Three years ago, we began honoring radio legend Steve Czaban — who was surprisingly booted from the SB Nation Radio morning lineup in 2016, despite having perhaps the most engaging program in the radio marketplace — with a “You Are Looking Live!” preview of each NFL weekend.
The bit was so well-received, so roundly praised by media pundits (including a few SB Nation writers) and Czabe’s legion of fans alike, that we decided to make You Are Looking Live! a permanent Friday staple of the BATSBY Sports Network blog.
So, without further ado, here’s a print doppelganger to the best 60 minutes in sports radio — Hour #3 of Czabe’s NFL-heavy Friday show (heard daily from 4-7 p.m. in Washington D.C).
As such, it makes perfect sense to include Brent Musburger and Joey Porter into the presentation, via YouTube:
WEEK 5
SUNDAY
TAMPA BAY (2-2) @ NEW ORLEANS (3-1)
TIME: 1 p.m. EST
LINE: Saints (-3) … Over/Under: 46.5 (courtesy of VegasInsider)
REFEREE: Brad Allen
TV ANNOUNCERS: Chris Myers, Darryl Johnston, Pam Oliver (FOX)
FUN FACT: Sure, Drew Brees won’t be hurling the passes this week, but there’s still plenty to love with Michael Thomas at the Superdome.
Charting his five career outings against the Buccaneers, Thomas holds elite-level averages of 9.4 catches, 11.4 targets, 107 yards and 0.2 TDs.
In fact, for last year’s two-game run versus Tampa Bay, Thomas enjoyed an absurd catch-to-target ratio of 90 percent (27 of 30 receptions).
ATLANTA (1-3) @ HOUSTON (2-2)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Texans (-4.5) … Over/Under: 49
REFEREE: Shawn Smith
TV ANNOUNCERS: Kenny Albert, Ronde Barber, Sara Walsh (FOX)
THE HOME OF PAINFUL MEDIOCRITY: Let’s be honest here. Back in August, if you were asked to identify which NFL division would have every team mired at 2-2 after four weeks … your first and perhaps only guess would be the AFC South.
FUN FACT: This should be a good fantasy weekend for Texans star DeAndre Hopkins, even though the Falcons defense owns top-10 rankings with targets and receptions allowed to opposing wide receivers.
Why is that?
These same opposing wideouts have amassed the second-most receiving touchdowns against the Falcons this year.
BALTIMORE (2-2) @ PITTSBURGH (1-3)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Steelers (+3) … Over/Under: 44.5
REFEREE: Walt Anderson
TV ANNOUNCERS: Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts, Evan Washburn (CBS)
FUN FACT: Strange but true. The typically stout Ravens defense has allowed a robust average of 5.4 rushing yards through four weeks; and of equal importance, Baltimore has surrendered the most rushing TDs to opposing tailbacks (six).
FUN FACT II: Steelers tailback James Conner has dominated his division since taking over for Le’Veon Bell. Charting his last seven intra-division outings, Conner boasts supreme averages of 137 total yards and 1.1 touchdowns.
BEARS (3-1) vs. OAKLAND (2-2) IN LONDON
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Raiders (-5.5) … Over/Under: 40.5
REFEREE: Tony Corrente
TV: Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth, Jennifer Hale (FOX)
FUN FACT: Sunday’s over/under number for Raiders v. Bears (40.5 points) might be a little too on-the-mark.
The last 10 NFL International Series games (not counting Chiefs vs. Rams from last year … since it moved to Los Angeles) have produced a cumulative final tally of 40.6 points.
NEW ENGLAND (4-0) @ WASHINGTON (0-4)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Redskins (+15.5) … Over/Under: 42.5
REFEREE: Clay Martin
TV ANNOUNCERS: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Melanie Collins (CBS)
FUN FACT: Charting the 10 lifetime head-to-head matchups, dating back to 1972, neither the Redskins nor Patriots have posted a shutout in this series.
BUFFALO (3-1) @ TENNESSEE (2-2)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Titans (-3) … Over/Under: 38.5
REFEREE: Brad Rogers
TV ANNOUNCERS: Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta (CBS)
FUN FACT: At first blush, the over/under listed above seems extremely low for two playoff-contending franchises.
As a counter-intuitive fact, the last two Bills-Titans meetings have generated a combined tally of 52 points.
N.Y. JETS (0-3) @ PHILADELPHIA (2-2)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Eagles (-13.5) … Over/Under: 44
REFEREE: Adrian Hill
TV ANNOUNCERS: Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, Jay Feely (CBS)
QUIRKY SCHEDULING: The post-bye Jets are staring at a daunting four-game run of the Eagles (road), Cowboys (home), Patriots (home) and Jaguars (road).
After that, though, New York could be favored in its next six games — Miami (road), N.Y. Giants (home), Washington (road), Oakland (home), Cincinnati (road) and Miami (home).
MINNESOTA (2-2) @ N.Y. GIANTS (2-2)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Giants (+5) … Over/Under: 43.5
REFEREE: Clete Blakeman
TV ANNOUNCERS: Sam Rosen, Charles Davis, Pam Oliver (FOX)
FUN FACT: Everyone in NFL Nation saw Adam Thielen’s passive-aggressive rant toward Kirk Cousins last week, even though the Vikings star didn’t specifically name his quarterback when harshly addressing the media.
No one would dispute that Cousins had a pedestrian showing against the Bears (zero TDs, just 6.47 yards per attempt) … just like few would place the Giants’ shaky defense in the same category with Chicago.
Which brings us to this week’s juicy matchup: Thielen’s a virtual lock for big numbers against the Giants, citing their porous defense (fourth-worst in surrendering TDs to opposing wideouts) and recent history.
Charting his last eight regular-season road outings against non-divisional foes, Thielen boasts superb averages of 6.8 catches, 104 yards and 0.9 touchdowns.
JACKSONVILLE (2-2) @ CAROLINA (2-2)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Panthers (-3.5) … Over/Under: 41
REFEREE: Alex Kemp
TV ANNOUNCERS: Andrew Catalon, James Lofton (CBS)
SNARK ALERT: The NFL has 10 games in the 1 p.m. window this week … which brings us to this:
For the beloved NFL Red Zone TV from 1-4:15 p.m., the over/under with actual screen time for Jaguars-Panthers … is 1 minute and 48 seconds.
ARIZONA (0-3-1) @ CINCINNATI (0-4)
TIME: 1 p.m.
LINE: Bengals (-3) … Over/Under: 47
REFEREE: John Hussey
TV: Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman, Shannon Spake (FOX)
FUN FACT: This might be the most attractive week of Tyler Eifert’s career, or at least before the injuries started hindering his physical prowess:
**The Cardinals defense owns bottom-3 tallies in all four major categories against opposing tight ends, including dead-last with receiving yards and touchdowns allowed (six in four games — double the rest of the NFL!).
**Covering the last three seasons (2016-18), Eifert has an impressive catch-to-target rate of 74 percent.
**Cincinnati’s battered offensive line hasn’t granted quarterback Andy Dalton much extra time for targeting wide receivers. As such, this could be/should be a big week for Eifert (Arizona can’t stop anyone right now) and tailback Joe Mixon.
DENVER (0-4) @ L.A. CHARGERS (2-2)
TIME: 4:05 p.m. EST
LINE: Chargers (-6.5) … Over/Under: 44.5
REFEREE: Shawn Hochuli
TV ANNOUNCERS: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson (CBS)
SUNNY FORECAST: Keenan Allen has been remarkably consistent at the Chargers’ temporary facility in southern California (StubHub Center).
Charting his last six home games, the Bolts wideout holds eminently consistent averages of eight catches, 101 yards and one touchdown.
GREEN BAY (3-1) @ DALLAS (3-1)
TIME: 4:25 p.m. EST
LINE: Cowboys (-3.5) … Over/Under: 47
REFEREE: Ron Torbert
TV ANNOUNCERS: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews (FOX)
AT STAKE: Yes, it’s very early in the season, but Sunday’s winner will also possess the upper hand in the race for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
NO NEED FOR NFL RED ZONE: The TV networks have rigged the system during the 4 p.m. hour, reserving only Packers-Cowboys and Broncos-Chargers for this three-hour window. That’s a lot of pressure, in terms of demanding competitive games.
FUN FACT: Nobody’s perfect … but Ezekiel Elliott has certainly flirted with invincibility, when pondering the following nuggets:
**The eminently bankable Elliott (three straight NFL rushing titles) has notched 100 total yards and/or one touchdown in 14 consecutive games (including the playoffs).
**Elliott has a similarly sublime track record versus the NFC North.
Citing his six career outings against the Bears, Lions, Vikings and Packers (this week’s opponent), Elliott owns all-world averages of 142 total yards and 0.7 touchdowns.
INDIANAPOLIS (2-2) @ KANSAS CITY (4-0)
TIME: 8:20 p.m. EST
LINE: Chiefs (-11) … Over/Under: 56
REFEREE: Craig Wrolstad
TV: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya (NBC)
BETTOR’S NUGGET: It’s OK to be skeptical with the over/under number listed above, citing recent history:
**Of the Chiefs’ last seven regular-season home games, the average combined total was 49.4 points.
**The Colts have yet to clear 24 points on the road this season.
MONDAY
CLEVELAND (2-2) @ SAN FRANCISCO (3-0)
TIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
LINE: 49ers (-4) … Over/Under: 46.5
REFEREE: Jerome Boger
TV ANNOUNCERS: Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, Lisa Salters (ESPN)
FUN FACT: History implores us to forget about Odell Beckham Jr.’s two-catch, seven-target, 20-yard clunker from last week.
Charting his last 14 games in October, dating back to 2015, Beckham has collected eight-plus targets 13 times; and for his last nine October outings (all with the Giants), Beckham stealthily averaged 6.7 catches, 103 yards and 0.7 TDs.