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Sep 10, 2024
A Numbers Game | September 10, 2024 | Hour 1
A Numbers Game | September 10, 2024 | Hour 1
00:00
44:33
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Transcript
0:00
The numbers tell the story, they always do. So all those idiots who believe in analytics- This is a Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on Beason. Good Tuesday morning to you.
0:10
It is a Numbers Game at Beason where sports betting lives. Live from Circa, Beason, beason.com, Game Plus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV. It's Gil Alexander. Kelly Bidlin, producer number nine alongside as well.
0:21
So much more than a producer. What's happening? Not much. I don't think we're gonna, I don't think we're gonna stay perfect in certain millions. No, perfect season is over for you. Per- perfect season's over, yeah.
0:30
[laughs] I fell to a mediocre three and two with the Jets loss yesterday. We'll get into that momentarily. Uh, on the show today, Drew Dinsick will join us. Feel like it's been a month since we had Drew on. I know.
0:39
I guess he just had his week before season let me appease the wife week, so he wasn't on with us. That's what he said. I'm just, I'm, I'm not making it up myself. Yeah, yeah.
0:48
[laughs] That's what he said, right from his mouth. It's a smart move. Hope his wife's not listening. Uh, later on the show also, uh, we will get into some Survivor talk.
0:57
Have you taken a look at the old week two Survivor slate? Oh, yes, I have. Oh. Yes, I have. Boy, this is, this is a interesting week of Survivor. Yeah. There are, there are no right answers to this quiz.
1:10
I, I do not know what I'm doing, but it may be some kamikaze stuff here coming up. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. I feel like I'm actually narrowed down- Really?... between, like, two sides already, yeah.
1:21
Is one of those sides Indianapolis and your boy, a- No... Anthony Richardson? No. Okay. 'Cause we, c- before we do anything- Yeah... th- it's interesting because the, the Colts are taking money.
1:29
I know we're supposed to talk about the Jets and the Niners real quick, but the Colts are taking money, right? And the Colts are more than a three-point favorite now against the Packers on the road.
1:37
Eh, it's, it's, it's three, it's been bouncing between three and three and a half. Okay. It's all, like, juiced threes right now. 'Cause I guessed three yesterday. Yeah. But, and, and I get it, right?
1:44
It's, so it should be three. It's Malik Willis, obviously that's built into the line.
1:47
But this notion that it would go over the three, right, starts to get into this territory of, okay, the, the difference between Jordan Love and Malik Willis is gr- 'cause the look ahead was five- It was five, yes...
2:01
in favor of Green Bay. It was five, so it is eight-point difference you're talking.
2:04
So again, for the, for the new bettors, right, or the new-ish bettors out there, a, a, a line, a pre-flop line in a, a pro football game, the only players generally that matter to the point spread are quarterbacks.
2:17
Uh, there are rare exceptions when some, when another skill position player, maybe a defensive player, will matter a half point or a point- Right... you know, that kind of thing.
2:24
But from starting quarterback to backup quarterback, these things can move massively, and obviously it's also not static.
2:31
Tom Brady, when he was the c- when he was the, uh, quarterback of the Patriots, if they had a home game against the worst team in the NFL, it was a different line movement if he was out, let's say, if he was a road game against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
2:41
Mm-hmm. Right? So nothing is exactly static. But just to give you an idea about that, what's already an eight-point spread to the three, right?
2:49
From Green Bay being a five-point favorite to a three-point dog, which is where I guessed it yesterday, and by the way, administrative, parenthetical aside to an aside, administrative note, 'cause a lot of people were asking, Mondays during football season, podcast form of the show is on the Beating the Book podcast- Yes...
3:03
feed, not on the Numbers Game feed. The rest of the week during football season, Tuesday through Friday, this show, podcast feed, the Numbers Game, Mondays, it's on the, uh, Beating The Book, uh, feed.
3:14
Just to let you know, 'cause lots, uh, lots of folks were tweeting in about that.
3:17
But that eight-point shift is akin to something like back in the day, I'll give you an example, when Andrew Luck was the quarterback of the Colts, and he would be out, and it would go to Scott Tolzien. Mm-hmm.
3:31
That was the biggest shift in those days in the NFL, and that was eight points. And so I understand Malik Willis, people have a question as to whether or not he can even complete a forward pass in this league.
3:44
[laughs] Yes. Yes, Gil. But if you're, but if you're getting past eight points, we're getting a little meshugana. Uh, it, it's, well, we are right on the border of being, of being a little wild.
3:52
This is- I would, I like you to say the word meshugana. Meshugana. Thank you. This is not a, this is, I mean, this is not a wildly big bet for me- Right...
3:58
but that is like, it, it is, I think we often throw out the phrase of what is a quarterback worth to the spread. Yes. But that's all dependent on what the backup situation is.
4:07
Well, and in this case, I would argue, and I'm, I'm as big of a Jordan Love fan, uh, remember, I'm the guy who thought he'd be good, right, before last year. It's also kind of, it, it's on both sides a little bit, right?
4:17
It's not just the Malik Willis side of it. It's like, okay, are we, we have all, we are all convinced 100% that Jordan Love is elite- Mm. Yeah... at this point also, right? That might be, and I'm, I'm a huge fan of his.
4:28
That might be flawed, yes. That might be true. It also might be flawed. Yes. Yeah.
4:31
So I'm just saying, if you go past the eight and, and all of a sudden the Colts are, like, giving three and a half or four on the road, eh, I'm just saying we're getting a little shaky there. Yeah, yeah.
4:39
So if, so if people are gravitating towards that as a survivor pick, I'm just, oh, and I know we're not having the survivor discussion yet. [laughs] I just wanted to get there with that. Um, okay.
4:48
Yeah, I mean, I expect, I expect that there would be some sharp bettors out there on Green Bay catching a three and a half. Yeah.
4:53
Well, you can come here on Monday, and by the way, it'll be like, "Well, Malik Willis couldn't complete a forward pass, and it should've been more than eight," you know?
4:58
Yeah, yeah, 'cause you are, I mean, like, you're talking, that, that big of a, a difference in quarterbacks is about as extreme as you're going to see.
5:05
Luck to Tolzien was bigger than Brady to whomever the Brady backup was- Mm... at any given time. Yep. So anyway, just as, as a historical comparison with how, how lines move anyway.
5:15
Um, as far as the [laughs] as f- sorry about that. Good five minutes to talk about the Colts. [laughs] Sorry about that. It's just sort of a stream of consciousness on the show.
5:22
So, uh, the game last night, uh, I will speak for myself, uh, but I know I'm speaking for others. I could not have been more wrong about the, uh- Oh, boy... New York Jetropolitans showing up for this one.
5:32
Shout out to Michael Lombardi on the morning line, 'cause Michael Lombardi yesterday said cr- he, he was, I don't know if he was, uh, being delicate with his words or he was choosing his words carefully, but he definitely gave the vibe that Christian McCaffrey would not be a go.
5:47
And as it turns out, we find out right before the game that Christian McCaffrey was out. Now, it didn't matter ultimately in the end, but it might have explained why the spread never bounced up on the Niners, right? Mm.
5:57
If anything, it, it teetered on the three and a half, uh, rather than going up from the four, 'cause I got that part wrong, too. McCaffrey wasn't a go.
6:03
Jordan Mason, who ended up having the game of his life, and when I say the game of his life, I'm talking about dating back to his high school days before Georgia Tech. Yeah.
6:12
[laughs] Uh, 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown as the- As the Niners did anything they wanted to in a 32 to 19 win that, Kelly, the final score does not reflect how big of a blowout this was at all. Not at all.
6:26
Cosmetic touchdown for the Jets at the end when they pulled Aaron Rodgers and put Tyrod Taylor in the game, or that's Tyrod Taylor, if I'm gonna say his name correctly. Aaron Rodgers, 13 for 21 for 167.
6:37
But the, the point of... I mean, first of all, one, Kyle Shanahan, anybody apparently could be in that backfield, uh, in, in his running scheme. Uh, no, no knock on Jordan Mason.
6:47
Obviously they're phenomenal, uh, beyond belief with Christian McCaffrey, but it certain- certainly didn't harm them yesterday.
6:53
Uh, Trent Williams, I mean, the handicap going with the Jets, part of it was, all right, Ayuk just got to camp.
7:00
Um, by the way, Peyton Manning murdering him for dropping that k- pass in the end zone, which I thought was a little over the top. [laughs] 'Cause like he was fully stretched out. I didn't, I didn't catch that.
7:07
[laughs] Oh, yeah. I was just like, "Relax." Um- He, he had a couple drops, though, that I thought were a little uncharacteristic. Well, that was the one that he really got into.
7:13
But the, but Trent Williams playing the first 65 snaps- Mm. Yeah... and forget all, you know, forget Pro Bowl form, his Hall of Fame form in this game, uh, Purdy just had an easy time of it every time.
7:26
Besides the first, right, the beginning of the game it was, uh, three to nothing Niners, and then it was seven to three, and then seven to six.
7:32
But besides that first sequence where the Jets had some hope, and remember, that Jets drive to get a touchdown early was three third down and long conversions.
7:40
By third and long, I mean third and eight, third and seven, third and six, all to Garrett Wilson.
7:44
Once the Niners figured that out, the rest of the game on offense, first of all, the Niners could do anything they wanted to on the ground. They outgained the, uh, Packers on the ground 180 to 68.
7:56
And through the air, how many times was Jauan Jennings just wide open- Mm... or Kittle wide open, um, or Deebo doing whatever he wanted to.
8:05
And I would say even w- so, and Robert Saleh had that, that look every time they flashed the camera to him. You looked at Saleh and you're like, "This guy has no answers." [laughs] None whatsoever. Like, none.
8:16
And then on the other side of the ball, uh, you know, this will be, this will be thrown around, uh, you know, mainstream media more than anything, Nathaniel Hackett with just zero creativity.
8:25
Zero, you know, "Oh, we're gonna do this. We're gonna try to... Yeah, the run's not really working. Let's see if we can think of anything. No, nothing." No, no.
8:31
Yeah, it was a brutal b- so it's like- Were you, were you more impressed with San Francisco or more disappointed in New York? Well, so this was, this was gonna be my question. That what is your take...
8:41
Is your takeaway, 'cause you know, I immediately Parles, but, uh, the Grover Cleveland that produces Jeffrey Parlet, our buddy, he's a Jets fan. And so I immediately texted him. I was like, "All right."
8:50
And I think he had the proper response, which is what I was trying to get at from it, which is, you know, it's one game. The Niners are still great. Like, when we did our power rankings- Yeah...
8:59
I know San Francisco was my number one NFC. I can't remember if I had them number one overall.
9:03
I'm as big of a Niners guy as anybody, but in this particular situation, based on their, based on their off-season, I was like, "Okay, well, maybe the Jets getting the points here is the move."
9:12
Uh, that didn't work at all. But is this just one game where it's like, okay, well, the Jets... Th- no one would've been surprised if they'd lost by four, right? Yeah. So okay, you lose one. You lose to a great team.
9:25
Is this a bigger cause for concern, or are you... Uh, i- in the Niners case, it's just ho-hum, move along. They're what you thought they were, even more perhaps.
9:33
So I don't know, or, or is, or is the Jets time to panic already, I guess, is the question. No, I, I think it's a little on both sides.
9:40
So like, the way I'll describe it w- with, okay, if you're a Jets ba- Jets fan, Jets backer, I, I... Look, it's disappointing. It's not a great start. It's not what you were hoping to see with Aaron Rodgers back, right?
9:50
No. But there is plenty of time left in the season. It is one game. I think that's the way you need to look at it. Plenty of time to freak out in the coming weeks if it continues to look this bad, right?
10:00
I think for me, as someone, we went over those NFC power rankings last week, and it was kinda Lions, Eagles, 49ers all in the wash. I don't really know if I have one that's clear cut above the rest right now. Niners.
10:12
Niners. I think last night it was Niners saying, "Hey, we're, we're still the team to go through in the NFC."
10:16
I don't, I don't know how anyone ever took the, the sen- uh, off the Niners being number one to, and from my perspective, but I certainly had the Jets yesterday. That proved to be ridiculously dumb.
10:25
I mean, the only concern, right, the only concern you obviously come away from if you're a 49ers fan or backer is just, okay, what's the deal with McCaffrey going forward, right? I mean, how long is this- Yeah...
10:34
gonna linger? True. How big of an issue could this be? I also wanna say this too. So we s- we saw in week one you had Aaron Rodgers, you had Kirk Cousins. Neither were spectacular. Mm.
10:44
By the way, Aaron Rodgers should stop smiling through a game, by the way, that they're getting crushed in. I just wanna point that out as well. I, I agree.
10:49
[laughs] Maybe, maybe relax with you're so cool, you're above all this. Um, but the whole thing- Oh... with the Achilles, like I know some people are gonna be like, "I don't know.
10:57
Neither looked really great with the coming off the Achilles." I think both, and we, we documented it yesterday on Guessing Lines, how unimaginative Zach Robinson's game plan was with the Falcons.
11:07
Literally every formation they were in, you knew exactly if they were gonna run or pass. And then with the Giant, with the, uh, excuse me, with the, uh, Jets and Hackett yesterday was as unimaginative as possible.
11:16
So I don't think you can... A- anyone jumping to the Achilles conclusion should not. Like, they were both, Cousins and, and Rodgers, in circumstances where- Yeah...
11:24
their offensive coordinators just didn't do anything for them. Agreed. Yeah. Um, anyway, you end up with your millions. I ended up with three and two, but you had a five and O and a four O and one. A four...
11:33
No, four O and one and a four and one. Four O and one- Yeah... and the four and... I don't see Niners. Four and O with the Jeff Ryan last week.
11:38
You're four O and one, and you're four and one, both looking good after one week. God, I was hoping for a five and O, man. Maybe you should be- That's so rare...
11:44
maybe you should be thinking about the quarterly already, Kelly. [laughs] This is Within Reach. Drew Dincic on the other side. His thoughts on football next.
11:51
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12:27
Head to vsin.com/subscribe to sign up and start betting smarter today. That's vsin.com/su- Subscribe. I made that for the, uh, New England audience. Smatter. Just in case, just in case they needed a, uh, translation.
12:38
By the way, Kelly Bidlin, uh, struggling today with the, uh, buttons on his shirt, it should be pointed out, so he's doing this under duress. I'm dropping, I'm, I'm dropping, Kel. I'm going, I'm going, I'm going. Yeah.
12:48
So he's going a little- This is a lot more comfortable... he's going a little butterfly, and, uh, Kelly Bidlin's showing a little chest hair, everybody.
12:52
Th- this is, I love this shirt, but it's the worst second button shirt, man. A ladies', our ladies demo just, uh, shot up in the air. Nice job. [laughs] Please button that.
13:01
[laughs] Uh, La- [laughs] this guy has himself a suntan. Hey. He did the whole week before NFL season with the wife up in wine country, uh, but he got back of course for the NFL season.
13:11
He joins us now courtesy of the Progressive Guest Line. You can follow him on Twitter at whale_capper.
13:15
He's the host of not one but two podcasts, The Deep Dive with Andy Molitor, and of course, NBC Sports Bet The Edge with Jay Croucher. It's Drew Dincic, everybody. How you doing, Drew? I'm doing well.
13:25
It's great to be with you guys. I hope everybody, uh, had a very successful week one, and, uh, yeah, feel like I'm, feel like I'm somewhere new. This is, this isn't The Deep. [laughs] Where, where...
13:35
Oh, and you know what? Actually, good thing you're not at The Deep. The ladies would be catcalling Kelly- Uh, exactly... uh, you know, at 7:00 in the morning with the, uh, with the, with, you know, with the Bud Lights.
13:43
Yeah. You have no idea, Drew. [laughs] None. Um. [laughs] The Deep. Ooh. Noted, noted Kelly Bidlin magnet place. Yeah. We'd, we'd have to wake him up first. Uh. But yeah.
13:53
[laughs] So I guess, first of all, the question is, and I'll ask just the generic one first, from a, from a betting standpoint, from just a football- Yeah...
14:00
viewing standpoint, like, what's your biggest, I won't say your biggest takeaway from week one. Yeah.
14:05
What's the thing you saw juxtaposed against your pre-season handicap where the light bulb sort of went off and you're like, "Okay, I at least have to pay attention to that. I might have been wrong about this"? Um, okay.
14:16
Well, uh, my two higher conviction things I felt like I got positive reinforcement with what we saw, which were the Houston offense is gonna be a problem for everyone, and the, uh, Seattle defense has signs of a quick turnaround.
14:28
Um, and then basically everything else I think played pretty much to chalk.
14:33
There were five question marks at the quarterback position that we got very uncertain to negative answers about, um, that are kind of concerning from, like, a quality of the product standpoint.
14:47
[laughs] So, um- Name them... I think, uh- I'd like to hear this. Uh, yeah, let's list those. Yeah. Well, I, I mean, uh, like, start with Burrow. Like, we hadn't seen Burrow since the wrist injury.
14:57
He pretty clearly looks still hurt to me. Um, that matters a ton for the purpose of, like, can his wrist heal if he is throwing the ball 30 times a week? Good point.
15:07
And also, like, the bigger surprise for Burrow for me was the way that the end of the game was called by Zach Taylor felt like he didn't really- Oh... understand that Burrow was limited. So, so I- Right?...
15:20
I point, well- [laughs] Oh, you said that he didn't understand. I pointed out- It felt like it, yeah...
15:23
I pointed- He was, he was, he was drawing up brilliant stuff to get guys wide open, like, in the intermediate deep part of the field, and Burrow just didn't pull the trigger. It, you- And that was spooky.
15:33
I, I pointed out that, that that punt that they decided to go with, you know- Yeah... fourth and five in their own territory was questionable to begin with, right? I was like, "Oh, are they sort of capitulating on this?"
15:43
But you're saying something different. You're saying about the game plan itself. Yeah.
15:46
It didn't necessarily feel like they s- Like, I've seen game plans set up where you're expecting your quarterback to have a- an AD, you know, an ADT of, like, three yards, which Burrow was kind of in that ballpark for a lot of the game, and that didn't feel like one of those game plans really.
16:01
Like, the- Yeah... most of the stuff was sort of release valve as opposed to, like, "Hey, we're setting up some quick short stuff for you here, buddy." Um, he was under, he was not under pressure.
16:11
Uh, the Patriots played defense fine, but it wasn't like that was, like, a masterful defensive performance from the Pats as, on the rewatch in particular.
16:20
Um, yeah, so Burrow not being healthy and ha- uh, carrying this wrist injury is a huge, huge concern, 'cause, like, this week- That's a, that's a great point. Like- Let me, let me just throw in- Yeah, go ahead...
16:28
because you, you might be too cool for school for some folks, ADT, average depth of target is what Drew is talking about. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Yeah. Yes, yes, and, uh, his ADOT.
16:37
Uh, the, um, but, uh, the, uh, yeah, the air yards were a concern for Burrow. The, uh, and this week, like, this, that would be the best, best game on Sunday would be Chiefs-Bengals, and now I'm like, "Eh. Eh.
16:49
Let's, uh-" Yeah... "Bengals, Bengals are kind of- Kind of sort of... on the outs there." Yeah. So yeah, that, that, uh, that was kind of, that was one of the five.
16:56
Uh, the other kind of obvious one was Kirk Cousins, and everybody's gonna note this because the tape on Cousins was, like, trans- like, s- it, like, it didn't feel like you were watching an NFL football player out there.
17:07
He was that statuesque.
17:10
Uh, and I guess if his, you know, if his plant leg is a problem and if his mobility is that in question, um, any time they go up against meaningful pass rushes, uh, the Falcons are in absolutely, you know, brutal spots.
17:22
And again, like, games that I was excited to see, "Let's see Falcons play the Eagles. See the Falcons play the Chiefs." [laughs] Like, well, now those games are kind of eh. Yeah.
17:31
So yeah, it's, it, uh, that was a, a bit of a bummer, and honestly, like, you look at the, you know, h- what was the most talked about thing about the Falcons in the pre-season was like, "Oh, their schedule's so easy.
17:41
It's so easy."
17:42
Well, uh, actually, now that you look at it, and if the Saints and the Bucs have, like, pulses, um, then this could turn into, like, a very bad season for Atlanta, which really complicates what in the world do you do next year, right?
17:56
So Atlanta is absolutely sort of, like, the drama team to watch without question. Um, yeah.
18:01
Also don't, don't, when you're in the shotgun, don't throw 100% of the time, and when you're in the pistol, don't run- [laughs]... 96% of the time or whatever those percentages were. That doesn't help either. Yeah.
18:11
But, but it's kind, it, it kind of felt like they were hamstrung. Uh, like they just- Maybe so... didn't really have, like, a choice in terms of doing anything to create misdirection or obfuscation at all.
18:22
Like, they were just, it was just sitting duck statue stuff, and, um, that's the problem for today's NFL with the, as good as the defensive linemen are out there, as, as athletic as they are, particularly when you go up against one that has, you know, elite athletes like the Steelers.
18:34
So, um, that was pretty concerning. Um, I was on the right side of this one, so I quietly enjoyed it, but, uh, Deshaun Watson- Whew... uh, might be just, like, done done. Maybe.
18:44
Which- Maybe It, it's, it's, it's, it's sketchy to draw that type of conclusion from one game, but we saw him drop back and pass a lot. He had f- happy feet, miserable mechanics.
18:56
Like, looked like he had not, like he was still kind of learning to play the position of quarterback, which is absurd.
19:02
Uh, and it was, again, against one of the more violent defenses in the NFL that had a pressure rate that was just absolutely a, a, ridiculous.
19:10
Um, but it's not like the reinforcements are coming this week for the Browns offensive line. Like, it's gonna take a while for that unit to come together and gel.
19:19
And, like, I would actually, like I'm, I'm starting to wonder, like, how man- how many starts are we actually gonna see from Watson here before they're like- Yeah... you know, "We still have a team that's built to win.
19:28
We went to the playoffs with Joe Flacco last year. Like, we can't sacrifice our season just because we're paying Watson money."
19:34
That, that is a fascinating question to see how that organization handles the, uh, you know, the quarterback position, because it, I don't think that the, the, the glimmer of hope that you had that Watson was just gonna turn it around, uh, seems to be fading to the point of, like, almost laughable, that he's gonna be a, any- anything better than a, you know, a top 20, you know, than like 20th best quarterback in the NFL.
19:56
And even being the 30th best quarterback would be an improvement based on what we saw, so, uh, yeah, it's- Not, not to keep- The Watson was- Yeah... was wild. Not to keep interrupting your flow, but I mean- Sure...
20:05
you're, you're right. One, one game you don't know because how much of that was Dallas just having ridiculous talent on defense, right? Sure. And having to deal with Micah to begin with.
20:13
But your, you know, the mechanics thing is a great point, and I immediately, as you said that, I think about RGIII. The- Yeah...
20:19
the underrated part about RGIII's career is, again, ridiculous rookie year, won the Rookie of the Year over Andrew Luck. Uh, the, the hope was eternal, but then of course in that playoff game, he blows out his knee.
20:30
And when he came back from the injury, his mechanics had gone to crapola. So it wasn't just the injuries, right?
20:38
There was something about having not played for a while or, or just rehabbing, whatever it was, that he just kind of forgot to play quarterback.
20:45
[laughs] And so what you're saying with Watson is, is sort of similar to that. That's the guy that it reminds me of in that respect. Yeah. Uh, and, uh,
20:54
there are not that many examples you can point to, point to of a guy who just, like, forgets how to football.
20:59
Um, but it did not feel like Watson was even the same human being that we saw in Houston, um, for, so far, almost every start I've seen him make in a Browns uniform.
21:08
So, uh, it is, uh, it is very bizarre and their, yeah, their decision-making about what do we do with the quarterback position considering how talented the defense is, uh, is really fascinating to me.
21:18
Um, and then the other two quarterbacks who, you know, were just wildly, you know, like there was some question, how are they gonna look coming off of an ACL? How is he gonna look under a new system?
21:29
Well, Daniel Jones and Bryce Young are not it. No. Uh, and I think, um, I'm gonna make a case for one of those quarterbacks this week. Actually, I'm gonna make a case for both of them. Uh, but, uh- [laughs]...
21:40
yeah, they were both pretty, uh, pretty atrocious. And, uh, uh, you know, it's, so I guess my major takeaway was the upside from the quarterback position, the promise of hope, the pre-season- Yeah...
21:52
we haven't played a game yet, who knows? Yeah. All of the, a lot of that went flying out the window, uh, with what we saw. And the ones that, like, concerned me the most surely are the health stuff.
22:03
And I guess to go back to, you know, your pre-season expectations, I thought Pittsburgh was absolutely sitting ducks. I thought they were trash.
22:10
I looked at the second half of the schedule, I'm like, "This is absolute," uh, you know, they, they're, they go to schedule hell, uh, around Thanksgiving.
22:17
Well, now I look at it and I'm like, "Huh, you might have a three-game stretch of Dorian Thompson-Robinson, J- uh, you know, Jake Browning, Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
22:26
That doesn't sound as scary as, uh, you know, the, what, what I was thinking. And, you know, so there, there is- Not again. Oh, no. I- uh, not again. Like, a-absolutely.
22:34
[laughs] Like, all, like things, like, and by the way, the Steelers offense was as bad as I expected. Oh, yeah. But it didn't matter. Oh, yeah. Um, so yeah.
22:40
And of course you, and of course you didn't even mention any of the rookie quarterbacks who obviously didn't prove anything in week one. Uh, Drew Didsick's week two thoughts on the other side.
22:47
It's a numbers game at VSiN, the Sports Betting Network. [upbeat music] A numbers game on VSiN, the Sports Betting Network. Live from Circa, it is a numbers game right here at VSiN, the Sports Betting Network.
22:58
Gil Alexander, Kelly Bidlin. Ah, yes, a beautiful studio. Ah. Let it wash over us. It's like a very, uh, a light filter-y light wash. Man, that shot looks crisp on you, man. That, that- Does it?... a little tight shot.
23:09
Yeah, I like it. You get the book in the corner, you know? Oh. It's what we're here for. At least you get the crisp shot on your chest hair, by the way. [laughs] Maybe you should do that.
23:16
Uh, we were, by the way, Drew Didsick kind enough, almost, to hang with us for a couple segments. Drew Didsick from both the Deep Dive and the Bet The Edge podcast, uh, with Andy Molator and J.
23:24
Croucher respectively, uh, wherever podcasts are distributed. And we were just solving the NFL's problems, uh, off-air. [laughs] Uh, courtesy of the Progressive Guest Line, we were doing it.
23:32
And, uh, you know, we were talking yesterday, and, and I mentioned this on Guessing Lines yesterday, the quarterback play overall, we just alluded to it, atrocious.
23:40
Uh, you pointed out, Drew, off-air that only two guys got to 300 yards, for God's sakes. Tua and Matthew Stafford on the Sunday night game.
23:48
But I was mentioning, you know, just, okay, if you wanna fix this, this kickoff thing, just make the touchback the 35-yard line, then no one will kick it through the end zone anymore.
23:55
But then the, the second thought is, as I mentioned yesterday and we talked about just now off-air, nobody misses field goals anymore.
24:03
There was a time, again, 1982, Mark Moseley won the NFL MVP for kicking 27 field goals in a row, and everybody thought it was just the most amazing thing in the world.
24:13
He topped out in the low 50s in terms of his long field goals.
24:16
I remember the Skins used to bring in, when they had like, when Chip Lohmiller was their kicker, and he was one of the best kickers in the league, when they would try a 56-yarder, they would bring in this dude, Steve Cox.
24:26
I was reminded of this on Twitter yesterday. [laughs] And it was like the coolest thing ever. It was like, "Cox is coming in to kick a 56-yarder. This is amazing." And now they all hit, it's like a chip shot.
24:35
So if you put, if you put the touchback at the 35 on the one hand, and then you have these kickers who don't miss, you could just gain 20 yards and kick, and have three points every drive. What do we do?
24:46
So we can't do that. Hey, man, we're making the game more dynamic [laughs] We're making it dynamic, Gil. Uh- Explain to- Come on... explain to folks what you, what, why you emphasize that word.
24:56
It just was, it was just killing me watching Red Zone on Sunday because they made a specific point of emphasis to, uh, to bring up the dynamic kickoff. It's short, dude.
25:06
And then, and, but like what, what k- what, what I, one of the things that like I quietly enjoy about Red Zone, because I'm, I'm usually like if I'm like engaged in the action, I'm not on my phone, so I'm not following like the breaking what just happened.
25:19
And, uh, and so when they cut to a special teams, and they did this a couple times, I'm usually triggered to, "Okay, we got something." [laughs] Yes. Like something big's about to happen here, and that did happen.
25:28
Like, uh, the blocked punt for Tennessee was a good example. The blocked punt for the, uh, uh, for the Texans was a good example.
25:34
And, uh, and, and then, then there were probably 20 other examples of let's go to Houston for a dynamic kickoff, and it's a touchback.
25:42
[laughs] And like that, just that, that, that over and over again just kind of like proof of concept that like a lot of teams, you know, oh, we made a lot in the preseason about like, "Can't wait till we get to the real games and see what they got planned for these dynamic kickoffs," and- I, Kelly-...
25:57
you know, the Ch- and the Chiefs kick it through the end zone six times... Kelly pointed this out off-air, though. It's fair to say. Did we even know it was called dynamic- I didn't know that... until Sunday?
26:04
I heard, I heard it 72 times on Sunday. Yeah. Yeah. Red Zone had a ton, Drew, you're right. Yeah. But that was every broadcast. I mean, it, it carried into- It, it-... Sunday Night Football.
26:12
I don't know if I caught it- Yeah... as much last night. It was like Roger, I didn't c- and not last night. Yeah. But it was like Roger Goodell called Scott Hanson and was like, "You need to say dynamic- Yeah...
26:20
25 times the end of the month." Yeah. "We trademark this, okay?" Yeah. "Make sure we get it out there." And when, and when DJ Dallas- You know who's getting a, oh, you know who's getting a phone call, by the way?
26:26
The guy that came up with the branding of dynamic kickoff. [laughs] It didn't work. It didn't work out. [laughs] It didn't work. It wasn't that, it wasn't that dynamic. No, no.
26:33
But when, but when DJ Dallas took it to the house, like Scott Hanson acted like- [laughs]... somebody threw eight touchdown passes. [laughs] Like it was like, oh my God. It was the slowest kickoff return ever, too.
26:42
Thank goodness. By the end of it, you're like, "Is DJ Dallas gonna make it? I don't know if he's gonna make it." [laughs] God. Yeah. Um, so week two, what have you bet so far then?
26:51
Uh, so week, so just kind of like a snapshot, my biggest adjustment down of any team was Green Bay. Uh, that's obviously because of the absence of Jordan Love.
27:00
As aggressive as a downgrade as I can make for Green Bay, I still can't get to three and a half here for the Colts. Um- I was just talking about that, dude... I flew to Tampa for a second. I upgraded. Yeah.
27:08
I upgraded Indianapolis too. Like I was really impressed with the, uh, kind of explosive nature of, uh, the downfield passing game there.
27:15
I was impressed with the skill position players besides Pittman, who I didn't really hold in especially high regard. And, uh, and yeah, so I'm up on the Colts. I'm down on the Packers.
27:24
I still can't get to, uh, three and a half, so I'm out on that game. Um, my other big downgrades we kinda mentioned all involving quarterback health.
27:31
Uh, I'm down on Atlanta, I'm down on, uh, Cincinnati, I'm down on Cleveland.
27:35
Um, and then, uh, downgraded Las Vegas, uh, to a degree because of the defense being pushed around by the, uh, Chargers, although the Chargers' offensive line might be quite special.
27:45
Um, and then the Raiders, uh, just in general, the coaching was probably the biggest, um, LOL moment of the weekend- [laughs] Yeah... with the punt. Uh, that basically the- Punts, punts plural...
27:56
100th, 100th percentile surrender index. Yeah. 100th percentile? Yeah. Like we saw the most cowardly punt of all time? Wow. In 2024, you don't say. Most cowardly punt- Um-... and most ridiculous field goal also, right?
28:10
Yeah. Yeah. Yes, the coaching was quite bad. Uh, turns out maybe Antonio Pierce was better served as an interim coach, but we'll get to that later this season I think. Um, the, um,
28:20
uh, the upgrades for me were pretty minor.
28:23
Uh, I'm up on, uh, Minnesota mostly 'cause the defense was better than I expected, but again, that could be more Daniel Jones than it would be Flores getting his guys to play above their, their, their, uh, level.
28:34
Uh, I'm up on the Chargers, that offensive line, and just in general the offense being coherent against what I thought was a, you know, one of the better pass rushes in the league heading into week one was, uh, was very impressive.
28:44
Um, doesn't matter if they don't have good skill position players. If you're gonna give Herbert that much time, he's gonna find Ladd McConkey whenever he feels like it.
28:52
Um, I'm upgrading New Orleans up on Pittsburgh, but mostly just 'cause of the defense. The Pittsburgh offense still remains the worst in the NFL outside of the Carolina Panthers for me.
29:01
Uh, and then, um, small upgrades for, uh, Tampa Bay. It's very, very tough to get serious about upgrading some of the teams that played like we know and expected to be at the bottom of the NFL.
29:13
Like so go, I'm very cautiously upgrading the Saints and the, uh, Bucs for instance. Yeah. Um, but, uh, I'm also very hopeful that they're good because we need good teams in the NFL badly.
29:23
And, um, if both of those teams can continue to play the way we saw week one, I think we're gonna be, uh, in for a much more fun, uh, NFC race at least. So, um, that's, uh- But I agree with-... that's about it...
29:33
I agree with that sentiment about Carolina and Tampa Bay, 'cause I was talking about this yesterday, which is, okay, what do we, what do, uh, excuse me, New Orleans and Tampa Bay, which is do we really know if New Orleans is good having played Carolina?
29:42
And the Washington defense was so bad that I don't know if we can make any conclusions about Tampa Bay. Yeah. [clears throat] How did this, how did this translate to bets for you? Have you bet anything? Yeah.
29:53
So the, um, uh, the one kind of unit that I'm still a little cool on relative to market, and I didn't get a, like a, a huge sign that I needed to correct, was the Miami offense.
30:03
Uh, and I make the Bills actually a small favorite on Thursday Night Football, so I played Bills money line plus 117. Ooh. Ooh. Um- Okay...
30:10
in general I still need to see Miami in a big spot in a primetime game beat a good team. Uh, so I, there's like a little bit of an intangibles there on top of just my numbers say the Bills should be s- small favorites.
30:21
Um, I played, uh, Raiders plus nine and a half.
30:24
Um, I'm not concerned about the availability of Lamar Jackson despite him missing practice, but I am, uh, not anywhere close to a [laughs] 10-point spread between these two teams.
30:34
Um, the Raiders, you know, pass rush aforementioned, uh, has a brilliant matchup against the Bal- Baltimore pass protection, uh, that was wildly underwhelming against, uh, Kansas City.
30:46
So, uh, my fair on that one for instance is like closer to six. Uh, so nine and a half, uh, felt like, uh, a reasonable play. Even after downgrading the Raiders I'm still there. So, um, that was a fun one.
30:57
I took Tampa plus seven versus the Lions.
30:59
This is one I had circled in the preseason just because I, uh, the margin between those two teams in the playoff game when everything was going right for the Lions was still felt like, uh, you know, it was, it was pretty close, uh, despite the Lions covering that game.
31:12
Uh, and now you have, uh, you know, a Buccaneers team that's even more healthy with even better pass protection.
31:17
I think that offense could really do some damage to a Lions defense that had no answers for Cooper Kupp on Sunday night.
31:23
Uh, and then I played, uh, you know, hold your, you want, hold, you want to hold your nose and, uh, take a terrible team- Oh, man... uh, in the worst game of the week. Uh, I bet the Giants money line plus 122.
31:32
[sighs] Uh, these, it goes back to your point about the, uh, Washington Commanders' defense. Um, they have talent problems, they have scheme problems- They do... and they, uh, have tackling problems.
31:43
And I think- [laughs]... uh, just in general- Other than that, man, they're good. [laughs] Just, yeah. Other than that. Yeah. And, uh, and also like Sam Darnold Played great for the Vikings.
31:52
That was one of the quarterbacks we had questions about, and he afforded himself well despite being under pressure quite a lot.
31:58
Um, I think that the Giants D line is gonna have a much more successful day against, uh, Daniels, despite Daniels being, you know, quite mobile and, uh, being the most impressive of the rookies in my opinion.
32:08
Uh, I still think that the Lions, I mean, the, uh, the Giants D line could be a distinguishing factor there in keeping the Commanders in check again. Uh, t- time, by the way, Daniels' time to throw, 2.3 seconds. Yeah.
32:19
That's not very, that's not very good. Not good. Uh, and I know, yeah, you're up against a, a, you know, an aggressive blitzing defense with Bowles, but, um, that's a huge warning sign.
32:28
Kami's defense is even bigger warning sign.
32:30
So, uh, everybody who buried Daniel Jones and is calling for, you know, him to be benched, blah, blah, blah, I think they may, they may need to, uh, take a seat for a week as the, uh, Giants get a win in the capital city.
32:42
Drewski, we might be oppo on all four of those- Oh, boy... in terms of my instinct. Yeah. [laughs] All four of those. Yeah. Oh, boy.
32:47
And, and you raise good points on all, on, on certainly on the Giants, Commanders more than any. Like, that's the one where I'm like, "Yeah, he might be right about that."
32:54
But all four, I think, uh, my instinct was, uh, in the other direction. We'll see. It's week two. Uh, we'll see how these go. Um, but I, I think the Ravens. The Ravens to me- Yeah, that's the one I'm surprised...
33:03
this is the one where I can see them winning by 30 at home against the Raiders. Could. Yeah. They could. Um, I don't know. The Rai- Raiders don't really, I mean, the Ravens don't really have a downfield passing attack.
33:16
Um, that was kinda one of the key takeaways of that game against the Chiefs.
33:19
Like, there was nobody getting open down the field, and, uh, you know, if the, you know, if, if the pass rush shows up, then, uh, that's kinda what I'm hoping to keep that game close.
33:28
Maybe I should've just played the under. That feels like a standard Ravens MO, though. Drew, thank you. Appreciate it as always. Drew Dincicave- All right. Best of luck... you too, @whale_capper.
33:37
"Imagine when Hanson gets to say, 'Dynamic kickoff in Duval County.'" Oh, he's gonna love that. Survivor talk next. [upbeat music] A numbers game on VSiN, the sports betting network.
33:53
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34:27
Gotta be 21 years or older to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER. Let's go, Alexander. It's a numbers game. Kelly Bidlin alongside here from Circa.
34:37
Um, we, we will talk baseball. I promise you, we have not forgotten that baseball exists. [laughs] So we will talk baseball with Paul Spohrer coming up. Will Hill's got some plays as well.
34:46
Uh, Paul Skeens with a good outing yesterday, so one of the questions I wanna ask is, are we sure that National League Rookie of the Year race is over? Yeah. Are we absolutely sure?
34:55
I feel like JVT's leaving, leading this charge, by the way. D- I believe he said it on air with us last week, and then I caught him on the morning line this morning- Yeah...
35:01
and he was like, "Let's not forget baseball's still going on." [laughs] Well, he said it when he came on our show. Yeah. [laughs] He said, he goes, "Gil, thank you for keeping baseball alive."
35:07
Less than three weeks left in a great season. Uh, we absolutely have to keep it alive. We'll have the, uh, the September updated, uh, numbers coming up pretty soon here as well on the show.
35:17
Um, and I have to get to your tweets. We just, let me just put this one up, 'cause we're, we're doing this whole thing where we're putting them on screen now, and so I'm late giving them to Kelly.
35:24
But here's one from Chance Copper Pot. "A few years back, your show introduced me to guessing lines. This simple practice has completely turned around my NFL bets for the contests and sides.
35:33
I don't look at the lines, set my own. Biggest differences, get my action. Love it." Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's awesome. It's a beautiful endorsement for guessing lines.
35:40
Yeah, I, I think it's, and, you know, in our opinion, everybody should be doing something, uh, like that. You know, it's Dr- It's- You know, Drew just went through his...
35:48
I mean, he, you'll hear a lot of handicappers go true pow- power ratings, right? Yeah. That's what Drew's doing every week.
35:54
That's where he's talking about a lot of bets that he's making in week two, upgrading and downgrading numbers from what he had from the preseason, leading him to certain bets.
36:02
We might disagree with him on the Raiders one, but you know. Yeah. One of us- Or multiple of you. [laughs] One of us, I mean, four, those four games where my instinct was the opposite.
36:09
I mean, we m- I mean, one of us is gonna be very wrong. Actually, we could split them too, so I shouldn't say that. But it could be that one of us is gonna be very right and very wrong.
36:16
But my thing with that Raiders Ravens is, and I didn't have time to, so I, I had interrupted him enough to interrupt him again, but the, the fact that it's nine and a half, if you like the Raiders, you probably should wait, 'cause it's going to get to 10, right?
36:28
I think so. So if, if you like that side, which I don't, I like the Ravens. I already put in a minus nine and a half 'cause I wanted to grab it before it did so on the Baltimore Ravens.
36:36
And by the way, I do think that's their MO all the time is that they don't have wide receivers, so, you know, same Ravens.
36:42
That, that has never stopped them before by, you know, um, from romping teams, especially at home in the past, so.
36:48
Yeah, I, I mean, I guess we didn't talk a whole lot about that game last Friday, 'cause we, you know, like we, we- We weren't here, yeah... whole week one slate to get to and everything. Yeah.
36:56
But the, like, I mean, Zay Flowers looked really damn good to me. Like, that is a watch out for him, I think, going forward. Yeah, I guess that's- I mean, not downfield passing. That, that's true.
37:06
They were using him in other ways, but- We talked about it a little on Friday, 'cause that was a Thursday game. Mm-hmm. We talked about it. I mean, it, I don't think w- I learned anything...
37:13
Yeah, I don't think anything about my handicap of the Ravens was changed by- Yeah... losing to the, to the Chiefs in that fashion.
37:19
And I don't know, maybe, maybe you two, uh, me and you were too early to jump to the, "Oh boy, does this spot look juicy," but man, co- I'm sorry. Coming off or- [laughs]... off of a loss against Kansas City.
37:29
It's a good spot. Yeah. Let's get Matt Brown in here. Spots. Extra, yeah, extra rest against this Raiders team. Yeah, I'm, I'm laying the wood with the Ravens this week. It's a good spot for them.
37:36
[laughs] What's your favorite spot? Revenge spots? Um, sandwich spots Um- What's your favorite spot when people do NFL handicapping? It's always the spots.
37:44
The sand- the sandwich spot is always, uh [laughs] The sandwich spot... uh, uh, because that, there's always that. It's the letdown spot too, right? They're kind of the same thing a lot of times.
37:52
Like, if, if you're in a sandwich spot, it's a letdown spot. It's kind of a letdown spot. Right? That's right. Yeah. That's right. Um, okay, I'm very excited about this. Survi- [laughs] Matt freaked out about that.
38:00
Matt went crazy on Primetime Action about spots. He was just screaming. Um- Yeah... okay, so Survivor, week two. Let, I'm, I'm gonna go to you first 'cause you said you, you've narrowed it down to a couple.
38:11
I would love to hear this 'cause I've narrowed it down to nothing. Okay.
38:13
So I wanted to talk to you about this, and we did get a couple tweets about this too, of just kinda like, what, what do you think your strategy is rest of season? And I, you know, I don't know if I was...
38:23
I think this may w- be, this might be one of my biggest week one takeaways is I don't know if I was sold before the season on just fading some of the bad teams throughout the entire year.
38:33
And at that time, you know, you're thinking mainly New England. You're thinking mainly, uh, you know, the Giants. For me, those were the two I had circled.
38:41
But I mean, after you saw that [laughs] Carolina-New Orleans game- Yeah... it's add Carolina to the list. So I think most of the season that will be my strategy.
38:50
I- However, this week I don't know that you fully have the opportunity- That's the problem... to do that. That's the problem.
38:55
So, but, but if you're- I think your strategy, I, and I believe I said this on that 9 point, the Quest for 9.2 Million docuseries, the easiest, the, the cleanest strategy in Survivor is just that. Right.
39:06
I ag- I agree Just find the bad teams, and if they are so bad, just fade 'em every week.
39:11
And then again, the, the very first year of Circus Survivor, 2020, the sur- the, uh, the pandemic year, that's how most of us got as far as we did just fading the Jets and the Jaguars.
39:22
And again, then the Jets nipped us in the butt 'cause they beat the Rams as a 17 point, the Rams were a 17-point favorite. They lost at home to the Jets. So it can take you far, but nothing is not a landmine.
39:35
I mean, everything's a potential landmine. And to your point, Kelly, Carolina, do you wanna take the Chargers on the road against them? No. Do you wanna take Washington at home against the Giants? No. No.
39:47
Uh, what was the third one? New England. Do you wanna, [laughs] do you wanna- Uh, who do they got? Uh, Seattle at home... do you wanna take Seattle on the road against the Ravens?
39:55
I al- I already played 'em in one contest. You do. But like, but no, I d- I don't, no, no, I already played them in week one. Oh, in week one, CK. With one, with one of my entries. So- But no, not really...
40:03
so that's the problem with week two. Yeah. You have, you have immediately crystallized my thoughts. So well, and it goes even further, right?
40:09
So that is, I think that will be my strategy for most of the season, is trying to target those three teams, right? But you gotta get over this week.
40:15
But then there's, there, okay, there are two, though, that I mentioned yesterday, that I bet yesterday, that immediately jump out to me as, I think, great plays this week for, I, I like them for bets, I like them for Survivor plays, and those would be- Uh...
40:27
the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. Now, what's the big problem with both of those teams, though, Gil? Let me guess. They have a, they have a Thanksgiving or Christmas problem. They both play on Christmas. Yeah.
40:37
They, they, I mean, so they would be two of your four options basically on Christmas. This was exactly what I landed on as well- So-... which is- I don't really know... so I don't think I can play them.
40:45
[laughs] I know, I w- Be- And, and r- and by the way, 'cause if you go to Christmas, and again, think about where our heads are week, you know, here before week two.
40:53
We already talked about how there's a lot of our pre-season assumptions weren't right in week one. Mm-hmm. So why would we be so arrogant to look at the Christmas schedule- I know...
41:02
and say to ourselves, "All right, well, the Texans are at home against the Ravens"? That's probably not one you would play anyway, so maybe you can play the Texans here. And the other one was the- Oh, good point.
41:12
They play each other. They play each other. So that does help out. So, so that does help out, right. So now, okay, so if... You know, look, the problem with that is, the only, the only issue with that is- I like this.
41:22
Gil's helping me figure out my selection. I like it...
41:24
the only issue with that is, God forbid, I'm not wishing this, but at some point between week two now and week 17, which is when Christmas is, could you have a catastrophic injury to a key player?
41:37
I don't wanna name names 'cause I don't wanna m- put it in the universe. Absolutely, and then that game could avail itself. Yes. And remember, on Christmas, unlike, so Christmas is December 25th.
41:48
The, the Christmas, quote-unquote, is three games. Two on Christmas and one on December 26th. So it's Chiefs at Steelers, Ravens at Texans, Seahawks at Bears. Okay. It's only three games.
42:03
Yeah, I mean, I have the Chiefs circled for that week, but- If, if you're already eliminating the Ravens-Texans as a possibility, then you're down to two games for what would be the third to last. Is that gonna be?
42:14
Uh, no, that would be, yes. That would be the third to last, quote-unquote, week- Yeah... in Circus Survivor.
42:21
You would be reducing yourself to two football games if you are, in fact, gonna play these teams to- this week. So can you really afford to do that even though they're playing each other? [laughs] I don't know, man.
42:32
They, yes. This is the beauty, this is the puzzle of Survivor. I'm stuck, I'm stuck, I'm stuck a little bit this week because of that. Yes. Show the chest hair for everybody, by the way?
42:38
I th- I think I'm still, I think I'm still, I think I'm still, uh- There it is. Mm-hmm... yeah, there it is. There it is. There it is. There it is.
42:42
I think I'm still leaning one of those ways this week, but I don't know, 'cause there are plenty of other big favorites that, that you could look at this week, right? Okay. Okay, but, okay, you say that, right?
42:52
And I look at this, I look at these, quote-unquote, big favorites. I don't know why I say quote-unquote on that one. [laughs] But they are the, the biggest, the biggest favorites on the board.
43:00
And you're talking about Dallas, but that has a Thanksgiving consideration. Dallas over the Saints, Detroit over the Buccaneers, that's Thanksgiving as well.
43:07
Plus, like, both, both of those all just go back to, are you that confident? Like, I'm not that confident i- in the Lions or the Cowboys. The Chargers- I think the Saints were impressive...
43:15
we already talked about the Chargers are the other bigger favorite, right? Six and a half. So okay, from the top of the board here, we show this, uh- Yeah... if you're watching us.
43:22
So Ravens, we already, we already talked about. They're on Christmas. Chargers, I mean, do you feel confident playing them on the road against the Panthers? Maybe you do. Maybe you land on the Chargers.
43:31
Cowboys are Thanksgiving. Lions are Thanksgiving. The Chiefs play on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't think you can even consider them. I don't think you can consider them. The Texans we said play on Christmas.
43:41
And then do you wanna, do you wanna just bust out the Eagles when there are more natural places, I think, to play the Eagles? The, I agree. But, but I feel that, I feel that way about Eagles, Cowboys, and Lions.
43:54
I, I don't know that, like, these feel like week two.
43:57
And I, look, I'm not on the dog in any of those three games, but these feel like a little bit of week two NFL, are we reacting too much to what we saw week one with these other teams?
44:06
Am I gonna have to play the Chargers? I, I know. I know. Is Wayne Brady gonna have to play the Chargers? [laughs] I, I feel like that's, I feel like that's what we're talking ourselves into here. Yeah. Uh, that's [sighs]
44:16
I, I'm not doing that, though. I'm not doing that in week two. I don't think I'm doing that. This is brutal. Chargers have no offensive players. No, man. They got a good line. We have come to no conclusions here. None.
44:29
Will Hill on the other side with his baseball thoughts next. [upbeat music]
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Recent episodes
A Numbers Game | September 17, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 17, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 3
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 2
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 16, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 3
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 2
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 15, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 11, 2026
Sep 11, 2026