 We might not have M&M like the lines did on Hard Knocks, but I will do you one better. We have Darius Butler, Carmen Vitale with a bold prediction on the Bucks, and Matt Money-Smith is here in studio with a mechanical horse or something. All right, let's go. Until football, Conrad, who I call loafers, affectionately, our super producer joining us, of course. We got a huge show. Conrad, big game here in LA tomorrow. Your Buffalo Bill, so you champion in some way. I don't really know why I know you're from Seattle, but we need to meet at the game tomorrow at the 50-yard line for a beer. I think America is all in the Buffalo Bills now. I mean, how can you not love what they bring? The energy is the best in the NFL. We'll see. I'd like to go through a table in the parking lot. No. If possible. I don't know. I mean, Fandle makes a lot of money. I know they're worried about liability and stuff. I'll sign the waiver. Yeah, I mean, I know we have good health insurance, but not that good health insurance. One sleep away. By the way, I changed your background. There it is. Okay. It's loafers. What is this? Is this how this is going to be every day? I texted your girlfriend and asked her for a photo of your closet and got that. All right, we've got sleepers. We have got Carmen Vitale, the Queen of the North, breaking down everything, but we start with a very special first guest. For our safety, I'm so excited about this nine-year NFL veteran, Patriots, Panthers, and the Indianapolis Colts, of course. You can hear him on his man-to-man podcast, which you can hear all over the place. And he is a fan-dual partner that you can see, hopefully right here, every week this season, if I don't scare him away, please welcome Formula One enthusiast, Darius Butler. Hello. Yeah, hello. Okay, good to see you. It's been a minute. Yeah. Darius, I literally don't recognize you without that Marlin's hat. What is going on? You know, I had to switch it up. A lot of people don't recognize me without a hat, so I had to switch it up, take it off for today for your show, but congratulations on your new show as well, but I'm happy to be here and fun to be here. One more sleep, still football. Can't wait. I cannot wait either. And you're busy. You got a lot going on. You got, I think, Italy F1. We'll talk about that in a little bit, but we gotta hit the headlines for the people out there. You guys can tweet the show, tell us what you wanna hear about. But Darius, you were once upon a time Tom Brady's teammate up in New England. Weird offseason to say the least. I did think it was kind of crazy to read that Todd Bowles was asked if Brady was all in, which of course, he brushed off. What are your thoughts? Do you have any doubts? I mean, no doubts, which I'm gonna tell Tom Brady. Like he said, he's 45 years old. No one else. I actually had a teammate in his 40s, Adam Venetieri. And nobody would question Adam about his preparation or what he had to deal with in offseason. Tom Brady, that's literally the greatest of all time. Obviously had to take some time away, but he got back in the building. I'm sure he picked up right where he left off. All his teammates have faith in him, trusting him, same with the coaching staff. He is a coach on the field. So no doubts about time at all going into this season. I think the Bucs are supposed to do their compete to win every game. So I know if I'm in that locker room with Tom, I have no issues with him taking that little break. And I'm sure he'll be the same Tom that we saw last year, which is ridiculous at 44 leading the league in almost every quarterback metric there is. So he's a unicorn. So there's no questions, no doubts with him at all. It's impossible to know. He's the only one that knows if he's all in or not. We'll see how it plays out in the field. I do hate that. Of course he is. Even if he is all in, he's 45, he could be mentally there and his body eventually could fall apart. It could be the offensive line like back up in New England, he could tie his shoes behind that offensive line. That might not be the case this year. So even if his level of play falls a little bit as it should, because he's strong arming father time, people could still point to that and say he's not all in. So I hate, you open yourself up to perception when you don't go to OTAs, when you're in Qatar on camels taking selfies or taking time, whatever you're doing. He's dealt with distraction though. Darius so much in his career. Deflategate, family, we saw he's always sort of made it. So whatever might be going on, I have no concern, but I do think at some point the level of play has to go on and sort of go on decline naturally. Are you worried about that at all? Sean Payton yesterday said it's the Saints that are gonna win this out, then the Bucks. What are your thoughts? No, I mean, I'm not worried about that at all. As a kid, literally, I watched Tom Brady growing up playing, winning Super Bowls, win, play with him for a couple of years, left him, got cut from New England, had a nine year career, had been retired for five years and his dude is still in the MVP conversation. Like, I mean, father time is a million 37 in one right now with Tom. So I got no doubts about him. He's bringing out eliminating distractions and taking care of what's in front of him. Being, taking that next step every day in practice, the preparation, no doubt it's about 12 at all. Come on, Kay, you've been around the game long enough. But tell me, when does it, how does it end? How does it end on his terms? I mean, I hope so. I thought it ended last year, honestly, but I mean, it's gonna end on his terms. I think this will be most likely is last year. Obviously he's got the TV deal lined up already. Who knows what's going on at home as far as I'm sure his family, you know, kind of excited maybe that he'll be retiring. So I mean, your guess is as good as mine when it is. I think he said he wanted to play until 45 or 50. Who knows? But he take care of his body. He's playing at a high level. So maybe I see this year as really being his last ride, though, on the football field. I'll be sad to see we got to enjoy every moment. Big game against the Cowboys to kick off the 2022 season. All right, from an OG to a young cat. Let's talk about Sri Lansier. He was named the starting quarterback for the Niners. Are people overblowing this? If you're in that locker room, how messy do you feel like this will get? I mean, that's tough. You know, nine years, been in nine different locker rooms, but I've never been in that 49ers locker room and everyone is unique. Obviously there were teammates last year, Tre Lans, Jimmy G. Tre Lans, I mean, Jimmy G was still the guy, but you know, when you draft the guy number three overall, you trade all those assets to get him. He's gonna play at some point. He's gonna be your future. The GM and the head coach, they're locked up long term, but if he comes out and struggles early on in the season, you know, five, six games into it, that locker room is gonna start looking around because we're seeing Jimmy G practicing. You know, he'll probably be on the scout team going against the first team defense. So you'll see, you know, that's the guy you've won with and you're going with your future, which is cool if you're in the front office or you're a coach, but as a player, you know how precious, you know, every year is out there. So it's harder to trust that process when you're a player and it's almost impossible not to look around and say, hey, you know, we know we have a guy we can win with. But Trey Lance, it's a reason they traded all those assets and jumped up to number three to draft him, but he hasn't played. He hasn't played a lot in this NFL level, so it's gonna be a learning curve. I expect him to struggle early, but hopefully he shows improvement and get better week by week and the Niners got a stick with him. But it's a very, very weird dynamic in that locker room. Couldn't imagine being a teammate in there. And now Jimmy G, you know, he's on a one year deal, basically no Trey Claw, so he will be there. So now Trey, you know, he kind of got to look over his shoulder all year and all those quarterbacks last year, they struggled, you know, outside of probably Mac Jones, but Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Davis Mills had a decent year, Justin Fields struggled, you know, all those guys struggled. So I expect Trey Lance to have some sort of struggle, at least at the beginning of the year, but hopefully his talent kind of takes over. It's not, it's not fair or reasonable to expect him to not struggle. He has less experience than everybody else. He's gonna have those rookie problems and you're saying that you've never been in that locker room. Joe Staley was for 13 years and he was on local radio yesterday. And I thought it was so interesting because he, you know, he admitted like there's going to be struggles. And if they're in a locker room, you're saying, we have a Super Bowl team, why are we waiting to develop a quarterback? If you have a guy that's taken us there, like we want to win a Super Bowl. So I thought it was interesting about the players. I will say this and I like, I don't know if I'm being too optimistic about it, but it doesn't work everywhere what's going on. And it could get messy, but if there was one player that I would be like, Jimmy Garoppolo is that guy. This is not Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. It's not, Jimmy Garoppolo is not out there politicking saying like, I want to play, put me in. It's a perfect situation. You have a Super Bowl contender. You have two great options. One, if it doesn't work out, you have one that has the experience that the players might want. So it's almost up to the players to sort of tell themselves be patient and let it out. But Jimmy Garoppolo redid a deal to stay there fully knowing what the deal is. And he's the kind of player I think, the rare player who's like, whatever, like I understand the situation. This is the best situation for me. You might use me, you might not. And that makes it okay. And it might not be okay in 31 other locker rooms, but I think it might work in this one. Yeah, contrary to some reports that came out, I think Jimmy G is a really good teammate. I do think the locker room loves him, which can kind of be more of a problem, I guess. But Jimmy G, he's been a good soldier thus far. And he knows, you know, next quarterbacks, they're always in high demand. So he knows next year there'll be a spot for him. But it's going to be tough. It's going to be a weird dynamic. The only thing that can make it easier is Trey Lance playing well and improving and showing improvement every week. And this team, like you said, this is a team that is built to contend for the Super Bowl. This isn't the New York Jets or the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like you have top tier players at every position, Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Nick Bolsa, Jimmy Ward, D-Boat, like these are top tier players. And so he's going to be in a good situation. From that standpoint, you got Kyle Shanahan, who's obviously a great play caller in the league. You got really good receivers out there. And it's a receiver that's kind of blown a lot of people away this pre-season at training camp. And that's Brandon IU. I think Brandon IU could sneakily be probably a wide receiver one even over there. D-Boat is obviously an amazing weapon in the backfield and out at receiver. Obviously George Kittle as well. But everything I've seen and heard from Brandon IU this pre-season, I'll be definitely bullish on his production this year. Do you think the Niners make the playoffs? You know what, honest, I'm gonna say no. I'm gonna say no. He's just about to make the playoffs as obviously winning your division. I think the Rams will win that division again. And I got high expectations for the Cardinals as well. Every year they kind of start off fast, but kind of finish telling off. I think Kyla Murray takes a step in that off the field and tangibles leadership-wise. Obviously they'll be getting Hopkins back after week six, I believe. You brought Hollywood Brown over, who did some amazing things in college with Kyla Murray at quarterback. So I ain't got JJ Watt back healthy again. So I like the Cardinals this year as well. And once again, this is gonna be really Trey Lance's first year. And he didn't play much in college. So it's really almost gonna be like his junior or senior year on a college football field, but he's gonna be playing against pros. So unfortunately, if I had to make a bet today, I would say the 49ers don't make the playoffs. 49ers missed the playoffs. Brandon Ayuk over 1,000 yards-ish. It's what you're saying, wide receiver one out there. I would say around 1,000 yard more. Maybe I would say over, I don't know what his prop is right now, but I would say he's in that 900 range. I love it. All right, let's go down to Miami. We're doing all the hot topics here with Darius Butler. Patriots never loved to play there. They lose there pretty much all the time. And now they're opening the season down in Miami. They do. That's a very weird thing that happens. They have to deal with a really creative new head coach. They don't know what they're really getting. And then I don't think New England's ready for that speed that Tyree Kill's gonna bring. So to the wild card here in the situation, I have always defended him. I've always had the soft spot for him. What do you need to see from him early this season to convince you that they are a playoff team or at least ready to contend in that East? You know what, early, I won't react too much to what he does early in the season, but once again, just progression. You just wanna see him continually get better. And I'm a lifelong, I'm a South Floridian. I'm a lifelong Dolphins fan, a Dolphan. And two of them may be our guy, right? He drafted him top five, the pick before Justin Herbert. So the pressure's always there on him. But now the team is behind him. Tyree Kill came over and he's been singing his praises from day one. Maybe a little too far at times, but singing his praises from day one, they showed up at offensive line. Last year, they were at the bottom of the league when you look at 11 personnel. That's basically when you deployed three receivers out there. And obviously we expect him to have much more that this year with bringing Cedric Wilson over from Dallas, Jay Lawato going into a second year of tour. And then obviously the amazing dynamic weapon that Tyree Kill is, he's kind of a one-on-one at that receiver position. So all the pieces are there. Mike McDaniel, this is his first year as an actual play-caller and coming from San Francisco, you know, they like to lead and start things off with the run game as well. I think he came out and was quoted a couple of days ago, saying they wanted to run the ball 30 times a game, which I wasn't really much a fan of hearing that, but they'll be having a lot of speed out there until everything's there for him. And then on the other side of the ball, the defense, Josh Boyd, he was actually my coach when I was in New England, he was my DB coach. Now he's at DC over there. They got a lot of talent over there as well. Xavier and Howard, Javon Holland, who will be a superstar at the safety position. And guys, they're really multiple, do a lot of things upfront and on the back end to confuse quarterback. So the expectations are really, really high for the Dolphins. High enough for me that I may even sprinkle something on them to win that division. I know everybody's high on the bills. Talk to me. And I am as well, Josh Allen, Diggs, you know, you brought Von Miller over. You lose Brian Debaldo, so there are, there is some question marks there. So I may sprinkle something on all the Dolphins winning that division. I don't even know what to say. Like, bro, I'm not my stage manager, like, I'm sorry. Is that like a Florida thing? Like, are you thinking about this clearly? Are we objective? Like, what, what? No, no, I'm gonna be honest with you. No, there is some bias here. So maybe don't tell me here, but there is some bias. And I've been looking for, like, once again, we've been looking for this type of offense. Tyree Hill, we've never had a weapon like Tyree Hill in Miami. Nobody saw this coming last year when the year ended that we'll have the cheetah down in Miami. So yeah, my expectations are way up here. So I'm there. I wouldn't advise you to tell me because it builds, they are that deal this year, but I love the Dolphins as well. They're super overhyped. Quickly, you keep talking about the speed in Tyree. What do you make of this narrative that's been out there the entire off season since that deal went down that Tua can't get the ball to Tyree. So what's the point? What do you make of that? Much to do about nothing. Tua can throw the ball, you know, and Tyree Hill, he's not just a guy who just, you gotta throw in the ball six yards down the field. You know, he could kill you with crossing routes, slants, screens, speed, sweeps. Like it's just so many things that you have to plan and prepare for as a defensive player, as a defensive coordinator when 10 is on the field. And it's things like, you see certain, you see speed every week. It's NFL, but that Tyree Hill speed is something completely different. And you know, Patrick, my homes will miss it. Obviously the chiefs will be okay. My homes, Andy, Rhee, Eric, being to me, they'll be all right. They'll be good, but to have a weapon like that for Tua, it's just going to open up the field for Waddle, Giseki, Wilson, Moster and all these other guys. You're obsessed with the Dolphins, I love it. Really, really excited. I'm all, all chips in on the Miami Dolphins this year. I'm excited that you, I'm excited that you hit me with a much to do about nothing. Shakespeare out of Darius Butler this morning. I got range, baby. I got range. Up and Adams. All right, quickly we're going to go through some of the games, the big matchups. Week one, the NFL season starts tomorrow. I'm so excited. Let's go to the AFC Steelers. Bengals, what do you got, Mr. Biscay starting? Will the Steelers be able to get something done? They'll compete. They'll compete. I got the Bengals winning this one. I would never, it's tough to bet against Mike Tomlin and the Steelers team. They're always going to come out prepared. He named Mr. Starter, you can't doubt them. Their weapons on the outside. Obviously, Najee here is the weapon in the backfield. Defense is always Blitzburg out there in PA. So they'll compete, but I got the Bengals. A lot of firepower and they got better this offseason as well. All right, revenge game, which might be overplayed, but I'm here for it. Baker, of course, going up against Miles Garra and company. He is getting the start. So when it comes to playing a former team, who has the advantage? Is it the quarterback who's familiar with the defense or is it the coach? In this case, Mr. Stefansky. You know, it's situation to situation though. But I think Baker, he's going to be fired up. But I got the Browns actually. I got the Browns in this one. Just that team. And I like, I love Jacoby Brissette. You know, he's a guy who's been around for a while. And he's, this whole offseason, he's kind of been preparing. And the Browns have been preparing to have him start at least a few games. He'll be starting at least the first 11 games. So he'll be prepared. The game plan will be tailored for him. Nick Chubb, Kareem Humphrey in the backfield, invested a lot of money into that talent and the offensive line. Great defense as well. Baker Mayfield, I think, will still be figuring things out in the early portion of the season. So I got the Browns in this one. Christian McCaffrey's healthy. I think the Panthers are going in the playoffs. I like the Panthers a lot. If he stays healthy, that's, you know, that's a big if. Yeah. Number two total defense. Like, if he stays healthy, how good does Baker even have to be? Not that great. And DJ Morrill touched, you know, a ton of rocks for him for over 1,000 yards, no matter who's throwing his way. So I'm excited about the Panthers. Chiefs at Cardinals, great offensive matchup. I love this, you know, I love fantasy football. What do you got on this one? I think a lot of points would be scored. I got the Chiefs in this one. I got the Chiefs in this one. And Patrick Mahomes, he's one of those guys that I feel like everyone in this offseason went out of their way to kind of add some fuel to his fire. One of the most talented players that we've ever seen touch the field. Once again, brilliant play callers. They went and invested, got NBS from Green Bay, drafted Scott Moore. You just got Travis Kelsie is still there, who's a top, probably seven, eight receiving weapon, period, on the offensive side of the ball. Well, some moving parts on defense. Obviously Cardinals will be missing D-Hop for these first few weeks. So I got the Chiefs in this one. Bills at Rams, I cannot believe this game is tomorrow. We have been waiting and waiting and waiting. What are you looking at in this game? Who do you think comes out on top? It's here, finally made it. I can't believe this game is tomorrow either. And I also can't believe that the Super Bowl champs are underdogs in this one. I got the Rams in this one. You know, I think the Bills are Mr. Davies White. Got some young guys that'll be starting out there at cornerback going against the Sean McVeigh offense. Matt Stafford, Cooper Cup be on the same page their second year together. Allen Robinson coming over as well. McVeigh does a lot of things that make you think and kind of have a little hesitation as a defensive player as a D-back. So I think the Bills will struggle with that. Josh Allen and that offense, obviously they're going to be amazing. And the Bills defense is very good as well. But young corners on the outside, I think Sean McVeigh, Cooper Cup. Yeah, Stafford and Cole will kind of have their way. I got the Rams in this one, straight up. I love the Bills. So much hype about them, but that secondary is their glaring hole, right? For Davies White, one of my favorites, but he's got to be out there. Or Cooper Cup's going to have 150 yards, 200 yards in his first game in 24 hours here in LA. Quickly, Jalen Ramsey. You know D-B's, I got to give, I see the best in the game right now. He's the best, you know, what he does. And then now that he goes and plays on the inside as well. And he's a slot defender. He can blitz, he can tackle, he can cover obviously. I would definitely have him in that conversation for, you know, the best in the game. Before I go, I wasn't kidding that you are a Formula One enthusiast. Maybe expert even. You are so engaged, in fact, that you watch the qualifying runs. I don't even know what that is. Who do you like this weekend? You're like a sick pup when it comes to F1. I'm sick. Yeah, clearly. Who do you like this weekend in Italy, I think? Yep, it's I and Grand Prix. I see you. The Tufosi will be in full force out there. Ferrari, obviously that's their home. And if Ferrari has done great things with their car, but they've had a lot of mix-ups on strategy and leadership, I would say, when the Grand Prix actually comes about. But it's hard to bet against Max for stopping in Red Bull. You know, he's been the best driver on the grid this year. They have the best car on the grid this year. And their management. I mean, you know, football, you got to adjust. You come in with a game plan. You have to adjust and execute on the fly. And Red Bull does that better than anybody else this year, at least. So, you know, Max is the easy bet here. And once again, you can always bet on something going into qualifying and then obviously at the race as well. But I got Max and Red Bull winning. They're running away with the constructor's championship and the driver's championship right now. So, I mean, that's that's an easy bet right there. They're like inevitable this year. I don't know what you said, but I'm here for it. You are an expert in everything. Football and F1. Listen to your man-to-man podcast. It is amazing. We will have you on in a little bit. Big Dolphins fan, Darius Butler. Thank you so much. So good to have you. We'll be back. You know, you can't be on sports television if you don't make bold predictions. So that's what I'll do next. Lamar does what? James, don't go anywhere. Let's do it. Stop, she'll talk books from NFC North and Matt Money Smith, my dear friend, is here. I don't know where he is. He looks a little Venice Beach, a little Big Lebowski, nice tan, Matt Money. We will see it to you in a second. But Conrad Company, we got bold predictions to make my friend. And I made three yesterday. You did. You had so many bold predictions. The first one I absolutely love, Justin Herbert to win MVP. I love it. Easy. And then Derek Carr to lead the league in passing. I'm not even sure if he's gonna lead the AFC West in passing. Oh, come on. Do I think it means something? Like, I know, but I will just say that he will absolutely be throwing all over the field in that AFC West. All right, and then last but not least, Minnesota Vikings to make the playoffs. Yeah, listen. Kevin O'Connell, new blood offensive minded coach, Kirk Cousins might challenge Derek Carr in leading the league in passing yards. Let's do it. Okay, but what if my predictions are along? But what if, yeah, Christian McCaffrey and Derek Henry, sure. But what if James Winston is comeback player of the year? Listen, listen, listen. He started showing some signs of growth last year. Exciting but reckless roller coaster of a quarterback that he was in Tampa Bay was no more before that injury. He has turned into, as you look at the numbers here, a more mature, polished leader. He was five and two as a starter. 14 touchdowns. How many interceptions does that say Conrad? That'd be three interceptions. Three! That's amazing. Okay, so he was turning a corner before the season was cut short. Just listen to what Sean Payton had to say yesterday, right here on Up and Eves. The one thing that I found with him, which was really encouraging, is he began to understand what won each week. And that might change a little bit. But he was playing very well before his injury. And I think, from all indications, he's healthy now. He's worked his tail off. And he's gonna take advantage of that opportunity. See what I'm saying? With his continued growth, the upgrade from what was the thinnest wide receiver core in the league last year to a healthy Michael Thomas. Big play waiting to happen named Chris Olavi. Hello, I talked about him yesterday. I think we see him put together the best season of his entire career. And I think he gets the saints into those playoffs on top of it. So it'll be hard to deny him his comeback player of the year. Number two, or actually number five, as this list continues, we'll have the rest of them tomorrow. Lot of off-season moves, lots of big names. I'm gonna say this, AJ Brown will be considered the best off-season move. We have seen a lot of it as we can take a look at the big changes, your Russell Wilson changing uniforms. It's all over the place. Devonte Adams, you might think it's him going to the Raiders. Tyreek Hill, all that speed. Darius Butler is obsessed with going to the Dolphins. I think we're gonna look back on the AJ Brown trade and say, this is the best of them all. We saw the Eagles passing game, struggle. Struggle City, Falter in the playoffs against the Bucks. Remember that? I think this combo of AJ Brown and Devonte Smith, they're going to help Jalen Hurts feel the question mark really, right? Everyone's playing a run through a wall for Siriani. He's gonna take a leap because of that. And the Eagles, here I'm gonna say it, the NFC East crown. They're gonna reclaim it and it's gonna happen. He's so versatile, AJ. He's gonna have an impact down the field. Short passing game. You know what I might think? I think he, you know, we were talking about Miles Andrews, Sean Payton yesterday. Dynamic Eagles run game. He could get involved in that as well. So his presence, big play threat to the offense. They haven't had over the past couple of years. Okay, my last one for today. Number six at 10, Lamar pulls a flacco. It's gonna happen. I'm manifesting it. I'm willing it. He's one of my favorites. Pay this MVP. What are we doing? He's already said he's not negotiating once this season starts. Okay, but what if he pulls a flacco? What if, you know, he's not going to budge, which I respect by the way. He sees these contracts that are being handed off this off season to quarterbacks that potentially aren't even putting in the work that Lamar does and don't even have, you know, the numbers or the pedigree, the panache that he has in the form of awards and such. I think he pulls a flacco. He bets on himself. He bounces back from that up and down rollercoastery 2021 season. I think he goes scorched earth on the rest of the NFL this year. Leads the Ravens to new heights and he gets that big contract. We have seen how invested he is. We have seen him put in the work. We've seen all of that. So it all culminates into a massive year for one Lamar Jackson. Conrad, your thoughts. Can you tell I've had coffee this morning? Oh, I can tell you are up in Adams. If I've ever seen it. No, Lamar Jackson expect a big year. I mean, the guy just makes plays everywhere. He's the most electric player in football and anyone that doesn't agree with that. Well, maybe they just don't know football. You just can't see these big deals being tossed out to quarterbacks that aren't as good as he is or of me the impact he has and not expected to get paid. There's a lot of talk about whether or not he'll hold out. You were at a report this morning saying he's not going to get it done. He pulls a flacco. He gets paid and all is. Well, at least that's what I'm hoping for. Okay. More to come on up in Adams. Carmen Vitale, but Matt Mundy-Smith is here with power rankings. You know, where's Fort Show? We've got to rank the teams. I want to know about his process. I want him to take me inside. And he has the Packers way too high. We'll be back. Packers where? At up in Adams show. Thanks for the tweets, everybody. So is that a Raven Super Bowl win prediction? Cause flacco on the Super Bowl and then got paid if they stay healthy. Why not? I love that defense. Marcus Peters has to be healthy though. Marlon Humphrey, not a hundred percent. We've got to get that secondary. You know this, man. Actually say something so they know who you are. Say something. It is great to see UK in person. Normally it would be through a camera and a bird in the sky that would have us meet on television, but here we are in person. What a treat. The host of Petros and Mundy at AM570 here in LA. Also the voice of the Super Bowl future champion winning chargers. Well you just talked about the Ravens. You said the key phrase is stay healthy. If it was either of those two teams, I would be so excited. Bangles too though. I don't want to lose my bangles. My bangles membership card. And the bills, you know, so there's that. We'll get to this. So you are here. I'm new to LA. You're just trying to get me to do what with you? Surfing. Let's go get in the water. Cleanse your soul. It's the way to set the tone for the rest of the day. I do it every morning. Are you like straight from Venice, the boardwalk? What are we doing right now? I'm Seal Beach. That's my spot. Seal Beach, Surfside, Sunset Beach. You're surfing in a place that's called Seal Beach that sounds like a shark breeding ground. Well, they do like seals, which is good because then they don't like me. And there's stuff to eat. Then they don't eat. Sharks are fine. They're your friends. It's okay. When you're not gambling your life away in the waters of the Los Angeles. I like to do the stuff there in the family. Talk to me about power rankings. Let's go through them. All right, let's get through it. First of all, no, let's not do this. Well, you don't know. First of all, let's do this. I gotta give you some stuff for the shelf. So number one, you need some surf wax. All right, we got it. Smells so good. Surfers mostly don't. Let me tell you this. If you said here's $1 million, I'm not gonna surf. So that's how you can put it on the shelf. It sets the tone. You're in Los Angeles. It smells great. What does it do? Yes, see that? What is it even for? So surfboard, you gotta put wax on it so your feet don't move. Surfboards are fiberglass and... This is nice of you to bring me a present. Okay, I'll put it up there. Exactly, put it up there. Should I put it between my Eli face or my Stevie Wonder album? Wherever, I love Stevie. He's arguably the greatest musician in the history of the world. So if it's in close proximity to that, we're in great shape. Coconut. Okay, what is your process when it comes to these? So this is important. You'll know whether or not power rankings are legitimate or not based on the top 14 teams. You better have seven of each. You better have seven AFC and seven NFC because how can you ever rise in the ranks of the power rankings if you don't qualify for the tournament? That is rule number one. I'm learning already, hit me. Yes, so number one, Buffalo Bills. I know you were talking about it already with Darius Butler a little bit earlier. The Bills are deep. They are beyond deep. We're gonna get to this. Something you'll notice with all of these power rankings, I'm all about the lines. Offensive line, defensive line. That's what wins championships if you're not, wow, I guess it is right. That's what the people want to hear about. Tell me about that right guard. Sean O'Hara thinks so. Exactly right. We love those baby blues as Sean O'Hara. That's exactly right. So I want to have power up front. I want to have protection for a quarterback. I want to get after that quarterback and that's why I love the Buffalo Bills. We'll get to that in a moment, second half. And look, I know people, okay, well, 17 through 32. Oh, here's our next screen. Baltimore Ravens. I gotta do a better job. I should have gone 32 to one. Why did you reveal the number one first? What are we doing here? We are in quarters. We talked about the Ravens. I love the Ravens. This is kind of your spot where you're seeing a lot of the division winners and the wild card teams, right? Nine through 16, a lot of people upset that the Saints are right there at 16 just outside of the playoff picture, but I do believe they can make a little run here. Maybe those will change. Now we get to the third quadrant as we get a look at the teams that are on the outside looking in. Tennessee Titans, not great, you know? People are gonna be upset. Yeah, they had the best record in the AFC last year. Well, since Titans' hands love to be upset, it's just who they are. Yeah, that's true or true. One of the most vocal social media groups you will ever find. I love you, Titans' fans. I'm gonna get a lot of ink coming from the Titans, and then quickly we wrap it up with the bottom eight before we start breaking this thing down, just so you can put your eyes on it and make sense of it all. Yeah, I like this idea. I have a feeling you're gonna wanna talk about number 32 there. You know what, I really don't. Okay, well, all right. So let's start. I'd really rather not, but let's talk about the bills. Here's my issue. Please. I feel as though I like to undersell and over-deliver. And when everybody talks about the sexy pick of the year, I get a little squirrely about it, your thoughts. Understand, pressure, you know, people say pressure is earned, you know, and it's a privilege. So I think the bills are gonna embrace the pressure. When you talk about the bills, and get a look at this. Okay. As we talk about the bills, all right? The bills are formidable, the bills are physical, all right, and the bills, you get them in the open field and they're gonna run you over. They have got depth on the defensive line. Kay, their defensive line, their second line of defenders. Up front could be starters on other teams. That's how good the bills are. Up front, Rousseau, Oliver, Von Miller, Phillips, all of the, AJ Up and Essa is, you know, a secondary defender. So I love that. No Dabel, go. Why do we care? We're losing Dabel. Hello. I think Josh Allen showed in year three, took that step and that Josh Allen became an elite quarterback. And then when you go through the playoffs and you look at what Josh Allen did against the Patriots, against the Chiefs, he did enough. So I feel like he's established himself and he can work with whomever follows right. Imagine if they win, wouldn't that be so amazing? It'd be incredible. It'd be incredible for Western New York. Oh my gosh, you would be, Brian Barton would lose his mind. Yes, he would. Oh, they're asking me who I like is number one. Oh, I can't pick. What about my number two team? We need like a dart board in here. Oh yeah, first of all, can we pull up the one to, I can't really read it super well. Do you have the Packers at number two? I do. What? So here's what I'm saying, line, right? People like to look at the offensive line individually. Don't look at them individually. Look at it as five fingers on a glove. How do they work together? They worked exceptional together. Even after the loss of David Bakhtiari last year, that offensive line still gave Aaron Rodgers protection to deliver the ball downfield. Here's what good, here's what elite quarterbacks, I should say, Hall of Fame quarterbacks do. They make average receivers good. They make good receivers great and they make great receivers elite. So I have no concerns about the receiving core in Green Bay. That's gonna stay intact. I like the division they're playing in. They get the Bears twice a year. They get the Lions twice a year. Lambeau Field is arguably the greatest home field advantage in all of football. So I expect them to have the best record in the NFC. If you get me the Packers offensive line in the water, maybe I'll go surfing. Is that right? I'm just thinking that right now. So somehow they're gonna protect you with shark nets and stuff like that. I'm just trying to make sure we have some synergy here West Coast. Sharks do not bother you. Cowboys. I mean, we gotta talk, they had me in the playoffs back to back season since Tony Romo went down to Cabo in 2007. Talk to me. So I think they're being wildly undervalued. What are we looking at? What's that picture? Oh, they're gonna Cowboys. That's what we're doing. Listen, people like to see video. They want eye candy when we're talking about this. All right? Oh my God. Better than we're looking face on TV. So with the Cowboys, the defense, look what Dan Quinn did last year, created more turnovers than any team in football. Why? Am I drunk? What's happening? Pressure up front, Micah Parsons tank Lawrence, secondary defenders Van Derresche and that linebacking corner. Of course, opportunistic corners that can take chances because of how good they are up front, bringing just four in Trivandig. So I think the Cowboys are being underrated. It's gonna be a big season for Dak. How can you talk a big game about offensive lines and then you're gonna talk well about the Cowboys? Okay, so interior. Like that's the key is the interior, those two guards in the center, you're fine. You know, with Zach Martin's arguably second best guard in the league, you can lie at the outish in the center like, I like that interior line. And you can protect. As long as you have just one hole, you can shade protection there. So I thought Steele proved himself last year in the absence of Tyrone Smith for a few of those in Lale Collins. So I think he'll be all right. You can protect that other side of the line. Coach McCarthy has to prove something to me this year for me to have him in half of the rankings. All right, I guess we should talk about this. What? Did I make everyone mad on the control room? I think I did. We're gonna talk about the Bears now. Like you. Ted three, what's happening? Like you. I too have family in Chicago. They are not gonna be happy with me right now. They, listen, they have not, here's what I'll say about the Bears. This is why they're number 32. I mean, I'm used to this. Seven waiver claims. That means when they ended training camp, they felt like they only had 46 players worthy of a roster spot. That's, and I understand it's the back end of the roster, but that's a, you should have one or two players that you're looking for on waivers. Seven shows you that they're looking, they are desperate to find, we gotta find players that fit our system, new offensive system, new defensive system. But Justin Fields is gonna be great and it's not gonna matter. We're talking winless. They've said they've had one winning record, I think in a decade, which is why I'm drinking. What's in there? I don't know. It's definitely not gonna be winless. Okay, good. That's very hard to do. Well, 32, you always kind of, are we flirting with something special here? Are we going winless? They're not going winless, but they, I believe they, as you can tell by my power rankings, they are the 32nd best team. We want there to be hope for fans. They're the 32nd best team in the NFL right now. Excellent job. It's not easy, right? People think it's easy to power. It's, I, I've never done that. I would never do it. It's a puzzle. And you know, the good thing is for me, because these power rankings are so good, I never have to move them again. Exactly what you see is exactly what they're gonna look like for the next 18 years. You're like going out into the street and saying, punch me. Like that's what it's like. Why, why would you write that, you know? Listen, I'm gonna be home for Christmas, you know? And I'm gonna, I might get punched. Yeah, okay. Well, Clial Mack no longer in Chicago. That's right. Where is he and why do you like that team? So Chargers, I have it three because it is an offense that proved itself last year. You know, 30 plus points in the majority of their games, they had leads in five fourth quarters that they lost games in because their defense just could not hold up against the run. They could not hold up on third down. They found themselves in a ton of third and shorts instead of third and longs. They couldn't fire off at it. So that's why I believe the Chargers, they fixed the defense. Clial Mack, JC Jackson, Sebastian Joseph Day, this is the name soup part of the program. Offense all coming back, which is nice. Offense is all coming back. Same offensive corner, same receiver, same running back, same O-line only it got better with the addition of Zion Johnson at guard. So that to me is why. It's a top offense and now I believe the defense has the pieces that Brandon Staley needed. Talk to Austin Eckler earlier this week. He's super excited, motivated. Justin Herbert, I mean, what he did last year was insane, 5,000 yards, 38 touchdowns and he's still developing. So we'll see how that goes. And you'll be of course at SoFi for that game Sunday. The Raiders come to town. A lot of them live here. Let's be honest. Yes, Raider Nation is strong in Southern California. They won a Super Bowl here. So I understand that. Can you be objective with this one? Talk to me. So here's the thing. Can I know? And by the way, I love this. There's a couple of things I like this week. One, as you see in Power Rankings, we showed a little bit earlier. I've got the Patriots on top of the Dolphins. So I like that this week. Why not take the Patriots? Where did I put my... There's a lot of that. There it is. Here we go. When I'm not objective, what I like to do is lean on something I like to call the horse race predictor. And... And where did you get this? This was purchased online. I believe it is a... I believe it is something from somewhere around the 1960s. You couldn't have made some better story that was handed down for you from... We gotta work on that. You know what? Actually, it was a gift from my friend Tommy. There we go. Who is an ardent supporter of TVG. So yes, that's exactly... That's actually a true story. Yes, go! That's exactly where I got it. He gave it to me as a gift. Perfect. Chargers. They'll be wearing powder blue on Sunday, okay? They are minus 184. That's a good number, by the way. Minus 184, it's pretty good value for my number three team in power rankings to number 21. Okay. For the Raiders. I got the Raiders in white. They'll be wearing white. Okay. So I'm gonna put the Raiders in... Let's put the Raiders in number four. How exciting! I'll put the Chargers in number six. And then this will determine... Are you gonna play by play? Give me a little M, Mura. Come on, net money Smith. Lane six, Chargers. Lane four, Raiders. And they are off. Chargers out to an early lead, maybe three nothing in the first quarter, but the Raiders seemingly have tied it up. And now the Raiders are taking a bit of a lead. Look at that. At the half, Raiders up by, we'll say one, there was a mixed extra point and they're up, but the Chargers are charging late. Here come the Raiders. But the Chargers are charging. Oh, it's going down the wire, and all the Raiders. That's not good. That's like an overtime win for the Raiders, which is unfortunately... That could be exciting. How the season ended last year and week 18 arguably the greatest game of all of 2018. Maybe it's broken. I've made a horrible error. Maybe we need to change I've made a horrible error. Richard Issacow is yelling at me that you have to go. I'd really like you to stay. I'll hang out. I'll hang out. I'll be Carmen Batalba talking NFC North. I'll hang out. I love you. Thank you for the coconut surf wax. We'll be back, Carmen Batali. Joining the show, we're going to talk a little NFC North. She's got a bit of a prediction on those bucking USU. She's covered them year and year out, and now she's back in Chicago. We'll be back. Fanduil Casinos just launched their exclusive Fanduil branded live dealer casino. It's available in Michigan and Pennsylvania. You can play all your favorite games, blackjack, little roulette. There's a real live dealer. Check this out. Dealing cards against real competition. And you guessed it, real money. Deposits and withdrawals are so fast and secure. It's like being at a real life casino. So go ahead and go there and do that. But here I'm so excited because one of my favorite people in sports media, someone who's taking over sports media is joining us. After spending the past six years covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, she is in Chicago now covering my home team, her home team and the 32nd team, apparently according to Matt Money-Smith who ranked them bottom of the barrel in the league. Please welcome the Queen of the North, Carmen Vitale. Hi. Oh my gosh, I'm so thrilled to be here and I'm so thrilled for you. This is such a fun adventure and I'm so excited. I'm so stoked. Thank you so much. And to be on like your second episode, this is incredible. Totally and congrats. I was telling the producers weeks ago, before you announced all this crazy stuff you're doing now, I'm happy for you. You have to deal with Adam Rink, which is a tough deal. Love him, but that's super fun. You guys have a podcast. I want to hear about that, the sick podcast I think. And then you just announced Fox Sports, which you'll be covering the NFC North. So I want to dig right into it and start with the Bears. Justin Fields, total stud. I think he'll be good. I think he'll be running for his life, but he'll be really good. I'm scared it's not going to matter. What are you saying? Yeah, I mean, I think though that that's kind of what everyone's hinging on to make this season of success for the Bears because you're not necessarily going to contend and you need to have something to grab onto. And I think they're in this really unique position of building this team from scratch because they basically stripped it down to the studs this off season with the new regime coming in. And at the same time though, you have this developmental quarterback that you want to make sure that you're bringing along in Justin Fields and you, hey, you want to keep him upright, you don't want to stunt his growth in any way. So you just, I feel like they want this bubble of talent just kind of around Justin Fields while they figure everything else out. But it's a really weird position for them to be in. But I'm with you. I think Justin Fields is going to be fantastic. And what's really awesome is that he's now in an offense that is being tailored specifically to him. I do love that. I mean, Charlotte doesn't have any great quarterbacks. They won a Super Bowl with their defense. Jay Cutler is like their best franchise guy ever. So I hope it's Justin Fields. Let's talk about the Packers here. Everyone's making it seem like they are a soulless shell of themselves without Devonte Adams. This is Aaron Rodgers people back to back MVP. The defense couldn't be more legit. Are you optimistic about Green Bay? Yeah. I mean, unfortunately, I guess for Bears fans to follow up the 32 team with who, you know, what the second-rate team I think Green Bay was, but I think it's for good reason. And it is exactly for that man right there. It's for Aaron Rodgers because he is like, it doesn't matter who he has around him. He's going to elevate those people. And he does have a lot of change around him too, which I think is something interesting to keep an eye on though is like he has a different offensive coordinator who is actually the former O-line coach of the Green Bay Packers. So like they elevated him into the offensive coordinator role. And as a trench girl myself, I love to see it. But I think this offense is going to be a little bit more dynamic as a result because you're going to have to lean on the run game maybe a little bit more, especially as these young receivers kind of come along or these untested receivers come along and they get that chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. But make no mistake. I mean, we already heard the stories in training camp of him pulling these guys into meetings and being like, listen, this is what's happening. You guys need to step up. I don't care. There's no excuses. We're the Green Bay Packers and this is what's expected of us. So he's going to bring these guys along and he also has like a run game and a really dynamic offense and a really great offensive line to lean on while he figures it out. I love it. Quickly. I want your one sentence answer on this. I picked the Vikings to make the playoffs yesterday. Kevin, we love an offensive minded king, Carmen. What do you think? We do. We do because we didn't have it in Chicago. Yep. Listen, one sentence is, I don't even need one sentence. I need two words. I need Justin Jefferson and that's about it. The way that Kevin O'Connell is going to be able to scheme Justin Jefferson open like he did with Cooper Cup in Los Angeles is going to be scary. And if you were not taking Justin Jefferson, your fantasy leaves, like honestly, I mean, I get Jonathan Taylor has to be your number one pick, but Justin Jefferson is 1.2. I know he's a receiver. He's 1.2. I would ask you to do the Gritty here, but we simply do not have time. Carmen, we were up against the clock here. Thank you so much for joining us, but I want to talk about the Buccaneers. Six seasons there through bad times and great times winning the Super Bowl. And I saw you on the sideline. We were taking selfies before that game where Brady's crying and then he almost needs a comeback, all of that. Anyone who says Brady isn't locked in is, dot, dot, dot. Out of their mind. Just like it's laughable, honestly, because this is a guy that his, I mean, he's even said it on his podcast, like he finds ways to be motivated every single year and he has a chip on his shoulder every single year. This guy has never been able to turn his competitive factor off. And that's why he's playing at 45 years old. I mean, I've never seen just getting to watch him for a couple of years, go through practice. I've never seen someone practice like he practices. I mean, he is making the most of every single minute he is on that field, even if the first team offense isn't on the field. He is taking his guys, he's taking his line, his running backs, his tight ends, he's working on protections, he's pulling receivers one-on-one and he's working on their routes with them. Like he is just so locked in and he can't turn it off. I say that he's a sociopath in the best way because he is just outrageously committed to football. And which makes, you know, if he needs to take some time away, you let him do it, but he hung the season in those white lines. A sociopath in a good way, like Penn Badgley in a Netflix show where he kills all the women he falls in love with. I feel like in a great way. Like, oh my God, okay, let's not. Really quick. To you. You said it, sister. I'm supposed to do sleepers today, but you know it's a new show, so everything, you know, who knows how it's gonna end. So I'm gonna ask you this one question. I'll do my sleepers tomorrow, people. You'll have to wait to click off. It'll be a nice celebration. I'm gonna ask you, sleeper on the bucks or sleeper pick or somebody I need to keep my eye on quickly? Joe Triantranke. He's gonna have double digit sacks. Oh, if I take David Mussen, tell me. Oh, yeah. No, seriously. This man, he is now going to, he's the bona fide starter. He is not sitting behind JPP right now in that rotation. The way that that interior of that defensive line is going to eat up blockers. So that Shaq Barrett and Joe Triantranke on either side of the line are gonna have a field day with one-on-one matchups. They are just going to eat and eat and eat. And Joe Triantranke, I got to see him training this off season. He looks incredible and just has been his power. Everything has just come together in his hands and he, I'm calling it, double digit sacks for Joe Triantranke. Double digit sacks, a bold prediction. You are such a badass. You're a trench gal. You love an offensive-minded king. You are amazing and you are taking over the world of media. So foxsports.com, I guess, for your NFC North breakdowns? Yes. Yeah, my NFC North breakdown's out today. I can't believe we don't have your Twitter handle on here, but I'll be tweeting it out. You are an absolute badass stud and I love you for coming on. Come on again. Oh, gosh, thanks for having me. I'll give you more time next time. I'm sorry. We'll be back. We do, because we don't have time for sleepers, but maybe we'll take some of your tweets and questions so keep them coming. Up and out, I'm sorry. Out of time, sleepers, tomorrow is our kickoff party. Who's joining me? Eric Wettelester, Super Bowl champ, breaking it down. We'll see you tomorrow.