Welcome back to One Winning Pod, where two brothers faced off if you weren't listening
to the broadcast.
Maybe you didn't know that.
But if you listen to the broadcast, you really, really do that.
And yet again, John Harbaugh wins being his brother for the third time on Monday Night
Football on the West Coast in L.A. at SoFi, a stadium that was used just the night before
the Eagles-Rams game.
Pretty wild to have two games in two days at the same stadium, something in the NFL.
I feel like it's pretty unique.
Probably only ever happens at MetLife as well.
But very cool to see the Ravens get that win, particularly after giving up 10 points early.
Yeah.
And you know, who was the team that played the night before?
Eagles.
So, you know, at first I was thinking about that, saying, man, we've got that travel disadvantage
and sure, they've got a one-day head start back to the East Coast, but they're also
going to have to deal with that travel lag.
But yeah, man, the Brother Bowl, the NFL likes to put it on Thanksgiving.
Back in 2011, the first time these guys met in the regular season, that was Thanksgiving
night then.
Kind of an uneventful game, but we had that Dennis Pitta touchdown that put the Ravens
over the edge here, and this one, it was Rashad Bateman who got the big touchdown that broke
open the lead.
It was great, man, to get the fun back after last week and the offense just, you know,
every yard they'd made, they gained was so hard earned and just all the turnovers, man,
it just wasn't the Ravens football that we've been enjoying watching this year, you know?
So it was a lot of fun to see that get back on track, even if it took them a couple drives
and some controversial decisions to get there, which we'll certainly break into at some
point later in the show.
Sure.
Yeah, man, initial reaction, just like, it feels good, 3-0, for the older brother to
win.
Peter, I know you can agree with me, it's always good to put your younger siblings in
their place.
So it was quite funny because my middle brother did ask me to watch the game with him that
night.
So, yeah, I just gave him a little bit of ribbing in there.
But he likes John too, so, you know, we both can pick on our youngest brother together.
But yeah, man, you know what's crazy?
I don't know if you guys have thought about this, but I just had this thought the other
day of like, everyone talks about how the Ravens and Steelers are like mirror images
of each other, right?
Very similar franchises, very similar in how they want to construct their teams and pillars
of stability and things like that.
And it feels like the last couple of years, there's just, I mean, nobody can really point
to it, right?
But for whatever reason, the Steelers just have our number.
We just play like absolute crap.
It seems like the Steelers just know how to play more physical, just know how to make
plays in these games.
And they've just come out ahead.
We watch that game together and it's just like, I feel like there was never really a
point in that game where you're like, yeah, the Ravens are in control.
The Steelers just always were.
And then I look at the Chargers team and I'm like, you got the same hardball, you got a
hardball on the other side, you've got a very similar, albeit not exact roster, but you
see all the number of ex-Ravens there, players and coaches, still strong offense built on
the run game, strong defense that was tackling really hard, playing really good.
And I mean, you kind of saw that even in the first quarter, these teams are very similar
to each other, right?
They're playing like this.
But in this game, I feel like, I mean, I'd love to hear from you guys, but for me, I
was a little down in the beginning, but it was also one of those, I just felt like the
Ravens were kind of in control of this game.
And clearly, even though the Chargers are being very physical on defense and everything,
they did enough to win that game, right?
And it just baffles me.
Everyone talks about how these teams are so similar in different ways and everything,
but for whatever reason, the Steelers, we can't figure it out, but the hardball, like
Jim Harbaugh, we can get it figured out.
Yeah, I don't know what to do with the Steelers.
I'm hoping that something changes when we play them at home later this month, or I guess,
in December.
And it's just weird.
It's a very strange sensation.
But kind of going to your point with playing the Chargers, kind of maybe talking about
the defense starting off there, the difficulty they had on the first drive set me off in
a bad way, right?
Never got the third down, they just walked right down the field, they scored seven points.
I'm like, are we really going to do this again?
Like, I'm already tired.
I don't want to be up for this late game.
Please do something to change my mind about this.
I'm getting old, you know, I'm just like, I don't want to see this.
And then it got a little bit better, and unfortunately, the last drive before the half, 24 seconds
ago, I'd go ahead and score another three points, and you're like, come on, man.
This is unacceptable.
And then the last drive kind of ticked me off a little bit, too.
I know the circumstances, we're four down football, and I understand how much harder
that is to stop.
I felt like we had them, and then we committed penalties, which is something we've seen before,
and I'm just like, man, I want to see that killer instinct.
So I left the overall impression of the game, and we'll talk about it, like there was good
things that the defense did, you know, or even got a game ball for that middle portion
of the game.
Even though Harbaugh acknowledged that he gave up ten points, and they gave him seven
at the end.
You know, if he ignored 17 points, he did a great job.
But I do think-
If you ignore the bad, it was great.
Exactly.
It's just the weirdest, it was like the weirdest little thing, but nevertheless, I understand
where it came from.
They were working on the fly to replace Roquan, and I think they were experimenting with that
all game long, right?
And I applaud them being able to figure it out as the game went on.
So the defense, it's still going through growing pains, but I can see a path that this is getting
better.
I can see how it might work out, but it's going to take time, and I feel like it's one
of those things where, you know, you look at 2012, and it was the offense that peaked.
The defense was always kind of middling, but the offense peaked.
If the offense stays, like, you know, quite good, and then the defense finds a way to
peak near the end of the season, that'll be a really huge recipe for success in the playoffs
and give you more optimism.
That's the good news.
It's like, legitimately, at this point, it's like 99% chance that we're going to make the
playoffs, 78% chance we're going to win the division, with the flip of us winning and
the Steelers losing this week.
So I'm optimistic that they can still, you know, build this plane in the air.
What you love to see is that there's improvements, right?
And you know, I've mentioned this before on the pod.
We've seen this before with Ravens units, you know, 2013 comes to mind, 2017 to a certain
extent.
You know, sometimes these defensive units have started the season out pretty poorly,
but you know, as the season has come along, personnel changes have happened.
I think whenever the weather gets colder and, you know, it gets deeper into the season and
players aren't 100%, you know, starting to get that wear and tear on the body that comes
in an NFL season, that just plays better for Ravens football, no matter what the defense
is, right?
Because the defense is always going to be physical.
It's always going to be hard hitting, even in years when it's not quite firing on all
cylinders for whatever reason.
So yeah, I mean, I think we're seeing improvements, but the reality of the matter is, you know,
at this stage of the season, I think we just have to understand what this team is, right?
It's a team that has, and I still cannot believe this because we're the Ravens, still
this deep into the season, the number one offense in the entire NFL for the year.
And you got a defense that has talented players, but is not locked down.
They're not.
And the Ravens just have to accept that.
And if they can develop into that, great.
But they, you know, I think that the strategy of this team has to be, you got to rely on
this offense.
You got to lean on this offense, be aggressive with this offense and figure out how to get
this offense working when you play a Pittsburgh or play, you know, we'll see how they do
against Philadelphia.
We'll talk about that.
Philadelphia has a very incredibly strong defensive unit this year because the offense,
let's be honest, is the best path to a championship this year.
We finally have an offense that's clicking on all cylinders every week with the exception
of that Pittsburgh game.
And I guess we can argue the Cleveland game, you know, they've shown up and they've
been a force for the opposing defense to, to try and stop.
And you know, you need defense, right?
Of course you need defense, but at a certain point, you just got to understand this unit
is what it is.
Let's talk about some of the good on this defense.
You know, first thing I want to say is just like, you know, we've seen it now two weeks
in a row, Hamilton and our Darius are starting safeties.
I feel like that's got to be part of the formula moving forward.
It's just like, Marcus has done a lot of good for us, but I think right now, like can't
be trusted.
I think back there.
It's probably kind of sucks to have Hamilton back in, in that role where he's not around
the football and, you know, making big splash plays and everything.
It really has made a difference.
You know, he's been playing really well in the back end.
Our Darius is pretty well, dude, I'm just really happy for our Darius, you know, obviously
like Hamilton, super talented, like physical freak, just like, you know, six, five and
moving around like that is absolutely insane.
I'm six, five and I have cannot move, you know, to the same extent that Hamilton can,
but our Darius, man, like, you know, he continues to impress.
I mean, we talked about him even early in the season where he got limited snaps.
I'm like, man, he's playing so physical, like even though he's a small guy, but, but, you
know, I feel like putting him in the starting role right now, like, I think you're really
starting to see that, like, he's playing really, really well in that role.
And you know, now second week in a row, like, I think the defense has been performing well.
And even for this game, Roquan was out, I feel like, you know, that has got to be part
of the formula moving forward, it's just to stick with those guys.
Most definitely.
I, I'm going to pose a question that Ken posed to me when I was on his defense show last
night, because I'm kind of curious your guys thoughts.
What percent chance do you think there is that Marcus Williams makes impact snaps for
this team that we're like, happy to see, like, they're, they're good snaps?
Yeah, you mean, you mean going forward, not snaps he's done this year?
Yeah.
Like, like, yeah, for the rest of the year.
Right.
And it's okay if it's because of injury, right.
But like, he actually goes in and you're like, oh, look, Marcus Williams, he's back.
Like, what percent chance do you put on that?
I can't even answer that question, man.
I can't even answer that question because I just don't know what's going on with him.
Right.
I just, you know, it, that's the thing.
And I think the only way he gets back on the field at this point, except for maybe some,
you know, some quarter packages, I mean, I don't know, you know, it's some, some defensive
packages that we haven't seen yet.
He's just, unfortunately this year, just not one of the best safeties we have.
Hamilton and Ardarius are, are those guys.
I mean, I guess what you're talking about is maybe, you know, if they want to get Hamilton
back in the nickel, then that would get Marcus back on the field.
But at this point, you're seeing improvement in the defense.
I just, I just think you got to stick with what they're doing unless a major injury happens,
which I don't really want to speculate on.
Sure.
Yeah.
I mean, for me, like, you know, under, under 50%, you know, yeah.
And the, with him and Eddie Jackson, I do, I do feel like, I don't know, obviously like
this is a little bit of speculation here and like, you know, I'm sure like other people
have talked about it and all that stuff, but like, you know, Marcus having the contract,
like, I think he's just going to have a longer leash than Jackson who, you know, just came
here this year.
So, you know, but it seems like to me like poor play and, you know, the, the benching
for the week of actually not even being active, like, I feel like that's got to be something
with something personal or, you know, behavioral related, something like that.
So like, you know, if you have those combinations of things, like, I mean, I feel like it's
going to be tough to get back from that.
Like one, you got to get your mental, you know, mental's in a good, in a good space.
But then too, like, you know, you got to fix, you know, you got to fix the practice, right?
You know, if, if, if the team doesn't trust you to be able to in practice, then like,
you know, what, what are you doing?
So, but yeah, under 50%, like, I, I just don't know.
I feel like he's going to be a cut candidate or something next year.
I don't know how the financials are going to work, but, you know, we'll see.
Yeah, I agree with all that.
That's definitely where, where my head's at.
I think the thing with Marcus Williams too, that's kind of frustrating, I think she said
so well with being the headspace that can't be right.
Like, we don't, we don't have a, you know, any Intel on this, but surely something's
up with just his confidence.
And I think confidence is a huge part of performing well in the NFL.
Everybody's so good at the sport clearly because that's how they got there.
But without confidence, I don't see him playing to the standard we need.
So I guess we'll see, hopefully no injuries, but they are so thin.
I can't think they, I don't think they can cut them this year.
They just don't have any depth.
I mean, like legitimately, like, you could go to Beau Braid, you're going to go to Stussy
Kane.
Like that's not happening.
I heard that May got released, so maybe they can go get him.
I don't know if he got anywhere.
Marcus May.
Well, I mean, so I will say this.
I think that, you know, if there's an injury, I think Marcus is, is the best option that
you have in a limited set.
You know, Chargers got him, sorry, Chargers got Marcus, but I mean, just, just because,
you know, he's, he's been there, he has a culture, sure it's a different system than,
you know, he was successful in, but I mean, I, as little as he's shown this year, I just
don't see how putting, you know, a late round rookie in there in high pressure situations
and in a playoff push would be a better move than putting a vet back there who at least
has the past experience, even if it's not showing this year, so, but again, hopefully
not something we need to get to, but yeah, I mean, in addition to the secondary, we had
some more replacements, you talked about it, hinted at it earlier, inside linebacker rotation
with Roquan Smith, unfortunately out, Christian Welsh got the start, didn't get many snaps
after that.
So a lot of Chris board and quite a lot of Malik Harrison, a career high in tackles from
Malik Harrison, this game, a quick trivia time, quick trivia time.
This was the most tackles Malik Harrison had in a game since what game?
National championship game.
I don't know, uh, 2020 versus the Colts.
He had 11 tackles.
No kidding.
All right.
I had to look that up.
I didn't know that off the top of my head.
That was just, I was just curious when he had 13 tackles, I was just like, that has
to be a career high.
Right.
And it is, it is.
But, uh, yeah, I mean, I think Chris, you alluded to it a little bit in our chat this
week.
A hard hitter, man.
Malik Harrison reminded us all that he is one hard hitter.
Um, I think certainly there's still some, you know, we don't love him in pass protection,
but he certainly made some plays in the run game and got blocked a couple of times, but
you know, it wasn't all bad.
I think there was definitely, you know, some spark he showed, which, you know, at this
stage in the year with the injuries, you know, it was promising.
Yeah, no, I, it was, it was definitely, you know, really great to see him.
Um, I can't remember if he got a game ball.
I assume he did.
Oh yeah.
But yeah, no, it was, it was, it was a great performance from him.
But uh, but yeah, kind of same thing of, you know, past coverage still a little bit shaky,
but I mean, honestly, you know, given the early parts of the game and then going to
Dobbins quite often, like, I think it just kind of made sense to have him get a lot of
snaps Simpsons, uh, snaps being a little bit lower, I think it was a little bit surprising
to me.
But then again, Harrison hasn't been here a while, so like, you know, I could guess
I could kind of see like, if you want to have him take like over the row role and then have
Simpson kind of continue to, uh, you know, uh, go through his role.
I guess that makes sense.
But, uh, but yeah, Chris board, like he's another guy that like played a little bit
of snaps, uh, last week as well.
And some of those passing, uh, downs as well, I, I feel like he's a, you know, one of those
guys have been pretty good.
Um, I know this is actually his second stint with the Ravens and even during his first
stint, like I felt like he kind of came in those similar packages and performed pretty
well.
So, um, you know, again, not going to be a starter or anything, but like, I feel like,
you know, from a fourth, you know, fourth linebacker or something like that, like it's
about as good as you could expect.
I was tremendously surprised to see Welsh out there as a starter.
Uh, and then it didn't take very long for them to move away from that.
Uh, he never saw any more snaps after the first half.
And I was very surprised though, that Simpson basically had a lower snap count than he had
in any of the games with Roquan.
Uh, very fascinating that that happened.
Um, I wasn't surprised that Harrison took so many snaps.
I thought that he might like be the, the mic, uh, and not, and, and kind of keep Simpson
in a similar role and not move him around.
But uh, for Bordeaux to get some snaps and in replacement, and I was just surprised.
I don't know if it's a data point to go forward with.
Um, I would assume not.
I think that will, they will revert back to Simpson, um, as the primary guy, uh, when
Roquan's back.
It sounds like he might, he will be for the, the game he already started practicing today,
which is a good sign.
But, um, yeah, it was definitely really interesting, but Harrison did have a career game.
I imagine it might be his best game of his, like legitimately of his career ever, like
going, even going forward, um, just because of the opportunity set and the way that he
played.
Um, and it was still cool to see him, uh, participating as a outside linebacker, which
he normally has done when we have a fully healthy inside linebacker in core.
So, uh, just showing a lot of versatility in those 72% of snaps and, um, yeah, definitely
I thought he played admirably.
Anything else you want to hit on the defense or move over to the offensive side of the
ball?
Oh man.
There's a couple of things for sure.
Like, uh, I guess like the big thing is, uh, today this white did play more as advertised
52% of snaps, but it wasn't fully at the expense of Stevens.
He was still in at 78% of snaps.
The Ravens are using a four corner dime now and they're using Stevens on the inside, um,
in that formation.
So it's interesting to see how that's been playing out.
Um, there's still kind of doing a down or a drive by drive substitution with Stevens
injured avias.
And I think that's reasonable given how both of them are playing at the moment.
Um, and I just want to like continue to say with, as we talk about the corners, I I'm
really in high on Nate Wiggins.
I thought he had one of his best games of his career so far.
He really flashed his speed as a weapon and his ball skills.
Um, I think that, uh, he's going to be a huge part and I'm, I'm still, I'm still trying
to towards thinking he should get a hundred percent of snaps.
I understand why that's not happening, but, um, I, I fully anticipate next year him being
a actual true starter at corner and not getting off the field.
Um, it's, it, I, I'm loving what I'm seeing so far.
Yeah, no, I mean, he had a little bit of struggles early in the season, but yeah, he continues
to improve as the year goes on, um, reminds me a little bit of Humphrey Humphrey's rookie
year, right?
You know, Humphrey had a little bit of a Rocky, uh, you know, first quarter, first third of
his rookie year, but then, uh, it was really solid going down, down the gate there.
And then obviously took off, uh, the next year there, um, it's looking like he's going
down that path, but yeah, Wiggins played great.
Um, yeah, I, I don't think white made as many impact plays as he did the previous week in
Pittsburgh, but I think overall he was pretty good in coverage.
Um, very surprising these first two games, how well he's played, given the fact that
he was, you know, essentially set to be released by the Rams before the Ravens, you know, jumped
in and made that trade.
So we'll see if it continues, um, you know, uh, good signs right now, but it's only two
games.
So, um, but with, with the struggles you've had in the secondary, you know, any, any positive
play is welcomed.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, I was going to say I agreed with Wiggins, Alec, I think it's a great point.
Um, I feel like his, uh, you know, still in some situations I think you can get some penalties,
but I do feel like he's kind of cleaned it up a little bit.
Um, just being physical without being like overly physical and, you know, getting called.
So, uh, yeah, I do like that.
Tredavious white love to see more snaps from him and yeah.
Uh, if, and when mullet gets healthy, like that'll help on the inside, kind of give you
a little bit more flexibility of like where to play Humphrey and all that.
But like right now, like, I feel like this is a, I feel like the secondary is kind of
in a good space right now.
Yeah, you could certainly do worse.
I'm liking what we're seeing with the safeties and the, and the corners and the way it's
starting to gel.
And it definitely feels like you were mentioned with mullet.
I too think there'll be a spot for mullet when he's healthy, but I do think that might
require an injury because unfortunately, like he can't, he can't play on the outside.
And I like that having that option with J D. Um, and I don't know, but I do think if
he's available, he would be an obvious fourth corner candidate, maybe over Stevens in some
packages, depending on like their personnel packages.
But I don't know, I, I hope that he comes, you know, is healthy and can contribute to
the team, but I wouldn't be shocked if he gets squeezed out somehow.
And I just don't know.
Um, I'm, I'm like legitimately just don't know which way they're going to go with it.
I'm curious because, um, yeah, there's, they're gonna have to sort of make some tough decisions
on that, um, just by numbers.
So, uh, yeah, I guess that's one last thing I'll say is we really benefited from JK Dobbins
getting hurt, unfortunate for him, but that offense really stopped moving once they didn't
have a good running back and foreshadowing we're playing the Eagles have a really good
running back this year.
So, uh, and I don't want to say say it won't get hurt.
That'd be sad for the NFL.
Um, so therefore like keep an eye on that when we talk about the defense, uh, that matchup,
the offense, they went for it on fourth down three times.
They converted three times because they converted it.
Everything's great.
Right?
Off to you, Peter.
Look, man, I thought that, look it, whether you liked it or not, I think it's undeniable
that that was the difference in the game, right?
If, if they don't convert that first one, um, you know, they're, they're still down
a field goal.
You got to punt the ball back with the way the defense was starting out.
You know, they were starting to get their groove, but you know, are they necessarily
going to hold the chargers and are you going to be down two scores going into the halftime?
You know, sure they would get the ball first, but you know, it's, it's hard to tell what
would have happened game script wise there.
What I will say, I think like what it certainly seems that our fan base is kind of split on
this.
And I did listen to a little bit of local, uh, sports talk radio, uh, cause I was kind
of curious what the reaction would be.
Um, and to their credit, to their credit, you know, everyone's, they stayed consistent.
They were like, they didn't like it.
A lot of everyone who's been critical of Harbaugh did not like it.
And I get it, you know, and I, I respect that if, if you don't, you know, we, we originally
it sounded like, you know, the whole takes on that were just like, you know, it always
came out when it didn't work.
Right.
So it seemed results based, you know, reaction, but you know, I, I can understand not liking
that call.
I mean, it was the first time that call had been done since 2012.
And that time when it was attempted that deep in your own territory was on a fake punt,
I believe.
Yeah.
That's what we saw.
Um, I, I don't have that stat in front of me right now, but that's what I remember
seeing.
Um, look, I think with all of this, it comes down to matchup, you know, and the Ravens
offensive line was winning all night against the Chargers front seven.
You try this against the Steelers last week at that territory, you know, it more than
likely would have failed, right.
But the Chargers, they have a, they have a good defense, but the Ravens offensive line
all night was able to do what they wanted to do past protection-wise run, protect blocking
in this matchup.
I think it was the right call now, again, is if this is a, you know, divisional round
against Pittsburgh or Kansas city.
I don't know if you call that.
I don't know if that's the right call.
But in that, with this game, you know, with the way the matchup set up, I think it was
the right call.
And that's not just because of the results.
What do you think, Chris, I mean, like I said, like I said earlier, when I was watching
the game, like, I mean, yeah, the first quarter, like wasn't the best, we were down a little
bit, but it didn't feel like it feels like we were performing well enough to be able
to, to, to really get going.
So to me, I think it was a gutsy call, but, but honestly, like, I feel like it was the
spark we needed.
And then once we hit that, like, it was, it was just a no brainer.
I think at that point, like, it became really clear that, you know, we were scoring touchdowns,
they were settling for field goals.
So, you know, to, to me, that's a winning recipe.
You know, you don't want to give, you know, you don't want to take away the opportunities
that you have to be able to score those touchdowns and then have, you know, them turn into more
field goals for them, obviously, you know, it's shifts, shifts the math, but it was a
little gutsy.
But then again, like, you know, I think some of the best plays that we've had are, have
been really gutsy calls.
I know we can't see it in the back with the Lamar fourth and twos over there.
Yeah.
So, you know, I'm fine with that.
So here, here's my journey with this, this call and we're going on a journey guys, get
your backpacks.
Yeah.
We're going on a journey.
It's going to be spirit at a spiritual level.
So we go on and uh, it's fourth and five at the 21 Baltimore 21 in the first quarter.
And we punt and the Ben Baldwin fourth down bought, said like, you know, medium go for
it.
And I was like, wow, four than five at your 21 it's like medium go for it.
Huh?
I guess the bot's still working all right on blue sky.
And then they get to the fourth and one and I think to myself, yeah, I go for it.
Like for sure.
Go for it.
And I was pissed off that they didn't do it right away.
You know, they wait for the two minute warning.
So then they go back on the field or here in the tweets and the chatter and I was like,
Ooh, they're finally doing it.
Like, let's go.
Let's, I'm, I'm excited and it works and that's always good too because uh, I just can't,
I just can't with people and you know, thanksgiving so close, people won't want to talk about
this.
He would be like, can you believe they, yes, I can believe it because the math is good.
The math is good.
And like, I want to see more offenses do this.
Like, do you also keep your retirement fund in your mattress?
Like the math is good to maybe invest in somewhere else, but God forbid you take a risk.
So I was super pleased that, uh, we went for it and I hope to see more of it.
I think it's also very transformative to know that you have fourth down available similar
to what I was talking about on that last drive.
They knew it was four down football that changes the way you approach third down and maybe
even second down mattering on the situation.
So I'm like, I want to see more of this.
And you know, the nerds have been talking about this for a long time.
Uh, Tomlin would never, you know, Tomlin Tomlin would love to punt that ball.
He went for it in his own territory or I mean, uh, against us and we stopped him.
Oh, that's good.
I mean, good for him for embracing it, but he, he's like one of the most cowardly on
the, in every, every, apparently every single coach is cowardly, uh, from, from the math
perspective.
Because like I said, for apparently on fourth and five, you maybe should be considering
going for it.
Uh, let's, let's make this clear.
Let's make this clear first.
Okay.
I, I do not advocate the Ravens going for it on fourth and five on their own 21.
I advocated for them going for it on fourth and inches when their offensive line was pushing
back the charges defensive players, two yards, right when the ball was snapped all night.
That's what I was.
I'm not going to actively advocate for that, but I am, I am, uh, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm fourth
down curious for sure.
Definitely interested, but, uh, I thought it was, it was great.
I think going forward there, it made sense.
I was, I was super happy.
They went forward for on two when they were up by seven to try and make it a two score
game like that.
It didn't work out, but it was, I think it was a fine play call to everything about that
was fine.
Just didn't end up working.
That would have been awesome.
I mean, that'd have been super cool because then, um, you know, another, another dub for
the analytics cap, but unfortunately because of the result of based world we live in, we'll
have to wait to see for the next time that actually works, but, uh, I, I, I think, um,
I'm really happy to see them pushing, uh, the envelope with such a highly efficient
offense when you have Derrick Henry and you have Lamar Jackson, you should be taking more
gambles cause they're going to pay off more often than not.
Um, a lot of these, all these models are built off average NFL team and, and we are historically
good offense and we could be even more historic if we push the envelope.
So I'm here for it.
Yeah.
One caveat I still want to make sure is clear here.
I think, like I said, I liked it in this game, but I could still see this happening where,
you know, this comes back to bite us if we do it at the wrong time with the wrong play,
you know, at a critical time in the playoffs.
So I just hope that the coaching staff continues to also, you know, look at the other factors
here as well when they're going for it with these decisions.
But you know, it worked in this one and, uh, gave us an, and just another highlight, real,
uh, deep throw there from Mar Jackson to Bateman, man, you know, Munkin was trying so hard to
get this connection going last year and it was close.
It was close at the end of last year.
Um, still wasn't there, but man, we're seeing a lot of this with, with, uh, this Lamar to
Bateman connection, man, and, uh, man, the, the play in this game was, was one of the
more exciting ones.
Yeah.
Good on them.
You know, it kind of reminds me, I like what you were just saying about like, you know,
the results on fourth down and kind of like go for more often than not, and the results
will, will kind of come.
I feel like, uh, you know, that's kind of like Bateman here and that like, um, you know,
he's got a lot of talent.
Yes.
Like there are some drops and like, yeah, there are a little bit of a concern, but like,
um, you know, I, I felt like they, they kept the faith and we're just waiting for that
one big play and they were rewarded for it.
Uh, in this case, it was a great catch, you know, obviously you had to try and battle
the corner's arm while he's trying to corral in the catch and, uh, you know, struggled
with that earlier.
I think there was one or two where, you know, he had the drop in those situations, but here
it was able to make it happen and it was a huge play for us.
So, um, yeah, I love to see it.
Um, you know, it feels like, you know, now that we've kind of, we've kind of figured
out where Bateman fits in this offense, he, he's not going to be that, you know, wide
receiver one, uh, guy is going to catch, you know, five, six balls a game, uh, every time
he's going to have some drops, but I think, uh, you know, he's going to be good for a
couple of, uh, big catches, either drive, uh, chain movers, or, you know, in this case,
uh, a big play to touch him.
Yeah.
I think it was cool that Mark Andrews does a sneak on a fourth down, um, and gets the
conversion there.
Then we see, um, Zay flip the field on that zone beater, and then you see the Bateman
catch that you, uh, allude to Peter, uh, 40 yard catch, uh, for a touchdown.
I was stunned to find out at the end of the night that I did not cash my parlay where
the only thing missing was seven more yards from Bateman.
I was like, really, he got 40 and one in the first or the second, you know, at the end
of the second half.
I was like, surely he's going to get, you know, 10 more yards.
Uh, well, you know, well, you know, who else, you know, didn't, didn't cash their parlay.
Was that, uh, that ref who initially, uh, you know, said no touchdown on that clear
touchdown catch by Mark Andrews, that's right.
That busted his parlay, you know, I guess he had the under or something truly.
So I, I was, I was astounded by that, but, uh, man, I called it at the end of the game.
A few people were also calling it, uh, with Bateman because, um, of his zone verse man
numbers.
Uh, and yeah, he, he had that performance Zay man, he's just so good.
Not only was he able to flip the field with that zone meter, but he also just like had
that nice toe tap down the sideline.
I mean, the guy just like, he's a number one receiver, man, like he's, he's a real deal.
He's good.
Um, can't believe we have one in Baltimore.
And then, and honestly, I feel like Bateman, man, he he's right in there in that like malaise
of like very high quality receivers, you know, uh, Jacoby Myers comes to mind as like a comp,
so to speak, where like, no, one's like going nuts.
Like, Oh my God, we have to get Jacoby Myers on our team, but he's such a good, like, he's
a really good contributor.
Like he performs, you know, uh, and I like, I like what I'm seeing out of Bateman.
Those guys are really, uh, holding it down.
And it's not that surprising when you look at it that, you know, Deontay Johnson's not
cracking into the lineup because these guys are holding it down and we're running with
two heavies every day in play, you know, uh, likely Ricard Kohler and Andrews, um, they're
out there every single boy, you know, no more Kohler for a bit, unfortunately, I know with
that broken arm, like, I guess Andrew's gonna have to play a little bit more rats.
I mean, I think, uh, I think we have enough heavies to make up for it, but, uh, I'll operate
him have speed recovery guy is a glass eater playing in a fourth quarter with a broken
arm, uh, run blocking with a broken arm.
Can you believe it?
I said, I will never understand that phrase.
Who came up with that?
Who in the world?
Like, you know, the, the, every time those phrases come out, there's some backstory,
like it's just not, it's not just made out of thin air.
All right.
I'm gonna look into it for you.
We'll get to that.
That'll be the random diatribe for the day.
All right.
Anyways, but yeah, I think one more thing with the offense, you got to talk about, I
mean, I don't know what else there is to talk about with Lamar.
Apparently, you know, they said on the broadcast, his, his Monday night numbers, you know, 22
touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero interceptions, um, just incredible, kind of the anti Flacco
in that sense.
You know, Flacco never played well on primetime games unless they were in the playoffs.
And here's Lamar just playing his best football on primetime.
Uh, incredible.
I don't really know what to say there that hasn't been said, man, he just continues
to do it.
Week in, week out, whether the guys around them are doing it or not.
Um, and, uh, Derek Henry got him back on track, 140 plus in this game.
Um, you know, we were looking at this Chargers unit and defensive unit and we were looking
at them and like, like I said, a lot of talented players, they've done well, their schedule
was a little suspect and Cincinnati was able to get some points up on them.
So, you know, we, we thought there might be a shot and, uh, yeah, Lamar and Henry were
able to do their thing.
Always great to see Henry with 20 plus carries too.
That is, uh, that's the recipe.
Yeah.
They kept going to him.
Always making it happen and, and no, no shock to me.
It makes sense.
Apparently it's from the circus.
A glass eater was a performance, uh, from the circus.
I should've guessed that man, swords there too, and just, you know, putting people in
the paths of tigers and you know, of course it was the freaking circus able to endure
pain.
That's, that's what it's all about.
Apparently.
Yeah.
Uh, do we want to do MVPs?
I think so.
Yeah.
Let's, let's do that.
All right.
I'll jump in then, uh, Mark Andrews, man, Mark Andrews, tough catches, tough catches
that, that hip.
Uh, the one he got on his hip, the setup that, uh, first Lamar touchdown, um, you know, it
was clearly a touchdown and his grab, but that was a great leaping one there.
He was able to secure the ball, not the easiest to grab, um, just continues to get healthier
and be a really consistent part of this offense when his numbers called and, uh, just be a
team guy.
Nice.
Yeah.
I'll give a, I'll, I'll give mine to say, uh, Alec, you mentioned that play earlier
though, like the 22 yard catch, uh, to be able to set up that score at the end of the,
the first half.
Um, I thought it was just a huge play really helped shift momentum momentum.
And while we did give up a field goal, uh, just a few seconds later after that, like
I do feel like going into halftime, the, they had the momentum that they needed.
For sure.
I'll give it to justice.
He got that 51 yard run, uh, was able to break away and not get caught from behind.
So that touchdown that, uh, sealed the game and, um, just continues to be a nice change
of pace back.
He had another, um, you know, six or seven yard run up the middle, uh, change of pace
that was, uh, effective and just, yeah, I mean, he's just a good player, man.
He's, he's a real deal.
And uh, I saw, I didn't even, it didn't occur to me, but we paid him more money than, uh,
either Dobbins or, uh, Gus got in free agency and it really kind of shows, um, we think
of justice.
So frankly, and, and I think he's performing, it makes sense, but it is a little bit of
a interesting piece of context.
All right, let's talk about Philadelphia and to talk about it, we've got Phil to join the
show.
They'll welcome to the show.
Hey guys.
How are you guys doing?
Too bad, man.
Not too bad.
Um, it's crazy.
We had you on back in, uh, 2020 for that game and man, this is a very different Eagles team
that we're looking at over here just, just four years later.
Yeah.
It's crazy.
Yeah.
Time flies.
Jalen Hurts was, uh, very raw.
It's a little bit different now, so yeah.
Well yeah, let's talk about it.
You guys are, uh, kind of ranked fifth right now in the league.
Uh, you got Hertz performing well.
Uh, the big addition of Saquon Barkley in the off season.
He's been an absolute, uh, MVP candidate for you guys.
And then a defense that you just keep adding players.
I just can't believe fall in the draft that you just, people fall in the draft and Philly's
like, yeah, we'll take them.
Right.
They're always willing to step up and just take them.
And we've got a draft nerd alert, like Cooper Dejean, uh, just fall right in your lap and
you're like, we'll take that guy.
Yeah.
I don't know, you know, this, the last two drafts, I'm like, what is the NFL doing?
To be honest, it's, um, you know, we got Jalen Carter kind of, but I mean, I get the, I get
the pro, I get the issues with Jalen Carter, you know, a year ago, I understand.
I mean, even a year before that, Jordan Davis, we got Jordan Davis too.
It was, there's been a couple of times in the draft where I don't know what the NFL
is doing.
Just get the best player off the board.
Uh, you know, and there's a lot of teams, this recent draft, they just went offense.
They probably should have got Quinion Mitchell.
He dropped all the way to 22.
Um, it's crazy.
And then the Cooper Dejean thing also was a surprise to me that just didn't even make
sense because he had a first, first round, like draft grade and most mock drafts.
Um, and I don't know, man, like it's, it was, the value was just there and a couple of teams
should have like picked them up in the first round.
They just didn't.
And when I saw that was like, dude, the secondary is finally fixed because it was really bad
last year.
Um, and we traded with the commanders, they're idiots.
I don't even know why they even, if Howard Roseman is calling you, like just blah, no,
no, thank you.
We get somethings up.
Like we don't want to trade with you.
Always scheming.
Yeah.
And he got, apparently he got, uh, from this draft, this latest draft, he's able to, he
won't compile.
We have a, I think at least 11 or 12 picks for this upcoming draft.
So he was trading Willie and dealing and he did a really good job.
Uh, you know, I can't complain.
Uh, it's the last draft was really, he did it, hit it, hit on almost every player.
Uh,
Man.
Yeah.
King Keon Mitchell and Cooper Dejean is just criminal.
Uh, good on you guys.
And then, and like you mentioned back to back years with again, those, uh, those Georgia
products, um, on your D line, I mean, just nuts, honestly, the, I mean, just things that
were like, how did this happen?
It's like, thank you, Howard.
Yeah.
There you go, man.
I mean, that's how the great franchises do it.
Right.
You build through the draft, um, you know, Ravens, Steelers, Patriots have been doing
that for a while.
And I mean, these past few years, the Eagles, man, I mean, that's how you guys turned it
around.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Last year was the biggest one was a secondary.
Um, it was really bad.
It was a bad safety play.
It was bad for, from injuries.
And then Bradbury, the corner bag just fell off a cliff.
And then we didn't really have depth that after that, other than Keely Ringo, but he
was raw.
He's also a Georgia product and we got him in the fourth round, but this year he actually
had the best camp in the best camp as far as cornerbacks goes.
Um, so, but he's still second stream play second stream player, cause we have so much
depth corner this year.
Um, so yeah, man, it was, we were getting killed.
Um, in the back end last year, that's one of the biggest reasons I would, I think that,
uh, we fall off a cliff because offense became very predictable and then the defense was
on the field too long and is really tee off in the middle of the field or wherever Bradbury
was.
So it was unfortunate, but yeah, I kind of want to say that basically the, the Eagles
secondary this year is what the Ravens secondary was last year and vice versa at high level.
It's kind of what it feels like.
Cause like you guys got Wiggins and draftees, uh, I put in the chat, but I really, really
like Wiggins as a player.
Um, I'm surprised he went 31, but again, that's how the draft went.
Uh, last time, um, he had like top three corners, I think in the draft, when young Mitchell
Wiggins and who the lion's gate was Arnold.
Yeah.
Arnold.
Yeah.
That was crazy that those three guys went like in the twenties or also like great organizations
too.
Yeah.
Shocking.
Right.
How's that work?
Are they good?
Remind me again.
Um, but yeah, dude, uh, I, I will say, you know, you got a lot of good things going there,
but that game you guys played against the Rams really beat you guys up.
Um, and it was really unfortunate to see Graham get that season ending injury, uh, to his
tricep, uh, Darius slay and concussion protocol, uh, father Smith missed that game with the
hamstring.
He's still not practicing.
Uh, and then sweat as well.
You're outside linebacker.
Um, he's not, it looked like it was just put it around rest and limited practice.
So maybe he'll be all right, but he got kind of banged up in the game.
So yeah, you guys got a lot going on, uh, with injuries as well.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, the Brandon Graham, uh, situation is unfortunate, you know, he was playing actually
really well and, um, quite, I think, uh, he just had a interview with like 94 seven or
in Philadelphia.
I think it's 94 seven, nine for one, um, very emotional, but I do think he actually wants
to come back.
Uh, even if, uh, after this season, just cool, uh, I'd love that to happen.
Um, I think Josh sweat is just, is just getting arrested.
I think he's just, it's just the older player, uh, uh, Darius lay, I think he's concussed
or had a concussion.
Um, I'm not too worried about that again, like I said, we're pretty deep in corner.
So we have Isaiah Rogers and Keely Ringo too.
So, and the Vontae Smith, I think they should have set the Vontae Smith about two weeks
ago.
Um, but you look like he hurt himself during the Jaguars game and he didn't look right.
The game after, uh, people are like, what's the wrong with the Vontae Smith.
He's not getting any cash.
He's like, yeah, he looks like kind of an old man out there.
He doesn't look right.
So, um, like they should have set him.
I personally think they should have done it because we have, we have decent depth of wide
receiver too.
So sit him, sit him, um, let him hang out, you know, um, it's not like what, how, what
the injuries we're dealing with in the week two and three of the season where like almost
everybody in the office was like out or like on IR.
So, um, you know, let him rest it close to a hundred percent.
Um,
well, if we're talking about the Eagles, um, yeah, I talk about Saquon.
Barkley, man, talk about a guy who is healthy, very healthy.
Um, just, I mean, against the Rams, very strong rush defense.
They hadn't allowed a 100 yard rusher since week two, James Connor.
And not only did Saquon break 100, he broke 200 career high for him.
If I'm not mistaken.
I think that's what they said on the broadcast.
Um, I mean, yeah, you've got to be thrilled to have, and we're obviously thrilled to have
Henry and Saquon has played one last game and has more rushing yards on him than on
the season.
Now.
I mean, it's, he's just been a revelation for you guys.
Yeah.
No, I mean the one, the biggest thing we're missing.
So in our Superbowl run in 2022, we had miles Sanders and miles Sanders could catch all
the backfield.
Um, and we were missing that with DeAndre Swift.
I'm not saying DeAndre Swift's a bad player.
Uh, he's not, he's very good, but he's not a threat out of the backfield.
And every time we would put Kenneth Gainwell in the game, it was obvious that he was going
to be probably like a catchable, like a catching option, or like there was going to be like
a screen, which was made it predictable.
Um, so once a car Barkley's just amazing.
I think, I think the giants for being morons and, um, uh, and it's, I just couldn't believe
that we got them.
There was like, there was actually like, there were rumors that the Eagles wanted Derek Henry
and Saquon Barkley.
They were like, Hey, let's get both of these guys because they have to have the money.
They still have a lot of cap space.
Um, they're glad they didn't do that, but that would have been the same.
There was a rumor.
It's like, Hey, we should get both of these guys.
I've been, I don't think that would have worked quite frankly.
I've been crazy.
No, it wouldn't have, but I'll think the second one we'll want to sign at that point.
Yeah.
Like they would, they would acknowledge it'd be cool, but they're like, come on, you know,
nonstop old Madden team, you got those two and Hertz back there, but yeah, so yeah, man,
it's, it's been awesome.
I mean, it definitely helps that our office of wine is amazing.
Um, I know like a lot of people before this year were like, Oh, Kelsey, they lost Kelsey.
Well, man, I got, I kept telling people Jurgens who they replaced him with is a, he's really,
really good.
He's better than Kelsey.
Cause he's just a bigger, he's a bigger center that Kelsey was undersized.
So, um, they just have a crazy office of mine and the jets kind of did some stupid to the
Makai Becton go for free.
So we got Makai Becton for a million dollars.
Um, and, and, uh, the depth on our office of wine has been, it's been pretty good too.
When we, uh, didn't have them a lot of, for a while, we had Fred Johnson playing.
It was good.
We have Tyler Steen when Makai Becton was hurt, played well too.
So, um, it's been like a tandem.
It's, it's also, to be honest too, that, uh, generally hurts is a threat to run.
So it gives, it really puts a linebackers in like peril because they're like, okay,
if I key on Saquon, then generally hurts, we'll keep the ball and run.
Or if I key on Jalen hurts, then Saquon is going to run.
So it was like, you got to pick your poison.
And then if it's an RPO where it's going to be a pass, then again, it puts the linebackers,
especially in peril of the, especially in the middle of the field.
So it's, it's definitely like been, uh, it's a great marriage, um, for everyone involved
basically.
Um, so pretty, pretty happy with it.
Phil, one of the thing I wanted to ask you and you kind of brought it up that you got
excited.
Um, I, I, the athletic football should have talked about it today and I thought it made
so much sense.
I thought it was a really good analogy that running backs are an accelerant to an offense.
So if you already got the fire, right, your offense wasn't bad before, but you had this
guy in and now it's just bombs away similar to the Ravens, right?
You added Henry.
We already had a good offense, but now it's just like ridiculous, um, in a way it kind
of makes sense.
Like don't waste them, the giants, you know, like they just can't use them like that.
They'll never have that success cause they don't have the right infrastructure.
He's a great finishing piece.
Uh, and like you said, man, the offensive line is so good.
So, um, I imagine you guys didn't have this kind of season in mind when you signed a Saquon,
but like, was the fan base excited that you made that move and particularly, you know,
coming from the giants, when your division rivals, um, it seemed like people were excited
for it and like, and happy they made the addition.
Yeah.
I think to be honest, I think more people were happy with the two corners in the draft,
more so the Saquon.
Um, but I think a lot of people were still happy with that.
We got Saquon Barkley.
Uh, he's like a, you know, Pennsylvania kid.
Um, but I don't think people thought that it was going to be like this.
Like they're like, Oh yeah, Saquon, Saquon Barkley is really, really, really good.
Um, but didn't think it was going to be what we're seeing.
Um, so yeah, man, it's, it's been awesome, but I do think people were like, Oh, thank
God we got Quinion Mitchell and Cabrita Eugene kind of for free.
So I think a lot of people were more excited about that as far as Eagles fans go.
Nice.
Yeah, man, it's going to be super interesting going back to Saquon real quick.
Like, um, I really don't know what to expect for this game, man.
I mean, you look at the offenses on both teams and you're like, like you said, like mirror
images, as you were saying, Phil, like the threat of the run game and having Jalen back
there and just like, you know, having to, you know, put linebackers in peril.
I mean, yeah, we know, we know all of that too.
So I honestly have no idea what it's going to be like this game because, you know, a
while, like, you know, you guys, I think right now on paper, like, you know, I think the
defense you guys have got is like, it's definitely better.
You know, is it going to be like, are you going to have like both these teams like running
all over each other?
Or are you going to like, you know, say like, you know, Hey, they're both going to expect
the run.
And then we're just going to like air it out all game.
I really have no idea, but I just know like, it's going to be a great matchup because you
got two teams that, you know, really similar to each other, built in similar ways, similar
talent levels.
It's going to be good.
Like, I feel like we knew in the beginning of the season is probably going to be a good
game.
But now this up here, like, yeah, this is going to be really good.
Yeah, no, I'm, yeah, I'm really excited.
Yeah, I don't even know what to expect, to be honest.
I don't know.
Like you said, like both offenses are like mirror images of each other.
I think the one difference I would say is having AJ Brown on the Eagles.
I don't know if there's somebody analogous.
I mean, he has his eight flowers, but he's more of a, like a slot option.
That's not a discredit to him.
He's like all over the field, more, more or less, and being a slot sometimes take makes
it more advantageous because you don't have the sidelines as an extra defender.
So AJ Brown's like a big running back that can play where he's just, he's a freak.
But and they gave their, they gave the Rams a little bit of that last game where I, I,
when I looked at the box, I was like, hmm, AJ Brown had a hundred yards receiving and
didn't notice.
Yeah.
Because of how, how crazy Sachar Barkley was running.
So I think that'll be X factor, but for the Eagles and then also for the Eagles, the,
the defensive line, especially the tackles and how Jalen Carter plays because the last
few games has been like blowing up a lot of the other teams, offensive lines, and then
other, all the other players eat.
So but then on the other side, you guys have Van Noy, he's a bad boy.
So somebody we got to stop.
And then if Walker Smith plays, then it's definitely another person we got to definitely
work for too.
So.
Yeah.
Van Noy has been having a great year for the Ravens.
Adolfo always really coming along to been a little inconsistent, but he's had a lot
of great games rushing to pass here.
You know, I mean, your offensive line did a great job against the Rams.
I mean, I was watching that game, you know, in, you know, prep for this episode and I'm
trying to find the weak point on your guys' offensive line.
And it's not easy from your perspective.
I mean, where is an area of the Ravens might be able to, to exploit along that line?
If there is one, please say there's one.
I don't, I, you know, the only time I've seen when there's weaknesses is when Kelemore
gets cute and tries to do trick plays and stupid stuff.
Like, what was it?
Two games ago when they tried to do this weird flea flicker and then Jenner's got slammed
in the ground.
It looked like he was concussed.
He stayed in the game.
I can't remember which game that was.
I think it was the game before the Rams.
The Washington game.
Yeah.
The Washington game.
We got slammed to the turf and it was like, oh, Jalen Hurst doesn't look right.
Yeah.
He looks concussed.
He looks like a customer.
Like the first half of the game.
He didn't look right.
Um, or sometimes we're in Kelemore, did the stupid shovel pass to Goddard against the
Rams in the, in the red zone.
Like, don't stop.
Don't do stuff like that.
We're like, we're not patching my homes.
Like just don't do that.
Like play Eagles football.
Um, I personally don't see a weakness, but I'm also an Eagles fan, so, you know, I'm
not objective.
Um,
I don't know, man, I don't know.
I mean, you guys are cooking.
You got this good defense.
I think to myself, when I'm looking at this matchup of my only hope, frankly, is like,
okay, I think the Rams are a good team too.
And like, I remember Philly struggling last year, which isn't a good thing to hold onto.
Like, it's not like this is a whole different season, a whole different amount of personnel
over here.
Like, well, they, they did falter, you know, they might be, they might forget them, but
I'm thinking to myself, man, this is going to be a close game.
It's going to be a tight game.
They're not going to have our defense in, you know, like you said, in peril, like they're
not going to know what to do.
Um, this is, this is going to be a hard nose football game, man, for both sides, frankly.
I mean, it, this is, if you want to say, you know, meet your maker, meet your match, you
know, look in the mirror.
This is the team in the NFL.
That's the closest look in the mirror.
And I am, uh, I'm very excited for it.
I think it's gonna be a really good game, but man, I have no clue how it's going to
play out.
I think it's going to, if I had to guess, I think defense is going to be maybe wiped
off, you know, like, and it doesn't really matter.
I think both teams are going to be able to score and it's going to be a little bit of
a race, you know, and it's going to come down to turnovers.
It's going to come down to those kinds of like game changing plays.
Uh, cause I could, I could definitely say just going back and forth.
I think this is going to be the hardest game for the Eagles, um, because the Steelers,
they're pretty good, but the offense, I think the Eagles match up better with the Steelers.
Um, they're just frauds, man.
You can just say it.
I just don't, I just really don't like the offense they're running.
It's just, it's, it's like feast or famine.
Sometimes you're like, Oh, it looks great.
You know, other times you're like, Ooh, uh, especially against the Browns and the Browns
always beat them.
It's so weird.
Um, but yeah, man, all we need to say, all we need to say about the Steelers offense
is that one of the worst secondaries in Baltimore Ravens history, uh, shut them out of the end
zone.
That's all we have to say about it.
That's the whole story.
That's true.
Like they always, they kick was it six field goals, six field goals.
Yep.
Yeah.
So like the worst good team of the last decade.
It's just ridiculous.
Yeah.
Well the defense is, there's really good.
It's really, their defense is really good.
Yeah.
Their defense is not a joke.
Yeah.
It's a real deal.
It's just like they don't, they don't score.
And I, as I checked, you have to score to win the game, but basically we're just enough,
you know, every single time just enough.
Yeah.
It's crazy.
It's nuts.
Yeah.
But, um, yeah.
Yeah.
Totally excited for this game, man.
It's going to be fun.
Uh, but yeah, like I said, I think it's going to be the hardest game on the schedule cause
it gets a lot easier for the Eagles after this.
So, um, the only harder game would be Pittsburgh, but then we have to play the commanders Dallas
and the giants.
So those, those divisional games, the record doesn't matter.
Yeah.
It's true.
Yeah.
So I guess, uh, let's say, do we have any other questions we asked him before a scoreable
predictions?
Man, Phil, I know you're, are you, I know you're, you're Maryland, but you're a Philly
fan.
Uh, I've never asked you this before, crab cakes or cheesesteak?
Crab cakes.
That's easy.
There we go.
And I'll agree on that.
That's easy.
Oh man.
The cheesesteak is like one of my favorite things.
I probably eat more cheesesteaks and I eat crabs before, uh, you know, cheese cheesesteaks
are an elite food, man, but I mean, crab cakes, crab cakes, even above that.
Yeah, exactly.
It's not even, it's not even close.
You can get a good cheesesteak.
It doesn't have to be in Philly to be honest.
You can get a good cheesesteak anywhere.
I know it's blasphemous to say people are Philly, but I don't care.
You get like a good, if you have a good chef, you're right.
You're good.
Nice. That's true. All right, man. Well, as our guests, do you want to lay out a score
and a bowl prediction first? I'll give you this. Apparently the Ravens are favored by
three points. You can also defer as the guests. You can defer. You don't have to go first.
I mean, cause, uh, you know, also as a Maryland, uh, you know, got a man from the DMV, I still
have love for the Ravens. I feel bad. It's like, uh, kind of like going against them.
But, uh, I just, I really think that the Eagles might eat, get out. Um, but I'm going to maybe
like 20, 28 to 27, something weird like that. Maybe a real close game. I make close to like,
like the, like the Bengals or Ravens game. Um, but I'm just not sure, man. Cause it's
just the, so it's, the teams are so similar. Um, that's, that's what I'll say. 28, 27.
Cause it's yeah. That's what I'm going to say. No. And you got a bold prediction, something
you think will happen? Oh, it's fine. We never hit ours. I don't think we had one bold prediction
hit this year. Maybe, maybe Quinion Mitchell gets his first pick. Nobody's throwing his
direction, so he might not even get it, but maybe he gets his first pick this time. This,
this game is zero. So, but he's been shutting down every wide receiver, uh, all the games
he's played is I think the most we are, she's gotten on. Somebody's gotten on. It was like
30 other than that, it's been two catches, 10 yards, one catch or the McLaurin zero,
uh, zero targets, zero yards. So hopefully he gets, I don't know. Hopefully for him,
he gets his first pick in the NFL when I'm still like blown away. We allowed this. So
the answer, Peter, is that I have one. Chris has one. You have none, but Chris man, his
full prediction was against the Cowboys at Henry would have a hundred all purpose yards.
That is funny that we said that in retrospect was like, okay, you know, and I guess assuming
the Cowboys didn't have the most porous run defense on the planet as we've come to find
out. So that's just kind of funny. And then mine, I got the Andrews and Bateman touchdown
against the Buccaneers, but man, you're right, dude, we've been struggling and it's not,
it's not necessarily our fault. I think we get close a lot of times. It just doesn't
quite happen. Like you had the Zeke career game, you were just off, you missed it by
like four yards and you missed it. Well, and then he, he broke the number I said the next
week. Yeah. And like multiple times in a row, he's been having like a hit up a good streak
there. So yeah, man, we're just, uh, sometimes we're just a little too soon. Little forward
thinking. So who wants to go next? I'll go with my bowl prediction next. I can do that.
So, you know, we're talking about how the Eagles defense has really been shutting down
wide receivers and, you know, they're also really good against the run, but you know,
what has that been leaving a lot of offenses doing against them? They've been thrown into
the running back slot, been thrown into the tight ends a lot. I think that in this game,
we're going to see a lot of, of Justice Hill. And I think we're going to get here a throwback
game from Mark Andrews and I'm going to put him, you know, for a hundred plus. I think
that that, you know, it reminds me, there was that playoff game back in 2011. So Todd
heap, you know, after his injuries started when Flacco was a rookie, he started getting
phased in and out of the offense. Um, sort of what like Andrews is doing right here,
you know, not as much, but Andrews doesn't have as big a role as he had in previous years,
but there was that, that playoff game against Kansas city. They just fed the ball to heap.
He had 10 catches for 108 yards out of nowhere. I think we might see the same thing here with
Mark Andrews. I think that could work really well for the Ravens. As far as this game goes,
I think what it's going to come down to, it might come down to the kickers. Both kickers
have struggled a bit this year. Um, you know, that's, that could be a factor that could
come into this game. But one thing that really does concern me is the Ravens have played
a couple of games this year against some strong defenses and the offense just hasn't been
it. Um, you know, Cleveland had started the spark too late, uh, against Pittsburgh, you
know, Lamar played well, but no one else did. Um, and I'm a little concerned here that
the Ravens going up against a strong defense plus a strong offense. They haven't faced
that this year. They haven't faced that this year. So I am going to pick the Eagles to
win 34 to 28 and I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong, but I am very concerned about
this game and hopefully the improvements we've seen in the secondary the past two weeks with
the change in personnel, um, are able to limit the, the Eagles, um, offensive bit.
I guess I can go. Uh, I feel very similar to you, Peter. Um, I'm, I would very easily
choose the Eagles to win this game. Um, in a world where I don't always pick the Ravens.
Um, but I think the, the rationale I'm going to have for picking the Ravens in this game
is that is a home game that granted it's just down 95, right? But I think that matters a
bit. And, and I think the reason it's going to matter is I remember what it was like when
we played, uh, since then, just a couple of weeks ago. And that was, that was a really
electric crowd. The crowd was really into it. I granted it was a night game and all
that good stuff, but I have a feeling that the crowd is, is going to come for this one
too. And if we even have a, a hint of Philadelphia fans and we know we will, right, we know they'll
travel. I think it's going to just like breed even more intensity. I think it's going to
be an electric atmosphere. So I think, I think we're all going to be fighting to show who's
like, you know, the bigger fans and like who can yell the loudest. So there's going to
be some home field action going on here. And I think it's going to be close. Like you said,
I think it's going to come down to three points. I think it's going to be a push. It's a three
point spread. I'm going to, I'm going to say it's a 31 to 28 Ravens, but it's going to
be, it's going to be tight and it easily could go the wrong way. I, I, I think unfortunately
the Ravens win by a little or they lose bad is kind of where I'm at. Um, I will say that
too. I mean, I am, I am, this is the, that could be the first time in a long time the
Ravens could lose by, you know, double digits. I think we got to go back to 2022. The, um,
that Thursday night game against Miami was the last time the Ravens played a game where
Lamar Jackson started and played the whole game and they lost by, you know, multiple
scores. And this is a game that could go that way. I'm not saying it will cause the Ravens
can win this game too, but there's a real chance here that the Eagles could win it big.
Yeah. And then for my, uh, bold prediction, I'm going to say 300 yards between Saquon
and, uh, and Henry sheesh. Yeah. Which is, which is a lot. Cause like apparently our
run defense is pretty good. It's one thing we've been able to do, but I think, uh, I
think we're going to just, both teams are going to try to bludgeon the ball.
Man. Oh man. I never thought I'd be in this position guys where, uh, I have to be the
one to be the, uh, the Homer here, but I feel like I'm obligated to now that we've, we've
had three, uh, you know, three people talk about how the Eagles are going to win or just
like being scared that they're going to win. So, um, I, I can't say that I have like any
good data behind this or anything, but I mean, I guess I'll just say that like the home record
has been pretty good. I mean, you know, you leave out the game against the Raiders. It
was an anomaly. It was really weird. Uh, we didn't really understand it. Uh, but the last
couple of home games have been pretty good. Ravens have played pretty well at home. Uh,
Peter, I do think you're right. Like they've struggled a little bit against some teams
that have good defenses, but then you could point to the Broncos and you know, they were
really good. Um, score 41 on that team. And then I look at the games against the Bengals
and like, you know, even though the defense wasn't really doing a good job, like alarm,
the office could keep up and they could score enough just to win. So, um, I don't feel like
this is going to be a blowout in it by any stretch. Um, but I am also looking at, again,
like I kind of think of it, I like to like home crowd. Like I do feel like there's something
there, like even against the bills earlier this season, like that was a game we thought
was going to be really close. And you know, they ended up doing a lot in that game too.
So not same circumstances, obviously it's much later in the season, but I feel like,
you know, I, I feel like the energy is good right now. Like I think that they can eat
it out. So I feel like I feel maybe a little bit too confident about it, but I'll say that
they'll, I'll say that they could do it. Um, I definitely think, don't think it's going
to be a blowout though. Um, I'm thinking, yeah, the Eagles maybe score somewhere in
like the twenties. So maybe we'll say like, maybe we'll say like 34, like 34, 34, 26 to
a 34, 26 Ravens. Um, and then bold prediction, uh, bold prediction, bold prediction. Oh man.
Um, Roquan comes back and, uh, gets a pick. He's the only linebacker I think with a pick
this year. One in like week two or something like that. So maybe he comes back and it makes
a big play for the, for the defense.
Nice. Jalen hurts one pick since the Eagles by that. That's a week, five, five. Yeah.
Thank God. And I looked it up, looked it up, you know, to, to combat the, the Doomer takes
we're bringing in here of saying there's the possibility for the big loss. Um, I was one
year, one year off, 2021 week. 10 was the Miami game though. 22 to 10. That's the most
recent game. The Ravens have had Lamar Jackson start and finish a game and lost by double
digits. Yeah, I believe it, man. He's like what they call good. So I'll keep you in games.
That's for sure, dude. He's good. Lamar versus Hertz. Henry versus Saquon. Yeah. Crab cakes
versus cheesesteaks. It's going to be great. I feel like, I feel like Marshall's, uh, sliders
are not Marshall Walker sliders are going to be like controversial, you know, cause
they're closer to cheesesteak than they are, uh, you know, anything we have to have a conversation
about this. Yeah. These are the important discussions that are gripping the nation.
Phil, man. So good to talk to you. Good. So good to see you. I think I missed you at the,
the last, uh, hang, but, uh, definitely, uh, hope to see you sometime soon. It's always
good talking to you. Hey, no worries, man. Hopefully I'll see you guys. See you soon
too, man. So I guess with that, we'll wrap up the show. You can follow us at blue sky
at one winning pod.com. Uh, you can follow us elsewhere and you can leave a comment on
the YouTube page. Uh, we leave it in. He's about a beautiful YouTube guys. Uh, the arrow
is pointing up. Look at us. So go Ravens. We'll talk to you next week.
you