 Back in New York City, where I belong, among the rain, among the cold weather, the puddles, and the pizza. I ate two bagels this morning. What have you done with yourself today? Let's do it. We've got a lot of storylines to talk about. We're breaking down the playoff picture under reactions. Who, which player, performance coach, fan, whatever, should we hit the lights on and spotlight and give some love? Hit us up at Up an Atom show. And we will talk to the best beat writer as reporters in the business. Let's go. If I could explain the pain of having six pounds of fake hair attached to your scalp and snatched back with 19 rubber bands, I think I could be a linebacker. I think I have the strength of an Aaron Donald. K. Adams here, Up an Atom show coming to you live from New York City. This is not really New York City, but I appreciate the studio space and the time. We're gonna have a really great show for the next hour. We've been breaking news lately, the Sean McCoy. I mean, that will not stop. My friend LaShawn, nice enough to come on the show, gets caught up talking about Belichick. You know Bill's seen that clip. You know their show and that and talking about that up in New England. They might not lose a game from now until the end of the season in that AFC East where they're still very much alive. So lots to get to on the program. Hamilton will be joining me from New York. Too cool to come down and hang out with me in studio, but that's okay. I've also got your best values. I messed up on my parlay. Again, it busted. I don't know how it happened. I'm clearly bad luck. So I'm gonna show you where else you can save a couple of bucks. But let's get into what we do every Wednesday and it's our under-reaction list. And we've beaten all the big storylines to death. So it's time for a few things that we aren't talking about enough. And I'm gonna start where the Super Bowl is going to be in just a couple of months with the Cardinals. Because this Arizona team is something else. I think we are under-reacting to what Colt McCoy's performance on Sunday means for this Cardinals squad. They beat the Rams and I know Matthew Stafford didn't play. But Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey did. And the Cardinals offense looked as functional as it has all year. They looked good. So listen, it wasn't the most spectacular or explosive performance, but the Cardinals put up 27 points and moved the ball consistently up and down the field. At four and six, now four and six with the season hanging in the balance, the cards have to consider I think, and I'm not hearing this enough. And I'm sure Alex Clancy's talking about this and he'd love to come on and chop it up and maybe we'll have him on. I don't hear enough about starting Colt again. And we're talking four and six here. So we're talking about a critical Monday night bright lights matchup against the Niners as part of the international series. They're playing the sucker in Mexico City. Whatever happens with Colt and if whether or not they have a conversation internally he should be out there or Murray or whatever. There is a bigger issue at play here because this off season, Arizona locked up Steve Kime, their longtime GM, head coach, Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, right? They did this whole thing. And then there's the dog. I don't know what the dog has to do with it, but I think he might be guilty too. Here's the thing. It's a valid question. And by the way, they're locked up through 20, 27 people. Do they get along? Are they friends? Is there dysfunction? Is Taylor Swift not writing some song about this bromance out in the desert? I mean, come on. It seems like there's some sort of disconnect between the three. And I can take it back to the collapses, down the stretch the last few seasons. That's the effort. That's soullessness. That's something going on. There's dramas surrounding the, what were they calling it? The independent study clause with Kyler Murray in his contract that was then removed. That was the huge talk of the off season. And then there's this miserable start to this year when there's so much talent it doesn't add up. And I know a toxic relationship and I see when people, I'm not in that locker room so I can't point to which one it is or if it's even one of them, if it's two of them, if it's the other, but it's obvious that there's something going on and something needs to change. And if Colt McCoy keeps playing the way he's playing and succeeding, it's only gonna shine a brighter spotlight on whatever the disconnect seems to be between Cliff and Kyler. So something has to give. Listen, three's company, Rest in Peace, Jack Ritter, Suzanne Summer, great sitcom in the 80s, but this is not that. Who's it gonna be? What are your thoughts? Add up in Adam's show. You want them to be good, you want them to be successful. We show this montage on our show of the winning teams in the locker rooms and you're seeing Dabel winning and you're seeing the Vikings and Kirk Cousins a lot. And then they show Cliff and he's winning after the game with Colt McCoy with their hands. And I'm just kind of like, I don't know. I don't know what to think about that. All right, we're gonna have some great beat reporters on the show to talk about some of these storylines. And do you wanna know what else we're underreacting to? And we have to hit the lights on a player, a performance or something by the end of the show that deserves some love. I put on Twitter CJ Ham, the fullback for the Vikings. I think it's been like five years since he's had a touchdown, a great fullback. And I got a lot of love for that on Twitter, which you love to see. So if you have anybody hit me up, definitely. Okay, so let's go to another thing that I think we're underreacting to. And I wanna go to a team that I always hear from their fans about we don't talk about them and we don't, and this year I'm somehow not. I'm talking about the Titans. And I do think we are underreacting to the Titans and I wanna hear from those fans because they keep winning despite having the weakest offensive output of any team in the league right now. And that my friends is hard to do. Look at what I mean. Look at these numbers. Hamilton puts us together and he'll be joining me in a second to give his thoughts here. The Titans rank dead last offensively right now. Dead last, yet somehow they're topsy AFC South. You can talk about the division being what it is. But they've won six games. Winning six games is not easy and they've done it by a significant margin. So if you put the context together here, they're on track, get this, to join the 1989 Steelers. Another Taylor Swift reference there. Couldn't get tickets, tried buying tickets for Taylor Swift for like seven hours last night for Mindy's Maya. So anybody has any ins, let me know. But 1989, of course, the Taylor Swift album but also the last time that this happened, they're the only other team, those 1989 Steelers since the merger to make the playoffs finishing last in total offense. It's impressive people. It doesn't happen very often. So they would be the first to ever do so and win a division title, which is a little mind blowing emoji. And I do think we have to give credit to Mike Rabel. That's the guy. He is the reigning coach of the year, lest you forget. But I think what he's doing right now is even more impressive than last year. Taylor Luan is out. No Harold Landry. They lost Tannehill for a few games. They deal away A. J. Brown. Who knows what a variable even have to do with that. But this guy in these stupid shorts in the cold weather is still finding a way. And don't let this tough guy wear shorts when it's cold act, you know, or the talk of cutting off appendages. Yeah, that's, I'm bringing that back to 2022. Don't let that fool you. This guy, that man out there that needs to go to Dick's Sporting Goods and get some of the North Face fleece pants or something. He is doing this without, I mentioned Harold Landry. That's his best pass rusher. And somehow he is schemed up and absurd 77 quarterback pressures out of his defense over the last two weeks. That is almost double the next closest team. How do you do that? How does that happen? I bet you LaShaw McCoy thinks he's a better coach than Bill Belichick. And he is finding ways to get just enough out of his offense. He's dialing up plays. I mean, remember this? Can we bring this up? Dial this up. The flee flicker, guys. Oh, come on. Come on. And it's the perfect time he's doing this. Down three to Denver. Come on. At some point, they need to get this offense going if they're going to contend in this conference, of course. The AFC is loaded. But you got to give brave bulls. And Titans fans, I'm annoyed with you. Where have you been? Why aren't you bothering me for not talking? Why aren't you bothering everybody for not giving you any love? You are atop your division. You are finding ways to win regardless. And yeah, I'm going to whip this. I'm literally going to cut this pony off. Like I'm going to cut Conrad's hair off. This is outrageous. Okay. We now also, what else are we underreacting to? If I don't have tweets, and I'm going to look right now. Oh, see, that would be cute. I want to look at tweets really quick. Are people tweeting anything that we're underreacting to? I know Taylor Fu is all over it. I don't think I have internet in here. I got to get hooked. Oh yeah, we'll get hooked up to that. Lots of shams love on the old Twitter feed. Lots of cut Conrad's hair. But what are we underreacting to and not beating dead? And all we're talking about, of course, is the Packers and the quarterback play and Tom Brady turning it around. I'm going to go, I'm not going to say I'm going to go negative here. I just think it's fascinating what the national media collectively decides to spend time on and what they don't decide to spend time on. And whether it's by market, whether it's by big city, whether it's by pedigree, or just general punching bag worthiness. I don't know, but I do believe that we collectively are underreacting to how bad the Rams have been this season. And there's a lot of people out there who think that I hate the Rams. And it's not true, but now we have news that Cooper Cuff's ankle injury, he's on IR, and LA is well on their way to joining this list. Take a look at this, guys. And while, yeah, it's not totally unheard of for Super Bowl champs to miss the playoffs, the next year, it's a little insane to have it happen and barely be a blip on the radar. For some reason, we are not talking about the Rams. I don't understand. I'm gonna stop it right. I mean, I'm obviously a supporter of the Bengals. We are going to talk about the Bengals with an Intrepid Beat reporter close to the team there as they come off their bye. But the Bengals started this season slow. They reshuffled an offensive line. And everyone's like, Bengals aren't going anywhere. They're not, look at how bad they are. And there's people piling on the Cincinnati squad. The Cincinnati squad had a great run last year and lost the Super Bowl. What about the team that talked so much and then went to the Super Bowl and won it in what they're not doing to start this year? And yes, Eric Weddle will be here tomorrow. We'll have to talk all about this because Matthew Stafford's arm, I said this before the season started and now it just hasn't looked right. And it hasn't looked right since that elbow surgery. And then of course he's dealing with his own issues. Now, I think we're gonna keep going here. The O-line, no Andrew Whitworth. He's out there doing his thing for Amazon Prime. I can't even imagine, I have no knowledge of this but there's gotta be conversations happening about him coming back because the run game does not exist. None of the receivers other than Cup have performed and there's just no juice to this team at all. So I think we are seeing the toll that the SM Picks approach can take on a squad. Listen, they have no depth and they haven't been able to replace the players who've declined or moved on because they've had no draft capital. Yes, they got the Rams and the Lombardi and they did all these things to get these wins. But, and I understand that you take that trade up. Would you trade off your future and contending every year for that championship? I get it. But remember, they were a jacquoise guitar drop interception away from absolutely being left totally empty handed. So if you look at the Chiefs as a contrast, and I was talking to Hamilton, I'll bring Hamilton here in a minute. You know, the Chiefs have a ring. They have two conference championships. They made a consecutive AFC title game by taking a long-term approach. That's what they did. They traded away a top player in his prime, Tyreek Hill. They traded away Tyreek Hill. Why? To help rebuild and bolster and add depth to the rest of the roster. Look who they've added through the draft in the last three years alone. You're looking at it right here. 15 of the Chiefs, 22 starters right now were drafted by the team. That's so freaking impressive. And the trades they do are usually value pickups. You get a Kedarius Tony deal. Even when that happened, everyone's like, all right, whatever. Look at what they are doing, right? And they got a first round talent for a third round compensation in pulling for that deal. So, SM picks is a look. It's definitely a catchy slogan. And it got them a ring with the Rams. And I do give Snead and McVeigh all the credit in the world for making it work last year. But was that the plan? Or is it a cautionary tale? You can one off a Super Bowl with that strategy, but in order to build a team that can consistently contend year after year, you sort of need to know how to use those picks. Hamilton, it's an interesting conversation. You and I had it on the phone at one of our many phone calls. I don't know that I would, I like what the Rams did because they do have a championship and that's whatever. And then they're celebrating and it's okay. I'm like, I would probably pick that over the Steelers doing, I mean, they messed up their quarterback situation a little bit, I think, in the interim. But you know, a team that's always good. Like a Ravens, a blue chip stock NFL squad. I don't know, I kind of like what the Rams did, but it's a good conversation. Ian, I think anytime you can make that trade-off for a ring, I think you'll always take the ring. One ring is worth, you know, 10 seasons of going through some struggles, I think. Any organization would take that. But yeah, I think ideally though, you wanna build a team that's healthy, sustainable and contending year to year to year. And obviously that's not easy to do. We saw New England do that for a while. Obviously when you get a franchise quarterback who's young and you can build around it, it helps you do that. But I think ideally that's kind of the way you wanna do it. And we saw New England do it for that entire stretch of almost 20 years. And I think if, you know, we're gonna see the Chiefs do that for a very long stretch right now too, where they're gonna be in the mix for a Super Bowl nearly every season with the way that they've built up their depth and some of the other pieces around my homes through the draft. And I think when you look at the Bengals, you mentioned the Bengals earlier, I think they're gonna be an interesting case study in this because they could go one way or the other right now. You know, they sell a burrow and chase on rookie deals and Higgins and they're gonna have to pay all those guys eventually. Do they decide, okay, we know we're gonna have to pay them soon like let's make a bunch of crazy trades to get some of that's in and try to get that ring. Or do they start shuffling around some of those assets? Maybe trade a T Higgins to get some good draft compensation to keep rebuilding that roster. So I think we're gonna see them go through this tough decision now in the next year or two. But there a chance for the Rams here? I don't think so this season, especially with this Cooper Cup news now. And you know, as you mentioned the Stafford's elbow, I think there definitely is something off there. There's just nothing, this team just doesn't have anything going right now to make you feel confident they can turn it around. Cardinals are you as worried as I am? There's something going on. I mean, it's not okay. Yeah, I think I almost wonder how different things would be if the Cardinals didn't take out the independent study clause. Cause once you put it out there, does it really help you like PR wise to then walk it back? Like it's already out there. We already know that you wanted to do this. And it seems like it's something that Kyler needed. And if it was the caveat that you needed to be able to give them that long-term deal, it made a lot of sense to me. Because clearly it's just the offense doesn't run the way it's supposed to run. Kyler can make some phenomenal plays, but you see it, the ball's not getting out on time. And when Colt McCoy is in there, it's a marked difference. Not saying that Colt McCoy is better than Kyler. But Colt McCoy knows how to run the offense. And Kyler right now looks like he's having issues with that. And then him and DeAndre Hopkins on the sideline, they've got these HBO cameras in everybody's face. And it just doesn't, I don't know what's gotta go, but it's almost like something's gotta go. And it's not a good look when Colt goes out there and they decide to look as functional as they've looked all season. All right, we've got more to come. Marissa Contip, Kelly is on the program. She's gonna talk to us about those bangles coming off a buy and we'll check in with more reporters. You've got Vikings covered. And we'll talk also about, I don't even know. Oh my gosh, a good old fashioned snowball and buffalo this weekend, yay. Hey, Adam's back with your weather on the nines. The forecast and buffalo this weekend calls for four to six feet of snow, burr. Let's head to Western New York and get the latest here with Maddie Glav, the bills reporter. Maddie, welcome to the show. Love you, love your work there for those bills. I gotta say, when I hear snow, I think nope, not going, not interested, but I have a feeling Buffalo fans embrace it. Is it like a happy thing that you're gonna get four to six feet? I think people actually enjoy the first snowfall here, especially when you hear it's gonna be four to six feet. I don't know if people love that aspect of it, but there is some excitement around the first snowfall. I think as Buffalonians and as people who know what snow is and who experienced a lot of snow during the winter, we always laugh at when people predict that first snowfall because they're usually wrong, but when lake effect gets put in front of winter storm, you have no idea what's gonna happen. It could dump four to six feet. It could also dump four inches. At this point, they're calling for a lot, so that's what we're expecting, but who the heck knows? It's so funny that if you're in Buffalo, you are somewhat of a weather person. You have to know, like lake effect is nothing I ever, I grew up in Chicago and I think they said lake effect all the time, never paid it any mind, but in Buffalo, it's a whole other animal. And so are injuries to quarterbacks who are potential future Hall of Famers, a Super Bowl favorites like Josh Allen. What is Maddie, the status of the elbow and how much does it seem to be affecting Josh's play? Yeah, we heard from Sean McDermott on Monday after the game and he said that Josh came out of the game in a good spot. And so they're gonna take it day by day, which is what Sean said pretty much all week last week, except on Friday, he ruled him hour to hour. And we heard from Ken Dorsey, our offensive coordinator too after the game. And he said, it was unbelievable what Josh Allen did to get ready for the game. And we heard him on Kyle Brandt's podcast as well this week and he said that the amount of time he spent in the training room and with our trainers was just extensive, the hours that they put in, the things that they had to do to make sure he was ready for the game. He said on Monday last week, he heard that it probably wasn't likely that he was gonna be able to play in the game, but since he did all of that work in the training room and put all those hours in, he was able to play in the game on Sunday, which I think we were all pretty shocked at as well, just with how practice went that week, we saw a lot of Case Keenum. We didn't see a lot of Josh Allen at all. So I think it's incredible and goes to show you just the type of quarterback and the type of character that he has and what he's willing to do for his team. He loves those guys so much. So I'm not surprised at the end of the day that he made it work and he made it happen. Unfortunately, it was a loss for the Bills, but they've played in so many crazy games over the last couple of years. I'm like, y'all need to stop, like please. But then you're sweating, which keeps you warm in all the snow, which is great. And it keeps your heart moving. I'll say, I don't wanna get into the red zone interceptions. He's not a hundred percent, that's obvious. My, I had an issue or like, I had like a, what are we doing moment when Devin Singletary's out there, Maddie, and he looks so great. And then they sort of abandoned the run and it's not the first time. So this team was loaded with talent, even with or without Josh Allen. Do they need to make more of a commitment to running the ball? I think they know they want to be a balanced team. We've heard from Ken Dorsey in the past couple of weeks and he said, my favorite aspect of this offense is when we're spreading the ball out, we're spreading the wealth. And I think that's when you've seen the offense is the most successful. We have so many weapons on this team from wide receivers to tight ends to running backs. Nyheim Hines got added to this roster as well. I think we're looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the table and what he can bring to this team once he gets more comfortable in the offense. But yeah, Sean McDermott also said on Monday, hey, it's getting colder here in Buffalo. We're gonna have to commit to the run more. That's just something that's gonna have to happen. And the bills rank number 10 in terms of their rushing offense, but Josh Allen is averaging a big part of that number of the rushing offense. So I think they know that they need to do that. They want to do that. It was great to see Devin Singletary get two rushing touchdowns in the first half against the Vikings. And hopefully we see a lot more of that against the Browns in a game that could be a weather game and a game that you need to run the ball. The Browns are coming in with Nick Chubb. The bills have got to match that in some type of way. I don't wanna bring up Nick Chubb, but since you did, Maddie, I'm a little worried. This should be a win for Buffalo, of course. It's another game at home. They're there, they're turf, they're snow. But the truth is, I mean, Chubb's got like 900 rushing yards more than that, I think he's the NFL's third leading rusher. How can, you know, the run defense for the bills has been under question a little bit, some injuries there. How did they slow down this rushing attack with Chubb? So last week against the Vikings, I think they did a better job of that because off of their bye week against the Jets and then against the Packers, they were really struggling against stopping the run. And you saw these teams who were trying to play catch up in the second half, they started to run the ball instead of throw the ball, which was new for the defense to experience something like that, you know, run the clock, hold the ball, instead of pass it and try and air it out, which is what this defense has seen a lot of when teams are trying to play catch up. But against the Vikings, they held the Vikings to just 23 rushing yards in the first half. They have Dowling Cook on the Vikings. So they were doing a good job of that, although Dowling Cook broke off an 81 yard rushing touchdown. So that kind of muddies the water when you're looking at the number of rushing yards that the Vikings had against the bills. So I think there were some good things to come out of that game. They just can't let an explosive play happen. And with Nick Chubb, you never know when something like that is gonna happen. So we always hear our defensive coordinator say, you have to be gap sound. And that's exactly what they have to do. Greg Russo was ruled week to week. We're gonna see and hear from Sean McDermott today at 12 o'clock. So it'll be interesting to see if he maybe is day to day now after missing one game, he would be a huge help to the defense and the defense of line. If we're able to get him back this week, so many injuries on the defense, I think that's had a lot to do with it as well. But a lot of time left. You gotta get a division win here soon, but it's the Browns at the Bills. Early window on Sunday on CBS Maddie Lab, covering the Bills. Enjoy the snow. I wanna see some snow angel selfies, follow Maddie on social media. And hopefully she's dressing up in layers upon layers, four to six feet expected. Now it might be the Buffalo Bills representing the AFC and the Super Bowl, taking on the Vikings in the NFC. It's fun to be a Minnesota and there. I bet you, let's check in right now with Ben Guessling. I bet you're like, listen, we got our own snow. We got our own problems up here in Minnesota, right? Four to six feet would be unusual for us. What we typically get is you get a few hits, it just doesn't leave for five months. But yeah, four to six feet, good luck to Buffalo if that's what it is. Cause that's a different world than what we typically get around here. Well, you guys just got back from Buffalo where you got your thing that everyone's saying y'all needed. The Vikings need that signature win and it happened in brilliant fashion in the game of the year. So it's so much fun for you right now. But now I'm looking, I know what the team is thinking. They're not even thinking about it anymore. They got the Cowboys on the docket. So what do these Vikings need to do to avoid a letdown after that win? Well, I think a lot of this is gonna be some of the same questions you had going into Buffalo is how do you deal with that pass rush with what Dallas throws at you. This offensive line did an awfully good job last week against that Bill's pass rush that everybody said was gonna be a big problem for them. Kirk Cousins got hit a number of times, but when he needed to make that throw to Justin Jefferson at the end of the game, he did it from a clean pocket. I think if you're able to do that again and get the running game going the way they did in the second half with Dalton Cook, you can have success against this Cowboys defense. This has been a team the last couple of weeks that has given up a lot of yards on the ground. We saw the Packers do it a week ago. I would look for the Vikings to try to do some of those same things, knowing that everybody's been trying to take Justin Jefferson away. But the other piece of it is we've seen teams try to stop Justin Jefferson and he's kind of showing that you can do whatever you want. But when Kirk Cousins trusts me and puts it up, there's not a lot you can do to completely take me out of the game. Has Justin Jefferson changed since last year? Has he evolved at all as a player on or off? You know, I think the way they've changed it is just that they're giving him more opportunities. You have seen him kind of have his chances in this offense in the past, but now they're getting to the point. I think he's had these conversations with Kirk Cousins of, hey, just trust me. And you've seen it the last couple of weeks especially where it's tight coverage and Cousins is saying, I'm still gonna give you a chance and no greater example of that than the fourth and 18 at the end of the game where they have to have it. He goes up and makes the catch of his life to basically save that game. I think that's where you've seen a lot of the evolution just in the way that they're using him. He has been, I think, more vocal. He's been a guy that is starting to understand that the spotlight is on me. Defenses are trying to take me away. He's gotten probably better at being patient with that, had a couple of conversations to that extent with Kevin O'Connell early in the season to stay patient when teams are rolling coverage toward him. But really, it's just been them giving him chances and him showing time and again that that's a good idea. Then it's crazy that you're saying that because this is a kid who had 1,600 yards last year. So to say the difference is that they're giving him more opportunities is terrifying, but I don't think you're wrong. And I think trust is an interesting word. There's also, there must be some sort of unselfishness when it comes to that offense and a complete facelift here with the entrance of Kevin O'Connell. Is he the difference maker? Is he getting enough credit? Because he's getting quite a bit here, but what has he brought? Well, there has been a complete change in terms of how this team operates on a daily basis. I think you've seen it in a number of ways. You see, number one, I think the relationship with Kirk Cousins is a lot different. Cousins has more control on the offense. I think he feels like he has a coach that's behind him probably in a way that he might not have felt with Mike Zimmer. I think there's an openness to his input on the offense. There's more for him to do with the line of scrimmage. All of those things I think have contributed to him making some of the plays that you saw him make where he's not as worried about if I make a mistake, what are the consequences gonna be? It's put it up, trust it, give my guys a chance a lot more often. I think that's been a change and just the overall culture around here is quite a bit different. It's a looser team. We see Cousins on the plane with everybody's chains on and his shirt off. I mean, that's not something you would have seen very much in the past. I think this is a looser team. It's a more confident team. We'll probably see it at some point here if they take a couple losses in a row. I don't think you'll see anybody panic. And a lot of that is a reflection of Kevin O'Connell, but he's kind of gone about it. Quickly, Kirk Cousins, Patrick Peterson, they both wore the chains. Who's next? Who's wearing them after this Cowboys game? Well, we'll have to see what they do at home. They're home for five of the next six. So the plane rides home won't happen for a little bit. I don't know what it'll be at home if this keeps up, but I would think that Justin Jefferson probably has to get in that mix at some point down with Kirk and two guys. No doubt. I mean, they probably, they have their own chains. They've been contributing to Kirk Cousins, the donation of chains for Kirk Cousins, but Kirk's probably gonna get his own at some point here. I think we'll see that before the end of the season too. Oh God. You know what? I'm glad they're home. I could take a break. I need a bi-week from the chains and the plane rides all around. Ben Guessling, I think you, I think when you just start doing it with media members, to be honest, you all have had the real hard time in the past five or 10 years. Dealing with this team and the heartbreak. So I think Ben, you, from the Star of Tribune, should be wearing those chains and I'm rooting for the squad to bring home the glory for the Vikings in the NFC. And it's nice to see somebody else rule the NFC North for a change. Finally, we appreciate you. Ben, let's head to the jungle. My favorite place, the heart of the NFL, bringing in one of my favorite team reporters for the Cincinnati Bengals. Marissa Contipelli, how are you? I am doing great, Kay. It's so exciting to join you. And also not a coincidence that I'm on the show this week when the white bangles were turning, right? Woo! I'm stoked. And that is right, people. In case you didn't know, dun-dun-dun, white helmet time is back again. We're so excited about it. And everyone's well rested. Everybody's doing like self-assessments on the squad. I know that they know the standard they want to be at and they're turning this thing into good and having that perfect bi-week going into week 11 now. Jamar Chase, I want to get here. How has his absence sort of impacted Joe Burrow and this offense and where are we at with the receivers? Right, I mean, anytime you have a guy like Jamar Chase who's not on the field, it's going to have a huge impact no matter how good that offense is. But what it's kind of opened up opportunities for the Bengals to do and what we saw in week nine against Carolina is get the run game going, something they had not been able to do for the first eight weeks of the season, a little mind blowing that it took until week nine for Joe Nixon to have a 100-yard rushing game. But it's also getting some more guys involved in that passing game. I mean, it's why they brought in a tight end. Like Hayden Hearst, who can be such a threat in the receiving game for this team. Joe Burrow, his numbers haven't quite been up to what he is typically with Jamar Chase. You're looking at just his passing yardage alone, but it's allowing the Bengals to be a more balanced offense. And you can't sleep on a guy like Tyler Boyd. I know everyone thinks of Jamar Chase as the Bengals' deep thought receiver, which he absolutely is. I mean, six touchdowns of 50 or more yards since the start of last season. That's tops in the NFL. But the number two guy on that list, Tyler Boyd with four. So just because you don't have that right in Jamar Chase, you still got a guy in Tyler Boyd for Joe Burrow to air it out to. And of course, you mentioned the balanced offense, Joe Nixon, a historic game, over 200 scrimmage yards, five touchdowns, that's in week nine. And we all want that to carry over and bring success for this offense moving forward. This week, it's round two against the Steelers. Now, when was that? That was week one, I think, that overtime loss. Yeah, am I right? What has changed, you think? Yeah, what do you think is the biggest change from then to now when it comes to trying to avoid being beaten again? Well, I think the biggest change is just the play of Joe Burrow. I mean, you have to remember that was his first game back after the appendectomy and after his procedure. So he didn't really get the training camp that everyone else did. And I just think Burrow has looked so much more comfortable since that week. Honestly, since even week two, you take those first two weeks out of the equation, it's Joe Burrow that we had seen all of last season. And so you're not gonna get another game where Burrow throws four interceptions and the Bengals turn the ball over as often as they did against the Steelers in that game. So that's the first and foremost. And then secondly, just the play of the Spangles defense has been so consistent all season long, taking out the one day night game against Cleveland because that kind of seems like an outlier. We need to look at what the Spangles defense has been able to do all season long. And Kay, they could be getting a huge lift back in that in DJ Reader. He was activated off of IR as we go through the window for him. So if he can go on Sunday, that will be monumental because a lot of teams have been able to really get the run game going against the Spangles defense. And when Reader is up there up on the line, he just brings such a force, especially against just what teams are trying to do on the ground. Oh, I'm so excited, that's huge news. He's one of my favorites. I just love talking to DJ Reader. He's one of my guys. I don't know what the question is I want to ask you about how this team is handling this year. Because it seems, I was just talking about the Rams. The Rams look awful and they're not getting any, and they won the Super Bowl and I feel like they don't get grief. And the Bangles, there were never really expectations for the Bangles. And now this year, they're getting criticized at every little thing that happens, right? So how is, you know, I know Joe setting the tone there. How are they handling the adversity? And you were with the team and you're with them every day. Marisa, tell me if this team feels that same level of magic and special, and if they can get there again. Yeah, that's a great question, Kay. I mean, if you're just being around the team, like you wouldn't know that fans, you know, had hit the panic button, you know, at certain points throughout the season. Oh my gosh, they started going to, you know, they haven't won an AFC North game yet, but you know, just take a deep breath. Like everything is fine. And they're exactly the same point that they were last year at five and four coming out of the buy. And I know you can't compare, you know, last season to the season, it's a different team, you know, just different in general in the NFL. But, you know, the way this team went about the second half of last season, the way that they made the playoff run, you know, just only setting them up for the future. I mean, a lot of those guys hadn't made a run like that before. Not only who had been some veterans with this team, but a lot of the youngsters too. And so they know what it takes and that they're going to have to kind of, you know, run the table in the second half, like they did a season ago. And just talking with the guys, they know that they control their own destiny here, that they're going to have to go out there, win some AFC North games first and foremost to try to, you know, go out and win this division. But it's just, these guys are confident. The magic is still there. I've not been around a closer locker room than I have these last two years, which is, these guys are truly friends. They enjoy each other's company. You know, they stay later in the building. It's just hanging out, playing ping pong, playing, you know, card games. You don't see that everywhere. And even when I talked to some of the veterans, talked to Michael Thomas, our safety, who's been around the league for 11 years. He's told me so many times that this is the closest locker room he's been in since his rookie season, when he was with the 49ers. Also a team that went to the Super Bowl. So he, it's just, it's something magical. I love that word magical, especially as we're getting around the holiday season because that is what this team is and it's what's the actailers built here in Cincinnati. Don't get swept by this, swept by the Steelers, Marissa. Do not, it's on my Christmas wish list. Do not get swept by those Steelers in 2022. No, I don't want to have it happen, he does take it. Not on those white helmets, baby. The team reporter for the Cincinnati Bengals, the person whose job I want most in sports media, Marissa Contebelli, bringing back the all whites this weekend for a divisional matchup. We'll be back to paint the playoff picture that's right on Bob Rossing it next. I don't know, are we gonna be the show that keeps showing weather? Cause I'm not into that. Was that a decision made in a group meeting here on Up and Atoms? Don't love the weather, Twitter, tweet, talk. But here it is, Thursday night football, one night away. You gotta love Snow Lambo, sure. Now it's week 11, so we are officially halfway to the Super Bowl in Arizona, Super Bowl 57, the playoff picture. You know, it's starting to take shape, so it's important to get it right and follow along so it's a lot of fun. But it's not always super easy, especially with the schedule changing and ties and all that. So we bring in Matt Hamilton because we were on Good Morning Football together for six years. I literally never learned about the playoff picture. I was a total brat and just was like, Hammer, what is this? What does it mean? What happens here? And because I've never learned it, that's why we're gonna talk about it. I mean, it's true. It's definitely true. Yeah, remember the roadmaps I used to have to make before every show? Like every Monday I had to have like how every scenario was impacted. It was fun, fun times. It was not fun. And then it's, but you're amazing and that's why you're here. So I wanna start with those Packers, right? That's where we're gonna start. And they're sitting at four and six. So they are, tell me if I'm wrong, a game and a half back of the Niners for the final wildcard spot in the NFC. What's going on there? First of all, these graphics are really cool. Woo! They're so cool. But second of all, I'm kind of getting back on board if they can stick with the plan that they showed on Sunday and just keep running the ball. They had over 200 yards out of Jones and Dillon. They've ran twice as many times as they threw. And you saw how it got a more efficient version of Aaron Rodgers. I was really excited to see them start figuring it out. They do have the seventh most efficient run game in the league right now. They're averaging almost five yards a carry. And I'm gonna dip into some of the tape. Yeah, I'm gonna dip into some of the tape on that tomorrow when we previewed the Thursday night game and show it's not just that they're running the ball. I love the scheme and the things they're throwing at defenses to keep them off balance too. But they have a big hole to climb out of but I think they can do it if they stick to this plan now. Five yards per carry. I don't know, maybe run the ball even more. They do have an efficient. And hopefully that's what we see on Thursday night. But I have one for you now that we have to talk about because I know you have the Bengals going to the playoffs. I know they're going to rally but that means there's fewer spots and another team you really like, the Chargers. They're at five and four. They're losing that three way tie break right now with the Patriots. So they're currently out of a playoff spot. Do you think they end up getting in? Okay, I'm looking at this. It's a three way tie with the Pats and the Bengals. I'm all in still. Listen, they have played everybody really tough and they've not gone anywhere. They have not fallen despite all of the injuries. And I'm gonna say Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Joey Bosa, they're not done for the season. They're all coming back as you look at this playoff picture and then you got to look at the schedule as well. Remaining schedule, okay. So they only play three teams here with winning records the rest of the way. So you can't tell me they're not gonna get hot and healthy. Hot and healthy in Herbert, baby, the three Hs. That's all I need to see. And I need that kid to get his first playoff appearance. Am I right? I'm with you, but it's getting tough because for the Bengals and Chargers to both make it that means that two out of three, the Bills, the Patriots, or the Jets are falling out of those wildcard spots. So I hear what you're saying, but okay. So you have the Jets and Patriots falling out? So you- Yeah, I do. Okay, I can- Wanna know why? Because Bill Belichick, Bill Belichick is the Marvin Lewis of coaches and he's no good. Okay. We can't go down there, sir. I would hold Marvin Lewis. Hammer, why do you always wanna talk about the Colts? I always wanna talk about the Colts. I feel like we always end up talking about the Colts. I think so. Well, listen, here's the deal. They're a game back of New England in the win column for the last wildcard spot right now. What do you got? I mean, it was great to see Jeff Saturday get his first win. Congratulations to him, but I don't know. Everybody's acting like this solved all their problems and they got to figure it out. And like, Jeff Saturday is gonna go on the scorched earth thing. And like, they beat the only team that like has looked more dysfunctional than them so far this season. So I can't get fully on board yet. I need to see them do it again. They have Philly this week. That's gonna be a huge test for them. And you look at the ground they have to make up. We just talked about it with all those good teams in that AFC playoff picture right now that are in much better shape than they are. I just, I'm not convinced yet. I mean, Matt Ryan gives them a better chance, but I'm not convinced yet that they have what it takes to really run through what's a tough schedule right now. I mean, look at that Philly, Minnesota and Dallas on there. The Chargers will be a huge game. The Giants are in there. This is not easy. And I think they're in a little too much of a hole right now. You weren't sold on the Matt Ryan scramble. That's like Conrad company's date running away from him because of his haircut tomorrow night. I mean, come on. That was impressive. That was. And I think they're a better team with him starting. Absolutely. But I just, I don't know if they have enough right now. The run game did look better. That's going to be key. But with that schedule and the hole that they put themselves in by taking Ryan out, it's going to be tough. I was going to make a Westchester mall joke, but I didn't do it, Matt Hamilton. All right. There it is, your playoff picture. You ready? Oh, we can go there. I'm ready. Can we? Matt, no, no, no, no. Bring Matt Hamilton back. Matt Hamilton yesterday tries helping some bystanders in a mall parking lot jump their car. Sucker born every minute next thing you know. What happened? Nothing to me, thankfully, but the cops come rushing out. One of the young ladies had allegedly shoplifted something from a certain department store and she was up against the wall getting copped. I'm standing there with the jumper cables. It was a great time and yeah, yep. And I call you and I say that's what you get for being nice. Nobody's seeing me and my unapproachable ass and saying, come to help me jump my car. Help me with anything. You're too nice. And I tell you that all the time. Hamilton breaking down the playoff picture like only he and Bob Ross could paint it. We'll be back right here on Up an Adam Show to hit the light. Up an Adam Show and it's time to hit the lights from New York where we spotlight awesome performances that deserve some love. This week it is Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watt and so fun to watch this go down. The mannerisms, the demonstrativeness. I loved it. If not even just because he had a game, it was the way he was able to rewrite his narrative throughout four quarters. And he had a couple, you know, if you didn't watch the game, you wouldn't have known this, but they showed him up so frickin' much on the broadcast. Yes, he had some drops to start the season, but then he emerged and had this beautiful 58 yard touchdown. Yes, it's gorgeous. It deserves love. He did it. He finally did it. Aaron Rogers is fist pumped, but he's so happy. He gets the Packers on the board in the second quarter. And yeah, I thought it'd be a backflip. I didn't see that coming. And you know, that's the first score. And then here's what he had to say. Rather his quarterback had to say about his young rookie wide receiver channeling Mike Evans out there. I think that catch probably, probably on the atomic level, shifted a lot of different things for him exercising some energetic demons. Well, you know what the hell that means, Aaron, but I think it means that he's gonna play even better in the second half. And he did fourth quarter grab another touchdown, just running, getting excited, Lambeau, are you gonna Lambeau leap? Yes, you are. Ricky, Christian Wilson touchdown. He keeps hopes alive. And then a third one, by the way, to tie it up. There's just two minutes to go just over that. Look, I love that. So do your thing, buddy. Keep those pesky energetic demons off your back and keep this going. And maybe the Packers have enough juice to get back into the playoff picture. Either way, very pumped for him, Sunday, just the beginning of what's going to be a beautiful career for one, Christian Watson. It's very also cool to see, I thought, context-wise with C.D. Lambeau on the other side. I think a lot of Packers fans were like, man, we need one of those. We had one of those. We shipped him to Las Vegas. We need one. And then that one, that number nine, stepped up. All right, we've got more to get to here on the Up and Atom show. Tweet me, I'm looking during the break. No, like right now, tweet me. Like right now. My Monday night football boost drama did not hit what else is new. I'm cursed. Maybe I need that atomic energy shift that Aaron Rodgers is talking about Christian Watson has. It'll happen someday, not today. So as an apology, I'd like to try to find deals to help. Oh, Jesus Christ. Kay, you have experience with toxic relationships. I've experienced with energetic demons that I've had to deal with over these years. So we're gonna light some sage. You almost got shanked by a couple of teenagers stealing from Claire's boutique. What the hell do you know? Okay, hold on. I'm just trying to put some good energy out there for you here. Well, you do that. I'm gonna do something that actually matters and find you guys deals. Here we go. Thanksgiving's next week. Maybe we're hosting the entire family again. Then it hits you. Your drunk uncle broke some dishes last year. We'll look no further than Bed Beth and Beyond where you can find a set of two. Not one, but two gravy boats for 50% off. That's just $1250, $10 if you become a rewards member. How about this? Whether it's a holiday or not, maybe you're the type who likes to stay in and enjoy the peace and solitude of your own home. Like me, regardless, you need to eat people. And boy, do I have the main course for you. Swing by CVS and pick up a 16 ounce premium ham. One pounder for just $479. That's at CVS. And adapt Dak Prescott's personal brand. And winter is right around the corner. No, maybe you're a little worried about turning up the heat in the house. The thermostat, ultra flush hood, a blanket robe. Take it out. Huggle.