NFL Schedule Release Special Pt 1: Big Picture (AUDIO ONLY)

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Alex Hardy: We are those guys, we hope
to be your guys, bringing you the latest

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from the National Football League,
which, again, in the middle of the NBA

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playoffs, Stanley Cup playoffs, your
Denver Nuggets, Nick making a statement,

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my Boston Celtics doing one better.

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However, the NFL, they did it again.

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365 day a year, new cycle.

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And Wednesday was the,
uh, Schedule release.

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Uh, I'm going to tease Nick before we
split early because I'm going to ask you

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about your favorite schedule release video
now that that's become such a big deal.

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But in addition to just seeing the,
the, the names on the calendar and

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knowing what your team is up against,
uh, I, I just have to say for, for Nick

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Ferguson, our, our former NFL safety.

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How big of a deal is seeing
when you're going to play

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certain teams on the schedule?

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Nick Ferguson: Alex is huge, man, because
when that schedule comes out, like you

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said, let me back up for just a second.

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Alex Hardy: Please.

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Nick Ferguson: Like you said, we all knew
the teams that were going to be playing.

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But we didn't know the dates
and we didn't know the time.

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And that is a huge factor, knowing how
many primetime games you're gonna have.

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If you are a West Coast team, how many
East Coast games are you gonna have?

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Like the Broncos have two
back to back on the road.

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Bucks then against the New York Jets.

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And it's all you're thinking about, oh,
will they stay in Tampa for that game?

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Will they fly back?

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And there's so many things that go
in playing into playing those East

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coast games, because your body.

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Is waking up and by the time
it wakes up, guess what?

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It's halftime and the game could be over.

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So it's all important to know when
you're going to play certain teams.

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The first thing I always look
at is, do we have Buffalo and

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Green Bay on our schedule?

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And if we do, you want them earlier
in the season opposed to later.

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And the most important, When
the hell is the bye week, right?

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Like, right now, the Broncos have
their bye week sitting at week 14.

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You know how many games you
have to go through before that?

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That's Monday night.

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And that's Thursday night football, your
body could be so beat up by that time.

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So this schedule, and once again, give
it to the NFL for finding a way to do

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it so much better than other leagues
to make the schedule release, I think.

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Alex Hardy: So, you know,
your Broncos, for an example.

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Right.

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Like the, the, all, all those
are excellent points, right?

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You, you know who the teams are going
to be, but if you're going to the

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frozen tundra at Lambeau field, or
you're stuck going to new England or

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Orchard Park, New York to play Buffalo,
you want that earlier in the year.

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And certainly the Miami dolphins,
I think know better than anybody

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having to go to cold weather games.

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Later on in the season, uh, when it comes
to those bye weeks, I sort of noticed

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like a boomerang kind of effect, right?

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Where your Broncos have
to wait until week 14.

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They were a week 9 bye, nice and
easy last year, whereas the Kansas

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City Chiefs are reigning two time
Super Bowl back to back champions.

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You know, they are on a week 6 bye this
year, but this, of course, coming after

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they took that late bye after going
to Munich to play the Miami Dolphins.

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So it's just You know, the, like, knowing
that it is ultimately A handful of

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people who are now doing the rounds in
media, patting themselves on the back.

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What a great job that they did.

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Uh, it's just a handful of people that
ultimately put this schedule together.

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You can lean and sort of see some
of the biases, um, that are, are,

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are kind of out there in the public.

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I know this time a year ago,
it was kind of head scratching

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to see the Kansas City Chiefs.

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hosting the Detroit Lions.

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They were making a gamble on a team
that had played really well, uh, in a

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game that didn't matter to them, but
they could knock out the Green Bay

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Packers at the end of the 2022 season.

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And look what happened.

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The Lions got that upset victory and
it propelled them to their first NFC

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championship appearance in over 30 years.

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So while I say that it's hard to do,
I have to give credit to the schedule

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makers that kind of had that premonition
with the Detroit Lions from a year ago.

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And just like that, you can kind of
see, even in week one with the types of,

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you know, Chiefs and Ravens, the first.

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Championship game rematch to open a season
since 2010, which you think it's the low

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hanging fruit, you'd see it more often,
but kudos to them on making it the MVP

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versus the two time Super Bowl champs.

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And then the biggest one, I
think would be Monday night.

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I, I honestly thought that we
would just do a redo of the Jets

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and the bills, but instead, Aaron
Rogers and the Jets their first.

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of six primetime games in 11 weeks are
up against the San Francisco 49ers.

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The Bay Area kid comes home.

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So whether it's week one, whether
it's certain, uh, primetime events,

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just the raw stats, Nick, the
Niners, the Cowboys and the Jets

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have, uh, six primetime games each.

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Whereas the Carolina Panthers are the
lone team that don't play a single

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primetime game, not even a Thursday.

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And the Colts, Patriots, Cardinals,
and Titans have won a piece.

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Anything that steps out to you
either in week one or talking about

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which teams are kind of getting
some shine coming into 2024.

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Nick Ferguson: Well, we know the schedule
makers, just like the odds makers,

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they look at the matchups, right?

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That's the biggest draw,
especially in this, uh, streaming

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era that we find ourselves.

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Oh, we'll

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Alex Hardy: get to that.

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We'll get to that.

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Nick Ferguson: So the idea is what
games will draw the biggest odds?

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And it's odd that you mentioned
the New York Jets because I think

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it's, uh, if I'm not mistaken, it's
the Jets and the 49ers in Dallas.

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They all have six primetime games apiece.

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Correct.

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Here's the interesting part
about that Jets matchup.

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Last year, it was so much hype
build up around the Jets and

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Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.

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We couldn't wait for that game.

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I mean, he's running
out there with the flag.

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For plays into it, his season is over.

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So the great thing about it if you are a
Jets fan, is that Aaron Rogers is back,

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but he's going back to the Bay Area and
you don't have the start this season

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at MetLife Stadium, which I might add.

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Several players have gone through
that N-F-O-P-A kind of survey

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saying that they hated playing.

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Stadium.

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So that is something if you're a
Jet fan, you're happy about that.

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Aaron Rodgers could survive his
first game leading to maybe him

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playing and six other games.

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But, uh, for me, when I look at
week one, he brought it up as

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far as the Chiefs in Baltimore.

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Once again, it's not some fallacy.

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These two teams are playing again.

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You have Patrick Mahomes off
another Super Bowl victory.

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Lamar Jackson, last year when we saw
him, when these two teams faced off,

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he was right there on the precipice.

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One reception turning a
different way and kind of getting

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themselves into the end zone.

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It means a lot of things as far
as who advances to the Super

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Bowl, but I'll put it this way.

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Yeah, it's a great matchup
to start off the season, but

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Baltimore has added some pieces.

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So is Kansas city.

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So

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Alex Hardy: awesome.

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They've both lost big pieces too.

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Nick Ferguson: So if, if, if Baltimore
wants to win this game, which I will

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go out on a limb right now and predict
because Derrick Henry is there and

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struggles with a big physical running
backs, it's not going to change

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anything in the grand scheme of the
conversation, because Kansas city.

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We'll still be on the throne
until someone knocks them off.

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But it's a great way for the
league to start the season.

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Alex Hardy: Well, they also are
allowed to go five and five in the

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middle of the season and then win out.

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So especially for a team coming off
of a Super Bowl victory or a Super

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Bowl hangover like the 49ers, 17 games
may seem short, but it really matters

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how you play at the end of the year.

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And if it takes time to get.

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Certain teams settled in and I mean,
six first round rookie quarterbacks,

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a lot of them are going to see
action later on in the year.

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It's going to take time to really figure
out these teams and to say, I like

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the Baltimore Ravens to win right now.

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Oh, Nick, the Chiefs are favored by
three as of today in the month of May.

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We don't, we don't have to
put our money down just yet.

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Um, and, and that's sort of
bringing me to my biggest complaint

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about the schedule release.

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We know, based on common opponents,
when talking about strength of schedule.

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But the thing that drives me absolutely
crazy, Is when you have smart, intelligent

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football people using 2023 overall
records in the regular season to weigh

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strength of schedule because a certain
team won 12 games like the Dallas

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Cowboys last year doesn't account for,
uh, the losses in free agency that

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the loss of Dan Quinn, their defensive
coordinator, it just, it's nonsense.

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And so until we have Some proof in
the pudding and games being played

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from here on out when we're talking
about strength, the schedule leading

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up to the season, I think the closest
metric we can use is, uh, Vegas is wind

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total because it's a, it's a much more
accurate number that takes into account

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what happened in the off season and in
the draft compared to looking just at

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a snapshot of the 2023 regular season.

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So I say that to point out that we have.

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What are, according to Vegas,
easy schedules and hard schedules.

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By and large, across the board,
the Atlanta Falcons playing in

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that NFC South with that second
place division, uh, record, have

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the easiest schedule according to
overall win total for their opponents.

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They have the addition of Kirk Cousins.

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It's hard to believe that a team like
Atlanta Couldn't be favorited in a

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bunch of their games, but that doesn't
necessarily translate to automatic wins.

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You just can't do that
in the month of May.

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Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers,
and I want to dive into their schedule,

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by and large, the most difficult
schedule, followed by the Patriots, the

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Browns, the Ravens, and the Vikings.

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So, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Nick,
This was, I think, you know, of all of

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the 32 schedules and we can't really
go over every single one of them, but

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this has pointed out to me, they don't
play a division game until week 11.

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They get the Baltimore Ravens at home
week 11 after their bye, after they

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play your Denver Broncos, after their
West coast trip to, uh, um, to Vegas.

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It's baffling.

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Week 11, they get Baltimore.

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And the rest of the way, six division
games, on the road against the

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Eagles, at home against the Chiefs.

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That is murderer's row for a
team with two new quarterbacks,

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which means you have none, and a
brand new offensive coordinator.

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Yes, we've got the Arthur Smith Atlanta
reunion in week one, but To finish out

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that schedule, playing your division
rivals, plus the reigning Super Bowl

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champs, and a team that was in the
Super Bowl just two seasons ago, you

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know, Mike Tomlin, I'm not calling it,
but that, that, you know, that winning

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wreck, that winning percentage streak
is, is, it's, it's hard to kind of

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picture looking at the schedule, Nick.

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Nick Ferguson: Yeah, it makes
you wonder what were the schedule

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makers really thinking about
when they put this together.

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They're

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Alex Hardy: burying your
guy, Russell Wilson.

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That's the problem here.

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Nick Ferguson: I don't know if they
sat down collectively as a group

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or they put it through some AI
machine to come to figure this out.

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But just to think about the Steelers in
the division that they're in, and you

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mentioned, Three other teams, or two other
teams, excuse me, in the same division

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that they're in that have tough schedules.

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So what this means is that, hey
listen, by week 11, some of your

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marquee players that you depended on
to kind of get you to the playoffs,

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those guys could be banged up, right?

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You know how the NFL works.

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So that puts the Pittsburgh Steelers
in a very tight spot as they're trying

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to get Seating for the playoffs because
the back half of your season now becomes

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so vital because every game you're
playing, but most of those games, you're

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playing against a division competition.

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So you can't afford to
drop a game at any point.

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If you hope to make the playoffs.

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Now, here's a great thing about
the position if there is for

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Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith.

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You have Russell Wilson and Justin
Fields and most teams put a lot of

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value on that starting quarterback and
very little on that backup quarterback.

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This could be a situation from this
particular standpoint that can help

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them because let's just say if Russ
starts out and then Russ experienced

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some issues you have Justin Fields
who's a younger version of Russell and

223
00:13:38,854 --> 00:13:42,864
has a similar skill set that can come
in and potentially lead your team.

224
00:13:43,139 --> 00:13:47,689
Or if you went vice versa, you get a
veteran quarterback in Russell later

225
00:13:47,689 --> 00:13:53,339
on week 11, week nine, who wasn't
a start at the beginning of season.

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00:13:53,339 --> 00:13:54,629
I'm giving you both scenarios.

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00:13:54,944 --> 00:13:59,494
But if he can come in week 9, week
10, now you start playing division

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competition week 11, and he can show
that he can win in that tough division,

229
00:14:05,384 --> 00:14:09,174
he now solidifies himself, if not
with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with

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00:14:09,224 --> 00:14:12,054
someone else as a viable starter.

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00:14:12,254 --> 00:14:15,524
So there are pros and cons to this
when you look at the Pittsburgh

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00:14:15,524 --> 00:14:19,644
Steelers, but the odds makers did put
them in a very difficult situation.

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00:14:20,534 --> 00:14:21,264
Alex Hardy: Absolutely.

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00:14:21,264 --> 00:14:24,864
And on the other hand, the Atlanta
Falcons, who I mentioned previously,

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00:14:25,074 --> 00:14:29,204
you know, once they get their first
four games out of the way, it becomes

236
00:14:29,604 --> 00:14:33,334
kind of a clear path just to take
care of your division opponents, and

237
00:14:33,334 --> 00:14:38,914
it would make it a pretty favorable
schedule for them moving forward.

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00:14:39,144 --> 00:14:43,964
So, a little on, you know,
some of the hard schedules,

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00:14:43,974 --> 00:14:45,514
some of the easier schedules.

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00:14:45,794 --> 00:14:47,864
Uh, travel is always a good one, right?

241
00:14:48,014 --> 00:14:52,814
Because I looked at the LA Chargers
in particular, and according to the

242
00:14:52,814 --> 00:14:57,384
Vegas wind totals, the second easiest
schedule, they've got that fourth place

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00:14:57,394 --> 00:15:03,024
schedule finishing last in the AFC
West, and on top of that, you've got,

244
00:15:03,114 --> 00:15:10,187
um, you know, some, some ability for
them to improve under Jim Harbaugh.

245
00:15:10,187 --> 00:15:10,764
And.

246
00:15:11,704 --> 00:15:14,844
The additions that they've made
this offseason despite losing

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00:15:15,034 --> 00:15:16,374
key pieces on the offense.

248
00:15:16,394 --> 00:15:19,474
So I think it's an easy schedule,
but what you don't account

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for is they travel overseas.

250
00:15:21,544 --> 00:15:23,004
They have multiple East Coast trips.

251
00:15:23,284 --> 00:15:27,994
They have the most mileage of any team
according to Bill Spiros of bookies.

252
00:15:28,254 --> 00:15:34,644
com where they fly 26, 000 miles to
play their 17 games across 36 time

253
00:15:34,644 --> 00:15:39,194
zones, which also leads the NFL
compared to a team like Washington.

254
00:15:39,414 --> 00:15:42,764
Who, again, the NFC East is
geographically close to one another.

255
00:15:42,974 --> 00:15:45,664
They only travel 10, 550 miles.

256
00:15:45,914 --> 00:15:48,894
So you're talking about more than
two and a half times the travel

257
00:15:49,084 --> 00:15:51,034
one NFL team has than the other.

258
00:15:51,194 --> 00:15:56,274
Which, from your perspective, Nick,
absolutely must weigh on you as a

259
00:15:56,494 --> 00:15:58,374
player trying to play at your best.

260
00:15:59,294 --> 00:16:00,084
Nick Ferguson: Yeah, it does.

261
00:16:00,314 --> 00:16:02,724
Because players have routines.

262
00:16:03,224 --> 00:16:06,654
And when you start to travel,
and it all depends on your

263
00:16:06,654 --> 00:16:08,649
coach, And what they want to do.

264
00:16:08,909 --> 00:16:12,589
I know, like, usually when I played
for Mike Shanahan, we would fly

265
00:16:12,589 --> 00:16:14,839
out maybe that Saturday, right?

266
00:16:15,109 --> 00:16:20,719
So you just have to get as acclimated as
you could and, you know, maybe 24 hours.

267
00:16:21,019 --> 00:16:24,809
But coaching with the San Francisco
49ers with Kyle Shanahan, his son,

268
00:16:25,169 --> 00:16:29,419
the idea was if we're going to take an
East Coast trip, You want to travel out

269
00:16:29,419 --> 00:16:34,519
there maybe that Friday, have a practice
that Saturday, and also you're waking

270
00:16:34,569 --> 00:16:38,519
up close to the time that guys are
going to be waking up to play the game.

271
00:16:38,799 --> 00:16:42,669
So these are some, some of the
parameters that coaches have to deal

272
00:16:42,669 --> 00:16:46,179
with when they're trying to look
at the schedule and best, best put

273
00:16:46,179 --> 00:16:47,809
the players in position to succeed.

274
00:16:47,809 --> 00:16:53,039
But this is why those East Coast
games can be so brutal and they favor,

275
00:16:53,099 --> 00:16:56,724
of course, Obviously the home team
because you've been playing in that

276
00:16:56,724 --> 00:16:58,894
time zone for a lengthy period of time.

277
00:16:59,214 --> 00:17:00,774
That's why I always wonder.

278
00:17:01,174 --> 00:17:04,004
When we look at certain teams
and they say, well, they have a

279
00:17:04,004 --> 00:17:06,194
large amount of East Coast games.

280
00:17:06,544 --> 00:17:10,484
And I think if I'm not mistaken, last
year, when you look at the jet schedule,

281
00:17:10,804 --> 00:17:14,114
even though they on the East Coast,
a lot of their games were, were not

282
00:17:14,154 --> 00:17:16,114
in their favor based on time zone.

283
00:17:16,794 --> 00:17:17,574
You have to think.

284
00:17:18,009 --> 00:17:23,829
Is someone sitting in Park Avenue looking
at the list going, yep, I like this team,

285
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:25,089
great quarterback, great quarterback.

286
00:17:25,089 --> 00:17:25,859
Oh, you know what?

287
00:17:26,629 --> 00:17:30,509
Yeah, we're going to find a way to
see if this team is really about it.

288
00:17:30,869 --> 00:17:31,319
Okay.

289
00:17:31,719 --> 00:17:37,039
By giving them, you know, some East Coast
or in this case, Your East coast team

290
00:17:37,049 --> 00:17:38,569
being forced to play in the West coast.

291
00:17:38,769 --> 00:17:42,559
It's kind of chaotic the way
they come up with these things,

292
00:17:42,879 --> 00:17:44,069
but it's always tough, man.

293
00:17:44,079 --> 00:17:48,149
If you're a West coast team, you have
multiple trips to the East coast.

294
00:17:48,209 --> 00:17:48,869
That's the toughest.

295
00:17:49,329 --> 00:17:49,619
Alex Hardy: Yeah.

296
00:17:49,659 --> 00:17:51,549
You always see the
Seattle Seahawks up there.

297
00:17:51,549 --> 00:17:52,909
The 49ers as well.

298
00:17:53,199 --> 00:17:57,279
Miami dolphins, new England Patriots
running out the top five, each of them

299
00:17:57,549 --> 00:17:59,739
with international trips themselves.

300
00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:02,259
Um, let's see.

301
00:18:02,259 --> 00:18:04,549
I will talk about our two Superbowl.

302
00:18:05,474 --> 00:18:09,984
Competitors this past season in 2023,
before we get on to Nick, before we

303
00:18:09,984 --> 00:18:13,554
split Nick Ferguson, you want to start
with the Niners or the Chiefs here?

304
00:18:14,384 --> 00:18:16,164
Nick Ferguson: Uh, let's
start with the Niners.

305
00:18:16,674 --> 00:18:20,164
Alex Hardy: So the San
Francisco 49ers lead the NFL.

306
00:18:20,394 --> 00:18:23,014
They have four opponents
that come off bi weeks.

307
00:18:23,114 --> 00:18:23,574
Your thoughts.

308
00:18:25,599 --> 00:18:28,699
Nick Ferguson: Wow, that's really
tough because usually coming off

309
00:18:28,699 --> 00:18:32,379
of those bye weeks, it gives those
coordinators on both sides of the

310
00:18:32,389 --> 00:18:38,019
ball to come up with creative ideas to
toss out against that week's opponent.

311
00:18:38,089 --> 00:18:43,109
So, it is kind of, you look at it
and say maybe it's a little unfair

312
00:18:43,559 --> 00:18:49,159
for the San Francisco 49ers to play
four teams coming off of a bye.

313
00:18:49,179 --> 00:18:51,399
It gives those teams also an opportunity.

314
00:18:52,439 --> 00:18:54,879
The one thing I don't know, cause I don't
have the schedule right in front of me.

315
00:18:55,219 --> 00:18:56,349
I got you.

316
00:18:56,349 --> 00:18:57,619
Oh, you have the schedule
right in front of

317
00:18:57,819 --> 00:18:57,869
Alex Hardy: you?

318
00:18:57,909 --> 00:19:02,709
So week eight, sorry, week seven, the
chiefs come off their week six by for

319
00:19:02,709 --> 00:19:06,949
the Superbowl rematch the following
week, eight, they're playing against

320
00:19:06,949 --> 00:19:10,049
the Dallas Cowboys off their by week 11.

321
00:19:10,489 --> 00:19:16,179
The division rival Seahawks off
there by week 13 at Buffalo.

322
00:19:16,439 --> 00:19:16,839
Oh, sorry.

323
00:19:16,859 --> 00:19:20,949
At home against Buffalo, the bills
are coming off there by four playoff

324
00:19:20,949 --> 00:19:22,249
teams or three playoff teams.

325
00:19:22,249 --> 00:19:23,909
Plus the division rival from last year.

326
00:19:24,409 --> 00:19:27,339
Nick Ferguson: Well, listen, there
are pros and cons to every situation.

327
00:19:27,459 --> 00:19:31,049
So because those teams are
coming off a buy, they have

328
00:19:31,059 --> 00:19:32,339
the advantage of preparation.

329
00:19:32,734 --> 00:19:38,144
Also, getting the players healed up,
but here's where the momentum factor

330
00:19:38,444 --> 00:19:42,934
might benefit the San Francisco
49ers because when you go on a

331
00:19:42,934 --> 00:19:45,114
buy, you go away from the team.

332
00:19:45,124 --> 00:19:46,594
You try to get your mind right.

333
00:19:46,914 --> 00:19:49,224
And sometimes you end up going on a trip.

334
00:19:49,684 --> 00:19:52,864
And you're not really kind
of groove back into football.

335
00:19:53,174 --> 00:19:56,474
So the idea is that 49ers in
that four games, you know,

336
00:19:56,474 --> 00:19:58,674
slate, they're still grinding.

337
00:19:58,674 --> 00:20:01,994
They're still in that momentum
type of window and you can

338
00:20:02,024 --> 00:20:03,874
catch a team slipping, right?

339
00:20:03,874 --> 00:20:07,394
They think that we're well rested,
we're well prepared, but this team

340
00:20:07,394 --> 00:20:08,914
still is carrying the momentum.

341
00:20:08,924 --> 00:20:10,054
That's the biggest part.

342
00:20:10,054 --> 00:20:13,759
And that's where Kyle Shanahan
is going to have to keep his guys

343
00:20:13,789 --> 00:20:17,499
pretty much engaged to say, look,
we have a four game track here.

344
00:20:17,499 --> 00:20:19,649
We're playing against teams
that are coming off a buy.

345
00:20:19,989 --> 00:20:24,949
We can use that momentum and the fact
that we are still playing week to week.

346
00:20:25,334 --> 00:20:26,274
Against that team.

347
00:20:26,284 --> 00:20:28,074
And sometimes we've seen it.

348
00:20:28,104 --> 00:20:32,084
We've seen team play great coming off
a buy, but we've seen a lot of teams

349
00:20:32,374 --> 00:20:34,654
play horrible coming off the buy.

350
00:20:35,414 --> 00:20:39,364
Alex Hardy: Uh, luckily they don't draw
well, Andy Reed, of course, with the

351
00:20:39,364 --> 00:20:44,304
Chiefs 28 and three shout out Atlanta
Falcons, uh, when coming off the buy

352
00:20:44,324 --> 00:20:45,884
and their opponent isn't on a buy.

353
00:20:46,184 --> 00:20:50,294
And meanwhile, there are 12 teams that
don't play opponents coming off a buy when

354
00:20:50,294 --> 00:20:51,884
they themselves aren't on a buy either.

355
00:20:52,064 --> 00:20:55,034
So I thought that was kind of
fascinating where the 49ers get

356
00:20:55,034 --> 00:20:56,064
the short end of that stick.

357
00:20:56,314 --> 00:20:59,414
And then with the Kansas city chiefs,
and this gets us to the streaming

358
00:20:59,414 --> 00:21:03,644
conversation, because with Netflix
now on the fold and a double header

359
00:21:03,654 --> 00:21:06,994
for Wednesday, Christmas days, the
current, the Kansas city chiefs

360
00:21:06,994 --> 00:21:12,914
play on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, six days

361
00:21:12,914 --> 00:21:15,144
a week for the Kansas city chiefs and.

362
00:21:15,599 --> 00:21:17,129
I know this is a lot to add in.

363
00:21:17,459 --> 00:21:24,599
Week 11, when they are at Buffalo,
Week 11, they're at Buffalo, happens

364
00:21:24,599 --> 00:21:29,409
to fall on the same weekend where
Taylor Swift is performing in New York.

365
00:21:29,849 --> 00:21:33,869
So, the schedule makers have
confirmed they considered Taylor

366
00:21:33,869 --> 00:21:36,029
Swift when doing the Chief's schedule.

367
00:21:36,149 --> 00:21:40,309
Meanwhile, we can see the Kansas
City Chiefs on six out of seven

368
00:21:40,309 --> 00:21:42,839
days This NFL season, Nick.

369
00:21:43,589 --> 00:21:47,649
Nick Ferguson: Once again, man, a lot
of this stuff that is happening with

370
00:21:47,649 --> 00:21:50,259
the schedule, it's not by chance.

371
00:21:50,459 --> 00:21:53,819
I mean, last year there
was a boost in ratings.

372
00:21:54,204 --> 00:21:59,274
And I guess apparel for the league
and for the Kansas City Chiefs

373
00:21:59,634 --> 00:22:01,464
all because of the Swifties.

374
00:22:01,914 --> 00:22:06,394
And I can help just like every
other American watching Sunday night

375
00:22:06,394 --> 00:22:10,944
football and the cameras of Mike Tirico
constantly going back to Taylor Swift.

376
00:22:11,194 --> 00:22:15,394
I'm like, look, I enjoy her music,
but I came to watch the game.

377
00:22:15,464 --> 00:22:16,884
So can we get back to the game?

378
00:22:17,194 --> 00:22:18,864
So the league paid attention.

379
00:22:19,279 --> 00:22:24,649
To, you know, how she has been
able to draw her audience in.

380
00:22:24,649 --> 00:22:28,929
And obviously when the Kansas City Chiefs
won the Super Bowl, she kissed Travis

381
00:22:28,929 --> 00:22:34,799
Kelsey, and I'm sure all the hearts on
Park Avenue just melted because they

382
00:22:34,809 --> 00:22:39,939
thought we have a profitable thing
right in front of us and all we have

383
00:22:40,059 --> 00:22:43,599
to do is shoot camera one to the box.

384
00:22:43,899 --> 00:22:44,449
Alex Hardy: That's right.

385
00:22:44,639 --> 00:22:49,279
Nick Ferguson: It's, it is
by, I guess I would say.

386
00:22:50,134 --> 00:22:55,114
The hand of the odds makers that you
have so many Chiefs games throughout

387
00:22:55,114 --> 00:22:58,634
the weeks because they want to
try to capitalize all of that.

388
00:22:58,634 --> 00:23:02,254
And most importantly, when you think
about the streaming services, when you

389
00:23:02,254 --> 00:23:07,544
slap those Kansas City games on either
Peacock, Amazon, Netflix, whatever.

390
00:23:08,064 --> 00:23:11,974
People may not have those
streaming services, but guess what?

391
00:23:12,314 --> 00:23:14,434
They want to tune in and
see what's going to happen.

392
00:23:14,504 --> 00:23:17,654
They might not even like
Kansas City or Teleswift.

393
00:23:17,874 --> 00:23:19,524
They just want to be in the know.

394
00:23:19,724 --> 00:23:23,764
So on that Monday or Tuesday or
whatever it is, they can talk

395
00:23:23,774 --> 00:23:24,884
about how much they hated it.

396
00:23:25,974 --> 00:23:27,474
Alex Hardy: Well, he's Nick Ferguson.

397
00:23:27,524 --> 00:23:28,484
I'm Alex Hardy.

398
00:23:28,544 --> 00:23:35,704
And before we split, Nick, we got
to see 32 teams show us their stuff.

399
00:23:36,064 --> 00:23:41,154
With schedule release videos, I'm sure
you were on Twitter hitting refresh

400
00:23:41,154 --> 00:23:46,274
until 8pm Eastern, 5 Pacific, 6
Mountain Time where you were, uh, just

401
00:23:46,684 --> 00:23:51,884
hyped, ready to go to see what your
team, your Denver Broncos were up to.

402
00:23:52,164 --> 00:23:54,634
Name dropping with Lewis
Hamilton was pretty great.

403
00:23:54,814 --> 00:23:59,404
But Nick, before we split your favorite
schedule release video, and please,

404
00:23:59,444 --> 00:24:00,874
I hope it's good Jules hunting.

405
00:24:02,404 --> 00:24:05,284
Nick Ferguson: No, it's not
good Jules hunting, which, uh,

406
00:24:05,324 --> 00:24:07,024
that one was, uh, pretty good.

407
00:24:07,244 --> 00:24:12,374
I think once again, the schedule
release are so fascinating and teams

408
00:24:12,374 --> 00:24:16,664
are getting into these kind of like,
uh, almost like baby reveal types of

409
00:24:16,664 --> 00:24:20,894
things, but I thought it was the fact,
I think it might've been the chargers.

410
00:24:21,304 --> 00:24:24,254
Who had a skew number or whatever.

411
00:24:24,594 --> 00:24:26,624
And when you clicked on it, it
was something like, it was like

412
00:24:26,624 --> 00:24:27,814
they were trolling the Raiders.

413
00:24:28,264 --> 00:24:29,204
Alex Hardy: Oh, the whole time.

414
00:24:29,564 --> 00:24:33,004
So I, you know, before, before I
fell in love with sports, I was

415
00:24:33,004 --> 00:24:34,524
in love with playing the Sims.

416
00:24:34,534 --> 00:24:35,264
Are you kidding me?

417
00:24:35,674 --> 00:24:36,634
Hours and hours.

418
00:24:36,664 --> 00:24:39,214
And the trick, taking the
ladder out of the pool.

419
00:24:39,214 --> 00:24:44,104
So the Sims were stuck in, I mean,
clearly that was made with delicate

420
00:24:44,104 --> 00:24:48,684
attention to, uh, shout out their
social team that, uh, knew everything,

421
00:24:48,734 --> 00:24:50,024
the ins and outs of that game.

422
00:24:50,244 --> 00:24:54,344
But yes, you would click
on the Chargers website.

423
00:24:54,364 --> 00:24:56,194
It said, Raiders fans click here.

424
00:24:56,569 --> 00:25:00,659
And it was an application to fill
out for the World Clown Association.

425
00:25:01,499 --> 00:25:05,139
Because the Raiders are a bunch
of clowns, according to LA.

426
00:25:05,149 --> 00:25:08,389
Even though they suffered
that, what, 63 7 loss.

427
00:25:08,409 --> 00:25:10,179
But again, that's last year.

428
00:25:10,399 --> 00:25:10,959
This is today.

429
00:25:11,439 --> 00:25:12,179
this year.

430
00:25:12,399 --> 00:25:17,739
So shout out the LA Chargers who I think
two years in a row probably did the best.

431
00:25:18,049 --> 00:25:22,079
Um, I mentioned 28 to 3, so
something good the Falcons did.

432
00:25:22,259 --> 00:25:26,219
They did the NFL Street Schedule
release, which another, I mean

433
00:25:26,229 --> 00:25:27,189
there's a common thread here.

434
00:25:27,199 --> 00:25:29,869
Video games for me is definitely a win.

435
00:25:30,039 --> 00:25:33,069
So, uh, any others before
we get on out of here, Nick?

436
00:25:33,739 --> 00:25:37,539
Nick Ferguson: You know, if I'm not
mistaken, there was one about the Chiefs

437
00:25:37,659 --> 00:25:43,359
kicker and he was being trolled based on
what he said at the commencement speech.

438
00:25:43,489 --> 00:25:45,889
Alex Hardy: Yeah, Chargers,
Chargers got him there too.

439
00:25:45,989 --> 00:25:50,619
Nick Ferguson: It's like, man, like, I
understand doing certain things, then

440
00:25:50,619 --> 00:25:53,749
other things are, you may take it too far.

441
00:25:53,889 --> 00:25:54,129
There are

442
00:25:54,129 --> 00:25:54,929
Alex Hardy: layers to it.

443
00:25:55,369 --> 00:25:57,339
Nick Ferguson: Yeah, and
it makes me think like.

444
00:25:57,754 --> 00:26:01,984
I mean, scheduled release and trolling
other teams, that's great, fine and

445
00:26:01,984 --> 00:26:07,764
dandy, but I can't help but think, when
those two teams match up, somehow that

446
00:26:07,764 --> 00:26:12,534
is going to be showed by Andy Reid,
so they can actually stick it to Jim

447
00:26:12,544 --> 00:26:14,174
Harbaugh and his charges even more.

448
00:26:15,004 --> 00:26:17,814
Alex Hardy: Well, I'm shocked
that I didn't hear anything about

449
00:26:17,814 --> 00:26:22,484
the Jacksonville Jaguars from
you, that did an X Men scheduled

450
00:26:22,494 --> 00:26:24,142
release based off the I didn't

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00:26:24,142 --> 00:26:24,529
Nick Ferguson: see that one!

452
00:26:24,679 --> 00:26:28,409
Alex Hardy: Yeah, so same animation
like the 97 video, but of course

453
00:26:28,419 --> 00:26:30,279
the Jags came in the NFL 95.

454
00:26:30,299 --> 00:26:35,249
So it's just Jags 95 and they've
got all the animation that a comic

455
00:26:35,249 --> 00:26:37,349
book guy like you, Nick, would love.

456
00:26:37,649 --> 00:26:38,649
He's Nick Ferguson.

457
00:26:38,679 --> 00:26:39,639
I'm Alex Hardy.

458
00:26:39,739 --> 00:26:40,679
We are those guys.

459
00:26:40,679 --> 00:26:41,919
We hope to be your guys.

460
00:26:42,079 --> 00:26:43,369
Make sure to keep it locked here.

461
00:26:43,369 --> 00:26:46,599
We talk about actual football,
not just names going on a sheet of

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00:26:46,599 --> 00:26:48,639
paper, uh, with the schedule release.

463
00:26:48,889 --> 00:26:51,969
Uh, you can follow us, uh,
Apple podcasts, wherever you

464
00:26:51,969 --> 00:26:53,569
got your podcasts and YouTube.

465
00:26:53,849 --> 00:26:55,209
Uh, through Ride the Wave Media.

466
00:26:55,259 --> 00:26:56,879
So Nick, what do you have
to say for the people?

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00:26:56,879 --> 00:26:57,799
Let's get on out of here.

468
00:26:58,789 --> 00:27:03,429
Nick Ferguson: Hey, great job
NFL on the schedule as usual.

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00:27:03,469 --> 00:27:07,789
I hope, uh, your fantasy
team does well this year.

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00:27:08,099 --> 00:27:10,609
Uh, I know my fantasy
team did well last year.

471
00:27:10,619 --> 00:27:12,519
So, hey, go NFL.

472
00:27:12,899 --> 00:27:14,069
Alex Hardy: Hey, Nick, I got you.

473
00:27:14,069 --> 00:27:18,199
I can tell you the indoor matchups for
week 17 for that fantasy championship.

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00:27:18,439 --> 00:27:19,319
Nick Ferguson: Ooh, okay.

475
00:27:19,339 --> 00:27:19,929
Ooh,

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00:27:19,959 --> 00:27:20,519
Alex Hardy: got you.

477
00:27:20,899 --> 00:27:21,469
Got you.