Welcome in to the newest edition of the Just In Time Sports Podcast.
I am your owner and host, Justin Jackson.
And this week's episode, we'll be talking about NFL Week 16.
Also we'll have a preview of NFL Week 17.
We'll have our NFL betting segment, Jax Pack.
We will talk about the first round of the expanded college football playoff, and we'll
have our best for last.
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wherever you get your podcasts.
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Now, as always, don't forget to sit back and get ready to learn something.
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Welcome into the show.
Welcome into season five episode 34 of the Justin Time Sports podcast.
As you heard in the intro, I am your owner and host, Justin Jackson.
We're going to have a lot of football today, a lot of NFL, a lot of college football.
If you're a big basketball fan, might not be the episode for you.
However, if you are a big basketball fan, you just want to generally learn about more
football.
This is the spot for you because we're going to dive right into NFL week 16.
We're going to start off with our Monday night preview, Saints at Packers.
Packers are a huge 14 and a half point favorites.
Me personally, I don't see this game being very close.
I'm a WSASaints fan, so we'll keep our eye on it.
Probably watch it for a quarter, quarter and a half, especially Saints keep it competitive.
However, I don't see this game being much struggle for the Packers.
Alva Camara is out, Derek Carr is out, you're looking at the Saints are on the second string
of very below average NFL receivers.
You're looking at Spencer Rattler, who should not be playing NFL football right now or should
not be starting NFL games.
The Saints are doing stuff like sitting in the walk through cooler in an industrial kitchen
to get prepared for the cold because it's like 10 degrees in the cooler.
They went and did the entire rundown, you know, but took about 45 minutes to an hour
sitting in the cooler.
I mean, it's just stuff like that.
They're trying to prep for dome team going to a Green Bay field, a bad dome team going
to the frozen tundra.
This is a recipe for disaster if you're the New Orleans Saints.
If you're the Green Bay Packers, this is a get right, get healthy game.
This is a game that you want to first of all get right.
So if you have a weakness, you say, man, we're really bad.
I think it's not incredibly specific, but all season we've been bad at protecting against
short routes to the field.
You really want to focus in this game on stopping short routes to the field.
You know, if you say, hey, we've been really bad at picking up the backside guy on power
or whatever.
You know, you really want to see that executed today.
So get right game and also get healthy game.
If you have any guys with nicks, injuries or bruises, you strongly consider either restricting
either refusing that to allow them to play or having a heavy body play count on them
rather to ensure that they get out of the game healthy.
So the Packers can use this more of a live practice and New Orleans Saints can use this
as an opportunity to scout for next season.
But like I said, I don't see this game being close by any means.
14 and a half points feels big as far as a bet.
It's a bet I wouldn't make because it is 14 and a half.
That's asking for a 30 to 10 game and you know, Rattler hit a 30 to seven game or 30
to 10 game.
Yeah, I had a 30 to 10 game and then the Rattler hit somebody late in the end zone 30 17 and
now you've missed out on a bet even though it wasn't a close game at all.
So 14 and a half is a big feels a bit large to lay down.
However, I do expect this to be to victory for the Packers by at least two touchdowns.
But anyway, let's get into the games that was the Chiefs at the Chiefs battle the Texans
in Kansas City.
This was a very typical Kansas City like game this season where it got to about 10 minutes
left in the fourth and I was saying to myself, I was at a family gathering.
I was saying to myself, Texas got to score here.
If they don't, they're never going to really get a chance at it again.
And the Texan went down didn't get it in and it was just very stereotypical Chiefs.
They just boiled the clock and boiled the clock and boiled the clock and they went into
the fourth of eight and they left the fourth of eight.
They took advantage of a Chiefs team that has a second year head coach and second year
quarterback and also just a situational awareness that the Chiefs have.
We've been doing this for years at this point and the end of that game felt like the end
of a lot of Chiefs close games.
Number one, the Chiefs won.
Number two, the opponent team offense seems to just die on the vine as far as trying to
bounce back.
And number three, it was the prototypical example of how you control the clock and the
ball.
It feels like in three downs, the goal is 10 and it felt like that goal was 11.
They were just barely getting first, barely getting across and it wears down a defensive
unit if you're just, every three plays comes from 11 yards.
You're never behind the chains and you're constantly going forward, but it's not explosive.
You're just on the field.
Absolutely ingenious game played by the Chiefs and execution, especially late.
The Houston Texans, man, that was an opportunity that they're going to look back on and go,
how did we get it done?
We held them pretty much coreless for a good chunk of the game, maybe 30% of the game,
35% of the game.
And you're going to look and be like, how did we lose?
When did we lose?
Is going to be the main kicker.
Because when did we lose and how did we lose?
And that's something that the Chiefs, as a young team, they just got to figure out how
to win.
You know?
Patrick Mahomes came in with Andy Reid.
He had pretty much seen every scenario that he was going to see.
So therefore, he had a little bit more veteran experience to lean on.
Demiga Ryan, the second year head coach, she just got second year quarterback.
They haven't seen anything, everything the NFL is going to throw at them.
And so therefore, they have to continue to work together.
But the Texans, again, a very large missed opportunity that they're going to regret big
time later in the season.
Ravens take down the Steelers in one of, if not the most blood boiled, hate filled college
style rivalry in the NFL.
The Ravens and the Steelers, I don't even think they've conducted an inter-team trade
in over a decade for sure.
I mean, this thing boils down to pure unbridled hatred.
It's like when players change sides, go from Steelers to Ravens, Ravens, Steelers, a la
Patrick Queen, you look at like, oh my God, you're Benedict Arnold.
Like you ain't be worse than Benedict Arnold.
You're just, you're the scum of the earth.
There's 30 other teams out there, why that one?
And it's in the AFC North.
It's the closest division as far as distance.
It's a division with the most, like, I mean, there's several interstates.
You split, you go to one city in the AFC North and the other split and other products that
goes to the other city in the AFC North.
You know, the Cleveland Browns, the original Browns became the Ravens.
And when the new Browns came back, they got the naming rights back.
The original Browns is who the Baltimore Ravens are.
Like there is just tons of history and interconnectedness in that division.
And it's one of those games where records don't matter, momentum don't matter, plays
that don't matter.
They're going to figure it out because there's no tips, there's no trades, there's none of
that.
When the Ravens and the Steelers get together, and it was another great battle.
One Saturday, you saw a lot of Lamar Jackson, you saw a lot of Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson
and many people's eyes took a step towards the MVP.
In that battle and Russell Wilson, you know, showed some of his limitations.
He threw a bad pick six that cannot happen.
Definitely threw a bad pick six, which was not great.
All but ended the game, truly.
But those two teams battled it out, those two sides battled it out.
Lamar Jackson is a little bit better than Russell Wilson right now.
And that is ultimately the difference.
As great a motivator as Mike Tomlin is, and we'll talk about hard knocks a little bit
more a little bit later.
But you can't make up that level of a talent difference just for pure motivation.
Again, it's a rivalry game.
So you kind of tend to throw out some other stereotypical factors.
But at a certain point, this game is about Jimmy's and Joe's and the Steelers Jimmy's
and Joe's is better than the Ravens Jimmy's and Joe's.
Put that the Ravens Jimmy's and Joe's are just flat out better right now than the Steelers
Jimmy's and Joe's.
All right, moving out of AFC North into the NFC East, the Washington Commanders and a
future Rookie of the Year.
I got that because I told you so, Jayden Daniels dropped 36 on the Eagles.
But here's the thing, they dropped 36 on the Eagles despite having five turnovers.
This is the second game this year where the team has had five turnovers in one.
The Lions overcame five turnovers against the Texans, who we just talked about against
the Eagles and then the Commanders overcome five against the Eagles.
Now some people say Jayden Daniels got knocked out of the game and that's returned it.
The Eagles still scored 33 points.
The Eagles still got five turnovers.
If I scored 33 points and I forced five turnovers, it doesn't matter who the quarterback is,
I should win the game.
But Jayden Daniels kept coming.
He kept coming.
He refused to lose and showcase off a lot of talent, including his arm and his legs.
If you're the Eagles, you're in the process of holding your breath in a way because Jalen
Hurst is out with a concussion.
Kenny Pickett has injured ribs.
So I'm not even sure who the third quarterback is, but hopefully he's ready to go because
there's a good chance that Hurst is out and Pickett's 50%, you know, or they're both out.
And so you got to hope that he's ready to go.
Maybe we'll win you a couple of football games.
The absolutely spectacular showing by Jayden Daniels.
The rookie of the year race is over.
It was very cute that his bro nixed for a couple of weeks.
That was great.
Now he's got on here and got on the media as for aspirations for having a white guy
be the MVP.
I get it.
I understand.
However, Jayden is undeniable and he was ultimately undeniable last night as he just refused to
give in and to lose against Philadelphia Eagles, especially at home.
The Minnesota Vikings took their show on the road, took their damaging and downright disrespectful
defense on the road to the Seattle Seahawks in a hell of a game.
This is a game that Sam Donald, I say prior to this year, would probably lose this game
about 20.
He won this game.
He played a great football game.
All things considered, the weather was not great.
You had a guy in Geno Smith who felt like he was just going to be this guy today.
Geno Smith made big play after big play.
He ultimately forces Donald in order to be an elite level quarterback in order to win
the game.
Geno Smith goes 31 to 43, three touchdowns, he had two back breaking picks.
Donald goes 22 to 35, two 46, three touchdowns.
He was just incredibly efficient.
He was incredibly on the money.
He had a couple of lasers to Jordan Addison, a beautiful pass to Justin Jefferson.
These passes are not easy.
They were just layered in and lasered in very well by Donald who seems to be loving Kevin
O'Connell's system.
If you're the Seahawks, this doesn't end you, but it hurts.
Doesn't end you, but it hurts.
Because now the Seahawks are down a game.
They have to go win out, in my opinion, to make it to the playoffs.
Winning out the last two games is not hard, but one of those three games happens to be
a Vikings team at home.
You've got to take that game.
So I'll explain it simple, not the world's best loss for the Seahawks, but it's just
not great.
For the Minnesota Vikings, the one seed in the NFC is still very much alive and well,
and they're going to continue to play for that.
However, in much more shocking news, and again, the Vikings being the number one seed contender
before the season would have been mind blowing.
You might have won a lot of money on Fandola ESPN bet had you placed that bet.
However, you didn't.
No one did, not even the Vikings.
So something else that is a little bit more intriguing is the fact that the Cincinnati
Bengals still have a way into the playoffs.
I don't mean like, you know, if a meteor hits the right side of the planet at exactly 9.58
and the Bengals win by exactly 22 points, like, no, no, no, no, no, no, not, not one
of those stories.
I mean, a legitimate path, like they had to win out and then the Broncos lose one game
and then think I forgot it was just the loser game, but it was, I forgot exactly the path
admittedly.
However, it was a very legitimate path to get in.
Let me see if I can find it really quickly.
Maybe not, but the Bengals have a very legitimate shot of getting in.
But first, their first order of business is they have to win out.
Okay, so entering week 17, so entering next week, the Bengals have to win out.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Okay.
Then the Broncos have a week 18 game versus the Chiefs.
Now that game could be interesting because the Chiefs have the one seed.
It's a good chance they may rest.
Now it's a good chance they may rest their players.
Now if the Chiefs were to lose, let's say to own Christmas Day to Pittsburgh, they would
have to play week 18 to keep the steals, keep the bills away from the one seed.
The Colts have to lose to either the Giants or the Jaguars.
To me, that's the hardest part of the puzzle.
And then the Dolphins have to lose to either the Browns or the Jets.
So it's a path.
It is a slim path.
But it is a path.
And it's a path that is very much on the table.
It actually was a lot less steps in it very recently.
Entering week 16, there was less steps to it, but I think a couple of the losses changed
the scenario and changed a couple of the prediction.
But the Bengals have a chance to get in.
So Burrow and Chase, I think they're going to win out.
Now whether they get the necessary help, we're going to find out.
The Broncos having to lose to the Chiefs specifically is going to make it a little bit harder because
again, if the Chiefs are the ones who locked up, I don't see Andy Reid playing a lot of
his starters.
And then at that point, it's Broncos playing for their lives versus the Chiefs who just
sleepwalking through the game.
But that'd be a very interesting scenario there.
And check out the MVP, the MVP race.
So Saquon Barkley puts his name on it.
I think Lamar Jackson actually took a step forward in the race.
I still think it's between those three.
I don't think anybody's going to come in between those three.
Alan Lamar and Saquon.
I think Saquon was on the way to a hell of a day.
And then Jalen Hurts got hurt.
He kind of threw off the game plan a little bit.
They were able to load the box a little bit more and slow him down.
But I think Saquon was going to kind of one of them days where it's like 220 something
plus.
Eagles win by 20 and you're like, oh, okay, Saquon Barkley's real.
And Zamey Pichon is real.
Josh Allen laid an egg about his standards against the New England Patriots, especially
in that first half.
So Lamar Jackson, while he didn't have the world's best eye popping numbers, he still
got the win over division rival.
And he still had a good enough day where it's going to take somebody to do something his
historic or near historic for Allen to be overtaken in one week.
So huge, huge, huge situation was going down there with the MVP.
So right now my MVP is Lamar, probably second to be Saquon, thirdly to be Josh Allen.
What up next, we're going to shift to NFL week 17.
Welcome into the show and welcome into NFL week 17.
After tonight, we will officially have two weeks left of the regular season.
It gets started on a good Wednesday.
It's already Wednesday as the NFL has now fully, fully ventured into Christmas, trying
to rob the NBA blind of the one foothold it had, which was Christmas Day.
And there's two games on ironically, the four teams are maybe smartly the four teams that
played Saturday play Wednesday because rest wise, that is the equivalent of going from
a Sunday to a Thursday.
They're just shifting everything up a day.
So instead of Sunday, Saturday, so Thursday, it's Wednesday.
But they are the Chiefs go at the Steelers and then the Ravens go at the Texans.
He spoke ad nauseam about both about all four of these teams.
I won't divulge into the team aspect of it.
Neither one of these games are in Jack's pack so I can pick them both.
I think the Chiefs ultimately come out alive against the Steelers and I use the phrase
come out alive very specifically because I think the Steelers are going to make it tough,
rough and physical, especially if there's any sort, any sort of limp in Patrick Mahomes
and get in giddy and hitching his giddy up anything that could be a possible target for
the Baltimore Ravens.
Not the Baltimore Ravens, sheesh, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I strongly believe they're going to do that.
Now I believe that Mahomes gets it done, but I believe he gets it done ugly and he gets
it done late.
And then the Ravens at the Texans, our other Christmas Day game, Beyonce's performing
at one of these games, not sure which.
This is a game where I'm not sure where the emotions of the Texans are.
You just saw your brother's knee, Tinkdale, get absolutely wrecked and you're, you know,
you just came back from an injury, you're fine, it's only get your feet under you and
then boom, you know, friendly fire, your knees are wrecked and now you're standing up at
an operating table going how did I get here again?
But then if you're the Baltimore Ravens, hey man, you've got to keep chasing down that
division, you know, it's going to be a very aggressive division.
It always has been, always will be, but it's even more so whenever the teams in it are
good.
And so I think that the Ravens are going to have to continue to be physical, continue
to be tough, run the ball with Derrick Henry, use their flowers in the pass game.
You know, it doesn't get much better.
It just doesn't get much better than the Ravens at Texans.
Chiefs at Steelers on Christmas Day back to back, that's pretty dope.
So two huge games, I've got the Ravens in this game, although it's going to be close.
I think it might be a Tucker late field goal kind of close.
It's going to be really close.
Texans are at home.
Again, I wonder about the emotional state, but the Chiefs aren't built to blow anybody
out.
I'm sorry, the Ravens are built to blow people out, but not, you know, from that passing
situation.
So I think D'Amico Ryan is going to try and make Lamar Jackson beat him in the pocket with
his arm.
He's going to open up the opportunity for the receiving corps.
The Broncos at the Bengals, it's in my Jack's pocket, it will not be picked.
This is the game.
This is the game because the Broncos have to lose their last two.
Plan is simple.
Well, the Broncos play the Bengals.
So Bengals win, Broncos lose, that automatically takes one fifth of the scenario down, you
know, and then the Broncos have to turn around and lose again to the Chiefs in week 18.
But the Broncos at the Bengals, I mean, this is one of them.
This has potential to be an all time stinker.
It's going to be a dud.
It's a random moment.
Sean Payton has duds.
Zachary Taylor's life has been a dud.
And it's just there's going to be certain opportunities where you're looking up and
like, man, nothing's really happened for the past 12 minutes.
And this is like, yep.
But then it's going to be just as much, if not more potential for back to back to back
to back explosive plays.
So it is going to be very interesting to see the difference between the Broncos and the
Bengals.
Again, I would not pick this game because it is in Jax pack.
However, it's going to be very intense, very critical games as the Broncos can eliminate
the Bengals from the playoffs.
Packers at Vikings, again, that is not my Jax pack, so I can't pick it.
I've got the Vikings here.
Now this game has been flexed from the noon slot to the 325 slot for central time, one
o'clock to 425 if you're Eastern.
So absolutely tremendous game, tremendous flex by the NFL flexing, flexing the Packers
and the Vikings.
This is going to be a very hotly contested contest.
Again, you're looking at division opponent.
Now it's not as divisional as the NFC North as this is the NFC North.
However, it's still got that Northern mentality where you're going to have to battle, you're
going to have to scrap.
We're talking about hard nosed areas.
Minneapolis is a little glassy to the last game, Green Bay is not.
We're talking about typically hard nosed areas, talking about typically physical areas.
Because of which, in order to win this game, you're going to have to be physical, you're
going to have to be tough.
I think that the Vikings just a little bit tougher right now than the Green Bay Packers,
especially the Packers coming off, which should be a very easy win tonight.
Make them a little lazy, a little comfortable.
Falcons at Commanders.
Now this game is in our Jax pack as well, so we will not pick it.
However, this is a big game for both of these parties.
If you're the Commanders, you have to have locked up your playoff seat with the last
victory.
However, if you are the Falcons, you still have to get in the playoffs.
Your opponent is literally tied with you in terms of record.
I will say opponent, I meant to say competition.
In our competition, I'm looking at Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Falcons.
Now the Falcons own their way in.
They have the advantage.
They win, they're in.
It's just as simple.
They win their last two, they're in.
There's nothing Tampa can do about it.
They lose one game, it's back in Tampa's hands.
New Orleans is out, Carolina is out.
So it's a two team race for the division.
Both of them will not make it.
The division winner only will make it out of the NFC South.
If you're the Falcons, you're Michael Penny Jr., you have to go win these games because
again you are right there.
You win these last two, you are in the playoffs.
This game would have been cool from a nostalgia perspective because it would have been Kirk
Cousins going back to Washington.
Unfortunately we will not get that so that sucks.
But all in all it's still kind of fun in order to enjoy this game that's going to be.
Like I said, a lot matters.
Washington is trying to clinch their playoff spot.
Atlanta is trying to continue to control their own destiny to win the division and host the
first round playoff game.
So it's an absolutely huge huge huge game with the Falcons at the commanders and then
the Lions at the Niners.
Again another game in Jack's pack.
We would not pick it but this is a game that feels trap gamey.
This feels trap gamey.
If you're the Lions you're guarding against trap game syndrome.
You have the ability to get the number one seed now.
Philadelphia lost.
So now the Lions should have the inside track at getting the number one seed because again
one of your biggest hurdles if not your biggest hurdle was the Philadelphia Eagles.
They lost.
So they lost and their quarterback is concussed.
So it is a double whammy of unfortunateness if you are the Philadelphia Eagles.
However if you're not the Philadelphia Eagles you're in a great spot.
So what I mean is let's go to the NFC.
So the Detroit Lions now are a game up in they're now a game up on the Philadelphia Eagles in
regards to the number one seed and having that inside track to the playoffs.
However they're exactly tied with the Minnesota Vikings.
They own the tiebreaker based on head to head.
So now the Detroit Lions have to win out to win the conference or at least have to match
the Minnesota Vikings.
If the Detroit Lions stumble, the Vikings win out then the Vikings are your number one
seed because their record currently is better than the Philadelphia Eagles too.
The only reason why they're not the second seed is because they happen to be in the same
thing as Detroit.
But guess what?
Week 18 Vikings at Lions for the potential at the number one seed because especially
if Philly loses again for instance but that game could be for all the marbles in the number
one seed.
Absolutely huge, huge game.
But for the San Francisco 49ers this is a gut check kind of game.
This is a gut check kind of game.
What I mean by gut check is you know you're out of the playoffs.
You've been beat up with injuries all year.
But who's going to come and bring their lunch pail to work and still want to fight?
Or who's going to just lay down and roll over and shouldn't be a part of the San Francisco
49ers next season?
That's going to be absolutely huge for the 9-7 evaluation.
And for the Lions you're continuing to again potentially hold the inside track to the one
seed.
But up next we're going to shift our NFL betting segment Jax pack.
Welcome back into the show.
And now we're going to get into NFL Jax pack our NFL betting segment.
An absolutely great week last week.
We went 4-1.
We haven't gone 4-1.
It felt like for a while.
I think we went 3-2 last week.
We had those strings of 2-3.
We had that 1-4 that came out of nowhere.
We had the 1-3 and 1.
It was rough for a few weeks there.
However we got back into our winning ways going 4-1 last week bringing our record to
43 and 34 which get that percentage for you one second.
43 plus 34.
43 divided by 77.
56%.
So we're at 56% which is exactly where we want to be.
Could be in a professional gambler you want to be at 56% or higher.
So we're right at 56%.
We're exactly where we want to be.
We want to keep that going up.
We've all but secured a winning record this season.
We've got week 17 and 18 left.
They know to reset for the playoffs.
But 56% absolutely great year so far.
We're going to keep rolling and we're going to jump right into this thing.
My favorite number of the week.
Bengals minus 3.5 versus the Broncos.
Take the Bengals here.
I'm not sure why it's only 3.5.
To me this should be a 4.5 5 point spread.
The Broncos kind of showed who they were over this past week.
It looks good early as long as Sean Payton can keep both Knicks on script.
The minute it goes off script it goes poorly.
Pat Sertane can't guard everybody.
So when it comes down to Jamar Chase and T Higgins and so on and so forth.
He can only guard Chase and I don't think there really is a guarding Jamar Chase.
I think there's a slowing Chase down.
But I don't think there's ever a guarding Jamar Chase.
But then if he's on Chase who's guarding Higgins.
They kind of showed against Chargers what they were.
In terms of if you can get both Knicks off the script.
If you can get Sean Payton off the play sheet a little bit.
Off the playing script.
Both Knicks tends to go downhill quickly.
That's what we saw.
I think the Bengals are going to pressure him.
Get him off the script.
Make him get off of that 15, 20, 25 play scripts and try to feed both Knicks info.
They went very short against Chargers.
I don't think the Bengals are going to allow that.
So Bengals minus 3.5 over the Broncos.
Take the Bengals.
Bills minus 10 at home versus the Jets.
Take the Bills.
This has the makings for a blowout.
This has the makings for one of those bill games.
You go oh my God.
Only the best team in football.
I mean this has the makings of one of those games where you look and it is 28 to 3 at
halftime and you're like good God.
You know like if the Bills the best team in football.
I mean that is how bad this game can get.
The Jets are a joke.
The Jets had amazingness happen for them.
And they still found a way to only score 9 points.
They're a joke.
I think the Bills are going to take advantage of them being a joke and run right over them.
Josh Allen I think is going to have one of them games where it's like he's the MVP of
the league.
I mean this is a chance.
This is a showcase game.
Remember I talked about how it was a get right get healthy scenario.
If you are, nah I'm just talking about a few people go by.
It was a get right get healthy game where they blow them out the water and get right
and get healthy.
Like you only play for so long.
You really try some stuff for how to get another team.
So on and so on.
That's the kind of game the Bills could have here.
Get right get healthy.
Absolutely blow away the Jets early.
Bills minus 10 take over the Jets.
Vikings minus 1.5 over the Packers.
This is just a belief the Vikings are going to win the game.
It's hard to win by one in the NFL.
I mean 21-20 is like the most common of the scores.
14-13 maybe anything other than that.
It's really hard to win by one.
So if you win by two you cover the spread kind of thing.
So this is a faith that the Vikings are going to win the game.
I get it's in Lambeau.
Get it the Vikings are normally a Dome team.
However they do live in Minnesota.
So practicing I'm sure they practice outside all week.
Turn the AC up in the building.
Like all kind of stuff.
They're trying to almost trick your body into being accustomed to the cold.
Nothing's Lambeau field.
Nothing's quite like the frozen tundra.
However there are some tricks of the trade that you could use to attempt to manufacture
a freeze.
And I think that is what the Vikings did all week.
I think they're just better than the Packers.
Just plain and simple.
Defense travels.
I know the Vikings have a better defense.
I'm going to go with the Vikings here.
Minus one and a half.
Lions minus three and a half at the Niners take the Lions.
The only reason why I'm not circling this as a get right game is because I believe too
much of Koshy and I had to disrespect him that way.
But the Lions have a chance to roll here.
Kind of what they did to the Bears.
They did a fake stumble into a pop pass.
I won't go that far and say that they're going to do that.
However it is very much on the table that they take their shots in this game and they
wear out the 49ers here.
It's in San Fran.
So that leaves a possibility of a home field advantage situation.
However San Fran isn't the frozen tundra.
So as far as home field advantage it's going to be a cool day in San Fran.
Cool day off the Bay.
Not a whole lot of home field advantage there.
I've got the Lions here winning comfortably so that's minus three and a half.
And the Commanders minus four against the Falcons.
The Battle of the quarterbacks.
I believe in Jane Daniels much more than I believe in Michael Pennings Jr.
I believe in what the Commanders are attempting to do a lot better than what the Falcons are
doing.
They feel like they're kind of skipping steps in a plan.
Trying to make sure they're hoping the plan still works.
You look at the angle at which a lot of the throws were for Pennings.
There was a lot of kind of to the sideline type stuff.
I'm sure the Commanders are going to be jumping everything early.
Especially that pass rush and get home.
So it will be a very interesting game.
But I've got the Commanders here minus four.
I think Jane Daniels is going to be the best player on the field.
But just to recap I have Bengals minus three and a half over the Broncos.
Bills minus ten over the Jets.
Vikings minus one and a half over the Packers.
Lions minus three and a half over the Niners.
Commanders minus four over the Falcons.
And up next we're going to shift to college football and talk about that 12 team playoff.
Welcome back into the show.
And now we're going to get into the college football playoff round one.
Now this was an interesting situation.
I was kind of torn and going back and forth how I wanted to even come at this topic.
But I just decided to go with the general, a lot of the narrative I've been saying.
A lot of the narrative I've been saying out there is oh my god the 12 team playoff is
so bad and look at these blowouts and so on and so forth.
Let's back it up.
In college football the gap between five and 12 is a lot bigger than the NFL between five
and 12.
Let's start off with that.
Secondly I don't mind the 12 team playoff.
I'm actually a huge fan of the 12 team playoff.
I felt like in certain scenarios an expanded playoff would have been good.
I'm thinking the year TCU ends up in the National Championship game against Georgia.
I think TCU might have got weeded out earlier.
I'm thinking LSU Alabama game of the century part two.
Where LSU Alabama are playing each other again in the National Championship game without
anybody else having a shot at it.
I think that would have been a good year for an expanded playoff.
LSU smashing Oklahoma smithereens in 2019.
I think that would have been a good year for expanded playoffs.
There's been scenarios where an expanded playoff is useful in this spot.
To me it's always been official.
It's always to me a matter of how it was going to get done.
I don't mind the 12 teams that are in.
I'm perfectly fine with that.
Because if you're going to tell me the SEC deserves to get in because one team has three
losses and the other has two, you better have damn good three losses.
When each one of your losses is getting smashed by Oklahoma and losing to Vanderbilt and then
the other one you got smashed by somebody else that was under ranked.
Like Ole Miss and Bama have horrible losses.
Two of the three losses Bama has is to Vanderbilt and getting thrashed by a five win Oklahoma
team.
It's not like the other loss game of Texas, Georgia and Tennessee.
The three playoff teams.
You're like okay well everybody else lost them too.
That's a better scenario.
But getting thrashed by Vandy and Oklahoma.
Shut your mouth.
So I'm perfectly okay with the 12 who are in.
The issue is how the 12 were seeded.
I think you need to put the 12 teams in.
So you have the five champions, the four power four champions and the group of five champion.
And then you have your seven and largest.
Once those 12 are put together I think you re-seed from there.
I dislike the buy rule.
Top four conference champions get a buy.
I dislike that rule.
Because you punish the better conference.
So like Arizona State and Boise State are buy teams because they're a conference champion
but they're not as good as Texas and Penn State who had to play first round games.
And Notre Dame had to play a first round game.
Those would have been the four teams in the buy.
The buy should have been Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas.
Those should have been the four teams with buys.
I think Penn State would have had to play a first round game.
Boise State would have hosted.
Arizona State would have hosted.
But those would have been the first round team with buys.
It makes no sense why you are rewarding weaker conferences.
That doesn't do any good.
So I'm fine with the 12 who are in.
I just dislike how the buys were handed out.
Because I think that if the first round battle is instead of SMU freezing in Happy Valley.
Oh that might not so happen.
Instead of Tennessee at Ohio State that game very well could have been Tennessee at Boise
State.
Okay now let's see.
That game could have very well been SMU at Arizona State.
You know I'm trying to think of what the other game was.
Notre Dame, who they thrash, Indiana.
That game could have been Indiana at Boise State.
Okay let's see what I'm saying.
So you may not have had the sticker price in the first round.
However it would have very much been an intriguing first round.
And then the winner of those games then you start running into your dogs.
Your sticker shot guys.
Your Penn State.
Your Notre Dames.
Your Ohio State's etc.
Because to me there's two teams that are going to get outclassed in the playoff.
That's Boise State and Arizona State.
They're just going to get outclassed in these games and there's not really much they can
do about it.
It's not the fact that Texas has Arizona State and a new Titan Peach Bowl.
Texas is going to roll.
Penn State draws Boise in their Fiesta Bowl.
Penn State should dominate them.
Ashton Gentry is good but he's by himself.
So it's like and then Ohio State and Oregon rematch that classic game is going to be in
the Rose Bowl.
Ironically a traditional Pac-12 team and a traditional Big Ten team are going to meet
in the Rose Bowl.
That's fun.
And then Notre Dame plays Georgia in the Sugar.
This game is very stereotypical Georgia draws as the SEC team draws the Sugar.
Usually versus an at large opponent.
Doesn't get much more at large than an independent in Notre Dame.
So these are going to be incredibly interesting games.
Texas even having to play two games is kind of rough.
Same way in my opinion with Notre Dame.
Because to me Notre Dame drawing Georgia when they probably should have had the bye and
then drew Boise.
It's a little bit different feel to the playoff.
So I'm fine with the 12.
The 12 is not the issue.
The issue is how the 12 are seeded.
What winning a weaker conference could give you.
And that's the part I don't like.
I think you need to clean up how and not necessarily what.
12-10 is fine.
Just clean up how the seeding is arranged.
But up next we're going to talk about best for last.
There's going to be a quick discussion on Hard Knocks.
Welcome back into the show.
Welcome to our best for last segment.
We're going to talk about hard knocks today.
DNFL in season hard knocks at that covering the AFC North.
If I was the Bengals or the Browns, specifically the Bengals, I would have fought to blow this
up.
I would have fought against this with everything I had.
Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh.
Oh my god, compared to Kevin Stefanski and Zach Taylor, specifically Zach Taylor.
Kevin Stefanski holds his own.
But against Zach Taylor, it's like my god.
Mike Tomlin is all business, all the time, leader of men.
It was his pre-practice, pre-meeting, like a little three minute hype speech and I was
like about to run through a wall.
John Harbaugh feels like the uncle that you know is right.
He delivers it kind of cornerly.
But you know he's a thousand percent right.
He's going to do what he wants to do.
Kevin Stefanski is the older brother who's really smart and left to go to college when
you were young.
Now he comes back with all this knowledge.
He knows what to do.
He just doesn't know how to necessarily apply it.
It just goes to the left.
But he knows exactly what he wants to happen.
And then Zach Taylor is the useless slug on the side of the wall.
I don't understand why Zach Taylor is in this.
I don't understand why he has a job.
He doesn't motivate you and he's not good at coaching.
He's not good at situational coaching.
I'm not sure how he has a job at this point.
But he does.
Whatever.
But it definitely shows even in a division like the North, the anti-North, that's so
interconnected and so intertwined.
So much of their history loops over this one and loops over that one.
It's just wild, right?
And so that is, you know, it's fun to watch it kind of unfold.
Especially because it's in season.
So you kind of get them adjusting week to week as far as a real game and not just preseason
or roster situations.
It is a real game scenario.
Especially because it's still going to be in division the entire show.
They're going to be playing somebody in the division.
So that's going to be fun.
It's going to be fun to continue to keep watching it and enjoying it with the rest of you.
But that is all I have for the day.
Whole lot of football talk.
Sorry about basketball guys, but a whole lot of football talk.
We'll talk a little basketball probably later in the week, especially after the NBA Slater
games on Christmas.
We'll talk a little basketball.
But shout out Paige and Juju.
I will mention that on a hell of a showdown between those two.
And USC took down UConn.
Hell of a showdown between two future pillars of the women's game.
But again, that is all I have for you guys today.
This is your host, Justin Jackson signing out.