you so much for giving me a chance to do this.
80:22Awesome. Go check out SVPod if you don't already wherever you get your podcast.
80:26We'll be back later this week to do the AFC South.
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