69. NFL 2020 Divsional Playoffs, News, and Conference Chapio…
Wed, 1/20 6:22PM • 51:40
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
game, nfl, packers, point, play, bit, run, deshaun watson, james robinson, chiefs, player, offense, fumbles, alex, ball, sorenson, texans, conference championship game, higgins, matchup
SPEAKERS
Alex, Intro, Derek, Derek Dennington, Kevin
Intro 00:05
You’re listening to the good old boys fantasy football podcast. Now here’s your host, Kevin, Derek and Alex.
Derek 00:14
Alrighty, welcome in ladies and gentlemen to another episode of the good old boys fantasy football Podcast. I am Derek and I am joined by your co host, Kevin and Alex. Guys. How are we doing tonight?
Kevin 00:24
Doing good. We had a fun weekend of football. On to the conference, championship games. Aside from Patrick Mahomes gotten his bell rings a little bit like guys, we’ve made it to the to the conference championships, like I just said, through everything. There has been very minimal COVID activity throughout the playoffs, which is a good thing. The competition has been great. The matchups have been fun. And we’re getting close to crowning a Super Bowl champion like this is this is the best time of the football year.
Alex 00:55
I’m telling you when we were talking back in August, talking about this season, this upcoming season and how I think I said on this show, I would be shocked if we get through a season uninterrupted. And while it was uninterrupted as I’m using air quotes, the there was some schedule finessing that happened that that allowed all the games to get played. All the playoff games to go through it was I’m genuinely shocked that we are at this point. And I hats off to everybody involved at the NFL to make sure that we had something to watch on Sundays, Mondays sometimes Tuesdays and Wednesdays Thursdays. And as we got into the playoffs Saturday as well.
Derek 01:44
Very true. December we literally had, we didn’t go a day of the week without a football game. That was a lot of fun. So far January hasn’t disappointed either with a lot of these games, some very good divisional games this past week. Some others not so great, but overall some really good football being played. But before we get going into that, we did play a game this past week with the four player stack and that was one where we mix and match to the matchups and we each picked a quarterback running back wide receiver tight and so in that matchup I had the Chiefs and the Browns. Alex had the Packers and the Rams. And a guy that dubbed himself El champion had the Bills and the Ravens there and El champion went down, went down
Kevin 02:36
El champion got his teeth kicked. That was the most boring football game of the weekend. And I got saddled with that because I picked last and shuffled away from the Buccaneers Saints game and man was I regret in that one that was brutal.
Derek 02:53
I got you by 20 points in that one and Alex got you by a little bit more than that. Alex won the divisional playoff matchup between us all with his stack of Rogers, Akers, Davante Adams, and Robert Tonyan edged me out by two points. So hats to you tip of the hat to you there Alex with your you’re winning the divisional round, good job.
Alex 03:17
It’s really easy to win when you get to pick whichever matchup you want first, so that’s what I did. And when you do that, you better win. So I’m just happy to have followed through.
Derek 03:30
Congratulations there guys. We do have a great show for you. We’re gonna run through some of the divisional breakdown in the matchups there. We’re gonna get into some news, some injuries, some notes happening, a lot of stuff going on in the league right now. We’ve also got the fantasy award winners, you guys voted through the socials and those results are in then we’re going to look ahead at conference champion coming up. So guys, what were your what were your takeaways from this last weekend with the divisional matchups?
Kevin 03:57
My first one is the Cleveland Browns really screwed the pooch in the in the game against the Chiefs. Right? Patrick mahomes was knocked out. They had really every opportunity to truly get back and tie that game and possibly take a lead late and their defense let them down. A little bit suspect play calling they couldn’t quite connect and get the chains moved. They really let one slip through their fingertips. So that was you know very Cleveland Browns esque only we saw it in the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. And other than that the Packers are the real deal. I thought that the Rams would prevent or present a lot of challenges for for the Packers even with Jared Goff being rather limited because of his thumb and for the Packers being very middle of the pack and sometimes even terrible at stopping the run. Lately the last four or five weeks of the season when they’ve gone up against running backs. Who are hot and who we all think should have big games. They’ve done a really good job shutting them down. They shut Derrick Henry down. They got Cam Akers, who’s been really hot in the games that he hasn’t been injured in. And they did a pretty good job of containing him with no real afterthought that secondary is still very good. Jaire Alexander is is absolutely legit. He is a shutdown corner. But Tampa Bay is going to provide a different set of challenges for this Green Bay team. And that games probably the most compelling of the weekend coming up.
Alex 05:38
Yeah, I think what we saw in that Cleveland, Kansas City game was an experience coming to the forefront. It was inexperienced from the offense, it was an experience from the head coach, it was it was just inexperienced that unfortunately, those are lessons that you learn, and you had to learn them on. What was the biggest stage for your team at that point? So yeah, lately in the end, I think I think that’s what what we saw out of that Cleveland team, and maybe they’ll be better for it, maybe they’ll never get a chance to redeem themselves for it. That’s kind of the cruelness that is the NFL. I mean, we’re still waiting to see if Sean McVay and I know it wasn’t that long ago, still waiting to see if Sean McVay can redeem himself in a Super Bowl atmosphere for everything that he did, poorly and incorrectly, I guess, probably wrongly, in that Super Bowl against the Patriots. But the Packers, as you said, Kevin very real, that was just domination. They have to they have to feel really good, especially being at home in this conference championship game, which, for the first time they’ll be playing a conference championship game at home since but 1966 No, it’s not that long. But that’s very, like weird to think about that. They’ve been so good for so long. That’s just crazy. They haven’t been good enough in the regular season to host a conference championship game. But I think that’ll pay dividends. It’ll be cold. It’ll be Green Bay in January. And Tampa Bay is not going to be too fond of that. AFC side, I mean, the bills, kind of the cardiac kids, right, like they do what they can to, to hang on and and keep winning football games. It will be very interesting to see the health of Patrick Mahomes. If he plays, which I think we’re all in agreement that it’s going to take literally an act of God to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field. But this Buffalo team they’re kind of fun to watch that. They’re trending. They’re kind of that trendy pick I think and I think they might have, especially if Mahomes can’t go I think they’ve got enough to make it to the Super Bowl this year.
Derek 07:52
Yeah, that chiefs and Bill’s matchup should be a lot of fun. They’re the one that kind of kept standing out to me when I sent you a text about that when that game was happening. How much different is that game going through the second half? If if that penalty is called on on Sorenson, on that, that hit on Rashard Higgins right there, you know, near the goal line where he fumbles it out of the endzone and it’s called as a touchback, the Chiefs get the ball, when the Browns potentially having the ball on, you know, the two yard line going in, and potentially bringing that to a one score game going into halftime. That was one that that really kind of stuck out. And that one seemed to kind of be that turning point of that game where you thought the Browns were going to get back into it. They couldn’t really pull it off and then look into the second half. They just didn’t have enough, you know, enough gumption to to finish that that job off when they got close.
Alex 08:49
Do we want to have a discussion about that rule, the fumble going out of bounds in the end zone, how it becomes a touchback, where literally anywhere else on the field, the offense gets to retain the football. What do you guys think of that? I’ve been going back and forth with it. I’ve been going back and forth with it. Probably because I don’t really know how it would affect things. How do you how do you Where do you place the ball when an offensive team fumbles it out of the back of the end zone? You know, that would be the tricky part to it.
Kevin 09:19
Right. And that was going to be my very first question is, what’s it going out of the end zone? Where Where does the offense keep the ball? Like, right? Yeah, did they basically replay the down and lose whatever yardage they made? I mean, if they gained 45 yards, and that happens, they have to go back to the original line of scrimmage like what do they do?
Alex 09:43
They give it to where the guy lost possession. So if he’d lost it at the three, that’s where you spot the football,
Kevin 09:50
you can but then you run into issues where guys are almost intentionally doing that because it stops the clock. Right, right. Like you’re almost intentionally fumbling it out. abounds. And you need that time. So you just kind of look bla bla bla, and you just Oh, look at, you know, went out right at the front pylon and oh, it’s offensive ball right there, the three yard line or whatever, like, That’s tough. And I’m okay with the way the rule is right like it is such a bang, bang sport. And there’s so many things that favor the offense in the NFL. This is this is one of the true rules that favors the defense is if you guys can get them to fumble the ball out of the end zone. You know what your team gets the ball, kudos for your defensive effort and you flip possession like, and I think that’s why I’m okay with it, because it brings a little bit of balance. Everything else is geared on offense, offense, whether it’s penalties, or just game format, and how the clock is managed. And everything else like this is the one thing that the defense can do down at the end zone aside from getting an interception that truly can change the course of an entire game and flip momentum back and forth, depending on what side of the scoreboard you’re on. So I like the rule. You know what, don’t don’t dive, don’t dive, make sure the ball secured, if you’re going to dive you better make sure that you’re holding on to it, and that you’re not going to get touched before the ball crosses that plane. Because if you get nicked at the yard line or the half yard line, and it comes out that that’s ball security, everything else is geared towards the offense. So I’m cool with it.
Derek 11:34
I can I can subscribe to what you’re saying there and I can understand the point that you’re making. What what just doesn’t make sense to me is is that anywhere else on the field if that happens, right, say that he you know, move that move that playback five yards, say that he fumbles at the six and the ball goes out at the one will Cleveland gets the ball back at the six there. And they’re continuing on with the first day and things like that. Same thing to if you know, right now if the player fumbles the ball and it goes backwards, they get the ball where it goes out of bounds losing the yardage on that. So that’s the one that you all I’m asking there for, I guess there’s some consistency with that rule that anywhere else on the field, the ball gets spotted back to where the player lost possession when it was fumbled out of bounds. So that would be kind of the one thing that I would ask for is just some consistency there. And, you know, looking at it to the I don’t necessarily agree that everything should be would be reviewable. But if they’re going to go in, they’re going to review something in which that was a play under review, where they were checking, making sure that the ball really came out that kind of stuff, in review that that hit became very apparent that another rule was was broken there when a helmet to helmet and Sorenson lowering the the crown and leading with the helmet to to initiate contact there. At that point, if we’re going to review that, like make that a reviewable play, if you’re already reviewing it for something else, and you catch something else there, let’s just make the call, right.
Alex 13:01
So that’s where I think the NFL has the hypocrisy problem that a lot of people will call out, they have the concussion protocol, they have the player safety is our number one thing, but yet, we cannot review a play where a player has endangered not only himself but the other player, by the play that he’s made, we’re not going to be able to review that and penalize him for that. So that’s where I think the NFL, you know, to your point Derek, if you’re going to be able to review the play, you should be able to review all aspects of the play to get the call, right, because that’s ultimately what review is supposed to do is to get the call, right? And if you’re already reviewing it, why not make all aspects of the play reviewable, so that you can get the call? Correct. And the game can go on as if the referees who we know are not robots. They’re not perfect, but as close to as perfect as they can get. Why not let them have the ability to do that? I don’t I don’t understand that. From an NFL standpoint. I think it’ll be another thing. And I, I hope it’s not a thing like offensive P.I. being challenged. What was that two years ago, where they were like, Oh, yeah, you can definitely challenge OPI. But then they’re never ever going to overturn like they’re never ever going to call it the league office. Well, I hope that if they do something they actually follow through with it, because it is a player safety issue. And if the NFL wants to be player safety, you know in mind, why not be able to review every single aspect of the play, including the one where the guy lowers the crown of his helmet, which is a clear penalty to dislodge the football from from an opposing player.
Kevin 14:43
Well, and and correct me if I’m wrong, I’m, I’m trying to remember all the NFL rule books but once the player leaves his feet and dives forward, like then targeting is almost off the table as I understand the rules. If he’s upright, or sliding, or in the act of, you know, I guess a quote unquote, traditional football move, that’s where the targeting comes into play. But by leaving his feet and lunging forward, headfirst, you know, the the defender isn’t given carte blanche to do the same necessarily like that’s not, that’s not where I’m going. It’s more so, right. I know in that rule, there is a point where they won’t call targeting because of what the offensive player is, is doing that motion, where if he’s upright, or obviously, if he’s sliding, like a quarterback, something like that, then it’s more of an immediate flag. So I’ll have to look at that a little bit. To make sure I’m not completely speaking out of turn. But I do think it has something to do with the fact that Higgins was diving headfirst towards the end zone when the contact was made. And that is part of the reason they didn’t flag him for hitting in the head neck area.
Derek 16:05
It’s tough. And I can see where you’re talking about because, you know, with Higgins diving at that point it he lowers he lowers his head into kind of that, that hit plane and it makes it much tougher to try and officiate and trying to go through that. But there was there was no point in which Sorenson coming across the field, like he went full on spear mode into that thing. And that’s, that’s kind of the problem that I have with that is if you’re going to do that, right. Like this is one thing that I think college probably has right in there with their targeting rules. And, and some of that, if you’re going to, if you’re going to go after the player safety, you’re going to make that a priority. Like we’ve been told that that is the case. And we’re really looking after player safety. And we’re going to do all of these things. Well make targeting a reviewable type of call. Yeah, have it have it where it comes from the have it where they were some or an independent person can can radio down, hey, we’re gonna review this thing for that.
Kevin 17:03
So where do you guys want Sorenson to hit him? He’s flying across the field, he’s trying to stop the touchdown from happening.
Alex 17:10
So he’s already going down, you just have to touch him. Right?
Kevin 17:14
You just touch him, he falls into the endzone.
Alex 17:16
You just have to touch him. He’s already going down.
Kevin 17:18
He’s trying to stop the score. I tried to down the player at the 50 yard line. He’s trying to prevent the score.
Alex 17:25
Yes. And I get what you’re saying. And And, look, there are times where to go back to the excuse me to the college rule. There are times where I wish the rule wasn’t so cut and dry. Where it wasn’t led with the crown of the helmet made contact with head neck area, there are times where it’s like, oh, that’s a really, really rough call to be handed down. I think about the what was it the Ohio State Clemson game where Clemson player like, that’s a really tough call. But that’s the rule in the rule is there to honestly to help save these defenders heads and necks from getting hurt from delivering that blow. And I hate that that the call is so cut and dry. But the call is so cut and dry. You know what’s you know what’s going to happen because of what it is. The NFL needs to adopt something like that. Because you can’t you can’t say we do all this stuff for player safety and then let stuff like that slide. But that’s the overarching point. You can’t You can’t be a league about player safety and say you’re about player safety. And then let’s stuff like that slide.
Derek 18:38
I don’t know that I have that big of an issue with it because it’s a bang, bang play and it that’s one of those that if you’re the official and anybody that’s ever officiated or umpire to a game, you don’t catch everything, right? I’ve been in those shoes, and I’ve had to had to deal with that before where you’re gonna miss stuff and you know that you’re gonna miss stuff and bangbang plays like that you, you want to err on the side of letting them play,
Kevin 19:01
Where I’m alright with it. At some point. These guys are professionals, they get paid to do this. At the end of the day, that was a business decision on both sides. Higgins made the business decision to go all out and try and get into the endzone. Sorenson made the same business decision on the opposite end, no matter what I’m going to try and dislodge the ball from Higgins. And I’m not saying that either one is fully correct or fully incorrect, but they were both just business decisions made by professional athletes. And that’s the result when you get right there on the goal line. Like I think it’s completely different when you get into some of the middle of the field stuff but right there, it’s it is so Bang, bang, I’m okay with it. I get like college needs to be so cut and dry to Alex’s point because these guys, these student athletes are not getting paid, right. They’re there for their education and, you know, and athletics is allowing them at times to gain the academia side of their experience collegiately. But once you start getting checks for six zeros plus, like, you guys, it’s a business decision. These guys know what they signed up for. And yes, you have to protect them from their selves slightly. And, and yes, we’re also getting down a rabbit hole. But at the end of the day, when the stakes are that high, you’re on the goal line, and both players make that same decision. You know, Higgins is just as much at risk for making that decision than Sorenson is we’re just blaming the defensive guy for trying to do his job to like, it can’t be just one guy’s fault. Both of them left their feet and led headfirst.
Alex 20:44
I do think to put a bow on this. I do think that the NFL competition committee will address this in the offseason, just like they addressed OPI, because it was such a big moment in such a big game sure wasn’t at the end of the game, but it was at the end of the half. And it ended up being the difference, you know, as it turned out, one of the difference makers in that game, so I do think that the NFL competition committee will address this, I’m not sure that we’re gonna like what they come up with. Or we’re gonna like the result intended by what they come up.
Kevin 21:18
Just like they come up with something with more clarity than then. So what I’m okay with that, if that’s what they decide. And the NFLPA and everybody, the Rules Committee gets together, and that’s what their decision is, and then provides more clarity, then we’re one step closer to all being on the same page. But as things are stated, now, we’re just we’re gonna have a little bit of inconsistency in what we think and how we saw it. And that’s okay. It’s part of what makes this fun.
Alex 21:46
Tell you what though, the NFL, really to your point that Kevin, the NFL is really happy that happened because people are talking about the NFL for the next five days. And it’s not just boring old game stuff.
Kevin 22:01
Yeah, they’d rather talk well, yeah, they’re, the more people are talking about this hit and the Mahomes hit specifically than they are about anything going on in the NBA, or anything going on in Major League Baseball or the NHL start up like that is so third, fourth fifth down the road, like they bury everything else to lead about a hit. One play in a fraction of a second is dominating the airwaves. And the NFL has to sit back and love it right. Like it’s all about them good, bad or indifferent. Like you know that Alex, you’re in the media industry. It’s the old adage, any, any publicity is good publicity. The NFL takes that to a tee.
Alex 22:43
Oh, yeah.
Kevin 22:44
Unless it’s domestic violence. They gladly welcome it all in that that is the one thing they don’t want to deal with. Outside of that, the NFL says Bring it on. We love the ratings,
Alex 22:54
and they’re very much not keep my name out of your mouth. They would much rather have you talk about them incessantly.
Derek 23:01
All righty, well, any other thoughts about the divisional matchups?
Alex 23:05
This all started with the should the fumble out of the back of the end zone be a touch back. But one way or another.
Kevin 23:14
My final thought comes from the New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers game it was I I was pulling for Drew Brees kind of thinking that this was going to be it we we said at the beginning of the year guys that we all thought that this was going to be Drew’s swan song. And that team overcame a lot this season to get to where they were and have an opportunity to play for a conference championship between the Michael Thomas injuries that Drew Brees injuries taysom Hill being out that game which surely had some sort of an impact, you know, kudos to Sean Payton in the saints. It was it was unfortunate I was hoping Drew Brees would go out on a little bit better note than that but there’s not too many people that get to go out on top. The list is very very few and quite frankly the best moment of that game for me came afterwards and we were talking about this right before the show was when Tom Brady and Drew Brees meta on the field after they were done in their locker rooms and got back in their street clothes and they shared shared some words for a minute and then TB 12 was was thrown a couple touchdown passes to Drew’s kids as kind of a Hey, here you are and and best of luck in your next adventure type thing. So I am not I am not a tom brady apologist by any means. As a Broncos fan, more times than not I cussed the guy more than I celebrate him. But that was a very class act move and that was very, very much two legends. Understanding what they’ve been able to do in this game for the last 15 to 18 years and how they will forever be remembered in NFL circles because of their class and their contribution to the game and the way that they approached their business day in and day out.
Derek 25:07
Alright guys, that’ll move us over to some news notes, injuries, lots of stuff going on. Deshaun Watson is currently not returning the Texans calls as it’s been reported. The 49ers have promoted their run game coordinator Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator DeMaco Ryan to defensive coordinator gets the promotion there. That being with Mike Lafleur and Robert Saleh leaving for the jets and Robert Saleh becoming the Jets next head coach. AJ Brown is having surgery on both his knees. Patrick mahomes in the concussion protocol, Michael Thomas is being reported that he’s likely to have offseason surgery. The Seahawks open the the offensive coordinator position after a Schottenheimer leaves. They apparently have interest in Adam gates, Doug Peterson and Anthony Lynn. The buxar designating defensive tackle Vita Vea for returned from IR this weekend. There’s reports out there that Brian Gable is not interested in the Eagles head coaching position. The Eagles are expected to interview Todd Bowles Urban Meyer has reached a deal with the Jaguars we already talked about Robert Saleh author Arthur Smith, is to become the Falcons next head coach the chargers are hiring Brandon Staley, the defensive coordinator from the Rams. And the lions are expected to hire Dan Campbell to be their new head coach. So guys, lots of news notes around the league going on. What are your thoughts
Kevin 26:38
Deshaun Watson sweepstakes? Like Where? Oh, where will deshaun Watson land because I think between reports from schefter and some, some sources within the Texans organization. Watson ain’t coming back to Houston. So it’s just a matter of the Texans finding the right deal to feel like they get fair compensation and move on from deshaun Watson, and I am praying, actively praying that the Broncos offer drew lock their ninth overall pick and a third next year or whatever it takes to bring deshaun Watson to Denver. I know Miami fans are hoping for the same thing they want to they want to flip Tua and a first round pick for deshaun. Watson. There’s rumors that the Jets are contemplating the same thing. So there’s going to be no shortage of takers for deshaun Watson. And it’s going to be interesting. And I personally can’t wait that Houston Texans organization has become the laughingstock of the NFL. Even more so it seemingly than when Bill O’Brien was the GM and head coach there. And that’s saying quite a lot because the Eagles are a dumpster fire in their own right and the Houston Texans are making the Eagles look absolutely pristine right now. So that’s what leads the way for me Vita Vea is going to add challenge to the to the Packers run game. So that’s going to be an interesting twist for the NFC conference championship game. And outside of that, we’ll see how these coaches pan out. Right they got to feel staff so I want to see how they draft what they think about guys bring in free agency how that team’s gonna mold. So the jury’s out on all these head coaches. But for me, deshaun Watson’s the Primo number one story.
Alex 28:36
So here’s the fun part about that. I’m looking up, you know, the, it would be a lot more fun if deshaun Watson hadn’t just signed a massive contract $156 million. It’s a 39 average $39 million average salary, which is gonna hit against your cap pretty hard for a lot of situations. It would be fun if he went to Jacksonville because they have a ton of cap space. They also have the number one overall pick. Does Urban Meyer want to develop a Trevor Lawrence or does he want to plug and play with deshaun Watson that I can see that being a potential landing spot I agree with you. I would take deshaun Watson over anybody that the Broncos currently have on the roster
Kevin 29:23
Drew Lock, Von Miller, and the ninth overall for Deshaun Watson and even trade.
Alex 29:29
That seems pretty fair to me because you’re offloading a fair amount of money with one Miller. The big thing too is that part of this contract is he has a no trade clause deshaun Watson has a no trade clause. So anywhere that he goes, he’s signing off on and that means that he’s got a big say and what he wants to do. Could be very, very interesting next couple of weeks to see where deshaun Watson goes. Maybe they mend the relationship. Maybe Heck, maybe even there’s a swap between Houston and Philadelphia. I mean, maybe change of scenery could could do some of those guys good because they’re on the books for about the same amount of money. You’re just really trading what you think there so who knows who knows what, what’s gonna happen, but I definitely do not think Deshaun Watson starts for Houston next year,
Derek 30:24
you could be right. And that’s actually very interesting because I was also seeing the things out there about him having a no trade clause in his contract. And so it’ll be very interesting to see if he wants out of Houston that bad. Does he does he enact that no trade clause, depending upon what the what the offers are out there and what what the destination is? So that could be interesting. Yeah, there’s a lot of potential landing spots there. And you brought up something interesting there as well, where you’re talking about Jacksonville with, with the deshaun Watson possible landing spot. I was one of the things I was thinking on earlier today, where Urban Meyer, the new head coach, they’ve got the number one overall pick, we’re all presuming that that’s going to be Trevor Lawrence. But the question becomes is, does Urban Meyer have the ability to develop a NFL caliber quarterback because we haven’t really seen that, from the quarterbacks that he had in college and that system that they ran, whether it was at Utah or Florida, or Ohio State was not really, you know, geared towards an NFL offense, it was more of a run first option type of type of offense. So it’ll be interesting to see how that might play out.
Kevin 31:36
Here’s an interesting one. And this is just throwing crap up against the wall to see what sticks. If you’re the Atlanta Falcons, you have an aging Julio Jones, who costs a lot of money. You have an ageing Matt Ryan, who costs a lot of money the Texans are that yes, they have will fuller cooks is is going to be a unrestricted free agent, I believe. After after next year. I think he has one more year at the Texans and then he’s gone. So there’s no guarantee there. But if Atlanta could find a way to pull that off, that would be epic. In my mind, if for whatever reason the Falcons pulled that off because you’re pairing a young Watson up with a young Calvin Ridley, he gets his DeAndre Hopkins type receiver back and is able to get a little bit closer to home, see his family a bit more. Have mom in the seats a little bit more often. I think that would be a very long shot in the dark, but it might provide the most amount of fireworks out of any situation. I can think of
Alex 32:46
back to your point about Urban Meyer college quarterbacks and while they haven’t all panned out the NFL, they were all very big NFL prospects. Just a quick rundown of some of them. He had, he had Alex Smith at Utah, JT Barrett. He had, he had Cardale Jones. He also had Chris leak, and Tim Tebow of Florida. Again, while they didn’t really pan out, all that well, in the NFL Braxton Miller, another guy who was an NFL player, right, and he switched
Kevin 33:22
over to a wide receiver played for Houston for a while,
Alex 33:24
did play for Houston. But he’s had he’s been able to develop these guys to at least be attractive to NFL teams, whether or not they’ve actually panned out in the NFL, this is a different story. Alex Smith is probably the best example of a guy who’s who was pro ready. But I think urban Urban’s always been really good, though, at putting his guys in the best position, right? Like, you did that with Chris leak, and Tim Tebow at Florida. You know, when leak was in there, it was a different offense. Then when Tebow was in there. When Alex Smith was running the show in Utah, it was a different offense, which is what got him that Florida job, you know, and then when he was when he was at Ohio State, you know, the offense was was catered to whoever was calling the game. So I don’t know. Derek, I get your point. Will he be willing to, you know, develop a quarterback such as Trevor Lawrence, which, again, I think we’re all in agreement that that’s who’s going to be taken number one overall? Or would you like to go to Jon Gruden route and say, screw it. I’m not taking a rookie quarterback ever. I’m only going to get guys who are proven in the league that have gone through the growing pains with another team. And I’m only here for three or four years, you know, I want to win. Now. I can do that a lot easier with deshaun Watson than I can with a Trevor Lawrence in three or four years.
Kevin 34:46
I think one one thing that Urban’s never had. Maybe you could argue Alex Smith is he’s never had such a talented thrower of the football. As Trevor Lawrence is
Alex 35:00
Now let’s not discount that left hand of Tim Tebow’s. Okay.
Kevin 35:09
And so I do think that’s what’s going to be a bit different. I think the fact that James Robinson emerged will help with that running game, I think urban will be able to do some creative things. I think that I think the Trevor Lawrence will be able to do some of the RPO type stuff very much like what Carson Wentz did when he first came into the league, to where he’s not going to be dynamic in the Lamar Jackson sense. But he can be dynamic, just enough because he can run. And he’s got a frame that can take a little bit of a beating. he’s not, he’s not on a frail, shallow frame. And he’s got a amazing arm. So that is something that I don’t know that Urban’s ever had, which could lend to at least different type of success. But there are a lot of unknowns. He’s the hot name. No one’s quite sure how he’s going to do that. Is it going to be kind of like Nick Saban? Or is he going to be able to kind of flip script and be able to turn that Jacksonville team around with a lot of young pieces on offense and and hopefully, build a stronger defense around them to allow Trevor Lawrence a little bit of those growing pains and still be competitive in a division that isn’t a cakewalk anymore guys, the Texans have found their guy in Tannahill the Colts have at the moment, Phillip rivers, but the offensive unit for the Colts in general is all very young and talented. So they got their work cut out for him. But I guess one thing he knows is he’s not going to be the worst team in that division. the Houston Texans are now the worst team in that division. So he’s trying to crawl up from third to second to first, not from fourth to third to second to first.
Derek 37:00
Alrighty guys. Well, let’s go ahead and move on over to some fantasy award winners. We talked about the nominations last week, we had the polls up on the socials and y’all voted on it. So let’s go ahead and hop over into the sleeper award. Your nominees were Justin Jefferson Antonio Gibson, Justin Herbert and James Robinson. The sleeper that y’all voted on was James Robinson closing that out with 46% of the vote. So sleeper the year James Robinson and by default was Rookie of the Year as well with the way that that was set up. So congratulations, James Robinson. The bust for 2020 your nominees were Zeke CMC, Michael Thomas and Alex’s favorite there Carson Wentz. The bust was Zeke with 33% of the vote. Just ahead of Michael Thomas and Carson Wentz. The the mid round
Kevin 38:01
blows my mind,
Alex 38:02
it was a pretty big bust.
Kevin 38:05
All these guys did in their own in their own ways, but it blew my mind Zeke Zeke’s the only one who played every game.
Alex 38:13
I think that’s why he got punished was because he played every game. Honestly, I think that’s why and it’s not fair. It’s not right. But that’s why I think he got punished
Kevin 38:21
right and they’re all bust that’s why they made the list but good god the guy you take number one overall plays two and a half games and he’s not your biggest bust. He was the first overall pick. And he only he got the least amount of votes. I think
Alex 38:35
people take pity on people who get hurt versus people who just underperform.
Kevin 38:41
It doesn’t matter whether you underperform or get hurt. It’s the value that
Alex 38:44
you got to say, Yeah, I did.
Kevin 38:46
Like whatever the people have spoken. I’m not going to challenge the the results of this. But I am going to critique it and say, I disagree.
Derek Dennington 38:59
The one that stood out to me was Michael Thomas. Not doing that because of the fact that he ended up playing quite a bit there. And granite while Zeke only edged him out by about 4% Zeke was a running back one on the year running back to 11. Michael Thomas finished at wide receiver 98. So and in most cases he was drafted one spot behind Zeke. So it was very interesting to see how the voting turned out on that one and what people remembered as far as the performances their mid round hero, your nominees were stefon Diggs, Josh Allen, Darren Waller, and Keenan Allen. And the winner is stefon Diggs in a landslide. 61% of the vote. Yeah, right.
Kevin 39:43
I’m good. All right. Yeah, the guy led the league. In receptions this year. He had a hell of a league in Buffalo after a lot of people, US included, were down on him. And if you were someone who kind of took the gamble on digs, it paid off in a big way. big way for you. So I have no issues with this being the mid round hero.
Derek 40:04
Mr. Consistency, your nominees were Travis Kelsey davante, Adams, Derrick Henry and Aaron Rodgers. And the winner with 52% of the vote was Travis Kelsey.
Kevin 40:18
I’m a little surprised by by how much Travis, Kelsey one, the result does not surprise me, more so than by the amount of which he won is what surprises me because all these guys were very, very consistent in their own rights. Adams was drafted in that same area that Kelsey was and was extremely close in total points. If it wasn’t for a couple games that the Packers were letting him baby, that hamstring injury along a little bit. It was right there. So again, I’m not I’m not complaining about the results of this. I’m just surprised by how much Kelsey won by.
Derek 41:01
So guys, that’ll move us over to the waiver wire winner. And your nominees were James Robinson, Robert tonyan, Mike Davis, and Justin Herbert. And really to nobody’s surprised James Robinson walked away with this almost 75% of the vote. And to be honest, I was surprised that it was that he didn’t get more.
Kevin 41:25
Yeah. Yeah, I think the one thing that might have hindered that was he got banged up and faded just a little bit down the stretch. But you know, really all these guys did. Mike Davis faded down the stretch, Justin Herbert kind of got figured out he faded down the stretch tonyan down the stretch was not as dynamic as he was in the middle of the season. So that’s why we had them on the waiver wire. And they all popped for different reasons. But James Robinson definitely made the biggest impact throughout the season, that of a guy you picked up. So again, kudos to the fans, I believe that you voted correctly.
Derek 42:05
So guys, let’s go ahead and move on over to the conference championships. There’s some interesting games happening this weekend where you’ve got the Buccaneers and Green Bay playing. Right now the Green Bay is three and a half point favorites with over 151 and a half. What are your thoughts here,
Kevin 42:21
I’m going to take the over. But I’m going to take Green Bay to cover in this game, I do think that the fact that this game is is the kickoff is supposed to be in the 20s There’s the chance of some snow, I think a lot of the Tampa Bay players might have a bit of an adjustment period. The one player who won’t is Tom Brady. So that is always a big X factor that Tom Brady is just another day in the park. I mean, when you play 17 seasons in this type of weather, consistently with the amount of postseason games that he’s played and home field games, at that, this isn’t gonna be a shock for TB 12. But for the rest of the Buccaneers, it might be there, they’re not used to deep playoff runs, they’re not used to playing cold weather games, it is going to be something a bit different. If there’s snow on the ground, how that turf in Green Bay, that reacts to that snow is going to be something just a little bit different. And we’ll see how they adjust. I think Packers have learned from some of the mistakes that they made when they got blown out in Tampa Bay earlier this season. So a bit of a grudge match, if you will. But man, this this Packers team, it just looks really really good right now. And they just seem like the team who is best suited to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Alex 43:46
Yeah, so I will I will also go Packers Give me the Packers minus a three and a half. But I’m gonna take the under because of what you said, Kevin, it is going to be 20. That’s a 40% chance of snow as we record this Sunday. So I think that points will be at a premium, but I still think the Packers find a way to win by a touchdown. So I’ll take the Packers minus three and a half. But under of 51 and a half.
Derek 44:17
I hear you I don’t think that points are necessarily going to be as much of a premium as you might think. Typically, when you’re talking it’s a cold it has to be 20 degrees and below or a major wind factor coming into play in order for points to really start becoming the premium there. The low is projected to be around 22 degrees, but there’s very slight winds that are projected right now at about five maybe 10 miles an hour. I think that the under will get hit but I don’t think it’s going to be by much. I think you’d probably see a 24 to 20 type of game. Green Bay winning that so I’ll take the under with Green Bay covering but It’s an under by not much, guys, let’s go and move on over to the bills and the chiefs. chiefs are two and a half point favorite with a 50 and a half point over under
Kevin 45:11
the Packers buccaneers game? Well, I wouldn’t have guessed that, I would have told you that the chiefs, Bill’s game would have had a higher team total. I like the chiefs. And I like the over. I think that the bills, while their secondary is good and and built to protect against the past a little bit. They haven’t faced anybody. I mean, anybody even in the realm of Patrick mahomes, I fully expect him to clear concussion protocol tomorrow, and be ready for this game. This is kind of one of those hurdles that you see right where teams take that next step. And then there’s the next hurdle that they need to find a way to get over. The bills have some run in them and years to come with the way that they’ve constructed this team. But right now, the Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the NFL, and they will show everybody that this weekend.
Alex 46:05
I’m super torn. In this game. I am really torn mainly because of Patrick Mahomes. And while I know he’s probably going to play what version of Patrick Mahomes are we gonna get? Well, we get
Kevin 46:19
100 left handed no look pass behind his back for a touchdown.
Alex 46:23
I love Patrick mahomes are we gonna get I’m gonna call for the bills in this one to win outright. So give me the bills plus two and a half. And I think it will be the under as well. I think this one’s gonna be low scoring. Like I feel like this game has a similar game script to what we saw with KC and Cleveland and the bills played a really low scoring game against Baltimore. I think they’re comfortable in playing some of those low scoring games. So give me the bills and the under feels gross saying that.
Kevin 46:54
This this game? Yeah. I really feel like this games gonna touch 60 points. So I hate
Alex 47:00
and I hate taking the under Don’t get me wrong. Like I like rooting for points. I like rooting for points. It’s so much more fun than rooting against. You know, it’s it’s putting it on the on the on the pass bar instead of the don’t pass bar on the craps table. You know, I’m always on the pass bar. It’s so much more fun playing that way. But I just I can’t talk myself into it.
Kevin 47:22
Travis Kelsey is gonna go bananas. Absolutely. Bananas.
Alex 47:27
I hope so I drafted them.
Derek 47:28
I don’t think that you’re going to see the the bills slow down the Chiefs offense enough in this one. And I think you’re going to get into a little bit of a shootout type of matchup, I see the over getting hit there. You look back to Week Six, these two teams played it was in Buffalo, the Chiefs one that 26 to 17. I see the these two offenses come into play a little bit more. So the fact that this is in Kansas City this time, Arrowhead looked to be a bit of an advantage there. For the Chiefs this last time around it. The weather shouldn’t be that big of a factor. You might have some rain going but you’re talking, you know, about 40 degrees there. And not much wind I see Patrick mahomes playing I see the over getting hit and I see the Chiefs covering closer, probably five or six points more so than the two and a half points. I’m gonna say 40 to 32, 40 to 32
Kevin 48:27
70. They’re touching 70. Wow,
Derek 48:31
I think you’re gonna see him come out and and prove that that Browns game was more of a fluke than anything else.
Kevin 48:36
No, there’s there’s some truth to that. Right. I don’t think that Kansas City wants to put themselves in that position. Again, I think the defense realizes that. I also think that the bills can’t run the ball, the way that Cleveland can. And Kansas City’s secondary is they do a decent job in coverage. I mean, I know the Raiders kind of exposed some things earlier on in the season, with their one true loss of the year. But they kind of rectified everything after that. So yeah, there’s gonna be some points put up on the board. I could see this game, you know, 30 to 30 to 27 30, 30 to, you know, 24, something like that and just kind of clip by?
Derek 49:21
Well, it’ll be interesting to see how that one plays out. We’ve also got our player stack rolling on that guy as well. But guys, any final thoughts for the listeners,
Kevin 49:29
as we continue to approach the tail end of the NFL season and start looking forward to 2021 Alex alluded to this at the beginning of the show, I’m going to touch on it at the end, the underwear Olympics, the whole format has changed for this season. It’s going to be more like college pro days. So the numbers coming out for these players before the draft are going To be inflated, skewed and misleading, so be careful when when just diving in the numbers, right? Like I heard not as
Alex 50:08
much as you might think, though not as much as because the scouts will be there to verify. They will have scouts there to verify at these college pro days. So yes, the numbers will be a touch off. But I don’t think they’re going to be drastic.
Kevin 50:23
I’m thinking what Twitter blows up at right? I think the NFL teams will have kind of a realistic mindset. But I’m thinking what you see on the socials, right? Oh my gosh, this guy runs, you know, a four to 340 and can benchpress you know, 44 reps and has a shuttle time of 6.3 seconds and oh my gosh, temper, pay attention to film. Pay attention to what he did on the film, the guys who’s playing against and be mindful, we will be here to assist in that assessment along the way. But if you’re doing your own research, please make sure that you’re not just looking at numbers on paper, that you actually paid attention to these players collegiately to kind of get a feel for how that game can translate into a NFL locker room.
Derek 51:09
Well, guys, I do believe that that’s going to wrap up yet another episode of the good ol boys fantasy football podcast. Make sure you’re hitting us up on the socials instagram, twitter, facebook at @GoodOldBoysFF. You can find us on youtube with our YouTube channel, the little boys fantasy football podcast YouTube channel. For Kevin and Alex. I’m Derek Have a good one. Be safe.