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Bills Win in Houston - No Time to Celebrate · The 3Ts: Tables, Tailgates, and Toploaders

• TB: What's up, Sydney? Are you ready for your random question out of nowhere? Sydney: Yep, I'm ready. TB: All right, well, here you go. In honor of week one, you are stuck in a brand new multiverse and you're forced to join the fan base of one of these three teams. Which one are you picking? Is it A, the Miami Dolphins, B, the Tennessee Titans, or C the Cleveland Browns? Sydney: So I guess I'm in hell. I think I would pick the Dolphins only because you're in Miami. there is not really anything to do in Cleveland. So TB: Okay. Sydney: and I am not the biggest fan of Nashville, so I'm gonna go with Miami and maybe I can become an F one fan. TB: But what about the dolphins? Sydney: They're all just terrible. So I'm not gonna I don't know. TB: Yeah, you gotta pick one. These are the only three teams you can root for and you're picking you Malik Willis. Sydney: I'm picking I yeah, I'm gonna pick the Dolphins. The Titans looked like the worst team in the NFL, so TB: Worse than the Browns? Sydney: well, yeah, they're tied. TB: Holy cow. I I know we're gonna probably give 30 seconds to Trevor Lawrence and the love for the Jags, but wow. I'm not sure if it was the Jags were good or the Browns were just abysmal and Deshaun Sydney: Yeah. TB: Watson just terrible, terrible, terrible. That was there was a lot of really good football Sydney: I don't know. I think TB: this weekend, and there was a lot of really terrible football. And I think those three teams. We're bringing up the terrible end of this spectrum. What do you think? Sydney: Yeah, yeah. I completely agree. I think that Deshaun Watson is he he's just baiting the fans at this point. There's no way he's not actually that bad, right? Like there's no way. I don't know. Yeah, maybe. TB: I think he's that bad. Let's start the show. All right. What is up, friends? We are back. And better than ever, this is a crazy week. We're we're actually here on a Monday. I'm wearing my Victory Monday t-shirt. Sydney's apartment is bare. It's it's still game day. It's moving week for her. Sydney: Yeah. TB: I don't know. I this this feels like crazy town to me. I'm still coming off the high of yesterday, week one of the football. craziness that happened yesterday. How how are you doing there in your soon to be empty apartment and down there in sunny Jacksonville? Sydney: Yeah, everything's all messy and there's I'm missing my poster on the wall. It's just very bare over here. So I don't know. It's definitely a weird, but I'm excited. I think in the next episode we'll be in our new spot. So excited for that. TB: I feel like this is we're in the upside down right now because we never record on Mondays. this is a crazy week Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: for you and for me. I have the I mean the Bills play Thursday in four Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: short days, and we just don't have the ability to record the rest of the week. So we had to get in here and get this thing done on Monday. You're moving on Friday. It's chaos. I Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: I the sun is shining in. Normally I'm sitting in a dungeon at this at this time of the podcast. Sydney: Now it's me. TB: So yeah, I mean. But hey, let's start because we got a lot to talk about. Let's do opening reactions to Buffalo Bills, football. Bills, Mafia, you are on the clock. Look, the Bills are one and Sydney, I'm gonna point right to you. How are you feeling? Sydney: I'm feeling great. So I actually watched the game yesterday with a group of friends. So it was a lot of fun and we were all cheering for the bills. And it was definitely a little sweaty, I will say. There was points in the game that I was definitely a little bit nervous, but I think it was a different experience as to if I were just watching it here by myself. I think it was a little bit more positive. For the most part, because you know, you don't wanna be dropping F bombs all the time around your friends. but I think for the most part it it was a great game in my eyes. There were definitely points where I was pretty nervous, but I think overall we played really well and you're looking very dark right now. TB: know I don't know what is going on the sun the sun is shining it's it's crazy yeah I I decided to open the curtains and get some natural light near and now I don't know what what's happening but anyway yeah can't can't stop Mother Nature but here we are I am yeah I I don't know stand by So yeah, we're back. Sydney: Yeah. TB: Sorry for the technical difficulties. Mother Nature was not cooperating with the the window there. looked like I was sitting, I don't know, lower than a dungeon. But Sydney: Yeah. TB: so you watched the game with friends and it kind Sydney: Yeah. TB: of helped you stay positive and focused. Maybe, Sydney: Mm. TB: maybe that's what I need to do. I usually watch these games with Jamie or by myself and Let me tell you, the F bombs were fall lying yesterday. It's I was in playoff stress mode form already, and it's week one. I don't I don't know how much more I could take of this already. Well, the season's just getting underway. So I'll give you one word to describe the game. wha what's that one word? Sydney: Sweaty for sure. I mean I mean I was pretty nervous. There were points where my heart was racing, and I wasn't really sure what direction it was gonna go, especially towards the end of the game in the fourth quarter. that was brutal. but all things considered, I think I'm feeling very positive about everything. watching it with a group, I will say, is completely different. Because there's conversations going on around you. So TB: Yeah. Sydney: I wouldn't say that I watched a hundred percent of every single play. That's just something that kind of comes with being with a group. So it was a little bit different. I think there was was a couple things that I probably missed and didn't catch. but I think from everything I saw, I feel good. I know that there's things that obviously need to change. but going in, I feel positive as of right now. TB: Good. I'm gonna go with the word ridiculous. And you can use the you can use that word as both a positive and and a negative because it seemed like the offense was absolutely insane and ridiculous. And they could basically do no wrong, but the defense on the flip side, which we'll get to, just as equally negatively ridiculous, if that makes sense. It was it was crazy. So Sydney: Yeah. TB: is this more of a great win? A stressful win or both. Sydney: It was a stressful experience, but I'm gonna take it as a great win, honestly. I think that, like I said, for the most part, I was pretty happy with it. Is there things that need to be tied up? Absolutely. But it was week one. And I think that we TB: Yeah. Sydney: knew that going into this that things weren't gonna be perfect, especially on the defensive side. and I think that's where a lot of the improvement improvement needs to come from. There were a couple of things here and there that need to be tweaked and that I wasn't super happy with, but The viewing experience was stressful for sure. So I guess you could say it's a stressful win, but I thought it was a great win. It was a great game, very competitive on both sides. and I think to start off the season that way was great. TB: So were you with a bunch of people or just another couple or what what was the deal? Okay. Okay. What were Sydney: There's eight of us, so there's a lot going on. Yeah. TB: there multiple televisions, multiple games? Sydney: One main TV and then we had like a little screen with red zone on it. TB: Gotcha. And the Bills were the the primary game on that T V. Sydney: Yeah, and it's crazy 'cause we're all supportive of different teams. There was TB: Yeah. Sydney: a lot of people from a lot of different places. So, but yeah, the Bills game was on the main TV. TB: How did that get front and center, front, front stage? Sydney: I don't know. Well, so the Commanders and Miami game. So we have a Commanders fan, a Miami fan. That wasn't until later in the day at four. And then we have a Browns fan, which we're not gonna put that on the main TV. So TB: Ha ha ha. Sydney: and I think he understood that. He was kind of watching on his phone and we had red zone on him. There really wasn't much to to see in that game, but and then we have a Panthers fan. So Bill's Bill's was on the on the main TV. TB: If you're a Browns fan and you're waiting for red zone highlights, I think you o their team only showed up twice the whole the whole day. So not Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: not much to wait for or if you if you got your eyes glued to the red zone channel. But was there any point during this game before we really start diving in, is there any point that you think or that you started to believe the Bills were gonna lose the game? Sydney: I have the opposite feeling. I felt like the Kincaid catch was kind of like the turning point of the game. And I felt like we kind of gained a little bit more momentum. there wasn't a s TB: Are you talking about the one to basically flip the field when we were all the way back on our own four and he caught that forty yard Sydney: Yeah. Yeah. TB: catch to basically get us out of terrible field position? Sydney: Yeah. Yeah, that was great. TB: To start that ninety six yard drive. That was insane. Sydney: Mm. TB: Yeah. Great, great bailout there. Sydney: I will say I was a little nervous when Josh almost threw a pick, but I think it was like just so much going on that I just TB: Yeah Sydney: I had hope still. TB: were other people in the room rooting for the bills or were you by yourself? Sydney: I'm the only Bills fan, but a lot of them had bets that were in favor of the Bills, so that was part of it. TB: they must have listened to the three T's betting podcast last. Sydney: Yeah, we have a lot of betters, so TB: boy. Well, I mean, maybe, maybe that's the thing. But I see, I have trouble watching these games with anyone. With anyone. I think it might be better if I just sit in a dark room by myself, all alone, no friends. I don't know. Sydney: Yeah, I will say like it it is difficult. Like it it is really difficult because there's so much happening. I mean, there's so many games going on at once, especially when you have people following different teams. So it's like, this person just did this, this person just did TB: Yeah. Sydney: this. my gosh, look at this. And it's like, which is great. TB: Yeah. Sydney: Like, don't get me wrong, it was so fun, but you definitely do get a different viewing experience for sure. TB: Yeah, my stress level was through the roof. I knew like last season when I was doing the game previews, I would talk about what what's my stress level heading into this game. And we and maybe that's something we could get back into as we we start previewing the the games coming up this season. But I hadn't really thought of it until kickoff. And as the game was getting, I woke up Sunday just elated. I was so happy. I couldn't wait for one o'clock. I'm like, let's go. I had to work all day Saturday. So Saturday was a complete disaster. And I'm just grumpy and tired and so miserable from the end of that day. And then I woke up refreshed Sunday morning and I was like, thank you, Lord. It's football. Let's go. You know. And one o'clock got here and I was so happy, but instantly my nerves went through the roof. And I don't I don't think that would have been there had we played the Jets or the Dolphins or you know, some of these other teams on our schedule. But I was stressed this whole game. And I'm like, Sydney: Yeah. TB: come four o'clock, I was, I was mentally drained all over again. Like, my gosh, Sydney: Yeah. TB: that was that was a roller coaster. I was worried. After we took the lead 36 31 and the the Texans got the ball, I gotta be honest, I didn't think the defense was gonna pull it out. They really couldn't slow them down too much. They had occasional stop here and there, but I don't know. It was it was crazy. I didn't have high hopes. I was hoping they were gonna march right down and give us at least like 20, 25 seconds left to try to to come back down and and hit a field goal to win it. But yeah, it it for week one, I was not okay. I think I do better in the stands for these big games than I do sitting at home watching on TV. I don't know why. I just I feel more relaxed when I'm amongst 62,000 of my friends. Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: fellow Mafia members, you know, than sitting on the couch. But Sydney: I agree. Yeah. TB: so let's dive into this game a little bit. So was this more encouraging because the Bills found a way to win? Or was it more concerning because Houston had a chance to steal it at the end? Sydney: I think a lot of our games go like this. I feel like we're usually pretty used to this feeling. and I'm trying to have a different outlook this season than in past years. So I would say just, you know, all things considered, I think that we know going into this that it was gonna be a competitive game. I mean, Houston's a good team. TB: Yes. Sydney: Like I heard a couple people saying that Houston's not that good. And I was like, what are you guys talking about? Like they were a great team last year. So We talked about this in the last episode. We knew that this was gonna be a competitive game. I didn't think it was gonna be as high scoring as it was. I think that surprised me a little bit. but I thought it was awesome. TB: Yeah, I mean, who knew that the combined score was gonna be almost 70 in this thing? Nobody. No, Sydney: Yeah, I I did not expect that. TB: nobody expected that. And for the most part, I'm gonna give CJ Stroud his due. I thought he played pretty well. Everyone's gonna get on him for the fumble, which I I understand, but I thought he was efficient. I thought he made Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: good decisions for the most part. Yeah, he had a couple missed throws. But look, no QB, even Josh Allen is not going to be deadly accurate with every single ball that's coming out of his hand. So, and and that's where some of the frustration with, you know, the the keyboard warriors really pisses me off. Cause Sydney: Yeah. TB: the one that that Josh, the the pickle he almost threw at the end that that bounced out of Lassiter's hands. Like everyone's like, see, the Bills should have lost a game. Josh Allen's a joke. He should have had the he should have had the game. Ceiling interception, blah, blah, blah. He's not that good. Look, there's not a single quarterback on the planet that plays an absolutely flawless game. It just doesn't happen. There's a couple plays every game, no matter who is throwing it, that they're gonna they're gonna make a mistake. It's just the way it is. And sometimes you get lucky and the the breaks fall on your side, and sometimes they they don't. And that's just football. So what do you think we learned about Joe Brady's team? This brand new twenty six Bills team in his first regular season game. Sydney: I just feel like there was a passion that I feel like from a lot of different players that I haven't seen previously. TB: Yeah. Sydney: Specifically Greg Rousseau. Like I have never seen him play like that. He just seemed so aggressive and he was just so I don't know. He just had a different playing style than I've ever seen from him before. And I'm hoping that that is coming from the coaching staff. I mean, I'm hoping that that just doesn't die off, but I mean. It just seemed like there was a new passion, a new fire to the team that I haven't seen. And they just seem fired up. So I love that. I don't want to see that fade. TB: Yeah, I love the word aggression. You use that word. I think I mentioned it as we did our season preview last week. I talked about playing the season with aggression, going out and trying to dictate the terms of the game going out and playing Buffalo Bills football, whatever that means. And look, we'll we'll talk about the defense here shortly. I do think they played aggressive. I don't think they played well, but they played aggressive. And the offense, yeah, I think that they went, they went after it. I mean, holy cow. We didn't dink and dunk the ball over all over the field. And and we're gonna, we're about to dive into some of these numbers, but aggression is the perfect word because I think that they were aggressive on both sides of the ball. And then to your point, there is a lot to clean up. And this was the other thing we talked about before, too. I've said it. numerous times. I think it's gonna take half the season for this defense to really get up to speed, start gelling for everyone to figure out what their role is and then and then figure it out. Look, there was a ton that was not pretty to watch on that side of the ball. and we just hope that Jim Leonard and and company can can write the ship and slowly start to mold this into form. So let's start, let's start with clearly the best player on on the field, both sides of the ball, and that's Josh Allen. 20 to 29, 334 yards passing, two passing tutties, and another two rushing touch touchdowns on the ground. no turnovers. Look, we know that that second to last play could have been a disaster. But what do what do you want to say about about Josh Allen who finished with 409 Total offensive yards. And it was just it was just crazy. What what do you want to say about JA seventeen? Sydney: Yeah, I think in the off season, because of how bored everyone is and how there's just not much to talk about, people love to I guess try to like even the playing field for a lot of these QBs. And I feel like when you actually see the product on the field, you see how good Josh is compared to so much of the other quarterbacks in the league. Like it's not even close. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Bills fan. Like genuinely, it's not close. Whenever he makes plays He just makes plays happen. And I love to see that we are throwing the ball more. I love James Cook. Like, don't get me wrong. We didn't throw the ball a lot last season. It was a lot of running and it was a lot of rinky dink passes here and there. I love to see him actually going out and making these insane throws because now we have a wide receiver that can actually make things happen. And we have Dalton Kincaid back. And I just love to see that. And you mentioned it before. If we get a pick every here and there from being aggressive, I think that's okay. But just to see us throwing the ball down the field and making these insane plays, like that's what's so cool about being a fan and just getting to see Josh Allen like what he can actually do. I don't want to see him run for his life every play, but he just makes things happen and not every quarterback can do that. So I think that honestly we're just lucky and he's just insane. TB: And it makes the game it makes the game more fun to watch. When I watch another Sydney: For sure. TB: team who's just chucking the rock all over the field, regardless of whether, you know, they have a high completion percentage or not, they just have the guts to just go for it. It makes me jealous. Like I wanna see that. I want to see that out of the best quarterback on the planet. And that's what we didn't have the last two years. So the fact that he's coming out week one in Texas, in Houston, on the road. against a team we haven't beaten in their city in the last 20 years. And he's just chucking it all over the field. Not these two, three yard dump offs, the Shakir and Prey that we've talked about endlessly for the entire last season. But he's Sydney: Yeah. TB: throwing the rock all over the place. And it's exciting. It makes the game so much more fun to watch that you're like, okay, at least we're gonna, if we're gonna go down, we're going down swinging. And that's what I appreciate Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: about it. Can we talk about Sydney: Yep. TB: his first touchdown run? The one from like 20 some yards out. Can we talk about that for a second? Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: This run, when he's closing in on like the five yard line, I'm look, I'm watching. I go, he's gonna get wrapped up right around the five to four because three dudes are closing in on him. And he lowers his shoulder and just crushes them. I'm like. Sydney: Yeah. TB: Is there anything this guy can't do? How many quarterbacks are going to go down right there? He's like, nope. it's end zone or nothing. Like, it was insane. I'm thinking there's no way he scores. And each and every time I doubt him, he's he's scoring on these plays. It's it was insane. Well, what were your thoughts on watching that run? Sydney: Yeah, I always get nervous when he runs like that. I mean, naturally, I don't want TB: Yeah. Sydney: to see him get hurt and just with the strength of the defense in Houston, it is a little scary sometimes. But I mean, just like I said, he literally is a a superhero. It's so cool to see him just make things happen when he doesn't see anything on the field. He not n that's just not normal. So I don't know, he he's just one of a kind and it's super cool to see him actually like play freely and TB: Yeah. Sydney: be able to to showcase what he can do. TB: Yeah. And before we get to the two other offensive standouts, I just want to give a shout out to the offensive line. Holy cow. Last year it was a disaster. Allen got sacked eight times. you could tell this unit, this group, this this game, they came in with a mindset of we're not going down like that. You could tell they had a chip on their shoulder. You could tell that they were pissed off. They were they were fired Sydney: Yeah. TB: up. They were hungry and they weren't going to go down. you know, like they did last year. And I think a lot of them talked about that after the game. They they talked about the lack of a better term, the ass kick kicking they got at the hands of the D line from the Texans last year. And they're like, that's not happening again. And the game Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: plan on the offensive line was rock solid. It was awesome. I watched some of the game back and I would like to go watch it back a third time, but the blocking up front was insane. And they kept Josh clean. He only got hit twice. Dawson Knox. Shout out to Dawson Knox. This dude blocked his ass off yesterday. And Sydney: Mm. TB: he was going. There's a couple plays he was going one on one with who's their main rusher? Then they suddenly the name slips slips my Sydney: Anderson? TB: mind. Anderson. There was times he was matched up one on one with Anderson and and took care of business. And I'm like, way to go, DK. That was awesome. and not the other DK, but the like Dawson Knox did the freaking dirty work yesterday. So these guys, they came out fired up, they came out hungry. So my my hat's off to them. That that was awesome. Sydney: Yeah. TB: but let's talk about the other DK. here, I'll give you dealers choice. DK eighty six or or DJ two. Who do you want to talk about next? Sydney: I mean, we'll go to Kincaid because I just feel like he we have said this so many times, I feel like we're beating a dead horse at this point, but holy crap, he really just changes our entire offense. Like he we need to have him for all our games this year because the difference that he makes is absolutely absurd. Like he just makes everything run so smooth and he looks very confident out there. I will say, like TB: Absolutely. Sydney: he he looks just brand new. And me and Mike were talking about it this morning. I think a lot of people are really hung up on his rookie year. Like he didn't perform the way he was supposed to, and blah blah blah. I'm like, he looks like he's about to prove everyone wrong this year. And I think he could honestly be a top five tight end if he keeps playing the way he will. I mean, it it's insane to me. So I'm just so excited to see his growth this year if he continues to play like he did yesterday. TB: Yeah, absolutely. He's one of my favorite players to watch. I've said it time after time after time. If he could stay on the field, he is a difference maker because the offense can kind of be completely different when he's out there, when he's able to do the things he he showed out yesterday. I mean, five catches for 130 yards. This was clearly his best game of his entire career. It was awesome. I mean, if he plays like this for the entire season, there's no doubt. He's a top five Q tight end. And we need to re-sign him now. Like because his price tag with each and every one of these games that keeps going up, it it's just gonna be be crazy. So I don't know. I love watching him play. I love the smoothness, the confidence. When he high point, jumped up and high pointed that one ball. and he was going one on one with Lassiter, I believe, at that point, and he came down with that catch. I'm like, this dude is insane. He is a matchup nightmare. You can't put him on a linebacker. He will torch them all day long. And then if you put him up against a cornerback, he's just a bigger bodied guy. So Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: he can kind of box out and and do the the dirty work to go to go make a play. So he's just a matchup nightmare. And I think he is an absolute game changer on the offense. So yeah, well well said, I I love it. I hope this is a sign of things to come. I can't wait to see what what's in store. So let's talk about the newest edition, DJ Moore, five catches, a hundred yards, and a tutty. I mean, he toe-tapped that thing and he took it to the house, and then he did the the flying into the end zone. man, come on. Who who watched that and did not have a smile on their face, especially after the first quarter? He didn't even he didn't even have a target. And I'm like, where the hell is our brand new wide receiver? And to finish With with a hundred yards and a tutty. Awesome. And the defensive pass interference call that was a huge play to get us down to the the end zone. What what'd you think of the the debut of DJ Moore? Sydney: I mean, I'm just so excited. I think that he is just gonna be the the missing piece that we didn't have for so long after Diggs left. I was so excited when he went into the end zone. I ran him to the TV and I gave it finger guns. I was like, let's play. It was just so TB: Ha ha ha Sydney: awesome. and yeah, I I am just so excited. I think he's just a great person, a great player, a great personality. He Him and Josh get along great. I mean, you can see that they have a great connection. So, I mean, what else can you say? That's the best debut that I could ask for from him. TB: Yeah, it it was fantastic. And he just again, he changes the offense. He puts everyone else in their more suitable role. You're not asking Shakir to catch 12 balls a game and and take it to the house each and every time and break 11 tackles. speaking of Shakir, he came out on fire and then things kind of slowed down as we got some of these other guys involved. But I don't think Kincaid or more had a catch in the first quarter. Obviously. We were we were running the ball well with with James Cook at first, and then the game script kind of shifted and we just unleashed the gates and and and rained fire down down on the Texans through the air. So two ninety-six yard touchdown drives. I think that we have an explosive offense if everyone could stay on the field. it's not many teams that can march nearly a hundred yards multiple times a game. what are your thoughts on that? Sydney: Yeah, I mean, we had a okay offense last year. We were missing Don Kincaid for a lot of the season, and solely relying on Shakir pretty much because Keon just wasn't being productive and he missed a lot of games. and then because of that, we had to involve Palmer and he wasn't amazing. But I will eat my words from a couple episodes ago. Josh Palmer, TB: Mm. Sydney: okay, I guess I'll hang my hat on you because holy crap was I not expecting that. So TB: That's Sydney: I'll eat my words there. Thank you, Josh Palmer, for that. Wow. TB: Fantasy standout Josh Palmer. He's one for one with a tutty. I mean, holy cow. I love the postgame interview. He kept telling himself during the game that he's gonna catch the game winning touchdown. Look, in order to to be ready, you gotta what's the phrase they always say? In order to to be I don't know, you gotta be who knows. But he was ready. He caught it. That Josh just slung that sucker in there. Amazing. I was very happy to see him. make that catch and and score the the go ahead toddy. Look, I ragged on him probably more than anyone last year because of the injury stuff. Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: and I I will eat my words as well. But I just want to see these guys at least do what they were what they were brought in here to do. And now hopefully the injury bug is behind him and he can he can put a good season together. And and look, We don't need him to be number one or number two or even number three. If he's the fourth guy Sydney: Yeah. TB: in this offense, that's what we got you for. So so Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: let to go do your thing. Actually, it's Joshua Palmer. I was corrected when I heard this the other day. He does not like to be called Josh. So Mr. Joshua Palmer from now on, you you are the man. So let's Sydney: No. TB: talk about some potential concerns. We didn't really run the ball too great in the second half, and I know we kind of got away from it for a for probably for good reason. Any concerns with the running game or is this just Houston kind of locked it up? Sydney: Yeah, I I mean, this is exactly what we expected to happen. I think that we just had to play a little bit more aggressive and risky. I don't think it's anything to worry about, honestly. I think that, you know, the next game is gonna be a lot of running, in my opinion. I don't think James Cook played bad particularly. I just think that it was just, you know, a one off that maybe we just couldn't be as productive as we usually are. But Because of that we got to throw the ball more. So, I mean TB: Yeah, he finished 13 for 57, no touchdowns. And like I said, most of that came in the first half. And then the second half, he was he was shut down. We saw Frank Gore Jr. a couple portions of the game. They clearly do not have any concern about bringing him into the game to be a primary blocking running back when the time calls for it. So that was nice to see. Not too much from Ray Davis, other than the kick return game, but hey, it is what it is. they clearly were weren't afraid to go, nah, running game, you're gonna you're gonna go sit down over here, which which Sydney: Yeah. TB: I love to see because clearly in many of the Sean McDermott led games, they will they flat out refuse to abandon the run and they're just very reluctant to change the nature of the play calling. So I love that week one were a little flexible. We're a little adaptable, and I love to see it. So now let's flip around. Let's talk about, we gotta talk about the bad. so let's talk defense. Houston dropped 31 points on this defense. They ran 73 plays. They had control of this game for 36 minutes, which is a hell of a long time when we scored 36 points. But they were able to sustain multiple drives, and there were multiple times I'm like, I don't know what these guys are doing. They look, they look lost. They look. Let's start with a positive. Two standouts clearly. We got Greg Rousseau. I think he was the best defensive player for both sides, both, both, Sydney: Yeah. TB: both teams, including the the vaunted or the the excellent Houston defensive line. I think Greg Rousseau outplayed everybody there. And then Dion Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: Walker was a beast. So those are my Sydney: Yeah. TB: only two standouts on the defensive side. Do you have anyone else that you want to highlight? Sydney: No. No, Dion Walker played amazing. I was super impressed with him. And I already mentioned Rousseau. I thought that he just played with so much passion and aggression. He was flying around the field and that's what I wanted to see from him last year. And I don't really think that we got that a lot of the time. So I'm just so excited because I really like him as a player. So I'm I'm just excited to see them grow. And Dion Walker played like a beast, like you said. TB: I mean, he was one of the ones I was hanging my hat on to be a defensive standout, the one of the next superstars. He keeps playing like this. He's he's gonna be there. He's gonna be one of the best defensive tackles in the next year or two. and the Greg Rousseau, did you see when he dove and broke that pass play up? I was like, Sydney: Insane. TB: my gosh, this is this is crazy. But Sydney: I loved it. TB: so good, so good. He so he has the the strips fumble on Stroud in the first quarter, and then he has it at the end of the game to s to seal their fate. I mean, look, I will love to see Groot be a focal point of this defense as well. So with him and Walker, I'm ready to go. But the rest of the the rest of the defense, man, I'm gonna let you start. What do you what do you want to say? Sydney: say too much but honestly I'm just really frustrated with Terrell Bernard. I don't think he played at all well last year and I don't think he played great at all yesterday. I I don't think he's a good leader. but I hope that that changes. I I'm just not impressed with him at all right now. TB: Yeah, it it was a rough day. It was a rough day for the secondary. It was a rough day for the linebackers. It was a rough day for anyone not named Greg Rousseau and Dion Walker. I think by the middle of the third quarter, I'm screaming, where the heck is Bradley Chubb? I didn't hear his name be called one time. Christian Benford was getting torched, by Nico Collins, which we kind of expected, but I didn't expect it to be that bad. Your boy, your your defensive standout that you were hoping for, Maxwell Harrison, he looked completely lost. I Sydney: Yeah, he did. He did not impress me at all either. Hamlin, awful. I mean. TB: I know Hamlin gets a lot of crap from Bill's Mafia, but look, every time he's on the field, they're giving up some ridiculous play every single time. And I'm just like, why is this guy in the game? Cole Bishop, he made a play here and there, but he didn't play great. CJ Gardner Johnson didn't him didn't hear his name called one time. I mean, now look, I will say they played aggressively. I just don't think they played well. They didn't play well at all. It looked like they were missed assignments. There were plays when they would give up a big pass play and then they would sit there and kind of point to each other and didn't know who who the hell was supposed to do what. But my biggest thing was the defensive penalties. And and most of these happened on third down, where we're just giving the Texans first down after first down. And first of all, could we take a side note and talk about the penalties? This game was brutal to watch with the ref squad. I hate when these clowns Make it about them. And I feel like we got to a point in this game. And maybe maybe you weren't as invested in that aspect of the game when you're around friends and and talking and focusing on other things. It was awful. The game had no flow. There was so many ticky tack nonsense penalties called. And I hate when a group of refs make the game about them and not about the players on the field. Do you have any thoughts on this or no? Sydney: Not really. I mean, I know that there was a lot of penalties that shouldn't have happened. I guess in scenarios like this you just hope that they called both sides because TB: Yeah. Sydney: it and I don't think it was that way. I just think we need to clean it up. It it was not impressive at all. But like I said, it is week one and I think that we have a lot to get used to. And I think this was to be expected. So I'll give them some grace here, but yeah, definitely we gotta shape it up. TB: Yeah, and I'm not screaming that the Bills were, you know, unjustly penalized, you know, disproportionately to the to the Texans. I just think the refs wanted to interject way too much. And I I don't like watching any games that are like that. So that's my point on that. But let's talk Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: special teams. Special teams, I think special teams was on point. I think they balled out. I think I think our our favorite kicker in the NFL, Tyler Bass, was He was hearing the whispers. He was like Sydney: Yeah. TB: listening into the three T's you know, our our request that Matt Prater's on the other end of the phone from Brandon Bean. But look, he was good from forty six, thirty-four and thirty-three yards, plus he made all three extra points. He's a perfect six for six on the day. can we please have an entire season where T Bass is this boring? What what do you think? Sydney: I don't know if it's like the new mustache that he has. He like has a new like look, but wow, like I again, I'll eat my words. I I I hope that we continue to see this and I just never want to I mean I was nervous every time we went up to kick and then I was like, okay, well maybe he's fine now. He I don't think he kicked for a single game last year, so maybe he just put in work and, you know, rehabbed and did his thing. I hope that's the case and you know, I just don't wanna be nervous every time he goes up there, so TB: He had the one extra point that was a little like knuckleball-esque. But out outside of that, maybe it's the new number. Maybe he's rocking what is it? He's rocking 16 now, right? Maybe he Sydney: Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. He gave two to DJ. Yep. TB: he gave two to DJ and he's like, nah, you're right. I I was trashing number two. I'm going with with 16. So hey. And then look, I know there was a penalty on Buffalo Joe. One of the runs got called back, but I thought for the most part, special teams, the coverage teams, the return teams, I thought they played real well. I had one issue on a potential punt return, which Greg Dortch let the ball go by him. This was late in the game, and they were able to down it inside the five-yard line. I was not happy about that. I'm screaming, my gosh, you have to like try to, you have to try to catch this ball. And they pinned us all now. To to the offense credit, this was one of the 96 yard drives. So, but I thought he played really well, other than that. And yeah, five total kick returns for the brand new Buffalo Bill that just got called up from the practice squad. It's not it's only a matter of time before I think he's on the roster full time. Sydney: Yeah, I agree. TB: any anything else you want to say about the special teams unit? the punter, he hey, it's his it's his NFL debut, regular season debut. So it is what it is. Sydney: Yeah. Meh. I mean, I think we got bigger issues. TB: Hopefully we don't need too hopefully we don't need too many times. Sydney: Yeah, I mean that is that that is what it is. TB: So how important was this win? Because as I said, this was a road victory against a really, really good AFC opponent. That's probably going to matter. We might see them again in the playoff time, in playoff time. This was the first win the Bills have had on the road in Houston since 2006. Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: Joe Brady's first regular season win as a head coach, no offensive turnovers. We came back from adversity. So how how big a win is it? Sydney: It's a huge win, I think, for in so many aspects of the game. For Josh's confidence, I think that he is now going into week two where he doesn't have a lot of recovery time. I think he's feeling good. Joe Brady, he needed that for sure. I'm sure he was probably shitting himself going into this game. I'm sure it's it's just it's scary. You know, you're TB: Yeah. Sydney: you're the new head coach for a team that had a coach for ten years. It's very, very nerve wracking. You have a big big shoes to fill. He did well. And like I said, he's bringing a a new vibe to the team. I mean, in the post-game, he took his shirt off. I mean, you you don't see that often. So, I mean, TB: Right, right. Sydney: just so cool. And Josh gave him the game ball. I mean, it seems like they just really are embracing him as their new leader. And I think that that, you know, says it all. and just for everyone's confidence, I think if we were to go into game one at new high mark. on a loss, it's a completely different vibe than going in on a win. And I think that place is gonna be just so electric on Thursday. And I already told Mike we're watching that game here. No one else is gonna be here. We're just you know sitting down and I'm literally watching every second of that because I am TB: Yeah. Sydney: so freaking excited. I cannot have any other people around me. No offense to them. TB: Yeah. Sydney: But I'm just so excited and I think that You know, for everyone's conf for my confidence, for your confidence. Like I feel great going into this game. Is it gonna be hard? Yeah, it's gonna be really hard. But like we said previously, you just have to take it week by week and enjoy every game. And I enjoyed the game. I thought it was great. So it was TB: Yeah. A absolutely. And that was my next question to you. how would we feel heading into the home opener in four days had we ended up looting losing this game in in Houston? And I think the win gives us a chance to just take a deep breath and kind Sydney: Yeah, for sure. TB: of kind of go in there. I know we're gonna be riding high. Everyone's gonna be super excited for that stadium to open in the regular season. but just being able to to Collect yourself for for a freaking second because there's no recovery time heading into this game. Sydney: No. TB: None at all. we we can enjoy the win in in in Houston for about five minutes because here come the Lions. They they are going to be in town in in a matter of minutes, it seems like. And and we gotta turn the page. Sydney: Yeah, literally. TB: You wanna say anything else about week one? I mean it was awesome. Sydney: No. Yeah. I I thought it was great. So I'm excited. TB: All right. Well, yeah, let's let's do a quick game preview. I we don't need to do a twenty twenty five minute breakdown, but let's just talk lions real quick. Keep things focused on a couple of their impactful players, a few keys to the game. Jameer Gibbs, he he I know you love him. He's he's great. He had 156 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and 30 receiving yards in week one. yikes. I mean, wow. Buffalo has to limit his explosive plays and they have to make Detroit earn long drives. Did you see any of this New Orleans Detroit game on Sunday? Sydney: Yeah, I know that that was a way closer game than I think anyone was expecting. I mean, the Saints really impressed me. I mean I give them the props. I think either I can't tell which one it is yet, but either Detroit is not really living up to expectation entirely or maybe the Saints are just impressing everyone. I'm not really sure. But I didn't see too much of it, but I know that it was very close and of course like they ended up getting the win in overtime. but wow. I mean, it was it was pretty c pretty close. Way closer than I think it should have been. TB: Yeah, no, I know Detroit is suffering some issues defensively. Their secondary is pretty short right now. they lost some key guys. so Sydney: Yeah. TB: so we're we're we're rolling into this game, probably with the injury advantage. but they have just some awesome offensive pieces on that side of the ball. Probably what what do you want to say St. Brown is as far as wide receiver rankings? Is he he's definitely what? Sydney: He's he's a wide receiver one, for sure. yeah. Yeah, for sure. TB: Top five, right? Top five in the league. Easy. I mean, he had 10 catches, 10 catches yesterday and two tutties. So most likely, look, Christian Benford, he he comes, he comes off this game one-on-one with Nico Collins. He's probably gonna match up with St. Brown when he is lined up on the outside. Now, when now they they like to move him around the field a little bit, but when he's on the outside, I I guarantee Bernard is going to be locked onto him. so he's definitely a player to watch. Jared Goff played, he played okay. He played okay. I believe you you talked about him before. He either plays amazing or he plays terrible. but Sydney: Yeah. Yeah. TB: this was one of those rare middle ground games. He threw for 206, two tutties, no picks. we have to find a way to generate pressure on him. And that was kind of maddening. Watching the game yesterday against Houston, we couldn't get to to Stroud. We would send five, six players on a blitz package and no one would get home. And it was just Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: madness. And we can't let Goff sit back there and pick us off. So what what do you think of Goff's ability against our our secondary with some of these weapons he has? Sydney: Yeah, he he is so wishy-washy. I think you're exactly right. If we do get pressure on him, he's gonna throw picks a hundred percent. I think Gibbs, they're gonna you utilize him a lot. They don't have Montgomery anymore. and a lot of times they tag teamed. I think that this could be a long play, but they might run Gibbs into the ground, quite literally. I don't know how Often they're gonna be using him, but it seems like they're gonna be using him like a lot. TB: Yeah. Sydney: So that could be just something to watch out for, I think could be interesting. but yeah, I mean they have Laporta too, who's really great. So TB: Yep. Sydney: they have a lot of really good players and we just need to we need to do the best that we can. I I don't know what that looks like, but something. TB: Yeah. And on their defensive side of the ball, obviously they have Aiden Hutchinson. He had two sacks yesterday against the Saints, but their defensive line isn't nearly as feared as Houston is. And we did pretty well. So I kind of like our matchup against that that front. if we play as well as we did yesterday on the o line, I don't have any worry of about about that side of the ball. Yeah, I was shocked to see the Saints go for two and the win. What what did you think about that decision? Sydney: I love it, honestly. I think you know you have to go into these games thinking that you're gonna be playing aggressive and you're gonna take risks. I love TB: Yeah. Sydney: that they did that. and it's just an all or nothing mentality and I think that they need to do that. And I mean for the most part they looked like a good football team. And I know a lot of people don't know what to expect from Tyler Shug. I don't know how the heck you pronounce his last name. I've heard it pronounced five different ways, but TB: Yeah. Sydney: Tyler Shug I thought he played pretty well. I don't know. Maybe Detroit just had a bad game, but I hope they have a bad game again. And they're coming into Buffalo in a brand new stadium. It's gonna ri be a really very difficult environment to be in. And if I'm Jared Goff, he he is not that solid. So I think he TB: How much do you think? Sydney: I think he's throwing at least two picks. TB: Two pickles. Okay. I like it. I'll put you down for two pickles. How much do you think the atmosphere is gonna matter in this game? Sydney: So much. I think it it's gonna be a huge factor. I mean our team is gonna be fired up. I I hope to god they are. I wish I was there, but I think it is gonna be so awesome. I hope that Jared Goff cannot hear a single thing coming from his headset. I just wanna see him going like this all day. I I don't know. I I just can't wait. TB: That's one of the things I'm most excited to experience is the first time that offense, the Lions offense takes the field on a Thursday night game in that place. How loud is that place gonna be? Are we gonna be up there with some of these stadiums of all time with the decimal level and all that stuff? I cannot wait to see how rocking that place is. 10,000 less people, but I think it's gonna be louder than the old high mark. So Sydney: Yeah. TB: I don't know. I think we got to contain Gibbs, protect Josh, and cut down on the penalties because we had way too many penalties. And I think we could come out with a win. look, no one expected sixty-seven points to be scored yesterday between the Bills and the Texans. Everyone's expecting Thursday night's game to be an absolute shootout between two high, high powered offenses. I don't know. What's what's your prediction for the game? Give give me a score. Sydney: I think this is gonna be super high scoring. I I'm gonna go like it's so tough. I literally think it's gonna be like 36 to like 33 or something like that. TB: So almost the exact same game script as we just saw yesterday. Sydney: Yeah, I think yesterday was a little bit bizarre with how high scoring it was, but I TB: Yeah. Sydney: think this one i is, you know, we're all expecting it to be pretty high scoring with the level of the offenses on both sides. So TB: Okay. Sydney: I'm gonna say it's in the thirties. I don't think it gets into the forties, but we'll see. I think thirties. TB: Do you think there's any punts in this game? Sydney: Yeah, I think there'll be some puns. I think TB: Okay. Sydney: there will be, naturally. not many though. I'm gonna say like two on both sides. TB: So you have it thirty six, thirty three. Who are you picking to win? Sydney: Buffalo. TB: Okay. Is this gonna come down to the last possession like we saw yesterday? Sydney: I mean I hope not, but I could just see it going TB: Yeah. Sydney: that way. Just how we play games. TB: I gotcha. I got this one thirty-five, twenty-seven Buffalo. I think Sydney: Okay. TB: we score five tutties and T Bass has a nice easy game, doesn't have to worry about any long field goals. And I think we turn golf over at least twice and get a a few picks. I think that secondary should settle down a little bit. I know this is a tough ta task as well. but hopefully, hopefully we can keep keep him out of the end zone a a few more times and and we shall see what happens. So yeah, I'm going thirty five, thirty five twenty seven. That that's my pick. What do you think about that? Sydney: Yeah, I like that. I think that is probably a little bit more realistic, but yeah. TB: Because like you said to your point, I think the crowd is gonna be the X factor in this game. Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: And hopefully we can we can affect the Lions, specifically when when their offense is on the field. But got anything else to Sydney: Yeah, absolutely. Let's hope. TB: say in in the Bills segment? Are you ready to to to turn to the the next chapter? Sydney: I'm ready. Go Bills. TB: Go Bills. All right. So wrestling marks, you are on the clock. It's time for everyone's favorite game. It's time for another episode of What's the gimmick? Sydney, are you ready to play? This is the game that's that's sweeping the nation. It's crazy. Sydney: Yep. I love it. I'm ready. TB: All right. let me see. It's been a minute since I've been able to to do this. Let's see what we got going on here. Are you ready? Sydney: I'm ready. TB: Here we go. Can you see this man? Sydney: Hm I've yeah. TB: All right. So you know the rules for the listening audience. First of all, describe what you see. And have you ever seen this person before in your life? Sydney: He looks really familiar, I will say. TB: okay. Looks familiar. So what are you seeing in this picture? Sydney: Is this guy real? TB: He is absolutely real. Sydney: Okay. 'Cause it says Cha G B T, so I'm like TB: Well, I only had to use Chat GPT to erase the name that was on his singlet. Sydney: Okay, okay. Gotcha. Okay, so he is pretty large guy. looks like he has like a dragon tattoo on his arm. He's TB: Yeah. Sydney: wearing a purple, black, and yellow singlet, kinda like TB: Okay. Sydney: a one piece swimsuit. And he has really, TB: That's a very good description. Sydney: really hairy chest. And he has Long hair, but he's missing hair on almost the entire top of his head. TB: Call this a mullet? Sydney: I don't even know because he's missing half of his hair. So I don't really know. I Sure. TB: Okay. So long long hair, but yet there's no party up front. In fact, there's nothing up front. He has a no, Sydney: There's no party on top, no. TB: no party on top except a very faint single stripe of like barely Sydney: Yeah. TB: their hair that goes right down the center of his scalp. Okay, what el What else can you describe? Sydney: Yeah. Very interesting. TB: What about his face? Sydney: Looks very angry and looks like he's about to like crush your head with his hand. TB: And a full beard. Okay. Sydney: Full beard, yeah. TB: Would you describe this man as toned muscularly? Sydney: Absolutely not. No. He is hmm, how would you say husky? I'm not really sure what the proper Yeah. A little TB: Rather rotund, very Sydney: a little more round. TB: R yeah. Let's go let's go round. Okay, so you know the game. R remind everyone what your task is. Sydney: So I'm supposed to come up with what his name is and what his gimmick is. TB: Correct. So you you you may have seen this person before, but you can't be sure. So go ahead. Do you have a guess? Sydney: So I'm gonna his gimmick, I don't really know, just because he doesn't have this is a pretty plain outfit. TB: Okay. Sydney: So I'm gonna say his name is Sammy the skull crusher. I don't know. He just looks like he's about to he's about to like crush you. Yeah. And then his gimmick, I TB: So you think this man looks like a Sammy? All right. Okay. What's his gimmick? Sydney: don't TB: Skullc Sammy the skull crusher. I I like that. I like that. Sydney: Yeah, yeah. But as far as like what his I don't really know. It's like does he have a theme? TB: I mean that's up to you. Sydney: He has a gimmick? TB: You you it's up for you to decide. Sydney: This is like not giving me any clues here. Yeah, yeah. TB: Yeah, that's tough. All right. Are you ready for your first clue? All right. Clue number one, and I have four clues for you today. So clue number one, his character was built around being a massive destructive force. Sydney: Okay, so that plays into the skull crushing theme. TB: Okay. Sydney: Okay, so yeah, that makes sense. Okay, can you TB: What about that clue makes makes sense? Sydney: Because he just has his hand up like this and I think he's gonna like he's gonna grab your head and just like push you down. TB: okay, that makes sense. So you think the pose he's in has something to do with his gimmick? Okay. True, Sydney: Yeah, I think so. 'Cause there's really not much to go off of. TB: true. I think that may be a little misleading, but we shall see. All right. Are you ready? Sydney: great. TB: Do you want to change your answer? Are you still with Sammy the Skull Crusher? Sydney: Yeah, I'll go with that for now, but can I have another clue? TB: Absolutely. Clue number two. His name is a natural disaster, but not one that is caused by the weather. Sydney: What? I'm so confused. what natural disaster is it? Like I literally don't even know. Okay. Number three. Number three. I'll think about it. TB: Okay, all right. So before before I give you clue number three, I I have to ask you a very tough question. Do you think Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: Sammy the Skull Crusher could defeat Professor Pipe Bomb in a one on one matchup? Sydney: No, I don't. He he is just not he doesn't look like he works out. And I'm pretty sure that Professor Pipe Bomb like had a pretty nice build. So TB: Okay. Sydney: I don't know, that's just my opinion. We'll see. Maybe he could TB: Okay, that Sydney: give him a run for his money. TB: okay. All right, keep that in mind as we as we move forward. All right, Sydney: Okay. TB: clue number three, and this might be very helpful to you. California Sydney: Okay. TB: is especially familiar with his name. Sydney: Earthquake Earl. TB: I think Sydney: Is it an earthquake? TB: I think you got it. This is Sydney: Really? TB: none other than Earthquake. Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. Sydney and her what third attempt at guess Sydney: Yeah. TB: the gimmick has gotten one right. This is this is Sydney: Wait, it's just earthquake? There's nothing else? TB: we're gonna we're gonna get to it. so Sydney: Okay. TB: I'm I'm gonna say goodbye to Mr. Earthquake here and stop sharing my screen, but Congratulations, you got you got this one right. That was that was amazing. Sydney: Wow. TB: All right. So let me tell you about Earthquake, aka his real name is John Tenta, and he was one of the WWF's biggest monster heels in the early 1990s. So he debuted Sydney: Yeah. TB: in 1989, and it was the craziest thing I've ever seen because they literally pulled this guy out of the audience and they made you think that he was a member of the crowd. watching the show and they brought him out and he he helped a wrestler by the name of Dino Bravo attack the ultimate warrior who obviously you know the Sydney: Mm. TB: ultimate warrior and it was crazy everyone's like my god this guy from the the the fan section came out and is now in the ring and he's helping a wrestler beat down on the ultimate warrior and look when you're 10 years old and back then in the late 80s early 90s There's the argument was still there that wrestling was real, right? So, like Sydney: Yeah. TB: you're watching this going, what the heck is going on? Well, Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: he went on a big run in 1990. He was managed by Jimmy Hart, the mouth of the South, and he went on to feud with none other than Hulk Hogan, if you can believe it. He had an attack on Hogan that made him look like a legitimate threat, if you could believe it. And it led to them actually having a SummerSlam match. So Mr. Earthquake was a main event player for quite some time. And a year later, he feuded with Jake the Snake Roberts. If you remember Jake the Snake, who I've talked about before, he carried Sydney: Yeah. TB: around a pet python in a canvas bag named Damien. And at one point, there was an angle in this feud where Earthquake famously squashed Jake's snake Damien in the storyline. It was crazy. So Sydney: Like actually? TB: like So his finishing move, he would do this like bounce around so the opponent would be on his back in the middle of the ring, and Earthquake would like run the ropes and then just sit on him. Just literally sit on his chest. That was it. Sydney: Makes sense. TB: So he did this to the snake, and everyone's like, my gosh, he destroyed Damien, the snake. It was crazy. Sydney: No. TB: Anyway, Earthquake teamed with another rather rotund. Wrestler by the name of Typhoon, and they formed a dynamic tag team called the Natural Disasters. See where they went with that? Typhoon, earthquake, natural disasters. Sydney: Mm okay. Yeah, makes sense. Mm. TB: boy. I mean, stuff was pretty much right on the nose back then. Like they were hitting you hitting you Sydney: Pretty much. TB: over the head with these gimmicks. But yeah, I mean, short run, he was only in the the WWF. about four years. But yeah, he was he was a main player for for a while. So congratulations on winning the Sydney: Thank you. TB: third edition of What's the gimmick? How do you feel? Sydney: Wow, I'm on a high right now. It's crazy. TB: What's what what's what makes you feel better? The Bills win or winning? What's the gimmick? Sydney: I could never choose. my gosh. TB: That's well done. I mean was were the clues too too easy? Sydney: The California one kind of sealed the deal. TB: Okay. All right. Well, well pr that that's pretty good. That's that's pretty good. well done. What what do you think could this Sydney: Thank you. TB: gimmick hold up today? If if Earthquake debuted on Monday Night Raw in two and a half hours from now, and came out of his hands to immediately squash Roman Reigns, what would you feel if you saw that as a fan? Sydney: I don't I don't think it would hold up today. No offense to him, but I don't see Roman Reigns losing to that guy. Maybe. Who TB: Yeah, Sydney: knows? TB: wow. It was definitely a sight to to see, but I thought that would be fun. Look, sometimes we gotta get way back in the DeLorean and and and go back to Sydney: Yeah. TB: when when I was ten. So so good job. But real quick, I don't wanna spend too much time on it. there was a title change just a few nights back, Friday Night Smackdown. We saw a rematch of Sami Zayn versus CM Punk. Have you heard any of the hubbub surrounding this this match? Sydney: Não, não. TB: Well, it was, you know, I've used the word schmazola before when I talk about wrestling. This was absolute craziness. First of all, if you watch SmackDown and you see a legit, like a real match, there should be no commercials in these things. I don't care if they split the screen in half and half the screen is them wrestling and the other half is showing the commercial. This is This is for the the title, like the main title. Why why are we listening to someone sell pizza or you know medicine and the guys over here get get no sound? I and and they did it not just once, but I think it was like at least twice during 20-minute championship title match. CM Puck versus Sami Zayn, and I gotta watch six minutes worth of commercials in the middle of this thing. Unbelievable. But anyway, the last couple minutes, it was a total schmaz. You had Johnny Gargano and his wife Candace Lorray come out and they're running interference. And then here comes Kevin Owens, and then the belt is in the ring, and somebody tries to hit so-and-so, and blah blah blah. And then there's Loblo. And I'm just like, what are we doing? Anyway, needless to say, Sami Zayn ends up picking up the win over Sam Punk, and he is now your brand new world heavyweight champion, yet again, if you remember from a few weeks back. I played you the clip of him losing his mind. do you remember this? Sydney: Yeah. Mm-hmm. TB: I don't know. I don't know what to say about it. It kind of has me feeling all sorts of ways. I I just thought it was not the greatest match. It didn't really have me invested. And now he's ta he's champion again. Are they just gonna use him as a way to get the belt to somebody else? Because the way I see it, Randy Orton's waiting in the wings. He started Friday night SmackDown by giving this promo about it don't matter who wins, who's champ, he's coming for him. He just beat Cody Rhodes at Sunday night's main event. a week ago left Cody nice and bloody in the center of the ring. And Randy's looking out for number fifteen. And I have a feeling that they just took the belt off CM Punk, gave it to Sammy because Sammy's about to lose it real quick to Randy Orton or somebody else. And they were they're trying to protect CM Punk by having him lose in this schmazzola of a ending to this match and try to, you know, keep him protected. I I don't know. I I gotta tell ya, I was not I was not impressed. Well was not impressed. I I don't know where this is heading, but we shall see. Obviously, money in the bank is coming up soon, and we'll we'll do a a a preview of that. But I kind of just wanted to talk about it because I know it's been a hot topic issue. Wrestling, look, wrestling always takes a back seat once the NFL kicks off, and I get it. But I don't know if this is the way that you get more attention to the product by doing one of these hot shot title matches. So anyway. But let's let's switch attention yet again. Let's talk some cards because I want to talk real quick about tops now. Do you do you know what tops now is? Have you seen this before? Sydney: No. TB: Okay, so tops now, I'm gonna share my screen with you again. Tops now are essentially made on demand cards that are limited time only. So, for example, when a specific event happens, I talked about this with the Jackson Holiday card that happened when your brother and I went to the O's game. Sydney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. TB: An event happens in a sporting event. Can you see these by the way? Okay. So an event happens, tops capitalizes on it, and they print a very short run of a card and it's only available for like 48 hours after the end of event. So what they did after the after yesterday is they made all these NFL tops now cards. So you have Jackson Dart, Jeremiah Love, his first touchdown card, Caleb Williams, four total touchdowns, 59 points. I'll scroll down, you get Derek Henry, three scores move him to number three all time on the rush T D list. Jameer Gibbs, who we just talked about. There's your boy T Law, TJ Watt with the I think he had what, a pick six? And then we have the best player on the planet, Josh Allen, enters the top 20 in rushing TDs and thrilling win. So these cards are available, as you can see. Some of these are until the 16th. They cost nine to twelve bucks, depending. Topps just got the license back to the NFL. So it's kind of a big deal that they're able to print NFL trading cards now with the license, with the logo, with the team name and all that stuff. And it seems to me that they're printing these things to the moon. So what are your Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: thoughts? What are your thoughts on this stuff? Sydney: Yeah, I mean, definitely cool. I mean, we talked about being able to remember, you know, games by. I think this is a really neat thing to do. you know, not per se my thing, but it would be cool to like collect a card from each game or something similar to that. Or collect TB: Yeah. Sydney: a card from each game you go to or each win or something along those lines. And they're not too expensive, which I I do think that that's cool. TB: Yeah. Sydney: it seems like there maybe is a little limited selection. Like you might not be able to find every single team. TB: Right. Sydney: or maybe it's all the winners or something like that. so maybe if your team isn't that great, you might not be able to find any cards. but I don't know. It seems pretty cool to me. TB: Do you see this in any way, shape or form as a just a total cash grab? Sydney: for sure. Yeah, I mean at the end of the day that's what all these companies are doing. So I mean, yeah, of course, but I guess just how you look at it. TB: Yeah, I don't know. I kind of go back and forth on this. I totally see your point. I know fans are super excited about NFL. And some of these cards are cool. Like I could totally see getting let me bring it up again. Getting the the the Josh card, you know. Sydney: Yeah. TB: I mean it's a it's a decent looking card. but like look, the Texans just lost. Why am I gonna get a David Montgomery three T D impressive Texans debut card coming off a loss? I mean, am I wrong in thinking that? Sydney: yeah, no, I don't think you're wrong. but like I said, there's there's limited selection. I feel like TB: Yeah. Sydney: if they're gonna do that, they need to include every team. But I mean, they're not bad. Like that's a neat card. TB: Now here, this is I I gotta say, this is a pretty cool card. This is a Jackson Dart tops now card. It says for those listening, three TDs led primetime rivalry win versus cowboys. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of this game. Did did you watch any of this game? Sydney: Yeah, I watched a little bit of it. I wasn't highly invested in it. TB: Okay. Sydney: I didn't think that New York was gonna win, but so that was definitely a surprise. But for the most part, no, I didn't really watch. TB: Now, this is one of those the cards that you have the potential to get an autograph on. So they just put Sydney: That's neat. TB: they insert random autographed cards for those who who choose to buy this. That's why it's two bucks more than some of the other ones or three bucks more. and here's a variation on that same card. That's pretty cool. That that's Sydney: Yeah, that's sick. TB: really cool. I love the lighting. It looks like an alternate, Version of the card, but the auto, if you could hit a 101 signed auto card, I mean that's pretty cool. Sydney: Yeah. TB: but chances of you hitting it pretty low. And then one card is 12 bucks. If you want to buy five, it costs you 50. I don't know why you want five of the same card, but if you're trying to hit that auto or that limited run, because you could see these parallels here on the side. They have you can hit number to 50, number to 25, number to 10, number to five, and number number one of one. So there's some variations here. It's pretty neat. I just I don't know. Sometimes I go back and forth on that stuff. It's like, how much of a cash grab is it? I mean, we Sydney: Yeah. TB: haven't even finished week one and they got sixteen different tops now cards already for sale. Sydney: Yeah. TB: I don't know. I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting grumpy with some of this stuff, but I don't know. Could you ever see yourself buying one of these? Sydney: Yeah, I mean I think if there was like a neat game that maybe I checked it one day and just saw that there was, you know, a cool play or something from one of the games that I was at, maybe it would be something cool to collect, just to remember the game by, but I'm not a card collector. So, you know, I just think TB: Yeah. Sydney: I could see people doing that. TB: Well, there you go. Then maybe when we go to our game this year, we'll we'll hop on tops now afterwards and look to see who's got a special edition card and we'll get that sucker ordered Sydney: Yeah. There you go. TB: ordered and framed up or something. Sydney: Yes, let's go. TB: All right, let's do a quick episode of Goodbye or Nah, because I'm excited to show you these. I found these Two cards the other day. So the first one I'm gonna show you is let's see if you could see this. Sydney: Is that one of the Usos? TB: So that's solo Sokoa. And this is from Topps Exalted WWE 2025. So last year, and it's signed, it's on card. Obviously, he just wrote the word solo. Can you see that or no? I love the Sydney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's pretty sweet. TB: photography in this card. It's black and white. The lettering at the top is kind of like silver. And he signed it in blue ink. So I'm kind of a sucker whenever they sign it in different color. Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: Look, we talk about James Cook signing his cards, JC, and I think it's stupid, but Solo Sokoa signing it solo, I think that's kind of neat. So maybe I'm a Sydney: Yeah. TB: hypocrite, but so what do you think I paid for this solo secoa auto exalted card? Sydney: Mm, twenty. TB: Pretty close. I paid 2475, I think. Sydney: Okay. TB: Goodbye or nah. Sydney: Yeah, I like that. For an autograph I feel like that's a good price. TB: Okay. Okay. So we're one one for one. All right. Sydney: Yeah. TB: I stayed in the same series. And now this time I found a Mr. Chad Gable, also from 2025 Tops Exalted. This one, it's a parallel numbered to 99. And he wrote in blue Sydney: Mm-hmm. Mm. TB: ink. Gable as his autograph. So Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: Chad Gable just won the Intercontinental title recently at SummerSlam. Huge match against Penta. Sydney: Yeah. TB: really, really good wrestler. So what do you think of that card? Sydney: That's pretty sick. I like that it's in black and white too. TB: Yeah, I saw those and I love I love the black and white photography and I love Sydney: Yeah. TB: the how the color of the auto pops. So and that one's numbered to ninety nine. So what do you think I've I bought that one for? Sydney: Forty five. TB: I got that card for 15 bucks. Yeah. Sydney: Wow. That's a great deal. TB: Right? So goodbye or nah. So two Sydney: Goodbye. Goodbye. TB: for two. I think look, I've slowed down a little bit on my card buying, but I'm I've become a little more picky lately. but yeah. Sydney: Yeah, that's okay. TB: I was I was definitely, definitely happy, definitely happy with those with those two picks. So Let's see, where are we at time wise? hour seventeen. I think I think we wrap it up because we got a busy week ahead of us. I was gonna talk Sydney: Yeah, yeah. TB: about Topps, Marvel, Neon, but Nah, we'll push it off till next Sydney: Mm. TB: week. Yeah. I don't know. I think I think that's a good place to stop. So what do you think? You got any any lasting thoughts? Any any shout outs you wanna give? Anything you wanna say before we we put a bow on this? Because I think I'm gonna let you close it out this week. Sydney: shoot. Well TB: Yeah. Sydney: I don't know. We have the Chiefs game tonight. Chiefs Broncos. I'm excited TB: Right. Sydney: for that. Honestly, I have no idea how it's gonna go. So I'm excited for that. I don't know who I want to win. So I just say go football. And yeah TB: Yeah, that's a tough one, right? Who who do we root for as as a as a member of the mafia, who do we root for? Sydney: I don't know. I don't really wanna root for either of them. It's so tough. I really don't know. That's TB: Well they're Sydney: I'm just gonna use my football pillow today. TB: Okay. I there's no world I can ever root for Patty Mahomes. I just can't. As much Sydney: Yeah, yeah. TB: as a threat as I see the Broncos being, I'll take my chances. I can't root for I can't Sydney: Yeah, I think so too. TB: root for the Chiefs. No, no way, no, no, no way, no how. I can't root for them and Sydney: Yeah. TB: I can't root for the Patriots. So I don't care who's playing them. I'm rooting for the other team. Sydney: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I think I think the Broncos are a better team, but for some reason I think the Chiefs win tonight. TB: Well, I mean, they're playing at home because I think I feel like they play every game at home. That's on national television. Sydney: Yeah. TB: so yeah, it's just funny how that always seems to happen. But okay. All right, go football. I love it. So, well, Sydney: Go football. TB: I'm I'm giving you the baton. I I think look, you're no longer co co-hosting. You're you're host hosting. So you take take us away, take us out of here as we we dive we Sydney: no. TB: dive into week two. Sydney: Well, all I can ask for is a good rest of the week. but yeah, lots to do this week. I'm excited for next week. You guys don't get to look at this boring background anymore. so I'm excited for that. And go Bills, boo chiefs, and let's go. TB: All right. Well I couldn't have said it better myself. Sydney: Mm. TB: So we will see you later. Sydney: You later. Bye.