Cris Carter Picks Seahawks To Win Super Bowl, Touts Stafford As MVP + NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

Chris Carter, the 2026 Super Bowl champions are Patriots vs. Seattle. Seattle wins the Super Bowl. Sam Darnold gets the monkey off the back. What's up guys? Mystic Zach here. Today, honored and privileged to be joined by NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Chris Carter, our only repeat guest. How are we doing? That's how great you were. Oh, that's nice. I like that. I like being the first. That's good. Yeah, you're the first. We're doing well. Whenever you have the college football playoff and the NFL playoffs, it's a special time. Absolutely. I mean, you're getting the best of the best. You get the best matchups. And, I mean, there's some great storylines. To me, all the Blue Bloods, Mainstays that we're used to seeing aren't in it. I mean, the Chiefs are removed. Alabama's removed. Georgia's removed. And we've got the most wide open NFL and college football playoffs we've had. Well, absolutely. I mean, you cannot predict. For one, Ohio State goes into the playoffs as the favorite. They get knocked off. When you start the NFL season, you already know Patrick Mahomes is going to be one of the favorites. So having him out, also having Lamar out, Joe Burrows out, Vikings out, Lions out. So, like, absolutely. Like, this is the greatest time for anybody to be able to win a championship. In college football, Indiana is the best team in their history. Ole Miss, Miami, the best team since they won national championship and lost the national championship game 25 years ago. So, I mean, if you are a sports fan, if you're a gambler, even if you're not a gambler, nothing more exciting than the next five days. No, and if you've been following this podcast and you are a gambler, you would have made a lot of money, potentially. I mean, even if you catch the ticket, I picked the Seahawks. I said Super Bowl sleepers 30 to 1. Wow. Now they're 3 to 1. Love it. Oh, yeah. Rams, my preseason Super Bowl pick, their odds have gotten a lot better. I think those are the two favorites for most people heading to these places. We're going to get into it. We've got a litany of games. But I want to start with this coaching carousel. John Harbaugh, career 189 and 113 record for the Baltimore Ravens, a Super Bowl winning head coach, all-time leader in road playoff wins to me I was shocked by this fired by the Baltimore Ravens maybe I shouldn't have been what were your thoughts well there was enough smoke coming out even if you start to see the articles the last month now Lamar went through an unusual set of injuries this year and when you start to hear things like oh he was sleeping in meetings now I know some of the coaches that coach in Baltimore and there could have been only one coach and that was Todd Munkin the offensive coordinator, who they do have like a little riff. He's the only one that would have released some information like that. Because T. Martin, who's worked with him for a number of years, great guy. I mean, they're like this. And then you could see the last press conference after the loss to Pittsburgh being eliminated from the playoffs, like he wasn't trying to save Harbaugh's job. So along the way, I got no guaranteed money. So you got to give me a new contract, probably getting the $60 million. he should voice his opinion because they have underperformed not to hardball's fault but the last four years like collectively offensively and it hadn't been lamar tight end dropped one last year zay flowers two years ago the number of injuries that they've had but this has been a tough year for him they're going to get a quality coach i would love to see baltimore especially with their overall history give brian flores a chance have him get a good offensive coordinator to come. He's defense coordinator in Minnesota now. Be the head coach in Baltimore. Have a sexy offense to go with those defense that he play with that fan base that they have. So, Harbaugh is the number one candidate. He's going to have his choice. The jobs might be here. Yeah, they say every single team with a head coaching vacancy called him. Yeah. This is not like Pete Carroll. Okay, because Pete Carroll, he came back into coaching. No, it's like Andy Reid. I love that. Very good comparison. You can voucher welcome at one place and still be successful. And no, as long as you keep evolving like Andy Reid once he did and as long as you got a quarterback so wherever he's going to go and I hope he goes to the Giants he'll be goes to the Giants I was going to ask you where are the best spots because to me the only two that really stand out to me if I was a free agent coach are the Falcons and the Giants I mean I like the Falcons they have a quarterback issue but they redid Kirk Cousins contract so they're going to be able to delay that until March making a decision. I believe Michael Pence, they have a quarterback of the future. That fan base in Atlanta is very, very similar to the fan base in Baltimore. So I believe that would be an appeal. But ultimately to me, with the personnel, with the defensive personnel, I'm going to the New York football giants. Give me an opportunity to be able to play there in New York. Same kind of element, same kind of gritty team, run the ball, good special teams, great defense, and have a chance for Dart as a quarterback to be a star. So I believe that package right there, got a couple running backs. That package right there as far as talent, to me probably wins out and the tradition. They know how to win a Super Bowl. Yeah, I know that's a good hire because I'm a Cowboys fan and I don't like that hire for them. After a lot of times, all you have to do as a fan or even if I'm the fan of one team, people say, in this situation, what would you do? Well, I love when they take all the wide receivers off the field and they're playing against my team. Like this is the type of thing And Dallas is like, no, don't hire him. You know, hire Joe Judge again or something like that. Yeah, something like that. And don't hire Flores either. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Yes. If you're a fan, protect your team. Hope they go to a different division. Now, what about the Las Vegas Raiders coaching vacancy? Pete Carroll gone. They have the number one overall pick. You would think it's going to be Fernando Mendoza, but still a lot of time there. Tom Brady, a minority owner. But the word is he's very hands-on in this process. Also looking for an offensive coordinator and potentially a defensive coordinator. Where do you see them going? I mean, I think the Raiders is a good job just because of the location. That division is uber tough. So you're going to have your work cut out for you. I mean, Patrick Mahomes is going to be playing another 10, 12 years. So that's going to be difficult. The overall distraction in Vegas, I think players have gotten used to that. But, you know, to me, it's the irony to people saying, okay, Tom Brady's going to be hands-on. Well, where was he last year? because he still had the same ownership like did he hire Pete Carroll seems like he had a big role in it thank you so to me be careful when the greatest of the greats are involved in management we have seen some of them through the year Michael Jordan Magic Johnson like this is a tough double yeah you've been that great to build managed talent and that overall work ethic that you can't give to people you know so to me I'm I'm a little hesitant as far as this being one of the marquee jobs I think Atlanta the Giants I believe also Tennessee with Cam Ward there being a quarterback is another great opportunity so I believe there are several other jobs that would line up before I took the Raiders job yeah and the Titans I believe have to go out there and get a floor razor I mean that's a team the fans are happy with seven wins next season there are a lot of coach that'll go out there and do that a bridge coach that likely isn't going to be there for the long haul but can at least get you to the next wave and develop cam ward which they need bad no no absolutely i mean he is the face of their franchise they have their franchise quarterback i was really pleased of how he reacted to adversity he never embraced losing you could see every game um you could see his overall leadership and he got better as the season went on very durable said the right things in the press conference very very mature and that losing when you come from slinging it like he did last year at miami and then you go from losing and you're one of the worst teams again in the nfl it wears on you but he passed a lot of tests as far as a franchise quarterback for me yeah and he had one of those seasons where you had to actually watch the titans to evaluate him you couldn't just look at the box score you had to watch the game see what he was doing some of the plays he was making the balls that were being dropped was heinous yes um They need a massive upgrade to their wide receiving corps, tight end, you name it, they need it. Yeah, they've been crying for offensive talent for a long, long time. But they've got to be able to support their franchise quarterback. Yeah, but they love to pay like 32-year-old receivers. They have not done well in the talent acquisition department. Haven't drafted extremely well in the free agents. Even though Tennessee, tax-free state, it's probably the least desirable of all the tax-free places to go to. Yeah, it is. And, I mean, you look at other teams, how smart are the Jacksonville Jaguars to go out and get Jacoby Myers? Right? He's available out there. He's saying, I don't want to be here. They go out and trade for him. They go undefeated after they acquire him. So the Titans, I think, they did fire the old GM. They have a new one. So we'll see how they do. But definitely understatement. Probably one of the league's worst at acquiring talent. Yeah, and also what you mentioned about Jacoby Myers, I believe probably the most underrated team in the playoffs is Jacksonville. Yeah, we're going to get into that. Okay. They're on fire. Okay, I like them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like them. And they signed him to a long-term contract. That was smart, too. Yes. You've got to give Gladstone a lot of credit. And by the way, Travis Hunter, been on IR, hasn't been contributing. Only a bonus next year. Who would have ever expected the Jaguars to go 13-4 without the help of Travis Hunter? Oh, absolutely. I mean, if you would have told me that's the record, that's the finish, I would have said, oh, man. He's rookie of the year. He's playing both ways. Yes. Yes. He's doing special teams. He's done everything, you know? And they didn't get any. That's crazy. Let's start off NFL playoffs. the first game, perhaps the most lopsided, but we're going to get into it, the Los Angeles Rams visiting the Carolina Panthers. I like the Rams. I don't like the way they limped into the playoffs, but they match up physically with the best teams in the NFC. You can give Carolina all them points. There's a reason why. Yeah. You know, they're going to have a hard time scoring. I do believe Devontae Adams coming back after missing the last three games will be a huge boost to their offense. Puka is unreal. He's unbelievable. Like, unreal. real see league's best receiver well this is the thing you got to be careful saying is he the best receiver in the league now he had the best year now if you're able to duplicate that then you like he's in the conversation as far as the top five best in the league yeah so now i'm still not going to take him over chase i'm still not going to take him over justin jefferson just because they had J.J. McCarthy. No, no, I'm no fool, but dude is at the party. You're not a J.J. McCarthy guy. Well, who is? Besides his parents and their Michigan fans. There's some weird Vikings fans on Twitter. I mean, like, what should we be doing? I don't know what they see. I mean, like. Can't figure it out. I have to compromise the way I've believed in my Vikings. We have had one of the best receiving cores for the last 40 years. Yeah. Every decade we can throw the football. True. And then now my guy, Justin Jefferson, and he's doing a better job than I would be doing up there. He doesn't get 1,000 yards. Great guy, too. On and off the field. He's saying all the right stuff. But trust me, he is not pleased with the overall productivity of the offense. Who would be? That team was ready to win. They spent outlay $150, $145 million in cash. Yeah. So that ownership is not pleased with that result. And now Flores is. If he gets a promotion, yeah, absolutely. He's a free agent as well. I mean, that's the time. Yeah, they've agreed that they want to sign into a long-term deal, but it is that time. And given the openings, there are not six coaches that deserve a head coaching job more than him. Absolutely, and only Harbaugh would be ahead of him. Stefanski. Stefanski as well. Yeah, two-time coach of the year. Given his overall experience, yes. But, man, if they give Cliff Kingsbury a job, I mean, stop, man. Stop playing with me. Like, that ain't right. Rams Panthers go back to it Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford goes out there 46 touchdowns eight interceptions leads the league in passing yards Nakua leads the league in reception second receiving yards to me been the most unbelievable player on the offensive side of the ball snap to snap right and you're not going to believe this storyline if we start the season week number one on that Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday is Matthew Stafford going to practice hadn't practiced all training camp missed all the games limited action might need some type of back procedure and those numbers you just repeated like that is that finishing it off the right way that's a tom brady type season in his 40s you know like they are a dangerous football team they're the best i mean this is a year where it seems like every team stands out either on offense or defense to me out of all the top teams top containers the only one that stands out on both sides of the ball special teams has been their biggest weakness I mean they fire the coordinator That loses them a majority of their games, crazily enough, because the defensive line with Colby Turner, Pruna Ford, Jared Verse, Braden Fisk up front, they're so difficult to manage. And then the offense, I mean, you name it, they got it, especially with Sean McVay. Right. I mean, they struggled down the end, looked a little bit tired, but I'm expecting them to get a boost. Devontae Adams back. Still in the league in touchdowns, even though he missed the last three games. And this is a perfect setup for them. It's almost like they're playing James Madison or Tulane. You know, in the playoffs, get them a win. Get the momentum. I would say that's the most accurate comparison you can have, yeah. And then get ready for that second round. There's nothing dangerous about this Panthers team. No. No. There's not like an X-Factors thing I can point to. Nothing. No. Lose the last game of the season. Backdoor into the playoffs. Cheering for the second. Like 20 rushing yards. It's going to be hard for them to be able to match that physicality of what the Rams bring. Yeah, it is. Or the coaching or the big plays. Yeah, pretty much match them in any way. Yeah, there's a reason why the Rams favor by 10. Yes. Yeah, you might want to take that. Give them the points. Yeah, give them the points. It's dangerous. Home dog like that, give them the points. The weather. See, I'm a weather guy. Weather's very important. It's just going to be mild. Not chilly, no moisture, no rain. I have a feeling Stafford's going to come out hot with those two. I don't. Good start. Fast start. Let's go Rams. Packers at Bears. Third matchup of the season. They split. Two games that went down to the wire. This is a very interesting game. This is a pick-em pretty much. You can bet either way. What are you going with? I like where the Bears are. I like how last week they tried to win the game and were really upset that they didn't win. I love Caleb in the fourth quarter. The issue is, what am I going to get from that team offensively for the first three quarters? Because if it's a tie game or a three-point game going to the fourth quarter, I'm going with Caleb. Like he has convinced me. His ability to be able to avoid the negative play with his feet, improvise different arm angles, and he is an elite playmaker. You know, in the pocket, out of the pocket, Ben Johnson, what he did with him, I think is the best job from a quarterback receiver relationship and kind of I'm not going to say resurrect, but getting your career on the right path and having that right voice in your ear changed the change the trajectory of his whole career. He instilled all the reasons why we touted him as such a highly regarded prospect. Yes. The public had almost forgot Ben Johnson comes in. Now we remember. Yes. The guy outside of the pocket, the accuracy, the arm angles are unbelievable. Perhaps the most talented, besides maybe a Mahomes. I mean. Yes. Of the young quarterbacks, he might be the most talented. Yeah. And there's a bunch of young, talented ones. Yeah. I mean, including the guy in New England who we're going to go over soon. Oh, absolutely. It seems like to me the Bears are in an ascending spot and the Packers are descending. They lose Micah Parsons since then. The league's worst four sacks. Jordan Love been banged up. The last game of the season, Josh Jacobs bottled up bad. I mean, he's obviously injured, struggling out there. The Bears, third best rushing offense, lead the league in interceptions. They are very aggressive defensively. To me, I think they control the game, run the ball, get a key turnover, win this game. I like Jordan Love. I love Love as a quarterback. But I like coming out throwing the football. I do believe that you can throw the football and eliminate the turnovers. Now, Chicago, multiple, multiple turnovers in all the big games. Can you continue to generate those in the playoffs? Two biggest things that create wins is the turnover margin and big plays. I do believe that Green Bay can make those big plays and not turn the ball over. I do believe it's going to be a very, very close game. And I wouldn't say that because Michael Parsons is injured and they haven't played as well in December, that Green Bay is descending as an organization. Because next year, they're going to be one of the Super Bowl favorites. But they're not going to have Michael the whole season. Yes, but they get that tight end back. They got salary cap space. This is a very good young team. And just like the Vikings, just like the Lions. One year, man, you don't know where you're going to be at in this division. They were both going for 14 wins last year. Now they're trying to fight for nine wins. So, you know, you've got to fortify your team, but I do believe. They say LaFleur's in the hot seat if they lose this game. I mean, people have been saying that, but, you know, Green Bay is very patient. Like, you can't put your finger on, okay, this guy right here is going to fire him. You know, because the community owns him. Actually, I'm part owner. Okay, that's nice. Proud, yeah. Okay, guess what? You ain't got no say. You're just like everybody else. But you know what I'm saying? So I think that they typically do it in a very – they know their football too. They do. Like he has not done anything that deserves being fired. No, absolutely not. I mean the quarterback's 27. Like why would you get rid of them? They seem to have a good vibe together, good chemistry together. And the team is ascending. You just made a Michael Parsons trade. Yeah, you did. Like you haven't even seen all that matriculate and everything. So, no, let's be a little patient, Green Bay fans, including yourself. All right, all right. I mean, you might not. Green Bay ownership, including yourself. It's tough to see him because the guy's making, you know, $47 million a year, and he's out for all of next season, too. It just seems like, I don't know, it seems like it took a little bit of wind out of the Packers' sails. No, no, absolutely. Like, you can't trade for a guy like this. I mean. And you don't have first-round picks now? I mean, remember the Reggie White trade, which propelled them right into greatness. Like you are not expecting to make one of the legendary trades in NFL history and then not lose it. But guess what? When you lose them, you also lost, you know, Kenny Clark. Yeah, you did. But the players in the locker room know that Michael Parsons is the best player. So you lose some juice. Like you lose some belief. You lose some faith in how good you were because that first month of the season, they believed they could beat anybody. Yeah, they did. And Kenny Clark would be nice to have against Chicago at Soldier Field. Oh, my goodness. He would be really nice to have. Also, we spoke about the Packers' young nucleus of talent. I love the Bears. I love what they did in the draft, acquiring Manungai in the fifth round of running back. He's been a nice one-two punch with Swift. And then Luther Burden, third in the league in yards per route run behind Smith and Jigba and Puka Nakua. He's been a revelation. I think he's special. He's played better than the kid they drafted in the first round two years ago. Yeah, yeah, a dunze. right like yeah burden special to me yeah and he's been hurt and you know the combination between him um more number two like like they can put some pressure on your defense yeah they can offensive line give them time and with caleb's feet you know i watched him play live against the vikings and trust me man he's worth the price of admission there were four or five plays where the vikings had him nab and somehow he got out yeah he's a magician you know so not only does he avoid it but he goes on the tack after avoiding those sacks, trying to throw the ball down the field. So accurate. He's more accurate in moving than he is standing. Oh, dangerous. Keep him in the pocket. Keep him in the pocket for sure. Yeah, contain him. Absolutely. Yeah, don't let him outside. Yeah, he is so dense outside of the pocket. Also, Colson Loveland, the tight end. Him and you mentioned the Green Bay tight end, probably my two favorite young tight ends. Good. Loveland. Dynamic. He's a Green Bay. I mean, he's a Michigan guy too, right? Yeah, he is. Yeah, good tight end. Yeah, they picked him high. They produce some good tight ends. He's really done well. and he fits well into their system. God, did Ben Johnson get that draft. Ben Johnson's a great coach. Yeah, genius. Great, great coach. Real genius. Yes. 49ers at Eagles. This is an interesting matchup here. We got two NFC mainstays. Which Eagles team's going to show up? Is it the one that showed up this season or is it the one that just won the Super Bowl? Because the one that showed up this season is the only NFL playoff team that was bottom 10 as far as passing goes. And Saquon Barkley averaging 1.8 less yards per carry than the previous season. We cut his yards in half. What I typically do, because Philly, and especially their offense, they get all the attention. I'm watching my man Jalen Carter. I'm watching him. And after he was out for a month, every game he's been in since the comeback, they are a different team. They are a championship defense. They are. So for me, they can win the Super Bowl just like they won last year's Super Bowl, but this team is totally different than last year's team. Offensively, they were so much better. But that defense is a championship defense. Offensively, I don't see them all of a sudden getting explosive after really struggling all year. No, I look for them to continue to struggle offensively, play a tight game. I expect them to be able to win, but only because the 49ers, Got half a squad. They do. Like, they got so many top-notch players, pro bowlers. And it really speaks to Brock Purdy, how good he's gotten, and Cal Shanahan, how good of a coach he is. Yeah, I mean, Shanahan's absolutely in that conversation of elite coaches. And Brock Purdy, I mean, when he goes down and Max Jones comes in, was probably the most disrespected player in the NFL. I had people tell him he's not a top-20 quarterback. Like, what film have you watched? I think we're disregarding everything he's done because he doesn't have any special measurables and he was Mr. Irrelevant. We've got to see what the guy's doing. He's the best quarterback the Niners have had post-Kaepernick in that one special postseason. And when he's in the lineup, they win. Absolutely. They win a lot of games. They're a different team and there's a different scenario. If he doesn't get hurt in that Philadelphia game a couple years ago, Brock Purdy has proven all the doubters, all the naysayers to be wrong. At some point, even if you were on that corner, you've got to be able to look at it and be like, this guy gets in an NFL game, and guess what? He's always coming. The game is not moving too fast for him. Nope. And he can move a little bit. I like Purdy. And he's got the swag and the team's behind him. I like everything about Purdy. He's getting a little loose. I like that. Yes, his personality is really starting to evolve. Yeah, I think the Niners can get behind that. But the Eagles, I mean, you speak about that defense, held the Buffalo Bills to 12 points. We just saw that performance. held the Detroit Lions to 10 points, held the Green Bay Packers to 7 points. I mean, these are special performances. Absolutely. I mean, when you look at the quarterbacks, not only hold them teams, but he held the best quarterbacks that we have in the league under that type of – so even a struggling offense can stay in the game. Good special teams are going to keep you in the games. But when they're doing that, they're doing it one way, and they're whooping them up front. They are. You know, and that right there can carry you to back-to-back Super Bowls. Offensively, you know, I don't know about A.J. Brown. I don't know what he's going to say next. I know Barkley is not as healthy as he was last year. I know the offensive coordinator is not as good as the one last year, and I know the offensive line is not as good. Lane Johnson's back, though. Let's see how that works out. Let's see if it changes the attitude because you should be trying to come out and play smash-mouth football. if Lane Johnson is healthy. So let's see how they attack, especially that first 15 minutes of the game. That would tell a lot. It's going to be tough to play at Philly. It's a tough environment. Yes. Yeah, yeah. I picked the Eagles as well. To go in there and beat them in the playoff? No, no, no. We're pointing out all these things, but we're not crazy. We still take the Eagles. Yeah. Bills at Jaguars. We touched on the Jaguars. You said the most overlooked team heading in those playoffs. Tell me why. well people don't know their defense is a top 10 defense they don't see they don't they don't they watch the nfl but they don't watch jacksonville like so you're not going to give them credit and trevor lawrence has always underperformed for people so they think oh he's still the same guy when you turn the tape on he's a different dude he is like he you can see all of the physical attributes that why he was the number one quarterback coming out of high school why he was the number one quarterback coming out of college after three years at clemson national championship and the first pick in the draft like you can see them and liam cone like him or not man he's got these guys believing that they are as good as anyone in the e of anyone in the league Look at their resume. Look where they've won. Look at the games, who they've lost to. Like Jacksonville is going to be my surprise team Good teams win Great teams cover They are beating the hell out of teams smashing them I mean obliterating them When they smash them, guess what? The commentary goes to how bad that team was compared to how bad Jacksonville made them look. Yeah. Like, never after the game, none of the commentaries, none of the stuff, the talk shows, the podcasts, no one's like, wow, man, Jacksonville. Now, we give other teams credit for making teams look bad, but we don't give Jacksonville the benefit of the doubt. None. None at all. And those first-round defensive picks that they were panned for, all of a sudden looking really good. Your Trayvon Walkers, your Devin Lloyds. Yes. Looking a lot better. Yeah, they do. They do. And they've put together the back end of that defense, build support at the front end. But if you can't score any points, if you can't throw the ball, now they have a complete team. And they've got one of the best kickers in the league. Oh, yeah. The guy can drill from 67. Bro, when I get to midfield, you can start warming up, man. That's a huge competitive advantage. Yes, especially playing in a warm climate. Being able to, man, if I get 15 yards, I can kick a field goal. That's dangerous. That's unbelievable. Yeah, 35 to the 50, you're there. And so guess what? Even late in the game, okay, you kick it off. No problem. All right? I'm going to fair catch it. Man, we get two first downs, you lose. Yeah, you do. Two first downs, you lose. So that right there is a huge weapon that will definitely play out in the playoffs. We haven't spoken about the Buffalo Bills yet, but the team revolves around one man, Mr. Josh Allen. Been the most consistent quarterback this decade. I had some trials and tribulations in the playoffs, obviously come up short in big games, specifically against the Kansas City Chiefs. We see him here against the Jacksonville Jaguars. A lot of people kind of have, I don't want to use this word again, but panned him for his playoff performances. The guy's got 32 career playoff touchdowns and seven turnovers. At some point, the blame can't be on him. You've got to maybe point fingers in other directions. I don't know how you feel about that. But as far as quarterbacks heading into this playoffs, I'm most confident in Josh Allen if I'm the Buffalo Bills and what he can do to overcome perhaps the talent discrepancy between the Jaguars and the Bills because it's there. The Jaguars are a better football team. I would feel really good with Josh Allen under center. Now, I feel good with Josh Allen under center, but this is not a game he's going to win. It don't mean I don't believe in him. This is the worst team Josh Allen's had in the playoffs. Yeah. He's had a lot of success, but his success in the playoffs is a lot like Lamar. Well, Flowers drops the ball going to the end zone. The tight end dropped it. You know, their defense can't shut nobody down. Nope. They couldn't stop anybody from running. Like, and they bumped into Patrick Mahomes. So those aren't excuses for Josh Allen's playoff record. Those are real things that really happen. But this team is not those teams. So for me, this is the least likely opportunity, even with Lamar gone, Joe Burrow's out, Mahomes at the crib. This is because the team he's with. It just seems like the stars aligned for Josh Allen. No, sir. When you saw all those guys go out, it just seemed like. I got to go against you, bro. Because there's no stars on the team. I mean, Keon Coleman, the receiver, like, have you been listening? Have you seen his demise? Not that guy. He got the same number of catches as me the last month of the season. I might rather have you out there. I mean, well, guess what? I'm not going to make myself look foolish, and I'm not going to say anything foolish. No, exactly. You might even be a good locker room guy. Yeah, I mean, he has failed them miserably because they needed him to step up. Like, they needed him to be a number one guy. He's not even a number three guy. No, he's not. Like, they were looking for him to be number one out of Florida State, and he's not a number three, and that's a problem. Yeah. Yeah, I wonder if now it seems like hands are already being pointed at the head coach, Sean McDermott. They say his seat might be hot if they lose this game. You know, this is the only thing I really worry about, Sean. I worry about if they lose in an embarrassing way. And also, the ownership there. They're moving into a new stadium next year. so if they wanted to make a switch before they move into the new place because of the way they finished the 2026 season like all the things line up for that we're going into a new building do i want him you know to be in that building and then now you got to be careful with harbaugh out there yeah you do because adam schefter and as long as adam schefter is reporting on the on the nfl if he predicts rain go get an umbrella okay and he immediately said he announced that the hardball was fired and i think at the time he said there were six nfl teams but hardball had eight teams call his agent that mean the six plus two that have one's the dolphins okay so two of them that had a coach yeah so i would be careful and if i'm a head coach somewhere man i'm not I'm not looking beyond the next day because with him out there you could lose your job to him because of his overall resume and inability to build a build a program and put a winner on the field no and that's exactly why John Harbaugh is waiting to do his interviews really I didn't hear that he's waiting to do his interviews he wants to he's looking at these Packers and Bills games very closely I would say okay I like that and also I think that it's probably in his best interest to wait for Miami because they're probably in the last few days of selecting a general manager. Yeah, they are. Also, if I was the Buffalo Bills owner, I would take a good hard look at the general manager there. Just because how have they not filled that wide receiver gap since Stephon Diggs leaves? You're doing Josh Allen no favors here. I mean, they have missed several times. Several. I mean, either trade for a veteran guy or draft a guy in the first round. You couldn't go get Devontae Adams at some point. He was available for trade then in free agency. You couldn't go get Jacoby Myers the trade deadline? I mean, they're just not getting the impact of pass catchers. I think they could have made the trade. Dalton Kincaid in the first round? Good pick. We thought on paper his ability to go to run with the ball, but is he going to be able to stay healthy? I think the bigger problem drafting than drafting players in Buffalo has been their overall strength and condition and nutrition. I mean, they got a lot of guys hurt, man, the last several years. I mean, I'm talking about veteran players in key positions hurt. Not this year, not last year, but several years of it. So that's something, you know, to me, I always like to look at, you know, teams, you know, systematically who has a bunch of injuries year after year after year, and that's what we see in some teams. And you have to gut the strength and conditioning department. Well, look at the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. Yes. It's bad over there. Great examples of teams that the sports part of science is failing. The general manager, the X's and O's part, and that fan base, like they deserve better. But you have to do a better job of predicting when guys are going to get hurt. It's a collision sport. Everyone's got injuries. But when you've got three or four times the number of injuries as your opposition, you're doing the wrong thing. You are. the next game, Chargers at Patriots. Patriots, surprise of the season. Start the season, we did our podcast, they were 0-1. They had lost to Las Vegas Raiders, who now hold the number one overall pick. Their Vegas over under on wins was 6.5. They were a team that everyone had counted out, even with second-year star Drake May. They've come all the way back. They're 14-3, the number two seed. They get a home game here at Foxborough. But the naysayers have come out and said They had the easiest schedule of the 21st century. Let's see what happens when they play a real team. What are your thoughts on this New England Patriots squad? Any quarterback that is not proven, that's the commentary. They don't even do any homework. Oh, he's young. It's just like Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold, what's he going to do? Oh, there's no way he won 14 games again. Oh, well, Sam Darnold, he can't win the playoff time. Well, he won 14 games again. They're the number one seed. So if you look at the quarterbacks, man, like, I mean, who's got a great rep in the playoffs besides my homes joe burrows who's got a great jalen hurts hurts yeah who else nobody everyone else has to prove it so oh staff look like like let's do a little homework though yeah like let's not put that like that kid 72 percent completions this season that kid is a superstar he is getting the best out of stefan diggs the other scene booty on the other side making him into a star player that running game his overall athleticism and i'm a huge fan of mike rabel i knew that if he had the resources when he got a second attempt compared to tennessee that he was going to win and he's doing it in a big way this is a team too man you have to watch out for their future they got about 54 million in salary cap oh yeah available like Like, this team, not only have they won big this year, they should win big for the next couple years. And they've got the pieces on defense as well. Yes. I mean, it starts with a cornerback one, Christian Gonzalez. You line him against anyone, you feel pretty good. Absolutely. Yeah, great athlete. And he was sitting there not getting the attention. Now he's on a winner. People can see, oh, man, like they really did well when drafted him. Yeah, yeah, picked after Emmanuel Forbes. And you speak about Mike Vrabel. To me, one of the absolute best head coaching free agents we've had. I mean, the fact that that guy was sitting on the open market post-Tennis, it's crazy. How do you fire that guy for Tennessee? Well, man, after you leave Tennessee, man, you get a stench on you. And I think that there were some things available. And what happened was the last hiring cycle, it worked out better for him not getting the job. It did. Because then Belichick decides to, well, Kraft decides that Belichick's going to be over. And then it was the perfect fit. You know, it's kind of like his stepson. Kraft has a great deal of respect for him. He knows the New England way. Bring him in there. Great relationship with the owner and the owner's family. And you see him getting it turned around. Their overall attitude. I love watching the mic'd up segments. I love watching him after the game. I love how he interacts with all the players. Like, you don't have to have played this game to coach it and coach it well. but he's one of the guys that has the lightning in the bottle. Played at a high level and can coach and lead at a high level. A lot of respect for him. Yeah, he's gotten the best set of his players since day one. Always. Everywhere he's been, yes. Yeah, absolutely. The other side, Los Angeles Chargers. There's a lot to talk about here. You've got Coach Harbaugh, been to the Super Bowl before. Hot shot, head coaching candidate, Jesse Mentor, defensive coordinator, done a great job with this defense. They've got a lot to like there. Their biggest glaring weakness, and it's a very obvious one, is the offensive line. I mean they rank dead last or second to last in every available metric. Rashawn Slater goes down. Joe Alt goes down. They got five guys who are – I would say they have a Juco offensive line, and they have a four-high quarterback. So it's tough sledding on offense at times, but they also have the weapons at receiver when you look at Ladd McConkie and some of these other guys. So how do you view them heading into this matchup? Because they're a team that's lacked playoff success. Well, this is the thing. You have to be happy they're in the playoffs. If you look at that division, Kansas City is at home and we're playing. Yep. Now, Denver didn't expect them to win the division home field, but no problem. We're also representing the AFC West. I believe they have to shorten the game. It's not his typical model of how he's going to win, especially with Herbert, the quarterback, with those uber skills. But I got to shorten the game because I got less personnel than them. Like this offensive line, you are not supposed to lose all pro left tackle, all pro right tackle. and life's supposed to go on. You're not supposed to be in the playoffs. Nope. You know, so their future, yeah, their future looks bright and their ability to play that hardball style and be physical, it looks bright, but not this weekend. I mean, they are limping into the playoffs. Bad matchup for them. I don't expect them to advance, but they still had a good season, season number two, good season for him to build on, get those guys back healthy next year, continue to add more personnel, like they're going to build it in a physical way but you know i expect hardball you know in in la to win consistently with that quarterback over the next five years yeah i think yeah you just got to get that left tackle and that right tackle back healthy i'm not greg roman at times i don't think it's had the greatest game plans and scheming around the losses on the offensive line but it's a tough task i'm not a lover of greg roman yeah either like i'm i mean he's been successful but overall creativity in the way they attack the defense and always thought there plenty other ways people be more aggressive more practical and utilize the talent around them you know don don't love his system either i'd look at charlie weiss jr oh photographic memory i mean he's one of the hottest coaches he's got a high moral compass higher than lane kiffin because he's like i'm coaching all the way man i don't know what these dudes are doing but i'm coaching all the way so So a lot of eyeballs are going to be on him. And he could shock the coaching world a lot like Sean McVay did. He can. All right. You know, coaching family, been around it. His mindset, leadership, a little more nerdy than McVay. McVay way cooler than him. You know, Charlie Weiss ain't got no athletic ability. You know, my man McVay, a little receiver, a little slick hair and everything. got a little look go vibe to him you're a little yoked up you know so a little bit different but I do believe same results you know kind of a up-and-coming um offensive mind that you should know about if you're in the business of hiring coaches you're in the business of knowing football Charlie Weiss Jr. should be on your radar absolutely and uh fun fact when I was on the FAU coaching staff as an intern under coach E.J. McCarthy I was 16 I think he was 25 so I got the in-person look yeah okay all right yeah yeah your photographic memory is real yeah be careful when i was at ohio state they hire a graduate assistant who was a defensive back they moved him to the wide receiver coach urban meyer there you go like be careful with humble beginnings they can turn out to be uber great so charlie white shooting is going to have a great great coaching career Absolutely. I hope he stays in college football, though. This last game, I have an interesting opinion on. I think we might differ here. Texans at Steelers. Big-time matchup. Texans, league's best defense. Steelers getting the playoffs. Let me go first. I want you to go first. This is the kind of game. This is like Muhammad Ali's last fight. Mike Tyson's last fight. um tommy hitman hearns last fight like stuff guys that legendary that we followed them but in that 23rd hour not the best showing this defense against aaron rogers and the pittsburgh steelers i believe if he survives the game that would be a victory like this is not the match you You're talking about a mismatch as far as what D'Amico Ryan is trying to do, the violence for which they play with, the fastness for which they play with. You saw them struggle against Cleveland. They did. And it wasn't just Miles Garrett. They struggled as an offense. Yeah, DK Metcalf will come back. But to me, he's not a consistent enough receiver to take over the game. And they got the best corners in the NFL, the pair. Oh, yeah. They got the best pair. So this is not the game that he's getting ready to dominate. They caught a lot of flack for taking Stingley over Sauce Gardner, but we've seen Stingley's last couple of seasons. What did you think of the DK Metcalf in grabbing the fan from the stands? Well, the number one thing is I'm here to do a job. Like, I'm an entertainer, and there is no way you're going to get me off of doing my job. And why would you be concerned about what the fans are saying that? And if you were in Detroit last season and the same fan had you upset, like, man, I don't care. He could talk about my mama and my sister, everything. He'd be like, hey, man, your mom's this. I'd be like, yeah, she probably is. Hey, your sister too? They probably are. But I'm still getting ready to go out here and get these balls. Like I ain't getting ready to come over with you. You paid money to watch me play. Yeah. Okay? I'm out here making, I think he makes 1.7, 1.9 million a game. He does. Okay, so who's the fool? All right, you got a wig on. I'm out here in my gear. Have you seen my body? So I'm getting ready to go over to your office where you're sitting and engage in a conversation. Very, very immature. Yeah. Very immature. And the league hit him right where he needed to hit him. Two games, sit your butt down. He avoided his guarantees. Luckily, the Steelers didn't agree to that. 50 million. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yeah. But he did something that could alter his life and his family's life, his kids' life, the legacy of it, forever. Just by engaging a fan. I expect fans to say negative things about me. I expect that. If I go over, I'm going to engage only in words, man. Like, how do I win by reaching up and grabbing one of the fans? Like, that's the reason why we make all this money. the reason why we do podcasts like this because these people cannot consume enough of the content so we can't have guys like that hall of famers we like listen man don't get arrested this off season hey man we need all the marketing all the deals because once they put one of us in the paper it's all of us going in there so let's take care of each other um hall of famers former players current players people love to say oh man former player like current player it's not necessary man you've already won yeah he's paying money to watch you play at your job i would have told the dude man i don't come to popeyes with the grease back there all right so don't be coming to my job messing with me i agree wholeheartedly i couldn't believe he did that i mean this isn't a worky this is a this is a veteran second team um you liken the Pittsburgh Steelers Aaron Rodgers to an end of career Muhammad Ali Mike Tyson Tommy Hearns I liken them to what Manny Pacquiao just did at age 47 when he fought Mario Barrios to the current sitting champion to a draw I thought Pacquiao arguably won I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are a bad matchup here they're the home team they won the AFC North I think the quick passing game helps offset the Texans pass rush and I love this defensive line with TJ Watt coming back and Cameron Hayward up front he bats a lot of balls down. I think it's going to be a tricky game for C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. I think the Steelers win this game. Really? Yeah. Okay, me and you might have to make a little personal way. Yeah, Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I mean, your track record picking games is way better than mine, but it's going to make me watch this with more intent. I'm feeling the Tomlin magic. But when Ali fought that last fight, I had magic. I was like, man, he's going to pull it out. A lot of people pick Mike Tyson over Jake Paul. That too. That too. Those last fights don't go well, man. No, they don't. Aaron Rodgers might, you know. There is no exit strategy in the NFL, man. There ain't no way to get out. It's hard to get in, but it's harder to get out. It is. He's going to get knocked out. Last game, last call, last to rock. I think they're a bad matchup. I don't know. Just like screaming to me. I got you. I'm not going to mess with that big brain you got. All right? I respect it. Chris Carter, the 2026 Super Bowl champions are? Well, first of all, let's go with. Patriots. Versus Seattle. Seattle wins the Super Bowl. Sam Darnold gets the monkey off the back. Had an incredible season. What they're doing defensively doesn't get enough attention and they can play physical like they can run the football. You cannot win Super Bowl championship without being run the football. New England can run it. Good defense going to get them there. Seattle wins it all in Santa Clara. We get a Patriots-Seahawks rematch. Yes. Seahawks win. I love it. I've got the Los Angeles Rams. They were my preseason team. I'm just going to stick by it. Matthew Stafford, so dangerous. Puka Nakua. Yeah, there's two teams, Philadelphia and the Rams, match up with Seattle. But the game being in Seattle and them having to play that extra game, I believe it gives them the edge. I have a tough time seeing the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots beating the Rams or the Seahawks. Okay, yes. I could go with that. Yeah. Because they're challenged offensively. They are. They're not consistent. Yes, I can see that. Yes. That's where I think the NFC ends up. I think we both agree the NFC wins the championship. Stronger. Yeah, they're stronger. I mean, it's almost this year it's been like the NBA at the Eastern and the Western Conference. Okay, yes. Not quite as bad. Not quite as bad, but there's better. Yes. The better. NFC. Let's go. Well, the Broncos and the Patriots, the two weakest schedules of the 21st century on paper. Pretty weird. You know, to me, I don't get into strength of schedule as hard. Like, college, it means more than the pros. The pros, it's already— Everyone's so damn good that it's not as important. And you're getting six games in your division. You can't dictate what that is. Yeah. No, you can't. And you know those six teams are going to play you tough. And you know you've got a number of other games. You've got four other games in the other conference. You're not picking them. It's not like you're Indiana. It's like, oh, man, I'm going to play less desirable teams earlier so I can pad my record. No, it's the NFL. And if you win 13, 14 games, you cannot be a bad. It's impossible to be a bad football team and win that many games. 13, 14 out of 17 in the NFL. Yeah, pretty good. There's one last guy I want to ask you about. He's not in the playoffs, but I would be remiss if I didn't ask you. The fans want to know, what are your thoughts on quarterback Shador Sanders' first season in the NFL? I thought he did well. And, you know, behind the scenes, I kind of knew a couple little things. I kind of knew that Stefanski, you know, I think he's married to the daughter of Tim McCarver. and when Tim McCarver got doused by Deion Sanders in the baseball when he was a commentary. Like in life, man, people don't forget. And then that takes me back to the draft day conversation and the general manager and the head coach. I had never seen anyone get drafted and them not smile. Like deliberately, like they were not smiling. And then we went through this all the shucky-ducky stuff, and then he says, oh, no, he's never gotten any first or second team reps. And training camp? Like, whoa. Like, man, are they trying to sabotage his career? So the way that he was able to stand up. Now, he put himself in that position because if he redid the whole interview process, he would do different. And I'm sure his first couple weeks in Cleveland driving 100 miles an hour, like, that didn't show well. Like, there's certain things that as a franchise quarterback you can't do. he learned well but i do believe that he earned himself the chance to try to be the starter next year like depending on who that coach is with a fresh start like he deserves the right to be an nfl quarterback he showed enough just like all the other rookies he showed enough that he should get a good look to me him and um deshaun watson are starting off one and two as my quarterbacks next season like I still believe that Sean can get back in there and still be a starter MVP race Matthew Stafford Drake May who would you vote for you got to go with Stafford I mean before the season we didn't even we didn't know missed all the training camp is he gonna play is he gonna practice the first Wednesday of the season didn't know and it's a back you know old guy with the back Matthew Stafford I believe had the best season of his career given given the circumstance I agree I'm sorry, Ant and Eddie. I mean, he is one of the purest throwers that we have seen of the football. A lot like Elway, a lot like Marino, a lot like Favre. And his different arm angles. Like, he's such a showman. He's a great leader. His teammates love playing with him. I'm a Matthew Stafford fan. I mean, that no-look pass in the Super Bowl, that's got to be a top five throw in NFL history. Yes. Yes. And he can do it with the best of them. It's not bragging. It's just that it freezes the defense. You have no way. And very few people in the league are able to do this over the 100-year existence of the league. And he has mastered some of the skills that make him special. Absolutely. Before we go, anything else you want to get off your chest? Anyone you're mad at? Anyone you want to talk about? Oh, no, no, no, no. Any enemies? No, no. I got no enemies. No ops? We come in love. We come in. We're creating peace. All right. The drip check. You got the Hall of Fame jacket on. I like it. Oh, yeah. Just normal. Yeah. Light flex. Yeah. I mean, it is what it is. I live in Florida, but I sleep in Canton. Absolutely. Chris, we appreciate you. Honored to have you on for the second time. Thank you, bro. Looking forward to appearance number three. Let's go.