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TAKES — ALBERT BREER / ETHAN STRAUSS
(APPROX. TIME)
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3 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Cincinnati’s defense will improve enough to make the Bengals legitimate AFC North contenders. Breer does not expect an elite unit, but believes something around 12th–14th could be sufficient alongside Joe Burrow and the offense—especially with Pittsburgh and Baltimore navigating coaching changes.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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7 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Caleb Williams should continue progressing under Ben Johnson because their difficult first season together established trust and gave the Bears “proof of concept.” Breer expects Williams to listen closely to Johnson and believes concepts that failed initially may work better in Year 2.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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10 MIN | RYEN RUSSILLO
Kyler Murray will probably get hurt, allowing J.J. McCarthy to make at least a couple of starts for Minnesota this season. Russillo believes beginning with Murray is actually the easiest way to give McCarthy another opportunity without forcing the inexperienced quarterback back onto the field immediately.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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12 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Minnesota will probably use both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy this season. Breer agrees that starting with the experienced Murray makes sense because it would be much easier to transition from Murray to McCarthy than to bench McCarthy and turn to Murray later.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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15 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Kansas City will bounce back after last season’s disappointment. Breer still places the Chiefs ahead of New England in the AFC hierarchy.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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16 MIN | ALBERT BREER
New England will fall back into the AFC wild-card tier after its 17-win Super Bowl season, finishing somewhere around fifth through seventh in the conference. Breer expects a tougher schedule and possible regression in injury luck to produce at least a modest step backward.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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17 MIN | RYEN RUSSILLO
Buffalo will avoid the kind of decline normally expected during a transition year because Josh Allen is good enough to keep the Bills among the AFC’s contenders.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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18 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Buffalo will have a noticeably different, more aggressive identity under first-year head coach Joe Brady. Breer expects Brady to show more of his own personality now that he is no longer operating within another head coach’s preferred style, with the attacking Jim Leonhard defensive hire already signaling that change.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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21 MIN | ALBERT BREER
Ed Oliver will be a good fit in Jim Leonhard’s Buffalo defense, although the unit’s overall success will depend on several young, highly drafted players developing around him.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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31 MIN | ALBERT BREER
The NFC East is wide open enough for any of its four teams to win, with Dallas the most likely challenger to unseat Philadelphia. Breer believes the Eagles remain good but have “leveled off” after losing several foundational players and no longer possess an obvious overwhelming strength.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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53 MIN | ETHAN STRAUSS
If Indiana reaches the WNBA Finals, Caitlin Clark’s presence will multiply the series’ normal audience. Strauss will not commit to two or three times the baseline viewership, but is certain the increase would be substantial.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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71–72 MIN | RYEN RUSSILLO + ETHAN STRAUSS
The NBA’s Clippers–Kawhi Leonard investigation will likely produce an underwhelming result rather than serious punishment. Russillo doubts investigators will uncover the necessary paper trail, while Strauss argues that indirect benefits are exceptionally difficult for a league without governmental investigative powers to police.
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CONVICTION 🔥🔥🔥 GRADE TBD |
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The Podbudsment
Some great meat-and-potatoes NFL camp predictions from Breer, but not exactly the headline-making hot takes to send around the group chat. That actually makes me value Breer's word over the insider masses.
The podcast gold is in Strauss and Russillo dissecting the absurd developments in the "WNBA Hates Caitlin Clark" saga and some of the broader female/male dynamics underpinning it all. Strauss' observation that everyone acts like they are in Public Relations really hit home. Instead of recognizing the good and bad of all things, we've been saddled with a legion of people intent on "staying on message" rather than engaging from a position of intellectual honesty. Props to Strauss for originating the Podbudsman name.
