← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Sharp or Square - NFL Week 7 Reactions - Giants-Broncos, Cowboys-Commanders, Packers-Cardinals, Saints-Bears, Raiders-Chiefs and more
00:52:04
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- [00:00]
Simon Hunter
This is an iHeart podcast. What's that sound? That's the sound of Downy Unstoppable scent beads going into your washing machine and giving your clothes freshness that lasts all day long. There it is again. It's like music to your ears. Or more like music to your nose. That freshness is irresistible. Let's get a Downy Unstoppables bottle shake. And now a sniff solo. Nice. With Downy Unstoppables, you just toss wash wow. For all day freshness.
- [00:36]
Chad Millman
Welcome to Sharper Square, presented by Hard Rock Bat. We are part of the Volume Podcast network. This is the show that makes the squares sharper and makes the wise guys pay attention. I am Chad Millman. I am joined as always by my bff, my companion, my compadre professional Better Simon Hunter. Hello, Simon.
- [00:57]
Simon Hunter
Hello, Chad.
- [00:58]
Chad Millman
Dude, we're coming on a little bit late because we were waiting on the end of that Broncos Giants game. Like, I don't think anybody wanted to win that game. I think they scored 46 points in the final quarter. Again, it just ended a second ago. Will Lots kick the field goal? The Broncos win 33, 32. That game had everything of both teams going out of their way to make the biggest mistakes possible.
- [01:31]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, just insane game.
- [01:34]
Chad Millman
That's it. We're just sitting here. We were freaking out that whole time and that's all I have to say about it.
- [01:41]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, I just. I don't know. I can't get. Can't get over the comeback yet. I gotta let it sink in first.
- [01:47]
Chad Millman
Well, the comeback was insane. The Broncos were down 26 to eight and then took the lead with like a minute left. And then the Giants took the lead with 30 seconds left. And then the Broncos just won the game there. Digest it while we go through the rest of this stuff. We can talk about it later. Listen, here's the good news. We avoided the Raiders as big dogs. We avoided the jets as small dogs. Unfortunately, we could not break all of our bad habits. We did bite on the one big dog that we got way too enthusiastic about. Our record right now is 1 and 2. I feel lucky to be 1 and 2. We won with the Browns. We lost with those big dog Titans. We have the Lions minus four and a half tomorrow night. We have the Texans plus three and a half tomorrow night. Last one's out were the Cowboys. We're going to talk about that. The Saints. Glad we avoided that. Minnesota. Glad we avoided that. We're going to get to our early liens. A review of how we did on all of Our picks. We're going to have your live comments later in the show. We're going to have our shame, shame, shame. We're going to have our hero of the week. At least we'll each have our hero of the week. Are you ready?
- [03:22]
Simon Hunter
I'm ready, brother.
- [03:24]
Chad Millman
Miami, Cleveland. Cleveland minus two and a half. Simon, listen, we nearly talked ourselves out a bet that we loved the entire week this morning. We nearly did that. We, honest to God almost did that.
- [03:43]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, honestly I. Not that I saw today coming, but I just, I knew we were about to step in a couple games and I was worried this for sure was one of them. You said you feel lucky to be one and two. I, I'm mad because it's like I didn't know what game to take out. You nailed your Browns pick. Obviously Chad's choice. I should have, should have took, should have took the Chargers out forcing that Cowboys game. And that, that was a tough one where it's like kept trying to find a way to get that Cowboys game in because it was obviously a good number but you nailed it with this one. Obviously my fear came true, but it happened to Tua. Gabriel, I think threw the ball, I don't know, 11 times. Whatever it was, it's. Dude got really lucky where they just could run it. We, we didn't need the rookie throwing it. So that was the dream scenario for us. It was like, okay, we can run it and our defense gets a bad to us that just like I said, you nailed it. That was what we talked about and it literally went took. I think he had three picks to and got benched in the third quarter or fourth quarter. So yeah, that was, that was a dream, dream scenario in that game.
- [04:44]
Chad Millman
It was Dylan Gabriel. The first Brown scoring drive was so gross. You know I have the betting fund that I do with all my buddies, right. And so of course I'll, I'll send them all the pics that I've made for us for the day on Sunday morning. And then at one point we were texting about the Bears, of course, and someone asked me about the Browns and I said nobody watch it. Let, let me, let me do the work here. It's my responsibility. It's too gross. Thank God there's that guy in the Dolphins, that nose tackle for the Dolphins, Zach Sealer, who every single game has some egregiously stupid over aggressive penalty. I think he's done it four times this year and today it was a WWE clothesline of Dylan Gabriel that was on third and six and kept the Browns opening drive alive. That got them the field goal. And for a minute, I thought all the Browns were going to need was that field goal because, like, the Dolphins couldn't do anything. And what I loved even more was Dylan Gabriel. He was basically just throwing with his eyes closed, like, to the middle of the field. Guy super covered. They're catching it through arms and legs and helmets. It was horrible. And I feel like we've now gotten lucky. Not lucky, but we've chosen the rounds. And the Browns in the right spot at the right time. Game 1 against the Bengals. Game 2 today against the Dolphins.
- [06:35]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, we just. It's. People get annoyed by it, but there we keep saying they're a different team at home. Their stats back it up and the defense keeps proving it out. And, you know, their only real weakness in the entire game was Achan. I think he averaged 6 yards per carry, so he was doing what he should be doing. We just. Tua. Unbelievable how bad Tua is. And like you said, Gabriel could be the same exact spot that Tua was in. If you needed to throw in that game, you were down. It was such sloppy conditions. It was so bad. It was just a nightmare all over. And we didn't get bit by the turnover. I think it was on a kickoff. Miami guys carrying it, gets hit right after. Like you said, that Brown score, and they got the ball back and scored again. And like you said, that was it.
- [07:18]
Chad Millman
That was it.
- [07:19]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. That was the one good read we had this week. And that was Chad's read. Chad's choice.
- [07:24]
Chad Millman
It's two in a row for Chad's choice on Goodreads.
- [07:28]
Simon Hunter
Let's go.
- [07:28]
Chad Millman
Mike McDaniel, by the way, before we leave this game, not that I'm not in a hurry to leave.
- [07:34]
Simon Hunter
No. You want to stay here?
- [07:36]
Chad Millman
The one game I got right. But Mike McDaniel, he looks so sad in his rain slicker and his hoodie and his glasses. And at halftime, they interviewed him, and I felt like he. He could barely get the answers out. I don't know if he last through Tuesday.
- [07:57]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, it's.
- [07:58]
Chad Millman
It was bad.
- [07:59]
Simon Hunter
The team was unprepared.
- [08:01]
Chad Millman
It looked bad.
- [08:02]
Simon Hunter
Every week I feel like they're gonna get rid of him. They don't. And, you know, I talked about them as a last place team for the obvious reason of their schedule. Started out easy. They're one in six, and now it gets brutal. They got Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Washington before their bye week. So, you know, can. Can he get them two wins in that stretch? I don't think so, so it's like why keep them? Why not fire them? Get, get it moving, get the process moving. But yeah, the owner, we should just. I feel like the, the Miami doesn't fire teams in season usually. So I'd be shocked if. Is it Stephen Ross, the owner? I'd be shocked if he steps up and fires this guy.
- [08:41]
Chad Millman
Only the jets keeping the Dolphins from being the worst team in the NFL. New England at Tennessee. Tennessee. We had him at seven and a half. It was our brass balls bet of the week. Honestly, I think this morning it was the only game we kind of didn't hesitate on when we were trying to figure out our final five. Clearly we should have. I feel like, I feel like we can, we can trace our mistake back to I think on Tuesday because I think on Tuesday, on Sunday night, we were all in on the Patriots like it was six and a half. We loved Vrabel going back. We hated the Titans. There was no way we were betting the Titans like we were 100% betting the Patriots in this game. Brian Callahan gets fired and I think we got over our skis and got too excited. I think we fell into bad habits and convinced ourselves that the dead cat bounce was more powerful than just a well coached team and a quarterback who's so freaking hot right now.
- [09:55]
Simon Hunter
And this is also just life betting bad teams. It was a 1310 game. Tennessee because they are pulled the coach and it's Cam Ward. They could have chewed up the final two minutes, maybe got a touchdown. Instead they get a field goal. Drake goes right down the field, incredible throw, respect to him, throws a touchdown. And even that, we're down 17, 13 and a half. Even that, I'm still like, okay, we're moving the ball, we're in this game. But like we always say with these bad teams, you need to avoid the huge mistakes. You need the luck, the bounce your way. And the luck at that to that point felt like it was our way. Other than that two minute touchdown, the opening drive for the Patriots, Drake May gets concussed and they bring in the backup. And on a third and six on a clear blitzer, Dobbins dodges this blitzer. The Pasternaut comes in cold, slips out of a sack on a free Blitzer, completes the third and six like 15 yards for a first down. And even then we're still not dead yet. Again, it's 1713. Drake May comes back in all concussed up. He's not on target still. He throws it behind his receiver on a fourth and one. This guy One hands insane stretch catches it to himself. I don't know about you. At that moment I was like, oh, we're dead there. That's no way we're getting out of this.
- [11:14]
Chad Millman
That's when I stopped taking notes on this game.
- [11:16]
Simon Hunter
Yes.
- [11:17]
Chad Millman
I literally wrote. I wrote this was our shot.
- [11:20]
Simon Hunter
Yeah.
- [11:21]
Chad Millman
We didn't stop Dobbs. We didn't stop Dobbs. That was how we were going to get a chance with the three plays that Drake May was out because he was so on fire. Like he's throwing these deep balls like they're 5 yard shallow crosses and it's so accurate and they're so easy. However. However.
- [11:45]
Simon Hunter
So it was, I think at this point it's 2413.
- [11:48]
Chad Millman
2413 game word play. And then Cam Ward. I actually tried to get, for about 20 minutes, I tried to get Chat GPT to do something for me. I'm going to explain it. I feel like, you know the Heimlich maneuver posters where they're like illustrations of how to perform the Heimlich maneuver if somebody is choking. And they're universal. They're in every restaurant around the world. Right. I feel like the universal symbol for when your team is just wholly incompetent and it is not going to go anywhere and it is low as it's possibly going to get is a quarterback who is untouched, unbothered in dry weather and the ball slips out of his hand and goes backwards. That to me. And I tried to get chatgpt I actually like wrote mimic. Give me a poster that mimics the Heimlich maneuver only it's a picture of Cam Ward losing the ball on the five yard line with the ball going behind his head. And it took me literally like maybe five tries before I actually got the poster that I wanted it to be. But it wasn't quite good enough that I wanted to post it. But dude, after that it's 31 to 13 and that's the ball game. And that's exactly what happens to bad teams. And that's what happens when you bet bad teams.
- [13:15]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, New England didn't need to try anymore. Like I said, they got an opening touchdown. That that was the next series that came where he got the ball back.
- [13:22]
Chad Millman
Yeah.
- [13:23]
Simon Hunter
So they get 14 points like that. Like you said, it's 13 to 31. 13 in like 30 seconds. They didn't need to show a single play the rest of the rest of the game. Drake May just. I think they probably told him, hey, you have the record right now for completion percentage. Pass the ball. We can Just run the ball now for the rest of the game. And I think he finished 19 of 21 and broke our record set by Tom brady of. Was it 90 completion percentage.
- [13:46]
Chad Millman
So something like that.
- [13:47]
Simon Hunter
Pretty incredible. Like you said. Drake May playing out of his mind right now. That was a horrible spot. And you know, Tennessee, not that they gave it away, but they did. Like they just, they're just a bad team like we keep saying. And you know, you're right. If they hadn't fired their head coach, we would have been. We'd be sitting here very happy with our -7 and a half on that Patriots team. But, yeah, I got suckered in on the hook. Took a, took a. Just a dead cat. There is no bounce.
- [14:15]
Chad Millman
That cat, no bounce. Just a dead, A dead cat lying on the side of the road. It's just sad. It's so sad. I will say we, we didn't respect Mike Vrabel. We didn't respect Drake May. We didn't respect Christian Gonzalez, who the announcers at the end of the game were like, we haven't even mentioned his name. And then the analyst said, yeah, because they won't throw his way like he is. He completely just shut down half the field. So we're going to have to start thinking about that a little bit more. Cam Ward, first player to lose five fumbles in his first five games since. Do you know who. Do you know who I'm going to talk about him next?
- [15:02]
Simon Hunter
Justin Fields.
- [15:04]
Chad Millman
Daniel Jones.
- [15:05]
Simon Hunter
Oh, wow. It's good company, by the way.
- [15:10]
Chad Millman
We're gonna do a shame, shame, shame later in the show. I feel like the shame, shame, shame should be us, us, us, because we had Indy at the Chargers, minus one and a half. This was the backup Simon says to the Eagles and the Vikings. And I feel like this morning we almost walked away from this. We almost walked away from it. And I went back through my notes and I was trying to figure out why did we do it. You felt great about it. I started to come around because the number was moving our direction and, and the Colts were such a public dog. There had to be regression. And yet the Chargers just got worse, like so bad. It felt like they had kind of given up. They could never stop anybody. They lost on the second, on their second play of the game, they lost another offensive lineman. This was another one where note taking was sparse because it was a dead bet halfway through the first quarter.
- [16:27]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, and I, I try to get out of it too, honestly. I said to you, I thought culture be a public dog. And it was 80, 88 of the money was on the Chargers. And I said that to you, and I was like, this is not, this is not what I thought it was going to be. I did not think this would be the more public side, but like I said, the public did have a good day overall. Like, the Bears came through, Dallas came through. Our Browns bet, very public came through. The Patriots came through. The Chiefs won by a ton.
- [16:59]
Chad Millman
Eagles 31.
- [17:01]
Simon Hunter
They just, yeah, unfortunate we didn't jump on the right public bets. But yeah, I told you. My only regret was like, I, I should have. Should have talked myself out of it and put in Dallas on this one. And, you know, as good as Herbert's stats look in this game, he burned us. He burned us in this game.
- [17:18]
Chad Millman
Like, oh, my God, he was terrible.
- [17:19]
Simon Hunter
He was terrible. Like his, his picks in that second quarter, you know, the batted ball. Can't get mad at him about that one as much. But the red zone pick is just a killer. Especially when Daniel Jones didn't have an incredible game like 23 of 34. But when Taylor is having an incredible game, Jonathan Taylor, and he's getting, you know, whatever. He had three touchdowns. It's a tall task. So, Minter, maybe I need to readjust on this Chargers team that, like that defense last year that was. That sold him a lot of games and they were really dominant. Whatever his adjustments were or coming into this year from his defense from the previous year, the. The book is clearly out like this. This card Chargers defense is just now what they were last season and massive, massive win for this Colts team. That was historically a bad spot. Usually a spot where the teams have a letdown and start the game. They. I think it was a fourth and two on their own 38 or 39. They went for it. They got it. Fourth and one at the 55 or. Yeah, the 40, 44 of the Chargers, they got it. And then they're down the red zone and they went for it. So they had three straight fourth downs. They went for it on that second drive and they scored. And they're up 13 nothing. And like we said, the turnovers came for Herbert. Daniel Jones never put them in a position. I'll lose that game. So, yeah, that's. This Colts team even missing pieces defensively. They're just a juggernaut right now on offense. And yeah, it's. It's incredible. Like the Daniel Jones thing, it is bizarro world. He just always seems like he makes the right decision. He's so comfortable in this offense. So, yeah, this, this Colts Team's tough.
- [18:57]
Chad Millman
By the time there were nine minutes left in the second quarter, the Colts were up 20 to three. They had had the ball for, what is that, 13 of the 21 minutes that had been played. And it gained more than 200 yards, about 215 yards. The Chargers had 44 yards at that point. And I want to feel bad for Justin Herbert, like every game you watch him and people are in his grill the entire time. He, like, he has no time to throw that Grover Stewart, you know, the big man interception that happened, it's because Grover Stewart got to him, batted the ball in the air. Someone else tackled Justin Herbert while the ball was in the air, and then Grover Stewart had an unfettered opportunity to intercept the ball. That's every game, every play for this guy. Like it's, it's so frustrating to watch him because you see him make these insane plays and you gotta wonder how good could he be if he actually had a good offensive line. Forget the stats. Like they were, you know, so excited about him throwing for 400 yards in the game. And obviously he threw for 400 yards because they've been down for by three touchdowns the whole game. So there were other things about this game that I'm like, this isn't even a Jim Harbaugh coach team. They gave up so many big plays and were so sort of effortless, right? They finally scored a touchdown. I think they made it 31:10 or something like that. And the very next kickoff, the Colts run it, run it back to like the 20 yard line. Just like I was betting on Harbaugh. I know you were too. What do we think of Harbaugh right now?
- [21:01]
Simon Hunter
You know, I'm going to put on him, like you said, a lot of what's the offensive line? I mean, you said you wish you could see what he looked like about healthy offensive line. You saw it last year. I mean, is the, the fear is, is that his ceiling? That's, that's my pushback against everything. I think he's so great. It's like, is this ceiling second in the division and throwing four picks in the first round of the playoffs and losing to Houston, like, because that was. He had all of his pieces last year, his receivers healthy, his offense line was healthy last year. And I'm with you, like the Herbert stuff, he's always had these moments, like you say three for 420. Obviously he's got a ton of talent. No one's doubting that. It's just like he said, he killed us in that first Half of the game where Daniel Jones didn't. And it wasn't like he was under pressure. He had guys in his face. He just made the right decisions, the right reads or Herbert wasn't for the most part. So, yeah, they're, they're in a bad spot. Like, I think their backup right tackle went down in the game. They might have had another guard go down in the game and it's like Joel, hopefully back next week for them. They just, it's, it's rock bottom for this team right now. It's, it's, it's really bad.
- [22:09]
Chad Millman
Well, look, they play on Thursday night, so that's tough. It's really going to be hard for them. Think about this legacy. Is Justin Herbert just destined to be in the Chargers tree of great quarterbacks who throw for a lot of yards and never get beyond a championship game, a la Dan Fouts, a la Philip Rivers? Is Stan Humphries going to go down as the greatest winner in the history of the Chargers football franchise?
- [22:51]
Simon Hunter
I mean, Rivers, back in the day, I, like really had a grudge against him because I loved the Chargers because I think anyone that was my age, especially in the fantasy football, Danny Thompson and Antenna Gates were incredible and they had a year with. Sean Merriman was like the best DN in all football. And it just never went past the first or second round of the playoffs. Philip Rivers. So I hope you're wrong. Like I said, who doesn't want Herbert to do well on this team? To do well. But yeah, it's. This just feels as bad as it can possibly get. Four straight ATS losses, they're just falling behind now in this division. You know, the positives for them, like we said, getting guys back. We know you obviously have the talent. You're four and three right now. The schedule breaks in a way, if they do get health, like you said, this is kind of tough. They got Minnesota in a short week at home, but then they have at Tennessee, then Pittsburgh, then Jacksonville, then their bye week. Just if they can just get three and one here, they could still be in it. But if they falter here, their second half schedule is very tough. So they do need to string some wins here. They're just sliding right now since that Giants lost one in three since that Giants game.
- [24:04]
Chad Millman
All right, we're going to take a quick word from Hard Rock. Don't forget, put your questions in the chat. We're going to get to them after we talk about a few more games. Today's show is brought to you by our new Presenting sponsor Hard Rock bet Week 7 caps off with another double header. Tampa Bay vs Detroit, Houston vs Seattle. Listen to these streaks from Hard Rock Bet Stats hub. You can find live odds to bet on all of these streaks in the Hard Rock Bet app. The Texans have lost 20 in a row as road underdogs against the NFC. The Lions have covered the spread in 11 straight games as a favorite following a loss. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to get $150 in bonus bets. If you win just playing, place a $5 bet, and if it hits, you get not only your winnings, but $150 in extra bonus bets. There's new promos every day, so if you're listening to this later, just open the app and check out what you've got. Any day of the week, payable in bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 and over and 50 physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play, terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-809 with it gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
- [25:44]
Simon Hunter
Limu emu and Doug. Here we have the limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty, Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.
- [26:16]
Chad Millman
Okay, a lot of good questions right now. What I'm loving mostly people asking which teams we can officially ban. So if you have thoughts on other teams you'd like us to ban from betting again this season, just pile them on because we're making a list. All right. New Orleans at Chicago. Listen, I didn't bet this game at all. I said this morning. To me, this game was about can the Bears be the kind of team that comes back from a stirring victory in a short week and doesn't get caught napping against a scrappy and competitive team? And they most, for the most part, they did that. It was shaky. There's no doubt about it. It was. It was very shaky. Like they were dominating. And then they let the Saints crawl back with touchdowns at the end of the first half, beginning of the second half. And then the Saints just, they kept it close. They kept it close. The Bears would kick a field goal. Kicked a field goal. And the Saints kept driving. Kept driving. I was worried that I was going to feel like an idiot that I was so adamant we not put this in the contest because it just, you mentioned it this morning. I'm like, I knew you're going to bring this up and I can't do it. Bear down. Chicago Bears have won four games in a row. I don't know how they're doing it. When I watch them, they make me sick. But I'll take it.
- [27:52]
Simon Hunter
They have a really good head coach who has, like I told you, one of the best run blocking schemes in all football. They brought with him from Detroit. And yes, he keeps surviving games that like we said old Bears teams wouldn't this game. I just didn't like the fact that the Bears were catching so many points. We knew the weather was going to be bad and I just, I still believe it even after this game. I don't trust Caleb Williams in bad weather. I don't think he handles the elements well at all. And in this game he didn't play well. Like he was the reason the Saints were in it. 15 completions, 173 yards and a pick. That's not going to win you games. But then you look and see how they did win. Swift. 124 on the ground.
- [28:33]
Chad Millman
Yeah.
- [28:34]
Simon Hunter
Touchdown averaging six yards per carry. Your backups in there averaging six yards per carry. Just this is what you want to know the new NFL is. What you want to win with is the run game in the defense. And you guys have it in spades right now. Your defense stepped up. Rattler had what, three picks? Two picks. Three picks. A guy who had one pick coming to the game, he only had 100 to come to the game. And a fumble. So three picks in a fumble. So just a huge win for the Bears. Not an ideal spot for them. Like you said, they're coming off few huge wins. They kind of stole. Then they blow a team out. Now this is a big deal. This is like a really feel good team. And you know, in this division, who's to say Green Bay is better than the Bears right now? I wouldn't say that. So yeah, I'd be feeling pretty good as a Bears team. There's a path to being a wild card and you haven't had that in A couple years, brother. So I've been feeling pretty good about this year. One of the Ben Johnson experience. It's like, whatever they paid him, I know people were like, arguing other. He's going to be the highest paid coach. He hasn't done anything to earn that. This is why it's like, you are paying for these games like this.
- [29:41]
Chad Millman
Oh, he's earned it, bro. Listen, you're not dealing with a highly functioning franchise in terms of the executive ranks or ownership. And you're definitely not dealing with a fan base that isn't. That is at all reasonable, rational, or on the edge at all times. Like, I'm sick to my stomach watching this team. I'm sick to my stomach. I know Caleb isn't turning the ball over, but I'm really sick to my stomach watching him scramble. I feel like every time it's just catastrophe waiting to happen. But, wow, Ben Johnson loves to run the ball. And I feel like that kind of gets forgotten a little bit. Because the Lions scored so many points, you would forget that they were scoring so many points by running the ball. And what he's done with this run scheme for the Bears and made their offensive line, which credit to the Bears, as much as I ripped their. Their front office, they did a great job rebuilding that offensive line and investing.
- [30:48]
Simon Hunter
Jun's an all Pro.
- [30:50]
Chad Millman
He's going to go to the hall of Fame.
- [30:52]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, but I'm saying, like, he's still playing all pro level for you guys this year.
- [30:54]
Chad Millman
Yes.
- [30:55]
Simon Hunter
It's crazy how good he is in that middle block.
- [30:57]
Chad Millman
He's. He's fantastic. Darnell Wright has been playing great. Drew Dahlman has been playing great. Like, they've solidified the most important part of their team.
- [31:07]
Simon Hunter
And.
- [31:07]
Chad Millman
And you know, Swift has been what? What? He used to be a guy who got three yards and then fell, and now he's getting 15 yards and running through tackles.
- [31:17]
Simon Hunter
So he used to be a guy that Ben Johnson got rid of.
- [31:20]
Chad Millman
That's right.
- [31:21]
Simon Hunter
So, like, that's why, again, I'd be so excited if I'm a Bears fan because this is not his team. Like, he's going to. Just through these drafts. After these, the front office will realize, let this guy pick his guys on the offense. He's. We're running his scheme. All right, Your gm, just because he wants to act like he earns the check, let him run the defense, you got to let Ben go get his guys. Because, like, like I said, Swift, you're saying how great he looks in this offense. Come on. We know we Know Swift is good, but like let him go get his guy in the draft, his running back. And yeah, I'm just like I said, Bears, it ain't gonna be pretty this year, but man, you guys keep winning ugly games and that's, that's the sign of a really good team.
- [32:00]
Chad Millman
Speaking of winning today, the Philadelphia Eagles had their best game in a year and probably other than Jalen Hurts had his best game of the year and certainly their best game this season. They beat the Philadelphia. The Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota. Minnesota was plus two and a half. I mean, I'm glad we talked ourselves out of it. When this morning. We really talked ourselves out of it because we knew Quinn Yon Mitchell was playing. That's not why the Eagles won this game. Dude, like, how did you feel as a fan watching the Eagles do what they did today?
- [32:39]
Simon Hunter
No, we did get burned by Jalen Carter though. That pick six. That was Jalen Carter. He put a guy in Winston's lap and that was the difference. I mean, obviously the drop touchdown. Anyone out there that bet it with me, that, that hurts. Like when they get the touch on the back of the end zone, then they replay with a magnifying glass like, well, the ball did move. That's not a touchdown. It's like, well, damn it. I guess you're right. It's not no cover.
- [33:01]
Chad Millman
That was the COVID That was. That's how we were getting it.
- [33:04]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, it was right there. So the pick six. Like we always said, anytime you have that with a dog, you're always pretty much dead. But Eagles let us hang around. There's still just something wrong with that team. And like you said, that I guess could be the best game Hurt said this year. I still think that Rams game was even more impressive just because they were dead as dead. The defense knew he had to throw for three quarters and and hurts still somehow did it against a as we're seeing a pretty good Rams team. This Vikings team, shocking how this game went. They're number two against the pass in football. So their strength is the pass, their weakness is the run. Barkley is just non existent. He had 18 carries for 45 yards. I mean it's crazy. So Hertz, like the first time in his career that I can remember he had negative 10 rushing yards. I don't think he's ever had negative 10 rushing yards or like under a rushing yard in a game and then threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns. So just not the way we want to win. As an Eagles fan, that's My biggest takeaway. It's fun. I'm happy because it shuts up the idiots for a day that hurts. Is a bad quarterback and he can't throw the ball. But this is not how the Eagles want to win. We need to figure out this run blocking scheme. Our offensive line still has major issues. And yeah, it's. It's a good win. I'll give them that. But another game, it feels like they stole one. Like that. They got. They got issues, man, that. Carson Wentz was terribly sloppy. Really bad. And they, like we said, had a chance to win that game at the very end. But yeah, Dante Smith, career high. Give him some props. Devonte Smith, 183 yards receiving, most in his career ever in a game. So, yeah, really impressive game by Hertz. But still, as an Eagles fan, major, major issue still in this Eagles team.
- [34:54]
Chad Millman
Perfect QB rating, first four incompletions, three touchdown passes, and the first time in more than a year he's thrown for more than 300 yards. But you're totally right. The Eagles still probably should have lost that game. They. The Vikings were 5 of 6 for field goals versus touchdowns in the red zone today. So they got into the red zone six times, kicked five field goals, had one touchdown.
- [35:26]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, Wentz was terrible because Carson Wentz.
- [35:29]
Chad Millman
In the red zone had two terrible sacks on separate drives and on another drive had an intentional grounding where he. Where. Where he just tossed the ball underhanded under pressure to nobody. That knocked him back from the nine on a, I think, second and goal to the 19 for a third and goal. It was terrible. He kept you in the game with. Kept us in the game with the legs, but frustrating game to watch. If you had the. If you had the Vikings.
- [36:05]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, brutal. Brutal. No cover and. Yeah, Simon says, just in the toilet right now.
- [36:10]
Chad Millman
Washington at Dallas, two and a half. Look, it was the right conversation for us. We just had a debate about the wrong team. We were debating the Browns and the Cowboys, and we probably should have been debating the Cowboys and the Chargers and the Cowboys at the Titans. And Dak, once again, brilliant. Brilliant. And George Pickens, amazing. At one point, George Pickens had a passion that when he was leaning left, the pass went over his right shoulder toward the sideline. He was able to corral it, and as he was in the air, his whole body went limp. Like, you could literally see his legs just sort of get rubbery and so he could drop and get his knees on the ground before he went out of bounds. He's playing out of his mind right Now.
- [37:03]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. And another game where, you know, whatever weaknesses that Cowboys defense has, it's just a juggernaut, like you said. Offensively. Cd. CD Lamb coming back now into an offense that didn't miss a beat without him. Like Pickus Pickens. Ferguson, the tight end. He's probably the number one tight end in football right now. Ferguson. And another game where, you know, didn't have many yards, but he had two. Two big touchdowns. He's just. They're just really in sync. Dak is just playing out of this world. And there's a reason, you know, even he had a losing record. People are saying he should be the MVP. Conversation. It's fair. Like, I know he won't win it if he goes 8 and 9. 9 and 8. And my homes does what my homes does, which is what he's doing this year. Mom's is going to win it. Moms was his division has a better record. He'll win it. But it's a fair debate right now, like, between him and Baker and off their teams, they're all in the dump.
- [37:58]
Chad Millman
So do not. Do not forget Drake May.
- [38:02]
Simon Hunter
Drake May for MVP.
- [38:04]
Chad Millman
Yeah.
- [38:05]
Simon Hunter
All right.
- [38:06]
Chad Millman
And DeAndre Swift.
- [38:09]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. But, yeah, I just. I can't believe it. Like, as the only guy here that thought Dak was worthy being their top 10, I feel pretty good about my preseason love for that. Because, like I said, we all left him for dead. Everyone left that for dead. And just because he did look bad last year, Remember those first four or five games before he got hurt, he did look bad. I got why people are so off of them, but this is Dak playing at the highest level right now. And it's interesting. Schottenheimer a lot of in the summer.
- [38:37]
Chad Millman
Very impressive.
- [38:38]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. Offense is not the problem right now. Clearly. Like you said, Eber Flutes in that defense, that. That still might be the Achilles heel.
- [38:46]
Chad Millman
Listen, all. All credit to Brian Scheimer. Like, yeah, no one gave him any chance to be a good coach. He got laughed at the entire offseason.
- [38:57]
Simon Hunter
Remember how mad you were at me because I spent five minutes talking about him in the summer?
- [39:00]
Chad Millman
I don't remember anything.
- [39:02]
Simon Hunter
You raged about it. You said, why did you waste five minutes? We should have just been talking about Varel, which is fair about you. I should have spent five minutes more talking about rail. But, yeah, I just said, everyone left this guy for dead. He might be a good coach.
- [39:13]
Chad Millman
Hey, to my credit, I didn't leave Dak for dead because to leave someone for dead, you have to remember they're in the League. And I had just completely forgotten until you said dak and I'm like, oh yeah, that guy, that guy. And he's doing all right, Simon. So look, we're one and two. It has been a crazy, crazy end to a bunch of these games. The packers and the Cardinals. The packers do not look very good right now. This is now four weeks in a row where they have not looked good, including coming out of a 10 day rest. You could argue that Jacoby Brissette should be the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and not Kyler Murray because he's made them significantly more competitive in much more difficult spots. The Denver Broncos won a miraculous game. The Kansas City Chiefs won by 31 points. The New York jets lost at home as one and a half point underdogs to the Carolina Panthers by a touchdown.
- [40:18]
Simon Hunter
Carolina Panthers, they became a favorite, the jets before kickoff. So think about those pros hammering that with that big money. And yeah, Bryce Young didn't finish the game unfortunately. I think he got knocked out as any. Dalton had to finish it and they just did nothing that second half. But coming to the game, Bryce Young Panthers, they're 1 in 15 on the road. Huge win. First one is a favorite in like five years. So yeah, I know. Our, our kids are growing up right in front of our eyes.
- [40:49]
Chad Millman
Our Carolina Panthers, they really are Dave Canales. Good for him.
- [40:52]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, good for him. And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mut. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. Liberty Savings Fairy underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [41:24]
Chad Millman
Let's do shame. Shame on you. I was going to give my shame to Cam Ward because he has now become the poster child for incompetence. Yeah, but I think for the second week in a row I'm giving it to the Chargers. So shame on us for continuing to invest in the Chargers and shame on the Chargers for basically giving up like anytime they got close in that game, they found a way to give it back to the Indianapolis Colts. Whether it was they drove down the field and finally had success and then Justin Herbert throws the in the red zone interception in the end zone or when they finally score a touchdown and it looks like they might be able to make a play and then they give up the long kick return to the Indianapolis Colts their defense on multiple third downs. There was a third down where they had third and 17 and they gave up a 40 yard dime to Alec Pierce because Daniel Jones found him wide open, streaking towards the sideline like the defense is pathetic. The coaching was pathetic. The play was pathetic. This team, shame on them. Shame on them for wasting our time today. I said shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame.
- [42:45]
Simon Hunter
Shame on you. I'm gonna go off the books. I won't be too mad at my own picks because I made those picks and they were all terrible today. Just awful. Betting wise, a team. I did love that you were on the other side. We didn't really fight about it or talk about it much. This Giants team, how do you lose that game? Shame on the Giants. It was basically 19 nothing with the start of the fourth quarter. They scored. Denver scores to get the two pointer. It's 19 to 8. Dark gets the ball back on a third and 17 from Denver's 41. He throws a pass that bounces off his own guy's hands into the hands of Theo Johnson, who takes it for a 41 yard touchdown. Again, a deflected ball for the Giants. So now the giants are up 26 to 8 with 1014 left in the fourth quarter. Chad. What? Did you believe it if I told you they lost that game to that Denver team with Bo Nick? So just shame on the Giants. That felt like the type of game for your season, right? You could either go three, you could go to three and four. If you're the Giants, huge wins, two huge wins in a row. They lose it now two and five. It just. We'll see what the head coach can do. Try to hold it together. But man, that is a disaster loss and huge, huge win for Denver that stole one there at the end. Now five and two.
- [44:00]
Chad Millman
How they stole it, I have no idea. Because they had multiple chances on the last drive to stop the Giants before they scored what looked like could potentially be the game winning touchdown. They had two interceptions where players collided with each other that could have ended the drive. And then of course they got called for a pass interference in the end zone on a third and 19 that Sean Payton was so mad about. He got called for a personal foul because he ran out of the field and was yelling at the refs literally in front of the end zone in the middle of the field where the two yard line is apoplectic. The fact they came back and won that game on 2. Just one miracle pass, one great pass by Bo Nix. Good for the Broncos who is Your hero of the week.
- [44:52]
Simon Hunter
I can be your hero, baby. I have to go with Chad and the Browns. That was our hero call of the week. You stuck with it. Like you said, wasn't feeling great about this morning. Worried about the weather. You were on it all week, hung in there, gave it to us. We still have never gone 05 and thanks to Chad, we will not be going 05 this week. Got our one win, one and two. Gonna sweep Monday night to be three and two.
- [45:18]
Chad Millman
We can still be three and two. The haircut, the lack of a haircut is still in play. It's completely still in play.
- [45:25]
Simon Hunter
I was like, maybe I'll go get a cut tomorrow. He was like, no, you can't do anything. Gotta wait.
- [45:29]
Chad Millman
I was thinking today I'm not gonna know how we did until Tuesday morning because I won't be awake at the end of the Texans.
- [45:35]
Simon Hunter
I don't know how you're going to sleep. And don't just open one eye and check your phone at midnight or one in the morning.
- [45:39]
Chad Millman
Oh, no, no. I'm. I might like go to bed at 9. I'll take a melatonin, start reading and like ignore everything just so I'm not even close to being anxious. I'll probably have to get up at pee at like 2, so maybe I'll check then. But I'm hoping not to. My hero of the week is also Cleveland, specifically the Cleveland defense. Just to be more on point about how bad Dylan Gabriel was in this offense was, the Browns had fewer total yards, fewer total plays. They only had 116 passing yards total. They averaged barely more than 3 yards per carry and went 4 of 11 on third downs. Yet this game was never a sweat thanks to all the forced turnovers, including three picks by Tua, including a pick six to start the second half, and then another pick when Tua was throwing from deep in his end zone that the Browns returned to about the two and then scored a touchdown right after. Like we should be heroes of the week for pulling the trigger on this game. All right, before we get to the liens and comments, Simon says was Minnesota plus two and a half. Chad's choice was Cleveland minus two and a half. Brass balls was Tennessee plus seven. Rocking a hard place was Dallas plus two and a half. So good for us, Sharper Square. We're committed to tomorrow night. I got Houston plus three. You got Detroit minus five and a half. Our favorites parlay. You had the Chiefs minus five and a half in there. We also had Green Bay, Chicago, Denver, the Chargers Pats and Detroit. So still some options alive here, right? Underdog parlay. Vikings, no. Cowboys, yes. Jets. No. Falcons, Texans tomorrow. Survivor was chief. All right. A lot of our viewers are asking us to please blacklist the Chargers and blacklist the Titans.
- [47:43]
Simon Hunter
I agree with the Titans.
- [47:44]
Chad Millman
Yeah.
- [47:46]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. We can just every week we'll spend a minute on their game.
- [47:49]
Chad Millman
Hopefully maybe I'll just start skipping it.
- [47:52]
Simon Hunter
Or just again every guy every. Told you every week these guys are my DMs. We could start fading the Titans. It's a cash cow. Don't matter who the coach is, apparently.
- [48:01]
Chad Millman
Honest to God. We could just start fading them. That should be. That's honestly the play. What are our liens for next week? Right now?
- [48:14]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, try to be quick just because we're running a little late. Just some numbers that jumped out. Saints, they're plus six and a half at home against the Bucks. Again, you don't have to grab it if you don't want to so early. I could probably see it going up. It's just gonna be only professionals grabbing the Saints at this point. But I, I just, I like that number. It's across the kingdom over six. So I am grabbing it. Ravens minus six and a half at home against the Bears. Yeah, interesting spot. It's a Bears team that can't stop the run. Going against with Lamar back, the best running attack in football, most likely with Derek Henry. So interesting spot, bad spot for the Bears. Feel like we can't overthink it. Probably should just take the Ravens here. This is a Ravens line. That's. It's interesting. They opened it so high.
- [49:00]
Chad Millman
I'm really surprised they opened it that high. What? Because when I saw it I felt like, huh, that's kind of line you post when Lamar Jackson has been playing great and yeah, they're cruising and they're four and two coming off a buy.
- [49:18]
Simon Hunter
We got a Tomlin spot. Pittsburgh plus three at home against Green Bay.
- [49:23]
Chad Millman
Oh, goodness. We gotta do that.
- [49:25]
Simon Hunter
So very interesting to open that +3 because I know right away we're gonna grab that. And last one. I just can't believe this line. Eagles are -7 against the Giants at home. It's the Giants team that beat him up not even two weeks ago. Interesting just because Eagles offensive line is not going to be healthy and that was a brutal loss for the Giants. So the books are kind of showing their hand here saying that this Giants team, they don't think they're react well to that loss. I thought that was interesting. So not. Not going to grab The Eagles yet. But if it's. If it gets up to minus seven and a half, I'll be mad that I'm kicking myself that I missed the -7. But definitely, definitely like the Eagles on the spot. The. The. The line looks like it's inflated, but I think that's correctly priced for this Eagle sim against the Giants.
- [50:11]
Chad Millman
One of the games that popped to me that I tried to bet and it was taken off the board for a minute was the Kansas City Chiefs five and a half against the Commanders because it was four and a half. I just thought, is Jaden Daniels going to be playing? Like. Yeah, you know, so it felt to me like that could be a potential spot there.
- [50:37]
Simon Hunter
I like it. I. I saw that getting taken down, too, and that's why I just didn't say anything. It's. I. If it's. If. If he is down, you know, this is going to open up way above seven. Mariota versus Bags defense. Not. Not ideal for that Washington team.
- [50:50]
Chad Millman
Yeah. What do we think of Cleveland and New England?
- [50:57]
Simon Hunter
I don't want to get in front of New England, be honest. But we'll see. What they say about Drake Mayer this week with practice. I know he obviously doesn't have a concussion. He got cleared, but we'll see. Sometimes the symptoms pop back up because he got slammed, like his head slammed on the field really hard. But that's a Patriots line. Minus six and a half. Couple books right at minus 150. Minus 120 on the six and a half at home against the Browns. And Chad knows I don't bet Browns on the road. Their defense does not travel. Has not traveled yet this season. So that's a. That's a nice spot for the Patriots.
- [51:29]
Chad Millman
I'm very, very, very, very, very tempted by Denver. -3 at home against Dallas.
- [51:39]
Simon Hunter
Yeah, man. And it's already at the -120. So you're on the. You're on the professional side. The pros are coming in early on Denver. That's probably right. I can't. I can't do it yet, man. I just. My God, Bo Nicks. I can't trust him.
- [51:54]
Chad Millman
It's. I know. I know. It's awful.
- [51:57]
Simon Hunter
It's awful.
- [51:57]
Chad Millman
It truly is. All right, real quickly, the Falcons and Niners have kicked off. I believe they've kicked off. Yeah.
- [52:09]
Simon Hunter
49Ers have the ball at midfield in the end.
- [52:13]
Chad Millman
I feel like we were kind of split on this. I. I was leaning Niners and you were leaning Falcons.
- [52:18]
Simon Hunter
Yeah. And I. I bet Falcons just because I just. The Fred Taylor experiment. Can't trust it. But I honestly just after today I, I, I'm, I'm glad we didn't take this one. I have no real read on it either. 49ers like we've seen before. They're, when you count them out, you don't believe in them. That's usually Shannon shows up and, and dominates these games. So yeah, if you like Atlanta, they're plus three and a half right now.
- [52:42]
Chad Millman
All right. Reminder that we have the Texans plus three and a half and the Lions minus four and a half tomorrow night. Those are the last two games of our final five. We are one and two so far on the day we won with the Browns minus two and a half, lost with the Titans and lost with the Chargers. This has been Sharper Square presented by Hard Rock bet, part of the Volume Podcast network. We will be back with our next Sharper Square on Tuesday to go over the entire NFL slate. Watch or listen on YouTube at Sharper Square like this video. Subscribe to the channel. Also download from Spotify, Apple Pods. Wherever you get your pods rate, review. Subscribe. Leave us. Five stars. Say whatever you want. Feedback is a gift. Until next time. Love you. You know that big bargain detergent jug is 80% water, right? It doesn't clean as well. 80% water. I thought I was getting a better deal because it's so big. If you want a better clean, Tide pods are only 12% water. The rest is pure concentrated cleaning ingredients. Oh, let me make an announcement. Attention shoppers, if you want a real.
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Simon Hunter
Deal, try Tide Pods.
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Chad Millman
Stop paying for watered down detergents. Pay for clean. If it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide Pods. Water content based on the leading bargain liquid detergent.
- [54:09]
Simon Hunter
This is an I Heart podcast.