The Season with Peter SchragerThe Season with Peter Schrager: NFL Prediction Week
We're here! Week 1. Peter and Aaron reveal their predictions for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, MVP, Head Coach of the Year, and unveil their playoff picks--with seedings! Peter also discusses his round of golf at one of the most legendary golf courses in the USA, and how he responded to a text message from a "friend" who hit him up for the first time in 12 months to ask for fantasy football sleepers.
The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. What's up, everybody, We are here. I feel like we've been walking in the desert for months. We've been doing episodes from the Combine, We've been doing episodes from the draft, and then there was that long summer of just projections and hypotheticals and contract holdouts and long explainers on the Dynamic Kickoff. There's been long explainers on Hassan Reddick. We're here. Football is here. I'm sorry if I didn't spend three weeks doing fantasy football prep with you guys. I know that probably didn't help the listenership. I know I could have had you know, Matthew Berry or the underdog Fantasy guys on or someone, and we could have pumped up the numbers. But I wasn't gonna do you like that. You go elsewhere for that. You find your fancy Fault podcast. If you're listening to this podcast, it's for hardcore football, it's for analysiss for some of the best guests, and it's for my man, Aaron wang Kaufman. Aaron, we're here. It's football season, and it is as we record this on a Tuesday. We are now forty eight hours away. Are you excited or are you nervous and dreading? As a Bills fan, I can imagine this is an interesting time considering the offseason you guys had.
I mean I'm a little bit of both, partly because later this evening, late this evening, I have my New York City Fantasy League draft. Okay, so I haven't gotten any any sleepers from.
A sleeper Shakir. I like him this year.
I mean, as a as a Bills fan, It's not asleep because I've been all in on Sheer. No, I'm stoked. I can't wait. I I'm really excited. I mean, just from the Bill's perspective, playing against the Cardinals, who have Marvin Harrison Junior, getting to see Trey McBride some more. It's an exciting first week. I think there are a lot of really exciting first games.
That first game is a trap game written all over it, Dude, in Buffalo, right Arizona. Arizona comes in everyone expecting Buffalo to have an easy like that one's got trap game written all over it. I hope they're not gonna take that one for granted. That. By the way, those those two teams. One of my favorite games in recent memory was the Hail Murray Hail Murray. Those two teams went at it, no doubt, I think that's cool, but.
One of my least favorite games. Yeah.
Whatever, the Bills figured it out that year. They were fine. You guys went pretty far that season. All right. I'll tell you one thing that was funny. You like this and I can't out who it was and whatever. One thing that I find it's very personal to me. Once a year, I'll hear from people and it's like, yeah, bro, I got my fantasy draft tonight, Like, give me some sleepers. You okay, that's my response, bleep it if you have to aaron you like I I hear you from you once a year, dude, Like my fantasy draft tonight, got any sleepers? Like there's nothing more insulting this, Like, no, I don't and don't text me the day of your draft. Do I have to know what? Do I what I look like? No, so one guy did it and I don't even know this guy. Well, like it's one of those guys who like got my memories and he wasn't even friendly in the text. He was like, got any sleepers for my fantasy draft, and I wrote back draft bo Williams late, no such player, no such player as Bo Williams. I don't know anyone. And he didn't respond, and then he wrote back thumbs up. So I don't know if he took bo Williams. But that was my favorite thing I did this week. So yeah, that was that was good. That was a win. Some people just didn't respond to And if you listen to the podcast, I apologize, like I just it just it's it's really insulting. The only thing worse is when someone texts me and says, hey, I'm going to Bengals Chiefs. Can I on the field? It's like a golf like. No, I don't do like I don't work in the ticket office. No. Anyway, that's my airing of grievances. If I'm seeming a little bit on edge, it's because I am, once again in one of these sleepless weeks. I am in Los Angeles and Good Morning Football starts at five am local. My alarm goes off at two forty five am local. I am blessed to do it. I get it. But when you get to the middle of the week, and the world just seems upside down. I don't think I have vertico, but I might. And I also, you know, I can't just go to sleep at three o'clock in the afternoon. So I'm here, I'm delirious. We're recording this. I'm in LA. Good morning. Football has been awesome this week Aaron's in New York. I did have one cool experience, cool ass experience. And you know, you might say you might not want to share that with everybody. It's I met a guy. The guy came up to me say he's a fan of the show. His name is Kunall. Great dude. Kunall was like, I'm living La. If you ever want to play an amazing golf course, I'm a member at a golf club. You're welcome to play with me. And not a moment too soon with I said, yeah, I'm actually coming to La Monday, Like, can I play this golf course? I got to play bell Air on Monday, which is one of the top courses in the entire world. I didn't play well, but as a novice golfer, this was like like check mark another bucket list moment. I loved it. Kunal and two of his buddies and me. I probably shot a one fifty horrible, but this was the coolest course I've ever played on. Can I explain? There are tunnels throughout this thing. There is a bridge called the Swinging Bridge that is like a shaky bridge that connects it. Awesome course, ton of history, many famous members. I don't know how these country club rules work. I'm allowed to mention the members. I don't know. But I was there for the golf baby and it was great, and then I had a delicious chopsalad afterwards in the clubhouse. Again no pictures allowed and no social media, which I think it was kind of cool. I wish the world was more like that sometimes, so I have no picture of me like putting in a cool shot. It also didn't happen. I didn't make any cool putts. I played pretty terribly, but again, very fun. The one thing was, you know, I would have preferred probably taken a cart. I walked the whole thing. It's a ton of hills and I didn't bring my golf shoes our golf club. So couonall great dude, couonall hooks me up and it's like I got you same size shoe you'll wear mine. I was in so much pain. I walked twenty six thousand steps yesterday. It seems like a lot, right, it seems like a lot.
Yeah, I think that's that's maybe. Uh. I don't know how many miles. About twelve miles.
Is that right? I walked twelve miles. Yeah, that's a lot. That's a lot of walking. Yeah. It's good. Yeah, and it was fun. But like I'm toast today, we did the show Good Morning Football. Was great, and then I did Chris Russo Mad Dog Radio. I did a spot with him I'm gona be doing on Tuesdays and that was an absolute blast. Remember we had him on our podcast back at.
Super Bowl Yeah, super Bowl.
Yeah. So it's been really cool. It's been a busy time and it all leads up to a wild NFL schedule of Thursday night Chiefs Ravens on NBC with our boy tar Rico and our guy Collinsworth. Friday on Peacock out of South Paulo, Brazil, Eagles, Packers, Friday night game, Sunday full Slate Sunday Night Rams Lions awesome matchup in Detroit, and then Monday night you have a doubleheader on Monday Night Football or no you have one. I'm sorry. It's just Niners versus Jets with Troy and Joe on the call and the return of Aaron Rodgers. But if you're listening to this podcast, you know I'm mister Crystal Ball and I like to give you some predictions. I want Aaron to participate and did it as well. What we're gonna do is we're gonna go through our season long addictions, not our Bowl takes, not our hot takes, not our fantasy football wide receiver sevens that you have to draft, no information on Bo Williams, not a real player, although I hope he's on at least one fantasy team somewhere. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna give him on this podcast, but then on Thursday after I announce it on Good Morning Football. And I understand that everyone's watching Good Morning Football on Thursday. Some of you work and you can't be in front of a television, which is respectable. I appreciate employment in this world. I'm gonna do a little separate pod and I'll talk about my Super Bowl pick, which as we know, has taken on a life of its own and there's great pressure behind it before I even get to the super Bowl. Pick Aaron. I have two like alternate approaches to this, one of them being this crazy off the waw off like the like, I have two teams I really like that are not everybody like. I kind of want to put them in the playoffs and just fine, and then I kind of want to put them in the super Bowl and just shock everyone, oh and be like drop the mic. You want to know who knows something? I know something. I'm a soothsayer. I get it right every year. And I'm gonna give you these two teams. And then I've got two picks, two safer choices still to pick the right super Bowl. There's no Yeah, I've done it last several years, but I've got two more safer ones. And you know, career wise, is it better to keep this thing going and pick maybe the more or is it better take the big ass swing and say is it. I'm going with this one because I just feel like this year is going to be crazy and these two teams are the ones I'm into. And everyone just blow their mind and say, Shreger's crazy, but Shreker's always right. But Shreker's crazy, but Shreker's always right. What do you think? Eron where do I go?
I mean, I would suggest getting a good night's sleep, maybe making the pick, not on a day that you just walk twenty six miles yep or twenty two miles whatever it was yep, Because yeah, I think it's cool to make an exciting choice, but you are You're known for making the right one, so I know, you know, I think I think it's if you believe that these two outlandish choices actually could be correct, and like there's a good chance. Yeah, I mean that could go for it.
But okay, so I'm going to think about you, right, take a good night's rest. It's like I'm in one of these hotels that's on the highway, uh and as glam as glamorous as that sounds like, I go Table for One for dinner at four thirty when I'm in LA because I got to get to sleep somehow and it's bright out and it's like I tonight, I'm planning on walking across the street to a chain restaurant that I will not mention that we all know and love Table for one and like seriously sitting down and writing with a pendon pad table for one sat as it could be, and like pros and cons of like which way to go of going big swing and you know, trying to make headlines but also believing in both these teams, or let's try to get this thing right and knowing that there's a far greater chance that these two other teams are gonna make it. We'll see, you know. Uh, fortune favors the bold, but fortune also favors getting things right five years in a row. Whatever else. All right, let's do some awards, let's let's do some let's do some suits saying let's do some predictions. Aaron, here's how we're gonna do it. I'm gonna set this up and I will break the fourth wall. I was debating do we want to bring on a guest this week? And like preview the season, I was thinking, do I want to bring on a coach? Because I could have gotten a bunch of coaches this week because it's early in the week and they don't play all Sunday, and like we could have done the big you know, deep dive on you know, Brian Callahan or Zach Taylor and really gotten to it. But then I'm like that's so focused on one team usually when we have on those guests, Like, I don't think we're looking to do that. Instead, let's go big picture, let's go predictions, and let's you and me do it. I think it's enough of a cool episode where it's Aaron and Peter Peter and Aaron's predictions and I don't know what you've got up your sleeve. I know you've spent all day to day going through these things, and I've been doing the work myself over the last several weeks. Let's start off with my offensive rookie of the year. I just got done spending the entire summer on the phones with all of these coaches, and I've been so dialed in on a lot of the rookie performances that I think this might be one of those rare, really good rookie classes. That's not a shocker, but I'm talking like one that was as good as like that class that had Herbert and two and Jefferson and Cede Lamb. Like, I think we're looking at one of those psycho classes. Yeah, forgot Burrow. He was the first pick in that draft. It's been a while, though, like we've had a bunch of drafts with a bunch of quarterback whiffs. I don't think we're gonna get it. I think three quarterbacks in particular are going to be very good this year. I think Caleb's going to be good. I think Nicks is going to be good, and I think Jayden Daniel is going to be good. But I think one of them is going to be the better one of all of them. And that's my breakout player of the year. It's a guy, no secret I've fallen in love with. He's got crazy joints that he can do these wild dances with his elbows. I'm talking about Jaden Daniels and Washington. That's my offensive rookie of the year. I think he's gonna uplift everybody in that market. And what's gonna be an interesting thing. There's gonna be a duality going on. You're gonna have this great story of the Commanders being a surprise team in the NFC, and I don't know if they go to the playoffs, but they're gonna be good this year. I think they're gonna be better and Daniels is gonna wow you every weekend, and then you're gonna have this bat crazy election going on at the same time in DC. So you've got great football story and likely wild election season going on, and it's all gonna be going on in the Beltway. I think Daniels might steal some headlines from both presidential candidates and their vice presidents. I think it's gonna be the Jaden Daniels show in DC. And we've been through this. Robert Griffin. That rookie year was a sensation and it was a blast to watch, and it was such a thrill and we know how it all went down afterwards. But that first year, right out of the gates New Orleans, he throws the touchdown, he's on his back, he does that whole thing. I think Jayden Daniel is gonna be something similar in his first year. And I think in his first game he might come out of the out of the gates just firing away and making things happen. So I'm gonna go Jaden Daniels as my offensive rookie of the Year. Aaron, you're on the clock, who do you say?
I'm gonna go a little more chalk. I think I'm gonna go with Caleb because I think he has There's been plenty of narrative already about he has such an incredible setup on the offensive side. He's got all these weapons to play with. Dj Moore, Keenan Allen, who you know used to be We mentioned him earlier justin Herbert's safety blanket, and now Caleb has him. And I just think the connection between Caleb and Rome. I think we're gonna be talking about it a lot as the year progresses, and I I just can't wait for Caleb to get a couple short passes in and then take a long bomb down to Rome on the sideline and like just some highlight plays. So I I think Caleb is my choice for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
I love it all right, Defensive Rookie of the Year, not as not as glamorous of a gig. I couldn't tell you offhand, and maybe you can google it for me. My brain is fried who won it last year? I don't know. I feel like it's probably a household name, but you know, as you google, it was it ya ya d Yabi? Was it Brian was young?
It was with Houston's Will Anderson.
Yeah, solid, Like no one's got Will Anderson winning Defensive Player of the Year This year. It's not like he was. It's really hard as a rookie to like be a huge breakout player on defense. I think Chase Young was a few years ago. Michael Parsons was, But like offensive is like every kid's buying your jersey. Defensive, it's like, all right, that was a good start to your career. It's really hard to dominate. Year one. My defensive rookie of the year. I go to the La Rams. I go Jared Verse, the pass rusher out of Florida State. Cool story with him. Started off at Albany as a Great Dane his first two years at the University of Albany, transfer to Florida State, had an awesome career. Two time All American, two time All acc goes without saying, and he was the nineteenth overall pick and was outstanding during the summer workouts and I was at practice for the Rams. He's flying all over the field. Interesting draft in that the first fifteen players, I want to say, maybe the first fourteen players were all offensive players. So this isn't a big defensive rookie class. As far as household names go. There are guys which makes it wide open for defensive Rookie of the Year and Aaron. If I'm going Jared Verse, who are you going? That's yours?
So I'm going with Terry and Arnold. Okay, cornerback for the Detroit Lions. I think that that is a position that they really blatantly needed, and I think if he can step it up and that defense plays well, there will be such a great narrative for him. Because everyone is so hyped about the Lions already that if they can clean up some of their weaknesses from last year, I think it will really stand out. I I do really like Jared Verse. I'm a little worried that he's going to get compared to Aaron.
He's outside, He's outside. It's totally I know, I know, but they're losing. They lost the chat. The specter of Aaron Donald hangs over that defense. Fair I almost picked Quinny on Mitchell, so I don't know. If maybe I'm just a cornerback guy. I do think that he also could do really well. But I think there's a lot more we're concerned about on the offensive side for the Eagles, whereas like with the Lions, we kind of know what that offense is and I think we're going to be really excited about they that's the most good.
All right. So we've got our offensive rookie of the year, our defensive rookie of the year. The next will be the defensive player of the year. Last year it was Miles Garrett. He had an outstanding season. Many thought it should have been t J. Watt. Others said it should have been Michael Parsons. There are so many good defensive players in this league, So where are we going to go for defensive player of the year. I'm going to go with a long shot. Sometimes you have to swing big and a guy who's just physically gifted in a way that few guys are, and someone who I think is gonna put up huge sack numbers this year as he's finally fully healthy. My defensive player of the year pick, I'm going to Green Bay. I'm going with Rashan Gary as my defensive player of the year. A sack machine and a guy who's finally gonna put it all together. He was one of Matt Lafleur's first ever draft picks. And I think Rashawon Gary, who I don't see listen in the top twenty names on these lists, is going to win Defensive Player of the Year. That is my pick. Ooh.
I like that. That's another team where I feel like everyone is in love with Jordan Love and the offense and bringing up a defensive guy like that is great. I'm very into.
That, Okay. So that tells you how I feel about the Packers this year. If I'm thinking Rashawn Gary would be Defensive Player of the Year, that was way off the board. Sometimes you got to do that who you taking.
So I was tempted by Miles Garrett again yep, and also TJ Watt. I think that you know, those two are are gonna be on this list of potential defensive Player of the Years for years to come. And I think the other guy on that list is Michael Parsons. And I think this year I'm gonna go with Michael Parsons. I think we have a lot of discussion about DAK and CD just signed. Finally, what's gonna happen with Dak's contract? And I think Michael Parsons is gonna come out and he's gonna remind everyone that there's another side of that team and they are very very good.
MICHAEH. Parsons is like also in that contract like negotiation thing, and you've got this situation where it's like CD got his, DAK got his. Is Mike gonna play with his, you know, with his ass on fire? He might like he might, he might just be completely on him. But I thought last year he kind of got lost a little bit in the TJ. Watt Miles Garrett discussion. Was kind of considered a third guy, and you know, I wonder if that motivates him as well.
All right, who do you have for your Offensive Player of the Year.
That's such a silly Yeah, I'm gonna say Bjeon Robinson his mind. But like, I don't even care about this award. I don't care, Like I think this award is dumb. You've got your MVP, and then you know the MVP is not going to be defensive player. Lawrence Taylor was the last one to actually like win MVP and that was in eighty six. And then you have your defensive player. But like, here's the MVP, and then you have your offensive player, which is basically like everyone the second place, but like not a quarterback. And then some years they give it to quarterback. So I'm gonna say this is a dumb award. They should do away with it, or they should call it non quarterback best non Quarterback. And I'm gonna go be Jeon Robinson, who I've already told you I think is going to like tear up the league this year.
I love Bijon. He's one of my favorite players. I love him in interviews. I love watching him run the I think I even mentioned this last time when you brought him up the skycam.
We get to watch him the catch.
Yeah, oh my god, amazing. I'll just really quickly. I'm gonna go with a guy I just mentioned. I'm gonna go with Ceedee Lamb. I think, Okay, the Cowboys. I think he especially in a time when the other kind of premiere wide receivers. You got Jefferson, who's going to get used to Sam Darnold, and you've got Jordan Addison, You've got t J. Hopkinson, he's got other guys flanking him, and then you've got Jamar Chase who is not practicing yet. Burrow is back from injury, but we'll see how long he lasts. Higgins is going to be fighting for his contract. I think CD is just going to go out there and be He's it. He's that often. I love it, so I think he's gonna step it up.
Are you at all concerned about the fact he didn't have a proper training camp that like the first three weeks he comes in out of shape and maybe isn't what he was at the end of last season where he was unstoppable.
Yes. Do I wish that Jerry Jones had just gotten all that done right away? Seed he could have had the training camp?
Yes, yeah, Okay, now we're getting into a different position, which is basically an indicator of how you're feeling on the season.
Coach of the year. My coach of the year is Mike McDonald of the Seattle Seahawks. I think not to be confused with Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers and his own solo career which was so magical. What a full believes I'm gonna say, Mike McDonald Seahawks, I've done this spiel before. I think they've got a real different spirit going. And Pete was great. Pete was an energy guy. Pete was a vibes guy. Everyone love Pete. But this is like a different deal. They bring it in a younger guy thirty seven years old, He's got with him an offensive coordinator from the college game and Grubs, and like, what I love is that he comes in and he's gonna solidify this defense in a way that he did with the Ravens last year and he did with Michigan two years ago. I'm already hearing great things from you know, from camp on Kenneth Walker, but also Jackson Smith, Ninjigba, and of course you have your usuals Lockett and Metcalf. Defensively, they were pretty pretty down last year. That's why you bring in a defensive coach, and that's why you give a guy who's thirty seven years old the reins. I think the Seattle Seahawks are my surprise team in the NFL, and I've got Mike McDonald as my coach of the year. I will say this though, for as good as I have been aaron on Super Bowl picks, and I have taken many a victory laugh. And my coach of the year three years ago was Cliff Kingsbury, he got fired. My coach of the year two years ago was Nathaniel Hackett, he got fired. And last year I had Sean Payton where his team fell apart down the stretch and they missed the playoffs and it was a great disappointment, so bad that you know, Russell Wilson's out of town. So my Coach of the Year picks have not exactly been spot on. So, Mike McDonald, as much as it might feel good to see your name in a September Coach of the Year pick, that means it means nothing. There's a good chance that this actually backfires completely because I have a horrible history and track record with finding that's a prize team that's going to suddenly shock everybody.
Well, he is a first year coach, so maybe that gives him a little bit of a cushion there to protect him from any sort of you know, curse or anything you might have going on. I also thought about a first year coach and someone who we've talked about a lot on the show, Rahiem Morris. Oh, but at the end of the day, I think I'm going to go with Dimigo Ryans, who I think the.
Tech What better could they do than last year. Last year was the year he would have won it, and he didn't win it. Stefanski won it.
Yeah, and I think that the Texans still have room to grow on defense, which is a place that he will really make himself known. And I think that they they've got room to grow there. So I do really think they can continue this ascent. They're not just like a young, little upstart team. They've got these vets are really there to perform well for them, and I think this year we get a continuation. He keeps that momentum going and he gets like he gets award that's also a little bit for last year, but also you kept going this year. Here's the catch with.
That, And anyone who picks like Dan Campbell or on the floor like last year was the big bump. Anything short of like the one seed and like a dominant season for these guys, it's hard. Usually like giving Coach of the Year to the guys who surprise and shock or who come out of nowhere in the first year. So I would say, yes, he might be the best coach, but odds are against anything short of Houston going like fifteen to two, them suddenly giving to Miko the award.
That might give a little indication of what my future thoughts of Houston are too.
Okay, So all right, all right, so let's get into it now. We get into the nitty gritty. Let's get in to our playoff teams. I'll do my AFC, you do your AFC. I'll do my NFC, you do your NFC. How we're gonna do it is this. We're gonna give our four division champions in order you see them, see them. Okay, okay. So as you know playoffs, the four division champions are always the top four seeds, no matter what the wild card records are, and the first team has a buy the next three host playoff games in the wild card round, and then we go from there, no further ado. I kind of did this spiel on Good Morning Football. I'm gonna do it again. I want to talk to my boy Danny Glazer in Tribeca, my boy Eric Ziff in Tribeca, my guys the band Chicks, one in Tribeca, one out there in Long Island. I'll talk to my to my friends in Freehold, New Jersey, Matthew Nay and Joshua Levin and all these guys. And I want to talk about all people on the street that I see, everyone who I've come across who is a die hard fan of the New York Jets, and I want to tell them to take a deep breath, exhale, take out that coheba, you know, cigar, and enjoy a dream season. It's okay to believe in the New York Jets. I've got the New York Jets as the number one seed in the AFC, and I have them having a buy in the first round of the playoffs. It's a little bit on a ledge, you know what. The more I thought about it, I really like this team. I really like a lot of teams, but this one. I felt like there's something special about how quiet they've been and how many haters there have been this summer, Like the amount of fake Rogers BS stories that I've seen come out that it's been like discord, Like I don't see it, I don't hear it, and I'm there, like I actually go to the practice and then I actually called the games and actually talked to the coaches, like I would think that maybe I wouldn't publicly say like, oh, Rogers's been a real tough cookie this year, or Rogers and Sala aren't getting along, I wouldn't maybe necessarily come and broadcast that. But I certainly wouldn't put my name on the Jets if I felt that was true. So I'm going to say the Jets are my one seed in the AFC. My two seed are the Kansas City Chiefs. Say no more. I think they loaded up. I think they're going to be better than they were a last regular season when they were a five seed. Have to win two road playoff games to get to this. Well, three's the Ravens, all right again. Best team in the AFC North in my eyes. They got Derek Henry. I think there were some big losses, including McDonald and the three offensive linemen that were all veterans. That they're losing. Number four is a shocker. Number four, I've got the Jacksonville Jaguars winning the AFC South. I don't have the Texans. I want to zag a little bit. I like the Texans, but I feel like the Jaguars had a really down year with a lot of bad things happen to them. But like coming into the season, the Jags were a hot team at one point and then it all fell apart once Trevor Lawrence's ankle went to put I've got the Jags as my four, my three wild cards. And as I say this, remember here are teams we have not mentioned. The Bengals, the Browns, the Dolphins, the Bills. We haven't mentioned the Texans. We haven't mentioned the Broncos, haven't mentioned the Raiders, the Chargers, the Steelers, we haven't mentioned the Patriots. Like there's here's the beauty of this or the misery of this when you do playoff predictions and not just ah, my super Bowl pick this year is this. Oh, but I love every team like you gotta put your name on it. I said this on Chris Russo Show today, like every show is like, here's my super Bowl pick. But for the last three weeks they've been saying I really like the Cardinals.
I really like it.
I actually, I actually really think that this is the year the Falcons are a sneaky pick. We gotta put your name on it. And when you actually name the playoff teams, eighteen teams don't go, only fourteen go. So as I say this, here are my three Aaron the five seed from the great state of New York, from the wonderful city of Buffalo. I've got the Buffalo Bills. It's the five seed at the sixth seed in Sean Payton. I trust he's got a full year now with his guys, and he's already completely transformed this roster with George Peyton his colleague. I'm going way out on a limb. I've got the Denver Broncos as a sixth seed, meaning I've got them winning big games, and I've got them beating the Chiefs in some instances, in beating the Chargers and beating the Raiders, and of course having to win big games against opponents that are really good. And my seventh team, with the Dolphins still on the board, and the Steelers still on the board, and the Bengals still on the board, and the Browns still on the board, and your Houston Texans still on the board, I'm going with the Los Angeles Chargers as my seventh team, and I have Texans missing the playoffs. Sorry, I just is what it is. Bengals missing the playoffs, Browns missing the playoffs, and maybe the craziest of all, to the reaction that I got when I first said this, I have the Dolphins missing the playoffs after what was a summer's worth of just Super Bowl hype and paying Tua and paying Tyreek and everyone going all in on the Dolphins. I don't know. I don't like how it ended last year, and I know they had injuries. I just I don't feel like what they ended on last year, that Tua was like this guy who's gonna suddenly go into the playoffs and win a bunch of games. I win a bunch of games late in the season. I still don't. I have to see it to believe it. They lost that Week eighteen game and then they lost in the playoffs in what was just you know, blah fashion to the Chiefs. So those are my seven in descending order again, will do it? Jets? Your one, Chiefs, Ravens, Jaguars, five Bills, six Broncos, seven Chargers. Aaron wan Kaufman, your thoughts.
Big on the AFC West. I mean, I think anytime you're looking at this, it's going to be really easy to want to throw three teams in from a single spot. And you know it's tough. We haven't we haven't even mentioned the Chargers yet. And and like their entire coaching change, oh yeah, their whole rebranding. I mean, that's that's an exciting one. I think. You know, it's funny when I look at your list versus my list, you are so tuned in with coaches and with the the front office and what you're hearing from them, Whereas to me, it's like I consume you know, different kinds of media, and I'm like, oh, who, who who do the Chargers have as a weapon anymore? Like, I don't know if I can pick them to go that high and to take out teams that have legitimately incredible weapons on offense. So that's the one I think is almost the spiciest. I do think the Denver take is spicy one too.
How about Okay, let's get to yours. I always value your opinions as well. Let's hear all right. So I have the one seed of Kansas City. I think this is the kind of thing until proven otherwise, I'm not gonna not ever going to doubt Kansas City at Mahomes and Andy Reid and the two seed I have Houston.
I do really think that there's a lot of room for them. And I you know, I saw what Diggs did for Bills. Yeah, and if he can, if he can elevate Stroud just a little bit, that's amazing. Nico Collins is great, Tank Dell could be the best of all three of them. Who knows the three seed I have Baltimore similar to you, and for the four seed, I have to stick with Buffalo, So I'm keeping.
The Bills Buffalo another as title.
Yep, and then wild card I have Jacksonville. At five, we both have the Jacks. Also, I also think that they had a really unlucky season last year. And look, I think Trevor Lawrence has it and we just haven't really seen it. He had a good second year, but he hasn't had like the elevation from that, and I think we could see that this year, and I'd be really excited to see that a team that you didn't have. For six, I have the Cleveland Brown.
Okay, good.
I still think that the talent on that team is standing Judy. They they have obviously some questions, but I think that they could make.
On paper there as good as anybody. And Watson should be a significant upgrade from Joe Flacco, just objectively, And yet I don't feel like that's necessarily the case. I don't know. I got to see it, Yeah, they got to see it.
And and and at seven, I have the Jets because I do think you know, I mean, you don't. You can't predict health or injury. But with this team, if they're the conversation for everyone is if they're healthy. Another team that just has an incredible amount of talent. That defense has been consistent, which is very difficult. And god, if you know, if Mike Williams could be a half of what he used to be for Rogers and Rogers can be eighty percent of what he knows MVP season Like whoa right? And Breeze Hall?
You know, is the all these guys here's the thing? Right the Jets? Yeah, all these guys did that last year. They won I think seven games with no quarterback. They had twenty different offensive linemen. Like it's real. Like, if you just tell me that Rogers is out there, it it's the great deodorant. Like I think they might win Week one in San Francisco. That's how confident I am them. I think they're really good. Here's what's interesting. Neither of us, neither of us, if I'm not mistaken, tell me if I'm wrong. Neither of us took the Bengals to make the playoffs. Is it the Burrow injury stuff? Because he's apparently healthy.
I mean, I think there's got to be some concern with a guy who has kind of had to remake his throwing motion a little bit multiple times so early in his career. This might just be purely off vibes, but I don't like I love seeing the bleach blonde hair. I don't know if that instills confidence in me, like this guy's ready to go out and get it. I love the look, but I don't know if that's making me think like, oh, they're hungry for it. So yeah, that's I don't have them because of that. I think I am concerned with Burrow.
All right. So you have the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence is the playoff team, but you also don't have the Dolphins, do you?
No?
Yeah?
I I Hey, I'm a huge to a fan. I would love him to above all else stay safe and keep you know, proving people wrong that he's that he is a really top tier quarterback at some point. I just have They are so exciting in the beginning and they just never last. And I don't know if that's going to change.
Yeah, yeah, okay, NFC, shall we let's do it. The one seed in the NFC are the Detroit Lions. Steamroll through this regular season harder schedule than last year with the first place schedule. I just think they're really good. All the hype, like they lived up to it last year, and I think they're better this year, and they're healthier than they were at the end of last season when they were playing great football. There's a very good arguments we made that they should have won that NFC Championship game up what they were in San Francisco, and they just could not close. What happens with the young teams as you get older and you learn to close and you get over the hump. I think they're gonna learn to close out a lot of these games, some that they lost at the end of last year. That's your one seed. Two seed. I have a shocker. I got the Rams over the Niners. The vibes of the Niners just off right now. I think from Afar, like, what do I know. Maybe they come out and they're fifteen to two and it's like, everyone shut up, We're the best team in the conference on paper. Of course, the Niners and they went to Super Bowl last year. Maybe I'm zigging what everyone else's zagging. I'm going Rams to two seed. I was at practice. It might be a recency bias. I'm in La I see a lot of this stuff. I just feel like the vibes are right with the Rams under the radar. No one's talking about them. I think they are a surprise two seed, three seed Atlanta pains me because I really like Tampa Bay and they brought everyone back and they're like, we could do it again. I've got Atlanta. They just added so much, whether it be Kirk Cousins or Justin Simmons or just the head coach and the offensive coordinator a being different. I will say this and I'll break the fourth wall within seconds. I picked Atlanta on Good Morning Football. Got a text from a very high ranking Buccaneers official with just a visual of a receipt, so people listen, people watch it. I just like groveling, like.
I really like your team.
I just thinking, you know, in week seven, if you look and it's like that was it. There was no back and forth. I was like sixteen texts in a row. It's like when a you know, I never had this happen, but if a girl was to catch you cheating, and then like on text, you're just like texting back and I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and there's just no response, like that's what this was. But I am not swayed. I will stick with the Falcons the fourth seed. I went Eagles in the East, though also not feeling one hundred percent about that team after what was a weird offseason. You know, on paper, you're like, all right, they added Saquon, they added Quiney on Mitchell, they added Cooper dejene like, they added all these great players, and then you know, everything you hear is like there might have been disconnects between the coaching the quarterback and then you've got two new coordinators. That does that always work out? Still got them winning the East over the Cowboys, which leads to our wild card teams. The number five seed in the NFC, I am going with the San Francisco forty nine ers. They might not win the division, but there ain't missing the playoffs. It's not going to be a total collapse, you know. If anything, I think it might just take them a couple of weeks out of the gates. It was a really, really weird offseason with the Ayuk situation and the Trent Williams situation. Look, I don't want to make this very serious, but like what happened with Ricky Piersoll is a crazy, crazy situation and that like that, that's something that has to be addressed to the team. And he was also their first round pick and now he's dealing with that. So look, they could go like I said, sixteen and one, fifteen to two, and I'll just say I was wrong. I'm not. They're not missing the playoffs. They're in the mix. They're going to be in the mix in January. I just got the Rams having the division this year, the sixth seed. I'm going with my coach of the year and the Seahawks. I already did the pitch about why I'm excited about them and the seven I like lost sleep last night over three different teams here, the Buccaneers, who I don't have making it. And then it was like, all right, if I'm putting the Seahawks in and I got the Eagles winning that division, I got the Lions winning that division, there's an odd team out here. So it was Packers or Cowboys. Packers are Cowboys, and I went with the Green Bay Packers as the seventh seed over the Cowboys. So the Cowboys out of the playoffs entirely in my eyes. The Buccaneers miss it as well, but Dallas missing the playoffs after having one of the best regular seasons scoring wise last year, And I don't know, I just there's too many questions in the vibes and the vibes, guy, I don't know if the vibes feel like Super Bowl right now. Maybe I'm wrong. I always couldn't be wrong, but I am not taking the Cowboys as a playoff team. And guess what, I stood up there a national television sident and I'm taking a beating online and it's not great when you're on television and ratings matter, and we choose not to pick the Cowboys. But I just feel like there's a lot of good teams in the NFC, and I don't have them winning the division and I don't have them having a good enough record to be a wildcard. Aaron, your thoughts.
The Cowboys omission is a shock, But really the thing that made me visibly like my jaw dropped when you had Atlanta had three really really division.
I think that division is winnable, like the Saints and the Panthers. I don't know, like that's a quick you know whatever.
Yeah, I agree, I think that it's just it's it's funny to think of that team that is in a division, Like you said, that's so winnable, and yet last year Tampa Bay beat them out for it. And yeah, I mean picking them at three is is you are more brave than I.
All right, let's get your picks and then let's dissect them with a fine tooth comb and then we'll wrap this sucker up. All right, Aaron, your seven playoff picks, including your one seed that gets a bye in the first round. Mine was the Lions. What about you?
My number one is the Lions. I really yeah. I think you pointed it out. There are a lot of great teams here in the NFC, and the Lions seem to be the only one that has both an incredible wealth of talent as well as positive vibes like there's there's just good things going on right now with Detroit, and so I have them as an easy number one. At number two, despite the contract issues, despite the Super Bowl hangover, I have the forty nine ers. I think they could get off to a slow start. You know, we got CMC was injured earlier and UK wasn't practicing. You know what doesn't matter. They just restructure debo They're They're a great team.
They're the Niners. They're the team of the generation in this conference, no doubt.
Yeah, And I mean number three, I have the Eagles. I think that another team that just has an incredible wealth of talent and let's get into the season. Anything that may have been, you know, Jason Kelsey coming out and saying it just wasn't a good hang in the locker room, like we'll see, let's let's get on the field and everyone remember what you're doing here. I think that they're gonna be okay, okay. And at four, I have Atlanta, so I do South. Yeah, wild card is a little mixed up from yours. I have green Bay first or as the fifth seed. I'm really excited for green Bay and I think that they they uh, I don't know. In some yeah, in some ways, green Bay's like the NFC version of the Texans, where we have this quarterback who really showed out last year with young receivers, has an up and coming defense. So I'm excited about green Bay. At number six, I have the Rams, another team that you know, they they sort of in some ways mimic the Jets for me, and that you've got some fragility to it, but when it's working and firing on all cylinders, the pieces of that are incredible. And Cooper cup did had a bit of a down year.
Last He's gonna be back this year.
He's amazing. He's an amazing player. He's going to be so good again. And then at number seven, I have Dallas, all right, I yeah, so I picked I mean, I picked Lamb and I picked Parsons for you know, offensive and defensive players of the Year, because I do think they're going to do well. I don't think they're necessarily going to have any success in the playoffs, but I think they're going to get there.
All right. So we have very similar similar as teams in the NFC. Neither of us have the Buccaneers. Neither of us went with the Bears, which is a hot pick right now, and neither of us went way off the board with something crazy as like the Vikings or the Cardinals or anything like that. Our only difference was Cowboys for you, Seahawks for me. The seedings are different. So now I need you to work for the next forty eight hours and preparing your Super Bowl pick. So take some time figure out your sup rollo pick. I'm gonna give my but let's leave it here as we finished this at four pm Pacific on Tuesday, seven pm Eastern Tuesday your time. I'm such a mess. I literally am seeing like stars in my eyes right now. And it's day two of a week that I'm here through Sunday. So I'm gonna get this sleep in order. I'm gonna go to bed after this. I might have my my dinner at the chain restaurant across the store. I'm excited for the chain Restaurant'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna I'm gonna fore bro dinner for one with a book. I'm listening to an audio book, uh, the book about Mike Nichols by the great writer Mark Harris, which is fascinating. Mike Nichols of course, The Graduate and so many other films and a legendary guy, and like, I love listening to that kind of stuff. Yeah. No, I'm not listening to sports stuff. I'm listening to the The Almanac. Note I'm listening to that.
If you do want a good audio book, the please sports related. There's a really good biography of this NFL legend, Bo Williams.
Bo Williams went in the fourteenth round of some draft in like you know whatever. I don't even want to reveal where it was, but yeah, didn't talk to this guy for a year and my last Texas from the draft last year he had where he's like, got any sleepers? Hits me up again? Oh my, gott any sleepers? Like, I'm not some booty call for your fantasy football draft. You get Bo Williams and you get whatever disease comes with him. That's what you're good. All right, Thanks, that's it. On that note, we'll have another pod coming out I think Thursday. But I appreciate everyone listening. Aaron, You're the man for hopping on and doing this. I'm delirious. Let's get out of here. Enjoy week one. We'll talk to you guys Thursday. The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the NFL and partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.
