Behind the Line

We recap Week 1 of the NFL regular season with "What's Real" and "What's Fake". We take headlines and opinions from across the league...and determine which are legitimate...and which are completely false.In this episode: Is Sam Darnold a Bust?Are the New Orleans Saints the Best Team in the NFC?Gardner Minshew and the Jacksonville Jaguars are Actually Good?Could the Arizona Cardinals Win the NFC West?Is Carson Wentz the Problem in Philadelphia?Is Tom Brady in for a Long Season in Tampa?

Fans of the Cleveland Browns were treated to a typical sight Sunday in Baltimore...a Browns team that was unprepared and undisciplined being led by a quarterback in Baker Mayfield that stills appears to be unready. We explain why time is quickly running out for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland.Also...Mitchell Trubisky led the Chicago Bears on an improbable comeback win against the Lions Sunday. However...that doesn't mean his status is cemented as the long-term starter for Matt Nagy in Chicago. We explain why Trubisky's career is still in jeopardy.

Are you woke? It seems to be the only people not truly woke are the NFL, NBA, and the sports media. It's abundantly clear that none of them are cognizant of what their fans want...or don't want...which is politics involved in sports.The NFL ratings Thursday night for Texans/Chiefs weren't great...but they also weren't as bad as is being reported. We explain why the league had to push forward with the social justice initiative during Week 1. However...it's imperative they get back to football...and leave the politics to CNN going forward.

The legacy of LeBron James has been debated for the majority of his career. The NBA has never had a more polarizing superstar than LeBron. You have fans who think he's the greatest to ever play the game...others don't even consider LeBron a top-5 player all-time.However...the 2020 season has possibly tainted the legacy of LeBron James. The infusion of social justice and politics into the league...with LeBron leading the charge...has had an overwhelmingly negative impact on the NBA.We outline the positive impacts LeBron has had on the NBA...and also analyze a couple of negative impacts. Will the negative impacts outweigh all of the positive that LeBron has given the NBA?

We get our first look at the new "woke" NFL this weekend. Usually fans across the country are excited this time of year for the return of the NFL...but this year seems a bit off.Fans across the country are planning to tune out because of the infusion of politics and social justice into the NFL. We look at a few instances of social justice invading college football and the NFL...and the reaction by fans. Could NFL ratings drop by as much as 50 percent?

Week 1 of the NFL season begins tomorrow night...and fan bases from all 32 teams around the league are excited at the possibility of this being their team's year to make the playoffs. Today...we burst the bubble of nine of those fan bases.We outline nine teams in the NFL with no chance of making the playoffs. We give reasons each time will be home in January...and predict their overall records for 2020.

There's much more at stake in the second round series between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers than a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Not only is the future of Mike D'Antoni at stake...but so is the future of the traditional center in the NBA.We explain how the league could change if the Rockets advance deeper into the playoffs. We also explain how this is a make-or-break playoff run for James Harden and the Rockets.

NBA playoff ratings are down 27 percent...in addition to the nearly 40 percent drop in ratings since the 2017-18 postseason. We analyze the largest survey conducted in American history...and it gives us the answer as to why millions of people are tuning out of the NBA.Also...Steve Nash has become the latest victim of the "woke" movement in the NBA. Nash was hired by the Brooklyn Nets as their new head coach...a position the sports media believes he was given due to his white privilege. We disprove this ridiculous notion...and explain why ratings across the board on ESPN are at 41 year lows.

For months...we've been saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be leaving the Milwaukee Bucks after this season. The lackluster play from the Bucks in their playoff series against the Miami Heat is further proof of that point.The whispers are getting louder as to potential landing spots for Giannis. We explain why he won't be heading to the Miami Heat or Toronto Raptors...and tell you where Giannis will most likely be playing next season.

Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets have been a nice story. Murray has cemented his status as a superstar in the NBA during the playoffs. They just won an emotional seven game series against the Utah Jazz...in which a new rivalry between Murray and Donovan Mitchell could be developing.However...the nice story of the Denver Nuggets is about to end in a nightmare. We explain why they will be dominated by Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers...and by this time next week Jamal Murray will be heading home.