Inside Yolk

We start out with Brandon Walker pointing out how absurd it is for Smitty’s life to revolve around what Ben Simmons says at 76ers practice this afternoon. Smitty says the only acceptable answer is for Simmons to say he will fight and die for the city of Philadelphia, but he’s not expecting that answer. Brandon says that Smitty sets a high bar, but Smitty counters that Allen Iverson has already set the bar. Brandon pisses off Smitty and Ev by talking about how overrated Iverson was. Brandon says that Iverson never won anything and was a selfish player. He didn’t fight and die for Philadelphia; he was only about himself. Smitty doesn’t care because Iverson left everything on the floor every night. Iverson was also a better quarterback than Donovan McNabb. Check his high school highlights.

Yolk’s Take: Saying that Iverson was better than McNabb is a little disrespectful to what McNabb accomplished with the Eagles, but there’s no denying Iverson’s toughness and passion. Plus, it’s easy to say that he’s a ball hog when the closest thing he had to a superstar teammate was Aaron McKie. Even if he didn’t bring home an NBA title, Iverson set the standard for fearlessness and leadership that Philadelphia point guards are expected to emulate. It’s safe to say that Ben Simmons doesn’t fit that mold right now.

Brandon moves the show along and everyone gives their top five NFL teams right now. First, though, Brandon calls out Marty Mush for being on the wrong side of the Bills vs. Titans Monday Night Football game. Brandon says that the Titans were the obvious play. Ev backs up Mush by saying that Mush knew the Bills were a square play, but sometimes you have to be square to win. The guys agree with the Bills going for it on fourth down when they were down by three in the final minute, but Smitty says that the quarterback sneak was the wrong play call. The Bills should have rolled out Josh Allen instead to give him options.

Yolk’s Take: Yeah, I was on the Bills last night. Buffalo had been blowing everyone out and I didn’t think the Titans were a good team. I was right about the defensive side of the ball as Buffalo didn’t have much trouble scoring when they needed to (until the last series). On offense, however, the Titans proved they can be very hard to stop when Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown are playing well. I was fine with Buffalo’s decision to go for the first down at the end, but I would have preferred that the Bills drop Allen back and let him improvise, especially since the sneak had failed earlier in the game. Of course, I was rooting for the field goal, since Buffalo still could have covered with a touchdown in overtime.

Mintzy talks about Henry being underrated as an MVP candidate. Brandon isn’t sure that a running back can win the MVP in today’s NFL. Everyone is amazed that a man Henry’s size can move so fast. Smitty makes a good point about the Titans needing to get Henry more involved in the passing game.

NFL MVP Odds

1. Kyler Murray +300
2. Josh Allen +500
3. Dak Prescott +500
4. Tom Brady +700
5. Aaron Rodgers +1000
6. Matthew Stafford +1100
7. Lamar Jackson +1200
8. Justin Herbert +1300
9. Patrick Mahomes +1600
10. Derrick Henry +2000

Brandon thinks that Murray’s odds will drop once the Cardinals lose a game. Smitty boldly puts Arizona on upset alert if Tyrod Taylor is healthy enough to play against them this weekend. Smitty reacts live to the 76ers suspending Ben Simmons for one game. Smitty believes that the suspension will end up lasting longer than one game, but he wants to know what Simmons’s “conduct detrimental to the team” actually is.