Divisional Round Picks and Giants Hire John Harbaugh with Cynthia Frelund

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1:41Cynthia Frelund:Hey guys, it's Erin Andrews. Everything these days is fighting for your attention. We've got work, family, social media, making it tough to figure out what to prioritize. I got something that should always be at the very top of the list, your breast health. In fact, if you're 40 and over, you should be getting screened once a year. And if you're under 40, it's never too soon to visit yourattentionplease.com to learn about breast cancer risk. Come on now, pay the girls some attention and take the time to find out your breast cancer risk at yourattentionplease.com. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

2:20Welcome to NFL Daily, where the Giants landed their man. I'm Greg Rosenthal, here in Stage 5 with my friend, Cynthia Freeland. We are fresh off a taping of Game Day View. You can check us out on NFL Network Friday night, Sunday morning, whenever. But we're going to go through our picks against the spread. But as always, Cynthia, you're coming off a winning week. And we're also going to talk a little bit about John Harbaugh, the new head coach of the New York Giants at the back end. Love it. Get you an analyst like Cynthia who can do everything, not just pick the games. We're going to talk some ball.

2:58We're going to talk some coaches. A lot of people I heard from last week liked the coaching kind of dot connecting we did. And some of it's borne fruit over the last week. I know.

3:07Cynthia Frelund:I mean, I can't wait to see where everyone ends up, especially now that the Steelers have the opening as well. Like, lots of turnover. Lots of turnover. I know. I didn't want to pat ourselves on the back too hard, but everyone going like, this shocking coaching cycle, all these shocks here and there. I was like, if you were listening to NFL Daily last month, we were saying like we thought Tomlin and Harbaugh that there was a real chance that both of them would be gone. That's what happened. But let's get into the games. Only eight teams left. And so this makes it tougher to make our picks. You went 2-1 last week.

3:39I went one and two. I am blaming the Packers for everything wrong that happened to me last weekend and in my life. I'm still at 36 and 21 on the season. I'm feeling great, but you're eight and one over the last three weeks on this show. So that means you get to go first. I'm curious what you're most confident picking. Because I got to admit, if this was a normal Sunday, I think there's only at most one of these four games that would have made my best picks of the week, where I just knew right away what I wanted to do. I'm curious where you go first.

4:13Cynthia Frelund:Well, I'm going to go with a team that burnt me last week. But I think this week, in freezing cold conditions, they pull through and they win by more than four points, and that's the Rams. I understand it's going to be two degrees, and we're going to hear a lot. There's going to be those, you know, I'm calling it now, the temperature thing where they stick Stacey Dales out there, and they put a little temperature thing next to her. She's freezing, and they're like, look, it's zero degrees. And you're like, poor, why are they doing this to her? She could easily go inside a concourse. But, you know, Stacey's a real one.

4:41Cynthia Frelund:She'll be great at it. But I do think that the Rams, they do have a big advantage, in my opinion, in this matchup because they're not relying on kind of miraculous things at the end. Remember the Packers? They are without Micah Parsons. They did have to reconfigure their defense, and it still took a miracle as well. I mean, relying on a guy to perform who didn't even complete half of his passes in that game, and on fourth down, you just nailed that fourth. absolutely no shade to Caleb Williams. He had a great game. That was a little bit of shade. Well, it's just, it's hard to win that way. To live, and they have been, and they've been defying kind of my math and the odds all season long.

5:18Cynthia Frelund:But Matthew Stafford also has a whole bunch of fourth quarter wins, and it's only four points this time, not ten, that I need him to win by. And, you know, as much as we talk about the cold weather, you know who played in cold weather for a really long time? Devontae Adams. I'm pretty sure he remembers his days at Green Bay. So I'm looking at this one, and I think this is where we see Matthew Stafford, the first ballot Hall of Famer, really be Matthew Stafford, the first ballot Hall of Famer. And none other than Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who's going to be back for this game for the Bears, said on Thursday about the weather.

5:49Whoop-dee-doo! Citing the Rams and what they did last year to his Eagles. He was still on the Eagles, right, at that point, going up and down the field and really testing them in a way that no one else did during that Super Bowl run for Philadelphia in the snow. Stafford was so close. This was my pick that I said I would have taken in. Oh, is it? Okay. Yeah, so I'm going Rams minus 3.5. We both were off on them last week. Look, I just think a team that doesn't have a pass rush and the Bears have one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL is kind of drawing dead against the Rams. Like, of course, there's a route to them winning this game.

6:26It's a magical team. They can run the ball. Like, they're a good team. But that is such a disadvantage to start from. A team that can't really stop the run going up against one of the highest success rate run teams in the league. I think the Rams finished either first or second. Bears are up there, too. But I think the Rams are a little more equipped to stop the run. It's only three and a half or four, depending on where you look. And so this is the one game this week where I don't think the line was as high as I actually expected.

6:54Cynthia Frelund:I think their coaches also embody where these teams are at in terms of their life cycle. Remember, there was a couple of years ago when the Rams were playing Chicago, Sean McVay just simply named all of the people on the defense for the Bears. And everyone was like, he's a genius. And it was actually, the thing that was genius about it was that he wasted our time. You know, he didn't have to say anything. Whereas like now Ben Johnson's out here like being sneaky with handshakes and like needing to take his shirt off. And I like the passion in it, but it just that feels like you are a hater. You're a lot of fan hater.

7:29Cynthia Frelund:No, it just feels like someone who hasn't been there before. Right. Like, I just feel like you have the, you know, the poise and the prestige of Sean McVay sitting there being like just wasting the media's time being like Montez Sweat. Kyler Gordon. He's a genius. That's right. It was hilarious, but not for the reason that people thought. Sean McVay also alluded to the fact, you know, he's friends with Matt LaFleur. And someone asked if he gave his friend a call this week to get any scouting. They all do, always. Just so you know, they always do. He basically said, what do you think? So Matt LaFleur, giving them extra info to be his arch rival.

8:08But ultimately, yeah, I do think they're better. And I've been wrong a lot about the Bears this year. My record would be better if it wasn't for the Bears. partly because of these low probability type of wins that they've had. And maybe they are that sort of magical team that can get it done. Because I do think Caleb Williams is playing his best ball right now. Even though it's inconsistent, he had five or six throws. It wasn't just that one in that game. That was really awesome. Also, yeah, Kyler Gordon back last week. And I noticed just not really like.

8:37Cynthia Frelund:They targeted him a bajillion times. Not really the guy that you want. and they've given up just a lot of yards in terms of big plays throughout the course of the season. All right, we both have the Rams. What is your second pick? Pick in Denver. Okay. Pick in Denver in the home upset against the Bills. I think it's weird that they're not favored. Wait, I think it's flipped around. It kind of depends on, like, when you even listen to this show. Okay. That it's flipped around. First, it was the Bills were favored. Yes. And then I think the public, or who knows who it is, I guess. A whale. It could be the Sharps, moved the line, and now it's like one.

9:12It's more or less a pick-em. I think it's now one as of this taping for the Broncos. But either way, you're right. They started as underdogs.

9:18Cynthia Frelund:They did start as underdogs. Okay. I mean, I just feel like that's crazy disrespectful considering this defense is very, very good. So I think that the Broncos in this one, I think that they win, and I think they win by more than one point. So I'm looking at the opportunity here for the short pass and the run. So a run and a short pass. A short pass can be a proxy for a run. screen passes. I know it's not like a sexy thing to talk about, but Sean Payton said in August, and I was there, I did preseason with them. Sean Payton said, and everyone thought he was nuts, this defense is strong enough.

9:54Cynthia Frelund:As long as Bo Nix does not take unnecessary sacks, and as long as this offensive line can keep Bo Nix from being sacked when it really penalizes us, then we're going to go to the Super Bowl and we could even win the Super Bowl with this particular team. He said that in August, and it's kind of played out like that. For a long time, this offense did not have the deep pass. They didn't have, you know, at the end of the season last year, Bo Nix was completing like crazy deep pass. Like it looked great. We were like, oh, against the Bengals. This is the stuff Bo Nix is made out. And then it kind of regressed in the beginning of the season.

10:23Cynthia Frelund:And now we're just in a situation where all he has to do is play to the weaknesses of the Bills defense. And what is the weakness of the Bills defense? The run game or short passes that approximate a run. That's fair. And you can imagine Sean Payton having a really good game plan for that. because no one is better at dialing the short passing. Do you know who's really petty? Sean. I love how petty he is, right? And you know, he does not like that he got spanked at Orchard Park 31-7 in that game. Are you kidding me? Sean Payton probably has, like, specific plays and cut-ups being like, if this happens again, I will kill you.

10:55Cynthia Frelund:Like, that, in a good way, not really kill you. I thought about that this was my stay-away game all week long, that this was the game that just was like, I'm taking the Bills because we have to take a team. Yeah, you have to. And I took the Bills. But for this exercise, I was thinking it was going to be my stay away. I'm doing some emotional gymnastics when it comes to the Texans. And so I'll just be real with the listing. The game of all the games and the numbers that stuck out to me the most initially is the one that goes against my rule, which is I don't like going against my own team because then you have conflicting feelings.

11:34Like if the Patriots win, but they don't cover, I don't want to feel like annoyed that they didn't cover. So in my heart of hearts, this is just being real, like my head too, I think the Texans are a better team. I think the fact that they're getting three and a half points like in a normal circumstance, I would be taking that. because I think like coin flip game, either way could happen. But when I look at this season, to me, their defense is so special. Like it's maybe the most special unit on either side of the ball for any team in this entire season. It's a flawed AFC. And that would be enough for me to just be like three and a half points.

12:15I'll just take the points. I'm not going to overthink it. Now it's down to three. I'd still take the three because you get a push even if they lose by a field goal. But because it's the Patriots, I don't want to deal with that. I don't want that that conflict so because of that I'm I will go against you and we'll just take the bills as one of my picks here does that make sense everything I just said yeah no I completely I don't want it to be my official pick I will make the reasons for why I took the bills in the end like I do think that there is a route to them I don't know if it's a match-up thing I know the teams are very different than they were a year ago but like defensive line offensive line they're really not different at all and the fact that the bills had such great success running the ball last year against Denver means a little something to me because it's not like the teams are that much different.

13:00The Broncos, I went and checked this, they were first in success rate allowed as a defense this year. They're an underrated run defense. And you know what? Last year they were first in success rate allowed on defense. And it was very similar. The Bills this year, one of the very best running teams in the league all season in any metric that you look at. Same this year. And for whatever reason, that matchup last year really heavily favored the bills and that's enough plus the josh allen factor not to just boil it down uh to the quarterbacks and the the way that sean mcdermott came up with like a very specific game plan last week to take down an even better offense in jacksonville that maybe he can do it again and that was enough for me to just go with the bills but i have to admit i i'm putting myself in pretzels here because i'm a patriots fan and i don't quite really have the belief but i don't

13:47Cynthia Frelund:want to pick against my team in a playoff game yeah so my my counterpoint my only counterpoint to that would be I would feel a lot different about the dimensions of this offense would be if Tyrell Shavers and Gabe Davis just for the additional numbers I know Curtis Samuel might be back but this is it's like Khalil Shakir and Brandon Cooks how about a little Keon Coleman but you're right Gabe Davis Josh Palmer Tyrell Shavers gone they all gone right Keon Coleman has been healthy scratches so something's weird with that even though he's on the field is he really like and yeah he's made a couple of catches here and there that are but it's really josh allen james cook and the tight ends and khalil shakir but like that does that does that feel like enough how about the uh galaxy brain oh you guys are so good with your outside cornerbacks you're so good stopping wide receivers we don't have any wide receivers for you to stop we're gonna be all tight ends dalton kincaid jackson haws okay i mean dawson knox the double DK connection.

14:51I do think the DK can, I think someone with an initials DK will score a touchdown. I love that. No, I don't feel that strong about that. You know what? Ed Oliver, we didn't mention this on our preview show, but he is practicing this week. There is a chance that Ed Oliver is going to be back. Yeah, but Deion Walker's been really good against the run too.

15:08Cynthia Frelund:Just saying. I'm just saying. I say their rookie offensive tackle doesn't get enough love. He's had a lot of run stuff. It's like, that guy's played really well. I don't know if this will be, again, it's good to have them both, but like. And I don't think you're taking your Texans, the Texans as the last pick or are you? What is your third pick? I don't, here's my problem with that Texans pick. I have the Texans by two, so technically I have You have the Patriots by two. Sorry, the Patriots by two, so the Texans technically on the right side of that. I just feel that in this matchup between even though there is no George Kittle and Sam Darnold has no bleak injury, I just think the Niners keep it close.

15:43Cynthia Frelund:I just think seven and a half or whatever. That's what you're going for. Yeah. I'm with you. We're going to be together on that. I just think that's too big of a number. I just don't like three. If it was four and a half, then 100 % I would take the Texans with the point. But I don't like the three. Like, then you get some weird someone misses a field goal, and then there's a three-point. Like, I just don't. And so we're taping this Thursday evening. Nico Collins is almost certainly missing the game. He's not at practice. That looked like a bad concussion. It was Monday night. It was a horrible concussion.

16:15There hasn't been a player all season that's missed Wednesday, Thursday practices completely in the concussion protocol in return. So you can basically cross them off. Christian Gonzalez, on the other hand, is at practice. There's not a guarantee that he gets through protocol, but he's not wearing the red contact jersey. It sounds like he is progressing in ways that usually he would be available.

16:34Cynthia Frelund:Again, I just have too much uncertainty there at such a small number. So we're both staying away ultimately from the Texans and we're both going for the 49ers. Now, I got to be real. I can't remember a divisional round like this where like I just I don't have really strong feelings on almost any of these games I kind of like the Texans and I do like the Rams like a medium pick um but after going back and forth all morning I just thought even though it feels like that seven points is like they're almost daring you to take the 49ers they want you to take the 49ers every time Brock Purdy's faced this Mike McDonald defense for the most part.

17:14It has not gone well. Nope. And I get that.

17:17Cynthia Frelund:But I just think... Christian McCaffrey was one tipped pass away from scoring a touchdown, though, which could have changed some of the trajectory of that game. So, I don't know. I mean, I just feel like... I just think these two teams have played each other twice this year. Yep. And in the first game, the 49ers win. The score only gets to 30. The second time the Seahawks win, the total score only gets to 16. I like the number being low in this game. and I just think having seen each other just now, I just think the 49ers are a really specially coached team. I think they'll find a way to keep it close.

17:53No Fred Warner, by the way. It has been confirmed. Kyle Shanahan, who I know you call the lying liar who lies. He doesn't lie this bad. He said Fred Warner will not be activated, even though Warner said he did.

18:03Cynthia Frelund:But the Ricky Pearsall one could be a lie because it kind of feels like Ricky Pearsall is coming back or supposed to be, and that does inform a little bit of my six points there. so um but because remember in that first matchup ricky pierce all had three 20 plus yard receptions and that was a big deal this is like he had 100 yards and like over 100 yards in the game so it was a big deal but point b that's where that is where the kyle shanahan fibbing fibber who fibs could come in i again i'm still picking them either way i think they find a way to get it done because even though they're not telling us they don't actually owe us he's not breaking any rules they know what they're doing internally they just don't tell us and trent williams is back obviously That's a huge deal.

18:40He played last week. He wasn't there for the Week 18 game. Dee Winters could be back, who's a starting linebacker for them. The big story last week, how they were down to their fifth and sixth linebacker, so they could get some help there. Eric Hendricks. Ultimately, you only have it at six points, and I was feeling about the same, so it's not like a huge, strong take. There's only four games. We had to pick one. I'll take the points, so I will take the 49ers as well. So to review, we are on the opposite sides of Bills and Broncos. I'm a Bronco.

19:12Cynthia Frelund:You're a Bill. Yes. We're both Rams. We're both on the Rams and we're both on the 49ers. So an interesting week where we're on the same side for a couple of things. Now, before we get out of here, Cynthia, let's talk about the news that broke overnight on Wednesday into Thursday that John Harbaugh is the next head coach of the New York Giants. I recommend everyone read our friend Connor Orr's article about the dinner that helps seal the deal at Aliyah's in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Everyone knows in that whole area, East Rutherford's where you want to be eating dinner when you're in the New York area.

19:50Cynthia Frelund:That's where they live. What do you think? Do you think this is the right guy for Jackson Dart and the Giants? I think it's the best. Here's kind of how I feel about this. I want John Harbaugh to be able to have a little bit of control or help shaping the roster. That will be where the success or lack of success of this team to me lies. I don't know what that configuration will be like. It's not been told to anyone. Joe Shane, their GM, is at the dinner. Joe Shane's at the dinner. He ordered a ribeye. But here's the question. What was the temperature? because if he ordered that thing well done, then we...

20:35Connor Orr thought, I thought this was very provocative. There were a lot of gritty details from this article. Number one, Mike McCarthy was there with the Giants brass just a couple of days before. They took him there for his interview. But for McCarthy, he ordered, you know, just like they went to the restaurant. They ordered off the menu. When John Harbaugh came, they made a special menu just for Harbaugh, a special fish, a special steak, a special something else. Connor, the first two guys.

21:01Cynthia Frelund:Well, what day of the week was it? Because in fairness, going out on a Wednesday night, remember, Monday night is like industry night in the restaurant. Okay, okay. Either way. Okay. But so the first, you know, they try to get Harbaugh to order first. And Harbaugh insists Mara, Chris Mara, who's kind of taking over. This is a sneaky story too with the Giants. As the owner, because John Mara is sick. He orders the fish. John Harbaugh orders the fish. and then Connor thought in a major power move, Joe Shane goes for the ribeye. Because if you're not paying for the meal, do you go with the ribeye?