Green Light with Chris Long Newsletter
"You've got to be grateful for what adversity teaches you, and are you thankful enough and wise enough to apply it?" - Tony Bennett
Week 7 Preview Show
Chris, Macon, Cowboy Reid and Doctor Fax go through all of the Week 7 games. If you can’t wait for Sunday, this is the show for you. Additionally this show has Macon’s reaction to the retirement of Tony Bennett. I thought Macon handled it well.
Joe Mixon, Joe Flacco, Jayden Reed!
I try to book as many guests as I can for the show, and a lot of the time I’ll have two or three “maybe’s” and we’re just hoping for one of them to come through. Well on Thursday all three of the “maybe’s” came through. Chris chatted with Texans running back Joe Mixon, who talked about playing with CJ Stroud and his thoughts on the hip drop tackle. Then Chris interviewed Colts quarterback Joe Flacco and found out exactly how Joe’s body feels at his age after a game. (Amazing Delco accent on that guy). Chris also interviewed Jayden Reed, a rising star wide receiver for the Packers. That interview will be out on our YouTube page today at 3:30, and be sure to check in tomorrow for an appearance from Stanford Steve where the guys make their picks and Steve trolls Macon about Tony Bennett incessantly.
5 Picks Against The Spread (18-12 Season Record)
We are rolling. Only missed the London game last week, and most of the picks were never in doubt. The Bengals touchdown at the end was especially sweet for any of you that followed the advice to bet the Bengals alternate total of -9.5. Back to back 4-1 weeks has my Bet MGM account balance screaming for a withdrawal. Instead, I think I’ll go heavy on these five teams this Sunday.
Seahawks +3 on the road against the Falcons. Geno Smith is a different quarterback on turf. The Seahawks should have Myles Murphy back. The Seahawks have additional rest after playing on Thursday. The Falcons have a solid team, but their offensive numbers are bloated from playing the Panthers last week. Look for Kenneth Walker to score at least one touchdown and the Seahawks to win a game that is not as high scoring as Vegas projects.
Bengals -5.5 on the road against the Browns. Ever since Nate declared the Bengals to be cooked have proven why Vegas never gave up on them. Honestly, if their record was 4-2 (which it easily could be) they would probably be favored by a full touchdown. 5.5 is a super appealing number as six points is one of the most common margins of victory. I’ll be rooting for Nick Chubb to do well in his return, but not so well that the Browns cover.
Texans +3 on the road against the Packers. These are two teams that are really good and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see one or both of them in the Super Bowl. The key for the Texans is that they have a healthy Joe Mixon. If they can run the ball with success on first and second down they can stay out of the third and long situations that have plagued them all season. Both defenses are solid, but the Texans have more explosive play making defensively. Look for Will Anderson or Danielle Hunter to force a turnover and swing the game.
Colts -3 at home against the Dolphins. I love advanced statistics and people that help me out. The Dolphins have some of the worst aggregate team statistics in the whole league, meanwhile the Colts have great people in their organization that help Green Light book guests like Joe Flacco, DeForest Buckner, Michael Pittman Jr. and Chris Ballard. The Colts have something to play for; they could be a playoff team if they win games like this one. The Dolphins season is over and the situation is only getting worse.
Chiefs +1.5 on the road against the 49ers. The Super Bowl rematch is the game of the week and I think the Chiefs stay undefeated. For me this is all about rest and preparation. The Chiefs get their toughest game of the year coming off of a bye. Give Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo two weeks to prepare for an opponent and I am taking them. The 49ers have some extra rest as well, not playing since Thursday, but I just trust the Chiefs game planning.
Thank You Tony Bennett
For some background, I have been a UVA hoops fan for longer than I can remember being alive. My dad started teaching at UVA in the early eighties when we had Ralph Sampson and one of the best teams in the nation. By the time my fandom rolled around in the 90’s my dad and I would go to old U Hall and watch from the top row that had been designated as faculty seating. We were decent under Jeff Jones, we even made a run to an Elite Eight, but we were never consistently in the same conversation as Duke or Carolina. In 1998, Pete Gillen took over and the program had a little juice for a few years, but consistent winning in the ACC and the NCAA Tournament eluded us.
I used to go to a local sports bar called Damon’s every March to watch the Madness, and unfortunately I saw Pete Gillen at the same bar drinking a glass of white wine every year because we never made the tournament. It was around this time that Macon and I formed a lifelong friendship, largely based on our shared love of UVA basketball. The first time either of us skipped school was to go watch the ACC Tournament at that same sports bar. We even made a website in the early 2000’s dedicated to coverage of the team’s walk-ons. After Gillen, we had a disastrous Dave Leitao run, and by the end of the 2009 season we were towards the bottom of the ACC and the future looked bleak.
When we hired Tony Bennett, I was reticent. His teams were known for defense but it was an awfully boring brand of basketball. But you know what is not boring? Winning. For the first time in my life the team started winning consistently. All of a sudden we were winning 30 games a season, in the running for the ACC regular season and tournament trophy every year, and for the first time in my life I started dreaming of a National Championship.
In 2018 the pain came in a big way. We lost to UMBC, the first time in history a #1 seed lost to a #16 seed. I have never received so many text messages in my life. Friends I hadn’t heard from in years hit me up just to troll. It was a moment of pain, but Tony handled the moment with class and integrity. That loss made what happened the next year even sweeter: an absolute miracle run to the title with unforgettable games against Purdue, Auburn and Texas Tech. It was a surreal feeling to experience something like that; a dream that I assumed would be forever deferred.
Tony’s decision to walk away is painful for UVA fans. But the emotion I feel most strongly is gratitude. Tony brought joy and passion to a fanbase that was dormant. He put us in the same conversation as Duke and Carolina. And, most importantly, he earned the respect and demonstrated the character to be allowed to leave on his own terms with no questions asked. Thank you to the greatest coach in the history of UVA sports.
The Chalk: All Odds From Bet MGM
Macon: Nothing matters anymore.
Nate: 3 leg same game parlay: Deshaun Watson over 0.5 passing td’s, Nick Chubb over 100 yards rushing, and David Njoku over 75 receiving yards. (+5500)
Ralph: Purdue moneyline. Ducks suck. (+1800)
Kingston: Hopefully you all followed the advice on the Liberty to win the WNBA Title. It is NBA futures season for me; I always like to place one big bet on an NBA win total to sweat out during the season. The Wizards win total is 20.5 and they are in an all out tank, slamming the under.
Reid: UVA to win the 2024-25 Men’s basketball national championship. Nice little future for you.
Tanner: Dodgers NLCS Winners -2000
Aidan: Ya gotta believe. Mets in 7.
Kevin: Parlay the Jets with the 49ers moneyline (+224)
What We’re Watching:
Macon: Nothing.
Nate: I’ve been locked in on the baseball playoffs. Rooting for a Subway Series!
Ralph: Watching Love is Blind obviously because everyone’s a fucking psycho.
Kingston: Just started Disclaimer on Apple TV starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. It is a really well made mystery that has me hooked, can’t wait for more episodes. Will probably watch the highlights from the 2019 NCAA Tournament and hold back tears.
Reid: Highlights of UVA basketball from the last 15 years.
Tanner: Season 2 of Shrinking on Apple TV just dropped.
Aidan: Still watching The Penguin, the recent episode was one of the highest rated episodes in IMDB history. Highly recommend it.
Kevin: I started Gomorrah again, it is one of the top 3 shows of all time.