The around the NFL podcast. Next week's 1051 club meeting has been moved to 1055. Unacceptable. From the Chris Wesley podcast studio. It's around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansis. Heroes here. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler and I kid you not, got another screenshot a today from the woman to my right of her gps navigation. And what does it say exactly? 1051. 1051 club every time, every week.

How do you do so consistent. At this point, no matter what time I try to leave my house, every time I do leave, I'm arriving at 1051.

I love all the nicknames that you have, but the woman to my right is my new favorite.

Yeah.

I'm going to be asked to be fonted that way.

Tell me the lot.

Yes, this was our for the third time in two weeks because of Mark. We had picture day this morning. Yes, I think it's a blessing. I mean, the butterfly effect of Cestog going to see his dentist named Crentist is still affecting the entire.

I took my son to the dentist. I myself didn't just schedule a dentist appointment out of thin air during a shoot.

No, Mark, I'm loving this look. It's giving a little Ryan Fitzpatrick. It's like, I like to have fun. I can party. I'm going to go to an island. But I'm also here for business and I love it.

You would think that that's a compliment.

There's a lot of things. It's super fun.

No, I literally was trying to imagine a period of my adult existence where I less wanted official photos that are going into the company photo bank, apparently for all time of me.

No, it was even more ominous. It was. These photos need to be taken for marketing reasons. What is that?

Why is that ominous? It's marketing.

What does that mean?

It's so all encompassing.

Yeah.

I feel like it'll have the same breadth as our last pictures, which feel like didn't have a lot of pop. Can't remember them making a big impact.

Greg going down has no meaning.

Nothing matters.

Did you do prom photo style?

I do like the mark became the change he wanted to see. For years on this show, he complained about male fashion and now he's leading the way.

Everybody eventually turns.

I thought our photographer was very encouraging. I'd say that she kept telling us we looked great. It was obviously great.

There's always a through line, too. Like when all of a sudden a grown man's fashion changes. There's usually something or someone behind it.

Well, we've seen that on what are you trying to say multiple times, just.

Levi when he shows up. That is a timeline changer.

I love Levi.

Yeah. I suggested because we did a group shot and I said, I know what's going to happen here. Greg's going to do the Greg outfit, which is like bomber jacket and t shirt. It's not a bomber jacket. And then Mark is gonna do the mark outfit, which is like Oxford collared shirt and blazer. And then whatever I wear is going to make the other person standalone. So if I do something Gregy like Mark is all of a sudden looking too stuffy. If I do the same thing as Mark, then know look at me on the side of Walgreens. I'm the cool guy of the group. So I had to reach out to the group and say, maybe we should coordinate to be similarly casual but typical.

You did it after we were already here.

Amazing. That's the most thing that's ever happened.

Right? By then it's too late. We were already here.

What do you mean?

You said the 30 minutes before we got there.

Greg and I understand we have to drive further. You have an immense responsibility. Yes, we understand that. And you fulfilled it today with your questions.

And Levi is here. I'm looking at him right now.

Oh, my God. He's in the studio.

But he wasn't used. Yeah. No, it was Ryan Fitzpatrick's Flamingo album.

I'm into it.

Everyone should just feel comfortable.

And Greg, once again, right? God, it's so good to have Greg here.

Life coach.

If only Greg could always be around. I just mean, tell us the way things should be seen and the way to feel.

We all have different opinions. You said it while we were on the way here, though. At that point, it's too late. I would have changed.

If tugboat could have just showed up as tugboat, what would he have worn? Would you have gone in a different direction?

I brought both because we also have.

Yeah, you're versatile.

You made a change, actually, after the group.

I did because I had my original photos because I was too sweaty for the first round. Way too sweaty.

They had a fan this time.

Yeah. And they had a fan, which was nice.

Common man rankings, plunging.

Like a variety of behavior.

Yes.

Love it.

You have to be the most annoying person I've ever met.

Happy holidays, everybody. Yes. Let's get to the show. Let's start with fearless predictions of the rest of the regular season. All right, so this is pretty straightforward, Connie. Right. The final three weeks of the regular season. Let's throw out some fearless ass predictions about what's going to happen. How will this all play out? And this season especially, it's going to be difficult because it's a weird season. I'll get us going.

It has to be regular season.

Yes.

Okay. Turning on a dime here.

What did I write?

I don't know. I created something different, but I can still use it.

I mean, yeah, some of mine encapsulate what's going to happen at the very end of the regular season, but that's fine.

Did anybody prepare for the show today?

I did.

I've already adjusted my entries.

All right, here we go. Fearless predictions for the final three weeks of the regular season as laid out in my text yesterday. I'll start here. Buffalo Bills are going to win the AFC East. I don't think they lose again. That is at Chargers home, Patriots at Dolphins. And then the Dolphins have so they're eight and six and the Dolphins are obviously ten and four. So they got two games, but their schedule is a little trickier. They have, they look at it here, home, Dallas at Baltimore and Buffalo. So I do think that the Bills and Dolphins fans are going to be annoyed, but I do just trust the Bills and I did, trying to figure out how to look at these last three weeks, not to get sucked in by recency bias. It's hard, though, but it's also, this is a small, this is three weeks and I think the Bills are playing as good as any team in the league lately. So I think they're going to pull it off and I think the Dolphins have a stumble in them.

Basically. You're predicting the Dolphins win in week 18. I mean, the Bills win in week 18 because very likely. I don't think it's a hot take that is for the division because of the Bills schedule. They're playing patsies that have just given up basically until then. And if you're a Dolphins fan and you have home Cowboys at Ravens, you'd be happy with one and one. I mean, of course you want to be two and o and it's not going to feel good. If, let's say you beat the Cowboys this week, then you lose the rate. Like that night, it's not going to feel good or it's reversed that night, it's not going to feel good. But you're playing two of the very best teams in the NFL. You are really testing yourself. Splitting those two games, to me would be great for Miami. They would include their best win of the season. And then it comes down to week 18. That matchup early in the season was one sided. And you're saying the Bills are a little more complete. I would like to see that matchup with the division on the line. What a great Sunday Night Football.

I feel like the Bills went on this crazy journey where everything felt kind of lost about ten days ago, 14 days ago, where the coach is offering up 911 takes. Not sort of problematic. And it felt like the Bills, that.

Was in 2019, but it was, well.

No, but it was brought up now and how to respond to it. And there was also like a heat seeking think piece about the fact that no one in the organization kind of believes in him and he's taking them in strange places. But then you go and do this against the Cowboys and it's like this version of the Bills makes me believe in what you just said, that it's possible. I do know that there are a lot of people that listen to the show that think that Dan is very down on the dolphins. It's not because of your jets fandom.

Not really.

But people just feel that maybe that's, I think what you're actually saying is that the Bills at their highest power can do exactly what you you are.

Down on the Dolphins, but that's fine.

No, I am down on the Dolphins, but it's not really because I like the jets. It's because they've been tested multiple times this year and failed them against big opponents. And now they have another big crucible situation here. And I'm just curious, but even if they lost both Dallas and Baltimore games and Buffalo wins twice, it still comes down to week 18, right?

Very. Like, I don't know what they have now numbers for all this stuff. It's like the Ods that that game is for. The division is very high.

Is very high.

Well, I first was kind of turned on to this when Steve Kornaki did on Sunday Night Football, and he was talking about the Bills and the Dolphins and the rest of the way, and he does such a good job. Like, I just love Cornaki so much, by the way. I wish that I could have him in studio every week doing all the different permetations of everything. But with the Bills, they're playing their best football right now. The fact that they were able to run the ball the way that they did, I couldn't believe my eyes watching it. And we'll get into it a little bit more when we preview the Chargers game coming up. We'll probably talk a little bit more about the Bills side of things anyway. But the thing that's going to be a problem for the Bills coming down to the end are the tiebreaker scenarios. Like those losses that they had, the losses against the Broncos and the Bengals.

That could get them, they got to keep winning. All right, fearless prediction, Colleen.

Okay, so for my fearless prediction, I was looking at the fact that I think that the Rams will finish ahead of the Seahawks. Even after the Seahawks coming through with the huge win against the Eagles, they're both seven and seven. And when you look at their schedules, the Rams have the Saints, the Giants, and then they finish against the Niners. But the Niners might be resting their guys, even though, I don't know, two weeks of rest if they get the pretty. That's an interesting scenario, but they're not going to be playing their stars the whole time. And then the Seahawks, they have the Titans, the Steelers and the Cardinals. Now, they should be able to win all of those games, but if the Rams end up winning the same number of games as the Seahawks, they have the tiebreaker because they swept seattle already. So they just need to finish with the same number of wins and then they'll finish ahead of Seattle.

Unless it's like a four way tie.

True.

Then you're. Then it just is thrown up. It's like it could be it's conference record, which. Yeah, I got to have to look, it would depend, I guess what happened. There are common opponents, you get deep into it. Rams just got to keep winning. Seattle has a little more margin for error with that schedule. I do worry about counting on the 49 ers resting people in week 18. You just don't know. And look, the Rams played the 49 ers pretty well in that first matchup. They looked like very even teams until the end when the bottom fell out. I think the Rams would be up for that game, but they'd be a pretty big underdog.

I am all about like, I'm very anti seven playoff teams in each conference, which I mentioned on Monday night. It's very annoying to me. They don't really belong in the playoffs, most of these later slots, but it all matters which team it is. And I'm so pro Rams over Seattle getting in there. And I think also it starts like Thursday night. I feel like the Niners are not.

They could both get in there, too. Well, that's quite possible.

Yeah, we'll see. But the Niners to me don't feel like a team that's going to sit everyone in week 18 no matter what. I just don't feel like a shant.

You know what? I would say that. But then this is also a team whose season got ruined last year because.

That'S what I was. Well, you're going.

I just mean the old Peyton Manning Colts were like, we just sit the entire team, then you go lose a playoff game the week later. I don't know if that's move right now.

You know, it's going to be for so many reasons. The Christmas night game against the Ravens, both in terms of top of the conference, but also it could make a huge difference in the NFC at the bottom of the conference because if the Niners lose that game, much more likely chance that January 7 matters for them. Then we'll play those guys. All right, Gregy. Fearless.

Yeah, it has to be fearless.

So let's go.

Jags don't make the playoffs. That the Jags continue this free fall and just fall all the way out of it. And this is less about Lawrence right now, not practicing. We tape on Wednesday. We'll have more for you Thursday and everything. So it might be Bethard this week. They could be underdogs at Tampa. It's less about the schedule because they do have the Panthers next week at Tennessee. Like that is a nice final two games and two out of three considering they've had the tiebreakers in their division would probably be enough. It's more just like I'm trusting what I'm seeing and I see a team that makes a lot of their own problems and doesn't have a lot of foundation to really stand on right now. Zay Jones is week to week. There's another receiver for them. Their offensive line's got issues. The defense is bad. Like the running game is just, they just feel like a team that maybe wants to collapse and I don't know if it'll be Houston that steps in. They got their own quarterback injury or Indianapolis or both. Who knows? But the Jaguars just feel like a team that maybe they haven't hit their bottom yet and it's going to keep getting worse.

It's weird because, and we talked about it on Sunday night, but Christian Kirk, who is not someone I think about that often, like him not being in.

The lineup, that's a lie I think about.

Often is high up. But his absence has meant so much to their swoon and to lose Jones, they're just not a team that's exciting right now. They feel for this to work, they.

Got to lose at Tampa. Right. They're going to be Carolina at home.

So that's you're probably the NFL. Carolina's been in these games against Tampa.

Because it's the NFL.

I'm just saying, like, they just literally won a game and they were in the game late against Tampa. Things can happen. They were in the game.

Trevor Lawrence is playing. They are not losing to the Panthers at home. I wouldn't think. I mean, we'll reassess the society in the world we live in. If that happens, that would be one of the biggest upsets. But you're right. You never know. And then at Tennessee, it's not like a killer schedule, right? They have to lose, what, two of three?

They probably have to lose the Tennessee game. Yes.

I like a bonus prediction.

Again, I don't know how it's going to happen. It just feels like it's in their vibes right now.

What's going on over there?

It's covered.

It's covered. We're good there.

Okay. So if the Jags don't do what you just predicted, and they do make the playoffs, I predict just as, like, in a little adjacent one, that Jake Browning and the Bengals end up beating them in the playoffs and knocking them.

Out if they make it.

Well, that's a very.

I like that.

If we're going fearless one.

I don't know, it just popped in my head.

I like.

All right.

Geez.

I enjoyed it.

I like it if that happens.

Real circle back on that.

Circle back. Let's cut that one. Amazing.

All right, fearless prediction, Mark.

First of all, I have no laptop, so I don't know what to do with my physical body.

He's doing great.

But I would say that it is like a bloody coup d'etat to get.

I'm always going for a chain poking underneath.

This is what I'm trying.

I think you saw that. I didn't see that.

Now, I love it.

Talked with Gonzo about that the other night, but it is a bloody coup d'etat. Go forth and not have your topic ripped away by one of the previous three entries.

Did that happen to you?

No. I feel very lucky that.

Oh, great.

That's why it's bloody coup d'eta.

Yeah. So the Chiefs, right? I think there's been a lot of consternation about frustration like that the Chiefs will somehow just slide into the number one seed because of everyone else kind of not handling their business. I predict they will not. Number one. I'll start there. That's not totally fearless, but mathematically, they play the Raiders. I think something weird might happen on Christmas day. There. They play the Bengals. I'm all in on Jake Browning right now. Then they play the Chargers. A slight disaster, but you never know, but the reason that people will peg them not winning the number one seed slotting is that Travis, Kelsey and Taylor Swift will break up before the end of the regular season and it will cause a lot of rumbling, a lot of discussion. And then the Chiefs go into the playoffs and they are know, it seems.

From the outside that they really care for each other. Mark. Right, so now you're, now you're rooting. You want to be right.

You want to be rooting for them. It's what I sense. It's not what I want.

Wait, so what was the first part of it?

Well, so it actually goes in reverse order. Taylor Swift and Travis tells sidetracked, or let's say they, like, maybe it's not a breakup, but they take a break. Classic. Like, we're taking a break.

It's a soft break.

There's reporting around that they're taking a bit of a break. And then the Chiefs, like flatline and jump.

She went to Foxboro, Massachusetts, four days ago.

I've done a total 180. Nobody goes to Foxboro now. I love them now. I'm totally on board. I was completely.

But I also do. I do, too. So I'm actually not.

How does that affect the chief?

I think it's just people can't, like from a ven diagram, people can't separate the fact that it might have nothing to do with the Chiefs. So, like Travis, Kelsey, you got to get the lower version of Kelsey, which we feel like we've been getting. And then they break up and he flatlines in a game and the Chiefs don't get the number one seed and then they're out of the playoffs and it's just like, wait a minute. Don't mix love and business.

And you were worried one of us were going to step on that one, right?

I mean, they are very unlikely to get the number one seed just because they're two games back with three to play despite this game.

I know, but haven't you heard people just say, like, oh, I'm just so worried they're going to get it. This is our biggest worry that the Chiefs. That's our biggest problem.

All right. I have a couple of quick ones I'll just throw out. Anybody else can throw them out, too. I think the Steelers have already won for the final time this season. You look at their schedule and the way they're playing and what's going on in that building right now.

Yikes.

None of it feels good. And, mark, you'll like this one. Brock Purdy will be the prohibitive favorite favorite for MVP by close of business Week 18.

I like that.

And I think he'll be, and I'm just going to back this up because I did some niners single season passing record research and this is a team with the history is rich, very real rich. He will be the QB one by the end of the season. This is why he's going to definitely win it. He'll be QB one of a number one seed and he'll own that. 49 ers single season records for passing tds, breaking Steve Young's 36 and 98 yards, breaking Jeff Garcia's 42 78 in 2000 passer rating. That's young again, 112.8 and 94 yards per attempt. Some guy named Joe Montana 9.1 in 1989. And people will then try to manufacture CMC as his closest competitor for clicks and conversation, but he'll get the offensive player of the year so that'll be clear cut as well. No drama in that conference.

There was this year back in 2003 that Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tied by voters count for MVP. They won co MVP and part of me was wishing like, why can't you.

Just hoist up teammate co mvps?

Yeah, like Brock Purdy and CMC.

Problem is that would take the coordination of like 50 different voters.

Well, right.

And they're splitting the votes so they're taking votes away from each other. But also the fact that when you go back to 2000, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady are the only three quarterbacks that have had a higher passer rating than Brock Purdy through 15 weeks.

I think it's getting to the point where it's staring us in their face, like all his numbers and the team success. So it's going to really take, again, a coordinated decision amongst the football writers.

Well, or just Lamar vastly outplays them in a road win on Sunday.

But Lamar has like 16 touchdown passes this year.

I'm just saying Lamar Jackson is MVP, though.

Well, he's actually. This is why it's curious, because I saw someone tweet out today. It's like, okay, now it's down to a three man race for MVP by the ODS. Purdy, Lamar and CMC. CMC second. And it's just funny because last week it was a two man race between Dak and Purdy. So if you accept that it could change from a two man race to a three man race in one week, where now one of the men that was there a week ago is no longer there, it can absolutely flip back now.

That's why it's a fearless prediction.

Right? Dramatic things would need to happen. What would need to happen is for Purdy to struggle and Lamar to have a great game on Monday night and then those ods would be dramatically different next week when we're talking about this. But that's all that needs to happen. I don't think that's going to happen. I think the 49s are going to win that game. But if that happened, yeah, there's definitely.

A path where he steals the spotlight in the game. I agree with you because wrestling yards.

And touchdowns matter a lot. Like Allen and Lamar's value on that add a lot.

It's such a lesser overall body of work to me than when he actually won MVP, Lamar Jackson, and he looks.

Better than his numbers are even. I mean, he's eigth in QBR Lamar, he's 17th in touchdown passes, 15th in yards pass.

How does that add up to MVP?

Well, I'm saying it doesn't. That's what I'm saying. But you've added the rush.

You've looked at. Yeah, the MVPs and sometimes you got.

To have to nail those counting stats. Also with these voters, it's not just what right.

McCaffrey has a better chance if he was going to do it like Purdy is saying, go for McCaffrey. If McCaffrey had an insane ending and ends up with 2500 yards and 28 touchdowns and Purdy struggles against the Ravens but they win anyways. There are different routes, but they're all small needles to thread. And Purdy's probably, I think Lamar's only.

Chance, Greg, is if he absolutely goes nuts in that game.

Like nuts.

Like the best game of his.

Well, and the week after against he's. They've got a lot of big, but.

The Christmas game with all the eyeballs against the big team.

Yes, that is his only chance.

It's kind of a Hail Mary. Anybody else want to throw out any more before we move?

I have one. It's more of a reckless prediction than a fearless prediction because I'm not even fearless. I believe in this. This is insane. But the Bears will finish strong. So strong against the Cardinals, the Falcons and the packers that they end up sticking with Justin Fields and trading away the Panthers pick. Of course, Joe Flacco.

They're trading the Panthers pick.

Yeah, they'll trade down to get more assets so they can build around. But the strong finish is why it's regular season because against three that works.

And if they could trade down to like two or three and then it's in the Harris reckless Greg while mine was connected. And these again are sort of like connie's just on the edge of the regular season, that Tomlin will not be the coach after this long losing streak that you're predicting that they lose straight games to the season, that it's like a mutual type of thing and that Kyle Shanahan, and this is something Hayden Winks, who's worked at Rota World, pointed out on Twitter, I like the number and I agree with it, that Kyle Shanahan should be coach of the year. Like, why is Kyle Shanahan not coach of the year? Everything that encompasses coaching, like numbers wise, you literally have right now potentially the greatest offense in the history of the league, or at least since the 80s in terms of leading in points, rushing yards, passing yards, all these things. And he put this all together, he's losing his assistance, everything that for some reason he is a little lower on that list. But I think if they drop bombs the next three weeks, and I kind of think they will, that I'm with you.

Purdy's likely to win the MVP and I think they can sweep these awards and Kyle Jen should win the award and he's never won it. And I do like the ideas that guys who should be coach of the year at some point you should win it one time. Well, so I'm completely with over, like Shane Steichen. It was great, but it's like a.

Six to a. I'm with you. I think he's third in terms of ods right now. Like third or fourth. But the problem is it's a narrative driven award.

I think the narrative will change the next three weeks. Well, this is going to start bubbling up.

That's fine. But like Belichick should have won it 16 times. And it's like, I am with you on Shanahan, but it always seems to.

Shanahan won. No, no, see, that's part know he hasn't gotten it.

But I think voters think of a right or like even a Stefanski or like it's like team was a disaster, team is now successful.

I'm with you on narrative. I do think the narrative, though, maybe the next three weeks, if they keep driving bombs is going to turn into like, oh my God, I know they lost three games, but this is literally one of the greatest teams and greatest offenses we've ever seen.

Well, it helps.

So then he wins the narrative and.

It helps that 31 other teams are unimpressive. There aren't like three dominant teams.

There's one I agree with you that I think they finished strong. And I think that is a big conversation as the playoffs begin. Is this one of the best teams ever? Because all the pop the hood analytics stats back up that this team is performing, especially on offense. Especially the offense on a level that's rarely been achieved.

And they survived unlike most teams like the Trey Lance trade up to get Trey Lance, which is a disaster. Like most teams like GM and coach float away. After all that, that feels.

Purdy saved their ass.

Exactly. But it's like something happened.

They did a nice job. They picked them last in the draft, but they did pick him. All right, Mark, close this out.

So I did this exercise incorrectly. I have like a playoff one.

Got it.

It's one line, but what do you got? Joe Flacco.

Yes.

Beats Greg's little darling, Lamar Jackson in the playoffs. Kind of flipping.

He's a big man. You even said so when he came near us. He did.

He came near us in London.

But, like, wow.

Has he.

I just think that will happen. And it's like football makes no sense at that point and it's kind of beautiful all at once, but that somehow Joe Flacco, the Browns quarterback, beats the Ravens in the playoffs with Lamar Jackson, who probably will know second in MVP vote.

I'm with you. I'm sitting the stars. I told you I had a vision this morning.

You did?

Of Placo beating the Dolphins in the playoffs.

I just think something weird is ahead. That's not even my know, attachments.

Well, I think.

What do you mean?

I think we can accept that deep in the subconscious. Maybe there's a little bit of browns attachment, of the freaking Browns beating the team. You hate the most ravens in the playoffs.

I just think we kind of set up to the point where Joe Flack was on this really weird personal journey. Something weird is going to happen. And, like, Lamar Jackson feels like the perfect victim.

Wait, what if he ends well in.

The Browns defense, taking care of the Ravens? I could do that.

Which happened.

What if they beat the Dolphins in round one and then Lamar in round two? Well, we got to open up some type of.

Would have. We were sears at that point.

Then Mahomes in round three, and suddenly we're in Las Vegas and it's Joe Flacco who shaved the beard this week. I don't know if that.

Oh, Mark, I hate that.

Actually. I loved it.

I hate that.

Why I'm in.

I mean, he looks good.

You don't like beards because Gonzo told.

Us, like, everyone can do what they want. I have no judgment. It's just I think that Joe made the right. He looks better.

Well, he also a. We've talked about the sneaky in person. Got a nice jawline.

Better looking than you'd realize in person.

All right, well, Mark, good luck with that fearless prediction. All right. By the way, I don't even think we mentioned it. Coming up after the break, we got Connor Orr.

I'm so excited.

It's the Connor Orr holiday special. He talks about his favorite hallmark films of the year, and I cannot wait. He's excited. Before we do that, let's just get caught up on a couple things in the news. Can you win the game in the first quarter? No. You win a game in the second quarter. You win the game in the third quarter, you win the mother fourth. Oh, there he is, 72 year old Pete Carroll in the Seahawks locker room after that dramatic Monday night win at home. And he's correct about that also. Dad, you win that game in the fourth quarter, looks like he did.

Like a 1950s newsboy with his hat backwards, like throwing the newspaper at the people's door on his bicycle.

There's more to that clip and credit Seahawks Twitter on that because awesome inside. I love the post game locker room stuff the team send out at the very end of it. He's just like, I'm so pumped. I'm just so pumped. Maybe we could get that as a drop, Eric, going forward, because he was.

Also pretty out of breath when he was continuing to talk and I was starting to worry a little bit about him.

Well, we were like, dan and I believe were when they beat the Broncos in the Super bowl. We were in the post game locker room. If I'm not mistaken, it was Pete Carroll up on top of the locker. Somehow he had climbed a ladder, was up on top of.

We weren't there. But that was no.

You went to either a winning or losing locker room, and I walked in there and was like, I thought that was Carol up on the locker room, like, shouting.

I didn't realize that was a Super Bowl. I thought that was earlier. And we wrote about it on, like, the blog. No.

Is when they took Peyton Danning to the grave, basically. Yeah.

Imagine Pete climbing up there.

That's awesome.

Ladder on the other side. They didn't just climb.

Not in always, but in many ways a man to. For myself, I'll speak for myself, to model myself after, because he is sucking the marrow out of life. He knows that's life right there in the locker room. He's 72 years old. He knows the end is closer to the beginning and that there's nothing better in life than that moment right there. And he is going to enjoy it as much as he possibly can. He's the man.

He has it all figured out.

He really does. On the other side of the spectrum is the Chargers. By the way, this fell into the black hole, the ATN black hole, because it occurred on Friday morning and we haven't really had a chance to talk about it. But the Chargers got rid of their head coach, Brennan Staley, and their GM, Tom Telesco, and I thought we needed to put a stop to this free fall, this black hole. So they have a new head coach. His name is Giff or Jif Smith, and he is the interim coach for the final three games. And this is what he looks like and this is what he sounds like. And he met with the media for the first time. Well, that's what he looks like. But here is GiF on the Charges.

Like an older John Harbaugh.

Yep. I've been in this game a while and there's always new things that come up. And I've been around a lot of great coaches through the years, and you just roll with it. You give to these players, you give.

To this organization a little bit of.

A Cessdog vibe to them, too. It's like an uncle or somebody, like a Sessler family reunion. You can see that a little bit, right?

Just like, if vaguely like german european roots. So, yes.

Hey, perfect time for a quick segment I like to call getting to know Jeff Smith. All right, Jeff Smith, born October 12, 1968, american football coach, interim head coach and outside linebackers coach of the Chargers. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Titans and Bills. As I said, 2016. He was hired by Mike McCoy. He's a survivor. A native of Mabelton, Georgia, Smith played defensive end at Georgia Southern University. A three time Mark Countham, All American. Gregy, this is for you. In 1999, Smith was hired as the defensive line coach at Tulane University, the Green Wave. And Colleen Smith and his wife Jennifer have two children. Yeah, he was on that staff.

That's so nice. I love a family man.

He's on that staff. I was working at student television back then. That was.

You could have crossed paths with them.

Did you speak to him?

No, I was very rarely in the locker room. GifSmith and it's the hard G. And Patrick Claibon suggested that should just be his nickname, hard G. I thought that.

His name was Griff. This whole time in my head I was calling him Griffith.

We're sure it's not Jiff, is it is.

I don't know that. I don't know.

My data didn't dig anything up on that end. My research.

You know what's funny? On that Thursday night blowout was so bad with the Chargers, I actually did treat it like they were getting fired. Right. Because I had never seen a game where it seemed it was more so I was like, because we're not going to be back till Sunday. Let's look back a little on this daily thing because it looked like it was all over then. And maybe Giftsmith turns it around. I am curious, did Kellen Moore turn down the job? People speculated about that, that he didn't. Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Take over.

And finally, one last bit of research here. These are two comments from the Chargers subreddit. He looks like that one dude from the water boy. And I know he's talking about one of those Sandler cronies. And another person wrote Giftsmith or Jeff Smith looks suspiciously like my father. So some guy had a personal, a double life attachment. Yeah. Now that happens.

It happens.

What a revelation that would be. Yeah. And that is another edition of getting to know Jeff Smith. Jeff Smith Gifsmith.

More work to do on that front.

Yeah.

So anyway, the Chargers, they're going to hire a whole bunch of people. Another coach who's in trouble is Arthur Smith. We were talking about. Where is Arthur Blank on everything right now? Arthur Blank spoke to Georgia public broadcasting about the situation at head coach in Atlanta. Here's what Blank had to say. And I think know through this part of the season, it's been mixed quite honestly. And that's what the coach would. He's, Arthur is a very, wait a minute. Very honest. Amazing. Wait a second. He looks himself very critically. So he comes from a beautiful family that has great values and he reflects those values in his leadership as best he, you know, we'll see how the season plays out and go from there.

What a non answer.

Also, that was a PBS interview.

I don't think that's public broadcasting. They're all in sweaters and vests.

What year is it?

I don't. Eric and the whole team for digging that one up. How many shows are using PBS broadcasting and the Georgia public Broadcasting?

Why would he go in the world that we live in media wise? You go and drop this bomb on.

That silver fox that asked him the question. Maybe he would only answer questions from that particular journalist.

Very curious.

Maybe. It's probably not, but maybe it's one of those things that was set up ahead of time to promote something different, and it just falls in this week.

I got it.

The schedule. I don't know.

And by the way, the translation, is he gone?

Yes.

Well, when you quickly divert to. He's got a beautiful family.

Beautiful family.

Great value.

FedEx valuable. Yeah. Like all those things.

Very critical of himself.

They have colts at bears, at saints. Certainly they could improve and win two out of three of those games. And then I think you would have a job.

But even if Smith gets let go, it's very important that Home Depot and FedEx remain corporate partners. So this needs to be handled.

Well, I'd agree with you.

I'm surprised that there's not a branded segment for the Arthur's here.

That's a good point.

That's something that. Maybe next week. Okay, great.

Next week. Finally in the news, Tommy DeVito. This situation is. Listen, I don't know. I don't know everything, Greg, but I could tell when something's going on. That's Sean Stolato, the agent.

I met him on Saturday night.

I texted. Wait, who?

I texted Bada bing.

Yeah, we got a lot, Mike G. I texted him this morning. I said, sean Stolato, you know this guy? Like, have you ever heard of this guy before? On background? I said, on background?

He said, well, if it's on background, then you know.

And he said, you've let violated the internal here.

But, okay, let the insider finish the sentence. He said, I've known him for 20 years, and you could put that on record now. That's all he said. I can't divulge anything else, but my first instinct from that Monday night game was, this guy better be on the up and up. He better be up first thing in the morning. He better be working in Devito's best interests. And what happens at that little pizzeria in Morristown? They win a Monday night, and Stallato Renegs on a deal, an appearance. He said, no, tommy was going to come for $10,000. No. Now the deal is 20,000. And Devito was so horrified that he went to the pizza shop yesterday free of charge, did the appearance.

That's good. Damage control.

And critically and part of my prediction, the lotto has been relieved of his marketing duties, now connected to Devito. Okay, but wait, he's still the contract agent.

Correct.

Which I don't see an extension coming anytime soon for DeVito. But Tommy is already, as I said, someone's going to be in his ear, like, hey, there's now a new person business person in charge of his money affairs.

That new person is Max Lepster, and Max has been working with him from the jump, doing marketing. So I feel like that was also just a way to give Stilato a little bit of COVID because Max has been doing his marketing from the jump. So maybe Stilato secured that deal, and then Stolato said that there was never a contract signed, so how can they reneg on a contract that didn't exist before?

Right?

So I got a lot of questions about this guy.

And you met him?

Yeah. What was your impression of.

You got a lot of information, too.

I was so excited to meet Stilato because Garifolo, having known him for so long, was like, you know, who's going to be at the game tonight? When we all jumped in the car to go over to Broncos and Lions, I was like, who? He's like, Sean Stilato. And I was like, you got to get me in front of this guy. And so I thought that he was going to be all decked out in his fedora and no.

When was this?

This was on Saturday night. The triple header in the fedora on.

The sideline when they showed him at one. Why was maybe the cameras.

But that was Monday night or Sunday night.

Why was he there at that?

Because he has other players. Like a lot of fringe players. But yeah, he was there. And he had jays on and like, a cool hat and, like, a Gucci scarf, like, totally different.

Did he know who you were, like, out of sight unseen? Did he?

I mean, I have no idea. I didn't say, do you know who I am?

That's a good way to introduce yourself.

But he was very nice. We took a picture. He had a lovely diamond encrusted italian horn, which I found amazing. But yeah, he was very nice.

I think all you really need to know is that if you go to his website and click the about section, there are pictures of Sean running shirtless, doing resistance training with frosted tips. Those are the photos he choose to represent himself.

He looks like Ben Stiller. In what role was that? When Ben Stiller had the frosted tips and he was very tan, looks in shape. Zoolander, maybe.

Was he?

I mean, he certainly looks in shape.

He wasn't frosted in Zoolander.

I know that.

Dodgeball maybe.

It was dodgeball, maybe.

All right, that's what's happening in the news. Let's take a break, and when we return, let's see around the NFL holiday special, West Dodge with Connor Orr.

I'm so freaking jacked.

I'm so goddamn. I love the kind of the hip hop Christmas themes. That's a good bed.

Yeah, it is.

As we tape this, December 20, it is smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. Hanukkah in the rear view. Christmas just ahead.

Hanukah's over.

It's a wrap, bro.

It is. The lights are out.

Sorry, Greg.

Yeah. You know that we don't celebrate Hanukah.

He did reveal there's no menorah in the house, which surprised me.

Really?

There'd be one?

You guys don't. I guess I don't share enough of myself.

But we've never been invited in your house. So.

There's a house?

You live in a house.

We have a house. I was not raised.

I think Greg lived here this whole time. We had no idea.

I was not raised religious. And that surprised any menorah. Never had any menorah in either house. When I was very young, we actually had one and then we just sort of ignored my mom and then eventually.

Always a little bit of jealousy for the kids that celebrated Christmas and Hanukkah because you kind of clean it up and your kids could have been in that bucket, but you.

But we sort of were those kids and both me and my brother were like, let's just do Christmas. It's way better.

But you like, literally from a hardcore religious angle.

Yes.

You cannot celebrate both as a kid. You can because your parents. You cannot be both.

Right.

But none of the people in this.

A theology podcast.

I was just going to say. I'm more saying from a pff spiritual. If you were like a pff spirituality site. You can't be both as a kid. You can have all the gifts, but you can't be both.

Right. You can be neither, though. You can be neither. What is pfff?

Just like there's no feeling. It's just hardcore numbers, technical side of things, saint rankings.

Right.

You can't be both. And it's just like. But it's like, oh, I'm going to get gifts on like twelve days and a bunch of. And a birthday probably in there.

What if eurorism is really. And that's the evil of it all.

Yeah, I think our guest coming up would agree with.

Right.

What if your dad was like born in Nazi Germany and then they were like, there is no God, we're anti.

God now we got to bring.

So Greg brings. We can't argue. You're right.

No, but why is that not valid?

Hey, no one said it was invalid, Greg. All right. Bring back hip hop, Santa, because Nazi Germany just came up. All right. Welcome back. Fresh start holiday special. And here's our guest.

This is the show right here.

What a mess.

Is there a trap door I can.

Are you kidding me?

Connor knows what I'm saying.

The first holiday special to drop a nazi reference, and, Connor, you were here for it.

How am I supposed to follow that?

I don't know.

Hey, buddy.

Hi, everybody.

Hey, bud.

This is my favorite time of year, my favorite segment. It's the best to see you, Connor.

It is, Connor.

I miss you guys.

We miss you.

Miss you, too. And you're wearing your Christmas sweatshirt, and you're looking fresh and clean with the shaved head. And you perform a valuable service, both in terms of personally, because you are a friend, Connor. And I love that you are so open and passionate about Hallmark Christmas movies. And we're talking about months in advance. I'll get a text from Connor, like, here are the ones that I'm kind of heat seeking on that are coming out this year. These are the ones to track. And it's like, okay, we are going to be digging in on two different specials this year, right, Connor? And just in general, before we get into the trailer for the first one, can you tell me again and tell the audience why you and your wife are such fans of this holiday fair? Because it's not an exaggeration. You guys watch these movies all throughout the December and November, right?

Starting November 1, we go full Hallmark outside of Monday night, Thursday night, and Sunday night. And then even if we have a bad Thursday night game, we'll also do laptop football, and then we'll do big screen hallmark.

Big screen hallmark.

Big screen hallmark. 100%. I think the reason I do it, I had this reaffirmed this year. So we were at a neighbor's house, and everyone's just talking about what shows that they were watching, and someone was like, yeah, did you see the ending of Ozarks? Like, yeah, it turns out in order to be successful, you have to murder everybody, and the family unit is dead, and we're all individual creatures of our own destiny. And then, oh, did you see the ending of beef? It turns out, like, our parents screw us up.

Sounds like a fun neighborhood.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

Why are we not purging ourselves mentally and going on like a hallmark fast? Because, okay, yes, what the Ozarks is telling you is true. But also, you might be in need of a romantic partner. You might go to a snow covered small town, and you might meet a hot mailman and fall in love over a cup of hot chocolate. That is as possible as the overwhelming sorrow and sadness and realities and harshness of the world. Let's zoom in on, hey, look at, here's this teacher and here's this guy who fell into her at the coffee store, and now they love each other and they love Christmas. What's the problem with that?

Well, I feel like because that guy's actually leading a double life and nobody knows it and they don't show it on Hallmark.

Well, you are nothing wrong with that. I hate that.

That's part of the problem.

That's why I am the problem.

Connor. Connor. So what you're saying, connor, and I love this theory, is that because all that bleakness sells, especially in prestige drama. So in a way, you could look at these hallmark movies and say, oh, they're trash and they're overly sunny, but to you, it's a balancing of the cultural scales that really helps us as a society not become so cold and broken like Connie here.

It is a mental vegetable. It is health for your brain. It is showing yourself the other side of the coin, because there's always a silver lining. And Hallmark to me is the permanent silver lining, which is what I love.

About you should hang out with my dad, because my dad asks me on a weekly basis, maybe sometimes more, when I'm going to go and work at the Hallmark channel. And I just keep telling him that's not how it works. And Hallmark isn't really like a network like NFL, and he's going to die on that.

Although the idea of a pregame like halftime and post game coverage to these films. Films would be incredible. Connor, let's start with the one that I watched. It is the Santa summit, released this year. Here is the trailer.

The Santa summit. Not the thing with all the Santas. Absolutely the thing with all the Santas. I am in three best friends. I need my wing. Ladies.

One unforgettable adventure.

Who's something?

I just met the most amazing guy. If you two are meant to share something special, he will find you.

How are we going to find her? You don't even know what she looks like.

Today is the only chance I get to find her.

What is it about the holidays that just puts romance in the air?

The Santa summit. Only on hallmark. All right, so this is starring Hunter King, Amy groaning, Ben Halsworth as the hottie.

Hunter King.

Yes. And Stephanie Sy as the cynic and who gets her heart warmed as the film progresses. Connor, your takeaways from the Santa summit.

I don't know if you've ever seen. Do you ever see the movie project X?

Is that a movie?

No. No.

So Project X was, like. It came out when I was in college, and it was like the epic party movie where it was just so over the top, and it was like a massive house party that just basically got out of control. This is the hallmark equivalent of Project X, where I would say, like, they're taking all of Christmas, they're turning it up to 100, and then they're just, like, blasting you confetti gun style in.

The face of it.

And I love everything about it. The message is great, right? Like, this woman bumps into this hot carpenter, and all of a sudden, game changer. We're all good. Life is good, right?

He's a contractor with his brother, correct? Is that correct? Yeah. And it's interesting. I thought the takeaway from this movie, again, because everything is through a different lens. The world is actually a perfect place. So Santa summit is a takeoff of Santa Con, which is a broadly reviled tradition, at least in New York. I don't know if it's everywhere.

Same thing in philly, okay.

It's where everyone essentially dresses up in Santa and goes bar hopping and gets hammered.

Oh, I've run into these groups before.

So here's the interesting thing, Connor, about this. They took this widely known to be kind of a debaucherous event, Santa Con, and made it Santa summit and stripped away anything that would be kind of lecherous or out of bounds, even to the point where they never used the word beer once. They refer to let's drink cider and hot chocolate. And, my God, Connor, the drinks, the symbolic nature of the drinks in this. Let's get into that.

At every single place, they have, like, a cookie platter and then a massive cup of apple juice with chocolate and cinnamon just poured into it. And each entree must have had, like, 58 grams of sugar in it, like, enough to fill, like, a Dunkin donuts cup.

So everyone has diabetes.

Yeah, but that's the thing. It's what you need sometimes.

Who wouldn't want to do that?

Just a little diabetes.

Having only seen the trailer, which was. I like the gleam and the glimmer.

Yeah, that was added a post, by the way.

I know that was real, but it kind of screamed to me. It's just great to be an adult. If you're white, it's great to be a white person. That's sort of what the film.

That's not what the movie's about. In fact, there's an asian woman who's like a best friend who learns the value of Christmas. There's another man of unknown european ancestry that turns out to be a love interest as well. So it's really. It's all over the.

Well, yeah.

And shame on you once again. What the cynics, Connor. All around.

I mean, wow. I'm surprised Mark took it there, but he just doesn't know. The hallmark channel doesn't see know, not at all. They're that know.

Everybody was wearing Santa beards, so they fell in love with who was on the inside before you got to see them underneath the Santa beer.

It's like love is blind without trying to become famous.

I like that. Yes. First of all, how many hallmark cards would you give it out of?

Ten, this was solid. Like, I would say 7.5. It was really good.

All right.

It was my wife's favorite of the season, too.

Wow.

Really matters.

And in one sentence summary for people that still aren't sold.

I would just say, like, all hallmark movies are kind of. You could summarize in the same way that Christmas is awesome and it's going to change your, you know, it's gonna happen this year. This is the year that Christmas is gonna change your life.

Connor, have you ever seen cross country Christmas? That is also a Hallmark classic. I tried to watch the movie that you guys are talking about. Last night wasn't available, so I just turned on the Hallmark Channel. I started 13 minutes in. Rachel Lee Cook is in it for anyone who is good for her. A fan of. She's all that.

She was all that.

Played the classic role of the nerd.

Who, Laney Boggs?

Yeah, exactly. Then the Hawkeye comes in and shows her how pretty she actually is by taking off her glasses. So, yeah, in this one damn patriarchy. It's two friends from high school. They grew up together. They meet on a plane. It's like trains, planes and automobiles. And then I only watched for ten minutes before I had to turn it off. But it seemed like a really nice movie.

Your husband, when we got together on Friday, he said, there's no way she's going to watch what she said she's going to watch. I said, no. She said she would watch it.

Right.

And she said, she doesn't have the ability to stay focused and watch the whole thing. And I must say, your husband knows you well.

I tried multiple times with your login to get multiple movies.

You have a login? Hallmark.

Dan, this is how important the project is for me. I got a trial of some app that I've never heard of. To access the films that Connor's talking about. Let's one more.

This spinning out, knowing that this one.

Is called Holiday hotline. This is just like a quick clip from it.

Holiday hotline. Let's talk turkey, love.

I have a 20 pound turkey and it's frozen solid.

I can help. You just have to trust me.

He's on the line and really love it.

If you could come over. Holiday hotline.

Wait, what?

Wait a minute. Hold on.

Can I just say one because they're hot. We have to explain a turkey booty.

Call that did a terrible job of explaining why this movie.

Wait, Mark wanted to just say something to get us going here.

One thing, it's a cultural thing about ads in general. Whenever there's all these ads where someone's at a call center and it's always like a nine and a half out of ten, like answering the phone, it's like, I actually worked in a call center one time. And it's like these are typically lost individuals. They're not the hottest people that you'd see on the street.

If you work in a call center.

That was like a striking individual.

Doesn't mean it. Again, this is a heightened reality, Mark. All right, this is the place where the call center.

That's just my initial.

You're the outliers.

We got a bunch of Mr. Potters and Ebenezer Scrooges here. Connor, let's get into it. Holiday hotline, first of all, first question, holiday hotlines, do they exist?

I mean, I hope so.

They do.

This guy, it really helped this guy. And so the guy's wife is dead.

Right?

Bad break.

He wants to. Yeah, Mark. So maybe you should apologize. But he's learning to make a turkey for his daughter. And so he calls the turkey hotline and falls in love with the woman who's helping him to prepare the turkey.

Right. Who, as Mark said, is a stone cold fox.

Nine and a half.

Simultaneously. Simultaneously.

Simultaneously.

That's a good way to put it.

Starts falling in love with his new neighbor in the apartment complex and confusing. He finds out at the very end. Dan, everybody.

Their sister.

The same person.

Yes.

Amazing.

Amazing.

This one, I'm going to give it a nine based on the log.

And what did you learn, what did you learn from this one, Connor, in terms of the holiday season and the idea of joy?

Oh, my gosh. I mean, just like love is right around the corner, constantly.

Relentlessly.

Maybe you're just down on your luck. And then this beautiful chef arrives from England and wants to fill the void left in your life by a dead spouse.

And we have a lot of UK listeners. There's a scene in this where they're at, like, some type of shop and he says, I'm going to let everybody know who you are and say, I'm british, honey. I don't like to be the center of attention. And I was like, I didn't know that about british people. I guess that was the thing. I learned something there.

They do celebrate Christmas in Europe.

That's true.

Oh, my God.

Wait, I have a question.

Because everyone that says, what was that?

That was your response there.

Well, no, that's true. When we act like everyone's like, oh, my favorite Christmas movie is diehard, which is annoying to me. But truly, if you looked at Christmas movies, the full span, like eyes wide shut would be mine. It is littered with Christmas symbolism and Christmas lights, actually, throughout scenes, that's got an edge factor of a nine out of ten.

Right.

What would be the edge factor of this hallmark offering that you're. Because it sounds spicy.

I mean, I would honestly give this a nine out of ten again, because you're in suspense the whole time. And how is he going to find out? Because here's the thing. The woman is british, but she uses an american accent. On the turkey hotline, he's not able.

To tell they're the same person.

My neck.

How is he going to feel when he finds out? Is he going to feel tricked? Is he going to feel happy? And there's this whole drama where she's worried that he's actually in love with the woman on the phone and not her, but they're the same person.

And why was she hiding her british accent?

Code switching.

Fair question.

Why was she code switching?

I think she was just tired of the grind. Like, she came to America for a fresh start and she wanted to experience the greatest country on earth.

Unbelievable.

Wow. Christmas is your drug, Connor. And, man, are you on it.

He's hot. Connor, of course, is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, but also Connor, obviously.

Wait, what's your sweatshirt say?

It says, I want hippopotamus for Christmas.

Great.

Oh, yeah, that's a song. I know that one. All right, Connor, before you go, you are involved with the greater Newark holiday fund. Let's talk about that.

So I'm very lucky. I'm the chairperson for the campaign this year, and the greater Newark Holiday Fund supports ten really amazing social service agencies around the state of New Jersey. We deal with homelessness, mental health, food insecurity, all sorts of things. Full spectrum, trying to help people, especially around the holidays. Budgets for charities get really low, and so we collect funds and we distribute it to needy social service agencies who can then serve their constituencies. So there's a link to donate on my twitter. Or just check out the greater Newark holiday fund. See for yourself what's going on. I've been posting about it all holiday season. If you have a giving plan at Christmas, where you like to during the holidays, if you like to give to a charity around the holidays, check it out. And I can also like, maybe I'll retweet the show with the link to donate if that so moves you.

Awesome. Cause be cynical about that. Colleen.

No, I'm back in.

Mark, what do you got? What Stanley Kubrick film supersedes that.

He is a wonderful person and he changed the way I feel about the holiday season.

My heart is warm.

You're the best, Connor.

That's what I'm here for.

Love you, Connor.

Hey, do you have a fearless prediction for the last three weeks of the regular season? Oh, wow.

Put them fearless prediction or hallmark?

I think that the Rams will go two rounds in the playoffs.

That's my fearless prediction.

That is pretty spicy.

I like that.

You like that?

It's pretty great.

I like it a lot. Connor, you're the best, budy. Merry Christmas.

Go take another hit of Christmas, buddy.

All day.

Great appearance. Maybe the best or holiday special appearance yet. I really liked what he's getting at there. Dialed in because I'm watching it with the wife on Saturday, and I'm saying, this is so ridiculous. It's so sweet. It's just over the top. But he's right. That counteracts the Jason Bateman programming that everyone else is hard lighting into their system all the time. I'm not going to lie.

So I wasn't happy watching it. I'm like, this is so dumb. This is stupid. Whatever. And then I go into the kitchen to grab something, and I'm still watching from the kitchen just to see what happens next.

All right, before we go, we have one more bit of business to hit. Week 16. Let's do a preview. Speed round. How much time do we put on the clock?

I think it was three minutes last week.

All right, three minutes starting with Thursday Night Football, which. Colleen, this is a good one, too. You are the anchor, of course, of the coverage for NFL Network. So why don't you tee us up on this one?

Okay. A lot of playoff implications in this one. Saints, Rams. They both have seven and seven records. Rams holding on for the final wild card spot. They are in the 7th seed right now. The Saints, they're trying to win the division. They're tied with the Bucks. They're obviously still in the wild card mix as well. I'm wondering if Chris Olave is going to be available.

This sounds like it. Yes.

Derek Carr, he had one of his best games last week against Tommy DeVito and the Giants. He had three touchdowns without Chris Olave and Ryan Ramcheck. And their past defense was really good.

Eric stressing out, waiting to know when to start.

The pause.

There we go. That was for you, Eric, because I could tell Eric back there was like sweat pouring down when to start it.

She doesn't take a breath. It's insane.

She's downloading wild. She has a lot of research here. I'm looking right at it. All right, keep going.

He's actually british, by the way.

Did anyone prepare for the show? I did right here. You want to talk about Sano Pas and yoa? Three sacks for him against the Giants and Tommy DeVito? Dimario has got it done. Stallato in a big spot. I got a lot of questions about Stalato. Obviously, the Rams, too. They have the pieces to outscore the Saints. Pukanakua has been unbelievable this year, but now everyone is healthy. Stafford, Cooper, cup, Kyron Williams and Puka with all of them, they're kind of like a little bit of a superpower. So I think they definitely have the pieces to outscore the Saints here.

This is Greg. This is a good segue from Connor just now saying they're going to win, what, at least one playoff game?

He's at two rounds multiple. You had something about the Rams, didn't you? In our predictions making it. They have to win this game, though.

Yeah, because I don't want us to fall into the trap that we've been falling into all season. These 500 teams that get a little hot. But at the same time, Greg, the Rams have been kind of consistent in a lot of ways different than these other 500 teams.

Yeah, the defense isn't going to be great and so the games are going to be close. They're playing hard, but the offense has been a top ten offense all year and now they're healthy and they're leaning towards top five. But to do all this, they have to win this game. The playoff leverage, which is what the analytics guys like to say, is outrageous in this game. The Rams are like two thirds likely to make the playoffs if they win, 7% if they lose. The route to making the playoffs is pretty low if they don't win this game, to me, it's a beautiful rematch, maybe a revenge game of the NFC championship game. And you think, well, everyone's different. Sean McVeigh's not different. He's changed his offense three times since then. Dennis Allen's not different. He hasn't really changed his defense at all. And a lot of those same players are there. And I love the way Sean McVeigh has updated it and I think they're going to be able to run the ball and they better because I'm going with the family. This is my holiday.

Oh, yeah, that's right.

This is your Christmas.

This is my be at the game with the family. Right.

Roger Goodell is father Christmas to me.

That is exciting.

I thought you meant you're picking the family. Like the ramily. You're going with the family.

Why? I'm picking them, too.

All right.

They better win just to make us happy.

All right, the Saturday game. Bengals Steelers. I got out of that preview Scott free. I got you on this one. Here we go. Bangles at Steelers. This is a game I said in my fearless prediction, I think the Steelers are done winning. I think they're a seven and ten outfit and there's a lot of drama. That said, if Mark, there was a last ditch effort here from Pittsburgh to kind of pull it together, it would probably be in this spot at home against a division rival. Knowing your season in a lot of ways is on the line, if Mike Tomlin doesn't have the team ready to play in this game, they are way worse off than we even realize. So it's. Does the Jake Browning magic work without Jamar Chase in Pittsburgh?

I feel like a couple weeks ago we'd say the Bengals have this quarterback problem, but they've got a quarterback solution and it's changed the way we think about Zach Taylor and the entire team. And they're kind of humming. I know Jamar Chase. That's an issue health wise, but the Steelers are the team with the quarterback problem. And then this stuff coming out with, for years, it was like, oh, no matter what, the Steelers draft and develop wide receivers better than everyone. Then you've got George Pickens, the replay of him sort of just standing around like I would in the middle of a break room at work when someone's trying to forge in for a touchdown, he's doing literally nothing. It's like the Steelers.

Not the first time we've seen that.

With, this is a weird Steelers team to me, where I think the vibe is just very negative and I kind of want them out of my life. And the Bengals to me are like the AFC's Rams where it's like I thought all was lost and here they come and they feel like a team to me because one of my other fearless predictions and I thought it was playoff bound, was that I think they could win two playoff games. They, to me feel with Jake Browning not that different than the Joe Burrow Bengals, and I find them watchable. I'm historically a Browns fan and I feel connected to the Bengals, so I don't know what's happening.

I loved that game.

No, I'm saying it's like you'd be aligned to think like, I want bad things to happen to the Bengals and I'd feel differently about this team. I kind of find them fascinating and watchable.

I think Jake Browning is low key. Funny. Like when he was interviewed afterwards on the field, they asked him just like, I think it was just a generic, like how do you feel right now? Whatever. And he was like, I honestly don't even remember what happened. I'm so tired. And I was like, that's the most relatable quote I've ever heard from a quarterback.

Quarterbacks get tired. I'm sure they do. It is a high physical and mental toll.

He also had some spicy video takes yelling at the camera, the team camera. Bet you're glad you cut me now Vikings, and I do worry in terms of them, like making the playoffs or winning playoff games, their defense hasn't really looked any better lately in particular. And then they lose. Dj reader this is a matchup, though, that they lost with Jake Browning just three weeks ago, 16 to ten, sort of since this transformation happened. And when I watch the Steelers defense, they're so disorganized. They're getting out coached every week. I mean, Shane Steichen made them look terrible. Their back seven on defense is so bad, and their offensive line hasn't looked great lately either. So I do think the Bengals can get after them and they're just slow. The Steelers chase Brown, I feel like that's a nice little deep fantasy sleeper for this week. He's so fast versus this slow ass defense. I think they get it done.

Do we have that Jake Browning sound? Want to hear that? That one felt good. Browning looking, scrambling to the right. Browning going down field. It is caught. The Bengals convert on third down and nine. The snap, the placement, the right footed kick, it is good. I think right after we made the field goal to win the game, I screamed at a camera and said they never should have cut me. Oh, my God.

Yeah. I mean, you can't say that I love him.

You just wait until you win and then don't look like an idiot. I feel like I need a beer.

Oh, my God.

I love that guy. That is Bengals Twitter from the jungle.

The second part of my fearless prediction was that Jake Browning would morph into free agency's number one signing. He will become someone else's starter. Will that be a mistake? We'll see, but that he will become the offseason story and someone will make.

Them anoint him, like, the number one highest, biggest story.

Free agent signing.

Wow.

Is he a free agent?

Yes. I looked it up before the show.

I can't say that if he's under contract for two years. But he's not under contract.

He is not. He is an exclusive rights free agent. So he'll be locked up for another couple of years with the Bengals.

Well, we'll see what happens.

All right, finally, Greg.

No, that's okay.

Still very possible.

We needed that. That could happen.

I'm just saying, they could cut him, right?

And then they could probably aren't going to cut him. Yeah, that seemed very foolhardy to cut him.

He may be better than Joe Burrow.

We don't know. That would be a big story, too. Well, Greg, the second Saturday game, I.

Mean, Chargers, Bills, let's start the clock right away.

This is the one we should have.

Spent more time on the big. That's like an early playoff game. This is just Saturday night.

Sounds like somebody wants to be on the Thursday night show with Mark and I, right? Come on on, buddy.

No, I'll be coming. I'll be stuck in traffic.

Sorry, honey, I got to go. We're taping the Thursday night show.

I hope Bills fans show up, take the bus and make this an atmosphere. Eleven and a half points is how much they're favored by. That doesn't feel like enough, does it? This run heavy team, and I know you get the dead coach bounce and everything, but James Cook is now one of the best running backs in the league. I apologize to Sean McDermott for getting on him, for changing offensive coordinators, because what they've done with Joe Brady has been different. These multiple tight ends, they're kind of using fullbacks, the two running backs at the same time, just varying it up, and they're really good at it and matching that up versus this Chargers defense, who I think maybe will want to account well for themselves after a totally embarrassing Thursday night. And they have extra rest, so maybe they play a little bit better, but who are we kidding? Easton stick versus Sean McDermott, who's been cooking up some great schemes. And Ed Oliver has been playing really great up front. Eleven and a half does not feel like enough. This feels like a Saturday night bills party.

Are you getting the bell out?

No, I don't want to do that.

Okay, James, I was going to say it's hyperbole, Greg, about James cook, but look at. I mean, week to week. He has been as good as any running back in the league lately. All around.

I mean, in terms of yards over, well, not expected. The total performance, just by the numbers. I think he had the number one. I think it was on football outsiders or Aaron shot where they're at was the number one running back performance of.

The year against the drops, too. I mean, you got to.

Sure, though, I'll live with a drop. If he's running like these crazy angle routes, they're having him do like wide receiver.

The touchdown catch he had kind of backhanded was a sneaky, hard catch.

And he did drop another touchdown. To be fair.

That's.

To be fair.

Their offense lacked benches in past years.

That's what I say.

It's a huge add to them.

What was that?

That offense didn't have the running back. And I think Latavius Murray's actually been pretty good too. Like kind of under the radar, just like he's helped in. And they've got balance on offense where they didn't have a running game before.

Do you know that in England they celebrate Christmas? Pointed it out that they celebrate Christmas.

I was suggesting. That's probably the fact.

No, it certainly is. Yeah. We're in a lot of ways descendants of England.

We didn't invent away.

True. So I will say that they say happy Christmas.

Happy Christmas.

That's on them.

Just throwing it out there.

It feels lesser than Mary.

I feel like we got the edge on that one. Mary beats happy. I'm with you.

Come at us, Mary. Mary.

What's the reasoning, Mary?

By the way we started, Mary.

Ara got married.

The Chargers have been put. Their owner spoke this week and said, like everyone's been calling us cheap. We're not going to be cheap. There's no boundaries to what we're willing to accomplish. It almost felt like we would go after Bill Belichick. I don't know what the point of that was exactly, because they've been a.

Lit with hearing a lot of chat in every conversation. It's like, obviously not the Chargers. Belichick would never go there. They couldn't afford them. They won't deal. It's like they're probably trying to say, stop the narrative. Like, we could bring them here also. It would be a good, interesting marriage.

There's like 30 teams, 31 teams that basically own their stadium. And there's one that rents it that.

Pays one dollars for it.

It just seemed like in such a weird place as an organization. All right. It's just kind of sad. I don't know. Good app. Hey, Connie. You've said it all.

Thank you.

Did you. And we talked about you lost your dog and you said Christmas was canceled.

Yeah.

Christmas come back. You got a tree up at the house.

We don't have any decorations up. I know. I was hoping trying to get.

This is actually the first part of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

You know what? You're right because I usually have the house.

Amazon truck guy comes.

Yeah.

And what happens?

That complicates it.

Yes. The dog happens. The previous Christmas, there was the dog bite. Maybe.

I know.

Maybe a dog is involved. A dog shows up and warms your heart.

If you just ruined John's present for Colleen, that's going to be bad. Greg.

Maybe I do need to get John a puppy there.

We.

Not doing. We're not doing gifts either this year. So there's no gifts, there's no decorations. I've sort of opted out of Christmas. It's really dark right now. It's fine.

Not now.

Bridget.

Thanks for having a great Christmas. Probably.

Yeah. All dogs do go to heaven, they say.

I'm trying to get there. We'll see. I listened to Christmas music for like five minutes yesterday.

I picked up my beloved captain one year ago this weekend, and we actually have great resources that we learned during that process. If you do want to do that.

It'S a rescue dog.

Yeah. Okay. All right.

We'll see.

Now, there would be something to that. The Christmas, you assisting. That would be a nice kind of part of the memory. How did it happen? Who made it happen?

Not important, but we'll be a section about.

There's a headshot of me to the right, taken earlier.

No other photo in the wiki page.

Maybe the dog Dan saved.

Chris.

Like, background, the name of the Hallmark Dan.

So it's like name of the dog, blah, blah, blah, background.

Wait, did not test this whole thing like, what?

A minute ago, Greg, at this point, you did not. At this point, you did photo. You did not, sir.

Far right. Indexed. Right. Just like a quick bio background on our relationship and the connection, the history. Right.

This has nothing to do with animals at this point.

I challenge any podcast out there. By the way, we've been nominated for something called the Sports podcast Awards over in the UK. You can go on their website and vote for us. We found this challenge. This is separate to this.

Wait, what?

I challenge any other podcast out there to come as strong with their holiday spectacular as holiday music to close things out.

Were you in person and you hosted.

This was during the pandemic, so it was on Zoom, but I hosted them one year.

I would love to know how much.

Wait, Colleen.

For that. How much do you think they paid.

Her in the UK? It seems like it's from the UK.

Lot of UK pods. A lot of UK.

If we don't win, that would be.

Do you think they slightly. Do you think they paid Colleen five grand?

25 grand?

No way.

Ten higher?

I don't even remember.

I'm going to go back and look.

I'm going to go.

Money is of.

No, I just did it because I wanted to do it.

2500. All right, sportspodcastgroup.com, vote for around the NFL over all these other jokers.

Right?

That's it.

Everyone says it's like an honor to be nominated. No, we're going to go negative. We're running a negative campaign against.

God bless football cannot win.

You know who's on that? That guy. Stu Gott's guy is on it. We have a little score to settle with that guy.

Well, let's let them understand the year I was hosting it.

Well, isn't that nice?

Well, we remember what stutts had to say. Oh, yeah. This is a little chance for revenge. Made it, Ceciler. I mean, how about that guy? Who is that guy? He's a top ten football insider. That's a chance for revenge.

It is. I don't feel like revenge oriented against Stu Gotts, necessarily. I think it was like kind of a self reminder that other people in the industry have no idea exists.

If you would like peace brokered between the two sides, I will gladly step up.

Where's that holiday music?

Where's Connor? I need some Christmas.

But there would be something full circle.

I think it would be.

It would be just like the dog entering the Gonzo household. You taking out stugats at the award show.

There's a Christmas element to that.

You know, I'm looking at these with.

Like a prank dart.

Our friend Hannah Wilkes for her huddle, also nominated, and I was a guest on that. So maybe you have two chances to win.

Two.

If you're not going to vote I.

Mean, speaking of wiki pages, Greg has.

Already demanded that he has a section of their wiki page.

It's not off brand that Greg pulls boats away from our actual show because he appeared on a rival show. The prize.

Wow. Merry Christmas to everybody. We'll be back on Thursday with our week 16 preview in bulk. Connie, thank you. As always.

Great to see you guys.

Everybody, happy holidays. Heed the call. You our channel.