Reid Kerr: Bum Phillips was my favorite coach of all time. I actually had him on my radio show once, I was so excited about finally talking to him that I called my mom and dad in the commercial break after the interview was over. It’s been two decades, but I’m still “Luv Ya Blue” forever. 

This week in football we’ve got the best Thursday game in quite a while, my college conference championship predictions, and the only interview I ever did that made me call my mom and dad. Time for another edition of Reid’s NFL mailbag. 

Question: Are the Cowboys really contenders?

Answer: New phone, who dis?

Q: No, seriously.

A: In the NFC East, absolutely. Dallas leads a bad division with five games to go. The game next week against Philadelphia will probably decide the division unless Washington rebounds from the Alex Smith injury, which is about as unlikely as Washington rebounding in general. 

In the NFC, no way. The Saints, Rams and a surprisingly stout Bears team are firmly at the top of the conference. More importantly, a playoff spot might buy Jason Garrett another year as head coach, and I don’t think anyone outside of his immediate family wants that.

Q: Speaking of the division, what’s wrong with the Giants?

A: My first thought would be, “a lot.” The Giants are a team with some talent, and some stars who can sell a lot of jerseys. But they are awful up front, and they missed their window to change quarterbacks. Between free agency and the draft last season 10 starting quarterbacks were up for grabs, but the Giants didn’t make a move. It was a once-in-a decade chance to throw the dice and they took a nap. You can’t win consistently without a good quarterback, and the last two years in New York have proven that (for both teams). Now they have to replace Eli Manning in a year without great quarterback prospects or free agents. Expect Odell Beckham Jr. to keep us updated on just how bad it’s getting. 

Q: Are you surprised by Jacksonville benching Blake Bortles after getting to the AFC Championship last year?

A: Not at all. Every year there’s a team that comes out of nowhere and shocks the world, and looks like a long-term contender. Remember when Carolina was a Super Bowl team with an MVP three seasons ago? Me either. The Jags had one-year wonder written all over them. 

Let’s put it this way, against the Bills, Jacksonville had the ball first-and-goal at the one-yard line. I went to the bathroom and came back to find the Jaguars had a fourth-and-goal at the 24, they missed a field goal, and somewhere along the way their best offensive player got thrown out of the game. And the next one. 

Some teams get a window of 10 years. In Jacksonville, it looks like that window lasted about 10 months. 

Q: If you had the chance to spend one full day hanging out with a current NFL coach, which coach would you choose? And which NFL coach from the past, living or dead?

A: Current coach, Belichick is the easy answer but I have no confidence he’d actually speak to me, and I don’t want to waste my free day on the NFL’s Dick Cheney. I’d go with Sean McVay. Jared Goff couldn’t get in uniform on game days under Jeff Fisher, but McVay came in and turned a Rams team with scattered talent and no motivation into an actual contender. McVay is a sponge, soaking up the best of the league and finding what works best for his team. 

As for the former coach, I’d go with Bum Phillips. Bum was my favorite coach of all time. I actually had him on my radio show once, I was so excited about finally talking to him that I called my mom and dad in the commercial break after the interview was over. It’s been two decades, but I’m still “Luv Ya Blue” forever. 

You can always tweet me questions, accusations, and angry statements at @reidaboutit. Now on to the picks. Last week I went 3-2, and 2-3 against Vegas. I picked the Bills upset, but mistakenly thought the Bengals were going to try and beat the Browns, instead of just becoming the Browns. Lesson learned. 

On the season, I’m now 13-10 and also 13-10 against Vegas. Time for a big Thursday night game. Remember, these are for the purposes of discussion only, as always, no wagering. 

New Orleans (minus 7.5) at Dallas: This is a really interesting matchup, in spite of common sense. It’s the league’s best rush defense against the league’s best rusher. It’s the league’s loudest city against the league’s loudest owner. Seven-and-a-half is a pretty big spread, but something tells me the Cowboys at home can control the ball enough to keep it close.

Pick: Saints to win but Cowboys to cover, which means I think New Orleans wins it by seven or fewer points. 

For my side bets last week I went 1-1, making me 6-3 on the year. This week, begrudgingly give me Oklahoma over Texas, Ohio State over Northwestern and Alabama over the entire civilized world.

Good luck, my friends.

– Reid Kerr talks a lot, as his wife always reminds him. Reid’s second book, “I Hate It Here: A Love Story,” is out now on Amazon.com. You can always tweet questions, comments, and angry messages to him at @reidaboutit.