10-7-22 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Hey guys, Mike Valenny for Cash the Ticket Podcast. If you like sports betting or if you just like sports, it's the podcast for you. We try to cover all the big games and maybe some of the games you didn't even know were important. Give you some angles, pick some winners, have a good time, and hopefully help you meander through college and pro football season. So join us a couple times a week to get all your information you need to bet the games that you watch.

It's Cash the Ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Good morning. It's Friday.

It sounds good, doesn't it? You don't even have to be a sports fan to enjoy Friday. And actually, on Thursday afternoon, I had to wake up early. I was cleaning the house to get ready for some friends to come hang out for the rest of the day. But I sent producer Jay the text and said, so now for real, it's happy almost Friday. Because I juked him out the day before when I was thinking that Wednesday was Thursday already. I destroyed him. He woke up. He was like, what Friday?

No. It disrupted my whole morning. It just ruined the rest of his week, really. And so on Thursday afternoon, I could actually say happy almost Friday. Because for most of us, it is the weekend and we are away from work or at least out of our regular routines.

I understand some people work on the weekends. But it's wonderful to get to Friday to survive another one of these grindy weeks late into September and into early October. And I tell you what, the Colts and Broncos make it more grindy. I never, ever, ever, ever need to see the Colts and Broncos play again. Do you think that if Peyton Manning was in a grave, he's not in a grave, thankfully, because I love Peyton, that he would have been turning over in said grave? I think Peyton Manning theoretically would have rolled over in his grave. I think he's definitely happy he wasn't on a Manning cast for this game. Oh, man, that would have been fire, actually.

His facial expressions, he cannot keep them to himself. He was the one who was gesturing violently for the timeout. Going back to week number one with the Broncos and the Seahawks and the fact that Nathaniel Hackett would not call a timeout.

Well, here's something funny. Apparently, Coach Hackett was listening to all the people who said he should leave the ball in the hands of his quarterback and put the game in the hands of his highly paid, very successful QB instead of kick the field goal. It happened again. You know what, if the Broncos could manage a touchdown, they wouldn't have to be in these situations. But alas, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

Do you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family? Rocket can. Let me just reiterate again, I'm very happy Peyton Manning is not in that grave to roll over or not because he is delightful and probably is the best quarterback. Either one of these teams could generate right now. Man, I had higher hopes for the Colts to be sure.

I know in Denver, they were thrilled to add Russell Wilson, but maybe it's growing pains. Certainly there was no Jonathan Taylor last night for the Colts, which changes things. But both these teams had multiple opportunities in the red zone. Both these teams were over 100 yards rushing. Both these teams moved the ball at times. Right now on NFL Network, Peyton Manning's doing that crazy dance that he does with youth football and Eli's wearing the fishing hat.

What is happening? Have you seen that commercial where Peyton and Eli are coaching youth football teams and Eli's loafing it on the bench with some players that are making fun of his brother. Meanwhile Peyton's out there with his hat and a whistle and some awful shorts that look like they're from three decades ago and he's dancing with the kids.

It's the most awkward dance ever and yet it's so funny because it's Peyton. Is it just like an NFL commercial? Yes.

That's a good question. I forgot what the commercial is for. I think it is. I do think it's like a youth football thing. I think it's that type of commercial. More of a promo than anything. But don't quote me on that because I was too busy watching Eli make fun of Peyton and Peyton dancing. So my point is, he's not dead and I'm so glad he's alive and boom, there he was on my TV. Hey guys, check it out.

Just made my first TikTok. I'm sure at some point Peyton won't be funny anymore but we've not reached that point. I'm not sure that will happen. Have you noticed the Monday night Manning numbers continue to grow?

I'm sure. And now the parent network of Monday Night Football wants to include the Manning numbers when they do their ratings. When those guys are on, I do watch Monday Night Football. I mean, that's what I watch. I find it highly entertaining.

I don't think that's fair to combine the two. Look, the game last night was so bad that I'd rather talk about Peyton Manning on a commercial wearing awful shorts. That's anything except to talk about Thursday Night Football.

Hey, you know what? Tom Brady and his Buccaneers offense may not be in sync yet but I'll tell you there's one thing that he got right and all right, 110% right, when he was asked about the state of the NFL right now. I think there's a lot of bad football from what I watch. I watch a lot of bad football. Yeah, poor quality of football.

That's what I see. Shotgun snap to Russell. Protection pretty good. Russell now pinballs. Throws a ball at the feet of Boone who makes the catch.

Leans out of the 35 to the 36 but that's only a gain of 10 on the third and 17. Bobby Okereke with the tackle and again smattering of booze as this Bronco offense trots off the field. Wilson bounces around. Tries to buy some time. Steps away from pocket. Now throws the ball into the end zone and over the head of the receiver.

Incomplete. Soper was on the back line of the end zone. I think Russell didn't want to take too many chances there. Rodney McClellan on the coverage and a lot of frustrated people wearing orange jerseys in the stands here. Here's a snap ball placement at the 24 near hash and the kick is blocked and rolls into the end zone. I think Grover Stewart got his hands on that football and now you're really hearing some frustration from the Broncos home crowd. Oh and it was early. It was early there in Denver.

There would be much more frustration for the fans dressed in orange jerseys. This game was 9 to 6 early in the fourth quarter and there was still plenty of drama to come. Dave Logan with the calls on Broncos radio. We get toward the end of the fourth quarter and the Broncos are into the red zone. We've got multiple snaps inside the red zone.

And Russell Wilson, whether it's what he's seeing, what he's not seeing, I get that he's a quarterback who's got 10 years of experience and the expectations should be higher for him. But man, at what point, other than snippets here or there, has he looked comfortable? Mr. Limited. You doctored that. What did you do in there? Did you cheat? Did you change it? I might have tampered with him for a second. Wow. The power of digital editing.

Because of course it used to be Mr. Unlimited. It was certainly not unlimited last night.

No. Or at any point this season. Yeah, there's been games where he's had multiple touchdowns. This was not one of them.

But, wow. The Colts defense was able to limit the Broncos. And I know they lost Javonte Williams, but again, they were well over 100 yards rushing. That was not the problem last night. 3 of 17 on 3rd and 4th down.

Multiple opportunities. But the Broncos were, are you ready? 0 for 4 in the red zone.

At home. Denver's been in 3rd and long most of the night and unsuccessfully so. 8 time, 10 yards and longer on 3rd down. The ball's thrown and this is going to be intercepted inside the 5 yard line. Wilson was trying to throw the ball away as he was being hit and threw it right to a defender.

Out of the 35 to 40. And that was just a really bad decision. Rodney Thomas on the interception. Once again Dave Logan on Broncos radio. He's using much sarcasm.

That is my love language so I speak that. Stephon Gilmore with the interception on Russell Wilson in the end zone. Late in the 4th quarter. So about 2 minutes and 15 seconds to go. At that point then Matt Ryan steps on the field and directs a drive that goes 10 plays and 67 yards. Good snap good hold.

The kick by McLaughlin is perfect and we are tied with 5 seconds left here in Denver. Free football. Free football alert. Can we give it back? Got the notification. If it's a handout, it's a freebie, can you give it back?

Gotta want this. You take it. Or can you re-gift it? How do you feel about re-gifting producer Jay? Do you re-gift? Generally no I don't. But if there's something that I got that was nice and I didn't think I'd have a use for it and I didn't think the other people would necessarily find out, I might. Well then yes, you're okay with re-gifting. At least give it a good home.

Right, exactly. I just don't tend to do it. I don't think I've ever really done it. So you'd rather throw the thing away? What did I just say? Wow, okay.

Chill, it's a Friday. I've never done it but I'm not against it. You've never done it though? No I've never done it. So what do you do with the gifts that you don't use? I just don't use them. Huh, interesting.

They just sit on your shelf? No I can't think of anything that's done that. Nothing at all? Nothing causes my mind. Wow it's amazing that everyone who's ever given you a gift has nailed it and nothing that you wouldn't want.

I'm completely the opposite. I will re-gift. And I don't necessarily want the original giver to find out.

I don't want their feelings to be hurt. But I would rather have the gift get a good home if I know I'm not going to use it. I wouldn't have wanted this Broncos Colts overtime.

I'd like to re-gift it. Maybe to London. Maybe they would enjoy Broncos Colts overtime. See I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy.

Germany! I wouldn't want to give this to anybody. Let's just bury it. Let's send Thursday Night Football to Germany. They would never want to watch football again. Oh no, then they wouldn't threaten to take our Super Bowl. That's true. That's it, send it to London. And that'll clear out Tottenham Stadium immediately.

That's right. I don't want free football like this. No one wants this. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio. Okay, so Matt Ryan does direct the field goal drive that ties it into the fourth quarter. They go into overtime. Once again, opening drive of OT. There's Matt Ryan and the Colts. Maybe they can't get into the end zone either. They were 0 for 2. But boy, do they have a due to kick field goals.

So good! They take a 12-9 lead. Then it's the Broncos turn. They get a big chunk play. Russell Wilson to Jerry Jeudy.

37 yards. Melvin Gordon, who did not fumble this week. So Gordon taking over the majority of the snaps.

He's going to be the bell cow without Jontay Williams. They get into the red zone. Not just the red zone, but deep. As in 4th and 1 on the 5. Now think back to week 1.

Do you remember what happened? Broncos in Seattle. They're at midfield. You just paid your quarterback a bunch of money. But on 4th down, you take the ball out of his hands and you opt to send your kicker out there for a long field goal that he's never made.

In his career, he's never made one that long. Now in this case, the field goal is a tie and there's likely a real good chance you're not going to get the ball back. And so instead, Nathaniel Hackett and the Broncos opt to go for it on 4th and 1 from the 5. We wanted to win the game. We hadn't moved the ball very well the whole night and I thought we had a spectacular drive to get all the way down there. It ended up being 4th and 1 and got the go to go for it. I thought that was a good decision. Wanted to put the ball in Russell's hands and called a play that we know that he really likes. And it didn't work out.

It was one of those things. The timeout before was to kind of get a feel for what they were doing. So the run didn't look as good as we had hoped it would have. And gave us a chance with Russell. And that's all you can ask for in that situation to win the game. We had a good play call on.

Went to Cortland there. Guy made a good play. I was ready to move around if I needed to. We came up with a big 4th and 2 earlier in the drive before or the two drives before. So we went for it. We didn't want to end in a tie. We wanted to try to win the game.

That was our mentality. I think coach made a good call. I think we got to find a way to make a play. Stephon Gilmore once again for the Colts tipped that ball away. And honestly by the time Russell Wilson let it fly there was a lot of traffic back there.

A lot. He held onto the ball for too long. And if you haven't seen the play or if you haven't seen the video that follows the Gilmore defensive play in the back of the end zone. He got in front of Cortland Sutton. KJ Hamler who had been coming in on the slant. Oh my gosh. I'm going to have to go back and look who it was on the outside.

Forgive me for not remembering. But it was a pick play at the line of scrimmage. He took out two Colts defenders.

Two of them. And so Hamler comes across on the slant. He gets into first down territory.

Wide open. And when Russ did not hit him because Russ was looking a different direction and holding onto the ball. Hamler gets so frustrated he slams his helmet down.

So both KJ Hamler and Cortland Sutton who was the guy that the pass was intended for. They were obviously both frustrated after the game. I'm frustrated. I think everybody's frustrated. We just got to stop shooting ourself in the foot.

Self-inflicted wounds. You see what we can do. We drove down there fast. We can do that every time. We got to finish. We got to execute.

We got to finish. Everything is still ahead of us. We have three losses. We're 2-3 right now but everything is still ahead of us. We're going to play one divisional game so far. All our divisional games are still ahead of us.

We got a lot of season ahead of us. We didn't put up enough points. We didn't score enough points to win the game today.

It's frustrating. No touchdowns. A dozen punts. 10 total sacks. 4 interceptions. 0 for 6 in the red zone.

Those are the combined numbers. So when Tom Brady tells you that there's a lot of bad football out there, he nailed it. Even when Tom's not playing sometimes. He's right. What is the After Hours Game of the Week? Narrator. It's not Colts, Broncos.

Poor Peyton Manning. We've got four candidates up for you on our Twitter poll. We'll let you go and check that out.

After Hours, CBS. And guess what? We had a bonus poll. We actually gave baseball a head start. Because do you know, we are not even 7 hours away from the start of Wild Card Weekend.

Baseball trying to take a page out of the NFL's book. Best of 3. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Get it. By the time we're back here on Sunday night, we're down to the divisional series.

So it happens very fast. So we've got both a Wild Card series poll as well as the After Hours Game of the Week in the NFL. Coming up, we'll get you set a little more for what's to come. Week 5. If you missed my conversation with Josh Pate, late kick Josh of CBS Sports and 24-7 Sports, good stuff in college football. That was last hour when he was on the road, but you can get that on our podcast like you can the entire show.

Because who doesn't want to go back and hear more highlights from Colts and Broncos? Crickets. Limited. You're so wrong.

You're actually doctoring the audio in the drop. Just for the day. Just for today.

Okay. He was not Mr. Unlimited. He was very Mr. Limited. It's been a month of being limited. The Broncos dropped to 2 and 3.

Very expensive. Bet the games that you watch. It's cash the ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. And you're listening to the After Hours Podcast. It's time for QB news on After Hours. Last hour it was defense wins championships to remind you that it's not just about quarterbacks in the NFL.

Nope. Though we are obsessed with them and it's fun to look at the upcoming weekend through the eyes of the QBs. And that of course includes the dud on Thursday Night Football.

Unless you like kickers, if you love kickers and adventures in kicking, well then we're all about it. Matt Ryan with a tough night. Six sacks, a dozen quarterback hits and two interceptions. But a win is a win is a win is a win. Wins are what we need, you know. And so from that standpoint, you know, through five games we're 2-2-1 and we're right in the mix. And I think our best football is in front of us. We do need to continue to make progress. We've got to play better than we did tonight. But at the end of the day you've got to win games. Even as you're trying to find out what we can be. And I'm proud of the fact that we did that.

You all need to find someone in your life. I need to find someone in my life that believes in me the way that Frank Reich believes in Matt Ryan when the games are on the line in the fourth quarter. I wish you guys could have seen him up close. I love this guy in the fourth quarter.

The look in his eyes, the short conversations that we have, the determination. I just feel like we're going to go down the field and score. I mean I really do. He's going to make it work. So a credit to Matt.

I mean you see all these things that have been said about him. What he does in the fourth quarter is impressive. With experience in the league, you understand I have been through games like this where they're just weird and they're tough and they're hard. And you just got to keep competing and you know there's still a chance.

But for these young guys I think that experience is invaluable. If you want to watch it again, the NFL network is literally on that fourth quarter field goal drive in the final two minutes. Ten plays, 67 yards for the Chase McLaughlin 31 yarder. Russell Wilson obviously having to talk people down off the wall. Now he does take the blame himself. And he says hey this is on me. I've got to be better. I've got to make better decisions.

But as always, he ends on a positive note. I let the team down tonight and the good thing is, one thing I know about myself is I'm going to respond. I don't know any other way. I always believe in myself. I always believe in this team. I believe in what we can do.

I believe in what I can do. When you play this game, the one thing you're going to know is you're going to go through adversity. Adversity is of a choice. I'm always going to choose and understand that adversity is just temporary.

You're going to overcome obstacles and battles. So right now in the AFC West, the Broncos fall to two and three. But the Raiders are still in the bottom of the basement.

They're down there at one and three. And Derek Carr certainly understands having to bounce back. He actually has gotten pretty good at putting the pass in the past and leaving it there. As soon as I'm done in the locker room after a game, I come and I talk to y'all and then I walk through the locker room and like I've said it multiple times, on the next one, it really doesn't matter.

You're going to correct it and coach is going to teach you things and things like that. But you can't waste any time getting ready for the next opponent. Like this last game, I went home and I'm watching the Chiefs Buccaneers.

I'm trying to learn everything I can, watch everything, refresh my mind. You have to be that way in this league. Raiders Chiefs on Monday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium.

Alright, hope he's prepared to flush that one too if it doesn't go well. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, Jacoby Brissett and the Cleveland Browns this week are hosting the other team in the AFC West. That's the Chargers.

I actually picked up the Browns defense in fantasy, so if they could do me a solid, I know no one cares. In fact, we're talking quarterbacks right now. Jacoby Brissett, he recognizes that they've got to get better in the red zone, but how? Score touchdowns. When I went back and looked and just saw our attention to detail and focus in the red zone, that was very uncharacteristic of us. So just hone it back in and focusing on our details of each play and we'll get the results we want.

I mean, why didn't I think of that? Losing to the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 in week number four. The Browns were one for three in the red zone, so not taking advantage of the opportunities when they had them. I wanted to say duh. When he said score touchdowns, I wanted to yell out duh. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio.

Miami does not have Tua Tungomoloa this weekend. Instead, it's Teddy Bridgewater, but he's been in a starting role before. Not uncomfortable in that role, even though they don't love that Tua is going through the concussion protocols. But yeah, he's a veteran and he signed up for this. Just having been through this before, as far as coming in or entering a game late or all type of scenarios I've been through in my career.

And it's like experience is life's best philosopher, so I've had some experience. I'm just looking forward to this opportunity that the guys, this team, we get moving forward this weekend. And so it's the Cleveland Browns who are hosting the Chargers as I'm sorry, I've already moved on. That was Jacoby. I was still stuck on that. How do you get better in the red zone?

Teddy Bridgewater taking over for the Dolphins on the road at the Jets. Yes, exactly. That's all you gotta do.

It's so simple. Why can't the Broncos or Colts do it? The Jets this time are coming off of a win against the Steelers on the road. And Zach Wilson's already told us he has the best hands on the team.

He's trying to hit on Tom Brady's wife on Twitter. The man's a total disaster, but he's got a lot of confidence. You could feel it even in the Browns game I didn't even play in. You could feel it when we got that kick. It was like, alright, we're scoring. There was no doubt in our mind right there that we were going down and playing.

It's cool when you have that feeling. I mean, at some point a defensive player is going to want to knock him down a peg. But for now, you know, he's Mr. Goldenboy living it up. Welcome back to the NFL, Zach Wilson. Bailey Zappi is the... Wait, am I going to kill him? Watch out.

You in your mouth. In fact, if the Jets played the Bucks this season, could you imagine the Bucks defense taking aim at Zach Wilson for the tweet about Giselle? Pretty much so. Could you imagine? I'd like to sign up for that in the play... Well, it would have to be the Super Bowl. That would be terrible.

It's not happening. Anyway, back to our QB news. So Bailey Zappi, first rookie this season to throw a touchdown pass because he got thrust into action when Brian Hoyer had a concussion last week in Green Bay. Well, Hoyer is now on IR, which means if Mac Jones can't go, and it's probable that Mac Jones can't go, Zappi has to now take on that starter role, so how do you get ready?

The same way I have the last four weeks, just taking it day by day, continuing to get better every day, kind of the mindset of 1% better every day, kind of taking it that way, and just going to practice every day with the mindset of taking every rep like a game rep and just getting better every day. Oh, okay. I mean, he's been with Belichick for, what, five months? He already sounds just like him.

He and Mac Jones, you could literally change the voice, and it would be the exact same words for he and Mac Jones. Goodness. What do I look like? Wait, do you really want me to answer that question? I appreciate the question. I really do.

No, you're such a liar. Hey, did you know that the Detroit Lions lead the NFL in points and points allowed? That's never happened before. Through a month in the season, they have the most points as an offense, but they also have given up the most points as a defense. So Dan Campbell wants you to know this is not Jared Goff's fault. Goff is playing at a very high level. He's certainly given us a chance to win these games. So I can't say enough good things about him. The fact that he's built a camaraderie with these receivers, he trusts them.

They're all on the same page. That goes a long way. So Detroit is on the road at New England. We'll see if Bailey Zappi can take advantage of that porous Detroit Lions defense, though, of course, the Patriots want to be able to establish the run. Trevor Lawrence has got Doug Peterson now calling the shots, and you can tell that not only has he learned a lot from first year to second year, but he's a lot more comfortable. And even coming off of a loss like the Eagles in which he had five turnovers last week, I think Trevor Lawrence had five turnovers, still believes that he's making progress. I know I've made a lot of steps in the right direction, and I know I've improved a lot. So continuing to build off that, don't let one game affect my confidence. I'm still the same player that went into Philly on Sunday, and still the same player here on Wednesday getting ready for detection.

So not letting that affect me at all. Obviously I know I have to play better. Everybody knows that your quarterback has got to play well to win in this league, and especially going down the road, hopefully getting to the playoffs, all those things, you've got to play well.

So we all understand it, but just for me, if I can just stay consistent, keep making progress, and keep taking those steps, I really believe in myself and this team. Jacksonville is at the top of the AFC South. Just say it a few more times, it's a fun early season surprise, taking on the Texans, that one taking place in Florida.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also home again in Tampa against the Falcons, so there's a division matchup. And what did I just say about Tom Brady's defense having his back if they ever take on the New York Jets? Well, Brady recognizes and will admit that this season is challenging because what did he tell us? I'm 45, I've got a lot of bleep going on.

I think football always has its challenges in different ways for everybody at different times, so it's work and everyone has different challenges. You deal with it the best way you can. Does anybody feel bad for him yet?

I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of bleep going on. Is there any part of you that feels a little bit bad for the fact that he's having a lot of life crap that's happening right now? No, because I have no idea what was said or done behind closed doors between him and he and Giselle. He wants to continue to play, you've got to deal with everything that comes with it, you know what I'm saying? And I'm not a Brady hater. I love that he's still playing. He's the GOAT.

He's great. But I don't know enough behind closed doors to really sympathize for him just yet. But you don't think he's a sympathetic figure at this point? Like people are feeling sorry for him?

Nah, I don't think so. I'm not feeling it. He'll be okay. Clearly Zach Wilson's not feeling bad about it.

Just moving in, sliding into the DMs. Do you think he tried to send Giselle a DM? No, I sure hope not. He's got more important things to worry about right now. Someone needs to knock that kid down a peg.

You suck. All right, really quickly we're going to give a couple more here because the Buccaneers, as we say, take on the Atlanta Falcons. Also in the NFC, Kirk Cousins.

Hey, you know what? His blindside protector, his left tackle, Christian Derrison, needs to get a little more credit out there. I call him the crime dog because they put up a stat in the stadium last year that, you know, I was thinking when you put up a stat about a player, you say like, you know, first round pick, did this in college or done this in his pro career. But it just said when he was 10 years old, he played first base for his Little League baseball team. And I was like, that's the best stat we can get on Christian Derrison. I was like, at 10 years old he played first base.

So I actually asked if they could just leave that up every year for warm-ups. If he goes to pro bowl after pro bowl, just focus on the fact that at 10 years old he played first base for his Little League baseball team. I love that from Kirk Cousins. Right now Vikings and Packers are tied atop the NFC North at 3-1. Jimmy Garoppolo, by the way, in case you hadn't heard, about the starter for the San Francisco 49ers, man, they couldn't have played that better.

Even though Kyle Shanahan tried so hard to quit Jimmy G, he just couldn't. Did he actually meet with other teams this offseason though? It was more my agents would talk to them and then my agents would talk to me, kind of be the middle man. But yeah, there was discussions with, you know, multiple teams, but glad the way things worked out. I bet, but was Carolina one of those teams? Yeah, I think we were advancing with, yeah, a couple different teams. Nothing, I mean, obviously came to fruition. But yeah, that was, they were top of the list.

I would say one of the top couple. But yeah, like I said, I'm glad the way things worked out and I'm here. So I'm focused on this stuff now. I could imagine every team in the NFC West is 2-2. The Panthers are 1-3 and they're god-awful. Like you thought the Broncos and Colts were bad offense. Oi. Don't really care.

You're such a liar. Really can't hold a candle to the Panthers right now, which are pretty much last. Panthers and Bears about lasted every offensive category that you could possibly be. So yeah, I would say that Jimmy Garoppolo finally had something break his way. Oh my gosh. Well, that's our QB news. Looking at week five, what's the game of the week?

You can take our poll on Twitter, ALawRadio, or on our Facebook page. So patient. But I just got to say, Chris is in here laughing too. So he's having fun.

Oh, I love the cuts throughout the week and the funny off-the-wall stuff. Do you think Kirk Cousins with the crime dog there actually knows who Fred McGriff is? I hope Kirk does. I'm going to bet Christian does not know. It's a totally different generation. If Cody Bellinger didn't know who Seinfeld was, I know. Don't you feel old? No, I don't. That's inexcusable.

There are a lot of things that make me feel old that doesn't. I'm sorry. You got to know who Seinfeld is. Cody, you're oblivious. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. It's cash the ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

02 on the way. Chopper out to Dansby. Dansby throws to first base. Is this happening?

It is. The Atlanta Braves are world champions. The Atlanta Braves have won the 2021 World Series in six games over the Houston Astros. I'm an Atlanta lifer. I live and die the city of Atlanta, and there's no place that deserves it more than the city of Atlanta.

I mean, being raised there, growing up there, having roots there, family. I mean, I got my family here. My best friends are here. Love my life. Mallory is here.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Dansby was delirious after the Atlanta Braves finally won the World Series for the first time since the mid 90s. Of course, he had nothing to do with that. Pretty amazing to hear the end of that on Braves radio and just the the ending of what was a really long drought, a lot of frustration for Atlanta sports fans and the way they want it. Phenomenal, right? But now it's time to start a new postseason. October is here, baby, and it's all happening with this brand new wildcard weekend. Of course, the Braves are not playing because they won the NL East. So Braves and Dodgers will sit this weekend out, as will the Yankees and the Astros, who quietly amassed a record of one hundred and six wins.

And so they were just a few off the pace set by the Dodgers. It's going to be an amazing weekend. I don't have any idea how we're going to pack it all in between wildcard weekend, the four games, the four series that start literally in hours and then college football, conference matchups, Red River rivalry this weekend.

I know they're not ranked, but OU Texas is something special at the state fair. And then the NFL on Sunday with a quadruple header. Stop it.

All right. So we've got two polls up because we can't possibly accommodate everything. After hours game of the week from the NFL and then the wildcard series that's got you most fired up. So both those polls originating from our show Twitter after hours CBS. I retweeted a law radio, lots of new peeps finding us.

So we're glad to connect with you. We've got our Facebook page named after the show. Our YouTube channels got some new vids.

Well, I shouldn't lie. It's got a new vid up soon to be vids as plural. We're working on it. It's just a lot to juggle in October.

So check out our social media podcasts go up every weekday morning moments after the show is done. So the games begin, as I say, in mere hours. And the first thing we get is the raise at the the guardians. And we already heard from Terry Francona. He's nervous as heck. He's scared to death.

The man's totally anxious. But it does help that he's got Shane Bieber on the mound at home in the opener. It's a good team, plays in a tough division, excited for the matchup.

I know they throw the ball extremely well. So I expect, you know, some tight ballgames and just my expectation out of myself. And I think the rest of the starters is to just stay competitive throughout the game for as long as possible to be able to hand it off to our bullpen. So Shane Bieber against Shane McClanahan, who starts for the Rays. That's going to be a pretty sweet matchup.

But I love this because you're getting it. If these teams had the chance to line up their pitching, and most of them did. If you're getting the best of the best, it's going to be these first couple of days, just dynamic pitching matchups that you can't miss.

Second game is the Phillies, back in the postseason for the first time in a decade at the St. Louis Cardinals. So the Cardinals have storylines everywhere, right? The fact that this is the last run with Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, that is their battle cry. I mean, you ask anybody on the Cardinals roster in the clubhouse like Tommy Edmond, he'll tell you that's why we're doing it. Yeah, I got to step back sometimes and just get that perspective.

I mean, it's incredible. For Yadier and Waino, I've gotten to play with them for the first four years of my career. And I remember watching those guys win that 2006 and 2011 World Series. So now to get to be on their team is crazy. And going back to Albert, I got to be on base in L.A. for home run 699 and 700. I was kind of cheering and at one point I realized, wait, I've got to run too. That was a crazy special experience. Edmond on MLB Network.

Yeah, you've got to run too, you can't just watch, you can't just gawk. That's the second game coming up in St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Then we've got the Mariners back in the postseason for the first time in 21 years.

Scott Service guaranteed it. So now that it's here, let's go. Really excited to be here. Our group is fired up. You know, long travel night, last night getting in here, but you'd never know it today.

Energy is high and it should be. This is something we've waited for for a long time and worked very hard towards. And we're excited, our fan base is excited and ready to get after tomorrow. I should have mentioned the matchup for Philly's Cardinals, Zach Wheeler, Jose Quintana. For Seattle and Toronto, Luis Castillo, Alec Manoa, who is made popular by being mic'd up in the All-Star game.

Oh yeah, there we go. I can't wait to see him pitch in what will be a jammed and loud Rogers Center. And then the nightcap is the Padres at the Mets. So the Mets won 101 games and Buck Showalter knows the moment won't be too big for them.

He's got Max Scherzer on the mound, who of course is not only individually decorated, but is also a World Series winner. Everything's on the line. Winner go home. You know, that's the attitude you have to have. You have to win. I mean, you get in the postseason and every day feels like a must-win game. Whether it's an elimination game or not, you always show up to the park like, we got to win today. You Darvish versus Mad Max. Crazy too that Buck Showalter is keeping his cards so close to the vest, right?

You know, don't get cute. If you win game one, you throw Jacob deGrom in game number two. At least that's what I would do. Why save him for a game three if you don't need to? Hey, Bob Melvin, veteran of the postseason, veteran who's been around a long time. What changes when you get to the playoffs?

The postseason you're built for, in this case, two out of three. So, you know, moves probably come a little bit quicker. You're probably not as patient at points in time during the game. And, you know, you rely on your entire roster like you do during the course of the season.

But there's certain guys that are probably a little bit more important. It changes, right? Because everything slows down.

The tension is ratcheted up. There's a sense of urgency, obviously, but every decision could be your last. So, don't be looking for the games during the postseason to be sped up the way the regular season was. They actually trimmed six minutes off the average game time in the regular season. But it had to do with, partly, the fact that there were fewer extra inning games.

And when they were in extra innings, of course, they got that runner on second base. So, they're adding the pitch clock next year. We could see a massive drop, but that does not apply to the playoffs, where sometimes the games get bogged down in pitching changes and cost you four hours.

But I kind of think it's worth the investment. So, let's go. Literally, six hours and ten minutes from the start of the wildcard weekend. So, take our poll. Which series are you most fired up about on Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or our Facebook page? And, of course, we've got our week five game of the week.

Okay, here's the thing. When I come back on Sunday night, you better be buckled up, because it's everything all the time. Enjoy sports, but also enjoy your time away this weekend. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio.

Boom! Hey guys, Mike Valenny for Cash the Ticket podcast. If you like sports betting, or if you just like sports, it's the podcast for you. We try to cover all the big games, and maybe some of the games you didn't even know were important. Give you some angles, pick some winners, have a good time, and hopefully help you meander through college and pro football season. So, join us a couple times a week to get all your information you need to bet the games that you watch. It's Cash the Ticket, on the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts.