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Aug 17, 2026
A Numbers Game | August 17, 2026 | Hour 1
A Numbers Game | August 17, 2026 | Hour 1
00:00
47:07
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Transcript
0:00
Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability, and it all starts with a great deal on a truck from your local Toyota dealer.
0:08
Make a smart buy on the off-road-ready Tacoma or half ton Tundra, two of Toyota's most capable and longest lasting trucks.
0:15
Built with the strength for the tough jobs, the tech to power your next big adventures, and the rugged style for everything in between.
0:21
Or discover Toyota's off-road lineup, including the iconic 4Runner and Land Cruiser, designed to go beyond the everyday.
0:27
And with Toyota's proven reputation for quality and reliability, plus available hybrid power on many models, you can get more for every mile and drive for less along the way.
0:37
And long after you leave the lot, your Toyota keeps delivering with great resale value, so you could trade in for more when you're ready for your next Toyota.
0:44
From a great deal today to great value tomorrow, a Toyota is right for you. Shop toyota.com for deals and details, or stop by your local Toyota dealer today. Toyota, let's go places. [upbeat music] This is VSiN,
0:57
the sports betting network. The numbers told the story, they always do. He's one of those idiots who believe in analytics. This is a numbers game with Gil Alexander on VSiN. Good Monday morning to you.
1:12
It is a numbers game at VSiN, the sports betting network, vsin.com, Game Plus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV, SiriusXM channel 158.
1:20
It's Gil Alexander, and that right there is Matt Brown, in for the vacationing Kelly Bidlin on this Monday morning. What's happening? I am probably not, uh, in the same state of being as Kelly Bidlin about right now.
1:32
I'm guessing after three days of hardcore partying, Kelly is... K- Kelly's probably not even awake right now. Matt, he's on assignment. That's how we like to say here. Uh, not even, not even awake right now.
1:41
[laughs] Kelly's in Nashville, Tennessee, enjoying himself, at least that's the last we've heard from him. Uh, on the show today, and Matt, thank you for being here on the show. Greg Peterson.
1:50
Greg is, uh, MLB Fab Five, his five plays in Major League Baseball today. He's got more, but we'll just limit it to five on the show. You'll have to go to the website, vsin.com/picks, for the rest of them.
2:02
Uh, Wes Reynolds talking Scotty Scheffler off the Schneid. Been too long, seven months since Scheffler had himself a win, and boy, did he do it in grand fashion this past weekend.
2:11
We'll talk that with Wes and whatever else he's betting these days. Adam Burke, Major League Baseball, college football. And a little later on, Matt, uh, Drew Tabor will join us.
2:20
He is the founder of something called Ungambled, uh, which is a, uh, I'll read it right here from the page.
2:26
It is a math-backed platform and educational service founded by him that teaches sports bettors how to systematically extract profit from sportsbook signup bonuses and promotions through hedging while avoiding account bans.
2:38
That sounds good. I can tell you that profit is good. What's that? Profit is good. So- Yeah. Pro- profit's good. That's right. There we go. And we're looking forward to that.
2:45
And, uh, and then, oh, something a little later on also, I don't know when, but apparently I'll, I'll vomit it out at some point.
2:51
I have found out, uh, that for 44 years, I do n- I have been singing lyric-wise the wrong word in a very popular song, and I am flabbergasted by it. That's a little later on the show. Wow. I follow, uh...
3:06
I know you don't do, you don't do the Instagram, do you? I am, I am gobsmacked. You don't do the Instagram, do you? I, I, I am there. Dabble? You dabble. I never post. You dabble. I rarely post.
3:14
S- I follow at least three accounts that go, "You have been singing this or saying this wrong," or whatever. Really?
3:22
I, at l- at least three different ones, and every single time I come out going, "Oh, wow, yeah, look at that." This came up because- Isn't that something? I was with my brother this weekend, the song came up, he sang it.
3:31
I'm like, "What the hell did you just say?" And it turns out he was right, so we'll get into that a little later on the show. Uh, we'll get, uh, Matt's thoughts on week one of the NFL preseason.
3:40
We'll do it, uh, both betting and really sports talk radio fashion, but real quick, the administrative work. Not a good weekend for our Tigers to say the least.
3:49
And I say our Tigers because we have the most wins in the month of August, but not a good weekend for the Tigers period. Uh, you wanted to at least win two out of three from the White Sox.
3:59
At the very worst, you wanted to salvage one win yesterday after losing the first two. Guess what? Swept.
4:06
And the Tigers, not only, uh, we take a hit with our August bet, but beyond that, the Tigers all of a sudden go from two and a half back in the AL Central to five and a half back.
4:15
They go from inside the playoff picture to outside the playoff picture in a never-ending American League wild card race.
4:23
It's the Padres, by the way, if you're scoring at home, who have the lead now in August with an 11 and four record. They have a one-win lead over the Rays, Phillies, Cubs, and Blue Jays, as you see on the screen.
4:33
As far as the, uh, the divisions themselves now, Matt, we have six weeks, exactly six weeks left in the Major League Baseball season.
4:40
All of a sudden now with that sweep, the White Sox of the Tigers, every division except one, the wonderful world of the AL West, where the Astros are, I believe it's a two-game lead, if I'm not mistaken, in the AL West.
4:53
Um, everything else is five games or more. Might this be a season where we will be bereft of any pennant chase? I don't think so because- Not pennant chase, but division race. I'm sorry...
5:03
I don't think, I don't think a lot of these teams are any good. I think we are, I think we are always live for these five, you know, losing five out of six down the stretch here.
5:12
I mean, like 38, 39 games left for, for a lot of these teams out there, and it's, it seems like if you just look at the raw numbers, you're like, "Okay, well, this is probably done."
5:21
But man, how many times have we seen, even out of the, the almighty Dodgers had that giant skid, right? I mean, like- I'm not sure they're not, they haven't stopped skidding. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
5:29
I mean, the, they, they had a giant skid along the way. Like, I don't know if any of these teams are actually really all that great. [laughs] I mean, and it's crazy to say, right? Yeah.
5:38
I mean, it's crazy to say when you look at the lineups, but man, I, I, I think that one of these, one of these races, if not two of them, is gonna end up, we're gonna look up and go, "I can't believe we're 11 games left in the season and this thing is within a game of each other."
5:51
Could the, could the Dodgers, since you bring them up- Mm-hmm... could the Dodgers end up... I know we've said, we- you know, I've, I've advocated not betting them up to be the number one seed. Yeah.
5:59
But I said all they care about is being the number two seed. Could the Dodgers not get a first-round- Yes... buy? Yes. No, that, that is very much in play. Very much in play right now. Yeah.
6:09
Dodgers not real- like, really nursing... You know, that's the thing though, right? It's two... I mean, Milwaukee three wins ahead of them, three games ahead of them. Atlanta a half game better than- Mm-hmm...
6:22
the Dodgers right now, so that's definitely in play as well. Again, we're just past the quarter pole, just past the, uh, third quarter mark of the season. And the Cubs have 72 wins, so they're only two wins behind them.
6:31
So I mean, the, even the Cubs could- Even if the Cubs- Yeah, yeah, yeah... overtake the- Yeah... the Brewers. Yeah. That's right.
6:35
Um, remember, best of three first round, which is what you really want to avoid in the Major League Baseball playoffs, then it goes to best of five, and then best of seven by the time you get to the championship series.
6:45
Uh, tennis, yesterday our first really bad day tennis. I went crazy yesterday. I had eight plays in tennis. Not so good. Two and six on the plays yesterday. It was not a dog kinda day.
6:57
Uh, up a, up a set and a break in one of 'em, 50 cents of CLV in another. Neither of those two things mattered.
7:04
Today, if you wanna play some tennis, and it begins here in about an hour, Thiago Agustin Tira-nte, who took down Novak Djokovic the other day in Novak's opening match of Cincinnati.
7:16
Cincinnati's the 1000 that directly precedes the US Open. Now, part of that was... And I- it's hard to know how much of this was Tirante. Where does Tirante end and where does Novak's health begin?
7:29
But Novak was v- was apparently vomiting on the court, the humidity got to him. Ne- never any good. Not c- [laughs] Yeah... not ideal. Never any good. [laughs] Not optimal.
7:37
But I'm on Tirante today versus Martin Landaluce, who we won on the other day. Landaluce is a really good hardcore player. But Tirante minus 134, his numbers are great. Gil, when we have three name FAA, we'll say FAA.
7:46
Can he not be TAT? Can we have Tat? Can he just be Tat? He, he could be, but the number of people who would know who that is- [laughs]... is probably 0.00- Let's start it. Let's just start it... whatever.
7:54
Yeah, TAT, you know, Tat. TAT versus Martin Landaluce. We're on TAT. [laughs] We're on Tirante. And then, uh, on the ladies' side, big dog, Clara Tauson plus 203 versus Linda Noskova, or Noskova, pardon me.
8:06
And then, uh, Sorana Cirstea, I was surprised by this price, minus 116 versus Anna Kalinskaya. So it's Tirante, Tauson, and Cirstea as we look to bounce back after yesterday's debacle in Cincinnati.
8:18
Uh, as far as the NFL, week one preseason. I, you know, listen, everybody does reactions, overreactions. I'm curious because you're, you're super locked into this stuff, man. Mm-hmm. Uh, and I'm curious.
8:30
I'll just go down a list of some stuff. By the way, Matt and I are gonna look at the, uh, AL West a little later on the show, the NFC South. We'll go through a couple divisions as well.
8:39
But I'll just go through these sorta chronologically- Mm-hmm... beginning with, uh, you know, before the weekend. Drew Aller, Pittsburgh Steelers, let's start there. 10 of 13 for 153, two touchdowns.
8:49
Also had a touchdown on the ground, so he counted for three touchdowns. Um, Pittsburgh should be excited about their future beyond Aaron Rodgers, yes or no? I mean, maybe excited about their future this season as well.
9:00
I mean, like, we're just ass- we're just assuming Aaron Rodgers is still good to go and all. It's true. And honestly, end of the day, I think he looked very washed last year.
9:07
I, I mean, I thought he was a shell of what he used to be, and it seems like he wasn't absolutely in control of what his body is able to do still. Like, Aaron Rodgers was...
9:18
When you and I remember the peak Aaron Rodgers, some s- some of the youngs back there probably don't- Man... yeah, don't remember. Man, was he good. Yes, yes, yeah. Peak Aaron Rodgers.
9:26
He had that, like, Patrick Mahomes about him, where it's like he had that escapability, he extended plays. It was, like, never fast, but just sneaky, elusive and, like, would make the throws and all this stuff.
9:36
He was getting run down from behind by defensive linemen last year like nobody's... He's still trying to do the thing that just doesn't, his body won't do- Looks old... anymore. Yeah. Yeah.
9:45
And so I just wonder if he's... He is still a smart guy. If he looked in the off-season, watched some film, and goes, "I gotta, I gotta get that out of the game.
9:52
I almost have to self-sack like Brady was doing there for a while." [laughs] You know, Brady, Brady, one of the greatest things about Brady was not only just the talent and everything of...
9:59
The intelligence of going, "I'm the slowest guy maybe in the league- Yeah... so I'm just gonna fall down. It saves two yards if I don't backpedal." Here's my question to you about that, though.
10:07
Do you thi- like, how easy will it be for Mike McCarthy if, let's say Aaron- Mm... Rodgers does stink it up. By the way, he's 42 years old. Mm. He's gonna be 43 early December. This just in, not young. Yes.
10:19
How easy or hard, what, what, or, you know, where does the... What's the correct way to define this? Will it be for Mike McCarthy if Aaron Rodgers stinks up the joint to say, "Hey, Aaron, you're done"? Yeah.
10:30
I think very, very hard, and it probably ends up waiting too late for it to matter in the season.
10:34
But maybe at least you get five, you know, like, you know, you get five games, that hour maybe at the end of the season or something like that. Well.
10:40
You know, just to give him a little bit of game experience heading into next year. But yes, I, I agree with you. It's too hard. You bullish on Pittsburgh or bearish this year? Bearish big time. Yeah. Big, big time.
10:47
We've said that before, but- Yes... yeah. Yes. Big, big time. Uh, let's see. Indianapolis, Anthony Richardson 11 of 14 for 145, did throw a pick. Six carries for 53 yards, a touchdown, but he did lose a fumble.
11:01
Kinda what you, [laughs] kinda the Anthony Richardson experience. What, what, what you would expect- Yes... from Anthony Richardson, exactly. Yeah.
11:06
Um, Jeremiah Love, uh, going back to before the weekend, 11 carries for 58 yards, an average of 5.3 yards per carry, but now we find out he has an high ankle sprain. Th- this was the most crazy thing to me.
11:18
14 touches in the first preseason game for him, 'cause he caught three passes as well. Yes.
11:23
And then comes up with a high ankle sprain that, as we know, these things take three to four weeks to properly heal before you can actually get back out there. That's right.
11:30
And so you nuked him for the rest of the preseason, maybe even game one, maybe week one of the season, for, for what? I mean, I, I... This is what I just don't get about some of this stuff.
11:39
I'm all for starters playing in the preseason to get a couple of reps and stuff. But a guy that you spent this incredibly high draft pick on, and you run him out there for 14 touches in the first preseason game? Yeah.
11:50
14 different opportunities for something like this to happen? I don't get it. You never know that it's gonna happen, but it's always a possibility. Yeah. Uh, let me do one more before the break. Yeah.
11:59
Dejon Stribling of the, uh, Niners, who a lot of people, once Ricky Pearsall, once, once they figure it out, uh, we're gonna have to address this knee once and for all.
12:07
A lot of fantasy people, a lot of Rookie of the Year voters- Immediately started betting Dejean Stribling. He did not disappoint. Seven catches, 63 yards.
12:15
Yeah, I am, I thought that that was a, a, a really, really good performance, something that they're gonna need. It seems like that they're going to need there for sure. Um, real, real quick, just jumping back. The...
12:25
I mean, if you guys read the, the betting guide, I had unders on Jeremiah Love, like, all over the place and stuff, and that wasn't even because of this injury type of thing.
12:32
Th- th- that, that backfield's crowded, you know? And then now you see this, and you see whatever.
12:37
Wouldn't surprise me if the front office guild goes, "Hey, hey, let's not run the tires off of this guy," like, you know, in this meaningless season. We'll go through a bunch more of these.
12:44
The, the curious case of the Giants, uh, the Vikings at quarterback, the Browns at quarterback, Rams, Bears, Ravens. We'll get to it all next on our Numbers Game. You're here because you want an edge.
12:56
That's what separates listeners from winners. But let's be real. Mindset alone doesn't get bets home. Pros win because they've got the tools, the data, and the discipline, and now so can you.
13:05
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13:12
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13:24
That's Toyota affordability, and it all starts with a great deal on a truck from your local Toyota dealer.
13:30
Make a smart buy on the off-road-ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's most capable and longest-lasting trucks.
13:37
Built with the strength for the tough jobs, the tech to power your next big adventures, and the rugged style for everything in between.
13:43
Or discover Toyota's off-road lineup, including the iconic 4Runner and Land Cruiser, designed to go beyond the everyday.
13:49
And with Toyota's proven reputation for quality and reliability, plus available hybrid power on many models, you can get more for every mile and drive for less along the way.
13:58
And long after you leave the lot, your Toyota keeps delivering with great resale value, so you can trade in for more when you're ready for your next Toyota.
14:06
From a great deal today to great value tomorrow, a Toyota is right for you. ShopToyota.com for deals and details, or stop by your local Toyota dealer today. Toyota, let's go places.
14:15
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15:00
Uh, Colin Murphy pointing out that at, uh, FanDuel, Matt- Mm-hmm... Advocate Skirmish, uh, they allow you to parlay MLB playoff seeding.
15:09
So he said he got down on Saturday with Milwaukee one, Atlanta two, Dodgers three, Cubbies four at 17 to one. And then he also did Chicago one, Atlanta two, Dodgers three, Milwaukee four. Mm-hmm.
15:21
Sort of dovetailing off- Yeah... the, uh, Dodgers finishing third thing. I mean, that is- I love that they offer that. I do too. And they let you parlay that. And that's... I think that's pretty neat. Yeah.
15:30
Uh, Chance Copperpot, "Speaking of Drew Aller, I was able to find him at over one and a half games started, and had to-" Oh. "And had to put that in my portfolio. What say you?" Where do you get that?
15:41
One, where do you get that? And two, I really do like that bet a lot, because here's the thing. We could also... You could get to the point of not only just an injury situation, but like- Of course...
15:49
but, like, you get to the end of the season like we just talked about. They're out of it. Yep. W- se- week 17, 18. We gotta play the kids. Yeah, we put in- week 17, 18. That's a outstanding- Yeah.
15:57
Of course, Will, Will Howard in the mix as well. Yeah, yeah. So there's that fly in the ointment, but still. Like that one a lot, though. Yeah, that's games started, over one and a half games started.
16:07
Chance, let us know where you played that. I'd be curious. I'm gonna guess a prediction market. I would guess as well. Yeah, the Profits, Polymarkets, and Calchis of the world.
16:16
Uh, okay, back to the, back, back to week one- Mm-hmm... of the NFL preseason.
16:19
And again, by the way, just from a betting standpoint, I have been quoting the, uh, the Drew Dincic huge sample size of, uh, 1,100 preseason games.
16:26
This was before last season, that he had looked at 1,100 preseason games, 447 of which qualified, of games that had moved one point or more, and that if you got ahead of it, you were hitting at 65%. If you were...
16:37
If you even, like, waited till the end of it and got p- you know, the s- you miss the steam, you were still hitting at 58%. Well, last year [laughs] and this year, that has just- Yeah... completely turned on its head.
16:47
Flipped, yes. The, all the steam lost this weekend. All the steam lost. Yeah, yeah. So I don't even know what to read into it anymore. Yeah, me neither. I- it's... I almost just...
16:53
And I said this on, on the show on Saturday. I was like, you know, the only thing that really gets me interested anymore, Gil, is, like, in the preseason... Uh, different strokes for different folks. I'm just not...
17:03
My brain isn't wired to- Me too... to the, to the preseason and stuff like that. Same here. I do get interested in games, uh, if I just see...
17:09
If I see three or more, I'm kinda like, "Now we're handicapping what does a third stringer or a fourth stringer bring to the table," guys that are definitely never gonna be on the team.
17:18
Like, you're gonna tell me they're three-and-a-half-point dogs in this game? I'm like... So that's where the only time I start to get interested, right?
17:23
It's like you get me over a field, a field goal or more, then I'll start to kinda look into things and just m- almost blindly play the dog, because it's just like I don't know if there's that big of a difference in these teams once we get to talking about dudes that are obviously not gonna be on the roster- Yeah...
17:37
here in a couple weeks. Yeah. And that's not to say others don't do very well in preseason. Yeah, no. Just not how my, my brain is necessarily wired. The one thing I do, going s- but just- Mm...
17:46
uh, seeing your one thing- Yeah... you do in raising is the three-team, 10-point- Yeah... teaser, which by the way was invented by the great Chrissy Andrews. That was... He was the first person- Mm... to ever do this.
17:56
Um, and that, that hit. Mm. There were, I think of the f- of the 16 games, only 3 didn't qualify if you teased them down. Yeah. Just a low total into the 20s, tease them up- Mm... and so hit that one at minus 130.
18:10
Will I do it again this week? I don't really know. Who knows? I don't really know. We'll see. Um, by the way, speaking of, uh, running back injuries, we were talking about Jeremiah Love. This just in as well.
18:19
Jets fans, you were getting very excited about your season, were you? Well, this just came in. I hope this is gonna be okay. This is, uh- This is from Rich Cimini, Rich Cimini? I don't know how you pronounce it.
18:30
I apologize, uh, Rich, on this. "Breece Hall goes down untouched while running after a catch." I assume this means a practice. Yes, I'm reading kind of the updates, which by the way are, are, are sparse.
18:43
But I've seen everything from groin to thigh, but nothing indicating a knee or like an Achilles or something like that. Oh, well that's good. That's good.
18:52
So it seems like the trainer was focused more in the midsection of him than it was on the lower half, but- I like that you're doing this... again, you know- Yeah... for the, for the people at home.
19:01
[laughs] You know, just for the, for the people watching at home. Uh-huh. And so, I, again, that looks good.
19:06
And honestly, that was kind of one of my notes for, for us to talk about, was just the, the usage of Breece Hall that I kinda saw in that first game where they were running with the starters and they wanted to kinda get the starters going out there.
19:16
And I mean, he played 10 of 11 snaps on that fir- on that opening drive, like didn't give way on third down. It seemed like maybe Aaron Glenn was, was moving towards more of a,
19:26
of a, you know, maybe like a, a bell cow type situation with Hall, where we did see a lot of, you know, three different guys really get a significant amount of touches last year.
19:34
And I was wondering if maybe there was some, some upside to all of that, but oh, okay. Here's Glenn from Schefter. "I don't think it was a big deal." Okay. So there we go. All right. We're just here to report the news.
19:46
Yes. So there we go. At least that's, uh, at least that's good. Um, but yeah, it's like, uh, to me, I was wondering if like, oh, are we heading more towards a guy being more of a bell cow here?
19:54
And if that's the case, I mean, his number, Gill, is, is, is 899 rushing on the season.
19:58
He got over 1,000 last year as it was anyway, where he was kinda getting s- uh, carries siphoned off and even carries siphoned off, siphoned off by the quarterback in Fields, who obviously, r- who ran, you know, over 70 times, had over 70 carries.
20:09
So I, I was kind of leaning more in that direction. Them saying this is no big deal at least is something I would put up.
20:14
I don't like to bet overs on running backs at all, but when I think it's mispriced for the role that the guy might have, then it starts to pique my interest. And, and, and Hall was at least one of those.
20:22
I have a Aaron Glenn question for you. Mm-hmm. Ka- Cade Klubnik, uh, from Clemson, five of seven for 56 yards. And you figure, okay, well this is a perfect like sort of sh- well, keep playing. Yeah.
20:31
And they took him out. Yeah. I'm like, well, what are you doing? I mean, shouldn't you, shouldn't we see more of him? [laughs] Try to see what he's- Yeah... what he's made of there. Uh, the other New York team,
20:40
Jackson Dart checked for a concussion after a punishing sack. He had five concussion checks last year, I believe. The, uh, y- Mike Tanier wrote a great, uh, preview on the Giants at the, in the FTN Almanac.
20:52
And w- he said, he goes, "Dart can't... Like we're really worried about his concussion problem.
20:59
Malik Nabers might be a diva," and the word he used, he goes, "And Cam Skattebo, by all indications, might be a doofus based on all the stuff he does off season."
21:07
What, what's the, uh, what's the feeling you have on Jackson Dart and all of this inability to stay out of, you know, concussion protocol- So-... or, or in the tent, I should say?
21:16
With this one, I think that there's, there's like a little bit, a little bit too much being made out of it, mainly because it was not him, it wasn't...
21:25
You know, obviously they buzz, right, from upstairs and make you have to go and whatever. And if you were watching the game, it was just a, a free runner that hit him in the midse- I mean, hit him in the gut, right?
21:35
You know, I mean, and, and it was like one of those things where he didn't get up gingerly. He didn't, none of this stuff, right? And then it was like they buzz him. He has to go to the, he has to go to the blue tent.
21:43
Nothing he can control. Nothing... I mean, the running back missed the ball [laughs], missed the blitz pickup, and he just gets drilled. And then they, they make him go to the tent.
21:50
And he'd said as much afterwards, you know, going like, "Look, guys, every time I get hit, like you, you can't make me go to the blue tent," you know? And then he came back in and threw the touchdown pass, right?
21:58
I mean, he rolled against his body, squared his hips. I thought it was a good pass into the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
22:03
Um- As a guy who was a, he was a Washington guy, right, and, and RGIII was played completely, and now Jayden's getting- Yeah... his sort of like, oh, their slight of build, every time they run they either get hurt.
22:13
Like, and it was just this, the reputation was far- Absolutely... worse than reality. It's like, oh, it just, it's luck also, right? Yeah. It's bad luck.
22:22
I don't hear this about Dart yet, but now I, I feel like I should be levying the same thing against him. Like, oh, I don't know. He's whatever. Right. Right? Good. He,
22:31
he, he should know that his running back's not gonna pick up [laughs] that free runner and just get, just get- Well, there's all, there's all kinds of conspiracy theories about that with which get into politics. Yeah.
22:39
And so like they don't like Dart's politics- I know... so they have to block for him and all. It's ridiculous. I know. It's, it's crazy.
22:43
Yeah, I do think with, with, on the Skattebo thing, just again, if you're, if you're a season long prop better and all of that or whatever, you might be in the middle of a three-headed monster there in that backfield because it, like, uh, Tracy and Singletary all got reps with the starters, as did Skattebo.
22:57
Skattebo's rushing props at 825 yards, which is basically a starter's role for a running back or something.
23:04
Not only do we factor in injuries anyway when we're talking about running backs, but if they're gonna be splitting carries with, with Singletary and Tracy as well there in that backfield, then 825 is, is way too high on, on Skattebo.
23:14
That would be an under for me, for sure. Let's do speed round here. Mm-hmm. 30 seconds on this. Uh, Minnesota, this is more sports talk radio than it is actual game.
23:20
[laughs] But, uh, did you hear the McCarthy, uh, JJ McCarthy versus Kyler Murray when, when the r- uh, reporter was like, "How's everything going?" And Kyler Murray was very politically correct. "Oh, you know, good kid.
23:30
Learning everything." And, and McCarthy's like, "Well, you know, it's awkward. I'm on one side of the room and he's on the other." You read anything into that? Y- yeah. McCarthy's attitude is not good. Not good.
23:39
Not good. No. Yeah. You don't hear any of the receivers coming out and like taking his back either- No, you don't... or anything like that. It's just kinda like, "Kyler's our guy."
23:46
[laughs] This is, this is back in the day for those who remember. This has Jay Schroeder, Doug Williams vibes- [laughs]... in the '80s. Uh, Deshaun Watson 11-15 for 126. Shedeur six of 11 for 79 and a really bad pick.
23:58
Yeah. Deshaun's starting, right? I, I- Week one... I am 1,000%... 'Cause you can't go Shedeur, Deshaun, back to Shedeur, but you can go Deshaun- Yes... to Shedeur. That was exactly my point. E- exactly my point.
24:10
You can't do that. Um, this has nothing to do with anything, but I was just, I was like Case Keenum's playing for the Bears. He was nine of 10 for 151 and two touchdowns. That's amazing. Yeah.
24:20
I was like his best year was 2017 with the Vikings. 24 unanswered points for the Bears when they handed the, uh, the, the play sheet over to Antoine Randle El. So Ben Johnson- That's right...
24:30
gave him, gave him the play sheet- That's right... and said, "Go to town," 24 straight. And then the last one, which is maybe the headline, Ty Simpson of the Rams 21 of 25 for 192 touchdowns, no picks. Hmm, yeah.
24:42
It, it was good. It was efficient. It was whatever. He didn't throw the ball down the field at all. Uh-huh. Like, there was no area yards. Yeah. There was no anything like that.
24:49
I mean, it was safe, but listen, completing passes and not throwing it to the other team is, is a skill in the NFL. What about the kid from Baltimore? You see the 22 of 28- Yeah... for 224? Go to town, buddy.
24:58
Go to town, buddy. Joe, uh, how do you pronounce it? Faianu? Let's go with that. Let's go with that. Yeah. Okay. Greg Peterson, Fab Five, Major League Baseball next on A Numbers Game at VSiN, the sports betting network.
25:08
[upbeat rock music] A Numbers Game on VSiN, the sports betting network. Hey, Matt, don't forget about the Sharp Plays. Yep.
25:25
Unmatched transparency with records updated daily, AI betting analysis, real-time global betting info, alerts directly from the pros. You can scan the QR code on your screen for more, sharpplays.com. Check 'em out.
25:37
Skill Alexander. That's Matt Brown in for the vacationing Kelly Bidlin. Kelly's on assignment. Yeah, we'll see what he comes back with. Uh, we get tweets to be in the book.
25:45
Here's, here's exactly what I was talking about. Nemesis Enforcer, "On Dart, the fact that Harbaugh let him go back in, there's gonna be an O-line whiff for his trumping." [laughs] He's being political, not me.
25:55
I'm just telling you that was a conspiracy. Jacco Bella said, with Pz Capital. Jacco is responsible for the, uh, Todd Wishnev purple image for Wishnev Wednesdays. This is a great question.
26:05
This ha- well, this hasn't come up in a while. It says, "When you were betting baseball heavily back in the day, did you notice your Sunday results differing from any other day of the week?
26:14
I seem to struggle on Sundays to the point where I'm considering taking that day off. Is there any merit to this?"
26:19
Matt, I don't know about you, but I recall this very vividly that Sundays were a little squirrely, and I remember having this conver- uh, conversation with Joe Peda. He's convinced as well, and it's...
26:31
'Cause it's not getaway day like Thursday feels like getaway day. But it does feel like, "Yeah, we're out of town here after this, so let's, uh- Yeah, I, um-... let's roll."
26:40
So I'm on, I'm on air here on, on Sundays, and kind of have to deal with this pretty regularly. And so I give the, you know, full disclaimer. I'm like, "Listen, there's two things that are at play here.
26:49
One, it's your typical day off day for a lot of guys. So, like, you've got to check the lineups too." The lineups are different. So the lineups are always different and stuff. Yeah.
26:55
So, like, you know, catchers are getting days off and things, and stuff like that.
26:58
And then other is they're all day games except for Sunday night baseball, and most of these dudes are playing night games, and most of these pitchers are, are creatures of habit.
27:06
And they have their routines of how they prep for their starts every single time. "I wake up at X time. I eat this. I go do this. I take a nap. I whatever and blah, blah, blah."
27:15
You can't do that when your game starts in the middle of the day, right? And so I do think that some of that happens with these, with the pitchers as well.
27:20
You just get off of your schedule, and the results vary on Sundays. And Matt Brown knows this 'cause Matt Brown used to be a pitcher. Yeah, well, you know, back, back- College-level pitcher... back in the, back...
27:29
Long, 20 pl- 20 plus, you know? Little, 20, 20- What, what was it that, uh, took you? D- 20... Tw- Ricky Weeks just destroyed a pitcher of yours? Yes, yes. Was that the- Yes, it was...
27:36
It, it didn't go, it, it dented the wall. It didn't, it didn't- It de- It, it- Sorry. Yeah, yeah. I sold you short. Yeah, yeah, it dented the wall. It dented the wall. Yeah. My, my bad. It almost went through the wall.
27:44
Greg Peterson joins us now. You can follow him on Twitter at gunit_81.
27:48
Uh, Greg, not only, uh, someone we delve into his per- with his personal life, but I'm curious your answer to that question about Sunday, uh, baseball, Greg. Do you find it different than the other days of the week?
28:00
This year, my Sundays have actually been quite good. In past years, they've oftentimes been just all over the place.
28:07
You either have really, really good days, or you have really, really bad days with not a lot in between.
28:13
So that's the way it goes with Sundays because if you decide to go a little bit contrarian, sometimes that's really good, and then sometimes exactly what you expect. You get none of it whatsoever.
28:23
So I do feel like with Sundays, it's the day of the most variance because of what you mentioned.
28:28
The lineups are gonna be a little bit different, and some of these pitchers that typically they're rocking and rolling, it's usually the day where they get dinged up a little bit more than normal.
28:37
Greg, I, I, I try to get through our segments without bringing this up, but if I don't bring it up, inevitably somebody tweets and says, "Hey, how come you didn't ask him about this?" All good on the personal front?
28:45
Things are... Dating life is good? Playing the field? How would you characterize this? Oh, things are great. Absolutely. Absolutely? Prospects? Things are great.
28:53
I notice you're not writing about the- We don't need any prospects. Things are very, very much- Whoa... cemented. All- Whoa. Whoa... all good. Cemented? Breaking news. Wait a minute. Do I...
29:02
Will you explain that before we move on? Is this the same one from, like, a month ago? Like, did he- I'm not out there looking or anything like that, so we are, we are all good.
29:10
T- about a month ago, he said he had a couple of repeats. Is this the same from a month ago? Yes. Oh. [clapping] Very much so. And they, and they said it wouldn't last. There we go. And they said it wouldn't last.
29:22
There we go. Mazel tov, Greg. Hope it, hope it gives you, uh, all the dreams come true. I'm looking forward to you writing extensively about this again on Twitter one of these days.
29:30
[laughs] Uh, let's get into, uh, your fab five. Let's start with the Orioles and the Rays. The Rays got out to a ridiculously hot start, uh, in this month of August.
29:39
Still have a nice comfortable cushion in the AL East with six weeks left in the season. They're taking on the O's today, who are now on the inside of the AL playoff picture. Look out. What do you got here?
29:52
And the Orioles trying for a four-game road sweep of the Rays, who had the best record in all of baseball at home entering into the series. I do like the money line here of the Orioles, too.
30:04
Brandon Young has been very rock solid for them. Now, he does pitch you a lot of contact, 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. That's a big reason why I do like the over here.
30:14
Bookside for the Rays, you have to wonder what you're gonna get out of Shane McClanahan. This is gonna be his first start here in the month of August.
30:20
Last time he pitched was on July 30th, and his batter's been rock solid.
30:25
He's been able to give you an ERA right around about a 308, field independent, relatively in line with that, only giving up right around about 0.7, 0.8 home runs per nine innings.
30:34
But another guy that pitches to a lot of contact in his one minor league rehab start, only went three innings.
30:40
Question mark with how BP's gonna be able to go, especially with Freddy Peralta not throwing a full five innings. I think that that leaves you in very good shape for the over, so I'm gonna be looking there.
30:51
And on top of that, I like the Orioles at plus money again here on the money line. Greg, you know I like to fight with you when it comes to baseball.
30:58
[laughs] I like to find something that I'm on the opposite side of, and I can't do it here because I am also on the Braves today against the Twins on the road over there. Tell us why.
31:06
I'll tell everybody else later why I like it. Absolutely. And Martín Pérez is due in for some regression. So I did take the over overnight as well when this was eight and a half.
31:16
He's got a 2.96 ERA and a f- four-one-nine fielding independent. But even though I think Martín Pérez is gonna regress, man, it's often great for Bailey Ober this year. Career low, 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
31:29
He's giving up 1.5 home runs per nine innings, and then you've got the better bullpen on the side of the Atlanta Braves. Number two in terms of bullpen ERA in the National League.
31:38
The Dylan's still lead, though not have been solid. And while the Twins revamped things with bringing in A.J. Minter, Jeff Hoffman at the trade deadline for their bullpen, yeah, it's still been very shaky.
31:49
Bottom eight in terms of ERA. Byron Bucksin since coming off the injured list has happened himself. And initially for the Atlanta Braves, they continue to be a top eight offense in terms of run production.
31:59
So I took a shot on the over, and where the Braves was fighting them minus 120 overnight, still seeing quite a few w- minus 125s. I like them on the money line.
32:08
Padres and Mets, Greg, both teams playing good baseball, especially the Padres. As I mentioned earlier, 11 and four in this month of August. Padres, though, still probably not gonna get the division.
32:19
Still a big, big, uh, deficit to the Dodgers, though it's dwindling a little bit here of late.
32:25
Really more important for them, the wildcard situation, where they are currently in, but with only a one-game lead over the Diamondbacks. Uh, Mets are a slight favorite in this game. How are you playing it?
32:38
And how about the Mets trying to play spoiler all of a sudden? [laughs] Like, Juan- For real... Soto goes down, and when he went down, team was averaging only 4.05 runs per game.
32:49
Since he went down with an injury, they're averaging closer to 4.85 runs per game. They've been better in 21 games without Juan Soto than they were with him. Don't ask me how, don't ask me why, but hey, you know what?
33:01
The Mets are rolling. Noah McLean, in my opinion, is the better starter here.
33:05
Now, he does post up a 4.15 ERA at home compared to about a 2.80 ERA away from home, so that puts me on the over of eight, but he's the better pitcher here, in my opinion, compared to Walker Buehler, who's been posting up a 4.88 ERA.
33:17
Fielding independent points towards positivity, but he's had his issues away from home, posting up an ERA about a 5.47. For the Padres, they do have the better bullpen.
33:26
When you're able to go to all these guys like Mason Miller and company, that does help out.
33:30
And I will say this for the Padres, averaging about 5.3 runs per game since the All-Star break, top five mark in all of baseball. Like the over, and give me the better pitcher here with McLean on the money line.
33:42
Let's talk about my White Sox here. Uh, already cashed that ticket. Yes. The, uh, the over on, on the wins for the season. Nice.
33:48
I have a 70 plus on them as well at a little over two to one, so let's hope we at least get to 70 here. White Sox, what do you like today in that one? And they are gonna get over 70. [laughs] I can tell you that.
33:59
And I do think that they present some value here on the money line because Luis Castillo, love what I saw from him in his last start. Overall for, for the season, about a 4.95 ERA.
34:10
The overall numbers are not amazing, but 10 punch-outs in that start against the Reds. Flip side, you do have a guy in Shota Imanaga that has given up the deep ball quite a bit.
34:18
1.8 home runs per nine innings overall for the season. Last 14 starts, closer to 2.2, 2.3 home runs per nine innings. But wind should be blowing in a little bit at Wrigley Field.
34:29
Now, as the night goes along, the wind is probably gonna be dying down just a little bit, but I do think that the ball stays in the yard here. And for the White Sox, they have been a very good bullpen recently.
34:39
Since June 1st, they've been a top 18 in terms of bullpen ERA. Right now we're seeing that total at an eight.
34:45
I was able to grab it at eight and a half, but even at an eight, do like the under and the White Sox at plus money on the money line. All right.
34:51
Um, they're still the team that everybody thinks will win the World Series, I guess. But the Dodgers are, have hit the skids in a big way here. They're at the Rockies. They're at Coors.
35:00
They're huge favorites, two and a half dollars. Uh, but you like the Rockies on the run line here. And we're going with the hottest pitcher in terms of making you money in all of baseball.
35:12
If you bet $100 on Tomoyuki Sugano this year, every single start that he's went out there for the Rockies, you're up $1,436. [laughs] The most profitable pitcher in all of baseball.
35:25
I'm not willing to go money line here, but I took a run line. Sugano at home, a 3.93 ERA, 1.5 home runs allowed per nine innings. That's down from more around 1.8, 1.9 home runs overall for the season.
35:38
And like so, really nice first start off the injured list for the Dodgers. Need to see a little bit more before I can really believe in the Dodgers being this big of a plus price.
35:46
I took the under, and I took the Rockies at a run and a half at plus 140. And who hasn't bet $100 on Tomoyuki Sugano- Yeah... every time he's- Every single time... been on the hill? Exactly. Mark fortune tonight.
35:57
Look at that smile. Oh, yeah. That's only a smile from a guy that's, uh, been with the same girl for a month. [laughs] You see that? Look at that smile by Greg. Greg, you're the best. Thank you. Appreciate it.
36:05
Greg Peterson, everybody at G- Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. G-Unit underscore 81.
36:09
We'll talk some AFC West and the lyrical conundrum- [upbeat rock music] A numbers game on VSiN, the sports betting network.
36:27
Back on the numbers game, live from Circle Resort Casino, Downtown Las Vegas, Gil Alexander. Matt Brown in the hizzy. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattbrownm2, 'cause there's about a billion Matt Browns. It's unfortunate.
36:39
And that's the one you want to- It is unfortunate. Fair enough. There's a, there's a... I get every now and then some hate s- there's a, there's a Matt Brown CFB, and any, if anyone... follows me.
36:47
You know, I'm not the biggest college football guy, but, like, this guy's forte is college football, and I guess he will give a take or something. He'll come and be like- Ah...
36:54
"You idiot," like, "What are you talking about?" [laughs] And like, whatever, and I'm like, I, I mean, idiot, fair, but, like, what, what do you mean? What, what idiot take did I give? Wasn't there a UFC fighter also?
37:03
There's also a Matt Brown, a UFC fighter. Yeah. That was, uh, very unfortunate for him. W- well, the guy that I'm about to say, uh, managed by one of my good friends. Oh. So he had both of our names in his phone.
37:14
Oh, man. And on occasion, I would get these, "Hey, man, they wanna put you on this card," and whatever and blah, blah, blah, and all these different things like that.
37:23
And, like, usually I would just be like, "Dude, it's me," you know, like, whatever. Yeah. One time he texts, he does, like, "Hey, they wanna put you on this," whatever, and I go, and I just like, I go, "You know what?
37:30
This guy hasn't changed in his phone," like, some sort of notification, "So you know what? This is it. This'll be the last time that he ever texts me about a potential bout."
37:38
And I said, "Hey, man, after long, uh, you know, I thought about it over the weekend," and stuff like that, like, "I think I'm gonna make a, the switch for man- management team," and whatever.
37:46
[laughs] And also, and I go on with it for, like, 15 minutes of- The perils of being named Matt Brown... and then finally I go, "You know what? Guess what, buddy? It was actually me. Change it in your phone, okay?"
37:54
Change- "Don't ever do this again." Uh, we get tweets to be in the book. Shrek McPhee, "Parlayed Scotty minus 188 yesterday after hole number one with Eaga for the US Open. LFG. Eaga season. Eaga unlocked." Let's go.
38:06
Hope you get it. Chris at St. Barts, "What's your Carbone go-to and opinion on Din Tai Fung?" Carbone, I don't have a Carbone go-to 'cause it depends on the season.
38:14
Summertime, they have special menu stuff, um, like a caprese salad if you're into that, which is just out of this world. But the, the Carbone sort of greatest hits are always the veal Parm and the spicy vodka rigatoni.
38:25
Carbone Riviera go-to, though, is the AOP with the crab s- uh, the, the, uh, pasta. It's out- out of- outstanding. Din Tai Fung, great. I do have go-tos there. Spicy wonton. Never d- never... Avoid the spicy wontons.
38:40
They're fantastic at Din Tai Fung and Aria. Jason Stark, "The reason the Mets have been better is that Lindor and Bichette actually started hitting." Yeah. It's pretty, pretty simple. Mr.
38:48
Masterline, "Greg, it's innings, like in or inn, not ennings." This is so great because my oldest friend Tommy, his entire life, ennings. Mm. I'm like, "Tommy, it's innings." Some people have that innings/ennings thing.
39:01
Oh, yeah. Uh, and then Bill Hooker, "Been with VSIN since the beginning. The show with you guys and Kelly was one of the better shows." Bill, uh, on the one hand, I thank you. On the second, uh, hand, I beg your pardon.
39:13
We- It's the greatest show to ever be canceled. I was gonna say, we actually have a tagline for this- That's right... for this one, and it is the greatest show- [laughs]... to ever be canceled on the network.
39:20
That's, that's great. Greatest show to ever be canceled. AFC West, Matt, it always starts with the Chiefs, uh, the Kansas City Chiefs, of course, uh, whose season win total, by the way, is the highest of the bunch.
39:29
Chargers, Broncos make it competitive. Raiders, one team not like the other, although we didn't even bring up Fernando Mendoza when talking, uh- Mm-hmm... preseason.
39:37
Um, no better way to, uh, start a Chiefs conversation or an AFC West conversation, but specifically about the Chiefs here,
39:44
with, uh, no better way than with Steve Smith Sr., the former great NFL wideout, who had this to say about his thoughts on Rashee Rice coming back this year.
39:54
Watching Rashee Rice and watching him run routes, he can run routes. Oh, yeah. I do think the knee, he's working hisself back. Yep. I don't feel comfortable saying out loud what I really think about what, how it may go.
40:11
I hope that he has a bounce back year and that he comes back to being a Rasheed Rice that we all are hoping he can be. And I'm not saying that he can't play football.
40:23
I'm just talking about the wear and tear with the knee. Yep. Okay. Right? I get it. And, and I, that's just a major concern, right? Well, what does that sound like to you? Yeah.
40:33
That's- First, first of all, Rashee, not Rasheed. Yeah, yes, yes. Maybe he's talking about somebody else. [laughs] But I think it's Rashee. That didn't sound good.
40:38
It didn't sound good, and it was, the thing that really jumped off, you know, when I was listening to this was just that him saying, like, "I don't really wanna say out loud what I think is gonna happen" [laughs] as if to say, like, "I don't think this is gonna be good," like, "I don't think that the knee is healthy."
40:51
I'm... Who knows better than Steve Smith what a good, what a healthy knee running a route looks like, you know? And it's like him going, "Eh, it's a concern." I don't know, man.
41:01
It's, that's been my biggest thing with, with leading into the season with the Chiefs, uh, is, is who is Patrick Mahomes gonna throw to? Who is Pa- does Patrick Mahomes again have to be Superman?
41:11
And how many times are we going to just go, "Well, it's Patrick Mahomes. He's gonna put on the cape. They'll be fine"? But he's- But we finally... Last year was the first year we didn't see that anymore. Yeah. Right.
41:21
Right? Like, oh, he didn't... It wasn't fine- Yeah... in the end. And it's a year, it's a year older for Kelce as well, right? 'Cause you gotta think, when he was doing all of that- He, he was already a s- Yeah...
41:30
a step and a half or two steps slow. Kelce was in his prime whenever Patrick Mahomes was doing all of that. Yeah. And he's no longer there, and- Well-... I just, I think there are some fair concerns for the Chiefs...
41:38
they did address the fact that they had no running game whatsoever last year- Yes... with Kenneth Walker.
41:42
And by the way, for those who sort of, you know, "Ah, running backs, whatever, they're all a dime a dozen," Walker finished with 105 broken tackles last year, third in the league despite not being an every down back.
41:52
He's a heck of a running back. Um, so that's a big pickup for them. But the, the big thing for the last two years, again, what's the difference with the Chiefs? 2024, they went 11 and 0 in one-score games.
42:02
Last year, one in nine- Mm-hmm... in one-score games. And that was the year, again, the first time we saw Patrick Mahomes not be able to put on his Superman cape, as you say, and win.
42:12
But you think they're the best team in the division? I do not. You do not. I do not. Do you believe the, who is? The Denver Broncos. Okay. I have bet the Denver Broncos to win this division.
42:21
Um, I think that the Broncos, if you look at this defense, I mean, it is ridiculous yet again, right? It, it- And- They just, they just have to just stay the course with that defense. Yeah.
42:30
It's, they're, so the, the floor is so incredibly high from f- from their aspect because they're never going to be getting blown out in games with this defense.
42:39
Like, and so Pa- so Bo Nix doesn't necessarily have to be, everyone's always like, you know, wants to rag on Bo Nix and stuff.
42:45
It's like, he doesn't have to be a top five quarterback in the NFL for this team to win games. Like, he needs to be a top half quarterback- Right...
42:52
for this team to win games, and- 'Cause we don't know if he's good or not, do we, still? No. We still don't know for sure. They do bring in Waddle now, so there's a real second option. That's huge.
43:00
A real second option for him. 'Cause Bo Nix, Bo Nix had, was terrible in the middle of the field. Yeah. And now they address that with Waddle.
43:05
And, and, and then with that, with that defense, I just think that if you look at where they stand comparatively To the rest of these teams.
43:12
I really, really like the floor, and like I said, as long as Bo Nix can-- He's healthy, and he's out there doing all the things and stuff like that, so I just have to believe what they're saying- Yeah...
43:19
that, that he is healthy and, and, and heading into the season full strength. If that's the case, Gil, I think that they are the best team in this division. What do you got them at? [inhales] Two something, 270. Okay.
43:29
Two something, 70 something maybe. Sp- spoke about, I, I just spoke about the, uh, the one-score games for the Chiefs the last two years. Mm-hmm. Last year, the Broncos in one-score games, 11 and two straight up.
43:38
So we'll see if there's any regression. The difference though, of course, is that, as you said at the top, the Broncos, as long as you have Nick Benito and Patrick Surtain- Yeah... Junior.
43:47
I mean, that's just anchor, anchor. Um, Riley Moss problem, though? Can we, can we hide that? [sighs] I look at- At the other corner...
43:57
I, I don't think that we're really going to need to worry about that too much whenever you look at this defensive line and the pressure that they are very likely to put on, uh, the majority of, uh, of these dropbacks.
44:07
And then also, I mean, great at linebacker, great at safeties again. I mean, I, I think the sum of the parts here is gonna be, is gonna be fine. Also, uh, let me... You know, I talked about the- Yeah...
44:15
one-score games, and the, and the assumption then is that that will regress. Here's a good thing in terms of regression for the, for the Broncos.
44:22
Uh, takeaways, they fell from 26 in 2023 to 25 in 2024 to just 14 last year. You know? Mm-hmm. So maybe there's an uptick in that also.
44:33
So it, it's not like they, it's not like they benefited from a, a bundle of turnover, of takeaways, I should say, last year. Um, the big thing also under the radar, Sean Payton's not calling plays this year. Yeah.
44:43
At least at the start. At least at the start. We'll s- we'll see how- Yeah, we'll, we'll, we'll see... how long that lasts. Yeah, and, and you know, I know you and I love to talk about this.
44:49
A lot of people don't love to talk about this, but I mean, it's a good offensive line as well.
44:53
And, like, that can, that can make a average quarterback a better than average quarterback if he's not running for his life all the time. Yeah.
45:00
If he's not under duress all the time, and, and you got a good offensive line there for them as well. Okay. Chargers always the most, I guess, hotly debated of all these teams. Yes.
45:10
Uh, Justin Herbert maybe has a playoff problem. He's thrown two touchdowns in three playoff starts, all losses, taken 13 sacks in those games. Um, Chargers' schedule is the issue.
45:20
Two games supposedly easy to start, and then after that, it's sheer brutality. And so it's like the things that we can definitively say...
45:29
Okay, Justin Herbert is a good quarterback, and I don't think anyone is going to argue that point.
45:34
Also, though, you look and you say Quentin Johnston, Trey Harris, and Ladd McConkie are your three starting wide receivers if we're talking 11 personnel. Not great.
45:45
I mean, could these guys make the year three, four leap, you know, and all of that and prove us all wrong? Okay, sure. Not likely, right?
45:54
And, like, that's the thing that really just jumps off the page to me, which is you can ha- you can be an all-star quarterback like Justin Herbert is, but if he can't... if, if guys can't get open...
46:03
And you and I, dating all the way back to the Primetime Action days, dating all the way back, we used to talk about separation for a lot of these guys. Mm-hmm.
46:08
And it's like if the guys are not getting any separation, it doesn't matter. You can't throw into a tight window every single time. Um, yeah, for sure. And, uh, the Raiders rounding out the division. Mm-hmm.
46:20
Brandon Mendoza looked great, I think. I thought so. Drives two and four- Mm-hmm... were, were solid. Mm-hmm. Um, except, you know, you talk about wideouts. Is Jalen Naylor their number one wideout? No. Yes.
46:30
It's like I don't know. [laughs] This is why I'm assured Kirk Cousins is gonna play till November. Yeah. Because I mean, what are you doing throwing Mendoza out there, like, again, throwing to me and you?
46:37
Can they win six games? Can they exceed their season win total, though? I think so. Yeah. I mean, 'cause they still have the great tight ends- Mm-hmm... um, in Bauer and Mayer. They still...
46:46
I mean, Maxx Crosby- For the time being. [laughs] Maxx Crosby is coming back after all. Yeah. So they still have players, but yeah. Yeah. Okay.
46:54
Uh, added Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker to the defense, Taron Johnson from the Bills. I think they can get to six. Uh, we'll come back. Adam Burke, Wes Reynolds, and more.
47:03
All right, now I gotta ask you this lyric question and this song next on Our Numbers Game at Season.
A Numbers Game
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