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NFL 2025 | Week 18 Preview | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates · Banter with the Boys

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at least up let's go it's time for banter with
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the boys what is going on welcome back to banter
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with the boys gridiron updates our week 17 preview
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and picks 18 damn it Week 18. That's right. Week
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18. Preview and picks. I'm Smeltsy. Coach. Roberto
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is next to me. What's up, coach? What's up? What's
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up? Hanging out already. Week 18. I can't believe
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we're at the end of the season already. Yeah.
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Regular season. Tell me about it. Also hanging
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out tonight right next to Roberto is Justin.
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Packer fan. What's up? What's happening? And
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then to my Larry, we got Jake. Yo. Other co -hosts,
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welcome back. Back from the dead. Back from the
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dead. We back. Back from the dead. Got a quick
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breath, and it all depends on the Mars, but we'll
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get to that later. Yeah, we'll touch on that
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in a minute. First game, obviously the most important
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game with zero implications. Packers playing
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the Vikings in Minnesota, zero implications.
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Zero? No, come on. Other than bragging rights.
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But Jordan Love's not playing. Yeah, it's all
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about bragging rights at this point. We don't
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know if our quarterback's playing. He's not.
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JJ McCarthy? I don't think he's going to play.
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Okay. There's no way a hairline fracture. healed
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in a week. Justin Herbert's been playing with
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a broken hand. Yeah, but J .J. McCarthy is apparently
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still the truth and he's nine. So is Herbert.
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Well, yeah, but that's... It's fine. Chargers
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could afford to lose a game. Vikings can too,
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I guess. So it's fine. Anyway, whole boy. I mean,
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it really depends. Six and a half is a line.
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Yeah, I saw that. If we're looking at backup
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quarterback playing backup quarterback. Are you
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going first here? Malik Willis is going to go
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crazy. Okay. He's not going to play, I don't
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think. Yeah. He has an AC joint sprain. And a
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throwing arm. He's third. Good guess. He tweets
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it up. What is that? Tune? Tune. Clayton Tune?
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Yeah. Oh! He can get it done. Not against the
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Vikings defense. Well, I guess since this is
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me, I guess I'll just go with the Vikes then.
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I guess. I'm more interested in what Justin thinks
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about what Packers, he thinks they're going to
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play and how they're going to play it out. It's
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so weird. I think momentum is such an important
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thing in the NFL, and the Packers don't have
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it right now. You look at the last couple games.
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Again, they've had injuries. I think about the
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Ravens game. I was really proud with what they
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put together. I knew Derrick Henry coming in.
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It was going to be tough. Defense was really
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bad. But offense, Malik Willis got himself a
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contract, I think, in that game alone. I would
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agree there. They looked really good on offense.
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They torched the Ravens, but then Derrick Henry
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torched the Packers, and it wasn't the same.
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So I think you look at that, and you might do
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a mix of maybe starting some of the starters
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like we do in preseason for a little bit, but
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I think you'll see Clayton Toone probably play
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a majority of the game. I'm going to give the
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nod to Minnesota and push them higher up. in
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a bad way in their draft position i think is
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what ends up happening but it's all about finishing
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the season strong so i think it'll be feel good
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for minnesota i think it'll help keep ideally
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jordan love and some of the starters get them
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a little bit of in -game reps so that they get
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ready for either chicago or philadelphia yeah
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because if they lose this game this is the proverbial
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backing your way into the the playoffs you know
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would this be three losses in a row It might
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be four. Four? Oh, God. Like you say, in the
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vibe of the locker room, four L's in a row. Everyone's
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kind of looking at, you know, like, oh, did we
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lose our Momo a little bit? A little bit. Dang,
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you do. I don't know. You do maybe want to win
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this game. I agree. Just to get some, yeah, good
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feeling back in the locker room. Good vibes going
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a little bit. Because even before the four -game
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skid, it's not like. It's three. So the last
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game was against Chicago that they won, and they
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had won three in a row at that point, beating
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Minnesota, Detroit. Detroit, and Chicago. Then
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they lost to Denver, Chicago, and Baltimore.
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So, I mean, does the W matter? I don't personally
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think it does, but you want to go out there and
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go do some good stuff and have momentum going.
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So I don't know what that looks like because,
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again, I go back to last year and what happened
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against Christian Watson. Jordan Love got hurt
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a little bit. Malik Willis got hurt a little
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bit against Chicago. We lost that game. Then
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you go to Philadelphia without Christian Watson.
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You look very different. you do enough to kind
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of hang around, but Philadelphia did their thing.
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You don't want to see that happen again, especially
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if you play a Chicago team, not just because
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it's in division, but I firmly believe that is
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the Packers' best opportunity to go and make
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a run is to start with Chicago. Just to sign
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Trayvon Diggs. Oh, yes. I mean, he'll, never
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mind, no comment. What do you got? Packers, Bikes?
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I think I'd take Vikings. Vikings are playing
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for pride. Like always, it's all we do for the
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last 50 years. And they're playing for contracts
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for next year, too. So they have a lot moving
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forward that they're going to put on the line.
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So I think it's going to be Minnesota. I expect
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Green Bay to be arresting a significant number
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of their key players that need some rest, need
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their recovery time. going to be like first versus
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thirds, and so give me Minnesota. Yeah, I'm going
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to go exactly the same. I think the Packers are
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going to sit everybody that they possibly can
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in this game who needs to be set. I do think
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the Packers still will come out and harden play,
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but I don't know if that offense with their third
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string quarterback is going to be able to handle,
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like you said, a lot of contract. you know, like
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Hargrave, Allen. I mean, they're all playing.
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Hargrave's gone. I know, but they're still playing
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on tape. They're putting tape out right now for
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next year. So, you know, Van Ginkle, he, like,
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I don't think he doesn't. Dude's a beast. Key
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part of the team. I know. I'm not saying they're
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getting rid of him. I'm just saying who the Vikings
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are going to play against the Packers. And that's
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at home. Like last week, we had Harrison Smith
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talking about the fans showing up. Makes them
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want to show up for the fans. I think that vibe
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is probably maybe Harrison's last game too at
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home. You're not really stressed out either.
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You know you're out of the game. So you play
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free and wide. You're literally playing for fun.
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Yeah. Kind of. I mean, you're getting paid. And
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I think on the offensive side, I still think
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JJ. I think all the starters are going to play
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maybe on the offensive side. offensive line i
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could see maybe a guy or two uh like darryl probably
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not playing however he's out for the season i
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know brian o 'neill maybe o 'neill like guy like
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that where you don't need you know and but i
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still think 80 of the vikings uh starters are
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versus 35 40 of the packers in place so Yeah,
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kind of a weird game, but if you love football,
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you're going to watch it. It's going to feel
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very preseason, which I love preseason. You get
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to see these guys show up that don't always get
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the opportunity to play. So I agree. I'm torn,
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though, because I do believe if the starters
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are healthy, they should play a little bit, but
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I would also understand if they just... shut
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them down and get ready for the playoffs, too.
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I think it'll have a lot of preseason vibes and
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give some guys some opportunity. To your point,
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Jake, and go earn that next contract or that
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next opportunity going into next year. Flynn
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from the Green Bay Packers got a $100 million
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contract for week 17. And didn't even start a
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game afterwards. So it matters to a lot of these
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guys. Greatest agent of all time. Smooth. Other
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than Kirk Cousins' agent. Oh, yeah. All right.
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We got to move on to the next game here. You
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know what I mean? What do we got? We got the
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Seahawks traveling to the 49ers. I mean, this
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is the game. Yep. I mean, this is for the number
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one seed, right? I mean, it is a V game. Yeah.
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A V game. From the Ravens. Fair enough. Fair
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enough. From the Ravens gallery. But playing
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for the number one seed, the Seahawks traveling
8:14
to San Fran. What time is this game at? It's
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at 7. 7 o 'clock on Saturday. Oh, Saturday night.
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The football. Oh, not calling a game that night.
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Darn it. I'll have it up on the little side.
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There you go. And then you just start calling
8:31
the football game. Yeah. Yelling at it. Sorry,
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wrong sport. Hockey game, damn it. What do you
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got? What do you got this game? What game? This
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one right here. The Seattle Seahawks playing
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the... I'm sorry. That's why I messed you up.
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It's the Seattle Seachickens playing the San
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Francisco 49ers. That's why. I'm sorry. I mean,
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this would be a really fun divisional game in
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Levi. I think the 49ers... are kind of got the
9:02
flow a little bit on offense. Seattle's got a
9:05
really tough defense, but I can still see this
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one being, I'm going to go 31 -28. And 49ers
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are going to end up with one of the easiest schedules
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in the league getting the first round by. Because
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Brock Purdy's balling right now. He is balling
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right now. McCaffrey, too, is just legit. And
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that sets up Jenny or whoever. Throw it to Brandon
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Iyukup, whoever. Well, he's got to show up here.
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Yeah, in this county. That's how open these receivers
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are when they run play action with CMC in the
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backfield. Especially when they're going 100
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-plus miles an hour. Oh, my God. All right. Yeah,
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so I mean, I think I got to go Seattle here.
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I think they're coming in. It's going to be a
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really tough place to play. That place is going
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to be rocking. It's going to be a really fun
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environment for a Saturday night game. But I
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think Seattle's defense is going to not put a
10:05
stop to CMC by any means, but I think they're
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going to be able to limit him a little bit, and
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that's going to be a big change this week coming
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off of it. the crazy offensive display that they
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put on last week. I think this is going to be
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more of that playoff feel in the sense of defense.
10:20
This does not feel like a 31 -28 game to me.
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For me, I think this has got to be like 17 -14.
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Yeah, and these guys haven't played from week
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one. I know, which is crazy. It's hard to really
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get a vibe on, and now the spread is one and
10:34
a half on this. Towards? 49ers. Okay. Home team?
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What do you got, Justin? I'm going 49ers. I think
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of the flow of Brock Purdy and the 49ers team.
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He's played eight games, and he has five less
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touchdown passes than Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold
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is on the decline, which we talked about earlier,
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and part of it's because he doesn't have to do
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as much. But I go back to that game. Again, it
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was week one. A lot has happened since then.
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Was that a low -scoring game? 17 -13. It was
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a low -scoring game. Sam Darnold didn't throw
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a touchdown. CMC is going to be the key. He had
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over 140 all -purpose yards. They're going to
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have George Kittle back. It's at home. It means
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a lot. I'm going Niners. I think Sam Darnold
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will throw a touchdown. I think the other team.
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Oh, no. Quick. No, I think. I don't know, man.
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Sam's got to dig deep here because this is exactly
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almost the same situation as he was in against
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the Detroit Lions last year and completely shit
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the bed and then proceeded to go to the playoffs
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and shit the bed there too. So at some point,
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you know, you got to really look at yourself.
11:44
No, absolutely not. Samuel's got to dig deep
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here and get this shit going because he was a
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top 10 pick, was he not? Samuel? Is he top ten?
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He's number one. Okay. I wasn't sure if he was
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number one. And he's also in the supernatural.
11:58
He's seen ghosts in the past, so maybe he can
12:00
figure some stuff out. It's fine. No, it's good.
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Don't come back. It's good. It'll be fine. It'll
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be fine. Casper. What do we got? But that was
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Sam Darnold for the Jets going up against the
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Patriots, which is why he was seeing ghosts.
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I'm torn. I'm split. I hate that show. Sorry.
12:18
Wow. So. I think a lot of us thought that San
12:23
Francisco was going to be a playoff contender
12:26
at the beginning of the season. Four weeks in
12:28
with the injuries that were starting to mount,
12:31
there was a lot of questions about whether or
12:34
not they were going to piece it together. um
12:38
and get as far as they have so i think it's crazy
12:42
to think that after like looking back at week
12:45
four to where they are now i was not expecting
12:48
to see a 49ers team competing for the first seed
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um again i've been talking about this for the
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past couple of weeks shanahan um and elite mind
12:58
yeah the the elite deep offensive mind and the
13:02
elite defensive mind sala is able to rally that
13:05
that defense that young team um that they just
13:09
get after the if they get after the quarterback
13:12
they get they like flock to the ball um flock
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to the ball you ravens man she's so used to raven
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speak we need a translator um and cmc cmc is
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doing cmc things this year uh again i think it
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uh the week's week 17 recap. I was talking about
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CMC being player or comeback player of the year,
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potential offensive player of the year, even
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though the numbers aren't there. The dynamic
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that he gives that offense really good. 18th
13:49
best running back. Man, that really lives run
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free in your head. It sure does. And then you
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got the Seahawks. You don't know which Sam Darnold
14:00
you're going to get, but I think that there's
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something that Sam Darnold got from that Rams
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game where he stunk the bed in the first half,
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and then that team rallied together, had some
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good bounces, breaks, whatever you want to call
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it, in their favor. Defense. And they came back
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and beat the Rams. A lot of it's that Seattle
14:21
defense. 12s don't travel well, which is unfortunate.
14:30
But I do think the 12s are back. So I'm picking
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Seahawks because they have a better dynamic running
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tandem that's going to be harder to beat, I think,
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or harder for San Francisco to handle. And home
14:45
field is going through. is going through Seattle
14:48
in those 12s. And 12s are back. 12s are back.
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12s are back. Hear that, fans. He's back. Ravens
14:56
fans cheering for you. The flocking to the ball.
15:01
All right, game three. No, no, no, no, no, no.
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Wow, you doing okay over there? Yeah, everything's
15:07
cool, man. Fog machine. Yeah, the fog machine
15:10
over there. Raven Steelers, is that next? Nah,
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we're saving that one for last. Save best for
15:15
last. We're going Carolina Panthers traveling
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to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay, Tampa
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Bay. For the division, no? Oh, yeah. Mostly,
15:23
mostly. Mostly for the division. That's the only
15:26
one that. You win, you're in. You lose, you're
15:29
done. Oh, true in that aspect. False. Can they?
15:31
Oh, that's right. You were talking to me about
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this. There's two of the Ames. Well, no. Panthers
15:36
-Bucks isn't even. There's only one game, and
15:38
that's Raven -Steelers. Panthers -Bucks is weird
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because the Buccaneers, if they win, can still
15:44
not make the playoffs if the Falcons win against
15:48
the. Not the Rams, but whoever the Falcons are
15:53
playing this week. Very interesting. So, yeah,
15:56
if the Falcons win, then the Buccaneers are out.
16:00
If the Falcons win, the Bucs are out. It puts
16:04
them at 8 -9, and they'll be at 8 -9, and they
16:06
both would have split, so they need some help.
16:09
And so then they look at in -conference record,
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and they'll have a worse in -conference record.
16:15
So the Falcons versus... Who do the Falcons play?
16:19
Oh, gosh, I wasn't taking a look at that. But
16:21
the Falcons play the Saints. The Saints are hot.
16:25
Tyler Shuck. I think it's interesting. Is his
16:29
card market good? It's not necessarily winning
16:32
you're in, but it very much has that mentality.
16:34
Because at the very least, both teams should
16:37
want to win just to alleviate any pressure on
16:41
whether or not. Yeah, we don't want pressure.
16:43
No. Okay, interesting. Well, you might as well
16:47
go. Yeah. I have concerns for both teams, mainly
16:52
at quarterback. Baker Mayfield's banged up. He's
16:55
been dealing with a shoulder injury in his throwing
16:59
shoulder. I think that's caused him to be wildly
17:01
inaccurate. We've seen him throw five interceptions
17:05
over the course of the last four games, which
17:08
I think is the reason why they're kind of in
17:10
that losing skid right now. But it's essentially
17:15
win or go home for them. So I feel like Baker
17:19
is going to bake if we want to start talking
17:21
Uber Eats commercials over Bryce Young. Because
17:25
I don't know if Bryce Young's got it in him yet.
17:27
I need Bryce Young to prove it. So I'm going
17:29
to take Baker. I'm going to take Baker because
17:33
I know he's got moxie. He's a gunslinger. He's
17:35
going to want to win it. And his head coach called
17:37
him out. So he's going to want to prove everybody
17:39
wrong. Fair. Now. hmm justin you got this one
17:43
where are you thinking i'm thinking panthers
17:44
i'm gonna go on the other side i think the trend
17:47
is our friend and i like what the panthers are
17:50
doing i like their defense i like their run game
17:54
bryce is starting to figure it out i go and look
17:57
at the stats uh for the total team offense and
18:00
defense they're pretty close to the same On offense,
18:05
from a passing yard standpoint, what stuck out
18:08
to me is that the Panthers are giving up 204
18:11
yards in passing offense per game, while the
18:14
Bucs are giving up 236. That might seem marginal,
18:17
but I think that's going to play a big deal.
18:20
This is not the Tampa Bay defense that it was
18:23
in the years of Brady, and they've had some injuries,
18:26
and I think you're catching Tampa Bay at the
18:29
right time. I think if Baker's healthy, it's
18:31
a completely different situation. But I think
18:34
that cannot be overstated. So for me, I'm going
18:38
with the Panthers are going to take care of business
18:40
and lock up that spot. Yeah. When was the last
18:44
time the Panthers have won a division? Probably
18:47
2015 with Cam, right? Was that the last? Oh,
18:49
no. Okay. I was going Jake DeLome. Jake DeLome.
18:53
Back in 2001? 1971. No. Jake DeLome. Back when
18:58
they were the one seed. They weren't even the
18:59
team then. The one seed with Cam. Probably, yeah.
19:02
Yeah. I got to go with the Panthers. No, I was
19:05
at a Vikings -Panthers playoff game. 2015. I
19:07
don't know. 2015? Yeah, 2015 was their last division
19:09
title. I think I got to go with the Panthers
19:13
as well, although, you know, with two teams that
19:16
have had a lot of ups and downs it's hard to
19:19
beat that same opponent twice because you don't
19:22
really know what you're going to get but I do
19:23
kind of agree with what you got going on with
19:25
the trend you know what I mean we've seen it
19:27
the past few weeks with Carolina when they lose
19:30
they're at least competitive in these losses
19:32
the Seattle one was a little bit crappier for
19:35
them in the second half but Yeah, I think I got
19:41
to stick with Carolina. It's time for Bryce Young
19:44
to kind of step up in a moment like this and
19:46
see if he really does have it. And then again,
19:49
too many. defensively for Tampa Bay for me to
19:52
feel confident about them. I think I'd still
19:55
take an injured Baker Mayfield over Bryce Young.
19:58
Were you changing your pick? No, no. It's happened
20:00
twice now. What? When we think you go one way,
20:04
then it's like ramping up the other way. But
20:06
I've already made my pick before. I don't change.
20:08
No, no. It's written somewhere. I'm not leaving.
20:12
It's recorded, so I can't change it. Yeah, anyway,
20:16
sorry. Well, I've forgotten. I was on a thing.
20:20
So you're picking the Panthers. Yeah, correct.
20:22
All right. Sorry to ruin your... Who do we got?
20:24
You. Yeah. I mean... Let's go. I'm just kidding.
20:28
The Bucs are, like, trending totally in the wrong.
20:31
Were they one in the last six, seven games? One
20:34
in four in the last five. Ouch. Yeah. Yeah, not
20:39
pretty. It's not looking good right now. But,
20:41
I mean, they just played two weeks ago. The score
20:43
was 23 -20. It was in Carolina. Tampa Bay was
20:46
up most of that game, actually. But you just
20:49
lost to the Dolphins. Yeah, but this game has
20:53
a little more to it. I guess it's the availability
20:57
of Tampa Bay's defense that scares me the most
20:59
of how banged up they are. But I have a weird
21:03
feeling. I mean, it's literally a coin flip for
21:05
me. But I'm just going to randomly pick Tampa
21:07
Bay Buccaneers. Yeah. And then the Falcons are
21:10
going to win. And then they're still going to
21:12
be out. There you go. But it's I mean, it's literally
21:14
a coin flip on this game. That's crazy if that
21:18
actually happens. Yeah. They win and they still.
21:21
So I wonder if the NFL is kicking themselves
21:23
over their scheduling because they released the
21:25
week 18 schedule after the Sunday night game.
21:28
And they didn't wait for the Monday night game
21:30
to play out. they knew the Monday night game
21:33
was going to play out the way it did where the
21:35
Falcons won. Would they have changed that? So
21:37
that way you had both Falcon Saints and Bucks
21:40
Panthers playing at the same time. So their scoreboard
21:43
watching versus one team plays and they know
21:46
what they have to do. They kind of give up or
21:47
don't. Or the Falcons at that point, whether
21:50
they know the outcome. They're like, okay, we're
21:53
just going to, like, whatever. See arguments
21:54
that they play at the same time. Yeah, play at
21:56
the same time. I think that'd be cool. I bet
21:57
you they have, like, a Sunday night, midnight
21:59
deadline. Because they could probably get all
22:01
the production trucks and everything. Like, I
22:03
think that's probably why they had to do a cutoff.
22:08
Because they probably want to wait until Monday
22:09
night if they possibly could. But. Yeah, the
22:12
same thing happened last year with. the bangles
22:15
and their really slow start that they always
22:16
have and they almost made the playoffs and then
22:19
i think it was kansas city didn't start any of
22:22
their starters because they knew if if they if
22:26
they win the bangles are in the playoffs it's
22:28
kind of that same type of gamesmanship where
22:30
you could be score watching at that point versus
22:33
feeling one way or another about it yeah Okay.
22:39
Well, next on my list technically is Baltimore
22:42
-Pittsburgh, but let's save that for last. Indianapolis
22:46
traveling to Houston. Obviously, Indianapolis
22:50
out of the playoffs. This is one of them games
22:54
that we probably don't need to spend a ton of
22:55
time on. But Houston needs to win. They do. But
23:00
with the way Houston's defense is playing right
23:02
now, I don't. foresee it going the other way.
23:05
You don't think Grandpa Rivers is in a... No.
23:08
Grandpa Rivers isn't playing. Yeah, it's going
23:10
to be Riley Leonard. Yeah. Which I don't understand
23:14
if... the Colts knew that they were going to
23:17
be starting Riley this week. Why didn't they
23:19
start him last week? If it's a, Hey, let's see
23:21
what he's got. You already knew that you were
23:23
out of it last week. Anyways, were they technically
23:25
out? Was he fully like, they said something about
23:28
like, they wanted to give him a little bit more
23:31
rest, but then they brought him in for that hail
23:32
Mary. So I think because of that one situational
23:34
play, they were okay with it, but it's still
23:36
to your point. It's still weird that they didn't
23:38
fair. Yeah. If it's like, Hey, he's a rookie.
23:39
We want to see what he's got. Like. You have
23:42
a game called fans? Now, that's interesting.
23:44
I didn't know Riley Leonard was playing. Yeah,
23:46
he is playing. Does that change your pick? No,
23:48
but no. No, but I am interested to see him play.
23:54
I want to see what he has against a defense that's
23:56
elite right now. That'll be fun, and you do have
24:01
a good running back behind you. I'd assume they're
24:04
going to allow Jonathan Taylor to play. For sure.
24:06
Yeah, I would imagine. I'd just be curious to
24:09
see how he does now. I didn't know that. That's
24:11
cool. I think what becomes very interesting here,
24:14
it's going to be a bloodbath, right, with the
24:17
Texans. I hope everybody stays healthy. like
24:22
the bright glimpses of Riley Leonard, even against
24:25
the best defense in the NFL. That they're not
24:27
signing Daniel Jones. Exactly. What happens with
24:30
Daniel Jones? And I think that's where this becomes
24:31
really interesting is if you see enough good
24:35
out of him, do you go and sign Daniel Jones or
24:38
do you go and say, we're going to give you this
24:41
type of contract versus saying we're putting
24:43
the whole franchise on your back type of contract
24:46
because we have this guy. So that's where this
24:48
might become interesting. Coming off an Achilles
24:50
though, right? You did get to see 10 games of
24:53
him, though. But that's the part I don't like,
24:55
is the Achilles thing. He ran. When they were
24:58
good, he had several rushing touchdowns. It's
25:01
not like a Lamar or a true dual -threat quarterback,
25:04
but he could still run in and move and get the
25:06
touchdowns. So you lose that with him with an
25:08
Achilles injury like we've seen so often. So
25:11
I think that's where this becomes really intriguing.
25:13
If you see enough out of him like you did the
25:15
kid from Miami, and you have this Tua situation
25:19
where this kid... It might be good enough for
25:21
now, right? Do you see the same thing over here?
25:24
Quinn Ewers is not going to be great. We're going
25:27
to pick the Colts on an upset win over the Texans
25:30
because Riley Leonard is the franchise quarterback.
25:35
Wow. You said a lot right there. No, I'm going
25:38
Texans. Oh, okay. So you're changing your pick?
25:41
You're changing your pick. We got it recorded,
25:43
so it's all good. You can't change it. All right,
25:45
whatever. Good thing I'm keeping track. Did you
25:49
go yet? No, I haven't. Jake's over here. Yeah,
25:51
there's not much more to talk about. Texans,
25:53
again, questioned their decision to start Riley
25:57
Leonard now instead of last week. But I still
26:02
think the Colts are going to, again, they still
26:05
have something to play for. Those players have
26:08
their future to play for, their contracts, bonuses,
26:12
that kind of stuff. I think for the most part,
26:15
the Colts team is going to be tough and competitive.
26:19
They don't want to lose nine in a row at the
26:20
end of the year. But throwing Riley Leonard to
26:25
the Wolves for the last game of the year is...
26:28
Literally the Wolves. So, yeah, Texans. Fresh
26:33
meat. Good luck. Fresh meat. Good luck, sir.
26:35
I see a lot of two, three tight ends. A lot of
26:39
runs. A lot of protection. A lot of protection.
26:41
Tyler Warren is not going to be running a lot
26:43
of routes. Yeah, we're not going to see many
26:45
empties. Yeah, so. Well, what do you think, Texans?
26:51
Or are you going Colts? We already talked. Oh,
26:52
you did? All right. Yeah, he said Colts. That
26:54
was so long ago, I forgot. Yeah, giving me crap
26:57
for processing. Anyway, let's move on to our
27:01
final game here. Also for the division. The penultimate
27:06
game. Game two of the week, I guess. Whoa, whoa,
27:12
whoa. The best game happens at noon. The Ravens
27:18
taking on the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Do we?
27:24
Yeah, we can give it to Jake. That's fine. Yeah,
27:26
let's hear what the Ravens fan has to say. So
27:29
I was in mourning last week. And you still clearly
27:33
he's not. I'm not. Ray Lewis represent. It's
27:39
again, greatest rivalry. Steelers, Ravens, buckle
27:43
your chin straps. Everyone's hitting hard. You're
27:46
pumping Nelly. Here comes the boom. Every time
27:49
somebody gets hit. Right. You know what I'm talking
27:52
about? Yeah. So. Game's going to be lit. Obviously,
27:58
we don't know whether or not Lamar Jackson's
27:59
playing yet. I think Tyler Huntley has done enough
28:03
in it as a backup this year to prove that he
28:09
can do the job, win you a game, manage a game.
28:13
And we saw what the Ravens do best last week
28:16
against the Packers. Run Derrick Henry, run Derrick
28:19
Henry, run Derrick Henry. over 200 yards then,
28:22
four touchdowns. I expect to see a lot of that
28:26
again this week. Against the Steelers in week
28:29
14, he had 19 carries for, I think it was like
28:33
80 or 90 yards. See more of that. Keaton Mitchell
28:37
was really effective against the Steelers in
28:39
week 14, getting outside the tackles, having
28:43
the long runs. So mixing that up, but not doing
28:48
the, like... drive -by committee where it's like
28:51
drive one is henry's drive two is keaton's it's
28:54
like you have to have henry henry henry keep
28:56
pounding henry bring in mitchell for a couple
28:58
of snaps henry wears you down right and then
29:01
once you worn down then you can maybe throw in
29:03
a little mitchell some speed some more yeah absolutely
29:05
getting them to the outside um Steelers are going
29:09
to continue to miss DK Metcalf. I think they
29:11
missed him last week against the Browns. Because
29:13
Rodgers was trying to get that touchdown over
29:16
to MVS. Like, they've been doing it kind of -ish.
29:21
But, yeah, it's not the same. Darnell Washington
29:25
and that broken arm. Again, really, really good
29:28
blanket for Rodgers as a check down. Amazing
29:33
run blocker. They're going to miss that, too.
29:36
We don't know if T .J. Watt's going to be back.
29:39
There's speculation he is. But coming back after
29:42
we're at, what, three weeks off now from that
29:44
punctured lung? Yeah. Hopefully he's okay. Maybe
29:47
he's not, though. I forgot about that. So there's
29:50
a lot of things going against the Steelers. There's
29:53
some things going against the Ravens. But I think
29:55
they finally understood after that loss to the
29:57
Patriots, oh, maybe we should have continued
29:59
to run the ball more with Derrick Henry. They
30:01
did it against Green Bay. I hope they realize
30:04
that. I hope they finally learn their lesson
30:07
and they're going to continue. That's their blueprint
30:09
for success at this point. And, again, I was
30:14
dead. Rob, I got a chip. I got a chair. Ravens,
30:18
give me Ravens. Playoff pound from Jake. I also
30:28
got to go Ravens for the exact same reason. Run
30:30
Derrick Henry. Damn it. It wasn't the Patriots?
30:34
What was the game I'm thinking of? Who did they
30:35
play before that? Patriots. That's the game I'm
30:38
thinking about where they took him out in the
30:40
fourth quarter because of the rotation thing.
30:41
Yeah, that's a bunch of crap. So just like you
30:44
said, keep him in the game, run the crap out
30:46
of him. Tackling that frame all game will wear
30:48
you down. I can't imagine because I probably
30:51
could not tackle Derek Henry. I'm not even a
30:52
front. Probably. Probably not. So they're saying
30:55
there's a chance. You're an athlete, Coach. Don't
30:58
let anyone tell you anything different. I could
31:00
tackle him once and then I would be dead. Well,
31:04
it's out there. You'll see it. But, yeah, I got
31:07
to go Ravens too. Now, I am actually impressed.
31:10
Like a change or what? I am actually impressed
31:13
with the season that Aaron Rodgers has had. It's
31:15
not horrible. He still can play football. Yeah,
31:18
I don't think he's going to take you to the promised
31:20
land. But if you put enough pieces around him,
31:23
you know. Is he coming to the purple to throw
31:27
to Jettas? If he can throw it that far by then?
31:29
No. No, I'm just kidding. But, yeah, no, I got
31:32
to go Ravens. i was more saying if they do win
31:35
this game then they do have a chip in a chair
31:38
in the playoffs and you never know what happens
31:39
but after seeing them play against the browns
31:44
without matt calf i mean even with huntley as
31:48
a quarterback still think the ravens get it done
31:50
um i think the steelers is offensively They're
31:54
struggling. And that Steelers defense, like,
31:57
yeah, maybe TJ Watt plays. They need Brees Hall.
32:00
Yeah, the Vikings definitely need some Brees
32:02
Hall. I mean, I would love for the Vikings to
32:05
be over here chasing squirrels again. I'm sorry.
32:07
Yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about. Well,
32:09
you talk about rushing and the Steelers, and
32:11
you're like, well, tiny object. Here I go. Ravens,
32:16
baby. I'm going purple. One purple makes playoff.
32:19
Yeah. One purple. Hashtag. You know. The Steelers,
32:24
over the last several years, could have benefited
32:26
by having someone like Le 'Veon Bell or something.
32:29
If they could have just had him in their franchise,
32:31
who knows? Who knows what could have happened?
32:34
This one is interesting. There are things I like
32:37
about the Ravens. There isn't a ton I like about
32:40
the Steelers outside of their defense. Pretend
32:44
he's not here. And Aaron Rodgers. I think the
32:47
secret for the Ravens to win this game is they
32:50
need to contain Kenneth Gainwell. I go back to
32:53
last week. I go back to last week, and the reason
32:56
the Steelers lost that game is because they were
32:59
so scared of giving up the sack record. So I
33:03
think you go to Derek Henry and what he did against
33:08
Green Bay. It's going to be the same thing. They're
33:09
going to be containing Derek Henry. He's not
33:11
going to do what he did last week. So it's going
33:13
to be up to the Ravens to find where's Zay Flowers,
33:18
where's Rashad Bateman, where are these other
33:19
people that they can go to to go and make these
33:22
plays. And I think that's going to be the difference
33:24
in the game. I'm really torn, but I'm going to
33:27
give the slight nod to the Ravens because I think
33:30
they have less going. I really thought you were
33:32
going to steal. I was ready to believe you. They
33:34
have less going against them than I think the
33:39
Steelers do. I think if T .J. Watt was healthier,
33:43
I think this would be very different. I almost
33:45
don't care if he plays this game. He's coming
33:48
off of a very, very serious injury, and I think
33:51
people can't overstate that. I think both teams
33:54
are going to play. But I think the Ravens are
33:59
going to have a little bit more structure to
34:01
their desperation than the Steelers. And that's
34:03
why I'm picking the Ravens. Golly. Are you changing
34:07
your pick? No. But man, that place is going to
34:09
be electric. Oh, it's going to be crazy. This
34:10
is going to be a fun game to watch. They have
34:12
to slow it down, run with Henry. 28 degrees.
34:15
And it's outside. Yeah. I mean, both are outside,
34:18
but. It's going to be cold. It's going to be
34:21
a sea of yellow. in there. Oh, yeah. Not many
34:24
Ravens fans, I bet you, are going to show up.
34:26
No, not at all. Yeah. Imagine being a Ravens
34:29
fan there and being one of $50. Ravens are favored.
34:34
This is the second. I think this is the second
34:37
most difficult game of the week with the Seahawks
34:41
and Niners game being number one. This is really
34:43
close up there, too. Yeah. This is going to be
34:46
a tough one. Yeah. Exciting, exciting weekend
34:48
of football coming up. Obviously we'll be here
34:51
next week to recap that. If you did not check
34:55
out the recap from week 17, go check that out.
34:57
If you didn't check out our tent talk episode.
35:00
You said it so deep. I could hear you pick up
35:03
the speed. I know. Did I really? Oh, sorry. Oh,
35:06
yeah. It's like Super Mario landed on a star.
35:11
Join us next week. Sorry. Geez. All right. Well,
35:17
with that, I guess we need to go. Justin, thanks
35:21
for being here, man. Thanks for having me. I
35:22
appreciate having your Packer insight, but football
35:25
insight. Yeah, thanks for joining us all year.
35:27
It's been good. It's been great. Jake. Chips
35:30
and chairs. Let's go. For you Spotify listeners,
35:33
Jake literally brought chips with him this week.
35:36
We got this. Yeah. Got it. Yeah. He's feeling
35:40
good. We're watching the game. at home and perfect
35:43
by yourself do you watch games normally by yourself
35:45
no my brother my brother -in -law will be home
35:47
is he a ravens fan uh no he's a vikings fan okay
35:50
so he's cheering for the purple yeah he cheers
35:53
for the purple okay for the flock doesn't want
35:55
to see you just depressed all day i'd like to
35:59
see lamar get one you know but in the playoffs,
36:01
I hope he plays in this game. This is a really
36:03
big, I hope he does. I do too. Just be careful
36:06
with him. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Uh, Roberto.
36:09
Thanks coach. I'm here. Nope. Excited for a wild
36:12
card next week. Super for sure. Yeah. Oh yeah.
36:15
And then our, our, our preview will be six games,
36:19
not five. Because I'll be sick. Mandatory fun.
36:22
Mandatory fun. Okay. I'm Smelty. Of course, Kev
36:27
behind the camera and everything here. Just getting
36:30
it done. Getting lit. No, I don't think so. Anyway,
36:34
don't forget to like, comment, subscribe. Wherever
36:35
you listen to the banter, whether that's YouTube,
36:37
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio. And
36:41
we will see you next week, I'm pretty sure. There's
36:46
the paper. Oh, yeah, bye. Sorry, that was supposed
36:47
to come right in. The paper's supposed to fall
36:49
when it's getting out, I think. What are you
36:52
doing? Rob's waving. He's doing magic. Yeah,
36:55
okay. Bye. Bye. Don't forget to follow, like,
37:01
and subscribe. Tune in next time for more banter
37:05
with the boys.