- 7 months ago
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00:00How about Christmas Day?
00:02The NFL had a pretty good plan at the beginning of the season,
00:04saying we're going to have some really good entertaining games
00:06that the people will enjoy.
00:07It turns out we don't know how many entertaining games we're going to get,
00:10but we will watch and we will wager.
00:12One o'clock start on Christmas Day.
00:13Dallas and Washington, they announced already for the Cowboys.
00:16Dak Prescott will play.
00:17We don't know the quarterback technically yet is going to be for Washington
00:20after Mariota left the game against the Philadelphia Eagles,
00:23but this line is ripping and running.
00:24The look-ahead line was actually listed at four and a half
00:27as a favorite towards Washington at a quick blink opening line.
00:30Now we see six and a half as a favorite, not towards Washington,
00:33but towards Dallas and a total of 50 and a half.
00:36If Washington comes out here and starts an aging veteran
00:39that shouldn't be out on the field as opposed to Mariota,
00:42do we get a blowout or who actually cares about this game, Joe?
00:45What's that spread line?
00:46I can't.
00:47I would imagine these are two teams that would much rather be at home
00:51with friends and family as opposed to having to play football on Christmas.
00:56This is meaningless football since both teams have been eliminated
00:59from playoff contention.
01:01Listen, there is, believe it or not, Donnie,
01:03a lot of individual incentives on both these teams here
01:07with guys that need to perform the final couple of weeks
01:12to get that paycheck.
01:13So figure out who those guys are and head to the prop market.
01:17That would be my suggestion.
01:19By the way, Josh Johnson, journeyman quarterback, Josh Johnson,
01:22looks like he is the one that's going to start this game for the Commanders.
01:27Oh my goodness here.
01:28How about the next game we're going to talk about?
01:30Denver and Kansas City, which again,
01:31should have been an unbelievable monumental game in Kansas City
01:34that I don't even know if the Chiefs fans are going to even show up
01:37at this point, which is crazy.
01:38They're always used to closing out seasons,
01:39hoping to be the number one overall seed.
01:42And now they're on their way out.
01:43And who knows if it's going to be their quarterback?
01:44Olada Kuhn, who last week played Tennessee on the road,
01:48and Tennessee, maybe the least talented team in the NFL,
01:51absolutely blew the doors off Kansas City.
01:53Now Denver's coming in fresh after a loss,
01:55still looking to get that number one seed.
01:57And you know Sean Payton, it's very rare you have Kansas City down.
02:01Does he take that foot and put it on the neck of the Chiefs, Joe,
02:05as almost two touchdown favorites here?
02:07What's your spread line?
02:08Donnie, if I remember correctly,
02:10I read it is where I believe the Chiefs being this big a dog at home.
02:16This is the first time in 50-some-odd years
02:19that we have seen the Kansas City Chiefs be this big a dog at Arrowhead.
02:24It just never happens.
02:26And the fact that the look-ahead line here was about five,
02:29five-and-a-half, and you lose to the Titans, Donnie,
02:32and what happens?
02:33The market jumps, immediately bails out 13, 13-and-a-half points.
02:39I would be shocked, Donnie, if this thing doesn't climb to 14,
02:43two touchdowns before it's all said and done.
02:46Yeah, Kansas City looks absolutely checked out last weekend,
02:49and rightfully so.
02:50It's either touchdowns, either, excuse me, Super Bowls or FC championships
02:53or bust, and when you're out of the playoffs,
02:55it's tough to get excited, and you're making the right moves
02:57by shutting those players down who technically are not injured,
02:59excuse me, injured enough to not play in that game.
03:02Sunday Night Football, Joe.
03:03I know you're probably watching.
03:04The New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens.
03:06Before that game started and all week long,
03:08this was one of the biggest sharp divides that you were going to find last week.
03:11Eight out of every ten tickets coming in on the Patriots show,
03:14two-and-a-halfs were out there.
03:14By the time we got the game time,
03:16there was some minus fours for the Baltimore Ravens.
03:18And sometimes you take a look at those numbers,
03:19okay, I'm just going to bet it blindly and fade the public.
03:21I actually really like the Baltimore Ravens.
03:23One of those chances to make a last stand here,
03:25try to chase down the Pittsburgh Steelers,
03:27you were going to get their best effort from Lamar Jackson,
03:30and it looked like early you had that.
03:31Then Lamar looks like he got touched on his back when he went down
03:35and said, you know what,
03:36I'm not playing the rest of this game.
03:37But Derrick Henry said, I got you.
03:39Now, 18 carries, 128 yards, and two touchdowns will close this game out.
03:44They, talking about the Ravens,
03:45had a double-digit lead after a touchdown run from Derrick Henry
03:49with about 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
03:51Derrick Henry didn't touch the football again
03:53or even appear on the football field.
03:55I'll get your response in just a moment here, Joe,
03:57but here's Harbaugh talking about Derrick Henry not playing.
04:00If you look back on it,
04:02I think it's pretty easy to say he should have been in there
04:04or shouldn't have been in there,
04:05but we're rotating those guys throughout the game as two backs, you know.
04:11But yeah, game-winning drive.
04:12Do I want Derrick Henry on the field?
04:14Sure, I do want him on the field.
04:15I'm sorry, Joe.
04:18He's the head coach.
04:21I'm trying to, like, ask you a question to wrap my head around this.
04:24Your life is on the line in the NFL to make the playoffs.
04:28You have the ultimate hammer in your backfield to close games out
04:31who was dominating in that football game,
04:34and we're rotating running backs.
04:37Yeah.
04:38Yeah.
04:38And listen, Donnie, they've been doing this all year, right?
04:41Doesn't it feel like you got questions at the quarterback position?
04:44Yeah.
04:45The offense makes too many mistakes at the – yeah.
04:49Fourth quarter defense collapses.
04:51Yes.
04:52You know, head-scratching moves by the coaching staff, namely the OC,
04:56and I don't know how Harbaugh lets them get away with some of these things.
04:59You have all the elements that have been absolutely driving Raven fans crazy
05:04all season long, and you saw it on display.
05:07Once again, another fourth quarter collapse by the Baltimore Ravens.
05:11Unreal.
05:11At all – and from a defensive perspective for the Ravens,
05:14like, they have gotten better from the beginning of the season,
05:16but the one thing you knew is Drake May was going to pass in that fourth quarter.
05:20There was no semblance of a running game.
05:21You should be able to defend it.
05:22And he sliced and he diced his way up and down the field for multiple scoring drives
05:27to end that game and, frankly, end the season for the Ravens.
05:31But I can't imagine when they got the football back, like, yeah,
05:33if we get a first down or two, we just close this game out,
05:36and you didn't put your quarter – excuse me, you're running back in the game.
05:39And so it's like, hey, Lamar's got this.
05:41We'll close it out.
05:42Lamar wasn't in the game.
05:43It was Huntley.
05:44I'm just so upset by losing that wager.
05:46It's still baffling.
05:47And then they hear, like, yeah, well, maybe he should have been in the football game.
05:51You think at that point?
05:52I'll tell you who else is going to be in the football game this weekend.
05:54The Jets, hey, look, you're not supposed to be winning games
05:57through an evaluation mode.
05:58Brady Cook is going to remain the starting quarterback, Aaron Gled said.
06:01And it's supposed to happen this way.
06:02And here's Aaron Glenn talking about why he's going to do this.
06:06Brady will be our starting quarterback.
06:09Listen, there were some things in that game,
06:11and I think if you could go back and watch the beginning of the game,
06:14I thought he was doing a really, really good job.
06:17Man, but as the game progressed, I will say this,
06:20between Brady making some mistakes, between the protection of the O-line,
06:25between some of the concepts that we have for him,
06:27all of our hands are involved with some of the mistakes that happened in that game.
06:30But I thought he did a really good job at the beginning of the game
06:33managing the game the right way.
06:35I don't know what he's talking about, but he should just say,
06:38we're not trying to win football games.
06:39We want to hire draft picks.
06:40We can pick our quarterback.
06:42No, I'm not going back to two veterans because, honestly, Joe,
06:44like Tyrod Taylor is ready to get back out there.
06:46They know better than put him out there.
06:48Put Cook out there.
06:49Let him get some reps.
06:50Let him get some film.
06:50And let them pile up the losses, Joe.
06:54Yeah, more importantly, yeah, let's stop pretending you're trying to win games here.
06:58Brady Cook is our starting quarterback
07:00because we have no intention of accidentally winning more games
07:04than we need to at this point.
07:06So, yes, Brady Cook, you did some great things.
07:09Namely, you didn't fumble the first snap of the game
07:12because after that, Donnie, it was all downhill for Brady Cook
07:15and the Jets in that one.
07:17Big win, by the way.
07:18New Orleans apparently hasn't gotten that memo.
07:20New Orleans apparently wants to finish off just rattling off
07:24and ending mid-tier when it comes to the draft, but not the Jets.
07:27Hello, Kansas.
07:31That's what the Kansas City Chiefs are saying here.
07:34It's all about the money, baby.
07:35They've been in the state of Missouri for quite some time.
07:37Now they're going to cross the border into Kansas for more money.
07:41It's a business decision that they made.
07:42It's not going to affect any of the fans out here.
07:44So, I can't believe they're moving from Missouri into Kansas.
07:47We supported that team.
07:48Yeah, so do people from Kansas as well.
07:50They're right on the border.
07:51There's probably equal amount of Kansas Chiefs fans
07:54that there are Missouri Chiefs fans here.
07:56It's all about the money, baby.
07:57A brand-new stadium.
07:58But I saw the two.
07:59$65,000 to $68,000.
08:01Seemed a little light there, Joe.
08:03Why not pump it up a little bit more, man?
08:04Get $75,000 to $80,000 in that building.
08:06Just follow the money here.
08:08They get now.
08:09All of a sudden, you can go and get the biggest bowl games
08:14with a dome, maybe even a Super Bowl.
08:17You know, Donnie, you know how it rolls here.
08:18I'm just curious, though.
08:20You're going to take what used to be one of the best home field advantages,
08:23and, yes, the stadium Arrowhead was in Missouri,
08:25and many people didn't realize that.
08:28But the idea that you're going to enclose it now,
08:31wasn't that half the battle of having to go to Arrowhead,
08:34like if you're the Dolphins and play in minus eight?
08:37Wasn't that an advantage?
08:38That's no longer an advantage it feels like here.
08:41No, it doesn't feel like it here, but, you know,
08:43I'm pretty sure the Hunt family, who does have like a condo
08:46actually in Arrowhead once they did refurbish that.
08:48I wonder if he builds an actual house inside this new stadium.
08:51And maybe, Joe, it's like we can't have 75,000 seats in here
08:54because I need about 10,000 square feet for myself and my family
08:58so we can have our own condo inside the building once again.
09:01And the rich get richer.
09:02It's always been that way, and that's what's happening just now.
09:04We're going from Missouri over to Kansas to spend that money.
09:07But also, talking about spending some money on a backup,
09:09Shane Buschel.
09:11Oh, he's coming back to save the day because I don't know if they like this
09:14old out of a lot of Coon or, hey, man, it's a wrap on the season.
09:17Let's go have some fun.
09:18Let's finish the season out and be done with it.
09:20Yeah, maybe they can trade for Phillip Rivers.
09:23I mean, call me crazy.
09:25But any other 45-year-old quarterbacks that we can call?
09:31No?
09:31Well, unfortunately, I guess Shane will have to do.
09:34I'm telling you, Donnie, that line might be 16-17 before kickoff on Christmas.
09:40And I'm telling you, if you guys don't understand this,
09:43Peyton has a lot of pettiness.
09:44And when nobody kicks around the Chiefs, this is a chance to embarrass the Chiefs
09:48on Christmas?
09:49You might just want to do that here if you're the Denver Broncos.
09:52We'll find out.
09:53Minshew avoids an ACL tear.
09:54Also, Joe, not going to matter.
09:56He's down for the season.
09:57That's why Buschel comes to town anyway.
10:00Again, I mean, it goes from, at this point, what's the difference, right?
10:03The minute you lost Mahomes, the season was over anyway.
10:06Although some along you, the season was over even prior to that.
10:09But, yeah, it just, there it is, when it goes bad, it goes really bad.
10:13And it feels like it's been that way for about a half a dozen teams this season, Donnie.
10:19DK Metcalf, he's in trouble.
10:21By the way, he's down for the final two games.
10:22What would happen this week if the Pittsburgh Steelers slipped up against Cleveland?
10:26And then you also don't have DK Metcalf for the Baltimore Ravens game?
10:29You can't have rabbit ears in the NFL.
10:32You can't be listening to the fans.
10:33Otherwise, as coaches used to say, you listen to the fans,
10:36you end up sitting right next to them.
10:37Well, DK is going to be sitting right next to the fans because he suspended two games.
10:42Yeah, it's just stupid.
10:43I mean, absolutely.
10:44And no need for it.
10:46I mean, you can't go into the stands and put your hands on it.
10:49Like, what are you doing, man?
10:51Especially in such a big time of the year.
10:54You know, this isn't week two, DK.
10:57This is like, you know, we're talking about yarning into week 17.
11:00All you have to do is win one more game,
11:02and you will go ahead and clinch the division and enter the playoffs.
11:07Like, it's just, it's a huge loss for Pittsburgh, unfortunately.
11:11And also, you're acting like children out here, too.
11:14And when I say this, you know, when you're a kid growing up, it's like,
11:16you know what, my parents are going to punish me because I got in trouble at school.
11:20I'm going to make it up.
11:21Joe told me to say that, Mom.
11:23I didn't do that.
11:24Okay, well, instead of two weeks, you get it down to one week.
11:26And you look at the same playbook where it's like Miles Garrett.
11:28Like, hey, man, I heard them say something in a scrum of 20 people
11:31that nobody else heard but you, and now DK Metcalf doing the same thing.
11:35Oh, my goodness.
11:36I might have just ruined $50 million in my game plan.
11:39I got to make something up to try to get at us.
11:41It looks like that's what they're doing now.
11:42But the NFL, there is an appeals process.
11:44We'll see if it goes through and he gets it down to one game.
11:47But this isn't, Joe, hey, I took my helmet and hit you with it,
11:51or let's just say I crashed into you, got a bad penalty on that.
11:55We'll limit it.
11:55You can't punch a fan and expect, like, oh, two games down to one.
11:58What message does that send, Joe?
11:59Oh, just go in the stands and beat up a fan.
12:01You get one game?
12:03The message is that you can be gotten to, and that's the problem.
12:07And that's the message that you sent is that, you know, sorry, oops,
12:12you can really get to Metcalf.
12:14Yeah.
12:14Unbelievable.
12:16NFL Christmas Day.
12:18I love football and Christmas, Joe.
12:20I love three games in the NFL and Christmas.
12:22Now, granted, the games that we're getting might not be all that exciting,
12:25and I guess there's no way that they could possibly flex these games out.
12:29But the NFL, Joe, did have good intentions.
12:31The Dallas Cowboys are always a draw.
12:33They're going to put them on Thanksgiving and keep them there.
12:35They're going to put them on Christmas Day.
12:36But you're just hoping that Dallas would still be involved in the playoff
12:39process by the time they got here.
12:40And also, Washington was that hot team entering into the NFC Championship
12:44last year with maybe a young, up-and-coming, rising superstar
12:47in Jaden Daniels.
12:48That didn't work out.
12:49Detroit is hanging on for a dear life right now,
12:52going up against a Minnesota team that might throw Brosmer out there again.
12:55And he looks like he can barely even take snaps in the NFL.
12:58Then you have the nightcap.
12:59What a great rivalry in the AFC West.
13:02Boy, those Denver Broncos probably going to be on the come-up this year.
13:04They'll be a solid team.
13:05But the Kansas City Chiefs will probably have at least 12 wins by now,
13:09and everybody will watch that game.
13:11Ooh, they're going to test how much we really love NFL football.
13:14And almost what product you're going to have to pay for that,
13:17I believe, is all three games.
13:19Are they all on Netflix or either Amazon Prime this weekend, Joe,
13:22or on Christmas Day?
13:23Is that what I'm hearing?
13:25I'm pretty sure, Donnie.
13:26Yeah.
13:26So you'll have to actually have some sort of –
13:30you're going to have to have some sort of subscription
13:32in order to be bored to death in blowout games,
13:34which are absolutely coming on Christmas.
13:38We have to get off these streaming services, Joe.
13:41I have them on.
13:42I will watch.
13:43But, again, the most painful thing is I have ADD when I have the remote in my hand.
13:47Like, I'm always flipping around and fidgeting here.
13:50You can't do that when you watch it on Netflix
13:52because it takes you an hour to get back into the football game.
13:55But we will, Joe, have a football game at 1 o'clock
13:58between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders.
14:00We have no idea who's showing up on the Commanders,
14:02and also from a Dallas side.
14:03How excited are they going to be away from their families on Christmas Day
14:07in a meaningless football game in the cold up in the Northeast?
14:10But they are favorites by close to a touchdown at 6 1⁄2,
14:13the total at 50 1⁄2.
14:15I can't bet this game until I know who's playing quarterback for Washington,
14:18and if it is going to be Josh Johnson, who the heck's taking Washington?
14:23Donnie, it's – and listen, are we 100% sure that Dak Prescott
14:27is still playing in this game?
14:29Like, this is – this has got the recipe of a disaster.
14:33There isn't one meaningful matchup here.
14:35Now, listen, Denver, yes, they got – if they want the one seed,
14:39they're going to have to win.
14:40But they're already almost a two-touchdown favorite here, right?
14:43Who are we thinking they're going to roll over for?
14:46Like, they're – and coming off a loss, no less.
14:49So, they could not have come up with three worse matchups
14:52than the ones that we've got coming up on Christmas
14:55where we're just going to be – have to endure teams
14:57where they're filled with guys making business decisions.
15:01Donnie, that's it.
15:02Yeah, look at the tweet up on the screen that we have there.
15:04Put that back up.
15:05Look at the matchups.
15:06Now, old school theory, Joe, in Major League Baseball was,
15:09don't worry about the batters.
15:11Just look at the pitchers.
15:12You have a really good pitcher and a really bad pitcher.
15:13I don't care what the lineup is.
15:14You're going to take the good pitcher.
15:16It feels like that on Christmas Day.
15:17So, let me ask you this question.
15:19Dallas, Washington, Detroit, Minnesota, Denver, and Kansas City.
15:23Obviously, heavy favorites on the teams with the better quarterback.
15:26I – you can't guarantee things in life.
15:28But are you going at least two-in-one spread-wise
15:30by just taking the favorite teams with quarterbacks you understand
15:33are actually NFL players?
15:35Donnie, you would think, right?
15:38Yeah.
15:39You would think.
15:39But, again, motivation, I scratch my head.
15:43Now, they're supposed to be pros, right?
15:45They're supposed to be guys.
15:46But, I mean, this isn't just a random – this is Christmas now.
15:50You've got these guys out there.
15:51And I'm sure you're going to get big efforts.
15:53But you're going to be wagering if you're thinking about going dogs this Christmas, Donnie.
16:00Do you know the kind of efforts that you're going to have to get from the dogs
16:04in order to be able to get any outright upsets?
16:06This has got Moneyline Parlay written all over it this week for the books.
16:12Yeah, the books are going to cancel this out because you're right about this.
16:14There's one thing about betting, let's just say, the Vegas Raiders,
16:17where at least it's Gino Smith.
16:19I've been around the block.
16:20I had some success.
16:21I'm not going to come out here like I have no idea what's going on.
16:24Joe, there are going to be three quarterbacks.
16:26And, again, well, John Johnson, he can't move and he can't play.
16:29I don't know how long he's lasted this long because just being a third-string quarterback
16:32where you may be good for the locker room is fine.
16:33But the other two quarterbacks, they can't play.
16:36So I'm going to say, all right, I'm going to get nine possessions in this football game
16:39with Max Brosmer.
16:40What's my ceiling on being competitive?
16:42Probably absolutely nothing, which, again, Detroit is favored by 5.5 to 6,
16:46depending on where you're shopping at, over Minnesota, and a total of 44.5.
16:50Detroit, at least you have a pulse where it's like, yes, we can still make the playoffs.
16:54We'll come to play.
16:55But what's your game plan for Minnesota?
16:57Three yards and a cloud of dust and get out of here?
17:00Like, they have no chance.
17:01Have you watched Brosmer play?
17:03They have no chance to do anything.
17:05No, they don't.
17:07And, you know, here we go again now.
17:09We've got Detroit shot themselves in the foot once again against Detroit there against Pittsburgh at home.
17:17So what are the chances that Detroit is not going to leave it all out on the line here for this game?
17:22And they are absolutely going to get Max Brosmer here, because why are you rolling J.J. McCarthy out, Donnie?
17:29Why?
17:29I mean, why?
17:31Why would you do that if you're Minnesota with nothing to play for?
17:34So, yeah.
17:35I'm expecting a lot of maybe team totals might be the way to look this week.
17:39Yeah, or team total unders for some of these teams, because there's no point in Minnesota.
17:44Like, they won last week against the Giants, because the Giants were just going to out-tank them in that game.
17:47Like, the Giants were really good at that by saying, we're not even going to throw a pass in the first quarter to let you know how meaningful this game is.
17:52But now we take a look at that nightcap, Joe.
17:54Denver and Kansas City.
17:55Like, a lot of Coon, like, he can't play.
17:58This team got beat by two touchdowns by the absolute least talented team in the NFL in the Titans.
18:04Now they're going to take on Denver, who's going to be spitting mad after that last game and saying, like, did you see the post-game press conference with Peyton?
18:10It's not a guy in that room that didn't think that we got beat today.
18:13No excuses.
18:14We got shown up.
18:15They're not getting shown up.
18:16And they just might step on Kansas.
18:17Like, what's the ceiling for Kansas City in this game?
18:20Nine and a half points against that defense?
18:22Yeah, exactly.
18:24It's going to be through the roof.
18:26I mean, they are going to come in angry to begin with, Donnie, right?
18:29They are going to be, you know, take no prisoners.
18:32They are just for, and like you had mentioned earlier, going to be a lot of frustration taken out, I think, with Denver in this game.
18:41So, expect, and I wouldn't expect starters to be resting at any point in this game, by the way.
18:48Also, like, go back to the first game where let's just say it is Johnson at quarterback.
18:51Like, 50 and a half is a, 50 and a half.
18:54Does that mean Dallas has to get 42 points in that game?
18:56Did you watch once Marcus Marriott left the game?
18:58And was, quite frankly, they weren't really moving the football anyway with Marriott against the Eagles?
19:02These are tragic because the one thing you can deal with in the NFL, bad defenses, you can watch the game because quarterbacks can carve them up.
19:09Watching bad quarterbacks in the NFL, it's the worst product in the world.
19:13And you're going to get three games with three quarterbacks that aren't NFL-quality players.
19:18Good luck.
19:19Hopefully, you make some money.
19:20The eggnog is strong.
19:22You eat a ton of food.
19:23You get some good presents because it doesn't look like we're getting any presents on Christmas, at least from the NFL.
19:27But on Saturday, you're getting some pretty good presents, no doubt about it, in the NFL.
19:32Those two ball games, you just have to wait a little bit longer.
19:35Same thing you're going to have to wait to come back after this break.
19:38Predictive market time right here a few days before Christmas.
19:42If you're cashing in on some of these stock-type options here over the past, you probably got Christmas paid for.
19:47Did you get out of those stock options?
19:48Did you sell too early, Joe?
19:50Which I know some people, you know, damn, could have made a little bit extra money if I hung around.
19:54Or, ooh, I should have sold my position before this team absolutely went into the tank.
20:00The NFC West division winner.
20:02Now, the tank has already been completed there for the Arizona Cardinals.
20:05But my goodness, you have three of the best football teams around in the same division, Joe.
20:10Seattle, 51% chance to win that division.
20:14They're up 19%.
20:15San Francisco, after laying waste last night, Joe, to the Indianapolis Colts, they're at 34%.
20:21A 20% increase on their position.
20:24The Los Angeles Rams, nobody buying into them, Joe.
20:27They were as high as 60%.
20:29They lost 40% chance down to 20% right now.
20:33So the question comes in, Joe.
20:35Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles.
20:37Who would get your money in this Calci predictive marketplace?
20:43It's, obviously, Seattle is the one with the leg up here, right?
20:48Yeah.
20:48And have we forgotten about the Rams all that much here?
20:52But, you know, I said it earlier.
20:54The 49ers by far have the easiest, you know, the easiest path here.
21:00If anybody is going to slip up out of those three teams, Donnie, isn't it Seattle, it feels like,
21:05is the one team that might, which might open the door here for the 49ers and the Rams.
21:11But there's no reason not to think the Rams aren't capable or the 49ers of winning out.
21:17I think it's going to be very interesting if Seattle, now that you're in first, let's see what you can do with it.
21:23Can you close it?
21:24And the thing that you bring up is a pretty good point where sometimes during the season, you say,
21:28okay, we got to go on the road to play the Panthers.
21:30Thank goodness it's not somebody really good.
21:31The Panthers are trying to win their own division.
21:33That's all of a sudden turned into a really good game.
21:35And then you get the Niners in the final game of the season.
21:38Should be some fun to watch out as it plays out.
21:40But, man, high stakes right now if we're looking at the NFC West, man.
21:44Really good division down the stretch.
21:45The number one overall pick, Joe, in 2026, looks like it's going to be Fernando Mendoza,
21:51or at least the predictive markets are saying that.
21:53You take a look at him, Joe, 62%, up 8% on his position,
21:58which a $100 wager to be number one overall for Mendoza would pay back $164.
22:03Dante Moore at 27%, down 10% on his number.
22:07And Arville Reese at 8%.
22:09I got to tell you right now, I have no idea who that is or if they're playing a joke on me, Joe.
22:13Yeah, that's going to be interesting here.
22:17But I have no idea.
22:19Who's Arville Reese? Do you believe you know?
22:19But no idea.
22:21But don't you have to pick the Heisman winner, Donnie?
22:25Isn't that like the rule of thumb if you're going to take a quarterback?
22:29Is he not the best quarterback in college football?
22:32If he's not, then I don't know what we're doing here.
22:36I think he should be the odds-on favorite.
22:39By the way, I'm just trying to take a look at it.
22:41He is a linebacker.
22:42Arville Reese is an Ohio State linebacker at this point right now.
22:46So is this like Vontae Mack in draft day?
22:49Like take him no matter what at this point and you're going to succeed?
22:52Dante Moore, Ruben Bain Jr., Jeremiah Love, and then Arville Reese somehow popped in.
22:57Who's putting money on Arville?
22:58If I told you right now, Joe, Arville Reese at 8%,
23:02which he's down 21% from his position, it paid back $770.
23:05It seems like the worst money you can actually spend
23:07for a number one pick to be a linebacker?
23:10My goodness.
23:10Yeah.
23:11Who would do that?
23:12Yeah, no.
23:13Nobody.
23:13And yeah, I believe, Donnie, that we're looking at
23:16definitely a quarterback going to be the first one off the board.
23:21Joe Aniridani writes out here.
23:22It's the Early Line.
23:23It is the Sports Grid Network, and we are rocking and rolling.
23:25By the way, Tom filled in for the past couple days here,
23:28and we were going over some options because you know me, Joe.
23:30I'm very sincere when I want to be the commissioner of these leagues
23:33because I want everybody to enjoy every sport.
23:35And the way it's set up right now, we can't do that.
23:37Basketball's in the dark until January.
23:39College basketball and their silly season will really pick it up
23:42coming that mid to late port of January into February
23:45and then March Madness.
23:46It's wonderful.
23:47The NBA playoffs are fantastic.
23:49But hear me out on this, Joe.
23:51Like the NFL has taken Christmas Day away from the NBA
23:54where nobody will watch the NBA.
23:55Say, well, Donnie, these games are horrible.
23:56They're going to outrate the NBA by massive margins,
23:59even with horrendous football.
24:01So I'm trying to rearrange like Christmas Day,
24:03which is now the NFL's day.
24:05How about if the NBA, Joe, moved their Christmas Day slate
24:08to Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas?
24:12Would that not be better?
24:13We could actually pay attention to those games.
24:15Can you imagine Christmas Eve, Joe?
24:17Seven or eight marquee NBA games,
24:19the holiday getting started in style.
24:21The NFL is not messing with you here.
24:23Should the NBA avoid Christmas Day now and say,
24:27you know what?
24:27Let's showcase on another day.
24:29I don't know that they – I don't think they will, Donnie.
24:33I think they'll want big – and you know what?
24:36If I'm the NBA, I wouldn't because the NFL,
24:40look at what they're giving us compared to the games
24:43that we're getting in the NBA, Donnie.
24:45I mean, it's not going to take – once it's 38-0 in the second quarter,
24:49nobody's watching that football game anymore.
24:51I'll have no problem switching over to the NBA and watching games
24:55that actually, you know, are a little more entertaining and competitive
24:59because the NFL can't flex out of those games, Donnie.
25:02We know that.
25:03And they're rolling the dice.
25:05So if I'm the NBA, take advantage of some terrible football
25:09they're giving us here.
25:10Now, understand this.
25:12Is the NFL so devious that they went to a streaming service
25:15knowing that people don't want to actually get out of the streaming service
25:17because they're hard to get back in,
25:19so they will just keep that bad football game on all ways
25:21so you can't just change the channel?
25:22Maybe they are.
25:23Maybe they are that devious at this point.
25:26But by the way, Christmas Day games, not so good.
25:28We'll be betting.
25:29We'll be watching.
25:30Saturday's games, Joe, Baltimore, Green Bay, Houston, and Los Angeles.
25:35Let's get to that Houston and Los Angeles game.
25:37The Texans here fighting for that division,
25:39and hopefully they can overtake, let's just say,
25:41the Indianapolis Colts who have crashed
25:43and or the Jacksonville Jaguars have been tremendous.
25:45Houston escaped with their lives against the Las Vegas Raiders.
25:48Yeah, that happened.
25:49The Chargers dismantled the Cowboys here
25:51and looking better by the week
25:52because their quarterback is getting even more healthy.
25:54They, talking about the Chargers now,
25:56are favorites from one and a half to two and a half,
25:58depending on where you're shopping at,
26:00and a total of 39 and a half.
26:02Two good defenses here.
26:04I didn't like what I saw out of Houston last week,
26:05but it is a week-to-week league.
26:07Is this a Chargers game here,
26:08only favored slightly by one and a half?
26:11Well, I mean, listen,
26:12Houston is doing their best to try and keep pace with the Jags.
26:17You've got the Chargers looking to do the same with the Broncos, right?
26:20Because let's not forget,
26:22they still have the Broncos coming up,
26:24even though they won that first game that they played.
26:27So I got to believe that Denver's going to win
26:30and the Chargers are going to know that
26:32heading into this game on Saturday night.
26:34So they're going to have to keep pace.
26:36It's not going to be a cakewalk,
26:38but the Chargers seem to be getting a little bit healthier,
26:42a little bit better.
26:43I think they're going to be able to get this one against Houston.
26:47Doesn't it feel, Donnie, like Houston?
26:49Like, man, they have dodged a lot of bullets
26:52after that 0-3 start.
26:53And all you can do is win the games on your schedule.
26:55But my goodness, that was a head-scratcher
26:58against the Raiders on Sunday.
27:00It'll be fun to watch that defensive line for Houston
27:03go up against that offensive line, I should say, for the Chargers.
27:06We'll see if that's the difference in the game.
27:07But the Chargers are home.
27:09How about the second game on Saturday, Joe?
27:11The nightcap.
27:11It's going to be Baltimore and Green Bay.
27:13Here's the interesting part.
27:14That game Saturday,
27:15we technically don't know who the quarterbacks are going to be.
27:18But looking at the way the NFL landscape has changed over the past decade, Joe,
27:22your franchise quarterback got a concussion.
27:26And it wasn't one of those where, like, we didn't really see the hit
27:28and he reported symptoms the next day.
27:31He got blasted full barrel, crown of a helmet,
27:34right to his forehead, and got knocked out of that game.
27:37Do we think Jordan Love's going to come back in a week's time frame
27:40to take on the Baltimore Ravens?
27:42I don't know.
27:43And also, Lamar Jackson.
27:44How serious was that injury?
27:46It looked like he barely got touched.
27:47Like, that's what I'm dealing with now.
27:49But you do have Green Bay as a 28-point favorite if Malik Willis does play.
27:52But also, Joe, we're hearing Malik Willis with a shoulder strain as well.
27:56Man, things aren't looking good at the Green Bay quarterback position
27:58at the worst time of year to have quarterback problems.
28:01Yeah, and it's hilarious, Donnie,
28:03because we really don't have a clue as to who the starting quarterbacks
28:07and what their situations are.
28:08And yet, somehow, we have a line on this game.
28:12Remember today when we'd have no line, Donnie,
28:14because we couldn't figure out and tell you
28:15who the quarterbacks are going to be?
28:16No, no, we don't do that now.
28:18Now you have to have a lineup, and you do.
28:20And I still have no idea who it is that's going to be playing in this game.
28:24What I do know is that the Ravens aren't technically eliminated
28:29from postseason play, but they are about as close as it comes.
28:33So if there's one team in here that absolutely has to win,
28:38it's going to be the Ravens.
28:40But that doesn't mean they will win.
28:41This is a tough one coming up on Saturday night.
28:45Remember, Joe, like before we had anything online
28:47or really the internet was keeping track of stuff,
28:49you'd open up the paper and just say N-A on the line there
28:51next to it in the printed numbers.
28:53Boy, times have changed at this point right now.
28:55Jacksonville and Indianapolis, this is a Sunday game.
28:57You just saw Phillip Rivers last night.
28:59Looked pretty good in the pocket, but that defense is absolutely terrible.
29:02Bad news coming to town.
29:04That's Jacksonville, Joe.
29:05One of the best offenses in the NFL points-wise
29:08over the last month and a half.
29:10You don't think they saw that tape with Brock Purdy
29:12throwing five touchdown passes and go,
29:14hey, by the way, our guy just did this too.
29:16Five touchdown passes and one rushing here in Trevor Lawrence.
29:19That total is 47 and a half.
29:21If we get anything like we saw to Phillip Rivers
29:24in that offense for the Colts,
29:25which means Jacksonville will have to respond.
29:2747 and a half.
29:29Not looking too bad.
29:29And by the way, Jacksonville favored by close to a touchdown
29:32on the road in the division here.
29:34Yeah, and listen, it makes sense.
29:37And the question to me is going to be, all right,
29:40let's see what you got here, Indy.
29:42Can you stop this bleeding?
29:44Because much like the Ravens, you're not technically eliminated,
29:49but let's face it, this 1% chance of yours is not good.
29:53And you're going to need some help anyway.
29:55But listen, I think they can bounce back and make it competitive.
29:59I love these divisional games at the end of the season.
30:02And these two have had battles over the years.
30:05And usually one team can play spoiler against the other.
30:08And we've seen these teams do this before.
30:11But I guess it's time we start taking the Jags seriously
30:14because another blowout win here, like they just had against Denver.
30:18Yeah.
30:18And boy, oh boy, we need to have a different conversation about the Jags.
30:22Man, they just keep on putting up points for Jacksonville.
30:25Cohen, what a great hire right now, at least as it looks.
30:28Resurrected Trevor Lawrence.
30:29And this team is a legitimate threat now in the AFC
30:31when maybe you thought coming into the season,
30:33there'd be an afterthought hoping for some good things here.
30:36Seattle and Carolina.
30:38Carolina just dispatched of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
30:41But most people have this as a scheduled loss for Carolina at home
30:44where they've been playing very well.
30:45If they win this, that really puts the pressure on the Buccaneers.
30:49Now, granted, winning it and staying close, two different things
30:51because the Seattle Seahawks, Joe, in this game,
30:53are 7.5-point favorites across the board with a total of 42.5.
30:57You want to talk about meaningful football for both of these teams?
30:59You got this in late December here in the NFC.
31:03Yeah, I wouldn't be shocked if we start to see a lot more Carolina money hit the market here.
31:09This feels like a trap of all traps for Seattle, right?
31:13Because you just had this big win.
31:16Great.
31:16Now you've got to travel cross-country late in the year to take on not a pushover Carolina team,
31:23but a Carolina team that now controls their own destiny here in the NFC South.
31:28So this feels like it could absolutely be trap-ish for Seattle.
31:34Great win over the Rams.
31:36Let's face it, that was great.
31:38It was also a little fortunate.
31:39I don't like this spot for Seattle at all.
31:43I certainly don't like them laying more than a touchdown in this game.
31:46Yeah.
31:47Again, there's not really a look-ahead game per se
31:49because Seattle knows they have to handle their business every game they play,
31:52but they do have a monster divisional battle the next week here.
31:56It's one of those, Joe, it's like, get in the town, get out with a win.
31:5924-23, we'll take it, let's get home.
32:02And also, there is still something to that 1 o'clock game with that West Coast team, Joe.
32:06Flying 3,000 miles to play a game outdoors there, we'll see if that certainly factors in.
32:10But a much better card shaping up than the Christmas games into Saturday and into Sunday
32:15with a lot of meaning across the board as we see it.
32:18The Eagles taking on those Buffalo Bills and was supposed to be windy weather in Buffalo.
32:22And then also the nightcap, Joe, on Sunday night,
32:24the Chicago Bears travel to take on the San Francisco 49ers.
32:28Do you get any pushback here, or should I say, guys getting back in the lineup?
32:31Roma Dunze would help out.
32:33Burden would help out in that team.
32:34A lot of good NFL football is on the way.
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