00:00Let's move on to the Cincinnati Bengals here, Jacob.
00:02And boy, if the Bengals could ever get off to like a 3-1 start or a 4-1 start,
00:07you would think that they would be formidable.
00:09But unfortunately for them, it's been injuries.
00:11Joe Burrow again last year.
00:13But the oddsmakers are telling us that if Burrow is healthy,
00:16the Bengals are making the playoffs.
00:18Their win total is 9.5.
00:20Starting off a season, we have not seen this from oddsmakers in a really long time
00:25with them being so bullish on Cincinnati.
00:27So what gives, Jacob, going into the year?
00:30Why is Cincinnati, why do they have such a high win total?
00:33Yeah, so I think it's, again, a strength of schedule situation.
00:36I think the Bengals rank third easiest in terms of schedules this year
00:40behind only the Lions.
00:42And I believe the Saints rank number two overall right now
00:45based on projected win totals for this upcoming season.
00:48And I think, to your point, the big question about the Bengals is,
00:50can they avoid stumbling out of the block?
00:53Because they've been notoriously slow starting under Zach Taylor.
00:57They tried to play their starters a little bit more in the preseason last year
01:00to kind of reverse that trend.
01:02But obviously, we didn't see the full effect of that
01:04because Joe Burrow couldn't stay healthy.
01:06But when Burrow has been on the field, this team has been a consistent winner.
01:11So I think anybody who wants to bet the Bengals over is banking on Burrow,
01:16staying healthy.
01:17And these big-time defensive acquisitions, like Brian Cook at safety,
01:21Dexter Lawrence on the defensive line,
01:23Boye Mafe on the edge.
01:25Like, those guys should help improve what was a dreadful stop unit last season.
01:29So I like the Bengals.
01:31I think they can do better.
01:32But it's all going to depend on if Joe Burrow can stay healthy.
01:35I'll back that for now.
01:36That might be a fool's errand, Craig.
01:39But I think it's got to happen at some point, right?
01:42You would think, but it just hasn't.
01:44And that's really the key here.
01:46But Burrow, when he's healthy, I mean, he's as good as any quarterback, honestly, in the NFL.
01:49He's that good.
01:50Speaking of quarterbacks, Arizona has none.
01:52So their win total is set now at 4.5 after their schedule has come out.
01:57Outside of Miami, most think that Arizona will be the worst team in the NFL.
02:01It could be one of those two.
02:03And their schedule isn't easy.
02:06And they really didn't do a lot this offseason to make me think that they're going to be much better
02:11than they were a year ago.
02:12Kyler Murray is, of course, gone.
02:14He wasn't even playing at the end.
02:16This whole Michael Wilson, Jacoby Brissett combination, that was great.
02:19But they weren't winning any games with that.
02:21So does anything change this year?
02:24And basically, I guess if I had to ask you, Jacob, Miami or Arizona being one of the worst teams
02:28in the NFL, who will it be?
02:30I'm going to take the Cardinals as the worst team for the reasons you mentioned.
02:34They just don't have a quarterback.
02:36And do I like some of their offensive weapons?
02:38Sure.
02:38I like Jeremiah Love.
02:39I like Marvin Harrison, Jr.
02:40I like Michael Wilson.
02:41I like Trey McBride.
02:42But if you don't have someone who can consistently get them the ball, they're not going to win a lot
02:46of games.
02:47And they're playing in the NFC West, one of the toughest divisions in football, with three legitimate Super Bowl contenders
02:52from last season who all won 12 games, and the Seahawks who won the actual Super Bowl.
02:56So I just don't see the Cardinals having much success at all.
02:59I think they're not fully tanking, but they're going to be hoping to get an early pick to get a
03:04quarterback in next year's draft.
03:05I think they're going to be hoping to get a quarterback in next year's draft.
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