What’s this we have here? Why, it’s the first-ever episode of Defector’s brand-new NFL podcast, All Ball! Every week, the team of myself and elite indie blogger Arif Hasan break down every NFL matchup without ANY gambling or fantasy talk. We don’t even cite the Vegas point spreads, even though those lines possess a modicum of analytical value. All Vegas talk is verboten here, in favor of talking pure, hard BALL.
In fact, Arif and I establish this law, plus a few other rules of engagement, early in this first episode. In addition to the whole no-gambling thing, “The Reefer” and I also forbid ourselves from ever detouring into Vikings homerism. As such, we treat Sunday’s Green Bay-Minnesota tilt with a soberness (for us) that, upon further reflection, is a little bit too restrained. Because I fucking hate the Packers, but also because they suck! They have no pass rush without Micah Parsons, no viable cornerbacks, no running backs, no proven wideouts (don’t you even think of trying to make Christian Watson anything more than he is), and no coaches that I respect. That’s not homerism talking. Those are all FACTS you need to hear, and fuck you if you disagree!
Arif and I also talk about the 15 other games on the slate for this week. In fact, we spend so much time breaking down each matchup that we ended up pushing the two-hour mark. We didn’t even have time to answer serious NFL questions from our listeners (email us here to submit yours), although we will absolutely make room in future episodes for that.
So open up the podcast app of your choice and get ready to bask in the footbally footballness of our new show. You can even watch All Ball on the Defector Media YouTube channel if you crave added sex appeal. And if you like what you see and hear, tell all your rowdy friends. Maybe even rate and review us if you’re so inclined. I’m betting you will be.
