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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
NFC North 2026: Every Team's Ceiling, Floor & Breakout Player (Ep. 2036)
00:52:35
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A
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Guaranteed Human.
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C
Hey guys, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.
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A
I'm Kevin.
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And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called hey Jonas.
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We invented a podcast.
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B
Well, we didn't invent it.
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C
We. We just contributed to the first people to do podcasts.
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A
We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
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B
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but you know, tired and sick.
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C
Tired and sick.
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B
Listen to hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio
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app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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C
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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A
Park it right here, everybody. It's time for the tailgate. It's me, Joey P. Joe P. Zappia. With me, Scott Bogman and Andrew Erickson. And today we're gonna have some fun. We're gonna talk about another division. This time we're gonna move to the nfc. The NFC North. That's right. One of the most, if not the most competitive divisions in football. And if you want to find out a little bit more about Josh Jacobs situation, you should probably go listen to our last show because we had a nice long discussion about that. It's certainly going to impact today's discussion as well for the Packers. We're going to talk about can the Bears win by the skin of their teeth yet again every single game? Can the Detroit Lions benefit from a little bit easier schedule this season and maybe not out coach themselves into oblivion? And of course we're going to talk about the Minnesota Vikings too, and that new quarterback they've got. Things are a little icy in that QB room. I don't know if you boys watch the press conferences, but Bogs are chuckling, so I have to imagine you did. You saw the Kyla Murray. How is it going between you and jj? And he's like, oh, you know, I'm just here to answer any questions he's got, blah, blah, blah. Then they go to J.J. mcCarthy and he's like, yeah, it's like two guys.
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B
I hate him.
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A
Sitting on the opposite ends of the classroom. You know, we're just, we're just there to learn. The coaches, the teacher. Yikes. Bogs, it's icy there.
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B
I love it though. You know, let's, let's get this, let's get a little animosity in this competition. I love it. I'm still a little bit of a believer in J.J. mcCarthy. I think, you know, we didn't get to see a really Good run last year. The offensive line had issues. He was hurt constantly. They kept switching quarterbacks. It was a complete disaster, total meltdown. But I mean, Kyler Murray is going to whoop him in this competition. It's not really even close.
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A
Kind of. Erickson. I mean, when you watch J.J. mcCarthy last year, he kind of gave, I mean, that run of his gave a lot of people the runs. That's how bad it was. It was not great. Do you think this competition is good for both of these guys? Because I get the feeling it might be.
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C
I think it is. Because I think ultimately the Vikings are just going to get, no matter what, better quarterback play than they did last year. Because I think that you're getting a highly motivated version of Kyler Murray because of him being let go by the Arizona Cardinals. They're paying him this deal, but he doesn't have any long term commitment by any NFL team now. And JJ McCarthy obviously wants to play better than he did last year. And although, yes, last year was mostly bad and he did make some really highlight level throws and some big time throws and big time moments, especially in the second half of the season. But obviously the total output from McCarthy was disappointing for what we've seen quarterbacks do in this offense by Kevin o'. Connell. So I think that the Vikings are going to be a much better spot. And as we'll kind of break it down when we talk about them specifically in the NSC North Breakdown.
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A
Yes.
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B
Tyler keep getting shorter, by the way.
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A
It does feel. No, his hat's getting larger. The hat he's wearing today, you do shrink way up here.
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C
So.
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A
Yeah, tell me about it. But no, but I don't know if you've seen the hat he's wearing one of like the winter hats. Even though it's, it's freaking. I mean, look, I know it's Minnesota, but it's.
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C
Oh, remember last year when they asked him about playing in the cold and he's like. Or maybe it's two years ago and they said like, he's like, wait, how cold is it going to be? He's like, oh, that does sound cold. But they play the Golem, so we should be okay.
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B
That's what I would say.
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A
Yeah, I don't blame him. All right, we're going to talk about the Vikings and all other stuff. But first on the show today, the headline I want to talk about is the 18 game NFL schedule because they're saying right now in 2027, it's highly unlikely. Now that was from Pro Football Talks. Mike Florio league officials are still, quote, holding out hope that they can somehow get on track to have this 18 game schedule. And I think the NFL eventually wants to move itself into a point where they're getting into that President's Weekend for the super bowl because you have that built in off day on the Monday. It'll be a very fun super bowl weekend. People can really enjoy the super bowl, not have to worry about getting, getting up on Monday to, to go to work. And they can really enjoy all their parties and festivities and, you know, really kind of move it out. Plus, it's a whole other week for NFL football, which means a whole other stream of revenue. Yes.
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B
Joe, are you acting like they want to do this to make it easier for people to watch the Super Bowl?
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A
Oh, no, no. And not money. No.
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B
They want to add an international game to every team schedule, Joe.
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A
Which, which will happen. We will have an international game every single week in the NFL probably by 2030. That, that's my guess. It could even be sooner. We'll see how that goes. But here's Goodell's comments. I want to get your take on this. So Goodell says about the potential for an 18 game season. I'm going to quote him here. I don't want to misquote the Commish One. Safety has to be the primary concern, right?
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B
Yeah.
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A
If you can't do it safely for our players, we're not going to do it. And that's why I would say it's not inevitable. So, Andrew Erickson, I'm going to call shenanigans on this and say it's absolutely inevitable. We're of course going to have an 18 game season because of all the reasons Bachman's saying it's just a matter of how soon are we going to see it. So you want to take the over under on 2028.
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C
2028, I think 2028. So for that season there'll be 18 games.
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A
That's, that's what I'm saying.
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C
Yeah, I think there'll be 18 games because look, he said it's the primary concern. He didn't say that safety is the priority. Like he said, it's the thing that we gotta get. We gotta, we gotta cast this aside so we can make more money. Like that's what we gotta figure out here. So it's not my fault the players are all getting hurt. No, no, we, we all know that. Just the way they loaded up all these holiday games, he broke it down on the schedule. Conversation between Joe and Debro they care about the money. Like that's what they want to do. And they have to save face by talking about these particular things about mobile safety. We gotta make sure the players are safe. Then we're sending guys to Australia. Like it's like, come on. So I think that yeah, by 2028. Yeah, I think we'll have eight and 18 game season and hopefully two bye weeks for every team.
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A
That's the big one too. The two by weeks. I feel like I got it now. They got to make games. I mean you've been like the big two week by guy since, I mean forever.
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B
It seems like a war of attrition at this point in the NFL does where it's just what team can make it to the end healthiest. Yeah, that is the team that's going to win.
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A
I mean those are.
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C
The Seahawks and Patriots were the two healthiest teams last year and they were the Super Bowl.
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B
They didn't have their quarterback break their ankle the week before the AFC title game. So yeah, man, I think if you do this, you absolutely have to add an extra by week. So we'll see what happens. But I'm sure the NFL is really concerned with player safety historically known to be player safety first.
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C
The.
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B
The NFL. Right. So I don't know, it's just eye rolling. It's all money grab and I hate it. I just want, I just want these guys. I want the best players to play. That's why I don't want extra games. I want the best players to keep playing every single week so I can watch the best players play. Otherwise, you know, what do we.
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C
Would you.
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A
Would you be a proponent then of an extra round of playoffs again like expanding playoffs then instead of necessarily going to the. No, that's. That's the way to get another week of revenue without as much attrition on the players is to add one more week of.
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B
I mean, I think if you just add an extra bye week, you get an extra week. You know, add an extra bye week for every team doesn't mean you have to skip a whole week for Every.
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A
So keep 17 games but just have the extra body.
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C
Yeah, okay.
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A
I'm good with that too.
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B
Yeah, you eat a whole extra weekend. I mean, they're already, you know, taking over the Christmas day game, which is just I hate for the. And the NBA should respond, but by not even starting their season until Christmas day. It's the only way you can get your whole fan base excited.
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A
Yeah, you can't do that. I mean, you can't do that. That. That's going to put them in a terrible situation by the summertime. Like, then you're going to be playing NBA games into July if you don't, you know, so what?
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B
The NBA is all indoors cares when you play it. Who. Who care? Just don't compete against the NFL in the beginning of it.
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And it is kind of crappy that they, they've. I mean, if you love the NBA tradition of the Christmas Day games. And as a kid, I used to find it interesting, but I was very much in the NBA when I was younger. Now it does feel very much like the NFL has just taken over. I mean, the Arbor Day game, Flag Day, I mean, Boxing Day, like, it's just. I mean, I mean, there's an NFL game on Mother's Day brought to you
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C
by the NFL suggesting that the NFL is the Grinch and they stole Christmas from the NBA.
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I think Roger Goodell might be. I can tell you that much.
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B
That's outstanding work, Erickson.
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Yeah, that's. That's two days in a row for you, Erickson. It. It's clear that you've been spending way too much time with a cynical Joe Pizza Pia. I can tell you that much. Just way too much time. All right, let's get after it, boys. Let's talk about the Bears before we get to it. Remember, this is tailgate. This is not fancy pros, it's not betting pros. This is tailgate. NFL. It's friends, it's football, and it's no filters. That's what we do here. So if you like this and you like this kind of discussion about the NFL, make sure you subscribe to the channel. Make sure you drop your comments below because you could win our giveaway this month, which is the Jamar Chase jersey, we're giving it away to some lucky yahoo out there who wants to hang out and just talk football with us. Can't wait. No, it's not you, Andrew. You can't win it, Bogman. You can't win it. I can't win it either. It sucks. But you can win it by subscribing to the channel, dropping your comments below. And remember, this is from pristineauction.com the best place this Father's Day upcoming to get all of your stuff from autographed jerseys, autographed helmets. They've got the coolest memorabilia. The. They've got stuff for every sport there. So again, great place to do your Father's Day shopping. Go check it out today, pristineauction.com and go win that Jamar Chase jersey. I like all the comments I'm seeing. I know a lot of people are enjoying this new channel here where we just kind of have big meta discussions about football stuff. So it's a great way, if you just love football and you can't get enough of it, to just extend the knowledge and extend the conversation. And I want to extend that to the Bears, who won every single close game and every single big moment you could possibly imagine. I mean, it was the Cardiac kids or maybe the Cubs. Would that be better because they're Bears? I don't know. I'll have to work on that metaphor. But I do know this. The Bears were entertaining last year, which is something you can't say about the Bears. Now. They still don't have a quarterback ever to throw for 4,000 yards. Caleb Williams fell just shy. Erickson, I know in our last show that we did together, you really bumped up Caleb Williams quite a bit. You're really talking about big time about Caleb taking a whole other step, maybe even challenging for the number one spot overall. On our Fantasy Pros podcast, we talked about that. So let's talk about how that could carry over here to another good year for the Chicago Bears possibly winning this division.
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C
Well, Kel Williams was one of the few players I pinpointed as my short list of MVP candidates for 2026. However, what has me kind of pouring a little bit cold water on that, it's not that he can't do it statistically because I think that he's going to throw up 4,000 yards this year. I think this is the first year that happens. I mean, Joe, he came as close as he could possibly come. Weighed 3,900 passing yards last year, not 4,000. Okay, yeah, not 4,000. But I mean, it's an extra game too.
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A
Let's, let's all remember it used to be a 16 games, you know, now it's 17 games. So just, well, it even count if
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B
we had an extra game.
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A
Well, he also, I don't know at this point. What does that matter?
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C
Fell just short of it despite having the worst completion rate over expectation. So if that improves in any way, shape or form, he's Gonna clearly surpass 4,000 passing yards. However, the Bears as a whole, I don't think they're going to win the division again. I don't think they're going to win as many games they did last year. So I think that kind of hurts Caleb Williams in terms of his MVP candidacy. Because what usually goes to the MVP or who usually wins it. It's the quarterback on the team that has the most wins as the number one seed. That's usually the case of who wins that. And I don't think Caleb is specifically with the Bears because of things you pointed out. They had 11 second half comebacks last year and they were one of the best teams in terms of defensive turnovers like 29th yards allowed, 31st and pass rush win rate. They still have major question marks when it comes to rushing the passer with their edge rusher. They didn't draft anybody to really make a big impact there. They're really relying on guys coming back from injuries that got hurt last year. De Jingbo, Shamir, Turner, two guys that they're hoping were going to have bigger impacts in 2026 than last season. So I think the defense still has some question marks. The secondary is pretty good and they lost Bayard too.
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A
Bayard in that secondary would lead the league in interceptions like that. That's not an easy. It's not an easy thing to repeat. It's also not easy to replace, you know, those kind of ball hawk kind of guys that are out there. BOX I want to get your take on Caleb Williams too, because he'd like to see the completion percentage go up a little bit more. He's also got a different group here. You know, without DJ Moore now it's going to be Roman Dunes. A DJ Moore is gone. Luther Burden is still there and of course Colson Loveland who came on like gangbuster. He's. He's the breakout guy for me. Ben Johnson said today though, I caught this quote. He, he's quote buying Luther Burdenstock right now. So that's good because he's coaching him. So hopefully. Is that insider trading?
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C
That's what I was going to ask. Insider trading. It's a weird.
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A
Ben Johnson is kind of a weirdo. I guess I'm going to put that out there. Like he's a great football mind, but he's kind of a weirdo.
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C
Which I guess there's a username on the prediction markets. B. Johnson that's buying all the Luther Burden like breakout.
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He's out there.
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C
Props.
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A
Everything on B. Johnson, oc who could that possibly be? I don't know who that is.
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B
Dude, I love Caleb Williams.
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C
Yeah, let's go.
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B
He came back and whooped Texas in that game at Oklahoma, right? And then he went to usc. How many times has he had the same OC Two years in a row. It cannot be very often throughout his football life right now. So just having Ben Johnson for another year. Another year. Like, the deeper he gets entrenched here, I think the better he's going to be. So offensively, I really like this team. And they made some offensive line maneuvers as well. I will say this for the Bears, though. Worst strength of schedule in 2026, hardest.550 win percentage against. And everyone in this division is pretty bad except the Lions. The lions have the 27th easiest or the, you know, whatever. 27th hardest strength to schedule this year. So if we're splitting hairs on this division a lot, it's going to go to the schedule, I think. And I'm probably going to like the Lions, the Bears, as far as the defensive stuff that we mentioned here. I think replacing the safeties that they lost, Brisker and Byard, with Bryant, who was part of the, you know, Seahawks super bowl winning team, and Dylan Thienaman, I think is going to be great. What they didn't do is go out and get that extra impact edge, which they still can do. If they want to get Josh Sweat somehow, I think they would have to really manipulate his contract to fit him under the gap because he's making $31 million this year. If they go out and do that, I would. I think they might put themselves over. But if the packers get Josh Sweat, the Packers might put themselves over. Same thing with the Lions. I think all three of these teams are in competition for Josh Sweat right now because they need that extra pass rusher. But the Bears were expected to do it in the draft and they went with Thienaman. I think it was a great pick, but you need another edge rusher. I don't think Austin Booker is going to turn into Miles Garrett.
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A
All right, that's. That's fair. What are you. What offensive piece are you most excited about? Box. I'm just curious for you, like, I'm a Loveland guy, you know, as opposed to the Luther Burton stock that I'm supposed to be buying. I feel like Loveland is actually the answer to the question of, like, it's Caleb for me.
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B
I mean, you know, just all these. All these weapons for him. I'm really excited to see what Caleb does.
- [15:46]
A
How about year two? Like, sophomore slumps you see sometimes, too, with a coach or like a, you know, it's one of the things like, that also worries him about Jacksonville. Like last year, you get that new coach, everything's new, everything's great. There's no expectations. And now, you know, now you have to play with expectations. How much do you think that enters into it? Erickson. When you look at the Bears too, because this is a team that made to the playoffs, had that dramatic, you know, comeback win, like all these things that they've done here, the Caleb Williams moments, like time and time again in these like injuries, impossible situations where they've somehow come out on top. You're kind of alluding to the luck running out for them a little bit this year. Do you think it runs out to a point where they don't even finish second in this division?
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C
I think it's possible. I think you look at all these teams between the Vikings, the Bears, the Lions, who's the Packer, like they're all going to be kind of in the mix, I think. And it depends on, you know, we've health with some of these question marks of some of these teams. But the Bears to me are one of these. We always looking at trends teams from year to year. I like the worst of first. Then I also look at going from being on the hunt to being hunted. The Bears won the division last year and it wasn't by much. You don't think the Lions and Vikings and packers all know that the Bears won the division last year? They do. So given the fact that I still have major question marks about their defense, like we kind of alluded to, I think the offense is going to cook and I think the defense being bad is just going to make the offense have to score more points. So I think for fantasy, that's why we like so many pieces of this Bears offense, specifically with Caleb Williams being the syrup that you pour on the pancakes, which are the pass catchers for the Chicago Bears. I think Loveland. I agree with you, Joe. I think that guy is going to be a freaking stud. Like he was a stud coming out of Michigan and it just took him a couple of weeks to get going. They decided to finally put him out there and then Caleb Williams was better in the second half when it wasn't only me. Zacchaeus out there running all the routes and Cole Comet running all the routes. Go figure. He's better when leveling is out there as the number one receiver on the team command.
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A
You knew it was going to happen eventually because of the draft capital they used to get. Loveland like that was kind of eye opening for every. I think everybody stepped back and went really like that's. That's how they're using the draft capital. And then as soon as you saw that, you had to know that by mid season, not Fitz.
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B
Fitz won a bunch of money.
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A
Yeah.
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C
Yeah. All right.
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A
What do you make of the schedule here for them too? You already mentioned that it's going to be more difficult. They also play on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both of those games are in division by the way to Detroit and Green Bay. So that. That's kind of a tricky gauntlet to run towards the end. So if you do have some injuries, you have two very important games. Guys at the end of the year on holidays and short rest. That's a lot I think to take in.
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B
Schedule's bad for everybody except Detroit. So I mean the division probably. Honestly, it might be the thing that makes a difference.
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A
Let's talk about it. So to win the super bowl for the Bears plus 2500. I don't think anybody really interested. You interested? No. Yes. No. Okay. Can I offer you in a conference winner, plus 1300. NFC bears going to Super Bowl. Anyone?
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B
Anyway, not bad.
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A
No. No. Real takers. Division winner. Plus 325. Eh. Huh. Nobody?
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B
No.
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A
Crickets.
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B
I don't like that. I don't hate that number.
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C
Miss the playoffs. That's the one I want to hear.
- [18:48]
A
Well, here we go. To make the playoffs. Yes. Plus 105 to miss it. No. 115. Minus 115 there.
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B
It's not enough.
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A
I don't think it's enough either.
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C
I think it's right though.
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B
I think it's right too, but that doesn't mean it's enough to bet on.
- [19:00]
A
So what do you want to invest
- [19:01]
B
your money the whole year to get a minus 115 payout? I don't.
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A
What would you set the win total for the bears at?
- [19:09]
C
9.8-½.
- [19:09]
A
9 and a half is the number. Plus 115 for the over, minus 120 for the under. Which means that no minus 115 is better than taking the under. You give yourself more outs there by to miss the playoffs than you do for the win total. A little bit better, Juice. Not a lot better. Look, if you think everybody here is wrong, then to win the division plus Tornado 325 is the best bet you could possibly make on the Bears this year.
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C
I mean I assume. I assume when we go into some of the other divisions that like, I don't know what the lines are, but I have one before we. Before we get off the Bears.
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A
I don't want to get off the Bears either because I got one more thought on them too. Go ahead.
- [19:43]
C
Potential trade. I'm mentioning Josh Sweat. And then if we get Josh Sweat to the Bears, you got Montez Sweat and Josh Sweat, which is kind of Cool. Like you got like that sweat combo off the edge. So I like that.
- [19:53]
B
Make him sweat.
- [19:54]
C
The Cardinals and the Bears. Tyson Badgeant for Josh sweat Cardinals get quarterback.
- [20:01]
B
That, that should have been done during the draft if they were going to do it.
- [20:05]
C
I mean, I mean, the Cardinals don't do anything smart.
- [20:07]
B
I'm just saying I want Beijing. That's true.
- [20:09]
A
It's not like the Cardinals have a plan. It's not like they want, you know, we're going to do this.
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B
By the way, I, I wanted that the whole off season didn't happen. Obviously held out for stupid Aaron Rodgers for another year, so. But yeah, I. Beijing is one of the best backups in the NFL and I would be. I would be excited to see him get an opportunity. Like, I'm excited about Malik.
- [20:32]
A
I was hedging on him last year because I was still 50. 50 on Caleb Williams working out. There was a lot of things his rookie year that I did not like, a lot of things on his college.
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B
And you were right. Joey didn't throw for 4,000 yards. What a loser.
- [20:43]
A
No, not that. No. He was great last year, But I
- [20:47]
C
was six downs and seven picks.
- [20:49]
A
Caleb Williams, 4,000 yards. Caleb Williams. Let's not pretend like the bad Caleb Williams early on was him trying every single time to run around the pocket 10 yards deep, 15 yards deep, trying to find somebody, eventually throwing the ball out of bounds on the bench. But that kind of stuff sometimes is hard to coach out of a guy. And it's one of the things that still always worries me about Caleb Williams is like, okay, is that Ver. It's Josh Allen.
- [21:13]
B
He'll always have a little bit of gun gunslinger in him.
- [21:16]
A
Look, Josh Allen has a little bit of that his game too, where he tries to do too much, tries to make a play out of every single play and ends up hurting himself. And that's something that, you know, you've seen a lot less.
- [21:24]
B
You don't stifle that. You don't. Because that's what makes you want to
- [21:28]
A
control it, though, especially when you would like to.
- [21:30]
B
And that's, that's.
- [21:31]
A
And I will say this about the Bears, too. There's a lot of negativity I have about these other teams that the Bears could also default end up winning this division again, too. I don't think that +325 is off the table. I don't. All right, you know what?
- [21:44]
B
Out of all the bets for the. The Bears, that's the one I would take because it pays the best.
- [21:48]
A
It more than Three to one. I like it. Yeah. All right, we're gonna get to the next team here. Let's talk about the Lions here. So Dan Campbell, big advantage. They have the sixth easiest schedule here. As you guys pointed out, the opponent Winning percentage is.467. Now, like, you know, obviously injuries make a big deal here in a lot of these scenarios. And what looks good on paper doesn't always translate as well. This is the easiest schedule. This is the hardest schedule. We see it every single year. But certainly on paper, Erickson, it does look like the Lions have an easier path than they've had in a while. They. They've also had horrible luck with injuries the last couple years. Maybe that's just the players they have on their roster, too. Like, maybe it is something that they can't ever escape, or maybe that injury regression comes back around. What are your thoughts on the schedule here for the Lions and if they stay healthy, what that could look like?
- [22:32]
C
I think they're going to win the division. And I think that when you're looking at who's the number one most likely team to go from worst to first in the division? The Detroit Lions. And it feels kind of like a cop out that the Detroit Lions kind of qualify for this because they're a team that under Dan Campbell has usually won this division and been at the top and been in the playoffs and locked up a home field advantage or a lot of those things. A lot of accomplishments by Dan Campbell. Last year, the offense, we kind of feel they took a step back. They had Ben Johnson, so they went from the first scoring offense to the fourth scoring offense in the NFL. Losers again. Losers. Just like Caleb Williams, the Lions offense sitting right next to him. So I think that all of those things you pointed out are just going to aggress positively because I don't think that it's going to be three years in a row where the Lions defense is just gutted by injuries. Eventually they're just going to get lucky and have better opportunities with the defensive players staying healthy and on the field. And I think that coming in last place last year, it's. It's great for them because now they get to face such an easy schedule. I love the Lions. I'm buying them back here. And I think that Boggs laid out a good point that if when push comes to shove, if it's really close between these three or four teams, well, who has the easiest path? And it's so clear. The Detroit lines. From weeks five through 16, they play two outdoor games. One of them is in Miami in week nine.
- [23:52]
A
Jared Goff.
- [23:53]
C
The other is a neutral game in Germany in week 10. Shout out to Amman Ross St. Brown Homecoming. He's going to kill. It's going to get the Patriots. I don't love.
- [24:00]
A
There you go.
- [24:00]
C
Don't love that. But no, I think the Lions are. They smell blood. I think they're going to win a lot of games this year.
- [24:06]
A
Replacing Ben Johnson was tough last year for the Lions, so that did not work out and Dan Campbell had to take over the play calling again and then now Drew Petzig takes over. So Boggs, do you have any idea what this Petsig version of the offense with these weapons that they have? Look, it's a great group of weapons. You have Jameer Gibbs kind of flying solo now in this backfield. I don't want to hear anybody talk to me about Isaiah Pacheco. No, thank you, Tesla. I'm really excited about maybe him growing a little bit here in year two. So what do you think about the Petsig offense, what that might look like and how it could be different?
- [24:32]
B
Well, I mean, I don't know how different it can be. Right. And I think Petsing is going to come in here and talk to Jared Goff. Jared Goff is a veteran and say, all right, I want to build the offense around the best players in this offense. We're building it around Gibbs, we're building around a modern St. Brown. What is Jared Goff comfortable with? I think you build this offense out from your best players and I think Betsing is smart enough to do that. So my concern with this team is on the defensive side. Right. Like we've tried over and over to get an edge rusher next to Aiden Hutchinson and if he gets hurt, we really have nothing. That is. That's an issue. Right. We're weaker at linebacker because Alex Anselone is gone. It's Derek Barnes, it's Malcolm Rodriguez, Rolder who they drafted and then the secondary. Right. When is Brian Branch coming back? He tore his Achilles late. Kirby Joseph towards ACL late. When are these guys coming back? They got some good veterans to replace them in Chuck Clark and Izzian, so they did their due diligence to make this secondary a little bit better. My concerns about the Lions are on the defensive side, not the offensive side.
- [25:42]
A
Even with where's their biggest weakness on the defensive side?
- [25:45]
B
I think right now it's still the secondary and. But would you sign them off?
- [25:49]
A
Lattimore or somebody else who's still out there like some of these Guys are still floating out there.
- [25:53]
B
I mean, I.
- [25:54]
A
Can you get six weeks out of him before you get other guys healthy?
- [25:57]
B
I think you just need to put more pressure on the quarterback. So I think really, you know, and they went out and they got Wantham, they drafted Derek Moore, they signed Peyton Turner. Right. So they're taking steps to put more pressure on the quarterback because that's what you do. You have to do when you have Aiden Hutchinson. You have to play from your strength. And I think they didn't do a lot of that last year and I think they need to go back to that. So that's why we can let. We can trade Montgomery and let Gibbs take over. This offense needs to run through him. Needs to run through a Monroe St. Brown and use everything else secondarily and put pressure on the quarterback to make that secondary better. And I think these are the steps that they've taken and they have the easiest schedule. So I'm going to be in on the Lions as well. That's why I wore my blue today for the Lions. Here. Shout out to my old roommate, Brandon Couch. Huge Lions fan, lived with him during the 0 and 16 season. So we need. We need to get him some light at the end of the tunnel.
- [26:54]
C
Man.
- [26:55]
A
Number one hits, millions of records sold, awards, sold out tours. You think the Jonas Brothers are satisfied? Nope. It's podcast time. We get to ask other people questions
- [27:04]
C
because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
- [27:06]
A
A Jonas is available now and their first guest is a big one, Paul Rudd. You know, Steve Carell is a great, great singer. Me tell you not to audition at
- [27:13]
C
the office or something.
- [27:14]
A
I told him, whoa, we were filming Anchorman. Clearly I was the idiot. Thank God he. He didn't listen to me right. Listen to hey, Jonas on the iHeartRadio
- [27:22]
C
app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts on.
- [27:26]
A
Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends.
- [27:28]
B
We help make you funnier. On this episode.
- [27:30]
A
My guests Bob Odenkirk and kids in the halls. Bruce McCullough try and help the kazoo kid and Tay's on day be famous.
- [27:37]
C
Begin.
- [27:38]
A
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
- [27:43]
C
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
- [27:47]
A
They're constantly needed at malls. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. There you go. There you go. A little light at the end of the tunnel there. All right, let's talk about the Lions and what some of the numbers say about them, what Vegas thinks about them. Best odds to win the super bowl you get plus 1800. How big of a run you think they can make here in the nfc? Anybody? Anybody? No? All right, let's go to conference winner plus 900 to represent the NFC.
- [28:17]
B
Nine to one's not bad.
- [28:19]
A
Not terrible. Terrible. Let's go to the next one here. Division winner, plus 180. So obviously Vegas only 180.
- [28:27]
C
Yeah. Because they know. They know they're gonna win. Yeah.
- [28:31]
A
That sucks.
- [28:36]
B
I thought we were gonna at least double up, man.
- [28:39]
A
The Bears are plus 350. Playoffs. The Juice for them to make the playoffs is minus 186.
- [28:45]
C
Yeah, just give me the.
- [28:47]
A
They think the Lions are in here. Which again, if they think they're going to make the playoffs and it's that heavy of a minus, I think there's a strong consideration for that conference winner plus 900 being the best bet you can make on them. Do you want to talk about win total for them?
- [28:59]
B
Yeah.
- [29:00]
A
What do you think the number is?
- [29:01]
B
Nine and a half.
- [29:02]
C
They're all nine and a half.
- [29:03]
A
It feels ten and a half. You're on. So the Vegas is very bullish. I believe the numbers work out quite a bit on paper for the lines about the schedule. So to not make the playoffs is plus 170 on the no side for the 10 and a half. The over is minus 110. For the under, plus 110. And again, I think the Josh Jacobs news has had a lot of impact on this, too. Yeah, they're taking out a big player potentially from that Packer team, which we're going to talk about next. And I don't know where that. None of us know where that's going, but it's going to have a big impact because I have to imagine he misses at least a part of the season because of this. Even if everything is fine, like if it turns out it's all. It's all nonsense and it didn't happen.
- [29:43]
B
Exempt list is what you're saying.
- [29:44]
A
Well, they'll still be a time where they have to put them on an exempt list before we know that. And I can't imagine that knowledge all coming out in a short period of time. It never does. Yeah.
- [29:54]
C
Before we move off the lines, I just want to give a shout to a player that I think is being really slept on.
- [30:00]
A
You didn't even give me an over and under yet.
- [30:02]
C
I like the division. That's what I want. I want the division for the Lions.
- [30:07]
A
Okay.
- [30:08]
C
Drew Petzing, who was pretty good in his offense last year. Trey McBride, Samuel Porter, pretty good. I think that if he's out, he's kind of like a forgotten piece of this offense where he's not forgotten.
- [30:19]
A
He's just oft injured.
- [30:20]
C
He got hurt last year and then he was fine the first two years of his career. He got hurt one time and now he's with his injury problem. Yeah, last year was a, a season that was lost for Sam and Porta, but the first two years he was tight end. One fantasy has a rookie like. And now you look at where he goes in fantasy drafts, he's like tight end 8. And again, I think he's got some,
- [30:42]
A
I think he's got some upside there.
- [30:43]
C
What if Drew Petzing looks at him as okay, well this guy's going to be a big part of our offense, especially in the red zone like I did with Trey McBride.
- [30:51]
B
I think, I think, you know a Monroe scores a lot of touchdowns. Yes, I think Pacheco can score touchdowns. And Tesla, we talked about Checo. I mean but if the one thing
- [31:03]
A
he can do is.
- [31:04]
B
But if there's one thing Pacheco can do is run angry into the end zone, you know, So I just think,
- [31:09]
C
I think you guys should sleep on Santa Porta. That's what I'm saying.
- [31:11]
B
Okay.
- [31:12]
A
I don't think I'm sleeping on him. I just want him to be healthy going into the season because there's some questions about how healthy he's going to be.
- [31:17]
C
They expect him to be full healthy. That's the way I've read on.
- [31:20]
A
I expect a lot of things. Rarely ever delivered on the expectations of things. All right, before we get to the Green Bay packers and all their craziness here, you might want to take an advantage of our sponsor and that's Hard Rock Bet Florida Sportsbook. And the NBA action is heating up there. Western Conference finals still going on. Who will play the Knicks, we don't know. But right now is a great chance to go ahead and get in on the hardwood action. Bet all that stuff over at Hard Rock Bet. Same game parlays in game betting. They got it all. Profit boosts the all happening Hard Rock Bet. And of course if you bet 5 bucks you get 150 in bonus bets plus your winnings on your first bet at Hard Rock Bet. So download the app today, have some fun over at Hard Rock Bet and bet some of these NFL futures. See while you're at it, payable and bonus bets, not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Florida offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC and other states must be 21 in physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. Play terms of conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1809 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800- GAMBLER in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. All right, let's talk about the packers because I think this show a couple days ago would have had a different tenor maybe about the Packers. I'd still be concerned about them not having Micah Parsons for a good stretch of 2026 I think is impactful considering they won several games without him last year. Not. Not too good of a record. I'm gonna start with several. None. None. So let's talk about the packers because it's. It also is problematic because when you deal so much for one player, then that player gets hurt all of a sudden. Now your depth is really crushed because you have less draft picks in the draft. Right. And it becomes this vicious cycle. I eat because I'm unhappy and I'm unhappy because I eat. The backers right now are eating live a little bit off as Micah Parsons trade. So let's talk about.
- [33:20]
B
Oh, they're going to be fine. They traded Rashawn Gary.
- [33:24]
A
So that's. That's okay. Everything's fine.
- [33:29]
B
Look, they're thin. That's my. That's my issue with Green Bay is they are very thin at most spots. Right. Who's your thinner than quarterback?
- [33:41]
A
Who's fast? That's how thin they are right now.
- [33:43]
B
I mean this Lucas Van Ness and Micah Parsons and then Baron Sorello. I love Baron. You hook him. That's my guy. Not a lot of NFL experience. Right. Who's on the other side? Brent Cox denied. Dennis Sutton, who's doing the Ted Lasso, getting every reporter's name. I like that. Right.
- [34:01]
A
So.
- [34:02]
B
But they're thin man. And the secondary was a big issue last year. Now they have fixed that a little bit. They went out and got c. Say I like him. But Zaire Franklin replacing Quay Walker. Quay Walker was a complete headache and a problem on the field. I understand that. But he's a much better player than Zaire Franklin was the last two seasons. He's graded terribly. He's missed a lot of tackles. Zaire Franklin hits hard, but he misses a lot of tackles as well. I think the biggest issue with this team is the Thinness on the roster, including the O line and including the.
- [34:37]
C
The.
- [34:37]
B
Really, it's both lines. So when you get Micah Parsons back. I think Micah Parsons is the key to this thing. Right. Is really putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. It's going to improve every aspect of this defense when Parsons comes back. But how long is he missing? Is he on the pup? Is he the first two weeks?
- [34:58]
A
Oh, he's on the pup.
- [34:59]
B
Eight weeks. Right. Like how long?
- [35:03]
A
That's. That's. You know, I want to pull the veil back here a little bit on the show because I know Boggs was a little self conscious going into the show today because he's been sick for a few days. And his voice, he's feeling better, but his voice is a little bit. Still shaky, but it's kind of husky. It's kind of. So when you say, like, he hits hard, it sounds like it's hard. It sounds like a great, like old 1980s defensive coordinator that's kind of working for me right now in the show.
- [35:27]
B
Sound like a smoker.
- [35:28]
A
Yeah, you're just like, this is. You're a guy that sets a bounty on the quarterback in 1985, you know, smoking cigarettes.
- [35:35]
B
2005. Is my name Greg Williams?
- [35:37]
A
It could be Greg Williams. It very well might be. It's not just thin on the defensive side, though. It's still on the offensive side, too. I mean, Christian Watson, God love him, never plays. I love Tucker Craft and Erickson. You were the Tucker Craft, truth or last year, and you were 100% right about him. Unfortunately, the injury happened, but, you know, you were so right about how good he would be in that breakout season and he was so credit to you there. But the running back room is thin, too. Chris Brooks, Marshawn Lloyd, Pierre, strong. I mean that. I mean, Josh Jacobs doesn't play in 2026 here. You've really got to like go out there and get maybe not one, but two guys potentially here because this is a.
- [36:12]
B
It's problematic how things yesterday.
- [36:17]
C
I mean, if they went out and traded for James Conner, how much different would you really feel about their run game? Because when you look at Josh Jacobs,
- [36:25]
A
I still don't feel good about it. I'll be honest. I don't think James Connor can do what Josh Jacobs did last year.
- [36:29]
C
Last year, Josh Jacobs had 250 carries and didn't hit a thousand yards.
- [36:34]
B
Like, he played gimpy most of the
- [36:35]
C
year too, but that's. But he's getting older. Like, Like, I remember reading reports this off season that looked at Josh Jacobs, before any of this stuff happened, like, this was months ago that he was viewed as a potential cup cut candidate based on his contract, but based on the roster, it was like, now they got to keep him around. He did enough last year, but weeks one through 10, he was fantasy RB, 5 points per game, 11 rushing touchdowns, hurt his knee, returned to week 13, RB, 23 points per game, 12 points per game from week seven onward after hurting his calf. So he had multiple injuries last year, calf injury and a knee injury, a lot of touchdown production. And were we expecting him to be, like, Even better in 2025 or 2026? With offensive line, you have Jordan Morgan coming over. He's going to be the starting tackle after paying guard to start his NFL career. Like, that is a massive projection. We're like, hoping with players like Will Campbell, oh, we'll kick him inside, he'll be much better at guard. We're not moving a guard outside to tackle. It's like, right, well, this is, this is your new starting spot. Like, now it's going to be like, level up, baby. You got to be ready to rock and roll. So I, I, I mean, I don't know how much Jacobs really was actually going to impact how many games this team is going to win. I think, if anything, it's the philosophy. I disagree a little bit with you, Joe. Where you think that Jordan Love, like, needs the run game? Yes, I think that every quarter I, I think that they should let him cook. Like, why can't we see what this guy looks like when we drop back 35, 40 times a game? Like, why not just give him a chance? Last year he was second EPA per drop back, and that was with a pretty, like, okay run game with Josh Jacobs leading the way. So you get James Connor in there, can he do 80% of what Jacobs did last year? You guys think that's possible? Maybe you lean a little bit more on Jordan Love? I think the offense, they need to
- [38:20]
B
solve the running back issue. And it's not just about this suspension. Because even if Josh Jacobs gets no suspension, we find out this is all made up and gets tossed out and everything, they need to have a backup. Marshawn Lloyd ain't going to cut it. Chris Brooks ain't going to cut it. I like Damian Martinez, who's on the roster right now.
- [38:41]
A
Menthol Lights, too. Listen, do they trade back for Emmanuel Wilson?
- [38:44]
C
Can they get, can they get Emmanuel?
- [38:47]
A
That was the first thing that popped in my head is like, man, I bet they wish they still had a manual.
- [38:51]
C
I Mean, he, like. I mean, he signed for the Seattle for basically nothing.
- [38:55]
A
I know. It was so weird. I thought that was so odd. Which clearly tells you they didn't see this Josh Jacobson coming at all. And which also leads me to.
- [39:03]
B
Well, they also don't like Emmanuel Wilson, clearly.
- [39:06]
A
Well, I mean, he was good last year. Erickson's point, you know, like, they just don't have. They. You know, they've got to shuffle things around cleverly here to fill, you know, robbing Peter to pay Paul to cover
- [39:15]
B
up all the other problems, man, he's like, yeah, I know he's coming off a big injury, but he's better than anyone on the roster right now. He's desperate for a team. Just go get it.
- [39:26]
C
And he's free. If you're replacing Jacobs with a guy like Naji, like, if Naji's explosiveness. Naji was never explosive, so it doesn't matter.
- [39:34]
B
Right.
- [39:34]
C
Like, you don't need him to be this, like, home run beater. You just need to grind out the yardage.
- [39:38]
A
Yeah. You need to run over some people.
- [39:40]
B
Yeah.
- [39:40]
A
Hey, Boggs, can you say, I need a grinder in that voice?
- [39:42]
B
I need a grinder.
- [39:44]
A
Yeah, there it is.
- [39:45]
C
Meatball grinder. Is that what you're looking for? Is that your grinder of choice?
- [39:52]
A
I have concerns about this offense and Jordan Love's ability to overcome all the problems of it. You know, I think Jordan Love is fine.
- [40:00]
B
I think on the surface, they're good. He was second on the surface.
- [40:03]
C
Drop back last year. That is really, really good.
- [40:06]
B
I think on the surface, they're the best team in this division. But I think underneath the surface, anything happens, just like we're seeing with Josh Jacobs, they're going to fall apart. They're going to fold up like origami, man. That's what it's going to be. And I just don't.
- [40:19]
A
And you can't afford to do that in this division. All right. What does that say? What Vegas thinks Super bowl winner. I think we passed that conference winner. I think I'll pass that division winner. Plus 250. Like the pack to win this division. Anybody?
- [40:29]
B
I'd rather take the Bears.
- [40:30]
A
I'd rather take the Bears, too. Erickson.
- [40:33]
C
I. I'm just taking the Lions.
- [40:35]
A
Okay, you already spoke it for. You already. Go into the dance with Dan Campbell. He's very tall. Very tall. Make sure you wear your heels to make the playoffs. Yes. Minus 145.
- [40:45]
C
Wow.
- [40:47]
A
No. Is plus 135. I gotta say, I think I like the no. Here, boys.
- [40:50]
B
Yeah, I don't hate it. I again, I don't want to put my money into these season long bets unless I'm doubling up, but 135 is not bad.
- [41:00]
A
It's not bad. Look, over, under. What do you think the number is?
- [41:03]
B
Nine and a half.
- [41:05]
A
Nine and a half and then ten and a half. Right now you can get it minus 140 on an under. So it's a lot of juice.
- [41:11]
B
Every popular team just add a game.
- [41:13]
C
This team feels extremely boom or bust. Because think about.
- [41:17]
A
And somebody's got a bust here.
- [41:19]
C
Think about the discourse last year when they traded for Micah Parsons, who is the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. It was the Green Bay Packers. So you see a path where in the second half of the year, Micah Parsons is now coming back. He's cooking. Let's say they stay a little bit healthier because I think Boggs really laid out the case where they're thin at the top, but there's a chance that. Okay, well, if they don't suffer a ton of injuries. Okay, now you can see the packers actually making a Super bowl run. So I think with them it's either you want to fade them into oblivion. Like they don't get this fix, the run game is terrible, Parsons never returns to form, or you take the flip side of the coin and you take advantage of maybe Jordan Morgan's the best
- [41:55]
B
left tackle in the NFL now.
- [41:57]
C
Jordan love, they let him cook all the receivers.
- [41:59]
A
I got a question for you, Erickson. How likely is it of a scenario that you get a combined 10 games all season of Jacobs and Watson both on the field at the same time?
- [42:13]
C
Oh, zero, let's say zero.
- [42:15]
A
How, how possible is it to get five games of Watson and Jacobs on the field at the same time next year? That's my point of. I guess, like, because I just feel like the chances of. I already think the chance of getting Jacobs isn't very good. I think that's. That ship is sailing away very quickly. And then the other thing is Christian Watson already built his own boat last couple years. And if you. I mean, he's drowned me more than once in thinking that he could be something.
- [42:41]
C
I guess I just don't think that Jacob's impact this season was going to be like they need this guy so badly. I don't know. I feel like they can replace his product. I mean, I think Box made a good point. If they bring in production, they just
- [42:54]
A
can't replace with what they have currently.
- [42:55]
C
Yes, but they're going to. I mean, you think they're going to go into the off season like this? No, they're going to. They're going to make it.
- [43:01]
A
You're not going to go out like that, are you? I mean, realistically, though, like teenage daughter,
- [43:06]
C
do you think it's like a house like that? It's like week one. Is Marsha Lloyd under center for.
- [43:11]
A
It's not your running back room, is it? Green Bay? My God. Get back in this house right now.
- [43:17]
B
I would bet a lot of money that is not Marshawn Lloyd opening.
- [43:20]
C
Oh, yeah. No, it's probably not. But that's what I mean. They're going to make a move. Like it's going to happen.
- [43:24]
A
Yeah.
- [43:24]
C
And I think.
- [43:25]
A
Where's Eddie Lacy? What's he doing right now?
- [43:27]
C
Oh, he actually.
- [43:28]
B
China food.
- [43:29]
C
No, he recently had. I think he was talking on like, some show about how he overcame, like the eating thing. Lost a lot of weight and he's made a lot of really big strides. So.
- [43:39]
A
Good for him.
- [43:39]
C
Rip Fat Ed, lazy. We're good.
- [43:41]
B
He's gonna compete with Jordan Morgan for left tackle.
- [43:45]
C
Oh, God.
- [43:46]
A
No shaming on this show. Boggs and I like to eat. All right. Yeah. Who am I shaming? You kidding me?
- [43:54]
B
I look like prime Eddie Lacy right now.
- [43:59]
A
Let's talk about the Minnesota Vikings here. A team where I had a lot of expectations. I. I was hot on the Vikings last year. I'll be honest with you, not end well. I thought somebody else beside the Lions was going to win this division last year. And I was. I was banking on the Vikings being that squad and J.J. mcCarthy being pretty good and Kevin OConnell being a great coach, and that did not work out. Did not work out at all. So I know we kind of talked about a little bit in. In the show. I don't see a scenario where Kyler Murray isn't the starter to start the year. We all agree on that. Yes. Kyler Murray's job to lose. So here's the question, Erickson. Do we see Kyler Murray all year as a starter? Does he ever give up that job? Not because of injury. We all know injury. You give up the job here, at least temporarily. But is there any circumstances where performance leads towards any kind of quarterback controversy? Because isn't went back too. I believe too. I saw he's back also. So you got. You got. And Wentz wasn't all that bad last year.
- [44:54]
B
Oh, come on.
- [44:55]
C
I mean, he looks bad. He was the jacobi percent in person.
- [44:59]
B
Listen, listen, listen, listen. I'll give you this because we had to watch Max Brossmer play, right? But Wentz was pretty bad. He was still not good.
- [45:09]
C
I mean, the sleeve looked great, but he did.
- [45:12]
A
He was playing hurt, man. He's a war.
- [45:14]
C
The shoulder was falling off, like.
- [45:16]
A
So do you think Murray at any point gives up? Because I think there's nothing I like more than when a coach is in a precarious situation and has to win, really, to kind of get back on track. And a player of. Of note, a former first overall pick, is at a crossroads in their career. I like to bet on those guys in those moments. And I don't think Kyler Murray's ready to give up his NFL career yet. He's a. He's right work for Baker Mayfield, Sam Donald to a certain extent, too. Like, I like that kind of scenario here. And I think that Kyler Murray is going to surprise some people this year. And I'm not the biggest Kyler Murray guy, so for me to be on this wagon's a little odd. But Erickson, what do you think? Do you think he ever gives up the job this year?
- [45:51]
C
I think that he would have to have some utter collapse in the second half of the season. Because the thing with Kyler, it's never been about starting out hot. Right. He has always been, in the beginning of the season, Kyler Murray's cooking. It's, this is why this guy was the first overall pick. And then things always seem to unravel. I've mentioned this a couple times, but the 2024 Arizona Cardinals were winning the division, this stacked NFC west led by Kyler Murray. And then things just fell apart. And I'm not going to make the jokes about a certain video game and Kyler Murray coming out.
- [46:21]
B
I knew it. I knew it was coming. I was going to say, how close were you to saying? And then Call of Duty comes out, and then he collapses for the rest of the season.
- [46:29]
A
You know, I'd rather him be at home playing Call of Duty.
- [46:33]
C
That is true.
- [46:33]
A
And out with some of these other guys driving cars in residential neighborhoods, Georgia,
- [46:37]
B
he should be fine.
- [46:38]
C
That is true. Yeah. So I. I think that unless something were to happen in the second half season where he starts to play really, really poorly and o' Connell is, I can't scheme around this. He's not seeing the defenses or defenses are adjusting to what Kyler Murray has been doing, I think that's where you could run into. Is McCarthy a potentially a better option to get us over the hump or to get us to win the division. So outside of that though, I think it's going to be Kyler Murray and I think that he's going to play well especially to open the year. And I think that again, we always. This always happens, right? With certain. Last year was Baker, right? MVP Baker. Honestly, if Kyler comes out cooking to Justin Jefferson, I think you're going to hear some Kyler Murray MVP in 2026. Could that happen?
- [47:19]
A
You can hear it, but I'm not gonna listen.
- [47:20]
C
No, no, no. I would not listen either. But because we've been down this road before with Tyler in the beginning of season where he plays really well, but for the first month of the year.
- [47:28]
A
Well, because. Because the size and the durability is a. Is a real issue because some, you know, 300 pound lineman falls on him and separates his shoulder and the next thing you know we're back in that same cycle. I will say this box when Kyler Murray was at his best was with DeAndre Hopkins and all world weapon, right? Where you know, if you give him Justin Jefferson in his prime still there's a lot of hope.
- [47:47]
B
Why couldn't he make it work with Marvin? Right?
- [47:50]
C
Marvin wasn't established. He was a rookie.
- [47:52]
A
I don't know if Marvin is that level. I don't think Marvin's a DeAndre Hopkins level of talent.
- [47:56]
B
He might not be, but he's better than what he showed with Kyler Murray.
- [48:00]
A
I also think that system was very odd and the way that they, well, they chose to use Marvin Harris in that sense system at the time was also kind of odd.
- [48:08]
B
You, you mentioned like, you know, do we see Kyler get benched because of performance? The only way in my mind that that happens is if he cannot get the ball to Jefferson. And I don't know how you can be a quarterback in the NFL and not get the ball to Jefferson. Just throw it near.
- [48:23]
A
I know, just ask Jay McCarthy, he can answer that question for you.
- [48:26]
B
Well, you're right about that. But I think that if I still have hope for JJ McCarthy long term, by the way. But I also think that Kyler Murray will make it work this year and I think he'll be the quarterback the whole year. So I don't see any issues with, with that. And you know, this team on defense blitzes more than any other team in the NFL. So they're kind of a wild card, like they can win or lose. I feel like any single week when the blitz is working and they're harassing quarterbacks, they're getting turnovers, the offense Is moving is a well oiled machine. They work, but you break down any piece of it and the whole thing seems to come unraveled like it did last year.
- [49:07]
A
Yeah, Floor, especially quarterback, really good. Floor is a good D.C. i think we all agree, and I like that he kind of tailors, you know, the roster to the scheme instead of the other way around sometimes, because that's what good coaches do, you know, Keep going back to the offense though, you know, it's asking a little bit for Aaron Jones to stay healthy. But you do have Jordan Mason there too.
- [49:25]
B
I like Claiborne.
- [49:26]
A
I like Clayborne too. Speedy Addison and Juwan Jennings, you know, T.J. hawkinson. Again, if, if. It's a lot of ifs, but like, that's a, that's a lot. Kyler Murray is set up to succeed here, in my opinion. You got the right coach, you got a bunch of guys who know what the hell they're doing out there. A lot of talent on the field. Health is always the biggest thing for every NFL team. But I mean, Boggs, it just feels like if Kyler Murray fails, it's really on Kyler Murray and he gets banished to the shadow realm of like, you're a backup and you're, you know, you're, you're the next Russell Wilson that everybody keeps trying to take shots on and it keeps failing.
- [49:56]
B
Yeah, I, I think that would, that's exactly how he'd be seen. But he also could thrust himself into what Sam Darnold just did with a good season. That Kevin o' Connell fixes quarterbacks, so he sure does.
- [50:08]
A
All right, here we go. Ready? Best odds to win the Super Bowl. Plus 5,000. Anybody? Any takers? Any takers? Viking, Super Bowl. No. Okay, how about plus 2500 to represent the NFC? Nope. Nope. Nobody? Okay. Division winner. Plus 550. If you think things.
- [50:23]
B
I don't.
- [50:24]
A
Where's my worst to first? Andrew Erickson.
- [50:26]
C
Now, they didn't come easy. They didn't come in last last year. The Lions did.
- [50:32]
A
Oh, the lines were last, weren't they?
- [50:33]
C
Yeah.
- [50:34]
A
How much was it a tiebreaker?
- [50:35]
C
Yeah. They're still last. They won nine games the division.
- [50:39]
A
Aren't they tied for last then technically,
- [50:42]
C
you gotta come in last. You gotta be dead last.
- [50:45]
A
Wait, so hold on. Did they or did they not have the same record last year? Is that what happened?
- [50:49]
C
I believe it's the same record, but they didn't have the tiebreaker. So they come in last or the Viking came in second to last?
- [50:56]
A
I don't know. I like an Amendment to your law. That's what I like to do. Let's go to make the playoffs. Yes. Plus 190. No. Minus 200. So Vegas does not see them as.
- [51:06]
B
I don't mind 190. But like I said, I still want. If I'm investing for a full season, I want to double up.
- [51:12]
A
I'll tell you what, I like them to make the playoffs more than I like the packers to make the playoffs. I just see a lot of problems with Edger, the Packers. I just do. I mean, Jordan Love has missed some time in the last two seasons too, and Bleak Willis isn't there to back it up anymore. Just putting that out.
- [51:26]
C
Well, I mean, I mean, if you're coming to quarterback, I mean, Kyler Murray's no, like, oh, I'm gonna stay healthy all the entire year too, like.
- [51:32]
B
But at least they have nine.
- [51:34]
C
Well, they got. The packers got.
- [51:35]
A
Till something goes horribly wrong with him.
- [51:40]
B
Till it's a rib injection.
- [51:43]
A
No one got. What do you think the win total is for the Vikings?
- [51:46]
C
Eight and a half. Taking the over. That's correct.
- [51:48]
A
Eight and a half. Even money over last year.
- [51:50]
C
It's over last year.
- [51:52]
A
I like this. Even money at eight and a half though. I would take the over.
- [51:55]
C
Yes.
- [51:56]
A
It's even both ways too, which is kind of.
- [51:57]
C
I just think last year they'd hit this and they had the most amount of turmoil you could ask for a quarterback. So with more stability, I think that this one's probably one of the favorite ones we've talked about today.
- [52:09]
A
Boggs, what do you think about that over? Under eight and a half?
- [52:12]
B
Yeah, I think it's probably right. I would maybe slightly take the over, but I don't want to be involved.
- [52:18]
A
Yeah. By the way, the Vikings ended on a five game win streak last year. Is that true?
- [52:23]
C
Yeah, they played a lot of bad teams and that's what Percy was playing a little bit better.
- [52:28]
A
I'm looking at this, looking at the, you know, the trajectory here. You know, just, just, just.
- [52:32]
B
That's also where I got the meme.
- [52:35]
A
Yeah. Because the Lions did finish last, but they were both nine and eight. So I guess, I don't know, I, I like to look at, you know, some people see glass half full.
- [52:44]
C
I don't think the division is bad, especially at five to one, like you said.
- [52:47]
B
No, the division is.
- [52:48]
A
I think it's great division plus 550. I think it's very much playful.
- [52:52]
C
I think it's one that you might want to cash out of though, just to Be safe when you get there. Like three to one.
- [52:57]
A
True. Kyler's right before. Yeah, yeah. How many weeks for Kyler Murray? Let's make eight, eight, nine weeks. Kyler Murray. Whenever they're buys their buy, we cash out of the buy. There's nothing can go wrong there. But what do you all think about this very tight division? It's a very talented division. A lot of things could go right for these teams. We've also shown you a lot of things can go wrong. What do you think is going to go right? What do you think is going to go wrong? Drop your comments below. You can win a Jamar Chase jersey when you subscribe and drop a comment. So go do that. Tell all your friends. Like this video and don't forget to ring the bell till it goes ding. Here on our new channel, Tailgate NFL, where we talk football all day, every day. Well, maybe not every day, but most days. And then in the season probably every day. So there you go. So this is going to be a big thing in 2026. We want everybody out there to be a part of it. Thanks for joining us today. We got to get out here. Kicking us out of the parking lot. We'll see you next time. This has been the tailgate.
- [53:47]
B
Welcome to the tailgate.
- [53:49]
A
The fail safe from stale takes Erickson D bro Joe stay late, tail at
- [53:54]
B
game tape and trade grades dual action play fakes and JJ Spades hit the day slate like hopscotch on play dates
- [54:01]
A
are all things NFL takes away.
- [54:03]
B
This the tailgate?
- [54:05]
A
Yeah, this the tailgate.
- [54:11]
C
Hey, guys, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.
- [54:13]
A
I'm Kevin.
- [54:13]
B
And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called hey Jonas.
- [54:18]
A
We invented a podcast.
- [54:20]
B
Well, we didn't invent it.
- [54:21]
C
We.
- [54:21]
B
We just contributed to it.
- [54:22]
A
First people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
- [54:27]
B
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but you know, tired and sick.
- [54:31]
C
Tired and sick.
- [54:32]
B
Listen to hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio
- [54:34]
A
app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [54:37]
C
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
- [54:39]
A
On Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends, we help make you funnier.
- [54:43]
B
On this episode.
- [54:44]
A
My guests Bob Odenkirk and kids in the Halls, Bruce McCullough try and help the the Kazoo kid and Tayon Day be famous again. What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
- [54:56]
C
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
- [55:00]
A
They're constantly needed at malls. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets.
- [55:13]
C
But what happens when you discover that
- [55:15]
B
your dad has been living a double
- [55:17]
C
life that is not the look of an innocent man.
- [55:21]
B
Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do.
- [55:30]
C
Listen to Deep Cover the Family man on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [55:41]
A
For years the Unhoused have been presented as as a monolith in mainstream media. We'd In House is a podcast that's changing the narrative. I'm Theo Henderson and I created the show while unhoused on the streets of Los Angeles. We've grown into a two time Webby award winning podcast, the only podcast that shares unhoused stories and news from the Unhoused perspective. Listen to we the Unhoused on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed.