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00:00Time to go around the National Football League, the news and
00:03notes and the biggest headlines that you need entering the
00:06division around or maybe for your favorite franchise
00:09entering the early portion of the offseason. DRS in a full
00:13week of practice when you play on Sunday, that practice week
00:17truly begins on Wednesday. So, availability reports, who is
00:21out there, how much work did they put in? Important for a
00:25Sunday matchup in certainly the marquee matchup of the division
00:29around Sunday evening in Western New York between the
00:32Bills and the Ravens. Zay Flowers injured late in the year
00:35for Baltimore, the top target for Lamar Jackson this year, who
00:39did not play during wild card weekend and the blowout victory
00:43over the Steelers did not practice yesterday on a
00:47Wednesday to get ready for the matchup in Orchard Park. Dr.
00:51Donnie, time to diagnose it. Will we see Zay Flowers this
00:55weekend? Don't think so. The way it turns out and also
00:58understand this playing in bone chilling cold temperatures
01:02on hard Astro turf. Come on now. That doesn't sound like
01:04that's gonna be very good for your knee and also understand
01:07this. I don't mind this and it's so crazy that I'm gonna
01:10talk about this and I've been saying it all week. A little
01:12bit like tongue in cheek but we don't need wide receivers for
01:15the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar will make past attempts happen.
01:17You got two good tight ends here. Throw a couple meaningless
01:19guys out there but stick to the ground game. That's what's
01:22gonna get you home and win you a championship if you do that.
01:25Even the jokes like, hey, just sit Rashad Bateman, sit Nelson
01:28Aguilar. Don't even have any wide outs and just run three
01:30tight end sets with three running backs and have at it
01:32out there. This technically is a big injury. But for me, the
01:36way I love to see the Ravens play football, Ben, it's not
01:39that big of a deal for me because Lamar Jackson is good
01:41enough by himself to win football games and handing the
01:44football off to Derrick Henry. They're good enough to win
01:46games. So for me, I don't actually mind it. Get the
01:49kick. You're going to trust me. You're going to need it. But
01:51right now, I love the groove we have with the Ravens. I don't
01:54think this is a big miss here if he's not available to play
01:57this weekend. They ran the football incredibly well
02:00against the Steelers nearly 300 yards on the ground. Huge day
02:04for Derrick Henry. They ran the ball incredibly well in the
02:08first matchup. Yes, way back in week four at the end of
02:11September against Buffalo where the king had nearly 200 yards
02:15and Lamar Jackson more than 50 on the ground as well. We can
02:19still expect that to be the staple of the offensive scheme
02:24on Sunday evening against Buffalo. The next headline
02:27might allow you to believe that, hey, with the injury to
02:30Zay Flowers, might they be adding some familiar faces in
02:34Deontay Johnson who goes back to the Ravens where he was
02:38earlier this season as they claim him off waivers. But
02:42that's not necessarily the case. Deontay Johnson cannot
02:46join the Ravens officially until February 10th, the day
02:50after Super Bowl Sunday. But Baltimore picks him up because
02:54depending on where he signs this offseason as an
02:58unrestricted free agent, they could get a compensatory pick
03:01which is always helpful to an organization. Yeah, Daniel
03:05Jones with the Minnesota Vikings had no intention of
03:07playing that guy but he just signed somewhere else where it
03:09goes into the formula. It makes some sense. Also, if you're not
03:11understanding what the Ravens are doing, just think about
03:13your fantasy football team. Late in the season, you're
03:16making a run to win your fantasy league. The other
03:19opposing team is short on wide receivers. So, you pick up
03:22Deontay Johnson to block them from getting an active wide
03:24receiver. Therefore, could be helping their team. I don't
03:27like Deontay Johnson all that much but he does have some
03:29talent and if somebody in a pinch needed an extra wide
03:32receiver that, oh yeah, understood the Baltimore Ravens
03:35offense and you brought him in and he told you all those
03:37secrets that you could use as well and what some of those
03:39calls might be, it could help you. It's a good move by the
03:41Ravens just blocking everybody else and also, they don't even
03:44like Deontay Johnson but how about this? Deontay, well, why
03:46would he show up or why would he agree to this? He's gonna
03:48get paid. He's on the roster. Every game that they play, he
03:52is going to get a paycheck. If they win the Super Bowl, he's
03:55gonna get a ring from the Ravens despite them hating him,
03:58him hating the Ravens, and him not even being around the team.
04:00How about that? I don't think Deontay Johnson can really hate
04:04anybody. When you've been on four teams in 10 months, you
04:07kinda have to suck it up and try to earn back some favor in
04:10the NFL but we shall see. Of course, Mike McCarthy and the
04:14Dallas Cowboys are no more and Micah Parsons who hosts his
04:19own podcast known as The Edge was talking about Dallas's
04:23decision to part ways with McCarthy earlier this week and
04:27said, quote, I'm obviously very sad because of the relationships
04:31we had with coach McCarthy and everything he's done for our
04:35program. Went on to further call it devastating. Tough blow
04:40for Micah Parsons and it did seem to be arrested somehow
04:43some way. Mike McCarthy did have the favor of his locker
04:47room despite not being able to reach a new deal with Jerry
04:50Jones. Yeah, and also, it's a Dallas Cowboys way like, hey,
04:53I got a head coach. Doesn't win anything. Love to have him
04:56around here but also, if you have a country club type
04:58atmosphere, employees don't like that. Imagine you work for
05:00a company that's losing money but you still get a paycheck
05:03and your boss is real friendly to you. He gets fired. The next
05:05time that comes, he goes, we're really changing this up. We're
05:08gonna work hard. Players slash employees don't actually like
05:10that. So, Micah Parsons is like, man, I had the perfect
05:13life. I'm about to ring the cash register here and have a
05:15country club type scenario down there. Now, I might get a coach
05:18in here who might be able to put us to the test and have
05:21extra OTAs and work us a little bit longer. Yeah, I wouldn't
05:23like that either. So, Micah Parsons, what about winning as
05:27opposed to being devastated that a bum head coach actually
05:30got fired from your bum team? I like that reaction, DRF. A lot
05:36to say right there. Mike McCarthy, a winning record
05:39during his eighteen seasons, nearly two decades as an NFL
05:43head coach and we know Micah Parsons is a talent. Next big
05:47offseason storyline beyond the coaching search in Big D.
05:51Having to pay Micah Parsons a very large sum for that
05:56contract extension, we would anticipate but knowing Jerry
06:00Jones, that's probably not going to happen until the ending
06:03portion of August. Speaking of that next head coach in
06:07Dallas, Donnie, the Cowboys intend to interview Robert
06:10Sala, former head coach of course of the New York Jets,
06:13former San Francisco 49ers, defensive coordinator, former
06:17Bills defensive coordinator, Leslie Frazier as well. Donnie,
06:21we've talked about Deion Sanders. We've talked about
06:24other potential head coaching candidates for the Cowboys.
06:27When all is said and done, probably not for at least
06:29another month after the Super Bowl so Jerry Jones can bring
06:33all the headlines to the star. Who do you think that next head
06:37coach of the Cowboys actually is? It's not going to be Leslie
06:41Frazier. I'll tell you that and I don't think it's going to be
06:43Robert Sala even though I do a good like Robert Sala is going
06:45to get another head coaching job in this league. He's well
06:47respected around the league, runs really good defenses here
06:49and got a raw job from the Jets so he is going to get a
06:52coaching job and maybe he does land in Dallas but usually for
06:55the Dallas Cowboys man, sometimes it's about sizzle
06:58like they love to bring in the superstar players. They don't
07:00really like the superstar coaches per se because Jerry
07:02wants to run the team but my goodness if it's Deion Sanders
07:06that comes to town now as let's just say a betting favorite at
07:09this point to sink his teeth in that Cowboys team that would
07:12just be fun for everybody because America's team not
07:15because you love them because there's a lot of hate out there
07:17which means I guess everybody in America has a vested interest
07:20in either rooting for or against the Dallas Cowboys. You
07:23throw Deion into that fire. He brings that bravado for the
07:26Cowboys. I'm into that. I would love to see that happen. So I'm
07:30going to put my money on Deion Sanders to the Dallas Cowboys
07:32because why not? We need it. We need that in our lives, Ben.
07:37Yeah, I doubt that happens because there are two very big
07:40egos and auras in the same room and I don't think either guy
07:44would like to step out of the spotlight. Not even Deion
07:47Sanders so much but Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones is often known as a
07:51loyalist. He's only had six head coaches in the last 28 years or
07:56so since Barry Switzer won the last Super Bowl championship for
08:01this Dallas team in 1995 despite a overwhelming lack of
08:07success in the NFL postseason. Donnie, that's not because I
08:11think he buys into his guys but because he doesn't want to be
08:15outshined in Dallas. So I think he will get a guy that is
08:20comfortable having a very involved owner. I think it
08:23might be somebody that knows the Cowboys organization well. I do
08:27honestly believe it probably ends up being Kellen Moore as
08:30Dallas head coach. Come on. Yeah, we can't have that, man.
08:34We can't have nice things in Philadelphia. Let's hope and
08:36Shane Steichen got fired in Indy so he could replace Kellen
08:39Moore and the vibes would still be very high but yes, we don't
08:42need Kellen Moore leaving so we can go with some other
08:44untrusted player. But look, again, leave the eagles alone,
08:47man. Don't leave it but I understand that. You want to
08:49hurt somebody. Yeah, Doug Peay will be perfect down in Dallas.
08:51Come on. Call the waters. Win nothing. You know, who cares?
08:54You just run away but I'm telling you, if you do get Deion
08:57down there on that sideline, that's a match made in heaven,
09:00man. That is a match made in heaven that we need. We're all
09:03eyes will be back on Dallas. Jerry will increase his bottom
09:06line, no doubt about it and away we go is now, you can
09:09officially put Dallas back on the Pantheon of one of the most
09:12hated teams because right now, they don't win anything and who
09:14cares about Mike McCarthy? Bring Deion in there. Let's go.
09:16Let's go. Let's talk about the Detroit Lions next. It's an
09:20interesting time for the one seeds around the NFL. They're
09:23about to embark on their playoff journeys and in the
09:27Motor City for the Lions, they are hoping to make history to
09:30be the first ever Lions team to play in a Super Bowl but their
09:36two coordinators are the hottest names on the job market
09:40right now around the National Football League coaching
09:43carousel. In the six head coaching vacancies, we expect
09:46two to be filled by defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and
09:50offensive coordinator Ben Johnson where exactly that
09:53remains to be seen but we've got coordinators Donnie
09:57getting ready for game plans, an important division around
10:00playoff matchups and a deep postseason run hopefully that
10:04ends in New Orleans playing for a Super Bowl but also
10:08interviewing last week for head coaching vacancies in their
10:12future around the NFL. We'll start defensively with the DC
10:17and Detroit Aaron Glenn. I don't know if that's truly
10:20accurate. Um I can just go off the top of my head with Bill
10:23Kyle, Mike Tomlin, Bill Belichick has won a ton of
10:26Super Bowls as a defensive coach and here's the one thing
10:31that I would say about myself. I'm a coach. I just happen to
10:36be on defense. I understand the offense just as well as a
10:39number of people. So, if you wanna hire me, you're gonna
10:42hire a coach. You're not gonna hire a defensive coach. I'm
10:45gonna talk to the offense just as much. I'm gonna talk to the
10:46defense. So, you didn't hear that question but it was about
10:51the idea that as of the recent trend, offensive coaches, those
10:55on that side of the football were the more successful ones
10:58DRS in terms of getting to the highest peak in the National
11:01Football League. That was Aaron Glenn's answer. What did you
11:04make of it? Yeah, he's he's right about one thing and I
11:08understand what he's trying to say because there are coaches
11:10that are defensive minded that run sort of a CEO type program.
11:13Bill Belichick did it for a long time in New England and
11:15very successful. You take a look at other coaches like a
11:18Mike Tomlin, CEO type guy like I'm talking to the offense,
11:20I'm talking to the defense. I'm going to both meetings and
11:23that makes sense but here's the issue that you have with that
11:25as a defensive coordinator, you are behind the eight ball
11:28because there are a lot of really solid defensive
11:31coordinators. There's not a really lot of really solid
11:33offensive coordinators and the reason being is if you hire the
11:36offensive guys, a head coach, he's not leaving your
11:39organization to be a head coach somewhere else. They don't do
11:41that. You're the head coach of that program. So, it's a lot
11:44easier to say, okay, I'll keep finding myself really good
11:46defensive coordinators. It's hard to actually have that guy
11:49which is why a guy like Ben Johnson worth his weight in
11:51gold. An offensive coordinator can pick any job he wants and
11:54if you're Detroit last year, you lucked out that he wanted
11:56to come back. He paid him a little bit more money but
11:58sooner than later, he's leaving but I understand like
12:00Aaron Glenn is probably going to be a really good head coach
12:02but he is behind the eight ball when you go in interviews
12:04versus guys like Liam Cohen who'd be like, look, if I come
12:07here and turn your offense around, I'm going to be here
12:09for 15 years whereas a good offensive coordinator comes in
12:12like a Canalis or even a Liam Cohen that we just talked about.
12:15You have one good season. You're out near the head coach
12:17the next year. If you're already the head coach, you're
12:19going to stay and implement that all the way through a
12:21year. So, I agree. He is probably going to be a head
12:23coach but he's right about what he's saying. Don't just look at
12:26me as a defensive coordinator like I know offense. I know how
12:28to be a head coach. I know how to command men. I can run an
12:31organization. Don't just pigeonhole me and say, I'm
12:33going to call the defense and hopefully we get an offensive
12:35guy in here but it's just the perception that turns into
12:38reality. Offense seems to be emerging, transformative.
12:42Defense is more stable. What do you want? The exciting or the
12:46consistent? I do believe Aaron Glenn is going to make a very
12:50good head coach around the NFL. When we think of the most
12:53successful head coaches currently, the younger wave,
12:56guys like Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O'Connell, Matt
13:00LaFleur. They're more on the offensive side of the football.
13:03Even the most successful head coach right now in the NFL in
13:06Andy Reid. He's an offensive mind who is paired very well
13:10with a defensive coordinator in Steve Spagnolo. Regardless
13:14though of what side you got your start in the NFL and where
13:18you are when you become a head coach, it's important to build
13:21a great staff all around you. I think every head coach and head
13:26coaching candidate understands that. So you mentioned Ben
13:29Johnson, the offensive coordinator in the Motor City.
13:32Here's Ben Johnson on getting ready for the playoffs but also
13:35with all of his head coaching interviews. I'm going to stay
13:38focused on the main thing right here and that's going to be the
13:40Washington Commanders right here now. That's what we're
13:43about. I told the head coach when we came in, he asked me
13:46about about how it went this weekend. It went great and
13:49that's the end of it. The focus right here now for the players,
13:53for the for the coaching staff, for everybody in this building
13:55is about this game this week. Now Donnie and I don't live in
13:59Detroit so maybe we're not paying attention to all the
14:02Lions press conferences that we see. I don't really know if
14:05I've heard Ben Johnson speak before and I understand that
14:08might be on me. Sounded pretty good up there DLS. Yeah and
14:12also now that you have the divisional rounds and into the
14:14NFL Championship rounds, all the coordinators get to speak
14:17on a national level, get to take calls from both the home
14:19audience per se and also the beat writers from the away
14:22city. So it is good to hear them but also understand this.
14:25This is very tough. You're talking about guys that are
14:27waiting around to get their dream jobs but still have to
14:30balance. Yes, I'm still here in Detroit and of course they're
14:33going to spend a lot of time and understand the task at hand
14:35is to win a Super Bowl but put anybody else in any other life
14:38Ben at any walk of life where you work at this point, where
14:41you are at a job but interviewing at the same time
14:44for another job which would be your dream job. The effort that
14:48you're putting in is probably going to be a little bit less
14:50just because your mind is going to be drifting off like boy.
14:53Well, if I get this head coaching job in Chicago, Caleb
14:55Williams, I want to break down tape on this guy but I can't
14:58because I got to get ready for the commanders. They're
15:00professionals. They'll get the job done but I always wonder
15:03why the NFL actually set this up. Like imagine any other
15:06business like the NBA or the NHL where your assistant coaches
15:09are interviewing while you're trying to win a championship.
15:12It's almost like you need a moratorium that yes, once we
15:14get to the playoffs, no interviews, nobody gets hired
15:17and they treat it like free agency where you can't actually
15:19pick up the phone and make those phone calls to try to
15:21sway a guy one way or another. It's a horrible system that the
15:24NFL does and it really penalizes very good coaches and
15:28very good organizations because they're trying to win a Super
15:30Bowl but having their key components worried about
15:33getting jobs elsewhere at the same time doesn't make sense.
15:37There were a lot of teams watching game 272 that regular
15:41season finale in Detroit rooting for the Lions invested
15:45in Detroit success to clinch the one seed. Why? Because it
15:49gave them a week to interview guys like Ben Johnson and Aaron
15:53Glenn that now cannot continue to interview until Detroit
15:57season comes to a close and the odds makers right now listing
16:01the Lions as the Super Bowl favorites and those in Detroit
16:05are hoping that's not until the middle of February. Here are
16:09the six head coaching vacancies around the National Football
16:13League. We had seven in full this offseason. The Patriots
16:16have all already tabbed their successor. Of course, that is
16:19Mike Vrabel also kind of the idiot nature of Jerry Jones. He
16:24waited a week to get rid of Mike McCarthy so he could not
16:27interview Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson until the end of
16:31Detroit season. We'll talk more about the openings in the
16:34future of the quarterback position in the NFL. Look at
16:38it. You put yours next. The very interesting thing about
16:42the two hottest names on the coaching market that we just
16:44heard from the two coordinators in Detroit, Ben Johnson on the
16:48offensive side, Aaron Glenn on the defensive side of the
16:52football. The Lions are the NFC championship favorites. The
16:56Lions are the Super Bowl favorites. If Detroit gets
16:58there, you would think DRS two of the best names that could
17:02become a potential head coach next season. We might have to
17:06wait a while until a couple of the vacancies around the NFL
17:10are filled. Again, here are the six head coaching vacancies
17:14currently in the National Football League. The Bears,
17:17Cowboys, Jags, Jets, Raiders, and Saints. Donnie, I'm going
17:21to ask you a tough question here. Which of these jobs gets
17:24filled first?
17:28For going all the way through. Oh, man. Yeah. Could we say
17:33maybe like I guess if it's from an NFL to NFL coach, right?
17:38You're going to have to wait. So, dare I say it would be the
17:41Cowboys and Deion Sanders because he's a college coach
17:45and I guess you can hire him at any time, right? So, how about
17:48that? I'll go Cowboys. Yeah. It's interesting, right?
17:52Because I mentioned Kellen Moore, maybe the favorite in my
17:55mind to be the Cowboys next head coach. That probably not
17:58going to happen for at least a week or so with where the
18:01Eagles outlook is currently in the NFC playoff picture. Could
18:04it be one of the other coordinators, Liam Cohen? Now,
18:08his bucks bounced from the postseason. Bobby Slowick, he
18:11would still have to wait until Houston's year comes to an end.
18:14There's a lot of names that are currently coordinators around
18:17the NFL that either just rounded out their playoff run and are
18:21now starting to interview or currently still coordinating
18:25teams that are playing in the postseason and you would think
18:28Donnie that guys like Ben Johnson who could be reportedly
18:32in the running for a couple of jobs, the Raiders, the Bears
18:35that even if he doesn't get one of those two jobs as the head
18:38man of that franchise, they're waiting to see how those final
18:42interviews play out with Ben Johnson before they might make
18:45another decision. A lot still remains of course in terms of
18:49those head coaching vacancies. A lot will remain this year in
18:53the quarterback draft class of 2025 would seem to be a
18:57plentiful class entering both the college football and NFL
19:01seasons. Now really has only dwindled to two guys that could
19:05be top ten or maybe even first round picks even with the
19:10addition of a very large name yesterday. Quinn, you was
19:14officially declaring for the 2025 NFL draft leaving Texas
19:19heading to the next level. Donnie when you saw this news
19:22yesterday, what was your reaction for you was heading to
19:25the national football? I wasn't shocked. I wasn't surprised and
19:29certainly didn't hit the airwaves like oh my goodness. I
19:31gotta go live on the air break in cuz I gotta talk about Quinn
19:33Ewers turning pro at this point, but for me as you heard
19:36me say, I think it's a mistake. I don't think it's a mistake
19:38that I don't think the kid can play good football, but it's
19:40all about being a professional and making money. You're gonna
19:43make more money and still be in college with a chance to
19:46actually improve your draft stock. Now, there are people
19:48out there saying that you can only hurt your draft stock if
19:50you leave Texas and go to Northwestern and make double
19:53the money that you're currently making now, but that money is
19:55always gonna be there as a pro and it's not as if he's a
19:58shooing Ben being a top ten pick like hey man remember Matt
20:01Liner was like let me go back to USC man. I like to go to
20:03dance class and party and drink beers. It's like well, dude
20:06you're gonna be a top ten pick if you come out right now,
20:08don't hurt your career and for a career long here probably
20:10was the best move for Matt Liner to go back to school and
20:12go back to USC should have just went to the pros, but for
20:15Quinn Ewers with how much money these college kids can make and
20:17for what we were hearing, which is actually there on the open
20:20market. I would went to another college team made that money
20:23then went pro because if it turns out you didn't want to go
20:25pro, he's probably would have banked ten plus million dollars
20:28just being a college quarterback and away you go
20:30into another career at that point. Yeah, completely agree
20:33to RS, especially if you are not a first round draft pick
20:36that has that guaranteed salary. We learned that Carson
20:40back making nearly 4 million dollars next season at Miami
20:44that 4 million dollar 1 year deal better than anything you
20:47can see as a day to even early second round draft pick if you
20:51are not selected in that first round this upcoming April in
20:55the 2025 NFL draft. I don't believe Quinn Ewers will be a
20:59first round pick. Maybe he has heard different in his draft
21:03discussions and in those NFL draft circles. He played 3
21:07years at his home state team in Texas did get his college
21:11start. Of course at Ohio State, but 36 games overall for UT
21:16led them to two consecutive college football playoff
21:19appearances, a big 12 championship in their final
21:22year in that league and SEC championship appearance in
21:26Texas's first year in the Southeastern Conference. DRS
21:30again. I still really think there's only two quarterbacks
21:33that are going to go at least in the top 10. Could there be a
21:36guy like a Ewers or maybe a Jalen Milrow to find his way
21:40late into the opening round potentially, but to me, it
21:43seems right now. It's Cam Ward and Shador Sanders as the two
21:47guys that might go one and two. The Titans hold the first
21:50overall pick the Browns have selection number two our number
21:54two up next live right here on the early line. We welcome you
21:58to our number two live right here on this Thursday morning
22:02on the early line all across the Spiz Grizz network. That is
22:05sports grid. That is Donnie right side. I am Ben Stevens.
22:09We are now just two days away from the start of the second
22:12round of the NFL postseason a wonderful weekend known as the
22:16divisional round of the NFL playoffs in this in our two and
22:21really throughout our final two hours is a divisional round
22:25primer. We will go back to all four of our matchups are two on
22:28Saturday are two on Sunday and give you an early look with the
22:33early lines here on the early line. The numbers that will
22:38dictate the outcome and if the odds will fall the game flow
22:42that we see throughout division around weekend DRS. It looks
22:46like it could we have been blowout Saturday, but super
22:50Sunday. Is that what we're setting up here? Is that what
22:52the odds makers are telling us as close to double digit
22:54favorites on Saturday, then we get a little bit closer in the
22:57Eagles game as it's under a touchdown and then we get the
22:59banger of the weekend, which is hovered between minus one and a
23:02half and minus ones depending on where you're shopping at
23:04between the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills. That's
23:07what I'm looking for. You know the one thing we do know you're
23:09going to get the best efforts out of all these teams
23:12compelling games all the way through and away you go because
23:15as I said it many times been we could get the best NFC AFC
23:21Championship Sunday that we've ever seen with absolute
23:25heavyweights throwing haymakers at each other left and right. I
23:29think we need to get that and I think we will very very
23:32likely in the NFC. It will be one versus two. I say very
23:36likely because the Lions are a nine and a half point favorite
23:40against the Commanders on Saturday night and even that
23:43game in Philadelphia to start off our doubleheader on Sunday
23:47is six and a half. Yes under a touchdown, but still a rather
23:51lofty spread for the second round of the NFL postseason. The
23:55Chiefs more than likely will host yet another AFC
23:58Championship game inside Arrowhead eight and a half
24:02point favorite to kick off the weekend. It's that final game
24:05on Sunday would be the two seed Buffalo or the three seed
24:10Baltimore and Donnie in this division around primer. We do
24:13things through the odds. We look at the numbers and what it
24:16is telling us about what we can expect this weekend in the NFL
24:21playoffs and stare at these numbers because if the odds
24:25track if the numbers are correct, even close to what we
24:29expect on Sunday night in Western New York again, I say
24:33look at these numbers. We are in for a great game a potential
24:39instant classic that we remember ever in the NFL
24:43postseason. The Ravens a one and a half point favorite less
24:47than 20 cents of difference on the money line minus 118 for
24:52money plus 100 for the bills. 51 and a half is that total. So
24:57again, if the odds makers are close, this game is expected to
25:01be decided by a point and feature about 50 plus points in
25:07the matchup. Donnie, do you believe for what we see in
25:10Western New York? The numbers will follow suit. I don't I
25:14they're going to follow suit in the game because I do expect it
25:17to be close and also understand this when you're just reading
25:19lines here. You gotta be kidding me, right? The Buffalo
25:22Bill is the number two overall seed coming in healthy into
25:24this football game and underdog in their own building. Now,
25:27we've seen division round matchups in the past few years
25:30where maybe the road team is favorite case in point to
25:32Philadelphia Eagles when they had Nick Foles, a quarterback.
25:34They were underdogs all the way through in the divisional round
25:37and also in the NFC championship game. So we have
25:40seen a precedent, but that precedent only comes forward
25:42because you lose a quarterback as an injury here. You didn't
25:45lose Josh Allen. He's healthy playing some of the best
25:47football of his career and they opened him as a favorite
25:49at minus one and a half and ship them to a plus one and a
25:52half. Now, if we take a look at the game itself, 630 start
25:55Buffalo, New York. What are the expectations? Cold 15 degrees
25:59at kickoff dipping to around 10 degrees by you get to the
26:02fourth quarter. It's not going to be windy and no
26:05precipitation or lake effects. No expected right now in the
26:07forecast. So it will be a crisp cold but clean slate in this
26:10game and the one thing that we look at is each one of these
26:13teams with their quarterbacks absolutely electric in the
26:16pocket can throw the football with the best of them can run
26:19the football with the best of them. Two running backs that
26:21are elite and say, wait a second. We know Derek Henry's
26:24elite. Well, then you haven't been watching the Buffalo Bills
26:26run the football this year with Mr. Cook in the backfield
26:29having a sensational season Pro Bowl level. Absolutely leads
26:32the NFL at least was up there in rushing touchdowns. So I
26:36think this game is going to be one on the ground, which means
26:39yes, we could be in for points, Ben, but I don't envision the
26:42four plays 76 yards a minute and 22 type scoring drives.
26:47We're looking at moving the sticks to hard hitting defenses
26:50here getting after in cold weather conditions where style
26:53points aren't on the line. A trip to the AFC championship is
26:56on the line. So for me probably tends to stay for me. So you
26:59know what Donnie? Where do you sit today on a Thursday? I
27:01actually sit under the 51 and a half. Yeah, Donnie. I think
27:04that's the question, right? Because when you think Buffalo,
27:07New York at this time of year for a division around matchup in
27:12mid to late January, you're thinking cold. You're thinking
27:15bitter. You are thinking snowy. Now it might not be overly
27:19snowy, but it is going to be cold. A true temperature outside
27:23of nine degrees, not with a ton of wind come Sunday night, but
27:28you would probably expect it to feel a little bit colder than
27:31even nine in the air temp. And I'm not suggesting that
27:36defenders on either side for Baltimore or Buffalo are going
27:39to be making business decisions with a birth of the AFC
27:42championship on the line, but it's not going to be fun to
27:47tackle Derrick Henry or the elusive Lamar Jackson. It's not
27:51going to be fun to stand in front of the 65 Josh Allen or
27:55James Cook having a career year 17 rushing scores this season.
28:00So Donnie, it's really interesting from that
28:02perspective. Cold hard nose football game division around
28:07how would we ever even flirt with 50 points, but we have two
28:11elite scoring offenses and a Baltimore team that played in
28:15its 17 regular season games 13 overs. I hope we get close to
28:2251 and a half like you DRS. I would lean under, but I think
28:26that is probably the public's decision making right now. Cold
28:32football hard nose on the ground on Sunday evening, but
28:36two teams that we know can score with the best of them.
28:40Yes, they can and also understand this like I don't
28:42anticipate a track meet in the air, but these two quarterbacks
28:46can provide that like if we're not having a ton of windy
28:48conditions or let's just say snow that's coming down rain or
28:51sleet or anything like that. They can make plays down the
28:53field. They can extend plays and also they can run for 40
28:56yards themselves here. Two of the best scramblers in the
28:59business going head to head. I just love the matchup and where
29:02it sits and I'm glad the NFL places the final game of the
29:05division around weekend. It should be great to watch. You
29:07see the graphics up there 45 and a half rushing yards on one
29:10side 52 and a half on the other and you would be crazy to say
29:13like, you know what? I don't think they can get there as I
29:16always say there is no tomorrow and if you have quarterbacks
29:18that are mobile, they're going to run. You've already seen it
29:21so far. Lamar Jackson Jaden Daniels running double digit
29:25times. You know what's going to happen this weekend to Jalen
29:27Hertz will probably run a double digit times because if
29:29you have an athletic mobile quarterback and he's helping
29:32the playoffs now is the time to use them and those two teams
29:36will an exciting matchup all the way through and you also
29:38see on that graphic passing touchdowns at one and a half.
29:40Why can't they both get that? Well, Donnie, they don't have a
29:42lot of watchers here. Lamar goes for two touchdowns every
29:45single week. Same thing can happen with Josh Allen. So you
29:47have elite elite quarterback play in this game. That's going
29:51to be so much fun to handicap and watch it play out this
29:53weekend. Both through for multiple touchdowns last week
29:58in the opening round of the playoffs 272 for Josh Allen
30:01efficient 20 of 26 Lamar didn't have to do much against
30:05Pittsburgh and still was incredibly efficient as he has
30:09been this year 16 of 21 just five incompletions a buck 75
30:14and two touchdowns also carried it 15 times for 81 yards. I was
30:20not surprised the RS but you know Josh Allen escaping
30:24contained takes off especially in the games that matter most
30:28in the postseason, but there was a lot of times on short yardage
30:31plays. They just called Josh Allen's number on quarterback
30:34power. Again, those numbers for rushing yards. I think both
30:38quarterbacks work with if not go over. We'll continue our
30:42division around primer next live right here on this Thursday
30:45on the early line on sports grid. What was that? Does he not
30:51realize we're live? Uh oh. Uh oh. We lost Donnie right side.
30:58Sorry that threw me off who will hopefully be back here in
31:02just a matter of moments. I don't normally hear DRS do
31:07something like that. Is he there? Back? I'm back. What
31:10happened? Like where did I go? My my ear my ear. What did
31:13happen? Did you hear me talking? Yeah, we heard you talk about
31:17my mic. No, my mic was on. I was talking to Ben and I'm like
31:21Ben's not answering me. That's just disrespectful at this
31:23point now. So now I know why I couldn't hear anything. So now
31:25I can hear. Let's go. Oh. Alright. Well, glad to have you
31:30back but we came back and you started laughing to yourself
31:33and I was a little bit thrown off wondering what you could be
31:36chuckling at. Alright, DRS, we started in our division around
31:40primer on this Thursday just 2 days out from the second round
31:43of the NFL postseason with the final game on Sunday. Now to
31:47the first game of the weekend, the first of two on Saturday in
31:51in a familiar setting for both teams. Def taxes, the Houston
31:55Texans playing in an NFL playoff game with a start time
31:59of Saturday 430 PM Eastern time and for the Kansas City Chiefs,
32:03the two time reigning Super Bowl champs inside Arrowhead
32:07Stadium. Eight and a half point spread in favor of KC. Total
32:11stands at 41 and a hook. Again, we are tracking the numbers and
32:15what we expect that to mean for how the game actually looks in
32:20this division around matchup. Forty-one and a hook DRS is our
32:24lowest total of all four games throughout division around
32:28weekend. Wild card weekend, we saw five or six games stay
32:32under. The only game to the over was the first one in
32:36Houston. Do you like the odds makers believe scoring will be
32:40at a premium come Saturday afternoon in KC? I do. I really
32:45do think scoring will be at a premium here. You have two
32:47really good defensive teams, two really good coordinators,
32:49and also if you're looking at launch points from an offensive
32:53perspective for Kansas City, Tyree kills long gone there. So
32:56this is more of a team that's going to be let's get three
32:58plays and twelve yards and three plays and twelve yards
33:02and continue going down the field. The same thing as we
33:04take a look at the Houston Texans. We're going to want to
33:06use Joe Mixon and of course got Nico Collins, the most
33:08explosive player in the game, but we understand this getting
33:11healthy at the right time for Kansas City rested with a full
33:14week prep advantage to get ready for Houston. They'll be
33:17ready with Steve Spagnuolo. And also as we take a look at
33:20there's one game in a dome, which we are going to get to
33:22pretty enough to worry about any weather conditions
33:24whatsoever. You take a look at Kansas City kick off at 430 in
33:27the afternoon. Eastern here, 22 degrees here. That'll dip
33:31below into the teens by the time you get to the fourth
33:34quarter. Precipitation and forecast. There's none, which
33:36is great, but windy conditions and a little bit gusty here
33:39over 10 miles an hour gusting probably closer to 20 miles an
33:42hour that could play into it. I just look for a knockdown drag
33:46out battle, which we know with Kansas City. If you want to get
33:49into a shootout with them, they can engage you, but boy, they
33:52love nothing more than dragging this game all the way into the
33:54fourth quarter of a one possession game and then saying,
33:56oh, we have to score on this drive. Alright, let's go down
33:59and score on this drive, win this game and get out of here
34:01with a W and not covering a line of over, let's just say
34:04seven points here. So for me, I think it tracks again then as
34:08an under Kansas City this year, touchdown favorite or greater
34:12five games. They're perfect straight up outright as you
34:15would hope five and oh, they are oh and five. However,
34:19against the number, Donnie, let me ask you a quick follow-up
34:22question. If the Texans are to play spoiler and keep the
34:25Chiefs from playing in three consecutive Super Bowls and the
34:29first time keeping KC from an AFC championship game with
34:33Patrick Mahomes as the Chiefs starting quarterback, if the
34:36Texans are actually to win outright, he's the best pathway
34:40pathway for that Houston to keep this game under a total.
34:45100% and also you know what the pathway is here. What's where
34:48do we see in the Kansas City Chiefs struggle if they
34:50struggle at all? It's left tackle and it's right tackle.
34:53You got two dominant edge rushers coming to town and
34:55Willie Anderson and Daniel Hunter on both sides. If those
34:58guys win at the point of attack, they'll be in this
35:01football game. No doubt in my mind. So yes, if I'm looking at
35:04the way you have to play is it's not so much at getting
35:07into a shootout, which you don't want to engage Kansas
35:09City in that you want to actually keep the clock on your
35:12side and the pressure on Kansas City where they can't
35:14be as fundamental as they want to, which means late in the
35:17game. They have to leave. We can run the football mix and
35:19play action. If you can somehow get them been one dimensional
35:22and use those two defensive ends to your advantage. That's
35:25how you're going to beat the Kansas City Chiefs and you're
35:27right. I don't see a win 30 to 27 for Houston. You know where
35:31I see a win for Houston 21 to 17. How about that? Yeah, the
35:35defense was great for the Texans against the Chargers.
35:38They have been good all year long. Houston outright as an
35:43underdog with CJ Stroud, eight outright victories, 11 and
35:46seven against the spread since the start of last season in
35:502023. Lowest total is our first game of the weekend. 41 and a
35:54half in Kansas City. Highest total of the division around is
35:59very high. 55 and a half for our Saturday night cap in the
36:02Motor City Lions. Nine and a half point favorite against the
36:05Commanders. Look at that number. 55 and uh-huh. DRS
36:10regular season finale. Last time we saw Detroit in a
36:13football game in that huge matchup against Minnesota. 56
36:17and a half was the number. Our highest total in nearly five
36:21seasons in the NFL. It stayed well under. 31 to nine, a
36:26Detroit defensive performance that led a lot of people to
36:29believe, hey, the Lions might have something on that side of
36:32the football to truly make a Super Bowl run. Will we get
36:36close to 55 and a half points on Saturday night? I mean, all
36:41signs point to that as I just talked about the other games.
36:43You're worried about some maybe rainy, snowy, windy, freezing,
36:46cold conditions. You don't have that in the dome and you're
36:48going to have a rested and ready Detroit team ready to get
36:51after Washington. Keep in mind, Washington had the play last
36:54week was an impressive victory on the road. Young quarterback
36:56Jaden Daniels getting his first playoff win which came on the
36:59road. That's impressive. Completely different tasks
37:01going up against Detroit. Also, keep in mind, Bobby Wagner
37:04reinventing itself still is one of the best linebackers in
37:07football has not practiced this week due to a bum ankle. If
37:11he's hobbled in any way, shape, or form, watch out because that
37:14lightning backfield of Sonic and Knuckles for Detroit,
37:18they're going to exploit that. Something to keep an eye on but
37:2155 and a half points in a playoff game where you don't
37:24need style points. It's not midseason. Let's call up the
37:27dogs. You are going to be playing this right down to the
37:30wire and if you have a lead in the fourth quarter, I know Dan
37:32Campbell, I can get on his case here. I doubt he's going to say,
37:34you know what? We're having fun throwing the football. Keep
37:36doing it. They will take the air out of the football and run
37:39this out and also keep in mind, nobody's kicking field goals in
37:41this game. That's not the way these two ball clubs operate
37:44fourth and two, fourth and three in the red zone. Nobody's
37:46kicking. So, that gives you extra advantages to get to that
37:49fifty-five and a half by trading field goals for
37:51touchdowns. And that'll be critical for the total. If they
37:55convert those fourth down attempts, you're feeling good
37:58about points. If they get stifled, that's where the
38:01under comes through. More from the division around next. Our
38:05division around Primer. It's its fourth and final match up
38:08to preview our opening game of two on Sunday and one that
38:12Donnie Wrightside cannot wait for. The Philadelphia Eagles at
38:16home inside Lincoln Financial Field. Now, a six and a half
38:20point favorite against the LA Rams. You see that total of
38:23forty-four and a half which stands out to me DRS as we are
38:28tracking these numbers and telling you what we expect the
38:31actual game flow to look like. We saw two brilliant defensive
38:35performances out of these two clubs in their opening round
38:39playoff victories. The Rams held the Vikings to only nine.
38:42The Eagles dominant defensively holding the Packers to only
38:46ten. And yet, when this line opened up early on Tuesday, it
38:51was forty-three and a half. So, with the total working its way
38:54up, my question is why? Does Donnie Wrightside have an
38:58answer? Well, you're looking at two offenses that at times can
39:02be ultra explosive. You have two really good running backs
39:05in this game, two good signal callers, wide outs that can
39:07dominate, and defenses that can be opportunistic and force
39:10turnovers. So, it does make sense. Also understand this. The
39:13last game they played, fifty-seven total points with
39:16the Eagles racking up thirty-seven points in this game
39:18as Saquon Barkley went off on the ground and as a pass
39:21catcher. But also understand this as well. That I'm still
39:24looking towards more unders than overs this weekend. That
39:26includes this game with the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm not
39:28all that worried about the weather itself because there
39:30might be some snow in the air. It's typical Philadelphia
39:33weather in mid-January. Thirty-five, thirty-six
39:35degrees. Maybe some snow showers. Maybe a little snow.
39:38Winds aren't gonna be all that bad. I don't think it gives that
39:40much of an effect but it does help a home team in the Eagles
39:42that are used to playing in those elements as opposed to a
39:44dome team from the West Coast. But also understand this. The
39:47Eagles have the number one overall defense in the NFL.
39:50They'll come to play. The best secondary in football, they'll
39:52slow down that pass which maybe you have to lean on a little
39:55bit more of the run with Kyron Williams which isn't a bad
39:57thing. But understand what the Los Angeles Rams have been
39:59doing for the past month of the season. After that Eagles game
40:02it was thirty-seven to twenty that they had. Twenty to fourteen
40:05against the Saints. Won that game only gave up fourteen
40:07points. The anomaly is probably the Bills game. They shot it
40:10out forty-four forty-two but after that something really
40:13resonated with that defense and that front four pass rush that
40:16started to get home. Twelve to six against the 49ers. Nineteen
40:19to nine against the Jets. Thirteen to nine against the
40:22Cardinals. Sack their starters in that final game against the
40:24Seahawks and remove that from the equation and then going up
40:26against a very good Vikings team only giving up nine points
40:30in that game. This has been better one of the better
40:32scoring defenses in football over the past month going up
40:35against the number one overall defense. So for me, I'm looking
40:38for more of a ground attack, more measured attack and once
40:41again, I see that forty-four and a half. The stars are there
40:44for that to go over but just the gameplay for how these teams
40:48are going to play in the playoffs which includes last
40:49week's filled up the Eagles game against the Packers. Hurts
40:52didn't need to do much. Two touchdowns, no interceptions,
40:54don't turn it over, make the plays you need to with your
40:56feet and hand it off to Saquon Barkley. That's a recipe for
40:59success and a recipe Ben for running the clock. Yeah,
41:04absolutely so Donnie and then you look at the props, right?
41:07The players in the game style that we expect that will dictate
41:11the outcome. Look at the numbers on the running back.
41:13Saquon Barkley. One eleven and a half is his rushing yards
41:19prop. His rushing attempts number is twenty-one and a
41:23half in the over has the hefty juice. Kyron Williams who has
41:27been great and steady this year for Los Angeles. Rushing
41:31attempts prop. Eighteen and a half. The over has the juice at
41:35minus 132. Rushing yards number for Williams. Seventy-four and
41:40a hook. We expected at least the odds makers to be a hefty
41:44dosage of a ground attack on either side. If it is
41:49successful, it still takes time off the clock and Donnie, the
41:54idea that we might see some unders or scoring at a premium
41:58here in the postseason. It's not weird or out of the ordinary.
42:02In fact, last weekend, five of our six matchups during wild
42:06card weekend did stay under again. The story of this game
42:11me is the defenses. Philly has been sensational. Fourteen
42:16games now played since it's two and two mediocre start. Under
42:20intent of the fourteen. Thirteen victories in that
42:25span including the start of the postseason. The Rams started
42:28one and four. They won nine of their next eleven. Lost the
42:32regular season finale with all of their reserves out there and
42:35then won in the postseason. But it's LA's defense. Young and
42:40ever-improving. That to me, Donnie has led them to this
42:43point. Well, either offense without being tasked to do
42:47much. Last weekend, really step up and outshine the defense at
42:51least expecting it. I'm not going to be buying it just yet.
42:55Yeah, and by the way, that I I love it because the way you win
42:58in the playoffs a lot of times, it's not just bringing the
43:00heat which we've seen some success by the teams. It's
43:02getting that organic pass rush out of the front four so you
43:05give your secondary a chance and give them maximum coverage
43:08as opposed to the exposure where you're blitzing guys.
43:10Also, keep in mind the Philadelphia Eagles last week,
43:12they handed the football to Saquon Barkley twenty-five
43:14times which that's why you rested in week eighteen.
43:17Understand this, Hertz is going to run it but Kenny G in the
43:20backfield, I believe he's listed under ten yards rushing.
43:22Watch out for that one. But we'll continue our division
43:25around Primer all around the National Football League because
43:29Donnie, we talked a little bit about player props for each of
43:32the individual matchups. As we focus again on Philadelphia,
43:36really, the battle of the running backs could dictate
43:40what we see. Kyron Williams on your left for LA, Saquon
43:44Barkley on the other side for Philadelphia. There are the
43:48numbers. They are large. They are expected to be the lion
43:51share of the offense. What are we thinking about the
43:54quarterbacks though? In the passing attacks, Matthew
43:57Stafford was really efficient in the opening half of that big
44:01victory against the Vikings but didn't have to throw for 250
44:04plus. They well under his passing yards prop of low 240s
44:09on Monday night. Jalen Hertz in his first game since week
44:13number sixteen and getting bounced and in concussion
44:16protocol. Again, not tasked with doing all that much and
44:20still through multiple passing scores. What are we going to
44:24see out of the quarterbacks at the link on Sunday afternoon?
44:28You're getting really good price points here. You are
44:30because understand this. Once you get to Sunday, we'll know
44:33exactly what the weather conditions are. If they're
44:35extremely windy and that pops up, that'll damage things. If
44:38it's snowy and sloppy, that'll damage some things, Ben, but if
44:40we're anticipating mid thirties with maybe a passing flurry and
44:44winds under 10 miles an hour, these are two guys with two
44:47elite arm strengths here and weapons after weapons at the
44:50wide receiver position. You saw Jalen Hertz. I said, oh, he
44:53was rusty. He was off. Hey, Ben, he's still through two
44:55touchdown passes. Like, I wouldn't be looking primarily at
44:58the passing number for Jalen Hertz at 204 but I would be
45:01looking at Matthew Stafford's 225 and a half to go over but
45:04each one of those guys to throw more than two touchdowns. Why
45:06can't that happen? And those price points are like, hey,
45:09minus 180 or like my favorite bet last week was Baker Mayfield
45:12to throw two touchdowns which he did. That was minus 160 at
45:14the lowest and minus 180s to minus 190s on game day and I
45:18still liked it but if you're talking about two guys right
45:20around that plus money number, they'll think they're fantastic
45:22prices to throw two touchdowns depending on the weather. And
45:27again, both guys did a week ago and they didn't really need to
45:30do all that much as their defenses on the other side of
45:34the ball were great. Jalen Hertz in his return for his
45:38first game action in nearly a month. Thirteen of 21, 131
45:43yards, two passing touchdowns as Donnie shared in 36 yards on
45:48the ground. We're having a good time here on this Thursday
45:53morning on the early line on Sports Grid. Mark Zinno here
45:57with us for a third, I'm not going to call it a third, a
45:59second and a half consecutive segment on Give me a third
46:04attention.
46:08Oh man. Alright, let's get Mark Zinno's division around best
46:12bets for all four matchups we have in the second round of the
46:15NFL postseason. So we kind of go in reverse order. We're going
46:19to start with the best game of the weekend which is our fourth
46:22and final in Western New York. The Bills and the Ravens
46:26Baltimore, an ever so slight favorite. 18 cents of
46:29difference on the money line with a total north of 50. The
46:33over understands at 51 and a hug. You know, we know this
46:37game is expected to be the best of the entire division around.
46:41In your estimation, will it live up to the billing? I don't
46:46think so to be honest with you. I think it's a very one-sided
46:48game. Now, could I tell you who's going to be on one side?
46:51I don't know but I would tell you that this feels like a game
46:55where one team exerts their will early and the other team
46:58is playing catch up for three and a half quarters and that's
47:01a bad script for both of these teams because when they become
47:04predictable, they're beatable and that's really what it
47:07boils down to. We've seen Lamar Jackson struggle to throw his
47:12team back in football games, not only in the playoffs but
47:15throughout his career, right? That's the game script to beat
47:17the Ravens is get them behind by two scores and force Lamar
47:21Jackson to throw you back into the game. That's usually a
47:23recipe that doesn't work for the Ravens. When you ask Josh
47:26Allen to throw you back into or get yourself back into a game,
47:30usually presses too hard, makes a mistake, ends up turning the
47:32ball over and Buffalo finds themselves in a bigger hole. So
47:35which team's game plan is going to be more effective at the
47:38outset? Is it possible we get a back and forth slugfest where
47:41one team score, you know, back and forth, score, score by
47:43other. Yeah, it is possible but I think the winner of this
47:47game and I would tell people even if you had the Ravens at
47:50plus one in the week earlier in the week, this is not a
47:52teasable game in my opinion. I think the winner of this game
47:54wins by ten points. I think you get outside two scores and I
47:59wish I hope it's Buffalo because that's who I'm rooting
48:01for personally just as a Josh Allen fan but I can't, you
48:06know, I don't have a real good read on how it's going to go. I
48:08just think one team is going to exert their will and be pretty
48:11convincing over the other. NFL saving their best for last
48:15because apparently that Baltimore Buffalo game is going
48:17to be sensational ratings wise everything. We can't wait to
48:20watch it but there is going to be a game that's going to start
48:22it and a favorite in Kansas City that we expected but now
48:25you're landing over a touchdown which is using the danger zone
48:28for the Kansas City Chiefs if you want to back them a forty
48:31one and a half total eight and a half where it sits right now
48:33as the spread. I'll ask you two questions. Is Kansas City going
48:36to win and is Kansas City going to cover? Well, I don't know if
48:43they're going to cover. We've seen the Chiefs ladies more than
48:45touchdown spreads all season long. You know what they've
48:47done? They haven't covered. When these two teams met a couple
48:50of weeks ago, Kansas City out gained Houston only by about
48:55sixty yards but he used to turn the ball over twice and
48:58ultimately that was the difference in the game. If they
49:00can eliminate the turnovers, I think Houston may put a scare
49:05into the Kansas City Chiefs. We all think this is a fait
49:08accompli that Kansas City is going to win this game, right?
49:10Well, I would tell you that the de facto AFC Championship
49:12game is the game we just talked about in Buffalo and Baltimore
49:14because both of those teams have beaten the Chiefs this year.
49:17That said, it won't surprise me to see Houston actually scare
49:21the ever-loving, you know what, out of Kansas City and get
49:25inside this number. You heard it from Mark Zinno. You'll
49:29probably hear it next week. He believes whoever wins in Orchard
49:32Park, the Bills, or the Ravens upset the Chiefs in an AFC
49:36Championship game if we see it in Arrowhead a weekend from now.
49:41Now, over to the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles, a six and
49:45a half point favorite against the LA Rams. Total at 44 and a
49:49hook. Zinno, what's the best bet for Philly in our first game
49:51of two on Sunday? You're not going to get a three in the
49:56first half, but if I got Philly minus three in the first half,
49:58I'd take it. That's about it. Look, everything I think about
50:01the Rams is wrong. When it comes to the Rams, I should just do
50:05George Cassandra and do the opposite. When I think I want to
50:08bet on the Rams and they're going to lay a number and cover
50:10it, they stink. Every time I play against them, they play
50:12like they're going to the school again every year. So I
50:15don't really know. I would tell you the Chiefs-Eagles tease is
50:19probably the most appetizing tease of the weekend, right?
50:22Give me the Eagles-Chiefs under a field goal. If you believe
50:26they're going to win the game by a field goal, that's probably
50:29the best way to go as far as that's concerned. Is the gap
50:33between the Eagles and the Rams closer than the gap between the
50:36Eagles and the Packers? I would argue it's not. I think the gap
50:39is probably bigger between the Eagles and the Rams than it is
50:41between the Eagles and the Packers and they didn't really
50:44have much trouble with Green Bay. Sounds like a guy that did
50:47the pick six on Friday on TEL. You know, quickly, Lions
50:50commander is not in the half-point spread. 55 and a
50:53hook for the total. Best bet. Fire it. Hammer the Lions. Every
50:58time Washington steps up in class, they get embarrassed and
51:01they are going to get embarrassed this weekend along
51:03with Wayne. You know, Keith to round it out. Hour three.
51:09Welcome to hour number three live right here on this
51:12Thursday on the early line on Sports Grid. He is Donnie. I am
51:16Ben. One more hour to go. We'll get some of DRS's division
51:20around best bets later on in this final half hour of our
51:24final hour on TEL. Tom Vecchio, TV Tom joins us in just a
51:29moment for his prop perspective for division around weekend. So
51:33much to dive into here DRS in this third and final hour. Yes,
51:37good stuff here just to the primers. We are so excited for
51:40football this weekend and keep in mind once again, it doesn't
51:42end on Sunday. Oh, we gotta wait a week. You have a national
51:45championship college football game on Monday to set the stage
51:49for NFC AFC championship week and then we get the lull that
51:53we get the Super Bowl. So there's plenty of football left
51:55to get to but just the anticipation which is usually
51:58my favorite week in football divisional rounds where the big
52:01boys come out to play the top seeds are here. We are getting
52:03great football. At least we hope that for the majority of these
52:06games, but again looking forward to next weekend. It
52:08just might be so epic that I don't even know if we can watch
52:11or even handicap basketball for another week, Ben. It's just
52:14impossible to do with this good of football here. It needs all
52:17our attention on football only only we gotta talk a little bit
52:20of basketball here in this third and final hour. So put on
52:23those handicapping heads and get ready to go. But DRS before
52:27we do that, we love hearing from the people. What is their
52:30approach to division around weekend? How are they seeing
52:33the betting board at this moment when it comes to points?
52:36We know the public generally loves to bet overs, but we
52:41didn't see a ton of overs to start off the NFL postseason
52:45wild card weekend five games of six to the under might we see
52:49more offense and points come the division around. Let's find
52:53out in our four matchups and fade the public.
53:04Which NFL division around game is most likely to go over its
53:08total. Now we've got some substantial spreads and a
53:11couple of spots that feature some pretty lofty totals,
53:15namely 55 and a half for Saturday night inside Ford
53:19Field between the Lions and the Commanders north of 50 for what
53:23we all expect to be the best game of the division around
53:26weekend in Buffalo. The Bills and the Ravens 51 and a hook
53:30Eagles Rams two great defensive displays in the opening round,
53:34but a total working its way up now to 44 and a hook for our
53:38first game of two on Sunday, the opening game of four this
53:42weekend inside Arrowhead, Kansas City and Houston are
53:45lowest over under at 41 and a half. So of all of those four
53:50games Donny, which game is the public like the over the most
53:54the highest total on the board 55 and a half in Detroit
53:58between the Lions and the Commanders is Donny right side
54:01than in the public. No, I'm not. I love it standing ovation
54:05for the public right now and credit to them because usually
54:08you'd see and say let's just say every game was 45 then like
54:11even playing field and we're not even looking at totals like
54:13which game is just going to be the highest scoring game of the
54:15week. Of course you would pick the Commanders and the Lions
54:18and rightfully so it's the highest total of the week that
54:21we have, but at the same time people would look at that like
54:2355 and a half like everything has to be perfect. No way I'm
54:27going to take the over at least my favorite over at this point
54:29to have 38% of the public voting that way. I voted the
54:33exact same way in a dome two offenses. I can get after it.
54:36We're not kicking fields in this one. This honestly does
54:39have the best chance to go over even though it's the highest
54:41total of the week. So I want to shout out the people voting on
54:44this one that just didn't see that number like there's a
54:46really good chance it stays under because as that many
54:49points like no, there's a legitimate chance that we get
54:51the 55 and a half and get the over. I like where the public's
54:54I agree where the public's going the best chance to get
54:57over. That's the Commanders and the Lions even at the 55 and a
55:01half. It is really fascinating to examine that public and
55:06natural thought if you will well, it's 55 and a half with
55:09the Lions who have played in a ton of overs this year and are
55:12the highest scoring offense in the NFL averaging better than
55:1633 points per game averaging more than 37 points per game in
55:20their final five Detroit could go out there and score 40
55:23against this Commander's defense, but we know
55:25Washington, of course, can keep pace under in the opening
55:29round against Tampa, but they also had the highest total of
55:33division around weekend also north of 50 highest total best
55:38offensive matchup. Of course, we could see a ton of points,
55:43but then naturally Donna you mentioned the other side of
55:45that equation. It's 55 and a half for a playoff game. This
55:49game could feature 52 points and we still stay under by a
55:54score. I actually looked at the Ravens in Bill's game 51 and a
55:59hook now. I know it is going to be bitterly cold in Western
56:03New York 9 degrees by the time we get to kick basically on
56:07Sunday evening in Orchard Park is going to feel a lot colder
56:12than that, but if the defenses are the ones that don't want to
56:16tackle and I'm not saying they are going to lay out instead of
56:19trying to hit Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson or James Cook or
56:23Josh Allen that allows the offense to dictate the pace. If
56:27there is any game in my estimation that pushes to the
56:30over and it's north of 50. I actually think it's the Bills
56:34and the Ravens, but this is called a fade the public poll
56:3818% on the Chiefs in the Texans lowest total of the weekend
56:4315% only on the Rams and the Eagles 44 and a hook for the
56:49two best defensive performances. Perhaps that we
56:52saw in the opening round and yet a total that it's working
56:56its way up in the public is avoiding it. That sounds like a
57:00fade the public special to at least see 45 points on Sunday
57:05afternoon DRS at the link. See, I think they voted correctly
57:09like that's where I go with this and take a look at it
57:11because I think the commanders in the Lions kind of the
57:13possibility to be the high scoring and we get that vote.
57:15I like that here because I think the confidence from the
57:17public is lining up with what I think is going to happen at the
57:20same time. You're also looking at the public going. Okay,
57:23Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurd, Saquon Barkley, Kyron Williams,
57:26elite wide receivers, elite play calls, elite coaches in an
57:29environment that shouldn't be all that bad of weather. I
57:31think it's kind of interesting that the public voted at least
57:34amount at 15% for that game to go over because I thought maybe
57:37the easiest choice would have been like at least put the
57:39Texans and the Chiefs ahead or below them. Figure that okay,
57:43Kansas City cold weather, the Texans. Maybe it's not that
57:46explosive. I like the fact that now I'm seeing that the public
57:49is saying the Rams and the Eagles probably not expecting
57:52to go over and 44 and a half is a decent number here based on
57:56what we've seen and we analyze this game. We look at the
57:58defenses. We went over the number one for the Eagles. How
58:00well the Rams are playing down the stretch. I like this. I
58:03think the public nailed this poll right here in exactly the
58:06way it should be voted on. So give the public some love
58:09today, right? And that makes sense. And if you believe they
58:12nailed it and they got the votes correct, then you're not
58:14fading the public at all. But we often see when there is a
58:17very public side or a lot of public attention on one and not
58:21nearly as much attention paid to the other. Well, that's when
58:25we can take advantage. If we do believe there is an edge, for
58:29instance, Joe Lisa's favorite over now, of course, is going
58:33to be over 44 and a half in Philadelphia DRS six games
58:37during wildcard weekend five unders the highest scoring
58:40game was in Houston. It featured a total of 44 points.
58:45It was the only game that pushed over and that total was
58:4841 and a hook. We've got four division around matchups this
58:52upcoming NFL playoff weekend in total. How many go under? How
58:56many go over? I mean again, law of average is probably right
59:005050. They go up, but for me, I'm actually saying here one
59:04game goes over three stay to the under this weekend. That's
59:08where I'm going. I'm going to go three go over one stays
59:13under completely opposite of DRS. I think our under is in
59:19Detroit. I think our over plural are in Buffalo in
59:25Philadelphia and in Kansas City Chiefs Texas over 41 and a half
59:31feels cheap. Doesn't it? I'm telling look that's
59:34interesting. So you got the dome game staying under and the
59:37outdoor element games going over. It'll be fun to watch
59:40you play out and this is what makes it great and we're
59:42expecting action as you take a look at the Saturday games. We
59:45hope they stay close, but the Sunday games look like they
59:47could be a couple games for the ages.