Eagles Spit Takes, Week 1 NFL Picks, and a Possible Clippers Scandal With Joe House

Summary

The Bill Simmons Podcast – Detailed Summary

Podcast: The Bill Simmons Podcast
Episode: Eagles Spit Takes, Week 1 NFL Picks, and a Possible Clippers Scandal With Joe House
Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Bill Simmons
Guest: Joe House

---

Overview

In this NFL-centric episode, Bill Simmons and Joe House jump into a meaty football conversation, beginning with a detailed, in-the-moment reaction to the Eagles vs. Cowboys Thursday night game, marked by wild turns, a lightning delay, and an infamous spitting incident. The duo breaks down the implications for both teams, then pivots into comprehensive analysis of the Week 1 NFL slate as part of their “Ringer 107” picks competition, offering favorite bets, key "stay away" games, and deep game-by-game insight. Finally, the two weigh in on a possible NBA scandal involving Steve Ballmer, the Clippers, and Kawhi Leonard, as recently reported by Pablo Torre.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Eagles vs. Cowboys TNF Reaction: Chaos, Spit, and Uncertainty

General Reaction (04:00 - 12:00)

• The game is described as clunky and “dumb Week 1 football,” thrown off by a lengthy lightning delay and choppy play.
• Joe House: “It was a very even game, though. Like, look at the numbers.” [06:40]
• Both agree the game’s rhythm was derailed by the interruption and multiple pivotal mistakes.
• “I learned nothing. I don’t know what was going on with the Eagles’ offensive line.” – Bill Simmons [06:47]

The Spitting Incident (07:06 - 08:12)

• Eagles’ star Jalen Carter is ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott as a teammate is carted off, creating confusion and revulsion.
• Bill: “On the gross spit scale, on a scale of zero to Bret Hart hawking a loogie on Vince McMahon… This was, I think about a 4.” [07:44]
• Both agree Carter’s absence severely tilted the game, contributing to Dallas’ offensive efficiency.

Offensive/Defensive Takeaways (08:12 - 12:51)

• House praises Dak Prescott’s quarterback play and offensive scripting but notes the Eagles’ depleted defense makes firm judgments hard.
• House: “It’s radical how competent their offense is… Dak is happy to throw the ball down the football field.” [08:12]
• Both hosts are wary of overreacting to Week 1 results.
• Eagles’ “Milton Berle strategy” – strange, conservative coaching suspected as the team faces a treacherous upcoming schedule. [11:55]
• Simmons: “Just the most boring version of the Eagles you could possibly get.” [12:43]

Big Picture NFC East Questions (13:20 - 16:42)

• Win totals: Simmons wonders if his Eagles “over 11.5” is shaky after what he saw.
• House insists Carter’s absence is key and not indicative of true team strength.
• Dallas noted as a sneaky “discount Cincinnati” with a potent offense, but both teams’ ceilings are still in question.
• Discussion of the Giants possibly being NFC East’s best defense, but wait-and-see approach.

Rule Tweaks & Taunting Penalty Rant (16:56 - 20:28)

• Both rant against the new taunting rules, which seem arbitrary and likely to influence games in absurd ways.
• Bill: “What goal are we serving with calling a penalty on the Nolan Smith play?” [18:55]
• House: “It’s the worst kind of penalty because it is 1000% in the judgment of the referee…” [19:37]
• Anticipation that these new rules will “swing a game at some point” and cause uproar.

---

2. NFL Week 1 Slate: Betting, Analysis, and Ringer 107 Picks (24:08 - 83:38)

Structure of the Ringer 107 Pick Challenge (24:08 - 25:26)

• Simmons and House, versus other Ringer shows, are making five picks per week (plus a playoff run) aiming for 60+ wins.
• Emphasis on “quarterback and coach you trust” in Week 1.

“Stay Away” Games: Red Flags and Leans (24:47 - 41:25)

• Browns vs. Bengals: Too many unknowns about defense and divisional weirdness.
• Commanders/Giants: Line movement, injury uncertainty, “feels silly now.”
• Colts/Dolphins: Oblique issues for Tyreek Hill, mystery around both teams – “highlight game only.”
• Falcons vs. Bucs: Both hosts like Atlanta, but Tampa’s injuries and line moves make it unplayable.
• Rams/Texans: Stafford’s health, offensive line concerns, and a defense they both love (“lean” Texans but pass).
• Jets/Steelers: “You could walk me in any scenario,” says Bill. Confusion over both defenses, quarterback trust issues.
• Packers/Lions: Despite love for Packers’ upside, Detroit’s history in Lambeau and shifting lines breed wariness.

Picks They Almost Made (Passes and Parlay Thoughts)

• Discussion of games that nearly made the picks, pulling back due to line drift or injury, e.g., Patriots/Raiders (Gonzalez injury dings Pats’ optimism).
• House on the Cardinals/Saints: “I try not to bet on the Cardinals, but in view of what we have all come to believe about the Saints…”
• In Denver/Tennessee, both expect Denver to win but agree the line is too big to take straight.

Multi-View Screen: Which Games to Watch Early? (52:28 - 54:18)

• Simmons and House pick the best 1 p.m. Eastern games for the “multi-view,” including their own teams, Vegas/Pats, Carolina/Jacksonville (to see Travis Hunter), and “keep Arizona/New Orleans in the back pocket.”

Official Ringer 107 Picks (55:40 - 83:38)

• Chiefs -3 vs. Chargers (neutral/Brazil):

  • Both love Mahomes/Reid, are down on the Chargers. “Chiefs minus three is a miracle.” [58:04]

• Falcons +1.5 vs. Bucs:

  • After House vetoes Seattle pick, they ride with Atlanta against a banged-up Tampa.

• Bears +1.5 vs. Vikings (Monday night):

  • Simmons bullish on Ben Johnson and Chicago’s upgrades, questions Vikings’ offense on the road.

• Ravens -0.5 at Bills:

  • Lean Ravens due to Buffalo’s severely depleted secondary. “The Bills have lost two home games in three years… but the Ravens have the most talent on both sides of the football.” [72:24]

• Jaguars ML + Broncos ML Parlay:

  • Bypass the dangerous “hook” on the Jags/Panthers spread and instead parlay favorite Jacksonville (vs. Panthers) with Denver (vs. Tennessee rookie QB) at minus 120 or better.

---

3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the spit incident in Philly-Dallas:
  • "On a scale of zero to Bret Hart hawking a loogie on Vince McMahon...this was about a 4." – Bill Simmons [07:44]
• On taunting penalties:
  • "It's a rule for nobody...Who, in whose interest are we asserting this is outside the bounds of conduct that's desirable?" – House [18:53]
  • "He would have been better off leading his teammates over to the side and performing the Macarena with them." – Bill [20:28]
• On early season overreactions:
  • "This is why again, I'm trying not to say I learned anything from week one because we do this in week one every year and these teams are going to be radically different." – Bill [12:51]
• On the Ringer 107 competition:
  • "We're doing 107 picks and we want to get to 60 wins. 60 wins, that's...an amazing outcome." – Bill and House [27:05]
• On Packers-Lions line:
  • “That’s how Dan Campbell is 6-2 against Matt LaFleur. ...But for the just that toughness factor when Detroit has all of its defense, all those guys ready to play, let's just stay away from this one.” – House [39:24–41:25]

---

4. NBA Segment: Ballmer/Kawhi Clippers Scandal (85:57 - end)

Background and Investigation (86:00 - 92:41)

• Simmons credits Pablo Torre for deep investigative journalism around possible illegal payments by Steve Ballmer through an entity called Aspiration to benefit Kawhi Leonard.
• The league’s willingness to look the other way on "wink wink" side deals (player perks, investment vehicles, soft payments) is discussed.
• Both skeptical Ballmer, known for competence and detail, would be directly involved in something so “sloppy.” Suggests layers of responsible parties and “plausible deniability.”
• Quote: “It confirmed a lot of stuff that we've always felt was going on, both anecdotally and whisper stuff. And just this is a whole world of the NBA that they would rather we didn't talk about.” – Bill [87:33]

Possible League Consequences (92:31 - 96:35)

• Bill: “If this is true, … they’ll lose at least four to five first round picks. … The other problem is that other owners are pissed, right, because they got him at…slightly less than market value.” [92:31]
• House expects punishment, but Ballmer will probably be able to claim ignorance due to organizational layers.
• The timing is especially bad with the All-Star Game coming to the Clippers’ new arena (Intuit Dome).

---

Important Timestamps

• Eagles-Cowboys Postgame Analysis & Spitgate: 04:00–13:20
• NFC East & Week 1 Overreactions: 13:20–16:42
• Rant on New Taunting Rule: 16:56–20:28
• Setup of Ringer 107/Picks Structure: 24:08–25:26
• Stay Away Games Rundown: 24:47–41:25
• Multi-View/Best Early Sunday Games: 52:28–54:18
• Ringer 107 Final Picks & Betting Rationale: 55:40–83:38
• Kawhi/Clippers Scandal Deep Dive: 85:57–96:56

---

Episode Tone & Atmosphere

• Hallmark Simmons banter, with quick pivots between incisive analysis, gambling chatter, self-deprecating stories (the Froze Incident), and outrage over NFL officiating.
• Good-natured ribbing and alternating agreement/disagreement, especially during pick debates.
• Sober, slightly wary optimism about betting outcomes; candid about past wrong calls and future roasting.
• A wary, almost conspiratorial tone to the discussion on NBA side deals, suggesting a league culture of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

---

Summary Takeaways

• This episode is essential listening for fans about to dive into NFL Week 1, offering both specific betting edges and a macro lens on early-season NFL surprises, pitfalls, and narratives.
• The Eagles/Cowboys recap crystallizes how wild and inconclusive Week 1 can be, from strange coaching to random ejections.
• Listeners get a sense of both the data-driven and vibes-driven ways sharp bettors are attacking the new season.
• The NBA segment opens a window onto the “business behind the business” of superstar recruitment—juicy, well-argued, and likely to spawn further headlines.

---

For listeners wanting to bet smarter, root harder, and gossip deeper, Simmons & House’s Week 1 pod delivers all the action you missed—and some shenanigans even TV cameras can’t catch.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Visit Myrtle Beach. If you're dreaming of a beachy summer escape, then head to the beach In Myrtle Beach, S.C. you'll find 60 miles of stunning coastline, hundreds of attractions to explore in the South's newest foodie hotspot. This is where you play hard and beach easy. You belong at the beach Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Start planning your summer adventure at visit myrtlebeach.com the Bill Simmons Podcast brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook where you should be doing all of your wagering as we head into football season. I'm so excited. We have a big football podcast coming for you in a second with House. Rewatchables went up on Monday. We did the 400 movie. We did American Gangster. I also put up three BS podcasts already this week. The Sunday with Sal guess the lines. Charles Barkley on Tuesday, Peter Schrager on Wednesday. So this is podcast number four. We have a whole bunch of great podcast stuff going across the network right now. Football. Zach Lowe is back. Don't forget about him. A lot of pop culture. Sean Fennesee's back in the big picture. Chris Ryan's back on the watch Prestige TV that's coming back this weekend because me and Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney are going to be breaking down an HBO show called Task, which is awesome. It is so good. I can't wait for you to watch it. We just love this show. So we're going to be talking about it every week. Finding the Prestige TV podcast and then the Wedding Scammer podcast that we did. There's an epilogue now because the star of that podcast, who didn't want to be the star but he became the star, was arresting. So you can, if you like that podcast, go, go find the epilogue episode as well. Coming up on this podcast, Joe House and I, we're going to do something that you can only do with the magic of editing in 2025. We are going to react to Eagles Cowboys Thursday night in the first segment and then we're going to travel back in time by four to five hours to break down the week one NFL slate. We may talk about this Kawhi Leonard story too.

[B]

So.

[A]

So it is all coming up. Gonna take a break. And then our friends from Pearl Jam, it's the Bill Simmons podcast presented by FanDuel and the NFL is back and thank God FanDuel has everything. They got an awesome app. They have SGPs, they have great futures, they have good prop bets, live betting your way Bets clean app. It's great to use. Been using it for a few years. Every time I go back to Boston or any place that has FanDuel and I get to use it, I'm always excited. I'm on an airplane Runway. You done the airplane Runway, have you, buddy? Airplane Runway.

[B]

There should be a button. The Runway button.

[A]

I'm on the airplane Runway. I gotta get this in. Get your bets in. Build something bold. Make every game feel bigger. Download the FanDuel app or head to Fando.com BS to get started. The Ringer committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of this episode for additional details. You must be 21 + in President select states or 18 + in President DC, Kentucky or Wyoming Gamb call 1-800- Gamble or visit rg-health.com, call 1-887-89777 or visit ccpg.org chatinconnecticut paid endorsement all right, we are recording this part. It is 12:20 Eastern Time. We had a Cowboys Eagles game that went on forever because there was a lightning delay. I kind of lost track of everything. The game had no flow. All of a sudden it seemed like the Cowboys might win. Does Dallas win this game with Michael Parsons? I'm going to start there. Not to do first takey, but their defense looked good.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Their defense looked good.

[B]

Well, it looked good in the third period. You know, we had post hockey game.

[A]

Yeah, post lightning. But they were flying around and hit guys. The first half they looked terrible.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I was thinking like they could have stolen this game and they were one guy short. And then CD Lamb, obviously big drop down the stretch.

[B]

Here's the one guy short. And this was the criticism of the team building in the off season. They attempted to address the running back room and they got half of it right. But Miles Sanders put the mother effing ball on the carpet at the Eagles 10 yard line and that was the difference in the football game in the third quarter when neither team had stopped the other. We hadn't seen any punts up to that point. Each team was scoring at will and Miles Sanders put the ball on the field. That's a replacement level running back. And that's what happens team building wise when you're not, you know, building with a serious eye. So that would be my criticism.

[A]

Or when you're not paying an advertising company. It's a circumstance and salary cap. Not that anyone did that. Not that anyone did that.

[B]

Oh boy, oh boy.

[A]

It's 24, 23rd quarter. Dallas is kind of driving third and like 22. And there's a huge late hit on the Philadelphia safety on the tight end on a pass that's already incomplete. And it feels like Dallas is going to take the lead. And there's real energy because the Eagles look a little lethargic on offense. Sanders fumbles the next play, lightning delay. And then we have this NBC crew that we've poke some fun at on some various pods now forced to fill for like a solid hour. This was not on the agenda. Jack Collinsworth is like, wait, I have to. Is this like a podcast? What's going on here? And had the other crew and it was just not great tv. I moved over to the US Open. What'd you do during the lightning delay? Just eat?

[B]

No, I slept. This is going to take. Grab the quick shut eye. Porterico slept also. He couldn't remember the name of the Eagles quarterback he called Jalen Hurts Prescott about six times after the rain delay.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, neither of us are in any position to really make fun of people for forgetting names or doing malapropisms. But after the sixth time he called Jalen Hurts Prescott even I was like.

[B]

We'Re not on tv.

[A]

Yeah, this is tough.

[B]

It was a very even game, though. Like, look at the numbers.

[A]

Yeah, it was a. You know what it was? It was a classic dumb week one game.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I learned nothing. I don't know what was going on with the Eagles offensive line. Jalen Carter, we haven't even talked about that yet. Gets. Gets thrown out.

[B]

We have, you know, defensive, you know, star defensive lineman from each team that, that he immediately evened the score in that. In that regard.

[A]

Yeah, that's a good point. Maybe he felt bad for the Parsons trade. So he spits in Dak Prescott get. So they, they get a guy hurt on the opening kickoff. And as they're carting the dude off, Jaylen Carter spits on Prescott, gets thrown out. We don't see until halftime this video Prescott kind of spitting toward direction. Yes. Yeah, I don't know if that warranted the spit on the chest. That just seemed gross.

[B]

Really didn't. I mean, you know, one's a penalty.

[A]

Prescott was violated enough.

[B]

One's a penalty and one is not. I mean, they're saying that Carter might face additional, you know, penalties.

[A]

Yeah. On the, on the gross spit scale, on a scale of zero to Bret Hart hawking a loogie on Vince McMahon in the Montreal screwjob match, which is the most disgusting spit anyone's ever spit at anyone else. This was, I think about a 4. I think if he named it a little higher and got some of the neck, that maybe gets that to like a six. I'm glad he basically put it right here. But I would still. Would you think about a jersey change at that point? I'm not sure.

[B]

I did wonder, did somebody run out with wipes? I didn't see the, you know, the aftermath, but I'm surprised to hear you say that you didn't learn anything because to me, immediately what strikes the eye is how competent Dallas is on offense when Dak Prescott is the quarterback. Like, it's radical how competent their offense is. And Pickens and cd that's, that's a problem. I mean, you know, they'll figure out holding on to the ball. You know, the Pickens is going to have one dumb penalty a game, but they can get vertical and Dak is happy to throw the ball down the football field. I mean, I thought that Dallas offense, especially the script on the first drive, was magnificent. Now, they did get to take advantage of the offensive line being able to push around the Eagle front without Carter, and they were able to establish the run with Williams. But I thought it was a pretty masterful script. Schottenheimer was in his bag and Dak Prescott is a badass.

[A]

I think that's fair. So I, maybe I was discounting it a little because the Eagles had already lost a few guys in free agency and they lose one of the 12 or 13 best defensive players in the league. I don't know where he ranks, but Carter is certainly the best guy in the Eagles and he's out before the game even starts. And it just felt like. It felt like it tilted the Eagles in the wrong direction. I wrote down to your point, Dallas looked a little discount Cincinnati ish to me. Okay, not quite borrowed Chase Higgins, but in the vicinity of. Of a reasonable impression of them. And I thought Dak was slinging it around. You know, there were a couple good Pickens plays. They get a big pass interference with Pickens too, so that doesn't count in the stats. And then Lamb's wide open on that, on that long pass. You know, of course, if you flip it around the other way, the Eagles dropped at least two interceptions.

[B]

True.

[A]

Did all that stuff. I also thought, let's be honest, like Da. How many hospital balls did Dak throw? At least five.

[B]

All. Poor Ferguson.

[A]

He was just leading people into Ferguson. It's like watching Steve grogan in the 70s. But Dallas goes touchdown, touchdown, field goal, Field goal. No punts in the first half and they're trailing. Not a good sign.

[B]

Well, I mean, it's kind of according to script. We anticipated that the Dallas defense was going to be vulnerable and it took the first two periods of the game for them to kind of figure it out. Third period, they were pretty good though, to your observation. They were flying around.

[A]

Same period, you're like doing hockey.

[B]

We had three. Gay. Three. Three portions to the game.

[A]

We had a tribaster at this point.

[B]

And then we had the third quarter and then we had the rain delay and then we had, you know, the fourth quarter. Calling it. Period.

[A]

I think, I think the Eagles, they seemed a little thrown off after the tragic death of A.J. brown. Oh, wait, I'm being told he's. He was alive for four hours. I mean, where was he?

[B]

Did he play?

[A]

Was he hurt? Where was he?

[B]

They, they, it's, it's amazing. They, they, they stuck with the same script. I mean, they had one completion of eight yards or more until they finally got one down the field to Johan dotson for a 50 yarder. But, you know, look, look at the attempts, the completions, and the total yardage for Hertz. Hertz threw the ball less than 25 times, completed less than 20, and ended up with about 150 yards of passing. The big.

[A]

Can I give you a theory before you keep going? Can I give you a theory?

[B]

I'm listening.

[A]

I think they added Milton Burled this one.

[B]

Okay, okay.

[A]

They got at Kansas City in week two, Rams week three, at the Bucks in week four, Broncos week five, and then at Giants at Vikings. So just good defenses across the board. This, to me feels like, how much can we pull out of the zipper and still get the pee in the urinal?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Kind of a game.

[B]

You can't lose week one, though, to a divisional opponent. I mean, I, I feel it, I get it.

[A]

But do you think they were ever, like, really worried they're going to lose? Because the way they coached in that game I thought was pretty strange.

[B]

Dallas had the ball with three minutes left and men were.

[A]

Did you feel like there was urgency on offense for the Eagles? I did not, no. And did you, like, it was like, oh, let's run this cool play. Oh, here's this formation they won't be expecting. They were like the most misogyny position offense I've ever seen.

[B]

Especially.

[A]

It was like just the most boring version of the Eagles you could possibly.

[B]

Get for sure in the fourth quarter. That's absolutely the whole second Half okay.

[A]

And I thought if. If Hertz hadn't busted some plays with his legs, you know, so basically some broken plays that didn't work. You know, I don't know. I just thought it was weird. But this is why again, I'm trying not to say I learned anything from week one because we do this in week one every year and these teams are going to be radically different. I do have a couple questions for you though. I had the Eagles over 11 half wins. Did you have them over or under?

[B]

Over or right at it? Maybe I might have picked.

[A]

I think we both had a whiff over.

[B]

It was either 11 or 12. I mean, I don't want to misrepresent.

[A]

I had over. I'm wavering a little after watching that because of. I just didn't think their front seven looked as fierce as he used to and I didn't think their offensive line looked that good.

[B]

We can't possibly have an opinion on their front seven without Carter. I mean, you know, I get it. He's too important.

[A]

I get it. I just like watching that team today. I was like man, 12 and 5 with the next six games to have especially. I just.

[B]

Well, the reason.

[A]

I don't know if I would go over after watching what I watched today, but again, it's a week one over.

[B]

Yeah. The reason that that you would say, you know, right around 11ish and with some aggression from last season is because of. It takes time for. For new bodies on that defense to get the Fangio scheme and that's just, you know, a try. We've seen it so many times. Everywhere he goes, it just takes a minute and they have tremendous turnover on defense. It's like six new starters.

[A]

So as. As a Washington C Words fan, you didn't watch that game and go, oh, doors open this season. I think we can catch these guys.

[B]

I need to see the Washington defense first before I have an opinion on. On what Washington's capable of mean. I'm not worried about the offense.

[A]

This is like a sober house. I maybe we should have put thrown some shots in here. Reasonable. Reasonable house.

[B]

It's money making time. We. We are. We are squarely in the mode of time to go try cash some tickets. I had Dallas tonight. I said Dallas on the show with cousin Sal and Dundo. I'm happy. That was too many points. It played out just like the way you said a dumb week one game. But these teams were close and Dallas showed us. This is one of my favorite bets of the entire preseason was Dallas over at Seven and a half. That that team is, is, is an at least an eight win team with that offense. You kidding me? With that offense. Eight and nine, eh.

[A]

Okay, somewhere between six and nine. But I, I would probably lean toward the six, seven range. I, I think that the very least when they're getting a lot of points like that, they're a backdoor cover team waiting to happen.

[B]

Sure. Okay.

[A]

If they were up 11 in that game with five minutes left, I just would have assumed they were going to come down and score. But I do think they're very similar to the Bengals. That was one of, one of my big things that I thought might be the case heading into the season and that's definitely the case now.

[B]

I'll say this. Their offensive line might be better than the Bengals because Dak had time and they established the run. It's not. I mean but you know, if you're going to compare it to the bagels.

[A]

Yeah Dax were for we're making it seem like Dak was Tom Brady in 2007. He was 188 yards for no touchdowns but pass interference and a couple drops that probably could have been a little bit better. Next question for you. Do you think the Giants, after what you saw today, can can the Giants have a chance to definitively have the best defense in the NFC East? I guess we'll find out on Sunday after we're going to look at it.

[B]

Find out. I, I we had that in our threads. On paper it's apparent and the way that these two defenses played again, the Eagles without Carter. So it's not really appropriate as a measure for what that defense is capable of.

[A]

That might be by the way, they might be without him in week two.

[B]

Fair enough.

[A]

The whole spitting, spitting fiasco. Dallas has their next. What do they got? They have oh, home Giants at Bears. Home Packers. It's their next three. That feels like a one and three.

[B]

That's a tough start to the season.

[A]

Next thing I have for you before we get to all of our picks and everything else, we already did the taunting thing. I just got to get this off my chest. So every year they have to throw one dumb new wrinkle with how to affect the style of play. I almost feel like so it can be a conversation point for people like us and for people watching the game on social media. They want to like tweak one thing and make it weird and make people go wait, what just happened? And today it was the taunting where I think it was. Who's it? Nolan Smith. Good tackle. Did like A bodybuilder pose after.

[B]

Yeah, a little flex.

[A]

And it was a huge play. Cause I think it would have been like 3rd and 2, 12, 3rd and 13, gets to taunting, nobody knows what's going on. And about a half hour later, the Eagles get the fumble recovery. And I forget who got the fumble, but he leads everybody in the end zone so they can do a choreographed 15 second tush push celebration. And it's like, so on the one hand, I can't tell on anybody. I can't do you elevate in any way any sort of aggression. On the other hand, take 15, 20, 25, 30 seconds to taunt the entire team with some sort of goofy celebration. What are we trying to do here? Which way are we going?

[B]

Get somebody who knows what they're talking about. On that's not me. But my instinct is that their taunting goal is to not have guys in the face of other guys. And that Nolan Smith was too close, too proximate to a Dallas guy because they're trying to lower the temperature. They don't want, you know, hand to hand combat. But I mean, that's just a dumb theory. Football.

[A]

Like, isn't that what's supposed to happen? You have a hit, you do something and then you kind of let it out.

[B]

It's a rule for nobody. Like, who is that?

[A]

Who?

[B]

What? What goal are we serving with calling a penalty on the Nolan Smith play? Like, who, in whose interest are we? Are we asserting that this is outside the bounds of conduct that's desirable?

[A]

Yeah. By the way, this is a game that had multiple big fights in it and a guy spitting on the quarterback of the other team. So I don't know, the shipbuilders sailed. I don't know what they're trying to do with this, but I feel like that taunting thing, it's going to swing a game at some point in these first three weeks and people are going to lose their fucking minds properly. So it's going to be like 4th down, 2 minutes left, big play, you know, some sort of dumb taunting thing. All of a sudden, a second fourth down and they convert it.

[B]

It's the worst kind of penalty because it is 1000% in the judgment of the referee standing there to make a quick snap assessment as to whether or not it rises to the level of a foul. And that's the worst there, there, because there is no bright line. Nobody watching the tonight's game would say, oh, he crossed the line. We don't even have to have a debate as to whether or not Nolan Smith crossed line. He didn't. We've seen that football play 10 million times. It's perfectly within bounds. Nobody's upset. Good job by him with the tackle. Good job by him. Celebrating. Can we just play football? No. We're going to have these judgment calls by these guys who are, you know, coming from. From bad angles, bad, you know, trying to make a judgment, and it's going to, like you say, it's going to tilt the outcome and it's going to make everybody lose their minds.

[A]

He would have been better off leading his teammates over to the side and performing the Macarena with them. They would have been like, this is great. Hey, Macarena, penalty on you. A bad musical choice.

[B]

Flag on you.

[A]

All right, well, we didn't learn that much today. We did learn, though, that that was too many points and it's something maybe that we should consider going forward. We talked about a couple of the higher line games, but just in general. Week one, clumsy, weird, awkward new guys in new places. Nobody's practiced enough. And just let's be careful out there. We are going to take a break and then House and I are going to bang out the week one slate in the first batch of Ringer 107 picks. I can't wait.

[B]

House, let's go. Let's go.

[A]

The Bill Simmons podcast is brought to you by FanDuel and football fans. The wait is finally over. The best place to kick off the season for the NFL, the National Football League, a league that House and I love very much. Kick it off on FanDuel every game day during week one. FanDuel giving all customers a no sweat NFL bet moneyline player props, same game parlays. What's your. What are you going to be this year? You going to be more straight up goofy parlays? What are you. What are you doing? What's going to be in your. What's your M.O. this year?

[B]

Well, why do they have to be goofy parlays? The anchor parlay last year was. Was wonderful.

[A]

Anchor parlay. Yeah, we're going to do some anchor parlays. You're right. And your no sweat bet can be used on any NFL wager type. And if it doesn't win, you'll get bonus bets back. House and I are about to share share share our favorite bets as part of the Ringer 107 this season. Make FanDuel your go to app for any snap. Visit FanDuel.com BS to kick off the NFL season with a no sweat bet every game day during week one Play your game fanduel an official sports betting partner of the NFL must be 21 + President in select states or 18 + President in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required refund issued as non withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Max refund unless otherwise specified. $5 restrictions apply including token expiration. See [e-mail] Gambin problem Call 1-800- gambler visit rg-help.com Call 1-887-97777 or visit ccpg.org Chat in Connecticut this episode is brought to you by Uber Eats Parents. If there's one thing you deserve to make it easier on yourself, it's back to School. Susan I know. That's how I feel as well. On Uber Eats, you can get up to 40% off back to school essentials like notebooks, pencils, calculators. You got lunch boxes to fill. Get discounts on fresh fruit, juice boxes, string cheese and more. Get everything you need for back to school delivered right to you. Just a tap away in the Uber Eats app. Offer ends September 16th. See app for details. House and I, we just talked about Eagles Cowboys. We have now traveled back in time, Marty McFly style to break down the rest of the week one slate. You were on the Man I Loved, you and Debundo and Sal and Ringer Gambling show on Wednesday. I was power walking around LA. It was 130 degrees and little young De Bundo. It was like watching a little kid at the Thanksgiving table with his uncles just being so excited. The vibe was great. I just loved it.

[B]

House, that's so nice of you to say. I'll say. For me, it felt like the three of us have been pals for 30 years. Then the bundle fit in seamlessly. It gave a nice energy to the old guys, me and Cuz. But yeah, man, the thing that the three of us have in common? Dirty gamblers. I mean we are going to get the Jenny on these Wednesdays.

[A]

That's what the only idea I sent you guys was let's get weird at the last segment. Should just be the weirdest bet you actually might make during the week. And we're going to talk about a ton of bets right now. So we're in this Ringer 107 contest that it's going to be our show against the fantasy football show, the Thursday Ringer Gambling show, the Friday Ringer Gambling show, and then SHIELD Capadia solo Unabomber style on Friday. It's just on his pod I love and we're picking five games a week and then 17 games during the playoffs. It's 107 picks total. We are apparently favored on FanDuel to win this contest. House.

[B]

With good reason. I mean, I'm giving a standing ovation to FanDuel.

[A]

They understand old wise guys just doing great. We're going to go through the whole slate and I want to initially go through the stay away bets because there are a few of them. What we did was House and I. You're going to have one, I'm going to have two, and we're going to agree on two and that's going to be our five. One of those is going to be a parlay. But I really. This gives us a chance to go through the entire slate and there's some stayaways, but there's some. I'm really surprised. How much I like the slate do you find as you look at it. And maybe we've just been staring at these teams for four, five months, but I feel like I have a really good handle this week. How about you?

[B]

So I totally agree. One of the things I found myself doing this week was reconsidering some of. I had strong conviction at the beginning of the week. The line started like too strong. Well, this is the concern. Some of the lines started moving in the direction against the sides that I liked. You know, the price got more expensive. So I was like, damn it if everybody is betting in the direction that I want to go. Like the Ravens went from underdogs to to, to favorites over the course of the week. There was an a half point added to the Jags and the Panthers over the last couple of weeks. There's more, more examples. Everybody is on the Giants. That line is all the way down to five and a half. It was seven early that that was.

[A]

Going to be one of my picks. I thought we were going to be able to get giants plus seven and a half and now it's like basically under six.

[B]

Yeah, it's. It's five and a half right now on the FanDuel sports book. So I, I got nervous. Uh, and as a result when, when we have this conversation about what we end up with. I just went back to some of the hits, man. I, I'm like, who can I trust? What quarterback and coach can I trust to get the job done in week one? Bill Simmons.

[A]

I'm so excited that we're going to be aligned this year. I did. Million dollar picks for a while was fun. The figures were confusing. I felt like at any time I could game the system this Is just pure. We're doing 107 picks and we want to get to 60 wins.

[B]

Where are you?

[A]

I want to go 1647. I would take 1647 right now.

[B]

Would you really? It's an incredible outcome. What do you mean you would take that? Of course you would take that.

[A]

I'd really take 65 and 42. But 1647, buddy, that's.

[B]

It's an amazing outcome. 60 and 47.

[A]

I'm shooting for the stars.

[B]

All right. No reason not to.

[A]

All right. Stay aways. I have six. Browns, Bengals. The Browns are in Cleveland. That just made you like spasm and hit your mic. Browns are in Cleveland. Bengals notoriously suck in the first two weeks of the season. I'm not sold in their defense. Neither are you. Browns plus five and a half. There's a lot of good home underdog division that like, you know all the best. The home underdogs at home for week one are like 23 and seven. I'm not taking the Browns. I just crossed this one off because if I had to bet, I would take the Browns. I'm crossing it off. So you agree with that? Correct?

[B]

Totally fair. And I do agree. I think the one thing that especially councils in favor of caution is what if the Browns defense is like the defense that they had at home in 2023.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Remember that. And the Browns know the Bengals. They give the Bengals a hard time. The. There are a lot of reasons to in in favor of the Browns and yet we're not betting on the Browns in week one. Just not going to bet.

[A]

Not betting on the Browns. If there was a bet. I'm just not betting in the Browns. I'm not betting on Joe Flacco. Nothing. If there was a bet I would do. I would do like an alt high Bengals like Bengals winning by like 20 plus.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

One of those like I get it. The Bengals just blowing them out and it's like 35 to 7. It's like, oh, the Bengals. Here they are. But I'm not. I'm not going near that.

[B]

If you're going to do that, do that or bet the Browns on the money line.

[A]

Just stay away from the straight up next one is your team, the Washington C words. They're playing the Giants. They're home. The line has moved two points. I love the Giants. Now I'm scared. There's some not positive The Giants are 100% healthy for this one either. And there's a lot of people on the bandwagon. It's one where I like the Giants going being better than people think. I have Washington being worse than people think. But now it just feels. This feels silly now. I don't know how your team's giving less than six points.

[B]

Right. And. And you know, I've said on this very podcast that I am very afraid of this particular matchup. Jane Daniels was good last year against the Giants, but Washington beat the Giants last year by three points and by five points. And the three points was in Week 2 when the Giants did not have a field goal kicker and as a result had to go for it on 4th. I forgot about that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And that's the reason that Washington won that game.

[A]

I would probably do moneyline plus two 20 giants in the under 45 and a half. Some sort of parlay if I played this game. But I think it's an official stay away. I don't. I don't like how many people are on the Giants next one is Colts, Dolphins, which is just automatic as a stay away. I don't want to bet on the Dolphins. I don't want to bet on Daniel Jones. The lines one and a half. That the cousin. I called the TikTok zone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tyreek Hill, there's some oblique stuff with him where he's limited at practice. Again, I don't. I want to see. This is one of those where I want to see both teams. I want to know what's going on with the Dolphins D backs. I want to know what's going on with their offensive line. I want to see is that Ollie Gordon going to be awesome for Miami. I want to see how are they going to use Daniel Dimes. Is Tyler Warren just going to be awesome? Are they going to be able to throw the ball? I'm probably not going to see a lot of it because I don't know if this is making a multi view for me. Maybe watching the highlights.

[B]

I think a good one for the highlights.

[A]

This is a stay away correct.

[B]

A thousand percent stay away. My lean would be Miami because I think that Schrager made a nice point, a nice observation. Not only the nobody believes in us, which is, you know, funny, but they're what they're returning on defense in terms of the front seven, Jalen Phillips and Chubb, whatever condition they're in, they're healthy this year at least, you know, whatever they have in the tank, I mean that's formidable. So. But I think you're right. Let's just stay the F away from that game.

[A]

I'm going to bold all these liens and maybe we'll find out a couple weeks from now that we should have done the liens instead of the actual picks. This next one almost made the cut for me. It's the Falcons plus one and a half against Tampa, and Tampa's a team you and I both like, but Tampa's just really banged up.

[B]

It's another one. It was two and a half all the way up until this week and now everybody's looking at Atlanta getting points at home in a divisional underdog kind of situation and it's down to one and a half. I lost my enthusiasm for it. I like Atlanta in this game.

[A]

I do too. Cuz and I talked a lot about how wait on Tampa, let them stumble a little bit in September with all the injuries they have and then maybe bet on them for division. That's right, Columbus Day weekend range. I just don't want to bet the Falcons and I kind of want to see them.

[B]

We've Penix has has started four games and he didn't play in the preseason. And Raheem Palmer's been all over the quarterbacks that didn't make any appearances in the preseason and what the historical numbers are in terms of that. And that lines up for another sort of basis for staying away from this game. I mean, they come out rusty. Those quarterbacks tend to come out rusty.

[A]

No left tackle for the Bucks for this game. Worfs is out, but I think he's come back for week two unless something changes over the next couple of days and then the right tackle for the Falcons gone for the year.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Too many red flags all over the place. Plus NFC south is just complete stay away. Rams. Texans. This is now Rams minus three. There's been some Rams money and I think it's because the Texans have had some like Kirk looks like he's going to be out. Nobody knows what the Texans running backs and it feels like Stafford's playing and it feels like the left tackle for the Rams is playing too. My lean would be the Texans, and especially with the points because I think their defense is the best unit on the field. But I don't want to bet against McVeigh and I another stay away.

[B]

Well, the reason to bet against McVeigh is, you know, historically he and the Rams have had slow starts to the season. So if you wanted to talk yourself into the Texans, I was prepared to bet the Texans. I have bet the Texans already. In a teaser I had the Texans and the Broncos and a nice teaser. Of course, teasers are too expensive over the course of a season to make it worth your while. But I bet it, you know, over the. Over the summer. And I prefer the Texan side, but this injury situation, too many unknowns. Let's just watch them play football.

[A]

Stafford. I feel a lot of kinship with an old guy with a bad back. Do you think you like seafood and spareups?

[B]

We could invite him out. He's in la. He can have a seafood tower with us.

[A]

It just sounds like he should be sitting. When Chris Chen finally invites you to play at Bel Air. Just Stafford just sitting there at 4 o' clock talking about how much his back hurts. Unfortunately, the quarterback of the Rams.

[B]

Yeah, there we go.

[A]

Staying away but very interested in that game.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I think that's one of those where I really want to watch both sides, both units, because I think both sides, both teams have some upside as a possible contender, especially the Texans because their defense. Every fantasy league I'm in, I had the Texans defense.

[B]

Yeah, I love Texans defense. For sure. Yeah, that one. Also look at the total. It's 43 and a half. And I'm still fine with under on that game.

[A]

Me too. So you're leaning Texans or Rams in that game. What's your.

[B]

Texans, Texans.

[A]

Texans. Yeah, me too. All right, so we have all the same leans and then the last one is Jet Steelers. Not only is this a stay away, I don't even have a lean. You could walk me in any scenario if I had to. Actually, I wish there was a way to bet on this. On FanDuel. The Steelers winning but somehow not covering. I feel like is in play. I think the cousin style special was in play. I don't know what to expect from Rogers at age 42. I don't trust Justin Fields at all. Vera Tucker's out for the jets now. I don't even have a lean house. Do you have a lean? I do.

[B]

And I almost put this in the mix. And the reason for that is because I do feel like I have a good feel for what the best unit on the football field will be. And it's the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. And the Pittsburgh Steelers always arrive. Tomlin always arrives at the beginning of seasons prepared. They don't like. They like week one. Last year they were getting points on the road at Atlanta. That was one of my favorite bets of the entire season. 2024, Week 1 Steelers getting points. And we made some money early in the season riding the Pittsburgh Steelers because they show up defense, their defensive unit was ahead of all of the other offenses that they faced in the early season. And that's what Catapulted them to that, that 10 win total and put them in the playoffs. I like that unit against this jets team, against the quarterback that they know against a brand new head coach. So those were the reasons why I was willing to do something with Pittsburgh. But the, the line moved. Like why did the line. Why did it go from three to two and a half? This Pittsburgh has been favored by three all summer long, all the way up until this week and now it's two and a half. I don't like that. I want to know. Somebody tell me why that line makes you nervous. Yeah, why is the line moving? Just sit tight.

[A]

Just sit there. Anyway, I'm staying away.

[B]

I understand.

[A]

If there's a play, it's probably Steelers and under. Sure, something like that. Steelers adjusted under. Where you bring that up to like, you know, 49 points or something crazy. With the Steelers minus two and a.

[B]

Half, I mean, literally, we might see 90 combined rushes in this game. We might. The two teams might combine for 90 rush attempts.

[A]

The only thing that worries me, and this is why I barely even had a lean, was the jets were so dysfunctional last year. Not only from a coaching standpoint, but the Rogers situation. And I have like some of the stuff I've read about Aaron Glenn and I just wonder is this coming out of the gates and they're just pounding the ball and they have some identity. So I don't want to find out.

[B]

There'S still talent on that defense. That's the reason why I feel like it's okay to stay away. J.J. is all over the Steelers. So that, that's another reason.

[A]

That's another reason to lean the Jets. Come on, bro. That's a low.

[B]

Bro. Bro. I have to get at him.

[A]

4. That almost made the cut and still might make the cut for all we know. Packers, Lions, packers are minus two and a half against Detroit. That line bumped after the Parsons trade. There was a really interesting quote today, House, about from Parsons about how he was in the locker room getting treatment and almost the entire team was in the locker room and he was really like thrilled. And he's like, I've never been part of a team where you could have said that. Just seems energized. And then there was some other stuff about this is why they got him. They wanted to pull him out of a relatively dysfunctional situation, put him in this infrastructure around good people with a great coach and, you know, just watch them blossom. I could see him going nuts in this game. You and I are both short on the Lions. This Year because the coaching coordinator changes and the offensive line stuff and the fact that, you know, they had such a good year last year. Something's holding me back. House. Well, there's some wide receiver injuries with the Packers.

[B]

Yeah, that's one thing.

[A]

Parsons. The getting an injection made me a little nervous.

[B]

That's another thing.

[A]

And I don't know why. The line's not three and I think that's the number one thing for me, that it's just two and a half. I don't, I don't know why somebody would take the Detroit outdoors in Lambo with less of a line. I, I can't quite get there. And I thought I was going to. I thought I was going to have the packers in Ringer 107. I was, I was like really, really convicted on it for most of the summer. And now. Now, no.

[B]

Well, here's a couple things. In the first place, Dan Campbell has been Excellent against Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers. He's 6, 6 and 2. The Detroit Lions have gone into Lambeau and beat the Green Bay packers the last three years in a row.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So that's how Dan Campbell is 6 and 2 against Matt LaFleur. Now there are extraordinary numbers about the way that The packers under LaFleur start the football season. He has a great record, one of the best records in the entire NFL.

[A]

But here's like 90% the last six years or something. It's really good.

[B]

It's in that vicinity for sure. Here's why. And by the way, the look ahead line on this was Detroit minus one and a half. The Detroit. Well, let me say. No, no, no, that's wrong. I'm sorry. It was Green Bay minus one and a half. I'm sorry I misstated that.

[A]

It was more exciting when it was Detroit minus one and a half.

[B]

It was. It was Green Bay minus one and a half. It's gone up a point. A full point. Right. I am concerned that this is Detroit trying to tell the world, don't make that mistake of forgetting about us. They still have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.

[A]

Borderline. Nobody believes in us.

[B]

Case in this game, in this game, they're see all of this chatter about Green Bay. People like us saying we're happy to have our Green Bay futures. Green Bay to win the NFC North, Green Bay to make the playoffs. Green Bay to make a deep run. Green Bay with, with speculative tickets on the Super Bowl. Speculative tickets to win the NFC Conference.

[A]

Fans go to the game and they're like, this is it. The super bowl run starts here, right? And then all of a sudden, Detroit's up 10 nothing.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah, I'm with you. So we're both like, there's something about this game that just feels a little stay way ish.

[B]

I'm all the way convinced to stay the foa. I just want to really enjoy the game. I mean, the other thing to remember is that Detroit last year, its hallmark was its physical play. And if you look at like, especially the first eight games of the season, after teams played Detroit, their next games, they went out and got their asses blown off the football field. So we need to remember that going in. But for the just that toughness factor when Detroit has all of its defense, all those guys ready to play, let's just stay away from this one.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by the HBO original drama series Task from the creator of Mayor of Easttown Philadelphia. Great sports town. You know what else that's great at producing prestige HBO original crime drama series like Task from the creator of Mayor of East Town. An FBI agent heads a task force to put it into a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man. Don't miss task. Starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelfrey. Streaming September 7th on HBO Max. This episode is brought to you by Boar's Head. You know what's great about summer? With all the pool parties, picnics with your partner, and game nights with the guys, you have an abundance of opportunities to get together with everyone. It's even better when there's delicious food to enjoy and the best way to get that tasty spread. Boar's Head. They have what you need to elevate your summer entertaining. Freshly sliced meat, cheese that makes the ultimate sandwich platter. Right? Or you could create the perfect snack from their premium hummus and dips collection. It's a premium hummus and dips collection. They have this new basil pesto hummus that looks so good right at my daughter's wheelhouse this summer, discover the craftsmanship behind every bite at your local Boar's Head deli. Boar's Head Committed to craft since 1905. Raiders Pats. This has fallen to Raiders plus two and a half. Gonzalez isn't playing this weekend. I don't know if it's been officially announced yet, but he has not practice. It's clear that something bad happened with that hamstring and he's going to be out at least for week one. I think that sucks. And it's really changed how I feel about this Pats team because he's the best player in the defense. And I think if there was a case for them, especially early in the season, it was going to be centered around their defense doing stuff. Henderson playing right away, Diggs being able to play, which seems like it's going to happen. And I just. The Gonzalez thing scares me a little bit now. The Raiders don't really have like a receiver you necessarily have to shut down. It's Bowers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's wouldn't have been his job anyway. But I don't know. I haven't liked some of the vibe and some of the stuff I've heard the last couple of weeks about how the Pats have no depth, how they're a little younger than people realize, how having this much turnover is hard. I still have them in the playoffs, but it's the one I feel the worst. Well, because I picked it a week ago.

[B]

I know you have to say it by it.

[A]

It's the one. It's like I can change it now, but it's. It's probably the one. I'm the most nervous.

[B]

Season hasn't started yet.

[A]

No, I'm going to. I'll ride with it. Because their schedule is so easy.

[B]

I mean, they used to be the team that was part of the easy schedule for other teams.

[A]

This. I think whoever wins this game gets the seventh seed. And I can't believe I'm saying that for week one, but I have one of these two teams definitely in the playoffs and I like the spot for the Raiders. They're going to come in, they're going to move the ball. I have no idea if their defense is going to be any good. I have no idea if the Pats are going to be able to block Max Crosby. But I think the line is around. Right. And I think ultimately it's a stay away from. I think a month ago I would have said Pats week one. I'm betting them.

[B]

Well, I'm glad because you're not requiring me to try and talk you out of the Pats in this game. And for all the reasons you just mentioned, I think this is one where. Let's just sort of see how this shakes out. Because, you know, here's the thing. I don't know the answer to coach and quarterback. Which. Which coach and quarterback do you trust more, you know, in this week one?

[A]

Well, here, the thing with May, and I was watching, it was interesting. The fantasy leagues. I was in fantasy drafts, like basically a $1 guy. I don't think People are expecting a lot from him. I thought he was incredible last year for what his. How bad his receivers were and how bad the line was. And he was running for his life every series and he was a rookie and he had the worst coaching staff. And I think I'm probably way higher on him that there's a chance he comes in this season and he's just incredible. If I had to do anything in this game, I would probably tease the Raiders to eight and a half and that. But we're not doing that for Ringer 107 and I want to root for the path. So good. Okay, this next one. Cardinal Saints, you threw down as one that you had a lot of interest in. So make the case. Cardinals -6 and a half at home against the Saints.

[B]

It's the Cardinals are at New Orleans.

[A]

Cardinals at New Orleans.

[B]

And I knew this another one. I think the line. Is it five and a half? Oh, it's six and a half. It stayed at six and a half. Okay.

[A]

Cardinals at the Saints, who everybody considers to be the worst team in the league.

[B]

So this is, you know, for the Cardinals, they're coming out party for everybody that's invested in the idea that there is a step up for them. That Jonathan Gannon, this is the year that defense, especially with his acumen in terms of scheming, they didn't. They haven't had the personnel necessarily that fit the Gannon mold. They're supposed to have it this year. And the offense was a top 10 offense by a lot of advanced metrics last season. Kyler. Over the course of the season, they made. They had a legit chance to make the playoffs.

[A]

Jeff feel good about betting on him ever?

[B]

Never. I try not to bet on the Cardinals, but in view of what we have all come to believe about the Saints. Now here's the thing with the Saints and the reason why I'm glad you steered me away from them. They might have a decent defense. The defense was not an abject disaster last season and especially at the beginning of the season. But on the offensive side of the ball, they still have a bunch of dudes. It's still Rasheed Shahid, it's still Olave, it's still Kamara. It's still, you know, Taysom Hill in that combo.

[A]

It's still a terrible quarterback. It seems like their offensive line is better because I bet them six weeks ago to have the worst record or be under three wins or whatever. And it does seem like the new coach Bump the nobody believes in us factor. The fact that not one person is even considering them to do anything. And because they have the worst quarterback situation of the Cleveland the league everybody's like they're going to suck. But they did seem like they hit on their left tackle.

[B]

Thanks.

[A]

It does seem like they have a bunch of guys back and they got rid of Dennis Allen and that fucking terrible coaching staff and.

[B]

The draft pick. That rookie has a multiple effect, a multiplying effect in moving the bum who was one of the worst left tackles in the NFL over to guard where he has less impact. The thing with, with Rattler is like he did they they only average 12 points with him at quarterback. The the but look all those guys were, were hurt. Kellen Moore, you know with with his acumen now Kubiak did his best we would say last season when they came out and went back to back games 40 points but it fell apart because the injuries they nobody had like worse than luck injury wise than the Saints last season on the line, on the offensive line.

[A]

So week one Saints home voodoo just looming, right? We've seen it a bunch of times. I think everybody is going to pick the cards or throw them in a tease or put them in a elimination pool. They're just put them in a money parlay. Just throw the cards in. They're playing the Saints. It'll be fine. Meanwhile the Saints are at home which makes me nervous. And how many times has Kyla Murray completely fucked a parlayer tease up? I can't think of maybe Trevor Lawrence.

[B]

The Kyler Murray corollary.

[A]

Out of all the under 30 quarterbacks who has destroyed more parlays and teases? Who's let you down? More like I wouldn't go near this game.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If I did anything I would bet Saints moneyline because I feel like remember Bengals Pats Last year week one, right. The Pats beat the Bengals 16 10. It's like whoa, who saw that coming? There's going to be a who saw that coming this game or this week. And I think it's either this one or the next one we're going to talk about which is Denver. A line that has climbed out a minus eight and a half at home. Everybody's on them, including me. I have a staggering amount of future bets on them. They're playing Tennessee rookie quarterback on the road. There's a million stats about a rookie qb. First start go against them straight up. The spread bets aren't great. Denver's defense, they run it up at home. They have 14 plus win victories from last year. They had a bunch of them. There's all these signs. Just throw them in a tease. It'll be fine. I'm not as worried about this one because I really believe in Denver. There's a spot when we do the Ringer 107 that we could potentially put them in, but the line is so high. Like House, did you think about Tennessee plus eight and a half?

[B]

No, I did not. But I would not bet Denver at eight and a half. It's too many points.

[A]

It's the point that you just made.

[B]

It's way, way too high. There's not a 10 point difference between these two teams especially. The only thing that, that you know Council's in favor of confidence in Denver is what if Callahan is the same moron that he was last year because.

[A]

I their special teams are awful. What if the coaching's bad?

[B]

Yeah, I've said it before, I no team was was less prepared, worse prepared week in and week out than the Titans and that's how they went 2 and 15 against the spread. An all time historical low mark against the spread because they were just ill prepared week in and week out.

[A]

And I was dying to pick them as the seventh seed because of the schedule because I really think Cam Ward is going to be potentially a special qb. I just the coach, he's going to all of a sudden be a good coach. He was awful last year.

[B]

Awful.

[A]

The staff was awful. The game management was awful. The special teams was awful.

[B]

Awful.

[A]

It's just going to be better. I don't get it. All right, now it's time for a special part of today's episode brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Our friend if you're an NFL fan like me and House, you got to subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket. Get every game, every Sunday all in one place. You can watch up to four games at once with Multi View. Also, I would highly recommend just subscribing to YouTube TV because then you get your own local games like you get Washington. I get the LA games here and you can put that in the multi View. I have good news house. Once again YouTube has crowned me their CMO. Hey Chief multi View Officer, you've earned it. And I'm going to tell you what I think we should do. Local national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket for out of market games excludes digital only games and commercial use. Device and content restrictions apply. Terms and embargoes apply. No refunds. All right House, here's what we got. We're going to do the 1 o' clock games on the East Coast. So that's 10 o' clock Pacific time. We have eight games. We're going to figure out a multi view Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Cincy, Cleveland, Miami, Indianapolis, Carolina, Jacksonville, Vegas Pats Card, Saints, Steelers, Jets, Giants, Washington. So I think our teams have to be in it. There's Giants, Washington's in by the way I can't wait to watch Giants, Washington home run. Vegas Pats home run. Those are two good ones. Carolina, Jacksonville to to see the points and the Travis Hunter piece.

[B]

I'm literally shocked that that's the first game that I was I thought I was going to have to convince you that that's one for us to watch. That's one that's going to be going.

[A]

To be in Ringer 107 for us too.

[B]

But yeah, sure is.

[A]

I want to see the Travis Hunter piece.

[B]

I want to see your boy Trevor Lawrence with Liam Cohen an actual genuine article. A guy who understands modern NFL offense. He's not the average depth of target for Trevor Lawrence was over nine yards last year. Nobody stood back there and took just got blasted because they're running down the effing football field. They can't protect man and Liam Cohen turned around Baker Mayfield's career. Baker turned around on his own. But what Liam Cohen did for save.

[A]

This for ringer107 Jacksonville Carolina 3 what's your fourth one? Is it Tampa, Atlanta? Is it Steelers? Jets? Just a rock fight.

[B]

We can't have both the AFC south and the NFC South.

[A]

I don't think that's Cleveland.

[B]

It might be Cincy Cleveland for me because honest to God I want to.

[A]

See those fantasy bro. Okay.

[B]

And I would want to see the defenses. I want to see those defenses. Both of them. Both the Browns defense and the Bengals defense.

[A]

So we'll go Cincy Carolina but then keeping Arizona, New Orleans back pocket for pocket and let's go to New Orleans where it's 10 to 3 the saints are leading anyway that is thanks again to YouTube for crowning me their Chief Multi view officer. With every game, every Sunday at your fingertips, choosing the ones that deserve a spot on your multi view screen is serious business. That's why they made me the cmo. Never miss a moment of the action with NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and for a limited time only get $36 off NFL Sunday Ticket using code BS36 at checkout. New users only while supplies last ends. 9:22 Go to YouTube.com BS to sign up now. Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket for out of market Games excludes digital only games and commercial use. Device and content restrictions apply. Terms and embargoes apply. No refunds. Okay. Ringer107, it's time. It is brought to you by FanDuel, our friends, we love FanDuel and we're going to pick five games and again, we're competing against all the other shows. FanDuel made us the favorites. You have one pick, I have two picks and we're going to agree on two. And I'm going to give you the first pick. And I think I know what it is. It's involving the Chiefs Chargers game. What is it?

[B]

It's a true story. I already tipped my hand in view of the slate and some of the considerations we've just gone through about games we decided were stay aways. Let me have the coach quarterback combination that I trust the most. This is a divisional matchup on a neutral field. The Kansas City Chiefs have owned the Chargers over the last handful of years, especially Mahomes and Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid don't lose in week one. The only loss they. That you can point to. They're five. Two against the spread. Six and one straight. Straight up in the seven seasons with Mahomes as a starter. They lost that Detroit game in 2023, but Chris Jones was out for that game and I think he's holding out. Yeah, Chris Jones was holding out and. And Travis Kelce was out as well. So what I'm really buying here though is this Chiefs team loaded up for this season. It is, I think, a good argument that this is the best receiver room that Patrick Mahomes is going to enjoy in what, three seasons, four seasons at least.

[A]

I would say for week seven it will be. He's got no right.

[B]

I understand. But still Hollywood Brown and Xavier worthy. That's better than. Than quite a bit of what they went through last season.

[A]

Zombie Kelsey Pacheco's back.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Offensive lines better. Schrager talked about it when he was on the pod earlier this week. There's some. Oh, wait, you don't think we're. You don't think we're the. The guys anymore? You don't think Mahomes is in the top spot and there's some little swagger. And we. Neither of us like the Chargers.

[B]

Neither of us like the Chargers.

[A]

I think we both have Chargers under bets and no playoff bets. I know I do. I think you do too as well. Losing their left tackle before this season.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Probably the second best player in the team. Not great. They Said they're starting Hampton, which I thought was interesting. I thought they were going to split time, but maybe. It seems like they're going to try to get. And they're probably going to try to run on the Chiefs.

[B]

But best of luck. One of the best run defenses in the NFL.

[A]

Here's why I'm with you and I'm glad you picked this one when we did guess the lines on Sunday. I picked Chiefs by six even though it was a neutral field. And Sal laughed.

[B]

That's a lot.

[A]

Who's betting The Chargers in this game?

[B]

Fair point. Fair point.

[A]

You take the Chargers. I, I. You couldn't get me to even sniff them until it gets to plus six. Chiefs minus three is a fucking miracle.

[B]

I.

[A]

You know my favorite great first ringer 107. Let's back Patrick Mahomes. I was talking about how Josh Allen might have taken the conch from him this year as the most reliable QB in the league. But let's. Let's pack our guy. Is he. He's not chubby, Pat, but he doughy Pat.

[B]

I don't know. I wouldn't.

[A]

It's a little doughy, right?

[B]

Is he.

[A]

Is he doughy?

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

I thought he was taking shit for being doughy. Oh, you know who that was? It wasn't him. It was your new wide receiver, Debo Samuel.

[B]

How dare you. How dare you. I forgot.

[A]

I forgot.

[B]

I'm gonna.

[A]

Debo Samuel.

[B]

Debo's D's nuts is what we're gonna have. I'm gonna serve him right now running his flatter.

[A]

Four, nine, four.

[B]

Nuts is what you're going to get on a platter.

[A]

How Chiefs do.

[B]

Unnecessary shot at Debo. But yes, Chiefs minus three.

[A]

I set you up for it too. I was excited about it. Chiefs minus three over the Chargers. That is our first Ringer 107 pick. Congratulations for getting us on the board. Only 106 more to go. My first one should not be a surprise to anyone who heard all the pods during the month of August and beginning of September. The Seahawks are home. They're playing the 49ers. They're underdogs, which is fantastic. It's a team that I am really bullish on that I have NFC west bets on because I thought the odds were out of whack. They're five to one. I have them as a playoff team. I am a huge Mike McDonald guy. I am not scared off by the fact that they seemingly went sideways at QB and probably a little backwards with receiver. I think with the with Kubiak in there, this zone blocking offensive line with the two running backs, Zach Charbonnet I tried to get in every league that I had. I only got him in two. JSN I think has a chance to be one of the best eight receivers in the league and I really, really believe in their defense. I think they could have a top five defense, special teams and then you have the Niners who already have some shakiness with the receivers. True right. They, they have Kittle and McCaffrey healthy. They have a little chip on their shoulder but they have a ton of turnover. They have a bunch of like rookies and guys have never been in this situation. I'm kind of stunned that the Seahawks aren't favored and so if I'm getting plus two and a half I'll probably in real life play the money line. But we're not doing money lines for a ringer. 107 I'm on the board with Seahawks plus two and a half and you're making faces and I don't feel aligned with you at all.

[B]

Yeah, I hate this pick. I would prefer that this be a stay away that we sit back and watch. Nobody, there's nobody in any of the analytics community that has the Seahawks offensive line ranked any higher than 29th. You can't find somebody who takes that looks at that offensive line objectively, looks at their performance last year, looks at the duress that Geno Smith was under all season long and and and puts in the forecast ahead of time that this offensive line is capable of protecting Sam Donald. And the one I'm going to give.

[A]

You four worst ones. Houston, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Miami.

[B]

I don't think Houston's worse and I don't think Miami is worse either. I don't think either one of those are worse.

[A]

We will see.

[B]

The one thing about Sam Donald that we know for sure is that he's bad under pressure and if there's any possibility that he's he had top of class time to throw the football. He, he had on early downs last year three seconds on 47% of his drop, three seconds or more, which is why he threw the football 20 yards down the football field in that Minnesota Vikings offense and ranked at the very top of class for those deep passes. He's not going to get any of that with this offense and they're going to have to set up the run. So we're going to need that Seattle offensive line who was bottom three in the run.

[A]

So you're violently against this.

[B]

I said I hate the pick.

[A]

Who would you sub it for then?

[B]

You mean in terms of what's on the other game? What's remaining?

[A]

Like some of the ones we talked about. Like, would you put Falcons plus one and a half against the Bucks in this spot?

[B]

I like that way better than I like this. Seattle, San Francisco, we're a team this year.

[A]

Okay, I'm going to be talk.

[B]

Okay, okay, okay.

[A]

Because here's the thing now I can't lose because if the Seahawks win, you.

[B]

Can rub it right.

[A]

I'm gonna murder you.

[B]

I understand.

[A]

All day. I accept it.

[B]

I accept it. I will accept it.

[A]

The only thing that you're you, that you got murdered on for more this summer than if Seattle wins this game is the froze disaster when you were here with Jacko.

[B]

Well, some would call it a disaster. Some would call it a gigantic success. That was an all time performance by me. How can you say anything to the contrary?

[A]

A couple weekends ago, you and Jacko come for the weekend and we filmed the rewatchables that's gonna run at some point this summer.

[B]

True story.

[A]

And we hung out the whole weekend and it was great. And we were making a concerted effort to see each other every year because at any point, any of us could be dead at this point. Who knows, 50s, God only knows what's gonna happen to us. So my wife decides she's gonna have a dinner party on Friday night with 16 people. We blow it out. And she's really excited about this frose machine she bought. She's never made the frose. And we're sitting in the back and she's making the frose and she's doctoring it and she leaves. And House is staring at the frose machine and Jacko and I are like, no, House, don't do it. And he's like, I mean, it's right there. There's froze in it. Why can't I have some?

[B]

She wanted us to try it. She encouraged us to sample it. Now look, just set the stage properly. I came out on that same Friday. I was up at 5:30 in the morning on the east coast. Flew out so I could get there in time.

[A]

Hear the excuses?

[B]

No. For us to do the rewatchables had a marvelous time. And then it's time to let our hair down and we go out to the back bar. It's a great setting.

[A]

The.

[B]

The sun is. I mean, you know, it was perfect California weather.

[A]

And the Red Sox beat the Yankees.

[B]

Well, you enjoyed that part for sure. Poor Jacko. And the frozen. She's like, you guys go ahead and try a little.

[A]

Because, you know, she wasn't that forthcoming about that. You guys go ahead and try. I think she was like sitting. She was encouraging.

[B]

Yeah, she's.

[A]

I think it was like, if you want to try a taste, not drink.

[B]

All the frog, don't tell everybody the story. The thing wasn't freezing to her liking. It wasn't getting frozen enough. So she was like tampering with a little bit. And then so she leaves to go.

[A]

Get ready and do a whole bunch of things. And House goes over and takes this huge thing of froze, takes a sip and goes, there's not enough alcohol.

[B]

Make sure it was frozen enough.

[A]

Yeah, there's not enough alcohol in this. Goes, grabs a bottle of vodka, pours a shot and a half of vodka in the frose. It's just a floater, throws down the frozen. Jacko and I are just like taking it easy, having like a vodka and soda or something. You love the froze. You go back, have a second one.

[B]

You wiped in a great jacket.

[A]

You throw that one down. Now some people have showed up and I'm starting to get a little worried about you because, you know, whatever. I can tell when you're. I was like, is he tired? Is he tipsy? The food comes out at like 8, 8 o'. Clock, 8:30. You're eating pork.

[B]

We were sitting outside at 4:30 in the afternoon. That's when we sat down outside.

[A]

All right, so you're eating food and you disappear for like 10 minutes. And I think you go to call your wife. Like, this is like we're 30% in in the dinner party at this point. And I say to Jacko, where's house? And Jacko goes, I don't think he's coming back. I was like, what do you mean he knows? I don't think he's coming back.

[B]

Johnny knows.

[A]

So you went back and you went to make a call and somehow you just were like, I need to go lie down. And you were done.

[B]

I went to make a gigantic panic ice water. Yeah, I wanted like, you know, I was like, oh, the food was amazing, by the way. I don't remember all the chef's credentials, but the pork was effing secreto. The butcher made me a little secret though, which is like, yeah, a choice, you know, the secret bit like a beautiful piece of loin. But I had to go get some, some ice water to refuel. I was enjoying the company, everybody's company. The friends were out. You know, I. I could tell them how good the Froze was.

[A]

So you're gone. You're going for an hour.

[B]

Well, I go sit down is the problem. I sat down with the ice water, and the next thing you know, I look up and, you know, half hour's.

[A]

Gone by, and I'm talking to everybody in, like, I don't know, like, maybe 45 minutes. An hour later, like, I don't think House is coming back. And they're like, where's Joe? So now Carrie's like, what?

[B]

He's gone.

[A]

He. He was barely here. And. And Jacko goes, well, he was drinking the Froze, which she knew, and she got mad. She'd already yelled to you about how you had drank too much froze.

[B]

Because I drank the whole first.

[A]

Well, you did.

[B]

I didn't know that. That that was the. You know, it was. I thought so.

[A]

Then we tell my wife he was. He was drinking the frozen, and he was pouring, like, two shots of vodka floater. And she goes, wait, what? I put so much booze in that you just can't taste it, so you have it, like quintuple. Froze. So Froze House. Now we're called. You Jose Froze House. Just. Just was out. You threw, like, four innings. You didn't even. You didn't even get 15 outs to be official for a win or a loss.

[B]

I think I had 11 strikeouts in those four innings, though. They were quality innings.

[A]

Well, legendary story. Lot of froze jokes. Anyway, as bad as froze House was, you talked me out of the Seahawks. And now if we get fucked on this, I'm going to give you more shit than the frozen thing. So we're putting. We're putting Falcons bucks in there. That's what we're doing.

[B]

I find we both like the Falcons, right?

[A]

Yeah, I. You know, I just think it's a bad spot for the Bucks with. With the receiver, you know, the. The new offensive coordinator, a couple receivers, missing Igbuka in his first game. Even though we all love Igbuka, man. Man, I'm going to be really mad at you. Okay, so second pick, Falcons plus one half. Third one. We both like this one. The Bears. I love the Bears. Bears plus one and a half. Monday night, I'm in on them to be over on their win total. I'm in on them actually to be a playoff team. I'm in on Ben Johnson. I'm in on everything I've read. I love the moves they made this summer. I liked how they beefed up their weapons. And JJ McCarthy on the road on a Monday night in Chicago. Shades of that Arch Manning OSU situation. And I just, I'm surprised by the line. I got to be honest. Bears +1/2 was surprising to me. And I wonder if it's going to flip on Monday. Do you see the Bears being minus one and a half on Monday?

[B]

I do, because I think there's enough skepticism about, you know, Ben Johnson in his first game and his impact on Caleb. Like, there was a healthy skepticism built up against Caleb and he, Caleb kind of earned it, but really it was a disaster of a situation. The thing that made me so bullish on Chicago was the bit, I'll confess it right now on Hard Knocks, when the Bears and the Bills played each other and we saw Ben Johnson, you know, in kind of game mode, I was just so impressed. And honestly, it was the diametric opposite of the previous season when I knew to fade the Bears because Aberfluous was a goddamn douche. The entire Hard Knocks. I couldn't believe, like, who hired this guy to be a head coach of a football team with the, with the number one draft pick, rookie quarterback. So it went exactly as folks might anticipate. But I really like this Bears team. I think their defense especially and the thing that we'll see out of o' Connell and Minnesota is they're going to run. They're going to try and run the ball. Like get your Jordan Mason futures now. Get them all lined up at rush attempts, you know, for the Vikings.

[A]

You're talking about the Vikings?

[B]

Yes, because the Vikings are going to run the football. They're going to try and run to protect that kid and have him not having to stand back there and throw the ball down the field. But I, I like the Bears run defense under the circumstances where they get to, to anticipate that, that the Vikings are going to. Now, I'm. That don't mean that disrespectful to o' Connell because Okonnell is going to.

[A]

But by the way, no Jordan Addison in this game. Adam Thielen coming from Carolina, I just like the spot. I just like the Bears. And a tease, which we're not going to do. But I thought the Bears as a tease was a taste one. All right, the two we agree on. So we have Chiefs minus three, Falcons plus one and a half, Bears plus one and a half, Ravens at Buffalo. Buffalo, a team that I picked to make the super bowl. And yet we both like the Ravens in this game. And there's a bunch of reasons for it. There's some revenge factor. Mark Andrews, the prop queen, talked about this on rare gambling show today. Amazing by Monday, the Mark Andrews stuff, everyone's going to bet on him to catch a touchdown. Like it's just going to be almost like the all time redemption story. I don't think it's gonna be like that. But the Bill stuff, the, the secondary issues for them, that's. It really makes me nervous. Right. And you talked about it yesterday with the cuz about when they signed Jordan Poyer and it, it just feels like they're scrambling for bodies and it's week one. I think it means maybe a little more to the Ravens to be able to go in there. This was one I had penciled down as a win for Buffalo for a while. But if they win this one, I hate betting against Josh Allen. This would be a Josh Allen throwing everybody on his back game. But I just like, I like the spot for the Ravens.

[B]

Yeah, we're in lockstep. I mean the thing, the reason to be nervous is because the Bills have lost two home games in three years. Like the Buffalo Bills don't lose. What are we doing?

[A]

Why are we doing this?

[B]

We're doing this because I think the Baltimore Ravens have the most talent on both sides of the football of any team in the entire NFL. And the Ravens are my pick to win the super bowl this year. That's. But that's. We don't need all that hyperbole they do have, even with the injuries. And here's the cautionary note. The way that the Ravens establish their offense and get Lamar free is they play all this heavy personnel, which is either two tight ends or more pointedly Patrick Ricard, the fullback. So Isaiah, likely their number one protecting tight end, he's out. And Patrick Ricard is also out for this game. So they're not going to be able to play out of that heavy personnel. This is a shout out to Warren Sharp, who did a nice job setting this up. I do think yet even they're in, even though they won't be able to run out of that comfortable personnel, set that formation that they like. I love their weapons across the board. I think Lamar showed us last season, especially in that playoff game. They can get vertical like they, they lost that game by, you know, they, they sabotage themselves. It was self sabotage and it was Mark Andrews and it was the turnovers. They just, if you could, if they don't have the unforced errors. I don't like the Bill's defense. I think that defense is, is going to be a real vulnerability all season long. The thing that saves the Bills and the reason why I think you're on the right path in terms of having them go far is their. Their schedule is. Is amazing. They're going to be able to manage their schedule. If they get any health at all on defense, they can go on a run for sure. But this game one Week one Baltimore. That's why the line went from Buffalo favorite to Baltimore favorite.

[A]

Yeah. So this is 4:46 Pacific time on a Thursday. Now, if you Google Buffalo injuries secondary, the AI overview is not flattering. And then you go to the news stories and the headlines are Bill's injuries at cornerback pose problems. So what about the Bill secondary? Cornerback concerns mount Bill's injury riddled secondary faces tough test. Bill suffered another injury and already depleted secondary. It's. It's. They have both starting quarterbacks. Benford and White look like they're out and they're having safety issues and it's just like I. No thanks.

[B]

No, thank you. That's right.

[A]

FYI, we were trying to be nice, but if you're going to bet on Lamar Jackson in a big game, you want to do it in September. Sorry, Mallory. It's true.

[B]

Well, they did start off 02 last year, the Ravens.

[A]

I'm just saying this is regular season. Lamar. I wouldn't want to do this in the playoffs is my point.

[B]

Yes, agreed.

[A]

See, now people are going to be.

[B]

Lamar didn't have anything to do with them losing last year, but he did the market. He was awesome. In fact, he was awesome. Lamar was awesome.

[A]

Why are you so nervous about Lamar Backlash?

[B]

I'm not. I just had a. I was treated to an amazing crab feast with our buddy Warren Sharp at his house because Jimmy Seafood up there in Baltimore sent down all these crabs. Because of our respect for the Baltimore Ravens, I would never do anything that would get in the way of a crab cake. How about that?

[A]

I'm in a guillotine league. Not the one we're in, but another one with my friend Casey made the fourth pick and we took Lamar Jackson.

[B]

Awesome. Because great job.

[A]

I don't. And it was like 12 picks too early.

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

But by the time it would have come back to us. I just don't think you can win a guillotine league unless you have Lamar, Josh or Burrow in the first couple weeks because those are the only three quarterbacks where you know what you're getting each week. I know I'm getting a big amount of points. Anyway, I'm excited to root for him in this game because I'll have gambling. I'll have fantasy interest, all that stuff. Last one. We agreed on this one, too. And I don't know how we're going to play yet, but we both really like the Jaguars against the Panthers. The Panthers not only have, I think the worst defense in the nfc, not only has them there been a very strange Bryce Young revisionist history. Like, I was. I was driving to a haircut today, and I was listening to Mad Dog Russo with Troy Aikman, and they were talking about how. And by the way, I love Mad Dog, they were both talking about how good Bryce Young was in the second half of the season. I was like, am I missing something? I remember him being okay and having a couple good games. But now we have reached. Bryce Young was awesome in the second. Like, I just feel like people get amnesia, as I keep saying, with what happened last year. Bryce Young was definitely way better. We felt good about it, but he's in a situation now where his. They traded Thielen Coker got hurt. Ted McMillan, his number one pick, has a hamstring thing. I don't even know is he going to be. We're going to be in the. In the. In the heat, potentially. I don't know how many downs he's going to be able to play. So I don't know if they're going to have the receivers. And then conversely, the Jags, I said this to Sal on Sunday. This feels like a classic. Jags look awesome. You laid out the Liam Cohen case earlier, the weapons and like, oh, my God, the J. Whoa, what do we have? And I could see them just blowing out the Panthers. So how do we want to play? This is my question because this is we with the Ringer 107. We have Wiggle room with one pick where we can do a tease. We can do a parlay. We can parlay and alt under. We can go all kinds of directions. So we can. Basically, the two things I mailed you, we can take the Jags money line because I don't like the hook. You can take them straight up.

[B]

It was three and now it's three and a half. That's. This is another one.

[A]

So we could take the Jags money line and parlay it with the over of 37 and a half and that's minus 1 17. The rules of ring are 107 is it could be a parlay. It has to be minus 120 or better. The other one we could do is we could just parlay the Jags with the Broncos and do a money parlay. Jags, Broncos and And just hope though hope both teams win and that is around the same. What is your preference? Or a third option would be just suck it up and go Jags minus three and a half.

[B]

Right. My out of those three choices, my preference would be to just ride the Jaguars minus the three and a half.

[A]

And not worry about the backdoor touchdown at the end of the game.

[B]

Like the, the, the, the, the alt total down to 36. Where was it? 37. Is that where you. Yeah. So I mean this is one of my favorite overs of the week which is you know, the, the Jags unleashed with Cohen and Trevor Lawrence. They're trying to make a statement. Remember last season they looked pretty damn good against Miami and then Travis at the end fumbled a goddamn football going into the end zone and Miami, you know, took that game away. But the Jaguars were had. I honestly think that that sabotaged their entire season. They became that team that, you know, fumbled away opportunities to win games all season long through dumb boneheaded kind of stuff. I don't think that the Carolina Panthers defense has improved enough. There are stories that say that say they've stabilized. They're not going to be as bad. I just don't think that they're. They've improved enough. And those, the Jaguars weapons, those are Cadillac weapons across the board and I like that offensive line. I think if, if Cohen and Trevor Lawrence are on the same page about getting rid of the goddamn football within a couple of seconds after snap, that's a formidable offense. They have the skill guys there. Thomas is going to have a huge game. I think so. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not afraid of the three and a half to be honest with you.

[A]

Well, did you see that they're going to play Hunter a bunch at wide receiver. It looks like.

[B]

Boing. That's the sound of a boner.

[A]

Is that what it sounds like?

[B]

That's what it sounds like.

[A]

Other option is we can go straight up on this and we can do for our parlay, Falcons plus three and a half with over 35 and a half points gets us under as our parlay bet. That'll be minus minus 116. We could move the Falcons up to plus three and a half. Over 35 and a half.

[B]

I don't want to bet a total with Michael Penix. I don't want to have anything to do with the total in that Tampa.

[A]

So let's just do the. So you want to do the straight up so you're not worried about the hook.

[B]

I think in week One. Let's just be, you know, let's be bold. There's no reason to be like sniffing around. Oh, how can we find a combination that's going to protect. Let's let. Why are we. Why are we doing all that? We've done the hard work all season, all off season to get to this point where we're finally ready. We know what the priors are. We know what our our thoughts are. We've bet all the futures. You and the cousin Sal did futures for hours.

[A]

Ask me is there any chance Tennessee is going to go in Denver and beat Denver?

[B]

It would. The sports book would would make $2 billion. So that would be the reason why. Because the books will make so much money if that happens. But what's the how do you get there? How does Sean Payton and Bog.

[A]

Moneyline. Denver Moneyline. That could be our fifth pick. Jags Moneyline. We don't have to worry about the hook. Denver just has to beat a rookie QB and and son of Brian Callahan, whatever his name is at home.

[B]

I mean they just signed Boniti to an extension and everybody looks so happy. Everybody in that Denver situation.

[A]

In week one in Tennessee. Come on, what are we doing?

[B]

I just want to be on the record. I am confident in the Jaguars laying the three and a half but I I'm fine with the idea of doing Jags. Denver Moneyline. That's fine. I don't have any problem with it.

[A]

All right, here we go. Official Ringer 107 picks. We have no losses yet because season hasn't started. Chiefs -3 in Brazil against the Chargers back in Mahomes and Reed we're back in the infrastructure. We're shorting the Chargers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Falcons plus one and a half at.

[B]

Home at home against Tampa we're investing in Michael Penix we are worried about.

[A]

The Bucs receiver issues, new offensive coordinator and we want the Bucks. We want to back them starting in October to win that division. But right now have a little rockiness. House talked me out of the Seahawks. We went with the Falcons Bears plus one and a half against the Vikings. We're all in on this. Ben Johnson revamped Bears roster Eber Floose the Eber floose bump. Yeah to competent coach from eber flu and JJ McCarthy on the road has some March Manning parallels in Ohio State Ravens minus 1/2 against the Bills really because of how banged up the Bills secondary is in early season Lamar and then last but not least after a lot of haggling Jaguars Moneyline against the Panthers we think the Jaguars have a chance to blow out the Panthers, but we'll just grab their money line and we're going to put it with the Denver money line against Tennessee, and that is under minus 120. So that fits for the Ringer 107 parameters. Good luck to us, House.

[B]

Best of luck to us. I'm not going to forecast what I think is going to happen this week. I don't want it to be thrown up in my face by our competent competitors. But I like our slate. Bill Simmons.

[A]

I like our slate more than I like you against the Froze two Friday nights ago.

[B]

I won Drake. It's a whole batch. Your wife's mad.

[A]

Froze was saying they won.

[B]

Your wife got mad at me.

[A]

That's Ringer107, brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. And don't forget to check out Ringer NFL Fantasy Football, Thursday Ringer Gambling show and Friday Ringer Gambling show, because that's who we're competing against. One more break and then I want to talk quickly about this Kawhi Leonard thing. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. As fun as it is to chat about life's problems with friends, that's not always helpful, especially when you're looking for guidance on relationships, anxiety or depression. Instead, try talking to a therapist for BetterHelp. They can match you with a fully licensed therapist and get you the answers you need. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of Expertise. Find the one with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com billsimmons that's my name. That's betterhelp.com billsimmons this episode is brought to you by Viori. Look, I'm not a big let's hype up workout clothes guy, but Viori, I gotta say, total game changer. Been wearing a lot. If you see me power walking around Los Angeles, probably gonna see me wearing some Vuory Sunday performance joggers that they have. It's made with four way performance stretch fabric, one of the most comfortable things you own. You will wear them everywhere, I promise. All you have to do is go to Vuoria.com Simmons and you get 20% off your first purchase with Vuori. V-U-O-R-I.com Simmons enjoy. Free shipping on all US orders over $75, plus free returns. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. All right, so House, a couple days ago I was talking to Zach Lowe because He had returned to the States and we were saying how boring this NBA summer was, that nothing had happened, that it was the driest NBA summer we had had this entire decade. We had really no international basketball. We had no Olympics, we had no bubble basketball. Just nothing. And then all of a sudden, the Ballmer thing happens. Pablo Torre, who's on this podcast couple weeks ago, I can't remember how many.

[B]

The journalist Pablo Torre.

[A]

Yeah, he journalisted it up.

[B]

He sure did.

[A]

This was a great story by him.

[B]

He took the shit out of this. Great job.

[A]

He really did. Good job by him. This crazy story about Steve Ballmer and this company that. What was it called? Aspiration. I had never even heard of this company. It was a big quipper sponsor. Ball Mart invested in it. There was money being spent on Kawhi Leonard services that he was not really rendering. And it was just a lot of.

[B]

He had the option to render services. I guess he declined to render.

[A]

It was a lot of breadcrumbs. It was a whole heaping cup of breadcrumbs. And it confirmed at least the story. We'll find out if it's true or not, because the NBA is going to investigate. I'm not saying the reporting wasn't true. I'm saying the actual is there. Did Ballmer actually launder money through this thing to pay Kawhi Leonard? Which is what the NBA is going to investigate. It confirmed a lot of stuff that we've always felt was going on, both anecdotally and whisper stuff. And just this is a whole world of the NBA that they would rather we didn't talk about. I've talked about it anecdotally on my podcast a few times about star players being allowed to use the team playing for their own purposes, or being allowed to stay at an owner's beach place for two weeks with a bunch of their friends. Like, there's a lot of nooks and crannies in the cba. The league just does this. They're like, we don't want to know. We don't want to know you.

[B]

And I won't name names because this podcast too popular. I felt like I could get away with it in some other form. So I did name names, but things like, you know, couple big star players landing in a. In a city where you really have a hard time figuring out what the attraction was for those two players. But. But looks like there might be some investment vehicles maybe outside of the United.

[A]

States of America where there's some wink, wink investment stuff.

[B]

An inside line of Sight on some investments in foreign jurisdiction teams that figure out a way. There's some star players with documentaries and who knows where the economics go with that kind of thing. Just that kind of stuff out there.

[A]

All kinds of businesses. There's a lot of ways to do this. And this was always with Tom Brady and Kraft, with the Patriots for the last basically 10 years with TB12 running, you know, and having a whole facility right next to Gillette Stadium. And there was always, always people wondering and look, I think any league is going to be like, we kind of don't want to know unless you force us to try to have to find out what we should know. In this case, the Clippers came out pretty aggressively saying, especially from a bomber standpoint, that this was not true. And they. I thought what Cuban said was interesting and it backed up something that I thought because I read all this stuff and the way it was all laid out, it was pretty damning that there was more than a smoking gun here. This was so sloppy that it almost makes me think. I kind of just can't believe everything I know about Ballmer. How shrewd of a businessman he is, how thoughtful he is about everything. Even how they did the Intuit Dome, every piece of that place he put so much thought into. And I just think he's a really on it guy. He's not like a cut corners old billionaire who just fucking does whatever. He's really on it. And all of this that was laid out was the sloppiest shit I've ever seen. And I'm just like, I just can't believe he was this dumb. That's, that's kind of where I've landed. And maybe, maybe he was this dumb.

[B]

So if we wanted.

[A]

But I can't believe he was this dumb. Yeah.

[B]

So the way to get to where we are right now and trying to answer the Ballmer question is do you really think that the 50. What was the investment that he made, wasn't it the investment in this?

[A]

I don't want to go. We don't need to go.

[B]

Well, it just wasn't enough money for, for it to necessarily be something that he, his own self is sitting down and looking at the investment thesis. Now I'm not suggesting that he didn't do his diligence, but he entrusts quite a bit to a whole cadre of people in his support system. And this could be one where somebody in his support system said, I see a pathway for this investment here. And you know, by the way, now I'm not suggesting anything necessarily nefarious out of his investment team and connecting the DoT with Kawhi, that could have come later, but this thing was attracting celebrities. They were trying all kinds of celebrities. Other look at the list of creditors. The Boston Red Sox are a creditor, like whoever the brain trust was behind this Ponzi scheme. Those people had access to, you know, big swinging dicks. And I'm, I'm not suggesting anything about, you know, Ballmer himself missing here. I, I, to me, the, the plausible explanation is his investment team was swayed. They saw that the other investors were other teams, other celebrities, you know, that, that kind of thing. Not that dissimilar from the crypto thing that went, that, that turned out to be a fraud with all of the.

[A]

Well, and that's another thing. The crypto and the bitcoin is another way to take care of people. And you wouldn't even know it happened.

[B]

Interesting. Interesting.

[A]

It's, it's the, it's the, it's the sleazy side of the league and it's existed for a long time and it's always been whispered about and talked about in all these different ways. And this is one of those where it's like, see, see, this shit does happen. But you really have to believe Ballmer, who is a super smart guy, just completely, completely fell asleep at the wheel. And maybe he did, but my reaction was like, wow, this is some of the dumbest shit I have ever seen. If this is true. Because what's going to happen is they'll get, they'll probably, the contract will maybe be nullified, who knows? But they'll be fined at least as much as the Joe Smith thing. They'll lose at least four to five first round picks.

[B]

They'll be fine, maybe worse. Right.

[A]

Because the other problem is that other owners are pissed, right, because they got him at, you know, a slight, slightly less than market value.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, just.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then the other piece of this, this was kind of discussed at the time I remember talking about on my podcast, but everybody heard about Kawhi's uncle, Uncle Dennis.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[A]

That had his hand out that whole free agency and to every team that talked and was kind of unlike any other person that any team had to deal with. So. And then there was some, somebody reported about how the Toronto owner had said how this guy tried to make me arrange all this money. So it's just a mess. And I'm sure Adam Silver got through the summer was like, this has been great, man. We figured out this Euro League Thing we squashed this.

[B]

Hard, Sal.

[A]

We've put in a hard salary cap. Matt SBS seems like he's threatened to be confident. I got 4.25 billion for freaking Portland. Like, we're, we're expansion's not happening anymore because we're all making so much money. We're doing great. What a great summer. I'm just going to relax this week, but these next couple weeks, I'm just going to be somewhere tropical or in the sun or in some beach house. And then this comes down with Ballmer, an owner that everybody likes. So I have no idea what's going to happen.

[B]

An innovator. Yeah.

[A]

But Pablo's team, like, you know, because Pablo has a staff. Yeah, they, they broke this shit down. They found documents. Like, they, they just did an awesome job. And I don't know how it plays out. So if you had to bet, if you had to bet, does this lead to like a Joe Smith type situation or is there some sort of explanation? If I gave you those two choices, there's some sort of explanation that gets them out of this, or it's going to be more like we are slapping your hand really, really hard with a bamboo stick.

[B]

There's no explanation that gets them out of this. They are going to be punished. I think there is an explanation. I think that that Ballmer will be sufficiently distanced. I do think the most plausible explanation to me is somebody and his investment team found this thing, was persuaded. Let's put, put in the chunk of money that they put in. And then somebody said, oh, look, they're doing celebrities. Kawhi. Hey, look, man, you could get in on this. This is going to be an easy gig for you. And Ballmer is going to have sufficient sort of prophylactic. There'll be layers, right? You won't find communication, the diaphragm, you won't find direct communications. People are bombers like, like, please tell Kawhi that he can get 30 million free dollars if he agrees to, you know, sign up with the, with this dumb Ponzi scheme. Tree. Tree farm, whatever nonsense.

[A]

One of the weird things was this was two years after his initial deal.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So it doesn't tie in the 2019 piece. And then the other thing that, like, if you're going to say that this actually did happen, it's so much money to give to Kawhi Leonard. If it was like 5 million, yeah, this was a Ponzi scheme. These guys were idiots. It was 28 million. And then there was a report today that it might have been Even more than that in stock, like another 20 million. So then when you see that you're like, man, this looks bleak for for Bomber. Like I think he's going to have to come out pretty hard if this isn't true.

[B]

Well, it's true. It happened. The money and Kawhi definitely got the contract and definitely got money from it. And I think that's enough for the league's perspective. Who cares what the explanation is? It happened. Bomber put his money in and Kawhi got money out.

[A]

He's if he didn't know anything about this and this is there's some sort of accident or whatever.

[B]

It's not an accident.

[A]

He's got to come out really hard and be like, look, this was not an end around to give Kawhi Leonard more money. I swear on my kids lives like whatever. You have to go hard to to try to prove that this is true because this is going to haunt him for the rest of his career as an owner. It is.

[B]

Well, what was it? Was it Glenn Taylor that he's the one that ran the terrible owner?

[A]

This guy owns, owns the Clippers. He's trying to fight the Lakers in la. By the way, the Lakers can't stand the Clippers. They couldn't be happier about this. So. And the funniest thing of all this is guess where the all star game is going to be this year. The epicenter of the NBA. The into it Dome.

[B]

Wow, that's awesome.

[A]

You coming? Should I get the froze ready immediately?

[B]

Yes, I'm in. I'm all the way in. We'll just be recovering from the Super Bowl.

[A]

Okay. All right, House. I'm glad we talked that one out. I'll see you next Thursday. Hopefully the Ringer 107 went well and if Seattle covers and the Bucks beat the Falcons, you can blame me. I would just put your phone on mute. I would turn your notifications off on Sunday.

[B]

Yeah, maybe I'll do that anyway. Maybe I'll just do that anyway.

[A]

Thanks Haas. Great to see you. Thanks to Gahal and Eduardo as well. Don't forget about new rewatchables coming on Monday. It is a one for us with me and Chris Ryan and you can check all the rewatchables we've done on ringer movies. You can check out House on Sunday on the ringer pregame which I think we moved to 11:30 this year. The cast is back. We're going to be doing it on our YouTube channel on the Ringer Gambling Show. Ringer Gambling YouTube channel. And I can't wait. I might even pop on. I might even have a you're welcome.

[B]

You're invited. Always.

[A]

Might even have a pick for everybody House. Good job by you.

[B]

Thank you. Good job by you.

[A]

Must be 21 plus in President select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + in President D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling Problem Call 100 Gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-887-89-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelpline ma.org or call 830-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York.