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Down and Distance Podcast: Week 8 (2017 NFL Season)

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Everything was far from smooth in Brett Hundley’s first start at quarterback last week, only throwing for 87 yards and an interception in the Packers’ home loss to New Orleans. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

It has taken longer than it should have, but it is finally time that our National Football League-related podcast has a woke feel to it.

In our 2017 debut of Down and Distance, our co-hosts, Holly Culbertson and Adesina O. Koiki start the show taking a few minutes to discuss their feelings about, by far, the biggest storyline that is dominating talk as it pertains to the National Football League, the protests during the national anthem that a number of players have engaged in this season. Holly, being a veteran (United States Marine Corps), gives her perspective on the meaning of the protests given her time serving in the United States military, while Adesina explains why he intentionally did not watch any live National Football League games to start the 2017 season and what made him make the editorial decision to abstain from reporting on the NFL on A Lot of Sports Talk before this week. Also, a new feature of the First Down segment is unveiled, called “This is Why They Kneel,” which will highlight research and statistics from credible sources that cover subjects such as socioeconomic inequality and criminal injustice, issues that the players have expressed from the outset is the reasoning for their protests. (Note: The articles that are cited during that segment can be found here and here.)

Additionally on First Down, Holly and Adesina discuss where the Packers’ season will go with the absence of Aaron Rodgers and if the team can stay afloat in the playoff picture before a possible return of the two-time league Most Valuable Player.

On Second Down, we rebroadcast the 2015 interview that Adesina had with renowned sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards, professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley and former staff member of the San Francisco 49ers during their dynastic run in the 1980s and 1990s. The interview initially was on the backdrop of the University of Missouri football team boycotting from practicing and playing after a number of racially-motivated incidents on the campus, which led to the ouster of the university chancellor and the president of the University of Missouri school system. Though the interview took place two years ago, it’s completely relevant to the current climate that exists in the NFL between the players and owners, and Edwards describes why there are “no final victories” when it comes to athletes using their status and platform to highlight the social ills that currently are associated with American society.

Third Down brings a preview of, and predictions on, eight different games in Week 8, including whether the Buffalo Bills can take another huge step towards making their first playoff appearance since the end of the 1999 season when they take on the Oakland Raiders this weekend in Western New York. On fourth down, Holly decides whether Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, currently the NFL’s leader in touchdown passes with 17, will be the leader in that category at season’s end, becoming one of the rare second-year quarterbacks to lead the league in touchdown passes.

Please enjoy the podcast, and leave us any and all comments that you have. Click here to go to the A Lot of Sports Talk podcast page on iTunes, or click here to find the podcast on Google Play Music. From there, you can download this show as well as subscribe to our podcast page and receive new episodes on your device the second it is posted. You can also open iTunes, and in the Podcasts section, type in “A Lot of Sports Talk” in the search box to find our shows.

Interview Order: First Down (0:00-34:22); Dr. Harry Edwards Interview (34:29-58:05); Third/Fourth Downs (58:11-2:03:09)

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