Niners Are The Team To Beat: Beyond The Box Score w/ Max, Oscar, and Sean

[Music] from the studios of the Brooklyn College radio station this is beyond the box [Music] score welcome back ladies and gentlemen to beyond the box score I'm your host Max here with my incredible co-host Oscar Sean how's it going fellas it's going good man going good for the NFL had a good weekend yeah we had some good games this weekend not a lot but just just the right amount to to keep it interesting you know um of course we're also here with zamari behind the camera how's it going I'm back y'all uh I I'm I was out last week but I'm good now feeling good yeah Return of the King that's right and we got the other king over there Mr Frank how you doing I'm doing all right uh Max uh we have a lot going on in the World of Sports uh Randy Orton has returned to uh WWE and signed the contract with uh Smackdown and so that means uh well despite uh Paul heyman's warnings uh not sign with Smackdown but uh hope all goes well and uh phone lines are open 718 951 4444 that is the number to call I'm going to send things over back to Max so uh Max thank you so much Frank all right so we had some great games this weekend uh but Fox's America's game of the week the one that we were all uh super excited for was of course the 49ers and the Eagles um the 49ers came away with a very decisive win um what was the final score again it was 42 to 19 um in that first quarter we so coming into this game I think we were all super excited these are the top two team in the NFC um pretty much Undisputed yes and I I thought this game was going to be a lot more competitive um and it looked like that was going to be the case in the first quarter you know that the Eagles had some nice drives they weren't able to convert in the Red Zone had to settle for field goals um but then all of a sudden the ners just came alive man um six straight touchdowns throughout the game uh pry was great but he didn't have to do very much considering how well the the the skill position players played around him um Christian mcaffrey was amazing Debo Samuel was great Trent Williams they kind of just ran the ball behind him it felt like the entire game um guys what are your thoughts on this this game how it played out and kind of how the the NFC is going to turn out in these next couple weeks um this game proves to me that the ners are the best team in the NFC yeah now look Brock py is good but at the end of the day he is a system quarterback but it's just they have so many weapons he could go to so many different guys it's Christian mcaffrey Debo Samu well George KD it almost doesn't matter because you're successful no matter what you're doing it's just like he he was fantastic 19 for 27 not completion 34 yards and four touchdowns and it just seems start to finish that the ners had a control of that game and Jaylen Herz Max we talked about it off here Jaylen Herz didn't really include the Run game that much right he was no passing it a lot and it was very um misfortunate game here for the Eagles because I feel like this is a really telltell sign of yes the Eagles are good but they're not good enough to compete with the best okay um yeah so I do agree with Sean I think the 49ers this is a statement victory for them they kind of really um planted their flag in the ground as the best team in the NFC uh I think they match up really well against the Cowboys and as they just proved today I think they match up really well against the Eagles um that playoff game last season feels like a really long time ago and I don't know the ners after they lost that game to the Eagles last year they were talking a lot of trash about hey if we had a healthy quarterback uh we would have won and at first it just sounded like sour grapes but that that I think they were very clearly right um the Eagles haven't really invest in this like iteration of the Eagles this like generation of success they've been having they haven't really invested a lot of money in their linebacker position and um before last night you know a lot of people weren't really paying attention to that but I think the 49ers totally exposed that um they were just going up the middle all the time they were running straight straight lines through this Philly um defense um they had absolutely no answer for George KD or Debo um or Christian mcaffrey they were just steamrolling through this um this team and I think that's a big part of it they had no physicality or like comparatively to what San Francisco was um throwing at them they had pretty much they had almost no physicality compared to um SF uh they steamrolled through this linebacker core and I think if they play again um the same thing will happen yeah I you know I've said it a couple weeks coming into this game um the Eagles really week after week they do not look like that same team that I remember watching last year um their record is great don't get me wrong but it seems like whether they're playing a bad team or a good team it's always close it's always you know there so luck that goes their way um Jaylen Herz has been playing very well up to now I believe he's he's second in uh in the MVP leaderboard right now um behind honestly yeah you think so I I I think after this game and what Dak did Thursday Dak is above him okay yeah not going to hear any complaints from me and another thing with this game right like Max you just said like they never put the bad teams away they let the Patriots hang in there they let the Jets beat them when they should have honestly beaten the Jets and so it's like you look at this Eagles team yeah they're good they're they're a nice team but it's like they could never really put it together like like like this Niners did against them or like the Cowboys have or like the Chiefs have in the past or honestly like the Ravens have like all those teams are above them yeah it's the slow starts I think like last season I remember they would just make a statement right at the beginning of the game in in the first two quarters but now you know they're kind of just it feels like they they warm up and then all of a sudden you're behind a couple of scores and now you got to work really hard to get back into the game and and um you know this game was really really ugly I I love the trash talk though I love the the drawing back and forth um between the teams and and coming into the game too um we know there's some bad blood between uh uh Debo and and James Bradberry um and you know man I I I think stuff like this RI this hopefully this turns into a rivalry long term because it's really good for the game um this these are two teams that will see each other most likely in the playoffs um whether that will be in San Francisco or Philadelphia we'll wait to see but looking at the NFC right now um you know the Eagles still hold the the the first spot because they have the the uh they're one game ahead of the ners right now yeah um but but looking at the Eagles remaining schedule it's tough you think so actually no not really not really okay they they do have a tough game against Dallas uh in Dallas uh where the Cowboys haven't lost yet this season um so that's going to be a really great game if the Eagles come away with that they should have a pretty smooth ride you play the Seahawks you play the Giants twice and the Cardinals so I could definitely even though the Eagles this was a loss a really bad for them um just in terms of how we see the team um they could still definitely wrap up that number one seed if they don't go three and0 in those last three weeks that's a telling sign yeah which they they easily should and they should easily beat those teams by a lot I think um I don't know this is It's if I was an Eagles fan I'd be pretty concerned about their form going into um the Dallas game uh because last time they played sorry about that um the last time they played uh they only won because like dax's toe was slightly out of bounds in the two-point conversion or was that two-point conversion or was it him getting into the end zone or was a regular touchdown think the two-point conversion was when uh scoon maker was like half a yard short of the goal line yeah yeah something like that yeah yeah um uh and the Eagles were at home then and now they have to go to Dallas and Dallas hasn't lost at home all year and Dallas is in pretty good form right now so I don't know I mean I'm I'm going to be excited for that game as well that's going to be that's going to be very telling Sunday night prime time um who's favorite in that game I'm not sure I have no idea I'm going to assume the Cowboys I haven't looked at the odds but um I don't know I I I think uh yeah that's going to be a good one and if the Eagles um I mean that's going to be a huge test for them let's see if they've really got that Championship mentality yeah you know this is going to be because the Cowboys have been really good especially defensively at home last week not so much against the Seahawks uh but if that is a fluke um and this is a you know low-scoring kind of grinded out ugly maybe division game um with the way that Dak is playing right now I mean it's hard for me to not pick the Cowboys I think um you know in that game in Philadelphia said a lot about these two teams and don't get me wrong like the Eagles played really well but they definitely got lucky in in some if um if the Eagles lose this game then that'll really be like the red flag situation for them where it's like yeah this team isn't what everyone thought it would be at the start of the Season you know they're not like you said they're not see rolling game but they're just putting wins together which is all nice and but it's like they're not at that level of a championship team mhm and I never honestly saw them at that level either I'm I'm I'm predicting Dallas wins that game yeah me too okay um as far as the ners uh you know Brock py he's now the leading uh you know the leading odds to win nvp this season which is pretty shocking but yeah that's ridiculous yeah he's not going to win MVP I don't think so I look his stat line was was great yesterday you know 19 for 27 314 yards four touchdowns zero interceptions and 148.8kg make him so good you know I don't want to call him like a system quarterback but it really does feel like it's it's mostly you know Kyle Shanahan and you know mcaffry and dbo that like Elevate his play The Yards after catch all that stuff he's got like he he is a system quarterback because it's he's learned how to play with those guys and he has so many weapons around him that it's like it doesn't put a lot of pressure on him specifically yeah and you know with this team healthy it's really tough for me to pick any other NFC team and he's got a got probably the best I don't know this might be the greatest Supporting Cast in the history of the NFL like this is really insane this offense man it's like a Ferrari CMC Debo KD like crazy auk like yeah even even auk's not then the Jennings isn't bad either yeah MH uh 49ers remaining schedule they play the Seahawks they play the Cardinals they play the Ravens which will be a good game that's going to be a great one um commanders and then Rams um I'd say the Eagles schedule is is quite a bit easier than that significantly yeah so yeah it's easier than the ners but we might see you know a very similar situation that plays out uh you know last season where the Eagles take that that number one seed and then we see a rematch in Philly right M um but yeah I don't know I I I feel I feel really confident uh in in the ners right now as as as Niners fans should um and as far as the Eagles we're all all our questions are really going to be answered in next week's game I'm really excited for that um the um 49ers Ravens game I really I I just think I really want to see the Niners offense up against that Baltimore defense and if I don't know if um Mike McDonald and um uh the Ravens can't come up with a way to stop that offense then I don't know if anyone can quite frankly um you know Mike I don't know I've been singing their Praises all year long on this show um and yeah I don't know if they can't game plan for this offense I don't think anyone can mhm they're just that good um all right anything you guys want to touch on more about 49ers Eagles no I I think we're good yeah really all right so let's move on we have a fun little segment prepared for you guys um it's the holiday season you know are you guys listening to Christmas music yet a little bit my parents have been playing it a lot honestly honestly if I I don't really play it to listen to out of enjoyment but if it's on yeah you got your tree up decorations not yet not yet all right well it's a little bit early well Max uh I'll have to admit uh to all listeners I'm all out on Chris's music so uh so ever since like before Thanksgiving I've been T I'm in the Christmas world so uh my and my tree has been up since November 1st November 1st yes is it a real tree uh no it's not a real tree okay yeah cuz if it was real it probably be dead pretty soon true all right um well that's awesome hey yeah Frank's in a winter wonderland that's good for a while we love the Christmas spirit over here and so to celebrate it we put together this segment um what each NFL team wants for Christmas a little present for them um we're going to start with the AFC this week and we're going to make our way through the divisions starting with the AFC East so uh at top of the division right now is the Dolphins 9 three um what do you guys say the Dolphins need for Christmas um just a statement Victory against um a good team I'm looking at their schedule um if they win any three of their last games I think that would be a pretty big accomplishment um they play the Cowboys December 24th they play the Ravens on the um 31st and they play the bills on January 7th I think if they manage to beat one of those teams they'll be it'll be a Merry Christmas in Miami I agree I said the same thing I win against a good team they haven't beat a team with a record over 500 currently this entire season um you know I think maybe their most impressive win would be against the Broncos who they dropped 70 on and the Broncos don't appear to be horrible right now um but yeah a tough schedule for them but if I think they take maybe if they take two out of those three games then I would absolutely have a lot more faith in the team what about oh yeah yeah um honestly the same thing I I just feel like this team is good but they need to prove themselves against the big guns for the for someone come playoff for people's come playoff time to be able to take them seriously cuz if you're not able to do that then it's like oh yeah you're a high you're a high regular you're a good regular season team but you can't make it come playoffs I mean if if they can beat the Ravens and then beat like the Cowboys or something they could clinch HomeField Advantage maybe right now they're they're at nine and three they're tied with the Ravens for the best record in the um AFC so Chiefs are slipping a bit I think it's wide open remember when we all said the bills were going to win the division speaking of the bills let's move on to them next um bills are six and six right now oh boy you could kind of go in any direction they need a lot of different uh gifts you know they're kind of low on the Christmas cheer right now yeah um but I said for Christmas they really would like a head coach he um I'm not going to you know really slam on Josh Allen because I liked how he performed against the Eagles um yes he's been consistent inconsistent um really ever since Brian D was left uh but I think a changing head coach maybe a change of voice in that locker room um could do a lot for this team uh for me for this team I'm kind of trying to pick between um a couple wins away from home or a run game or a better run game I should say um I think a better run game would take some of the weight off of Jos Allen's shoulders and also would extend his NFL career quite a bit um I don't know I I feel like I'm kind of scared he's going to have kind of the Cam Newton situation where his body just gets run into the ground um but other than that yeah other than that just a nice away win or like you know a couple of away wins because their away record is horrible they are one and four away from uh Buffalo and that is stinky and for me for the bills I just feel like they need consistency on offense mhm it just feels like it's a little too scrambled and I like and I feel like Josh Allen likes that go-to of him to concade but that could only get you so far I feel like it's either to digs or James Cook or Murray and it feels like it's just it it's not consistent of what they do on offense I just feel like sometimes they scramble a little too much of what they who they want to go to where they want to find okay uh moving on we have the New York Jets everyone's favorite team to talk about this season um 4 and8 on the season I said for Christmas they want the season to be over because it's it's really like watching this like quarterback Carousel between uh Tim Bo Trevor Simeon and Zack Wilson is just ugly and I'm not even I'm not even a Jets fan but it's just really it it's sad to see such a talented you know team around those uh you know quarterbacks just kind of suffer because of it of the quarterback play um I get you know every week we're getting Aaron roders news and and teases um but I think it's time for them to just kind of call it quits um in my opinion Aaron Rogers just wants attention he was never going to come back he's not going to come back it's over honestly for him this season just don't even bother you're 4 and eight you look pathetic yesterday against the Falcons you could only score eight points this team is just it's all over the place and I just I I just can't cuz I feel so bad cuz this team was built perfectly around Aaron Rogers and other than Rogers you have no real good quarterback and now what next week going go back to Zach Wilson I saw a stat that said they have more first quarter safeties than they have first quarter touchdowns yeah they scored a safety to start the game yesterday yeah and I'm like yeah that's all this team could do they they just need like you said max they need the season to be over and they need Aaron Rogers back MH would you agree I I would certainly agree with that um for me personally I I don't know trying to think of something funny to say like I don't know like a bunch of Ivor mechon to heal Aaron yeah um sence yeah exactly exactly you know um some holistic medicine for Mr Rogers over yeah some iasa and a nice dark room Retreat also um I would also add that sorry maybe this is two things but um definitely send him another Darkness Retreat so you can send all of his friends that he forced the Jets to sign home um you know Adam Lazard and Randall Cobb and them them guys over there m um oh yeah um who's the quarterback Tim Tim bo bo Yeah Tim Bo who's literally I don't know literally just there to be Aon rogers's friend he's just a good vibe that's the only reason he's he's like a nice guy it's just it's not working all right um let's move on to the Patriots real quick uh what a fall from grace two and 10 on the season they they need a lot a lot for Christmas um but I I think the most important pres would probably be a quarterback um M Jones has had a rough season uh a lot of it is his fault a lot of it is not his fault you know he's he's not out there you know it's not the 2008 Patriots out there um but I think now you have the the the high draft pick there's going to be a quarterback there I think you just take it you know whether it's uh Drake May or whoever think it's time hon for the Pats you're H here you're hoping for the second pick mhm that's what I put honestly I was like they're hoping for the second pick and obviously you have to take a quarterback cuz if you don't take a quarterback no matter if you drive a wide receiver a running back doesn't matter if you don't have a good quarterback this team is not going anywhere because ma Jones has really tanked the potential of this team not that this team is good to begin with but I feel like M Jones really took a step back from what he was a few years ago and it's just not going to work for him would you agree quarterback well I was going to say an amicable divorce of belich and the Patriots um because the more this drags on the uglier it's going to get and I I was I was torn between that and saying get belich to the um record-breaking win just so they can both kind of walk away and say hey thanks for everything um but yeah no it's it's like I've been saying for the past few weeks the longer you keep bellich the longer it's going to be before you can be um relevant ever again yeah you got to move on and and they'll do it like a mutual part they they'll state it as a mutual parying of the ways but it's time for bichu to go yeah and you know it it might not feel like it but I think a season like this is actually good for the team long term because now you're like okay we absolutely need to rebuild you know y going into the season they didn't expect to P like this they to be better than two and 10 no yeah um all right AFC West we got the Chiefs at 8 and4 at top The Division I said uh for Christmas they want some wide receivers with hands because drops has been a massive issue for them um it's weird I we didn't see them miss you know Tyreek kill that bad last season you know it didn't seem to really impact uh Patrick mahomes's play at all he was still able to be like really productive with like micole Harbin and JuJu and and all those guys there um McKinnon you know yeah um but now we're really starting to to see it where where you know Kelsey uh is not the the only you know they have peo you know they they have I think the the kid rice is going to be really good Rashid rice is yeah they're nice but you need someone better and Kelsey's getting older he's still good but you could tell he he's starting to be on the decline as a player would you agree I yeah yeah I was trying to think of something like different but yeah someone like I don't know if if they had the ability to go back and sign like dehop or something like that I think I don't know or maybe not even like I maybe not even that much money man just like yeah just the ability to have some new wide receivers they don't need even need to be Superstars man they just need to be I and the Chiefs would probably win the Super Bowl but you know I I don't know I do worry about this offense long term um you know I feel like when when the opposition's defense has been able to take away one of Kelsey or Pacho and like deal with the other one then this offense just kind of Falls flat unless like Patrick Ms totally pulls a rabbit out of the hat which he does do very regularly but you know I don't know if you want to always count on him to just be like that amazing every single week it's an incredibly talented quarterback with quarterback with a a very limited offense and it sucks too because their defense is played a lot better this year than when they won the Super Bowl even mom said he like this is the best defense I've ever played with yeah so this defense is this the defense took a step up and the offense took a slight step back M so it's kind of like they kind of cancel each other out eventually so it's like this team they need some new wide receivers and they need to start realizing with Kelsey like not that the clock is ticking but it's the start of the decline of him as a player M yeah yeah I hate to say it but I mean he's going to be on wased watch pretty soon um I don't know it's just like there's only so much he can take you know um he gets hit a lot he's asked to do a lot lots of targets lots of carries lots of runs um uh yeah um all right let's move on to the Broncos uh six and six on the season having a really interesting year you know you win the it's a slow start then you win five straight yesterday um a pretty a difficult loss to the Texans um a hard fa loss it wasn't like yeah get completely shut out but yeah yeah exactly and I think for Christmas they would really value uh Russell Wilson's Mobility um it's not all the way back but you you see you certainly saw flashes of it um of him using his legs very effectively during that win streak and you know what I think if you can it's a lot to ask because obviously he's older he's not the same player that he was with the Seahawks but if you can kind of string together like like kind of bottle what you did during that win streak and continue um to to play that that kind of effective you know very tough defense um Courtland sunon was great you know they they ran the ball quite well um we'll see we'll see what happens with the Broncos I mean um what do you guys think um I was going to say a way kind of a way out of this Russell Wilson contract because they're paying him okay a lot of money oh yeah for like I know he's I know they're defin I'm looking at some break right now I know that they're they're most certainly on the hook for the next two seasons after this MH which you know and like like this kind of ties into what you were saying Max I mean he's not to say that his game was just based on his athleticism but it was a big part of it a big part of his game was um you know being able to hang in there in the pocket and avoid the rush and you know pick out a receiver he can't do that anymore and you know by the time is by the time he hits free agency he's going to be 41 he is 35 now yeah so there is a potential out I think in 2026 though which is three years away cuz it just feels like okay here's what it is with the bronos right according to um sport track.com they're they're good but there's a ceiling with this team mhm I feel like and Russell Wilson is that ceiling and I'm not saying Russell Wilson is going to hold back the team but Russell Wilson can only do so much he's playing better but he can't take them to the next level no matter how the rest of his team is and I feel like like Oscar said you're kind of not stuck with him but you're kind of like in this contract where you can't really move him right now so you just are where you are and I just feel like the Broncos are good but I just feel like there's only so much they could do okay um all right let's move on to an interesting one got the Chargers five and seven on the season um you could also go in a lot of different directions with this one um I'm probably just going to pick the most obvious one which is head coach uh BR Staley has proven now that he is not the right coach for this team um Justin Herbert obviously a lot of talent there but yesterday you put up six points against the Patriots horrible it's horrible it was two field goals it wasn't even a touchdown yeah so it's like everyone who went to that game should get their money back honestly honestly and you can't that that just can't be the case and and even if you're playing like a really great team which weren't um that can never be the case when you have Justin Herbert you know Keenan Allen um and Austin Eckler um but I think a new head coach maybe you see what um on blank On's name was their offensive coordinator Kell Moore Kell Mo maybe you see if he could take the role um but honestly man you could there a lot needs to be done to for this Chargers team here's what the Chargers need is a rou to is to is to retool their team because they these pieces just don't fit together Eckler great player Keenan Allen great player Justin Herbert really good quarterback they have Joshua they have other pieces they have Joshua Kelly but it's like this team does not fit together that's what it is to me and I don't think it's ever going to really mesh yes you need a new head coach but I also feel like on top of that you're going to need a reconstruct what this team is because as of right now even with the new head coach it's not going to it's not going to be able to compete with the rest of the NFL yeah uh yeah um so I guess I'm going to go for a new GM cuz I don't know not to cuz I don't want to um you know go back over what you guys just said though I agree with it um I don't know this is terrible this is um just malpractice how they're just wasting Justin Herbert's rookie contract and hope I don't know hopefully not his career but like it's not looking great right now um the moves they've just been making is terrible um uh um what's his name uh uh Quinn Johnson right that's the name that was their first round pick oh my God good Lord he is not good at playing football I don't know he looks like a big fat bust already yeah um could have had Z flowers could have had tank and those are just like wait was tank last last year's draft he's a rookie this year right he's a rookie year um I don't know those are just the two guys I can think of off the top of my head um to be fair no one expected tank Dale to be this good that's true that's true but hey but but you know GMS get paid a lot of money to you know true look into the future um so yeah I just say new just reset man fire the GM fire the coaches um Justin Herbert deserves better man this it's breaking my heart to see this man it really is um it's just not clicking let's quickly do the Raiders five and seven it's the same record as the Chargers five and seven on the season I said for Christmas they don't want any more drama I I think that's that's the right pick here because yeah I mean you have had first there was like the Henry rugs and then you had the coaching issues devonte's unhappy Devonte is unhappy you know uh and then this year you have different kind of coaching issues it's it all was going well for them when they were kind of uh you know focused on football when they were motivated by their new interim head coach um I think no more drama is what the Raiders are looking for for Christmas you guys agree um absolutely yeah of course um I would say all Sean did you want to go no no go ahead go ahead um go ahead for me Raiders what the Raiders need for Christmas to go home they go back to Oakland man what the hell is this sorry I don't know if say the Vegas no I hate it Manion Stadium no man that's it's garbage man pack that stuff up man every time I tune into a Raiders game which is not often because I don't know I I if my option is I I love the sport of football I love watching a football game but if the Raiders are playing and it's not a and they're not playing a team I like then you know what I go out and I I get some fresh air I see nature you know I see my friends my loved ones you know I'm not letting the NFL take those three hours of my life away that's a good priority you know I don't know I just think that everything I mean look this this franchise has been managed pretty poorly for a long time now but I just think that you know that team is just so synonymous with Oakland that's where they belong like like Oak like playing the Raiders even when they were bad like when you played away to the Raiders it was like damn this is going to be a tough game I'm going to have all those crazy Raiders fans screaming at me this is not going to be fun it's going to be like getting a root canal nobody cares about going to no Vegas man they come like oh this is awesome I'm going to we're going to um kick their butt and then we're going to go play Blackjack after afterwards you know like that no one's scared of going to Vegas man the only relation that Sports has to Vegas is sports betting exactly no one cares about uh the Raiders uh do you guys want to move on to the NFC AFC North yeah let's do it um oh wait one more thing about the Raiders I will give them credit moving off of Derek Carr seemed like the right option now yeah yeah looking back um it was time to go yeah yeah yeah uh so AFC North Let's do let's start with the Ravens nine and3 on the season um I said for for what they want for Christmas I said an intact fibula for Mark Andrews damn yeah kind of I was gon to say SAR yeah um I think him being gone really hurts their odds in the AFC right now um you saw how like their passing attack really wasn't quite the same in uh last week um let's get your thoughts on it yeah um I was going to say something similar but now I'm I'm going to say just the ability to close just just closing out these games they really there's a very strong argument that I think the Raven should like if they weren't if they didn't like you know poop their pants like I they should be undefeated like the teams that they lost to they really had no business losing to yeah who they lose to the Colts the Colts the Steelers and crap who was the last one the Buccaneers the was it the no no no the Browns the Browns yes um and they they lost those games simply because they couldn't close it out like either the offense just started being getting silly and being like yeah you know let's let's let's make this interesting let's lose the game um or like you know the defense just some does something really uncharacteristically silly um yeah just the ability to close man because if they could close out these teams they would be 12 and0 and I I I will stand on that but I mean which does means nothing cuz it's the world of Make Believe yeah yeah but but Oscar also like the the unability to close right could come back to bite you in the playoffs oh yeah that's what I'm saying yeah because if you're not able to close in one playoff game your season is done so I feel like these um next few weeks here they got the Rams coming up that should be an easy win yeah they've got they've got some tough games to close out the season Rams Jaguars ners Dolphins and Steelers who are a good team yeah oh yeah and then you know it's a division those divisional games you know they know how to play you they get up for those it's a low scoring game yeah um but yeah like like you said Sean um I mean look is there I like I I can't really decide I'm like does this team just not respect their bad opponents sometimes and just get too cocky like if happens to teams it happens sometimes if that's the case maybe they will step up and be really good against the actual playoff caliber teams I'm not entirely sure all right but we're going to see yeah let's go on to the Steelers yeah let's let's move on to the Steelers seven and five on the season having a lot better one than I think a lot of us imagined um Kenny picket going down yesterday definitely does hurt their odds Ming forward um but I said for Christmas all they want is some offense yeah cuz his defense is really good is really good one of the best Red Zone defenses in the NFL right now um Mike Tomlin obviously an incredible coach uh but the consistency on the offense is is the issue right now after Matt Canada uh was fired they had a week where you know they ran the ball really effectively Naji Harris uh Jaylen Warren are great backs um this past week uh they they really struggled though so if we get to you know at least a little bit more consistency on the offensive side of the ball we'll see the Steelers have a have a merried Christmas for sure and it it just feels like with the Steelers team like there's no consistent player that's to go to on offense right yeah it just feels like or these are these couple of guys that we trust but gameing game out like we don't really trust specifically one type of person and I feel like that's what they need to figure out who on their offensive line can they trust to carry them through runs mhm but this defense is excellent yes um oh sorry uh yeah uh so what do the Steelers I don't know um at first I was going to say steroids for Kenny picket so he can you know get rid of his baby arm and his tiny little hands damn but um but I was like maybe that's a little bit mean um and that that's the case then for the Steelers I would say a way to escape the QB Purgatory because that's where they're going to be for the next few years now like hey Mike Tomlin I've said it we've we I think we've all said it on the show he's my coach of the year I think just I don't know just being Sheen staking for the Colts okay okay I'm not I'm not mad at that it's it depends honestly like it's just like the Steelers team if it finishes above the Browns and I don't know I guess the Bengals they miss Joe burrow so maybe that doesn't really count but like I don't know I think he's doing a tremendous job but here's the problem it's going to be like what we the problem with the Jets where they're not going to be good enough to compete for the Super Bowl but they're not going to be bad enough to get a really good rookie quarterback to be to to to be fair the Jets were expected to and then guy went down right but that's um that's kind of where they have been for the last few years now before Aaron Rogers you know um all right let's finish up this division real quick got the Browns Browns at 7 to5 um they their own quarterback issues right now um but besides that I think uh what they would want for Christmas is a miles Garrett Defensive Player of the Year award um which he's in line to get honestly yeah I'd say so oh yeah he's he's so good man what do you guys think about the Browns um in my opinion what they want for Christmas is a way to escape the nasty man's contract um I think that um the Deshawn Watson contract it's been a PR disaster oh yeah and on the that's been an absolute disaster too he's been bad and I will make fun of him cuz I don't feel bad he had that one good game where he went 14 to 14 the second half right before he got hurt but then other than that yeah it's like this they need to they need to get away from Deshawn Watson cuz he's not a good quarterback and for obviously like you said Oscar PR reasons cuz that criminal should not be on the Fel yeah yeah I I I I agree with you Sean um yeah that contract was kind of a shot in the dark you really didn't know how he was going to play coming back they I think they all well they all just assumed they're like all right everyone's going to hate us but you know we're going to give them the finger and say hey we're going to the Super Bowl because I mean if if Texans DeShaun Watson showed up this is a Super Bowl Contender probably like that defense is monstrous and you know they've got weapons um in attack even even without Nick chub um you know he had that horrific injury um but yeah I'd say that's what they want for Christmas just a way to get away from the nasty man but it's not going to happen all right and then Bengals five- six on the season they play tonight will probably end up losing to the Jaguars um I said for Christmas they want the season to be over as well yeah cuz I I just look at that team and it's like Jamar Chase is great there's no magic to it with no yeah there's no magic it's that connection and T Higgins also it's not the same without Joe bar it's that's what it is it just doesn't feel the same without Joe burrow there that they have a great offense good defense but it's like Joe burrow is the guy that made the machine run and without him you're not the same team yeah I think that those coaches ask burrow to do way too much um when he's healthy so when he gets injured uh they're kind of sitting there on their behinds you know um yeah I guess I agree with Max just season to be oh actually um another Jamar Chase what the Bengals want for Christmas is another Jamar Chase type situation where is um they do really bad for the rest of the year and they get a high draft pick and then Joe burrow comes back and they go to the Super Bowl that's what happened with um Jamar chase you know um burrow got injured and they were really bad for the rest of the year so they were um able to get a high draft pick and get um Jamar Chase and hey I I think I don't think they really care that they were bad that season because it's worked out for them since I think they want the same thing that again sometimes losing is just what your franchise needs you know yeah um all right let's this has been fun so far let's wrap it up with the AFC South we got the Jaguars in first eight and three record on the season I said you know this team has played really well um but I think to be better uh for Christmas they would want some consistency out of Calvin Ridley um because we've seen when he's extremely productive on the field they look actually like a championship caliber team go ahead I'm sorry it's it's just like the Jaguars right they have a nice record eight and three they just don't feel like that team watching them they don't feel like an eight and3 team but they are like I don't feel like they're as good as the other like like they're not as good as the Dolphins right okay I just feel like they it's an inflated record and they just need to find consistency here going into the playoffs they should have win tonight to be honest and I I feel like this team will be fine they just need to find a way to look legitimate mhm um I guess uh for the Jaguars I'm not going to lie did not put a lot of work into the AFC South but I get it for the Jaguars um I'd say just more weapons I'd say I guess this is kind of similar to what you said max but kind of just better weapons for Trevor Lawrence I really think I think this season he's been for the most part a top five quarterback um especially since Joe Burrow's been injured um I think he's been great I think he's going to continue to be really good I'm a I don't know at first I I wasn't really sure what to make of Trevor Lawrence um but I think he proved that you know he he managed to survive that atrocious year under Urban Meyer so he's he's impressed Rive all right um yeah and I'm I'm a big fan of Trevor Lawrence I I've never it's like I think it's really rare to see a quarterback that large move the way he does MHM um all right let's move on to the Colts 7 to5 season uh surprising yeah you know they they've played very very well and and it's like you said very surprising um usiing Anthony Richardson for the year I think we all thought all right they're done um but someone has played really well on this team and for Chris they're going to ask him to play even better uh I've said continue the mchu Mania cuz he's I I think Garden muu is probably the best backup in the league um and he has taken this offense and and they are playing really well man whether it's you know Michael Pitman uh Jonathan Taylor Zach Moss like they are move they move the ball very effectively I really like their head coach um let's continue that that Mum Mania continue the mum Mania and also hopefully next season Anthony Richardson's good to go MH cuz I feel like as good as muu is with Anthony Richardson's potential he could take them to the next level yeah and I feel like this offense is really good and if Anthony richardon comes back Healthy Starts off playing well this team is going to be in good position mhm yeah kind of adding on to what Sean said I think that what the Colts would like is what they want for Christmas is or what they should want for Christmas is um coaches that are going to develop Anthony Richardson well um I think that I think that that guy's got so much potential he's got all of the tools and I don't know um growing up you know we just kind of heard the myth oh you can't you can't teach accuracy you can't do that but then Josh Allen came along and he was straight up a bad quarterback his first season and then they taught him how to they fixed his mechanics and he became much more accurate with the ball um and I see no reason why Rich um Anthony Richardson can't do that with the right coaching um because I mean the biggest reason I give is he played he could played his college football in the SEC which is by far the best um college football conference and um Josh Allen played for Wyoming and so if I think that there's no reason why Richardson can't take that step up okay good point good point um let's move on to the Texans who have been another uh fantastic story this season 7-5 uh stoud is looking like an MVP and I think for Christmas uh they're going to need him to continue playing at that level especially now with tank Del gone for the rest of the season um look they they are in position to make the playoffs right now like yeah with their defense is playing outstanding uh Derek Stingley Jr in in that secondary was great yesterday same with uh Will Anderson Jr their young uh talented Edge um I think this team's gonna be fine yeah yeah it's a very young a talented team with a great head coach um who were supposed to be rebuilding this year and now like I said are in position to make the playoffs right because you kind of said hope that CJ stoud stays on this trajectory for the rest of the season I I kind of had the same thing but I said it but I put it in the way it's like have CJ St continue on this trajectory for years to come because if CJ Stout can this team could be competitive for for a while now mhm like if they get some nice other people get tank Dell obviously back healthy probably next year I he's probably done for the year yeah and this team will be fine as long as CJ Shar continue the way he's playing mhm uh yeah I'd say just um kind of I'd say Texans fans want a playoff birth they haven't um been to playoffs in a while um and I think that would be a just a really positive bit of um experience for um CJ Stout you know I think it would um kind of put the rest of the league on notice that hey or you know maybe free agents and stuff would be like hey you know maybe I can go to Houston you know have some amazing barbecue go you know to the food trucks and like you know play for SE play with some really good Young quarterback yeah Houston's a Not A Bad City I've never been but you know it's a major city it's a big city I've heard the food is great that's what really makes me want to go you know lots of really good Mexican food lots of good barbecue right on yeah um all right let's finish it out with the Titans 4 and eight on the season um I think for Christmas the Titans need time um will Levis has looked uh you know very talented he's shown you a lot of Sparks he shown flashes of but it's not consistent which we're not expecting it to yeah no um so time more reps uh we love their head coach obviously we love Derrick H will see where what happens with him um but you know what this is a rebuilding team and I'm glad that they uh have moved on from tanah Hill to Le to kind of see what they have in in in the young rookie yeah I kind of feel bad for um Malik Willis though I feel like he never got a fair um shot at um being the starting I forgot about him yeah yeah but whatever it's a cruel League um it is um so for the Titans I think what they want for Christmas is um the best possible return for derck Henry and DeAndre Hopkins when they trade them because I mean I think that's that's what you got to do those guys are on contracts that you can't have on a team that so obviously needs a rebuild like they can't even be competitive in this AFC South which is I mean there's been surprising teams here this year but like come on now um yeah and you're going to get a lot back from you know I think so Derrick Henry Hopkins uh Jeffrey Simmons like those guys have a lot of value Henry was really good yesterday but he just hasn't been consistent for the whole year so I feel like yeah you got to move on from you could get good value for him yeah absolutely I know um I know the Ravens trying to get him on trade deadline um day which would be insane that would have been insane but um but no um I think what you got to do with the Titans just trade those guys get as many draft picks as you can for them first rounders second rounders third rounders whatever just you know that's what you need to stockpile those picks and just you know um Choose Wisely it's crazy that this team was uh the number one seed in the AFC just a handful of years ago yeah yeah it's nuts it's nuts um all right let's for these final 10 minutes let's transition over to the NBA um we got NBA in season tournament uh quarterfinals tonight two games uh is between the the Boston Celtics Indiana Pacers and we got the New Orleans Pelicans versus the Sacramento Kings uh two games tonight I think will be pretty good I'd say first of all how do you guys uh picture like these quarterfinals um and kind of this like Championship bracket playing out do you guys think it's going to have that like playoff type atmosphere I I I think so yeah because the um to be honest the group stage kind of felt like close especially those last few nights like I I remember last Tuesday was really good where it's like all these other teams are trying to win by as many points as possible and focusing on what other teams are doing in their group so it makes it competitive and I think teams are going to care and a team like for example the Pacers who play tonight right you don't see them as a championship team but if they able to win this tournament that's going to be big for them so it's like I feel like teams are going to Care they want to win because even though it's not the championship it's still something that matters and it's for a team to make a statement so I feel like all teams are going to care whether they play tonight or tomorrow I feel like this is going to be highly invested basketball all right let's make our picks uh so tonight Celtics Pacers porzingis is out it's in Indiana do you guys see Pacers upsetting the Celtics here or no I can't no I mean I kind of can if the Pacers are just red hot in terms of scoring and I know halbert's a game time decision but he's 100 100% going to play I just feel like the Celtics are just too much from a talent standpoint even without porzingis okay cuz without porz pford has played really well Drew holiday is playing well Tatum is playing at an MVP level Jaylen Brown is really responded well from his slow starts to the season so I feel like the Celtics have the momentum I predict that the Celtics were going to win but I wouldn't be shocked if Pacers win yeah it's going to be it's going to be a lot for them to handle um yeah the Pacers have been pleasantly surprising but it it would come down to the Celtics being I think the Celtics would have to lose this game if um rather than the Pacers winning yeah the Pacers have a good a really nice young core to build on here yeah they've been they've been one of the uh most pleasant surprises of the season I think Hal Burton's spectacular mhm um all right and then the second game for tonight's slate the Pelicans versus the Kings it's in Sacramento um we always know you know you talked about it before the show The Crowd brings it it's a great atmosphere best home best home court advantage in the league could be honestly really fans are loud so you guys probably agree with me that Sacramento is going to take this game tonight I think Sacramento is going to take this game tonight I feel like Fox is going to continue his hot streak since he came back of being really good um the one thing I'm interested with Sacramento is how they guard Zion guarding Zion because I don't feel like sabonis is the center for the Kings but I don't feel like sabonis could really stop Zan from just getting to the basket and around the paint um in the paint area Zion's shooting at a 67% clip okay which is spectacular so I feel like they really need to find a way to shut Zion down stop from scoring or at least stop from getting into the paint easily that that would be the really interesting part but I do see the Kings winning cuz I I feel like they're just the more talented team here I don't know just to be controversial I'm going to say that the Pelicans win just cuz I don't I I like the Pelicans I like when they're healthy I like this team I think Zion you know he he could just come to life and really put the team on his back and I and there's Shooters around him there's guys on the perimeter that can hurt you they're getting a McCullum back tonight I expect mum to be on the minutrition but he's back so this team's now healthy so we'll see yeah I saw that on Twitter U this morning I didn't know if that was actually like true but yeah he's back okay that's a huge boost then uh all right then let's just do the two other games tomorrow night we got the Knicks uh against the Bucks and then we got the Suns against the Lakers I'm excited for these games I think these are going to be a lot closer than tonight um I you know honestly I kind of feel like the Knicks might the Knicks are going to win yeah I think they're going to win I think they probably match up with the Bucks not playing like their best basketball right now I think they match up pretty well with them the Bucks not that they look terrible but it's just like they're not they're they're winning games they're just winning games against the piston and the Trailblazers just like why so I feel like the Knicks are going to win this game they're going to be motivated to win this game and I feel like a lot of times that I feel like happens with the Bucks it feels like they're they're slow to get going right it feels like especially Dame it takes them a while to get going in the game and their defense is shot without Drew holiday and they still haven't solved that so I feel like the Knicks are going to win this game M me personally um I don't know the our listeners might not like it very much but I don't know I still think the Bucks are going to win I don't know um I think I don't know let's see how much these players actually care about The Knockout rounds that much but like they will yeah I I think so I think so they cared about the group stage they'll definely care about the knock I've been really pleasantly surprised with how much effort the players G it's been the success for the NBA honestly yeah yeah I agree I agree um but uh I don't know I still think the Knicks as a franchise and even the players on their team I still see a bunch of chokers um and on on the Bucks I see I disagree with that I see guys who can step it up okay um we'll see we'll see we'll see what we'll see what happens I just don't trust his Buc team cuz it's like y uh Giannis Lillard great Lopez has been really good to start the season but even he's starting to slow down now Bobby Porter you don't know what you get from him and who's on that bench Jay Crowder Co I cool I guess I don't I just I just don't trust this team I've Just Seen All I've just seen you know the likes of Lopez the likes of Giannis the likes of Dame I've seen them turn it on when it matters of course and the likes of RJ Barrett the likes of Julius Randall Bronson um I've seen them you know just totally well I disagree with you saying that for Brunson but for Randall and Barry yeah I maybe on Brunson but I don't know I mean they haven't really made I don't know Nicks fans like to make a lot of noise and the playoff com and it's a donut you know like all right we'll see um we also got Phoenix against La um the clip uh the Lakers I don't think they lost a single stage game no somehow like 500 yeah which makes no sense like you're undefeated in the in season tournament but are 500 for the Year this is I think this is going to be a really close game um but I think the Lakers might yeah might take it but Booker and KD both need to play honestly they do yeah cuz be is not going to be back yet probably not till next week and Booker and Durant have no excuse not to play this game and if I had I'm going to say the Lakers but it's going to be a it's going to come down to the wire honestly it'll be a closed game all way M now that we have the pcks out of the way I'm kind of curious cuz cuz last Tuesday oh yeah yeah sorry about that I just think that um I think LeBron's going to be in the locker room just bother in all those guys like hey man in the inseason tournament Jordan never did that you guys got to get this for me you know like okay I like it I like it um watching you know last Tuesday uh it was the last day of like the the group stages and it was pretty interesting I mean yeah um how do you guys feel about kind of the the point differential being like the end all be all cuz I don't I don't love it I I I I love it you do I do because it's fun because it's like the Celtics drop 30 on the Bulls and it's there like two minutes left in fourth quarter but they need to try to at least win by 23 to take care of business so it makes it interesting because it makes the players play cuz they're actually not playing to win they're actually playing to win by a certain amount so it makes it fun right but in that game they were just fouling Drummond Andre putting him at the line it makes it fun Andre Drummond needs to be better at free throws so you know what that's that's fair that's fair it's hard to argue with that it makes it fun though because then it's like one team wins right but to advance you need the one other team to win right so it makes it it makes it interesting it makes it makes fans invested in all the games going on in that one night and then you have stuff like on NBA TV right they're showing all the games at once they'll show you the end of one game then go right to to the other game it makes it it makes it interesting especially like November for the NBA is such a dead time cuz it's still early in the year like I always said the NBA season like casuals usually start carrying around Christmas what is now it makes it interesting did you have something you want to say yeah I I just have a quick suggestion instead of Point differential what if they did like your regular season record goes toward uh you know whether you you make it out of the group stage or not so like let's say you uh two teams finish like three and one in the group stage the team with the better record advances does that sound like it might I kind of like the point differential because it should be in the context of the tournament I think personally I I still feel like the only issue I have with this tournament is like there's no real prize other than $500,000 but other than that that's what they need to fix they need to find some real like incentive for the players but other than that this tournament has been a success all teams have really cared about it so honestly no complaints for me uh do we have enough time for a quick uh quick question from Oscar or no are we we we we out of time sure yeah yeah so what if what if the NBA kind of switched up its format this isn't what European soccer do but in Mexico I believe and Brazil they do something with their soccer leagues where it's basically it's almost like their their soccer basically year round but they play in two different sessions one one is in the winter and one is in the one is in the fallwinter and one of them is in the spring/summer what if we did that in the NBA just split split the split the season just into maybe even a little bit less less you know maybe cut down on some of the games and make it basically two big tournaments so so hold on so so you're were saying there would be NBA games in the summer well I'm so my suggestion would be start regular time except we the except it ends when the um inseason tournament ends there can be there's a winter Champion so you end in like January and then you get a month a month break so that way the players get all their rest they get to totally heal up their bodies and then they go again in the spring and then they they have a a championship that ends in June I I just don't think that will work for the NBA and here's why they for the summer right like there's a champion Crown at the middle to the end of June and then you have the whole off season M and I just feel like we've just been so used to end of June and then you come back beginning to Middle to the end of October and so it's like it just works for the NBA I don't really see how the groups how that how two sessions would work then you just have teams playing all year round and honestly that's pointless well they'd get too big breaks and that's the problem all the players are like we're taking rests because we're tired and our bodies can't keep going like this and then you get two big breaks and the players would get to play as hard as they want as hard as they can for the time but Oscar players are still going to do that cuz NBA players at the end of the day are drama queens I don't know I I I that's some like bar stool sport like an now I mean bro the human body can only do so much you know like you need to rest 82 games is a lot I think shortening the regular season is probably the easiest way to go yeah no no you have to cut back to backs get rid of that yeah and then yeah shorten the regular season somewhat I like the idea though just something to think about just for the people it works for soccer though it works great for soccer I the the thing is I don't really follow those leagues that much but I think it would work great in the NBA I think it would address pretty much all the problems we have like the regular season isn't competitive enough players rest too much I think it would address all that okay but Oscar to your point players would still rest no matter what because NBA players are are just conditioned to do that why though I feel like you're just saying that cuz like but they I feel like they present good reasons they're like our bodies are shot we keep getting injured and like we all get injured and come playoff Booker had a short foot for two weeks well it just didn't play so I don't know I mean that's just one player though you know I I think I I think I think it would work I think if you gave them two long if you gave them two long like off Seasons I think that they'd play more I that's just me I I just don't see how it works in NBA but let's wrap it up let's wrap it up thank you guys so much uh for listening to beyond the box score this week we'll catch you guys next week have a great one thank you guys [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] bye