Show Notes
Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth, Merril Hoge and Damien Woody are back together, and they are taking sides on the 2026 NFL season before a single snap.
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This is the inaugural episode of The OG Football Show. Four guys who spent years arguing about football in green rooms and newsrooms, doing it on camera instead. No bits. No bullshit. Just ball.
Merril was a factor back in Pittsburgh and spent 21 years at ESPN. Mark won Super Bowls blocking in Denver. Damien blocked for a dynasty in New England. Trey ran the desk. The shows they did together were never the fun part. The green room was the fun part. That is this show. No fake arguments. No opinions manufactured because a segment needs heat. They are not interested in what people think. They are interested in what people know.
THE HURRY UP. Each guy names the team he is most intrigued by. Damien takes the Baltimore Ravens and a first year play caller in Declan Doyle. Mark takes the Rams and a defensive line with Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald on the same side. Merril takes the Raiders and argues the most valuable thing that organization can do this year is leave Fernando Mendoza on the bench. Trey says this might finally be the year the Dallas Cowboys figure it out. Then breakout picks: Tyler Shough, Brock Purdy, Jahmyr Gibbs and Kyler Murray in a contract year.
EVERYBODY CALM DOWN. Each guy takes a storyline the league has already decided and argues the other way. Damien on why the New England Patriots are not a regression team, and the one question about that roster he cannot answer. Mark on the Broncos, one score games, and a pass rush that generated pressure all year without generating takeaways. Merril on why you do not start a quarterback because he was picked first.
CRYSTAL BALL. All four turned in playoff seeds one through seven for both conferences, and the lists are not close. Trey is the only one with the Kansas City Chiefs in the field. Merril is the only one with the New Orleans Saints seeded third. Real disagreement about San Francisco and about whether the Houston defense can carry a quarterback.
SEASON PREDICTIONS. Rookie of the Year on both sides, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP and Super Bowl, all on the record so they can be graded in February. Mark explains why he will not vote for a quarterback for MVP under any circumstance and calls it a hill he is willing to die on. Merril says Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in football and then picks somebody else.
FACTOR BACKS. Merril coined the term as a player, and he explains what he is measuring: whether a back is a factor in the run game, the pass game and in protection. Then he runs his list, with a tie at the bottom he credits his wife for: James Cook, Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.
DAMIEN'S DUMPSTER FIRE. One team each with no chance. Damien on the Atlanta Falcons and a quarterback room nobody wants. Mark on the Arizona Cardinals and a division where he would not be surprised to see them go without a win. Merril on the Cleveland Browns, where the line is rebuilt, the quarterback spot has no stability, and the best player is now somewhere else. Trey makes his entire Miami Dolphins case in one sentence about where their money went.Almost all of this is falsifiable by February. That is the point of putting it on tape before Week 1. Come back at the end of the season and see who was right.
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