AFC West 2026: Every Team's Ceiling, Floor & Breakout Player (Ep. 2037)
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57 min
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May 29, 2026
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Fri, May 29, 2026
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Full transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:27It's time for the tailgate. It's me, Joey P., Joe P.
0:30Pizzapia. Derek Brown is on vacation, so we've got the Mandalorian Brogu here today.
0:34I'll let you figure out who's who. It's Scott Bogman, it's Andrew Erickson, and me, Joey P., talking about the AFC West.
0:40We're going to preview those teams, what we think is in store for them, talk a little, maybe some of the win totals, too, as we get deeper.
0:48Maybe a couple of wagers we want to place, because this is just football talk here at Tailgate.
0:53This is what we do. It's not really fantasy.
0:55It's not really betting. It's just kind of football.
0:58And sometimes the big meta discussions are the best ones to have.
1:01But first, gentlemen, we got to start here at the very top of the tailgate today with a story that broke yesterday
1:07afternoon, which made me have to go back and rewrite parts of the black book, which I was not too happy about,
1:13and had to redo a bunch of stuff, because Josh Jacobs is in a little bit of hot water here.
1:19So let's take it one step at a time here, give you the tail of the tape here in terms of what the police report will tell us.
1:26So Josh Jacobs was arrested in Wisconsin on domestic abuse charges.
1:29According to police in Hobart Lawrence Police Department, he was arrested on five charges on May 23rd, a complaint of domestic disturbance.
1:35He was booked in jail for battery, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct, strangulation and suffocation, and intimidation of a victim.
1:41Of course, Jacobs and his attorneys have denied all these charges.
1:44He's been released on bail. Now we know that the NFL is going to conduct their own investigation.
1:49Domestic violence is a horrible thing, and the NFL takes it very seriously, as they should.
1:54This certainly is a very difficult situation for Jacobs, a difficult situation for the Packers.
1:58Andrew Erickson, obviously, first and foremost, we want the legal process to play itself out.
2:02That's the most important thing. We can talk about the football process, though, because it's a football show.
2:07So here's what we're looking at. If things start to get a little dark here and more of these, you know, allegations
2:13continue to come out here and we get more details about it, certainly I'm sure the Packers will start to look at
2:19things and the NFL will start to look at things, too.
2:22There's a good chance they could put them on some sort of list here, putting them off to the side.
2:28If the Packers decide to release him, he's got two years and $25 million remaining on his contract.
2:33It's a $6.2 million cap hit. So this is very early in the process here, Andrew.
2:37What's your first instinct tell you whether you think the Packers are going to go from here based off of the information that we have from yesterday?
2:45Well, first of all, just horrible situation overall. These are not allegations that should be taken lightly.
2:49Horrible situation. I guess for me, from the Packers standpoint, they're just going to probably let the process play out.
2:55That's kind of what every NFL team does. It just seems like they're just trying to play the waiting game and they
3:01probably like this to be resolved sooner rather than later so they can figure out what they want to do with their current depth chart.
3:08Because look, their next running back is Marshawn Lloyd, and he has barely played since being drafted in the NFL.
3:13Chris Brooks is another player that they re-signed in free agency.
3:16I know that Fitzy is kind of a Chris Brooks stand, but he's a limited player.
3:21No, not someone that's going to be operating on all three downs.
3:24They lost Emmanuel Wilson to the Seahawks, someone that kind of stepped up big at points last year.
3:29So do they look to free agency to add another running back?
3:32Do they, does LaFleur call his buddy in Arizona and be like, hey, you got all these running backs.
3:38You drafted Jeremiah Love, like send me an Arizona Cardinals running back.
3:41James Connors, the guy they go after, to be honest.
3:44Yeah. So that makes a lot of sense based on what Jacobs has kind of turned into the last couple of years.
3:50Again, he's been more of the reliable, sturdy, get you the arc you need.
3:54Not really the explosive guy, just in the latter portion of his career.
3:57And we saw last year him kind of fall off a little bit.
4:01He was banged up throughout the season. And we know the Packers want to establish a run.
4:06The other thing, the other way to look at it too, is if this Jacobs thing, he gets suspended, the team moves on from him, whatever.
4:13Do they just now lean into, well, can we just let Jordan Love cook?
4:17Right. Can we just let, can we just throw the ball more instead of trying to pound the rock again?
4:22Maybe we don't have the right running backs to do it.
4:25So why don't we lean into our quarterback that we paid all this money to?
4:29We signed Jaden Reed to an extension. We drafted Matthew Golden.
4:32We have Christian Watson. We're going to get Tucker Kraft back.
4:36Like this could be a high flying offense is they lean a little bit more into the past game.
4:41So although that's not directly, I think that actually does have a direct relationship to see how this Jacobs scenario plays out.
4:47See, I think it hurts Jordan Love a lot because I think the balance having that run game, there's a reason why
4:53LaFleur runs it the way that they do. And I think it's to also keep Love, not just healthy, but also productive.
4:59I think there's been, there's been good and bad Jordan Love here that we've seen over the years so far.
5:05And I think he's still a quarterback that has opportunity, but he was one of my bus quarterbacks going into the season
5:11because I was a little concerned about the weapons around him.
5:14I love Tucker Kraft, but I mean, the, the wide receiver grew.
5:17I mean, if Watson is your number one guy, a guy that can never stay on the field, that's a big problem for me going into the season.
5:25And to Andrew's point box, like the first thing that popped in my head is, okay, this is the team is going
5:31to go after James Connor or maybe even Tyler out here.
5:34If they really want to pay extra. I don't think they do.
5:37My guess is the Connor kind of running back.
5:40And if not him, somebody like him. So that feels to me where the pivot point will be.
5:45They, they will bring somebody else in because the current group there with Pierre strong, Najee Harris, Marshawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, and
5:51Pierre strong is not what you're going to go into the season with to compete in a very competitive division.
5:56And the NFC North. Yeah. Najee Nick Chubb, still free agent show mixing.
6:00I mean, in his foot. Yeah. If he hasn't literally shot himself in the foot, then maybe he's okay.
6:05So there are some free agents out there for the Packers, but you guys are, they have to make a move one way or the other.
6:12You know, I think that it's probably going to be like you said, Joe, where Jacob sends up on the exempt list
6:18until the season starts and then we'll see, or until we get some resolution legally with this.
6:23So, but you know, something terrible has happened here.
6:26Either a guy is going to be in jail for a long time, or he has been accused of some horrible stuff.
6:32So something terrible has happened either way. It's a really bad situation, like Erickson said.
6:36And I think the Packers, I think you go to a free agent first.
6:40So I think if you think Najee is okay to play coming off this Achilles and all that stuff, then that's who you go with.
6:47It doesn't cost you any draft picks you see.
6:49And then if it doesn't work, that's when you trade draft capital or you wait until the end of camp when running
6:55back start getting cut and pick up somebody who's cut.
6:58So I think they're going to try to do this without spending any capital.
7:02Yeah, well, they're definitely going to have to bring in more help.
7:05I don't know what it's going to be. I don't think it's going to cost you a lot of capital bringing in
7:11James Conner, but it might be more than one guy to the camp.
7:15You're going to see a couple of guys brought in here.
7:18Go ahead, Andrew. One of the, one of the players that I think under the radar, I would really like to sign with the Packers is Khalil Herbert.
7:26So he has a relationship with Luke Getzey who's on the staff for, and he was with Getzey in Chicago.
7:31When we saw Herbert actually play pretty well, he bounced around a bunch of practice squad teams last year, Seahawks, Colts and Jets.
7:38He's a free agent, so he is free. You don't have to trade anything to get him.
7:42And I think that he has juice. And that's what Jacobs doesn't have at this point, I think in his career.
7:48It's that explosive home run hitting ability. Khalil Herbert, again, not a perfect running back, but he can go take it to the house.
7:55All right. It wasn't the only bit of news.
7:57We were going to come in hot to the show today with something a little bit more fun and entertaining.
8:03But obviously the Josh Jacobs news is, is depressing and horrible and wretched.
8:06And so we're just going to turn the page from that and move on to Matthew Stafford.
8:11Now, Matthew Stafford, obviously good news. He's getting an extension, which is terrific for him.
8:15He's certainly coming off an MVP deserves it. We went from a guy who wasn't practicing at all in August and everyone
8:21was terrified his career was over to him going to win the MVP to him then going to get an extension on top of that.
8:28So now he's signed through the 2027 season. He's going to make up to $60 million with all the playoff incentives in there.
8:35Boggs, how much does this extension magnify the stupidity of the Ty Simpson pick this year?
8:39I don't hate it as much as everybody else does.
8:42The Ty Simpson pick. Is it something I would have done?
8:45No, but it's Stetson Bennett was behind Matthew Stafford.
8:47I don't think you can have Stetson Bennett behind Matthew Stafford.
8:50So you had to make a plan here somewhere.
8:53It does make it look worse. No doubt specifically this close after the draft makes it look bad, but I don't know.
8:59I think at the end of the day, if the Rams end up winning the Super Bowl, nobody's going to care that
9:05they took Ty Simpson in the first round. So the results results are going to make this matter more or less.
9:11And but I if you have a chance to keep Stafford for an extra year, keep him for an extra year.
9:17Do it. So had to make this move. I don't know.
9:20There had to be some other quarterback of the scrap heap.
9:23I just hated this, Andrew, because I feel like you're in your window like this is your shot.
9:28And now it's not only your shot this year, but now you're going to say 2027.
9:32You might give it the old college try as well.
9:35And if you could have drafted something with a very rare top 20 pick for the Rams, OK, they're either a team
9:41that's always in the playoffs or a team that says FM picks and trades them away every year for players.
9:46They've got a top 20 pick, right? They have an opportunity to go ahead and make a pick there that really could
9:53make an impact on the offense or the defense.
9:55And instead, it's a guy that's not going to see the light of day in case of emergency break open glass.
10:01And I'm not confident that Ty Simpson can go in there under the circumstances and continue to propel you to the playoffs.
10:07So to me, this just magnifies the bad decision process.
10:10And I don't know where the Rams are with things, but I'm happy for Matthew Stafford.
10:14Are you as happy as I am for him, Andrew?
10:17I mean, more money for Matthew Stafford in his pocket.
10:20You got to love that. I do think that this is just how the Rams operate with Matthew Stafford, his contracts, adding
10:26this extra year so they can have that cost control.
10:29Because to box point and the overarching point about the Rams, if they win the Super Bowl this year, despite driving Ty Simpson, that pick doesn't even matter.
10:36Who cares? Like they got the Super Bowl anyway.
10:39They actually have a quarterback of the future. And if Stafford decides, you know what?
10:43I'm going to go out on top. I'm going to retire.
10:46Well, the Rams are set in 2027 with a new quarterback entering his second season after sitting his rookie year as the Super Bowl winners.
10:53So I get the process again, always talking about like process over results.
10:56Look, the process don't agree with the Rams, but if they win the Super Bowl anyway, who cares?
11:01There's a path to being the perfect pick still.
11:04The path to the path to Simpson being the perfect pick is still open.
11:08That's what it like. They win this. It's exactly what Erickson said.
11:11They win the Super Bowl. Stafford says, I don't need any more money.
11:15I'm good. I'm going to retire. And now we have Simpson who sat here and learned the system for a year.
11:21Ready to go. There you go. I guess we'll find out at the end of it.
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12:01That's what we do here. All right, let's turn the page here to what we really showed up to talk about today.
12:08The AFC West, a very heated division. We got a team that's trying to remake itself.
12:12We got a team that's trying to retool with a franchise quarterback and a Hall of Fame coach.
12:17And then we got two teams at the top jockeying for position of who might win this division.
12:22But let's start with a team that's loaded, the Denver Broncos, who are indeed the favorites for this division, as we all would assume.
12:29Now, obviously, they've expanded the run game a little bit, drafting Coleman.
12:32And then on top of that, bringing back J.K.
12:34Dobbins. So it's a big fat mess and fantasy.
12:37But who cares? You're going to have some depth here, which is good because J.K.
12:41Dobbins is not going to stay healthy over a full season.
12:44We got Bo Nix returning from a pretty awful injury there at the end of days here with the playoffs.
12:50Fractured right ankle. Not great. Everybody says he's going to be fine.
12:53Sean Payton was very optimistic. He expects him to be there for week one.
12:57Andrew Erickson, do you have any reservations about the health of Bo Nix entering the season?
13:01I do not. I do not. Obviously, I'd like him to be at OTAs in full participation, but it seems like he
13:07is on track from what Sean Payton has told us to be ready for training camp.
13:12And that's what really matters. A lot of this stuff is voluntary anyway.
13:15And if you have any sort of injury or ailment, the team keeps you out because they know that this is voluntary install stuff.
13:22And as long as you can do stuff on the board, et cetera, learning a new system, I think that it's really
13:28not too big of a deal for Bo Nix.
13:31Yeah, for me, Boggs, Bo Nix, it wasn't always pretty.
13:33In fact, sometimes the first halves were ugly. But when the chips were down second half, fourth quarter, Bo Nix found a way to win games.
13:40And I think at the end of the day, like you could take shots at Bo Nix all you want.
13:46The dude's got a little bit of that magic in him and some quarterbacks have it.
13:50Others don't. And the more you have those games go your way, I think the more confidence you have that, hey, we're just going to figure things out.
13:58And it dragged into the playoffs. Unfortunately, it came up a game short for them.
14:02But what's your take entering this next season for Bo Nix?
14:05What do you need to see out of him?
14:08I mean, run it back, right? They're Bo Nix ankle injury away from going to the Super Bowl.
14:13Yeah. So they tried their best to bring everything back here.
14:16They did a very good job. O-line is intact.
14:18Defensive line is still good. Didn't lose a lot of free agents.
14:22Still one of the best secondaries in the league.
14:24And you bring in Jalen Waddle, right? A bigger target for Bo Nix.
14:28So I think the last part of Bo Nix is surrounding him with talent.
14:32They're trying to do that at the running back position by bringing in Jonah Coleman to kind of put some weight in
14:38here and say, okay, you know, we're either going to be really fresh at running back or we're going to find one that works.
14:44So I like what they've done. I think that this is a team that is on the ascent still.
14:50And Bo Nix is a big part of that.
14:52How do you think Waddle fits into this offense box?
14:55I'm curious because he has certainly not came on like gangbusters beginning of his career.
14:59We'll think a catch machine, right? It was it's a very fun offense in Miami.
15:03At least it was at the time. Things got a lot less fun the last couple years.
15:08And then he had to play with scramble brains to in Quinn yours.
15:11So I think that is going to help outstanding for him.
15:15Okay. How can this not be better? Right. He also has a he also has a timeshare in the blue medical tent,
15:21unfortunately, which I hate so much because I think general model is so talented.
15:24I think you might too. If you play for the dolphins, just guys constantly getting banged up in games.
15:30So that that is another concern. I didn't mean to steal the show.
15:33No, no, that was a good one. If you're going to steal it, steal it on a good line.
15:39I was like, I just that's something that frustrates me with him in his deployment, at least in Miami.
15:44I mean, personally, I like him a lot. For God's sake, not in the blue tent.
15:48I think he's a really good fit for what Denver's doing.
15:51And I'm interested to see if maybe just maybe with Davis Webb.
15:55Now the offensive play caller, not Sean Payton. Maybe this offense is just a little bit more fantasy friendly because it's obviously
16:01been a disaster with Sean Payton because he just likes to use 12,000 different players.
16:05He likes to rotate everybody. Nobody's the alpha. Everybody eats.
16:08But what they did trading a first round pick.
16:10This is a move that Super Bowl contenders make is OK.
16:13He's we're one piece away. We were one game away from the Super Bowl.
16:17How do we get there in 2026? We go and get Jalen Waddle.
16:21They bring back all their same receivers they had last year, and now you get Waddle added to the fold.
16:26So I think that that's a really good I think that's kind of Sean Payton's way of looking at last year and
16:32recognizing we won 11 one score games. We had 12 comeback wins.
16:36They're not winning 14 games again. I know that's not where their win total is, but I think Sean Payton has to
16:42acknowledge like, OK, we ran pretty hot last year.
16:44Yeah, like in a lot of spots. So that's going to regress, especially when you look at Bo Nix.
16:49He was second worst in EPA per play when leading when they were trailing.
16:53He was third best. So it really was the tail to has when it came to Bo Nix last year.
16:59So I am interested to see what the Davis Web factor has to do with this Broncos offense.
17:04Did you see that SB Nation tweet, by the way, earlier today?
17:07If you saw this, they did a thing like building the worst NFL team.
17:11I know this is not about the Broncos, but since we were talking about the Dolphins, it was, you know, quarterback, running back wide receiver, blah, blah, blah.
17:19Just like take the worst room for every, you know, every NFL team to make the worst NFL team.
17:24The Dolphins had three spots. Only three. Worst running back, excuse me, worst wide receiver, worst tight end and worst cornerback slash safety secondary.
17:31So. So there you go. Yeah, that's probably right.
17:33Growing shade at Greg Dulcich. And you know what?
17:36Payton's kind of uphill battle too, because no quarterback is that, excuse me, no head coach has ever won a Super Bowl
17:42and then made it back and won a Super Bowl with another franchise.
17:45Parcells made it back to a Super Bowl with the Patriots after winning two of the Giants.
17:50Don Shula, you know, obviously he had lost the Super Bowl first, so it doesn't really count with the Colts and then one with the Dolphins.
17:57But nobody's ever wanted them moved on. Even Andy Reid, right?
18:00Went to the Super Bowl with the Eagles. Didn't win.
18:03Goes on with the Chiefs. Like it's hard to it so far.
18:06That's kind of like breaking new ground to actually win a Super Bowl as a coach, leave that franchise and then actually win one with a different franchise.
18:14You would think it would happen more, but it's never happened.
18:17Yeah, I mean, it's never happened until it happens.
18:20I mean, I know, but this is going to be broken at some point.
18:23What year of the Super Bowl? 50 what? I understand.
18:26I have a question for you guys about the Broncos.
18:29So we know that healthy Bo Nix, most likely they probably beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship game.
18:34They go to the Super Bowl. Maybe it's a closer game.
18:37Probably a closer game. I think it's a closer game, but they still lose.
18:41But they still lose. So when yeah, let's so let's say they lose the Super Bowl last year.
18:46Joe, aren't they just like the picturesque? Oh, this is the Super Bowl hangover team because of all the regression factors.
18:52Sure. So do you think the fact that they didn't actually get to the Super Bowl is kind of maybe, you know,
18:58making that fly under the radar a little bit more when this team again has a lot of points where they're going
19:04to lose a lot more games than they did last year.
19:07They didn't have that three extra weeks of stuff.
19:10Yeah. Well, look, the defense is so good, too.
19:12I mean, we just look at healthy last year, though.
19:15Healthy last year. You know, yeah, all world. You know, they brought in who Fonga last year, too.
19:20It's not like a crazy strength of schedule, either.
19:22I think it's 15th. So it's kind of you have in it, though.
19:26Let's talk about that because they have five of last year's playoff teams in the first six weeks.
19:31So if they get off to a good start and they stay healthy, they're in good shape.
19:36And then after that, it gets easier. But that that is interesting that it is very front loaded at the beginning of the season for the Broncos.
19:43So those the two matchups against the Chiefs. Yeah, are going to be huge, especially week one where you probably going to get if you get that W.
19:51We're not going to be a hundred percent homes in week one.
19:54I think everyone's smoking crack. If you think Patrick Mahomes is going to play in the first month of the season, I got I just I'd be shocked.
20:02I mean, and I don't think it's a good thing.
20:05I don't think it's a good thing if he does.
20:07I think I don't want to or not. I don't want to bet against Patrick Mahomes.
20:12Well, I don't. I've done that before. It's not fun.
20:15I want to bet on Patrick Mahomes. He's an underdog.
20:17But like we got to wait for it. We got to be patient underdog right now for people that are fading him for playing week one.
20:25Well, I guess I would you play him week one.
20:27It put yeah, it's so dumb, especially when you have an early buy in week five.
20:32It's just it makes no sense to me. Give him the month of September off.
20:36Let him come back healthy. A hundred percent. I mean, we've seen these guys come back from the ACLs and the Achilles and all these things.
20:43They can look right. Yeah. But Mahomes also he has that like Tom like psychopath gene.
20:48You get a psychopath gene all you want. ACL is an ACL.
20:51And, you know, the last thing you want to do is push it too fast.
20:55He has a psychopath gene. He doesn't have the Wolverine gene to help.
20:59Sure. Adamantium. Let's talk about the odds here on betting pros dot com.
21:02You can check him out right now. The best odds for the Super Bowl for the Broncos plus 2000.
21:08They takers. I like that one. You're not bad.
21:10I think pretty plus 2000. Pretty good conference where plus 1000.
21:13I like that too. Division winner plus 225. You can get it.
21:16I mean, that's that seems like a wonderful wager to me.
21:19I'm not doing that. You're not doing that. All right.
21:22All right. You're only doubling up in a little, you know, when you have the chargers and chiefs in this division to pass.
21:29There's a team I want to see. Well, those spoilers.
21:31We got a long show to go to make the playoffs as minus 140 is a yes, which I think we all
21:37think they're going to be a playoff team. No would be a disaster for them.
21:42A plus 130. I think we're all a yes on making the playoffs, right?
21:45Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to be in. All right.
21:48What would you set? I don't know if you've seen it or not.
21:51Hopefully not. What would you set this window at for the Denver Broncos?
21:55Nine and a half. Yeah, I could see it be 10 and a half too because I won 14 games last year.
22:01Nine and a half is the number. So if you want to go over that nine and a half at minus 115 under plus 110.
22:08So it does feel like they're a 10 win team, at least the Denver Broncos this year.
22:13So I would go over that one. And I look, I still think that defense is so good.
22:18They have a home field advantage to that. Not a lot of other teams have still, you know, it is a tough
22:24place to play, especially as the offense is better too.
22:27I mean, it's different. It's right. Yes. And the tight ends in the defense is still elite.
22:31It's still a really, you know, really good situation there for them.
22:35All right. Let's turn the page to the chargers.
22:37Mike McDaniel comes in and maybe we'll have a hardball team that isn't boring offensively.
22:41Wouldn't that be fun? That would be very exciting.
22:44So I'm very much abuzz about Mike McDaniel being there because when you're going to when you have an offensive mind, like
22:50Mike McDaniel, who doesn't have to worry about all the other stuff of coaching, which I just think is not his MO head coach is not his MO.
22:58He's a fun personality. If ever there was somebody that's an offensive coordinator, it's Mike McDaniel.
23:02And if there's somebody that probably shouldn't be a head coach, I think it's Mike McDaniel.
23:06Right. You know, like, you know how the defensive coordinator dresses and the offensive coordinator dresses like that's what I'm talking about.
23:13Okay. And Mike McDaniel getting Justin Herbert. Okay. The prototypical size arm strength quarterback in the NFL.
23:17To me, this is fascinating. And you get a Mario and Hampton in here, hopefully healthy where he could have a huge season.
23:24You, you have Trey Harris to add into this group of wide receivers with Lad McConkie and what you have QJ last year and figure that out.
23:31You have now two tight ends with Gadsden and Joku.
23:34You have a lot of interesting pieces on this offense.
23:37To me, it's all about that offensive line saying healthy because last year it was not.
23:41They lost their left tackle. They lost their right tackle at times.
23:44It was really difficult for them. So Erickson, talk to me about what this new offense of the Chargers might look like
23:50and how long you think it's going to take for it to really kind of mold into what it potentially could be.
23:57I think this office is going to be sick.
23:59I am so hyped up for the Chargers. You laid out the case, all the personnel that they're going to be getting back, the new additions.
24:06You need to mention Keaton Mitchell. He's another really explosive piece to this offense.
24:10So I think that this team is going to be hitting the ground running.
24:14You look at the two first games they face.
24:16You know where they play week one? Arizona Cardinals.
24:19W. But like, so they're going to come out and be like, oh my God, this Chargers offense is so good.
24:25Mike McDaniel, how many points did he score and put up on that terrible Denver Broncos team?
24:29Oh, it was like 70. Yeah. The Hackett team.
24:3270 to 70. 70 burger against the team. So I think that they're going to smoke the Cardinals week one.
24:37They're going to smoke the Raiders in week two.
24:40And then we're going to be all convinced that, oh my God, this offense is historic.
24:44It won't have a type of pace. But for me, who could be the Colts from last year where, oh my God,
24:50this team is unstoppable to start the year. I like chargers.
24:54They look like that team, especially given. I think their defense is going to take a step back losing Jesse Minter.
24:59I think that's going to create more shootout environments.
25:02And I think that just means more offensive goodness from Herbert, from the running backs.
25:06I think a lot of Conkey is definitely going to bounce back after he had a really good rookie year down year,
25:12basically like everybody else in the chargers offense in 2025.
25:15So I am really hyped. Yeah. Tyler Biotish was brought into under center.
25:18Like I said, the offensive line, new interior guys, three new interior guys.
25:22Right. And the offensive line to me, the chargers is like, okay, you've got healthy.
25:26Slater's healthy. Like that's it. Just have that. Cause I want to say it was 54 sacks Herbert took last year.
25:32It was off the chart, right? It was just like, he was playing with a broken hand.
25:37He was playing with a broken. He got hit.
25:39He was playing with a broken. I made the playoffs with a broken fricking neck.
25:43He was the Kurt angle last year of the NFL.
25:46And like the, the term warrior gets thrown around way too much in the NFL.
25:50Justin Herbert had a warrior kind of season. Cause he was banged up.
25:54He was getting the crap beat out of him on a daily basis.
25:57We was a joke. The scrap, the scrap, all the scrappy out of them.
26:01Right. And if you give Herbert more time, if you give him a little bit more confidence, that he's not going to
26:07get murdered back there, man, like this could be a fantastic.
26:10This could, I mean, this is a guy that I think never gets enough credit.
26:15And I don't know why he came on to the scene in his rookie year box and he just blew the doors
26:21off, broke the passing record, all this stuff came back the next year through for 5,000 yards and nobody seems to care.
26:27Nobody seems to like success. That's it. But they're the chargers.
26:30Do we forget that who their old coach was and how miserable that situation was?
26:34That's going to change this year. Especially with the defense.
26:37I think so too. And I think, you know, Jesse Minter is a big loss as Erickson said, but you're right in this.
26:43I love them adding Mesador like perfect. I know he's a little bit older of a prospect, but he's exactly what they need.
26:49You put him in here with Tully to Tupelo to took a big step last year.
26:54I think Kennard is going to take another step this year.
26:57You still have a guy like Bud Dupree who has speed on the outside at his age.
27:02I think the pass rush gets better. They added a guy named Tennyson Smith who go after the ball in the secondary.
27:08I love the additions they made on defense. And I think the biggest part of changing the offense is getting this O line to stay healthy.
27:15You need more than one and a half Mississippis for Herbert to be able to throw that beautiful deep ball, right?
27:21About one. About one Mississippi. One half Mississippi is better than him just getting destroyed back there.
27:25So, yeah, the Chargers are a very good squad.
27:28They're going to give Herbert more time. And I think the defense, I think they're better in personnel than they were last year.
27:34So I'm pretty excited about the Chargers team. I think they're going to be good.
27:38You also have Derwin James being made the highest paid safety for the second time in his career.
27:43So good on them. I mean, all he had to do was prove that he could stay on the field.
27:49Did that look. And when you have a division like this, that's so competitive, right?
27:53You need a guy out there who's going to be able to, you know, read what the quarterbacks are doing.
27:59You know, a guy that can go out there and make plays.
28:02And also he's just a team leader kind of guy to that leadership that you have is really important.
28:07And that's what he brings to the table there.
28:10So, um, look, Chargers aren't a good spot. It would not shock me if, if they were to win this division.
28:15Uh, let's see what Vegas thinks about them to win the Super Bowl, uh, plus 1600 for the Chargers.
28:21So there you have it, uh, conference winner plus eight 25.
28:24So if you think the Chargers can get to the Super Bowl plus eight 25, any takers there?
28:29Anybody? Anybody? Hello. Hello. This is Malcolm Glabal from Smart Talks with IBM.
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29:04I'm curious how you balance those two traditions. When it comes to fan engagement, it's really digital technology and digital channels are
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29:39Avoid where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. I'll take that as a no.
29:43I think I might sprinkle. That sounds like a no.
29:46I think I might sprinkle that. Well, they're not the Bengals, so.
29:49Yeah, well. You gotta be careful here. Division winner plus 190.
29:52So there you have it. You're getting worse odds right now on the chargers of the favorite in Vegas over the Broncos, which I find funny.
29:59I'll take Denver still. How close? I thought you said the Broncos were the favorite.
30:04No. Plus 210. Chargers plus 190. It's a coin flip, but I'm gonna still take Denver.
30:08And then to make the playoffs, obviously, is a big fat minus on the yes.
30:12Minus 165. No is plus 150. I don't want to take that.
30:16Especially in a year where, you know, the, the chiefs are in a weird transition year.
30:20All right. Win total. What do you think this in?
30:23Win total is there. If we know what the Broncos are at nine and a half.
30:27What do you think this one is? Nine and a half.
30:30It's probably also. You get a nine and a half and 10 and a half.
30:34Yeah. The best over you can get is nine and a half minus 125.
30:38The best under minus 145. So it seems like.
30:41They have a harder strength to schedule. They're ninth.
30:43So Vegas likes the Chargers more than Broncos. That's not how it opened, but it's what it looks like now.
30:49Wow. So, cause people probably bet the Chargers early.
30:51They go. Sounds like the public likes them. Yeah.
30:54Does, uh, does Harbaugh volunteer? I don't remember when you were talking about Sean Payton with the head coaches that have been to the Superbowl Harbaugh.
31:01It would, does he qualify into that same thing or not?
31:04Well, he never won a Superbowl. Cause he lost the Superbowl.
31:07But no coaches ever won a Superbowl made it back in one with a different organization.
31:11That's that's just a fact. And we have 60 Superbowls now.
31:14Uh, we have coaches that have won a Superbowl.
31:17Yeah, sure. Andy, and then went to win it.
31:19Andy Reed, uh, Dom Shula. I mentioned earlier, there's been a bunch of those guys exist.
31:24So Harbaugh. So what you're telling me is Harbaugh.
31:26So would you tell me there's a chance? There's no curse.
31:29So we'll kind of like, cause that's what, that's what I feel helps mitigate.
31:33Cause the thing with the Chargers mostly for Justin Herbert's career to your point that you were making earlier, Joe is usually
31:39just like, oh, well it's the Chargers, right? Chargers are going to charge.
31:43They're going to do dumb things. They're the AFC version of the Falcons.
31:47But when you add Harbaugh as the head coach, when he stepped in two years ago, he provided that stability last year.
31:53I think it was really just the injuries, but his first year, the Chargers were playoff team, won double digit games, felt really good about them.
32:00And I think that's kind of what we'll see more of that version here in top five defense last year, uh, very quietly.
32:06I think a lot of people weren't expecting that.
32:09And look, I'm the forget my Patriot coaches change teams before 2000, by the way, uh, more than you think, especially some of the good ones too.
32:16You know, they'll, they'll move around, but like looking back on last year's playoffs, I mean, the Patriots really did have just
32:22a, a perfect storm of good fortune where they faced a charger team that had no offensive line.
32:27They faced the Texans team in the snow and then went to the blizzard bowl without Bo Nix on the other side
32:33in Denver to get to a Super Bowl. I mean, it's absurd.
32:37They had like the easiest regular season schedule in the history of the game.
32:40And it was, it was a charm season. And look, people might ask me, when are we going to do the AFC East?
32:47Well, we're waiting until June 1st, because we feel like that might have an impact on how we feel about it.
32:53And so we'll see. Maybe it's not, maybe it's somewhere else.
32:56I don't know. You'll have to tune in. I hope he stays.
32:59It'd be so funny. He's not saying he's already, you know, he, he's, he's going to play for anyone else about the Eagles.
33:05It may not be the Patriots, but it's not going to be on the Eagles.
33:10There's more wide receivers than kids at Antonio Cromartie's family cookout.
33:13I mean, come on, man. This is crazy. How many wide receivers they got there for a second show.
33:18I froze. Can you hear me now? All right.
33:20I can't. Maybe I froze. I don't know, but I, I just saw you not.
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34:32Let's move on to the chiefs. So Andrew, you're right.
34:35To a certain extent, there is nothing better than telling Patrick Mahomes.
34:38No, you can't. And we made a lot of money a couple of years ago on those Patrick Mahomes road games in
34:44the playoffs when he was an underdog. And we rolled that all the way to the Superbowl.
34:49It was a beautiful time. Cash out all my 49ers bets to win the Superbowl and parlayed them into Patrick Mahomes, MVP in the Superbowl winning chiefs.
34:56And it was a great finish. All timer, all time run there that we had, but it's a different situation now.
35:02You know, the chiefs coming off a really down year, two years ago, every single close game went their way.
35:08Every single one, the margin of victory in those games are like 0.5.
35:11It was crazy. And every single one of them bounced the way of the chiefs until they got to the Superbowl and
35:17they got bounced on their head by the Eagles.
35:20And it's been really ugly ever since trying to figure this out.
35:23It's an older team. They've tried to get a little healthier.
35:26They tried to move some of these pieces, right?
35:29You move McDuffie, you bring in some other guys here, you make some moves.
35:33You still got an older team though. When you look at it, I do like the draft pick they made.
35:38There's no doubt about that. I think that you're looking at Delane being a really solid corner in this league for a long time.
35:45They had to, they had to. Trady McDuffie. But I think the question is now, what is Patrick Mahomes coming back to?
35:51He's coming back to a team that now has Kenneth Walker, but we're still not sure if Kenneth Walker is a guy
35:57we're going to give the ball to 300 times a year and he's going to remain healthy.
36:02So talk about blue tent, right? I think we are sure.
36:05And he's not. Okay. So there you go. So check.
36:07We've already checked that box. Rushy Rice. I mean, we did it.
36:11It feels like every week now on the show, we got to do some sort of legal segment.
36:16We got to bring some sort of lawyer in here.
36:18So Andrew Erickson, what is Patrick Mahomes returning to potentially here?
36:21And is it going to be a feel good return story for him between Rice and Walker and an aging Travis Gelson?
36:28I don't think it's ideal for him. I think that we've been pretty vocal about this being a reset year for the
36:34Chiefs, just kind of based on the moves that they've made, letting players like Rice just play out the rest of their
36:40contract and then letting him walk because there's clearly no long term commitment that I can imagine they would want to make
36:46with Rushy Rice, who's currently in a prison cell right now rehabbing his knee scope.
36:50He's in a prison cell, not rehabbing his knee scope.
36:53He's doing something. I mean, what else is he going to do?
36:56He's sitting there. I don't know. He's not rehabbing.
36:59There's no doctors coming in. There's no physical therapist coming in there to rehab him.
37:03He can do it on his own. He can do it on his own.
37:07That's not how prison works. Didn't you watch Oz?
37:09You ever watch that show? Yeah, I know that's an accurate description.
37:12Don't you know how prison works? I don't know, man.
37:15I feel like Oz was a pretty, pretty, if you ever watched that show, if you haven't, go watch it.
37:21That was like the OG HBO show. I know how a fast paced kitchen works.
37:25You ever seen blood in, blood out? So. That's how prison works.
37:28I think Mahomes is going to play week one.
37:31So if you guys want to do a friendly off the show wager for that.
37:35A box is up. Zero chill. Because I'm not, I'm not betting against Mahomes as an underdog.
37:40We just talked about it. And this is, people are counting them out.
37:43Like you're not going to come back. Let me ask you this, Erickson.
37:47You have to be five by week. He's not going to be ready.
37:50I think he's going to be ready. Erickson, let me ask you this.
37:54If you'd take Rasheed Rice out of this receiving core, do you want this receiving core or do you want the Dolphins receiving core?
38:01I want the Chiefs receiving core. I will run through Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton.
38:04We've got Jalen Royals, Cyrus Allen. Nico Remigio. So they got Kelsey.
38:08Still got Kelsey. Still got Kelsey. But I thought you loved Greg Dulsich.
38:11I do love Greg Dulsich, but I actually, I think I have Kelsey and Dulsich back to back of my turn.
38:17No, stop. No. Why would you do that? Why?
38:20I mean, of course we want. Why? Mike Mahomes is an amazing quarterback.
38:23He makes everybody better. I understand that. I think too, and we didn't bring this up.
38:28We talked about this on the bus show that us three did on the Fantasy Pros feed about Kenneth Walker.
38:33I know Boggs isn't the biggest fan of Ken Walker, but to start the year, I think he is going to get loaded up with like 25 touches.
38:41Oh, he has no choice. Maybe that makes, and I think that maybe makes him a sell high candidate.
38:46Yes. When you're looking at it. Okay. Draft him in Fantasy, let him work because they're going to not be dropping back the homes nearly as much.
38:54And they're going to, cause I think this, I agree with that.
38:57Good. Yeah. I absolutely agree with that. And you know, you have Rashard Smith, who's still learning the running back position.
39:03He converted to running back his final year at SMU and you have Emmett Johnson, who's a rookie.
39:08These are the guys behind him. So I agree with you specifically with my homes coming off the knee injury.
39:13We're going to see a lot of Ken Walker early, but I'm telling you right now, I love Ken Walker.
39:19Skill is amazing. Carry the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win.
39:22Sure. Will not last the whole year. If he gets more than 250 touches, just won't.
39:26If he gets a hundred in that first month, he's going to be toast by mid season.
39:31I watched Andy read on interview last week and I specifically watch it because I wanted to hear what his mom said.
39:37And they asked him, they said, when do you think you're going to have my homes back?
39:42And instead of answering it, he was someone, man, that guy is working so hard.
39:46Well, he's work. He is the hardest worker. Have you seen the work and how hard it is?
39:51The hardest work. Like I I'm paraphrasing, but that was basically works harder than my guy.
39:55But didn't he also say it's possible that you'll see him in the first game.
39:59No, he never said that. Not in the interview.
40:02Oh, well, that's the written interview with Rich Eisen.
40:04This was on the coach speak index. Maybe you'll have a chance to see him in the first game.
40:10Maybe my favorite, my favorite of all my favorite coach speak though, that was the was the one we got yesterday.
40:16Remember from, uh, from, uh, from my God. Tom Bowles of the, maybe we'll see him in at the, uh, in the
40:22summer or the fall or the fall. Bucky Irving.
40:24Yeah. Yeah. It's like, so, so, so, so, so how many more weeks until Bucky Irving returns?
40:29How many more weeks? During the long winter. Seven.
40:31That's the long winter. Yeah. The long winter is coming for Bucky Irving.
40:35I look, I just think that as a franchise, I think the chiefs have to recognize and be realistic of, yes, you want to be competitive.
40:42All you have to do is get to the playoffs, right?
40:45September doesn't mean a lot. Chances are September is going to be a little difficult for you anyway.
40:50Like you said, you're playing the Broncos out of the gate, right?
40:53Hmm. Probably not going to be a W anyhow.
40:56I think you just coast that first month of the season.
40:59Hope that Justin feels can get you one win.
41:01If you split amazing, you get to that buying week five, you turn things around a week six, you put my homes
41:08back out there and then you do your best to make that run because then you have to keep in mind too,
41:14the way the schedule works, they're playing on these holidays and other things like that.
41:18Like it's a lot of short weeks and weird recovery times for a guy coming off ACL.
41:22Let's not get crazy in September. It's a long NFL season is getting longer every day.
41:27All right. So and like prior years to the one thing about the Chiefs is all their games this year actually not international.
41:33They're all US games, which has also been something historically that they you know, they've gone to play in other spots.
41:39So that's also an intriguing thing there. So the defense we didn't talk about at all.
41:43I just want to mention that the defensive line, I think got better.
41:47You add guys like our Mason Thomas and Peter Woods.
41:50I think those are really good additions, but you lost Leo Chanel.
41:53So you lost some depth and linebacker, right? And you traded Trent McDuffie.
41:57Let Jalen Watson walk. The lane's going to come.
41:59I think the lane's gonna be great, but it's who the other two corners right now.
42:04It's a cater Kodu and Noel Williams. So you still have a lot of experience in the secondary either.
42:09I think we're just or seeing with the Chiefs right now is the Patrick Mahomes contract eating up.
42:14You got every other position on the Williams. Those are your corners there along with man.
42:18So the lane right now, those are the starters.
42:21It's they're going to go through. They're going to go through growing pain.
42:24Yeah, for sure. Because even if Delane, even if Delane is going to be the next Trent McDuffie, it's throw him in week one.
42:31Like there may be record. I might be picking on him.
42:34Yep. Like, so I think it's going to be ups and downs, especially in this bag system.
42:39That brings us to a team that is looking to turn their fortunes around the Las Vegas are Raiders.
42:44So they drafted Fernando Mendoza. They're bringing in Kirk cousins.
42:47I'm going to stick by what I said before since 2018.
42:50Every single quarterback that was selected. Number one overall has been the starter week one since 2018, right?
42:55Last guy that wasn't was Baker Mayfield. Everybody since then has been starting week one.
42:59And I tell you right now, Fernando Mendoza is better than old Kirk cousins.
43:03I know because I saw Kirk cousins last year and I saw Fernando Mendoza last year.
43:07All year. I watched a ton of those Indiana games.
43:10Boggs. No one watches more college football than you.
43:13I don't think you're going to disagree with that sentiment, but do you think they hold them back for a couple of
43:19weeks anyway, just because or do you just hit the ground running?
43:22I think you start them week one. I think you start them week one as well.
43:26I mean, thank you. I think with Kirk cousins, you don't have to.
43:30So if you, you know, if you just really don't like what you see in the preseason, if he's just way far
43:36behind and all that, you can go to Kirk cousins without a problem.
43:40So I'm not going to sit here and say it's definitely Fernando Mendoza week one.
43:44I don't think anything is settled on that yet, but he's just washed.
43:47He's done. Mendoza is better than him. I like her cousins being in here for an experienced backup.
43:52You can't have a no Connell kind of the same way you can have Stetson Bennett, right?
43:57You had to do something right this backup and who is better to be here with Mendoza.
44:02I mean, a guy that is absolutely going to be a teacher and quarterback that is absolutely open to taking instruction from a veteran.
44:08I love this combo of these two goofy dudes together.
44:11I love it. But Mendoza is way, way better than the ghost of Kirk cousins.
44:15I agree. Andrew, I know you disagree. So this is fun.
44:18So let's have the other side of this. I again, you, you draft these guys and I understand the idea of, well,
44:24it's good for them to sit and so this stuff, but when the guy's the number one overall pick and this modern
44:31day version of the NFL, it just doesn't happen.
44:33Shut up about it either. Well, Brady can talk all he wants, but Brady's Brady's job is to go talk on Fox.
44:39His job is he's not there to go ahead and he's not the coach.
44:43He's not the GM. He's a, he's a partial owner.
44:46That's it. That's all he is. And he can say everything you want.
44:49But don't act like everyone listens when Tom Brady talks, Joe.
44:52Come on. As they should. Nobody's a bigger Tom Brady stand than I am.
44:56But in this scenario, don't you own his boxers?
44:59I several pair. Didn't you steal that point or, or I mean, win them at auction?
45:03Both. Yes. All of those things are true. The point is this.
45:07It's that Tom Brady can say about all the perfect world.
45:10The Raiders don't live in a perfect world right now.
45:12It's an organization and they live in an organization here where you have a rookie head coach.
45:17And the temptation will be when you watch the two of these guys play that you cannot go and start the year
45:23week one for better or worse with Kirk Cousins, because Fernando Mendoza learning on the job is going to be more beneficial
45:29to you than Kirk Cousins going out there and blowing the first three or four games of the season for you and
45:35putting you behind the eight ball again. And you're wasting time.
45:38And I think the perfect. Go back and look at it.
45:41Rookie head coach last year, Cal Moore had the Saints went out there and put Tyler Shuck in a little bit sooner.
45:47They might have been in the playoffs last year.
45:50So, Erickson, go ahead. Tell me why I'm wrong.
45:52I don't think you're wrong. I just think that you're missing the element of Clint Kubiak also talked about wanting to start a veteran quarterback.
45:59It's not just Tom Brady. But is that because he actually does or because he do you really think he believes that or is that?
46:06I don't know. He's never been a head coach and he's never had to make that decision.
46:11So, again, it remains to be seen when we look, I agree with you.
46:15Like if it was me, Kirk Cousins would be on the rock.
46:18I mean, he should be on the roster. Okay, I like having the veteran mentorship there, but I think that yeah, no brainer.
46:25You draft him first overall get the Raiders fans hype to go.
46:28They're going to get destroyed against the charge to open the year anyway in week two, but that's the besides the point.
46:34So I would do that, but I don't know if Kubiak is going to see it that way.
46:39Remember, we just talked about the Chiefs receiving core.
46:41How about that Raiders one behind Brock Bowers? Do you want to you?
46:45You want Mendoza out there? What if Bowers is banged up?
46:48Oh, yeah. Well, you're going to have to succeed with Trey Tucker and Jack Bash and Jalen Naylor.
46:53Good luck. Like, oh, you're not having success. What if he struggles out of the gate?
46:57Whereas Kirk Cousins, you put him out there first.
47:00Okay, you can let the other pieces around the offense start to gel again.
47:04This is a brand new offense for all of these players involved.
47:07But you know who knows the offense? Kirk Cousins.
47:10Like he's been under Kubiak before. So that's the one kind of counterpoint to Mendoza not being the guy in week one.
47:16And I actually think it's interesting because you guys are on the opposite side.
47:20I think it's more like we see Mahomes play week one than Mendoza.
47:23I think you get a lot of different answers for that.
47:26I think so too. To be honest. And I don't hate the argument either way, if I'm honest, right?
47:31Like, because I see everything that you're saying. And you just put way less pressure on Mendoza if he doesn't have to start week one.
47:38Yeah. Which is probably a good move long term.
47:41But hold on, Joe. Probably. Yeah. That's good. I just...
47:44Does pressure seem like a problem? The line is bad.
47:46Like... Yeah, the right tackle spot is shaky. Let Cousins take the brunt of that while you figure it out.
47:52But what's the difference? He's gonna take the brunt of it eventually anyway.
47:56Like I'm just saying. It's not like it's gonna get magically better in week eight than it is in week one.
48:01We collectively recording the show right now want Mendoza to start week one.
48:05Like we are handled. Like that's the decision to make.
48:08I don't know if your heart's in it. But I'm just trying to live in...
48:12I don't think your heart's in it, Andrew. I'll be honest with you.
48:15No, I'm just looking at what the head coach said.
48:18Well, if you start believing head coaches, you're going down a very, very...
48:22Well, until we have a sample size of Kubiak, which we get from the CoachSpeak Index about if he's a liar or
48:28a truth teller, then we'll be able to make adjustments.
48:31Thank you. Stop bothering. They're all liars. As they should be.
48:34That's their job. Their job is to insulate and protect.
48:36And I definitely think that's the right thing to say is, and put Fernando Mendoza in a situation of like, yeah, no pressure, kid.
48:43Like this is a lot of transition to the NFL.
48:46But I... Last time I checked, pressure and Fernando Mendoza are okay.
48:49Like, there was a lot of pressurized situations that kid was in, in situations against Ohio State that he wasn't supposed to
48:55win, national championship game that people were really skeptical about against that defense.
48:59Pressure is kind of his MO. I feel like he performs better in it.
49:03And yeah, there's a lot of problems. Are you guys surprised actually, I'll just put this out there to the room, that
49:09they didn't do more to help him in the wide receiver room?
49:12Because to me, that's the one glaring thing when you step back and look and I go, what were they thinking?
49:18There were definitely some guys they could have tried to acquire.
49:21No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you realize how bad the rest of this team was.
49:26Like, wide receivers are bad. That's true. But they had to get new linebackers, new secondary.
49:30They tried to do stuff with Max Crosby and then they brought in Quidipe.
49:34They had to fix the O-line, which was giving nobody any Mississippi's.
49:38They weren't giving anybody any Texas's. It was terrible, that O-line.
49:41So they had to fix a lot this year.
49:43So to see wide receiver be put on the back burner a little bit was not shocking.
49:48Well, what do you think that relationship is now too with Crosby having to come back and everyone having to play nice now?
49:54I think, you know what, new coaching staff. I think they put all of that as water under the bridge and now Crosby hates the Ravens.
50:01So I like that. Anyone who hates the Ravens is a friend of Scott Bogman.
50:06We know that very well. All right, let's take a look at what Vegas thinks about Vegas.
50:10How about that? And that was a nice transition.
50:13The rain is... Super Bowl conference winner. We can miss that.
50:16Five and a half. Okay, right. You're right. The number is five and a half.
50:20So let's just go down to it. Forget the playoffs.
50:23Forget division winners. Is it five and a half really?
50:25Five and a half is the number. So you want to go over or under boys?
50:30Where do you want to go? I'll go over five and a half.
50:34All right, that's minus 125. Erickson, plus 126 for the under.
50:37What do you want to do? I think this is what I want to wait on because I don't want to be
50:43betting win totals for the Raiders if Kirk Cousins is starting any games for this team.
50:47So this one I will be looking to... Listen to what you're saying, Erickson!
50:51After weeks one... I know, I know, I know.
50:53I think we're going to see Kirk Cousins start the game.
50:56I know, I know, I know. And I mean, you did get some money for this year too.
51:01Well, they do open... I think he's like Pugazi after his five-year million dollar contract or whatever it is.
51:07His agent is the best. Yeah, honestly, like we all need his agent.
51:10They open against the Dolphins in what is the week one pool ball.
51:14Oh yeah, that's the Dolphins. So I have a feeling if they should win...
51:18I mean, that's the other thing. Like... Let Mendoza start his career.
51:21Let Mendoza start against the Dolphins! Talk about a cushy start to your career.
51:25Especially when Miami would not recruit him. And he beat the Hurricanes in the Natty.
51:29Yeah! And they're in Las Vegas. So the crowd's going to be wild in Allegiance Stadium.
51:34Come on, this is already written in the history of the NFL.
51:37Come on, Andrew. You can tell that Andrew wants to wait on it because he thinks Cousins is going to start.
51:43Now I'm feeling scared now. That's why he wants to wait on it.
51:46You can tell. They get the Dolphins and then after that the Chargers and the Saints.
51:51That's what happens after that. So things get a little sarcastic.
51:54I mean, again, if I have to make it preseason, I would take the over still.
51:58I think that bringing in Kubiak, what he can do with Bowers, with Ashton Gentty, with an offensive line that is going to be improved, the quarterback play.
52:06The thing with Kubiak, what he's done in his last spots, even in Seattle, with the Saints before Derek Carr got injured.
52:12He had offensive lines that on paper were average at best, if not below average.
52:16And when you looked at the end of the year, how well those teams performed on the offensive line, a lot of that was based on his scheme.
52:24So although I do have some issues with, you know, the right tackle spot, they did make the other additions.
52:29Linderbaum being the center for Mendoza. I think that's an amazing addition.
52:33So I think I would also go with Miller also played like three games last year.
52:37Yeah. And he's an all pro type of talent when he is healthy.
52:41So if they have him out there, yeah, the offensive line can definitely be, I think, average at worst.
52:46All right. I think I'm going to take the underdog because I'm looking at the schedule and it's hard to find a lot.
52:52Oh, no, Joe. Joe. Joe, so you need, so you need Kirk Cousins then.
52:56Well. He needs Mendoza to start. No, I need Mendoza to start anyway.
53:00But, but still just looking at it, like after this, like, it does get a little tricky there.
53:05They, they have to play the bills. You know why?
53:08Because they were also playing the AFC East this year.
53:10It looks like to take it, the jets, right?
53:13Yeah. But you also get the bills and the Patriots too.
53:16You get the dolphins and they have to go to New England.
53:19I mean, I know they'd be doing it last year.
53:22I know. I know. I know. They smell blood in the water.
53:25I'm well aware. I'm well aware, but they do close the out close out with the Titans and Cardinals again.
53:31And if the chiefs are eliminated, maybe a Mahomes list chiefs in week 18, it'd be a sweat.
53:36Regardless. It's a sweat. I'll take the under on the sweat.
53:39I think five is, I think five is legit after that.
53:42I think I can't wait for the week 18, a watch party between the Raiders sitting at five wins.
53:47Just watching the Raiders on Christmas Day. That'll be cool.
53:50Do they play a Christmas Day game to get to your five and a half over?
53:54I don't. No, they don't play on Christmas Day.
53:57I don't remember talking about the Raiders at all during our schedule release.
54:00No, the Raiders don't have any primetime games, I don't think, or any special things.
54:05It's gone. One o'clock. All the same six teams are playing all the holiday games.
54:09It feels like they just mixed them up together.
54:11It was crazy. I'm just glad it's not my team.
54:14They're just like, Broncos, hate your family. Bears, hate your family.
54:17By the way, I heard you scumbags talking about how bad the, what is it, Black Friday game is going to be.
54:23Scumbags? Yeah, you defense haters talking about how bad the Black Friday game is going to be.
54:28I'm not a defense hater. I love defense, Boggs.
54:30You know I love defense. Then act like it.
54:33Fair. All right. I just, I don't want to watch Aaron Rodgers on the holiday while I'm decorating my Christmas tree.
54:39That's the problem. Also fair. He sours me with his sour face.
54:42All right, everybody, drop your comments below. What do you think of this division here?
54:46And make sure you subscribe to the channel. Please.
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54:52Like this video, ring the bell to the ghost danger.
54:54Remember when you subscribe and when you drop your comments below, you can win the Jamar Chase jersey.
54:59We're giving that away pretty soon here on the channel.
55:02So do that again. This is all NFL all the time at the tailgate with your friends talking football, but we got to get out of here.
55:10The parking lot's closing. That'll do it for us.
55:12We'll be back next time on the tailgate. Welcome to the tailgate.
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