 unanswered questions right now. Today, the NFC West is up. We mentioned the Niners. Let's do it. There's the clear favorites. If you take a look over at Vandal Sportsbook, the Seahawks right there. Rams should be more of a factor this year. If they can stay healthy, they're getting plus 650. And then there are Z-Gardals, who have the longest odds to win the division of any team in the league right now at plus 2,400. Let's start with the favorites. Let's start with the favorites. Let's start with the favorites, the Niners. Brian can't do it all alone. Oh, that was pretty good. Are you playing a ski ball with my face? Look at what's happening. I didn't really want to hit you. You did like an underhand thing. Listen, it's hard to believe that the Niners haven't won a Super Bowls. Do you guys want to guess when? Since when? 94. They haven't won a Super Bowls since. It's hard to believe because they're so epic and they're always like competitive. And that's, you know, they won five Super Bowls in a 14-year span and haven't won since 1994. I think that's like when the World Cup was in Chicago and they had a little dog be the mascot of it. I was like five years old. All right, the question I have isn't going to be who's healthy and starting under center between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance and Sam Donaldson, maybe Matt Ryan eventually. Who knows? My question for the Niners is, how much does that actually matter? Okay, I'm the one of those people who thinks that Shanahan can start anybody at quarterback and win. A lot of people say that. I think it's cheap. I think it's a little bit lazy. We've seen plenty of examples that that just isn't the case. Nick Mullins, five and 11 as a Niners starter, CJ Bethard, two and 10 as a starter. So I hate that argument because I just disproved it in 20 seconds. Stop tweeting and stop saying it. The Niners don't have, though, just anyone in their quarterback room this year. I really do think they have three good options with a lot of talent and a lot of upside. Whether it's Brock Purdy who showed this mastery of the offense when he won all eight games, he was able to finish out healthy. Clearly he's the preferred choice for this coaching staff right now if all goes right with his elbow injury. And that seems to be on track. He's doing something with towels, throwing towels, whatever that is. Sure, it sounds great to me. Let's keep that juju going. And then Tre Lantz, I think we all agree. He's got the highest ceiling of this group as far as arm strength, athleticism, physical traits, gifts. We haven't seen the sample size yet, though. The caddies stay healthy on the field. Can we fully have faith in him? I don't, we don't quite know what he's capable of. So there's an unknown factor there. Or Sam Darnold, everybody thinks they know. They know he's got a big track record. Listen, if he has to fill in at some point, we saw him finish the year four and two in Carolina and show signs of Kearney turning a corner and sort of realizing some of the potential that he's had his entire life. When somebody, when I've heard of a high schooler, football's boy's name, you know that he's got talent. Okay, look, I was hearing that from when I started liking the NFL about this Sam Darnold wonder child. It hasn't panned off. There's a, there's a gaiseness to it that I think needs to be factored in. There's a lot of things need to be factored in. So I think he could even pan out and give a little bit under the stewardship of a Kyle Shanahan. So the Niners, they've got the most loaded roster in the league, obviously, and they should be able to sustain success with any of these three guys. And instead of us all fighting and arguing and twittering about it, let the thing play out. Okay, this isn't an if you have two quarterbacks, you have none situation with all due respect to John Madden. This is a unique scenario and you legitimately have three pretty good options and it could be a heck of a lot worse. I understand the frustration with how painfully close this team has come over the last four years and I understand the chaotic toxic twitter world that is in the Niners, which I'm attracted to, oddly because that's what I thrive in, toxicity. But put some trust in the process and what's been proven to be one of the most competent regimes in regimes, regimes, regimes, regimes in the entire league. Stop fighting each other on twitter about this and let it play out. Go take five, make some Kool-Aid, kick back and relax. Okay, next up, Kool-Aid, where did that come from? I haven't thought about Kool-Aid in years. Okay, hon, I need just a move of coffee. I think I have allergies, is that a California? Yep. Ew, I'm not happy about that. I'm like, scratchy? Like my throat is scratchy. Okay, next up, let's talk Seahawks. What's the question? Ah! That was a good throw. I mean, Marissa, there's not enough energy for me to move to on this. What's the question? Oh my God! Richard is yelling at me. I don't know if I can handle going to a game in Seattle because that mascot has been known to go rogue and this is my worst nightmare, but my question for this, listen, this is what I think of when I think of the Seahawks. My biggest question is, could I survive going to a game here with this possible? This is terrifying. My real question for the Seahawks, hey, is your young defense ready to make a leap? Let's go. Gino Smith, he had this Hawks offense ranked in the top 10 last year. They were climbing on everybody's head and scratching their ass, okay? It should only be better now in 2023. Seattle has a great young offensive line. They added one of our show favorites, Jackson Smith and Jigba to that loaded receiving core and second round pick, Zach Charbonnet to their backfield with Kenny Walker, who looked like he was gonna run away with the offensive rookie of the year before all the injuries started taking hold. I mean, they are loaded on offense. No questions, but this defense has its issues. They rank in the bottom 10 last year in almost every category. This is not what I think of what I think of the Seahawks. Come on, they do have a talented young core. They've got fifth overall pick. Another guy we love, Devin Witherspoon joining second year standouts to Requel and friend of the program and Kobe Bryant in the secondary and maybe the return of Bobby Wagner sparks them, brings in veteran leadership, gets this unit back to where it needs to be. That's what we're hoping if you're a Seahawks fan or if you just want some, I don't know, drama in the NFC West which kind of went NFC-wuss or something like lately. Like, I don't know, it's not as exciting as we thought it would be. At least last year, the drop sort of was wild with what it was a couple of years ago when you couldn't throw a dart and not hit all pros in a tough, tight, competitive situation. Speaking of Wagner, 10 years in Seattle, when you was there, their defense ranked second in total defense, scoring defense and takeaways. And before you say what everyone says, which is why I love Bobby Wagner and I'm always standing for him because it's all about the Legion of Boom and great, great, great and I know that. They were a huge part of this, very significant but they spanned less than half of Wagner's time with the team. Okay, the Legion of Boom did not have a 10-year stretch in Seattle, don't mean it felt that way, not true. Wagner's impact, by the way, goes beyond the ability to make plays. He's all up here. He's cerebral, he's a leader. I think he can be the glue to get this team back on track, on field, off the field. One of my favorite players, always has been. Pete Carroll said he's already made such a positive impact this off season that his presence has given everyone a bit of a lift. So with the way this Seahawks offense should look, if this defense can go back to being a top 10 unit, I'm gonna say Seattle, this is no question, no question for me guys, Seattle will be back in the playoffs and there is a real chance that they will push the Niners in the division, which is so fun with Geno Smith. You guys are living for it, it's so fun. Okay, let's go to the Rams. Shout out to Stan Cronkey. Okay, I have a question, what's the question? Come on, get to it, let's play over here. You don't know about Stan Cronkey's nuggets, I'm so invested. His son, Josh Cronkey, who I used to serve well. He used to come into Willie's Pub and Pool on game days and order like, well, like McCormick's vodka and tonics. And I'd be like, you could spring for the, you know. Well, what's the question? You could maybe get an absolute up in there. All right, do it, I know. You could do, okay fine. Yeah. But they were in the Western Conference finals, you guys, I'm excited. Okay, the Rams, for the Rams. My question is, the same question I had last year. Is Matthew Stafford okay? Shaw McVeigh said this weekend that he looks like a, quote, human jugs machine. I don't know what that means. Just with the, I think, I guess, the way he's firing the ball, right? There, I have concerns. Do you have concerns? It's my question. Last season, there were multiple concussions. A spinal cord bruise that eventually shut down this season after nine starts. Don't forget, even before that, he didn't feel like, just watching, didn't feel like the same guy after he had the off season elbow surgery last summer. We love Matthew Stafford, right? What a great story. Gets his Super Bowl with the Rams after all those years in the NFC North. Now, among the 32 quarterbacks that made at least nine starts, Stafford ranked 27th and touched on the interception ratio and winning percent into a ranking 22nd in passer rating as well. So with the limited cap space and draft capital, L.A. wasn't able to do much to improve the offensive line that really struggled to protect him last year. That's a little like FM picks. Well, I wish I could invest in offensive line. Can't do it right now. So he'll have Cooper cutback, but the talent around him has taken hits across the board. Not to mention what's happened on the other side of the ball, no more Jalen Ramsey, a defense that's right now projected to start six players who were taken in the sixth round or later over the last six seasons. So it's a little woofy. If Stafford can somehow get back to his usual self, and maybe he can, he gives the Rams a chance to compete for a playoff spot or at least be in the mix in the NFC. But if the injuries have taken a toll on him, which is only natural, it could be another long year in L.A. So that's just the question. It's a health question that kind of sucks. Is Matthew Stafford okay? The Rams, of course, I think it's like they won their ring. They threw it, you know, they bet the house. They won, and now they're dealing with that, and they wouldn't trade that for anything. So it's almost like, it's not a criticism of them and what they did. It all worked, but now this is like, this is the lesson. This is what follows that. How can they maybe make that a shorter turnaround than a longer one will be impressive to watch and I believe they can do it. Okay, and finally the Cardinals. What's the question? Yeah, come on, get to it, lady. There's a lot going on in Phoenix. Hey, they fire, would you have to get to the finals to keep your job? What is this? Listen, Monty Williams loses his gig this weekend. I didn't love that. Okay, my question for the Cardinals is, God, there's so many. Shoot, God, there's so many for these Cardinals. How about this one? It's vague. What is the plan? That's the question. What is the plan here? Jonathan Gannon, there was a question, Mark. What Jonathan Gannon gonna be like? He said this week in Kyler Murray is still quote, a long way away from taking the field after suffering an ACL injury last season. Ian Rappahort reported earlier this off-season he could miss half the season. Deandre Hopkins has not been traded yet and new GM, Monty, is playing the, if he's a Cardinal right now card, which still leaves the door open to anything. Well, if he's a Cardinal, what? Buddha Baker, check out his Instagram Workhouse, people. He's in the lab, trying his best. He is still on the team following his trade request as well. And it sounds like there's been very little progress towards an extension there. And when there's not progress in anything, insecurity breeds. That's what I've learned about me this past year. When there's not progress and you're not getting better every day or you're not seeing signs of that, you get insecure and that harbor's resentment, contempt, things start to live there. That's not a good place to be. And according to the GM, I love that he's still in the building that he hasn't betrayed. I do think he's the cornerstone. Arizona can build around. I don't know that there are many national shows focusing on Buddha Baker and how they need to extend him like ours was, but it's because I fell in love with him taking shots of 818 tequila at the Super Bowl. And we'll see how it shakes out. We wish Buddha the best because he deserves it. And this is an organization still in the middle of a transition. And I think they have to decide what they want to be this season. Do you sell off pieces like de-hop and punt on the year knowing Kyler has a long way to go? Or do you do everything you can to try to stay competitive with Colt McCoy? A few weeks ago, I was thinking it might be smart to start selling, right? After the way that Austin Fort handled the draft, so I am not so sure. Let's take a look at Monty here. Between trading down the number three overall with Houston and making the deal with the Titans so that they could grab Will Leavis, Monty already racked up six picks in the first three rounds next year. Okay, okay. So there's a good chance that both their first rounder and the Texans pick end up being in the top 10 again as well. So the Cardinals are going to have the opportunity to add a lot of talent relatively quickly. This year is gonna be tough, okay? It's gonna be tough. We're all just gonna brace for it and deal with it together. But with the way that they've set up their draft for the next season, if Arizona can somehow rework their de-hop deal and reduce the cap hit, give Buda the extension and let Kyler take time to get healthy, this team could be in the playoff hunt in 2024. So players like Nuke, Buda, I'm just gonna, they do not come around easily. Use this year to evaluate your young players. Build around those stars. Get some new pieces, which you have and you can turn this around in a hurry. We'll see how Monty's plan unfolds. We still don't know for sure what he'll do, but I think there's a clear path to developing if he can work things out with his stars. You've got cornerstones there, make it happen, Cap'n. All right, oh God, I can't wait to set that. I gotta go. Okay, coming up, oh my gosh, the happiest man in all of Southern Florida. Yeah, Darius Beller joins us. I don't know, I wanted Nick Slakers. Boo. All right, all right, all right.