REP: Matt Leinart, Nick Bakay, Stephen J Dubner and Brian Billick

As Week 12 approaches, the storyline has shifted dramatically in the NFL with two playoff-contending teams potentially losing their signal callers for weeks, if not the remainder of the regular season. Jay Cutler’s thumb injury puts the ball in the hands of backup Caleb Hanie for Chicago. Meanwhile, the AFC South-leading Texans saw their quarterback, Matt Schaub, go down with a foot injury. Enter Matt Leinart: The former Heisman Trophy winner will get his first career start with the Texans on Sunday. Leinart sat down with Rich to chat about the big game, turning down his former USC coach’s offer to reunite in Seattle, and just exactly what went wrong in Arizona. Speaking of going wrong, Rich welcomes in studio his good friend Nick Bakay, whose Bills have been in a downward spiral since his last visit just a few weeks ago. The guys try to diagnose the problems and where things went bad for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Co. They also hit on some of the hot topics, including Tim Tebow’s Mile High comeback last Thursday against the Jets on NFL Network, and what it all means moving forward for Denver. After Bakay, Rich shifts gears and sits down with author Stephen J. Dubner. If Dubner’s name sounds familiar, it should, he co-wrote the New York Times bestseller “Freakonomics”, which has sold more than four million copies and has also been turned into a successful documentary film. After penning a follow-up book titled “SuperFreakonomics”, Dubner has decided to take his unique approach of looking at issues in society, and turn it to the gridiron in a series for NFL.com and NFL Network called “Football Freakonomics”. Rich and Stephen chat about some of the interesting ways that common practices and theories such as “Icing the Kicker” and “Momentum” can be looked at through data and either proven, or debunked. The show rounds out with our resident coach, as Brian Billick and Rich chat on a variety of topics from around the league. Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and thanks for downloading.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.