Conference Championship Predictions Inbound!

Summary

Podcast Summary: A House Divided – Conference Championship Predictions Inbound!

Date: January 15, 2020
Hosts: Mike, Brock, Keith
Main Focus: Recap of the NFL Divisional Playoffs, deep analysis and predictions for both Conference Championship games, coach/team news, plus college football QB prospects.

---

Episode Overview

Three passionate NFL fans (Cowboys and Eagles die-hards) break down the previous week’s playoff action, argue over the fates of Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, dissect the dominance of Derrick Henry, and deliver thoughtful (and sometimes heated) predictions for the AFC and NFC conference titles. The episode balances sharp football analysis with banter, team rivalry, and some lingering hangovers.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Divisional Round Recap & Reactions

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens ([01:31]–[12:42])

• All hosts picked Baltimore; all surprised by Titans’ “shock” win.

  • Titans not only covered the 10-point spread but won outright in Baltimore.
  • Derrick Henry dominated, with panelists calling him “a beast… doesn’t even look real” next to Mark Ingram.

• Lamar Jackson’s performance dissected:

  • Keith credits Vrabel’s defense: “He was having to run horizontal, exactly what you want for a running quarterback.” ([02:25])
  • Mike doubles down on skepticism about Jackson:

    “I haven’t been sold on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens all season… I thought it was all the system, and the Titans game proved that, or at least gave me some ammunition.” ([04:14]) “They did this season what the Patriots did to the Rams last season—create the template to stop them in the future.” ([05:05])

  • Brock defends Jackson:

    “He was the best player in the league this year, period. He was the MVP… Lamar Jackson wasn’t the reason they lost.” ([06:06])

    • Highlights Jackson’s 500 yards total offense; blames turnover differential (3-0) and failed 4th downs.
    • “It’s not all at the feet of Lamar Jackson. That’s what happens in single-elimination playoffs.” ([08:03])
  • Consensus: Tennessee played a nearly perfect game, but this is not the death knell for Lamar or Baltimore.

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs ([12:42]–[21:13])

• Chiefs’ miraculous comeback from 0–24 deficit covered.
  • Mike calls Bill O’Brien “Chip Kelly 2.0”: “He has these weird play calls that I don’t understand... When the lights get as big as they are in playoffs, he seems to buckle faster than his team does and that’s a big problem.” ([14:13])
  • Keith: “If you have a chance to put a team away, you do it right then and there. Maybe he’ll learn his lesson if he gets another shot in the playoffs.” ([18:06])
  • All hosts agree O’Brien’s time should be up and that the Texans “wasted” Watson’s talents with poor playcalling and lack of depth.

---

2. Conference Championship Predictions

AFC: Titans @ Chiefs (Chiefs -7.5) ([21:13]–[24:17])

• Keith: Picks KC to win big and cover the spread, 38–24.
  • “Andy Reid… too good of a coach to not be able to slow down the run.” ([21:13])
• Mike: Picks KC to win but Titans to cover, 35–30.
  • “My X-factor is Mahomes and Tyreek Hill… with just those two the difference maker.” ([22:29])
• Brock: Picks KC straight up, but Titans +7.5, expects a lower-scoring, clock-chewing matchup, 24–17.
  • “I just think it’s too many points… Henry can chew enough clock that they have a chance.” ([23:41])

NFC: Packers @ 49ers (49ers -7.5) ([24:18]–[35:14])

• Mike: Upset pick! Packers win, 42–38.
  • “This, to me, feels like Green Bay could seal the upset. Aaron Rodgers in playoff, come crunch time… the dude strings it together somehow.” ([26:19])
• Keith: Favors 49ers, 31–21.
  • “49ers just look like the whole package… their rushing attack is insane… I mean, if no one knew, their D is really good.” ([29:36])
• Brock: Leans 49ers to win but Packers +7.5 to cover, 27–21.
  • “This is still Aaron Rodgers… if we have the Aaron Rodgers from past years, they absolutely can win this game.” ([33:25])

---

3. Eagles and Cowboys Coaching News ([35:45]–[44:18])

• Eagles: Fired OC Mike Groh and WR coach Carson Walch.
  • Mike: “Promoting from within... has set them up for failure… everyone’s a yes man.” ([36:13])
  • Potential OC hires: Jim Caldwell, John DeFilippo, Jay Gruden. Mike likes Caldwell/Gruden, not DeFilippo.
  • For WR coach: Heinz Ward, Bobby Engram in mix.
  • Brock (as a Cowboys fan): “Jay Gruden’s actually a really good offensive coach… that’s the guy I don’t want hired within the division.” ([42:08])

---

4. Panthers Overhaul and Luke Kuechly’s Retirement ([44:18]–[48:18])

• Panthers fire Rivera, hire Matt Rhule as HC, Joe Brady as OC; LB Luke Kuechly retires.
  • Brock: “Joe Brady would have been the home run hire for the Eagles; instead the Panthers got him…”
  • Keith: Panthers fans should feel “optimistic… definitely sad with Luke Kuechly going out, but new head coach and a great new OC in Joe Brady.” ([44:18])
  • Mike: “If Cam Newton respects [the new coaches]… they could have immediate success; otherwise, could be rough couple years.” ([46:52])

---

5. College Football Championship & NFL Draft Talk ([48:18]–[64:56])

• Joe Burrow’s legendary season, LSU’s dominance, and his fit as the Bengals’ likely #1 pick.

  • Keith: “He’s a number one pick though. I do believe in him.” ([49:45])
  • Brock: “He wants, I think, to be the Bengals’ savior… he’s a finished product that looks this good.” ([52:44])

• Mike’s skepticism (but not denial) re: Burrow’s swagger:

  • “He almost has this, like—I don’t want to say it, but I get this sense of cockiness… it comes off to me the wrong way.” ([53:10])
  • Brock pushes back: “I didn’t see it as a selfishness… The Bengals could use a little bit of swagger.” ([55:07])

• Trevor Lawrence’s future: All hosts agree he’s still a top pick and one loss doesn’t change that.

  • “I believe in Trevor Lawrence… He just lost his first college game.” ([59:53])

• Eagles draft needs: wide receiver, but class is so deep a DB in round 1 is viable.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He looks like his uncle… the guy’s like a little kid, high school.” (Brock, on Derrick Henry vs Mark Ingram, [03:40])

• “He’s Chip Kelly 2.0.” (Mike on Bill O’Brien, [17:19])

• “The 49ers just look like the whole package.” (Keith, [29:36])

• “I think Andy Reid deserves it… his reach is as far as Belichick’s… I want to see him succeed.” (Mike, [22:29])

• On podcast rivalry:

  • “I hate the Packers so much as a Cowboys fan.” (Keith, [30:54])
  • “Yeah, it was awesome.” (Brock, [30:54])
  • “I just want the Packers to not even score a single bit. I want Aaron Rodgers to get hurt and retire.” (Keith, [65:12])

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:31] – Titans-Ravens recap / Lamar Jackson debate
• [12:42] – Chiefs-Texans, Bill O’Brien critique
• [21:13] – AFC Championship predictions (Titans @ Chiefs)
• [24:18] – NFC Championship predictions (Packers @ 49ers)
• [35:45] – Eagles/Cowboys coaching carousel
• [44:18] – Panthers hire Rhule/Brady, Kuechly retires
• [48:18] – College football: Burrow, Lawrence, and draft
• [65:12] – Closing shots at Aaron Rodgers and Packers

---

Episode Tone

• Energetic, slightly irreverent, rivalry-driven
• Balances thoughtful NFL insights with heated debate, good-natured trash talk, and honest fan bitterness—especially toward the Packers.

---

Summary

This episode delivers full-force on playoff analysis and prediction, offering:

• Compelling breakdowns of what fueled the Titans and Chiefs
• Passionate debate about Lamar Jackson and QB evaluations in single-elimination contexts
• Smart, nuanced expectations for the coming Conference Championships, with spread picks and score predictions
• Local team focus with deep-dive coaching news and draft talk for Eagles, Cowboys, and Panthers
• Refreshingly honest (and sometimes brutal) fan perspectives, capped by playful bitterness and future-focused optimism as the NFL’s biggest stage approaches.

Perfect for listeners who want sharp, fan-centric NFL commentary with a divisional rivalry edge.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to your favorite NFL podcast, A House Divided. The show that brings you all the latest Cowboys and Eagles news and discusses all things NFL. Now here are your hosts, NFL analysts and self proclaimed football gurus, Mike Brock and Keith.

[B]

Welcome back everybody to another exciting week of A House Divided. I'm back with Keith and Brock to talk about what happened this last week in playoffs and what to expect from the conference championships this weekend. Super exciting stuff to talk about. I'm suffering from minor allergies, so I might sound a little weird. So Brock's going to take the reins. But before we start, how's everybody doing? Brock and Keith, how you guys doing, man?

[C]

Pretty good.

[A]

Yeah, I'm good. I haven't been crying all week like you have. That caused you to have these sudden sickness symptoms. And really it was just having to watch football without the Eagles. But yeah, I'm doing great. We're. This is kind of the, the best part of the NFL season I think is last week moving into this week's conference championship game. So I'm excited.

[C]

I mean, I think Mike is just like any other football guy out there that just wants to drink for three days straight with the NFL and college championship. So he's really hungover today, so just bear with him.

[B]

That's exactly what it is. Yep.

[A]

All right, well, let's just get into it, guys. So we're going to kind of recap what we saw last week as far as then making our picks going in next week as well. So just to kind of recap where we are, because we've been making picks throughout the playoffs, straight up picking the games. Keith and I are both 5 and 3, Mike is 4 and 4, and against the spread, we are all currently 4, 3 and 1. So we're all in the black and hoping to keep that going in the conference championships. So let's talk about a game that we all picked wrong straight up. And I think all of America did, but we all got right against the spread, which is last week. The Titans not only covered the 10 points that we all predicted, but actually won the game outright quite convincingly in Baltimore. Derrick Hendry's obviously the main reason this is happening. Their defense is also playing well. But Keith, what were your impressions coming out of that game? And do you think this is a fluke for Tennessee or do you think they're actually contenders to get to the Super Bowl?

[C]

Well, what I think is Mike Vrabel drew up a great defensive plan against Lamar Jackson. He was making him pass outside and he really, I mean, his defense they were not allowing him to go south to north a lot. He was having to run horizontal, which is exactly what you would want for a running quarterback. So, I mean, they. They did exactly what they needed to do. But I also want to consider the drops by all the Ravens receivers. They had seven drops, according to my count. I mean, that's going to hurt any team that's going to stop drives. Their offense was out of sync. I mean, I think that the Ravens. You play this matchup 10 times, and the Ravens are going to be the majority winners, even if you play on a neutral field. But for your other question, are the Titans serious contenders? I think they do have a shot. I don't. I mean, I'll get into it when we talk about our. Our preview for the conference championship, but I think that they just played a per. Almost a perfect game. I mean, Derrick Henry is unstoppable. The guy's a beast. I mean, you just see if you saw the picture of him standing next to Mark Ingram, it doesn't even look real.

[A]

He looks like his uncle. Like, the guy's like a little kid, high school.

[C]

I mean, it's. It's insane. The guy is that big. And that one run that he broke off where he almost scored a touchdown, I mean, a guy that big almost able to outrun the defense is just crazy to me.

[A]

Mike, what. What did you think? And I'll kind of tee you up here, because I know we were talking during the game not only on what you thought about Tennessee, but what do you see out of Lamar Jackson? Because I think you had some pretty. Some pretty hot takes there that I wanted to refute. So I'll let you state your case in both matters, and we'll go from there.

[B]

Okay, so before anybody jumps on the. Oh, you're only saying that because they lost stuff. I haven't been sold on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens all season. And. And I caught Flack from Brock and Keith for not including him, rightfully so, on my. On my list of top five young quarterbacks. And I said I wasn't sold on him yet. And I thought it was all the system. And I think that the Titans game proved that, or at least gave me some ammunition for my case, because, like he said, they forced him to throw the outside. That's a known weak spot for him. And they made him run laterally, which, again, is something you want to do on a mobile quarterback, is keep them from crossing the line of scrimmage or getting too many yards horizontally. I mean, excuse me, not horizontally. Vertically. So I think forcing him to expose himself is really what gave the Titans the edge. They knew the over the middle. The over the middle stuff is where the strong suits are for, for Baltimore and forcing him to throw along the edges of the field and hit those super tight windows or loft those balls with, with touch, you know, gently over that type of stuff. He struggles with that and Tennessee kind of proved that and they kind of. To me, I feel like they did this season. What the Patriots did to the Rams last season was exposing their offense for what it was and creating the template to stop them in the future. And I think it's going to have two effects. One, next season, Baltimore is not going to be steamrolling people like they were. They're going to have a lot tighter games than they are, probably going to lose quite a few more. And two, it might make Lamar Jackson adjust his game a little bit and focus on some of those things that he's weaker at because he's really got to adjust and get better at those things if they want to continue success.

[A]

Yeah. Here's why you're crazy about Lamar Jackson. First of all, you were wrong all year if you're questioning Lamar Jackson because he was the best player in the league this year, period. He was the mvp. He deserved it. He's probably going to be unanimous. And to say that this game was all on him, I think is a little bit of a stretch. Lamar Jackson passed still for over 300 yards, rushed for 143 yards on 20 carries. So he still averaged 7 yards of rush. He had basically 500 yards of total offense. He wasn't the reason they lost the game. And I'm not saying he played his best game or that they didn't take him out of his rhythm because they were playing from behind with a lot of those stats. But the reason they lost this game was that they lost the turnover battle 3 to 0. And the Ravens, who were 8 for 8 on 4th and 1 or shorter all year long, that's what they could hang their hat on. Unstoppable in fourth and one. We're over two in this game. So that's basically just getting demolished in the turnover battle lost in this game. It's kind of fluky. That's not going to usually happen. And Tennessee was the better team. They deserve to win on that night. But we can't say this is all, you know, at the feet of Lamar Jackson. Can't.

[B]

I'm not better. That's. That's not what I'm saying. But I Mean, the offensive scheme that they run is predicated. And you and I argued about this as predicated on having a solid run game throughout the entire game and without Ingram in the game, for them it made a big difference. And that, I think that's part of what happened is that they weren't able to run the ball the way they normally do and they didn't have as much success and that created a one, you know, a one sided offense and they, they got taken advantage of. I'm not saying it all falls on Lamar Jackson, but I mean he didn't play that great, that's for sure. And he had a lot of yards, sure. But he, he didn't play too stupendously and the offense didn't run well.

[A]

They did run well. Get the. The Ravens averaged 6.4 yards per rush. Mark Ingram wasn't, he was out of the game and it wasn't great. They still averaged 6.4 yards per rush. Lamar Jackson averaged 7 yards per rush. The running backs were still doing fine. They actually average more yards per rush than the Titans of the game who have the monstrous Henry. It was really the turnover battle that killed him. A couple of early gashes for Tennessee and I do think Lamar Jackson looked a little bit shaken. I don't think his body language is great. I don't think he's quite where he needs to be as a leader. Let's keep in mind how young he is. This is his second year in the league. He's still younger than Joe Burrow who's just playing in the national championship last night that we'll talk about later. So I think there's plenty of time for him to improve. I don't think that this is, you know, any way to blast Mark Jackson or say that you are right if you were doubting him all year. It was just, that's what happens in the NFL with single elimination playoffs. I think the Ravens still have a bright future and Tennessee happened to outplay him this night not because of the quarterback battle, but because of everything else on both teams.

[B]

So before we jump to the next topic, I'm going to read a text message from Brock just, just to show that I wasn't the only one down on, on Lamar Jackson on Sunday. Oh no. Brock texted our group chat and I qu is Lamar Jackson dot, dot, dot a little. That was his exact message. And then he, he followed that up with I'm getting some serious vibes from him. Those came from Brock, not me.

[A]

Okay. I just want to say one, two things. One Those were not, you know, they were supposed to be taken as a joke over everything. They were supposed to be comfortable. And number two, I do think that his body language was bad. He was doing a lot more complaining compared to, and I don't want to cut Keith off here if he had something else to add to this game, but as a way to jump to the next game compared to Mahomes, it was night and day. Whenever the two teams fell behind, you saw Lamar Jackson's body language, the way he's complaining with his teammate. I think he needs to mature in that aspect because Mahomes is already only in the second year as a starter. Third year overall was total polar opposite. And because of that and his talent, the Chiefs had a totally different bounce back to their early deficit. So did you have any else, anything else to add, Keith, to this Ravens thing before we move over?

[C]

Well, I just wanted to remind everyone that last year Lamar Jackson was not what anyone thought he would be this year. And to Mike's point where he needs to improve on the outside, I think he's going to be able to do that, no problem. I mean, that's exactly what you would think, right? I mean, the guy just went from, I mean, if you're thinking fantasy and you're picking quarterbacks, not even someone that's in your top, maybe even like seven or eight. And now he's going to be the top pick for next year. But on another note, I just think that the Ravens game plan was thrown off by the way the game went. Kind of like how Brock was saying, but they only, besides Lamar Jackson rushing, they, they only let Mark Ingram rush six times, which he was a little banged up, so you can understand that. But Gus Edwards only got three carries. So all of the rushes were really with Lamar Jackson and Gus Edwards. I mean, it's only three carries, so it's hard to just base it off that. But he had 20 yards off of it. So I wish that they would have included him more because he's an explosive running back and I mean, he's shown it all year that he's been good. I mean, Mark Ingram was out the last couple weeks of the season and Gus Edwards averaged five and a half and 6.919 yards per carry on both those games. The last game, 21 carries for 130 yards. So I think that they should have included Gus Edwards where I'm just surprised they didn't. And I think with, with the unluckiness from, you know, the first interception was huge, bouncing off of Mark Andrews hands. And then the second, I would say turnover because it's turnover on downs. The fourth and one that they couldn't convert on the QB sneak. Titans just go right back and just throw a bomb on first and 10 and get that long touchdown to go up 14, 0. And the first touchdown was a crazy catch. I mean, that was as sideline as it gets with Johnny Smith where he had his like one butt cheek in. It was. Is what got him down. Yeah, but, yeah, I just think that the Ravens, you know, they. They got, they caught all the breaks they got. They did exactly what they needed to do. They controlled the clock. And Derrick Henry again, I mean, the guy's been rushing for like over 30 carries a game for like four weeks now. It's just insane.

[A]

Absolutely. And that was, that was my point to Mike too, that you brought up about the run. Running backs. I do think Mark Ingram's good, but whoever they throw back there because of the threat of Lamar Jackson, that Ravens rushing attack has been able to open up lanes all season long. I don't think it was actually that different in the game. The fourth and short was the different part because they actually got stuff. But the rest of the game, the rush was there. They just abandoned the game plan a little bit too early in hindsight. But let's just go ahead and jump over to the opponent of the Tennessee Titans this next week, and that is the Kansas City Chiefs. This was arguably the game of the weekend. About as entertaining as it can get when you're talking about big swings. The Texans obviously jump out early to the huge 24 nothing lead. And yet I think everyone watching the game who's been around the NFL at all for the last couple years was not ready to give up because we know what Patrick Mahomes is capable of. Sure enough, they not only come back, but they make Keith and I, who Keith convinced me to go on Texans +10 last week, and it was looking like the best pick. They couldn't even cover. They ended up losing 51, 31. Chiefs were absolutely dominant. Patrick Mahomes had 8.8 yards per an attempt and that the secondary just got torched. So I'll throw this one over to you first, Mike. Do you think that the Chiefs are A, are they as good as they looked in the second half of that game, or do you think they have some flaws? And B, Bill o' Brien's been catching some heat this week for the Texans. Do you think it was a flawed game plan or do you think that's unwarranted?

[B]

I'm gonna say Bill o'. Brien. I'm, I'm not one to always jump on the fire. The coach bandwagon I was for Dallas, you know, I loved having the clappa, but he was also the problem. But for old Bobby boy Bill o', Brien, I, I don't understand what the front office is still singing him at this point in time. He seems to choke in his game plans every season when they make the playoffs, he, he has these weird play calls that I don't understand a lot of times. I mean, some of the trick plays they tried to run were so stupid. The fake punt, idiotic. I, I don't understand what you're thinking there. And it just seems to. When the lights get as big as they are in playoffs, he seems to buckle faster than his team does and that's a big problem. And I, his play calling has always seemed spotty, even during the regular season. And I do think a lot of the playoff woes fall on his shoulders. I mean, when you have Watson back there who can throw the ball 70 yards in the air accurately and drop a dime, I just, it blows my mind that you can't win games like that, especially big games, especially when you get up on a team like that. I, I, with that type of lead, there is no reason, I mean, they pulled off an Atlanta Falcons loss though in the Super Bowl. The way they looked, it was absolutely terrible. There was no excuse for them to lose that game. The defense crumbled in the end, the offense got stale. It seems like they came out at halftime with no game plan and just thought they would throw noodles at the fridge and see if they stuck type of stuff. And then I, I really do think it falls on Bill o' Brien at this point. And then some of the news that we saw about them not hiring the GM this season and he's going to maintain full personnel control. So stupid. How I don't understand how they're letting him have this much control when he's obviously failed multiple times.

[A]

Yeah, that never seems to work out. And I don't think Bill o' Brien's the genius is going to make it. I mean, Bill Belichick even struggles doing that. You know, football you have to worry about so many positions. So yeah, that's really, and you could tell that whenever you start having a coach with that much decision making, you're going to lose something around the fringes compared to full time people making those calls. And I don't think the Texans had the depth and what I've always thought, I don't think Bill o' Brien's a good coach. I always thought he was good enough at the X's and O's to not get fired to keep his job because he's an average offensive play caller. But he's so bad at everything else that that's what comes glaring out in these playoff games in the biggest games. He's so bad at game management and everything else that goes along with being a head coach that he should be an offensive coordinator somewhere for an average team. He'd be fine. He's in over his head here. So I agree. O' Brien's got to go. And they were just the worst team on the day. They might have been able to get lucky with a couple early turnovers and they, they weren't even able to win the game in Kansas city with a 24 nothing lead. So I don't think they're going to win that game very often. What do you see, Keith?

[B]

He's Chip Kelly 2.0.

[C]

Just imagine how bad they would have gotten beat if they didn't get those lucky breaks at the beginning. And I don't. And I say lucky. I don't mean that. But yeah, I mean they blocked the, the punt for a touchdown. They get the muff punt by Jerry Kill and yeah, like you said, 24 nothing lead. I was so upset how it looked like they're going to go for it on 4th and 1 when they're up 210 and then they call a timeout and decide to just kick a field goal. I, at that point I was like, that's like giving up at that point. That's like playing conservative. It's the first quarter. You're in Kansas City. What do you do?

[A]

Classic Bill o'. Brien. And they wasted.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Come to the obvious decision too, which is just mind boggling. Yeah, yeah, go on.

[C]

I mean they had all the momentum right there. Kansas City's defense was so bad at that point, I think they could have picked up that first down, no problem. And that doesn't mean that they're going to score a touchdown, but that just keeps it aggressive. Maybe it runs some more clock. Yeah, like I really dislike that call so much and obviously it proved to bite him. But I just think that if you have a chance to put a team away, you do it right then and there. And maybe that's something that he'll learn if he continues to be head coach and gets another shot in the playoffs. But I think he actually learned his lesson really quick going for it on his own side of the field. And I actually liked that call because it was so unexpected. I just think the runner really just poorly executed it because he only had one guy to beat. He could have juked outside and gone around him and he just got tackled in the open field. They would have picked that up. But Houston's defense was. That was some of the worst defense I've probably ever seen in my life. I think they need to hit the reset button and just get all new players.

[A]

Well, we know Bill o' Brien is going to be the exact person to really construct a great. Oh, wait, no, he's not. It's not looking great there for you. So they need to follow in the Astros footsteps. I think it just clean house as far as coaching goes with a fresh start. But.

[C]

And they, they gave away their first round pick, so they got to wait for the 57th pick in the second round to get their first player.

[A]

This, this address and they need help. So many positions. So they have Watson. That's more than most teams have. But man, they're just not doing what they should be around him, so. All right, well, let's move to. Yeah, sorry, Mike, I was.

[B]

No, no, I was saying they have Will Fuller half the time, so they need another receiver too, at best.

[C]

And just one more quick thing to add too. The first offensive drive. God, I can't remember if this was the first time after Kansas City scored their first touchdown. But he ran the ball on first and second down and to me that was just like him just being the conservative coach that he is. And I mean you could just see it, that he was just trying not to lose after that point.

[A]

Yeah. Trying to. To run clock in the second quarter is going to be a losing strategy.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

In Arrowhead, so. Well, let's just get right to it. The Chiefs are obviously this great passing attack. Best, you know, MVP of the league last year in Patrick Mahomes. Most people think he's the best quarterback in the league. Now compared to the other side of the ball, you have the Titans who threw the ball 14 times total last week. Totally different strategy. Huge beast running back in Henry on an unprecedented run. You know, no one's rushed for this many yards three games in a row is what Henry's doing right now. He doesn't seem to. To get tired like other people. All right, we'll get to the pick. So the Chiefs are seven and a half point favorites when we're caring for the spread. Obviously straight up is just straight up, but I'll throw It right back to you, Keith. Who do you think is going to win this game? And who do you think are you going to pick with that seven and a half point spread?

[C]

So this is interesting because I've been picking the Titans every week. The Titans did beat the Chiefs in Week 10. 35, 32 at home with that late touchdown. But I just think Andy Reid, he's been able to study the Titans for two weeks now. I think he's going to find a way to slow down the run. I think he's too good of a coach to not be able to. To do that. So I'm going to pick the Chiefs -7 and a half and I'm going to say that it's going to be 38 to 24.

[A]

All right, Mike, do you agree?

[B]

So this one's a tough one for me. And it's, it's because I've doubted Tennessee in every playoff game it seems now in the last, I mean, the last two weeks, I've doubted them. I've picked against them and they've won and I really want them to win. But at the same time, I want Andy Reid to get his first super bowl ring. I feel like he deserves it. He took Philly the Super bowl and lost because Donovan McNabb crushes under pressure for some reason. But.

[A]

Whoa.

[B]

But I mean, that's what happened. But I think Andy Reid deserves it. He's a great coach. He's, he's. And not only is he a great coach for the team, but what he does for his coaching staff, just looking at the tree he has for coaches that are in the NFL right now, I mean, he, his reach is as far as Bill Belichick's in terms of, you know, coaches that are head coaches now that were assistant coaches for him, offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, things like that. So I want to see him succeed. And I think Tennessee's defense is good enough to stop Kansas City, and I don't think Kansas City's defense is good enough to stop the run games. That's my only conundrum. But my X factor is Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill. I really think that with just those two on the team alone are a big difference maker. So I'm going to pick Kansas City to win. I don't think they'll cover the spread. I'm going to go with. And with the way the scores have been this last two weeks, I'm going to go with Kansas City 35, Tennessee 30.

[A]

All right. I actually agree with a lot of what you said I don't think it's going to be that high scoring though, Mike. I would look at the the under possibility in this game because I think that might have some cold weather in Kansas City. Tennessee is going to look to slow it down as much as possible, but ultimately I can't see the Chiefs losing this game outright. They are at home and when you just look at the quarterback difference, Tannehill was getting a lot of praise and he's still getting a lot of praise is how he's going to get a big contract there in Tennessee. The Guy had a 50% completion percentage last week for 88 yards total 7 and 14. He's not really doing much. I think he's just a result of their winning game, so they have to praise him. So I don't think you can say they're going to go in there and win outright. I'm going to pick the Chiefs to go to the super bowl, but I'm going to agree with Mike on the Titans plus seven and a half. I just think it's too many points. This team is rolling. It's. If you just look at them the second half of the season since Tannehill took over, whether he's been good or bad at the time, Tennessee is a totally different team than the first half of the year and they're actually probably a top four team in the afc. And when they're getting that extra half point on the touchdown, that means they can lose by touchdown and still win the bet. I think it's a close call either way, but that's where I have to go with my pick. Henry can chew enough clock that they have a chance to shorten this game. I think if this game goes longer and longer, the Chiefs are going to show their better eventually. But with Chris Jones still likely to miss the game, maybe the best defensive defensive player on the entire defense for the Chiefs at stopping the run and they're not going to have him against this monster of a running back. I think Tennessee can keep it close. I see it being somewhere in the 24 to 17 neighborhood because I do think Henry will be able to chew clock and move the chains. So picking Chiefs to win, Titans plus seven and a half to cover the spread. Okay, let's go ahead and move on to the NFC where we can quickly recap, you know, the games from last week as well before making a similar pick. Let's start with the first game that we saw the 49ers as. They absolutely handled the Vikings. They only won by 17, but I don't think the game was ever in doubt in the second half. Kyle Shanahan had a masterful game plan against that great Vikings D. And Kirk Cousins kind of came back to earth to be the same Kirk Cousins that we're used to seeing. I don't think the game was too much of a surprise. Even though I was the only one who picked the Vikings to cover the spread, it really showed, I think, that the 49ers were who they were all year, and they can be that team in the playoffs with the number one seed. Did you see anything out of that game, Mike, that changed your opinion on the 49ers to make them think that they were maybe even better than you thought previously, or is that about what you expected from them?

[B]

FOREIGN it's about what I thought was going to happen. I. I think I made a joke about everybody was getting fooled by Kirk Cousins last. Last week, and, and I said Kirk was gonna Kirk. And I think that's exactly what happened. I don't think so much that it was the 49ers being stout. I think it was a lot of the Vikings not being as good as everybody was hyping them up to be after beating the unlucky Saints. But I. I really think that's what it came down to, you know, was the Vikings got lucky. The Saints just can't seem to pull anything together in playoffs for some reason. I don't know what it is, but I think that was more of a testament to the Vikings not being as good as people thought than it was to the 49ers being better than what everybody thought. For me, this game, I think it comes down to really the quarterback play. And as of right now, I think Aaron Rodgers is the better quarterback for, you know, just looking at the game. Overall, I think Aaron Rodgers can make magic happen. And this, to me, feels like Green Bay could seal the upset in this game. I think Aaron Rodgers in playoff, come crunch time, minimal time on the clock, the dude strings it together somehow. It always happens. I'm looking at Green Bay to win this game by a very tight margin, probably only three points or so. But I'm gonna say Green Bay can pull this one off. I don't think the 49ers are as potent as the Vikings made them look. They've showed weaknesses before. During the regular season, they. They have had tight games against Seattle of all teams. Seattle, one of the most banged up teams in the nfc, gave them a tight game in the last game of the season. So looking at that and Then comparing what Green Bay was able to do against Seattle, knowing Green Bay has the better quarterback, I'm going to take Green Bay and I think this one, if any, is probably going to be a high scoring game. I know San Fran has a ridiculously stout defense and a great defensive line, but if there's anybody that can beat them, it's a guy like Aaron Rodgers who can scramble out of the pocket, make throws on the run effectively, still launch the ball downfield while scrambling. He seems to have all the tools needed to beat the 49ers. I'm going to take them over the 49ers and I'm gonna say, oh man, the score is going to be tight. It's going to be a tough one for me but I'll go with ask. Man, that's a, it's a tough score to put out. I don't know why, but I, I, I feel like it'll be high scoring but oh man, I'll say 42 to 38.

[A]

Holy cow. I would go bet your life savings

[C]

on the over

[A]

42 because. All right, well Keith, from one of the games you saw last week we touched on the 49ers Vikings but also the Seattle Packers. Some stand out to you from those games and you agree with Mike with the seven and a half point underdog packers have a chance of winning or do you think 49ers take care of it?

[C]

Well, I'll tell you this, the 49er, the 49ers D is really good if no one knew that against the fight. Yeah, against the Vikings they sacked Kirk Cousins six times. They got a pick, they forced a fumble, didn't pick up the fumble but they did force one and they held Dalvin Cook to 18 yards. Minnesota, they only go 2 of 12 on third down. I and you just look at time of possession too. In this game, 49ers had 38 1/2 minutes compared to 21 1/2 for the Vikings. So a huge swing there. 49ers just look like the whole package. I mean I know the Chiefs probably had, I mean Chiefs for sure, I'm going to say had the best offense. I say the 49ers are the complete package team right now. Their rushing attack is insane. They got 186 yards against the Vikings defense so you can only imagine that they're just going to keep pushing and against the worst packers rush defense. So I mean if we're, if we're going to jump straight into that. The packers versus Seattle. I hate the packers so Much as a Cowboys fan. I mean, you got to understand my game.

[A]

Yeah, it was awesome.

[B]

It wasn't a catch. It wasn't a catch.

[C]

The packers are really hard to beat when you have to play them both. I just want to say that even. Even if they do call that catch short at the very end, I still think that the packers are going to win. But it's just, like, you just see it happen. Every time the packers win a playoff game, they get the refs somehow.

[A]

Lambo, Magic.

[C]

Lambo. Magic. Seattle. I mean, they almost came back against him. Packers had a pretty conservative second half. I mean, they only scored seven points in the third quarter and zero in the fourth. So the packers had a good, good start. And, I mean, who knows? Maybe. Maybe they'll be able to keep that up against the 49ers. But it's. It's just really hard for me to judge this game because I think Seattle just played such a bad game. I mean, they've been known for their rushing attack all year, and they leave it up to Marshawn lynch, who they just got right at the end of the year. They give them the bulk of the carries. They give him 20. I'm sorry, 12 carries for 26 yards instead. Homer gets three for 13, which is, you know, a little bit better, average. But I don't see how they give lynch that much of an opportunity to be the guy for them. I know he scored two touchdowns, but those were, like, both from a yard out.

[A]

I. Yep.

[C]

I just. I'm really surprised with the way that they distributed the ball there. I mean, Russell Wilson had a pretty decent game, but, I mean, you got to give credit to Packers D. They did sack him five times. But going to the preview for the packers and the 49ers, I'm. I've been back and forth since we started this podcast. I came into it saying that the packers were going to cover and lose. Then Mike started talking, and I was like, oh, yeah, Aaron Rodgers is really good. Maybe they'll win. And then I'm like, wait, no. 49ers defense is really good. I. I don't even know where I'm going with this. I don't even know what to pick, but flip a coin since I have to pick. And I'm going to go with my gut. I'm gonna say, well, my new gut. I'm gonna say that the 49ers will

[B]

cover the gut that can't eat chicken. Just remember that.

[C]

Son of a. 49ers are gonna win 31 to 21.

[A]

Oh, and they cover. Okay, so here's. Here's where I land on. On this. I think that a. It's going to be a beautiful game. I just love the color, the color contrast between the two uniforms. The 49ers got that golden red and the yellow and green. It's absolutely beautiful when these two teams play each other. But I do think Aaron Rodgers showed something last week because if you just looked at these teams on paper, the packers had average DVOA stats. They were outperforming it all year. 49ers the second best defense all year, one of the top five teams easily. They have the home field. I would agree with exactly what you just said. I was like, on paper, this is 49ers win, 49ers cover. But then you look and you say, okay, this is still Aaron Rodgers. You go to how he played last week, and they couldn't really run the ball in Seattle that much. And the only time that they stopped scoring is when they got conservative in the second half. Aaron Rodgers still averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and was very accurate throughout the game compared to what he was throughout the year. When he had to make a play at the very end, he hit Devonte Adams in stride at the perfect play to basically win the game. And you just think, okay, is this going to be the Aaron Rodgers that clicks? He's only 35. And if we have the Aaron Rodgers from past years, then they absolutely can win this game. So I don't agree with Mike. I don't think they can put up 42. This 49ers defense is too good. They. The fact they're able to shut down the Vikings run, hold them under 30 yards as an entire team, I think they'll be able to keep Aaron Jones in check and let their passers get after Aaron Rodgers. So I going to pick the 49ers to win, but I do think it's going to be closer because of Aaron Rogers. So I'll pick the packers to cover with the +7 and a half there. If I have to give a score, I will go 49ers 27, Packers 21. And that is our preview for the playoffs.

[B]

So I can't wait.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So as far as the the spreads go, Mike and I actually agreed with both of our picks and Keith was the exact opposite. So one of us, either Keith's gonna separate from the pack here with the two favorites winning, covering, or Mike and I are going to be up handily going into the super bowl, or maybe we'll split it. We'll see.

[B]

And then Keith owes us $1 million.

[A]

Yeah, this is $5,000 a week. They were. No, I'm just kidding.

[C]

I'll pay.

[A]

Well, let's go ahead and, and move to the next thing here. Outside of the playoffs, which are obviously the biggest story, there's some, some coaching changes, some other news that hit today. So one of the coaching changes, because we are a house divided, the focus is on the Eagles and Cowboys. The most was the Eagles actually had some stuff going on. So before we jump into the Panthers, that had a lot of interesting news on the coaching front and player front. Mike, what's going on with the the Eagles and what do you think about it?

[B]

So a couple things happen. A couple things I was kind of excited about and then not so excited about when seeing some of the hires that are taking place for some of the prospects that I wanted for Philadelphia. So in case anybody didn't know, Philadelphia fired Mike Grow the offensive coordinator and Carson Walch the wide receivers coach, both of those. It's hard to completely blame Mike Row for the offensive woes this season because of the injuries. For one and two, Doug Peterson calls the place. But I think the biggest thing for an offensive coordinator in Philadelphia when you where you win in a place where you have a head coach calling the plays in general, is somebody that can speak into the coach's ear and have the coach listen to their input. To have a game plan that both complements your coach and your players but also gets that the offensive coordinators mindset instilled or at least respected by the head coach when calling plays. Just somebody to talk in the ear of Doug and say doug, that's a stupid call and this is why, let's do this, that type of stuff. And I feel like that the whole concept of promoting from within with Philadelphia has kind of set them up for failure because it's given them coaches that I feel like Doug can kind of put under his thumb and be like, no, I don't need to listen to you because I, I promoted you type of thing. I'm not saying there's a lack of respect, but at the same time when, when you promote from within like that, everybody's got the same mindset, everybody's a yes man to the head coach.

[A]

But on the other, on the other side of Mike, if they brought in someone totally new with a totally new offense, wouldn't that kind of be undermining? Part of Doug Peterson's entire appeal as the head coach is that they wouldn't be running his offense anymore. I mean, you could really lose a lot of what, what he's built if you just got a new strategy in there now.

[B]

See, I don't think so, because hiring somebody that one, he know he respects and, and the other thing is that it's his call. He gets to pick who his offensive coordinator is going to be. He's been given full control of who he hires in the offensive coordinator position and the wide receivers coach. I, I think it really comes down to one, Jeff Lurie basically, you know, putting his foot down and saying, Doug, you need to hire somebody that's going to bring something new to the table that you can meld into what you already have. And two, I think Doug has realized that maybe this, this thing didn't work out these last two years, the whole promoting from within thing. And I think it'll be interesting to see in the next few weeks or months who they hire. There's been a lot of coaches snagged off the table for other teams. And then another thing is that the Eagles also lost Corey Unlin, who was their cornerback coach, their, their defensive back coach. You know, he was hired to be a defensive coordinator now. So looking at some of the personnel that they've lost, there is going to be some adjustments and some shifting around the coaching staff for Philadelphia in terms of the, the corner coach there. I haven't seen any prospects listed so far. No, they, they there I could see them using somebody internally and just promoting from within. You know, especially for the. Those type of positions. I think a safety coach could take over. They do have a good safety coach that could step in, but we'll see. They could bring somebody from the outside, but some potential hires, some people that have been thrown out. Names wise for them for the offensive coordinator position have been Jim Caldwell and, and we all know, you know, Jim Caldwell, you know, he was a head coach.

[A]

Not that inspiring.

[B]

Well, he was a good offensive coordinator though. And he, he does get his quarterbacks to perform. And I think that's something that I. They kind of need right now. They need somebody that's gonna not be a yes man to Doug and not be a yes man to Carson Wentz and kind of instill some positive behavior around the team and the offensive play calling. Another One is John DeFilippo, if nobody knows or it was too familiar. He was with Philadelphia and he was coaching with them in the super bowl season. He got hired as an offensive coordinator. He was the, the quarterback coach originally, but he got hired as offensive coordinator for Jacksonville that fell through and now he's, you know, on the streets again. So there's been some rumors about them bringing him back. I'm not too sold on that for him being offensive coordinator just because we've seen what he's put out as an offensive coordinator and then another offensive coordinator. That is kind of interesting. But at the same time, not. Not so much because he was the head coach for a division rivals, Jay Gruden, that's another option that's on the table. He's been kind of swirling the rumor toilet in the last couple of days. So for those are the offensive coordinator coaches. Of all of those three, I would probably be okay with Jay Gruden or Jim Caldwell, not so much John DeFilippo and then the wide receivers coach. Two All Pro slash Pro bowl wide receivers that have been retired are looking to come out and become coaches. Heinz Ward and Bobby Ingram, both in the potential running for wide receiver coach for Philadelphia. So that could be interesting. It'd be awesome to see Heinz Ward be a wide receivers coach. He has some potential. Knowing what he's done in his past and the performances he's put out. I would like to see him teaching some of the young wide receivers some of the things that he's done in his career to better that team in that position.

[A]

So the. I actually do think as a Cowboy fan, we always kind of speak the opposite here. Who would scare us for the Eagles to hire? I think that Jay Gruden's actually a really good officer coach. He'd be the one out of those vets that's still out there that I don't want to see get hired within the division. I just think he's a smart football guy and, you know, he did a good job at some points and a bad job at some points as a head coach, but I respect his game planning. The guy that I think would have been a home run hire that I was very happy to see hired elsewhere today by the Carolina Panthers. Who we will talk about is. Is Joe Brady.

[B]

I was very saddened by that news.

[A]

Yes. So. Well, I guess we can just kind of jump into everything the Panthers have going on now. But Joe Brady, who just won the national championship with lsu, he was not even technically their officer coordinator, but he went into LSU this year after being a video coordinator for the Saints year before and got a totally new playbook, implemented it with their offensive coordinator. He called the pass plays on third long. He just implemented a whole new system. And we know LSU's offense went from bad to Historically great, maybe the greatest offensive season in college football history. So Matt Rule, who was the Baylor, also another guy from college football, Baylor head coach, and in a few years took them from scandals and winning one game in his first year to this year playing in the Sugar bowl against Georgia and competing for the Big 12 championship in the Big 12 title game. So they went not only young, but inspiring. They went to college to get their players. So as I was saying, I think Joe Brady would have been the home run higher for the Eagles. Instead, the Panthers got him. I think they got a good head coach. And Rule, but on top of this news and everything going on there, there's still this huge uncertainty surrounding if Cam Newton's going to be back and if he's not, who's going to be their quarterback. And then the bombshell that just got dropped a couple hours before recording this. The Lou Keakley is retiring at the age of 28, borderline hall of Famer, even a short time in the league already he's been a defensive player of the year, an absolute leader for the Panthers. So I'll throw it to you, Keith, with everything going on here with the Panthers with these head coaching hires, the, you know, all the stuff I just said around Cam Newton and Keecley retiring, if you're a Panthers fan, how are you feeling right now?

[C]

Optimistic, I guess would be the word. I mean, definitely sad with Luke Hechley going out because he's obviously the best player on their defense. But I mean, you got a new head coach and a great new offensive coordinator in Joe Brady. And I mean, if, if Cam can be healthy and, and they, they get some, maybe like a receiver for them, I think they can have a pretty decent year. I mean, they, they should have been good last year, but you know, with the injuries and, and they started well, they just. Yeah, they did.

[A]

They just collapsed. Yeah. So Kyle Allen kind of came back to earth.

[C]

I wouldn't count them out. I mean, in the NFC you can tell that anything's possible. So, I mean, you expect the Saints to win that division, but yeah, I would just keep it at optimistic for that team.

[A]

Yeah. So they're at a place well above the Eagles because they still have hope for the future, Right? Yeah, right, right. No, but, but, but I do agree. I think long term, this is a good, the good thing for the Panthers. I know that the linebacker, I mean, Luke's been said their captain for a long time, but if you're looking into the future, he's going to get expensive. He's Going to start being on the downside of his prime now. So I do think it's going to hurt them next year. And they could be bad maybe, you know, for a year or two, depending on how the Cam Newton situation shakes out. But if you look beyond that, they're, they're looking long term. They just kept Ron Rivera for a long time. This isn't, you know, theoretically an ownership group with a new ownership that's going to like a lot of turnover. And so with a huge long contract going to that rule, it's like seven years and tons of money. They're going to want to give him time. Joe Brady just turned 30. I mean, he's a young guy that obviously they're not doing, they're not hiring him, I should say, for a one or two year stint. He's in it for the long run as well. So I think that if I was a Panthers fan, I would feel the same way. Very optimistic for the future. The main thing I think you want out of a coaching staff is good X's and O's in game planning. Yes. But a good overall vision. If you don't believe in the coach's vision and a long term plan, you think they're only doing short term thinking or they're stuck in the past. How can you get excited? That's. We're just talking about Bill o' Brien and some other coach, Jason Garrett, for forever with the Cowboys. Now the Panthers have a vision, they have a future. And if the front office can start filling in players around it to replace Keakley's, I think that they're going to be a threat in the NFC for years to come. Did you like the hires, Mike, or are you a little more, you know, skeptical on them?

[B]

I wouldn't say skeptical, but I would say one. Joe Brady, I'm super excited for him. He's going to do great in the NFL. I think Matt Rule, he did a good job at Baylor. We'll see how he does. I think it's going to come down to a couple of things. One, are they going to stick with Cam Newton? And is Cam Newton going to be, I don't want to say uncoachable, but is he going to have too big of a personality for two young coaches in the NFL to, you know, starting their NFL career coaching wise as a head coach and as an offensive coordinator? I don't know that he'll have. I don't know that it'll be easy. That, that would be my, that would be my concern. And if he doesn't stick. You know, who are they going to find to mold into the quarterback they want for the system they want to run? And I think that's going to be the biggest thing here, is that will the Panthers have immediate success? It's possible if Cam Newton, you know, respects them as coaches and, you know, remains professional and isn't a diva for them to work with or, you know, they could have a rough couple of years until they develop into what their vision is. So we'll see. I would say there's optimism. I'm not down on the hires at all. I think it just comes down to fit for the team.

[A]

Yep, I agree. So, you know, still kind of staying with Joe Brady. And the last thing we want to talk about here, and I know this NFL podcast, we haven't really, you know, talked about college too much, but given that last night was the championship game, we wanted to kind of end on that because I think it was a special circumstance where you had these two teams with the two quarterbacks going against each other. Joe Burrow, who is almost certainly going to be the number one overall pick to the Cincinnati Bengals, he won the Heisman this year. He set multiple NCAA records and just won the national championship. Was on one side, but the other side was Trevor Lawrence, who just lost his first game as a starter last night after being 25. 0. Who is he can't come out this year, but next year is projected to be the number one overall pick. He's been projected that way since high school. Both these guys are very accurate. Burrow more so last night, you know, they could do it from the pocket, but they also have athleticism. So we just want to kind of dive into. Into the game and what we see for the future. So I'll throw it to you, Keith, with this first question, and then you can also just take it in any direction you want. But with the Bengals having the number one overall pick, obviously we know what Joe Burrow just did in college. Do you think that he is going to be the Bengal savior and be one of these guys like a Mahomes or a Watson or a Jackson that is going to lead them to the playoffs in the next few years and be their quarterback for a decade, or do you think he might be a little bit overhyped because of his success this year?

[C]

I think it's always really hard for a number one pick to just turn around a team, especially with how bad the Bengals are. I mean, they're gonna most likely lose AJ Green. I think Burrow is A number one pick, though. I. I do believe in him. I think it's going to take some time, though. I think they're gonna have to take a couple years to build around him. But I, I think that with the. What does the rookie get? Four years.

[A]

Yeah. So they get four years plus a team option for the fifth year. So really you can have five years of team control without even getting into franchise tags.

[C]

I, I definitely think they can have some great success in those five years. Now, depending on, of course, on how successful they are, he might decide to jump ship and move elsewhere. But, I mean, you see how great he's been all year in college. I mean, he's just making plays left and right, doing uncoachable things himself, extending plays. I mean, yesterday he started out pretty slow and still ended up with 463 yards and five touchdowns. I mean, the guys, it's unbelievable and. Yeah, exactly. I mean, arguably one of the best college players to ever play.

[A]

Yeah. He set the NCAA record, 60th touchdown pass. First person to ever do that. He had the second best completion percentage in the history of college football, finishing only behind Colt McCoy from Colt McCoy's junior year. And he finished just behind him. And yeah, you talked about last night. Lsu. It seems like Clemson played really great defense against them. And yet you look up and LSU has 600 something total yards. And Burrow has not only those five passing touchdowns, 400 something yards, he's also running the ball and had another rushing touchdown. From a college perspective, I don't think there's anything more he could have done. He's as accurate, as poised as everything as you could have seen and definitely, I think, you know, was the best season that a quarterback's put together in the last 10 years. It's not even that much of a debate to me. So obviously the Bengals have to take him number one. I think that the thing to keep in mind with keeping him long term is unless they totally screw it up, which they're the Bengals and they can, maybe they won't put any talent around him. You know, he's from Ohio. He was originally at Ohio State. That's where he grew up. He had to transfer to LSU because Urban Meyer didn't see his full talent. Not that there wasn't plenty of talented players in front of him, but he transferred away from there. He wants, I think, to be the Bengal savior. That's like going home to him, saving a franchise that needs it, that's had nothing but being really mediocre or really poor for Almost their entire existence. I do think that we have to keep in mind he's already older than Lamar Jackson, so he's already developed. He might not have as much upside developing the first couple years to some of the really, really young quarterbacks, but he's a finished product that looks this good. It's not like he needs to get that much better in the NFL as far as accuracy goes. His, he's got the brain on his shoulders. I think he's definitely the number one pick. If I was a Bengals fan, I'd be excited. Mike, what do you think?

[B]

So, a couple things on that, on this, on this pick, this likely pick for the Bengals. If I'm a Bengals fan, I'm excited, but also concerned because the Bengals aren't exactly known for building around the talent that they have. It hasn't really been a strong suit the last few years. I mean, they wasted away my boy Andy Dalton, the poor ginger, so.

[A]

Oh, so you just have a soft spot for all gingers?

[B]

I'm just kidding. But. No, but in all seriousness, Annie, Dalton seemed to have some upside when he came into the league, and it felt like it got wasted away with Cincinnati, and I'm afraid that could happen now. Could he be a game changer? Yes, I, I think he could be. I think he has the talent. He almost has this, like, I don't want to say it because then you guys are gonna rag on me for it, but I get this sense of cockiness from him that a lot of people call it swagger. I, I, you know, and there, there's a certain level of swagger that I'm comfortable with, but I'm, I consider myself a little bit more old fashioned, and it comes off to me the wrong way. He sells it on a lot of people. People love it. But that whole cigar smoking in the locker room crap, what, what the hell was that? Like, there was no reason. And no, that was not, I mean, to me, that, that's, that, that came off as cocky to me and I don't like that part, like, of his game.

[A]

Do you tell kids to get off your lawn on a regular basis by chance?

[B]

I do, actually. I sit on my porch with my shotgun.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[C]

He stares at his ring app while he's at work, accesses a microphone, yells, yelling at kids.

[B]

Dude, I do look in my app I' all the time. So it's funny that you say that, but if my doorbell rings, I'm on that camera. Like, who dare? But, you know, I do get this. I don't know it was just the sense of cockiness that I get from him. I'm not completely sold on that aspect. He. It almost comes off.

[A]

Don't you need that if you're the Bengals, though? I mean, don't you almost need someone. I know we can go. There's a degree, right? Like OBJ is someone we've talked about before who we don't appreciate his antics because he doesn't put the team first. And last night he. They're handing out cash after the game to LSU players with no regard for the university or any of the kids.

[B]

And that's one of the fines they'll get for it too.

[A]

Exactly, exactly. Because, you know, that's the guy. It's all about me. Joe Burrow never struck me as someone who wants to make it all about himself. He seems extremely confident and cocky while all also talking the same way about his teammates and putting the teams and, you know, above himself. That's his first and only priority was the team's success. My Heisman came with that. So, yes, he was confident, but I didn't see it as a selfishness. And it's really not the cockiness that ever bothered me personally. It's whenever that cockiness leads to selfishness as well. And I think that the Bengals could use a little bit of swagger. Kind of like what people say Baker Mayfield should be and maybe he actually isn't. But, you know, that's actually seems like

[B]

it's funny that you brought up. It's funny that you brought up Baker Mayfield, because I was. That's who I was going to reference. Like I almost. I'm not saying that he's there, but that's the kind of vibe I almost get from him. Not completely, but that's kind of where I'm teetering. Like, I'm not completely set that he's going to be Baker Mayfield esque, but there are some parts where just kind of looking at him and some of the things he's done and behavior wise, nothing crazy, but it's just whenever I see him, it's kind of like, ah, it's. There's something there that bothers me and I don't know what it is yet. And I feel like it's the cockiness. We'll see. I don't know that he has enough swagger to turn the Bangles around because let's beyond be honest, as the Bengals, AJ Green's probably on his way out from there. I don't know that he's going to sign a big contract to Stay. He's, he's gonna need receivers to help him, so we'll see. And you brought up the Chiefs and it's funny that you brought up Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs because I don't think Patrick Mahomes turned the team around. I think Andy Reid did and because Alex Smith had them rolling into the playoffs before, before Mahomes took over. So I think there's a lot that comes into it. I don't know that the head coaching situation is right for him with the Bengals, and I don't know that the players are right for him. So we'll see. As far as Trevor Lawrence goes though Old Sunshine, that dude, he has, I think the, the cool and collected personality, the. He's very subtle and we'll see how he, his next season, how he plays and how much more he develops. But he definitely has the respect of his teammates, but he doesn't need that swagger type of behavior. And that's kind of the, you know, comparing the two quarterbacks that played each other. He's more of a leave it all in the field kind of guy. And that's all I need to do. Joe Burrow is the front lines kind of guy. He wants to be on the, on the COVID page. He's, he's, he wants to have that, that photo, the, you know, the crazy photo of him where he's on the, on the front page of espn, all that type of stuff. And so it's a difference in character between both of them. We'll see how their careers turn out in the NFL. But I do know that they are both top tier talent and are going to be fun to watch when they do come into the NFL.

[C]

Man, Joe Burrow, he's going to have some pretty good receivers to throw to. I mean, he's got some young talent on the Bengals with John Ross Auden, Tate, Tyler Boyd, even Alex Erickson. I just see that he's going to show up there. And if the Bengals can do a little bit more on their defense, because their defense was just really bad this past year, their office wasn't terrible. So I just, I see him turning it around now that I'm thinking about it pretty quick. I don't know. What do you think, Brock?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I don't think they can make the playoffs next year or anything, but I do think, you know, he's who I would pick. And it's never just up to one player in the NFL. It's not like basketball where you literally, you know, you get LeBron James in the draft or something and nothing else matters. He can't play defense, he can't coach the team with coaching matters so much in the NFL, but he can do as much as anyone. I think he's as good of a quarterback prospect as come out in a long time. So you have to take him. And I, I'd be optimistic if I'm a Bengals fan, I'm as thrilled as I possibly could have been coming into this year. Not that Tua still can't be great because he was maybe going to be the number one pick and he will maybe make the, you know, be a great player for the Dolphins or someone else that's able to pick him. But Joe Burrow sure looks as close to a sure thing to at least be good at the next level as you can get. But before we leave here, just to kind of jump into Lawrence that Mike was just talking about. Where do you fall on Trevor Lawrence, Keith? Because he was this huge recruit, just set the world on fire and then last night, you know, put up the 38qbr and it looked pretty human. Do you think that is he still the surefire number one overall pick to you next year or do you think that maybe, you know, he was a little over hyped when he's young and you need to see more from him.

[C]

Trevor Lawrence. I, I, I believe in Trevor Lawrence. I mean the guy just lost his first college game. I just looked it up. He only lost three high school games and I mean, I don't think he played a bad game yesterday. I think LSU defense is just really good and I mean, I honestly think they got kind of screwed with that pass interference penalty. They should have had a touchdown. Oh yeah, Trevor Lawrence should have, you know, an extra. I don't know what was that? 30 yards and a touchdown. So yeah, just add that to it.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

But I, but I believe in the guy. I mean he's, he's a good runner, he's a big guy and I think he's going to, going to go in the first round. Yeah, I mean he's, he's definitely proven it.

[A]

I, I think he's still gonna be the first overall pick. I mean, I agree with both of you guys. I've seen some takes that maybe he was overrated in the last day, so just thought it was worth asking. But I think those takes are kind of crazy. This is first loss ever in high school. He actually grew up within 20 miles in Georgia. In high school of Justin Fields, they were not only the number one and two quarterback in the country. When they came out, they were the number one and two overall players. They were that good and they grew up that close to each other and playing each other all the time. Justin Fields, of course, is now the quarterback at Ohio State, and they might be the first and second picks in extras NFL draft. And I just think Lawrence, he has more athleticism than I even knew he had. He showed it in the Ohio State game. He showed it again last night, that he's really maturing into that body. He's. He's still got the arm. He sailed a couple balls last night, but I would absolutely be ecstatic to get him at the number one pick the year after. Just before we get out of here, the last question I had was for Mike. So there's a lot of good receivers in this draft. I know you said you still want the Eagles to go receiver with where they're picking in the, you know, very early 20s, I guess. Do you think that Chase, the receiver from lsu, he was an all American this year and put up 220 yards and two touchdowns last night. And you know, they have Jefferson, who's going to be picked in the first couple rounds as well out of lsu, but Chase specifically, is that a guy you think you want the Eagles to. To target? Would you be happy with that pick from what you saw last night and other games this year, or are you still looking at maybe some other receivers in the draft you'd rather have in the first round?

[B]

I'd probably want to go. It depends on who's available, but at this point, I'm pretty much sold on anybody that isn't Alshon Jeffrey or Nelson Hagalore. I mean, looking at some of the routes, some of the, the players run in college now and, and some of the. I mean, the draft is loaded this year with wide receiver talent. Some of the routes these kids run, the. Our receivers can't run those right now. So at this point, I'm sold on anybody. And I do like Chase. Just Jefferson is another one that I'd be totally happy for. Some of the bigger names like Judy Rugs, those are going to go early unless Philly can trade up. I don't, I don't think they're going to fall to them. Those would be some of the bigger. Even CD Lamb, that's another one I'd want them to go after. But if none of those three are available by the time their pick comes, I'd be okay with them going defensive back first round and then second and third round, drafting wide receivers I think the wide receiver talent is so deep this year that this is the only year they could do something like that and still find a legit number one receiver later on in the draft.

[A]

I actually stand corrected. I shouldn't have asked. I'm pretty sure Chase is actually a sophomore the same age as Lawrence, so that's probably why he hasn't been showing up on the boards next to the rugs and stuff. Even though he's of similar talent, I don't think he can come out this year, so.

[B]

Oh, well, there you go. Yeah, I haven't seen his name, but yeah, I was like, what's crazy too,

[C]

is, is Chase had, you know that 221 yards you mentioned last year? He had 220 yards all season.

[A]

Yeah. I mean the offense just back to the Joe Brady. I mean, coming in, it's night and day. They were stuck in the stone ages. It shows how important coaching can be. You mix that with the fact that Burrow had an entire offseason actually practice with them compared to he transferred in the summer and had to play the season last year. And I mean, just what a season from lsu. They, they won a game early in the year in Austin at Texas that. As a, as a Texas fan, I watched very closely where Joe Burrow made throw after throw that game that at that time we didn't know who he was going to be. I was like, oh my gosh, this guy's having the game of his life. All culminating in a third and 17 cover zero blitz by Texas where he within the pocket maneuvered and on the move made a perfect pass that coach O Orgeron from LSU even referenced last night as being the moment he knew they had a special team. Yeah, it's just crazy how that all the receivers and quarterbacks stepped up from. To go from an average offense to probably the best offense that college football has ever seen in the span of one year is pretty amazing. But. But that's all I had on the, on the topic, Mike, do you have anything else or, or Keith, but before you wanted to get us out of here?

[B]

No, I've got nothing. I think we're going to have a lot to talk about in the, in the coming weeks after the super bowl when we get to talk about draft season and what to look for there. But as far as right now, no, I'm just excited to watch the rest of playoffs and see how our picks turn out. Keith, you got anything?

[C]

Yeah, I just want the packers to not even score a single bit. I want Aaron Rodgers to get hurt and retire.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Some. Some bitterness there. Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, that's.

[A]

That's bitterness. I usually only say for the Eagles.

[C]

No, I'm looking out for him. I mean, look at Luke Heakley. He retired so that he'd be healthy. Aaron Rodgers needs to as well.

[A]

That's true. It sounds like you're talking mean, but you're. You're literally telling someone, hey, I hope you can retire in your mid-30s, a multi millionaire and go have some fun with Danica Patrick without having to work. That's not that bad. Wishing some pretty good things on the men now.

[C]

If you heard my voice wrong, it's just because I'm hung up. I'm sick as well.

[B]

Well, we'll leave it on that note. Thanks for listening, everybody. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at House Divided NFL, at Brocco Goat, at Frankletakes and at that Gomez guy. Thanks for listening. Have a great one.