The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win

Five questions: Final predictions

Rundown! The Super Bowl matchup is set ... but it's been overshadowed The Brian Flores lawsuit -- Of course the NFL had discriminated against Black coaches -- Of course the league will move to settle and make this story go away -- But will this ultimately change anything at all other than Brian Flores' future employment prospects? Tom Brady has retired -- He's bitter about *something* that went down in New England -- How will his legacy change in the coming years?The Super Bowl -- The Bengals are good AND lucky -- The Rams were built for this but ... is Matthew Stafford OK? -- Let us now praise Aaron Donald again and again and again -- How worrisome is Mahomes' second-half meltdown? Quick thoughts on new coaches -- Josh McDaniels to the Raiders -- Brian Daboll to the Giants -- The Vikings appear to favor Jim Harbaugh

Rundown: We're here: Championship Sunday Bengals-Chiefs -- Wow, Cincy's offense got good fast -- The magic of Joe Burrow -- Why they aren't using more blockers -- The Chiefs don't have answers in their secondary -- Nothing the Bengals do will matter if Mahomes plays like he did last weekend 49ers-Rams -- Two really smart coaches enter the game with very different QBs -- Jimmy G has been here before ... with mixed results -- Matthew Stafford has not ... but this is why he was brought here -- Man, these defensive lines are ferocious Coaching moves -- This Broncos hire makes sense if it helps with a certain QB -- This Bears hire makes sense if he knows a really, really good OC

Rundown: That was one of the best weekends of football we've ever gotten. Chiefs-Bills — Greatest game of all-time? — Yeah, let's change the OT rules — Is this who Josh Allen is now? Rams-Bucs — Guess that trade for Matthew Stafford paid off (so did the one for Von Miller) — Is Tom Brady actually done? 49ers-Packers — Bye for now, Throw Rogan. What's next for Aaron Rodgers? — How the 49ers did it: By realizing what they do best Bengals-Titans — The Titans were frauds, but it didn't help that Henry wasn't all the way back — The Bengals found a way despite not protecting Joe Burrow at all Coaching carousel — Sean Payton stepping down — Other rumors

Rundown: Wait, Mason Rudolph thinks he should be Steelers starter? On to the real football: Divisional Round breakdown -- Will the Titans be able to slow the Bengals' offense? How efficient will Tennessee's offense be with Derrick Henry back? -- How much success will the 49ers have running the ball and will Kyle Shanahan stick with it? -- Can Matthew Stafford disable whatever magic Tom Brady uses to win everything all the time? -- The Chiefs have no room for error against Josh Allen and the Bills A few coaching carousel thoughts

Rundown: The hypocrisy of NFL's MLK messaging Was Wild Card Weekend truly bad? Breaking down each game: -- Wait, the Cowboys aren't going to fire Mike McCarthy after that? -- So long, Big Ben. You won't be missed. -- Are the Chiefs ALLLLL the way back? -- Bill Belichick did not, in fact, have any answer for Josh Allen -- Hey, good for you, Bengals. -- The Bucs did what we expected them to do to the Eagles -- Why does Kliff Kingsbury get so much worse as the season goes on? -- The Rams are good enough to go far ... as long as Mathew Stafford can stay steady

Rundown: It's playoff time! Let's make some predictable predictions -- How will Bill Belichick try to contain Josh Allen? -- What's the key factor in Rams-Cardinals this time around? -- Tom Brady is about to ruin everything, isn't he? A look at the NFL coaching vacancies and who should fill them -- The Dolphins' baffling decision -- The Giants got it right, but the process is off -- Where do Vikings, Broncos, Raiders go from here? -- The Bears and Jags have what every coach should most want -- Give Jim Caldwell another shot, somebody MOCK DRAFT -- Let's take some wild guesses -- Four edge rushers lead a class without any standouts -- Figuring out which QBs will get most overhyped -- Players likely to deliver strong value later in the round

Run down: What we got wrong back in September ... -- The Bengals aren't awful (but still need to make some changes) -- The Eagles didn't tank (and maybe didn't need to after all) -- Urban Meyer flamed out as a human but ALSO couldn't coach at all -- The Texans didn't lose every game by 30 Week 18 picks against the spread -- The Chargers are in position to beat the Raiders for a playoff spot -- No, the Jaguars won't pull off the unthinkable -- How the 49ers' messy QB situation impacts the game against the Rams -- Will the Saints jump into a spot if San Fran falters?

Rundown: Four Verts! -- Tua is in limbo -- How De'Vondre Campbell got so much better (and will get paid) -- What's next for Jimmy G? (And why Trey Lance has earned his shot) -- The Falcons' plan may force them to trade away talent, again Let's talk about CTE and TBI and the way football damages players -- What we can learn from Casey FitzSimmons' story. Former Lions TE told us about his last concussion and the struggle of former players to find help. -- Why it's OK to talk about Antonio Brown and how football may have impacted his decision-making and impulse control That awful college football take from Kirk Herbstreit-- No, today's college athlete doesn't care less than previous generations

Rundown: We did it: Urban Meyer is gone -- What's next for the Jaguars? FOUR VERTS -- The Falcons are bad -- The Cardinals are probably still good, but should be embarrassed -- The Colts are very legit (but what if they need Wentz to win them a game?) -- John Harbaugh made the right call and John Harbaugh is a good coach Closing thoughts: There are a lot of strange Bowl sponsors. Chuck reads some of them.

Rundown: Week 14 gave us so many good games and storylines...but now Covid is looming -- again FOUR VERTS Let's look at the four teams already eliminated and what they need to do next -- Jags: Find a better coach, support the franchise QB -- Lions: Good culture in place, keep building roster talent -- Jets: It's probably too early to give up on the Saleh or Wilson, have faith -- Texans: ?????????????????? Games of the week and what we learned Rams-Cardinals: Aaron Donald remains great and the Rams are back Bucs-Bills: Sloppy play on both sides at times, but still two top teams 49ers-Bengals: Yes, San Francisco keeps figuring it out Cowboys-WFT: Why is Dallas' offensive not working? Browns-Ravens: Welp, everyone is hurt for Baltimore The big question-- If you could build your franchise around one QB, who would it be?

Rundown: A quick review of our latest NFL power rankings -- The top of the NFC is loaded -- The top of the AFC is ... confusing (which is fun!) -- Which middle-tier team has the best chance of making a miracle run? -- Which bottom-tier team has the best shot at making the playoffs next year? Picks against the spread for Week 14 -- How will the Ravens deal with *another* injury -- 49ers-Bengals basically a pick'em, go with the better coach -- Can the Bills recover against the Bucs (the weather should be better) -- A chance for the Cardinals to prove they deserve that No. 1 spot (Also, why we think the Rams will take another step forward soon)

Rundown: Football in the wind is not actually fun And that game was not Bill Belichick's masterpiece And that question about whether players were "embarrassed" was ... embarrassing FOUR VERTS COLUMN -- Stop with the Taysom Hill experiment already -- No, Gardner Minshew should not supplant Jalen Hurts -- The. Lions. Finally. WON. -- The Texans may never be good again College football bonus chat -- Maybe possibly Miami shouldn't be using pandemic profits for football Looking ahead to the AFC Playoff chase -- The Chiefs offense is unexpectedly a weak point -- Hey, Ravens: It's time to get Lamar Jackson a better offensive coordinator

Rundown: Four Verts column -- What's up with Baker Mayfield? -- The Colts have figured it out -- The Panthers have not, and seem unwilling to BONUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL COVERAGE -- We rant about slimy, hypocritical coaches The kickoff return is back, sort of! -- Kene Nwangwu is putting up insane numbers The playoff picture is *pure chaos* and that's great -- Most of the AFC is still alive -- The top of the NFC is fascinating

Rundown: Four Verts column -- The unsung heroes of the NFL NFL playoff picture -- Chiefs making a push -- Look out, Bills -- Patriots back? -- Tampa Bay in a good spot -- Covid impact on Packers Looking ahead to Week 12 -- Can we ditch the Detroit on Thanksgiving tradition? -- Good luck, Ryan Tannehill -- End your weekend with Rams-Packers and Browns-Ravens Jason Garrett was never a good fit for the Giants Ranking the Top 5 QBs in the NFL Happy Thanksgiving

Rundown: The NFL continues to be as unpredictable as ever Let's give out some awards-- MVP to the guy who is actually Most Valuable -- Defensive player of the year is too easy this year -- So is comeback player of the year -- Tough picks from a good rookie crop -- A few of the most hilarious plays this season need attention too FOUR VERTS -- Did the Bucs get exposed? -- Stop rushing back from injury, Russel Wilson. -- This Patriots defense is for real -- How bad can the Jets get? Week 11 picks against the spread

Rundown: Somebody please give Lamar Jackson a real offense to run The Panthers go crawling back to Cam Newton Odell Beckham lands with the Rams, because of course -- How will he fit? -- Does it really matter? Are Cam and Odell actually "bad teammates" or "divas" as they're so often portrayed? Week 10 picks against the spread -- Patriots D is good and Mac Jones is fine, but what's his ceiling? -- How the Steelers offense found its way (a little bit) -- How real is the Titans 7-2 record? -- The curse of being a Vikings fan -- Seahawks-Packers: The (possible) return of the QBs! -- It's time, Chiefs Closing it out: Picking the 7 AFC playoff teams

Rundown! POWER RANKINGS -- Why we won't let a bizarre week have too much impact on our view of the league -- Rams lost, but still No. 1 overall -- Bills lost (to the JAGS!) and are still the top-rated AFC team -- The AFC North is ... really something -- At the midway point, the middle of the league is very difficult to figure out -- Three of the teams at the bottom of the league (probably) have a long-term answer at QB but the rest are in trouble FOUR VERTS -- Justin Fields is it. -- Get rid of taunting penalties. -- Lamar Jackson is Hercules. -- Sam Darnold is (still) not it.

Rundown: It's the 100th show and, uh, sure, we definitely remembered to invite Steven Ruiz back ahead of time Aaron Rodgers is weird and his pants are on fire -- His teammates will suffer from his lies -- Jordan Love is in an awful spot -- But let's root for chaos anyway The Browns thoroughly botched the Odell Beckham Jr. situation -- Is Baker actually freezing out OBJ, or is the simplest answer (that Baker is simply not great) the right answer? -- Where do they go from here? The Dolphins actually wanted to trade for a guy *only after he paid off 22 women.* That's terrible. Picks against the spread! -- What's up with the Cardinals-49ers spread? -- Carson Wentz is favored by 10.5? Bet, bet, bet, bet -- The ghosts are back, Sam Darnold

Rundown A weird week in a weird season -- The QB heroes were ... Mike White, Cooper Rush and Trevor Siemian? FOUR VERTS column -- A closer look at why Mike White was good for the Jets -- Why has the Chargers offense stalled? -- The Dolphins should sell, not trade for Deshaun Watson -- The NFC West is led by two teams that were put together by Madden GMs Week 8 review -- One of those weeks where most of it didn't really tell us much -- Big win for the Saints, but they lost Jameis Winston. Who's next? -- Big win for the Titans, but they lost Derrick Henry. Can whoever's next come close to replacing him? -- Justin Fields is going to be very, very good ... if Matt Nagy lets him be. -- The Bills are a Super Bowl favorite and still haven't come anywhere near putting it together -- The Cardinals should be fine