The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win

USA TODAY SPORTS

<p>For The Win's Steven Ruiz and Chris Korman take a deeper look at the week's NFL news. Relying on film study and advanced stats, they push to counter easy narratives and understand the intricacies that make football the country's favorite -- and most fascinating -- sport.</p>

  • 23 minutes 4 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - Steven Ruiz joins the show to talk Super Bowl

    Five questions:

    • How would you try to contain Ja’Marr Chase if you’re the Rams?
    • How would you try to stop Aaron Donald if you’re the Bengals?
    • What player that nobody is talking about will play a big role in this game?
    • Which approach to team-building would you prefer to take: Rams or Bengals?
    • Which one of these teams will ultimately make more Super Bowl appearances?

    Final predictions

    10 February 2022, 7:52 pm
  • 52 minutes 48 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - The Super Bowl matchup is set ... but it's been overshadowed

    Rundown!
    The Super Bowl matchup is set ... but it's been overshadowed 

    The Brian Flores lawsuit

    -- Of course the NFL had discriminated against Black coaches

    -- Of course the league will move to settle and make this story go away

    -- But will this ultimately change anything at all other than Brian Flores' future employment prospects?

    Tom Brady has retired

    -- He's bitter about *something* that went down in New England

    -- How will his legacy change in the coming years?The Super Bowl

    -- The Bengals are good AND lucky

    -- The Rams were built for this but ... is Matthew Stafford OK?

    -- Let us now praise Aaron Donald again and again and again

    -- How worrisome is Mahomes' second-half meltdown?

    Quick thoughts on new coaches

    -- Josh McDaniels to the Raiders

    -- Brian Daboll to the Giants

    -- The Vikings appear to favor Jim Harbaugh

    2 February 2022, 6:45 pm
  • 35 minutes 8 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - Championship Sunday is here, Plus - Coaching moves

    Rundown:
    We're here: Championship Sunday

    Bengals-Chiefs

    -- Wow, Cincy's offense got good fast

    -- The magic of Joe Burrow

    -- Why they aren't using more blockers

    -- The Chiefs don't have answers in their secondary

    -- Nothing the Bengals do will matter if Mahomes plays like he did last weekend

    49ers-Rams

    -- Two really smart coaches enter the game with very different QBs

    -- Jimmy G has been here before ... with mixed results

    -- Matthew Stafford has not ... but this is why he was brought here

    -- Man, these defensive lines are ferocious

    Coaching moves

    -- This Broncos hire makes sense if it helps with a certain QB

    -- This Bears hire makes sense if he knows a really, really good OC

    27 January 2022, 8:42 pm
  • 48 minutes 6 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - One of the best weekends of football ever

    Rundown:

    That was one of the best weekends of football we've ever gotten.

    Chiefs-Bills
    — Greatest game of all-time?
    — Yeah, let's change the OT rules
    — Is this who Josh Allen is now?
    Rams-Bucs
    — Guess that trade for Matthew Stafford paid off (so did the one for Von Miller)
    — Is Tom Brady actually done?
    49ers-Packers
    — Bye for now, Throw Rogan. What's next for Aaron Rodgers?
    — How the 49ers did it: By realizing what they do best
    Bengals-Titans
    — The Titans were frauds, but it didn't help that Henry wasn't all the way back
    — The Bengals found a way despite not protecting Joe Burrow at all
    Coaching carousel
    — Sean Payton stepping down
    — Other rumors

    25 January 2022, 8:35 pm
  • 41 minutes 2 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - On to the real football: Divisional Round breakdown

    Rundown:
    Wait, Mason Rudolph thinks he should be Steelers starter?

    On to the real football: Divisional Round breakdown

    -- Will the Titans be able to slow the Bengals' offense?

    How efficient will Tennessee's offense be with Derrick Henry back?

    --  How much success will the 49ers have running the ball and will Kyle Shanahan stick with it?

    -- Can Matthew Stafford disable whatever magic Tom Brady uses to win everything all the time?

    -- The Chiefs have no room for error against Josh Allen and the Bills

    A few coaching carousel thoughts 

    20 January 2022, 8:52 pm
  • 55 minutes 43 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For the Win: Wild Card Weekend Recap

    Rundown:

    The hypocrisy of NFL's MLK messaging

    Was Wild Card Weekend truly bad?

    Breaking down each game:

    -- Wait, the Cowboys aren't going to fire Mike McCarthy after that?

    -- So long, Big Ben. You won't be missed.

    -- Are the Chiefs ALLLLL the way back?

    -- Bill Belichick did not, in fact, have any answer for Josh Allen

    -- Hey, good for you, Bengals. 

    -- The Bucs did what we expected them to do to the Eagles

    -- Why does Kliff Kingsbury get so much worse as the season goes on?

    -- The Rams are good enough to go far ... as long as Mathew Stafford can stay steady

    18 January 2022, 9:08 pm
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - Playoff Predictions and Mock Draft

    Rundown:

    It's playoff time!

    Let's make some predictable predictions

    -- How will Bill Belichick try to contain Josh Allen?

    -- What's the key factor in Rams-Cardinals this time around?

    -- Tom Brady is about to ruin everything, isn't he?

    A look at the NFL coaching vacancies and who should fill them

    -- The Dolphins' baffling decision

    -- The Giants got it right, but the process is off

    -- Where do Vikings, Broncos, Raiders go from here?

    -- The Bears and Jags have what every coach should most want

    -- Give Jim Caldwell another shot, somebody

    MOCK DRAFT

    -- Let's take some wild guesses

    -- Four edge rushers lead a class without any standouts

    -- Figuring out which QBs will get most overhyped

    -- Players likely to deliver strong value later in the round

    12 January 2022, 9:35 pm
  • 34 minutes 33 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - What we got wrong and Week 18 picks against the spread

    Run down:

    What we got wrong back in September ...

    -- The Bengals aren't awful (but still need to make some changes)

    -- The Eagles didn't tank (and maybe didn't need to after all)

    -- Urban Meyer flamed out as a human but ALSO couldn't coach at all

    -- The Texans didn't lose every game by 30

    Week 18 picks against the spread

    -- The Chargers are in position to beat the Raiders for a playoff spot

    -- No, the Jaguars won't pull off the unthinkable

    -- How the 49ers' messy QB situation impacts the game against the Rams

    -- Will the Saints jump into a spot if San Fran falters?

    6 January 2022, 8:22 pm
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - Tua is in limbo, How De'Vondre Campbell got so much better, and what's next for Jimmy G?

    Rundown:

    Four Verts!

    -- Tua is in limbo

    -- How De'Vondre Campbell got so much better (and will get paid)

    -- What's next for Jimmy G? (And why Trey Lance has earned his shot)

    -- The Falcons' plan may force them to trade away talent, again

    Let's talk about CTE and TBI and the way football damages players

    -- What we can learn from Casey FitzSimmons' story. Former Lions TE told us about his last concussion and the struggle of former players to find help.

    -- Why it's OK to talk about Antonio Brown and how football may have impacted his decision-making and impulse control

    That awful college football take from Kirk Herbstreit-- No, today's college athlete doesn't care less than previous generations

    4 January 2022, 9:31 pm
  • 45 minutes 22 seconds
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - What's next for the Jaguars -Plus, Four Verts

    Rundown:

    We did it: Urban Meyer is gone

    -- What's next for the Jaguars?

    FOUR VERTS

    -- The Falcons are bad

    -- The Cardinals are probably still good, but should be embarrassed

    -- The Colts are very legit (but what if they need Wentz to win them a game?)

    -- John Harbaugh made the right call and John Harbaugh is a good coach

    Closing thoughts: There are a lot of strange Bowl sponsors. Chuck reads some of them.

    21 December 2021, 9:11 pm
  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    The Counter: An NFL Podcast by For The Win - Four Verts-Plus games of the week

    Rundown:
    Week 14 gave us so many good games and storylines...but now Covid is looming -- again

    FOUR VERTS

    Let's look at the four teams already eliminated and what they need to do next

    -- Jags: Find a better coach, support the franchise QB

    -- Lions: Good culture in place, keep building roster talent

    -- Jets: It's probably too early to give up on the Saleh or Wilson, have faith

    -- Texans: ??????????????????

    Games of the week and what we learned

    Rams-Cardinals: Aaron Donald remains great and the Rams are back

    Bucs-Bills: Sloppy play on both sides at times, but still two top teams

    49ers-Bengals: Yes, San Francisco keeps figuring it out

    Cowboys-WFT: Why is Dallas' offensive not working?

    Browns-Ravens: Welp, everyone is hurt for Baltimore

    The big question-- If you could build your franchise around one QB, who would it be?

    15 December 2021, 10:51 pm
  • More Episodes? Get the App