It's been too long, but we are back on the axis of football. The playoffs are upon us and we thought, what better time to reun? And talk some football. Then the best part of the year really, which is the post-season bit of a hiatus as, as you know, char life happens. You know, my, my my third kid was in the hospital for a while. I know you've got, you've had some stuff you've been working through. So apologies to the audience for the hiatus, but we're excited to be back, man. Absolutely. Good to hear your voice again. Good to be talking football again. No question about it. And let's just get into it because obviously with week 18 under wraps Wild Card Weekend is is just in our midst shark and it's it's the best time of the year, although, again, bittersweet because it playoffs means season's coming to an end. But this is the the juicy part as they say. And just talk about kind of how it's gonna break. By conference in the N F C, you've got the Seahawks visiting the 49ers. And I actually say that there, there's some divisional themes throughout these playoffs. The, the third rubber match, if you will, with some of these teams in the wildcard ground. So Seahawks as the seven seed visiting the Niners, of course, Philadelphia wrapping up home field and that first round by getting the win against the Giants backup. In week 18. So they're able to kind of take care of business despite a bit of a scare there. And then you've got on the other side of it, the two verse seven in the A F C is going to be the dolphins visiting the bills. Another divisional kind of rematch between these teams which split their series in the regular season in the N F C again, Vikings giants. The three verse, the six, the three verse six on the AFC side is, Divisional rematch, Ravens Bengals. And then last but not least, the four verse, the five, the Cowboys Against The Bucks. Not a divisional game show, but a rematch of week one. So ironically, one of these team seasons will begun against in Cowboys bucks and will end that way as well. We'll see who that will be. And then you've got the Chargers visiting Duval. The Ja visiting the Jags off the heels of the Jags Week 18, win Against the Titans. That was one of those kind of win and end scenarios, both the Titans and the Jags coming in eight and eight Titan's getting the, the, excuse me, the Jags getting the big home win against their division rival, albeit Josh Jobs is the quarterback. Titans are a little bit shorthanded, but if Jags Chargers, so sure. Laying this out. Is there a matchup here, you see that intrigues you? I guess first of all, a, any initial thoughts on the slate of wildcard games? No. I mean I, I was thinking the other day that I really enjoy having that week, is it 18? That extra game, because Yeah. It's two years in a row now where it's made the last couple of games almost into playoff. For us. So it kind of widened, it kind of widened the, the the, the amount of teams to widen the field to how many teams could get in. Yeah. And tell you what, we had some playoff games last week, which, you know were, were amazing. So I really, I really, really enjoy it. But the game that, that, that I'm really looking forward to is, is the game you're gonna be watching. Cause you got your, you know, you got your ta, you know, Tampa Bay Brady. And versus your you know, your Dallas Cowboys who, who who, who's, who's kinda backs slid in a little bit. Kinda, yeah. Well, I'm trying to be kind. I mean, we, yeah, we, and we can start there. And another reason why this gangs kind of historic char. for the first, so, so the NFL's done a couple things over the past couple years, you mentioned it, right. They obviously added an 18th week. They added a seventh playoff team, which adds a lot of intrigue as we close the season out. What they've also done this year, and it's gonna be different than playoffs they've made, instead of three games Saturday, three games Sunday, they've taken, they're, they, they're gonna take one game and kind of flex that out to Monday night football. I kind of had this feeling in the back of my mind. If the Cowboys make it, if you're gonna open up a game in a new slot like that in the playoffs, it's probably gonna be the Cowboys. Sure enough, it is. Right. So the Cowboys and the Bucks will play the first ever Monday night football playoff game. So it's your point, char, everyone's gonna be watching this one. Cause it's, it's, it's gonna be an Ashley televised. Yeah. It's look, I, I don't know if it has more to do with the Cowboys or more with Tom Brady. Probably a little bit or both. Who, who knows, who knows. But, but look, you got you got Tom Brady with a abysmal record and you got the Cowboys backsliding in. So it, it's like something's gotta give, something's gotta give. And, and I'm, I, and, and look, I, I know Vegas probably has the Cowboys favorite. I'm not, I'm not sure about that, but they do. Yeah. They're, they're, they're, to my surprise, they're three point favorites right now. Yeah. So, I mean, may, may, maybe I'm nostalgic, but I mean, are you gonna be against Tom Brady in the playoffs? No, no. I mean, look, I, I would say like maybe a few weeks ago, we've known for a little while given the division lead that Philadelphia had on Dallas. Dallas was slotted into that fifth seed and given the Bucks abysmal record this year, they were slotted into that fourth, that fourth seed as the south winner. So this was a matchup like we've been talking about, and, and we've seen. For a little while. I felt a lot better about it a few weeks ago, but man, like you said it really well, Shar, the cowboys are absolutely, they're, they're backsliding crawl. They're doing a backwards crab walk, basically into these playoffs. And really the concerning part to me, you've seen some cracks in this team. They lost Anthony Brown and Jordan Lewis, their second and third corners, which has really made that secondary susceptible, which doesn't match up well against Tom Brady, who actually at the show of the past two years, he's led the, he's broken the N F L record for pass attempt, so he broke it last year and then he broke it again this year. So, You've got a poor past defense against a team that likes throw the ball quite a bit. So if I was playing DraftKings, I'd probably get like a Mike Evans or Chris Godwin in this game. The other piece of it chart, Dak Prescott has been downright bad aside from that Philadelphia game, and it feels like the Cowboys really made that Philadelphia game their Super Bowl, cuz they lost an overtime to the Jaguars League prior. So it's almost like they were looking ahead and then in games against Joshua Dobbs and And Sam Howell, by the way, con, congrats man. Hell of the win for Washington. Close out the ear, but their third string quarterback, I mean, the team does not look good. Dak Prescott interceptions and seven straight games. He missed five games, char and still leads the league in interceptions of 15 and three pick sixes as well. I mean, he's, he's not playing well. There's another way to say it. Dak Prescott is playing extremely poorly right now. They try to kind of mo get some mojo, manufacture some of. in week 18 against Washington. It simply didn't work. And you've gotta be concerned against the Washington team that had nothing to play for. I mean, you could say even you know, we'll talk about it a little bit, but like what the Lions did to the Packers, the lions knew the Packers had to win that game to reach the playoffs even though they had been eliminated. Cuz Seattle had one earlier. Right. So in their, there was also something to play for with the, with the, with Washington. There was nothing. I mean, the Cowboys the C playoff spot. Washington played third string quarterback. You know, Dallas had some starters in, I mean, there was no reason for them to really be motivated to win that game other than it's the last game of the season and Dallas got completely shellacked. So, and you know what else is what else is somewhat disturbing? If I was a, if I were a cowboy fan, is that coming into the week? They were prepar. For a game. So it's not like the entire time they thought, oh, you know this. Oh yeah, there was, you're right, char, there was a scenario where the Cowboys, albeit was, it was a little bit farfetched, but the Cowboys could have gotten a one seed if the Niners and Eagles had lost and they had won. But even more so the N F C East was in the table if the, if the Giants had beat the Eagles and the Cowboys beat Washington. Exactly. That's so, they were absolutely playing for something. And look, the eagle. One by six points against the Giants backups. Like, like, like that game, you know, it, it wasn't as necessarily lopsided as simple thought. And look, it had lost games coming into, they were all like on a two game two week. So fact, in fact, as, as the cow, as it became clear to me that the Cowboys were gonna lose that game against Washington, I was praying for Philly to win for my own psyche. Cause I. If Philly had lost this game and the Cowboys lost, I would've been sick because you're telling me all we had to do was beat Sam Howell. And, and, and the Washington team was nothing to play for, to win the East, and, and we couldn't do it, you know, and, and Philly had lo I mean, so thank God Philly won. So at least it's a moot whether the Cowboys won, lost moot point. But still you don't like the way they're playing. Here's the one thing I'll say, char. It's not a silver lining, but if you recall, week 18 last year was a meaningless game for the Cowboys. They were playing at Philadelphia. Their seating was already, they were the four seat, I believe it was already locked in, but they still played all their starters all throughout, and they went up and down the field. They scored 56 points against Philadelphia. Looked amazing, right? And obviously I think Philadelphia played their backup. So it wasn't like a, an amazing accomplishment, but like they looked good, they executed well. And again, Canada's trying to manufacture some momentum and look what happened. They split up a total stinker in the wildcard round. They lost to the Niners who were the only team that hosted a wildcard game to have lost in that, in that round. So, you know, you can also say, well, that didn't. I'm not saying I like the way they're going to the playoffs this year. The point I'm trying to make is the playoffs ultimately are a different season, so you've gotta kind of put the past in the past and focus on what's ahead. What that said though, man, it's, it's not just this game. Dak Prescott, seven straight games of the pick 15 interceptions overall leads to, and he missed five games. I mean, he is in a major funk and if he doesn't get out of it this is, this could be a runaway for the. I mean there's nothing I can really add to that. It was it was well put. Yeah, I mean, and I guess the other part of that too is if the Cowboys lose this game or one and done again, I hope you agree with me that Mike McCarthy's job should be in question here at this point. Oh, I, I think it already is, but that's more of a Sean Peyton factor than a, I mean, let's, let's look at it in, in a, in a vacuum. If Sean Payton wasn't there, would, would his job really? At stake. I think there would be some kinda a thought. I hope it would be right. I mean, yes, but I think it's even more so now that you're gonna have Sean Peyton talking to Dallas and, and it's almost seems like that, that, you know, that Window's closing for Sean Peyton coming to Dallas. But look, you also have a situation where you got the, you know, the Rams coach talking about leaving four years. So, you know, that wouldn't be a bad thing for you guys either. Yeah. I mean, I think I, it seems like he's, McVay might be done with coaching altogether. He's, he's just he gonna, he's too young. Live the dream of, retire at 37 or whatever it is. He's too young man. But but any case, yeah, I'm not feeling good about this game. It's, you're, I mean, you already don't want to bet against Tom Brady in the playoff game. and then you add the way the cowboys are stumbling into this game. You know, the, the pass rush has kind of died down these past few weeks. Micah Parsons looks gased more and more each week. They just look beat up man. Injuries are the secondary, don't help. I just think that the bucks, despite finishing eight and nine, I mean, they're eight and nine division winner. It's only that the fourth time in N F L history, there's been a sub 500 division winner. and I think they're catching the cowboys at the right time. And right now you're, they're getting three points at home. That feels like a pretty good, a pretty good bet given how poorly this cowboy team is playing. And look, I, I mean, have you ever shar seen a team play this poorly going into the playoffs and then somehow turning around? Like, I, I, I can't remember it. Like has it, maybe, maybe they've won a game, but like, I don't know that a team that was, that was. You know, backsliding into the playoffs like this really ultimately ended up doing anything. I, I can't, I can't recall. Usually yeah, they, they can't be feeling good about it. There's, there's no way that they're feeling good about it, so. Yeah. Yeah. So that's, I mean, so, so I mean, is it fair to say we, we've both got the bucks in this one. Yeah, I'm gonna actually be the bucks. I'm gonna be the bucks simply just because also the money back. I'm gonna be'em, I'm gonna be'em to win. They're gonna be a plus, plus something. So yeah, probably a plus 1 40, 1 50. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna take that and, you know, it's you know, just, just because you ca again, Beyond everything else. How are you betting gonna celebrate in the playoffs? Yeah. Yeah. You're no, no kid man. By the way, one interesting thing about these playoffs, char, is every single matchup of these teams happened also in the regular season, whether it was divisional or non divisional. Right. But I gotta say, and I don't wanna come off as kind of being ungrateful, I don't really like. When there's a divisional rematch in the playoffs, it's like, do you really wanna see Bengals Ravens a third time, who we really need to see Niners Seahawks a third time? Like, please, please spare me like I the playoffs. To me, part of the intrigue of the playoffs to me is we get to see really good teams that don't play each other often face off, like the fact that half of these are divisional games. it kind of, now look, maybe I'll be wrong. Maybe they'll end up being great games. I just, on paper, it doesn't excite me as much. How do you feel about that? No, you're right. You're in terms of it being in a division, but I like the fact that the cowboys in the. Have played. I, but you know, that's not in a division, that's inter conference. Right. I'm just, I'm talking more like, like Niners Hawks, bills, dolphins, Ravens, Bengals. Like that. That happened. That happened. Was it last year or two years ago when the when the Steelers played the Browns. It was two years ago. I can't remember half the games being that, that way though, you know. No, no, no, no. You, you but it was, and, and look, we were all. That's the year that the Browns with Baker, that was Baker Mayfield's, probably Best Year. So it, it happened and, and you, and, and it does enable you to see how a team has matured and grown throughout the year. But, but in case of the, in case of the Bengals and the Ravens who just played each other, what they, they, they're gonna be playing each other three times within. Cause they played fairly late in the season as well, right? Their first game or. The Bengals, right? We just played each other week 18? No, no, the, their first game that they played. Oh, was it early? Yeah, I think, I think it was in, within the first month of the season. They faced each other off. Oh, it was Okay, alright. I thought it was later on, but, so yeah. So it's, you know, but, but, but beyond that one way you can look at it, that they're gonna be good games. I mean, you know, when you play, when you play division, let's, let's see if, let, let's see if Lamar. Bengals, Ravens. I mean, I, you know, like, well, mark, I mean they didn't even play Mark Andrews. That's, you know, that's the other thing. So, well, I don't know. I mean, Lamar Jackson seems like he's on track. He should be on track to play, but part of me feels like is he, could this be a kind of an intentional holdout because they haven't taken care of'em yet and they're still kind of a contract dispute and there's a lot of money on the table at stake here. And if God forbid, He sustained some type of a catastrophic injury. He's, he's throwing a lot of money away. I don't know if you think that plays into it at all, or do you think No. Lamar's just getting, oh, it has to, it has to play into it. How can, how can it not? How can it not, and it could be one of those things. He's, he's saying, oh, you guys don't wanna pay me. Okay, let, let, let's see how, let's see how good you are without me, you know? So, Exactly, and I really think, I think Lamar has'em by the balls because they've, they've built their entire team and their offense around Lamar skillset. So what, what are you gonna do? Now it was Tyler Huntley did not look good. The Bengals won 27 16 against the Ravens in week 18. And yeah, but it wasn't Huntley playing. It was it was the kid from Oregon. Was it not Huntley. Oh, Russ, you're right. Was Anthony Brown? I'm sure it was Anthony Brown. It's been Huntley recently. Yeah, so they're playing the third spring. So obviously it's not an indication of what's to come, but at the end of the day, even if it's Huntley, I don't feel great about the Raven's chances. So it's, this game is gonna tilt on does Lamar play because he, he is truly the engine that makes this team go. I don't know how you feel about it. I think Bengals are playing some amazing football. I think they're, they're converse with the Cowboys. They're an example of a team that is peaking at the right time. And unless Lamar plays, this could be a, maybe one of the most lopsided games of the week. I Are you sure about that? Because here, here's the, you think, you think, you think even if Lamar doesn't. Yeah, because even look, Mark Andrews, they, they kept, they kept a lot of players back last week. Don't even, I wouldn't even look at that game if I were you. I'm not, I I, I, I'm simply saying the Bengals are playing too well for them to, to not have a mark. They, they, they, they are, but it's not gonna, it's not gonna be a cakewalk. It, it's, look again, this inter division game you have, one of my hardball is probably. In terms of how I feel about him, he's probably right below our, our guy in Pittsburgh. Mr. Tomlin. Yeah. Yeah. Who, who's who miraculously went on a four game streak and winning record. What a, I don't know about you. I was rooting for Pittsburgh to make an end. Oh, ab, absolutely, absolutely. There's a couple of teams like that, that I was rooting for to make it in because they could beat anybody. You know, one of them is the Packers. I'm sure we're gonna cover later on, but, but think about it, if you're in the nfc, would you wanna play to pack? Would you wanna play, would you wanna play a team like a Steelers that are really young quarterback? That's what I'm saying. And that's, I, I agree with you. Like I was, I was rooting for Green Bay and Pittsburgh to make it in because they, they would be like, those would be probably cuz like the past couple years, char the seven seed has not really been a formidable opponent. I actually think th those two teams would've respectively made formidable. seven seats against the two, even though going against the two seat, I, I think those would've been much better games. Now you got Miami limping in instead of Pittsburgh off the back of a nine to six victory right. Beating, beating Joe Flaco. I mean. Anyway, we'll, we'll get to that game. But, but yeah, I think you're right. And just to go back, they did, like I said, they did play in the first, in the first few weeks of the season, it was October 9th, Raven. Bengals Ravens Ed that one out. They won 1917, so that was a close game earlier in the year. But we also know Sharp early in the year, the Bengals in the first third of the season are not the Bengals today. That team has made some massive strides, and I think they're peaking at the right time. They've got a ton of momentum and I, I just, I really don't. I don't think the the Ravens stand a chance without Lamar. Even if Huntley plays, it might be in the game. Oh, I agree. I agree. But I'm just, I'm just saying that they're not gonna be the same team as last week, so they're not No, you're right. You're right. And I, but, and you're absolutely right, but I, Bengals are primed. They're ready. I would also surmise that given it was a high likelihood that these two teams knew they were gonna play each other the following. Maybe the Bengal weren't trying to do it a ton anyway, to, to, to show a lot in that game. But you're right. I if, if Huntley plays and it's gonna be a little more challenging. But Mark Andrews, I mean, we're forgetting their best offensive player, Mark Andrews. Yes, absolutely. But, but again, I just, I don't see that even if Andrews was gonna play and always guys, you know, obviously they got JK Dobbins. The, the Raven secondary is just isn't good, right? I, I think the Bengals left some plays in the table in the passing game last week. This could be ugly. This could be ugly if Lamar's not in there to keep drives moving, keep the clock moving you know, control time possession. I think if you let Joe Brewer on this offense, get on the stay on the field and you have too many three. They're gonna roast that secondary, the ravens are just the, their run defense is decent. The secondary is their weakness. In similar to cowboys books, I think it's one of those games where the strengths of one opponent feed into the weaknesses of the other. Right. And that, and in this case, it's, it's the Bengals and those great receivers against the the, the Ravens lack lesser secondary this year. They just have not been very good against the past. So I, I, I see this. I think it, it could be a blowout if if Lamar doesn't play, I think, oh, I'm never gonna, I dunno how you feel comfortable seeing a John Harbaugh team in the playoffs gonna get blown up. I know, but this, this, this is a different, this is a different vibe to it. Lamars hasn't been there. He seems like he's, he's bent on teaching him a lesson. We'll, we'll see if Lamar plays and he's fresh and. It's one of those scenarios where Shar, he, he maybe could have played these past couple weeks, but he didn't to, to get extra fresh and, and, and have that extra burst. Okay. That gives him a chance with Huntley. Sorry. It's just, it, it's not happening. They're, they're just not gonna be on the field as an offense long enough to keep the Bengals offensive at bay. So let's, let's do the predictions. Assuming Lamar is going to play, if Lamar plays, how do you see this one? I, I think it'll be it'll be a close game, but I, I still see Cincinnati winning. Okay. Okay. And I'm not sure to be honest, I, I'm not sure what the spread is here. But, well, I don't, I don't think, I haven't seen a spread cause they dunno if Lamar's playing or not. So some of the books aren't gonna put the spread out. I'm sure you get a spread if you go to, or if you go to Some of these sites, but I, it's, but yeah, whatever the spread is right now could drastically change depending on the news. It's not like insider information. If you know Lamar's gonna play or not play, you should go better right now because the, the spread right now is probably 50 50 in between Huntley and Lamar. Man, I guess if you're, if you're like related to Lamar or something. Yeah, absolutely. Let's go to another game where starting quarterbacks in question, that would be in another divisional rematch. Then that would be the Dolphins visiting the bills. I think before we talk about this one, obviously scary scene last. In the Bills Bengals game with DeMar Hamlin. Really, really glad to see that he's improving. And I think we were all kind of had our, our heart and our throat and nuts in our stomach, seeing how that played out and not knowing what was gonna happen. And I think just amazing to see that the bills in their week 18 game, the, the opening kickoff against the Patriot. Running back for a Touchdown by Naem Hines, the first play that was run since that horrific event the previous week. I mean, incredible. The Bill Belichick team, char had not had a kickoff return run back for a touchdown in 22 seasons. So just incredible that the first play would, would play out that way. Almost poetic, isn't it? Yeah, it's, it's, it's crazy. And then top two of. Two of them. Yeah. Belichick, I, I've, I've been part of a Belichick team to see how he works on special teams. Yeah. And it's it, it, I'm telling you, there some. Right af right after that game was over. Cause that's one of the fundamentals of where a solid coach will win in, in that aspect. Cause you know, in, in this day and age, everybody keeps thinking offense, offense, offense, offense, offense, and people forget. Special teams get the importance of punting and punt returning and, and gaining 10 yards here and there and, and field position. So hidden yardage, right? Yeah. And, and bill ball, chick's not one of those. It's this was a shocker to me because, you know, take, take that away and, and now you got, you know, the, the bills. Cause here's the thing, Patriots played them really well. Patriots played them really, really well. Take those two touchdowns away and, and I know obviously it's saying a lot, but you know, it, it's, it's a much closer game than than, than, than you give credit for. So, yeah. Well, I mean, even if you do, it doesn't mean that the bills wouldn't have scored if they just, you know, if it was returned out to the 30 or something they could have scored. But I agree. I thinking you probably know us better than I do. Char a return touchdown probably gives the whole team a huge lift too, right? It's just a massive momentum swing. Is it not? Oh my God. The, just the, just the feeling that you get when there're what. Look, I've been, obviously, I've played so many games that I've seen returns and kickoff returns happen. And when that happens, you automatically like, you're like, whoa, we're, we're winning this game. Like, that's right or wrong. You're like, we're, we've got this game. Yeah. Feels like momentum is, is is carrying us that way. Yeah. And I mean, just incredible to add to that, the fact that that was the first play since the DeMar Hamlin incident. It just, it's just, it's it's almost like one of those things. Script writers in Hollywood wouldn't be able to write something like that. Yeah. Wasn't there like a game called a game a movie called Angels on the Wings and something like that? Angels in the Outfield. Yeah. Yep. In the outfield. Angels of the Wings, the angels in the outfield. So I, I mean, yeah, you're that way almost felt like they, they give, you know, Naim h had a little bit of a, a little bit of a extra jet pack on his, on his, on his back, right. I'm go goosebumps, man. Goosebumps. Yeah, and I think I just read yesterday, char Jamar Hamlin is being transferred to a separate hospital for evaluation. A little less critical. So it's just, man, so, so good to see that young man. So, hey, he's back in Buffalo. So he's back in Buffalo and I'm sure, I'm sure the team's gotta feel good about that cuz I, I can't imagine the thought of playing football, not knowing the fate of your teammate. Right. Oh yeah, it's, look we've had, we've had players that like, you know, people get injured and, and you move on. You, you and, and even, you know, career ending injuries that I've been a part of. But, but to have, to have something like that happen, it's, it's It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. And I'm, and, and I was gonna be shocked to see if they could have played that game. Like when they were talking about playing, when they were talking about playing that game. I'm like, how the hell are you gonna play this game? There's like, how, how are you gonna play this game? And yeah. It's, it's, it's crazy. And I'm sure you've probably seen your fair share of brutal things in a football field. But yeah, I mean, that's, that felt like there was a different, there was a different tone in the. when that was happening. And the, and the tears and all that. I was just, man, tough to watch in that moment. But how, how far we've come and when you just read some of the stories about the, the, the athletic trainer for the bills administering that life savings, that window of time that he had to administer that C P R to restart his heart. And then all the medical professionals at University of Hospitals since Cincinnati I mean, what heroes, man. I mean, these are scenarios. It don't happen often, but man does it pay to be prepared for it? Does it not? No, it's, yeah, it's, it's I mean, talk about something up, you know, at a lifesaving moment. So life, literal life for that situation. So perspective, my head goes off to him. Yeah, absolutely. No, no question about it. And it's, it's with that backdrop and that, like you mentioned, Charlie, that big win that Buffalo had, Against New England off the back of two Naim Hines touchdown returns. I mean, what a savvy trade that looks like for them now. And, and I think we'd also be remiss Char that that Bengals Bills game getting canceled really kind of mucked up the a ffc playoff picture. Cuz that was a really important game because both the Bengals and the Bills actually had a head to. Tiebreaker over the Chiefs because the chiefs had lost to both of them. And man, the chiefs always get lucky, man. always get so lucky with, with playoff stuff. But because they had to cancel that game all the chiefs had to do was win against the Raiders and they would've locked up the number one seed. Whereas had the bills won that game and subsequently beat the Patriots, they would've been the one seed because of the head to head. And we talk sharp all year. About how huge that Bills win against Casey was in the event of a, of a tiebreaker. And it almost seems like it was all, it was all for not now. Right? So even when they lose to the, to the bills, and, and have a disadvantage head-to-head theyhow up with Homefield in, in the first round by. So yeah. And, and is, isn't it true that if, if whoever would've won that game would've been, would've been in the first, first seat? Like if, if the Bengals would No, it wouldn't have, because the Bengals still had four losses. The Bengals were 12 and four, and the bills were 13 and three. Okay. Alright. Alright. Well if the Bengal was well in that case, I dunno how lucky they got them because I, I was under the impression that no matter who, Either way, one of those teams would've been ahead of ahead of the, no, it's not a game that they were gonna beat the Bengals. The, the, it's not, but the fact that they didn't have a chance is just, it's unfortunate, right? We don't know. We don't know. But be that as it may, here we are, the bills still lock up the two seat and they host the seven seated Miami Dolphins who are, you know, probably the, the, the team doing the slowest backslide in into the playoffs because two is. And to be honest, char, he wasn't playing particularly well prior to being hurt. And you know, I I, I, this is not about the injury, but I'm doing a victory lap because Tua, even before the injury, oh, get outta here. Get outta here. He was playing lights out until the first time he got that concussion. Did you walk that backer game? Did you watch that Packer game? Okay. How are you gonna tell me? That when he got that nasty injury where he came out of it and almost stumbled over himself, you're trying to tell me he wasn't playing lights out until then. Was he playing lights out? I mean, he's playing me. The dolphins are gonna look for a new quarterback next year. They should, but they won't. Okay. So, so, you know what, if the dolphins come on and, and, and look for a new quarterback next year, that's when you shake your victory up. Give me a, I sure. There, there were, there were some reports that if the Dolphins lost to the Jets despite being down, because keep in mind, jar Teddy Bridgewater broke his finger, his throwing finger. In week 17, Skyler Thompson was the. Right. And there were reports despite that, that if the bro, because, because if the bang, if the Dolphins had lost that game, that would've been what? Like, like it would've been seven straight end the season. There were reports that Mike McDaniel could be fired. And I was like, what? That that would be stupidity. That would be stupidity. So that was when I asked, that was crazy. When, and that was a guy named Armando Salguero, he writes for the Miami Herald. He's a, he's like a 20, 30 year dolphins beat writer. So I mean, he, he knows. The dolphin, he's, he's inside and outta the organization. So when he says, It definitely matters when it comes to the Dolphins. So I was surprised to see that from him. I would imagine it had someone coming from him, but in any case well, you know what, then that, that victory saved the Dolphins ownership from, from doing a stupid, stupid move. How many teams would line up? How many teams would line up to take, to take that coach? Oh, hundred percent. He'd have a job in two seconds. And especially you don't think Denver would love him? We haven't even talked all the va. Denver would love to have him. Yeah, I mean, there's so many vacancies now. Denver. The car's just fired Cliff Kingsbury yesterday. Who else is out? The Texans just fired lovey Smith after one year, unfortunately. Again, one and done for a coach for them. They've had a different coach each of the past four seasons, so yeah. he would have some opportunities, no question about it. but they win. They barely eek out a nine to six victory over the Joe Flaco led New York Jets, and they're in, so they're, they're playing the bills for the third time. And I would say here, char, to the Dolphins credit, that last game, Miami at Buffalo was a very entertaining game. And it was not that long ago that that game happened. I think it was around when was that? Like Christmas Eve or something? I think it was the Christmas Eve game. Or somewhere around that time where they played each. That was a great game. I remember that that was the one where there was supposed to be a massive cold front and snow in Buffalo and ended up kind of missing the stadium. And so the most of the game was played in fairly okay conditions. 32 29 Buffalo, December 17th, so a few weeks ago. And two, I had a good game and that one too, they ran the ball well. But Char, it does not look like the dolphins are gonna be with t. In this one, I don't know the status of Teddy Bridgewater's finger, but assuming it's either Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson, I, I, I don't feel great about the Dolphins, even though as good as that last game was in Buffalo between these two teams. Here, here, here's the thing, kuru is, is. Very simple. How good are the Dolphins when they had to even when they was playing bad? And how good are they when he was, when he's injured? I don't think I, I, I think they've only won one game with Ottum. It's night and day. Okay. So then how can you tell me you wanna take to victory Dance? Come on. Because Teddy Bridge got Thompson also aren't very good. It's not, not, you know what I mean? Like, No, but you, let me ask you this question. Does, does does Cooper Rush going four in one and Dak Prescott's absence make Dak Prescott a bad quarterback? No. It just means they have a better backup. Yeah, but that's a smaller, that's a smaller sample. That's a smaller sample size versus you get two you win games, you without two, you lose games. I mean, Come on. I've never been, I've never been a Bridgewater guy. You know, that we, we actually talked, we argued about Bridgewater quite a bit in the past, and Bridgewater's a hell of a backup and well, and, and, and then the other guys a third, a third string rookie. I mean, what, what are you gonna get? What are you gonna get? So, no, but my, but my point is that they were a good playoff, solid divisional championship type of team with two of when he was when, when he was healthy. When he was healthy. No question. So, assuming Tua doesn't go here, which given the concussions he's had and the fact that he's still in the protocol l looks like a fat chance that's gonna happen. So let's assume that for a second. Char, what do you think ultimately happens in this game? I, I, I think the bills basically have a first round by So what you're saying is despite, despite losing out on that opportu because of the the result of the, the Bengals game, they still get a first round buying a Abso and it's even better than first round buying. Cause Cause one of the worries that, that people have about team not playing a week is that they're gonna be outta sync possibly. And they're, they're gonna, they're gonna, they're gonna get their game in and they're, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna go their, through their motions and, and, and, and like make sure they're crisp and they're gonna basically go into the second week with momentum. This is a nine point spread between these teams. So I think also True is not gonna play. That's, and that's also because they think Bridgewater might not. So it, it's, it's, I I don't think it's gonna, you think Bridgewater's gonna move the line that much? He's go over Skylar Thompson, absolutely. He's gonna move it by two points. Mark my words. Okay. So, so would you, would your assumption be that this is the most lopsided playoff game of the weekend? I can't, I can't think. I mean, I'm trying to think who, maybe San Francisco. Seattle, just because that, that has not been closed, even though e even then, at least Seattle's playing with their full team. Yeah, they are. So this is a team, this is a team that should not have, if honestly, if, if, if we knew that two was not playing, I, I wish it would've been the Steelers. Steelers. That's exact. I mean, how much better would steel. Bills be with how Kenny Pickett's playing that, that that would've been. That would've been, I would've been, and look, I, I still would, I, I bet you that the, that the point spread would've been instead of nine points, would've been seven points. So it's not that much of a difference. But having said that, I mean, you don't, you don't think the bills are saying, okay, you know, this is this, even though the dolphins beat them early in the year, but that was with two playing, you know, lights up. Yeah. And actually to, to his credit, he's played really well both times against the bills. So they, they, they seem to match up. We'll see if Mike McDaniel can cook up a game plan with his backup here to make some he moer man. Let, let, Raheem Moer loves playing the bills for some reason. Well, he, yeah, he had a hell of a game, man. Last time they played 136 yards on like something like 10 rushing attempts. I mean, he had, yeah. Yeah. 17 for a buck. 36. This is actually, I think this was before. Before Jeff Wilson was really in the lineup here. No. But even, even in the second game, he, he, he had a he had, he had like hundred 30 yards. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, no, no. You're right, you're right, you're right. Jeff. I, I think Jeff Wilson was, was hurt for this. He was outta the lineup, so Yeah. Moster had hell of a game. Even their backups. Salvan Ahmed average 7.2 yards. I mean, sure. Raheem Moer and Salma Ahmed average both about seven and a half yards per carry. Collectively. Why are you saying, Ahmed, you know better? Why are you saying Ahmed? Ahmed, Ahmed, Ahmed? At least I'm not saying Ed. Well, you were almost saying ah, Like, come on, come on. Oh, we know, we know how to, we know, you know, and, and, and, and here's what I gotta say to my, to my brethren, if culturally appropriate, our name, make sure pronounced correctly. Is that, is that too much to ask? I, I, I get annoyed when I, when I like, yeah, like, why do you throw a K in there? There's, there's no k if you're gonna look. It's like, it's like if, if somebody started, you know, singing singing an r and b song and completely messed up the verbiage like that wouldn't be cool. So if you're gonna culturally appropriate names, make sure to pronounce properly. That's all I'm saying. Indeed continue. So, yes, yes. They, they, they do, they do a great job. They do a great job running the ball against the bull. So that's gonna have to be the crux of it, right? Is run the ball well play action, play defense, play defense, and, and hope that Josh Allen's is a shoulder, or is it whatever it was. And, and, and look by the way, your, your boy 20 romo, my hat's off to him because his. Like I, I feel, I feel the way I dissect offensive line play where I have inside knowledge of it. He's telling me stuff that I have no clue. Like saying, oh, that throw, he couldn't have made it with his shoulder being hurt. I think he's like, so, so there's some great information that Rome was just the best when it comes to stuff like that. Yeah, I, I, I'm not sure what game he's doing this week for cbs bs, I'm guessing looking at the matchups, maybe it'll be, actually, maybe it'll be this one, or maybe it'll be Bengals Ravens. We'll see which yeah, no, but I'm talking about how he knew he, he was like, you know, according to Romo, like his shoulder's back, his shoulder's, So yeah, man, and, and he was, remember him he, they called him what was it? They called him roo Stradas. Cuz he'd always predict the play call He knew what the Yeah, no, I, all the verbiage was, and yeah, he's, he, he's, he's a, he's a troph of information for sure. Especially when it comes to quarterback play. Yeah, man, this, this is gonna be a lot. I, I, I, I actually think the bills easily cover that nine points and they're moving on. So it's basically a. Now in the event, better than a buy. Better than a buy, they're getting a preseason game. Now, in, in the event though, that there is a an AFC championship game between the bills and the chiefs that will, we played at a neutral site. Why? Because we don't know if the bills would've won out and owned that tiebreaker. The reason why that wouldn't be the case with a Bengals chiefs a championship game is because by KC winning against the Raiders, they still finish with 14 wins. And they own and, and they actually, yeah. And the Bengals finish with 13 wins. So I think that was well done by the nfl. That was, I'm not sure that, but I'm not sure that makes sense. Right, because. because if the Bengals Actually no. The, the, the Chiefs had the Bengals finished what they finished 13 and four. The chiefs finished 14 and three. Yeah, that's exactly, I mean, I think because the chiefs won, they never got to four losses, so it's only if they, you have the same amount of losses that that would've happened. So yeah, the Bill's, Bill's chiefs is the only scenario where there's a neutral site, which is interesting. Right. I think I, I read an article by Mike Lombardi where he talked. Lamar hunt the the old owner of the chiefs wanting to do the conference championships as its own events in a neutral site. Kinda like a stand, almost like a March Madness type thing. That's a brilliant idea. Like it is. I almost wonder like, will will this kind of force the NFL who loves its profits and its dollars right, to maybe consider making the conference championships their own thing too? I don't know, but it, it, it's intriguing. It is, but you kind of take away a little bit of a home field advantage. But no, it, it would, it would be great because it would be a huge money maker. It would, it would be almost like, you know, people going, it would be an event for the Super Bowl where you had teams you know, hosting, well he was saying, he was saying Lamar Hunt's idea was give like 70, 80% of the ticket sales to the teams of the high, to the fans of the higher seated team. Right. That's fantastic. I. What a, I mean, what a man ahead of his time. I mean, this is absolutely same decades ago. But in any case, we're not there yet. But should we get there, that'll be interesting and definitely a first in the playoffs. Shark, how about Niners Seahawks? I, I was initially not that big on this matchup. Again, another divisional rematch. I also, to your point, wanted to see Green Bay get in. It would be kind of a funner story. To see if, if maybe Rogers could slay that niner playoff demonn, would you guys not been able to get off that, that monkey office back? But now you got Seahawks, Niners, these two teams, I mean, the Niners, she select him last time they played the Seahawks needed, the lions to win to get in, have not been playing particularly great. You know, the Rams took them to OT at home. You know, they lost some real clunk. Down the stretch Char, so the Sea Os aren't playing great football. I know it's not like the Dolphins, but it feels like the next, the second place layup game of the week. When you think of the way these teams match up against each other and the way the nine have been playing, the only thing I can say Char, and I'd be curious to get your take here, is you still got Pete Carroll. Your team is mostly healthy and sometimes. Third rematch against the divisional teams can get wonky, but nine ERs are just playing such good football right now. I don't know that I see that happening. Yeah. I if it was, again, I, I think it's the best roster in the NFL right now has to be the Niners, the most complete roster, you know? And and I don't, I don't see how they can be beat. I really don't see how they can be beat. I, I, I was saying that a few weeks ago, are they gonna lose another. Yeah. I mean, they look so, I mean, we haven't even talked about Brock Purdy. How do you explain that? Not just the rookie char, not just a seventh round pick the last pick, Mr. Irrelevant, I mean, how, how do you explain this? It's, the way you explained it is that he was an all conference. A big 12 quarterback played all four seasons, four year starter at you know, Iowa, at Iowa played with, you know Mr. Bri Hall, who I think the world of. It's the, the guy look, the, he's, he's got a, he's got a decent arm, and the moment isn't too big for him. It's like kudos to him. Kudos to him. The moment is not too big for him. And that's one thing you can say about these guys coming out as seniors is, is that he's a mature young man and he sees the moment and he's, you know, kudos to him and his parents. Who, who, no, no question about it. No question about it. I'd be curious though, char like, do, do you think, is there anything to say about the argument that this will be a better game than Packers? Niners would've been. Because of the divisional aspect, because of the familiarity, and by the way, I gotta correct myself, the Niners did shlock them in their first meeting early in the season, but when they played December 15th, that was a 2113 win. The Seahawks held the Niners. They're just three points in the second half of that game. And they outscore, excuse me, they held the seven points and they won. The second half of time she had lost, they kept it to a score. So it wasn't, it wasn't as thorough a domination as, as I thought it was. Is there any credence to say this will be a better game than Packers would've been because the Niners have the Packers number and the Cs just know'em well, and you don't wanna un, un underestimate a team that you play so frequently, and a coach like Pete Carroll, who, who for one week maybe could put together a game. That throws'em off. You, you could make that argument, but I, I wouldn't I mean, come on, you got, I'm trying to get myself Yeah. A reason to get hype for this game, man. And, and, and look, the, the Niners are getting, he got, I think Deebo is back, right? Deebo, Samuel's gonna be, yeah. He speed. He just played a little bit, Right. The last game. Exactly. And so, so, so then, so, you know, that was his warmup game. Elijah Mitchell played a warmup game. Look, you're gonna have, come on, you're gonna. Three stud running back for the Niners. I know. And you got, and, and, and, Deebo, Deebo, IU Kittle. And one thing that Christian mcc Christian McCaffrey's sake. Yeah. So one thing, one thing that Pur has done is, is he's shown that everybody's passing on Chile. Chile is the best titan in the nfl. I'm not saying he's the best receiving Titan. I'm saying he's the best type guy. Overall blocking and everything considered. Yeah. In terms of blocking Travis, Kelsey's the receiver. Yeah, Kittle. Kittle was more like Gronk, where he was a grinder house blocking, he's a grinder's more like who was the guy for the just retired. Graham was a gr was Oh, Jimmy Graham. Yeah. Jimmy Graham. Who was just basically a slot receiver. So yeah, so look. That team and then that defense. I mean, gimme a break that honest to God, if look, if the, if the offensive line of, of, of Seattle can, can just come in and just hit that defensive line in the mouth, which I doubt, then we are gonna see a game. Yeah. This is not gonna be pretty, I think. I agree with you. I, I, I, I really feel like the, the Niners are playing. They're playing so well, man, and br and Brock PR is basically got a point card. He's just a point card. Distribute the ball to the talent, let them let them to the rest. And that's old school. Old school quarterback. He get, get the B playmakers and he's doing a phenomenal, phenomenal job. I mean, he is not, I don't even, I don't see Brock Pro any longer as a capable. Brock Purdy's a starting quarterback. I mean, I don't see how you can say anything else. Dave. Here's the thing. What Brock Purdy has done is look, there was a lot of talk that, that you know our, our boy Jimmy, Jimmy G is gonna come back to the 49ers. And look what they are with him. And now what's, what's happened is that, is, is, is that the 49ers can basically say, all right Jimmy, thank you so much and, and send them on his way. Cause Yeah. And well, and he, he'll be fine cuz he, he, he's a free agent. They're, he's, he's not tied to them. So he can do every, oh, oh. You know who would love to have him? The Rams would love to have them. The, the, the, the, the Bucks would love to have them. Maybe the Jets, the, the Jets would love to have. there's a lot of, oh, the the, the commanders would love to have him. They'll be fine. I think the question is what happens with Trey Lance now? That'll be interesting. Well, that, that's one of those situations. Look, it's gonna be very similar to to when you had the Redskins back in the day drafting RG three and, and and her cousin, her cousins, you know, two. And that was actually, that was the same draft. Right? But, and this is one year apart. This is one year apart. But, but I get what you're saying, right? So, so, yeah. So are you gonna go with a more traditional quarterback that, that, that, that really gets the job? Or you gonna go with the dynamic guy? That could just be amazing. So it, it's I don't know the, the, the way, look, the way that coaching stuff runs. I would just sleep with Brock Purdy. How can you not? Right? But but yeah, I look, I could see the reality where, you know, Pete Carroll keeps his thing close early, but. They're not hanging with the designers all four quarters. They're just not. They need, they need to, they need to just smash'em in the mouth. Gino needs to come out and have, have, look. There was like two or three games early on in the year where Gino was just like one of the best quarterbacks in the nfl. And by the way, the spread on this game. We talked about Bill's, dolphins being a nine point spread because of Tua with a healthy Seattle team. This is a 10 point. What does that, what does that say? I might, I might, I might take that spread. I, I might, I might, I might tease that spread to 14 and take it, and, and, and I, I, I wouldn't fault you for it. I would not fault you for it, like you know, Seattle plus 14, but more than likely, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna bet it, but, But, but look, Gino Smith needs to come out and like I said at the beginning of the year there was, there was a stretch of three to five games. He looked like the best quarterback in the nfl. They were six and three seven. I mean, yeah, they, they were looking No, but, but in particular the way Gino was playing Yeah. The way Gino was playing. So because he hasn't been playing, he, he's kind of come down, come to earth more than, than what he started off as if Gino can, can. Can become that geno of early on in the year and, you know, you got that offensive line of Seattle to run the ball. And maybe the spirit of Russell being, you know, you know, in, in the mind of the Seattle Seahawk saying, you know what we're gonna show, we're gonna show Russ may, maybe they can make a game outta it. Yeah. I mean, look, Geno Smith threw for nearly 4,300 yards, 70% Complet. 30 touchdowns, 11 picks. That's, that's a, that's a solid season. That's solid. And yeah, he hasn't been as great down the stretch. But I would even say from, if you look at it from December on, he's had 8, 10, 11 touchdowns to five picks. Not, not wonderful. Not, it's not, and, and yeah's what I was gonna say, honestly, the team Seattle needs to come in and, and just play takeaway and I think capitalize. I mean, and you can't, I mean, you can't lose. When I, when I saw Seattle lose home games, to the Raiders and the Panthers. Come on, man. I mean, you, that's, how do you lose at home? I mean, I understand those aren't bad, bad teams, but if you are a playoff team and a and, and a contender to turn the corner, you've gotta win at home against those teams. You just have to that, that, that, that, that was telling to me that this team is not quite ready and they've maybe tapered off a little bit down the stretch and it's, it's, it's hard to maintain that for a full season for sure. But I, I think, see, all that said, char. Can we, I mean, Seattle's run this year is impressive. The fact that this, in a rebuilding year, what was supposed to be one, at least they make the playoffs. I mean, who is the success no matter what happens in this game? Oh, ab absolutely. Absolutely No, it's what, what Seattle's done is amazing kudos, Pete Carroll. And I just, I look, I, I saw something after the Rams Rams game, actually, it was during the Rams game, during the warm. Where Bobby Wagner was going in and, and, and like, you know, saying hi to everybody, and he went and gave Pete Carroll a hug, and Pete Carroll put his arm around Bobby's shoulder and, and they were walking towards the sideline and he was talking to him. Oh. And to me, that's the ultimate coach. I look you, you know, I love coaching. I love being a coach. Mainly, mainly for the idea of being a teacher. Yeah. And, and being a role model. You know, that's Pete Carroll, kudos to him. Could like, like what? What a phenomenal, phenomenal. Man who's, who's just like, for him to do that, you could, and you could tell that's not fake. That was genuine. He had genuine love for the player that, that, that he had groomed into a, you know, hall of fame type player. So I can't say enough of what Pete Carroll, you'd love to see it. You'd love to see it, man. No, no question, man. That's beautiful. Beautiful side of the game. Although when my, when my, when my diehard niner. dad who visited over the holidays, he referred to Pete Carroll as quote, an arrogant gum, chewing prick, I said, dad, he's still a good coach. I screw that guy. Oh my god, I don't. How's Pete Carroll arrogant. Listen, he's a Niner fan, right? I mean, like, no, no, no. But, but, but look, ok. He, he, he's, he's a gum chew. Yes, true. He's a prick. I can see why you would think he's a prick. Cause my dad needed a third adjective to throw in there. That's really what it was. I got you I got, I got, it's a let guess your dad is probably also a Stanford or Cal Cal. No, no, no. He's not really into college. He's, he, he's, oh, I was gonna say maybe there was some residual, residual hatred for him of when he no, I mean that, that, that run that they went on where they had the niners number for a little bit. He just, it, it chapped. It chapped his ass. Right. Right. It was same thing with when, I remember when the, when the Kurt Warner led Rams back in the day, he hated Kurt Warner. Oh my God. the things he, you, Kurt Warner. I know. I was the nicest guy in the world, but fan, fan, fan fandom will do it to you. But anyway. No, I, I look I mean if, but if, if the seas didn't pull off this miracle, What a shake up that would make to the playoffs, but eh, it's not gonna happen. It ain't happening. let's, let's go to probably, I think, at least on paper, what seems like the most competitive game of the week, and that will be your charger, Shar, visiting Duval County and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who at one point, sure. At one point the Tennessee Titans had a 97% reaching the playoffs, and unfortunately, after starting seven and three, they lose seven. open the door for the Jaguars and the Jaguars take it and shut it on them. So they're the ones that are in with Trevor. Lawrences at the helm. As much as I do love your boy Rabel I, I, I, I think this is a more competitive game than Titans would've been simply because as and Joshua Dobbs look good, but they just, it wasn't the same team without Tan Hill, in my opinion. So you've got, Intriguing young quarterbacks and Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert going head-to-head. Shar chargers coach, what, what's his name? Still my mind now. the Chargers coach. What's his name? Staley Brandon Staley catching a lot of heat for playing his starters pretty much all the way through in a meaningless game. And it was meaningless because I believe the fact that the. That's the Jaguars, or no, some, somebody lost earlier in the day that essentially locked the charters into the five seat and Mike Williams suffered a back contusion. Joey Bosa got hurt, excuse me. And so he's catching a lot of heat for that decision among a lot of others throughout the year that people haven't been a fan of. So, Mike Williams status. Up in the air, all that kind of said, and obviously for Doug Peterson and one year to come in and make the playoffs. Big Coach of the year, coach of the year, may maybe Brian Davell talk about as well, but, and any K star thoughts on this game between your Chargers and the Jaguars? Okay. When the season first started, remember my pick was for the Chargers to win the division and look there, there what they're 10 and 10 and 18, right? Or 10 and 17. Ten seven. Yeah. And, and they didn't, and they played a large chunk of the season without Mike Williams and, and Kenan Island. So let's, and lost their stud. Left tackle. So you could, you could, you could say that, that that call wasn't completely out of order. Saying that, look it, it's time for them to win. But even, even when I had picked them to win the division, I said that Kansas City's gonna make you through a Super Bowl if, if you recall. And my biggest reasoning was that Brandon Staley was gonna do something. Brandon Staley liked Did I not say that it's coming? Yeah. You know, it's coming. So, and, and, and look. And, and there you go. Whether it be, whether it be going, like doing some kind of idiotic fourth and seventh play or whatever it might be, whatever it might be, this arrogant prick. Okay. He's not a gum. All right. This arrogant prick. But he's arrogant and he's a, he might, he might be a closet of gum shore. I dunno. He might be a closet of gum. So I shouldn't say that because I, I, I, I don't know the man I've never met. So I take that back. I was just kind of saying that in jest, but it, it's, he's gonna find a way, look, I'm gonna bet the Jaguars, I'm gonna bet the Jaguars, even though I think the Chargers might be favored. It's to, cause I mean, it's basically a pick, it's chargers are minus one, right? So it's essentially a pick game, right? Yeah. I'm, I'm gonna pick the Jaguars to win because at some point, some way, somehow he's, he is gonna screw it up. people are saying the Chargers are playing their best football right now. You don't, you don't, you don't buy that. The player, look, he's got phenomenal talent. He's got amazing amount of talent. He's got he's got two of the best edge players in, in, in the game BOA and the kid that the Raiders drafted. Cleo. Yeah, Cleo Mac. He, you know, he's got one of the best defensive players in the N NFL Durwin James. He's got. Killer gun. I mean, literally for those that don't get to watch Justin Herbert that much cause of, you know, oh my God, his gun. He has one of the strongest arms that I think I've ever seen. Him and Josh Allen. It, it, it's, it's like like who, who name another quarterback that has a gun. And throws under control with that cannon of an arm better than Josh Allen or Justin Herbert. He's, yeah. There isn't the, the, the arm talent is, is so rare. No question. And so you got, you got two phenomenal. Phenomenal receivers. You have one of the most dynamic running backs in, in the game. Oh, yeah. You have one of the best young left tackles in the game. You have one of the best centers in the game. All right, so it, it, it's. They're a complete team. They're a complete team. What they're missing, I imagine what Sean McBride would've done with the Chargers. Oh my, they, they Yeah. They, they, right. They, they would've won the division and had the first round by most likely. Right. Least been damn both to it. And I'm looking at the, I'm looking at their schedule. Char, they really have not had a signature win. And by the. when they, these two teams played. We said every game in the playoffs is a Remax, whether it's a divisional game or not. All these teams have played each other at some point in the regular season. Sure. Albeit it wasn't September right, but 38 to 10, the Chargers absolutely. Excuse me, the, the Jaguars trance, the Chargers in LA earlier this year. I'm not saying that has any bearing now. That was early in the year, right? Early. It was September 25th. Right? Now, the other part of it too, I'm looking at the charger schedule. Shar, I'm not seeing a signature win. One of their, their, their, their most, one of their most lop flatted wins was a 10 point victory over the Texans. Right. They beat the Browns by two. They, they beat the Broncos by three. They lost by, they lost by two touchdowns to Seattle. Barely beat the Falcons. By three lost of San Francisco, lost both times to KC one point victory over the hapless Arizona Cardinals lost to the Raiders. Like, show me the signature win here. The, yeah, actually the, and they, so the, the two most lopsided wins argu against the Texans and the Colts. Okay. Congratulations. I just like, show me like there's so much talent, but. It's almost like I'm like, eh, like I'm looking for something to be impressed with. That actually is an end result here, and I'm, I'm struggling to find it. I'm struggling to find it. Medical Look, this is, this is the story of the Chargers is people don't realize this because the Rams won the Super Bowl last year. But everybody that I talked to, people that both these scenes, the best team in LA is the Chargers and has been the Chargers. They just don't have the. whether it be Anthony Lynn or Brandon Staley or, or who, what, whoever that they got in there. Well, by the way, did you know that they, that they pay rent to plan that stadium with the Rams, but it's like, it's literally, it's$1 a year. I don't know what the point of that is, but I just found out that the Chargers play, pay$1 per year rent for to plan SoFi. I, I, I, I think it's too, it's, it's legal reasons. Cause if the Rams ever wanted to, they could say we're gonna cancel the lease. Effectively kicked them out, you know, so in any case. Yeah, man, I, I, I, but I, despite all that char, I'm not ready to go where you're going. I'm still picking the Chargers in this one. I still think the, the, their talent, at least against Jacksonville, will outweigh whatever Stanley does to counteract the victory. I, I think they're gonna play well. To win this game and look, the Jaguars, it's a nice story. I don't see them being playoff, a playoff ready team quite yet. Obviously, they're at home and I'll tell you what. Don't sleep on the Jaguar's Home Village Advantage. People don't talk about it. They have a legit home village advantage over there in Jacksonville. It's not, may not be the level of KC or Denver or Seattle, but they're some dedicated fans out in Duval County. I, I've been there for a game. I was blown away. I was there for a Thursday night football game. They're playing of Titans. Both teams were two and 14. Like it was not, it was, or, or, or two and three. I mean, it was a meaningless game and those fans were rowdy. So, yeah, that'll be a factor. I still see the, I think the charges win this game by, by touchdown here. Here's the thing. If it's, if, yeah, if their charge is gonna win it, they're gonna win it handedly, because I'm not very confident that that coaching staff is gonna be able to pull off a close win. That's all I gotta say about, that's a great call. If it comes down to strategy, decision making something that has to be done on the clutch, I agree with you, but I, I, I don't think thanks to Justin Herbert and the talent around him, I don't think that's gonna be a factor. Shark, let's end with the other team that Id like to do at Victory Lap around that will be the Vikings playing host to the Giants and the, I actually feel really good about the Giants in this game. I don't know how you feel about this one, Viking. Again, not looking particularly well to end the season. Yes, their record looks good on paper. But they, they, they've definitely kind of been showing the holes they have on their team these past few weeks. I mean, how about on New Year's Day 41, 17 loss to the Packers in a game they needed to stay at Pace with Philly for the one. Just very disappointing loss for them. And keep in mind, the week prior to that, against the Giants, that was a very close game. The Vikings took a lead, but the Giants made a massive comeback. They won 27. 24. Hey man, now talking about the opposite of Staley. I trust Brian Dayal to have his team ready and you've got game. against the same team and the same to go off of. Now, I, I would not be overlooking this one enough hours in Minnesota. Oh no. It's gonna be a good game. Cause Daniel Jones had a phenomenal game. Oh man. Against the Viking. So yeah. 30 42. Yeah. 30 42, 3 34 in a touchdown Sequan average six yards of carrying that one. Yeah. They were, they they had a great game. They had a great game. Yeah. But, but I mean, look the best, the best player on the field is a, is a vik. The most dynamic players as, as a Viking, you have a, you have a good, solid quarterback. You have and, and look, giants have probably a little bit of a better defense, but I'm still gonna go with the Vikings. I, I just, I just think that cold weather is gonna, is gonna affect them. Don't put too much stock into Vikings losing too losing too Green Bay, because even when Green Bay was winning like 13 games a year, they always split that. They always split that. So, I know, I know how you feel about it, but, but I, I got news for you. Big boy Vikings are going home. Okay? I, I've said this all year. The Vikings are not winning a playoff game, and I feel, I feel even more confident about it now because they're playing a Giants team. They game run for their money and they've got a great coach who I think also should be a coach of the year candidate in Brian Dayal, who now has game film to dissect to go. I think the giants are gonna control this game. It's gonna be another disappointing exit for the Vikings proving it's the same old Vikings team. Just with a few more wins than we're used to. You know, I think I just figured it out. I, I think I just figured it out. Did the coach or the Vikings steal a girlfriend from you in college or something? Is that what it's That's very good. That's very good. That's not what it's, listen, char, we were not, I was not sum in the same circles. As the football team. Okay. Maybe, maybe if we're, we're, we're all at the same social class level. Did could say that theory, but I certainly, did he steal your, did he steal your girlfriend? I mean, is is that what it was? Did he give you, did he give you nookie during during snack time? Did he, did he lock you in a closet or in the locker? Actually, Kevin O'Connell might have been the nicest player. Of anyone. I covered my four, the four years I covered the team at San Diego State. He was always giving great interview, great. In front of the mic, answered every question, thought thoughtfully, like, I love Kevin O'Connell. I mean, he, he was in my, his number on my phone. We were friends on MySpace, you know, back in the day. MySpace. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. He was a buddy of mine. Every time he'd see me on campus, he'd say, Hey, what's up man? How you doing? Thanks for the cool article. He always a very, very nice guy. So this is not anything against Kevin O'Connell. I think they're gonna be great with. This, he just inherited the same team. I, I, I, I, I just don't, I don't see. And who's the, who's the best, who's the best receiver in the game right now? You want me to say Justin Jefferson? Yeah. He's up there. He's up there. He's up there. He's, I mean, I, I would say, yeah, Jamar, chase, Justin, Jefferson. Okay. AJ Brown's made a pretty good case this year. Hold, stop, stop, stop. This is you being politician. If you had to, if you can go back in time, who would be the who, who would be the first pick in the draft that you would. Playing normal. Normal fantasy football. Yeah. I mean, Jefferson's the guy. Okay, thank you. All right. Do they, do they have a pretty damn good running back? They have one of the best running back. Okay. Do they have, do they have a pretty solid quarterback that, that, you know, that's, that's where you lose me a little bit. That's where you're being to lose me. I just, I don't believe in cousins in this scenario. I really kuru Is there 15 teams in the NFL that would take him over their quarterback for one game? Yeah, I mean, look, and like cousins, like he, he has like, there, there was that playoff game at New Orleans a few years ago where I think it was the three verse six, like, they snuck in as a succeed and they won at New Orleans in overtime. And cousins play lights out, like he has it in him. I just, I, I, I don't, and, and this is actually, honestly, as weird as it sounds, you are, my opinion here is more rooted in the giants. I actually really believe in the giants, really, I, I think they're catching. The wrong team. I really do. I, I, I believe in Brian Day ball and how they're playing. Yeah, I, I, I think that they're like, who else could they have played? Like if it was like Seattle, if it, yeah. If it was like a hundred percent, I would be like, picked Vikings. I think they're catching the wrong team and the fact that they've, they've played them so tight last time. I think the Giants are gonna be ready. I think the only team that I wanted them to avoid was the cowboy. The Vikings. Okay, well, yeah, well obviously that for now that's happening. So, so look, I think they're gonna win this, it it, even, it even, they even might blow him up because maybe he could be a situation where the giants just played out of their mind. So it, it might be that they were winning early and, and they kind of, they kind of, you know, took their foot off the paddle and now they're like, okay, we can't let these fuckers get back into it. Who knows? No. Look, I like the, I like the Giants as. Phenomenal coach dynamic quarterback ba basically he's he's Josh Allen diet, you know, diet Coke of Josh Allen. So Josh Allen. Yeah. Yeah. He's diet Josh Allen. So, look, I, I, I like what they're doing. I'm gonna, I'm, look, I, I, I, I believed in the Vikings even before the season started, because that's what was one of our original arguments. Yeah. So, you know, this is, this is a big game. This is a big game for us. It's, it's, but, but I, but to your point, I do like the Giants as well. we shall see. So, so it sounds like you're pick, but you're picking the Vikings to win this game. Is that, is that fair to say? Yeah. How am I not, how am I not after, after You have to cotton them all year. So, you have to What about, what about against the spread, which I'm looking up right now? I believe it's a three, it's a three point spread. Three point spread. How do you feel about that? Yeah, that's, that's, that's, that's good. I, I still like, I still like them because like I told you, I I, it could, it could be a situation where they win by, 10 points we shall see. Yes, sir. All right, man. That does it for this edition of the Access of Football. We'll be back next week to recap the action that was and talk some divisional around Char. Get a get back on the saddle with you buddy. Looking forward to Absolutely, buddy. Good to hear from you. Enjoy your week. You too, buddy. Take care. Bye-bye.